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September 18th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Mayor Rick Goldring is asking the provincial government to consider adding Waterdown to the city of Burlington.  Mayor Rick Goldring In a media release he said: “This will help alleviate growth pressures on downtown Burlington and provides fairness for Burlington taxpayers who, for years, have been directly impacted by growth in Waterdown that has created new demands on Burlington’s.” More to follow.
September 17th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON The following are the opinions, reflections, observations and musings of Pepper Parr, publisher of the Burlington Gazette. There are five candidates in ward five running for the city council seat. The incumbent, Paul Sharman, who has served two terms as a city Councillor finds that he is unable to attend a public meeting at which he would debate with the other four candidates.  Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman is usually very direct, tends to want to see data that is verifiable and expects to get his way. Councillor Sharman just doesn’t like community organizations he does not control; never has never will. A community organization has mobilized itself to organize the debates but the Councillor does not think they are legitimate enough for his liking. During his decision to run for office in 2010 Sharman first filed nomination papers for the role of Mayor. He had not lived in Burlington all that long, had not done all that much as a person active in his community. Sharman was a member of the committee that produced the Shape Burlington report, he was also a member of the city council that endorsed the report which he then forgot about. During his first term of office Sharman was a fire cracker. One more than one occasion he has put a senior staff member in their place. He was the driving force behind the 0% tax increase for 2011. He was the driving force behind getting something done with the Lakeshore Village Plaza that was close to a dump; shabby and to a considerable degree unoccupied. Sharman worked hard to get something done. He managed to help craft a Staff Direction that got the Economic Development Corporation involved. That resulted in hugely successful community engagement event where all kids of ideas were brought to the surface and city hall got a better idea as to what the residents were looking for. The owner of the proper was persuaded to attend the public meeting. His firm had hired planners, architects and specialists to do the studies city hall needs before they accept a development application. That’s when the proverbial hit the fan. What the property owner’s planner put before a public meeting was close to outrageous.  The proposed Lakeshore Village Plaza development. The city planners have yet to issue their report on the proposal. It was never very clear just how in sync Sharman was with his constituents. At the two public meetings we watched him he seemed more defensive about the project and said it was now in the hands of the planning department staff who would prepare a report for city council. The Gazette did learn that the city planners want much more in the way of park space and they want to see the skating pad and the park to the north of the site included in the development. Sharman is on record as saying the development is too expansive. Many residents wanted to hear Sharman say that it was far far too large and that he would not be supporting what he had seen. Sharman gets no brownie points for his early position on the work a community group did to save the Freeman Station. His comments to the late Jane Irwin when she was pleading for the time they needed to find a location for the structure were dismissive, embarrassing and shameful. He argued against a pilot program that would have made transit free for seniors one day of each week. Oakville did a pilot that proved to be very successful and resulted in increased transit use overall. Sharman argued that the data wasn’t conclusive. Sharman is an account by profession – what matters most to him is ensuring the right data is at hand to make a sound decision. It took the Gazette a couple of years to realize that the longer Sharman kept asking for data the longer it meant he didn’t have to make a decision.  Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman The one tool missing in the Sharman toolkit is an executive capacity to make a decision. His relationships with people are awkward. His treatment of a former Director of Transit deserved to be investigated; his relationship with a member of the planning department was well outside the limits of a member of council and a city employee. There are rules that set out what is acceptable. There are two women running for the ward 5 council seat: Mary Alice St. James and Wendy Moraghan. St. James is a retired elementary school principal who is known, liked and respected within the community. The developer appealed the staff decision to the LPAT. The appeal was lost.  A slid campaigner – appreciated by the seniors. St. James knows the issues. She is tireless when it comes to connecting with residents; the senior’s love her. She offers to play card games with the seniors, go for walks with those who want to lose some weight. She can talk – she can talk – to the point that on occasion she loses her listener. She was an active participant in the Shoreacres character study. She has attended Ontario Municipal Board hearings.  Mary Alice St. James attending the anniversary of a school she served as principal. Ms St. James does not live in the ward she wants to represent. She is about two football field length west if the ward boundary. This is not material. While it is preferable that a candidate live in a riding, what matters is the quality of the candidate. Insisting that your candidate of choice live in the ward is pretty provincial. The current Mayor did not live in ward 5 when he was the council member for that ward. St. James maintains a web site, an email address and she tweets. Web site: https://www.stjamesward5.com/ Wendy Moraghan is a former police officer with 30+ years’ experience. Her career was focused for the most part on community relations tasks.  Detective Constable Wendy Moraghan with some of her friends at a meeting of seniors who were learning how to detect counterfeit money. Our first interaction with Detective Constable was on an occasion when she was running a meeting for seniors that had several Bank of Canada staffers explaining how to detect counterfeit currency. Events like this are a way for people that need to use walkers to get out of the house. The men taking part in the event were quite taken with the attractive blonde police officer who was kind and attentive. One commented that if he was looking for girlfriend she would be his choice. We wrote up the meeting to reflect the mood of the room. The Detective Constable took exception and proclaimed that she was a married woman. It was suggested to us by senior levels of the police service that it was important to maintain good relationships and would we consider removing the article. There was no threat – a decent woman didn’t appreciate the article – it wasn’t important enough to insist that it remain. When we learned that Ms Moraghan was running for public office – she called us – and asked if there was going to be a problem with the past. None whatsoever. Ms Moraghan will have to get used to a different level of involvement with her constituent should she win.  Councillor Sharman defending a point of view while being peppered with questions from candidate Wendy Moraghan. So far she has been very much ‘in your face’ with Mr. Sharman. She is strongly opposed to the proposed Lakeshore Village Plaza. She presses him for answers and doesn’t tolerate his practice of skirting around an issue (No pun intended.) While police officers are in place to serve the public they don’t often actually engage with the public outside of police duties. That’s the nature of police work.  Wendy Moraghan is a candidate for the ward 5 seat on city council. Unfortunately that leaves people like Moraghan out of the loop on local matters. That is not so suggest the Ms Moraghan doesn’t know all that much about what is going on in the city. She is an avid environmentalist. To the best of our knowledge we have never seen or heard of Moraghan making a delegation at city hall. Moraghan is the Chair of the Willow Foundation. Established in 2002, The Willow Foundation is a non-profit registered charitable organization governed by a volunteer board of directors. The Foundation enhances the lives of seniors and adults with disabilities living in Halton Region’s three long-term care homes through a variety of programs and activities. From weekly ‘Artist Corner’ to Zumba classes, from our annual Strawberry Social to Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony we bring our residents a variety of social, arts and physical fitness programs. Moraghan is about as local as a girl can get. Attended Pineland public school, Nelson high school, worked at Canadian Tire in the summers, was a member of the Burlington Teen tour band. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendymoraghanward5/ Daniel Roukema and Xin Yi Zhang are fringe candidates. Mr. Roukema has said elsewhere that he is not certain he will take part in the debate.  Daniel Roukema works in the Immigration sector and is a candidate for the ward 5 seat on city council. Mr. Roukema was in touch with the Gazette yesterday demanding to know why we had published his home address. We explained that we took our information from the city’s web site. We find it difficult to understand why a candidate running for public office would not want the public to know that they lived in the ward. Roukema maintains a web site that sets out his campaign. It can be found at: www.roukema.ca. email: electdaniel@roukema.ca  Xin Yi Zhang is an Information Technology specialist and a candidate for the ward 5 city council seat. Mr. Xin Yi Zhang is also a fringe candidate. We were unable to find the time to talk to him – our fault not his. This candidate has a web site: www.electxyz.com. He can bee reached by email at: electxyz@gmail.com While the subject of what is going to happen to the high school the debate is taking place in will not be part of the ward level debate – it will be the 800 lb. elephant in the room. Given the plans that are in place now, Bateman will be closed by the time the election after this one takes places. Bateman parents are desperate for a solution – moving the programs and the students from Bateman to Nelson high school is not seen as a solution; they see it as disruption and expense that isn’t necessary. They are not necessarily wrong – but that train left the station without them when the debate was really intense and the Bateman parents assumed Central was going to be closed and they were safe. The ward 5 debate that is taking place is your opportunity to ask questions and decide for yourself which of the five you want to represent you at city hall.
