City to recognize Olympic athletes at a reception May 22nd

News 100 blueBy Staff

May 16th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The City of Burlington is hosting a night of recognition for the Burlington athletes who competed in the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea.

renata-fast

Renata Fast

Renata Fast, who won a silver medal in PyeongChang as part of the Canadian women’s national ice hockey team, will be at City Hall on May 22. Everyone is invited to have refreshments and meet Ms. Fast.

Event takes place in the city hall atrium at 6:00 pm

Kerri Morrison - speed skater

Kerri Morrison – speed skater

The city will also recognize Jesse Lumsden of the bobsleigh team and speedskater Keri Morrison.

The city welcomed snowboarder Darren Gardner on April 23.

Lumsden

Jessie Lumsden is in there somewhere.

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Rivers: Do the Hydro One board members have a secret wish to help Doug Ford’s campaign?

Rivers 100x100By Ray Rivers

May 16th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The Liberals were trailing in third place so their chances of recovering were pretty remote anyway. And now the part time directors of the board of Hydro One have announced that they’ll be treating themselves to an extra $25,000 raise – on top of their $160,000 casual pay. And their timing is impeccable, doing this mid-way through the provincial election campaign. Didn’t the Premier hand pick the Board? Et Tu Brute?

Do the board members have a secret wish to help Doug Ford’s campaign, the man who has promised to fire them as soon as he wins the election? Do these directors just want to say thanks by kicking Kathleen Wynne where it hurts, as her reward for appointing them to such lucrative positions? Or are they just plain suicidal?

Wynne arm raised

Fighting for the team – which appears to include the Hydro One directors?

And for poor Kathleen, this effectively brings an end to any hope she and her Liberals had of winning the Election June 7th. Damned electricity file! It was that file, after all, which helped the Liberals oust the hapless Ernie Eves. And that same file subsequently took out Dalton McGuinty when he got caught playing politics with gas plants. And now it’s Wynne’s turn.

This greedy decision by the Board to increase the size of the trough they wallow in can only become the icing on the cake for Ms. Wynne’s retirement party. The irony is that privatization has made Hydro One more of a political football than it was in its old life as a crown corporation. And that takes us back to the Harris’ decision to break up Ontario Hydro in the first place and McGuinty’s decision to try to make it work rather than unscramble the messy omelette.

Eleanor Clithero

Clitheroe getting a reported $25,000 per month pension – a very generous pension settlement when they fired her.)

So while Mr. Ford is making much of this Hydro One malady he would do well to recall that the situation today is a consequence of his own PC party’s misadventure. He would no doubt like us to forget that his party established the original Hydro One board structure. And he’ll never mention its first CEO, Eleanor Clitheroe, Ontario’s truly strange ‘two million dollar woman’ who extracted a very generous pension settlement ($25,000 per month) when she also had to be fired. Little wonder our hydro rates are so high.

The PC’s under Harris/Eves had always intended to privatize Hydro One, and even today Ford will not commit to taking back control of the corporation. He just wants to fire the Board and replace it with his own cronies. What are the chances we can expect to see this scenario replay itself were Ford to become Premier.

And just when it seems nothing could be worse news for our embattled premier, the provincial Financial Accounting Office (FAO) has just come in with an assessment. They claim that the province’s overall debt would be lower if the Wynne government had simply borrowed money for new infrastructure rather than selling off 53% of Hydro One – the nominal rationale for the sale.

Towers in Toronto

Hydro has been always been a problem file.

It’s a bit of a mess, but then Hydro has been always been a problem file, running up over $40 billion in debt going back to the Robarts and Davis years. Of course Hydro really lost it’s way during the Bob Rae period when Maurice Strong thought to change it’s main purpose to delivery of environmental policy. Mike Harris was determined to break it up only to discover the $40 billion gap between its assets and liabilities. But we’ve finally paid off the tab.

McGuinty believed in Harris’ dream and was convinced that he could replace coal with renewable energy by harnessing the economics of the private sector. Rather than go into debt to finance the conversion from dirty coal he issued contracts to independent energy generators, giving them long term contracts guaranteeing purchases of electricity in exchange for them investing their own private capital.

Ford-looking-direct

Is blowing smoke when he says he’ll tear up the contracts?

Ford is blowing smoke when he says he’ll tear up the contracts. But even if he could, how would he keep the lights on when the private sector contractors shut down? Would Ontario end up having to buy its energy, including from dirty coal, from its neighbours, while our industry sits idle. Or would he nationalize all energy production?

Speaking of socialism it turns out that one of these Hydro One board members is a former NDP MPP and member of Bob Rae’s Cabinet, Francis Lankin. In addition to filling her face at board meetings she is also double dipping as one of those Trudeau appointed independent senators in Ottawa. It seems even socialists will hop on the gravy train if it avails itself, to borrow a term from Mr. Ford’s late brother.

And the NDP’s Andrea Horwath has promised to buy back and de-privatize Hydro One. This is something which may prove costly, but necessary, as Ontario tries to move beyond its jaded experience of private sector delivery of electricity. But Horwath too needs to be careful as she treads among the ever fragrant meadow muffins on this file.

Rivers hand to faceRay 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:

Hydro One Pay –   Liberal Response –    Financial Accounting Office

Hydro One –   Hydro One Board

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Two candidates in the running for the ward 1 city council seat; ward 5 has an unknown, other wards have healthy contests.

council 100x100By Pepper Parr

May 16th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The interest in running for city council is coming along nicely.

City Clerk Angela Morgan fails to ensure media alerted to Special Council meeting. Her communications people dropped the ball as well.

City Clerk Angela Morgan oversees the rules that apply to the running of the municipal election.

When ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven announced his retirement plans Rene Papin had his nomination plans in the hands of the city Clerk faster than we thought possible.  did Papin have advance notice?

