 By Pepper Parr
April 28th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
There were about 60 – maybe 70 people gathered around 10 tables. They were a pretty representative bunch; there were the professionals, the practitioners and the volunteers – the people in the trenches.
They were there to talk about poverty – something they want to be able to ensure that by 2026 all residents will have a livable income and as a result have access to opportunities, resources and supports to thrive and to fully participate in an inclusive Halton community.
They have their work cut out for them.
Burlington is a city that will admit that there are some serious pockets of poverty in the city and that something should be done – but social welfare is a Regional responsibility. The longest serving city council member wasn’t prepared to try free transit service for seniors on Monday’s on a trial basis.
He was prepared to let them have discounted bus tickets – but there was a sort of means test to get into that program.
The chatter around the city council horse shoe is about everyone getting in on the purchase of property – you can’t lose in that game. Get a starter property and move up the value ladder.
 Michael Mikulak, Community Food Network Manager Halton Food Council, Leena Sharma Seth, Director, Community Engagement Halton Poverty Roundtable, Colleen Mulholland, President and CEO Burlington Community Foundation, and Brenda Hajdu Executive Director Food for Life. This city council doesn’t really understand or appreciate the eco-system that gets food into the hands of people who just don’t have enough money to pay for the food they need.
With housing prices rising – rents tend to rise as well – and the scarcity of rental properties owned by landlords that have no qualms about jacking up the rent as much as they can and then making life miserable for any tenant who chooses to fight back.
Getting to that 2026 target is a challenge indeed.
Some of the ground work took place at St. Christopher’s United Church where the group gathered under the auspices of the Halton Poverty Roundtable.
Each participant was given a sheet of paper with a number of questions on it. How would you have answered these questions?
How do you define poverty? How should it be measured? Are there data gaps that need to be addressed to help improve our understanding of poverty in Canada?
What will success look like in a Poverty Reduction Strategy? What target(s) should we pick to measure progress?
Which indicators should we use to track progress towards the target(s)?
On which groups should we focus our efforts?
Which Government of Canada programs and policies do you feel are effective at reducing poverty? Are there programs and policies that can be improved? What else could we do?
 Leena Sharma Seth, Director of Community Engagement for the Halton Poverty Roundtable These people were meeting during the week that the provincial government announced that 4,000 people in Ontario would be put on a guaranteed income program for a period of time to see if with an income that they know is going to be there for a period of time – can they rise out of the poverty they have to lie with?
The Gazette wants to follow what Leena Sharma Seth, Director of Community Engagement for the Halton Poverty Round Table does with this group of people.
 By Ray Rivers
April 28th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Like a growing number of people these days, I almost never read a newspaper anymore, though I seem to be searching for more information than ever before. Oh sure a couple papers get delivered to the end of my laneway most days. That gives my dog some practice retrieving and allows me to pull off the sudoko. But the rest of the newsprint and advertising material make it to the fire-starter box mostly unscathed.
 Guys like this really existed once – and they really wore hats like that. Like so many, I just don’t have time to read any one paper anymore because I don’t get all I need from a single paper. There are so many potential sources of information of varying quality out there today such that that a single daily no longer does the job. So why pay for fire-starter?
Besides restricting oneself to only one paper, no matter how objective it claims to be, can’t but influence attitudes and beliefs. Editorial slant and policies are just as important as the topic at hand – sometimes more. So if the Toronto Sun and National Post are biased to the right and the Star too far left, does that mean we should all subscribe to the Globe and Mail? It’s not that simple.
The US leading network, Fox News, has long called itself ‘fair and balanced’, when we all know it is anything but. But then MSNBC, its politically polar opposite, is apparently even more opinionated. More opinion and less news – that is the trend today.
Then there are late night talk shows. Former ‘Daily Show’ host, Jon Stewart, used to brag about more people getting their news from his comedy show than the regular networks. Indeed, coupling news with entertainment may be the most effective way to deliver information to the public.
 There was a time when Toronto had three daily newspapers – each having several editions. It was a battle royal until the “Telly” folded. Thanks to technological evolution it now only takes only a couple of keystrokes to find anything on almost any topic of your choice. And that will eventually bring the traditional news networks and papers to their natural conclusion – and perhaps spin-off some other medium. Sure there will be still be some real news on the internet but you’ll have to search to find what you want among the blogs, opinion columns and fake news stories.
Objectivity is in the mind of the beholder these days, it seems. Otherwise how could so many seemingly intelligent people who look at the same facts come to alternate conclusions. Was the crowd at Trump’s inauguration larger than the one at Obama’s? Did Russia really hack into US political party computers? Are the high costs of electricity in Ontario due to Mike Harris’ deregulation or McGuinty’s green energy?
Trump has coined the term ‘fake news’ though we all know he is the master of all fakers. Truth can be what we want to believe it to be. And the guy who has become the US president, like in the fable about former president Washington, cannot tell a lie.
But the folks who make and run much of the internet are trying to do something about fake news. Google and Wikipedia, and even a United Nations agency, have stepped up to the plate promising to find ways to identify and reduce that problem. Good luck to them.
 Milla Pickfield started an internship as a journalist interviewing the Chief of Police. She aced it. Bottom line is that it is everyone for themselves when it comes to information and mis-information. And perhaps the quickest way to authenticate a story is check who else is carrying it. Peer review for professional journals includes the consideration of bibliographic sources, above and beyond the essence of the story itself. So shouldn’t we all be as careful?
And that means it becomes our responsibility, each and every one of us, to exercise vigilance over what we read and what we believe to be true. The old adage that ‘news is what’s in a newspaper’ is no longer valid. It might just be fake reporting or unsupported opinion.
This weekend the Canadian Association of Journalists is holding its annual convention and awards for Canadian journalism in Ottawa. I’ll be there looking for some answers on this topic, but I won’t be holding my breath.
 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:
Newspapers – Newspapers Dying – Columnists vs Bloggers – US Fairness Doctrine –
Truth – Tump’s Truths – Media Bubble – Google and Fake News – Wiki and Fake News –
UN Fake News – Fox vs MSNBC –
 By Staff
April 27, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward and former member of the Halton District School Board Program Accommodation Review Committee (PARC) has released a comment on her position on the Report the Director of Education gave the trustees last Friday.
The Gazette asked for a comment last week – Meed Ward released her statement on her ward web site late yesterday. It reads:
 Ward 2 city Councillor |Marianne Meed Ward was a member of the PARC. I have taken some time to read and reflect on the report and the process to date, as a parent and as a former PARC member.
Let me start by saying my heart goes out to the Pearson and Bateman communities.The recommended option is undoubtedly devastating news. I toured each of the high schools along with other PARC members. Every school in Burlington is unique and offers something special to its students and communities. No one wants to see a school in their community closed. Any school closure is disruptive and represents a loss.
I came into this process with a commitment to do what is best for all our students, and have an open mind to new information. I have learned there is no perfect solution for the issues faced by the Board, and no solution without some impact on the community – even status quo.
There will be community disruption no matter what the final decision is, including closing no schools, since boundary changes would still be required to address over or under enrolment at four of our schools, effectively “closing” those schools to students who find themselves outside of redrawn boundaries.
Some options are better (or worse) than others, and I have discovered there is no consensus around any option, in the community, at the PARC or at the Board table. This will not be an easy decision for Trustees to make – nor should it be.
Whatever decision the Board of Trustees makes, we must work together as a community to ensure it is implemented with student welfare at the forefront, and ensure it improves the educational experience for all of our students for the long term.
