A long-time resident of Caledon, Kathleen Wilson, decided to create and widely circulate a report card detailing the votes taken by Caledon council members prior to the October 24 municipal election. Her work drew widespread attention across the town with some fully supporting her, and others going out of their way to discredit everything she has done. Wilson is an anomaly, a citizen who believes one person can take a stand to protect the values held by many.
The architect of Ontario’s Greenbelt Plan, Victor Doyle, writes that sweeping changes to the management of Southern Ontario’s growth under Bill 23 were never mentioned during Doug Ford’s provincial election campaign. Despite its profound impact on climate change, the way we move and work and the financial burden shifted to home buyers and property taxpayers, the PC government has neglected to mention the numerous negative consequences its proposed legislation will have on all Ontarians.
Following an internal investigation leading to the termination of two Peel Children’s Aid Society employees and a subsequent investigation conducted by Peel Regional Police, they have been charged with several offences in relation to an alleged purchase and reimbursement scheme, part of allegations that they defrauded the troubled organization of more than $250,000. The leadership of Peel CAS has faced fierce criticism for mismanagement over the past two years.
The destruction of critical greenspace, higher property taxes and the reduction of future affordable housing were issues of concern raised by key stakeholders in Peel Thursday. They told the provincial government that if left unchanged its proposed Bill 23 will create widespread problems across Ontario.
The CUPE strike has ended and schools have reopened but the Doug Ford government is still at an impasse over how the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ 55,000 education workers should be treated. The PCs have repeatedly cited their motive to protect the well being of students, but residents want to know why this government seems to care so little about the well being of employees who look after those students.
To tackle the illegal practice of trucking companies misclassifying drivers as independent contractors to get out of giving employees benefits, the federal Ministry of Labour is investing $26.3 million over five years. Across Peel, truck drivers for years have raised concerns about wage theft, poor working conditions and other systemic problems in the industry.
Announced by the PC government, under the recently proposed Bill 23, the new provincial housing target for Brampton is 113,000 units by 2031, a stark increase to the City’s own Draft Official Plan which forecasts 102,000 housing units by 2051. If passed, the legislation would diminish affordable housing goals; and there is no indication of how provincial services and infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools and GO Trains, would be funded to support the massive build-out.
Doug Ford’s PC government is about to gut environmental regulations and the province’s conservation authorities, stripping away safeguards meant to protect the most important natural spaces in Ontario.
The public has been shut out of the process, but the head of the Ontario Headwaters Institute writes that far too much is at stake. Citizens, he says, have to stand up against profit-seeking developers; otherwise the environmental agenda will be destroyed.
The PC government’s new housing Bill is receiving major backlash from politicians, environmental and housing activists alike.
It cuts environmental roadblocks meant to govern development, more proof that Doug Ford and his party do not prioritize the preservation of our natural surroundings.
A study released by Environmental Defence has found, at minimum, close to 30 at-risk species will face dire consequences if Highway 413 is constructed—confirming the results of an investigation completed by The Pointer in 2021.
With the PC government under Premier Doug Ford continuing to show its unwillingness to prioritize environmental action, the advocacy group is turning to the federal government, demanding the project be designated for a full impact assessment, something that could see the project cancelled for good.
With infection numbers once again worsening, a parent at Agnes Taylor Public School is frustrated after not receiving a response from the Peel District School Board and their local trustee about concerns around COVID-19 mitigation and prevention measures at the school.
After the case was dismissed in February, an Ontario Justice has now awarded The Pointer over $64,000 in legal costs following a $12 million lawsuit brought by a Brampton doctor after reporting showed she spread anti-vaccine information on social media.
The financial demands of learning in a new country, and restrictions on the amount of time an international student is allowed to work, leave many of these newcomers vulnerable to labour and sexual exploitation.
New changes by the federal government could help alleviate some of the pressure, but advocates say Ottawa needs to do more to protect international students.
As Canada’s economy continues to sputter, Mississauga Food Bank visits have doubled over the last year, CEO Meghan Nicholls says, and without government intervention and clear policies to help combat food insecurity, the need is expected to rise.
