 By Staff
October 31, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The Gazette is a Burlington newspaper published on line and while we are certainly aware of that smokestack called Hamilton to the west of us, we try hard not to be continually angry about all the stuff they spew into the environment.
 They recently did something that we fully approved of and appreciated. They chose Joan Krygsman as a Hamilton Spectator Reader’s Choice Awards winner and named her the First Place Platinum Award winner as BEST LOCAL ARTIST 2014.
Joan Krygsman and her Striped Aardvark studio has been doing what has been called colourful, quirky and unique art. They are certainly different – we think delightful – but art is often in the eye of the beholder – so you get to decide.
 Joan is one of those “she’s everywhere” type of people. She plays a guitar and takes part in any group that will invite her. She works with the Rain Barrel people and delegates at Hamilton City Council on almost every issue that touches on the environment.
Krygsman also does Income Tax returns for people. We came across Joan when we were looking for someone to put together a complex reader survey.
 We learned that Joan was pretty good at revising and upgrading WORDPress themes, which is the software we use to format the Gazette. It was advice from Joan that convinced us to move to the theme we currently have.
Colourful, quirky and unique are words used to describe Joan Krygsman – she is all of the above
For more on Joan slip over to her website . Most of what she produces is for sale.
Krygsman usually takes a small selection of things each weekend to the Wilson Street Farmers Market in Ancaster.
By Pepper Parr
October 30, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
They have been doing it for more than ten years.
 Artists who put on an arts tour during a weekend that give Burlingtonians a chance to visit nine studios where there are three, sometimes four different artists displaying their work.
Art in Action has been doing this for more than ten years. Each year new artists are added and others who have been showing for a while are dropped off. The studios are scattered about the city with well-marked directions.
 The selection this year in the nine studios include:
 STUDIO 1
654 SPRING GARDEN RD
Teresa Seaton – Stained Glass Artist
Helen Griffiths – Fine Artist
Josh Tiessen – Fine Artist
Silvana Terry – Jewellery Artist
STUDIO 2
1247 LEMONVILLE RD
George Wilkinson – Wood Turner
Kim DiFrancesco- Fine Artist
Done Graves-Fine Artist
Monica Bell – Quilter
 STUDIO 3
1292 HIDDEN VALLEY RD
Ed Hoyer – Fine Artist
Maria Hoyer- Fine Artist
Kathy Fenton – Jewellery Artist
Casandra Ward – Fine Artist
STUDIO 4
1359 HIDDEN VALLEY RD
Julio Ferrer – Fine Artist
Tamara Kwapich – Fine Artist
Liz Meister – Jewellery Artist
STUDIO 5
1295 Knights Bridge Court
Ian Cowling – Photographer
Aubrey Denomy – Sculptor
Brian Harris – Fine Artist
Karen Harris – Clay Sculptor
 STUDIO 6
711 ROSS ST
Dan Jones – Photographer
Glen Jones – Photographer
Fred Oliver – Photographer
STUDIO 7
531 Limerick Road
Anne More – Fine Artist
Donna Fratesi – Fine Artist
Joe Speck – Glass Fuser
Marilyn Walsh – Sculptor
STUDIO 8
424 SPARLING CRES.
Donna Grandin – Fine Artist
Lois Shaw- Fine Artist
Louise Young – Jeweller
 STUDIO 9
377 Cosburn Crescent
Dave Lawson – Photographer
John Highley – Glass Mosaic Artist
Peter Schlotthauer – Artist Blacksmith
Tammy Warren – Jewellery Artist
For those who make the tour an annual event – there is the opportunity to watch an artist grow and evolve. And you tend to meet people at a one studio that you met at a different studio earlier in the day and you exchange views on what you saw and what you liked and didn’t like.
You find yourself returning to favourite artists and wondering if you can afford what they have knowing that you would like to have that painting or piece of quilt work in your home.
 Don Graves, on the right, showing a canvas to a perspective buyer (she bought) will head up the Art Discussions program for the Art in Action crowd. During one of the previous tours it was a delight to watch Don Graves selling a small piece of work to a young woman who was a first time art buyer. Nice too to see Graves mount a show at the Art Gallery of Burlington that saw a slightly different direction in his work.
It was with some delight that we got a request from a Gazette reader asking if we could put them in touch with Don Graves – they had seen one of his paintings and wanted to talk to hm about a possible purchase. We put the two people together but never learned if a sale took place.
 Darlene Throop, on the right, presents Bateman High School students Sarah Tom with the 2014 Art in Action $1500. scholarship. Each year the Art in Action group awards a scholarship to a Halton student. The award for this year went to Sarah Tom.
By Lana Kamarić
October 28, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Thursday evening, at the Edy Roy Glass Gallery on Spring Garden Road, just in behind the Royal Botanical Gardens, True Visage, a specialty show for Devil’s Night will take place.
True Visage will be featuring a new body of work from Salt, a glass artist from Austin Texas, which will include his glass pipe work as well as a series of masks – appropriate for the occasion.
In these new pieces, Salt examines the masks we wear through the faces we put on for the world. He plays with the concept in both a literal and figurative sense, postulating that while we do not necessarily cover our faces with a latex shield we do tend to smile even when we are not happy.
 Latex masks with removable glass eyeballs are part of the True Visage exhibit at the Edy Roy Faller this Thursday Salt has collaborated with special effects artist Kim Zii to create latex masks with removable glass eyeballs. Zii is also an experienced glass and make-up artist from Philadelphia.
In addition to the masks Salt will also be displaying a series of glass pipes. As a functional piece he raises the question of whether the pipe is disguised as art or if the art is disguised as a pipe. Salt describes the pipe as a product of its environment – much like the faces we wear for the world.
Salt’s work often resembles monsters and strange creatures. True Visage was created specifically for this Halloween geared show. Edy Roy Glass Gallery strives to promote original and unique pieces. Creative director, Kyle Brooke, focuses on pieces from “artists that have something to say and have a voice.”
While the gallery does display traditional soft glass work, they also work to showcase the contemporary glass movement that involves borosilicate glass work, which tends to be more functional. Brooke provided some insight into this movement, specifically that of glass pipe art. She describes this art form as a subculture much like graffiti and tattoo art.
 Kim Zit’s glass pipes are a subculture much like graffiti and tattoo art Brooke also mentioned how this art form has become its own industry and gathered many followers. Artists do events all over the world and are often regarded as “rockstars” in their field. Brooke discovered this movement in the US and is working to bring more of it to Canadian audiences.
The opening night will be this Thursday October 30th. A private showing will take place for the sponsors on the opening night, however the show will be open to the public from 6 – 10pm.
The Edy Roy Glass Gallery exhibits are very popular and draw a lot of people for their specialty shows. Line ups are not uncommon – it is expected to be quite the event. In the spirit of Halloween the event will be a masquerade, so bring your mask.
 Lana Kamarić is a contemporary surrealist artist and a self-taught painter. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia Lana arrived in Canada at the age of five. After moving to Burlington she attended Robert Bateman High school and graduated from York University with a degree in Art History. Lana has worked with the Museums of Burlington, the Art Gallery of Burlington and is currently working as a full-time artist. Lana was a participant in Cirque, the 2014 No Vacancy installation event in the Village Square. Her last show was Art in the Workplace at McMaster Innovation Park.
 By Pepper Parr
October 26, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
If the incumbent in ward 2 is beaten October 27th – it will be the upset of the year.
There are two challengers; one who we suspect has been put up to running and the other should find a new hobby.
Marianne Meed Ward is what the commercial people call a “disrupter” – she wants to change the way the city operates and she wants to get people involved. She doesn’t have much time for the social groups who feel they have influence and clout and she has no time for the vested interests.
 Meed Ward was a frequent delegator at city council meetings. Anyone wanting to run for Council in the future wants to look at her model – it works. Meed Ward cannot avoid a microphone and is like a moth to a flame when the television cameras appear. Some think she talks too much – and she does. She spoke longer than the candidate when Katrina Gould was being nominated as the Liberal choice for Burlington in the next federal election.
She drives her council colleague’s bananas – Councillor Taylor rolls his eyes frequently when Meed Ward is going on and on – and he is her friend.
However, when Meed Ward is going on she is asking the questions that need to be asked; she is asking the questions that no one else bothers to ask.
 They had every reason to be smiling. Councillors Meed Ward and Lancaster pose with five members of the Friends of Freeman Station after the Council meeting that approved the entering into of a Joint Venture that would have the Friends moving the station and taking on the task of renovating the building. She, along with Councillor Blair Lancaster, saved Freeman Station from destruction.
Council will consider a Code of Conduct which Councillor Craven wants to see in place hoping that it will keep Meed Ward out of his territory. Craven goes close to ballistic when Meed Ward talks about ward 1 issues. Craven takes the old approach to local politics – each Councillor is responsible for their ward and they keep their noses out of the others. Meed Ward sees herself as on Council to represent ward 2 specifically but she feels free to speak about issues in every ward.
She is by far the most aggressive member of Council, aggressive in a positive way; but that doesn’t make it any easier for her council colleagues to cope with. They don’t share her approach to municipal politics – she works for participation and inclusion. She is usually quite comfortable delegating and letting the people, who are going to be impacted by a decision, be part of the decision making process.
 Meed Ward wanted this project to be not more than four storeys in height to protect the character of the neighbour. The economics of the project made that impossible. Meed Ward does have problems with her understanding of economic fundamentals. She wanted the Maranatha project on New Street to be much smaller than economics of development make necessary.
Meed Ward doesn’t think the city has to change it rules so that developers can make a profit. The people developing Maranatha are certainly not your classic developer; this is a Christian organization that looks for ways to create housing that meets the needs of different groups.
The economics of buying property don’t seem to matter to Meed Ward, but they are a reality for anyone wanting to build anything. The people whose property is being bought want the best price they can get. The prices paid for the property assembled determine to a large degree what the cost of the units being offered will amount to – that economic fundamental seems to go right over Meed Ward’s head.
While Meed Ward talks about a collaborative approach to solving problems and arriving at solutions – collaboration means creating groups that can work together and it would be difficult to point to an occasion, when she has been able to work closely with her colleagues. The Freeman station cooperation was more of an exception than a rule.
