 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.
 By Staff
March 25th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
The province has launched a toll-free line 1-888-444-3659 to provide support to Ontario businesses who have questions about the province’s recent emergency order to close at-risk workplaces following recommendations by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health.
 Queen’s Park – seat of the provincial government On Monday, the province issued an emergency order to close at-risk workplaces and encourage non-essential businesses to find ways to help their employees work from home. The government also reminded businesses to put in place protocols for physical distancing and regular hand-washing in order to protect the health and safety of employees and the general public.
Businesses who have questions about closures of at-risk workplaces or how emergency measures impact their business or employment can call the Stop the Spread Business Information Line at 1-888-444-3659.
Help is available from Monday to Sunday, from 8:30 a.m.―5:00 p.m.
A complete list of essential services can be found here.
By Staff
March 25th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said yesterday that:
Halton Region announced their decision to proceed with the Declaration of an Emergency for Halton Region.
 Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward The Region has already activated the Halton Region Emergency Response Plan and the Health Department’s Infectious Disease Emergency Response Plan and has been responding to the COVID-19 situation for many weeks. I applaud this decision and the message it sends to our community about the urgent need to respond to the COVID-19 situation and follow the advice of our leaders and healthcare experts.
The City of Oakville has also made their own declaration today, adding to the growing list of cities in the GTA and across Canada who are doing so.
In Burlington, we have still seen groups of people congregating in public places, visiting the homes of others, and engaged in unnecessary activities with other people. We are hearing of people returning from out of country trips and going straight to work or to run errands, and not self-isolating as required for 14 days.
I cannot stress this enough: it needs to stop.
Our health and well-being depends on it, as does the health and well-being of our healthcare workers and first responders and their ability to take care of us should we need it. As our Prime Minister said earlier today, if we do not see improved behaviour across the country, additional measures will need to be put in place to ensure compliance.
Yesterday’s announcement of the closure of additional non-essential businesses by the Province was a further step in limiting public contact and flattening the curve of COVID-19.
The list is now available on their website along with a 1-800 number (coming soon) for businesses to call with related questions.
The list of what is considered essential is far more extensive than I expected, leaving far too many businesses open, particularly public-facing businesses. If you can close, please do. If you can deploy your operations so staff can work at home, please do. If staff have to come to the office, maintain 6-ft physical distance and follow the frequent and thorough cleaning and handwashing advice we have heard from healthcare experts to keep everyone safe.
I and other Mayors I have spoken to today are considering taking additional steps to better protect our community and encourage more businesses to close voluntarily to better protect themselves, their employees and the public.
We have many amazing business owners in Burlington who have already voluntarily made the decision to close their doors for the time being out of consideration for the health and wellness of their employees and customers. I am grateful for their willingness to do so.
While only the Province’s list of business closures is enforceable by police, I continue to encourage Burlington’s businesses to use common sense and good judgement and consider if they can close for the near future without impacting access to truly essential products and services for our community.
The City of Burlington continues to provide essential services as we announced last week and there is no change to that directive. 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 www.burlington.ca/coronavirus.
We are very pleased to hear today that the Province of Ontario has made the decision to provide immediate electricity rate relief for families, farmers and small businesses paying time-of-use rates amid this crisis. This reduction will help offset higher consumption as more people stay home, and further alleviate some of the financial challenges many people are facing right now.
Earlier today after a telephone meeting of the Large Urban Mayors Caucus of Ontario, my fellow Mayors sent a letter to the Prime Minister and Premier of Ontario thanking them for their leadership through this difficult time and encouraging them to take additional measures to limit movement and enable people to stay home. We requested the Federal Government step up their fiscal response to support provinces and leverage fiscal tools that no other level of government in Canada has. We also called on the Government of Ontario to map out a clear strategy to support municipalities, whose finances are being severely impacted by this unprecedented crisis.
I want to remind our community that we are hosting a public telephone town hall Thursday evening at 6:45pm, and I am grateful to have MP Karina Gould and MPP Jane McKenna joining us, along with Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie and Superintendent Anthony Odoardi of the Halton Region Police Service, members of your city council and the city’s leadership team. More details can be found on our website.
