 By Staff
November 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
They are going to do it again this year.
Last year with a lot of pushing from ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward the city made all of December a free parking downtown month.
“We heard from many people last year who enjoyed the free parking promotion and took advantage of the offer to do some of their holiday shopping and celebrating in the downtown,” said Scott Stewart, general manager of development and infrastructure. “We hope the return of free parking throughout December will encourage residents and visitors to explore the people and places that make downtown Burlington a great place to visit, live and work.”
 Throughout December, vehicles parking at on-street parking meters can park free for up to three hours. For vehicles parked at municipal parking lots or at the parking garage at 414 Locust St., there is no maximum time limit. Overnight parking in municipal lots is allowed except during snow removal activity between 2 and 6 a.m.
The city created a cute video to get the message across.
 The City of Burlington provides more than 1,400 municipal public parking spaces in downtown Burlington and offers free parking year-round in downtown Burlington on weekends, Monday to Friday after 6 p.m. and holidays.
When the city announced the program last year the people working at the local retail locations saw a good deal and made the best of it – it was hard to get a space in some of the more popular lots – they were filled with people who worked downtown – not the people who had come downtown to shop.
The city manager at the time put out a pretty stiff memo but it took a few days to get the needed attitude change. Interim city manager Pat Moyle might want to dig out that memo and re-issue it.
Related articles:
The free parking was supposed to be for customers – not staff at retail locations.
Councillor argues that free parking for city employees is a taxable benefit.
Councillor goes after free parking during budget discussion.
 By Ray Rivers
November 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
Before the British North American colonies converged into a new nation, Ontario and Quebec shared history as the united ‘Province of Canada’. The Act of Union in 1840 brought together the former Upper and Lower Canadian colonies into a union which lasted until confederation in 1867. This union gave birth to the responsible government in the colonies, involving both English and French Canadians despite occasional disagreements, as in 1849, when rebelling Tories burned the provincial capital buildings in Montreal.
 The hanging of Louis Riel created a major rift between Quebec, the aboriginal community and the federal government that to some degree still exists today Ontario and Quebec have had their disagreements; Louis Riel, conscription, liquor marketing restrictions and cross border labour disputes – but there has always been a fraternal amity, not unlike that between the western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Premiers Robarts, Davis, Peterson, McGuinty and Wynne were always strong promoters of Quebecers’ interests in Canada including through those troubling periods when Quebec was threatening to leave the federation.
So it is gratifying that Premiers Wynne and Couillard are taking steps to bump up their cooperation on language policy, climate change, electrical energy and strengthening the central Canadian economy. This sounds like a no-brainer though and provincial residents should thank the Prime Minister, if only because the federal government’s neglect is the spark that has driven this initiative. After all, Mr. Harper has spent virtually no political capital on central Canada’s economy, rather focusing his energy on the further development of the Alberta tar sands
Ontario and Quebec make up about 60% of the country’s population and its gross domestic product (GDP). So expanding trade between them should help expand their economies and allow them to pay down their debts. New approaches to sharing electrical grids will help keep electricity rates in check, which is good for the economies as well as the rate payers. But what would really help is a much needed boost to infrastructure, transportation infrastructure in particular, to keep their major cities from choking on their own success.
Throughout history the federal government has always been the driving force in the economic development of this country. It was the feds who gave us our national railways (and have since sold them off) that brought B.C. into the federation and bound us all together. The TransCanada highway is the centre piece of Canada’s national road transportation system. Environmental management across the country was only made possible with federal resources to build water and waste water facilities. The federal government (Trudeau) even salvaged the oil sands when Alberta was ready to throw in the towel, in its earlier days.
So, in keeping with that tradition the Harper government, a few years ago, announced a program to help the provinces fund their growing infrastructure needs. But Ontario’s share is less than three billion dollars while the provincial government needs to spend about $130 billion dollars over the next decade.
 The “Ring of Fire”; the name given to a part of the province that is believed to be rich in natural resources but cannot be reached because there are no roads into that part of the province. Ontario wants federal government help to build those roads. The federal government wants pipe lines to move tar sands bitumen from Alberta to the east coast. Then there is the ‘Ring of Fire’.
The so-called ‘Ring of Fire’, site of potentially billions of dollars worth of valuable minerals, lies about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, but is currently inaccessible except by helicopter or canoe and portage. Both Ottawa and Toronto agree on the need to develop this resource and the Province estimates about a billion dollars is needed for a transportation system. The federal government has decided that this should come out of Ontario’s piddly $3 billion in that infrastructure fund – and therein lies just another disagreement between Canada and its largest province.
Premier Wynne has requested a meeting with the PM to talk about this matter among others. But Harper is refusing to meet her because he can see no benefit in helping a provincial Liberal government improve its economy. So he’s got nothing to say and no more money to offer. That is, no more money for Ontario if he is going to balance his budget; give another $2 billion in tax cuts to reasonably well-off Canadian families; and keep his fighter jets running missions in Iraq.
Then there is that Ontario pension program which Wynne has decided to undertake, all on her own, since the feds refuse to undertake much needed upgrades to the existing Canada Pension Plan.
And there is Premier Wynne’s demand for a more equitable share of the federal equalization program, now, when the province needs the money most. But then Ontario just voted Liberal in the last election – so who can blame the Conservative PM for not wanting to help her out.
Canada’s record on climate change is abysmal. We had once gained considerable reputation as a front-seat participant in different forums dealing with the the global issue. But Canada has surrendered its commitment to the Kyoto protocol and is unlikely to meet even the softer targets the Harper government recently set. Still, the PM likes to take credit for the recent modest improvement in emissions statistics, notwithstanding his ‘full-speed-ahead’ on oil sands development and the pipelines he envisions to move all that oil.
And any reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon emissions which Canada can boast about are almost entirely due to Ontario’s green energy program and the shut down of coal-fired electricity – an initiative which Ottawa refused to help finance. In fact Ontario and Quebec are the only two jurisdictions in Canada which have significantly reduced their GHG emissions over the years, again without help from the current federal government.
 Premiers Wynne of Ontario and Couillard of Quebec have begun to work together to protect the economic interests of Central Canada Mr. Harper’s party managed to pull a couple of wins in the recent by-elections, one of them in Ontario. The general election this coming year will be a greater test for his government. It will be an opportunity to discuss climate change, energy policy and infrastructure in a way that they were not debated in the by-elections.
It is unlikely that Mr. Harper will lose much political support in his western home base over his almost antagonistic approach to the rest of Canada, However voters in central and coastal portions of the country will need to ask themselves what they have been getting out of this confederation. And do we need to rethink the make-up of the political union we call Canada – as Quebec and Ontario seem to be doing. Or do we just change the channel at the polling booth.
