 By Pepper Parr
September 28th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 The three-term Progressive Conservative premier has long triggered Tories who feel he’s drifted too far to the mushy middle of the political spectrum due to his reliance on public-opinion polling. The Ontario Hospital Coalition wasn’t wrong when they said the provincial government wanted to privatize the current health care service.
Project Ontario, a group of people who want to see changes in the way the provincial government operates, said recently that they are advocating for an expansion of privately delivered health care and smaller government at Queen’s Park.
The group is just talking at this point. With Doug Ford’s polling numbers at 52%, it’s going to be an uphill slog to being about any change at the Progressive Conservative Party annual event later this year.
Related news story:
Ontario Hospital Coalition sounds a warning
 By Pepper Parr
September 26th, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
Ontario has an organization called the Property Tax Alliance (PTA)
 When they learned that the Alberta government had tasked its municipalities with limiting property tax increases, they jumped on that bandwagon and went after the Ontario Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs, asking that it do the same thing in Ontario.
The PTA is asking its members to write or contact the Hon. Rob Flack, your MPP and your municipal Councillors.
Ask them to follow Alberta’s lead and get Ontario municipal property tax increases back down in line with inflation (using annual inflation as a proxy for the growth in incomes). Tell them to address the growing property tax affordability crisis in Ontario.
Tell them you want much greater efficiency and effectiveness in your municipal government’s operations.
Tell them to dramatically reduce the ever-growing lists of costly discretionary and nice-to-have municipal services. They need to get back to basics.
Our municipalities don’t have revenue problems – they have spending problems.
 The number at the top of the 2026 Budget change column – 5.86% is how much taxes will be increased over what the 2025 tax rate was.
Ontario homeowners can’t afford the runaway costs of their municipal governments. Defaults and arrears are rising. Ontario municipalities have no competition. They are abject monopolies with absolute pricing power and no accountability. This is a recipe for disaster!
Burlington has had its property taxes increase by more than 40% during the term of office of the current city Council.
The disaster for Burlington has already taken place. Mayor Meed Ward is telling constituents that the tax increase for 2026 will be 5.8% – and that it could be higher.
 By Gazette Staff
September 20th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The city is seeking individuals with experience in bylaws, bylaw enforcement, and/or public service to join an Appeals Committee, which hears appeals from decisions made by the City related to licensing.
The Appeals Committee is a quasi-judicial body appointed by Burlington City Council to:
- Hear appeals against decisions issued by the City under the City’s Licensing Bylaws. This includes decisions to refuse, revoke, suspend, or add terms and conditions of a business license. The Appeals Committee will decide whether to uphold the decision and/or apply conditions; and
- Hear appeals against orders issued by the City under the City’s Property Standards Bylaw, as amended and under subsection 15.2(2) of the Building Code Act. The Appeals Committee will decide whether to confirm, modify or rescind an order to demolish or repair, or extend the time for complying with the order.
We are seeking individuals with experience in bylaws, bylaw enforcement, and/or public service to join Appeals Committee, which hears appeals from decisions issued by the City related to licensing. Apply by Sept. 24th.
Meeting Frequency
Appeals Committee meetings will be scheduled once a month. Additional meetings may be added to the regularly scheduled meeting calendar if required.
Committee Composition
The Appeals Committee consists of three (3) to five (5) members of the public.
Appointed member terms will be four years from the date of appointment to coincide with the term of Council. Members hold office until their successors are appointed.
Key Qualifications
In addition to the general eligibility requirements outlined in the Public Appointment Policy, preference will be given to members of the public with experience in business by-laws, by-law enforcement, public service, community engagement, or governance. Candidates should demonstrate proficiency in legislative interpretation and sound judgment and preferably have prior experience on a committee or task force, with a sustained commitment to community well-being.
Remuneration
Members receive $80 per meeting
Chair receives $100 per meeting
Apply online
Deadline: Sept. 24, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.
Questions? Email clerks@burlington.ca
By Pepper Parr
September 19th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Citizens get to see the Blue Print for the City Budget – Actual Budget goes public on the 24th of October
The first of the six budget meetings that will be held in each city ward took place Thursday night at the Haber Community Centre.
Thirteen people were reported to have taken part.
 Mayor Meed Ward took the meeting through a 40-page document called the Budget Blue Print..
 Mayor Meed Ward and Councillor Paul Sharman explaining the budget to a small audience. When it came to explaining the numbers, Sharman did all the talking. Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman stood beside Mayor Meed Ward throughout the 90 minute meeting. Sharman pointed out that he is an accountant (not sure that he actually has a designation)and could explain the details for those who needed help. Mayor Meed Ward has never been a strong numbers person.
We will publish an exchange of views between Ward 4 resident Eric Stern and Councillor Sharman on some of the budget numbers in a separate article.
Sharman sees the process the city goes through as a Tax bill versus Budget – different things. It is not more complex than that.
Actually, it is more complex than that.
Set out below are two tables. The first is where the money comes from, where it is going and what the tax increase is in terms of dollars and percentages.
The second table is the timeline the budget process will follow.
 By Burlington Gazette
September 16th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 The Hon.Chrystia Freeland Chrystia Freeland resigned from Cabinet today.
She said in her announcement that she would remain the MP for her riding but would not run in the next election
In her statement, which is set out below, she said that it was time for her to leave Cabinet.
And indeed it was time. Her involvement in the decision not to come clean on her part in the $1 billion loan the Canada Infrastructure Bank made to China to build two ferries for the British Columbia was going to blow up sooner or later.
Prime Minister Carney didn’t want that sword in Leader of the Opposition Pierre Poilievre’s hands.
 She was tough, a little smarmy at times. On December 16, 2024, the day she was scheduled to deliver her Fall Economic Statement before the 44th Canadian Parliament, she resigned from Trudeau’s cabinet following policy clashes between her and Trudeau. Her resignation led to a cabinet shuffle, calls for a vote of no confidence from opposition parties, and Trudeau’s eventual resignation as prime minister and party leader the following month. Her decision was the start of a process that resulted in Justin Trudeau resigning and Mark Carney being named to the job of Prime Minister by the Liberal Party and then being elected as the Prime Minister shortly after. Her Memoir, if she chooses to write one, would be an instant best seller
More detail in a follow-up.
Freeland resignation letter
 By Tom Parkin
September 16th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 Beating Doug Ford’s communications strategy will require some tough message discipline from the Ontario NDP, starting with setting the story.
On most tested issues, large majorities of Ontarians give poor marks to the Doug Ford PCs, but 45 per cent say they would vote PC anyway, according to an Angus Reid poll released Friday.
 The bottom 12 are pocketbook issues – Ford doesn’t rate well in any of them. That group who rate the PCs poorly yet support them electorally is the mysterious key to Doug Ford’s continuation as Ontario premier.
Unravelling that mystery is the opposition’s central challenge, and that job now falls to Marit Stiles and her Ontario NDP after the Ontario Liberals’ implosion at their weekend convention.
