 By Staff
March 1st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
This seems to happen every year – the date for submitting nominations for Burlington’s BEST gets extended.
We never know if there haven’t been enough in the way of nominations or if people need more time to get the paper work done.
If more time is needed – be in touch with the Clerk – she is very good at helping people get all the documentation in place.
If you haven’t thought about who you would want to nominate – look no further that the people who delegated at city council for a slow down on the rate at which the city is proceeding with adoption of th draft Official Plan.
The delegations done by Jim Young, Deedee Davies and Gary Scobie are amongst some of the best we have heard. These people don’t have an axe to grind – they are informed and speak intelligently and with passion about the city they live in and care about.
The are the E in the word engagement.
They understand that what happens to the downtown core impacts everyone.
 The 2017 Burlington BEST The city announced that those wishing to nominate a fellow resident for a Burlington’s Best Award can now do so until Wednesday, March 7, 2018. The original deadline has been extended by seven days.
There are eight award categories:
• Citizen of the year
A person whose volunteer activity has made a significant and sustained contribution to the vibrancy and wellbeing of the Burlington community in 2017.
• Junior Citizen of the year
A high school student, 18 years or younger who has made a significant contribution to the Burlington community in 2017.
• Senior Person of the year
A person, 55 years or older, who has made a significant contribution to the Burlington community and advocated on behalf of seniors in 2017.
• Environmental Award
An individual or group that improved and/or protects Burlington’s environment in 2017.
• Arts Person of the Year
An individual who has contributed to the arts in Burlington as an artist, patron or advocate including but not limited to, visual arts, media arts, musical arts, performing arts and literary arts in 2017.
• Community Service Award
An individual or group whose volunteer activity has contributed to the betterment of the Burlington community in 2017.
• Heritage Award
An individual or group who has demonstrated a commitment to the preservation of Burlington’s heritage, and has volunteered their time in an effort to support the preservation of Burlington’s heritage in 2017.
• Accessibility Award
An individual, organization or business that has made significant contributions to increase access and participation of people with disabilities in the Burlington Community in 2017.
Jim Young for Senior; Deedee Davies for Citizen and Gary Scobie for Community service. Just an opinion.
Salt with Pepper is an opinion column written by the Publisher of the Burlington Gazette.
 By Staff
March 1st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The city is doing a much better job of managing the way snow is removed from the streets and keeping the public informed.
They are being much more proactive and less reactive. And, when there is a screw up, they respond in a positive way and don’t look for someone to blame.
 This is not what the city has in mind when the declare a “snow event”. They have created a name for the way they inform the public: a “snow event” isn’t what some parents do when they want to get the kids out of the house and outside where the can safely play in the snow.
A snow event on Burlington is the city telling you that they have begun the process of gearing up for whatever weather we are going to get.
Thus, this evening Burlington is declaring that a snow event will begin ay 9:00 pm. Don’t expect to see the Town Crier outside city hall ringing his bell.
City of Burlington to declare a ‘Snow Event’ beginning 9 p.m. March 1, 2018
 One of the more than 25 pieces of equipment that will be out clearing the primary roads. Staff are closely monitoring the approaching storm, which will start later this afternoon with rain expected to change to snow around rush hour. The city will not apply anti-icing agent to the roads ahead of the storm because the rain will wash it away.
All snow plows and salt trucks will be dispatched throughout the city. The event is expected to last until Friday morning.
Environment Canada is forecasting more than 20 cm of snow to fall overnight.
 The fire department just loves the person who did this. As of 9 p.m., all vehicles parked on the primary and secondary streets must be removed and parking exemptions are void. An update will be provided later tonight regarding parking on local roads if accumulations reach 7.5 cm or more.
Failure to remove vehicles from residential roads could result in being ticketed or possibly towed to allow snow plows and other heavy machinery to safely navigate the narrow streets.
Cars will be towed at the owner’s expense.
If residents notice a vehicle on their street, they are encouraged to kindly ask the owner to remove the vehicle or call Parking Control during business hours at 905-335-7816 (Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.) or after-hours, Halton Regional Police Service at 905-878-5511. (Ask for “dispatch” and police will send a parking officer).
Residents are also asked for their patience as clearing all 1,900 km of roads can take up to 24 hours and 850 km of sidewalks can take up to 72 hours to clear.
During a snowfall, the city will provide updates at 9 a.m., 4 p.m. and 11 p.m.
