 By Pepper Parr
July 25th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
This document has been revised since its original publication. The addition is shown in bold below:
We are back at the ADI Development file – again.
This development was put before the public at a meeting at the Art Gallery on October 9, 2014.
Those in attendance then weren’t happy then and things never did get better.
ADI made a presentation, city planning staff gave a presentation. It was a contentious meeting.
ADI then filed their application for both zoning changes and changes to the Official Plan on property they had assembled at the intersection of Lakeshore Road and Martha Street for a structure that was to soar 28 storeys into the sky.
 A generous serving of hubris in the corporate make up. will it work for them? Part of the first design had a small portion of the building at the upper level reaching out over the property line. At the time ADI was working on a design that had the shape of the building looking a little like a billowing sail – they were very proud of this innovative and unique look. To their credit ADI has usually come up with progressive designs that accompanied the very aggressive request for significant height and density changes.
The 28 storey application got revised to 26 storeys which asked for revised Official Plan and Rezoning applications to permit a condominium building with 240 units and 423 m2 commercial space, 6 levels of underground parking, driveway access from Martha Street and retail units that would front onto Lakeshore Road.
Rosa Bustamante was the city planner on the file and she prepared the report that went to city council. It was a very solid report – the problem was that city council didn’t manage to “appreciate” the relationship between the report and the calendar. A municipality is required to respond to an application with 180 days of the filing.
The practice has always been for some elasticity in that 180 time-frame. ADI chose not to go along with the practice and filed an application to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) claiming the city did not respond to the applications within the time-frame – they asked the OMB to decide on what would be permitted because the city had failed to do so.
The application for the original development proposal got to city council on March 30th.
 View from the north east corner of the site. The recently acquired bungalow property is just to the right of the last pole that once held advertising material the cit forced AI to remove. The Official Plan and the zoning on the property allowed 4 storeys with an all but automatic upgrade to eight storeys which is what ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward wanted to see.
Everything left city hall and was sent along to the OMB. The manner with which the city handled the file was not one of their better moments. Council either wasn’t paying attention or didn’t want to pay attention to the calendar. The planning department failed to impress upon the Mayor the critical importance of that 180 day time frame.
Perhaps they all felt that ADI would follow the accepted practice – they have learned a hard lesson. ADI plays hardball.
While waiting for the OMB hearing to take place ADI appeared to realize that they did have a problem – several actually.
The resident’s didn’t like what they perceived to be a traffic problem with the entrance to the building and the underground garage being on Martha – it was never going to be on Lakeshore.
The other problem was the small bungalow that was going to be orphaned behind the structure. City hall wasn’t going to buy into that kind of behaviour.
 The ADI boys are building a brand and have chosen a hardball, aggressive approach to the way they do business with city hall. The Martha Street development is not h only on that has problems. wrapped around it. ADI could see the writing on the wall and so, through a series of property transfers, ADI obtained the bungalow property. They used the acquisition of that property as their argument to request a delay in the OMB hearing.
The cheek of this developer. They give the city the bums rush for a delay of a few days in dealing with a staff report and then several years later they buy a piece of property and then ask the OMB to have city staff review hat is almost a new development proposal.
Many people thought the city should have taken the position that it was a new application and asked the OMB commissioner to dismiss the ADI application. The city chose to show a level of civility that is not seen by ADI.
 The most recent design for the Nautique – planned for the Martha Lakeshore Road intersection. Legal counsel for the city asked for a few days to get instructions from Burlington’s city council who went along with the ADI request for time to upgrade their plans to incorporate the bungalow property.
The sequence of events went like this:
The OMB hearing related to this application was held on March 14, 2016. At the hearing the developer told the OMB it has bought the property at 380 Martha St., and will include that property in its condominium development application. The city’s legal team asked for an opportunity to receive instruction from Burlington City Council.
On March 15, the City of Burlington informed the Chair of the OMB that the city would not oppose the developer’s request for an adjournment.
On Wednesday, March 16 at 10 a.m., the OMB hearing resumed to formally accept the adjournment and establish a timeline for the process related to the appeals before the board.
The OMB hearing regarding the application was adjourned until Feb. 21, 2017 at 10 a.m.
The OMB required ADI to file a revised development proposal no later than June 30th. They failed to do so – the new revised application didn’t get to city hall until July 12th.
There appears to be some confusion as to how the procedural requirement set out by the OMB was to be met. City hall advised the Gazette that: “The procedural order requirement for both the submission of the revised plan and the notices resulted in a practical impossibility that was not intended by the Board or the parties. Notice of the revised plans could not be sent out until the plans were received. The plans were received late in the afternoon of June 30th, necessitating the delivery of the notice the following week. Legal counsel for the parties discussed the practical impossibility created by the procedural order and agreed that the intent of the order is to have the City get the notice to the public as soon as possible after receiving the revised plans and required information from Adi.”
 Received date is clear – document was due June 30th – th city was required to make the document public. Let us know if you find it on the city web site. Officially, the city’s position has been:
No approvals have been given for the proposed development. A summary of the city’s position is set out in the March 30th, 2105 staff report that went to Burlington City Council on March 30, 2015.
City planners are now looking at the revised development application that still wants 26 storeys.
The revised Planning application has been submitted by ADI Developments to amend the Official Plan designation and the Zoning By-law regulations for 374 and 380 Martha Street.
This proposal is to allow a 26 storey apartment building with ground floor retail on the site. The proposed building will contain 240 residential units and 423m2 of retail/commercial use. The retail uses will front onto Lakeshore Road. The entrance to the residential units will be from Martha Street.