Councillor Sharman has said he will not attend the ECoB debate but will take part in the candidate Meet and Greet Burlington Green is sponsoring. That event is at a location that doesn’t have any public transit. The debate that will take place is between the candidates for Mayor.
September 18th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON Shannon Gillies was a candidate in the 2010 municipal election. She was new to political theatre – all she had was some ideas and a conviction that the Burlington she cared about was undergoing a change which she didn’t think all that many people wanted. Little did Gillies know than that the change she sensed in 2010 would mushroom and result in a 24 story structure opposite city hall – and that was just a starting point. Gillies write the Gazette with these comments: “We’re at that point in the municipal election season where things start to get nasty and the gloves come off. Suggestions are made about candidates being in it for themselves, or for developers, and not for residents. Nasty comments from anonymous accounts are made on Twitter. Facebook posts are shared about how our city is being ruined which riles up the others and they all tsk tsk about it over their lattes without really knowing the facts. “What people tend to forget at this heated point in the process is that candidates are human beings and they’re rarely up to anything nefarious. Every single one of them is a human being. It doesn’t make someone a bad person just because he or she has a different opinions and views and approaches than you. No one runs for office because they want to ruin their city. “I’ve been there. Eight years ago, I was a total rookie and had no idea what I was doing. What I did know, is that I wanted to make my community better. I thought our downtown was dull and frankly, quite crappy and I wanted to make it better, so I decided to run for council. Unfortunately, no one knew who I was, I didn’t have much community experience, I was too shy to knock on every door, voters didn’t agree with my views, and I lost. That’s fine. I deserved to lose. That’s how elections should work. “What people should know is that running a campaign is hard. There is an unimaginable amount of learning in a short amount of time. Campaigns are also emotionally draining, physically exhausting, and can take a real toll on a marriage. I’m always fascinated that so many people think that taking contributions from developers is a huge sin. I would’ve gladly taken anyone’s money! Anyone who thinks someone would work his or her butt off and sacrifice their family for months only to sell their integrity for $750 or $1000 dollars over a four year period is a fool. But I digress. Instead, I spent over $10,000 of my own money, which my husband still hasn’t quite forgiven me for. “The absolute worst part of running for council, and what I wasn’t prepared for, was the condescension and the cruelty. I was told on numerous occasions that my campaign was “a good experience” for me or told with a patronizing smile that maybe I should try running for school trustee instead. Someone said I shouldn’t have worn a pink suit for my campaign photo. I was told I didn’t exactly look like a Councillor and was asked on numerous occasions why I didn’t have children. Lack of experience aside, I was employed, nearly forty years old, university-educated, knew my stuff, and was adequately articulate. These comments were unwarranted. But alas, that’s politics. During the campaign there was a personal family matter that kept me away from the city. I considered dropping out of the race but decided to stick it out. I tried my best to complete the endless number of questionnaires that candidates receive from various community groups but was completely overwhelmed. I couldn’t get to the doors. I didn’t have a team and was doing everything myself. I had to be at a hospital feeling very distressed – someone close to me was big health challenge. It was an awful time. One day, while I was in a waiting room at the hospital, trying to catch up on campaign matters on my laptop, I got an email suggesting I was in bed with developers (I think because I had written something that was pro-intensification), and that I hated trees. What?! Have you seen my yard? I love trees! “The angry email ended with a wish that I have a miserable life and not ever enjoy a successful career in politics. In retrospect, it was a dumb comment I should have ignored, but at the time, under the circumstances, it caused me to run to my car in an underground lot and break into tears. I couldn’t understand how people could be so awful. I know better now. “My point is that we’re all stuck on this earth together and we need to be kind. It’s fine to have political disagreements and we should absolutely have political disagreements. But let’s just remember that all candidates are human beings, with lives separate from election campaigns, and are made out of flesh and blood, not steel.”
September 17th,2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Blair Lancaster Kinsey Schurm Ken White Deb Tymstra will moderate the ECoB ward 6 debate  Always an artist at heart, Deb Tymstra worked tirelessly on behalf of the arts in Burlington. Rotarian Award richly deserved. Deb Tymstra, a co-host of Your TVs, The Issue. She has been involved in the Burlington community since moving here in 1976. She is the owner of DWA Business Services, a past president of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, a driver, along with many others, in convincing council to approve the development and creation of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, and a recipient of Rotary’s Paul Harris Award. A community producer and host of several shows with Cogeco, including Neighbour to Neighbour and most recently At Home, Deb introduced viewers to issues, organizations and individuals who believe in the value of contributing in a positive way to the communities in which we live. Deb is married to Gerry, the mother of three daughters and grandmother to three grandchildren.
