By Pepper Parr

August 31st, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

HELP US SUPPORT HUNDREDS OF CHARITIES, A TOONIE AT A TIME is the way the Burlington Rotary explained the $2 Entrance Fee being collected at the 2024 Ribfest.

“As you may know, Canada’s Largest RibFest is Rotary Burlington Lakeshore’s most successful community event where all proceeds are donated to support health, hunger and humanity across charities close to home and around the world. In the last 25 years, we have been able to donate close to 5 MILLION dollars to charities such as Burlington Food Bank, Joseph Brant Hospital, The Carpenter Hospice, Canada Diabetes Association Summer Camp, CCAC Child Abuse Emergency Fund, Terry Fox, Food Banks Canada, Haloton (sic)Fresh Food Box, Community Living Burlington, Out of the Cold, The Lighthouse Homeless Shelter, Able Sail and many more.

“We couldn’t do this without all of the amazing support we receive from the community and thank you in advance for a record-breaking Rib Fest this year!”

Did Rotary clear this with the City administration – Spencer Smith is a public park – I don’t think anyone can just say I’m collecting money for a good cause..

We don’t recall hearing anything from Rotary about this new approach to collecting money from the public.  It looks like people within Rotary thought it was a good idea and they just went right ahead and did it.

Nothing wrong with the idea – getting public support before is usually seen as a best practice.

Given the close to crisis situation every dollar should be going to the Food Banks.

Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.

By Michael Mendelson,

August 31st, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

If the poverty rate is declining, why are the lineups outside foods banks in Canada getting longer? 

Robin Bailey accepting a food donation.

Statistics Canada says the country’s official poverty rate – based on what the agency calls the “market basket measure” (MBM) – fell to 9.9 per cent in 2022 from 14.5 per cent in 2015. That’s a tremendous achievement. Yet data from Foods Banks Canada shows that use of food banks rose by nearly 80 per cent between 2019 and 2023 — and by a record 32 per cent over the last year alone.  

A new measurement of poverty called the material deprivation index (MDI) can help to explain this discrepancy. The poverty rate based on the market basket is not wrong, but the measure is income-based and doesn’t show the full picture. To provide a deeper and more accurate insight into poverty in Canada, governments should add the deprivation index to key indicators they track. 

The adoption in 2019 of the market basket measure to establish the country’s first official poverty rate was a big step forward. It meant that the government was prepared to acknowledge and track the extent of poverty in the country.   

The MBM is calculated by adding up the cost of goods and services that represent a modest, basic standard of living for a household of two adults and two children in locations across Canada. A poverty line is then estimated for different types of households to establish how much income is required to enable them to purchase those items. 

Accounting for outcome rather than input 

The fundamental assumption is that annual income is the best way to assess whether a household is poor. In practice, myriad factors beyond income can affect financial well-being. Some households may have savings or assets; others may be burdened with debt. One person may be renting an apartment at a nominal rate from a family member, while another might face a hefty rent increase triggered by a move to a city facing an acute housing shortage. There may be family members with chronic health issues or a disability, which raises expenses, while others may be healthy.  

The material deprivation index takes variable circumstances into account. It does so by considering outcomes (what a household has or can do) rather than inputs (income).    

The MDI calculation is twofold. It first establishes a list of goods, services and activities that most people would expect in a household that has an acceptable standard of living. These are not “basic necessities” (subsistence food and shelter), but rather goods and services without which a household’s standard of living would fall below what most would deem acceptable in Canada.   

It then assesses a standard of living by counting the number of these a household doesn’t have — or have access to— because it can’t afford them. Examples include appropriate clothes to wear to a job interview, an annual dental checkup or a small birthday present for a child.  

A team of researchers brought together by Food Banks Canada did a study of material deprivation to demonstrate how it works, In 2022, an initial survey asked Canadians about the goods and services they would expect to find in a household with an acceptable standard of living in this country. Based on the results, a list of 14 items was compiled to include in the deprivation index. We prioritized the ones that were more likely to be seen as necessary by households at a higher risk of poverty, and took advice from focus groups and interviews with families who had faced food insecurity. 

A second survey in 2023 asked people about the items and whether there had been any they were unable to afford. Further analysis honed down to 11 the number of items to include in the MDI, which considers a person deprived if they cannot afford two or more. 

Table 1 shows the 11 deprivation categories and the proportion of Canadian adults who said they could not afford them. 

Just over 60 per cent of those surveyed said they could afford them all. One in four could not afford at least two items and 17 per cent could not afford at least three (Table 2). 

We determined that “two items or more” and “three items or more” were the best indicators of a poverty-level standard of living. We set the two-items threshold as our poverty measure and “three or more” to check how robust our assessment was. For example, would certain groups be equally likely to stand out as being at greater risk when a threshold of three items or more was used? 