Some Gazette readers are asking – Who is Rene Papin?  He has been looking for opportunities to get elected to something.  Want to know more about Rene – here’s a link.

Marty Staz a real estate agent filed his nomination paper yesterday.  Other than that – there is nothing knew.

People are wondering when the school board trustee for wards 1 & 2 is going to make her intentions known.  Leah Reynolds was expected to run for the ward 2 city council seat – but that race is getting nice and busy – four candidates have filed papers – some solid choices amongst the four.

As of the close of business at city hall yesterday the following are the people running for office.  They have until Friday, July 27, 2018, at 2:00 p.m to withdraw should they look at the list of people running for the office they want is something they cannot overcome.

The Gazette will begin reporting on the city council and school board candidates once the provincial election has taken place on June 7th

Mayor

Rick Goldring
524 Wicklow Rd., Burlington, L7L 2H8
905-320-3656

Marianne Meed Ward
497 Martha St., Burlington, ON, L7R 2R1
905-335-1899
mariannemeedward.ca
marianne4mayor@gmail.com

Mike Wallace
268 Tuck Dr., Burlington, ON, L7L 2R1
Home phone: 905-639-0185
Fax: 905-634-9822
mikewallaceformayor@gmail.com
www.mikewallaceformayor.ca

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 1

Marty Staz
773 Miriam Cres. Burlington, ON, L7T 1C7
289-983-7681
mstaz17@outlook.com

René Papin
905-541-7404
rehp1985@gmail.com

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 2

Kimberly Calderbank
905-719-6989
kimberly.solutions

David Cherry
1312 Hammond St., Burlington, ON, L7S 2C2
289-795-9203

Lisa Kearns
416-414-5335
kearns_lisa@hotmail.com
lisakearns.ca

Roland Tanner
357 Delaware Ave. Burlington, ON, L7R 3B4
289-259-4023
roland@rolandtanner.ca
https://rolandtanner.ca

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 3

Lisa Cooper
1299 Princeton Cres.
Home phone: 905-331-8469
Mobile phone: 289-259-9880
Fax: 905-331-8469
lisacooper1299@gmail.com

Rory Nisan
905-464-7195
info@rorynisan.ca
rorynisan.ca

Gareth Williams
289-635-8994
gareth@garethward3.ca
https://garethward3.ca

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 4

Jack Dennison
3087 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington, ON, L7N 1A3
905-634-7102

Shawna Stolte
shawnastolte@gmail.com

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 5

Paul Sharman
5070 Spruce Ave., Burlington, ON, L7L 1M8
289-337-2297
paul@paulsharman.ca

Xin Yi Zhang
electxyz@gmail.com

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 6

Angelo Bentivegna
905-973-6923
Angelo.Bentivegna@gmail.com
www.AngeloBentivegnaWard6.ca

Blair Lancaster
3210 Hazelwood Ave., Burlington, ON, L7M 2V4
905-335-7068
blair@blairlancaster.ca
www.blairlancaster.ca

Ken White
905-220-4707
ken@kenwhiteward6.ca
www.kenwhiteward6.ca

Regional Chair

(nominations are filed with the Region of Halton)

Gary Carr
chaircarr@gmail.com
www.garycarr.ca

Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 1 & 2

Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 3 & 6

Andrea Grebenc
905-901-2235
contact@trustandrea.com
www.trustandrea.com

Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 4

Richelle Papin
3134 Terraview Ct., Burlington, L7M 1E9
905-331-7608

Margo Shuttleworth
289-812-0629
shuttleworth.m.a@gmail.com
https://margoward4.wixsite.com/margoshuttleworth

Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 5

Amy Collard
reelectamycollard@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/view/reelectamycollard

Halton Catholic District School Board Trustee

Arlene Iantomasi
772 Old York Rd., Burlington, ON, L7P 4X9
905-516-2691
arlo60@sympatico.ca

Maria Lourenco
905-808-5910
Lourenco4trustee@outlook.com

Conseil scolaire Viamonde

(nominations are filed with the City of Hamilton)

Pierre Girouard
905-808-3377

Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir

(nominations are filed with the Town of Oakville)

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Lisa Kearns steps away from ECoB and enters the race for the ward 2 council seat.

News 100 blueBy Staff

May 15th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Lisa Kearns announced today that she will run for Ward 2 Council seat in the upcoming Municipal Election. Concerned for any conflict of interest she has chosen to step away from ECoB – Engaged Citizens of Burlington.

Kearns at podium

Lisa Kearns, a ward 2 resident who was a strong voice within ECoB.

Will this affect ECoB? –The answer is Yes and No. While Lisa played a valuable and pivotal role in its formation and work to date, ECoB consists of a team of residents from all of Burlington, who have come together to share their knowledge and expertise. This includes municipal planners, lawyers, and business owners, some retired, some not. The information and planning for the delegations and the workshops, organized by ECoB were a team effort with Lisa and Jim Young being the public faces.

ECOB logoLisa’s hard work and dedication will be missed but as voice for change she deserves all our best wishes as she takes her advocacy to the next level as a Ward 2 Candidate for City Council.

ECoB is still working actively. We have met and will continue to meet with different City Departments to get the answers to the many questions being asked by residents and their advocacy groups.

Kerns - head slanted

Lisa Kearns, one of four people seeking the ward 2 city council seat.

ECoB will continue with its mandate to make staff and council accountable for good planning and improved public engagement.

ECoB is always looking for new people to help strategize, if you would like to be part of the change that is happening in Burlington, please contact us through our website – engagedburlington.ca.

Kearns is one of four people seeking the ward 2 seat vacated by Marianne Meed Ward who is running for the Office of Mayor.  Nominated to date are Roland Tanner, Kimberly Calderback and David Cherry.