Citizen engagement was a key issue. Residents felt that Council was not listening to their concerns regarding their vision of what they would like their Burlington to look like. ECoB set out to educate and inform residents. They held an event for anyone wanting to run in the October 2018 municipal election and built a to scale Lego based model of what the city would look like with developments that were approved and planned. The city administration said there wasn’t time to have this 3D model built – so ECoB did it. They then set out to hold debates in each of the wards in the city, something that had not been done before as well as a debate for those running for the office of Mayor. The organization is funded by donations from people who attend meetings. Pure grass roots organization. The ward 6 debate takes place in the theatre at Hayden high school on September 20th. Doors open at 6:30 – debate runs from 7:00 to 9:00 pm
September 17th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
With the Municipal Election looming and the volume of untruths in this election I find myself compelled to present my expert opinion on this issue. I say expert as I was a very active member of the PARC representing Aldershot HS and community and attended every single meeting including those at the Board after the vote was made. The first untruth is that Marianne Meed Ward had an unfair influence during the par process because of her position as Councillor. I can emphatically state the she had no more influence than myself and the other 12 community members of the PARC. In fact her professionalism added important value to an otherwise difficult process. More importantly the committee as a whole had no real power in the whole process other than to provide recommendations to Board.  Members of the Halton District School Board PARC committee meeting in a formal session. Unlike some committee members Marianne always kept her composure even when being attacked by fellow committee members. She was elected by the school council where her children attend just like six other members that were put on the committee. Marianne disclosed up front to the Board of her role as Councillor in the city and was told she was still quite welcome to join the committee. The other seven community members like myself were randomly chosen by the Board as we had put our names in the hat to be part of the PARC. Our mandate was to represent our respective communities and to bring forward to the committee ideas comments and concerns of our respective communities. I know each of us did exactly that, no more no less and this included reasons for not closing schools and reasons for closing various schools. Many members put forth recommendations to close schools other than their own based on feedback from their community. So to suggest that Marianne had any more ability to move a certain objective forward than any of the other members is just plain false.  PARC member Marianne Meed Ward typing on her computer. The other major untruth being circulated for months and I believe will be ramped us as the election draws closer is that on June 07 the night of the final vote to close Bateman &Lester B Pearson Marianne Meed Ward and Trustee Leah Reynolds colluded to help close Bateman. This is an outright lie and I am an expert as I sat beside Marianne that evening and was in discussion with her about the motion on floor which had nothing to do with the vote to close Bateman but a different motion all together. The rules were so uncertain that not only did the board require some guidance from legal counsel and then actually had to go in. private session to try and sort out the protocol. Marianne provided Trustee Reynolds with her interpretation of the ruling as she saw it as Trustee Reynolds was an active participant in the motion. What bothers me more is that Lisa Bull the PARC Representative sitting right behind Marianne and myself took the totally unethical first step of capturing images of Marianne’s private laptop screen she was using to capture the texting.  Leah Reynolds being observed by HDSB vice chair Kim Then to take it one step further posts it on social media suggesting the conversation was about how to vote to close Bateman and plying Trustee Reynolds with direction. I am appalled the a fellow member would stoop to such low and yet the media has never question the ethics of this. I have a timestamp of the moment the images were snapped and they were at least an hour before the vote to close Bateman. It was confirmed that all the Trustees that evening were receiving mobile communications from constituents and others for various reasons and I input and this was a normal practice allowed at these meetings. The fact they needed very specific lawyers experts in procedural matters to assist in deciphering what the was the correct process and then have to go into private session should be obvious why someone like Marianne with years of this type of process being City Council would be stepping in to assist Trustee Leah as she happened to be the Trustee in the ward she represents on City Council and the Trustee of the school where her children attended.  Lisa Bull There was no collusion but there was certainly unethical behaviour by Lisa Bull a fellow PARC member and then to be exaggerated and pushed as truth in social media by many others in the community unhappy with the decisions. In summary it is sad that we have had to close to schools but to defame individuals that continually put out an earnest effort to help our communities in so many ways is so wrong. I am not running for any office, my school did not close but I pride myself in ethical behaviour and will stand up when I factually know untruths are being made to hurt others I respect. I am ready to debate any one on the facts of the PARC process and the specific night of the vote to close two schools.
September 16th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
ECoB – the Engaged Citizens of Burlington are hosting a series of debates at both the ward level and for the four candidates that are running for the office of Mayor. ECoB is a non-profit corporation. It does not have charitable status. Its funds come from donations made by citizens who have attended ECoB events and from other community groups in the city that have made donations. The debate for the Mayoralty candidates is to take place at Central high school on October 9th. The moderator of that debate is a well-known, highly respected woman who has served as the lead for a different non-profit corporation. Her name will be announced on September 20th. There are a few ECoB people the proposed moderator has yet to meet. The four candidates for the office of Mayor are: Rick Goldring, Marianne Meed Ward, Mike Wallace and Greg Woodruff.  Rick Goldring
 Marianne Meed Ward  Mike Wallace  Greg Woodruff Rick Goldring, the incumbent. Mike Wallace, a former city Councillor and former Member of Parliament for Mayor. Marianne Meed Ward, is a two term member of city council for ward 2. She is a professional journalist and a panel member on several radio and television talk shows. Her web site is at https://mariannemeedward.ca/ Greg Woodruff, an Aldershot resident who ran for the Office of Regional Chair in 2014. A web site setting out his platform and achievements is at: https://www.gregwoodruff.com/  Central high school Doors to the Central high school auditorium will open at 6:30 pm. Signs promoting any candidate will not be permitted inside the auditorium. Signs or visual material promoting a candidate or an issue will not be permitted inside the auditorium. Questions you would like asked by the moderator can be sent electronically to info@ Those attending the debate will be given a card and a pencil on which questions they would like put to the candidates can be written. The moderator will go through the questions and determine which questions are to be asked. Her role will be to sort through the questions that are similar and put that question to the candidates. There will be two timers at the front of the auditorium letting the candidates know when there time is up using red and yellow cards to do so.