 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 where he ran against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province.
Background links:
Infrastructure Quebec-Ontario Partnership Canadian Federalism
Respect Ontario History Federal Infrastructure Program
More Infrastructure Even More Infra Ring of Fire
 By Pepper Parr
November 26, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
It’s a community that just keeps on giving – a little like that Energizer bunny.
 TD District VP Cosimo Mazzafero on the left approving a withdrawal from the bank for the Burlington Community Foundation Laura Pizzacalli is pleased as punch with the donation. Ron Foxcroft know what it took the reel this cheque in. Yesterday it was the Toronto Dominion Bank that handed over their cheque for $20,000 – thank you very much said Ron Foxcroft as he added another notch to the fund raising goal for Flood Relief.
 The Burlington Sports Alliance came through in a big $20,000 way for the flood victims. From the left Mary Nichol, John Tait, Collen Mulholland, Rick Dawson, Jean Longfield and Angelo Bentivegna Next day it was the Sports Alliance that turned in its cheque for $20,000 as well. Not to take anything away from the bank – but for the Sports Alliance to bring in $20,000 is a major achievement.
The revised goal is now $1 million and with the donations in the wings and that last minute hustle Foxcroft has put on community organizations and major corporations the target is certainly achievable.
The Burlington Community Foundation is now winding down the hard push for funds – it is still important – but the task now is to begin putting together the files that have to be completed to put the money raised into the hands of the people who need it.
As the tremendous community effort works its way to the date – December 15th – on which funds begin to get distributed those who did the really hard day to day work to produce the results are beginning to think about the lessons that have been learned.
Tuesday morning Collen Mulholland who has been the driving force behind making this all come together, took part in a McMaster DeGroote School of Business event at the Ron Joyce Campus on the South Service Road where she talked about how communities are going to have to prepare for the “not if but when” extreme weather situations that most believe are the result of global warming.
Last weekend Buffalo got thumped with snow that was as high as seven feet in some areas; the next day the GTA had a wind storm that got as high as 100 kmh.
 Help was needed from wherever it could be gotten in Buffalo when they got more than six feet of snow. In Buffalo there were shovel brigades consisting of dozens of people pushing snow. Many of the people in Burlington who will benefit from the Flood Relief funds raised did not have insurance – they weren’t able to buy any. Others had severe caps put on the amount of insurance they could buy.
These were all responsible people – they just weren’t able to buy the protection they needed. We are going to see more of this type of weather related damage done to communities.
Mulholland talked about the difficulty in raising funds quickly. Burlington had people who were in very real dire straits – they had been wiped out through no fault of their own. Many were able to turn to family and savings – but this country is no longer known for its high savings rate. A lot of families carry quite a bit of debt.
Mulholland explained that there are hundreds of Foundations that have funds which they make available – but as Mulholland explained: “It takes a long time to actually get the funds”. There are all kinds of hoops that one has to go through. She suggested communities might want to begin looking for and creating new models to meet the needs of a community. The Burlington Community wasn’t created to do what it found itself doing.
 It is difficult to financially support something you can’t see – when the waste bins were off the streets – the need wasn’t visible anymore – but the need is still there. The Mayor made the call and the BCF took up the challenge. Mulholland wonders if there is an opportunity to create a structure that has a Community Foundation in every city, town and hamlet in the country with each creating an endowment and being set up and able to move funds from one community to another.
Canada has a fine tradition of communities helping communities. Burlington recently agreed to send a truck and a front end loader to Buffalo to help clear snow.
We seem though to be entering a different environment where events such as the 191 mm of rain that fell on relatively small parts of Burlington in four to five hours was something the bureaucrats said could not possibly prepared for. There are differing views on that but the point is well made – we have different weather these days and both people and property are going to be hurt.
Burlington appears to have decided to become proactive and serve as a leader in the thinking that has to be done to create the structures needed across the country to let people help people and prepare for the kind of significant environmental changes we are going to have to deal with.
 By Pepper Parr
November 25, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
We got the tease piece on Monday – be ready for a biggie announcement on a major drug arrest.
They were going to have pictures and even the Chief was going to be on hand to strut and show his stiff.
The Halton Regional Police Service Drug, Gun and Gang Unit had concluded an eight month drug investigation earlier that day with assistance from Hamilton Police Service, Waterloo Regional Police Service, Niagara Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, Peel Regional Police Service and the Durham Regional Police Service. They executed a total of 15 search warrants throughout Halton, Hamilton and Toronto.
They raked in a substantial amount of drugs, cash and firearms. Further details were to follow; a press conference was planned for the next day.
It was the end of an eight month investigation into a group involved with trafficking cocaine and marihuana. The investigation revealed the network was well entrenched in the drug culture in Halton Region, the City of Hamilton and the City of Toronto.
 Modern day technology and counter-detection techniques deployed by this group presented significant obstacles to the investigative team. However, investigators were able to unravel the layers to this sophisticated drug trafficking operation. As a result, police identified the parties involved, their respective roles, drug stash locations and concealment methods.
Police arrested and charged 15 people, disrupting and possibly dismantling this drug trafficking network. Police seized the following evidence:
2.5 kilograms of cocaine
105 pounds of marihuana
1 kilogram of cannabis resin
2 semi automatic handguns and ammunition
$155,000
4 vehicles as offence related property
The charged persons are as follows:
James EVANS-O’CONNELL, 27yrs, from Burlington
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Cocaine (7 counts)
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Marihuana over 3 kilograms (6 counts)
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Marihuana less than 3 kilograms
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance (13 counts)
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Garth WATKINS, 29yrs, from Burlington
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Cocaine
• Possession of a Controlled Substance (2 counts)
• Obstruct Police
• Possession of a Prohibited Weapon
• Breach of Probation
• Breach of Prohibition Order
Derek JACKSON, 24yrs, from Hamilton
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Cocaine (7 counts)
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Marihuana over 3 kilograms (6 counts)
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Marihuana less than 3 kilograms
Erik STRONG, 29yrs, from Toronto
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Marihuana over 3 kilograms (3 counts)
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Jessica GRANT, 26yrs, from Burlington
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Cocaine
• Possession of a Controlled Substance (2 counts)
• Obstruct Police
• Possession of a Prohibited Weapon
James DEROSA, 27yrs, from Waterdown
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Cocaine and Oxycodone
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
• Breach of Recognizance
Adam DEBOER, 24yrs, from Millgrove
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Cocaine
• Possession of a Controlled Substance
Joshua YEAGER, 29yrs, from Milton
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Marihuana
Ryan KNAPMAN, 29yrs, from Burlington
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance (2 counts)
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Cocaine and Marihuana
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Sean KNAPMAN, 27yrs, from Burlington
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance (2 counts)
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Cocaine and Marihuana
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Amir PAREKH, 26yrs, from Toronto
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Marihuana
• Possession of a Controlled Substance
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Frank GELENYI, 30 yrs, from Oakville
• Breach of Recognizance (currently on outstanding firearms charges from 2012)
• Unlawful Possession of Firearm
• Knowingly in Possession of an Unauthorized Firearm
• Possession of Restricted Firearm with Ammunition
• Breach of Firearms Prohibition
Greg JONES, 33yrs, from Toronto
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance
• Trafficking a Controlled Substance; Marihuana
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Marihuana
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking; Cannabis Resin
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Merrick BROOMFIELD, 27yrs, from Stoney Creek
• Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance
Tristan MIGNOTT, 26yrs, from Stoney Creek
• Unlawful Possession of a Firearm
• Knowingly in Possession of an Unauthorized Firearm
• Tamper with Serial Number on Firearm
• Possession of Restricted Firearm with Ammunition
• Possession of a Controlled Substance
That was certainly a big bust; the lawyers in town will be busy; no word on who got bail.
