Before COVID-19 sent Peel — and the rest of the world — spiralling, Mississauga and Brampton’s housing markets were among the hottest in the country. Sales were up dramatically, rates of price increases over the last four years outpaced most cities across the country and thousands of new units were coming online annually.
Now, suddenly, the real estate market in one of Canada’s fastest growing regions is drying up. Drastic moves by the country’s central bank might not be enough.
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The COVID-19 crisis in Ontario has created a new level of fear across the province, after health and government officials revealed the devastation that will be caused by the virus. If the current isolation measures are not increased there will be 80,000 cases and 1,600 deaths in Ontario by the end of April.
As the province releases alarming projections for the impact of COVID-19 in the coming weeks and months, the premier has resisted pressure to implement stricter measures on individuals and companies. Instead, Doug Ford has further limited the number of essential businesses operating in the province and is begging people to stay home.
In Europe, many countries have had severe mobility restrictions in place since March, with residents told not to leave the house. For Ontario, questions remain about whether similar rules will be applied and what exactly they would look like.
An unfortunate error led a number of Peel residents to receive negative results to their COVID-19 tests when in fact they were positive. The error comes as cases in Brampton more than doubled in four days.
Mississauga resident Shrey Jain and a team of fellow university students are working on an online mapping app to track the local spread of infection caused by novel coronavirus. The group hopes its work can assist public health investigators frantically working to identify and contain the spread of COVID-19 as the numbers get worse by the day.
It will be a crucial week ahead for Brampton and the rest of the country as Peel Public Health announces new instructions to stay home and the city cancels some weekend bus services.
Despite harsh penalties for breaking physical distancing rules, municipal an ld provincial cases are spiking.
Mississauga and Brampton had strained healthcare systems well before COVID-19 turned everything upside down. As the pandemic continues and the number of positive cases in Peel grows, pressure on hospitals will only increase.
Instead of encouraging cities to build temporary treatment spaces, Ontario is hoping to coordinate care between different health networks and alleviate pressure on those hit hardest.
Peel’s healthcare systems were already struggling to keep up with patients before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as rates of infection spike and after Mississauga’s Credit Valley Hospital just declared an outbreak, the region and province can follow international examples of how to slow the spread of COVID-19 and prevent it from reaching the tipping point.
With the turn of the calendar page, thousands of Peel tenants now owe their landlords rent. Job loss and income disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have left many without the funds necessary for shelter.
Tenant advocates want definitive assurances from the provincial government there won’t be serious consequences for not paying rent.
The City of Brampton has signed a new bylaw that allows officers to fine individuals not following physical distancing measures. Meanwhile, Peel Public Health has confirmed 11 new cases of the novel coronavirus in Brampton Wednesday.
There’s a lot of fear, uncertainty and risk for those on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19, and one local politician has thrown herself into the middle of it.
Natalia Kusendova, a registered nurse, and Mississauga Centre MPP, talks about her transition from Queen’s Park to the emergency room, and how healthcare providers and the PC government are preparing for a looming wave of infection.
Politicians at all levels of government have told Canadians one thing: stay inside. The advice hopes to slow the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the strain on limited hospital resources.
One side effect of this shutdown is a near total lack of demand for private transit. The federal government has rolled out a series of aid programs for different workers that could help the taxi industry, with drivers and companies facing a bleak future.
Hundreds of religious groups in Peel were forced to close their doors to stop the spread of COVID-19. Leaders of different faiths are doing their best to connect with community members hurting during a time of need. In-person services, online sermons, digital classes and prayers and check-ins over the phone are now becoming routine for those who help take care of our spiritual well-being.
Brampton continues to see an unsettling spike in new cases of the novel coronavirus. As the infection spreads, the city has shuttered outdoor recreational facilities and its transit system is limiting peak service hours.
As Peel saw its largest single-day increase of new cases of COVID-19 so far, including its first death, Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga has declared an outbreak after four patients in one unit tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Parents in Peel will have their children at home for at least another month, the province has announced. Education Minister Stephen Lecce and Premier Doug Ford confirmed the extended shutdown of Ontario schools as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. During the announcement, more details were also shared about how teachers will begin educating students at home, as many parents question why online learning has not been better integrated.
She’s a Black woman who wears her pro-life convictions on her sleeve. She wants to bring social conservatism out from the closet, where the party has completely botched efforts to hide many of its central values, according to her. And Leslyn Lewis tells The Pointer she wants to put the needs of cities like Mississauga and Brampton at the top of her agenda.
