In Niagara Region, some of the area’s council members have expressed troubling, tone deaf attitudes about Indigenous land acknowledgments. Unlike most places across the country, in this border region, backward views expressed by elected officials such as Tim Rigby would shock many Canadians, especially Indigenous and First Nations community members who continue to fight for reconciliation, after efforts to wipe them out by European-Canadians.
Only a week into office as the city’s newest leader, Mayor Carolyn Parrish sat down with Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra to address several issues at the top of her agenda.
The meeting, which included ministerial staff and Deputy Mayor Matt Mahoney, underscores a potential shift in the relationship between City Hall and Queen’s Park.
While the Region of Peel is commending the federal and provincial governments for recent announcements to stimulate home construction, staff point out that these programs must include funding to accommodate residents living in community and low-income housing. It raises questions about the use of taxpayer dollars to fund profits for developers who ignore large segments of the market.
The CEOs of Canada’s top five banks appeared as witnesses at the House of Commons standing committee on the environment and sustainable development June 13.
It was part of work on climate impacts related to the Canadian financial system, after mounting evidence that the banks are fueling the climate crisis while hiding behind empty net-zero promises.
A recent letter from Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra indicates the Province may be heeding the calls from Region of Peel staff and elected officials who have demanded the Province pay for the costs associated with the restructuring of regional government in Peel.
After promising not to hold a summer vote on 12 controversial zoning bylaw amendments to facilitate the development of 35,000 homes, Mayor Annette Groves led a push to approve the plan Tuesday.
Despite the efforts of some councillors and dozens of residents to defer the vote due to serious financial concerns and the lack of information around the surprise plan for the largest development approval in Caledon’s history, the vote passed five to three.
A recent report to Mississauga council shows the City has improved efforts to reflect one of the diverse municipalities in the world, after a 2021 survey found leadership of the mostly white staff was oblivious to the lack of representation. The City has since prioritized the issue, which impacts the vast majority of Mississauga residents. Equity consultant Andria Barrett is pleased with the positive shift she has seen in the local government.
Caledon residents are organizing across the massive rural municipality, vowing to end the tenure of any council member who supports Mayor Annette Groves’ controversial decision to steamroll approvals for some 35,000 new homes in one of the largest development moves in Canadian history.
A vote will take place Tuesday, after Groves sprang the developer-driven plan on residents out of the blue a few weeks ago, leaving taxpayers stunned. There was no prior consultation with the public, no committee discussion and no council debate. She had the proposed bylaws written by a development lawyer who, it was later learned, also represented a property owner group seeking to build sprawling subdivisions.
As funding from upper levels of government for environmental protection dwindles, the Region of Peel has decided to cement the terms of a pilot study done over six years to secure hundreds of acres of greenspace for conservation and public use. The decisions to commit more funding, will prevent valuable land from being totally bulldozed for future development.
Peter and Gina Schafrick are building tiny homes for senior women on the verge of becoming unhoused. Residents allow parts of their property to host the units constructed by the couple, who say the approach is not a silver bullet to the sweeping housing crisis, but it does offer seniors in dire situations a lifeline, to avoid living on the streets.
After public pressure forced Caledon Mayor Annette Groves to pull back 12 proposed bylaws for the approval of 35,000 new homes, she promised her surprise plan would not move forward before residents could help shape an informed decision.
Now, after telling taxpayers nothing would happen before the end of summer, she suddenly changed her mind, with the developer-driven scheme set for approval next Tuesday.
The union representing faculty at Algoma University says it has lost confidence in president Asima Vezina.
A push to prioritize revenue over student success, with the reckless expansion of international admissions at its under-funded Brampton campus, has led to a breakdown in communication between professors and university leadership as Vezina has hurt the education experience of students, the union claims.
Over the past decade, Brampton has fallen behind as neighbouring municipalities shifted investments into sustainability. Across Ontario, transportation makes up one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases—the electrification of vehicles is essential to reach emissions reductions targets.
A study presented to Brampton council shows the city needs to transition to an electric transit fleet, but after years of budget freezes under Patrick Brown, funding this shift will be difficult for the cash-strapped municipality.
