Anyone in Ontario who has voted for premier Doug Ford should be embarrassed. This guy can’t get it right, no matter how hard he tries. Did you hear that he is trying to find a way to get out of dissolving Peel Region. He promised my friend Hazel MacCallion on her death bed that Mississauga would be separated from Peel Region.
But now he wants out. Separating Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon creates impossible costs for each of the three new municipalities. That was obvious from day one. What seems to be missing in all these political shenanigans is some common sense. The only way there are major cost savings to be seen is to amalgamate Brampton with Mississauga and return Caledon to the status of a rural municipality as part of one of the bordering regional jurisdictions—either Dufferin or Wellington.
The worst problem in this situation is mayor Patrick Brown in Brampton. He obviously saw the split up of Peel as a possible win for him. What he is finding out is that for the first time in his life, he would have to do some hard work. The reality is that Brampton has been growing over the years through its proximity to Mississauga. It is now, become an integrated community with Mississauga. And amalgamation with Mississauga is the only practical answer. That is where efficiencies are possible.
My only concern in this situation is that Bonnie Crombie has taken on the task of rebuilding the Ontario liberal party. The thought of Patrick Brown becoming the mayor of the newly integrated city of Mississauga/Brampton is frightening.
I first met Patrick when I had moved to Barrie in 2004. He wanted to shake my hand and I wanted to know what he wanted. As a do-nothing conservative, he did not impress this progressive liberal. It turned out that he was what is known as a retail politician. All his effort goes into getting elected. It was how he finally got elected to the Harper conservative government where he embarrassed Barrie as a do-nothing member of parliament.
But I have followed his career closely over the years. I was one of the few who recognized that his contacts with the Indian diaspora could win him the leadership of the Ontario conservatives. It was obvious to me that those who encouraged those young ladies to complain about him and brought about his downfall as Ontario leader were from within his own party. They knew what a bad leader he would be.
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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
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