 By Ray Rivers
October 31st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Part 1 of a 2 part column.
There is no better way to determine the winner in horse races or athletic track events than first-past-the-post (FPP). It is crude and simple but very effective. However an election is not a horse race.
And as for gambling, there is a kind of gaming we employ in our politics – something we call strategic voting. In this last federal election over a third of voters claimed that they had voted strategically, switching their vote from their preferred party to another one. Almost 40% of those switches went to the Conservatives, likely in the west, where the Liberals were deliberately shut out from Winnipeg to Vancouver. And almost half of those who ultimately voted Liberal did so even though the NDP was their first preference.
 Canadians lining up to vote – do they have a chance of getting the representation they deserve? Clearly something is wrong with our system. If not broken, it could at least be made better because politics should be a serious business, not a crap shoot. And like a crap shoot so many voters are playing the game blind – looking at the polls and making strategic decisions they can only guess will work out for them. A lottery might be a better metaphor.
I’d like to vote for the party whose platform, and perhaps even leader, most appeals to me – doesn’t everyone? Instead we play this game of second guessing the outcome. We vote for a party we may not really want, just to make sure that the one we really don’t want doesn’t get in. Crazy huh? A casualty resulting from relying on a very imperfect and outdated voting system which was never intended for a multi-party democracy.
In fact what voters are doing is playing the odds. It is a kind of intuitive preferential voting in a FPP system. But a real preferential or ranked ballot allows electors to prioritize their selection of candidates, and thus parties. If no candidate gets at least 50% of the vote then second and third choices are counted until somebody gets at least half the voters. That winner is a first, second or third choice of the majority of the voters.
Preferential balloting is a variation on the theme of FPP, since everything but the ballots and counting remain the same. The political parties use preferential balloting in their leadership contests and municipalities are jumping in with at least one foot. It better reflects the public’s wishes and is more democratic. So why not move this approach to, arguably, the most important political contest of all – federal elections?
Mr. Trudeau understands this, or at least did when he was campaigning and promising, in 2015, to get rid of our archaic FPP system. Why he just didn’t implement this system following his 2015 election win is a good question. He decided to follow parliamentary procedures and create a committee. But the committee was dominated by the opposition and they outwitted him, recommending proportional representation, but demanding a national referendum. And ranked ballots never got past the idea stage.
 Doomed to perpetual opposition under a preferential voting system. The Conservatives likely have a larger and more loyal base than the Liberals and they certainly raise far more money. Half of those voting Tory had made up their minds before the campaign had even started compared with less than a third for the Liberals. But over 60% of Canada’s electorate prefer liberal-type to conservative policies. So the Conservatives, having become even more anti-progressive in the last couple of decades, would be doomed to perpetual opposition under a preferential voting system.
Yet, as we see, the Tories can and do win under the unranked FPP. For example Mr. Ford won Ontario’s last election with a majority of seats and only 40% of the total vote. And yes many of the party’s candidates failed to get 50% of the vote but slipped up the middle. It is little wonder some voters cannot be bothered voting, the odds are stacked against them unless they are fans of either of the two main parties.
And then there is the hope of political reconciliation. Since a preferential ballot more accurately represents the wishes of the majority of the voters, the main parties on the right and the left would be forced to move more to where the bulk of the voters are if they want to win. Political reality rather than abject ideology should end up playing a greater role in policy. And the third and fringe parties could continue to offer ideas, even though they would face the prospect of fewer elected members themselves, and possibly an eventual demise.
 Had the Liberals decided to use a preferential ballot they might easily have landed a majority. It was a horse race you could they’d have won. That is the downside. That Canada under a preferential balloting system might devolve into a two party system. It would be nice to think that Trudeau was dissuaded from changing our balloting system for that reason – that he was primarily concerned about the consequences for the third parties. After all given the outcome of October’s election, a preferential ballot might easily have landed him a majority. A horse race you could bet he’d have won.
 Ray Rivers writes regularly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Federal Election Results – Strategic Voting –
 By Pepper Parr
October 31st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
It is a nasty, sneaky, dishonest way of explaining to tax payers how much of a tax increase they are going to be hit with.
The tax bill people get includes taxes levied by the school boards, taxes levied by the Regional government and taxes levied by the city of Burlington.
It was found to be more efficient to put all the taxes on the one bill – it also made it easier to collect.
 The Board of Education determines how much money they need in the way of taxes; all the city does is collect it for them. The city has zip influence on what the school board levy in the way of taxes to pay for the operation of our school system. All the city does is collect the money and pass it along to the school board.
 Burlington has seven votes on the 24 member Regional Council – input on the tax levy – nothing more than that. The city has some (not very much) influence on what the Region decides they need in the way of tax money to operate the services they provide: police, the water system, waste management along with health and social services.
The only tax level the city controls is what they spend on delivering the services they provide.
In the 2020-2021 budget that is to go before Council in November reference is made to “unfunded service enhancements which if added to the budget brings the city tax increase to 4.73% (2.76% when combined with the Region and Education taxes).
The public is looking at a tax increase of more than 4% – probably close to 5% once they decide just how much they want to spend on climate control matters.
What Council does when they play around with the numbers is akin to the 17 year old, single daughter who says to her Father: Daddy I am just a little bit pregnant.
Taxes are inevitable. Treat the public with the respect they deserve and tell them the truth. Stop the pussyfooting around.
 This city council has an opportunity to teach the bureaucrats to be more open and honest with the tax payers.
