Brampton mayoral candidate Nikki Kaur takes aim at ‘failed leadership’ of Patrick Brown

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Published September 26, 2022 at 3:49 pm

Nikki Kaur speaks to the crowd at her Brampton mayoral campaign kick-off event on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (Photo courtesy of the Kaur Campaign)

City staffer, lawyer and whistleblower Nikki Kaur is gunning for Mayor Patrick Brown’s job, kicking off her campaign by pledging to end what she calls “four years of scandal, mismanagement and failed leadership at city hall.”

It’s time for the people of Brampton to fire Patrick Brown,” Kaur said during a speech on Saturday to a crowd of supporters.

She took aim at Brown during her campaign launch over a recent motion to cancel investigations into the Brampton University project, cancelling recent council meetings, and his failed Conservative Party leadership bid.

Kaur also pointed to what she called Brown’s “mismanagement of basic finances,” highlighting numbers from the Brampton Board of Trade in 2021 forecasting a 7 per cent property tax increase in both 2023 and 2024.

“If we don’t make a major change, debt payments are forecasted to increase from 11 million per year to 27 million per year by 2025,” she said.

RELATED: Early voting for Brampton municipal election starts next week

Kaur has previously made allegations of corruption and inappropriate behaviour against Brampton city councillors and high-ranking city officials, neither of which were verified by auditors or the city’s integrity commissioner.

If elected, Kaur said that she would table a motion requesting provincial auditors “do a full review of the state of Brampton’s finances.”

Her election platform also includes tackling crime in Brampton by bringing back the Neighbourhood Watch program, and asking Regional Council a motion for a full review of Brampton’s police services budget. Kaur also said she wants to see 100 new Peel Regional Police officers on Brampton streets.

Kaur previously made claims of corruption at Brampton City Hall, leading to an investigation which concluded last year.

That investigation came at a cost of $360,000, and auditing firm Deloitte dismissed most of the complaints as unsubstantiated or without merit. The findings were also in line with earlier investigations by both the Peel Regional Police and the Ontario Ombudsman.

Kaur has also alleged Coun. Rowena Santos screamed at her in front of other staff members in relation to the now-frozen Brampton University project – an accusation Santos has denied.

Council referred the matter to the integrity commissioner (IC) in May. Santos was cleared of the allegations, but the IC said it was satisfied that “a conversation took place” between Santos and Kaur in January of 2020 and that “the Councillor’s words and tone were upsetting to the staff member.”

Former mayor Linda Jeffrey – who was narrowly defeated by Brown in 2018 – endorsed Kaur at the event on Saturday, telling the crowd that Kaur “doesn’t back down to bullies.”

Kaur has taken an unpaid leave of absence from city hall during her mayoral run, and has assembled a team of political strategists who have worked with Premier Doug Ford, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Toronto Mayor John Tory, to name a few.

Kaur is running against Brown, Bob Singh, Vidya Sagar Gautam, Tony Moracci, and Prabh Kaur Mand.

Brampton voters will go to the polls to choose the next term of council on Oct. 24.

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