Halton Regional Council June 2024 Highlights: AAA Credit Rating; Newcomer Inclusion; Wheeled Cart Collection Pilot; Mount Nemo Quarry; $10 a Day Daycare; & more
Halton Region Council Highlights — June 2024
The June 2024 edition of Council Highlights includes key public information, messages and marketing materials on significant program updates related to regular meetings of Regional Council, ongoing communications campaigns and other key areas of interest. These Council Highlights provide a summary of actions taken at the Council meeting this month and are not an official record of that meeting. For the official minutes of meetings, please visit the Council and Committee Meetings webpage.
June 2024 Content
June 2024 Council Meeting
Halton's AAA Credit Rating Upheld by S&P Global Ratings
Newcomer Inclusion in the Halton Community
Wheeled Cart Collection Pilot Project
Request to Deny Nelson Aggregates' Expansion of the Mount Nemo Quarry
Ten Dollar a Day Daycare
JUNE 2024 COUNCIL MEETING
Halton's AAA Credit Rating Upheld by S&P Global Ratings. What does this mean for Halton?
The AAA rating ensures that Halton and the four Local Municipalities that borrow under this credit rating will continue to obtain the best possible financing rates in the capital markets, minimizing the longer-term costs of infrastructure capital.
Halton’s top credit rating reflects its strong financial management and means it can continue to borrow funds for capital investments at the best rates which keeps the cost of growth to taxpayers as low as possible.
Highlights
S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed Halton Region’s AAA credit rating for the 22nd consecutive year which indicates S&P’s confidence in Halton’s strong financial position going forward.
S&P’s report praises Halton Region’s growing and diversified economy, strong budget performance, prudent fiscal management practices and solid economic base.
Achieving a top credit rating unlocks the lowest possible financing rates, which helps public funds go further, reduces the long-term costs of large-scale construction, and allows the Region to deliver maximum value for tax and rate payers when investing in major infrastructure projects.
Please use the links below to access additional information about Halton's credit rating:
Regional Finance – dedicated webpage on halton.ca
Annual Financial Report – dedicated webpage on halton.ca
2024 Budget and Business Plan – dedicated webpage on halton.ca
Newcomer Inclusion in the Halton Community
What does this mean for Halton?
Newcomers are important for the growth of our community and workforce. Between 2016 and 2021, Halton welcomed 31,385 newcomers as well as temporary residents, such as international students, foreign workers, those fleeing conflict and asylum seekers.
The Halton Newcomer Strategy works to make Halton a welcoming and inclusive community where newcomers can settle and thrive.
Highlights
The Halton Newcomer Strategy is a community group of over 40 partners that strives to ensure that Halton is a welcoming and inclusive community in which newcomers can settle and thrive.
The 2020-2025 Halton Newcomer Strategic Plan identifies and supports service providers that strengthen the Region’s capacity to successfully integrate newcomers.
The results of an April 2023 survey will guide this work in the areas such as community belonging, cost of living, healthcare and job satisfaction based on the following results:
Most residents (91%) feel a sense of belonging in Halton and newcomers (34%) strongly disagree crime is an issue in their community.
Most newcomers (71%) cite the cost of living as the greatest challenge to settling in the region.
Less than 50% of newcomers indicated they are satisfied with their jobs. Fewer newcomers are passionate about their jobs (53% versus 59% overall) or feel that their jobs are related to their educational background (45% versus 51% overall).
Please use the links below to access additional information about newcomers to Halton:
Newcomers to Halton – dedicated webpage on halton.ca
Halton Newcomer Strategy – Local Immigration Partnership
Wheeled Cart Collection Pilot Project
What does this mean for Halton?
The results of the Wheeled Cart Collection Pilot Project and industry best practices support Halton Region moving to a wheeled cart collection program for garbage and organics.
Highlights
Halton Region conducted a Wheeled Cart Collection Pilot Project with approximately 1,800 single-family residential households to determine the level of support for wheeled cart collection, determine the effect different cart sizes have on waste generation and waste diversion and to monitor the effect on reducing litter due to high winds.
