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February 23, 2015 BURLINGTON,ON The good people at The Different Drummer bring you this news with their apologies. As a result of the extreme cold weather alert, our event planned for this evening at the Central Library with Paula Todd will be rescheduled. We will be in touch when we have all the details. Todd was going to give a talk on her most recent book: Cyber Mean Ian Elliot is very sorry for any inconvenience and will refund all ticket purchases. 
February 23, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Each department sets out what it expects to need to deliver services. There is an Executive Budget Committee that massages the numbers that come from the departments.  Joan Ford, Director of Finance – Finally! A draft is sent to Council members; the finance department takes council through an overview. Staff make sure all the Staff Directions from Council are included in the budget calculations. Then the budget is taken to the public – this year poor publicity and bad weather did them in – there were a reported seven people in the room for a public review of the budget. There are usually close to 100. The Capital budget usually gets approved first. Council members are asked to review the budget and submit “Action Request’ forms which are requests by a Council member for consideration of a request for funding or for a request to have funding that was in the budget to be removed. There were a total of 25 budget action requests.  Councillor Rick Craven, centre, with a copy of the 2013 budget on a memory stick. Councillor Craven had two; one for $600 to conduct another Jane’s Walk – which is basically a guided tour of the ward. Craven asked for the funds to cover this event as a one-time expenditure. He was given funds previously to conduct such a walk. Craven also wanted $25,000 added to the base budget, which means the funding would be in place every year until such time as it was removed from the budget. The money was to cover the cost of a single park bench in each ward each year. The expense would be in the Parks and Recreation budget. Where the debate on this one got interesting was the steps Councillor Meed Ward took to ensure that the decision as to where the park bench got placed was not left in the hands of the ward Councillor. The ongoing bad blood between Meed Ward and Craven was clearly evident – again. What no one asked was – why does it cost $3000 to install a park bench? Two years ago several council members got the idea to hold “car free” Sundays in the city during the summer. The first was held in the downtown core and a second out in ward 5 where the event went quite well. The downtown core event was a total bust and wasn’t repeated the second year. Councillor Lancaster got council to go along with a car free Sunday in her ward that went well enough. Held basically in the Alton community, a part of the city that is still finding itself, the event has the potential to create a sense of occasion in that part of the city.  Participants in the 2014 Car Free Sunday in Alton. These events look like they are here to stay. So – for 2015 there will be a car free Sunday in wards 4, 5 and 6. A total of $10,000 was added to the base budget each year for these events. Councillor Dennison, the only member of council with personal business operations of any size, always looks for ways to increase the business opportunities for the city. He has had his eyes on the Tyandaga golf course property for a long time. He wants the city to get out of the golf club business, arguing that there are more than enough private golf courses in the region (there are 9 in Burlington) and that the city doesn’t get real value for the money it pumps into the operation of Tyandaga. Dennison will tell you that there is between $12 to $18 million to be had if some of the land was sold to a developer. When this was discussed last year Mayor Goldring referred to the selling of some of the golf club property as a “cash grab” – what was wrong with that? It would have paid for the pier embarassment. Dennison withdrew his request and had the matter as something to be considered during the Strategic Plan discussions. Dennison got Council to go along with one more cutting of the grass along the hydro corridors at a cost of $6000 The cutting would be done on a trial basis to see if the taxpayers thought it was a good improvement. Dennison also tabled the idea of creating a services organization that would handle things like vehicle maintenance for both Hydro and the city. Burlington owns hydro – makes sense. It could make even more sense if transit was included. The idea got punted to the Strategic Plan review. On the other hand Dennison is the Council member that comes up with the bigger bolder ideas; Tyandaga was one example. This year he wanted to add $200,000 in revenue to the budget from what he was certain would happen – an increase in the investment returns the city earns. That one didn’t pass.  Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison always has an eye open for an economic opportunity – sees a great one for the city: sell the golf course. This year he also wanted to see $200,000 added to the revenue stream based on his belief that the number of building permits issued would be as strong in 2015 as they were in 2014. That one lost as well. Trust Dennison to bring things like this up in 2016 when the budget is under consideration. And – you have not heard the last of Dennison’s attempt to sell some of that Tyandaga golf course property. Councillor Lancaster seemed to be dumping on the cultural sector with her very pointed questioning of Dave Miller, Sound of Music chief, who wanted an increase in the base budget allocated to SoM each year. Lancaster got Council to go along with a cost of living increase. Her concern with SoM is that it keeps growing – she wants it to remain basically the same but that if it does have to grow there be events outside the downtown core. Lancaster, who used to have a business in the core, claims that restaurants do very well during the Sound of Music but that other retailers take quite a hit. The Performing Arts Centre was down for $95,000 to cover the cost of student education. Lancaster thought this work could perhaps be done by the Student Theatre people. Brian McCurdy, a man who knows how to protect his turf explained that by educating students the city is creating the arts audience of the future. He got his funding. While Lancaster appeared to look like a bit of a cultural Grinch – it was her support, along with Meed Ward, that kept the Freeman Station in one piece while the community found a place to locate the structure where it is now being fully renovated. It will be interesting to see if Lancaster can work with the Sound of Music to get some of the events up into the Alton community. The “dean of city council” got clobbered during the creation of the 2015 budget. In both 2013 Councillor Taylor got well in excess of $75,000 for the BurLINKton community development program. The funds were to cover the staff that make the programs happen. In 2014 Taylor asked for the funding but only after promising to not ask for the funds a third time.  Taylor came close to having to beg to get the funding he wanted for the BurLINKton Community Development program. This year he knew better than to ask for the funding he had been given previously – but he did ask for $10,000 as a “life line” to cover the organization until an expected grant comes in. Taylor came close to having to beg for the amount – he was literally jerked around by his fellow Councillors. Taylor saw the votes against him as “payback” for getting Meed Ward onto the Conservation Halton board. Transit is always an issue when it comes to customer service and the price to ride the buses. An 8% drop in transit use from 2013 to 2014 reinforces the view of this council that no one wants transit – yet they continually talk about “improving the modal split” and getting people out of their cars. The transit advocates claim the constant change in bus routes and schedules confuses the public and they give up on the service. More than $2 million is going to be spent on technology that will help transit understand who gets on the bus and who gets off the bus – the hope is that the data that comes out of the technology will result in service that meets the needs. A glimpse as to how data can trip up the best of plans was seem when transit staff were explaining when taxi scrips had to be used to cover declines in HandiVan use. Turns out that if a person asks for a HandiVan pick up at a specific time – say 1:00 pm, to get to an appointment and the request cannot be met that is counted as a decline – the customer servioce request had to be declined – however if that same customer is told the HandiVan could pick them up at 1:15 the 1:00 pm request is still counted as a decline. Meed Ward had asked that the $35,000 budgeted for taxi scrip funding last year and cancelled be put back into the budget to cover those “declines”. Bad data – bad decisions. Meed Ward wanted to know what it would cost to re-instate the school specials – that was punted to the 2016 budget. Meed Ward brought an interesting idea forward when she asked: what would it cost to create a free fare day one day a week for seniors? The idea got moved to the 2016 budget wen a business case will be presented. You can see Meed Ward building her base for an expected run in 2018 for the Mayor’s job.
