Peel Police hosting summit to address disturbing rise in auto thefts; Region of Peel plans for desperately needed childcare expansion
Peel Democracy Watch is The Pointer’s weekly feature aimed at increasing the public’s awareness and political involvement in the Region of Peel by highlighting key agenda items, motions and decisions.
Accessibility Advisory Committee
Date: March 7 - 6:30 p.m. | Delegate | Full agenda
Multiple presentations on e-scooters pilot project
Representatives from micro mobility companies Bird Canada and Neuron Mobility Canada, along with members of Brampton City staff will be presenting to the Accessibility Advisory Committee regarding the e-scooters pilot project that is set to begin in April.
Accessibility advocates have expressed concerns with safety and enforcement measures with the implementation of e-scooters in Brampton.
The City of Brampton staff report can be viewed here.
Previous reporting:
Committee of Council
Date: March 8 - 9:30 a.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Active transportation plans for 2023
City staff will present to council the annual report on the City’s Active Transportation Master Plan. In 2022, the $8.6 million budget was put toward linear infrastructure like bike lanes, pedestrian crossings and city trails. The presentation will also include details about the projects coming forward in 2023 as part of the $4.5 million active transportation budget.
The staff presentation can be viewed here.
Past reporting:
Special Meeting of Council
Date: March 9 - 7:00 p.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Budget approval
After a series of meetings over the last two weeks, City of Brampton councillors will meet for a special meeting of council on March 9 at 7 p.m. to approve the 2023 budget.
The 2023 budget document can be viewed here.
Previous reporting:
General Committee
Date: March 8 – 9:30 a.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Miway looking to make big push for electric buses in 2024
Due to the 12-month delivery time, Miway is looking to move ahead with purchasing 82 electric buses at a cost of $85.2 million to have them ready for use in 2024. Approximately $22.7 million of this will come from the City budget with the remaining portions being covered by the federal and provincial governments through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure program.
The staff report can be read here.
Past reporting:
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City of Mississauga moves closer to clean, green transit system, away from dirty diesel buses
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Mississauga hydrogen bus pilot moves forward; future depends on Ottawa
Emergency management office plans for the worst in Mississauga
Last year was the busiest year on record for the City of Mississauga’s Office of Emergency Management, dealing with more emergencies and potential disasters than ever before.
“These events included a significant amount of storms, fires, flooding and other hazardous situations that disrupted or threatened to disrupt the lives of Mississauga residents and businesses,” the report states.
Councillors will receive the office’s annual report for 2022, which includes information about the emergencies monitored, training events conducted, and the office’s efforts to identify the biggest risks facing the city.
The report can be viewed here.
Deal reached for sports field in underserved neighbourhood
A joint-use and funding agreement between the City of Mississauga and the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) for Anaka Park, which abuts the board’s Ascension of our Lord Secondary School will go to city council for approval Wednesday. The agreement, which could see the City constructing a new artificial turf track and sports field near the Malton high school is contingent on the DPCDSB receiving funding from the Ministry of Education to support the project. The City’s share, which will cover 50 percent of the total budget for the new facility, is $1.6 million.
The agreement comes after repeated calls from community members for the DPCDSB to equitably provide recreation facilities for all of its schools. Ascension of our Lord Secondary School is the only secondary school in Mississauga without a proper sports facility nearby.
The staff report can be read here.
Previous reporting:
General Committee
Date: March 7 - 2:30 p.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Recommendations to manage surge in visitors
In 2021, Caledon council created a Visitor Management Task Force to address concerns from residents related to the increasing number of visitors coming to the town during particular times of the year. The surge in population created traffic, litter and parking issues.
A final report from the task force will go before council Tuesday with recommendations for how to mitigate future problems, including a community engagement plan done in partnership with the OPP “focused on the hosting of a resident open houses in areas of the Town that experience higher volumes of visitors each spring to answer any questions residents might have about visitor management, provide information on regulations and offer helpful tips on how to interact with visitors, and prepare for peak tourism season,” the report reads.
The full staff report can be read here.
Regional Council
Date: March 9 - 9:30 a.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch Live
Future of our Earth raising concerns about development and climate change
Muskaan Sharma, founder of Future of Our Earth will delegate to regional council with concerns that Peel’s rapid development is “causing major issues to our climate”. A brief presentation available on the Region’s public agenda indicates Sharma plans to discuss the biodiversity crisis, the loss of trees and development impacts on endangered species.
The presentation can be viewed here.
Past reporting:
Challenges with expanding child care in Peel
As part of the federal government’s efforts to improve access to child care across the country and pull fees down to $10 per day on average, the Region has analyzed how, and where child care should be expanded across Peel.
Regional councillors will receive a report from the Commissioner of Human Services outlining how Peel will add the 7,621 child care spaces allocated to the region by the Ontario government between now and 2026.
“There are challenges to achieving the goal of child care expansion, including: restricted autonomy for child care providers in expansion, workforce shortages, increasing child care demand and ensuring access for low-income families and children with special needs,” the report reads.
The Region has identified 13 priority communities for this expansion.
The full staff report can be read here.
Previous reporting:
Region receives nearly $520K for long term care
A number of long term care homes in Peel have received their annual funding allocations from the provincial government through the Ministry of Long-term Care’s Local Priorities Fund. In total, five homes in Peel will receive approximately $520,000 to “enable better flow for Long Term Care (LTC) admissions and prevent unnecessary hospitalization by covering the cost for specialized staffing, equipment, and services,” the report from Nancy Polsinelli, Commissioner of Health Services states.
Long term care home funding allocations
The full report can be read here.
Previous reporting:
Grant program struggling in GTA’s surging housing market
A grant program meant to provide financial assistance to Peel residents trying to make the jump from renting to owning a home is struggling with its limited budget as the GTA’s housing market surges. The BlackNorth Initiative, launched in February of last year, was given a $2.5 million budget to provide 50 eligible households with a grant of up to $50,000 to purchase a home. This amount is now proving to be not enough.
“Given the increases in purchase prices and the interest rate increases for borrowing, it has become challenging for BlackNorth to find households that are eligible for the program based on the current funding allocations,” a staff report reads.
A staff recommendation is looking for council approval to increase the grant to between $50,000 and $120,000 in order to continue providing assistance.
The full staff report can be read here.
Previous reporting:
Auto Theft Summit
Date: March 10 - 9:00 a.m.| Watch Live
Peel Police and Police Services Board hosting auto theft summit
To try and address the disturbing rise in auto thefts across the Region of Peel, the Peel Regional Police and Police Services Board are hosting a summit to raise awareness about the issue and bring community partners together to try and find solutions.
Auto thefts increased nearly 30 percent in 2022 with more than 5,000 vehicles stolen as of November 2022.
“As a Board, we have been advocating for increased action to address car thefts and carjackings,” Police Services Board Chair Ron Chatha stated in a news release. “Having been recently re-elected Chair of the Board, I want to ensure our community knows this issue is our top priority. We will continue to work with our partners as this problem transcends borders and requires a multi-jurisdictional solution.”
The summit will be held at the Toronto Airport Marriott.
The full news release can be read here.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @JoeljWittnebel
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