 By Staff
March 30th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
A head on collision on Walkers Line Friday evening resulted in criminal charges being laid against a 73 year old male person.
The Halton Regional Police Service investigated a head on motor vehicle collision in the City of Burlington that has resulted in criminal charges being laid against 73 year old William Leslie Stiffl
 Just before 9:30 pm Friday evening, Stiffl was operating a white 2007 Chevrolet van southbound on Walkers Line. He attempted to turn left to proceed eastbound on Flemish Drive; did a wide turn and lost control of his vehicle and went up over the curb and onto a lawn of a residence on Flemish Drive.
Sriffl then accelerated and entered back onto the roadway. The vehicle then collided head on with a black Dodge Caravan vehicle that was travelling westbound on Flemish Drive.
The collision was significant and the male driver attempted to keep driving and went a short distance away from the collision scene. The Dodge Caravan vehicle was driven by a 43 year old adult female and had her 3 year old daughter who was a passenger. Both mother and child examined by Emergency Medical Services and had no apparent injuries and were not required to go to hospital.
Stiffl was arrested for impaired operation at that time. He suffered an injury to his face and was taken to the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital for treatment for minor injuries. Breath testing was completed and it was determined that his blood alcohol concentration was over the legal limit of 80 mgs.
Charges:
1. Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
2. Failing to remain at the scene of an accident
3. Operation of a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol
4. Operation of a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration in excess of 80 mgs
He will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in the Town of Milton on May 1, 2019.
The Halton Regional Police Service remains committed to road safety through prevention, education and enforcement initiatives.
Members of the public are reminded that driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol is a crime in progress and to call 9-1-1 immediately to report a suspected impaired driver.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to contact Constable Erin Toth at 905-825-4747 ext. 2305 or ext. 2310.
Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See Something? Hear Something? Know Something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
 By Staff
March 31st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 The snowfall in the Escarpment was a lot heavier than in the urban areas on the weekend – that snow is going to melt and work its way through the 13 creaks that run though Burlington to Lake Ontario.
Conservation Halton advises that a Low Pressure System has already brought upwards of 30mm of rainfall to our area with numerical weather models suggesting an additional 20mm of rain mixed with some wet snow could fall this evening, overnight, and into tomorrow morning.
The rainfall combined with the high soil moisture conditions has resulted in increased flows and water levels in many of our creeks, which are now near bank full capacity. Flow and water level increases are expected to continue into tomorrow, particularly in our larger watercourse systems (Grindstone, Sixteen Mile and Bronte Creeks).
Widespread flooding is not anticipated. Our reservoirs are still in range of our seasonal holding levels and have storage capacity available. However, fast flowing water and flooding of low lying areas and natural floodplains may be expected. Municipalities, emergency services and individual landowners in flood-prone areas should be on alert.
Conservation Halton is asking all residents and children to keep a safe distance from all watercourses and structures such as bridges, culverts and dams. Elevated water levels, fast flowing water, and slippery conditions along stream banks continue to make these locations extremely dangerous. Please alert children in your care of these imminent dangers.
 Conservation Halton will continue to monitor stream flow and weather conditions and will issue further messages as necessary. This Flood Outlook Statement will be in effect through Monday April 1st, 2019.
 By Pepper Parr
March 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The Red Tape got a little sticky this morning.
During the address she gave to the Chamber of Commerce crowd on the State of the City, Mayor Marianne Meed Ward told the audience she was going to do something about the complaints she was hearing about problems at city hall.
In her address she said: “… the goal of the task force is to bring businesses together to talk about what’s working, what’s not working, where do you need our help, so that we can eliminate the obstacles to doing business. That’s the red tape part.
“This is about a very focused task. We want to bring people together, and by the summer, have this group give council, and the province where appropriate, advice on what we can do better.”
The announcement was positively received and the event was an announced – it was billed as Red Carpet – Red Tape – the first of several scheduled meetings took place early this morning at the Waterfront Hotel where about 90 people gathered around 10 to12 tables to address three issues:
What isn’t working; What is working – and what are your ideas.
I was in the room standing quietly in the corner taking pictures and listening to the proceedings when I was approached and told that I couldn’t be in the room because I wasn’t registered to attend.
The Gazette was aware the participants were asked to register so that the Mayor’s office could determine how many people were going to show up – they also wanted to cap the audience at 100 people.
The material we saw about the event said nothing about it being media free. We published several articles on the event which is usually a sign that we have taken an interest.
