 By Staff
June 5th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
An estimated 768,895 voters participated in advance voting for the 2018 General Election. Preliminary figures show that voter turnout for advance voting was 18.8%. This is an increase from the 647,261 electors who voted at advance polls for the general election in 2014.
 Canadian citizens who reside in Ontario and are at least 18 years of age on election day are eligible to vote. Ontario electors can find a list of acceptable identification documents, along with information about when and where to vote, at www.elections.on.ca .
Polls open at 9:00 am and close at 9:00 pm.
 By Staff
June 5th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
For a more light hearted look at who is running for office and why consider Peter Rusin, he was a candidate for mayor in 2014.
 Peter Rusin wants everyone to be able to enjoy the benefits of having less government imposition in their lives. This time around Rusin is running for MPP to represent those people who are seeking an option to the current party governance structure in the province. Peter believes independent thinking and protection of rights for each individual have become suppressed by the current climate of political correctness and extreme party policy agendas. His hope is that everyone can better exercise their freedoms and be able to enjoy the benefits of having less government imposition in their lives by voting for Consensus Ontario; a form of government directed by the people and not as dictated by established party ideologues.
Peter feels that the current tax burdens, planned deficits and record levels of debt, are unjustly choking the life out of the economic health across the province, and stressing families. He wants to instill a philosophy into government and civil servant representatives that people need to be served in a humble manner, and believes that together with an empowered voter system free of traditional party affiliation, will result in a higher quality of life for all Ontarians. Peter will also bring Transparency and Accountability back to the table to ensure government is responsible and strong.
 A man and his dog. Peter says the collapse of the provincial Liberal party in 2018 is a good thing, and that it will help to free individuals and bring back confidence to the collective spirit of a more effective democracy. The current political climate is toxic and needs a cleansing. He also wants Burlington voters to be able to set their own course addressing local issues, including making affordable housing a top priority. Peter believes the Burlington riding deserves a stronger and independent voice.
Peter is married with 3 children and is a professional commercial realtor who specializes in expropriation related matters and works on major public transportation infrastructure projects across southern Ontario and the GTHA. In his spare time Peter enjoys cruising with his dog Pepper in a two door 707 horsepower Hellcat, sending a message to all the left wing extremists that life can be more fun when freed of excessive political ideology.
Peter’s phone number is 905-599-6661 (cell)
Peter’s email is peter@peterrusin.com
 By Pepper Parr
June 5th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
She was half white and was neglected as part of the indigenous culture that was beginning to be recognized when Margaret Atwood wrote Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature in 1972.
At its publication, Atwood said she could not find Native works. She mused, “Why did I overlook Pauline Johnson? Perhaps because, being half-white, she somehow didn’t rate as the real thing, even among Natives; although she is undergoing reclamation today.
The Pauline Johnson Public School in Burlington was opened in 1968 at a time when schools were being built to accommodate a growing population. This Friday the school will celebrate its 50th anniversary by opening two time capsules; the 25th Anniversary capsule laid down in 1993 and the Millennium Year capsule laid down in 2000.
 A successful writer and performer who was forgotten for a period of time Pauline Johnson is once again being fully recognized. Emily Pauline Johnson (also known in Mohawk as Tekahionwake –pronounced: dageh-eeon-wageh, literally: ‘double-life’, was born in March 1861. Commonly known as Pauline Johnson, she was a Canadian writer and performer popular in the late 19th century. Johnson was notable for her poems and performances that celebrated her Aboriginal heritage; her father was a hereditary Mohawk chief of mixed ancestry. She also drew from English influences, as her mother was an English immigrant. One such poem is the frequently anthologized “The Song My Paddle Sings”.
Her poetry was published in Canada, the United States and Great Britain; she was one of a generation of widely read writers who began to define a Canadian literature. While her literary reputation declined after her death, since the later 20th century, there has been renewed interest in her life and works.
 Chiefswood, Johnson’s childhood home is now a National Monument in Brantford, Ontario Pauline Johnson was born at Chiefswood, the family home built by her father in 1856 on his 225-acre estate at the Six Nations reserve outside Brantford, Ontario. She was the youngest of four children of Emily Susanna Howells Johnson (1824–1898), a native of England, and George Henry Martin Johnson (1816–1884), a Mohawk hereditary clan chief. His mother, Helen Martin, was of partial Dutch descent and born into the Wolf clan; his maternal grandmother, Catherine Rolleston, was a Dutch girl who became assimilated as Mohawk after being taken captive and adopted by a Wolf clan family.
Although both their families were opposed to Emily and George Johnson’s marriage, and the couple were concerned that their own mixed-race family would not be socially accepted, they were acknowledged as a leading Canadian family. The Johnsons enjoyed a high standard of living, and their family and home were well known. Chiefswood was visited by such intellectual and political guests as the inventor Alexander Graham Bell, painter Homer Watson, noted anthropologist Horatio Hale, and Lady and Lord Dufferin, Governor General of Canada.
