 By Staff
August 11th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board is pleased to announce that Pardeep Nagra has been appointed to the role of Human Rights & Equity Advisor. Nagra will join the senior administrative team on Aug. 11, 2022.
 Pardeep Nagra appointed to the role of Human Rights & Equity Advisor for the Halton district School Board. Nagra will advise the Board on human rights-related strategic policy issues and provide direction on matters of equity, inclusion and human rights obligations. The role of the Human Rights & Equity Advisor is to build and maintain a culture of respect for human rights and supporting the resolution of human rights complaints.
With decades of experience in human rights, diversity, equity and inclusion, Nagra brings critical expertise in these areas to an educational environment. Nagra is the Executive Director of the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada and serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Museum of Human Rights.
His most recent role has been as Manager of Employment Equity at the Toronto District School Board. Nagra is also a motivational and public speaker and former Canadian boxer who has visited HDSB schools to speak with students and staff on numerous occasions. He is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).
“I am most excited to connect with students, staff, parents/guardians and the community of Halton,” says Nagra. “I encourage you to reach out to me and invite me to your classroom, school, department, community organization or event. I am here to serve you.”
“The Board is committed to providing an inclusive environment for all students and staff that models a culture of equity and respect,” says Curtis Ennis, Director of Education for the Halton District School Board. “We look forward to working with Pardeep to proactively support HDSB students and staff and address human rights issues”.
This appointment fills the vacancy of the Board’s former Human Rights & Equity Advisor Jewel Amoah.
 By Staff
August 8th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
 We all know how hot it is – and we might be running out of places we can visit where it is cool.
Apply COOL to the All Guilds annual exhibition that celebrates the guilds who make, learn, share, and teach at the Art Gallery of Burlington
There is the Burlington Fine Arts Association,
 Some work done by a member of the Burlington Sculptors and Carvers, Burlington Handweavers and Spinners Guild,
Latow Photographers Guild,
Burlington Potters Guild,
Burlington Hooking Craft Guild,
Burlington Sculptors and Carvers,
and the Digital Arts Guild of Burlington.
AGB Hours
Tuesday & Wednesday 10 AM – 9 PM
Thursday – Saturday 10 AM – 5 PM
Sunday & Monday CLOSED
 By Margo Shuttleworth
July 29th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
As the deadline draws near for people to submit their names to run in the upcoming municipal election, there is a notable absence of names being put forward to run for School Board Trustee. At first glance, this can be seen as a vote of confidence from the community that we are doing things right at the board table. However, with several Trustees in Burlington and Oakville not seeking re-election, it has left places at the table to be filled.
 Dr. Margo Shuttleworth, Chair Halton District School Board The role of a trustee is not an easy one. There is a large time commitment involved in juggling work commitments, however, it is extremely rewarding. We have done many great things over the past four years during my term which, as a board, we are all proud of:
We launched and are responding to our Reimagine Forward initiative
We created a Multi-Year and are working hard to fulfil our goals and commitments with a focus on students’ learning and achievement, mental health and well-being, equity and inclusion, indigenous perspectives and environmental leadership
We have work hard to represent those traditionally underrepresented groups
We have asked hard question but have always ensured we are kind and respectful
(and probably most importantly) we have worked collaboratively as a team to support students, families and staff
These great achievements are some of the amazing pieces of being a trustee. We all came to the table for different reasons, and that diversity of opinion is something that makes our board so great.
Please consider what your reasons may be. Look at it from a positive lens, what you can add, how you can contribute and how you can serve your community. Reach out to your Trustees to get information as to what is involved. I know the Trustees who are seeking different paths in this upcoming election are happy to chat and would welcome the opportunity for some new and diverse voices to be at our table. We want our students to see themselves within the people who represent them. It is disappointing that we have not seen more interest in the trustee role, but I hope that people will reach out to either myself or your local trustee, find out what is involved and consider the opportunity.
Dr Margo A Shuttleworth is the Chair of the Halton District School Board and the Trustee for ward 4. She can be reached at Shuttlewortm@hdsb.ca
905 691 4508
Twitter: @margoshuttle
Facebook: Margo Shuttleworth Burlington Ward 4 Trustee
Instagram: Margo4Trustee
By Staff
July 25th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
This is not something you will want to tell the kids about as they enjoy the summer weather – the Minister of Education has promised that back to school will be on time in September and everything will be operational.
 Band practice – after a two year hiatus! In announcing the Plan to Catch Up Minister Stephen Lecee said: “ After two years of pandemic disruptions, Ontario today launched its Plan to Catch Up for the 2022-23 school year. The plan, which is supported by the government’s historic investments in education, starts with students back in classrooms, on time, with the full school experience including extracurriculars like clubs, band and field trips.”
The focus is on “ensuring students receive the best stable learning experience possible, and that starts with them being in class, on time, with all of the experiences students deserve,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, adding. “We have a plan for students to catch up, including the largest tutoring program in Ontario’s history, a modernized skills-focused curriculum to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow, and enhanced mental health supports.”
The Plan to Catch Up is squarely focused on the priorities of parents and includes five key components:
 Mental health support part of the Plan to Catch Up Getting kids back in classrooms in September, on time, with a full school experience that includes extra-curriculars like clubs, band, and field trips;
New tutoring supports to fill gaps in learning;
Preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow;
Providing more money to build schools and improve education; and
Helping students with historic funding for mental health supports.
