Family and intimate partner violence is everyone’s concern as it threatens the basic right to live free from violence.
BRAMPTON, ON (November 25, 2024) – Beginning November 25, 2024, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and throughout the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Peel Region and partners are launching the annual Break the Silence campaign to encourage residents to talk about family and intimate partner violence in our community.
Now in its fifth year, the awareness campaign sets out to challenge misconceptions about family and intimate partner violence and let survivors know there is help and support available. The campaign will be seen across Peel in print and digital formats and includes downloadable materials in different languages.
Peel Region collaborated with over 25 community organizations, the City of Brampton, the City of Mississauga, the Town of Caledon, Peel Regional Police and Ontario Provincial Police – Caledon Detachment to design the campaign and support tactics and distribution strategies. The Break the Silence campaign is part of the Family Violence focus area in Peel’s Community Safety and Well-being Plan.
In February 2020, Peel Region Council unanimously passed a motion for the Region and its partners to shed light on this critical issue and stand in solidarity with survivors. In June 2023, Peel Region Council formally declared intimate partner violence and gender-based violence an epidemic in Peel, calling attention to its growing severity in the community.
Quick facts
- In 2023, Peel Police responded to just over 16,000 incidents of family and intimate partner violence, That’s 44 disputes every day or almost 2 every hour.
- Peel Police reported that the highest number of 2023 mobile dispatched calls for service are family and intimate partner violence related.
- In Peel, of the charges that were laid in 2023 for intimate partner violence-related incidents, 79% of the victims were women.
- Peel Police laid 617 intimate partner violence strangulation charges in 2023.
- There were 6 family and intimate partner homicides in Peel Region in 2023.
If you or someone you know needs support:
Call text, or chat with 211
Call Embrave: Agency to End Violence Crisis Line at 1-855-676-8515
Call Victim Services of Peel at 905-568-1068
Call Caledon\Dufferin Victim Services at 905-951-3838
If it’s an emergency call 911 immediately.
Learn more about family and intimate partner violence in Peel, including common misconceptions and available resources for support: peelregion.ca/BreakTheSilence.
Quotations
“Peel’s family and intimate partner violence campaign is driven by the priorities of our community partners. It breaks through misconceptions regarding abuse so that people seek the help they need. Fostering collective action also means ensuring the capacity exists to meet the increased demand that comes from raising awareness. This includes supporting the community in advocating to other levels of government to make the needed investments in shelter capacity and other services which can help those escaping family and intimate partner violence to be safe and well.”
Nancy Polsinelli, Commissioner of Health Services, Peel Region
“In this fifth annual Break the Silence campaign we continue to raise awareness of Intimate Partner and Gender-Based Violence as an epidemic and work together with our partners to break down the walls of silence that enables violence against women. We encourage everyone to recognize the signs of abuse and speak up if they know someone experiencing abuse; let victims feeling isolated know they are not alone; and for those experiencing abuse, to seek help. We all have a role to play in ending family and intimate partner violence, and to make Peel a safe, equitable and connected community for all.”
Rowena Santos, Regional Councillor, Brampton Wards 1 and 5
“Gender-based violence is an epidemic in Peel Region that requires a community-wide response. It is critical that we continue to raise awareness about the prevalence and severity of gender-based violence in our community, as well all have a role to play in meaningfully eradicating gender-based violence at a systemic level. It is also essential that survivors know that they do not have to face violence alone, and that there is always someone available to listen and provide support.”
Andrine Johnson, CEO, Embrave: Agency to End Violence
“Violence against women is so often misunderstood. There are many myths that we need to dispel so that women feel safe to come forward to get the help they need for themselves and their families. We all share in the responsibility to gain an accurate understanding to counter the misinformation that circulates in our communities. This campaign will help us do that.”
Sharon Mayne, CEO, Catholic Family Services of Peel Dufferin
About Peel Region
In 2024, Peel Region marks its 50th anniversary. Peel Region works with residents and partners to create a healthy, safe, and connected Community for Life for approximately 1.5 million people and over 200,000 businesses in Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon. Peel’s services touch the lives of residents every day. For more information explore peelregion.ca and follow us on X @regionofpeel and Instagram @peelregion.ca.
