 By Staff
July 12th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Two items were added to the City Council meeting Tuesday afternoon as “Urgent Business”
The Mayor revised the Agenda to bring these two items to the top of the Agenda because outside counsel was to take part
They two items are:
14.1
Integrity Commissioner RFP/Contract Approval
Re-Appoint Principles Integrity as the Integrity Commissioners for the City of Burlington and its local boards pursuant to section 223.3(1) of the Municipal Act for a term to December 31, 2026.
Authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an agreement and any ancillary documents between the City of Burlington and Principles Integrity for integrity commissioner services, in a form satisfactory to the Executive Director of Legal Services and Corporation Counsel.
14.2
Confidential verbal update regarding City Manager Performance Review
Pursuant to Section 239(2)(b) of the Municipal Act, personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees.
It would be hard to come up with a reason for outside Counsel to be involved in the issuing of a new contract for the services of an Integrity Commissioner – but one never knows.
 The second item – a Performance Review of the City Manager and the job he has done. The review is a normal part of how municipalities operate – by why a need for outside counsel?
It will be interesting to see what comes out of the Closed Session.
Has Tim Commisso finally had enough and wants out of his contract and has a lawyer in the room?
Something is up!
 By Pepper Parr
July 12th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Is this the first step[p into entering the race for the ward 2 council seat?
The line in an item on the LinkedIn platform read:
 Is Kimberly Calderbank getting ready to get back into politics ? Looking to hire a Coordinator.
Work from home/Virtual opportunity.
The candidate will work with both Yellow Robot Marketing and Black Robot (Print shop).
Detail-oriented, and experienced. Positive, can-do attitude.
Tasks may include –
Liaise with clients
Coordinate print schedule
Review/Proof-read social media posts and schedule
Source opportunities for speaking engagements/business growth
Excellent customer service.
Past work experience with not-for-profit/charity is a great asset.
Please email your interest/resume to Kimberly@yellowrobot.ca
I never saw the Yellow Robot operation as a not for profit – it is certainly a going concern.
The background story might be that Kimberly Calderbank is bringing in some administrative help to free up the time she will need if she decides to challenge Lisa Kearns for the ward 2 city council seat.
 It will be a much smaller list of candidates in 2022 In the years since the 2018 municipal election Kimberly has grown professionally. She serves as the media lead for the Halton Police Services Board and for the Ontario Police Services Board. She does media for the Food4Life and was a Cogeco commentator during the Sound of Music parade.
Kimberly Calderbank has an itch for public service. This may be the year she makes a move. She once told this reporter that she wanted at some point in time to be Mayor of the city.
By Pepper Parr
July 12th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
 For Leah Reynolds it was always about the students After 8 years of public service Leah Reynolds said: “I’m retiring at the end of the school board term.”
“I have decided not to run in the 2022 Municipal Election.
I’m humbled and grateful to have served as a Trustee for the Halton District School Board (HDSB) and represented students and families from the Aldershot and Downtown Burlington Communities (Wards 1 and 2) these last 8 years.
“I want to express my thanks to the constituents who allowed me to represent them at the HDSB board table. My gratitude goes out to all my volunteers and supporters who inspired me and did everything they could to get me elected.
“My decision to step up and get involved was because schools are the heart of our community. As a parent, I advocated and volunteered for well over 20 years, including as a council member and school chair. I volunteered for in-school reading, and nutrition programs. I was active in community projects that included fundraising for playground equipment and auditorium renewals.
“Those early years provided a solid foundation for me to serve eight years as your Trustee. I am proud to deliver on my commitment for improvements to the future of high school programming, with support for skills trades, and a solid plan for school amalgamations that included transitioning and expanded programming for students with special needs.
“While these last few years have been the most challenging, I supported changes always with the lens of student achievement and well-being. Leading through a pandemic, I did my best within the limits of what we were provided. I was so proud to have been part of a system that shifted our collective focus to improving wellness, equity, and inclusion, and increased awareness of Indigeneity and the environment. We did this while encouraging innovative new approaches to how schools can evolve and continuously improve.”
Reynolds represented wards 1 and 2 during a period of time when the high school in her wards was threatened with closure.
 Leah Reynolds with Marianne Meed Ward The two women were always close when they both represented ward 2 residents. Reynolds, who has always been close to then ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward, got tangled up in a sticky situation during the tumultuous school board debates.
“We all want our students to see themselves at our board table. It is my hope that candidates from all backgrounds will put their names forward in the next election.
Related news story:
Reynolds accused of being coached during a school board debate
Resident writes Open letter on the coaching issue
 By Pepper Par
July 12th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Wednesday, July 20th, 2022 / 1:30 – 2:30 PM
Light Refreshments & Small Group Tours
OUTDOOR EVENT – RAIN OR SHINE
Burlington Green has pulled of a really smart opportunity.
I was tipped off that there was a major news story coming – that was as much as the informant would say.
Then the announcement came out that the Pump House on Lakeshore Road was going to serve as a EcoHub for Burlington Green – what a great idea.
