 By Staff
December 15th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
They come in at the rate of about 5 to 10 a day.
The scams – the attempts to dupe people out of their money – playing on that level of greed we all have. This time to angle is to convince you that the United Nations (can’t do much better than that in terms of legitimacy can you?)
 Here was the attempt to learn enough about you identity so they can drain your bank account:
We wish to inform you that the United Nations (UN) has authorized us to remit to you a total amount of Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars for humanitarian work in your country after the United Nations Summit For Refugees and Migrants held in New York, United states on 19th of September 2016, your email address were nominated among the World email Database in your country as one of the United Nations coordinator in your country.
Your Cash amount was paid out to us by the United Nations, and they have successfully succeeded in depositing your whole funds with us here at Western Union in Italy or payment through our correspondence bank.
They have now ordered us to take full responsibility in the transfer process of your funds and thus commence the immediate remittance of your funds to you. Please find link herein for your perusal https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/summit
Be duly informed that because of our Western Union transfer policy, your funds will be paid to you via our Western Union Daily Transfer limit of $4,400.00 USD. This means that you will Continuously receive a daily amount of $4,400.00 USD, and this amount Can be collected from any of our numerous Western Union outlets in your current location.
To begin the claim process of your daily payment as stated above, kindly furnish us with the following;
Full Name:
Address:
Phone Number:
Upon the receipt of the above mentioned details, your first transaction will be activated and we shall then proceed to provide you with the Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN) for the First installment and we will continue to email you others after 12 hours of receiving each payment.
For more information on your payment status: Contact Person James Mazzini For Dario Pellizzari OR call our 24 hours Helpline @ +39 3511564018, for any inquiries on the above message.
Once these thieves get just some basic information they will pick every inch of skin off your bones. Id it looks to good to be true – it’s because it isn’t true. Be vigilant!
Related story:
Just how they operate.
 By Staff
December 15th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Festival of Lights is the city’s longest running festival, lighting up the city’s waterfront for the holiday season. It’s a magical sight for the whole family, especially the young at heart.
 The festival has gained the reputation in the region and beyond as the ‘must-see’ lighting extravaganza for the holidays. With winter snow on the ground is a part of the season tradition for this city – and it seems to get better each year.
Spencer Smith Park at Christmas time – what would Mr. Smith have thought of what we have been doing for several decades and calling it a Festival of Lights (FoL)
The displays are set up each year by a combination of community, corporate sponsor, and high school volunteers. Volunteers for the set up and take-down are coordinated by Burlington Electricity Services.
   Here’s the breakdown:
There is Burlington Taxi team, a Festival of Lights sponsor
The King Paving team, another Festival; of Lights sponsor
The Robert Bateman High School team (School Partner) and participating Oakville High School, TA Blakelock team
Burlington Electricity Services team (Coordinator and Main Sponsor)
Community Volunteers (Craig Gardner, Ken Spanik and Justin Boudreau)
Approximately 25 volunteers participated in setting up the lighting displays in Spencer Smith Park for this year’s Festival.
The newest display – ‘He Shoots He Scores’ – is displayed for the first time this year and was designed and built by the students of Burlington’s Robert Bateman HS, with assistance from students at TA Blakelock HS Oakville.
The Santa Claus parade is another event that kicks off the season. Our friends over at True Essence have done a short video that does a slightly different take on that event. Have a look – and Enjoy.
 By Pepper Parr
December 15th 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
They do it every year – and each year it has grown to the point where there are very few seats available.
The event caters to part of the North West part of the city from Brant over to Guelph Line and north of the QEW the Glad Tidings Christmas dinner.
A community organizer working out of the Community Development Halton offices has built a support system that engages young people and watches out for single parents, people at risk and those who need a different kind of care.
 Part of the more than 350 people who enjoyed a Christmas dinner at Glad Tidings church. Luke who lives just off Palmer Drive and takes great pleasure in pushing the traffic light button for people is in the room. He recognizes people but is quite shy – until you reach out to give him a hug and he returns an embrace that is as real as they get.
 Risha Burke It took the organizing energy and genius of Risha Burke to create a network of churches and community groups that hadn’t worked all that well before.
There isn’t an event that comes anywhere near what this group gets done.
 The food just kept on coming – so did the people. Several years ago, when funds were being sought from the city to maintain the staffing that was in place – other council members (no need to name them) objected to this kind of work being paid for by the city. Social welfare was a Regional responsibility they said.
What Burke does amounts to building “social capacity” a structure that lets people help themselves and look out for each other. There is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the city.
There are churches that have good programs – St Luke’s Anglican is one – that tend to cater to the needs of the congregation. Glad Tiding, the church that hots the event, has a large congregation they also have one of the largest community halls in the city.
What they do works – other communities have picked up on parts of what Burke does but none of have created the reach and the depth.
The Christmas Dinner is just one event.
 By Pepper Parr
December 15th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
What would have made the Ontario Provincial Progressive Conservative Party Organization and Election Readiness committee ignore some very compelling evidence when they chose to confirm the nomination of Jane McKenna over that of Jane Michael without releasing critical data on how many votes were cast and how many each candidate got?
The political party clearly wanted McKenna.
Why?
There are some reasons that the Catholic community isn’t going to like; nor will those opposed to the current sex education curriculum that is now in effect
The Niagara constituency elected Sam Oosterhoff, a home-schooled social conservative on hiatus from first-year political science studies at Brock University who will become the youngest MPP in Ontario history. With support from parishioners at his church, the teen beat Brown’s close friend, PC party president and former St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra, for the Niagara seat that had been previously held by PC party leader Tim Hudak.