The government is going to open the flood gates to pay for key investments including:
More than $26.6 billion in funding for the 2022-23 school year, the highest investment in public education in Ontario’s history.Investing more than $175 million for enhanced tutoring support programs delivered by school boards and community partners, with a focus on reading, writing and math $304 million in time-limited funding to support the hiring of up to 3,000 front line staff, including teachers, early childhood educators, educational assistants, and other education workers.
Investing $14 billion to build state-of-the-art schools and classrooms and renew and repair existing schools, including $2.1 billion for the 2022-23 school year.
Allocating $90 million for mental health initiatives and supports for students, a 420 per cent increase from 2017-18.
Additional funding to support students with exceptionalities through a $93 million increase in funding for the Special Education Grant and over $9 million in funding to support the new de-streamed grade nine program, with an emphasis on supporting students most at risk including students from racialized, Black, immigrant, and Indigenous communities.
 The buses will be back on the road in September “With almost 50,000 children benefiting from Ontario’s tutoring investments every week, and summer learning programs underway province-wide, Ontario’s plan is getting students back on track,” added Minister Lecce. “With an emphasis on getting back to basics, our government is focused on strengthening life and job skills in the classroom, so that students graduate as financially literate, technologically savvy, emotionally intelligent leaders, ready for the jobs of tomorrow.”
Ontario’s public schools have an enrolment of over 1.4 million elementary students and over 650,000 secondary students.
Quick Facts
As of the beginning of April 2022, ministry-funded tutoring programs were underway across the province. From May to June 2022, on average, approximately 49,000 students participated in tutoring programs each week, with an average group size of less than five students to provide tailored and focused support.
With supportive policies and programs delivered by the ministry, school boards and partners, Ontario students have overcome many of the challenges of the pandemic, and graduation rates continue to rise. In 2020-21, 84.2 per cent of the 2016-17 grade nine cohort of students received their high school diploma within four years and 89 per cent of students received their high school diploma within five years.Since August 2020, more than $665 million has been allocated to improve ventilation and filtration in schools as part of the province’s efforts to protect against COVID-19.
These investments have resulted in improvements to existing ventilation systems; deployment of over 100,000 standalone HEPA filter units and other ventilation devices to schools; upgrades to school ventilation infrastructure; and increased transparency through public posting of school board standardized ventilation measure reports.
Up to 9,000 HEPA filter units were deployed to child care centres to provide further protection against COVID-19.
Over the course of the pandemic, child care programs stayed open and served children and their families, including providing emergency child care for front line workers during periods of school closure and remote learning. •
 By Pepper Parr
July 12th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
 For Leah Reynolds it was always about the students After 8 years of public service Leah Reynolds said: “I’m retiring at the end of the school board term.”
“I have decided not to run in the 2022 Municipal Election.
I’m humbled and grateful to have served as a Trustee for the Halton District School Board (HDSB) and represented students and families from the Aldershot and Downtown Burlington Communities (Wards 1 and 2) these last 8 years.
“I want to express my thanks to the constituents who allowed me to represent them at the HDSB board table. My gratitude goes out to all my volunteers and supporters who inspired me and did everything they could to get me elected.
“My decision to step up and get involved was because schools are the heart of our community. As a parent, I advocated and volunteered for well over 20 years, including as a council member and school chair. I volunteered for in-school reading, and nutrition programs. I was active in community projects that included fundraising for playground equipment and auditorium renewals.
“Those early years provided a solid foundation for me to serve eight years as your Trustee. I am proud to deliver on my commitment for improvements to the future of high school programming, with support for skills trades, and a solid plan for school amalgamations that included transitioning and expanded programming for students with special needs.
“While these last few years have been the most challenging, I supported changes always with the lens of student achievement and well-being. Leading through a pandemic, I did my best within the limits of what we were provided. I was so proud to have been part of a system that shifted our collective focus to improving wellness, equity, and inclusion, and increased awareness of Indigeneity and the environment. We did this while encouraging innovative new approaches to how schools can evolve and continuously improve.”
Reynolds represented wards 1 and 2 during a period of time when the high school in her wards was threatened with closure.
 Leah Reynolds with Marianne Meed Ward The two women were always close when they both represented ward 2 residents. Reynolds, who has always been close to then ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward, got tangled up in a sticky situation during the tumultuous school board debates.
“We all want our students to see themselves at our board table. It is my hope that candidates from all backgrounds will put their names forward in the next election.
Related news story:
Reynolds accused of being coached during a school board debate
Resident writes Open letter on the coaching issue
 By Pepper Parr
July 11th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Many elected leaders determined to be managers – Elected officials need to concentrate on where they add value.
“Leading: The Real Value of a Mayor and Council” by George Cuff, is back on shelves.
 Council members have a budget that will cover the cost of the book. Municipal management guru George Cuff makes a compelling argument that municipalities today are not nearly as well served as they should be – because their elected leaders have, in many instances, determined they would rather be the managers. As a result, far too much effort and time is being spent on how staff can do a better job in their roles, without recognizing that, in order to do so, elected officials need to concentrate on where they add value.
Leading others is a simple yet profound duty and privilege, writes Cuff, as he digs into questions around leadership and what it requires from those who step forward at the local level.
Coming from someone with a excellent reputation backed by years of municipal level experience and tonnes of consulting assignment – this is a guy Councillors might want to listen to.
The Gazette has blown its gift budget for this year – we would haved like to have been able to buy a copy of the book and have it sent to the seven members of Council.
George Cuff barely got through high school having found sports and girls a distraction from his studies. As a result, he did not go directly to University but began work as an accountant with the Royal Bank and then after a couple of years there, he moved on to an oil and gas company where he continued his frustration as an accounting clerk.