That might change – Meed Ward asked that a business case be prepared setting out what it would cost to have 24/7 and/or weekend evening bylaw coverage. The creation of a budget by the city is a combination of things money has to be spent on and things the city would like to spend money on. The construction of the Performing Arts Centre and the Pier were things the city wanted to spend money on. While Mayor Goldring ended up having the pier put around his neck like a rubber tire and then set ablaze – the decision to build the Pier belongs to former Mayor Rob MacIsaac and his Council of which Councillors Dennison and Taylor were members; Councillor Craven was a late comer to the pier issue The collapse of a crane on the construction site brought to light significant problems with the design and the quality of the steel used. Those decisions were made long before Goldring was Mayor. The Performing Arts Centre was very controversial when it was proposed and it went through two very awkward years once it was opened. Brian McCurdy was brought in to run the operation and he has done a superb job of improving attendance and bringing in shows that the community wants – he has also done a fine job in making the space accessible to local performance groups.
 A rapt audience listened to an overview of the 2014 budget. What they have yet to have explained to them is the desperate situation the city will be in ten years from now if something isn’t done in the next few years to figure out how we are going to pay for the maintenance of the roads we have. There is within the municipal sector a movement to involve the public long before the first draft of the budget is worked out. Burlington isn’t there yet. In the months ahead city council will begin looking at its Strategic Plan. There will be an opportunity then to look at governance matters and perhaps there will be some energy and effort from different community groups who want to see some real and relevant involvement in the fiscal affairs of the city.  The public didn’t show up for the 2015 budget discussions. Seven people managed to make it to the event. Until then your city council will play games with the numbers, let petty politics get in the way of doing what is best for the city. Thankfully there is a group of intelligent, committed people in the finance department to ensure that the city is financially sound.
February 19, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON While the Mayor may have given one of the driest and flattest speeches heard in some time Keith Hooey, president of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce did a great number in teasing the audience as to who the next Entrepreneur of the Year was going to be.  Dan Lawrie, an artist in his own right with a piece of art that is part of his collection. Lawrie was named the 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year At one point Hooey had the crowd laughing with him – that Mayor Goldring should be so lucky. While there was no drum roll – Hooey told his audience that Dan Lawrie would be the 2015 Entrepreneur of the year.  Dan Lawrie put up a significant portion of the money needed to pay for the creation of the Spiral Stella. While the Gazette always felt that entrepreneurs were those young guys with nothing but energy working to get a start-up off the ground – Burlington sees it differently. We would put Lawrie in the ranks of the season veterans who runs a tight operation and has grown a very significant business that covers Burlington and Hamilton very well. Bur more on Dan Lawrie and what he has achieved when we do a full profile. Right now – Dan is the Man for 2015. Lawrie was the guy with the wallet behind the Spiral Stella that sits outside the entrance to the Performing Arts Centre where it really doesn’t get noticed.
February 18, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON As of today the Burlington Community Foundation Flood Disaster Relief Claims Committee (DRC) has reviewed 88 claims with 77 of those being approved for some amount. Throughout the first quarter of 2015, interim claim payments are being distributed and once all 310 claims are assessed, the committee will determine final payment amounts and disburse final cheques with a goal of completing the process by April 30.  Funds raised within the community and matched by the province on a two-for-one basis are now being distributed to victims. The Foundation has paid out a total of $696,000 which would work out to a little over $9000 per claimant – with more to follow when the Claims Committee has determined what is left and available for distribution. “We are extremely pleased to report that many victims of the August flood have started receiving cheques to assist in their recovery efforts,” said Colleen Mulholland, President and CEO, Burlington Community Foundation. “The response from those who have received compensation has been extremely appreciative.”  National banks were a major source of funds – they did a lot more for the city than several major corporations that do very good business in Burlington. Ryan and Amy More’s home and lives were devastated by the flood in August. They received their first cheque from the Flood Relief Fund and were overwhelmed with appreciation. “My wife and I are so appreciative of everything that our Burlington community has done for us to help build our lives back,” said Ryan More. “We feel blessed to have such great neighbours and to live in a community that cares. This financial support is a tremendous help and we would like sincerely thank everyone who contributed.” The Claims Committee continues to meet every two weeks to process each claim.
February 17, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Two oddities: the word neighbourhood does not appear in the current Official Plan and Shoreacres Blvd is not within the boundaries of the Shoreacres Community Study. What isn’t at all odd is that the people who live in the community want some say over the rate at which their community undergoes a change.
