September 27, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. At approximately 10:10 pm Thursday, September 26th, 2013, Halton Regional Police received several calls of a man stumbling up Walkers Line in the area of Upper Middle Road.
 Found disoriented on Walkers Line close to Upper Middle Road Police and Halton paramedics responded and located a man who was extremely disoriented, had suffered an apparent head injury and was unable to identify himself to police. The man was taken to the Joseph Brant Hospital, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition.
Investigators are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying this man. He is described as a white male, approximately 30-36 years of age, 6’7″ tall, with short brown hair and blue eyes. He had several days growth of facial hair and has no tattoos or surgical scars. He was wearing a black Nike shirt with long sleeves, blue jeans with a belt, black socks and no shoes.
Persons with information related to this man are asked to call the Halton Regional Police Service in Burlington at 905-825-4777, extension 2310 or call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
 September 26, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. If there was ever an example of one man making a difference – look no further than Rick Wilson, a Burlington resident and a member of the Heritage Advisory Committee as well as a serious history buff.
 This federal government plaque, erected at Burlington Heights, overlooking Burlington Bay, got it wrong and Rick Wilson wants it changed and the public record corrected. Wilson works in the field of finance but his passion is history and when he came across what he believed to be a significant error in the way local history was being told he mobilized and did he best to right the wrong.
Those efforts will bear fruit on Saturday morning when the city unveils a plaque that tells the full and true story of an event that has come to be known as the Burlington Races, which sounds like a sporting event but there was nothing sporting about the battles between the British and the Americans on Lake
 Rick Wilson isn’t certain as to exactly where Commodore Yeo situated his ship but he believes it might have been close to the foot of Brant Street. That location would certainly have given the British ships the angle and the advantage they needed to defeat the American ships and force them further west along the Lake. Ontario, right in front of Spencer Smith Park.
The battle that will be commemorated with the plaque took place on September 28, 1813 when six-ship British flotilla out-manoeuvred a fleet of ten American warships and took anchor in a highly defensible position off the shore of modern-day Burlington. The battle was described by eye witnesses as a sort of military yacht race where the British and Americans jockeyed for superior position – hence The Burlington Races.
The battle was a turning point in the War of 1812 as the British asserted naval dominance over the Great Lakes.
 Commodore Yeo’s ships never entered Burlington Bay. Records prove that the water was far too shallow of any ship to enter to Bay. The real victory for Rick Wilson will be when this plaque in Hamilton is taken down and a correct plaque put in place. For the time being the plaque in Burlington will be the one to tell the true story. “I believe it is important to celebrate Burlington’s rich history,” says Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring. “Our city was a strategic location during the War of 1812. The Burlington area was known as a safe haven, a place of trade, a crossroads, and a resting point. Contributions by local citizens and volunteers were important and we are proud to acknowledge their efforts with this plaque.”
The plaque unveiling takes place near the west compass in Spencer Smith Park at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013 – 200 years to the day of the battle – and will feature an on-shore celebration of re-enactors in period costume.
It is rather unfortunate that city hall could not find it within themselves to recognize Wilson’s efforts. For the past three years, perhaps more Wilson has bent the ear of anyone who would listen to explain where the historians got it wrong. If anyone pulls a velvet cord to reveal the plaque that tells a magnificent story – it should be Rick Wilson.
The wording on the plaque will read as follows:
After a United States naval victory on Lake Erie by Commodore Perry on September 10, 1813, a powerful American fleet of ten ships under Commodore Isaac Chauncey appeared off York (Toronto) on the morning of September 28, 1813. Its objective was to gain control of the Great Lakes or at least create enough of a diversion to allow American troops from the Niagara frontier to slip down the St. Lawrence River to attack Montreal.
A smaller British fleet of six warships under Commodore Sir James Yeo was in the harbour and quickly set sail to attack. In a sharp engagement the British flagship, HMS Wolfe, suffered sail and mast damage. With limited manoeuvrability, the Wolfe led the British flotilla to safe anchorage in view from the shore of present-day Burlington.
Yeo anchored his squadron with springs (heavy ropes) on the (anchor) cables, close to shore and pivoted his ships to present powerful broadsides from a strong compact defensive unit that could not be flanked. The Americans recognized the stronger British position and withdrew to the protection of Fort Niagara, leaving the Royal Navy firmly in control of the lake.
By out-manoeuvring the Americans that day, Yeo saved the fleet and preserved a formidable British presence on Lake Ontario – key to the defences of Upper and Lower Canada.
Eventually, Yeo’s fleet helped capture Fort Oswego in May 1814 and also delivered General Drummond with 400 British reinforcements and supplies to the Niagara frontier in July 1814 to defeat the Americans at Lundy’s Lane, the last invasion of Canada.
At this point we don’t know where Rick Wilson will be in the civic ceremony – but we certainly know where he should be.
 September 24, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. Sometime in the next couple of week Nicholas Carnacelli will wander across Brant Street to city hall and sit with people in the Planning department, perhaps the Director of Planning Bruce Krushelnicki, and sign the Section 37 Agreement that he wanted.
If Carnacelli was a real sport he would invite Krushelnicki over to the restaurant on the ground floor of the building he owns that houses a decent restaurant and treat him to a decent lunch.
After more than three years of reports, teeth gnashing and hand wringing city hall staff bent to the will of a developer and did it the way he wanted. Was the developer right? Was city hall staff being led around by the nose? The real truth is in there somewhere.
The issue was all about a Section 37 Agreement – which is part of the planning act that lets a city give a developer additional height and density in a development in return for specific benefits that get given to the city. Burlington is one of the few cities in the province that use Section 37 Agreements. One of the reasons for that is we happen to have a Director of Planning who understands fully what can be done with this type of agreement.
Unfortunately, with this specific situation someone one not only dropped the ball – they lost the darn thing and now had a mess on their hands. Someone either thought or wanted affordable housing on the table when it was about parking right from the beginning in the mind of the developer and it was his money everyone was talking about.
Having the Council member who was the strongest advocate for affordable housing unable to properly understand Section 37’s and the process used to get into one of them didn’t help.
 The Carriage Gate development will occupy a full city block and change significantly the streetscape for people who live on Caroline east of Brant The city needs the development at John and Caroline and Nick Carnacelli, president of Carriage Gate, wasn’t about to put up a building filled with affordable housing that he would have to sell the Region who would then rent them out to people who qualified for affordable housing.
In order to sell units to the Region Carnacelli had to price them at a particular price point and these were not going to be units with granite counter tops and high-end appliances which is where the good margins exist
Carnacelli was never going to actually be in the affordable housing business but there were people who wanted him to price his units so they could be bought by the Region and then rented out.
Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward argued for the need for more affordable housing – and claimed the need was rising. The idea that 73% of the units of a building were to be priced so they could be made into affordable units was a pipe dream at best and someone should have caught this one before it went as far as it did.
 The development will be the biggest project the city has seen since the late 80’s. Carnacelli wanted to put up an eight story office tower that would house medical types for the most part and have the 17 story units consisting of apartments that would be registered as condominium units. In between the two structures would be an eight story garage.
All the back and forth about the make-up of the Section 37 Agreement would have taken place between the planning department and the developer. It is clear now that there was a major disconnect between the two – this isn’t the first time a developer didn’t want to go along with what a planner hoped to see. It does appear to be the first time in Burlington where a developer has balked so publicly. According to the Director of Planning Burlington has done less than ten Section 37 Agreements.
Given the mess this agreement became perhaps the city should just get out of looking for section 37 agreements.
During the debate Monday evening all kinds of little gems of information came to the surface. According to Meed Ward the Region will pay up to $255,400 for a condominium unit that it will then make available to those needing affordable housing.