My conversation with Victoria Al-Samadi, the Mayor’s Chief of Communications & Strategic Advisor was interesting – if a little confusing. Her concern was that the business people in the room were not aware that media was going to be in there and she felt that participants would not be as fulsome in their comments as the Mayor wanted them to be if media was looking over their shoulders.
None of the participants said a word while we were in the room. They weren’t expected to talk – they were participating in conversations with colleagues at each table.
Marianne Meed Ward prides herself on her experience as a journalist – she was more of an editor and a columnist rather than a journalist chasing a story – but let us not quibble – the Mayor understands media and uses it very effectively.
The Communications advisor then slipped back into the room (at this point she and I were outside the room) to have a few words with the Mayor – returned and said that I could be in the room once the wrap up began. So the Mayor was Ok with keeping media out of the room. There goes the claim to being transparent.
The conversation with the communications advisor was polite but animated. She talked about having her announce that media would be in the room and they could approach us if they wished. Journalists don’t stand in a corner waiting for people to approach them.
I had some difficulty understanding why the Mayor’s staff felt they had to protect the business people from media.
In correspondence later in the day the Communications advisor said: “I think we can work together very collaboratively in the future and ensure that you have access to the events you would like to cover. As I said, my intention today was simply to ensure our attendees were informed so that they have all the information they need to decide how much they want to share, and the words they use to share it, regarding their own businesses while they were in the room.”
Journalists refer to this as “news filtering” that gets done to control the message. The Region of Halton has more than half a dozen communication advisors who send out media releases about things like the opening of a new traffic round about or that the Region has a better corporate credit rating than the United States.
Fluff for the most part.
The Mayor’s Communications advisor did assure us that we would get a copy of the summary of the material that was produced by each table and we trust that she will follow through.
There is a movement taking place around the world to limit the role media plays. It is rampant in the United States – hopefully Burlington will not take up the practice.
The Gazette is a member of the National News Media Council that advocates for strong local media.
Related news story:
Red Tape issues discussed.
Salt with Pepper is the thoughts, opinions and reflections of the Burlington Gazette publisher
 By Staff
March 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
It was billed as a major part of the way Marianne Meed Ward was going to serve as Mayor when she addressed the Chamber of Commerce with her State of the City address in January.
She was going to listen; she was going to get right in the bull rushes and listen to the croaking frogs and learn what was working and what wasn’t working in terms of the way city hall serves the interests of the business community.
Early this morning some 85 people gathered around tables at the Waterfront Hotel and were taken through an exercise that was designed to pull out the pluses and the minuses of working with the bureaucracy at city hall.
The Mayor knew there were some horror stories, she hoped there were some success stories – and she wanted to hear them first hand.
People were not able to stand up and talk – these were business people gathered around a table with a facilitator in place to help the process move forward.
The crowed was asked to set out the challenges faced when working with city hall; then they were asked to talk about the successes and then asked to put some ideas on the table.
There were no verbal reports from the 12 or so tables – the notes were gathered up and would be made public once the mayor’s office had gone through the contents of the notes people wrote.
Mayor Meed Ward brought ward 2 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith in to help her – Galbraith is the only member of council who has significant experience at the small business level.
 Billed as a Red Carpet – Red Tape event designed to get at the problems, the event was described to the Gazette as a “registered” business people only event when we began to take notes.
We were edged out of the room, nicely by Victoria Al-Samadi, Mayor’s Chief of Communications & Strategic Advisor
We got back in when the Mayor was doing the wrap up and explaining that the event was the first of several phases to get at the root of whatever there were in the way of problems.
The next step is meetings with specific groups who would be invited to take part: Small business; groups that work with the city on behalf of membership, the Downtown Business Development Association, Chamber of Commerce, parking advisory group; big business corporations including manufacturers and finally the development community.
These will be on an invitation only basis.
The Mayor intends to create a Task Force that will look at the issues that become evident and task them with taking part in preparing a report that will go to city council sometime in June in time to include any spending that might have to be done in the 2020 budget.
Meed Ward made two significant comments: “If we find that Yes – there are problems, we want to move on them quickly. If there aren’t any problems – we want to move on and not waste any time.”
 It was a decent crowd – the plan was to cap it at close to 100 people Three of the city Councillors were evident. Angelo Bentivegna has been working the audiences at every event he attends – there is an agenda there.
That is certainly the language the business community wants to hear.
