Susan Fennell

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Susan Fennell in her mayoral chain of office.

Susan Fennell is the current mayor of Brampton, Ontario and a former commissioner of the National Women's Hockey League.

Background

Susan Fennell was born in Montreal, Quebec. She completed an Honours Bachelor of Science in environmental science, from the University of Toronto at Mississauga in 1977. She and her husband John have raised two adult children, Michael and Joey. Before entering politics she worked for 11 years for Toledo Scale.

Political career

Fennell's first foray into politics was with her 1988 election to Brampton City Council for Ward 3. That same year she was first elected to the Board of Governors of Sheridan College, 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, and the Downtown Business Improvement Area.

In 1991, Fennell was elected to Peel Regional Council 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, saw her run as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the Brampton riding, finishing third.

In 2000, Fennell ran against and defeated incumbent Peter Robertson for the Brampton mayoralty. She was re-elected in 2003, defeating councillor Bill Cowie by a 28% margin. While mayor, Fennell has been heavily involved in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, twice serving as chair of the Infrastructure and Transportation Committee, as well as being a part of the Big City Mayor's Caucus. She is currently also a member of the Peel Regional Police Services Board, the Large Urban Mayors Caucus of Ontario, the board of Hydro One Brampton and the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance. During Fennell's tenure as mayor, Brampton has become debt free.

Susan Fennel and The Region of Peel

Her most notable and outstanding activity of her entire political career concerns her attempts to promote Brampton's position in Peel Region, including lobbying the Ontario Legislature against a proposed bill which increased Mississauga's share of seats on Peel Regional Council. With a team of senior Brampton Officials, that included Bob Callahan, Grant Gibson, Susan DiMarco, Sandra Hames, Gael Miles, John Hutton and Bill Davis the former Premier of Ontario as well as members of Brampton City Staff, they failed to sway the Province, notwithstanding that [1] a provincial mediator had recommended that it was Brampton that should receive a significant increase (from 6 to 10 i.e., 66% more seats) as their share of Peel Council seats. [2]. Over this monumental incident Susan vowed to make Peel Region grind to a halt over the issues of Peel Region's democratic imbalance. If she is re-elected in 2006, when this new Act takes affect, citizens expect this issue to become an issue Susan Fennell will face.

Hockey commissioner

Fennell was instrumental in the creation of the 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 resignation in July 2006.

Honours

Fennell is an honorary member of the Brampton Kiwanis and Zonta clubs, and has been honoured with Rotary International's Paul Harris Fellowship. In 2005 she was named an honorary member of the William Osler Health Centre Board of Directors. She is also a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee 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.