Housing Strategy Working Group needs volunteers

By Staff

April 20th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

It might become the next big thing your city Council takes on.

The concept has merit and there is certainly a need.

It is going to take a number of bright people to think their way through this challenge.

Coming up with a way to create housing that people can afford to buy or rent – the name given to this is “attainable” housing.

The City needs a Working Group to support the Housing Strategy. They are looking for a diverse group of volunteers from government, not for profit, co-op, businesses and residents.

If you are interested in applying, fill out the form below. More details about the role of the Working Group will be available in the draft Engagement Plan that will be presented to CPRM Committee in April and that will be posted on the project page on getinvolvedburlington.ca/housingstrategy.

Space on the working group is limited to 20 people. There will be multiple opportunities to engage throughout the Housing Strategy Project. Stay tuned for additional opportunities to get involved in the Housing Strategy in the upcoming draft engagement plan.

Applications will be open until 11:59 p.m. on April 30, 2021. CLICK HERE to get the application form

Future of work

By Staff

April 19^th, 2021

BURLINGTON,, ON

Local new is our focus but from time to time we drift and include background on a bigger picture.

As the next new normal expected after the pandemic takes shape, this week’s MIT Sloan CIO Symposium examined how the workplace might change yet again in the coming months.

MIT is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the Sloan School of Management is part of MIt.

While many organizations continue to maintain remote operations, a foreseeable end to the COVID-19 pandemic means there is a very real prospect for bringing at least part of the workforce back to the office. A discussion on the future of work, moderated by Allan Tate, executive chair of the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, drew upon earlier event sessions as well as findings presented by Irving Wladawsky-Berger, research affiliate at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and a fellow of MIT’s Initiative on the digital economy and of MIT Connection Science.

Wladawsky-Berger said MIT’s future of work task force found that the momentum of innovation nurtured these changes alongside the circumstances that accelerated remote work. “Technology is simultaneously replacing existing work and creating new work,” he said. “That has always happened through the history of technology.”

Remember when – this was it?

When brand-new technology appears, Wladawsky-Berger said there can be widespread excitement, but it can still take time before the deeper effects are felt. This was seen with the advent of the internet in the mid-1990s and rise of smartphones in later years. “It really takes a while for the technologies to deploy at scale, and it’s only when they deploy at scale that it starts having a really impact on jobs and the workplace,” he said. “That takes time, often decades.”

That impact can have significant repercussions on the human element. “One of the biggest problems of the last four decades, while technologies raised productivity, the productivity has not translated into increasing income for many workers,” Wladawsky-Berger said. Automation has left many workers behind, he said, and globalization made it easy to transplant jobs to countries that were less expensive.

“People with less of a college education are the ones who paid the biggest price for the changes that have happened, and that has led to the rise in inequality,” Wladawsky-Berger said. That compares with people who possess at least a college education who tend to continue to do well with job prospects that continue to grow, he said, along with salaries. Wladawsky-Berger said this trend has led to many middle-class individuals and families taking the brunt of the widening disparity.

The acceptance of new technology has followed new ideas – but not always that closely.

As evolving technology affects the workplace, he said there is also a need for new thinking from policymakers. “For the last 40 years, our labor market institutions and government policies did not adjust to the realities of the digital economy,” Wladawsky-Berger said. “The view has been that the market will take care of all problems and government should do as little as possible — that doesn’t always work.”

There has been some change on this front, he said, but MIT’s report argues that with better policies in place, more people could explore career opportunities as new technology transforms the nature of work.

Governments around the world are starting to adopt this way of thinking, Wladawsky-Berger said. “Innovation is what got the US to its preeminent position, especially post-World War II,” he said. That included investments in infrastructure, interstate highways, and the work of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In spite of gains made on those fronts, Wladawsky-Berger said such efforts scaled back over time. “A lot of investments in R&D and innovation have been going way down in the intervening decades,” he said. “We must do more to cultivate new jobs and new worker skills.”

It’s difficult to stop supply chain attacks if partner accounts are compromised. What can you do when these attacks are indistinguishable from insider threats?

Are Zoom Rooms going to become a permanent part of the office?

While there have been conversations about the hybrid workplace representing the future, there are also new considerations that can come into play. “We have a very clear model for remote work and a clear model for office work, but a hybrid creates a problem,” Tate said. For example, if part of the team on a video call is together in a conference room, he said they might have side discussions after the call that the others are not privy to. Tate suggested guidelines need to be introduced to address these changes to the workplace.

The future of work might be hybrid, but it can have a profound effect on recent hires who have not formed bonds with co-workers in-person. “It is a huge difference applying remote work to somebody that just joined the office than to people who have been working with each other the last 20 years,” Wladawsky-Berger said. Colleagues who were familiar with each other prior to the pandemic can already have memories of interacting with their co-workers, he said, which can be a different experience than with a recent hire. “We have to learn over the next five to 10 years what works and doesn’t work,” Wladawsky-Berger said.

A health crisis and a confidence issue - how much can the public handle ?

By Pepper Parr

April 19th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

There are a lot of people very unhappy with the Premier.

Dr. Adelstein Brown, Chair of the Science Table , keeps a safe distance from Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health.

Members of the Science table who advise the Chief Medical Officer of the province who then advises the Premier are talking about resigning.

They don’t think the Premier understands the gravity of the Covid19 situation and how close we are to being out of control.

Leader of the provincial Liberals want the Premier to resign – Stephen Del Duca said: ““Doug Ford is the worst Premier in Ontario history at a time when leadership matters the most. He should resign now before he makes things any worse. If he does, I will be the first to commend him, because it takes real guts to get out of the way when he’s screwed up this badly. But he won’t. Because he only cares about himself and his special friends.”