September 16th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
It was a disgraceful display, such petulance, like a spoiled child. No I’m not talking about the unruly New Democrats who got booted out of Queen’s Park for protesting the other day. That was pretty poor behaviour alright, making noise, banging their desks like trained seals clapping flippers before a crowd in an aquarium. But the really disgraceful behaviour came from that vengeful school yard bully we elected as our Premier, determined to roll over the rights of the people of Toronto. We call it liberal democracy – government based on the recognition of individual rights and freedoms and the rule of law. It’s not a partisan title and all of our political parties claim to subscribe to a classical liberal philosophy, and the Conservatives most of all. Democracy, but with due regard for the rights of the individual. Canada’s provincial premiers rule with virtually no checks on the power they wield, so long as they control a majority of the seats in parliament. Despite the debates, committees, and opposition delaying tactics they will pass pretty much every bill they introduce. More than a guide, the constitution and charter of rights are there to constrain the near absolute power of a majority government from trampling over the rights of others.  Ontario Premier Doug Ford And trampling is what Doug Ford is doing with his 13th hour intervention into the municipal election in Toronto. That was the verdict of recent Superior Court justice, a judge who knows more than a little about matters constitutional. Mr. Ford has confirmed this by moving to override the court decision with the so-called ‘notwithstanding clause’, Section 33 of the constitution. His legal appeal of the ruling is effectively moot, though, since his intention is clear – he doesn’t care about those people or, their rights. The notwithstanding clause is unique to Canadian politics. Americans have no such provision in their constitution, for example, and so the courts are the final authority there. Only Saskatchewan and Quebec have ever invoked the clause – a couple of times each, a couple of decades ago. There is a 5 year sunset clause and no jurisdiction has re-authorized this extraordinary constitutional provision. The architects of our constitution have felt the need to weigh in. Jean Chretien, Bill Davis, and even Brian Mulroney, father of Ontario’s Attorney General, have condemned Ford’s plans. They are clear, Section 33 should never be used – but if it is, there had better be a pretty good reason. A military invasion, an insurrection or something of that ilk comes to mind. Quebec once over-rode the rights of non-francophone small businesses by demanding the prominence of French in commercial signage. It argued that this would help it in its efforts to preserve the use of French in the province, and it probably has.  Toronto city Councillor Doug Ford (L) and his brother, the late Rob Ford But we all know why Ford is ramming though his unconstitutional Toronto council seating plan – It’s personal. The Ford brothers felt offended that not every crazy idea they had was accepted by council when the dynamic duo roamed City Hall. And then Ford lost out on the last mayor’s race to John Tory. Oh and his ferris wheel idea crashed big time. And it’s political too. Using the federal ridings as ward boundaries runs roughshod over the various smaller communities. So he believes it will serve to muffle those lefties who oppose his hidden agenda, which will be revealed in due course. Seriously, life would be easier for him if those potential opponents were out of the way.  Toronto Mayor John Tory with Ontario Premier Doug Ford. The body language says it all. After all Ford has mused about moving some city services, like transit, to Queen’s Park, why not all of city government? Who says you can’t be mayor and premier in one? Eat your heart out John Tory. First Ford took his job as party leader and then premier. Now he’ll push Tory out of the mayor’s chair and run the council himself, the playpen he really covets. We have no reason to believe that Ford is being purely vindictive, though there is considerable poison on his tongue when he speaks of the lefty councillors. And there is no question that the province has the authority to manage the size and operation of city councils. But his timing, in the middle of an election is more than a little problematic, unless his bigger ambition is in play. Ford would be more credible if only he had a single shred of evidence that fewer politicians would make better government. When the judge asked for proof that a smaller city council would be more effective, he was met with silence from the government side…’crickets’ he called it. Ford doesn’t need analysis; his touchstone is his ideology. Fewer politicians good, evidence-based decision making bad. He doesn’t care that dinner is on the table, he wants his dessert now. What’s not child’s play is how Ford Nation is also changing the rules in order to ram legislation through the legislature without the traditional kind of debate and due process we’re used to. That means that the only official opposition party, the NDP, will be virtually powerless to slow down or amend – even if they can’t stop poorly conceived legislation, like the one slashing Toronto’s council in half.  The wife  The sycophant Toronto had spent four years carefully considering its expanded ward structure and then Ford trashed all of that work in a heartbeat based on his gut feel. He doesn’t need analysis to justify his actions and he doesn’t need some unelected judge, appointed by the federal government, to tell him what is right and wrong. After all he was elected for a four year term by 40 percent of the voters in the last election.
Background links: Ford’s Bill – Canadian Charter of Rights – Undermining Canada’s Constitution – Amnesty Comment – Globe Editorial – Andrew Coyne – Davis Comment – Consolidating Power –
September 15th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Darcy Hutzel Rory Nisan Peter Rusin Gareth Williams
Mark Carr will moderate the ward 3 debate.  Mark Carr – moderator for the ECoB municipal election debates. Mark Carr is the on air host for Cogeco TV program The Issue. He has been doing public television work for more than 20 years. He has been involved in political life as campaign manager for four successful provincial and a federal elections. He ran for public office and served as a city Councillor and Regional Councillor for ward 6 in Burlington. He served as Chair of the Burlington Planning and Development committee and Budget and Strategic Planning committees. He is the recipient of Ontario Public Service Award in 2010 and 2017 and Medal of Volunteerism, from Government of Canada. He is the Executive Director for a not-for-profit agency. He has volunteered his time with Community Cares Halton (Police Services) Board of Directors, Oakville Dispute Mediators, Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Bereaved Families of Ontario and Board of Directors, Sustainable Development Committee. Mark has moderated debates for several years iat both the federal, provincial and municipal levels. Mark is an honours graduate in Communications and Conflict Management from the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel/University of Waterloo and is a long-time resident of Burlington.
Citizen engagement was a key issue. Residents felt that Council was not listening to their concerns regarding their vision of what they would like their Burlington to look like. ECoB set out to educate and inform residents. They held an event for anyone wanting to run in the October 2018 municipal election and built a to scale Lego based model of what the city would look like with developments that were approved and planned. The city administration said there wasn’t time to have this 3D model built – so ECoB did it. They then set out to hold debates in each of the wards in the city, something that had not been done before as well as a debate for those running for the office of Mayor. The organization is funded by donations from people who attend meetings. Pure grass roots organization.
September 15th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Shawna Stolte Mark Carr will moderate the ward 4 debate. Mark Carr – moderator for the ECoB municipal election debates. Mark Carr is the on air host for Cogeco TV program The Issue. He has been doing public television work for more than 20 years. He has been involved in political life as campaign manager for four successful provincial and a federal elections. He ran for public office and served as a city Councillor and Regional Councillor for ward 6 in Burlington. He served as Chair of the Burlington Planning and Development committee and Budget and Strategic Planning committees. He is the recipient of Ontario Public Service Award in 2010 and 2017 and Medal of Volunteerism, from Government of Canada. He is the Executive Director for a not-for-profit agency. He has volunteered his time with Community Cares Halton (Police Services) Board of Directors, Oakville Dispute Mediators, Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Bereaved Families of Ontario and Board of Directors, Sustainable Development Committee. Mark has moderated debates for several years iat both the federal, provincial and municipal levels. Mark is an honours graduate in Communications and Conflict Management from the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel/University of Waterloo and is a long-time resident of Burlington.
Citizen engagement was a key issue. Residents felt that Council was not listening to their concerns regarding their vision of what they would like their Burlington to look like. ECoB set out to educate and inform residents. They held an event for anyone wanting to run in the October 2018 municipal election and built a to scale Lego based model of what the city would look like with developments that were approved and planned. The city administration said there wasn’t time to have this 3D model built – so ECoB did it. They then set out to hold debates in each of the wards in the city, something that had not been done before as well as a debate for those running for the office of Mayor. The organization is funded by donations from people who attend meetings. Pure grass roots organization.
