 By Pepper Parr
May 10th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
We celebrate our Mother’s on Sunday.
Every single one of us will have thoughts – they will range all over the map.
 The War Plane Museum is letting Mother’s enter free.
The province has said that Mother’s can fish without a license.
The Compassion Society has made the day just a little different for those who live below the poverty line or far too close to that poverty line for comfort.
They refer to the women they serve as guests and support them with food, clothing and other necessaries.
 This week, guests were given a purse, yes a purse that would have things that women carry in purses. A tube of lipstick is one example.
Oneil Edwards, the Executive Director at Compassion explains that the idea was to give the more than 80 people they have registered something different, something they might not be able to afford. Something that recognizes them on a day that might bring some emotional pain instead of the love and adoration most other Mothers will be getting.
You might want to consider supporting the Compassion Society financially. You can do that HERE
 By Pepper Parr
May 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Chris Barnett, the lead lawyer the city hired to argue before the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing on the re-development of the Waterfront Hotel site said: “words matter” during the opening day of what is expected to be a 10 day event.
He was absolutely correct.
We are not sure just how broad that statement was meant to be – the words that are being used at the hearing start with policy decisions made at the provincial, Regional and municipal levels.
Members of Burlington’s seven member City Council produce documents that set out policy.
A number of those document are being used as evidence by both the developer and the lawyers representing the city.
During the hearings to date we have yet to see one member of Council sitting in virtually to hear what is being said and being able to see the visuals of what the development site could look like if it is approved.
We are told that one member of council said she/he was taking part by listening to the hearing on their cell phone. Possible, but to get any sense at all as to what is taking place – the visuals are critical.
 The Parkland Dedication Criteria document was used in testimony over just how much parkland was being provided by the developer. Turns out it was nowhere near what was required.
There are consequences to the decisions made at the municipal level. One would like to think that members of Council would want to be aware of how the decisions they made were put to use. We will return to just how much parkland was being offered and where it was located.
 By Staff
May 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Ontario Provincial Police say 64 people have been charged in a large-scale child exploitation investigation across the province where 34 child victims were identified.
 Another 30 children were “safeguarded,” police said, which means removing a child who is in a dangerous position and who could be offended against.
The investigation, dubbed Project Aquatic, involved 27 police forces across Ontario who identified and arrested several people for allegedly making, possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material, police said.
Police said more than 348 charges were laid and 607 electronic devices were seized.
 By Pepper Parr
May 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
What does a train wreck waiting to happen look like?
The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) is currently hearing from expert witnesses and the lawyers representing the Pearle Hotel and Spa and the owners of the Waterfront Hotel.
Their interests all converge on that portion of Elizabeth Street that runs south from Lakeshore Road.
 The eastern boundary of the proposed development will be on the right hand side where there will be the three traffic entrances and one for pedestrians to walk into the hotel part of the development.The southern boundary will be about where the pickup truck is parked. The photograph above is the field, as it were, that these interests are going to be presented to a single OLT Member.
On the left hand side you have the Pearle Hotel which is part of the Bridgewater development that consists of two condo towers, one 22 storeys and the other seven stories and the hotel.
Parking for all four parts of the development is through the one garage entrance at the very south end of Elizabeth Street. When we say parking we include the garbage trucks, the moving trucks and the delivery trucks that serve the needs of the hotel.
There is a very small layby for people that are registering as guests. Valets will take their cars to the parking location.
 Layby parking outside the Pearle Hotel There is layby is very limited.
Traffic congestion around the hotel is already a problem, manageable bu a problem nevertheless. You expect this kind of thing in Manhattan – but this is Burlington.
The OLT hearing is about what is going to be built on the other side of the street where the entrance to the hotel will be located.
There will be two lanes to the underground parking space for the hotel guests and the residents of the two tower that are proposed. One tower is to be 36 storeys and the other 31 storeys.
There will be 500 + residential units and some office space in those two towers.
 The two towers will soar to 36 and 31 storeys. The hotel will be at the bottom of the right hand tower. There is also an entrance for the garbage trucks and the big moving trucks. During the OLT hearing we learned that the garbage trucks might have to back out of the building on to Elizabeth Street.
The City has decided that there will not be any traffic going into the development off Lakeshore Road.
Picture all that taking place on the Elizabeth Street shown above.
Add to that those occasions when snow or freezing rain covers the streets.
If the development is approve by the single OLT Member that is hearing the appeal this is what the city could be looking at.
The hearings are expected to end on the 17th of May with a decision at least four months away.
 By Staff
May 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The following was sent to us by Bfast – Burlington for Accessible Sustainable Transit . The Gazette was unable to attend the event, we are grateful for what Bfast provided.
Traffic congestion and the need for more buses are limiting improvements to Burlington Transit, and senior governments must step up to support local transit systems. Those were two dominant themes of this year’s Transit Users’ Forum, held Saturday May 4. Nearly 100 transit riders, City staff and politicians attended the forum, organized by Burlington for Accessible Sustainable Transit (BFAST), at the Central Branch of the Burlington Public Library.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward highlighted City Council’s role in supporting the service expansion that has propelled transit ridership to record levels and committed to continue with transit improvements.
“We have invested heavily in transit, but we’re also trying to remove financial barriers,“ she said. “We’re looking at the feasibility of adding some additional free transit.” And the City will continue to make improvements in its specialized service (Handivan) to handle booming ridership.
“We’ve already starting to talk about the 2025 Budget and we’re looking at more investments in transit yet again.”
