Transition board chair quits amid service transfers from Peel to Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon

The board originally appointed to oversee the breakup of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon has quit months after receiving a new mandate to shift the cost of key services from the Region of Peel to the municipalities.

The five-person board was appointed in 2023 to guide the three municipalities through the dissolution of Peel, a promise Ontario Premier Doug Ford made to former Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion on her deathbed.

Ford later backtracked the decision with Ontario’s Ministry of Housing giving the board a “recalibrated scope” to advise the region on the transfer services like roads, waste management and water to Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon – a move local politicians say could lead to higher taxes.

John Livey, who chaired the board up until last week, has “voluntarily resigned…to pursue other opportunities” some nine months after the board given new marching orders, the province confirmed to INsauga.com.

“The government wishes him well and thanks him for his service,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing said in a statement.

The board’s work will continue with board member Tracey Cook replacing Livey as chair, the province said. Questions about what led to Livey’s resignation and whether it was related to the change of the board’s mandate were not answered.

No replacement for Cook’s board position has been announced, leaving the five-person board with only four members.

Ontario’s Bill 185 requires that the Transition Board submit recommendations on “the transfer of powers, responsibilities or jurisdiction” of land use planning, water and wastewater, storm water, highways and waste management from the region to each municipality.

CUPE Ontario raised concerns about the board’s lack of diversity and worker representation, as well as the cost being saddled on taxpayers in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown was opposed to the dissolution and warned of  a “financial train wreck” due to an estimated $1.31 billion cost to the city over shared services like water treatment, waste disposal and emergency services. Caledon Mayor Annette Groves has said the transfer of services could result in a 70 per cent tax increase.

Peel Regional Chair Nando Iannicca said in January that the board was expected to make its recommendations by the spring, but the ministry declined to comment on a timeline for when Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon are expected to take over the services.

Livey has over 40 years of municipal and provincial experience and worked as a Deputy City Manager for the City of Toronto, the province says. Cook has been with the City of Toronto since 2012 and served as the Interim City Manager, and spent 18 years with the Toronto Police Service.