The organization says more has to be done to meet the increased demand across the city as many individuals and families are being pushed to the breaking point. A national food bank report released today shows the same troubling trends across the country.
Annette Groves will take the Caledon mayor’s seat after Allan Thompson’s retirement from the job.
She received 58 percent of the vote. Her win symbolizes a shift to more sustainable policies in the GTA’s biggest municipality.
Winning in a landslide, incumbent Bonnie Crombie will once again serve the residents of Mississauga after receiving nearly 80 percent of the vote. The victory heralds Crombie’s third term in the mayor’s seat.
Following a term dominated by a harassment allegation, Ward 6 councillor Ron Starr was unseated by challenger Joe Horneck.
After a decade of ‘planning’ – including closed in-camera council sessions, questionable land sales, and rushed consulting and construction – the build for Erin’s Wastewater Treatment Facility is underway and predicted to be fully operational by 2028, dumping 7.2 million litres of effluent into the sensitive Missinnihe, or west Credit River, daily.
Hooked up in phases, the Town of Erin and the private sector partner have stated new developments will be connected initially, leaving current residents at the end of the line. After selling the lands for the Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) to the Town for just $2, Solmar Development Corp. is one of three builders that will be serviced first.
After voting the same way for nearly 30 years, residents of the Town of Caledon will see a change on their municipal ballots in 2022.
The population of the Region of Peel has been on an incline since its creation in 1974; with that comes challenges such as ensuring the representation of residents is reflected equitably in the 25 seats within the Region of Peel Council. Meet the candidates running for Caledon Wards 1/2/3 and 4/5/6.
Ron Starr, who is seeking reelection for council in Mississauga’s Ward 6, was seen shaking hands at a recent campaign event with Paul Fromm, one of Canada’s most notorious white supremacists. Starr maintains he did not know it was Fromm at the time.
Caledon residents showed up to a special council meeting Tuesday afternoon to address concerns around the controversial aggregate industry. Open pits, quarries and other sites that have been abandoned for years have become more than just an eyesore.
Residents have voiced the need to protect local ecosystems from these destructive operations, but many said Tuesday’s last-minute meeting, after council members like Innis supported the industry for years, was nothing more than an election stunt.
Jennifer Innis has failed to take action on the controversial St. Mary’s Quarry and in the past has supported aggregate projects opposed by most of her residents. After supporting the industry for years, she was booed while on stage last week when Caledon voters demanded action.
Now, after working against their interests, with six days before the election, she has pushed for a special council meeting to suddenly change her stance.
While provincial governments play an important part in determining a healthy and affordable housing market, experts are saying there’s more work that needs to be done by Peel’s mayors and council members as the rising cost of living is seeing more families struggling across the region.
Arjun McNeill is a 24-year-old Caledon resident who is trying to break the status quo on October 24.
McNeill, one of the youngest candidates running for a council seat in this year’s municipal election, is hoping to infuse his sustainable ideals into local politics.
Former councillors Annette Groves and Jennifer Innis both want to be Caledon’s next mayor.
They have served on Caledon council together, but their views on development, urban sprawl and the environment offer two vastly different approaches to managing the massive growth that will define the municipality over the next three decades.
Mississauga’s long-time Ward 11 councillor George Carlson is retiring from City Council after over two decades in the chair, opening the door for a new face to take on the area’s unique set of challenges.
After more than three decades, Pat Saito is stepping down as councillor for Ward 9. Her departure has triggered the most contested battle among the city’s wards for a seat at City Hall with 11 candidates putting their name forward.
With the population expected to grow by about 50 percent by 2051, urban growth is inevitable across the Greater Golden Horseshoe. This will put immense pressure on our land, wildlife and watersheds.
A new tool developed by the Ontario Headwaters Institute provides a glimpse into the future of our province—for better or worse.
As 96.5 percent of Canadian Union of Public Employees members across the province vote in favour of taking strike action against the Conservative government, Evelyn Blackwell, president of CUPE 1628, says the last thing education workers in Peel want is to be walking the picket line, but without a reasonable offer from the PC government, it may be their only option.