A second community character study was launched in Roseland where small developer/contractors were roaming the streets looking for property they could purchase and divide into two lots or build what have come to be called monster homes. In the spring of 2014, the demolition and rebuild of a dwelling in the Shoreacres Community led to a grassroots community discussion about a growing trend of redevelopment and its related impacts in the area. This community discussion took place through informal gatherings, petitions and conversations with media. The Director of Planning was instructed to report back to Development and Infrastructure Committee in Fall 2014 on whether to conduct the study based on the following: scope and timing of the study and the impact on the completion of the Official Plan Review Process  Selling the dream. The house proposed is seen as so out of design and proportion from the house behind the hoarding by the residents – they fear the character o their neighbourhood will be changed too quickly, The planners organized a preliminary community meeting to consult with residents regarding the primary issues facing the neighbourhood. Staff concluded that the built form and housing stock in a section of Shoreacres is relatively homogeneous. While redevelopment has been occurring in the larger neighbourhood that comprises Shoreacres (generally described as south of New Street, west of Walkers Line and east of Appleby Line), there is a particular area within Shoreacres that has similar characteristics that distinguish it from other areas of Shoreacres.  This resident seeks consent from neighbours to sever their property Staff, in consultation with the Ward Councillor, established an initial boundary for this area comprising approximately 185 homes and mailed out meeting notices and questionnaires to these addresses. A community meeting to discuss recent development in the Shoreacres Community took place last July – 65 people attended, which some residents pointed out later amounted to one third of the residents in the study area – more than the percentage that voted in the municipal election. The primary issues that were raised at the meeting and through questionnaires, phone calls and emails can be summarized into the following topics: a) There is inadequate public notification for demolitions, rebuilds and minor variance applications At the community meeting, staff provided several responses regarding the above concerns as summarized: a) Public notification requirements for development applications are established in the Ontario Building Code and the Planning Act and, for Ontario municipalities, there are no legal notice requirements that accompany the issuance of site plan approval, demolition permits and/or building permits. The public notification requirements for minor variance applications are set out in the Planning Act and implemented by the City. Specifically, a sign is posted on the subject property and notice is mailed to all property owners within 60 m of the subject application. b) The City of Burlington does not have a private tree by-law that can protect trees on private property. The City recently considered the implementation of a Private Tree By-law in July of 2013, but did not proceed with this initiative. The protection of trees on public property is managed through the site plan process and the protection of boundary vegetation is protected through the Forestry Act and reviewed during the site plan process. c) The study area shown on the meeting invitation is a preliminary study boundary and is still subject to change. d) Architectural style cannot be regulated through the Planning and Building Department, but the Urban Design Guidelines for Low Density Residential Zones and the site plan process allow for review of architectural elevations and an opportunity to influence architectural style with the objective of ensuring compatible development. e) (e-h) The concerns relating to privacy impacts, building height, number of storeys and corner lot zoning provisions all relate to the existing Zoning By-law requirements that apply to this area. During the meeting, staff noted that a zoning review could be conducted by City staff to determine whether or not changes to the Zoning By-law would assist in managing some of the changes being experienced by the neighbourhood. Based on the comments that have been received to date, staff is of the opinion that a zoning review, including additional public consultation, in this area is warranted.  Another large, spacious corner lot. Mayor asked what the average size of these houses was – between 1200 and 2200 sq. ft. but Faccenda said the neighbourhood was not yet ready for significant development. Albert Faccenda said a neighborhood will look like what the people who live there want it to look like. People sell their property and get the best price they can and developers build on the property they bought. We build what the market wants he said. He added that the present bylaw would allow 7 to 8 thousand sq. ft. homes; that sent a shudder through the council chamber. Councillor Meed Ward asked what Faccenda wanted to see changed – the lot coverage could be more generous he replied. A bungalow get 35% lot coverage; a 1 1/2 storey can have up to 30% coverage and a two storey gets 25% Strategy/Process The proposed study will be lead independently of the Official Plan Review. Any Official Plan policy amendments that may arise from this study would be conducted as a City- initiated Official Plan Amendment. This project could be instructive to the upcoming Zoning By-law Review, particularly for residential neighbourhoods south of the Queen Elizabeth Way The Shoreacres community, as defined in the reports is certainly very distinct. |Mary Alice St. James said there were more than 40 corner lots in the area which gives developer/contractors opportunities to put much larger houses into the community and fundamentally changing the look and feel of the streets. They like their community just the way it is and while they say they are not opposed to development they don’t want to see all that much in the way of change. The developer/contractors love the area – they can sell almost anything they build at a very pretty price. The question really comes down to – how much say do the people in a community get to say about what is permitted in the way of new construction. At what point do the homes in place now become outdated and no longer meet the needs of new families? Is the character of a neighbouhood something municipal bureaucrats should be protecting or should the market determine what can be built and sold for a profit? Director of Planning Bruce Krushelnicki is very sympathetic to the interests of the residents of the community. His planner Rosa Bustamante thinks it is more of a zoning exercise – the residents see their community being chewed up by economic interests. Aldershot has much the same kind of housing on the water side of Plains Road west of King Road.  This is the community the residents want to conserve – their hope is that a neighbourhood character study will result in zoning or bylaws that keep that exists. Niagara on the Lake has zoning and bylaws that determine what the look and feel of the streets in the commercial core of that city will look like – and they keep a very tight rein on what gets done. That community is a destination and is good business. Does a small neighbourhood deserve the same kind of attention? The third of the community that showed up for the meeting, in the middle of July when many people were on vacation. What do the residents of the community want? There were just two delegations. Ken Crew, a long time resident who was joined by his neighbour Ron Fleming “To our neighbourhood, your approval of a City-funded and timely Character Study is of incredible importance he said. “We have followed with great interest and support the development of the Character Study for Roseland and Indian Point. However, we are not Roseland or Indian Point. Our values and needs, while sharing some commonality with the Roseland study, are specific and unique to our mature neighbourhood. “More recently however, our area, like others in Burlington, is under constant attack from developers with no ties to the local area or its residents, who are simply buying up the existing mature homes, demolishing them, and replacing them with the largest monster homes the city will allow under the current bylaws and regulations – or buying up corner lots and severing them for multiple large or monster homes. Their sole interest is profit, not the residents. “A prime example is the new home recently erected on Oak Crescent, approximately 3 times the size of all other homes in the area, dwarfing its neighbours, with wrap-around large balconies, ruining the privacy of all homes surrounding it. It totally destroys neighbourhood character and streetscape and has reduced the existing tree canopy.  Residents in the community don’t see how this new home fits in with the bungalows in place now. And that porta potty has to go. “The footprint of the original corner house was changed and flipped 90 degrees in the opposite direction, while all of the plans and changes were done without the existing residents being aware of the changes, and without having any opportunity to provide input or discussion on this new monster home. “Burlington is a great place to live as recent studies have shown, and we are proud to be citizens of this excellent community. BUT, if City management does not recognize the rapidly increasing levels of citizen concern and involvement, particularly in the housing sector – whether it is the demand for Character Studies, the plans to build 28 story buildings in the wrong areas, or building large developments in areas where we already have major unresolved problems, like sewage and drainage, then we run the risk of allowing the destruction of some of the very core principles and characteristics that so many resident taxpayers find so vital to their continued happiness and desire to stay here as long term residents. The uniqueness of these neighbourhoods is a large part of what makes Burlington such a great place to live.”  Another corner lot – this one on Lakeshore Road. The owner wants you to call them. “Time is of the essence. We have little time left to save this truly unique neighbourhood. Our earlier attempts to obtain an interim by-law to restrict monster homes in our area were unsuccessful, so we recognize this timely Character Study is our only option. “ Albert Faccenda a developer/contractor who has built eight homes in the community said there is no market for bungalows in Shoreacres; that he built one and lost his shirt. The Faccenda statements were in direct contract to what everyone else was saying. Faccenda finds that to be the case on most of the occasions he speaks. He told the residents of Roseland that their 100 foot lots were ’dinosaurs’ or more correctly, properties he would like to purchase and redevelop. He told Indian |Point residents that the Character Study being done in that neighbourhood was going to devalue their property. Mary Alice St. James, an elementary school principal and a community resident gave a polished presentation extemporaneously – and made all the points that had to be made. She stressed that people want to move into the community and she doesn’t believe they want to move in and build homes that are out of character with what is already in place. “They wanted our neighbourhood” she said. “The situation we are faced with now is not nice” she added.  On one of the coldest winter days – the people in the community still get out with their dogs for what is a brisk walk. Craven said he thought “this issue may become less clear than you think it is now” referring to the Shoreacres residents. Councillor Sharman was curious to see the outcome and added that he “was not comfortable with the way we are going about this”. But they are going to “go about it”. The decision to proceed with the study will be made at a city council meeting before the end of the month. Right now this Council has to determine just what the 2015 budget is going to look like.