(Nov. 22, 2024) – Yesterday at Regional Council, Peel’s 2025 Corporate Budget Overview was presented, along with the Peel Regional Police Budget.
The 2025 Corporate Budget Overview highlighted some of the challenges Peel is facing as a growing community with increased service demands. Ongoing challenges include elevated prices due to inflation, aging infrastructure, the continued climate change emergency and changing legislation.
The proposed 2025 Budget includes investments of $6.2 billion to maintain current service levels for a growing population, while addressing priority community needs.
Critical urgent needs being addressed include:
- The housing affordability crisis
- Accelerated housing-enabling infrastructure
- Affordability issues in the community
- Community safety and well-being
- Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion
To address the challenges being faced, the 2025 Budget also reflects $14.9 million in cost savings and in cost avoidance found through continuous improvement efforts and cost containment measures.
For the impact on the overall property tax, Regionally Controlled services account for a 1.3% increase, Peel Regional Police 4.1% increase and other agencies 0.1% increase for a total average property tax increase of 5.5%.
Next steps and more information
- Nov. 28, 2024: Presentations for Regionally Controlled Services.
- Dec. 5, 2024: Presentations for two Regionally Financed External Organizations including Credit Valley Conservation Authority and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
- The Regional Council Budget meeting(s) are open to the public and residents may attend. The meeting will also be live streamed.
- The proposed 2025 Regional Operating and Capital Budget is available at peelregion.ca/budget.
National Housing Day, observed on November 22, highlights the importance of safe, affordable housing across Canada.
November 22, 2024
New financial incentives for homeowners to boost housing supply
The City is offering new financial incentives to encourage and help homeowners build more units on their properties. These incentives will cover some application fees, depending on the type of unit being built:
Additional residential units (ARUs)
Homeowners building or legalizing ARUs, such as basement apartments, garage conversions, garden suites or second-floor additions can have their building permit fees waived. Legalizing an ARU includes, but is not limited to, ensuring the unit meets the applicable zoning requirements, complies with Ontario’s Building Code, and passes inspections to become a legal, safe living space. New build fourplexes are also eligible.
Fourplexes
To make building a fourplex more affordable, the City is waiving the development charges and parkland fees that are currently required for the fourth unit, aligning with the existing exemptions already in place for the first three units. Additionally, grants will be available to cover building permit fees.
The goal of these incentives is lower upfront costs for homeowners, making it easier to add new units to existing properties. It also creates more housing options in Mississauga’s neighborhoods, which will help meet the growing demand for homes in a thoughtful and sustainable way. Learn more about adding more units to your property.
City takes the lead by sharing garden suite plans with all municipalities
Garden suites are a great way to gently add density to Mississauga neighbourhoods. Earlier this year, the City made it easier to build garden suites by offering free, pre-approved plans. These plans offer a streamlined, ready-to-go solution for residents. Garden suites can be built in backyards, making them ideal for homeowners who want to add an additional space for their growing families, or to use as a rental unit.
Today, the City is expanding this initiative by making its garden suite plans available to all municipalities across Ontario. Planning and building departments in other communities can now offer the City’s ready-made designs to interested residents, helping to streamline processes and accelerate home-building across the province. This initiative reinforces the City’s leadership and commitment to addressing the housing crisis across Ontario, helping residents and municipal staff to save time and costs, so homeowners can work directly with licensed builders sooner.
Housing growth through gentle density
In the past year, the City has made significant progress in introducing new strategies for homeowners to build, which has helped to increase housing options while gently boosting density in Mississauga’s neighborhoods.
To date in 2024, four fourplexes have applied for building permits, and we have issued permits for more than 715 ARUs, including seven garden suites. This progress reflects our commitment to creating diverse housing options, which is an important step in ensuring that future generations can live in Mississauga for years to come.
For more information on Mississauga’s housing plan, visit Growing Mississauga: An Action Plan for New Housing. This plan provides details on how the City is working to increase housing supply, while also simplifying approvals and enhancing housing affordability.
The City has launched Mississauga’s Climate Lab to share more information about the Climate Change Action Plan update and provide an opportunity for residents to share comments.
