The federal government announced on Monday the City of Mississauga will receive $112.9 million through its Housing Accelerator Fund—an incentive that aims to help deliver more homes and improve affordability. The funding deal comes less than two weeks after council approved Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s Mayoral Directive, through her strong mayor powers granted by the province, to permit four-plexes “as of right” city-wide to increase Mississauga’s dense housing supply.
Despite the best efforts of local members, St. Catharines’ beloved Walker Family YMCA has been closed, and years of community advocacy is being abandoned. Local residents feel betrayed, after their donations were used to open the facility decades ago. The YMCA board chose to sell the building to a developer, and despite paying some of the highest property taxes in Ontario, the City’s Mayor, Mat Siscoe, says a partnership with the municipality would be too costly. Residents warn it will be far more expensive to open a brand new City recreation centre, when the perfect space already exists.
Premier Doug Ford is refusing to release a review of provincial work on implementation of Ontario’s landmark accessibility legislation, despite a legal obligation to do so.
Previous investigations have detailed widespread failures by successive governments to improve accessibility across Ontario, leaving nearly 3 million residents living with disabilities to navigate “soul-crushing barriers” on a daily basis.
In a press conference where he provided no evidence to support the government’s decision, and made false or misleading claims, Housing Minister Paul Calandra announced Wednesday the dissolution of the Region of Peel will no longer move forward as mandated under legislation.
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie took an optimistic tone, viewing the work already done as the first phase toward Peel’s break up and Mississauga’s disentanglement from ongoing financial mismanagement in Brampton.
The Niagara Transit Commission will consider reductions to the Transit budget, back a second time, after Regional Councillors were miffed when the first attempt at mitigation measures went nowhere.
Welland’s first strong mayor budget is approved, while a requested legal opinion related to the North Welland trail comes to Council. The environmental assessment process begins in an attempt to solve long-standing flooding issues in Fort Erie’s Thunder Bay area, the likely result of disturbances to the lake’s water levels.
The federal government announced the Global Methane Pledge at COP 28 Monday, solidifying a previous commitment to decrease the gas sector’s methane emissions by 75 percent by 2030, and 40 to 45 percent overall below 2012 levels.
Ontario, meanwhile, is moving in the opposite direction, expanding natural gas use for electricity production.
Jane and her family are suing the government of Ontario and senior administrators of the province’s schools for the deaf and blind, detailing years of abuse and mismanagement in a statement of claim filed last year and previously detailed by The Pointer.
Now, the family has received further information about Jane’s treatment, raising concern over the alleged lack of action when explicit images of their underage daughter were found on the device of a fellow student.
At a special meeting called after Niagara Regional Council had rejected a 7.1 percent budget increase, equating to almost $13 million in additional expenditures, the Niagara Regional Police Services Board approved $2 million in cuts, mostly by deferring a handful of the 40 positions being proposed for 2024.
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who will challenge Doug Ford for the premier’s job when she takes over the Liberal leadership, is asking him for clarity on the future of Peel’s regional government, after Patrick Brown once again used the work for a compromised Deloitte report—discredited by regional councillors when behind-the-scenes interference by senior staff was exposed—to justify keeping regional government intact.
Welland Mayor Frank Campion proposed a 2.69 percent increase to the City’s operating budget. A special meeting related to possible amendments, the first of two to be held, allowed Council members to add to and subtract from the Mayor’s budget.
Lincoln Councillors will hear about a potential 201-unit proposal, with an affordable housing aspect and purpose-built rentals, sorely lacking in the community.
The Niagara Regional Police Services Board considers mitigation measures to bring the Police budget increase down, while Regional Council sends the Transit Commission budget back, a second time. Welland Council members propose 22 more amendments to the Mayor’s budget.
Following a legal challenge by a group of plastic producers, backed by the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan and the American plastic industry, Canada’s federal court handed down a decision that could impact the country’s single-use plastic ban.
