On Wednesday, March 11, I hosted a community meeting about Ridgeway Plaza. The purpose was to provide an update on the coordinated and multi-pronged effort undertaken by Police, City Council and Staff to address the myriad concerns raised by residents about some of the activities taking place at the plaza.
I want to thank the more than 100 residents who attended and I’m grateful to the presenters and additional staff who attended and answered questions during the Q&A portion of the evening.
In my summary posted below, I will include:
- My Opening Remarks which I shared at the meeting
- The slide deck presented at the meeting
- Comments about a video taken at the meeting and posted to social media
- My plans to host another community meeting on this topic
Opening Remarks
A warm welcome to all of you and thank you for taking the time to attend tonight’s important community meeting.
Firstly, and especially to those residents living in adjacent to the plaza in Wards 8 and 10, I want to acknowledge your frustration with the many unwanted activities over the past several years and the negative impact these have had on your home and quality of life.
I want to assure you that we have been listening and have been working hard to make things better. Tonight, you’ll hear about those efforts and the successes so far.
As a Council, we have taken this matter very seriously. Ward 8 Councillor Matt Mahoney has joined us this evening – he and I have worked together to address the many issues at the plaza and, because it is physically located in Ward 8, Matt has taken the lead on these efforts from a Council perspective.
Tonight, you’ll hear from Police and our City bylaw officers about the robust enforcement efforts, changes to strengthen our bylaws, the creation of new bylaws like the nuisance gathering bylaw, and zoning changes that will have a long-term benefit for patrons of the plaza and the surrounding community.
We have reviewed the flow of traffic in and out of the plaza and the adjacent streets and made several changes such as speed limit reductions, turning restrictions and the installation of traffic signals and speed humps.
I also want to be very clear that I completely support the businesses within the plaza and want to see them thrive. It is indeed a marvel that so many restaurants have been able to operate profitably in such close proximity to each other, and that collectively they are able to attract customers from far and wide to come and experience international cuisine in one location. These establishments create jobs and are a boon to our economy. We want their customers to have a safe, healthy and enjoyable experience.
What we don’t want are the nuisance gatherings. Or the car meet-ups, with revving engines. Or the loud music or illegal fireworks.
Our multi-pronged investments in terms of regulation, policy, engineering and enforcement are paying off. Last year was better than the year before and we anticipate that trend continuing as we prepare for the next warm weather season.
I’m sure you can appreciate these are complicated matters and your patience has been appreciated throughout the process.
That said, I firmly believe that tonight will be a ‘good news’ story and that you’ll leave the meeting with accurate information and a solid understanding of all the work that has taken place at the plaza over the past several years and confident that the ongoing efforts will restore peace and order to this neighbourhood.
Presentations
Three presentations were given—from Peel Regional Police, City Bylaw Enforcement, and City Planning & Building—with a verbal presentation by Police, and a slide deck to accompany the other two. All the visuals were combined into one file, available here.
Video Posted Online
I have received several phone calls, emails and text messages with concerns about a video taken at the meeting and posted to social media. I am not posting a link to the video here, but I will comment on it.
The incident captured in the video is regrettable, and the aggressive tone and outburst of a resident toward a young adult named Khaled, (the speaker and poster of the video) was uncalled for and out of line. Despite Khaled’s comments not being aligned with the focus of the meeting, he was permitted to share his comments within the public forum, and entitled to respect and civility in doing so. To you, Khaled, and others who took offence or felt unsafe because of this incident, I am truly sorry for your experience.
Further, please understand that what was included in Khaled’s video does not tell the whole story. The video posted online is heavily edited to portray a narrative that suits a one-sided worldview and bias, and does not give a complete account of the situation. The edited video does not show the facilitator of the meeting directing the resident to be quiet. Nor does it show the facilitator giving the resident a warning to refrain from such outbursts or he would be removed from the meeting. Nor does it show the facilitator admonishing the entire assembly to adhere to respectful discourse or the meeting would be adjourned. Nor does it show the Peel Police Superintendent reiterating a call for calm. This all took place within 60 seconds of Khaled completing his remarks. Undoubtedly, video cameras were recording all of this but select segments were omitted from the version that Khaled posted. Order was restored; the meeting carried on without further incident. There were claims of racially-targeted comments made, however, none of the hosts, presenters or panelists heard any comments they considered racist or discriminatory, and the video does not capture any either. That doesn’t mean the words weren’t spoken, however, it would be impossible for anyone hosting the meeting to condemn such language if they didn’t hear it.
There could be other motivation at play as well for the carefully edited video, since Khaled is a self-described “Muslim & Queer Palestinian activist-scholar who devotes his life to anti-oppression work,” and a social media influencer. All this to say, please use critical thinking and, especially in this day and age, don’t take everything you see or share on social media at face value.
Another Community Meeting
I am investigating the feasibility of hosting a second community meeting on this same topic for a variety of reasons. We closed advanced registration for the first meeting when we reached capacity for the room and there were more residents who wanted to come that couldn’t. There were many questions at the first meeting that were not asked because we ran out of time. And, many residents of Islamic faith expressed dismay at the timing of the meeting as it conflicted with Ramadan and their Iftar gatherings.
I recognize the unfortunate timing of this meeting with respect to the Muslim community. I had been working to organize this meeting for several months dating back to the end of 2025. Between sourcing an available venue and aligning the schedules of key presenters and stakeholders, the week of March 9 was the only option between February and mid-April. I also wanted to provide this update ahead of the change in weather to ensure residents were aware of what’s been done, that we’re not ignoring the concerns that have been raised, and that monitoring and enforcement will continue into the upcoming warm weather season. I also underestimated this community’s interest in the topic.
Finally, I would also suggest that it appears the focus of this meeting was misunderstood. The intent was not to have a debate about the pros and cons of the plaza but rather to provide an update to residents living near the plaza about actions that have been taken to address their concerns around noise, littering, parking, traffic, illegal fireworks, and the like. This will be the focus of the second meeting as well.
Please know and trust that I and our diverse team of experts are working within our areas of authority and influence to foster a safe, healthy, enjoyable experience for patrons, a profitable enterprise for businesses, and peace and order for the surrounding residential community.