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A Council committee voted for a bylaw that would make face masks mandatory - with a long list of exceptions - it goes to Council on Monday.

By Pepper Parr

July 9th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

Well – they passed it at Standing Committee.

After three solid hours of debate during which one delegation suggested that the views of the average citizen should take precedence over the views of the Medical Officer of Health (MOH).

The same delegation asked where the MOH was getting her information.

Jim Young did a solid delegation for a bylaw that would make face masks mandatory with a long list of exceptions.

The intention is to pass the bylaw at city council on the 13th – it will include an allotment of $10,000 to cover the cost of masks for those who can’t afford one.

The community produced 3000 cloth masks – cost free to anyone who needed one – that was two months ago.

The Gazette lead an initiative that provided 3,000 cloth face masks to the community months ago. That initiative involved hundreds of volunteer hours put in before each mask was quarantined for 72 hours and given to anyone who wanted one.

Councillors Stolte and Galbraith handed out masks to people in their wards.

What struck us as we listened to the debate that really did go on and on – and on, was that we have yet to see a photograph with the Mayor wearing a mask.

We always thought that one led by example.

Chair Rory Nisan hands his hands full keeping the debate on topic.

Rory Nisan serving as chair did a solid job of trying to keep the discussion on topic – he didn’t always succeed – the cats just were not going to be herded.Come Monday we will have a bylaw – what it will say isn’t clear yet.

The one point made during the debate was that the anything COVID19 related was very fluid – changes by the hour.

The vote was 7-0

The story behind how Burlington welcomed Terry Fox in 1980 - First in a series.

Terry Fox as he passed through Burlington on July 13th, 1980.

The Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research, an annual event in Burlington since 1981, won’t take place this year in its usual form. The physical distancing rules due to the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t permit large gatherings. And Terry Fox events are very large gatherings

This isn’t just in Burlington, but runs across the country. Volunteers from this outstanding community have worked hard for 39 years to grow the event to the point where it has raised $2.2 million for cancer research.

They were not prepared to just let the event dribble away – it was going to take more than a pandemic to close them down.

After the Foundation announced that the 40th Terry Fox Run would be a virtual event, the Burlington Terry Fox Run Committee decided to take a creative approach to informing the community and telling parts of the unknown story.

Profiles of the people who got the event to where it is today appear on the Terry Fox Lives in Burlington blog and are being republished by the Gazette with permission.

By Burlington Terry Fox Run Committee

July 9th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

Greg Pace
While we all know that the first Terry Fox Run was the Marathon of Hope – Terry Fox’s heroic, but shortened run across Canada for Cancer Research in 1980, but the first run as we know it today actually happened in 1981.

Terry Fox sadly passed away from cancer on June 28, 1981. Canadians were heartbroken. At this time communities across the country were organizing smaller runs for September of that year. Greg Pace, an athletic 20-something Burlingtonian, approached the Canadian Cancer Society (the Terry Fox Foundation was not yet established) about being the race director for Burlington’s first community run.

Greg Pace – that surname is on the right man.

Greg, who has plenty of race director credits under his belt today, had little experience in 1981, but had a love for running and was inspired by the cause.

While our run has happened on the waterfront for many years now (Beachway Park and Spencer Smith Park), the 1981 run was a 10 km route in and around Sherwood Forest Park. Today’s Sherwood Forest Park is dotted with ball diamonds, soccer fields and groomed grounds, however, it wasn’t that well-developed in the early 80s.

Greg recalls one participant completing the course in her wheelchair.

“I remember seeing her do that little ravine through the mud in her wheelchair…it was one of those huge motivating things…I saw her try to back her wheelchair up a hill. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place, because obviously she was the last finisher.”

We continue to see people of all ages and abilities participate in the Terry Fox Run to this day.
Beyond 1981

Greg stayed on as Race Director/Chair for several more years. The first three years were held at Sherwood park with the 10k route. It then moved to Downtown Burlington near City Hall. Greg recalls that this was a 5k loop.

This is what flyers used to look like – Adobe software didn’t exist then. Mimeograph machines were what we used.

The first year, in 1981, the run was organized by Greg Pace and a few of his friends. It eventually evolved into a committee, which is how the runs are organized today. Greg was lucky to get to work with some very interesting people during his time as chair. From a local phys. ed teacher to local fundraising gurus – Greg had a diverse and experienced team behind him. His core committee included Chris Dooley, Fran Agnew and Margaret MacVinnie.

As the team got stronger, Greg was ready to let go of the reins.

“After the fourth or fifth year we gave it up and actually tried to recruit some people to take it over. The person that we recruited…about a month prior to it [the run] just said, ‘yeah, I’m not interested in doing it,’ so we had to scramble.” Greg Pace and his committee organized a couple more runs after that before handing it over to Burt McGrath.

Message of Hope
“Keep him in mind.”
– Greg Pace

I asked Greg for words of inspiration to help our community stay motivated for the cause during these difficult times. His message was simple. Keep Terry in mind.

He also said that if everyone whose life has been touched by cancer did something – raised a dollar or more – it would make a difference.

Greg Pace out on a regular run with a colleague.

It’s important to keep all those spirits alive. So, whatever you do, whether it’s a 5k walk or run, writing an inspiring message in chalk on your driveway or hosting a virtual party, do it with Terry Fox in mind.

Though Greg stays behind the scenes these days, he’s still a big supporter of the foundation and our local Burlington run. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us and sharing your stories and experiences.

Photographs and clippings provided by Greg Pace from his private collection, donated to the Burlington Terry Fox Run Committee

Mayor says 'great news' - look that gift horse in the mouth.

By Pepper Parr

July 9th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

In her A Better Burlington newsletter Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said: “We received great news from the Province today giving municipal councils the ability to meet electronically and allow proxy votes, allowing court proceedings to be conducted electronically and other measures that will now be permanent post-COVID-19.”

Meeting virtually has limited public participation in the proceedings of council significantly which seems to be acceptable to the current council.

The balance of her newsletter is set out below.

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward at a Council meeting.

“I had the privilege today of joining mayors across Ontario on a conference call with Premier Doug Ford and the Hon. Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to hear directly from them about the changes, and additional measures outlined in the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act.

“These were also outlined in a letter sent to heads of council (Minister’s Letter – COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act – 8 July 2020), and a media release available here.

“Last week, the Halton Regional Chair, on behalf of the four mayors and municipalities of Halton, wrote to the Premier to ask for these changes to be made permanent. To read that letter, click here: Halton Region Chair Letter to Premier re Virtual Meetings – June 29 2020.

“Halton municipalities have been holding virtual meetings throughout the pandemic with great success to conduct the business of our municipalities while continuing to serve our residents and provide opportunities for important public input.

“The Province heard us.

“We are still going through the legislation that covers a range of matters on development, economic recovery, and changes to the community benefits charges. Some of these include changes to the existing Minister’s zoning order to provide more certainty when fast-tracking the development of transit-oriented communities; making it faster to update and harmonize the Building Code so that we can break down interprovincial trade barriers; and permanently establishing the office of the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator to help solve complex land-use issues.

“My team and city staff are still going through the legislation and we’ll provide more details in the coming days, but what we’ve reviewed so far shows the Province has listened to mayors and municipal councils and made positive steps forward.

“This is great news, and I would personally like to thank Premier Ford and Minister Clark for consulting with us, listening and making changes.

“Today’s announcement is important in ensuring the safety of members of Councils, staff and the public while we continue our business of serving our communities.”

Road Closure: North Shore Boulevard East, July 18 - 19, 2020

By Staff

July 8th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

North Shore Boulevard will be fully closed in both directions for bridge demolition work beginning Saturday, July 18 at 10 p.m., until Sunday, July 19 at 10 a.m.

The closure will extend from the traffic signal on the east side of the QEW to the traffic signal on the west side of the QEW. This work is part of MTO Contract No. 2018-2015 (HWY QEW South of Fairview Street to North of Lakeshore Road).

Access ramps from Northshore Boulevard westbound to Toronto and Northshore Boulevard eastbound to Niagara will remain open.

Ward Councillor and Mayor sponsoring a motion that will require people to wear face masks

By Pepper Parr

July 7th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

Sit down for this one.

At a meeting on Thursday Council is going to consider the following motion. It contains seven Whereas’s.

The essence of the motion that is sponsored by ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte and Mayor Marianne Meed Ward is for Council to enact a temporary bylaw requiring individuals, organizations or corporations that are responsible for the operation of a facility or business, which have indoor, enclosed spaces open to the public, to ensure no member of the public is permitted unless wearing a mask or face covering in a manner which covers their mouth, nose and chin, subject to the exemptions below, to help limit the spread of COVID-19

The movers of the motion also want the city to spend up to $10,000 to cover the cost of free masks to those who cannot afford one.

The movers of a motion to make face masks mandatory in public places

The complete motion is set out below. It is, at this point, just a motion. It has to be debated and voted upon and then sent to a meeting of city council on the 13th where it will have to be approved.

