 By Staff
September 10th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
There are people out there who are doing their darndest to scupper the candidate debates that ECoB – Engaged Citizens of Burlington have organized in all six wards and a debate for those running for Mayor.
The three city council incumbents seeking re-election: Councillors Sharman, Dennison and Lancaster have said publicly that they will not be taking part in the debates – because they don’t see ECoB as credible.
We asked Engaged Citizens of Burlington ( ECoB). Who are you? What are the organization’s objectives, and what is the role you feel you play in Burlington?
These are the questions that some have been asking.
Here is the response we got:
Engaged Citizens of Burlington ( ECoB) was formed in November 2107 by a group of citizens who were concerned about the approval of the development application for a 24 storey condominium at 421 Brant Street. With donations received at that initial meeting we were able to incorporate as a not for profit.
 While the city talked about Engagement – a group of citizens formed an organization and invited others to take part. Close to 100 people showed up on a winter’s night to listen – and donated enough money to let them incorporate and organize election debates. ECoB , a totally volunteer organization, could not have accomplished anything without the continued help and guidance of loyal supporters.
The objects for which the corporation is incorporated are:
a) To advance the rights and interests of citizens of the City of Burlington, Ontario by engaging and informing those citizens in affairs which concern and affect them.
b) To enhance communications and access to information for citizens of the City of Burlington, Ontario by collecting and disseminating information on topics which concern and affect them.
c) To liaise with other non-profit community groups and associations, government and governmental agencies and organizations in encouraging citizens of the City of Burlington to participate in community decision-making.
The special provisions are:
The corporation shall be carried on without the purpose of gain for its members, and any profits or other accretions to the corporation shall be used in promoting its objects.
People who are leery about ECoB ask: why isn’t there information on their Facebook page?
The person who handles the Facebook page has been away.
The twitter account was suspended by ECoB when the password for the account was in the hands of a member of the Board who had resigned. That password is being recovered and our understanding is that ECoB will begin tweeting again soon.
ECoB’s : Accomplishments:
– Held public meetings to encourage public engagement.
 People interested in running for office attending an ECoB event. – Held a forum for residents considering running in the Municipal Election.
– Met with the Downtown BIA.
– Met with the Chamber of Commerce.
– Met with staff of the Planning Department, The Transit Department and some of the ward councilors to bring the issues of the residents with regard to intensification in the downtown core.
 People delegating at a city council meeting asked if staff could provide some kind of a drawing showing where these new high rise buildings were going to be located and how they measured up against what the city looks like now. Staff said they couldn’t do that – so the ECoB people made up a to scale model using Lego blocks. It was a creative solution to a simple, reasonable request. – Built to scale a 3D Lego Model to show the impact of the approved and proposed buildings on Brant/James Street.
– Held a rally at City Hall to show citizen support for not adopting a New Official Plan until crucial studies, i.e. transit, transportation had been completed.
– Delegated at City Hall.
The comments above came from ECoB – they are well aware of their shortcomings
ECoB’s Failures:
We failed to proceed with an appeal to LPAT with regard to the approved development of 421 Brant Street.
ECoB came to realize that citizen engagement has to start at the beginning of the application process not when a report is brought to Council to approve. Delegation should be the last avenue of engagement not the first.
Citizen Engagement in Burlington has been an issue for many years. In 2010 Shape Burlington, a committee that was headed up by John Boich and Walter Mulkewich brought forward a report to re-shape the way citizens interact with elected officials and staff. Unfortunately this report seems to have been put on a shelf and ignored.
ECoB takes the recommendations that came from Shape Burlington as a cornerstone for Citizen Engagement. The ward candidate debates were organized with that in mind. The purpose of these debates is to inform not to influence.
There are many residents of Burlington that are presently working diligently to help candidates with their campaigns who feel strongly about citizen engagement.
ECoB will be approaching them to join with the object of forming independent ward level advisory groups. These groups would work with staff not only when a planning application comes into the city, but also on an ongoing basis to provide a voice for the residents.
ECoB was formed to fulfill the promise that members of the current council has been talking about for the past eight years. Now that those members of Council have to “walk their talk” they have chosen to avoid having to stand before their constituents and be truly accountable and engaged.
The irony of all this is that two of the three; Lancaster and Sharman were members of the Shape Burlington committee.
Amazing.
Background:
The Shape Burlington Report.
By Jim Young
September 10th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
This is my Political Fridge Magnet.
 Political magnet on a fridge When I stick it on my fridge it tells my friends, family and anyone else raiding my fridge for stale pizza or a cold beer, who I support in the upcoming Burlington Election.
As is my right in our democracy, I also hope it helps persuade my fridge raiders to support my candidate too.
It is after all a “Political Fridge Magnet”
 Political magnet on a car This was my Political Fridge Magnet when I stuck it on my Car.
My hope was that, without distracting other road users, I might inform and persuade them to support my candidate too.
That’s how our democracy works right?
Wrong!
According to Burlington Elections Office, when I stick my political fridge magnet on my car, it becomes an election sign and since election signs on cars are limited to one per candidate, my fridge magnet becomes illegal.
Bylaw Staff are interpreting “one per candidate” to mean “one per campaign”.
This seems ridiculous, we do not limit candidates to one lawn sign per campaign.
Also, I am not a candidate so the limit for “candidates” should not apply to me.
Based on this overreaching interpretation, I am not allowed to let my fellow Burlingtonians know how I will vote or to encourage their participation in the election by using my fridge magnet on my car.
It cannot be the size of the sign that offends nor the content.
After September 8th, people will be allowed to put much larger signs on their lawns that will say exactly the same thing.
Many citizens will do this in favour of their favourite candidate.
That is one of the fun, informative and engaging features of our democracy.
Except I don’t have a lawn. I live in an apartment.
If I was wealthy enough to own a house, I could have a lawn sign 100 times bigger than my fridge magnet but the poor fridge magnet on my car would still be deemed illegal.
This is my Political Fridge Magnet on my car when I stick some really ugly masking tape on it to hide the word Mayor.
Apparently that makes it legal and in compliance with Election Sign and Election Car Magnet rules.
I’m going to leave it on my car like that and I won’t tell anyone it says “Mayor” under there if you don’t.
(Rumour has it that the folks at MMW’s campaign office have colour coordinated tape for just this purpose.)
