Mississauga and Brampton move forward with electrification plans for City fleets; Caledon votes to extend interim control bylaw; Peel Police reports increase in some crimes
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.
General Committee
Date: September 20 - 9:30 a.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Electric powered fire trucks
Council approved the request from Fire and Emergency Services (BFES) to purchase two fully electric pumpers, one as a replacement to an older vehicle and one to add to the fleet. The staff report presented Wednesday asks council to amend the 2023 budget for the two fully electric fire trucks which will cost $1,300,000 each. BFES is taking major strides with EV procurement as Brampton falls far behind its sister municipality Mississauga in transforming to a fully electric fleet. The report notes that the fully electric vehicles not only reduce emissions, but they also significantly reduce noise which can help to alleviate stress of both citizens and responders at the scene. While range and battery life remains a concern, the vehicles will be equipped with a range extender which can charge the battery up to80 percent in 15 minutes in case of an extensive fire emergency.
View the staff report here
Past reporting:
Residential rent licensing
The City of Brampton is seeking approval from council to undertake a two year residential rent licensing (RRL) program in Wards 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 starting in the first quarter of 2024. The objective of the program is to protect the health, safety and human rights of renters while simultaneously preserving the character and stability of residential neighbourhoods. The program builds upon other pilot programs that have been implemented across southern Ontario particularly in Waterloo, Hamilton and Windsor. Staff are recommending random inspections of rental units within the pilot program to ensure compliance with fire and safety regulations. The fee to obtain the residential rent license for the two year pilot program will be approximately $300 per dwelling unit. Staff are looking at hiring dedicated staff for the duration of the pilot program including two full-time contract Property Standards Officers and one Business Analyst full-time contract position.
In July 2018, a Second Unit Pilot Project task force was created to assist with ongoing investigations into illegal second units with the end goal of ensuring safety regulations are met for the well being of the occupants. A similar but separate task force is recommended for the RRL program to monitor uptake of licenses and by law violating in the applicable wards.
View the staff report with FAQs here
Past reporting:
Special Council Meeting
Date: September 20 - 1:00 p.m. or 1 hour after the adjournment of the 9:30 a.m. meeting | Delegate | No agenda | Watch live
Planning and Development Committee
Date: September 19 - 2:30 p.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
ICBL extension
Ward 1 Councillor Lynn Kiernan is bringing forward a motion Tuesday asking the Town to extend the interim control bylaw imposed on particular aggregate resource areas in Caledon for an additional year. The ICBL was initially instated on October 18, 2022 and the Town agreed to establish a Aggregate Resources Community Working Group to help provide community perspective on the Aggregate Resources Supplementary Policy that was under review. The Town was not successful in completing the policy review within the one year timeframe and requires additional time in order to solidify the updated policies within the Official Plan. If the motion succeeds at council on September 26, the ICBL will be in place until October 18, 2024. The ICBL is of particular importance to the community due to an application for an 800-acre blasting quarry in Cataract. The ICBL overrides a procedure in the Planning Act called the Clergy Principle meaning policies enacted during the ICBL will be imposed on applications submitted within this timeframe. However, the applicant for the quarry, CBM, has the right to appeal the ICBL extension to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT)
Past reporting:
Minimum separation distances
Mayor Annette Groves is bringing forward a motion asking for council to request from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry that minimum setback distances be required between licensed pits and quarries, identified high potential mineral resource areas, designated and existing settlement areas, villages, hamlets, residential clusters and other sensitive land uses. The Town of Caledon is one of Ontario’s top 10 aggregate producing municipalities and is home to 19 licensed pits and four licensed quarries making up over 6,000 acres. The Town has also identified a significant amount of high potential mineral aggregate resource areas which makes up approximately 10 percent of the Town’s area.
Planning and Development Committee (Public Meeting)
Date: September 19 - 7:00 p.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Proposed Official Plan
The Town of Caledon is holding a public meeting for comment on the proposed Official Planning which will guide land use in the municipality to 2051. The Official Plan is being updated in three phases. The first phase is currently underway and the third phase is expected to be completed around 2025. Phase 1 of the update looks at the overlap of a Natural Environment System with Rural and Urban Systems to protect the character and integrity of the Town’s historic villages and hamlets, balanced with the sustainability of the natural environment, while focussing on growth in urban areas. The Town’s current Official Plan was created in 1976.
View the draft Official Plan here.
Past reporting:
General Committee
Date: September 20 – 9:30 a.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Update on hybrid bus procurement
In March, Miway sought pre-approval of funds for the procurement of 82 hybrid electric buses in 2024. Given the lowest acceptable bid was above the allotted budget, the City is requesting an additional $9,500,000 be pre-authorized in the 2024-2027 Business Plan & 2024 Budget. Due to inflation, bus costs have risen significantly since MiWay’s last procurement in 2021.
The 82 buses — which equates to 16 percent of MiWay’s fleet — will replace 2007, 2008 and 2009 buses that are nearing their retirement. MiWay is receiving funding for the bus procurement through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) which is a federal program that is providing $33 billion over 10 years to municipalities for sustainable infrastructure projects. In 2019, the provincial government launched an ICIP Public Transit Stream. Miway is currently receiving 40 percent of the funding for the hybrid electric bus procurement from the federal government, 33.33 percent from the provincial government and the remaining 26.67 percent from the City of Mississauga.
Since 2019, MiWay has exclusively purchased hybrid electric buses. By the end of 2023, the fleet will consist of 206 hybrid electric vehicles. By the end of 2024, nearly 60 percent of the fleet will be hybrid electric.
View the update here.
Previous reporting:
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Nearly 60% of Mississauga’s bus fleet to be hybrid-electric by end of next year
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City of Mississauga moves closer to clean, green transit system, away from dirty diesel buses
Peel Police Services Board
Date: September 22 - 10:00 a.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch Live
Police reported crime statistics 2022
A new report that looks at crime severity index (CSI) has found that crime has increased in Peel Region between 2021 and 2022 but still remains below 2018 levels. In 2018 crime began decreasing and reached an all time low with a CSI of 36.1 in 2021. In 2022, that number rose to 45. However, while Peel remains well below the national and provincial average, the broader CSI indicators increased 4.3 percent and 4.1 percent respectively between 2021 and 2022. Peel’s CSI rose 25 percent in the same time period. Violent CSI in the Region also increased over 33 percent. The report notes the increase is largely due to a jump in homicides in the Region. The Police Services Board recognizes that the report aligns with the goals in their Strategic Plan, but is satisfied with the CSI scores and does not make any recommendations.
(Peel Regional Police)
View the report on page 13.
Past reporting:
Equal Opportunity Report 2022
The Region of Peel is one of the most diverse places in all of Canada with over 150 different cultures making up a unique population. With a community that is increasingly diverse, residents are looking for authority figures and services that represent the growing population. Peel Regional Police released its 2022 Equal Opportunity Report which highlights successes with diversity amongst police employees. The report augments positive recruitment trends with rates of employment for all minority categories increasing except Indigenous employment which decreased 1.9 percent. The report shows significant improvement from a 2019 audit that showed the officers in the area were not representative in the community leading to a trend of more harm. Whilein 2017, only 20 percent of uniform officers were of racialized groups, and that number rose to 75.9 percent in 2022, there remains a dominant colonialist and patriarchal structure within the entire justice system.
View the full report starting on page 28.
Past reporting:
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @rachelnadia_
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