 By Merron Vermeer
November 27, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
I think we can all agree that this is a much more urgent issue than hydro bills or housing prices. Let’s put some effort into protecting our most vulnerable.
Right now, if an adult has sex with a child, the minimum sentence is 1 year in jail. For “less serious” sexual crimes against children, six months is a possibility. These sexual predators can get out early on good behaviour. Nobody who violates the sanctity of a child’s body deserves to be rewarded for good behaviour. They have demonstrated behaviour that destroys a child’s trust in adults, a child’s right to be safe, a child’s sense of belonging in a just community. There are many addictions that hurt the addict.
But the sexual exploitation of children traumatizes the innocent with wounds that never heal. No one who uses a child to satisfy a physical urge and then walk away without remorse should get any free pass for good behaviour. The behaviour is abhorrent. Unfortunately, it is easier than ever for this depravity to continue. There is a growing community of child abusers who work together to satisfy their destructive urges.
 A pedophile is mentally ill. They are a danger to the public, especially vulnerable children. Jail is not the only solution. I know bad things happen in this world, and I can usually read about it, worry about it, and then hold my own children close, while trying to move on. But this? This is too absurd to me. How is this not the MOST punishable crime in Canada? The longest jail sentence. Right alongside murder. Have you ever talked to a victim of sexual abuse? It’s a life long sentence. A struggle to rise above the despicable acts that were performed on them in their most vulnerable stage of life. Trust in humanity is broken.
Those images and feelings of violation and helplessness never leave them. There is unwarranted guilt. Embarrassment. But most painfully, abandonment of community. We, as a society, allow their predators back out, to walk the streets, enjoying a freedom that victims will never feel.
As well, since most of these crimes are perpetrated by men, women start to distrust all men. It’s not fair to the good men that are just as passionate about the safety and well-being of children as any woman. My dad. My husband. My son. But sadly, when the media reports the details of yet another pedophile, it weakens the trust we have in men. Human decency demands that men and women work together to strengthen the laws that protect our most vulnerable.
Currently, the Canadian courts can offer a lighter sentence to pedophiles who agree to medication or chemical castration that will help to manage their sexual impulses. But they cannot force them to continue treatments indefinitely once the sentence has been completed. Physical castration is considered the most severe and controversial response to sex crimes. But, you know what? It would be a pretty effective deterrent!
I am a mother and a kindergarten teacher. I am particularly invested in, and connected to our most innocent community members. I will take every one of these stories of twisted, self-indulgent pedophiles to my grave. I will n.e.v.e.r understand how a human being could take pleasure in the sexual violation of babies. It is brutal and cruel and there is NO excuse.
With the increase in demand for child pornography, child prostitution, and other forms of child exploitation, I hope there will be appropriate consequences that send the message to pedophiles that they are NOT okay. Their actions will be punished. They will be judged harshly. No second or third or fourth chances. I get it that they are sick. Most times they ADMIT this in court. They’re mentally ill. But in these cases, they must be held criminally responsible. If that means castration, so be it. I need to know that the children on my watch can play in the park without fear. That, as a community, we will judge sexual predators harshly and demand the kind of punishment that will deter them.
Speak out against this insidious behaviour before it threatens even one more innocent life. Children trust us to keep them safe. I want the legal system to reflect this by getting tougher on sexual crimes against children.
Merron Vermeer is a mother and a kindergarten teacher with the Halton Board of Education. She shares her personal views.
 Editor’s note: Every pedophile was at some point in their early lives abused. It becomes a self-perpetuating circle. There is a way to break that process: Circles of Support and Accountability – a process that allows the community to take responsibility for the damage that was done. No one was born a pedophile – the society they were raised in got them to the point where they damage others.
 By Staff
November 26th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
She is back.
 Jane McKenna will refine her attack and begin her campaign to get herself re-elected the member of the provincial legislature for Burlington.
Congratulations Ms McKenna.
 By Staff
November 25, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Road Closure
Due to a broken water main, Harvester Road will be temporarily closed between Appleby Line and Walkers Line, Burlington.
 By Staff
November 25th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The police know your house was robbed – they’ve found your stuff and they have the criminals in custody – now they have to find you.
The Halton Regional Police Service, Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau is appealing to residents to come forward to identify property following the November 3, 2016 arrest of two individuals in connection with multiple break and enters in the Burlington area.
 Is this missing from your garage? Investigation by officers has determined that the duo was active in the early evening and overnight hours, targeting property in driveways and garages.
Numerous items, which police believe to be stolen, were seized following the recent execution of a search warrant at a storage locker. Recovered property includes tools, bicycles and trailers.