Our top priority at the City of Burlington remains the health and well-being of our residents. We are committed to keeping you informed in clear and timely manner and encourage you to stay updated via the City’s dedicated website. Additional information on all COVID-19 related matters can be found at the Halton Region website, the Ministry of Health of Ontario’s website, and the Federal Government’s website.
Stay healthy, stay home, and be kind to one another.
The Gazette would urge the city administration to find a way to get Service Burlington back on line with people answering the telephones – there is a need for sensible answers to the questions people have.
By Pepper Parr
March 24th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a little bumpy at the start.
“Keep a cell phone charger on hand” said the city Clerk
Then “we hear you”.
The “..the complicating factor”.
Then “someone is still”
All just voices before the Mayor appeared on the screen and called the Special Meeting of Council to order.
Burlington was about to hold its first ever meeting of council remotely with the Mayor, the Deputy Clerk Jo Anne Rudy and Debbie Horvath along with Dave, the audio visual specialist tucked away in the equipment room.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward at the first remote meeting of City Council – necessary due to COVID19. The three in the Council Chamber, sitting about 10 feet apart, stood to sing the National Anthem while the six members of Council took part from their remote offices – which were in the homes of the members of Council
The Mayor then read the Land Proclamation and moved on to the first order of business.
The City Clerk and City manager Tim Commisso were also offsite, taking part remotely.
The city manager didn’t say a word.
The Mayor introduced an amendment to amend the Procedural Bylaw.
She had Councillor Kelven Galbraith move the motion, Councillor Lisa Kearns seconded it.
The Mayor read the motion into the record and handed things over to the Clerk, who was taking part remotely; he reminded the Mayor to ask Councillors if they needed any clarification. She did asking Councillors to let her know if they were OK with the motion.
 As each Councillor was voting a graphic appeared on the screen with the On Air symbol in the left hand corner. Each Councillor, taking part remotely said either Yeah or Yes – it was difficult to hear exactly what Councillor Stolte said – her voice didn’t come through all that well, if they needed any clarification. Councillor Bentivegna was loud and very clear.
Then the Clerk went through the process a second time to take a recorded vote.
The vote carried unanimously.
They then voted to receive and file information items – no one said just what those information items were – that too was carried unanimously.
Nine minutes into the meeting they adjourned. Done.
They met the letter of the law. Earlier in the meeting the Mayor said that this was the way things would be done in the immediate future.
The second Special meeting of Council to deal with the Burlington Hydro need for a larger line of credit was to take place a little later in the day.
That issue might call for some actual debate – it will be interesting to see how that works out.
By Pepper Parr
March 24th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
City council will be meeting this afternoon for two Special Council meetings that will be held back to back.
 LaSalle Park Marina before the new wave break was approved. One of the items on the agenda for the second session is giving Burlington Hydro permission to negotiate a bigger line of credit with their bank. The credit limit at the moment is $10 million.
They want to take it to $20 million.
One of the reasons for going to $20 million is the concern that some of the large hydro accounts may not be able to pay their hydro bills due to their own cash flow problems.
The decision to increase the line of credit is prudent.
 Joan Ford, the city’s Treasurer knows where every dollar comes from and where every dollar gets spent. She would have preferred to see reserve funds kept as reserve. While they won’t say as much; both City manager Tim Commisso and Treasurer Joan Ford would have liked to seen more in the way of prudence when city council decided to draw down $4 million that was in the Hydro Reserve account a number of months ago.
The uncommitted balance in the Hydro reserve fund at December 31/19 was $8,658,790.
Council decided to pull $4 million out of the reserve fund to pay for the wave break that was needed at the LaSalle Park Marina
Using public money to pay for the wave break was a contentious issue at the time – council took the position that a city on Lake Ontario should have a marina and a wave break was necessary.
Commisso and Ford are old hands at things municipal – they treat reserves the way some treat family heirlooms – you never let them go.