 One of the native costumes Pauline Johnson wore on stage. Emily and George Johnson encouraged their four children to respect and learn about both the Mohawk and the English aspects of their heritage. Because the children were born to a Native father, by British law they were legally considered Mohawk and wards of the British Crown. But under the Mohawk kinship system, because their mother was not Mohawk, they were not born into a tribal clan; they were excluded from important aspects of the tribe’s matrilineal culture. Their paternal grandfather John Smoke Johnson, who had been elected an honorary Pine Tree Chief, was an authority in the lives of his grandchildren. He told them many stories in the Mohawk language, which they comprehended but did not speak fluently. Pauline Johnson said that she inherited her talent for elocution from her grandfather. A sickly child, Johnson did not attend Brantford’s Mohawk Institute.
 Postage stamp issued to honour Pauline Johnson At the age of 14, Johnson went to Brantford Central Collegiate with her brother Allen. She graduated in 1877.
During the 1880s, Johnson wrote and performed in amateur theatre productions. She enjoyed the Canadian outdoors, where she traveled by canoe. In 1883 she published her first full-length poem, “My Little Jean”, in the New York Gems of Poetry. She began to increase the pace of her writing and publishing afterward.
Shortly after her father’s death in 1884, the family rented out Chiefswood. Pauline moved with her widowed mother and sister to a modest home in Brantford. She worked to support them all, and found that her stage performances allowed her to make a living. Johnson supported her mother until her death in 1898.
 “Ode to Brant” was written to mark the unveiling in Brantford of a statue honoring Joseph Brant. Johnson promoted her identity as a Mohawk, but as an adult spent little time with people of that culture.
In 1886, Johnson was commissioned to write a poem to mark the unveiling in Brantford of a statue honoring Joseph Brant, the important Mohawk leader who was allied with the British during and after the American Revolutionary War. Her “Ode to Brant” was read at a 13 October ceremony before “the largest crowd the little city had ever seen.
The poem sparked a long article in the Toronto Globe, and increased interest in Johnson’s poetry and heritage. The Brantford businessman William F. Cockshutt read the poem at the ceremony, as Johnson was reportedly too shy.
 Pauline Johnson used both native dress and traditional gowns in her stage performances. Johnson retired from the stage in August 1909 and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia to continue writing. In 1911, to help support Johnson, who was ill and poor, a group of friends organized the publication of these stories under the title Legends of Vancouver. They remain classics of that city’s literature.
One of the stories was a Squamish legend of shape shifting: how a man was transformed into Siwash Rock “as an indestructible monument to Clean Fatherhood”. In another, Johnson told the history of Deadman’s Island, a small islet off Stanley Park. In a poem in the collection, she named one of her favourite areas “Lost Lagoon”, as the inlet seemed to disappear when the water emptied at low tide. The body of water has since been transformed into a permanent, fresh-water lake at Stanley Park, but it is still called “Lost Lagoon”.
 Pauline Johnson was a remarkably beautiful woman who made a lasting contribution to our understanding and appreciation of Indigenous culture. Johnson died of breast cancer in Vancouver, British Columbia on 7 March 1913. Her funeral (the largest until then in Vancouver history) was held on what would have been her 52nd birthday. Her ashes were buried near Siwash Rock in Stanley Park. In 1922 a cairn was erected at the burial site, with an inscription reading in part, “in memory of one whose life and writings were an uplift and a blessing to our nation”.
In 1961, on the centennial of her birth, Johnson was celebrated with a commemorative stamp bearing her image, “rendering her the first woman (other than the Queen), the first author, and the first aboriginal Canadian to be thus honored.
Johnson was one of the five finalists of significant women to be featured on Canadian banknotes, a contest eventually won by Viola Desmond.
Burlington’s Pauline Johnson Public School is one of four on Ontario to bear the name of this famous Canadian.
On Friday afternoon the students, staff, alumni and local dignitaries will take part in the opening of the time capsules and honouring the author. Members of the indigenous community will take part in the event.
 By Pepper Parr
June 4th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Will Burlington send Jane McKenna back to Queen’s Park or will she get there because a majority of the people who vote on Thursday want Doug Ford to lead the province?
 Jane McKenna once told the Gazette hat her Father told her to have one really good suit and wear it often – that will get you the best job you will ever have. In the event that Jane McKenna gets sworn in as a Member of the Legislature for a second time what might she do on a second occasion that she was not able to do during her first trip – she did tell the Canadian Federation of University Woman (CFUW) audience at Central High School that she was sitting as an Opposition member and wasn’t able to do very much.
Does that mean that if she sits in the Legislature as a member of an opposition the citizens of Burlington can expect another lack lustre performance?
Watching Ms McKenna for four years as a Member of the opposition we are hard pressed to recall anything she did.
 McKenna speaking to the Burlington Progressive Association. Our recollection is that she chose to become what can be best described as a Progressive Conservative power groupy. Being attached to or near people elected to office seemed to be an end in itself for Mc McKenna. We never had the impression that Ms McKenna actually knew what she was doing.
She was given different roles by then Leader of the Opposition Tim Hudak who, in the fullness of time, came to the conclusion that he could better serve in the private sector and left government to be was replaced by Patrick Brown which required Ms McKenna to re-align and attach herself to the new leader.