In an effort to identify the rightful owners of the items, the Halton Regional Police Service has established a web page with photos for members of the public who may have been victims of theft fitting this description to visit and review.
The link to that site is:
https://www.haltonpolice.ca/crimefiles/property/index.php
A note of caution – the pages don’t always load very quickly
Any questions about the items shown should be directed to Detective Constable Mark Urie at 905-825-4747 ext. 2338 or mark.urie@haltonpolice.ca.
In the meantime, residents are reminded to always keep a record of property owned with serial numbers and/or something identifiable such as etching.
Karen ZABOLOTNY , 36, of Burlington and Ugo MAURO , 47, of Mississauga have been charged with several property related offences including Theft Under $5000, Break and Enter – Commit Theft, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime.
 By Staff
November 25th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington will be doing some I.T. maintenance. As a result, the following services will be unavailable from Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 at 10 p.m. until 10 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 27:
• GIS services
• Mapping page and services
• Open Data page
 By Pepper Parr
November 25th, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
There is now a little bit more to tell about the conversations that have taken place between people at City Hall, the Art Gallery of Burlington and Brock University.
In a previous article we said: “Turns out that Brock University, headquartered in St. Catharines, has been sniffing around the Art Gallery of Burlington to see if some kind of a deal can be put together.”
There are a number of different pieces that need to be pulled together to get a clearer picture of what might be taking place.
We know that Brock University people have been talking to people in Burlington. At the time we didn’t know quite what the Brock agenda was. Nor did we know who at City hall was having the conversations with Brock – was it on the administrative side or the political side?
We do know that the discussions put the president of the Art Gallery of Burlington in an awkward position.
We are now pretty sure those conversations were with the Office of the Mayor.
What was the connection between Brock, the AGB – that we did not know.
Some context.
 Martin von Zan and his daughter Kayla of Interkom Smart Marketing Martin van Zon of Burlington based Interkom Smart Marketing prides himself on the work he has done for the St. Catharines Performing Art Centre where we understand he has helped them with fund raising. Van Zon was always disappointed that the Burlington Performing arts centre didn’t avail themselves of his services.
We know that Martin van Zon has had discussions with Mayor Goldring about being involved in the Mayor’s re-election campaign. We suspect he has asked von Zon to play a major role in his 2018 re-election campaign.
We know that Kayla , Martin’s van Zon’s daughter, is deeply embedded in the Mayors Millennial Advisory Committee. she was part of the committee, along with a Kimberly Calderbank, Christopher Reuse and Tyler Freeman who presented their subcommittees co-created critical success factors for the work plan at the May meeting of the Millennial Advisory Committee.
We know as well that Martin van Zon has been hired by Brock University as a consultant to help the University decide what it wants to do with the Rodman Collection.
How do all these pieces come together?
 Rodman Hall Art Centre – part of Brock University in St. Catharines has a highly rated collection. In 2003 Brock University bought the Rodman Hall Arts Centre for the token fee of two dollars, and the agreement that no assets or holdings would be sold off for 20 years.
In 2015, Brock University VP Finance and Administration Brian Hutchings said Brock is “looking to reduce its subsidy to the Rodman Hall Arts Centre by 50%”. He is reported to have added that they needed to determine where Rodman fits in Brock’s orbit which was something to be studied. The university then went looking for an external consultant.
They ended up hiring van Zon for a reported $50,000 to hold four discussion meetings in St. Catharines about the Rodman Hall Arts Centre.
Those meetings did not go all that well. We will return to them
A little more background.
In 1955, St. Catharine’s residents began to develop an interest in a cultural centre. They saw many advantages from the coordination of activities among the cultural groups active in St. Catharines and region and decided to hold a conference to explore some ideas.
From that meeting came the idea that an arts council be formed. With that objective set – the group set out to find a building and facilities to provide workshop and studio space for activities of the member groups and a gallery for art exhibitions. They did that during 1957-58.
In early 1959, the nascent Arts Council approached Mr. T. R. Merritt, then the owner of Rodman Hall, and learned that Mr. Merritt was not only willing to sell his property, but was pleased at the prospect of his family home becoming a civic cultural centre. An agreement was reached quickly, on price and conditions, and the Arts Council was ready to proceed with property purchase and arts centre establishment.
 St, Catharines is bisected by the Welland Canal. The Rodman home was built for one of the sons of the man who built the first canal. St. Catharines is bisected by the Welland Canal – the route that let ships pass from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. William Hamilton Merritt (1793-1862) built the first Welland Canal. The accomplishments of the various members of the Merritt family are so significant to St. Catharine’s that the city declared November 27th a “Merritt Day.” which marks the anniversary of the first passage of a vessel through the Welland canal.