It is often her against them. Like it or not, Council is made up of seven people and Meed Ward needs to work with all of them. We did not see much of that in her first term of office. She has worked closely with Councillor Lancaster on saving the Freeman Station from destruction – so it can be done.
 The Molinaro Paradigm project will change the stretch of Fairview and Brant hugely and result in major changes in future development in the area. Meed Ward also worked closely with the Molinaro’s on their Paradigm project on Fairview next to the GO station. So she can and has worked with developers.
Mayoral candidate Peter Rusin however pointed out that there are going to be just five affordable housing units in the five structure complex: “who negotiated that deal” he asked. Good question – who did negotiate that deal and was that the best that could be done.
There is a lot of fuzziness around affordable housing – how it works and where the responsibility lies for the creation of affordable units and then assuring that they remain affordable. Some leadership is needed on this – Meed Ward is the logical one to take this on – so far we’ve not seen the kind of leadership this issue needs.
According to the Meed Ward Newsletter web site: “…a number of developers have agreed to meet with residents before submitting development proposals, and in several cases they’ve modified their plans based on your input, most notably the Molinaro “Paradigm” project on Fairview. More than a dozen changes were made to that project after two public design workshops, all voluntary since the project has already been approved by the OMB.
On Section 37, she spearheaded a community conversation about the risks and benefits of using this tool, and secured a review of our Section 37 protocol which was changed to require consultation with the ward councillor to ensure public input on any benefits negotiated in your name. Meed Ward effectively took that issue out of the hands of the Planning department and put it into the hands of the residents – at least in ward 2.
Meed Ward believes “we can reach our provincial growth targets through jobs or residential units” and adds that “we need to focus on jobs downtown, so more of our residents can live and work here.
City Council approved the downtown as one of five hubs in the city for focused economic growth through the Burlington Economic Development Corporation.
 There was a time when a much larger bus terminal existed 25 yards to the left of this small terminal on John Street – it was where people met. There were fewer cars, Burlington didn’t have the wealth then that it has now. We were a smaller city, as much rural as suburban. The times have changed and transit now needs to change as well. This part of town is to become a transit hub. This same Council actually thought about closing the transit station on John Street – a mixed message if there ever was one.
And “mixed message” is the best that can be said of the ongoing efforts to create a downtown with more buzz. Shutting down traffic for car Free Sundays was a nice idea but it didn’t work in ward 2.
Meed Ward wants to see a retail attraction strategy developed.
Right on sister – now get the Burlington Downtown Business Association to do the job they are in place to do and make downtown more people friendly. They could start with a better job of getting the retailers on Brant Street to gussy the place up a bit during the holiday season. Last year’s effort was pathetic.
Meed Ward wants to “explore the feasibility” of a year-round farmer’s market downtown.” Make sure the Rotarians are involved in that discussion. They operate a very healthy market at the Burlington mall and they don’t want to see tax payer dollars taking their customers away from their event.
In the next term of council, Meed Ward said she “will get a report back on the possibility of setting up incubators for start-up businesses, including downtown.”
 A successful entrepreneur took a risk and opened up what can be called a start-up incubator. All the politicians showed up for the opening night drinks and then forgot about the place. There is a start-up incubator downtown. Meed Ward attended its flashy opening – and that was it. The city hasn’t given it an inch of support. Meed Ward argues that the city cannot favour a private venture. Rubbish. The HiVe uses a “membership” model and there is no reason why both the BEDC and the city could not have bought a couple of memberships and used them for people who are in the city and need a place to work with their computers.
 It is going to take quite a bit more than Red Bag Sales to grow the downtown retail sector. It would be interesting to see the reports on the meetings between the Downtown Business Association and the Economic Development Corporation – were there any? The EDC doesn’t seem to have figured out how to push the clutch so they can get their act in gear. Don’t hold your breath for those two organizations to come forward with a cohesive well thought out plan. There are people at city hall who have gone grey trying to develop policies and guidelines for something in the way of downtown commercial growth.
The number of new business enterprises is about the same as the number of people who either ran out of money or just plain gave up. Not very promising numbers.
The development community see Meed Ward as dangerous and describe her as such. Former city manager Jeff Fielding once said that if she had a decent handler she would be a very strong Mayor. The idea of Meed Ward being “handled” is one that is not easily embraced.
Meed Ward got herself into office by creating an organization focused on a single issue: Saving our Waterfront. That group had representation in every ward. She showed her community that she knows how to listen and they have embraced her approach.
Meed Ward brings a significantly different approach to municipal politics in Burlington. She has shown a willingness to share the power and authority she has. She gets called a “populist” for that approach.
We were never sure just what was meant by that word “populist”. Meed Ward certainly doesn’t set out to be popular. She has forced her council colleagues to stand for recorded votes; her best evening was when she forced them to stand four times.
Why every vote taken by this Council on everything at both Standing Committees and Council meetings is not recorded boggles the mind. Those men and women are chosen to lead and paid to do so. The public has a right to know what they decide and they have a responsibility to ensure the public knows what they have done.
Ward 2 is the smallest in the city which makes the task of organizing quite a bit easier. There are pockets that are not getting the attention they need. The Queensway community is an example. There is an opportunity to get some playground space for that community
 More than 100 mature trees were cut down for a development that razed 8 homes to put in 58. Bad planning. Meed Ward has spoken out strongly against the shameful Ghent Street development that took out more than 100 mature trees and then filled the property that had 8 houses with 58 units that are crammed in like sardines. Great for the developer – bad for the city overall. In time the city will come to see that the Ghent development was a serious mistake.
Meed Ward has a true sense of what a public needs to hear from a politician. During her kick off campaign event at the Art Gallery she asked people not for just their votes but for their trust. Politically that was a close to brilliant choice of words.
When she was running for office in 2010 there were a number of former politicians who were prepared to work with her, but she wasn’t prepared to listen to them. In 2010 her objective was to win the seat and position herself for a run against Cam Jackson who she thought was going to win in 2010.
Full disclosure here: I sat in on several of those early campaign meetings and was asked to play a leadership role in her campaign. I decided against playing a role – not because I didn’t think Meed Ward was a winner – it was clear that she had the potential to win. What wasn’t clear then, and still isn’t clear yet, is this: Does Meed Ward have what it takes to serve as the Mayor of Burlington? Can she develop the skills needed to serve as Mayor?
She is not there yet, but that isn’t going to stop her from trying. Could she beat Rick Goldring in 2018 – based on what Goldring did during the 2010-14 term of office her chances of winning in 2018 are better than even.
Meed Ward was more right than most people give her credit for on the pier issue. The city could have settled for much less than it did – but some smart political spin when the settlement was reached, allowed the city to come out looking like the winner.
 The pier was just a part of a longer term development that will next see a 22 storey condominium and an eight story hotel go up and possibly followed by a 28 storey tower as well.- The pier is just one part of the waterfront. There is a patch of land that is referred to as the “football” that is bound by Lakeshore Road and Old Lakeshore Road and has a reported 18 different property owners.
 The west end of the “football”, a patch of land with Lakeshore Road on he north side and Old Lakeshore Road on the south. Begging for intelligent planning. When the Waterfront Advisory Committee was in place they had plans to hold a design competition for some ideas as to what could be done with that part of the city. It was a good idea then (it was given to them by former Toronto Mayor David Crombie) and it is a good idea now. Meed Ward needs to find a way to move this from an idea into a reality. It would certainly position her very well for a run at the top job in 2018.
While that committee got shut down – they did produce some good information. They identified who the property owners were and what was possible and not possible from a planning perspective. Members of that committee learned all about “top of bank” which limits severely what can be done with the properties that line the lake along Old Lakeshore Road.
 Meed Ward used this graphic in her 2010 campaign to show what was possible within the “football”. She never dreamed that a developer would come along and ask to plunk a 28 storey structure across the street. There are significant limitations as to what can be done – but there is also significant opportunity – but nothing is going to happen without real vision and leadership from city hall. That hasn’t come from the Mayor nor has it come from Meed Ward.
Her very strong position on the possible sale of waterfront land makes it clear how she feels – there is an opportunity to put those feelings behind some concrete action in her second term.
By Pepper Parr
October 25, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
He is the best educated member of this city Council.
 Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison always has an eye open for an economic opportunity. He has far more real business experience than anyone else on this Council.
He knows more about property and buildings the city owns than any other member of Council and he cannot help but get right down into the weeds on almost every issue.
During a discussion on what was causing the flooding August 4th on Dryden Street Dennison explained that all staff had to do was walk out into a storm water pond and cut a couple of feet off a pipe and the flooding would stop.
Jack Dennison loves the art of a deal. He is like a used car salesman with an unsuspecting buyer – he can’t help himself.
The idea of selling the Tyandaga Golf club was being discussed and Dennison thought that was a great idea – he had worked out how many upscale houses could be built, what the take for the city would be – he couldn’t wait to take a city owned asset that frequently lost money and turn it into something that would raise cash.
Mayor Goldring didn’t like the idea – he described it as a “cash grab” which is exactly what Dennison wanted it to be. That one didn’t fly.
 Dennison wants the city to stop renting space in the Simms building and add on to the existing city hall or build a new one. Dennison wants the city to get out of the Simms building which is across the street from city hall where a number of city departments are housed. He feels we could have bought the building given the rent that has been paid in the past 10 years. Dennison wants to either add two floors to the back of city hall or get out of the city hall building, which is far from energy efficient, and put up a purpose built structure with underground parking.
Dennison got drawn into politics back when Jack Diamond, a renowned architect who was advising the city on the development of Spencer Smith Park. He was fascinated with what a city council could do – there were deals galore just waiting to be done – all with tax payers money. In those days Dennison truly wanted to make a difference.
When a development proposal comes to council and what the developer is asking for is more than the city wants to give, Dennison does everything but take his pencil to their drawings and lob off a couple of units. Never too many; just a couple to leave the area residents feeling that they at least got something.
Dennison once said that he had yet to meet a municipal bureaucrat who couldn’t figure out how to spend more than was needed.
Dennison owns a heritage home on Lakeshore Road, yet would put the Joseph Brant Museum on a raft, push it into the lake and set it ablaze. He had no interest in saving the Freeman Station.