During the four year hiatus that Ms Mc McKenna spent outside government our understanding is that she served as a lobbyist for the nuclear power industry. It isn’t possible to confirm whether or not Mc McKenna served in that capacity – she made no mention of that work during the CFUW debate.
What we did hear from Ms McKenna was a regurgitation of the Doug Ford plan for the province. In this capacity Ms McKenna did the same sterling job she did when she explained the Tim Hudak platform promising to create a million jobs and to reduce the public service by 100,000 jobs through attrition – resulting in his math being challenged by the other parties and various analysts.
 McKenna at the Central High school fund raiser. In September of 2012, after listening to McKenna address the Chamber of Commerce, the Gazette said:
“Jane McKenna is growing as a politician. A little less stridency, more reflection and over time she could become a Charlotte Whitton – all the Tories that matter in this town will remember her – and nod approvingly. Can McKenna make that transition?. It will be a challenge.”
It proved to be a challenge she was unable to overcome – but she is back. The allure of public office is something she just cannot resist.
In her first election McKenna defeated Karmel Sakran. She was then defeated by Eleanor McMahon who she now faces in 2018 – along with a much stronger NDP candidate.
 Different times – different look. The 2018 campaign. The two McKenna nominations had a tinge of discord about the. The first in 2011was a 15 minute affair; the second in 2017 was mired by controversy and doubt that led a number of people to walk away from the association.
There was a time when Ontario had sound stable government led by John Robarts and Bill Davis, who might have been bland but the province prospered and there was stable government without the histrionics.
What have we done to deserve the current Progressive offering?
Background links:
The first nomination for Jane McKenna
The second nomination for Jane McKenna
 For a deeper look at how McKenna has served the community use the search box at the top right of the front page.
Salt with Pepper is the views, opinions and observations of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette.
By Pepper Parr
June 4th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
She was chosen as the candidate for Burlington by the Premier.
 Eleanor McMahon at her first public event after being appointed to Cabinet She was made a Cabinet member in June of 2016 and served on the Treasury Board and went on to serve as the President of the Treasury Board.
She is one of the best political campaigners in the city.
She is loquacious, tries hard to be open and accessible; doesn’t always succeed.
There are many that are unhappy with the way she served; parents with children at Lester B. Pearson and Bateman high school felt she could have done much more to help them keep their schools open.
The Tyandaga Environmental Coalition felt she never fully understand what was being done to them.
On the plus side McMahon delivered in spades to the arts community and she came through for the transformation of the Brant Museum.
McMahon had an ability to connect almost immediately with the seniors’ community.
 As a Cabinet Minister McMahon spent a lot of time delivering announcements. Building a strong base within the community got a bit lost in the photo ops. Early in her political career she was one of those who took the Burlington case for financial support for the August 2014 flood victims to Cabinet – she wasn’t a Cabinet member at the time. The province initially said no – funding was not going to be available. McMahon, with huge gobs of support from then Minister of Housing, Ted McMeekin, Burlington got a matching funds deal with the province.
The city needed access to a computer platform that could be used to collect donations – McMahon worked the phones and leaned on her United Way contacts to convince them to let the Burlington Foundation use the United Way computer platform to collect funds. The donations were vital if the provincial matching funds were going to be available.
That kind of back channel contact is priceless in the world of local politics. McMahon usually knew who to call and when she was confident – she would pick up the telephone.
She wasn’t always as confident as she could have been.
McMahon is fluently bilingual and had a command of indigenous languages. She was a quick study when it came to policy- but tended to get lost when it came to the mechanics of problems.
 The city doesn’t have anyone near her equal as a campaigner. People took to her and believed she understood them. When elections get tight those who have strong community support can overcome a sweep that overturns a government. McMahon wasn’t able to get to that point during her first term – which may prove to be her only term. Politicians get returned to office when they deliver for their constituents.
Did McMahon fail to deliver? Did she have enough time to create a depth of support that was strong enough to withstand waves of discontent of a government she was part of ?
It doesn’t look as if her on the ground support is going to be there for her.
One seldom, if ever, heard McMahon take her party and the government she was part of to task. She may have done that inside Cabinet meetings – we will never know.
 Few are fully aware of how big a role McMahon played in getting Burlington the funding it needed after the August 2014 flood. McMahon doing a photo op at a bank that came through with a big cheque. To be a responsible critic one has to be both seen and heard
She was a very strong supporter of the women’s issues and inclusivity. She fully understood how the wheels of government and the arm’s length organizations worked.
She wasn’t seen as a risk taker and seldom spent the limited political capital she had fighting an unpopular issue.
She had one of those plus plus personalities but didn’t seem to be able to stretch it to cover those situations where she was in awkward or uncomfortable situations.
Single when she was elected – she lost her husband in a tragic road accident involving a driver who should never have been behind the wheel of a vehicle, McMahon had a large strong supportive family that got her through the harder days. She was the last of a seven children. The loss of her husband marked McMahon for life and became a focal point for much of her community service.
McMahon had the capacity to meet with groups and almost instantly recognize what the need was and then pick up the phone and get something going.