That’s just politics – Del Duca has yet to win a seat to even sit in the Legislature.k

It is becoming very clear that this government cannot seem to get ahead of the crisis. Paid sick leave for those people who have the crummy jobs, live with large families, often in congested space, work for a bit more than the minimum wage and having to use public transit doesn’t seem to be something the province is prepared to do.

Premier Ford uses data provided by the Science Table as a prop during a media event – but doesn’t follow the recommendations that came with the data.

Money can’t be the issue – the Premier keeps saying “whatever it takes”. It takes taking care of the people who work in the hospitals who are approaching burn out, the single parent who works in the supermarket and now has to figure out how she is going to care for her children with schools closed.

The decision to give police the authority to stop people at random and have them justify why they are out of their homes was a stretch when the public was informed – then at least 30 police forces in the province declare they aren’t going to use the authority – the province backs off.

There is a health crisis that is barely under control.

There is a confidence problem as well.

Rare Saturday council meeting - long on conversation - no decisions

By Pepper Parr

April 19^th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

It was a City Council meeting called by the Mayor for 10 am on a Saturday morning. The first Saturday morning Council meeting this reporter recalls in the ten years I have been covering council.

There were no desperate holiday weekend meetings in 2014 the parts of the city were flooded.

That State of Emergency means that an Emergency Control Group (ECG) runs the city but must defer to Council when there is a change to the level of service delivery or when there is a need for additional funds that were not part of the budget Council has approved.

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward

There was no agenda, other than the audio visual technician there was no one in the Council Chamber. The Mayor, members of Council and city staff taking part were all working from their homes.

There was one item to be considered and that had to do with parking in the areas around the public parks and the use of public washrooms.

Three hours after the Mayor called the meeting to order and confirmed that there was a quorum they adjourned with the “matter to be considered” referred to a scheduled city council meeting to take place on Tuesday evening.

Mayor Meed Ward explained that the meeting was critical and was called because of the impact provincial orders were having on the city’s responsibility to provide services.

Executive Director Sheila Jones, who oversees any changes that are made to the level of service delivery, set out what the issues were and expecting that Council would go along with the following:

The City was working on the understanding that the province had said parks were to be closed. The province later modified that decision but council didn’t know this while it was meeting on Saturday.

People want and need to get out side for exercise and do something for their mental health. Burlington has 130 parks – Council wants people to walk to the local park and have the children play in a local park rather than have everyone heading for the Beachway or Spencer Smith Park.

The people putting together a ACultural Action Plan for the city went to the community and asked people: What is culture to you and where do you look for it in Burlington. The group took a booth at the Children's Festival and had children make their mark on a choice list. Interesting approach.

Parents are going to want to be outside when the weather gets warmer.

Everyone, well almost everyone, understands that we are in a crisis – and yet for the people of Burlington we are not seeing a crisis. We don’t have the concentrations of populations that exist in the Peel Region, Brantford and Toronto.

The Parks and Recreation people are doing an admirable job at reacting to an ever-changing scenario. They need time to make the changes and at the same time coping with a public that wants their children to be able to play out doors.

The provincial decision to forbid golf courses to operate had the parks people scrambling to get concrete barriers in place to prevent people from getting on the gold courses – the Tayandaga course was sold out for Saturday.

The numbers are daunting – 1200 case levels being reported at the end of February – 4800 0n Saturday and 7500 at best in six weeks.

When the province makes policy decisions – they are followed by very detailed regulations. On Saturday all the city had were draft regulations – which City Solicitor Nancy Shea Nicol explained do get changed.

As a process that was understandable – the problem for senior staff was – how do we deal with real situations that are going to have to deal wit the next day.

City manager Tim Commisso said that city park use is going to have to be regulated adding that there is “no possible way to enforce rules in recreational parks”. The focus will be on educating people.

Did he make it? If you were one of many at the Norton Skateboard PArk on Saturday you would have seen some impressive acrobatiocs going on.

Skate Park in the Alton community will be closed.

Director of Parks and Recreation Chris Glenn had to close down skate board facilities, basket ball courts and tennis courts. And trying to figure out if the leash free parks could be kept open.

Could picnic tables be used, boats can apparently be put in the water but people couldn’t take the boats out on the water – figure that one out!

Community gardens were thought to be Ok.

The recreational space at schools is a school responsibility.

The Bylaw enforcement people have seen a 200% rise in complaints – their challenge is to keep problems from becoming confrontational.

The city is having some difficulty with the form of communication with the Public Health Unit. Local doctors are giving advice that the city likes but would like to see that advice confirmed by the Public Health people. Council Sharman has the Mayor talking to the doctors at Joseph Brant asking if they would put their advice in writing.

Mayor Meed Ward said she was just not hearing from the Health people at the Region.

City manager Tim Commisso – the public needs directions.

City Manager Commisso said the “public is waiting to be told and if the are not told what they can do – they will do what they think is best for them if they do not get clear instructions from the elected leadership”.

The pressure is being felt by everyone at every level.

There were a lot of comments – but the issue in front of Staff was what do we do with public washrooms and parking lots at the public parks. Of the 130 parks – 35 have parking lots. Do we board up those parking lots and do we open the public washrooms?

Park use – how to manage a situation where the rules are not clear.

If the decision is to implement the closure of parks (which is now not going to happen) – the province changed their minds) there was a priority list created.

Council agreed that there were risks in deferring a decision to Tuesday – but there just wasn’t enough information – and the concern was that the province would change some of the decisions they had made.

Commisso said the “fear is that the parks situation will only get busier and that means the risks will get higher making it difficult to manage when the weather gets warmer.”

After a two hour and fifty minute meeting the decision was to:

Refer the closure of the park parking lots and park washrooms to the Director of Roads, Parks and Forestry and the Director of Recreation, Community and Culture to report back to the April 20, 2021 council meeting with a recommendation.

Before getting away Sheila Jones reminded Council that street parking rules have been lifted (for now) and transit has not changed.