Until yesterday the Ford PCs had the advantage of being able to pick their preferred competitor between two opponents. The PCs picked Crombie and spent heavily on advertising, driving up her negatives, greatly increasing awareness of her, and driving the narrative, eagerly encouraged by the Toronto Sun and key Toronto Star writers, that Crombie’s Liberals were the main threat to the PC Party.
As an opponent, Crombie offered three things: few ideological reasons to prefer her over him; high negatives the PCs could drive higher; and the Liberals’ horrible vote inefficiency.
Framing Ontario politics as a choice between Ford and Crombie goes some way to explaining how only 27 per cent believe Ontario is on the right track but 45 per cent would vote for the PC party, according to Angus Reid.
 Marit Stiles now has a second chance to tackle the root problem, which is Ford’s media dominance. The Liberals’ disarray will at least temporarily disrupt the presumption that the main threat to the PCs comes from the Ontario Liberals, allowing the NDP’s Stiles a new chance to redefine the Ontario political narrative, with herself in the role of main protagonist against Doug Ford.
But it won’t be easy. The end of Ford’s ability to pick his preferred competitor is no guarantee Stiles can cast herself in the key role opposite Ford. It is possible Ford can continue as an unopposed political force in a unipolar media environment.
Ford floods the media zone with opinionated comment, often on issues not in his bailiwick. But whether he is excusing vandalism of municipal speed-check machines, asking the federal government for U.S.-style “castle laws,” or attacking a school board trustee in Tiny Township, Doug Ford dominates as a news source.
As a result, only four per cent can’t state an opinion of Doug Ford while 36 per cent don’t know enough about Stiles to make a judgement, according to Angus Reid.
But Stiles’ low voter awareness is a symptom, which is why a previous attempt to fix it with a name recognition advertising campaign did not work. Stiles now has a second chance to tackle the root problem, which is Ford’s media dominance.
In the United States, debate over how to counter a flood-the-zone strategy has taken several directions. Some focus on the strategy’s ability to sensationalize media, and put an emphasis on — oh so gently, of course — reminding some reporters that journalism is a lot more than writing down the comments of government leaders or dressing up planted partisan gossip as accidental information leaks.
Another direction, recently used with some success by California Governor Gavin Newsom, has been to troll the absurdity and inanity frequently deployed to keep the zone fully flooded.
And there is redirection. Flooding the zone generates white noise and redirects media and voters to minor themes, obscuring the big story.
A counter-tactic of pivoting from the latest distraction to the big story could put Ford on the defence and create policy contrast opportunities. But the challenge is being able to articulate the One Big Story. The U.S. Democrats, in their leaderless ideological and policy incoherence, have been unable to rally around one story.
 Nothing strategic in this stunt. Basically all Ford has is stunt after stunt. Uniting around the big story takes research, personal-political work, fieldwork and discipline. There’s a lot to be done and though the Liberals are in shambles now, they will come back if the opportunity is open long.
Angus Reid’s data points to one pillar of strength for the Ford PCs. Among the 15 issues tested, only on the province’s relationship with Ottawa do a majority find the Ford PCs have done a good job.
But if a good relationship simply means not fighting with Ottawa, perhaps Ford is only getting over a low-set bar and expectations should be raised.
This spring Prime Minister Carney asked premiers to recommend nation-building projects. Doug Ford’s response was poor for Ontarians and a bit offensive to Carney’s offer.
Ford requested federal help building his fantasy tunnel under highway 401, a silly idea that made Carney’s entire nation-building concept look dumb. And while developing the Ring of Fire is important, Ford pushing it on the feds after seven years of making zero progress is throwing his mess onto Ottawa’s lap. It’s actually quite disrespectful.
A better provincial partner would seek federal help on a plan to revive Ontario’s industrial base in a province where 800,000 Ontarians are now jobless. But Ford doesn’t appear to believe there’s a jobs problem, judging from his recent comments blaming unemployed workers for their unemployment. So Ontario has no plan to revive the manufacturing sector.
 Tell the big story about what’s wrong with Ontario. A stronger Ontario partner with a plan to strengthen manufacturing innovation, productivity and investment could ask for federal policy co-ordination to bolster its effectiveness. But there is no plan and Ottawa can’t co-ordinate with a plan that doesn’t exist.
A better partner that wants to keep forward momentum on health care might also seek to sign a pharmacare deal with Ottawa, an idea the Ford PCs have let drop. Four other jurisdictions have signed deals which financially help individuals and businesses while expending coverage.
Kicking down the one strong pillar of Ford’s support might be easier than thought and could combine well with an effort to tell the big story about what’s wrong with Ontario, and why it doesn’t get fixed. Doug Ford should figure prominently in that story because he does.
 By Mark Gillies
January 15, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington is using the month of August to celebrate local history. Sometime ago the Gazette published a series of articles by Mark Gillies, a lifelong Burlingtonian. It is appropriate to re-publish the stories about the people who built this city. This is part two of the Spencer Smith story.
Spencer Smith got to Canada as part of the immigration of British children into Canada and Australia. The children were shipped from England by well meaning people but there were some horrific abuses and I believe it is necessary to expand the Spencer Smith story and learn more about how these boys who, without their consent became indentured servants. They were referred to as “Home Children”.
The poem Spencer Smith wrote, it was included in part 1, aches with the longings of a man who missed so much of a natural childhood.
 Home children on a dock in St. John NB – waiting for trains to take them east. The concept of Home Children started with honourable intentions; with good people trying to salvage young children from a parent-less home, or incredible poverty. Relocate them to a better life in Canada or Australia, that’s all they had to do. What’s the problem with that?
What made the idea work, was that farmers in Canada and Australia faced a severe labour shortage. They had recently immigrated themselves from Europe, cleared their fields, and grew their crops. Only problem was, who was going to do the harvesting, tend to the fields, feed the animals, and everything else that farmers do in this difficult labour intensive profession?
They didn’t have anybody to help. Governments were perplexed as well; those in Canada and Australia were more than happy to bring in immigrants to open up land and create farms. Sometimes they even gave them free land and supplies, but governments overlooked one part of the equation. Who is going work these large farms? They desperately needed a solution, and quickly.
 No doubt about it, everyone at the time believed this was a “WIN-WIN” situation. Spencer Smith’s story was a perfect example of one that seemed to have a happy ending.
Featherstone Martindale & Spencer Smith.
Spencer Smith’s sponsor was Featherstone Martindale from Caledonia. If you have ever been to Caledonia, it seems that about every third person you meet has the last name Martindale. They are a fantastic local family and they show up everywhere in Caledonia. Featherstone was born in 1848 in Haldimand County. Featherstone must not have been impressed by his first name, because he always went by the name Fred. He was a good honest man and a hardworking farmer who desperately needed help on his farm. Fred over the years became a father of 8 children and had married 3 times.
