It is my pleasure today to rise for the second reading of our government’s proposed Hazel McCallion Act. I will be sharing my time today with the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

It is so fitting to name this bill after the late former mayor of Mississauga and former special adviser to our government. Hazel was a long-time proponent for an independent Mississauga, and today’s announcement is a wonderful recognition of her legacy. Known admiringly to so many as “Hurricane Hazel,” she guided the city of Mississauga for 12 consecutive terms, from 1978 to 2014. Think about that: 36 consecutive years as mayor. And no one knew Mississauga better than Hazel. She guided the growth of Mississauga from a semi-rural bedroom community with a population of almost 281,000 to the sixth-largest city in Canada.

Hazel and her husband, Sam, moved to Streetsville—now part of Mississauga—in 1951. In 1963, she became the editor and business manager of the Streetsville Booster, a community newspaper founded by Sam. This got Hazel interested in public life. Within three short years, being Hazel, she was chair of the Streetsville planning board and president of the local chamber of commerce. That was in 1966. In 1969, she was elected mayor of Streetsville. When Streetsville became part of the newly incorporated city of Mississauga, in 1974, she became a Mississauga city councillor. After one term as councillor, she was elected mayor of Mississauga and never looked back, retiring in 2014 from her position as leader of a city with more than 713,000 residents.

Hazel was an advocate for autonomy for her city and was always looking to the future.

This bill, too, is looking to the future. Its purpose is to prepare the city of Mississauga, the city of Brampton and the town of Caledon for the decades ahead.

Let’s look at the facts. According to Statistics Canada, at the time of the last census in 2021, Mississauga had a population of almost 720,000 people, Brampton’s population was more than 650,000 people, and Caledon had a population of just over 76,500. By 2051, Mississauga is expected to grow to 995,000 people, almost one million. And Brampton is not far behind; it is expected to be home to approximately 985,000 people. And Caledon is expected to be home to 300,000 people. Those numbers are remarkable—especially for Caledon, which is expected to almost quadruple in population. These municipalities have to be prepared to house and accommodate all these expected newcomers, and that’s less than 30 years away. That requires not only housing, but infrastructure like roads, pipes for water, waste water and stormwater, libraries, schools, hospitals, parks, fire stations, and more transit. They all need to be planned and built. These municipalities have to start getting ready now, but sometimes there are barriers that cause delays and raise the cost of building the infrastructure and homes we need. These barriers include complex land use policies, with two layers of planning authority and lengthy planning approvals for new housing. When I mentioned two layers of planning authority, that may have been unclear for those members of this House who may not have come from a municipal background. Those members may not be familiar with municipal government structures in our province.

I therefore want to give a brief overview of the three types of municipalities in Ontario, as defined by the Municipal Act, 2001. Under the Municipal Act, the three types are single-tier, upper-tier, and lower-tier. In Ontario, there are no other types of municipality. As things currently stand, the region of Peel is an upper-tier municipality and Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon are lower-tier. These four municipalities operate together in a two-tier system. The Municipal Act sets out the responsibilities and powers of each type of municipality—Peel as the upper-tier municipality and Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon as the lower-tier municipalities. Another way of looking at it is, which level of municipality delivers what services.

I want to point out for some members that the official name of a municipality may include a term such as “township,” “village,” “town,” or “city.” You’re likely familiar with terms such as “county” or “region,” often used in the names of upper-tier municipalities. However, such terms usually do not determine the legal powers and responsibilities of a municipality.

To be clear, Mississauga and Brampton may call themselves cities, but they have no more responsibilities in a two-tier system than does Caledon, which calls itself a town.

Under the Municipal Act, the roles and responsibilities for the three types of municipalities are standardized and clarified. An upper-tier municipality is usually responsible for arterial roads, policing, sewer and water systems, waste disposal, and health and social services. Lower-tier municipalities are usually responsible for services such as local roads, fire protection, recreation, and local land use planning.

I want to add that municipalities in an upper-tier/lower-tier system can work together to agree upon and change which tier is responsible for certain services and can migrate that responsibility between tiers.

Lower-tier municipalities collect taxes for their own purposes and for the associated upper tier and for school boards.

All of these municipalities—single-tier, upper-tier and lower-tier—have municipal councils.

So far, I have described the system as it works in the upper-tier/lower-tier municipal structure.

Now let’s look at single-tier municipalities. An example of a single-tier municipality is the city of Toronto. A single-tier municipality is responsible for all local services. That usually means roads, transit, policing, fire protection, sewer and water systems, garbage collection and waste disposal, land use planning, health and social services, and recreation. These municipalities collect taxes for their own purposes and for school boards. That is the status that our bill, if passed, would give the city of Mississauga, the city of Brampton and the town of Caledon. The region of Peel would no longer exist.

Speaker, calls for the dissolution of the two-tier structure among Peel, Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon have been heard for many years. The current mayors of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon are on board.

Let me quote Mayor Crombie: “This is a historic day for the people of Mississauga and for our future. I want to thank the minister and the Premier for answering our calls for an independent Mississauga. As Ontario’s third-largest city that’s home to 100,000 businesses and the province’s second-largest economy, we’re ready to stand on our own two feet and make our own decisions about the future of our city. An independent Mississauga will allow us to be more nimble when it comes to responding to the housing crisis, increase efficiencies, reduce duplication and save residents time and money.”

Brampton mayor Patrick Brown said, “We expect to work closely with the transition board to achieve a result that respects the taxpayers of Brampton, allows our city to continue its significant growth, and treats all municipalities within Peel region equitably.”

Caledon mayor Annette Groves said, “Caledon is a special place, and the town’s residents have made it clear that they want Caledon to retain its unique identity.... We will work with the province to ensure a fair transition for our town that protects our financial security and makes sure residents continue to receive the high levels of service that they need and have come to expect.... We understand that this will be a lengthy and involved process and we look forward to working productively to reach an outcome that is fair, equitable and respects the current and future capabilities of a growing Caledon.”

Speaker, all of the mayors understand our primary goal. This proposed legislation is about growth. Our government is working with our municipal partners in Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon, and across Ontario to provide the tools and autonomy required to deliver our shared commitments to the people of this great province. And we’re counting on our municipal partners to do their part by being committed to this process and finding a constructive outcome that works for everyone. That includes addressing the housing supply crisis.