That sets a price the developer has to sell for if the units he is building are going to be sold as affordable housing. Difficult to have one price for units sold to the Region and another price sold to anyone that comes along – so you have a building full one and two bedroom units being sold for $244,500 – south of Caroline – in Burlington?
There was an audible gasp in the public seating section of council chamber when Meed Ward said the annual income level for an affordable units was $90,000 – really? And that no more than 30% of the annual income could be spent on housing. Thirty percent of that $90,000 income is $30,000 a year which works out to rent of $2500 per month – where did those numbers come from?
During the debate the Mayor and several Council members spoke of the lesson learned – weren’t they supposed to have known what the math on all this was before they made a decision back in 2010
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward was the lead council member on this file and turned out to be the only person that voted against the staff report which was instruct the City solicitor to amend the agreement with the developer and instruct the Director of Planning request that the owner enter into the agreement.
Can you imagine, a condominium unit south of Caroline being sold for that sum. Carriage Gate will sell its units for whatever the market will bear. The units that are to affordable would be condominium units bought by the Region and then rented out to those who met the affordable housing income levels.
 This intersection will become the northern anchor for a block long project that will put a medical office building and a 17 storey condominium tower and an eight story parking garage into a part of the city that has been two storey buildings for decades. Change never comes easily to any community – how will Burlington handle this change? The developer chose not to sign the Section 37 Agreement that required him to price 70% + of his units at the $255,400 level to meet the WHAT. The planners rethought the situation, wrote up a second report and asked Council to amend the original agreement, which was never signed. The planners were satisfied, the majority of Council was satisfied.
Carnacelli will sign the new agreement, the planning department will recommend that the zoning be changed which council do and the developer can get on with putting up the first significant development the city has seen since the 80’s.
There were some who felt the changes the developer wanted meant the project was now a completely different project and should be started all over. Doing something like that would have sent the file to the Ontario Municipal Board where this developer has won the last two cases that he took there.
Meed Ward did her best to bring about a change. She failed, but she will be back, hopefully with a clearer understanding of how Section 37 agreements really works.
 September 25, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. It has come to this: we now have a Cyber Tip Awareness Day when we focus on the sexual exploitation that is perpetrated against our children when they use the internet.
 There is some help in understanding how the pedophiles lure your child. Cybertip.ca is Canada’s national tip line for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children. Since its inception in September 2002, it has responded to more than 94,000 child sexual exploitation reports. In Halton, ten such tips have been investigated since 2012.
Last year, on the 10th anniversary of Cybertip.ca, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection announced the inaugural Awareness Day to focus on this critical service for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children and for obtaining important educational material.
 What is sextexting and how do you prevent your children from getting involved? On September 26th police services hope to raise the awareness of the web site where people can report their concerns about a child being sexually exploited and encourage them to access ‘cybertip.ca’ for a new educational booklet entitled, ‘Parenting Tweens and Teens in a Digital World’.
The web site is worth a few minutes of your time.
The Halton Regional Police Service is a member of the Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet.
 September 25th, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. Do you have the feeling I get when I hear people talk about the “dirty oil” that is sent around the world from Alberta. Are we sending the world dirty oil? Why are we doing that?
Isn’t Canada the country that brought about the Peace keepers – those United Nations guys with the blue helmets?
Aren’t we the people who said no to having American nuclear bombs in Canada?
 Didn’t we take a pass on sending troops to Iran?
And if we’re selling “dirty oil” –why is it dirty?
If there is such a huge profit in the oil sands in Alberta why aren’t we using a part of those profits to do research on ways to make the oil cleaner?
I thought we were the good guys – not like those guys south of us. We were the country that has state medical coverage while the American are still trying to make that happen.
We are the country where everyone doesn’t have a gun in there house and for the most part we are a gun free society.
We are the country that did away with capital punishment. We don’t have to kill people to punish them.
My sense of being a Canadian is diminished when I read that we are shipping dirty oil. I don’t understand why we are not spending large sums of money on finding ways to clean up that oil and spare our environment the harm dirty oil does.
I feel ashamed that we are fighting decent people in the United States who don’t want our dirty oil working its way through oil pipes in their fields. They tell me its good business. Really?
We Canadians have one of the best educational systems in the world. We’ve invented some pretty good things. Our banking system is the envy of the world – yeah some of those banking fees are a little on the outrageous side.
And the cell phone fees are out of whack – but the phone service we have is one of the best in the world. Almost every time a space ship goes up – it has one of those Canada Arms on it – we did that!
But the dirty oil thing – can’t we do something about that. Do we really have to sell a product that does a lot of harm to both people and the environment.
 September 24, 2013
By Ray Rivers
BURLINGTON, ON. “Toronto is a great place to live, if only you could manage to get to work” – so says the Toronto Board of Trade. Commute times in the greater Toronto area were the longest of 19 major cities in a recent survey. It takes the average commuter 80 minutes round-trip, a full 24 minutes longer than it would in Los Angeles, the very birthplace of urban sprawl.
 Ray Rivers, the Gazette’s political columnist with Premier Kathleen Wynne and MPP Kevin Flynn on the left and Dr. Eric Hoskins on the right – all at the recent Roundtable held in Burlington. So Ontario’s Premier Wynne has made it a priority for her government to improve the lot of commuters by building transit. “It is a matter of social justice, I want to improve people’s lives by allowing commuters to spend more quality time with family and friends,” she emphasized in an exclusive interview last Friday. Ms. Wynne had earlier test-ridden the new half-hour GO train service, en route to a meeting with the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. Flanked by her Minister of Economic Development, Dr. Eric Hoskins, and the Parliamentary Assistant for Transportation, Kevin Flynn, Kathleen Wynne shared some thoughts on this topic with me.
 Premier Wynne believes that this level of traffic eats away at the time people deserve to have with their families and that the time spent in cars is damaging the provincial economy. Is GO the answer – and will we go along with that kind of a solution? The Premier’s goals are straight forward: invest in people; provide much-needed infrastructure; and improve business opportunities that will result in job creation. But she has her work cut out for her. We know that most of Ontario’s urban areas are poorly configured for efficient public transit. Three generations of urban sprawl have made public transit costly to deliver and inconvenient to ride – so the result is gridlock. And yes, the Greenbelt, introduced by her predecessor, was intended to curb urban sprawl, but the benefits of that initiative will not be seen for another generation – until after all the approved developments in the queue have seen their day.
Back in 1990 former Premier David Peterson, another Liberal, had proposed an ambitious $6.2 billion expansion of public transit for Toronto. Then he lost the next election to the NDP, who cherry-picked elements of that plan. The NDP lost the next election which resulted in a virtual cessation of transit progress under Mike Harris. Even when the Liberals did return to power, progress was slow as the Toronto kept changing its mind between subways and light-rail and subways again – making sustainable funding difficult.
The Province can’t really afford to do much in the way of funding these days. Ontario has been bleeding red ink since the 2008 recession and is now carrying a staggering quarter trillion dollar debt-load on its books. Metrolinx, the organization tasked with creating some order to the provinces transit mess, is saying they need $2 billion a year for needed transit expansion,and they are probably right.
 This is clearly not working? That money is not likely to flow from the business community; having lowered corporate taxes earlier, it is unlikely the province will raise them again. One of Wynne’s priorities is to promote business development, not scare it away with higher taxes. Wynne talked about bringing more jobs out to the suburbs, places like Burlington, so fewer folks need to be on that long daily commute. There are fewer businesses paying taxes these days as we become more reliant on imports.