While Patrick Brown, leader of the provincial Conservatives has said in the past that he was a pro-life supporter that position seems to have changed. In a letter to the Gazette one PC party member said she attended a meeting “with about 11 other people in Burlington just prior to your election. Mr. Brown, you made three statements that resonated with the group. You emphatically stated that you are pro-life, pro-family and that you would change the sex-education curriculum that the Liberal Party had established.”
Brown is realizing that those views are not going to propel him into office. There just aren’t enough people who want a government that will take a strong pro-life position and most parents are comfortable with the sex education curriculum. The Muslim community has strong view against the new sex education program there aren’t enough of them to make the kind of difference Patrick Brown needs.
The Progressive Conservative party organization in Burlington is in a shambles – with a very small (reported at 200) membership, some money in the bank and a candidate that was basically given the nomination back in 2011 when the party wasn’t prepared to go with Rene Papin and couldn’t stomach Brian Heagle.
The December nomination of McKenna was a little like one of those wrestling matches where eveything goes wrong. The video makes the political process look badly flawed.
The senior who was threatened in the video, Roy Cummings, wrote the Gazette to provide some background: “I am a 77-year-old cancer survivor (this year). I challenged the chair to release the vote count. Mr. Zeiss told me to sit down and shut up. Then in a rage, he came charging over, as seen on the video, and challenged me to step outside and settle the matter. He also threatened me and my friend and his wife.
I am the “older gentleman” concerned. I was asking that the vote count be announced. The younger man rushing me was a former Party President, Ken Zeiss, and now chair of the Ontario-wide nomination process.
This out-of-control man challenged me to step outside to settle the matter. Very manly challenging a 77-year-old recent cancer survivor to step outside. I would say what a coward. And this is what represents the CPO?
Both the Chairman of the meeting and a PCO Board member came to me afterwards and apologized. I was also given the vote count.
Insert video
 Jane McKenna, provincial Progressive Conservative candidate for Burlington Jane McKenna was someone’s idea and they nominated her in 2011 in one of the shortest nomination meetings this reporter has seen. McKenna had nothing in the way of practical political experience. However she was a quick study and she learned where the political power was and went straight for it.
As a member of the opposition she wasn’t in a position to do very much for the people of Burlington and rather than learn the ropes she chose to ingratiate herself with the party leadership. There wasn’t one speech she made in the legislature that is memorable.
The Progressive Conservatives see a government that is on the ropes and they think they can take power from the provincial Liberals. Premier Wynne certainly has her hands full – she is going to have to do something with hydro rates. But notice how she has managed to basically bury the cash for access problem she had?
Also, in Eleanor McMahon, Wynne has a first class Minister who is an incredible campaigner. She is genuine, thoughtful and connects with people. Not everyone – but most. She is a better debater than McKenna and on the campaign trail – when we get to it – she will prove to be even better than she was in 2014.
Is this partisan boasting? Some will say that is what the Gazette is doing. We think we are being realistic and looking at the political playing field and have come to the conclusion that the Progressive Conservatives in Burlington couldn’t live with a candidate that would have her Bishop beside her at events. The party already has one very social conservative in Niagara – having another in Burlington was just not in the cards.
They needed to ensure that they had a candidate who could hit the ground running and regain a riding they had held for 70 years.
And that Jane McKenna will do – but it won’t make a difference.
McMahon will win the seat even if the government loses office.
In the meantime McKenna has to overcome the smell of a nomination process that was deeply flawed and with a membership that is as deeply divided.
By Pepper Parr
December 14, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
They are doing the best they can. Lawn signs are being handed out; T-shirts are being sold, petitions signed and last night they held a Silent Auction at Joe Dogs – these people want to keep Central high school open.
 Dania Thurman, singing up a storm at the Central high Silent Auction at Joe Dogs. They have handed out 850 signs and placed an order for another 500.
The Silent Auction raised $14,000
 There was a very impressive Silent Auction offering – they raised $14,000 Is that a war chest? Many just cannot understand why the school board has targeted their school for possible closure. For many this is their first time they have put their toe into the waters of local politics – some are finding it intimidating other think they might like to run for public office.
There are small splinter groups doing research and looking for answers to the questions raised by the Director of Education – what does he do about the 1800 empty classroom seats in the city’s seven high schools.
The #central strong crowd appreciates that the problem and thinks it exists because the boards planning department botched the job they are supposed to have done.
 Reconsidering a bid during th Silent Auction Those 1800 empty seats didn’t just pop up – the demographics of the city have been pretty stable, if anything there has been an increase in the number of people in the Alton community that were not predicted – the result of several families living in the same house. That pushed the Hayden high school numbers to 115% of the OTG – which is the number of seats a school was built to accommodate.
They have a problem with the way the process has gone so far. These parents have questions and feel that they have yet to have a real opportunity to have it out with the senior staff in a public setting. And, the senior people at the board have been ducking the occasions when they could be upfront and out-front with the parents.
The process has become a phrase that sticks in the craw of many parents – they feel they are being manipulated and want to be heard.
 Lynn Crosby on the left looking over an item on the Silent auction tables. There are all kinds of solutions being tossed around – change the boundaries – realign the elementary schools that feed into the different high schools are just a few of the solutions parents are talking about. Many, and these are people with first class professional credentials, think there is a solution that is better for the board of education and a better solution for the city and the parents in the community.
There are those who are close to flaming mad but the community seems to have managed to keep them under control.
With data from the first meeting in hand the parents from Central high are able to dig in and start crafting the solutions that will get sent to the PARC.
And where do the trustees stand in all this? There are some of the Burlington trustees who are way in over their heads – the voters in Burlington are going to think a lot differently about who they elect as school board trustees in 2018. Turns out it is an important job – most people have not seen it that way.
