 By Andrew Drummond
March 4th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 From the left: Councillor Bentivegna, Mayor Meed Ward, Councillors Paul Sharman and Lisa Kearns
Halton Women’s Place held their annual fundraiser gala recently. It was a delightful affair with 413 attendees including politicians of all levels and parties. Part of the event was a live auction where one of the “items” being auctioned off was an evening party with a number of gentlemen from the Oakville Fire Department. It was a touching gesture (which raised $3,000) and was a wonderful way for the department to give back to the community.
However, as the department’s spokesperson took the stage to extol others to bid on them, he told the crowd about some startling statistics about Halton Women’s Place and the work that they do and the constraints that they work under. The most alarming statistic was that the shelter only has 52 beds and that as a temporary shelter, the majority of their residents are being transitioned to a full time, safe housing. This process used to take six to eight weeks, but now can take up to six to eight MONTHS.
There is such a lack of affordable housing in Halton region that a woman fleeing violence with her children can wait up to eight months in a shelter.
 Within the HWP annual reports, an even more troubling trend appears. In 2014, the shelter housed 270 women and 211 children for some period of time over the year. The report also noted that “766 women did not receive shelter due to capacity”. In 2014, the shelter only was able to serve 39% of the need in the region. Compared to 2018 however, 2014’s 39% was a success. As a result of the reduced availability of safe, affordable housing in Halton, in 2018, HWP was only able to serve 173 women and 183 children. They no longer list the number of women turned away in the annual report, but only being able to assist 74% of their 2014 number cannot be a good sign.
There are two critical issues then, which need to be addressed for our community to be able to successfully assist women fleeing violence and abuse. First need Halton Women’s Place needs a stable source of funding.
Second Halton Region needs to ensure there is adequate housing for women to transition into. From the chart below, over the last 5 years, the level of funding from government sources has increased at less than the rate of inflation (8.2% total). As a result, HWP has increasingly relied on private funds to make up the gap in funding.
Fortunately for the shelter, the public has responded (+45.4% over 5 years), but raising private money is time consuming and unpredictable and forces HWP to devote its efforts away from its primary focus – helping abused women.
The second critical issue to alleviate the pressure on HWP is to increase the availability of subsidized housing across Halton Region. On the Region of Halton website for subsidized housing, there is an ominous note about wait times for subsidized housing.
“It is not possible to provide a specific wait time. Criteria used to place individuals and families changes regularly. Halton Region must follow provincial government regulations, which means the date on your application is not the only information used for placement on our wait list. The waiting time can sometimes take several years for units highest in demand…”
Finding affordable housing can take years. Hundreds of women fleeing violence are turned away from shelters in our region because of overlong wait times for safe, subsidized housing. This is simply not acceptable.
Turning battered women away is one part of the issue, but the longer wait times also have an impact on the women who do get into the shelters. One of the most important things these women need at this time is stability. They and their children are rebuilding a life, and the months they have to wait to start it is a significant strain on everyone. Permanency is a requirement for building a stable new life.
In its recent 2019 budget, the Region of Halton proposed a 1.9% tax increase for regional services. Regional Chair Gary Carr has taken to social media repeatedly to boast of “delivering an average property tax increase of 0.7% for Regional Services from 2007 to 2018, while maintaining or enhancing core services.” All of these increases fall below the rate of inflation. In other words, overall, Halton is collecting less tax to provide services and the end result has been, wait times for subsidized housing increasing year over year.
 Community level support was evident. Can’t say that much for the support from the Regional government. The question is then, why is sufficient safe, affordable housing for our community’s most vulnerable people not considered a “core service”? There is clear evidence that the region is providing far less than what is required by its citizens and yet tax increases are still being kept below the rates of inflation. There is hope however, in 2018 Burlington elected a slate of progressive city councillors that are determined to work to support the more vulnerable among us.
But the effort needs to come from all levels of government. Our community needs the provincial government to increase shelter funding to at least the level of inflation. Our community needs the regional government to invest in enough subsidized housing that the wait times can be measured in weeks and not years. And our community needs the city to live up to its commitment to its most vulnerable.
In 2017 in Halton there were 3,156 police calls for domestic violence. And in Halton we only have 52 shelter beds for the women who made those calls.
 By Pepper Parr
March 4th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The city of Burlington has tonnes of money squirreled away in bank accounts. Some of the money is ear marked for specific purposes. Other reserve funds are there to be used for almost any purpose.
The city’s reserves got a lot of attention during the recent budget deliberations. In a number of instances funds from a reserve fund were brought in to the 2019 budget to cover an project expense.
That there is now a bit of a struggle for control of those reserve funds became evident during the budget debates where sharp differences from the Interim city manager, the Director of Finance, Councillor Sharman and the Mayor. That debate ended with the chair of the budget committee promising not to raid the reserve accounts in the future.
In a document from the Finance department they explain that “Reserve Fund Assets are segregated and restricted to meet the purpose of the reserve fund. Investment income must be accumulated in the reserve fund and be accounted as part of it.
“There are two types of reserve funds: obligatory reserve funds and discretionary reserve funds. The following table provides a summary of our reserve funds and their purpose,”
Development Related Reserve Funds:
Development Charges against land to pay for increased capital costs required because of increased needs for services arising from development of the area to which the By-law applies. – (By-Law No. 46-2014)
 Central Park Park Dedication
For funding parkland acquisition and other recreational purposes in accordance with governing legislation and municipal policy. (By-Law Nos. 147-1993, 57-2005, 70-2005)
Public Benefits
Funding to be utilized only for facilities, services and other matters specified in the policies of the official plan and Sec. 34 regulations as enacted and as more particularly set forth in the signed agreement between the City and developer. – (By-Law No. 15-2017)
Vehicle Depreciation and Replacements
To accumulate funds to be used for the purpose of funding replacement requirements and/or purchase of vehicles, equipment, accessories through the Capital Budget process. – (By-Law Nos. 140-2002, 141-2002 & 142-2002)
 Transit Related Reserve Funds
Transit Inter-Regional/Capital to accumulate funds to be utilized for Transit Inter-Regional Capital Projects or other Transit related capital requirements as approved by City Council. – (By-Law No. 62-2002)
For the accumulation of monies to finance future transit capital requirements.
