Brampton Councillor Rowena Santos spent $2K of taxpayer money on a flight to Ottawa and stayed at the 5-star Chateau Laurier; Patrick Brown wasn’t much better

Dinners and lunches at The Shore Club, Joey and The Keg. 

Hotel stays at the Chateau Laurier, the Westin and other luxury hotels in Ottawa. 

Expensive airfare, sometimes for a single day of meetings; in-flight wifi and additional charges to change seats or flight times.

Coffees, taxi rides, bottles of water and parking fees. 

These were just a few of the things Brampton councillors and Mayor Patrick Brown have billed taxpayers for while attending meetings and conferences hosted by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) in 2024 and 2025.

The spending is part of a larger pattern uncovered by The Pointer of Brampton’s elected officials jet-setting across the globe for conferences and meetings on the taxpayer dime, with seemingly little benefit to Brampton residents.

AMO and FCM are non-profit organizations that advocate for the needs of municipalities in Ontario and across Canada.

Each year these organizations host annual conferences, well attended by municipal politicians and staff. Along with information sessions and seminars, the annual get-togethers of municipal leaders provide an opportunity for face-to-face interaction with provincial ministers, in the case of AMO, and federal ministers at FCM, to discuss local priorities. 

While these annual meetings come with a costly fee to register (approximately $1,000 per council member) they can serve as a crucial nexus between local elected officials and upper levels of government, helping align the needs of cities and towns with the priorities and funding from Queen’s Park and Ottawa. 

Successful advocacy efforts at AMO or FCM could land a municipality significant grant funding from upper levels of government for critical infrastructure projects. 

But in the case of Brampton, it appears Mayor Patrick Brown and Councillor Rowena Santos, along with some of their council colleagues, have been recycling the same list of priorities for a number of years without success, to justify their lavish spending on the taxpayers’ dime to attend the events. While taxpayers are covering tens of thousands of dollars to send councillors to these meetings, they are getting nothing in return as their elected representatives fail to secure necessary commitments from the upper levels of government. 

In June, thousands of politicians and municipal staff met in Edmonton for FCM’s annual meeting; and in August, Ontario’s local leaders and staff met in Ottawa for AMO’s yearly conference. 

From left to right: Councillors Paul Vicente, Harkirat Singh, Mayor Patrick Brown, Councillor Rowena Santos and Councillor Michael Palleschi hold the City of Brampton’s priority pamphlet for the 2026 AMO conference. These documents include many of the same requests as previous years, while the advocacy efforts of the same council members have failed to net any significant funding from upper levels of government for Brampton. (City of Brampton) 

In addition to the registration fees, Brampton residents are also covering expensive meals, airfare and hotel stays that do not appear to align with the commitment of Brampton council to be fiscally responsible. Brown repeatedly criticizes excessive spending by government and attacked a Brampton public union’s CUPE membership during contract negotiations in 2024 when he accused them of holding Brampton “hostage” even though their demand for fair wages was far lower than comparable municipalities. 

He made the claim after approving lavish perks and benefits for managers at City Hall and senior leaders with Peel Police, where all senior officers drive taxpayer-funded SUVs that cost about $80,000, for their personal use.

Brown has been heavily criticized for jet-setting around the world as mayor, failing to explain why a local municipal leader has to travel frequently to places like India, all across Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the globe on the backs of taxpayers.

Brampton councillors and Mayor Brown have spent thousands of taxpayer dollars to attend the annual AMO and FCM conferences, and other meetings throughout the years, billing just over $37,000 in 2024 and $50,607 in 2025. 

What do Brampton residents have to show for it?

According to a background report from the City of Brampton, at the annual AMO conference each year, the City of Brampton delegation (which includes council members and staff) meets with government ministers and opposition leaders “to articulate the City’s positions and priorities and build partnerships.” 

A key function of these meetings is to advocate for funding. 

The problem is Brampton doesn’t have much to show in the way of upper government support over the last four years, raising questions about the effectiveness of the City’s work when taxpayers are sending them on these lavish jaunts every year.

