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July 10, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON  Trip planner software down for maintenance. Different kind of plastic has to be used. A system upgrade to Tripplanner.burlington.ca is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. on Tuesday July 11, 2017 until end of service. This will also affect access to Next Bus information available by phone. For assistance during this time, please try www.triplinx.ca or Google Transit for online trip planning or access the print-friendly schedules on our website. 
July 10th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
A number of years ago, the late Eric Cunningham, a former member of the provincial legislature for nine years, made some comments on the “project details” of a plan to improve the Joseph Brant Museum and the “expansion” to a “Community Heritage Centre.” In 2008 when the comments were made the museum was looking for $8 million to totally rebuild the museum and expand its size by more than 300%. Today that cost has risen to $10 million  The late Eric Cunningham. Cunningham was pretty blunt: “Frankly, until this was drawn to my attention, I knew about as much about the plan, as I did about the Museum itself. This Museum is owned and operated by Burlington taxpayers. It has been open to the public since 1942. It houses artifacts “owned and used” by the late Joseph Brant, as well as the Eileen Collard Collection of Historic Costumes and Textiles. “The operating funds are largely derived from Museums of Burlington (read taxpayers) which supports the Ireland House on Guelph Line. Currently, taxpayers are paying $552,000. per year to support these two facilities. “I know little about Ireland House except that it is a nice building. What I know about the Joseph Brant Museum is that people in the “witness protection program” could stay there without fear of being caught….because hardly anyone goes there. “I was horrified to learn that my local Ward One member of Council favours a scheme to expand the Joseph Brant Museum by 14, 000 square feet at a cost of almost $8 million. Almost $2 million capital costs would come from Burlington. With the exception of an additional $2 million from donors, the balance would come from Ottawa and Queen’s Park (read taxpayers). Eight people currently work at the Joseph Brant Museum, and there is a recommendation to Council that we should add one more at a price tag of $35,000. “After living in Burlington on and off since 1954, I paid my $4. and made a visit to the museum for the first time. Two very nice young women greeted me. I saw a photo exhibit by the late Frank Wright which frankly could be displayed anywhere. There was some form of a replica canoe in the front room. Anyone wanting to see anything regarding Chief Brant had to go upstairs. “What was there was pretty slim. Old photos of the Town back when. The “costume” section was not memorable.  The Joseph Brant Museum. “I signed the guest book. Likely less than five hundred guests signed the book since 2007. Mausoleums get more traffic than this place. “On a per capita basis, the Joseph Brant Museum gets less traffic than the RBG, our Cultural Centre across the street, and most church basements. “It matters little to me that the Joseph Brant Museum expansion plan (tripling the size?) may be paid for by other levels of government. Those are taxes that we all pay. Money advanced for this ill-advised nonsense will need to be borrowed as both senior levels of government are running deficits. “By all means buy some new paint for the Joseph Brant Museum and keep pushing the school tours. But no more tax money for this foolishness.” Eric Cunningham died at the age of 65 on January 1, 2015
July 10th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
Ward 6 Councillor Blair Lancaster asked her colleagues to “backstop” the Museum Boards $1 million request so that the work on the plans that will triple the size of the Joseph Brant museum can begin. Lancaster is banking on the province to come through with the needed funds – if they don’t – the city will not get back the funds it advanced.  