Why Caledon's mayor says it feels like the child of divorce amid Peel's breakup
CBC
Peel Region is splitting up by 2025, but for the town of Caledon, the separation isn't something it wanted to see.
On Thursday, Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark tabled legislation to begin the dissolution of the region, making Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon standalone cities by the beginning of 2025.
Caledon, by far the smallest member of the Peel family with a population of under 77,000 as of the 2021 census, has always maintained the Peel Region system was serving it well.
Caledon Mayor Annette Groves likened the situation to a divorce at a news conference Thursday.
"We know that now there is a divorce happening, and now we just have to figure out how we ensure that the children are not impacted," said Groves.
"It isn't something that we wanted, but at the end of the day, we're here with this decision today and I think we just have to work with it and do the best we can."
Clark says he will ensure all municipalities, which currently share considerable infrastructure and several services, are "made whole" amid the dissolution. But for Caledon leadership and residents, questions remain what the process and result will look like.
The province's next step is to appoint a transition board to monitor any financial or contractual moves made by local governments in the years leading up to dissolution and make recommendations on things like labour relations and property tax changes.
Clark has said it's possible the three municipalities might still share some services following dissolution.
Groves says many questions remain including what becomes of water, wastewater and road maintenance in Caledon, but that working through those questions is the transition board's purpose.
The mayor says she's hopeful some services, such as water, will continue to be shared.
"I think the opportunities are there to share utilities," Groves said.
Longtime Caledon resident and community advocate Cheryl Connors says she's worried how her small community will pay for anything it will need going forward.
While the split has been advocated for by successive Mississauga mayors for years, Connors says it doesn't make sense to leave Caledon on its own because it doesn't have as many resources as the two larger municipalities.