Sunday 12 May 2019

MWRRA Spring 2019 Newsletter


The MeadowWood Rattray Residents Association-Spring 2019 Newsletter


President’s Message

Greetings to everyone in the MWRRA neighbourhood!

2019 has become the year of transformation or change. Changes that will be impact us as Residents of Clarkson, Mississauga, the Region of Peel, and as citizens of the Province of Ontario.

There will be many development pressures coming in the months and years ahead. The Clarkson Transit Area (TSA) Study has asked for community feedback to help create a vision for the future of this area. This will be an area of intense development. Along with the other developments along the Lakeshore there will be more than 60,000 people/cars moving into the Lakeshore corridor from Southdown Rd. through Lakeview. 

The government of Ontario has decided to review Regional Governance across Ontario. This review has been rushed, conducted without any unbiased research/studies and the government plans to make the decision that will impact all of us for decades to come in a 2 month time frame. Shouldn’t the residents of Peel ultimately be the ones to decide the fate of their region? Mississauga Council is pushing for secession based on a rushed Report and limited research. The Region’s Deloitte report and the City’s Corporate Report are contradictory. As a Resident it is very difficult to make a decision for Secession, Amalgamation or Status Quo based on the data currently available. Go to our website for more information – MWRRA.ca

Sue Shanly, President MWRRA

MWRRA-Annual General Meeting
Green Glade School – Wed May 15th
Doors open at 6:45pm.
AGM starts at 7:10pm.

Highlights for discussion:
 Local development updates, many changes are coming to Clarkson area
 Regional Governance Review – Amalgamation, Secession or Status Quo?
 Concerns: Section 37, LPAT, PDC meetings, Traffic, Pollution & Conservation
 Our local elected officials will be there to answer questions.
*Come out and hear what’s happening in your Neighbourhood! Do you have concerns about the neighbourhood? Let us know and we will address the top questions/concerns at the AGM. Email your issues to Sue Shanly at sshan@rogers.com by May 15th.

MWRRA Annual Picnic
Tentative date is Sat, June 22nd at the Bradley Museum 4:30 - 9:30pm
 Meet your Clarkson neighbours!
 Enjoy food and refreshments!
 Listen to live music featuring local guitarist Rob Tardik!
 Games for kids of all ages!

We are looking for volunteers for the Picnic. We can’t hold a picnic without volunteers! High school volunteer hours can be earned as well!
Call Sue Shanly - 905-822 2409 or sshan@rogers.com to volunteer.

Join the MWRRA!
Buy a one year ($10) or two year membership ($20)
Show your support and lend strength to our association. Membership fees are our only source of revenue and are used to offset the costs of the annual meeting, newsletters, annual picnic etc. A cash reserve is maintained to cover legal costs if required to protect our residential interests. For example, going to the OMB!

How to buy a membership:
Deliver or mail your membership fee, with your name, address, phone number and email address to our Treasurer, Don Harrington or to any Director/Street Captain close to you!

MWRRA Directors and Street Captains

Vivienne Brash (Street Captain)
1298 Watersedge Rd.
905-823-5798

John Campana (Street Captain)
1348 Watersedge Rd.
905-855-9121

Tamara Chipperfield (Director)
1830 Pattinson Cres
416-471-5121

Trity & Steve Dow (Street Captains)
1741 Valentine Gdn.
905-822-6233

Don Harrington (Treasurer)
824 Daley Ct.
-822-8291

Ed Martell (Director)
926 Halsham Court
416-450-2272

Liz Murray (Street Captain)
925 Clarkson Rd. S
905-403-0211

John Pegram (Past President)
434 Apple Lane
905-822-8459

Sue Shanly (President)
978 Fletcher Valley Cr.
905-822-2409

Marj Rubinsztajn (Street Captain)
1705 Sunningdale Bend

Anne Smyth (Street Captain)
579 Old Poplar Row
905-822-3616

Rob Sylvester (Director)
936 Halsham Court
905-916-0616

Larry Tasker (Director)
894 Baltimore Ave.
905-822-7786

Robin Walker (Director)
1552 Stonehaven Dr.
905-823-6465

Saturday 11 May 2019

No marriage, divorce, or counselling, without informed consent – MIRANET’s submission to Regional Government Review

On 8 May 2019, MIRANET presented to the Peel Consultation of the Regional Government Review. Their remarks are presented in a modified form below. For MIRANET’s remarks and press release, please click here.

