The Regional Municipality of Halton (), or Halton Region, is a regional municipality in Ontario, Canada, located in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario. It comprises the city of Burlington and the towns of Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hills. Policing in the Region is provided by the Halton Regional Police Service. The regional council's headquarters are located in Oakville. Burlington, Oakville, and Milton are largely urban and suburban, while Halton Hills is more rural.

Halton is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), although it is the only regional municipality in the GTA that is not situated directly adjacent to Toronto's city proper. However, the region is split between the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Toronto and Hamilton. Burlington is part of the Hamilton CMA, while the rest of the region is part of the Toronto CMA.

Halton experienced a growth rate of 17.1% between 2001 and 2006, and 14.2% between 2006 and 2011, giving it one of the highest growth rates in the country. Despite the unprecedented growth in residential development, agriculture and protected lands along the Niagara Escarpment are still the predominant land uses in the region. Halton has been ranked by Maclean's national crime ranking report as being the "safest place to live" in the GTA and one of the top five in Canada.Halton Region Ranked Safest Place to Live in GTA, Top 5 in Canada

History The Regional Municipality of Halton was established on 1 January 1974 as the successor to the former Halton County by the Regional Municipality of Halton Act, 1973.Regional Municipality of Halton Act, 1973, S.O. 1973, c. 70 From 1 January 2003, it has been governed by the Municipal Act.

Until the 2000 municipal elections, the chairperson of the regional council had been appointed by the Ontario government. From that date, it has been an elective position. Joyce Savoline was the last appointed chairperson, and was elected and reelected until her retirement from the position in 2006. The current regional chairperson is Gary Carr.

Regional council

The council consists of the elected chairperson, the mayors of the local municipalities, and regional councillors elected by wards from the local municipalities (who also sit on their respective municipal councils).

The current membership of the council is as follows:

Municipality Chairperson Mayor Regional councillors City of BurlingtonGary CarrMarianne Meed Ward Kelvin GalbraithLisa KearnsRory NisanShawna StoltePaul SharmanAngelo Bentivegna Town of Oakville Rob Burton Sean O'MearaCathy DuddeckDave GittingsAllan ElgarJeff KnollTom AdamsPavan Parmar Town of Milton Gordon Krantz Colin BestRick MalboeufMike CluettZeeshan Hamid Town of Halton Hills Ann Lawlor Jane FogalClark Somerville

Regional services Halton Region provides the following services to its communities: Economic development Emergency planning Regional planning and growth management Recycling and waste Regional roads Sewage (wastewater) collection systems and treatment plants Water purification plants and distribution systems Housing supports and services Children and parenting Employment and financial assistance Ontario Works (social services) Services for seniors Paramedic services Public health Immunizations and preventable diseases Food safety Halton Regional Police Service

In 2018, the Region had 27 emergency vehicles and 254 paramedics; the latter answered 53,094 paramedic calls. The Police service had 721 police officers; its 911 call centre received 121,971 reports of emergency.

Fraud and corruption cases Between 2016 and 2019, several high-ranking employees in Halton Region's water and wastewater division were convicted in two major fraud and corruption schemes that cost the municipality millions of dollars.

David Ohashi case In January 2016, David Ohashi, the former manager of Plant Capital and Engineering, was dismissed following an internal investigation into irregular bidding processes. In 2019, Ohashi was convicted of fraud over $5,000 and uttering a forged document. The investigation revealed that between 2010 and 2016, Ohashi provided confidential bidding information to specific contractors in exchange for personal benefits, including travel and luxury items. While the jury found him guilty of fraud, the presiding judge later noted there was no proof of direct financial gain for Ohashi personally, leading to a suspended sentence and 18 months of probation.

Nicolas Rewa and Sirron Systems A second, larger investigation began in 2015 involving Nicolas Rewa, the region's former Public Works Manager. Rewa was found to have defrauded the Region of approximately $770,000 between 2008 and 2017 by awarding service contracts to Hamilton-based Sirron Systems Inc. for non-existent supplies and labour. In 2018, Rewa pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was also ordered to forfeit over $2 million in assets to the region. David Norris, the head of Sirron Systems, was also convicted of fraud and corruption in 2019.