Some are wondering just how their ideas are going to get to the PARC and how the PARC is going to respond. Will there be a dialogue between the PARC and the parents or will it be up to the school representatives to discuss ideas with the parents.
 Members of the Program Accommodation Review (PAR) committee holding a quickie meeting after the first public meeting last week. The PARC committee meetings are open to the public – no delegations apparently – but given who Central high has representing them – expect ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward to come up with some innovative thoughts on a better way to work through the issues.
Interesting political gambit here as well. Meed Ward was chosen by the parents to represent their interests.
The city was invited to send a representative and chose the city manager.
Should Meed Ward run for the Office of the Mayor and win – she will then work with James Ridge on a day to day basis running the city. And should Med Ward win – it will be run a lot differently than it has in the past 10 years. Is the current city manager up to that task?
It will be interesting to see how that works out.
 By Staff
December 14, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The application period for Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) 2017 is now open.
The CSJ program creates job opportunities and valuable work experience for students aged 15 to 30 years old, particularly youth facing barriers to employment, during their summer break between April and September 2017.
The program aims to assist employers create summer job opportunities in order to help youth obtain the skills and experience they need to contribute to our collective economic growth and to build a stronger future for all Canadians.
Member of Parliament Karina Gould said: “This program is a fantastic opportunity for youth to obtain the skills and experience they need to be successful and contribute to the growth of organizations and businesses in our community.”
All eligible businesses, NGOs, and public service organizations in Burlington are encouraged to apply.
Employers are also invited to include applications which consider the following:
Opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Information, and Communications Technology (ICT);
Employers involved in the settlement of immigrants (including Syrian refugees) in Canada;
Employers that hire Indigenous people;
Employers involved in activities celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation;
Small businesses, including tourism, in recognition of their contribution to the creation of new jobs; and
Small business employers in the agriculture and agri-foods, arts and cultural, manufacturing and economic development sectors
The application period will run until January 20, 2017. Applicants approved for funding will be able to hire students as early as April 2017.
There is more detail at: www.servicecanada.gc.ca/csj or visit a Service Canada Centre.
 By Pepper Parr
December 13th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
They came to town as the Twins, were sold and became the Bandits.
The Intercounty Baseball League team has been sold again and is now to be known as the Burlington Herd.
After five seasons as the Burlington Bandits, the 2017 season will mark the beginning of a new era for Intercounty baseball in the Halton Region with the renamed Burlington Herd, the team announced on Tuesday morning.
Herd was selected to pay homage to the Burlington Organized Minor Baseball Associations 60th anniversary and their premier rep program nicknamed the Bulls.
 Will new ownership and a new name make a difference in the box score? The new owners intend to give it all they’ve got. Along with a new nickname and logo, the Intercounty Baseball Club has announced a transfer of ownership from Scott Robinson to local Burlington residents Ryan Harrison, Jason McKay and Dan Pokoradi.
“Our group is very excited to continue IBL baseball in Burlington” said new IBL Burlington President Ryan Harrison. “Myself along with our board member have a passion for baseball in the city and believe with continued support from the City of Burlington, BOMBA and other local baseball organizations, we can build this team as a destination on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons.”
A tribute to the history of baseball in Burlington, the “Herd” signifies the unification of two current baseball entities within the city. The new identity encompasses the Bulls theme, starting with the team colors of navy blue, yellow and white and continuing with the familiar Bull logo.
“Our goal was to give the baseball fans of Burlington a team and identity they can call their own,” said Herd President Ryan Harrison. “Burlington is full of traditions woven into the fabric of the city, and this new tradition will be something local and iconic and celebrate what makes Burlington and Minor League Baseball so great: family and fun.”
The new on-field cap will feature a stylized “B” for Burlington on a navy and yellow hat.
 Burlington MP Karina Gould throwing out the first pitch. She will need a new jersey next season. “We wanted to create a name and a brand that allowed the heart of this city to shine through it,” said Harrison. “While we take our responsibility to provide affordable family entertainment very seriously, we also want to embrace the fun which permeates through Burlington. We will continue to create a festive atmosphere with great partners in a clean, immaculate environment where you can bring your family.”
The Herd take the field for the first time on Saturday, May 13, 2017 at the Barn (Nelson Park). Season tickets and group packages are now on sale by calling (905) 630-9036 or by visiting the team’s new website, burlingtonherd.com. The Herd can be followed on social media platforms (“iblherd”), including Facebook.com/iblherd.
 By Pepper Parr
December 13, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Somebody changed their mind – and that is healthy. The school board has released the data gathered at the public meeting last Thursday.
The Gazette attended the first really public meeting of the PARC Program Accommodation Review Committee that was created to provide comment on the Boards decision to close two of the city’s high schools.
Lester B. Pearson and Central high school were marked for closure because the city had more than 1800 seats that were not occupied.
The meeting was boisterous but serious questions were asked and the audience of more than 350 dutifully clicked the devices they were given to record the answers.
Given the number of parents from Central, 58.6% of those who voted on the questions asked, the data is going to be somewhat skewed but a close read of all the data suggests that parents from the other high schools could feel much the same way.
 With 2 votes from Robinson; 7 from Aldershot and 5 from Bateman- it is difficult to get a sense as to what they think or feel.
That they don’t feel they are at risk and that the problem doesn’t impact them is not the smartest position to take.
All the data is now publicly available and parents can begin to do their own analysis.
The Gazette wants to thank the school board for making the data available.
It can be found at LINK.
Related articles:
Why the board didn’t want to release the data.