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Pool schedules and fees - useful just as soon as summer arrives

News 100 yellowBy Staff

May 15th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The summer months are nearing, or so they say, and with them, comes the opening of spray pads on Saturday, May 19 and some pools on Friday, June 29; and all will be open June 30.

Mountainside-271x138

Mountainside pool

The Nelson and Mountainside Outdoor Pool and Splash Parks, are set up so that residents can bring a lunch and Play and Stay for the Day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Splash parks have more elaborate play features, are paired with outdoor pools and have an admission fee to enter.

Spray pads are free to use and not associated with outdoor pools.

Outdoor Pool and Splash Park changes for 2018:

Nelson-271x138

Nelson pool

Nelson Outdoor Pool and Splash Park will open for pre-season from June 2 to 29

• Nelson Outdoor Pool will be closed for a sporting event on June 17 and July 7 and 8. On July 7 & 8 there will be free swimming at Centennial pool.

• Nelson and Mountainside Outdoor Pools and Splash Parks

Daily unlimited access to recreational swimming from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
 Super Value for Summer Seasonal Memberships are on sale for $32.40 plus tax
A Day Pass is $4.40 plus tax
Twilight rate is in effect after 5 p.m. $3.05 plus tax

• Outdoor Early Bird Lap Swims at Mountainside Pool on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m.

• Outdoor Evening Lap Swims at Nelson on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 7 to 8 p.m.

Full schedules for all spray pads, pools and splash parks can be found at Burlington.ca/dropintoplay.Splash pad LaSalle - swimming

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Sport Field Status - Clay Diamonds closed at Nelson, Millcroft and Ireland

notices100x100By Staff

May 15th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

The following Clay diamonds are closed Monday May 15th due to wet conditions:

Nelson D1

Millcroft D1 & D2

Ireland D1, D2, D3 & D4

baseball_in_rain_large

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Ireland House - one of the best museums in the Region - admission free on Friday.

eventsgreen 100x100By Staff

May 15th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Ireland House freeFriday is International Museum Day.

Ireland House is going to be admission FREE for the day from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

It is a superb little museum with excellent programs. If you’re looking for something to take the kids to – this is well worth the time.

The gift store focuses on all things local from small batch honey to custom tea blends and kettle cooked popcorn.

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Urban Design Advisory Panel full of professionals - where are the well informed people who live in the city?

News 100 redBy Pepper Parr

May 14th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The City of Burlington has established its first Urban Design Advisory Panel, created to help achieve design excellence in the city.

The Urban Design Advisory Panel is made up of nine design experts, representing a cross section of design disciplines from architects and landscape architects to urban designers and planners.

Tall building design - set backs and spacing

Set backs and spacing were set out n considerable detail in the Guidelines.

Meeting monthly, the panel provides independent and objective professional urban design advice to staff in Burlington’s Department of City Building on development applications for all tall and mid-rise buildings and public development projects, studies and policy initiatives.

The advisory committee members are:

Ken Coit (Chair)
Jana Kelemen (Vice Chair)
Nigel Tai
Naama Blonder
Jessica Hawes
Brad Smith
Wai Ying Di Giorgio
Alex Taranu
Matt Reid

Members of the committee are highly qualified design professionals who currently possess full membership for a minimum of ten years in at least one of the following professional associations:

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC)
Ontario Association of Architects (OAA)
Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA)
Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA)
Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) or
Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI).

Tall buildiong design - material use

The guide lines are not mandatory but it didn’t take developers very long to make extensive use of them. There wasn’t any public input on the creation of the guidelines.

What’s missing from this list is at least two people who are not professionals; people who have a “feet on the street” sense of the city.

Nothing on what this advisory committee has done in the past. Will dig into that.

Jim Young, the Aldershot who delegates to city council frequently, once said: “Have you ever heard a city appointed advisory committee disagree with the city.”

To learn more about the panel, please visit www.burlington.ca/urbandesign.

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Short of putting a Walmart greeter in the parking lot - there isn't much more the Brant Street plaza property owner can do.

News 100 blackBy Staff

May 14th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

As a visitor to Burlington from the UK Derek Newton parked his rented car in the No Frills parking lot.

Tow signs in No Frills

The signs are not small

Newton complains that “ with no knowledge of local parking issues we walked on to Burlington water side with the intention of doing some shopping on the way back.

“Was Disgusted to find our car gone on our return and even more so when we found out it cost us $300 dollars to get our car back.

“As a visitor how would we have knowledge of the parking issues your having in Burlington and some better signage would be appreciated as it’s ruined our holiday and certainly will not be returning to Burlington or praising its beauty to anyone.

Thanks for ruining what was a lovely holiday so far but going home with a sour taste !

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Add another name to the ward 2 council seat race.

council 100x100By Pepper Parr

May 14th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Add another name to those that will be on the ballot for the ward 2 city council seat.

Roland Tanner, a member of the Shape Burlington committee and also a member of the committee that was set up to monitor what Shape Burlington managed to achieve; in hindsight it doesn’t appear to be very much.

Both Tanner and his wife hold doctorates and operate a research company

Roland Tanner

Roland Tanner, ward 2 candidate

Tanner contributed to the Burlington Engagement Charter process and Save the Waterfront campaign to oppose the re-zoning of Old Lakeshore Road for high-rises.

Roland is a member of the Burlington Downtown Refugee Alliance, a collection of Burlington churches and citizen groups who have sponsored a family of Syrian refugees to settle in Burlington and assist them with their transition to Canadian life.

Tanner said that he is “running to tackle the challenges facing Burlington Ward 2 where citizens increasingly feel the way the city is changing is beyond their control, especially in the downtown core. As 24 storey buildings threaten to become the new normal in downtown, Burlingtonians fear the things they love about their city will be lost.”

Tanner is keen to emphasize his campaign is about promoting positive solutions to the current problems, not simply pointing out the challenges.

