 By Pepper Parr
February 10th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
What began as polite meetings that went from 7 pm to 9 pm have become meetings that go beyond 10 pm and have some pretty stiff comments about how the process being used is working out. There are parents from schools that are at risk who aren’t very happy.
With close to 30 different options before the PARC Scott Podrebarac, the PARC chair knew that there was some whittling down to be done – and the Thursday evening meeting was the beginning of that process.
 Fourteen options are put up on the walls of the meeting room – PARC members begin to reveal what they like and what they don’t like. There were 14 different option put up on the walls of the meeting room Thursday evening.
Each PARC member was given three round red stickers that they could place on whichever option they wished.
The PARC members were being asked to decide if the option met or did not meet the “criteria”
 Every question asked by embers of the PARC and the decisions they make has to fit into the Framework. With 14 PARC members having three dots each – there were 42 of the things to be distributed.
Some of the options got nothing. Option # 19 – the one that would close two of the three high schools in the city got the most – however its total was less than the total of the dots given to the other options.
 PARC members were asked to first write down which criteria were met and which were not met and then to indicate which option they supported. Option 7 – to close none of the schools – did well – and option brought forward by the parents at Central high school also did well – but not as well as the option to close Central and Pearson
There are a lot of questions to be asked:
Where does Pearson high school stand in all this and how do the people at Aldershot feel about a bunch of portables being put on their property if Central is closed?
And is Bateman really at risk?
The board has said repeatedly that the decision is not a money decision – it is what is best for the students.
However the cost of getting the high schools up to AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) standards is high. The matter of lead based paint in some of the older schools – and the probability that some of the older schools may have asbestos in them is an AODA issue that is going to add to the cost of getting schools to that standard.
At some point the trustees, who do have a fiduciary responsibility, are going to balk at the suggestion that school board taxes be increased to cover the AODA expenses.
There is a massive 150 + page report on the AODA condition of the schools that was presented to the PARC committees.
Add to the mix – the views of the students which Director of Education Miller though important enough to have him meet with a group of high school students and then bring one of them to the PARC meeting where he asked that the students be listened to.
While the members of the PARC were getting into some serious deliberations the principals from every high school gathered at a table at the far end of the room on standby to answer question – there were none for then at PARC meeting # 3 but there were several significant questions asked at PARC meting number 2 held on February 2nd. .
 Principals or vice principals from each high school sat as advisors. With two people from each high school sitting on the PARC we are beginning to see their interests coming to the surface.
The pair from Aldershot are probably the two best speakers. Ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward, who is at the table representing Central high school (she has a son at Central and was chosen by the parent council) worked well with Ian Farwell the oher parent representative. Meed Ward continued her practice of asking a lot of questions.
The pair from Bateman are certainly active in pressing their case. Little is heard from the Pearson high school pair. Even less from the Nelson and M.M. Robinson pair – their schools appear to be safe from any closure plans.
 Parents from high schools were able to listen to the conversation but were not allowed to participate in the deliberations. Several came close to accosting the Director of Education after the meeting. He may want to leave earlier at future meetings. It is a busy process – one that requires more time than originally planned. The board added an additional meting for February 16th – the day after the Central high school parents hold a meeting at the Lion’s club to update their community.
To make the whole process even more interesting – the first phase of census data showed that Milton had a population growth of 30% between 2011 and 2016 – and that is certainly going to call for new schools.
The trustees have their hands full. All four Burlington trustees have been on hand for the meetings – so far none of the other trustees have attended PARC meetings. One of the Burlington trustees explained that there was some concern over the impact their attendance might have on the process – given that all the trustees can do is sit and listen – it was difficult to understand why there is any concern. Burlington has four of the 11 votes that are going to be cast. Six are needed to determine what the decisions are going to decide. Where are the Burlington trustees going to get those two additional votes?
And are the Burlington trustees going to vote as a block.
If one of the choices put before the trustees is to close Bateman – will trustee Collard vote for that choice?
In a follow up article we will drill down into some of the data that got put on the table.
 This is the time table that has been followed. May 17th is decision date. The time line is getting tighter. The PARC report will go to the trustees on March 29th and then a final vote by the trustees on May 17th.
 By James Burchill
February 10th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Studies reveal half us have sought information about ourselves on a major search engine in the last year. More interestingly is the number of us who have gone looking for information about other people (approximately 1 in 3) and the trend continues.
— Turnabout is Fair Play
Businesses and recruiters now regular “look you up online” to see if you are the kind of person they want to work with. That’s correct, it’s not just people vetting businesses anymore, the proverbial worm has turned and now those businesses are looking back at us.
If you aren’t already actively managing your Internet digital footprint you really should because many North American companies now have online personal presentation polices. A shocking number of businesses are now policing how you present yourself on sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even your personal blog.
— Share With Care
Choose the pictures you share with care, be mindful of the videos, audio and blog posts you share with the world because it can have consequences. Remember, what you blog about today can last a lifetime – literally. So what you say on your blog about your favourite religion, political party du jour, or some other seemingly innocuous subject could quite literally cost you your job!
— Damage Control is Too Late
And if there’s nothing bad out there about you right now, and you think you can ignore this – think again. You need to begin proactively publishing your own “approved” content because when someone steps forward after an issue they have less credibility – it’s reactionary not pre-emptive. The same happens online – if you are nowhere to be found until someone says something you dislike, you lose credibility.
— Getting an Accidental Brand
There are many ways to become infamous on the Internet, too many to list here, however be careful of mischievous teenagers wielding video cell phones. In 2007 a video of a drunk David Hasselhoff, sprawled on the floor eating a burger, became hot news when his daughter allegedly published it to YouTube for all the world to see. Type David Hasselhoff into Google and that infamous video is still in the top 10 list (10 years later!)