As the owner of Cedar Springs Health Racquet and Sports Club he does a significant amount of business with the city and from time to time he declares a conflict of interest.
 Dennison’s heritage home on Lakeshore Road; he made an application to sever the property – was denied and appealed to the OMB. That hearing has yet to be held. He lives in a community (Roseland) where the voters are fully informed and up to date on what is happening and are fierce when it comes to protecting the integrity of their community.
They live in million dollar homes and they don’t want anyone trifling with the value of their property or the character of the neighbourhood they live in. Large spacious lots are the norm in Roseland and the burghers over there want to keep it that way. Thus when Dennison applied for a severance of his property with the intention of building on and then selling the new lot, he was breaking a cardinal rule in the community – you don’ take what we have going for us and lessen its value.
Roseland likes the idea of large lots along Lakeshore Road – they speak of affluence, prestige and old money.
Dennison felt he had a strong case when he made the severance application to the Committee of Adjustment but he attempted to buy a strip of land from his neighbour to the east to create a little more in the way of lot size. They refused to sell and became key players in the Carol Gottlob campaign to replace Dennison.
Jack Dennison lives in a world where there are friends who do you favours and you do them favours in return.
Dennison never understood that as a Council member he was held to a higher standard than others. He was chosen by the taxpayers to represent their interests and to resolve their problems.
Dennison didn’t understand, still doesn’t, that while he has the right to apply for an adjustment to his property – it is a right the public does not expect him to use.
The locals felt he had broken all the rules and when it looked as if he had a vote already in place at the Committee of Adjustment (COA) the Roseland burghers were apoplectic. “We’ve become a banana republic” said one attendee at a very long contentious meeting.
 The Committee of Adjustment that denied the application for a severance to the Dennison property on Lakeshore Road. Was there a member of this committee that was influenced by Councillor Craven? Dennison chose to speak for himself at the CoA meeting; not his wisest move. He had to tangle with a planner that knew the file inside out and was not going to get tripped up by a member of council no matter how slick they might be.
Ward 4 doesn’t have a community council per se. The Roseland Community Association was created to fight the attempt to sever a Hart street property – they won that battle and hope to win the Dennison appeal of a CoA decision now at the OMB. That association now has 150 members; they incorporated because they realized there were going to be other severance applications that would end up at the OMB.
 Dennison gets right into issues with residents – usually knows more than anyone else in the room. Dennison, the best friend small developers have on Council, doesn’t understand the angst of the Roseland homeowners who believe small developers see their community as their company’s inventory for their business – not a community of homes and trees. The RCO is determined to maintain the character of the area: the developers want to buy, sever, build, sell and move on to the next opportunity and in the process significantly change the character of the community.
Dennison applied for membership in the Roseland Community Association; his application was rejected and he found himself in that ignoble position of being black-balled by the people he had been elected to represent.
Dennison, like Councillor Taylor consistently pushes more tax payers dollars and grant money from the province into the infrastructure deficit but doesn’t own up to the fact that that deficit was built up during the past 20 years they were both members of council.
Dennison doesn’t flinch for a second when he reduces the portion of the gas tax payment from the province that normally goes into transit and increases what is used to “shave and pave” the city’s roads.
One sometimes thinks that Dennison sees transit as a necessary evil; for Dennison everything and everyone is supposed to pay their way. That others may fall on hard times is something Dennison understands but he doesn’t think it is the role of Council to be there to help out – usually.
 Councillor Dennison lets home owners bend his ear. But then there was the horrific flood August 4th and people needed help – and Jack Dennison was there to help. He had an election to win and he needed to get the anger over his severance application off the front page; helping people with their flood issues was just the tickets He consistently told people that he had been into more than 1000 basements – given the number of days that had passed since the flood the math didn’t support his claim.
Both Councillors Sharman and Dennison were now very active helping people who had been flooded.
These people were not going to have to get themselves out of this mess – their Council member was there to help them.
While campaigning door to door Jack found himself calling upon a woman who he had once been on city council with and was a little stunned to see a Gottlob sign on the lawn. He appeared to think that the collegiality that once experienced on Council was still in play. It wasn’t.
The 2008 recession did a lot of damage to the Burlington economy. Dennison’s sports operation relies on discretionary spending and that had been reduced significantly in thousands of Burlington households.
Cedar Springs is a large operation with fixed costs that have to be met. Tax bills from the city came in but didn’t get paid. Dennison found himself as a business person whose taxes were in arrears but serving as a member of the Council that direct staff.
There was nothing illegal about delaying the payment of taxes; funds that would have been used to pay taxes were used to cover operating costs. Cash was king and Dennison did what every business person does – you do what you have to do to stay alive.
And he did stay alive – it wasn’t easy. The business community in this city fully understood.
 Dennison taking part in the Strategic Plan sessions early in this term of office. Dennison holds his community meetings in his sports club. It used to be that if you wanted to see the ward 4 Councillor you traveled over to his office at Cedar Springs on Cumberland. During much of the 2006-2010 term Dennison didn’t have an office at city hall – felt he didn’t need one and that the job was really just part time. He didn’t have a full time assistant either – shared one with another council member.
This ward’s election issue has settled down to a battle between a candidate with no municipal experience and an incumbent with more than 20 years as a council member – and his seat is at risk.
 By Pepper Parr
October 24, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
People parking on the shoulder of the road along the rural part of Guelph Line are getting parking tickets and they don’t understand why. “This concerns a parking ticket I received recently off Walkers Line near the entrance to the Bruce Trail hike that goes up to Mount Nemo” said a citizen.
“My family has been hiking up to Mount Nemo several times a year for at least 15 years and parking on the shoulder either on Walkers Line or No 2 Side Road.”
“There are several places with no signs saying parking is not permitted . Last year we checked with an officer who was handing out tickets and he claimed we could park on the shoulder where there are no signs.”
“This is what we did – parked on the south side of No 2 Side Road. But we were ticketed in any case. And now we are told that we should know that there is no parking allowed on any shoulder. This means that ALL the hikers (and there are many) using this trail are parking illegally. It seems that the Bruce Trail is ‘the spider’s web’ and that Burlington parking authority is the ‘spider’.”
“This is totally unfair and unjust. Either put up signs that there is no parking allowed or stop handing out tickets.”
 Bruce Trail access off Guelph Line is used by hundreds each week – some are getting smacked with parking tickets. City has worked out a solution. Bruce Zvaniga, Director of Transportation Services seems to agree there is a problem and has said the “quick solution, we will be permitting parking in a signed area on the east side of Walkers Line, north of No.2 Side Road adjacent to the cemetery, where the shoulder is wider. “
Zvaniga adds that “ Parking is unsafe and illegal on roadway shoulders and this offence is not generally signed (because it applies everywhere).
“However”, he adds “we absolutely want to encourage walking – the Bruce Trail is a gem. We are definitely not seeking to issue tickets so we are proactively looking for a solution.”
“Our preferred solution that we are working on in parallel, is to have a small off-road parking area provided on the west side adjacent to the Bruce Trail entry point. This location would be safer, more convenient and not require pedestrians to cross Walkers Line. To accomplish this, we will need the cooperation and assistance of Conservation Halton who have ownership of the land.”
“In addition, this location will be the catalyst for a broader discussion with the Bruce Trail, Conservation Halton and ourselves about providing safe, legal parking areas that will allow people to enjoy the trail.”
Perhaps you can’t beat city hall – but you can get them to see things a little differently you just have to talk to them – and a little media attention doesn’t hurt.
By Pepper Parr
October 24, 2104
BURLINGTON, ON
It is the ward that current MP Mike Wallace ran in; it is the ward that Current Mayor Rick Goldring ran in and it is the ward currently served by Paul Sharman who is completing his first term as an elected official.
It is a diverse ward with that doesn’t have the patch of affluence in the south end that wards 4 and 2 have. It does have communities that were poorly planned – no fault of Sharman’s – that have significant parking problems.
 The ward runs from Appleby to Burloak – Dundas to the Lake.
The plaza at Appleby and New Street could be a challenge – depending on how one looks at the building of high rise towers. The First Capital project will certainly go a long way to producing the housing units the city has to come up with to meet the province’s Places to Grow intensification mandate.
There is a considerable amount of Employment Lands in the ward as well – much of it owned by the Paletta interests. While Sharman has been a member of the board of the Economic Development Corporation we’ve not heard much from him or seen much in the way of leadership in developing the property along Mainway and Harvester Road that run through the ward.
Nothing either on what could be done with the large tract of land on Upper Middle Road where it joins Burloak.
The economic engines of Burlington are located for the most part on Mainway, Harvester and that clutch of buildings at Burloak and the QEW. Has Paul Sharman manged to have any influence on how the economy and the job growth of this has been shaped during his first for years on Council?
There is a significant senior’s population in the ward that Councillor Sharman has catered to but he hasn’t delivered all that much for that demographic.
The Skyway Plaza in the east end is in desperate need of an upgrade but no one at council or at city hall can get through to the owner. Despite Sharman’s producing a staff direction nothing has come of the various efforts. Is there something going on in the background? Is there going to be a surprise announcement? Probably not at this point but that plaza does need serious attention.
The Appleby arena is in the ward; there isn’t a hockey parent in the city that isn’t unhappy with the way the place is scheduled but there is nothing any member of Council could do to keep those parents happy.
There has been some excellent small scale development at Dundas/Appleby cluster and quite a bit of development at Dundas and Appleby.
The major development at the top of the ward – at Sutton and Dundas has managed to get out of the planning department and past city council to the Ontario Municipal Board.
In May of this year the city chose to oppose the applications for Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments, submitted on behalf of Adi Development Group Inc., to permit a mixed use development consisting of 298 residential units in four connected apartment buildings and 1249 m2 of ground floor commercial development. That project is now at the Ontario Municipal Board where there is a settlement that has not yet been signed off on yet.
The Planning department was the lead on this – there didn’t appear to be much input from the Council member.
 It is going to be a large project – the OMB will make the decision probably based on agreements that are already in place. Council supported a modified approval of the applications for Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments to permit a mixed use development at the southeast corner of Dundas Street and Sutton Drive in accordance with the revisions recommended by planning staff.
On January 2, 2014, the city received an appeal of the Official Plan Amendment and rezoning applications, submitted by the applicant, for council’s failure to make a decision on the applications within the 180 and 120 day time frames in the Planning Act.
