Key Priorities for the Region of Peel

2014 Provincial Election

Peel SnapshotDemographics

• 1.3 million – Peel population, 2nd largest in Ontario.

• 27,000 – New residents in Peel every year

• 14.4 per cent – Proportion of youth (ages 15-24) in Peel, highest in the

Greater Toronto Area

• 50.5 per cent – Peel’s newcomer population

Economy & Transportat ion

• Over 89,000 – Businesses in Peel, about 10 per cent of all businesses inOntario $1.5 billion – Amount of goods moved through Peel on a daily basis

• Major transportation hub that includes the densest network of 400 serieshighways, Toronto Pearson International Airport and Canada’s two majorrailroads

Social Needs

• 9.1 per cent – Peel’s unemployment rate*• 20 per cent – Peel’s youth unemployment rate*• 8.25 years – The average length of time a family can expect to wait for

subsidized housing

*4th Quarter, 2013

1

On behalf of Peel Regional Council, I am pleased to share with you our 2014 provincial electionpriorities.

Home to more than 1.3 million residents and over 89,000 businesses, the Region of Peel is oneof the largest and most diverse communities in Ontario. Together with our area municipalities,Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga, we continue to be recognized as a great place to live, playand do business.

We continually strive to provide innovative and reliable services that our growing populationexpects, deserves and has confidence in. To truly meet the needs of our population, partnershipswith our elected officials are vital. This is why we have created this document.

The Peel Regional Council priorities outlined in this document provide opportunities for us to workwith you to address our collective needs. The 12 specific themes are:

• Affordable housing

• Service integration and regulatory reform

• Addressing poverty

• Support of local immigration

• Supporting community paramedicine

• Reducing paramedic response times

• Increase waste diversion

• Water and wastewater capacity

• Planning policy

• Addressing the effects of climate change

• Goods movement

• Alleviating transportation infrastructure challenges

I hope you find the information provided in this document helpful during your campaign. Pleasefeel free to contact me should you require further information in relation to this document or otherRegion of Peel services. More information is also available online at peelregion.ca/council/advocacy.

Sincerely,

Emil V. Kolb Regional Chair & Chief Executive OfficerRegion of Peel

Message f rom Regional Chai r and ChiefExecut ive Of f icer

2l Key Priorities for the Region of Peel

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

IssueMany families and individuals in Peel cannot findaffordable housing. About one in every five familiescannot afford average rents and, on average, familieswait about eight years for an appropriately sized unit.The lack of rental housing unit construction, rapidpopulation growth and growing poverty are the keyreasons for the region’s affordable housing challenges.Funding for new housing and repairs, housingsubsidies, as well as legislative and regulatory changesto encourage rental housing construction, are just someof the affordable housing solutions. While all levels ofgovernment have built more affordable units and mademore subsidies available in the past decade, moreneeds to be done.

Affordable Housing

Request

The next Ontario government, incollaboration with the federal

government, will need to encourageprivate sector rental housing constructionand provide a predictable, sustainable,

long-term source of funding so thatmunicipalities can address their local

housing needs.

IssueIn an environment of budget constraints, all levels ofgovernment must work collaboratively to integrate andmore effectively deliver services to the public. In thepast few years, the Region of Peel has implemented anintegrated social service delivery model so that clientsreceive “one-stop” service; and worked with theMinistry of Finance to deliver back office support suchas processing applications and payments for a coupleof housing programs. Through innovation and int e -gration, progress has been made in many programareas; however a number of obstacles (inconsistencies,inflexibility and overregulation) stand in the way ofimproved service integration at the local level.

Service Integration and Regulatory Reform

Request

The next Government of Ontario shouldinvolve the municipal sector as a partner

in the inter-ministerial “benefitstransformation” work, for better, more

efficient public services.

3

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

IssuePoverty is an issue that continues to affect nearly 13 percent of individuals and families in Peel. We know frommany studies that poverty has negative impacts onpeople’s health and well-being and is associated withshort-term and long-term economic and social costs thataffect residents and businesses.

The Peel Poverty Reduction Steering Committee hasdeveloped a strategy that focuses on local initiatives toreduce poverty in Peel. This strategy focuses onaddressing the following issues: economicopportunities, affordable transit, food security, incomesecurity and affordable and accessible housing. Whilewe are slowly making progress on this issue locally, wecannot do it alone and need senior levels of governmentto partner with us.

Poverty

Request

The next Ontario government should continue to work with communitystakeholders in finding both short andlong-term solutions to address poverty.In addition, move towards integratingthe health, recreation and employment

components of Ontario Worksto support single families.

IssueOntario benefits from the skills, knowledge andresources new immigrants bring with them. They helpOntario succeed in a globally competitive environmentand have the potential to contribute to innovation,economic development and cultural diversity in our localcommunities.

However, many immigrants are not realizing theirindividual potential. They are having more difficultiesthan previous generations finding jobs that match theirskills, and therefore experience high rates ofunemployment and poverty. It is critical thatgovernments work with the private sector to providerecent immigrants access to the supports andopportunities that will help them obtain meaningfulemployment.

Immigration

Request

The next Ontario Government needs tocontinue to work closely with the FederalGovernment and stakeholders to supportthe fast-tracking of foreign credentialsassessments that could be used to

evaluate qualifications and certification inregulated and non-regulated occupations.

4

COMMUNITY HEALTH

l Key Priorities for the Region of Peel

IssueWhile Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care providesthe most comprehensive review of the government’spriorities for the province’s health system, the Plan doesnot recognize the role of paramedics in a future healthcare system. Paramedics already play a significant rolein health care. There is opportunity, through greater co-operation and better technology, to provide improvedand more efficient patient care.