Then I wondered how that came about – put a bunch of questions to Any Schnurr who tried at first to slide by them – a little more poking the near and Any explained.
 A significant piece of the city’s infrastructure history has been repurposed – fitting that it becomes the new home for Burlington Green The city had posted a Request for Proposals i=on their web site.
Someone at Burlington Green immediately saw the benefits for their organization.
 The Pump House served as a private residence when it no longer pumped water They put together a response and the city bought it – and why not. The Pump House is a significant part of the city’s infrastructure history. At one point that location pumped all the water Burlington needed to households across the city. Burlington was probably a town when all this happened.
The building underwent some major upgrades – the roof was replaced and some of the architectural features were given some help.
The inside was basically bare – running water and heat.
The basement is dry – for a building that close to the lake to have a dry basement attests to some solid construction work.
The city then put out proposals and found a woman who wanted to set up a beach xxx operation. You could rent chairs, umbrellas, paddle boats. It was a good idea but when Covid19 shut down the city it wasn’t viable – rent had to be paid and there were no customers.
The building was empty – again.
This is one of those win win situations. A part of the city’s heritage was being put to good use and an important part of the city’s not for profit community had a new home.
The current pumping station and water treatment plant are just across the road.
Hopefully Amy will learn from this experience that getting as much information as possible out as early as possible is part of being transparent and accountable.
The Mayor will apparently cut a ribbon – we thought she might go for a swim.
You are asked to reserve at:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/burlingtongreen-eco-hub-launch-tickets-382645351547
 By Pepper Parr
July 11th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Many elected leaders determined to be managers – Elected officials need to concentrate on where they add value.
“Leading: The Real Value of a Mayor and Council” by George Cuff, is back on shelves.
 Council members have a budget that will cover the cost of the book. Municipal management guru George Cuff makes a compelling argument that municipalities today are not nearly as well served as they should be – because their elected leaders have, in many instances, determined they would rather be the managers. As a result, far too much effort and time is being spent on how staff can do a better job in their roles, without recognizing that, in order to do so, elected officials need to concentrate on where they add value.
Leading others is a simple yet profound duty and privilege, writes Cuff, as he digs into questions around leadership and what it requires from those who step forward at the local level.
Coming from someone with a excellent reputation backed by years of municipal level experience and tonnes of consulting assignment – this is a guy Councillors might want to listen to.
The Gazette has blown its gift budget for this year – we would haved like to have been able to buy a copy of the book and have it sent to the seven members of Council.
George Cuff barely got through high school having found sports and girls a distraction from his studies. As a result, he did not go directly to University but began work as an accountant with the Royal Bank and then after a couple of years there, he moved on to an oil and gas company where he continued his frustration as an accounting clerk.
 George B. Cuff – has wisdom to share with municipal Councillors. Cuff set up his own firm of George B. Cuff & Associates Ltd. (1984) and since then has focused on providing advice and counsel to rural and urban governments, provincial departments and agencies and other groups involved in some aspect of governance and public service. His work has become more focused over time on the art of governance and the elements that help organizations become more effective.
Cuff has published over 450 articles as well as ten books on local government. He has three “how to” books (Cuff’s Guide Volumes One and Two as well as his “Executive Policy Governance” which was published in 2014.
By Pepper Parr
July 11th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Council met this morning – as a Standing Committee to review a major report on Community Benefits, Section 37 and Development charges.
It was an important matter that had good discussion that we will report on at length later this week.
 Council attendance – those with an X didn’t manage to make it to city hall. That 5:00 is the clock that lets people speaking how much time they have left.. The “news” at this point is that two of the seven members of Council actually made it to city hall.
Councillors Sharman and Bentivegna were in the council chamber – the other five: the Mayor, Stolte of ward 4, Nisan of Ward 3, Kearns of ward 2 and Galbraith of ward 1 chose to take part from the comfort of their homes.
This is becoming a habit – and not a particularly positive one.
Getting ready to announce her candidacy for Mayor Anne Marsden said:
“Speechless especially following a great weekend weather wise. Perhaps they don’t want any delegations to look them in the eye, given they have managed to avoid that for most of their term. It took forever and repeatedly banging away at in-house delegation was a right.before they folded but chose to protect themselves from delegations looking them in the eye by allowing Council and Committees to be hybrid full-time rather than if sick and should not be attending in person.”
By Staff
July 8th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
If this were a chicken and egg issue – we are talking about the eggs on this one.
With funding support through The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), the City of Burlington is adding eight more level two electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the City. Each station will have two charging plugs.
With these new stations, the city will have 30 EV charging stations.
The new charging stations are expected to be operational by the end of 2022 and will be located at:
 Appleby Ice Centre (2 stations), 1201 Appleby Line- Haber Community Centre/Norton Park, 3040 Tim Dobbie Dr.
- Mainway Ice Centre, 4015 Mainway
- Mountainside Community Centre, 2205 Mount Forest Dr.