 George B. Cuff – has wisdom to share with municipal Councillors. Cuff set up his own firm of George B. Cuff & Associates Ltd. (1984) and since then has focused on providing advice and counsel to rural and urban governments, provincial departments and agencies and other groups involved in some aspect of governance and public service. His work has become more focused over time on the art of governance and the elements that help organizations become more effective.
Cuff has published over 450 articles as well as ten books on local government. He has three “how to” books (Cuff’s Guide Volumes One and Two as well as his “Executive Policy Governance” which was published in 2014.
 By Pepper Parr
July 11th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Perhaps a book that was overdue just had to be returned.
Whatever it was – car went through the windows of the Alton branch of the Burlington Public Library.
No one was injured and the staff managed to get the building opened this morning with little in the way of service disruption.
 The Alton Recreational Centre has a high, a public library and some of the best recreational space in the city.
The property is owned by the city with the three jurisdictions sharing the use of the space.
An incident like this wasn’t in the operational plans.
“We are very glad to be able to welcome people back into the branch so soon,” says Amanda Freeman, Branch Manager. “This library is busy with families, especially during Summer Reading Club. We are very grateful to all our BPL staff and partner organizations for getting us back into operation so quickly.”
 A small area of the branch is closed off with barriers until the damage can be fixed more permanently.
The remainder of the space is still open for browsing, borrowing, programs, and study.
No one was seriously injured in the collision. It occurred before the branch opened Saturday morning.
Police report that:
A vehicle drove through the glass at the library on July 9 at approximately 9:00 am. I am not aware of any charges or injuries at this time.
The Gazette followed up and got this:
“Unfortunately I cannot confirm any other details. Accident reports are completed by the officer and then sent off to the Ministry so I am not able to view the report. The officer is on their 4 days off currently so I am not able to confirm with them either. From what I see there does not appear to be any evidence to support that it was a deliberate action.”
By Staff
July 7th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
| SUSTAINABLE AND MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR EVERYONE.
TRANSFORMING LIVES AND IMPROVING THE WORKFORCE AND ECONOMY.
|
|
 By Lawson Hunter
July 7th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Lawson Hunter delegated at a Standing Committee earlier today to comment in support of “Climate Resilient Burlington: A Plan for Adopting to Our Warmer, Wetter, and Wilder Weather”. He said:
To my mind, this is one of the best reports I have seen this Council receive this term. I have every confidence that this committee will accept this report. My hope is that you will embrace the messages contained within and set in motion the recommendations with the urgency and the full commitment that they require.
Unfortunately, this report comes at a time when Council is near the end of its term, a ‘near lame duck Council’. Please do what you can to see that this report does not get lost in the transition to a new term and more importantly, that the City implements many, if not all, of the plans of action.
 Lawson Hunter: “we easily forget, especially if it doesn’t affect us directly.” I have delegated to Council on more than one occasion about Mitigating Climate Change. Today, I’m here to say that I’ve turned a corner in my thinking. I still believe in Mitigation but my personal viewpoint is that we need to shift more towards Adaptation.
In 2019, Burlington City Council, along with many other municipalities in Canada, declared a “Climate Emergency”. At the time, the International Panel on Climate Change stated that we had 12 years to ‘mitigate’ climate change. Well, we’ve got 9 years left before we pass the point of no return. Nine years to keep global GHG emissions below 350 parts per million. Sorry to tell you, but we passed 410 ppm a mere four months later. The IPCC (which the report references) told us that we needed to limit average temperature level increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We’ve blown past that. We now talk about 2 degrees, or even 3 or 4 degrees by the end of the century.
The dilemma, we face is our brains protect us by pushing those events from the past further and further out of our minds as we tend to focus on our day to day activities. ‘Live in the moment’ our coaches, and trainers, and self-help gurus tell us. Well, we can’t do that anymore. Not when those “climate events” keep coming, more frequently and harder and closer to home.
Sure, Burlington experienced the Ice Storm of 2013 and the Flood of 2014. A year ago, we watched on TV the drought and fire and flood that hit B.C. And in May of this year, less than two months ago, we narrowly missed the Great Canadian Derecho that tore a path of destruction from Windsor to Quebec City. A derecho is when a thunderstorm marries a tornado and creates a hurricane on land.
We, as a global society, recovered from the long list of environmental crises but did we learn anything from them? In her book, “The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters”, Juliette Kayyem says, for the most part we did. She writes, “It isn’t that you can manage a disaster so that no harm will occur, … Essentially, we can learn to fail, more safely.”
My point is, we easily forget, especially if it doesn’t affect us directly. And even if we are affected we, “Pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, start all over again” as the song says. We take pride in Building Back Better. In a word we become ‘Resilient’.
And that brings me to my one, small uneasiness about this report. Words are important. They can spur us into action or they can lull us into complacency.
For example, in this report the word Resilience is used quite often in place of Adaptation. Resilience is described as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties”, or “the ability to cope with and recover from setbacks”, or, “to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune”.
 The impact of the 2014 flood on a Burlington basement
Climate Change is neither a difficulty, a setback or a misfortune. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. It’s not a ‘what-if’ scenario. It’s a when-it-will-strike, there will be consequences kind of thing.
The report talks a lot about ‘collaboration’ as if that were a new thing. One has to hope that the City already ‘collaborates’ with entities like Burlington Hydro, Enbridge, the RBG and other stakeholders. I respect that stakeholders were invited to the table, but the collaboration must go further than a dozen or so meetings. It must infuse the landscape. Every organization, every company, every developer, every resident, should ask themselves “Is this the best we can do to respond to a climate change event?” And, “what part can I play after a disaster has impacted my neighbours?” rather than let ‘the City’ clean up the mess.