 By Staff
October 31st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
It was the best decision that came out of the PAR (Program Accommodation Review) of 2017 – an event that shut down two of the city’s seven high schools.
There were some issues at the time about the amount of unused space at the Aldershot High School, which was threatened with closure.
A trustee who failed to get re-elected came up with the idea and staff got a grip on it and created what came to be known as i STEM – Innovation, Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics program that takes a project approach to learning that requires students to solve problems with the subjects they are learning.
 Superintendent Terri Blackwell with Director of Education Stuart Miller the night parents showed up to learn more about the iSTEM program. The program started in September with a grade 9 class that has students from across the Region.
The response to the creation of the STEM program surpassed the Board’s most optimistic projections.
There will be a presentation on November 12th at the high school – the public will get a chance to see how well the program is working.
The grade 9 students will move on to grade 10 – when they graduate there will be a full high school program.
Available to students in Halton and beyond, I-STEM (Innovation – Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) enables students to develop innovation skills related to engineering design and design thinking, entrepreneurial thinking skills and global competencies. Students will have enhanced learning opportunities through community and post-secondary partnerships.
“I-STEM has been designed to prepare students for future trends in the workforce and help students solve complex economic, social and environmental problems,” says Terri Blackwell, Superintendent of Education for the HDSB. “We are fortunate to work with an extensive group of advisors on program development, opportunities and learning.”
 Superintendent Terri Blackwell “I-STEM has been designed to prepare students for future trends in the workforce and help students solve complex economic, social and environmental problems,” says Terri Blackwell, Superintendent of Education for the HDSB. “We are fortunate to work with an extensive group of advisors on program development, opportunities and learning.”
“We look forward to sharing with families and the community what current I-STEM students and faculty are accomplishing in the program’s inaugural year, as well as showcase the new and innovative learning spaces.”
I-STEM Open House, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Aldershot School (50 Fairwood Place W, Burlington)
A presentation will be held in the auditorium at 7 p.m. and repeated at 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Overflow parking is available at LaSalle Park.
 By Pepper Parr
October 31st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
This is the second of a six part series on how the city is revising the adopted but not yet approved city plan.
The Taking a Closer look report was prepared by SGL, a consulting group and delivered to the city last August.
The public didn’t become aware of the document until earlier this week. So much for “meaningful engagement”.
The report is the first step in the re-examination of the Official Plan. It is intended to provide a guide to the background to the City’s Official Plan (OP) Policies for the Downtown and the process the City is currently undertaking to re-examine the Downtown OP Policies.
 Planning Staff met with citizens during an Action Plan meeting where the participants had workbooks to record their thoughts. A companion piece to this report is the Public Engagement Plan. It provides a roadmap of the engagement activities that were to take place over the next few months, highlighting at which points in the process engagement will take place, who will be engaged and the level of engagement. The plan also clearly defines which aspects of the process the City and public can influence throughout the discussion.
On February 7, 2019 the new City Council voted to re-examine the policies in the adopted Official Plan. The Council motion directs Burlington’s Director of City Building to commence a process to re-examine the policies of the Official Plan in their entirety as they relate to matters of height and intensity and conformity with provincial density targets.
A Council workshop was held on March 18, 2019 to obtain further Council feedback on this direction. Council’s further feedback resulted in focusing the work on the Downtown and on refinements to the Neighbourhood Centres policies.
A work plan for re-examining the Official Plan policies was presented by City Staff to Planning and Development Committee on May 21, 2019 and approved on May 27, 2019.
The outcome of this work will be a set of modified policies for the Downtown supported by a Final Report prepared by SGL – the consulting firm the city hired to produce the study and manage a large part of the public engagement.
It is amazing how many people do not fully understand what the purpose of an Official Plan is; what it does and how it gets revised.
An Official Plan is a statutory document that describes the City’s long-term, land-use strategy for the next 20 years. It is prepared with input from the public and helps to ensure future planning and development will meet the specific needs of the community.
An official plan deals mainly with issues such as:
• the location and form of new housing, industry, offices and shops;
• the anticipated needs for services such as roads, watermains, sewers, parks, schools and community amenities;
• where future growth will happen in the City and how to make effective use of land;
• opportunities for community improvement initiatives; and
• community identity, place-making and urban design.
The over-rising issue during the October 2018 municipal election was the matter of height – and where the tall buildings would be located. Most people did not object to tall 25 storeys + buildings – they just didn’t want them in the downtown core – south of Caroline. At this point in time the citizens are looking at three that have been approved (one has shovels in the ground) with three others working their way towards the planners at city hall.
 Once they were sworn in they got down to business – the day after this was taken they fired the city manager. An Official Plan is typically intended to plan for a 20-year time frame but could provide direction beyond that time period. The Re-examination of the OP is intended to guide planning to 2031.
The Official Plan Burlington is working under today was approved in 2006.
The City commenced an Official Plan Review in 2011. The review included preparation of numerous studies, analysis and public engagement over an 8 year period including preparation of a Mobility Hubs Opportunities and Constraints Study, Employment Land Studies, and a Commercial Strategy Study. This review was intended to conform with and implement the Region’s Official Plan and conform to the new Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
This is how we got to where we are. The next installment is about the process being used.
 How we got to where we are – it is not a pretty picture. Mobility hubs were to be one of the planning approaches Burlington would use to accommodate the growth that was to take place.
