 By Pepper Parr
April 26th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Committee of Adjustment (CoA) is the place you appeal to when you need a small adjustment to the zoning of a piece of property
The CoA is an independent body appointed by Council under authority granted by the Province of Ontario. The Committee has seven members and two alternates who are all residents of the City of Burlington.
 Item posted on Kearns Facebook page The Committee of Adjustment is authorized by the Planning Act to consider applications for:
Minor variances from the zoning bylaw.
Extensions, enlargements or variations of existing legal non-conforming uses under the zoning bylaw.
Land division and consents – severing a new lot from an existing lot, adding land to an existing lot, easements, mortgages or leases in excess of 21 years.
Conformity to the zoning bylaw for a particular use.
There have been some boisterous CoA meetings in the past; the hearing that related to the Jack Dennison application to sever the property he once owned on Lakeshore Road took years to be completed and in the end went to the OMB where the CoA decision was set aside.
Dennison, who was the ward 4 Councillor at the time eventually got the decision he wanted – it raised more than eyebrows.
Members of Council are rarely involved in CoA meetings. However in the past former Councillors Rick Craven and John Taylor have appeared. Craven attended but did not speak to an application nor did he identify himself as a ward Councillor. John Taylor did speak to an application.
 Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns The current Councillor for ward 2, Lisa Kearns has appeared before the CoA twice and in a notice on her Facebook page is advising people of the meeting this week.
 Maurice Desrochers, talking to residents who live near the block long development he was proposing for the St. Luke’s ward. The application she refers to is one made by Maurice Richard Desrochers, no stranger to CoA procedures. There are three separate applications, all related to a property on the corner of Caroline and Burlington Street, a part of the city that is seen as a choice location to live where re-sale prices are well into the million dollar level.
There appear to be people either on the CoA or involved in the administration of the hearings who take exception to members of Council appearing.
The Gazette source asked not to be identified
 By Staff
April 24th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
A message to the community from Eric Vandewall, President & CEO Joseph Brant Hospital
Across the province, the hospital system is experiencing significant pressures, as the Variants of Concern have now become the predominant strain of COVID-19. Hospitals are reaching full capacity.
 33 Covid19 patients in Intensive Care Unit As of today, (April 22, 2021) Joseph Brant Hospital (JBH) is sitting at 91% capacity. Last week, the Ontario government expanded the four-week lockdown to six weeks, in the hopes of bringing down case numbers. They are also working to increase critical care capacity and bring in health care workers from other jurisdictions.
Long-Term Care homes are expediting admissions for Alternative Level of Care patients, as the need for acute care beds is rising faster than the system can currently accommodate. At JBH, for over a year we have been preparing for what is happening now – the worst-case scenario.
Our teams continue to work hard to review and revise plans for potential situations we may experience. To manage capacity pressures, JBH has enacted a team-based model of care on some patient care units. Team-based care shifts patient care from “I” (i.e. nurse as the “primary” caregiver) to “We”, where nurses are paired with other care providers. In a team approach, each team member’s skills and knowledge are utilized to share the responsibility for meeting patient care needs.
It is all hands on deck to ensure that we keep our patients and our community safe. Yet, as I referenced last week, it is distressing to see continued skepticism on social media and through ongoing anti-lockdown demonstrations. Many falsely contend – still to this day, despite urgent, emotional pleas from the medical community – that the severity of this pandemic is over-inflated.
Today, at JBH we are caring for 33 patients admitted with COVID-19, including several critically ill patients on ventilators in our ICU.
Our critical care department is currently working at 160% of its standard capacity, with nine additional ICU patient beds added in the last week. Some of these patients were immediately hospitalized after going to emergency with symptoms that were non-existent only days prior. These are people with families, loved ones, living their lives before contracting this virus. I cannot state our current reality more clearly. It is the same reality taking place in hospitals across Ontario, and across parts of this country. The numbers continue to increase daily and we are living and working in extraordinary times.
This is not a time for skepticism, but empathy, understanding and hope. Because yes, despite the bleakness of this picture, there is much hope. I’m happy to report that we are actively hiring more healthcare workers. This week, we put a call out to the community to apply for temporary full and part-time Pandemic Assistant positions to help support our clinical teams or assist in our screening stations.
Visit www.josephbranthospital.ca for more information and to apply.
This week, we surpassed 13,000 vaccinations administered at JBH, and we continue to vaccinate over 400 community members daily. We will continue to vaccinate as many as we can, based on available supply. I am also encouraged to see eligibility for the Astra Zeneca vaccine expand to the 40-59 age group. If you are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, please remember:
• Book your COVID-19 vaccination appointment – in Halton, visit www.halton.ca/covidvaccines or call 311 to book by phone • If you vaccinate elsewhere (i.e. pharmacy or doctor’s office) and book multiple appointments in an attempt to get the earliest time, please do not forget to cancel your appointments at the other locations. This causes a significant backlog with wait lists and further delays for those waiting to get the vaccine
 Eric Vandewall. President & CEO Joseph Brant Hospital • Read the scientific evidence available online to support that vaccination is a key factor in stopping the virus – Halton Region and the Province of Ontario share evidence and FAQ information
• As always, continue to follow public health measures including washing your hands, wearing a mask, adhering to physical distancing, before and after vaccination.
Thank you again to our community for the ongoing support, encouragement and cooperation. We must take collective action to get through Wave 3. I know that many people are tired and concerned about the road ahead – but together, we are strong and we will rise to the challenge, and we will get through this extraordinary time.
 By Pepper Parr
April 24th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The week was a media bonanza for ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns.
 Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns On Wednesday she handled a two hour webcast on what is known now as Fairview LP, the gigantic development that will rise on the 8.5 acre property to the east of the Burlington GO station; on Thursday she held a ward meeting in which she jammed in everything she could possibly tell you about what she is achieving at city hall.