This degree of bureaucratic nonsense makes my head spin and while it easy to make fun of, it begs answers to the following:
1. Does our city really pay an electoral officer to monitor fridge magnets?
2. Does a bylaw allowing election signs on lawns, and nowhere else, discriminate against those who do not have lawns? Those without lawns tend to be the poor, the marginalised, the young, the elderly and the less abled who cannot afford a home with an expanse of lawn. (On a truly silly note, but no sillier than the bylaw, what if economic circumstances force me to live in my car? Can I call my hood my lawn and stick my fridge magnet there? Just asking.)
3. On a deeper level: This is an infringement upon my freedom of speech, freedom of political thought and my freedom to express that thought? Surely that runs counter to the whole purpose of elections in a free and open society.
4. This is the kind of silencing of citizen voices we saw in this council’s attempt to reduce citizen delegation time last year, and the insistence, despite all evidence, that we were fully consulted on major issues like The Official Plan and Downtown Intensification, that are giving rise to citizen groups demanding better from our city council and the number of candidates vying to replace them.
 Jim Young is an Aldershot resident who delegates before city council frequently.
 By Staff
September 10th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The reception for the Fourth Biennial Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Fibre Art took place at the Art Gallery of Burlington Sunday afternoon.
 Ode to Lavallèe: Artist: Art KWilt Connections: Illene Atkins, Dorothy Holdenmeyer, Marg Notar, Judy Pearce, and Nancy Winn. The AGB has developed a reputation for showing this art form – this year they did themselves proud. There is some very very fine work on the walls of the Michael Lee Chin gallery.
The exhibition is on until the 16th of September – admission is free. Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 9:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
There is a second Artist Talks on the 15th. More information on the talk – call the AGB 905-632-7796
The event showcases 90 works by 60 artists from across Ontario, in fabric, paper, yarn, thread and mixed media materials. The goal of the Fibre Art community is to raise the profile, awareness and acceptance of Fibre Art as a true art form.
 Corrosion – Artist: Mary Pal Fibre is an art form that has come into its own – it was seen as a craft that grew into an art form that is popular with a growing audience.
It is the kind of thing you have to see and spend time looking at to fully appreciate.
Several of the pieces on display are quite stunning.
Well worth the time – allow yourself a couple of hours – you might find yourself thinking in terms of something you would want to put on your walls.
 Sunset Over the Village – Artist: Chris Liszak
 By Staff
September 10th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The calendar for drop-in recreation activities is experiencing difficulties.
To ensure you have accurate information, please use the online Live and Play catalogue until further notice.
 Log in and use the browse and register service – Drop in service isn’t fully operational. A number of people have complained about using the on line service, saying it is quite difficult – we are following up on this.
By Staff
September 09-2018
BURLINGTON, ON
A little bit more on that polling that was being done by Campaign Research. The Gazette learned that Campaign Research was doing the election survey for another “marketing agency”. The Gazette also learned that KG&A had taken on Reserve Properties as a client.
Reserve Properties is the developer appealing the decision to limit to height of a property at the SE corner of Brant and James to 17 storeys. The election survey was asking Burlington residents their view on the municipal election and then, apparently, focusing on a particular candidate who most of the people we have heard from, say was Marianne Meed Ward who is running for the Office of Mayor.
City Clerk Angela Morgan advised a Gazette reader that she is the Returning Officer for the municipal election and when she learned about the polling she did the following.
I have received a number of complaints regarding a poll conducted by Campaign Research, specifically the content of the questions included in the survey and if the survey would be considered third party advertising. I have investigated this complaint including: contacting Campaign Research to receive a copy of the survey, review of the legislation, canvassing other Municipal Clerks to determine how they are handling similar polls in their municipalities and discussion with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
 City Clerk Angela Morgan certifying the 2010 election results. As the Returning Officer for the City of Burlington, my authority comes from the Municipal Elections Act, which does not include any regulations concerning tactics or content of materials used in any election campaign.
With respect to the question of third party advertisement, based on my research, I have determined that this poll is not third party advertising as defined by the Municipal Elections Act for the following reasons:
The Act defines Third Party Advertisement as follows:
“third party advertisement” means an advertisement in any broadcast, print, electronic or other medium that has the purpose of promoting, supporting or opposing,
(a) A candidate, or
(b) A yes or no answer to a question referred to in subsection 8(1), (2) or (3)
But does not include an advertisement by or under the direction of a candidate or an advertisement described in subsection (2) or (2.1)
The first test is whether a poll would be considered as a form of advertisement – as the definition of third party advertisement begins with “an advertisement in any…”, the Act does not include a definition of advertisement, consequently, I must rely on the standard definition included in Merriam-Webster dictionary which reads as follows:
A public notice; especially: one published in the press or broadcast over the air
A poll or survey does not fall into the above definition of an advertisement as a “public notice”.
In addition, the copy of the survey I received did not include any reference to specifically oppose, support or promote a specific candidate. I understand that a “push” poll has the intention of swaying respondents in a specific direction, I have consulted on this matter with the Ministry and it is their view that if the questions did not include the name of a specific candidate they would not be considered to be opposing, supporting or promoting a candidate.
The reader the Returning Officer was responding to added: “Wow what a bureaucratic response. Nowhere in my complaint did I mention “third party advertisement”. I will have to think for a while on this response.
So – there you have it. The Returning Officer has done everything she feels she is able to do.
Related news stories:
Follow the dots
Who did it?
By Staff
September 9, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
How, asked an east Burlingtonian, do we expose the fake news and misinformation that is coming out of the “Burlington News” Facebook page?
Burlington News began to appear about six months ago. All they have is a Facebook page that they make comments on and then allow others to make comments on the comments.
The Burlington News Facebook page carries a lot material that comes from Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman and is said to be used by Councillor Lancaster to support some of the positions she takes.
The Burlington News also uses original photographs taken by Gazette photographers. When we can find out who they are and where they are, we have a nice plump invoice we want to send along to them. No one seems to know who they are.
The Gazette has an IP address for them and when there is time we will trace that and find out just who these scallywags are. Transparent they are not.
Our reader maintains that the Burlington News “focuses only on what they dislike about ECoB (Engaged Citizens of Burlington) and attempts to defame ECoB by spreading misinformation.
“It is Trumpian fake news at its most obvious.