The region of Peel includes some of the largest and fastest-growing municipalities in Canada—municipalities that are poised for significant growth over the next few decades. Our government is supporting this growth by cutting red tape and improving efficiency while maintaining and improving the high level of local services Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon residents rightly expect.

Speaker, I want to give some background on how we partly identified the need for this proposed legislation.

Our government created the Housing Affordability Task Force in 2021. That task force was made up of building and development industry leaders and experts to recommend additional measures the government can take to help increase the supply of market rental and ownership housing. The task force report was published in February 2020. The task force stated in their introductory letter to the report—and I’ll paraphrase: “For many years, the province has not built enough housing to meet the needs of our growing population....

“Efforts to cool the housing market have only provided temporary relief to homebuyers. The long-term trend is clear: House prices are increasing much faster than Ontarian’s incomes. The time for action is now.”

The task force also pointed out that after meeting with a variety of housing sector partners, they heard solutions that fit into five themes: (1) increasing density across the province; (2) ending exclusionary municipal rules that block or delay new housing; (3) depoliticizing the housing approval process; (4) preventing abuse of the housing appeal system; and (5) financial support to municipalities that build more housing.

As the task force pointed out, there is a bottleneck when it comes to getting shovels in the ground for new home construction. Development approvals and appropriate zoning are often delayed or hindered because of differing priorities among upper-level and lower-tier municipalities, and some projects are even abandoned. Even if the project finally gets the go-ahead, a lot of damage has been done by the delays.

The C.D. Howe Institute found that restrictions and extra costs on building new housing are dramatically increasing the price of housing development. These restrictions include delays on projects and permit approvals. These are costs that are passed down to homebuyers and renters.

Delays are contributing to an unfortunate statistic cited by the Residential Construction Council of Ontario. RESCON previously said that we were underproducing housing by 12,000 units per year here in Ontario, and RESCON is now sounding the alarm about the need to double new housing production to meet the expected demand driven by population growth in the next decade.

We clearly need to do everything we can to help ensure the unimpeded construction of homes.

Fortunately, Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon have shown that they are shovel-ready, committed to growth and committed to cutting red tape. Single-tier status in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon would help them deliver on their obligations and priorities, particularly in addressing the housing supply crisis by meeting their municipal housing pledges of 120,000 new homes for Mississauga, 113,000 new homes for Brampton and 13,000 homes for Caledon by 2031, while at the same time recognizing their unique identities and circumstances.

Speaker, the mayors of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon have also emphasized an important point: respect for the taxpayer. Our proposed legislation would enable the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to appoint a transition board for Peel region and its lower-tier municipalities. Appointing a transition board is important to help ensure that this dissolution process is designed from the outset to help ensure fairness, preservation of front-line services and workers, and respect for taxpayers, while providing some of our fastest-growing municipalities with the necessary tools to build the homes their current and future residents need. The transition board that the minister would appoint will provide advice to the province on a range of restructuring matters, including, but not limited to, service delivery, allocation of assets and liabilities, regional bylaws, labour relations and long-term financial sustainability. Additionally, the transition board would oversee the financial affairs of Peel region and its lower-tier municipalities to help ensure prudent financial stewardship as Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon prepare to become single-tier municipalities. This process will help ensure a stable and fair outcome that respects taxpayers while positioning these three municipalities for future growth. Our government’s instructions to the transition board and our intentions throughout the process would be very clear: There should be no disruptions to front-line services.

Speaker, our proposed changes, if passed by this House, would allow the city of Mississauga, the city of Brampton and the town of Caledon to become separate single-tier municipalities on January 21, 2025. The time is ripe for these large municipalities and fast-growing communities to have the tools and autonomy they need to support growth and build homes in the years to come. And I’m proud to be a member of a government that is ready to partner with them and support them and all other municipalities in Ontario as we work to help build 1.5 million new homes by 2031.

Speaker, this legislation is very close to home for me, not only as the Associate Minister of Housing, but also as the member of provincial Parliament for the riding of Mississauga–Streetsville. The late, great Hazel McCallion has been an inspiration for me for decades, and, just as she did, I see my job in politics is to help make life better for my constituents and all Ontarians. As Hazel was my constituent, we met constantly to discuss what was best for our constituents and for the people of Ontario.

Right now, housing is a major, if not the major, challenge to the quality of life facing Ontarians and the residents of Peel.

Under the leadership of Premier Ford, as Associate Minister of Housing—we’ve been working hard to make life better for Ontarians by tackling the housing supply crisis head-on. That’s why I’m so proud to support this bill. As I’ve said before, our government is working with our municipal partners to provide the tools and autonomy required to deliver on our shared commitments to the people of Ontario, including addressing the housing supply crisis. The proposed Hazel McCallion Act would do that by removing a layer of approvals in the land use planning and housing approvals process.

Speaker, I want to tell the House a little bit about the history of Peel. Peel county was created in 1852 and was originally part of the united counties of York, Peel and Ontario. Ontario county separated two years later. This left only York county and Peel county, joined and administered out of the city of Toronto. That was until growth made it advantageous for these two counties to separate in 1867. As a stand-alone county, Peel comprised the five townships of Toronto, Chinguacousy, Toronto Gore, Albion, and Caledon. These townships elected councils and were responsible for municipal roads, assessment of properties, public utilities such as water and electricity, libraries, and firefighting and policing services. The county level of government was responsible for such services and infrastructure as the jail and courthouse, county roads and bridges, a home for the aged, a health unit, and the emergency operational plan in the event of a natural disaster or war.

Population growth and industrial growth after the Second World War put great pressure on many of the county governments within Ontario. More regional co-operation was seen as a possible solution. That meant municipal restructuring again. The regional government model in Ontario was first implemented for parts of York county in 1953 with the creation of the municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. It was made up of the city of Toronto and the old townships of East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, and York, as well as several villages and towns that had been separated from the townships.

For Peel county, the regional government structure was created in 1974. By that time, the population had grown to 334,750 people. The old county of Peel was dissolved and replaced with the region of Peel as the upper-tier municipality. This new regional government had more responsibilities than the old county government. By 2015, its responsibilities included water, public health, waste management, paramedic services, long-term-care facilities, and policing.