September 16th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Michael Jones Lisa Kearns Gerard Shkuda Roland Tanner Walter Wiebe Mark Carr will moderate the ward 2 debate. Mark Carr – moderator for the ECoB municipal election debates. Mark Carr is the on air host for Cogeco TV program The Issue. He has been doing public television work for more than 20 years. He has been involved in political life as campaign manager for four successful provincial and a federal elections. He ran for public office and served as a city Councillor and Regional Councillor for ward 6 in Burlington. He served as Chair of the Burlington Planning and Development committee and Budget and Strategic Planning committees. He is the recipient of Ontario Public Service Award in 2010 and 2017 and Medal of Volunteerism, from Government of Canada. He is the Executive Director for a not-for-profit agency. He has volunteered his time with Community Cares Halton (Police Services) Board of Directors, Oakville Dispute Mediators, Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Bereaved Families of Ontario and Board of Directors, Sustainable Development Committee. Mark has moderated debates for several years iat both the federal, provincial and municipal levels. Mark is an honours graduate in Communications and Conflict Management from the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel/University of Waterloo and is a long-time resident of Burlington.
Citizen engagement was a key issue. Residents felt that Council was not listening to their concerns regarding their vision of what they would like their Burlington to look like. ECoB set out to educate and inform residents. They held an event for anyone wanting to run in the October 2018 municipal election and built a to scale Lego based model of what the city would look like with developments that were approved and planned. The city administration said there wasn’t time to have this 3D model built – so ECoB did it. They then set out to hold debates in each of the wards in the city, something that had not been done before as well as a debate for those running for the office of Mayor. The organization is funded by donations from people who attend meetings. Pure grass roots organization.
September 16th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
A reader asked – just where is the new Regional police headquarters? It is on Bronte Road, north of the QEW.
The Regional building had the police at one end and the region at the other. The space the police vacated will be taken over by the Region. They will close office space they have rented elsewhere in the Region (on Dorval Drive) and move that staff into the space the police were in.
September 15th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Daniel Roukema Paul Sharman Mary Alice St. James Xin Yi Zhang Mark Carr will moderate the ward 5 debate. Mark Carr is the on air host for Cogeco TV program The Issue. He has been doing public television work for more than 20 years. He has been involved in political life as campaign manager for four successful provincial and a federal elections. He ran for public office and served as a city Councillor and Regional Councillor for ward 6 in Burlington. He served as Chair of the Burlington Planning and Development committee and Budget and Strategic Planning committees. He is the recipient of Ontario Public Service Award in 2010 and 2017 and Medal of Volunteerism, from Government of Canada. He is the Executive Director for a not-for-profit agency. He has volunteered his time with Community Cares Halton (Police Services) Board of Directors, Oakville Dispute Mediators, Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Bereaved Families of Ontario and Board of Directors, Sustainable Development Committee. Mark has moderated debates for several years iat both the federal, provincial and municipal levels. Mark is an honours graduate in Communications and Conflict Management from the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel/University of Waterloo and is a long-time resident of Burlington.
Citizen engagement was a key issue. Residents felt that Council was not listening to their concerns regarding their vision of what they would like their Burlington to look like. ECoB set out to educate and inform residents. They held an event for anyone wanting to run in the October 2018 municipal election and built a to scale Lego based model of what the city would look like with developments that were approved and planned. The city administration said there wasn’t time to have this 3D model built – so ECoB did it. They then set out to hold debates in each of the wards in the city, something that had not been done before as well as a debate for those running for the office of Mayor. The organization is funded by donations from people who attend meetings. Pure grass roots organization.
September 15th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington is a vibrant city. We have a beautiful waterfront, scenic parks, safe neighbourhoods, great schools, access to some of Ontario’s top festivals and events, and successful businesses. Unfortunately, what makes Burlington such a desirable place to live also makes it expensive. We have seen house prices and rents skyrocket in recent years to the point of making our city un-affordable, especially for first-time home buyers, newcomers to Canada, young families, and seniors.  Spencer Smith Park – there was a time when it was weed filled space. It took foresight and community involvement to get this park to where it is today. Right now, the average price of a detached house in Burlington is about $1 million, up 13 percent over this time last year. The average price of a town home is $578,000, up 6 percent from last year. The average price of a 2-bedroom condo is $434,000 which is actually down 5 percent which could possibly be attributed to a recent increase in supply. What exactly is the definition of affordable housing? One figure often used by Councillors and city staff when referring to “affordable” units in new developments is about $362,000, but this definition is rather meaningless, because for someone with a family income of about $50,000, the affordability threshold is almost half that. A more reliable definition of affordable housing is housing with a market price (for purchase or rent) that is affordable to households of low and moderate income, spending no more than 30 percent of their gross household income on housing, without government assistance. For a household of three or more people with a gross family income of about $130,000, the maximum purchase price for a home considered to be affordable would be $456,000 (based on a maximum monthly home ownership cost of about $3,300). As residents of Burlington, you and I both know that you can’t buy many family homes here for that price, and a detached house under $500,000 would be hard to find. A significant challenge to Burlington’s housing affordability is that we are running out of property on which to build new subdivisions with detached houses while maintaining and protecting our agricultural areas.  Half of the city’s land mass is the Escarpment where other than three settlement areas residential development is not permitted. Municipal, regional, and provincial policies, such as land use policies set out in Official Plans, help ensure an adequate range and mix of housing for complete and healthy communities while fulfilling the provincial mandate to “grow in place”. These policies can also provide us with some tools to address affordability. One tool municipalities could decide to use is inclusionary zoning. This enables cities to set out guidelines for affordable housing units to be built in residential developments of 10 units or more. Another policy tool is Section 37 of the Planning Act. If a property owner wishes to build something that does not comply with zoning regulations, such as height and/or density limits, the owner may voluntarily agree to provide “community benefits” in exchange for approval—benefits negotiated by councilors and planning staff. Lately, it seems there hasn’t been enough thought put into exactly which types of benefits would be as valuable to the Community as the extra height/density is to builders. For example, a recent community benefit listed for one of the development proposals at Brant and James took the form of discounts on condo units. Considering the high price of units, a $50,000 discount would unlikely make a dent in affordability. We can do better than that. How about allocating Section 37 funds to Halton Region to be used for the provision affordable housing or to go towards the building of purpose-built rental housing? We have a huge opportunity here to collaborate and negotiate with builders and grassroots, community-led organizations such as the Halton Community Benefits Network, in consultation with residents, to determine which community benefits are most needed. Our councilor should be consulting with residents before these proposals even come to the table, not after, to determine community priorities. At election time, candidates will tell you that we have been growing too fast and over developing. However, regional housing stats prove otherwise. In 2017, only 594 new units were added in the entire city of Burlington—a low number compared to Oakville which added about 2300 new units, and Milton which added over 1100. In addition to the tens of thousands of detached homes we already have in Burlington, we’ll need to add more apartments, condos, and town homes.  A proposed back to back townhouse development. A denser urban area does not necessarily mean less expensive housing but very often, it can. Increasing the supply of homes for purchase and for rent while providing a wide range of housing options are both essential to affordability. Town homes are especially needed in Burlington as a more affordable housing option (both for purchase and for rent) for families. Only 2.2 percent of new builds in 2017 were town homes, while nearly 87 percent were apartment/condo-type units. We will need to shift this balance if we’re serious about attracting more young families to Burlington. Burlington is growing from a suburban to an urban Community. As much as we’d like things to stay the same, we must consider the needs of all members of our community, now, and in the future. The challenge of managing and sustaining our city’s rapid growth is also an opportunity to improve the quality of life for many residents, especially in terms of affordability. Let’s continue to attract new residents to our welcoming, vibrant, and inclusive community with diverse neighbourhoods and affordable housing options for everyone who would like to call Burlington home.