The proposed building will contain 6 leveIs of underground parking with a total of 241 parking spaces. Driveway access into the property will be from Martha Street. The proposed development will have a floor area ratio (coverage) of approximately 11.26 (11 x).
All units will have balconies, and outdoor terraces will be provided on the 4th and 20th storeys.
 This is a bit of a stunner – they want even more density than the first proposal – twenty more parking spaces added; quite a bit more in the way of amenity space. still a very tall building. Site Summary:
Property Size: 0.17 hectares (0.4 acres)
Surrounding Land Uses:
• South: parking lot
• East: 5 storey retirement home
• North: 3 storey townhouses
• West: 1storey medical clinic
The planners will be preparing a report to Council about the revised proposal in Fall 2016.
The next municipal election will take place in October of 2018 – is city council hoping this issue will get mired in OMB paper work and not see the light of day until after the election?
Mayor Goldring is reported to be asking people what they think of a 10 storey building.
 By Staff
July 25th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Sport Field Status – July 25, 2016
The following diamonds are closed Monday July 25
Ireland Park diamonds D1, D2, D3, D4
Millcroft, diamonds D1, D2
Nelson Park diamond D1
 By Ray Rivers
July 25, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
 Is this a smug over-confident man – or has he convinced America that he can and will protect them? It’s a crazy, topsy-turvy world. And nothing is more upside down than what is happening south of the border. The Republican party has nominated the bombastic and seemingly racist, tycoon Donald Trump, to be their standard bearer for the most important job on the planet. Trump, who has never served in any public office delivered an acceptance speech which was more than a little scary – not as much by what he said but more for what was left unsaid.
Building a border wall with Mexico and banning Muslims from entering the USA are the closest things to policy statements he’s uttered, though he has also mulled about NATO being obsolete and tearing up international trade agreements. Trump calls it America First, a term that can be found in the dirty laundry of America’s troubled past.
American history has its very roots in isolationism. Founding fathers Washington and Jefferson were determined to leave Europe and European entanglements behind them as thy founded their new land. They even cancelled their military alliance with France once their independence-war was resolved.
Following a late and reluctant involvement in the First World War America’s right-wing politicians kept it out of the League of Nations, an American concept and the pre-cursor to today’s UN. The US’s decision to stay out of the League damned this early attempt at global governance and ultimately contributed to the advent of WW II.
America First was a popular early WWII movement which collapsed following the attack on Pearl Harbour. Membership included Charles Lindbergh, the Kennedys and other prominent Americans who inadvertently became apologists and supporters of Hitler’s destructive policies, much as Trump’s advisor’s are to Russia’s Putin today.
America First is a powerful sentiment but is it even possible? America has been the cop of the world since the middle of the last century. And it has also been policeman, judge and jury too often. So it’s not surprising that ISIS has sprung up – a political and social superbug intent on countering the medicine being doled out by an over-prescriptive and paternalistic USA.
It all makes sense to a nation tired of endless wars and unsure about its place in the world any more. And Trump is the iconic American conservative. Inward looking and largely disinterested in the rest of world. He may be better travelled than Bush and married to a foreign chick, but he is still that local fellow – not at all like the intellectual globe-trotting Kerrys or Clintons. And that is why he may well become America’s next president. He really is like so many of his supporters in that regard.
Almost everything that goes up comes down. Everything old looks new again given enough time. And we eventually get bored with everything. So change is a potion, transforming the mundane to magic – at least until we realize that ‘plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose’.
Change as a motto worked for Obama. And changing back from the future may very well work for Trump and his nostalgic view of the world, it’s just back to Happy Days.
 Gas Donald Trump managed to reach into the hearts of an unhappy American electorate. If you lived in Nebraska, wouldn’t you be tempted to ask what the hell your leaders are doing meddling in the Middle East, or why the US is risking your child soldier’s life defending Europe from Russia or Japan from China? Wouldn’t you be tempted to ask why your leaders are allowing cheap foreign products to enter your markets duty free while your factories are shut down forcing their workers to line up for unemployment, welfare or Mac jobs?
And wouldn’t you be tempted to ask why you should be welcoming people, like immigrants from Muslim countries or Latin America, who bring their own culture and religion – changing the face of the America you once knew and loved? That was the most powerful question the British recently asked themselves. Their answer was Brexit. Down home America’s answer may well be Trump and America First.
 Ray Rivers Background links:
Ray Rivers is an economist and author who writes weekly on federal and provincial issues, applying his 25 years of involvement with federal and provincial ministries. Rivers’ involvement in city matters led to his appointment as founding chair of Burlington’s Sustainable Development Committee. He was also a candidate in the 1995 provincial election.
Publishers engage informed people to write which Ray Rives has been doing for the Gazette for more than three years. We are proud to have Ray Rivers as an opinion writer however in this instance we do not agree with the views Rivers has put forward.
Isolationism – America First – League of Nations – Republicans in Cleveland –
Trump and Fear – Obama on Trump – Lies – Trump the Dictator
 By Staff
July 22, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
Change in the location of a Lowville Festival event.
Please note that due to the hot weather Saturdays DuffelBags workshop at 2:00 and the Performance of Robin Hood at 3:00 performance will be moved to the Lowville United Church… its air conditioned there.
By Staff
July 22nd, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Bell School Line will be closed to traffic between Derry Road and Britannia Road from Thursday, July 28 at 7 a.m. to Saturday, July 30 at 7 p.m. for Union Gas construction activities.
