Former Mississauga MP Stella Ambler wants to provide concerned citizens across Canada an outlet to hold their local councillors accountable for waste, corruption or other misdeeds.
Municipal Watch, launched in January, hopes to become an official opposition to local mayors and councillors who abuse their positions. Ambler intends to fill a gaping hole in a local accountability system that is failing, as elected officials flout toothless rules and democratic rights are stripped away.
Mississauga’s leaders have tried to break the city away from regional governance for decades. With a population approaching one million, changes to municipal structures and housing demands under Bill 23, Mayor Bonnie Crombie wants to back up her campaign promise and finally make Mississauga a standalone city.
Also this week, Caledon looks to approve its 2023 budget and the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board details efforts to ease the transition for students into destreamed science courses as the discriminatory practice is being dismantled across the region’s publicly funded school system.
With a strategy to build six new fire stations over a 12 year horizon and repair several of the service’s existing buildings, many of which were built over 30 years ago, council is investing in the City’s long-term infrastructure plan for the department, to address the recommendations made in the 2019 Building Condition Audit.
But a local union president questions if the City, after decades of mismanagement, will meet its ambitious goals.
On Groundhog Day 2022 as an opportunity to think about how our human actions impact the environment that shapes our lives, residents travelled to the hamlet of Belfountain in Caledon to participate in the first Walk of Reflection.
Environmentalist and fierce advocate Jenni Le Forestier, who passed long before her time, wanted to continue the event annually—so in 2023, residents organized the second one in her honour.
In late 2022, the provincial government steamrolled through Queen’s Park with Bill 23, and subsequent cuts to the Greenbelt Act to build 1.5 million new homes.
Environmental protections were slashed and the mandate of conservation authorities was dramatically curtailed. Despite the alarming moves, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the Credit Valley Conservation Authority have big projects planned for 2023.
Harm reduction is a critical piece of any strategy to mitigate the ongoing impacts of the opioid crisis.
The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario wants the Doug Ford government to use all the tools at its disposal, including approval of new overdose prevention sites and safe consumption sites.
The City of Mississauga is without a leader to guide staff and elected officials as the financial blueprint he helped shape is implemented. Paul Mitcham, City manager and CAO, announced his departure following nearly three decades of service.
A notice of motion presented during Wednesday’s council meeting appointed City commissioners Shari Lichterman and Geoff Wright to fulfill the duties of CAO in the interim while a recruitment process is completed. The unexpected move came just a couple months after a lawsuit filed by former councillor Karen Ras made disturbing accusations against the now former CAO, alleging a toxic culture under the leadership of Mitcham and Mayor Bonnie Crombie.
Waves of students from around the world, but most commonly from India, arrive in Brampton each year to pursue post-secondary education. Many find themselves isolated, without support or housing.
Regional staff detail the negative impacts of the Doug Ford PC government’s plan to bulldoze 7,400 acres of the once protected Greenbelt, to make way for 50,000 homes.
After years of inaction, Peel councillors have approved one of the most ambitious housing budgets the region has seen. But with the Region only able to meet 30 percent of the growing need for housing assistance, the crisis will get much worse unless higher levels of government take responsibility.
The federal and provincial governments have chronically underfunded the system, leading to a rise in mental health and addictions issues, more work for the police and further strain on an already stretched healthcare system.
The Justin Trudeau Liberal government has warned it will not hesitate to protect species at risk, and, most recently, suggested it has the authority to stop the Ontario PC government’s Greenbelt carve outs.
But the federal government does not have a consistent record around enforcement of environmental protections, raising concern their words will not be followed by action.
During critical weather events, a portion of Peel’s most vulnerable population has to get creative when trying to escape bone-chilling conditions. The first major cold spell of the year highlights the lack of shelter support for the unhoused population.
With Peel’s shelter occupancy currently averaging 117 percent of capacity annually, more direct intervention is required to meet the critical need for help when the weather puts lives at risk.
With financial pressures challenging the City on all fronts, Mississauga council approved the 2023 budget on Wednesday which will see a three percent tax increase on the local share for residential property owners.
Coupled with the Region of Peel’s extra $58, on average, for increased utility costs, Mississauga homeowners will pay an extra $240, approximately, on average this year.