The Farmer’s Wife in Spencer’s Poem
In Spencer’s poem, he speaks of the farmer’s wife who influenced him. Spencer was referring to Eliza Mary Shult, who was Fred’s second wife. His first wife Eliza Jane Anderson died in 1881 after giving birth to a daughter named Ann. Fred married Eliza Mary Shult on January 8, 1883, and the new couple proceeded to have 7 children, the first born was Frederick who died in early 1884. Then another son named Featherstone was born in late 1884, and another 5 children were born between 1886 and 1895. In 2 quick years from 1883 to 1885 Eliza had married, and brought along her own small son named Wilfred McBride who was 5 years old from her previous marriage, when her first husband John McBride died from tuberculosis in 1879.
Spencer arrived on the farm May 21st, 1885 when Eliza Mary was just 28 years old. She was quite a busy young lady herself by the time he stepped down from the carriage. This young lady seems quite remarkable to me, since she still had some extra maternal time to still dote on young Spencer, something that helped shape his life.
 Eliza Mary Shult, the second wife of Featherstone Martindale had a huge influence on Spencer Smith, and he fondly recalls about her in his poem written in 1911. I’m sure old Fred would be quite crusty at times, and probably scared the lads half to death many more times, but Spencer’s poem has a softer edge to it, especially towards Eliza Mary. Eliza Mary died in 1895 from complications of the birth with her last child George Martindale. By this time, young Spencer had already left the Martindale farm. If Spencer actually stayed the full 3 years until he was 18, his servitude would come to an end in January 1888. After the death of Eliza Mary, Fred married a spinster named Margaret Anna Peart in 1907.
The Peart family in Caledonia, which is very large in number, just like the Martindale’s is somehow linked to the Peart family in Burlington, my guess is they are probably cousins. It’s only speculation, but the Jacob Peart farm in Burlington is on the land now occupied by Fortinos, Sears and Ikea, so maybe there was a connection for Spencer Smith to come to Burlington, especially if it was initiated through the Peart families in Caledonia and Burlington. The Peart farm was located directly across Plains Road from the Bell homestead. We’ll never know for sure, but we can at least think about it.
Spencer Smith was quite fortunate and did not face some of the severe hardships that other Home Children experienced. Far too many faced a certain hell of an existence.
The Truth about the British Home Children in Canada
Here’s what really happened to most of the British Home Children.
 This became an economic issue more than anything else. It was strictly a case of supply and demand. Most of these organizations were faced with a huge demand. They had great difficulty in meeting the demand by farmers and governments in Canada and Australia. It was stated at one time that there were 10 applications for every child. So what were they going to do? The answer was simple. Start rounding up any child who potentially was wayward and lived in the area that was to be scoured for recruits. Overly simplified, absolutely, but not by much.
The fact remains, that the original concept was for orphaned children. The reality was that only 2% were orphans. The rest were children in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s true that during these times some parents had great economic problems, perhaps they were unemployed or seriously ill, and they had no choice but to hand over their children to a workhouse, or some other care facility until they could get back on their feet and then bring their children home. The truth is, these organizations to help meet the demand, decided to ship them overseas without their parents’ consent. Most of these children had no idea what was happening to them. The parents did not know either. The children never realized that they would never see their family again.
 Dr. Thomas Barnardo was a very controversial character, and was responsible for exporting thousands and thousands of British children out of England and relocating them mainly in Australia and Canada. Here he is in 1905 leading the Founder’s Day Parade shortly before his death that same year. The largest organization was run under the management of its controversial founder Dr. Thomas Barnardo. He somehow convinced the Canadian and Australian Governments to take these children. Once that was established, then other organizations like the Shaftesbury Homes, the Salvation Army, churches, and others also jumped on the bandwagon. Probably, none of these add on organizations realized that down the road, this program was going to spiral way out of control, and thousands and thousands of small children were going to be totally exploited in this moneymaking scheme to supply cheap child labour to Canadian and Australian farmers. You can dress it up any way you want, citing testimonial cases that turned out good, reminding people that they were paid a small amount, some orphans were adopted by loving families, but in my opinion, the bare bones reality was: Canada, Australia and England were totally involved in a repulsive child slavery program.
Whatever happened to the other 32 boys who made the trip to Hamilton?
When I researched for information on the other 32 boys that made the trip to Canada with Spencer Smith, only about 2 boys continued to surface on available records. The Flamborough Historical Society has documented one of these Home Children. That boy went on to marriage, become a father and worked as a market garden farmer in Aldershot. He turned out okay.
Spencer Smith turned out okay. The others, they completely disappeared. We know some could have been adopted and had their surnames changed. As an outsider, it is basically impossible to track them. We already know that conditions for some children were so severe that they continually ran away from the farms they were working on, and many were beaten to a pulp when they were caught and returned. We know with documentation as proof that over two thirds of all the British Home children were beaten severely. We know that many of these children were not allowed to become part of the family that was caring for them.  They were forced to live in exclusion on the farmer’s property, and not interact with the farmer’s own children or have any friends of their own. They were not loved or nurtured in any way. We know that they were constantly tormented and bullied by other children at local schools, and even adults participated in this human degradation of these children. We know that many just eventually disappeared. Where you ask?
My guess is some were probably murdered when they were beaten so severely by the farmers, and when authorities came around they just claimed that they ran away. Some children because of horrific living conditions probably became so ill, that they died on the farm, and were quietly buried on the property so as not to draw any suspicion. Others may have committed suicide, and became nothing more than John or Jane Does stashed away in a local morgue, waiting for no one to identify them. Whatever the reason, they’re gone, and we don’t know have explanations. Have a look at this story that appeared in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix newspaper on April 23, 1930 about a young British Home Child boy named Arthur Godsall who was savagely beaten on a farm in Campbellford by farmer William Albert Hay, age 37.
 Albert had just arrived from England with many other British Home children and they all disembarked at Halifax from the ship Albertic on March 17, 1930.
Albert made his way to the Hay’s farm in Campbellford, and less than a month after he arrived he endured this beating and was finally rescued. That’s just one tragic story, there were thousands of stories just like this. One boy was forced to live outside in the dog house with the farm dog. The farmer fed the dog table scraps, and if the dog was full and if by chance there was any dog food left over, it was for the boy to scavenge. Not to mention that this same farmer viciously beat the boy almost daily. Eventually, he was removed from the farm, and as far as I know this farmer did not face any charges. This is unbelievable, but true. This happened in Canada. If you do some basic internet research, you will find these stories and many more.
What’s really disturbing is just how low profile this tragic event in human history was, and just how little we know of it now. But, it is becoming more widely known, and just recently as victims have finally come forward. In Australia for example, the Australian Government were finally brought to their knees by a public outcry after the public learned the truth from these victims, and the government brought forth an apology for their involvement in this hair-brained scheme. Also, the British Government were totally embarrassed by previous governments’ involvement in this tragic situation also came forth with an apology offered by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown. And what about the Canadian Government?