Mississauga is already feeling the impacts of climate change. This past year, the city has endured numerous extreme weather events – like heavy rainfall and extreme heat. It has been five years since the City’s first climate plan was approved, and a lot has changed in that time. The City needs to move quicker to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. That’s why the City is updating its 2019 Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), and is encouraging you to participate. The City has launched Mississauga’s Climate Lab to share more information about climate change and provide an opportunity for residents to learn more about the update to the CCAP.
Help shape the update to the Climate Change Action Plan
Mississauga’s Climate Lab is a platform to learn more about the importance of climate action and some of the City’s current initiatives. The platform is available for you to learn more about climate change and share your comments until December 20, 2024.
Learn more about the Climate Change Action Plan and share your feedback: yoursay.mississauga.ca/climate-change
Today, Mississauga City Council passed a motion to declare food insecurity an emergency in the City of Mississauga. This formal declaration is a monumental step in recognizing that food insecurity has gone beyond crisis levels and is not a temporary issue.
This formal declaration is a monumental step in recognizing that food insecurity has gone beyond crisis levels and is not a temporary issue. Food insecurity has been affecting too many residents for far too long. Food Banks Mississauga now serves 1 in 13 Mississauga residents, up from 1 in 37 in 2019. Last year, food banks distributed over 9-million pounds of food or 55 per cent more than the previous year of which, 1 in 3 were children, some of our most at risk community members.
The City of Mississauga has the fastest-growing rate of food bank users in the province – exceeding the provincial average. Many residents are facing rising living costs of housing, gas and other essentials like medications, hygiene products, clothing and cleaning items. The lack of adequate government assistance, stable financial support and the underfunding of essential programs and services, has left many in Mississauga’s communities vulnerable.
While focused on approaching the provincial and federal governments for more long-term solutions, today’s motion also looks to our partners at the Region of Peel to increase the Food Security Emergency Response Fund and to work alongside the other levels of government on advocacy and awareness campaigns highlighting the underfunding of essential supports for residents.
The motion looks to achieve the following through collective actions at all levels of government, including:
- Requesting the federal and provincial governments to declare food insecurity an emergency, in solidarity with Mississauga.
- Improving Ontario’s social assistance programs to meet the realities of our economy.
- Investing in affordable, supportive and public housing.
- Building a stronger workforce through better labour laws that benefit workers, and enhanced worker support programs.
- Supporting the Groceries and Essentials Benefit brought forward by Food Banks Canada, aimed to help struggling households afford vital costs like food and shelter.
Food Banks Mississauga and their network of more than 60 agency members served over 56,000 food bank visitors from June 2023 to May 2024 – 58 per cent more than the previous year. They saw a total of over 420,000 visits – almost an 80 per cent year-over-year increase.
As food bank usage skyrockets, Food Banks Mississauga is also preparing for greater demand that Statistics Canada and Food Banks Canada expect in the near future. They estimate that one in four Canadian residents will need the help of a community program.
The Groceries and Essentials Benefit, as introduced by Food Banks Canada and other organizations, provides immediate income support to those who need it most. This benefit would work quickly, using the structure that is already in place. By adjusting the GST/HST credit, this benefit would ensure extra support reaches those who need it most so that people don’t fall further into poverty.
To learn more about the Groceries and Essentials Benefit and send a message to your MP, visit www.foodbanksmississauga.ca/groceries-benefit
To make a gift, visit: www.foodbanksmississauga.ca/holiday
Watch a video of the news conference.
About Food Banks Mississauga
Food Banks Mississauga is the leading food security organization in Mississauga. They lead a network of more than 60 agency members, including neighbourhood food banks, pantries, cupboards, and meal and snack programs, working together to realize a food-secure Mississauga. They provide healthy and appropriate food for over 9-million meals each year to neighbours facing food insecurity.
The Mississauga Food Bank is now Food Banks Mississauga! While our name and branding have changed to reflect how our work in the community has evolved, how we support neighbours facing food insecurity has not changed. We’re still doing the same critical work we’ve always done, helping neighbours get the food and support they need today while we work to create a food-secure Mississauga for all.