Parents get to delegate to the trustees on May 8th and 11th.
 By Pepper Parr
April 27, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It is now an annual event.
The evening that the folks at the Performing Arts Centre do their annual “reveal” of what the fall program is going to look like.
The past two years have had the Chief Cheese of the Centre on the stage with a personality doing a pretty dismal chit chat about the program.
Badly staged, badly scripted with some decent visual of the artists that will be taking to the stage.
Connie Smith interviewed Brian McCurdy two years ago; now Brian is a nice man who understands artistic talent and knows anyone that matters in the performing arts community. But an onstage personality he ain’t.
Connie did her best to coax words out of him – it was close to painful to watch.
The following year Executive Director Suzanne Haines was on stage with Costin Manu touting the fall line up.
Those two should have been given the hook after the first act – but they continued and the audience at least got to hear what the fall lineup was.
As things turned out – Haines did get the hook about a year later – there are things one should not do in their office – in the privacy of one’s home is the preferred location.
 Not to be missed. This year – expect it to be very different and much more entertaining. Ty Howie could have been a comedian – he is responsible for bookings at the Performing Arts centre – and is one of the more entertaining speakers in the city.
During the farewell for Brian McCurdy when he left the PAC the first time Ty Howie was the Master of ceremonies. He was excellent
Expect a really good performance from him on May 17th wen the program for the fall is announced.
The Board that oversees the operation of the Performing Arts Centre has been searching for a new Executive Director – an announcement should be coming soon – they have been at it for a while.
 By Staff
April 27, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Most of the organizations that rely on volunteers to meet the needs of the work look for occasions to celebrate what they do
The Joseph Brant Hospital needs hundreds of volunteers – and during what is National volunteer week they came up with a neat graphic to express their gratitude.
Neat.
 By Pepper Parr
April 27, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a meeting that ended with the Chair directing the trustees to rise and leave the room.
A member of the public had stood up and called out a question – he was told questions were not being taken. Georg Ward, the man who wanted to ask the question isn’t a man to be shut down easily. We will come back to what George Ward wanted to know.
Stuart Miller, Director of Education sat in front of the trustees, not amongst them this time. He was there, along with Scott Podrebarac, Superintendent, and Dom Renzella Manager Planning, to answer questions the trustees had about the recommendation given them the previous Friday to close two schools and transfer most of the programs at Bateman high school to neighbouring Nelson high school that is less than 2 km to the west.
Kelly Amos, chair of the school board was not in attendance.
 Ward 5 school board trustee Amy Collard Miller was soundly grilled, for the most part by trustee Amy Collard whose ward the school to be closed is located in. She told the audience in a pretty well packed public gallery that it was going to cost $12 million to replicate what already exists.
Miller’s position was that the issue wasn’t the condition of the school nor the costs involved but that future enrollment was just not going to make the school viable.
There is an International Baccalaureate program at Bateman high school that will be transferred to Central high school, some 6.5 km to the west that was in the first recommendation given to the trustees.
Miller stumbled a number of times in explaining to the trustees why the Board staff made the recommendation they did.
The set up in the Board room where the meetings take place is such that those testifying, and that was what Miller and his colleagues were doing, face the trustees and not the public gallery. The Gazette chose not to attend the actual meeting but to watch the event via the live web cast where the facial expressions and body language of those testifying could be clearly seen.
We were able to note as well that there were never more than 40 people watching the web cast.
Trustee Collard put forward a number of very stiff questions and made it clear that she wasn’t buying most of the arguments Miller had in his report. What wasn’t at all clear was if Collard had the support of enough of the other 10 trustees to result in a decision to keep the school open.
 PARC in session. When the trustees announced last October that they were going to accept the Board Staff recommendation to hold a Program Accommodation Review (PAR) and create a committee ( a PARC – Program Accommodation Review committee) to look at all the issues related to the Board staff recommendation that Central High school and Lester B. Pearson high school be closed.
The PARC was given a list of 19 possible options to solve the problem of the 1800 empty seats. The closing Central and Pearson option stood during the first few of the seven meetings the PARC held but as different ideas came forward closing Bateman and Nelson were placed on the table.
 First public meeting at which Board of Education explained the PAR process at every high school was very poorly attended at Bateman high school Up until that point Bateman high school parents weren’t concerned about being closed.
The Central parents were exceptionally active from the first meeting and held rallies, a fund raiser that put $14,000 into a fund the pay for signs and other costs. Bateman had a lot of caching up to do.
Many felt that having city ward Councillor Marianne Meed Ward representing Central high school on the PARC made the difference for that school.
Our observation was that while Meed Ward certainly wasn’t her usually very much in your face city councillor she was quite a bit quieter at the PARC. Central had a very strong case and they were very good at getting that case in front of anyone with ears.
Central, the oldest high school in the city has gone through having to deal with a possible closure twice in the past. They knew how to organize and make their case.
The PAR process was such that communities found themselves fighting against each other to not be closed.
The process however did bring to the surface data that left a lot to be desired. The PARC was made up of two parent representatives from each of the seven high schools in the city. These people found that much of the data they were being given was suspect and Board staff kept having to make revisions, sometimes on the fly.
There were a total of more than 40 different closure options considered by the PARC, one of which was to not close any schools. That option didn’t get a lot of attention during the questions asked last night.
The problem the school board staff faced was that there are 1800 empty high school seat in Burlington. And that wasn’t a situation that was sustainable – board staff believed that high schools had to be closed.
 Central parents protested whenever and wherever they could. Central made the case that closing their school would mean there would be no high school in the core of the city and $400,000 a year would have to be spent to bus students.
In 2013 the Halton District School Board opened a new high school in north Burlington and named it the Dr. Frank Hayden high school.
Many wondered why that decision was made to open a new school was made. It resulted in students being pulled from other high schools which lowered the student enrollment creating the problem of lower enrollments and resulting in the decision to close schools south of the QEW.
Hayden high school is part of a complex that includes a recreational centre and a public library and is very popular.
 The real issue is the empty seats – there are 1800 0f them and that is a situation the Board stall tell the 11 trustees is not sustainable. Lester B. Pearson didn’t get all that much in the way of discussion during the three hour meeting.
The Gazette will publish additional material later in the day.
Parents now get to delegate to the trustees on May 8th and 11th. There are strong emotions and strong cases being made against closing Pearson and Central.
There are also those 1800 empty seats and a demography that suggests they may not be filled in the near future.
 By Pepper Parr
April 26, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
By 2031 Halton will have a population 1 million people; its population today is about 550,000. That is the kind of growth the Region is going to experience -and Burlington is going to get a significant share of that growth.
While Burlington doesn’t yet know exactly how much the city’s population is going to have to grow; the current population of 183,000 is expected to grow beyond 210,000 within 25 years. Some see that as a conservative number.
The urban boundary is set – nothing significant is going to be built north of the 403 – Dundas line except for mall small pockets of development in Lowville and Kilbride.
The rest of the population growth is going to be located south of the 403 Dundas line that separates the rural from the urban.
 Study area with the many precincts the planner created. City hall no longer talks about Burlington being suburban; we are an urban city and our growth is going to have to be up because there isn’t any significant land available to grow out for residential development.
The Downtown visioning exercise that took place at the Lions Hall last week, and on which we reported on in some detail yesterday, was in part to learn what the public feels about different aspects of downtown development.