 Is this a better option? Can we rely on the public sector to deliver consistently reliable service that works within the reasonable budgets they are given? Worse still, if we are to believe one think-tank, the left-leaning Centre for Policy Alternatives, we should expect an even greater decline in our industrial base following conclusion of the planned Canada-EU trade agreement.
Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Harper government’s economic blueprint, has committed $14 billion for infrastructure renewal. Premier Wynne hosted the Council of the Federation meeting last July and there was unanimous agreement for “continuing the conversation” about infrastructure – which really means they want access to that fund. Ontario, with a third of Canada’s population might reasonably expect about five or six billion dollars of that commitment – enough to make a really good start on adding public transit. And, as if on cue, the federal government has just announced over half a billion dollars for the Scarborough subway extension.
Aside from the auto companies Mr. Harper hasn’t shown much interest in helping Canada’s industrial heartland move forward. In fact, there hasn’t been a PM in recent memory with so much interest in selling off the nation’s natural resources and so little interest in protecting home-grown manufacturing and services. Ontario was once the mighty province that led the nation in economic prosperity, yet today it has slipped to the status of a ‘have-not’ province. It would be such a shame if the province ended up becoming another rust belt jurisdiction like Michigan or Ohio, and Toronto another bankrupt city like Detroit.
 Ray Rivers, born in Ontario earned an economics degree at the University of Western Ontario and a Master’s degree in economics at the University of Ottawa. His 25 year stint with the federal government included time with Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Agriculture and the Post office. Rivers is active in his community; has run for municipal and provincial office and held executive positions with Liberal Party riding associations. He developed the current policy process for the Ontario Liberal Party.
 September 23, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. They are going to give it the old college try and provide city council with what they believe is an unbiased questionnaire on just what the good people of Burlington wants to do with the trees that are on private property.
Council has voted against this time and again – not because they are necessarily against a private tree by-law but because they don’t sense this is what the property owners want.
 More than 100 years old this oak marks one of the boundaries that demarcate the land given to Joseph Brant for his service to the British forces during the American Revolutionary War. Fortunately it is on city property – or it might have been cut down. This is an issue on which Mayor Goldring and Councillor Marianne Meed Ward have joined forces but all they could come up with was a 5-2 vote.
Meed Ward brought the issue back to Council with a proposal that staff write-up a bylaw that citizens could look at and think about. She proposed a no fee – just fill in the form – permit to cut down a tree but still her colleagues weren’t buying.
With the issue going to Council this evening for what most Councillors thought was going to be just a quick vote to get rid of the problem is now going to be yet another presentation and perhaps some drawn out debate during what is already going to be a contentious and lengthy council meeting.
The Beachway Park issue is up for a final vote and this council is far from consensus on that file.
The Carriage Gate development is up for final vote with a group of community advocates arguing that the project should go back to square one due to the changes the developer is looking for in the Section 37 agreement that was supposed to give the city a significant number of affordable housing units.
Watching council on Cogeco Cable is no treat – the production qualities are terrible – but this is a meeting during which you will see city council struggle with several of the biggest files they have had to handle this term.
Might be an occasion to catch the show on Cogeco or go on-line to see how the significant seven operate.
What you probably won’t see on Cogeco is the detailed questionnaire a group of environmentalists are going to present to Council.
Here for your viewing pleasure are the questions that were asked along with the responses.
     
Having read them – how would you have voted and what do you think your Council should do. We will tell you what they did tomorrow.
 September 23, 2013
BY Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. It has been so long since Burlington has seen a high-rise building that includes office space in the city that we may have forgotten what this kind of development means to a city.
 An eight story office building and a 17 story apartment building with an above ground parking garage in between the two. Somewhere along the way some people let themselves believe that 70+% of the apartments were going to be affordable housing. The Carriage Gate project is a mixed use development consisting of an 8 storey office building, a 17 storey, 154 unit apartment building, an 8 storey above-ground parking garage, three levels of underground parking garage, and ground floor retail/service commercial uses.
A group of citizens will argue before Council that changing the content of the Community Benefits negotiated in exchange for extra height and density on the Caroline/Elizabeth Street development is a mistake and are asking: “Do they have the right to make this change or does this become a new project?”
In 2010, council approved the project and changed the Official Plan on this site to grant double the height for an 8 storey office building and parking garage, and over four times the height for a 17 storey apartment building.
In exchange, the Developer agreed to negotiate a Section 37 Community Benefits Agreement which was to have over 70% of the units as “affordable” housing under Halton Region’s definition of affordability.
Nick Carnacelli, the developer doesn’t see things this way. He argues that he got the additional density for the parking that he put in place and that affordable housing was not part of the deal. At the committee meeting where the issue was threshed in the city planner explained that while some people felt there was a deal in place – there is no deal in place until the documents are signed and as of today the Section 37 agreement has not been signed. The city did approve the change to the Official Plan
According to community advocates the community benefits document that was to be signed by the develop included: a) providing an additional 269 parking spaces; b) Apartment to be constructed to LEED certified environmental standard; c) Parking garage will contain a green roof design and d) Residential component will have over 70% affordable housing units.”
The Official Plan change was approved and changed. The developer is asking for a reduction in the affordable housing component from 73% to 27%.
The community advocates maintain the developer is not now willing to sign the agreement. They argue that the project cannot proceed until the Section 37 Community Benefits Agreement is signed as it was an integral aspect of the deal and was to be registered on the title of the property. They add that the zoning bylaw cannot be changed and a building permit cannot be issued until the Section 37 Agreement is signed .
The change to the Official Plan has already be made but the zoning by-law amendment remains outstanding. Some were surprised that any changes could be made without the attendant agreements being signed or that the changes to zoning and the official plan were not made conditional to the community benefits agreement.
Bruce Krushelnicki patiently explains that Section 37 agreements cannot be made conditional. The benefits to the community are separate from the issuing of an Official Plan change or a change in the zoning bylaw and the issuing of a building permit.
“A section 37 Agreement is one that allows the city to reap certain benefits when an advantage is given to a developer allowing an increased return on a development. The development has to stand on its own merits – it is only if it stands on its own merits and is approved by a city council that we planners can then negotiate a Section 37 agreement.”
Much of the council committee debate on affordable housing focused on the question: is there a place for affordable housing in the downtown core south of Caroline? Where should affordable housing be located and who should be paying for that housing?. Council committee heard arguments that social housing is a Regional responsibility and should be addressed at the Regional level and that developers should not be expected to take on this social service. The city already has a significant amount of social housing on John Street, immediately north of Pine and south of the Burlington transit station.
Staff and the owner agreed to a total direct community benefit valued at $6-7 million to be spent in the provision of parking as well as several other benefits that do not have direct costs but which are nevertheless community benefits.
The Planning department also notes that other Section 37 Agreements where affordable housing was secured the amount was less than 30% in all instances.
Carnacelli explained that the affordable housing units he would have built were so small that families would not be able to live in them thus defeating the purpose of social housing in the downtown core.
Is the city working with a developer who has out maneuvered them several times? Does the developer understand the process better than the people he has to deal with at city hall?
The project has been something of a paper nightmare for the planning department. A condition of the agreement approved by Council in 2010 was the imposition of an 18 month deadline for the signing of the required agreements. The bylaw passed by Council at that time was not enacted because Carriage Gate Group Inc. did not enter into the required agreements or pay the rezoning unit fees within the specified time-frame. The conditional approval lapsed on January 5, 2012. In September of this year Council granted an 18 month extension to the approval lapsing date.
Carnacelli faces some exceptionally stiff costs on the hydro side of the project. In order to get hydro to the site he was expected to pay for the cost of getting a hydro lines up from Lakeshore to his site. Once that hydro line is in place anyone south of the Carnacelli site, which is at Caroline and Elizabeth, would get a free ride. Carnacelli felt hydro should put the line in and then have anyone developing along the route pay for a share of the cost.
