 By Ryan O’Dowd, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
September 16th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Bruno Sousa wants to serve as a watchdog in federal politics, to force action in place of what he calls “a merry go round of posturing between the Liberals and Conservatives.”
 Sousa, the Green party representative for Oakville/North Burlington, spoke with the Gazette to call for immediate climate change action with effective spending. Sousa says the Liberal have been ineffective, that the Conservatives can’t be bothered showing up to climate change talks “is infuriating”(and he has heard from some of their candidates they’ve been told to avoid debates and interviews), and that while Sousa agrees with the NDP on several matters their lack of fiscal accountability makes them an unviable choice.
Sousa didn’t become the Green party representative until after the snap election call on August 15th. He credits the “unbelievable” decision by Justin Trudeau to call the election as his call to politics. His frustration with Canada’s major party leaders was a long time coming, disappointed by scandals and lack of transparency plaguing the Trudeau administration. Sousa suggests the Liberals and Conservatives are both prone to wilting in the face of their moralistic ideals.
“Seeing the platforms throughout the years it’s a lot of empty promises because of the friction that comes out of that desire to just be the populist party. And I think what’s happened along the way is we’ve lost sight of what’s important at the end of the day when it comes to governance, and that is that you know, parties like the Green Party, when they even came into existence after the 60s and 70s. They came into existence already because of values and morals that pose an issue in politics by essentially not being observed.
And what we’re seeing right now with the two major parties is exactly that. No one is being held to their moralistic ideals. The Liberals, and Justin Trudeau specifically, ran on things like transparency of platform, transparency of governance, transparency in all of the doings of government. Yay, you got my vote, but unfortunately what’s happened after six years, is a complete breakdown of that entire process, where anyone that would have respected you for that is now left wanting some answer as to what happened.
And that’s not the only problem I mean we’re talking specifically there on transparency but there have been all sorts of other ethical issues that have come up throughout the last six years. And when you compare that to the previous parties, and the previous governments, what you end up seeing is the same thing happening over and over again.
 “And when you look at it closely, you start seeing what the Greens are doing, what have they been able to do and what they’ve been able to do is to continue to follow that early on the idea of the values and morals and say well look, if we don’t ever have large representation, what we can do is hold them accountable. We can get in there and say we’re at the table to ask ‘Why aren’t you deciding on things? Why aren’t you taking action? Why is this happening?’ And at least from my perspective, I feel like we can put a small dent in at the time,” said Sousa.
During a Chamber of Commerce debate, Sousa pointed out his Conservative opponent, Hanan Rizkalla, hadn’t bothered to show up for the climate change debate and questioned the Conservatives’ seriousness on this topic. Rizkalla joined Burlington’s Emily Brown and Milton’s Nadeem Akbar in ensuring every Conservative in the Burlington region no-showed the climate change debate attended by every other major party candidate.
“If you talk to a conservative now, for the most part, tell you climate change is nothing to be concerned about. The truth is they’re just not there. And even today, I was in another debate and again no Conservative candidate. So they’re just not showing up at the table, I don’t know who they’re talking to when they’re talking about coming together and talking to people. I’m not sure why they’re not showing up. We hear from some of their candidates that they’ve been told not to take debates and interviews. If that’s the reason why I don’t want to attack the candidates, I don’t know. But they’re not there and it is kind of infuriating because if we’re all supposed to be at the table to have a conversation and to hear the ideas it’s not really conducive to that when you don’t show up and then make statements as if you were there,” said Sousa.
Sousa’s vision isn’t much at odds with the NDP however he doesn’t consider them credible due to a lack of fiscal accountability.
“Where the NDP lack any vision is on how they deal with fiscal accountability. And we’re seeing that now again they have the highest rating climate change plan in terms of the platform. I don’t disagree with them. I think that we are parallel at this point, but we’re past the expiry date and asking for a warranty, you know, we have to pay for it now. I don’t think there’s going to be much of a choice in that question. I think any party that decides to ignore that fact at this point I don’t think that they’re reckoning with the knowledge that’s available,” said Sousa.
The NDPs failure to provide costing for much of their platform has been an area of ridicule for the party. For Sousa’s part, he has a costing pitch, and he doesn’t shy away from the components he knows will be unpopular like an increased carbon tax. The candidate noted fighting climate change would have been a lot cheaper if acted on when the alarm bells first sounded.
“We have a lot of ways that we plan to create funding for this model, so a lot of these methods involve, for example, reallocation of funds that are currently being used for other industries so that’s one easy way to do it. Other ways include our taxation model for example on small businesses because we still want to incentivize growth, we’d be holding it at 9% but for large companies that are already doing quite well in Canada, we’d be looking to increase their corporate tax code to 21%. And I think that’s pretty aggressive when you look at the other platforms, but that will provide additional funding. And the other thing we’re looking to do is to tax the E-commerce companies that make so much money outside of Canada. Because Canada tends to forget that it is not a state. Most of its funding for these companies across the border from us, shouldn’t just go out the door without taxation in my opinion. And right now they do, and that’s just a lost opportunity for Canada.
So, as in the European Union, they’re trying to downsize to a model where, depending on which country you’re in, the system can automatically charge you the correct tax, and then an entity is set up to collect those taxes from the different countries and redistribute it. So it’s a very simple model that we can institute here in Canada as well, to work with these eCommerce companies, but I think that they almost see the writing on the wall it’s coming, they’re in some cases already adopting it, even joining the committees that are organizing on these things.
