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As traditional journalism outlets continue to struggle – with disruption, a growing lack of trust and outdated business models – the dilemma faced by society now and in the future, is how we embrace our social media platforms.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.
Mississauga’s newest of four operations storage yards was built in 1996.
Fifteen years ago, staff urged Council to approve a fifth yard to support a growing demand to stow away everything from the City’s heavy-duty equipment, to snow and stockpiled leaves.
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.
A 150-year-old single-storey heritage schoolhouse in Mississauga, Meadowvale Village Hall, is a coveted community meeting place buzzing with activity prior to the pandemic.
The building’s closure allows renovations that have been planned for decades, including installing a replica of its lost belfry, restoring the heritage site’s exterior, and removing hazardous material such as lead paint and the “minor” presence of asbestos.
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.
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.
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.
The City’s latest strategy to pay for its $71.3-million Port Credit Marina development project was dashed this fall, when the Province rejected an infrastructure funding request to give the iconic area a complete makeover. Now, councillors and local advocates are floating new ideas, including a Tax Increment Financing scheme, to attract investment.
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.
Following a petition asking the City of Mississauga to reconsider its plans to demolish a rare outdoor ice rink, staff are now weighing alternative locations for the beloved local skating pad. A successful campaign led by resident Joe Galati can be credited for the move, which pushed the mayor and local councillor to get behind plans to keep skating and hockey in the community alive.
Under its new Interim Chief, the City of Mississauga’s fire service plans to remove asbestos from its oldest fire stations next year.
The move guarantees protection for firefighters already risking their lives by eliminating the possible spread of carcinogenic material inside their places of work.
A former officer who had questionable ties to at least one known criminal while he served on the force, has been charged by the SIU with sexual assault in an alleged 1992 incident. The charge comes after crimes inflicted on a Brampton boy by a sexual molester on the force five decades ago. The horrific acts seem more obscene considering Frank Kohler was allowed to dodge justice for 50 years, despite admitting his guilt to police investigators in the mid-70s. After he was finally confronted last year and recently pleaded guilty, he will be sentenced in March. But others need to be called out and investigated, and if complicit in wrongdoing, should face the full force of our criminal justice system, even if it thoroughly failed citizens in the past.
With viral spread continuing across Peel, parents and other residents want information about their neighbourhoods and schools in the surrounding area.
The Pointer’s updated interactive map shows all schools located in Brampton and Mississauga neighbourhoods and the per capita infection rates for those areas.
Peel students will join others across the province in an extended winter break from the classroom under the new pandemic restrictions, which call for virtual learning until schools reopen later in January.
Premier Doug Ford defended his decision to delay the start of the province-wide shutdown until after Christmas, in order to give businesses in those regions not currently under lockdown a chance to prepare.
The report targets the education sector, social services, healthcare and the justice system. The goal is to move past pointing out the problem while simply saying change is needed. Policy makers need a clear, uniform strategy that can be effectively implemented to tackle institutionalized discrimination, which has far-reaching implications across the province.
A Region of Peel bylaw has been approved that will see two additional Brampton councillors elected to the Region in 2022. The decision moves Peel closer to representation by population and leaves Caledon licking its wounds, despite still being overrepresented around the regional council table. It’s the latest sign that regional governance no longer works for any of Peel’s three municipalities.
Regional staff are in contingency planning mode.
Come April, there will be no more funding to support COVID-19 emergency programs for the Region’s homeless.
As the Peel Regional Police and Peel District School Board begin early work to address decades of harm to Black and racialized residents, the local child welfare organization has deep problems of its own.
Staff say management is blind to the experience of Black workers, choosing instead to use them for “photo ops, so the organization can appear to celebrate diversity”.
The warning comes as case numbers across the province hit an all-time high and hospitalization rates mimic those seen during the first wave.
With Peel leading the rate of new infections, it’s not clear what hospitals in the region are doing to prepare for the coming months, before vaccinations will have any impact on the pandemic.
Details in the provincial Auditor General’s annual report show significant cuts to the Hurontario LRT will result in longer gaps between service, even during rush hour.
The revelation was included in a document that shows construction costs for the project increased 26 percent over initial projections before shovels went into the ground.
Several new development plans for Lakeshore Road are concerning locals in Mississauga’s Ward 1. Applications, including one to convert a Beer Store into 12 storeys of housing, exceed the area’s height restrictions.
Local residents fear this could set a precedent that would see Mississauga slip into the planning mistakes Toronto made in the past.
Peel Region has spent less than half the $28.9 million in homelessness support funding, secured from higher levels of government, so far.
Staff are cautioning Regional Council that COVID-19 services provided to these communities so far cannot be maintained beyond March without additional funding.
The pandemic has created more momentum in the city’s library system as it continues to modernize service delivery in a cyber world. But the fallout from the ongoing public health emergency impacting the City’s finances will delay some library projects.
Staff considered service-level changes, use of reserves, cutting back expenses and other strategies to help Mississauga achieve a low property tax increase, and are pitching a deferral of new capital initiatives to future years in favour of a modest budget increase in 2021.
