 By Staff
March 4th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
City hall is going to get a new look – you won’t recognize the ground floor when they are finished.
Take the 33 second flyby to see what the end result is expected to look like – there will of course be changes to the design concept.
Members of Council who saw the details this morning loved the idea.
There is a lot more work to be done – but the plan is to get started late this summer or in the fall and get the work done in phases.
The phrase ‘One Window’ was applied to the plans – but there are actually two windows – one for what is now Customer Service and the other is for Development. They aren’t windows but the place you go for services; pay parking tickets, get a document commissioned, apply for a marriage license.
The idea is to make the space much more customer friendly.
The plan is to have little pods – places where people can sit and talk; there will be small meetings rooms.
The public will not get much beyond the ground floor – staff will come to you on the ground floor.
 This is a rendering of what is being thought through. The building is badly in need of an upgrade. The last renovation was in 1985 – when, as Alan Magi explained, “we were using carbon paper and there was no such things as a fax machine, never mind the internet.
Jennifer Johnson is part of the design team – she did some very good work in ward 3 at the Brant Hills sports complex where wood surfaces gave the facility a warm feeling. The early view of city hall ground floor does not appear to have that soft, comfortable look – but this is just the early stage,
The traffic flow will be very different with the open area showing the lower level covered in part by a bridge.
The focus appears to be more digital – a modern, swift look.
There was a time when former ward 6 Councillor Blair Lancaster thought there should be a coffee shop on the ground floor. There once was a coffee shop on the Council Chamber level but it was never used – or at least not used enough for the people who operated the space gave it up.
 There will be a new Locust Street entrance, a new “grand entrance” that will come in off Civic Square. The development window will be on the left and the Service Burlington window on the right The building is never going to be a net zero carbon site – the building is far to old.
There has been zip community engagement to this point. We heard the usual – there will be an engagement plan but no detail. It looks as if this is going to be a done deal with a ribbon cutting the day the “grands entrance” is officially used for the first time.
Councillor Sharman said that his impression of City Hall when he walked in for the first time in 2010 was that of a WWII building.
He added that the city will upgrade what they have until it is clear the building has reached the end of its life cycle. “We aren’t going to look into spending $50 million on a new city hall.
Right now 28% of the ground floor space is for public use while 72% of the space is for staff. That will shift to a 50 – 50 share when the upgrade is completed.
There will be several phases.
Phase 1 will be the work done on the development services area and the Citizen services area.
 Phase 2  Phase 3
 By Staff
March 4th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
An additional vaccination site has been added: Joseph Brant Hospital.
The five locations are:
 Vaccines being delivered to the Milton location • Gellert Community Centre, 10241 Eighth Line, Georgetown
• St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre, 1280 Dundas Street, Oakville
• Compass Point Bible Church, 1500 Kerns Road, Burlington
• First Ontario Arts Centre Milton, 1010 Main Street East, Milton
• Joseph Brant Hospital, 1245 Lakeshore Road, Burlington (located at the hospital’s Pandemic Response Unit (PRU), which can be accessed through the South Tower Main Entrance off Lakeshore Road)
Registration for vaccinations anywhere in Halton is at THIS location.
Registration at this point is for those over 80 ONLY.
Vaccines have been delivered to the Halton locations. Just days before people can get vaccinated.
Related news stories:
Full role out plan
 By Pepper Parr
March 4th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
Once the decision is made to settle on just what the tax rate for a year is going to be the politicians get to justify it.
Each brings their own perspective and point of view to the decision that has been made and want to ensure that their constituents are aware of the work they did and why they deserve their vote at the next election.
Burlington has a seven member Council.
In this article I want to focus on the role Councillors Stolte, Nisan and Mayor Meed Ward played in producing the tax rate.
The 4.14% increase is the city’s portion of the taxes collected and used to pay the bills and ensure that there are reserves in place to protect when there is a financial failure. That number is what matters to the people who pay the taxes.
The tax payment you send the city happens to include the tax rate set by the Region for their expenses and the tax rate the Boards of education set to keep the schools operating. The city collects all the money and sends the Regional levy to the Region and the school board levies to the school boards.
 Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan – served as Chair of the Committee that debated the city budget The debating and bickering that takes place to arrive at a tax rate takes place at a Standing Committee. This year that committee was chaired by ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan. Mr. Nisan did not cover himself with glory while doing the task; he was difficult, less than fair to some of the Council members and tended to be authoritarian while doing the work.
He was acrimonious, discourteous and rude at times when the job of chair calls for a deft, mature understanding of the wishes of each Council member, drawing them out and letting a consensus come out of it all.