The record of the applications are now before the Ontario Municipal Board. The Ontario Municipal Board held a hearing on June 24, 2014 that was scheduled for four days – lasted just two. Minutes of settlement have been prepared and agreed upon – the city now awaits a decision from the OMB.
During the various deliberations there wasn’t all that much heard from Councillor Sharman. We did hear him talk about the need for more space between the project – which is very large in scale and the houses to the south.
We did hear from Sharman on the need for better security along the pathway beside Bronte Creek. One never got the sense that the council member for the ward was really in charge of; leading and directing the growth in his ward.
A project of this size and significance in ward 1 would have Councillor Craven’s finger prints all over it – that level of involvement doesn’t seem to be the way things are done in ward 5.
Yet when it comes to the budget or the need for better, more detailed data – Paul Sharman is all over the discussion. He would appear to be more comfortable with paper and numbers than he is with people.
In his campaign literature Sharman sets out what he feels he has done.
John W. Boich Public School surplus land parkette in The Orchard was approved after much community involvement. Getting started has taken a year longer than expected because contaminated soil found on the site had to be removed. I expect work will begin in spring 2015.
Parking changes that he promoted in Uptown and The Orchard that allow overnight parking, coupled with the city wide on road increase from 3 hours to 5 hours, have been well received. However, a change that was made with insufficient community engagement banned parking on the apron, perpendicular to the road. This has caused significant, unnecessary disruption and many tickets and needs to be permitted. Community members are circulating petitions for change, which I support.
 Lakeside Plaza is a blight on the delightful neighbourhoods of south east Burlington. I asked and obtained council agreement to direct staff to contact the owner about making improvements. As a result, the owner has approached the City to discuss possibilities for redevelopment. Preliminary plans call for residential and retail mixed use. It will be a while before we hear anything official.
 It is an arena badly in need of an updte. There was discussion about a plan to roll the arena into a package that would see a major upgrade done to a part of the city that needs an economic shot in the arm.  I asked staff to evaluate how Skyway Arena might be improved to better serve the community in which it is located. Someone misinterpreted that as meaning it should be sold. The possibilities for Skyway Park/Arena include additions of a library branch, seniors centre, community meeting rooms and a transit hub, which should be designed to work well with the redevelopment of Lakeside Plaza.
 The First Capital proposal doesn’t have the blessing of the ward Councillor – he doesn’t want kids to have to play in a supermarket parking lot. Appleby Mall proposed towers are unacceptable to me and community members. Apart from all the other concerns, the idea of raising hundreds of children in a parking lot is really troublesome.
ADI development at Sutton and Dundas has been a problem since it was first discussed. At the outset I held community meetings to review developer proposals. I have always opposed the plans because of height, density, traffic and congestion concerns. Those concerns led to the development application process to be slowed down. The developer then asked the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to intervene, effectively taking the matter out of Councils hands. In an attempt to settle at the OMB, ADI negotiated increased setbacks with City staff. We still await the OMB final ruling. Irrespective, the development is still going to be a source of much discomfort for existing community members. Meanwhile ADI have recently filed a site plan with about 290 units, 3 x6 story and 1x 4 story building.
 The debate between the delegator and the Council member on this project on Pineland was memorable. The delegator ended up being the candidate and James Smith is now running against Paul Sharman By working with the community we accomplished significant changes to be made from what was originally proposed for Pinedale Plaza. Those changes made it more acceptable to the community. Neighbours are understandably frustrated with the amount of time it is taking to get things moving, they want it finished.
Combined 4 year City, Region and education property tax increase on your household bill 2011-2014 was 6.2% inclusive of funding for the Hospital. City budget increases of 12.7% including the hospital levy were offset by assessment growth in Region of Halton and education budgets. Total council pay increase for the last four years was 5.75%. Council pay increase calculations are very thoughtfully determined by an advisory committee, which stops Councillors from meddling.
Council is investing in Burlington Transit (BT), despite what some people like to say. Smaller buses have been purchased and Council voted, this year, to spend $2m to implement software that will, amongst other things, allow management to track buses and analyze where people get on and off buses. This information was not available previously. In 2012, Council was advised that BT operating performance was the worst in its peer group of 13 other municipalities. I support good transit management and future investments in a good transit plan when staff is able to provide one.
 The flood became a political issue that the Council members for wards 4 and 5 didn’t know quite how to handle. It was a Regional matter and Burlington’s city Council doesn’t have much in the way of clout at the Region. Damage to both the property and the lives of the people whose homes were flooded got turned into the base on which an election campaign was built. Sharman tried very hard to get something going at the Regional level but that organization has chosen to be unresponsive.
Will that change after the election? If Sharman is re-elected will he manage to make a difference at the Regional level. Try as he might – he hasn’t managed to get the Region to respond to the needs of his community – so far.
Related material:
Paul Sharman: An assessment.
 By Staff
October 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Ron Foxcroft a member of the Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) board and Chair of the BCF Disaster Relief Committee is also Honourary Colonel of the Argyll and Sutherland Regiment in Hamilton.
 Ron Foxcroft: Honourary Colonel of the Argyll and Sutherland Regiment He, along with his board, send their sincere condolences to the family, friends and fellow officers of Corporal Nathan Cirillo who was killed in a tragic incident at the War Memorial Museum in Ottawa on October 22nd .
“This is a terrible tragedy for our country and for the family and friends of Corporal Nathan Cirillo,” said Foxcroft. “Last night I was with the troops who have worked side by side with Corporal Cirillo and they are extremely saddened for their fallen comrade. Training went on last night and all the troops continued with very heavy hearts.”
 In addition to spending time with the troops last evening in an effort to support them during this difficult time, Foxcroft spent hours on the phone doing interviews with media from around the world to honour the death of Corporal Cirillo and share the grief being experienced by the entire country.
 By Pepper Parr
October 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
 There is no doubt that Fortinos got behind the flood relief effort in a big way. Program will run to the 30th of the month. With fundraising for Burlington Flood Relief entering the final weeks of the 100-day campaign, the Claims Committee is focusing on assisting those who qualify for financial assistance prepare their claims.
A Town Hall meeting with the Claims Committee and Cunningham Lindsay, the insurance adjuster supporting the initiative, is planned for November 4th to answer questions and provide support to those interested in making a claim.
“We know there are hundreds of Burlington families who will qualify for financial assistance and are concentrating our efforts to communicate with those folks and help them through the process,” said Colleen Mulholland, President and CEO of the Burlington Community Foundation.
 Every cashier, every employee in the Fortinos supermarket wears the red Flood Relief T shirt. “We are also communicating with the provincial government to understand its position on providing financial assistance so we can be crystal clear on how much funding we have to disperse.”
Since the Application for Losses and Damages became available on September 30th approximately 40 claims have been filed. The Claims Committee has set a deadline of December 14, 2014 for all Applications for Losses and Damages to be submitted. Disbursements will begin over the following eight weeks after the deadline.
“Our Committee is committed to assisting everyone who needs help in submitting their claim forms,” said Mulholland. “We encourage people to attend the Town Hall on November 4th or to connect with the BCF office by phone or email.”
As of noon today, the Burlington Community Foundation Flood Disaster Relief Committee has raised $780,000 in cash.
 Long way to go – not all that much time left – three weeks. Ron Foxcroft, Chair, BCF Flood Disaster Relief Committee said: “We are in the final stretch our 100-day fundraising campaign and our Committee and a roster of dedicated volunteers continue to seek support from our community”. “We are working on some significant gifts and hope to have details to share shortly. Burlingtonians will continue to have an opportunity to donate to flood relief when shopping at retailers throughout our city and we are confident these efforts will make a big impact.”
Link to find Application for Losses and Damages or call: (905) 639-0744 ext 221
More donors are encouraged to continue supporting the campaign by:
Cheque – make cheques out to “Burlington Community Foundation” with a memo reference to Flood Relief Campaign – mail or drop off at Burlington Community Foundation, 3380 South Service Road, Unit 107, Burlington, Ontario, L7N 3J5
On-line donations – Click on the DONATE NOW button.
The Town Hall meeting will take place on:
Tuesday, November 4th, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Burlington Seniors Centre, Port Nelson & Wellington Rooms
 By Pepper Parr
October 22, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
A second citizens group has been set up to deal with the flooding problems that resulted from that August 4th flood. This group, known as Halton Residents Against Sewage Backup and Flooding (HRASBF) has been a little more active at the social media level and expects at some point that it will join forces with Burlington Sewer Back-up Victims Coalition (BSBVC)
Differentiating between the two groups can be confusing so we will call them the “Victims” and the “Advocates”.
 The “advocates” once met with ward five council member Paul Sharman at what he wanted to call a private meeting held in a church. It was clear at that meeting that the residents had more information than the council member who admitted that his problem was getting information out of the Regional level of government.
The “advocates have called a public meeting for Friday, October 24th – from 4:30 to 6:30 at Fortino’s Plaza
Sharman, to his credit, got the Region to do a study of flooding in July – before the August storm because there had been persistent flooding in his ward.
The flooding issue has come close to defining Sharman’s re-election campaign.
Jack Dennison, who is running for re-election in ward four claimed he had inspected more than 1000 basements.
Peter Rusin, who is running for the office of Mayor said Mayor Goldring’s absence from last night’s meeting was less than encouraging. If I was elected Mayor, it would not be resident groups requesting meetings or pressuring for solutions. I would set up a series of workshops involving Regional Engineers, City Engineers, the Conservation Authority and possibly include representatives from both the federal government and the insurance industry.
“My goal” said Rusin, ” would be to fast track and prioritize future remediation measures such as capital projects for new storm water ponds, greater erosion control, flow capacity consideration and emergency plan measures.”
This is a difficult time for those involved in the politics of wards four and five – there are some terribly painful human tragedies going on in hundreds of households but there isn’t all that much a candidate can actually do.
The need for the flood victims is financial but unless a home owner was uninsured or under insured they will not benefit from the funds being raised by citizens through the Burlington Community Foundation.
The frustration in the community comes through in the email chatter – some of which we set out below.