A small museum that was focused on the story of the man who basically founded the city could undergo a significant change today. “I wanted to provide you with an update on the Joseph Brant Museum and to seek your support for moving the project forward” said Lancaster at a Standing Committee meeting last week. The following funds have been committed reported Lancaster: City of Burlington: $2,120,000 committed, with the same amount allocated Total Committed Funds: $9,688,559 Lancaster reported that there is “an approximate funding gap of about $1M. The city has a request before the Provincial Government for the remaining funding.” She added that “Previous estimates of the total project cost were about $10.4M, those estimates were based on construction starting in early 2017. Staff have noted that the project cost may be higher depending on when construction begins; there is usually a premium on construction costs if substantial work occurs over the winter months. Lancaster was asking that the city provide funding from the Capital Purposes Reserve Fund, Councillor Marianne Meed Ward, who was chairing the meeting, asked if Lancaster’s motion could be amended to have the Museum Foundation promise to repay the city the money the city was being asked to put up was not received from the province. “No” was the quick blunt response from Lancaster. Along with the request for funds was a mention of the need to transfer some property from the hospital to the city.  The replica of the original Brant House will be pivoted and then raised to create a new street level entrance. The property on which the museum sits has a bit of a checkered past. It was a 3,450 acre tract of land Brant got from the Missisauga’s. Brant built the house and lived in it for some time. He farmed about 100 acres and was said to have developed “a fine orchard”. At some point the property slipped into the hands of the federal government. Some of the land appears in the Joseph Brant Hospital financial statements as the “Brant Trust”  Aerial of the architect’s rendering for the new museum. The city now needs to get that trust transferred into its hands – a task that is not going to be a slam dunk. While the facts are not completely clear, the land appears to have been kept in a Trust that is managed by the hospital. At one point former Mayor Walter Mulkewich remembers measuring the distance the Brant Museum had to be moved to allow an expansion to the hospital.  It will be a substantially different building and be the entrance way to the Beachway community that the city has planned. Lakeshore Road will be a much different place when all this is done. At the time Mulkewich said he remembers a trip to Ottawa where talks took place with the then department of Public Works to get the permissions needed to move the Brant house the couple of hundred yards that were necessary for the hospital to add to their structure. The city has its Finance department working on the land transfer. The motion Lancaster was putting forward called for the Director of Finance to report back to Council in September providing an update on the land transfer, updated capital costs, operating impacts and the provisional financing required.  Lakeshore Road today: This point in the road is just past where the new museum will be built. The debate on the matter last week was limited to comments from Councillors Craven, Sharman and Lancaster with Meed Ward serving as Chair disagreeing with Lancaster on a number of points. Councillor Dennison, who has never been a fan of tax payers money being used for all that much in the world of culture. Councillor Craven said it was time for a sophisticated city to have a sophisticated museum. The motion for the “back stop” funding was approved. Neither the Mayor nor Councillor Taylor spoke to the motion. There are a lot of questions about both the funding and just what is going to be done at the much bigger museum operation. Will it even be a museum? The public will never get inside the building that is a replica of the original Brant house. The house will be used for administrative purposes.  The gorget, presented to Brant by King George III is perhaps the best piece in the collection. The actual Brant collection borders on pathetic. The “library” is a collection of books that do not appear to be catalogued and are pretty tattered. There are a number of very good paintings and the museum does own the gorget presented to Brant by King George III. Don’t mention the words “ongoing research” about Brant – no such thing. There isn’t anyone on staff that knows all that much about the man. There seems to be a drive to create a place that can house touring shows that the city can attract. In all the chatter about a “world class” museum no one from either the Museum Foundation or the Museum Board has ever outlined the kind of event the city would have taking place in the space.  John Doyle – Burlington Museum Foundation  Larry Waldron – Burlington Museum Board The funds that the Museum Foundation has raised came from a bequest to the Museum Foundation that turned out to be a lot larger than many expected. We are talking millions here. Larry Waldron and John Boyle have worked for more than a decade to get a new museum built – they need just another million to get shovels into the ground. City council was told that the Museum Board has a business model that will cover any increased operating expenses – that business model has yet to see the light of day. Given the level of transparency of Museum affairs in the recent past – nothing should be taken for granted. A number of months ago the Museum was closed – a fact that was not revealed to anyone at the time. Lancaster who was on the Museum Board representing the city wasn’t aware of the closing. At the time the Brant Museum was closed it was because of the re-building of Lakeshore Road which made sense – the decision to not re-open without at least making the city council representative aware of the decision is something that was never satisfactorily explained.  