Many of the steps to reduce our impact on the planet seem insignificant. Every time we leave the car at home, turn a light off or separate packaging into garbage or recycling, the individual impact goes unnoticed.
When bureaucratic problems arise, they add to the barriers around effective sustainability. Within Peel’s two-tiered system of government, each is not always on the same page and problems with the way recycling is managed are a perfect illustration.
More residents in Peel are now eligible to receive their second vaccination, if they can find an appointment.
The region’s vaccine plan is moving into a higher gear and doses are being dished out to defeat the COVID-19 delta variant. Hiccups in the system and structural barriers to access for some of the most vulnerable represent cause for concern in an otherwise positive picture.
The Brampton councillor has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has fought to have the integrity commissioner’s report thrown out.
A year after the interim report examining allegations stemming from a trade mission to Turkey was completed, Dhillon is raising questions about possible interference by Mayor Patrick Brown.
The City is preparing to craft its 2022 budget to be shared with residents later this year.
A recent staff report indicates, for the first time during this council term after years of claiming all is well, that all may not be well with the City’s finances. But instead of acknowledging past mistakes caused by Mayor Patrick Brown’s reckless policy of tax freezes and reviewing possible solutions, staff are clearly working for him, not the residents who desperately need investments in their city.
The Premier and his ruling party are legislating toward the use of Ontario’s notwithstanding clause, in hopes of wiping away 16 months of failed pandemic leadership ahead of next year’s election. Ford has seen what happened to Donald Trump. Beyond the political gamesmanship, as desperate men try to hang onto power, will COVID-19 push our healthcare system to re-evaluate the reactive response to the pandemic, and force governments to embrace long-term solutions?
Keyna Sarkar is on a mission to fight ‘period poverty’ in Brampton, and in April, she pushed the City to provide free menstrual products in all municipal facilities. Through Girl Up Brampton, a non-profit organization started by the United Nations, she and her team are taking their message across the city, collecting sanitary products for those in need.
Peel Region has a housing crisis on its hands. According to a 2020 staff report, ownership and rental options are unaffordable for 80 percent of residents.
The Region will soon be armed with inclusionary zoning. The policies will allow council to mandate affordable units from home builders, but in the profit-driven world of development, striking the right balance will be key.
Some community advocates are processing the news Peel District School Board director of education Colleen Russell-Rawlins has accepted the job to lead the country’s largest board in Toronto.
She was brought to Peel by the Province specifically to implement changes after a harrowing probe solidified the need to finally eradicate systemic anti-Black racism and other deeply imbedded forms of discrimination in the board. Her looming departure has thrown the sweeping agenda up in the air.
Politicians in Mississauga have become increasingly critical of one another on social media in the past few months.
A number of spats and criticisms, including a recent debate between MPP Rudy Cuzzetto and Councillor Carolyn Parrish, have illustrated a use of social media that offers little value to taxpayers and residents.
After two members of council had their social media accounts temporarily hacked, senior staff took the unprecedented steps to hire a private firm, without telling council, to monitor City Hall accounts and possibly those of private citizens. But they won’t reveal who was hired for the work.
It’s an unprecedented move surrounded by sticky issues of privacy, data gathering and potential abuse. Some councillors are questioning whether the program will even work and if staff with checkered pasts can be trusted.
John Cutruzzola says a decade-long legal fight with Brampton City Hall accomplished its goal. The company’s $28.5 million lawsuit, which will not move forward after the courts ruled against Inzola Group, revealed disturbing behaviour by former City officials, none of whom are with the municipality anymore. The court focused on whether Inzola was legitimately disqualified from the bidding process in a half-billion-dollar downtown redevelopment project, which included a City Hall expansion. Tens of thousands of pages of documents in the case exposed widespread misconduct in the way the procurement was handled.
