It could have been a lot worse.

That's the word on the $1 million fire police say was deliberately set by three young teenagers at the Brampton Mall Thursday evening.

"The guys (firefighters) did a great job containing it," said Brampton fire investigator David Pelayo on the scene Friday morning. "We're lucky we didn't lose the whole mall."

Instead, their quick work contained the flames inside the Movie Experts video store and one quarter of the Shoppers Drug Mart next door. The rest of the damage- to eight stores in total, including a Salvation Army Thrift shop- was smoke damage to the stores' stock.

Worse still, a concrete ceiling in an underground delivery corridor- where it is believed the fire was set- started buckling under the intense heat, dropping 6 to 8...

Brampton city councillors have asked staff to take a closer look at a request for a zoning amendment that would allow construction of a supportive housing complex opposed by residents.
A 26-unit apartment building is proposed for a site on Sheard Avenue in the area of McMurchy Avenue and Queen Street West. It would provide housing for people with mental health issues and would be headed by Supportive Housing in Peel (SHIP) in partnership with Peel Living.
Residents say the project is too much for the neighbourhood because it is already home to several low-income units, and they have concerns that the tenants, some of whom may suffer from severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia, could pose a threat to the neighbourhood.
A report on the zoning amendment application was before the city's Planning, Design and...