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Arrests Made in Rooftop Commercial Break & Enters

By Staff

November 14th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

The Halton Regional Police along with other area police services were experiencing a rash of roof-top commercial break and enters into various retail businesses.

Since October 4th 2018, there have been 13 reported entries or attempted entries between Halton, Peel, York, Waterloo and Hamilton.

Investigators from the involved police services have been working closely and sharing information which ultimately led to the identification of three persons responsible for many of these entries.

On November 12th 2018, Halton Regional Police investigators arrested three men and executed three search warrants on homes and a rental car that resulted in the seizure of stolen property, break and enter tools and a large quantity of cash.

The investigation is ongoing to determine if others persons are involved and/or if additional charges are to be laid.

Armend HYSENI (25-yrs) of Hamilton and Flamur HAZIRI (30-yrs) of Kitchener are both charged with six counts of break and enter while Milaim BRANTON (34-yrs) of Hamilton is charged with six counts of break and enter and one count of possession of break-in instruments.

All three men were released on a Promise to Appear with an Undertaking and will appear in Milton Court on December 12th 2018.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Clay Gillis the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Commercial Crime Team at 905-825-4747 Ext. 2307.

Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See Something? Hear Something? Know Something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca .

City is looking for people to sit in committees and boards. Applications being accepted until November 23rd.

By Staff

November 13th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

City of Burlington wants you to volunteer for a board or committee

Burlington is accepting volunteer applications for some of the city’s committees and boards. Volunteering your time on a committee or board is a great way to make a difference and provide community feedback.

Applications for local boards and committees are available online, at City Hall and city facilities and can be submitted until Friday, Nov. 23, 2018.

For more information about citizen committees or to apply for a volunteer position, contact the Clerks Department at 905-335-7600, ext. 7481 or visit burlington.ca/citizens. New opportunities will be posted in 2019.

Danielle Manton, Burlington Manager of Election and Committee Services

Danielle Manton, Manager of Election and Committee Services said: ““Getting involved with a board or committee is a great way to get involved and provide insight that will go to staff, Mayor and City Councillors.

“You don’t have to be an expert in any of the committee topics; you just need to have an interest in helping your city.”

Several citizens have suggested there might be a better way for citizens to involve themselves in the decisions that get made. Having a seat at the table where the decisions are made is one approach that has been suggested.

A number of people don’t think Advisory Committees have any clout, especially if they are members of Council on the committee who tend to guide and determine the direction a discussion can go.

Burlington isn’t yet at the point where citizens can speak their minds freely without a local Councillor directing the conversation.

The new city council might be different – that remains to be seen.

Application form is available.

Richards: City Staff at all levels should be put on notice by this new Council that they are there to serve to Citizens and not the other way around.

We have asked Burlington residents that we know and have communicated with in our seven years of operation what they think the new city council needs to do in its first 100 days.

They get sworn in on December 3rd – tell us what you think has to be done in that first 100 days to set a new path and get out of the rut many feel the city is in.

There are a lot of people unhappy with transit; unhappy with the thinking that is coming out of the Planning department and worried about annual tax increases of around 4%

We asked the people we knew, they aren’t all friends of the Gazette, what they thought could be done and should be done.

Krista Richards doesn’t see much that she likes at city hall.

By Krista Richards
November 13th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON

This election we almost got a full clean sweep of council. That is a huge message for this new council.

Lori Jivan, Acting coordinator of budget and policy patiently leads people through an explanation of the budget and the workbook the city created.

Hitting the ground running is an understatement. The most obvious thing to deal with is the new budget. And more to it, how the City treats the taxpayers and Citizens of Burlington with how they spend our money.

In the past 4 years, City Hall including past council, spent money recklessly on “nice to haves”, 3^rd party contractors, and consultants that even a high schooler could see was a waste of money. Meanwhile Mr. and Mrs John Q Taxpayer had City Staffers (NOT ALL OF THEM), ignoring emails, phone calls, lying to residents, and giving favors to their friends. And yet, no transit plan (8 years that has been talked about), infracture is horrible, the OP, etc etc etc. This HAS TO STOP.

The most direct way, to start to right the ship…… control the money! Control departmental spending, 3^rd party contractors rebilling for the same job 3 times because they messed up. Stop hiring consultants who are friends of a friend. These few examples of reckless spending, goes hand in hand with the Citizens of Burlington being treated like persons of servitude. There is a great deal of money that could easily be trimmed from the budget with no loss of service. In some respect, services could be increased if someone actually put some effort into their department(s).

City manager James Ridge

City Staff at all levels should be put on notice by this new Council that they are there to serve to Citizens and not the other way around. New Council should be going through old budgets NOW line by line, and not just trust the staffers on what they say. There is a lot of smoke in those lines. While doing so, this will send a clear message for the City Manager and staff to wake up and do their jobs, if not a lot of dead weight, bad attitude paycheck collectors needs to leave. Making room for people honestly get what public service means and want to do it well.

