BWG mayor wants more seats at the county's table

Mayor James Leduc must figure the third time's the charm.

Once again, the Bradford West Gwillimbury mayor appeared in front of the Ontario Legislature's Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, advocating for change to the governance structure of Simcoe County.

"We are grateful for the committee's work and hope they will work to ensure fair and effective governance at Simcoe County," said Mayor James Leduc. "With a more effective and efficient governance structure in place, better decisions should be reached on key challenges – including delivering the infrastructure required to support housing production and employment growth."

In his submission to the committee, Leduc stressed the need for:

• ensuring there is fair democratic representation for all member municipalities
• structures and practices are in place that deliver efficient decision-making and good governance
• service area responsibilities are clearly defined, aligned and avoid duplicative or overly cumbersome processes
• lower-tier municipalities possess greater autonomy.

Bradford West Gwillimbury is one of Canada's fastest-growing communities, located just north of Vaughan and just south of Barrie. The community is known for its prime agricultural land, including the Holland Marsh, which has been called 'the soup and salad bowl of Canada.'

Strategically situated along Highway 400 and the Barrie GO train line, the town is seeing significant investments from major industrial and commercial enterprises. It is implementing a sustainable plan as it grows to a population of over 80,000 in the coming years.

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Leduc told the committee that it can be challenging for high-growth municipalities in south Simcoe County to ensure that county investment, program, and service delivery meets the needs of the rapidly urbanizing area that is planned to be home to a significant portion of the county's housing and employment growth. 

"Just three municipalities, the towns of Bradford West Gwillimbury, Innisfil and New Tecumseth situated in south Simcoe County,  form one of the fastest growing regions in the country," said Leduc. 

"Together, taxpayers within these three municipalities contribute 37% of the County's tax base but are represented by just 19% of the faces around the council table – that's nearly 40% of the budget represented by less than 20% of the council."

Mayor Leduc requested that the committee address this imbalance: "I ask that fair representation and financial balance be established for south Simcoe either through legislative changes imposed by the provincial government or through clearly articulated directives issued to the county council."