The email chatter:
 Christina Thorpe, spokesperson for the Halton Residents Against Sewage Backup and Flooding (HRASBF) speaking at a community meeting at Glad Tidings church on Guelph Line. From: Harnum, Jim [mailto:Jim.Harnum@halton.ca]
Sent: October 21, 2014 9:25 AM
To: ‘Christina Thorpe’
Subject: RE: Flood
Hi Christina,
Sorry for the delay in responding, I was out at an offsite meeting yesterday. The magnitude of this storm was unprecedented in Halton Region, in the past we had only experienced 20 to 30 flood claims per year vs 3000 in one week. We did not have this pamphlet prepared until after we received feedback from the community, that more information was required.
With respect to your second point, please accept my apologies for the impression that I was downplaying the impact or magnitude. I was merely stating the facts concerning the dilution factor of the water in basements. I recognize that this has been a terrible event for thousands of individuals and by no means was I downplaying the impacts. A storm of this magnitude would have overwhelmed any system in Canada as sanitary sewers are not designed to handle rain water, especially at these magnitudes.
Jim Harnum, CET, MBA Commissioner, Public Works
Thorpe responds:
From: Christina Thorpe [mailto:christinaathorpe@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2014 10:16 PM
To: Harnum, Jim
Subject: Re: Flood
Hello Jim,
With all due respect, hard copies should have been mailed or hand delivered to each resident within a few days of the backups/flooding with the ex-gratia grants. Does the region realize how many residents were blindsided by restoration companies and contractors? These restoration companies charged exorbitant fees and did not do proper clean up and residents were none the wiser, and according to the Ontario Environment Safety Network (OESN), every home they visited in Burlington was inadequately cleaned and tested.
I, personally, don’t appreciate your downplay of the situation. My children have unexplained rashes on their legs and face. I have seen exhaustion in elderly folks and those who are not well. The region should be holding information sessions for residents in this aftermath in conjunction with the public health department.
Christina
Jim gets back to Christina:
 Jeff Brooks, candidate for the ward three council seat speaks at the Glad Tidings meeting. On Sun, Oct 19, 2014 at 9:16 PM, Harnum, Jim <Jim.Harnum@halton.ca> wrote:
Hi Christina,
Residents can get hard copies at Region offices or they can call 311 and we will mail them out one. During the Aug 4 flood, the ratio of rainwater to sewage was very high, in other words the majority of water in basements was rainwater mixed with a very small volume of sewage. Therefore the threat to health was very small. As far as fecal mater in weeping tiles, most plumbing would be thoroughly flushed after another heavy rainfall, which we have had several since the flood. If a homeowner did still have a concern they could enlist the services of a plumber to send a camera into weeping tiles to review the condition. I hope this helps and answers your questions.
Jim Harnum, CET, MBA, Commissioner of Public Works
Christina responds again:
From: Christina Thorpe
Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2014 8:48 PM
To: Harnum, Jim
Subject: Re: Flood
Hi Jim,
Where can the hard copies of the guide be found? Did elderly home owners who do not have access to computers, those who lost their computers or those who no longer drive receive copies from the region?
Also, you have not answered the question of fecal matter stuck in the weeping tile and drains. How is the region responding to this?
Christina Thorpe
On 2014-10-19, at 6:17 PM, Harnum, Jim wrote:
Derek Johnston joins the chatter and gets a response:
Hello Mr. Johnston,
> Thank you for the information, I will review the situation that occurred on Mcraney Avenue in the past to see if there are similarities. As far as the health and wellbeing of homeowners, Halton has also been very proactive in this area. Although we cannot go into residences to review the presence of mold or other contaminants, we have worked closely with our Public Health Department and developed very comprehensive material on our website to help homeowners understand the issues.
We have also developed a very detailed guide titled “A guide to Flooding Prevention and Recovery”. This guide has all of the information that homeowners in Halton would need to help protect themselves from future flooding events and how to ensure that their homes are safe if they do experience flooding. The website link is below and the guide is located here as well. The guide is also produced in hardcopy for those who do not have access to a computer.
https://www.halton.ca/cms/One.aspx?portalId=8310&pageId=114218
Jim Harnum, CET, MBA, > Commissioner, Public Works
> —–Original Message—–
Johnston sends a polite response:
From: Derek Johnston [mailto:derek@soundmaskcanada.com]
> Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2014 4:44 PM
> To: Harnum, Jim
> Cc: Paul Sharman; Phil Cavanagh; Christina Thorpe; Bob Vrenjak; Carr, Gary; matt johnston; Linda Johnston; peterrusin@royallepage.ca
> Subject: Flood
>
> Thank you Jim
 Nicole Dunn, part of the (HRASBF) talked about the health issues related to the flooding. She thinks they are serious and being overlooked by the Regional bureaucrats. > We are not done yet but i am impressed by the quality of your response and by the fact that it came out so promptly on a Sunday afternoon,.
> You might want to take a look at what happened on Mcraney avenue 20 years back it was remarkably similar to the Tuck Creek overflow . The City of Oakville picked up the tab for all repairs to a large number of flooded homes My serious concern at this point is the most vulnerable flood damaged people. There are a lot of elderly people in our neighbourhood. I am concerned that sewage damage which is not immeadiately apparent might be missed leaving a festering disease and mold Infested condition with possible deadly ramifications. Is there any way we can make sure that all houses are safe. Please be advised i am aware of several homes where damage to the piping did not become apparent until weeks after the flood , Sewer gas smell and backed up sewage pipes were discovered. i want to be sure that all flood victims are safe from disease and illness.
>
> Best Regards Derek Johnston
Jim Harnum responds to Johnston again:
On 2014-10-19, at 11:16 AM, Harnum, Jim wrote:
>
Hello Mr. Johnston,
Thank you for your e-mail, I understand your concerns and assure you that the Region is taking this issue seriously and we have been very active in assisting residents and looking for short and long term solutions.
The Region has received over 6000 flood related inquiries since August 4th. All calls received by 311 (Access Halton) by phone or e-mail that require follow up are logged and tracked. Staff has responded to calls received by connecting directly with residents or by leaving a message with relevant information. We have encouraged all residents impacted by flooding to contact 311. This message was communicated to over 30,000 Burlington residents using the Community Emergency Notification System as well as by the Red Cross when they visited 10,979 homes at the request of the City and the Region following the flooding. There has also been communication through the media and social media.
I would also like to provide you the following additional information highlighting the Region’s response to the August 4th storm.
Over 3000 homes have been visited by Regional staff and almost $2 million in ex-gratia grants provided to assist residents. The Region also initiated a special program for residents in high priority areas where homes have been impacted by repeat flooding, covering 100% of the costs of basement flooding prevention measures. It is expected this program will cost an additional $1 million.
The regular Basement Flooding Prevention Subsidy program is available to all residents covering up to 50% of the cost to install basement flooding prevention measures. The demand for this program increased significantly after the August 4th storm. It is estimated that the Basement Flooding Prevention Subsidy program will cost the Region over $1 million.
Since the August 4th storm, the Region has also provided enhanced waste collection services in Burlington to assist residents clean up following the flooding. The cost of the enhanced services is expected to cost approximately $500,000.
Halton Region has supported the City’s request for Provincial assistance through the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP) and the fundraising efforts by the Burlington Community Foundation to provide financial assistance to residents impacted by the flood.
Halton Region has not previously experienced a storm with the intensity of the August 4th storm. It is clear that weather patterns throughout the world have changed. The City and the Region have initiated reviews of the storm water and sanitary sewer systems to identify actions that can be taken to reduce the risk of future flooding given the new realities of climate change. The review will consider changes in infrastructure, programs to disconnect private downspouts and updates to the Basement Flooding Prevention Subsidy program. Public Information Centres will be scheduled to update residents as the study proceeds.
 Councillors Sharman and Taylor attended the community meeting but neither was asked to speak. Shaman’s ward was seriously damaged by the flooding. One would think the residents would want to hear from him. Taylor who has been around longer than any other council member knows more about how the Region works than anyone else on Council could have added some very useful information. Residents with questions or concerns related to basement flooding are encouraged to call 311 or visit the Region’s website at Halton.ca/flood. In addition, the Region has recently published a “Guide to Flooding Prevention & Recovery” which is available online at Halton.ca/flood, or by calling 311 for a print copy.
Jim Harnum, CET, MBA, Commissioner, Public Works
—–Original Message—–
Regional Chair Gary Carr jumps in:
From: Carr, Gary
Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2014 5:30 PM
To: Derek Johnston; Harnum, Jim; MacCaskill, Jane
Subject: Re:
Thank you
Jim will give you a detailed update
Regards
Gary
On Oct 18, 2014, at 5:28 PM, Derek Johnston <derek@soundmaskcanada.com> wrote:
You quick response on a Saturday afternoon is noted and appreciated.
Thank you Derek Johnston
 By Halton Residents Against Sewage Backup and Flooding
October 22, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Dear Mr. Carr:
Eleven weeks have passed since the Aug. 4th flood and majority of Burlington residents are still wondering what happened on that day when tens of thousands of liters of raw sewage and overflow from creeks entered into their homes, causing millions of dollars in damages and a plethora of issues from insurance battles to health risks to stolen repair deposits.
Below are questions and concerns from the residents of Burlington which HRASB compiled over the last several weeks. Health and Safety.
As you are well aware, there is a sizeable elderly population in Burlington and many live alone or with their domestic partner of many years. Several of these elderly folks did not have their homes cleaned out within the recommended time frame for a sewage backup. Also, the Ontario Environmental and Safety Network (OESN) mentions that fecal matter trapped in weeping tile and drains can release methane gas, not to mention when affected areas of the home are not adequately cleaned and tested (which OESN found in every case), then bacteria and viruses could grow and overt health effects could occur to otherwise healthy individuals. Why not bring in the Public Health Department to inspect homes?
Follow-up by the Region
We are aware of at least two residents who reported sewage backup flooding to the Region but were not contacted. Of those residents who were contacted by the Region, some reported missed appointments by Regional staff which resulted in delayed reconstruction or pressure from insurance companies for installation of the backwater valve system. Many residents still have storage pods in their driveways.
Burlington Flood Relief Foundation
Why did the representatives from the Burlington Flood Relief Foundation decline two invitations to attend sewer backup meetings thereby missing opportunities to connect with 350+ residents who were directly affected by sewage backup?
