While councillors tell residents about the low tax increases they have secured, few are talking about the spiralling cost of water in Peel.
After enduring an increase of more than 7 percent in 2020, people in Brampton, Mississauga and parts of Caledon will find themselves paying a further 5.5 percent for utilities in 2021 ahead of an even larger increase in 2022.
Brampton Centre MP Ramesh Sangha has been removed from the Liberal caucus after making “baseless and dangerous" accusations about some of his fellow MPs, the government whip’s office said.
The move means the Liberals will enter the next federal election with a rookie candidate, similar to 2019 when Maninder Sidhu stood for the first time after Raj Grewal stepped aside.
The Brampton-East MPP is no stranger to trends and viral videos, with over 1.4 million likes on his TikTok account.
But quantity does not always equal quality, and while Singh is often a vocal advocate on the issues that matter to Brampton, these messages can sometimes be lost among opinions, and viral trends that are trying to sell constituents on the “Gurratan Singh” brand.
The City will not be the first to explore the option. Some, like Toronto, have already established an in-house ombud to look into complaints related to City Hall practises. What remains unclear is if this is the best option to serve residents and those council members who are growing increasingly frustrated over the lack of transparency under Brown's mayoralty.
Before the pandemic, transit ridership in Brampton grew year after year. Between 2017 and 2018, it increased by 14 percent alone. With the city’s rapidly growing population, all trends point toward this increase continuing. But Patrick Brown’s demands for tax freezes now raise questions about how the City will pay for its own transit expansion plans.
Last week, councillors in Caledon asked the Province to consider an unusual move to increase local control over the broad planning process.
A town council motion, light on detail and heavy on direction, was approved asking for Peel and Caledon to get special planning status. It’s the latest development in Caledon’s souring relations with the Region of Peel, after losing two council seats late last year.
While most students are learning from home, some in Peel with special needs still require direct supervision and support.
Braving high infection case counts and unable to socially distance in many situations, with immediate contact unavoidable, educational assistants are sacrificing their safety to continue helping students who need assistance most.
GTA mayors, labour unions and the NDP are joining other groups including many in the medical community demanding paid sick days. The PCs say support already exists for those workers forced to go into factories, plants and other facilities where many continue to contract the novel coronavirus. NDP leaders are demanding Ford reopen the legislature before February to enact an emergency Bill that would provide guaranteed sick days for those who desperately need them.
Despite an online petition that thousands of local residents have signed to save the Burnhamthorpe Community Centre outdoor ice rink, the demolition will continue as planned, to make way for a new pool and renovated community centre. Following the City’s decision to reject the online petition, residents are raising concerns over the lack of transparency behind the move.
The new measure came about after Mayor Patrick Brown and Councillor Rowena Santos were impersonated on social media late last year.
In response, staff took it upon themselves to make sure it never happens again, raising questions about free speech rights and prompting frustration from some councillors concerned about the lack of public debate around what the proposed social media surveillance of citizens actually means.
Brampton is following Toronto’s lead, instituting a mandatory mask policy at the City’s outdoor skating rinks. It also continues to leave outdoor winter amenities, such as tobogganing hills and trails, open for use to promote exercise and the mental-well being of residents.
In the eyes of some progressive planners, Queen Street holds the key to Brampton’s future. A new business case from Metrolinx outlines how to install rapid transit along the route and how much it will cost, but City Council, which has approved Mayor Patrick Brown’s tax freezes for three straight years, isn’t sure where the money will come from.
Nearly a month after Premier Doug Ford issued a province-wide lockdown, and only days after he attempted to strengthen that measure with a stay-at-home order, data from the Region of Peel show increased hospitalizations and coronavirus case numbers that are unparalleled across the province.
The Brampton mayor is a career politician. His social media pages reflect that. But unlike many others, he allows residents to enter a conversation with him through social media about issues pertaining to the city, something few elected officials do. Unfortunately, he often uses social media to make claims that are not accurate.
Regional Council is set to establish the financial blueprint for the current year. Elected officials will debate staff recommendations for the 2021 budget that include increases of 1.3 percent to property taxes for the Region’s share of the bill, and 5.5 percent to utility rates.
Affordable housing and other social services that have long been neglected will be addressed while councillors grapple with the ongoing financial impacts of the pandemic.
Council is supposed to make a crucial decision that could impact the city’s future development plans for decades. A central realty group, run under a municipal development corporation, has been proposed. But it’s raising more questions about how decisions have been made since Patrick Brown became mayor, after his dramatic fall from provincial politics in 2018.
A first dose of COVID-19 vaccine has been given to every resident of 28 long-term care homes and 15 at-risk retirement residences in Peel.