Politics is often referred to as a blood sport – having ones hands on the levers of power has always been the objective. With those levers much could be achieved.
That opportunity going forward may be lost.
Salt with Pepper is the opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette.
By Pepper Parr
June 4th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
When the wind shifts a good Captain trims the sails.
When Andrew Drummond was made the NDP candidate for Burlington his hope was to get the NDP vote back to the 20% range they have traditionally held.
Andrew wasn’t able to get a leave of absence from his full time job – so he was hot footing it at the GO stations on his way into work and doing as much as he could when he got home.
A single parent with two pre-teen children he had his hands full.
 Andrew Drummond with a supporter He was a big step up in terms of a quality candidate – not a huge union supporter either. For him the issue is the quality of life we live. He can’t go along with people having to live on minimum wages that are only now at $14 – going to $15 next year when the Community Development Halton data is quite clear – people need $17 to live a decent life.
Last weekend Drummond got four houses in a row in the Riverside community that said they were voting for him.
The most recent poll gave the NDP 34% of the vote.
 Horwath campaign bus is going to roll into Burlington on Tuesday – 5:50 pm at the campaign office on Mountainside. All that positive news was good enough to convince NDP leader Andrea Horwath to have her tour bus take a tighter left hand turn and drop by the NDP office at 2232 Mountainside – 5:50 pm on Tuesday the 5th of June.
How long has it been since an NDP leader visited Burlington?
Walter Mulkewich told the Gazette that Bob Rae visited Burlington twice in 1985 when Mulkewich was the candidate. Walter didn’t win the provincial seat in that election.
Andrew Drummond is in a much different situation – the whole province is in a different sitaution.
The NDP sails are being trimmed to catch the new winds.
 By Staff
June 4th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
James Burchill is on a tear.
He is busier than an Uber driver with his Smart Car.
He has scheduled Mike Wallace, one of the three people running for the office of Mayor, for his Smart Car Coffee Confidential for this Friday to be followed by Marianne Meed Ward who is also running for the office of Mayor. Meed Ward is to be featured on June 15th.
Link to the quick peak at Mike Wallace.
Quick peak at what you will hear from Meed Ward.
By Pepper Parr
June 3rd, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Revision: We have been advised that ward 4 trustee Richelle Papin was at the Saturday afternoon event at Lester B. Pearson high school. We didn’t see her but have been told she was there.
There is a strange feeling when you are in a room with a lot of people who know that a place that was once a large part of their lives is going to be brought to an end – their high school is being closed. The trustees they elected to office decided there was no point in keeping the school open.
 At the podium on the right are current principal Loraine Fedurco and founding principal David Katz. The Lester B. Pearson high school was holding it last public event.
During a Saturday afternoon event the schools’ first principal David Katz and its last Loraine Fedurco were on the stage convincing the large audience that it would not be forgotten.
No one knows what the long term prospects are for the building. In the immediate future the school will be used by the Catholic School Board for a short term. It will be awhile before it is declared surplus. When that decision is made the property can be sold.
Creating the Lester B. Pearson high school involved not just the school administration but the city as well.
There was space that was defined as community space and for a period of time there was community programing in place.
Designed as an Open classroom concept at a time when that was being done in Ontario high schools Pearson reverted to the standard classroom approach.
The school took on not only the name of the former Prime Minister but much of the spirit Pearson brought to his public service, quiet, with a public service orientation, was reflected in the school program.
 It was a quiet audience – not a word about the why and how their school was closed – just appreciation for the time they spent in classrooms During the three hour event there wasn’t a word of anger or disappointment heard about the decision to close the school. The school board trustee who represented the school didn’t attend; she did vote not to close the school. A school board trustee, the chair of the board who attended Pearson high school did vote to close it, did attend – she was in the choir.
 David Katz, the founding principal. David Katz, the founding principal told the audience that the school didn’t have a football team. “That was a deliberate decision made when the school was founded in 1976.
The high school had numerous sporting successes. Known as the Pearson Patriots, the school won a Halton title in men’s hockey in 2006. The men’s basketball team has had success with back to back Halton titles in 1992 and 1993, three repetitive Halton titles from 2005–2007 and one in 1988, with three Peel-GHAC championships and subsequent appearances at the OFSAA provincial championship tournament in 1988, 1993, 2006 and 2007.
The rugby team had OFSAA appearances numerous times for both senior girls and boys. In 2009 the Junior Boys Basketball Team won the Halton Boys Regional Basketball Championship. In 2011, the Senior Girls soccer team won the Halton Girls Championship and placed third at the 2011 OFSAA Championships. The Junior Girls Volleyball also won their championship in the same year. Also the Sr. Boys Rugby Team went to OFSAA for a 2nd year in a row and getting their first OFSAA win in a friendly match. In 2012, the Senior Boys Basketball, Senior Boys Volleyball, and Varsity Boys Rugby won championships in their respective sports.
In 2002 the men’s baseball team won Pearson’s only OFSAA triple A championship at Skydome in Toronto.
With the opening of Dr. Frank Hayden high school to the north in 2013 Pearson’s population dropped to 300+ students. The elementary schools that fed Pearson were re-directed to the new high school which meant the end for Pearson. Starved of students the school had to be closed.
