The mayor of Mississauga said Wednesday that her city could no longer afford to be held back by other municipalities in Peel Region, and asked the province once again to move it to the red zone "with or without the rest of the region."
Mayor Bonnie Crombie made the request during the city's weekly COVID-19 briefing Wednesday afternoon, citing that their numbers are trending in the right direction and warrant the move. The mayor said she asked Dr. Lawrence Loh, the region's medical officer of health, to bring her plea to Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams, who will make the final decision.
"Mississauga is its own city and its own city government with its own residents and its own businesses. We need a targeted approach," she said.
"I was voted in by the residents to advocate for Mississauga. So today, I am urging Dr. Loh and the premier to move Mississauga into the red zone. That's what's fair and equitable for Mississauga residents and for Mississauga business owners."
Crombie acknowledged that Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon belong in one public health unit but said residents and businesses have done a great job getting Mississauga's number down and cases in other municipalities should prevent them from moving forward.
Mississauga has a weekly incidence rate of 63 cases per 100,000, down from 74 last week wile Brampton's is at 124.4 cases per 100,000.
Peel Region's weekly incidence rate stands at 88 cases per 100,000. According to the provincial guidelines, a region must have a weekly incidence rate of 40 cases per 100,000 or more and a percent positivity of 2.5 or more to enter the red zone.
Crombie made a similar push days before Peel Region was placed back in the grey-lockdown category of the colour-coded tiered framework for COVID-19 restrictions. However, Loh advocated for his region to be moved to the most restrictive category.
The mayor did not hide her disappointment with the decision but said at the time she understood that numbers were heading in the wrong direction.
"I think it's time that Mississauga be opened. I think many people agree with me," Crombie said.
"We all hope that Dr. Williams will agree and see that we've done a great job here in Mississauga, the numbers down and keeping on top of the guidelines and taking the advice of public health. I think we deserve to open in the red."
Loh confirmed that Crombie approached him and asked him to pass her request to the Ford government.
"To the extent that I have certainly heard the request and willing to communicate that this is the position of our local leadership, at least in one of the municipalities, I think it will form part of our ongoing conversation and discussion," he said.
"My hope, however, is that the trends continue to remain favourable for all of our municipalities and perhaps that this decision will be made for us if the numbers do continue in the correct trend."
That said, Loh noted that gradual loosening of restrictions is still needed to avoid another wave of COVID-19 that could interrupt vaccination efforts.
He acknowledged that many residents are frustrated, waiting endlessly for the pandemic to end.
"I want you to know that I do not make my recommendations easily. Like you, I also longed for a hug from my extended family, a beer on a patio and laughter with friends and frankly, a return to something that resembles a life more normal," he said.
"But we are now entering the hardest part of the pandemic. And like a DJ switching between tracks, we're trying to slowly fade out protective measures while fading in vaccine coverage with little margin for error less than music stop altogether."
Brown: Peel Region must stand united
Speaking to CP24 Wednesday evening, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said Peel Region should not be split. He said it is important that the region stand united, requesting the province to loosen restrictions to allow more businesses to reopen.
"I think Mayor Crombie's comments are probably a little bit of exasperation and desperation that it's been so long that we've been under lockdown," he said.
"And so rather than Mississauga and Brampton arguing, let's look at the bigger picture. We're ready to reopen. We shouldn't be divided in the GTA."
Brown said it is wrong that Halton and Vaughan are in the less restrictive category while Peel Region is in the grey zone-lockdown zone, where some businesses are not permitted to open their doors.
"I think we're all ready to reopen in a cautious fashion, respecting the COVID protocols," he said.
"I want to see our businesses open again. I want to see our small businesses able to invest again. Hire again, grow again. I continue to find it frustrating that I got these small businesses that I believe could manage their affairs very carefully and they're not able to do business."