Record year for transit
 Burlington Transit Director Catherine Baldelli. Burlington Transit (BT) had a record year in 2023, with some 2.97 million rides, according to BT Director Catherine Baldelli. “People are embracing transit,” she said. “That’s really exciting.”
The affordability of transit was emphasized by Baldelli and most of the speakers at the forum. But growth in demand and worsening traffic conditions are putting the service under pressure.
Long travel times and limited schedules are often due to a shortage of buses and the people who operate and maintain them, Baldelli and transit staff said in response to stories of people forced to spend as many as four hours a day on their work commute.
Heavy traffic, including spillover from the highway, is also slowing down buses, she said. Over the next year, Burlington Transit will work with the City’s Transportation department to implement transit signal priority, which gives a bus priority through an intersection if it is running late.
Heavy traffic also causes bus bunching, where two buses might appear at once after passengers have waited for some time, she explained to a number of users who reported overcrowding on the Fairview-Hamilton Route 1. Bunching happens when one bus is delayed so much that other buses catch up to it. Transit staff monitor the system and make adjustments to keep things moving, she said.
Strong majority support for transit
The solution to many user problems could lie with more provincial and federal support for transit, speakers from BFAST and other organizations said. And public opinion seems to be on their side.
 Environment Hamilton’s Ian Borsuk said transit activists in that city envied the progress that has been made in Burlington over the past five years. (Photo credit: Zara Paris/BFAST) Panelist Gideon Forman, policy analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation, said there was “strong majority support” for more investment in public transit, according to a poll conducted last year by Ekos research. The poll showed nearly 80% of Ontarians wanted provincial and federal governments to invest more in transit. “What’s really exciting here is that it’s that a whole range of demographics” who support transit investment, from youth to seniors, he said.
Support, at 90%, was strongest in Toronto. But it was almost as strong in the 905 region.
“Almost four out of five folks in the 905 region support more money for public transit,” Forman said. “Obviously, lots of folks have to drive in this part of the province. They still support more money for public transit because they see the value in public transit even if they’re not using it themselves.”
Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan said a cultural shift was making transit more attractive to youth and families. He said friends were beginning to see the benefits of transit and he believes the shift will continue.
 Councillor Rory Nisan: A growing economy means more pressure on roads and “you can’t build your way out of that,” since road expansion only increases car use. Plan for roads
He projected traffic levels 25 years down the road, when Burlington would have as many as 100,000 new residents. He said Halton Region’s master transportation plan was in process and would deal with regional roads.
“We need to make some very serious decisions about the future of the roads,” he said. “Like it or not, it’s going to be busier on the roads. And the question is, ‘What are we going to do about it?’” A growing economy means more pressure on roads and “you can’t build your way out of that,” since road expansion only increases car use,
“So what’s the answer? The answer is more people walking, biking and taking public transit, and making it easier for people to take public transit. So that’s what we’re building today, so that we’re ready for … 25 years down the road.”
“In a lot of ways, for the last few years, we in Hamilton have been looking at what’s going on in Burlington with envy,” said Ian Borsuk, Executive Director of Environment Hamilton. But he said transit users had to keep the pressure on local councils to act on their issues. He cited a widespread service disruption in Hamilton that eventually led to the formation of the Hamilton Riders Union.
‘We continued putting ongoing pressure on city councillors and it became, politically, absolutely necessary, especially in areas where there isn’t currently bus service, to keep onside with increasing bus service in the city of Hamilton.
Encouraging response
“What’s best for Burlington, what’s best for Hamilton and all our various communities is that the communities determine what’s best for themselves. We know what type of service we need to see in our local communities. And it’s absolutely vital that we continue to work together and learn from each other.”
“We are very encouraged by the response to this year’s Transit Users’ Forum and we thank everyone who attended and helped with organizing this event,” said BFAST Chair Doug Brown.
“We’re seeing a real change in attitudes towards transit as congestion and affordability take a bite out of our over-dependence on cars,” said Brown. “We hope this forum further demonstrates to our elected representatives that despite the progress we’ve made over the past five years, there is still a lot to be done.
“Transit is one of the best tools in our kit to reduce pollution, end gridlock, make our streets safer and improve the quality of our urban life,” said Brown. “We will continue to work with transit supporters, Burlington Transit and our municipal government to make better transit a reality in our community.”
By Staff
May 8th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
 Waterfront Hotel as it is today. At 10:00 am this morning the Ontario Land Tribunal will resume the hearing on the re-development of the Waterfront Hotel site at the intersection of Lakeshore Road and Brant Street.
This stuff is drier than toast but critical to what the downtown core of the city is going to look like in the future if this development is approved.
 We asked Plan B, a group of people that have kept a watch on the development for their comments on the testimony yesterday from David Faletta, the planner who is representing the owners of the property.
The 5th day of OLT hearings on the Waterfront Hotel Redevelopment application droned on today with several expert witnesses for the Appellant (Vrancor) being cross-examined or giving their expert testimonies. With 7000 pages of written reports replete with charts & visual illustrations to refer to or present, it’s a daunting task to follow. Mercifully, we’re half way through the hearings!
Today featured testimony from David Falletta, the primary urban planner from Bousefields associated with this application from the start. There were a few lapses in logic or fact that stood out for us in his expert witness testimony (provided under oath). We’re sure the very capable lawyers for the City of Burlington and the Pearle Hotel & Spa will have a much longer list to cross-examine him on tomorrow.