 On the right, school board Superintendent Terri Blackwell chats with parents. Scot Lambert is on the far left. Founded in 1976, the school is named after former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. It was one of the first “Action” High Schools in the province; a concept that didn’t take. Pearson was intended to be open concept – that too didn’t hold.
The school wasn’t big enough to have an auditorium or a cafeteria – it did have a Cafetorium
The school also had a triple sized gymnasium, with one intended for community use.
There was a self-contained community nursery.
There was a horseback riding club, a Tai Chi club and a social justice group.
Pearson was a high school built for a bungalow community in a Burlington that was expanding north of the Queen Elizabeth highway that bisects the city.
 The graduates went off in their different directions to be who they wanted to be. It was always intended to be a small high school – a much larger high school was a 15 minute walk to the west which is where the former Pearson students will attend in the fall of 2018.
Much of what teachers did at Pearson was experimental, new ideas and a different approach to integrating school and community.
The school was a brave, bold innovative idea that the decision makers gave up on.
 Looking over the year book – is that us?  Mom showing her husband and children her graduating class picture. What it did have was a strong school spirit, something that still exists. There are parents that believe the fight to keep the school open is not over yet – they are looking for a way to elect trustees that will make a different decision.
The school also produced graduates that have gone on to make consistent contributions to what is a fine community.
 By Staff
June 3rd, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The Gazette has been asked to publish the following statement: This poll was produced by Mainstreet Research as part of it’s Daily Tracking of voter intentions.
A trusted source that should know tells us that in Burlington the poll numbers look like this:
“My information is that in Burlington Andrew Drummond is 7.4 % points behind Jane McKenna. (PC – 41.8, NDP 34.4, Lib 18.5, Green 2.9, other 2.4)”
With just three days left 7 + points is a big hurdle to get over.
The New Democrats have traditionally held between 14 to 19% of the vote. A rise to 34+% is an incredible number.
The bottom of the Liberal vote will have to fall out if the NDP is to take the seat or a lot of Progressive Conservatives will decide Doug Ford is more than they can stomach and hold their noses when the mark their ballots.
The opportunity to form a government might be too much for the PC adherents to take a pass on. Before this is over Cam Jackson will begin to look pretty good.
Eleanor McMahon could follow Kathleen Wynne’s example and admit that all is lost and throw her support behind Andrew Drummond.
It has been a crazy election. Just look at the polling results.
 CBC Poll tracker is an aggregate of all publicly available polling data to follow the trends of the June 7th election.
 By Staff
June 3rd, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
It is an election that is going to define the province for at least a decade.
How is it playing out in Burlington where there are three constituencies. Some north Burlington residents, particularly those in Lowville and Kilbride, are in the Milton provincial electoral district, while some living in the northeastern area of the city will be in the new Oakville North-Burlington riding.
In Burlington there are 5 candidates; Liberal Eleanor McMahon, PC Jane McKenna, NDP Andrew Drummond, Green Party Vince Fiorito, and Libertarian Jim Gilchrist
In Oakville Burlington North there are six candidates: Frank DeLuca, Trillium Party; Charles Zach, Libertarian Party; Marianne Workman, Green Party; Saima Zaidi, NDP and Alvin Tedjo, Liberal. The riding was created by the province in 2015
In Milton, which covers the northern part of the city there are four candidates: Brendan Smyth -NDP, Indira Naidoo-Harris -Liberal, Eleanor Hayward -Green and Parm Gill- PC
The NDP are in a place they have never been in before in Burlington – 2nd
They sent the following out to their supporters and media.
E-5. FIVE DAYS LEFT. So many contacts made, so many people who have expressed support for us. I have been working on NDP campaigns since 1999, and I have never felt like this. We were joking on Wednesday as we canvassed the area around Longmoor that this must be what it feels like to canvass in Hamilton. You can really feel that the people of this city are behind us and believe that we can win.
 NDP candidate Andrew Drummond And then beyond that, the Liberals essentially conceding the election here gives us an unprecedented opportunity. We were already in at least second place because of the work that we have done, but this really gives us a chance to get over the hump and win this riding.
I again want to thank everyone for everything that they have done for this campaign. I have had a ton of people support me at the doors. I have had so many of you show up to help make phone calls. So many people who generously donated to the campaign. So many of you who helped put up signs. So many of you who came and knocked on doors with me. It has all been very appreciated, and it is because of all of you that we are as close as we are in Burlington.
We are so close to an NDP win in Burlington. Please join me for any time that you can in the next 3 days of the campaign. Even a single hour is appreciated tremendously. We have to do everything we can to get out our message.
Sincerely, Andrew Drummond
The Liberals see the campaign a little bit differently.
Eleanor McMahon sent the following to her supporters and the media:
Courage comes in all shapes and sizes, and we need the greatest courage when things aren’t going how we hoped. Today Premier Kathleen Wynne showed us the courage, character and fundamental decency that Ontario Liberals know make her such a wonderful leader for our province and party.