The city has a Downtown Core commitment that sets out its vision for the core; there is a precinct system that sets out specific neighbours and applies specific zoning for those precincts. The (BDBA) Burlington Downtown Business Association (what has seen its border move north quit a bit, that has its policies and objectives. and there are policies for what the city wants to see in terms of the street-scape – wider side walks, benches or people to sit on and retail at the ground level
The Planning department has released a draft version of the Official Plan. The Plan that is in place now was first crafted 23 years ago. Efforts to revise that plan were abandoned by the new Director of Planning, Mary Lou Tanner who has been with the city for HOW LONG.
She joined the city at a point where staff were doing a revision of the existing Strategic Plan, a document that is created by each Council that sets out what it wants to do during its term.
 The audience paid close attention to the material that was on display. Somewhere along the way council and the planners decided that instead of a four year plan they would craft a 25 year Strategic Plan and spent a considerable amount of time engaging the public to review the document. Council has Burlington as one of the citys’ with the best level of citizen engagement in the province and uses every opportunity to tout that claim.
 Groups of people gathered to ask questions of planning staff or the consultants that were in the room and to exchange opinions as well – and there were a lot of opinions. There was indeed very significant public engagement but one would be hard pressed to find five out of every thousand residents who can tell you what the four pillars on which the Strategic Plan is based actually are.
City council seems to believe that if they say the city has the best public engagement policy then it must be so.
In this part two article on the event, we have set out a number of the visuals the audience was shown to give people a sense of all the variables the planners are looking at; the audience was then asked: The question the audience was then asked was :
“What’s here? What’s not? What’s missing? What would you add? How would you make it better?”
 The mobility hub is the black dotted line; the pink line demarcates the primary and secondary WORDS  The study area boundary is demarcated by the pink line – the straight green line on the right is where the Elgin promenade will be located – that will link the downtown core to the Centennial trail. Each graphic builds on the previous one.  The environmentally sensitive areas are added.  Heritage buildings get dropped into the picture.  Existing landmarks and cultural features are added.  The significant site lines to the lake are shown – don’t think people realize just how few corridors with a direct look at the lake there are. We just assume that every street shows the water when it is really just Maple, Brant and Burlington. Elizabeth isn’t indicated on the graphic.  In a development proposal that will get its public statutory meeting in the very near future the planning consultant they hired advocated using Brant Street as the spine that would be the location for many of the tall buildings that are expected. The orange marks show where those tall buildings are now.
This is your city – this is what you have to work with. What do you want to see done? The Planners are looking for feed back from the public; they appear to be open minded and ready to listen.
 Getting a close look. The information they gathered last Thursday evening will be compiled and blended into a second presentation that will take place June 21st. The public will get to see just how well the planners have listened.
 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward listening intently. It was an active meeting – small crowd given the importance of the event – but it was a rainy night and the room couldn’t have held many more people.
The audience was told that there would be little in the way of changes to the existing employment lands. Meed Ward explained that developments pop up and get presented to the Planning department and added “you want to be in charge of that”.
By Staff
April 26, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Improvements to the Central Recreation Centre arena and auditorium, will begin at the end of May.
Over the next year, the following enhancements will be made:
• A new passenger elevator (funded by Canada 150 Infrastructure Grant Program)
Central Auditorium and Accessibility Upgrades
• Installation of new windows to improve natural lighting
• New sports flooring
• New kitchenette
• New lining for pickle ball court
• A new universal washroom
• A new accessible ramp providing access from the lobby to the rink.
The recreation centre will remain open throughout the construction although users may experience some disruptions during construction:
• The front doors of Central arena will remain open. Visitors wishing to access the auditorium will be required to use the auditorium entrance located on the east side of the building.
• During the construction of the accessible ramp, ice users will be required to use the east and west arena pad doors to gain access to the ice.
• During the renovations of the auditorium the space will be closed for use.
Signage will be installed to help direct users.
As a result of the construction, some youth and senior programming as well as rentals will be experience service interruptions. Plans are being made to accommodate these users and renters at other city facilities where possible.
 By Staff
April 26, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Regional police now have a wallet that belonged to Helen Robertson, the 79 year old woman who disappeared on July 5th 2016.
 Helen Robertson – missing since July 2016 The original finder of the wallet provided the precise location where the wallet was found. This led police to the area of Appleby Line and Harrison Court in Burlington where ground search efforts are underway by members of the Search Incident Response Team (SIRT), Tactical Rescue Unit (TRU) and Police Dog Services.
 The wallet finder is a youth who is not a resident of Halton but was in this location fishing in Bronte Creek and located the wallet while walking up an embankment to leave. The youth later attended a sporting function at Norton Park and intended on turning it in to police.
After the sporting event, the youth accidentally left the wallet behind and went home.
The wallet was later found by Burlington City staff. At the time, the youth did not know the significance of this wallet and investigators are grateful that he came forward.
Investigators are in regular contact with the Robertson family and they are aware of the current search efforts underway.
 By Staff
April 26, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
David Lazenby has been named the new Fire Chief for the city. He was the Deputy Fire Chief for the City of London
Now in his 21st year in the fire service, Lazenby has held various roles in Canada and in the United Kingdom. Lazenby’s career began in the UK where he held progressive positions, including a secondment to the National Resilience Assurance Team where he helped to oversee the response to large-scale natural and man-made disasters.
 David Lazenby appointed new Fire Chief As operations chief in London, Lazenby was responsible for 14 fire stations and 340 staff as well as the hazardous materials, technical rescue and water/ice rescue teams. He previously oversaw the training and communications divisions.
Prior to his current career, Lazenby spent 11 years in the private sector working as a management accountant for one of the world’s largest minerals companies.
His education includes qualifications from the Charted Institute of Management Accountants, a Diploma in Public Administration from Western University and a Certificate in Fire Service Administration from Dalhousie University.
Lazenby will oversee the operation of a fire service with about 200 full-time staff and 65 volunteers serving the community.
Acting Fire Chief Ross Monteith and Deputy Chief Karen Roche ran the fire department when former Fore Chief Tony Bavota left Burlington for Toronto where he works with that fire department. Lazenby has big boots to fill.
By Staff
April 26, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Regional police got a bit of a break and have arrested Michael Blaire Martin MCNAUGHTON for a series of vehicle break-ins.
Early in March the Halton Regional Police began an investigation into a rash of vehicle break-ins in Burlington where vehicle windows were being smashed and property stolen. These thefts occurred at various restaurant parking lots throughout the City of Burlington.
A similar rash of entries occurred again on March 17th 2017 however the Burlington Mall and Mapleview Mall parking lots were targeted. On this date the suspect also stole a black 2003 GMC Yukon from the Mapleview Mall parking lot and left behind a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that had been reported stolen to Brantford Police the day prior. The stolen GMC Yukon was recovered in Cambridge on March 29th 2017.
Investigators from the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau have identified Michael Blaire Martin MCNAUGHTON (28 yrs.) of no Fixed Address (Formerly of Hagersville) as the person responsible for these crimes.
MCNAUGHTON was arrested March 30th, on unrelated matters by the Brantford Police Service with assistance of Project Shutdown members. (Project Shutdown is a multi-jurisdicational initiative aimed at combating auto-thefts in Southern Ontario involving officers from the Brantford Police Service, Halton Regional Police Service, Hamilton Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police and Six Nations Police Service).
A Judge’s Order was obtained and MCNAUGHTON appeared in Milton court on April 11th 2017 to face the following 28 criminal charges.