(By-Law No. 61-2002)
Transit Capital
For the transfer of funds from the Provincial Fall Economic Statement (2007) Funds for municipal transit capital expenditures. – (By-Law No. 33-2008)
 Gas tax funds cover the cost of new vehicles. Provincial Gas Tax
For the accumulation of monies received from the Provincial government under the Dedicated Gas Tax Funds for Public Transportation Programs. – (By-Law No. 123-2004)
Federal Gas Tax – Transit Dedicated
To accumulate funds to be used according to guidelines established within the Municipal Funding Agreement. – (By-Law No. 149-2006)
Transit Shelters Funds for use in the construction of Bus Shelters. – (By-Law No. 72-1992)
Burlington Hydro Proceeds
Used to capture interest and dividend payments to the City as the sole shareholder. The funds are used for capital renewal projects as well as provide funding to the Current Budget. – (By-Law No. 34-2001)
Capital Purposes
Contributions from the Current Budget are held in this fund before they are required in the capital program. Provisions to Capital from Current are made annually. (By-Law No. 2-1991)
Infrastructure Renewal
For funding minor reconstruction of roads, creek work, facility or building retrofit and repairs and technology replacement. Provisions from the Current Budget are made annually. (By-Law No. 116-1996)
Information Technology Renewal
For funding capital renewal of the City’s information technology Systems and infrastructure. (By-Law No. 109-2015)
Federal Gas Tax
To execute the Municipal Funding Agreement for the Transfer of Federal Gas Tax Revenue under the New Deal for Cities and Communities between the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Corporation of the City of Burlington. (By-Law No. 109-2005)
 Public art on Plains Road Public Art
To fund future expenditures related to the acquisition, installation, deaccessioning, maintenance, preservation, restoration, and collection management of the City’s Public Art Program. (By-Law No. 89-2004)
Railway Crossing
For funding future railway crossing improvements and possible new grade separations budgeted in the Capital Budget. (By-Law No. 33-1997)
Joseph Brant Hospital
In December 2009 Council approved a municipal contribution of not more than $60 million toward the JBH Phase I Redevelopment plan. (By-Law No. 28-2010)
Strategic Plan
For funding the delivery of the initiatives identified in the City’s 2015-2040 Strategic Plan. (By-Law No. 46-2016)
Strategic Land Acquisition
The accumulation of funds for the acquisition of land. (By-Law No. 56-2008)
Severe Weather
To accumulate funds primarily for the purpose of alleviating the fiscal impact of unforeseen or uncontrollable fluctuations in costs associated with severe weather events. (By-Law No. 60-2010)
 Tax Rate Stabilization
To alleviate the fiscal impact on the city’s budget and tax rate as a result of unforeseen or uncontrollable fluctuations in budget expenditures and revenues. (By-Law No. 35-1994)
Building Permit Stabilization
For the accumulation of monies to stabilize building permit revenues. (By-Law No. 27-2005)
Planning Fee Stabilization
For the accumulation of monies to stabilize planning and development revenues. (By-Law No. 29-2005)
Engineering Fee Stabilization
For the accumulation of monies to stabilize engineering revenues. (By-Law No. 28-2005)
Commodity Stabilization
To alleviate the impact of unforeseen or uncontrollable fluctuations in commodity costs. (By-Law No. 06-2016)
Employee Accident
Required by agreement for funding Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) claims and related expenses incurred by the City as a Schedule 2 employer. (By-Law No. 25-1994)
Benefits
Fund consists of premium rebates from the insurance carrier, used to make various payments relating to the provision of benefits to staff. (By-Law No. 26-1993)
Economic Development
Used to fund economic development initiatives designed to capitalize on significant business recruitment opportunities. (By-Law No. 26-1998)
Waterfront Centre
For the accumulation of monies received from net surplus from the indoor operations of the Waterfront Centre as well as the net surplus revenues from the waterfront parking lots parking program for the capital renewal, capital enhancement and debt repayment of the Waterfront Centre. (By-Law No. 66-2015)
 Paletta mansion Paletta Mansion
For the accumulation of monies received from the net operations of the Paletta Mansion for the capital renewal and capital enhancement of the Paletta Mansion. (By-Law No. 64-2015)
Tyandaga Facility
For funding capital improvements to the municipally owned Tyandaga Golf Facility. (By-Law No. 4-1991)
LaSalle Park Pavilion
For the accumulation of monies received from the net operations of the LaSalle Park Pavilion for the capital renewal and capital enhancement of the LaSalle Park Pavilion. (By-Law No. 63-2015)
Senior’s Centre
For the accumulation of monies received by way of surcharge from facility rentals, program registrations, memberships and/or donations at the Burlington Senior’s Centre to support the capital renewal of the Burlington Senior’s Centre. (By-Law No. 65-2015)
Sports fields
For the accumulation of monies received by way of surcharge from facility rentals and/or unrestricted donations at Artificial Turf Fields, Sports Fields and Passive Parks (“Sports Fields”) to support the capital renewal and capital enhancement of these Sports Fields. (By-Law No. 61-2015)
Haber Community Centre
For the accumulation of monies received from the naming rights to Haber Recreations Centre to support the capital renewal and capital enhancement of the Haber Recreation Centre. (By-Law No. 67-2015)
 One of several gymnasiums at the Haber recreation centre. Recreation Centre
For the accumulation of monies received by way of surcharge from facility rentals, program registrations, memberships and/or unrestricted donations at Brant Hills Recreation Centre, Haber Recreation Centre, Mountainside Recreation Centre Community Rooms, Rotary Youth Centre, Tansley Woods Community Centre Gyms and Community Rooms, Sherwood Forest, Ella Foote Hall, Lowville School House (“Recreation Centres”) to support the capital renewal and capital enhancement of these Recreation Centres and the related program amenities. (By-Law No. 58-2015)
Pools
 Swimming pool. When the Nelson pool equipment failed funds to replace everything came from a reserve fund. For the accumulation of monies received by way of surcharge from facility rentals, program registrations, memberships and/or unrestricted donations at Aldershot pool, Angela Coughlan Pool, Centennial Pool, LaSalle Pool, Mountainside Pool, Nelson Pool and Tansley Woods Pool (“Pools”) to support the capital renewal and capital enhancement of these Pools and the related program amenities. (By-Law No. 60-2015)
Arenas
For the accumulation of monies received by way of debt repayment from ice and room rentals at Aldershot Arena, Appleby Arena, Central Arena, Mainway Arena, Mountainside Arena, Nelson Arena and Skyway Arena (“Arenas”) for the debt repayment of Appleby Ice Centre. (By-Law No. 62-2015)
Culture
For the accumulation of monies received by way of surcharge from facility rentals, program registrations, memberships and/or unrestricted donations at Music Centre and Student Theatre (“Cultural Facilities”) to support the capital renewal and capital enhancement of these Cultural Facilities and the related program amenities. (By-Law No. 59-2015)
 Funds for the Burlington share ($2.3million) for Randall Reef that had to be built to encase years of toxic waste in Hamilton Harbour we kept in a reserve fund. Randal Reef
For the accumulation of monies for the purpose of providing the City’s and Region’s contribution to ensuring the successful implementation of sediment remediation efforts for Randle Reef, by way of agreement with Environment Canada, Ontario Ministry of Environment, City of Hamilton, Hamilton Port Authority and US Steel Canada Inc. (By-Law No. 25-2013)
Downtown Streetscape
Funds for use in improving streetscaping in the downtown core area. (By-Law No. 108-1994)
Community Heritage
Funds provided by the Ministry of Culture and the City to provide financial assistance to owners of designated properties. (By-Law Nos. 128-1985 & 16-1993)
Mundialization Committee
To provide funding for reciprocal gifts for the City of Burlington’s twin, Itabashi, Japan. (By-Law No. 89-1995)
Naval Memorial
 The Naval Memorial; a prominent part of Spencer Smith Park. Fund provided for the purpose of funding future expenditures related to the maintenance, preservation, restoration and management of the Naval Memorial Monument. (By-Law No. 81-2009)
LaSalle Marina
Funds collected from the sale of slips to be used for the capital replacement of the LaSalle Park Marina. (By-Law No. 17-2005)
Policy Initiatives
For funding corporate and departmental policy initiatives. (By-Law No. 106-2015)
Culture Initiatives
For funding expenditures to facilitate opportunities for enhancing city-initiated cultural programs. (By-Law No. 107-2015)
Energy Initiatives
For funding energy initiatives deemed to be feasible and in line with City objectives relating to energy conservation. (By-Law No. 108-2015)
Community Investment
For funding solely towards supporting future community initiatives approved through the Community Investment Policy. (By-Law No. 115-2015)
Sims Square
For the accumulation of monies received from the net operations of Sims Square for the capital renewal and capital enhancement of Sims Square.