Please follow detour routes.
1. From the north, traffic will be directed east on Derry Road to Tremaine Road, then south to Britannia Road and west to Bell School Line.
2. From the south, traffic will be directed east on Britannia Road to Tremaine Road then north to Derry Road and west to Bell School Line.
 For more information, please contact:
Susan Cudahy, Community Liaison, Union Gas Limited
Phone: 289-237-0068 – scudahy@uniongas.com
 By Staff
July 22, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton Regional Police have arrested and charged a Halton Paramedic in relation to an incident which occurred inside an ambulance in October 2015.
 wer Tad Nelson, 57yrs of Dundas is charged with Sexual Assault and Voyeurism contrary to the Criminal Code in relation to an incident involving an adult female patient. Nelson will appear in Milton bail court on July 22nd, 2016.
If anyone has any additional information they are asked to contact Detective Constable Matt Cunnington at 905-465-8978 or Detective Constable Alanda Prescod at 905-465-8977 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).
These things do have to be reported – there are a lot of men and women who do the very hard, gut wrenching work inside an ambulance as it races to a hospital. This incident should not reflect on the really good people who work as paramedics
By Pepper Parr
July 22, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It’s on!
 Whatever papers have to be signed – are signed and the event will start at between 8-8:15 p.m. at Spencer Smith Park with introductory remarks prior to the broadcast of the final Tragically Hip concert that will begin at 8:30 p.m., with the broadcast coming in live from Kingston courtesy of the CBC who have waived their licensing rights.
Putting this opportunity together was done in a matter of days with a lot of phone calls – Ward 2 Councillor Mead Ward managed to get a motion through council that was approved on a 6-1 vote.
The motion asked:
That City Council authorize matching funds up to $12,500 from the Tax Rate Stabilization Fund to assist with funding the live CBC rebroadcast of the Tragically Hip concert, Aug. 20, in Spencer Smith Park
Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven decided the event was just a nice to have and voted against it. He missed the opportunity to ask if shuttle buses could be arranged for all those good Aldershot people to get to the Park and
 It’s just a nice to have said the Councillor when he voted against the city chipping in for the cost of bringing in the Tragically Hip concert live from Kingston. enjoy the evening. The Gazette has never understood why the Council member can’t seem to get behind really good community events. If you see him attending the event – do let us know.
An ad hoc committee has been struck and will meet early in August, 12+ members including SET Team, Tourism Burlington, Sound of Music Festival, local citizens and representatives from two charities and Halton Regional Police Services
The team has interest from both The Halton Chapter of Canadian Cancer Services (with a focus on disease prevention) and the Joseph Brant Foundation (local cancer care clinic)
A site is being set up for community/corporate donations. We will send you the link as soon as they have it set up.
All kinds of people have asked if they can donate time and energy as volunteers. Interested parties can contact: mcoletteertel@hotmail.com
The screening was made possible after the Burlington Downtown Business Association (BDBA) put money on the table to kick-start funding for the event, and sought a matching contribution from the city of Burlington. City council supported a motion to contribute to the costs of the event. Donations of cash are still being sought from the community to cover costs of screens, speakers, projectors and security. Please consider making a donation.
 It will be a bitter sweet nice for the Tragically Hip as they close out their final performance in a live CBC broadcast across the country. Bring a chair and a blanket and a handkerchief – it is going to be a very emotional evening. “This is an event of national significance that was looking for a place to happen in Burlington. Many residents reached out to me and said ‘We have to be part of this,’” said Meed Ward. “The Hip is the soundtrack of Canada. Many of us can track significant events in our lives by what Hip song we were listening to at the time. I’m grateful my council colleagues supported the funding request to make it happen.”
This is a rain or shine, alcohol-free and family friendly celebration. Residents are asked to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets to sit on.
The potential audience for this could be enormous. Will people come in from Oakville, will the GO trains be filled?
Hamilton is holding its own event – the location they have chosen doesn’t compare to what Burlington has.
An adhoc committee has been created – they will meet early in August, – 12+ members including SET Team, Tourism Burlington, Sound of Music Festival, local citizens and representatives from two charities and Halton Regional Police Services
 McMahon the Minister now has a chance to give Burlington a great big thank you for electing her to office – send money. Tourism Burlington leading on funding request to Tourism Ontario. The shiny new Minister of Tourism just happens to be our own gracious Eleanor McMahon who one hopes will shower some cash on the city that sent her to Queen’s Park. The Ministry must have a piggy bank somewhere in one of the offices.
 By Staff
July 22, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
DuffleBag Theatre will take over the Lowville School house Saturday afternoon for a fun-filled and hilarious interactive storytelling.
They’ve been doing this since 1992, and now feel they can call themselves the “Nearly World Famous” DuffleBag Theatre.
The DuffleBag actors, there will be four of them on the stage, begin retelling an adaptation of a well known fairy tale that is full of wit and humour. Just when the audience becomes enthralled by the story – a twist is created!
 These four DuffelBag actors will from the core of the production – other actors will be drawn from the audience. People from the audience are asked to come up on stage and join in the action. At this point the play becomes an unpredictable performance and a hilarious experience for all ages and a truly unique interactive theatrical experience where the dream of living a fairy tale actually does come true!
The program this Saturday afternoon begin at 2:00 pm with a workshop for those who want to learn something about being on the stage and developing ideas and learning xxx
After the workshop – the “production” begins. DuffleBag has always been known for their ability to adapt and change things quickly. They will be doing Robin Hood and given that there is all kinds of great outdoor space they just might move part of the production outdoors.