 By Pepper Parr
December 13th, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
That data; captured at a public meeting with more than 350 people in the room.
You are not going to be allowed to see it – with the exception that the Gazette captured most of the data and has made it public.
 Scott Podrebarac, Chair of the PARC. Scott Podrebarac, Chair of the PARC and a Superintendent with the Halton District Public School Board has said that he has “not yet reviewed the raw response data from IPSOS and that he “will not release the information until it is presented as a formal report to the PARC members in advance of the first working meeting on January 26th.”
Ipsos is the company the Board of Education hired to “facilitate” the meetings. They are doing a lot more than facilitating – they are gathering the data, they are probably heavily involved in the phrasing of the questions, and they will in all probability do the analysis of the answers they got to the questions they wrote and present that analysis to the PARC which is expected to meet January 26th.
There is something fundamentally wrong with the approach the Chair of the PARC has taken.
In the meantime, the parents who are at risk of losing their high school, are left high and dry as the saying goes – unable to do their own analysis of the answers that were given at the December 8th meeting
It is evident now that the data is heavily skewed to what the Central high school students think because they were by far the largest group in the room.
Podrebarac adds that “I do not want our PARC members getting information from the media before they receive it.”
 These people answered 25 questions at a public meeting. The answers they gave were flashed up on a large screen – made public. But the Board of Education does not want to release this raw data until it gets presented to a committee. The parents need that data to prepare their arguments that will go to the same committee. The Gazette wonders which part of “public” Podrebarac is having a problem with?
In his response to our asking for the raw data to ensure that what we have published is correct Podrebarac said: “we will prepare and present this to them and post the full report as soon as it has been prepared. This is the process that was shared and agreed to with the PARC members.”
Podrebarac said he is “happy to make myself available throughout the process, so please do not hesitate to call me on my cell or in the office. He means well.
The school board has created the PARC as the body that will be the “official” body that is used to communicate with the public – PARC.
The Board has contracted with Ipsos to handle the “facilitation” of the meetings. The lead person from Ipsos, Kirk Perris, holds a doctorate as well as the title Director of Consultations, Canada
On can deduce that Perris will be doing the analysis of the data and presenting that analysis to the PARC at the end of January.
 Central high school parents are going to have to be more than strong – they are going to have to fight to keep their school open with one hand tied behind their back. Meanwhile the parents who stand a better than even chance of losing their high school have to sit and stew for more than a month.
The is (a) unfair, (b) not in the interests of the public
There isn’t a reason in the world for withholding the raw data that was gathered at a public meeting.
Several hundred parents who do not want to see their neighbourhood high school closed and who are out fundraising and preparing their arguments for the PARC and for the trustees, now have to wait until close to the end of January before they can review the data and come to their own conclusions as to what was the data really says. The kind of information gathered has to be analyzed and filtered – and this takes time.
The parents do have representation on the PARC – they appointed one of the two people on the PARC to represent them. The school board has created email addresses for the members of the PARC. A single email address is used to reach both people representing our school.
The addresses are shown below. Urge the members of the PARC to direct the chair of the committee to release the raw data now.
 Email addresses for the members of the PARC representing the high schools in the city. Director of Education Stuart Miller has said that the recommendation staff made to close Pearson and Central high schools was the starting point of a lengthy process.
 Director of Education Stuart Miller gets out to dozens of events where students are involved. The same cannot be aid for several of his predecessors. He said that parents may well come up with ideas that will result in a solution that keeps everyone happy. And the Gazette believes Miller is sincere – what he does not appear to appreciate is that the parents who stand to lose a core part of their community are left to work with data that is incomplete and may have errors with at least one hand tied behind their back.
Miller was on-hand to greet people before the December 8th meeting started but said that he had been advised not to stay. Miller needs to get better advisers.
Informed people can make informed decisions. In a world of almost instant communication data is king. Let the public have what their taxes paid for.
Director Miller has a number of options. He can release the raw data to the public and the members of the PARC and then send Chair Podrebarac back to the civics class he seems to have missed.
The data the Gazette did manage to capture and report on
By Staff
December 13th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It’s the last Development and Infrastructure Committee Meeting of the year and it is going to be a whopper.
There are a reported 27 delegations registered to speak on three of the items on the agenda – which at 10 minutes each could amount to as much as four and a half hours of council members having to listen to the people who elected them.
They deserve it.
The committee meets at 1 pm and runs, usually until 4 pm – but they have gone over that in the past.
The evening session begins at 6:30 pm – can last until 10 pm with an additional half hour if council agrees, they usually do.
 Mayor Rick Golding serving as chair of a city council meeting. This council doesn’t do very well when it has to listen to delegations; the Mayor tends to get very short – this kind of thing is just outside his comfort zone.
Here is what our champions of the democratic process are looking at for a work load Tuesday.
Declarations of Interest:
Election of Chair and Vice Chair:
Statutory Public Meetings:
Statutory public meetings are held to present planning applications in a public forum as required by the Planning Act
Proposed Zoning By-law amendment for 514 Pearl Street
Character studies and low density residential areas
Note: This item will be discussed at 6:30 p.m.
Delegation(s):
Consent Items: Reports of a routine nature, which are not expected to require discussion and/or debate. Staff may not be in attendance to respond to queries on items contained in the Consent Agenda.
Sweden Denmark update report
Burlington response to provincial consultation on Ontario Municipal Board reform
Regular Items:
Joseph Brant Museum transformation project – 50% detailed design costing
Asset management policy and plan update
State of the downtown report 2016
Proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment for 4853 Thomas Alton Boulevard
Note: This item will be discussed at 6:30 p.m.