Forestry
For Funding expenditures related to the preservation of City of Burlington’s tree canopy from invasive species and diseases such as Emerald Ash Borer, Gypsy Moth and Dutch Elm. This includes treatment programs, removal and replacement of impacted trees, and related coordination and communication costs. (By-Law No. 105-2015)
Parking District
For funding capital improvements to parking lots within the City. (By-Law No. 3-2007)
Downtown BIA
For the purpose of funding future capital projects and future tax rate stabilization. (By-Law Nos. 39-1997 & 99-1999)
BEDC Operations & Marketing
Funding for programs relating to the Downtown Partnership and the Burlington Economic Development Corporation. (By-Law No. 161-1993)
BEDC Innovation Centre
Funding to be used to alleviate the impact of unforeseen operating expenses or for capital purposes such as for renovations, improvement and equipment that will benefit users of the centre and most be approved by the Burlington Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, or otherwise approved by Council. (By-Law No. 32-2018)
 Library Board
Contributions from the Current Budget are held in this fund before being required in the capital program for Library purposes. (By-Law No. 70-2003)
Tourism Burlington
For the accumulation of monies to be used to cover Current Budget shortfalls and for special projects after the Current Budget has been expended. (By-Law No. 69-2006)
Museums Board
Funds for use in the acquisition of artifacts and for capital improvements to the Joseph Brant and Ireland House Museums. (By-Law Nos. 20-1990, 21-1990, 22-1990 & 143-1991)
 The transformed Brant museum is scheduled to open in July. Museum Board – Joseph Brant Transformation Project
Funds to be used solely for the purpose of funding the Joseph Brant Museum Transformation Project. (By-Law No. 56-2014)
Burlington Performing Arts Centre
For the accumulation of monies received from net surplus revenues from the operations of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. (By-Law No. 55-2015)
Burlington Performing Arts Centre – donations
For donations contributed to the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. (By-Law No. 54-2015)
Burlington Performing Arts Centre – capital
For capital repairs, rehabilitation and renewal of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. (By-Law No. 50-2015)
 By Ray Rivers
March 2nd, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
If I’d been prime minster of this great land I might have done some things differently. For starters I would have kept my promise to bury the undemocratic first-past-the-post electoral system. Preferential balloting for 2019, then an information campaign leading to a referendum on proportional representation as was recommended in the last parliamentary committee on electoral reform.
I would have applied the carbon tax universally across Canada and used the proceeds to remove the HST (federal portion) on electric vehicles, electric heating and appliances, and to help defer the costs of provincial renewable energy production.
And I wouldn’t have shuffled Jody Wilson-Raybould (JWR). She is a formidable force to reckon with, as anyone watching her carefully crafted testimony before the Justice Committee last week could see. She spoke straight-up and convincingly from detailed notes, though some of the most damning quotations were only from secondary sources.
 Jody Wilson-Raybould: She spoke straight-up and convincingly She said that nothing which had transpired was illegal. She had never been directed against her will, and while she sensed what she called ‘veiled threats’, no one had actually threatened her with anything. She simply got annoyed after some 11 people had asked or urged her to reconsider her position. Then she was shuffled to a different Cabinet position, but she could not talk about that. It was covered by Cabinet confidentiality.
So she spoke her ‘truth to power’, which according to Wikipedia is “a non-violent political tactic, employed by dissidents against the received wisdom or propaganda of governments they regard as oppressive, authoritarian or an ideocracy.” Is that really how Jody Wilson-Raybould saw the government she had been such a big part of for the last three and half years? And was that the political party of which she still wants to remain a member?
 Conservative leader Andrew Scheer and his nodding fellow Tories. The Commons Justice Committee will not resolve anything substantive against the PM, it has a Liberal majority after all. The Ethics Commissioner will not find that Mr. Trudeau’s actions were intended to benefit him personally. And the RCMP will ignore the idiotic request by Conservative leader Andrew Scheer and his nodding fellow Tories.
JWR, or Puglaas as she is considered in her native culture, will be expelled from the Liberal caucus at an appropriate time and may return to her earlier work as regional chief of her first nation. Or having had a taste of partisan politics may look to join one of the other parties.
Either of the other major parties would likely welcome her. She might be more comfortable, though, with the NDP, and Jagmeet Singh would, no doubt, embrace her. Though, despite his recent victory in Burnaby South, some of the NDP membership might wish it were her rather than him as leader.
Justin Trudeau recruited JWR. There was history between their fathers. And though she never actually served in a specific Cabinet role related to her aboriginal background, he must have seen her assisting with his goal of achieving indigenous reconciliation. We know that she was at least marginally engaged in that issue. The Clerk of the Privy Council mentioned that there was some friction between her and other ministers on that file.
 Reconciliation is more than making amends for the residential schools fiasco. Reconciliation is a complicated matter and evades a single or simple definition. But it is more than making amends for the residential schools fiasco. Trudeau had been hoping we would finally get beyond the 1867 Indian Act – the most discriminatory piece of legislation in Canadian history, if we ignore what happened with WWII Japanese – Canadian interment. With JWR out of the picture, reconciliation is likely to be on the back burner until after the election, or perhaps even longer if Andrew Scheer becomes the next PM and follows Stephen Harper’s approach.
It would be interesting to see a poll on how Canadians feel about SNC Lavalin and whether it should have to go to court or be allowed to plea bargain it’s way out of its two decade old corporate bribery charge, in otherwise corrupt Libya.
JWR decided to support the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and force SNC to run the gauntlet of a trial. She must have known that her party, and likely those on the other side as well, would have preferred to see a remediation agreement – the way this kind of crime is handled just about everywhere else.
But she chose a red line – a hill to fight for and hold. And she may have won the battle. The PM cannot possibly get his new AG to override the DPP after somebody leaked this story to the Globe and Mail, and all that has transpired since.
But somebody else needs to ask who leaked what appears to be Cabinet confidential information. They would likely be in violation of section 38 of the Canada Evidence Act given that you’d have to be there to get this kind of detail. So perhaps it wasn’t the whole Truth to the power that we heard.