Robin Hood and his merry band of men did hide out in Sherwood Forest didn’t they?
Expect the unexpected from this unique interactive production.
Where did the name DuffelBag come from? The theatre company uses duffel bags to carry all the costumes and props to each of their events.
Great entertainment for the whole family in a wonderful rural setting. There is more to Burlington than Spencer Smith Park.
The Festival is using the Snap’d service for ticket sales. Tickets are available on line
Saturday, July 23; 2:00pm
Workshop for Children with Dufflebag Theatre Company
Old Lowville Schoolhouse
$25 for both workshop & show
3:00pm
Robin Hood by Dufflebag Theatre
Old Lowville Schoolhouse
$15
 By Pepper Parr
July 21, 2016
BURLINGTON ON
Is it already too late?
Have we passed the tipping point and are at the point where the greenhouse gasses already in the environment is going to continually increase the amount of CO2 and ice caps will continue to melt – the sea level will continue to rise and places like parts of Florida will just be under water.
 The Maldives Islands are expected to slip under the water as the sea level rises. The people who study this stuff seriously are believed to being preparing plans for the changes that are going to take place. There are parts of the American coast line that are being given up to rising water levels.
There are places in Burlington and the surrounding community where concrete docks that boats used to be tied up to are now several feet under water.
And at the same time there are lakes in Northern Ontario where the wooden dock sits in the middle of dry lake bottom with the water tens of yards away when it used to lap at the edge of the dock while children jumped into the water from deck.
Are the scientists and the emergency planners telling the public the truth about what we are really up against?
There is a part of Burlington where there are some 72 homes that are in a flood plain and will eventually have to be removed. Those homes are clearly marked on a map that the city has not hidden – nor is it something they have talked about all that much.
Burlington knows that it is going to have to have a lot of money in reserve funds for the next flood. The people who do this kind of work don’t use the word “if” when talking about the next flood – for them the key word is “when” followed by “where”. Burlington
 There are parts of Burlington that are very threatened should the city experience another 190mm + of rain in half a day. The Fire department managed the Emergency Measures. Fire Chief Tony Bavota said at a public meeting that given what we know today – Hidden Valley would not have been built. The flood potential in that part of the city is “something we could not handle”. For the fire chief Hidden Valley is a potential ground zero.
We know these things today and yet the best we seem to be able to do is work harder at recycling those plastic water bottles when the things should be banned.
Use public transit that doesn’t yet meet the needs of people who need to be able to get from place to place in a reasonable amount of time.
 The focus in Burlington is on re-building roads. Burlington spends tens of millions repairing the roads so that people can drive comfortably. This is a city that has an ageing population that was raised on the automobile during a time when gas was cheap and they are never going to give up their cars until someone takes their driver’s license away from them.
And they are a large enough cohort to scare the daylight out over every politician at every level; appealing to them to make the change for the sake of their grandchildren? They want that car so they can visit their grandchildren and they aren’t going to make that trip by bicycle or public transit.
When MP Pam Damoff asked people what they thought could be done – the true believers, the ones who belong to Burlington or Oakville Green, talked about the time they spend planting trees and cleaning up the ravines each year and do the ongoing persistent advocating. But in Burlington there still isn’t a private tree bylaw.
Some serious mistakes were made with the way most of the planners did things in terms of land use planning – they didn’t seem like mistakes at the time but we are now at a point where it is close to impossible to correct those mistakes.
We have lost a lot of time.
At best it is going to take bold action to bring about any change – and it is all three levels of government that are going to have to take those bold steps.
They can’t begin to do much of that until the public is ready – and that isn’t going to happen until the public realizes the wolves are at the door.
 By Pepper Parr
July 21st, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Trees are technology said a participant at the Town Hall meeting on Climate Change that Oakville North Burlington MP Pam Damoff held last night.
 These trees came down on Pearl Street – nothing has gone up to replace them. That comment raised a couple of eyebrows until Damoff piped up with – “I can buy into that.”
“I had senior who explained to me that she had three trees taken down because they had been infected with the Emerald Ash Bore (EAB). The result was that the shade those elm trees proved on one side of her building meant she needed to buy an air conditioner to keep her home cool.
“That senior was on a fixed income and expenses like this were not a part of the budget she lived within. The additional electricity cost is something else she has to deal with.”
The air conditioner is a technology that senior has to pay for – the trees were keeping her house cool and as far as the senior was concerned that was technology enough for her.
Trees are technology.
By Staff
July 21, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Union Gas is running a 40 inch line right across the top or the city. Appleby Line will be closed to traffic between Derry Road and Britannia Road from Friday, July 22 at 6 p.m. to Sunday, July 24 at 7 p.m. for Union Gas construction activities.
Please follow detour routes.
Vehicles:
1. From the north, traffic will be directed east on Derry Road to Tremaine Road, then south to Britannia Road and west to Appleby Line.
2. From the south, traffic will be directed east on Britannia Road to Tremaine Road then north to Derry Road and west to Appleby Line.
Trucks:
1. From the north, traffic will be directed east on Derry Road to Regional Road 25, then south to Dundas Street and west to Appleby Line.
2. From the south, traffic will be directed east on Dundas Street to Regional Road 25 then north to Derry Road and west to Appleby Line.
By Pepper Parr
July 21, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It was more than a local town hall meeting to get people to think and act on climate change.