Wastewater Capital
Wastewater capital investment for new development in Oakville is 368.4 million dollars from 2012-2016 and a mere 6 million dollars for Burlington in the same time frame. Residents understand that Oakville is experiencing growth; however, Burlington east wastewater pumping stations were identified as ‘poor condition’ and the ‘highest priority’ (in Halton) as per RV Anderson and Associates engineering study provided in 2012 to the Halton Region. Why so little capital investment in Burlington when there are known issues?
Backwater Valve and Subsidy Decisions
Some residents will receive full coverage for the installation of back water valve and sump pump system while others will not. What exactly are the criteria for full subsidy and who oversees the program?
Construction by Year-End
If the Region is waiting for the results of a flood report expected in July of 2015, why are there plans to begin construction by year- end in some neighbourhoods? What knowledge does the Region have currently regarding the sanitary sewer infrastructure which has not been made public?
New Development
Residents feel that developers have ‘no business’ proposing high-rise apartments downtown, at Appleby Mall, or any other area of Burlington significantly impacted by sewer backup/flooding. Until the major infrastructure problems are identified, made public, and ultimately fixed, there will be significant push back by the residents.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Members of the HRASB
www.hrasb.com
 By Pepper Parr
October 21, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The ward covers the eastern half of rural Burlington and tracts that run from Hwy 407 down to Upper Middle Road and includes the well-established communities of Millcroft and Headon. The newly created Alton community brought much more diversity into the ward and small pockets of development along the 407.
 There isn’t much in the way of industry in the ward; The Hanson Brick Works operates at Dundas Street, there are a lot of commercial operations but all are small in nature. Emery Developments decided to build two five storey towers attached to each other with a two storey atrium at Palladium Way. The intention of the developer is to build on speculation. They were confident enough that the market was there for their offering and expected some occupancy in late 2015.
 Staff recommended a Mixed Use plan but indicated that if council selects the all Employment option, staff are able to support this, but cannot support an All Residential option The Krpan Group project at Dundas and Tremaine is stuck at the OMB – residents have heard very little about this project which has a number of features and approaches to development that are worth paying attention to – but they don’t appear to have any traction in the mind of the Council member for the ward
There was to be a new court house for provincial offences in the war but that disappeared just as fast as it appeared when local opposition spring up without the ward Councillor knowing all that much about the plans.
There isn’t a ward council – that kind of citizen involvement doesn’t sit all that well with the Council member; it would mean sharing the power a member of Council has and attracting meaningful input from the community.
Millcroft and Headon are strong communities that with few problems. Snow removal, road repairs – the usual municipal services are what they ask for – just keep our taxes down.
Dundas Street is due for a very significant upgrade and a widening that will make it a much different road than it is today – it isn’t clear yet what kind of development it will attract. The Region expects to run busses along that road as part of an inter-city transit offering at some point. That is years away but the work needed to create an additional east west road has been made at the Regional level – so Dundas get upgraded
 Part of the massive gym set up in the Haber Recreation Centre The opening of the Hayden Recreational Centre, the Frank Hayden High School and a new branch of the library system created a community that pulled itself together very quickly and managed to produce three South Asian candidates for the ward seat.
Transit is not yet a significant issue – most of the seniors are at a point in their lives where they still drive their cars. The demographic of that cohort will shift significantly in the next ten years and the need for more in the way of community services geared to seniors and transit service that will let them get to different places in the city will become evident.
 The Air Park is both a problem and a significant opportunity but at this point any ideas that are being discussed come from the mind of Vince Rossi who has yet to provide anything in the way of a business. Rossi has been able to get away with dumping land fill without the required permits because no one, including Blair Lancaster, paid much attention – they bought the argument that the air park was federally regulated and no one asked any questions.
There is an opportunity to do something with the 200 acre property that fits in with an Air Park and the rural setting – no one has come up with anything yet. Not the Economic Development Corporation, not the Region, not the city – not even the people who live in the eastern half of rural Burlington.
Background links:
The ward Councillor: an assessment.
By Pepper Parr
October 21, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The Gazette is doing profiles of each member of Council. They are based on four years of observations and interviews with most Council members. An overview of the ward they serve is linked to the profile.
Walter Byj, a free lance writer who contributes to the Gazette regularly, was to do a part of this article but he was unable to reach Councillor Lancaster to do an interview. Byj called on:
July 21st -sent e-mail to her assistant requesting an interview for the Burlington Gazette. Assistant Julie advised that Blair was out of office and that she would follow up next week.
August. 22nd- sent follow up request to assistant Julie. Got reply back on August 25th. stating she was on vacation last week and that she would advise Blair.
Sept. 4th.- sent e-mail to assistant stating that I assumed that Blair did not want to be interviewed.
Sept. 9- sent e-mail to Blair asking for an interview, have never heard back.
Getting an appointment with Blair Lancaster has never been easy. While media savvy Ms Lancaster often avoids media or gets others to do the avoiding for her.
 Ward 6 Councillor Blair Lancaster thinking through the answer to a question. Tends to be cautious. The Gazette organized a debate of all ten candidates in ward six. We got an email from Brenda McKinley saying she was representing a candidate but did not want to say who and asked if there could be another moderator and if the questions asked of one candidate could be put to every candidate.
Ms McKinley said they did not want the publisher of the Gazette serving as moderator and suggested someone from the Chamber of Commerce. We declined the request. We later learned that Brenda McKinley, the person making the request, was Blair Lancaster’s sister. The sneakiness was seen on too many occasions.
One of our very first interactions with Blair Lancaster was during a break when the Strategic Plan was being developed back in 2010. While walking towards the table with the coffee urns Blair Lancaster asked if “there wasn’t something we could do about Marianne Meed Ward”. At that point in time council members were trying to get used to the Meed Ward style. We were never quite sure what Ms Lancaster wanted us to do.
Blair Lancaster led a large part of the public meeting at which the Niagara Greater Toronto Area (NGTA) highway was discussed at the Mainway Arena. It was a very large crowd and keeping the emotions in check was not a simple task. Lancaster showed that she could handle crowds that were at times unruly.
Lancaster was the first member of Council to declare a conflict of interest on a financial matter. The Downtown Core Vision was being discussed and Lancaster took the position that she had a commercial business and therefore stood to gain if the city did anything. She left her Council seat and sat in the public gallery. The Spa she owned was closed a few years later. There was no financial gain.
Several weeks later Councillor Dennison did the same thing – which shocked everyone at the media table.
 The Photo Op – Artist Alex Pentek on the left, displays a portion of the Orchid to Councillors Sharman and Lancaster. Lancaster argues the art is not in her ward. Lancaster has a pluckiness to her – she can be quick with a remark that you may not like and leaves you with the sense that she isn’t one to trifle with – and then she backs away from real issues.
There is a message when nine candidates file nomination papers for a seat held by a single term council member. A lot of people feel they can do a better job or do they smell blood in the water?
The ward has a large chunk of rural Burlington within its boundaries but the voting population is in the Alton, Headon and Millcroft communities.
This was home turf for Blair Lancaster the incumbent completing her first term. However Alton wasn’t a significant part of the population in 2010 – it was a community that was beginning to come together so it is an unknown as far as where the hearts of the voters lie.
Headon and Millcroft was a part of the city Lancaster split with Mark Carr who didn’t lose by all that much in 2010
Issues in the ward south of Dundas were the usual – parking, snow removal – nothing that would grab voters enough to get them to turn out in droves.
There was the renaming of South Hampton Blvd, a city street that runs west off Walker’s Line and has just the one address on it – the Burlington detachment of the Halton Regional Police. Police Association executives wanted the street name changed to Constable Henshaw Blvd., to commemorate Bill Henshaw who died while on duty in 2010.
It really wasn’t a major issue but one that riled one area resident enough for him to delegate and complain that is calls to Lancaster were never answered. “I did call you, on several occasions” said Lancaster. “Yes” responded the citizen – “you called me after the Standing Committee meeting took place and you had made your decision”.
Renaming the street wasn’t a big issue but the communication between the Council member and the constituent was the type of thing that would come up again and again with Lancaster.
Transit was an issue but it was not one that Lancaster had much to say about.
 They had every reason to be smiling. Councillors Meed Ward and Lancaster pose with five members of the Friends of Freeman Station after the Council meeting that approved the entering into of a Joint Venture that would have the Friends moving the station and taking on the task of renovating the building. She did have a lot to say about the Freeman Station and for that Lancaster deserves both merit points and a Brownie badge. She, along with Councillor Marianne Meed Ward, took the lead on this issue and managed to hold the rest of Council back. The two women don’t get along, have very little time for each other and deserve credit for being able to set aside differences and ensure that the Freeman project didn’t get trampled.
What Lancaster has not been able to do is establish strong working relationships with all too many of her constituents.
That dissension, particularly with those in rural Burlington who felt very strongly that there interests – and those of the city – were not being met.
Fellow Council members would comment on how little time Lancaster spent at city hall and there wasn’t a lot of positive feedback from city hall staff. A problem over a parking ticket was memorable.
Vanessa Warren, one of the best delegators we’ve seen in some time and an excellent researcher as well was seen as THE leader in this race for the Council when she declared her candidacy.
 Rural Burlington residents could not understand why there Council member chose to sit beside Vince Rossi – owner of the Air Park and the man responsible for dumping tonnes of fill without the required permits For the rural population of the ward the Air Park issue has been major. They see the landfill dumping done as a major affront to the environmental integrity of their part of the city and they feel the ward councillor is just a little too cozy with Vince Rossi, president of Burlington Air Park Inc.
Lancaster held many of her ward events at the Air Park – a nice location – what many didn’t fully appreciate was that the occasion was also an Air Park Open House that Lancaster was piggy backing on.
During the early days of the land fill being trucked onto the air park site a number of residents wondered who Lancaster was working for. There was some vicious email between Lancaster and several of her residents who became suspicious and wary of her actions.
During a community meeting at the Warren farm on Bell school line Lancaster sat beside Vince Rossi; during the trial over the landfill and site plan argument Lancaster sat in the row behind Rossi.
 Lancaster election signs appear beside the Air Park runway. The rural residents stopped trusting their Council member and formed a coalition of interests to keep the community informed. It was that coalition, Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition that did much of the early research on the financial organization of the Air Park and the $4.5 million mortgages that were on the property.