These decisions get recommended by the city leadership team and approved by the Emergency Coordinating Group who then inform council

With that the the Mayor moved into an Emergency Control Group meeting – the rest waived their hands for the camera and went back to figuring our what had actually been achieved.

Waving goodbye after a three hour meeting.

Halton Region offering emergency child care to health care and frontline workers during remote learning

By Staff

April 18th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

When the Ministry of Education announced that students would return to on-line learning when the Spring Break ended on April 19th, thousands of parents who are part of the front line that keeps the wheels moving suddenly had to find support in finding some way to care for their children and keep them in school at the same time.

In today’s environment these children would be wearing masks. The Region is working at getting the help needed by the frontline workers.

In response to the Province’s announcement and decision to move all Ontario students to remote learning following the April break, Halton Region has partnered with the Ministry of Education and select operators in Burlington, Georgetown, Milton and Oakville to provide emergency child care services.

The spaces will be available full day starting Monday, April 19 for eligible health care and frontline workers with children aged four to 12 who are registered for school in Halton.

“Our health care and frontline workers continue to make significant sacrifices to respond to the pandemic and keep our community safe, “said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “We will keep doing whatever it takes to make sure that these critical workers are supported throughout this time. I want to thank our Children Services team, the Province and all of our partners for working to ensure that these workers have access to child care services while elementary schools are closed to in-person learning.”

The targeted emergency child care spaces are fully funded by the Province to eligible health care and frontline workers who may not be able to support their child(ren)’s learning/care at home and who have no other child care alternatives. Child care for infants up to four years of age will remain open.

The people working retail and those working in the medical sector need help. The Region is supplying whatever space they can find. Will it b enough?

To apply for emergency child care, eligible workers are asked to contact one of the approved emergency child care operators directly. If you have previously applied for targeted emergency child care you will need to reapply. Spaces are limited and will be filled in order of the applications received.

Halton Region Public Health is working closely with the Ministry of Education to open these child care spaces and are taking extra measures to maintain a safe and healthy environment, including daily screening of children and staff and regular cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched objects and surfaces.

For more details on targeted emergency child care, eligibility criteria and to view the list of approved emergency child care operators in Halton, please visit our Child care Services webpage or call 311.

The link to that page on the Regional web site is HERE

Rivers: When is a Tax Not a Tax ?

By Ray Rivers

April 18th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

OPINION

When you are wrong, you are wrong. The adult thing to do is to just admit it. The debate on carbon taxation is over and Mr. O’Toole has his job cut out educating those dinosaurs in his party who couldn’t even concede that climate change is real.

With O’Toole’s ‘green’ rewards, the more often you fill up your car the more more points you earn.

Everyone had been expecting to see his long promised Tory environment policy, ‘Secure the Environment’. But no one expected O’Toole to include a carbon tax, after all the criticism he had heaped on that idea.

Perhaps that is why O’Toole’s tax actually resembles a loyalty card, a kind of Petro-Point collector. Though since it is mandatory, it’s still a tax, something he doesn’t get. And he clearly also doesn’t understand that the incentive should be to reduce green house gas emissions. With O’Toole’s ‘green’ rewards, the more often you fill up your car the more more points you earn. And those points in your personal low carbon saving account entitle you to a ‘green’ prize of the government’s choosing – rather than a guaranteed fixed rebate on your taxes each year.

Some environmental groups have lauded O’Toole though they note that the bar for him to jump was pretty low. And this may all seem like heady stuff for the Tories, but his environmental plan reads like something the Liberals might have written a couple of decades ago – before we all wasted so much time talking about climate change instead of doing something about it.

Setting a goal of 30% for electric vehicles (EV) sales by 2030, may sound new age, but 30% pales when compared to Quebec’s decision to ban all gasoline car sales by 2035. And the Tory policy document offers no real plan on how to get there.

For a party which sells itself as a tax fighter and calls out its opponents as big taxers and spenders, fiscal conservatives will be holding their noses on election day. There are new taxes proposed for luxury vehicles, frequent flyers and even second homes, in addition to the new carbon tax. It is no wonder that the folks at the Taxpayers Federation are going ballistic, calling O’Toole out for breaking his promises.

Another billion for car battery development, another billion for hydrogen power from natural gas and five more billion for carbon capture and sequestration

And there are billions of dollars in new spending thrown in, as if the traditional Tory pre-occupation with debt no longer matters. There is a billion promised to develop mini nuclear power plants, another billion for car battery development, another billion for hydrogen power from natural gas and five more billion for carbon capture and sequestration – which involves pumping oil sands emissions into the ground and praying they will stay there.

O’Toole has borrowed from Andrew Scheer’s environment playbook, promising more natural gas exports to other countries to help them reduce their coal burning, whether they want it or not. And that probably would lead to more discussion of new pipelines. Interestingly he has backtracked on his party’s opposition to the Liberal’s low carbon fuel standard much as he has now accepted federal carbon pricing for industrial polluters.

There is a brief mention of ‘carbon border trade tariffs’ to level the field for Canadian companies competing against producers in other countries with less constraining environmental standards. This is something the Biden administration is also considering, though it’s an uphill battle against the free trade lobby. Still O’Toole is only committing to study the idea.

While O’Toole talks about increased energy supply he ignores the lowest cost option, the lowest hanging fruit – renewable energy. The Biden administration, south of the border, is banking on wind and solar to drastically shave US carbon emissions. Driving electric or hydrogen powered vehicles will not get Canada to its carbon goals if the electricity that charges/powers them comes largely from carbon based fuels.

O’Toole’s proposed carbon tax is seriously flawed and may actually lead to increased carbon emissions, rather than reduce them

O’Toole understands that the party he leads is out of step with the majority of Canadians, even in Alberta, who expect the country to deal with its pollution and meet its international climate goals. ‘Secure the Environment’ was intended to correct that imbalance. Unfortunately the plan is still too ideologically driven and still too overly consumed with a dying resource sector.