He noted that the property is still governed by the 1997 Official Plan (as amended), and NOT by OP 2022 which is still being appealed by various developers, including Vrancor, at the OLT. We all know or should know that the Urban Growth Centre (UGC) was moved northward to the Burlington GO Station. and the John Street bus terminal classification as a Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) was corrected in Regional Official Plan Amendment 48 (ROPA 48) on November 10th, 2021.
He then goes on to quote the OP 2022 (originally drafted in 2018) as still referencing a UGC & MTSA downtown, as some sort of reinforcement of the idea, while it is obviously an outdated reference in need of an simple correction. I’m sure the City will make the change once developers’ OLT appeals are resolved. Did you catch his “double speak”?
 The design has undergone several significant changes but the height did not change. Another notable claim of “fact” of Mr. Falletta today was that the parkland dedication of his client’s Application (revised February 27th, 2024) provided the same amount as the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study’s Preferred Concept 2022 (PC 2022). The former provides three fragments of land along the NW corner and southern edge of the 2020 Lakeshore property amounting to 733 m.sq. On the other hand, PC 2022 provided two pieces of dedicated parkland: a 20m x 65m one along the full western property line and another 10m x 42m one on the southern edge, amounting to 1720 m.sq. So no, 733 m.sq. is not equal to 1720 m.sq., it’s not even half, but nice try Mr. Falletta. Of interest, the original application had zero parkland dedication, supposedly to provide public washrooms requested by the City.
The elephant in the room is how can one person, the assigned OLT Member, keep all of these competing “facts” and opinions straight in this complex case, and be able to discern what is properly & truthfully reasoned and reasonable in her ultimate decision? The future of our downtown waterfront community hangs in the balance, but It could be 4+ months until we know!
In our opinion, this development is simply ‘out of proportion’, ‘out of place’ and should be ‘out of here’.
Not much doubt where BPlan stands.
The cross examination of Faletta will take place today.
 By Staff
May 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
It’s an early notice for a June event.
In the past it has proven to be very popular.
Step back in time to the golden era of the Brant Inn! Join us at the Marquis Gardens at the Waterfront Hotel on June 22, 2024 from 6pm to 11pm for “An Evening at the Brant Inn.” Enjoy an evening of dining, dancing, drinks, and swing music as we celebrate Burlington’s iconic entertainment venue of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.
The night will include hors d’oeuvres, a 3-course dinner, dance lessons and demonstrations from danceScape, and live music from Smooth Blend Jazz Quartet. This event is a fundraiser for the Museums of Burlington.
Tickets can be ordered HERE
By Staff
May 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Ontario Land Tribunal that is hearing the application from the owners of the Waterfront Hotel who want to erect two 30 storeys plus towers on the site.
David Faletta, the planner for the developer, will be examined today by lawyers for the developer and lawyers for the City.
The examinations are expected to take up most of the day; perhaps longer.
The decision is critical in terms of what the downtown core will eventually look like.
 Rendering of the proposed development on Lakeshore Road between Brant and Elizabeth. Traffic on the portion of Elizabeth Street that runs south of Lakeshore Road will be close to unmanageable if the development proceeds. The street is the east side boundary for the development that will have to encroach on some city owned land if it is approved in its current form.
 Parking outside the Pearle Hotel, on the east side of Elizabeth, isn’t working for anyone. The way in which dedicated parkland space has been assembled is a bit of a joke. Bits and piece here and there are added together to arrive at a total that is required. That phrase ‘linear pathways’ gets used to describe a stretch of land that is a pathway – yet included as parkland.
Lawyers for the City have, so far done a good job of pulling out what the developer proposes to do.
One issue that has been given a lot of time is the parking needs of the Pearle Hotel and Spa that is on the east side of Elizabeth.
By Pepper Parr
May 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
I recently had cataract surgery done on both eyes. I had an excellent ophthalmologist.
My cost, the amount I had to pay the hospital where the surgery was done amounted to, $440.
There was an additional small cost to have the eyes measured. My ophthalmologist didn’t like what she saw in the test results and asked me to return to the clinic in Hamilton to a re-test – at no cost to me.
The service at the hospital in Stoney Creek where the surgery was done was superb – from the front desk where intake was done to the nurses who got me through the checking on data, asking questions about my blood pressure, my diet. The front desk intake clerk deserves a medal for the way she handled people who were elderly and concerned about the surgery
With the surgery complete my opticians took over from the ophthalmologist. If there is a problem its gets caught at the optician level and they advise the ophthalmologist.
I was in the hands of people who are very good at their jobs.
There are many people who did not have the experience I had. Many have been scammed and told that the procedure was going to cost much more – thousands for some.
I had been working with a clinic in Burlington where it became evident to me that they were attempting to up sell me – I moved on when it began to seem a little dodgy to me.
 The Ontario Health Coalition released a new report this month about private for-profit clinics unlawfully charging patients for health care.
They are currently ramping up promotion of the May 30th rallies to reach more Ontarians than we ever have and put pressure on the Ford government to stop privatization.
Below is just a sampling of media coverage that the OHC received during the past three weeks.
(April 16, 2024)
By: Ainsley Smith & Caryn Lieberman, Global News Toronto
More than 100 patients have come forward to voice their concerns over being charged for care in private clinics in a newly-released report by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC). A majority of these patients are seniors living on fixed incomes, with the fees imposing significant financial burdens on them.
The Ontario Health Coalition, which advocates for publicly-funded health care, held press conferences across the province to release the report, titled Illegal, Unlawful and Unethical: Case Studies of Patients Charged for Medical Care in Ontario’s Private Clinics, which stated that for-profit clinics expanded by the Ford government have been charging patients thousands in unlawful fees.