Little Etobicoke Creek was the centre of a study that shows the next heavy rainstorm could cause huge damage to nearby businesses and homes. The municipality saw in 2013 what can happen in a flash storm, as once in a century weather events now happen every few years, thanks to man-made impacts on our rapidly changing climate. Mississauga is now trying to prepare for the next catastrophic event.
Peel Region isn’t out of the woods yet. As the novel coronavirus continues to mutate, public health officials are in a race with time to get populations inoculated. The delta variant is now spreading in Peel, something Dr. Lawrence Loh is monitoring closely. The mayors of Mississauga and Brampton are calling on the Province to give Peel proper second-dose allocations, so the region and surrounding areas can avoid a fourth wave.
Council voted to hire a third-party investigator to probe sweeping allegations of corruption inside City Hall made by an employee who formerly worked in CAO David Barrick’s office. Every discussion on the matter so far has happened behind closed doors, and residents want to know what’s going on. Gurpreet Dhillon fought against the practice, stating it wasn’t accountable or transparent and he moved a successful motion to ensure no more secrecy from the public.
During a 2014 trial that garnered international attention, Mississauga rapper Avalanche the Architect tried to convince a judge that lyrics in one of his songs were not actual threats but just artistic expression.
It’s a theme that is becoming more common in the criminal justice system as rap songs are increasingly used as evidence in criminal trials, disproportionately impacting young, Black and Hispanic men.
Sandeep Aujla is facing allegations of making racist comments against members of these communities.
She denies the accusations and a third-party investigation into the matter is underway. It makes it hard for members of Patrick Brown’s Black, African and Caribbean advisory group to understand why the mayor brought her to speak recently on hiring concerns directly impacting the communities.
An analysis by The Pointer shows Peel Regional Police’s K9 unit is getting significant traction online. Compared to the force’s main account, the differences are stark but the messages are similar: showcasing the work of police.
It’s no surprise that these amazing police dogs are wildly popular and the following they’ve garnered has a lot to do with how Twitter as a platform works. The transparent approach with the public is an example of how the communication tool could be used by police departments.
After false starts and programs that led nowhere, Peel police, supported by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, will launch a consultation on anti-Black racism and discrimination during the summer.
Police and human rights experts will complete a list of recommendations rooted in data and based on previous surveys, asking the community for their approval. Residents will shape policies, not the force.
In Mississauga and Brampton, thoughts are already turning to next year’s provincial election. One councillor in each city is hoping to move on to Queen’s Park, while other candidates have started to test the water.
Voters in the two cities hold the keys to 11 critical seats and will find themselves the centre of attention as the Liberals, NDP and PCs vie to form the next government.
After increasing for five straight years, many forms of violent crime in Brampton and Mississauga decreased in 2020.
While residents in both cities will be relieved to see the numbers going in this direction, the role of pandemic restrictions on these activities could mean the trend is only temporary instead of a sign of long-term strategies paying off.
The nightmare stories of two Brampton families tell the anguish of a city ignored by its leaders for decades. Residents have asked why they are treated like second-class citizens for years, but no level of government has answered for the crisis they have all created.
The City’s crumbling healthcare system is used as an election prop then ignored until the next campaign cycle begins. Meanwhile, Brampton residents live under constant fear that a loved one will fall sick and become dependent on an infamous local healthcare system that has made national headlines during the ongoing pandemic.
The pandemic is leaving a long trail of stressed and traumatized people in its slowly receding wake. Social service organizations will be the ones tasked with helping individuals process and come to terms with the year that was and get back on their feet.
As Family Services of Peel celebrates its 50th anniversary, the newly installed executive director talks with The Pointer about what the future holds and how organizations will need to change to continue performing their critical, life-saving role.
Brampton’s arts community is made up of dozens of groups that share their talents during events hosted by the City’s various venues.
Despite this, the City has in recent years focused much of its energy and resources on The Rose Theatre. One advocate worries Council fails to realize the effect of ignoring many of the needs in Brampton’s struggling arts scene.
