 By Staff
March 28th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
A regular Gazette reader, who frequently notes some of our spelling and grammar errors, brought to our attention what she thought were two frightening stories in as many days about people in Toronto driving to nearby communities away from the city to shop for food because of the shopping conditions in Toronto grocery stores.
“They claim” she said that “ it’s faster and easier to go out of town than trying to negotiate shops at home; they don’t realize they are potential carriers of this disease to another community.”
“Then a neighbor, who has a cottage in cottage country, thought about going there for isolation and to get away from restrictions and other people here in Burlington. Many of her cottage “neighbours” are full-time inhabitants of that area, and have made it very clear that they don’t want their city neighbours to come around and infect them.
 Premier Ford discourages people from heading for their rural cottages “In fact, some of the mayors and reeves of these municipalities have contacted Doug Ford and asked him to talk about this on TV- and he did. He explained that those mayors and reeves had communities with limited facilities that were set up to accommodate their own citizens, and could not also accommodate an influx of others as well.”
The leadership in the community is asking that we be responsible for our welfare: follow the rules and maintain safe distances between the people we meet. That is being individually responsible.
There is also social responsibility – our reader is suggesting we pay heed to that responsibility as well.
 By Staff
March 27th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
The City has had to make changes to various timelines and processes related to Planning and Building and By-law matters.
“To that end, the Statutory public meeting scheduled for April 6 on the official downtown policies has been pushed to fall to better enable the public and all stakeholders an opportunity to provide full feedback to staff and Council as decision makers, in a public and accountable forum.
“The City is currently processing development applications and building permit applications received by March 13.
The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) has suspended all LPAT hearings until the end of June. As a result of COVID-19, processes for building inspections have been modified accordingly to keep both staff and the public safe.
 Detailed policies on the Downtown are being developed by the consultants and staff – preparing them for public review Official Plan Update
Over the past few months, the Official Plan project team with help from planning firm, SGL Planning and Design, have been working on developing detailed policies.
“The endorsed land use vision and built form concept for the Downtown was largely endorsed by Council this past January. The detailed policies were going to be available for public review during the week of March 23 and presented to Council in April 2020 as recommended modifications to the policies of the Adopted Official Plan.
“However, these timelines have been delayed to protect the public and City staff and to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 virus, the City has closed facilities, including City Hall. These closures and workplace changes have had an impact on the project timeline. As a result, the public release of the detailed policies and associated reports will be delayed.
“The detailed policies will now be released at the end of April and the Statutory Public Meeting will be scheduled for the fall.
The City recognizes the work of the Scoped Re-examination of the Adopted Official Plan is vitally important to continue to move forward.
The City remains committed to ensuring the public has the full ability to comment on the detailed policies and for this reason, the associated timelines have been changed.
Planning Applications
 • Development applications received by March 13, 2020 are currently being processed.
• Inquires continue to be handled by Planning staff via phone and email.
• Staff are exploring how new applications might be accepted and processed.
• No Pre-application public meetings will be held at this time, including Millcroft Green, and will be re-scheduled at a later date.
The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) has suspended all LPAT hearings scheduled to take place between March 16 until the end of June.
The cancelled hearings will be rescheduled at a later date. Currently, hearings July onward will proceed on their scheduled date. Burlington applications affected include:
 Amica – proposed development • March 20 – HHHBA Appeal of Parking rates- first Case Management Conference
• March 20 – 1085 Clearview/St. Matthews- a telephone CMC
• April 17 – 1157 Northshore Blvd (Amica)- a telephone CMC
• April 30 – 2069 Lakeshore /Pearl Street (Carriage Gate)- first Case Management Conference
• May 11 – OPA 107 (Evergreen)- a Case Management Conference
• May 19 – 1085 Clearview/St. Matthews- Hearing
There were no Burlington hearings scheduled for June.
Building Permits and Inspections
• Building permit applications received by March 13, 2020 are currently being processed.
• Staff have implemented a modified level of building inspections. Exterior building inspections continue and a modified process for interior inspections is in place that does not involve staff going into buildings and protects staff from physical contact in line with COVID-19 safety precautions.
• Staff are exploring how new applications might be accepted and processed.
Signage in Commercial Districts
 City hall told the merchant signs like this were a no, no. • A-frame signage on private property is still permitted in front of any business during regular business hours and no permits are required.
