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16 economist uribuie smart growth team n feh28200e c sswif was cousens snubbed by not being named to committee ran with the purchase dtanyt i regency wood product brf f j remote control or theianssltst with the purchase of any regency gas product save up to kqjix u limited time only cannot be combined with any other offer i 7fikfetlce i 1 1255 10 line i stoufeiue mm mm wmmmmmm retailvaimf visit our new showroom at stouffville country market 1960 ellesmere ynitll scarborpugh1- i 41628i000j by kathleen griffin staff writer was he snubbed markham mayor don couserls was not named as one of the panelists on the provinces new smart growth team announced recently despite markhams reputation as a leader in the areas of new urbanism and transit planning i indicated my interest and my will ingness to be there mayor cousens said but i guess you cant fight city hall the 19 members are politicians developers business people and aca demics including representatives from save the oak ridges moraine go transit and mattamy homes while terms of reference are still being worked out in anticipation of the panels first meeting today members are charged with finding solutions to two major issues solid waste disposal and gridlock chair of the panel mississauga mayor hazel mccallion said she wasnt surprised mayor cousens was not included she said if every legion and municipality were represented the c panel would be far too cumbersome to accomplish anything if they put all the politicians on the panel who wanted to be on it would be 200 people if every sector of the private sector was represented it would be another 100 people she said we can have subcommittees and bring people on board for their expert- isei but its not the case of everyone hav ing one vote we will work out the issues come up with a consensus and advise the province mccallion seems energized by her new responsibility slamming the ineffec tiveness of the former greater toronto services board and congratulating the province for forming an interministry committee one that brings together rep resentatives from many ministries to consider municipal challenges that has been a big problem for amo association of municipalities of ontario that the ministry of municipal affairs have never been given the authority in other areas it should have so nothing gets done i see it as an indication the province is serious about this she said its the best thing since sliced bread in my opinion urban development institute presi dent neil rodgers who is not on the panel agreed that many politicians expressed interest taking part in the process but when he saw the members list he reacted with concern it is not a geographically balanced representation its based in the western portion of the gta and halton region isnt represented at all its stilltopheavy with politicians who are not dispersed around the gta in a balanced manner he pointed out there is now signifi cant pressure on the municipal sector to show they can work as a team and they must get it right this time would markham have been a legiti mate choice asked rodgers it would have been on my consideration list if not the mayor then a senior member of planning staff