Rodman Hall became Rodman Hall Arts Centre on September 17, 1960
From 1960 through to 1975 the Hall grew adding to its collection and to the size of the property. It was seen as one of the best preservation efforts in the province.
New facilities provided by the 1975 expansion qualified Rodman Hall as a “National Exhibition Centre” with the principal function of providing exhibitions of fine art which may be seen by the people of St. Catharines and Niagara Region. Being designated a National Exhibition Centres was significant; it meant that quality work could be displayed from the most important galleries in Canada including the National Museums of Canada International Exhibition Programme.
 An installation at Rodman Hall From 1975 until the end of 1981, 125 exhibitions have been presented. Attendance has increased 50 per cent in the last ten years. By the end of 1981 the collection numbered 375 works valued at $550,000.
Rodman Hall flourished.
By the end of the 1990s however accessing public funds was becoming increasingly difficult for the Rodman administration
Brock University stepped in and bought the place in 2003 when they were flush. Rodman Hall continued to operate as a public entity distinct from the university.
Brock’s financial contributions toward running the facility and maintaining the building and property rose considerably over the past decade. The university calls the costs for ongoing operations and needed capital upgrades “a growing concern.”
A recent Rodman Hall budget of $840,000 Brock kicked in $576,000.
Brock needed a way to cut its contribution in half, and asked Rodman Hall’s citizen advisory committee to offer suggestions by early summer on how to achieve that goal.
When Brock University bought Rodman Hall for two bucks, the sales agreement stipulated Brock couldn’t sell off any property or assets for at least 20 years.
The flush days of 2003 had clearly come to an end.
 Rodman Hall Art Centre – outdoor art classes. All other facets of the university’s operation have been recently scrutinized, said Brock’s top finance official Brian Hutchings, and Rodman Hall is no exception.
Many thought Rodman should be self-sufficient. Those of us who look at the cost of running the art Gallery of Burlington and the Performing Arts centre know better.
This is where van Zon enters the picture. He has a $50,000 contract from the university to hold discussions with the St. Catharines community. He reports to the Brock University board of trustees.
The meetings van Zon held didn’t go very well – in fact they went rather badly.
The buzz in St. Catharines is that Rodman will be “given” to a “newly formed non-profit” in the summer of 2016, whose mandate will be to then sell the parkland and building. This money will then be the base of a larger fundraising campaign to build a new public gallery in downtown St. Catharines.
Interkom Smart Marketing was said to be “re-evaluating Brock’s relationship to Rodman Hall Arts Centre”. This was not going down very well with the St. Catharines arts community. van Zon was getting a very rough ride.
van Zon appears to have come up with a solution – make a deal with the Art Gallery of Burlington that has them taking on the Rodman collection with perhaps some of the funding coming along with it.
 Did Brock University want to convince the Art Gallery to take their collection. What a feather that would be in the Mayor’s cap – nice wave to ride an election win on.
The Rodman collection has a far superior reputation than the Art Gallery of Burlington collection.
Would it be less than logical to conclude that Martin Van Zon believes he can deliver a big one for the Mayor by having the Art Gallery of Burlington accept the Rodman collection? Are we certain? No – for the most part this is speculation. But if you look at the record and all that has taken place, it is not too far from a logical conclusion.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for a statement from the Office of the Mayor
What got this story started?
 By James Burchill
November 24th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Interruptions cost more than the time taken … they impact your efficiency and your productivity. Some studies suggest that a single interruption (email ding, phone call, social media status ping, co-worker walking into your office) costs you between 15 and 30 minutes of productivity.
Here’s why: the actual interruption takes you “out of the work flow” you were in and once the interruption has ended, you require time to get back to that level of performance before the interruption. As indicated, this can be as much as 30 minutes. Imagine if you were interrupted every half and hour … you’d barely get any work done.
Oh wait, that’s why most open plan offices are (IMHO) such poor productivity hubs. When I worked for a company I always stipulated an office with an opaque or solid door (so you can’t see people waving at you to see if you’re “free”) that I could close. I trained my staff that certain times I was open to interruptions but when my door was closed … you’d better be running to tell me the building was on fire or that you cut off a limb and needed 911! Protect your time … you can’t manufacture any more and those people that are most productive in a day, are usually the ones that do.