Section 37 community benefits for 4853 Thomas Alton Boulevard, ADI Developments Inc.
Note: This item will be discussed at 6:30 p.m.
Confidential Items: Confidential reports may require a closed meeting in accordance with the Municipal Act, 2001. Meeting attendees may be required to leave during the discussion.
Procedural Motions:
Information Items:
Staff Remarks:
Committee Remarks:
Adjournment:
 Burlington’s city council – they may well be a bleary eyed bunch by the end of the day. They all go home and come back in a week to sit as a city council and put a rubber stamp on the most of what got discussed at length during the Standing Committee meeting.
 By Pepper Parr
December 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Tom Muir has been delegating to city council for more than 25 years.
He is a solid thorn in the side of his council member who doesn’t send Muir a Christmas card, Muir doesn’t lose any sleep over this.
 Will this high school close – and if it does what will it do to the life of the downtown core. He has been watching the Board of Education plan to possibly close two Burlington high schools and he has some advice for the parents. The following is an unedited comment Tom Muir made earlier today.
From my experience, parents just have to become completely self-aware, so they find out for themselves what is really going on.
Don’t expect the Board to tell you what you want to know. This is really politics, and the key in politics is to control the narrative.
That’s what the Board is doing very well. They have the whole process structured and orchestrated.
They act interested, but they are defending the closures recommendation that they made right off the bat. That is their real interest. Don’t be fooled.
Of course you are being manipulated. Your key questions are being avoided, and right in front of your face. So what does this tell you?
They are trying to get you to fill in the blanks of some of their key questions. Your were “facilitated” – another political tool.
They are doing their own brand of efficiency, and I don’t think parents are being told the half of it. Parents are doing heart. Get that through your head.
If parents don’t let their outrage loose, and in mass numbers demand answers to their key questions, on a schedule parents set, to the Board, and the Trustees, and your Councillor and Mayor, and right now, immediately, then the trip down the garden path will continue.
Parents have to self-organize and go to war for what they want. Sheep are for slaughter. They are the big bad wolf.
If parents don’t do this, then give up, because they will just put you down slowly, on their schedule, with their information driving the bus your kids are on.
Don’t kid yourself, and don’t go quietly.
Take the advice of a citizen who has been down this path more often than he cares to admit. He recently chastised council for their attempt to limit the length of time a citizen could delegate at a Standing Committee.
Tom Muir explaining to city council what their job is:
Tom Muir made, as he inevitably does, points worth remembering.
 Citizen Tom Muir “I would hope that Council votes in favor of the 10 minutes unanimously, as a show of good faith. I will say that a vote to reduce to 5 minutes is something I see as an insult to citizens and their possible contribution to what we do as a city – our city.”
“Further, if Councillors still want to vote down the 10 minutes, I say this. If you are so tired of and frustrated by, listening to the views of the people that elected you, then maybe you have been doing this job too long and should quit. I mean that, and will not forget how this vote goes tonight. “
“This Council is not your Council; it is the people’s Council.
“And these Council Chambers are not your Chambers, but are equally, the people’s Chambers. All the Councillors and Councils hold these offices and chambers in trust.
“So to vote to reduce the people’s time to speak in these chambers is to fail in that trust, in my opinion.
I ask therefore; herein fail not.”
The vote went 6-1 with Councillor Craven voting against ten minutes for Standing Committee delegations.
 By Pepper Parr
December 12th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The people in the Alton community are having a problem with a project that is proposed for their community – they aren’t opposed to development – but they don’t like the size of what the ADI Development g Group wants to build on Thomas Alton Way bounded by Palladium Way and Appleby Line.
 Proposed design for stacked townhouses in the Alton Village The developer has asked the city to let them build two 19 storey apartment buildings on land that is zoned for up to ten storey buildings. They want to add traditional townhouses, and stacked townhouses for a total of 612 units.
The size of the units is relatively small, suggesting, according to the community, that the market for these units is the singles 20-30 crowd and the 60+ crowd. Developers do their market research and usually understand where they will be directing their advertising.
The ward council member Blair Lancaster has said she is not going to support the project but does point out to the community that if Council turns the project down – there is every chance that the developer will take the project to the Ontario Municipal Board where the city apparently feels it doesn’t have all that much leverage.
The Planning department report recommends that Council approve the project.
Tough to have a project go to the OMB when the planners think it should be approved.
The two school boards have said in their reports that they have no objection to the project.
 The proposal set out as of September 2016 will have 21 traditional townhouses, 150 stacked townhouses and 441 apartments along with the two 19 storey apartment towers joined by a six story podium. The project has gone through a number of design changes.
In a city that is having serious problems accepting the idea that Burlington has to come to terms with the fact that a way has to be found to have fewer cars on the road, theCity staff are prepared to accept a reduced parking rate of 1.26 spaces per unit. Staff can support a parking reduction from 1,059 spaces to 759 spaces, a reduction of 300 spaces (equivalent to a 28% reduction from the current Zoning By-law requirement).
Support for a reduced parking requirement of 759 spaces is dependent upon the applicant providing no less than 2 carshare vehicles on-site, dedicated carshare parking, and continued unbundling of parking costs from unit prices.
 As currently proposed, a parking deficiency of 14 spaces is anticipated. This is acceptable to Transportation Services staff. In this regard, the draft amending by-law provides for a minimum parking rate of 1.24 spaces per unit.
No mention is made of any road diets for the Alton Village.
The developer has talked nice about a Section 37 arrangement that has the developer turning over real dollars for community related improvements.
