[URBAN NOTE] "Will Brampton move forward in 2017 or remain stuck in neutral?"

[rfmcdonald]

At the Toronto Star, San Grewal suggests this year could be the one that sees the perennially divided city of Brampton move forward.

A $28.5-million lawsuit still hangs over Brampton City Hall, council is wrestling over a future route for a LRT corridor, long-standing policing policies in one of Canada’s most-diverse communities are being challenged by residents and plans for the city’s first university need to be hammered out.

These are some of the critical issues facing Canada’s ninth largest city in 2017.

Some city hall watchers and councillors worry that the ongoing lawsuit launched by local builder Inzola Group against the city in 2011, regarding the handling of a historic downtown redevelopment deal, is causing reputational harm and the possible loss of business as it drags through the courts.

“It’s of the utmost importance that this matter be resolved in 2017,” says Councillor John Sprovieri, who has been critical of the city’s handling of the six-year-old lawsuit, which Mayor Linda Jeffrey said has “paralyzed” city hall.

“A lot of people are following what’s happening with this lawsuit,” Sprovieri said. “There is a lot of speculation and much of it is negative. Until it is resolved this speculation and the allegations are a reputational issue for Brampton — it could be doing significant damage to our reputation.”