Next, officials will continue to vaccinate frontline health workers as they complete the logistics on a mammoth vaccine rollout.
As traditional journalism outlets continue to struggle – with disruption, a growing lack of trust and outdated business models – the dilemma faced by society now and in the future, is how we embrace our social media platforms. Recent studies show the limitations and potential harm of these sites. Even some who created and engineered them into tech giants are raising red flags because of the impact they are having on addicting our youth. In Part 1 of a 2-part series, we will look at today’s social media behemoths and the failures of traditional journalism outlets.
As people continue to adjust during the stay-at-home restrictions in Ontario, some gaping loopholes remain in place. While police and bylaw officers can force residents to refrain from local trips, travelling to the airport and flying abroad remain acceptable explanations for leaving the house.
For more than 30 years, local leaders in Peel have been vying to attract proportional funding to the region, which receives less than half the per capita dollars of other Ontario municipalities, according to its last “fair share” campaign effort. But funding roadblocks in everything from healthcare to housing have left frustrated residents with more questions than answers as to why the region remains passed over on critical funding opportunities.
With much finger-pointing to higher levels of government from local leaders in Peel, are municipalities doing all they can to support local businesses?
Several construction unions and industry groups in the GTA are bolstering anti-racism programs following a series of incidents at work sites in the summer.
The Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario has appointed Brampton resident Chris Campbell as its first Equity and Diversity Representative. The efforts aim to improve the makeup of an industry that traditionally has lagged in visible minority representation.
In Peel Region, the belated release of rules for the Province’s new stay-at-home-order has caused concern.
Police in Brampton and Mississauga have a poor track record on equity and diversity and ill-defined rules expose the danger of arbitrary enforcement.
The Mississauga MP has stepped down from his cabinet role and will not contest the next election, so he can spend more time with his school-age daughters.
In a new weekly feature, Social Media Monitor, The Pointer explores how politicians and other local public officials (one a week) use their social media platforms. Are they getting input from citizens to craft policy and shape legislation, or is it the new way to campaign every single day of the year?
For better or worse, social media is at the heart of our discourse, all of the time. Public figures now control digital communication, often sidestepping traditional media. So how are these public servants aiming Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms at you?
Throughout the pandemic, Peel has remained a frontrunner in new COVID-19 cases. Within the region, Brampton sticks out like a sore thumb. Peel Public Health puts Brampton’s weekly case rate since May at 279 for every 100,000 residents, among the highest rates in Canada. Minority groups that represent the majority of residents have constantly taken the blame for the rise in cases. Those pointing fingers fail to realize the deep inequities that make these groups vulnerable.
The veteran Liberal politician has been entangled in controversies over recent years that raised questions about his associations.
He is the second high-profile Liberal cabinet minister to step down recently, after former finance minister Bill Morneau left his role following concern over his ties to a charity that was awarded a lucrative federal contract. Bains reportedly will not seek re-election.
Many in the mainstream are unaware of deep divisions among immigrant and visible minority groups. For youth in Peel, changing their parents’ narrative is a challenging proposition. While commonly understood stereotypes and forms of discrimination are slowly being confronted in our public institutions, youth need to overcome an entirely different set of divisive attitudes under their own roof.
Prior to the new year, Queen’s Park announced new isolation centres for Peel to help a small number infected with the novel coronavirus keep others safe. But these facilities represent a drop in the bucket for a region struggling to cope with rapidly increasing case counts.
Much more resources for testing and tracing are what’s really needed, along with better policies for paid sick-leave and other practices to help essential workers in Peel.
Over the years, the City has released nearly half a dozen plans to do its share in the global fight against climate change. These documents, typically carbon copies of previous plans, rarely lead to action. In its first five years, the City’s environmental master plan listed 219 tasks to be completed. The City crossed off only 21 percent of them.
The lack of action continues with the absence of adequate financial support in the 2021 budget, putting the city on the losing end of a climate emergency.
The Province has announced its last-minute plans to extend school closures by a further two weeks, frustrating many Peel teachers.
Issues singled out by unions for months remain unresolved, they say, while the pandemic shows no signs of retreating across the hard hit region.
Members of the disability community in Ontario have been desperately trying to work with the Province since March after now-withdrawn emergency protocols threatened to block basic access to life-saving healthcare.
Now, more than 10 months into the pandemic, they fear the Province is offering them an impossible choice.
COVID-19 vaccinations are ramping up in Peel, as the Province attempts to inoculate all long-term care residents and frontline health workers before January 21.