— Ignorance Is Not Bliss
As the saying goes, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!” Whenever a new frontier opens there are winners and losers, online reputation and personal branding is no exception. For example, if someone spent about 30 minutes being mischievous they could cause you some serious damage to your reputation. The current market rate for reputation repair on the Internet is about $10,000.
Blogging and writing about yourself is free.
 James Burchill is the founder of Social Fusion Network – an organization that helps local business connect and network. He also writes about digital marketing, entrepreneurship and technology and when he’s not consulting, he teaches people to start their own ‘side hustle.’
 By Ray Rivers
February 9th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The fundamental elements of a successful democracy are an informed public, a free press and an electoral system which best reflects the will of the vast majority of the voters.
At the time the disparate Canadian provinces undertook confederation, voters had but two federal political entities to choose from: the Liberal Party founded in 1861 and the Conservative Party established in 1854.
 With just two political parties First Past the Post made sense. So it was natural for Canada’s election system to be premised as a choice between only two parties. The candidate with the highest vote count would win their election poll in a system called first-past-the-post (FPP). Since the national popular vote typically coincides with the number of seats in a two party system, the public was well represented.
150 years later a lot has changed. Additional political parties representing a more diverse population with more complicated issues and demands have emerged. Recently 100% of Canadians have been governed by political parties which claim a majority of parliamentary seats, regardless that their popular support amounts to less than 40% of the voters.
At the 2012 federal Liberal convention in Ottawa, former leader Stephan Dion chaired an electoral reform policy session, also attended by Justin Trudeau. Although many present, including Dion expressed a preference for proportional representation, there was a consensus to promote a ranked/preferential ballot as a transitional or first step.
 Former Minister of Democratic Institutions and Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef addresses the crowd during a town hall meeting on electoral reform. Jessica Nyznik -Peterborough Examiner/Postmedia Network Three years later, as Mr. Trudeau was struggling his way up from third place in the election campaign, he added another vote-getting promise – that this would be Canada’s last federal election under FPP. However once the election was over and the brass ring was firmly in his hand, the urgency seemed to have vanished. He appointed a relatively inexperienced MP as his minister of democratic institutions. She was slow off the mark, proceeded to organize an unfortunate on-line survey, and mis-managed her special parliamentary committee.
The committee finessed the government by recommending a proportional representation approach but only if subject to a referendum. But there is simply not enough time left in the electoral term for that to reasonably happen. So the PM shuffled his junior ministers and announced that he was breaking his promise because there didn’t appear to be a consensus for change.
Except there is consensus. Mr. Trudeau’s own party wants it – they had in fact passed a policy resolution calling for this kind of change. The third parties (NDP, Greens, BQ) are almost unanimous in their desire to adopt proportional representation. And that just leaves the Tories who like the status quo, knowing that FPP is the only way they could ever win majority government again.
But the Conservatives poll less than 40% of Canadians at best. So the government doesn’t need a referendum to change our political system, it already has the numbers. Besides, changing from FPP was an election promise, and Trudeau won the election.
 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaving a stage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Politicians break promises at their own peril. I’d bet that electoral reform is one that will come back to haunt Mr. Trudeau. It is unknown how many NDP, Bloc and Green supporters walked their votes to the Liberals largely because of the promise of electoral reform. Judging by the reaction among the media and those commenting on social media, if they did, they won’t make that journey again. Mr. Trudeau has just lost a huge chunk of personal credibility and trust. That will cost him in support come election time.
There are also Liberals who now feel betrayed and alienated by a leader in whom they had put so much faith and trust. Once lost it is almost impossible to regain the hearts of his once loyal supporters. He can expect to see party unity suffer and membership start to decline. Volunteer workers will become less available, and contributions will start to dry up. Come voting day it will be that much harder to get out the vote and fewer volunteers will be there to help get it out.
Mr. Trudeau has been overexposed in his first year in office, and most of that has been positive, at least up until now. Both main opposition parties will have new leaders for the 2019 race and as they energize their party faithful expect to see them stick Trudeau with this issue until the votes are finally counted.
Finally, what will become of all those reluctant millennials who thought they were voting for a different kind of politics and politician? Perhaps some of them will show up at the National Day of Action for Electoral Reform at Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, this Saturday 2-4 PM. See you there?
Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Trudeau Lying? – More Lying? – Liberal Policy Resolution –
Breaking His Promise – National Day of Action on Electoral Reform –
 By Pepper Parr
February 8th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
My how we have grown. The population of the country exceeds 35 million.
Burlington grew at a % rate that is higher than what your bank is paying in the way of interest – but a little lower than the municipal tax hike.
Is the population increase enough intensification for city hall?
 This is what we look like in the eyes of Census Canada. What impact will it have on the intensification plans?  If the Nautique can get the Ontario Municipal Board to approve their project at the corner of Lakeshore and Martha the next census number will be even higher. The new population numbers released by Census Canada today show that there has been a very decent jump – and that doesn’t include the six development projects that are under construction and the half dozen that are a twinkle in the eye of local developers – it doesn’t even include the 26 storey structure that the ADI Development groups wants to build at the corner of Martha and Lakeshore Road.
The numbers reflect growth of 4.28 % more in the way of population between 2011 and 2016.
What does it mean?
What does it say to the planners at both the Regional and municipal levels?
That is going to take some time for the politicians and the planners to get there heads around the numbers.
By Pepper Parr
February 08, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Policing is profitable. I know – I’ve paid more than my share of tickets.
The Court for provincial offences –as opposed to criminal code offences or financial claims is located in Burlington.
It is and is known as the Halton Court Services and it makes a bundle of money that is split between the four municipalities in the Region – Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills.
 Site plan for the new court house to be built in the Alton Village. The offences taken to this court are from Halton Regional Police Service, OPP, Ministry of Transportation, Conservation Halton – any offence that is set out in provincial legislation.