CommunityParamedicine

IssueFar too often, paramedics have to wait hours to simplytransfer a patient from an ambulance to the care of ahospital. Peel has among the longest off-load delays inOntario. It is estimated that in 2012, paramedic off-load delay removed close to 42,397 paramedic hoursfrom the system, which cost the region and province$9.3 million. With Peel facing rapid population growthand an aging population, the demand for paramedicservices in the region is expected to continue. TheRegion of Peel is committed to working with communityhealth partners to address off-load delay; however,provincial government action is needed to address theconcerns long term.

Paramedic ResponseTimes

Request

The Region of Peel asks the next OntarioGovernment to move forward with

setting performance targets, providingsustainable long-term funding to

programs and expanding the HospitalNursing Program to address paramedicoff-load delay in hospital emergency

rooms.

Request

The next Ontario Government shouldgive greater recognition of and

consideration to the role of paramedicsin planning overall health system

changes. The collective goal will be toprovide more efficient health careservices and better outcomes forpatients. A key component of this

renewed paramedic role is the need toaddress governance and technologychallenges with the current paramediccommunications and dispatch system.

5

ENVIRONMENT

IssueMunicipalities in Ontario recognize the environmentalbenefits of implementing an extensive waste diversionstrategy ensuring communities are sustainable todayand into the future. In order for these strategies to betruly effective, producers must play an enhanced role inthe disposal of packaging and printed paper.

Waste Diversion

Request

The Region of Peel encourages the nextOntario Government to implement full

extended producer responsibility policiesfor packaging and printed paper for

Ontario’s Blue Box program.

IssueWater and wastewater infrastructure and systems arecritical for residents and for the economic viability ofbusinesses. However, the cost of building, upgradingand repairing water and wastewater infrastructure isquickly moving beyond affordability for municipalities,given the limited revenue tools available.

Water and WastewaterCapacity

Request

The next Ontario Government, alongwith the federal government, should playa leading role in increasing the level ofcoordination and financial commitmentto fund water, wastewater and wasteinfrastructure capital projects. Greaterprovincial direction is also required formunicipalities to develop stormwatermanagement plans to minimize the

impacts to the environment.

6

ENVIRONMENT

l Key Priorities for the Region of Peel

IssueMunicipalities across Ontario are increasingly facingextreme weather events, including severe rain storms,colder than average winters and warmer than normalsummers. This shift in climate conditions has an effecton the economy, communities and our natural andurban landscapes. While The Peel Climate ChangeStrategy addresses climate change through mitigationand adaptation, the lack of provincial and federalleadership in this area presents municipalities withchallenges in moving forward with their strategies.

Climate Change

Request

To provide greater leadership in theaddressing the effects of climate change,the next government of Ontario shouldfinancially support the Expert’s Panel’s

report, Climate Ready: Ontario’sAdaptation and Action Plan, on climate

change adaptation.

IssueOver the past several years, the policy environmentrelated to land-use planning in Ontario has becomeincreasingly more complex. In addition to the GrowthPlan, Greenbelt Plan, Oak Ridges MoraineConservation Plan, Lake Simcoe Protection Plan,Niagara Escarpment Plan and Parkway Belt West Plan,Peel must also conform to source water protection plansonce they are approved under Ontario’s Clean WaterAct.

As municipalities work to comply with these initiatives,it is increasingly apparent that greater co-ordination,harmonization, tools and clearer policy direction, arerequired from the province to help local governmentsachieve their planning goals and objectives.

Planning Policy

Request

For the municipal sector to address theirenvironmental and community planningneeds, the next Ontario Government

must commit to continuous improvementof the legislative and regulatory

framework for planning.

7

TRANSPORTATION

IssueThe Region of Peel is one of Ontario’s primary freighthubs, which generates 25 per cent of Ontario’s totalvalue of goods and accounts for 11 per cent of Peel’sjobs. However, the movement of people, goods andservices across the region and province is severelyaffected by gridlock on roads and highways in theGreater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Currentestimates indicate the average Canadian commuterspends the equivalent of 32 working days a yeartravelling to and from work at a cost of $6 billion a yearin lost economic productivity.

All levels of government, along with the private sector,must work together to improve the efficiency of goodsmovement in and through Peel. To this end, the PeelGoods Movement Task Force, which consists of publicand private sector interests, adopted the GoodsMovement Strategic Plan in 2012 to address key issuesrelated to transportation and economic gridlock.

Goods Movement

Request

To help alleviate congestion on Ontario’sbusiest corridors, the next Government of

Ontario must remain committed todeveloping and implementing effective

goods movement strategies. This includesreleasing the Multimodal Goods

Movement Strategy for Ontario, as wellas continuing to support the initiatives

undertaken by the Peel GoodsMovement Task Force.

IssueDeteriorating local transportation infrastructure isdetrimental to the flow of commerce and impacts overallcompetitiveness. In addition, many municipalities acrossOntario face significant challenges to planning for futuretransportation requirements, resulting from a lack ofpredictable and sustainable funding from the provincialand federal levels of government.

TransportationInfrastructure

Request

To help alleviate municipalities’transportation infrastructure challenges,the next government of Ontario, through

its long-term infrastructure planningprocess, should create a funding streamdedicated to providing annual resources

to municipalities for the purposes ofcapital infrastructure.

Key Priorities for the Region of Peel 2014 Provincial Election

CAO-0214 03/14 Visit the Advocating for Peel website