 The Molinaro Group were the first to develop around a GO station – one of the three mobility hubs in Burlington. A Mobility Hub, as defined by Metrolinx, is a major transit station area that has the potential to accommodate a range of employment, housing, recreation and shopping around it. Mobility Hubs are intended to be mixed-use neighbourhoods that are walkable, bikeable and transit-oriented and to be a focus for intensification. The Hubs will also take advantage of Metrolinx’s planned Regional Express Rail, which will feature two-way, all-day service every 15 minutes along the Lakeshore West line. The four areas included in the Mobility Hubs Study were Aldershot, Burlington, and Appleby GO Stations, as well as Downtown Burlington.
A major transit station area (MTSA) is an area around a higher order transit station or the area around a bus depot in an urban core or downtown. Higher order transit includes subways, GO lines, streetcars and buses in dedicated rights of way. An MTSA is generally the area within a 10-minute walk (500 to 800 metres) of the transit stations. However, the Region is required to delineate the specific boundary of the MTSA, which will be done as part of their current Official Plan review. Lands within an MTSA are required to provide a diverse mix of uses, support transit, be a focus for growth, and in certain cases achieve a minimum density.
The Halton Region Official Plan recommends that Mobility Hubs receive a higher level of development intensity and design consideration to support transit than what may be applied in other MTSAs.
Following the identification of Mobility Hubs by Metrolinx, the City’s long term 2015 – 2040 Strategic Plan identified the importance of Mobility Hubs near the City’s GO Stations and in the downtown.
 The original view was that there would be four mobility hubs – the one in the downtown core was little more than a bus station. It is expected to be removed from the list. In July 2016, Burlington City Council approved a staff report, which outlined a work plan, allocation of staff resources and required funding to simultaneously develop four Area Specific Plans, one for each of Burlington’s Mobility Hubs. An Area Specific Plan, also sometimes called a Secondary Plan, is a plan that is more detailed than an Official Plan and guides future development in a specific geographic area. An Area Specific Plan can include a variety of studies and contains specific policies to guide future development.
City Council unanimously approved the project, with the goal of completing all four Area Specific Plans no later than June 2018. In April 2017, the Mobility Hubs Team began a comprehensive public consultation program around the future vision for each of the Mobility Hubs as shown in the timeline for the Downtown Mobility Hub work.
 Downtown Mobility Hub Study Timeline. The work on the Mobility hubs was put on hold when the city realized that the number of developments in the downtown core were overwhelming the planning staff and except for the Molinaro Group and the Adi Development Group, no one was doing anything within the hub boundaries. Staff began working on the Downtown Mobility Hub Area Specific Plan in advance of the other three Mobility Hubs with the objective of including a vision for the downtown in the draft New Official Plan in late 2017. The New Official Plan provided an opportunity to strengthen the existing policy framework for the downtown.
The boundary for the Downtown Mobility Hub included both the existing “Downtown Mixed Use Centre” boundary in the current Official Plan as well as the Urban Growth Centre (UGC) boundary. The Downtown Area Specific Plan was developed with a long term, full build-out perspective which extended well beyond 2031.
The City of Burlington Official Plan 2018 was adopted by Burlington City Council on April 26, 2018.
A new city council was sworn in on December 3rd, 2018.
On December 4, 2018, the Region of Halton provided a notice to the City advising that the adopted Official Plan does not conform with the Regional Official Plan in a number of respects including issues related to agricultural, employment, transportation and natural heritage. The Region did not identify any issues of conformity with the Downtown Precinct policies.
The Region informed the City that the City can make additional modifications before the plan is approved by the Region with appropriate planning justification and public consultation. Today, the adopted Official Plan is still under review by the Region for regional approval.
City Council together with the direction to re-examine the Official Plan also passed an Interim Control By-law (ICBL) and put the Mobility Hub Area Specific Planning on hold.
Part 1
Next installment: The Process.
 By Pepper Parr
October 30th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The Mayor has a “dashboard”; a place where you can see everything you wanted to know about her Red Tape Red Carpet initiative, a personal project she dragged ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith into.
The initiative came out of the Mayor’s State of the City initiative to the Chamber of Commerce on January 30, 2019, when she announced a new initiative being launched from the Mayor’s Office in partnership with Councillor Kelvin Galbraith: the Red Tape Red Carpet Task Force (RTRC).
 They all wanted a piece of her; it was the first time the business community got to see her up close. “The initiative’s goal:” said the Mayor was to “ identify and eliminate barriers to growth and new business attraction in Burlington so that new and existing businesses can locate here, expand and thrive.”
You couldn’t go wrong with a statement to the business leaders in the city.
On Monday, September 23,the Mayor proudly announced that the “22 recommendations were unanimously approved by council, and implementation is now underway. Our new City Manager, Tim Commisso will lead this implementation and city council will be updated on progress on a monthly basis.”
You get to see just what was achieved. The link is HERE.
 You can scroll through the “dashboard” and read what has been done with each of the 22 recommendations. The dashboard with all 22 recommendations looks like this:
.
A break out of just one of the recommendations appears on the right.
 RTRC looks like it is being merged with the Economic Development Corporation. Prediction: Economic Development, currently an arms length operation will be brought into city hall. No word on what this initiative is costing. If you’ve nothing better to do scroll through the 22 recommendations and see if you can find any value.
The RTRC initiative however is more than a list of minor tasks – it is the device that Mayor Meed Ward has used to edge into the work that the Burlington Economic Development Corporation is doing.
One of the RTRC results was the creation of a job description for a person who would work within city hall to make sure that any new business organizations that were considering Burlington as their new corporate home would have someone inside city hall the making sure the the wrinkles were ironed out and get some wiggle into bureaucrats who were not moving at that brisk and efficient business pace the Chamber of Commerce likes to see.