There was one item of significant interest in the city hall recap – that was what appears to be a new and very welcome approach to creating budgets.
Kearns first explained that the 4.14% increase on the city portion of your tax bill was really necessary – that can be argued at some future date.
Kearns also explained how hard council had worked to get a budget in place before the end of March.
The Finance department prefers to get a budget in place before the end of a calendar year but Covid19 has screwed up everything everyone is trying to get done.
 The practice in the past was to invite the public to “review” the budget that had already been decided upon. It was community engagement at its worst – getting public input before city departments did their work would be classic community engagement. The plan, if we heard to ward Councillor correctly, was to start budget thinking in June and ask the public what they would like to see before having the various departments submit their first cut on a budget.
The Gazette has been advocating this for years – maybe, just maybe, they will ask the public how they would like to see their money spent.
Done properly this could be very effective.
Time will tell.
Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
 By Staff
April 23rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Construction of Lowville Park has begun for the 2021 construction season. As part of the Lowville Park Master Plan, work continues on park improvements. The return of park reservations will occur later in the spring.
 A river runs through the park where the salmon spawn and children get to play. Parking Lot Closures
During construction, the park will be open to the public but there will be temporary parking lot closures:
Weekdays – Monday, April 26 to Thursday, May 20
Entire parking lot closed
There will be no parking; the parking lot will be closed for construction
Weekends – Saturday, May 1 to Sunday, May 16
A third of the parking lot will be closed for construction staging
The rest of the parking lot will be open for public parking. First come, first served.
 Rob Peachey, on the left, Manager Parks and Open Spaces for the city, talks through some solutions to managing the very large weekend crowds. They are standing on the school house steps overlooking the park. Vehicles parked illegally will be ticketed and/or towed at the owner’s expense by City of Burlington Parking Bylaw Officers.
The park will remain open for pedestrians and cyclists. Areas of the park under construction will be closed. For your safety, please stay out of the areas marked as closed.
Park Reservations
Visitors are reminded to continue to be vigilant about public health practices and provincial directives to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Starting May 24, visitors to Lowville Park will be required to make an online reservation before they can enter the park. The reservations are free and available in three-hour time slots.
• Reservations are open to book:
o Weekdays between 4 and 8 p.m.
o Weekends between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.
• Due to the limited number of spots available, we ask that one spot per day be booked to allow everyone the opportunity to enjoy the park
• One vehicle per reservation
• Reservations for those walking or biking into the park are not required
• Visits are three hours in length. Arrive and depart within your scheduled times
• An automated gate will match vehicle license plates match the reservation
• Changes/cancellations can be made up to 48 hours before your arrival time, including change of date, name, license plate and number of people
• Late grace period: we understand unexpected circumstances may arise. It’s ok to be a few minutes late
• City of Burlington reserves the right to cancel park visits due to adverse trail conditions. Trail networks may close completely if conditions are too wet and damage will be unavoidable. Should your visit be cancelled, you will be notified by email
• City of Burlington reserves the right to cancel park visits due to COVID orders and restrictions. Should your visit be cancelled, you will be notified by email
• Details about how to make a reservation will be made available next month.
Washrooms are available at Lowville Park and visitors are reminded to continue to be vigilant about public health practices and provincial orders to reduce the spread of COVID-19:
• Maintain a physical distance of at least 2-metres from others.
• Only visit the park with members of your immediate household.
• Stay home if you feel sick.
• Wash and sanitize your hands before and after visiting the park.
Burlington is a City where people, nature and businesses thrive. City services may look different as we work to stop the spread of COVID-19. The City’s commitment to providing the community with essential services remains a priority. Sign up to learn more about Burlington at Burlington.ca/Enews and download the free City of Burlington app.
 Vito Tolone, Director of Transportation Vito Tolone, Director of Transportation explains some of the issues people need to be aware of: – “We are working to open the parking lot for the summer season. Through the initial construction this spring, please bear with us when the parking lot is closed and keep in mind that there are very few parking spaces available on Lowville Park Road.
The City saw success in reopening and managing parking and park capacity using the reservation system last summer. This year, we have been able to automate this system so we can allow residents the chance to reserve their parking spot. This reservation system allows us to manage the number of visitors and control parking.”
 By Pepper Parr
April 23rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The big dollar grants from various levels of government can overwhelm a bit – just how any zeros are there in a billion?
It is the smaller grants, those under the $100,000 level that are understood and appreciated.
This afternoon, Karina Gould announced three grants to Burlington organizations that we all know about.
There was $71,000 distributed with $25,000 going to Community Living; $24,900 going to the Legion and $21,667 going to Community Development Halton.
 This is how media events now take place. I need a haircut so badly that I chose not to be seen. All the grants had a Covid19 connection.
Community Living cares for 400 people and is the oldest community organization in the city.
Their grant got applied to technology which allows them to take basically all of their programs virtual. This includes the music classes, the art classes and the friendship circles.
The cheer leading team and the news team wouldn’t be able to do anything were it not for the ability to Zoom .
The residential program is able to continue but under very strict limitations. Those in the residential program have at times gone for a significant number of days without seeing family.
 A Friday evening Fish Fry at the Legion; they managed to coax MP Karina Gould into the kitchen The Legion once got MP Karina Gould into their kitchen during one of the Friday Fish Fry Nights – that will be back on once the level of social mobility improves. The Legion needed to upgrade the HVAC system – the grant will help them get that job done.
Community Development Halton, (CDH) a non profit organization that does social planning research and operates Volunteer Halton as well as running an Age Friendly program.
CDH partnered with Food for Life preparing meals for 800 people who are isolated during the pandemic.
They found when talking to people while the meals were being delivered that many were finding the social isolation very difficult.
CDH has this practice of talking through problems and issues; they began to brain storm over what could be done to alleviate the sense of being alone and isolated.