The Citizens of Burlington voted for change. We need fiscal, ethical and moral responsibility at City Hall. If this new council accomplishes this very thing, it wont be easy but they will be well on their way to doing exactly what we elected them to do.

Carl Dixon to perform in the Studio Theatre at the Performing Arts Centre

By Staff

November 13th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

The Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC) presents a unique and moving evening with a Canadian rock legend: Carl Dixon will perform on Thursday, November 22 in the Community Studio Theatre.

Carl will share songs from his incredible career with April Wine, The Guess Who and Coney Hatch along with stories about his time on the road with them and his recovery from a major car accident in 2008.

Dixon is one of Canada’s stellar rock musicians. His first international record deal came with Coney Hatch in the 1980s. Big tours, radio hits, MTV, and “the big time” all came with that. Carl then went on to perform with some of Canada’s most iconic bands. Two different hitches as lead singer of The Guess Who bookended a four-year stint playing with April Wine.

In 2008 Carl’s life was nearly cut short. He barely survived a shocking head on car accident in Australia while on a break from touring with The Guess Who. Despite over 50 injuries, titanium implants and traumatic brain injury Carl sings and plays with more heart than ever.

His remarkable comeback and adjustment to life post-accident has seen Carl become an inspirational speaker to corporations across Canada and the USA.

In 2016, for two special shows, he attained his post-accident goal of rejoining The Guess Who. He is rightly described as a man of titanium, rock and soul.
He shares his gripping and amusing stories from a life on the road in a unique evening of music, song and stories.

Tickets available at the BPAC Box office

Is city hall getting back into the rankings game ? Burlington was ranked as #3 in culture for a city our size.

By Staff

November 13th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

Culturally Burlington is making the rankings.

Culture Days— a national, non-profit organization celebrating arts and culture has ranked Burlington’s 2018 Culture Days weekend seventh overall and third among cities with a population between 50,000-500,000.

The celebrations feature local creative organizations, venues, professionals and businesses that host free events throughout the weekend for the community. Independent Burlington artists, the Arts and Culture Council of Burlington, the Art Gallery of Burlington, the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Burlington Public Library, Museums of Burlington and Tourism Burlington were all involved.

Some 2.5 million attendees took part in thousands of free activities and performances hosted by artists, cultural organizations and municipalities in 800 communities across Canada.

Beefing up local cultural events is a plus – let’s just hope we don’t get carried away with that ranking stuff – it tends to blow up on you – remember when everyone a city hall drank the Kool Aid with that our being the #1 Best City?

Burlington had over 50 cultural activities registered for the Culture Days weekend this year.

Tammy Fox - is creating part of the cultural diet for the city - some broccoli included.

By Pepper Parr

November 12th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

Revised: The Gazette frequently tapes interviews – we should have done that this time. Tammy Fox was very gentle with us when she pointed out that we had mixed up some of the facts. If she handles all the problems she faces the way she handled us – the Performing Arts Centre is in very good hands.

Tammy Fox, the Executive Director of the Performing Arts Centre was born in Lindsay, Ontario, close to a rural community that was certainly small town – went to elementary school in Coburg Ontario.

After graduating from the University of Windsor where she focused her studies on psychology and creative arts she spent the next 12 years in theatre administration and management, first at Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre and later managing Peterborough’s Showplace Performance Centre.

Tammy Fox – she went to “the dark side” of the theatre world for a period of time.

In 2006 she moved to Toronto, taking over the role of Executive Director at ShakespeareWorks, which gave her the opportunity to work with Canadian theatre luminaries RH Thomson and Christopher Newton.

And then Tammy Fox went to what she called “the dark side” of the theatre world.

She formed the Fox Entertainment Agency on her own in 2008. Her husband took it over (after the roster had been reduced dramatically to accommodate his busy schedule as a professional musician) once Tammy joined BPAC in 2017.

Fox Entertainment Agency wqs a full-service interdisciplinary performing arts booking agency which specialized in professional touring theatrical productions, while also representing a select roster of musical artists who are especially suited for soft seat venues.

Her focus at the Agency was to create an artist/audience exchange in which it is recognized that all parties involved are focused on the same goal – to experience and share the wealth of performing arts talent that this country has to offer.

The mission at Fox included

connecting its roster of artists with diverse audiences
supporting and developing the careers of its roster of artists nationally and internationally
obtaining quality performance opportunities for its artists in performing arts centres, festivals and non-traditional venues
managing tours on behalf of its artists, from promoting, booking and routing to post-performance follow-up
fostering and sustaining meaningful long-term relationships with presenters and arts creators
assisting presenters to develop new audiences and enrich the experiences of current audiences.

Tammy Fox has been on the job for 18 months.

If you replaced the word artists with the word audiences in that list you had a woman with a set of skills that were a large part of what the Burlington Performing Arts Centre was looking for when they had to find their fourth Executive Director in a seven year time frame.

