Gourt Home::Gourt :: Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario
| Motto: Working for you | |
| Area: | 1,241.99 km² |
| Population (2001) | 988,948 |
| Population density: | 796.3/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 Region was incorporated 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 to an ever less degree over the years from uploading and downloading to Regional Government directed by the Province of Ontario.
The County of Peel (and indirectly, the Region of Peel) was named after Sir Robert Peel, the nineteenth-century Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Senior administrators
David Szwarc, Chief Administrator (Replaced Roger Maloney in 2005)
Kent Gillespie, Commissioner of Business Services and Regional Solicitor
Mitch Zamojc, Commissioner of Public Works
Mississauga and the Region of Peel controversy
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.
Mississauga currently comprises about 62 per cent of the region's population, 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 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. These numbers do not include the regional chair, who is appointed by council members.
Mississauga council, led by mayor Hazel McCallion, has accused Peel Region of being an unneeded layer of government that costs Mississauga residents millions of dollars a year to support services in Brampton and Caledon. Mississauga council unanimously passed a motion asking for the city to be separated from Peel Region and become a single-tier municipality, arguing it needs to keep property tax dollars within the city, and that Mississauga did not have fair representation on regional council. It believes that Mississauga residents would be better served as a single-tier city and continues to pursue this objective. .
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 . 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.
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) works covering airports.
Education
Other services
Other 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
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. It has the largest non-profit housing companies in Canada (and outside of Toronto.
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
Demographics
(Statistics Canada, 2001)
- Population in 2001: 988,948
- Population in 1996: 852,526
- 1996 to 2001 population change (%):6.0
- Land area (square km): 1,241.99
- Canadian-born population: 553,440
- Foreign-born population: 424,820
Surrounding census divisions
- Halton Regional Municipality, Ontario
- Wellington County, Ontario
- Dufferin County, Ontario
- Simcoe County, Ontario
- York Regional Municipality, Ontario
- Toronto, Ontario
References
External links
"Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario"