The federal government’s decision not to designate Highway 413 for a full impact assessment has drawn sharp criticism for its reliance on provincial legislative mechanisms to address environmental and Indigenous concerns.
Ottawa claims the Highway 413 Act and Ontario's Endangered Species Act offer adequate oversight—Premier Doug Ford’s government has been condemned for systematically weakening environmental protections and ignoring safeguards set out in these laws.
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A recent report from Peel staff confirms that no one at the Region has seen the financial or labour projections made by the PC government’s now dismantled Transition Board to justify sweeping changes to the two-tier municipal system.
The Province's failure to provide transparency throughout the reconfiguration process has created confusion at the Region, where staff retention has been a struggle amid uncertainty about the future.
Shunning recommendations in the City’s financial plan, Mayor Patrick Brown’s 2025 budget proposes cuts to areas in desperate need of funding, including transit, the library system, key infrastructure and climate change mitigation.
His proposed salary hikes alongside budget cuts to services and infrastructure will force residents to pay dearly in the not-too-distant future.
Alok Mukherjee warns the increase, described as “ludicrous” and “unsustainable”, could have larger implications for police budgets across the province.
The unprecedented size of the police budget increase suggests a reckless approach to the use of public funds, raising questions about the need for so much more money in one year and how the board could possibly justify being so blindsided that its irresponsible oversight led to a shortfall equivalent to almost a quarter of its budget, and about 40 percent over two years.
False reports in major Indian media outlets claim suspects in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the slain Sikh-Canadian activist, have been freed. The disinformation campaign has attempted to cast doubts about Canada’s judicial process, despite claims by federal Indian officials that their government will do everything to cooperate with Canadian authorities investigating a murder allegedly orchestrated by India’s ruling BJP government. The RCMP debunked the Indian reporting, confirming all suspects remain charged.
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Councillors in the City of Welland will return to the concept of changing the size of their council, with staff presenting three options for consideration.
In Niagara Falls, councillors are facing questions about the lack of information surrounding development plans on City-owned land, and the City’s Integrity Commissioner has delivered a $77K bill for services; a $500 fee for residents to file a complaint has been heavily criticized by Ontario’s Ombudsman.
Regions like Niagara are emerging as leaders in innovative alternatives to traditional energy systems. Adoption of heat pumps and geothermal energy demonstrate the region's commitment to reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The provincial government, however, has introduced Bill 165 to override the Ontario Energy Board's decision to end subsidies for new natural gas connections.
Life continues to be increasingly unaffordable for Canadians struggling with the cost of telecommunications, groceries, housing and transportation; even air travel has become out of reach for more and more Canadians.
Unlike markets around the world where competition in the cellular phone sector, travel industry, among grocers and other areas helps keep costs more affordable, one large Canadian company says consumers here continue to be abused by governments that protect certain companies and prevent competition that would dramatically reduce the cost of living.
A recent audit of the procurement and delivery of Trillium Health’s Mississauga Hospital redevelopment project shows it is $4 billion over budget. With all cost saving opportunities exhausted, the audit warns that Trillium may need to reduce services in order to deliver the project.
Among several findings, it revealed EllisDon, the construction company behind the expansion, has been reluctant to provide details of what is driving the skyrocketing costs.
The newest healthcare facility planned for Niagara Region has a budget pegged at nearly $4 billion. Details of who is paying for parts of the bill and why remain unknown, even a year after construction on the project began. Niagara Falls Councillor Lori Lococo is worried her local residents may be covering more of the cost than those from other municipalities who will also use the hospital.
Brampton’s delayed 2025 budget, finally set for release on January 10, won’t likely face much scrutiny inside City Hall, which is tightly controlled by the mayor. Patrick Brown has cancelled or postponed critical infrastructure projects which have been ignored as a result of his demands for unsustainable cuts to key municipal needs.
Meanwhile, the city’s taxpayers continue to fund his own bloated staffing, lavish trips around the world and costs associated with legal battles & a revolving door hiring approach to control loyalty to the mayor.
Ahead of the holidays a staff report to council revealed more dysfunction under Patrick Brown’s leadership.
Bylaws meant to provide oversight of the vast rental market in the city, which has suffered from illegal secondary suites for years, cannot be enforced due to unclear wording and a lack of resources to carry out inspections. Councillors in the past have reported seeing twenty tenants, often international students, crammed into one basement.
Liberal MPs across the country have a tough decision to make in the coming weeks: stay on and run in an uphill race; or bow out and start another chapter. One of the two well known Liberal MPs in Niagara has decided he will seek re-election.
Nestled within Ontario's Greenbelt, a town in the Niagara region is taking bold steps to protect the area's invaluable natural resources and help fight climate change.
The Town of Pelham has recognized the Greenbelt's crucial role, as the world's largest protected greenspace; a new study shows how nature offsets more than $585 million in stormwater management services.
With a string of empty promises from Patrick Brown, a growing list of projects in the city remains unfunded. Money from Ottawa for critical work, such as the Riverwalk redevelopment plan, has not been matched by Brampton under Brown’s watch, putting the funding in jeopardy.
The five Liberal MPs in the city have not managed to secure equitable fair-share funding for a wide range of infrastructure needs, with the Conservatives now aiming to win the six seats that will be up for grabs in the looming election.
The city has consistently delivered the Liberals six seats, but with an election on the horizon and a new leader, local voters might question the less than stellar track record of funding from Ottawa over the last decade, despite the bloc of MPs representing Mississauga.
The Pointer continues to sift through documents obtained after a two-and-half-year effort to obtain information on the former site of a GM plant in the city.
What they revealed has raised questions about the risks residents have been exposed to after deadly chemicals and heavy metals were detected just over a decade ago, without any disclosure by local officials.
With right-wing populism gaining traction globally, climate change is increasingly weaponized against the left. In countries like the U.S. and Canada, right-wing leaders like Donald Trump, Pierre Poilievre and Danielle Smith are rolling back climate policies while promoting the oil and gas industry as part of the solution to bring the cost of living back down to more affordable levels.
The rightward shift is fueled by conservative voices, amplifying climate denial and silencing those who push for change, using economic claims to counter them.
With no sustainable, long-term solution to tackle homelessness, Peel Region has to pour more money into its overflow hotels and emergency shelter spaces to meet the surging demand for temporary housing.
The cost has nearly doubled from two years ago.
Around the world, young activists are taking their governments to court to demand urgent climate action. In Canada, 15 youth recently secured the right to take their case to trial in 2026, building on a similar victory in Ontario just months earlier.
Both cases argue that government inaction on climate change is a violation of their fundamental rights. But it has taken five years for groups to make meaningful progress in the courts — while the impacts of climate change have rapidly intensified. Are the courts moving too slowly to address a crisis that puts the entire planet at risk?
A recent audit of Ontario’s opioid strategy confirmed the Premier and Minister of Health did not conduct any studies or reviews to support the decision to close supervised consumption sites. Among several findings, the audit also showed the PCs were aware of the impacts of closing several of these sites, including increased risk of deaths from overdoses and emergency department visits, before the decision was made.
Over 50 environmental organizations in Ontario recently sent an open letter to the provincial government, urging stronger protections for vital ecosystems in the face of escalating biodiversity loss.
A new global report highlights the dire need to preserve critical parts of the planet for food security, water quality, human health and climate stability. Meanwhile, Canada’s environmental commitment is under scrutiny with the federal government’s recent update to its emissions target falling short of expectations.
After repeatedly dodging requests to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, instead claiming more research would be conducted, the PC government has now cut short the study intended to gather more information.
Advocates continue to ask why Doug Ford, who regularly talks about being tough on crime, has failed to take violence against women seriously.
The director of the Ontario Headwaters Institute wants towns and cities to adopt a comprehensive set of rules to protect critical watersheds, as development pressures continue to threaten these central features of our ecosystems.
From the city’s first net-zero energy building at Fire Station 125 to the groundbreaking of Canada’s largest district energy system at Lakeview Village, Mississauga is setting ambitious sustainability goals.
As the city continues its response to two 100-year storms it faced this summer—part of the ongoing shift away from suburban planning—work remains; the updated Climate Change Action Plan, set to be finalized and presented for approval in 2025, will guide long-term climate targets.
St. Catharines residents are feeling betrayed and scared after newly released documents reveal disturbing levels of contamination were present in 2012 at the former GM site that sits near the heart of the city.
The current state of the property is not known, as officials have failed to conduct proper testing, despite a council decision in 2020 to rezone the lands for a residential development aggressively pushed by former mayor Walter Sendzik. Municipal officials had these documents when the decision was made, but it remains unclear why the public was never notified.