 By Pepper Parr
November 24, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The National Energy Board (NEB) has made it very clear to Enbridge that the pipeline they want to reverse and pump Alberta tar sands bitumen to eastern Canada is not going to be as simple as they thought it was going to be.
The NEB recently told Enbridge that their Line 9 plans failed to meet the requirement that shutoff “valves shall be installed on both sides of major water crossings”, and also challenged the company’s definition of what constitutes a major water course (WMC).
The Board has demanded a new company submission “at least 90 days prior to applying for the final leave to open” the pipeline which significantly sets back Enbridge’s previously announced intention to start shipments later sometime in November.
 There are seven creeks that run from the Escarpment into Lake Ontario. We know how volatile those creeks can get when they are flooded. They would carry an oil spill right out into the lake threatening our water supply. “The Board notes that only 6 of the 104 MWCs identified by Enbridge to date appear to have valves installed within 1 km on both sides of the water crossing, while the majority appear to have valves installed more than 10 km from the water crossing on at least one side,” explains the NEB letter to the company. “The Board is of the view that Enbridge’s criteria for determining MWCs are not adequate.”
One of those major water crossing is Bronte Creek. Hamilton has a community committee that has done their homework and are on top of the issue. Burlington isn’t as fortunate. BurlingtonGreen has some expertise but not much in the way of profile on this.
 The location of the valves – underground – that are controlled from the Enbridge office in Western Canada. Are there enough of these in place? The city’s engineering department has a small group monitoring but they don’t appear to have focused on those water bodies that are within our boundaries. Hamilton is pressing very hard to ensure that the required shut off valves are installed so that if there is a spill the flow can be stopped.
We don’t hear about Burlington banging their fists on the table to make sure that the seven creeks that flow through are city have the protection needed.
Burlington is going to have to be at the table pushing for what our problems are. Sam Sidawi, Senior Engineer with the city said “we are part of a thing called the Municipal Liaison Group”, and seemed content to leave it at that. Hamilton is a part of the same group and they aren’t leaving the protection of their Major Water Crossing in the hands of others.
The Conservation Authority is in there somewhere but try getting a map from them delineating all the creeks that run from the Escarpment to the Lake and they will tell you there are GIS licensing concerns. Balderdash.
We did get a copy this morning after months of asking
 Enbridge was sucking oil out of the river and creeks that had oil from the spill in them four years after the spill. Burlington could not go that long. At this point Burlington doesn’t have a problem – nothing is running through Line 9 – but when they get the clearance they need – we could have a problem – that line is close to 40 years old.
Kalamazoo Michigan had an oil spill that sent an estimated 800,000 gallons of crude oil into Talmadge Creek and the river. Nearly four years later since the spill was discovered July 26, 2010 near Marshall, the Canadian pipeline company is wrapping up the cleanup.
By Staff
November 24, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The cops need some help and so does the Arctic Spa – they are missing a 16 feet long by 8 feet wide Hudson Swim Spa valued at $25,000. The Halton Regional Police are looking for any information that will help identify the person(s) responsible for the theft of Swim Spa.
On Wednesday, October 8, 2014 shortly after 10:00 pm a dark coloured pick-up truck with silver trim at the bottom and towing a 20 foot trailer with a forklift, pulled into the parking lot of Arctic Spa located at 990 Fraser Drive in the City of Burlington.
The forklift was used to load the Swim Spa valued onto the trailer.
Anyone with information is asked to contact D/Cst. Dikran Tokat, 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau – Commercial Crime Team at 905 825-4747 ext 2333, or anyone with information on this or any other crime is asked to call 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
November 24, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
News reports will make mention of video the police obtained to identify a suspect. Where do they get that video?
From people who have video cameras installed. Most commercial establishments now have video cameras – as well as many homes.
 The Halton Regional Police have created a new data base that will list all the known video camera set ups in the city.
If you have a security video system at your home you can register that camera and system with the Halton Regional Police. All the police do is make a note of your address and the fact that you have a video surveillance system around your house.
The police don’t have access to your system – they just know it is there because you voluntarily registered it with them.
In the event that there is an accident or a crime committed within range of your system the police know that you have cameras and will ask if they can have access to that video.
Called the Security Camera Registration and Monitoring (S.C.R.A.M.) Program; it is seen as a new crime prevention and investigative tool.
In 2013, the Region of Halton was named the safest Canadian regional municipality with a population of more than 100,000. In fact, it was a record year with the crime rate dropping to the lowest it has been since 1974. There are many reasons why Halton enjoys this status; one of which is the reciprocal relationship that the Halton Regional Police Service shares with the community it serves.
This partnership between community and police has allowed Halton to experience a declining crime rate, despite a growing population.
Private home security is a priority for many residents in an effort to protect their home and family. As our population is growing, so is the number of residential video surveillance cameras being installed in neighbourhoods throughout the region. As the number grows, so does the opportunity for police to have access to video/photo evidence that can assist with criminal investigations and lead to suspect identity and a conviction in court.
The new S.C.R.A.M. Program is a community based crime prevention opportunity and investigative tool that enlists the help of Halton residents and can help prevent crime on three levels. Residential video surveillance cameras can deter criminals from entering the area, can prevent crimes from occurring and can help solve crimes by providing valuable evidence to the police.
The S.C.R.A.M. program enables community members to voluntarily identify and register their residential video surveillance equipment through a simple, secure, confidential, online form located on the Halton Regional Police Service website.
Once registered, a database of surveillance camera locations will be available for officers when investigating a criminal offence. The database will provide officers with a more efficient manner of locating surveillance evidence in the critical initial stages of an investigation when time and public safety are potential factors. The program is an innovative and cost-effective way to increase resources that help solve crimes.