Checking Your Email
Remember email is NOT a TO DO list. Also, email is someone else’s agenda – NOT YOURS. Finally, batch your email checking and responding to scheduled times each day. Sometimes I quickly check the SUBJECT LINE and FROM field for “client fires” and “expected deliverables” first thing in the morning but my proper review/reply is at noon and finally once more at 4pm. It’s been the single biggest productivity booster I’ve ever implemented (second only to finding my most productive hours) and now I’m dogmatic about it.
Unsolicited Phone-Calls
I never take an unsolicited call from a number I don’t recognize, ever. People can leave messages and I will choose to call back if I am interested. Also, I prefer email over phone because I read 5X faster than I can talk! Also, it encourages people say what they mean … I got tired of voicemails like this: “Hi James, it’s [name or often “Me”] … call me when you have a moment.” Seriously? How the heck am I supposed to prioritize that message?
Guess what … I don’t call back when I get messages like that.
If you want to leave me a message then do us both a favour and state WHO it is that calling, say WHAT you want and say WHEN you need it. Also for extra points, tell me the URGENCY/IMPORTANCE factor as you perceive it. For example, “Hey James, it’s John Smith calling about the web project. The client needs an update by Friday at 5pm. Can you please advise status by end of day tomorrow?
If you can do that – you begin to get more productive.
 James Burchill is the founder of Social Fusion Network – an organization that meets regularly in Burlington to allow networking and relationship building. He also writes and trains people about how to make technology work for them.
 By Pepper Parr
November 23, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
That Indian summer that stretched into November was nice – but it’s snow tires and winter coats for the next while.
What if you don’t have a winter coat? And there are people who don’t have winter coats.
This is seen at the public school level – classroom teachers notice that a student is wearing running shoes when solid winter boots are needed.
These needs are spotted at the school level – thank goodness for that. The Halton Learning Foundation (HLF) is in place to provide the funds needed to pay for some of the essentials so that a student can concentrate on their studies or enjoy a full academic life and not always be on the margins.
 Head office for the Halton Learning Foundation – nothing fancy here – pretty bare bones; a portable in the Board of Education parking lot. . But as an organization – it works The HLF distributes an average of $715 a day to students in need. So far this year they have distributed $35,000 in cash reimbursement and gift cards.
The requests for funding comes to the HLF from teachers throughout the Region – they report that the distribution is pretty even throughout Halton.
A donation of 400 winter coats from Mountain Merchandise will arrive soon – the HLF expects to have them on hand early in December.
The need at the student level is seen by the classroom teacher who sees the student every day. They notice when running shoes are being worn when the snow is deep. They see the student who doesn’t have a coat when they open the locker in the hallway.
Some teachers see more of a student than their parents do – which is no reflection on the parents. Teachers are the front line – and while they aren’t social workers they know that a students who hasn’t been properly fed is a student that is very hard to teach.
The HLF is putting together the final pieces of an innovative program that lets people get a seasonal gift for that person who has almost everything and it tough to buy for – we are going to tell you more about that in the days ahead.
The HLF will tell you that 10% of Halton District School Board students live at or below the poverty line. These are the students who can access emergency funding or student subsidies to help them stay in school and focused on learning.
By Staff
November 22, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Is this a wickedly smart promotional tactic or are seat sales down so badly that something had to be done to boost sales.
Whichever, – it sounds like a good deal – you might want to take them up on it.
This Friday use promo code 25on25 to
receive 25% OFF regular tickets
for the following performances:
Quinn Sullivan – November 30
The Nutcracker – December 7 & 8
Maceo Parker – December 10
A Christmas Carol – December 22 & 23
Form Contemporary Dance – January 14
Lee Ann Womack – January 14
Brotherhood: The Hip Hopera – January 19-21
Fernando Varela – January 28
Rant Maggie Rant – February 2
Stewart Goodyear – February 3
Western Swing Authority- February 4
Receiver of Wreck – February 9-11
Robert Dubac’s The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron? – February 11
African Guitar Summit – February 16
Sarah MacDougall – February 17
Diana Panton – February 18
Whitehorse – February 21
Infinity – February 23-25
Balé Folclórico Da Bahia – March 2
Eliana Cuevas – March 4
Larry Carlton – March 9
Rémi Bolduc Jazz Ensemble – March 10
Stephen Fearing – March 22
Kaha:wi Dance Theatre – March 27
Shaolin Warriors – April 10
Morgan James – April 13
Johannes Linstead – April 26
Confessions of a Red Headed Coffeeshop Girl – May 4-6
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal – May 4
Offer valid on regular price tickets only on November 25, 2016. This offer does not apply to Youth or Child pricing. Cannot be combined with any other promotion or be applied to previous purchases. Offer only applies to performances listed above. No refunds or exchanges.
