A Letter to Milton: Local Leadership Starts With Listening

Strategic Advisory Note: Milton CA Leadership Priorities

To: Syed Mohsin Rizvi, Chair – Milton CA
From: Mansoor Qureshi, Leader – Ontario Centrist Party
Date: June 2025
Re: Milton Needs Leadership That Solves, Not Just Speaks

Mohsin,

Milton’s growth story is undeniable—but the provincial response has been slow, fragmented, and often dismissive of what residents are going through on the ground.

We don’t need to match other parties in messaging. We need to outperform them in problem-solving. Here’s where you start: these are Milton’s five most urgent issues—at the provincial level—and what you can do right now to start solving them.

1. School Overcrowding and Delayed Provincial Funding

The issue: Milton’s schools are among the most overcrowded in the province. Some have capacity over 120%, with kids spending years in portables.
Why it’s provincial: School board funding formulas are set by Queen’s Park, and capital approvals are slow, especially in high-growth towns like Milton.
What to do:

  • Request a meeting with Halton District School Board and identify top 3 pressure points.
  • Advocate publicly for automatic funding triggers tied to population thresholds—not political lobbying.
  • Start a local campaign: “No More Portables by 2027.”

2. Transit Neglect and East-West Disconnection

The issue: GO Transit focuses on getting people to Toronto—but local connectivity inside Halton is broken. Derry Road, Britannia, and Steeles corridors are congested, unsafe, and underserved.
Why it’s provincial: Metrolinx controls GO expansions and is prioritizing regional hubs over suburban mobility.
What to do:

  • Push for local bus pilot programs between Milton, Oakville, and Burlington through provincial transit grants.
  • Make the case for off-peak and weekend GO train expansion—especially for low-income and shift workers.
  • Collaborate with nearby CA teams to present a united Halton Transit Reform proposal to Queen’s Park.

3. Delayed Health Infrastructure

The issue: Milton’s hospital expansion is badly behind pace. Family doctors are scarce, and the town lacks mental health resources for youth and seniors.
Why it’s provincial: Hospital expansions, clinic licenses, and primary care access are under the Ministry of Health.
What to do:

  • Publish a Milton Care Gaps Report—get data on family doctor shortages, wait times, and service deserts.
  • Advocate for a Satellite Mental Health Hub with walk-in counselling for youth, integrated with local schools and rec centres.
  • Propose local medical student placement incentives in Milton through OMA and provincial channels.

4. Mismanaged Housing Intensification

The issue: Towers are going up, but parking, schools, traffic control, and services are falling behind. Residents feel development is imposed, not integrated.
Why it’s provincial: The Ontario government’s housing targets pressure municipalities, but with no enforcement of infrastructure balance.
What to do:

  • Call for a Growth Readiness Scorecard before provincial approvals: no build gets greenlit unless roads, schools, and clinics are accounted for.
  • Position CPO as the voice for “Yes to Growth, Only If it Works.”
  • Publicly challenge MPPs pushing one-size-fits-all targets without infrastructure accountability.

5. Lack of Provincial Investment in Newcomer Integration

The issue: Milton has one of the highest newcomer settlement rates in Ontario, but provincial services (employment, legal aid, community health) are still centralized in Mississauga or Toronto.
Why it’s provincial: Newcomer programs, ESL, and settlement funding flow through provincial ministries.
What to do:

  • Form a Milton Newcomer Working Group to collect lived experiences.
  • Advocate for decentralized provincial service access points in Milton: employment support, legal aid, and mental health.
  • Push for ESL classroom ratios and funding to reflect post-2020 population data, not outdated projections.

Next Steps for the CA

  • Build your leadership team around these five issue tracks: one volunteer per domain.
  • Begin regular contact with school trustees, regional councillors, and parent associations.
  • Host a Quarterly Milton CA Forum with guest experts—urban planners, educators, doctors—who can ground these problems in data, not just headlines.
  • Share one public dispatch per month: what you’re hearing, what you’re working on, and how residents can help shape policy.

Final Thought

Don’t waste time trying to look like a candidate. Build yourself as a connector—between the community and the provincial system. That’s where real influence begins.

Milton doesn’t just need a voice. It needs a bridge. And you, Mohsin, are in the best position to build it—with full support from the party.

Let me know when you’re ready to turn these tracks into team briefs or public campaigns. I’ll back your strategy fully.

Mansoor Qureshi
Leader, Ontario Centrist Party
https://ontariocentristparty.ca