Trudeau was back in Peel, again, but fails to commit to specific local needs in Mississauga and Brampton

Aside from making a vague, hypothetical reference involving Mississauga’s municipal transit service, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, again, for the fourth visit in just over a month, has not addressed any Mississauga-specific issues, or how he plans to tackle them if re-elected.

“Real change has meant investing in Mi-Way service, helping commuters like Lynn, who get downtown for work, and [for] students like Hasan, to do his studies at George Brown College to get to class on time,” Trudeau said inside the crowded event at the International Centre in Malton. 

Justin Trudeau in Malton Saturday

Among the local federal Liberal incumbents in attendance during the Malton event were Omar Alghabra of Mississauga Centre, Sven Spengemann of Mississauga-Lakeshore, Ruby Sahota of Brampton North and, of course, given the rally was in his riding, Navdeep Bains of Mississauga—Malton. 

But there were few details about specific help for local ridings facing numerous challenges, as the Liberal Leader stuck to many of his talking points used across the country when outlining his national platform.

Although the federal government and its ministry of infrastructure announced, in 2017, that it would be providing up to 50 percent of funding for 51 sustainable transit-service projects in Mississauga (more than $58 million), Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown were among 22 representatives of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Big City Mayors’ Caucus last month asking federal leaders to commit to a permanent public transit funding mechanism. And public transit and infrastructure, still remain two of the top three priorities for the CIty of Mississauga during this election season. 

The City is looking for a “committed federal partner to help fund” projects, such as all-day, two-way GO service through Mississauga, “high quality, rapid transit from east to west” to relieve congestion on the Lakeshore Corridor, and a request for a new transit terminal in downtown Mississauga that will establish a central mobility hub connecting Mi-Way and GO Transit buses, as well as the Hurontario LRT. Trudeau has not explicitly stated whether or not, if re-elected, he would fund the $200-million Hurontario LRT three-stop downtown loop, which was removed from the plan by the provincial agency Metrolinx in March, citing increased cost estimates for the project that is set to break ground soon. Federal funding for the downtown LRT loop was a top priority in the Mississauga Matters campaign launched by the City to advocate for its needs ahead of the October 21 election.

The event Saturday was packed with local supporters

At the Malton rally Saturday evening, Trudeau did not offer details on how he would address Mississauga’s specific transit and infrastructure needs after he used the Mi-Way reference. 

Prior to Trudeau’s energizing words, which he was an hour-and-half late delivering because of a security concern, Mississauga—Malton resident Norman Thompson remarked on Trudeau’s multiple visits to the city, when the Liberal Leader has failed to address Mississauga-specific issues. He was asked about the lack of local focus. 

“You may be right in that regard,” Thompson said. “But we have to take into consideration that there are lots of issues to be focused on, from his level. He has done a relatively good job in doing that. Eventually, I hope, as he gets another full term, he would pay more attention to the details, like what we need in Mississauga.” 

Last week, Trudeau pledged that, if re-elected, the Liberals would devote $250 million in direct funding to municipalities, over the next five years, to combat gun violence and gangs. When The Pointer reached out to Mayor Crombie’s office last week, staff said that the specific amount of funding Mississauga and Peel police can expect to receive is “not available at this time.” On Oct. 4, at a Peel Regional Police press conference to announce charges that were laid in the case of the 11th homicide of the year in the two cities, new Chief Nish Duraiappah told The Pointer that “a significant amount” of federal funding would be welcomed to address the issue of guns and gangs in Peel. 

Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was brought in for Saturday's Liberal rally in Malton

On Saturday, standing before the exuberant crowd of local supporters, Trudeau brought up the $250 million direct funding commitment to municipalities, but didn’t mention the devastating series of violent events in the region, most notably the mass shooting on Sept. 14 when 17-year-old Jonathan Davis was killed and five others were wounded during a chaotic attack that saw more than a 130 bullets fired into a busy parkette behind a Malton apartment complex. Over a four-day period in September, three gang-style attacks claimed the lives of two people, and injured seven in Mississauga and Brampton.

Trudeau spent more time Saturday dealing with transit and infrastructure than public safety.

His remark about Mi-Way caught the ear of Mississauga resident Lucy Gail, who was at the rally. “He mentioned Mi-Way and he mentioned a few infrastructure projects. He did mention a few of these things,” she said. Few specifics were offered and no specific funding commitment, for example, to pay for the downtown LRT loop, was offered by the leader.. When asked if Trudeau and the Liberals are effectively addressing the needs of Mississauga, Gail said: “He’s investing and we’ve seen those investments in the last four years.” She added: “Infrastructure, buildings and improving community activities, making things more accessible for people, small businesses, students, seniors – he's invested and he's been investing in helping out people who are in the lower income brackets, all those are investments that are affecting people [in Mississauga].”

There was a lot of positive energy during the rally, which was organized by the party and some of the local Liberal candidates in Brampton and Mississauga. 

The infrastructure gap facing the city in which the event was held sits at roughly $258 million and could grow to $1.5 billion in the next 10 years if it’s not addressed by the upper tiers of government, the city has stated. 