 By Staff
November 23, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Thursday evening, November 24th, BurlingtonGreen, in partnership with Burlington Central Library and Halton Green Screens, will present the fifth acclaimed film of their 2016 Eco-Film Festival series, The True Cost.
This documentary tells the story of the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the clothing industry has on our world. The links between declining clothing prices and increasing human and environmental impact are forged as the audience gets a behind-the-scenes look at the industry. The True Cost is a revealing film that compels us to ask, “who really pays the price for our clothing?”
 If the price is right – what is the true cost? All areas of the industry are explored and exposed, from production of raw materials, to manufact-uring, to international shipping and retail networks, to the ultimate disposal of massive quantities of clothes. In particular, the film examines the damaging effects of “fast fashion”.
Similar to many other environmental realities facing our planet, the clothing industry follows the pattern of exploitation of people and the environment in the developing world, in order to feed the insatiable appetites of those in the developed world. This film project was initiated by people within the clothing and fashion industry itself, who have witnessed the grim reality of the situation firsthand.
In attendance during this film screening will be Kale Black of BurlingtonGreen, who will briefly share with the audience how he makes a positive difference through the informed purchasing choices he makes.
For those who make the time to see the film – it will be an eye opener. Unfortunately, the people who need to see the film are probably not going to be there.
The film trailer.
When: Thursday, November 24, 2016. Doors open at 6:30 pm with film beginning at 7 pm.
Where: Centennial Hall, Burlington Central Library, 2331 New Street.
Cost: $5 per person (free for BurlingtonGreen members).
By Staff
November 23, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
 The Santa 5k Race will be taking place in downtown Burlington on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 requiring some street closures from 7 to 11 a.m.
Routes 3 and 5 will be temporarily detoured in the area.
For real-time transit information and to plan your trip please use Trip Planner or call 905-639-0550.
 By Staff
November 22, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
She has made it to the big screen!
Well – in a manner of speaking.
 Margaret Lindsay Holton Margaret Lindsay Holton took her latest film to the public last September and got a more than polite response.
It was a short film with all the production problems that every film bumps into – they are just tougher to manage when the budget is shorter than the film.
But it was produced and then what? The best that happens to most of thy get sown at small film festivals where everyone says something polite and he artist goes looking for money for the next production.
Holton however is persistent if nothing else. She convinced the people at CineStarz to show her film in a commercial setting. People are going to have to pay to see the film just the way they would pay to see any other film.
This is a limited engagement – the CineStarz people may have required Holton to guarantee a limited number of ticket sales.
 It’s an interesting film, poignant, funny in a Canadian way at times. Hopefully Holton will get the word out to every high school student studying film to attend – it is worth seeing as a nice piece of works that touches on a significant issue.
Holton refer to the event as a “Very Special ‘ONE-TIME’ Canadian THEATRICAL RELEASE at :
Cinestarz, 460 Brant Street, (Downtown Burlington) on December 18th, at 3 o’clock.
The Frozen Goose is based on a short story of the same title written by M.L.Holton, published by Seraphim Books.
 By Staff
November 20th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Complaints about the leaf collection are understandable. However the people who put th schedule together had no idea that the warm weather we have experienced would last quite this long.
As nice as the weather has been – it does play havoc with the plans some departments put in place.
Could we, should we have expected them to have crystal balls that would tell them it is going to be another couple of weeks of unseasonably warm weather?
Just how proactive could they have been?
 Leaves being cleaned up along New Street, The city could have revised the plans and moved everything back a few days – perhaps the contracts they signed didn’t allow for that. Write better contracts.
Global warming is changing everything which means everything has to change.
Set out below is the schedule the city is working to at the moment.
 By Pepper Parr
November 20th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
There is chatter about a larger city council.
It began with a column in the Hamilton Spectator by Joan Little and was followed by a piece written by Brian Heagle. Links to both are below
The significant seven we have now are not that interested in anything bigger. Mayor Goldring has pointed to Portland Oregon which has a seven member council which he thought was great.
 Mayor Goldring’s 2015 Christmas card photograph. Goldring doesn’t manage people all that well; his career path has not included any significant management roles. He prefers small groups of people that are like minded. Much of the thinking the city has seen the Mayor take up has come from a book he read and then invited the author to town for a speech.
There is going to have to be some form of leadership from the current Council and then a citizenship that rallies to that leadership and says it wants a different size Council.
The public is going to have to hear from past members of city council to talk about the deficiencies of a seven member council.