MIRANET’s Thoughts on Regional Government Changes
  1. Introduction
Is half a day enough time for the advisers to listen to the questions and concerns of a region of over 1 million people made up of 3 different municipalities? To decide the fate of an almost five decade old union that has more than tripled in population, created numerous jobs and unprecedented prosperity for all, and is now jointly responsible for billions of dollars of infrastructure which will be around for many decades to come. It takes a lifetime of marriage to form a strong union. A union of two individuals produces shared offspring. It also creates joint liabilities – a house, a car. In terms of the region, this translates to regional services and regional infrastructure. A divorce almost always creates unhappiness and unintended consequences – constant legal wrangling and costs, neglected offspring and broken individuals. The same could happen to the Region should it allow the City of Mississauga to leave.
We are not saying that this union is perfect – there is certainly room for improvement. However, you cannot change something unless you know what is working and what is not. Change for the sake of change may end up breaking something that did not need fixing in the first place.
  1. Lack of Time and Information
Given the complexity of this issue MIRANET feels we do not have enough time or information to make a thoughtful, educated decision. What is the urgency? We have been presented with two reports thus far: the Deloitte Report commissioned by the Region of Peel; and the Corporate Report from the City of Mississauga. Mayor Crombie has criticized the Deloitte Report for “having an agenda.” As citizens of a democracy we are entitled to an unbiased report conducted by a third party.
  1. The Marriage Option
More time for review of the three options is needed: amalgamation, secession, and status quo. Or as we refer to them: marriage, divorce and counselling. Why is the Province rushing the marriage when it will be such a complicated decision? How will this process be any different given the complexity of Toronto’s amalgamation whose negative impacts are still being felt today and which did not create the efficiencies that were expected? The report from the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG) in 2013 concluded that the two-tier option was preferable in terms of costs and ability to govern effectively. The report from the Fraser Institute, a conservative think-tank, published in 2015, concluded that Ontario amalgamations in the 1990’s did not yield any benefits. Not only do we face increased operating costs and therefore taxes, but we also face the potential reduction in the number of Councillors, making it harder for our voices to be heard. At this point we are concerned that we are headed for a shot-gun wedding. And as the old adage goes: marry in haste, repent at leisure.
  1. The Divorce Option
Our second option is divorce, which has been endorsed by the City of Mississauga as outlined in their Corporate Report, which is partly based on information that is 16 years out of date. It is impossible to draw any conclusions supporting divorce based on the information currently available. What mechanism would be put in place to separate capital investments or ongoing liabilities such as waste dumps? Who will be accountable? How will service transfers be decided and managed? What are the contingency plans? How long will the divorce take? Will there be sufficient time for the divorce to proceed in an orderly manner? Is there a dispute resolution mechanism in place? Or will we be contending with utter chaos and mounting legal bills for years to come? We have nothing but questions in search of answers.
  1. The Status Quo Option
The final option is maintaining the status quo. According to the City’s own Citizens’ Satisfaction Surveys (the most recent being 2017) 89% of residents rated the overall quality of life as excellent or good, and 71% were satisfied with the City’s municipal government. The greater issue seems to be lack of dedicated funding from the Provincial Government.
To date we have not seen or been given access to any studies which identify inefficiencies within the current two-tier system of government. If we knew exactly what the problems were, we could then formulate appropriate solutions. Isn’t the simplest option usually the best? Or in other words: it ain’t broke, it just needs some minor adjustments.
  1. Concluding Thoughts
Throughout this entire, very short and very chaotic process, three things stand out:
  1. The one-sided focus on taxes and costs. There has been no mention of investments, investments in people. In our democratic society we have all agreed to pay taxes in order that these monies may be redistributed for our mutual benefit. Every tax dollar is an investment in ourselves, in our neighbours and in our future. Every line item within the regional and municipal budgets is an investment in the residents of Peel and Mississauga and in our shared values. We should not just be looking at absolute costs but at returns on investment, something that leading economists the world over are advocating.
  2. This process lacks transparency and therefore legitimacy. We currently have no unbiased information at our disposal, nor do we have any real input into the final decision. We have not been given the yardsticks by which the special advisors will be measuring regional governance, decision-making and service delivery – they were not provided in the emailed brief nor were they provided in the online Terms of Reference. A robust democracy requires access to credible and reliable information, an electorate willing to spend the time to educate themselves on the issues and a government prepared to listen, learn and acquiesce to the will of the people.
  3. The residents of Peel should ultimately be the ones to decide the fate of their region. By this we mean the electorate; this is not a decision that should be left to either the province or our Municipal Councillors where neither has been given a mandate to do so.