Currently when officers are involved in an investigation their only method for locating surveillance evidence is through a physical canvass which is both time consuming and resource heavy. The S.C.R.A.M. database will allow officers access to registered video surveillance in a particular area by utilizing an interactive crime mapping tool.
This program is a creative way of empowering the Halton community to take action against crime in their neighbourhoods. The program facilitates secure information-sharing between the community and the police, and promotes a united response to crime prevention. Because participation in this program is voluntary, S.C.R.A.M., in essence is a community-led initiative and encourages people to become part of the solution, while providing the police with a valuable investigative tool.
 By Pepper Parr
November 24, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
He left us on this day in 1807. Sometime after his community transported his remains to Brantford where he is celebrated and revered.
Burlington was the location of the land grant Joseph Brant was given for his service to the British Army during the American Revolutionary wars.
 Joseph Brant was a part of making Canada what it is today – he just isn’t adequately recognized for his contribution. The city is littered with the history of the land transfers that piece by piece transferred every acre from Joseph Brant to other people in Burlington. The Kerns family was the first to buy property from Brant – 200 acres on the east side of Brant Street.
Each August the city holds an event at the LaSalle Park and Joseph Brant does get a mention.
The Board of the Brant Museum on Lakeshore Road has elaborate plans for a modern display telling the Brant story and the copy of the original Brant home will be part of the structure but the public won’t be able to actually go into the building – that will be used for “administrative” purposes.
 Architect’s rendering of what a “new” Joseph Brant Museum might look like. It would be built on an intersection that will become one of the busiest in the city when the re-developed hospital opens in 2018/19 Poor Joseph Brant – we keep short selling the man and his exceptionally significant achievements.
There is hope. Rick Wilson, the man who corrected a major error in historical fact when he pointed out that an historical sign on the Burlington Heights side of Burlington Bay was incorrect when it described a War of 1812 battle.
That error got corrected and there is now a piece of signage that sets that story straight. Wilson has some thoughts that he hopes will result in the creation and erection of a suitable statue of Brant.
There is hope.
Related stories:
Citizen finally gets the province to recognize their error.
Signage goes up telling the true story of the Burlington Races.
By Staff
November 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a good idea at the time but time may have gotten the best of Councillors Dennison’s intentions.
At one of the shortest Council meetings this term (18 minutes) the significant seven whizzed through a short agenda but weren’t allowed to go home right away – Councillor Dennison had an idea. He didn’t have a motion and the Mayor really wanted to upbraid him for that – but Jack Dennison doesn’t get points for his efficiency with the paper work.
 Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison always has an eye open for an opportunity – convinced Council they should send some equipment to Buffalo to help with their snow problems. Dennison told Council that he and “a couple of the guys” were talking about the huge amount of snow that had fallen on Buffalo and he wondered if Burlington could send some of its equipment their way to help out. Dennison wanted to send a truck and a front end loader.
After getting a motion on paper – Council went for the idea and left it to staff to make it happen.
 Buffalo bound? Might be. Councillor Jack Dennison got Council to agree to send some equipment to Buffalo if they needed it. Rain may replace snow in the Buffalo area. Things like this inevitably end up on the desk of the “make it happen guy” at city hall. General manager Scott Stewart got in touch with the city of Buffalo but they said they didn’t need any more equipment but some of the towns surrounding the city might need some help.
Stewart got in touch with the office of the Governor of New York state to ask if Burlington could assist. No answer at the end of the day on Friday and – with the snow fall coming to an end and rain coming on the Buffalo area is now worried about flooding –something Burlington can tell them a lot about.
It was a good idea and Dennison deserves a kudo for bringing it up.
By Pepper Parr
November 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Jackie Isada, Chief of Staff, Daphne Jaques, Assistant to the Mayor and Corry Holloway, Assistant to the Mayor’s Office will all have new digs come the New Year.
City Hall announced that Ms Isada will be leaving her job with the Mayor and joining McMaster University as the Manager for Government Affairs at McMaster University. Ms Isada joined the Mayor’s office in 2013
 Jackie Isada leaves the Office of the Mayor to join McMaster University. There is no replacement at this time. The Gazette learned that the Mayor is going to go back to square one and start all over on the staffing side. Staff in the Mayor’s office are all contract employees
When he set up his office in 2010 Mayor Rick Goldring brought Frank McKeown in as his first Chief of Staff and Daphne Jaques as an assistant; both were part of his election campaign team. Julie Rorison joined the eighth floor staff soon after.
That all came to an end when McKeown left the job as Chief of Staff in December of 2012 and Ms Riordan left the Mayor’s office to join the Clerk’s office in 2014.
There has been no mention as to who will replace Ms Isada however a few names have been put in front of the Mayor.
When asked Mayor Goldring said he was not aware of any situation in the past when a Mayor replaced all his staff members at the beginning of a second term.
 Mayor Rick Goldring loses his second chief of staff and decides not to renew the contracts of the balance of the team on the eighth floor. When Goldring was a Council member for ward 5, Georgie Gartside was his assistant. At the time she fully expected to join the Mayor on the eighth floor but that did not happen. Gartside was asked to work with newly elected Council member Marianne Meed Ward where she became one of the most efficient councilor assistants and serves almost as an advisor to Meed Ward.
Senior staff at city hall are not quite sure where the Mayor is going in terms of staffing and what he has in the way of longer term plans. Citizens might get some sense of where the Mayor wants to go with his thinking and what he feels he needs in the way of staff when he delivers his Inaugural address December 1st.
Right now it looks like chaos and confusion.
By Staff
November 20, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
David Packer pled guilty to charges under the Conservation Authorities Act in relation to undertaking unauthorized development within areas regulated by Conservation Halton. Guilty pleas were entered at the Burlington Provincial Offences Courthouse on August 12, 2014.
On February 22, 2013 Conservation Halton staff confirmed that fill material was being dumped and graded at 1400 Snake Road. David Packer had arranged for the disposal of fill material into the Burlington property. The development activities were undertaken without written permission from Conservation Halton, which is required as the development activities took place within a valley that is regulated by the Conservation Authorities Act.
 Trucks dumping landfill at the Air Park site on Appleby Line. David Packer pled guilty to six charges and was fined a total of $3,000 plus the victim surcharge. In addition to the fine Packer voluntarily removed the fill material at his own expense.
Conservation Halton administers Ontario Regulation 162/06 which regulates development activities within and adjacent to natural hazard areas such as watercourses, creeks or streams, wetlands, the Lake Ontario shoreline and valley slopes.