The people on city council now don’t get along all that well but they each have their alliances and know who they can go to for support. There are – it is not fair to call them cliques – but groupings that come together. Councillors Craven and Sharman are frequently joined at the hip and Lancaster will listen to almost everything Sharman whispers in her ear.
 Councillors Sharman and Lancaster: both part of the Shape Burlington committee who seem to have forgotten what the report was all about – civic engagement Taylor is wearying of the game and doesn’t want to be challenged by any upstarts who might have some new ideas. Dennison is comfortable with what exists now.
 Does she still want to put her hat in the ring for job of Mayor in 2018? Meed Ward used to be ‘gung ho’ on change; we haven’t seen that much of the Marianne Meed Ward who delegated ferociously before she was elected to council and was a thorn in the side of most during her first term – something the other council members needed. The fight seems to have gone out of her. To a considerable degree she is still ostracized. Her public comments on the seniors situation were disappointing.
Political organizations need new blood – that is part of why we hold elections.
Municipal politics is complex business. Its financial statements are not like those in the business world. A municipality cannot have a deficit – if they are short they have to dip into the reserve funds – there are more than fifty of those with millions of dollars sitting in bank accounts.
The Finance department to its credit does a good job of getting the city a good return on the investments it makes – given that there are a lot of things the city is now allowed to invest in.
For a newcomer to get elected to council the learning curve is very very steep. It takes a full term to get a feel and understanding for the way the city works and how staff relate to council.
 Councillors Craven and Taylor live on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Each has their strengths – along with a considerable amount of time on city council. For those new to municipal politics having to learn how city hall works and how the Regional Council works is more than most can manage.
It makes a lot of sense to have two levels of Councillors; one who is just a ward Councillor and the other who is both a ward councillor and a Regional councillor.
The comments we are seeing about what these ward only level councillors should be paid is insulting. Those who do the job work hard; the issues they have to deal with are not simple. To pay someone $30,000 to serve as a ward only councillor is going to get you someone stupid enough to accept such a pittance.
If you are not prepared to pay well – you are going to get very little in the way of talent. That $115,000 – give or take a bit – we pay our city council members now is money well spent. They make mistakes and they could tone up their attitude when dealing with the public – especially with delegations to council meetings. But they are fairly paid.
The view that they were elected to run the city and the public gets to decide if they like what they got only at election time is an idea that went out of style in the late fifties. This lot trots out the words accountability and transparency without understanding or believing what they really mean.
 Dennison has the best understanding of the dollars and cents side of civic administration. It is up to you the public to hold them accountable every chance you get. They are no better than you are. When that OPP cruiser slides by you on the 403 your foot comes off that gas pedal – that is you being accountability to that police officer. It’s the way the world works.
If the current council chafes at that it is because you have let them get away with far too much.
Just don’t insult the institution of public service by not paying them adequately and fairly and providing them with the staff support they need.
A trained administrative assistant could serve two Councillors in the same ward – it wouldn’t be a bad idea to recruit those people from outside existing city hall staff.
If there are people out there who want to run for public office they have to have started their campaigns by now. The rules have changed giving the incumbents an even better chance of winning.
How good it is for the incumbents?
Marcus Gee, a Globe and Mail writer who focuses on municiapl politics wrote on the weekend asking:
Imagine a high-school student council whose members never graduate but stay on year after year, growing older and crankier as the student body they govern evolves. It shouldn’t be much of a strain for residents of Toronto to picture. That’s what their own city council is like.
Councillors hang around year after year – sometimes decade after decade – aging in place as the dynamic city they govern changes all around them. The same old characters have the same old quarrels over and over in a repeating loop of futility.
Like any group or organization that doesn’t renew itself, they have become inward-looking, inbred, ingrown. Voters tune them out. Cynicism about politics grows.
How do we break out of this trap? A small group of reformers has an idea.
The Open Democracy Project announced it was putting together a DemocracyKit, “a crowd-sourced, crowd-funded resource to equip the next generation of city-builders.” The plan is to give newcomers the tools they need to break into the restricted club of city politics.
The democracy kit would include such things as fundraising plans, a guide to door-to-door canvassing, website templates and contact-management systems.
 Democracy at work – people planning on what they want to see done. It’s all aimed at counteracting the power of incumbency. Sitting politicians have overwhelming advantages. They have name recognition, especially critical at the municipal level, where most voters aren’t paying much attention. They have access to the big-name spin doctors and campaign managers who dominate the election game. They have a web of contacts in unions, community groups and local business associations that help them get re-elected. They know the ropes.
No wonder that so many manage to stay on and on. The Open Democracy Project says that incumbents won 92 per cent of the time in elections held in three cities – Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa – since 2001.