On far too many occasions it was clear that Nisan did not understand the numbers – he would say “that is nice to know” when it was actually essential that the Chair have a solid grip on what each number meant.
 Chief Financial Officer Joan Ford; always ready willing and able to mentor members of Council Burlington has a Chief Financial Officer, Joan Ford, who bends over backwards to explain what can at times be arcane and difficult to understand. She is always ready, willing and able to mentor the Chair – Nisan didn’t appreciate or take advantage of what was available to him.
Mr. Nisan has shown a preference for aligning himself with the Mayor and championing her wishes and aspirations rather than creating a path of his own. It is hard to be certain just what Rory Nisan does stand for.
Like every other member of Council he will have to stand for re-election in 2022. He doesn’t have a lot of time to let his constituents know and see who he really is and what he wants to get done. Other than wanting to be the Mayor’s choice for Deputy Mayor – it is hard to point to something that has made a difference. There was a splash pad set up in his ward – but that idea was put in motion by his predecessor.
The Mayor said at the beginning of the budget proceedings that the 4.99% increase budget Staff brought in was not going to fly – her target was 3.99% and she fought hard to get that number.
She didn’t have the support of enough of her council members to make it happen – some found the drive for that 3.99% was misplaced and that the purpose of the budget was to serve the needs of the citizens and not the aspirations of a politician.
Meed Ward, to her credit, realized the 3.99% was not going to happen. “The goal is not going to be met,” she said; “let it go” and she did, adding that there is no shame in aiming high.
The Mayor said on numerous occasions that her objective was to “leave more money in the pockets of the tax payers”. The words had a populist tinge.
 Took positions that challenged what others were advocating; kept pushing for more transparency. Councillor Stolte was the star of the budget debates – she consistently, but respectfully, challenged the views of her colleagues and questioned the Clerk on several of the decisions he made.
Saying:
“My comments in regard to whether or not to endorse the 2021 Operating Budget will be highlighted in two components today.
“In regard to the tax rate that we have landed on, I believe it is the result of a great deal of hard work by our Finance Department and this Council, and a great deal of effort to balance the needs of the community with solid financial stewardship and protection of City assets.
“There is still a great deal of work to be done within the City of Burlington to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and the financial inefficiencies that are inherent in an overly bureaucratic organization, but we have begun to see some positive changes in this regard and I look forward to the citizens of Burlington reaping the financial savings from these improvements in the future.
“The second component of my comments is in regard to the PROCESS involved when staff and Council are tasked to determine the priorities, sacrifices and compromises necessary to manage a city budget.
“It was mentioned earlier today that I had brought forward a Staff direction in March of 2020 that was unanimously supported by Council. It stated to:
“Direct the Chief Financial Officer to plan a Council Workshop in June of 2020 with the subject matter of “Vision to Focus – Budget 2021”. The purpose being to allow staff and Council the opportunity to collaborate on high level priorities, values and vision leading into the 2021 budget process in an effort to concentrate the focus and priorities of Council.”
“Comments may be made that this plan was impacted due to COVID-19 but in hindsight, the 2021 budget still needed to be dealt with and the need to collaborate with Council on focus and priorities, at the start of that process, still should have happened.
“I am disappointed that another Budget cycle was completed without the benefit of a more collaborative Staff/Council process at the outset and I appeal to our City Manager to commit to ensuring that this process improvement is implemented for the next Budget cycle for 2022.
“Curiously, as we endeavored to land this Budget, further process and best practice challenges came to light.
“When we began this term of Council in early 2019 we were oriented to understand that we would receive recommendations from staff in regard to agenda items that needed to be discussed in private, behind closed doors.
“Over the last two years the regular practice has been for Council to receive advice that we “need” to move into Closed Session and this recommendation is always accepted by Council without debate, as merely a point of procedure.
“During the 2021 Operating Budget process I presented an amendment which became the topic of much debate with the City Clerk and City Manager’s Office.
“It was recommended by staff that this amendment be discussed in private, behind closed doors.
“I challenged this recommendation and it quickly came to light that this was a very rare occurrence for a Closed Meeting recommendation to be questioned by Council and I was informed that it was inappropriate for a Councillor to question a staff recommendation of this nature.
“This is not how the municipal democratic process works … Staff’s role is to make their best professional recommendation and our role on Council is to assess this recommendation and concur or contest based on whether or not we believe the recommendation represents the best interests of the residents of Burlington.
“Ultimately, the decision on the Budget item was in the hands of Council, where it should be…but the process involved in this discussion was what was of concern.”
Stolte’s comments have the potential to bring about a change in the way council meetings are managed. The doors need to be open as much as possible.