Recommendation:
1. Council approve the following motion:

WHEREAS the spread of COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the City of Burlington has declared a State of Emergency, and the province remains under emergency orders due to the health risks to Ontario residents arising from COVID-19; and

WHEREAS COVID-19 continues to be present within the City of Burlington and surrounding municipalities, and is a disease that is readily communicable from person to person, even with minimal or no signs of symptoms or illness, and carrying a risk of serious complications such as pneumonia or respiratory failure, mulitiple organ failure, kidney failure, liver failure, neurological complications, and may result in death; and

WHEREAS there is a growing body of evidence on the effectiveness of masks and face coverings to act as a barrier to prevent the spread of COVID-19; and

WHEREAS the wearing of masks and face coverings may act as an ongoing visual clue and reminder that public health measures, including hand-washing and maintaining a safe physical distance from others, are still required, that the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing and that a resurgence of local disease activity remains an ongoing threat; and

WHEREAS the Province of Ontario has enacted O. Reg.263/20 (Stage 2 Closures) under Subsection 7.0.2 (4) of Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to permit certain businesses to reopen for attendance by members of the public subject to conditions, including the advice, recommendations and instructions of public health officials; and

WHEREAS physical distancing can be difficult to maintain in enclosed, indoor spaces open to the public; and

WHEREAS the City of Burlington wants to be prepared for the eventual Stage 3 reopenings under the provincial Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, and use every tool available to protect residents from a resurgence of COVID-19.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Burlington City Council enact a temporary bylaw requiring individuals, organizations or corporations that are responsible for the operation of a facility or business, which have indoor, enclosed spaces open to the public, to ensure no member of the public is permitted unless wearing a mask or face covering in a manner which covers their mouth, nose and chin, subject to the exemptions below, to help limit the spread of COVID-19; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the operator of such facilities or businesses that are open to the public, shall conspicuously post at all entrances to the facility or business clearly visible signage outlining the requirements and exemptions of this bylaw; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the public attending facilities or businesses that are open to the public shall wear a mask or face covering in a manner which covers their mouth, nose and chin, subject to the exemptions below, and unless it is reasonably required to temporarily remove the covering to access services provided by the establishment, or while actively engaging in an athletic or fitness acuity during physical activity, and exemptions may be accommodated if:

a. The person is under three years of age.
b. The person has an underlying medical condition or developmental disability which inhibits their ability to wear a mask or face covering, or other physical disability whereby the wearing of a mask or face covering would limit their ability to reasonably communicate with others.
c. Wearing a face covering would inhibit the person’s ability to breathe in any way.
d. The person is unable to place or remove a mask or face covering without assistance.
e. Employees and agents of the person responsible for the establishment are within an area designated for them and not for public access, or within or behind a physical barrier.
f. Staff identify any other such exemptions that may be advisable.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that employees working with members of the public in an enclosed, indoor space must also wear a mask or face covering, unless they are in an area not for public access, or they meet one of the exemptions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that employees or members of the public shall not be required to provide proof of any of the exemptions set out herein; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the bylaw apply to all City of Burlington indoor facilities open to the public such as community centres, city hall, libraries, art gallery, performing arts centre, and public transit; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the bylaw be in force for a temporary period of time, beginning July 20 and expiring September 30, 2020, unless extended or revoked by City Council; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Director of Legal Services & Corporation Counsel be directed to prepare the necessary bylaw for consideration by City Council on July 13, 2020; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Corporate Communications & Government Relations be directed to develop a communications campaign during the first month the bylaw comes into force and effect to assist residents and businesses to understand the bylaw and exemptions, assist with voluntary compliance, and where people can acquire masks; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that council request that the Region of Halton present a mandatory mask bylaw for consideration by Regional Council at its meeting of July 15, 2020 to ensure consistency across the region; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that council request the Province of Ontario to enact a mandatory mask order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act for those regions that have entered Stage 2 reopening, and/or will enter Stage 3 reopening; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that council request the Government of Canada to enact a mandatory mask policy; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this report be circulated to the Region of Halton, Towns of Halton Hills, Oakville and Milton, all Halton Members of Provincial Parliament, Members of Parliament, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

2. Direct the Chief Financial Officer to establish an initial grant of $10,000 to provide non-medical masks free of charge for community members who lack the financial means to purchase them, via application and submission of receipts, funded from the city’s COVID-19 account, and direct the City Manager’s Office to report back to the August 13, 2020 Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee on a plan for providing masks to in-need community members including such additional options as:

a. seeking a sponsor to fund or procure/provide masks that would be supplied free of charge to the public, with the sponsor and/or city logo displayed on the mask, and distributed by the city or through the sponsor;

b. issuing a request for proposals to local businesses to provide a quote on the cost to supply the city with masks that can be distributed to the public, either by the city or by the business, then billed to the city;

c. purchasing masks that can be distributed to members of the public, on a request basis, or made available at the entry to city facilities, once opened;

d. providing grant funding to residents to purchase their own mask, subject to quantity and cost limitations, and an application process;

e. other options as they may arise.

3. Direct the City Manager to report back to the August 13, 2020 Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee on potential grant funding for businesses and commercial establishments to assist with the cost of signage and masks as mandated by this bylaw, retroactive to the effective in-force date of the bylaw, subject to appropriate criteria.

4. That City Council seek matching funding from Halton Region at 50% or more of total costs to implement assistance to residents and businesses, given the Region’s role in health care delivery, social service delivery and business supports.

Some council members are finding that the Mayor isn't quite what was advertised.

By Pepper Parr

July 8th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

The Mayor was in a bit of a bind.

She was, uncharacteristically, tip toeing around the issue of face masks.

Mayor Meed Ward at a council meeting before things went virtual

In her most recent public comment the Mayor set out a lot of rationale and examples of what other municipalities were doing. But she still hadn’t taken a strong position.

She followed that up by saying that the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) wasn’t on side – so she, the Mayor, wasn’t going to take a position.

The Gazette published a very strong opinion piece on that.

When it became evident that there wasn’t much in the way of support for the Mayor’s indecision (Social media was crucifying her) she announced that she was going to put forward a motion requiring people to wear face masks in specific situations.

Hold on chimed in ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stole, who is proving to be a rather strong first term councillor. She was the one who pushed for turning some of the road space over to pedestrians – and that is what we have.

Stolte felt very strong that face masks should be required in public places. Transit requires that riders wear a mask; one 9f the major supermarkets asks people to wear a mask.

Ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte: bringing a stronger sense of purpose to council that was not seen when she was elected.

Stolte felt that the Mayor was undercutting her initiative and she decided, after a flurry of emails between the two, that a face to face meeting was necessary. That is believed to have taken place last Sunday.

Prior to the Sunday meeting, in an email to a resident Councillor Stolte said:

“I am sitting in my office as we speak finishing my Motion to Council seeking Mandating the Wearing of Masks in all indoor spaces that are accessible to the public.

“I had advised the Mayor and other Councillors repeatedly since June 23 that I would be advocating for a Mandatory Mask Bylaw as I am completely on the same page as yourself and 85% of the population of Burlington.

“The decision announced by the Mayor this past Tuesday was a complete surprise to all of us on Council as there had been no input or conversation about the issue prior to the announcement.

“This has resulted in very intense conversations between the Mayor and myself about respect and the decision making process.

“My Motion will still be coming forward this week, there is certainly not consensus on Council, so not sure how the vote will go.
The Mayor announced this morning that she will be bringing her own Motion (different theme than mine) to Council as well this week, so I just finished an email to the City Clerk asking what the procedural process is for this particular conflict.

“We continue to be in interesting times, but I promise you I will be pushing for this.

“By the way, if you have (name redacted) email could you please forward this message to him as well.”

The two worked something out – because today we see a very lengthy motion sponsored by the two woman (with the name of the Councillor placed before that of the Mayor (and that stuff matters in the worlds of politics)

“We have heard from our community and together” said the Mayor in her Newsletter, “we are bringing forward a proposed mandatory mask bylaw for Burlington. It will be discussed at the July 9 Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability (CSSRA) Committee, with a final vote at council Monday July 13. The proposed temporary bylaw would mandate the wearing of face coverings in all indoor, public spaces in the City of Burlington.

How did they get to his point and are the issues between the Mayor and her Council patched up? Hard to tell.

They all loved her on election night.

It looks as if the Councillor and the Mayor ironed out the differences. Those differences are not between just Stolte and Meed Ward. There have been concerns about the Mayor not working with the Council members and not giving them the respect they believe they have earned.

The five members of council elected in October of 2018 wanted to pull together and not only be seen to be working together but actually working together.

How did the Mayor square things with the Councillor who was not a happy camper. We may never know – only time will tell if the Mayor has the capacity to listen to the members of Council.

Not what we thought we were electing as Mayor that October 18th was it?

Deep Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program has council excited - staff puts forward a time line council wants to change. This is a biggy - but awkward administratively.

By Pepper Parr

July 6th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

If you don’t own a house or are not interested in upgrading your property and contributing to lower GHG emissions – take a pass on this story.

Have you heard of the Deep Energy Retrofit Program?

Few have.

Discussed at some length at council on Monday the report brought to the table some novel ideas that were enthusiastically endorsed by most council members.

Councillor Bentivegna wanted to know where the money to pay for it all was going to come from.

