Council defers report recommending creation of single-tier transition committee

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Caledon has hit pause on the establishment of a committee to deal with the Region of Peel's dissolution.

At an October 10 Special Council meeting, Town of Caledon staff brought forward a report recommending that a single-tier transition committee be formed. 

The committee was to consist of Regional Councillor Mario Russo as Vice-Chair and Ward 3 Councillor Doug Maskell as Chair, with Mayor Annette Groves as an ex-officio member.

The creation of the committee would have also meant Maskell replacing Ward 2 Councillor Dave Sheen as an alternate member of Region of Peel Council.

Ward 5 Councillor Tony Rosa said he felt rushed by the report's recommendation and that he'd like more time to have wholesome discussions about it.

“I'd like to see this come up at a future Council meeting where we would have a little more time to discuss this,” said Rosa. “I need to ask a lot more questions between now and the next meeting… I'm respectfully asking my colleagues for a deferral… this is really important.”

Rosa motioned to defer the report to a future meeting, and his motion was unanimously supported by Council.

Caledon resident Joanna Valeriani submitted written comments about the single-tier transition committee report for the public record.

She asked how it was determined which Councillors would be on the committee, and said the Councillor selections denied representation from the west side of Caledon, Wards 1 and 2.

“Wards 1 and 2 encompass a land mass that is half of Caledon,” wrote Valeriani. “That is a big area to be considered and… (it's) very different from the rest of Caledon.”

Valeriani said she didn't agree with the single-tier committee report being brought forward at a Special Council meeting on a Tuesday morning.

The report, which will now be brought forward at a future Council meeting, was created by Caledon CAO Nathan Hyde. 

In it, Hyde said Caledon has already formed an internal transition team of staff to deal with Caledon becoming a single-tier municipality. The Region of Peel is set to be dissolved as of January 1, 2025.

At a September 12 General Committee meeting, Councillor Sheen put forward a motion requesting clarification on a process for providing updates to Council on transition progress.

Hyde's report was created in response to this motion.

“The purpose of this staff report is to propose a Single-Tier Transition Committee (STTC) to ensure members of Council are informed and directly involved in providing input into the Town's progress towards becoming a single-tier municipality,” wrote Hyde.

Hyde said Caledon's internal transition team is composed of him, Mayor Groves, and senior Town staff members with expertise in areas like finance, human resources, servicing, roads, and human services. He said the team includes staff to provide research support and a consultant with “experience in regional matters.”

“The role of the internal transition team is to liaise with the Peel Transition Board who will provide a work plan approved by the Province,” wrote Hyde.

Hyde said the role of the STTC would be to provide advice to the internal transition team, and receive information and recommendations from the team.

Hyde's report noted the appointment of Councillors Maskell and Russo to the Committee would be done by way of Mayoral Decision (Strong Mayor Powers).

Hyde's report said Councillor Maskell would replace Sheen as Regional Council alternate to “ensure STTC members have the opportunity to gain perspective and experience in regional matters.”