Why is Annexation such a big problem?

Some years ago when the city was small and pedestrian oriented, annexation was simple. The city annexed surrounding farmland as needed and services were extended and development proceeded.

The problems arose after World War Two when the car became common and people more mobile and houses could be built outside of the city anywhere on cheap unserviced land. By 1960 the lands in the township on the west side of the city had proceeded to be built up with unserviced houses extending from Crawford Dr. to Parkhill Rd..

An annexation study was carried out resulting in a very large annexation in 1963, extending from Civic Hospital to west of Brealey Drive.

After annexation it was very expensive for the city to extend trunk and local sewers into these scattered areas which were unplanned with respect to sewer systems; that is the laws of gravity were ignored etc.

And it was also expensive for the house owners to convert from wells and septic systems to city services, And in some remote areas residents had to wait for many years before services were available, while paying higher city taxes. In some of the the area now being annexed and in future areas to be annexed in all of the four surrounding townships there will be a repeat of these problems. It appears strange that the local municipalities are quarreling over a change of boundaries when the Province of Ontario has the authority to direct annexations, amalgamations or create regional governments as might be required and all in keeping with its ‘Places to Grow’ policies and to the economic benefit of the region.

Let the province get on with its responsibilities. The province is also in an objective position of determining compensation where justified to the municipalities and their residents. If nothing else could we at least get rid of the Mickey Mouse signing bonus. Robert Lapum Langton Street