What is a Deep Energy Retrofit Program?
A deep energy retrofit program involves a systems approach to reduce carbon emissions from existing buildings, with a focus on those measures which will reduce and/or eliminate the use of fossil fuels as a source of energy. Typically, there is a hierarchy of measures which can be implemented:

Ward 4 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna wanted to know who and how the xxx was going to be paid for. He didn’t get much of an answer

• Adding insulation
• Sealing air leaks
• Upgrading mechanical systems
• Replacing windows and/or doors
• Water efficiency upgrades
• Thermal controls
• Renewable energy

Depending on the work required, a full energy retrofit can cost up to $30,000. Retrofits can be more cost effective if timed with home renovations.

Now you know why Bentivegna wanted to know where those dollars were going to come from.

Council was more focused on how they were going to educate the public on the benefits and then how to take part in the program.

What they wanted most was to get on with it.

The Deep Energy Retrofit Program was a sort of next step once the city had declared a Climate Change emergency followed by a Climate Action plan.

Council was presented with a number of options in a report that was to be Received and Filed. This report however was not going to be placed on a shelf to gather dust.

Interestingly – Council also got a report on the 75th Burlington Hydro Anniversary. During the Deep Refit debate Burlington Hydro was pulled into how the program would roll out – it wasn’t what they were expecting.

The Hydro people may have logged out of the Zoom based meeting before the refitting of the residential structures was debated. City Manager Tim Commisso assured Council that both he and the Mayor site on the Hydro Board – they would be reminding that Board that the city owns the company.

Direct the Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services to continue to work with partners, stakeholders and municipalities listed in an environment, infrastructure and community services report and report back before the end of 2020 with final recommendations, including resources and actions required to implement a deep energy efficiency retrofit program for homes in Burlington.

Council didn’t want to wait that long.

Expect them to make a decision on a possible pilot program that will be made available to those citizens who are sold on the climate change issue and will be ready to put their money on the table.

Councillor Sharman wants to see a list of reliable contractors.

Councillor Sharman told his sad story (several times actually) on his troubles getting a Backwater Valve set up in his home.

The Mayor reported that her Backwater Valve installation was a breeze and offered to help Sharman on his next upgrade.

The purpose of this report is to provide options to deliver a residential deep energy retrofit program in Burlington, a priority program area identified in the recently approved Climate Action Plan for Burlington.

This report provides a summary of the measures required to support the development of a Deep Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program for homes in Burlington, including the development of a community engagement plan, which would involve:

• Updating the city’s Environment webpage with information;
• Supporting the Bay Area Climate Change Council (BACCC) to develop a home energy efficiency retrofit accelerator program;
• Working with BACCC and the Clean Air Partnership to engage the business sector (contractors, trades and retailers);
• Working with the Burlington Climate Action Plan community stakeholders, such as Enbridge, to promote specific measures to improve home energy efficiency;
• Co-promote related actions such as home resiliency measures and electric cars, bikes and equipment.
• Pursue partnerships to develop a demonstration centre to promote home efficiency and resiliency measures.

That didn’t really convey what this council wants to do. In that regard the report was on the weak side.

In April of this year Council approved the Climate Action Plan.

At that time they Direct(ed) the Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services to report back in Q2 2020 after the release of the federal budget with the latest information and updated proposed timelines for the home energy retrofit program and human resource requirements to meet the goals of the climate action plan.

Problem was – the federal government didn’t release a budget. It got consumed with the economic and social fallout of the COVID19 virus that was wreaking havoc across the country – we were all suddenly in various stages of a lockdown that the public was having difficulty coping with and complying with as well.

These are 2018 numbers – the carbon dioxide must be reduced.

The Deep Energy Retrofit Program was seen as a way to get something going economically and put a decent dent in the GHG that we put into the environment.

It is estimated in the Climate Action Plan for Burlington that 21,300 person years of employment will be created in total if the low carbon scenario pathway is followed to 2050, with 5,600 of those person years in the renewable energy market.

Municipalities benefit from the implementation of a home energy retrofit program through greenhouse gas emission reductions to help meeting community targets, improved reputation as an environmentally progressive community, reduced pressure on energy infrastructure and reduced air pollution.

In 2016, Burlington households, businesses and institutions spent $700 million on energy (fuel and electricity). As noted in the Climate Action Plan for Burlington, the local carbon scenario can reduce this amount by 36% or $270 million, energy saving dollars that can be invested back into the local community.

Homeowners benefit from a home energy efficiency retrofit by mitigating future energy cost increases; achieving a healthier and comfortable home; increasing property value; and improving resiliency to power outages and extreme temperatures.

The optics of a program like this for the current city council are wonderful – they love this one. Making it happen is much much easier said than done,

The report says: Developing a comprehensive building energy retrofit program is not easy – if it was, there would be more programs in existence in Ontario than just Toronto given that Ontario municipalities have had the authority to use Local Improvement Charges (LICs) as a means of financing since 2012. Developing and delivering a program requires funding and staff time to administer applications, agreements, and deal with legal and financing issues. The residential home sector is challenging to target as it is disbursed and varies by demographics, home condition, type and age, household incomes, etc.

Successful uptake is challenging – a comprehensive marketing program is required.

From a property owner perspective, the process can been seen as challenging both from technical knowledge and implementation. Very few people really want to manage contractors for renovations – different contractors are required for insulation and air sealing, mechanicals, windows, EV chargers and renewable energy. Addressing the building envelope upgrades and fuel switching to low carbon fuel requires a longer term for a financial pay back which is made even more challenging with the relatively low cost of natural gas as a source of energy.

Lastly, the market expects rebates to be available as incentives, not financing.

Factors for a Home Energy Retrofit Program
There are many factors to consider when developing a home energy retrofit program, such as:

• Marketing plan to promote the benefits of energy retrofits and the program to homeowners
• Home energy audit assessment and report (and follow-up after efficiency measures have been implemented)
• Contractor engagement (specifying upgrade works, selecting & managing contractors; completing improvements; verifying improvements)

Where the homeowner is seeking financing assistance:

• Development of an application pre-qualification process (own home, no tax arrears, etc.)
• Funding application process – review and approval
• Property owners agreement & financing schedule
• LIC repayment process
• Loan loss reserve fund – to cover loan defaults (based on other jurisdictions, this is a rare occurrence)
• Support to guide homeowners through the process (concierge approach)

Municipal Role for Promoting Home Energy Efficiency Retrofits
Municipalities can play a role in helping home owners understand what is meant by a deep energy retrofit and the specific energy efficiency measures involved in a retrofit. Similarly, an engagement program is necessary for trades, contractors and retailers on measures involved in a deep energy retrofit program so that the industry is aligned with this program.

Fortunately, the city can work with other entities and local municipalities on reaching out to these sectors. The Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk is working with the Bay Area Climate Change Council (BACCC) to create an Implementation Team which could pursue the development of a retrofit accelerator program, providing support to homeowners. BACCC also recognizes the need to reach out to trades and retailers to increase knowledge and skills in this area, hosting workshops and conferences. The Clean Air Partnership (CAP) is also working with local colleges and organizations to develop training and certification programs in this area. Both BACCC and CAP plan to develop one stop shop websites to support deep energy retrofit programs, with BACCC representing local resources for Hamilton and Burlington communities and CAP’s taking a provincial approach but linking to local websites.

Financing Alternatives for Implementing Home Energy Retrofits
As previously indicated, comprehensive home energy retrofits can be significant financial investment to property owners that have the benefit of increasing home value and decreasing on going energy costs over the long term. Options available for financing these improvements including utilizing own source funds or savings or borrowing through financial institutions including utilization of homeowner lines of credit or re financing mortgages for more significant projects that may be part of larger home renovations. Municipalities also have the ability to support financing deep energy retrofit programs by providing low interest loans to homeowners through the Local Improvement Charge (LIC) program on property tax bills.

Local Improvement Charges
LICs are special temporary charges that are added to a property tax bill to pay for improvements that benefit the property owners. Traditionally, these charges have been used in Ontario as a mechanism to recover the costs from affected properties for local block level infrastructure improvements (sidewalks, lighting, sewage projects, etc.).

The province amended the Municipal Act in 2012 to allow municipalities to enter into voluntary financing agreements with property owners who will benefit from the improvements. LICs are available to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation measures voluntarily carried out by individual property owners on their buildings. An LIC program provides homeowners with a loan to carry out these measures on their property. The homeowner pays for the measures and repays the loan through regular charges added to the property tax bills. The full cost of the program, including all associated administration costs and interest charges, are included in the loan or charged as a separate fee.

To date, the City of Toronto has been the only municipality in Ontario to implement an LIC program. In 2014, the City of Toronto launched two programs: HELP (home energy loan program) and Hi-RIS (high rise retrofit improvement support program for multi- residential buildings). As of June 2019, almost $14.9 million in financing has been committed to over 202 properties participating in the programs, reducing over 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Under the HELP program specifically, $4.87 million in financing was issued to support 187 home retrofits (average loan of $22,000), resulting in a 30% reduction in home energy consumption and 28% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Participants also pay an administration fee on top of the loan of 2%.

The Clean Air Partnership has completed a ‘Toolkit for Municipalities – Accelerating Home Energy Retrofits Through Local Improvement Charge Programs’ with the support of a number of municipalities in Ontario, including Burlington. The following description of LICs is based on the information provided in the toolkit.

A unique characteristic of LIC financing is that the loan is tied to the property and can be transferred to the new owner when the home is sold. LIC financing is one tool in the toolbox available to encourage residents to invest in energy efficiency retrofits.

