‘Fear mongering’ and ‘scare tactics’ to blame for Peel dissolution reversal, says Crombie

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie contends that in suddenly reversing its decision on Peel dissolution, the provincial government caved to “scare tactics and fear mongering” from her Brampton counterpart.

Still, despite the announcement earlier today from Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra that the province has decided to backtrack on plans to split up Peel and its member municipalities Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, Crombie expressed optimism at a press conference late this afternoon that dissolution will still happen — just not now.

“This isn’t the end of our path to independence; it’s simply a bump in the road,” Crombie, 63, told the media at Mississauga city hall.

“While this isn’t the announcement I was hoping for…I want to acknowledge the premier and minister could have chosen to completely walk away from dissolution today, but they chose not to because deep down I know they share our collective commitment to ensuring that local government runs efficiently and effectively and that our taxpayers get a fair deal.

“Hazel McCallion always said ‘do your homework’ and it sounds to me like the province is now prepared to do that,” the Mississauga third-term mayor and soon-to-be full-time leader of the provincial Liberals continued. “Homework that should’ve been done and began long ago and would’ve better informed how this process rolled out from the get-go.”

One week after initial reports surfaced suggesting Premier Doug Ford’s government was thinking about walking back its promise of independence to Mississauga — and Ford’s late friend, Mississauga icon Hazel McCallion — Calandra today at Queen’s Park confirmed that was, in fact, the case.

“Our goal in reviewing Peel’s local government structure has always been to provide the highest level of service at the lowest cost to taxpayers,” said Calandra.

“It is clear that full dissolution of Peel is not the best way to achieve this goal,” he added, stating the decision to reverse the split was made based on input from the Peel Region Transition Board (sent to Peel municipalities in the summer to study the impact of dissolution) and municipal feedback from regional service providers and first responders.

Crombie isn’t buying that explanation, at least not entirely. She’s convinced that Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown’s repeated and “unfounded” public assertions that a Peel breakup would cost taxpayers $1.3 billion over 10 years had much to do with the province backing out of the Peel dissolution deal.

The province, she said, “entrusted a transition board who they personally appointed to undertake this work and ensure that all three cities are treated fairly. With this revised mandate, this marks a fresh start for the government. They need to step aside and let the transition board do their work and stop caving in to pressure and making rushed, uninformed decisions based on Mayor Brown’s scare tactics and fear mongering. This is not how government should be making decisions that impact the lives of 1.5 million residents in Peel, decisions that affect thousands of jobs and critical services that our residents rely on each and every day.

“So I will continue to call on the province to provide us with a credible, independent report commissioned by the transition board that (disproves) Mayor Brown’s unfounded reports that taxes will skyrocket in Brampton in Caledon as a result of dissolution. These reports we have not and still haven’t seen.”

Crombie, who’ll leave the mayor’s post on Jan. 12 to head up the Ontario Liberal Party, concluded her remarks by saying she’s confident Mississauga will get its independence some day.

“I will maintain the position that as Ontario’s third-largest city, Mississauga is more than ready to join the over 170 single-tier municipalities across the province in controlling our own destinies. As some of Ontario’s fastest-growing cities, so too are Brampton and Caledon. We are ready today and we’ll be ready tomorrow, all three of us. And I’m confident we’ll get there in due time.”

Considered a done deal via the Hazel McCallion Act of earlier this year and scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, the political split of Peel will now be undone by the province starting in the new year.

Instead, the provincial government says it will move forward with plans in Peel to find more efficiencies in delivering services to residents.

Mayors Patrick Brown and Bonnie Crombie have disagreed from the outset on Peel dissolution.