Melissa Merritt, previously found guilty in the murder of her husband Caleb Harrison, has been granted a new trial.
The Ontario Court of Appeal found the trial judge made errors when directing the jury on how to handle critical pieces of evidence that were used against Merritt. Within four years, three members of the Harrison family were found dead in the same Mississauga home.
When Bill 23 was brought to the table, proposing a range of changes that would have devastating consequences for the natural environment, a group of scientists banded together to provide crucial information on wetland habitats.
Now that the Bill has passed, limiting the power of conservation authorities, Save Ontario Wetlands is hoping to provide necessary expertise to municipalities when dealing with development proposals.
Peel Paramedic Services is failing to meet nearly all of its provincial and regionally set response times for medical emergencies.
Clogged local hospitals, a surge in demand for service and a strained workforce are all being blamed for the lagging performance.
The service is requesting a significant increase to its budget to hire more staff and buy more ambulances to keep Peel residents safe.
Brampton councillors will be reviewing data this week which clearly shows residential development continues to overshadow employment and commercial growth.
The City of Mississauga is set to approve its 2023 budget while the Region of Peel will hear from its trio of conservation authorities about funding required to perform valuable environmental work in the face of Premier Doug Ford’s disastrous Bill 23 which strips them of numerous powers.
Impacts to business owners and cultural celebrations following the recent Diwali festivities were at the forefront of City Hall debate recently as councillors reviewed a motion brought forward by Ward 5 representative Carolyn Parrish.
It calls on staff to review the City’s current fireworks by-law before considering stricter restrictions on their use—a move others have criticized for its potential impact on community members and businesses; while Parrish has said she is simply trying to avoid an all-out ban like the one Brampton passed following the recent Diwali celebrations.
Population, employment and municipal infrastructure will all need to be rethought according to a Brampton staff report to Council after the passing of the Doug Ford PC government’s hyper housing legislation, Bill 23. Brampton’s future is now in limbo, as planners and elected officials decide how to move forward with a recently designed growth strategy (created with the help of thousands of residents) that might have to be torn up.
The Mississauga Food Bank recently wrapped up its annual holiday food drive, a yearly campaign that jump starts the organization’s resources for the new year.
While ambitious goals set for the annual effort were exceeded, chronic food insecurity across the city might be the reality going forward as incomes fall further behind the cost of living.
Mississauga Council has voted to provide free transit for children under 12 and expand the current $1 seniors program to all hours during workdays — a decision some councillors fear is being made at the wrong time, given the City’s challenging financial reality.
Housing and transportation are the focus of climate change-related funding included in the proposed 2023 Region of Peel budget.
The funding of initiatives in other sectors may provide more funds toward mitigation and adaptation.
Peel’s police chief is arguing a significant increase is needed to his budget for more officers to meet the overwhelming demand.
But money poured into policing, instead of housing or community support programs, could actually increase the police workload as it takes funding away from the “upstream” initiatives that prevent crime before it happens.
Despite creating their own problem, regional councillors appear ready to rubber stamp the chief’s request.
The PDSB trustee who led the internal fight to transform the troubled board, says she is glad the province has restored the governance powers of elected officials, but many Black families are voicing disappointment over the lack of community consultation before the decision by the Province to end its supervision of Ontario’s second largest school board.
The Ministry of Education took over governance from trustees two-and-a-half-years ago after disturbing discriminatory behaviour by members who caused irreparable harm to students.
A new partnership between the Peel Regional Police and Timea’s Cause, a survivor-led organization at the forefront of pushing policies to better support those who have experienced human trafficking, will see thousands of Peel officers trained to spot the signs of this pervasive crime.
It makes Peel police the first law enforcement agency in Canada to implement such training. It’s a significant step forward to raise awareness and knowledge about a crime that disproportionately impacts women and girls in Peel.
The TRCA has elected Toronto City Councillor Paul Ainslie as the new Chair of the Board of Directors. The decision comes as conservation authorities are increasingly under fire from the Doug Ford government, which has stripped away many of the powers that previously allowed CAs to safeguard ecosystems against development. They will need to find new and creative ways to continue protecting watersheds across the province.