“We also do try to increase the carbon tax, I know that’s not a popular idea right now. We plan to increase it to I think 25 compared to the levels of $15. But when we look at where we currently are we’ve got to ask ourselves how much more do we want to pay for it down the line because that’s really what’s happening here is we’re just delaying the pay, but that’s going to come with interest later, and that’s going to be a lot higher. And if we take a look at our plan right now, it could have been implemented as I think early as 1996 where we were already talking about these kinds of measures, but it would have been a much lower price at the, at the time, and we would have probably been outside of this scenario, at this point as well. We just didn’t embrace it soon enough and now we’re having to pay essentially a surcharge on what would have already been taxed,” said Sousa.
Bruno Sousa is a business leader and advisor with over 15 years of experience in business development, community building, and marketing. He is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor, and consultant.
By Staff
September 16th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Last August the Gazette did a very short poll of Burlington residents asking how they felt about the calling of a federal election. The vast majority were opposed to an election at that time. Views have shifted.
We had our team do a follow up poll asking:
Should this election be taking place?
What are the issues? Rank them 1,2,3,4
Climate change
Housing
Budget – taxes
Covid19
Other
We noted gender and age spread from rough age under 25; 26-40; 41-55, and over 60. We did not ask for an age – we made an educated guess.
Max Bowder and Ryan O’Dowd were out on the streets of the city: O’Dowd covered downtown Burlington, Appleby mall and Aldershot, which we called SOUTH, while Bowder covered everything north of QEW to Dundas which we called NORTH – he did not venture north of Dundas.
They both interviewed just over 50 people each.
A breakdown of the data by the part of the city that xxx took place is below.
Question: NORTH SOUTH TOTAL
Election taking place NO 30 21 51
Election taking place YES 11 17 28
Election taking place No opinion 12 12 24
THE ISSUES NORTH SOUTH
Housing- 12 21 33
Budget/taxes- 10 12 22
Climate change- 7 10 17
Covid- 13 5 18
O’Dowd found it “interesting that the numbers shifted, at least in my data, from strongly opposed to mostly in favor of it or indifferent. I suspect this is because that the election was a majority power grab attempt has faded from the collective zeitgeist due to how unlikely a majority looks. But can’t say for sure.”
The Age breakout was
26-40: 22
41-55 12
60+ 10
Under 25 5
Gender breakdown
Female-27
Male-22
 Ryan O’Dowd O’Dowd found that “Generally there seemed to be a lot of apathy towards the election but the negativity around the calling of the election seems to have subsided. Which was an odd dichotomy. COVID with only 5 first place votes was rather shocking.
“This suggests to me that the people surveyed aren’t all too worried about Trudeau’s decision to call a pandemic election but are disillusioned by their choices.”
Bowder found that “A vast majority of people believed that now was not the time for an election because of how much it costs. The few that did feel that the election should happen now felt that it was good for the general public to have an election so they could review their options.
“Main concerns were to do with Covid-19 because it is the most impactful thing in their lives right now. A close second on people’s issues was housing as they feel homes in Burlington are becoming too expensive.”
Among the comments Bowder got were:
“You know this democracy is very messy but hey, dictatorships are clean and easy, I would rather live in a messy democracy than a clean dictatorship.” – Male, white, plus size.
“Climate change is up there, jobs for students and their entire education aren’t getting enough benefits anymore. I’d also like stiffer penalties for gun crimes.”
 Max Bowder “It’s halfway through the mandate, fourth wave, the delta wave, Trudeau wants us to go yea. It’s not to everybody’s taste but I can see why.”
“Not concerned about Covid because with Covid itself and what’s going on and everything else it is just being used as a tool for something else or to advance an agenda, climate change, I’m not too concerned about it, I feel we as Canadians have done a lot to help absolve it. Housing is awful right now, taxes terrible, and just overall budgeting of the economy is a disaster.”
“The whole election is taking place sooner than it should be… with no real time for preparation and personally I feel it is time for Trudeau to leave and get him outa here and we need to get Doug Ford outa here as well and start fresh.”
“I feel right now we are in the motion of a change, it’s not just for Canada, it’s for the world, it’s going to affect politics, religion, money, everything.”
“I’m actually going to vote once, for the first time ever, because I have never voted cause there has never really been in my eyes, candidates I would support, but right now I feel it’s a critical time to support people who don’t vote to make a change.”
Related news story:
A survey of what Burlingtonians in north part of the city think of a federal election taking place now.
What they thought about the election call in the southern part of the city
Max Bowder and Ryan O’Dowd are Local Journalism Initiative reports with the Gazette as part of a federal government endeavour to improve local news reporting.
 By Staff
September 15th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton Region elected officials are supporting the call for the creation of safety zones around hospitals to protect people seeking or providing medical treatment from harassment.
 Members of Halton Regional Council In a media statement released today the Region members collectively said:
Recent protests at hospitals have included hateful and harmful messages, harassment and misinformation. Healthcare itself and its people have been targets of abusive messages.
We condemn the abuse and harassment of healthcare workers.
Protests against government policy and action should take place at the places of government.
We represent our community’s continuing strong support for our healthcare heroes. There is an overwhelming majority in our community who support our healthcare people.
We know they join in our respect for everyone’s right of peaceful protest. We know they also believe protests must not take place in locations or in ways that could impede access to essential healthcare.
We all thank our healthcare personnel for the enormous sacrifices you have made and continue to make during this pandemic to heal us and keep us safe.
What a shame the elected officials have to make statements like this.
 By Pepper Parr
September 15th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
It’s just a matter of days now.
The advance poll numbers for the 2021 federal election show an increase of 20% more people using advance polls to vote than they did in 2019.
We are looking at one of the most interesting federal election in some time. A government could fall because they called an election that wasn’t needed.
Burlington happens to have three people sitting as members of the House of Commons representing our interests.
Will all three be returned?
Who amongst them is at risk?