Lap blanket were knitted and distributed; young people were encouraged to write cards to people they had never met – the cards were included with the meals when they were delivered.
Heather Thompson told the people taking part in the media event virtually of an occasion when one woman opened her lunch and found the card – burst into tears. An act of kindness she didn’t expect struck a chord.
The funds that were distributed came from the federal New Horizons for Seniors program.
Those dollars made a huge difference to three organizations in this city who take care of people with real needs.
 By Staff
April 23rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
In March of 2021, members of the Halton Regional Police Service – 2 District Criminal Investigations Bureau began an investigation into an individual who was trafficking drugs throughout the Town of Oakville. On April 22, 2021, a 16 year-old male from Oakville was arrested charged with the following offences:
• Possession of a Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking – Fentanyl
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking – Cocaine & Crack Cocaine
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking – LSD
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking – Psilocybin
• Possession – Oxycodone
• Trafficking a Controlled Substance
• Possess Cannabis for the Purpose of Selling
• Young Person to Distribute Cannabis (of one or more classes of Cannabis the total amount of which is equivalent as determined with Schedule 3 to be more then 5g of dried cannabis)
• Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm
• Possession of a Firearm Knowing its Possession is Unauthorized
• Careless Storage of a Firearm
• Possession of a Restricted Firearm with Ammunition
Following the arrest, a Controlled Drug and Substances Act warrant was conducted at a residence in Oakville. Through the course of the investigation the following items were seized:
• A loaded .45 calibre restricted firearm
• 14 rounds of .45 Cal ammunition
• 19.1 grams of Fentanyl
• 22.1 grams of Cocaine
• 20.9 grams of Crack Cocaine
• 0.6 grams of Oxycodone
• 0.7 grams of LSD
• 122.6 grams of Psilocybin
• 335.4 grams of cannabis marijuana
• 66 (22 gram-24.5 gram) packages of Cannabis Edibles
• 283 (1 gram each) Cannabis Vape Pens
The accused was held in custody pending a bail hearing.
The Youth Criminal Justice Act prevents the police from releasing the name of an accused. Interesting that the police take steps to protect a youth that needs help – where are the parents.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to contact the 2 District – Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext 2216.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers. “See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
By Staff
April 23, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Region Public Health Unit released the follow:
Getting our community vaccinated and protecting our most vulnerable residents from COVID-19 continues to be Halton Region’s top priority. As of Thursday, April 22, 2021, 158,938 doses have been administered in Halton to priority populations identified by the Province. This represents about 30 per cent of Halton’s population who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Our vaccination status dashboard is updated Monday to Friday between 12 and 2 p.m. Please click here to view the full dashboard.
Our team would also like to share the following videos:
• April 21 COVID-19 Vaccine Safety from Dr. Hamidah Meghani 4:06 minutes
• April 21 COVID-19 Council update from Halton Region Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deepika Lobo 9:34 minutes
• April 21 COVID-19 Vaccine Council update from Halton Region Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joana Oda and CAO Jane MacCaskill 25:53 minutes
Editor’s note: Keeping a public informed is vital; using video is often better than something written – putting out a video that is close to half an hour long is vert poor communications practice.
By Pepper Parr
April 22nd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
That the development is going to proceed is not in doubt.
 Development will begin at the back of the site – next to the railway line. Parking will be next to the tracks with green space on the roof of the parking structures. \this is a long term development which the developer has said they will be part of for decades. Is it the best deal the city can get ? Probably not but the property on the north side of Fairview between Drury on the east and the Legatt auto dealership on the west has a lot of baggage.
Under the Official Plan this development comes under there is no height limit. Under the new Official Plan, which has not gotten to final approval yet, things would be different.
The 2010 and the 2014 Council, led by Rick Goldring, had numerous opportunities to amend the zoning on the property and get reasonable height limits in place. It was becoming clear in 2010 that the province was going to require high rise intensive development along the rail corridor. Was it a blind eye that couldn’t see or was it wilful neglect. All that is water under the bridge.
The development now has a slightly different corporate makeup and is described at Fairview LP (the LP stands for ‘limited partnership’)
CLV, an organization that has significant apartment interests in Burlington, along with a reputation for terrible service to tenants.
Check out CLV on line and read what past tenants have had to say about the way they were treated. Get the link HERE
Brookfield Property Group is one of the partners along with with InterRent REIT and CLV Group. A REIT, is an income trust – they are sometimes publicly listed companies.)
In an annual report Brookfield describes the company as a diversified global real estate company that owns, operates and develops one of the largest portfolios of office, retail, multifamily, industrial, hospitality, triple net lease, student housing and manufactured housing assets. Its investment objective is to generate attractive long-term returns on equity of 12%−15% based on stable cash flows, asset appreciation and annual distribution growth in-line with earnings growth. The company is listed on the following exchanges: NASDAQ: BPY, TSX: BPY.UN).
 The development will not appear to be over-bearing. It will change the look and feel of the mid-section of the city. The development will not get a thorough public review. It does not require changes to either the Official Plan or the zoning bylaw.
The city’s planning department will be limited to a site plan review, which in itself does offer some opportunity for influencing the look of the project that sits on an eight acre site of which about two acres will be parkland in various forms.
 The circles identify walking distances of 5, 10 and fifteen minute walks. Not much in the way of places to walk to other than places to shop. A city council has the right to un-delegqte a site plan review – which means decisions are made by council and not just the planning department. At this point all the discussion with the developer takes place with the Planning department. Nothing gets put before Council until it decides to invoke the decision they made to take the authority away from planning.
The motion to undelegate reads a follows:
“Undelegate the site plan approval for application 535–001/20 (2020, 2243, 2269 Fairview Street and 864 Drury Lane –CLV Group Inc) from the Director of Community Planning to Council”
Ward two Councillor Lisa Kearns, who hosted the virtual community event Wednesday evening, that had 98 people taking part during a two hour session.