- Nelson Recreation Centre, 4235 New St.
- Tansley Woods Community Centre (2 stations), 1996 Itabashi Dr.
The TAF funding is helping the City to expand our existing inventory of charging stations that are primarily located in the downtown core, many of which were also supported through funding programs, to other areas of the city.
This is all part of the climate change response:
Electric mobility was identified in the community-based Burlington Climate Action Plan approved by City Council in 2020 as a key program area.
Supporting electric mobility efforts will help Burlington meet the target to become a net carbon neutral community by 2050 and is a top priority of Burlington’s Plan from Vision to Focus, “Supporting Sustainable Infrastructure and a Resilient Environment.”
The City is also partnering with BurlingtonGreen to develop an Electric Mobility Strategy as a community road map to support future investments in this area.
The City is also working on an Integrated Mobility Plan with a focus on moving people via sustainable options such as active transportation (walking, cycling, etc.) and public transit.
 By Lawson Hunter
July 7th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Lawson Hunter delegated at a Standing Committee earlier today to comment in support of “Climate Resilient Burlington: A Plan for Adopting to Our Warmer, Wetter, and Wilder Weather”. He said:
To my mind, this is one of the best reports I have seen this Council receive this term. I have every confidence that this committee will accept this report. My hope is that you will embrace the messages contained within and set in motion the recommendations with the urgency and the full commitment that they require.
Unfortunately, this report comes at a time when Council is near the end of its term, a ‘near lame duck Council’. Please do what you can to see that this report does not get lost in the transition to a new term and more importantly, that the City implements many, if not all, of the plans of action.
 Lawson Hunter: “we easily forget, especially if it doesn’t affect us directly.” I have delegated to Council on more than one occasion about Mitigating Climate Change. Today, I’m here to say that I’ve turned a corner in my thinking. I still believe in Mitigation but my personal viewpoint is that we need to shift more towards Adaptation.
In 2019, Burlington City Council, along with many other municipalities in Canada, declared a “Climate Emergency”. At the time, the International Panel on Climate Change stated that we had 12 years to ‘mitigate’ climate change. Well, we’ve got 9 years left before we pass the point of no return. Nine years to keep global GHG emissions below 350 parts per million. Sorry to tell you, but we passed 410 ppm a mere four months later. The IPCC (which the report references) told us that we needed to limit average temperature level increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We’ve blown past that. We now talk about 2 degrees, or even 3 or 4 degrees by the end of the century.
The dilemma, we face is our brains protect us by pushing those events from the past further and further out of our minds as we tend to focus on our day to day activities. ‘Live in the moment’ our coaches, and trainers, and self-help gurus tell us. Well, we can’t do that anymore. Not when those “climate events” keep coming, more frequently and harder and closer to home.
Sure, Burlington experienced the Ice Storm of 2013 and the Flood of 2014. A year ago, we watched on TV the drought and fire and flood that hit B.C. And in May of this year, less than two months ago, we narrowly missed the Great Canadian Derecho that tore a path of destruction from Windsor to Quebec City. A derecho is when a thunderstorm marries a tornado and creates a hurricane on land.
We, as a global society, recovered from the long list of environmental crises but did we learn anything from them? In her book, “The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters”, Juliette Kayyem says, for the most part we did. She writes, “It isn’t that you can manage a disaster so that no harm will occur, … Essentially, we can learn to fail, more safely.”
My point is, we easily forget, especially if it doesn’t affect us directly. And even if we are affected we, “Pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, start all over again” as the song says. We take pride in Building Back Better. In a word we become ‘Resilient’.
And that brings me to my one, small uneasiness about this report. Words are important. They can spur us into action or they can lull us into complacency.
For example, in this report the word Resilience is used quite often in place of Adaptation. Resilience is described as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties”, or “the ability to cope with and recover from setbacks”, or, “to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune”.
 The impact of the 2014 flood on a Burlington basement
Climate Change is neither a difficulty, a setback or a misfortune. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. It’s not a ‘what-if’ scenario. It’s a when-it-will-strike, there will be consequences kind of thing.
The report talks a lot about ‘collaboration’ as if that were a new thing. One has to hope that the City already ‘collaborates’ with entities like Burlington Hydro, Enbridge, the RBG and other stakeholders. I respect that stakeholders were invited to the table, but the collaboration must go further than a dozen or so meetings. It must infuse the landscape. Every organization, every company, every developer, every resident, should ask themselves “Is this the best we can do to respond to a climate change event?” And, “what part can I play after a disaster has impacted my neighbours?” rather than let ‘the City’ clean up the mess.
We are fighting against a system that none of us created. A system of global off-shoring, over consumption, externalities, short-term thinking, a ‘make it-break it-toss it’ society that is leading us over a cliff. Burlington used to be, largely, self-sufficient. Broken global supply chains have shown us that that is not sustainable anymore.
I get it. Your e-mail boxes are over-flowing with residents’ complaints about garbage, about potholes, about not enough ice rinks in the city. But you know what? Those fall into the category of the short-term thinking that got us here.