• Fraud Under $5000 (two counts)
• Mischief Under $5000 (eleven counts)
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime (two counts)
• Theft of Motor Vehicle (one count)
• Theft under $5000 (twelve counts)
Police are continuing to investigate similar occurrences in Oakville and Milton and further charges are possible. MCNAUGHTON remains in custody and will appear next by video on May 4th 2017.
Anyone who may have any information pertaining to this investigation is asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825 4747 ext. 2316, Crime Stoppers “See Something, Hear Something, Say Something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimesoppers.ca or by texting “Tip 201” with your message to 274637 (crimes)
Police are reminding the public of the following prevention tips:
• Ensure your unattended vehicle(s) are kept locked/secure
• Park in a well-lit and attended areas whenever possible
• Never leave spare keys in your vehicle
• Never leave personal identification or valuables in your vehicle
• If you have to leave valuables in your vehicle, lock them in your trunk. Don’t tempt thieves by leaving packages or purses in plain view or on the seat.
• Remove GPS navigation and cell phone devices & power cords from view when not in your vehicle
• Help police catch those responsible by keeping an eye out in your communities and immediately reporting any suspicious activity.
By Staff
April 26, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington’s neighbourhoods and community groups are described by Chris Glenn, Director of Parks and Recreation as “the heart of this city” Nurturing and putting in the resources to keep them healthy and active is what is behind five city programs.
As part of National Volunteer Week, the City of Burlington is encouraging residents to actively champion community building with the help of the City of Burlington’s community support programs.
The city offers a total of five different programs designed to bring neighbours together and make Burlington a better place to play and live. The programs include:
• Love My Hood
Introduced in 2015, the Love My Hood program is designed to make it easier for residents to host neighbourhood events by providing the organizers with resources, support and funding up to $300.
 City funding helped transform the woodlot located at the park lands of the former General Brock High School into a healthy forest. • Neighbourhood Community Matching Fund
The Neighbourhood Community Matching Fund program provides up to $5,000 in city funding to support community group-led projects in Burlington. Approved projects receive up to 50 per cent of the funding for the project from the city when matched by the group with an equal contribution of volunteer hours, donated services and materials or other funds raised, such as cash donations.
• Community Development Fund
One-time Community Development funding is available to community organizations that provide programs and services that enhance the quality of life for residents. The funding can be used to help pay for training, equipment, advertising or start-up costs.
 There wasn’t that much of an uptake for the neighbourhood ice rink program – that was die to a warm winter – but there was one rink set up in the Alton Village that did get a couple of young players out on the ice – before it all melted away. • Neighbourhood Rinks
The Neighbourhood Rink program encourages neighbours to come together to maintain a natural outdoor ice rink in their local park during the winter months. City staff installs the rink boards which are then maintained by neighbourhood volunteer groups. The rinks are open to the public and free to use.
• Facility Fee Waiver
Fee waivers are available from the city to help pay the rental fees for a City of Burlington-permitted facility that is being used by a non-profit organization to offer a program, service or event for Burlington residents.
There is more information on each of these programs on the city web site.
The Mayor hopes to have at least 150 Love My Hood events taking place in the city by Canada Day – his way of seeing the city really celebrating the country’s sesquicentennial. That event is just a little over 60 days away.
By Pepper Parr
April 24th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Mayor opened up the event with a short overview of the changes taking place in the city and how the need to intensify and create an Official Plan that would deliver on the promises made in the Strategic Plan.
The audience of something under 100 people on a very rainy night filled the Lions Hall where people were told that what people enjoy about living downtown is:
1.The Waterfront (29.85%)
2.Restaurants and Cafes (18.62%)
3.Walking (18.11%) …
Research told city planners that the first transportation choice was Walking (37.78%)
The meeting was to have people take part in a Downtown Mobility Hub Visioning Workshop.
Mobility hubs were defined as:
Neighbourhoods within a 10 minute walking distance of major transit stations that will support new residents and jobs in a transit, pedestrian and cycling focused environment.
 With those pieces of data in front of them the audience was asked to use small hand held devices they would record their responses to questions shown on a large screen.
There were interesting with surprising results.
Appreciate that these were ward 2 people for the most part answering questions about the downtown core.
The Planners intend to take this road show into every community that will have a mobility hub. The workshops will see a return visit to each community once the Planners have had a chance to evaluate the data they collect.
The initiative will take about six months to cover each of the four mobility hubs. The next session for the downtown hub is scheduled for June 21st.
 The event was framed as a visioning exercise during which ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward explained that developments pop up at the Planning department and they have to process every application that is filed. “You want to be in charge of that process” said Meed Ward.
 The strong agree support doesn’t appear to align all that well with the opposition to bicycle lanes on New Street.
 No surprises here.  Very mixed views on this question.  Vehicles were not included in the question.  The street names don’t show up on this map – the white box is the mobility hub area.  This view – from what was a ward 2 crowd contrasts with what the Bfast people think. More thinking to be done on transit matters.  Compare this with the question on more affordable housing.  A mixed view here.  This response comes as no surprise. Following the formal presentation the audience was invited to take part in the four information stations where planning staff were on hand to answer questions. The groups that clustered around the information stations were at times intense – in a positive way. They had a lot of questions and the planning staff took a lot of notes.
Director of Planning Mary Lou Tanner and Anne McIlroy, the consultant the city has hired to guide this process watched and listened intently.
 All the charts and data set out got very close inspections. There are two parts to this feature article on the visioning exercise. The second part which will follow tomorrow reviews the visuals on the elements of the downtown core and what the planners have to work with.
 By Pepper Parr
April 25th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Director of Education Stuart Miller was not able to visit with staff at Bateman high school Friday afternoon to tell Principal Mark Dudley and the rest of the staff that the school was recommended for closure in the Director’s report to the trustees.
He sent Associate Director David Boag in his place.
The Gazette has heard from several of the trustees, We now know part of the reason Miller gave advice to the chair – as Secretary to the Board Miller is obliged (his words) to advise the trustees when they have questions.
In isn’t clear just what the role of the Secretary of the Board is – advise; to counsel; to direct. It occurs to us that there is a bit of a conflict here.
Miller expects to be in front of the Board of Trustees on Wednesday to defend the recommendation he put forward. Is Miller defending a position to the people he is required to advice and counsel?
In essence Miller is testifying as a witness to the trustees on remarks he wrote in the report they are considering.
What kind of a witness is he likely to be? That depends on the kinds of questions thw trustees ask. Will they be real defenders of the public that elected them?
A “hostile” witness at common law is one who is “not desirous of telling the truth”. Such a witness may be cross examined to the extent that the judge sees necessary to do justice, which can include a broad area of topics such as all facts in issue, the witnesses reliability and credibility on the circumstances of the case.
Is Miller a hostile witness?
Don’t expect the Chair to take exception to anything the Director of Education has written. Expecting the Chair to take a strong hand is expecting too much. This chair, Kelly Amos, does not lead. She does not treat her Director of Education as a person that is accountable to the Board of trustees. There is a comfortable (too comfortable) working relationship between the Chair and the Director of Education.
We don’t feel the Director of Education is to be faulted – he has a large (the largest in the Region) organization to run and has to work with a provincial government that can change the rules of the game at any point in time.
The rules and procedures for the Program Accommodation Review that is taking place now is considerably different than anything school boards have had to work with in the past. There is close to unanimous agreement that the process if flawed and at some point the Ministry of Education will make the required changes. Little comfort there for the people at Bateman and Pearson.
There are a few trustees that, while still growing into their roles, may summon the courage to speak out and ask the difficult questions.