There are always people who complain about the pace at which things get done at city hall. The Gazette is aware of a vinyl record pressing company that had to wait months to get permits while more than $5 million worth of equipment sat shrink-wrapped on the floor of the space they had rented.
Then there was the dry cleaner who had to wait six months to get the permits he needed when he opened a dry cleaning operation.
Dry cleaning involves the use of chemicals – but there many dry cleaning operations – didn’t the city have the staff with some experience, asked the owner?
When he opened the second dry cleaning store he found he had to wait just as long. There were no lessons learned at city hall.
Then there is the developer who said to us just this morning when we were arranging for an interview: “Moved to Burlington permanently for our offices just in time to be subjected to a council that shuts down our business and a mayor who twice uses unauthorized videos of our site to stand on her soap box and pump up over-intensification even when it doesn’t exist. Nice warm welcoming feeling for a company that pays and has generated hundreds of thousands of tax dollars annually.”
Our guess is that he won’t be invited to sit on the Task Force.
By Staff
March 29th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police Service arrested two suspects following a series of residential break and enters across the G.T.A. The investigation commenced after the suspects broke into a residence on Goodram Drive in the City of Burlington.
The investigation led investigators to an address in Mississauga while also linking numerous break and enters that had occurred across the G.T.A from Brantford to York Region.
On March 25th 2019, investigators were conducting surveillance on two suspects when they were observed committing a residential break and enter. Arrests took place.
Following the arrests, investigators sought and executed three Criminal Code search warrants at a residence, a storage locker and a vehicle all located in the City of Mississauga. As a result, a large quantity of property was recovered that is believed to have been stolen from the identified break and enters. Investigators are still processing the stolen property to identify the rightful owners.
Arrested and charged are:
1) Antoni HAL (59 years old of Mississauga), charged with five counts of break and enter, possession of stolen property, possession of break and enter tools, uttering a forged document and fraud under.
2) Leokadia MINKIEWICZ (55 years old of Mississauga), charged with five counts of break and enter, possession of stolen property and possession of break and enter tools.
Both were held pending a bail hearing.
The investigation is ongoing at this time and additional charges are expected to be laid. Anyone who may have additional information concerning this investigation is asked to contact Detective Constable Pam Douglas of the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at (905)825-4747 ext. 2363 or the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau general line at (905)825-4747 ext. 2316.
Tips can also be submitted 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 Ray Rivers
March 28th, 2109
BURLINGTON, ON
“When students are currently preparing to go off to post-secondary education, we’re hearing from professors and employers alike that they’re lacking coping skills and they’re lacking resiliency….By increasing class sizes in high school, we’re preparing them for the reality of post-secondary as well as the world of work.” (Hon. Lisa Thompson MMP, Ontario Minister of Education – CBC Radio’s Metro Morning).
When it came to appointing Ontario’s new minister of education Mr. Ford had a problem – too many farmers and not enough educators. So Ernie Hardeman got the agriculture ministry. After all he’d been there before, back in the Harris days.
That left Ford with a problem called Lisa Thompson. He could have just left her on the backbench but perhaps the romantic notion of a goat farmer herding those gruff teachers amused him. In addition, Thompson has a certificate in agricultural leadership, so who better to shepherd the province’s kids.
Besides, having scant knowledge of Ontario’s education system might be an advantage. Ontario’s educators would never make the mistake of assuming she’s one of them. And she’d have no reason to feel any collegiality towards them. In addition, having that kind of barrier between knowledgeable teachers and a blissfully ignorant minister, about to shred their future, is probably a good thing. At least from Mr. Ford’s view point.
Her marching orders from the Premier were to chop a billion dollars or so from the provincial education budget. So she followed her instincts and did what she would have done on the farm whenever the budget got tight. It’s obvious. Cutting the herd reduces the feed bill.
 However, the fact is that more teachers and smaller classrooms have transformed Ontario’s education system. Graduation rates have skyrocketed from 68 percent at the end of the Harris/Eves government to over 86 percent today. That is a jump of 18 percentage points in the fifteen years the Liberal government policy of smaller classrooms had been in place.
Even the Fraser Institute, the go to place for your Tory Bible, hasn’t tried to minimize that statistic. They do quibble otherwise about test results, arguably cherry picking their examples. But even they don’t quibble that graduation better prepares our youth for their next step in life.
