Ontario reveals who will be on transition board to dissolve Peel

The Ontario government has revealed who will be on the transition board that will oversee the dissolving of Peel Region.

The five members include a former provincial financial accountability officer, two former Toronto deputy city managers, a former York Region police chief and a business lawyer who focuses on infrastructure.

In a statement, Housing Minister Steve Clark said the members bring “an impressive range of experience that will help ensure the dissolution process is carried out with minimal disruption for residents and employees and in a manner that leaves all three municipalities well-positioned for future growth.”

According to officials, board members will receive a per diem of $1,200 per day, for a maximum of 320 full days. The chair of the board gets a per diem of $1,500.

For days in which the chair or members work for three hours or less, they would receive half the per diem.

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Last month, on June 6, the province passed legislation that would dissolve the Region of Peel by 2025, effectively making Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon independent cities.

The three municipalities have shared core services—such as emergency services and water management—as well as a regional government since 1974, and as such, contribute a large portion of their tax revenue to the region.

As the cities are so intertwined, questions remain as to how they will each operate as single-tiered entities. The transition board is expected to review the ramifications of their independence and help deal with issues such as those shared services as well as labour relations and other "sensitive restructuring matters."

• Here's what dissolving Peel means for Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon

The board will also oversee financial decisions of all three municipalities until the region is dissolved, although it is currently unclear how much power they will have to interfere in city decision-making.

The board’s recommendations are expected next summer or fall.

In a statement, officials within Peel Region said recommendations made by the transition board would not be made public. This has not been confirmed by the province; however most advice given to cabinet is considered confidential.

Here are the five members of the board:

John Livey: Livey will act as chair of the board, bringing with him over 40 years of municipal and provincial experience, according to officials. He previously served as Deputy City Manager for the City of Toronto, chief administrative officer for Markham and planning commissioner for York.

Tracey Cook: Cook was also a deputy city manager with the City of Toronto, acting as interim city manager for a five-month period. Before she was hired by the city, she was a Toronto police detective.

Sean Morley: Morley is a partner at Fasken Martineau LLP, a business law firm located in Toronto. He specializes in public-private partnership infrastructure projects and is a former director of the Toronto Port Authority.

Eric Jolliffe: Jolliffe is the former Chief of Police for the York Regional Police Service.

Peter Weltman: Weltman was Ontario’s financial accountability officer until this year, when his contract expired. Before that, he worked in the Parliamentary Budget Office in Ottawa.