For the most part, the priorities and key projects for Brampton’s delegations at both AMO and FCM have remained unchanged over the last four years as many of the City’s funding requests have gone unanswered.

Ottawa and Queen’s Park make it clear to municipalities across Ontario and the rest of Canada that funding for local projects generally requires a commitment by the municipality first, a local share contribution that shows City Hall is managing its own budget responsibly by setting aside local property tax revenue for major city building initiatives. Only then, will the higher level governments partner to provide taxpayer funds from outside the municipality for its needs, in a shared approach. Sometimes, a one-third model is followed, with money coming equally from all three levels of government, to avoid inequities in the way tax dollars are shared. 

A Queen's Park source said Patrick Brown is notorious for failing to budget for his own city's needs, then asking higher levels of government to bail him out. (Alexis Wright/The Pointer)

The problem is, under Patrick Brown and his close council allies, they have cut the Brampton budget and cancelled funding from City Hall for major projects such as the Downtown Reimagined initiative which was approved prior to Brown’s election in 2018, when he quickly scrapped the entire plan to redevelop the city centre and removed the money from City Hall’s budget. He has done the same with transit funding, money for local infrastructure and other critical work. 

After he promised a world class cricket stadium in 2018 as an election tactic, he has failed to put any money into the Brampton budget for it. 

A source who works in the provincial government told The Pointer that Patrick Brown is known for asking other levels of government to pay for his promises, without putting any money forward himself so he can claim to be fiscally conservative. The source, who asked not to be named, said Brown is routinely ignored for failing to come to the table with any money himself.

Funding for the Hurontario LRT has appeared on the City’s list at both FCM and AMO annual conferences every year since 2022, so has a request to support the Queen Street BRT and the electrification of Brampton’s third transit maintenance and storage facility. 

No funding has been secured for the LRT, Queen Street BRT, or the transit facility electrification. The construction of the transit facility received provincial and federal support in 2021. 

Campaign stunts last year ahead of the provincial and federal elections claimed that funding had been secured for the tunnelled section of Hurontario LRT into downtown, but this was false.

Similar to the LRT, the City’s delegation has pushed for funding for the Peel Memorial Phase II expansion and a third hospital, every year, to no avail. 

At AMO, Brampton officials requested support for the Riverwalk project in 2022, 2023 and 2024. No funding has come from the PC government for the project. 

Funding for additional mental health support and equitable funding for Peel’s social services appeared on Brampton’s priority list in 2023, 2024 and 2026, yet no significant investments have been made by the Province and the funding model for Peel remains unchanged. 

City elected officials have pushed the PCs to fix Ontario’s “broken auto insurance system” for years, but no changes have been made. 

At FCM, along with failed attempts to secure millions in funding for the LRT and other key transit projects, Brampton elected officials claim they have tried to secure support for Brown’s “Innovation District” in the City’s downtown. Despite it appearing on the City priority list for a number of years, no funding has been secured and the project remains largely stalled. The centrepiece of this vision, the Centre for Innovation, remains a pipedream as downtown innovation was delayed by Brown as a result of his budget freezes starting in 2019. 

Numerous attempts have also been made to secure funding for Brampton’s Centre for Community Energy Transformation (CCET), but to date the federal government has declined to support the project.

In many cases, the priority brochure produced by the City of Brampton is a recycled version of the year before, signalling another year of failed efforts by local elected officials. 

In some cases, the City is using word-for-word copies of priorities from the year before.

For example, after the PC government's disastrous Bill 23 was denounced by local governments in 2022, the City of Brampton’s AMO brochure included an identical line in 2023 and 2024 about imploring the PCs to “ensure implementation of changes in Bill 23 does not put additional burden on the property tax base.”

The PC government did not listen, and instead it doubled down through Bill 185 which pushes municipalities to cut development charges (the fees builders pay to cover all the local infrastructure new homes need) putting even more pressure on local ratepayers. 