The report featured case studies on more than 100 patients, who said they’ve either been charged extra fees, been denied treatment, been told if they didn’t pay, they would face “extreme” wait times, or even been tricked into add-on fees.
The report said some patients faced bills upwards of $8,000 for eye surgeries and tests, resulting in considerable financial strain. According to OHC, one patient had to go back to work at the age of 71 to cover their bill, while others resorted to accumulating debt, depleting their savings, borrowing money or sacrificing other necessities.
One patient, Shalom Schachter from Toronto, told Global News he was sold a story about needing extra eye testing and lenses by an ophthalmologist surgeon and ended up paying close to $1,200 at a for-profit clinic.
“I could use the OHIP paid-for equipment, but that wasn’t going to be the best for me. He had diagnostic equipment that was going to identify my condition in a more accurate way,” said Schachter.
Maureen Monro of London reported that she was told she would have to wait two years unless she paid thousands of dollars for cataract surgery.
“I was informed the cost to receive the surgery would be almost $7,000. Being as I live alone, I did not want to lose my quality of life. Therefore, I paid the $7,000. Being a senior on a fixed income, I am still trying to catch up with bills from this surgery.”
In the report, the OHC highlighted discrepancies in Premier Doug Ford’s assurances regarding the privatization of surgeries and diagnostics. Despite his “headline-grabbing” pledge that Ontarians would only need to use their OHIP cards, not their credit cards, for medical payments, and the promise of robust safeguards against extra billing and user fees, the reality of patients being charged user fees at private clinics contradicts these commitments.
“It is unlawful to charge a patient for any OHIP-covered service or any part of an OHIP-covered service. In fact, it’s illegal,” said Natalie Mehra, executive director of OHC.
The report also revealed the predominant fees patients faced were associated with eye surgeries at for-profit clinics, particularly for cataract procedures. Many patients said they were not informed the service was OHIP-covered, while a third of patients said they were charged between $500 and $5,000 per eye for the surgery.
Kate Armstrong, a small business owner in Toronto, was one of these people.
Armstrong was informed by a surgeon at a private clinic that the wait time at a public hospital would be “impossibly long” and that the hospital could not offer the desired “upgraded” lens. Consequently, she opted to undergo additional tests and eye surgery at a private clinic.
“$8,000 later, I don’t believe it was an accident that they swiped my Visa card instead of my OHIP card. It was never actually discussed on any level that OHIP covered any of it,” she said to Global News.
In the report, the OHC said the most common violations of public medicare laws in private clinics included telling patients they had to pay for medically-needed surgeries, requiring patients to pay for add-ons not needed or covered by OHIP and charging for preferential access to care for those who paid out of pocket.
“They’re seniors… They’d have to go back to work at 70 and 80 years old to cover these costs. It’s disgusting. It violates every moral that we have,” said Mehra.
In response, a spokesperson for the Minister of Health told Global News that over the last year they’ve added tens of thousands of OHIP-covered cataract surgeries and achieved some of the shortest wait times of any province in the country.
“Through Bill 60, our government has further strengthened the oversight of community surgical and diagnostic centres, by bringing these centres under the oversight of a patient ombudsman, ensuring access to services cannot be conditional on their choice to pay or not pay on additional, uninsured service and putting into law that Ontarians will always access insured services at community surgical and diagnostic centres with their OHIP card and never their credit card,” the spokesperson said.
OHC said there have been incidents where patients were told they had to pay for OHIP-covered surgeries, or told that if they didn’t, they would face a lengthy wait for a hospital procedure.
Patients also reported being charged for cataract surgery add-ons they didn’t need, like extra eye measurements and tests, the OHC report said claimed were “safer or better” than OHIP-covered services.
OHC noted the patients were also denied access to surgery if they declined to pay out-of-pocket for them, the report says.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones has stated previously Ontarians would never have to pay out-of-pocket for OHIP-insured services with the private clinics.
 In a statement, Jones’s spokesperson, Hannah Jensen, described OHC as an “out-of-touch, NDP-backed special interest group.”
Jensen said the province had added tens of thousands of OHIP-covered cataract surgeries over the past year, and that 80 per cent of patients see their procedure “within clinically recommended target times.”
The province says when a provider is found in violation of the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act, it gives them a chance to be in compliance. The act bans the charging of patients for medically-needed surgeries and diagnostic tests, according to OHC.
The Ontario government is paying a for-profit clinic more than it pays its public hospitals to perform identical, provincially covered surgeries, according to documents obtained by CBC News.
The province is preparing to expand the number of private clinics providing OHIP-covered tests and procedures — a move it claims will reduce wait times and save taxpayers money.
Last year, CBC News revealed the province paid a for-profit surgery clinic in Toronto – whose parent company’s lobbyists include Ontario’s former health minister – more to perform certain OHIP-covered procedures than public hospitals.
Health advocates and opposition parties allege it’s part of a broader effort to privatize Ontario health care in favour of one similar to that in the U.S., something the province has denied.
The province wants to expand for-profit clinics and allow them to do surgeries like hips and knees in an effort to reduce wait times across the province.
Many of the patient testimonies included in the report described similar stories to Edwards — people said they were referred to a private clinic by their physician or optometrists after being told they would have to wait years to get the surgery if they went to the hospital to get it done.
Others said they felt like they had information withheld by the clinics and charged for unnecessary add-ons, like upgraded lenses.
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones responded to the coalition’s concern about patients being up-sold for those services.