Given her performance during the debates, such as they were, Karina Gould has earned the right to return to Ottawa.
Emily Brown needs to take a civics class and learn what is required of a candidate.
For us the Green Party candidate was a major disappointment.
The NDP candidate certainly injected some energy and a lot of common sense but it is our view that this election is a choice between the Liberals and Conservatives.
 Liberal MP fr Oakville North Burlington Pam Damoff Over in Oakville North Burlington Liberal Pam Damoff will likely hold her seat if only because the Conservative candidate had little in the way of profile and wasn’t that visible.
The Conservatives decided to hide their candidate and focus on their core vote and hope that enough people would be angry enough to oust Justin Trudeau. Time will tell if they are right.
Milton is an interesting situation. It represents the people in rural north Burlington – there aren’t that many people in that part of the world.
Milton’s ethic community is coming into their own. They are active culturally, they have good representation at the municipal level and they are now ready to take their place at the federal level.
The provincial seat is held by Parm Gill.
The Milton Conservative Party association dumped the former Member of Parliament, Lisa Raitt, from the board. It was about as close to being apolitical coup as you get in Ontario.
 Nadeem Akbar, Conservative candidate for Milton. The northern rural part of Burlington is in the Milton boundary. The issue for current MP Adam van Koeverden is going to be – has he made the inroads he needs to hold the ethnic community vote. Do they trust him or is their confidence going to go to Nadeem Akbar.
Canada has grown through the addition of immigrants from around the world. The first came from the UK, then Italy and, in time, from Japan and Germany.
Most recently they have come from the Middle East – thousands came from Syria and more thousand’s will arrive from Afghanistan.
That is how this country grew to what it is today.
It will all become clear but probably not Monday evening – there are going to be some messy situations where the fight for a seat might be contested or put to a recount.
That’s what politics is all about.
What matters new is you getting out to vote.
Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
 By Staff
September 15th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
To support the health and safety of Halton students, Halton Region will begin operating community immunization clinics to offer the Hepatitis B, HPV and Meningococcal vaccines that are part of the school-based immunization program.
Clinics will open the week of September 20, and residents will be able to book an appointment through Halton’s online booking system at halton.ca/immunize – starting Thursday, September 16.
“Supporting the health and safety of our community continues to be a top priority for Halton Region,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “Halton residents have shown their incredible commitment to getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and protecting our community.
 Push is on at the Regional level to get student brought up to date with the immunizations. With many local pharmacies and primary care providers now offering the COVID-19 vaccine, Halton Region will be able to transition some of our clinic locations to help Halton students catch-up on their important school-based immunizations, as well as continuing to operate COVID-19 vaccine clinics for those who haven’t gotten their COVID-19 vaccine yet.”
The COVID-19 pandemic required Halton Region Public Health to pause the delivery of school-based immunizations. Currently, over 30,000 students born in 2004-2009 require at least one of three school-based vaccines. Post-secondary students born in 2002 and 2003 who may have missed their opportunities to receive these important vaccines will also have a chance to catch-up. Eligibility is as follows:
Hepatitis B HPV-9 Meningococcal-ACYW 135
Birth Year 2006*, 2007*, 2008, 2009
• Females: 2002*, 2003*, 2004-2009
• Males: 2004-2009
• 2002-2009
Grade in 2021-2022 school year Grade 7, 8, 9, 10
• Grade 7-12
• Females: Grade 12 in 2019-2020
• Females: Grade 12 in 2020-2021
• Grade 7-12
• Grade 12 in 2019-2020
• Grade 12 in 2020-2021
*remain eligible until August 31, 2022. Series must be complete by that date.
Residents can book appointments starting September 16. Immunization clinics are planned for each municipality and are expected to run September 20 until mid-November. As more clinic options and appointments become available, residents are encouraged to check halton.ca/immunize regularly for the latest updates.
“As our COVID-19 vaccination clinics wind down, Public Health is ready to get our student population caught up on their school-based vaccines, which are critical for protecting the health and safety of our school community,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health. “This program will leverage the successes from our COVID-19 clinics, including many of the clinic locations, resources, supplies and technology, to efficiently implement these mass clinics and begin catching up students as quickly as possible.”
In addition to the launch of school-based community immunization clinics, Halton Region will continue to operate two COVID-19 vaccination clinics in September—the YMCA in Oakville and FirstOntario Arts Centre in Milton.
Appointments are available on a walk-in basis only. To learn more about options to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Halton, including clinic locations and hours, visit halton.ca/COVIDvaccines.
“We make a lot of television in Canada. Some of it is brilliant and some of it is mediocre. The worst of it is truly, truly awful. This botched election debate is down at the bottom of the list; an indictment of everyone involved from the host to every politician who attempted to speak during the shambles.” (John Doyle – Globe and Mail)
 By Ray Rivers
September 15th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The Debates in French were better. In fact they couldn’t have been worse than that horror show last Thursday. What went wrong? We could start by the debaters. There were too many.
 Green Party leader Annamie Paul Did we really need to see the Green Party leader at the debates when she has zero chance of ever leading a government, let alone winning more than Elizabeth May’s seat again. The party is polling at about 3% and imploding into a legal fight over the choice of its leader. Her voice is important, like everyone else. But in a league of potential PMs she is out of her league.
The Bloc leader’s stated goal is to tear Canada apart. And his party’s popular support is currently sitting at around the 6% mark, given that he is a Quebec only politician. While Annamie Paul may have a delusional ambition of becoming Canada’s next PM, Yves-François Blanchet takes pride in saying he never wants to be PM. So why was he invited?