O’Toole’s proposed carbon tax is seriously flawed and may actually lead to increased carbon emissions, rather than reduce them. Further, his decision to introduce his own carbon tax and claim that it isn’t a tax, is shameful behaviour for someone aspiring to Canada’s highest office.

Why not just admit he’s changed his mind and now accepts the existing carbon tax framework, much like he has done for the industrial polluters. And why not confirm the reality that the carbon tax has neither proven a drag on the economy, nor overly hurt working Canadians. Otherwise he wouldn’t be promoting carbon taxation, even if by another name.

Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington where he ran against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province.

Background links:

Secure the Environment – Loyalty Cards – Worst of Both –

Regional Police: We will not be stopping vehicles or individuals randomly

By Staff

April 17th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

A statement from the Regional Police sets out how they plan to respond to the decisions made on Friday by the provincial government.

Premier Doug Ford referring to data prepared by the Science \table during his media event on Friday.

On April 16, 2021, the Government of Ontario announced new restrictions, including a two-week extension of the current province-wide shutdown, in order to curb the concerning transmission rates of COVID-19. The Stay-at-Home order requires everyone to remain home except for essential travel such as grocery and pharmacy needs, health care services, outdoor exercise, and work.

The Government of Ontario also announced enhanced enforcement measures for provincial offences officers, including police officers, under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA).

The Halton Regional Police Service is reviewing the new regulations. At this time, our current enforcement response will remain the same, with a focus on the 4 Es:

• Engage
• Explain
• Educate
• Enforce

We will continue to work with our Municipal By-law partners and Public Health officials to respond to complaints and support proactive efforts to raise awareness. Our focus will remain on education and using enforcement only as a last resort.

We would like to reassure our community that our officers will not be conducting random stops of vehicles or individuals.

With the healthcare system at critical capacity, the Halton Regional Police Service continues to urge residents to take personal responsibility to follow all restrictions to limit the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus.

Let’s do this, Halton. Continue to be kind to one another. Many people are struggling with the duration of these restrictions and are very isolated. Ask people how they are doing. Then, ask them how they are really doing. A list of mental health supports and resources is available here.

As a final note, on behalf of every member of our Service, we extend our thanks to all essential workers and the frontline healthcare heroes of Ontario who are risking their lives every day to protect us all.

Halton Regional Police Chief Stephen Tanner

Chief Stephen Tanner added a personal note: “We will always be committed to the safety, protection and security of the entire community.

It is my hope and expectation that our officers will not be put in the position of having to use enforcement as a mechanism to achieve what should occur through voluntary compliance. That is why we are committed to engage, explain and educate our public and we will resort to enforcement only as a last resort.

We will not be stopping vehicles or individuals randomly but will respond as required and when necessary. It is my hope that our citizens will continue to work cooperatively with us and with all levels of government throughout the weeks and months ahead.”

In the next two weeks the infection numbers are going to rise dramatically - so will the death rate

By Pepper Parr

April 17^th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

One of a series of articles on the Science Table data that led to the decisions the Premier made to limit mobility.

Is there anything that can be done to change these numbers asked a reporter at the Science Table media event Friday afternoon.

The answer from Dr. David Williams was a one word stark answer: N0

His colleague Dr. Adelstein Brown added that “those numbers are baked in”

The hospitals do not have the capacity currently to care for the number of people that need intensive care. The Premier has said 700 to 1000 beds are being added – most as field hospitals.

The reference was to the number of people currently in intensive care. We know now roughly how many of those people will die.

One reporter wanted to know: Is this the disaster that was expected if the province relented back in February?

We did relent back in February and this is what we have to show for it responded Dr. Williams.

There was a choice to be made between economics and public health.

Dr. Adelstein Brown, on the left is head of the Science Table. Dr. Williams is the Chief Medical Officer for the province. His role is to advise the politicians.

The sudden appearance of particularly contagious variants of Covid made a tough situation much worse.

It can get a lot worse added Dr. Williams who was on the media event with Dr. Adelstein Brown.

Brown heads up the Science Table while Williams is the Chief Medical Officer for the province.

The data presented shows clearly where the mistakes were made.

Many are of the belief that if the province had not relented late in February the dire crisis we face now could have been avoided.

Data on mobility shows where the problem is - has the province made the right decisions that will lower the mobility?

By Pepper Parr

April 17th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

One of a series of articles on the Science Table data that led to the decisions the Premier made to limit mobility.

Three hours before Premier Doug Ford stood before the podium Friday afternoon for a virtual media event, the Science Table held its media event during which they set out the evidence they had given the government a day before.

That evidence is what the government used to justify the decision they made to order people to stay in their homes.

The evidence was compelling and there was a lot of it. The Gazette will report on that evidence in a series of shorter articles.

Dr. Adelstein Brown

Dr. Adelstein Brown, who headed up a team of 120 volunteer scientists who gathered the evidence and did the analysis said, had some cogent comments for people who took the position that they could “work around this and do it their way” .

Many seem to think that is “not such a big deal”; they are more “angered by the rules than they are of getting Covid”.
Ignoring the rules is what got us to this point and why we now have to clamp down very hard.

Dr. Brown said there was “some” hope that we might still have a summer but there are huge obstacles to overcome before that can happen.

The focus for the medical community is getting people vaccinated, increasing capacity at the hospitals, dealing with the staff shortages and praying that doctors do not have to begin triaging patients.

For Dr. Brown and Dr. Williams the immediate concern was limiting mobility, forcing people to stay in their homes.

The data makes the point.

Mobility has to be driven down to below that threshold dotted line. The scientists know where it is happening and why – the challenge now is to stop it.

A breakdown of why people are traveling is revealing: workplace travel leads. People are being infected by a very contagious variant of Covid

Dr. Brown made it very clear – there is no silver bullet. The hope for a summer is with strong adherence – without that adherence to the Stay at Home rule – summer is gone.