Mayor Patrick Brown was repeatedly rebuffed by councillors and Region of Peel staff Thursday. His efforts to delay critically needed downtown infrastructure work failed.
His misleading comments about the history of the Downtown Reimagined project were batted away and he will now have to accept blame for a possible six-year delay to the City’s part of the crucial revitalization plan.
Creating a greener planet will mean diverting more waste away from greenhouse gas emitting landfill sites.
Proposals from companies to create a new anaerobic waste facility in Peel, to turn residential green-bin waste into natural gas, will be presented to Regional Council July 8.
The new plant will boost Peel’s organic waste processing capacity, and mark a big step toward meeting global, provincial and municipal climate targets.
Queen’s Park and Ottawa are investing enormous sums in transit projects around the GTA.
The new infrastructure represents the promise of a green future, but without schedule and fare integration, Brampton and Mississauga residents, like thousands of others across the GTA, likely won’t use the glittering new multi-billion-dollar infrastructure being built across the region.
Peel CAS and its leadership are under investigation, ordered by the Province, after allegations of anti-Black racism were laid out in a union report.
The provincial probe will also investigate the organization's financial management, with pay increases for senior leadership drastically outstripping inflation over the past two years.
Whistleblower allegations made last month by Nikki Kaur are ‘false, malicious and defamatory’ Brampton’s head of HR claims in a lawsuit she has filed.
Sandeep Aujla, the City of Brampton’s head of human resources, launched her lawsuit against Kaur, a staff member who made bombshell allegations last month detailing a startling level of corruption inside City Hall – both are directors with the City. Aujla was described as a racist who cut corners in order to hand out raises to friends of CAO David Barrick. The lawsuit states the allegations are “totally false”.
Brampton’s majority immigrant population and working class culture have combined to make the city a soccer hotbed. No fewer than five members of the Toronto FC first team hail from the Flower City and more promising youngsters are making their way through the ranks.
The plucky suburb has all the ingredients required to keep on nurturing players for the beautiful game.
Scandal follows the Brampton mayor wherever he goes. His disdain for the truth and utter contempt for democratic norms are currently supported by five councillors who have decided to bow and kiss the ring, plunging City Hall into another era of turmoil.
As Mississauga continues its vertical expansion, spots of natural beauty are getting hemmed in. The city has no plans to slow its rapid urbanization, but the pandemic has shown all of us how important the natural world is to our collective well being. Protecting these places will become more important than ever.
Downtown business owners and residents are fed up. For decades, they have been promised updated infrastructure and the beautification of an area that has crumbled due to neglect.
Instead they have faced one broken promise after another. When the ‘Downtown Reimagined’ project was finally ready to move forward following seven years of planning, Patrick Brown cancelled it as soon as he was elected on a platform of cost cutting. Now, he’s trying to postpone the Region of Peel’s work scheduled to start this summer.
As vaccine eligibility continues to expand, more Peel Region residents are getting their turn at the jab. Thanks to the special two-week allocation of doses to hotspots, the region overall has been trending downward in positive cases and upward in first doses.
The provincial government announced the May long weekend will feature golf, tennis and other outdoor activities. But parents still don’t know if children will go back into classrooms this year.
As Ontario’s solicitor general and MPP for Dufferin-Caledon, Sylvia Jones operates in the intersection of provincial and municipal politics.
But in a pandemic that has raged within her region, some Ontario residents question if the person in charge of public safety is interested in consulting with them to make her decisions.
After more than three years of work, staff at the City of Brampton have unveiled a new housing plan.
The blueprint, which has significant costs associated, offers a route forward on housing for a council whose planning regime has been ruled by developers.
A workshop was sold as an avenue for Brampton’s elected officials to ask any questions about the controversial consulting work to set up a corporation to manage the city’s real estate portfolio.
The job was handed to an associate of Mayor Patrick Brown after a whistleblower alleges she was told to only contact one individual. After news of the questionable arrangement was reported, the workshop was promised to find out how taxpayer dollars were spent. Almost four months later, councillors say they are still waiting for answers.