The Liberals increased education spending by about $6 billion over their time in office. After adjusting for inflation that is less than a couple billion dollars. That was the price Ontario paid for full day kindergarten and to achieve graduation rates approaching 90%. And does anyone, other than the government, argue that early education and completing graduation make for less resilient youth entering the workplace?
Lisa Thompson really needs to go back to class if she wants to understand her portfolio. A simple google search would have unambiguously shown her that the only association between resilience/coping skills and class size is that smaller is always better. Not the other way around.
So she made it up. Those “professors and employers” were fictional, or they, like her, are blessed with a keen ability to shovel goat manure. It’s dishonest at best, and how can we expect our children to grow up to be ethical, with that kind of role model at the highest level of their education system?
Lisa Thompson is supposed to be the minister of education, not the minister of propaganda.
 The grade rates are good for students on the academic side – barely acceptable for the applied level. The billion dollars Ford is after in education pales when weighed against the near $900 billion GDP economy of this province. And that GDP is driven by its human capital. There may not be benefit-cost studies which demonstrate the added contribution to our economy from smaller classes in high school, but it’s not zero. And it’s not negative as the minister would have you believe.
Teachers would rather walk on broken glass than think back on the good old Mike Harris years. How well they’d recall another unqualified education minister, a grade 11 drop out, who deliberately created a crisis and then started a war. And that war between teachers and parents and the Harris/ Eves government lasted until the bums were finally booted from office. Nobody is asking for its replay.
Lisa Thompson stepped in it, as they say down on the farm, when she shot her mouth off about something she clearly knows nothing about. Perhaps it’s time she moved on to something she does understand.
 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:
Class Sizes – Resilience – Lisa Thompson –
Smaller Classes – Graduation Rates – Fraser Institute –
 By Staff
March 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The is a small group that has been advocating for a postage stamp that celebrates the creation of the Avro Arrow; a twin-engine, supersonic interceptor, which could fly at more than twice the speed of sound. It is considered one of the greatest technological achievements in Canadian aviation history. Some of its innovative technologies are still in use today.
The Avro CF-105 Arrow was killed by the Diefenbaker government in 1959 to the dismay of many and put an end to Canada having anything in the way of a great aeronautical engineering industry.
Canada wasn’t seen as a player in the field until we invented the Canada arm.
 Next week, April 3rd at 7pm, several people from Canada Post will be making a presentation to the Burlington Stamp Club. It will be a big moment for them – they have been advocating for a stamp for more than 12 years.
They didn’t give up – and now they have a 5 cent stamps about the Avro.
No such thing as sending a letter for five cents but the stamps are nice.
 By Pepper Parr
March 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
If you needed a word to describe Vince Fiorito – it would be environmentalist, with a deep knowledge of invasive species.
The Conservation Authority of Halton named him the Steward of Sheldon Creek which runs behind his home. Along with junk that ignorant people throw into the creeks there are birds of every type.
 An adult mink climbs up the bank from Sheldon Creek behind the home of Vince Fiorito.
Recently, Vince had a visitor from an adult mink. It came up bank from the creek and was hunched down close to the ground. Vince wasn’t sure what the animal was doing or was about to do as he reached for his camera.
 The mink spots a squirrel who didn’t appear to be paying attention. It then became pretty clear. The squirrel sitting yards away was the object of the mink’s attention.
The squirrel became aware of the mink – and sat there, waiting for the mink to make a move.
 The mink lunges towards the squirrel – the squirrel looks for a way of of its predicament. Nature has its own way of determining who and what survive. The fleet of foot can win the race – and this squirrel was able to move quickly. Could he move quickly enough?
Or was the mink about to have lunch?
 Does the mink have its prey in its jaws? The mink makes its move. So does the squirrel.
 The squirrel heads for a tree – the mink heads back to the creek. And the fleet of foot survive.
One wonders what that squirrel had to say to the other squirrels in the area.
The mink was left to head back to the cold waters of Sheldon Creek and look for something that would be a little easier to catch.
The survival of the fittest in its rawest form.
Fiorito explains that he was taking pictures of songbirds with his Canon Rebel and a good lense when the mink happened along. There were two of them but only one came into the backyard. I took about 30 images rapid fire from my bedroom window.
By Staff
March 27th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
It is that time of year again – when we get to take a peek at just how much was earned by the civil servants in our community. It is that nosiness in our human nature.
 If you’re happy and you know it – clap your hands. The report, published each year was started by Mike Harris when he was Premier. It was called the sunshine list and the name stuck.