We, all of us, need to have the courage to say, “Stop it for a moment.” We need to shift our focus to ‘What will the impact of our decisions today, have on future generations?”. I’ve already spoken to Council about thinking, not in 20 years, or 50 years, but using the Indigenous wisdom of ‘seven generations’. In seven generations, 200 years or so, hurricanes, drought, floods, war, famine, will all probably hit Burlington. What will we construct today that will help future generations to Adapt?
We need to commit to the recommendations in this report. We need to set priorities. We need to ensure success by directing enough of the City’s budget now and into the future towards these goals. Let me tell you, it’s going to hurt, but future generations will thank us.
We also need to acknowledge the things that we’ve done wrong, but also what we did right to respond to disasters. We can adapt to a rapidly changing environment. COVID taught us that. Will we heed that lesson?
Biologically speaking, adaptation is “a change or the process of change by which an organism, or species becomes better suited to its environment”. Not us trying to change the environment to suit our needs.
We are heading down the train track and no one’s got their hands on the brake. Here’s an example. And it is in no way a slam against Burlington Hydro. Burlington has experienced 33 power outages since January 1 of this year.
 The 2013 ice storm blocked roads for days My question is – is sixty plus outages acceptable when every house and building could have its own renewable energy source? Is 60 plus outages the new normal that we should expect? Again, I’m not blaming Burlington Hydro – it has to deal with flooding, wind storms, ice build up, drivers knocking down poles, and a few instances of preventative maintenance by the utility. Burlington Hydro is working with a system that was designed in the 1950’s, built in the 60’s and 70’s, and feeding power from a transmission system that was created some 100 years ago. Doomed to fail.
But see, there I go talking about a Mitigation to the climate change problem. It’s difficult to separate the two. We need both courses of Action. I’m here to ask you to take the next 15 or 20 minutes and really concentrate on what this city – not City (with a capital C), but the community of Burlington can do to prepare to ‘fail more safely’ because we will fail when it comes to climate change, it’s almost guaranteed.
I’m not an expert. You’ve got plenty of smart people on staff. You’ve already got a shelf full of reports, and you’ve got partnerships with good organizations with all kinds of environmental experience. What I want to impress upon you is the sense of urgency that I feel.
I don’t want Burlington to just ‘Build Back Better’. We can ‘hope for the best and prepare for the worst’ or we can prepare for the worst and hope that it never comes to that.
Take-aways:
• Don’t be lulled into complacency with aspirations and buzzwords.
• Give all City staff adequate training in first aid and disaster relief.
• Empower employees to assist and support the rest of the community, be it disaster, physical condition, mental health situation, knowing what to do and where to go in an emergency.
• Create more heating and cooling stations, and emergency shelters.
• Make floodplain maps easily accessible and support Conservation Halton’s program and frequency of new maps created.
• Instill a long-term vision in City staff, residents, local employees that we need to work together, support each other, for the common good.
• Work with developers, the largest group of game-changers, to build better, more equitably, and with robust safety features – additional stair egress, adequate fire protection and services.
• Recognize that disaster could happen at any time, in any location, and know how to respond.
• Learn to fail, more safely.
By Staff
July 7th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
What a great idea?
 The Pump House is a big part of the Beachway history. Not sure how it came about – didn’t see anything about the space being available – but if it can be put to good community use – go for it.
BurlingtonGreen has a new home.
Plaque tells the story Located at the historic Pump House at Beachway Park, they have put down roots at this new home to make it easier for you to join with us to take action for the planet, locally.
 By Pepper Parr
July 6th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
News from the Art Gallery is hard to come by.
They now have a communications/marketing person; Nadine Heath. She reached out to point to what she thought were misunderstandings on my part as to just how that annual meeting in June went.
 Emma Quinn, new AGB Executive Director In her email note to me she also mentioned that the new Executive Director is Emma Quinn who comes to the AGB with 30 years of experience working with cultural, charitable, and not for profit organizations in Ontario, paired with deep knowledge of the arts and craft sector. Emma will transition to her new role on July 25, 2022.
Quinn was the Executive Director of the Textile Museum in Toronto for a number of years
Settling into the job might require some time going over the AGB’s Charitable Annual Return for the 2021 fiscal year which has been published on CRA’s website, and it appears to have a few truly strange errors.
Whoever completed the return sets AGB as a charity with revenues of under $100,000, when they were in fact required to complete Schedule 6. The consequences of this are that significant financial details, including fundraising costs, are not broken out as they should be, making the AGB impossible to compare to its past returns and to other medium to large sized charities, and making it appear on the “Quick View” that their fundraising costs were 0.
Strangely enough, they also reported the City of Burlington grant as “other revenue” instead of “government revenue”.
Lots of questions. Want to talk to the two lawyers who were directors but are no longer on the Board. The Chair who was re-elected at the June meeting resigned shortly after.