“I was part of the Shape Burlington Committee in 2010 which called for City Hall to ‘re-invent itself” by welcoming innovative new ways of bringing citizens into the decision-making process. Unfortunately, despite the subsequent Engagement Charter, I don’t feel we are any further forward in bringing about a genuinely engaged community. Engagement isn’t about more town hall meetings, it’s about making citizens partners in the process of shaping our city, along with City Hall staff, non-profits, businesses, and yes, even developers. City Hall must listen, engage and empower its citizens to build a truly innovative community of which we can all be proud,” said Tanner in his nomination announcement.

A man worth watching.

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Lane restrictions: There was news that included useful background information.

notices100x100By Staff

May 14th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The hard news is that here will be lane restrictions on Lakeshore Rd from John Street to Martha Street between May 14 to 25, 2018

Monday, May 14 at 7 a.m. to Friday, May 25 at 7 p.m.

Please watch for signs and barricades.

That’s the news part. That news came from Doug Conway, Utility Coordinator, Capital Works.

New street - being rebuilt

Somehow the transportation people didn’t get the message from the Utility coordinator.

The Utility Coordinator is the person who keeps in constant touch with the utilities, (Hydro, Region, telephone, cable and gas companies) that have pipes or wires underneath the asphalt.

They talk to each other regularly, or they are supposed to – but somehow someone missed a meeting and wasn’t aware of the work the Region was doing on water main upgrades while the New Street Road Diet experiment was underway.

No one at city hall ever explained how that came about.

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Meed Ward takes a Toronto Star story and turns it to her advantage - nothing from the Mayor.

council 100x100By Pepper Parr

May 14, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Didn’t take long for mayoralty candidate Marianne Meed Ward to hop on a good story and turn it to her advantage.

The Toronto Star did a lengthy piece on Sunday about the development planned for the downtown core.
Meed Ward was out the gate this morning with a note to her followers – it went like this.

Residents have been warning about the negative impact of over development downtown on loss of retail, community character and more, and now others are taking notice.

The Toronto Star wrote a front page article today on how Burlington’s growing pains became an election issue Toronto has had their own problems with growth that focuses relentlessly on adding population without planning communities: traffic congestion, crowding, lack of community amenities, loss of retail.

Often, whenever ward 1 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward appears at events with the Mayor she sounds more "mayoral" than the man who wears the chain of office.

Councillor Marianne Meed Ward and Mayor Goldring.

That’s headed our way if we don’t get our downtown plan right. We’re already seeing the focus on counting units, not quality of life.

The promise of growth isn’t delivering. Don’t believe the justifications offered for over-intensification:

• “it’s good for business” TRUTH: We’re losing retail and commercial space, up to two-thirds in one proposal

• “we have no choice, the province is making us” TRUTH: the province sets broad forecasts for growth, which we’ll meet well ahead of time. How, where and how much we grow is up to us

• “we have to protect the rural area” TRUTH: the rural area has been protected since 2006 and is not at risk of development. No one should pit one area against another to justify over-development.

• ”it will bring affordable housing” TRUTH: the units being built don’t meet Halton Region’s affordability criteria.

We have a choice this election: the current mayor who says we have to accept this over intensification (up to 30 high-rises downtown in the new plan he supported) or scaling back the plan with an amendment after the next election.

Street - what is being taken down

Retail that will disappear should the 409 Brant development be approved.

The choice is clear: responsible growth or over-intensification that will forever change the Burlington we chose to make our homes to live, work, play, raise our families and retire.

We can change the downtown plan with a new council, and I’ll do everything I can to make that happen.

Spread the word: share this message with your friends and neighbours so they know what’s at stake this election.

Meed Ward has always understood social media and used it very effectively.  She did that in her 2010 campaign and again in 2014.

She will use it just as effectively this – the difference is – will she get the traction she needs to wear the Chain of Office.   Her goal from her very first election has been to be the Mayor – Rick Craven beat her in that 2006 election. She moved from ward 1 to ward 2 and has a following there that cannot be beat.

The challenge is going to see just how well her support develops in the rest of the city.

Elections are usually lost by the person holding the office – are people in Burlington unhappy enough with Mayor Goldring to choose Meed Ward?

Mayor at Wallace election HQ Oct 2015

Rick Goldring at the Mike Wallace 2015 campaign HQ – little did he know then that when Wallace lost he would come after Goldring’s job.

The worst news for Rick Goldring was learning that Mike Wallace decided to run – any Wallace votes will come from the plate Golding has his lunch on.

All we have to do is get the provincial election behind us – then focus on local.  And if the prediction for a Doug Ford win are true – the direction Burlington can take will be a lot different.

Pay attention – this stuff matters

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Fresh faces and new blood are part of the campaign to elect the next city council.

SwP thumbnail graphicBy Pepper Parr

May 14th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

We do politics differently in Burlington.

Somewhere along the way the Tory’s in Burlington came to the conclusion that the Gazette was a Liberal newspaper and decided that they would not keep us aware of their events.

We are frequently able to dig up some of what they are doing. We hear from the other political parties.

This “shyness” on the part of some of those elected to office is disturbing.

The politicians seem to feel that we are supposed to write nice thing about them – and on many occasions a piece of reporting does put the politician in a positive light.

At the municipal level we used to meet for lunch on occasion with several of the members of council. We have done tours of a ward with Council members. When the news is critical or points out a short-coming – the lip curls.

The Mayor decided some time ago that the Gazette is biased and unfair. We didn’t hear that from Rick Goldring during his first term of office. His 59 second comment on how good a job the Gazette was doing was a little embarrassing. The comments were made during Goldring’s first term. He had a change of mind during his second term. In the world of politics the relationship with media is often fractious. Rather than invite media into their office and talk through the concern – in Burlington they decide that you’re biased.