By Pepper Parr
October 30th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
This is the first of a six part series on how the city is revising the adopted but not yet approved city plan.
It doesn’t carry the same weight as the Shape Burlington report but if we don’t manage what the Taking a Closer Look at the Downtown: What You Need to Know report sets out – there won’t be all that much left of the shape people who voted for the new city council wanted.
The report is lengthy and we aren’t going to set it all out for you in a single document. What we are going to do is publish the report in six pieces based on table of contents which read as follows.
Introduction
What is the Purpose of this Report?
Why is the City Re-examining the Adopted Official Plan?
What is the Purpose of an Official Plan?
How Did We Get Here?
 People who took part in the Walking Tour looking over the map. The Process
What were the Objectives of the Downtown Precinct Plan?
What Public Events were Held During the Official Plan Process?
What did the City Hear During the Official Plan Process?
What is Involved in Re-Examining the Downtown Policies?
Governing Policies and their Role in the Outcome
What is The Provincial Policy Statement?
What is A Place to Grow, Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe?
How does the Halton Region Official Plan Guide Planning in the Downtown?
What is the City’s Vision in the Adopted Official Plan?
What are the Key Policy Directions that Influence the Downtown?
Connections to Other Projects
What is the Timing of the Region’s Official Plan Review?
What’s the Status of the Area Specific Plan for the Downtown Mobility Hub?
What is an Interim Control By-Law?
What is an Interim Control By-Law?
The Engagement Plan and What You Should Know
What is an Engagement Plan?
What Does Meaningful Engagement Look Like?
What Does Meaningful Feedback/Input Look Like?
What You Should Know to get Involved
The work being done on the adopted but not yet approved Official Plan is referred to as a Scoped Re-examination. The next step is to finalize the background technical studies that were initiated during the Mobility Hub Area Specific Planning Study including, but not limited to, studies on cultural heritage, municipal servicing and transportation.
We will use these themes to guide the creation of two land-use and built form concepts for the downtown. We will also use the themes and principles developed with the public to create evaluation criteria, which will be used to evaluate the two concepts.
We will then share the two land-use and built form concepts to start a discussion with the public. Based on public and technical inputs and application of the evaluation criteria, a recommended concept will be developed and presented to Council for endorsement.
The concept endorsed by Council will be used to refine the Downtown Precinct Plan policies in the adopted Official Plan. Those refined policies will in turn be presented to Council for endorsement. The concept and policies endorsed by Council will then be sent to Halton Region for final approval.
The report was released to the public today – unfortunately it wasn’t given to the 150 people who took part in the Action Plan Workshops, nor was a copy given to the 40 some people who took part in the Walking Tour.
That was regrettable.
The Taking a Closer Look at the Downtown: What You Need to Know report is the first step in the re-examination of the Official Plan; it is intended to provide you with a guide to the background to the City’s Official Plan (OP) Policies for the Downtown and the process the City is currently undertaking to re-examine the Downtown OP Policies.
By Pepper Parr
October 29th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 The land between Lakeshore Road and Old Lakeshore Road has been referred to as the football every since we started publishing. Why would the city want to name is the peanut? Is it a football or a peanut?
What most people know as the “football” was referred to as the peanut by Director of Planning Heather MacDonald at one of the Action Plan sessions last week.
 Is it a football ….  …or a peanut? It is probably the most significant piece of developable land left in the downtown core.
In time it might equal Spencer Smith Park in importance to the look, feel and public open space in the city.
Right now there are developers crawling all over the land with proposal for developments that will rise more than 25 storeys.
The Carriage Gate Group subsidiary Lakeshore Old Burlington gave a presentation to a very small group at a public meeting recently. No one has yet to explain why that meeting was so poorly promoted.
 Not much of that quaint, walk-able community in this 3d model of what the CORE Development group want to dump into the ‘football’. The CORE Development group gave the public a good look at what they have in mind for the properties to the west of the Burlington Old LAkeshore proposal.
They will be making the required Statutory presentation to city council on November 5th at city hall
 Lakeshore Mixed use precinct – on the north and south side of Lakeshore from Locust to Martha. Each property will have its own rules put in place. During the two Action Plan workshops the city held for residents some people wanted to know why the “football” and the Lakeshore Precinct were not included in the public think sessions.
They were told by the Director of Planning, Heather MacDonald that those precincts were to be the subject of separate studies once the revisions to the adopted but not yet approved Official Plan are in place.
One can sympathize with the workload the Planning department faces but the “football” and what has been defined as the Lakeshore precinct are just as important as the look and feel of Brant Street if not more so.
What makes Burlington the city it is – is the lake.
 At the eastern edge of the football – the tower will become the gateway to the downtown core.  This structure is to the immediate west of the latest Carriage Gate Development.
The millions spent on the Pier; the millions spent on getting public access to the lake at the foot of the Bridgewater development and public access to the lake through that development will be for naught if there are no rules that apply to the football and the Lakeshore precinct.
At this point there are two mammoth development applications for the “football” on the table
Let us not repeat the terrible mistake with that Anchor Hub – the label that got stuck on a tiny bus terminal.
Related news stories:
The stunning development planned for the “football”
Can high rise development be brought to an end?
By Pepper Parr
October 29, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Yet another survey.
City of Burlington looking for feedback on Recreation Services Department’s priorities
This began with the creation of a “Draft Framework for Community Recreation in the City of Burlington.”
The draft framework will be the guiding document used by the Recreation Services Department (formerly the Parks and Recreation Department) in determining how tax dollars are invested in future programming, facility development and partnerships.