The Fairview LP people are not required to present anything to the public – that have done so willingly and have answered the questions put to them.
They have not proven to be media responsive.
The visuals that were made available were impressive.
 These are architectural renderings. More aspirational than actual at this point. That walkway through the middle has the potential to become a self-sufficient community. But a there are a lot of questions yet to be answered.
The schools boards have yet to say what they will need in terms of space for classrooms.
Traffic was a concern for many people on the call. The development will create something in the order of 2500 units, of which 60% will be condominiums and 40% rental units.
There will be affordable units – how many – no one said but it is obvious the developer has been working with the Region which has responsibility for affordable housing.
 Jenn Morrison, the CLV person stick handling the progress of the site plan review said they wanted 1.18 parking spaces per unit would work out to 3000 cars entering the site. There will be two entrances off Fairview and one off Drury Lane – add to that the traffic to the GO station parking lot and one is looking at a lot of cars.
A traffic study is being done – it wasn’t available last night.
When will the development have shovels in the ground ? Jenn said she hoped to be able to start in Q1 of 2022 – THAT is a stretch.
The property comes under the Interim Control Bylaw (ICBL) which has all development within the Urban WORD on hold until ICBL which will not be lifted until all the LPAT appeals have been heard – there are 30 of them working their way through the Local Planning Act Tribunal.
In a document presented to Council on this development the planners explained the impact the ICBL and the LPAT hearings have on this development:
“While the City awaits the LPAT process to conclude, new applications, including the subject application, are being circulated for comment to relevant departments and agencies. No planning decisions are being formalized and recommendation reports are not being prepared until the LPAT has issued decisions on the aforementioned ZBA 2020.418 appeals. The application will be held in abeyance until the ICBL is no longer in effect.”
That however doesn’t stop the planners from collecting input from the numerous internal and external agencies that are required to comment. The Fairview LP people said they are already in conversations with parks and recreation
 The development will have a ‘big city’ feel to it. Nothing quaint about it. The site is a developers dream – with the demand for accommodation in Burlington higher than it has ever been the
The architectural renderings suggest an almost ‘swishy’ look to that part of the city. Mark Sindell, speaking for either Brookfield or the architects said there were plans for everything you can imagine on the retail side; a supermarket, several types of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, day care centres and maybe a nursery.
The Burlington Library has yet to set out what it might need in terms of accommodation.
At the start of the virtual meeting Kearns was most enthusiastic about the development. It is unusual for a city Councillor to wax as eloquently as she did did Wednesday evening.
One would expect the ward Councillor to be looking out for the public interest and not telling the audience how accommodating the developer has been.
Kearns pointed out that the development will be the biggest thing ever done in the city. Maybe – but that shouldn’t put stars in the eyes of the Councillor.
It is a huge development. There is nothing the city can do to stop it – and there is no reason to do so. Housing is needed and on the surface this development has much going for it.
 Almost one quarter of the 8.5 acre site will be green space – a real plus. What has to be ensured is that transparency and accountability are front and center. Someone has to speak up for the 2500 families that are going to call the place home. This reporter didn’t log out of the virtual event feeling that the public interest was in good hands.
 By Staff
April 22, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The following statement was released by the Chair of Regional Council and the fiour municipalities within the Region
Halton’s Mayors and Regional Chair stand with the guidance provided by the COVID-19 Science Advisory
Table for Ontario supporting sick pay, encouraging safe outdoor activities and accelerating vaccines for
essential workers, among other measures to fight COVID-19.
Throughout this pandemic, Halton’s Mayors and Regional Chair have advocated for a targeted and
evidence-based approach and believe that measures should target the sources of community spread.
On behalf of all our residents and businesses hanging on during these challenging times, we add our
voices to the call from the Science Table to:
• Permit only truly essential indoor workplaces to stay open and strictly enforce safety measures;
• Pay essential workers to stay home when they are sick, exposed or need time to get vaccinated;
• Accelerate vaccination of essential workers and those who live in hot spots; and
• Encourage safe outdoor activities.
The guidance from the Science Table is that being safe outdoors means allowing small groups of people
from different households to meet outside with masking and two-metre distancing. It means keeping
playgrounds open and clearly encouraging safe outdoor activities.
While we continue to discourage large gatherings, small groups can be at the same amenity at the same
time as long as they are following the health guidelines.
In light of this advice, we ask the Province to review and reconsider the list of currently prohibited
outdoor activities. As noted by the Science Table:
“Policies that discourage safe outdoor activity will not control COVID-19 and will disproportionately harm
children and those who do not have access to their own greenspace, especially those living in crowded
conditions.”
Regarding closing non-essential businesses, further financial supports for workers must be in place if the
government is considering closing additional workplaces.
Yesterday’s comments regarding paid sick days by Labour Minister Monte McNaughton, Government
House Leader Minister Paul Calandra, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy and Deputy Premier Christine
Elliot are welcome but they need to be backed up by urgent action and implementation, as well as a
timeline. To avert a fourth wave and break this cycle of lockdowns and restrictions, the government
needs to launch and fund a paid sick leave program in the coming days.
In addition, the Ministry of Labour should have further resources and staff allocated to increase
inspection blitzes and enforce safety measures. These blitzes should not be advertised or announced ahead of time, and they should target the facilities that have had multiple outbreaks ad employers that have not followed public health guidelines.
We need to focus on measures that work, backed by science and evidence, to get through this Third Wave and plan for recovery.
Sincerely,
Halton Regional Chair, Gary Carr Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, City of Burlington
Mayor Rob Burton, Town of Oakville Mayor Gordon Krantz, Town of Milton
Mayor Rick Bonnette, Town of Halton Hills
 By Ray Rivers
April 22, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Just like that it was over! Presentation of a budget with no real surprises, unlike the almost alarmist complaining by the opposition parties that it had been two years in coming. And it’s a huge budget document with spending to match. There was relatively little post-budget fuss except for the habitual Tory complaints about the mounting size of the deficit and the debt.
 Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland preparing to speak to her budget which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leafs through. None of the opposition leaders want an election right now, so they are behaving very gingerly to avoid an excuse for an election. The polls show the Liberals would win again and maybe with a majority this time. And the Libs would love to take advantage of that, but we’re in probably the worst phase of the pandemic now and the voters resent it when opportunistic governments call inconvenient and untimely elections. So it’ll come but not just yet.
The pundits are calling this an election budget anyway. And it is loaded with goodies for just about everyone. A chicken in everyone’s pot. In any case it’s all borrowed money – so more like the government borrowing your chicken to give it back to you. The biggest goodies are climate related initiatives, creating a million jobs this year, and a ten dollar a day national child care program. But everyone gets some kind of handout, be it farmers, householders, green energy start ups, existing oil companies, and even seniors.
The $10 a day pre-school plan is long overdue for a society which values social interdependence as Canadians like to think we do. Quebec’s successful program is the template which the feds are looking at. The results from la Belle Province include better early education, increased female participation in the labour force and economic growth.
We too might have already had this program. But Jack Layton’s NDP’s pulled the plug on Paul Martin’s minority government in 2006 and with it died a unique federal provincial agreement to establish a national child care program. Stephen Harper’s, supported by Layton, killed the initiative and gave parents some cash instead, which as one Liberal partisan noted, would likely buy beer and chips instead. So Mr. Singh is on shaky ground when he claims this has been a long term NDP policy.
 Federal civil servant handing over a cheque to a Quebec civil servant. Having showed their hand Mr Trudeau and his finance minister have got their job cut out for them getting the current field of cash strapped premiers to ante up and sign on to a new plan. And the feds have weakened their negotiating position by saying they would be picking up half of the bill. Quebec has signaled that it would be happy to get a cheque instead, since it already has a program.
Not every good idea made it to the budget however. Rank and file Liberals who paid their money to participate in the recent policy convention must be disappointed that their highest priorities seem to have got lost. Pharmacare, a priority also for the NDP, seems to have been overlooked, though another NDP policy, a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour, has been included.
Universal basic income (UBI) didn’t even get a mention though about 90% of voting delegates supported it at their convention. That is probably because a UBI would make it more difficult to justify the kind of piecemeal pork that get handed out with this kind of budget – discretionary top-ups and the continuation of COVID emergency programs, most of which are poorly thought out, like the problematic federal sick leave.
And then there is the mother of all wasteful programs – the COVID wage subsidy. At about $100 billion the wage subsidy is the most costly federal COVID-19 program, and one of the most expensive short-term government programs in Canadian history. Companies get taxpayer money so they can keep people on the payroll when they don’t have enough work for them. Isn’t that what we used to call Soviet-style socialism?
 Canadian Football League wants to get its snout into the trough as well But it turns out that is a great way to put more money into the pockets of shareholders and to fatten the bonuses and salaries of senior executives, while regular workers are given the boot anyway. Apparently even the big three telecoms are sucking up wage subsidy money, even at a time when internet usage is up 70-90%. And telecom rates haven’t declined that I’ve noticed, so how do they qualify? And how does the CFL (Canadian Football League) get to dip its pigskin in the trough as well?
Who would approve such a wasteful program? Turns out it was a unanimous decision of all the patties. And, this has to be a conflict of interest because all four national political parties have also applied for a wage subsidy from this program. So the next time Erin O’Toole complains about the mounting cost of the deficit, someone should remind him that he and his party are also a big part of the problem.
 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.
Background links:
Budget – Wage Subsidy – Political Parties at the Trough –
Cost of Wage Subsidy – The Rip Off Crowd – Sealing the Deal –
By Staff
April 21st, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
 Halton District School Board – Supporting positive mental health and well-being. The Halton District School Board is hosting more than 15 Mental Health & Well-Being Information Sessions for parents/guardians, with the first session held on April 27 and others scheduled throughout the month of May. These sessions will cover specific topics based on feedback from parents/guardians through a survey sent earlier this year. Each will be led by a mental health expert in that area who will share their knowledge and provide helpful information and resources.
Session presenters will include HDSB staff and mental health experts from local community organizations including Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK), ADAPT, Danielle’s Place, National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC), Eat2Grow, CHM Therapy Services, Halton Support Services, Developmental Services of Ontario, Mental Health and Addiction Nurses, Roots Community Services, and Bayridge Counselling Centres.
To Register CLICK HERE
Session topics include:
• Healthy eating, body image, eating disorders
• Self-regulation and emotional well-being
• Substance use, vaping, online/video gaming
• Supporting children with learning disabilities
• Social isolation and connectedness for 2SLGBTQ+ youth
• Impact of COVID-19 and racism for Black identifying families
• Staying engaged during online learning
• Anxiety
• Psychiatric medications
Registration is required for these sessions as limited spots are available. Parents/guardians can register by completing the Mental Health & Well-Being Information Sessions Registration Form. Sessions will be held on Google Meet or Zoom (depending on the session) and registrants will be emailed a link to access the session. Sessions will not be recorded.
Parents/guardians will have the opportunity to submit questions when completing the registration form or during the session.
The Board’s new Mental Health & Well-Being webpage has information for parents/guardians and students on mental health, ways to support positive mental health and well-being and how to get additional support at school and in the community.
By Staff
April 21st, 2 021
BURLINGTON, ON
 City Hall – where the bylaws get debated and set at what is permissible. How does your municipal government do it?
How do they create the rules that determine what you can do – what the city will be doing about different issues.
They read staff reports, debate amongst themselves and decide.
That decision is shown as a bylaw.