 Where do we stand? Sadly, and unfortunately, the Canadian Government has essentially taken the position that this isn’t really a big deal, and no apology is warranted or forthcoming, even though they backed and encouraged this form of child slavery and abuse under the guise of helping disadvantaged children. Personally, I think that Jason Kenney the Cabinet Minister responsible for these remarks was not that well informed on the situation when confronted with the apology question, and consequently brushed it off as unimportant. I encourage you to contact Burlington’s local Federal Member of Parliament, Mr. Mike Wallace, who is a very decent man, and please voice your concern. I would like to think that Mike can champion this cause and help us get this apology from the Canadian Government. It’s long overdue, and it’s the right thing to do.
Here’s how to reach Mike Wallace, Member of Parliament: Burlington Mall Office, 777 Guelph Line, Suite 209, Burlington, Ont. L7R 3N2. T: 905-639-5757 or F: 905-639-6031
House of Commons, East Block, Suite: 115, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6
T: (613) 995-0881; F: (613) 995-1091 or email, mike.wallace@parl.gc.ca
There is an incredible website on the British Home Children. https://canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/
It tells the whole story of the plight of these exploited children. It will break your heart to read and watch some of the videos made by former Home Children, these men and women who are now elderly, who have finally broken their silence to tell the real story of what happened to them. The website also has a form that can be signed. It is a petition to persuade the Canadian Government to offer an apology to these unfortunate people, many still alive in Canada, and still suffering mental anguish.
Add the website to your “Favourites”. It is quite large and takes a fair bit of time to go through it properly, so you will likely have to go back several times. The website also is constantly updated with more unbelievable stories about this shameful part of our Canadian past.
 By Pepper Parr
August 6th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
For those who grouse about how little Liberal MP Karina Gould does – listen up
 Karina Gould: Burlington MP She chairs the House Finance Committee, which will have a compact schedule in the fall.
The House Finance Committee faces pre-budget time crunch ahead of fall tabling of the budget
The amount of influence the House Finance Committee can have on a government budget is debatable, say observers, who note the fall schedule could provide an opportunity to adjust the process.
If anyone has the skill set to change a process – take a close look at what Gould will be doing.
She is an expert on House Committee rules – watch for some changes.
A new Prime Minister leading a government that has dedicated itself to re-directing the economy from the north-south that we have lived with for several decades to something that is much more east west and looking for opportunities in Europe and South East Asia will mean a budget that will look a lot different.
Putting a budget together while the country deals with a less-than-stable Donald Trump, who has more than he expected in the way of his own personal troubles, on his plate means being both cautious and bold.
 By Pepper Parr
August 6th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Disruption is not something new that began around 2000. It is an elemental part of every economy – defined as significant changes in the economic environment that can lead to instability, unemployment, or shifts in industry.
 You could sell anything anywhere: The service killed the very profitable classified advertising section in just about all the daily newspapers. We are just experiencing this disruption much more frequently. When Craigslist was introduced, it resulted in the end of classified advertising in newspapers which eventually led to the end of thousands of daily newspapers and the introduction of online newspapers; the Gazette was the first to appear in Burlington.
Uber meant almost the end of traditional taxi service. There are dozens of other examples.
Some levels of society don’t lend themselves to any disruption all that easily.
Public education is one example. Teacher unions have a huge impact on the kind of changes that get made. One of the positive things that came out of the 2020 pandemic was that teachers were forced to use digital applications to teach students virtually when classrooms were closed. There are those that think we no longer need teachers; that computer applications can do it all. Maybe. The need to have one-on-one interactions and teachers at the head of a classroom answering questions is going to be hard to do away with.
But what about the municipal sector? Is there room for major disruption?
The difficulty at the municipal level is not so much the unions but the grip that the municipal mindset and culture, that is deeply ingrained, has on what gets done. And things don’t happen all that quickly in the municipal sector. Add to all that the organizational structure with elected people at the very top. Burlington has a very small city council given the size of the city. The current council has been in for two terms and the residents could end up with the same seven; less than 30% of the voters bother to show up.
Where can disruption take place?
Some municipalities use a Reference Panels and Citizens’ Assemblies approach to making decisions. A firm is brought in to create a panel that is representative of the makeup of the community with balance including gender, income, education age. Issues are put before this panel jury and they come up with a recommendation that a city council is expected to adhere to or give really good reasons for not following the recommendation.
The Halton Regional government has used MASSlb very effectively. Burlington chose not to use any outside help and instead chose to use the IAP2 model. And look where that got us.
 It was the Promise to the Public section that grates on the minds of many people. There will be more on this. Let’s see how the Gazette readership responds.
By Gazette Staff
July 7th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Mayoral Decision
In accordance with subsection 284.3 and 284.16 of the Municipal Act, 2001 (the “Act”), I, Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of Burlington, hereby directs the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to:
1) With direction from the Mayor and in consultation with the CAO, and Deputy Mayor of Strategy and Budgets, prepare a summary of the draft 2026 Budget for Council and public consultation and input;
 I, Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of Burlington, hereby directs the Chief Financial Officer … 2) Prepare the 2026 Budget, considering feedback from the community, members of Council in both their Council and Deputy Mayor roles, input from the Deputy Mayor of Strategy and Budgets, the needs identified in the 2026 financial needs and multi-year forecast (Financial Forecast) and direction from the Mayor; and
3) Ensure any proposed changes to budget (increases or decreases) are done in accordance with the overall objective of inflation plus infrastructure, with a target tax of 3.5% inclusive of Region, with the City portion of the total tax rate less than 3%, while adhering to the following four principles that balance providing for today while preparing for our future:
a. Affordability
b. Livability
c. Sustainability
d. Transparency
This direction takes effect following Council’s vote July 15, 2025 and remains in effect until modified or revoked.
The Motion had an addendum attached to it:
Under Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, which amended the Municipal Act, 2001 (the Act) I Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of the City of Burlington, hereby decide that, with respect to the 2026 Budget:
1) I will not exercise the power to veto under subsection 284.16(4) of the Municipal
Act, 2001; and
2) This Mayoral Decision provides written notice under subsection 284.16(4) of the Municipal Act, 2001, and subsection 7(7) of O. Reg. 530/22 to shorten the 10-day period to veto an amendment resolution passed by City Council to the proposed budget, to the date of council’s final deliberations and vote on amendments to the budget.
By Joseph Gaetan
July 7th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Having followed the Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting this morning, it was impossible to ignore the emotional weight carried by the young swimmers in attendance. Their long, sad faces told a story that no statistics or procurement policy can truly convey. The decision by the City of Burlington to deny the Burlington Aquatic Devilrays (BAD) pool time has had a tangible and heartbreaking impact.
 Members of BAD – not looking very pleased with what they were hearing. Beyond the procedural and legal questions, the human cost of this decision is quickly becoming irreparable. BAD is home to approximately 400 swimmers, with an additional 100 on a waiting list. These are not just numbers—they represent children, families, and years of commitment to a sport that thrives on stability and community. With the shift to Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club (GHAC), many of these young athletes now face uncertainty, possible exclusion, and disrupted athletic development.