 Councillor Blair Lancaster. “Blair Lancaster has also been using it as a means to post her public position, which again is anti ECoB. “
Lancaster took the ridiculous position of finding Mark Carr, the moderator for the ECoB debates as being biased because he interviewed some of the former ECoB Board members on the Cogeco program he hosts and was aided by Angelo Bentivegna, who ran against Blair in the 2014 election.
Bentivegna did come second in the 2014 election for the ward 6 seat; she may be feeling the wind blowing around her ankles.
How, asked an east Burlingtonian, do we expose this fake news and misinformation that is coming out of the “Burlington News” Facebook page?
 Councillor Sharman wants to know who are the people who run ECoB. He doesn’t ask who runs Burlington News – and why is that? 
It would appear that Lancaster doesn’t want anyone who is seeking her seat on Council to get any kind of air time or other forms of media coverage while she has gotten reams of coverage in other media paid for by the city.
 Angelo Bentivegna – a candidate for the ward 6 city council seat. Lancaster think Bentivegna being part of the hosting team makes Mark Carr unacceptable as a moderator and demanded that ECoB find someone else as moderator.
Politics does strange things to people – or put a different way – people who might be about to lose their status as elected officials say and do strange things when that status is threatened.
 By Ray Rivers
September 08, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
It’s that same old problem. Too many doctors leads to too many unnecessary MRIs and surgeries. Too many police and you’ll have to start watching your speed on the 407. And we all know that too many cooks spoil the broth. So it’s not hard to see where our fearless premier was coming from when he decided to chop the number of Toronto’s elected offices in half.
 Members of Parliament: we elect them, swear them in and hope they do the job. Our federal leader once mused that he admired China’s spin on democracy. The public elect representatives to the National People’s Congress (NPC) and then the NPC pretty much appoints everyone else, including the municipal leaders. When you think about it, that’s not much different from the Electoral College appointing Trump or the Supreme Court appointing GW Bush. And it is pretty much how our Senators get their appointments.
The kicker is that roughly 1.4 billion people are represented by less than 3000 NPC elected officials – roughly one representative per half a million constituents. That is a far more miserly representation than Mr. Ford has decreed for Toronto at 1:100,000. So how does business actually get done with almost 3000 people in the big room in Beijing when 40 something elected officials were way too many people for efficient conduct at Toronto’s city hall?
Perhaps Toronto’s problem was its leadership. Wasn’t the premier’s younger brother in charge when Doug was a city councillor? And perhaps with all the time he had to devote to smoking crack cocaine, drinking and driving, cursing and high school football coaching, mayor Rob just didn’t have enough time left over for effective leadership.
 Rob Ford knocking over a council member during a Toronto city council meeting. And Rob Ford became famous as ringmaster of a city hall which turned into a circus and a city which became the biggest joke on the planet. It is hard to command respect and lead with dignity when you’re also the top clown. Doug Ford is right! There were probably at least two too many representatives around the city table back in those days.
But he’s wrong in that it was just about too many Councillors, but the antics and performance of some of them that should be drawing the fire. And clearly the lack of rules of procedure that allowed such clownish or boorish and tedious behaviour to carry on. Doug Ford would not be the first rocket scientist to come up with a brilliant solution to the wrong problem, throwing the baby out with the bathwater in the process.
Toronto has taken the premier to court over his new law but just about everyone expects him to win. That is unless the judge determines Ford’s actions, overturning the apple cart midway into a duly authorized election, were driven by personal or political motives, vengeance and/or gain. After all this really stinks. Ford blind-sided everyone, jumping to this hasty action without any shred of having researched, discussed or allowed debate on this policy.
And perhaps Ford’s relatively limited political education or experience has contributed to this impulsive initiative. Perhaps he doesn’t appreciate that Councillors are elected to do more than just rest their butts in council chambers and spend their time trying to be heard saying almost exactly the same thing their colleagues to the right and left have already said.
Councillors are also there to help the public deal with problems the city can fix. Ironically Mr. Ford and his brother, to their credit, were renowned for being tirelessly accessible and responsive to their ward electorate. This new law will make it more difficult for the city’s taxpayers to get that kind of help when they need it.
Then there is the matter of cost savings, a straw horse if ever. Twenty five million dollars over the next five years? It’s a promise just so deja vu – recall the savings Mike Harris promised once his pet amalgamation had been completed. No thinking person really believes this back of the envelope calculation of potential savings. In any case once more paid staff are hired to assist the fewer Councillors meet the needs of Toronto’s millions of taxpayers, there would be precious little left over.
And if saving tax payer money was the issue then why not save big time? There is an estimated billion and a half dollars which we waste every single year by maintaining the anachronistic and discriminatory publicly funded separate school system. Ontario is just one of three provinces left which still publicly funds Catholic education in this country. That puts us in violation of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and in the bulls eye of criticism and condemnation from even the United Nations.
And while on the subject of delivering education more efficiently wouldn’t there be savings by eliminating the boards all together and having the municipalities pick up those responsibilities? It’s no secret that trustees get the lowest voter attention at election time because unless you have children in school your interest is understandably limited. We have built an entire political structure around our schools when the curriculum comes from Queen’s Park and the rest is child’s play – hiring a principal and maintaining the schools.
 Rivers suggests that schools be added to the job municipal Councillors do. Would that keep Bateman open? One should ask why the city couldn’t integrate the education responsibilities into their mandates. Now that would save at least the cost of the board head offices. And planning for schools might be better integrated into official and other planning processes. City planners would be more obligated to consider the impacts of new developments on schools and possibly avoid some of the issues that Burlington residents ran into as they saw their schools threatened with closure earlier this year.
By the way, one representative per hundred thousand residents when applied to Burlington would mean two wards and a mayor. And who thought they were inadequately represented at city hall with the current lot – some of whom were in office back when I ran there almost a quarter century ago?
Finally there is a school of thought that municipal politics is a potential training ground for those aspiring to rise up to the provincial and federal upper levels. In fact Doug Ford, Kathleen Wynne and Cam Jackson all got their start in local politics, for better or worse. Who knows but with a smaller number of city council seats at the time he ran, Doug might not have been even elected, family name notwithstanding.