The meeting Oakville North Burlington MP Pam Damoff held at Tansley Woods Community centre Wednesday evening was part of a Canada wide program the federal government has put in place to hear what Canadians think and to learn just how much they are prepared to actually do individually to change the climate.
It didn’t sound like an awful lot at the Tansley Woods meeting
 It was an audience that came to listen and then ask questions. Is this the way these meetings are going to take place across the country? Are we ready to make a real change – or will it be made for us? Damoff knew she was speaking to the deeply converted and ensured that the message would be clear by having the lead person from both the Oakville and the Burlington Green associations at the table with her.
Damoff pretty much stuck to the script that had been prepared – asking people what they wanted to do and explaining that this wasn’t a problem the government was going to solve for them.
 MP Pam Damoff, listening to people who attended the Town Hall meeting on Climate Change. Her son Fraser is on the right. The key word that seemed to come up again and again was “adapt”. Climate change is here – and we certainly know that in Burlington where 191 mm of rain was dumped on the city in less than 12 hours and 300 homes were badly flooded in 2014.
All the creeks in the east end of the city broke their banks which brought about an incredible million dollar fund raising event within 100 days to cover some of the costs of repairing those 300 homes.
 A Burlington Plaza flooded during the August 2014 rain storm. Burlington has tasted climate change – for those that experienced the understanding is very deep. It is the rest of the community that needs to decide what it wants to do about a change that is vital if we are to survive. And so far Canada isn’t doing all that well.
The media release Damoff handed out said: Global temperatures have increased by about .85 degrees Celsius since 1880; Canada has warmed at twice the global average with Canada’s north warming even faster.
Last December Canada joined 195 countries who adopted the Paris Agreement which saw countries commit to limiting the global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius in an attempt to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
 CJ Martin asking a question at the Climate Change Town Hall meeting at Tansley Woods When asked how many people attending the meeting drove to the location in a car by themselves – most of the hands in the room were raised. The MP, with a staff of four in her constituency office, apparently all arrived in different cars.
It was justified by there not being acceptable public transit. Some people did car pool.
There were some sterling examples of what can be done. A young mother mentioned the 0 household waste plan she has put in place at her home. We want to look at just how one can do that.
Vince Fiorito, a well-known environmental advocate suggested that with global warning Canada will be able to grow new and different crops in parts of northern Canada that have given us mineral resources and not much more. Fiorito suggested parts of Canada could become a banana belt. It clearly wasn’t his best night.
 People from several communities took part in the Q&A part of the meeting. The people behind the Leaf movement were in the room advocating that the fossil fuels be left in the ground and that we pour subsidies into wind, solar and geo thermal industries.
There were numerous people with their own angles and ideas. Fraser Damoff, the MP’s son wanted to see the federal subsidies given to many in the energy industry done away with. “Stop the subsidies and let them fight it out in the market place where the most effective solution will come out on top” advised Fraser Damoff.
In what was a very Canadian meeting – meaning it was polite, people were respectful of each other and Damoff didn’t cut anyone off – ran longer than was expected.
The interest was certainly there – but then a lot of people drove home, by themselves, in their own cars.
 The audience was mixed, diverse and attentive. Still a lot of work to be done – and more to say on this meeting.
Burlington MP Karina Gould will be hold her Town Hall meeting August 4th. The federal government has its members of parliament out in the field with their ears wide open. Been a long time since we’ve seen that kind of government behavior. They are listening – are we speaking?
 By Staff
July 19th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Deputy Chief Nishan Duraiappah accepted the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) Technology Champion of the Year Award at the Annual Training Conference Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 in Washington D.C.
The award is sponsored by Harris Corporation and is presented to an individual who is a strong advocate of technology that benefits law enforcement and public safety.
NOBLE is the largest association of black law enforcement officers and spans police agencies across the United States of America.
The fact that NOBLE selected a Canadian police leader out of all the American police agencies is a remarkable testament to the achievements of Halton Police. Deputy Chief Duraiappah accepted the award on behalf of the Halton Regional Police Service.
 Deputy Chief Nishan Duraiappah pleads his innocence to the charge of Grand Theft Donuts, during a police fund raising event. Looking on is Halton Regional Police Detective Constable Paul Proteau. Some of the work that the Halton Regional Police Service has championed includes LTE mobile workstations in each vehicle, public police Apps in ITunes/Google, the testing of smart mobile devices for officers to conduct electronic notetaking in the field and piloting of in-car cameras. Halton Police has established a unique Police Analytics Unit, which has gained international recognition as Leaders in Business Intelligence. These initiatives are supported by world class police officers and civilians working in the Office of Continuous Improvement and Strategic Management and Information Technology.
Through technological initiatives and community programs, Halton Police improves community safety and well-being. We also partner with community groups such as the Canadian Association of Black Law Enforcers (ABLE) to enhance understanding and foster relationships between the police and all members of the public.
 Deputy Chief Duraiappah in command at a public meeting that police were concerned about public reaction. The Halton Regional Police Service contributes to the safety and well-being of the Region’s more than 530,000 residents. Working in partnership with the communities we serve, the Service delivers quality, cost-effective public safety and crime prevention services, as mandated by law. The Halton Regional Police Service is recognized as one of the leading police agencies in the areas of diversity and community policing initiatives, and is committed to ensuring Halton Region remains as safe tomorrow as it is today.
By Pepper Parr
July 20th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Will wonders never cease?
The city is going to move to an electronic vote recording system that will put an end to the cumbersome call for recorded votes that took place at the last two meetings of city council.
 Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman forced city council to record their votes on everything they did – even the accepting of the agenda. He said he was making a political point. Councillor Sharman asked for more than a dozen recorded votes at a July 5th meeting and Councillor Meed Ward asked for almost as many recorded votes at the Council meeting last night.
Those council votes will now be done automatically by having the members of council press a button rather than have to stand up and be physically counted for each vote.
The Staff Direction was to:
Direct the City Clerk to purchase and install an electronic vote recording system in the Council Chambers, the cost to be charged to the capital budget for the Agenda Management solution; and
Hold in abeyance, sections 33.7-33.9 of Procedure By-law 37-2014 until a vote recording system is installed.
The question many have now is – which votes will the technology record?
This city council takes the position that the only votes it records are those taken at a city council meetings which is where everything done is made official.
 Council during a recorded vote: Those standing were voting for the motion. The real grunt work gets done at the Standing committee meetings – there are four different standing committees – Development and Infrastructure; Community and Corporate Services; Audit Committee and Committee of the Whole.
These are the meetings at which the public gets to speak for ten minutes if they delegate and where debate is often boisterous. It is also the meetings at which city staff attend – they speak very openly and inform council on the reports they present.
These are the meat and potatoes meetings – which this Council has decided that the votes taken are not recorded. The minutes of the meetings do say how a vote went – passed or failed to pass. The public report does not say how individual members of council voted.
The city’s procedural bylaw, which sets out how meetings are run and votes recorded has a section that is being waived while the electronic system is put in place. The section being waived says:
33.7 Any member, in Council Meetings, immediately before or after a vote is taken, may require a recorded vote to be taken on the question concerned. Recorded votes shall not be permitted in Committee Meetings.
33.8 When a recorded vote is permitted and required, the Chair shall pose the question and the Clerk will call for those members in favour to rise, at which time the Clerk shall record the name of each Member standing and his vote in favour, and upon completion of the recording, the Clerk will call for those members opposed to rise, at which time the Clerk shall record the name of each Member standing and his vote in opposition. On the appropriate form, the Clerk will also record the number of Members absent and/or abstained.
33.9 On a recorded vote, a failure to vote by a member who is present at the meeting at the time of the vote and who is qualified to vote shall be deemed a negative vote.
The Standing committees report to Council where just about everything is rubber stamped. Many council meetings take less than half an hour. The Mayor has a tendency to race through the meetings – one was pretty close to less than 15 minutes in length.
Public meetings are not the Mayor’s strength.
 Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward asked for more than seven recorded votes at the most recent city council meeting. In February of 2013 city council decided that recording all the votes wasn’t necessary Here is the comment made at that time.
“With respect to recorded voting at standing committee meetings, members of Council on the review team expressed differing viewpoints. Acknowledging that recommendations from committee are intended to be a preliminary position on a matter, it was felt that recording a member’s vote at that stage of deliberation could inhibit a member from changing his or her position later at Council should new information become available.
“It was also noted that recorded voting would slow the transaction of business at committee meetings. As the review team did not have consensus on the matter, a recommendation on recorded voting is not included within this report and would require direction from Council. Nonetheless, the sentiment of the review team was that if recorded votes were to be permitted at Committee, these would be restricted to the main motions (and main motions as amended) but would not be applied to amendments themselves or any secondary motions tabled.
 Partial view of the Board of Education screen that shows how trustees voted. The Halton District Board of Education bought an electronic system a number of months ago that is close to perfect. There is one Burlington trustee who gets confused when it comes to determining which button to press but other than that it works very smoothly.
When there is a vote the school board chair turns on the voting system and lights show up. When all the trustees have voted all the light go out – the chair then presses a button and they know in an instant who voted which way.
The system was provide by Hamilton Audio Visual – who will hopefully let the city know what they can do them
We elect our members of council democratically and have a right to know how they vote on every issue. Many council members aren’t very keen on letting the public know how they vote at Standing Committee meetings. They forget that deciding what they are directing staff to do is not about them – it is about the people who pay the taxes – and that would be you.
Background:
Sharman asks for recorded votes on everything at a council meeting
Past debates on voting at city council
By Staff
July 19, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a cash grab – pure and simple.
On June 17th, 2016, Joseph Hamilton Essibuah walked into the Dollar Tree in the area of Dundas Street and Appleby Line in Burlington. He is reported to have approached the checkout and while the cashier was assisting another customer, the accused reached over the counter and grabbed a quantity of money from the cash register. He then fled in a waiting vehicle.
 A short time later the accused attended a Shoppers Drug Mart located in the area of Brant Street and Upper Middle Road in Burlington. Again, the accused proceeded to pay for an item and when the cash register opened the accused reached over the counter and grabbed a quantity of cash. The accused fled in an awaiting motor vehicle.
Police have determined that the accused is responsible for additional occurrences in Halton region and surrounding areas; an investigation is ongoing.
Accused:
Joseph Hamilton ESSIBUAH,(25 years of Mississauga)
Current Charges:
Theft Under $5000 (6 counts)
Breach of Probation (6 counts)
ESSIBUAH is set to appear in Milton for a bail hearing on July 20th.
The investigation is continuing and anyone with information is asked to contact Cst. Jacqueline Ross of the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905 825-4747 ext. 2373 or D/Cst. Al MacEwan at ext. 2349 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 Staff
July 19th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Earlier this month, Regional Council approved $212,500 in funding for 13 community programs and projects that will support the health and well-being of Halton residents that have inadequate access to food.