Museum Board Executive Director Barb Teatero appearing before city council. One can only imagine the conversation that took place between Councillor Lancaster and Barb Teatero, the Executive Director of the Museum Board that manages both the Brant Museum and Ireland House over that matter. Another concern is the location of the much enlarged museum. The entrance will be on Lakeshore Road which will become the main entrance to the Brant Hospital – including ambulance traffic. That road is a single lane as it rounds the museum – the tour buses that are going to ‘bring those thousands of visitors to the museum’ has the potential to clog traffic. Far too many questions for city council to put up $1 million that they may never see returned. The Motion that was approved at Standing Committee was passed. It now goes to city Council this evening: July 10th. Whereas, the City of Burlington continues to support the expansion of the Joseph Brant Museum; and Whereas, with the financial contributions from the Federal and Provincial Governments, the Museum Transformation project is closer than ever to being realized; and Whereas, the city has a request before the Provincial Government and we continue to work with them to secure the remaining funds Therefore, be it resolved that the Council of the City of Burlington: Support the continuation of staff and the Museum Foundation efforts to resolve the transfer of lands; provide updated costing for the project; and ensure the fundraising campaign is underway Approve provisional financing in the amount of $1M from the Capital Purposes Reserve Fund subject to not realizing further Provincial Government funding Direct the Director of Finance to report back to Council in September 2017 providing an update on the land transfer, updated capital costs, operating impacts and the provisional financing required. The motion which goes to council this evening July 10th, has the potential to become a rabbit hole that will be home to tales of wonder. Related article
July 9th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
August 21st – the Official opening of the brand new and rebuilt parts of the Joseph Brant Hospital will take place – lots of hoopla and everyone being proud of a job well done. Now we all have to figure out how to use the place. Getting there will be different; the entrance will be in a different place and the drive will take you along Lakeshore Road as it cuts towards the lake edge. The hospital communications usually do an excellent job of getting information out and in the early stages there will be all kinds of people on hand to get you to where you want to go. The public has had to come of with $120 million of the cost of the new hospital – $60 million is being paid by the taxpayer – seperate line on your tax bill and an additional $60 million that is being raised by the hospital Foundation. They are in the final stretch of the fund raising effort. For the immediate future the graphic below shows you the fundamentals.
June 9th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
It isn’t a big deal until there is a depot of someone being infected with the West Nile Virus (WNV).
A batch of mosquitoes trapped last week in Oakville has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). This is the first batch of WNV positive mosquitoes confirmed in Halton this year. “The Halton Region Health Department works diligently to reduce the risk of West Nile virus in our community through both education and preventative programs such as larviciding,” said Dr. Daniela Kempkens, Acting Medical Officer of Health, Halton Region. “We can all work together to keep our community safe and protect ourselves from West Nile virus by removing standing water sites that breed mosquitos and covering up or applying DEET or Icaridin when outside during dusk and dawn.” Urban areas are more likely to have mosquitoes that carry WNV. The types of mosquitoes that transmit WNV to humans most commonly breed in urban areas, typically in places that hold water such as bird baths, plant pots, old toys, and tires. Residents can take the following steps to protect themselves and their families from mosquitoes: • Cover up. Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants with tightly-woven fabric. To report standing water at public facilities or for more information about West Nile virus, please visit halton.ca/wnv, call 311 or e-mail wnv@halton.ca.