The Molinaro Group didn’t have to pay for the costs Carnacelli is expected to pay to get hydro into the buildings they built along Lakeshore Road because the hydro line ran along Lakeshore.
The Carriage Gate project is to have a total of 522 parking spaces of which 193 spaces were required for the residential portion of the development and 60 public spaces were required as part of the land sale. The site is located within the Downtown Parking Exemption Area (DPEA) and therefore the provision of parking is not required except for the residential units. The developer was thereby providing an additional 269 spaces that would not otherwise be required by this development. The estimated value of these parking spaces to service non-residential development is approximately $6-7 million. The developer however will charge a fee for those parking spots when they are used.
The staff report points out that approval was granted almost three years ago when the initial Section 37 community benefits were being discussed. In that time economic and market conditions have changed. In that time costs, including but not limited to, development charges, hydro and construction, have increased significantly.
The community advocates argue that a lot of due diligence, expense and research went into the preparation of the original Staff Report presented to Council on July 5, 2010 which included wording for a Section 37 Community Benefits Agreement which they maintain resulted in the approval of the development.
They suggest that “if the deal can be changed on this development after the approval process has been completed, this sets a precedent going forward for every Development throughout the entire City of Burlington.” True perhaps but the Section 39 “deal” has not been signed and as Krushelnicki explains – it isn’t a deal until it is signed.
The community advocates argue that “altering a Section 37 Agreement after the approval process is complete merits a very serious review as developments of this size are going to change the landscape of Burlington forever and this deal sets a serious precedent going forward. When is a deal not a deal?
Krushelnicki would respond – a deal is not a deal until it is signed.
The community advocates suggest that any change to the approved Section 37 Community Benefits Agreement on the Carriage Gate Development makes it a different project and thus warrants further serious review.
The signatories to any agreement can negotiate changes before the agreement is signed and city planners have reviewed the requested changes and approve of the requested changes.
Is this a battle between Marianne Meed Ward, Councillor for that part of the city this project is to be built in, and the development community along with those who argue Burlington desperately needs new office development in the downtown core if the city is to have a core that is viable?
There are some impressive properties along Caroline that may not be comfortable with a large office/residential complex parked on their shoulder.
There are those who argue that Meed Ward does not understand the economics of development and is giving the city a bad reputation as a place for developers to ply their trade.
The city has to comply with a provincial Policy Statement that requires the Region to develop a specific amount of housing and a specific number of jobs. The city does not have a choice – that is what we must do and if a project like Carriage Gate helps the city meet that requirement – they will negotiate the best deal they can get and then happily approve it.
Burlington currently faces negative net growth in the amount of Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) tax levels. The money to run the city comes from taxpayers for the most part and if it isn’t raised on the ICI side – then it will come from the residential side.
The issue, actually the elephant in the room is what kind of development will there be in the downtown core? That’s one on which there is the kind of community consensus this council would like to see. Should Burlington office development just be on the North and South Service Roads and over along Burloak?
During the committee debate Meed Ward suggested that if the community benefits were being scaled back then the height and density given should be scaled back as well.
 The buildings in this photograph are gone – the developer bulldozed everything as they moved on both the constructions and their marketing plans. What Carnacelli argues is that the development charges he has to pay have increased 40% since he started work on the project.
Staff in their report have recommended to Council that the city solicitor be directed to re-work the Section 37 agreement and have it conform to what the developer has asked for while a group of citizens want Council to send the project right back to the drawing table and see it as a new project.
The developer has already flattened the buildings that were on what was once called Tudor Square and has begun to market the project. Would anyone care to wager on what city council will do Monday evening? If there is ever going to be any serious or significant development in the downtown core the Carriage Gate project has to be approved. That might mean holding their nose for some.
 September 23, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. It was going to be Maurice Desrochers jump from operating properties he had bought up as “executive rentals” into a fully-fledged developer who would develop a city block west of Brant street in a part of the city that is settled and knows what it wants and knows very well what it doesn’t want. And they didn’t want the development Desrochers was proposing for a stretch of Caroline Street between Hagar and Burlington Streets.
 Residents believe the developer has focused solely on the positive nature of the aesthetic – they are concerned about density and the intrusion of anything other than single family homes. Desrochers had bought up a number of properties and then developed a plan that he felt fit in exceptionally well with the neighbourhood. Somewhere along the way there was a major disconnect between the developer and the community – when more than 70 residents showed up for a Saturday morning meeting in May to give the idea a big thumbs down.
The resistance in the community was too much for the developer who we understand has decided to sell off some of the property purchased and either move on to some other project or stick to the “executive rentals” business.
 Desrochers did one project for which Burlington has been and will continue to be forever grateful and that was the saving of the Gingerbread house on Ontario Street. Desrochers wasn’t able to translate the good will generated from that project into acceptance from the community that he could build housing that would be consistent with the way most residents saw their community.
Barry Imber, one of the people leading the group, explained the concern at the time when he said: “Communities evolve over time during which small changes take place and are absorbed into the community and a new norm gets created”. “These are incremental changes” he adds. “What Desrochers wants to do is something revolutionary – he wants to tear down a complete block and put up housing that is not permitted under the existing Official Plan or the zoning.
Desrochers was looking for both an Official Plan change and significant rezoning. Councillor Marianne Meed Ward made it clear that she would support the rules that are in place now.
The rules in place for the part of Burlington west of Brant are complex. When Burlington did its last Official Plan Review, completed in 2008, it created a number of precincts in the city. Brant Street was given a zoning of 7 storey’s as of right now with the possibility of going to 12 storeys.
 Residents believe the developer had focused solely on the positive nature of the aesthetic – they were concerned about density and the intrusion of anything other than single family homes. The thinking behind the creation of the Precincts back in 2008 was to create communities with a clearly defined zoning by law set in place to protect the character of the community. They called the land between Brant on the east and close to Maple on the west and from Baldwin on the north down to the Lake – the St. Luke’s Precinct – which was anchored by St. Luke’s Anglican Church which has land that gives it a view to the Lake. That property was given to the Anglican Church by the Joseph Brant family.
The precinct boundary has all kinds of wiggles and squiggles in it but it is basically west of Brant. The community has many styles; some single story, some two and two and a half. There are some apartment buildings as well but the core is single family homes and the residents want to keep it that way. That’s what the Official Plan gave them in 2008 and they don’t want to give that away.
 Maurice Desrochers talking to residents about his Caroline street project during a Saturday morning community meeting. Was this an inappropriate development or a tussle between a developer and a group of citizens who didn’t like the pace of change that was being proposed? We will never know. Hopefully Desrochers will have realized some capital gain on the purchase and sale of the properties. Failing that all he has for this effort is invoices from consultants and some nice poster board with drawings of the dream.
Maurice Desrochers did not make himself available for comment.
 September 20th 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. The Premier was in town for a Roundtable event facilitated by the Chamber of Commerce at which she listened to some 30 + area business people talk privately about jobs and the economy – which has been the anvil Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak has been banging his steel hammer on for the past couple of years. The Premier is clearly moving in on territory he had staked out.
The visit was the Premier’s second visit to Burlington this month – does she think the Burlington seat can be won?