Balance ?

In setting the poverty line at two items, the material deprivation survey found that one in four adult Canadians had a poverty-level standard of living. That rate was 2.5 times the rate generated by the market basket measure. The finding is more consistent with the reality that food banks are seeing today.  

The MDI also confirms that the poverty rate is much higher for particular groups, including single parents, people with a disability and those who identify as Black or Indigenous.  

In short, the study suggests that poverty may be more extensive (especially among at-risk groups) and possibly more multi-faceted than it appears when based solely on income.   

A better understanding of poverty is critical if we are to accurately evaluate our progress — or lack thereof — in reducing material distress among households in Canada. To that end, Statistics Canada should establish a material deprivation measure of goods, services and activities that households with modest but acceptable living standards would ordinarily be expected to be able to afford. This would complement the market basket measurement of poverty based on income.  

Canadian governments should also use a deprivation-based index to help assess progress on poverty reduction and to analyze the effects of poverty reduction policies. 

An added advantage would be that a survey-based MDI could provide real-time feedback on current conditions. The market basket approach is always a few years behind because it takes time to collect and check income data based on the previous calendar year. Up-to-date information is important in times of rapidly changing economic conditions, when governments need to react quickly. Recent examples include the financial uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the surge of inflation in its aftermath and what until recently were rapidly rising interest rates. 

Used in tandem, the two types of poverty indicators would inform efforts to make sure that all Canadians enjoy food security and a standard of living acceptable for a developed country. 

Michael Mendelson, Maytree fellow and chair of the Environics Institute, and Andrew Parkin, executive director of the Environics Institute for Survey Research, contributed to this article. 

By Staff

August 29^th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

It won’t be long before they  are back in their classrooms.

The messy little Minister of Education shuffle shouldn’t make much of a difference at this point on what the people at the Board of Education level have to deal with.

We are, for the time being at least, out of the Covid protocols and no more virtual classrooms.

The new province wide measures are taking effect on September 1, 2024 to directly counter the alarming rise of vaping and cellphone distractions in schools. The new rules will help combat the negative impact mobile devices, social media and vaping are having on academic achievement, mental health and physical well-being.

By removing distractions, students can focus their attention on academic achievement, which will include modernized courses in business and career studies, and technological education.

“With their constant stream of notifications and pings, it’s no surprise to anyone that cellphones constantly grab our attention. This is why it was necessary to restrict cellphones in the classroom and enable students to restore focus on learning so they can achieve better academic outcomes,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Education. “This school year is shaping up to be the first in years without the threat of pandemic disruptions or negotiations with teachers’ unions. We’re excited for the year ahead where students can look forward to uninterrupted learning, extra-curriculars and a back-to-basics, modernized curriculum that will set them up for success.”

The government is investing $47.5 million to support the implementation of the new rules, including:

• $15 million to support the expansion of programs that offer direct supports for students who are at risk of substance use and addictive behaviours
• $1 million to School Mental Health Ontario to develop webinars and resources for parents and students to learn how to talk about the adverse effects of vaping and excessive cellphone usage
• $1.5 million for school boards to work with their parent involvement committees to enable parents and community partners to run grassroots campaigns to deter vaping and cellphone distractions
• Further, as announced in Budget 2024, $30 million to school boards for vape detectors and other security upgrades in schools

“By banning vaping in schools, our government is setting students up for success and prioritizing their health and well-being inside and outside the classroom,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier, Minister of Health and MPP for Dufferin-Caledon. “We are also reminding parents to keep their kids up to date on all routine vaccinations this school year to ensure our schools and communities remain safe for everyone.”

Beginning this fall, there will be a new graduation requirement and several new courses for Grade 9 and 10 students as the government continues to modernize the curriculum:

• Grade 9 students will be required to earn a Grade 9 or 10 Technological Education credit as part of their Ontario Secondary School Diploma. These courses will allow students to explore and apply fundamental technological concepts as well as the engineering design process.
• Two experiential courses in Business Studies for students in Grades 9 and 10 will help students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, learn the importance of taking initiative, find creative solutions to issues as well as learn how to start and run a business.
• For Grade 10 students, mandatory learning on mental health literacy has been expanded in the Career Studies course. Students will learn how to recognize the signs of being overwhelmed as well as where to find help locally when needed.

By Staff

August 29th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

Scooterize – a new downtown business – located on 2086  Pine Street, founded with a simple yet powerful vision: to transform how people navigate through cities. Frustrated by traffic congestion, pollution, and limited transportation options, the three friends set out to create a solution that would not only address these challenges but also promote environmental sustainability.

