‘Enough is enough’: Most of Brampton's business community has lost faith in city council, says board of trade

Recent survey shows only four out of 10 business owners in Brampton find city council is trustworthy and makes good decisions

Thestar.com
July 15, 2022
Graeme Frisque

The Brampton Board of Trade (BBOT) says division and infighting on Brampton city council in recent months has compounded frustration and eroded trust in council among the city’s business community.

A recent annual survey of Brampton businesses conducted by the board called the Business Confidence Index showed just four out of 10 business owners find city council makes good decisions, is aligned with business needs and is trustworthy.

Council has been on hiatus for well over a month as two factions have been battling it out over filling a vacancy on council left by the departure of Charmaine Williams, who was elected MPP for Brampton Centre in the June 2 provincial election.

The fight over her replacement has led to the cancellation of two council meetings and two additional special council meetings as Mayor Patrick Brown and councillors Rowena Santos, Michael Palleschi, Harkirat Singh and Paul Vicente refused to attend the meetings until the courts ruled on the controversial pre-emptive appointment of former Coun. Elaine Moore.

While that dispute has since been resolved with a judge deeming the appointment illegal by virtue of violating the Municipal Act, BBOT president Todd Letts said that dispute is just the latest among several issues during this term of council.

The dispute has paralyzed city business, the BBOT says, including approval of several permits for developments and ratifying much-needed infrastructure.

“We are concerned about council’s inability to find solutions for the simplest of things like holding a meeting (and) filling a vacancy,” Letts said in an interview at the end of June.

This isn’t the first time council meetings have been cancelled as a result of members of council not showing up. In February, the other faction on council including Pat Fortini, Martin Medeiros, Gurpreet Dhillon, Jeff Bowman, Doug Whillans and now MPP Williams also refused to attend a meeting in protest over a separate issue.

However, Letts said the cancelled meetings are just “the tip of the iceberg” for the business community.

“We’re at the stage now where enough is enough and that’s what we’re hearing from our business members,” he added.

Letts and BBOT Chair Donna Fagon-Pascal penned a guidance letter on behalf of their members that was sent to all members of council in June. In it, the board listed a lack of progress on major initiatives and projects including the Heritage Heights neighbourhood concept plan, the Hurontario LRT extension and the Centre for Innovation (CFI) as major concerns.

The Heritage Heights concept plan has been held up by council’s desire to have a boulevard running through the proposed neighbourhood rather than the provincial government’s planned Highway 413. The province has already told the city the boulevard option is a non-starter, and BBOT considers the new highway essential infrastructure.

While BBOT supports council’s decision to reboot the Hurontario LRT extension into downtown Brampton, council has decided on a tunnel option in place of a surface route at an additional cost of $1.2 billion.

“This preference threatens the viability of the extension ever securing adequate funding from senior levels of government,” read the guidance letter.

The board is also concerned about delays in building the CFI, which it calls an anchor for future development in the city’s planned downtown innovation district and a “linchpin” in the University of Guelph Humber’s plans to relocate its main campus to Brampton.

Letts said the many in the city’s business community have also raised concerns about “ideologically motivated” decisions on essential infrastructure like cancelling the widening of Williams Parkway in favour of walking and cycling paths.

“Some choices that council has made have compromised Brampton’s economic competitiveness. Indecision or delay in making difficult decisions fuels a lack of business confidence in city hall and has delayed critical work on projects that have the capacity to unlock more of Brampton’s economic potential,” added the guidance letter sent to council.