February 17, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON How much do they want to spend and how much are they going to tax you? The city will take an additional 3.64 % more in 2015 than they did in 2014. They added $125,000 to the 2015 budget – that will break down to $19.10 for each $100,000 of property valuation. There was a total of $37,675 in one time spending added to the budget this year.
Your Council spent 3 ½ hours running through the budget, tempers flared, differences of opinion were expressed and poor John Taylor kind of got clobbered again. There is now a clear right wing cabal in place which, surprisingly get Councillor Dennison to go along with them. Councillors Craven and Sharman are the core of this cabal and they inevitably get Councillor Lancaster to go along for the ride. The power in this Council clearly lies with these three – the Mayor is at times seen as an add-on. The Mayor did however, move the motion to approve the motion and send it along to council later in the month for approval. He called the budget miraculous and commented that the 20 year long range plan, which every Council member and staff explained was an approximation, projected increases in spending that were two times the rate of inflation. All in the future of course but once written down these things tend to take on a life of their own.
February 13, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Oklahoma, South Pacific, King and I and the Sound of Music; concert sounds sure to please all ages and at prices like Adult: $31.75 +HST Leslie and Christopher will be the soloists supported by the Symphony on the Bay.  Symphony on the Bay will support Leslie and Christoper Gray as they take a Sunday afternoon audience through a medley of Rogers and Hammerstein classics. Sunday the 15th at the Performing Arts Centre at 3:00 pm. There were just 21 tickets left at 6:00 pm this evening.
February 12, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON A constant irritant for most Burlingtonians is being included in with the city of Hamilton when things are being counted. That much touted “Best Mid-sized city in Canada award became possible when former Mayor Cam Jackson went after the publishers of MoneySense magazine and explained that Burlington was not really Hamilton.
Burlington is the largest city in Ontario, and perhaps Canada that does not have the benefits of a local radio station. So I did something about this and found a FM frequency and filed an application with the Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) back in late 2013, after conducting an audience demand study, an economic study and having conversations with some of the key stakeholders in our city. On 16 January the CRTC finally issued a public notice inviting comments from the public on the “appropriateness of issuing a call for radio applications to serve Burlington, Ontario.” In this public notice they also say “The city of Burlington is included within the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which is currently served by seven commercial radio stations. Burlington accounts for 24% of the total population of the Hamilton CMA.” They go on to say they want “additional information that the Commission will take into consideration before making a final determination on whether it should proceed with a call for applications”
Byrnes would like you to support this application and bring radio to Burlington. He explains how to do this. You can send your comments electronically: Here’s the link: When you get to the website you will be asked to write your comments in the comments box or if you wish, write a letter first and save it. Then follow the instructions to upload a word document. Next click “I do not wish to appear” (as they are seeking public written comments and there will not be a hearing at this early stage) and then provide your contact information in the required fields (first and last name, your email address and the city you live in). Then agree to the terms and conditions and click submit. There is a degree of urgency – comments must be sent before February 17th. Monday, the 16th of February is Family Day in Ontario – use the day off to bring radio to Burlington.
February 12, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Portions of Harvester Road, west of Appleby Line are closed due to a water main break. Halton Regional Police are advising the public of a partial road closure of the westbound lanes on Harvester Road, 50 meters west of Appleby Line are closed to traffic. Westbound traffic is being diverted into the centre lane along Harvester Road. This partial road closure may last up to 12 hours which may cause a back up during the afternoon rush hour traffic.
February 12, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Part 2 of a 3 part feature Their last farewells were at Freeman Station  Private H. Kearse who lived on Brant Avenue died in World War 1. He left his wife and 3 young children in Burlington, so he could fight in France with the 86th Machine Gun Battalion. His death was reported in the newspaper before Private Kearse’s widow was officially notified. The last time this hero saw his family, was when he waved goodbye to them at the Freeman Station. When our boys left, there was not a dry eye to be found anywhere. When Canada answered the call to go to war, Burlington did its part. One hundred years ago, as World War 1 began, with a population that was less than 2,000, Burlington sent 300 sons. We responded in World War 2, and sent even more. The boys went to defend our freedom, and the town proudly marched them up Brant Street and onto the train cars at the Freeman Station. Some did not return. Their names are remembered at the Cenotaph on the grounds of City Hall. Before Los Vegas, there was Burlington!  The Hotel Brant was a beautiful 5 Star hotel that overlooked Lake Ontario. The developer and proprietor, Burlington’s A. B. Coleman was the man responsible for stimulating the tourist industry in Burlington. He advertised the Hotel Brant all over North America and Europe, as the perfect summer vacation destination. Tourists flocked to Burlington. Most arrived by the Grand Trunk Railway and stepped off at the Freeman Station. The Hotel Brant, in the Garden of Canada, was advertised all across North America, and even Europe, as the perfect summer vacation destination. The 200 room hotel offered beautiful cool summer breezes, a roof garden, fishing, bathing, bowling greens, ping pong, billiards, boating, canoeing, golf, tennis, swimming, even furnished bungalows.  Wealthy Americans and Europeans were lured to the Hotel Brant by an intensive advertising campaign. This advertisement appeared in the Washington Post on July 17, 1904. Tourists from the United States, Europe and from across Canada flocked to the Hotel Brant. How did they get here? Most came by train and disembarked at the Freeman Station. Burlington at one time, with only a population of about 1500 people had 4 train stations. One was in Tansley, one in Aldershot, and the 4th, the Burlington station, not to be confused with the Burlington Junction station, was across the street from the Brant Inn and Hotel Brant and it too received many tourists destined for the Hotel Brant. Sadly, we have demolished the Tansley station, the Aldershot station, and the Burlington station downtown, leaving only the Freeman Station for us to enjoy today. The Hotel Brant came to its demise when the Government of Canada expropriated the building in 1917 and converted it into the Brant Military Hospital, as a facility to care for our injured soldiers returning from overseas after World War One. The Brant Military Hospital was eventually demolished. Today, it is the site of the Joseph Brant Hospital. The Brant Inn, a world famous entertainment mecca  The Brant Inn was known all over North America and parts of Europe as a great entertainment destination. The owner A. B. Coleman brought in world class singers and musicians to entertain the patrons. If you wanted to see these performers in person, most arrived by train. Even the performers came by train to the Freeman Station. Undaunted by the loss of the Hotel Brant, A.B. Coleman turned his attention to his other moneymaker, the Brant Inn, which was located just across the street. The historic Brant Inn which was demolished in 1969 was to become one of North America’s greatest venues for entertainment. Almost every single major musician and singer from the 1920s up to the big band era and beyond, played the Brant Inn. The Brant Inn was advertised all across North America as the place to be to see the world’s greatest entertainers perform in person. If you couldn’t get to Burlington to see your favourite entertainer live, you could always hear them on radio. Their performances were broadcast live right across North America. For those that travelled to Burlington from somewhere across North America or Europe, you usually arrived by train and stepped off at the Freeman station.  