The Gazette is seeing fewer complaints from readers about snow removal problems.
Photos
Tandem snow plows
 By Ray Rivers
March 1st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Rivers suggests there is a pot calling the kettle black on the matter of corruption at the Tory debate for a new leader.
The candidates for the Ontario PC party called the Wynne government corrupt at their first debate and again at the last one this week. When they accused the Liberals of corruption they offered only innuendo to substantiate to those accusations for a Liberal party which has been in power now for a decade and a half.
 Tanya Granic Allen – best debater but needs more than one issue. And then Tanya Granic Allen, gave the term real substance as she turned on her own political party, citing why both the PC party and its former leader Patrick Brown were corrupt. Doug Ford raised his concern that there might have been ballot stuffing at one of the nomination meetings he’d attended. And if faking memberships and financial wrong doing is what Patrick Brown had been doing for personal gain or to win the PC leadership, that too would certainly qualify as corruption.
Allen went further, accusing each of the other candidates of doing nothing to stop Brown – alluding complicity, turning the other way, and letting him get away with it. And then she wondered where they had been when Brown had developed a platform, at least some of which they have all rejected a mere three months following its formal acceptance by her party. And where was she?
There was something surreal about this exhibition as the candidates responded to the debate questions emanating from the party membership. For example, everyone complained about the size of the provincial debt, even though they are all planning to run sizeable deficits for at least their first couple of years. And none of them seemed to understand that the province had already balanced its budget, at least as far as official accounts go.
 All four candidates would dump the mandated national carbon tax and take the federal government to court. They argued to a person that they’d defy the mandated national carbon tax and would take the federal government to court, as only Saskatchewan has suggested among all other jurisdictions. They all agreed that our climate was changing but nobody had a serious plan to do anything about it. And Ford was vehement that he’d scrap Ontario’s existing cap and trade system which the Trudeau government has accepted as an alternative to a carbon tax.
Allen complained about the high cost of electricity, laying the blame entirely on renewable energy and promising to “rip wind turbines out of the ground” and tear up the green energy contracts. She said she’d read a Fraser Institute report which had convinced her she could do this without encountering any legal or financial recourse. That naive notion was challenged by Christine Elliott, a lawyer by training and former MPP, pointing out that such an action would end up costing even more.
 Christine Elliott, a lawyer by training and former MPP. A question about the possibility of combining Ontario’s public and separate school systems was met with a big a big negatory (neg-a-Tory) response by everyone by everyone. And Elliott then embarrassed herself by making an unfortunate reference to former leader John Tory’s election loss – which has been attributed to an election promise to fund more, not fewer, separate schools.
 Caroline Mulroney – faltering? Caroline Mulroney was the lone voice opposed to scrapping the three year old sex-ed curriculum. Mulroney is running third and that is probably where she deserves to be. She may be polished, poised, well spoken, and have a political name, but she suffers from an obvious lack of familiarity with the province and Ontario’s bread and butter issues. She mostly rattled off theory and platitudes, or quoted from the PC platform which the other candidates have largely discarded.
Doug Ford was pointed and cogent for the most part. He made an oblique appeal to the male crowd by claiming that ‘# me too’ was as important for men as for women. But he looked flustered and grumbled when the moderator had to cut him off for taking too long to make his closing remarks.
 Ford made big points taking on Elliott Ford made big points taking on Elliott about what he saw as her flip-flopping on sex ed and carbon taxes, though she refuted both. And he stuck it to her about working for the Liberal government as its $220,000 per year patient ombudsman. She swung back that she’d been hired by an independent panel, but nobody was buying that smoke. Elliott was a much more confident candidate this debate than before and she should be since she is now roughly tied with Doug Ford for first place.
Watching Tanya Granic Allen was an uplifting experience. She communicates better than all of the other candidates put together – but it is what comes out of her mouth. But then she is really just a fringe one-issue candidate, and fittingly trailing the others in recent polls.
Voting for members starts this Friday and the results of the preferential ballot will be known March 10. Preferential (ranked) ballots can be unpredictable since in a tight race so much depends on second and third choices And nobody knows who’ll receive the votes which might have otherwise gone to Patrick Brown, should his folks vote at all. If the numbers can be believed, there are over a hundred thousand new members which he brought into the party.
 With supposedly more vote than anyone else in the leadership race but no longer a candidate – the big question is – where are those votes going to go? But if those Brown supporters do vote, you can be sure it won’t be for Tanya Granic Allen. Her aspersions of party corruption have smeared them as well as their former leader. Brown was not at the debate to defend himself, having dropped out of the race only a couple days earlier.