July 8, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
The Pinemeadow Park splash pad is currently out of order due to an electrical failure. It has been determined that the existing electric system is beyond repair and requires a full replacement. The cost to replace the electrical system is not within a reasonable budget, therefore the splash pad will be removed and not replaced. There is an opportunity to add a Natural Playground to the park (see below). Pinemeadow Park is still open. During the removal of the splash pad, some areas of the park may be closed for safety during construction. Earlier this summer, the Ireland Park splash pad opened as planned, and was installed to replace Pinemeadow Park splash pad. The Ireland Park splash pad is accessible to people with disabilities, greater water conservation, has supporting park facilities, and serves the larger community. Pinemeadow Park – Natural Playground Opportunity: A group of residents looking to construct a natural playground at Pinemeadow Park was successful at securing $5000 from the city to assist them in developing a natural playground (see below for What is a Natural Playground).  Natural Parks are a totally different approach to what children get to play with and on. There is an opportunity to expand the natural playground and add a water element into the project, thanks to a potential donation from a private foundation but a show of community support is needed. The funder needs to see community is willing to assist in the design and build of certain aspects of the playground. If you are interested in getting involved connect with Denise Beard, Manager of Community Development, at denise.beard@burlington.ca and follow the existing community Facebook group at www.facebook.com/BurlingtonNaturalPlaygrounds. Becky Ellis, 905-335-7600, ext. 7363 is an additional resource person at city hall. The city has substantial amounts of money in its various reserve funds – to tell the public that the Pinemeadows splash pad is beyond repair and that the “cost to replace the electrical system is not within a reasonable budget” is quite a bit less than the residents of the best mid sized city in the country deserve. The ward Councillor might want to provide the constituents with a more detailed explanation and then find the funds needed to fully repair the splash pad.
July 7, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Canal Lift Bridge will be closed for periods of time between July 10 and July 29, 2017. The bridge will be closed overnight to vehicular and pedestrian traffic in both directions between 8 pm and 5 am during the following periods: from Monday, July 10, to the morning of Saturday, July 15
This schedule may change because of weather conditions or logistical requirements. PSPC will publish notices regarding any schedule changes. The closures are required as part of the project to replace the bridge’s controls, drives and cables. The replacement of key components of the bridge’s lift system will extend its serviceable life, meeting the needs of both marine and vehicular traffic in the area.
July 7th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
They called him an enemy combatant, a bastardized term for ‘prisoner of war’ invented by the Bush (II) administration to rationalize bypassing the established rules of war, the Geneva Convention. This is the global superpower which claims to hold the moral high ground, yet refuses to sign on to the International Court of Justice. So it should be unsurprising that it would make up its own rules and embrace dishonoured practices like torture or unlimited confinement. Should anybody feel sorry for Canadian-born Omar Khadr?  Omar Khadr as a boy His father, widely accused of being a terrorist and confident of al Qaeda leader bin Laden, had taken him to that troubled land of Afghanistan when Omar was barely a teen. But the fifteen year old Omar had been working at an Afghan militia compound, video-taped assembling land mines – the kind of IEDs which may have ended up killing Canadian soldiers. The Americans invaded the compound with a hundred soldiers using high explosives, helicopters and planes, and killed the four or five fighters who had been protecting the premises. In the fracas Omar Khadr was shot a number of times in the back or chest, and something happened to his eye. But he managed to hurl a grenade, likely in an act of self-defence, which is believed to have exploded killing one American soldier and wounding another. Of course there is no such thing as self-defence if one is an enemy combatant. So they hauled Khadr off to the extraordinary prison and torture chamber that been constructed at Guantanamo naval base (Gitmo) in occupied Cuba. And he was held there for about a decade before facing a military court and confessing under duress to his ‘crime’. Once convicted he was allowed, by our Supreme Court, to return and serve his time in Canada.  