Nine months after vowing major municipal reforms, Premier Doug Ford’s government is abandoning its “top-down approach” to regional government.Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark announced the Tories’ latest climbdown on Friday saying Queen’s Park will instead give Ontario’s 444 municipalities $143 million to find efficiencies and improve services.“Municipalities are the level of government closest to the people, but every community is different — one size doesn’t fit all,” said Clark.“This investment in communities will support municipal transformation efforts to make sure they are delivering efficient, effective and modern services that best meet the unique needs of their residents,” he said.“We are committed to helping and empowering municipalities to become more efficient and effective, so they can make every dollar count.”In January, the Tories appointed Michael Fenn, a former deputy minister and one-time chief executive of Metrolinx, and Ken Seiling, the retired chair of Waterloo Region, to advise on reforming regional governments.That sparked fears that Queen’s Park would amalgamate Brampton with Caledon and allow Mississauga to secede from Peel Region.“I was very pleased when I heard the news from Minister Clark last night,” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown told the Star on Friday.“Part of the impressive legacy of former Premier Bill Davis was regional government which would allow municipalities to pool resources for services like police and waste management,” said Brown.“We conducted two financial assessments on how disbanding the region would effect taxpayers. Both our Deloitte and EY Canada reports said the continuation of the region was in the best interests of the taxpayers of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. I am glad the government put taxpayers first.”Clark said the government is sticking with the status quo after Fenn and ...
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