The former five townships in the old Peel county, along with their respective towns and villages, were amalgamated into the cities of Mississauga and Brampton and the town of Caledon. As lower-tier municipalities, these two cities and town took control of local affairs such as tax collection, parks and recreation, firefighting, and libraries. The area continued to grow swiftly, and by 2014, 40 years after the creation of Peel, approximately 1.35 million people lived in the region.

As many of you know, Hazel McCallion had long advocated for Mississauga becoming its own independent city, separate from Peel region. In 2005, Mayor McCallion ran a One City, One Voice campaign to separate, which was supported by 99% of the residents. Unfortunately, the Liberal government said no.

Mississauga has grown tremendously over the years into a major economic engine for the greater Toronto area. We are now the sixth-largest city in Canada, yet we still have little control over how our tax dollars are spent. That must change.

Speaker, the characteristics that dominate the brief history of the region I’ve just spoken about are its fast growth and the continually evolving municipal structures needed to address the massive need for housing created by this growth. Today, growth is once again putting pressures on how the area is run. Bold change is required to address the current housing supply crisis.

As someone who has raised a family in Mississauga–Streetsville, I know very well that housing is a challenge for many in the Peel area, as it is for many households right across this province. According to Peel region officials, the average-income family would have to save for over 30 years for a down payment at today’s home prices if they wanted an affordable monthly mortgage.

Our government recognizes these pressures and has identified the proposed new single-tier structure for Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon as part of the solution to help meet housing demand, while maintaining and improving the high level of local services residents rightly expect.

Speaker, let’s be clear. Single-tier status can help these municipalities address their housing supply issues and help them meet their municipal housing pledges. But this is not all our government has done to support the building of more homes across Ontario.

We have introduced a range of bold and transformative measures over the past several years to increase housing supply. We can see their growing and positive impact. For example, in the last two years, housing starts in Ontario have reached a level not seen in more than 30 years. Just last year, rental housing starts reached an all-time high.

These positive trends are the result of the policies our government has championed. We will make sure those positive trends continue. We’ve committed to updating and revising our housing supply action plans every year so we can continue to make progress toward our goal of 1.5 million new homes by 2031.

Our government’s proposed Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act and related measures support increasing density and building more homes in existing communities, while making sure that enough land is available for the many new homes and jobs our province needs. We’re making life easier for renters, while supporting landlords, and are committed to helping first-time homebuyers. From young people and newcomers to families and seniors, our government is helping people from all walks of life find housing.

But we cannot do this alone. We’re counting on support from municipal governments—such as Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon—to partner with us to increase housing in communities across this province. That’s why I’m pleased to see that these municipalities have signed on to the municipal housing pledges. Early this year, the city of Mississauga pledged to do its part to tackle our housing supply crisis by meeting its target of 120,000 new homes by 2031. In March, Brampton city council endorsed their municipal housing pledge to help deliver 113,000 homes by 2031. And in February, the town of Caledon council endorsed a municipal housing pledge to deliver on its target of 13,000 new homes by 2031. This is the type of commitment and partnership that Ontarians are depending on. And the support our government has received since introducing our latest housing supply action plan—Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants—shows we are heading in the right direction.

The Ontario Real Estate Association commended our government on supporting prospective homeowners, renters and rental housing providers, while also adopting a targeted approach to deliver on our goal to build a million and a half homes by 2031.

And the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing recently had the chance to speak about aspects of the plan with representatives at the Ontario Small Urban Municipalities association and the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, together with the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities. Our government received positive feedback at all of these meetings.

Speaker, I want to impress upon the members of this House that our government’s goal to create a million and a half homes by 2031 includes rental homes. This is important in municipalities such as Mississauga and Brampton with many renters.

To support renters, we continue to call on the federal government to defer the harmonized sales tax on all large-scale, purpose-built rental housing projects. This measure would help spur the construction of more rental housing units while helping to create jobs, encourage economic development, and support growth.

I want to remind the members of this House that our housing supply action plans build on each other. For example, in the fall of last year, More Homes Built Faster introduced changes to help home builders to replace older rental apartments with larger, more modern rental buildings. Our intent is to help increase the supply of purpose-built rental units in Ontario while helping to ensure existing tenants are also protected. And the proposals in our government’s latest housing supply action plan would do exactly that. Currently, municipalities have the option to establish bylaws which regulate what developers can do when demolishing or converting these buildings, such as requiring that existing units be replaced.

And I’m glad to see that Mississauga already does have a rental protection bylaw. That bylaw applies to residential rental buildings in that city with six or more dwelling units. And for those municipalities like Mississauga that do have these bylaws, our proposed Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act would give the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing the authority, if used, to make regulations governing municipal rental replacement bylaws. For example, they could require that replacement units have the same core features as the original units, and by “core features,” we mean—an example would be the number of bedrooms in the unit. Regulations could also require that displaced tenants are given compensation and have the right to move into the new replacement units at similar rent. This approach would ensure that if tenants move out of a two-bedroom apartment, they can then move back into a two-bedroom apartment, and that if they move out of the apartment paying a certain rent, they will have the option to pay a similar rent if they move back in. The big difference, of course, is they will have access to a more modern apartment—which we should all be able to agree is a critical part of protecting tenants.

A key aspect of our government’s Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants plan is speeding up planning approvals. We are proposing to integrate the provincial policy statement and A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe into a single provincial planning statement. This would simplify existing policies and refocus them on achieving housing outcomes while providing specific direction to large and fast-growing municipalities like Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon on increasing their housing supply. In addition, it would ensure that appropriate planning policies are in place to support growth throughout the province and respond to market needs, while recognizing that one size does not fit all.

In our proposed provincial planning statement, all municipalities would be required to provide a range and mix of housing options.

And we propose to enable greater flexibility to build homes in rural areas such as in parts of Caledon, all while minimizing impacts on agriculture.

We also want the 29 large and fast-growing municipalities, like Mississauga and Brampton, to be required to plan for growth in major transit station areas and other strategic growth areas; for example, downtowns. Ensuring adequate density in these areas is all part of our plan in addressing Ontario’s transit needs with a comprehensive approach that also focuses on housing.

