The City of Mississauga wants to go it alone.
Council has voted in principle to split from Peel region and is now calling on the province to grant the wish.
"We very much want to be an independent city, a single-tier city, much the way Windsor, London, Guelph, Sault St. Marie, Thunder Bay, Hamilton are already," explains Mayor Bonnie Crombie.
Mississauga's population is roughly 721,600 and its taxpayers chip in big bucks to Peel region every year. "There's $85 million a year that are transferred to the region that pay for the growth in Brampton and Caledon that could be invested back here in Mississauga on our priorities," Crombie defends.
The Ford government is already reviewing the regional government of Peel. It's one of eight regions being reviewed, announced by the PCs in January. Others include Halton, York, and Durham.
"We are going to do some more community consultation and that's why this was passed in principle. We want to give our residents an opportunity to give input, as well. But I know fairly confidently that this is a very populus notion, 'Sauga strong," says Crombie.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown doesn't quite see at as black and white as Crombie. "The reality is that for years Brampton subsidized infrastructure in Mississauga. If you look at the water treatment plant, that was built with Brampton taxpayer dollars."
He argues that seperation will cost Mississauga a pretty penny. "Obviously if there was a seperation, the infrastructure that was paid for by residents in Caledon and Brampton, there would be a large bill for Mississauga to pay."