 Maxime Bernier on his way to being sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Harper government – he is now the leader of the People’s Party of Canada. Meanwhile People’s Party (PPC) was not invited, even though his party is now polling in fourth place, ahead of the Bloc Quebecois and almost double that of the Greens. Of course there are no PPC MP’s in the House and Bernier would probably need to get vaccinated to appear with the others, something anathema to his party’s platform. Still, he should not be dismissed if the Greens are invited. After all, the Reform party before him came from relative obscurity to opposition in a single election.
Moderating a leaders’ debate takes skill and patience and none of that was present in the English debate unlike the other two held in the French language. It was pathetically unprofessional, on the one hand encouraging the debaters to go at it, then cutting them off before they could finish their sentences – allowing anyone interrupting them to take over the floor. And as most have observed the moderator tended to favour the other parties over the Liberals, the Bloc being the sole exception.
 Jagmeet Singh leader of the New Democrats The most cringeworthy moments were when Jagmeet Singh opened his mouth. Singh’s election platform is best described as nothing more than broad generalized notions and aspirations dotted with sob stories of all the poor people he met on the street. As in that old song – anything the Libs are doing he can do better – he can do anything better than them.
He is promising to pay for his promises by taxing Jeff Bezos and other billionaires, regardless that Bezos is not even Canadian. He is also looking to eliminate subsidies to the fossil fuel sector estimated at $18B, something Trudeau had promised to do back in 2015. Though that would be the proverbial drop in the bucket given the hundreds of billions he includes In his spending plan.
Singh, comes from a well-to-do family which sent him off for private schooling in the USA and then paid for his law schooling. Yet he is constantly comparing his life to that of poorer Canadians and indigenous folks. Justin Trudeau may have been a drama teacher but he could learn a lot about acting from Singh.
You can either attract first time voters or steal those from other parties to build up an electoral base. Mr. Singh has targeted Trudeau Liberals and is appealing to them with often inaccurate and half truth drive-by attacks on the Liberal leader. He recently accused the Liberals of talking about a national child care program for 30 years but failing to deliver, for example. Yet he conveniently forgot that Paul Martin’s pan-national program was killed by Jack Layton’s motion of non-confidence only 15 years ago.
 Erin O’Toole leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons Erin O’Toole has a tough road ahead of him given the party he leads, though he is still polling well. His dramatic shift to a more central position on key issues will encourage voters, fed up with Mr. Trudeau, to vote for him. But he is also losing the hard right faction of his party to Mr. Bernier, who is gradually improving in the polls. Quebec premier’s endorsement of O’Toole may only strengthen that erosion, though Quebec is still a wild card.
And O’Toole like the other leaders and the media keeps asking why we are having this election. And Mr. Trudeau has not really given a satisfactory response to that question. But most folks suspect it was political opportunism to call an election while his popular support was high with the Tories still in the formative stage of redefining themselves.
One benefit of this election, however, is that Canadians are having a healthy debate about a number of issues, primarily climate change. If the Tories don’t win the most seats and claim the right to govern, which they might still do, they will have been given direction on what they need to do fashion policies for the next election.
The Liberals, whether they form the next government or not should have learned a couple of lessons. First they should not call an election, even if in minority, unless they are forced to by the opposition. Second they need to redouble their efforts at phasing out Canada’s fossil fuel sector, starting with ending their subsidization.
Third, when the Liberals do next call an election they need to be better organized and have a good reason for that call. And they actually have a pretty good record of accomplishments, which most of us seem to have overlooked:
1. The problem-free legalization of cannabis and decriminalization of all the people once involved;
2. Over-achievement of the 20% goal of poverty reduction;
3. The first significant federal action on reducing our carbon footprint, including a carbon tax, a cessation of new pipelines and the prohibited sale of new gas vehicles 2035; and
4. Commencing the long road towards indigenous reconciliation.
 Justin Trudeau in the political race of his life – if he wins just a minority it might be the end of a political career. But as Mr. Trudeau ponders his future in the last days before an election which still might see him out of power, he needs to reflect why he gave up on his promise of electoral reform. Over half of all Canadians support parties which promote progressive social and economic policies.
Yet our first-past-the-post system might well allow the Tories to sneak up the middle and win seats with only 30% of voter support while the lefties argue among themselves about who can target even higher emission reductions.
Implementing electoral reform would have been and still might be Trudeau’s greatest accomplishment.
 Ray Rivers, a Gazette Contributing Editor, writes regularly applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
The Debate –
Liberal Platform – Singh’s Lifestyle –
Who Won the Debate –
Climate Crisis –
By Staff
September 14th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The City in partnership with Cogeco, has launched free, public-facing Wi-Fi in Spencer Smith Park
The Wi-Fi network is open to all park visitors daily and is available throughout most of the park.
 The Mayor calls this the Park visitors can access the internet using a Wi-Fi-enabled device such as a laptop computer, tablet PC, or smart phone. The City’s Wi-Fi signal will display as “City of Burlington_Guest”. When accessing the Wi-Fi at this location, users will be presented with, and required to accept, the “Terms of Use of the Wireless Network and Disclaimer.”
Chad MacDonald, the newly appointed Chief Information Officer said: “This project is just one of the ways we are modernizing the delivery of the City’s services to help everyone stay connected, access public services and enjoy a better park experience.”
Quick Facts
• In 2015, free Wi-Fi was installed at Millcroft Park (4250 Millcroft Park Dr.) as part of a pilot program with Cogeco, to provide internet access within certain areas of the park.
• Currently, there is free Wi-Fi access in over 15 city facilities, including City Hall, arenas and recreation and community centres.
By Staff
September 14th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The Gazette recently published an article on the tax rate that applies to quarries. There is a link to that article below.
The article came out of a comment the Mayor made at a Standing Committee when she said quarries are taxed as farms – and farms have a very low tax rate.
The Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (OSSGA), lobbyists for the aggregate industry, took exception to the article and sent us the following:
The assessment of property tax in Ontario is a complicated business. Likely we all agree – too complicated. That said, OSSGA believes there is a fair and equitable system currently in place.
We note that the Burlington Gazette states they “believe fervently that an informed population can make informed decisions.” We agree, and that is why a deeper understanding of the tax environment is needed to understand that the aggregate industry does in fact pay its fair share. It likely won’t come as a shock to your readers that politicians don’t always tell the whole story.
 The current operating quarry in Side Road # 2 in rural Burlington The issue of a fair and equitable Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) valuation system for aggregate is not new. From 2005 to the present there has been a full pendulum swing from what the industry would consider reasonable rates, to excessive rates, and back to reasonable rates again.
To assess pits and quarries MPAC uses a cost-based methodology that assigns a Class 5 farmland rate plus a licensing cost to account for the investment in the land to get a licence allowing for future extraction. This calculation is used to determine the ‘value’ of the land – and then an appropriate ‘tax’ classification is applied based on how the land is being used. For example, if a portion of a licenced area is being actively used for extraction – it is taxed at an industrial rate (far higher than a farm tax). If it is currently being farmed, it is taxed at a farm rate. If there is no activity at all on the land, it may be taxed at a residential rate. This methodology was agreed to by the municipalities.
In 2016, after eight years of consultation and mediation between aggregate producers, municipalities and MPAC, more than 500 appeals were finally settled. However, it appears not all municipalities were happy. Some were banking on the excessive rates that they are now calling ‘lost revenue’.
 Nelson Aggregates has filed an application for an extension of their license and set out places where they want to expand. Hence the disagreement continues. The new valuation system has been challenged again by Wellington County. The hearing has taken place and a decision is expected in the coming weeks. But in the meantime, politicians accusing the industry of not paying their fair share are not telling the whole story!
One final point. When speaking about revenues received from the aggregate industry, municipalities typically fail to mention (and there was no reference to it in your article), that the aggregate industry also pays a per tonne aggregate levy. In 2020, the amount of the levy was $25 million Province-wide. Dollars that help pay for roads and other infrastructure. No other industry pays such a levy.
We encourage your readers to learn more about the industry by visiting GravelFacts.ca.
The letter was submitted by Norman Cheesman Executive Director, Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.
Related news stories:
Mayor thinks quarries are being taxed as farms\
Nelson quarry wants to expand the area they are mining and give land to the city when the pits are mined out.
By Ryan O’Dowd, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
September 14th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Oakville/North Burlington Conservative candidate, Hanan Rizkalla, has become the second candidate to opt-out of media availability.
 Hanan Rizkalla – Conservative candidate for Oakville North Burlington Rizkalla joins fellow Conservative candidate Emily Brown in not being available for interviews.
Both candidates failed to appear for climate change debates sponsored by the Halton Environmental Network.
The only public event that the Conservative candidates took part in was Chamber of Commerce events.
After some communication with Rizkalla’s campaign, they requested questions in advance and that they would relay some answers through email. Fulfilling such a request would not meet the standard the Burlington Gazette operates on, nor does it afford the opportunity to provide the information voters need. The Rizkalla campaign’s proposal would amount to little more than a press release.
Like Brown, Rizkalla’s sole interview takes place with a high school conservative program by and for conservatives. A tradition in Canadian elections is for media to interview candidates and set their different views. The men and woman running for public office have a responsibility to let the public they want to represent know where they stand. Almost hiding from media is a dangerous first step from becoming unresponsive to the wishes of the people who elected them.
Needless to say, these candidates have not been part of the media process – we are all the poorer for it.
Every other candidate the Gazette has reached out to in Burlington, Oakville/North Burlington, and Milton has been willing to be interviewed.
Rizkalla took part in a Chamber of Commerce debate with the other candidates in her riding and when climate change came up the Conservative candidates’ had little to say. Oakville/North Burlington Green Party candidate, Bruno Sousa, was kind enough to point this out to those listening to the debate.
“I’ve participated in quite a few debates on the environment and climate change and I’ve failed to see the Conservatives show up for these meetings so I don’t even know how they have a proper climate action plan,” said Sousa.
 Hanan Rizkalla – Conservative candidate for Oakville North Burlington who has chosen to avoid the media Rizkalla noted the Liberals had failed to reach their target and touted the Conservatives’ ability to hit their target, which was criticized as unambitious. Rizkalla focused on the low carbon savings account which she describes as the Conservatives “incentivizing rather than punishing you,” and lauded the choices it would provide Canadians.
“Mr. Trudeau and the Liberals attempted to reduce emissions by taxing hard-working Canadians, families, and businesses. Mr. Trudeau and his team haven’t set a target to deliver. The Conservative plan will allow us to meet our target in 2030 by reducing the burden on Canadians while reducing emissions by using a low carbon saving account, the Conservative government will work with provinces to incentivize Canadians to adopt a greener lifestyle while giving Canadians a choice of how to best use that credit for their families,” said Rizkalla.
Rizkalla got into a dispute with Liberal incumbent, Pam Damoff, over a question regarding government regulatory systems. Rizkalla pushed for the need to appoint a minister of red tape reduction to assist businesses and to redress credential red tape facing immigrants (where Rizkalla proposes working with a task force to acknowledge immigrant credentials more quickly). Damoff implicitly suggested there were dangers with Rizkalla’s position when she referenced the Walkerton E. coli outbreak that killed 6 in May of 2000.
“We need to be smart when we’re bringing in place things to make it easier to deal with the government. When I hear about a minister of red tape reduction my mind goes to Walkerton and the people that died there,” said Damoff.
