Ontario Premier Doug Ford has firmly rejected the mayor of Markham, Ont.’s proposal to merge the 10 municipal governments of the York Region into a single city.
Mayor Frank Scarpitti has advocated for this consolidation, citing potential cost savings and improved governance efficiency.
Scarpitti points out that the province recently enacted legislation to dissolve the upper-tier municipality of Peel Region, suggesting that there is no reason to maintain the current structure in York Region.
However, during a recent announcement unrelated to this matter, Ford unequivocally stated that he had no intention of pursuing the consolidation of the York Region.
Ford emphasized that Mayor Scarpitti is the sole advocate for this proposal among the mayors of the York Region.
Meanwhile, the provincial government appoints facilitators to evaluate various regional governments, including York Region. Their objective is to determine the optimal division of responsibilities between upper-tier and lower-tier municipalities and explore the possibility of expanding the powers of “strong mayors” beyond Toronto and Ottawa.
