Black Community in Brampton Wants to be Fully Included in the City

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed   Patrick Brown is running for mayor of Brampton in the Oct. 22, 2018 municipal election.

Several Black, African and Caribbean residents in the city of Brampton want to see visible representation in the mayor’s office, on interview panels and in the selection of job applicants, among other things.

They shared their concerns at the second Black, African and Caribbean Community Town Hall with mayoral candidate, Patrick Brown, held at his campaign office in Brampton on October 9.

Apart from not feeling representing by the present municipal government, some of the other issues they raised included property taxes, homelessness and poverty alleviation, gridlock on the roads and economic development to match the burgeoning residential projects.

Black African and Caribbean residents in Brampton represent the second largest group of visible minorities in the city, with South Asians being the largest and Filipinos in third place.

“Visible representation matters. I am committing to ensuring that the Mayor’s Office will engage and reflect the diverse mosaic of communities in Brampton,” said Brown who is a candidate in the October 22 municipal election.

On September 17, he held his first meeting with the community to develop a 10-point commitment to Brampton’s Black, African and Caribbean-Canadian community.

 The commitments include ensuring the mayor’s office staff reflects the cultural mosaic of the city and to create the first-ever Black/African/Caribbean-Canadian Mayor’s Advisory Council.

On the matter of equality of opportunity, Brown wants to ensure hiring practices give all candidates a fair chance to be hired. 

“The panels interviewing/selecting applicants must also reflect the cultural make-up of our city. And jobs at City Hall will be shared with the community through the advisory council,” notes the commitment.

The mayoral candidate plans to have a dedicated staff position in the mayor’s office that will focus on outreach and engagement, and ensuring that the office is accessible to community members.

Tenders for city projects will be shared with Black-owned businesses through the advisory council to encourage fair and equal opportunity.

Brown has also committed to ensure there is support for the summer festival, Jambana, “and their continued, successful presence in Brampton.”

He wants the Congress of Black Women, Brampton and the United Achievers’ Club annual Black History Month to have city space provided free of charge, and to  provide them with office space to operate out of as they continue to develop their programs fostering youth success in Brampton.

There is also the plan to “create the Brampton City Council Making Black History Awards for Black History Month to encourage and celebrate greatness in our city.”

“At the recommendation of the Black Community Action Network of Peel, we will review and, where needed, develop education programs and other tools to address issues of anti-Black racism, inclusion, and equity in the City of Brampton workspaces,” says the ninth commitment.

Brown notes that: “We will work alongside small and large community organizations to ensure they have space and support to continue to serve the community, with a special focus on Black/African/Caribbean-Canadian youth employment opportunities, seniors issues, mental health resources, and business supports.”

Photo contributed   Garnett Manning, former councillor, City of Brampton

Jamaican, Garnett Manning, a former city councillor of Brampton and a member of Brown’s campaign team, said the former provincial leader of the Official Opposition at Queen’s Park was the first Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leader to host a Black History Month event.

Referencing the names of black candidates running in the October 22 municipal election in Brampton such as Everton Campbell, Princess Boucher, Michael Farquharson, Michelle Shaw and others, he said in his estimation “this is the best stack of candidates from our community.”

Manning said there are two constants in Brampton regarding elections: a 30 per cent and less election turnout and the city elects mayors in big numbers.

He believes that the Black vote “could be the x factor to send a message that we will not be taken for granted” and that the community should vote strategically. Manning is proposing that the community should vote as a block.

Brown has served two terms municipally as a city councillor in the city of Barrie and three terms in the federal parliament representing Barrie. He is a former Member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Simcoe North.

He was planning to lead the Ontario PC Party in the June provincial election but was forced to resign after allegations of sexual misconduct, dating back to when he was a member of parliament. He has strongly denied the allegations and is suing Bell Media and CTV News which first reported the accusations.

Brown currently practices real estate law in the GTA and sits as managing partner at Callian Capital Group, as well as vice president at Tortel Communications.  He and his wife, Genevieve Gualtieri, live in downtown Brampton.  

The other mayoral candidates are:  incumbent Linda Jeffrey, Mansoor Ameersulthan, Baljit Gosal, Wesley Jackson, Vinod Kumar Mahesan and John Sprovieri.

Responding to the question of how in her four years as mayor she has engaged the Black, African and Caribbean-Canadian community in hiring practices, tenders for city projects, among other things to ensure inclusion and community engagement in the City of Brampton, Jeffrey said “it’s very arrogant of Mr. Brown to try to address an issue that he himself has not been here long enough to understand and appreciate.”

“Since the beginning of my term, every group - no matter their race or faith - has been welcome to City Hall. Under my leadership we've opened up City Hall to make everyone feel more welcome. We've done more events, more flag raisings for groups than any previous council has done. We've initiated the Inclusion and Equity Committee and currently City Staff are working on implementing their recommendations,” she said.

Jeffrey says she was part of a board that initiated an equity audit for Peel Regional Police.

“I listened to residents and took a firm stance against carding practices and moved a motion at Peel Regional Council, along with Mayor Bonnie Crombie to stop carding.

“I was part of a team on the Police Services Board that hired two deputies from the Black Community to serve on Peel Regional Police.”

She said she has been outspoken in her criticism of hiring practices at City Hall and
will continue to advocate for more equity.

“We are a City that needs to pull together and celebrate our diversity. The policies I push forward, whether on crime, seniors, taxes or transit, will continue to address the wide variety of issues affecting Bramptonians.

“If you don't have political will, nothing can happen. I am here and ready to listen to Bramptonians and work hard to address their concerns. I always have and I always will,” said Jeffrey who is seeking a second term as mayor.

[Due to space constraints because of two features in the current issue of the North American Weekly Gleaner (Oct. 18-24, 2018), this story was not published.]