 Splash pads and pools are vital for many parents – are there enough of them? The framework will provide clarity, transparency and consistency in how we allocate resources for recreational services. This will lead to more efficient processes such as the facility allocation including scheduling of ice, pool, gym and sport field time.
Before the framework can be finalized, the City is looking for input on where the Recreation Services Department’s priorities should be.
As for that “draft” – wasn’t included. We have asked for a copy.
The online survey can be found at getinvolvedburlington.ca/recservices and will be open until Nov. 12, 2019.
Results of this survey will be shared with Council in an upcoming report in December.
The survey is quite short – not complex.
Chris Glenn, Director of Recreation Services explains: “We want to ensure we’re offering the type of programs and services that benefit the population at large. It’s good to check-in with our residents to make sure we’re focusing on the right areas of recreation. Your input is important to shape our Framework for Recreation for our City.”
Survey Link
 By Staff
October 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
We knew this was coming – that doesn’t make it any easier to cope with.
The intersection of Lakeshore Road and Brant Street is going to be a bit of a dog’s breakfast for the next couple of days.
The time frame is: October. 28th, today through to November 1, and then from the 4th to the 8th, 2019
Weather will determine just how long the roads will be closed
Brant Street will be fully closed at Lakeshore Road. There will be a road closure sign at Elgin Street and Pine Street with local access to businesses and residential buildings.
Lakeshore Road at Brant Street – Nov. 4 – 8
Lakeshore Road at Brant Street will be reduced to one lane in each direction.
This work is highly weather dependent, so dates will be changed if needed.
Full emergency access will be provided.
By Pepper Parr
October 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
There are mobility hubs
There are anchor hubs
There are MTSA’s – Major Transit Station Areas
There are urban growth centers.
They are all tied together but not all that well understood.
 We know it as the bus terminal – the bureaucrats call it an Anchor Hub; a developer saw it as a great stroke of luck.  A bus terminal made the height of this development possible. One of them, the Anchor hub that had been proposed for what most people know as the bus terminal on John Street, put the city in a position where they could not deny a developer the right to put up a building – which really screwed up the plans the city had for property on Lakeshore Road close to where it meets up with Old Lakeshore Road. The developer used the existence of an Anchor hub as justification for the high rise.
The Anchor hub is basically a small bus depot that at one point was to be torn down.
 Three of the five towers that make up the Paradigm development on the north side of Fairview right next to the GO Station. The Mobility Hubs are clustered around the GO stations where the developers have bought up as much of the and as possible. The Molinaro Group was ahead of the development crowd when they broke ground for the Paradigm development – five towers snuggled up beside the Burlington GO station.
 Adi Developments Station West in the early development stage. Councillor Kelvin Galbraith has a number of major developments taking place in the western end of the ward that will increase GO train traffic. The Aldershot GO station area has a very large two stage ADI development underway.
Nothing in the works yet for the Mobility hub that will be part of the Appleby GO station.
There isn’t all that much controversy around the Mobility hubs – although Dr. Shie would like to see the eastern edge of the Burlington GO hub moved to the east – to the other side of Guelph line so that it includes the property at Guelph and Harvester Road.
 The boundaries of the Urban Growth Centre that the province required every municipality to have. Many now believe that the location chosen and the boundaries put in place need to be changed. The Urban Growth Centre is something the city had to create. That was a provincial requirement. The city had to have one – but it had some influence on where it would be located and what the boundaries are. The current UGC boundary is a little too far to the south for many people.
It was created in 2006 – many think both the location and the boundary lines were a mistake. Members of the current council have come to believe that the location of the current UGC can be moved and the boundary changed.
You had to have one but you get to determine where it will be located.
The Anchor isn’t a gotta have. The story we got from Councillor Lisa Kearns is that the city will get rid of the Anchor Hub (bus station) just as soon as the Interim Control Bylaw is lifted – which is expected to happen in March of 2020.
 Burlington MPP Jane McKenna stuck her head in the door, didn’t like the look of the meeting and left. Getting the location and boundary of the Urban Growth Centre is not as easy. Kearns told the Gazette that the members of the provincial government: Jane McKenna, Burlington and Effie Triantafilopoulos, Oakville North Burlington will be drawn into the discussions.
Triantafilopoulos understands the complexity of the issue and is for the most part approachable and works at having good, strong working relationships with her peers.
Many residents have not had the same experience with McKenna.
It will be interesting to see how this work out. We weren’t able to get much in the way of a sense as to how long this will take from Councillor Kearns.
By Staff
October 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
It is there for the whole family to enjoy.
The Joseph Brant Museum and the playable pinball exhibition is on display until January 12.
 A totally different look at the world of Pinball machines – now on at the Joseph Brant Museum. The exhibition is included in the price of Museum admission, and features rock-themed, playable pinball machines alongside merchandise and artifacts related to artists and bands.
Regular Museum Hours
Monday / Closed
Tuesday / 10:00am-4:00pm
Wednesday / 10:00am-4:00pm
Thursday / 10:00am-7:00pm
Friday / 10:00am-4:00pm
Saturday / 12:00pm-4:00pm
Sunday/ 12:00pm-4:00pm
Evenings and other times by appointment
Adults: $10.00, Seniors-students: $8.00
Children: $6.00; 3 to 12 free.
$30. Family, which is defined as up to 2 adults/seniors and up to 4 children.
Other than a little landscaping to be completed it looks as if the construction is completed. Now to see what the inside of the place looks like.