• Portable sign permits and renewals are still being processed by sending necessary information to building@burlington.ca.
Business License Renewal
• Existing business licenses that require renewal will be extended during the COVID-19 crisis.
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward Mayor Marianne Meed Ward had this to say: “This is an extraordinary and unprecedented situation we’re facing, and we know it won’t be business as usual for some time. As a City, we’ll continue the operations we can, while putting the health and safety of our community and employees first.
“Our downtown policies and Official Plan are vitally important to our entire community. We want to ensure the public and all stakeholders have the opportunity to provide full feedback to staff and council as decision makers, in a public and accountable forum. This work is appropriately put on hold till we can provide that opportunity. Releasing the policies early affords everyone significant time for review and comment, before decisions are made. This is perhaps the silver lining in this situation. ”
Heather MacDonald, Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility Community Planning added: “The City continues to process applications received prior to March 13th and City staff remain available by email and phone to connect and answer questions. In light of the situation with COVID-19 and the rapidly changing updates from healthcare professionals and our partners across all levels of government, our priority remains on keeping staff and the public safe. Since March 16th, City Hall remains closed to the public and we will continue to do our best to ensure transparency and accountability to the public while protecting our staff and the public.”
 Nick Anastasopoulos, Chief Building Official / Director of Building & By-law Nick Anastasopoulos, Chief Building Official / Director of Building & By-law explained that: “Our primary focus is on the safety of the public, our staff and buildings in our city when we do our building inspections. Exterior building inspections are continuing with our normal process and the reality of COVID-19 has made us look at creative ways to deliver on interior inspections. We have created a modified process for interior inspections to respect physical distancing and avoid the need for staff to go into buildings. We appreciate the continued understanding of our community as we continue to address this challenge together.”
By Staff
March 27th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
 Walk – don’t stop was Mayor Meed Ward’s message. She has threatened to get out her megaphone to tell people to walk by all means but don’t congregate with people who are not part of your immediate family that you live with.
The COVID-19 virus is being passed from person to person – that has to stop.
Here is her message:
 By Pepper Parr
March 27th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
One of the things that struck us as we spent some time in supermarkets – the shelves with flour were empty!
 Empty shelves – been that way for a few days. Were people hoarding the product?
We reached out to Ron Foxcroft whose Fluke Transport has 150 trucks on the road moving product from manufacturers and processors to supermarkets and asked if he could shed some light on why there is a shortage of flour – at least at the supermarket level.
 There are 150 of Fluke trucks on the roads running between Ontario, New York state and Pennsylvania Foxcroft came back to us with this:
Institutions and homes are using lots of flour.
We are trucking 5 to 10 loads a day of bulk flour for commercial use. Bakeries, etc. etc.
There is a challenge getting labour to put it in smaller bags and getting labour to put it on store shelves.
It takes time to load, unload, and put on shelves.
It just seemed odd to us that something as basic as flour would not be on the shelves – bread shelves were stocked.
We’ll keep an eye on it.
 By Ray Rivers
March 27th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
 This is what it has come to in Italy – and what we are probably going to see in New York city where the infection numbers are now higher than Italy. There is no cure and there is no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The best we can do is prevent human-to-human contact. It is a respiratory system disease much like the SARS epidemic we faced only a few years ago – but more contagious. And the only way we know to prevent its spread is to shut down the workplaces, shops and entertainment facilities and send everybody home.
No work, no income and that, for many of us, means no way to pay for food and rent. In fact a million Canadians have so far applied for employment insurance. So the federal government has responded with an emergency rescue package, the centre piece of which is a basic income of $2000 a month for those who apply.
That emergency package only runs for the next four months. The government had wanted to be given emergency taxation and spending power to extend the package, until the end of 2021. But the opposition called that a bridge too far. So Parliament will need to be recalled by this summer if an extension is required.
It is uncertain how long this epidemic will last but it’ll likely be beyond the summer and maybe up to a year. Chinese authorities are confidently sending Wuhan, where the virus started, back to business in early April. That will be about four months after the outbreak was first made public.
 Streets in Chinese city were emptied. No one was allowed out. That sounds ambitious but then Wuhan’s lockdown was more complete and earlier than what is going on in the rest of the world. And the economic damage is substantial – estimates of 20% declines in retail. But even if all is well with the recovery, the export orders will be absent from the rest of the globe in its own lockdown.
