The five most-read Peel Region stories of 2021
Published December 25, 2021 at 3:00 pm
It was a busy year in news for the more than 1.3 million residents of in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon.
While it shouldn’t come as a surprise that COVID-19 made for big headlines in 2021, it wasn’t just pandemic stories that struck a chord with the people of Peel.
Here are five of our most-read news stories in for the Region of Peel in 2021:
5) Mississauga mayor says Peel garbage strike ‘could go on a month’ but hopes for speedy resolution
A labour dispute between Emterra Environment and their union caused waste collection workers to strike on Dec. 6.
Emterra is one of two companies contracted by the Region for waste collection, and the company’s union said picketing workers weren’t being paid the same as other waste collectors.
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While the strike only lasted for three days, some 150,000 households were impacted by an indefinite freeze on all recycling, bulky item and yard waste pick-up across the Region.
4) Mississauga and Brampton families need to save for decades to afford down payment
A report to Regional Council in November showed the average Peel family would need to save for 26 years for a down payment.
Low-income need to save almost twice as long at 51 years in order to pay the affordable standard for a mortgage.
In 2020, the region said there were just under 15,000 households on wait lists for housing subsidies, and 70 per cent of low-income households live in housing they cannot afford.
3) Peel Public Health issues Section 22 order to close all schools in Brampton and Mississauga
Schools in Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon were ordered to stay closed for two weeks due to an increases of COVID-19 case counts.
The closures came under a Section 22 order and affected all Dufferin Peel District Catholic School Board, Peel District School Board, Conseil Scolaire Viamonde, Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir and all private schools.
2) Property taxes and utility bill hikes in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon
The Region of Peel budget for 2022 included a property tax hike of 1.6 percent for an annual increase of $78 for residential properties, and $139 for small businesses.
The typical home will also see an increase of $47 per year on their utility bills in the new year, while small businesses will see an annual increase of $118.
1) GO bus with 1.3 million kilometres on it ‘sold’ for $1 to Peel cops
The police force bought a decommissioned GO Transit bus for a token payment of $1.
Police bought the 12-year-old bus to use as a transport for recruits in training, community relations activities, the Youth and Police program, and training at Canadian Forces Base Borden. The bus will also see use during tactical deployments.
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