By Staff
October 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns. Part of getting elected for Lisa Kearns was a promise to maintain a Registry of the people who visited her and wanted to talk about city business.
She laid down some rules:
You will need to register if you are meeting to discuss:
a decision or matter that is going to Committee/Council
information that intends to advance the business of the City
a matter to which you may receive any form of remuneration or benefit.
Please be advised this is a voluntary business meeting registry to support the transparency, accountability and integrity of the government decision-making process, and to promote open dialogue between the many stakeholders that complement our community.
And who has had the pleasure of her company and what did they talk about?
It’s all laid out in the Registry.
Kearns by the way is the only member of Council who set up a Registry. While what happens at the ward level is important – what happens in the Mayor’s office is much more important. No Registry there. Why?
 Who asked for what and when? An election promise that was kept!
 By Pepper Parr
October 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
Update:
In the closing sentence of this article we said: “They wonder why Burlington could not find a decent Catholic candidate to represent them..
The they was the Catholic community. Several readers questioned the Catholic reference, informing us that the candidate didn’t have to be a Catholic and that is correct. What we were saying is that many in the Catholic community in Burlington wanted someone to represent their views in the House of Commons. The Conservative party leadership appeared to like the look of Jane Michael. Many Catholics in Burlington didn’t. And many who were not Catholic were terrified that Michael would get the traditional Conservative vote and take the seat. Sanity prevailed.
It is just a little after the votes were counted and the riding of Burlington re-elected Karina Gould that the Gazette was finally able to communicate with a second person who was able to confirm what we were given by a Burlington resident on the way Elizabeth Jane Michael was named as the Conservative Party candidate.
We wanted someone to corroborate what we had learned – but were not able to do so before the election.
Our source wrote the following. We have been able to confirm that the writer is real but for personal job related reasons we cannot reveal the names of either source.
“I could easily add to all the ‘unusable’ dirt I hear you have been receiving about Jane Michael, but I’m not going to do that now.
“The line you have about Burlington conservatives not being able to understand how Jane Michael became the Conservative candidate is certainly true. The information I have will shed some light on this and explain why CPC chose Jane Michael to be Burlington’s candidate. This is just me putting the threads together. Jane Michael’s Campaign Manager is Paul Marai. Their history goes way back. They served eight years together as trustees on the HCDSB. Marai also has a big connection to the Conservatives.
“Here are a few of bits of info:
Elizabeth Jane Michael was sanctioned by the HCDSB in May of 2018 for ‘violating code of conduct’ at an in-camera meeting.
“In a news report in another publication HDCSB Anthony Quinn said: “The reprimand may not seem like much, but it’s the strongest sanction available to the board under the legislation.”
 Paul Marai was Michael’s Campaign Manager. He is also the Director of Digital operations for RMG – The Responsive Marketing Group Inc “At the board’s public meeting May 15, 2018, vice-chair Paul Marai read a motion announcing the sanction and stating the penalty: Michael is barred from attending two board meetings, removed from her position on the discipline committee and excluded from the search for a new director of education “from the beginning to the end of the hiring process.”
“Michael had the highest trustee expenses while with HCDSB. Many other controversies.
“Michael’s Campaign Manager, was Paul Marai who is a Digital Director of RMG – The Responsive Marketing Group Inc. This company does work for political parties, and election work from federal to municipal. One service they provide is robo calling.
“In RMG marketing material RMG is described as an industry leader for over 20 years. “Responsive Marketing Group is Canada’s preeminent integrated political marketing services company. We bring together decades of experience in voter contact, fundraising, and cutting edge data science to offer unparalleled audience insight and engagement services.”
“RMG does work for the Conservative Party of Canada and has done work in the Burlington and neighbouring ridings for years provincially and federally. Paul Marai, through the company RMG, has a connection to Andrew Scheer’s campaign team and Conservative party staff.
“Marai was helping Jane when she tried to win the PC nomination in 2016.
“This ‘Michael to Marai to Scheer/Hamish Marshall connection’ is why Burlington conservatives ended up with Jane Michael.” Hamish Marshall was Andrew Scheer’s campaign manager.”
Our source adds that “there is certainly nothing wrong with all these connections.” She felt the public had a right to know.
Our first source gave us basically the same information.
The Conservative Party liked the strong Catholic anti abortion position Michael had taken and were prepared to go to some lengths to get her there.
But there was just too much that didn’t smell right and the voters of Burlington decided to stay with the incumbent. Many strong Conservative Catholic voters in Burlington spoke to the Gazette saying that they couldn’t stomach the candidate they were told they had to take.
They wonder why Burlington could not find a decent Catholic candidate to represent them.
They are out there.
Related news stories:
Gazette hacked.
Pepper Parr is the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
By Pepper Parr
October 25th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 Each municipality will continue to be an independent municipality. Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr is delighted with the announcement made by Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing that the idea of doing anything with the way Regional governments are organized is off the table.
The announcement of the walk back by the Minister was made at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Fall Policy Forum.
Carr said he wanted to “thank Premier Ford and Minister Clark for recognizing that Halton Region is a safe community, with low taxes, the highest credit rating and where 97 per cent of residents are satisfied with the quality of Halton Region services.”
“We appreciate the Minister’s recognition that municipalities are best positioned to determine what works for their communities and for not imposing a top down approach.”
Carr added that thanks were due too, to residents who participated in this consultation process through their letters, delegations and submissions.