At the same time, as we encourage growth, we know we need to protect our resources.

Under our proposed provincial planning statement, municipalities would be required to designate prime agricultural and specialty crop areas to support our growing agri-food network.

We would also encourage municipalities to adopt a watershed planning approach to protect water resources while facilitating more new home construction.

Similarly, access to aggregate resources close to market would be protected. Stone, sand and gravel are essential to building and growing our communities. We therefore propose to create consistent requirements for aggregate extraction to ensure fairness between expansions and new applications.

As part of More Homes for Everyone, we made changes to the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act to require municipalities to gradually refund fees for zoning bylaw applications and site plan applications in certain cases, like in cases where the municipalities failed to decide within a specified time. In the spirit of collaboration, we did listen to municipal feedback, and we have postponed the start date from January 1 to July 1 of this year to give municipalities time to adjust.

Municipal representatives have also told us they need to be able to address the type of concerns that may come up in a site plan review of some smaller projects—for example, smaller projects like housing near train tracks—so we’re proposing to allow municipalities to use site plan control for residential projects with 10 or fewer units in specific circumstances.

Speaker, it’s always an honour to talk about our government’s housing supply action plans and our strong record on getting more housing built to bring the dream of home ownership closer to everyday Ontarians.

I do call upon the members of this House on all sides to join our government in supporting our municipal partners to get more housing built in their communities.

The proposed Hazel McCallion Act would help municipalities like Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon work more efficiently and effectively. It would enhance their ability to meet their municipal housing targets by 2031 and help us tackle Ontario’s housing supply crisis, and it would get us closer to our goal of helping build that 1.5 million homes.

I want to thank everyone for listening intently today.

And I want to let everyone know that in the past few weeks, in my role as the Associate Minister of Housing, meeting with many, many different areas in this province, talking to housing providers, municipalities and all of those who desperately need housing—it has been an honour to see that the work we are doing is really making huge advances right on the ground.

I would now like to open the floor to the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Thank you to the Associate Minister of Housing for her great work in her relatively new role, as well. I was able to host the minister in my riding of Perth–Wellington during the break week last week, and I know we had a very fulsome day seeing some of the very innovative solutions to the housing crisis we currently face in Ontario from my rural riding’s perspective. So I just want to thank the minister for all the tireless work she does.

Speaker, it’s my privilege to speak on the details of our government’s proposed Hazel McCallion Act. As the Associate Minister of Housing said, this bill is about supporting housing, moving to greater efficiencies, and preparing Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon for growth in the years ahead, all while respecting the taxpayer and ensuring the continued delivery of high-quality services to the residents of these municipalities.

To set the stage for my remarks, I’d like to highlight the principles behind the proposed dissolution of Peel region and the creation of three single-tier municipalities. I think these principles make clear what our government wants to achieve and hopes for the future of this thriving region.

(1) We respect and support the effective administration of local government.

(2) We continue to recognize that municipalities should be empowered with the tools needed to plan for population growth, including the tools needed to build more housing options, and, importantly, they should work together fairly and in good partnership with neighbouring municipalities.

(3) We understand that safe communities and the delivery of effective front-line services are key pillars for local government, including preserving front-line workers.

(4) We appreciate the importance of value-for-money and high-quality services, delivered in an efficient manner for taxpayers—because, Speaker, as you know, there is only one taxpayer in the province of Ontario.

(5) We acknowledge that, particularly where there are shared assets and services, municipalities should be treated in an equitable and fair manner whereby all residents, regardless of where they live, are respected and have access to excellent services.

Speaker, we think our bill reflects these principles and includes elements to help achieve our objectives; namely, the dissolution of the region of Peel and the creation of three independent, thriving, single-tier municipalities: Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon. The process to accomplish this, if our legislation is passed, would help ensure fairness and the preservation of front-line services and workers, all while providing some of our fastest-growing municipalities with the necessary tools to build the homes their current and future residents need.

Our proposed changes would help these three future single-tier municipalities deliver on their obligations and priorities. It would help them meet their housing pledges—and I’m pleased to share with this place that all three municipalities in the region of Peel have committed to their housing pledges, under the leadership of the Premier. In Mississauga, in particular, they’ve pledged to build 120,000 new units; in Brampton, they’ve pledged to build 113,000 new housing units; and in the town of Caledon, they’ve pledged to build 13,000 new housing units by 2031. These are important steps to address our housing supply crisis that all communities in Ontario face, while at the same time we’re recognizing their unique identities and circumstances.

Speaker, I’d like to point out to the members in this place the two-step process we are proposing to undertake. The bill before you would begin the process of dissolving the region of Peel and establish Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon as single-tier municipalities. Should the proposed Hazel McCallion Act pass, we intend to bring a second bill before this House to complete the dissolution process and bring the proposed changes into effect on January 1, 2025. Our government will be taking the time to get things right.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing would appoint up to five members, or a number prescribed by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to the transition board to help facilitate this change in local government. This transition board would have individuals with a mix of expertise and experience in areas such as municipal operations, finance, service delivery, housing, and labour relations. This board can be appointed only if this proposed legislation before this place is passed. If this legislation is passed, the minister would make the appointments as quickly as possible so that the transition board can get started on their important work and help bring certainty to the region of Peel, its three lower-tier municipalities, their employees and all of its residents. The board would be disbanded at the end of January 2025, or a date prescribed by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

And as with past practices used in municipal restructuring in Ontario, the cost of the transition board would be the responsibility of all four municipalities involved: the region of Peel, Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon. These costs will be allocated in a fair and transparent way among the four municipalities involved.

The board would have two primary responsibilities. First, it would provide advice to the province on a range of restructuring matters, including service delivery, allocation of assets and liabilities, labour relations, and long-term financial stability, among others. Second, the board would oversee the financial affairs of Peel and its lower-tier municipalities to help ensure prudent fiscal stewardship. This process would help ensure a stable and fair outcome and respect taxpayers while positioning Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon for future growth.

I also want to point out that the board’s work would touch on a range of sensitive matters, including labour relations and contractual obligations in respect of municipalities. As such, our government does not intend to make the board’s findings public. However, the board would work closely with all parties as it works through the transition process.