It is a busy place – so busy that a new court house is being built in the Alton Village – shovels were expected to be in the ground by now.
 Plans for the new court house were on display for those interested in the design – build – lease back the city wanted. Emshih Developments people check out the plans. The new court house will be a Design-Build and Leaseback agreement with a 30 year lease to be negotiated.
A total of 55,437 charges (75.9% of target) were filed with HCS by end of third quarter and it is expected that charges will reach 95.9% of target (70,000) by year-end. This is due to a slight decline in number of charges filed by local police (HRPS, OPP and MTO) and no filing of red light camera charges during the impending mail strike.
The place is busy enough to require an additional permanent part-time Prosecutor.
On the income side this is a nice piece of business:
The following are the financial results for HCS at end of third quarter:
• Gross revenues of $6,909,402 (81.0% of budget)
• Overall expenditures of $3,283,653 (72.9% of budget)
• Year-to-date net revenue of $3,625,749 (90.0% of budget)
 The court house on Plains Road will close when the new building is constructed in the Alton Village. Given the continuing growth in population, a moderate increase of 1,000 charges (71,000) is projected for 2017. Gross revenue for HCS in 2017 is budgeted at $8.82 million as compared to $8.53 million during 2016.
Included in the report was mention of “red light” cameras – they produce offence notices that pull in an excess of $300 for those who chose to run that red light at two in the morning.
All this goes to city council on February 13, 2017
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By Staff
February 8th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Healthy Kids Community Challenge Burlington is encouraging local businesses to become free water bottle refill locations in the community. Organizations can register at www.bluew.org.
The Blue W is a unique community-based program dedicated to promoting municipal tap water as a healthy, easily accessible alternative to purchasing bottled drinks. We provide mapped details on where to find clean, free, public and commercial sources to fill your reusable bottle without compelling you to make additional purchases – just look for the Blue W decal in participating shop and restaurant windows.
 The idea is for you to be able to walk into any location that has a Blue W in their window and get your water bottle refilled.
Residents can locate free water bottle refill locations in the city by looking for the blueW decal on the doors and windows of businesses or by visiting www.blueW.org.
 Burlington is one of 45 communities selected to take part in the Province of Ontario’s Healthy Kids Community Challenge program, created to support healthy and active lifestyles in children zero to 12 years old.
Encouraging healthy lifestyles is included in the A Healthy and Greener City direction from the City of Burlington’s 25-year Strategic Plan.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care launches a new theme related to physical activity or healthy eating about every nine months and Healthy Kids Community Challenge Burlington works together with local organizations to develop programs, policies and initiatives that promote and enable healthy behaviours.
 When horses mattered there were water troughs along main streets. Anyone remember where these things might have been in Burlington? The current Healthy Kids Community Challenge theme, Water Does Wonders, is all about encouraging children and families to drink water as a healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages.
Chris Glenn, director Parks and Recreation hopes local businesses and organizations will register with blueW and welcome people into their stores and offices so that people can get tap water anywhere in the community for free when they need a refill.”
Interesting: Log into www.blueW.org and see if this is something you would take on.
 By Pepper Parr
February 8th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
There is a CBC radio program I seldom miss – “The House” every Saturday morning at 9:00 am
Certified political junkies never miss it.
Last Saturday, Chris Hall interviewed Burlington’s MP and Cabinet Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould.
 She was just a local girl, went to M.M. Robinson, then to McGill University where she decided the wanted to be a Member of Parliament. I have covered Karina since the day she announced her candidacy. I watched her actually pry away the Burlington riding from Mike Wallace which she did by creating a team of people that were out on the streets almost every weekend.
They would meet at Emmas Back Porch and then head out in teams and do the door knocking. Gould won by being the better campaigner.
On a door step her energy and just plain likability came through.
She once explained what tended to happen when she got to the end of a street she was door knocking on. “People would tell me”, explained Gould “that they intended to vote Liberal but weren’t going to put up a lawn sign.”
On one street Gould said she wanted to shout out: ‘You’re all Liberals” and they were – or enough of them to make her a member of the House of Commons.
 Gould with her campaign team during the election that took her to Ottawa – they ran a superb campaign. She performed well. She loved the moment when then American President Barak Obama recognized her when he paid a visit to Canada.
Gould has that genuine youthful energy – she is just a likeable person who also has the ability to back away from the political rhetoric and ask how a person is doing when she knows they are struggling.
Watching her do the “opening pitch” at what was then the Burlington Bandits was something to observe. It didn’t look as if baseball was a sport she excelled in – but she did get the ball over the plate.
 The local baseball team didn’t need a pitcher – they did change their name the following season. When word got out that Prime Minister Trudeau was going to shuffle his Cabinet everyone was pretty sure that Maryam Monsef was on her way out. But few predicted that Gould was on her way in.
She was given Democratic Institutions – and within days of getting back to the House of Commons she announced that the First Past the Post promise made during the election was dead in the water.
When Gould was interviewed on CBC’s The House, it was evident she had grown into the role of a Cabinet Minister quite quickly and was pretty good at dodging some of the questions. She gave the pretty pat statement that her job as Minister was to “protect, improve and make the election process more accessible” and she stuck to it.
Hall wanted to know when she learned that the Prime Minister was not going to make good on his election promise.
Gould explained: “We’ve listened to the public; there is no consensus so we are not going forward with this initiative.”
“When you took this job as minister of democratic institutions” asked Hall, “ did you know at that time that it was looking like the proposal to change the election system would fall ?”
 Mike Wallace, former Conservative MP, paying homage to Karina Gould on election night. Gould responded: “When the Prime Minister asked me to join cabinet and when he asked me to take on this portfolio what he said to me was that he wanted me to make sure that I protect improve and make more accessible our Democratic institutions.”