A series of confidential reports presented to regional council during closed session meetings in February and March alluded to work underway on securing another location to help house the growing number of asylum claimants in Peel where the shelter system was already operating far beyond capacity.
On June 13th, the Region revealed it will be leasing a facility in Mississauga, but there are few details on what services will be provided or when the site will become operational.
Separate letters from the federal and provincial Housing Ministers presented to Region of Peel council Thursday reveal disturbing behaviour by Doug Ford’s PC government which continues to put developer interests over public priorities in the middle of a crippling housing crisis.
While the PCs and Justin Trudeau’s Liberals appear to have since resolved issues around funding allocations to municipalities, it is the latest example of the Premier’s efforts to help developers dictate the type of housing that will be built.
A case bringing together 15 young people from across Canada, against the federal government for its failure to properly act on the climate crisis, is moving forward with an amended statement of claim.
Environmental law experts believe that using courts around the world is the best strategy to hold governments and corporations accountable for the destruction of our planet and force them to act.
After two blistering reports on foreign temporary workers in Canada, stakeholders, including agri-business lobby groups on one side and advocates for the fair treatment of workers on the other, are anxiously awaiting an overhaul of the broken system by the federal government.
As four public information meetings, on 12 contentious zoning proposals by the mayor to trigger the doubling of Caledon’s population, have concluded, residents are slowly squeezing out important details from Town staff about the viability of the massive, surprise plan.
While the community is now demanding the rushed process start over and follow all safeguards of proper planning, the Mayor has refused to concede. Even Caledon’s senior planner has suggested aspects of the bylaws are questionable.
Without any direct notice, B&B owners across the city were stunned to find thousands of dollars in fines for operating their business after a new bylaw that requires certain conditions meant to control irresponsible short-term rental operations.
Residents are fine with the new rules but are fighting back against the draconian enforcement, determined to get their money back and their businesses reopened.
It was no surprise to councillors but they were still disturbed when a report to the Region of Peel recently revealed deep inequities in the way provincial tax dollars are used for critical social services. Mayor-elect Carolyn Parrish says Wednesday’s decision was the start of what will be a top priority for her, as Mississauga continues to face widespread pressures related to the lack of affordability.
A veteran with all the scars and victories accumulated across five decades in political life, Carolyn Parrish promises to be the leader that will fight for Mississauga’s future at a critical time in its history. She vows to use her trademark no-nonsense style to advocate for her city, as it transforms from its suburban past into an urban identity. Fair share funding long denied to the country’s seventh largest city, for critical needs such as housing and social services, will be her immediate priority.
As the region adapts to life post-pandemic, the local public health unit is grappling with a significant backlog in routine measures such as immunizations. With increasing threats of communicable diseases globally, and more chances for spread through a rebound in travel activities, the need to meet the growing demand for immunizations is critical, in the face of misinformation and increased risks. More and more Peel students do not have one or more required vaccinations.
Advocates and survivors are demanding the PC government stop delaying and officially declare intimate partner violence an epidemic in Ontario.
The move comes following the murder of a 58-year-old mother by her 25-year-old son in a Mississauga hotel room.
The last polls ahead of Monday’s Mississauga mayoral election show Carolyn Parrish has lost most of her lead, with current councillors Dipika Damerla, Alvin Tedjo and Stephen Dasko all making up significant ground on the veteran Mississauga politician.
Things began to turn when some opponents began negative campaigns following early polls that showed Parrish had a wide lead. It appears the tactic is working. With such a close race, candidates who can motivate large numbers of supporters to get out and vote Monday, could have a chance.
In the latest of a series of disruption and turmoil at Peel District School Board, Trustee Kathy McDonald is alleging the board’s Chair, David Green, physically assaulted her in May 2023 while attending an event for work.
McDonald, who has for years supported Black and other communities fighting to hold the PDSB accountable in the face of systemic discrimination she helped uncover, is now requesting a peace bond from the court to protect her from Green.
While Toronto just committed to a human rights approach when dealing with people in encampments and other forms of shelter, and the Region of Peel just backed a similar strategy that is humane, placing our fellow residents at the centre of any response to the crisis they are coping with, the City of Brampton, led by Patrick Brown and one of his key council allies, Rowena Santos, is doing the opposite.
