Brampton promises to sue Mississauga if it splits from Peel Region and doesn’t pay up

Mississauga has long been asking to break off from Peel Region and go out on their own and Premier Doug Ford has strongly hinted he will allow it.

The decisions would set the stage for Mississauga and Brampton to undergo a nasty “divorce.”

“I’ve always been for an independent Mississauga, you can’t have a city size of 800,000 people continuing to grow being tied to other jurisdiction,” Ford commented on Monday.

That statement was music to Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s ears.

“I’m delighted the premier has publicly stated he is on the way to separate Peel, gives me great pleasure,” shared Crombie. “I know he is fulfilling a promise to former Mayor Hazel McCallion and myself, [it] makes great sense we go our separate ways.”

The provincial government has not made the official announcement to separate Mississauga from Brampton and Caledon yet.

However, once that happens, finances will have to be sorted out.

Meanwhile, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has made it quite apparent he is ready to fight for a settlement. “If there are two cities, Brampton needs to be made whole in the sense that the water treatment facility, police headquarters we have [are] built in Mississauga.”

Brown told CityNews on Monday Brampton paid for almost 40 per cent of the cost of the Peel Region water treatment facilities and the Peel Regional Police headquarters in Mississauga.

He claims Mississauga owes Brampton close to a billion dollars as a result and will take it to court if they don’t pay their share back. “Mississauga would have to pay the same cost at 2023 dollars for that infrastructure to be replaced in Brampton,” said in a statement.

“Any notion that the mayor of Mississauga could walk away from that and stiff the resident of Brampton, it’s offensive,” added Brown in a news conference last week.

On the other hand, Crombie said Mississauga has been supporting Brampton financially for years.

“We’ve been paying over 70 percent of the cost of the Region of Peel as well as transferring up to $84 million a year to Brampton each year so it’s time, it’s beyond time, it’s time we invest in ours rather than send it to a different municipality.” said Crombie.

As for the premier’s take on the financial matters, he seems to be walking a fine line. Last week, Ford sided with what Brown had to say.

“I agree 100 per cent with him,” said Ford. On Monday, he promised to support Mississauga taxpayers.

“My job, and the mayor’s, is to make sure the people of Mississauga get the best services they have,” said Ford.

Another interesting layer to Peel Region’s saga is the Ford’s history with the both the mayors of Mississauga and Brampton.

Ford replaced Brown as the PC leader and Bonnie Crombie has been a thorn in the premier’s side. She is currently deciding whether to run for Ontario Liberal leader, which means she could potentially be his opposition at Queen’s Park.