Similarly, in 2022, 2023 and 2024, Brampton’s FCM priorities brochure reused the same paragraph, urging the federal government to “provide funding for land acquisition to the City of Brampton and non-profits for the development of affordable and ‘missing middle’ housing solutions” or “donate land or provide funding to the City of Brampton and non-profits to purchase land for the development of affordable and ‘missing middle’ housing solutions.”

The identical wording appeared each year, but no such funding or land donations have arrived. 

Certain small town councils have recognized the ineffectiveness of the model used by AMO and FCM, which involves rapidfire meetings with provincial and federal officials, and decided to stop attending. 

In Tay Township, Mayor Ted Walker and his councillors have been one of the few local municipalities not to attend the annual AMO conference. 

When asked about the 2025 conference, he told local media: “The township sentiment on this has not changed. While we encourage staff to attend any seminar or conference they might find helpful to their employment, council do not feel members of council benefit as there are other options now such as on-line versions.” 

He continued: “We do contact our MP and MPP and other provincial or federal officials if we are making a request or relaying resident concerns. Attending a 15-minute session at AMO is of no benefit over and above direct contact when the need arises.”

Despite the glaring lack of results, Brampton taxpayers continue to pay to send their elected officials to these meetings, while they often stay at luxury hotels, dine at expensive restaurants and charge for excessively costly airfare. 

(The Pointer graphic)

The Pointer examined expense reports for both FCM and AMO conferences in 2024 and 2025 available on the City’s website. 

Among all members of council, Rowena Santos is the biggest spender by a long shot.

Santos spent $30,935 over the two years, including $11,306.10 in 2024 and $19,628.98 last year. 

For the 2024 AMO conference, Santos expensed $862.27 for a room at the Westin from August 18 to 21. While Mayor Brown, Councillor Harkirat Singh and Councillor Rod Power expensed the $870 registration fee for the conference, it does not appear on the filings from Santos available on Brampton’s website. 

Santos also had taxpayers cover a $73.93 dinner at Joey in Ottawa and another at The Keg for $63.03. 

Her filings include a $101.76 fee for “AMO 2024 Conference flight change”, but the full cost of her flight is not included.

For the FCM conference over June 5 to 10, taxpayers paid $54.59 for Santos’s Uber to Pearson airport; $774.84 to fly her to Calgary, along with $39.55 for her checked bag and $18.32 for onboard wifi; then $61.63 for a taxi from the Calgary airport.

In Calgary, her accommodations cost $1,187.94. Santos also expensed four coffee purchases totaling $27.78. 

To fly her home, taxpayers paid $794.66 and covered on-board wifi at a cost of $17.03 and her checked bag for $39.55. Her expense report also includes an “Air Canada departure flight time adjustment” for $585.12.

Santos then spent $72.40 on a taxi home from Pearson. 

In addition to the registration fees, flights and hotel stays for the annual conference. Santos billed taxpayers for “advocacy days” on Parliament Hill. 

In April 2024, taxpayers paid $1,021.92 to fly Santos to Ottawa for a single day, along with a one-night stay at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier for $458.38. Three months prior, taxpayers paid more than $20,000 to send Santos and Brampton staff members on a trip to Tokyo and Manilla. 

While other councillors attended these trips, not all spent so lavishly. Councillor Rod Power also attended the April 29-30 Advocacy Days. He did not fly or stay at the Chateau Laurier. Power billed taxpayers $181.85 for a rental car and gas, and $373.34 for a stay at the Sheraton. Councillor Paul Vicente also stayed at the Sheraton during this advocacy event, charging $313, plus $93.67 for gas.

Brampton Councillor Rowena Santos billed taxpayers over $30,000 for flights, hotels, food and other expenses related to local advocacy efforts in 2024 and 2025. She did not answer questions about what Brampton residents got in return for covering these expenses. (The Pointer files)
 

In 2025, the spending by Santos skyrocketed, nearly doubling her expenses from the year before. 

She attended both AMO and FCM. 