 Eleanor McMahon with Premier Kathleen Wynne Today our leader acknowledged that, sadly, after 15 years of incredible progress by Liberal governments and thousands of achievements of which we can be justly proud, she will not be leading us as Ontario’s premier after Thursday’s election.
That’s democracy, and we shall respect and honour the decision of Ontarians, whatever it may be.
What does this mean in Burlington? We can still stop Doug Ford in Burlington
The battle for Burlington is far from over.
1. We know that most Burlingtonians always vote against the Conservative choice.
2. We know the NDP can’t win here.
3. We know only the Ontario Liberals can beat the PCs in Burlington.
4. We know most Burlingtonians don’t want Doug.
We must do everything we can locally to stop a Doug Ford majority.
Eleanor McMahon
 Where are the Progressive Conservatives in all this? Nothing from the Jane McKenna campaign. But we did get a short video clip on the Oakville Burlington North campaign where Progressive Conservative candidate Effie Triantafilopoulos made an astonishing statement.
In her own words in a public setting Triantafilopoulos said.
By Staff
June 3rd, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
James Burchill has been broadcasting Smartcar Coffee Confidential interviews for a number of months. With a municipal election to take place in October Burchill has used his car to give the public a glimpse of what some of the people running for public office have to say.
On Friday he will broadcast his Mike Wallace interview. Based on the short clip the Gazette has seen it might well be titled: Upclose and uptight with Mike Wallace.
We will bring you the full broadcast on Friday when we will ether be trying to recover from the provincial election results or breathing a sigh of relief.
 Mike Wallace with James Burchill during a Smart Car Coffee Confidential interview.
By Staff
June 2, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
It took some time to get to the point where there is a PRIDE month.
The bathhouse raids took place in Toronto in 1982.
People lost their jobs because of their life style choice.
 Students coming to terms with their sexual identity needed time to figure out what was happening. For far too many years the best much of society could do was bully and shame these boys and girls.
It all took time but June is now PRIDE month.
Doug Ford, who wants enough of us to vote for him and make him Premier of the province next Thursday has yet to commit to marking in the PRIDE parade in Toronto. Not there yet
The acronym PRIDE stands for Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education.
 By Staff
June 2, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
In 2013 Dan Lawrie, Hamilton businessman and Burlington resident, made a 10-year commitment to donate sculpture to Royal Botanical Gardens which has created The International Sculpture Collection.
 Hamilton businessman and Burlington resident Dan Lawrie. Through Lawrie’s generosity, this permanent collection grows in Hendrie Park each year, with the addition of new works from around the world.
 Peter Killeen’s Boddhisattva Hare. The most recent donation is the Boddhisattva Hare.
These hares will be installed this summer at for the Royal Botanical Gardens as part of the Dan Lawrie International Sculpture Collection. Cast in Ireland, each tall-eared form has been masterfully cast using the Cire Perdue (lost wax) method of bronze casting.
Artist Peter Killeen began his career working with the highly regarded CAST bronze foundry. Killeen’s experience of working in foundries in Ireland and Australia is evident in the execution of his art. Careful consideration and skill are required to finish each piece.
 Bronze sculptor Peter Killeen The work has been described as “immensely appealing and timeless representations of small birds and wild animals have a distinctive and very particular charm, each warmly animated and softly rounded in form with carefully worked, richly coloured patinas.”
By Staff
June 2, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The City has launched a new, free community space called “Haber Hub” at Haber Recreation Centre at 3040 Tim Dobbie Dr.
This is a great example of giving sponsors value for their money. In June of 2013 Chris Haber, a personal injury lawyer, signed a 20 year deal with the city for the naming rights for the new Recreation Centre in the Alton Village. The $1.3 million dollar deal was for a 20 year agreement.
The Haber name gets a bit of a boost with the Haber Hub added. No word on if the city picked up any additional funds or f they gave it to the family as a freebie.
 From the left, Ward 6 Councillor Blair Lancaster signs the 20 year $1.3 million naming rights deal with Chris Haber in the Centre. Chris Glenn, Director of Parks and Recreation is on the right. Haber Hub space is free to any neighbourhood or community group looking to provide free community programs and events to Burlington residents.
The space is also available for rent for those looking to host an event or program that is charging a user fee or is a private program or event.
This is a good first step, it will be interesting to see how this innovative program come to life.
 Part of the massive gym set up in the Haber Recreation Centre Follow up on this at – www.burlington.ca/communitysupport or email communitysupport@burlington.ca.
Denise Beard, Manager of Community Development explained that “The ultimate goal of community development is to have community groups working to provide their own programs and events that benefit either the smaller community or the city on a larger scale.”
 By Ray Rivers
June 1, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
I got an EV (electric vehicle) earlier this year. It is really quiet and really fast. No more oil spills on the driveway, no more stinking exhaust fumes nor visits to drive clean, and no more oil change stickers plastered on my windshield. And best of all I now just smile when I pass gas stations with their pixel boards displaying those ever escalating pump prices. I feed my EV on a diet of electrons from the comfort of my garage every evening. So I can say thanks but no thanks to Doug Ford and his maybe ten cent gas price cut.