GHAC’s model appears to depend on absorbing swimmers from BAD in order to fulfill contract requirements. This has led to a situation that one councillor aptly described as a ‘zero-sum game’—where one club’s gain is another’s loss, and in this case, the most immediate and vulnerable losers are the children. Some families have already begun to exit BAD simply because they can’t wait for clarity. That is the real damage, and it is already happening.
It also remains unclear whether the Request for Proposals (RFP) approach was appropriate for this type of community service. There were hints from many that a negotiated process might better serve the community. As it stands, staff have entered into what appears to be a binding agreement with GHAC, while BAD may well have a legal basis for judicial review in Superior Court. If the City can find a resolution outside of court, it would likely result in fewer losers and a faster path to healing.
Key questions remain unanswered:
-
- Why was the RFP process used instead of a negotiated renewal?
- Would renewing BAD’s contract have caused less disruption and harm to swimmers?
- Will the GHAC model result in significantly higher program fees for families?
- Most importantly: if BAD’s application was never opened, how could the City disqualify the bid based solely on a document that does not exist under Ontario’s nonprofit regulations?
 Kimberly Calderbank This last question strikes at the core of the issue. If the rejection was based on a misinterpreted or impossible requirement, it suggests a critical failure in process and oversight. BAD submitted a valid Certificate of Status—the only up-to-date, official proof of incorporation available. Still, their application was dismissed out of hand.
What is at stake is not just pool time, but trust—between the city and its residents, between young athletes and their mentors, and between elected officials and the community. Rebuilding that trust will take time, humility, and, most importantly, action.
The city must act quickly and decisively to mitigate harm and restore confidence in its leadership.
 By Pepper Parr
July 7th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The impact the resignation of Haassan Basit as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) has yet to be felt. It will turn out to be much stronger and more damaging than most people realize.
Basit had a strong working relationship with a Mayor Meed Ward when he was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Halton Conservation Authority.
 Haassan Basit brought a new level of staff organization to the City. General Managers were named Commissioners. When the city manager position opened up (Tim Commiso decided not to renew his contract) Haassan Basit applied for the job. He was hired.
The only person a city Council hires is the City Manager. The City Manager does all the staff hiring.
The City Manager hires city staff, organizes that staff into effective operational units and prepares a budget telling Council what will be needed to keep the city running and deliver all the programs City Council decides on.
The relationship between a city manager and a Mayor is unique.
When Tim Dobbie was City Manager and Rob MacIsaac Mayor, City Hall was a very smooth operation. Dobbie knew what Council wanted better than some of the Council members; he worked very very closely with MacIsaac.
Roman Martiuk was the City Manager when Cam Jackson was Mayor
 Rick Goldring served as a two term Mayor, first elected as mayor in 2010, and then for a second term in 2014. He was a member of Council representing ward 5. Rick Goldring, who defeated Jackson, started with Roman Martiuk and ended up with James Ridge. In between Jeff Fielding served as City Manager for close to three years, then left to work with Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of Calgary
One rarely sees this kind of senior-level change in the private sector.
Which brings me around to the relationship Mayor Meed Ward had with Haassan Basit. He was her choice for the City manager that was to replace Tim Commisso.
Meed Ward had worked closely with Haassan when he was CEO of Conservation Halton (CH). Basit did some very good work at CH. The hope was that he would bring about bring some of that to Burlington.
It didn’t work out that way.
Someone said that there were 80 applications for the job of City Manager – no one ever fact checked that number.
Mayor Meed Ward had no time for James Ridge. Her very first act as Mayor, once she was sworn in, was to call a Special Meeting of Council and have them agree to fire Ridge. Most of that meeting would have been closed and the public will never know what the vote was.
With Ridge gone Meed Ward was free to look for a new City Manager. She invited Tim Commisso, who we understand she didn’t know all that well, for coffee – that led to his being named as Interim City Manager. Commisso was, for the most part easy to get along with. He can be tough, Sheila Jones and Bryn Neally learned that when they were both let go at the same time. Why were they let go? – that story has yet to come out.
 Tim Commisso texting while Mayor Meed Ward looks on – the relationship was in tatters at this point. When Meed Ward made an unfortunate remark at an Ontario Big City Mayors group (OBCM) about her dissatisfaction with Commisso – it didn’t take long for that to get back to Commisso. Despite being given a very significant salary increase weeks before, Commissio advised the Mayor that he would not be renewing his contract.
What had become clear is that Marianne Meed Ward does not have the experience or character needed to work with dedicated professionals in a way that allows them to do the job they were hired to do.
Meed Ward must have thought Hassaan Basit would work out – they had worked together at Conservation Halton where he was Chief Executive Officer
He had a very strong relationship with environmental people at Queen’s Park and had an excellent relationship with Premier Doug Ford.
 Basit wasn’t with the city long enough to determine if the direction he was taking was going to make a difference. Was Haassan Basit recruited by the province? Or had he gotten to the point where he had enough of Meed Ward and went after a new opportunity? The role he will play at Queen’s Park is one that didn’t exist before he was hired.
Hassaan leaves the city early in August. The Mayor will now look for an Interim while Council advertises and looks for a new Chief Executive Officer. Mayor Meed Ward put a nice spin on Basit leaving. Don’t expect an exit conversation to take place between those two.
The hiring of a new CAO is a process that takes as much as six months – by that time the city council members will have begun the process of getting themselves re-elected.
The size of the pool of Ontario city managers that Burlington can draw upon is very small – and they all know each other.
It is reasonable to expect that applicants will want to wait until after the municipal election to submit applications.
The administration of the city is going to be bumpy, perhaps for as much as a year. Not what Burlington needs at this point in time.
It gets worse. The city has some very talented people with significant municipal experience. Some of those may begin wondering if Burlington is the place for them to continue developing their careers. Municipalities poach talent from each other all the time.
Jamie Tellier and Nick Anastasopoulos have shown how two departments can work hand in hand with each other and produce superb results. Will those two be polishing resumes – have they had phone calls?
Chad McDonald, Chief Information Officer, who heads up Digital Services, a department that has experienced huge growth. has done some sterling work – I’d be surprised if he hasn’t already had offers – there are private sector corporations that would love to have some of this man’s talent on their team.
The resignation of CAO Hassaan Basit and the messy situation on the allocation of pool time will have an impact that might not be immediately understood. That issue should have been on his desk; no mention so far on what, if any role, Basit played in the decision that was made.
 This might be the way some people see the City of Burlington. Burlington is getting to become a bit of a joke amongst senior civic administrators across the province – not something career civic servants will want to highlight on their resumes.
Anyone thinking of applying for the CAO job will think twice about jumping in – there are greener fields elsewhere.
Municipal level gossip is big – city managers all know each other – they tend to move from city to city every five years. The Tim Dobbie city manager model worked well – these men, and they were mostly men at that time, spent decades with a Mayor. Rob MacIsaac served as the Mayor of Burlington for three consecutive terms, from 1997 to 2006; Dobbie was with him every step of the way.