September 15th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
 With the flags in place and the ribbon cut – the building is in the hands of the police. Public will be able to get services on September 24th. It is a very impressive building. One that reflects the changes that have taken place in the way policing is done in the 21st Century. Almost every Halton Regional Police service were let out of the office to take part in the flag raising and official commissioning of the building. Regional Chair Gary Carr explained that the project took ten years to be made final and then two years to build. The 911 communications unit was in place and fully operational. The weapons firing range is complete – some minor bits and pieces to be added. The size of the shooting range is impressive; it has a door that allows a full size SUV to be brought in for training purposes. At this point training is located in several sites throughout the Region. The new HQ brings everyone into the same building. Other units are being moved over one at a time.  Shooting range can handle pistols, shot-guns and carbines. The building will be open to the public on September 24th. Security is tight – really tight. A little too tight for this reporter’s comfort level. It is a functional building – nothing fancy. It is a place where people work. The Chief’s office is standard civil service issue.
At these “official” events the politicians do most of the speaking – with an election in the offing the speeches get a little long. Every dignitary got a shout out.  W.I.J. Harding, Gary Crowell, Chief Tanner, Ean Algar and Peter Campbell There were four former police chiefs in the audience; W.I.J. Harding, Gary Crowell, Ean Algar and Peter Campbell  There are elevators. The building is spacious but there is nothing extravagant about the design and the finishes. Chair Gary Carr gave an excellent rationale for the new building. He made the link between first class police service, the fact that Halton has been in the top rankings as a safe community for close to a decade and the rate at which economic development takes place. “Corporations want to locate in communities that are safe for their employees; they want to be in communities that have excellent access to large urban centres and close to major transportation routes” said Carr.  The 911 Communications room was operational The staff handle all kinds of information and have what they need at the tip of their fingers. This operator works with seven monitors. The new police headquarters looks over the QEW. It isn’t a pretty building, the architect isn’t going to get any awards for this one. It is functional and will do the job.  It wasn’t all official stuff. The Police force command, two deputies and a Chief took part in the cutting of a cake. Leading the Service are Chief Stephen Tanner, Deputy Chief of Regional Operations Roger Wilkie on the left and Deputy Chief of District Operations Nishan Duraiappah.  It isn’t a pretty building- but it will do the job for the taxpayers who paid for it.
September 15th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON The Gazette is publishing an increased number of Opinion pieces. During the lead up to an election we believe that people who are not incumbents and don’t have the weight of a profile created at public expense, need opportunities to put their views and opinions forward. We don’t, for the most part, go looking for opinions; although we have in the past asked a candidate for their view on an issue. Most decline. The Opinion space is open to be incumbents and candidates who are new to the political arena. We do not publish the self serving views that get sent our way. Of late, one has to ask what heritage Heritage Burlington does want to protect. The citizens advisory committee, which portrays itself prominently, with a significant city budget, as the guardian of Burlington’s heritage and history, has a habit of taking a significantly anti-heritage line when it comes to even limited heritage protection. The issue of heritage protection goes to the core of where the city currently stands and the issues at stake at this election.  The ‘Stewart Spence House’ located near Old Waterdown Road in Ward 1. The ‘Stewart Spence House’ located near Old Waterdown Road in Ward 1. I was planning to delegate to the Planning and Development Committee on Monday on the issue of a property listed on the municipal heritage register in Ward 1 called the ‘Stewart Spence House’, 176 Rennick Road. The owners, Canada Trust, had requested the building be removed from the municipal register. This would have enabled the owners to demolish the property, a 19th century farmhouse, without any further recourse to the city for permission. At the last minute, just as the committee began to sit, it was announced that the property had sold, and the new owners were wanted to remain on the city heritage property list. It was a happy result, and one that meant I could withdraw my delegation. However the reason I was delegating was because of an unhappiness about the actions of Heritage Burlington, which recommended, contrary to the staff recommendation, that the property be removed from the municipal register, opening the way for demolition. As it is, the municipal heritage register provides almost no protection to heritage buildings. All it does is allow the city 60 days to decide whether to formally designate the property as a heritage property under provincial law. To remove even this scant protection seemed astonishing and needless from the point of view of Heritage Burlington. There was, quite simply, zero evidence provided as to why the property needed to be removed, least of all by the then owner, Canada Trust. Why Heritage Matters: A Lesson from a Town that Got It All Wrong I grew up in an English town west of London that is renowned for its planning mistakes. It is well known for its lack of heritage. It is famous for its ugliness and the butt of jokes by the Poet Laureate John Betjeman and world-famous comedian Ricky Gervais alike. Even the town’s name, Slough, is a national joke. But it wasn’t always that way. It was at one time a pleasant if unspectacular English town. It had many interesting buildings, but few that were outstanding. It was therefore easy enough over the years to make the case for why they could be replaced. A Victorian Station hotel was knocked down for an office block which was so ugly it has already in turn been demolished. The beautiful Georgian townhouse of Sir William Herschel, who discovered the planet Uranus in 1781, was knocked down for a car dealership. The church that may have inspired Gray’s Elegy in a Country Churchyard was surrounded by a roundabout and a four lane dual carriageway. A supermarket was built opposite, and then an Edwardian School and its grounds were sold off and demolished for another supermarket right next door. In my suburb, called Langley Marish, the medieval village green and duckpond were paved over for a bus stop, and the ancient thatched cottages were demolished to make way for breeze-block council houses. By small degrees, over about thirty years after the Second World War, the built environment became hostile, vandalized, polluted and entirely regrettable. What the Luftwaffe completely failed to do between 1939 and 1945, planners and Councillors with excellent intentions did with ruthless efficiency between 1945 and the 1990s. This is how regrettable mistakes get made: in small incremental decisions that alone don’t appear to amount to very much. But in a city like Burlington, which has a very small stock of historic buildings, we have to view each century home with greater care. Because we have so few heritage properties, the buildings we have assume a greater importance. A modest 19th century farmhouse in Burlington is much more important to future generations