Issues

July 5, 2019

This week, City Council approved plans to create a Tourism Municipal Services Corporation (Tourism MSC) to promote Mississauga as a tourism destination. The Tourism MSC will operate as Mississauga’s tourism and destination marketing organization.

“Tourism is a major driver for local economies in cities across the country, including Mississauga, Canada’s sixth largest city,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “It generates revenue, provides good jobs and keeps our city open for business. This new organization will allow us to attract more tourism and encourage visitors to explore all that our great city has to offer. From our sprawling waterfront to cultural festivals, sports teams, live music, creative arts, dining and more, there is so much to see and do in Mississauga.”

The Tourism MSC will allow Mississauga to have an independent non-profit organization that will be eligible to receive Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) funds as required by Government of Ontario legislation.

“The Tourism Advisory Board is excited to take this next step in growing tourism in Mississauga,” said Pat Saito, Ward 9 Councillor and Chair of the Mississauga Tourism Advisory Board. “We have a vibrant hospitality industry to attract and serve all visitors whether they are here for business or pleasure. The new organization will implement our Tourism Master Plan and take us to the next level as a popular destination.”

The City hosted a public meeting on June 3 to get feedback on the City’s plans to develop a Tourism MSC. This consultation showed strong support for the initiative. Tourism staff also prepared a business case study outlining the benefits of establishing the corporation. This is included with the corporate report.

“The Tourism MSC will enable us to continue to promote sports tourism and attract provincial and national sporting events such as the Ontario Summer Games and the 55+ Summer Games,” said Shari Lichterman, Director, Recreation. “Having a strong independent corporation will allow us to develop our City as a destination that will continue to thrive and attract large multicultural festivals.”

Under the leadership of Tourism MSC interim directors – Paul Mitcham, Commissioner, Community Services; Gary Kent, Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Services and Shari Lichterman, Director, Recreation – staff in consultation with the Mississauga Tourism Advisory Board, will develop and bring back recommendations to Council in late 2019 regarding governance, operations and required elements to bring the Tourism MSC to full operation.

The City’s Tourism Unit will continue to implement the approved Tourism Master Plan.

Background:
In 2017, the Government of Ontario brought in regulation permitting municipalities to implement a Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT). On February 7, 2018 City Council approved the implementation of a MAT Tax. This law went into effect on April 1, 2018. Government of Ontario legislation requires 50 per cent of the MAT funds collected by a municipality be directed to an eligible non-profit organization.

Tweet: .@CityMississauga is creating a Tourism Municipal Services Corporation (Tourism MSC) to promote Mississauga as a tourism destination. http://ow.ly/nnEL50uUkuY

Kimberly Hicks

Senior Communications Advisor

T 905-615-3200 ext.5232 | M 905-662-4329

kimberly.hicks@mississauga.ca

Jul 05, 2019

Mississauga is continuing its work to create more affordable housing. This week, Council approved a proposal to develop a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) to offer incentives for new affordable rental dwellings.

“Mississauga, much like many other growing cities across the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA), is facing a housing affordability challenge,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “This plan will help Mississauga take another meaningful step toward building more affordable rental housing in our city. It will also allow us to continue to make progress on our Making Room for the Middle Affordable Housing plan and ensure that everyone, no matter their background, can afford to live in Mississauga.”

A CIP can be created when what is needed in a community will not be built by the market without intervention. This CIP could encourage the development of new affordable purpose-built rental units by providing financial and non-financial incentives. Only units meeting defined affordability criteria would be considered for incentives by Council. Staff will recommend the appropriate affordability thresholds through work on the CIP.

“We are suggesting a city-wide CIP for affordable rental units because these are not being built by the market anywhere in the city, with the exception of developments supported by the Region of Peel and other levels of government,” said Andrew Whittemore, Commissioner of Planning and Building. “With a current primary rental vacancy rate of 0.8 per cent in our city, compared to a balanced market vacancy rate of 3 per cent, supply has not kept up with demand.”

This week’s approval begins a three-step process which includes:

• Introduction of a by-law to designate the entire city as a Community Improvement Project Area for the purposes of affordable rental housing
• Preparation of the Plan including an analysis of incentive options
• Consultation with the community and industry, including a statutory public meeting

“We will work in tandem with our Regional partners who are also undertaking a CIP,” said Jason Bevan, Director of City Planning Strategies, who presented the report at Council. “The Region is currently conducting a business case and financial assessment with an update expected to Regional Council this Fall. Mississauga’s CIP would be significantly more effective with Regional participation given their share of overall development charges and property taxes.”

The CIP must take into consideration recent changes to municipal planning and financial legislation introduced in Bill 108.

The CIP follows other recent Council actions to advance the City’s affordable housing strategy including the Demolition Control and Rental Protection By-laws. The City currently has a CIP in place for office space in the downtown area.