Taking part in the Premier’s Roundtable in Burlington were: Tom Hughes, President –EarthFresh; Brad Wiseman, CFO EarthFresh; Sylvia Parr, 1st VP – Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies, and poultry farmer; Ken Forth-Local Farmer and past President of Canadian Horticultural Society; John Sawyer -Oakville Chamber of Commerce; Orla Johnston, Oakville Chamber of Commerce; Wendy Rinella -First Canadian Title; Rocco Delvecchio, Siemens; James Rowland, Ford Canada; Roland Tanner, Tanner Ritchey Publishing; Rick Goldring -Burlington Mayor; Ian Cameron, Burlington Economic Development Corporation, Paul Subject, CEO Stanmech Technologies, Ted Lee, Javelin Techologies; Hani Kaissi, VP-Anaergia; Steve Watzek; CEOAnaergia; John Dehne, President L-3 Wescam; Jean Jacques-Rousseau, Senior Manager AmerisourceBergen; Keith Hoey, President Burlington Chamber of Commerce; Eric Blinkhorn – Konecranes Canada Inc; Gerry Kavanaugh – Apex Composites; Glen Russell – Kontek Ecology Systems Inc.; Heather Gerrie Kwant, Gerrie Electric Wholesale Limited; Heidi Cowie, Stresschat Inc.; John Goodwin-MTE Consultants Inc.; Laurie Nadeau, Bevsupport Corp; Nancy Moore , Centre for Skills Development and Training; Marty Staz, Marty Staz – Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services; Michael Clothier, Inter Mune Canada; Sharon Jackman, Service First Forwarding Inc. and Jonathan Levy
Earlier in the week Premier Wynne announced a panel of prominent people who were going to take a deeper look at the public and municipal responses to The Big Move recommendations. You remember that one don’t you? The announcement that we needed billions to upgrade the transportation infrastructure so that we could get people out of their cars and put at least a dent in the grid lock that at times turns the QEW into a parking lot.
The Big Move report estimated $34 billion would be needed to upgrade public transit in the heavily congested region. The problem with that report was there was no consensus on whose pockets that money was to come out of. We all know whose pocket it is going to come from eventually – what’s going on now at all the political levels is none of them wants to be seen as the one that asks for the money.
When the Big Move report got to Burlington’s city council they all sat glumly realizing there wasn’t a thing they could actually do and fearful that the city would be given the job of sucking the money out of your wallets.
The Premier, doing her bit to ease the load on the QEW took GO to Burlington.
That has happened to Burlington before: while health is a provincial responsibility that didn’t stop the province from advising the Mayor that he had to come up with $60 million to pay a share of the cost of re-developing Joseph Brant Hospital. The Mayor gulped because that was all he could do.
Creating a panel to dig through the mounds of reports and find a consensus in there that will keep the public from voting them out of office is a monumental task. Hoping for a decision in December of this year is as close to a pipe dream as you’re likely to get.
This Premier needs an issue that makes her the clear favourite when she goes to the polls and she would like to choose the issue rather than have one slapped on her plate. Tricky business but that is what the art of politics is all about. The good ones are great at it – and this country has had a couple of great ones. Too early to tell if Kathleen Wynne has greatness in her.
She has managed to keep a fractious Legislature under control – no mean feat. While jobs is her biggest challenge resolving the transportation issues has to get done first and that isn’t a two year task. Wynne needs a quick political fix, one of those rabbits that get pulled out of a hat.
Can the panel she appointed do it? Anne Golden, the woman selected to head the panel, is certainly an accomplished and politically savvy social animator. Running the Toronto United Way and then the Conference Board of Canada and now at Ryerson certainly stands her in good stead. Can she make a 1% increase in HST sound palatable? Probably but a five-cent-a-litre regional gas tax is going to choke us. We are then in the $1.50 a litre realm. Add to that the $350-million-a-year business parking levy they have in mind and an additional $100 million a year in development charges and one begins to wonder just how much pain the public can handle. Was the appointment an attempt to stall the inevitable? Four months isn’t much of a stall. Do we have a Premier whistling as she walks by the cemetery?
Is there a consensus in here somewhere?
“I’ve always been opposed to revenue tools and I continue to be opposed to revenue tools,” said Ford. “People are taxed to death enough, and revenue tools is just a tax.”
The Progressive Conservatives criticized the Liberals for appointing a panel to study the recommendations from Metrolinx instead of making decisions about which revenue tools they want to use to raise the transit funding.
“I guess this is another study group, wrapped in a committee, buried in a panel,” complained PC Leader Tim Hudak. “When you call 13 political appointees to study this, that’s Liberal job creation, I guess.”
The New Democrats agreed transit expansion has to be funded, but said they would not support it being done on the backs of already overburdened workers, while the government is giving tax breaks to big corporations. They don’t believe the government’s plans to dig into the pockets of everyday families who are already feeling the pinch is going to be a successful strategy.
“This is a culture shift for this region, it’s a culture shift for the North American context, that people think not in terms of the automobile, they think about transit,” said Premier Wynne. “So we need to make sure that we make the fairest choices possible.”
 And Wynne desperately wants to do whatever she can to ensure that it doesn’t become a provincial election issue either. Quite how you hit the tax payers for $34 billion (that’s $34,000,000,000.) without making it an election issue is astounding.
Government studies show people in the greater Toronto-Hamilton area spend an average of 82 minutes a day commuting, and forecast that will jump to 109 minutes a day by 2031 if nothing is done. There’s an incentive for you.
Next year municipalities in Ontario choose their leadership. Transit will be an issue for Burlington – perhaps not as big as many may think. The transit people have handled the reallocation of services, an awkward situation, rather well. Cutting back on some routes and beefing up others is having an impact – quite how big an impact isn’t known yet but there are promising signs.
Meanwhile Burlington transit plugs away at improving its performance and the level of service it offers. About six months ago city manager Jeff Fielding looked at the transit financial and realized immediately that this wasn’t sustainable and called for less service on the under performing route and more service on those routes that showed potential for growth. The transit advocates didn’t like that decision but it was implemented and Mike Spicer, Director of Transit was given some breathing room and a more of a budget to revitalize transit – it was a city service that had lost its way.
 September 20th, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. These days you just never know – do you? Conservation Halton issued the following Watershed Conditions Statement – Flood Outlook today at 3:30 p.m.
Environment Canada is advising a period of extended rainfall over the next 24 hours due to the train of a slow-moving cold front. The rain is expected to begin this evening and continue overnight and into tomorrow morning. Rainfall accumulations of 15 to 25 mm are expected across the watershed along with the potential for some isolated thunderstorms which could increase the rainfall values.
 One of the several reservoirs in the Region:  As a result of the rainfall our rivers and streams will result in higher than normal water levels and flows, creating dangerous conditions. Widespread flooding is not currently anticipated. Our reservoirs are still in range of our seasonal levels and have storage capacity available.
Conservation Halton is asking all residents and children to stay away from all watercourses and structures such as bridges, culverts and dams. Elevated water levels, fast flowing water, and slippery conditions along stream banks continue to make these locations extremely dangerous. Please alert children in your care of these imminent dangers.
Conservation Halton will continue to monitor stream and weather conditions and will issue further messages as necessary.
This Watershed Condition Statement will be in effect through to Sunday September 22, 2013.
Note: A Watershed Safety Statement – Flood Outlook is an early notice of the potential for flooding based on weather forecasts calling for heavy rain, snow melt, high wind or other conditions that could lead to high runoff, cause ice jams, lakeshore flooding or erosion.
 September 20, 2013
By Ray Rivers.
BURLINGTON, ON. They are romantic little fishing villages dotting the coastline of this Island province, the last to join Canada. The quaint, brightly painted houses and boat shacks are all well maintained and clean. It is as if the clock had been turned back a half century or more – except for the quiet. An eerie silence pervades, almost like being in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Perhaps it just seems that way because the sea is empty. There are no boats in the harbours; nobody selling their catch-of-the-day on the docks; no seagulls dodging and diving for discarded fish guts; and nobody fishing off an island that was founded on the cod fish.