Once the transition board is in place, their recommendations to the government would be due next year. This is to provide the board members with adequate time to work with the four municipalities and provide expert advice to our government on a range of complex matters. The transition board’s recommendations would inform subsequent legislation. If passed, it would address any outstanding restructuring matters to ensure an orderly transition on January 21, 2025. This transitional board would work closely with Peel, Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon to ensure the public interest is protected throughout the entire process in local governance structure and local services people rely on every day.

Speaker, I want to impress upon this House that, if the proposed legislation is passed, the instructions to the board and our government’s intention throughout the process are very clear: There should be no disruption to front-line services.

What our government also wants to make clear is that if the proposed legislation is passed, Peel region would still continue to exist until January 1, 2025.

And our government wishes to reassure the 1.5 million residents of Peel region that, as it stands today, there is no change to the role that municipal councils and staff play in making decisions and delivering services to them.

Once the transition board is appointed, it would work with Peel, Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon on a transition plan, including any changes to the decision-making process that lead up to the proposed dissolution date of January 1, 2025. As I said earlier, the board would be tasked to ensure sound decision-making processes. It would also be empowered to give directions with respect to certain municipal decisions to help ensure fairness to all three municipalities during the dissolution process.

Speaker, I’d like to address some questions that we’ve heard about the boundary adjustments for the three current lower-tier municipalities. On behalf of the government, I can state in this House that there is no plan or intention to alter the municipal boundaries of the city of Mississauga, the city of Brampton or the town of Caledon as part of the dissolution of the region of Peel.

I also want to address questions about the financial impacts of the proposed legislation on Peel residents if it is passed.

Part of the transition board’s work would be to bring to light the full financial impacts of this change. Our government is looking forward to that full and detailed analysis, and we are committed to supporting a fair and equitable outcome for taxpayers no matter where they live in Peel. As I mentioned earlier, there is only one taxpayer in Ontario.

Again, I’ll repeat: There should be no disruption to municipal services local residents rely on at any time throughout the transition process.

I mentioned them already at length, but let’s look at those services that are currently provided in the region of Peel, which is responsible for providing shared services between the city of Mississauga, the city of Brampton, and the town of Caledon. These services include such things as public health, garbage, waste and water services, paramedics, and social housing. Protecting those services for the residents of Peel is a top priority of our government if our legislation is passed. And we would expect Peel and the lower-tier municipalities to put the public interest first and foremost and ensure front-line services are protected and service levels are maintained for all residents of the region.

The transition board would also be considering service delivery, among other things, in its analysis and recommendations. The proposed timeline for dissolution has been set for January 1, 2025, to allow the transition board and the four municipalities enough time to work through these complex issues and ensure the services that Peel residents rely on are protected.

Speaker, in addition to services, there is also the question of how regional assets and revenues would be divided among Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. It’s a significant question. The proposed dissolution of Peel, with nearly 1.5 million residents and more than 9,000 employees, needs to be done in a prudent manner.

For example, according to Peel’s 2021 Financial Information Return, the net book value of the region of Peel’s infrastructure, which is primarily made up of water, waste water and roads, was close to $11 billion. There are shared assets and revenues, of course, and municipalities must be and would be treated in an equitable and fair manner whereby all residents—again, regardless of where they live in Peel—are respected.

That’s why we have proposed enough time before the dissolution on January 1, 2025, to give municipalities and the transition board time to analyze and resolve the complex matters, including allocation of assets and liabilities, contractual obligations, services, governance, and employee relations.

Full consideration must also be given to the impacts on municipal labour processes and staffing if the proposed Hazel McCallion Act is passed. Our government respects and values the contributions of Peel region staff, and we recognize that this restructuring would be a significant change. We would expect the region to put in place measures to protect front-line services and ensure there are no service disruptions. Our goal is to protect services, respect taxpayers, and ensure that local governments continue to deliver throughout the transition process.

Our government is committed to putting into place a fair process through the transition board to help ensure employment matters are addressed in an equitable way. And where possible, we expect the transition board to bring forward solutions that use the existing expertise in the region to meet the growing needs of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon.

Speaker, our government appreciates that this is a complex task we are proposing. And we are confident that we can accomplish a smooth transition in 18 months. Our proposed legislation, if passed, includes the time and expertise required to facilitate a structured and orderly transition. In addition, our government intends to bring forward subsequent legislation, informed by the transition board’s recommendations, which would provide a further opportunity to ensure that the transition proceeds in a timely and effective way that supports local implementation by January 1, 2025.

And I will repeat for the record: Our government expects Peel, Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon to put the public interest first and foremost and ensure that front-line services are protected and that the service levels are maintained for residents. However, if there are ongoing issues, the Hazel McCallion Act, if passed, would also provide the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing with the authority to make orders with respect to certain municipal decisions if necessary.

I’m proud to be part of a government that does not shy away from taking on tough work or hard questions.

Much of the media attention has been focused on Mississauga and Brampton, but our government is fully aware of all of the lower-tier municipalities in the region of Peel.

We know the town of Caledon has its own challenges unique from those of Mississauga and Brampton. Caledon has the potential for massive growth over the coming years. We want to ensure that this transition supports that. The transition board would, if our proposed legislation is passed, advise our government on important considerations like financial stability and infrastructure issues like servicing to help address Caledon’s needs. We are prepared to carefully consider the transition board’s best advice related to Caledon. If the proposed Hazel McCallion Act is passed, we would receive that advice next year.

Speaker, before I conclude, I would like to address some other questions and speculation that have appeared in the media.

As many in this House are aware, on May 4, 2023, our government launched the process to procure third parties to audit the finances of six selected municipalities. Along with Toronto, our government is seeking participation from the regions of Peel, Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon and Newmarket in the audit. As an aside, some of the municipalities have already confirmed their participation. We intend to use these audits to reach a shared understanding of any potential or perceived impacts of our government’s More Homes Built Faster Act as regards to changes to the development-related fees and charges. Once the procurement process is complete, the third parties would conduct the audits later this year. The findings of these audits could be used to help inform Peel’s restructuring process.