In a separate report going to the Standing Committee on Development and Infrastructure the following details were published:
Staff and the owners have agreed to the following direct and indirect community benefits:
• The applicant agrees to construct and the future condominium corporation will maintain a surface outdoor amenity space on the subject lands. These open space lands will be developed to a high standard and public access will be assured by way of an easement to be registered on title of the lands allowing public access to and use of this park space. This amenity space will be subject to a Landscape Plan and lighting review at the site plan approval stage. This indirect community benefit has been assessed at a value of $519,800.00.
• The applicant agrees to provide 20 residential dwelling units at a cost of $35,000 below market rate (approximately $262,000.00) to a housing provider (such as but not limited to Region of Halton Housing, Habitat for Humanity, etc.) for the purposes of delivering affordable housing on a long term basis. This indirect community benefit has been assessed at a value of $700,000.00.
• The applicant agrees to provide a direct community benefit valued at $60,000.00 towards improvements at Doug Wright park, located in close proximity to the subject lands. It is anticipated that these funds will be spent on the creation of a community garden. The City agrees to erect signage acknowledging financial contributions were made by ADI Developments Inc. by the community garden facility.
Is the goose cocked on this one? This city council doesn’t like OMB hearings – with some justification. Elsewhere in today’s paper there is an article on the changes the city and the Region would like to see made to the legislation that sets out the role and purpose of the Ontario Municipal Board. But any changes to the OMB are many months away.
The Alton community has planned strong delegations to the Standing Committee Tuesday evening.
 By Pepper Parr
December 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington is asking residents to share their input on a proposed event strategy for the city through an online survey. A link to that survey is at the end of this article.
Last March, hundreds of residents and event organizers shared their ideas and feedback with the Parks and Recreation department through stakeholder meetings and an online survey, about how to shape a future approach to festivals and events in Burlington, They fashioned an early sage strategy and now want feedback from the public to learn if the proposed strategy reflects their thoughts and ideas.
 The meeting facilitator used a much different approach to recording the data gathered. The proposed strategy touches on many aspects of the delivery of festivals and events in the community, including:
• The types of events held in the city
• The location of events in the city
• Funding for events.
The proposed event strategy will be presented to Burlington City Council in early 2017.
The city’s 25 year Strategic Plan supports festivals and events of all sizes and annually hosts three Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario. Burlington directly delivers a small number of events with the majority of events being delivered by the community for the community. Festival and event organizers are supported by the city as they enrich our community, create a sense of belonging and support our strategic goals of A City that Grows, A City that Moves, A Healthy and Greener City and An Engaging City.
A number of factors including the city’s natural beauty make Burlington a desirable location to host events. All stakeholders in the city have an expectation that the city’s assets and resources are used responsibly and reflect the best interests for the greater good. A number of trends have highlighted the importance of having an event strategy including:
Interest in a variety of events
Increased attendance at events
Concerns with profit events on public land
Safety and legislative requirements for event organizers
Community consultation for new events
Concerns with events in Burlington requiring admission fees
There is a historical approach applied to the acceptance of events hosted within Spencer Smith Park; is it time or that to change. Spencer Smith Park and some downtown roads have reached capacity and there is now a desire for a balanced approached to potentially expand events to other areas in our city.
 The decision to turn the Beachway into a very different Regional Park that will be managed by the city will impact what Parks and Recreation decides how it is going to manage its budget. The planned park is massive in size. Assuming all the planning being done to create a totally different Beachway the city will have a lot more space to locate events. It will be sometime before the public sees anything really new – but the plans to gut what currently exists in the Beachway and turn it into something significantly different are in place.
Coming up with a longer term plan and then a strategy to put that plan work is something Parks and Recreation has been working on for some time.
 Despite a pretty decent turn out the participants in the workshop type setting didn’t come up with very much in the way of ideas. The event held in March showed a lot of initiative and innovation on the part of the Parks and Recreation staff – but they got very little from the audience they had invited to take part.
The “legacy stake holders” were in the room to ensure that the way things were working for them didn’t get changed – when it was change that the city wanted.
Ribfest has been in Spencer Smith Park for more than 20 years – there are people at city hall think that might be due for a change. Ribfest is a Rotary event and one doesn’t advance a career at city hall going against the Rotary flow – Burlington has four different Rotary organizations in this city.
Sound of Music has been around for a long time – it is one of the best festivals in the province and consistently takes awards – which are usually handed out by the organizations that run awards across the province – a little on the self-serving side.
However, it is a stunning event and draws very well. Parks and recreation wants to know if it can be better.
They also want to see what they can do to organize events that are not in Spencer Smith Park. So far they haven’t come up with much in the way of new ideas and that meeting in March didn’t add anything useful.
 Denise Beard, one of the managers within Parks and Recreation is one of the best thinkers in the department. She organized the event. Parks and Recreation does have a challenge – the survey is one of the ways they are looking for reaction from the public on some ideas they are developing.
What doesn’t appear to have occurred to Parks and Recreation is looking for ways to partner with community groups that are developing a market for events.
The Lowville Festival – heading into its third year has shown that there is a market for what they have developed – now they need some facilities support and some early stage financial support – just the way the Sound of Music did when it started as a city run event.
Link to the survey
By Pepper Parr
December 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
This isn’t what they expected.
The evidence was pretty compelling but the Progressive Conservative Party Organization and Election Readiness committee decided there “were no violations of the Party Constitution nor the rules established by the Provincial Nominations Committee” The decision was unanimous.
They sent Colin Pye, the party member who filed the appeal, a letter immediately after. Here was the news he received.
Dear Mr. Pye;
First off, on behalf of the three members of the Appeal Panel, I’d like to thank you, again, for taking the time, earlier this evening, to participate in our deliberations on the concerns you and your associates have raised regarding the recent Burlington nomination meeting.
