Susan Fennell - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Susan Fennell is the mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

of Brampton

Brampton

Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. She was also the Founder and Commissioner of the National Women's Hockey League

National Women's Hockey League

The National Women's Hockey League was a women's ice hockey league. This League was in service between 1999 and 2007.-History:The NWHL superseded the old Central Ontario Women's Hockey League in 1998-99. After the old COWHL dropped down to three teams in 1997-98, the new league expanded to...

Background

Susan Fennell was born in Saint-Laurent, a borough of Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. She completed an Honours Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

in environmental science

Environmental science

Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems...

from the University of Toronto at Mississauga in 1977. She and her husband John have two adult children, Michael and Joey. Before entering politics she worked for 11 years for Toledo Scale

Mettler Toledo

Mettler-Toledo is a manufacturer of scales and analytical instruments. It was formed by the merging of two companies: Mettler, based in Switzerland, and Toledo Scale, based in Columbus, Ohio, USA...

Political career

Fennell's first foray into politics was with her 1988 election to Brampton City Council

Brampton City Council

Brampton City Council is the governing body for the City of Brampton, Ontario.It consists of the Mayor of Brampton, currently Susan Fennell, five elected regional councillors and five elected city councillors...

for Ward 3. That same year she was first elected to the Board of Governors of Sheridan College

Sheridan College

Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a diploma and degree granting Canadian polytechnic institute with approximately 15,000 full time students and 35,000 continuing education students...

, where she served as one of the directors until 1995. During her time as a city councillor, Fennell was actively involved in several committees, including those for Economic Development and Official Plan Review. This period also saw Fennell active on the Airport Tri-Municipal Committee, the Brampton Board of Trade

Brampton Board of Trade

The Brampton Board of Trade is a business organization first founded in Brampton, Ontario in 1887. Currently representing the broad interests of 1100+ members, the Brampton Board of Trade serves its members through government lobbying, member discounts, and networking opportunities.-History:* 1887...

, and the Downtown Business Improvement Area.

In 1991, Fennell was elected to Peel Regional Council

Peel Regional Council

Peel Regional Council is the governing body of the Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario, Canada.-Formation:Peel Council was formed in 1973 when the Regional Municipality of Peel was created to replace the old Peel County. It was created by the province to deal with counties with significant...

to represent Wards 3 and 4. Her first term as a regional councillor saw her chair the Brampton Budget Committee and saw the first zero-tax increase in Peel Region's history in 1993. During her stint at the regional council, Fennell also chaired the Public Works Committee and the Economic Development Committee. She was also involved in the governing council of the Board of Trade and the Highway 427 Extension Committee.

The 1993 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1993

The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...

, saw her run as the Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

candidate in the Brampton riding

Brampton (electoral district)

Brampton was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1997. This riding was created in 1987, from Brampton—Georgetown riding, and was abolished in 1996, when it was redistributed between Brampton Centre and Brampton...

, finishing third.

As mayor

In 2000, Fennell defeated three-term incumbent Peter Robertson for the Brampton mayoralty. She was re-elected in 2003, defeating councillor Bill Cowie by a 28% margin. Fennell was re-elected to a third term in 2006 with 79.85% of the vote, defeating the nearest competitor by a 61% margin. In 2010, Fennell was elected to her fourth term with 50.68 % of the vote.

She acted to protect Brampton's position on Peel Regional Council, including negotiating with the designated provincial facilitator, Justice George Adams. However, the Ontario Legislature voted against the recommendation and instead increased the seats on Peel Regional Council in Mississauga's favour instead of allotting more in Brampton's favour to provide for future population growth in Brampton as was recommended by the provincial facilitator.

While mayor, Fennell has twice served as chair of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities

Federation of Canadian Municipalities

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is a civic advocacy group representing many Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence debate and policy, as it is main national lobby group of mayors, councillors and other elected municipal...

Infrastructure and Transportation Committee, as well as being a part of the Federal Big City Mayor's Caucus. In 2007 she was elected chair of the FCM Federal Ontario Municipal Caucus. She is also a member of the Peel Regional Police

Peel Regional Police

Peel Regional Police provides police services for Peel Region in Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario after the Toronto Police Service and third largest municipal force in Canada with 1,900 uniformed members and close to 800 support staff.Peel Region...

Services Board, the Large Urban Mayors Caucus of Ontario, the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance., and the GO-Transit Board.

During Fennell's tenure as mayor, Brampton has become debt free and holds a Triple AAA Credit Rating. In 2007, Brampton was designated an Internationally Safe Community, by the World Health Organization

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

, one of only 10 cities designated in North America. In 2007, Brampton was named a finalist in the World Leadership Forum, for best led city in the category of town planning.

In 2008, Fennell called for an environment master plan, and created the Environment Committee of Council, with citizens, academia and business involved.

City projects during her time as mayor have included the Rose Theatre, Flower City Seniors Centre, Chinguacousy Park Skateboard Park, Cassie Campbell Community Centre, Brampton Soccer Centre, Full renovation of Earnscliffe Recreation Centre and Century Gardens and Zum rapid transit.

Hockey commissioner

Fennell was instrumental in the creation of the National Women's Hockey League

National Women's Hockey League

, the premier women's hockey league in North America. She served as its commissioner from its inception in 1999 until her retirement in July 2006.

Honours

Fennell is an Honorary Member of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 15, an Honorary Member of the Brampton Kiwanis and Zonta

Zonta International

Zonta International is an international service organization founded in Buffalo, New York in 1919 with the mission of advancing the status of women.Currently, Zonta International is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois...

clubs, and has been honoured with Rotary International

Rotary International

Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...

's Paul Harris Fellowship. In 2005 she was named an honorary member of the William Osler Health Centre

William Osler Health Centre

William Osler Health System is one of the largest hospital corporations in the Canadian province of Ontario. It serves a geographic area of over 2,400 square kilometres including Brampton and Etobicoke. It provides programs and services to over 900,000 residents of those and surrounding communities...

Board of Directors. She is also a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal

The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II...

. and has been presented the Boy Scouts "Lord Baden Powell" Medal.

In 2006 she was inducted into the City of Brampton Sports Hall of Fame in the "Builder" category for her role in the creation and growth of the NWHL. In December 2008, Mayor Fennell was presented an honorary fifth degree black belt in Tai Kwon Do, presented by Grand Master Ken Cheung.

External links

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