It is best to start with the big picture: The total salaries cost to the government was $19,207,224,624 in 2018, a 14.1% increase from the previous year.
That is $19 billion, $207 million, $224 thousand and $624 in payroll expense.
The media release refers to this as “unsustainable”. They certainly got that right.
Today the government released the salaries of Ontario Public Service and broader public sector employees who were paid $100,000 or more in 2018. Proactively releasing information on public sector salaries is part of the government’s commitment to being open and accountable to taxpayers.
 City of Burlington Clerk’s department staff doing their bit to raise funds for the United Way. The release shows the total number of employees disclosed under the Act continued to grow in 2018, increasing by 19,131 employees, or 14.5%. A large portion of the increase is attributable to the Broader Public Sector, which specifically saw an increase of 17,792 employees disclosed, or 15.4% in 2018.
In addition, the data shows that the number of employees earning more than $100,000 at the agencies that make up Ontario Health has grown from 138 in 2003 to 1,469 in 2018, a 964.5% increase.
Between 2003 and 2018, average salaries of all employees in the public sector, including those making less than $100,000, increased by 48.1%. By 2017, the average private sector worker earned $16,049 less than the average Ontario public sector employee. This income disparity has steadily grown since 2003 and the average private sector Ontario worker’s salary in 2017 is now 33.6% lower than the salary for the average Ontario public sector employee.
The 2018 data is available in a downloadable, machine-readable, sortable, searchable table format on Ontario.ca/salarydisclosure, making it transparent and accessible to the people of Ontario. Every disclosure dating back to 1996 is also available in accessible, downloadable, sortable formats.
The Treasury Board Secretariat has paused all pending compensation adjustments for public sector leaders, and all pending broader public sector executive compensation increases, while a full review takes place. Fair and sustainable compensation costs are a key component of the provincial government’s plan to ensure value for money, direct tax dollars towards front line services, and restore sustainability in the province’s finances.
More than half of government expenses go towards wages.
All the gory details can be found HERE.
Correction: In an earlier edition of this story we said the list was introduced by Bob Rae when he was Premier. It was introduced by Mike Harris in 1966.
By Pepper Parr
March 27th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The early announcement stunned a lot of people.
 26 storeys high – 250 units with a park and retention of the restaurant. A 26 storey tower on the north side of Old Lakeshore Road on a property that would run from Old Lakeshore north to Lakeshore Road at the base of Martha Street was seen as a bold move on the part of the Core Group – a Toronto developer who took their proposal to the public last night and, for the most part, got a decent response.
The height for almost everyone was the issue. Come back with a 15 storey proposal and you might have a deal was the way most people seemed to feel.
Mayor Meed Ward was on hand along with Councillors Nisan and Bentivegna who joined Councillor Kearns who hosted the event.
The existence of a one year development freeze didn’t deter the developers – they were getting their story out and, to some degree, setting the agenda.
Other developers in the room who had property interests in what is referred to as “the football” that stretch of land that is between Old Lakeshore and Lakeshore sat rather glumly as the Core people told their story.
 A 3D model was on display – showing very clearly where the structure would be and its relationship to other buildings in the area. The design is very smart looking, the developer used all the right buzz words – “context” seemed to be the preferred word at this point.
 The Bridgewater, while it has fewer storeys, does loom as large on the horizon The Gazette will report at length on what the plans are all about. The key features were the retention of the Carriage Gate restaurant and the creation of a park that will make the location a place where people will want to hang around and enjoy the setting.
The Core Group brought a team of six people to the presentation. They were professional and answered a lot of the questions – but there were some gaping holes in the context.
More later in the week.
By Pepper Parr
March 27th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
It all started more than two years ago. It was a comment from a trustee who hadn’t managed to be re-elected in 2018 that caught the attention of the Halton District Board of Education (HDSB).
At the time the HDSB had determined that it needed to close some of the high schools in Burlington and the battle between the high schools as to which would actually be closed was fierce.
When the decision to close Central High School was reversed those at Aldershot High School were concerned that their school might have to close.
Richelle Papin, who at the time was the trustee for ward 4, suggested that Aldershot might be a good place for an “incubator” school or a school that would focus on a specific subject area –perhaps a school with a strong focus on sports or the arts.
Papin wasn’t very specific but the mention was enough of a spark to get the HDSB thinking – and think they did.
They researched, asked a lot of people a lot of questions and met with anyone who had something to say about developing new approaches to the way high schools offered curriculum programs.