“What we have in hand right now is six years of the current Liberal government saying they are supporting people for red-tapping and immigrant credentials,” said Rizkalla. “What we are seeing is lack of physicians, lack of nurses, lack of resources. Proposing the right credentials for immigrants is one of the main areas we are targeting, this will secure the jobs back in Canada.”
Elsewhere Rizkalla reiterated the Conservative’s plans to secure Canada’s future and spark innovation.
“We are planning to overhaul the tax system to enhance the experience of all Canadians and small businesses. We’re going to unleash Canadian innovation by cutting all the income taxes in half of any new patented technologies in Canada.
“We will establish advanced research adjacency cutting edge with carbon capture, storage, electric vehicle development, pharmaceutical research and production, all that will support small businesses and enhance the taxation system,” said Rizkalla.
In Rizkalla’s closing statement she stuck to the party script as she had for most of the event.
 Hanan Rizkalla – new to politics, forgets that media is very much a part of the political process in Canada “It is clear the Canadian’s are looking for a government that has a recovery plan and as long as they have the will and desire to implement it, the Conservative plan, to secure Canada’s future, will deliver a stronger economy, more jobs, and the health of Canadians. It is not the time to divide Canadians with campaigns based on fear, we bring in with Canada’s recovery plan the positive hope Canadian’s are looking forward to,” said Rizkalla.
Rizkalla began her career as a physician focusing on public health, research, and cancer therapies.
Rizkalla lives in her Oakville/North Burlington riding with her husband and three children.
Pepper Parr
September 14th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Journalists call them – photo ops.
 Those occasions when a developer or a politician want to ensure that their picture is in the paper.
They are part of the media world.
There are times when a photo op is more than a picture of an event or an occasion.
The occasion yesterday was the raising of the Terry Fox Flag at city hall to mark the beginning of the 2021 fund raising campaign.
Traditionally the Mayor is on hand along with members of the Terry Fox campaign and, on occasion, a member of council.
 There was a political statement being made during the raising of the Terry Fox flag at city hall earlier this week. While Paul Sharman advocates for the Terry Fox initiative –is there anyone in Burlington who doesn’t – it is unusual for him to take part in events like this.
But there he was, standing behind the mayor.
And if that isn’t a photo op with meaning then nothing is: Sharman is in the race should the job of Mayor be in play.
The tribe that Marianne Meed Ward created when she first ran in ward 2 as a council member certainly did grow. That growth seems to have stalled. There are members of council that no longer support every initiative she comes up with. She is no longer assured the a majority vote at Council.
 By Perry Bowker
September 12th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Mr Bowker sent us a note, saying: “I finally lost my temper. You are welcome to publish my thoughts.
Perry had received a note from the Get Involved section of the city web site, probably because he asked to have his name placed on a list of people who wanted regular updates.
I was dismayed to see the authors of this e-letter carelessly parroting the social media falsehoods about Ryerson. I know it is fashionable to jump on the bandwagon to lynch this man in absentia, but I expect more from representatives of my city.
 The name of the school will be changed. To wit, “mass graves” – this phrase deliberately invokes the image of bodies piled into a hole in the ground. Even the indigenous people are careful to describe what has been found as multiple unmarked graves, and caution against assuming they are all indigenous children who were killed at the schools.
Next: “Ryerson was also instrumental in the design of Canada’s residential school system.” Hardly. Ryerson was instrumental in designing the Ontario public education system, for the benefit of all Ontarians including the indigenous band of which he was an honorary member.
He was long dead before later governments of the day created residential schools as we now know them.
This careless and casual misuse of known historical facts does no credit to our collective efforts to reconcile with our indigenous fellow Canadians.
My vote. Rename, or more properly, re-launch Ryerson Park with proper respect for what the man stood for and where we are today.
Related news story:
HDSB trustee rationale for changing the name of a school
By Pepper Parr
September 12th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
What if the pandemic never ends?
What if we are going to experience one version of the Covid19 virus after another?
 Where are the variants coming from – indeed, where did the virus first exist. There are far far too many counties that do not have aggressive vaccination programs. We are currently dealing with the Delta version. Given that less than 40% of the world’s population is getting vaccinated it is not that outrageous to suggest that there will be other, perhaps more dangerous variants.
Will we experience decades of limitations on what we can do? As a society can we cope with that kind of a situation?
 Segments of the population have very strong feelings about the current federal leadership. The anti-vaxers are close to rioting on a daily basis. Our human rights are being limited and we are tolerating that for the “better good” – but how long are we prepared to put up with that.
Are we going to find ourselves being inoculated a couple of times each year against the latest variant?
Ontario certainly doesn’t have the leadership it needs to get us through this – and the alternatives don’t inspire all that much confidence.
Societies go through immense change with situations like this.
The Western world became a much different place at the end of WW II – we saw decades of growth and prosperity the like of which human society has not seen since the Enlightments.
The scientists have delivered – and they might be able to continue to deliver at the same level.
But the world is made up of people, driven by their emotions and best interests for the most part.
Are we descending into a different Dark Age.
Do we have the capacity to overcome what we are faced with?
Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
 By Staff
September 12th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
On the 20th o September the country will choose the leader it hopes will steer us through the pandemic we are experiencing.
 The the sun crosses the celestial equator and Lowville takes to the country roads. On the 21st, the sun crosses the celestial equator and day and night are of approximately equal length and the people of Lowville will once again celebrate.
The Lowville Festival, north Burlington’s “festival of all the arts for the artist in all of us”, is excited to share a Fall Equinox interlude on Tuesday September 21st from 6:15pm to 7:15pm.