This Council worked very hard to produce a budget that met the needs of the tax payers and at the same time underlined the goals they had when they sought election to city Council.
There are lessons in the budget experience for every member of Council; hopefully they will take the time to reflect on what took place and learn from both the mistakes and the successes.
This council was supported by a well-tuned finance department who met every challenge put to them and then some.
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 Pepper Parr
March 4th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
With the vaccination registration system created by the Regional Public Health Unit up and running very efficiently -many have registered and know when they are going to get their first dose AND their second dose; every one now waits for the vaccine to actually arrive.
 This is what we are being protected against – a virus that has challenged the scientists. A tremendous amount of work has gone into getting us to where we are – and this is just the beginning.
Burlington released data yesterday on how the roll out is expected to take place.
The graph below is small and not that easy to read – we pass along what we get – you can now determine what the plan is and where you fit in.
Following the simple rules and exercising some patience will get us all to the point where we are vaccinated and moving along to some state of normalcy.
Pandemics are a little like the Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup – these things don’t happen very often and you don’t fully appreciate what has taken place until it is over.
 This is the status of the vaccination roll out for Burlington as of March 3rd.
 By Pepper Parr
March 3rd 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
It is now official.
Council voted for a tax levy of $182,276,388 which will mean a 4.14% increase in the 2020 city portion of the tax bill.
 Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna votes against the budget.
That budget will mean an additional $18.99 per 100,000 of assessment value/
It was a tough budget; the toughest this council has had to deal with.
The COVID issues muddied up almost everything.
Mayor Mead Ward was gracious in her comments about the role each member of Council played in landing the budget.
 By Staff
March 3rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
What city Councillors get paid has been the topic of some discussion.
For the record what they are paid by the City is set out below. Council members also get a paycheck from the Region.
(a) each member of council in respect of his or her services as a member of the council or any other body, including a local board,to which the member has been appointed by council or on which the member holds office by virtue of being a member of council;(b) each member of council in respect of his or her services as an officer or employee of the municipality or other body described in clause (a); and(c) each person, other than a member of council, appointed by the municipality to serve as a member of any body, including a local board, in respect of his or her services as a member of the body. 2001, c.25, s.284(1). As required by Section 284 (2), City of Burlington By-law 129-2006 was passed authorizing the attached remuneration and expenses (Appendix A). In 2020, each Councilor had a budget of $10,000 to cover expenditures such as meetings, printing, mileage, newsletters, postage, professional development, telephones and advertising. In 2020, the Mayor had a budget of $31,087 to cover similar expenditures to those listed above, excluding the costs of leasing a vehicle for business use.
 This is the city portion of the pay check. Sharman and Bentivegna have different circumstances When this item was put before council it was treated as a consent item. Not one word from members of Council.
 By Pepper Parr
March 3rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
It is easy to complain. However, when the job is well done the people who did the job have to be recognized.
And this morning the Gazette wants to recognize the superb job the Public Health unit in Halton has done with the COVID vaccine registration procedure they put in place and opened up this morning.
 Dr Hamidah Meghani decided no to rely on the province and went ahead and created a vaccination registration program for Halton. She made the right decision. It works. It works. It is a little complex and some people may need some help if they are not computer literate.
Make sure you have your OHIP card – they need that number.
You get to choose the date you want – if that date is full they will give you the closest date they have. You get to choose the time you want.
You can choose any one of the four locations in the Region.
Read the questions they ask carefully. If you get something wrong – they point out where you made the mistake and you get to correct it.
When you’re done – you print it out. The document you print gives you the date you are to attend and the date for the second shot.
It works.
Thank the people at the Region for a job well done. The province is still working on a registration system. Halton decided that the province might be late so went ahead and created their own.
I’ll let you know how my jab in the arm goes when it is my turn.
Again, a job well done folks.
By Pepper Parr
March 3rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
After a marathon Statutory meeting that had 58 plus delegations who wanted to be heard, Council will be back at the table for a meeting that will include the setting of the tax rate for 2021.
Health, Safety and Well Being are on the agenda. Staff at city hall were surveyed.
One graph tells just how things are going.
By Staff
March 3rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The online booking system for residents over 80 to book an appointment for a vaccine shot launches today.
To make your appointment click HERE. Read the instructions they give you carefully. Read the balance of this article before you go to register. The link to register is also at the bottom of this article.
Starting Wednesday March 3, Halton residents who are 80 years of age and older can book their appointment to receive their COVID-19 vaccine at a Halton Region COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic.
To support residents 80 years of age and older who require transportation, Halton Region has been working with Specialized Local Municipal Transit service providers and Private Transportation (taxi) services to ensure residents can conveniently request and arrange free transportation to and from Regional clinics if required.