Turned out that there were a lot of people with something to say.
 At a hands-on meeting of stakeholders everyone got a chance to explain what they were expecting. After a lot of stakeholder meetings and conversations with people who were taking a long, deep, serious look at how high school students were being prepared for university and the work world HDSB decided that STEM – Science Technology, Engineering and Technology was a direction they wanted to go in –then they added an i to coin the phrase iStem which was what would be offered at Aldershot high school.
The standard high school offering would continue – the iStem would be an additional layer that would earn the graduates a certificate which is expected for entry into most universities in the country and position the holders of the certificate with great job opportunities.
iStem students don’t get a pass on the traditional class requirements. To get an iStem certificate they have to complete:
Gr. 9 STEM Math
Gr. 9 STEM Science
Gr. 9 STEM Geography
Gr. 9 STEM Technological Design
Along with
Gr. 9 English
Gr. 9 French
Gr. 9 Arts (Elective)
Gr. 9 Physical Education
 Superintendents Terri Blackwell and Gord Truffen explaining the justification to the Board of trustees who gave the go ahead for the idea. In the early days the Board thinkers were cautious- they thought they might attract 35 – maybe 50 students.
As the staff and the teachers get closer to the September 2019 opening they find themselves looking at 124 students enrolled in the program – far more than anyone was even prepared to even dream of two years ago.
The Superintendent behind the new offering, Terri Blackwell turned over every stone she saw and asked questions.
Getting the word out to the community was the task that teacher Kerry Sager was given. Sagar is one of these people who is best described as a “keener”. Once she has her eyes focused on the objective she is tougher than a dog with a bone.
She used every medium she could find to get the word out – she spent part of a day putting 1000 flyers on the seats of GO trains to get the word out.
And the word did get out.
Sager found that the parents of the students who applied wanted to be in on the process as much as possible – they see this different approach to educating high school students as a path to success for their children.
 Lead teacher for the iStem classes at Aldershot High School Kelly Sagar Deciding who would be a good fit for the program was not a process that went looking for the “best and the brightest”.
“There is nothing elitist about the iStem program” said Sagar. “What we were looking for were students who had ideas; things they wanted to get done and with the capacity to look at problems differently.
One of the problems the students are going to be asked to take on is called: Ship the chip – the exercise is to put a potato chip in a container and ship it to themselves and have it arrive in perfect condition.
In each of the grade levels the focus will be on what is being called a “tool kit” that will serve as a guide.
Year 1 – Engineer’s Toolkit In grade 9, students explore and develop innovation skills related to engineering design and design thinking. Engineers use their creativity and analytical skills to invent, design, and build things that matter. The design thinking process brings the lens of human-centred design to solving real world problems. These design processes will enable students to further develop mindsets that include creativity, critical thinking, strategy, and project management.
 The night that parents with their student children showed up for a briefing on the iStem program stunned board staff. The crowd filled the auditorium, then the cafeteria and then the library. Superintendent Blackwell and Director of Education Stuart Miller were surprised and delighted – they had taken a chance – and it paid off. The program at Aldershot will start with the 124 grade nine students who will progress right through to high school leaving. The difference is that they will have taken an approach to learning that is different than the standard curriculum. In 2020 there will be a new grade nine until the school has a full complement of high school classes.
These students are not top level marks types. There is at least one with a learning disability.
The selection was based on the answers the students gave to the questions they were asked on why they wanted to be an iStem student.
“The answers we got from those that were selected were awesome” said Sagar.
The space in the high school is being renovated to meet the different needs of an iStem teaching environment that begins in September.
By Staff
March 27th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
A Burlington resident isn’t so sure that the city’s plans for free rides on the transit buses from 9:30 to 4:00 pm Monday to Friday is all that good an idea.
He is questioning why do this? – we are just shifting riders’ times to “off-peak” times. If this is to increase ridership, it will not succeed. So I think it’s more to do with optics and politics than helping transit.
 Resident is going to rise the bus and ask questions to determine if people will use the free ride during off peak hours. Rather than just bellyache the resident said he will be going on a few bus rides, at various times, and chat with riders to get their stories (students, business people commuting, seniors, and those who choose transit for whatever reason).
He will report to you the Gazette readers on what he has learned.
Our writer was at one of the Burlington Transit public meetings and found it wanting – they really weren’t interested in what the public (the usual suspects anyway) had to say – just put a few dots on a map.
