Minister says no decisions made on 'potential' dissolution of Peel Region

Ontario's municipal affairs and housing minister said Wednesday he has not yet made any decisions on the break up of Peel Region, though he is now calling it a "potential" dissolution.

Paul Calandra's comments come as the province and a transition board it has appointed to oversee the change are reportedly shocked by the cost of dissolution and the fact that it may cause massive tax increases in all three municipalities, a source with direct knowledge of the discussions has told CBC News.

The Toronto Star reported on Tuesday that its sources say Premier Doug Ford is poised to cancel his plan to dissolve the region. Dissolution would allow Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon to go their separate ways.

"The dissolution of Peel wasn't scheduled to take place until 2025," Calandra said Wednesday. "We're doing a lot of due
diligence to see how it would be done, what the cost would be, but I've made no decision on that yet."

Calandra said legislation put in place "a potential dissolution of Peel for 2025."

That law, titled the Hazel McCallion Act (Peel Dissolution), says the Region of Peel is dissolved on Jan. 1, 2025 and a transition board will be appointed to provide recommendations to the minister on winding down the region's financial operations and the long-term sustainability of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon as single-tier municipalities.

The transition board has not yet publicly reported on any findings, but Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown is pointing to a Deloitte report updating 2019 data that shows the dissolution would lead to an extra $1.3 billion in operating costs over 10 years and sharp increases in taxes on local residents.

Brown said in a news release that the report shows dissolution could negatively impact essential emergency services.

"We never asked for the Region of Peel to be dissolved," he wrote. "We have always asked for redundancy to be removed. The independent financial analysis clearly shows the net result would be a financial disaster for Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon."

But Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie — who was named the new Ontario Liberal Party leader over the weekend and is set to resign her municipal post in the new year — called that report into question and urged Premier Doug Ford not to make any "rash decisions based on faulty numbers."

"I want to be clear: independence is about reaching a deal that's fair and equitable for all of our taxpayers," Crombie said at a press conference.

"Dissolving Peel Region and eliminating an additional layer of government will allow all of us — Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon — to become more efficient, reduce confusion amongst residents, streamline the delivery of services, and ultimately save residents and businesses time and money."

Calandra said there is "no way" the provincial government will ever allow property taxpayers to shoulder a burden they can't afford.

Caledon Mayor Annette Groves told CBC News that she opposes the breakup and it is already causing uncertainty.

"I know we've lost over 600 employees already since this dissolution began. And I know that some of those employees were struggling as well trying to get their mortgages renewed. The banks will not renew those mortgages because of the uncertainty around this," she said.

Groves said the town of Caledon has expressed concerns about the dissolution and she believes the province is listening to those concerns.

"Quite frankly, we've made a pledge of delivering 13,000 housing units in the next eight years. We need support from the province. We need support from the region," she said.