“Vaccinating those most at risk of complications from COVID-19 is critical,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region’s Medical Officer of Health. “If you know someone who is 80 years of age or older and may need assistance accessing information or booking their online appointment, please reach out to them to assist. While we continue to vaccinate priority groups, I am urging everyone to keep staying home except for essential purposes, avoiding social gatherings and preparing to be vaccinated when it is your turn.”
Residents who are not currently 80 years of age and older, please do not call 311 or visit the online booking system to ensure eligible residents have access.
Appointments will be available for clinic sites in the City of Burlington, Town of Oakville, Town of Milton and Town of Halton Hills. Free transportation options will be available for all eligible residents if required. Halton’s Vaccination Clinics are not open to the public and are available by appointment only.
There will be no walk-in appointments.
To make your appointment click HERE. Follow the instructions
By Staff
March 2nd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington is joining the rest of the Region and communities in close proximity – they are getting rid of the need to get permission to hold a tag day.
 Organizations will still be able to hold tag days – they just won’t need permission from the city to do so.
They will have to get permission from the property owners –ie, LCBO and Supermarket locations, which tend to have the kind of traffic that makes the tag day successful
The volume of Tag Day requests has significantly declined over the last few years.
In 2020, the City of Burlington issued 15 letters of permission; compared to 33 letters of permission in 2019 and 33 in 2018. Historically the numbers have been higher:
2017: 39
2014: 49
2012:111
 In 2013, a similar report recommending discontinuation of the tag day program was provided to Council and they chose not to discontinue the program at that time. If a decision is made to discontinue, the Licensing section would advise charities that moving forward in 2021, Tag Days would now be managed strictly by the property and business owners.
This goes to City Council where it will be approved – from that day forward (allow 20 days for people to file objections) and all the taggers have to do is get permission from the locations.
 By Staff
March 1st, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Some good news
The online booking system for residents over 80 to book an appointment for a vaccine shot is set to launch on Wednesday.
Starting Wednesday March 3, Halton residents who are 80 years of age and older can book their appointment to receive their COVID-19 vaccine at a Halton Region COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic.
“Getting our most vulnerable residents vaccinated as quickly as possible is our top priority”, said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “Our clinics are ready and our online booking system is set to open for appointment bookings on March 3.
Our ability to vaccinate our community is dependent on supply from the Federal Government and direction from the Province on who to prioritize for vaccination.
To support residents 80 years of age and older who require transportation, Halton Region has been working with Specialized Local Municipal Transit service providers and Private Transportation (taxi) services to ensure residents can conveniently request and arrange free transportation to and from Regional clinics if required.
“Vaccinating those most at risk of complications from COVID-19 is critical,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region’s Medical Officer of Health. “If you know someone who is 80 years of age or older and may need assistance accessing information or booking their online appointment, please reach out to them to assist. While we continue to vaccinate priority groups, I am urging everyone to keep staying home except for essential purposes, avoiding social gatherings and preparing to be vaccinated when it is your turn.”
Quick Facts:
- On Wednesday March 3, eligible Halton residents, who are 80 years of age or older, or someone on their behalf, will be able to go online to book an appointment via halton.ca/COVIDvaccines or Halton’s COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic webpage.
- Halton residents can call 311 if they require booking support. Please only call 311 if you are unable to book online to ensure those residents requiring support can be assisted.
- There will be appointments available to book for every resident who is 80 years of age and older during March and April. All appointments are contingent on the availability of vaccine supply.
- Residents who are not currently 80 years of age and older, please do not call 311 or visit the online booking system to ensure eligible residents have access.
- Appointments will be available for clinic sites in the City of Burlington, Town of Oakville, Town of Milton and Town of Halton Hills. Free transportation options will be available for all eligible residents if required. Halton’s Vaccination Clinics are not open to the public and are available by appointment. There will be no walk-in appointments.
Halton continues to vaccinate priority populations as identified by the Province and with vaccine supplies currently available. As of Friday, February 26, 28,622 doses have been administered in Halton to priority populations. Mobile teams of Public Health and Paramedic Services staff continue to administer vaccinations to long-term care and retirement home residents.
Halton Healthcare continues to operate the COVID-19 Vaccination Centre at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital for prioritized health care workers, essential caregivers and staff of long-term care and retirement homes and adults receiving chronic home care.
To get the latest information on Halton Region’s COVID-19 Vaccine Program including who is currently eligible, transportation options and how to book an appointment, please visit halton.ca/COVIDvaccines. Halton Region’s website is being updated as the program progresses, and residents are asked to check this page regularly for the latest information.