Challenges to Utilizing LIC Financing Mechanism
The initial capital costs required to facilitate widespread adoption of retrofit projects through LIC programs are significant. Many municipalities are already struggling to fund programs, services, and infrastructure upgrades, particularly during the Covid crisis.

There has been concerns related to whether LIC loans adversely impact the municipal debt limit imposed on municipalities by the province; this is to be further explored. The debt recovery related to LICs are recovered from individual property owners and not through general revenue collection from property taxes

Mortgage lender approval can be difficult due to the priority lien status of local improvement charges. There is a very small, potential of a financial risk to financial institutions who are providing mortgages for a property with a LIC lien attached to it.

For municipalities, a loan loss reserve fund covered by the tax base may be required to manage the low risk of loan defaults. For example, staff have been advised that the State of California, with $3.6 billion in loans, set up a fund to cover defaults, yet no claims have been made since its establishment in 2014.

Options to Deliver a Home Energy Retrofit Financing Program
Two options are available to setting up a financing program to support homeowners interested in completing a home energy efficiency retrofit.

Guelph merged their hydro operation with Hamilton’s. Burlington is one of the few hydro operations that has not become part of the consolidation that is taking place in local hydro operations.

1. City Run Program:
Burlington could opt to develop its own residential energy retrofit program and follow the lead of other municipalities that have completed detailed feasibility studies and business cases utilizing funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). As examples, the City of Windsor and Town of Newmarket each spent approximately $200,000 to complete feasibility studies. Windsor is planning to set up a separate arms-length municipal service corporation (Windsor’s recommended approach) with $400,000 as seed funding to hire a general manager and develop a business plan. Guelph has also set up a separate organization called Our Energy Guelph with an executive director and board of directors, with start-up funding acquired through the merger of Guelph Hydro with Alectra. Our Energy Guelph plans to focus their energy retrofit efforts on commercial and multi-residential properties. Burlington could pursue FCM funding to support a feasibility study to develop a local deep energy retrofit program.

2. 3rd Party Municipal Consortium Program:
Late in 2019, the Clean Air Partnership announced a consortium approach with the IESO (Independent Electricity System Operator), AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario), HRAI (Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada) and City of Toronto to serve as a 3rd party entity that would deliver on many of the above mentioned program actions in order to reduce the administrative burden home retrofit programs would have on municipalities. This approach would be able to achieve efficiencies of scale related to the start-up costs infrastructure investments required as part of these programs. There are four related objectives: 1) provide municipalities with a program that is flexible and adaptable to local circumstances and capacity; 2) provide customers with a simple, user-friendly program through a one-window service delivery model; 3) increase marketing and promotional opportunities in order to drive program uptake; and 4) achieve deep GHG emissions reductions through targeting old buildings for deep energy retrofits.

Finding the trades to do the work is one task – finding reliable, proven tradesman is a problem Councillor Sharman worries about – he would like to see Burlington Hydro involved in some of the trades vetting.

Next Steps to Develop a Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program Community Engagement Plan and Activities:
The following actions are recommended to build the knowledge and skills in the local community to support home energy efficiency retrofits, which can be implemented within the year. Due to Covid, creative approaches may be required in the shorter term to engage the various sectors online versus in person events. Staff will develop a community engagement plan to support home energy efficiency retrofits in the community, coordinating this work with local partners in this area, including:

1. Updating the city’s Environment webpage with additional information and links to support home energy efficiency retrofits. For example, the City of Toronto has developed a comprehensive website to promote energy efficient building measures – www.betterhomesTO.ca, supported by Natural Resources Canada, Toronto Hydro and Enbridge provides a great one stop shop for this type of information. The city may not need to duplicate this work but provide links to existing pages such as this one.

2. Continue to work with the Bay Area Climate Change Council and the Centre for Climate Change Management create a business case to develop an accelerator program in the Bay Area to assist homeowners with the process of implementing home energy efficiency measures. This approach would help to overcome one of the barriers that homeowners have of hiring contractors to complete renovations. This concierge service could be implemented prior to the development of a full energy retrofit program and may complement the work of the Clean Air Partnership but be provided at a local level.

3. Work with the Bay Area Climate Change Council and Clean Air Partnership to engage and increase knowledge in the local business sector, representing contractors, trades and retailers on measures required to complete a deep energy retrofit on homes.

4. Work with the city’s own Climate Action Plan community stakeholders to promote measures that homeowners can implement to improve energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint. For example, Enbridge Gas and other local contractors have expressed interest in the installation of hybrid heat pumps along with leak sealing and smart energy controls to improve energy performance.

5. In addition to promoting home energy retrofit actions, consideration can also be given to support measures to improve home resiliency (flood proofing) and adoption of electric vehicles, e-bikes and e-equipment (lawn mowers, trimmers and leaf blowers).

6. Consider the creation of a demonstration project at an existing city facility where property owners could visit to learn about energy efficient and resiliency measures to improve local buildings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Local partnerships and sponsorships could be pursued to participate in this project.

Developing a Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit Financing Program:
It is recommended that staff pursue joining the 3rd party municipal consortium program led by CAP with AMO, the IESO, HRAI and City of Toronto to develop and deliver a home energy retrofit program in Burlington. Joining the consortium would ensure that Burlington has the necessary support and expertise to develop a comprehensive program and overcome some of the challenges listed above.

Benefits to participating would include:

• A wider Ontario marketing campaign will be coordinated to enable holistic and consistent messaging delivered to as wide an audience at the least cost.
• A team approach to promote the program to the Ontario contractor community.
• Generic marketing material will be created for each municipality to customize by adding logos to the standard templates.

• Partnerships with other stakeholders to market the program by identifying and acting on promotion opportunities and monitor uptake to inform future outreach efforts.
• Streamline process for municipal onboarding.
• City of Toronto will support with program delivery advice based on their experience.
• CAP is proposing to assume the role of a concierge, providing support to guide applicants through the different stages of the process, by:
o streamlining the program application and approval processes;
o providing objective guidance to customers re: contractor selection, costs, and management;
o providing market research on some of the key questions/issues from customers and creating resources/processes to address them; and,
o gathering and documenting feedback on program improvements/issues.

The program is being designed to reduce the resource burden, but municipalities will still be required to complete the following:

• Pass an LIC by-law through council
• Define eligible measures and financial verification requirements (part of by-law)
• Final approval/rejection of application/contract with property owner
• Set up the structure to attach the loan to the property tax system for repayment
• Manage the payments to homeowners once they are accepted into the program
• Identify possible avenues to support uptake of the program via municipal and/or community outreach and promotion opportunities (bottom-up marketing approaches)

The Staff report opted for a home energy retrofit program as the recommended priority action in the Climate Action Plan, approved by council earlier this year, following a comprehensive community engagement program. Finance and Communications staff were engaged on this report. Stakeholders and agencies engaged in this report included the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College, the Clean Air Partnership, QUEST and Enbridge Gas. Discussions continue to be ongoing with other local and regional municipalities including Oakville, Halton Hills, Guelph, Waterloo Region, London and Windsor, among others.

The ‘Toolkit for Municipalities – Accelerating Home Energy Retrofits Through Local Improvement Charge Programs’ (2020) and the ‘Local Improvement Charge Financing Pilot Program Design for Residential Buildings in Ontario’ (Dunsky Energy Consulting 2013) were used as reference materials.

Financial Matters:
A recent Debt Policy Review report described the city’s ability to borrow money and assume non-tax supported debt which is widely used to support infrastructure requirements of community groups, stakeholders and other community partners. Non-tax supported debt is repaid by user fees, surcharges or loans. In the example of a deep energy retrofit program, loans to property owners would be recovered through a local improvement charge mechanism as described earlier in the report. LICs have traditionally been classified as non-tax supported debt as per the city’s debt policy similar to the city’s historical use of the local improvement charge for new road amenities such as sidewalks and included within the city’s debt limits.

Total Financial Impact
As per the strategy described above, the parameters of a Burlington tailored program are still to be developed, this is largely dependent upon further discussions with the municipal consortium and continued discussions with neighboring municipalities.

There is a possibility of shared resources, however, additional work is required to determine overall structure of the program and corresponding financial impact. Details include financial and staff support required to administer the program as it relates to LIC loans, agreements, interest rates, payment schedules, etc. Staff will work internally with the Finance and Legal Departments to address these details, associated funding requirements, and participate in meetings with the consortium group to help define the final program. As an example, to support 200 home energy retrofits using an average of $22,000 per home, the amount required would be $4.4 million.

Source of Funding
Further discussions with the Finance Department are required to finalize the financial support required to effectively administer a deep energy retrofit program for homes in Burlington. As discussions continue with the municipal consortium program, further clarity around the program will become available. Staff will report back on details surrounding financing required to deliver the program in the fall 2020, along with other program details as described above

Preliminary information was released earlier this year regarding the $300 million Community Efficiency Financing program announced by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to help municipalities deliver energy efficient financing programs to the low rise residential sector. Funding is available through loans and grants.

Generally, FCM will provide a smaller percentage of the financing via grants. Municipal applicants must contribute 20% of the total amount of the application, which can be capital dollars to support home energy loans as well as in-kind contributions.
Burlington was ineligible for the first phase of funding as it was only open to those municipalities that had completed a feasibility study for a home energy retrofit program. The next round of funding through this program is expected to support municipalities wishing to complete a feasibility study to implement a deep energy retrofit program.