 There are thousands of small solar panel installations like this across the province – they work very well and in many cases provide revenue for the owners. The oil industry is dirty and toxic and otherwise environmentally destructive. And the oil sands are arguably the worst example of all that. So I’m one of those who has always been in favour of ending the subsidies for that sector – or at least offering the same level of subsidy for greener energy sources, like wind and solar – to level the playing field and encourage the transition to green. Canada is the fifth or sixth largest oil and gas producer in the world but we’re also the seventh biggest in wind power.
Despite government promises to the contrary, the oil industry still feeds at the public trough to the tune of over $3 billion dollars a year. So I wasn’t really surprised when the federal government announced it was buying up the Trans Mountain pipeline from Texas based Kinder Morgan (KM). KM is the son of Enron, the notorious and scandal plagued energy trading company which was once the fifth largest corporation in the US, and which became the largest bankruptcy in US history ($74 B) sending its CEO to prison for fraud.
Critics of the Finance Minster abound on this topic, as on everything else. Those opposed to oil sands and pipelines, like the Green Party, Neil Young, Al Gore and just about every environmental group, could be heard screaming out ‘climate change’ so loudly I could hear them even in the quiet of my EV. And many of those who support the pipeline, as does the opposition federal conservative leader, still found fault, complaining that the feds had paid too much, or they shouldn’t have had to pay at all.
 There is this huge inventory of gasoline and diesel powered cars that are going to need fuel. $4.5 billion is a lot of money. And then there will be at least another seven or eight billion more to complete the twinning and actually get the diluted bitumen moving. But finance minister Morneau is confident that the project is economically viable – after all the global demand for oil has been increasing almost every year and is likely to continue to do so into the near future. There is this huge inventory of gasoline and diesel powered cars which we’ve acquired over the years, and still more being sold as we speak.
Too bad Mr. Harper isn’t in the House to quell the ranks of his party by explaining why he bought into the Hibernia offshore oil project when it was failing, or why he decided to invest heavily into GM and Chrysler when they were heading for receivership. And what about Bill Davis and Pierre Trudeau buying into Suncor and saving Peter Lougheed’s sorry butt after Atlantic Richfield pulled out of the oil sands? And didn’t Pierre also create PetroCan? And none of this bankrupted the nation. Besides, it’s only right that Justin should try to save the industry his father helped build.
Like the railways and Trans Canada highways It is what Canadian governments since confederation have always done. And while many Albertans will always hate the Liberals because of something in the 80’s called the National Energy Program, at least the the political leader with the most at stake right now, Alberta premier Notley, doesn’t. She praised the move and offered to back up the deal with a couple billion dollars from her own treasury.
 Close to 100,000 people work in the oil and gas extraction business There are almost a hundred thousand Canadians involved in the oil and gas extraction business and most of those are in Alberta. But while this is a very important sector for Alberta, it is also essential today for the country as a whole. And without pipelines to convey the disgusting black gold to foreign markets offshore we are left with the railways and selling to and through the Americans, who are becoming more self-sufficient in petroleum products every year. Without the pipelines we are told that leaves about $15 billion off the table for us.
The Trudeau government’s intervention is a lifeline for the Alberta leader. And why not? For one thing she isn’t a Tory so she won’t be insulting him the way Alberta’s opposition leader Jason Kenny recently did. For another Notley gets climate change and wants to do something about it. Kenny doesn’t, much as Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe and Ontario’s Doug Ford don’t.
Notley, like the PM understands that while she must serve today’s market demands with her provinces petroleum products she needs to be thinking ahead to tomorrows markets. Which is why she introduced a carbon tax, and is diversifying Alberta’s economy, and moving the province’s electricity system off coal, as Ontario has done. For that is the future that we all should look to – the day when we will be driving electric cars and breathing cleaner air.
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. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Crude Oil Demand – Fossil Fuel Subsidies – Renewables –
 By Staff
June 2, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The Regional police had their hands full – two significant drug busts.
The Burlington Street Crime Unit (SCU), concluded a drug trafficking investigation that resulted in the arrest of a Burlington resident and the execution of a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act search warrant at a Burlington residence.
Seized as a result of the Investigation:
• 310 grams of marihuana
• 1 prohibited weapon (brass knuckles)
• $300 in cash
• Indicia of drug trafficking
The drugs have an estimated street value of $3,100. A 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer was also seized as offence related property.
The following person has been charged:
Joseph WELLS (36 yrs) of Burlington (Held for Bail)
• Trafficking a controlled substance (marihuana),
• Possession of a controlled substance (marihuana) for the purpose of trafficking
• Possession of a prohibited weapon
• Breach of a weapons prohibition (4 counts)
 Evidence gathered by police in the Wells arrests. Earlier in May a Burlington couple was arrested for drug trafficking.
The Street Crime Unit concluded a drug trafficking investigation into a Burlington couple that resulted in both of their arrests. A Controlled Drugs and Substances Act search warrant was also executed at a residence in Burlington and another one in Waterdown.