It remains to be seen if the Wuhan virus will return, and with a vengeance. Even if Canada’s social distancing helps flatten the curve we are unlikely to be safe until those folks on the other side of the longest undefended border get their act together. For example, the recent alarming jump in Quebec’s virus numbers has been partly been attributed to travel – likely snowbirds returning from Florida.
Canada’s border is only partially shut down now and this virus is a persistent bug, so we will never be virus free as long as the US isn’t. The US is a basket case. Delayed and inadequate testing; a fractured health care system, short on public health; and an incompetent president in denial and determined to reopen the economy regardless how bad this gets, all work against an early recovery.
So given this scenario, the question is why the Trudeau government didn’t annualize the $2000 basic income provision, extending it to at least the end of the 2020. In fact why not just announce a permanent universal basic income.
 Public sentiment favours the idea of a Universal Basic Income – have we taken that first step in Canada? The idea of universal basic income (UBI), also called a guaranteed annual income, has been around for ages and has been supported by economists and politicians on both sides of the political right/left divide. It is a natural cousin to our system of single payer health care and other social programs. Only corporate and political leaders, ignorant of facts, yet fretting that wages might have to increase, have kept UBI from becoming policy.
UBI involves a lot of cash outflow, but it can replace the costs of many lesser programs and it could, of course, be made taxable income. Employment insurance, welfare, and a host of other supplementary social income programs could be eliminated. Indeed, the efficiency of sending everyone one cheque a month instead of a couple must appeal to anyone who dislikes the breadth of our bureaucracy.
That partly explains why right-wing economist Milton Friedman was an early advocate. Progressive Conservative strategist Hugh Segal who designed Ontario’s now cancelled UBI pilot project was another. Former democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang had been offering Americans $1000 a month as his main campaign plank. And UBI also is nested the various versions of a Green New Deal.
 The province had a UBI program – it was a pilot in three city’s – Hamilton was one. Doug Ford cancelled it. Mr. Ford axed Ontario’s pilot UBI before it could demonstrate results, though early indications were positive on all fronts – consistent with other pilot experiments elsewhere. But then this is the premier whose first reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic was to front up $100 million dollars in emergency funding- roughly seven dollars per person.
The main thing about UBI is that, like a security blanket, it reduces uncertainty among families, and individuals, and small business owners – about keeping food on the table and a roof overhead. That is an essential piece of solace in times of crisis, and we are in the worst crisis in our lifetimes.
It is said that we should never let a good crisis go to waste. And that is exactly what will happen if we don’t act on this opportunity for a national and permanent UBI.
 Ray Rivers writes regularly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
China
Yang’s UBI – 70’s GAI – Romney $1000 –
Canada’s GAi – Ontario UBI – Federal Power –
By Staff
March 27th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
NOTICE TO PUBLIC
All Provincial Offences Act matters (e.g., traffic tickets and offences under provincial legislation) scheduled until May 29, 2020 will be rescheduled. Do not attend court.
 Provincial Offences Court on Walkers Line All Provincial Offences Act matters scheduled from Monday, March 16, 2020 through to and including Friday, May 29, 2020 will be adjourned and rescheduled to a later date. If you have a matter scheduled during this time, you do not need to attend court. This applies to all POA courts in Ontario.
A notice of your new court date will be sent to you by mail to the address on file with the court. For more information, please contact your local Provincial Offences court.
Contact information for all municipal courts is available here: https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/Court_Addresses/poa/
The following timelines have been extended:
Sections 5(6), 5.1(2)(b), 5.1(12), 9(1)(a), 11(1), 11(4), 17.1(6.1), 18(1), 18.1(5), 18.2(1), 18.3(1), 19, 66(1), 69(1), 116(2)(a), 116(3) and 135(2) of the Provincial Offences Act, and sections 5(2) and 5(3) of the Rules of the Ontario Court (General Division) and the Ontario Court (Provincial Division) in Appeals Under Section 116 of the Provincial Offences Act, O. Reg. 723/94.
A copy of the order is available on the Ontario Court of Justice website. It will also be available at all POA court offices as soon as practicable.
Please also be advised that the Government of Ontario made an order pursuant to s. s. 7.1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMPCA), suspending any limitation periods in statutes and regulations for the duration of the State of Emergency. This will impact timelines under the Provincial Offences Act and related proceedings. A copy of the order is available online at:
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/200073
Could be good news for those who were perhaps going to be fined for something.