FCM has advised that the round of funding applicable to the consortium of municipalities working together to develop a deep energy retrofit program will be available in early 2021. Participating municipalities will submit individual but coordinated applications. The funding would provide capital dollars to support the implementation of a home energy retrofit program and may be issued in a combination of a loan and a grant. Burlington would need to be prepared to contribute 20% of the program budget, some of which can be an in-kind contribution. This will be reviewed and considered as part of the 2021 budget process.

In addition to the FCM Community Efficiency Fund, the federal government has not issued any information about zero interest loans to homeowners to support home energy retrofit programs. If the federal government does follow through with program, it may negate the need to apply for FCM funding and implement a LIC program, unless the funding flows through municipalities.

Other Resource Impacts
It is expected that an additional full-time employee will be required to help support the delivery of a home energy retrofit program in Burlington, including coordinating efforts with municipal departments to set up the LIC program. Additional responsibilities will include coordination with local partners, overseeing marketing, communications and outreach, engaging trades and contractors and looking for ongoing opportunities to drive uptake of the program. However, staff will continue to work with our local partners and other nearby local municipalities to identify measures where we may be able to share and maximize the coordination of resources.

Climate Implications
Implementation of a Deep Energy Retrofit Program is one of the priority program areas as identified in the Climate Action Plan to reduce emissions and meet the goal for the Burlington community to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050. Based on the modelling completed by SSG (Sustainability Solutions Group) for the Climate Action Plan there is an opportunity to reduce over 1,400 kilo tonnes of equivalent carbon dioxide (ktCO2e) by implementing a residential deep energy retrofit program for existing residential buildings by 2050. In addition, over 2,600 ktCO2e can be reduced by installation of heat pumps (residential and commercial combined).

We see this all the time – it happened to us in 2014. It can be lessened – but someone has to begin to do something measurable. The current council has made this one of their defining programs.

Engagement Matters:
Staff will work with Communications and local partners/stakeholders to create a robust community engagement and marketing plan to promote the deep energy retrofit program, targeting homeowners as well as trades and contractors. Although a significant amount of promotion can occur online and through our community networks, additional funding may be required depending on some of the measures proposed in the plan.

The City of Burlington has set a target for the community to be net carbon zero by 2050. The development and implementation of a deep energy efficiency retrofit program for homes is necessary to achieve the low carbon scenario described in the Climate Action Plan for Burlington.

Courageous response by an assault victim leads to arrest.

By Staff

July 6th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

The Halton Regional Police Service has made an arrest in relation to an assault against an 18 year old female in the City of Burlington.

On the 5th of July 2020, the female victim was out for a walk along Palladium Way and observed a grey minivan drive past her a couple times slowly. As the female continued walking she came up to a forested area when she was suddenly grabbed from behind. The accused male proceeded to place one hand over her mouth preventing her from screaming and then grabbed her around the waist attempted to drag the female into the forested area. The female struggled with him causing them both to fall to the ground. The victim was able to escape at this point and proceeded to scream for help causing the male to flee the scene.

The accused ran back towards his parked grey minivan van which was previously observed by the victim. The female victim was able to take a cell phone video of the male driving away in his van at a high rate of speed. The victim called 911 and provided details of the incident as well as the license plate of the grey minivan to police.

The Burlington and Oakville Criminal Investigation Bureaus continued investigation into this stranger assault and arrested the accused outside of his residence in the Town of Oakville without incident.

Investigation by the Burlington Criminal Investigation Bureau has led charges against the following individual;

Tanos EL-KHOURY (41 years old from Oakville)
• Forcible Confinement
• Assault

EL-KHOURY was held for a bail hearing in Milton on July 6, 2020.

Anyone with information in regards to this investigation is asked to contact Detective Melissa Parsons of the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext. 2307.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers. “See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.

People charged with a criminal offence are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Terry Fox run, usually held in September is going to go virtual in July and August

By Staff

July 6th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

We live at a time when almost everything is virtual.

It’s an odd feeling.

How do you respond to something that is virtual? Where is the human element?

Terry Fox running through Burlington in xx of 1980. The monument commemorating that event is right across Lakeshore Road

Forty years ago Terry Fox ran along Lakeshore Road in his Marathon of Hope that ended in Thunder Bay on September 1st, 1980 after 143 days on the road covering 3582 km.

He died the following year 1981, on June 28th. ,

Since then communities across the country have been celebrating what Terry managed to get done in his short life.

The Terry Fox Run for Cancer always took place in September. The Fox Foundation decided that there would not be a Run this September due to the pandemic and the need to exercise serious discipline when it comes to huge numbers of people participating in an event.

Burlington may be the only city in the country with a monument like this.

The Burlington Terry Fox event didn’t was to miss a year – and it didn’t want to walk away from that 40th anniversary.

Terry ran through Burlington on July 13, 1980. The city is expected to raise the Terry Fox flag that day.

Craig Gardner: “We had to get creative.

The Gazette asked Craig Gardner how long has he been heading up the annual Terry Fox event in Burlington.

“I have been the chair now for five years now; I was on the committee for 5 years before that and a volunteer for 5 years before that. So I have been involved now for 15 years. The first run was in September of 1981 at Sherwood Forest Park.

“After 2 years it moved to city hall for almost 20 years, then to Beachway Park Pavilion for 14 years. The year I became chair is when we moved everything to the east end of Spencer Smith Park by the Waterfront Hotel. Hopefully we will be back there in 2021.

“After 39 runs we have raised almost $2.2 million for cancer research by over 24,000 participants and in addition the Burlington school runs have raised an additional $2 million plus.

“Now with no event we had to get creative – we looked at some pretty radical ideas. We are hoping that the social distancing rules are lightened up a bit and people will feel safer getting out and doing their own thing for the Run.

“The Terry Fox Foundation is expected to approve some ideas that have not been done before by anyone. Much like last year when we became the first local Terry Fox organization to apply for and get a Canada summer jobs grant to hire a student. We did the same this year as did three other run sites.

What are some of those ideas?

“Locally my committee took the 2019 participant data base and divided it up amongst themselves and we will be emailing or calling as many of the folks from last year (who gave us permission) as we can to tell them there is a 2020 40th anniversary event or events. We will describe it to them to ensure we follow COVID-19 rules.

“There are other ideas I can’t talk about yet – need to get possible participants fully onside. The ideas I can talk about are really ideas we are passing along to our teams when we call/email. This year anything goals and depending on Covid-19 numbers allowed we suggested things like pool parties, cocktail parties, BBQ’s sidewalk chalking, skateboard.

Each of these woman had their own reasons for running this race and each ran it in their own way. Hundreds did just this during the Terry Fox Run for cancer research. This was in 2012

“As I say in 2020 anything goes – we are just ask people to register and collect donations from sponsors or donate themselves. We had arranged for a date to collect donations at all LCBO in Burlington, but we are not sure if that will fly – it is scheduled for mid-August.

Truer words were never said: Will the community continue its support even if it takes place virtually.

Craig Gardner explains: “We will start our promotion of the event after the July 13th Council meeting – he want be able to delegate but expects Councillor Bentivegna to speak to the event. City Hall is expected to hoist the Terry Fox flag in September.

“We plan to reach out personally to as many Teams and individuals as we can from last year’s run to see if they want to participate in this year’s virtual event.

“Virtual in this case means doing whatever you like whenever you like wherever you like to raise money for cancer research as long as Covid-19 rules in place are followed by each event.

“We have seen this year’s 40th anniversary shirt designed by a Foxer in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan (he won a contest with 1600 entries that the Fox family reviewed each of to decide the winner).

“With the big Spencer Smith Park run scheduled for September 20th is cancelled, we are asking people to register online either individually or as part of a team and send their personalized url to family and friends to donate.

The Burlington Terry Fox Run for Cancer people managed to get funding to hire a summer intern through the Canada Summer Jobs grant.

“The student we have is amazing. She has already gone through our data for each channel(Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) determining demographics of our audience, best time and day to post things, what things get the most hits. She is in the process of creating a calendar of postings. We have a lot of information to pull from with The BLOG, Terry Fox foundation and the Terry Fox Research Institute as well as information we have gathered thru filmed visits to cancer research labs at McMaster.

“One of my committee members has started a new blog this year. She is interviewing people associated with Terry in Burlington from the first run chair in Sept 1981 till present. There will also be blogs entries pre-dating the first run of when Terry actually ran through Burlington July 13, 1980. The plan is to post one new entry per week and share it to our various social media channels.

https://terryfoxburlington.wordpress.com/ The Gazette will carry those blogs.

Why did the Fox Foundation come to the decision there wouldn’t be a Run this year?

“As I understand it with hundreds and hundreds of run sites not only in Canada but global it is not easy to turn this ship on a dime and so not knowing what conditions would be like in September in all locations it was decided to make an early call and have everyone focus on the new way for this year. With some many businesses shut for extended periods it has been a challenge to get promotional materials even our iconic shirts are later than normal due to the pandemic.

The event has always been heavily attended.

“What are your hopes for this year?

