A faith-based group and Bradford council are considering how to move forward over a conference expected to attract about 25,000 people to a rural property — and they’re asking for residents’ help.
The town is hosting a public information meeting at 7 p.m. in the Zima room of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (425 Holland St. W.) on Tuesday, Jan. 14, regarding Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at (AMJ) Canada’s application for a special events permit to host their annual Jalsa Salana convention at their 3078 Line 11 property (and now also listed to include their neighbouring properties at 3999 Sideroad 10 and 2912 Line 11) on July 4 to 6 of this year.
A presentation from AMJ is expected to provide details about how the event is proposed to be organized and managed in 2025, and a question-and-answer session is planned to follow.
The annual event is by invitation only and intended to help guests learn more about Islam and how they can lead good lives through practising faith, according to Lal Khan Malik, national president of AMJ.
Previously, the conference was usually held indoors at the International Centre in Mississauga, but following a pilot event in 2022, the group held their first full-scale outdoor iteration of the event in Bradford with the 46th annual Jalsa Salana conference at 3078 Line 11 in July 2024.
The impacts of the event on the agricultural property and nearby residents became part of the debate over whether the event should be permitted at that location each year, and during the Sept. 17 council meeting, committee of the whole voted against approving AMJ’s application to host the event there this year.
That decision came even though staff recommended council approve the conference in principle (conditional on all requirements being satisfied and permits issued), but also followed comments during open forum from several residents who voiced concerns about the conference. In particular, they said traffic on Line 11 was backed up “as far as the eye can see,” which was “incredibly unfair” to nearby residents who were “almost paralyzed,” by the “chaotic” and “insane” amount of traffic.
That was at least partially attributed to several unrelated collisions nearby, including on Highway 400, which detoured traffic onto rural roads.
The group wasn’t ready to give up yet, though, and at the next council meeting it was standing room only as about 100 people — many were members of the AMJ community — packed council chambers on Oct. 1 and spilled out into the library lobby, eager to show their support for the event’s approval.
During that meeting, several councillors also brought up allegations, including that roads, sewers and electrical lines had been improperly installed on the property, but AMJ representatives refuted those claims and later spoke with BradfordToday in an effort to set the record straight.
Only after a deputation from AMJ during the Nov. 5 council meeting did council choose to reconsider its Sept. 17 decision and refer the matter back to staff for further review.
For more information about those events, read our more detailed summary, or follow the embedded hyperlinks to individual articles.
While council isn’t expected to consider a staff report on the matter until sometime later in 2025, Tuesday night’s meeting is set to be an initial step.
Anyone who can’t attend the meeting can also submit questions or comments to [email protected].