The Brant Inn received continuous publicity all over North America and Europe. This story about Ella Fitzgerald appeared in the Pittsburgh Courier on August 2, 1947. Burlington was a famous tourist town, as well as being an agricultural community. With a population just like a village, Burlington responded to the tourist trade and had several hotels ready for weary guests. Outside of the Hotel Brant, Burlington had three more on Brant Street. You could stay at the Hotel Raymond, or the Queen’s Hotel, and if they were full, you could find accommodation at the Burlington Hotel. These were the earliest hotels, and later on, many more were built.  King George VI and Queen Elizabeth stopped at the Freeman Station in June 1939, as part of their cross Canada tour. It was the only time British Royalty had ever been to Burlington. The Royal Family stopped to visit Burlington at the Freeman Station  World famous author Peter C Newman arrived with his family from Austria to the Freeman Station after World War 2 to start all over again. The ravages of war had left the family with nothing. Their new life began on a local farm in Freeman. This photo from around 1946 shows Peter in Freeman with his favourite farm horses Bob & Joe. Welcome to Canada, your new home Tomorrow, find out what the Freeman Station symbolizes, and why it is historical. Mark Gillies is a lifelong resident of Burlington, who grew up in Aldershot and developed as a local historian, researcher, master genealogist and writer who has a passionate interest and extensive knowledge of the many early pioneer families. Mark writes a regular column about colourful local history introducing Burlingtonians to the people that made this city what it is today.
February 11, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Well – things along the waterfront are just popping and hopping. We learned last week that the contractor who was going to build the Bridgewater project filed for Bankruptcy and that New Horizon has taken over that project.  The Bridgewater was the first major development on the waterfront in the core of the city to be approved – that was in 1985 – they called it a “legacy” project then. Then we learn that the hotel will be a Marriott Hotel and not a Delta. Then we learn that the Mariott Group had bought the Delta operation. This hotel you will recall was going to be open for people attending the Pan Am Games in Hamilton this summer. Burlington missed out on that opportunity. We didn’t miss out completely – we got to build a new park almost on the North West border of the city that will have soccer pitches for the soccer teams to practice on. The public will not be allowed to watch those practices. But we digress. The Bridgewater project will overcome the bumps it has hit.  The ADI Development Group came along a few months ago and began the process to get a 28 storey structure a block away from the Bridgewater. Some think that won’t fly. The ADI Development Group will grind away and do their best to get their 28 storey project approved – not at city hall but at the OMB. All kinds of things happening on the waterfront. Then the public learns that the Waterfront Hotel site is going to undergo a massive change. The existing hotel will get demolished and three structures will be built – an 8 storey building, a 22 storey building and a 25 storey building.  The Waterfront Hotel has always been seen as a prime development site – the six storey hotel will come down and be replaced by three structures: 25-22 and 8 storeys assuming the set back from the water’s edge issues can be resolved. The existing parking lot contains approximately 135 spaces. The hotel was constructed in 1986 and abuts city owned parkland to the west and south. The site is relatively flat, sloping from east to southwest. There is a 4m grade difference between Lakeshore Road to the water’s edge. It is going to be hard for the city to argue against the ADI project when there is a 22 story condominium in the process of being built almost across the street and now a project that it less than four blocks to the west that will have three structures – two of which will be more than 20 storeys. The demolishing of the Waterfront will allow for structures that can face westward and take in all that Spencer Park has to offer. The development potential for this site has been a gleam in the eye of both those who have struggled to get some traction and bring some real vibrancy to the downtown core and the long term thinkers in the planning department. The early stage thinking on the potential of a site that was once the location of a canning factory goes back to before the current city hall was built. The idea of a ‘master plan’ for the waterfront goes back to 2003-5 when the city was developing plans for the waterfront park – including the pier and Discovery Landing. A series of design charettes Royal Host owned the hotel lands and participated actively in the design charettes – they were interested in redeveloping the site as they had done with their property in Kelowna BC The City’s consultants developed preliminary concepts for the hotel redevelopment which included the idea of constructing below grade parking in the area of land between the existing hotel and water (city owned lands known as the headlands) The idea then was for a park area would be elevated from the current grade, accessed by stairs – thus no net loss of park land; it was one of the key principles. But the ideas and concepts, as exciting as they were, never got beyond the preliminary stage. At the time City Council directed staff to enter into a joint master plan process with Royal Host – and discussions began on a cost sharing. Royal Host ultimately didn’t proceed but staff and Council recognized that at some point a redevelopment proposal was likely to come forward and took the pro-active step of adopting design principles for the site and putting in place an official plan policy that required a master plan to be done before any redevelopment could happen Time changes everything. Conservation Halton regulations eliminated the potential for development (including parking) on the city-owned lands – but the principles that Council approved, including the need for a master plan (or planning study) remain relevant  Red line area is where the three structures would be located; blue line sets out the study area. With a proposal from Vrancor the study process begins again with the city managing a process that will bring three development concepts; one from the developer and two from the consultant based on public input and the design principles approved by Council. The Vrancor Group which owns the Waterfront Hotel and was described as being a significant player in the hotel business was represented by Ken Dakin – the man who got Mayrose Tyco past the hurdles when they ran into new Conservation Halton regulations. Vrancor appreciates the opportunity to table its redevelopment concept as one of three concepts to be evaluated in the study, as set out in the Terms of Reference.  Away back when there were horses pulling wagons on Brant Street and the Freeman Station was taking loads of fresh produce to locations around the world there was a canning factory at the foot of Brant. It was said one could smell the tomato sauce as far north as Caroline Given the opportunities of the property for mixed use redevelopment, Vrancor wants the study to proceed with an open mind with respect to density, height and floor area ratio. Vrancor accepts responsibility for the cost of the planning study, subject to its review and approval of the consultant cost. Vrancor does not want to incur study costs until the shoreline setback is resolved. City Council assures everyone that there will be all kinds of public participation. Yes, but the following from Vrancor’s planner hints at just how much the public is going to see: “I have instructions to advise that concept plans are not available for publication.” Not all that encouraging is it. In the Terms of Reference for the study public participation is set out: • Four public sessions: One to launch the process and confirm values and principles, one workshop to develop preliminary development concepts, followed by a meeting to present and review the three development concept alternatives, and a final public meeting to review the draft Official Plan (OP) policies, zoning and design guidelines. There is a “stakeholders committee” on which there is decent public representation: Ward 2 Councillor  This is the process that will be out in place – but nothing gets done on time when the lakefront is involved. Planning staff will ultimately select a preferred development concept and the Waterfront Hotel Lands Planning Study will send a recommendation to Council. Look for something in about eight months – assuming Ken Dakin can stick handle the set back issues past Conservation Halton.