Fox was at Ontario Contact, the provincial booking conference, held that year in Peterborough, her old venue Showplace Performance Centre, where she bumped into Brian McCurdy. A combination of nostalgia of being in her former theatre, combined with the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of a man she admired greatly, that drew her to the Performing Arts Centre.

McCurdy, who told her that Burlington was looking for a new Executive Director, had served as the Executive Director for two terms; he was loved and adored but having tasted a bit of retirement, he became partial to making that his full time occupation.

Tammy Fox has been on the job for 18 months. The trick for her was to come up with programming that will draw audiences that more than cover the cost of bringing in the entertainment and have funds left over to encourage the growth of local talent and give them a place to perform.

She is now developing a program that tries to meet the interests of as many people as possible. “You can’t keep everyone happy all the time” she commented during an exclusive interview with the Gazette.

Performing Arts Centre Executive Director Tammy Fox – an actor at heart.

Fox sees her role as being responsible for part of the “cultural diet’ for the city.

The Family Series, Classical Matinees, Holiday programming and the ever-popular Classic Albums Live concerts add protein to the cultural diet.

There are the young audiences that have to be introduced to theatre and grown. The BPAC people have a strong working relationship with the Board of Education that sees a lineup of school buses outside the Elgin street location frequently.

Some of the local productions are superb – as good as you are going to get in Toronto. They usually take place in the Community Studio Theatre and at times draw audiences of less than 50 people. Is the turnout due to the content or poor promotion? Perhaps a bit of both. The work done by Trevor Copp and the Form Community Dance Theatre are drama and dance at its most progressive and moving. The hope is that Tammy Fox won’t give up on this kind of work.

Fox is proud of the “golden ticket” program that assists people with limited means to attend theatre productions.

She is even prouder of the Festival of Trees fundraiser that she developed for ACCOB – Arts and Culture Council of Burlington, to give raise funds to local artists to use the Community Studio Theatre.

BPAC has a stable audience, much of it from the downtown core where people can walk to the theatre.

Here is the Burlington Teen Tour Band opening up the Performing Arts Centre.

The Performing Arts Centre is “home base” to the Burlington Teen Tour Band

The big name headliners are important – Buffy St. Marie and the Bare Naked Ladies do well. Others are a tough sell and at times Fox has to settle for a production that is available and she has a time slot to fill.

Early in her career Fox talks of a lesson she learned. A community group rented a venue for a performance of Oklahoma that did astounding well – they sold out the 650 available seats. That led Fox thinking that the community wanted more of this type of program. What Fox learned was that a community audience isn’t necessarily a theatre audience.

Later this month Royal Wood returns to Burlington. He was the first performer to take to the stage and eight years later he is back. During that first event there were two older woman who walked out of the performance – they didn’t see Royal Wood as what the Performing Arts Centre was built to present.

When Fox came aboard she had to work with a program that was already in place – some scheduling is done years ahead of time.

In May of 2019 she will present the 2019-2020 program that will be all hers. Her focus is to come up with more ways to engage the community, bring in productions that appeal to the various audiences she needs to serve.

Coming up with programs that appeals to families with several children is a challenge; “I need to come up with something a family can afford” she said – The Nutcracker Suite is part of that offering – but she wants more.

Expect to see more on Truth and Reconciliation.

The biggest part of the job is to shape the program offering that meets the pure entertainment needs and desires of the public and at the same time offer content and experiences that grow the cultural appetites.

Finding the vision and then creating a mission her Board will live with.

This isn’t something that is easily done. It takes time to formulate a vision based on what you ave learned about a community and turn that vision into a mission and convince a Board to support you – hoping that along the way the budget gives you the room to do that.

Where are the gaps in the program?

Is there more the Performing Arts Centre can do to improve that “cultural diet” Fox will tell you that there has to be some broccoli in that diet; some protein as well.

Is a tighter relationship with Sound of Music possible? Peter W. Van Dyk, an insurance executive sits on the BPAC Board. His father is co-executive director of Sound of Music Festival. Fox has been working on that connection and trying to work with them. she hopes that something can happen happen in 2019.

Ilene Elkaim, vice chair, then chair then vice chair again – the other part of the BPAC Board tag team.

Rick Burgess – Chair – then vice chair and chair again – part of a BPAC Board tag team.

A number of people wonder why the Chairmanship of the BPAC Board looks a little like a wrestling tag team with Rick Burgess and Ilene Elkaim taking turns at the head of the Board room table.

The theatre is operated as a separate legal entity; the building is owned by the city and the city has representation on the Board. The organization doesn’t hold annual public meetings – the Art Gallery does – if you look hard enough you will find financial statement. Use https://burlingtonpac.ca/annual-reports/

Could some of the incredibly good work that comes out of the Hamilton Fringe be imported to Burlington ?

Running a “performing theatre” is a challenge; the operation is not a production theatre. The city pumps more than half a million dollars into the Centre and adds a small amount to the ticket price for the capital fund needed to keep the facility modern.