Yesterday Burlington city council passed the following bylaws:
 By Staff
April 21st, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Lane closures:
North Shore Blvd East, between QEW On-ramps, April 21 to December 2021
North Shore Blvd East, between QEW Toronto On-ramp and QEW Niagara On-ramp will have lane closures.
Wednesday, April 21 until December 2021
One lane in each direction and pedestrian access will stay open at all times.
By Pepper Parr
April 20th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
While it was a virtual meeting of city council one could ‘feel’ the concern and the anguish as city staff and city council wrestled with the problems and the very limited tools they had to work with.
 What’s to understand – the facts were there for everyone to see – the province blew it in February and lives have been lost needlessly. Last Friday at 1:00 pm the Science Table gave its advice to the province’s Chief Medical Health Officer. Slides with data that was pretty easy to understand were used to make the points needed to support the recommendations.
At 4:00 on that Friday the Premier took to the podium and issued a Stay at Home order. He gave police the authority to stop people at random to ask where they lived and where they were going. He also ordered the closing of public parks – that particular order was not as clear as it should have been.
The scientists, there are 120 of them, all volunteers, gagged. The Stay at Home order was a small part of what they recommended.
The people close to the thinking that goes into the decisions that get made were aghast. The public didn’t know it at the time but many were giving serious consideration to resigning.
Burlington’s Mayor Meed Ward called an Emergency meeting of city council for Saturday to look at the options. Staff spent time Friday night and early Saturday morning pulling together data that set out what the provincial recommendations meant to the city.
Three hours of debate ended up with nothing concrete but did produce a list of questions that needed answers for the regular meeting of city council that was to take place today, Tuesday. Between the Friday and Tuesday there was a lot of public debate across the province over the closing of parks.
Mental health for all was in poor shape. There was fear, worry, concern and doubt. While Burlington didn’t have infection figures that were off the wall, the variants of the Covid19 virus were known to move around quickly and do much more damage than the virus we had to deal with when the pandemic was declared.
The public consensus seemed to be that the parks could be open for use and had to be open if people were to have a place to go and get some exercise.
 Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna made the point rather well when he excitedly told his colleagues that he was flooded with phone calls – “people were stopping me on the street” he said and asking if the rule applied to football fields or the skate park. He added that there was no clear message and people were confused.
City manager Tim Commisso pointed out that people are asking why the outdoor amenities are closed – this puts us in a very difficult position. Executive Director Sheila Jones said “people are not willing to change their behaviour and we cannot enforce our way out of this”.
City Solicitor Nancy Shea Nicol pointed out that while many agree that some of the rules just didn’t make a lot of sense the fact is that the regulations are in place and until they are rescinded they are the law and have to be obeyed and enforced if necessary.
The city is required to take all steps necessary to ensure the health and safety of its citizens – actually doing that.
 It looked pretty good at the Saturday Emergency of Council – by the time Council met on Tuesday it didn’t make any sense and was withdrawn. On Saturday the city council set out instructed that were in the form of a recommendation to the Tuesday council. They were withdrawn in a rather dramatic fashion with the displayed of a GET THIS.
The very clear lack of leadership from the province was evident when Mayor Meed Ward told Council there was supposed to be a virtual meeting with the Premiers and the Mayors from across the province (imagine trying to organize an event like that) on Wednesday but it had been moved to Friday.
There was a sense that everyone was waiting for better number as we worked our way through the week. The Tuesday numbers were below 4000 (3723)- he hope being that they would drip quickly allowing the Premier to declare that he was doing the right thing and all we had to do was wait it out.
That didn’t jive with what the Science Table said last Friday. Dr. Adelstein Brown said that the numbers for the next two weeks are “baked in”. The people who are going to end up in hospital acquired the virus a few days ago – and that it takes a bit of time for the disease to really hit a person.
 That was six feet – but that coffee shop isn’t open these days. Marianne Meed Ward in a coffee shop. During the Council meeting on Tuesday Mayor Meed Ward spotted a statement from the Science Table on-line that said it was important to keep people safe and connected and “allow small groups to meet outside wearing masks and remaining six feet apart. The science table was speaking over the head of the Premier.
“We need your help” said the Mayor, ” to be patient; we are all tired, frustrated and worried.”
 By Staff
April 20th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
 Those seniors who are 75 and over will see a 10% increase in the Old Age Security Benefits. It is often difficult to see something in a federal budget that impacts your pocket. Real dollars that you are going to receive directly – to your bank account if you are smart enough to use direct deposit.
The budget also proposes to increase Old Age Security by 10% for seniors 75 and over, beginning in 2022.
The current Old Age Security benefit maximum is: $615.37.
These just may be the Golden Years.
 By Andrew Drummond
April 20th, 2021
BURLINGTON,, ON
Monday morning the Ford government again voted down an NDP motion to introduce paid sick days to Ontario.
 Difficult to say that we are actually conquering the virus. Ford and the Conservatives have been consistent in opposing any implementation of paid sick days with their most common excuse being that it would conflict with existing federal programs. However, despite this, paid sick days has been a key recommendation from many groups to fight the COVID pandemic. Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, Dr. Barbara Yaffe; The Ontario Medical Association and the Ontario Hospital Association are among those beyond the NDP who have consistently called for this to be a primary measure in Ontario’s fight against COVID, and the lack of its implementation is a key reason Ontario has fallen behind in this fight.
As of April 18, there have been more than 21,000 COVID-19 cases directly attributable to workplace outbreaks according to the Ontario government’s data (Likely source of infection | COVID-19 (coronavirus) in Ontario). That is in addition to the massive but difficult to quantify numbers of people who have been infected with COVID-19 from caretakers or other health employees.
Throughout this pandemic, workers have been going to work sick because they have no other reasonable choice. Until that is stopped, Ontario will still be at risk.