 Ray Rivers writes regularly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Ford’s Plan – Blame the Councillors – The Right Size –
Ontario Municipalities – School Districts – Catholic Schools –
 By Mary Alice St. James
September 8th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
I am proud of the courage, time, energy, skills and the monetary commitment that every Candidate across the City of Burlington has put into running in the only non-partisan election, a Municipal Election. It is a comprehensive and full time endeavour to run an effective Campaign. Incumbents though have a huge advantage which makes the playing field unequal even before they each declined participation in their only Ward Designated All Candidates Meetings.
I put my name forward as a Candidate for Councillor in Ward 5 knowing that this and likely much more can happen during this campaign. I could not sleep at night though without giving voters an alternative, without being a part of the solution instead of being part of the problem. My extensive experiences with City Council over the past six years in the areas of: development and infrastructure (what many are now aware of as over-intensification or “my gosh, when was it decided that building could happen?”), congested corridors of traffic, transit challenges, affordability and environmental protections and solutions.
Research shows that incumbents have an advantage due to their paid years of service and their work with various staffs within the City of Burlington and the Halton Region. Nonetheless and despite research statistics, I pulled together an amazing group of volunteers to assist me in running my personally funded campaign. I have received a few donations … thank you! A reason though that I put my unique skill sets (25 years as a local principal) and teamwork into the foray of public scrutiny is because I could not sleep at night thinking about what Burlington will look like in four years if this continues.
 Taken from the Paul Sharman candidate Facebook page.  The current course of non-action, discourse and disrespectful treatment of citizens and citizens groups such as the Engaged Citizens of Burlington (ECoB) are but a few samplings of why citizens I have spoken with this summer are disillusioned and feel betrayed by their Municipal Councillor. Burlington’s citizens are exceptionally smart. I know this. People I talk with know this. It is an extremely important election. I will continue and my team will continue with our campaign as we always have intended. Every day we enter uncharted territory but for me, this is exactly why I am running a competitive campaign. I am saddened by political inaction by incumbents.
I will be at the September 19th Ward 5 All Candidates Meeting because I know that Burlington citizens are smart and they do care about the next four years. Remember to vote on October 22nd or better yet, vote early or even on line this year.
 Mary Alice St. James is a candidate for the ward 5 city council seat. She is a retired elementary school teacher and a consistent advocate for better development in the city.
 By Staff
September 7th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Sarah Sabihuddin, Director, Community Engagement, Halton Poverty Roundtable has written an Open Letter to Lisa MacLeod, a Minister in the Ontario government about the provinces decision to Basic Income Pilot Program in Ontario.
Dear Minister MacLeod:
We are writing in response to your government’s decision to end the Basic Income Pilot Program in Ontario. We strongly disagree with your decision to end this Pilot prematurely and without regard for the demonstrably positive impact that this program was having upon the lives of people living in poverty in our Province. As such, we respectfully urge you to reconsider a policy decision that will only serve to deepen the experience of poverty for millions of Ontario’schildren, families and seniors.
 Minister Lisa MacLeod The Halton Poverty Roundtable is a registered charity who is a leader in connecting, educating, and acting on issues related to poverty in Halton. In our community, 1 in 10 of our neighbours do not know where their next meal will come from and 1 in 3 seniors are living below the poverty line. Our communities of Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills have over thirty seventhousand individuals who struggle daily to survive on low incomes, or who live in poverty.
Minister MacLeod, the conclusion of the first phase of the Basic Income Pilot in April of this year, brought with it an abundance of first-hand accounts of the difference that Basic Income had made to people’s lives. The decision to abandon the Pilot will cause needless difficulties for the participants struggling to escape poverty. Given the initial success of the program, we cannot understand the immediate need for cancelation. Surely, it would have been prudent to conclude the Pilot and use the resulting data in the development of social policy.
We are hopeful that your government’s announcement to reform Social Assistance in the next 100 days includes an inclusive and transparent process, collaboration across all sectors, and a fulsome consultation process including those living with the challenges of poverty. As you may know, having a 100 day timeline to reform the entire social assistance program will be met with challenges including: the potential for increases of punitive and ineffective approaches and models being implemented, the reduction of supports under the guise of decreasing resource costs and a lack of understanding of the lived experience of being on Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
As you embark on this reform, we would like to draw your attention to the living wage in Halton Region. In order for a family in Halton to cover their basic living expenses, a family of four would have to have both adults working 37.5 hours per week making $17.95 per hour. Clearly, minimum wage, Ontario Works and ODSP do not come close to affording recipients a basic standard of living in Halton. Your government’s proposed 1.5% increase in social assistance will do little to assist the most vulnerable people in our communities.
The Halton Poverty Roundtable respectfully requests that the Government of Ontario continue the Basic Income Pilot through to its conclusion before making a final decision as to the efficacy, both socially and financially, of the basic income concept.
In light of the current economic climate in Ontario, the low Canadian dollar, the ongoing trade tariff situation with the United States, combined with the cost of living, this is driving uncertainty for the most vulnerable. Bottom line, you know that it is harder for families to survive and the cancelation of the basic income pilot and the cut to our current social assistance program puts far too many at even greater risk.
Earlier this month, the federal government announced details of its first Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy (CPRS) – a national poverty plan that many in the non-for-profit and social services sector alongside people with lived experience have called for.
The Halton Poverty Roundtable, a regional organization, welcomes the launch of the CPRS and calls for the strategy to serve as a platform for further development of significantly stronger poverty elimination measures, policies, and programs at the federal level. In Halton, more than 13,500 children live in low income households, representing one in ten children. Many in our community have to decide between paying their rent, buying fresh food for their children, and paying for necessary medication.
The release of this strategy is a good start, although it does not allocate new funding nor did it announce any new initiatives. However, the CPRS provides a solid starting point as it introduces Canada’s official measure of poverty; concrete poverty reduction targets; and a National Advisory Council on Poverty.
If the CPRS strategy is going to work for those in our community, it must have full provincial support.
More importantly, we will only see measureable and long lasting results if municipalities and regional levels of government are engaged in the national conversation. All levels of government need to come together to create supports dedicated to addressing the underlying issues of poverty such as: mental and physical health, affordable housing, food security and a robust income security program, such as a basic income.
We are certainly excited that the vision of this strategy includes working towards a substantial reduction in poverty in Canada and recognizes the role that systemic discrimination plays as a barrier to people living in poverty. We are looking forward to participating and continuing the push for full elimination of poverty in our communities.