The search for funding sources, looking at what the federal and provincial governments can provide is part of the Executive Director’s job. Provincial funds are likely to be smaller with the Ford government in place.

There was a time when the theatre was dark far too often. Fox reports they “We are only dark for seven days during the Festive Season. It will be even less than that in 2019.

The Festival of Trees which runs from November 23rd to December 20th gets people into the building which has one of the biggest bars in the city.

Fox adds that “We had quite a bit of use last summer. Student Theatre is in the venue for the entire month of July. In August BPAC presents the free Jazz on the Plaza series, and this year Lights Up! Theatre Co sold out a run of Run For Your Wife. Next August we will be extending that with a community theatre festival.

The concerns city council used to have are far less then they were three years ago.

Fox works with what she has to keep most of the people happy. One thing that did stun us was that Fox wasn’t aware of Hamilton’s James Street Crawl.

Now in its eighth year of operation under four Executive Directors – is the public getting value for the $500,000 plus annual subsidy?

Hersh: resident involvement is essential if anything is to be achieved in the first 100 days.

We have asked Burlington residents that we know and have communicated with in our seven years of operation what they think the new city council needs to do in its first 100 days.

The Councillors gets sworn in on December 3rd – what has to be done in that first 100 days to set a new path and get out of the rut many feel the city is in ?

There are a lot of people unhappy with transit; even unhappy with the thinking that is coming out of the Planning department.

We asked the people we knew, they aren’t all friends of the Gazette, what they thought could be done and should be done.

By Penny Hersh
November 12th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON

The residents voted in a new council with the mandate for change. Will it be what residents expect in what they perceive as a reasonable time frame? That is yet to be determined.

In response to this request and because Engaged Citizens of Burlington – ECoB feels that resident involvement is essential I asked the seniors who attend the current events class I am a part of for their input.

In no particular order this is what was expressed.

– Get control over development.

– Culture change at City Hall – Council needs to direct staff, not the other way around.

– Council needs to stop depending solely on Staff Reports.

– Council needs to work with the Provincial Government – Regarding” Places to Grow” and the demands put on Municipalities to reach the mandated target set out for them.

– Council Meetings should take place throughout the City not only at City Hall. Parking is a problem downtown, and if the meetings take place during the day there is a parking fee.
COMMUNICATION:

– Town Hall Meetings – to explain in “layman’s language” what is happening. Telling people to go to the City’s website is not the answer.

– Newsletters from Councillors that do more than just detail events happening in their wards. High praise for Marianne Meed Ward’s “ A Better Burlington”.

– City needs to hire a Public Relations firm to make Municipal Politics “resident friendly”.

Together we can make a greater change in the culture at City Hall, and never again have to wait for an election to make our voices heard.

The change Burlington needs requires commitment from City Hall and the citizens of Burlington alike, and it needs to start now. Together we can make a greater change in the culture at City Hall, and never again have to wait for an election to make our voices heard.

To be part of this change ECoB is asking residents to participate in the resident ward level committees that are being formed. More information can be found on our website Engagedburlington.ca To sign up email us at info@engagedburlington.ca and make your ward level committee a success.

Regional police using more high tech - focus on retail thefts with a database of retail store surveillance cameras images.

By Staff

November 12th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) has a new tool to help identify suspects of retail thefts occurring in the Region. The HRPS is the first service in Ontario to leverage a website dubbed ‘Retail C.O.P.’ (Cameras on Patrol).

Images of suspects in retail thefts are uploaded to the secure site, along with brief suspect descriptions.

Retail security cameras capture the data – police can analyze and frequently identify suspects.

These images are typically gathered from retail store surveillance cameras. Loss prevention officers are then provided access to the website in hopes of helping to identify suspects. Any tips are sent to the HRPS Retail Theft Unit for investigation.

To date, the HRPS has invited and trained more than one hundred loss prevention officers from across Ontario to take part in the program.

This program provides retailers, security, loss prevention and law enforcement agencies opportunities to identify offenders and through education, reduce and prevent organized retail crime, and prosecute identified offenders.

How is it working so far? “Fantastic” said Inspector Bob Gourley, 3 District Operations. “. By tapping into the knowledge and experience of the loss prevention officers on the ground in stores across Halton we are taking advantage of a previously underutilized resource.”

Security cameras capture some of the thefts – the information is shared with retail security people who can aid the police in arrests.

Retail theft costs Canadians $4 billion every year, with costs being passed on to consumers. This year to date, there have been more than one thousand occurrences of retail theft reported to police in Halton.

Rutherford: audit planning staff, evaluate previous recommendations and educate planners.

We asked Burlington residents that we know and have communicated with in our seven years of operation what they think the city needs to go in its first 100 days.

The new city council gets sworn in on December 3rd – what has to be done in that first 100 days to set a new path and get out of the rut many feel the city is in?