Speak now or take it in the ear at the October 2018 election.
The trustees also want to direct some of their questions to staff – the planning department has not served the citizens well, staff changes needed there.
The Superintendent of Facilities needs a job performance review.
The Director of Education is going to have to get tougher with his staff. He is new to the job – far too many people at the top decision making level are new to their jobs.
Time to hunker down and get it right this time.
It was done very very wrong when the decision was made to build Hayden. That mistake could have been lessened by a fairer approach to the boundaries that were created. What is in place now is close to the kind of gerrymandering American politicians do to create constituency boundaries that assure a political party can win.
Parents in Burlington are now angry – some at an emotional level, others have looked at the issues logically and put forward some very sound comments – they deserve a haring and answers to the concerns they raise.
Lisa Bull from Bateman has made comments that cannot be ignored or brushed off. Rory Nisan from Pearson has written a refutation on the decision to close Pearson that the trustees need to pay attention to and arrive at their own conclusions and not rely on the Secretary to the Board of Education to advise them.
And where is city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward. She spoke passionately and with great confidence on her decision to accept the role as a PARC member. Why is she now close to mute?
Open Letter to the Board of Trustees About Closing Pearson High School: A line-by-line refutation of Recommendation 2 of the Director’s Final Report
 By Rory Nisan
April 25th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Dear Trustees of the Halton District School Board,
This has been a long process, now coming to a head with the Director’s Final Report recommending closing Pearson and Bateman high schools. As a Pearson alumnus, I am writing to refute the arguments made for closing Pearson in the Director’s Final Report. I have addressed every argument in Recommendation 2 below.
The Director’s Final Report portion is shown in red bold italics, my comments are in standard type.. I have aimed to present Recommendation 2 in full without any deletions or other changes.
Rationale: Recommendation 2 – Lester B. Pearson High School
“Lester B. Pearson High School has been experiencing a decline in enrolment for several years and that is projected to continue to 2026 and beyond.”
This is an unfair, obtuse characterization of enrollment at Lester B. Pearson High School. The Director’s Final Report fails to mention the reason for this declining enrollment: a reduction in the number of feeder schools for Pearson, in order to prop up Hayden High School, leaving Pearson with only 1.5 feeder schools compared with seven for Hayden. This was not by accident, but a deliberate decision taken by the HDSB when Hayden opened.
One need only observe the change in enrollment since Hayden came online to see how this gutted Pearson’s numbers. Before Hayden opened, Pearson lost only 10 students from 2010-2011 (see Figure 1, from the Director’s Final Report). Furthermore, the change from 2015-2016 is only 11 less students, because the Hayden transition has ended. It is inappropriate to close a school on the basis of a reduction of 11 students year-over-year when there are many options available to boost utilization.
Recommendation 2 of the Director’s Final Report’s is wholly based on “low and declining enrolment” as the basis for closing Pearson, ignoring the fact that the low enrollment is entirely of the HDSB’s own making.
 Figure 1 English Programme enrollment at Pearson as shown in the Director’s Final Report, demonstrating that Pearson would not have an enrollment issue if not for students being sent to Hayden. “Lester B. Pearson High School is also the only school in the Halton District School Board that provides Extended French at the secondary school level. The students in this program begin extended French in Grade 7.”
This is correct but extended French is only one of several one-of-a-kind features of Pearson High School. The co-op nursery is correctly mentioned further below in the Director’s Final Report. The natural surroundings of the forest allow for unique learning opportunities. The third gymnasium increases sport opportunities. Pearson’s lower capacity gives it unique, well-established strengths, such as less bullying, better social bonds, more opportunities to play on a sport team and/or join other competitive clubs.
Indeed, the student survey (contained in the Director’s Final Report) indicated that Pearson ranked #1 for percentage of students who agreed that their teachers knew something about them (e.g. interests, strengths and how they learn best), #1 for having an adult they could connect with, and #2 in participation in extracurricular activities.
It is therefore no surprise that Pearson regularly punches above its weight in the Fraser Institute rankings of secondary schools. Pearson has the second highest average score over the past five years among Burlington public secondary schools. This is not despite its small size; it is because of it.
“The result of this low enrolment is a diminished ability for the school to provide the same breadth and range of programs for the students as other schools in Halton.”
Nobody doubts that Pearson has low enrolment (though its utilization rate is higher than that of M.M. Robinson). However, as explained above, the Director’s Final Report fails to properly explain how this came about.
Equally important is that he has not given the trustees simple solutions to this low enrolment that do not involve closing Pearson. The simple, obvious answer: redesign the catchments and feeder schools to ensure that (a) Pearson has its fair share of students, (b) Hayden, which is bursting at the seams, is brought down to a proper utilization of 90-100 percent, and (c) M.M. Robinson also sees an increase in students, including from Bateman High School should it be closed (though this is not being advocated), or through redistribution that allows students to go to their closest high school. Figure 3 shows the current feeder schools, demonstrating the imbalance that can be easily fixed.
 Figure 3 Feeder schools to the high schools in the north — note the lopsided distribution favouring Hayden while starving Pearson. (There is no figure 2)
“In order to take specific or desired courses, many students have resorted to online offerings.”
The Director’s Final Report contradicts itself here, as it references in an appendix the student survey which indicates that Pearson has the second lowest percentage of students among Burlington public high schools needing to take online offerings, well below the city’s average (see Figure 4).
 Figure 4 – percentage of students taking online courses Regardless, this argument is invalid as there are more than enough students in the north of Burlington to fill Pearson’s hallways and provide more course offerings.
“Second, this situation will be exacerbated as it is expected the number of students attending Lester B. Pearson High School will decrease by an additional 70 students by 2025.”
Once again, this assertion rests on the assumption that Pearson would not be given any more students while Hayden bursts at the seams and M.M. Robinson takes on students from Bateman and the Evergreen and Alton West developments.
Perhaps most worrying for parents and students in North Burlington is that the Director’s Final Report fails to take into account (a) turnover in North Burlington as more baby boomers sell their homes to young families; and (b) that there will be more development in the north than that which is noted in the report: the Adi proposed development is over 600 residential units, and the Valera road development is expected to have 400 residential units. Furthermore, North Burlington has seen a trend of multiple families moving into singly houses, leading to having twice or more the number of high school students per household.
“Another issue occurring as a result of low enrolment is the impact on the students’ pathways. At present, the numbers reflecting Lester B. Pearson High School students’ pathway choices are as follows:
 Figure 5 The Director’s Final Report emphasized low enrollment for applied students in Grade 9, neglecting to mention the reason why enrollment is so low: Grade 9 students being sent to portables in the Hayden parking lot. “Unfortunately the low number of students and staff has prevented the school from providing the same breadth of programming offered in other Halton District School Board schools. This is most evident given the low number of students in applied programming and subsequently the college pathway, resulting in these students having fewer options or little flexibility in selecting courses they can take.
“Schools are required to provide a pathway to graduation for all students. This means the school will have some smaller classes (for example, 11 students in Grade 9 Applied), and in order to be compliant with staffing formulas and provincial mandates, will have some larger classes to offset the smaller numbers. Consequently, not only is the range of course selection not available to students but there is also a greater disparity between class sizes.”
This entire section is based on the false assumption that there aren’t enough students available in North Burlington to bring Pearson back up to better utilization levels. The arguments made above make clear that this is not only possible, but an excellent option for managing overcrowding at Hayden and the new developments, as well as the fast rate of turnover in North Burlington communities.