“I would love to see everyone who has participated in any of the 39 previous years of first timers to get outside sometime over summer or September and do something for Terry and for themselves.

“Go for a walk, a hike, whatever works for you and donate yourself, get your friends and family to donate. Last year we came within $6,000 of our all-time record from 2005 – I would love to see the people of Burlington fight through the adversity of Covid-a9 and somehow manage to make the 40th anniversary the biggest year ever in Burlington and raise $130K.

T shirts sales are going well. We are selling them online from our Facebook page. We normally sell 100 or so in a good year and so far have sold almost 30 in the last few days.

What comes next?

“Hopefully a new normal will allow us to get back in our regular spot by the Waterfront Hotel at the east end of Spencer Smith Park with a bigger, better event than we have ever had. Sunday September 19, 2021 mark your calendars now.

If you have any questions about Terry Fox Run 2020 please contact Gardner at 905-599-8621 or scraiggardner@sympatico.ca

It is Time to Wear a Mask. If Governments will not act to protect us, we must protect each other.

opinionred 100x100 By Jim Young

July 6, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

As we watch our neighbours to the south descend into self-inflicted chaos over their refusal to grasp the importance of wearing masks in a pandemic, I am reminded that we Canadians sometimes feel superior to Americans. We are not, and viruses treat us equally. We are however different. Our founding principles make us so. While Americans seek the “unalienable rights to the preservation of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, we in Canada settle more modestly for “peace, order and good government”.

Nothing highlights this more than the issue of face covering to reduce the spread of Covid 19. The evidence is conclusive, health experts estimate that 30 to 60 % of all spread, by proximity, breathed droplets or hand contact, may be asymptomatic. Figures from New York suggest the Covid19 transmission rate in health care workers is reduced by 61.3%. (12.2% compared to 19.9% of the general public.) Those working closest to infected people have lower infection because they wear face coverings and other PPE. Have we learned nothing from the resurgence in the USA, where freedom from masks has become the political war cry of the US re-opening?

Our politicians vacillate. The Feds say the provinces must act, Ontario Premier Ford says it should be decided locally, GTHA municipal leaders beg the province for universal standards. Everyone agrees that mandatory face covering in close public proximity is a good idea. Yet none of them act. They claim it will be difficult to enforce. Sorry, but a good idea is still a good idea! If enforcement is a barrier, eliminate the barrier not the idea. Public smoking, speeding and drunk driving are tough to enforce, and we do that. The job of leaders is to lead. Please don’t squander the months of sacrifice by millions of Ontarians, putting lives, jobs and businesses on hold, to fight this virus and save lives. That fight is not yet over.

What drives this reluctance to enforce face coverings? It should not be fear of offending voters on the “civil liberties” left or the “don’t infringe my freedom” right. This virus may be the only non-partisan thing in North America today. It is neither Liberal, Conservative, Democrat, Republican, left or right. Covid 19 is coming for all of us, straight down the middle.

For retail corporations, keen to resume business as usual, mandating masks seems not to be a priority. Need we remind them, as they seek every minor competitive advantage, failure to enforce face covering puts their own employees at risk as it does their customers? Any perception of reduced risk spells danger for their reopening too. The virus is still out there; and putting customers at risk has never been a good business strategy.

The US re-opening failure should remind us that abandoning caution and masks, in the “pursuit of happiness”, and economic recovery has consequences. Avoiding a similar disaster will mean re-opening smarter. The more Canadian approach of “order and good government” demands that our political leaders get off the fence and mandate wearing face coverings when safe distancing is difficult or is not an option.

Other than a very small number of pulmonary health limitations, there is no argument for not wearing a mask. They are not too warm. The places we should be wearing them are mostly air conditioned, in malls, stores and indoor spaces. The time spent masked up is minimal. No-one is asking you to wear one at home, in your car, or walking in the park.

To those who demand the freedom not to wear a mask, store workers and other customer’s rights must be equally respected. The saying: “Your right to swing your fist freely, ends at my nose!” makes: “No Mask …. No Entry” a reasonable position. Considering all the freedoms we have sacrificed until now to fight this virus, giving up the freedom to make others sick seems hardly worth of defending.

My mother would have said: “For goodness sakes top whining and put your mask on.” Infectious Disease Specialist, Dr. Lilian Abbo said it better: “If you don’t like wearing a mask ….. You sure as hell won’t like wearing a ventilator.”
Face coverings will not end Covid 19, and we must be careful not to let masks lull us into a false sense of safety, but they will help and If you won’t wear a mask to protect your neighbours, please wear one to protect the front line health worker beside you in the check-out line or reaching past you for that last bottle of hand sanitizer. They wear them all the time to protect you!

Jim Young is an Aldershot resident who comments frequently on public issues.

Mayor now says she has the support of the MOH for a face mask bylaw. She also has a motion planned for a meeting next week.

By Staff

July 4th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

The Gazette published an opinion piece on the difficulty Mayor Marianne Meed Ward was having on the matter of face masks.

Does she bring in a bylaw or does she equivocate and rely on social media to tell her story.

Our opinion piece is HERE

The Mayors response the day after is set out below.

Marianne Meed Ward – the night the city elected her Mayor.

Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback regarding a mandatory mask bylaw in Burlington. I am bringing forward a bylaw proposal for discussion at the July 9 Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee. Your continued feedback is welcome to mayor@burlington.ca

In the last few days we have received confirmation from the Region of Halton Medical Officer of Health of her support for a bylaw, and I have received overwhelming support from the community and a number of businesses for such a bylaw.

I’ve been researching Section 22 mask orders directed by a Medical Officer of Health & municipal/regional bylaws (only Toronto has so far passed one). The language is similar except that Section 22 comes with $5000/day fines for businesses. There are no set fines yet for a bylaw.

Only the Medical Officer of Health can order a Section 22. For reference, the Wellington/Dufferin/Guelph Medical Officer of Health Section 22 order is here. The following to links are in the pdf format – you will need access to Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The City of Toronto bylaw provides for exceptions & no one can be required to show proof of how they meet those exceptions. There are no set fines yet. The bylaw is temporary. Read it here.

It is acknowledged a bylaw would be difficult to enforce but can help with voluntary compliance. As TO put it: “Whereas it is believed that the existence of an enforceable temporary by-law requirement will help to educate the public on the importance of a properly worn mask or face covering and encourage voluntary compliance”

The city of St. Catharines is also looking at a bylaw. Read the proposed motion here.

Please continue to provide me with your feedback on this important discussion.

Ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte is believed to be preparing a motion calling for Face masks to be worn. She is reported to be working with the City Manager, the City Clerk and legal to put bring forward a Motion to Council this week to implement a temporary bylaw requiring masks be made mandatory inside all public indoor spaces.

Stolte appears to be a step or two ahead of the Mayor these days.

To mask or not to mask - Mayor isn't going to lead on this issue. The downside on this one is something we will all pay for.

By Pepper Parr

July 4th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

On the matter of face masks that many commercial establishments require you to wear when you enter the premises; that you are now required to wear if you are using public transit in Burlington – the Mayor is being disingenuous.

“Many of you have reached out to ask about a mandatory mask order” she explains in her Newsletter.

The Mayor does not do press conferences where she can be asked questions by media. She instead uses social media and Newsletters plus Statements she makes as Mayor – all of which she controls – no accountability – just what she wants to say.

Mayor Meed Ward’s A Better Burlington Newsletter

“I understand the concerns people have raised and the desire for a mandatory order. We are all committed to doing everything we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“In all our decisions, we are guided by the advice of our Medical Officer of Health (MOH).

“The communities around us who have issued a municipal or regional bylaw (Toronto and Peel) did so on the advice of their Medical Officer of Health (MOH) , or by direction of their MOH under Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act (Wellington/Dufferin/Guelph and Kingston).

“Our Halton MOH has not, to date, used her authority under Sect. 22 to issue a mandatory mask order. However, there are ongoing discussions with her, including in the last few days, about using the bylaw tool. With her support we could consider that as an added measure.

This is all just poppycock – the Mayor does not need a blessing from the MOH to issue an order that masks are required when the science is very clear. Burlington is indeed fortunate in that we don’t have that many infections. That isn’t because we are behaving so well – we are a bit of a social backwater in that the people who do go into Toronto aren’t taking public transit – they are driving.

We don’t have that many long term care homes which is where most of the infections are taking place

It is clear that the COVID19 disease is spread from person to person by a virus that enters the body through the nose and the mouth. And the virus that is entering your body comes from another person – not the grass we walk on.

Marianne Meed Ward – listening.

But the Mayor knows all this.

She just doesn’t want to issue the necessary order. Is she waiting for the MOH to do so – so that she, the Mayor, doesn’t have to do something that is going to annoy people?

Great leadership!

The Mayor adds

“The good news is the voluntary actions of our citizens have, to date, led to the lowest infection rates in our Region and beyond. This has remained true, even as there has been travel to and from other communities for work or other reasons since the beginning of the pandemic, and even after we moved into Stage 2 reopening two weeks ago. Our infection rates have remained among the lowest in the province — that is something to be proud of.

“We have been able to achieve through voluntary compliance what others around us are trying to achieve with a mandatory mask order.

Speaking of that voluntary compliance – does that explain the scores of people wading and swimming in Lake Ontario on Canada Day?