Related news story
AGB directors are elected and then they quit
By Staff
July 6th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Here is a candidate announcement that surprised many – Andrea Grebenc, business owner for over 20 years, elected Trustee in 2014 and 2018 in municipal elections and elected Board Chair for four annual terms (2018-2021), is seeking the office of Halton Regional Chair in the October 24, 2022 municipal election.
 Andrea Grebenc Grebenc appears to be taking the position that younger more energetic leadership is needed at the Regional level. She wants to bring new ideas that meet the needs of those who are raising families and appreciate just how safe life is in the Region – she wants to build on that
Andrea is currently in her final year of her second four-year Trustee term with the Halton District School Board (HDSB). The organization is one of the largest organizations within Halton and one of the largest school boards in the province with an annual operating budget of $850 million dollars, over 100 facilities and 10,000 staff that serves the entire region.
The HDSB has been one of the top performing boards in Ontario during her tenure and while sitting as Chair she was often sought out by other Ontario School Board Chairs for advice. Halton Region functions under similar laws and governance rules and processes as the HDSB.
Andrea is known by many media outlets for providing frank and factual insight on education issues. A listing of interviews and articles is available on the Andrea4Halton.ca website. She looks to continue to serve the people of Halton in an alternate leadership position at the Regional level.
“The role of Regional Chair requires passion, energy and accessibility to fight for the well-being and interests of Halton Region. I have demonstrated these assets as a Trustee, Board Chair and entrepreneur.” – Andrea Grebenc
 Grebenc:: core values include transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement. Andrea has developed relationships with local, provincial and federal elected officials and is always ready to listen and serve her constituents. She has an excellent record as Trustee and Board Chair, with stellar attendance and trying to improve the system by sitting on and often chairing standing and ad hoc committees. Andrea’s core values include transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
As a business owner/consultant in the Information Technology (IT) field, Andrea has worked with organizations large and small to provide services and solutions. Her largest clients have included Toyota Canada Inc. and McMaster University where she has taught for over 20 years. She is a problem solver and collaborator.
Andrea has lived most of her life in Burlington. She loves Halton and has chosen to raise her three children here with her husband who also works in the IT field.
To be a part of this bid for fresh, strong leadership in Halton, join the campaign by volunteering, donating, and ordering a sign. Invite Andrea to events, large or small. Information is available at Andrea4Halton.ca. Reach out to Andrea at contact@Andrea4Halton.ca or call (905) 510-4847. Follow Andrea on Twitter at @AndreaGrebenc or on Facebook at @Andrea4Halton.
 By Pepper Parr
July 5th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Update: Both showed up after the lunch break
Here is a first.
For the first time in my memory, which covers 12 years of covering council meetings, both the Chair and the Vice Chair of a Standing Committee could not make it to the meeting.
 Stolte was a no show.  Nisan was a no show Councillors Stolte and Nisan sent their regrets.
Committee Clerk Jo-Anne Rudy had to draft Councillor Sharman to take the Chair of the Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility Committee.
No word from either Council member. Stolte has been emailing earlier in the day.
 By Pepper Parr
July 4th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Council will debate the tax increases they expect to impose during a meeting on Monday.
They will dance around a lot of numbers – the ones that count and set out for you below.
The number that matter is the top line; that is the amount the city is going to levy.
When the city tax levy is added to the total tax bill it looks lower.
The city collects taxes for the Region and the Boards of Education
How did they get to the 7.97?
The Finance people, amongst the best in the province have done a very good job cutting and chopping – they are up against hard reality. The challenge for the taxpayers is to hope that the members of Council will spend more conservatively.
Tough weeks ahead for the city treasurer.
 By Pepper Parr
July 3rd, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
City Council decided January 2021 that there had to be a housing strategy that would make it possible for people to be able to live in Burlington and at some time in their lives buy a hone.
The provincial requirement that the city grow meant intensification had to take place which amounted to growing up – translate that to mean high rise towers – rather than growing out because there was no more greenfield land left.
At the same time the value of single family dwellings sky rocketed – due in part to cheap money from the banks and the realization that if you didn’t get into the marker now you might never get in.
Traditionally municipalities do not involve themselves in the supply of housing – they determine what can be built where through the zoning bylaw.
In June City Council took the first step in recommending the creation of a Housing Strategy.
The lead up to getting to the point was an 18 month process that resulted in a report yesterday that set out
12 actions – six of which were priorities
5 themes
5 pathways
1 vision
Most of the city departments were involved in putting the report together but there were five women who were at it every day of those 18 months.
It was a very proud day for Alison Enns and her team: Laura Daly, Kate Hill-Montague and Alexandra Mathers.
Increasing options for housing across the city was identified as a top priority and goal in the From Vision to Focus Plan. A key action item associated with this priority was ‘to complete the City’s Housing Strategy and implement the plan to address the needs related to young families, senior’s housing, affordable housing, special needs housing and newcomers by Q2-2022’.
A key action associated with this priority is to employ a range of communication and engagement tactics to ensure citizen involvement.