Burlington has Councillors who have warmed their chairs in the council chamber for more than twenty years.
Related articles:
Little in the Spectator
Brian Heagle with his view point.
Open Democracy project
By James Burchill
November 20th, 2016
BURLINGTON. ON
In 1860, due to continued pressure from the various employers, the government developed the first education system: to create literate employees.
The employers of the time were finding it progressively harder to find employees who could read and write.
So bowing to capitalistic pressures the government created a system of public education with the sole intent of creating “literate employees”. Like the modern army where we train people to become soldiers, the education system was created to create “factory workers”.
This was 155 years ago and nothing much has changed since. In fact the education system is still producing “literate employees” – not free thinking, creative types, but human ‘worker bees’ or drones.
The education system instigated testing to measure advancement and learning but now the testing is often more important than the skills they try and train. In fact, most students only focus on how to “ace the tests”. What good is that?
After school the students go on to “higher education” – there is another oxymoron as research shows only a few post graduate students actually end up using their degrees in their careers.
Why spend all that time, energy and money only to not use the degree?
 It’s a job! When asked why they went to University, or why they got a degree the student answers were frighteningly similar – “to get a job”.
We have created a system were the apparent need to get a job is so great that people will spend about four years and $50,000 on a degree for the sole purpose of ignoring it later and using it to apply for jobs!
In conclusion, we create “literate employees” who now feel so compelled and “must” get a degree to apply for a job (which we all now know has no security anyway) to enter a social and economic environment where they are ill equipped to handle the majority of ‘free-agent’ type thinking (remember this creativity was eroded during school years during the mania with testing and NOT creativity) and did I mention that the cost of this education was over $50,000 (I can’t bear to add in the time before University and the lost opportunity costs.)
My point? Simple, if you have children remember this about the system, firstly it is a system and it is antiquated and there solely for the purpose of creating ‘literate employees’. Know that there is no law (at least here in Canada) that says your children MUST go to school – you can home school.
That the training they are receiving is not going to be very helpful in years to come as the work place is becoming more fragmented and a free-for-all-free-agent place (remember school does not train and create entrepreneurs only ‘workers’) and finally that you and I came from this same training and we need to remember what we most likely think about or world is probably wrong.
How we perceive our environment is a function of how we think about it, and how we think about our environment was ‘trained’ into us by the early educators we were exposed to (school, the place where ‘literate employers are created)
James Burchill is the founder of Social Fusion Network – an organization that meets regularly in Burlington to allow networking and relationship building. He also writes and trains people about how to make technology work for them.
 By Staff
November 20, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Not sure an evening enjoying craft beers is the “best way possible” to help kick off the holiday season – there is something else we are celebrating.
Nevertheless, the RBG’s Fest-of-Ales returns for its second craft beer event- Thursday, December 8 from 6 until they are done!
 This year includes DJs, breweries, food stations, a cash bar for those wanting libations other than beer, and a mocktail station for our important DDs!
The vendors include Collective Arts Brewing, The Hamilton Brewery, Big Rock Brewery Inc, Muskoka Brewery, Shawn & Ed Brewing Co, Nickel Brook Brewery, Four Fathers Brewing Co., Clifford Brewing Co, Silversmith Brewing Company & the infamous Beaus Brewery! + more to come
Food Stations will be offering Poppers! Sliders! Dips! Snacks! Enough for the meat and veg lovers alike!
Prices: Advance tickets: $35 – includes Fest-of-Ales mug and 5 craft beer tokens. Tickets are $40 the night-of.
Designated driver ticket: $10 (no alcohol can be consumed with this ticket and you must be age 19+)
Thursday, December 8 from 6 until they are done. Sounds ominous.
Tickets available on line
By Pepper Parr
November 19th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
There is a lawyer in town who loves the city – has run for public office and is “involved” in civic affairs. Nice fellow; dependable, decent, gives a damn. He speaks of the city as being a nice place where the quality of life is good.
And on that one he isn’t wrong but he isn’t as right as he would like it to be.
 Is leaf collecting a service the city should be providing? The trees are on city property.  These chemical containers were discovered in Sheldon creek – is their removal a city responsibility? Another citizen is also active, also involved and has lived in the city since the 50’s. He is the kind of guy who will pick up the phone when he sees something he thinks is wrong. He lives near the Village Square.
The Blyth Academy made a smart move when they set up classes for their students in the Village Square. This gave the “campus” a downtown feel rather than an austere building in the boonies or some commercial waste land where space was cheap.
There is a decent number of students about which suggests the idea is working.