Omar Khadr has said he wants to prove to Canadians: that I’m a good person.” Back here he appealed to the courts and won a number of judgements, about being a juvenile when imprisoned; about the complicity of three subsequent Canadian governments – Chretien, Martin and Harper – in his imprisonment and interrogation; and that his rights under the Charter as a Canadian had been denied. Out on bail Omar Khadr had sued the Canadian government and its taxpayers for millions of dollars as compensation for the injustice our leaders allowed to happen on their watch. Among other things, Canada never requested, in fact refused to allow, that he be re-repatriated to face justice here, instead of being held at Gitmo. This is in contrast to what British and Australian governments had done with their citizens, captured by the Yanks and accused of being enemy combatants. So the Justice Department is giving him an apology and 10.5 million dollars, something that has enraged most Canadians who will likely never ever see a million dollars in any one place, let alone ten and a half. I have followed this case for a number of years and essentially concur with Canada’s highest court that he had been treated unfairly and that his rights as a Canadian had been denied him. I think he is entitled to an apology for that. He was a juvenile at the time of his arrest and should have been treated appropriately. And his human rights were violated as he was subjected to advanced interrogation, aka torture. It was Omar’s father who led him to jihadism and terrorism. How much should the son pay for the sins the father? On the other hand Omar was in a bad place; he was involved with people linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban; he had been doing a bad thing, making war materials to be used against allied forces, including our own; and he did fight back likely killing and wounding the soldiers as charged. For that he is facing a US judgement against him by the families of the US servicemen injured/killed for over $130 million in damages. Realizing they’ll never likely see that money, the American families have been trying to block the payment being made to Khadr by our government. What’s with the money? Shouldn’t a legal claim for monetary compensation be justified by some kind of demonstration of financial damage or loss? How likely is it that the American soldier Omar presumably killed would be worth $130 million (US) to anyone but his wife – to whom he’d be priceless? And did Omar lose out earning $10.5 million while in a US rather than Canadian prison? Or had he been released early by a Canadian court, would he have earned that amount of money when his only known vocation was assembling land mines? Of course he could have become a child pop star or hockey player, but that would have been difficult to do from prison. Still, Khadr had to organize his own legal defence in both the US and Canada, because his home country had written him off. For that he is entitled to compensation for legal costs – but I would hope his solicitors are not charging him more than ten million dollars. Some politicians are comparing the $10.5 million to the few hundred thousand that is awarded to injured and disabled Canadian veterans of war. Such seemingly unfair treatment will not be easily forgotten as we approach the next federal election, something opposition leader Sheer is already warning us. Should we be rewarding the guy who made the kind of bombs which maimed and killed Canadian soldiers? The government may argue that it minimized our financial risk by settling out of court rather than losing another case to Omar, who had been demanding twice as much. But at least a legal decision would be easier to accept than our government setting such an important precedent, voluntarily paying off an ex-con, still on bail, and former terrorist – child though he was.
Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. 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: Enemy Combatant – A Political Albatross – It’s Justified – US Court Judgement – Blocking Canadian Compensation – Juvenile Issue – Supreme Court Decision –
July 7th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
It was a good idea at the time and was one of the few achievements of the now defunct Waterfront Advisory Committee that had been formed by then Mayor Cam Jackson in 2010. Today the building has a broken window at the front and is boarded up on one side. The Pump House, a building that went through a major, and expensive upgrade, was available for rental. Many hoped it would be used as an upscale coffee shop but the best the city was able to do was find someone who wanted to use the space as a rental facility for small watercraft and beach umbrellas.
Much of the beach has been eroded by high lake water levels – thus no traffic – there isn’t much beach for people to use. The business that was in the Pump House has called it quits and moved their operations to Binbrook.  The Pump House was once a residence. Note the railway track in the foreground. People want to know what will become of a building that used to have a perfectly dry basement and was once actually a residence that was yards away from a rail line.  This beach is now underwater – nothing from the city on what the long range plan is to cope with the higher water levels.  A concept picture of what planners thought could be done with the Beachway – then the water rose. The city and the Region are currently working on extensive and expensive plans to remake the whole of the Beachway community – coping with Mother Nature apparently wasn’t work into the scope of the work that would be undertaken.  Councillor Craven inspecting the Pump House on the Beachway – thought the place could serve as the Official Residence for the Ward Councillor Not a word, so far, from the ward Councillor who once said the Pump House could perhaps become his constituency office.
July 6th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
Saturday, July 8, 2017 – 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Brant Street, between Caroline Street and Lakeshore Road • Ontario Street and Elgin Street between Locust Street and Brant Street • James Street between John Street and Brant Street.
