Mississauga takes another step toward independence with appointment of new Director, Municipal Transition and Integration

The City of Mississauga is taking another step toward being ready for independence by placing its current Director of Human Resources, Lori Kelly, into the new role of Director of Municipal Transition and Integration. In this position, Kelly will use her expertise and years of experience at the City of Mississauga and in the municipal sector to support the transition of the City to single tier upon dissolution of the Region of Peel on January 1, 2025.

“We continue to build the team to support this important transition,” said Shari Lichterman, City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer. “Lori will prepare our organization to welcome new employees and ensure our structure and operations are ready to hit the ground running on day one. I am confident that under Lori’s guidance, Mississauga will transition seamlessly to independence while continuing to deliver critical services to residents, including services currently delivered by Peel Region.”

In this new role, Kelly will be responsible for, among other duties:

• Co-ordination between multiple parties, including the Provincial Transition Board and the Region of Peel, regarding the allocation of resources and services during the dissolution.
• Integrating new talent into the City of Mississauga, including identifying staffing and resource needs, roles and responsibilities, and new structures, while ensuring regular communication with all parties involved.
• Fostering a cohesive and inclusive corporate culture within the City of Mississauga that brings together the strengths of both the Region and the City.
• Ensuring alignment in areas of compensation, HR systems and technology, policy, training and development, and legal compliance.

Kelly’s experience will benefit her well in this role. She has served as the Director of Human Resources for the past four years. She has had a career with the City of Mississauga spanning almost three decades, with previous roles including Director, Library, Manager of Strategic Community Initiatives and Senior Manager, Talent Management. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario, as well as a Masters Certificate in Municipal Leadership from the Schulich School of Business and a Human Resources Management Certificate from Humber College. She will begin her role as Director of Municipal Transition and Integration on October 17, 2023.

“This is a critically important time for the City of Mississauga,” said Kelly. “I look forward to the role I will play in ensuring employees are well-supported throughout the transition and that we have the right people in the right roles at the right time to make this transition as smooth as possible.”

Background on Mississauga’s independence

Mississauga has long advocated to be an independent, single-tier municipality. There are currently 173 single-tier municipalities in Ontario. On June 8, 2023, Bill 112, The Hazel McCallion Act (Peel Dissolution) received Royal Assent. The Bill states the Region of Peel will be dissolved by January 1, 2025, and the Cities of Mississauga and Brampton, and the Town of Caledon, will become single-tier municipalities at that time. To facilitate these changes, the provincial government has appointed a Transition Board to work with the Region and the local municipalities.

Mississauga is the 3rd largest City in Ontario and the 7th largest in Canada, with a population approaching one million people. As the province’s second largest economy, Mississauga is proud to have received a ‘AAA’ credit rating from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) for the last 20 years, as well as various financial awards for good governance and strong financial management. Mississauga has a strong identity and a unique history and long track-record of delivering excellent service. In the 2023 Citizen Satisfaction Survey, 79 per cent of residents said Mississauga had a good or excellent quality of life and well over 60 per cent believe they get good value for tax dollars. Mississauga is ready to be an independent City.

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