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington where he ran against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province. He developed the current policy process for the Ontario Liberal Party.
Background links:
SNC Deal – Truth to Power – Indigenous File –
Reconciliation – Cabinet Confidence –
 By Pepper Parr
March 1st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The shift that has taken place in the way city council works now is almost seismic.
Burlington voted for five new council members in October. Two of the five were the result of former councillors who decided not to run again. The other two were defeated at the polls.
The Mayor lost his chain of office – Marianne Med Ward now wears that symbol of office.
The 2010 to 2018 Council was almost always mean spirited – the Mayor was not able to change the culture of that Council. Meed Ward’s relationship with then ward 1 councillor Rick Craven was close to toxic; Meed Ward often felt her personal safety was at risk. The Gazette didn’t see it that way, however they certainly didn’t get along.
 The 2019 city council – seven people quite pleased with themselves – they have every reason to be proud of what they ave done so far. Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman was almost as bad as Rick Craven – they seemed to feed off each other with former Councillor Lancaster following along and former Councillor Dennison, who should have known better, let them get away with it.
Marianne Meed Ward was determined that this was not the way the city council she was to lead would work. She made that abundantly clear during the final meeting of the 2010 – 2018 city Council.
The question was: Could she pull it off?
Too early to be definitive but if what we are seeing so far – it is and will continue to be a much more collegial and effective city council.
 Meed Ward gets to laugh from time to time.
When she realizes after hearing what staff and other Councillors have to say that her opinion needs to change – she is direct and forthright – and changes her mind.
She is also challenging staff in a way they have not been challenged for the past ten years. This is really healthy. There is certainly some chatter amongst the Directors as to how she inserts herself into a situation – they will get over it and come to realize that they are fortunate to have a Mayor who will actually lead.
Meed Ward still has some work to do on getting her council members onside. In an important vote related to the Randall Reef work being done in Hamilton, Meed Ward said she wanted her colleagues with her on this one. The motion passed but it was one of those 4-3 votes Burlington used to see every council meeting.
Councillors Lisa Kearns, Paul Sharman and Kelvin Galbraith did not vote with her on the item which had to do with using reserve funds money for a short period of time.
 Randall Reef – The second worst environmental waste deposit in the country had to be cleaned up: Burlington paid $2.3 million over ten years. Randall Reef is a three government level undertaking to bury tonnes of toxic sludge in Hamilton Harbour. Burlington is in for $2.3 million, Hamilton $6 million – the Region and federal government in for the balance.
The most socially liberal spend came from Councillor Sharman who said free transit for people who do not have enough money to live on “is the biggest gift we can give them” put the expense in the base now.
The Region uses a formula that is made up of LICO + 15%. The low income cut-offs (LICOs) are income thresholds below which a family will likely devote a larger share of its income on the necessities of food, shelter and clothing than the average family.
Thus a household with one person will be eligible for the free transit if their income is below $29,139.
The cut off point for larger households is set out below.
1 person 29,139
2 persons 36,276
3 persons 44,597
4 persons 54,147
5 persons 61,412
6 persons 69,262
7 persons or more 77,113
There were some extraordinary decisions made at the Standing Committee meetings this week. They should hold up at the Council meeting at the end of the month.
Related news stories:
Meed Ward – final 2018 Council meeting.
Randall Reef
Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette
 By Staff
March 1st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
City Council has been toying around with a private tree bylaw for years.
A tentative toe in the water step has been taken – now we wait to see how the public reacts.
 This glade of trees on the east side of City View Park is to be cleared of these trees to create space for the construction of Maintenance space. BurlingtonGreen didn’t think this was necessary. There are the tree huggers who argue that no one owns a tree – we are just stewards of one of God’s gifts – here to take care of the tree while the tree takes care of us.
On the other side there are those that see the tree as their property and no one is going to tell them what to do with their property.
 And if someone wants to cut the tree down because they are tired of raking up the levees cutting down that tree is their right.
With a “pilot” private tree bylaw in place we now get to see what the Luddites actually do.
Private Tree Bylaw is now in effect within the Roseland community area, for two years. During this time, consultation will be facilitated by the Roads, Parks and Forestry Department to investigate the feasibility of rolling out the bylaw city-wide. At the end of the two-year pilot, a decision will be made by council to make the bylaw city-wide as-is, make changes to the bylaw or cancel it.
The pilot project protects private trees with diameters larger than 30 cm, historic and rare tree species from damage or destruction.
Two information sessions were held; one for residents of the Roseland Community and one for the general public. The presentation from the information sessions can be found at burlington.ca/privatetree.
About the Private Tree Bylaw
Within the Roseland Community, no person can injure, destroy, cause or permit the injury or destruction of a tree with a diameter of 30cm or greater or of a tree of significance (historic or rare).
To read the full bylaw, including information on permits, exemptions and fines, visit Burlington.ca/PrivateTree. The document is ten pages in length.
 Roseland tree boundaries 2019 Examples of exemptions include:
• Trees with a diameter of less than 30cm
• For the purpose of pruning in accordance with Good Arboricultural Practices
• For emergency work
• If the tree has a high or extreme likelihood of failure and impact as verified or confirmed by an Arborist or the Manager
• If the tree is dead, as confirmed by the Manager of Urban Forestry, or designate
• If the tree is an ash tree (due to the Emerald Ash Borer), as confirmed by the Manager of Urban Forestry, or designate
• If a tree is within two metres of an occupied building
Permits
A person wanting to remove a tree with a diameter larger than 30 cm or of significance can apply for a permit online by visiting Burlington.ca/privatetree.
Fines
Minimum fine is $500. Maximum fine is $100,000.
That $100,000 fine will be the talk of the cocktail circuit in Roseland.
Steve Robinson, Manager of Forestry, the guy who is going to have to oversee this one did say that: “As this pilot progresses, we will be looking at what is working, what isn’t working and if any changes are needed. Once we have enough information to make an educated decision, we will present our findings and recommendation to council. We want a system in place that protects our trees and is manageable from a staffing perspective but doesn’t infringe upon property owner rights or slow development.”
Links and Resources
Private Tree Bylaw Pilot (project page)
 By Pepper Parr
February 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The tax increase for the 2019 budget will be 2.99%.
They did it.
 Marianne Meed Ward – just sworn in as Mayor. And today she got her first budget approved. The Operations budget is set at $165,960,609.
The Fire Chief didn’t get his $50,000 drone but the Manager/Supervisor of the bylaw enforcement team did get $35,000 for a car.
There were some incredible decisions made – those people who live below the poverty line are going to be able to get bus passes that will allow them to use transit totally free of charge.
More detail later today – council is getting ready to wind up – talking through some Staff Directions they would like staff to work at and think about.
We have a Mayor who worked hard to bring her colleagues with her and challenged staff to look at the way funds are used differently.
The decision made at the Standing Committee is just a recommendation – it can be changed at the city council meeting at the end of March.
 A new council produced a budget that will surprise man.