About Halton Poverty Roundtable:
The Halton Poverty Roundtable (HPRT) is a local non-profit and registered charity; a leader in connecting, educating and acting on issues related to poverty in Halton. For the past 7 years, we have been dedicated to shifting the conversation in Halton towards acknowledgment that poverty exists in our community, increasing education and awareness of poverty and then creating opportunity for community action.
 By Pepper Parr
September 7th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Paul Sharman has once again confused the forest for the trees.
He has said that he is not going to attend the debate for the ward 5 candidates until he knows who the Directors of ECoB – Engaged Citizens of Burlington.
Sharman wants to know:
Who are the directors of the incorporated ECOB entity? I understand the original participants have resigned.
There has been no information about the ECOB “organization” on the website.
In the short history of ECOB there has been a continuous demonstration of divisiveness, disrespect of Council / City management, inflammatory misinformation and partisan posturing.
If the CFUW or any other respectable, objective, well established organization with a properly elected Board of Directors were to sponsor the September event, I would participate.
Otherwise, I will not participate in any event sponsored by ECOB.
I will post this message on all my public communications with respect to this event.
Does an organization that is organizing a debate have to respect the elected members of council when most of the members of this council have very little respect for the citizens who stand before than as a delegation.
 ECoB’s first public meeting attracted more than 100 people. Would that be enough to make them credible? If Sharman would do his homework he would know that ECoB held an event for anyone interested in becoming a candidate for a seat on city council or serving as a school board trustee.
More than 100 people turned out for the first event ECoB held – they raised a significant amount of money at that event. Some of those funds are being used to organize the debates. Church hall rentals being one of the costs.
A room full of people who wanted to know more about running for public office. The event was organized by ECoB who had former council members and school board trustees on the panel. Would this make ECoB credible? Sharman is using the credentials of the people organizing the event – the people doing the hard work to make the debates happen and to deal with the antics of the sitting members of council who are doing nothing but making the job of volunteers that much harder.
What Sharman is doing is creating a phony reason to not attend a debate where he will have to face candidates that have done their homework.
 Ward 5 candidate Wendy Morghan squaring of with Councillor Paul Sharman  Mary Alice St. James talking to people outside a public meeting in the Lakeside Village Plaza where an massive change to the community was being presented.
 By Staff
September 6th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The staff at the Nelson Youth Centre tell the story about Ben, a young boy who was rapidly losing his way.
He was 13 years old with a long history of failures when he came to the Centre. He was very angry and defensive and was not about to trust anyone. Ben had no friends and too many people had let him down in his young life. In addition, his teachers and school were not feeling hopeful that he would be able to continue in the main stream. His mom loved her son but was at loss on how to help him. We knew that Ben desperately wanted to fit in and have a friend of his own but lacked the skills and confidence to make this happen.
Over time while attending the program and with the support of the Centre’s staff Ben was able to figure out who he was and what he wanted. Ben found his voice. During the 6 months he was in the program, Ben began to connect with his peers and express himself in a healthy and socially acceptable way. He was also able to connect with his teacher in a way that allowed him to benefit from the learning environment. He was finding hope and a place for himself in this world.
Ben was given the task of mentoring new children coming into the program; he now had a purpose and a way to share with others what he had learned about himself and what he needed to be successful. He successfully graduated from the Centre’s program and was unrecognizable as the boy who first came to our door. Ben was now seen as a leader in school, had multiplied his friends, and was moving in a positive direction.
A year later, in high school, Ben returned to the Centre as a volunteer. Nelson Youth Centres had made such a difference in his life, connecting him to school, family and friends he wanted to pay it forward. Ben was able to help others a see a future as bright as own!
 By Staff
September 6th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
It was forty years ago when Ron Gardner founded the Nelson Youth Centre.
It has been serving the children and youth ages 6 to 18 in Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills.
Nelson Youth Centres is an accredited children’s mental health centre.
The occasion is being celebrated with a party on September 15, 2018, 10:30 to 3:00 at our home base on New Street.
Current and Past Board Members will be taking part; they include Burlington philanthropist Susan Busby (retired school principal), Chris Lawson (Halton Regional Police Services), Martin Venema (Sr Director RBC), Ron Gardner (Founder, Funding Innovations). Activities for the day include tours of the newly renovated building.
 The Nelson Youth Centre on New Street in Burlington, Nelson Youth Centers started out in a community room in Port Nelson United Church in 1978. The Church provided a space to turn our vision into reality for youth and children in our community. In 1982 with the support of the City of Burlington Nelson Youth Centres moved into our current home on New Street, where they are able to offer group therapy. The Centre has developed an After School Treatment Program.
 Over the next 40 years and with the generous and ongoing support of our community, the Centre expects to expand their services. The Centre now has thirteen full time staff members.
Every year, the Centre changes the lives of over 300 children.
Nelson Youth Centers started out in a community room in Port Nelson United Church in 1978. The Church provided a space to turn the vision into reality for youth and children in our community. In 1982 with the support of the City of Burlington Nelson Youth Centers moved into their current home on New Street.
By Staff
September 5th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The city is upgrading the mapping and open data technology application.
You will not be able to upgrade, interactive maps and open data will not be available on Thursday, Sept. 6 and Friday, Sept. 7.
These services will be available again on Saturday, September 8.
By Pepper Parr
September 4th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
After giving ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison six days’ notice to confirm that he will take part in a debate with his opponent and failing to confirm his attendance, ECoB reluctantly made the changes it had to make to its schedule and published the dates of each ward level debate and the location.
The very reasonable deadline Dennison was given ended at noon.
The Gazette published the dates and location Tuesday afternoon.
 The problem arose when ECoB realized that there was a city council meeting on the 24th, which was a serious conflict for Dennison. ECoB offered to change the date, which meant making changes in several of the other ward debates and asked Dennison to advise that he could and would attend on the second date they chose.
Dennison was given six days to decide. ECoB needed conformation by noon of the 4th. They didn’t hear from Dennison so they proceed to publish the dates so that all the other candidates could organize their time and prepare for the debate,
At just before 11:00 pm this evening, Tuesday, ten hours after the deadline, Dennison informed ECoB by email, that he would attend on the revised date and wanted the debate date changed – and he wanted all the questions he would be asked provided to him beforehand.