 The cod almost jumped out of the water and into the boats. It was a phenomenal resource that sustained a province – until the bureaucrats got the numbers wrong. The almighty cod fish which attracted settlers and fishers from all around the world; which led to the discovery of Newfoundland; and that provided the income and livelihood for its inhabitants… is gone. The cod fishery collapsed in the late 1980‘s, though it took the federal government until 1992 to actually declare a total moratorium. Thirty thousand workers lost their jobs overnight and now Newfoundlanders are allowed only a three-week window to catch a few lonely cod for their own tables.
The expert government scientists really blew this one. They over-estimated the cod stock, underestimated the impact of the fishing vacuum cleaners, called factory trawlers, and then nodded politely as their masters applied political pressure to keep the fishery open, long after it should have been closed. Now, over two decades later the stock has still not recovered. Locals do express hope for the cod, some optimism, unlike they do for the wild Atlantic salmon which is truly gone forever.
Thank God we have agriculture. But now we have more expert scientists guiding our policy makers, as they support Monsanto and other companies creating the new and exciting genetically modified organisms (GMO). It was only1994, less than two decades ago, when the first commercially available GMO food, a tomato, was approved by the US FDA. Yet today there are 25 GMO plants being grown around the world, and almost all of the corn and soybeans (90%) grown in the US are GMO. Canada is not far behind this trend.
Some of the genetic material spliced into these foods simply allows the plants to defend themselves against pesticides like Monsanto’s Round-up, which does such a deadly job of cleaning up the weeds. Some GMOs have altered biological processes, such as the tomato, which now ripens slower than nature had intended – keeping it fresher-looking on the grocer’s shelf. And the latest GMO being developed claims to enhance the nutritional value of food (golden rice), thus offering the promise of feeding the masses being born into hunger in the less developed nations of the world.
 The remaining category of GMO foods actually contain pesticides within their DNA, such as bt corn and bt potatoes . Every time we eat these foods we intake the same pesticide DNA that kills or wards off predatory insects, fungal diseases, etc. Now the agriculture and health agencies and their scientists tell us that these products are safe. But I worry that, like the fisheries experts, they are missing something and haven’t grasped the bigger picture – and that we should be moving slower and more cautiously. GMOs have been critically labelled ‘franken foods’ by the organic industry because their process of gene splicing is unlike anything which occurs in nature.
I confess, I used to be an organic producer and I managed an organic certification agency here in Ontario – so that is my bias. Like others, committed to organic foods, I am concerned about how much testing has gone into these GMO products, given how soon after development we move these foods into production, the market place and our stomachs. What if we discover a problem in due course, will we have enough non-GMO seeds to change back? I am annoyed that there is no labeling where we purchase food, informing us whether we are getting GMO, thus purposely blocking us from exercising our rights to choice as consumers. And I do worry about the cumulative effect of eating foods with poison in their genetic make-up.
 Once, I ran out of soybean seeds for some garden-variety edamame I was planting. Rushed, I inquired about organic seeds at my local farmers’ supply store. But the only kind they had were ‘Round-up Ready’ by Monsanto. These seeds came with a contract I needed to sign confirming that, though I bought and grew them, they were Monsanto property into perpetuity. I just shook my head and contacted an organic grower to help me out.
 There was nothing modified about this natural resource. All we had to do was responsibly preserve and wisely harvest. We failed to do that. I know our agricultural scientists are well-educated and have our best interests at heart when they tell us they believe that GMOs are safe – and time may well prove them to be right. But then I think back to those meetings with the well-respected federal fisheries biologists, when we used to finalize and allocate fishing quotas. They were convinced that the northern cod stock was strong and growing, and that despite all the fishing pressure it was facing, would never collapse.
 Ray Rivers was born in Ontario; earned an economics degree at the University of Western Ontario and earned a Master’s degree in economics at the University of Ottawa. His 25 year stint with the federal government included time with Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Agriculture and the Post office. Rivers is active in his community; has run for municipal and provincial office and held executive positions with Liberal Party riding associations. He developed the current policy process for the Ontario Liberal Party.
 September 19, 2013
By staff
BURLINGTON, ON. Earlier this week a 13-year-old Burlington girl was walking home on Palmer Drive near Newlands Crescent when she sensed she was being followed.
While walking, she turned to see a man walking behind her and quickened her pace to create some distance.
A few moments later her wrist was grabbed and the man spun her around and touched her inappropriately. The girl fought off the man and ran home.
The victim did not report the matter to police until earlier today, September 19th.
The suspect is described as white, older than 20 years of age, wearing a baseball cap, light coloured t-shirt and jeans. The suspect may have had piercings in his mouth area, known as ‘snake bites’.
This is the second incident of public molestation of young girls in the city in less than a week.
Police offer the following prevention tips when walking:
Walk with a purpose
Be alert and attentive of your surroundings at all times
Avoid unlit streets and shortcuts through parks and/or vacant lots
If you suspect you are being followed, cross the street, scream if necessary
IF YOU FEAR FOR YOUR SAFETY, CALL 9-1-1
Call the police as soon as you can to report the incident; they can move very quickly and be in a neighbourhood in minutes.
 September 18, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. It was an event held at perhaps the most prestigious site in the city. It had relatively little to do with Burlington and at the same time it had everything to do with Burlington.
 Marlaine Koehler, part of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust that created the Waterfront Trail that first opened in Burlington just east of the Canal on Mother’s Day in YEAR Some of the best minds in the province were in the Discovery Room overlooking the lake and Spencer Smith Park with the pier at the east end. There were people from municipalities and government agencies across the province. They were there to honour two women: Marlaine Koehler and Vicki Barron who, together, were the driving force behind the creation of the Waterfront Trail that today stretches from Niagara on the Lake to the Quebec border and has begun to include large parts of Lake Erie.
 Vickie Barron, one of two women given the David Crombie Award bu the Canadian Urban Institute in Burlington earlier this week. Nothing like this had ever been done before. The initiative came out of a Royal Commission led by Crombie that resulted in a Waterfront Regeneration Trust; an organization that holds waterfront property or the right to walk on properties in trust for the public.
There was a time when Burlington was a leader in the development of the “waterfront”, something David Crombie reminded us of when he was in the city a few years ago talk to the Waterfront Advisory Committee.
Crombie was back to witness the awards being given and took advantage of the opportunity to chat up the Mayor on how he was doing with the plans for the Beachway Park. This park is where the Waterfront Trail used to begin. The series of pictures set out below show – well, check the body language. Crombie was having some difficulty with comments Goldring was making.
Mayor Goldring is struggling with this issue. I think his heart is in the right place, which is more than can be said of some of his council members, but setting out a vision and then executing the leadership to make the vision a reality is not our Mayor’s strong suite.
The pictures are shown in the sequence they were taken in – minutes apart.
 David Crombie, centre, likes everyone he meets and has a soft spot for Burlington. Crombie listen, he listen carefully. Mayor Goldring is on the left with the chair of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust on the right.  The conversation was about the lakefront, the Beachway and Spencer Smith Park. Crombie who has vast experience with how to make the waterfront accessible to the public and at the same time include community makes a point. Is Goldring listening?  Crombie thinks about the responses being made by Mayor Goldring.  The folded arms tell the story – and the expression on Crombie’s face suggest he doesn’t like what he is hearing. The city will have a better idea of what Mayor Goldring thinks when he speaks at Council Monday. The city’s position on the Beachway Park, which will the go to Regional Council, will be made known on Monday. Ms Koehler told the small audience something about the day, it was a Sunday, a Mother’s Day when the Waterfront Trail was officially opened. “we got calls from Hamilton asking if the trail could be stretched to their part of the province and we explained that Hamilton had not taken part in the planning and making a last-minute change just couldn’t happen”.