Hazardous lands are defined as areas that could be unsafe for development because of naturally occurring processes associated with flooding, erosion, dynamic beaches, or unstable soils or bedrock. By regulating development in these hazard areas, Conservation Authorities ensure that people and property are kept safe and the tax payer is not burdened with the cost of replacing and/or relocating development from these areas when natural disasters occur.
There are residents on Appleby Line who will shake their heads in dis-belief when they read the above. Where, they will ask, has the Conservation Authority been the past three years while the Air Park owners were dumping tonnes of land fill on their 200 acre property?
 By Pepper Parr
November 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
I found myself thinking about the Swearing in ceremony that is going to take place December 1st at the Performing Arts Centre and wondered why the Mayor or perhaps one of the council members or maybe the manager of the city’s communications department or – heaven forbid, the people who are supposed to be working on “community engagement” – didn’t look for ways to open up the evening.
There will be as many as 700 people in the Main Theatre at the Performing Arts Centre. What an opportunity for this Council to use the occasion to actually listen to what residents have to say.
The organizers of the event could have four or five of those hand held microphones and the Mayor could invite people to ask questions of any member of Council.
These wouldn’t be delegations – just people asking questions.
Limit the time for this part to say 30 minutes. Anyone can ask any question. All they have to do is stand up and have the microphone placed in their hands. The questions would have to be short and direct
It wouldn’t hurt if there were a little back and forth permitted as well.
People in this city have things to say. Many will have nice things to say while others will ask pointed questions.
Somebody will have to control the event. Have current General Manager Scott Stewart take on that task; he’s pretty good at managing this kind of event. It will give the public a chance to see the man in action; they are going to be reading a lot more about the guy in the near future.
Is it risky? A bit – but leaders are supposed to lead – show by example. There are not many occasions when there are 700 citizens in one place and every member of Council in that place as well.
Worth a try folks and there is still time to juggle the agenda – no one is going to mind the additional half hour. Most people will stay glued to their seats waiting to hear the questions.
No pre-screening the questions – whatever comes out – comes out.
It will take a little courage but it is worth it.
 By Staff
November 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
No one ever went wrong talking about energy saving – especially when the temperature outside was double digit below and when our friends in Buffalo were getting more than two feet of snow.
Burlington’s Sustainable Development Committee will host a free event on Nov. 25 for homeowners to help reduce home energy costs.
 Lynn Robichaud, the city’s senior sustainability coordinator takes part in almost every environmental event in the city – heading up the energy efficiency seminar later this month. Takes place Tuesday, Nov. 25 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Burlington Public Library, Central Branch, at 2331 New St.
“Homeowners can learn valuable cost-saving tips to make their home more energy-efficient,” said Lynn Robichaud, the city’s senior sustainability coordinator. “Industry experts will be on hand to answer questions.”
Participating organizations include: Burlington Hydro, GreenVenture, Halton Region, Philips Lighting and Union Gas.
In 1990, the City of Burlington declared itself a Sustainable Development Community and set up the Sustainable Development Committee as an advisory body to City Council.
The role of this volunteer citizens’ committee, which includes members of the public and the business community, is to get people talking about sustainable development and to integrate economic and environmental planning at the municipal level.
By Staff
November 18, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON –
Samuel, Son & Co., Ltd., also known as GO Packaging, has pleaded guilty and has been fined $70,000 after a worker suffered fractures and other injuries after being caught in machinery.
On June 7, 2013, a worker was learning how to thread multiple strands of plastic strapping material at the company’s workplace at 735 Oval Court in Burlington. The worker was participating in peer-to-peer job advancement training with a senior, experienced operator who was also a lead hand. The task involved running four strands of plastic strapping repeatedly back and forth the full distance of the production line to allow the hot, freshly extruded plastic strapping to cool by air.
The trainee worker was instructed to shut down the machine and, while reaching for a side stop control panel near exposed rollers, one hand and forearm became entangled in plastic strapping. As the worker tried to use the other hand, it also became caught.
The lead hand witnessed the event and stopped the machine. Co-workers used a hack saw to cut through the accumulation of strapping material and extricated the worker. The worker suffered bruising, sprains and bone fractures as well as amputation of the tip of one finger. A Ministry of Labour investigation followed.
Samuel, Son & Co., Ltd. pleaded guilty in court to failing to appoint a competent person as supervisor when it appointed the lead hand as the supervisor.
A ‘competent person’ is defined as a person who is qualified because of knowledge, training and experience to organize the work and its performance; is familiar with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the regulations that apply to the work; and has knowledge of any potential or actual danger to health or safety in the workplace.
The employer had not made the lead hand familiar with the Occupational Health and Safety Act or the Industrial Establishments Regulation, which applied at the workplace; the lead hand was thus not a competent person as defined by law.
Samuel, Son & Co., Ltd. was fined $70,000 by Justice of the Peace Eileen Walker in Provincial Offences Court in Burlington. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
 By Staff
November 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
They are taking the show on the road.
On December 1, the Mayor and the six council members will take their places on the main stage of the Performing Arts Centre and be sworn in.
In 2010 the city spring for some pretty good food – this time it will be coffee and a cookie with pop for the kids. It looks as if that great bar in the Centre won’t be open. Shame.
 The Mayor`s chair and his chain of office will get taken to the Performing Arts Centre for the Swearing in on December 1. Moving the swearing in to the Performing Arts Centre will allow for many more citizens and city hall staff to attend. Each Council member will have ten tickets to distribute for reserved seats – the Mayor gets twenty tickets.
The Burlington Teen Tour Band will take part and Hayley Verrall will sing O’Canada.
New this year will be words from Ron Foxcroft who will be the keynote speaker. He is expected to use some thought from a basketball player who talked of “elevating his game”. Foxcroft wants the city to “elevate” its game.
Justice Dale S. Fitzpatrick will oversee the swearing in while the Venerable Stephen Hopkins of St. Christoper`s Anglican Church will do the Blessing.
 The Burlington Teen Tour Band officially opened the Performing Arts Centre a few years ago. They will march during the Council Swearing in on December 1 in the Main Theatre. The Mayor will also deliver his Inaugural address. We might get to hear some of the “setup” he mentioned in his election campaign but never did expand on.
The Mayor’s chair will be transported to the Performing Arts Centre. There will be seating for each Council member, the interim city manager and Clerk Angela Morgan on the stage with space made available for the Judge, the Clergyman and other speakers.
The event will begin at 6:30 pm. The Main Theatre can hold 700+ people.
By Pepper Parr
November 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Another cheque presentation; another photo op – you wonder if they are all the same and why we bother doing them.
 Cashier aisles at Fortinos told the story about the help needed and citizens responded. Making a financial contribution is hard work for the people doing the convincing to get a corporation to write a big cheque and for the people who work for that corporation – it is a big deal. Their employer gave something back to the community.