Results of a survey of participants in the pilot program showed that 85 per cent of participants supported or were neutral about the wheeled cart program. Key benefits reported were the reduction of wind-blown litter, easier to move to and from the curb, protection from rodents and pests and overall and a more organized way to manage waste.
Based on the project’s results, four key opportunities are recommended if Halton Region implements the wheeled cart program region-wide:
Allow residents to pre-select their desired cart size for garbage to help address concerns around storage space.
Phase the program roll-out to ensure appropriate level of resourcing.
Manage change through a communications strategy, as well as continuous monitoring and public surveys to measure the effectiveness of the implementation process and address evolving community needs.
Increase the efficiency of collection contractors by switching from manual to automated collection.
Please use the links below to access additional information about Halton Region’s Solid Waste Management Strategy:
Recycling and Waste – dedicated webpage on halton.ca
Solid Waste Management Strategy – dedicated webpage on halton.ca
Request to Deny Nelson Aggregates' Expansion of the Mount Nemo Quarry
What does this mean for Halton?
Regional Council supported the City of Burlington’s request to the Provincial Government to deny Nelson Aggregates’ expansion of the Mount Nemo open-pit quarry and to protect the site by designating the Mount Nemo Plateau as a natural and protected area of the escarpment.
The Mount Nemo Plateau is a unique landform that is essential to the ecology, community, economy and identity of the Niagara Escarpment, Halton Region and the City of Burlington. Extraction of aggregate in this area will disturb the fragile balance of ecology, natural habitat, water and woodland systems, and rural and community land use of the Mount Nemo Plateau and surrounding area.
Highlights
Nelson Aggregates submitted an application to expand the Mount Nemo open-pit quarry in the City of Burlington.
The Mount Nemo Plateau is located within Ontario’s Greenbelt and is an important part of the Niagara Escarpment UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
The Niagara Escarpment Commission has recommended that no new aggregate operations be permitted within the Niagara Escarpment Plan Area.
Halton Region, along with representatives from the City of Burlington, the Niagara Escarpment Commission, Conservation Halton and the Ministry of Natural Resources, as well as local environmental groups have concerns with the proposed expansion of the Mount Nemo quarry.
Please use the links below to access additional information about Mineral Aggregates:
Mineral Aggregates – dedicated webpage on halton.ca
Burlington Quarry (Nelson Aggregates) – dedicated webpage on halton.ca
Ten Dollar a Day Daycare
What does this mean for Halton?
On March 28, 2022, the Federal and Provincial governments announced a $13.2 billion Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system that will reduce the cost of child care in Ontario to an average of $10 per day by 2025-2026 for those in enrolled licensed child care settings.
On March 28, 2022, the Federal and Provincial governments announced a $13.2 billion Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system that will reduce the cost of child care in Ontario to an average of $10 per day by 2025-2026 for those in enrolled licensed child care settings.
On March 28, 2022, the Federal and Provincial governments announced a $13.2 billion Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system that will reduce the cost of child care in Ontario to an average of $10 per day by 2025-2026 for those in enrolled licensed child care settings.
Halton Region is committed to supporting access to high quality and affordable child care for families. Halton Region welcomes the opportunity to create more community-based Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care spaces immediately if funding or additional spaces can be made available by the Provincial Government.
Highlights
In 2023, child care fees were reduced for families by 52.75 per cent in participating centres and Halton Region was allocated CWELCC funding from the Ministry of Education which enabled 190 new community-based spaces.
Halton Region has been advocating to the Ministry of Education for revised space allocations to meet community demand since 2023, and the Provincial Government has not provided any additional spaces or funding to date.
The Regional Chair will write a letter to the Provincial Minister of Education requesting Provincial investment to enable new CWELCC space growth in Halton and that the new funding model for 2025 accurately reflect local demands for childcare.
Please use the links below to access additional information about Children’s Services:
Need Help with the Cost of Child Care? – dedicated webpage on halton.ca
Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) System – dedicated webpage on halton.ca
Canada-Ontario early years and child care agreement – Provincial webpage
Related Links