There are a lot of people unhappy with transit; unhappy with the thinking that is coming out of the Planning department.

Here is what Kevin Rutherford thought could be done and should be done.

By Kevin Rutherford
November 12th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON

1. Perform audits of planning staff and City manager to evaluate the performance of previous planning recommendations. Staff recommendations are wildly different depending on the planner on file, they need to reign this in and provide a consistent message and approach. Performance should also be evaluated based on the time spent reviewing applications and whether they completed the recommendation within the 120 day window, failure to do so allowed the National Homes Developer on Brant Ave to file an appeal and with the Georgina Court Development it forced council to make a decision in haste because of fear of litigation from the developer because they were at roughly 390 days.

2. Come up with a plan on engaging residents more in development plans, and earlier in the game, and treat residents with respect when they are engaged. Current meetings are essentially about checking a box in the process rather than actually engaging with residents.

3. Scrap or re-visit the City-wide parking review. They are reducing the parking spaces required for developments creating massive parking issues. The reality is that adult children are living at home longer so more spaces are needed, not less. The justification for their plan is that they want to eliminate cars from the roads and force people to take transit etc… I am sorry I manage rail/transit engineering projects and Burlington needs massive investment before any of their objectives will ever work and in the meantime residents will continue to struggle. In areas of the city where they are exploring street parking permits is just a cash grab and not proper planning.

4. Educate planning staff on the current OP, PPS, Places to grow act etc… They are submitting recommendations that do not comply either due to incompetence or insufficient education. I agree they need to try to ensure they meet the conditions of these plans/policy, they do not seem to understand the basic principles. Even when mistakes are found, they still defend their decisions and fight, forcing developers or residents to file LPAT appeals.

Keith Rutherford is a Senior Project Manager, managing Rail & Transit engineering projects. He is also the individual leading the LPAT appeal for the Georgina Court (Upper Middle Enclave) residents. He reports that “We just received responses from the City staff on our appeal synopsis and record that we submitted and they are still digging in and standing their ground essentially “sucking and blowing” in their response on the issue items.

An opportunity to learn about the principles of professional performance.

By Staff

November 11, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

This might interest some people.

Ken Gass, the Artistic Director of the Canadian Rep Theatre, will be doing a 90 minute workshop during which he will explore the key principles of acting & performance.

If you have you ever thought that you could be an actor, participate in a practical hands-on workshop and discussion on the principles of professional performance.

The afternoon will include improvisation and other key exercises in a workshop that promises to be both entertaining for the newly initiated and challenging for those with more experience.
Takes place at the Performing Arts Centre in the Community Studio Theatre on November 17th at 3:00 pm

Click to reserve a place for yourself.

Remembrances Day services and bus route changes.

By Staff

November 11th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

A number of Remembrance Day services will be taking place in downtown Burlington on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018. Several bus routes will be altered.

The following road closures will be in place:

• Brant Street will be closed from Elgin Street to Victoria Avenue between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

• James Street will be closed from John Street to Brant Street between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

• Ontario Street will be closed from Locust Street to Brant Street between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
• Baldwin Street will be closed from Brant Street between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

A number of Remembrance Day services are taking place in downtown Burlington.

9 a.m.
Sunrise Remembrance Day Service
This 30-minute ceremony takes place at the Naval Ships Memorial Monument in Spencer Smith Park.
Spencer Smith Park

10:30 a.m.
Remembrance Day Parade
The parade starts at Central Public School.
Brant to Elgin Street, Elgin to Locus Street, Locust to Ontario Street

11 a.m.
Remembrance Day Service
This 45 to 60 minute ceremony is held at the Cenotaph, on the north side of City Hall.
Cenotaph.

Burlingtonians fill Brant Street during the Cenotaph ceremonies on Remembrance Day.

Does a ward Councillor have to live in the ward they represent? Legally no - but most people will tell you they should.

By Staff

November 10th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

This article has been revised.

Does the Councillor for a city ward have to actually live in the ward they want to represent?

Legally they don’t have to but it became pretty clear that most people thought they should live in the ward and wanted them to live in the ward.

Burlington has one Councillor who doesn’t live in the ward she was elected to represent and another who rents in the ward and spend much of his time in a condominium he owns outside the ward.

Both explained their situations during the campaign – but questions are being asked – where do you live and when do you plan to move into the ward.

Councillor Elect Shawna Stolte

Ward four Councillor Elect Shawna Stolte, writing from the lobby of a hotel in Cuba where she is on a short vacation said: “I believe my Ward 4 constituents would want me to focus on the budget and learning the job over this first year and worrying less about my real estate search.

“My situation hasn’t changed. Now that the campaign is over, looking forward to finishing my renovation and looking at selling and moving likely sometime in 2019.”

Likely and sometime in 2019 is a large stretch of time. In a recent Rocca Sisters real estate report they said that Burlington is currently a “seller’s market”. Smart people normally make hay while the sun is shining.