ECoB has been put in the awkward position of looking like a bunch of amateurs who can’t organize an event.
 The people that make ECoB work are, from the left Dania Thurman, Lisa Kearns and Penny Hersh. Kearns resigned from the organization and registered as a candidate for the ward 2 city council seat. They have decided, as they should, that they will not change the dates. Dennison is free to attend on the 24th at 7:00 pm. ECoB has said they welcome his participation.
As for getting the questions in advance – not a chance Mr. Dennison. For two reasons – that is not what a debate is all about and ECoB doesn’t have all the questions yet.
The questions that will be asked will, for the most part, come from the audience who are at the meeting.
Why did Jack Dennison change his mind – hard to tell but the behaviour is consistent with the way Jack Dennison sees his world.
By Pepper Parr
September 5th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
 Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman listening to east end residents. Councillor Sharman wasn’t certain that ECoB – Engaged Citizens of Burlington – had the legitimacy or credibility to organize a series of debates for residents in each of the city’s six wards.
 Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison Councillor Dennison chose not to take part in the debate opportunity.
Councillor Lancaster took issue with Mark Carr moderating the ward level debates – ECoB arranged for a different moderator.
What is it about these three statement that are similar?
All three are members of a city council that has been in place for eight years and they aren’t interested in debating the issues.
Sharman and Dennison face very serious challenges – Lancaster has a battle on her hands. All three could be collecting pension before the end of the year.
The people of Burlington are now at a point where they want to be at the table where the decisions are made. They have trusted their members of city council to act in the best interests of the electorate. Many think that trust is now misplaced.
We have a democratic process where the elected go before the electorate and defend what they have done in the past and explain what they propose to do in the future.
Instead, Lancaster takes issue with Mark Carr being the moderator – and what might the basis of that concern be? Carr has been moderating the panel discussion The Issue on Cogeco TV for years. No one has ever suggested that he has shown any bias.
 Ward 6 Councilor Blair Lancaster chairing a Standing Committee Just what could Mark Carr do in a public debate that would harm Lancaster’s interests? This is a candidate who has come up with a case of the jitters.
Lancaster did much the same thing when the Gazette sponsored a debate in ward six when she was up against nine other candidates in ward six. On that occasion Lancaster didn’t have the “cahonies” to complain directly – she had her sister Brenda do the complaining. Slimy stuff.
Sharman has no use for any citizen group that he doesn’t control. And he doesn’t like situations where he can’t control the agenda. Ward 5 has two female candidates who are going to be in his face demanding answers to their questions and explanations behind some of his questionable behaviour during this election and that is taking far from his comfort zone.
Poor Jack Dennison – he hopes that if he can do his door to door campaigning and continue to charm the residents he can squeak through. It doesn’t look as if he is going to get away with that approach this time.
The beauty about the democracy we have is that the voters put an x mark on a piece of paper and put their marked ballot in a box – it’s a secret ballot. By the end of the election eve – the voters will know if their will was focused enough to bring about a change.
Councillors Taylor and Craven chose not to run for re-election. Craven has never been beaten – and he would probably win another term of office had he chosen not to retire. No word yet on what he wants to do next.
Councillor Taylor came to the realization that it was time to put the gauntlets on different hands. A wise decision on his part. He has served well for the most part and should be recognized for his contribution. Did he stay too long? The voters didn’t think so. He never lost an election and was acclaimed on at least one occasion.
Residents have been complaining for more than a year about the absence of the kind of engagement they want to see in the direction the city grows.
 Gary Scobie has delegated to the city in dozens of occasions – doubts he has ever been heard. Council has failed to hear what the citizens are saying and staff, who serve at the will of Council, take their que from city council.
The public is very unhappy with staff, particularly with the Planning department and the Office of the City Manager.
Should there be a new city council – there will be changes at the senior staff level.
 In the meantime there are going to be debates in every ward of the city so that citizens can hear what those who want to serve have to say for themselves. Those who have served will be asked why they should be re-elected.
Three of those seeking re-election: Sharman, Dennison and Lancaster are being dragged into the debates kicking and screaming.
Same thing happened in the French Revolution when the guillotine was put into almost daily use.
Salt with Pepper are the opinions, reflections, observations and musings of the Gazette publisher
By Staff
September 5, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
A Gazette reader advised us that parents were getting notices about the amount of lead in the water in Halton Board of Education schools.
We asked Director of Education Stuart Miller the following questions:
What’s with the lead in the water at MMR?
How bad is it?
When did the Board learn about it?
What is the Board doing about it?
The Board of Education has it all under control.
David Boag, Associate Director of Education told that Gazette that lead testing occurs throughout the school year in all our schools.
 David Boag, Associate Director of Education at the Halton District School Board In each school testing occurs at several locations (different fixtures) within the school. This testing occurred this summer and in some schools, lead concentrations were above allowable limits. Where this occurs, we inform families. This often occurs in the summer when water is allowed to sit in pipes and our regular flushing routine is not in effect at many sites.
Wherever there is a lead exceedacne, flushing occurs and the water is tested again. If the fixture where the test was done does not pass after flushing, the fixture is taken out of service and further maintenance or replacement occurrs.
All other locations must achieve a passing test for the fixture to be put back in service. Prior to school coming back for September we resume our daily water flushing to ensure water quality for staff and students in our schools.
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks requires all sites to be tested annually between May and October. The Halton District School Board hires an independent, certified third-party to gather water samples and send to a certified laboratory to perform the analysis. Under the regulation, if an exceedance is detected, the lab is required to inform the Ministry of Environment Spills Action Centre, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Halton Region Public Health Department, the Ministry of Education and the school board.
If a fixture’s standing sample laboratory test results indicate an unacceptable concentration of lead and the flushed sample shows acceptable lead concentration levels, staff at the school perform a five-minute daily flush of every water line, and a ten-second flush at every fixture before school starts. This ensures the standing water condition does not occur. If a fixture’s flushed sample laboratory test results indicate an unacceptable concentration of lead, water supply to the fixture is shut off.
 Pure clear water – tested regularly The water supply is not turned back on until two consecutive tests are conducted and the results show the lead concentration within the water is safe to drink. Adjacent water fixtures are also tested to ensure the issue is not present within the supplying water line. If subsequent test results show unacceptable concentration levels, the fixture is either removed entirely or replaced and retested. In the event that there has been an exceedance, flushing will occur daily for a period of two years as a precaution. This applies to both standing and flush test results.