Cyber crime, violence against women and auto thefts are part of the complex world of policing in the 21st century. Issues around eroding mental health also have to be dealt with by frontline officers, who lack training for such calls. How will Mississauga’s next mayor help set a modern public safety agenda while reining in police budgets that have become unsustainable?
To help voters ahead of the June 10th by-election The Pointer is publishing a series on the five biggest issues facing residents.
Staff and elected officials are addressing a crisis that has been worsening in Peel for decades as local responses to affordable housing have been largely ignored. A recent report to regional council laid out strategies to support those who are unhoused.
Makeshift tent encampments continue to pop up across Brampton and Mississauga while emergency shelters remain overwhelmed.
The Region’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee grapples with its mandate and desire to deal with Anti-Palestinian racism… but not before having its meeting virtually hijacked. Meanwhile, Regional Council revisits its controversial January 25th meeting, behind closed doors.
It is estimated that $600 billion is required across Canada to provide the infrastructure needed to support new home construction in cities mandated by provinces and Ottawa. This comes as the price of building materials and labour costs steadily increase.
Mississauga’s next mayor also has to fund the hundreds of millions needed to transition the transit system to a cleaner, greener operation, while finding a billion dollars to operate the soon to be launched Hurontario Street LRT.
To help Mississauga voters ahead of the June 10th mayoral by-election The Pointer is publishing a series on five pressing issues identified by residents.
Following the May 23 mayoral debate hosted by Food Banks Mississauga, the organization’s CEO Meghan Nicholls told The Pointer the city’s next leader needs to explain ‘how’ local government will help residents with affordability.
According to the latest polls frontrunner Carolyn Parrish is still in the lead but her main opponents have made gains.
After removing her 12 zoning bylaws from the April 30th council agenda, the Mayor of Caledon promised four public information meetings to get community feedback on her snap decision to force the construction of 35,000 new homes which would double the size of the rural municipality.
The first two meetings featured blanket presentations by Town staff while residents continue to voice opposition over the surprise developer-driven plan.
As Brampton’s population continues to increase over the next decade, so will the need to create new parks and recreation spaces. The City’s new Parks and Recreation Master Plan illustrates Brampton’s lackluster track record, meanwhile Brown’s numerous promises, like most of his misleading claims, to add features like a world class cricket facility have drowned in a series of budget freezes forced by a mayor who instead spends lavishly on questionable practices funded by taxpayers.
In an effort to curb the housing crisis and promote more affordable rentals across the city, Mississauga’s planning and development committee approved the City’s latest strategy to jumpstart affordability. The Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan will provide incentives to developers for higher density rental projects and affordable rental units in Mississauga’s lower-density neighbourhoods.
In 2018, Peel became one of the first municipalities in the country to approve a strategy to address human sex trafficking after evidence clearly showed the region was becoming the Canadian epicentre of this heinous crime.
The Region of Peel is creating a framework for compensating survivors who assist officials with expertise, using their lived experience of trafficking—which is often ignored by organizations and institutions.
Tenants of 507 Balmoral Drive and Peel ACORN organizers gathered outside the building recently to rally against a possible “demoviction”. The tenants rights group says one of the remaining affordable housing properties left in Brampton could join others that no longer provide desperately needed apartments in the city.
Environmental groups have criticized governments for allowing the fossil fuel industry to claim the use of carbon capture and storage technology is justification for the continued burning of fossil fuels. Experts say its potential benefits are miniscule.
University of Ottawa professor Handan Tezel says while carbon capture is viable, and increasingly becoming cheaper, it should not distract governments from investing in the best solutions.
The PC government is moving ahead with its controversial Bradford Bypass highway through the provincially significant Holland Marsh, despite omitting key studies and refusing to consider any alternatives.
The provincial government needs to reimburse Peel taxpayers approximately $4.2 million for costs including $1.5 million for the Transition Board’s work up to March 15th and $2.7 million spent by the Region in its scramble to shut down regional government before Ford pulled the plug, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.