We are inviting guests to two Sneak Previews… First, a ten-minute excerpt from our 2021 virtual festival video “A Love Letter… from Lowville to Burlington”, to be launched in the very near future.
 Trevor Copp will be doing an inspired interpretation of Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals . And second, celebrated Hamilton mime artist ’s “Carnival!”, a thirty-minute family and child-focused entertainment inspired by Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals .
The “sneak preview” is short – a very talented mime will strut his stuff. Waiting to learn when the full performance will be available.
You are invited join the assembly of Special People at ThinkSpot, located in the Walt Rickli Sculpture Garden across from Lowville Park.
Register at Eventbrite through links below, as reservations are required for the event and for parking. Guests are welcome to bring chairs and blankets to sit on the grass: parking is available at Lowville Park (Parking reservations are mandatory).
The RSVP is complimentary and guests will be notified by 4:00 pm on September 21st if the weather is not cooperating and the event is cancelled.
Lowville Festival is supporting Conservation Halton Foundation and would appreciate donations (cheque or cash) at the event. We will have pre-printed donor envelopes available at the event and donations $20 or more will receive a charitable donation receipt from Conservation Halton Foundation. COVID guidelines will be strictly observed.
Special thanks to the City of Burlington for its generous support for our 2021 virtual Festival video.
Please click on links below
EventBrite Reservation CLICK HERE
VideoDescription of Carnival CLICK HERE
Parking Reservations CLICK HERE
 By Pepper Parr
September 11th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Who knew? It wasn’t until we saw the note on what the Mayor had done at the AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) conference that we learned quarries are taxed as farms.
The tax rate for farms is very low. Not sure if there is a tax rate for quarries.
 Bringing home the bacon for the citizens of the city. Wants to change the tax category for the quarries – currently taxed as farms The mayor represents Burlington on TAPMO (Top Aggregate Producing Municipalities of Ontario) given our city has two active quarries: Nelson and Aldershot.
TAPMO represents local Municipalities across Ontario, including Halton Region, that have significant reserves and annual production of aggregate, stone and sand materials. Their membership shares the perspective that local municipalities have a vital role to play in ensuring a sustainable aggregate industry for Ontario.
In addition, TAPMO members believe the aggregate industry should pay their fair share of municipal property taxes and be classed as profitable businesses rather than as farm.
 Does this look like a farm? Its tax classification has it down as a farm. How long has that been going on? And how did the quarries get it in the first place? The current farm classification has cost municipalities millions of dollars in lost revenue, for which taxpayers have picked up the tax, effectively resulting in Burlington taxpayers subsidizing the aggregate industry.
At our January board meeting, TAPMO approved hiring Upstream Strategy Group to conduct their advocacy strategy and initiative with the Provincial Government to correct the tax classification.
Individual meetings are also being arranged between Upstream, the mayor and MPPs in each of the aggregate- producing municipalities. Our meeting for Burlington is currently being scheduled. TAPMO is requesting financial support from member municipalities in 2021 for this advocacy work.
 There are three shale quarries in Aldershot – they have been taxed as farms – Mayor wants to see that changed. Halton Regional Council has already supported this priority and directed staff to contribute to this advocacy effort through the approval of the contribution of $2,100 from the Council-approved operating budget to TAPMO.
 The Jefferson salamander, native to the northern part of the city. The Regional resolution requested Halton municipalities to also independently support the advocacy work around the change in tax classification, so the mayor will work with the two Councillors (Bentivegna and Nisan) who represent rural Burlington to bring something forward in early fall, including, if applicable, a funding request.
The quarries can look forward to a financial squeeze.
Perhaps they will argue that the land is a breeding ground for the Jefferson Salamander and the habitat could be classified as a farm – maybe?
By Pepper Parr
September 11th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Saturday afternoon in the city. Weather was great but the streets in the core were quiet – patios weren’t’ all that populated and that place to be seen on the north side of Lakeshore Road west of Brant was very quiet – you could actually get a seat.
Slide down into Spencer Smith Park and head west and there were line-ups more than a block long – people waiting to get into the Food Truck Festival.
 The lineups to get into the Food Truck Festival were long but they moved very quickly. The line moved quickly – security was keeping a count on the number of people who would be let into the fenced in area. There was an entrance and an exit gate. Inside, all kinds of people – but it wasn’t packed – the objective was to make that six foot distance thing possible.
 Great crowds – but no overcrowding. Security ensured that the count was kept at a safe level. While downtown, one wants to check on the construction sites and see how the high rise developments are doing.
Spent a couple of minutes in front of the Waterfront Hotel site to try and get a sense as to just how close to the sidewalk those 30 and 24 story buildings would be.
The first four levels would be at about where the red arrow is on the photograph. It isn’t clear how far back on the four level podium the towers would be. Lakeshore will never be the same – you won’t be able to see or feel the lake.
If there ever was an iconic location – Spencer Smith Park and the lake are it for Burlington. Done the right way the site could put the city on the map as a destination. Few feel the ideas being floated are the right thing for the city.
 The red line is where the north wall of the four level podium would be located. Atop the podium would be 26 storeys of housing.  Each tower would sit atop a four level podium. There would be an open space between the two towers that would be at about where John Street is – that opening would give a glimpse of the lake – the property has a steep grade – much like the one at the Bridgewater development a block to the east.  Named The Gallery – the Carriage Gate development is well underway. Four floors in place, underground garage completed – 22 more to go. The 28 storey tower Carnacelli development is growing level by level. Four levels have been poured – 22 to go. Occupancy is said to be sometime in 2022 – at that time citizens will get to know what a high rise building is and what it feels like to have one opposite city hall.