February 11, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON  Burlington was put on the map with the combined efforts of the Grand Trunk Railway and our market gardeners, with both moving us quickly into the 20th century. This extremely rare full colour advertisement (only 1 remains) was inserted into European newspapers at the turn of the century, as an enticement to stimulate European immigration to the Garden of Canada. There was a point in the recent past when the city of Burlington was prepared t sell the Freeman station for kindling to anyone who would cart it away. A city engineer stood before Council and said the build was structurally unsound and could literally fall apart any day. What that engineer did not know was this: much of Burlington’s current wealth is due in no small measure to the existence of the railway station at the Burlington Junction. But hey! Who cares about historical buildings? We have to give credit to local organizations like the Burlington Historical Society who work hard at documenting some of Burlington’s rich historical past, and they must become completely frustrated when there is nothing available to fill in the missing parts of our local heritage. Without their efforts, few of us would know anything at all about some of our glorious history. There are a couple on City Council who try their best to keep some of Burlington’s historical buildings relevant, and free of a wrecker’s ball. They can only do so much. There are a few local citizens and businesses who thankfully come forward and voice their concerns in opposition to historical buildings facing demolition, and there are those who operate our two museums doing their best to showcase our past. There are some dedicated homeowners of historical residences who do their best to preserve the historical aspects of their property. Outside of these few, there seems to be an overwhelming desire to rid the landscape of anything that is old, and replace it with something else. This could be a new hi-rise condo, a hotel, a plaza, a factory, an oversized house, or anything else that may generate new tax revenues. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-progress; I’m really pro-heritage. I believe that as a society we have to do much better to harmonize the two together. The answer is to not always knock old buildings down, that’s too easy, and it’s cowardly. The intelligent and correct answer is to work with our historical properties and responsibly integrate them into today’s world. Why is this desire to destroy everything old happening in Burlington? I believe it can be summed up in one word, “ignorance”. There are those from within the general public, some members of our own City Council, some employees at the City of Burlington, some in our educational system, some local developers, some in our own Heritage Burlington, even some departments within the provincial and federal governments who haven’t a clue about what is historical and what is worth saving in Burlington. What’s worse, many of them just don’t care.  Residents are so fortunate to have the 1906 Freeman Station in Burlington. At 109 years of age, this building has outlived all of us. It is recognized provincially and federally as historical, but this city owned property lacks the will of our local government for any financial support. The Burlington Junction Train Station, or as it’s more commonly called, the Freeman Station, is a perfect example of how ignorance almost destroyed Burlington’s most historically significant building EVER. The Garden of Canada made Burlington world famous In the 1850s era, it was not uncommon to see wagons loaded with lumber lined up for over a mile waiting to be unloaded at the wharf located at the bottom of Guelph Line, and during the same period, they even backed up Waterdown Road at Brown’s Wharf in Aldershot. Over time, roughly 2-3 decades, when the timber had all been harvested, and the lands cleared for farming, the second local economic base became wheat, shipped first by sailing vessels, then by rail. When the Canadian west opened up in the 1870s & 1880s with free land available to new settlers, many of our local wheat farmers moved to the prairies, and wheat ceased to be a local crop. This left Burlington and surrounding areas looking for a third economic base. Established farmers and even new settlers decided they would try other agricultural products. Their choices were fruit and vegetables. As it turned out, this was just about the most perfect location in all of North America for a wide variety of food production. The soil conditions, the temperature, the growing season, everything was perfect for great harvests. In short order, Burlington had thousands of acres of flourishing apple, pear, peach, plum, and cherry trees, plus strawberries, melons, tomatoes, beans, celery, cucumbers, and countless other fruits and vegetables under cultivation producing vast quantities. There were market garden farms covering Aldershot, Freeman, Nelson, Appleby, Port Nelson, Kilbride, Lowville, Campbellville, Tansley, Zimmerman, all villages surrounding Burlington, with the Freeman Station at the heart of the whole area. Our area was a market gardening mecca, so much so, that Burlington became known around the world as “The Garden of Canada”. The harvests were so bountiful, that Burlington shipped produce to Hamilton and Toronto, and when we saturated those two markets, the market gardeners expanded some more, and shipped all over Ontario, and then it was all across Canada, followed by Europe, and then it was South Africa. Burlington was helping to feed many parts of the world. The name “Aldershot melon” became just as famous internationally as the well known “Idaho potato”. Just in time delivery started with the GTR at Freeman Station.  What made Burlington wealthy in the early part of the 20th century was the ability of the local market gardeners to get their high grade produce to the Grand Trunk Railway’s Freeman Station and have it shipped across the country and around the world, arriving just as fresh as when it was picked. How did our market gardeners get this fragile produce to these destinations? The 1906 Freeman Station which is now being restored and re-located to Fairview Street, was the focal point for most of this growth. Previously, there were two other train stations in Freeman which were destroyed by fire, one in 1883 and the other in 1904. They also played a part in this new economy. If it wasn’t for the railways in Burlington, the local wealth generated would not have happened. Burlington became very affluent at the turn of the 20th century, due to the efforts of the Grand Trunk Railway to quickly move the product, the local development of refrigerated boxcars, and also, our market gardeners who comprehended the science of agriculture, and maximized their yields. But, this was just one part of the Freeman station’s significance to Burlington. There were many more. Tomorrow, find out how the Freeman Station played different roles in Burlington during the early part of the 20th century. Mark Gillies is a lifelong resident of Burlington, who grew up in Aldershot and developed as a local historian, researcher, master genealogist and writer who has a passionate interest and extensive knowledge of the many early pioneer families. Mark writes a regular column about colourful local history introducing Burlingtonians to the people that made this city what it is today.