An international treaty to end plastic pollution could provide a roadmap for advocates here to eliminate waste.
After two years of lower emissions due to the global slowdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, greenhouse gas emissions have rebounded, in a big way.
Global data from the United Nations Environment Programme and local data from The Atmospheric Fund show Earth’s major weather systems are undergoing profound changes as increased levels of carbon in our air alter the way we live.
With the new year just around the corner, Niagara municipalities are busy with their 2024 budgets. This year is different, however, for Niagara’s three largest lower-tier municipalities, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland, with the Province’s introduction of the Strong Mayor Powers.
At the upper-tier Niagara Region, the proposed police budget was sent back but the CAO warns of a still-sobering financial ask of taxpayers.
As disturbing levels of harm continue to shatter communities across Ontario, municipalities and advocacy groups have officially declared that gender-based violence has reached epidemic levels.
Despite increasing numbers of women killed at the hands of men all across the province, the PC government refuses to make the same declaration.
Prior to the Greenbelt scandal, the PC government had granted a long-standing wish of the Town of Grimsby by finally unlocking two parcels of protected land for development. But when the controversial plan imploded, leading to weeks of scandal for Premier Doug Ford and his government, the decision was reversed and the lands returned to the Greenbelt.
In front of a packed council chamber Monday, councillors voted to request the PC government reverse its decision once again and allow development on lands the Town argues are crucial for residential and commercial growth.
St. Catharines has been recognized for its effort to fight the climate crisis.
A member of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, the City is working toward the target of net zero community emissions by 2050 after already meeting targets first set in 2015. As an interim goal, 2030 is the date for a series of new benchmarks the City hopes to set.
After promising a robust public consultation process for the Region of Niagara’s 2024 budget, it has taken months for the municipality to take any meaningful steps toward public engagement.
A survey to gather feedback was launched November 13, but the budget process is already well underway with key decisions being made without a chance for public consultation.
A report from Ontario’s Protected Areas Working Group — which sat dormant for two years — encourages the PC government to invest $400 million for the protection of vital lands across the province.
The goal is for 30 percent of the overall geographic area to be included, compared to the 11 percent that is currently protected.
On Wednesday, St. Catharines’ 2024 budget process begins in earnest with staff presenting operating, capital and water and wastewater budgets.
Unique in this budget process will be the presentation of the first, three-year budgets for the municipality. A Monday Grimsby Council report outlines the twist and turns over two decades for two parcels of land that were returned to the Greenbelt but arguably should not have been included in the first place.
Justin Trudeau’s woes continue, as voters who support the Prime Minister for his stated commitment to address climate change question contradictions between his words and his actions. Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment recently released three audit reports that paint a bleak picture of the country’s 2030 emissions reductions targets. Under Trudeau’s leadership, the plan is falling far short of its goals.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford joined other Canadian premiers in voicing opposition to the federal government’s housing accelerator fund which grants funding to municipalities that pursue smart growth.
While Ford bashes the Liberals for supposedly overstepping their jurisdiction, recent scandals have exposed his alarmingly irresponsible approach to housing.
Less than a month after the approval of three units “as of right” on residential properties, Niagara Falls staff are suggesting that four units might be the right number for the city.
In Port Colborne, an affordable housing project reaches a milestone and the long-standing application to expand Pit 3 at Port Colborne Quarry is recommended for approval.
Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship recently announced the federal government will verify letters of admission for international students to screen for fake documents commonly handed out abroad.
A local advocate says the root causes of fraudulence that makes life difficult for foreign students go much deeper.
While Regional Councillor Bob Gale’s measures to mitigate the impact of a potential nine percent budget increase in 2024 were shot down last week, the lack of public participation around next year’s Niagara Regional budget is what concerns him most—promised public engagement was “deferred” by staff.
A leaked letter from Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra to Ontario municipalities, shared by Environmental Defence, calls on mayors to unilaterally endorse planning blueprints that will support the Doug Ford PC government’s ambitious housing policy.