 City manager Tim Commisso. I could have sworn Tim Commisso was experiencing an upset stomach when the decision was made to raid a reserve account.
It will be interesting to hear what they have to say in the way of comments this afternoon when council approves the decision to approve the increase in the line of credit.
Related news story:
Hydro asking Council to approve a bigger line of bank credit
By Staff
March 24th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
There is a web site that collects data from around the world on the number of COVID-19 infections, the number of deaths as well as the number of people who have recovered.
The provider of the data is reputable.
That web site is HERE.
The graphic at the left represents data for Monday March 23rd,2020; the one on the right represents data for Tuesday March 24th, 2020
 March 23rd, 2020  March 24th, 2020
 By Andrew Drummond
March 24th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
There are those that believe that in the current crisis there is no room for opposition to the government. I disagree. We need to dispense with political games, but it is even more critical now that we question our government to ensure that they are pressured into taking the correct action to protect us all.
Nothing in the below article is a personal attack, but it is an articulation of how the government on Monday failed to take adequate steps to protect Ontario.
Monday afternoon, Premier Doug Ford made what was possibly his most statesmanlike address to the province promising a total shutdown of non-essential businesses in Ontario for the next two weeks as we all desperately try and “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 epidemic.
 Ontario Premier Doug Ford He genuinely seemed to empathize with the Ontario public and promised strong action to slow the spread of the virus. After the announcement, it was made clear that a list would be provided of what was considered essential later Monday evening. As has been the case for a number of announcements from this government, the details do not match the headlines.
Ontarians know that this fight is important. There are medical experts who have made the case that it is critical to both the safety of our elderly population and to the health of our economy that we slow the spread as soon as possible. Those arguments do not need to be repeated here. What is important to know from Monday’s announcement is how little is covered by this “shutdown”.
The government has listed 74(!) different categories of businesses that qualify as essential, many of which are written in incredibly vague language so that nearly any business except a wedding dress store would qualify. Below are some of the worst examples of exemptions to the “shutdown”.
Exemption #1: Businesses that supply other essential businesses or essential services with the support, supplies, systems or services, including processing, packaging, distribution, delivery and maintenance necessary to operate. (This is so vague to include pretty much any business that sells product to a grocery store. Is a makeup supply store really essential?)
Exemption #9: Businesses that supply office products and services, including providing computer products and related repair and maintenance services, for individuals working from home and for essential businesses (So the computer paper supply store is allowed to stay open, noting that there is a separate exemption [#14] to cover IT professionals).
Exemption #47: Businesses that provide products and services that support research activities. (This would make “essential” any company that has ever sold a product to a university).
Exemption #67: Land registration services, and real estate agent services and moving services (Considering Realtors an essential service is possibly the biggest example of how little the government cares for shutting anything down at all).
Exemption #70: Businesses that support the safe operations of residences and essential businesses (A retailer of floor rugs could for example easily make the case that they are supporting the safe operation of homes).
The government either cares about letting people stay home and be safe or they do not. There is not a middle ground to this. The COVID-19 is the greatest threat to Ontario in at least a generation and it demands strong action to fight it. The action announced today in Ontario is not the strong action that is required, nor does it match the action the Premier promised Monday afternoon. The 74(!) exemptions show that the government is trying to ensure as much business remains open as possible while pretending to take a hard line.
The most dangerous aspect of COVID-19 is that an infected person is extremely contagious for up to an entire week before they show any symptoms. As a result of the actions taken today by the Ontario government, many Ontarians will be going to non-essential work while contagious. While there they will infect their colleagues. Those colleagues will then go on to infect others and the disease will spread much more rapidly.
If Ontario took COVID-19 seriously and legitimately shut down every non-essential business, it is possible that we could come through this in a “best case” period of time, even though no one at this point knows what that is. But if the government insists on taking half measures and making speeches for the sake of appearances while shirking from taking the necessary steps to combat this, Ontario is going to be suffering through this crisis MUCH longer than it had to.
The complete list of exemptions can be found here
Andrew Drummond was the NDP candidate during the last provincial election.
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