VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED — Pickering residents cannot afford another four years of this, nor should they be expected to tolerate it.

Pickering, ON — Shaun Rickard for Mayor campaign · October 2, 2026

Pickering council meetings have ended in cleared chambers, shouted “order,” and recesses called to empty the room. And while the people at the table fought, residents were shut out of City Hall for more than a year and a half. Mayoral candidate Shaun Rickard says enough is enough — and has released a new video, “Recess Is Over,” laying out exactly how he will open City Hall back up.

When you were a kid, recess was the part of the day when the adults left the room. At Pickering City Hall, recess is what they call it when council can't keep order.

These meetings decide your taxes, your roads and your services. Lately, they can't make it to the end of the agenda. Instead of debate, we get accusations. Instead of decisions, we get complaints to the Integrity Commissioner. And it isn't one seat at that table. It's the whole table.

While they fought, you were shut out. In January 2025, council meetings moved fully online. For more than a year and a half, residents had no seat in the chamber — no podium, no microphone, no face-to-face with the people they elected.

“Someone at that table said, if you don't like it, put your name on the ballot. So I did,” said Rickard. “On day one, I'll open City Hall to you.”

Rickard's commitments to take back your voice at City Hall:

• In-person council meetings, every time. Residents in the room, face to face with the people they elected.
• Double your time at the microphone — from five minutes to ten. Delegations are currently capped at five minutes per person.
• Real Q&A with residents at council. Real answers to your questions, on the record.

And on your money:

• Budgets in plain language, so you can see where every dollar goes without a thousand-page report.
• A cap on the City's share of your property tax — the roughly 30 percent of your bill that City Hall actually controls.
• Growth pays for growth. Developers fund their infrastructure, not existing taxpayers.
• An independent audit of City spending and legal costs in my first 100 days, so you finally see what all this fighting has cost you.

“I'm not running to win the argument. I'm running to end it. Pickering can't afford four more years of this. Recess is over. I'm Shaun Rickard, and I'm asking for your vote on October 26th.”

About Shaun Rickard: Shaun Rickard is a Pickering resident and candidate for Mayor who led community opposition to the 2019–2020 waterfront tower proposal. He is running on a platform of Responsible & ethical Development, capping property taxes, stopping fiscal waste, demanding Accountability, protecting Pickering's waterfront & greenspaces and bringing greater transparency to City Hall.

Media Contact:
Shaun Rickard
E: Shaun@ShaunRickardForMayor.ca
W: www.ShaunRickardForMayor.ca

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