Mississauga has only received $77.3 million since 2015 from the Investing in Canada Plan, a $188 billion funding commitment that was a central promise to cities made by Trudeau in his bid for election in 2015. The Liberals added $60 billion to an already existing $128 billion, bringing the total of the infrastructure fund to $188 billion over a 10-year period.

Mississauga has also been promised an additional $32 million in 2022 for the QEW-Dixie Road interchange, under the federal infrastructure plan. 

The total of $109 million for the city, represents about two percent of the per capita share for the country’s sixth largest city from the federal infrastructure fund. By contrast, Edmonton, the fifth largest city, has received more than $1.9 billion from the same fund since 2015. 

In Brampton, the numbers are even more bleak. The country’s ninth largest city has only received about one percent of its share for badly needed infrastructure funding, $42.4 million since 2015. 

It has left many critics and residents asking why the two cities have not received their fair share from Ottawa.

Brampton North Liberal incumbent Ruby Sahota was at the rally Saturday and directed much of the blame for the lack of federal funding at city hall. 

Brampton North Liberal incumbent Ruby Sahota at Saturday's rally

“So far, in the last four years, it’s been very unfortunate that they haven’t  brought many projects forward,” Sahota said, referring to Brampton City Council. She said her government has funded “a hundred percent” of those projects that have come forward from the city. “I'm very proud of that record and we're going to continue working with the city. I hope they (City Council) figure out which route they want for the [Main Street] LRT. I hope they figure out and get that Riverwalk Project (for Brampton’s downtown flood-mitigation strategy) to a shovel-ready phase, because we're ready to jump in and support the city and work on those projects and many, many more so hopefully the city (and local MPs) start working together and we're the partner they need in order to carry their vision forward.”

She said much of the same on Wednesday during an all-candidates debate hosted by the City of Brampton, repeating the refrain that she and her federal colleagues need more direction and swifter action from City Council. During the debate, her Liberal colleague, Ramesh Sangha, the Brampton Centre incumbent, did say the Liberals will fund the city's Main Street LRT project. But he offered no details on an amount or whether it would be a shared commitment with the city and the province. City Council still has not decided between a tunnel-option into downtown that staff say could cost as much as $1.7 billion or a surface alignment that could cost as much as $450 million. There is currently no funding for the project.

It’s unclear why Sahota and other incumbents have not done more to secure federal funding for the growing list of shovel-ready deferred projects the city has had to postpone because of a lack of available money. Brampton’s current infrastructure gap sits at $246 million and is expected to grow to $743 million by 2027. The City, The Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, have all made it clear that there is a municipal infrastructure funding crisis, and that provinces and Ottawa will have to either give cities expanded revenue-generating tools, or start providing adequate funding themselves to pay for desperately needed municipal infrastructure. 

Cities are still reeling from the downloading of costs, such as affordable housing, which Ottawa shifted onto their shoulders in the ‘90s, while Ontario municipalities are scrambling to cover numerous services the Doug Ford PC government plans to download onto them over the next few years. It all means less money generated from the municipal property tax base that can be devoted to infrastructure. Many of those assets, meanwhile, are crumbling and in desperate need of repair or replacement.   

Sahota said she has meetings with City of Brampton officials on a regular basis to discuss pressing municipal needs, including those of her own constituents. It’s a routine that Mayor Patrick Brown has initiated with different levels of government. “We were the only ones to show up,” she said. “The province didn’t show up at all. Their representatives didn’t show up. It’s a real shame that the province isn’t working with the city.” 

The Pointer asked, based on her meetings with city officials, which projects are closest to having shovels in the ground and therefore ready for federal funding. Sahota said, “That, only the city can tell you.”     

While Trudeau did not take questions from the media, Sahota, who has built a reputation among many Brampton residents as a hard-working MP,  was generous with her time, delving into several Brampton-specific issues, among them transit and infrastructure. “We're the only government that's willing to work with our city,” she told The Pointer. “We're going to continue working with the city infrastructure projects. As you know (from the city up to Ottawa) we're looking forward to seeing some excellent projects come out of Brampton and we're looking forward to fund them.” 

As for Mississauga resident Norman Thompson, he reiterated some of the needs of his city. “Definitely, more funding. With a partner we can achieve the objective,” he said. He added that with more people wanting to use public transit, better service and efficiencies need to be achieved. He also said the federal government should bring in stiffer penalties for gun crimes, something both Mississauga and the riding of Mississauga—Malton have seen a lot of in the past couple of months.

Mississauga—Malton Liberal incumbent Navdeep Bains welcomed guests to his riding

But that issue, raised close to the site of the horrific mass shooting in mid-September, was once again ignored by the riding’s incumbent, Navdeep Bains.

The popular Liberal cabinet minister mostly performed a ceremonial role on Saturday, introducing others. He has offered little in the way of specific promises for Malton, often travelling to other ridings across Ontario to help Liberal candidates. 

A thoughts and prayers tweet on the day of the shooting is about all he has publicly stated on the matter, and Bains has said very little about increasing public safety concerns that voters across Malton and other parts of Mississauga have been raising throughout the election campaign. 

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Twitter: @dancalabrett