Burlington reacts to the mobility restrains put in place by the peovince - Mayor calls special meeting of Council for Saturday.

By Staff

April 16th,, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward has called an emergency meeting of Council for 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, Saturday, April 17 that will be held virtually to make some immediate decisions. Council will receive additional COVID-19 updates at the regularly scheduled Council Meeting on Tuesday, April 20 beginning at 1 p.m. A livestream of Council meetings is available from the burlington.ca homepage.

Impacts to City services and programs

City Hall
City Hall, located at 426 Brant St., will remain closed.

One of the new buses added o the Burlington Transit fleet. There were busses that had more than 15 years on their tires - those old ones certainly rattled down Guelph Line when I was on one of them.

Part of the Burlington Transit fleet.

Burlington Transit
Burlington Transit is an essential service and will continue to run as scheduled including specialized transit and trips to vaccination clinics. The transit terminal at 430 John St. will remain open to provide PRESTO services including SPLIT passes. Presto services are available at Shoppers Drug Mart or online at prestocard.ca. Transit schedules are available online at myride.burlingtontransit.ca.

Parking
Parking enforcement is limited to safety-related issues such as fire routes, accessible parking, no parking/stopping areas and blocked parked areas. City parking time-limit restrictions have been relaxed to help those working from home or self-isolating. Parking permits and exemptions are not required until further notice.

Recreation Services, Parks, all Amenities and Facilities
City of Burlington facilities and recreation programming remain closed, and all indoor programs have been cancelled.

Outdoor gatherings in all City parks, such as Spencer Smith Park, Lowville Park and Beachway Park, are limited to members of the same household. Those living alone may join one exclusive household.

Tyandaga Golf Course.

Outdoor recreation amenities will close, effective April 17 at 12:01 a.m., including: playgrounds, sports fields, outdoor courts, skate parks, dog off-leash areas and Tyandaga Golf Course. If you need some fresh air and activity, it’s okay to walk, cycle or jog through your neighbourhood park, but please do not linger. Please stay 2 metres (6 feet) away from everyone else in the park or on a trail and take your waste home with you to dispose of it.

Roads, Parks and Forestry
Essential services provided by the Roads, Parks and Forestry Department will continue as needed. Residents with questions or issues can email RPF@burlington.ca or call 905-333-6166.

Construction
Non-essential construction sites as defined under the Provincial emergency order will be put on hold and closed off for public safety until restrictions are lifted.

Please stay home and only go out for exercise in your own neighbourhood and essentials such as groceries. Let’s continue to work together to keep each other safe from new COVID-19 variants. More than ever, we need to support our local healthcare heroes who continue to care for those who need it and preserve hospital capacity.

As the situation evolves and staff receives and reviews the updated order from the Province of Ontario, we will continue to comply and keep you informed on available essential services and what must be closed to keep City of Burlington staff and residents safe.

Province limits mobility big time - police will have the right to pull you over and if they don't like the answer you give can issue a $750 ticket

By Pepper Parr

April 16th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

The message from the Science Table at 1:00 pm was direct.

You cannot meet with people who are not part of your household indoors

We are way above the acceptable mobility threshold – if we do not reduce it the infections will spread leading to catastrophic conditions.

If people you meet are not part of your household – you meet them outside – six feet apart and wearing a mask

Get vaccinated when it is your turn.

Those instructions plus about 15 charts showing how big a mess we are in led to a 4:00 pm Press event with the Premier who put the province in the tightest movement situation since the War Measures Act was invoked in 1970.

The Premier said effectively immediately personal mobility was being restricted. You do not go anywhere other than outside for some exercise and when you do that – you do so alone or with family members.

Police and bylaw officers will be given the right to stop yo and ask you where you are going and why – and if they don’t like the answer you give they have the authority to issue you a ticket which the Deputy Premier said would amount to $750.

The police and bylaw officers will have the right to pull you over, ask where you are going and why.

Interesting note – it is the Chief Justice of the province who set that amount.

The Premier said mobility was being limited; enforcement will be increased and vaccinations will be prioritized and focused on those people most likely to get infected.

They were identified as people who have to work and live in households with people who also have to leave for work.

Big Box stores are limited to 25% of capacity

Worship – not more than 10 people

Golf courses are closed.

All non-essential construction is stopped.

Weddings limited to 10 people

The borders with Quebec and Manitoba are closed.

The province is working on having the borders closed to international travellers.

“We had few options left” said the Premier in his news briefing. “We are doing this at massive cost to the economy.”

The current Stay at Home order is being extended two more weeks.

A more detailed in depth article will follow

Public school as we know it could disappear

By Pepper Parr

April 16^th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

A number of years ago, when the Halton District School Board found itself having to closes some of the high schools we had citizens who were prepared to march on city hall to vent their frustration.

The plan to close high schools in 2014 didn’t go quite the way originally planned – parent protests resulted in a much different decision.

The center of the anger was Central High School, one of the schools on the first list of recommended schools to close.

The people at Central did not let than happen – and the school is still open and in the months ahead they just might get air conditioning that would make life a lot easier for both students and teachers.

The next battle for parents will not be with the school board – the province has taken steps that threaten education as we have known it in Ontario to go through a radical change.

Set out below are a number of slides from a deck that was presented to a group of people at the Ministry of Education. We do not have a list of just who attended – but we are able to see just what it was they were considering.

Parents need to pay very close attention to this initiative.

We note with regret that there hasn’t been a word from the MPP for Burlington, Jane McKenna,

Note the name of the committee – and the date on which they met.

Note the date -mere weeks ago.

Here is what they are setting out to do.

That is a pretty aggressive time line – what’s the rush?

Note even a mention as to when parents might be asked for their views. The province will just make an announcement, pobably on the Friday of a long weekend – which is when the really hard news gets released.