Adults seem to understand that smoking is going to kill you eventually and certainly shorten your life span but that doesn’t seem to have penetrated the fertile minds of the Blyth Academy students. They got into the habit of slipping out for a fag in the Village Square which happens to abut a condominium with which they share common spaces.
The residents don’t appreciate the cigarette butts littering the ground – the students got rousted and the problem was solved.
Students being students, driven more by peer pressure than common sense, found another place to smoke – the city parking lot right across the street.
Our observant citizen picked up the phone, called city hall thinking a bylaw enforcement officer could pay the area a visit and shoo the students back to their classroom
Didn’t quite work out that way.
Our citizen was told it was a Regional responsibility; then was told it was a Parks and Recreation responsibility and that the person who could do something was away. After three to four transfers to someone else – the citizen gave up.
While going through the background papers the city has provided on the capital budget that is going to be debated next week we came across an item which we passed along to the citizen with a real hurt for smokers.
The budget submission includes the funding of the purchase of a Customer Relationship Management / Knowledge Base System (CRM/KB) that will build services for the community, focusing on the needs of our customers. This system will allow our customers to engage with the city and have access to information and services through the channel of their choice; phone, social media, city’s website or email. Creating an integrated service delivery model available through multiple channels is only possible through the acquisition and implementation of such a system. Staff plan to consolidate service inquiries and requests and transform Service Burlington into a centralized customer contact centre.
His comment: “It seems to me that it’s a people problem. No system will fix the experience I had. It’s more to do with the culture, a simple commitment of all staff to excellent customer service.”
The same could probably be said the the falling leaves problem in Roseland. The comments made by readers on that problem are instructive.
Related article:
Leaf collections – problem with the timing.
 By Pepper Parr
November 19th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Update: Asked if he wanted to expand on his comment Jack Dennison, the ward 4 member of council said: “The experts will”
Phillip Waggett, a resident of South Burlington, said his street received its second leaf pickup.
This morning, he advised the Gazette, he took a series of pictures of the serious leaf drop which is ongoing–primarily from city-owned trees.
 South Roseland street after leaf pick up – resident thinks the city has made a mistake with its scheduling. “It is not just my street: wrote Waggett “it is across South Burlington and into Roseland, leaves are everywhere, especially on maple trees which have only dropped a small proportion of their leaves at this time.
“My neighbour is of the opinion that the leaves were picked up one week earlier than last year, resulting in possibly the WORST pickup I have experienced in nearly 40 years of living here.
“Who is responsible for this lack of proper planning/scheduling? I do understand that scheduling must be done in advance but surely City Hall has access to the same long-term weather reports as I do?
 This maple tree has yet to lose its leaves – warm weather has it confused – that weather also has the people scheduling the leaf pick-up confused. These are trees on city property. “And I assume city staff responsible are capable of looking outside to see how much of the leaf fall has occurred? None of this has happened with the consequent poor results. What is the City going to do to rectify this?”
Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison did get back to Waggett with the following:
“I have included the director of the Roads and Parks maintenance department”
That was it?
No wonder there is disappointment with the way things get done at city hall.
The map showing where leaves are to be collected was published early in October. Someone appears not to have factored in the milder weather and made some changes.
By Staff
November 18, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Hamilton’s Santa Claus parade will be taking place in the downtown area on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016 and street closures will be in effect from approximately 2:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Route 1 buses will have to detour using Locke Street to King Street. For service, please move to the Locke and King Street corner, or to the shelter/transfer point on King Street at Dundurn.
By Staff
November 18th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Earlier in the month the Halton Regional Police reported small fires being set off randomly in the Palmer Drive and Newlands Crescent part of the city.
The Burlington Fire Department doused several small fires and several more burned out on their own. Police searched the area and did not locate any suspects.
 Fire department responding to an alarm in the Palmer Drive part of the city. Later in the day, police received numerous complaints from residents in the same area who reported items being lit on fire which fortunately caused only minor damage however could have been much worse. Items such as Halloween & Christmas decorations, garden accessories, realtor signs, newspapers, yard waste bags and a wreath hanging on a front door were ignited.
Yesterday, November 17th 2016, investigators arrested a 16-year-old male in relation to these arsons and executed a search warrant at his Burlington home. During the search, police found supporting evidence along with 11 Zanax pills and 24 grams of marihuana.
The male, who cannot be named due to his age, was held for bail, charged with Arson (10 counts), possession of an incendiary device, and possession of a controlled substance (2 counts).
Police continue to investigate to identify the other involved youths and are encouraging them to turn themselves in.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 Ext. 2316, or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
|
|