But, as was obvious to the viewers, the ghost of Patrick Brown was alive and well and he was certainly there, if only in spirit. Even in absentia he was forced to absorb the slings and arrows of this 11th hour coup by his ambitious competitors for the job of party leader. And the repeated references to his presumed wrong doings helped to remind voters about that old adage of pots and kettles. For a party, once known for the professionalism of its Big Blue Machine, this debate was a shameful exhibition of political naivety and cannibalism.
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
PC Leader’s Debate – PC Leaders Polling – Reality or Fiction –
Mulroney Walks Away – Brown is Better Off –
 By Staff
March 1st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Thanks to the generosity of their sponsors and donors, Friends of Freeman Station has raised to date over
$600,000 toward the restoration of Burlington’s historic Freeman Station. They need $200,000 to finish the job, and would like to get that in place this year.
 The Freeman station as it stands today is the result of a lot of sweat and generously donated dollars. The project is three quarters complete, and we are anxious to finish so visitors, including school children, can benefit from viewing the many aspects of the completed station.
There will be an amazing interactive educational diorama, artifacts and the beautifully restored 1906 railway station itself with its historic displays, and the charming main floor small group meeting space fulfilling a growing need in the City.
The first $50,000 of this last phase push for donations will be matched by the City of Burlington. This means your donation will be doubled. This matching funds offer, is for a limited time, it is important for you to donate now.
 Those stones were originally ballast in ships that came to Canada from Scotland. They are now part of the station. A popular form of donation is to sponsor a whinstone for $100. Whinstones were ballast in sailing ships, and originated in Scotland in the 1800’s. They formed the dado wall around the station when it was built in 1906 – they have now been put them back in place. They can be dedicated to anyone or anything you like, such as family members, or a business.
Also naming rights are still available for many parts of the station. As an example, for a $250 donation, your name or dedication could be placed on a piece of freight on a baggage cart, or for a $500 donation your dedication could be placed on a crossbuck. Sponsorship of large items, such as the very visible signal tower, is also available.
Please contact us for a complete list of available naming rights.
It is easy to donate. Just go to the Website www.freemanstation.ca, go to the Donors page, and follow the prompts. Or put a cheque in the mail to the address below. Charitable tax deductible receipts are issued for all donations over $25.
The conductor has called out “All Aboard”. Please climb on board the train and help us steam ahead to reach our goal. You can send that cheque to: Friends of Freeman Station, PO Box 91536, Roseland Plaza, Burlington, ON L7R 4L6
 It was Community Benefit money from the Strata development that helped the Friends of Freeman begin the process of saving the station. With all the doings at city hall about the kind of development that is going to be permitted and where those towers are going to be located and what will there be in the way of community benefits – it is useful to remember that part of the Molinaro community benefit that was part of the height and density given for the construction of the Strata went to the Freeman Station.
Staff at the time said Freeman could only have the money if the station was located downtown. They wrote a memo to council to that effect saying the station couldn’t have the money because of the Fairview location.
Ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward did some research and found the original document council passed did not restrict the donation to a downtown location. She presented that to council and the station got the funding – $25,000
 By Staff
March 1st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
 It may turn out to be a sloppy run on Sunday when the March 4, 2018 the Chilly Half Marathon and Frosty 5k Run take place in support of cancer care at Joseph Brant Hospital.
If the weather forecast holds the roads could be recovering from a lot of snowé
Minor traffic delays can be expected.
Road Closures
6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Brant Street from Ontario Street to Elgin Street
• James Street from John Street to Brant Street
9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Brant Street, Lakeshore Road to Elgin Street (access to Bunton’s Wharf via Locust Street)
9:45 to 10:30 a.m.
• Lakeshore Road, Brant Street to Eastport Drive
9:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Lakeshore Road, Brant Street to just west of Burloak Drive (access to Old Lakeshore Road from the west maintained with delays)
Lane Use
The three traffic lanes on Lakeshore Road will be separated by two lines of cones from Burloak Drive to Maple Avenue: north lane emergency vehicles, centre lane westbound runners and south lane eastbound runners.
 By Joseph A. Gaetan
March 1st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The opinion set out below is one of a series of opinions given to city council during the debate on the status of the draft Official plan. Links to the other opinions are set out at the bottom of this opinion.
