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Hosted by City TV’s Cristina Howorun

Cristina is an award-winning investigative journalist with CityTV in Toronto, who grew up in Brampton and graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas S.S. before heading to university.

Cristina has covered every election since 2008, she’s been embedded with the troops in the Mojave Desert, tracked down a suspected terrorist in Libya, exposed shocking levels of abuse and negligence in long-term care homes and shined a light on the dangerous living and working conditions in Ontario’s jails. She is currently working in documentaries for CityTV.

Her work has been recognized by several organizations, earning her the UNIFOR Southern Ontario News Media Guild award for Labour Journalism, four Edward R. Murrow awards for Investigative Journalism, an RTDNA Canada award for investigative journalism and multiple team awards.


1. Mental Health – Yonah Budd

Presented by BELL

Yonah Budd has over 40 years of experience working with youth and adults struggling with mental health issues and specifically addictive behaviours. He holds a diploma in Addiction Counseling from George Brown College and is a licensed Private Investigator in Ontario, specializing in adolescent crimes related to substance abuse.

Yonah is the Co-Founder / Clinical Director at The Farm in Stouffville and Host of Straight Talk Live on Newstalk 1010 every Weekend at 10PM. Yonah is a member of The Association of Addiction Professionals, American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and The National Center for Crisis Management.​


2. Anti-Racism – Orlando Bowen

Orlando Bowen is a speaker focused on equipping people to get off the sidelines and become difference-makers on their teams and in the lives of those around them. He is a highly sought after speaker and trainer who works with corporations, small businesses and non-profits. When it comes to building teams, creating momentum and employing winning strategies, Orlando is also passionate about youth leadership. As a result of that passion, he founded One Voice One Team Youth Leadership Organization to inspire and to teach resilience, leadership and teamwork to youth. Empowering people to overcome adversity, find their passion and to use their gifts to serve is the reason Orlando breathes. This gift has placed Orlando on hundreds of stages, boardrooms and in presentations across North and South America and has garnered him numerous awards.​


3. LGBTQ + Equality – Daniel Pillai

Daniel Pillai is the Vice President of Langton Communications Inc. and a celebrated host, writer, and producer. From interviewing the biggest names in pop culture to telling his personal story of trials and triumph as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Daniel is relentlessly passionate about leveraging the power of personal narrative.

Daniel’s unwavering interest in storytelling led to the creation of Date with Daniel, a platform that curates stories of the human struggle, spirit, and enlightenment, and The He/She Project, which highlighted his experiences with bullying and chronicled his empowerment journey of self-acceptance through androgynous representations of masculinity and femininity.

As an out and proud LGBTQ+ advocate, Daniel also devotes his time to offer support and guidance to members of the LGBTQ+ community struggling with their identities and sexualities.​ Daniel has spoken at the University of Michigan, the Canadian Centre of Gender & Sexuality, the Peel HIV/AIDS Network and continually partners with various organizations nationwide to help support LGBTQ+ initiatives and foster equality within.


4. Transparency with Influencers – Sandy Lion

Sandy Kaur Gill (SKG) better known as TheSandyLion is a stylist and image consultant with the simple goal of helping people look and feel the best about themselves. She has clients from all walks of life, from helping celebrities on the red carpet, helping you look great for date night, to helping you re-vamp your closet to feel like a new you. She has worked closely with public figures including Lilly Singh, Beena Minhaj, Deepica Mutyala, Utkarsh Ambedkar (at the Oscars!) Nabela, Salone Monet and Humble The Poet.

Sandy has worked with notable brands including Nike, The Raptors, Neostrata, Apple, Swimco and Hayley Elsaesser. She also works as an elementary school teacher in Brampton, and has partnered with organizations to help spread access to education to girls around the world. Sandy creates content online with the goal of helping others find confidence within themselves and look stylish within a budget. She promotes creativity over couture. She also released many of her own creations including a line of Sandy-Suits (featured in many publications, runways and events), and Commissioned Wearable Artwork, head-wraps and handkerchiefs, Hip Hop tops and a children's book titled "Reading All Around the World" which she wrote and illustrated. Sandy is a proud and active aunt of 1 niece and 4 nephews, she enjoys intense workouts, and has an unhealthy relationship with her Dyson vacuum


5. Bullying – Anthony McLean

​​With a background in theatre, Anthony McLean delivers lively presentations on mental health, diversity, and inclusion. He has delivered hundreds of inspiring talks across Canada, the US, and Australia, and, as a respected voice in his field, appeared on CBC News, Global Toronto’s Morning Show, and Breakfast Television. Delivering research-backed tools and actionable strategies, McLean always leaves his audiences inspired to bring their best every day. McLean is also an actor who has starred in television commercials for Ford, Milk, Tim Horton’s, Sprite, Verizon Wireless, and Bell. He also hosted the CBC Television show The X and was featured in the documentary films Colour Me, SOAR, and Rising Above. In his theatre career, McLean participated in the renowned Stratford Festival where he developed his passion for Shakespeare. He also loves to freestyle rap — give him any topic in the world and he’ll make up a rap on the spot about it. McLean is currently writing his first book, Mental Health for High Performers.


Youth Support Task Force Overvie​w

The City of Brampton COVID-19 Youth Support Task Force is co-led by Councillor Charmaine Williams and Councillor Harkirat Singh. The task force supports the needs of Brampton youth (14-29) during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing resources and supports; liaising with more than 40 youth-serving local organizations; providing at-home entertainment options; and more. Click here for more information.​

The City’s Youth Support Task Force conducted a COVID-19 survey, asking youth a variety of questions regarding their wellbeing during this time. Majority of the youth said COVID-19 has negatively impacted their mental health, and that they need more at-home entertainment. This event is another way we continue to engage youth.

Youth Friendly Designation

Earlier this year, the City of Brampton once again received the Platinum Status Youth Friendly Community designation from Play Works, a program supported by Parks and Recreation Ontario. This is the third time the City has been recognized for its outstanding commitment to growth and development opportunities for youth, and is one of three communities to receive the top platinum designation this year. Click here​ to learn more.​​​​​

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