 By Pepper Parr
March 27th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
With so much news coming at us from every direction – there are times when we might miss something or mis-interpret something.
 Troops Canada might send to protect our border from Americans feeling COVID19 in New York When I heard the piece about the President of the United States thinking of putting American troops along the border we share with the Americans my first thought was – that can’t be right.
Did Donald Trump think thousands of Canadians were going to head for the United States ?
If anyone wants to put troops on the border – it should be Canada.
Given what is in the process of hitting New York city – one can expect thousands to be getting in their cars with as much as they can pack in the trunk and heading for the border hoping we will let them in.
This is a crazy world. Hang tight.
  Couple of gems were sent to us yesterday. Two residents, walking along Centennial Trail came across these painted stones. Anyone know who put them there?
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 27th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
The number of people infected and the number of people dying of COVID-19 are higher now in the United States than they are were in China.
Our data comes from a reputable source – you might want to review all the data. It can be found HERE
The increase for New York city was 40% in one day.
The data below shows what has taken place in one week.
 March 27th, 2020  March 26th, 2020  March 23rd, 2020
 By Staff
March 26th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
 The Halton Regional Police Service has made a number of arrests in relation to a drug trafficking investigation in Burlington.
Investigation by the Burlington Street Crime Unit has led to charges against the following individuals;
Jahmael SMITH (22 years old from Burlington)
• Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Cocaine)
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking a Controlled Substance (Cocaine) – 2 counts
• Breach Probation Order
Christopher HANCOCK (33 years old from Burlington)
• Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Cocaine)
• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking a Controlled Substance (Cocaine)
Shane RYAN (25 years old from Burlington)
• Possession of a Controlled Substance (Cocaine)
• Breach Probation Order
 Available at numerous locations and on-line. This model sells for $86.00 Matthew ST ONGE (28 years old from Burlington)
• Breach Form of Release
A search warrant was executed at a Burlington residence and the following items were seized:
• 7 grams of crack cocaine
• $2830.00 Canadian currency
• Two cellular telephones
• Two digital scales
All parties were released on an Undertaking (to appear for their court hearing)
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers. “See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
Please be reminded that all persons charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
 By Pepper Parr
March 26th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
The city is going to hold an electronic town hall this evening – it will not be a web cast. It will be audio only – to hear what is said you apparently dial into the 1-800 number – which we thought was for people who were going to ask question.
 For an item that has been hyped by members of Council, the Mayor and her staff there is little in the way of clarity.
Cogeco TV is involved – a senior political staffer used the phrase “so I am told”. Cogeco was apparently a late comer to the initiative.
Earlier in the week the Mayor was doing robo calls to random telephone numbers asking people to participate.
Council members sent notices out to their participants saying: “We know there are a great deal of questions in our community related to health, finances, and supporting those in need. Call 1-800-280-9610 if you want to listen in.
The people who will be asking questions have apparently been selected.
“Important information is changing daily, and not everyone in our city has access to channels like television, the internet, and print media.
“This one-hour town hall will be open to all members of the public and provide an opportunity to hear from a panel of leaders including:
 President and CEO of Joseph Brant Hospital City Council and the Mayor
▪ Senior City Staff including City Manager, Tim Commisso
▪ MPP Jane McKenna
▪ President/CEO of Joseph Brant Hospital
▪ Medical Director of Infection, Prevention and Control of Joseph Brant Hospital
▪ Deputy Chief of Halton Regional Police
▪ Superintendent of Halton Regional Police
How to Participate
“Anyone who did not receive a telephone invitation can listen in by calling 1-800-280-9610 at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 26 to join the town hall.
“For those individuals calling into the town hall, please be advised that more than one attempt may be required to connect to the call due to the high volume of traffic on the phone lines. If your call does not connect you to the town hall on your first try, please hang up and dial the 1-800 number again.
“Information about the town hall has also been shared across the city through the City’s website and social media channels.
“We ask our residents to help spread the word to their friends and neighbours so that anyone who is interested may participate.
“Once the call begins, participants will be provided instructions by a moderator for submitting their questions to the leadership panel.
“Any questions that are not answered within the hour-long call will be posted, with answers, to the City’s website at burlington.ca/coronavirus, along with an audio file of the call and a full transcript as soon we can.”
By Pepper Parr
March 26th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
After completing two Special Meetings of City Council electronically the public is advised that meetings for the month of April will be done electronically as well.