By Pepper Parr
March 2, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Does anyone know why this is happening?
 The site once had a gas station on it; it is believed that the Tim Horton’s people were looking at the site as a head office – that didn’t fly. Are there plans for something on the property – other than expanding Emma’s – what else could they do with it?
In the lot to the immediate east of Emma’s, which is still closed and available if you want to rent the space, there is a bulldozer pushing huge boulders over the edge.
It would appear that the shore line is being protected from any erosion.
The Conservation authority has jurisdiction over this site.
Does anyone know why the concern over possible erosion?
By Pepper Parr
March 2, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Last week we did a piece on some research the MoH for Halton Region mentioned to members of Regional Council which she said at the time she found very startling and concerned that if the data was correct and the situation we are in was mis-handled a third wave was a possibility.
And that that third wave would not be like the first and second wave; it would spread more quickly and more people would succumb to the virus.
We did a short piece with a graph that set out what Dr Hamidah Meghani was talking about. In this article we are able to show you some of the supporting evidence . It is chilling.
The data does not mean anything is going to happen, it does, we believe, point to what could happen if we are not very careful.
 The supermarkets are doing everything they can to educate the public. Wear the mask – keep your distance. It does make a difference. Reference is made to three COVID-19 VOC have been identified, including:
PANGO lineage B.1.1.7: first detected in the United Kingdom in September, 2020;
PANGO lineage B.1.351: first detected in South Africa in October, 2020; and
PANGO lineage P.1: first detected in Brazil in January, 2021.
As of February 15, 2021, Ontario has confirmed a total of 319 COVID-19 variant of concern (VOC) cases; the vast majority (96.9%; 309/319) are PANGO lineage B.1.1.7.
COVID-19 VOC cases have been confirmed in 15/34 (44.1%) public health units across 6/7 (85.7%) geographic regions (i.e., no VOC cases have been identified in the North West region).
The Central East region accounts for 80.3% (256/319) of COVID-19 VOC cases in the province, in part due to a large outbreak in a long-term care home in Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
The majority (81.2%; 259/319) of confirmed VOC cases are linked to outbreaks or close contact with a confirmed case.
A total of 38 fatalities have been reported (case fatality: 11.9%); all have occurred among those 60 years of age or older.
 Where did the person with the new virus pick it up? Close contacts and an outbreak. How do we combat that?
 Number of confirmed COVID-19 VOC cases by PANGO lineage, severity, and outcome: Ontario, December 1, 2020 to February 15, 2021(We believe the word EVER should have been Never)
 Number of fatalities among confirmed COVID-19 VOC cases by PANGO lineage and age group: Ontario, December 1, 2020 to February 15, 2021. It is the older people who are dying.
 Number of confirmed COVID-19 VOC cases by PANGO lineage and likely source of acquisition: Ontario, December 1, 2020 to February 15, 2021 This data has determined what the province decided to do and what is continuing to do. Take care of the elderly and when the vaccine arrive inoculate the older people and hope that we can get enough people inoculated before the variants work themselves into the general population.
It is truly a race against time.
We may have wasted much of what we had.
Related article
The MoH was startled.
By Staff
February 26th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward – budget needs more work In her most recent newsletter Mayor Marianne Meed Ward reported that “Council is in the final stages of 2021 budget discussions and is currently sitting at a proposed increase of 4.14%.
“City of Burlington staff and Council all worked very hard to find ways to reduce the impact while still delivering on direct services to residents.
“We shaved approximately $1.49 million off the initial proposed operating budget while adding resources for tree preservation, extending the seniors free transit pilot, additional planning staff and more.
“That said, delivering the highest tax increase of our Council term thus far is not my goal for our community, particularly amidst a pandemic where people are still struggling. We received millions in funding from our upper levels of government over the past year and have been presented with reasonable and thoughtful options for reductions that were brought forward by our City staff. The divided vote yesterday at committee was 4 members of Council in support, and 3 opposed, myself included.
“The recommendations for the proposed 2021 operating budget head to a virtual special council meeting on March 3 for a final vote. With just a little bit more work and discussion, I’m hoping Council can come together to close the gap for a lower tax increase closer to 3.99% and deliver a budget that most, if not all, of us on Council and in the community can support.
By Pepper Parr
February 26th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Just over a week ago when Dr. Hamidah Meghani was speaking to the Regional Council she mentioned data she had seen very recently that she found startling and under the wrong situation could lead to a third wave of infections.
We touched base with the Region’s media support people where Julia Le is usually very good at digging out material for us.