The We Love Burlington advocacy group was ecstatic saying “Minister Clark acknowledged the message of many of the delegations, including WeLoveBurlington’s, that “municipalities are the level of government closest to the people, [that] every community is different – one size doesn’t fit all”. His announcement is a victory for responsible and responsive government at the municipal level. It is a recognition that local voice matters and that all levels of government must align and work collaboratively in order to best serve the citizen.
“Take a bow people – you made this happen.”
Related news story:
Minister backs away from the idea of municipal amalgamations.
By Staff
October 25th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 Conservation Halton advises that an incoming weather system from the Gulf of Mexico is forecasted to bring a significant accumulation of rainfall this weekend, beginning late in the evening on Saturday and lasting into the overnight period and until mid-day Sunday.
Rainfall amounts of approximately 30 to 50 mm are anticipated for our immediate area.
 The forecasted precipitation will result in increased water levels and flows within our rivers and streams over the next several days. The combination of slippery and unstable banks and cool water temperatures will create hazardous conditions close to any river, stream or other water bodies.
Widespread flooding is not anticipated. Our reservoirs are at our seasonal holding levels and have storage capacity available. However, fast flowing water and flooding of low lying areas and natural floodplains may be expected. Localized flooding may occur where leaf litter blocks storm sewers. Municipalities, emergency services and individual landowners in flood-prone areas should be on the alert.
Conservation Halton is asking all residents and children to keep a safe distance from all watercourses and structures such as bridges, culverts and dams. Elevated water levels, fast flowing water, and slippery conditions along stream banks continue to make these locations extremely dangerous. Please alert children in your care of these imminent dangers.
Conservation Halton will continue to monitor stream flow and weather conditions and will issue further messages as necessary. This Flood Outlook Statement will be in effect through Tuesday October 29th, 2019.
By Pepper Parr
October 25th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The Minister of Municipalities and Housing has said that “After careful consideration of the feedback we heard through the course of the review, our government stands firm in its commitment to partnering with municipalities without pursuing a top-down approach. We will provide municipalities with the resources to support local decision-making.”
Does that mean any amalgamation of the four municipalities in Halton is off the table? Looks that way – but let’s see how this rolls out in the months ahead.
 The We Love Burlington team made a lot of noise and were surely part of the decision the province made to pull back on the idea of amalgamation. The government added that they are putting serious dollars on the table – they are “providing up to $143 million to municipalities to help them lower costs and improve services for local residents over the long term. Funding will be available to all 444 municipalities so they can find smarter, more efficient ways to operate and focus spending on vital programs and services for Ontarians.
“Municipalities deliver a wide range of services that people rely on every day, like transit, water and wastewater, and parks and recreation.
“Municipalities are the level of government closest to the people, but every community is different – one size doesn’t fit all,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “This investment in communities will support municipal transformation efforts to make sure they are delivering efficient, effective and modern services that best meet the unique needs of their residents.”
“Earlier this year, the government conducted a review of Ontario’s eight regional governments and Simcoe County. Throughout this extensive review, the government heard that local communities should decide what is best for them in terms of governance, decision-making and service delivery.”
Related news story:
What did We Love Burlington have to say?
By Pepper Parr
October 24th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The city council in place now looks at technology a lot differently than the council that served from 2010 to 2018.
That cohort was not comfortable with technology, were unable to make it work for them and didn’t know how to direct staff to make it work for the citizens.
The new council has members that know a lot more than many of the people in the IT departments. Lisa Kerns will rattle off data and phrases that most people don’t quite get. Part of it is some showing off – but she usually knows what she is talking about.
Getting information into the hands of the public, at least for those who want to know the what and why of what’s happening, is easily done if good data applications are put in place.
There is now a source of almost everything you might want to know about developments taking place in the city.
 You can adjust the size of the map.
Then by clicking on on any one of the red dots you get a short summary of who is doing the development and links to the city’s planning department which then gives you a list of all the studies that were done.
There is also a link to the developers web site.
Most of what you need is at your finger tips – no more scooting around from place to place to gather information on a single development.
A good step forward..
Try it – the Development sites is part of the Get Involved city web site.
Link:
By Pepper Parr
October 24th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The people in the planning department and those in communications were about to learn if they had put together a program that would bridge the gap between what was planned and what was actually achieved.
 Each of the yellow “notes” were an idea, a comment that would be reviewed by planning staff.  Planning staff floated through the room ready to answer questions. There were a lot of questions. It was complex.
The city has an Official Plan, it is required to have an Official Plan and it is required to update that Plan.
In 2018 the city approved an Official Plan and sent it off to the Region.
City plans have to comply with the Regional Official Plan.
That plan got called the “approved” Official Plan.
Then the city held an election and a new council was in place along with a new Mayor who believes she was elected to make some changes.
 Each red dot is a development proposal – the planning department couldn’t keep up with the applications. Development applications were being submitted to the Planning department at a brutal rate. Staff could not keep up with the volume but the rules of the planning game are that anything that is submitted to the Planning department has to be considered.
The city needed to put a halt or at least slow down the rate at which development applications were being submitted.
They imposed an Interim Control Bylaw (ICBL) which put a halt to the approval of any new developments within a specific area. That area was defined as the Urban Growth Centre.
The new city council and the new Mayor then directed Staff to re-write the “approved” Official Plan and ensure that there was plenty of opportunity for public input.
 The audience was given choices that the consultants said could be revised, added to or merged with other ideas. There was nothing that couldn’t be out on the table. That is what got 75 people at an Action Plan meeting last night at the Lions Club Wednesday evening plus another 75 people for an afternoon meeting – to look at what the city had collected in the way of information and ideas at a meeting that took place in August.