We are fighting against a system that none of us created. A system of global off-shoring, over consumption, externalities, short-term thinking, a ‘make it-break it-toss it’ society that is leading us over a cliff. Burlington used to be, largely, self-sufficient. Broken global supply chains have shown us that that is not sustainable anymore.
I get it. Your e-mail boxes are over-flowing with residents’ complaints about garbage, about potholes, about not enough ice rinks in the city. But you know what? Those fall into the category of the short-term thinking that got us here.
We, all of us, need to have the courage to say, “Stop it for a moment.” We need to shift our focus to ‘What will the impact of our decisions today, have on future generations?”. I’ve already spoken to Council about thinking, not in 20 years, or 50 years, but using the Indigenous wisdom of ‘seven generations’. In seven generations, 200 years or so, hurricanes, drought, floods, war, famine, will all probably hit Burlington. What will we construct today that will help future generations to Adapt?
We need to commit to the recommendations in this report. We need to set priorities. We need to ensure success by directing enough of the City’s budget now and into the future towards these goals. Let me tell you, it’s going to hurt, but future generations will thank us.
We also need to acknowledge the things that we’ve done wrong, but also what we did right to respond to disasters. We can adapt to a rapidly changing environment. COVID taught us that. Will we heed that lesson?
Biologically speaking, adaptation is “a change or the process of change by which an organism, or species becomes better suited to its environment”. Not us trying to change the environment to suit our needs.
We are heading down the train track and no one’s got their hands on the brake. Here’s an example. And it is in no way a slam against Burlington Hydro. Burlington has experienced 33 power outages since January 1 of this year.
 The 2013 ice storm blocked roads for days My question is – is sixty plus outages acceptable when every house and building could have its own renewable energy source? Is 60 plus outages the new normal that we should expect? Again, I’m not blaming Burlington Hydro – it has to deal with flooding, wind storms, ice build up, drivers knocking down poles, and a few instances of preventative maintenance by the utility. Burlington Hydro is working with a system that was designed in the 1950’s, built in the 60’s and 70’s, and feeding power from a transmission system that was created some 100 years ago. Doomed to fail.
But see, there I go talking about a Mitigation to the climate change problem. It’s difficult to separate the two. We need both courses of Action. I’m here to ask you to take the next 15 or 20 minutes and really concentrate on what this city – not City (with a capital C), but the community of Burlington can do to prepare to ‘fail more safely’ because we will fail when it comes to climate change, it’s almost guaranteed.
I’m not an expert. You’ve got plenty of smart people on staff. You’ve already got a shelf full of reports, and you’ve got partnerships with good organizations with all kinds of environmental experience. What I want to impress upon you is the sense of urgency that I feel.
I don’t want Burlington to just ‘Build Back Better’. We can ‘hope for the best and prepare for the worst’ or we can prepare for the worst and hope that it never comes to that.
Take-aways:
• Don’t be lulled into complacency with aspirations and buzzwords.
• Give all City staff adequate training in first aid and disaster relief.
• Empower employees to assist and support the rest of the community, be it disaster, physical condition, mental health situation, knowing what to do and where to go in an emergency.
• Create more heating and cooling stations, and emergency shelters.
• Make floodplain maps easily accessible and support Conservation Halton’s program and frequency of new maps created.
• Instill a long-term vision in City staff, residents, local employees that we need to work together, support each other, for the common good.
• Work with developers, the largest group of game-changers, to build better, more equitably, and with robust safety features – additional stair egress, adequate fire protection and services.
• Recognize that disaster could happen at any time, in any location, and know how to respond.
• Learn to fail, more safely.
 By Staff
June 28th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
 Totally focused
C.H. Norton PS in Burlington will be open for registration during the summer for in-person registration on specific dates
Although schools are closed in July and the first three weeks of August, the Halton District School Board is offering families of elementary students the opportunity to register their child(ren) for school this summer for the start of school in September.
Registering at this time helps the Board prepare for the upcoming school year and provides students more time to become familiar with their new school.
The following elementary schools are open to families to register their Kindergarten – Grade 8 child(ren) in Halton:
• In-person registration for all elementary schools in Oakville is available at Oodenawi Public School (385 Sixteen Mile Dr, Oakville) July 11, 12, 18 and 19 from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• In-person registration for all elementary schools in Milton is available at Viola Desmond Public School (1450 Leger Way, Milton) July 14, 15, 18 and 19 from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• In-person registration for all elementary schools in Burlington is available at C.H. Norton Public School (2120 Cleaver Ave, Burlington) July 11, 12, 18 and 19 from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Families can find their local school by visiting the HDSB’s Find My Local School webpage.
 High school students taking part in a cooking class Secondary students (Grade 9-12) new to the HDSB can register for school when all secondary school offices reopen on Monday, Aug. 22. All HDSB school offices will reopen the week of Aug. 22.
Families are asked to bring the following original documents when registering:
• Proof of age: birth certificate, passport, or baptismal/faith record for your child.
• Proof of address (any two of the following documents): lease or deed, car registration, utility bill, residential telephone bill, moving bill, property tax bill, bank statement, credit card statement, correspondence with a government agency. Note: A driver’s license will not be accepted as documentation for “proof of address”.
• Proof of citizenship: birth certificate, passport, Record of Landing (IMM 1000) or Permanent Resident Card.
• If you are not the parent and your child is under 18 you must provide proof of custody (court order).