Dr Hamidah Meghani was talking about what are referred to as VOC – Variants of Concern – these are COVID19 mutations that appear to spread very quickly and impact those pov60 and over – for the 80 and over they have a very high morbidity rate.
The 20 page report has numerous graphs – the one sums it all up, and we suspect the one that keeps Dr Meghani awake at night is below.
If the mutation were to get out and into a population – no one has been able to even guess at the damage that would be done and the lives lost. This information is one of the reasons the Mayor of the City of Toronto has said – no large public events until after Canada Day. No Pride Parade – nothing where large numbers of people would be gathered in an outdoor setting.
The graphics that accompanied the Epidemiological Summary spell out the real concern and what has the health community rushing to get people vaccinated. It is a race against time – and we are not ready.
This Epidemiological Summary covers Variants of Concern in Ontario: December 1, 2020 to February 15, 2021
The Gazette will do a follow up piece on this.
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By Pepper Parr
February 26th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Is there a provincial election in the wind?
The province released a media background piece on some forthcoming legislation called Ontario Taking Steps to Make it Easier and Safer to Participate in Provincial Elections.
The media release explains that new legislation would help modernize the voting process in a COVID-19 environment by taking steps to make it easier and safer for people to vote, become a candidate, and protect provincial elections against outside influence and interference.
The Protecting Ontario Elections Act, 2021, would, if passed, help guard against threats such as the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, under-regulated third-party advertising, irregular campaign spending, and collusion.
 Doug Ford – can he be re-elected? “We strongly believe that Ontario voters should determine the outcome of elections, not big corporations or unions, American-style political action groups or other outside influences,” said Attorney General Doug Downey. “That’s why we are proposing legislative action to protect Ontarians’ essential voice in campaigns and to make it easier to cast a vote safely in an advance poll or on election day. These amendments would help modernize Ontario’s electoral process and ensure it is updated to meet urgent challenges, including COVID-19.”
The proposed reforms build on the Ontario legislature’s 2016 decision to ban corporate and union donations to political parties and help ensure individuals remain at the centre of the electoral process.
To protect Ontario elections, 19 legislative amendments have been proposed to:
• Make it more convenient and safer for people to vote in a COVID-19 environment by increasing advance polling days from five to ten, changes first proposed by Ontario’s Chief Electoral Officer;
• Double the amount individuals can donate to a candidate, constituency association, leadership contestant or party from $1,650 to $3,300 per year, protecting the essential voice of Ontarians in campaigns;
• Extend third-party advertising spending limits from six to 12 months before an election period and introduce a definition of collusion to help protect Ontario’s elections from outside influence and interference; and
• Clarify the rules that allow Members of Provincial Parliament to maintain individual social media accounts before, during and after a writ period, as well as pave the way for the legislature to set other social media rules.
Elections Ontario has reported that the scale of third-party advertising in Ontario is greater than at the federal level, and Ontario is the only province in Canada where third-party spending is counted in the millions of dollars, rather than in the thousands. In 2018, third parties spent over $5 million during the election period and the six months prior to the election.
“Each and every Ontarian is a driving force of our democracy – from casting their votes to volunteering on campaigns or putting one’s name on a ballot,” said Attorney General Downey. “We want to ensure that the electoral system continues to evolve to protect their central role as individuals and promote fairness in the electoral process for everyone.”
 She can draw the crows but hasn’t been able to translate those faces into voters. Nice to know that they are keeping themselves busy at Queen’s Park. One wonders how the current Progressive Conservative government would fare if they had to face the electorate. Lots to complain about – but have you looked at the other two choices. Andrea Horwath does not seem to be able to win an election. A new leader could make a difference – is there anyone with real strength and profile on the NDP benches? Look hard and let me know what you find.
As for the Liberals – their leader has yet to run for a seat in the Legislature. Other taking a few cheap shots at the province for goofs on the Covid19 file, Del Duca hasn’t made much of a mark.
There is a group planning a policy convention – something the Liberals badly need if they are going to learn anything from the Kathryn Wynne disaster. A good stiff broom is needed if the Liberals are going to be competitive. If they can find a way to tap into and reflect what the people of Ontario really want they could form a government.
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 Pepper Parr
February 25th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
They wrapped it up.
We now know what the tax levy is going to be for the fiscal year: they are going to tax the public a total of $182,276,388.
We don’t know yet what that will translate into in terms of a percentage and what it will mean in terms of how much taxation for every $100,000 of property assessment.
Those details were not presented to the public during the meeting. It does not appear that the Mayor is going to be able to deliver on the promise of a tax increase over last year of not more than 3.99%
It looks like it will come in at about 4.05%
Before the lunch break the percentage over last year was 4.14%. Members of Council decided they would dive back into the budget and see if they could change their minds on some of the decisions they had made.