That model hasn’t been seen for some time.
Senior staff begin to wonder if Burlington is the place to build a career
Their mindsets move from doing some great thinking to – is this a good place for me to grow my career?
Is this all the result of Mayor Marianne Meed Ward’s leadership?
 By Staff
June 16, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Originally published by Logic,
Mark Carney wants to “build, baby, build” to fix Canada’s housing crisis—but supply alone can’t fix affordability. Decades of underinvestment have left the federal government devoid of expertise on how to effectively fund housing, creating major challenges for a housing boom.
The numbers are daunting. The government plans to create a new federal housing entity to help construct 500,000 homes per year by 2035, and will spend $10 billion to finance organizations that build affordable homes.
The federal government wants to build an unprecedented 500,000 homes per year, but decades absent from the business of building means that expertise now lies with provinces and cities
Canada’s housing supply is overwhelmingly owned by the private sector, with a lack of social housing pushing up prices and dragging down productivity. To change that, experts say Carney must be strategic about what type of home—not just how many—are built.
Carney says the government wants to get “back into the business of building affordable homes.” That business peaked in the 1970s, when the government poured money and resources into boosting Canada’s housing market. In 1976, construction began on a record 273,203 homes—a number the country has never reached since, despite the population tripling. Back then, almost half of those housing starts benefited from some form of public funding.
 The building frenzy was overseen by the federal government’s housing Crown corporation, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The 1970s housing boom had two crucial factors that Carney is trying to revive: big federal funding and a lot of social housing developments.
The building frenzy was overseen by the federal government’s housing Crown corporation, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). By the 1980s, its presence was vast, with about 90 offices across the country. Steve Pomeroy, executive advisor and industry professor at McMaster University’s Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative adds that working relationships with social housing organizations also resulted in the construction of roughly 25,000 affordable homes per year from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
 Steve Pomeroy, executive advisor and industry professor at McMaster University’s Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative. That changed in the mid-’80s when the federal government began shifting responsibility for housing to the provinces. In 1993, Canada’s federal budget removed all new funding for non-market homes—housing that’s not owned by the private sector, including co-ops and housing operated by non-profits or the government. Only B.C. and Quebec continued to provide funding for their non-market housing sectors.
CMHC staff either moved to the provincial level or out of the government-run housing business altogether. By the 1990s, there were 53 CMHC offices, and by the middle of the decade, federally funded affordable housing units dropped from roughly 43,000 per year in 1970 to under 5,000 units in 1995, where they stayed until 2016.
“The non-profit housing sector got quiet,” said Jill Atkey, CEO of the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association. “Without investment from senior levels of government, affordability couldn’t be achieved.”
Atkey said expertise in the non-profit housing sector was eroded or outsourced because projects weren’t happening. As funding went down, so did the number of community housing units. Today, the CMHC has six offices—five regional ones and its headquarters in Ottawa.
Now, Carney wants to create a new federal entity: Build Canada Homes. The Liberals say it will act as both an affordable housing developer and financer, absorbing all relevant programs from the CMHC and building at least in part on public land.
But most of the expertise of how to finance affordable housing—and the local connections to do so—now lies with provinces and municipalities as the levels of government that have been responsible for housing for decades.
 Alexandra Flynn, director of the Housing Research Collaborative. “Municipalities are the knowledge keepers of non-profit and deeply affordable housing in their communities,” said Alexandra Flynn, director of the Housing Research Collaborative, a research hub based in Vancouver, and an associate professor at the University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard School of Law. These relationships, she said, have been forged through decades of work on zoning, building and funding.
And Carney’s plan to reassert the federal government’s place in housebuilding will fall short if it takes the same approach as his predecessor. The National Housing Strategy, launched by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2017, was, according to Pomeroy, the equivalent of the government jumping into the deep end of a pool with no life jacket and then realizing it had forgotten how to swim.
One of the problems with the strategy was that most of its funding was delivered through new federal initiatives, with developers often waiting almost a year and a half to hear back from the CMHC about their application, let alone start building.
If the Trudeau government had built on provincial expertise, it would have been fine, Pomeroy said. In trying to take everything over, Ottawa revealed itself to be incapable and incompetent.
“There was certainly a huge amount of frustration from the folks that were trying to access those programs,” Pomeroy said, and many projects didn’t go through. Atkey said non-profits had to stack funding from various programs that weren’t designed to work together.
 Carney says building 500,000 homes a year will require “both the private and public sector,” and the prime minister has acknowledged the need to build more social housing. The government has yet to say much about how it will define and work with the “affordable home builders” set to receive billions of dollars of funding—whether they will be private sector, public or some kind of collaboration.
Right now, 95 per cent of Canada’s housing stock is built by the private sector, compared to just 3.5 per cent for social housing—less than the OECD average of 7 per cent. Ownership makes up a disproportionate share of the housing supply in Canada, with rental demand increasing as more and more people are priced out of buying a home.
Pomeroy’s research suggests that Canada spends huge sums subsidizing affordable home builds only to lose 11 low-rent units for every new one added. The cause, he said, is that rent hikes and demolitions remove affordable homes faster than they can be replaced.
“The model of investor-financed housing isn’t working, and I think we’re in a huge moment to change that,” said Cherise Burda, incoming director of the Ottawa Climate Action Fund and former executive director of Toronto Metropolitan University’s City Building Institute. Burda said there’s a role for private developers, but that, for too long, officials have been asking them to deliver affordable housing when it’s not their job to do so. “Let’s get shovels in the ground that aren’t dependent on that model,” she said.
 Are prefabricated homes the answer? Scaling up not-for-profit housing can help make housing more affordable for moderate- and middle-income families, she added. A 2023 study from Deloitte and the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) found that building more community housing drives down real estate costs across the market and boosts productivity across the country.
The report found scaling Canada’s community housing sector to the size found in similar high-income countries would boost national productivity by 5.7 to 9.3 per cent and add $67 billion to $136 billion to Canada’s GDP. These economic boosts aren’t from one-off construction jobs, said CHRA executive director Ray Sullivan, but rather the effect of improved labour mobility, rises in disposable income and more. Sullivan said the analysis establishes that productivity goes up with the share of community homes, and vice versa—but only for non-profit housing, as the relationship “does not hold” for private-sector homes.
The report estimated it would take an additional 371,600 community housing units in Canada to reach that 7 per cent average. That number doesn’t have to be just new buildings—not-for-profit housing developers can purchase properties, and the Liberal plan has endorsed the “conversion of existing structures into affordable housing units.”
 Cherise Burda: incoming director of the Ottawa Climate Action Fund and former executive director of Toronto Metropolitan University’s City Building Institute. Rebuilding the non-profit housing sector may also be crucial to weathering the cost of trade instability, Burda said, since it is not subject to the same speculation as the for-profit housing market, and project costs are somewhat lower without a profit margin. And the sector is financed, meaning the government will get its money back from non-profit housing providers.