Quotes:
“Mississauga Council has declared a food insecurity emergency. Mississauga has the fastest-growing rate of food bank users in the province – exceeding the provincial average – and the number continues to grow with each passing year. This situation is unacceptable and unsustainable. While food banks continue to fill a critical gap, this is a broader issue that they – and we – can’t solve alone, and it’s not just a Mississauga problem. We call on our provincial and federal partners to work with us toward lasting change by addressing the root causes and structural issues driving food insecurity. We need long-term, sustainable, poverty-reduction legislation, policies and programs supporting basic human rights. We must come together to do better for our communities.” – Mississauga Mayor, Carolyn Parrish
“Food insecurity and demand for non-profit services are far worse than they were even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m proud to stand alongside Mayor Parrish and Mississauga City Council as they take this significant step to officially declare food insecurity an emergency in our city. We have seen an almost 80 per cent increase in food bank visits in the past year. However, despite our best efforts, we’ve only been able to grow revenue by two per cent during that same time. The lack of provincial and federal funding for food banks and those facing food insecurity means that we continue to face an uphill battle as more of our neighbours fall further behind. This is why I’m calling on our community to make a gift this holiday season to provide food to neighbours in need today and send a message to their Member of Parliament demanding a Groceries and Essentials Benefit to support our neighbours for tomorrow.” – CEO Food Banks, Mississauga, Meghan Nicholls
I have heard you!
Over the past several months, residents have shared their concerns and frustrations with the reduced speed limit in school zones well past school hours and extra-curricular activities.
Currently they are now 30km/h and you may recall prior to that it was always 40km/h. Automated Speed enforcement will still continue to operate under the new changes.
I brought forward a motion to General Committee on October 23, 2024, to have school zone speeds reconsidered. At Council on October 30, 2024, my motion was approved.
Resolution #0222-2024 Moved by Councillor Dasko, Seconded by Councillor Butt:
That Recommendations GC-0450-2024 – GC 0475-2024 as contained in the General Committee Report 17-2024 – dated October 23, 2024 be approved with the exception of GC-0457-2024 that is amended to:
GC-0457-2024: That the current speed limit designation of 30 km/h in school zones on local roadways as outlined in the report from the Commissioner of Transportation and Works, dated October 9, 2024, and entitled “School Zone Speed Limits on Local Roadways” be amended to reflect time of day enforcement, between the hours of 6:00 AM until 6:00 PM, Monday to Friday year-round.
Monday to Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. will be 40km/h. Weekends will be 40km/h.
Currently City staff are working on implementing these changes and I and will keep you up to date.
Join Council, Mayor Parrish and City staff for a brief presentation and to learn more about preparing for and preventing flooding in your home and community.
Join us on the evening of November 13th at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga to hear from community partners and experts on how to prepare for and minimize the damage caused by flooding to our homes and communities. City of Mississauga staff will take residents through the current challenges facing our City due to increased severe flooding and outline what we are doing to help reduce the impact to residents, homes, parklands and businesses.
Following a staff presentation, attendees will be able to ask questions and learn about the steps they can take to avoid being impacted by future floods through community partner booths set up in the atrium of the Living Arts Centre.
Today, October 28, 2024, Peel Regional Police announced the results of Project Sledgehammer, an investigation targeting a group suspected of drug trafficking in Peel Region and across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Between July and September 2024, officers from the Specialized Enforcement Bureau conducted the investigation which resulted in multiple firearms seized. In September 2024, investigators with the assistance of Waterloo Regional Police, York Regional Police and RCMP conducted five residential search warrants in the GTA, resulting in the following:
- 11 firearms
- 32 prohibited magazines
- Over 900 rounds of ammunition
- 53 Glock selector switches
- Over $20K in drugs
- 5 individuals arrested, aged 20-61
- Nearly 160 charges laid ranging from possession of a loaded firearm, possession for the purpose of trafficking, fail to comply with release order, and more.
Peel Regional Police remains committed to seizing every illegal firearm in our community and arresting those responsible for terrorizing residents. The widespread availability of illegal firearms represents an immediate and serious threat to the safety of our community. We remain resolute in our mission to disrupt and dismantle these criminal networks, deploying significant resources to combat this issue. In 2024, we have achieved unprecedented success, with record-breaking investigations, arrests, and charges related to violent crimes.
To view additional information on the investigation, including the individuals that have been arrested and charged, please find the news release here: https://x.com/PeelPolice/status/1850968548471873541