That’s when things got sticky. The rules of the game on a reconsideration of a vote call for a person who voted for the original motion to bring a motion that needs a 2/3rds majority to pass.
 Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan chaired the committee that handled the budget review. He is said to have his eyes on the Office of the Mayor once Meed Ward has moved on to greener pastures. Chair of the meeting, Rory Nisan, did everything he could to get around that problem.
They went for lunch before they had a solution.
There is a contingency Reserve fund that had $1.8 million put into it – which was an increase over last year. Mayor Meed Ward wanted to decrease the increase by about 10% which would have allowed them to get to her much desired 3.99% tax increase.
Her colleagues were having none of it and went after the Mayor for raiding the Reserve Funds piggy bank. The account had something in the order of $9 million it.
 Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith listening to what his constituents have to say. Councillor Galbraith said he got far too many negative comments from his ward about the way reserve funds were being raised. He wasn’t on for more of that.
Councillor Bentivegna said raiding reserves was not what he wanted to do. If the increase was higher than the 3.99% – so be it.
City Manager Tim Commisso said that while there was some risk chipping away on what was going to be salted away the one before Council didn’t bother him that much.
Something had changed. Members of Council appeared to have stopped buying into the Mayor’s 3.99%. It took a bit for that change to sink in and while the Mayor never did say she would go with the will of her colleagues – it appears that she is going to have to find words to get her out of this one.
 This is city council, Lisa Kearns is missing. City Manager, top left and Committee Clerk bottom right. Later this week there will be a carefully worded media release giving this budget that rosy red glow that the apple polishers can do to fruit that may have gone past its best before date.
It all goes to Council on March 3rd. Several Council members chose to withhold their comments on the budget until it gets to Council on the third.
This may not be over yet.
By Pepper Parr
February 25th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
 While waiting for City Council to come out of yet another CLOSED meeting, I was able to spend a few minutes on the Ombudsman’s web site where they set out the Top 10 tips for municipal officials
Know and follow the Municipal Act, 2001 and your procedure by-law’s open meeting requirements.
Make sure you have a procedure by-law that complies with the Municipal Act – every municipality and local board is required to have one.
Give adequate advance public notice of all meetings, including the time and location of all meetings.
Keep meetings open to the public unless closure is specifically authorized under the Municipal Act and there is a real need to exclude the public.
Pick the right s. 239 exception before closing a meeting.
Pass a resolution in public that includes meaningful information about the issue to be considered (not just the exception) – before closing the doors.
Record the meeting, including all decisions, by taking minutes, and preferably also by recording audio or video.
Stay on topic – don’t stray from the subject stated in the resolution.
Do not hold a vote in closed session unless it is for a procedural matter or to give directions to staff or officials.
To the extent possible, report back publicly in open session about what occurred in closed session.
The spirit of the law can be summed up in six words: When in doubt, open the meeting.
 Committee chair Rory Nisan – didn’t appear to remember what he read in the Procedural bylaw. The Spirit of being open, public and transparent didn’t get beyond lip service with this council as they toiled with a budget that was difficult.
The behaviour of this Council was well below disappointing and needs to be brought to the attention of the Ombudsman for some corrective action.
Bad enough that Rory Nisan, Chair of the Standing Committee, let things run wild, worse that we have a Clerk who clearly does not fully understand the purpose of the Section 239 exceptions. Clerk Kevin Arjoon needs to be sent out for some training.
By Staff
February 25th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
 Burlington has what they call an interim working version of its Official Plan that is being appealed by a number of people. A list of the appeals is part of what can be found at:
The City’s new Official Plan was approved by Halton Region on Nov. 30, 2020. This was followed by a 20-day appeal period, during which 48 appeals were filed.
The appeals have been made available online, along with an interim working version of the new Burlington Official Plan. More information is available under “Latest News” at burlington.ca/newop.