“We’re talking about a group that’s ideologically opposed to any innovation and any changes in the health-care system,” she told CBC News.
By Staff
May 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board has invited students, parents, guardians and staff to provide feedback by completing the Have Your Say survey.
The survey is open from May 6 to June 3, 2024. Parents and guardians of HDSB students can access the survey through the Have Your Say webpage of the HDSB’s website (hdsb.ca).
Students in Grade 4 to 12 will receive a link to the student survey through their classroom teacher and will complete the survey during the school day.
The information gathered from the Have Your Say survey will help the HDSB continue to create positive environments, inform school improvement and well-being plans and enable parents, guardians and students to have a voice in creating a supportive community in HDSB schools.
 Students at M. M. Robinson high school.  Curtis Ennis, Director of Education “Your input is pivotal in shaping the future of our educational landscape,” says Curtis Ennis, Director of Education for the Halton District School Board. “The HDSB is committed to actively engaging in dialogue with our partners in education to ensure that together we may build a brighter future for our students. With your feedback, we can help guide meaningful change to enhance student learning, well-being and success.”
The Have Your Say survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Responses are confidential, voluntary and students and parents/guardians can skip any question they do not wish to answer. The survey is available in eight additional languages: Arabic, French, Hindi, Punjabi, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish and Urdu. Respondents will select their preferred language when they begin the survey.
Data from the Have Your Say anonymous survey for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years is displayed on the HDSB web site.
Students in grades 4-12 were invited to respond to questions pertaining to learning, safety, bullying, well-being and substance use (Grade 7 and above only).
Participation Rates were a surprise.
Participation rates are presented for the 2021-22 school year. A total of 23,646 Grade 4 to 12 students participated in the 2021-2022 survey, representing a participation rate of 51%.
Participation was higher for elementary students (63%), relative to secondary students (37%).
There was no detail on what the HDSB learned from the previous surveys.
By Staff
May 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
With the Winter that really wasn’t – we now have a Spring that is.
Buds are springing out all over the place.
How is this for a driveway?
 It all came up with the sunshine yesterday – and kept on growing.  The small pink plants behind the robust green bush seem to compliment each other.
By Staff
May 6th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
A census tract is a small, relatively stable geographic area that usually has a population between 2,500 and 8,000 persons. With one exception, the census tract which includes North Oakville has a population of over 21,000 in the 2021 Census.
Analyzing the distribution pattern can help identify communities where core housing need is most prevalent. It can shed light on underlying contributing socio-economic factors.
The information can reveal how households in core housing need are distributed in relation to essential services and amenities, such as healthcare facilities, schools, public transportation and employment centres.
There are clusters of racialized households in core housing in Oakville and Milton. In Burlington and Halton Hills, the households are more dispersed.
 The dots relate to the number of racialized homes; the colours indicate the number of racialized homes and where they are located. This is not good news data.
By Staff
May 6th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Getting children to speak the truth can be a struggle at times. While a lie, when discovered, is often followed by a punishment, there’s a more effective way to prevent future fibbing, says new Brock-led research.
 Angela Evans: Professor of Psychology, Brock University “Previous studies have found punishing lie-telling actually increases this behaviour because children are afraid of getting in trouble,” says Brock Professor of Psychology Angela Evans, lead author of “Encouraging Honesty: Developmental Differences in the Influence of Honesty Promotion Techniques.”
A combination of techniques that encourage and praise truth-telling has been shown to reduce whether children lie to conceal a wrongdoing, she adds.
Evans and McGill University Professor of Educational and Counselling Psychology Victoria Talwar conducted a two-part study, with each portion designed to test the effectiveness of a range of honesty promotion techniques in children aged three to eight, separated into two-year age groups.
Part of the research is a video: Click HERE to access
One part saw the researchers test whether the combination of two techniques — modelling, where children are exposed to examples of other people being honest; and consequences, which shows children a positive outcome of truth-telling, approval from parents and others when the truth is spoken — would further boost truth-telling in children across age groups.
A total of 228 children participated in an exercise in which each child was left alone in a room with a toy on a table behind where the child was sitting. The experimenter instructed the child not to peek at the toy and then left the room, with a hidden camera recording what the child did when alone. Most of the children peeked at the toy.
After returning to the room, the experimenter read a story to the child. Some children heard a version about a character who modelled honesty by admitting they broke a window with their bouncy ball. Others heard a story without the character owning up to breaking the window but the mother saying she would be pleased if her child told the truth, which simulated consequences.
Finally, a portion of the child participants heard the full story of the character saying they broke the window, the mother’s encouragement to tell the truth and praise for the character for having done so: “I’m glad you did not lie. It makes me happy that you told the truth.”
The child was then asked whether they had peeked at the toy.
 The study is a reminder to praise the child for telling the truth about their wrongdoing, rather than focusing on the wrongdoing itself. The researchers found children across all age groups who heard the full version of the story were the most likely to confess peeking at the toy compared to those who heard the versions containing only modelling or consequences.
“Our findings suggest that modelling honesty or telling children about the positive outcomes of honesty are not enough and that children need to see both the modelling of honesty and what the consequences of doing so are together,” says Evans.
She encourages parents to provide models of honesty for their children through parental behaviour, reading stories such as George Washington and the Cherry Tree that encourage truth-telling, and rewarding honesty in day-to-day interactions.
“As parents, the gut reaction when a child has done something wrong is to respond to the negative behaviour that’s happened,” says Evans. “This study is a reminder to praise the child for telling the truth about their wrongdoing, rather than focusing on the wrongdoing itself.”