“I hope to have something for you mid-April.”
We will watch for this one.
By Pepper Parr
March 26th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Interesting how things change. What was once defined as an organization that had little if anything in the way of credibility grows to become what looks like a growing and politically influential organization.
 People were stunned – they saw it as mind boggling. When the development of a 24 storey development across the street from city hall was first shown to the public there wasn’t a lot of protest. ECoB was created by a group that was stunned by the kind of growth that was taking place in the city’s downtown core. The possibility of a 24 storey building rising across the street from city hall was mind boggling to these people.
The approach they perceived was being taken by the city’s Planning department and the degree to which the city council that was in place at the time was just too much for what was initially a small group of people who were described as “the anti-development crowd”
During the 2018 election three of the members of council seeking to be re-elected: Blair Lancaster, Paul Sharman and Jack Dennison would have nothing to do with the group that organized and held ward level debates that produced packed church hall meetings.
 Councillor Paul Sharman was a No Show at the ward 5 debate Sharman wouldn’t take part in the ECoB ward 5 debate, neither would Lancaster who arranged to hold her own debate. Dennison said he wouldn’t attend and jerked the ECoB people around with scheduling. Dennison did see that he was making a mistake and left a city council meeting early to take part in the debate at Nelson High School – he still lost; mostly because he was running against a single candidate with no vote splitting possible.
ECoB met a public need and has decided to continue to do what it could to ensure that there is an informed electorate that can be made aware of what is going on at city hall.
 Crowds like this for a ward level debate were close to an unheard of event in Burlington. They took up one of former Mayor Rick Goldring’s ideas – he created the Inspire Series of speakers that came to Burlington. It was a good idea.
ECoB created their Inform series –the first takes place June 13th, and will feature Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and Oakville Mayor Rob Burton in conversation about issues that matter to both communities.
Roland Tanner will serve as facilitator of the event.
The event was scheduled to take place in the Community Theatre in the Performing Arts Centre. They “sold out” in less than 12 hours after the free tickets were made available.
 Penny Hersh – ECoB co-chair One member of council wasn’t able to get a seat – she waited too long. A waiting list was set up.
Penny Hersh – ECoB co-chair (Roland Tanner is the other co-chair) looked for a way to book the Main Theatre which can hold at least 750 people.
“It’s a bit of a gamble” said Hersh “but the demand seems to be there so we took the risk”. Hersh added that some of the strong supporters wrote big cheques to help cover the cost. Kelly’s Bake Shop decided to be a supporter – think Cup Cakes when you are downtown next.
 Paper money please for the donation box at the ECoB Inform event on June 13th. And think donation when you take your seat – there will be highly visible donation boxes – think paper money.
ECoB is a bit of a different fish when it comes to their organizational structure. “Our goal” said Hersh, “was to help people in each ward create their own ward level organization that would focus on their issues. We don’t tell them what to do. We support them, answer their questions and give them any advice when they ask.”
There are active ECoB groups in all six wards. “Some are better organized than others, some are truly representative of the community,” said Hersh.
By Staff
March 26th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
It wasn’t a media event – it was a quiet, dignified meeting that included two federal Cabinet Ministers and the members of a war veteran’s family.
The Minister of Defence met with Jim Warford at 7 south at the Brant Hospital recently.
Bob Ankrett, Chair: Government Liaison for the Burlington Legion put together some notes and circulated them amongst friends, one of whom sent us a copy.
 Jim Warford with Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan, Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould and Warford grandson James “On Thursday March 14th I was fortunate to assist in the visit to Burlington of Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defence was visiting Juno Beach D-Day veteran, Jim Warford.
“Jim was and is a very active member of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 60, Burlington., including the planting of the tree at St. Luke’s Church with the Dutch Royal Family to the Vimy Oaks Ceremony or Remembrance Day and on to the Oath of Allegiance taken by new Canadians are only a few of the dozen or more events over the past two years.
“Together with other Burlington citizens Jim was scheduled to go back to Juno this June with his grandson, James, for the 75th anniversary.
“Sadly this may not be possible.
“When Minister Sajjan and Burlington Minister, Karina Gould, heard about his situation a visit with the Ministers at the hospital with Jim and 8 to 10 members of his family was set up.
 Minister of Defence Medal presented to WWII veteran and Juno Beach fighter Jim Warford “It was quite a moving scene as Defence Minister Sajjan with Karina Gould at his side spoke to Jim about his life during and after the War. Jim was presented with an award from the Canadian Government for his service.
