Ontario plans to ‘divorce’ Peel Region in new bill

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Ontario is planning to dissolve Peel Region in less than two years, with Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon set to become independent municipalities, the government announced on Thursday. The move, which the province says is intended to meet its housing targets, is already provoking a financial dispute between the two larger cities.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark introduced legislation, called the Hazel McCallion Act, that lays out how the province intends to detangle the three municipalities from the region by Jan. 1, 2025. The dissolution, previously discussed by the government, had long been advocated for by Ms. McCallion, Mississauga’s former long-serving mayor who died in January at the age of 101.

Peel Region, formed in 1974, provides services such as police, public health, roads, social services, water and waste water to Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon.

“Our objective … is to ensure these municipalities have the tools that they need to support future population and housing growth in the years to come, to reduce duplication, to lower the cost of government and speed up the delivery of high-quality services to the taxpayers of these three communities,” Mr. Clark said.

The minister also said he wants to bring “strong mayor powers” to those cities. Already bestowed on Toronto and Ottawa, they allow mayors to bring forward and pass bylaws with only one-third of council support.

The plan to separate has already set off a debate between Mississauga and Brampton, with both mayors claiming they will be owed money in the regional divorce.

The government said it would appoint a five-member transition board to deal with financial matters and ensure the process is “fair and balanced,” with a review of regional services, finances and new property tax arrangements. Some services, such as policing, could still be shared.

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The board, which would be selected by the province but compensated by Peel Region and the municipalities, would also oversee the financial decisions of the municipalities and could direct them to undo or not proceed with decisions that are deemed “not in the public interest” until the separation is complete.

Mr. Clark would appoint the board members some time this year, and they would make recommendations to the government by summer or fall of 2024. The government said it would introduce legislation in the fall of next year to address “any outstanding restructuring matters.”

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who attended Mr. Clark’s press conference alongside Caledon Mayor Annette Groves, both said their cities have invested in infrastructure projects in each other’s communities and would be looking for compensation.

Mr. Brown said there is a “lot of opportunity” in the dissolution of Peel Region because the communities can plan and build housing faster. But he said he expects Mississauga to pay more than $1-billion because Brampton helped pay for water treatment facilities and the Peel Regional Police Headquarters in that city.

“Let me be very clear: Brampton will never accept our residents being taken advantage of. Every single cent we put in to build that infrastructure in Mississauga, my residents expect back.”

Ms. Crombie, however, said that her city provided a majority of the infrastructure funding for projects in the region as Mississauga grew into one of the largest cities in Canada, and continues to pay more into services than both Brampton and Caledon.

“I’ve only asked for fairness and equity in this process. I ask that our tax dollars continue to be invested in our city for our growth and infrastructure, our programs and services,” she said.

Caught in the middle of the fight, Ms. Groves referred to the Town of Caledon as “the child in this marriage” going through a divorce. Although smaller than the other two municipalities, Ms. Groves said she doesn’t believe property taxes will need to increase to pay for separate services and infrastructure.

Caledon council had previously taken the position that it supports maintaining the regional government structure, but Ms. Groves said she has faith in the government’s decision.

Peel Regional Chair Nando Iannicca told reporters at Queen’s Park he understands the government’s move to reduce the number of municipalities, but cautioned that it must ensure there isn’t a disruption to services and that there is minimal impact on the roughly 7,000 employees at the region.

“That is my biggest concern in the transition,” he said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has previously said he will ensure all three regions are kept “whole” and protected through the separation.

Mr. Brown used the same language on Thursday. “Just in the last month we’ve had four housing projects stopped because of a lack of servicing. Economic development will grind to a halt, housing will grind to a halt, if we’re not made whole,” the Brampton mayor said.

The government also said it will name regional facilitators in Durham, Halton, Niagara, Simcoe, Waterloo and York to review whether these other upper-tier regional governments should be dissolved.