david.laing

3 November 20253 November 2025

Repair Café: Fostering Sustainability Through Community, Advocacy and Legislation

Members of BEA and Plant Based Treaty with Caledon Councillor Early

Over the years, I’ve gained a reputation in my family for fixing things. Often, just a good cleaning or tightening a loose bolt is all that’s required to get an old appliance running like new. It turns out it is more about having the courage, (or stupidity) to take things apart and the patience to figure out how to put them back together again, than it is about knowledge or skill. I sometimes end up with an extra screw or two that I don’t know what to do with but if it works, what the heck!

27 October 202529 October 2025

BEA Attends School Community Events

Ghazanfar, Yarim, Gunjan, and Rajbalinder attend Community Open House at W.G. Davis SPS

Members of the BEA attended two school community events earlier this month.

Gunjan, Noura Bacon, Yarim, Bill attend WG David SPS Community Open House event — BEA members, Gunjan, Yarim, Bill, pose with Noura from W.G. Davis SPS

On October 8th, Ghazanfar, Yarim, Gunjan, and Rajbalinder attended the W. G. Davis Senior Public School Open House. One-Planet Living and Plant-Based Treaty were among the topics discussed with students and parents.

Student spins the One Planet Living Pledge wheel

6 October 20257 October 2025

Ontario Climate Summit October 3-5, 2025

David Miller speaks at the Ontario Climate Summit

“The Science is real, the problem is urgent. Global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 50% by 2030 to avoid climate catastrophe”. Those were the words from David Miller, the keynote speaker at the Ontario Climate Summit held at the University of Toronto this past weekend, attended by four members of the BEA Board, Polly, Rhythm, Dayle and David.

David Miller is the Managing Director of the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. The C40 Centre provides mayors, policymakers and city practitioners with the evidence, analysis and policy guidance needed to implement progressive and equitable climate action.

Mr. Miller went on to say that 80% of the people surveyed in Canada want governments to take stronger climate action, that people believe in the science but vastly overestimate the number and strength of the opposition. He said only 17% are climate deniers, the “drill baby drill” folks, but that their oversized voices tend to sway political discussions and policy making.

21 September 202522 September 2025

Across Canada, Thousands attend Draw the Line Events

Protesters at the Edmonton Draw the Line event

On Saturday September 20th thousands attended Draw the Line events across the country. Protests were organized to draw attention to the lack of climate action being taken by our civic leaders, and to highlight the impact this inaction will have, particularly on vulnerable sectors of our population.

5 September 20258 September 2025

Upcoming September Environmental Events

Welcome back! We hope you all had a wonderful summer and are refreshed heading into the cooler temperatures of the fall season. This summer once again will be amongst the hottest on record with accompanying wildfires and destructive storms becoming the new normal.

While we at the BEA are very concerned about the negative consequences of a changing climate, we remain steadfast in our focus on local environmental sustainability and the positive things that we can do to both to adapt to the new reality and do everything that we can to reduce the risk of things becoming worse.

16 August 202522 September 2025

BEA Launches 2025 Bramalea SNAP Project

The BEA has once again obtained a grant from the TRCA’s SNAP Bramalea Program to engage residents in the E, F and K sections of Bramalea in community building activities. This is the second year that the BEA will partner with BikeBrampton and the folks from the Community Bike Hub Different Spokes to deliver bicycle safety and skills training to residents in the identified Bramalea neighbourhoods, (see post of last years program delivery).

This year’s grant will be used for the following projects:

13 August 202513 August 2025

Invasion of the invasives

Here’s a quiz. What is Phragmites? Is it,
a: A mineral deposit left behind by dripping water in caves,
b: A children’s TV sequel to the Muppet Show,
c: A particularly itchy skin rash resulting from drinking too much red wine,
d: An aggressive type of invasive European grass or reed that grows in dense clusters up to 15 feet in height, crowding out native species and destroying wetland habitat throughout Ontario.

13 July 202521 July 2025

Brampton to hold Public Consultations on the Future of Bike Lanes

Father and daughter ride along the Howden Bike Lanes

Brampton staff are organizing public consultations over the next few weeks to solicit feedback on the future of Brampton’s bike lanes particularly the protected bike lanes along Howden Boulevard from North Park to Dixie. See below for currently scheduled sessions.

4 drop-in public sessions at different locations/times so residents can learn more, review the data, and share their feedback in person:
- July 23 at BCC Terminal (2–6 PM)
- July 26 at BCC Mall (12–4 PM)
- July 29 & 31 at Chinguacousy Park Sandra Park Hames Centre (4–8 PM)
Online survey open from July 21 to August 7 on the City’s Let’s Connect page — we’ll be promoting this widely through mailouts, social, signage, and flyers.
We’re reaching about 6,000 households directly in the project area plus doing broader promotion to make sure people know how to get involved.

Whether or not you are a cyclist, or a support of active transportation, please come out to one of these sessions to learn the facts about how bike lanes affect traffic and road safety in our city.

If you are not able to attend one of the sessions, you can complete the survey on-line. First check out Dayle Laing’s BikeBrampton post for an analysis of the four options and more background information that will help you with your feedback.

This is more than just the future of a few bike lanes. It’s about the transportation vision for the City of Brampton that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.

7 July 20257 July 2025

Upcoming Environmental Events This Summer

Enjoy these events while thinking about the environment this summer.

FAMILY FUN NIGHT

Come on out to Heart Lake Turtle Troopers Family Fun Night on Tuesday July 22nd. Participate in interactive activities for all ages. See where turtles lay their eggs and where they bask in the sun on a hot summer’s day. Visit the Brampton Environmental Alliance table and take the ONE-PLANET LIVING PLEDGE!

CARABRAM FESTIVAL

Carabram is Brampton’s vibrant multicultural festival, celebrating diverse cultures through music, dance, food, and lively performances from around the world. For an eco-friendly option travel to and from the pavilions by bike. See BikeBrampton.ca for suggested bike travel routes and other information on buying your passport to attend this great event.

9 June 20259 June 2025

Another Provincial Attack on Environmental Sustainability

Brampton's Sustainable Development Guidelines

The Provincial Government continued its attack on environmental sustainability this past week, by passing Bill 5 “Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act” and Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025″. They did so despite strong opposition from environmental groups, opposition parties, and First Nations Peoples.