The drinking water at schools within the Halton District School Board follows stringent water testing in accordance with Ontario Regulation 243/07 and under the direction of the Ministry the Environment, Conservation and Parks. All sampling, testing and any remediation is completed before school commences to ensure the health and safety of students.
They’ve got this one under control.
By Staff
September 4th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Shawna Stolte, a candidate for the ward 4 city council seat said today that she was “So disappointed in Jacks decision to not participate in the Ward 4 Municipal Debate.”
Jack Dennison the day he announced thee sale of his health club. Dennison did not advise ECoB that he would participate within the very reasonable deadline they had given him (five days)
Stolte added in her prepared statement that: “Is it from a fear of being faced with questions he can’t answer? Or a fear of a strong challenger who may demonstrate the skills and experience to be a better option for voters in Ward 4?
 Ward 4 candidate Shawna Stolte at the Farmer’s Market. “If Jack believes he has done a good job for the voters over the last 24 years then he should have no trouble attending a public forum and defending himself. I believe he is well aware of the mounting frustration that Ward 4 residents feel about all of the time and money he has cost the city pursuing his own best interests while ignoring his constituents concerns…and he is now taking the easy route to avoid having to explain himself publicly.
“One would like to think that a career politician such as Jack would have more respect for his constituents and the democratic process, and understand that it is his obligation to allow voters to express their questions and receive the information they need to make an informed decision on Election Day.
 Jack Dennison wants to get re-elected – he just doesn’t want to debate and tell voters what he has done to deserve their vote. “Jack knows full well that the fewer people who are introduced to his strong challenger, the better it is for him…so once again he is choosing what is in his own best interest above what is best for the constituents of Ward 4.
“The question is…will the voters of Ward 4 allow him to get away with this for the seventh time?
By Pepper Parr
September 4th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Getting public attention in Burlington for the election of the people who will serve on city council and the Board of Education is not an easy task.
There have been elections in this city where the turnout has been as low as 13%.
It doesn’t look as if that is going to be the case for the October 22 civic election. With a record 63 candidates filing nomination papers, a small but very effective group of citizens have organized debates in each ward of the city.
Getting this done has not been easy.
ECoB – Engaged Citizens of Burlington – set out to organize debates in each ward for the candidates running in that ward and then a debate for the four people running for the Office of Mayor.
There are not that many venues that these events can be held in – churches, schools, library, service clubs – wherever there is a large room that will hold those interested in hearing the debates.
ECoB has not been able to convince the city that they should be allowed to use public property. The Clerk’s office, which oversees the election process, has told ECoB that city property could not be used because candidates might choose to solicit votes while the debates are taking place,
Heaven forbid that such a thing should happen in Burlington.
 Mark Carr will moderate most of the ward level debates. The ward level debates are being moderated by Mark Carr – with the exception of the Ward 6 debate where Councillor Lancaster took issue with Carr, saying she didn’t feel he was as unbiased as she would like him to be.
The biggest headache for the people organizing the event was the refusal on the part of Councillor Dennison to take part. The original date chosen happened to be the date city council was meeting.
Dennison never had any problem missing a council meeting when the Committee of Adjustment was hearing his application to sever his Lakeshore Road property. He sat in the room next door to the Council Chamber defending his right to sever his property but forgetting that as an elected member of council he was sworn to defend the city’s bylaws.
The ECoB people understood and arranged for the ward 4 debate to take place on another date. Dennison would not commit to attending – so the debate for ward 4 citizens will be just Shawna Stolte, the only other candidate on the ballot, on the stage by herself.
 Ward 4 candidate for city council Shawna Stolte Stolte had some choice words for Dennison and his decision. “Is it from a fear of being faced with questions he can’t answer? Or a fear of a strong challenger who may demonstrate the skills and experience to be a better option for voters in Ward 4?”
The dates and locations for the seven debates are:
Ward 5
Wednesday, September 19th
ROBERT BATEMAN HIGH SCHOOL
5151 New Street, Burlington
Ward 6
Thursday, September 20th
THEATRE AT HAYDEN HIGH SCHOOL
3040 Tim Dobbie Drive, Burlington
Ward 4
Monday, September 24th
NELSON HIGH SCHOOL
4181 New Street, Burlington –
Ward 3
Wednesday, September 26th
MM ROBINSON HIGH SCHOOL
2425 Upper Middle, Burlington
Ward 2
Monday, October 1st
BURLINGTON BAPTIST CHURCH
2225 New Street, Burlington –
Ward 1
Thursday, October 4th
EAST PLAINS UNITED CHURCH
375 Plains Road E. Burlington –
MAYOR
Tuesday, October 9th
BURLINGTON CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
1433 Baldwin Street, Burlington
Make a note of the date for the debate in your ward.
All the debates start at 7:00 pm
By Pepper Parr
September 4th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
They will stream into the school by the hundreds.
The changes to the outer appearance of M. M. Robinson will be noted and the students transferring in from Lester b. Pearson high school will settle into their new surroundings.
 M. M. Robinson high school being “spruced up”. The building was looking a little worn – it was time to spruce the place up a bit. Some of the work was done during the summer- the balance will get done before the end of the year.
Getting to this point has been a huge task that pulled on most of the resources that exist at the senior levels of the Halton District School Board.
 Superintendent Terri Blackwell talking to Pearson high school during the formal school closing. Several of the Superintendents were on call; Terri Blackwell was leading the drive to ensure that Pearson fit into MMR perfectly; that every possible and reasonable need was met.
Many of the teachers from Pearson came over with the students.
The closing of Pearson was contentious and might well result in at least two of the trustees losing their seats in the October municipal election.
School closing are not the concern of Claire Proteau, the principal at M.M. Robinson high school. Her job is to make the school work and ensure that each student gets the education they need and deserve.
She brings both an eclectic and colourful background to the task. She is not your cookie cutter idea of a principal. Very very hands on with an understanding that students today are different and that the world they are going into is equally different.
 Claire Proteau stands outside her high school while students take part in a program run by the Halton police. Claire graduated from high school and went to a community college because, as she put it, her marks were not good enough to get into university. She studied behavioural sciences at community college and went to teachers college as a mature student.