Another question that has come up across certain areas of the province is the regional facilitators which we intend to announce for the regions of Durham, Halton, Niagara, Waterloo, and York, and the county of Simcoe. To be clear, there will be no regional facilitator appointed for the region of Peel. We are taking swift action with the proposed Hazel McCallion Act, and, if passed, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing would appoint a transition board to work with Peel, Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. Our government will, however, continue with our commitment to appoint facilitators to assess two-tier governments, again, in the regions of Durham, Halton, Waterloo, York, and the county of Simcoe. Details on these appointments are under development, and our government will have more to share on that in the coming weeks.

Speaker, the proposed Hazel McCallion Act is a historic piece of legislation. Nothing less would honour her memory, as the Associate Minister of Housing alluded to in her remarks on the great legacy that Hazel McCallion left in this province and how she influenced the minister herself in her public life, but also many people in this place on all sides of the aisle. This really does honour Her Worship McCallion’s memory to the fullest extent, I believe. Our government’s intent is to help the people of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon prepare for their futures as thriving and successful communities—as Hazel McCallion built Mississauga into such a thriving city. Just as with all communities across Ontario, our government is ready and able to help them not only continue to be the best places to live, to work and to raise a family; we’re there to help make them even better.

With this transition board and with this proposed legislation, if passed, it will help ensure, as the Associate Minister of Housing mentioned, we reduce duplication and ensure we get more homes built faster, achieving that goal of 1.5 million homes by 2031.

As I mentioned in my remarks, it takes bold action to meet those commitments. I know we have laid that out in this piece of legislation, ensuring that we are going to get it right, ensuring that we are maintaining the services the residents of Peel should expect of all levels of government—those services that they depend on, ensuring that there is a seamless transition. This piece of legislation does that to great effect and lays out that process—the first step of a minimum of two. But as I alluded to in my remarks, the minister has the ability, if this legislation is passed, to adjust as needed to ensure that we have a fair transition for all single-tier municipalities in the region of Peel.

I know we are very aware that we want to ensure that we set up the town of Caledon for success in the future, to ensure that they can seize the day and really benefit from the growth they are experiencing, and to ensure that the city of Brampton and the city of Mississauga continue to be places that thousands of people across Canada and Ontario call home, and also to ensure that the thousands of new Canadians coming to our country every year can continue to rely on the city of Brampton and the city of Mississauga to call those places home. Our government believes this legislation will ensure that those communities continue to thrive in that aspect and that they continue to share the prosperity they have experienced over the years.

The proposed transition board really will focus on the expertise I listed in my remarks, around labour relations, service delivery, and waste water infrastructure, ensuring that their expertise is at that board, working with those lower-tier municipalities, ensuring that a smooth transition occurs in that process and that we see a great outcome of this. I know it has been asked for, for many years, it seems, as the associate minister alluded to in her remarks—that in the dissolution of Peel region, we ensure that we give Mississauga, Brampton and the town of Caledon the support they need and deserve for the future and the growth that Ontario has seen. This is just one of many.

As I mentioned, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing will be announcing the regional facilitators for the other regions of Durham, Niagara, York, Waterloo, the county of Simcoe and Halton in the coming weeks, and I know we look forward to seeing those findings.

All of these pieces of legislation that the Minister of Municipal Affairs brings forward are really about getting more homes built across Ontario and ensuring that, as I mentioned in my remarks, all our communities—whether it’s in the region of Peel, whether it’s in my riding of Perth–Wellington, or whether it’s up north in Thunder Bay, or anywhere else in Ontario—remain a great place to work, live and raise a family.

This piece of legislation will continue to build on those past successes that our government has brought forward, and I hope all members of this place would consider supporting it. It really is a testament to Hazel McCallion and her legacy to name this piece of legislation after her. If she was still with us, she would probably find it a great honour that this is named after her, building upon her successes as the mayor of the city of Mississauga.

We’re ready to help them become even better—the city of Mississauga, the city of Brampton, and the town of Caledon. We are ready to help them achieve their best and their brightest.

It’s an honour to rise this afternoon to speak in support of Bill 112, the Hazel McCallion Act (Peel Dissolution), introduced by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. I’d like to thank him and his team, including the associate minister from Mississauga–Streetsville and the parliamentary assistant from Perth–Wellington, for moving forward with this bill which, if passed, would begin the process of dissolving the region of Peel and make Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon into independent, single-tier municipalities. As the minister said, this will reduce waste and duplication, make our local government more efficient and help save taxpayers time and money. This is the right-of-centre approach to governing that I know Mayor Crombie supports.

The process would be fair for all three municipalities, and it will ensure that front-line services, including police, paramedics, public health, housing, water and waste water and all other important local services will not be affected. As the minister said, if Bill 112 is passed, protecting these services will be a top priority for our government. But most importantly, Bill 112 will give our local governments the tools they need to deliver on their commitments to build the homes we need for our growing population, including 120,000 homes in Mississauga, 113,000 homes in Brampton and 13,000 homes in Caledon.

As the minister said, the name of this bill is another great tribute to the incredible legacy of Hazel McCallion, who served as our mayor for 36 years, helping to guide Mississauga, as the minister said, from a partly rural community of 281,000 people in 1978 into one of the largest cities in Canada with over 713,000 people when she retired in 2014. Speaker, that is an average growth of 12,000 people, or about 4,000 families, every year for 36 years.

I’ve been able to speak many times here about my friend and mentor, about how she’s been an inspiration to me and about the impact she had on every part of life in the city. To give just one example, this Sunday, we’re looking forward to the annual Hazel McCallion Walk for Health along the waterfront trail in Port Credit. Last year, this event raised over $500,000 to help build the new Mississauga Hospital, which will be the largest and most advanced hospital in Canadian history, and I know we’ll be raising even more this year. Mayor McCallion was a great champion for this project, and being able to announce it with her and with the Premier was my proudest moment as an MPP.

Hazel was also a long-time supporter of independence for Mississauga. I had the privilege to serve on the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, and 18 years ago, in May 2005, this committee met in Brampton and Mayor McCallion was one of the presenters. She spoke about overlap and duplications between the city and the region in many different areas. This begins on the council itself. Many residents don’t know this, but Mississauga councillors earn at least two different salaries: $95,000 at the city and $70,000 at the region. And I hope that the transition board will take a look at this. But 18 years ago, Mayor Hazel McCallion spoke about organizing a Khalsa Day parade, and about how she had to meet many times with regional staff because the parade was going on regional roads and with city staff because the parade was going on city roads. Hazel said, “What a waste of time.”