With public facilities shutdown and people working from home, physical distancing measures are having a big impact on city budgets.
Free transit, closed recreation centres and deferred property taxes are just a few of the financial pressures facing Brampton and Mississauga. While officials maintain public optimism that major projects will continue as planned, a bailout could be required in the long run.
In Peel, the rise in new COVID-19 cases shows no sign of slowing down. In its daily report, Peel Public Health revealed Monday the number of cases has risen by double digits for the seventh consecutive day. With more than 1,700 cases of the novel coronavirus now confirmed in Ontario, the provincial rate is spiking too.
Keeping your distance from other people is the number one tactic for limiting the spread of COVID-19, but what happens when you don’t have a choice?
The dynamic nature of a police officer’s duties can put them at particular risk of coming into contact with infected individuals. The Peel Regional Police are taking a number of steps to keep their officers and the public safe.
Tens of thousands of Canadians are unable to return home after sweeping border and travel restrictions were enacted by the Indian and Pakistani governments to halt the spread of COVID-19.
On Monday, some of those stranded received good news: the federal government has announced special flights for Canadians will begin this week.
There are many unsung heroes in the war against COVID-19, like the road warriors in our trucking industry who keep our store shelves stocked with the goods we need to survive and the medical supplies moving to keep us safe. Mississauga and Brampton are the epicentre of this industry, often looked down on by many in our society.
It has been a troubling weekend across Peel and much of the world, as COVID-19 cases continue to climb. Peel Region now has 187 confirmed positive cases while Ontario reports a total of 1,355 cases. Meanwhile, a senior health expert in the U.S. is now warning of a devastating worst-case scenario there, projecting as many as 200,000 deaths.
In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologized for the poorly managed nationwide lockdown he ordered a week ago, which has left millions in chaos.
Crowds over the past 24 hours continue to gather in India, after a nationwide lockdown was ordered at the start of the week. The country of almost 1.4 billion people officially reports less than a thousand confirmed COVID-19 cases.
But experts fear the number represents just a tiny fraction of actual infections because of woefully low testing rates and more than a million could be dead from the virus in a year.
As new cases of COVID-19 infection continue to rise daily in Peel and across the province, the potential impact on our local healthcare systems continues to loom.
Efforts are now underway at all levels of government to stave off a crisis in local hospitals and a potential shortage of critical personal protective equipment (PPE).
Along with almost 1.4 billion Indians locked down as part of the world’s most severe isolation measure, are thousands of Canadians, including many from Brampton and Mississauga. With the Indian government’s sweeping three-week clamp down on all movement within its borders, and strict international travel restrictions around the world, Canadians stuck there are trying to figure out how to get home, but the federal government warns that some will not get help.
As COVID-19 continues to spread through Brampton and Mississauga, people are failing to follow the rules of physical distancing.
Brampton residents and officials are asking if more can be done and won’t rule out the possibility of giving local officers the power to fine rule breakers.
In Peel, the novel coronavirus continues to spread, with new cases confirmed nearly every day since the first reported local infection on March 5.
With concerns over the economy and rising unemployment, the spike in infections raises the spectre of a significant outbreak in a region whose healthcare systems were already broken.
In Brampton and Mississauga, hallway healthcare and long wait times plague already struggling hospitals. Without localized data, healthcare systems will have a hard time managing an increase of patients and dwindling medical resources.
Meanwhile, in daily updates about new confirmed cases of COVID-19, Peel Public Health and the Ontario Ministry of Health report different numbers, a discrepancy that can’t be ignored.
For years, the Region of Peel’s shelters have operated in overflow, without enough beds for people experiencing the hardships of homelessness.
Now, with the rapid spread of COVID-19, there are fears the disease could wreak havoc on those without anywhere to call home, in turn putting the general population at risk.
For the second straight day, the province has confirmed its largest, single-day increase in new COVID-19 infections, placing ever-increasing significance on the need for physical distancing to limit the spread of the disease.
To help Ontario’s strained healthcare system, as well as residents and employers amid mass business closures, the province has announced a $17 billion aid package.
A Brampton Transit bus driver has tested positive for COVID-19, the city has announced. On Wednesday morning, Peel Public Health reported the number of cases confirmed in the city has risen to 22.
Both a Brampton MP and bus driver have tested positive for COVID-19. The rate of infection is increasing, with Ontario experiencing its largest single-day increase to date. Meanwhile, the province is increasing measures to protect public health and wallets, including hydro relief and the closure of all non-essential businesses.