Hall came back with: “The question was did you know at that time that you would be pulling away from the promise to have a different election system?”
Gould, sticking to her guns said: “My mandate letter was made public on Wednesday so I’m happy and looking forward to delivering on it.”
That 29 year old, with less than a month’s experience as a Cabinet Minister behind her performed admirably as a politician.
Nathan Cullen, NDP member for Skeena-Bulkley Valley in British Columbia, met with Gould the day before she as made a Cabinet minister and asked for some advice on what the Parliamentary committee could and should do next in its attempt to change the way we elect our governments.
Cullen did not know that she was about to be made a Cabinet Minister and Gould was not in a position to tell him.
What we are seeing is a young woman who has all the traits needed to become a strong politician. A good one; only time will tell.
 Some thought this junior minister was being made a sacrificial lamb when made Minister of Democratic Institutions – she got past the barrage or criticism rather well. The Prime Minister will be keeping a closer eye on her. While Burlington is very proud of her – the citizens needs to keep in mind the quote from Junius that appears at the top of the Globe & Mail editorial page.
“The subject who is truly loyal to the Chief Magistrate will neither advise or submit to arbitrary measures.”
The complete mandate letter an be found at:
https://pm.gc.ca/eng/minister-democratic-institutions-mandate-letter
 By Staff
February 15th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
For readers of The Book of Negroes, Bound for Canaan, House Girl and The Illegal comes the story of a fifteen-year-old escaped slave named Cecelia Reynolds, who slips away to freedom in Canada while her Kentucky owners holiday at Niagara Falls.
Kaarolyn Smardz Frost will be talking about her book, Steal Away Home, at Central library on Tues., February 21, 7 p.m.
 Kaarolyn Smardz Frost In this compelling work of narrative non-fiction, Governor General’s Award winner Karolyn Smardz Frost brings Cecelia’s story to life. Cecelia was a teenager when she made her dangerous bid for freedom from the United States, across the Niagara River and into Canada. Escape meant that she would never see her mother or brother again. She would be cut off from the young mistress with whom she grew up, but who also owned her as a slave holder owns the body of a slave. This was a time when people could be property, when a beloved father could be separated from his wife while their children were auctioned off to the highest bidder, and the son of a white master and his black housekeeper could become a slave to his own white half-sister and brother-in-law.
Cecelia found a new life in Toronto’s vibrant African American expatriate community. Her rescuer became her husband, a courageous conductor on the Underground Railroad helping other freedom-seekers reach Canada. Widowed, she braved the Fugitive Slave Law to cross back into the United States, where she again found love, and followed her William into the battlefields of the Civil War. Finally, with a wounded husband and young children in tow, she returned to the Kentucky she had known as a child. But her home had changed: hooded Night Riders roamed the countryside with torches and nooses at the ready. When William disappeared, Cecelia relied on the support and affection of her former mistress—the Southern belle who had owned her as a child.
 Only five of the letters between Cecelia and her former mistress, Fanny Thruston Ballard, have survived. They are testament to the great love and the lifelong friendship that existed between these two very different women. Reunited after years apart, the two lived within a few blocks of each other for the rest of Fanny’s life.
Steal Away Home, is the riveting true story of escaped slave Cecilia Reynolds and her lifelong friendship with her former mistress.
 By Pepper Parr
February 7th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
You will have heard the phrase – sector disruption” – which is when someone comes up with an idea that shakes up a sector of an industry.
 Apple did that with their iTunes service – record stores took a huge hit. Newspapers took it between the eyes when Craig’s List and decimated the classified advertising business that kept many newspapers alive.
These advances in technology have had massive impacts on the way we get things done.
Pause now – and agree with me – you can talk 200 words a minute can’t you? You probably know others who can as well and wish they didn’t continue to do that when you are around.
Can you type 200 words a minute? Most of us can’t – at least not with much in the way of accuracy.
 The screen you work from – but all you have to do is talk and your words appear on the screen. What if you talked 200 words a minute and your computer captured those words which you could drop into a report or send out as an email.
You can talk into your cell phone and see the words come up on the screen. That feature is in actuality the Google speech to text feature that is built into Android phones.
Nine guys who have a converted store front they call their head office in the north west part of the city where the rents are low and parking usually isn’t a problem – and there is a decent coffee shop steps away, found a way to port that same Google speech to text feature to a desk top or lap top computer.
They called it LilySpeech and are marketing the service that costs $2.49 a month and you can cancel it any time you like.
Download and install it and then whenever you want to use the program you click on the icon that will get dropped into your computer when you set up. All you have to do is talk away.
You do have to be quite specific.
You say:
The specifications are quite specific and the costing has been done period new line
You have to dictate the punctuation.
 There is nothing fancy about the head office set up. Lots of empty pizza boxes in a corner plus hours and hours of pouring over code to get LilySpeech just right. Type at 200 words a minute – and it works. Jonathan Adams, one of the nine partners, believes he and his colleagues are on to something – they have completed the all the beta testing and have ironed out the bugs. “We keep adding additional features – small things that just make it better” he said.
How does it operate?
Once you’ve downloaded and registered a small icon will appear – on your computer – you click on that and LilySpeech shows up on your computer screen.
Then you start talking and LilySpeech generates the text in real time. When you have finished you click to transfer what you dictated to wherever you want it to appear; it could be a WORD file or an email.
LilySpeech is really a productivity tool – that has features that will save you a lot of time – especially for those tasks that are repetitive. You can set up a list of words that might be difficult for the speech to text software to pick up; scientific phrases that you use often. You’d say special word 5 and whatever that special word is will appear on the screen.
You can give the special word any definition – choose whatever works for you.
 This is a productivity tool for anyone who uses the same material over and over; marketing people will just love this feature. You create the message and save it – and when you are using LilySpeech you just go to the “Canned Answers” section click on the one you want, it drops into your document and you continue with your dictation.