Seized as a result of the Investigation:
• 28 grams of cocaine
• $7670 in cash
• Indicia of drug trafficking
The drugs have an estimated street value of $2,240
The following persons have been charged:
Isaiah JOHNSON PHILLIP (21 yrs) of Burlington (Held for Bail)
• Trafficking a controlled substance (cocaine)
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking (cocaine)
• Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle
• Fail to Comply with Recognizance (10 counts)
• Fail to Comply with Probation (5 counts)
Hailey SUTEJ (31 yrs) of Burlington (Released on a Promise to Appear)
• Trafficking a controlled substance (cocaine)
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking (cocaine)
 Evidence collected during the Phillips arrest. Anyone who may have any additional information pertaining to either of these investigations is asked to contact D/Cst. Greg Watt of the Burlington Street Crime Unit at 905-825-4747 ext. 2356.
Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See Something? Hear Something? Know Something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca
 By Pepper Parr
June 1st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
For woman it is the hair salon – for men it is the barber shop.
That’s where the scoop and the gossip get exchanged.
A loyal and reliable Gazette reader got a haircut yesterday. He has been going to the same barbershop for years and as our reader said: “My guy has had these people as clients for years.”
The people he was talking about are those who own property on the north side of Fairview from the Burlington GO station o Guelph Line
 Hottest property acquisition spot in the city. The Walmart development years ago started the trend. When the Molinaro’s began the five tower Paradigm project and the city began the push for the mobility hub concept there was no stopping the developers.  The shop is said to have to be vacated by the end of the year – according to the barber. “I think he said that Liz at home on Fairview has just redecorated and doesn’t really want to sell, but maybe the price isn’t right yet.
“Holland Park sold for $45 million, after bickering.
“Better Bitters is said to have sold for $15 million.
“Offered 10, come back at 20, settlement 15.
 Everything between Brant and Guelph that isn’t already being developed is being bought up. The Leggat dealership on the eastern end of the block of property could become an anchor, said the barber. “Developers after Leggat’s property too but Doug Leggat is said to not want to sell – or that’s the story, maybe not right.
“Objective is to get the whole GO block from the GO station west to Guelph Line.”
Downtown the things are close to frantic – surveys are being done, renovations are being stalled. All the big money players in the game are moving rapidly – getting agreements in place with plans for nothing but growth.
The city has said the development is going to take place around the GO stations. These locations are being referred to as mobility hubs and the developers appear to be saying – that’s OK with us.
Speculation is rife.
At the same time there is a group looking for a way to appeal the decision that was made by city council to approve the 421 Brant project.
But it is all barbershop talk of course.
 By Staff
May 31st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The objective is to get face time with a voter.
The election is just a week away.
Going door to door is one way.
 Alvin Tedjo, the Liberal candidate for Oakville North Burlington Alvin Tedjo, the Liberal candidate for Oakville North Burlington has come up with another way – get those voters to come to you.
Friday is a PD day– Professional development for the teachers – no school – what to do with the kids.
Drop them off at Camp Tedjo – it is a free PA Day activity for children and families that will run from 10 am to 1:00 pm.
A magic show and a Bubble party for the kids.
Parents do have to stay on the premises – it’s not a day care set up – but it is something different to do.
Location: Alvin Tedjo Campaign Headquarters – 1940 Appleby Line, Unit 22, Burlington.
Different.
 By Staff
May 31st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The city is calling June Park and Play month and getting things started with the annual Kite Festival – that is taking place at Brant Hills Community Centre and Brant Hills Park.
Build a kite or bring your own to help fill the sky with colour and celebrate diversity. It is free family fun and if the wind is good and a few of the champion level kite builders show up it should be a delight to watch the wind pick up the kites and see them soar.
 By Pepper Parr
May 30th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police announced earlier today that they have laid the criminal code charge of
Criminal Negligence Causing Death
Failing to Provide the Necessaries of Life
against Shaun Pennell, a 37 year old Aldershot resident.
Following an investigation into the sudden death of a young toddler in Burlington on May 23, 2018, the Halton Regional Police Service has laid the charges against the father.
Pennell was released on a Promise to Appear. He is scheduled to appear in Milton Court on June 27, 2018.
Just after 5:30pm on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 Halton Regional Police Service and Halton Region Paramedic Services responded to a call for an unresponsive child in a vehicle, located in a parking lot of a the rear of the Crossroads Centre on the North Service Road, Burlington.
Despite lifesaving measures attempted by first responders, the child was pronounced deceased at the scene.
A post mortem was conducted on May 24, 2018 and the preliminary cause of death was determined to be hyperthermia, consistent with the child being left in a vehicle and exposed to high temperatures for an extended period of time.
The Gazette knows Shaun Pennell. He was involved in an initiative to turn parts of the Crossroads building into a work/play location that appealed to the younger entrepreneurial set that would have had a day care centre for children.
Pennell operated the Burlington Hive in the downtown core and then the Halton Hive that was located on Guelph Line at Harvester Road.
Shaun is a brilliant computer programmer who is imaginative and creative.
This tragedy is beyond understanding. The grief in the hearts of every member of the family cannot even be imagined.
The Courts will deal with the criminal charges. Those who know Shaun and his wife can only pray for them and support them in what is going to be a very hard period of time.
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