July 5th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
It is one of the days in the year that people take over Brant Street – you get to stroll wherever you want from Caroline south to Locust and eye ball over 150 cars – everything from classics, exotic and iconic vehicles that will be on display.  There will be a wide selection of electric vehicles on display. This is the 3rd Annual Burlington Downtown Car Show in support of the Burlington Lions Club. It is a celebration of the automobile taking place in downtown Burlington on Saturday July 8, 2017.  Last year this automotive gem was on display. When: Saturday July 8th, 2017 10:00 am – 4:00 pm Why: The Burlington Downtown Car Show offers a view into the past, present and future of the automobile. This year’s show will include an Electric Vehicle (EV) ride and drive presented by Stoner & Company Family Law Associates, several replica-cinema cars, live music presented by the Leggat Auto Group and a selection of rare and exotic sports cars showcased on the City Hall terrace. The show has attracted representation from virtually every automotive sector; modern muscle cars, off-road vehicles, tuners, European super cars as well as the classics.  Can you imagine the motor under that hood? Local merchants support the show with side-walk sales, turning Brant Street into a pedestrian mall full of activity for the whole family.
July 5th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
It was going to be the war that ended all wars. It was a war that had a huge impact on Canada as a nation that was just coming into its own. It was a war that was fought with equipment that is close to laughable today – but the men, and they were mostly men back then, took to the air in the flimsiest of aircraft to fight for the dominance of the sky’s over Europe.  A ceremonial fly past during the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Last April this country celebrated the 100th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge. It is a great story and if it is of any interest to you the link to a video about the 100th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge is at CLICK here. You might want to book mark it for viewing later .  The RCAF gave the fleet a lift in the C17 Globemaster. Four Nieuport II, 2 Sopwith Pups and one SE5 ready for the journey. Today, Wednesday, a small crew of pilots will be in Burlington with the four aircraft that are part of the Vimy Flight which consists of a team of Canadian military pilots who are retired or active and continue to believe that our Nation was born out of the teamwork and the sacrifice that our brave soldiers and airmen endured during the Great War. Today, with over 230,000 of combined flying experience, the ten hand-picked pilots understand the tremendous risk and courage required to fly these fragile craft.  These aircraft kept the sky over France during the battle for Vimy Ridge fee of German aircraft. They were part of the 100th anniversary of the battle where they performed a ceremonial fly past. The dramatic re-enactment of the 1936 fly over ceremony at the historic Vimy Memorial is being re-enacted across the country. The Vimy Flight team of pilots and support personnel will share the stories of the early military aviators in a way that has never been seen before. Passion, courage and adventure drives the team to provide Canadians the much needed message that it is our humbling privilege to honour those that sacrificed so much in order for us to enjoy the freedom that we enjoy today.  Meet the men behind the machines L->R: Larry Ricker, Paul O’Reilly, Will McEwan, Dale Erhart, Dave Wilson, Peter Thornton, Rod Ermen, Gord Cooper, Al French. Missing from photo: Allan Snowie VIMY FLIGHT is a team of dedicated volunteer pilots and ground support that had the honour of performing a commemorative bi-plane fly-past over the Vimy Ridge Memorial in Vimy France this April 9, 2017. That team is taking that fly past on a cross country tour that will be in Burlington today and for much of the balance of this week. The Vimy Flight is in Burlington from July 4th to the 7th. The aircraft arrived in Burlington yesterday July 4th.
On Thursday, July 6 from 11:00am – 7:00pm – Local Flying / Static Display/ The aircraft leave Burlington 11:00 AM on July 7 The entrance to the Air Park is on Bell School Line.