For FCM’s annual conference in Ottawa Santos billed taxpayers $1,216.03 for registration; $1,562 for her stay at The Westin; and $1,333.69 for her return airfare to Ottawa. Santos also paid an additional $501.12 to extend her stay for one night. 

Her expense reports also include $715.29 for “airfare charges” (in addition to the $1,333.69 already mentioned).

The $2,048.98 Santos paid for airfare to get to and from Ottawa, which is a one-hour flight, compares to economy flights during the week over the same period on either Westjet or Air Canada that cost between approximately $250 and $500 for a return trip. 

It’s unclear if the extra $715 was to change her departure time to accommodate the additional night in Ottawa. 

Santos did not answer questions from The Pointer.

A car rental would allow someone to travel from Brampton to Ottawa in about the same time as the total travel time for a flight, including getting to and from the airport and time spent there before and after the flight. A car rental for the same period would have cost approximately $200. 

Along with the annual conference, Santos also billed $1,069.23 for airfare and accommodations for an FCM board meeting. The location is not shared. 

She also spent $1,248 with Porter airlines presumably for a flight for what is described as a “meeting in Ottawa”. 

There are also three separate charges for flights for “FCM Advocacy Days”, each with Porter, totalling $1,094.88. Santos also spent $1,246.92 of taxpayer money on a stay at Ottawa’s Fairmont Chateau Laurier, which is categorized as a five-star luxury hotel by booking platforms, between October 27 and 30 for FCM Advocacy Days. 

While Councillor Santos was the biggest spender, Councillor Harkirat Singh was not far behind. 

In 2024 and 2025 Singh expensed $21,462.72. 

There are several questionable expenses on his list as well. Along with the $1,035.39 for registration and $626.46 in accommodations billed for FCM in 2024, he spent $932.57 on airfare and $130.25 for “flight changes”. 

Taxpayers also spent $1,852.07 to fly Singh to Brazil for the “U20 Summit for Corporate Representation”. It’s unclear what this has to do with FCM or AMO. 

Singh also expensed $791.49 for “Accommodation charges for Mayor’s Chief of Staff (Babu N.)” for FCM in Calgary. It’s unknown why a councillor is expensing costs for Brown’s staff members. 

Singh did not respond to questions about the expense reports. 

In 2025, Singh billed taxpayers $5,410.42 for flights to the “UCLG World Council”. No other details are provided, but according to the website for the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), it held its annual world council meeting in Xi’an, China from October 16-18. It’s unclear why these expenses appear on the filings related to FCM and AMO. 

In addition to flying around the world, Singh also billed taxpayers $911.23 for a single-night stay in Ottawa for FCM Advocacy Days. 

Mayor Brown spent $17,932.96 on FCM and AMO related events between 2024 and 2025. 

In several instances, flights and accommodations were for meetings that appear to last one or two days. 

Between April 28 and 30, 2024, taxpayers paid $1,433.12 to fly Brown to Ottawa. He also expensed $254.25 for a “ticket change fee”. While in Ottawa, he spent $651.77 on a hotel stay at the Delta. 

Then just over a week later on May 8, taxpayers covered $1,042.96 to fly Brown back to Ottawa for “advocacy meetings”.

In 2025, Brown spent $1,280 on another flight to Ottawa, this one for meetings of the Big City Mayors Caucus between February 3 and 5. While there he expensed $138.85 for a dinner at The Shore Club, the gourmet surf n’ turf restaurant attached to The Westin Hotel. 

Brown also expensed $1,287.18 for a flight to another Big City Mayors meeting, and $114.55 for a “service fee” on the flight. It’s not explained what this is. 

Taxpayers covered $733.54 to change one of Brown’s flights so he could attend a Big City Mayors event in Thunder Bay, where he stayed at the Prince Arthur Waterfront Hotel for $633.32. 

In a separate charge, Brown expensed a $1,816.95 flight for “meetings in Ottawa” along with a $76.37 “service fee”. 

Mayor Brown did not respond to questions about the expense reports. 

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