Mississauga’s refusal to host legal cannabis stores pushes residents who use the substance to illegal stores, mobile dispensaries à la Uber Eats, or to nearby cities. Charges for driving while under the influence of cannabis have almost doubled since 2018.
Meanwhile, police are spending heavy resources trying to shut down illegal storefronts as more popular mobile dispensaries are also thriving.
After months of getting the short end of the stick, Peel has administered more than its per-capita allocation of vaccines.
An increasingly heartening vaccination campaign offers residents some hope, but the dire situation in hospitals means the region still has a long way to go.
The next few months or years promise to be a ‘combustible’ time for the old Chrysler assembly line on Williams Parkway as it falls under new ownership. Can muscle cars keep the doors open in an age of sweeping policies to curb climate change?
A survey of staff at City Hall has confirmed what most already knew: local government does not look like its residents. Less than 30 percent of the City’s staff identify as racialized, compared to about 60 percent of the Mississauga population, while the highest level of leadership is exclusively white.
The leader in charge of the diversity portfolio is also a white man. Eleven out of twelve council members are white. Without the lived experience, some question if they are an illustration of City Hall’s culture of indifference toward equity and inclusion.
Creating a beautiful cityscape throughout a decaying downtown has been on the agenda for Brampton City Council for decades. Dysfunction among council members has returned, jeopardizing the future of a city centre desperately in need of a complete makeover. Wednesday’s meeting was an exercise in futility and local business owners are ready to revolt.
In a committee meeting, councillors found out that Brampton, during a year when the city was crushed by a public health crisis, saw the biggest jump in the number of employees on the “sunshine list” to date. Anxious not to repeat mistakes of the past, some councillors want a much needed discussion around senior staff salaries and perks, considering their responsibility to protect the taxpayers they represent.
In a city that has faced tremendous population growth over the past three decades, which is projected to last at least another 20 years, Brampton has remained grossly underfunded. With one full-service hospital for a population approaching 700,000 and a lack of equitable public funding in almost all key government sectors, an issue that has loomed for years is the difficulty to accurately account for the city’s population. The current Census represents an opportunity to finally change this and secure a fair share of funding.
For the second time in the past six months, staff have violated guidelines under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. After CAO David Barrick illegally changed the staff member responsible for handling FOI requests and took over authority of the role, without the knowledge or approval of council, his administration is now ignoring legislated timelines to meet requests for public information.
Gagan Sikand has been away on a long-term medical leave since October. Despite pleas from residents, staff at his office and working for the Liberal Party have no answers about how long he will be away, how residents are being served and if there will be a by-election.
On Wednesday, Brampton Councillor Jeff Bowman will order City staff to create an analysis of spending on non-union salaries and benefits at City Hall. The move comes after sharp pay increases in Brampton, with more than 1,000 City staff now earning in excess of $100,000 per year. The number has more than doubled in five years.
Gurdeep (Nikki) Kaur was fired by CAO David Barrick hours after levelling explosive allegations against him, Mayor Patrick Brown and other senior staff members. In a bizarre twist, sources have confirmed Council has directed Barrick to rehire the whistleblower he fired three weeks ago.
Mississauga Hospital was built in 1958 and, if plans move forward on schedule, could get a complete rebuild in 2024. The major healthcare investment is needed to accommodate rapid population growth that has seen the city’s number of beds per 1,000 residents fall to roughly 1.6, well below the national average of 2.5.
Peel Region is home to the country’s largest collection of South Asian-Canadian communities. Hundreds of thousands of residents have family back in India, where the recent viral spread has decimated the planet’s second most populous nation. For residents here, each day is met with anxiety as the situation half-way around the world worsens.
When Hana Fatima saw a woman struggling to shop among the horde of panic buyers last March, she knew she had to help. Her small act inspired the Good Neighbour Project.