July 4th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
The changes the city is talking about with their Go Bold plan – not something that is going to happen tomorrow but rather a long long term plan for the growth of the city – runs up against the day to day reality of the commercial world. Property values are increasing. What made sense for a lot on Brant Street 25 years ago doesn’t make that much sense today. Owners see an opportunity to cash out and they are doing just that. Land prices preclude opening up a retail shop on land that has been purchased at today’s prices.  Thousands of Burlington homes were decorated and furnished by Elizabeth Interior. What happens to the property next? What would the Go Bold thinking at city hall want to do with such a property? Elizabeth Interiors, on the corner of James and Brant, is now all but empty. They decamped and are now on Fairview; still some inventory in the Brant Street location along with a smashed window on the James Street side. One doesn’t often see any vandalism on Brant Street.  Doors closed and the last of the inventory being readied for moving. How many homes in this city has the place furnished? What is to become of the property that is one of the biggest in the downtown core? It isn’t going to be a restaurant location and it is very unlikely that the property will be something in the six story range favoured by the ward Councillor.  Double plate glass meant that entry wasn’t made into the building. This type of vandalism is rarely seen in the city. One developer active in the city explains that putting a building on that location with just six to eight stories means the developer is going to have to create large units with very hefty prices – in the million dollar range – and people who live in that type of unit tend not to add very much to the life and vibrancy of a city. Something will be done with the property – no one has much to say at this point.
July 4th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
How did some people decorate their home to celebrate Canada 150?  The residents of this building were, for the most part, showing their colours. There is a building in the downtown core, on the corner of Pearl and Pine with a bit of a view to Lakeshore Road. If you look up a laneway from Lakeshore Road one could see the large Canadian flags hung from the balconies – it will be interesting to see what the residents do next year when the word gets out that we will be around to see if every balcony is draped with a Canadian flag. The Gazette was out doing its check up on various construction projects in the city. The Bridgewater project has now poked its head above the street grade – soon the public will get a sense as to the impact the two buildings are going to have on the way we see that part of Lakeshore Road and how much of the lake you are going to be able to see. The city currently has three projects under construction south of the QEW with a number of others that are ready to get taken to city hall for approval. The city that people experience today will be significantly different within five years. all were approved before the city released its Grow Bold plans which are currently being reviewed by citizen groups.
 The opening from the Lakeshore Road into the public area that will be between the hotel on the west and the 22 story condominium on the east will be about where the crane tower is shown in this picture.  Architects rendering what what the Bridgewater project is going to look like when it is completed in 2019. The project will consist of a condominium on the right, a hotel on the left and a smaller condominium south of the hotel. There will be some surprises when people realize just how small the opening to the lake actually is – progress.
July 4th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
The Bank of Montreal appears to be the Canadian bank of choice for the identity thieves. The most recent goes as like this:
The biggest clue is the sender of the email – not even a mention of a bank in the email address the notice came from.
When you see stuff like that click delete. And know as well that your bank will not use email to send you this kind of notice. For some reason BMO, ScotiaBank and TD seem to be the choices for the identity thieves that have us on their target lists.
July 1st, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
Gazette readers have been clamoring for someone to start up a Class Action law suit against the Upper Middle Road dentist who was shut down by the Halton Region health authorities for using medical equipment that was said not to have been properly cleaned or sterilized. A Toronto based law firm of Flaherty McCarthy LLP announced today that they have commenced a Class Proceeding against Dr. Vivek (Vick) Handa and Upper Middle Dental seeking $10 million in damages on behalf of their patients. The allegations against the defendants, said the lawyers in their media release. have not yet been proven in Court, but there remains a very real and substantial risk of immediate and irreparable harm to Class Members if they do not take steps to contact their physician to discuss testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).  Upper Middle dental was closed by Regional Health officials but allowed to open several days later. “Patients trust their dentists to use properly cleaned and sterilized tools. Upper Middle Dental and Dr. Handa have completely breached their trust. As a result, these patients and their family members face the prospect of having infectious diseases, and must undergo lengthy and invasive testing,” says Sean A. Brown of Flaherty McCarthy LLP.” “We intend to seek the assistance of the Court so that the defendants will compensate these patients and their family members for this egregious breach.” For more information, contact: Candace Mak; Flaherty McCarthy LLP. Candace is at cmak@fmlaw.ca and is anxiously awaiting your email. What is a little surprising is that none of the larger Burlington or Hamilton legal firms took this on.