The objective was to
“…develop an innovative Housing Strategy for the City of Burlington that sets out policies, tools and actions to address residents’ housing needs now and in the future and will build on and support the Region’s Housing Strategy through the development of local solutions to housing issues in the City of Burlington.”
The Housing Strategy provides a road map for addressing local housing needs and increasing housing options that meet the needs of current and future residents at all stages of life and at all income levels. It identifies the key players in housing and their respective roles, including the role of the City of Burlington (See Action 1 of the Housing Strategy).
Burlington, as a lower tier municipality, has two key opportunities to do its part to “make moves” in addressing the broader housing crisis:
- First, through partnership and advocacy to help deliver the deep affordability and housing options needed by residents of Burlington within the lower income deciles; and
- Second, through focusing on implementing the direct actions that the City can take to increase housing options and opportunities for residents of Burlington within the middle-income deciles.
The key findings of the Housing Needs and Opportunities Report are summarized below:
- Rental housing supply is not meeting the needs of existing and future
- Housing is not affordable for many Burlington In the City of Burlington, the supply of housing that is affordable for all incomes is diminishing. In particular, home ownership for middle-income earners has become a challenge;
- Burlington residents do not feel there is enough diversity or options for housing in the City to meet residents’ needs throughout their lifecycle;
- As Burlington continues to grow and evolve, housing options will need to reflect this growth and change;
- As a lower-tier municipality, one of the greatest actions and areas of focus will be to leverage relationships with upper levels of government and local community organizations to advocate for housing affordability and foster partnerships for the delivery of housing to address needs across the continuum; and
- A lack of understanding among the general public about the benefits of a range and mix of housing options in the City often results in opposition to development that would address housing gaps.
The need was clear, what wasn’t as clear was how to get this done.
The pathway that Enns and her team had to determine was cluttered with what the other jurisdictions were doing.
The federal government was going to provide funds.
The Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) would be heavily involved
Ontario produced a report saying the people would just have to get used o the idea that there were going to be four plxes on streets that were single family dwellings. Try that idea on a city councillor who has to deal with property owners who say – certainly, great idea – but not on my street if you want my vote.
The Regional government had the task of determining what the urban growth boundaries were going to be – and had to work aganst a lot of deeply rooted resistance from the farming community.
Locally the team had to work within a planning department environment that was struggling to cope with close to impossible work loads and significant changes at the leadership level.
This was an initiative put in place by a city council was about half way through its term of office and at a time when the leadership of the Planning department was experiencing some stability issues.
The Chief Planner found that her position no longer existed on the City Organization Chart so was given the opportunity to find employment elsewhere taking a significant financial settlement with her.
Mayor Meed Ward was never able to create the kind of relationship she wanted with Mary Lou Tanner who was the Director of Planning, which made her departure inevitable at some point.
Despite this Allison Enns and her team were able to work very effectively.
The presented their report and got the endorsement they needed quite quickly. The recommendation vote was unanimous and went to Council on June 21st.
Then what?
Getting to this point meant loads of virtual meetings, all kinds of survey work. Enns was particularly good at creating a pause during a virtual meeting and doing a quicky survey of those participating on line
The Housing Strategy is underpinned by extensive technical work by Dillon Consulting and SHS Consulting
And of course there was an engagement plan that drew more than 1,400 responses over the course of 4 online surveys and hosting 6 virtual Open Houses.
One key element of the engagement was the Housing Strategy Working Group who along with the Steering Committee guided the preparation of the Housing Strategy.
The Housing Strategy identifies 12 Actions to move toward the vision for housing in Burlington. It provides a set of action-oriented housing objectives (Themes) and an associated implementation plan that also identifies a list of Prioritized Actions and Quick Wins.
By Staff
June 3rd, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
The week long schedule of Standing Committee meetings begins on Monday.
Don’t expect it to be as dramatic as the Council meeting last wee.
The part that is going to keep this Council behind closed doors for much of the time on Monday is the items on the Confidential Agenda.
Confidential reports may require a closed meeting in accordance with the Municipal Act, 2001. Meeting attendees may be required to leave during the discussion.
5.1
Confidential human resources report providing a bargaining update for Local 2723 (HR-07-22)
Pursuant to Section 239(2)(d) of the Municipal Act, labour relations or employee negotiations.
 Oh to be a fly on the wall when this gets discussed. The city’s legal department is usually loath to let any information get out to the public. City Solicitor Nancy Shea Nicol has not had yo release this information in the past. 5.2
Confidential legal report – waive privilege to release external legal costs for Planning Act appeals completed during current term of Council (L-25-22)
Pursuant to Section 239(2)(f) of the Municipal Act, advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.
5.3
Confidential legal report – update on a litigation matter at 3200 Dakota Common (L-27-22)
Pursuant to Section 239(2)(e) of the Municipal Act, litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board.