Councillor Elect Rory Nisan

Ward 3 Councillor Elect Rory Nisan has a slightly different situation. He has an address in ward 3 and his driver’s license has that address on it. He also has a condominium in ward 6 that he bought well before he had decided to become a candidate. That was to be his home for him and his girl-friend.

Nisan did consider running in ward 6 but his heart was in ward 3 where he was raised and grew up. He believed he could win in ward 6 but his heart was in ward 3 where he ran and won handily.

Nisan expects to make a statement soon soon – he too is planning a ten day vacation in Ireland before he gets sworn in as a city Councillor and begins work on getting the budget for the city in place.

Nisan provided the following statement:

“In fact, I live in Ward 3 and moved there from Ward 6 earlier this year.

“When I decided to run, I knew that living in the ward is important. But I bought near the peak of the market so a quick purchase wasn’t feasible financially. As a result, and for some personal reasons, I found a place to rent in rural Ward 3. I have a lease and have paid thousands of dollars in rent. That’s why my driver’s licence states that I live in Ward 3 — where else could it say?

My girlfriend lives in Ward 6. We are now happily searching for a suitable place for both of us — in Ward 3 of course.”

A candidate in the ward 3 race isn’t too happy with what she thinks she sees taking place.

Lisa Cooper

Lisa Cooper, a close to perennial candidate in ward 3, said in a comment in the Gazette that it: “Would have been nice if Rory Nisan had let us all know in Ward 3 that he didn’t actually live in our Ward.”

She added that this may be “Sour grapes on my part, maybe but I can hold my head up knowing I ran a fair and by the rules campaign, and the only money funding my effort was from my own pocket. The financials should be interesting especially the compliance audit.”

Clock Tower bells will be rung at sunset on November 11th.

By Staff

November 10th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

At sunset on Sunday, November 11, the City of Burlington will join other local organizations, including veteran groups and churches, to mark 100 years since the World War I armistice with the ringing of 100 bells.

At 4:59 p.m. on Nov. 11, the city’s clock tower will play bells 100 times at five-second intervals – one to mark each year.

One hundred years ago, on Nov. 11, 1918, news of the end of fighting in the First World War travelled through Europe with the chime of church bells ringing out in celebration.

Alan Harrington wants to see something done with the city's brand and the fire damaged property south of the QEW in the first 100 days of the new municipal government.

With a new municipal government getting ready to assume power the question is – what will they do first?

What are the big issues?

We asked the readers of the Gazette what they thought the new council should attempt to get done in its first hundred days.

Here are some of their thoughts.

By Alan Harrington
November 9th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON

One Burlington issue that irks me and the community is the horrid “Welcome to Burlington” sign that greets a million drivers heading into the city on the QEW westbound.

It looks like a town that hasn’t put any effort into its brand for 30+ years.

The “O” is shaped like a sliced egg with a sulfur smell.

The severely damaged Paletta property on the south side of the QEW at Appleby Line.

And speaking of stink… what is our Councillor doing about the burned out meat factory sitting on QEW and Appleby? This neglected piece of property looks like an abandoned third-world-country war zone. It’s sat like this for a year now as of December 6th.

Does the city like the image of a city that doesn’t care how it looks to the millions of drivers that pass through each day?

Alan Harrington feels like a resident tortured in the Orchard.

Fred Crockett wants to ensure that Council doesn't try to micromanage everything during the first 100 days.

With a new municipal government getting ready to assume power the question is – what will they do first?

What are the big issues?

We asked the readers of the Gazette what they thought the new council should attempt to get done in its first hundred days.

Here are some of their thoughts.

By Fred Crockett
November 9th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON

Residents want their municipal authority to take care of day to day services on a responsible budget, prudently set aside reserve funds for major capital works, handle emergency services, establish a reasonable planning structure, and to do so in a manner that is respectful to those residents, staff, fellow Councillors, and the broader public.

They do not want a Council that seeks to micromanage everything, and views activities as ego-boosting shenanigans so as to foster perpetual re-election. This past vote showed that some 60% of the electorate was jaundiced by the previous structure, and the rest chose to bounce most of the incumbents.

Council is not measured by the individual accomplishments or goals of its members, but rather by the quality of its collective judgement. Competent and properly paid staff exist to perform the necessary tasks, to provide advice to Council, and to support the policy decisions made by elected representatives.

Within its first 100 days, the new council should reinforce a meaningful code of conduct, pass a responsible budget, support a functional transit system, and revise the pending planning conundrum, all in the interests of the residents.

Fred Crockett is a Burlington based real estate broker.

The Federation Strikes Back: This was seen as a shot across the bow of the good ship Ford.

By Ray Rivers

November 8th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

The Gazette sent columnist Ray Rivers out on a news assignment to cover a subject dear to his heart – climate change. He did Ok.