For more information, call 905-335-3665, ext. 3324 or Toll free: 1-877-618-3456.
Welcome Newcomer Families
Newcomer families ready to begin the school registration process must complete the Welcome Centre Intake Form for Registration. Families new to Ontario and who speak another language other than English are asked to complete the Where Do I Register My Child? Form to determine where the registration process begins.
The Welcome Centre will follow regular office hours (8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday to Friday) for the week of July 4. From July 11 to Aug. 18 inclusive, the operating hours will be 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday to Thursday, with the centre closed on Fridays.
The Welcome Centre is open to visitors and can offer in-person or virtual assessments on an appointment basis. Beginning Aug. 22, 2022, the Welcome Centre will return to regular office hours: Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. To book an appointment, email welcomecentre@hdsb.ca or call 905-335-3665, ext. 3440.
 By Pepper Parr
June 21st, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
The Procedural Bylaw determines what you can say and how you must say it when you are delegating before city council.
They like it that way. I will come back to that Bylaw later.
It’s a little different when citizens can put what they are thinking and feeling about the plans to purchase Bateman emails/questions posed
The following are questions that were sent to the city by residents.
 Why is the business of purchasing this property proving to be so difficult – it is really about one pocket of public money being put into a different pocket of public money. 1. Hi there,
I would like to give feedback on the project. Hope this is the correct forum.
I have lived in Burlington my entire life, I have been a volunteer in various areas from
sports to mental health.
My family [Greg/Andrea] Howard has been recognized for work in the community.
Today I am 45 years old – the last two ice arenas that have opened were Mainway in
the 1980’s / then Appleby in the 2000’s.
Our population continues to grow, our recreational infrastructure for ice sports / indoor
events does not.
Youth hockey is growing, girls and women’s hockey continues to grow, adult programs
are growing.
Arena’s are destinations, and I would bet besides the sound of music festival and
soccer fields – more visitors come to these arena’s / rec. centers than other place in
Burlington.
The “Skyway” rec center project is now used to hold city arborists equipment. We have
now reduced arenas, not grown them
The city of Burlington needs to look at this project with the inclusion of an arena. The
youth deserve it.
Hope someone can acknowledge this.
I’m happy to discuss more.
Thanks, Justin Howard
2. Turn the available land into a much needed full ice and training facility for our
youth. Ice availability in our City is not sufficient for the demand. Our youth are
shortchanged when it comes to ice sports!
Do something to make our residents proud without turning it into another pier
disaster! Dave Guluche
3. Why did the city not have a public engagement plan in place from when it decided
to pursue the acquisition of the property? Jim Thompson
4. When will the traffic studies be complete?
5. What is the plan for removing the asbestos on the site?
6. What is the plan for removing the asbestos on the site? (see above, in the
FAQs)
7. When will the traffic studies be complete?
CM-17-22
8. “What regulation prevents the release of the cost information? The city offer was
accepted by the school board so why the need for secrecy?”
9. Good Morning, I’m glad to see and very much support the proposed adaptive
reuse of Robert Bateman High School by the City of Burlington for a combination
of community and educational uses. I am particularly happy to see the relocation
of the New Appleby public library branch to a more appropriate long term home.
Thank you to city staff and council for your leadership in making this happen.
10. Why is the city rushing engagement – how much is this going to cost the city
taxpayer?
11. Why is the city not answering any questions regarding this project – who wrote
the FAQ.
12. How can a survey that was only up for one day and an information that only
lasted 90 minutes be considered as adequate public engagement?
13. There are outstanding questions that needs to be answered.
• who provided the money to purchase the property in question?
• who provided the money to build the school sitting on the property?
• In both cases it was the TAXPAYER. Therefore the TAXPAYER should receive
the money back, NOT have to “PAY AGAIN” for the City to obtain the property &
building.
• We TAXPAYERS would like these questions answered!!!
Some additional questions from the Gazette.
Why is this engagement business being handled so badly?
Is anyone in the Communications department even listening?
And that Procedural Bylaw – it gets written for Council based on what they want the bylaw to be – why isn’t this an election issue?
Why isn’t there a group people (10 or so is all it would take) to go over the document, re-write and then lobby the members of Council and put together a petition and press council until they make changes to the document.
 By Alex Larsens
June 21, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Factors Influencing The Prices of Cryptocurrencies
Over the last few years, cryptocurrencies have become popular among investors worldwide. These digital currencies are characterized by high volatility, which translates to high levels of risk. Simply put, crypto prices can experience a wide swing in both negative and positive directions.
If you are wondering about the causes of these price fluctuations, then it is a must to look into the various factors that can influence the prices of cryptocurrencies. As the use of cryptocurrencies gains more adoption, they have become intertwined with the global economy. For this reason, this guide will look into these price fluctuation drivers.
 What Drives Price Changes In Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are not backed by the government or any central authority. This ensures that they are not affected by inflation rates, as well as other monetary policies, that can affect regular fiat currencies. However, other common factors can impact crypto prices. Some of these are introduced as follows:
Demand and Supply
Just like other traditional commodities, the concept of demand and supply can affect the prices of cryptocurrencies. Take, for instance, the supply of the largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is limited to 21 million coins. As the supply of this cryptocurrency nears its limits, demand increases since the supply drops. When demand rises, the price also rises.
The Impact of crypto exchanges
There is a dramatic rise in the rate at which cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and TeslaCoin, among others, are traded. This higher rate has been followed by the introduction of a plethora of crypto exchanges on the internet. For most major tokens, which are available on many crypto exchanges, there is a rise in the number of investors that are purchasing and selling the tokens.
