By Pepper Parr
March 25, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Premier of the province, Kathleen Wynne met with the Mayors and Chairs for what her office called the first provincially convened GTHA Mayors’ Summit”
You may recall the difficulty Premier Wynne had in getting a meeting with the Prime Minister, after more than a year she finally got to meet with the Prime Minister who was in Toronto to watch the Canada – Russia world junior hockey tournament – the two held a tête-à-tête before the game.
Mayor Goldring meeting with then Minister of Transportation Kathleen Wynne. Karmel Sakran was the Burlington Liberal candidate at the time.
The municipal sector is much more interested in talking to the Premier about transit and infrastructure than the Prime Minister was.
“Today” said the Premier in a statement released by her office, “I met with Mayors and Chairs from municipalities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area for the first-ever GTHA Mayors’ Summit hosted by Ontario.
“Our province is built on the strength of its communities, so strengthening the GTHA is integral to building a stronger Ontario. But we need to work together. Leaders across the region have shown a commitment to greater collaboration with the province and with one another, to address shared challenges and capitalize on shared opportunities.”
“Ontario’s partnership with municipalities has been crucial to initiatives like expanding regional transit through Metrolinx, planning for the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, and developing the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.”
Mayor Golding meeting with Premier Wynne during a Rib Fest event.
“Together, we have agreed to focus on three key issues: solving gridlock and improving transit; planning for growth and infrastructure; and promoting economic growth across the region. These issues are all interconnected. Improving transit helps drive productivity and economic growth, while improving everyday life for people across all parts of the GTHA.
“Addressing these issues requires a collaborative, cross-government, holistic approach. That’s why Ontario and Mayors and Chairs across the GTHA have committed to meet regularly to continue our progress in these areas. Ministers will continue to join us at the table and participate in any discussions that pertain to their portfolios.
“I believe that a new era of deeper co-operation is unfolding across the GTHA and that subsequent meetings will provide opportunities to build our partnership and reinforce its importance. I look forward to working together with municipalities to deliver concrete results for the people of this region.
“Our government is committed to building opportunity and security across every community in Ontario. Our success as a province depends on one another.”
All good stuff.
Premier Wynne campaigning with candidate Eleanor McMahon at Martha’s Landing.
Premier Wynne has a bit if a soft spot for Burlington. She personally recruited Eleanor McMahon to be the Liberal candidate in the last election and was in town on several occasions campaigning with her.
She and the Mayor appear to have a reasonable relationship – but we have no idea what the Mayor has to say about the meeting – we assume he attended – because his office has not made any statement, there is nothing in the Mayor’s blog.
Calls from the Gazette to the Mayor’s office have not been returned for the past few months. Apparently we said something the Mayor didn’t like and rather than meet and talk through his concerns the Mayor has decided to behave like a petulant little boy.
It wasn’t always this way of course – but things do change.
I’m surprised that the Mayor hasn’t said much about his meeting Premier Wynne. I read about the meeting in Tweets from Bonnie Crombie (Mississauga) Rob Burton (Oakville) John Tory (Toronto) as well as from the Premier.
I was actually wondering if it was a GTA meeting & Mayor Goldring might not have been invited, but looking at the Premier’s Tweet again I note it was GTHA.
The province wants smart growth intensification, and cooperation in advancing the niagara to gta corridor transportation infrastructure development including the new highway, for the betterment of the people and the overall condition of the economy.
Whereas this mayor has fought hard to frustrate and in some cases put a stop to all the provincial initiatives which are part of the overall Growth Plan, for continued congestion and economic stagnation in this city.
Other local municipalities such as Hamilton, Oakville, Milton, Toronto, Richmond Hill, Markham, Mississauga, Newmarket, Barrie, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, are all actively embracing to work collaboratively with their respective regions and the province; unlike Burlington where we are witnessing how the status quo of this city’s governance is killing the local and regional economies.