Announcement coming on Brampton’s ‘fair share’ split from Mississauga and Peel

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown will be giving residents a glimpse into the City’s future as the province is expected to begin dissolving Peel Region today (May 18).

The province announced that it will introduce legislation on Thursday “to support municipalities in Peel,” with senior government sources saying it’s the start of a plan to split Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon from their regional government over three years.

Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing will make the announcement at Queen’s Park at 1:30 p.m., followed by a press conference by Brown and members of Brampton City Council on the legislation and “the need for Brampton to receive its fair share from Mississauga.”

Brown last week said Brampton will be “outraged” if the Region is broken up without safeguards that Mississauga wouldn’t gain ownership of shared infrastructure, specifically water treatment services and Peel Regional Police headquarters.

“Since the 1970s, through their hard work and toil we built the infrastructure in Mississauga,” Brown said. “Any notion that the mayor of Mississauga could walk away from that and stiff the residents of Brampton is offensive.”

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie will also be holding her own press conference following the province’s announcement and has long said she wants to see that city split from the Region, likening the split to “divorce proceedings; who owns what and who gets an equitable share of the proceeds.”

Brown had been more reserved in his comments on the possible split until last week, saying only that he welcomes a chance to remove redundancies and “duplication” at the municipal level.

Another source with knowledge of the announcement said the province will be appointing a committee to look at the costs of separation.

Speaking to CBC on Thursday morning, Brown said that Brampton wants to see that province commit to “the same per capita funding model used to build the infrastructure in Mississauga” in the event of a split.

He said the province has assured Brampton that the City won’t be left holding the bag, but Brown has heard conflicting comments from Crombie.

“Whatever we put into building that infrastructure, that 40 per cent rate, we expect to be the same in Brampton,” Brown said. “We’re not asking for anything more or anything less, we just want fairness.”

The Region of Peel was formed in 1974 and comprises Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. The municipalities share services and infrastructure like Peel Regional Police in Brampton and Mississauga, Peel Paramedic Services, garbage collection and recycling, water and water treatment, road maintenance and much more.

The Region also oversees planning and development, land-use planning, growth management, and development in Peel Region.

The province is expected to make the announcement at 1:30 at Queen’s Park.