Again this is likely to be exacerbated as the projections indicate a continued decline in enrollment.
Again, these projections are based on the inaccurate assumption that there aren’t any students available to bring to Pearson. The above statement seeks to create urgency where there is none.
“Lester B. Pearson High School is 1.9 kilometres from M.M. Robinson High School. Students who currently attend Lester B. Pearson High School are within the walking distance to M.M. Robinson High School. A closure of Lester B. Pearson High School will not result in an increase in bussing costs for the Halton District School Board.”
This is technically correct yet misleading. If Pearson were to stay open and the catchment areas appropriately reshaped, there would be less students bussing, meaning a cost savings for the Halton District School Board.
Regardless, HDSB representatives have stated on several occasions that it’s about the students, not the money.
“At present there is a nursery school located in Lester B. Pearson High School. This is a longstanding relationship between the City of Burlington and the Board, and since the mid-1970s has become part of the fabric of the Lester B. Pearson High School community. If the recommendation to close Lester B. Pearson High School is approved, the Halton District School Board will engage with the appropriate municipal partners to investigate available options for a continued relationship with the Halton District School Board.”
The promise to “investigate available options” should be interpreted as the Board has not undertaken sufficient consultation on this important issue up to this point, and is not making any commitment to maintain the co-op nursery.
Furthermore, the Director’s Final Report is recommending keeping Hayden as an over-capacity mega school, and turning M.M. Robinson into an over-capacity mega school (see Figure 6 below). It does not take into account new growth in North Burlington, nor the aggressive turnover in Headon Forest and Palmer neighbourhoods, which will take Hayden and M.M. Robinson to unsustainable levels.
Given that these schools will be filled to the brim, are we to believe that there will be space to maintain the co-op nursery?
 Figure 6 – Mega schools projected for the north if Pearson closes (before taking into account increased enrollment due to new developments and residential turnover)
“Lester B. Pearson High School has served its students and community very well for the past 40 years; however, its enrolment has been in decline for some time. It is currently less than 65% of capacity, and by 2025 it is expected to decline to 55%.”
Having read this far, trustees already know that Pearson would only decline to 55% if catchments weren’t appropriately reshaped. To assume that Pearson would decline to 55% is to assume that Hayden would be at 140%, which is the status quo prediction for that school in 2025. Everyone knows that Hayden’s over-utilization is unsustainable, and that Pearson has space to accommodate those students. Therefore, the conclusion of Recommendation 2 of the Director’s Final Report is misleading.
“Based on the two identified criteria for a program and accommodation review (PAR):
“1. The school or group of schools has/have experienced or will experience declining enrolment where on-the-ground (OTG) capacity utilization rate is below 65%.
“AND
“2. Reorganization involving the school or group of schools could enhance program delivery and learning opportunities.
“Lester B. Pearson High School meets the criteria for a PAR, and subsequently is recommended for closure.”
Pearson would not have met the criteria for a PAR if it weren’t for the redistribution of its students to Hayden High School.
In conclusion, trustees must question the validity of the evidence brought forward through the Director’s Final Report to support a closure of Pearson High School.
Two final questions for trustees as they make their decision on whether to close Pearson:
(1) Is it in the best interests of students and the community to close Pearson, leaving North Burlington with two schools with over 1300 students, already over capacity before taking into account new developments and residential turnover?
(2) If trustees decide to close Pearson high school, will they, in 10 years’ time, receive a Director’s Final Report requesting $35 million to open a new school in north Burlington, and on what land will that school sit?
I respectfully submit that you must, given the evidence, decline Recommendation 2 and ask the Director to provide options for redistributing Hayden’s student population to Pearson and M.M Robinson.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by delaying a decision on closing Pearson until the true enrollment figures are clarified after a redistribution of Hayden (and possibly Bateman) students, and the new developments in the North are completed.
The Director’s Final Report has not met the burden of evidence for a closure of Pearson High School.
Thank you,
Rory Nisan
Lester B. Pearson Alumnus (class of 2001)
rnisan@gmail.com
 By Staff
April 25, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
For the 12th year in a row the Halton District School Board is presenting the elementary art show, called Elements and Expressions, from Tuesday April 25-Thursday April 27, 2017.
The popular event will showcase the artistic flare of Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 students, as all kinds of artwork will grace the Brock Room at the New Street Education Centre, located at 3250 New St. in Burlington.
 These two tykes were showing what they produced while at the Art Gallery of Burlington. The school board exhibit will open at the New Street Educational Centre on Tuesday. The mediums include paintings, sculptures, puppets, paper maché, crayons, pastels, ink, fabric, 2D and 3D pieces. The exhibit pieces are selected by the classroom and art teachers to highlight art curriculum expectations.
The purpose of the art show is to showcase student artwork and to share it with peers to hopefully inspire and encourage others in their creative endeavours. Nearly 2,500 students are expected to visit the New Street Education Centre to tour the works of art. Throughout the three-day exhibit, professional artists from the Burlington Art Centre will be demonstrating various art techniques such as pottery, weaving, spinning, photography, fine art and more. The artists will give students hands-on opportunities to show them that art can have a place in their future.
“Elements and Expressions provides an opportunity for students to share their work with visitors in an art-gallery like setting” said Kevin McConvey, the Board’s Instructional Program Leader – The Arts, K-12. “The art displays show the tremendous amount of work and effort students have put into the creative process. Exposure to a wide variety of creative approaches, from paintings to papier maché, is a great way to broaden the horizons of student artists and spectators alike.”
Students’ artwork will be on display during the following times:
• Tuesday April 25: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Wednesday April 26: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Thursday April 27: 9 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
New Street Education Centre
.
By Staff
April 24th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
No sooner had Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) and M.A.D.D. Halton put the final touches on #Campaign911 #MakeTheCall911, a program aimed at educating and empowering members of the public to report suspected impaired drivers, than the occurrences began.
The Traffic Services Unit reports that over the past 72 hours, 13 motorists were charged with driving under the influence of alcohol on Halton roadways. Six of these occurred in Oakville, six in Milton and Halton Hills, and one in Burlington.
#Campaign911 and #MakeTheCall911 was officially launched on Saturday morning.
“There are two sides to these figures,” said Sgt. Ryan Snow of the Traffic Services Unit. “While we are pleased to have removed so many threats to public safety from behind the wheel, there is still much work to be done.”
It is here that members of the public come into play.
“The fact of the matter is, we can’t be everywhere all of the time,” Sgt. Snow explains. “We rely on fellow motorists to be our extra sets of eyes and ears – to report suspected impaired drivers immediately by calling 9-1-1.”
Two of the 13 charges laid over the weekend came as a direct result of citizens who called police.
The Halton Regional Police Service reminds members of the public that impaired driving is a crime in progress. It occurs 24 hour, seven day a week and is not limited to weekend evenings which are usually associated with alcohol consumption. Impaired motorists may exhibit a variety of different behaviours, including driving too fast, too slow or fluctuating greatly in speed, driving erratically or not maintaining their lane, or blatantly disregarding traffic signals or other rules of the road.
For the latest on #Campaign911 #MakeTheCall911 follow @HaltonPolice on Twitter.
By Staff
April 24, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
UPDATE:
The Gazette has been informed that William (Bill) McTaggart died a few days after the arrest.
April 8, 2017:
As a result of an investigation conducted by the Halton Regional Police Service Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit.
William (Bill) McTaggart, 58 years, of Burlington was arrested April 7th, 2017 and charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of trafficking a narcotic.