The event was one of those things that take place to honour our best in this country. What made this event particularly poignant was the presence of former Toronto Mayor David Crombie. The award was given in his name and he had worked for many years with the two women. Crombie has been the strongest argument in the province for making our waterfronts livable places.
Burlington is on the cusp of making a decision that will define for a century what kind of a waterfront we are going to have as decisions get made about what Burlington wants to see done with the Beachway Park – a location that was at one point thought of as a bit of a slum; a place where biker gangs held court and where houses were yards away from a railway line and hydro towers loomed over everything.
Council Blair Lancaster told a committee meeting that when she was a young woman she “wasn’t allowed to go to the park”. Janet Turpin Myers, a recently published Burlington author, said that “when I was young you were behaving really badly if you went to that place. It was seen as a ‘wild’ place.
The vision parks and recreation staff has put forward is “plastic”. It has no life, no vitality and no colour and no imagination. It is what you would expect from bureaucrats. The limited vision that came out of Parks and Recreation is far from final and there will be some good work done to make the park much more vibrant.
What is missing is the strongest thing the park has going for it and that is the “community” that is already there and one that should be grown.
It took Torontonians a couple of years to get to the point where homes were allowed to remain on their islands – making it one of the nicest, safest places to visit in that city.
 The city wants to create four zones within the park that will allow for the protection of the sensitive sand dunes and for the creation of better parking. The current plan to to take four properties that are currently privately owned and turn them into park space. There are three structures on the four properties. On the plus side, the city has limited the land grab it wants to do to four pieces of property with four structures.
What Marlaine Koehler and Vicki Barron did with their Waterfront Trail work was change the mindset. They were the beginning of the movement that brought the lake back into the hands of the public and made it a living breathing place. Ms Koehler told her audience that her mother saw the lake as a place where “dead fish being washed up on the shore”. Koehler and her children visit Burlington frequently and swim at Beachway Park. My children see that body of water much differently than I did when I started working on it. They see it as a place that is rightfully theirs. My generation had to fight to get it back into the hands of the public. The Waterfront Agency in Toronto has spent seven years getting three km of the trail through the downtown part of that city. It is still a struggle but courageous people with innovative ideas have shown it can be done.
Burlington can have a Beachway Park that will become the envy of the province; a place where community, a protected environment and activities for all ages can be enjoyed.
As people were getting ready to leave the event a large ore carrier was seen coming out of Hamilton’s harbour. Crombie pointed to the ship and said: “I want to go home on that”. Minutes earlier Crombie said to me that Goldring needed to be cautious because he was about to make a long-term decision.
 September 17, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. Enbridge Pipelines turned over a cheque for $7500 to the Burlington Fire Department as part of the corporations Safe Community Program. The funds will be used to equip a new simulation lab, which will be accessible by all of the regional departments including emergency planning crews. Some of the new equipment includes computers, software and training gear.
 Fire department accepts a donation from the company whose pipeline plans the city opposes. How did that happen? “We are pleased to support the fire department in Burlington because they help keep our community safe,” said Ken Hall, Senior Advisor, Community Relations, Enbridge. “The new simulation lab will help firefighters and emergency planning crews be better prepared to respond to urgent situations.”
 The Enbridge pipeline cuts across the rural part of Burlington. Should there be a leak or a break in that line – which is more than 40 years old – much of the water that runs off the escarpment would be threatened. One of those urgent situations could be a break or a leak in Enbridge’s Line 9 which cuts right across Burlington between Side roads 1 and 2.
 In a statement Enbridge said: “The safety of the people who live and work in communities where Enbridge operates remains the company’s highest priority. That’s why Enbridge is proud to support organizations that are focused on community safety.” In her day my Mother called statements like that “whoppers”.
In November 2012, Enbridge filed an application with the National Energy Board asking the board to approve the reversal of the segment of Line 9 between North Westover, Ont. and Montreal, Qué. in addition to requesting an expansion of the entire Line 9 capacity from Sarnia, Ont. to Montreal and a revision to the Line 9 Rules and Regulations Tariff to allow transportation of heavy crude.
Enbridge has already obtained approval to reverse the pipeline’s flow for the section running between Sarnia and North Westover, in south-western Ontario.
 At its April 8 meeting, City Council passed a resolution directing staff to request participation rights in Enbridge Pipelines Inc. Line 9B Reversal and Line 9 Capacity Expansion Project application was passed.
The city was granted permission from the National Energy Board to submit a letter of comment, which the city did on Aug. 6, 2013.
Burlington, along with just about every other community the pipeline passes through, opposes the Enbridge plans. In its comments to the National Energy Board that will be holding hearings on the application Enbridge has made to reverse the flow of Line 9 and to increase the volume of Alberta bitumen through the line Burlington said: “Upon review of Enbridge’s application the city continues to be concerned that the issues we have previously raised are not adequately addressed,” said Scott Stewart, general manager of development and infrastructure. “We want more than just assurances that our residents and natural environment will be protected.”
The city’s letter of comment requests that further analysis and review is done in the following areas:
Enbridge’s overall approach to minimizing the likelihood of a release
In the event of a release, that an effective and coordinated response plan is in place This plan must leverage the capabilities of local emergency response teams
Enbridge’s accountability, both financially and operationally, for any event.
As part of the City of Burlington’s letter of comment, resolutions from Halton Regional Council and the Town of Oakville were submitted. Also included in the submission were the notes from a community meeting held in February. “The community raised a number of concerns at this meeting with Enbridge, and we felt it was important to share them with the NEB as they review Enbridge’s application,” said Scott Stewart.
 Right through the Escarpment. Will the fire department use the Enbridge donation to figure out how they will get onto this land to soak up the oil if there is a leak or a break in a line that is 40 years old? Has Burlington harmed its credibility in accepting the Enbridge donation? Some municipalities chose not to accept donations which Enbridge is apparently handing out to anyone with an outstretched hand. Is Enbridge doing to Burlington what colonial Canadians did to the native population – got a lot of land for some coloured beads and cases of whiskey?
Are we in 40 pieces of silver territory?
 September 17, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. At a time when Burlington’s city council struggles with what it wants to do with the Beachway Park the man, who created the Waterfront Trail that runs through the park and most of the province as well, will be in town for a presentation and a media event.
 If there was ever an occasion for Mayor Goldring to seek the opinions of others on the Beachway Park – now is the time to do it and on Wednesday he will have an opportunity to listen to one of the best minds there is on waterfront development. Former Toronto Mayor met with Mayor Goldring at a Waterfront Advisory meeting a number of years ago. Time for another chat. Mayor Goldring will be in the room for the event that will honour two people who have been instrumental in keeping the Waterfront Trail alive. Former Toronto Mayor David Crombie will be taking part in an event that will see an award in his name given to Marlaine Koehler and Vicki Barron in recognition of their significant contribution to the public realm over many years in their roles with the Waterfront Regeneration Trust.
The David Crombie Award is given in recognition of people and initiatives that provide collaborative solutions to the complex problems facing Canada’s largest urban region – the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and, through engaging community members with government and private sector partners, support the repair, regeneration and/or enhancement of the region’s public realm.
That comes close to describing the problem and the opportunity Burlington faces with the Beachway Park. The event could be a dream come true for the residents of the Beachway Park who are struggling to keep a community in the park. Crombie suggested to the city sometime ago some of the options it had with waterfront development. Hopefully he will remind the city again during his visit.
