Brampton Councillor Gupreet Dhillon 'Disappointed' in Colleagues' failure to Support Freeze on Employment Land Conversion to Residential Developments

Brampton Councillor Dhillon put forward a motion for Council to consider a temporary freeze on converting employment lands to residential development at their meeting June 8, 2016

“I am disappointed that Council keeps telling our residents that building a city where you can live, work, and keep taxes low is not a priority – instead, this Council wants to export jobs outside of Brampton and hand them to other cities and municipalities,” said Councillor Dhillon.

The motion was prompted by a Planning & Infrastructure Services Committee meeting  May 30, 2016 where all members of council except Councillor Dhillon, voted to convert 70 more acres of employment lands to new residential development lands. Approximately 1500 acres have already been converted from employment to residential development lands since 1989.

“By losing employment lands, we’re losing the opportunities to create Brampton as a hub of industry, attracting businesses, and diversifying our tax revenue base,” said Councillor Dhillon. “Once these lands are converted, they are gone forever. We’re closing the door to future generations by pushing businesses and industries away from this City.

“I simply want this Council to put a halt on all land conversions until an Economic Development Master Plan is drafted, where Council and staff can implement strategic growth for the next 25 years. We have the lowest jobs-to-residents ratio in the GTA. This means, for every 3 people in Brampton, there is only one job opportunity. This is unacceptable.

“I was given a mandate by my constituents to stop building more houses and focus on building more local jobs.”