and the quality of our built environment than one in say, Kingston, Quebec City or Montreal, where the supply of heritage properties is greater in number and quality. If designation had been lost, it was highly likely the house would have been demolished. The only reason for removal of designation that I could see was either to demolish the building now, or increase land value for a sale to a buyer who would potentially demolish it later. Thankfully, the sale of the property avoided any such circumstance, and the new owners seem happy to own a house on the city register. Is Heritage Burlington a Defender of Heritage, or an Arbiter of Heritage Value? But that brings me to my second, more important and procedural, point. Canada Trust to my knowledge never told the city their motivations. We can infer though that Canada Trust as inheritor of the previous owner was not interested in the property itself. They did not provide any evidence to suggest why the Planning Committee should reconsider the earlier Council decision which provided limited register protection to the building. Why, in that case, was a change even considered? In the current procedure, all the owner has to do is ask for removal from the register. The city and Heritage Burlington then does all the work of deciding whether the owner has a valid case! In human legal terms, this is like a presumption of guilt, with the defense and the judge helping argue the prosecution’s case. The building is accused of having no value, and City Staff and Heritage Burlington, which markets itself extensively as Burlington’s guardian of heritage, set about gathering evidence to support the owner’s case, at the taxpayers’ expense I presume. It is a conflict of function if not a conflict of interest, and it is illogical and destructive procedure. We should be working on the presumption that earlier Council decisions were good until proven otherwise, and NOT require heritage buildings to have to re-establish their value repeatedly for each new generation. Above all, Heritage Burlington can’t have it both ways. It can’t portray itself as the guardian and champion of our city’s history while holding a partner role as judge, jury and executioner on our small historic housing stock. It is one of the many problems with the Citizen Advisory Committee system as currently constituted, and I say that with the greatest of respect for the members of the committee and their work. I was pleased to see that staff recommended 176 Rennick Road be kept on the register. I was disturbed to see that Heritage Burlington had recommended it be removed. In the current climate I was concerned that would be enough for the second heritage property to lose it’s protection just within the last few months by vote of this Council, and one of two 19th century buildings facing delisting or demolition at the Monday meeting. The burden of proof should be on the owner to prove the city’s designation is wrong. Until such a time, we should assume past Council decisions are correct and leave the building on the register with the admittedly very limited protection that provides. This is just the latest example of Heritage Burlington’s worrying tendency to act on behalf of “property owners’ rights” against even highly limited heritage protections after it was reconfigured approximately eight years ago. The then city register of properties was slashed in size, and the old database of properties taken offline. In 2013 the committee sided with Councillor Jack Dennison in his request to sever a lot in the sensitive Roseland neighbourhood, again contrary to a staff report.  Map of 418 Burlington Ave in 1858, then within the township of Wellington Square. The building will soon be demolished, despite studies highlighting its importance to the history of Burlington and the streetscape, based in large part of Heritage Burlington again contradicting staff recommendations. On May 15th, Heritage Burlington also voted to remove 418 Burlington Avenue from the municipal register, allowing demolition. Again this was contrary to staff recommendations. The minutes of the meeting suggest there was a considerable divide over the decision. This was done at the same time as a recommendation to set up a meeting with the owner to “to discuss options available”. Since the objective of the owner was to demolish, and Heritage Burlington had voted to remove the building’s limited protection, it is unclear what remained to be discussed. Heritage Burlington’s minutes and decisions are not easy to find on the city website and are not listed on the Heritage Burlington website, making it very difficult to assess trends in their decisions. I have not yet been able to trace the minutes of the meeting where the decision was made to support removal of the Stewart Spence House from the municipal register. See related stories at: Choosing between heritage and the need to intensify. Residents in a huff over being stiffed be Heritage committee
September 14th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Walter Wiebe advised the Gazette earlier in the week that a developer told him that he had an ‘exclusive agreement’ to place lawn signs on his land. Walter was told this after he mistakenly thought he could place signs anywhere they did. A candidate who asked not to be named asks: “ If that is true, I believe it amounts to a corporate donation of advertising services, and is contrary to Ontario elections law. Placing lawn signs on commercial property is already a grey area … unless you claim that the signs have no value, how do you justify commercial property providing lawn sign space under the new law? It further implies a formal agreement between developers and property interests to help Kim Calderbank, Rick Goldring which will not do any of them any good in Ward 2. Both candidates are struggling to find locations on residential property in Ward 2. In my opinion it is a serious political misjudgement, as well as step across the line from a ‘grey area’ to a clearly illegal area. If commercial properties wish to donate lawn sign space to all candidates equally, that would be a different story. Candidate Weibe appears to be making the most of the issue. https://twitter.com/Walter4Ward2/status/1039982989365714944 Roland Tanner, a candidate for the ward 2 seat said: “I find it very disappointing in the current municipal climate that some candidates are alleged to have entered into agreements with developers and commercial property owners. The candidates should clarify immediately whether the allegation is true. The legality of any such an agreement, which can be argued to amount to an illegal corporate donation of advertising services, should be addressed by the city. My campaign does not request or want any sign locations on non-residential property, least of all property owned by developers, as it is essential voters know I represent their interests above all else. Regardless, residents can already judge for themselves which candidates are able to get support from residents, and which candidates depend on wealthy developer backing for personal donations and sign locations.” Just where is the city Clerk on all this? Missing in Action?
September 14th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
There is a resident in ward six who is so concerned about the level of public interest in the October municipal election that she has printed up a couple of thousand notices that she is going to distribute door to door. Krista Richards is a ward six resident. She has some questions for her neighbours. Did you know that there are over 22,000 registered voters in our Ward? Did you know that in 2014 just approximately 5,000 actually voted? Did you know the results of the municipal election for Ward Councillor was a difference of 600 votes? Did you know if you are registered you could vote online?