The province sets out what they will have to do legislatively to make this possible.

This puts the school boards out of business – the province would centralize the content and have third parties deliver it via the internet.

What can parents do? Do what they did when the school board wanted to close Central high school. Protest, let the MPP and the Ministry of Education know that you are not on for this.

If you are on for this – just sit back, watch what the government decides to do – and kiss one of the best educational systems in the world goodbye.

Links to related news items.

The full presentation presented to Ministry of Education

What parent groups and academics think of the idea – and the consequences i this goes forward.

Halton Municipalities that oppose the CN rail hub planned for Milton are going to court to demand ompliance with laws

By Staff
April 16th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON

Halton Municipalities and Conservation Halton resumed their 2018 Ontario court case against the proposed Milton CN truck-rail hub to ensure CN complies with laws that protect the health of residents and the environment.

This Ontario case by the Halton Municipalities and Conservation Halton seeks to protect the thousands of residents that live near the CN lands in Milton. “We are taking immediate action to address the serious concerns of Halton residents with respect to the proposed CN truck-rail hub in Milton,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “No proposal should be allowed to go ahead before it complies with our laws. CN must be accountable to those who will be most affected by the project, and not just the Federal Government, which ignored its duty to protect the health of Halton residents when it announced its approval of this project.”

The Ontario case follows the January 21, 2021 decision by the Federal Government on this CN proposal. This federal decision allows CN to proceed further in the approvals process without addressing the conclusion reached by its own review panel that this proposal is likely to cause significant adverse effects on human health that cannot be mitigated. This Federal decision was also contrary to the panel conclusions that the proposed intermodal was likely to cause five other significant effects on air quality, the environment, and farmland that cannot be mitigated.

Milton Mayor Gord Krantz

“The Federal Government has let us down and ignored the expertise of the panel it appointed,” said Milton Mayor Gordon Krantz. “Let me assure all Miltonians, we will continue fighting and advocating for you at all levels of government and in the courts.”

Since CN announced this proposal, the community has voiced its opposition because of serious concerns with its adverse effects on air quality and human health, the safety of local travel in the surrounding area, and the site’s close proximity to more than 34,000 current and future residents, one hospital, 12 schools, and two long-term care homes.

This Ontario court case is the second court action taken this year by the Halton Municipalities. On February 21, the Halton Municipalities and Conservation Halton filed an application with the Federal Court of Canada to have the court review the decisions made by Federal Cabinet and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change that has allowed CN’s proposal to proceed further without addressing the many serious problems identified by the federal panel.

“The Federal Review Panel found that this project is likely to cause harm on human health,” said Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward. “Regional Council has a responsibility to do everything in its power to hold CN accountable and ensure compliance with provincial and municipal laws.”

“While the Federal Government has given highest priority to the economic interests of CN, we put our duty to protect the health and safety of residents first,” said Oakville Mayor Rob Burton.

“Our communities and local representatives at all levels have voiced their concerns about CN’s proposed project,” said Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette. “We need to continue to be a unified voice for Halton residents.”

A fear bigger that the proposal is that if it does get built – it will be expanded at some future date

“Protecting the environment and safety of our communities remains Conservation Halton’s top priority,” said Conservation Halton Board Chair Gerry Smallegange. “We stand with our municipal partners and will continue to advocate for the well-being of residents in our watershed.”

CN’s proposed truck-rail hub in Milton would create only a small number of jobs and not provide the kind of investment that has been planned for and approved in Regional Official Plan Amendment 38 (ROPA 38). Although concerns with significant adverse environmental effects on air quality and human health are paramount, this proposal’s permanent harm to anticipated employment, investment, and municipal finances is also significant. CN is ignoring the substantial benefits it promised in 2008 when it sought and ultimately obtained changes to Regional Official Plan Amendment 38. The low employment and investment numbers now advanced by CN for the current proposal could be achieved elsewhere by modernizing its existing Brampton facility.

Ontario government is discussing making full-time online schooling permanent in public education.

By Lana Parker

April 16, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

Despite the lack of data documenting benefits to children, and emerging evidence of several drawbacks and harms, the Ontario government is discussing making full-time online schooling a permanent “choice” in public education.

This idea is being introduced without adequate research, and stands to become the latest measure that raises inequality and threatens the viability of education as a public good.

The Globe and Mail obtained an Ontario Ministry of Education presentation dated March 22, 2021, detailing the prospect of continued virtual learning after the COVID-19 pandemic. The province aims to partner with TVO to offer “fully independent online learning” for “Ontario and out-of-province secondary students” and also mentions continuing “synchronous remote learning” for elementary students.

The proposal coincides with apparent plans to continue to help fund Ontario education by selling curriculum abroad. In 2015, Ontario reported it had agreements with 19 international private schools that pay the province to deliver the Ontario curriculum.

Unpacking the known harms

While the COVID-19 environment has produced unique challenges, many of the greatest difficulties for young people have been associated with the forced shift out of schools and into online learning. Online learning does not replace the complex, relationship-oriented learning and social environment in schools.

Fully online learning has had consequences for mental health, with increased feelings of social isolation. There have also been challenges to physical health, as youth grappled with a lack of physical activity and deteriorating eyesight. Even among older youth learners, motivation and engagement prove difficult to sustain online, with a higher potential for dropping out and worse outcomes for disadvantaged students.

Despite the negative outcomes associated with full-time online study for youth and without sufficient data to support its rationale, the Ontario government is introducing an unasked for “choice” that would set a detrimental precedent for public education.

More screen time?

Some might argue that getting students comfortable with online technologies prepares them for future study and the workforce. In my research on youth literacy and online engagement, however, I explore how student proficiency in navigating technology should not be mistaken for understanding complex information.

My work is part of a wider body of emerging research that examines how students make sense of the online environment — and how being online affects their literacy skills, including their capacities to form critical questions and navigate misinformation and disinformation.