Not much evidence of six feet of social distancing. These people either do not know we are in the midst of a pandemic or they don’t believe what they are being told.

“Of course, we must remain vigilant, especially as we contemplate moving into Stage 3 reopening. I remain open to further dialogue with our community, elected leaders and our MOH about the potential for a bylaw mandating masks as an added tool to keep our community safe.”

Sophistry Your Worship – pure sophistry and you know better.

Leadership is hard sometimes. The job of Mayor is not to strive to be continually liked – it is to be continually responsible and to do the right thing.

Note that we have never seen the Mayor wear a faced mask. Because she doesn’t believe in the science? President Trump doesn’t believe in the science either. “Please continue to share your thoughts with me, as we consider this potential tool.adds the MAyor

Now here is the funny part in the Newsletter:

“In the meantime, we will lead by example. We have required masks on public transit as of today (July 2), and are discussing whether masks will be required in our city facilities once they reopen. We will continue to encourage people to wear masks in indoor spaces where physical distancing is a challenge. Halton Region is embarking on a public education campaign to encourage mask wearing.”

Ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte, on the right with one of her daughters, wears a mask and carries several in her purse to hand out to others.

This isn’t the woman we saw stand before Council as a citizen demanding transparency and accountability.

This isn’t the woman who forced her colleagues to stand six times at one Council meeting forcing them to put their votes on the record.

Something happens to people when they have power and are in a position to make decision that may not be popular. Do you make the tough decision and lose some of the admiration or do you make the tough decisions and stand by what you know is best for the community.

Masks are best for the community Your Worship: get one, wear one and ask your citizens to do what is best for all of us.

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.

An amazing graphic looks at a disease that has brought the world to a halt - and we don't yet know how to beat it.

By Staff

July 4th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

There is some absolutely fascinating graphic material on the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease it causes on the Scientific American web site.

Those orange spikes are what penetrate our skin and replicate what you see on the screen. Science at its best

If this is what e-learning is about – the high school students have an impressive educational opportunity ahead of them.

Very few science teachers could add much to this material. Most of them would be learning it for the first time.

While what we are experiencing is lock downs and rules that make life awkward and limited the world is seeing some of the most dramatic, fascinating and world changing advances in science.

This stuff makes the landing on the moon almost peanuts.

It is part of a race against a disease that we don’t yet fully understand that could mean the end of western civilization as we know it.

Economies are being destroyed as we watch a once great democracy stumble with no assurance that it is going to be able to get back up on its feet.

Scientists have generated an incredible amount of fine-grained knowledge in a surprisingly short time.

Parts of the graphic are in 3D

In the graphics that follow, Scientific American presents detailed explanations, current as of mid-June, into how SARS-CoV-2 sneaks inside human cells, makes copies of itself and bursts out to infiltrate many more cells, widening infection.

We show how the immune system would normally attempt to neutralize virus particles and how CoV-2 can block that effort. We explain some of the virus’s surprising abilities, such as its capacity to proofread new virus copies as they are being made to prevent mutations that could destroy them.

You can interact with the graphic – turning the image on its side or zooming in. There are numbers that you can click on for additional information.

And we show how drugs and vaccines might still be able to overcome the intruders. As virologists learn more, we will update these graphics on our Web site (www.scientificamerican.com).

A SARS-CoV-2 virus particle wafting into a person’s nose or mouth is about 100 nanometers in diameter–visible only with an electron microscope. It is a near sphere of protein (cross section shown) inside a fatty membrane that protects a twisting strand of RNA–a molecule that holds the virus’s genetic code.

The graphics are brilliant – parts are shown in 3D giving you an amazing understanding of a disease that is hammering people around the world. More than 10 million infected. Millions have died.

Proteins called “S” form spikes that extend from the surface and grab onto a human cell, hundreds of times larger, so the particle, or virion, can slip inside; the crown, or corona, appearance gives the virus its name. Structural proteins–N, M and E–move inside the cell, where they help new virions form.

A SARS-CoV-2 particle enters a person’s nose or mouth and floats in the airway until it brushes against a lung cell that has an ACE2 receptor on the surface. The virus binds to that cell, slips inside and uses the cell’s machinery to help make copies of itself. They break out, leaving the cell for dead, and penetrate other cells.

You can play with the interactive graphic – zoom in and see what the different parts of the virus are about.
Bookmark this link – and if there are science students in the house – make sure they are at least aware of this.
Distribute it widely.

Graphic shows how the virus get into a lung. The material has a time line that sets out how long it takes the virus to penetrate (minutes) and how long it takes to replicates 10 hours.

A link to the graphics is HERE

Provincial Court offences scheduled until Sept. 14, 2020 will be rescheduled. Do not attend court.

By Staff

July 3rd, 2020

Burlington, on

NOTICE TO PUBLIC REGARDING PROVINCIAL OFFENCES ACT MATTERS
Revised July 3, 2020

All Provincial Offences Act matters (e.g., traffic tickets and offences under provincial legislation) scheduled until Sept. 14, 2020 will be rescheduled. Do not attend court.

All Provincial Offences Act matters scheduled from Monday, March 16, 2020 through to and including Monday, Sept. 14, 2020 will be adjourned and rescheduled to a later date. If you have a matter scheduled during this time, do not attend court. This applies to all POA courts in Ontario.

A notice of your new court date will be sent to you by mail to the address on file with the court. For more information, please contact your local Provincial Offences court.

Contact information for all municipal courts is available here: https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/Court_Addresses/poa/

Updated information about court proceedings at the Ontario Court of Justice can be found on the Court’s website at https://www.ontariocourts.ca/ocj/.

Please also be advised that the Government of Ontario made an order pursuant to s. 7.1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMPCA), suspending any limitation periods in statutes and regulations for the duration of the State of Emergency. This will impact timelines under the Provincial Offences Act and related proceedings.

A copy of the order is available online at: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/200073.

Third Telephone Town Hall on the 16th - good place to get answers to your questions and concerns

News 100 red By Staff

July 2, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

The Mayor is going to hold another one of her COVID19 Town Hall meetings.

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward

She runs a tight ship and gets the questions to the right people. The event is another virtual thing where the people taking part are scattered about the city – all connected via Zoom.

It works. Many of the questions are for information that should be known by everyone but there are many that are very sensible – and at time the experts the Mayor has with don’t have an immediate answer

The next COVID19 Town Hall is on Thursday, July 16, between 6 and 7:30 p.m.

The Mayor will be joined by a panel of local leaders to help answer residents’ questions, including:

Halton District School Board Director of Education Stuart Miller

• Denise Beard, Manager of Community Development at the City of Burlington
• Tim Commisso, City Manager at the City of Burlington
• Pat Daly, Director of Education at Halton Catholic District School Board
• Pam Damoff, Member of Parliament for Oakville North-Burlington
• The Honourable Karina Gould, Member of Parliament for Burlington
• Dr. Dale Kalina, Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control at Joseph Brant Hospital
• Stuart Miller, Director of Education at Halton District School Board
• MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos, Member of Provincial Parliament for Oakville North-Burlington
• Eric Vandewall, President and Chief Executive Officer at Joseph Brant Hospital.

With the Director of Education on the call – there will be an opportunity to see some clarity on what parents might expect come September.

How to Participate
Residents who would like to participate in the town hall can do so in the following ways:

1. Register in advance: Burlington residential phone numbers will be randomly selected to be part of the telephone town hall. Residents who would like to be added to the telephone call list can email getinvolved@burlington.ca by the end of the day on July 14.
Please note: if you registered for any of the previous town halls (held on March 26, April 14 or June 4), you are not required to register your phone number a second time. To remove a name from the call list, email getinvolved@burlington.ca by the end of the day on July 14.

2. Join by telephone: Anyone who does not receive a telephone invitation can call 1-800-410-5909 just before 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 16 to join the town hall. For those individuals calling in, please be advised more than one attempt may be required due to the high volume of traffic on the phone lines. If the first call does not connect, please hang up and dial the 1-800 number again.

Once the call begins, a moderator will provide participants with instructions for how to submit their questions to the leadership panel.

Questions not answered during the call will be posted, with answers, to the City’s website at burlington.ca/townhall, along with an audio file and full transcript of the call after July 16.

“While we continue to navigate a world with COVID-19,, said Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, ” we have taken many steps to get people back to working and playing as much as possible so that we can maintain our physical and mental health.

Our next town hall will focus on what summer looks like in Burlington now that our splash pads, pools, parks and camps are reopening, and what we can expect as we head into the fall when our kids are hopefully back to school, and our businesses continue to reopen more fully. There is always a wealth of helpful and timely information on these calls and I look forward to connecting with our community and our experts once again on July 16.”

Quick Facts
• Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the City of Burlington has hosted three telephone town hall events, on March 25, April 14 and June 4, to provide updates about what the City is doing to protect the health and safety of our community and to address concerns from the public related to COVID-19.
• Audio recordings and full transcripts from the previous telephone town hall events are available online at burlington.ca/townhall. Answers to the questions asked by the public during these town hall events are also available at the same location on the City’s website.

Food Bank experineced some startling growth in the number of people needing help with basic food items.

By Robin Bailey

July 2nd, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

The Burlington Food Bank is running at 70% over same time last year in terms of families served!

Dominique joins those packing food hampers and does some of the longer term logistics thinking.