The letter circumvents council and regional authority, where decision making for future land use planning lies.
While the Mississauga Food Bank fell short of its overall goal for the Thanksgiving Food Drive, the organization, which is seeing an unprecedented number of clients each month, still managed to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for those in need.
The 9th annual drive wrapped up as Food Banks Canada released its 2023 Hunger Count Report, revealing the need for food bank services—higher than ever before—continues to worsen across the country.
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled portions of the federal Impact Assessment Act — the Liberal government’s rigid environmental assessment scheme — to be unconstitutional.
The decision was celebrated by the PC government as potentially opening the door for its controversial Highway 413, which is currently designated under the Act. When the PC government learned it was mistaken, it is now taking further legal steps to approve the mega-highway that would cause serious environmental harm in Southern Ontario.
Thousands of documents received by Environmental Defence through an FOI request reveal PC government staff were working directly with developers to expand municipal urban boundaries, using a series of backroom deals similar to those in the Greenbelt scandal.
The new information reveals a pattern of behaviour by the PCs to give sprawl developers exactly what they want, and opens the door for cities and regions to retake control over their own planning, after alarming interference by Doug Ford’s government and land speculators with ties to its leader.
After workers walked off the job one week ago, halting shipping along the St. Lawrence Seaway, including Niagara's Welland Canal, a tentative agreement has been reached between the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation and Unifor, the union representing 360 workers responsible for managing one of Ontario’s most crucial economic corridors.
Despite the Ontario government’s promise not to open any new natural gas plants, it is expanding capacity at existing facilities.
While the federal government drafts Clean Energy Regulations to achieve a net zero electricity grid by 2035, loopholes allow provinces to keep polluting the air in the name of energy production.
Environmental Defence, represented by Ecojustice, has filed a court case against the Ontario government for failing to respond to a freedom of information request submitted last November that sought documents related to the Greenbelt Plan which removed 15 parcels of land from the protected greenspace.
Despite Doug Ford’s recent acknowledgements of irresponsible behaviour and apologies to the public, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has yet to comply with the FOI request.
On Monday, St. Catharines will consider offering tax relief to older, low income homeowners who may be struggling after the unprecedented 10.5 percent tax increase approved by councillors for 2023.
The City is also considering the creation of a social procurement program to increase diversity among its vendors.
It is estimated that 78 percent of the St. Lawrence Seaway’s Niagara region economic activity passes through the Welland Canal.
The mayors of four municipalities along the critical waterway are imploring federal officials to bring an end to the strike that has shut down the Welland Canal since Sunday.
Jane went through hell at E.C. Drury School for the Deaf. But she is not alone.
Ontario has paid out $23 million in taxpayer money to children harmed at schools under the mandate of the Provincial and Demonstration School Branch (PDSB). Yet, no systemic review of allegations or problems plaguing its broken culture has been conducted by the Ministry of Education. Minister Stephen Lecce has refused to do so.
One family is taking the Board and government to court, hoping to finally end the abuse.
Still reeling from crippling tax hikes in municipalities such as St. Catharines, where homeowners are furious after an unprecedented 10.5% increase in the property bill for 2023 (pushed through after the public budget process), residents across the region are now being asked to cover a massive budget increase for Niagara’s police force.
A recent Supreme Court decision ruled that parts of the Impact Assessment Act are unconstitutional. But while the decision is being celebrated across provinces whose conservative governments rail against interference by Ottawa, the federal government has vowed to review the process, and, while doing so, certain projects, including Doug Ford’s Highway 413, remain under its microscope.
Housing Minister Paul Calandra introduced legislation Monday designed to protect the Greenbelt from future incursions. But questions remain regarding how strong the new Bill really is, as the PCs continue to chip away at protected greenspaces through a variety of other legislation and projects.