I have also determined that literacy learning can be strengthened when students and teachers explore the emotional implications of contentious issues in a classroom community. In other words, leaving students alone in front of screens for even more of their already online-immersed day does not improve their critical thinking or engagement.

For adolescents, learning online doesn’t replace in-person interactions with teachers, other students and community members. These interactions, far from superficial or inconsequential, are at the heart of how students learn well. In the pandemic, many teachers have voiced concerns about how an online environment hampers their ability to tailor learning and to support their students with the full range of strategies that are available in the classroom.

Yet another worrying aspect is the risk to student privacy. There is ongoing concern about how tech companies may be gaining unprecedented insight into children’s lives and how data may be used.

There are also issues of tech monopolies that muddy the line between public education and private enterprise.

Generating revenue

Students have opportunities to engage with online learning in Ontario’s current framework. There is no need to introduce compulsory online courses or the option of full-time online learning.

With all the issues implied by full-time online learning, why would Ontario consider making this a permanent feature of public education? Before the pandemic, in February 2020, the government .

In a confidential Ontario government document written sometime between March and August 2019 and obtained by the Toronto Star, the current Ford government detailed a plan to dovetail cuts to school board funding with the opportunity to “to develop (a) business model to make available and market Ontario’s online learning system to out-of-province and international students.” It is telling that the document did not foreground the benefits of full-time online learning for students.

The reasons for this shift can be attributed to the ongoing drive to privatize public education through the twin aims of reducing costs and generating new revenue. The 2019 document also mentioned examining “feasible options for selling licensing rights to courses/content to other jurisdictions.”

Curriculum sales

The current discussions should be seen in the context of Ontario’s drive to create revenue streams through international student tuition and sales of curriculum to international schools.

Ontario’s March 22 proposal for online schooling describes a plan to develop curriculum and offer an education with little teacher support.

This “business plan” follows Minister of Education Stephen Lecce announcing the appointment of a former CFL commisioner to the role of TVO’s CEO. TVO’s website has been recently retooled to include an emphasis on “digital learning.”

Potential future harms

For children, fully online learning creates the conditions for further educational inequality. It is a particular risk for children with special education needs.

It can also produce unintended consequences: a recent study based in Ecuador showed female students working online were more likely to spend time doing housework than their male counterparts. It is not unimaginable that some families could select online schooling for their children so they could help with household work, care for family members and potentially supplement family income by entering the labour market earlier. The move also risks limiting opportunities for extra-curricular socialization and learning, including experiences with the arts and sports.

Once poorly researched educational policy comes into practice, it is difficult to undo irrespective of data that details its harms. Such has been the case with the introduction of standardized testing in Ontario, which marginalizes newcomers and students with exceptionalities, and encourages a narrow curriculum.

Over time, a policy of “choice” for full-time online schooling weakens public education by diluting in-person opportunities for students and eroding funding. An impoverished public system drives families into private schools, which further erodes the public good. Defunding and marketization will leave public education in a race to the bottom.

Background links:

Expanding student access to on line and remote learning – the provincial government agenda

Toronto reveals secret provincial government report about on-line learning –

Laura Parker is an Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Windsor

Damoff announces federal funding to cover air conditioning in Halton schools

By Staff

April 15th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

Pam Damoff, Member of Parliament for Oakville North Burlington brings some good news for the educators and their students:
$656.5 million dollars in funding to upgrade Ontario’s schools to make them safer for kids and teachers. Over $26 million dollars will be provided to schools in Halton Region to foster a safe and healthy environment for our valued educators, students, parents, and school staff.

MP Pam Damoff speaking with a constituent in her Oakville office

“The wellbeing of our community is of the utmost importance as we continue the fight against COVID-19.

“This investment is being made jointly with the provincial government through the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream, with 80% of the funding from our government” explained Damoff who added that: ” The majority of the funding will support ventilation projects that improve air quality in classrooms.

Students at Central High would be mighty pleased to see air conditioning installed.

Additional projects include installing water bottle refilling stations to improve access to safe drinking water, investing in network and broadband infrastructure to support remote learning, and space reconfigurations such as new walls and doors to enhance physical distancing.”

The students at Central high school will watch with some anticipation to learn if their school is going to see some air conditioning equipment. Climate change and the need to circulate air in schools built decades ago is no longer something nice to have.

Joseph Brant Hospital at 94% capacity - CEO asks for public support in staying safe

By Eric Vandewall, President and CEO Joseph Brant Hospital

April 15th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

A short walk from Joseph Brant Hospital is Spencer Smith Park, a beautiful green space by the waterfront where, in past years, friends and families would gather in large numbers to enjoy the warm weather, music and food festivals and open-air movie nights.

We know how difficult this year has been for everyone – we feel it too. We all want to return to a time when we could enjoy the simple pleasures of pre-pandemic life. But we urge you to be patient, stay home and follow all public health measures. We need your help to avert a crisis.

Eric Vandewall

Across Ontario, we are seeing enormous strain on our hospitals, and JBH is no exception. The new Variants of Concern have quickly taken hold and are fueling this third wave, causing a rapid surge in cases and hospitalization of patients with more severe symptoms.

At JBH, we are currently at 94% capacity and reached full capacity this past weekend. In just two weeks, the number of COVID-19 patients in our care has more than doubled and continues to increase daily.

We are doing everything we can to make beds available to the rising number of patients – both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 – who require urgent, life-saving care. We have put all non- urgent surgeries and procedures on hold. We have added four intensive care beds and will be adding three more by the end of this week – 31 beds in total. But resources are limited, and may not be enough if the demand continues.

Pandemic Response Unit

We have been working with our regional and provincial partners in managing COVID-19 care, so that no one hospital is overwhelmed. We have the capability to transition our Pandemic Response Unit – which is currently serving as a Halton Region Vaccination Clinic – back to providing COVID-19 care within 24 hours. We would continue to run the clinic, which has already administered more than 10,000 vaccinations, in another part of the hospital.