This year has shown that climate change is no longer a distant threat, its impacts are here, and they are deadly.
Municipal candidates looking for council seats in Peel share their visions for moving forward on climate adaptation, mitigation and funding.
Impaired driving is on the rise across many of Ontario’s large urban centres, and a new survey from MADD Canada shows that young males are largely to blame.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission delivered its final report to Ottawa in 2015, after eight years of work. The 94 “calls to action” are crucial to the wellbeing of First Nations communities and other Indigenous peoples who have endured centuries of trauma caused intentionally by governments across the country and historically by the British and French.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald has stressed the need for immediate action to implement these desperately needed changes. But she says at the pace the government is moving, following decades of criminal-like behaviour, it will take 40 years before any real benefits of so-called reconciliation are seen.
The Pointer’s Alexis Wright has created a virtual walk of reflection to consider our collective obligation to First Nations communities and other Indigenous peoples.
The dead of a Canadian winter is an unforgiving time for dogs not made for the harsh climate. But more and more have been forced to the streets in recent years, often abandoned or escaped. Many end up starving and succumbing to the cold, dying in horrendous conditions.
Rescue organizations across the globe have taken on the responsibility of saving these animals. Advocates in Canada, a major importer of rescue animals, fear the just instituted ‘blanket ban’ on animals from certain countries where rabies is a risk only hurts those following all the precautions in the first place, to ensure a safer future.
A group of 11 candidates in Brampton, all members of the city’s diverse Black communities, are using their election platform to call on the Peel Regional Police to immediately take meaningful action to address the use of force against Black residents, which continues to impact them at a rate three times higher than other groups.
A three-day forum starting tomorrow will bring together stakeholders and researchers to discuss the current state of the Great Lakes ecosystem.
While climate change and invasive species are ongoing threats, the surging population of the Greater Toronto Area and the stress it is placing on Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes Basin will dominate many of the discussions.
The once hyped plan to build a university in Brampton is floundering with little to report after more than two years. The City has spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on consultants with almost nothing to show for it.
While the community has seen no benefits from the wild proposal, the two men that won contracts to work on BramptonU have links to Mayor Patrick Brown and Councillor Rowena Santos, who have gone silent after pushing the ill-conceived idea.
Between now and the October municipal election, The Pointer is republishing articles that highlight the troubling behaviour of Patrick Brown since becoming mayor of Brampton.
Nowhere is the incumbent advantage stronger than in municipal politics. But with the resignation of former councillor Karen Ras at the beginning of 2022, the door is open for a new face to join the council table representing Ward 2.
Widely viewed as Mississauga’s first settled area, Ward 2 faces a number of questions around urban growth, lakefront development, increased density and transportation, which a rookie councillor will have to navigate over the next four years.
Ontario hospitals, battered by nearly three years of COVID, are in crisis. The PC government says it is trying to help, passing legislation that will force hospitals to charge patients $400 a day if they refuse a transfer to a long-term care facility—even if they did not choose the facility which could be 150 kilometres away from their home.
Passed with limited debate or public consultation, legal experts say Bill 7 will be a disaster for Ontario.
Pat Saito will bid Mississauga City Council farewell after more than 30 years of public service. The Ward 9 representative never intended to run in 1991 but her tenacity, homework and strong opinions allowed Saito to champion public policies on traffic safety, policing and community building.
Now, as she reflects back on her many years in politics, the work most dear to her heart will be felt by residents for decades to come.
Following similar lawsuits undertaken in Europe and South America, seven youth from across Ontario have banded together to sue the provincial government under Premier Doug Ford for stripping down legislation meant to reduce provincial greenhouse gas emissions.
The landmark case could force stricter emissions targets into climate legislation.
Inside the Art Gallery of Mississauga, staff were extremely cautious to speak up. For years they were bullied, harassed and overworked. In 2020 it all came to a halt when a few brave ex-employees shared their stories in a movement called, “Hold the AGM Accountable”.
A diversity and inclusion audit and separate investigation into the conduct of now former president Leslie Silvestri (who is running for a council seat) alarmed elected officials and staff inside City Hall. They froze the gallery’s funding. Money to operate has since been restored, but little has been revealed about what the investigations found.