The same is true in the planning department. As the minister said, complex land-use policy with duplications and overlaps between the two levels of planning authority—the city’s planning department and the region’s planning department, each with their own priorities—has delayed the approvals for new housing needed in Mississauga and across the region. As the minister said, these delays are added costs to new housing, which are passed on to the home buyers and renters. According to the Altus Group, each month of delay adds about $2,600 to the cost of an 800-square-foot apartment and double that for a single family home.

Last year we passed Bill 39, the Better Municipal Governance Act, which extends strong-mayor powers, beginning with Toronto and Ottawa, to give mayors new tools to build the housing supply we need. But as Mayor Hazel McCallion said 18 years ago at the committee, mayors of single-tier cities like Barrie, Windsor and London had more authority than she had as mayor of the third-largest city in Ontario, or the sixth-largest city in Canada. The only way forward towards a stronger mayor in Peel region is to allow Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon to become single-tier cities.

But Speaker, at this point, I need to reiterate a point that the minister made: By themselves, Bill 39 and Bill 112 are not enough. We’re counting on all levels of government, including the municipal partners, to do their part to fix the housing supply, and yes, that includes transit-oriented developments and includes towers along transit routes like the new Hazel McCallion LRT on Hurontario.

Mississauga is Ontario’s third-largest city, but over the last 10 years, the city built an average of only 2,100 new homes each year, far below the 12,000 that we need. In the past few months alone, the city rejected applications for two residential towers with over 1,100 units, right next door to the Port Credit GO station, a major inter-regional transit hub that will connect to the Hazel McCallion LRT and bus rapid transit on Lakeshore. Less than 500 metres south, they rejected an application to develop the old funeral home in Port Credit into an 11-storey, 42-unit condo building because the city height limit was just three storeys—again, right next door to a major transit hub. Our councillor said the funeral home “is very much a part of what” we want and “what we’ve come to know and like about Port Credit.” He’s talking about a funeral home.

Earlier this month, the city rejected a proposal to build nine towers and townhouses, a total of 4,700 units, on vacant land right next to the future Hurontario LRT station because of the concerns about shadows on single-family homes.

I could go on with many other examples. When the minister granted an MZO earlier this month for more housing in Lakeview Village, some at the city were outraged. Rob Trewartha, the mayor’s former chief of staff, tweeted that “13 years of work by council” was “erased with the stroke of a pen.” But 13 years of planning work by two layers of bureaucrats at the city and the region without a single shovel in the ground while housing costs in Mississauga increased by 200% is not something to be proud of.

Speaker, earlier this year, we passed Bill 71 because we recognized it shouldn’t take 15 years to get a mining permit in Ontario. It shouldn’t take 15 years to get approvals for new homes, especially in a housing supply crisis. Earlier, I mentioned that under the leadership of Mayor Hazel McCallion, Mississauga grew by 12,000 people, or about 4,000 families, each year for 36 years. But the numbers since she retired in 2014 are very different. For the first time in Mississauga’s history, the city’s population actually declined, from the 2016 census to the 2021 census from 722,000 to 718,000. That’s a loss of about half a per cent of our population over five years. So while Mississauga grew by 12,000 people each year under Mayor McCallion, we lost almost 1,000 people each year under Crombie. Speaker, that can’t continue. In order to grow by 995,000 people by 2051, as the minister said, Mississauga needs to add at least 9,000 people each year for the next 30 years, which is actually less than our growth rate under Mayor Hazel McCallion.

With Bill 112, we’re granting the city’s request for independence, only with the expectation that they will approve and build homes they agree to—at least 120,000 new homes over 10 years, or 1,000 new homes every month. The mayor suggests that the city is on track, but her chief building officer told me recently that the city would have trouble meeting this target. A recent analysis by professor Mike Moffatt at Western University in London, who tracks the progress of each city towards their housing targets, ranks Mississauga only 27th out of 29 cities. Speaker, 15 months into the 10-year pledge, only 2,000 new homes have been completed in Mississauga—only 13% of the 15,000 we need. And yet when the minister approved an MZO in Lakeview Village, the mayor and councillors asked residents to call my office and complain.

Speaker, I actually did get a few calls and emails. I would like to read one now that I just received:

“Hello, Rudy. I’m reaching out to you with hope that our voices will be heard, and other actions will be taken by the government to make housing more affordable.

“Me and my husband (both 30 years old) are both working professionals. I’m a professional engineer and my husband is a technician. We came to Canada as students (10 years ago) and since we graduated in 2016, we have been working continuously trying to save money for the down payment so we can buy a house, where we can live (with) our baby.

“But it has been almost impossible to buy anything in the GTA, and we have lost all hope. Even with good incomes, we are not able to save because of high rent: 35% of our income goes to just the rent! This is crazy and so” unbelievable “for young families like us.

“We have friends who have already moved out of Mississauga, and went as far as moving outside of Ontario or moving to the US.

“We have decided to leave Ontario next year in the spring to purchase affordable housing. And I wanted to let the government know that they will lose out on many talented and skilled people very soon if no actions are taken.”

I’ve received many more like this—not just from young Ontarians. Last week, a senior called my office. She didn’t complain about the building height or the shadows or impact studies. She didn’t complain about the province throwing out 13 years of planning work. She didn’t say the Skinner and Middlebrook Funeral Home is what she loves about Port Credit. She was upset because her only daughter, a nurse, is planning to move to Alberta—and not because of Bill 124. She’s planning to move to Alberta because the cost of a home in Calgary is less than half of it here in Mississauga. In part, that’s because the city’s development fees add about $126,000 to the cost of a single-family home, and that’s $1,000 added to the average homebuyer’s mortgage payment over the next 20 years. That’s why last year we passed Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, to freeze, reduce or exempt some of these fees to support new construction.

Speaker, we disagree on many things here, but I think it’s clear to all members that the status quo on housing isn’t working.