Staff in the City of Niagara Falls are recommending councillors turn down a rezoning application for a large housing development that could bring nearly 1,400 housing units to the municipality.
Following stipulations in the PC government’s controversial Bill 23, Port Colborne is reviewing a series of heritage designation requests to determine what should, or should not be preserved in the years to come.
Four proposals open on the Environmental Registry of Ontario call for the removal of licensing requirements for a range of activities that could severely impact the management of increased storm activity across the province and the protection of our most sensitive water systems.
Legislation put forward by the PC government to expedite commercial activity would make it easier to ignore critical hydrological conditions.
Public gatherings in support of Israel and Palestinians have taken place in cities across the globe since the horrifying attacks on innocent civilians by Hamas last Saturday.
In Mississauga, an impromptu celebration at a plaza parking lot shortly after news of the violence was first reported raises questions about our commitment to condemn behaviour that is anti-Canadian, while simultaneously supporting citizens seeking justice through peaceful means.
Assurances by Premier Doug Ford of no wrongdoing in the process to remove 15 parcels of land from the Greenbelt, creating $8.3 billion of value for preferred developers, have failed to stop the RCMP from investigating the controversial land swaps.
While the national police force begins its formal probe, the province’s Auditor General has launched its own investigation to examine the Ontario government’s use of MZOs to benefit private companies.
While the Greenbelt scandal has been exposed and the developer-driven plan is set to be scrapped, the PC government has shifted gears to push the Highway 413 and Bradford Bypass projects, with more Greenbelt land and valuable agricultural properties at risk.
On September 30, the third National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was recognized across the part of Turtle Island now known as Canada. As the 15th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples passes, the federal government has completed 13 of 94 calls to action established by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and implemented in 2015.
While progress has been slow at the federal level, in Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government has introduced multiple pieces of legislation that completely negate free, prior and informed consent—a cornerstone of the truth and reconciliation commitments to undo centuries of injustice done to Indigenous peoples.
City Council declared gender-based violence and intimate partner violence an epidemic in Mississauga, similar to motions brought forward to Brampton and Regional council earlier this year. It is a move advocacy groups are calling a “first step” toward addressing the root cause of these extreme acts of violence common across the region, but without sufficient recognition and funding from the Province, these violent crimes will continue.
As The Mississauga Food Bank announces its rebranding to Food Banks Mississauga, a name the organization’s CEO says better reflects the work it does, the community service has also revealed in its latest report that five percent of the city’s population is now turning to the food bank to meet one of its most basic needs. The shocking statistic comes as the organization predicts a further surge in food insecurity in the community with no government intervention in sight.
A report coming to St. Catharines council on Monday includes a recommendation for the approval of incentive applications for three development proposals as part of the City’s 2020 Community Improvement Plan. Monday’s report raises questions and stirs previous concerns about the effectiveness of these incentive programs that have historically been criticized in Niagara Region for giving wealthy developers even greater profits at the expense of taxpayers who see few benefits.
Premier Doug Ford announced the reversal of the widely reviled Greenbelt Plan Thursday, putting all 14 remaining parcels of land removed last November back into the protected greenscape. Despite an apology and admission of his mistake, advocates remain cautious of the government’s integrity and intentions, turning their attention to projects like Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass which have been under intense scrutiny.
With the climate movement growing across the globe, organizers are seeing more young people of diverse backgrounds (in many ways) get involved. Two young Ontario activists, Sophia Mathur and Miranda Baksh, say this diversity is important because climate change affects all, regardless of race, class or political stripe. The purpose is not to alienate any particular segment, but to galvanize generations demanding government protection.
Following the resignation of former housing minister Steve Clark and a reshuffling of Ford’s cabinet ministers, the PC government will conduct a review that will include all requests for Greenbelt land removals — as many as 800. While this is mandatory every ten years, experts say the intent is to strengthen Greenbelt policies and expand the protected area, not remove parcels for development.