Evans recommends considering a lesser punishment for wrongdoing, such as one week without screen time instead of two, because they told the truth — and being explicit that the difference is due to their honesty.
In the other part of the study, researchers looked at two additional techniques — self-awareness and promising to be honest — to determine which ones encouraged truth-telling in the age groups.
To encourage self-awareness, the researchers had children look in the mirror and point to parts of their own face and state their name, grade or age.
Researchers found self-awareness was most effective in reducing lie-telling for three- to four-year-olds, while promising to tell the truth reduced lie-telling for the seven- to eight-year-olds.
The study, published in March, was funded by the federal government through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
By Staff
May 6, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Ontario Ministry of Education has created a theme to be used during Education Week – May 6-10.
The Halton District School Board (HDSB) joins school boards across Ontario by dedicating each day to focusing on one of the five areas of focus in the 2020-2024 Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYP) to highlight the importance of schools, staff, families and the community working together to support the well-being and academic success of students.
Monday, May 6 – Learning & Achievement: Examples will be shared of how the HDSB elevates student achievement and creates a culture of high expectations to maximize achievement and set students up for success beyond the classroom.
Tuesday, May 7 – Mental Health & Well-Being: This area of focus highlights how schools promote well-being and foster supportive spaces where all are equipped to succeed. May 6-12 is Mental Health Week, as designated by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), to promote mental health awareness, decreasing stigma and helpful resources.
Wednesday, May 8 – Equity and Inclusion: This area of focus shows how schools champion inclusive practices to cultivate an environment where every student has equitable access to education, support and opportunities for growth and achievement.
Thursday, May 9 – Environmental Leadership: This area shows how HDSB schools are providing hands-on learning of science and ecosystems that enables students and staff to elevate local environmental initiatives and practices, and take action to help create a sustainable world.
Friday, May 10 – Indigenous Perspectives & Awareness: On the final day of Education Week, the HDSB will highlight the many learning opportunities for students and staff that help promote knowledge and understanding of Indigenous perspectives and realities.
How much of this “celebration” is going to impact the way parents talk about – think about the public education system we use to educate young people?
 Amy Collard, Chair of the Halton District School Board Amy Collard, Chair of the Halton District School Board said: ““Creating the right educational environment is crucial for academic achievement and paves the way for continued success. It is incredible to witness students thriving, and it speaks volumes to the dedication of our staff who have been doing exceptional work to prepare students for lifelong learning.”
HDSB is currently revising their Multi-Year Plan with the overall purpose of setting direction and prioritizing the collective actions of all stakeholders to ensure our efforts as an organization are aligned and coordinated to support the more than 65,000 students, 11,000 staff and the broader HDSB community.
Related news article:
Provide feedback for the HDSB Multi-Year Plan.
By Pepper Parr
May 6th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
“It’s absurd how ineffective our current recycling program is, and how long it’s taken to do something about it
A recent poll commissioned by Environmental Defence found that 81 per cent of Ontarians want a deposit-return system for non-alcoholic beverage containers. The poll, conducted by Abacus Data, shows overwhelming public support for a better system to manage empties for drinks like pop, water and juice in the province. Support is up five per cent from last year when 76 per cent of Ontarians supported deposit return.
 All this is handled as waste that has to be managed. A better solution is to have it delivered to retail locations and recycled. Getting the retail sector to buy into that is the problem. Last summer, the province invited beverage companies, retailers, and other stakeholders to join a working group to explore the implementation of a deposit-return system in the province. But nearly a year has passed, and the province has yet to confirm its plan to deal with this source of plastic waste and pervasive litter. In the meantime, an estimated 1.7 billion plastic drink bottles have ended up in landfills, incinerators, and the environment.
“It’s absurd how ineffective our current recycling program is, and how long it’s taken to do something about it,” said Ashley Wallis, Associate Director at Environmental Defence. “Ontario is one of only two provinces in Canada without a comprehensive deposit-return system, and as a result, it has the worst beverage container recycling rate in the country. Bringing deposit return to Canada’s most populous province could keep upwards of a billion plastic bottles out of landfills, incinerators and the environment every year.”
The poll also asked Ontarians where they want to return their empties. More than half would prefer to return their drink containers to retail locations, like grocery and convenience stores, suggesting that ease of use and accessibility are important factors for the government to consider when designing regulations.
“Deposit return is a proven, common sense policy solution,” said Wallis. “It’s a solution Ontarians are familiar with, given the highly successful deposit system for alcoholic drink containers, and one that the public supports regardless of geography or political affiliation. We need Ontario to regulate a fair, and convenient deposit return system that ensures strong environmental outcomes and prioritizes ease of use and convenient access. There is no time to waste.”
If you want to see a change pop a note to the Burlington MPP Natalie Pierre
Tel. 905-639-7924
Email. Natalie@nataliepierrempp.ca
 By Pepper Parr
May 6th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Provincial Liberal Association met for their AGM on April 17th.
The following are the people who chose to run for position on the association executive.
Candidates for Executive Offices
President – Lisa Mayeski
VP – (Vacant)
VP at Large – John Syko
Large – (Vacant)
Secretary – Ancilla Ho-Young
Treasurer – Sandy O’Reilly
Director – Hamza Ansari
Director – Roble Osoble
Director – Noah Parker
Director – Gayle Laws
Director – Sima Acan
Director – Catherine Donnars-Hodgson
Talha Celik
Peter Hodgson
Gloria Turney
Director – (Vacant)
 Lisa Mayeski – BPLA President Lisa Mayeski has been the president for the past couple of years and is running for that position again. She commented: “It has been my honour to serve as BPLA President over the past three years and work along side our dedicated board of directors and members. I am proud of the accomplishments of BPLA to date and I am committed to ensuring we are in the best position possible moving forward into the next election so that we can turn Burlington red again. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the incredible work done by the BPLA board, including arranging the meet and greets with each of the Leadership candidates, and thank our members and volunteers for their continued engagement and support. Moving forward I hope to continue serving as your association president and look forward to executing BPLA’s plan to expand member and community outreach initiatives.”