Peel’s Community Climate Council has launched a new resource, the Climate Hub, a database of resources to educate the community on environmental and climate change issues specific to the Region. In its infancy, the library has already garnered a lot of buzz for helping access vital information and creating community engagement.
To keep residents of Mississauga informed ahead of the upcoming mayoral by-election The Pointer is publishing a series on the five most pressing issues voters have identified.
With the city built out, the dilemma for the next mayor is how to balance the history of and demand for traditional family housing in Mississauga, with the reality of an affordability crisis best solved by building a better mix of home types. How can Mississauga have it all: the suburban appeal of larger homes and more space; alongside much more dense, complete communities that are better for our environment and more conducive to lifestyles that eschew the car and nesting inside homes that are no longer affordable?
On May 3 the Crown Attorney revealed the charges against Marino Cader, the Peel Children’s Aid Society’s former director of finance who allegedly defrauded the organization, were being withdrawn. The 18-month limit for an accused to be tried within a reasonable time had expired. Peel Police failed to gather and deliver documents in the case in a timely manner, leaving numerous questions about widespread financial mismanagement within the public organization unanswered, after multiple investigations by the union, the province and The Pointer exposed alarming conduct.
While the criminal charges have been dropped due to police incompetence, allegations of widespread financial fraud by the former CEO made in a civil claim filed by the former finance director, have yet to be proven.
“Knowledge is power,” Caledon Mayor Annette Groves said, vowing to provide Caledon residents with all the information they need to understand her widely panned development proposal to facilitate the construction of 35,000 units in the town.
Despite this promise, which came after hundreds of angry residents filled Town Hall in protest, the Mayor, CAO and the Town have repeatedly failed to answer critical questions.
The ongoing erosion of public healthcare under the PC government, which continues to mix private delivery models with the universal system of care, was highlighted by those who demonstrated at Brampton’s lone hospital. The lack of frontline capacity to serve the rapidly growing city was also a focus.
Brampton Councillor Rowena Santos and Mayor Patrick Brown have repeatedly complained about the lack of help from higher levels of government, while pushing budget freezes at City Hall and failing to fund housing support at the Region of Peel. The pair brought forward a successful motion at the Region in March passing the responsibility to Ottawa, despite jurisdiction over housing and shelter support lying at the local level of government in Ontario.
As encampments spread across the city regional staff are hosting a public information session Thursday to address the spread of makeshift shelters popping up across Brampton.
Armagh House, an organization that offers the only transitional housing in the Region of Peel for women and children seeking shelter to escape violence in the home, was recently awarded funding through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. While the PC government has finally agreed to support an NDP motion to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic in Ontario, it continues to ignore the need for financial support that would help save lives.
The PC government made the surprise move of supporting an NDP private-member’s bill to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic in Ontario—something it has repeatedly refused to do. But instead of approving the bill, it has been referred to the justice committee for study ahead of an official declaration. It has some worried that the PC support was just a delay tactic that could continue to leave women and gender-diverse individuals at risk across Ontario.
After promising to listen to residents, and despite blunt communications from the provincial and regional governments that highlight her plan’s non-conformity with overriding policies, Annette Groves launched a web page Friday that suggests she does not care what others think—the Mayor is determined to give developers what they want: unchecked access to land for the construction of 35,000 new homes.
Nathan Hyde, the Town’s top bureaucrat—hired by Annette Groves who hand-picked him using her Strong Mayor powers in Caledon—has not explained how a secretive scheme to push through the largest development plan in the municipality’s history was put together.
Their disturbing conduct has been described as “anti-democratic” by residents demanding the ill-advised plan, which would create billions of dollars in value for developers, be scrapped. The PC government has criticized what Hyde and Groves have done, raising concerns over the lack of conformity to overriding provincial and regional policies.
As the mayoral and Ward 5 by-elections approaches to fill the two vacant seats on Mississauga City Council, two candidate debates will be held May 6 and 7 to give residents a chance to ask candidates questions on the most pressing issues facing their city. Resident engagement during this final month ahead of the by-election will be critical as recent elections have been dampened by historically low voter levels.