The first was very short – nine minutes – and a little on the bumpy side.
When the second meeting rolled out it was quite a bite better; the Council members had figured out when to mute the microphones and to speak loudly and directly.
At the close of the second meeting Councillor Sharman had moved into his jocular mode and was rather enjoying himself.
The virtual meetings approach will be used for any Council or committee meetings scheduled in April. The regularly scheduled Council meeting for March 30, 2020 is cancelled.
Next Council meeting and property tax relief
At its next Council meeting, City Council will consider temporary changes to provide relief for the April 21 property tax installment to help residents and businesses experiencing financial hardship during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The temporary changes being proposed would mean that for the months of April and May 2020, with additional extensions being considered on a monthly basis:
• No penalty will be charged for the April 21 installment for all property owners
• No month-end interest will be charged for all property owners
• No non-sufficient fund (NSF) fee will be charged by the City for any returned tax payments
• Pre-Authorized tax payments will continue to be withdrawn. Please note: individuals on a pre-authorized payment plan that are unable to make payment can temporarily suspend their withdrawals from their account by emailing pap@burlington.ca. To suspend your withdrawal, the City requires notification at least three business days prior to the withdrawal date.
Taxpayers who sent a postdated cheque to the City for their April tax installment and can no longer make payment are asked to put a stop payment on the cheque at their bank.
We encourage taxpayers to make payments where possible during these unique times. Tax inquiries can be sent by email to propertytax@burlington.ca or by phone to 905-335-7750.
The two electronic meetings made it clear that debate and discussion is somewhat limited when the seven people are at different locations. Staff participation will be very different.
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward – chairing an electronic meeting of City Council with all the members of Council taking part from their homes, It went very well Mayor Meed Ward did a good job in keeping things moving along.
When votes were taken each Council member called out Yeah! We can expect that to become a feature of future council meetings when this virus has done whatever it is going to do.
The Region held their meeting electronically as well. The production values for the Burlington web cast were far far superior to what the Region broadcast. Good on Dave Thomson, Burlington audio visual technician – who brings a certain kind of magic to what appears on the monitors in the Council chamber and what is seen on the webcast.
Nothing yet on how public delegations will be handled. They are do-able; all the administration has to do is make their will known
By Staff
March 26th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police Service arrested four males in connection to theft of alcohol from the LCBO in the City of Burlington on the 25th of March 2020.
 The LCBO looked like an easy target for four thieves- vigilant staff and customers got a license plate number – police arrested the four shortly after. Three males entered the LCBO on Appleby Line just before 4pm wearing bandanas over their faces while carrying cloth style shopping bags.
The masked males proceeded to load their bags with various bottles of alcohol. A fourth male was waiting outside the store in a Blue Dodge Caravan and proceeded to flee the area once the other males exited the LCBO.
Witnesses at the LCBO provided a description of the Dodge Caravan and licence plate to police.
Police officers attended the area and quickly conducted a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle. All four males were arrested without incident a short distance away from the LCBO.
The following individuals have been charged with one count of Theft under $5000:
• Tristan Bird (18 years) of Toronto
• Ivan Bird (47 years) of Toronto
• Miguel Soto (39 years) of St. Catharines
• Michael Moore (39 years) of Toronto
All parties were released on an Undertaking.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective Constable Dave Macedo of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext. 2333.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers. “See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
People charged with a criminal offence are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
 By Staff
March 26th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
The growth of the COVID-19 in Burlington is very very small when looked at from a global perspective.
Part of the reason for that is the diligence most people have shown and the way the public is listening to the leadership from the Mayor.
On Thursday there will be a telephone Town Hall that will give the public a chance to ask questions.
To give the public a chance to get a sense as to just how bad things are in the rest of the world we have excerpted some data from a web site we refer to frequently. The source is very reputable. A link to the site with the data is here.
Set out below is data that shows the world wide status for three different dates.
 March 24th, 2020  March 25th, 2020  March 26th, 2020 The best way residents can prevent the spread of respiratory viruses including COVID-19 is to:
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. If you don’t have a tissue, cough into upper sleeve, not hand.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
Pepper Parr
March 25th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
We are all working at keeping our distance from others; going out only when it is necessary; washing our hands regularly and listening to the news to stay aware of a very challenging and changing set of circumstances.