Burlington is currently trying to figure out what it really wants to do with the homes. While it looks as if expropriation and tearing the homes down is off the table – the current residents don’t feel at all comfortable with what they suspect is the city’s long term plan – which appears to be to let all but three of the existing structures stay and hope that over time the owners will eventually sell out to the city, the Region or Conservation Halton.
 The Beachway residents are putting up a good fight and their efforts have brought about some changes. But the battle isn’t over yet. What the city needs, as it thinks its way through what the Beachway Park could be, is a solid shot of imagination. When David Crombie was last in Burlington, speaking to the Waterfront Access Protection Advisory Committee he asked if the city had a collection of oddballs that could think imaginatively. Perhaps he was talking about the current residents of Beachway Park.
 Is there anything for Burlington to learn from what was done with the Toronto Islands? At one point that city wanted to tear down all the homes and make it a gigantic park. Marlaine Koehler and Vicki Barron work with the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, the organization that created the Waterfront Trail, that is in a bit of a shambles in Burlington right now. Few Burlingtonians know that there was a point when Burlington was a leader in the creation of the Trail. The two women being honoured on Wednesday oversaw the development and management of several innovative partnerships that made a dramatic contribution towards the regeneration of the Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River waterfront.
For thousands of Ontarians, summer would not be complete without enjoying some time strolling, sunning, biking, running, or otherwise recreating along various stretches of Lake Ontario’s waterfront. And yet, only 20 years ago there was no waterfront trail that existed, outside of some imaginations and a Royal Commission report with recommendations that the Waterfront Regeneration Trust was established to implement.
In 1993, the Trust launched the Waterfront Trail and Greenway, the organization’s signature project, with a multi-faceted program that included sponsorship, major events, publications, and a collaborative branding program. By 1995, The Trust had accomplished the opening of the Waterfront Trail, a 350-kilometre, virtually continuous trail along the Lake Ontario shoreline, connecting hundreds of parks, historic and cultural sites, wildlife habitats and recreation areas from Stoney Creek to Trenton.
From 2003 to 2008 the Lake Ontario Waterfront Investment Program delivered over $27 million of public and private investment to the Lake Ontario waterfront. By 2008 the Waterfront Trail was 720 km from Niagara to Quebec, and connected 41 communities and over 182 parks and natural features. This year also saw the start of the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure, an annual ground-breaking public engagement program that encourages active transportation. It is a fully supported recreational bike ride passing through the 27 communities along Lake Erie, Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, where participants can explore the communities along the trail over the course of a week.
In 2013 the Waterfront Trail will expand westwards along Lake Erie, adding a second Great Lake and 27 new waterfront communities along a signed, mostly on-road route. This work has been accomplished in partnership with communities in south-west Ontario, Carolinian Canada Coalition, Transportation Options and Share the Road.
A panel will discuss the impact that waterfront revitalization can have on connecting communities, and the various challenges and innovations along the way. The key word there is “communities”: Burlington needs some help in seeing the bigger picture.
Ken Greenberg, one of the speakers Mayor Goldring brought to Burlington as part of his Inspire series will be on the panel. Greenberg fully understands the importance of community – perhaps he will leave more of his wisdom on Burlington’s doorstep.
 September 16, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. Halton’s Chief of police must have shaken his head several times this morning when he signed off on the report that stated there were more than 1900 charges laid during Project Safe Start, the police initiative to make streets close to Regional schools safe.
Police laid over 1900 charges including:
Speeding 1152
Seatbelts 142
Stop Signs 158
Other 456 (including at least 28 Distracted Driving charges)
 Signs are pretty clear. Police still nabbed 1152 speeders during an All Hands on Deck which has the Chief of Police out writing up tickets. The two officers shown here were kept busy. While the project has come to an end the need to be vigilant when driving near schools is always necessary. Take extra care in and around School Zones and Community Safety Zones.
 Halton Regional Police Chief Stephen Tanner talks with Sgt Davies, the man who heads up the accident reconstruction unit. The two of them would really like to see fewer accidents. During the enforcement phase, several suspended drivers were taken off the road, two commercial vehicles taken out of service for severe mechanical defects and at least one person was charged with Stunt Driving. Keep in mind that all of these charges occurred within School Zones and Community Safety Zones!
Vigilance and due care and attention should always be paramount when driving; not just when police hold special campaigns such as Project Safe Start. Enforcement officers will still be out 24/7 keeping an eye on our roads to ensure safe travel for all.
 September 16, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. Just after 5:00 pm, on Sunday, a 42-year-old Milton man was cycling down an incline on Britannia Road just east of Cedar Spring Road in the City of Burlington. The male lost control of his bicycle and crashed onto the paved roadway. A woman came across the injured cyclist and called emergency services.
Although he was wearing a helmet, the male was rushed to a nearby trauma centre with life threatening head injuries.
Due to the nature of the injuries, the Halton Regional Police Collision Reconstruction Unit attended the scene and took carriage of the investigation. Any witnesses are asked to call the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 905-825-4747 ext 5065.
 September 14, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. Three white males are being sought by police for an assault that took place on Upper Middle Road and Walkers Line at approximately 11:00 pm on Friday
 Plaza on the south side of Upper Middle Road near Walkers Line where an assault is believed to have taken place Friday night. A male and female pedestrian were near the plaza at 4021 Upper Middle Road when the occupants of a passing motor vehicle began a verbal altercation. After a brief exchange, the suspects exited the vehicle and assaulted the 26-year-old male victim. In addition, the suspects damaged the motor vehicle of a passerby who attempted to intervene. The victim was treated in hospital for minor injuries. The suspects fled in their vehicle and were observed in the area driving in a dangerous manner.
The Halton Regional Police are looking for any help they can get identifying three people responsible for the assault.
All three suspects are Caucasian males between the ages of 18-20 years. One suspect is bald/shaved head while another has short, spiked dark hair. No further descriptors available at this time.
The involved suspect vehicle is a black SUV, possibly a Toyota Highlander, with tinted windows and a tan leather interior.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Three District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext 2315, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), www.haltoncrimestoppers.com, or text “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
 September 12, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. After years of struggle. After battling a civic administration that really didn’t want the thing saved and working around a city council that couldn’t come up with a solution even though they had federal funding to pay for a move – the Friends of Freeman station watched the structure move a couple of hundred yards from beside the fire station on plains Road to a spot in a field where they can begin the renovation and restoration work.
It was a very satisfying day for a small bunch of people.
 Leaving a place that was not very nice – station begins one of the shortest trips it has ever made.  The station is eased into a large excavation. She wasn’t being buried – just put into a location where a foundation can be put beneath the structure.  Construction equipment gets out of the excavation and the crews prepare the ground for the station to be eased down the slope.  The station is eased into a space where its foundation will be built.  All settled in. The tractor will unhitch and drive away. Those huge yellow beams will get pulled out once the station is lowered onto a set of cribs that will hold it in place while the foundation is built.  These are what are known as “Happy Campers” or Friends of Freeman Station. They are, from the left:John Mellow (Chair, Restoration & Relocation) , Alan Harrington (Treasurer), Bev Jacobs (Board Member) Brian Aasgaard (Vice President), Jacquie Gardner (Publicity), Reg Cooke (Secretary), and James Smith. President.
Now, as they put it, the real work can begin. There is some settling of the building to be done but that is just a detail.
It is in place, temporarily if the Friends of Freeman have their way, and over the next three to five years the work will get done.
During the lengthy debate over how the city wants to see the Beachway Park develop, city staff provided some pictures and layout on how the place would look when it is more like a park than it is now – there wasn’t a hint of a place for the Freeman Station. Unfortunate. That will get changed.
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