Welcome to the April 2015 issue of my Ward 11 E-Newsletter!  I hope you find this newsletter informative.  

As always, I am pleased to assist you and your family with any municipal issue that you have.  Please don't hesitate to contact my office directly at 905-896-5011 or

[email protected].   

 

 

Join Councillor Carlson, MP Brad Butt, MPP Bob Delaney, and Streetsville service groups (B.I.A., Cadets, Rotary, Lions Club, Scouts, and others) to help clean up litter in and around downtown Streetsville.  Last year's event was a great success, with over 150 community volunteers cleaning up over 2 tonnes of garbage and recyclables in just 2 hours!  The cleanup will begin at 2pm at Centre Plaza (128 Queen St. S.), where participants can join us for coffee, donuts, etc., before heading out to begin the cleanup.  The details of this year's cleanup are as follows:

 

4th Annual Village Litter Blitz

Saturday, May 9, 2014

2pm-4pm

Centre Plaza

(field beside Tim Horton's)

128 Queen St. S, Streetsville

 

The cleanup will conclude at 4pm and everyone can join us back at Centre Plaza for snacks, pizza, hot dogs, refreshments, and prizes!  Elementary and high school students will receive credit for volunteer hours completed.  Please bring your volunteer forms for signing.  For more info, call 905-896-5011, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.georgecarlson.ca.  See you at the 4th annual Village Litter Blitz!!!  Top 

 

I am very pleased to inform you that MP Brad Butt and I will be hosting a great safety seminar for seniors in downtown Streetsville that will be facilitated by the Peel Regional Police.  

The crime prevention experts at Peel Regional Police have designed a certificate, seminar program for seniors that is called "Safety for Seniors."  This very useful seminar covers the following important safety topics specifically geared towards seniors, including:

• Keeping yourself and your property safe
• Personal and property protection
• Cyber safety and fraud prevention with special emphasis on crime that targets seniors such as elder abuse, fraud and door to door sales

This safety seminar is offered FREE of charge and available to residents in the Region of Peel.  You must register to attend this seminar.  Please click HERE to register or click the poster to register.  The details of this seminar are as follows:

 

Safety for Seniors Seminar

Thursday, May 21, 2015, at 11:30am
Banquet Hall, Vic Johnston CC
Refreshments and snacks will be provided

 

If you are a senior, consider attending this seminar to learn some useful strategies to keep yourself and your property safe.  If you know of any seniors who may be interested in this safety seminar, please feel free to share this information with them.

 

For more information about this safety seminar, please contact Constable Thomas McKay at (905) 453-3311, ext. 4025 or e-mail at [email protected].  I look forward to seeing you on May 21st and learning some great safety tips from the Peel Regional Police. Top 

 

The Cadets of 789 Lt.R.Hampton Gray, VC Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets will once again be holding an e-recycling fundraising event to collect your electronic items for recycling and raise funds for programs and activities.  The details of this e-recycling fundraiser are as follows:

 

Air Cadets e-Recycling Fundraiser

Saturday, April 18 & Sunday, April 19

8am to 5pm

Streetsville Community Cadet Centre

70 Church Street, Mississauga, ON L5M 2M3

 

This is their 4th e-recycling fundraiser to date, and they have diverted more than 20,000lbs of electronics from local landfill and raised much needed funds for their Squadron.  The following items will be collected at this e-recycling fundraiser:

 

Ink cartridges, toner cartridges, cell phones, cameras, digital camera, video cameras, TVs, VCRs, gaming systems, laptops, computers, Monitors, household batteries, car batteries,  photocopiers, scanners, speakers, UPS Batteries, wires, servers, networking equipment, projectors, turntables, telephones, receivers, radios, DVD players, CD ROMs copiers, circuit boards, hard drives, modems, PDAs, microwaves, power supplies, ipods, MP3players, digital cameras,  GPS devices, printers, audio players, video players, portable A/Cs, equalizers, microwaves, toaster ovens, power supplies, pagers, modems, turntables, electric typewriters, hairdryers...

 

This is a great opportunity for you to safely dispose of your electronics items and help protect our environment, while supporting the great programs and initiatives of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.  For more information about this e-recycling fundraiser, please contact  Anna Lesiw, 789 Squadron Sponsor Chair at 905-566-0236.  Top 

 

The 4th Meadowvale West Scouts Group and Mississauga Scouts Canada Groups are organizing their annual tree planting event, Scoutrees, again this year.  The details of the 2015 Scoutrees tree planting are as follows:

 

2015 Scoutrees Tree Planting

Saturday, April 18, 2015

9 am - 12 pm

Huron Park Community Centre

830 Paisley Blvd W, Mississauga

 

Last year more than 500 Scouts, their family members, and Scouts Canada volunteers, along with employees from the City of Mississauga and Credit Valley Conservation helped to plant approximately 800 trees at Mississauga Valley Community Centre. 

 

This year will mark 43 years since Scoutrees was started in Mississauga and Georgetown as a pilot project back in 1972.  Since then, Scoutrees has grown into a Scouts Canada annual event nationwide.  Over 80 million trees have been planted so far and Scouts across Canada are planting more than 200,000 trees every year to help beautify Canada and to provide a renewal resource for the benefit of the environment and the community.