McTaggart is a former instructor at a private college. The victim, an adult male, is a former student.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective Constable Cindy Sunstrum at 905-465-8979 of the Halton Regional Police Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
 By Tom Muir
April 24th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Few people in Burlington could understand why the Board of Education staff decided that some of the city’s high schools had to be closed. They also had difficulty grasping why the newest high school was at over 150% capacity while other high schools below the QEW had a total of 1800 empty seats in the high school classrooms.
Tom Muir decided to dig into the official record. In part 1 of this four part series he sets out on a mission to find out how the Halton Board of Education managed build a new school that resulted in Burlington having more high school capacity than it needed which brought about the need to recommend that some schools in the southern part of the city be closed.
Part 2 of a four part series:
The Tricky Nature of the FOI Process:
In his lengthy communication with the people who have the task of providing information under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request Muir continues –
First, you get to decide what records you will provide to fulfill what you say is the scope of the FOI request. You can send what you want, and refuse further.
Second, you get to make assertions about what you want to say these records mean – your “interpretations”.
Third, if I have questions or disagreements about what you say things mean, or want clarifications, you ask me; May I pass along your email to the appropriate staff so we may thoroughly respond to your questions?”
 Then, to my abrupt surprise, this thorough response from staff apparently consists of a refusal to provide written responses – say you will only talk about it – and further, if I persist, tell me, and I quote; “Our offer to assist you in further interpreting those documents or clarifying their intent was made as a courtesy, and exists outside the timelines and parameters specified under the Act, as it goes beyond the scope of records responsive to your FOI request.”
Along with this declaration you restate a disingenuous assertion of one point, with no planning history or context – that Ministry funds paid the entire construction cost of Hayden.
You also state that the use of future proceeds of disposition (POD) was prohibited by the Ministry on August 31, 2011, however, there is no language in the record, Appendix 7, provided by you to support any notion of “prohibition”, or changes in the funding formula for Capital that would lead to the same result. I asked for clarification of this, but this was ignored and denied too.
Note: Muir refers to a number of appendices: There were nine of them they are part of the response Muir received.
Only the assertion of the full Ministry funding was given, with no context of how this was rationalized provided. Even the text referred to in Appendices 7, 8 and 9 was not elaborated as support.
Appendix 7 contains no language of prohibition import, or even other cautions on the use of PODs, and this includes the page 4 you noted as pertinent to Burlington, and the records of Appendices 8 and 9.
These last Appendices are the approvals of the final Ministry funding as a top-up provision for additional costs for which future POD projections were deemed to be delayed, or uncertain in timing of receipt, to cover, thus possibly creating a cash flow risk according to the Ministry message. Each Appendix allowed the Hayden school to proceed without the use of projected future PODs, with the Ministry willing to provide additional funding. Appendix 8 provided $3M more, and Appendix 9 an additional $2.2M.
Appendix 9 notes that the top up funding is approved, “To allow the project to proceed to construction in partnership with the city and the library, … .” This partnership was and is a community collaboration program and policy of the Ministry and the provincial government.
There was no mention of any a prohibition of future PODs, or any mention that there were no realized PODs in the overall funding. Clearly, PODs remain a source of funding to the Board, whether realized and in cash reserves, or as possible future PODs held in surplus physical assets.
Make no mistake, if this PAR decides to close schools, these schools will become surplus assets that can be sold, thus providing a funding source from PODs.
In any case, and this is key, if schools are closed they become a definite and very big cost to Burlington, regardless of whether the Ministry paid the cash construction cost of Hayden when they did.
Having the PAR now, almost 6 years after the Ministry approval to fund the school, means that this surplus seats cost was just deferred in it’s reckoning, and, if schools are closed, then the idea that the Ministry paid the full cost of Hayden will be a Big Lie.
This point of the Ministry paying for construction of Hayden was not the object of my FOI, but it is what you used during the public and PARC meetings, and are continuing here, to try a red herring to evade, and divert attention from, my longstanding issue that the construction of Hayden is what created this mess of surplus seats, by the Board, with the knowledge of foresight, and resulted in this PAR, that may result in school closures to eliminate the surplus seats created.
Given this mess, and Board responsibility, this PAR should have been held back in 2008-2009 or so, when Hayden was planned. Instead, the board did just a boundary review.
In my FOI request, I explicitly asked for records pertaining to consideration of any OTG surplus pupil places that might or would be created in the overall HDSB of Burlington by the approval and construction of Hayden.
And at the same time you ignore anther point I raised for clarification, that is central to my FOI, and proof of my central issue above – that Hayden was planned and rationalized with a Ministry Growth School Application (FOI response Appendix 6) within the same Planning Area, SRA 100, as the other 6 schools in Burlington that are now the subject of the current PAR, and are threatened with closures.
This Appendix 6 clearly shows that the construction of Hayden, and the transfer of students to Hayden from several of the other schools, created surplus seats at these schools, declines in their utilization, and declines in the overall utilization of the schools in the planning area. These results are the mess we are in.
Specifically, this Appendix 6 shows Hayden was planned with a Ministry Application based on historical and projected enrollment for the planning are SRA 100, in which they included Hayden.
Appendices 1 to 6 show: (1), the Board’s intent to build what is now Hayden; (2), the inclusion in the LTAP; (3) terms set by the Ministry for funding approval, including part payment from Disposition of Surplus Assets, and Trustee resolution approving these terms; (4) funding sources for new schools including Hayden, including Disposition; (5),Trustee resolution approving the terms in (3); (6) Board submission of Growth School Application to Ministry.
 SRA 101  SRA 100 This application reduced the 10 year projected average enrollment utilization at MM Robinson from 93.2% to 53.4%; at Nelson, from 108.7% to 95.6%; and at Bateman from 94% to 43.9%. Overall application SRA utilization declined from 88% to 74%.
It also reduced projected 2022 enrollment at MM Robinson from 1268 to 669; at Nelson from 1460 to 1311; and at Bateman from 1273 to 454. The overall transfer of students numbered 1567.
You totally ignored this data, my request for clarification as to when and how Hayden later turned up in a new SRA 101, and how is this inconsistency to be explained.
Instead, you emphasize the Ministry funding all the construction cost of Hayden, like that means there will be nothing for Burlington to pay in some other form, like closed schools. The Ministry decision to fund Hayden construction didn’t come until May – July 2011, but the closing of schools, pursuant to that, is here in our face right now.
Is this really what you mean when you say; May I pass along your email to the appropriate staff so we may thoroughly respond to your questions”?
Part 1 of a four part series.
 By Pepper Parr
April 24th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Is there anything a parent can say that will change minds?
The democratic process we celebrate on both Canada Day and Remembrance Day doesn’t always get reflected when citizens go to the polls to select their city Councillors and school board trustees – expect to see a much bigger turnout in 2018 – we hope? Vainly? We hope not.
 The 14 members of the PARC and the several advisors took part in seven meetings. There were some very talented people serving their communities on the PARC that met for seven meetings.
These people got nothing for their efforts – the Board did provide coffee and donuts. The parents brought in treats for each other including small bottles of wine to celebrate the work they did – not always as a team pulling in the same direction – there were parents who pulled for their schools and at times some of the language was less than civil. That’s what happens when emotions are aroused.
Lisa Bull was on the PARC representing Bateman high school. She earned a Masters of Education degree and chose to work in the private sector. The PARC experience for her was more frustrating than anything else. She felt that there was a solution that would serve the needs of not only Bateman but if the wider community as well.