February 11, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Burlington school Board trustee Andrea Grebenc, who hasn’t been a trustee long enough to cash the first paycheque found herself managing questions on the issue of a possible change to high school start times.  Andrea Grebenc gets handed a hot potato – defers a decision at committee level. A good chair in the making. It was an auspicious debut on Monday night in her role as chair of the transportation committee for the Halton District School Board (HDSB). Late last year, a motion was passed by the board requesting that the Halton Student Transportation Services (HSTS) do a study that would look at high school start times and to realign bussing to all high schools to a start time between 8:45 am and 9:15 am. The due date for the report was for March of this year. Karen Lacroix, General Manager of the HSTS, responded with a letter listing a number of questions and requesting additional information before any study would be initiated. The discussion was the highlight of the meeting. Most school board meetings can be very procedural and quite dry. Not this meeting. With Lacroix in attendance and the trustees quite aware that any change in school hours, both elementary and secondary could be quite contentious to the public, ideas and comments were coming from every direction. If secondary school hours started later, would elementary hours start sooner? How much later could secondary school start and when would classes end? How would this affect after school athletics? How would this affect students with after school jobs? If elementary schools hours were changed, how would this affect daycare before and after school? How would this affect special education busing? What about schools with grades 7 to 12? What would be the cost of this study? How will this affect the teacher’s timetable? All valid questions.
Throughout the meeting, there was no opposition to delaying start times for secondary students. The question is how this would be done with the least disruption. The study however is still on hold until one piece of the puzzle is resolved. Burlington trustees Collard and Reynolds, asked that the proposed study be put on hold until the HDSB is advised if the Catholic board will also want to delay their starting times for their secondary students. Depending on that decision, the HDSB might have to decide if they have a partner in school times or if they might need to go it alone. Either way, before a final decision is made, there will be many more meetings to follow as no doubt the public will want their say. Editor’s note: We appreciate that not all the people who attend the HDSB are protestants; historically the board has been referred to as the “protestant board” while there is a different school board for Catholics. With our society much more diverse perhaps it is time to look for a more descriptive name. Protestant was used for purposes of a headline
February 7, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON If you want your ten minutes of fame before city council slip over to the city web site and register to delegate. Residents or businesses wishing to have their say about the proposed 2015 budget can register to speak during the budget review at the City of Burlington’s Community and Corporate Services Committee meeting on Feb. 11, 2015, by doing one of the following: Completing the online registration form at www.burlington.ca/delegation Printing and completing the registration form on the city’s website and mailing, faxing (fax 905-335-7675) or hand-delivering it to the clerks department at City Hall Phoning the clerks department at 905-335-7698 Coming to the clerks department on the first floor of City Hall and completing a form in person Registrations must be received by the clerks department no later than noon on Feb. 10, 2015. Each delegation will be allowed up to 10 minutes to speak. The proposed budget information can be found on the city’s redesigned website, www.burlington.ca/budget.
February 5, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON They weren’t lined up trying to rush through the doors at the Target store in the Burlington Mall but the parking lot was pretty full.  Security seemed heavier than usual. Crowds certainly weren’t heavy. The line ups at the cash register were decent and, surprisingly, staffs were very pleasant. They are all going to be out of a job within the next eight weeks. The discounts weren’t great – there were some items marked down 30% but the bulk of the items had 10% discounts. I’d not experienced that level of experience during previous visits to the same store. I didn’t shop Target all that often – the selection wasn’t what I was looking for. The sale will go on for a number of weeks – everything is to be sold – inventory, furniture, fixtures and whatever isn’t nailed to the walls. There might be some bargains in the closing days. The Starbucks in the Burlington Mall location was closed as was the pharmacy.
February 4, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON The Burlington Beer Festival – a two season event – will be holding it’s winter season at the Waterfront Hotel Friday and Saturday of this week.
No American big brands names at this event. Friday February 6 – begins at 6 – runs till 11 guests will participate in an exclusive three-hour tutored pairing, where they will be guided by an esteemed panel of speakers through seven small dishes, each accompanied by unique beers from premium craft breweries. The Master of Ceremonies for this evening is Bill White from Niagara College, who will share his passion and knowledge of beer over the course of the event. This special event will provide beer connoisseurs with a unique opportunity to engage with members of the craft beer community, and get a more in depth look into the craft beer industry. $125 a ticket. Saturday February 7th – Winter Beer Fest – noon-11 pm Wayne Brown is the mind behind this event. While relatively new to the city – it has attracted a growing following.
February 4, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Time to count the chickens and see just who the readers are and what they think. There is a graphic on the right hand side – Please click on it and respond to a very short survey – 7 questions.
The Mayor used to like us but of late he has decided we are not quite his cup of tea. For the most part we reflect the community and the community talks back to the editorial team and the other readers. At times there are some very healthy debates – and yes at times there are some pretty dumb comments made. We moderate the comments and strive to keep it lively and polite. Let’s see what the survey tells us!
February 4, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON An email from a colleague said he was going to be in town – and could he buy me lunch. The immediate answer was – of course you can buy me lunch – the follow up question was: What did he want? Lunch was relaxed; two old time media types swapping tales and working at impressing each other. I noticed there was a grey file folder on the table we occupied at Spencer’s on the Waterfront; it wasn’t very thick.  Academic wants the views and thoughts of an on-line publisher. Does he have any idea what he is getting into? Dr. McLean wants to include the Burlington Gazette as one of four or five on-line publications he will be researching. He is using on-line sites in both Canada and the United States doing in depth interviews a couple of times a year during which he certainly took us to task on some of the approaches we used. He also digs into the analytics and who our readers are; what they read, how long they stay on line and some detail on the demographics of our readers. The waiter asked if we wanted our beverage glasses re-filled – McLean was picking up the tab so my answer was a quick yes – but I wanted to know what was in the file folder. McLean opened it up – he had a release he wanted me to sign giving him permission to use quotes from me in his book and to refer to some of our data. The waiter was serving 9 oz. glasses of a very nice California Chardonnay so I of course said yes, reached for my pen and signed on the dotted line. No publication date yet – but when the book does come out we will do what we can to get Dr. McLean back into the city; perhaps he can be a guest speaker at those Insight Burlington events the Mayor used to hold. Heck – a book about Burlington’s on line media will help us keep that title of the Best Mid-Sized city in Canada. That should help – shouldn’t it?