The association was very active when the party was deciding who the new leader would be. Bonnie Crombie won that position but not on the first ballot.
 Galen Naidoo-Harris with provincial Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie: It rained on their parade. There isn’t much in terms of the associations part in the Milton by-election. Andrea Grebenc had an: “Interesting day out in rural Burlington today. A lot of people seem quite upset with Ford about not keeping his promises about the stopping the quarries, spending our tax dollars on a foreign spa at Ontario place, paving prime farmland for the 413, and not investing enough into healthcare and education (not keeping up with inflation is a CUT!)
“Even got a couple of signs out for Galen Naidoo Harris (Liberal candidate). Please vote May 2 and send a message to Doug that we do not condone his terrible governance, his broken promises, and wasting our hard-earned tax dollars.”
The provincial Liberals needed a win in Milton badly. The provincial Progressive Conservatives were all over the riding
With the Milton by-election now decided – the Progressive Conservatives held the seat – it is worth a look at how much campaigning the local Liberals were able to do in what was seen by many as a critical campaign for Burlington; the north western part of the city is within the Milton boundary.
The federal House of Commons seat for Milton is held by a Liberal.
The Gazette doesn’t recall seeing any call for campaign teams to canvas the part of the riding within the constituency boundary.
Every political association knows that it takes boots on the ground and heavy door to door campaigning to win. There is very little on the Burlington Liberal associations web site
At this point there is not yet a list of who the members of the association posted on their web site.
The next provincial election is to be held in June of 2026. The Progressive Conservatives are preparing to holds their nomination meeting with several candidates out there beating the bushes for support.
The riding has been held by Liberals in the past and can be taken back – but not with the level of involvement we have seen so far.
By Pepper Parr
May 5th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
We need to remember how it all started.
Veteran journalist Paul Wells, an observer of national politics for decades while writing for Maclean’s, National Post, the Toronto Star and now Substack, shares his thoughts in his new book “Trudeau on the Ropes.” An excerpt from the book follows
“In March 2012 the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation organized an event called Fight for the Cure. People from the professional classes would sell tickets and box with one another awkwardly. It took Justin Trudeau weeks to find a Conservative who would face him. Finally, a beefy Conservative-appointed senator named Patrick Brazeau answered the call.
 Make a point of asking the library to order the book. Worth reading. “The two men climbed into a makeshift ring in a packed ballroom at the east-end Hampton Inn on March 31.
“The whole thing, ridiculously, inevitably, was broadcast live on national television. Brazeau’s arms were bigger than Trudeau’s legs and in the days before the match Brazeau’s Conservative caucus colleagues had passed their time on Twitter gleefully celebrating his victory ahead of time. In the event, it took Trudeau about seven minutes to pummel Brazeau so nearly senseless that the referee stopped the fight.
“Five weeks later, Trudeau’s photo was on the cover of Maclean’s, illustrating an article that said, look, maybe this guy should be the next leader of what had been, until Stephen Harper came along, the winningest political party in Western civilization.
“Forty-nine weeks after that, by God, he was.
“And the next time Canadians got a chance to vote on the matter, the Liberals, with Trudeau as leader, snapped a three-election losing streak and returned to power, where they remain, after a fashion, to this day.”
By Pepper Parr
May 5th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
It is celebrated on the first Sunday in May; In remembrance of the longest campaign during the Second World War.
Battle of the Atlantic Sunday.
 HMCS Burlinngton J250 – mine sweeper Warships, many built in Canada, manned by Canadians who fought valiantly to protect the convoys that were taking material and supplies to Great Britain and Russia. The Murmansk Run was one of the most hazardous.
 The Naval Memorial in Spencer Smith Park bears the name of every warship lost on one side the the names of every merchant ship lost on the other side. HX 300 was the largest convoy to sail out of the Bedford Basin in Halifax with 166 merchant ships arranged in 19 parallel columns to produce a formation approximately 9 miles (14 km) wide and 4 miles (6.4 km) long. The average Atlantic crossing took between 14-17 days.
Twenty three of the ships that did convoy duty were built in Collingwood, corvettes and minesweepers.
HMCS Burlington, a minesweeper built in 1941, sailed into Burlington for a day and left for Halifax.
She had a crew of 83 people, could reach a speed of 16k nots and had Battle Honours for service in the Atlanta from 1942- 1944 and Gulf of St Lawrence, 1942
She was sold to a New Jersey business man in October 1945.
 By Ray Rivers
May 4th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
 Zee Hamid, Progressive Conservative candidate on the election campaign trial. He won. Conservative Zee Hamid handily beat out his Liberal opponent to win the right to represent the people of Milton at Queen’s Park in the May 2nd by-election. Little more that a quarter of the eligible voters bothered to come out for the vote, despite it being a lovely sunny and warm day. That is a sad testimony on the state of our democracy, no matter how you spin it.
Milton has grown by leaps and bounds over the decades since its mayor pushed regional council to introduce the ‘big pipe’. Pipes actually, one to bring fresh water from Lake Ontario and the other to return that water as sewage back to a lake where safe fish consumption is already severely limited.