In an unprecedented move, Sheridan College has suspended 40 programs and is now considering further cuts, leaving students, faculty and the community around its Brampton campus grappling with upheaval.
Despite repeated demands from environmental groups and warnings from scientists, the federal government has refused to step in and conduct a comprehensive review of Highway 413, the controversial project being championed by the PC government that threatens Ontario’s Greenbelt and endangered species.
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) dismissed requests to intervene, despite strong evidence that the highway will disrupt critical habitats and generate millions of tonnes of additional carbon emissions in the midst of a climate crisis.
Seven young climate activists are ready to keep fighting. The group, represented by Ecojustice, are challenging the Ontario government’s weak climate emissions targets, claiming they violate their Charter rights to life, liberty, and security.
After a historic victory for the youth at Ontario’s Court of Appeal, the PC government, which has fought the case since the beginning, is now appealing to the Supreme Court of Canada.
A two-year investigation into the former GM factory in the heart of the city has uncovered disturbing information through an access request.
City officials and GM fought to prevent the release of documents that show dangerous chemicals were found at alarming levels in the soil and groundwater. Despite plans to develop the property for residential use, the potential risks to public health have never been disclosed.
Ontario's environmental future hangs in the balance as the PC government under Premier Doug Ford continues to rush through controversial policies without meaningful public input or environmental studies. From the rushed Highway 413 approval to the secretive clearing of trees at Ontario Place, Ontarians are left in the dark, their voices ignored by a government determined to fast-track projects that pose a range of risks.
The latest Ontario Auditor General’s report paints a damning picture of a government that does not care about its own obligations under the Environmental Bill of Rights.
The current Regional Council has approved nearly 25 percent in budget increases over the last three years. Are future tax hikes sustainable?
Lower-tier municipalities such as St. Catharines have also recently raised property taxes well beyond amounts seen over the rest of the previous decade, putting even more pressure on homeowners, especially those on a fixed income.
As the City of Mississauga struggles financially on several fronts—staring at the largest tax increase the municipality has seen in years—Mayor Carolyn Parrish wants the PC government to help offset the municipality’s operating costs for the Hurontario LRT, estimated at approximately $65 million annually. Without help, the City warns residents could see another substantial tax hike once the line is completed.
Carlos Garcia, a city councillor in St. Catharines for the last decade, passed away suddenly earlier this month. Pointer journalist Ed Smith reflects on Garcia’s legacy, what it means to be a politician today and how this loss impacts all of St. Catharines.
Municipalities across Ontario are carrying out budget talks, setting their financial priorities for the year ahead. Balancing critical needs with the rising cost of living has led to difficult debates across the province.
But in Brampton there are only crickets. Patrick Brown, who runs City Hall with an iron fist, has given no indication of when his budget under new Strong Mayor powers will be made public and despite promises of public consultations on the City website, none have been scheduled.
The PC government under Premier Doug Ford continues to mislead the public about the benefits of a highway through one of Ontario’s most significant wetlands.
Opposition is growing as advocates look for ways to stop the harm to hundreds of plant and animal species. Will the federal government follow its own laws and step in to review the ill-conceived project?
Despite the decision of organizers to cancel a vigil for former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, there have been suggestions the controversial event might be rescheduled. Jewish advocacy groups have called on the City of Mississauga to take a more proactive approach to ensure community harmony in one of Canada’s most diverse municipalities.
The Region of Peel is a mess and Doug Ford is largely to blame. On Thursday Mississauga’s regional councillors did not show up for a planned budget meeting forcing its cancellation and delaying the approval of Peel’s 2025 budget, hours before Ford’s government announced the elimination of some regional services which will now be handled by the lower-tier municipalities.
Mississauga would also like more autonomy over police funding, with Brampton in support of a 23.3 percent ($144 million) hike for the proposed 2025 police budget, while its neighbour to the south has described the increase as unsustainable.
Caledon residents who once trusted Mayor Annette Groves to protect the town from sprawling development have been forced down an unprecedented path —taking legal action against their own municipality.
In a bold stand against developers and their council supporters like Groves who are attempting to convert thousands of acres of countryside and greenspace into sprawling subdivisions, Democracy Caledon has filed a legal challenge to block 12 zoning amendments approved by Groves and town council earlier this year.
