Removal of municipal responsibility a step in the right direction

The Region of Peel welcomed the announcement by Premier McGuinty at the annual general meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, that the province will be taking responsibility for fully funding one of the income redistribution programs, namely the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Drug Benefits (ODB) for social assistance recipients.

According to the announcement, the upload will begin in January 2008 and will be fully implemented by 2011.

"We welcome the upload and have identified ODSP funding as a top priority by municipalities, however there's a lot more to be done," said Region of Peel Chair Emil Kolb. "We need help now."

Forty-four cents out of every regional property tax dollar is used to fund human services. "This compromises our capacity to meet other municipal demands, including infrastructure, policing, and transportation. The current funding formula is unfair and unsustainable," said Kolb.

While the Region of Peel remains committed to excellence in human services delivery, the ability to do so is in jeopardy. For Peel to meet current human services needs and accommodate forecasted growth, the Region needs:

* Phase-out GTA Pooling over three years, not seven.

* A more realistic and equitable funding formula for human services that reflects high population growth forecasted for Peel. A managed shift of human service funding from property to income taxes to provide relief for low income residents.

"Without these badly needed supports, Peel will, over time, become less effective in providing human services relied on by those most vulnerable," said Kolb.

Peel Regional council and staff are committed to working in partnership with the provincial government to establish a more adequate and equitable planning process between municipalities and the province to implement the shift of human service funding from the property tax to income tax within a fixed time frame.

For more information on the Region of Peel, please call 905-791-7800, or visit their Web site at www.peelregion. ca.