Like many of you, our JBH staff and physicians have made enormous sacrifices during the pandemic, and your unwavering support has meant so much. You helped us get through it, and we need your support once again.

Please follow public health guidance. Stay home unless it’s essential, such as buying food or picking up medication. Wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, physically distance from others and do not gather with anyone outside of your household.

There are skeptics who will try to convince you that this is all unnecessary. I can assure you, they are wrong. If this upward trend continues hospitals will be overwhelmed.

Some seedlings need a foster home while they get themselves ready for their new home in gardens

By Staff

April 15th,2021

BURLINGTON, ON

Spring – even though it may not feel like it today it is the time of year that we turn our attention to the gardens.

With the stay at home order we are not able to get into our own plots at Maple Gardens however the community gardens don’t usually open up until May anyway.

Right now though there is a way you can help us out. We have seedlings that are in need of foster care and are looking for volunteers to care for them. Please contact Sam (our Food Bank Garden coordinator) at garden@burlingtonfoodbank.ca if you would be able to help her out with this and/or over the spring and summer.

We can see one of our plots already growing a nice crop of garlic, thanks to Lisa who had planned it all out last season for us.

If you are in need or know of someone who could use our help PLEASE have them email us at info@burlingtonfoodbank.ca or call 905-637-2273 to make arrangements to have food dropped at their door or make arrangements to pick it up through our curb-side pickup option. If you are a resident in Burlington, we are all here to help. Don’t struggle – give us a call.

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School Superintendent supports Harvard author - computers will never take over education

By Julie Hunt Gibbons

April 15^th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

Many of the challenges of this pandemic have been solved through the use of technology. The tools of technology have allowed the world of work to continue from a safe distance. Education in Canada has been no different.

Last year’s March – June shut down in elementary, secondary, and post secondary in Ontario was facilitated by the use of online learning, both synchronous and asynchronous, through a host of different learning management systems and educational platforms and applications. This year our provincial public health challenges have varied by population and demographic and we have used technology to respond accordingly.

Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education

Here in Halton, and the surrounding GTHA, students have experienced a variety of synchronous and asynchronous fully online and hybrid learning models in response to the need for student cohorting and swells in Covid-19 numbers. The recent pandemic response, coupled with decades of technological innovation and growing use, have led many people to cite technology as the panacea for educational change in this province and around the globe. They would do well to read Justin Reich’s latest book, Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education” (2020).

Reich does not base his claims on recent pandemic events. In fact, he wrote this book prior to the onslaught of COVID-19 and points out that the supposedly transformative educational technology of the past decade has done little to revolutionize learning. He debunks claims such as:

Harvard Business School’s 2009 claim by Clay Christensen that predicted that half of all American secondary school courses would be online by 2019,

Sal Khan’s claim that Khan Academy videos would reinvent education,

Sebastian Thrun of Udacity’s claim that in 50 years we’d have only 10 institutions of higher education in the world as a result of the success of massive open online courses (MOOCs).

Sugata Mitra’s claim that students no longer need schools or teachers as groups of children with access to the internet could teach themselves anything.

Computers will be part of classrooms – but they will not replace classroom teachers.

Reich addresses MOOCs, autograders, computerized “intelligent tutors,” and widely adopted popular educational software in-depth and traces their hype, their potential,and their ultimate shortcomings. According to Reich, despite their economic success in making their creators wealthy, their benefit has been to primarily wealthy students and they have done little, if anything, to combat growing inequalities in education. Thus this has not been “true innovation” and has not radically changed the educational system in any way. Rather these tools have been adapted, tested, used or not used by educators within the system.

Technology does, and will, continue to play a crucial role in the future of education but as nothing more than a tool for classroom experimentation and the expansion of educators’ pedagogical toolkits.

None of this should come as a surprise; the pandemic has evidenced extreme growth in the use of educational technology, but the key lesson of our online learning experiments in a pandemic have been that there is a want and need for human interaction. Educators have the uniquely human skills to engage (or not engage) students. Education is at its essence a human skill and human pursuit. Change and improvement to education must come from human iterations. There is no magic technological wand.

I join Reich in his confidence that when we take stock of the education our schools provided in our schools during the pandemic, we will see evidence of many new technological classroom and teaching strategies reflective of staff learning and the practicing of technological skills. These are valuable skills and our schools can and should build on them, continuing the process of learning how to teach, learn, and use our digital tools more effectively. Educational improvement is a journey, not a destination and technology can shape and accelerate this journey but technology alone cannot transform education.

HDSB Superintendent Julie Hunt Gibbons

Julie Hunt Gibbons Halton District School Board Superintendent of Secondary Program & Student Success, North West Oakville Family of Schools was a part of the team that created the iStem courses that began at the Aldershot High school.

Julie didn’t intend to be a teacher. She did a Masters in Sociology (Socio-legal studies) thinking it would be a good stepping stone to Law School. It was while working as a Teaching Assistant that she fell in love with teaching.

If you care about the way your children are to be educated - read on

By Pepper Parr

April 15th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

A number of weeks ago I heard a CBC interview about a book that talked about the concept of disruption and education.

Disruption has bitten deeply into retail markets and has all but killed local newspapers.

Uber turned the taxi business upside down.

The Ontario government is now thinking about disrupting education and teaching both elementary and high school students on-line.

Halton District School Board Superintendent Julie Hunt Gibbons, who will be retiring in June after a long career as a teacher, did a review of Failure to Disrupt: Why technology alone cannot transform education

Her review led us to changes the provincial government is actively pursuing.

The Hunt Gibbons interview appears in the Gazette today – the scoop on what the provincial government appears to be planning will be in the paper on Friday.

Here is a glimpse of what the government is discussing internally at the Ministry of Education.

The full report will be published on Friday.