The City of Mississauga has approved its 2025 budget, but not without hesitancy.
In a 6-4 vote, City Council passed the financial blueprint for the year ahead on November 27, despite uncertainty around what City spending will truly look like as the municipality awaits the final recommendations from the Province on the downloading of regional services. It remains unclear whether taking on these services will mean higher taxes for residents amid an already drastic budget increase.
Environmental studies of the former GM property in St. Catharines are slated to be made public in the coming days. The release of this vital information follows a more than two-year fight by The Pointer to obtain documents members of the public have wanted for years. The City and GM fought the release of the information, despite concerns about building homes on a former industrial site where toxic chemicals have been detected.
Last week, Niagara Regional Council approved a hefty increase to the budget for its police force—following a trend observed in many municipalities across Ontario, while some including Toronto’s police force have kept increases to a minimum during the prolonged cost of living crisis across the province.
The approval followed lengthy debate with some councillors pushing back against the double-digit hike hoping to shave it down to ease the burden on local taxpayers.
A system known as SugarSync is used by the City of St. Catharines to share documents and information between staff and councillors.
An efficient tool in the digital age, it is now under scrutiny for preventing public access to information so voters can hold their elected officials accountable.
The Brampton Mayor admitted on Thursday in front of MPs investigating India’s interference in Canadian elections that he was given an order by the foreign government, which he promptly acted on.
For more than a decade, Brown, who desperately wants to become prime minister, has recklessly opened himself to foreign interference by India and China, ignoring the potentially dangerous consequences to Canadian security and our economic interests.
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is facing increased pressure to initiate a federal impact assessment for Ontario's Highway 413. In an open letter scientists warn the plan threatens critical ecosystems, endangering dozens of protected species, including the Red-Headed Woodpecker and Redside Dace. A federal assessment is not just an environmental necessity, they argue it’s a safeguard to ensure decisions are driven by scientific evidence, rather than political deal making.
In stunning testimony Thursday, the controversial Brampton mayor admitted to a Parliamentary committee investigating Indian interference in Canadian elections that he was given an order by the Indian government, which he followed during the 2022 Conservative leadership campaign.
His disturbing behind-the-scenes conduct comes after more than two dozen trips to India, where he was given “state status” by Narendra Modi, the country’s Prime Minister. He travelled for free on occasion thanks to Indian organizations tied to the ruling party. Now, he’s admitted to being repeatedly pressured and making decisions based on what the Indian government directed him to do.
The PC government’s Bill 212 is the latest example of its authoritarian nature, writes Victor Doyle who was one of Ontario’s key planners for decades.
The legislation eliminates critical studies for Highway 413 and cuts the public almost entirely out of the process to further a project that will destroy Ontario’s most sensitive environmental areas for a road that will do nothing to solve Ontario’s congestion problem.
On December 3, Vaughan City Council took a significant step to address the region's traffic challenges, with a motion introduced by Councillors Marilyn Iafrate and Rosanna DeFrancesca calling for a feasibility study on the potential buyback of Highway 407.
Three days before the motion was discussed, members of the grassroots group STOP the 413 NOW stood outside Bellvue Manor, where .Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria was scheduled to speak, to voice their opposition to the proposed highway.
Without discussion, and with a letter that appears to have already been prepared before council even made the request for a budget review, Peel’s police services board has slammed the door on any reduction to the largest increase Peel Regional Police will receive in its history, more than $144 million, an amount almost equivalent to increases the department recently received over an entire decade.
Taxpayers and community organizations, who did not have the chance to weigh in, want to know how the police can demand whatever they want, even though mounting evidence shows the approach being pushed by Chief Nishan Duraiappah over the last five years, is not working.
In 2022, when the Brampton mayor ran for the leadership of the federal Conservative Party, he travelled to Vancouver as part of a plan to win over groups and individuals tied to the Chinese government.
Brown has been summoned to testify before the Parliamentary committee probing foreign interference, but it’s unclear if members will go beyond questions about his more publicized connections to India.
In October, the controversial Brampton Mayor was requested to appear before the parliamentary committee investigating foreign interference but failed to show up. Late last week, Members of Parliament on the committee ordered him, through a summons, to come testify about his knowledge of India’s interference in Canada.
Brown has a long friendship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in 2016 credited the PM’s ruling BJP Party for signing up members across Ontario to win the PC leadership race the year before.