February 1, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Passage. The wok of Lesley McInally opened at the Art Gallery of Burlington late in January. The Opening reception takes place on February 8th along with another exhibit that might well take up all the attention. It would be a mistake to not find time to slip over to the Perry Gallery and spend some time appreciating the slab built paper clay vessels.  A Lesley McInally slab built paper clay vessel. Born and raised in Scotland, Lesley McInally got her degree in ceramics and printmaking from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee University. She immigrated to Canada over a decade ago and settled in the Georgian Bay area, in Cookstown, in a landscape that reminded her of her homeland. Her slab built paper clay vessels, while functional in form are inspired by the landscape of both Canada and Scotland, especially the historic stone structures that show the accumulated layers of age. McInally’s forms take on the soft rounded contour of stones that have faced the effects of weathering over time. These forms are often pierced with openings so that pinpoints of light illuminate dark interiors. Her surfaces range from mists of colour to glaze that resembles cracked, blistered, and peeling paint. In the last couple of years she has developed a technique where she uses her old printmaking techniques. She layers ceramic pigments and hand coloured porcelain engobes to create complex textural surfaces that reveal hidden burst of colour similar to lichens. McInally’s work possesses evocative powers that drive the viewer to decode the narrative elements which she hints at but never states. Lesley McInally will be showing at the AGB until March 22, 2015
February 2, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON It’s a nice change to see gasoline prices down. We’re pretty used to them going the other way and tired of all the excuses offered by the oil folks for why they have no choice. Global political instability or natural disasters are the classics. When hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans the oil industry got to double-up on excuses, blaming both the natural disaster and the storm-related destruction of the refineries and oil platforms.  Pipeline capacity was sometimes the reason for higher gas prices. Typically the oil giants claim their hands are tied, blaming inflated selling prices on the tax man, or the speculators – derivatives, futures and hedge funds. They spit out this line as if they are innocent, even though they do much of the speculating themselves. And when the economy is healthy and growing, it’s inadequate refining capacity, depleted oil fields and limited pipeline capacity that are to blame – as if the industry has no control over these factors. The price of oil is currently of huge importance to us. We are a free-trading, transport-intensive economy built on the automobile. The price of oil can mean the difference between economic boom or bust. Those of us old enough will recall how the late 1970’s Arab oil embargo gave us third-world-style gas pump shortages. North America and the world were plunged into recession and then wrenched back into near hyper-inflation – and then into something called stagflation. More recently in the run-up to the 2008 recession, oil prices skyrocketed towards $150 per barrel, becoming the proverbial ‘straw breaking the camel’s back’, and triggering the debt-driven economic collapse that year. But what goes up also comes down and the price declined to one third of its value as quickly as it had risen. Then, as night follows day, prices rose again in sync with the recovering economy. Today most of us are cheering the prices at the pump. Some experts attribute this phenomena to Saudis flooding the market in an attempt to drive American horizontal drilling hydraulic fracturing (fracking) entrepreneurs out of business. Others speculate it is the Yanks and Saudis collaborating to inflict damage on the oil-export dependent Russian economy. Since almost a fifth of Russia’s GDP and half of its budget come from oil revenues, falling oil prices may be more effective than sanctions have been at stopping the armed aggression in Ukraine.  Fracking has certainly had a huge impact on where Americans get the gas from – the damage to the environment is becoming a little clearer and it doesn’t appear to be good news. America used to be the world’s biggest oil producer, until the low-hanging fruit in the oil fields was nearly exhausted and cheap middle-east oil came begging for a market. Thanks to ‘fracking’ the US is poised to regain that title and become self-sufficient. Of course that has implications for Canada, given that the US is virtually our only export market. The very first oil in North American came from a well in Ontario in 1858. Today production is largely from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. The federal government has supported the oil industry in one way or another over the years, including the governments of John Diefenbaker, Pierre Trudeau and Stephen Harper. In addition to direct subsidies and accelerated capital write-off, the government plays a significant role in oil transport, exploration, investment, international trade and environmental management. But, if Stephen Harper saw the development of the vast ‘tar sands’ as a solution to the vagaries of Canada’s business cycle, he couldn’t have been more wrong. Oil is as volatile as… well just look at it today. And as the US becomes self-sufficient and even competes with Canada for export markets, that volatility will just get worse and markets dry up. And then there are the new supply-side technologies, such as ‘fracking’, which will enable countries from China to Ukraine to start producing more of their own oil. What is really exciting, though, is demand-side technology. Electricity is a better alternative for propelling an automobile, whether in pure or hybrid vehicle format. Electric motors are safer, cleaner, virtually maintenance-free, more reliable, quieter, and more powerful – as we see with the Tesla all-electric sports cars or the economical Nissan Leaf. Electric vehicles were common-place in the mid 19th century, even holding the land speed record until the turn of that century. Oil will always be part of our economy – for fertilizer, plastics, and the other myriad of uses – but 70% of all the petroleum used today is for transportation. And those days are limited. Even the lower pump prices we see today should not forestall the inevitable move away from petroleum. The smart money is on the alternatives. We know the roller-coaster ride in petroleum pricing will continue, lifting prices again once the industry gets its act together following this current crisis. The oil industry is a largely unregulated oligopoly (limited number of sellers), and so long as they can work together (collude), and avoid political minefields, they will manipulate the market to their financial advantage. And we can expect to hear those old excuses crop up again as they do.
Background links: Energy 101 Shale Gas US Energy Reserves Canada’s Energy Policy
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The city has hundreds of bylaws and bylaw enforcement officers to tell you when you might be afoul of one of those bylaws. There are merchants in this city who know full well what the bylaws are but the will flout them on weekends nevertheless because they know there are no bylaw enforcement officers on duty weekends.
Chris Byrnes, the owner of a radio license in Woodstock commented that “Each time I return to Burlington, it frustrates me that there is no local radio station in my home town, a city of over 176,000 people.
It will be an uphill battle, explains Byrnes to convince the CRTC in Ottawa that Burlington is not part of the Hamilton CMA. But if enough Burlington residents and business owners submit their comments to the CRTC, then perhaps the CRTC may then invite applications for an FM license to serve Burlington.
These questions led to a discussion of class minutes (74), the length of the school day, travel time between classes and the overall school day. Every trustee at the meeting was a full participant – it seemed that each was learning something new.
Two programs – a full scale beer tasting and pairing event – tickets are $125 each and then the Saturday session from noon to 11 pm – where you can taste a solid section of craft beers.
The survey will be up for a month. When you respond to it from a particular computer you can’t respond a second time. We would prefer that each person respond to the survey just the once. We don’t want to skew the numbers.
