The provincial government has appointed a five-member transition team that will begin the process of dissolving the Region of Peel and officially grant Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon their independence in 2025.
“The five members … will help ensure the dissolution process is carried out with minimal disruption for residents and employees and in a manner that leaves all three municipalities well-positioned for future growth,” said Municipal Affairs minister Steve Clark.
Here are the members of the five-member panel:
- John Livey, former deputy city manager and chief administrative 0fficer in Toronto, Markham and Region of York
- Tracey Cook, former executive director of Toronto’s municipal licensing and standards division
- Sean Morely, an infrastructure and P3 lawyer
- Eric Jolliffe, former York Region chief of police
- Peter Weltman, former Ontario financial accountability officer
Unspooling the region, which was created in 1974, is expected to be a complex undertaking that could also pit local politicians against one another as assets, debts and liabilities are divided up between the three municipalities.
Both Mississauga and Brampton have claimed their cities have shouldered the financial burden of the region’s growth over the past 50 years and despite assurances from Premier Doug Ford that the municipalities would be made whole, local mayors have raised the spectre of financial reparations.
The transition board is also expected to make recommendations to the province on how shared services, such as policing, social services, garbage removal and sewage, should be handled.
Those recommendations are expected in the summer or fall of 2024 allowing the provincial government to introduce a second piece of legislation to tie up loose ends before the final dissolution.