At a council meeting Tuesday, Caledon Mayor Annette Groves brought forward a motion to eliminate a pay raise for council positions that was voted through in July of last year. The drastic pay raise caused outrage in the community while so many are struggling to make ends meet due to crippling inflation. Despite Groves’ best efforts to keep the conversation civil, the debate quickly became heated.
A staff report presented by the Region of Peel to council this week analyzes the impacts of Bill 23 on individual capital projects. The PC government’s housing legislation will make it more difficult to provide housing in Peel for those most in need.
The loss of revenues (under the Bill) that developers have traditionally paid will put pressure on water, wastewater and other key services.
Patrick Brown and the Doug Ford PC government continue to play chicken with their constituents’ healthcare, and the Region of Peel is not prepared to step in. It is not in a position to fund part of the local share requirement for the redevelopment and expansion of Brampton’s Peel Memorial healthcare facility or a new cancer centre.
Brown unsuccessfully opposed a special City of Brampton hospital levy last year, despite the dire need for hundreds of new beds in the community where hallway healthcare is the norm.
After voting against allowing cannabis stores within the municipality, Mississauga City Council is being asked again to reconsider its previous decisions. The request came in a letter from the Mississauga Board of Trade, which calls on local elected officials to review their current policy that forbids cannabis retail and asks the City to pass a resolution in 2023 to “opt in” to the province’s cannabis industry to displace the unregulated, illicit market.
Housing minister Steve Clark is officially under investigation by the provincial government’s integrity commissioner over his role in legislation that removes 7,400 acres of Greenbelt land for future development.
If the investigation finds wrongdoing, it’s unclear what the outcome will be as any penalty or reprimand against Clark must be approved by a strong PC majority within Queen’s Park.
After decades of tax freezes under former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion, compounded by recent hyper-inflation, impacts of the pandemic and a provincial government downloading tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure costs developers traditionally paid for, the City of Mississauga has its hands tied as the latest municipal budget season kicks off.
With few initiatives proposed under the 2023 budget, the City will be gearing its capital spending toward maintaining crumbling infrastructure and trying to stay ahead of climate-related needs.
For three seasons, any hunter with a small game licence and a shotgun has been allowed to kill up to 15 double-crested cormorants a day between September and December.
The PC government, which approved this hunt in 2020, says it is a sound wildlife management practice. However, a closer look at the science behind the decision, or lack thereof, and the near total absence of monitoring of cormorant populations, raises significant concern about the Ford government’s reasons for targeting a native Canadian species.
As the Town of Erin continues to push forward with pre-construction on the wastewater treatment facility, set to be fully operational by 2028, residents of the Town and nearby communities are rallying against the project.
Citizens within the Town are concerned about connection costs while those on the outskirts are worried about depreciated property values. Many are also worried about the threat caused by sending effluent discharge into the West Credit River and what it will do to the surrounding ecosystems.
The City of Mississauga is making a name for itself as a sustainable municipality by investing more than half of the funds in its capital budget toward green initiatives.
The majority is to transition to cleaner transit alternatives—hybrid electric buses and both bus rapid transit and light rail transit lines. Other initiatives include the expansion of parks and trails, management of invasive species and improvements in stormwater infrastructure.
Peel police have struggled with mental health calls that have escalated into violent interactions. Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Teams and Crisis Outreach Assessment Support Teams have helped immensely, but the complexity of cases continues to pose a challenge.
The Canadian Mental Health Association Peel Dufferin is adding another layer to crisis response in Peel with the launch of its new pilot program, aimed at providing support to individuals in mental health crisis before police intervention is required.
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie is once again fighting to pull the City out of Peel Region, a crusade that’s been mired in controversy over the years and was previously turned down by the PC government in 2019.
After once again centering her October reelection campaign on the promise of Mississauga’s independence, making it a single-tier municipality like many cities much smaller than hers, Crombie has made it clear she is not backing down.
Two former Peel Children’s Aid Society employees have been charged with numerous offences in relation to an alleged purchase and reimbursement scheme, which allegedly defrauded the child welfare organization of more than $250,000.
The former employees were expected to make their first appearance in court on January 9, but the date has now been pushed to February to allow for more evidence to be gathered.
At a time when the online exploitation of children is reaching historic levels, a new report details how schools across Canada are failing to protect kids from potential abuse by those who are meant to be mentors in their lives.