The politicians and many of the civil servants don’t understand media and the role it plays. Behind that is the lack of an understanding of what their own role really is – they are there to serve. It is an honourable profession – many – not all, fail to honour the work they do and they diminish themselves in the process.

We are all accountable.

The Gazette gets it in the ear from readers and we publish what they say. We are members of the National NewsMedia Council – we pay an annual fee to that organization – it amounts to more than my monthly rent – and when someone takes a complaint to the Council we are required to respond and if the Council comes to the conclusion we made a mistake and were wrong we have to publish that finding. They are in the archives.

When Mike Wallace was the Member of Parliament he got very upset with the articles we wrote when he was mismanaging the flow of information at a parliamentary committee. Politics is the art of the possible between competing interests. The role of the politician is to listen, and ensure that the interests of the public are heard, understood and acted upon.

Recently we have heard politicians say that they are not hearing from the “majority” – they seem to feel that if they don’t hear from half the population then those who do speak up are just cranks who don’t like the idea of change – the nimby’s.

Flood Goldring with chain of office

The Mayor wasn’t comfortable enough with the Chain of Office to wear i outside th Council Chamber during his first term. He wore it for a TV interview in his second term.

Early in his first term of office we recall a conversation with the Mayor and how people interacted with him in a supermarket or on the street – he was surprised that they saw him as someone special. A Mayor is the Chief Magistrate – what people are responding to is the office of the Mayor and the role a Mayor plays. The fact that it is Rick Golding is not the issue.

The public expects their Mayor to lead and to be seen as a leader.

The tension between Councillors Meed Ward and Craven is close to measurable, Neither has ever been a fan of the other and on Monday evening the feelings got spilled onto the horseshoe of the Council chamber

The tension between Councillors Meed Ward and Craven is close to measurable, Neither has ever been a fan of the other.

We have heard members of the current city council squabble like children over whether or not the Councillor for ward 2 can involve herself in anything that takes place in ward 1. Every member of the Burlington city council is also a member of Regional council where they represent the city – not just a ward.

During the working through the 2010 Strategic Plan I was approached by a member of council – no need to embarrass the member at this point, who said “You should do something about Meed Ward”. I was stunned – did this member really think the role of media was to go gunning for a member of council?

The job is to report on what city council does and to hold them accountable and to put what they say and do in context and to remind them what they had said previously.

The Gazette also provides a forum for anyone to make a comment on a specific news story. Some of the comments don’t get published – I am constantly surprised at how nasty some people choose to be. Our experience has been that the really nasty ones come from an email address that cannot be verified.

Jim Young answering RG

Jim Young

Gary Scobie

Gary Scobie

We have been very proud to have been able to publish the delegations made by Jim Young and Gary Scobie and Dee Dee Davies; less proud when we were required to publish situations where we were wrong.

Saying we are exceptionally under-resourced may be true but I isn’t an excuse.

Many of the politicians in this city seem to feel that media is in place to publish what they write and not ask any questions. Who taught them that?

City Council talks about transparency and accountability and seem to feel that if they say they are accountable and transparent – then they are. When more than 30 people delegate on an issue that argument gets shot full of holes and the wind is taken out of the sails.

While the provincial election is taking up most of the oxygen and attention it is worth noting that there are now four new candidates under 40 and a fifth expected later this week.

Two of the incumbents have chosen to retire.

There is a change in the air – new blood and fresh faces.

Salt with Pepper is a column of opinion, reflection, observation and musings of the Gazette Publisher.

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Candidate for the ward 1 seat gets papers into the Clerk's office and yet another name for the ward 2 council seat.

council 100x100By Pepper Parr

May 12th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

What a day it was.

A second member of council opts for a pension cheque and new names pop faster than you can say Jack Rabbit.

A name with credibility and depth is said to be making a trip to the Clerk’s office to register as a candidate for the ward 2 seat. Sources tell the Gazette that Roland Tanner, former president of the Burlington provincial Liberals at one point, is going to register his nomination papers for Ward 2 on Monday.

Rene Papin got his nomination papers for the ward 1 seat in faster than we thought was possible. Did he have advance notice?

Papin has been a Conservative for as long as we can remember – he was hoping to be the candidate for the provincial seat but the constituency wouldn’t have him and, being the good party member he is, – he didn’t push for the nomination. He should have.

A loyal reader who gets us via Facebook said: “Wow, new councillors for Wards 1, 2 and 3. Perhaps a new mayor. Perhaps changes in wards 4, 5 and 6.

The newest nominations are shown in red.

Can we expect to see any withdraws as the field in some wards thickens?

Will the expected Tanner nomination in ward 2 help the school board trustee make a decision ?

The list as of the close of business is as follows:

Mayor

Rick Goldring
524 Wicklow Rd., Burlington, L7L 2H8
905-320-3656

Marianne Meed Ward
497 Martha St., Burlington, ON, L7R 2R1
905-335-1899
mariannemeedward.ca
marianne4mayor@gmail.com

Mike Wallace
268 Tuck Dr., Burlington, ON, L7L 2R1
Home phone: 905-639-0185
Fax: 905-634-9822
mikewallaceformayor@gmail.com
www.mikewallaceformayor.ca

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 1

René Papin
905-541-7404
rehp1985@gmail.com

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 2

Kimberly Calderbank
905-719-6989
kimberly.solutions

David Cherry
1312 Hammond St., Burlington, ON, L7S 2C2
289-795-9203

Lisa Kearns
416-414-5335
kearns_lisa@hotmail.com
lisakearns.ca

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 3

Lisa Cooper
1299 Princeton Cres.
Home phone: 905-331-8469
Mobile phone: 289-259-9880
Fax: 905-331-8469
lisacooper1299@gmail.com