Our little Ward does not get much attention from City Hall. It is very much a commuter area, with many of use driving our cars to other municipalities to work, working long hours, and taking care of kids, parents and community. Many of have a hard time getting to the polls on Election Day. I know. However being able to vote online has taken the stress away. No more planning and having Murphy’s law take over. The last municipal election had 10 candidates for Ward 6 Councillor. There are only 3 in the 2018 election. Perhaps, we would have had a proper voice for our Ward. Imagine, less than 1% made the difference in who stood for us while important decisions were made about our Ward and our City. Who stood for us when Alton Village parking and snow clearing became a safety hazard? Who stood for us when a condo community was approved with less parking than originally planned causing more chaos. Who stood for us when the land of the northwest side of Walkers and Dundas that was not supposed to be developed suddenly changed. These are just a few examples. The answer… NO ONE! Please take the time to have your voice heard. There is no reason for so few folks in our area to cast their ballot, when voting cannot be any easier. The apathy towards not participating in City elections has hurt us. As Ward 6 residents and all the residents of Burlington. So many bad decisions have been made at City Hall, that we will all suffer, for generations to come. Do some reading and find out what is going on at City Hall. You may find it as disturbing as I do. We need a voice at the table in City Hall. Thank you, your neighbour. I am not affiliated with any campaign. I am simply concerned.
September 14th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
The Member of Parliament for Oakville North Burlington is looking for high school students who are interested in becoming members of her 2018-19 Youth Council. Ms Damoff writes:
“If you or someone you know has a passion for social justice and an interest in learning more about the Canadian political process I hope you take the time to apply. “My youth council meets approximately once a month during the school year and it provides an opportunity for you to learn from community leaders, meet other students interested in making a difference and provides a forum for you to let me know on how best the federal government can represent you! “Previous youth councils have participated in a blanket exercise at Crawford Lake, learned from mental health experts from the Canadian Mental Health Association, and enjoyed some delicious smoothies after powering Halton Food for Thought’s Blender Bike.  Pam Damoff, MP for Oakville Burlington North “To apply, please prepare a letter of interest outlining why you would like to join my youth advisory council.” Some point you may wish to consider are; • Previous work experience Please also include the contact information for one reference who is not a family member. Completed applications should be sent to Pam.Damoff.c1b@parl.gc.ca and will be accepted until end of day on Friday, September 21st. My office will notify applicants if they were successful or not during the final week of September. If you are a high school student please consider applying! If you know a high school student who may be interested please feel free to pass along this information to them.
September 14th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
There was a time in Burlington when people behaved quite a bit differently than they do today. It was a more genteel community. People knew each other and the city’s rural roots were still part of the way people looked at things. One of the most influential organizations in the community was the Horticulture Society. Burlington was a produce community that send apples, pepper, pears, cantaloupe around the world. There was a spur railway line that the engineers backed their train into to load on barrels of produce that got rushed to Montreal where it was loaded on ships.  There was a time when Burlington shipped its produce around the world; the railways did great business hauling fruit and vegetables from area farms. It was a more polite society as well The Grant Trunk Railway had two tracks coming into Burlington property that is now a walking path along the edge of the lake. City council was there to help and for the most part it did. Roly Bird and Walter Mulkewich and were Mayors that saw things a little differently than the current crop. There was a small incident earlier in the week that highlighted the kind of Burlington we have become. Gareth Williams who is running for the ward 3 city council seat became aware that Rory Nisan, who is also running for the seat, had planned a community BBQ at which raffle tickets were going to be sold.  Ward 3 candidate Gareth Williams Gareth talked to people at the Clerk’s Office – the city Clerk is the election Returning office. He asked if the sale of raffle tickets was permitted and was told what the rules are. If you want to sell raffle tickets you need a permit to do so from the city. In an older more genteel Burlington Gareth Williams would have called Rory Nisan and advised him as to what the rules were; instead he waited, arranged for one of his team to attend the event and take pictures of the table with the raffle tickets on it and made them available to media.  Ward 3 candidate Rory Nisan When the Gazette got the media release from Gareth we called Rory Nisan and asked some questions. Nisan admitted they had screwed up and were doing everything to repair the damage. We asked Nisan if he was going to issue a statement. At first he wasn’t sure but thought about it and said he would issue a statement – which he did. It was less than a fulsome statement. Nisan referred to documents that were not crystal clear on just what the rules were. Nisan’s response was not a fulsome, unequivocal apology for not ensuring that what his campaign was doing was onside. It fell a little short of what was expected from a Canadian diplomat. The Clerk’s Office didn’t cover itself in glory on this disappointing situation. They were aware that someone was offside. It didn’t take a rocket scientists to figure out if questions were coming from a ward 3 candidate that the concern was in ward 3.  City Clerk Angela Morgan serving as Returning Officer in the 2010 election. Would it have been too much to ask the Returning Officer to issue a bulletin to all candidate explaining the rules? Something along the lines of – it has come to our attention that etc. etc. When this election is over there are some very hard questions to be put to the Returning Officer: Which part of the democratic process are you having difficulty with? The city administration adds a tag line to every media release they send out. “Burlington is one of Canada’s best and most livable cities, a place where people, nature and business thrive.” Salt with Pepper are the opinions, reflections, observations and musings of the Gazette publisher
September 14, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
The Information Technology people did an upgrade on the service that lets people register for courses and events on line.  Deep in the bowels of this building the IT staff toil away at monitors that display lines of code and a language called HTML to create the applications that let people use city hall services. From time to time – something goes wrong. It bumped into some glitches – usually the result of poor testing before a service is released for public use. The city Parks and Recreation department now advises that the on line Drop-In Schedules are now working properly.
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ECoB – the Engaged Citizens of Burlington has gone to considerable length to make this debate happen despite the efforts of the current city Councillor to shut it down.
Shannon Gillies is a frequent contributor to the Gazette. We welcome he insight and candidness. Besides the trees on her property Shannon has a couple of rabbits about the house. She looks just fine in a pink suit.
Angelo Bentivegna
Steve Cussons is an Aldershot resident and a business man who operates a modern printing company..
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
Lisa Cooper
Jack Dennison
Kimberly Calderbank
On the same property as the Region of Halton administrative offices.
Wendy Moraghan
Kimberly Calderbank is a candidate for the Ward 2 city council seat. She is one of ten people seeking the job. 
The changes in policing are reflected in the signage. DNA testing was not one of the identity tools that police has ten years ago.
Roland Tanner is a candidate for the ward 2 city council seat. He was a member of the committee that wrote the Shape Burlington report in 2010
If you are registered to vote you will get your voter card by October 1. If not, you can contact City Hall.
“With school now fully back into session I am looking to select high school students from Oakville North-Burlington to join my youth council.