The funding is the result of a new stream of funding through the Halton Region Community Investment Fund (HRCIF), which was created to improve access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food in partnership with Halton’s non-profit and community organizations.
 Regional chair Gary Carr tasting honey on a farm tour. “This funding reflects Halton’s commitment to improve access to food by working closely with our community partners,” said Halton Regional Chair, Gary Carr. “Investing in community agencies through the Halton Region Community Investment Fund is another example of how we’re working together with the community to achieve the best possible health and well-being for all and is part of what makes Halton Region such a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire.”
Funding will help community organizations to increase the amount of fresh and culturally appropriate foods available to clients, strengthen the capacity of agencies to safely store and distribute food and will support other efforts that make food more accessible to residents with inadequate access to food.
The food security grants are part of over $1.4 million in 2016 HRCIF funding that will support a wide range of community health and social service programs that serve Halton residents. The following programs will receive funding through the food security stream of the Halton Region Community Investment Fund:
• Acton Foodshare – to increase the amount of fresh food available to clients and to support the development of cooking skills;
• ClearView Community Church (Oakville) – to increase cold storage for its food programs, including cooking classes;
• The Dar Foundation – to support the purchase of Halal meats for its clients;
 • Food4Kids – to determine the scope of need and plan program expansion;
• Food for Life – to hire an additional ‘food raiser’ to source fresh and culturally appropriate food for community programs;
• Georgetown Bread Basket – to support new freezer/refrigeration purchases for its food bank;
• Halton Food for Thought – to purchase freezers/refrigerators to support student nutrition programs in 11 schools;
• Halton Fresh Food Box – to support a pilot project to deliver fresh food boxes to clients with transportation or mobility barriers;
• Halton Women’s Place – to provide grocery cards to women exiting the shelter;
• Milton Community Resource Centre – to support the organization’s Infant Food Bank program;
• North Halton Community Kitchen St. Alban’s Church (Acton) – to support a community kitchen coordinator to develop and expand cooking and dining programs;
• Feeding Halton (through Open Doors at St. Christopher’s Church as the lead applicant) – to support a position to coordinate farm fresh markets that provide access to local produce at a reduced cost. The position will also coordinate purchases from local farmers on behalf of several social service agencies; and
• St. Luke’s Anglican Church (Oakville) – to purchase a refrigerator that will assist the organization to establish an outreach program.
By Staff
July 19th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington is making improvements to Fairview Street between Guelph Line and Walker’s Line and Commerce Court from Fairview Street to Cul-de-sac.
 Fairview Street between Guelph Line and Walker’s Line plus some of Commerce Court will have traffic limitations during road work. The proposed construction will include:
• Road resurfacing along with traffic island modifications and localized repairs to sidewalks and curbs.
• Proposed Bike Lane on the north side of Fairview Street and Sharrow’s on Fairview Street.
This work will result in single lane closures during off-peak times:
• 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
 Fairview profile wen the construction is completed in October. Road Construction: July to Nov. 2016
Project Budget: $3,200,000
City is beginning to look and feel like Toronto in the summer.
By Staff
July 19th, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
At this rate we may not need a city hall.
Another city hall service has gone on line: business licence renewals.
Select businesses in Burlington can now renew their business licences online at www.burlington.ca/businesslicences.
 “We need to support our small businesses as much as possible and that means giving them access to services 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “A step in the right direction is that businesses can now renew their licences online whenever they want.”
Business licences available to be renewed online include:
• Automotive
• Pawn brokers
• Personal services
• Public assembly:
o Restaurants/take out/lunch counter
o Movie theatre
o Banquet/public halls
o Pinball or electronic game machine
o Night club
o Sale of foodstuff
o Sale of adult magazines
• Sale of foodstuff
• Sale of tobacco
• Salvage yard
• Tourist/trailer camps
Business licences not listed above are only available for renewal in person.
 Tracey Burrows, manager, bylaw enforcement and licensing. “Business owners needing to renew their licences will need to register an account with their PIN which can be requested online,” said Tracey Burrows, manager, bylaw enforcement and licensing. “We hope this will add to our customer service and meet the needs of our growing business community.”
All new and renewal licences can also be done in person at City Hall, 426 Brant St. For more information, visit www.burlington.ca/businesslicences, call 905-335-7731 or email building@burlington.ca.
No mention of the fee structure in the media release.
By Pepper Parr
July 18th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Our fair city has decided to join much of Canada on August 20th when, if things work out the way a lot of people would like them to work out – thousands will be able to sit on the grass at Spencer Smith Park and watch a CBC simulcast of the final scheduled concert of The Tragically Hip.
Oh – and it is going to cost the city a cool $12,500 – the Burlington Downtown Business Association will somehow come up with the second $12,500 – for a total cost of $25,000
Council voted to go forward with this one – everyone voted for – except for Councillor Craven. He saw the event as a nice to have – which isn’t quite his cup of tea.
 Gord Downie, lead of the Tragically Hip. CBC has waived its usual licensing fee with some conditions – there can be no sponsorship – so anyone putting up dollars is going to get a thank you.
There are some conditions. No alcohol can be sold. The city does not yet have a no smoking bylaw in public parks on the books.
The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as The Hip, are a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario, consisting of lead singer Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay. Since their formation in 1984 they have released 13 studio albums, two live albums, 1 EP, and 54 singles. Nine of their albums have reached No. 1 in Canada. They have received numerous Canadian Music awards, including 14 Juno awards.