For the staff at Fortinos – all four locations in Burlington, the T-shirts that were handed out were a statement that every one of them was proud to make.
 Disaster Relief chair Ron Foxcroft on the left celebrates with BCF president Colleen Mulholland and the four Fortinos franchise owners in Burlington: Guelph Line: Joe Mangiapane; Appleby, Frank Scornaienchie; Aldershot Paul Anderson and New Street Photis Kelpis
Yesterday Fortinos proudly presented their cheque for $38,191.36 Which put the Flood Disaster Relief drive over the $900,000 level – and while the official fund raising drive has closed the Burlington Community Foundation can collect funds up to December 15th. That is the date on which the provincial government asks what they have in the bank and matches that amount of a two-for-one basis.
The drive now is to get that $900,000 up to $1 million so that there will be $3 million available for distribution.
The Fortino contribution was the result of a corporate donation which will follow and small amount collected by the cashers in each of their four locations. Those funds were collected in a very short ten day period.
The task now is to make sure those funds get into the hands of people who were un-insured or under insured. There are many families in the flood stricken parts of the city who could not buy insurance – it just isn’t available to them. And – a significant number of those people have suffered more than one flood.
This is not a situation where people were financially irresponsible – their insurance companies said no.
The provincial funding comes from the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP) for which Burlington had to apply.
The original application was actually turned down – it took a lot of telephone calls and some considerable arm twisting to get the province to change its mind. A lot of the credit for that goes to the MPP for Burlington, Eleanor McMahon.
The ODRAP program has severe limits on what it can provide money for. If a furnace was destroyed, if a washer and a dryer were destroyed – those are covered, but if you had an expensive Persian rug in the family room on the lower level the province is not going to advance funds to buy a new one. You will get money for a new rug – but you won’t be replacing that Persian rug with provincial money.
The key word in the program is relief.
The deadline for financial support applications is December 15- and that is a hard deadline. The Burlington Community Foundation has received more than 75 applications for financial support but believe there are still as many as 100 homes that qualify for support who have not yet submitted their forms. The document people are required to complete is complex but – and this is important – there are people at the BCF in place to help you.
 3100 of these cards have been mailed to those home in flood ravaged parts of the city advising residents that financial support is available but that there is a December 15th deadline. You may not have some of the information the forms ask for – don’t let hold you back. The insurance people in place have software tools that will help them figure out some of the information needed. What is critical and important is this – you must have your forms in before December 15th or you will not be able to participate in the program.
The BCF has prepared a mailing piece the city is sending out to 3100 home owners advising them of the program. Funds have been raised – the community has done a magnificent job of donating the funds for those who were flooded.
The objective now is to make sure everyone who needs help gets the help they need.
By Pepper Parr
November 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
Boy – did he ever bush whack the guy!
Eric Vandewall, president of the Joseph Brant Hospital strode into a city council Standing Committee meeting with great news. The company that was going to build the new hospital had been selected; the financial advisors were in place and the province was on side.
It had been quite a haul from the day that a Minister was supposed to show up with a cheque in hand got stuck in traffic and Vanderwall was left sucking his thumb.
 An architects rendering of the new entrance to the Joseph Brant Hospital which will now face the lake. The entrance will be off Lakeshore Road with the new parking lot just to the west of the hospital. Yesterday Vandewall was telling Council how far the hospital had come with the redevelopment project. Something called the Integrated Team Solutions (ITS) will design, build and finance the hospital’s redevelopment and expansion project.
EllisDon will do the actual construction; – Constructor; Fengate Capital Management – Financial Advisor; Parkin/Adamson Architects Limited – Architects in joint venture.
Vandewall was there to justifiably boast about the new seven-storey patient care tower; 172 new beds; a new Emergency Department, nine new operating rooms, a post-anaesthetic care unit, a new and expanded Cancer Clinic, expanded ambulatory care programs, a renovated level 2B Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit, expanded Diagnostic Imaging Services, expanded medical, surgical and outpatient services and a new main entrance.
 It was a sunny summer day and a provincial government minister was on her way to Burlington with what everyone thought was going to be a cheque for the hospital in her purse. She didn’t arrive and hospital president Eric Vandewall sent all his guests home. Few realize just how much Vandewall has done since he first got the funding needed to re-build a hospital that had a terrible reputation and was nowhere near the standard the public needed and expected. He had more than a fair share of stick handling to get to the point he was at Tuesday when he told Council he expected to see shovels in the ground Spring of 2015.
That’s when Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven began asking questions: Were you aware asked Craven “that the final site plan is not in yet?” Without site plan approval a building permit can’t be issued.
ITS is responsible for that was Vandewall’s response
MTO has not signed off on the interchange advised Craven. A building permit can’ be issued until MTO signs off.
Were you aware of the neighbourhood issues asked Craven; drive ways on the north side of the hospital property as well as visuals.
Craven wanted to know if Vandewall was aware of the procurement for three different designs
Craven closed his questions by reminding Vandewall that a public meeting was required and that hospital approval was un-delegated – which meant approval comes from Council – not staff.
Vandewall agreed that he and Craven should get together and talk. That is going to be some conversation.
The re-development of the hospital is the biggest project the city has on the go and while it is located in ward 1 – it is a city wide concern.
For the ward council member to bush whack the president of the hospital in public like that is very unusual to say the least.
Where is the Councillor getting his information and why did he have to put Vandewall on the spot like that?
Vandewall and his team had additional good news. The hospital foundation part of the fund raising is going very well; they have raised 65% of their goal and have $40 million in hand.
Taxpayers are putting up half of the $120 million the province said we had to raise and the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation is raising the rest. Vandewall said the hospital will open sometime in late 2018 or early 2019.
By Ray Rivers
November 18, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
He is consistently below Trudeau and Mulcair in national opinion polls and his party is currently lagging that of Trudeau by double digits, yet the voters in the two federal by-elections yesterday chose Harper. Of course the Alberta riding of Yellowhead was never in doubt, and the new Tory there won by a resounding 60% of the vote. But that is Alberta, where the point of having an election is, arguably, a waste of money. Why not just have the Conservative Party appoint the MPs?
 Whitby-Oshawa was a closer race between the Libs and Cons. Nevertheless, the popular former Whitby mayor, Pat Perkins, who only recently jumped in for the Conservatives, won the support of a clear majority of the voters, receiving almost 50 per cent of the votes cast. The Liberal, Celina Caesar-Chavannes, came in second with a respectable 40% of the vote in this one-time Liberal riding. The NDP, which had replaced the Liberals as the second choice of voters in the last general election fell back to their more traditional spot.