 For investors that are interested in swapping a cryptocurrency token with another by making use of multiple exchanges, each swap comes with a fee, which eventually increases the cost of investment.
Production Cost
To verify the authenticity of a transaction on a cryptocurrency network, there is a need for a process called mining. To reward miners, the network offers them a new cryptocurrency. In Bitcoin, for example, this is how new coins are produced. Miners are often charged with the responsibility of solving complex mathematical algorithms for the right to add a block of transactions to the public ledger, called Blockchain.
 With this effort from miners, the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies is not compromised. As the supply limit draws near – 21 million for Bitcoin – the level of mathematical algorithms that miners must solve to find and verify a block becomes much harder. The amount of energy and time that is needed to achieve this mining process might become very high.
To maintain their profit to make up for the high production costs, most miners often raise the value of cryptocurrencies. After all, it makes no sense for miners to invest more production costs into the mining process if the cryptocurrency they are rewarded is lower in value.
Government Regulation and Media Hype
The fact that cryptocurrencies cannot be controlled by a single entity scares the government. They feel that traditional FIAT currencies might be under serious threat since cryptos are more than capable to stand in as alternatives. For this reason, many governments restrict – or completely ban – the use of cryptocurrencies in their country.
For nations with a high number of crypto investors, any bad government regulation can negatively impact the value of the digital asset. Besides this, social media hype has also been known to affect cryptocurrencies by lowering and raising their values. The involvement of celebrities can also influence the adoption of cryptocurrencies, which raises demands for them and increases their values.
Conclusion
The crypto market is on the rise. However, its high volatility makes it a risky investment. For this reason, it is important to understand the various factors that can drive crypto prices while implementing the right strategy that can manage these factors.
 By Christopher Boyd
June 21st, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
One of our security service providers published a scam that is targeting Facebook users – targeted in massive phishing campaign. We share it with you. First published June 9th, 2022
Facebook is once again the launchpad for a large-scale phishing campaign, according to researchers at PIXM. The campaign, which first shows signs of life back in September 2021, has generated millions of page views and ad referral revenue “estimated to be millions of USD at this scale of operation”.
Credential harvesting on a grand scale
Researchers claim the threat actors stole one million credentials in four months to help achieve the above potential level of revenue. Aspects of the phish campaign are fairly typical of what you can expect to see from a Facebook phish, and the tactics used to spread bogus links are not particularly original. What matters most of all is that it works. When basic phishing tactics pull in so many accounts and clicks, there’s no need to overcomplicate things.
 One of the scam pages from 2021 attracted no fewer than 2.7 million users, with the number rising to about 8.5 million in 2022. This is a huge ramp-up of already significant numbers, and also perhaps a little surprising that the site avoided being taken down for abuse.
This is one phishing campaign that isn’t messing around.
How the phish worked
Unfortunately specifics are absent in a few areas, but it works as follows.
A Facebook user receives a notification in Messenger. This is, at its most basic, a rogue link.
There’s no information around whether a message accompanies it, and if so, what it says. However, something as simple as the below messages are routinely used in Facebook scams:
Seen this?
Is this you in the photo?
Guess who died?
Check this out!
The link is shortened to help bypass any Facebook spam filters. The shortening services used are commonplace, popular and entirely legitimate. This makes it trickier for Facebook to figure out if the link is potentially good or bad.
The link takes potential victims to a variety of sites but a phishing page will be the primary destination. Once phished, the victim is sent elsewhere. It could be a promotion, a survey scam, or pretty much anything else that’s ad-centric. There’s also the mention of potential malvertising pages, on top of the threat of being phished. All these links have ad trackers and other ad-related forms of revenue generation buzzing away in the background.
Current state of play
According to PIXM, the campaign is still alive and kicking. Many of the sites involved have been taken down, and one website listed in the landing page code has been “seized” in relation to an investigation. What that investigation is, and who is doing it, isn’t clear.
What is clear, is that without dedicated resources and probable law enforcement involvement, something like this will never fully go away. It’s simply too easy to keep creating spam domains, signing up as an affiliate, and generating endless shortened URLs. The (potentially exaggerated) claims of $150 for every thousand visits from the US alone from the threat actor is all the incentive they need to keep doing it. As researchers note, this figure would result in a theoretical revenue of $59M from the end of 2021 to now.
Tips to avoid Facebook phishing
 Be wary of messages which don’t follow the natural flow of a conversation. Messages sent at unusual hours or out of the blue with a link should be treated with caution.
If you’re presented with a “Login to view content” box, take a deep breath before going any further. If you’re already logged in, there should be no reason why you’d be asked to login again. Check the URL. Are you on Facebook.com, or an unrelated website?
If you’re able to, ask the sender about their message away from Facebook. Their Facebook account may have be compromised, but you probably don’t have to worry about sending them a text.
Enable 2-factor authentication (2FA). If you hand over your password to a phishing page, the phisher can’t do much with it while you’re protected with 2FA. Keep in mind that some phishing sites will also try to steal your 2FA codes.
Add login alerts to your Facebook account. If someone does compromise your login credentials and access your account, you’ll be notified by Facebook as soon as this happens.
 By Staff
June 14th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Dave Meslin has been working tirelessly to “Unlock Democracy” and change the way we elect our leaders.
He champions ranked ballots and thinks that is the way the public will get the kind of representation they deserve.
First past the post keeps the small less established political parties of the House of Commons and the provincial legislatures.
There was a time when Justin Trudeau that it was an idea worth trying – then changed his mind and put Burlington’s MP Karina Gould in front of a microphone to explain what wasn’t going to happen.