“We decided to take a leap of faith and start a business together because we believed in the power of our friendship and our ability to work really well together. We knew that starting a business would be a challenging journey, but we were confident that our friendship would be the foundation that would hold us together through thick and thin.”

Learn more about this unique mode of transportation by clicking the links below. Rates are posted as $20 an hour – you can rent a snazzy helmut as well.

Worth a try – could be fun.

Email: info@scooterize.ca
Phone: +1 (416) 951-8683

You can book at scooter HERE

The three Amigos -“in it together through thick and thin.”

By Ray Rivers

August 28^th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

Democratic Party candidate for president Kamala Harris lived in Montreal and attended school there for 5 years in the late seventies.   Had she applied for citizenship she most likely would have been eligible, since Canadian citizenship requires only three years residency over a five year period.  But she didn’t.

And interestingly, her Canadian connection was pretty well hidden despite the various recitations of her upbringing at the recent Democratic National Convention (DNC).  In fact I can’t recall her even mentioning the great white north in her acceptance speech.  That probably says it all for those Canadians wondering/hoping if she’d be ‘Canada’s president’ as well.

Harris’ choice for the VP slot, Tim Walz, is the governor of the neighbouring dairy state of Minnesota.  He is considered a friend of Canada and was welcomed as such by Mr. Ford when Walz visited Toronto earlier this year.  But coming from a dairy producing state in the union, Mr. Walz is just as much a threat.  Notwithstanding that Canada is already Minnesota’s largest largest export customer, they’re still gunning to break up our dairy market so they can dump even more cheap cheese, butter and milk into our stores.

As a US senator during the Trump years Harris, had voted against the renewed NAFTA (USMCA), in part because she felt it had failed to sufficiently address climate change.  That may have had a lot to do with then president Trump being the climate denier-in-chief.  Still, the Trudeau Liberals would have been on-side with her complaints, despite wanting to conclude this important trade deal – which they did to Canada’s advantage.

Doug Ford with then Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz. Ford has a Minnesota license plate – he gave the Governor a football. So at least they will take each others phone calls.

USMCA is set for renewal in 2026.  One could speculate that were both she and Mr. Trudeau to win their upcoming elections, there could be some serious two-amigo/amiga bilateral cooperation with regard to global warming initiatives.  But while current polling slightly favours Harris, Mr. Trudeau’s party is polling in the toilet – destined to see the Libs out on the street, rather than in the House of Commons.

Canada’s own national climate denier-in-chief would probably be most comfortable with a Donald Trump victory.  He could assume a position in Trump’s back pocket as his ideological sidekick.  And the two would be heard across the land chanting ‘drill-baby-drill’.  So we should expect no tender moments between a president Harris and a PM Poilievre, unless Canada’s Conservative leader gets a heart transplant.

Recently the Biden/Harris leadership has been pushing a harder line regarding Canada’s failure to meet its NATO military spending requirements until possibly 2032.  There can be no soft spot for any nation which thinks it can ride on the military coattails of others.   And that won’t change regardless of who becomes the president and who becomes Canada’s next PM.

Softwood lumber trading has always been an issue between Canada and the United States.

The Biden/ Harris government has recently nearly doubled import duties on Canadian softwood lumber exports into the US.   A president Harris is unlikely to backtrack on that decision to which she was a party – whether she had once lived in Montreal or not.  And so much for that USMCA.

There are policy wonks in the democratic party who would love to see selective ‘green’ tariffs on dirty imports from dirty nations.  That is a problematic philosophy since cleaner/low carbon has been found to be economically less costly than conventional production in many cases.  Sanctions or outright bans might be easier.  And as far as Canada goes, only coal is dirtier than the oil from the oil-sands products we export to the USA.

Mr. Trump’s proposed blanket 10% tariff on all imports into the US would be very disruptive for Canada.  To be given exemption, Canadians would be forced to grovel and probably give up some existing trade advantages.  Or this might result in the end of NAFTA, to the delight of Canadian nationalists and America protectionists, including Mr. Trump.

In the end it would be naive to think that a president Harris would show a ‘soft spot’ for Canada, even if she truly possessed one.  The best Canadians could hope for is some continued cordiality from Washington.  Given her demeanour, she would clearly be a more congenial partner for Canada regardless of the outcome of our own 2025 federal election.   And for a Canadian that is about all the ‘soft spot’ we should expect to see from Kamala Harris.

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:

Kamala and Canada –   Soft Spot for Canada

Tim Walz –   Trump’s Tariffs –

By Pepper Parr

August 27^th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

Kearns: Anxiety and a tight grip.

Lisa Kearns – City Councillor for ward 2 held a Town Hall meeting at the Lions Club on Monday.  The house was packed – ward residents wanted to know what the plans for a 29 storey tower on Caroline Street between John and Elizabeth was about – most people understood that the development was going to be a six to eight storey structure.