 1025 Cooke Blvd: The proposal affects 1.08 hectares of land on the north side of Plains Road East, east of Waterdown Road. The redevelopment proposes two mixed-use, mid-rise buildings of 10 and 12 storeys with retail and service commercial uses at the street level and 450 residential units above. Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendment applications have been submitted. Access to the property is proposed off Cooke Boulevard and Clearview Avenue with parking located at the rear of the buildings and an underground parking garage. It is currently the site of Solid Gold – an adult entertainment operation. 5.4
Confidential legal report – update on Ontario Land Tribunal appeal for 53-71 Plains Road East and 1025 Cooke Blvd (L-29-22)
Pursuant to Section 239(2)(e) of the Municipal Act, litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board.
5.5
Confidential legal report – update on a litigation matter regarding a class action (L-32-22)
Pursuant to the following sections of the Municipal Act: Section 239(2)(a) the security of the property of the municipality or local board; Section 239(2)(e), litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board; and Section 239(2)(f), advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.
Class actions are tricky business – no word yet from those who pass along information.
The public is now getting much more information on what is involved and who is involved. At one point Councillor Lisa Kearns complained about the public not even knowing the address of a development that had become a confidential legal matter.
By Pepper Parr
July 3rd, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
The street level reaction is beginning to come in now that people can see the 15 minutes of fame that Andy Warhol promised us. You get to watch a train wreck taking place live. Link to that stunning performance by the Mayor is set out below.
When the Mayor announced she was going to do some agenda management and moved directly to what she referred to as an Integrity Commissioner she was exercising a right that she had. The problem with the decision she made and the position she took is that there was nothing from the Integrity Commissioner. Click HERE and see for yourself. It wont take much more than a minute.
 Top row: Member of Council: Sharman, Galbraith and Nisan watching in stunned silence. Bottom row Councillor preparing to leave the meeting and Clerk Kevin Arjoon struggling to maintain some order. He never did find a way to bring the Mayor to order on the several occasions when he should have. FACT: Also the the Integrity Commissioner did not write a report to Council .
FACT: The Mayor had no right to bring something onto the agenda without a majority vote to waive the procedural by-law.
FACT: The apology was a private matter. Councillor Stolte had chosen to apologize during non-debatable statements by Councillors. That was entirely her right to choose how she wanted to proceed.
Most of the remarks set out below are from Gazette readers. We didn’t make this stuff up. All asked not to be identified.
One writer said it “was not not clear how the Mayor had any ability to make a private matter public”; that didn’t deter the Mayor.
Some readers wondered “just where City Clerk was in all this” – he never did have control of the meeting which is what he was hired to do.
“Ms. Gartside clearly knew the matter was both private and not on the agenda. It is hard to imagine that she was a willing participant in what occurred.
“In the world of politics and drama, some scenes are meant to be watched, especially when you have no lines.”
The Integrity Commissioner can expect to be quite busy for some time yet – assuming he doesn’t drag his heels and then decide that this cannot be investigated or reviewed before the election.
Someone somewhere is going to have to do something to get this Council to the point where they walk their talk about Good Governance.
They all expect to be re-elected.
Related news story:
The event: the Mayor and her train wreck
A small poll on what readers thought the Mayor should do
 By Staff
July 2, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward taking part in a Council Standing Committee meeting.
The first of our polls has been completed.
We asked: Should Mayor Meed Ward be apologizing to the public?
The response for something that was new and different for our readers was more than satisfactory.
The response was slightly above 10% of the people that saw the poll.
Our plan at this point is to publish a poll on the Sunday of each week and report on the results on the Thursday – last thing in the day.
We will set up our polling service so that people can look at the results of previous polls once they are complete.
You won’t be able to see the results of a poll while it is running – unless and until you have voted. We didn’t want people to see the results and then go with the majority.
The poll is set up so that you cannot vote more than once on any one question.
We’d like to get that response rate up to a 25% level.
And, if you have a question that you think should be polled – pass it along.
The results from the first poll are set out below.
Please keep in mind that this poll was taken BEFORE the Gazette published a video of the council meeting that was so disruptive.
By Pepper Parr
July 2nd, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Earlier in the month, June 21st, during a city council meeting, the Mayor and a member of Council went at it.
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward taking part in a Council meeting on June 21st, virtually from London, Ontario where she was attending the university graduation of her daughter. The Mayor, who has the right to revise a Council meeting agenda, decided that she was going to put an Integrity Commissioner matter at the top of the Agenda during which she expected Councillor Shawna Stole to read out an apology to a city staff member.
Stolte had already advised the Mayor that she would be making her agreed upon apology to Georgie Gartside, staff member with two decades of service, during the Councillor Comments part of the council meeting.
An item on the formal agenda is debatable, which would have permitted Council members to add their views. Councillors Nisan and Galbraith were the pair that took a complaint against Stolte to the Integrity Commissioner earlier in the year and resulted in the Commissioner recommending that she be docked five days pay.
Pay attention to the facial expressions and body language of these two council members.