 Student population numbers for Bateman high school prepared by the Board of Education. Several days before the Director of Education released his final recommendation Lisa Bull wrote Stuart Miller with what was a reasonable request.
Her letter was signed by
Lisa Bull, PAR Parent Rep, Robert Bateman High School
Steve Armstrong, PAR Parent Rep, Lester B. Pearson High School
Sharon Rhys-Jones Picken, PAR Parent Rep, Robert Bateman High School
Rebecca Collier, PAR Parent Rep, Nelson High School
Cheryl Delugt, PAR Parent Rep, Lester B. Pearson High School
Steve Cussons, PAR Parent Rep, Aldershot High School.
Kate Nazar, PAR Parent Rep, Nelson High School
Here is what they had to say:
As former members of the Burlington Secondary Program Accommodation Review Committee, we are writing to express our strong concerns about the decision to move forward with high school closures in Burlington. We realize that you are just days away from releasing your report to your Board of Trustees, however we are making one last request that you recommend to the Board that that they defer any closures as we do not believe that the Halton District School Board has fully and completely explored all non-school closure options. It is the responsibility of the HDSB to do whatever it takes to keep all high schools open in Burlington and we have not, to-date seen concrete evidence that all avenues have been thoroughly and exhaustively explored.
 The PARC members put in a lot of time on behalf of the community. Throughout the PAR process, our Committee was guided to review Options for school closures designed to address the low utilization rates of the high schools in Burlington. We participated in six Committee meeting, multiple public meetings and, except for when a Committee member raised the Option of keeping all schools opened, the possibility of exploring alternate strategies for solving the HDSB’s utilization and programming challenges were not raised. In fact, it wasn’t until the Committee requested a seventh meeting that our group began to explore and recommend non-closure Options. Why did it take us so long to get this this point? Simply put – the challenge presented to the PAR Committee was framed as ‘which schools should be closed’. We were never challenged to explore alternative solutions.
As detailed in the Preamble of the Ministry of Education’s Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline (2015) ‘when a school board identifies a school that is projected to have long-term excess space, a school board would typically look at a number of options such as:
– Moving attendance boundaries and programs to balance enrolment between over and underutilized schools;
– Offering to lease underutilized space within a school to a coterminous school board;
– Finding community partners who can pay the full cost of operating the underutilized space; and/or
– Decommissioning or demolishing a section of the school that is not required for student use to reduce operating costs
Again, other than reviewing attendance boundaries and programs, none of the other options as detailed above was raised in any meaningful way with the PAR Committee. When the Committee raised a number of the above strategies in our final meeting, we were told that some had been explored by the HDSB but with all due respect, the efforts presented seemed limited at best.
In addition, in a letter dated March 6, 2017 Minister of Education Mitzie Hunter and Minister of Infrastructure Bob Chiarelli outlined how the provincial government is calling upon school boards to find solutions that meet ‘both local needs and the educational needs of Ontario’s students’.
Minister Hunter states that ‘communities and the Province expect Ontario’s four school systems to maximize the opportunities of co-locations’ and that ‘It is our government’s strong preference that school boards fully explore joint accommodation arrangements with coterminous boards’. Further, ‘…the Ministry states a preference for these joint-use projects committing to review these proposals before any others.’ In addition, the Ministry has committed $600,000 to assist school boards in pursuing joint-use school opportunities between school boards.
Why was this Option not fully and completely explored by the Halton District School Board? Given the Minister’s strong preference for this approach and the available funding, the PAR Committee and the community of Burlington should have been presented with evidence that both the public and Catholic boards have completely explored all possibilities for partnership. We were not.
Ministers Hunter and Chiarelli also remind school boards that according to The Ministry of Education Community and Partnerships Guideline, boards are meant to host at least one meeting annually to engage the broader community and relevant stakeholders. “It is imperative that these meetings involve all relevant stakeholders and facilitate real dialogue boards and the involved communities”. Further the Guideline states that “to be effective, these meetings require community engagement and attendance and a spirit of real partnership from all parties”.
As community members, we saw no advertising alerting us of any HDSB partnership meetings. I gather that some community agencies were invited to attend (if they asked to be on a contact list) but what of the broader community? What of partners outside of Burlington? What of “regular” citizens who might be interested in volunteering to bring their expertise and contacts to such an opportunity? Most members of the PAR Committee expressed an interest and a willingness to work with the HDSB to identify, recruit and work with agencies and organizations to build lasting partnerships which could impact both utilization of space and enhance student programming.
 The politicians were certainly interested – three from Burlington city council attended one of the public meetings. The Mayor was not seen at any of the meetings. Further, we were extremely surprised when, during our final PAR Committee meeting (which was not scheduled, but rather strongly requested by the members of the Committee) that the Manager of the City of Burlington, James Ridge requested that he (on behalf of the City) be given first notice regarding available space within schools. Did the HDSB not work with the City to explore all possible partnership and joint-use opportunities prior to the PAR process? Why has the HDSB not been working more closely with the City prior to the secondary school PAR?
We’ve also been disappointed that, despite the expectation ( as outlined in updates to the 2015 Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline) that municipalities and community partners impacted by PARs are engaged in meaningful ways and that ‘full input and feedback from the municipalities, including local economic and community impacts where relevant are reflected in the final staff report and advice to trustees” the City of Burlington’s involvement in the PAR process appears to have been limited to having Mr. Ridge serve on the PAR Committee. As a PAR Committee member I was provided with no information on behalf of the City about the economic and community impact of school closures on our neighbourhoods. Again – should this not have been information that was thoroughly explored and shared with the PARC prior to us making our final recommendations?
Finally, Ministers Hunter and Chiarelli have outlined how the government has been considering how they ‘can use public property in a manner that takes into account the best interests of local communities’. To that end, the government is exploring the concept of community hubs – ‘a school, a neighbourhood centre or other public space that offers co-ordinated services such as education, early years support, health care and social services’ – and is encouraging school boards to work with communities to explore this option. Further, the government is supporting these kinds of initiatives financially by offering funding such as Capital Funding for Community Hub School Retrofits ($50 million).
In her March 6th letter, Ministers Hunter and Chiarello acknowledge the challenges of forming community partnerships quickly/easily and offers boards who are exploring the option of a Community Hub with a school involved in an accommodation review to advise the Ministry of Education’s Capital Policy and Programs Branch and the Ministry of Infrastructure’s Community Hubs Division prior to May 1st.
 City and school board work together on the operation of a swimming pool. We strongly believe that this is an option which deserves consideration in Burlington. Robert Bateman which has an existing partnership with a city pool facility, a YMCA daycare facility, a broad range of technical and trade facilities, and which is located in a community without a community centre already serves as a community hub for seniors’ groups, families, community organizations and more. Lester B Pearson High School has been partnering with the Pearson Co-op Nursery School for over 40 years. This partnership offers a Dual Credit ECE Program with Mohawk College and a Health and Wellness SHSM: Family and Child Services pathway for Pearson students. Programs such as these could be expanded and enhanced and would address multiple opportunities for these schools and communities.
 Robert Bateman isn’t the least bit impressed with the idea of closing a school with his name on it. In closing, we recognize that you and your team are facing an extremely difficult situation. We recognize that you and the Board do not take your responsibility to the students and families of Burlington lightly. That’s why we implore you to take a stand as the leader of the HDSB and recommend that the Board of Trustees halt this process until comprehensive work and more thorough exploration can be conducted.
Lisa Bull reports that she “got no response from” Miller.
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