New regulations, released by Ontario, outline how cities should plan to grow. Contained in the rules are measures that will change the futures of Mississauga and Brampton, encouraging them to build in areas where communities already exist, instead of continuing sprawl.
Kamal Khera, a registered nurse and Liberal MP for Brampton West, has tested positive for COVID-19. The politician will be self-isolating and monitoring her symptoms, following guidance from Peel Public Health and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
After years of mounting animus between Peel’s Black community and many who lead the country’s third largest school board, it has been forced to acknowledge the deep scars created by an organization described in a scathing provincial review as having a “terrible state of affairs”. The board of trustees vowed Tuesday to turn things around after Queen’s Park handed down a harsh mandate for change.
The Region of Peel saw a spike in new cases of COVID-19 confirmed Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after Premier Doug Ford mandated the closure of all non-essential businesses.
In Peel, small businesses are grappling with how to weather the economic toll of COVID-19 and avoid layoffs. Thousands of Brampton residents are low income earners and more than 500,000 Ontarians have less than a month of savings.
Government measures are set to keep staff on payrolls and stop permanent closures in uncertain times, but they won’t come into effect until April, leaving people reeling in the meantime.
In Mississauga and Brampton, tens of thousands of families rely on people working in construction and development to put food on the table. With strict measures in place — and under the watchful eye of the province — these sites will remain open for now, though some in the industry have pushed back.
Community meals, or langar, provide an invaluable source of relief for impoverished people in Mississauga and Brampton who turn to Sikh Gurdwaras for a warm, nutritious meal every day. No one in need, regardless of faith, culture or creed, is turned away.
But the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic are forcing langars in Peel Region and the rest of the country to shut down or scale back, at a time when the vulnerable face even greater risks.
New cases of COVID-19 continue to spike in Ontario, including a number of confirmed infections in the Region of Peel.
All levels of government continue to implement measures to help citizens and businesses weather the storm while urging everyone to stay home in an effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The mayors of Mississauga and Brampton are trying everything to get people to stay home, including the mandated closure of indoor and outdoor public spaces, alongside non-essential businesses.
But to connect with the public, diverse in age, language and culture, the cities are moving past using social media alone to disseminate critical health information.
Staying away from our fellow humans is a necessary tactic to halt the spread of COVID-19. For many, it is a minor inconvenience and maybe a case of cabin fever.
However, for those who rely on human presence and connection to keep their bodies and minds healthy, the elimination of crucial support groups could have drastic consequences.
As the COVID-19 infection continues its recent sharp spread across Ontario, with a total of 424 cases in the province, Queen’s Park is implementing a number of new measures to mobilize industry to create medical supplies and to help hospitals meet the growing needs.
As bars, cafes, restaurants, schools and many shops close their doors, construction sites around Ontario remain open. These economically valuable operations prompt a crucial question: how do we balance public safety with the need to keep our society, and its people, functioning?
Brampton Transit has followed Mississauga’s lead by announcing free travel throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Both cities are operating reduced schedules, but keeping operators and other staff on payroll while facing increasing losses as they adapt to an unprecedented situation.
COVID-19 continues its steady spread across the province as cities take unprecedented steps to limit infection.
To help residents out of work, Brampton and Mississauga have announced plans to defer property tax payments and other measures to ensure residents can use their available funds to keep their families fed and healthy.
To contain the spread of COVID-19, Ontario schools are closed until April 6, and maybe later.
To ensure students continue learning, the ministry of education is providing online educational resources.
While some boards are moving swiftly to get these alternative education platforms up and running to help parents once the March break is over, the Peel District School Board says it’s not doing the same.
The rate of COVID-19 infection in Ontario is accelerating, with 50 new cases confirmed in the province, two of those in Peel. With schools set to remain closed, a new online portal has been launched to help kids learn in these uncertain times.
As cases of COVID-19 mount across Peel, hospitals in Brampton and Mississauga are searching for answers. Both cities went into the pandemic with stretched resources, hallway healthcare and some of the worst wait times in the province.
Now, local health networks are trying to patch together an adequate response to a life or death crisis after years of neglect.
Brampton’s massive auto plant on Williams Parkway, where thousands are employed on its giant assembly lines, can’t inoculate itself from the effects of the novel coronavirus. Hopefully, the latest layoff will only be temporary, says the president of its local union.