 By Walt Rickli
February 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington is preparing a Rural Active Transportation Strategy in order to create safe walking and cycling options in rural Burlington for residents. Event will take place on March 7th, at the Conservation Halton office on Britannia Road.
 This is what rural Burlington is all about – large fields, small farms and people wanting to maintain a lifestyle where roads can be walked on. Having safe and connected active transportation infrastructure allows for residents to access recreational and green space in rural Burlington through walking, cycling, or any other form of non-motorized transportation.
Rural Burlington has a unique set of challenges and opportunities that this strategy plans to address through the following:
• Identifying opportunities to enhance safety. Provide realistic, cost-effective options to enable active transportation.
• Identifying missing links and barriers to active transportation.
• Identifying opportunities to integrate the Bruce Trail into the on-road transportation facilities.
• Improving the safety of trail crossings.
At this time, we would like to invite you to a Rural Active Transportation Workshop. The workshop will be an opportunity to hear about how people are currently using active transportation in rural Burlington, the types of trips being taken and where people are going. We also want to hear about issues and barriers to using active transportation.
The workshop will be interactive, providing opportunity to discuss and visualize active transportation facilities suitable for small town and rural areas. This fun, informative and interactive workshop is available to any persons interested in active transportation in rural Burlington. Very important to all living in rural Burlington!
To register for this free event, please contact: Dan Ozimkovic, C.E.T, Transportation Planning Technologist, Transportation Services
905-335-7671, ext. 7485 – danijel.ozimkovic@burlington.ca
The workshop will be led by: Kate Whitfield and Ezra Lipton from Alta Planning + Design
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2019: Time: 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Location: Conservation Halton, 2596 Britannia Rd, Burlington, L7P 0G3
 Walt Rickli, on the left, is an artist and active member of the Lowville community. Should Lowville secede from the Region of Halton Rickli would be elected Mayor in a landslide
By Pepper Parr
February 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The first part (Capital) of the 2019 budget has been approved;city council now moves on to completing the debate on the Operations part of the budget.
This city council has shown that it is ready to do things differently. The capital focus has been on infrastructure and transit. Spending for 2019 will amount to $96.4 million with a 10-year program of $819 million.
Seventy two per cent of the 10-year capital budget will be invested in renewing Burlington’s aging infrastructure.
A breakdown of spending for the 2019 capital budget of $96.4 million includes:
 Burlington has to do a major upgrade of its information technology systems – some of it is urgently needed. • $49.5 million, the largest component, for roadways
• $10.1 million for facilities and buildings
• $8.4 million for parks and open spaces
• $6.3 million in storm water management
• $10.6 million towards fleet vehicles and equipment
• $9.5 million for information technology
• $0.9 million for local boards (Burlington Public Library, Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington Museums)
• $1.1 in parking.
Some highlights of the 2019 capital budget include:
 Burlington Transit getting new buses – to deliver less service. • $1.9 million in funding to improve public transit with the purchase of three new conventional buses
• $234,000 in funding to purchase one new para-transit bus
• $550,000 in funding to build a new splash pad in Brant Hills Community Park
• $450,000 in funding for a new sports lighting system for the ball diamond and pathways at Maple Park
• $600,000 in funding for new amenities at Tansley Woods Park.
Council was able to whittle away some of the Finance department recommendation of $96.8 million down to $96.4 million.
 By Staff
February 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 Crossing the finish line: Easy when there is no snow. It is going to be a challenge this Sunday. That time of year again – when hundreds of runner take to the pavement and tun the Chilly Half Marathon. This time it is really going to be chilly.
There will be transit route disruptions.
Routes 3, 10 & 20 Detour – March 3
Detour Area: Brant St. south of Caroline St. and Lakeshore Rd. from Brant St. to Burloak Dr.
Detour Dates: March 3, 2019 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Detour Routes:
• Route 3 Northbound will leave the Terminal and travel along New St. turning left onto Guelph Line and continue regular routing
• Route 3 to Burlington GO will leave the Terminal and travel along John St. and Caroline St. then turn onto Brant Street and continue regular routing
• Route 10 will leave the Terminal and travel along John St., Caroline St, Locust St., and Ontario St. then turn onto Maple Ave. and continue regular routing
• Route 10 from the Burlington GO will travel along Maple Ave. then turn onto Ontario street and travel along Locust St., Caroline St. and John St. to the Terminal
• Route 20 will travel along Appleby Line turn left onto Spruce Ave. and travel along Hampton Heath Rd., Stratton Rd., Boxley Rd. and Winston Rd. then turn left onto Burloak Dr. and continue regular routing
Stops not in Service:
• Lakeshore Rd. between Brant St. and Guelph Line and between Appleby St. and Burloak Dr.
• Burloak Dr. between Winston Rd. and Lakeshore Rd.
• Appleby Line between New St. and Lakeshore Rd.
 Transit route changes – Sunday March 3rd, 2019
 By Staff
February 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington is pleased to launch a new youth mural project. Lead by professional artists, youth will get a hands-on opportunity to make a mural that will be unveiled as part of Youth Week (May 2019).
The city is looking for youth ages 14 – 18 to help create a mural that will be part of the City of Burlington’s public art collection.
Workshops
• Youth participants are invited to attend one of 3 meetings on their area to learn more.
• Each meeting is 2-3 hours long and includes a dinner break (food and refreshments provided)
• The meeting includes hands-on art making activities; each participant will take home their own graffiti art inspired poster
• The workshops will take place at the following locations:
Meeting 1 Burlington Seniors’ Centre, 2285 New St. Tuesday, March 19 from 4:30-7:30 p.m.
Meeting 2 Haber Community Centre, 3040 Tim Dobbie Dr. Wednesday, March 21 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Meeting 3 Mountainside Community Centre, 2205 Mount Forest Dr. Thursday, March 22 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Attend any ONE meeting to meet the Artist and discuss the project. Dinner provided.
Project team meeting: Week of April 1-5, Student Theatre Centre 2131 Prospect St. – exact date and time TBD
Production: April 15-30 unveiling and launch Saturday, May 4, during National Youth Week.
How to Participate:
RSVP to rainer.noack@burlington.ca
About the Artists
Jimmy Baptiste is a youth educator/facilitator, graphic artist, curator and muralist raised in Montreal, Quebec. His aim is to develop and provide his clients a unique approach to education through the arts. He promotes the use of murals as graffiti vandalism deterrent, engages people of all ages in positive skill-building experiences while simultaneously supporting local arts and culture, and enhancing a neighbourhood’s beauty for residents and visitors.
In 2015, Jimmy received the P. Lantz Bursary as an artist-in-residency from the Department of Integrated Studies and Education (D.I.S.E) of McGill University in Montreal. He as collaborated with various organisations like Mikw Chyiam as artist in residency in first nation communities, A’Shop, Under Pressure Graffiti Festival branding, Cossette Media and the Educational Program of Place des Arts in Montreal.