What happens if you feel you may have symptoms – and think you should be tested,
You have to fall within the parameters set out by the Regional Heath people.
If they think you should be tested this is how it happens.
A Gazette reader advises that he and his wife went in for testing last Saturday.
No results yet.
– We arrived at Jo Brant for our appointment time
– COVID-19 Testing is done on the Northshore side of the Hospital where the old Emergency Department Exit was.
 Assigned parking spot – You pull up in your car to a designated parking spot.
– The Doctor contacts you on your Mobile Phone. Asks you to come in and touch nothing.
– We walked to the door where we were greeted by a very nice fully gowned Nurse.
– The nurse handed us a Face-mask and instructed us to use the provided Hand Sanitizer.
– You then enter a highly sanitized room (So sanitized it causes the stethoscope to corrode)
– They proceed to take your temperature, Blood Pressure, O2 levels and assess your breathing with the Stethoscope.
– You are then asked to lean back and the Nasopharyngeal swab is shoved up your left nostril so far it seems like it tickles the bottom of your brain.
– We were then instructed to wait 48-72 hours for our results. (Obviously this SLA that has something to do with the testing is hard to achieve)
We wish our reader well with the test results.
They did let them go home.
By Staff
March 26th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
The scheduled Burlington Transit Users’ Forum, has been postponed.
 No new date has been set, Bfast will examine holding the Forum this Fall when the picture becomes more clear with regard to the COVID-19 virus.
 Doug Brown in his happy camper mode. In a statement released Wednesday, Doug Brown said: “This postponement is a disappointment to all of us, but we at BFAST will continue to make submissions to City Council and staff to promote continuing improvements to a transit system that was making excellent progress in providing better service and significantly increasing ridership before the virus hit.
Brown said: “We see three major issues for transit on the agenda now. The first is to ensure that our City Council continues to support improvements to the system.
“The second is to make Council aware that, while we support the City’s efforts to develop a Climate Action Plan, its current approach will worsen traffic congestion and not achieve the admirable goals it sets forth.
“The third is to participate in the development of the City’s Integrated Mobility Program. To this end, we have been meeting regularly with City staff to help ensure the Plan points us toward a transit-oriented future.
“Despite our disappointment in postponing the Transit Users’ Forum, we are excited and optimistic about the medium-term prospects for transit in Burlington and look forward to continued progress.”
By Staff
March 25th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
With social distancing measures in place, Burlington Transit will reduce its service and operate on a modified schedule beginning Sunday, March 29. The new schedule will provide transit service for essential travel only.
With the modified schedule, Burlington Transit will operate Monday to Saturday, from 5:50 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. and on Sundays from 6:14 a.m. to 9:55 p.m.
A complete schedule is available at www.burlingtontransit.ca/schedules and Burlington Transit customer service can be reached at contactbt@burlington.ca, 905-639-0550 or on Twitter @BurlONTransit.
A reminder that:
• Bus fares are not currently being collected
• Customers are required to board and exit buses from the rear doors
• To provide space for social distancing, customers should use alternate rows and choose seats away from other customers.
• Burlington Transit’s downtown Terminal is closed.
By Staff
March 25th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
During a crisis like this the scammers come out from under the rocks they call home.
They prey on the frightened.
And they flock to places like Amazon to offer their spurious wares.
 Amazon, to their credit, is kicking the corona-scammers off the site.
In their haste to purchase high demand products, Amazon consumers are being duped by opportunistic sellers.
In response, Amazon is cracking down on price-gouging by pulling over a half-million offers and 3,900 sellers from the site.
That doesn’t mean YOU can stop being vigilant.
That cardinal rule once again: If in doubt – don’t
By Staff
March 25th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
The Regional Medical Officer of Health released a report this afternoon that was a bit of a stunner.
Halton’s 15th confirmed positive case of COVID-19 is an Oakville resident who travelled while experiencing symptoms.
We understood the number to be 5,6 or 7 confirmed positive cases.
If you know someone who is returning to Canada INSIST that they self-isolate immediately. The virus is now in the community – we can limit the spread by self distancing and washing our hands – try every half hour.
The most recent individual experienced the onset of symptoms on March 15, 2020, and then took two flights on March 19: Melaka, (believed to be Malaga,) Spain to Amsterdam (Flight KL2648; KLM) and Amsterdam to Toronto (Flight KLM695; KLM).
