Town Considerations: Bill…

Town Considerations:

Bill 60 received Royal Assent on November 27, 2025. It amended the Municipal Act, 2001 to transfer jurisdiction over water and wastewater from Peel Region to the lower-tier municipalities of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. The new public corporation will be jointly owned by the lower-tier municipalities.

Water and wastewater services and infrastructure are currently under the jurisdiction of Halton Region. Under the Water and Wastewater Public Corporations Act, 2025, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) can designate a corporation as a water and wastewater public corporation on behalf of a lower-tier municipality. The water and wastewater public corporation must be incorporated under the Business Corporations Act, 1990.

If the intent of the proposed changes through Bill 98 is to enable the transfer of water and wastewater from other upper-tier municipalities such as Halton Region, water and wastewater would become the jurisdiction of the relevant lower-tier municipalities. The Town of Oakville is concerned that the proposed changes have the potential for significant impacts to the Town including reduced decision-making powers, increased administrative burden and associated costs, complications around ownership and asset management, increased financial pressures if there are impacts to Halton Region’s debt capacity, and impacts to the provision of water and wastewater services.

Halton Region can remain as the water and wastewater infrastructure provider. As a lower-tier municipality, the Town of Oakville is not yet prepared to assume the costs related to the transfer of the water and wastewater infrastructure.

Comments to Province:

Ownership of Shares and Assets

The Town of Oakville is supportive of the Province’s proposal to limit the ownership of shares to public entities; however, the Town is concerned that “agent” is not defined. If an “agent” is intended to be a public entity for consistency with the broader provision, this should be stated explicitly.

Also of concern is the proposed provision for the transfer of assets. The lack of stipulation for public ownership of assets coupled with the permission to transfer assets if they are “no longer needed” appears to enable private ownership of water and wastewater assets. The provision of water and wastewater is a public service that should be conducted with public infrastructure to ensure the continuation of high levels of service, water quality, efficiency, and financial management.

Transfer of Debt

The Town of Oakville has concerns with the proposed restriction on the transfer of current water and wastewater debt to a water and wastewater public corporation. This could transfer water and wastewater revenues to a water and wastewater public corporation while associated debts remain with upper-tier municipalities. The additional debts could affect upper tier credit ratings, resulting in higher debt costs for lower tier municipalities.

Ministerial Oversight

The Town of Oakville has significant concerns with the proposed changes to increase ministerial oversight. If approved, the legal implications (including contractual and property rights and effects on transferred employees) of a transfer by-law would be at the discretion of the Minister. Furthermore, the Minister could force parties into an agreement related to transfers to a water and wastewater public corporation and modify the agreement to their discretion. These changes have the potential to remove significant municipal decision-making and governance powers related to the provision of public services while increasing the administrative and financial load of lower-tier municipalities.