 Premier Ford, Milton Mayor Gord Krantz and candidate Zee Hamid Mayor Krantz, much like Ontario’s premier, is apparently in love with a 1960’s urban sprawl model of development. As its ‘eternal’ mayor, he has stacked the once charming farm community of Milton to overflowing with wall-to-wall housing and warehousing, destroying countless acres of quality farm and natural habitat, and saddling its rural residents with the high costs of maintaining sprawl development. One has to wonder why Milton was overlooked for inclusion as part of the provincial green belt in the first place.
Zee Hamid wasn’t always a Tory, having switched his colours for this election. He tried, unsuccessfully, for the federal Liberal nomination back in 2015 and had been a Liberal party donor up until fairly recently. Still, his record as a town councillor should help prepare him for his new role as MPP. And a good part of that record had been to promote exactly the kind of sprawl development over which his new party leader salivates. In which case Mr. Hamid is finally home.
 Bonnie Crombie: Leader Ontario Liberal Party: She decided Milton was not winnable – and a win was vital. This was the first provincial by-election since Bonnie Crombie won leadership of the provincial Liberals last December. There was an expectation that the new leader, who resides a stone’s throw away in Mississauga, would take advantage of the opportunity to win a seat and present herself where it matters most – at Queen’s Park. That she walked away, some would say chickened out, has to be a huge blow to the people who trusted her with their vote for leadership.
I had been a strong critic of Mr. Ford even before he stole the Tory nomination in what can only be described as a smelly right-wing coup on the eve of the 2018 election. At the time I wrote that Ford was ill equipped to lead a modern progressive province which Ontario had become since the turbulent days of Mike Harris. And he has done little to make me want to alter that sentiment.
But clearly there are a lot of people who feel differently about Ford and what the Progressive Conservative tribe he leads stands for. Somehow the entire Greenbelt fiasco, which was a disgraceful episode regardless whether the RCMP presses criminal charges, has been forgotten. The voting public showed up – or failed to show up – and rewarded the premier with another feather in his hat. There was also another by-election win in the Tory safe seat of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex to help boost the premier’s confidence and convince him that he is on the right track.
 The Greenbelt fiasco and an ongoing RCMP investigation didn’t appear to matter to the voters that did show up for the btelection. There was a time when even a hint of wrong doing spelled the end to a politician’s career. But today one can look south of the border to where a former president has been indicted on numerous criminal charges. And yet, incredibly, that has only enhanced the public’s affection for him. Perhaps Mr. Ford’s apparent fondness for breaking the rules helps explain this phenomenon which seems to result in his own popularity.
Particularly interesting is how the younger voters in the US have shifted their support from the person who claims to have done so much for them. Biden paid off a huge amount of university student debt and his policies have expanded the US labour force and reduced unemployment. Strangely the preference among the beneficiaries has been to throw their support to someone who opposed all of that and who is threatening to erode their democratic rights.
 Social media is not capable of providing the depth needed to fully understand the changes taking place. For some reason society is limiting its sources of information at a time when credible sources are what is needed most. Of course this younger generation generally shun TV news and won’t read newspapers to get their information. They prefer to tune in daily to unedited, virtually uncontrolled social media platforms – a grown up version of “kids say the funniest things” to get their daily dose of what is going on. At least the US has promised to ban Chinese controlled Tik Tok. The current large scale protests over Gaza have been traced directly to the vast amount of misinformation appearing daily on Tik Tok and other social media.
The Trudeau government also has been trying to do something to improve the quality of the content on online platforms and social media generally. It has introduced a number of laws, C-10/11 amending the Broadcast Act; C-18 The Online News Act; and C-63 The Online Harms Act. Governing media is a delicate rope walk and, of course the official opposition has generally opposed all of these new rules – at least until, and if, they form government.
There will be more opportunity to air those concerns as the clock ticks down to the next provincial election in 2026 and an even earlier federal election slated for October 2025. But the right thing to do after a by-election is congratulate the winner and hope that the trust of those who voted for Mr. Hamid will be truly earned.
 Ray Rivers, a Gazette Contributing Editor, writes regularly 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. Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Big Pipe – By-election – Urban Sprawl – Tik Tok
By Pepper Parr
May 3rd, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Ontario Land Tribunal completed a solid week of hearings on the plans to re-develop the Waterfront Hotel site and construct two towers that will soar to 30 and 35 storeys on top of a four story podium.
 The bridge between the two towers has been removed and the eastern tower moved closer to the lake. Major questions on how much city land can the development encroach on?  It will take a bit to pull a news story out of the hours of witness testimony but we can tell you now that the plans call for the pedestrian entrance to the hotel portion of the new development will be on Elizabeth Street opposite the Pearle Hotel. Access to the underground garage and the loading docks will also be on Elizabeth Steet
Entrances to the underground garages are for both the Pearle and the hotel that will be part of the two tower development a planned for Elizabeth Street south of Lakeshore Road.
No matter how one looks at this – it will be an ongoing problem. More when we dig into the details.
 Concept of what the Lakeshore Road area could look like We also have a clearer sense as to what the streetscape on Lakeshore Road could look like. The plans to date have the potential to animate that part of the street. The entrance to the eastern end of Spencer Smith Park will be though a wide opening between the two towers – similar to what has been done with the Bridgewater development to the east.
The lawyers representing the City and those representing the developer are some distance apart on what they are saying to the OLT Member S. Dionne, hearing the arguments.
|
|
