Mississauga wants to either pay less for Peel Regional Police or it wants to be allowed to set up its own police force as part of its push for a more equitable tax structure in Peel Region.
The policing request is just one of several detailed in a briefing report 鈥 obtained by the Star 鈥 that Mayor Carolyn Parrish said was shared at a meeting last month between her, Premier Doug Ford, key ministers in his government, and senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Solicitor General鈥檚 office.
The 11-page report also includes requests for the province to reduce the city’s share of funding for the new Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital, the uploading of costs for the Hazel McCallion LRT to the province for one year and a plan for Mississauga to take over responsibility of regional roads in their jurisdiction.
Parrish said she initiated the meeting 鈥渂ecause of the huge property tax increase this year and the inordinate share Mississauga resident have to pay.鈥 This year, taxes increased by 9.2 per cent, with 5.9 per cent allocated to the region of Peel.
She added that while the city is happy to be part of the region, which delivers 鈥渆xcellent social services,鈥 it is also responsible for 58 per cent of the region鈥檚 tax levy 鈥渨ith very little control over budgets.鈥
Although the Ford government officially cancelled a move to dissolve Peel region in 2023, Parrish has been trying to find ways to separate out key services from the region to reduce what she says is an unfair share of the taxes Mississauga residents pay for regional services.
鈥淢ississauga has come to accept that breaking up the Region of Peel is no longer on the table,鈥 the briefing note says. 鈥淲ith that reality in mind, we are now focused on dislodging the specific elements within the current regional structure that place an incredibly unfair tax burden on our residents, that is not sustainable,鈥 the report says.
Earlier this year, the city pushed to remove waste collection responsibility from the region, putting it under municipal control instead, because, according to Parrish, 鈥渨e can manage (it) for far lower cost.鈥
The policing request also comes on the heels of one of the biggest police budget increases in Canada, which saw the region approve Peel police鈥檚 23.3 per cent increase to bring in an additional 300 officers. Parrish was a vocal critic of the budget increase 鈥 even stepping down from the police board to protest the high tax burden it would put on residents.
The report paints the Peel police service as the biggest share of Mississauga鈥檚 burden and says the city鈥檚 financial contribution to the force is calculated through an 鈥渙utdated model鈥 based on MPAC-assessed property values, instead of population increase and where more crimes are taking place. Because of this difference, the report says, Mississauga residents pay 62 per cent of the budget, compared to 38 per cent paid by Brampton.
Earlier this year, Brampton鈥檚 population hit 791,486, surpassing that of Mississauga for the first time.
鈥淲e are calling on the province to reform the Peel police funding formula to one based on population and policing need, or alternatively, to authorize the creation of two municipally governed police services that better reflect the operational and fiscal realities of each community,鈥 the report says. 鈥淲ithout change, this financial inequity will only grow, leaving Mississauga taxpayers footing the bill for services disproportionately used elsewhere.鈥
Using recent data, the report also claims that the majority of service calls over the past five years have come from Brampton, in categories such as intimate partner violence, criminal driving offences, drug-related charges and homicides.
鈥淎s a result, Mississauga 鈥 where crime and call volumes are demonstrably lower 鈥 is subsidizing a policing model that no longer reflects reality on the ground,鈥 according to the report.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown refuted this claim, saying that 鈥渃rimes are roughly equal鈥 in both cities. He also said that the budget is based on staffing, which is generally higher in Mississauga.
Peel police have been given an increase of $131.7 million over last year’s $605.3-million budget, which sparked the mayor’s resignation from the
Peel police have been given an increase of $131.7 million over last year’s $605.3-million budget, which sparked the mayor’s resignation from the
Brown added that in the past he and former Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie had explored running two separate police forces, but found it would cost both cities more.
He told the Star that because of the airport, 鈥淏rampton subsidizes aspects of the policing in Mississauga,鈥 but he was still supportive of a joint force.
鈥淚 believe one force is more effective in combating crime than two,” said Brown. “Organized crime doesn鈥檛 respect municipal boundaries.鈥
Parrish said she has yet to hear back from the provincial government about her requests.
But on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Solicitor General, Michael Kerzner, said, 鈥淧eel Regional Police will continue to serve the City of Brampton and the City of Mississauga. The appropriate place for discussions on any re-evaluation of the funding model or cost-sharing structure should be had at the regional level between these two municipalities.鈥
Peel police deferred questions to the police services board. The executive director did not respond to questions by deadline.
The briefing document also asks the province for financial support and a new deal on transit 鈥 like the one between 海角社区官网and Ontario that included the uploading to the Gardiner and Don Valley Expressway to the province 鈥 and take on the cost of running the Hazel McCallion LRT for the first year. It also asks for some relief around the $450 million it is expected to contribute to pay for the construction of the new Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital operated by Trillium Health Partners 鈥 a cost-sharing model for new hospitals that it says has been applied inconsistently.
“Funding such a large share through property tax would impose a decades-long financial burden on residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes,” the report says.
The city of Mississauga was one of the first cities to significantly reduce development charges 鈥 a policy that is now being legislated by the province. As a result, the city estimates that on the 15,000 units developers have committed to building, it will have a projected development charge loss of $161.4 million, according to the report.
“As we continue to shoulder a disproportionate regional burden for police, roads, and other services, it is critical that these efforts to build more housing not come at the expense of municipal financial stability and fiscal strength.”
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