BRAMPTON, ON– At the Peel Regional Council meeting of April 11th, a motion was approved to conduct a second financial analysis of three possible outcomes that could occur following the province’s review of the Peel Region, which is expected to be completed by September. The three outcomes include amalgamation of Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon into one mega-city; all three municipalities separating; or the Region remaining as is.
The first report prepared by Deloitte in March was a staff led initiative and not directed by Council, however it showed that if the Region of Peel were to dissolve it would cost $1.081 billion in additional taxes over the next 10 years; amalgamating the three municipalities would cost $676 million in additional taxes over the next 10 years; and keeping things as-is would generate tax savings of $261 million over the next 10 years.
The terms of the new report were unanimously supported and will be done in consultation with the three municipalities, and will include how much each is currently contributing annually in total to the region, and include an estimate of what would be potentially owed to each municipality upon dissolution
Brampton Regional Councillor Gurpreet Singh Dhillon has warned residents of skyrocketing taxes if the region was dissolved.
“There will be a major hit to not just Brampton taxpayers, but taxpayers in Mississauga and Caledon as well if the province decides to change the Region in any form,” said Councillor Dhillon. “The initial report was done in a thorough manner by Deloitte and I am positive the second report will only reinforce their finding that breaking the region will be harmful.”
“I encourage all Brampton residents to continue to pay close attention to the matter, and base their opinions on evidence and not political misinformation.”
Mississauga Council, which conducted its own internal research, has claimed that leaving the Region would be their best financial option, and that it subsidizes Bampton and Caledon by approximately $85 million per year, and passed a motion at its Council on March 20th requesting the Province to accept their position to become an independent city.
“Mississauga has forgotten the years of funding from Brampton to build and grow their city. To separate now without paying what is owed to the Brampton taxpayers is irresponsible,” said Councillor Dhillon. “It would be unfair for Mississauga to now turn around and not pay its fair share.”