Hans Schmitter is a US born, Montreal-based artist with over 20 years experience with spray can art and graphic design. He has worked on countless commercial projects and painted hundreds of murals, large and small, in many locations around the world. He has worked as a solo artist and in collaboration with other artist and team members, in every capacity, from assistant to creative director
By Pepper Parr
February 27th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
As city council works its way through the 2019 budget, determined, it would appear, to come in with a tax increase of not more than2.99% over what they dinged the public for last year, a number of things become evident.
The Mayor is front and center on this budget.
Reserves are not just money that is kept for a rainy day
And a new expense doesn’t just get added to the base budget where Mayor Marianne Meed Ward believes it gets forgotten.
 No doubt about who is steering the direction the 2019 budget is going in – Mayor Med Ward is very hands on. Mayor Meed Ward is all over this budget; she speaks on every item, listens carefully to staff and will adjust her thinking when she hears a good argument.
She is keeping staff on their toes – and letting the Finance department know that she, the Mayor, doesn’t see those reserves as sacrosanct.
Municipalities are not allowed to show a deficit. They rely on reserves when income doesn’t match expenses.
When it looks as if there isn’t going to be enough revenue the municipality will borrow. Debt for Burlington is set at not more than 15% of revenue which is defined as what can be collected through property taxes.
In the municipal world they never know what is going to hit them next: a flood, an ice storm or a winter when snowfall exceeds what was expected – and with climate change the word “expected” isn’t something that makes sense anymore.
During the current budget discussions Meed Ward made it clear that asking her to go along with the addition of staff isn’t a given.
The Joseph Brant Museum people made a request for staff needed to operate the museum expansion expected to open around July of this year.
Any new people were going to be needed on an ongoing basis going forward – it would make sense to add those costs to the base budget – no?
Meed Ward didn’t see it quite that way. She was prepared to go along with new staff costs on a one time basis and have the museum staff return the following year and let council know how they had done in terms of revenue. She wanted the museum people to know that she expected the museum to earn at least a part of their keep.
It would be a little on the harsh side to say that the Mayor was being hard nosed – but she is certainly not being a push over. If Burlington’s bureaucrats want public money for their operations – they are going to have to show this council that they are going to put the funds to good use and bring back as much as they can as a return.
 Joseph Brant Museum – undergoing a rebuild – scheduled to open in July, will look a lot different. There was a staff Direction included for the Executive Director of the Museum that set out what was expected of her – Barb Teatero had left the meeting before that document got read into the record.
The Mayor is working with five people who are new to the world of municipal finance. One would hope that much of this new approach to financing city operations rubs off on these new Councillors – Meed Ward isn’t going to be Mayor for life. Our guess – two terms and she will be off for bigger things.
 Councillor Stolte on the right with Councillor Nisan during budget discussions. When determining who the Standing Committee Chairs would be, Meed Ward didn’t have much to pick from. Ward 4 Councillor Stolte struggles at times with the numbers side of things, Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna doesn’t always fully grasp what the issue is, Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan seems to want to align himself with ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman but also wants to go out on his own – he just isn’t sure quite where that is.
 Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith explaining a point to ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna. Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith certainly understands the numbers – at times he seems positively amazed at what goes on in the world of municipal finance.
 Ward 2 Councillor with art by a local painter in her office that has a lot of non issue furniture as well. Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns has a sound understanding of what she has to do and has surprised many with the way she handles herself. She has the most developed sense of humour on this council and doesn’t let anything on the numbers side get past her –at least not so far.
As for Councillor Sharman, ward 5, he appears to suffer some indigestion when he sees the way Mayor Meed Ward drains funds from the surplus accounts.
By Ray Rivers
February 26th,2019
BURLINGTON, ON
After the dust had settled on the three by-elections, the Liberals came out one seat ahead. It was the one they used to own – in Outremont, Quebec. The Tories cleaned up in York-Simcoe to nobody’s surprise. But the prize was in Burnaby South where NDP leader Jagmeet Singh easily won, confounding the pundits, though it was a seat previously held by his party.
 Jagmeet Singh now has a seat in the House of Commons; now the hard part for him begins. Political analysts will struggle trying to dissect Singh’s victory in that ethnically diverse riding of Burnaby South. The Liberals placed second, ahead of the Conservatives but well below where they might have been thanks to some unfavourable headlines. To begin with their initial candidate had to resign after making racist comments. She’d argued that her chances of winning were good since more voters were of Chinese origin, like her, than Indian (Sikh), like Singh.
The Liberals rushed to replace her but clearly had lost valuable campaign time and ended up with a parachute candidate. In fact, Singh was the only candidate from a major party who actually lived in the riding, having moved there from Ontario. He had campaigned hard for this win, as if his future depended on it. And it did.
Party leaders are rarely defeated, perhaps in the spirit of fair play among voters. But the odds were out on Singh. Some committed Conservative and Liberal voters may have decided to stay home just to give Singh a chance. Still with an overall turnout of 30%, this was a more representative poll than either of the other two by-elections that night. But perhaps it was the weather helping the turnout – always kinder to voters in La La land.
It is no secret that Liberals had been musing whether their chances in the next election would actually be better with Mr. Singh sitting in Parliament or the NDP scrambling for a new leader. But then scrambling for a new leader didn’t hurt the Ontario Tories last election. And it’s also no secret that some in his own party were having misgivings about their last choice for NDP leader. They were not so quietly saying that there would be no second chance if Singh lost.
But there may have been other factors. For example, the provincial NDP is locked in a legal and political fight with Alberta’s NDP and the Trudeau government over the Trans Mountain pipeline, and Singh’s own objections to the pipeline, and the oil sands in general, no doubt played a role in his victory. Burnaby is the terminus of the pipeline and potential bitumen spills and enhanced tanker traffic are real concerns.
The NDP and Greens were alone in this opposition to more oil, but the absence of a Green Party candidate meant that Singh got all of those anti-pipeline votes as well. And on the topic of vote splitting, Maxime Bernier’s new People’s Party made a decent first showing in this riding, getting a third of the right-wing vote, and holding the real Conservatives back from getting to second place. But then the wild west is where the more libertarian/reform minded parties tend to do well, so that should not have been too surprising.
 Jody Wilson Raybould – probably not a woman you want to argue with. The Liberals were also undoubtably hurt by the Wilson-Raybould/SNC Lavalin issue. The riding of the former Attorney General (AG) is just down the hall from Burnaby. Sometimes the mere mention of a scandal is enough to sideline any politician. And Trudeau and the Liberal brand have already been damaged, tarnished by allegations of political interference in favour of the Quebec based industrial giant, SNC Lavalin.
Nothing happened! Lavalin is going to court to face the music. But the mere fact that the PM or one of his staff or his senior bureaucrat may have spoken to the AG about this matter is being referred to as pressure. And this is where it gets crazy. Because the AG is just another Liberal politician and a fellow Cabinet minister, and would have been expected to discuss the SNC case with her colleagues in that capacity. But was she pressured?
