'Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario, Canada'
 peelcoa.jpg |
|
| ''Mottos: Working for you'' |
|
| Area: | 1,241.99 km² |
| Population | (2006)1,159,405
(17.2% increase form 2001)
(Rank: 2nd in Ontario
) |
| Population density: | 933.2/km² |
| MPs |
Omar Alghabra, Navdeep Singh Bains, Colleen Beaumier, Ruby Dhalla, Albina Guarnieri, Wajid Khan, Gurbax S. Malhi, Paul Szabo, David Tilson
|
| MPPs |
| Bob Delaney, Vic Dhillon, Peter Fonseca, Linda Jeffrey, Kuldip Kular, Tim Peterson, Harinder S. Takhar, John Tory |
| Regional Chair | Emil Kolb
|
| Governing body | Peel Regional Council
|
Region of Peel |
The 'Regional Municipality of Peel' encompasses three municipalities directly to the west of
Toronto,
Ontario,
Canada. The
regional municipality is made up of the cities of
Brampton and
Mississauga, and the town of
Caledon [1]. Mississauga occupies the southernmost portion of the region, a city of 668,549 (the sixth largest in Canada) that reaches from
Lake Ontario north to
Highway 407. In the centre is Brampton, a smaller city of 433,806 (ranked 11th by population). Finally, by far the largest (in area) and the most sparsely populated part of the region is Caledon, which is home to only 57,050 residents. The Region of Peel is the second-largest
municipality in Ontario after
Toronto. The regional seat is in
Brampton. Owing to immigration and its transportation infrastructure (seven
highways serve Peel and
Toronto Pearson International Airport is mostly within its boundaries), the Region of Peel is a rapidly-growing area with a young population and an increasing profile.
The Region was created by the government of
Bill Davis in 1974, replacing the
County of Peel, and was legislated to provide community services to the large and highly urbanized area. The region is responsible for the services and infrastructure related to water delivery and wastewater treatment, waste collection and disposal, regional roads, public health, long-term care centres,
Peel Regional Police, ambulance services, planning, public housing, paratransit, judicial and social services. Other municipal functions are provided by the three
local-tier municipalities. These responsibilities have changed over time, as functions have been uploaded and downloaded to and from the provincial and regional levels, as directed by the
Province of Ontario.
The
County of Peel (and later, the Region of Peel) was named after
Sir Robert Peel, the nineteenth-century
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Government and Politics
Senior administrators
★
Emil Kolb, Regional Chair and
Chief Executive Officer
★ David Szwarc,
Chief Administrative Officer
★ Kent Gillespie,
Commissioner of Corporate Services and Regional Solicitor
★ Mitch Zamojc,
Commissioner of Public Works
[2]
Notable government decisions
★ In 2005, Peel Region approved without tender a $557 million waste management contract commitment lasting 20 years that can potentially allow it to dump garbage in Ontario landfill sites if Michigan bans Canadian trash. (
Toronto Star,
October 21 2005)
★ In 2004, Peel Region began a more than $600 Million Water Works expansions by conducting invited
public tenders, one of Canada's largest in
water and wastewater infrastructure. (
Brampton Guardian 7 July 2004)
The Region's future
Seats on Peel Regional council are not assigned to member municipalities according to population or tax contributions, and this has produced considerable controversy within the region.
[1]
Mississauga currently comprises about 62 per cent of the region's population and says it contributes 66 per cent of the taxes, but had been assigned 10 of the 21 council seats (or 48 per cent) distributed among the municipalities, with Brampton receiving six and Caledon five. In June 2005, the provincial government passed legislation
[3] that will revise the composition of the council. Beginning in the 2006 municipal elections, one additional seat will be assigned to Brampton and two additional seats will be assigned to Mississauga, giving Mississauga 12 of the 24 seats assigned to municipalities.
[4] These numbers do not include the regional chair, who is appointed by council members.
These changes are the result of a provincially appointed impartial arbitrator
[5] who noted:
Mississauga council, led by mayor
Hazel McCallion, has argued that Peel Region is an unnecessary layer of government which costs Mississauga residents millions of dollars a year to support services in Brampton and Caledon. Mississauga council unanimously passed a motion asking the
Province of Ontario to separate Mississauga from Peel Region and become a
single-tier municipality, arguing, among other things, the need to keep property tax dollars within the city of Mississauga for the good of the future of the City.
[6]
Opponents of Mississauga's position, including Brampton mayor
Susan Fennell, have argued that from the 1970s through the 1990s, Mississauga was the chief beneficiary of Peel's infrastructure construction projects — funded by taxpayers in all three municipalities — and it is now Brampton's turn to benefit, as it is growing faster than Mississauga, which is mostly built-out.
[7][8] As well, they have argued that common infrastructure, such as waste and water services, would be more efficiently managed at a regional level.
Services
Law enforcement
★
Peel Regional Police (PRP) provides police coverage for the majority of the region.
★
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) mainly provides highway coverage and fulfills a contract to police the town of Caledon.
[9]
Education
Other services
Emergency medical services provided by Peel to the region's municipalities:
''
Peel Regional Paramedic Services''
Formerly administered by the province, now in the hands of the region.
''Child Care''
Day care centres are operated for residents in Peel:
★ Brampton West Child Care Centre
★ Howden Child Care Centre
★ Greenbriar Child Care Centre
★ Chinguacousy Child Care Centre
★ Collegeside Child Care Centre
★ Streetsville Child Care Centre
★ Malton Child Care Centre
★ Ernest Majury Child Care Centre
★ The Valleys Child Care Centre
★ Cooksville Child Care Centre
★ Ridgeway Child Care Centre
★ PLASP Daycare Centre
''Long Term Care''
Facilities are for seniors and others with long term health needs:
★ The Davis Centre
★ Malton Village
★ Peel Manor
★ Sheridan Villa
★ Tall Pines
''Social Housing''
Peel is the largest landlord in the Region. Its non-profit housing company,
Peel Living, is one of the largest in Canada.
[10]
''Public Works''
Peel manages the regions public works needs including:
★ garbage and recycling programs
★ water works
★ road maintenance — non provincial roads
''TransHelp''
The Region of Peel's unique transportation service for people with disabilities
Formerly run for
Mississauga Transit and
Brampton Transit,
Transhelp is now operated solely by region.
Highways
Seven
400-Series Highways border or pass through Peel Regional Municipality making it one of the best
suburban freeway networks in
Ontario and
Canada. These freeways are among the busiest and most modern of
Ontario, mostly constructed since the 1970s, and have contributed significantly to the rapid growth of the Region. One of the welcome signs of Brampton has the slogan "All roads lead to Brampton" and shows six 400-series numbers (401, 403, 407, 409, 410, 427).
400-series freeways
★
Highway 401
★
Highway 403
★
Highway 407 (ETR)
★
Highway 409
★
Highway 410
★
Highway 427
★
Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW)
Other highways
★
Highway 7
★
Hurontario Street (
Highway 10)
Demographics
''(
Statistics Canada,
2006)''
★ Population in 2006: 1,159,405
★ Population in 2001: 988,948
★ 1996 to 2001 population change (%):17.2
★ Land area (square km): 1,241.99
★ Percentage of Provincial Population: 9.53%
Surrounding census divisions
★
Dufferin County
★
Halton Region
★
Simcoe County
★
Toronto
★
Wellington County
★
York Region
References
External links
★
Peel Region
★
Peel Regional Police
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