Of course this is the constituency of former finance minister Flaherty, whom Canadians generally respected, once he came to federal politics. And it didn’t hurt that Flaherty’s widow, Christine Elliott, is the sitting provincial MPP there, and also a front runner in the contest to lead the provincial Tories. So the newly-cast conservative candidate had a lot of things going for her.
Oh, and did I mention that the PM announced his so-called ‘family income splitting’ promise mid-campaign – a $2 billion tax giveaway for the wealthiest tax payers, a program Flaherty had justifiably disparaged? But the ‘tax-cut’ spin still works. And it didn’t hurt when tough guy Harper ordered tough guy Putin to “get out of Ukraine” last week – newsworthy, but an empty threat given what little we had and would do for that embattled nation.
By-elections generally tend to have lower turnout and these two contests were no strangers to that phenomena. Only a third of Whitby-Oshawans could be bothered to vote and over 80% of eligible Yellowhead voters must have slept-in all day. I guess they  knew the result would be a foregone conclusion in a province where some voters act as if Canada’s borders start at the Rockies and end somewhere in the prairies. And Mr. Harper is local, despite his accidental birth in Ontario.
Americans just finished voting in their mid-term congressional elections and the President, whose party got slaughtered, grumped that only a third of eligible voters showed up – implying he might have won had turnout been higher. He may be right, but the point is why don’t we have higher voting numbers? Australia has had compulsory voting for eons, with real penalties for those too lazy to get their butts into the ballot both. As a result, over 90 percent of the electorate consistently make the effort to vote, that number hitting 95% in some years.
Were we to adopt a similar law, Albertans would still probably continue to vote Tory, or for the Attila the Hun party if they could – and that is their choice, of course. But at least more people would be engaged in the process of holding our politicians to account. And that should mean better governance.
Of course if you were an NDP supporter in either of these by-elections you might ask yourself why bother? And that is where preferential balloting for multi-party politics makes a lot of sense. Voters select their first choice as they do today in our first-past-the-post system. But if no candidate wins 50% of all the votes cast, second (and third) choices are counted until a winner is announced. Governing parties would always be elected by at least a simple majority of the people, instead of the thirty-plus percentages we’ve seen over the last few elections. However, a preferential ballot wouldn’t have changed the result of these by-elections.
 And maybe we need to make voting easier. Why not hold elections on a weekend when most people have real spare time? And what about on-line voting for a nation that has proven how securely we can even do banking that way? What about better election coverage? I mean how many people were even aware that these by-elections were taking place? And what about more time teaching political choice and process at schools, so our youth can develop an interest in how their governments can work for them?
By-elections are usually a good time for the public to register its displeasure with the government in power. If that is true we should take it that the voters are pretty happy with the government we have. But that flies in the face of the national polls – so what is really going on?
Are we a nation of people wanting change, but too complacent to be bothered to do anything about it? Or maybe we truly have become the ‘small c’ conservative society that Stephen Harper had set out to create – too conservative to try change?
By-Elections Yellowhead Whitby-Oshawa
Polling More Polling
Analysis Election Canada Results
Australian Voting Harper’s Income Splitting
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 where he ran against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province.
 By Pepper Parr
November 18, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
We did elect them – well 34. 14 % of us did. In twelve days the newly elected council will get sworn in and determine what they want to achieve in the next four years.
 Full team was returned to office. Now they need to get down to work. Long list of tasks and opportunities. Now that the significant seven have all been returned to office – what do they have on their plates for the immediate future and perhaps for the length of their term of office which officially starts December 1 when they are all sworn in. A stronger sense of enthusiasm and drive would be nice
Mayor Goldring explained to us during the election campaign that his first term was a “cleanup/setup” operation. He didn’t explain what he had cleaned up and he hasn’t clarified yet what he means by “set up”. We wait to hear that story.
A partial list of the issues facing this Council includes:
 The city now has a site plan application. Will they approve what has been submitted and provide a permit? Air Park – what does the city want to do with it? The city now has a site plan application in hand. Once it is reviewed they will decide if a permit should be issued. Bu what is the long term plan for the air park and is the city going to be able to get the cooperation it needs from Rossi?
Beachway – while the homes in that part of the city – just to the west of Spencer Smith Park are not about to be expropriated – city hall is reported to be beavering away at plans and designs that will come forward at some point in this term of office. One wonders when the public will be invited to the planning
Downtown development: Always an issue in Burlington – which in itself is telling. When we get a downtown one wonders if we will recognize it.
 Major development opportunity in the Old LAkeshore precinct. Huge developments underway. How will it all play out during this term of office. Old Lakeshore precinct – sometime this year work will start on the Bridgewater project that is to consist of a 22 storey condo, a seven story condo and an eight storey hotel. The hotel was to be open for the Pan Am Games but that won’t happen. Is there any thinking being done as to what the long term vision is for the properties between Lakeshore Road and Old Lakeshore Road and that part of the waterfront?
Ranked voting: Mayor Goldring kind of liked that idea. Let’s see when he moves to bring it forward now that the province has said it is to be permitted. The only member of the current Council who would have been impacted by Ranked Voting would have been Blair Lancaster – but if you look at who placed second and third – Lancaster suddenly doesn’t look all that bad.
Size of Council. Sometime during this term of office the Regional government will realign its seats and probably give more to Milton. That “might” mean a change in the number of seats Burlington has on the Regional Council. Right now Burlington has seven regional seats which makes every City Council member a Regional Council member as well. Half of a Council member’s income is paid by the Region
Governance: The Council whose term ends the morning of December 1st developed a good approach to Governance and devoted one meeting every quarter to looking and talking about the way they were running the city. There was some very productive work done at those meetings – let’s hope they are continued.
 Does current City General Manager Scott Stewart have a change in the title on his business card in the works – or will the moving trucks be getting a call. Scott has kept the city running for the past six months.
A new city manager and an overhaul of the senior ranks. The task of hiring a new city manager is underway. Burlington is seen as one of the better city’s to run and we will be a popular choice for some of the better people out there. The last time this city hired a new City Manager they brought in Jeff Fielding from London who was energetic and had more new projects going than staff could keep up with. His decision to head for what he thought were greener pastures in Calgary put a lot of new ideas into a tail spin and staff had to scramble to work without the drive and focus Fielding brought to everything he did.
He fortunately had Scott Stewart beside him to execute on most of the ideas. Stewart was in the running for the job of City Manager last time and has his hat in the ring this time around as well. If Stewart doesn’t get the nod this time – you can expect him to be making an appointment with a moving company. The guy has been holding the city together for the past three months.
Citizen Engagement. Engaging the community is theoretically what every city hall is supposed to do. Burlington didn’t do all that well on that level. When Cam Jackson asked the late John Boich and former Mayor Walter Mulkewich to lead research into just what was needed to better engage the people who pick up the tab, few expected the report that was produced. Shape Burlington shook up many at city hall who felt they were unfairly picked on which was quite telling.