Rory Nisan
905-464-7195
info@rorynisan.ca
rorynisan.ca

Gareth Williams
289-635-8994
gareth@garethward3.ca
https://garethward3.ca

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 4

Jack Dennison
3087 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington, ON, L7N 1A3
905-634-7102

Shawna Stolte
shawnastolte@gmail.com

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 5

Paul Sharman
5070 Spruce Ave., Burlington, ON, L7L 1M8
289-337-2297
paul@paulsharman.ca

Xin Yi Zhang
electxyz@gmail.com

Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 6

Angelo Bentivegna
905-973-6923
Angelo.Bentivegna@gmail.com
www.AngeloBentivegnaWard6.ca

Blair Lancaster
3210 Hazelwood Ave., Burlington, ON, L7M 2V4
905-335-7068
blair@blairlancaster.ca
www.blairlancaster.ca

Ken White
905-220-4707
ken@kenwhiteward6.ca
www.kenwhiteward6.ca

Regional Chair

(nominations are filed with the Region of Halton)

Gary Carr
chaircarr@gmail.com
www.garycarr.ca

Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 1 & 2

Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 3 & 6

Andrea Grebenc
905-901-2235
contact@trustandrea.com
www.trustandrea.com

Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 4

Richelle Papin
3134 Terraview Ct., Burilngton, L7M 1E9
905-331-7608

Margo Shuttleworth
289-812-0629
shuttleworth.m.a@gmail.com
https://margoward4.wixsite.com/margoshuttleworth

Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 5

Amy Collard
reelectamycollard@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/view/reelectamycollard

Halton Catholic District School Board Trustee

Arlene Iantomasi
772 Old York Rd., Burlington, ON, L7P 4X9
905-516-2691
arlo60@sympatico.ca

Maria Lourenco
905-808-5910
Lourenco4trustee@outlook.com

Conseil scolaire Viamonde

(nominations are filed with the City of Hamilton)

Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir

(nominations are filed with the Town of Oakville)

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It is official - the Gazette broke the story yesterday.

council 100x100By Staff

May 11th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

Dennison, Craven, Taylor with leashes

Councillor Rick Craven holding a memory stick with the budget on it.

 

Dear Friends,
I am writing to advise you that I have decided to retire at the end of this term. I will not seek re-election. It has been an honour to represent the residents of Ward One at Burlington and Halton Councils for the past 18 years. I have really enjoyed my work and hope that I have contributed to the growth and wellbeing of our community.

I look forward to this new stage in my life but will remain at your service until the new Ward One Councillor takes office in the fall.

Rick Craven

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Rivers: What the debate really needed was a director to bring order to the chaotic muddle.

Rivers 100x100By Ray Rivers

May 11th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

“I guess we’ve come to expect that everything about Ford is fake,” she said. “The stories are fake, his facts are fake and now we know his supporters are fake.” (Deb Matthews – Liberal campaign co-chair)

Matthews was commenting on reports that Doug Ford’s team had hired actors to sit in the audience and cheer for him at the City TV leaders’ debate earlier this week, the first such head-to-head of the campaign.

Ford actors

The actors

Though, rather than actors, what the event really needed was a director to bring order to the chaotic muddle the TV station had the nerve to call a debate. For one thing the leaders were forced to stand for the entire time, looking awkward and uncomfortable and…sad. It was absolutely the worst format for a debate. In that formation the loudest and most persistent eventually overcomes the others – as if that kind of behaviour is what we most desire in a premier.

Horwath and Ford mostly talked in general platitudes and Wynne kept getting into the weeds – an occupational hazard when one actually understands the files. The leaders were then scored for their performance by instant phone-in polls, which no doubt were also populated by another lot of actors from each of the three parties. And what with the street interviews and backgrounders and endless number of moderators, it was a bun fight to behold.

Ford is the clear front runner in the polls, which has nothing to do with his policies or even his qualifications for the job. His alternate facts on the state of the economy and unemployed are just plain inaccurate – lies, or worse, ignorance. And his rationale for another tax cut makes absolutely no sense given a recent report by the OECD indicating that Canadians actually pay lower taxes than Americans.

PC Leader Doug Ford faced a barrage of questions from Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath in Monday's CityNews debate in Toronto.

PC Leader Doug Ford faced a barrage of questions from Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath in Monday’s CityNews debate in Toronto.

Ford has locked onto a couple of wedge issues which are working for him, such as the outrageous salary paid to the chair of Hydro One – “the six million dollar man”. But Ford’s unproven allegations about the Liberals rewarding their friends and unfounded claims of corruption are unworthy of someone wanting to be Premier. This kind of politicking will only reinforce the comparison Kathleen Wynne is trying to make between Doug Ford and Donald Trump.

Ford has also accused the Liberals of cooking the books, and has found an ally in Ontario’s overzealous auditor general (AG). Her’s is a complicated, arcane argument, that the surplus money the province holds in pension assets should not be counted in order to make the budget appear balanced. Her position is untenable, however, given that she and previous AG’s had accepted that way of accounting in the past. And it begs the question of whether she would still feel that way if the pension account were in deficit, thus creating a provincial deficit.

Ford wicked smile

Doug Ford

But Ford is on solid ground attacking the size of Ontario’s growing debt, particularly as the latest provincial budget just serves to increase the debt. Of course his piety on this matter is compromised, actually shot to hell, when he acknowledges that his promises will also increase the provincial debt. In fact his promises ring in around $16 billion, more than either of the other two. Added to that, Ford’s proposed cancelation of Ontario’s cap and trade carbon tax would add another $2 billion or so in lost revenue.

Ford might have more credibility were he equipped with a fully costed campaign plan. He could always fall back on the one his party had approved last November, when Patrick Brown was still leader. Instead, we find him just alluding to the billions he plans to throw into the very areas where he also plans to make undisclosed ‘efficiency’ cuts of some 4% (~ $6 billion) from the budget.