The facial expressions were revealing. Councillor Sharman didn’t say a word; Galbraith kept this expression on his face throughout most of the meeting, Nisan hid from the camera most of the time. Stolte is shown packing up her stuff and leaving her seat at the council table. Clerk Kevin Arjoon will tell his friends it was the most contentious meeting her was every involved in. Know that Mayor Meed Ward was not in the Council Chamber, she was in London, Ontario attending her daughter’s university graduation.
The irony of all this is that on the 21st of June Councillor Stolte was the Deputy Mayor and filled in for Meed Ward when she had to leave the meeting.
A Council members Comments at the end of the meeting are not debatable.
Mayor Meed Ward used the lame excuse that Gartside wanted the item at the top of the agenda and not at the end so she would not have to listen to the full meeting to hear the apology that she took part in crafting and had approved.
That kind of behaviour gives the phrase “your pound of flesh” a whole new Better.
During the meeting we heard “point of order” and “point of personal privilege” being tossed around like horse shoes at a fall fair.
The Gazette has reported on this in the paste. We decide to take the time to excerpt the full discussion (it’s just shy of 14 minutes long) and ends with Councillor Stolte leaving her seat at the council table.
We didn’t cut a word.
We do have some comments following the video.
The video CLICK here
 By Pepper Parr
July 2, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
A look at the nominations in place for the seat of Regional Chair, one can’t help but see several layers of political intrigue.
The first out of the gate was an announcement from MP Jane McKenna that she would not run for the Burlington seat in the provincial legislature but would run for the chair of the Region.
That had a lot of the senior people at the Region sucking in air: McKenna as the Chair of the Region?
In the meantime the sitting Chair Gary Carr moved from his rural home in Milton to downtown Burlington leading many to conclude that Carr was hanging up his spurs.
 Gary Carr tasting honey on a Regional farm tour. Carr was seen as a Conservative; her served as the Oakville MPP for period of time and at one point was speaker of the Legislature.
For McKenna to decide to run as Chair of the Region the assumption was that she had cleared it with Carr.
The Gazette has not interviewed Carr – we were preparing to interview him as he exited local politics.
Unless there is a huge change in the way Gary Carr handles himself in the next couple of months, he will be returned to office and Jan McKenna will be looking for another job.
However, the world of politics nothing is certain.
The Regional level of government is often not fully understood. The issues they handle are a little removed from the services people look to each day.
Waste management, water and sewers, social services, maintaining an Official Plan that the municipal sector has to comply with. The work done at the Regional level applies to every municipality.
Besides being a professional hockey player Carr was a Member of Provincial Parliament, Speaker of the Ontario Legislature and later a Member of Parliament.
Gary Carr is tired – he has been at it for a long time and has ensured that the Region is stable, that the budgets are manageable and that the people of the Region feel safe.
 Jane McKenna at a Freeman Station event Is this a job he really wants? My response would be probably not but the thought of having Jane McKenna as Regional Chair was enough to have Carr putting his hockey pads back on.
But then – out of the blue (red actually because she is a Liberal) Andrea Grebenc files her papers to run for the Regional Chair.
Andrea Grebenc, former Halton District School Board trustee, served as chair and sough the Burlington nomination for the provincial Liberals Andrea who?
Pay attention to this one. She was Chair of the Halton District Board of trustees for two terms and developed a profile that had CBC and the Toronto Star going to her for comments on the state of education in the province at a time wen a public voice was badly needed.
Grebenc was bold in her comments and not afraid to think well outside the box and ask the awkward question. Jumping from trustee to Regional Chair is a leap – but if Carr is tired and McKenna is a non-starter and if the public is prepared to listen to a bright almost 50 year old parent with significant depth in Information Technology – it could happen.
Would it be a good thing for the Region: probably. The Staff at the Regional level is for the most part very good. They would help her ease her way into the job and soon realize that there is depth and the capacity for seeing the bigger picture.
For the record, Grebenc appears on the list of people running, McKenna’s name is there, no address; think she is still in the little blue house.
Gary Carr’s name does not appear but he has sent out a tweet indicating he will be running
More on these three candidates going forward.
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
June 30th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
We are beginning to see a more active phase of the October municipal election.
 Gary Carr has been Regional Chair for some time – was expected by many to retire.. Did the McKenna decision to run for Regional Chair change his mind? Gary Carr has decided he will run for re-election. Was that decision influenced by Jane McKenna’s decision to run for the Regional Chair.
 Andrea Grebenc did a top notch job as the Halton District School Board where she served as chair for two terms. Then along comes Andrea Grebenc, former chair of the Haltom District School Board of Trustees – a surprise entrant who might go on to surprise everyone.
Expect to see a statement from Shawna Stolte who has filed her papers to run for the ward 4 seat that she won in 2018.
 Shawna Stolte, after a turbulent couple of months has filed her nomination papers. Will her ward see it the way she saw things? The decisions made by these three deserves some analyses – why and what can the public expect.
Enjoy Canada Day and come back on the weekend for an update.
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