The Panel re-assembled, after your input, and gave its final consideration of the issues you have raised. After considerable discussion, the Panel has unanimously agreed that there were no violations of the Party Constitution nor the rules established by the Provincial Nominations Committee nor were there any deviations from the standard practices, at the event, that have been followed for all nomination meetings.
Accordingly, the Panel must dismiss the complaint, in its entirety, and uphold the election of Jane McKenna as the nominated candidate for our Party for the 2018 General Election. We will send you a more detailed response, and a rebuttal for each of the issues you raised, early next week, but we wanted to give you, your associates, the riding association and Ms McKenna the benefit of a decision at the earliest possible opportunity.
Again, thank you for your participation in this process and for your support of the Burlington riding association.
Sincerely, Steve Gilchrist, Director, Organization and Election Readiness
This means Jane McKenna can begin campaigning. She has scheduled a fundraiser at Honey West.
Related article:
The request for an appeal of the Kane McKenna nomination.
 By Staff
December 11, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington is ready for this afternoon/evening’s predicted snowfall of from 10 to 15 centimetres.
Crews and plow trucks are out on the roads today and have begun salting.
The city monitors road conditions 24 hours a day, seven days a week, salting, sanding and plowing as needed.
Please drive safely.
If you want to learn where the snow plows have been check the link
By Staff
December 9, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
As we enter the holiday season, our focus becomes the hustle and bustle of shopping, dinner parties and family gatherings. As joyous as this season is, there are many families in the Region of Halton who struggle to provide their children with that special gift on Christmas morning.
In 2015, the Toys for Tots program helped over 4,200 families in the Region of Halton. The police want to make the 2016 campaign just as successful.
 Regional police “detective” McGruff will be at the Canadian Tire stores this Saturday Halton Regional Police is holding two Cram-A-Cruiser events on Saturday, December 10, 2016 as part of the annual Toys for Tots toy drive.
Where:
1. Canadian Tire Store located at 5070 Appleby Line, Burlington
2. Canadian Tire Store located at 777 Guelph Line, Burlington
When:
11:00am to 3:00pm at both locations
Police officers and volunteers will be accepting new unwrapped toys, gift cards (great for teens), cash or Canadian Tire money for the Toys for Tots program. Please bring the children to come and meet our officers, tour a police cruiser and meet McGruff! Help us fill as many cruisers as possible!
The Halton Police mascot, McGruff will be at the Appleby Line store.
All donations remain in the Region of Halton.
By Staff
December 9th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Roads and Parks Maintenance crews are ready and fully prepared for winter weather.
Burlington’s road network is patrolled 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure road conditions are monitored. Crews are dispatched for salting, sanding or plowing according to road conditions.
 The weekend forecast is for snow accumulations of 11 to 22 cm between Sunday night and Monday morning.
Please note the city snow website is updated when plows are sent out on the roads. It is not updated if there is less than 5 cm of snow accumulation.
Further information can be found at burlington.ca/snow
Link to what has been plowed so far
By Sherry Booth
December 9th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
With the American Election finally over, as Ontarians we are now at the beginning stages preparing for our next Provincial Election. As a newly registered member of the Progressive Conservative Party I witness 1st hand just how the process works. As the PC Party here in Burlington voted on Nov. 26th to elect who will be the next person to be our leader as the MPP for the PC Party. I was more that shocked and disappointed how this election process took place.
 Defeated candidate Jane Michael. I felt it was time for me to engage and be more evolved in supporting who I felt was the best party to help fix the mess that the Liberals have gotten us into. A retirement dream of mine one day “was” to move to the country.
The Liberals took that dream away as I will not be able to afford the Hydro Bill! Along comes Jane Michael knocking on my door…She sold me on the PC Party and what she stood for. As she said “Now is the time to take back Burlington and make it blue again” and push out the Liberals. The PC Party was the party to do that…so I signed up.
After what I watch happen that day I started to second guess my support. Is one party really any better than the next? As a newly joined member of the Progressive Conservative Party here in Burlington I am extremely disappointed in the process I saw personally at the Nomination meeting and election that was held on Nov. 26 recently.
Not only did I watch the registration desk turn away newly registered members for the PC Party…I watched them turn away a Trustee from the School Board. The Trustee realized that they had lost their Drivers Licence.
That person offered up all other ID in their wallet plus showed them their picture on the Board website. Note that all Trustees of school Boards are elected officials. On the website was the trustee name and photo confirming that they were who they said they were. I later was told by that Trustee that they had to go home and come back with a Hydro Bill before they could vote…Turns out the Trustee was a Jane Michael supporter as the trustee had on a Jane Michael pin. There were other similar stories at that point I really questioned my faith in the PC Party. Clearly the registration desk was holding up Supporters for one person.
So I decided to stay till the end and see how this all played out.
Once the voting polls had closed I waited to see how the votes went. The results were in, Rick Dykstra (PC Party President) announced who was elected as the next Leader of the Burlington Party! When the voters asked if we can have the results, we were told by Dykstra that he was not sharing the results with us. It was at that moment,
I felt I had made a huge mistake in supporting the PC Party that does not offer full disclosure.
 Jane McKenna – won the nomination by 41 more cotes than Michael. Clearly Transparency is not something that the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Burlington Stands for…This is not about who won and who didn’t. It is about disclosure and transparently. It is about honesty!
How can a party hold an official election to see which nominee would be voted in as the Leader and not disclose the results! If you are going to do something do it right! What a waste of my time and an insult to ever PC Party Member! I could go on with other questionable activities I have heard about…but I have only hear about the other stories, this is what watch unfold myself…PC Party if you want my support you best fix this, hold a re-vote and this time get it right!
