For Immediate Release
February 25th, 2016
Mayor Crombie Welcomes Ontario Government’s Budget 2016
Queen’s Park – The Wynne government’s 2016 provincial budget is a solid plan committed to supporting issues of importance to municipalities, including investing in transit, infrastructure, city-building and economic competitiveness, Mayor Crombie said today.
Mayor Crombie praised the provincial government for committing $160 billion over 12 years toward public infrastructure investments, along with its pledge to reduce commute times and make travel more convenient by implementing Regional Express Rail (RER) and improving GO Transit services.
“One of Mississauga’s leading priorities remains bringing all-day two-way Go Train service to the Milton and Kitchener GO Train lines, with the Missing Link Plan,” Mayor Crombie said.
In June Mississauga brought together the municipalities of Toronto, Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Milton and initiated the Missing Link business case study – a plan to build a new rail route that will connect the CP Line, just west of Trafalgar, with the already existing CN Line that runs through Brampton.
This new line will finally make way for all-day, two-way, GO Train service on both routes, Mayor Crombie said, adding that “we will continue to work with our provincial and federal counterparts to drive forward our efforts to help move people and our economy faster and more efficiently.”
Budget 2016 also says “The Province also continues to move forward with the sale of OPG’s head office building, and the former Lakeview generating station lands in south Mississauga continue to be reviewed under a longer-term revitalization plan for the property and adjacent lands.”
“Support for Inspiration Lakeview – the City of Mississauga’s vision for its eastern waterfront – was an important part of our 2016 pre-budget submission,” Mayor Crombie said. “I want to thank Ward 1 Councillor Jim Tovey for helping ensure all levels of government understand and appreciate the potential for revitalizing Mississauga’s eastern waterfront to create a new and sustainable mixed use community – home to an unrivalled quality of life.”
Mayor Crombie also praised the government’s commitment to market Ontario to the world with the Province’s Going Global Export Strategy. Components of the export strategy include “deploying key trade missions” and “outreach to attract foreign buyers”.
These efforts are similar to the City’s own Mississauga International Partnership Program Committee (MIPP) – a working group launched in March 2015 committed to leveraging Mississauga’s diversity to attract and retain foreign-direct investment.
Earlier this month Mayor Crombie joined Premier Wynne for a trade mission to India, saying that “Mississauga is home to a significant Indian diaspora and we have the potential to open our City to a great deal of Indian investment.”
“In April, I will join members of our Economic Development Office for a trade mission to Japan. Japan is one of the largest markets for investment in Mississauga,” Mayor Crombie said, adding that “Mississauga is home to 97 Japanese companies, representing nearly half of all Japanese companies located in Ontario.”
Mayor Crombie, who serves as Honourary Chair of Heart House Hospice’s Bring it Home Campaign, applauded the government’s plans to invest an additional $75 million in community-based residential hospice and palliative care, for a total investment of about $155 million.
“Mississauga is a growing City and residents need important frontline healthcare, including modern and accessible residential hospice care here in our community.”
Mayor Crombie concluded “this time last year, the City of Mississauga was advocating for full funding for the Hurontario LRT. It was at the heart of our pre-budget 2015 submission.”
“A few months later, in April, Minister Del Duca came to our community to announce full funding for what is the largest infrastructure investment in Mississauga history.
“This is a government that listens and wants to partner with municipal leaders.”
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