Ontario fired the first shot. Doug Ford was clear that as soon as he became premier of all the people, all of Ontario’s climate change programs would be history. He’s not a climate change denier, though he has yet to develop an alternate plan. And killing Ontario’s cap and trade carbon pricing regime put the province in the gun sights of the federal government and its promise/threat to implement a carbon tax-and-rebate program if the provinces didn’t have one of their own by 2019.

Ford also drew first, announcing on day one that he would be taking the feds to court. They were not going to levy any kind of carbon tax-and-rebate on all his people if he could help it.

But Ford’s not the only lawman in town. So come the new year Mr. Trudeau will be implementing a carbon tax of $20 a ton on Ontario residents. That works out to a mind-boggling nickel a litre at the pumps and 3 cents or so for your gas furnace.

And we’ll all be getting something like $300 per family back through the income tax system. The idea is to gradually seduce folks into reducing their carbon footprint. Drive less, lower your thermostat or switch to Ontario’s still mostly fossil-free electricity for heating and driving, and wham bang – that $300 is mostly pure profit. That is unless Mr. Ford and his family compact of Tory premiers and federal Conservative leader Scheer can stop the feds in the courts.

But that’s not the only story. The feds have this $1.4 billion Low Carbon Leadership Fund, $400 million or so which was destined for Ontario’s government. But since Ford has cancelled everything which might qualify he’s not getting a penny. Instead the money will be given directly to various institutions in Ontario; hospitals, universities and school boards; which lost out when the Ontario Climate Change fund was burned to the ground.

Minister McKinnon setting out what the federal government is going to do when it comes to climate change at a presentation in Milton.

Federal Minster of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna came to Rockwool’s insulation manufacturing operation in Milton to announce her department’s intent on this matter. There were almost no details so it was much of a nothing announcement otherwise – announcing an intent to do something.

This was likely only meant as a shot across the bow of the good ship Ford anyway, to show them what they are missing out on by not playing nice. Ford’s finance and accounting office has already determined that killing cap and trade will cost all of his people some $3 billion. So what is another $400 million for a government which claims to be facing a $15 billion deficit?

The minister didn’t offer any hope of grants to individuals though. Something, for example, like the axed GreenON program or the formerly hugely popular electric vehicle grant (EV) program is not in the cards apparently. But who knows? She might be back with a promise to waive the HST on EVs, as we get closer to an election.

The minister said it plain: the environment should not be a partisan issue. But Mr. Ford and his fellow conservative leaders in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and now New Brunswick are making it that. And Mr. Ford is now their ringleader, thumbing his nose and giving the middle finger to our Mr. Trudeau. And then there is this lawsuit thing. Does anyone seriously expect the feds to give a grant to someone who is suing them?

Federal Minster of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna

Minister McKenna made clear that Ottawa will step in if a province is shedding its responsibility to all of its people. It’s called law and order and good government. Climate change is a very serious and dangerous global matter.

It is also a national priority since our federal government and nine provinces agreed to sign onto an international agreement only a few years ago. Mr. Ford and his like-minded fellows opposing carbon taxes may not have been at the table then, but that won’t erase the consent given by the federation to action on climate change.

We are still only seeing the early effects of global warming on this planet and Canada. As the consequences become more severe, it will be harder to pretend that ‘we’re all right jack’. Mr. Ford may think it’s good politics to hit-out at the Liberal government because it’s Liberal.

But as he’s finding out, the Federation can and will strike back.

Ray Rivers is a Gazette columnist who normally cover Queen’s Park and some federal issues related to the environment

Jim Barnett wants to tighten things up at city hall during the first 100 days of a new municipal government.

With a new municipal government getting ready to assume power the question is – what will they do first?

What are the big issues?

In an exclusive interview with Mayor Elect Marianne Meed Ward before the election she said that her goals were set out in her campaign platform which we pointed out was just a piece of paper.
Governing is far more fluid; one never knows what is going to crop up on any given day.

We asked the readers of the Gazette what they thought the new council should attempt to get done in its first hundred days.

Here are some of their thoughts.

By Jim Barnett
November 8th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON

1. Put very tight controls on the city manager.

2. Instruct the planning department to only submit projects for consideration that meet the conditions in the current official plan.

3. Remove all references to the notion of a downtown mobility hub.

More parking suggests Jim Barnett – where?

4. Prevent any reduction in downtown parking and increase the provisions for new construction to 25% more that is in current planning documents.

5. Before any building permits are issued in the downtown area a comprehensives transit plan with numbers be presented to and accepted by council.

6. A review of staff salaries and perks with the purpose of bring them in line with other jurisdictions.

7. Limit tax increases for the city to less than inflation.

8 integrate school land usage into the cities requirement.

Burlington gets a $10,000 donation from Union Gas to purchase and plant trees in the area of Upper Middle and Havendale Roads.

By Staff

November 9th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

Burlington has received a generous donation of $10,000 from Union Gas to purchase and plant trees in the area of Upper Middle and Havendale Roads.