 Lisa Kearns, on the left, the ward Councillor in discussion with a resident.  Couples worked diligently on the documents they were given and asked challenging questions throughout the evening. There was criteria, there were principles, there were precincts and there were ideas – they called them concepts that they wanted the public to look at, debate, discuss and provide whatever was on their minds as feedback to the planners and the consultants.
The afternoon and evening sessions of the Action Plan meetings were considerably different. The Gazette did not attend the afternoon session, which we were told worked quite well.
The people at the evening session kept going off script – they had all kinds of questions that were not directly related to what the facilitators were trying to get across.
 Planner Allison Enns with Director of Planning Heather MacDonald on the right. On two occasions the Director of Planning had to go to the front of the room and quietly explain some of the decisions that were being made.
The evening session wanted to know why the Waterfront Hotel property was not being included in the discussions –same with what has come to be known as the “football”, that property between Lakeshore Road and Old Lakeshore Road that has to 24 storeys plus application in the hands of the planners.
There were very some pretty sound reasons for not including those two pieces of land. It wasn’t at all certain that the audience understood just what those reasons were.
It was a solid two and a half hours of people who care about their city and do not want to see the downtown core become a collection of high rise towers with nothing but wind tunnels at the street level.
By Pepper Parr
October 23rd, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
This story has been revised. A reader pointed out to us that the Mayor did provide a very detailed report on her trip to France for the D Day remembrance. A link to that report is now included.
Our Mayor is in Japan.
 The mayor has gone rogue – taken to Japanese fashion. She has been there since October 15th and will return on Friday.
She is part of a delegation that is celebrating our 30th anniversary of the Twinning of Burlington with Itabashi, Japan.
Attending with the Mayor and one of her daughters. The Mayor is picking up the cost of her daughter’s travel expenses.
The city manager and at least one staff member and Ward 6 Councillor Rory Nisan is part of the delegation. Members of the Mundialization committee are also part of the delegation.
 Mayor Meed Ward marching through the streets of Itabashi, Japan with city manager Tim Commisso doing his best to keep up. Other than the recognition and the celebration of the twinning relationship there is no clearly stated reason for the trip.
There has been some discussion about possible business opportunities with different Japanese cities.
When the Mayor returns she has said she will tell us all about the trip.
When Mayor Meed Ward took part in the 75th Anniversary of the D Day landings in France the public was given a very detailed report that included how much was spent. That report can be found HERE
The Mayor did report on what she spent – the sums were reasonable and acceptable. She took one of her staff members with her and they shared a room.
There is very little in the way of news from the Mayor directly – there are a number of pictures posted on one of her social media pages.
We share those with you and wish the Mayor safe travel as she prepares to return to Burlington, ranked as Canada’s best community and best place to raise a family. It is a city where people, nature and businesses thrive.
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward enjoying a Japanese delicacy with Councillor Nisan in the background wondering perhaps if he too will be fed.  Councillor Rory Nisan taking part in what may be a cooking class.  The Mayor is on the right. There was no detail provided on the pictures.
By Pepper Parr
October 23rd, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
This article has been revised to include comments from ECoB
Last October we elected a new city council. They said they were going to make changes and that they were going to engage you in that process.
They weren’t kidding.
Two views of the downtown core: The first picture is what Burlington once was, the rendering below that is what some people want Burlington to be.
 This was the factory at the bottom of Brant street where fruit and vegetables were canned. There aren’t many people around these days who remember the pungent smell of tomatoes being boiled and canned. Below is what some citizens want.  The Waterfront Hotel site is up for re-development. There is a group of citizens who want to see a clear line from the bottom of Brant Street out into the lake with the redeveloped hotel site moves to the east. Today there are two Action Labs at which the city is going to reveal two concepts on what the city might look like in the future.
Both are taking place at the Lions Club at 1pm-3pm & 7pm-9pm.
There is also a Walking Tour – Sat. Oct 26 – 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
This is part of the Taking a Closer Look at the Downtown exercise.
Tour leaves the No Frills plaza 571 Brant St at 1:30 p.m.
1. See first-hand the areas of downtown that are being looked at as part of the re-examination of the adopted Official Plan
2. Experience what mid and tall rise buildings feel like from the street, when walking through the downtown.
The event has not been all that well promoted. ECoB, the Engaged Citizens of Burlington relased the following information earlier today.
What will happen?
- The city will show two preliminary concepts for the revised Official Plan for Downtown.
- You will be invited to provide feedback via a ‘citizen action lab’ workshop.
- Your feedback will be included in the next stage as a final plan is drawn up for consideration by Council.
The failure of the city to successfully engage with the public on the Official Plan in 2017/18 was a major reason for the creation of Engaged Citizens of Burlington and for the changes on Burlington Council last year.
Is the City Doing Engagement Right This Time?
ECoB has welcomed the improved processes that are being used for public meetings during the process of revisiting the downtown plan.
Nevertheless, we are disappointed that given a year to review the downtown OP, the city is still relying on citizens being able to attend public meetings or visiting city websites to provide comment. We believe it was essential for the city to reach out to residents who traditionally do not or cannot attend public meetings or participate in online questionnaires. A small additional budget for more vigorous public engagement would have helped the city obtain public comment that was statistically relevant and representative of the whole community.
Nevertheless, don’t miss the opportunity to have your say on the draft plans! Make sure your voice is heard!
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By Ray Rivers
Ray Rivers writes regularly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa. Tweet @rayzrivers