 The most common excuse the Ford government has given for why they won’t implement a paid sick leave policy is that is conflicts with the federal government’s Canada Sickness Recovery Benefit (CSRB). Ford has repeatedly referenced this program. “There’s paid sick leave from the federal government,” Ford said on April 7. However, there are many differences between the CSRB and a mandatory sick leave policy and showing the details of the limitations of CSRB, helps to understand why it hasn’t been enough to slow workplace outbreaks.
The first major limitation with CSRB is that it is only paid out if a person actually has COVID or is isolating because a close contact does. You do not get any payments if you were sick for any other reason. So, if you have a cough and are having trouble breathing, you need to get a COVID test. However, you also must still go to work in the meantime, and you are not eligible for CSRB unless that test comes back positive. This obviously doesn’t help people stay home the first day they are symptomatic, which will also be the time where they are most likely to communicate it to others. This limitation alone makes it unlikely that CSRB is doing anything to reduce the spread of COVID in Ontario.
The second major limitation is that CSRB doesn’t provide any job protection. If you are a worker in a factory or warehouse and you catch COVID, CSRB will give you 2 weeks of income. However, your employer can still fire you for not showing up to work. For anyone whose employment is precarious, this is an obvious dealbreaker. It doesn’t matter if that worker gets 2 weeks pay, they are still without a job in an economy that isn’t doing well. If a worker must choose between trying to hide their illness or losing their job, many will choose to try and save their job. In some of those cases, it leads the rest of the workplace to get sick.
The third limitation of CSRB is the logistics of receiving the credit. There are two major technical limitations. First, the benefit only pays out in full weeks. You cannot get the benefit for any part of a week (since all COVID cases would require multiple full week’s isolation). Secondly, a worker won’t receive any money until 4 weeks after they have applied as the government processes the claim. This means that anyone living paycheque to paycheque will have no ability to get the money they need for rent or food because their income would be delayed for 4 weeks. Another reason that precariously employed workers can’t take time off and depend on this program.
Ontario at one time was a province that had mandated sick leave for all workers. It was only 2 days per year, but it offered some protection. However, Ford’s government removed those days in 2018 when they took office. Since that time, the pandemic has made clear what a disastrous mistake that was. Hopefully with all the public pressure being put on the government by Andrea Horwath, the NDP, and various community and medical groups, Ford will relent to the expert’s advice and bring in a long overdue program to ensure that we reduce the number of workplace outbreaks in the future.
Andrew Drummond was the NDP candidate in the last provincial election.
By Staff
April 20th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
It might become the next big thing your city Council takes on.
The concept has merit and there is certainly a need.
It is going to take a number of bright people to think their way through this challenge.
 Coming up with a way to create housing that people can afford to buy or rent – the name given to this is “attainable” housing.
The City needs a Working Group to support the Housing Strategy. They are looking for a diverse group of volunteers from government, not for profit, co-op, businesses and residents.
If you are interested in applying, fill out the form below. More details about the role of the Working Group will be available in the draft Engagement Plan that will be presented to CPRM Committee in April and that will be posted on the project page on getinvolvedburlington.ca/housingstrategy.
Space on the working group is limited to 20 people. There will be multiple opportunities to engage throughout the Housing Strategy Project. Stay tuned for additional opportunities to get involved in the Housing Strategy in the upcoming draft engagement plan.
Applications will be open until 11:59 p.m. on April 30, 2021. CLICK HERE to get the application form
By Pepper Parr
April 19th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
There are a lot of people very unhappy with the Premier.
 Dr. Adelstein Brown, Chair of the Science Table , keeps a safe distance from Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. Members of the Science table who advise the Chief Medical Officer of the province who then advises the Premier are talking about resigning.
They don’t think the Premier understands the gravity of the Covid19 situation and how close we are to being out of control.
Leader of the provincial Liberals want the Premier to resign – Stephen Del Duca said: ““Doug Ford is the worst Premier in Ontario history at a time when leadership matters the most. He should resign now before he makes things any worse. If he does, I will be the first to commend him, because it takes real guts to get out of the way when he’s screwed up this badly. But he won’t. Because he only cares about himself and his special friends.”
That’s just politics – Del Duca has yet to win a seat to even sit in the Legislature.k
It is becoming very clear that this government cannot seem to get ahead of the crisis. Paid sick leave for those people who have the crummy jobs, live with large families, often in congested space, work for a bit more than the minimum wage and having to use public transit doesn’t seem to be something the province is prepared to do.
 Premier Ford uses data provided by the Science Table as a prop during a media event – but doesn’t follow the recommendations that came with the data. Money can’t be the issue – the Premier keeps saying “whatever it takes”. It takes taking care of the people who work in the hospitals who are approaching burn out, the single parent who works in the supermarket and now has to figure out how she is going to care for her children with schools closed.
The decision to give police the authority to stop people at random and have them justify why they are out of their homes was a stretch when the public was informed – then at least 30 police forces in the province declare they aren’t going to use the authority – the province backs off.
There is a health crisis that is barely under control.
There is a confidence problem as well.
By Pepper Parr
April 19th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
 It was a City Council meeting called by the Mayor for 10 am on a Saturday morning. The first Saturday morning Council meeting this reporter recalls in the ten years I have been covering council.
There were no desperate holiday weekend meetings in 2014 the parts of the city were flooded.
That State of Emergency means that an Emergency Control Group (ECG) runs the city but must defer to Council when there is a change to the level of service delivery or when there is a need for additional funds that were not part of the budget Council has approved.
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward There was no agenda, other than the audio visual technician there was no one in the Council Chamber. The Mayor, members of Council and city staff taking part were all working from their homes.
There was one item to be considered and that had to do with parking in the areas around the public parks and the use of public washrooms.
Three hours after the Mayor called the meeting to order and confirmed that there was a quorum they adjourned with the “matter to be considered” referred to a scheduled city council meeting to take place on Tuesday evening.
Mayor Meed Ward explained that the meeting was critical and was called because of the impact provincial orders were having on the city’s responsibility to provide services.