Tim Ross, CEO of Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, an organization representing more than 900 housing co-ops across the country, said the group’s research comparing private-sector rents and co-ops estimates upwards of $400 in savings on rent per month. He adds that his organization wants to get building sooner rather than later, as trade uncertainty complicates the business of importing building materials and components.
Carney has pledged to cut red tape to speed up building, including lowering municipal development fees and reducing zoning restrictions. Atkey said that whenever there is a non-profit element to a build, the applications are nearly 100 pages with strict oversight. She welcomes the scrutiny, but doesn’t see the same rigour applied to the private sector.
It’s not just a matter of supply, but what kind of people can actually access it. The 500,000 homes per year might help the upper rental market years down the line, Pomeroy said, “but it certainly wouldn’t get folks out of encampments, and it certainly wouldn’t help people in the middle.” Burda said big targets can result in big projects, but there’s a risk of ending up with a lot of housing that isn’t really affordable.
Case in point: Toronto. The closest Canada has come to its 1976 record for housing starts was in 2021, when the GTA’s investor-backed condo-building boom contributed to construction starting on 271,198 new projects across the country. Yet that boom was a mirage of sorts, with Canada’s condo financiers now fleeing as development charges surge and sales slump. The resulting condo ghost towns are a reminder of what can happen when “build, baby, build” goes wrong.
By Pepper Parr
June 11th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 City Hall: Piggy bank central Municipalities are not permitted to go broke. The province doesn’t permit that.
If a municipality does find that it can’t meet the payroll the province sends in a team of people who take over running the financial side of a city.
The cities get around this by creating reserve funds that they shovel money into on a regular basis.
Some reserve funds are mandatory.
So – what does Burlington have in the way of reserve funds? You will be surprised.
By Pepper Parr
May 31st, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
This might hurt.
Pay bumps and a pension plan legislation passed on Thursday
In 2009 Dalton McGuinty slapped the pay freeze on MPPs during the global financial crisis and subsequent Liberal and Tory governments kept it in place with support from the New Democrats.
The MPP pension plan was eliminated in 1995 by former PC Premier Mike Harris in a populist move designed to herald restraint at Queen’s Park.
 Home to the well paid provincial politicians.  Home for the equally well paid federal politicians. Under the legislation immediately passed Thursday with unanimous backing from the Tories, NDP, Liberals and Greens, the base salary for an MPP rises to $157,350 from $116,550 — a $40,800 raise retroactive to the February election.
MPPs will be eligible for a defined-benefit pension after six years of service starting next January. That means, like federal MPs, they will have to be re-elected in 2029 to qualify.
The new retirement benefits do not credit existing years served and are part of the public service pension plan in which bureaucrats are enrolled.
For example, a qualifying retiree would receive an annual initial pension of $33,425 at age 65 if they served six years in office.
Had MPP wages kept pace with inflation since 2008, their annual compensation would have been more than $10,000 higher at $167,790, according to the Bank of Canada.
The base rate is 75 per cent of the $209,800 paid to MPs, who receive annual raises every April. It will go up each year at the same pace as MP salaries do.
MPPs will still earn less than Toronto city councillors, who recently voted themselves 24 per cent hikes and make $170,558.
In neighbouring Mississauga, councillors earn $159,684.
 Premier Doug Ford Ford’s salary will jump to $282,129 from $208,975, a $73,154 increase.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles’s pay climbs to $244,207 from $180,886, a $63,341 raise.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie doesn’t have a seat in the legislature and is paid by her party.
But if Crombie does become an MPP, her pay would be $213,524, up from the $158,158 given to leaders of recognized parties.
Mike Schreiner’s Greens do not have official party status so he will be paid the MPPs’ base rate.
Cabinet ministers’ salaries will go to $223,909, a $58,058 boost from their current $165,851.
The government says the changes will cost the treasury an additional $6 million.
 Prime Minister Mark Carney In comparison, Prime Minister Mark Carney makes $419,600 while Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow takes home $225,304 annually.
Since winning power in 2018, Ford’s Tories previously insisted they would only end the freeze once the books were in the black.
But Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, who shepherded the legislation, announced in the budget two weeks ago that Ontario’s deficit has ballooned to $14.6 billion for 2025-26 and there won’t be surplus until 2027-28.
“It’ll be at 75 per cent of the federal compensation. It’s still less than a Toronto city councillor will be paid or a Mississauga city councillor,” the treasurer noted.
Under the Tories, spending has gone up more than 50 per cent over former premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals in 2018 — significantly higher than the rate of inflation — and the provincial debt has skyrocketed by 51 per cent.
 By Staff
May 26th, 2029
BURLINGTON, ON
Exploring the Randle Reef Project with featured guest speakers Roger Santiago from Environment and Climate Change Canada and Sara Yonson from the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority
Thursday, June 5, 2025 @ 5:30PM
 Site of the contamination. Randle Reef—once the largest and most contaminated site in the Canadian Great Lakes is in the southwest corner of Hamilton Harbour
Cleaning up Randle Reef is one of the biggest steps to remediate the Hamilton Harbour Area of Concern, and it is now in its final stages.
The third and final stage to remove sediment at Randle Reef is underway.
The $150-million project is cleaning up of the once-most contaminated site on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes.
Randle Reef had over 615,000 cubic metres of sediment — enough to fill a hockey rink three times over. The contamination dates back to the 1800s, after years of industrial pollution.
The clean up started in 2016 and was originally set to be done by 2022 but the pandemic resulted in some delays.
The last step involves removing and treating the remaining water from the container before releasing it back into the harbour and installing the final capping of the container.
The project, now expected to be completed by 2025. The Great Lakes are an essential to the health and well being of millions of Canadians, our ecosystems and the economy. Pollution has been putting all this at risk.
An opportunity to learn about the Randle Reef problem, and one of the largest sediment cleanups in Canada and how they decided to solve the problem.
 Steel pilings were driven into the floor of the harbour. This multi-year, multi-million dollar project ($150 million) is a joint initiative involving the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, City of Hamilton, Halton Region, City of Burlington, Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority and Stelco.
Register for free by clicking the link below.
This event is presented by the HHRAP and hosted by Conservation Halton.
Click HERE to register
 By Staff
May 22nd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 Prime Minister Mark Carney Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote the members of his Cabinet, setting out what they expected to achieve during their first term of office.
We will focus on seven priorities:
- Establishing a new economic and security relationship with the United States and strengthening our collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies around the world.
- Building one Canadian economy by removing barriers to interprovincial trade and identifying and expediting nation-building projects that will connect and transform our country.
- Bringing down costs for Canadians and helping them to get ahead.
- Making housing more affordable by unleashing the power of public-private cooperation, catalysing a modern housing industry, and creating new careers in the skilled trades.
- Protecting Canadian sovereignty and keeping Canadians safe by strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces, securing our borders, and reinforcing law enforcement.
- Attracting the best talent in the world to help build our economy, while returning our overall immigration rates to sustainable levels.
