Ontario’s housing minister says it was “always” his plan to find a new mandate for the Peel Region transition board despite internal communications that revealed key members of the team were left in the dark as the Ford government considered a full reversal of the region’s dissolution last year.
Texts and emails published by Global News Wednesday show John Livey, chair of the Peel transition board, repeatedly asking for a call from the government as it weighed how to walk away from a plan to split the Region of Peel into its three separate municipalities.
Livey sent several text messages to senior staff in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing at the beginning of December 2023, asking to talk. At the time, rumours were swirling that the government was considering walking back its plan to dissolve the region.
After being ghosted for days, sources told Global News Livey was able to break through to the premier’s office and suggest a change of direction that would still download some services from the Region of Peel to Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga.
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“They made all the recommendations we acted on,” one senior government official told Global News in December.
The revelation led to questions at Queen’s Park about why the government kept the transition team in the dark during a crucial moment when their input may have been needed the most.
Calandra said he wanted to have “everything in place” before he spoke to Livey and insisted that the team’s work would not be in vain.
“It was always my intention that if we moved in a different direction (we would) utilize the board to help me inform some of the other decisions that we’re making across the other fastest-growing regions,” Calandra said.
Still, government critics argued that the manner in which the situation unfolded speaks volumes about how Premier Doug Ford handles files.
“Think of how many decisions this government has made and had to reverse because they failed to properly consult and get the input they needed, and it sounds like that’s exactly what’s needed in the Peel Region decision,” Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said.
NDP housing critic Jeff Burch also questioned the value that taxpayers in Peel Region were receiving for the $1.5-million bill the transition board has racked up so far – with months left in the mandate.
“Peel taxpayers are on the hook … and I think the government would be hard-pressed to say what citizens got for that money,” Burch told Global News.
“To stick Peel taxpayers with a 1.5-million bill for this fiasco is really irresponsible, and we think the premier should pick up the tab for his own government’s incompetence,” Burch said.
Calandra said he will be watching Peel to see what “opportunities” it presents to copy the same ideas in other large regions, which could include places like York, Durham or Halton.
“I want to know: is there opportunities for me to look at the work that they’re doing there and scale it across other regions that are currently under review,” he said.
“I’m very, very anxious and eager because I think they’re doing some great work and I want to be able to leverage that, if possible, across some of the other work we’re doing.”
Calandra said he has not yet received a report of recommendations from the Peel transition board.