Sometimes as we go about serving families in Burlington we forget how well our volunteers are doing keeping up with the pace! We run our numbers monthly and having just now completed the 2nd quarter, we took some time to reflect. There has been an increase of 70% in the number of households served from March through June in comparison to the same period last year.

We don’t seem too stressed out about it because the volunteers are doing a great job meeting the needs and doing so calmly and efficiently.

If they were a private business developing a market – that would be a great number. It is a reflection on the number of people who need help.

Jane is a regular volunteer at the Food Bank

The community however is coming through Big Time.

And how about those Burlington Dads!

They came together online in a Canada Day challenge to raise $250 for us and ended up with a commitment of $2,825 so far – way over their expectations and much needed so thank you Burlington Dads!

If you are in need or know of someone who could use our help PLEASE have them email us at info@burlingtonfoodbank.ca or call 905-637-2273 to make arrangements to have food dropped at their door or they can now PICK IT UP. If you live in Burlington, we are here to help.

Canada Day: People enjoyed the day in their own way - despite a pandemic that has shut down a lot of locations.

By Staff

July 2, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

Western end of the Beachway – It was one of the places to be.

What did people do on Canada Day?

A lot of them took to the lake.

Those with big boats made part of the bay area a destination.

With the heat – the water seemed like the place to be.

May more took to the bars and restaurants that got creative and opened up patios.

It was a beautiful day – despite a virus out there that wants to hop from person to person like some kind of tick.

A quick look at what some people were doing.

For some it was a quiet summer day.

For others it was high speed all out energy.

Was this a significant place for people to cross the street – or just another crosswalk?

What’s it going to be folks?

The Canada Day Ribfest worked - it worked very well. Kudos to the Rotarians.

By Pepper Parr

July 2nd, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

They came from the north of the Burlington Centre

They came from the south of the Burlington Centre

Coming from the north – they lined up on Guelph Line patiently waiting to get into the parking lot.

They came from the south and lined up on Guelph line waiting to get into the parking lot.

It was Canada Day and hundreds of cars and trucks lined up to get into the Centre parking lot to follow what looked like an obstacle course to get to a point where they had to make a choice – which of the four Rib choices did they want.

The first traffic direction point. Note the line of cars on the left coming into the parking lot.

It looked like an obstacle course and it was confusing – However there were Rotarians at every point guiding traffic.

Working their way through the traffiic cones

Traffic wound its way around traffic cones – as they were guided to the point where they had to make a decision.

Cars then got to a point where the driver had to make a decision – which of the four rib choices did they want.

There was the day’s offering. The traditional bill boards that Burlingtonians had looked at for years stood in front of them with flags flying in the wind.

The Rotarian who was on that security point was getting frazzled at times as people asked: “Which one is the best?”

“They’re all great” he replied as he worked to keep the traffic moving.

And it moved quite well.

Traffic pauses to pay for their order and then into the spot where they pick up their ribs and enjoy the sweet aroma of the piping hot food that is now in their car.

Then they were in a line that got them to a point where there order was taken and paid for – they then proceeded to a pick up point on either side of the place where the ribs were being prepared.

It sounds a little convoluted, and it may have looked that way as drivers came in – but it went very smoothly.

Is the the Burlington Centre parking lot. Or is it New York city?

The photographs show dozens of cars all crowded together but everyone knew where they were going.

The live entertainment was pleasant – the man knew how to work the strings of that guitar. His voice was just fine.

There was live entertainment being broadcast over the parking lot – the singer was working his guitar to the fullest and producing a sound that fit the day.

It worked – it worked very well.

The Lakeshore Rotary who put on the event haven’t released any numbers yet – but it was clear to this reporter that the event made not have pulled in as much as the fill scale Ribfest has done in the past but it did very well under the circumstances.

The Rotarians are to be congratulated for being able to pivot and use Canada Day to put on their event. The Burlington Centre people deserve a “thank you” for making the space available.

The event could become an annual thing. It certainly worked on July 1st, 2020

Congratulations - you are now Canadian citizens

By Pepper Parr

July 1st, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

Canada Day is a good time to think about Citizenship.

Those of us born in Canada take it for granted and for the most part we are grateful that we live in this country.

For many – they choose to become Canadian citizens.

When that choice is made these people take part in a Citizenship Ceremony that is presided over by a Citizenship Court Judge.

The federal government often calls upon members of the Order of Canada to take on the task for what is a rather short ceremony that has one sentence that matters: Congratulations, you are now Canadian citizens.

Ron Foxcroft was made a member of the Order of Canada two years ago.

He presided over his first Citizenship Court in Hamilton recently.

Fifty nine people became citizens of Canad in a ceremony earlier this year when Citizenship Judge Ron Foxcroft presided.

It is an emotional moment for all the participants. Foxcroft said he was a “little nervous” but once he got into the procedure he said he was “fine”.

Working from a document provided by the federal government Foxcroft said:

“In a few minutes you will be sworn in as Canadian Citizens. You will swear or affirm your Oath to the Queen, which means you are swearing allegiance to Canada in her name and in her person.

“This is a proud moment for all of you. It is a memory you and your family will always cherish.”

Foxcroft then turns to the land acknowledgement that is now a part of almost every political event that takes place.

“I would like to acknowledge that this citizenship ceremony is taking place on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the New Credit and the the Haudenosaunee Nations.

“It is essential that all Canadians move forward together on the road to reconciliation, so that we can leave a proper legacy for future generations.

“Candidates for citizenship, I am happy that you have chosen to become citizens of this wonderful country, and it is a privilege for me to be here with you today. You are following in the footsteps of generations of great Canadians before you.

“Our first Prime, Sir John A. MacDonald, came here as an immigrant from Scotland with his family when he was five years old. They settled in Loyalist country beside Lake Ontario. He worked hard all his life and earned the everlasting gratitude of the Canadian people.

“My personal story is one of great gratitude to Canada for all that my country has given me. My family enjoyed all that this country has to offer. I was educated in Ontario, became a National Basketball Association referee, bought a trucking company and formed a business that exports to more than 100 countries around the world.

“I was honoured to be made the Honorary Colonel of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders, a renowned Armed Forces unit that fought in Europe in both world wars. That Regiment is based here in Hamilton.

Four of Canada’s newest citizens

“Many of you have travelled far and some have struggled to make a new home in Canada. Your decision meant adapting to a new culture, a new climate, and for most of you a new language.

“You are joining the Canadian story, one that you are now quite familiar with after studying Discover Canada and passing your citizenship test.

“You have learned about Canadian symbols like the Crown, the flag, the coat of arms and our motto, From “Sea to Sea”.

The presentation of a Citizenship certificate

“Being a Canadian citizen means a lot more than simply having a piece of paper. It means sharing a common set of Canadian values; having rights and responsibilities, such as being a full member of the Canadian family and the responsibility to obey Canadian laws.

“As a Canadian citizen, you live in a democratic country where individual rights and freedoms are respected.

“Thousands of brave Canadians have fought and died foe these rights and freedoms. The commitment to Canada of our men and women in uniform should never be forgotten or go unrecognized. We thank them.

“As a Canadian you have the right to vote and to run as a candidate in municipal, provincial and federal elections. It is your responsibility to find out about the issues in each election, to make your choice and to cast your vote.

“You are free to live and work in any province or territory. Take responsibility for yourself and your family. Get involved in our community by becoming a volunteer. These are responsibilities and privileges we all share and must act upon.

“The future of Canada, our freedom, our democracy, our peaceful society, equality under the law and our prosperity, depends on all of us together.

“You area about to take the Oath of Citizenship. As you pronounce the words of the oath, take then to heart; they are your commitment to do your best for Canada.

“Please repeat after me:

I swear

That I will be faithful

And bear true allegiance

To Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second

Queen of Canada

Her Heirs and Successors

And that I will faithfully observe

The laws of Canada

And fulfill my duties

As a Canadian citizen

At this point Ron Foxcroft would have stood tall, beamed a great big smile upon the 59 people in the room and said:

“Congratulations, you are now Canadian citizens.”

And then lead them in the singing O Canada

Canada Day: Make it a trip to the Farmer's Market in the early morning and stick around for the Drive Thru Ribfest

By Staff

July 1st, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

There is more to do than expected.

The Lakeshore Rotary got creative and pivoted from the fall Ribfest and are holding the event on Canada Day in the Burlington Centre (Mall)

It will be a drive a drive through situation with all kinds of signage – Rotary is very good at signage. Traffic will be directed – you pick out and pick up your Ribs – pay for them and drive on through to wherever you are going to chow down those Ribs.

No mention of a beer tent

Expect the Mayor to be there.

The Ribfest opens at 11 am and runs through to 8 pm with music, entertainment and a performance by the Teen Tour Band

Many people see the Terry Fox run as a unique thing that happened in Canada and was the result of one Canadian's supreme effort. The Canadian flag just seems to be a part of the event - and there were plenty of them handed out.

Will this woman be at the Burlington Centre (Mall) on Wednesday?

Earlier in the you can drop in at the Farmer’s Market – that opens at 8:00 am and runs to 2:00 pm.

Attendance by the produce people has been good. Lots of social distance rules in place with clear traffic lane markings.

Make a point of taking your mask. And perhaps wear something with a Canadian flag on it.

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