I listened to one of the city’s meetings on Bill 23, and I was shocked to hear a member of the Mississauga planning and building department question whether Ontario really has a housing crisis and question whether 120,000 new homes are needed in Mississauga. One of the residents, Jonathan Giggs, said that he did not think he ever would hear something like that coming from a city planner.

Speaker, as I said, we’re moving forward with Bill 112, granting the city’s request for independence, with the expectation that they will work together, in good faith, towards meeting their target of at least 120,000 homes over the next 10 years. As well, we expect that they will work together with their transition board to protect the public interest throughout this process, as section 5 of Bill 112 requests.

As Mayor Hazel McCallion reminded us in one of her final letters, back in January, which supported Bill 39 and our recent changes to the greenbelt, acting in the best interest of the people isn’t always popular. She wrote: “To meet our current challenges, we need to allow more homes to be built where it makes sense and where there’s existing services, infrastructure and transit. And I hope that the mayor and council will consider this.”

As the minister said, the transition board would be appointed quickly, including experts with a wide range of experience in municipal government, finance and operations, labour and service delivery, and, of course, housing. The board will provide advice on all of these issues, and it will help ensure fair outcomes and respect for taxpayers in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon.

As the parliamentary assistant said, the region of Peel’s infrastructure has a net book value of $11 billion. As the region is dissolved, the board will help to ensure that these shared assets and revenues will be treated fairly for all three municipalities, and it will help to ensure there is no disruption to front-line services and workers. In fact, I expect this process will actually improve front-line services. As the minister said, the board will rely on the results of the third-party audits that were announced earlier this month. If the audit finds duplication and overlap—and I expect they will—in, for example, back-office supports at the city and the region, the board may recommend that this funding would be better used to expand front-line services to support growth. At the same time, we expect that the experienced region of Peel employees can help to meet the growing needs of the cities of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon.

The board’s recommendations, which will be due next year, will help the government to move forward with another bill to ensure the transition can proceed by January 2025.

In closing, I want to thank the minister and his team for all the work they’re doing to help position Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon for future growth and to help ensure that everyone in Ontario can realize the dream of home ownership, with access to safe and affordable housing that meets their needs in the communities they want to live in.

Again, I urge all members to support this bill. I know today Hazel McCallion is looking over us and listening and supporting this bill, Bill 112. So I hope all of you will support it for her, as well.

I want to thank the member for that question.

As the member alluded to, we are going to be putting in a transition team as soon as this bill does pass—and I hope it will pass.

We had the three mayors here last week. We had the mayor from Caledon, the mayor from Brampton and the mayor from Mississauga, as well as the regional council here in support of this bill. So, together, we will do what the people of our municipalities would like.

I want to thank the member from Barrie–Innisfil for that question.

Yes, it is difficult now to buy a home in the city of Mississauga. My family immigrated to the city of Mississauga—at the time, it was Port Credit, and then it ended up becoming the city of Mississauga in 1974. My parents paid $15,000 for their home, and today, that same home is worth $1.7 million. Young families cannot afford that. That’s why we have to build more supply.

Supply and demand has always been my thing. I come out of the automotive industry, and we always talk about supply and demand. The more supply you have, the prices do come down.

For young families, I know there’s hope for them as we’re building supply in the city of Mississauga for them to hit our goal of 120,000 homes that we do need in the city of Mississauga for them.

In 1974, we had Port Credit, we had Cooksville, we had Huron Park, and we made it the city of Mississauga, under the region of Peel. Today we are going alone without the region of Peel. It’s like a parent with their children—it’s time for the child to move on, and Mississauga is a grown adult so they have to be on their own—

I think we chose Peel because we looked at the three municipalities therein, Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon—that they would be able to go on their own and be able to sustain what we have right now, with all the services that we have. It’s not going to be easy. That’s why we need three mayors who will be there working constantly to do this. I hope all three mayors will work together and be able to deliver this, and I think they will. But it’s going to take time. I know January 2025 will be the time when all cities will be on their own. I just recommend that they work together and be able to separate and do the right thing for the people of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon.

Like I said, we have the transition team that will be set up after this bill is passed, if it is passed in the House.

I’ve consulted with my constituents, as well, in Mississauga on this bill, and a high percentage of them are in favour of Mississauga going alone.

As well, I spoke to people in Brampton and Caledon, and having their own city is what they want.

It’s not going to be easy. I’m not saying it will be easy, because there is a transition. But like we said, we guaranteed that the services will remain until 2025 and then every city will be going on their own.

Like I said, I spoke to constituents, and they are happy about this move going forward.

Housing has been an issue in Mississauga. Like I said, if you notice the numbers, when Hazel was there, she was building 12,000 homes a year, and now it has declined since she left office in 2014. We need homes. We need homes for our children, for the future and all these immigrants who are coming to the province of Ontario. We have 450,000 people arriving at our door every year, and these people are going to need homes.

In my speech, I was reading about a family who is leaving Ontario because they cannot find an affordable home in this province.

I look at our own development in Lakeview, where we just did our MZO—that 16,000 new homes will be built in that area. Out of those 16,000 homes, 1,600 will be affordable and attainable homes for the people. I want to thank our minister for putting that bill forward, as well, to pass an MZO for that community—

Thank you, Speaker. It’s nice to see you in the chair this afternoon.

Thank you to my colleague from Mississauga–Lakeshore for his remarks. I was just wondering if he could expand a little on some components I raised in my remarks—and he alluded to it in his previous answer. Our government is taking the tough but necessary decisions to get more housing built, and I would classify this bill as one of those options. So I was wondering if he could expand, being a member from Mississauga, on how this will help.

To the member from Mississauga–Lakeshore: Thank you for your presentation.

I mentioned that in 1998, then-Premier Mike Harris forced six municipalities and the city of Toronto—which included Scarborough, York, Etobicoke, East York and North York—into an amalgamated city. This city is now three million people in size, with almost $400 billion of GDP. When I compare that to what Mississauga is—it’s about 800,000 people, I believe, by 2019 numbers, and about $97 billion in GDP. I also recognize that we were not necessarily consulted, and neither were any of those five other municipalities, when the amalgamation happened.

Because dissolution was not sought by Brampton or Caledon, how can your government ensure that this dissolution will benefit all three local municipalities?