And it will never happen until the public votes the New Democrats or the Green Party into office and they “might” stand behind their promises.
Politics is about power and those who have it don’t trifle with it – they hold very tightly in their hands.
Nevertheless Meslin soldiers on. He sent us two illustrations and asked that we share them.
 For those who didn’t vote – you know who you are – you get to live with what Doug Ford is going to do to this province. Those two donuts are about as healthy as Crispy Cream donuts.
Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.
Related background:
What does Dave Meslin mean when he talks about ranked ballots?
Meslin offers a free course on the first day of every month – Click here for the link
 By Staff
June 8th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
 They fascinate almost everyone – the 7 to 11 age group wanted to hold them in their hands. You may not have heard about the Butterfly Project – but you have certainly heard about Climate Change.
How do you explain Climate Change to children between the ages of 7 and 11?
The older children get it and often become champions.
For the 7-11 set it’s a different situation. However they are the demographic that tends to be fascinated by Butterflys.
Gloria Reid and her pal Sharon Clark who are now officially Butterfly Rangers and have brought the David Susuki led initiative that started with five Canadian cities in 2017 to Burlington..
The Butterflyway Project is a volunteer-led movement that’s bringing nature home to neighbourhoods throughout Canada, one butterfly-friendly planting at a time.
They recruited a team of volunteer Butterflyway Rangers in each community. Their mission was to plant native wildflowers in yards, schoolyards, streets and parks to support bees and butterflies. The goal was to establish local “Butterflyways” by planting at least a dozen pollinator patches in each neighbourhood or community.
Over the past five years, they have recruited and trained more than a thousand Butterflyway Rangers from hundreds of communities. They’ve connected with neighbours, schools, city agencies, businesses and community groups. To date, they’ve helped:
Get 85,000+ butterfly-friendly wildflowers into the ground.
Create 6,000+ pollinator patches for wild bees and butterflies.
Establish official Butterflyways in 75 communities and neighbourhoods.
Gloria Reid and her pal Sharon decided to grow a Ranger Group in Burlington. They expect to show that a small group of residents can make a big difference. Rangers make their communities greener and healthier. They create opportunities, connect people and champion fun ideas.
Apply HERE to be a Butterflyway Ranger
You can also apply at this address.
 By Staff
June 7th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
 Community Development Halton has rescheduled the Social Location and Systems of Oppression workshop to Wednesday June 15, 2022 at 12:30pm.
If you previously registered for the original date of May 31, you have received an email with instructions; if you missed registering earlier, you can register for the new date until June 13 at 5:00pm.
 In this workshop you will walk away with:
• an understanding of your social location, systems of oppression, and common terms and how they relate to JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion;
• understanding and harnessing your power, holding power, and giving power;
• how to share power – where and how this is possible at all stages of the volunteer engagement cycle; and
• how to lead equitable volunteer programs regardless of your positional power within your organization and specific tactics to foster inclusion
WEDNESDAY JUNE 15, 2022
12:30PM – 2:00PM
Via ZOOM
Register Today at: CiviCRM | Community Development Halton (cdhalton.ca)
CDH Members: $15
Non-Members: $25
By Staff
June 1st, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
One of our correspondents set out one view on the Public Meeting that took place virtually last night with the statement:
Smoke and Mirrors adding that the “the city doesn’t have a clue what it will be doing with the space other than the 15-20% of the building ( approx 40,000 square feet) that Brock is perhaps willing to sign a 20 year lease.
The space has to be ready by September 2024, and I have to wonder if there is a clause that if the renovations are not completed in time they can simply walk away from the lease.
The parking issue was skirted around, very similar to how the city deals with parking and traffic ” We will do this in phases and the existing parking will be sufficient”. What happens when phase 2 and 3 are complete? No mention of the timeline between the 3 construction/renovation phases. I can see this going on for years and years before it becomes “the much needed community centre”.
The City has not even looked into the cost of the removal of the asbestos. They have no plans to do this until the sale is finalized. Who does this ??? – go into such a large project without knowing what the cost will be for this removal ( this will be a very expensive proposition )- as you know it can be more dangerous to remove the asbestos.
I found it interesting that in 2014 the City paid to renovate a pool that didn’t belong to the city.
The HDSB who took art in the virtual event, skirted the issue as to what it will do with Gary Allen.
No company in the private sector would go through with the purchase or renovations of Robert Bateman without having all the necessary costs involved known before acquiring the property.
 Early thinking on what the site could look like. The only thing I got out of this meeting is how much or should I say how little space Brock is going to lease and that in my opinion this is what is driving the speed in decision, especially since Tim Commisso indicated that the city is the only one interested in the Bateman Property.
At the close of the meeting City manager Commisso said “ I think the fact that this is going to create a really strong facility and legacy for our community. But it’s been a year of us trying to look ahead while also seeing what the immediacy of having to make a decision about the purchase.
I’m not going to make any apologies for the fact that we’ve done as much as we can as much due diligence, but we don’t have all of the answers that perhaps people think we might or should have. In order to make the purchase decision.
 Partly because we’re under a prescribed process that really requires us to be responsive to the school board in terms of meeting their needs. I will say the worst thing that can happen is that somehow that we weren’t involved in this process or whatever. And I won’t even speculate on what that means. But, you know, I think we made a commitment. And counsel certainly made that commitment that we would go through this process and try to do as much as we could in advance. But we don’t have all the answers. We do commit to is the process from here.