Be up front about it and offer full disclosure because you have now set a negative tone for the PC Party moving in to the next election!
Related article:
 By Ray Rivers
December 9th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
When did you stop kicking your dog? That question isn’t on mydemocracy.ca the federal government’s survey on electoral reform. But at more than one point I was sure it was coming, as I struggled with the survey.
This online survey the federal government is asking Canadians to complete has drawn the ire from the opposition benches. Elizabeth May compared it to a dating website and was waiting for the question, ‘do you like pina coladas and taking walks in the rain’.
 It is a survey at least worth looking at. There is some speculation that the result is fixed, skewed to give the government the results it wanted.
I’ve worked a fair bit with surveys, but it was only after I’d completed this one that I appreciated the skill that has gone into developing it. There is a difference between a poll and a value-based survey – and this is the latter. The result the surveyors inferred from my responses was illuminating – everyone should try the survey.
Here is where you go to find the survey. www.mydemocracy.ca
Mr. Trudeau has a problem of his own making. His minister of democratic institutions, Maryam Monsef, created a special parliamentary committee giving the members a mandate to recommend an alternative to our current first-past-the-post (FPP) election system. That was one of the key commitments in Mr. Trudeau’s winning election campaign.
 Maryam Monsef the federal Minister responsible for electoral reform at a town hall meeting. (Photograph by Cole Burston) Of course, the parties can’t possibly agree on any one system. The minority parties (NDP, Greens and Bloc) will only ever be satisfied with mixed member proportional representation, the formula that would maximize their presence in the House, While the only option which will allow the united Conservative party to form majority government again is the existing FPP.
The Liberals could live with a mixed-member proportional system, and they have also won consistently with our existing FPP system, including just last year. Still they really would like a preferential or ranked ballot, since they are the party of first or second choice for most Canadians. Elected MPs would better represent the preferences of the majority of Canadians than FPP, and the system would be easier to understand and implement than complex proportional representation.
So, given the diversity of opinion on this matter, perhaps the government expected the committee to fail. That would then open the door for it to take the initiative and move forward unilaterally. Except the minister had given majority membership on the committee to the opposition parties, thus letting the fox run the hen house. So the Conservatives took a strategic perspective and played a brilliant hand.
They bluffed. The Tories anted up to the NDP and Greens bid for a proportional system. But then they raised the bid – requiring a mandatory referendum before any change can be made. Having made sure it was all-in, they then put their cards on the table.
The committee had clearly gone beyond their mandate in recommending a referendum. So a furious minister called them on it – giving them a tongue lashing in the House. But she was bidding with a weak hand and ended up apologizing for accusing them of cheating.
 And just who is holding what in the manipulating of the way we get to elect our federal leadership. This is the adult game of poker, not go-fish. Yet, as if in a game of bridge, the Minister had been finessed. Since nobody but the Liberals are putting their money on a preferential, or ranked ballot come next election, she lost her hand. In fact she lost it to the Conservatives because the minority opposition parties (NDP, Greens, Bloc) were accepting fools’ gold instead of cold hard cash. The Tories are banking on the referendum failing. And that would leave our system exactly where it is – FPP.
But even with a successful referendum there would not be enough time to change the system before the next election in 2019. And Conservatives are gambling that the shine will have come off Mr. Trudeau by then. And perhaps with new leadership in the opposition parties they will put a dent in the powerful lead the Liberals have in popular support. That might just result in another minority government in 2019, given we’d be playing under existing house rules – FPP.
 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thinking through his next move. And were the Tories to form a government again, that will be the last we ever hear of electoral reform. Just look at what they did with other Liberal policies, such as the long gun registry or public funding for political parties.
But the game is not yet over, and now it’s Mr. Trudeau’s turn at the deal.
 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:
Monsef Apologizes – Special Committee – Referendum –
mydemocracy.ca – Critics of the Survey –
FPP Commitment – Electoral Reform Consultations –
By Staff
December 8th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board trustees held their last regular meeting for the year and geared themselves for a very full 2017 when they will tackle at least two formidable challenges.
 The public school board is doing everything it can to let parents know that every high school in the city is part of a review now taking place. Two school, Central and Pearson were recommended for closure by staff – that’s all it was – a recommendation. Trustees will make the final decision next May. Does the Board decide that a high school has to be closed and if they do which ones do they close? This evening, Thursday, December 8th, at the Gary Alan School on New Street the PARC – Program Accommodation Review Committee will hold the first of their many meetings.
The Director of Education has to struggle with the way French language classes are going to be offered in the District. They are in the middle of a “breather year” while staff work on different approaches to how French language classes are going to be offered – Core French for everyone once the roll out now taking place is completed and when should French Immersion begin.
 Kelly Amos – re-elected as the Chair of the Halton District school Board The trustees decided last night who was going to lead the team. Oakville Trustee Kelly Amos was re-elected chair and Kim Graves re-elected vice chair. The first set of ballots did not produce a winner for the chair position – Kelly Amos, Amy Collard and Andrea Grebenc were in the running. When Grebenc was off the list – the job went to Amos.
There is a pretty clear split between those who prefer the Amos style of leadership over what Collard has offered in the past.
 Andrea Grebenc tossed her hat into the ring to serve as chair of the Halton District school board. Not for her this time – but this is a trustee worth watching. Grebenc is the first of the newer crop of trustees to put her name forward for a leadership role on the Board of trustees. The Gazette would have liked to see her in a vice chair role to gain some top level board of trustee experience. This is a trustee to watch.
It was a very full board session – the Gazette will follow up with details later.
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