By Pepper Parr
September 11th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
You could almost feel the enthusiasm and the sense of accomplishment in the Hamilton Environment Network achievement – they put on five virtual debates – one in each of the ridings in the Halton Region.
 Links to the five virtual debates were on the screen. All you had to do was click on the linage for the community you wanted and you got taken to the debate. “We did it! On Wednesday, we hosted 5 virtual debates across Halton. These debates are part of the 100 Debates on the Environment initiative, a coordinated day of national non-partisan debates across the country, coordinated by our good friends at GreenPAC.”
The 100 debates refers to debates that took place elsewhere in Canada.
The debates were a little on the choppy side technically but when they worked – and they worked very well for the most part viewers got to hear what candidates had to say about significant environmental issues.
What was disappointing was that not one of the five debates that matter to the people who live in Halton included a representative from the Conservative Party.
HEN went to considerable effort to include everyone – for reasons that were not given the Conservatives chose no to take part.
The people who did all the work to make the debates possible thanked everyone and made no comment on those that chose not to participate. The Gazette is not that polite – shame on the Conservative Party for not speaking about the most pressing issue the community, this province, this country this world face. They had an obligation to let the public hear what the individual candidates have to say.
Click HERE for the HEN YouTube channel – then click on the image for the debate you want to watch.
The public is still learning how to work with virtual events – one of the nice things about a recording of the debate is you can put it on pause.
 By Staff
September 10th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
From a media release put out earlier today:
Joseph Brant Hospital (JBH) is committed to providing high-quality care and a safe environment for our patients, their loved ones, our healthcare teams and our community.
 The leadership being shown by the Burlington and area hospitals on the matter of vaccination is to be applauded. The latest provincial modeling indicates that Ontario is in the midst of a fourth wave. There are concerns over the rapid transmission of the Delta variant, and its impact on hospitalization and the strain on critical care. We know that COVID-19 vaccination is a critical measure to minimizing the risk to our healthcare system and ending the pandemic.
In accordance with Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health’s Directive #6 which mandates COVID-19 vaccination policies in high-risk settings, JBH is implementing a phased COVID-19 Immunization and Management Policy that will apply to all staff and physicians, volunteers, learners, contracted staff and other third parties effective September 7.
Our goal, consistent with our hospital partners in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, Norfolk, Brant, Burlington (HNHBB) region, is to have everyone who works at and with our hospitals to be fully vaccinated.
JBH is taking a progressive approach to achieving this goal, and is supporting our staff, physicians and other healthcare professionals who work in the hospital towards full vaccination. This includes completing formal and mandatory education on COVID-19 vaccines by September 17 and undergoing twice-weekly rapid antigen testing prior to reporting to work, starting September 16.
Should this initial phase result in less than 100 per cent of eligible staff being fully vaccinated in the weeks ahead, JBH will proceed to mandatory vaccination effective November 1, 2021.
We have already put in place additional policies that will require all eligible new hires, as well as students, volunteers, contracted staff and third parties who come to our hospital to be fully vaccinated by November 1.
There is significant evidence that vaccines are safe and effective, and the best defense to beat COVID-19. Full vaccination is critical to protecting our patients, their loved ones and our healthcare workers from COVID-19, while helping to maintain capacity in the healthcare system so we can continue to provide care to our community when it is most needed.
As healthcare workers, we all have a responsibility to minimize the risks to the safety of our patients and their essential care providers, using all of the tools at our disposal. This includes our longstanding safety policies, Personal Protective Equipment, Infection Prevention and Control practices – and now vaccination. It is the right thing to do, and a necessary step to ending this pandemic.
 By Staff
September 10th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police today issued a photograph identifying a suspect wanted in a shooting in the City of Burlington on September 9, 2021.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of David Ryan Lavoie (37) of Hamilton. He is wanted for the charge of Attempt Murder.
 David Ryan Lavoie – suspect in an attempted murder. David Lavoie is a white male, and bald with a short, stubbly beard. He is 5’10” tall with a muscular build. He was last seen wearing a black shirt (possibly a tank top) and grey pants.
If you see David Lavoie, DO NOT APPROACH, and call police immediately.
The shooting took place at a residence in the area of Maple Crossing Boulevard shortly after 6 pm on September 9, 2021. One victim was transported to hospital and is currently in stable condition. We can confirm that the victim and the suspect are known to one another.
Residents can continue to expect a police presence in the area while they hold the scene for the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information regarding this incident who has not already spoken with police is asked to contact the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4777 ext. 2316.
Anyone with surveillance or dash cam footage in the area of Maple Crossing Boulevard and Maple Avenue between the hours of 5:30 – 7:30 pm on September 9th is also asked to contact police.
 Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers. “See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
By Staff
September 10th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Other than why we are even having a federal election now – the burning issue is climate change.
The biggest opportunity for the average person in Burlington to take part in reducing C02 emissions is to take cars off the road.
The city has a target.
Reducing the use of vehicles by more than 10% could be described as a pipe dream. Nothing on how the city plans to do this.
A look at the modal split for 2019 shows us where we are.
 The measure is for cars on the left and occupants on the right.
By Pepper Parr
September 9th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
 The Conservative Party candidate did not participate in the Burlington debate.
The Halton Environmental Network held virtual debates last night for each of the ridings within the Regional boundaries.
While the focus was the environment the debate covered almost everything you could think of and then some.
Nick Page spoke eloquently and with more passion that usually seen in Burlington debates.
Chris Cullis did just as well for the Green Party.
MP Karina Gould had an incredible grasp on just what the Liberal government had done for the city. She was spitting out numbers at quite a pace.
Emily Brown didn’t make it to the debate. No word on why at this point.
The debates are well worth the time if yo need to think through where your vote should go.
When they are available online we’ll let you know
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