Mark Egbedeyi-Emmanuel, Hamilton-Halton District Manager, Union Gas; Mayor-Elect Marianne Meed Ward; Barbara Rabicki, Manager of Forestry, City of Burlington.

The donation will go towards a variety of trees to ensure biodiversity in the area.

The question we had was: why?

The trees within Burlington’s urban forest provide a wide range of environmental, economic and social benefits, including improved air quality, reduced storm-water runoff, energy savings, noise reduction, natural bird and wildlife habitats, higher property values and overall beautification of city streets and parks.

We know that. We also know that Burlington’s tree canopy is far below the generally accepted 30% coverage level.

In a news feature being developed by the Gazette we will report on some disturbing numbers that have been gathered by environmentalist Jim Feilders.

The site that National Homes wants to develop. Havendale is the northern boundary – the planned location for the Union Gas tree donation.

The Brant Street Havendale part of the city is the site of a large residential development that is stalled at this point.

National Homes has proposed a development that would have 233 townhouses built on the site.

The city’s forestry operations includes the oversight of tree protection and preservation initiatives, tree protection standards, pests and disease control and tree planting. City staff also offer tree care tips for the public on this website.

Elections matter - the provincial election took $1750 out of the pockets of those earning a minimum wage.

By Pepper Parr

November 6th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

For the 60% of the people in Burlington who didn’t vote – a message. Elections matter!

For the 60% that didn’t vote in the provincial election – a message. Elections matter!

What difference would it have made to me some will ask?

For those people who have to work at the minimum wage level here is how it matters.

The Liberal government that was in office (By the way they deserved to lose) had a program that increased that minimum wage to $14 an hour last January and had planned on an increase to $15 an hour this January.

The government you elected four months ago cancelled that program.

Assume that the person being paid the minimum wage was working 35 hours a week and assume that they worked for 50 weeks in the year they would have received $1750 more in 2019.

That’s not an in-substantial amount for people who earn a minimum wage.

When Doug Ford was running for Premier of the province he didn’t tell anyone he planned on scaling back that planned increase. We suspect that very few minimum wage people thought anything about it.

The point is – who governs us as a society matters.

Parents might want to mention that to the children that are still living at home because they can’t afford to rent a place they can afford. For many of them they will never be able to buy a home.

Things were different for their grandparents – they probably voted.

The drive in the United States today will be to get people out to vote in what is going to be one of the most important elections to take place in the United States in decades.

What does that mean for Canada, Ontario or Burlington? We won’t know until the election results are in. If nothing changes – you can be assured of one thing – none of it will be good for us.

Elections matter!

How we got to this point as a society is troubling – the answer to that question is you just didn’t give a damn.

Salt with Pepper are the opinions, reflections, observations and musings of the publisher of the Gazette, an on-line newspaper that is in its 8th year of as a news source in Burlington and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.

Parks and recreation has all kinds of things for you to do - check it out.

By Staff

November 6th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

Living and playing in Burlington.

The Parks and Recreation people have announced that Winter registration for Adult programs begins Saturday, November 17th at 9 a.m.

The online Live & Play Guide allows you to view and share program information as well as register directly from any computer or mobile device. Click for the catalogue.

When December arrives that means the Santa Claus Parade. The 53rd Santa Claus parade on Sunday, December 2nd from 2-4 p.m. The parade rolls down Guelph Line then along New Street on to James and winds around city hall.

The Santa Claus parade has taken place for more than 45 years in Burlington. Organized by a citizens group that works out of the city's Festivals and Events office it is the premier holiday event in the city. The elves have got a spot of trouble to manage with onme of their benefactors this time around.

The Santa Claus parade has taken place for more than 52 years in Burlington. Organized by a citizens group that works out of the city’s Festivals and Events office it is the premier holiday event in the city.

The day after the parade a new city council will be sworn at the Performing Arts Centre. Is the new council Santa’s gift to the city?

We have all kinds of fun floats and best of all you will see Santa on his sleigh at the end. Remember he is always watching to see if you are naughty or nice. Learn more: burlington.ca/parade.

Recreation Fee Assistance
If you need assistance in paying some of the event fees funding can be made available to individuals or families who need help paying for City of Burlington recreational programs. Fee Assistance can be applied towards registered and drop-in programs, passes and memberships. Learn more: burlington.ca/feeassistance.

Looking for a place to hold an event?

If you are looking for a place to hold a party or get together you might want to consider using one of the city facilities. 35% Off Ice, Gyms, Auditoriums and Community Rooms from December 1st to January 6th 2019. Terms and Conditions apply. Learn more: burlington.ca/rentals.

Neighbourhood Community Matching Fund – up to $10,000 in funding available.

An opportunity you might want to look into is the Neighbourhood Community Matching Fund that was created to inspire Burlington residents to actively champion for small projects in their neighbourhoods. Up to $10,000 in funding is available to support community projects when matched with an equivalent contribution. Deadline for application is Feb. 28, 2019. Learn more: burlington.ca/matchingfund.

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