- Spending less on government operations so that Canadians can invest more in the people and businesses that will build the strongest economy in the G7.
Sounds nice – let’s see how well they do.
Interesting to note that Carney did not give each Minister anything specific – the same document went to each Cabinet member. At least they are going to be able to say they did get the memo.
Feedback on the Carney mandate letter:
Keeping with Carney, he released his mandate letter to cabinet on Wednesday, spelling out a broad list of priorities for his re-elected Liberal government, including establishing a new economic and security relationship with the U.S., removing internal trade barriers and reducing costs for Canadians.
It represents a break from the tradition established by Justin Trudeau, where each minister received instructions unique to their portfolio.
Carlene Variyan, a former chief of staff in the Trudeau government, said Carney’s mandate letter was a “very effective way” of signalling that this new cabinet has “a narrow and disciplined focus in a time of perceived crisis.”
“A lot of people who have served in government and were involved in the drafting of mandate letters probably thought yesterday ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ It’s quite clever,” she told iPolitics.
Erin Morrison, who previously served as Jagmeet Singh’s director of communications and deputy chief of staff, said the mandate letter provides an opportunity for the hobbled NDP, which took only 7 seats in the April 28 vote, losing official party status.
She said Carney’s priorities “make it clear that this is a Liberal Party that’s moving quite a bit to the right,” pointing to his calls to reduce spending and using private-public partnerships to support new housing construction.
By Staff
May 19th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a great idea – and it looks as if it is actually going to get off the ground.
 St. Luke’s Anglican church, built on land that the British gave to Joseph Brant for his service. If you stand on Elgin Avenue and look to the north you will see St. Luke’s Anglican church.
Turn around and look south to the lake – and there is a clear path (well almost clear) pathway to the lake.
The church and the land were part of the Brant land grant that was deeded by the Brant family.
Over time, developments took place and the strip of land to the lake got crowded by residential development.
The people at St. Likes decided that it was time to make that pathway more accessible to the public and they took their thought to ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns.
She loved the idea, took it to the planning department – they quickly pointed out that there was a problem with clear public access – there was a roadway cutting across the possible path that led to a city-owned parking lot.
 Done properly it will be a really nice addition to a strip of land that has never been used. Kudos to St. Luke’s for the initiative. They came up with a solution that City Council agreed with – approved it – and it goes to Council later this week
Authorize the Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure and Community
Services to collaborate with St. Luke’s Church on the feasibility of a new publicly accessible walkway from Elgin Street to Lakeshore.
St. Luke’s Anglican Church is located on the north side of Elgin Street between Nelson Avenue and Burlington Street in downtown Burlington. Directly across from the church, is a long narrow stretch of land that is owned in part by the City and the Church.
Since the original construction of the church in 1834, this long stretch of land that extends from the south side of Elgin Street to Lakeshore Road has provided an uninterrupted view to Lake Ontario
The Church has approached the ward Councillor and City staff to see if there is an interest in working together to build an accessible public walkway from Elgin to Lakeshore, which would span across lands owned by both the City and the Church. The lands owned by the Church are referred to as “Church Avenue”.
The concept was sound; however, one of the biggest challenges with this idea is that the city-owned lands to the north currently support the parking lot driveway entrance into Lot #10. The driveway is a physical barrier to safe pedestrian movement through Church Avenue.
 Joseph Brant will be very pleased. Since the City owns the lands in the former Hydro/Rail Corridor between Church Avenue and Nelson Avenue, it is possible to relocate the parking lot #10 driveway entrance to Nelson Avenue and eliminate all vehicular traffic on Church Avenue. This would free up the landscape for pedestrian-only movement and use of the space.
After some initial meetings, staff feel that this is a great opportunity to explore and would like Council’s support and direction to proceed further with the proposal.
Council did just that last week. Later this week, we can expect Council to approve it – and in the fullness of time, there will be a pleasant pathway from Elgin to the lake.
Joseph Brant will be pleased.
By Pepper Parr
May 15th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 Provincial budget was read into the record at Queen’s Park this afternoon. The last item in the 232-page budget read into the record earlier today is a new bill that will allow cabinet ministers to continue to use and be referred to as “Honourable,” even after they leave office.
Currently, in Canada, provincial ministers typically use the term while in office, while prime ministers, senators and chief justices can be referred to as “Right Honourable” for life.
This is clearly a government that wants to be seen for being serious and focused on the needs of the people who will find themselves struggling financially when the proposed tariffs begin to bite.
Did a pay increase come with the title enhancement?
Given that housing is a huge driver of the Ontario economy, the following will be of interest.
Link – Ontario budget makes little mention of housing
 By Pepper Parr
May 14th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The back patting is over – now they get down to work.
Prime Minister Carney pulls his Cabinet together today, hands out the marching orders so they can deliver on the promises.
Here is the team:
Add to the above the ten Secretaries of State who have limited, but nevertheless important roles.
This is very much a Carney government – his fingerprints are on every page. He has made it very clear that he will do everything he can to change the direction the Canadian economy will take and deal with the American president as best he can – as best anyone can.
Here is Mark Carney’s new 28-person cabinet – focused on revamping Canada’s relationship with the U.S., reducing the cost of living and addressing public safety:
Shafqat Ali (Brampton—Chinguacousy Park), President of the Treasury Board
Rebecca Alty (Northwest Territories), Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Anita Anand (Oakville East), Minister of Foreign Affairs
Gary Anandasangaree (Scarborough–Guildwood–Rouge Park), Minister of Public Safety
François-Philippe Champagne (Saint-Maurice—Champlain), Minister of Finance and National Revenue
Rebecca Chartrand (Churchill–Keewatinook Aski), Minister of Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Julie Dabrusin (Toronto—Danforth), Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Sean Fraser (Central Nova), Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Chrystia Freeland (University–Rosedale), Minister of Transport and Internal Trade
Steven Guilbeault (Laurier—Sainte-Marie), Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages)
Mandy Gull-Masty (Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou), Minister of Indigenous Services
Patty Hajdu (Thunder Bay—Superior North), Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Tim Hodgson (Markham–Thornhill), Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
Mélanie Joly (Ahuntsic-Cartierville), Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
Dominic LeBlanc (Beauséjour), President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy
Joël Lightbound (Louis-Hébert), Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement
Heath MacDonald (Malpeque), Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Steven MacKinnon (Gatineau), Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
David McGuinty (Ottawa South), Minister of National Defence
Jill McKnight (Delta), Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
Lena Metlege Diab (Halifax West), Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Marjorie Michel (Papineau), Minister of Health
Eleanor Olszewski (Edmonton Centre), Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada
Gregor Robertson (Vancouver Fraserview–South Burnaby), Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible Pacific Economic Development Canada
Maninder Sidhu (Brampton East), Minister of International Trade
Evan Solomon (Toronto Centre), Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Joanne Thompson (St. John’s East), Minister of Fisheries
Rechie Valdez (Mississauga—Streetsville), Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)
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