Jody Wilson-Raybould is a very accomplished person with an extensive and impressive resume. She was a BC provincial crown attorney, land claims negotiator and Regional Chief of the BC Assembly of First Nations. Recruited into the Liberal family as late as 2013 by Mr. Trudeau she was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General following the 2015. election. There is an historical connection between Justin and Jody, since their fathers had tangled in discussions leading to Canada’s constitution.
Wilson-Raybould is to testify before the Commons Justice Committee this week, so that everyone may find out what her ‘truth’, as she calls it, really is. Mr. Trudeau, for his part, has not addressed why he chose to demote her just months away from the next election. She had completed a milestones report of the many accomplishments during her three years as AG, which included legislation on marijuana, medially assisted dying and impaired driving legislation.
 Jody Wilson Raybould: Handles media well, doesn’t appear to do selfies. There are some who would detract as to how well she had served her time as AG. But she also has a lot of followers, particularly since she resigned from the Trudeau Cabinet. Wilson-Raybould has stated that she is a Liberal and plans to run in the next election. So one has to ask why she is doing this. Why is she creating a crisis that might well sink any hope of the Liberals retaining government and Mr. Trudeau continuing as Prime Minister?
But perhaps that is the plan. Jody’s father once told Pierre Trudeau that he wanted one of his daughters to become PM. Perhaps once Justin has been defeated she’ll take over.
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:
Election Results – Trans Mountain – Jody Wilson- Raybould –
By Pepper Parr
February 26th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
It has been chop, chop, chop at the Operational budget review meeting that started this morning.
City staff came in with a proposed tax increase of 3.99% – Mayor Meed Ward said she liked the look of 2.99% – and at noon this council had the amount whittled down to 3.1%
This new Council is looking to the reserve funds for the dollars that are needed to pay for some of the new asks. They actually debated on whether or not they would hire new bus drivers for the new buses they approved of last night.
 Brant Museum Executive Director left the Standing Committee meeting before getting the wording on the Staff Direction that was prepared for her. The Brant Museum got a close close look – and had its funding request handled as a one time expense – council wants to see what the Museum staff can do on the revenue side.
 Councillors Galbraith, Bentevegna and Mayor Meed Ward worked at lessening the new spending and using reserve funds to pay for new services. This is a different council – one that talks openly about how big an advocate ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte has become for the fire department. There is a ride on a fire truck in the works for her. Mayor Meed Ward seems intent on being on that fire truck as well.
Good work so far for this council.
By Staff
February 26th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Bureaucrats at almost every level want to know what the people they serve think – so they do surveys.
The Halton District School Board is inviting students, parents, staff and community members to participate in the online engagement survey: Have Your Say. Topics for feedback include learning opportunities, communication, involvement in schools, technology use, equitable and inclusive learning environments, and transportation.
 Student comment gathered in a 2017-18 survey. Was there nothing negative gathered? The surveys are open for all groups from Feb. 1 to March 29, 2019. The information gathered from the survey will help the Board continue to create a positive learning environment to help shape school improvement and well-being plans. The survey will be available at www.HaveYourSayHDSB.ca, or via the Board’s website at www.hdsb.ca. The survey is available in six additional languages: Arabic, French, Hindi, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Urdu.
The Have Your Say survey will provide the Board with feedback regarding the goals and targets in the Halton District School Board’s Multi-Year Plan (2016-2020).
The Board will share a summary of the information collected with all stakeholders in June 2019. This data continues to support school and system improvement planning.
The Have Your Say survey is completely anonymous and the questionnaire will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Individual responses will be grouped together for analysis.
 Stuart Miller, Director of Education “As partners in education, your input is valued and appreciated,” says Stuart Miller, Director of Education for the Halton District School Board. ”The Board is committed to engaging our community and building relationships to continually improve the educational experience for all students. We recognize your involvement is critical to student success, which is why we’re inviting you to complete this online survey. With your feedback, we can help guide meaningful change to improve student learning, well-being and success.”
 By Staff
February 26th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
An application for a retail cannabis store in Burlington has been received by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. Written comments due by March 6
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (ACGO) has received an application for a retail cannabis store in Burlington at 103-4031 Fairview St.
 Proposed location for a retail cannabis operation. On Fairview east of Walkers Line. Written comments about the proposed location at 103-4031 Fairview St. will be received by the AGCO until March 6, 2019 and may be submitted online at www.agco.ca/iAGCO. The AGCO will accept submissions from:
• A resident of the municipality in which the proposed store is located
• The municipality representing the area in which the proposed store is located and/or its upper-tier municipality.
Comments submitted to the AGCO should relate to the following matters of public interest:
• Protecting public health and safety
• Protecting youth and restricting their access to cannabis
• Preventing illicit activities in relation to cannabis.
After March 6, the AGCO will consider all written comments and available information to decide whether the application for the proposed store location will be approved.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward has been an advocate for retail cannabis operations. During the election campaign she said she was surprised at the resistance to retail locations in the city.
When it came to a vote at city council Councillors Shawna Stolte, Ward 4 and ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentevegna voted to not have retail outlets.
 Mayor Meed Ward supports the opening of a retail cannabis site: two of the six Councillors were not n side with her. The Mayor said: “This is the kind of location where it is appropriate for accommodating retail cannabis stores in our city. It is more than 150 metres from any school or any of the other locations of particular concern, including parks, pools, arenas, libraries or recreation centres. And it is also along transit routes and near the QEW/Hwy. 403.
She added that the city “won’t be submitting comments to the AGCO on this application given its suitability. The public can submit their comments by March 6 to the AGCO’s website. Burlington City Council is in the process of creating a task force to develop a set of standard comments we would provide to the AGCO, when applications come forward, that reflect community perspectives on where these should be located.”
Meed Ward has been appointed as one of four members of a working group at the Large Urban Mayor’s Caucus of Ontario (LUMCO), part of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, that will work to develop similar guidelines for suitable locations. The working group includes mayors of two municipalities that opted in and two that opted out of allowing cannabis retail stores, recognizing that our concerns are similar. The guidelines we create will be shared with the AGCO and our municipalities.
 By Staff
February 25th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Got his earlier today.
Dear Customer:
We’re letting you know that we’ve noticed some suspicious activity on your account. We believe someone has learned your password from a website or service not associated with Evernote. We care about the security of your Evernote account and to make sure it’s secure, we’ve reset your password.
Please take the following actions:
 1. Visit https://www.evernote.com/ForgotPassword.action to set a new password. We recommend that you choose a strong password that you use only for Evernote.
2. Review the “Applications” section of your “Account Settings” page and click “Revoke Access” for any devices you do not recognize.
We also suggest that you change your password on any other websites where you may have used the same password. You can find more tips for keeping your account secure on our Customer Security page: https://evernote.com/security/tips/.
The Evernote Security Team
If you are concerned about the authenticity of this email or have any questions, please visit this Help and Learning page: https://help.evernote.com/hc/articles/115004380587.
Here’s the problem – we don’t have an Evernote account. We have used the service when we have been invited to an event. The service is useful but someone appears to have decided they can use its popularity and begin stealing your identity.
We aren’t going to touch this one with a ten foot pole.