Presumably one can always find efficiencies in a budget the size of Ontario’s. Yet as Wynne tried to point out before being drowned out – actually talked over – by the other candidates, Ontario’s government has the lowest per capita cost of any in Canada. That would make Ontario already the most efficient in the country. And does anyone believe Ford’s claim to be able to cut costs without eliminating jobs and laying off the civil servants whose programs get axed.

Andrea thumb up

Andrea Horwath

NDP leader Horwath gave the warmest and most sincere TV performance, but she failed to make any clear winning points, leaving the question of how she differs from the current premier up in the air. That shortcoming was partly a casualty of the format, in which policy questions were allocated a mere 45 seconds.

The Premier was even more challenged trying to sum up 15 years in a 45 second commercial sound bite. And after 15 years in office people need to understand the rationale for policies like renewable energy, cap and trade carbon taxes, the Green Belt, measures taken to help lower housing prices across the GTA and so much more.

If Wynne loses this election, which looks inevitable at this point, it will be less about what she and her party have done than her failure to explain it. Wynne is clearly the most intellectual of the leaders. Yet egg heads tend to get caught up in the details and miss the big picture. Populists resonate better with the public. And in the war of style over substance, style usually wins.

wynne red glasses

Kathleen Wynne

There will be more opportunities for debate among these pretenders to the throne, hopefully in a more traditional debate format. That would give Andrea Horwath more opportunity to explain the math and strategies behind her campaign policies. It would allow Mr. Ford to become more confident in front of the cameras and to get a handle on the files he needs to better understand in order to win a debate, let alone govern the province. And it would offer Kathleen Wynne more time to better account for her party’s record and why.

Rivers hand to faceRay 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:

Ford’s Actors –    Lower Taxes in Canada –    Coyne on Ford –     McParland on Ford

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Jim Young once again lectures city council about a $4 million spend.

background 100By Pepper Parr

May 11th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Jim Young was doing it again.

Making statements that made people uncomfortable. His kind of truth is a little difficult to take. At time people want to suggest to Jim that he “lighten up”.

He was delegating Thursday afternoon on the matter of the LaSalle Park Marina and the need for a spend of $4 million to keep the place open past April of 2019.

Jim Young said:
“My delegation on behalf of Engaged Citizens of Burlington today is a plea for common sense. A plea for fiscal responsibility and a request to consider more appropriate ways to allocate funding so that the community benefit of that spending is more evenly spread and put to better uses.

Jim Young with Kell in background

Jim Young

“ECoB worries that $4 million is a lot of money to spend to help protect the private property of a small group of citizens who are surely among the most able to provide that protection and insurance for themselves.

“We worry that our city may invest this $4 million only to find that the property at La Salle Park reverts to the City of Hamilton in a few years.

“In a city where last fall we had to provide emergency funding to keep our transit system operating legally, might better use be made of that $4 million by our transit system?

“In a ward that has no community centre for seniors, children or adult recreation, might $4 million be better directed towards their needs?

“In city with another 2 wards which similarly have no community centre, might we better serve more of our citizens by allocating this money to that end?

“In a city committed to intensification with so far no supporting Transit Infrastructure in place or planned, that money would allow an 8% increase in the Transit Operating Budget for each of the next 5 years to help achieve those intensification plans. Might this be a better investment?

“In a city committed to increasing and improving cycling with a plan to provide a safe North / South Highway and Railroad Crossing might $ 4 million go a long way to building that?

“Can a city that rejected a $100,000 annual expenditure to provide free off peak transit to around 35,000 poor and isolated seniors, in all conscience, justify $4 million dollars to provide docking improvements for a few hundred fairly wealthy boaters?

“That money would provide free transit for seniors for the next 40 years.

“The people of Burlington are engaged and paying attention to city affairs like never in recent history.

The option the LaSalle PArk MArina Association hopes is chosen through the Environmental Assessment due MArch 2013.

The option the LaSalle Park Marina Association hopes is chosen through the Environmental Assessment due March 2013.

“By adopting Option A and removing yourselves from the Marina Business you can demonstrate that you are sensitive to and attuned to the needs and wishes of ordinary Burlingtonians for whom a boat is a luxury while Transit, Community Centres and Cycling are real and widespread needs.

“At the end of the day La Salle Park Marina is not the city’s business to be involved in. It belongs to an incorporated body, La Salle Park Marina Association on land that belongs to the City of Hamilton and which may very soon revert to that city.”

The members of the Burlington Boating and Sailing Club and the LaSalle Park Marina take exception to being referred to as “rich people” who are being given a benefit that others don’t get.

Membership in the Marina is $9200 – up front. $5200 of that is an initiation fee and $4000 is part of the annual fee structure that has a declining balance approach. The two clubs don’t talk all that much about fees and what it costs to be a member.

They tend to dwell on the benefits the city gets and wonder aloud why a city on the edge of one of the largest lakes in the country should not have a marina.

To their credit the Marina has entered into joint ventures with the city for more than 35 years and has never defaulted or even been late with a payment. They want recognition for what they have done.

The issue gets complex with a deadline for the new breakwater the sailors must have and what that will do to the formation of ice in the winter and what that will do to the Trumpeter swans that have taken up residence in the same location as the marina.

Trumpeter swan - magnificent creatures that many think need the marina space at LaSalle Park to survive the winters. Nonsense according the Marina Association.

Trumpeter swan – magnificent creatures that many think need the marina space at LaSalle Park to survive the winters. Nonsense according the Marina Association.

What the boaters face are overfed swans that should not be fed by the public who love the birds.

The swan people would like to see the boats somewhere else – the sailors feel the same way about the swans.

Meanwhile Burlington is unable to come to terms with the city of Hamilton on a price for the water lots that Hamilton owns.