Environmental issues still don’t capture the attention of voters the way economic and public safety concerns do. They are not directly linked to the immediate interests of residents, even though climate change is increasingly impacting the well-being of more and more Canadians. Green candidates have brought plenty of passion to the election trail; now they have to take off the gloves as our times need politicians, like Mike Schreiner, who will fight for the planet.
Brampton’s business community is losing faith in City Hall after years of tax freezes under Patrick Brown and inexperienced CAO David Barrick. A damning presentation made by the Board of Trade laid bare the recklessness of Brown’s tax freezes.
Business leaders highlighted the lack of basic planning, the late release of information and an air of incompetence emanating from Brampton, its council and staff.
Between now and the fall municipal election, The Pointer is republishing articles that highlight the troubling behaviour of Patrick Brown since becoming mayor of Brampton.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created even more instability around energy supply. Nuclear power has been hotly debated for decades.
Some see it as the only feasible way to shift from carbon; a goal linked directly to climate change mitigation, and the need to break the global dependence on bad actors like Russia. But the risks associated with nuclear power still loom like the radioactive clouds of past disasters.
Meetings scheduled for both September 7 & 14 have been cancelled by Brown following the snap special meeting he called late August where the mayor terminated a half-dozen forensic investigations into the use of public funds for City contracts, including some handed to his friends. The cancelled meetings this week and next were supposed to provide the public with details of the investigations, which some councillors are vowing to complete, despite the mayor’s interference.
The City of Toronto has adopted protocols to prevent conflicts between humans and foxes. These increasingly common interactions are the result of increased habitat loss, driving more and more animals out of the natural spaces where they thrive. Thanks to rescue operations many species threatened by human activity have been rehabilitated which helps maintain their population, but because of constant threats like habitat loss due to urban development, a multitude of species – at risk or not – are still in rapid decline.
Conservation experts and environmental advocates are manufacturing mini miracles across Ontario using small doses of funding doled out by the provincial government.
These projects create a bulwark against a biodiversity crisis that is threatening the vast majority of the world’s species with extinction. If elected officials decided to dedicate just a minuscule amount of increased annual funding to conservation efforts the outcomes could be remarkable.
Instead of allowing Brampton residents to shape their city, Patrick Brown put future planning in the hands of wealthy developers. To cut the public out of the process he claimed in Council that the PC government inside Queen's Park had set a deadline for the submission of special planning applications that are approved by the provincial government, not City Hall, to fast track projects. The special process, known as a Minister's Zoning Order (MZO), completely cuts the public out of decision making. The problem: Queen's Park set no such deadline; Brown made it up to prevent residents from having a say in how their city will take shape in the coming years.
Ahead of this fall's municipal election, The Pointer is publishing a series of previous articles that highlight Patrick Brown's startling conduct since becoming mayor.
After a stable year under the new director of education, Peel District School Board has made significant progress on the 27 Directives handed down by the Ministry of Education to eradicate widespread, systematic racism. Rashmi Swarup is known for her determined, caring approach. That’s why she was brought to Peel, to steer the board toward a new chapter. Repairing relationships with the community, specifically the diverse Black communities, and listening to student concerns has been a priority for her. After one year on the job, Swarup sat down with The Pointer and talked about the challenges PDSB faces.
An email from Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah circulated recently among community members asking residents to sign-up to hear about the force’s “journey.” The vague email called the event a “community update” but it caused confusion and anger when members learned they were not invited to get answers about why Peel Police used force against Black residents at more than three times the rate compared to the population overall.
During a last-minute special council meeting called late Friday afternoon by Brampton’s mayor, he took advantage of a missing councillor and with just enough votes pulled the plug on an ongoing series of investigations after allegations of widespread misconduct under his watch. An update by the investigation firm revealed disturbing practices around the use of taxpayer money under Brown. Despite the preliminary findings and advice from Ontario’s Ombudsman to follow through with the investigations, Brown terminated them, sparking outrage among council members, staff and the public.