The night the country sits down in parks and arenas across the country to watch the Tragically Hip put on their final concert knowing that the lead has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer will be a hard evening. Gord Downie is in the centre with, in no particular order, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay. As the band was getting ready to announce their summer tour they also announced that Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The out-pouring of public emotion led to CBC deciding to broadcast the final concert that was to be held in Kingston. CBC then decided to let other municipalities across the country simulcast the program.
Brian Dean, chief at the BDBA, delegated to council and explained what Councillor Marianne Meed Ward had put in front of Council by Memorandum earlier in the day. She pointed out that the idea had come together very quickly and it looked as if cities across the country were going to do what they could to simulcast the event.
Mead Ward is putting $1000 from her Councillor’s budget into the pot. The ad hoc committee is reaching out to the federal and provincial governments (good luck at that level).
Some thought was given to Central Arena as a location – until they realized that the Children’s Festival is going to take place the following day and that stages will have been set up with porta potties in place – Spencer Smith Park became the obvious choice.
Hamilton is in; Kingston is in, Charlottetown is in, New Westminster is in and Halifax is in.
 Brian Dean with ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward the day the city got rid of the old parking meters and installed an expensive replacement that doesn’t provide better service. Dean, who could sell ice cubes to Eskimo’s, assured council that this was really quite do-able and presented Council with an outline of the costs. When Dean doesn’t want the public to know what he is up to, he limits the information he shares; when he wants the public to know the media is showered with data.
Media were not given a copy of his cost breakdown.
It didn’t matter – the city manager sensed what council wanted and said that staff would provide oversight and that all the invoices would come to the city for payment.
A formal application has been submitted to the Special Events Team (SET) who gave approval in principle. They are also working on getting an exemption from the noise bylaw that requires events to shut down at 11:00 pm. The concert is expected to run until 11:30 pm
Meed Ward who exuded enthusiasm for the event suggested it was going to be the emotional equivalent of the winning goal Paul Henderson scored for Team Canada in 1972
The city manager wanted the cost of staff time that would be involved to be part of what the city has to come up with.
The event is 32 days away. Staff will have to hustle to make it happen and the city manager will make sure that the costs are controlled.
It took a two thirds majority vote to waive the city’s procedural by law and another vote to permit Dean to speak. If Council can do that in one meeting – the rest is a lead pipe cinch.
It has taken some time to figure out what the city manager is and what he isn’t. Observing him for the past 18 months the Gazette has found it difficult to say just what kind of an administrator he is. While he talks the talk of community engagement – he doesn’t really walk that talk. However, what is now very clear is that James Ridge is a very fiscally prudent man. Nothing is going to go seriously wrong on his watch. He may over promise from time to time – he certainly did that with a work plan he once put forward – but when it comes to watching where the dollars go – nothing disastrous is going to happen on his watch. Should that ever happen – the good Army Captain will choose to fall on his sword.
Where was he when the pier fiasco was being managed at city hall?
August 20th – mark that one on your calendar. With Meed Ward back on the BDBA as the Council representative – things like this get done.
By Staff
July 18th, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
Construction of the patient tower is moving along nicely. The last window on Level 7 of the new patient tower was installed at the end of June! Soon, two elevators will be up and running on the inside of the building and the man and material hoist will be removed.
The pedestrian bridge structure connects Level 2 of the parking facility to Level 1 of the new tower. Now the construction team is building the metal deck on the floor and on the roof of the bridge and pouring the concrete floor. By the end of July, glass windows will be installed on the bridge and roofing and finishes will follow.
Power will be turned on in late September.
In their latest video, Alean Jackman, Operational Readiness Coordinator and Melanie Burnet, Program Champion for the Surgical Program share the 5 Things You Need to Know about Our New Surgical Suite. Enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the progress being made inside our future surgical suite and learn more about the new space from our experts!
In the past the hospital has had problems with infectious diseases. The new hospital will have three new washer disinfectors that have greater capacity for cleaning and processing clinical equipment. The machines also have fast and efficient cleaning cycles, larger touch screens, and built-in “cool touch” handles on the racks.
Inside, installation of drywall continues to progress from the Main Level to Level 7 and soon, ceilings will go up. Painting has started and the main lobby staircase will be installed by late summer.
The people who will make the hospital actually work on a day to day basis are involved in critical training programs; much of the equipment is very complex and requires training and practice before nurses roll you into one of the ten new operating rooms – nine of which are reported to be ready for business on opening day.
 A new Lakeshore Road is being constructed that will lead to the new front entrance to the hospital. The construction and re-development of the hospital takes place while the city re-builds the part of Lakeshore Road that will become the new front entrance to the hospital. Parts of Lakeshore Road are being raised by as much as a metre from their current level. The re-built road will slowly slope towards the parking garage where the rebuild will pause until the hospital is completed in 2018.
 Storm water around the hospital has always been an issue – one that hospital media management people don’t like to talk about very much.  Big 20 inch pipes being shoved under North Shore Road to connect properties north of Lakeshore to pipes running along Lakeshore right past the hospital to the Waste Water treatment plant. Traffic in the area has been re-routed in several directions while the construction work takes place. Waste water treatment and storm water facilities are also being upgraded as well.
A 20 inch pipe is being shoved under the Lakeshore Road, North Shore Road intersection from the Brant Museum property to connect waste water pipes to the main trunk line.
 These are the detours that are going to be in place until road re-construction is complete – sometime in September. It is not a pretty place for traffic these days – and it is going to remain that way until late in September.
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