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Mayor, Councilors, staff, fellow citizens, I would like to base my comment today on some of the reasons that were given by council prior to their votes on the Official Plan changes, that took place during the council meeting of January 29 ,2018. As a matter of context, I appeared before you on the matter of the Official Plan on January 23.2018.
I then attended the council meeting of January 29, 2018. What I heard on January 29th was a mixture of rationalizations, opinions, historical anecdotes, and some data. For the record, I do not live in downtown Burlington.
The first comment has to do with Immigration and the statement that, “The federal government is letting in 300,000 new immigrants and half of them are coming to southern Ontario”.
 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcoming Syrians to Canada Population Growth is something our country desperately needs, and immigration is one component of Population Growth. The Stats Canada formula for Population Growth = (natural increase where NI =births-deaths) + (migratory increase where MI =immigration-emigration).
Immigration is not news, according to Statistic Canada our normal immigration since the 90’s has been in the order of 235,000 per year. The Canadian immigration plan going forward sees that going as high as 340,000 by 2020. Compare that to the fact that in 1913, 400,000 immigrants came to Canada at a time when our population was a mere 7 million.
So, while immigration is important to us as a country, Stats Canada states the “observed” growth from 2001 to 2011 was 1.11%, with the “projected” growth for 2011 to 2021 to be in the area of 1.07 %, dropping thereafter to .72% by 2061. That is a serious problem.
 Why? If we compare those projections to the period between 1951 to 1961, population growth during that decade was far greater at 2.67 %, where natural growth was 1.87% and migratory growth was .79%. So, while we seem to be experiencing population growth in this area, the reasons for that have little to do with immigration alone.
The real problem this country and this province will face as we approach 2061 is that the natural increase (births minus deaths) component of population growth will drop to .42 % with the migratory component dropping to .64%. So, Canada is struggling to replace itself and I think we are pinning a lot of hope on a balloon that may burst and that would have dire consequences for Canada, Ontario and Burlington. With that in mind I would like to suggest we take a more conservative approach to our OP and our downtown which includes taking a step back for a few months.
The second comment was “we need assessment now”. The member did not elaborate on what that entailed. Did that mean Burlington will struggle going forward to contain tax increases? Or, did that mean that units that sell at $2 million each, is an easier way to meet our future assessment/spending needs? An answer to that question would be helpful.
 No-frills” is more than a grocery store, it is a meeting place, it is a place where locals meet and chat and laugh in the aisles. Here is what I do know, both the developers and city win under a scenario where 20 plus storeys developments are built and where penthouse floors sell for between $4 and $8 million per storey. But who and what we lose is the question that is not answered under the OP. For example, under this plan, do we stand to lose the “no frills” grocery store, or Centro for example? No-frills” is more than a grocery store, it is a meeting place, it is a place where locals meet and chat and laugh in the aisles, it has energy and vitality, something that you will not find in the two other grocery stores that people will be forced to shop at if it disappears and no words contained in the OP, such as there will be a grocery presence, will replace what is lost.
The third comment was, “downtown has to take its share too”. The downtown in recent years has shouldered its share of density and when asked the downtown residents and opponents of the OP seem willing to continue take its fair share of growth. Perhaps what is at issue then, is the definition of “its share”? It seems that what that means under the proposed OP, is we will have 23 and 24 storey buildings across from city hall and 17 storey buildings sprinkled elsewhere.
I don’t live in the downtown, but I do believe the pushback you are getting is genuine, grassroots and is not about to go away anytime soon, and not because people are angry, but because the stakes are too high to be ignored.
What I also heard was this plan means “100-170 people will be coming into the downtown on annual basis”. I don’t believe the increase in population growth is the issue, the change in height permissions and the number of tall building is the issue.
I would like to finish with a statement that we can all agree upon and that is “we have to make this decision based on 195,000”. I am here as one of the 195,000 and I would like to see the OP delayed in order to remove the Mobility Hub designation and what that means to the future of Burlington. Finally I heard “deferring challenging and contentious issue is not leadership” and that may be the case, but leadership is also having the willingness to taking a second look at an issue and then having the fortitude to change your mind.
Joseph Gaetan is a retired Burlington resident who lives in the highest condominoum in the city. He comments in the Gazette frequently.
Related comment and opinion:
Opinion: Jim Young
Opinion: Gary Scobie
Opinion: Lisa Kearns
Opinion Deedee Davies
Opinion: Jim Barnes
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By Staff