1. OSSGA – Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association
2. United Burlington Retail Portfolio Inc.
3. Crystal Homes
4. Landform Development Group Inc. and 2413350 Ontario Inc.
5. 1085 Clearview Limited Partnership
6. WE HBA – West End Home Builders Association
7. 440 Elizabeth Street Holdings Ltd
8. 2084 Lakeshore Holdings Ltd
9. Emshih (800 Burloak Drive)
10. Emshih 895-901 Brant and 2250 Fairview Street
11. Emshih 372-380 and 433-439 Brant Street
12. Carriage Gate Homes Inc., Lakeshore (Burlington) Inc. and Old Lakeshore (Burlington) Inc.
13. Molinaro Group of Companies and 1820473 Ontario Inc.
14. Victoria-Brant
15. Renimmob Properties Ltd.
16. Penta Properties Inc., Paletta International Corporation and P&L Livestock Ltd.
17. Fairview Limited Partnership
18. Ann Marsden
19. New Horizon Development Group
20. Brad Wilson
21. Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
22. Millcroft Greens
23. RK Burlington Mall
24. FEHD Holdings Inc., Hodero Holdings Ltd., Branthaven Development Corp., M. DeLuca, W. DeLuca, Burlington Tree Farms, and The Central Canadian District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada.
25. Pine Street Burlington Corp.
26. Adi Developments – Masonry
27. 1246235 Ontario Inc. (789 Brant Street)
28. Khai Tuyen Ly and Donna Yuk Lee (795 Brant Street)
29. RioCan Holdings Inc.
30. 335 Plains Holdings and 355 Plains Holdings
31. Camarro Developments 789-795 Brant Street
32. Camarro Developments 519-527 Brant Street
33. Camarro Developments 1062 and 1074 Cooke Blvd
34. Infinity Developments
35. Spruce Partners and Amico Properties
36. Branthaven Developments
37. S&G Consulting
38. 735 Oval Inc
39. William R Love
40. Nelson Aggregate
41. Mac’s Convenience
42. Core FSC Lakeshore GP
43. Vrancor Group
44. Reserve Properties
45. 2584979 Ontario Inc
46. Medica
47. Emshih 901 Guelph Line
48. Mattamy James Street Limited Partnership
# 44, Reserve Properties is believed to have abandoned their appeal.
By Pepper Parr
February 25th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Updated on February 25th: 11:07 am
A day off doesn’t seem to have changed a thing.
No sooner had Rory Nisan, Chair of the Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability (CSSRA) committee, gotten through the Declarations of a Pecuniary Interest (there were none) and noting that there was nothing on the consent agenda – the meeting slid over to John Ford who said Tuesday had been a long day and then passed things along to Laurie Jivan who said that the tax rate for the city spending would amount to 4.18 % (that would be the increase over the 2020 budget) and that if they wanted to get it to 3.99% they would have to find $343,000 in savings.
The meeting returned to Nisan who said the Committee was going to look at items #4 and #24 on the Budget Action Requests (BAR) forms and in order to do that the Committee would have to go into CLOSED session.
Nisan asked Galbraith to so move, Galbraith did, everyone voted yes let’s do that and the screen went to the CLOSED image.
Not one member of Council asked for detail on why they were going into a CLOSED session.
 Those who watch Council meeting webcasts would have seen this image often – too often? Item #4 on the BAR form was a provision to reduce the amount that was to go into the Contingency Reserve. Staff was recommending anything between $100,000 and $338,445. The Mayor wanted that amount to be $400,000 while Councillors Bentivegna, Kearns, Galbraith, Nisan, and Sharman wanted the amount to be $100,000
Item 24 on the Bar forms was to remove $154,470 from the spending – remove 1 legal staff who worked on Community Planning matter. Bentivegna, Galbraith and Sharman proposed this.
A former councillor at a Halton municipality pointed out to us in an email that:
A meeting or part of a meeting may be closed to the public if the subject matter being considered is:
• the security of the property of the municipality or local board
• personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees
• a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board
• labour relations or employee negotiations
• litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board
• advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose
• a matter in respect of which a council, board, committee or other body may hold a closed meeting under another Act
• information explicitly supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board by Canada, a province or territory or a Crown agency of any of them
• a trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information, supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization
• a trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial or financial information that belongs to the municipality or local board and has monetary value or potential monetary value
• a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.
In a memo to Council the Finance department provided the following comment on the Provision to Contingency Reserve – As stated in the budget reduction list provided to you on February 1st, the list included a $100,000 reduction to the provision that would flatline the amount to the 2020 budget. The note included that the uncommitted balance was approximately $9.5 million. A question was asked as to whether the amount of the provision could be reduced further given this balance. Legal staff are reviewing outstanding and potential future litigation matters. At this time, a range could be considered for Committee’s discussion. This range would be from $100,000 (results in a budget provision of $2,038,445) to $338,445 (results in a budget provision of $1,800,000).
Would item #4 and # 24 meet these conditions? At some point the provincial Ombudsman will be asked to investigate and determine if these two, along with the other multiple occasion Council went into CLOSED on this budget – which at this moment has yet to be agreed upon before it goes to Council on March 3rd – and when you will know how much of your money is going to slide out of your pocket.
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