Regional reforms Following these incidents, Halton Region conducted an extensive forensic audit and implemented mandatory fraud training for all staff. The region also updated its employee and vendor codes of conduct and launched civil litigation seeking over $20 million in damages from the parties involved.

Geography

While the urban areas of Burlington, Oakville and Milton are experiencing rapid growth, there is still a significant proportion of the Region that is still rural, most of which is protected as part of the provincial Greenbelt or as part of the Niagara Escarpment Plan.

Halton is somewhat unusual, in that it has three distinct climate zones within its relatively small area, which are as follows:

Zone 5a - Halton Hills lying to the north of the Niagara Escarpment, together with the Town of Milton within the Grand River watershed Zone 5b - the remainder of Halton Hills, Milton north of Derry Road, and that part of Burlington lying north of the Niagara Escarpment Zone 6a - the southern remainder of the Region

Climate

Demographics As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Halton had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The unemployment rate was 5.3% during the year. The average household income was very high, at $121,000.

+ Panethnic groups in the Regional Municipality of Halton (2001−2021)Panethnicgroup20212016201120062001 European 374,375 396,525 401,580 375,400 338,060 South Asian 81,245 50,075 31,860 18,570 10,115 East Asian 39,330 26,545 16,295 12,400 7,430 Middle Eastern 27,785 16,695 8,390 5,010 2,640 Black 20,430 15,230 10,970 8,100 5,660 Southeast Asian 17,295 14,040 10,855 6,300 3,145 Latin American 11,495 8,945 6,315 3,760 1,550 Indigenous 5,890 5,455 4,010 2,640 1,800 Other 11,940 7,470 5,175 3,210 2,010 Total responses 589,770 540,975 495,440 435,400 372,410 Total population 596,637 548,435 501,674 439,256 375,229

Economy

Labour force

+ Employment activity 2011 2006 2001 1996Participation rate 71.9% 72.1% 76.8%Employment rate 68.5% 69.3% 72.8%Unemployment rate 4.7% 4.0% 5.1%

+ Employment by industry 2011 2006 2001 1996Agriculture and resources 4,180 3,935 2,870Construction 12,060 41,540 8,085Manufacturing 31,635 33,235Wholesale trade 18,915 38,440 14,760Retail trade 27,245 22,175Financial and real estate 23,030 19,550 16,150Health care and social services 19,53529,935 15,870Educational services 17,060 13,250Business services 53,975 45,120 31,045Other services 39,565 32,935 31,490Total 247,200 211,455 188,930

Agriculture

+ Trend per Census of AgricultureType20112006 2001 Halton Hills Milton Burlington Oakville Total % change Halton Hills Milton Burlington Oakville Total % change Total Number of farms 169 209 70 21 469 15.6% 206 260 79 21 566 8.5% 619 Total area of farms (in hectares) 15,436 11,289 3,259 2,216 32,200 10.5% 16,747 12,592 4,306 2,331 35,976 10.0% 39,966 Area of land in crops 12,507 8,288 2,106 2,057 24,958 8.6% 13,353 8,741 3,084 2,133 27,311 10.4% 30,469 Gross farm receipts ($ millions) 39.99 57.36 23.24 3.35 123.94 6.1% 57.75 40.52 30.61 3.16 132.04 6.7% 141.47 Total cattle and calves 2,672 1,854 x x 4,907 52.0% 3,571 2,725 3,919 0 10,215 11.8% 11,581 Total pigs x x x x x N/A x x x x 3,508 43.9% 6,254

x = suppressed for reasons of confidentiality

Halton's agricultural sector is supported by regional infrastructure such as the Port of Hamilton which is a growing agri-food hub for the import of agricultural inputs and the export of local crops.

2018 economic report The 2018 budget document contains additional specifics and updates as to the Region's finances. In that year, gross revenues were $1.2 billion while operating expenses totaled $821.5 million for a net revenue of $350.2 million, an increase of 1.2% over the previous year. The increase was mostly due to increases in grants and taxes. The Region included over 13,200 companies and employed over 229,000 persons. The credit rating of AAA was confirmed by S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service.

See also List of municipalities in Ontario Halton Region Conservation Authority Halton District School Board Halton Catholic District School Board List of numbered roads in Halton Region

Proposal for the Province of Toronto

Notes

References

External links