Meet Councillor Pat Saito

Pat Saito was first elected to Council in the City of Mississauga and Region of Peel in 1991. Prior to her election, Pat worked for 5 years as a Public Affairs Officer for the City.

Pat has a long history of community involvement in Ward 9 and in the City of Mississauga. She volunteered numerous hours on the executive of the Meadowvale Residents' Association, was volunteer editor and publisher of the Meadowvale World Newspaper and served on many community committees.

Pat and her husband Ron have lived in Mississauga since 1972 when they moved to Mississauga Valleys and became involved in the ratepayers association. They played a large role in fundraising for the Mississauga Valley Community Centre. In 1978, Pat and Ron moved to Meadowvale in Ward 9, where they once again pitched in to help bring recreational facilities to their community.  Pat and Ron were instrumental in organizing the Lake Aquitaine Family Festival and the Novemberfest dances to raise funds for the community.

As a volunteer and now as Councillor, Pat is very involved in crime prevention, traffic safety and waste management issues.  She initiated and chaired the Peel Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Committee (CPTED) and was instrumental in the founding of the Mississauga Crime Prevention Association, now Safe City Mississauga. 

Pat's initiative resulted in the development of Peel's first Community Police station at Meadowvale Town Centre.  Pat sits on the Peel Police Internet Safety Committee and initiated a region wide committee, the Peel Youth Violence Prevention Network, to develop a strategy for youth crime prevention. This has resulted in a strategy that is being implemented across the region.

In 2006, Pat's contributions were recognized by Peel Regional Police who awarded her the prestigious Robert Boyne Award for Crime Prevention. 

Pat was also a driving force in the creation of the Mississauga Safe Driving Committee, on which she sits today (now Road Safety Mississauga).  She is active on the Pedestrian Safety Strategy group and is a member of the Automated Speed Enforcement committee.  Pat also spearheaded the production of Mississauga's first Traffic Safety Handbook published in 2006. She advocated for traffic calming in the city and sat on the committee to draft criteria for a program.  She was vice-chair of Mississauga Traffic Safety Council dealing with traffic safety issues around schools.  Pat also served on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Traffic Conference from 2004 to 2007.  Pat was invited to be a presenter in March, 2010 at the Ontario Police College for the Traffic Training Course run by the Ontario Traffic Conference.

Pat has served on the Region of Peel's Waste Management Committee and chaired the Works committee for many years.  A former member of Ecosource Mississauga, Pat has a keen interest in developing new methods for managing Peel's waste and has been instrumental in implementing expanded recycling programs, curb side composting (2007) and new technology for dealing with garbage.  Pat worked with staff to open a Community Recycling Centre adjacent to Ward 9 so residents can recycle goods close to home. 

Pat's three children attended schools in Ward 9 and have been involved in various sports and community organizations. Andrew, age 33 works for EDS in Mississauga.  He and his wife, Kelly have two sons, Dylan born in 2004 and Morgan born in 2008.  Jenny, age 30 graduated from the University of Waterloo and Katy, age 27, graduated from Georgian College.

Although her job as Councillor of a ward with a population of 60,000 takes up much of her time, Pat finds relaxation in training and competing in dog agility. Pat and her German Shepherd Dog Killian earned several International awards and he was the top German Shepherd Dog in agility in Canada for 3 years running.  Sadly Pat lost Killian suddenly to cancer in November, 2008 at the age of 10 1/2.  Pat now trains and competes with her 3 year old old German Shepherd Dog, Kahlua, in agility.    Click here to meet Pat's family.

Committees/Boards

During her terms of office, Pat  has served on the following committees and boards at the City and Region:

CITY

• General Committee
• Planning Committee
• Mississauga Library Board
• Heritage Advisory Committee
• Appeal Committee
• Street sign ad hoc Committee
• Regional Representation ad hoc Committee
• Budget Committee
• Traffic Signal ad hoc Committee
• Urban Forestry Management Advisory Committee
• Accessibility Advisory Committee
• Safe Driving Committee
• Traffic Safety Council
• Traffic Calming Ad Hoc Committee
• Pedestrian safety campaign committee
• Safe City Mississauga

REGION

• Public Works Committee - Chair, Vice-Chair
• Waste ad hoc Committee - Chair, Vice-Chair
• Budget Committee - Chair, Vice-Chair
• Planning Committee - Chair, Vice-Chair
• Regional Official Plan Committee
• Peel Hospital Task Force - initiator
• Waste Management Sub Committee
• Peel CPTED Committee (founding chair)
• Peel Youth Violence Prevention Committee (founding vice-chair)
• Waste Collection contract committee
• Smoke-free by-law committee
• Peel Living
• Accessibility Advisory Committee

BOARDS

• Greater Toronto Services Board - Mississauga representative
• Mississauga Crime Prevention Association - founding director
• Credit Valley Hospital Board of Governors
• Credit Valley Conservation Board
• Credit Valley Conservation Foundation
• Mississauga Clean City Campaign (now Ecosource)
• GTA Mayors' Planning Act Task Force Representative
• Greater Toronto Airport Authority Noise Management Committee
• Meadowvale Community Partnership (founding member)
• Mississauga Tourism Board
• Ontario Traffic Conference Board of Directors

MEMBER

• International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners
• International CPTED Association
• Peel Multicultural Council
• Mississauga Chinese Business Association
• Mississauga Board of Trade
• Ontario Traffic Conference
• Peel Children's' Aid Society