When Kearns puts on a community meeting two things usually happen: she does most of the talking and let’s go with some pretty chirpy comments.

I’d not crossed paths with Kearns for some time.  One has to appreciate that she is consistent in keeping in touch with her constituents.  She has done that from the day she was elected.

The first thing Kearns told me was that the Mayor and her husband were attending; something pays close attention to. What the Mayor does is of significant interest to Lisa Kearns. ““She is here as a resident”, said Kearns.

Kearns is probably going to run for the Office of Mayor; if not probably (she could change her minds – she has done that before) – it is something that occupies her mind. .  Mayor Meed Ward’s decision to keep some of the Strong Mayor powers to herself did not go down all that well with Kearns along with Councillors Stolte, Nisan and Galbraith.

Nisan and Galbraith drifted away – they got over it.  Stolte hung in – Kearns took on a certain state of resolve.  There is now a level of ‘electricy’ in the air at Council meetings when the two of them tangle – which happens at almost every meeting of Council.

The Mayor didn’t ask any questions during the meeting – but I left at the 90 minute point – Kearns had said she would stay and answer questions for as long as necessary.

Kearns didn’t fail to find a different way to explain something she couldn’t completely remember. Referring to the amount of time the city has to respond to a development application she said: “It used to be a lot of days then it became a little bit less of days.”

Kearns: a sense of humour with a quick repartee.

When she relaxes Kearns can be very funny and still stay on topic. She has the best mind on this council.  She wraps her mind around the technical stuff and often out ‘Sharmans’ Councillor Sharman.

She is a diehard policy wonk.  If she could drop the anxiety and summon up the kahonies she demonstrated when she strut into the Reverse Town Hall then Mayor Goldring was holding and basically took over his meeting, she would be a shoe in for a higher level of office. Rick didn’t see it coming and wasn’t able to regain control.

Kearns: She can be tough – it just isn’t consistent.

The back and forth between the Mayor and Kearns at times leaves the impression that we are watching two cats with their claws out..  Meeow!

Kearns works hard – she sits on the Police Services Board representing the Region – a level at which Kearns is not as efficient as she is at Council.

The arc of her political experience up to this point has her standing as a nominee for the provincial Liberal seat – which she dropped out of within three days when it appeared someone else would be running.  The reason given was a little limp.

There are times when Kearns presses the panic button.  There was an occasion when she blurted out some confidential information during virtual meeting of the Burlington Downtown Business Association related to the amount of money the city was prepared to spend on defending a position at a   Land Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), now known as the Ontario Land Tribunal.

Kearns went to speed dial to the city’s Integrity Commissioner and pleading with the Gazette to pull the story we had published.

One wonders how she would handle real pressure – a crisis somewhere.  Seeing her as rock solid on an issue isn’t easy to do.

Were Kearns to run against Meed Ward – what would the outcome be?  Meed Ward lost at her first two attempts for a public office; she ran against PC Joyce Savoline for the Burlington seat in the provincial and then lost to Rick Craven in ward 1 for a seat on Council.  She then moved from that ward into ward 2 where Peter Thoem was easier to beat.

Kearns has the better mind, she thinks faster than Meed Ward, would have a deeper understanding of the technical stuff.  But Meed Ward has been at the game for far longer.

They both have this addiction to photo ops.  On the confidence side – Meed Ward is the stronger of the two.

Meed Ward will have served the city for four terms: two as the ward 2 Councillor and two as Mayor.  The bloom does go off the rose over time – and that is certainly the case with Meed Ward. In 2018 those who voted for her, and the vast majority of them did, believing she would solve what most saw as over development in the downtown core.

Meed Ward will take the position that she managed to get the Urban Growth Centre boundaries moved north, she certainly deserves at least some of the credit for that, but she didn’t come through with anything in the way of an initiative to save the “football’ that space between Old Lakeshore Road and Lakeshore Road. When completed it will be as dense as Manhatten.

At some point the location will re-open.

The only saving grace is that Emma’s Back Porch will reopen when the high rise construction comes to an end.  Late in the Goldring term of office there were some 18 different property owners within the football – the developers saw the opportunity and began assembling the land.

Former Toronto Mayor David Crombie once told the Waterfront Advisory committee that there was an opportunity – but Goldring didn’t pick up on it.  Meed Ward basically owned the volunteer Save the Waterfront Committee and made saving the waterfront her single election platform in 2010

Were Kearns to throw her hat into the Mayoralty race, she hasn’t said publicly that she is even interested, – who would step up to the plate for the ward 2 seat.

Related news story:

Town Hall meeting about 2030 Caroline

Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.