It is messy – and the leadership needed isn’t coming out of city hall.

$4 million is a lot of money – but the LaSalle Park Marina has always met their obligations under the Joint Venture agreements they signed with the city.

Which is more than the Trumpeter Swan people can say when it comes to educating the public about not feeding the swans and then doing something to actually prevent that – maybe having one of their group on hand every weekend telling people not to feed the swans?

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New Democrats open their campaign office - bring a sense that this just might be their time in Burlington

News 100 redBy Staff

May 11th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

This Saturday, the New Democrats in Burlington will open their campaign office – in the same location that political party has used for years; located at 2232 Mountainside Dr, Burlington.

Walter and Drummond NDP

Former Burlington Mayor Walter Mulkewich guiding his latest NDP candidate Andrew Drummond, in the orange shirt, around town. This time the New Democrats just might have a shot at the seat.

Andrew Drummond, the NDP candidate for Burlington will formally open his campaign office – the same faces will be in the room that were there last time. But this time out there will be more spring in their step.

The people of Burlington just might become part of what is, at this point, a not so quiet growing dislike for Doug Ford and the feeling that they have had enough of the provincial Liberals.

The campaign is short – four weeks and in the world of politics that is a lifetime.

Money is being spent faster than any drunken sailor ever spent. The late Jack Layton showed the public what can happen when a public is dis-enchanted – and the Ontario public is very disenchanted right now.

Andrew Drummond Headshot

Andrew Drummond – NDP candidate for Burlington.

Andrew Drummond, a Burlington resident for 14 years, has spent his entire 15-year professional career in the telecommunications industry and currently works on Large Enterprise Strategy for Rogers Communications. He decided to run for office to combat the effects of the growing inequality gap in the province.

He is young, brings a fresh face to the party – no baggage.

Worth a look – Andrea Horwath is going to make sure you hear the NDP story.

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Richly deserved award given to Friends of Freeman Station

News 100 yellowBy Pepper Parr

May 11th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

FoFS names

A richly deserved recognition – Friends of Freeman Station named Burlington’s BEST for heritage.

It is one of the few occasions when this crowd wore suits.

But there they were on the stage accepting the recognition long deserved for saving the Freeman Station.

In the acceptance speech Ron Danielson said:
“It is my great pleasure to accept the Burlington Best Heritage Award on behalf of the Friends of Freeman Station. This award is a fitting tribute to the many volunteers who have put their hearts, souls and labour into restoring Burlington’s historic 1906 Grand Trunk Railway station, known as Freeman Station.”

They had every reason to be smiling. Councillors Meed Ward and Lancaster pose with five members of the Friends of Freeman Station after the Council meeting that approved the entering into of a Joint Venture that would have the Friends moving the station and taking on the task of renovating the building.

They had every reason to be smiling. Councillors Meed Ward and Lancaster pose with five members of the Friends of Freeman Station after the Council meeting that approved the entering into of a Joint Venture that would have the Friends moving the station and taking on the task of renovating the building.

It was the intervention of Councillors Meed Ward and Lancaster who held off the rest of Council and gave the Friends of Freeman the time they needed to find a place to put the station that was in pretty rough shape but salvageable despite the comments made by a city engineer.

When they found a home – the task was to get the building moved and begin the renovation.
It was a labour of love and a process of continually begging.

Their success is one of the best stores this city has to tell about itself. The politicians will swoop in and take the credit – and to their credit they did come up with funds, albeit late in the game.

This is a citizen success story – and Wednesday night at the Performing Arts Centre a bunch of guys who were pretty good with a hammer and a paint brush were recognized for the heroes they are.

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Word is that Councillor Craven will retire from municipal politics; Gazette reader points to an email.

SwP thumbnail graphicBy Pepper Parr

May 10th, 2018]

BURLINGTON, ON

 

We have probably seen all we are going to see in the way of significant nominations to both the Board of Education and City Council.

At the Council level, except for ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven, all have filed nomination papers.

At the school board level there are nominations for each of the four seats, except for the ward 1& 2 School Board trustee seat.

Many expected the incumbent, Leah Reynolds to run for the ward 2 City Council seat but she hasn’t made a move yet. Reynolds is believed to be Marianne Meed Ward’s choice but the quality of the candidates already nominated in ward 2 might be a little more than Reynolds could overcome. Smart move on her part.

Amy Collard could be acclaimed again. A plus for the people of ward 5.

He loves his Ward, he knows his constituents and their needs. Is there life beyond city hall for Rick Craven?

He loves his Ward, he knows his constituents and their needs. Is there life beyond city hall for Rick Craven?

There are rumblings and rumours that ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven may cash in his chips and join his wife in retirement.

Judy BIA

Judy Worsely: Is she being set up as the candidate for the ward 1 city council seat?

Many have noticed that he is giving Judy Worsely, a faithful ally, and the Executive Director of the Aldershot Business Improvement Area opportunities to speak. Ms Worsley was delegating at city hall earlier today on the LaSalle Park Marina matter.

Worsley was a third place finisher for the Ward 1& 2 HDSB trustee sea.

One Gazette reader asked: “If he is not running, why is he not saying so? I speculate he’s delaying so as to keep other challengers from organizing, clearing the path for Judy.”

Craven with gavel and papers

While he could be chippy at times he was without doubt the best Committee chair this council had and knew the Procedural bylaw better than anyone else.

Another sent us a note moments ago saying: “Rick Craven has told his friends by email that he is retiring.” And added YAHOO!

That will certainly shake things up in ward 1 where there hasn’t been a really credible candidate come forward.

There are several who have been encouraged to run for the Council seat but no one has made that trip to the Clerk’s office.

Salt with Pepper is a column of opinion, reflection and observations of event in Burlington.

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