The email looks Ok but – the trust factor we need just isn’t there.
That cardinal rule: “If in doubt – don’t.”
 By Staff
February 25th 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board (HDSB) is currently reviewing the boundaries of Frontenac Public School along with the following Ward 4 elementary schools: John T. Tuck, Pauline Johnson, Ryerson, and Tecumseh.
This review will not impact current high school boundaries. That means students currently residing in the Nelson HS catchment will continue to be directed to Nelson HS.
 Pauline Johnson PS has a number of portable to accommodate the student population Boundary reviews are necessary when student enrollments are imbalanced. When populations exceed school capacity, portables are necessary. When individual school populations are consistently low (under 60% utilization), school closure conversations (otherwise known as a Program Accommodation Review) can be triggered.
The school board publishes an annual report on the current and long term enrollment predictions for all schools in Halton. This report is called the Long Term Accommodation Plan
The Boundary Review Committee (BRC) consists of a superintendent, a trustee, and two parent representatives from each school in the affected communities. BRC meetings will take place at the New Street Education Centre (3250 New Street), also known as Gary Allan HS, from 7–9 p.m. on February 26, April 9, and May 14. The public is welcome to attend, as observers, at any of the BRC meetings.
The public is invited to participate in the Boundary Review Public Consultation meeting being held on April 30 at the same location and time as above. Here, the public may view the options being considered and ask questions of the HDSB staff and Boundary Review Committee members in attendance.
By Staff
February 25th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Once again Burlington’s Best nomination deadline has been extended – this time to March 7
 In an announcement from city hall the public is advised that those wishing to nominate a fellow resident for a Burlington’s Best Award can now do so until Thursday, March 7, 2018. The original deadline has been extended by seven days.
Visit burlington.ca/best to nominate someone deserving of civic recognition for their hard work, compassion and dedication.
Nomination forms can be completed online at burlington.ca/best or by picking up a nomination form at the Clerks Department at City Hall, 426 Brant St.
Related news story:
Nomination categories for Burlington’s BEST
 By Jim Feilders
February 25th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Building height and tree removal are like car speed.
There is no maximum.
After a certain point you pay for it in the form of a fine.
The higher the building, the more you pay the government.
The more trees removed, the more you pay the government.
The more you speed, the more you pay the government.
The Planning Act of Ontario has what is known as a Section 37 which allows a developer to offer a benefit to a municipality for additional height. There is no specific rate for the size of the benefit and the additional height permitted.
Section 37 Benefits
 1 to 5 storeys over the limit, XXX per floor
6 to 10 storeys over the limit, XXX per floor
11 to 20 storeys over the limit, $26,316 per floor*
21 to 30 storeys over the limit, XXX per floor
30+ storeys over the limit, XXX per floor
The Highway Traffic Act of Ontario sets out what it is going to cost when you exceed the speed limits.
 1-19 km/h over the speed limit is a $2.50/km speeding fine.
20-29 km/h over the speed limit is a $3.75/km speeding fine.
30-49 km/h over the speed limit is a $6.00/km speeding fine.
50+ km/h over the speed limit comes with a court decided fine.
Burlington Roseland Pilot Private Tree Bylaw set out what it will cost to remove trees of a specific size
 30 to 50 cm, $1400 per tree removed
Over 50 cm, $2100 per tree removed
Specialty and boundary trees, see details
That is the Law
If nothing is done, exit signs on the QEW coming from Hamilton might well say:
Next Exit Burlington Downtown, Brant Street
CAUTION
Tall Buildings
Narrow Streets
No Sun
No Trees
No Oxygen
No Beach
No Parks
No Parking
No Transit (call Uber)
No Grocery Stores
No Community Gardens
PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK
Next Exit Burlington GO Station Mobility Hub, Guelph Line
CAUTION
No Development for 20 Years
Next Exit Oakville Downtown, Trafalgar Road
Low Rise Buildings
Wide Tree Lined Streets
Sun
Trees
Oxygen
Waterfront Park
Community Parks
Parking
Public Transit
Grocery Stores
Community Gardens
Boating, Swimming, Museums, Shopping, Libraries
Developers Proceed to GO Station Intensification Area
What can be done to create a vibrant Burlington downtown?
Community benefits increased to $500,000 per floor to pay for infrastructure, affordable housing and sustainable development.
City wide private tree bylaw requiring equivalent caliper diameter replacement on site, with no cash in lieu (same as Site Plan Application Guidelines Section 9).
Rezone employment lands for mixed use with minimum job criteria.
Rezone religious institution blocks for mixed use with minimum affordable housing criteria.
Enforce Sustainable Building and Development Guidelines by passing net zero energy/net zero carbon/net zero waste building bylaw.
 Jim Feilders is an engineer by training and an environmentalist by choice. He drives a hybrid car, heat and air conditions his house at a cost of of approximately $375 a year. The views expressed here are solely his own and not necessarily those of the various organizations with which he is associated.
 By Pepper Parr
February 24th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The deadline for what has been an annual event for the past 53 years is February 28th. The city asks the citizens to nominate people they feel have served the city well in eight categories.
 The 2017 winners pose with their awards. From left to right: Kim Moss (Community Service), Addison Wood (Junior), Ron Danielsen, on behalf of Friends of Freeman Station (Heritage), Mae Radford (Senior), Osob Adus (Citizen of the Year), Mayor Rick Goldring, Bill Murray (Accessibility), Teresa Seaton (Arts Person), Gloria Reid (Environmental) The eight categories are:
Citizen of the Year
A person whose volunteer activity has made a significant and sustained contribution to the vibrancy and well being of the Burlington community in 2018.
Junior Citizen of the Year
A youth, 14-18 years of age who has made a significant contribution to the Burlington community in 2018.
Senior Person of the Year
A person, 55 years or older who has made a significant contribution to the Burlington Community and/or advocated on behalf of seniors in 2018.
Environmental Award
An individual or group that improved and/or protects Burlington’s environment in 2018.
Arts Person of the Year
An individual who has contributed to the arts in Burlington as an artist, patron or advocate including but not limited to, visual arts, media arts, musical arts, performing arts and literary arts in 2018.
Community Service Award
An individual or group whose volunteer activity has contributed to the betterment of the Burlington community in 2018.
Heritage Award
An individual or group who has demonstrated a commitment to the preservation of Burlington’s heritage, and has volunteered their time in an effort to support the preservation of Burlington’s heritage in 2018.
Accessibility Award
An individual, organization or business who have made significant contributions to increase access and participation of people with disabilities in the Burlington community in 2018.
In the past the city has stretched the nomination date – the uptake on the part of the citizens wasn’t as robust as it could have been.
Many have used their being named one of the Best as a launch for a political career. There have been some abuses: wives have nominated husbands; mothers have nominated sons
This, the 53rd event is reported to be the last.
Gazette sources have advised that the program will come to an en this year.
Established in February 1965 as the Civic Recognition Committee it may have outlived its usefulness.
What isn’t clear is – who made the decision to end the program?
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