Like anything new, it takes a little fiddling to get just what you want – but it comes easily.
LilySpeech is something well worth looking into – and at a price of $2.49 a month you can’t go wrong. A newspaper or a cup of coffee costs more than this service.
Log into www.LilySpeech.com and give it a go – there is a one month free trial.
You will be on your way to saving hours of time each day.
By Staff
February 7th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The provincial government isn’t going to take too much guff from Patrick Brown, leader of the Progressive Conservative opposition party.
Brown, MPP for Simcoe North and leader of the opposition was speaking to the Ontario Road Builders Association where, according to the Ontario Ministry of Transpiration he “made a number of false statements about the province.
“Facts Still Matter in Ontario”, said the Ministry spokesperson, “especially when it comes to the historic amount of transportation infrastructure being built right now across the province.”
Brown said: “We want to make sure that historic infrastructure $130 billion is actually spent on infrastructure not spent simply on, on promises, on press releases”
Fact: Cost of the new GO station in Richmond Hill: $22 million, cost of the press release announcing it was open: $0, cost of catching Patrick Brown making up facts: priceless
Brown said: “We have become the capital of red tape in North America”
Fact: The CFIB nominated has nominated the Ontario government for its golden scissors award for cutting red tape 3 years in a row. This year the government received two nominations.
Brown said: “Projects need to start within mandate… It’s an insincere commitment promising something for 2019 or 2031”
Fact: Meaningful projects take longer than 4 years to build. If Patrick Brown won’t build anything that takes longer than 4 years that means he wouldn’t build any new subways or LRT’s.
Brown said: “The biggest announcement was for Hydro One, government said we’d get money for infrastructure. Of the first $4 billion sold, 0 went into infrastructure, money has been diverted to general revenue”
Fact: All of this money went into the Trillium Trust to be spent on projects like like GO Regional Express Rail, Mississauga and Hamilton LRT’s and the recently announced natural gas expansion.
Brown said: “I believe we’ve seen lip service to infrastructure over the last 10 years but we’re not seeing shovels in the ground”
 Waterloo LRT under construction  Eglington LRT in Toronto Fact: Here are some pictures of shovels in the ground
 Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne Do you get the impression that the political parties are moving to an election footing. Premier Wynne just might call a snap election if she can find an issue to run with.
Stay tuned
By Staff
February 6th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Live – from the QEW.
Visuals taken from the cameras along the QEW.
At 6:00 pm this evening this is what it looked like.
  A two-vehicle accident on the QEW earlier this afternoon shut down all the westbound lanes – traffic was funneled to the Guelph Line exit.
 A collision between a cube van and a Toyota passenger resulted in the female driver of Toyota, being trapped. The OPP said it took some time for the woman to be extricated.
 By Staff
February 6th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Paper is given life through the works presented in the two Art Gallery of Burlington shows: A Safe Haven: Raphael Vella and Visual Poetry: Contemporary Woodcuts.
As a time honoured medium for artists, paper allows for the expression of thoughts, observations, reflections and statements. Artists Raphael Vella (Malta), Tom Hammick (United Kingdom), Donna Ibing (Burlington, ON) and Naoko Matsubara (Oakville, ON) use this medium to explore a variety of subject matter from contemporary politics to everyday life.
A Safe Haven: Raphael Vella combines his two series of drawings, For the Welfare of All Children alongside ten works from No Place Like HOMeS. For Vella, the role of the artist is not to create an object, but to engage people by sparking discussions and questions. In For the Welfare of All Children, Vella questions society’s supervision of children and the imposed social structures to protect them. For the series No Place Like HOMeS, Vella combines iconic buildings with the ravages of the Syrian War, bringing to the fore the power of war over peace and destruction over construction, while questioning the act of reclaiming such sites.
Visual Poetry: Contemporary Woodcuts looks at the work of Tom Hammick (United Kingdom), Donna Ibing (Burlington, ON) and Naoko Matsubara (Oakville, ON). Each artist works in a different style, though all execute their work on a grand scale producing multiple layers of meaning, creating unique and thought provoking work.
 Raphael Vella Raphael Vella is an artist, educator and curator based in Malta. He obtained a PhD in Fine Arts at the University of the Arts London in 2006, and is currently Senior Lecturer at the University of Malta. He has exhibited his works in important international exhibitions and venues, including the Venice Biennale, Domaine Pommery (Reims, France), Modern Art Oxford in the UK and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland. For many years, he has also been active as a curator, having directed the Valletta International Visual Art festival (VIVA) in 2014 and 2015, and is currently co-curating the Malta Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of 2017. He has also directed the project ‘Divergent Thinkers’ for emerging artists in Malta since 2011.
 Tom Hammick Tom Hammick is a British artist based in East Sussex and London. He is a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art, Painting and Printmaking at the University of Brighton, and a Visiting Lecturer of Fine Art at University of Ulster, and Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD University). He has work in many major public and corporate collections including the British Museum (Collection of Prints and Drawings), Victoria and Albert Museum, Bibliotheque Nationale de France (Collection of Prints and Drawings), Deutsche Bank, Yale Centre for British Art, and The Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
 Donna Ibing Donna Ibing of Burlington is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art, and is considered one of Ontario’s leading artists in painting and printmaking. Her work has been shown in major cities across Canada including Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Ibing’s work can be found in collections across Ontario including the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Kitchener/Waterloo Gallery and the Toronto Public Library and Archives.
 Naoko Matsubara Naoko Matsubara graduated from the Kyoto Academy of Fine Arts, and was a Fullbright scholar at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh where she received her MFA. Subsequently she studied at the Royal College of Art in London. In 1981 she became a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and in 2009 she received an honourary doctorate of Fine Art from Chatham University in Pittsburgh. She continues to create single-sheet woodcuts, paintings and murals from her Oakville studio. Matsubara’s work can be found in private and public collections around the world including the British Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Cincinnati Art Museum; The White House; the National Museums of Modern Art, Tokyo and Kyoto; Staatliche Museum zu Berlin, Germany; Royal Ontario Museum; and Yale University Art Gallery.
