Oshawa to send message to Ford: don’t break up Durham Region
Published June 23, 2023 at 10:11 am
Oshawa Council plans to send another message to Ontario Premier Doug Ford Monday that the City will not support any changes to the “operations and composition” of Durham Region and the City of Oshawa without the consent of its citizens.
Ford has declared that his government will be assigning provincial representatives to review the future of the Regional Municipality of Durham, along with other upper tier governments around the province.
The first domino to fall was Peel Region, with the acrimonious split between Mississauga band Brampton dominating the news cycle last month.
Oshawa, according to a resolution which will be before Council Monday, will have none of that and is demanding any changes to the City or Region be after a public consultation and a formal referendum voted on by its citizens.
The provincial review may lead to the “dissolution” of the Region of Durham or the amalgamation of the current municipalities into a mega City of Durham, the motion added. “Either option could have detrimental impacts on services to the residents of Oshawa and Durham.”
The motion also noted that similar plans imposed by the Province in communities such Toronto have led to increased costs and taxation levels.
