BWG Calls on Legislature’s Standing Committee to Reform Simcoe County Governance

The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury’s working group on regional governance reform, once again presented to the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, earlier today.

During its presentation to the committee, Bradford West Gwillimbury’s (BWG’s) representatives stressed the need for:

• ensuring a fair democratic representation for all member municipalities;
• implementing structures and practices that deliver efficient decision-making and good governance;
• service area responsibilities that are clearly defined, aligned, and avoid duplicative or overly cumbersome processes; and,
• ensuring lower-tier municipalities possess greater autonomy.

“We are grateful for the Committee’s efforts and hope they will work to ensure fair and effective governance at Simcoe County,” said Mayor James Leduc. “An improved governance structure will pave the way for better decision-making on key challenges, including delivering the infrastructure required to support housing production and employment growth.”

Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu explained, “Each of the County’s sixteen member municipalities has two representatives – equating to two votes and thirty-two voices around the council table. It is very difficult to find common ground under the County’s current governance structure and meet the needs of member municipalities, all with a distinct and diverse set of challenges.”

“We believe governance reform is critical to achieving a more effective regional government in Simcoe County and delivering the best value and results for our taxpayers,” said Councillor Ben Verkaik.

“BWG has repeatedly raised concerns with how our needs go unmet at the County level. We are a rapidly growing, diverse, and young community, increasingly resembling a suburb within the Greater Toronto Area, in a County of largely rural and cottage country communities,” said Councillor Jonathan Scott. “Yet, issues that are critical to our development are continuously decided against precisely because we have neither the representation nor the voting power at Simcoe County. We have just 6% of the representation at County Council, despite accounting for about 9% of the County’s population, and funding over 12% of the County’s budget.”

“This regional review is critical – reform to Simcoe County’s decades-old governance structure is required to best position County Council for success. We look forward to working with the Committee and the province to define and implement an optimum structure,” Mayor Leduc concluded.

Bradford West Gwillimbury is one of Canada’s fastest-growing communities, located just north of Vaughan and south of Barrie. The community is known for its prime agricultural land, including the Holland Marsh – “the soup and salad bowl of Canada”. Strategically situated along Highway 400 and the Barrie GO train line, BWG is seeing significant investments from major industrial and commercial enterprises and is implementing a sustainable plan as it grows to a population of over 80,000 in the coming years.