The exhibition runs from February 10 to April 2, 2017 Art Gallery of Burlington in the Lee-Chin Family Gallery.
There is a public reception Thursday February 9, 5pm-7pm
By Staff
February 6th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Next to the weather and the amount of traffic on the QEW the upload and down load speds of your internet connection could well be the most WORDS
The map set out below is something you can access and see just what the upload and down load speeds are for where you live.
 Dark blue has the best speeds. On balance the quality of service looks kind of patchy – not exactly a selling point for the city. Odd that a part of the city the map labels as Freeman has the highest speeds – surprising is the speed available in the rural part of the city.
The city and the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) are working in partnership to test Internet performance test for the city.
You can test your Internet connection by visiting
https://performance.cira.ca/Burlington.
The test takes just a few seconds. So far 1833 tests have been run.
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) manages the .CA top-level domain on behalf of all Canadians. CIRA also develops technologies and services that help support its goal of building a better online Canada. The CIRA team operates one of the fastest-growing ccTLDs, a high-performance global DNS network, and one of the world’s most advanced back-end registry solutions.
 By Pepper Parr
February 6th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It was late in the day, slightly overcast and cold. Nevertheless there were two boys and their Dad on the ice; the boys practicing their shot on the empty net.
 The only thing missing from this picture is a goalie in the net. The rink was put up in the Alton community. The rink was set up by residents in the community; there has been tremendous local business support but not enough “labour” support. The few people who take care of the rink spend a lot of nights out there.
It’s a decent 50 x 64 size rink that has suffered some damage to the liner. Folks have been waiting for it to get repaired.
There are no lights the community decided lights would mean kid on the ice late into the evening that might result in a lot of noise.
 That one went where it was supposed to go. A goalie would have made it a lot harder. The Alton rink is a pure community effort – the city created a local rink program that called for residents to look after a rink that the city would set up.
The following communities qualified for a rink because there was water access.
There are now 14 community rinks throughout the city – which is higher than last year.
It’s a program that works – and with decent weather the water actually gets to freeze. There was a point at which some people thought they were going to end up with splash pads.
Ken White and Mike Collins are spending a lot of their time on that rink -and they aren’t skating.
They rented a pump and draw in water from the creek.
“The task has been frustrating since the children have caused some inadvertent holes in the liner allowing water to leak out before it gets fully filled.”
Among the communities that qualified for a community rink are:
• Brant Hills Park (2 rinks possible)
• LaSalle Park
• Sherwood Park
• Bridgeview Park
• Nelson Park
• Tansley Woods Park
• Central Park
• Orchard Park
• Ireland Park
• Sheldon Park
By Staff
February 5th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Those who remember the December 2013 Ice Storm, will have a lot of sympathy for those people in New Brunswick who have been without power for 11 days.
 Glenn Thibeault listen to Gerry Smallegange as he explains where a new hydro cable had to be put in place in north Burlington during th 2013 ice storm Burlington Hydro learned a lot from that 2013 experience and determined that they would be handling this differently when the next storm hits – and they are convinced that there will be another storm – sometime.
A new Outage Management System, complete with a real-time outage map for customers, to upgraded phone systems, website enhancements and a new mobile application were brought forward with the intention of improving Burlington Hydro’s power outage communications..
 The upgrades to the Operations room at Burlington Hydro make more information available in real time – which gets passed along to the customer base. Launched in 2014, Burlington Hydro’s Management System (OMS) includes a web-based Outage Map that provides current information about power interruptions so that customers can access information on power outages in real time. In addition to a comprehensive map of the outage area, the web-based tool allows customers to access the cause of the outage if known, and the estimated time that power will be restored.
The OMS allows customer service and call centre representatives to link customer outage reports directly to the utility’s Control Centre. As each incident is updated, service representatives are able to provide the customer with updates and relevant information about the power outage.
These improvements complement the recently announced upgrades to the company’s customer call-in capabilities. The ability to handle a greater number of customer calls at one time – 24/7 – is another way that Burlington Hydro has improved its customer service competencies in 2014.
“We partnered with our mapping vendor to develop the customer Outage Management System which we call LiveOps. The new system aggregates data and produces a comprehensive central information repository of current system outages. Cutting-edge technology integrates smart metering and Geographic Information System (GIS) map platforms, and enhances Burlington Hydro’s Control Room Operators’ ability to manage, quickly deploy crews, and track power outages.
 Gerry Smallegange, President and CEO, Burlington Hydro Gerry Smallegange, President and CEO, Burlington Hydro Inc., remembers how tough things were in December of 2013 – he wasn’t going to go through that experience again. He wants it to be “as convenient as possible for customers to stay informed during power interruptions and extreme weather events.”
Christmas of 2013 for Smallegange was spent in the field trying to get a grip on the scope and scale of the damage.
By Staff
February 3rd, 2107
BURLINGTON, ON
Last night, Eleanor McMahon, MPP for Burlington and Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, presented the Burlington Public Library with the Angus Mowat Award of Excellence at the Ontario Public Library Service Awards in Toronto, Ontario.
The Ontario Public Library Service Awards identify and promote creative public library service ideas. There are two types of awards: The Minister’s Award for Innovation and the Angus Mowat Award of Excellence, which recognizes a commitment to excellence in the delivery of public library services.
 (L-R) Burlington Public Library staff members Amanda Wilk, Shelley Archibald, Minister McMahon, and BPL CEO Maureen Barry at the Ontario Public Library Service Awards. Angus Mowat was a Canadian librarian who initiated and contributed to the continuing improvement of the library systems in Saskatoon and Ontario, from the 1920s through to the 1960s.
