Crowds over the past 24 hours continue to gather in India, after a nationwide lockdown was ordered at the start of the week. The country of almost 1.4 billion people officially reports less than a thousand confirmed COVID-19 cases.
But experts fear the number represents just a tiny fraction of actual infections because of woefully low testing rates and more than a million could be dead from the virus in a year.
As new cases of COVID-19 infection continue to rise daily in Peel and across the province, the potential impact on our local healthcare systems continues to loom.
Efforts are now underway at all levels of government to stave off a crisis in local hospitals and a potential shortage of critical personal protective equipment (PPE).
Before COVID-19 sent Peel — and the rest of the world — spiralling, Mississauga and Brampton’s housing markets were among the hottest in the country. Sales were up dramatically, rates of price increases over the last four years outpaced most cities across the country and thousands of new units were coming online annually.
Now, suddenly, the real estate market in one of Canada’s fastest growing regions is drying up. Drastic moves by the country’s central bank might not be enough.
Along with almost 1.4 billion Indians locked down as part of the world’s most severe isolation measure, are thousands of Canadians, including many from Brampton and Mississauga. With the Indian government’s sweeping three-week clamp down on all movement within its borders, and strict international travel restrictions around the world, Canadians stuck there are trying to figure out how to get home, but the federal government warns that some will not get help.
As COVID-19 continues to spread through Brampton and Mississauga, people are failing to follow the rules of physical distancing.
Brampton residents and officials are asking if more can be done and won’t rule out the possibility of giving local officers the power to fine rule breakers.
In Peel, the novel coronavirus continues to spread, with new cases confirmed nearly every day since the first reported local infection on March 5.
With concerns over the economy and rising unemployment, the spike in infections raises the spectre of a significant outbreak in a region whose healthcare systems were already broken.
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In Brampton and Mississauga, hallway healthcare and long wait times plague already struggling hospitals. Without localized data, healthcare systems will have a hard time managing an increase of patients and dwindling medical resources.
Meanwhile, in daily updates about new confirmed cases of COVID-19, Peel Public Health and the Ontario Ministry of Health report different numbers, a discrepancy that can’t be ignored.
For years, the Region of Peel’s shelters have operated in overflow, without enough beds for people experiencing the hardships of homelessness.
Now, with the rapid spread of COVID-19, there are fears the disease could wreak havoc on those without anywhere to call home, in turn putting the general population at risk.
For the second straight day, the province has confirmed its largest, single-day increase in new COVID-19 infections, placing ever-increasing significance on the need for physical distancing to limit the spread of the disease.
To help Ontario’s strained healthcare system, as well as residents and employers amid mass business closures, the province has announced a $17 billion aid package.
Ontario’s decision to shutter non-essential business by midnight Tuesday to help slow the rise in COVID-19 infections has created unease and confusion for hundreds of Peel business owners fighting to stay afloat during the pandemic. Calls for delaying the move and businesses seeking clarity about their status have created an air of confusion for many owners.
A Brampton Transit bus driver has tested positive for COVID-19, the city has announced. On Wednesday morning, Peel Public Health reported the number of cases confirmed in the city has risen to 22.
Both a Brampton MP and bus driver have tested positive for COVID-19. The rate of infection is increasing, with Ontario experiencing its largest single-day increase to date. Meanwhile, the province is increasing measures to protect public health and wallets, including hydro relief and the closure of all non-essential businesses.
New regulations, released by Ontario, outline how cities should plan to grow. Contained in the rules are measures that will change the futures of Mississauga and Brampton, encouraging them to build in areas where communities already exist, instead of continuing sprawl.
Kamal Khera, a registered nurse and Liberal MP for Brampton West, has tested positive for COVID-19. The politician will be self-isolating and monitoring her symptoms, following guidance from Peel Public Health and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
After years of mounting animus between Peel’s Black community and many who lead the country’s third largest school board, it has been forced to acknowledge the deep scars created by an organization described in a scathing provincial review as having a “terrible state of affairs”. The board of trustees vowed Tuesday to turn things around after Queen’s Park handed down a harsh mandate for change.