The target is the first of several in a vaccine rollout program aimed at ending the rampant spread of the novel coronavirus.
With some elementary schools set to re-open for in-person learning next week, despite surging new-case numbers, teachers’ unions say their members are not convinced it's safe to return to the classroom.
Speaking at a press conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Leader of the Liberals, expressed his disappointment with Kamal Khera who travelled out of the country recently. In his remarks, he hinted at her dismissal from her special role, despite Khera’s suggestion that she is voluntarily stepping down as a parliamentary secretary.
After a turbulent 2020, staff and councillors at Brampton City Hall have their hands full.
A lengthy to-do list, reduced from its 2019 peak, contains a variety of reports that have been repeatedly punted down the road. It could hinder the City’s ability to move forward with new initiatives in 2021.
The Canadian Muslim COVID-19 Task Force was born out of an emergency meeting by community leaders last March, one day after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
Now, thanks to its wide network of volunteers – including Peel-based faith leaders, physicians and public health specialists – the group is working to provide accurate information about COVID-19 vaccines and its religious context to minimize vaccine hesitancy.
On Sunday night, the second-term MP issued a statement saying she had travelled to the United States for a family memorial service. The Pointer contacted family members who said they did not know about any such service. Her office said she would not answer questions about why she considered the trip essential.
Peel Region is home to one of the world’s most diverse populations, with about 130 languages from almost every region of the world spoken in Brampton and Mississauga. This remarkable display of pluralism, pairing such diversity with Canada’s “value system” often fools many outside observers who believe intolerance is rare. Unfortunately, in Peel, and across many parts of our country, our own loved ones often play a starring role in the ongoing hostility that routinely unfolds between fellow citizens.
After a slight decline in cases throughout the region was finally seen for a couple days in late December, following the lockdown that took effect near the end of November, infections have climbed since Christmas.
After 2020 introduced the world to COVID-19, many have been holding out hope that 2021 will mark a turning point in the world’s battle against this novel disease.
Two days into the new calendar, the novel coronavirus appears to be spreading faster than ever, with case numbers reaching a new daily high across Ontario led by numbers in Peel Region.
Resigning after public outcry over a Christmas holiday to St. Barts in the Caribbean, Rod Phillips’ behaviour which misled the public about his whereabouts raises concern about how social media is being used by elected officials. It highlights how tax dollars can be used to spin voters instead of informing them.
Youth are exposed to a wide range of hate speech that is pervasive across digital platforms. Decades-old religious and political divisions between older generations who trace their roots to the same places and the rhetoric of intolerance have found a space to thrive in the unchecked corners of our virtual world. Communities, including young people in Canada and around the world are being influenced to view neighbours as the other because of differences they often don’t even understand. Many are pushing back to break the cycle of hate.
COVID-19 has challenged the present and future prospects of pro and amateur sport franchises alike in major cities around the world. But two of the most significant teams here in Peel seem to be striking out because of an ever-shrinking fan base. Meanwhile, the rabid support for the Raptors proves how passionate residents here are about sports.
Rod Phillips is facing heavy backlash and promised to return home immediately, as more than 2,500 new viral infections were reported in the province Tuesday, a week after Mississauga and Brampton’s three full-service hospitals already reached the threshold for critical care capacity, leaving the region’s frontline healthcare system vulnerable as COVID-19 cases continue to mount.
United Way Greater Toronto, which supports 280 frontline agencies, is in the final few days of a major fundraising campaign. The dollars it’s able to collect are funnelled to the residents who need help most, after a range of charities already stepped up like never before.
It’s unclear if published daily case counts since Christmas are underreporting actual numbers. Meanwhile, hospitalizations including those COVID-19 patients in intensive care continue to put pressure on the province’s strained frontline healthcare system. Both Mississauga hospitals are reportedly trying to hire more physicians as capacity is stretched close to the limit.
Will a short-term fix for smaller businesses, especially in our retail sector, help close a digital divide, and help thousands of stores modernize their way of doing business? Or have government-imposed shutdowns due to COVID helped addict us to online shopping and home delivery? Has the old in-store model of retail become passé, and will this forever change the look and feel of our downtowns?
Part 1 of a 2-part series: COVID-19 has created a reckoning for businesses around the world, forcing the hand of those not upping their digital offerings. A private-public sector program called Digital Main Street now offers small businesses, especially retailers, a chance to play catch-up and close the profitability gap.
In April of this year, 26-year-old D’Andre Campbell was shot dead by police after he called 911.
The SIU decided there is no evidence to lay criminal charges against the officer, but the Director notes the case highlights systemic issues in how police respond to calls involving those with mental health issues.