Vanessa Warren, the founding chair of that organization, delegated to the city and the Region very effectively. As 2013 became 2014 Warren decided that here had to be a candidate that would run against Lancaster and filed her nomination papers.
To the surprise of many, candidates then began to come out of the bushes until there were nine candidates running against the incumbent.
Lancaster appears to be betting that the nine will split the vote very widely and that her core vote will hold and she will manage to come up the middle.
During the 2010-14 term Lancaster served on the Burlington Museums Board, Burlington Public Library Board, Burlington Inclusivity Advisory Committee, Burlington Mundialization Committee and the Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee.
 From left to right: Carm Bozzo, development manager, Halton Women’s Place; Councillor Blair Lancaster; Mayor Rick Goldring; Ed Dorr, Chair, Burlington Mundialization Committee. Perhaps her best work was done on the Mundialization committee where she represented Burlington with our sister cities Apeldoorn in Holland and Itabashi in Japan. It is in those almost semi-diplomatic roles that Lancaster shines.
There were three new council members in 2010 –Blair Lancaster, Paul Sharman and Marianne Meed Ward. Sharman created a name for himself with the way he handled the 2010 budget debates; Meed Ward brought a reputation with her – Lancaster struggled to learn the job and find her own niche.
She is currently chair of a Standing Committee; fortunately she has Councillor Craven as her deputy and he can guide her.
Background links:
Ward six: what has it got going for it?
 By Pepper Parr
October 21, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Councillor Marianne Meed Ward is upset that we didn’t tell her side of the story when we published a short piece on the complaint that Mike Swartz and some of his neighbours took to the Omsbudsman.
We have asked Meed Ward to be patient while we chase down all the angles on what is a very complex story that goes right to the heart of the kind of city Burlingtonians wants.
When people take complaints to governments or when lawyers are explaining an injury they use a word that sounds worse than it is. A cut might be described as a laceration for example.
Mike Swartz in his media release said he has made a formal complaint to the Omsbudsman and to Kaaren Wallace who is a Municipal Advisor within the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
 According to Mike Swartz the above, is a picture of the legally fenced property at the foot of Market St that Meed Ward consistently refers to as “an existing public walkway” This has driven increased foot traffic to the site and infuriated the public who quickly see there is no such walkway. Meed Ward has hidden the truth about the owner’s right to fence the land and restrict all public access. This has incited further potential for public mischief, antagonism towards the owners and increased potential liability. Meed Ward has no right to direct the public to privately fenced property, said Swartz What Swartz has done is heightened the rhetoric to make something sound much worse than it is.
Here is what Swartz is complaining about:
A lack of transparency on the part of Meed Ward –
Although the owners had asked Meed Ward on July 17th 2012 to convey the information to the public, as of the Council meeting on October 15, 2013 (fifteen months later) Meed Ward had still not been forthcoming with our request to inform the public of our concerns (a major breach of transparency). Her comments via social media continue to be misleading and lack transparency in that she refers to the Water St parcel as a “public pathway”.
Meed Ward ignored the owners’ requests and never informed the public that in actual fact, 50% of this parcel of land remains inaccessible to the public by a court order dating back to 1993 and that no such public walkway from Market St to St Paul exists.
That comment that “50% of this parcel of land remains inaccessible to the public by a court order dating back to 1993” is both a stretch and a rather unique interpretation of what the Judge said in the decision. There was no “court order” – there was a decision that had to do with monies that were to be returned.
We did say this was complex and we will do a feature article on what is a rather sad situation. For the moment let’s let each of the parties to this get a few words in.
 Mike Swartz telling city council that he might have to sue. Swartz in his document said: `…we are hereby formally registering a complaint against Ward 2 Councilor Meed Ward for serious contraventions and breach under the Act. It is unclear as to the formal process at the City regarding complaints dealing with Councilor violations under Sec 224 of the Municipalities Act. We are therefore submitting this complaint to the Ontario Municipal Ombudsman as well as Karren Wallace, Ontario Municipal advisor, Mayor Rick Goldring and City Clerk, Angela Morgan.. We further request that we be granted an in person meeting with the review party in order to more clearly define and elaborate on our claims.
Here is what Meed Ward has to say about that:
The residents who have filed the complaint disagree with my vote against selling this publicly-owned waterfront land. They have cited a 1993 court case in this matter, detailed below. One section of the public walkway is fenced at one end, but that fencing was not, contrary to the statements made in the complaint to the Ombudsman, a result of “a court order.” The court decision in fact reinforces that the land is in public hands.
Difference of opinion about a public issue is light years away from dereliction of duty. Meed Ward went on to say in a prepared statement that: “I will not be intimidated into silence by this action. I will not allow these actions to have a chilling effect on public discourse on a matter of significant public interest.
“I have and will continue to speak openly on this issue and to make my position and my vote clear, transparent and accountable. I will continue to notify the public about this issue, and seek public input.
“I will continue to advocate for the public interest on the waterfront. My commitment is to keep public waterfront lands in public hands. Period. I will not waver from that position.
This is a complex story that needs to be explained carefully – there are culprits all over the place on this one. Stay tuned.
Background links:
Swartz make formal complaint over council member behaviour
How city council decided to sell waterfront property
By Pepper Parr
October 21, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
Mike Swartz and two of his neighbours Ralph Williams who lives on St. Paul Street and Ray Khana who lives on Market Street have filed a formal compliant with a provincial government bureaucrat they call the Omsbudsman, asking that Councilor Meed Ward be held accountable for historical and ongoing unethical conduct.
 Mike Swartz, delivering a very hard message to city council. We don’t want to sue but we will if we have to. They have already retained legal counsel. Quite what that being held accountable actually means is not clear.
 Keeping the land the city already owns in public hands would result in a pathway like this. “The complaints herein are primarily (although not exclusively) related to Meed Ward’s actions, behavior and efforts to have the Water St. parcel (a strip of City owned land between St. Paul St and Market St and bordering on a waterfront strip owned by the Ministry of Natural Resources) developed as a public walkway/parkette. This Water St parcel abuts 3 private property owners, namely, the households of Khanna, Swartz/Connell and Williams, herein referred to as “the owners”.
“The owners first met with their Ward 2 Councilor Meed Ward on July17th 2012 to discuss the concerns of the Water St. land and their intent to purchase it. The owners asked Meed Ward for her support. The Councilor made it very clear that she was opposed to the owners purchasing the properties, as she wanted it to become a park. At that time the owners agreed to disagree but they asked her as their Ward 2 Councilor to share the following information with the public. “
As one gets into the details of this complaint things get very muddy and complex which is a large part of the problem; the public has never been given the full story.
 Selling the land at the lake’s edge to private property owners would create a situation like this – where three homes would have exclusive use of this view. In the days ahead the Gazette will pull together as much of the detail as we can and set out what the issue really is – does Burlington want to keep waterfront property in the hands of the public?
Quite why Swartz and his neighbours are taking a formal complaint to (they say to the Omsbudsman but the complaint is addressed to Karren Wallace, Ontario Municipal Advisor, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing) is not clear. It is far too late in the election process for this to have any impact on the public’s perception of Meed Ward.
It is an issue that needs an airing but it will be as much as a year before there is any comment from the Municipal Adviser. Karren Wallace is out of the office until October 22nd – so that complaint isn’t going to go very far.
Much more to be done on this story – which does not appear to have yet become a significant public issue.
Council will be getting an update report at its November meeting but they won’t be able to do anything. They will be a lame duck council without the authority to spend any money for anything that has not been budgeted.
Depending on how the vote goes – there may be a significantly different council in place on December 1st when they are all sown in.
Stay tuned – this is a doozer of a story.
Background link:
City decides to sell some of the “crown jewels”
By Pepper Parr
October 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Our lawyers received the following letter from lawyer Peter E. J. Wells, who represents the Burlington Air Park.
“I am writing to you concerning an article dated October 17, 2014 that was brought to my attention last evening, the 16th. I enclose a copy for you reference. The passage in the article that is of concern is:
“It used to be that people would sue us for libel hoping that would shut us down. Now they are resorting to really sneaking dirty tricks -we must be doing something right.” Unless some other party has recently commenced a libel action against your client, the first sentence plainly refers to our client.
I assume that your client did not mean to imply that our client had anything to do with the hacking, if only because that would be further evidence of the malice that we have piiiaded (word un-decipherable) in the statement of claim. This sort of unfortunate word order leading to an unintended meaning happens from time to time in publications.
At page 45 of his book “For Whom The Bell Tolls’.’ Guardian production editor David Marsh gives the following example from an article in The Times about the late actor Peter Ustinov, who was said to have referred to “his encounters with Nelson Mandela, a demigod and a dildo collector.” Marsh suggests that the writer intended to say “encounters with a demigod, a dildo collector and Nelson Mandela.”
First, we were certainly not suggesting that the Burlington Air Park did the hack on our system. There field of expertise is the dumping of landfill without the required approvals.
We were impressed with just how well read the Air Park lawyer is – The Times, the Guardian and Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. Impressive.
Nelson Mandela a dildo collector? Who knew!
Wells, in his letter, goes on to ask that:
“In the circumstances I expect a prompt, clear retraction to be published by your client making it clear that your client did not intend to suggest that our client had anything to do with the hacking referred to.
We didn’t say the Air Park hacked us. Were we suggesting they might have? We didn’t think so and are comfortable saying that we did not intend to suggest the Air Park had anything to do with the hack that was done to our system.
We do appreciate learning more about the late Nelson Mandela.
Full disclosure. Burlington lawyer Katherine Henshell represents the Burlington Gazette in this matter. She is a candidate for the ward one council seat.
By Pepper Parr
October 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
All the big players and the heavy hitters have stepped up and done what they could for those people in the community who find themselves struggling as a result of the damage done to their homes during the August 4th flood. It is an impressive list and more names will be added in the weeks ahead as we reach that 100 day target chief fund raiser Ron Foxcroft set when the Burlington Community Foundation took on the task of running the public side of the fund raising effort that was needed to quality for provincial support.