MiWay has implemented emergency measures to reduce the amount of contact between bus drivers and transit riders to stop the spread of COVID-19.
But MiWay’s transit union, which called for action weeks ago, wants the company to better address workers’ concerns over safety.
The Region of Peel saw a spike in new cases of COVID-19 confirmed Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after Premier Doug Ford mandated the closure of all non-essential businesses.
In Peel, small businesses are grappling with how to weather the economic toll of COVID-19 and avoid layoffs. Thousands of Brampton residents are low income earners and more than 500,000 Ontarians have less than a month of savings.
Government measures are set to keep staff on payrolls and stop permanent closures in uncertain times, but they won’t come into effect until April, leaving people reeling in the meantime.
In Mississauga and Brampton, tens of thousands of families rely on people working in construction and development to put food on the table. With strict measures in place — and under the watchful eye of the province — these sites will remain open for now, though some in the industry have pushed back.
Community meals, or langar, provide an invaluable source of relief for impoverished people in Mississauga and Brampton who turn to Sikh Gurdwaras for a warm, nutritious meal every day. No one in need, regardless of faith, culture or creed, is turned away.
But the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic are forcing langars in Peel Region and the rest of the country to shut down or scale back, at a time when the vulnerable face even greater risks.
New cases of COVID-19 continue to spike in Ontario, including a number of confirmed infections in the Region of Peel.
All levels of government continue to implement measures to help citizens and businesses weather the storm while urging everyone to stay home in an effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The mayors of Mississauga and Brampton are trying everything to get people to stay home, including the mandated closure of indoor and outdoor public spaces, alongside non-essential businesses.
But to connect with the public, diverse in age, language and culture, the cities are moving past using social media alone to disseminate critical health information.
Staying away from our fellow humans is a necessary tactic to halt the spread of COVID-19. For many, it is a minor inconvenience and maybe a case of cabin fever.
However, for those who rely on human presence and connection to keep their bodies and minds healthy, the elimination of crucial support groups could have drastic consequences.
As the COVID-19 infection continues its recent sharp spread across Ontario, with a total of 424 cases in the province, Queen’s Park is implementing a number of new measures to mobilize industry to create medical supplies and to help hospitals meet the growing needs.
As bars, cafes, restaurants, schools and many shops close their doors, construction sites around Ontario remain open. These economically valuable operations prompt a crucial question: how do we balance public safety with the need to keep our society, and its people, functioning?
Brampton Transit has followed Mississauga’s lead by announcing free travel throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Both cities are operating reduced schedules, but keeping operators and other staff on payroll while facing increasing losses as they adapt to an unprecedented situation.
COVID-19 continues its steady spread across the province as cities take unprecedented steps to limit infection.
To help residents out of work, Brampton and Mississauga have announced plans to defer property tax payments and other measures to ensure residents can use their available funds to keep their families fed and healthy.
To contain the spread of COVID-19, Ontario schools are closed until April 6, and maybe later.
To ensure students continue learning, the ministry of education is providing online educational resources.
While some boards are moving swiftly to get these alternative education platforms up and running to help parents once the March break is over, the Peel District School Board says it’s not doing the same.
Mississauga is up against formidable odds, both economic and health-wise, as rates of COVID-19 infection are expected to rise in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, council met to discuss short-term relief options for residents and strategize for the immediate future.
The rate of COVID-19 infection in Ontario is accelerating, with 50 new cases confirmed in the province, two of those in Peel. With schools set to remain closed, a new online portal has been launched to help kids learn in these uncertain times.
As cases of COVID-19 mount across Peel, hospitals in Brampton and Mississauga are searching for answers. Both cities went into the pandemic with stretched resources, hallway healthcare and some of the worst wait times in the province.
Now, local health networks are trying to patch together an adequate response to a life or death crisis after years of neglect.
Brampton’s massive auto plant on Williams Parkway, where thousands are employed on its giant assembly lines, can’t inoculate itself from the effects of the novel coronavirus. Hopefully, the latest layoff will only be temporary, says the president of its local union.
As the global COVID-19 pandemic closes the region’s restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as many retail businesses, transit ridership is set to dip significantly.
