NEWS RELEASE
TOWN OF BRADFORD WEST GWILLIMBURY
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Today, representatives of the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury appeared as witnesses before the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy to advocate in favour of regional governance reform.
“Ontario's counties were originally intended as an upper-tier, coordinating body for rural municipalities. While much of the Simcoe County landscape remains rural today, the emergence of large urban centres — including our own in Bradford — led to rapid growth over the past few decades,” said Mayor James Leduc. “With provincial policy directing more growth to our area, this regional review comes at an opportune time to determine whether Simcoe County’s governance structure and service area responsibilities are relevant today and into the future.”
“We would respectfully submit that there are areas of improvement,” added Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu. “We believe that ensuring a governance system based on representative by population is imperative.”
In their submission, the town’s representatives outlined four key areas for the Standing Committee to consider:
a) ensuring there is fair democratic representation for all member municipalities;
b) structure and practices are in place that deliver efficient decision-making and good governance;
c) service area responsibilities are clearly defined, aligned and avoid duplicative or overly cumbersome processes; and,
d) lower-tier municipalities possess greater autonomy.
“Right now, each of the county’s 16 member municipalities has two representatives, equating to two votes, unless a recorded vote is called for, which triggers a weighted vote system based on population. We feel there are other models that would be fairer and more equitable that should be implemented,” said Councillor Jonathan Scott.
“Getting regional governance right is critical for our town as we continue to grow,” added Councillor Ben Verkaik.
“The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury fully supports the province's review of regional government,” concluded Mayor Leduc. “We are confident that it will lead to a stronger future for our community and the broader region.”
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