Mississauga gets court injunction to crack down on gatherings at Ridgeway Plaza

CBC

3 days ago

The Ontario Superior Court has granted the city of Mississauga a temporary injunction to help crack down on a plaza notorious for large unsanctioned gatherings.
The injunction covers cultural celebration dates when thousands of people are expected to gather, including on Thursday for Pakistan Independence Day.
In a news release Wednesday, the city said it is "aware of plans for large-scale gatherings at Ridgeway Plaza for Pakistan Independence Day on August 13 and 14, and for Afghanistan Independence Day on August 19."
"The City is not targeting any specific groups or individuals; but rather is focused on ensuring public safety and reducing community disturbances," it added.
Since 2023, the city says it has received "numerous" complaints about Ridgeway Plaza related to excessive noise, illegal use of fireworks and street racing, among other things with crowds of more than 3,000 people.
The city says the mayor, city staff and councillors have tried to work with the condominium corporations that own the plaza to address the complaints, but that there has been "no cooperation."
CBC Toronto reached out to the condo corporations for comment but did not receive a response.
Increased police presence
The injunction went into effect at noon on Wednesday and will remain in effect until 2 a.m. on Friday. It will again be in place from noon on Aug. 19 to 2 a.m. Aug. 20.
The order prevents anyone from attending or participating in a "nuisance gathering" at the plaza, and gives police the authority to enforce the orders. Anyone in violation could be detained or arrested.
WATCH | Police crack down on dangerous drivers in Mississauga plaza in 2024:
Police crack down on dangerous drivers in Mississauga plaza
11 months ago
The city says there will be a police presence in and around the plaza in an attempt to control crowd size and the public safety risk.
The city says it pursued the injunction to "prevent the planned unsanctioned events which would disrupt public order and safety in the community."
Deputy Mayor and Coun. Matt Mahoney said: "I want nothing more than for the businesses at this plaza to succeed, but that success can not come at the cost of public safety."
"Street racing, illegal fireworks, large gatherings of thousands of people, and loud music into the early hours will not be accepted," he added.
Alexandra Koobs, a mother of four who's lived in the area since 2010, says when the plaza first opened, her family was excited to go see the new shops whenever one cropped up.
"Now we don't even let our kids walk there on their own. There have been accidents where cars have plowed up onto the sidewalk," she said.
Chris Sharma, who lives down the street from the plaza, said the measures are good for public safety but he hopes people celebrating will still have a venue to get together.
"It's good for the city to put these crowd control measures into place so that normal people don't have to deal with these big groups, hopefully it doesn't hinder these groups from having a place to gather and celebrate themselves," said Sharma.
A celebration for Pakistan Independence Day was allowed to take place at the plaza on the 13th, but was made to disperse once capacity hit a risky level, according to police. No arrests were made and police said the crowd dispersed without incident.
This isn't the first time police increased enforcement around the plaza. Labour Day weekend 2024 also saw an increased police presence around the plaza, which resulted in almost 250 driving-related charges.