Some of the senior staff at the time felt they knew what the public needed and that the public didn’t need to be engaged all that much.
When the Shape Burlington report was released there was some hope – but a closer look at the people who served on that committee was revealing – Paul Sharman and Blair Lancaster were on the Shape Burlington Committee and withdrew when they decided to run for office. They were certainly not champions of involving the public during their first term of office but both got re-elected.
Code of conduct: While the Mayor likes to talk about how well this Council functions – in truth it doesn’t function all that well. The Councillors for wards 1 and 2 can’t stand each other – which makes it awkward for them because they sit beside each other.
Councillor Taylor, because of his experience, has a vision of the city and where he thinks it should go that is quite different than that of his colleague ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison who has served more than 20 years on Council.
These two old timers (that’s intended as a compliment) never did share a common view of the city and the direction it should take. Taylor tends to work from strongly held principles – for Dennison its all about business.
One would like to think they would serve as the institutional memory for Council and while they both know where all the skeletons are buried they seldom put forward much in the way of long term thinking for the city. Councillor Taylor has done some excellent work with his Mt Nemo initiative but that has yet to bear any fruit. The city is spending $200,000 to determine if a heritage district is worthwhile.
Water Street property. This Council is going to have to make a decision soon on just what they will actually do with that stretch of property between St. Paul and Market Streets. They did vote in principal to sell the property subject to the price to be paid and some legal questions that have to be resolved.
Mike Swartz, spokesperson for the other two property owners, commissioned a report on the evolution of the property including the arrangements that were made for the building of the breakwater and the infill that was put in place to prevent natural erosion.
The report includes the Swartz version of the legal arguments that hound this issue. A concern for many is that the report Swartz commissioned will be used by Council to justify their original decision but because it is legal in nature the city’s solicitor might advise that it be kept under wraps. It would appear that the document is certainly germane to the issue – it should be made public if it informs the debate.
The citizen based Waterfront Committee has taken issue with how this matter has been handled and asked for an investigation on the way the city handled this issue. The Municipal Act allows for any person to request that an investigation be undertaken respecting whether a municipality, local board, or a committee of either, has complied with the closed meeting rules contained within section 239 of the Act. Municipalities are able to appoint an Investigator for the purpose of examining these closed meeting complaints.
A request was made last June – at this point the city Clerk’s office said they have yet to get the report. Might be a can of worms with this one
 Georgina Black got Burlington to the point where it produced the best Strategic Plan possible under the circumstances. Will Council now move forward with a plan that has both a vision and drive? Strategic Plan. The city put together a pretty good Strategic Plan in 2011. It was limited mostly because of the inexperience of the Council at that time. Given that it will be the same tribe creating the Strategic Plan for the next four years we can expect a shorter time frame to get the document done and a better final document.
Georgina Black of KPMG led Council through the 11 half day exercise. She realized part way through the second session with a group that consisted of both senior staff and council that there wasn’t what she called a BHAG – a big hairy audacious goal – something the city wanted to do.
Burlington doesn’t have a vision; it doesn’t have a goal – what it does have is many groups with goals of their own but nothing that the city can get a grip on and work towards.
Mayor Goldring did make an effort in the first half of his first mandate to pull people together and figure out what we wanted to be when we grew up. That event was as close to a disaster as you can get without being called a failure. The Mayor never produced a report for an event that came in at $50,000. It was all private sector money.
Official Plan: A critical document for the city. Frequently a bit of a yawn – not this time. Burlingtonians are demanding that we have a plan that we stick to and not change at every developers whim
Outstanding Development: Eagle Heights in Aldershot; Tremaine and Dundas in the north east end and Upper Middle Road at Burloak in the east centre part of town. All three are major development opportunities.
Economic Development: Where are we on this file? What defines us? Have we created a niche – something are better at than others and are thus attractive to corporations looking for a new location. Have we gotten beyond that tired phrase: the best mid-sized city in Canada?
This is a lot to get done in a four year term. Does this Council have the drive, vision and fortitude to achieve any of it?
 By Walter Mulkewich
November 18th, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
Greg Sorbara, “The Battlefield of Ontario Politics, An Autobiography”, Dundurn Publishers, Toronto, 2014
Greg Sorbara was one of Ontario’s most influential provincial politicians for 27 years from 1985 to 2012: He was a significant cabinet minister in the governments of David Peterson and Dalton McGuinty, including Minster of Finance in the McGuinty government. As President of the Liberal Party of Ontario and Chair of three consecutive Liberal Party election campaign victories, he helped build a successful political machine in Ontario.
 He was in Burlington Monday night as part of his book tour and demonstrated with his straight and candid talk why he was successful and progressive politician.
Sorbara’s autobiography provides a useful summary of Ontario provincial political issues in the past quarter century. But, most significantly this book gives a candid view of how politicians play the political game to actually get things done.
It’s a good read for aspiring politicians, those who want to understated what happens in the back rooms of political parties, and for all of us to understand how politics works.
He gives an understandable account of how the Ontario Health Premium was developed even though his party campaigned on a promise of no tax increase. He explains the kind of deal making that made possible the York Subway expansion. He shows the kind of collaboration that was needed to develop a progressive Ontario Child benefit.
Sorbara deals with the reality of politics as team sport: His candidacy for the Ontario Liberal Party leadership in 1992 in which he came third. His private views on issues such as the harmonized HST and Meech Lake. An honest account of his resignation from the Cabinet over allegations with respect to the Royal Technologies affair, he was exonerated and returned to cabinet. Some interesting stories about candidate recruitment and how campaigns are organized
Perhaps his most controversial chapter is about the gas plant issues in Oakville and Mississauga that he calls “the gas plant myths”, which were “impervious to evidence”. He devoted much of his talk in Burlington to this topic and makes a convincing case, but his is a point of view some might challenge.
His last chapter is the most interesting. He reflects on the future. He expresses his concern about income inequality and he makes a strong case for a national Income Support System and tax reform, as well as federal investment in cities. He talks about the need to grow the economies of smaller cities outside the GTA.
Perhaps Sorbara’s most interesting and controversial suggestion is that, while the Catholic School system has served its purpose, Ontario is changing, and we should have one publicly funded educational system. But, this is a position he never championed in his time at Queens Park.
As the pragmatic practitioner of the political arts, he does not indicate how we might move the political system to accomplish a single public educational system or his other ideas in his last chapter. Maybe that is the point of his book, that there is a time and place for taking on issues.
 Walter Mulkewich is former Mayor of Burlington. He served from 1991 to 1997. Prior to that he was a member of city Council in Burlington and Halton Regional Council.
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