He was the Inspector of Public Libraries for the province of Ontario and remained head of the provincial library office – a part of the Ministry of Education – until his retirement in 1960.
Throughout his career he encouraged better quality collections for adults and children, professional staffing and library training, the necessity for improved finances, more efficient management by trustees and librarians, and upgraded or new buildings. He believed strongly that the ‘personal touch’ was essential for library service and that local effort, supplemented by provincial assistance, was the key ingredient in advancing local library development.
One wonders if he ever said hush in his life.
The Burlington Public Library received the Angus Mowat Award in recognition of the library’s community led youth service model, which provides empowering leadership and growth opportunities for teens.
“Libraries, librarians and the staff who run them”, said Minister McMahon, “are at the heart of our communities. I’m proud of the work that these incredible institutions do for everyone across the province, and I’m particularly proud that the Burlington Public Library’s achievements were recognized last night at the Ontario Public Library Service Awards.”
Burlington’s MPP brought one home to a library system that deserved this award
 By Staff
February 3rd, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Mainway Arena will be closed for maintenance between Feb. 14 to 17, 2017.
Plans to accommodate ice users at other city arenas are being made.
Residents with questions about ice rentals at Mainway Arena should call 905-331-7465.
For information about public skating at other locations around the city, please visit www.burlington.ca/play.
 By Staff
February 3rd. 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Crime Stoppers is said to be the second best tool the police have for catching criminals – the first is the user of finger prints.
It takes time to solve a crime – which is not always something the police have.
Crime stoppers brings old crimes to the public’s attention – more often than most people realize, someone reads the document and remembers something – they call Crime Stoppers and the crime get solved.
Each month the Halton unit of Crime Stoppers reminds the public of a crime that has yet to be solved. Here is the most recent crime they are bringing to the attention of the people of Burlington:
On June 24th 2016 at approximately 1:06 PM, an unknown male suspected forced entry through the front door of a residence on Woodview Road in Burlington. The suspect rummaged through several rooms of the home before being confronted by a resident of the home who had been in the basement at the time of the entry.
Upon seeing the resident, the suspect fled out a read sliding patio door and made good his escape with several stolen items which include a black “Gucci” duffle bag with clothing a watch and a ring.
The suspect was described as: male, black, 19-20 years of age, slim build, approximately 6’0, short black nappy hair, wearing a two toned powder blue track suit and a powder blue baseball cap
Anyone with information on this or any other crime can leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or by texting “TIP201” with your message to CRIMES (274637), or by submitting a tip online at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca
 By Gwen Lock
February 3rd, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Yep- you couldn’t make this stuff up could you? Apparently the City of Burlington cannot function without the aid of consultants – refer to the 2017 budget request by City Manager James Ridge for a $550,000.00 ” just in case piggy bank” – approved – Cha-ching! (View on page 27 pf 2017 Proposed Operating Budget if anyone is interested)
So if it is inevitable that we are to have consultants lecturing Burlingtonians on how to live and what kind of city they are going to get for their tax dollars, as in so many other past situations, I would personally feel comfortable if it wasn’t all so “cosy”.
 City manager James Ridge is a Toderian fan. As previously reported (Inside Halton Feb 10th 2016) “It was city manager James Ridge who called in his former Vancouver colleague to advise Burlington on intensification and review of its official plan.” Cha-Ching!
OK – so James Ridge in his position as City Manager for COB calls in his ex-colleague Brent Toderian who was fired from his position (without cause) as Director of Planning, City of Vancouver in 2012 after almost 6 years.
 Brent Toderian who was fired from his position as Director of Planning, City of Vancouver. Consults for Burlington. I think it’s only natural to want check this guy out – after all consultants charge LARGE! A quick internet search brought up the following article published in the Vancouver Sun 31 January 2016 by Jeff Lee (the link to the article in below for anyone who would like to read it)
https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/brent-toderian-fired-as-vancouvers-director-of-planning
This particular article provided a bit of background as seen from a local (Vancouver) point of view. It would appear that the impetus for the firing may have been the fractious relationship that existed between then City Manager Penny Ballam and Brent Toderian – well let’s be honest – there’s no “may have” about it is there ? Consider the following after Hallam herself was ousted from her position as City Manager in 2015.
15 September 2015 – CBC News Vancouver (direct quote)
“When news of Ballem’s departure broke, former Vancouver city planner Brent Toderian, who was let go at the recommendation of Ballem in 2012, issued a tweet simply saying “What goes around, comes around.”
What goes around, comes around. #Vancouver #VanPoli
— @BrentToderian
Speaking to the CBC later, Toderian, who is now a city planning consultant for cities around the world (Cha-ching!), reflected that Ballem’s departure represented an opportunity to change the culture at city hall.
“It really is almost the entire city-making function that is about to be refreshed. That is both challenging and an incredible opportunity. “The morale at city hall has not been the best in recent years, so I think this is a chance to get back to Vancouver city hall being an international model.”
Mmmmm -classy guy – trash your old boss – reveals quite a lot. Type A personality????
So how did we end up in this situation? Like Mayor Goldring I seem to have lost the plot. REVIEW TIME !!!!!
23 March 2015 -James Ridge takes up his position as City Manager (as per COB web site)
11 February 2016 Consultant Brent Toderian arrives at the invitation of ex-collegaue James Ridge to advise Burlington on intensification and review of its official plan -Cha-Ching!
 Planning Director Mary Lou Tanner had worked with Brent Toderian before he was invited to Burlington. 21 September 2016 (as reported Inside Halton) Mary Lou Tanner, Burlington’s chief planner and director of building announces that at a cost of $20,000, Consultants BrookMcIllroy -Cha-Ching! have produced the 28 page Tall Buildings Guidelines – she described it as “a living document” that will evolve as staff has more experience implanting it. What does that even mean?