July 1st, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
Steve Atkinson, the Lester B. Pearson high school parent, who has worked tirelessly to keep the school open thinks there just might be an opportunity to put the decision to close the schools on hold. Earlier in the week Minister of Education Mitzie Hunter announced that there will be an overhaul of the process school boards use to review schools for potential closure.  Has Minister of Education and Premier Kathleen Wynne given Burlington high school parents the opening they need to put a hold on school closings? While the process is under review, school boards will not begin any new reviews, with the exception of those reviews which would support joint-use projects between school boards or for student safety. In a comment made in the Gazette earlier today Atkinson said: “Now that we have been proven correct in our assertion that the PAR was flawed, by no less than Mitzie Hunter and Premier Wynne with their decision to immediately pause Ontario school closures, I wonder if this administrative review can be used as a “decision pending” designation for Pearson & Bateman as opposed to “on the chopping block”? “I am certain our MPP can now provide input AND valuable assistance on this provincial decision and will contact her immediately.” Atkinson and parents at Bateman high school are in the process of preparing a request for an Administrative Review of the decision the Halton District School Board June 7th, to close both Bateman high school and Lester B. Pearson. It’s a long shot but certainly one well worth taking. Related article High school parents seeking an Administrative Review of Board’s school closing decision.
July 1st, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
Forget the politics for the moment. It is really remarkable that a 30 year old woman sits as a member of cabinet in the federal government. And that she represents Burlington which has a strong, deep conservative history is also remarkable. Karina Gould walks the streets of our city, is one of the most approachable people you will ever meet with a level of sincerity that rings true.
Admittedly she has served just the one term in office so far and many people would be hard pressed to tell you what she has done for the city. Her hands were part of the push that got major funding for the Joseph Brant Museum. CBC did a short piece on three very young politicians that included Gould – worth watching. The link to the piece is set out below. The three are part of the setting of the agenda for the next 50 years. CLICK for the news clip https://watch.cbc.ca/the-national/-/the-national-for-june-30–2017/44b8224-00c9890cd9b
June 30th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
Canada Day event organizers have arranged for Burlington Transit shuttle service with three pick-up points: Haber Recreation Centre, Mainway Recreation Centre and the north side of Burlington GO Station. The buses will begin at noon and run until the fireworks end. This is great for the people in Alton – parking will be impossible downtown – take the bus – there should be plenty o parking at the Haber Centre – schools are closed. For specific departure times and more event information, please visit the Canada Day event website. Burlington Transit is also operating a regular Saturday service schedule on July 1, which includes late night routes 50, 51, and 52.
June 30th, 2017 BURLINGTON, ON
If you looked out over the Lake from Lakeshore Road at Brant you could see them off in the distance – they seemed lined up with a lot of space between them. They looked like ship under sail. And indeed they were – a collection of Tall ships had rendezvoused in Burlington Bay and lined up to enter the canal and proceed into Hamilton Harbour.  They were there in the thousands – on both side of th canal THE place to see the majestic ships was at the canal – each eased into the opening and headed towards the lie bridge which was up for more than an hour.  They were almost close enough to touch as they slid by – those with big Canadian flags got a round of applause. The crowds were huge – it was as if the fleet had come home and the families of the sailors were on the dock ready to greet them. It was standing room only on either side of the canal.  People parked wherever there was a patch of grass It wasn’t all festivities and celebration. A Beachway resident summed up the feeling many had when the saw a parking control officer walking from car to car doing a brisk business  His job was like spearing fish in a barrel – a shameful cash grab on the part of either the city or the Conservation Authority. This resident known for her very pointed use of the English language wrote in and said: “What a shit show this city is…parking enforcement officer immediately giving out parking tickets near lift bridge area. People are furious.”
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The infections get to us from mosquitoes that care carrying the virus.