Brampton Transit and MiWay are now trying to determine the best ways to serve their diverse populations, while protecting drivers and remaining financially viable.
Foreign nationals and their advocates are concerned that extensive federal border security measures for COVID-19 are excluding them, leaving such groups with unanswered questions on their status in Canada as the global pandemic worsens.
The Region of Peel has declared an emergency, following the province’s lead. As COVID-19 cases related to travel climb in Peel, a second person has died from the novel coronavirus in Ontario. The provincial government is enacting more measures to stop the spread of the disease, including extending validity periods for health cards and driver’s licences.
As Ontario declares a state of emergency and postpones eviction orders until further notice, food bank users and tenants in Peel are grappling with the rapidly changing circumstances of COVID-19.
The Brampton mayor has put himself in self-quarantine for the recommended 14 day period after returning from a trip abroad. But questions on why he chose to travel and where he went during the COVID-19 threat remain unanswered.
WestJet is alerting travellers who might have come in contact with COVID-19 through infected passengers on a number of the airline's recent flights. The news comes as major airlines are each taking measures in response to economic and health concerns over the COVID-19 global pandemic and its effect on passengers and revenue.
As Brampton continues to grow, municipal leaders have begun to look inward and talk about changing the city’s path.
However, despite signs of change, Brampton has continued to greenlight the single-family homes that fuel urban sprawl, pushing itself further away from its own vision for the future.
On Wednesday morning, two new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Peel. This news comes amidst two major announcements from the federal government, including the closure of the Canada-U.S. border to non-essential travel and the provision of billions in aid to people and businesses to help navigate worsening financial concerns.
On Monday, the provincial government confirmed it would put a halt to eviction orders amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Days before, a Peel Region tenant received a notice to join a telephone hearing with the Landlord and Tenant Board, which is set to go ahead on March 24, creating confusion and disappointment for lawyers and advocates over why all proceedings haven’t been suspended.
Recent hiring practices at the City of Brampton can be used as a text-book example of what not to do. Yet, the Region of Peel, headquartered right in Brampton, was about to follow the city’s lead in its search for a new CAO, before Mississauga Councillor Carolyn Parrish stopped staff from making the same questionable move.
In 2018, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown released a controversial memoir detailing his resignation from the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party.
The exposé caused a stir in political circles, in part because of statements about high-profile MPP Vic Fedeli. On Friday, an apology by Brown was published, part of a settlement in an $8 million-dollar defamation lawsuit filed by Fedeli.
While there have been no new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Peel over the past day, Ontario has had its first presumptive death from the coronavirus and declared a state of emergency.
Major announcements have come from the provincial government, including mandated restaurant closures and the suspension of eviction orders until further notice.
In Brampton and Mississauga the vast majority of residents get around by car. From commuting to shopping and taking the kids to school, the automobile is the chosen mode of transport.
One unintended consequence is a lack of Main Street browsing, making it tough for entrepreneurs to start independent businesses. As both cities begin to densify and look to the future, is there room for local businesses to grow?
COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) is on a killer path and has changed the way we live our lives, for now, with 17 cases reported in Peel as of Sunday morning. But will it also fundamentally change the way we plan and build our cities in the future?
On Monday, four new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Peel. This news comes amidst job protection announcements from the provincial government and the temporary shuttering of Mississauga's Provincial Offences Act courtroom, resulting in cases being adjourned and rescheduled to later dates.
More and more players sign up to play cricket each year in Brampton, where the game is a favourite amongst locals. As the city hopes to become North America's cricket capital, it needs to build more infrastructure to keep pace with growing demand.
Even with coronavirus infections on the rise there doesn’t appear to be a level of panic among local residents or authorities calling for calm. But the virus is starting to take its toll on healthcare delivery for certain services as resources get shifted to contain its spread.
On Thursday, activists from across Ontario gathered to tell Housing Minister Steve Clark they have had enough. As the cost of living continues to outpace wages, protestors were vocal in their demand for the provincial government to freeze rent.
In a symbolic gesture, they attempted to deliver an eviction note to the minister, something some renters in Mississauga and Brampton’s inflamed housing markets have also received.