On March 21, the individual presented herself for testing at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital where she is currently in isolation. Those who have travelled on any of the above-mentioned flights need to monitor themselves for symptoms for 14 days from the date of the flight, and call their local public health authority if they become symptomatic.
As per established infection prevention and control protocols, the hospital took all precautions, including testing in an isolated environment with all necessary personal protective equipment. Halton Region Public Health is actively engaged in contact tracing and case management.
 Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health. “I want to remind residents of the importance of practising physical distancing, self-isolating and self-monitoring as appropriate to contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of our community,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health.
“We need to take COVID-19 seriously and take immediate action to protect all Halton residents including those who are most vulnerable in our community, as well as our first responders and healthcare workers.”
“We want to reassure our communities that our highly trained staff and physicians are prepared and take all safety measures to protect and care for patients and each other.
“These are unprecedented times and we are tremendously grateful to our healthcare teams for their response to this pandemic,” said Denise Hardenne, President & CEO, Halton Healthcare. “We want to thank everyone for practicing physical distancing and staying home to support our healthcare workers and those most vulnerable in our communities.”
Halton Region Public Health and health care partners continue to focus on those most at risk of COVID-19. Our current priority is to hear from the following people who have symptoms:
• those aged 60 and over;
• those with pre-existing medical conditions;
• those who have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19;
• those living or working in a health-care or long-term care setting or institution; or
• First Nation community members living on-reserve.
Residents must have an appointment to attend an Assessment Centre. Those with symptoms that meet one of the criteria above are asked to use Ontario’s Self-Assessment Tool to see if they need to seek further care. If you need further assistance, call 311.
Residents without symptoms are not being tested at this time. Those with mild symptoms that do not meet the criteria above are asked to self-isolate for 14 days, or until they have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer. Please do not contact Public Health. Residents with severe symptoms are asked to call 9-1-1 immediately.
To help slow the spread of COVID-19, residents are asked to follow the recommendations from Public Health:
• stay home as much as possible, especially when ill;
• cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve;
• wash hands frequently with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand rub;
• clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces;
• practise physical distancing;
• do your best to keep at least two metres away from others;
• if you are able, avoid all non-essential activity recommended and declared by the province;
• avoid all non-essential travel until further notice; and
• if you have travelled, please stay at home and self-isolate for 14 days from when you return home.
The federal government has made it an offence to return to Canada and not immediately go into self-isolation.
By Pepper Parr
March 25th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Earlier today we reported on the city decision to shut down every service being delivered by city hall and send everyone home where they would do their best to get some work done – this meant no one was in the building to handle any phone calls.
The city decided to rely on email.
One Gazette reader said “we should have a means to ask Service Burlington questions by phone. Why the Mayor does not consider that essential in these times is beyond a common sense approach to serving the residents in these peculiar times.”
 Angela Morgan Angela Morgan, former city Clerk, now the Strategic Lead – Customer Experience for Service Burlington said via email that “we are responding to most general questions within 24 hours. It only takes longer if the inquiry is about a specific service or file and then it has to be forwarded to the appropriate staff person and they may take longer to respond depending on the complexity of the question.”
Morgan added: “There are many questions about COVID-19; the nature of those questions changes daily as new information comes out from other levels of government.
“The other area of questions relate to city services and how to access various services, what is open and closed.”
City Manager Tim Commisso,added, via email that “Our technology allows Service Burlington staff to work remotely; the email volume being handled by SB has increased in past couple weeks between 50% and 65% depending on the service area.
Having watched two Special City Council meetings which were done remotely – one has to come to the conclusion that they work. A little on the awkward side – but they do work and any bumps will get ironed out.
Give them credit for making the best of a tough situation.
By Staff
March 25th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
In a stark, somewhat blunt statement, the city announced that:
 City Hall is closed. But tax payments are still being accepted. At this time, in order to protect the public and City staff and to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 virus, all City facilities including City Hall will be closed until April 6, 2020.
With the closure of City facilities, telephone access to Service Burlington is currently unavailable.
Please send your community questions and requests to Service Burlington by email at city@burlington.ca or visit burlington.ca/coronavirus
That was it – no word on what happens to that email you send in.
The province announced a 1-800 service for the business sector.
Why can’t Burlington come upo with something that will meet the needs of its citizeans – unless of course there are no questions or concerns.
Perhaps the Telephone Town Hall on Thursday will shed some light on the level of concern and apprehension.
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