Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – June 12, 2023 – How Will Dissolution of Peel Region Affect Halton?

Mayor's Mailbag
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Welcome to the Mayor’s Monday Mailbag, an initiative Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and the Mayor’s Office launched to share weekly answers to questions from the public we’ve received through our main email inbox at mayor@burlington.ca or the Mayor’s social media platforms.At the end of the month, we publish a roundup of those most pressing questions we’ve received in the weeks prior.Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – June 12, 2023QUESTION:"The Province has announced it is dissolving Peel Region and making its municipalities independent -- how will this affect Halton Region?”ANSWER:On May 18, the Ontario government introduced Bill 112, the Hazel McCallion Act, that would begin the process to dissolve the Regional Municipality of Peel and make the municipalities of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon independent. On June 6, the Ontario government has passed Bill 112 that will dissolve the Region of Peel by 2025. The proposed legislation honours the legacy of Peel Region’s longest-serving mayor, the late Hazel McCallion, who was central to the region’s remarkable growth during her 36 years as Mayor of Mississauga and a long-time advocate for greater autonomy for her city.Of interesting note in the Province’s May 18 news release:

  • "In the coming weeks, the Province will also name regional facilitators to assess the upper-tier municipalities of Durham, Halton, Niagara, Simcoe, Waterloo and York. These facilitators will be tasked with reviewing whether the upper-tier government continues to be relevant to the needs of its communities or whether the lower-tier municipalities are mature enough to pursue dissolution. Where they recommend that a two-tier government is still required, the facilitators will also make recommendations on how they can more effectively respond to the issues facing Ontario’s fast-growing municipalities today, particularly when it comes to meeting municipal housing pledges and tackling the housing supply crisis."

Burlington Council and City leadership staff will be watching how things proceed carefully as this could be a template for other regions, as the Province of Ontario is currently undergoing a review of regional governments.At its May 16 meeting, Burlington City Council meeting unanimously approved a resolution laying out our city’s expectations for the upcoming Provincial review of regional governments.Click/tap here for the resolution or scroll further down this post: CSSRA-02-23 Motion Memo COB Expectations Re Provincial Review of Regional GovtsA digital copy of a related letter from Burlington City Council outlining first principles and key strategic outcomes in the City’s approach to growth of the City of Burlington was sent to Minister of Municipal Affairs & Housing, the Hon. Steve Clark, on May 25, 2023. It is available to read here: Letter to Minister Clark re: Provincial Review of Regional GovernmentsBurlington City Council felt it was important for them to collectively land a set of principles they could convey to the Provincial facilitators conducting the review of Halton Region. If the Province is proposing any changes, Council and the City want to ensure, primarily, those changes are an improvement to our current governing model and there will be no loss of services being provided.The intent behind the regional review for Burlington Council is for the City to be unanimous in encouraging the facilitators to consider, throughout the review process, how this will improve things for our city and our community.Burlington Council has unequivocally stated in its resolution it does not want a “City of Halton.”COUNCIL RESOLUTION:Whereas on November 16, 2022, the Province of Ontario introduced legislation entitled Bill 39, Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022; andWhereas an outstanding and important element of the Act remains the appointment of provincial facilitators to assess regional government specifically to determine the best mix of roles and responsibilities between the upper and lower-tier municipalities for the regional governments of Durham, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo, and York; andWhereas the focus of the above noted review is aligned directly to the Provincial government’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years to address the housing supply crisis in Ontario; andWhereas Council fully supports the priority given by staff of Halton Region and the four local municipalities, including the City of Burlington, to work collaboratively to address the immediate implications for the future delivery of land use planning services including of the devolution of regional and conservation authority responsibilities to the City of Burlington under Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, whereby the Region of Halton is no longer considered a municipal jurisdiction with land use planning authority; andWhereas the Province has recently set policy for future growth within specific areas of the City of Burlington; andTherefore, be it resolved that Burlington City Council is fully committed and prepared to actively participate in the upcoming assessment of Halton Region upper and lower-tier responsibilities on the basis of achieving and/or contributing to the following first principles and key strategic outcomes:First Principles

  • Operating within a clearly defined workplan provided by the provincial facilitator inclusive of scope of work and timelines for completion of review;
  • Consideration of all feasible governance options, except amalgamation of the four municipalities into a City of Halton;
  • Acting on governance changes as supported by the local-tier councils; and
  • Decision making is based on community engagement related to any proposed changes to Halton upper and lower-tier municipal responsibilities.

Key Strategic Outcomes

  • Improved long term quality of life for existing and future Burlington residents;
  • Improved quality and reduced overall cost of municipal services (existing and proposed new) delivered to Burlington residents and businesses;
  • All needed community infrastructure is funded through development and/or by senior levels of government; and
  • The City of Burlington is in an improved position to deliver on long term strategic plan priorities, including community focused needs and economic growth.

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Mayor Meed Ward’s Weekly Update: June 12-18, 2023