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is calling on governments of all levels to implement new systems to protect children from abuse by educators at school.
When the announcement broke recently that scientists had achieved “ignition” for the first time ever, creating more energy output than the energy used to create the gain, physicists around the world heralded the dawn of a new era in our fight to prevent catastrophic climate change.
As the initial euphoria around nuclear fusion has worn off experts are reminding the world that renewable sources of energy are still the key to dramatically reducing carbon emissions. Fusion should be added to our toolbox for emissions free energy but it might not reach our grid for decades.
The National Wildlife Centre is set to start construction on its first permanent medical facility in Caledon East in 2023. Dr. Sherri Cox co-founded the organization nine years ago, building a vast network of professionals throughout Canada and beyond. In phase one of the construction, a fully operational field hospital will be built for surrounding wildlife centres and the public.
Phase two will come later, with a focus on providing a cutting-edge facility for teaching wildlife medicine to veterinarians and rescuers across the world.
During a press conference late last year, Peel police celebrated the success of Project Zucaritas, an 11-month investigation that led to the seizure of $25 million worth of illegal narcotics – the largest drug bust in the region’s history, police said.
Officials claimed the bust will significantly disrupt the region's drug trafficking networks; it was the latest proof that these insidious criminal organizations have a growing presence in Peel.
Driven by his authoritarian tendencies and disdain for urbanites, Ontario’s Premier is determined to wrest power from large municipalities. Former Brampton councillor Terry Miller warns Peel and other regions that local decision making based on community values is under threat by a man who has his own agenda. He does not care about what the people want.
Through a partnership between Osprey Valley and Golf Canada, Caledon will become Canada’s new home for the sport’s national headquarters.
But public and private courses and those owned by municipalities are facing unique challenges, from the demands of the game in a time-starved world to the impacts on greenspaces at a time when sustainability is crucial to the planet’s future.
Countless stories of love, loss and politics are encased within a historical building in downtown Brampton. Peel Art Gallery Museum and Archives (PAMA) collects and preserves the Region’s history to ensure the stories of the past are never lost.
Staff work tirelessly to showcase the rich culture that has shaped Peel over more than a century. The work can be tricky, requiring a gentle hand to preserve historic documents vulnerable to the vagaries of time.
The slew of legislation imposed by the Ford government, in its effort to push the subdivision development industry’s agenda, will cause wide-ranging damage to the various natural water systems across Ontario.
The consequences to ecosystems and the human population that depends on them will be devastating.
Proactive policing.
It’s not Minority Report, but a reality for specialized police officers across the country trying to catch child predators in an increasingly vast and secretive online world.
Two landmark rulings from Canada’s most powerful court—one at the end of November—have helped level the playing field, giving detectives the green light to continue luring those seeking to do irreparable harm to children.
Canada’s first fully electric vehicle manufacturing plant opened its doors two weeks ago after receiving significant funding from both the federal and provincial government. As the pace of EV take-up seems poised to dramatically accelerate, municipalities need to invest in infrastructure so the public can shift away from carbon-based vehicles.
In March 2020, the provincial Ministry of Education issued a report containing 27 directives, with over 54 actions, intended to hold Peel District School Board accountable and restore good governance while eradicating anti-Black racism and other systemic discrimination embedded in the board after years of harmful inaction by senior educators and upper-level decision makers.
Nearly three years later, the board has shown a commitment to complete these directives and create a new culture in the province’s second largest school board with 17 of the 27 directives completed and the remaining 10 slated to be finished by the end of the school year.
As COP15 came to a close, nearly 200 nations signed onto the Kunming—Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework which lays out four broad goals and 23 specific targets to achieve worldwide by 2030.
While the 30 by 30 goal — 30 percent of the Earth’s land, oceans, coastal areas and inland waters protected by 2030 — is being celebrated, many remain skeptical about the political and corporate will to achieve the targets.
As public uproar continues in opposition to Bill 23 and changes to Greenbelt legislation, the head of Ontario’s government agency responsible for protecting species at risk has resigned.
It is the latest message aimed at Doug Ford and his PC government, which continues to push aside environmental safeguards to make way for sprawl-style development.
