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City of Mississauga Declares State of
Emergency,
Property Tax Due Dates Deferred 90 Days,
Free Transit, Suspension of Parking Offences,
Closure of Park Areas
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City of Mississauga Declares State of Emergency
Mayor Bonnie Crombie has declared a State of Emergency in the City of Mississauga in consultation with Mississauga City Council and the Office of Emergency Management. The declaration supports the Province of Ontario's and Region of Peel's efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19.
"Declaring an emergency will help us act quickly to manage the impacts of COVID-19 on our residents and business during this evolving situation," said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. "The health and well-being of our residents and employees is our priority. We are looking at the long-term impacts of this pandemic. Declaring an emergency along with the Region of Peel and the Province of Ontario will give us the flexibility we need as a municipality to manage the situation. We must be ready to act when needed and we must send a signal to all residents that this is an unprecedented situation that they must take seriously."
An "Emergency" is a situation or an impending situation that constitutes a danger of major proportions that could result in serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property and that is caused by the forces of nature, a disease or other health risk, an accident or an act whether intentional or otherwise. (Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990,c.E.9
)
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Property Tax Information
At the Special Emergency Council meeting, Mississauga City Council made decisions in response to COVID-19 to help mitigate impacts on residents and businesses.
"We have heard from residents and businesses that they are worried and need relief. That's why we took action yesterday to help them during this unprecedented and difficult time by deferring property tax due dates by 90 days, offering free transit and suspending some parking offences," said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. "These steps will provide relief and assistance to our community. We will continue to assess the situation in the coming days and weeks to ensure we are doing what we can to help."
Mississauga Council Defers Property Tax Due Dates by 90 Days
City of Mississauga Council decided to defer the April, May and June interim property tax due dates by 90 days to help ease the economic impact of COVID-19. This deferral until later in the year is to help provide relief over the next few months.
All property taxes need to be paid before the end of the year.
The April payment will not be due until July; the May payment will be due in August; the June payment will be due in September. The deferral applies to residential and commercial properties. The city's positive liquidity position allows it to manage this 90 day deferral. There will be no impact on city services from this deferral.
For anyone who has provided post-dated cheques for April, May and June - they will not be cashed in April, May and June. Each payment will be deferred for 90 days and will be cashed instead in July, August and September.
Preauthorized tax payment due dates have also been deferred by 90 days. There will be no payments withdrawn from taxpayers' bank accounts in April, May and June. Payment withdrawals will resume from July to September.
FACT SHEET - Tax Payment Deferral
Q: Which tax payments are being deferred for 90 days?
A: The Interim Tax instalment due dates of April 2 and May 7 have been deferred to July 2 and August 6 respectively. All monthly Pre-authorized Tax Payment (PTP) withdrawals planned for the months of April, May and June will be deferred to July, August and September.
Q: I've sent in post-dated cheques, when will these be cashed?
A: Post-dated cheques for the April 2 and May 7 instalments will now be processed on July 2 and August 6 respectively.
Q: What if I want to make tax payments on the original due dates.
A: Payments made at financial institutions, through online banking or dropped off at the drop box located on the north side of the Civic Centre will continue to be processed.
Q: Can my post-dated cheques for April and May still be cashed on the original due dates.
A: No, these will be held and cashed in July and August. Payments can be made at financial institutions, through online banking or dropped off at the drop box located on the north side of the Civic Centre. Please notify the City at
tax@mississauga.ca
to remove your original post-dated cheques for the deferred deposits.
Q: Can I keep my pre-authorized Tax Payments (PTP) the same as originally billed?
A: No, these will be deferred. Payments can be made at financial institutions, through online banking or dropped off at the drop box located on the north side of the Civic Centre. If payment is received prior to the new PTP withdrawal date then the scheduled withdrawal will not occur.
Q: How will this deferral impact my monthly PTP for the Final Tax Billing starting in July?
A: The Final Tax instalment and PTP due dates have not yet been established. The deferral of the interim payments will be taken into consideration when setting these dates. As all taxes must be collected in the calendar year, final billing PTP instalment amounts will have to be adjusted.
Q: How can I find out how much I owe and when it's due?
to access their tax account information or contact the Customer Service Centre by calling 3-1-1, or if calling outside City limits call 905-615-4311.
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Free Transit until Social Distancing is lifted
The following changes to bus boarding and fare payment will be in effect until further notice:
- MiWay service is free - PRESTO, ticket and cash fares are not required. Refunds for monthly pass holders are currently being reviewed. More information will be shared at a future date. We thank you for your patience.
- Customers are asked to board and exit the bus using the rear doors until further notice. Customers requiring the ramp may continue to board at the front.
- Access to the driver area will be restricted. Please respect the barrier in place for our operators - this is in place to exercise safe social distancing between operator and passenger.
The following changes to bus operations are in effect until further notice:
- Planned service reductions on several routes until further notice.
- Daily service adjustments will continue based on operator availability and ongoing customer demand until further notice.
- The Fares booth at the City Centre Transit Terminal will close at noon on Monday, March 23.
- Customer service support will be provided inside CCTT from the Fares booth beginning on Tuesday, March 24.
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Suspension of Parking Offences
With the changing needs of our city, particularly for those who are working from home, caring for others, or trying to ensure the flow of goods and services; effective immediately we are suspending parking enforcement for:
- On-street time limit offences; such as five (5) and fifteen (15) hour parking
- Overnight 2 a.m. - 6 a.m. parking restrictions
The above parking offences may be enforced in exceptional circumstances where a significant traffic safety and/or community concern exists to ensure the safe and orderly movement of vehicles in the city.
All other parking offences will continue to be enforced to maintain public safety. This includes fire routes and accessible parking, no stopping, prohibited parking areas, as well as pay and display/metered areas where payment is required. This will ensure an adequate level of street parking, traffic flow and to maintain traffic and pedestrian safety.
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City of Mississauga Closes Playgrounds, Courts and Leash-free Zones
Effective today, March 23rd, all facilities within the City's 500+ parks are closed to the public to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 including:
- Playgrounds
- Outdoor Fitness Equipment
- Sport Courts
- Leash-free Zones
- Picnic Shelters
- Skateboard Parks
"In an effort to reduce the further spread of this virus and encourage physical distancing, we have made the decision to close all facilities within parks such as playgrounds, sport pads, leash-free areas, and courts," said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. "I have seen and heard far too many instances of people socializing with friends and families at playgrounds and in our parks and not maintaining safe distances of 2 metres or more. Enough is enough. This week is absolutely critical in our efforts to contain the virus and flatten the curve in Mississauga. These additional measures are necessary and will help reduce the risk of transmission to those most vulnerable in our community."
Signage at all City parks indicating these closures will be installed by the end of the week.
These closures are aligned with Peel Public Health's strong direction to residents to practice social distancing and avoid gatherings in public settings.
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Public Messages
According to Peel Public Health, the best way to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 is to:
- Stay home if you are ill.
- Practice social distancing: reduce physical contact with others (of at least 2 metres apart) to break the pathways COVID-19 uses to move between people, such as shaking hands and direct contact.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose as much as possible.
- Avoid contact with people who are ill and their items.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands. Wash hands after coughing and sneezing.
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet, exercise and enough sleep, to enhance your body's immune system.
- Get a flu shot. You are more likely to contract influenza than COVID-19 and being sick lowers your immunity to other germs.
For the most up-to-date information on the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) visit
In order to curve this pandemic, please stay home.
If you have been out of the Country, stay home and self-isolate for 14 days.
Thank you.
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