Claire treats her students as young adults and works with them at whatever level they are at. She has bounced around the Halton District School Board and worked in some challenging situations. She was at the Syl Apps Youth Centre, a 48-bed, Secure Residential Forensic Mental Health Facility for Ontario male and female youth. The Halton District School Board provides the educational component.
That job pulled on Claire’s experience in the federal correctional service – penitentiaries – where she found the inmates to be people she could work with. “It was the custodial staff – guards – that I couldn’t take. It wasn’t where I wanted my career to begin and end.”
Life in Kingston came to an end – Claire and the family moved to Burlington where she joined the Halton District School board.
She was on staff at Bateman when the Elgin/Brock students were integrated into the new school.
She worked at Central high school where she was a vice principal.
The opportunity to move to MM Robinson was too good for Claire to miss – she asked for the job and got it.
That’s when the challenges began – integrating several hundred students from Pearson which was a very small school. They are coming into a school that you can actually get lost in. It is the largest high school in the HDSB system.
It is a composite school – offers everything.
It has a student body that is defined by the part of the city they live in; north of the QEW east of Tyendaga. Middle class families in a quiet neighbourhood.
MMR has two vice principals, 50 teachers and 26 educational assistants.
There is a Community Pathway Program at MMR that is visible, the CPP students are fully integrated.
Students who have mobility challenges are helped by other students. While it is a big school with a large student population everyone seems to know everyone else.
 Claire Proteau in her office – where she is open and engaging with her students. There is a very healthy relationship between the student body and the Pathway program. It’s one big family.
The administration offices are on the second level of the school with an awkward set of stairs that gets you to that space. There is a small gallery, almost a balcony that let’s Claire look out over the gathering area inside the front doors where the students meet and lounge around.
The gallery area let’s Claire see what is going on – she has a very keen eye. Is there a principal that doesn’t have eyes in the back of their head?
A high school is a big operational challenge. Young people finding themselves, figuring out who they are and what they think they want to be is a big task in itself.
Every year new students arrive and go through that process of fitting in.
This year the Pearson students are added to the mix.
Given the discord that surrounded the decision to close Pearson and moving students from a small school to a really big school adds to the challenge.
How do you make that work?
The prep that was done to get to this point was huge. Pearson students visited the high school many times; parents met with MMR staff – every question asked had to get a satisfactory answer; the students and the parents had to know that Pearson students were going to a new home that would include their character and values.
Two of the Boards Superintendents were assigned to ensuring that everything went smoothly.
 MM Robinson high school is the only one in the city with formal art work at the entrance to the school. Claire decided that the Student Theatre should be renamed and called the Pearson Theatre. Some students objected – Claire asked them what the name of the Theatre was now – they weren’t able to tell her. The theatre is on the left hand side of the main lobby just inside the entrance doors to the school. Pearson students will know the moment they walk into the building that part of their heritage has been transferred to MMR.
The new home for the Pearson crowd is a lot different than the small school they left; it is bigger, offers far more in the way of program and has its own culture.
The MMR space is organized as hallways; there is the French hallway – the space where the French classes take place, a hallway for English, Math, science, phys ed, the arts.
Students move from hallway to hallway – they meet with their friends who are taking math in that part of the school and meet with their friends in the phys ed hallway.
It’s a little different – but it works.
Two students were assigned the task of taking a Gazette reporter on a tour. We asked that students handle the tour – it was their school and we wanted their take on the place.
 Students catching up on what’s going on in the school lobby. We went from classroom to classroom: the phys ed set up is great; the photography class still uses film, they recycle the silver that is part of the celluloid. The money earned from the sale of the silver is rolled back into a fund that is used to purchase new equipment.
The automotive shop had just as many females as males in it.
Claire has worked to ensure that the school was not a collection of silos – with one group having no idea what another group was doing.
Her approach was to run a school that was as open as she could make it; as much a school that was totally focused on students – a place teachers come to each day to serve and meet the needs of the students.
Not always easy – something every parent can attest to.
The Angela Coughlan Pool is attached to the school and used by the school but is more a city facility that the school makes extensive use of.
Noted was that the high school does not seem to have a stellar swimming team. Nor does it have a student council.
 Students taking part in a police class where they learn what the influence of substances does to their ability to drive a vehicle. Principal Proteau take part Discipline is always a problem in a high school setting – one could well expect Claire to be a very strong disciplinarian – she isn’t. She is a strong believer in second chances – and third chances if that is appropriate. She is there to listen to the students and understand where they are coming from and what they are dealing with.
Rules are necessary but Claire doesn’t treat them as the end all and be all.
She has a sense of humour and is there to be approached and engaged by her students – and her staff.
Some members of the staff chaff a little at Claire’s approach – but they too adapt or they look for a situation that better meets their approach to teaching high school students.
 Claire Proteau in the courtyard waving to students. A lot is riding on how well the Board of Education staff have prepared for the integration of the former Pearson high school students. Will it work? It will work, if only because of the commitment Claire and her staff have made to merging the two student bodies. MMR isn’t Pearson but part of the heart and soul of Pearson will be in the building and the students that graduate will be the
Closing a school is never easy for the Board administration, always difficult for parents and hard for some students to understand.
Claire Proteau is doing what has to be done to make it work. You can bet on this one.
By Staff
September 4th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
George Ward reports that when he sent his complaint on election survey work that was being done to Market Research Intelligence Agency,(MRIA) the email was refused.
He got a “refused acceptance” from both knoel@mria-arim.ca and info@mria-arim.ca
Telephone calls went to voice mail.
Ward reports that “It appears to me that any submission or complaint I try to make is blocked.”
Now why would that be?
Ward is indefatigable if he is anything – a Registered letter is on the way.
A Gazette reader said: You make a lot of assumptions in this article and I prefer the facts. the media’s job it appears is to make a mountain out of a mole hill and cause this to be blown up more than necessary. The authorities will figure out the culprit. And now back to the election of which we have 4 candidates running for mayor.
Another Gazette reader responded: How do you know the “authorities will figure out the culprit”? Has the OPP or any other law enforcement group announced this? Without the exposure by the press, this sordid incident would simply slither away.
There is more to this than some people want the public to know.
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Follow the dots
George Ward files a complaint with Market Research Intelligence Agency.
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