Caledon Votes 2026: Ward 2 candidates talk bylaw, taxes, and infrastructure at first face-off

September 24, 2026 · 0 Comments

By KATHRYN FRASER

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On September 15, candidates running for Ward 2 Councillor and Regional Councillor gathered at the Southfields Community Centre Complex to answer questions residents of Ward 2 had sent to the organizers.

A total of 10 questions asked with two additional follow up questions being provided.

Candidates were given 60 seconds each to respond to the question and 30 seconds to respond to the follow up.

Regional Candidates who attended included Dave Sheen, Mauro Testani and Harpreet Grewal.

Ward 2 Councillor Candidates in attendance included Yogi Chahal, Hunar Kahlon, Rakesh Madhok and Jagraj Sekhon.

The questions involved a variety of topics from growth, to drug usage, to collaboration with the Mayor, to transparency and accountability.

One main question that stood out during the debate was, “Residents have raised concerns about parking, speed, illegal dumping, noise and development-related impacts. How would you improve bylaw enforcement to ensure residents feel their concerns are addressed clearly, consistently, and any timely manner?”

Dave Sheen said he hears a lot about bylaw issues from residents. He explained that with the change in management and unionization at the bylaw office, it has caused some challenges. However, he mentioned about a year ago Council changed the schedule to allow for greater coverage – more overnight, evening, and weekend coverage. Sheen also said he has heard that it isn’t just an issue that people aren’t seeing bylaw enforcement but also what they are getting tickets for. To this, Sheen questioned whether it was enough, stating that it probably isn’t, and there needs to be changes in the bylaw office to keep pace with growth.

Mauro Testani said if proper planning was done, these issues wouldn’t be as prevalent. He spoke about the need for bylaw on weekends or overnight instead of the same time during the day. Testani also stressed the importance of holding people accountable and up to standards. He mentioned landlords collecting rent and people are living there, but they’re not looking after the property and the need to hold them accountable. Testani also spoke about the importance of communication and, if elected, he would hold more town hall meetings and interactions with the community as he understands that residents live with what is happening.

Harpreet Grewal said that it all comes back to growth and that the department needs to grow as well. She agreed Caledon needs more bylaw officers and they need to be available at all hours. Grewal said she wants to make sure that complaints are handled fairly, with consistency, and in a timely manner so that way people do not have to wait until a weekend is over to get in touch with an officer.

Yogi Chahal said that bylaws only work when residents believe that they are being fair and consistent. Chahal noted many residents have spoken to him about standards and noise, illegal activity and other community issues. His plan is simple: have clear rules, clear enforcement across the board for everybody, and proper communication. The residents should know if there’s an issue who to talk to, he said, especially as he mentioned that many have brought concerns forward about enforcement being unfair in giving tickets.

Rakesh Madhok discussed that just because bylaws are in place does not mean that they can’t be amended and fixed. Madhok also spoke about the importance of getting residents to bring their issues regarding bylaws to their Councillor, depending on the department, so that they can bring forward a motion.

Hunar Kahlon said that bylaw as of right now is reactive but needs to be proactive. Kahlon said that as Caledon grows, we need to see that the department does better and that they hire more bylaw officers. Kahlon said residents have brought up many issues where bylaw are slow to respond and if they hire more bylaw officers they can serve the needs of the community that is growing at a very rapid pace.

Jagraj Sekhon discussed his support for bylaw enforcement but explained that it must be done in a fair and consistent way with the focus on safe neighbourhoods. He mentioned areas in the Ward where there are areas that can be used for parking and that permits can be issued for these areas to create more flexibility, as well as focusing on strengthening penalties.

Another main question that stood out during the debate was, “Residents continue to face increasing costs associated with housing, food, and everyday living. How would you balance infrastructure investment with concerns regarding and rising property taxes?”

Sheen said this isn’t easy, especially when it comes to taxing people fairly and delivering services that everyone wants. Sheen spoke about his time on Council where every year they tried to keep taxes as low as possible and explained that the tax increases over the years came from mainly cost-of-living increases for the Town.

Mauro Testani spoke about being against tax increases and said it is important to go through needs versus wants when it comes to spending and keeping what people want. Testani also spoke about a possible solution for spending on certain wants by getting sponsors and other businesses involved.

“A lot of businessmen in the community are willing to support the community for the gratification of having their name put up. Why not take advantage of that? Why not have partnerships with them and get things done and not impact you with tax?”

Harpreet Grewal discussed the need to look at budgets, find where the Town has overspent funds, and locating which services can have less spent on them and other services taking priority, including more OPP surveillance.

Yogi Chahal spoke about the importance of making property taxes matter and that there needs to be more transparency on where taxpayers’ money goes. He urged more efficient and responsible spending saying, “It must prioritize the things which need to be done first. My goal would be to keep taxes as affordable as possible by making responsible investment. We need to have more businesses coming here so that the burden on individual residential families is over.”

Hunar Kahlon spoke about advocating for a two-year tax freeze and to re-evaluate the economy after the two years are up when it is hoped the economy will be in a recovery period. Kahlon also advocated for infrastructure and making sure that proper and responsible growth in taken into consideration.

Rakesh Madhok said he’s not in favour of increasing taxes and that Council must focus on tax-related expenditures and on where the money is going. “We must see Council revisit the contracts we have and staffing where most of our expenses are and cut down some other expenses.”

Jagraj Sekhon said affordability starts with respecting every tax dollar and that there needs to be a more proper review on the budget. “We need to have more tax rebates for low income, families, disabled persons and seniors,” he said.