Following the decision to keep Peel intact, Mississauga is moving reform the region from the inside.

City council passed a Nov. 6 motion directing Mississauga staff to recommend “fairer” cost-sharing for Peel Regional Police service and to analyze how population and financial contributions factor into the makeup of other regional governments in the province, to prepare for seat-allocation talks ahead of the 2022 municipal election.

The unanimous motion also created a subcommittee to do a “line by line review” of regional agendas to report back to council prior to each Peel session.

Ward 5 Coun. Carolyn Parrish moved the motion, which previously contained a request for the province to commit to separating Peel before the 2022 city elections. During the Nov. 6 council meeting, she said repeating the call for separation with the province “would be beating our heads against a brick wall.”

“I thought we would look more at some concrete jobs that we can assign to our staff, to ourselves and take down to Queen's Park and say 'OK, you've tied us up, we're done,” she said. “But we have certain serious grievances that need to be addressed on behalf of the citizens of Mississauga.”

Last month, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark concluded the Ford government’s regional governance review, announcing new funding for municipalities in the province and that Peel Region would remain intact.

Mississauga had hoped that the review, which considered the governance, decision-making and service delivery of eight regional municipalities, would be an opportunity to gain independence from Peel.

At the Nov. 6 council meeting, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said that the Ford government gave the city “false hope” about a separation from Peel.

In an email, minister of housing spokesperson Dakota Brasier said there was no “predetermined outcome” to the review, and the province has provided Mississauga with funding to find savings, and “improve services that residents depend on.”

Mississauga's motion also asks the province to immediately allow the city an “enhanced voting member” at regional council. If enacted, it would mean a representative from Mississauga could hold two votes in the event that a member was missing at regional council.