Let’s Build: an Affordable City
Affordability means more than a tax freeze. Let's look at how my published policy agenda will make Brampton a more affordable place to live.
The short version: At the City and at the Region, I’ll look after the money we collect, put idle land to work, and make it easier to build the homes and business space Brampton needs. That is how we protect affordability without pretending one year’s tax freeze solves the problem.
Brampton residents pay for decisions made at both City Hall and Peel Region. They also pay rent or a mortgage, get to work, and live with the consequences when services fall behind. My affordability plan brings together policies I have already published:
1) Get value for every tax dollar.
I have called for independent audits of major spending and contracts, and public reporting on project costs, deadlines and delays. Before approving another major purchase, we should know what it will cost to buy, operate and maintain.
2) Put land we already have to work.
My land value audit would identify underused City property. Responsible sales could help rebuild reserves and pay Brampton’s share of needed infrastructure, while reducing the cost of holding land we do not need. Costs we pay for directly. Lost property tax revenue we pay for indirectly.
That work goes beyond City-owned land. I want to work with commercial property owners whose parking areas sit largely unused. Where a site can support it, those areas could become homes, shops, offices and services. It increases the supply of developable land within Brampton and gives property owners a chance to earn more from land they already own.
3) Build more housing choices and better connections.
I have proposed using municipal tools to support affordable, nonprofit and cooperative housing, reducing unnecessary parking requirements near reliable transit, and improving Züm connections. Housing costs and commuting costs belong in the same affordability conversation.
4) Keep and attract jobs here.
My New Downtown plan would bring more businesses and workers to Four Corners, Queen Street and Kennedy Road South. My employer retention plan focuses on fixing the infrastructure and approval problems that can drive investment away. More occupied business space can strengthen the commercial tax base.
My Strategic Employer Retention Plan goes beyond tariff resilience, it makes Brampton a place large employers will want to invest, to hire, and to remain in for the long term.
5) Deliver the services people already pay for.
From By-Laws, to the Highway Traffic Act to the Criminal Code, residents deserve a legal system that works for them.
At the City level, my by-law plan sets a target of December 31, 2027, to clear requests left beyond their service standard without active action.
At the Regional Level, developing a Health Care Ecosystem includes supports for housing stability, mental health supports, addressing addiction. This means working with Police and Paramedics and the Health Care system to respond both effectively and efficiency to ensure the right resources are being applied in the right way to address crime and public safety.
6) Understanding Priorities
Brampton and Peel have this in common: We don't have revenue problems, we have priority problems.
As a leader, this means I will apply the same scrutiny to the Regional budget as the City budget. A low City tax increase means little if other costs keep climbing or if we postpone bills that future taxpayers will have to pay through unnecessary debt financing of purchases that are not efficient and effective solutions to our problems.
The test is straightforward: What does it cost residents, what do they get back, and who pays for it later?
Elect Wesley Jackson for Mayor.
