Organizations working to eradicate human trafficking are urging the federal government to begin consultations on a renewed approach to ensure vital services for vulnerable survivors are not disrupted.
With the rise of sophisticated criminal networks operating online and around the world in the rapidly growing human trafficking market, experts are calling for preventative measures and more supports for those victimized by these horrific crimes.
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On Thursday, Niagara Regional Council will consider amendments to its Procedural By-law and Code of Conduct as a result of the “exceptionally challenging” meeting of January 25th that saw members of Niagara’s Palestinian community blocked from speaking, leading to outrage across the region.
Last week, the federal government announced a new permanent program that will see $30 billion passed down to municipalities for public transit expansion, prioritizing projects that support new housing.
Mississauga has major higher order transit plans that could move forward if Ottawa delivers funding which would speed up the city’s ambitious urban agenda.
A voluminous report from the Provincial Auditor General, an inefficient laboratory system under Public Health Ontario and a long gestating plan that would see the end of free private drinking water testing in Ontario.
With shades of Walkerton, how the keen eye of a Source Protection employee averted what critics describe as a move that would put communities at risk.
Visual Arts Mississauga is failing to provide the basic needs for one of its deaf students, an application before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario alleges. The case exposes the decades-long failure of the PC government to adequately assist Ontarians with disabilities and its unwillingness to enforce its own laws designed to provide equal treatment to disabled individuals.
The PC government and Association of Municipalities of Ontario do not always see eye-to-eye, but they agree on one thing: many municipalities cannot find enough childcare providers to implement Ottawa’s $10-a-day mandate. A recent letter criticizes the federal government’s child care program for limiting for-profit providers’ participation in the program. Peel was held up as the example of a childcare desert, where non-profit organizations simply cannot meet the demand for affordable care.
After the PC government set the annual rental increase guideline at 2.5 percent for the third consecutive year, local housing advocacy group Peel ACORN is condemning the decision. It creates more incentive for landlords to “renovict” tenants, the group says. It wants Queen’s Park to introduce a sweeping policy of rent control that applies to all residential buildings.
Environmental groups and councillors are battling a proposal to expand an incineration facility in Brampton that would more than quadruple the amount of waste burned each year. Questions are swirling about the impacts on Brampton neighbourhoods and surrounding ones in Mississuaga’s Malton burrough.
After hearing from several delegates during Thursday’s regional council meeting, elected officials referred their remarks to Peel Public Health to report back to Brampton council in the fall on the potential health implications.
The tragic lessons of the past, such as the Walkerton E. coli outbreak, should serve as warnings about what not to do when managing our water supply and ecosystems across Ontario, says one of the province’s most respected watershed scientists.
The PC government has instead reverted back to the days of poor planning and oversight, putting all of us at risk, to benefit developers who want to strip away critical regulations.
Cathy Simpson dared to challenge libraries. The now former head of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s library system called out an emerging trend within her profession, the repudiation of texts not aligned with progressive views on subjects such as equity.
She argued that reflexive rejection of ideas from the right side of the political spectrum only serves to bolster those waging a culture war to ban books, limit free speech and push authoritarian ideas. For her efforts, she was fired by the board that oversees the community’s main institution of shared learning.
A seemingly innocuous report to provide Thorold Planning staff with the tools to help calculate greenhouse gas emissions, turns into an 18-month odyssey marked by numerous climate change debates, dubious claims from opponents and a lack of municipal staff resources. In the end, staff give Council an easy out.
A recent report presented to the Region revealed “forever chemicals”, found in everyday consumer products, are turning up in Peel’s water and wastewater systems, with no solution to remove them.
While the Region has limited authority to reduce the presence of these chemicals, Health Canada is developing guidelines to mitigate the risk.
Despite the Region of Peel’s own refusal to send waste to the Emerald incinerator located in the Bramalea neighbourhood of Brampton, the company has submitted a proposal to the provincial government to more than quadruple its size, enabling it to burn up to one-third of the waste produced in Ontario.
Research shows producing energy from waste is an extremely carbon intensive process.
As electric vehicle sales stagnate, governments are working with manufacturers to create a greener system for cars. The NDP's transportation critic Jennifer French tells The Pointer the biggest barrier is the lack of charging infrastructure, something that requires a government-led solution, instead of the roadblocks Doug Ford keeps putting up.
Mississauga Council recently voted to extend the City’s agreement for its Automated Speed Enforcement program which uses photo radar to help achieve the City’s Vision Zero goal of dramatically reducing accidents with pedestrians and cyclists.
In a place designed to move residents on high-speed thoroughfares connected to a network of surrounding highways, will citizens and local leaders be open to sacrifices that might be inconvenient for many? The status quo, meanwhile, is putting more residents in harm’s way as the rapidly urbanizing city wrestles with a suburban identity built around the car.
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.
Just a day after being sworn into office the newly-elected head of council, Carolyn Parrish, exercised her strong mayor powers and removed Shari Lichterman as the City’s CAO, replacing her for now with Commissioner of Transportation and Works Geoff Wright, “effective immediately.”
Parrish also rescinded a previous decision that delegated hiring/firing authority to the CAO and granted power to determine the organizational structure of the municipality.
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.
A new generation of Mississaugans eschew the car and much of the city’s suburban past.
The Hurontario LRT and GO Transit expansion are critical projects Mississauga’s next mayor must build on. Moving the city and its people in modern ways will support aspirations of becoming a major urban destination for residents and private-sector investment.
To keep voters in Mississauga informed ahead of the mayoral by-election The Pointer is publishing a series on the five most pressing issues highlighted 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.
