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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, A pr il 4, 20 19 | 18 Rustic | Exceptional | Gourmet 2 CouRsE LunCh $14.95 For lunch or dinner reservations, please contact: T 905-825-8466 | E info@vinooakville.com |W www.vinooakville.com 3420 Rebecca St, Oakville, ON L6K 6W2 OAKVILLE - OakvilleOAKVILLE - OakvilleO MPP Stephen Crawford is circulating an anti-amal- gamation petition, which residents who are con- cerned about the Province's regional government re- view can sign. The Progressive Conser- vative MPP discussed the petition and the Ford gov- ernment's regional govern- ment review during a pre- sentation before the Joshua Creek Residents' Associa- tion Annual General Meet- ing on Tuesday, March 26. The event drew a crowd of around 100 people. "I understand in recent weeks there has been some speculation from some cir- cles that for the review of regional government we have already made our minds up - that this is a done deal, and we have made our minds up in terms of what we are going to do. I can tell you this is simply not true," said Craw- ford.ford.f "I want to clarify that the outcomes of this review are not predetermined. We want to encourage your in- put on this." The regional govern- ment review will examine Ontario's eight regional municipalities (Halton, York, Durham, Waterloo,York, Durham, Waterloo,Y Niagara, Peel, Muskoka District and Oxford Coun- ty), the County of Simcoe, and their lower-tier munici- palities. The province has said the review will look at: • Opportunities to make it easier for residents and businesses to access munic- ipal services; • Processes to deliver ef- ficient and effective localficient and effective localf services that respects tax- payers' money; • Methods to make mu- nicipalities open for busi- ness; and • Possibilities to cut red tape and duplication, and save costs. "Ontario's system of re- gional government has been in place for almost 50 years. In fact, Halton Re- gion was formed in 1974 with a population of around 200,000. Today it's approxi- mately 550,000," said Craw- ford.ford.f "So, our needs have changed and grown over time ... We need to take the time to better understand OAKVILLE TORY MPP CIRCULATING ANTI-AMALGAMATION PETITION DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS See - page 19