14 November 2016 Consultant Brent Toderian, invited back again to lecture, apparently by the Mayor, but this time with Consultant Jarret Walker (Jarrett Walker and Associates) -Cha-Ching!
8 December The Financial Overview of the 2017 Proposed Operating Budget is presented to The Community and Corporate Services Committee. James Ridge makes a pitch for $550,000.00 in 2017 budget -Cha-Ching!
23 January 2017 (After review and approval by The Community and Corporate Services Committee 16th and 19th January 2017) Council approves the 2017 Operating Budget. Signed, sealed and delivered! Cha-Ching!
25th January 2017 it’s reported that Developer Carriage Gate Homes has dropped the BIG planning application on the planning department’s collective overflowing desk-if approved massive Cha-ching!
Marianne Meed Ward reports it in her news letter as if it was a shock and a big surprise and arranges a public meeting. Sadly though, as correctly reported in this publication, it appears to conform to the Tall Buildings Guidelines – can you say OMB -Cha-Ching!
So after a long journey in response to your very pertinent question posed in the title of your article – “do we need consultants?” As we have seen so many times in the past COB seems totally unable to function without them I suppose the answer must be yes.
 Mayor invited Brent Toderian to speak at one of his Inspire lectures Is Brent Toderian, for example, the right choice for Burlington? I personally find it difficult to imagine a less suitable fit. He appears to have no time for consensus building; according to him you spend your energy convincing the convincible – so does that mean you ignore the yet to be convinced? Absolutely! He never ever wants to hear the words “stable neighbourhood” because in his world they do not exist; his advice is to take those words right out of the conversation.
Unsurprisingly taxpayers are viewed as nothing more than cash cows who then become an annoyance when they dare to try to get in way of “planning” As per the Brent Toderian’s of this world,rip that band-aid off quickly.
Ouch! – lookout residents!
Gwen Lock is a Burlington resident with strong views on how the city uses consultants. She believes choosing Brent Toderian to advise was a mistake.
 By Jay Fallis
February 2, 2017
OTTAWA, ON
Amidst the commotion outside the House of Commons doors, I couldn’t help but hear one MP say to another
“What’s going on here?” I think many Canadians are asking that very question as they hear the news that the Liberal Government is going to abandon its plans to reform our electoral system.
In a mandate letter to newly minted Minister of Democratic Institutions and Burlington MP Karina Gould, Prime Minister Trudeau was clear that this once touted election promise was not to be pursued.
“Changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate” it read.
As opposition MPs lined up in droves to criticize the move, I began to realize what all this would likely mean. Electoral reform, the dull policy area turned Cinderella story, was fast losing its footing.
 President of FairVote Canada Dr. Real Lavergne. To get a better sense for the situation and the road ahead for electoral reform, I decided to talk to electoral reform advocate and President of FairVote Canada Dr. Real Lavergne.
I opened with the only question I could think of: “Is it over?”
Without hesitation I got the response I had been expecting: “It’s looking over.”
As we talked, it was clear that Dr. Lavergne was disappointed by the Government’s actions.
“I think the NDP bent over backwards and so did Elizabeth May to [bring about] electoral reform… [We all were] looking for a solution that would give us a better system for Canada and this government was simply unable, unwilling, to deliver on its promise. “
Dr. Lavergne’s frustration was no doubt rooted in the all for naught work that had been dedicated to this cause.
For years FairVote Canada and many other actors have been advocating for the country to adopt a proportionally representative electoral system. Trudeau’s election victory had marked the potential turning point, as electoral reform had been outlined by the Liberals as a promise.
Since the electoral reform committee’s first meeting over the summer, politicians, advocates, academics, and ordinary Canadians spent an extensive amount of time and energy to bring about reform. However, despite their best efforts, it seems the government refused to listen.
“[FairVote Canada] wrote a letter to Minister Gould about 10 days ago…. What we were saying was: “look, if you want to reduce the disruption for sitting MPs, there are ways to do that while still bringing in Proportional Representation, here they are… We also said you could have ranked ballot… within the context of a proportional system. If it is within the context of a proportional system and what you are doing is giving voters the opportunity to express themselves in more detail, that’s great! That’s democratic.””
It was clear from what Dr. Lavergne’s was saying that the conditions existed for multiple parties to find consensus. However, despite these efforts, the government was simply not prepared to compromise.
While this announcement certainly marks a setback for electoral reform, Lavergne was confident that the extensive work of the various actors had been worthwhile.
 “I don’t know how many people voted for them strategically in 2015 but I can’t imagine any of those people doing so again… I think it will cost them.” Real Lavergne. “I think awareness for this issue in Canada is at an all-time high….As time goes on, people have been becoming more and more aware of the need for electoral reform. “
He also suggested that the fight to implement electoral reform was far from over.
“Every time there is an election now, people are outraged…. [They] are starting to understand this doesn’t make any sense, this is not democratic. As more and more people understand that, we’re going to have more situations where there is a possibility [for electoral reform] and people will keep fighting for it…This is unstoppable.”
On conclusion, Dr. Lavergne suggested that this could come back to bite the Liberals.
“I think they are going to pay quite a severe price for this. I don’t know how many people voted for them strategically in 2015 but I can’t imagine any of those people doing so again… I think it will cost them.”
As this chapter in our political history comes to a close, electoral reform seems to be lying dead on the operating table. However, maybe the fruition of reforming Canada’s electoral system to be more proportional is an inevitability that just hasn’t been realized yet. Perhaps, as Dr. Lavergne put it:
“The Liberals lost the opportunity to be on the right side of history.”
 Jay Fallis writes on politics for several newspapers in Canada.
He covers political events from Ottawa.
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