Executive Director Sheila Jones, who oversees any changes that are made to the level of service delivery, set out what the issues were and expecting that Council would go along with the following:
The City was working on the understanding that the province had said parks were to be closed. The province later modified that decision but council didn’t know this while it was meeting on Saturday.
People want and need to get out side for exercise and do something for their mental health. Burlington has 130 parks – Council wants people to walk to the local park and have the children play in a local park rather than have everyone heading for the Beachway or Spencer Smith Park.
 Parents are going to want to be outside when the weather gets warmer. Everyone, well almost everyone, understands that we are in a crisis – and yet for the people of Burlington we are not seeing a crisis. We don’t have the concentrations of populations that exist in the Peel Region, Brantford and Toronto.
The Parks and Recreation people are doing an admirable job at reacting to an ever-changing scenario. They need time to make the changes and at the same time coping with a public that wants their children to be able to play out doors.
The provincial decision to forbid golf courses to operate had the parks people scrambling to get concrete barriers in place to prevent people from getting on the gold courses – the Tayandaga course was sold out for Saturday.
The numbers are daunting – 1200 case levels being reported at the end of February – 4800 0n Saturday and 7500 at best in six weeks.
When the province makes policy decisions – they are followed by very detailed regulations. On Saturday all the city had were draft regulations – which City Solicitor Nancy Shea Nicol explained do get changed.
As a process that was understandable – the problem for senior staff was – how do we deal with real situations that are going to have to deal wit the next day.
City manager Tim Commisso said that city park use is going to have to be regulated adding that there is “no possible way to enforce rules in recreational parks”. The focus will be on educating people.
 Skate Park in the Alton community will be closed. Director of Parks and Recreation Chris Glenn had to close down skate board facilities, basket ball courts and tennis courts. And trying to figure out if the leash free parks could be kept open.
Could picnic tables be used, boats can apparently be put in the water but people couldn’t take the boats out on the water – figure that one out!
Community gardens were thought to be Ok.
The recreational space at schools is a school responsibility.
The Bylaw enforcement people have seen a 200% rise in complaints – their challenge is to keep problems from becoming confrontational.
The city is having some difficulty with the form of communication with the Public Health Unit. Local doctors are giving advice that the city likes but would like to see that advice confirmed by the Public Health people. Council Sharman has the Mayor talking to the doctors at Joseph Brant asking if they would put their advice in writing.
Mayor Meed Ward said she was just not hearing from the Health people at the Region.
 City manager Tim Commisso – the public needs directions. City Manager Commisso said the “public is waiting to be told and if the are not told what they can do – they will do what they think is best for them if they do not get clear instructions from the elected leadership”.
The pressure is being felt by everyone at every level.
There were a lot of comments – but the issue in front of Staff was what do we do with public washrooms and parking lots at the public parks. Of the 130 parks – 35 have parking lots. Do we board up those parking lots and do we open the public washrooms?
Park use – how to manage a situation where the rules are not clear.
If the decision is to implement the closure of parks (which is now not going to happen) – the province changed their minds) there was a priority list created.
Council agreed that there were risks in deferring a decision to Tuesday – but there just wasn’t enough information – and the concern was that the province would change some of the decisions they had made.
Commisso said the “fear is that the parks situation will only get busier and that means the risks will get higher making it difficult to manage when the weather gets warmer.”
After a two hour and fifty minute meeting the decision was to:
Refer the closure of the park parking lots and park washrooms to the Director of Roads, Parks and Forestry and the Director of Recreation, Community and Culture to report back to the April 20, 2021 council meeting with a recommendation.
Before getting away Sheila Jones reminded Council that street parking rules have been lifted (for now) and transit has not changed.
 These decisions get recommended by the city leadership team and approved by the Emergency Coordinating Group who then inform council With that the the Mayor moved into an Emergency Control Group meeting – the rest waived their hands for the camera and went back to figuring our what had actually been achieved.
 Waving goodbye after a three hour meeting. 
By Staff
April 18th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
When the Ministry of Education announced that students would return to on-line learning when the Spring Break ended on April 19th, thousands of parents who are part of the front line that keeps the wheels moving suddenly had to find support in finding some way to care for their children and keep them in school at the same time.
 In today’s environment these children would be wearing masks. The Region is working at getting the help needed by the frontline workers. In response to the Province’s announcement and decision to move all Ontario students to remote learning following the April break, Halton Region has partnered with the Ministry of Education and select operators in Burlington, Georgetown, Milton and Oakville to provide emergency child care services.
The spaces will be available full day starting Monday, April 19 for eligible health care and frontline workers with children aged four to 12 who are registered for school in Halton.
“Our health care and frontline workers continue to make significant sacrifices to respond to the pandemic and keep our community safe, “said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “We will keep doing whatever it takes to make sure that these critical workers are supported throughout this time. I want to thank our Children Services team, the Province and all of our partners for working to ensure that these workers have access to child care services while elementary schools are closed to in-person learning.”
The targeted emergency child care spaces are fully funded by the Province to eligible health care and frontline workers who may not be able to support their child(ren)’s learning/care at home and who have no other child care alternatives. Child care for infants up to four years of age will remain open.
 The people working retail and those working in the medical sector need help. The Region is supplying whatever space they can find. Will it b enough? To apply for emergency child care, eligible workers are asked to contact one of the approved emergency child care operators directly. If you have previously applied for targeted emergency child care you will need to reapply. Spaces are limited and will be filled in order of the applications received.
Halton Region Public Health is working closely with the Ministry of Education to open these child care spaces and are taking extra measures to maintain a safe and healthy environment, including daily screening of children and staff and regular cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched objects and surfaces.
For more details on targeted emergency child care, eligibility criteria and to view the list of approved emergency child care operators in Halton, please visit our Child care Services webpage or call 311.
The link to that page on the Regional web site is HERE
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