 

If you are planning on attending this tree planting, please dress according to the weather and wear boots to ensure safety.  Please bring a strong shovel as well for the tree planting.  For more information about Scouts Canada and Scoutrees, please visit www.scouts.ca/ca/scoutrees.  Top 

 

Calling all young inspiring videographers!  If you are between the ages of 12 and 30 you are eligible to enter the #MySauga Youth Video Contest. Simply create a 3 to 6 minute video that explores the question 'How do you experience your city through culture?' and submit your entry online.

 

This is a great opportunity for you to show your pride of Mississauga and for the chance to win great prizes.  This contest runs from Friday, March 20, 2015 to Wednesday, May 20, 2015.  Enter for your chance to win one of three Panasonic video cameras and the chance to see your video screened at Mississauga Celebration Square's June Block Party!  To enter this contest, please visit www.mysaugavideo.ca.  Top 

 

If you're looking for something fun to do with your family, you may want to check out The Living Arts Centre's Arts for Life Children's Festival.  This festival offers a fun-filled weekend of entertainment, activities, and great opportunities for kids to express their creativity.   The festival details are as follows:

 

Arts for Life Children's Festival

May 1-3, 2015

Living Arts Centre

4141 Living Arts Drive, Mississauga
 

The festival features both paid ticketed and free events and activities for your 4 to 12 year old children, including theatre performances; family-friendly music and entertainment; a Creative Zone; dance and visual arts activities; and much more!  For more information about the Arts for Life Children's Festival, please visit www.livingartscentre.ca/childrens-festival.  Top 

 

I am very pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the City of Mississauga's Civic Award of Recognition Program.  The Civic Award of Recognition Program recognizes both individuals and groups who have volunteered in our community. 

 

An individual who is nominated must be a resident of the City of Mississauga and have volunteered in the city for 10 years or more, or must have earned acclaim in arts, sports or academia at the national or international level.  A group who is nominated must have volunteered in the city for 10 years or more or the group must have earned acclaim i.e. sports or academia at a national or international level.  To celebrate the accomplishments of these great community volunteers, a special recognition evening will be held, and the details are as follows:

 

Civic Award of Recognition Ceremony

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Ceremony:   7 to 8 p.m. in the Council Chamber

Reception:   8 to 9 p.m. in the Great Hall

Mississauga Civic Centre, 300 City Centre Drive

 

If you know a fantastic group or individual who has done great work in our community, consider nominating them for a Civic Award of Recognition.  For more information about the Civic Award of Recognition Program, visit www.mississauga.ca/portal/cityhall/civicrecognitionprogram.  Top 

 

As you may know, the Ontario Government is in the process of preparing the 2015 Ontario budget.  The City's main source of funding comes from property tax dollars, and the City only receives 32 cents of every property tax dollar.  The remaining amount is divided up between the Region of Peel (45 cents) and the Province for education (23 cents).

 

The City is presently facing many challenges that create budgetary pressures, including the following:    

• Growth in GTA communities is creating more traffic on roads which leads to increasing need for transit options.
• Transit ridership demands are growing faster than population growth and additional services will bring additional costs.
• Since the City is mostly built, large scale residential and commercial construction is slowing down, reducing development permit revenues.
• The Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive insect, is threatening to destroy the City's tree canopy and requires a special levy to deal with this problem.
• The City's aging infrastructure needs repair and ongoing maintenance.
• There are proposed changes to fire and emergency services to accommodate high population growth. The proposed changes will improve response times.

As such, the City is requesting support from the Ontario Government for some of our top priorities in the upcoming Ontario 2015 budget as follows:

 

1.  Infrastructure Funding

What support does Mississauga need?

• Sustainable infrastructure funding remains a top priority of the City of         Mississauga.
• New Building Canada Fund.
• Rapid Transit.
• Regional Express Rail (RER): All-Day, Two-Way GO Train Service.
• Next Steps to Implement Inspiration Lakeview Master Plan.

Why does Mississauga need this funding?

• Cities and towns own the majority of infrastructure (65%) but receive the smallest share of tax dollars (10%).
• The Metrolinx plan to move millions of people through public transit is essential - but we need funding to get it built.
• The provincial and federal governments need to finalize the New Canada Building Fund so construction can begin.

2.  Revenue Generation

What support does Mississauga need?

• GTAA Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT).
• Highway Traffic Statute Law Amendment Act.
• Development Charges.
• Interest Arbitration.
• Joint and Several Liability.

Why does Mississauga need this funding?

• Legislative changes will assist all municipalities to collect outstanding (and new) revenues.
• Changes to the GTAA PILTs and the Highway Traffic Statute Law Amendment Act will allow millions of additional dollars to be put toward the City's programs and projects.
• There is no cost incurred by the Province of Ontario in making these legislative changes.

3.  Job Creation and Partnerships

What support does Mississauga need?

• Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA).
• Business Clusters.
• Small Business Enterprise Centre (SBEC).
• Youth Employment Fund (YEF).
• Partnerships with the Federal Government.

Why does Mississauga need this funding?

• The GTA must work together on regional business attraction.
• Provincial programs that exist today are working to help businesses and provide jobs.
• The federal government must be included in our strategies to stimulate the economy.

For more information about the City's Provincial Budget Submission, please visit the City's website at www.mississauga.ca/portal/cityhall/provincialgovernance.  Top