So let the design you know, what’s the community centre going to look like? What are the uses? How is that going to be done parking through zoning will all be public thing. It’s really a part of a process.
I think that we see moving forward and we hope and we encourage as many people as possible to get engaged now. Because I think at the end of the day, you know, this is a facility that we all want to be proud of. And I think by having our partners in there to really showcase I think the fact that Burlington is creating a hub here, so I’ll leave it at that.
I know I’m kind of over my comments over the time, but I just wanted to acknowledge that says that this is a unique project. It’s not like we bought a piece of land and then we started planning for it. We have to meet a prescribed timeline in order to purchase it because we’re an eligible agency. And then we have to essentially make sure that we design and program that properly. So that meets the needs of the community over the long term. In my years this has probably been the most challenging facility projects that I’ve worked on. And I’ve worked on quite a few of them.
The Gazette had two meeting taking place at the same time and has not found a way to be in two places at once.
We will review the recording a d go through the transcription we have of the event and report back real soon.
 By Staff
May 31st, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington is inviting artists, artist-led teams and community groups to submit their ideas to create art in Burlington public spaces celebrating Burlington’s diverse communities.
A total of $29,000 is available for up to eight projects, depending on the proposals submitted.
 Public art attached to the bridge on Regal Road. Proposals may include, but are not limited to murals, sound / light installations, artist designed seating, children/youth projects, temporary art projects, or artist designed crosswalks. Interactive projects are encouraged.
The public art program will support successful applicants by providing resources and staff support through the planning, installation and execution of the project. This can include connections to artists and fabricators, assistance with permits and permissions as well as general project support where applicable.
Information Session
Applicants are invited to an optional information session to learn more about this public art opportunity and the application process.
 Publicly funded art on an electric utility box at Port Nelson Park – a location that was once a major port for what was then the Township of Nelson Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 7 p.m.
Online – Please RSVP to kim@cobaltconnects.ca before June 15, 2022 for virtual meeting details.
Who Can Apply?
This opportunity is open to individual artists, artist teams, artist collectives, ad hoc groups, or arts and culture organizations, as well as partnerships and collaborations between arts and non-arts applicants. Applicants from equity-seeking groups are especially encouraged to apply. The deadline to apply is Friday, July 15, 2022.
For deadlines and more information on how to get application help and/or apply, please visit www.burlington.ca/publicart.
Timeline:
Deadline Activity
June 16 Voluntary online information session
July 15 Application deadline
By July 31 Successful artists selected; enter into a contract with the City of Burlington.
August Project development: Artists work with Public Art staff to develop and approve Detailed Project Proposal
September – December Project execution (TBD – based on individual project requirements)
 Councillor Sharman speaking to Angela Paparizo. By diverse backgrounds the city includes: seniors, youth, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour), LGBTQ2S+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, TwoSpirit) and those with disabilities.
Angela Paparizo, Manager of Arts and Culture tells the arts community: “We want your creative ideas to activate a community space and will provide project support to make it happen!
Please join us for more information on June 16 and be sure to submit your ideas by July 15. We look forward to hearing from interested artists, whether you are an emerging or established artist.”
By Staff
May 30th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
The following was passed along to us by a reader who was given the information by the city’s Communications department.
Director of Communications Kwab Ako-Adjei, Director, Corporate Communications & Engagement said:
“As with any public meeting the City holds, including virtual meetings, those in attendance will have an opportunity to ask questions. We are finalizing the details of how the questions will be asked, we will let those in attendance know at the beginning of the meeting how they can ask their questions.
“City Manager Tim Commisso will be leading the discussion along with other City staff (to be confirmed) that can speak to the project.”
 Want to see just how good those facilitating chops are. Finalizing the details the day before the event is cutting it kind of close – but better late than never.
The City Manager will lead the event – our recollection is that this will be the first time Tim Commisso will chair an event. His practice is to make a comment during a meeting.
It will be interesting to see just how good his facilitating chops are.
By Staff
May 30th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Bike Month, is being celebrated in Burlington through to the end of June.
The city sees this as an opportunity for people to try riding a bike for the first time, learn new skills, or simply have fun and connect with new people.
 Special lanes for bicycles and the speed at which vehicles travel along city roads are an ongoing concern . Riding a bike is one of the best ways to get around and explore your community. Fifty per cent of trips in Burlington can be done in a less-than 20-minute bike ride.
Burlington is once again holding a draw to give away bike racks for businesses and organizations to encourage cycling to their locations and offering a series of cycling webinars to celebrate Bike Month in Burlington.
Bike Rack Giveaway
The City, in cooperation with the Burlington Cycling Committee and the Integrated Transportation Advisory Committee, has 25 bike racks to give away this year. Each rack holds about 10 bicycles and is valued at $700. Interested parties are asked to email Dan.Ozimkovic@burlington.ca with contact information by June 15, 2022.
 Bike rack that will be given to 25 locations Selected organizations will be required to pick up and transport their bike rack to their private property and install the bike rack on a concrete pad for public use.
The City has been providing various organizations in the community, such as places of worship, small businesses and schools, with free bike racks for the past eight years.
Free Cycling Webinars
Residents are invited to learn about cycling with kids, bike maintenance, road rules and other cycling topics with the City’s free webinars.
 Basic maintenance is important
Family Biking
June 2, 7 to 8 p.m. Webinar information – Zoom link
June 20, 7 to 8 p.m. Webinar information – Zoom link
 Knowing the rules of the road Basic Bike Maintenance
June 13, 7 to 8 p.m. Webinar information – Zoom link
June 26, noon to 1 p.m. Webinar information – Zoom link
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