In alphabetical order they are:
Bank of Montreal, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd, Branthaven Homes, Bruce Etherington & Associates, Burlington Community Foundation, Burlington Hydro Inc., Burlington Insurance Brokers Association, Burlington Lions Club, Cogeco, CUPE Local 44, Fengate, Fortinos, Insurance Bureau of Canada, L3 – Wescam, Linkins Medicine Professional Corporation, Longo’s, New Horizon, Newalta, Ontario Secondary School Teachers District 20, Pioneer Energy, RBC Royal Bank, Reliance Home Comfort, Smith’s Funeral Home, Union Gas, Walker Industries.
Catherine Brady organized a group that has coin donation boxes in more than sixty locations across the city. Some donours have put fifty dollar bills in those boxes. 
Then there is Sheil Patel, an ace tennis player and a student at the Fairview Glen Montessori school, who was talking to his physiotherapist Dorothy Borovich and asking what he could do to help the people who had their homes flooded. Out of that conversation came $ 3048, which was added to the more than $800,000that has been raised to date by the community.
Sheil, an 11 year old who works out as a tennis player at Cedar Springs, talked to his mother Pooja and together they came up with the idea of soliciting donations from area retailers and putting the prize in large glass jars that were on display at Cedar Springs and at the Fairview Glen school.
 From the right: Ward four council member Jack Dennison, Mayor Goldring, Ron Foxcroft, Sheil Patel and his dad, Vip Patel. People could then bid on each prize – they varied from a pair of Raptor tickets to a jar of gum balls; several merchants provided gift cards. The jars were the best way we could think of to display the prizes people would bid on. “The Domino’s pizza didn’t fit in the jar of course – we put in a label for that one” explained Shiel. “The school was very good to us” said Sheil.
“They let me sell tickets to the students and their families and the Fairview Glen Board of directors added $500 as well.” Pooja Patel and her husband wanted their children to attend an open minded school, where students had the freedom to move around and use their imaginations. Both their boys attend the Montessori school – have done so since the very beginning of their education.
 Students from most of the grades at Fairview Glen Montessori school were out to support student Sheil Patel on his raising $3048 for flood relief. The Fairview Glen school however just goes to grade six – so next fall Sheil will attend a private school. “We’ve been visiting some of the schools and deciding where Sheil will attend next year. While middle school and high school are ahead of Sheil, his eye is on Harvard where he would like to study medicine, hopefully on a tennis sports scholarship.
The Patel family live in a cul de sac south of Fairview, off Walker’s Line, where there have been just two families move elsewhere. “It’s a very stable community – a place, where we can live out our culture and be active Canadians citizens” said Pooja. She added that Canada is a country that accepts everyone – that can’t be said of many countries. She and her husband met as students at McMaster University – both were commerce students – and were married in a traditional Indian wedding ceremony.
“Yes, my husband rode a horse” she added. The family maintains both their culture and religion “but we also celebrate what we call “commercial Christmas” as well as many other Canadian celebrations. The large corporate donations to the flood relief program are vital – the individual efforts by young people in the community are what really reveal the spirit of the city.
 Sheil Patel’s prize table included a pair of Raptors tickets, a pair of Asics tennis shoes (Tred Well), candy, gift cards from Marilu’s Market, Bombay Grill, Dominos Pizza, Holland Park Nursery, Kelly’s Bake Shoppe and many others. This weekend both Longo’s and Fortinos will be asking their customers if they wish to make a small donation as they come to terms with the cashier. Take advantage of the opportunity – funds are still needed – and we may learn that the provincial government is not going to give the citizens anything in the way of Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance (ODRAP) despite the efforts of MPP Eleanor McMahon.
The application has been sitting on the desk of Minister Ted McMeekin for some time. Longos will be accepting donation until the 24th; Fortino’s will be accepting donations until the 30th.
By Pepper Parr, Publisher, Burlington Gazette
October 19th, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Early next week all of the homes south of Dundas in Burlington will see a small flyer in their mail boxes. It will be the first piece of direct promotion the Gazette has done since its inception four years ago.
The flyer announces the posting of real time election results on the front page of the Gazette on October 27th just as soon as the polls close.
 Gazette’s first piece of promotional material. Burlingtonians will be able to go to the Gazette web site and see what the most recent results are for the office of Mayor and the six council members.
We will not be posting the results for the Regional chair – while there are other people running for that office – it is evident that Gary Carr will be returned.
We will not be posting the results of the trustees for either the Halton District School Board or the Halton Catholic District School Board.
The Gazette is a not for profit organization – w do not have a revenue stream. The expenses to date have come out of our pockets and there is only so much time and financial resources available to us.
We will be doing on going news coverage and the results will be available once the school board trustee winners are known.
Our flyer – which measures 6 x 9 inches has, like every other piece of paper, two sides. We didn’t need both sides of the flyer – so we sold side two. Because our part of the flyer is about election results we had no problem with an individual running for office using side two.
 Sharing the space on a piece of promotional material should not be seen as an endorsement of the candidate. Our accepting an advertisement from a candidate for the office of Mayor is certainly not an endorsement. If Peter Rusin should win the mayors chair it will be because he did it on merit.
Rusin needed name exposure – the flyer is going to get to every home south of Dundas – that’s exposure.
Why not north of Dundas? There wasn’t enough time to get the flyers into production and into the hands of the distribution company in time for the scheduled delivery.
By Lana Kameric
October 17, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into Black Bull Tavern last night. My publisher told me that Burlington had a slam poetry group that hosts an event every month.
As someone who has been writing poems for many years – not that I have ever dared to recite them in front of a live audience – naturally I was inclined to attend the Burlington Slam to see what it was all about. What I found was an open minded, supportive audience and a talented, confident group of artists gathering in the Fireside Lounge of Black Bull Tavern and sharing their words with all those willing to listen.
 Dia Davina at the Black Bull poetry slam Most of the guests, including myself, were attending the slam for the first time. However, you would never have guessed it from the group dynamic. The engagement between the host, the audience and the performers felt familiar, comfortable, more like a gathering of friends sharing their artwork than a group of strangers. Hosted by Bassam, former satanic rapper now a performance poet and member of the Burlington Slam Project Team, the slam encourages audience participation – hissing at the poems they dislike and cheering for the poems they do like. The conversation created between the performer and the audience, while remaining respectful, leaves more room for an honest response. After all, an artist needs more than polite applause to grow in their craft.
The slam usually begins with open mic performances, which anyone may sign up for. However, since no one signed up for the open mic portion of the evening the slam was focused on the poets alone, and they did not disappoint.
Five poets competed in two rounds for a cash prize donated by the Black Bull Tavern. Dia Davina, the featured artist of the night, performed a few of her original pieces between the competitive rounds. Judges were selected from the audience to score each performance, which would determine the first, second and third place winners of the evening. Don Murray, not only a poet but also the archivist and webmaster for the Burlington Slam Project, won first place after receiving the highest score on his two original pieces.
We were warned in the beginning that is not a family friendly show, there is swearing, controversy and uncomfortable topics – my kind of art. The poems performed last night were personal, moving and at times shocking leaving the audience speechless and paralyzed before bursting into applause and cheers.
 The Slammers – Tommy Bewick second from the right got this show on the road in Burlington. As an artist who prefers to paint my feelings I was blown away with the courage of these artists, sharing their deepest thoughts and experiences, telling us the stories that have shaped them into the brave poets that they are today. Davina’s poems in particular reminded me of painting. The way she flows from word to word, creating imagery that triggers a memory and feeling from each person in the room, resembles the way that a painter moves colour on a canvas to form symbolism that the viewer can relate to. Listening to each poem was like taking a walk through the artist’s thoughts guided by familiar ideas that exist inside my own mind. Each time I heard that pleased sigh coming from the audience I knew that I was not the only one able to relate to the poets’ words. The Burlington Slam Project was a truly inspiring experience.
The Burlington Slam Project hosts poetry slam nights every month on the third Thursday in the Fireside Lounge of the Black Bull Tavern unless noted otherwise.
Lana Kamarić is a contemporary surrealist artist and a self-taught painter. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia Lana arrived in Canada at the age of five. After moving to Burlington she attended Robert Bateman High school and graduated from York University with a degree in Art History. Lana has worked with the Museums of Burlington, the Art Gallery of Burlington and is currently working as a full-time artist. Lana was a participant in Cirque, the 2014 No Vacancy installation event in the Village Square. Her last show was Art in the Workplace at McMaster Innovation Park.
By Pepper Parr
October 17, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
It was a “sold out” event.
It was also an embarrassing occasion when the Chamber of Commerce was not able to provide a way for mayoralty candidate Anne Marsden to join Mayor Goldring and Peter Rusin on the stage. She had to sit at the side of the raised platform because of a disability that makes it very difficult for her to mount steps.
One would have expected the Chamber of Commerce to realize that Marsden needed access to the platform – they invited her to the event. This lack of understanding, appreciation and concern for those who have a disability and need different access than the rest of us has been Anne Marsden point for years. Shameful that the Chamber of Commerce would fail at this level.
 Possible routes for an NGTA highway – the blue one put a shiver into the bones of Burlington and the Region. Rusin repeated his concern with the Mayor’s approach to economic development and said a new highway was an inevitability which moved Councillor Taylor to send out an email saying: “ Mayoral Candidate Peter Rusin today, at the Chamber of Commerce debate, called for the divisive Niagara to GTA Highway process to begin again with the support of City Council.
 That faint yellow arrow heads straight for the heart of Burlington’s Escarpment country. “Please spread the word to all Rural residents. We need strong continued leadership on this issue and the Mayor and I need your continued support to send a strong message to Council.
Mayor Goldring is reported to have said to Rusin after the debate that he shared Rusin’s view but that there was no way he could say that politically.
Rusin’s position appears to be that the city needs to work with the province and work out a solution that resolves the provinces problem of moving traffic and gives the city the economic development resources it needs.
Rusin point out that there was a time when the #1 side road was the rural boundary but that that changed when highway 407 was built. Rusin appears to want to see commercial development on the north side of that highway.
Rusin said after the debate that he could not see a highway ever coming through Kilbride and Lowville and while the province has put any development work on hold – that road is the major one on the table.
This is the first time anyone has heard that the Mayor has an opinion on what Burlington needs in terms of roads and the economic development needs.
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