“At this point everyone wanted a photo of the event mostly with Jim and the Minister of Defence. I asked the Ministers if they could sign the published book that had been put together by James, his grandson.
“Each Minister took their time and wrote something to Jim and his family in that book. I could not see what was written but I could only imagine after watching the faces of the family as they each read the comments.
“This wasn’t just an event of a Minister visiting a Veteran during a busy schedule. It was not rushed. It was respectful and kind. It was a veteran of Bosnia and Afghanistan knowing in his heart what this man in a hospital bed had given to his country and why he did it.
“In this modern world of instant feedback regarding bad things happening, not just in our own country but all over the world, we sometimes forget the good things we can do for each other. The people in that room on the morning of Thursday March 14th felt a little better about us all.”
 The Warford family taking part in a visit from the Minister of Defence and Burlington MP Karina Gould with WWII veteran Jim Warford at the Brant Hospital
By Staff
March 26th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
We now know a little bit more about what will be on display at the Joseph Brant Museum when it opens in July – which is the target date.
There will be three permanent galleries that explore Burlington’s rich history and heritage.
One of these will be The Costume Gallery, contextualizing social history during the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, and focusing on the famous Brant Inn and the Big Band Era.
 Often described as putting Burlington “on the map”, the Brant Inn featured many legendary entertainers such as Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald.
 An aerial view of the Burlington Inn in what is now Spence Smith Park. There was a time when Burlington was on the map, at least for the entertainment sector. The Brant Inn was the place to be seen and if you were a musician the place to be heard.
Why did it fail as a commercial operation?
The owner died, a member of what was an extended family took over day to day operations and things were never the same.
“The legislation is being implemented before parliamentary debate has even concluded and prior to any public hearings. The government created the Super Agency. It held its first secret meeting. The government dissolved the Boards of 20 existing agencies.
Yet the legislation has not even passed. Not only this but all public input and procedural protections that existed in previous legislation have been removed from this legislation which has been subject to no public consultation process prior to drafting.”
(March 18, 2019 – Natalie Mehra, Executive Director – Ontario Health Coalition)
By Ray Rivers
March 22, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
I know what you’re thinking. If it worked for garbage why not provincial health care? Right?
Premier Ford’s younger brother Rob’s claim to his fame, besides his crazy antics which put Toronto on the front pages everywhere, was privatizing a part of Toronto’s garbage collection system to save money.
 Bye bye local health care oversight. So why not use the same tried and true formula with health care? Of course there is already substantial private sector involvement in Ontario’s health system, such as long term care, blood labs, and most doctors. Still, the opposition at Queen’s Park is convinced Doug’s plan is more privatization.
And that might account for why Ford and his team are busy willy-nilly disassembling and dismembering Ontario’s entire health-care apparatus. That and because those damned Liberals designed and implemented the system. Cripple the organization, create a crisis, then call in the consultants from south of the border to clean up the mess.
And they’ll tell you the other kind of privatization is the answer. That would be the kind that violates the Canada Health Act – extra billing for health care services and opening the door to two-tier health care. After all Mr. Ford seems to enjoy giving his middle finger to the feds when it comes to national programs.
The problem is we don’t know. And Ford is not telling. That might be because he doesn’t even know. Perhaps he hasn’t had time to put it all together, given it’s only half a year since the election, and re-inventing health care is not something you do in an afternoon. Then it could be the advice he’s getting from his crony, the guy with nearly a half-million dollar sole-source consulting contract, his old friend Dr Rueben Devlin.
 And how are we liking this government so far? Are we paying attention?  Christine Elliott – Minister of Health What we do know is that a super agency has been created, and everything is to be managed and controlled out of this super agency. Think of the irony, Ford the Marxist-hater building a Soviet-style centralized bureaucracy. Just about everything, including the world renowned Cancer Care Ontario has now been merged and lumped into this one oversized box.
The government has shut down the 14 local integration networks, the LHINs, which managed and allocated half of the provincial $60 billion budget among the competing demands from hospitals, long term and home care agencies. They will get their local budgets dictated from Toronto now.
There is mention of 30 or 50 voluntary regional health teams somewhere in the future to partly replace the LHINs. But it is anyone’s guess how they would work, given their limited roles. And it is hard to imagine how 30 administration units would be less costly than the 14 that have just been eliminated.
 If the government drops a ball – who gets hurt? No question there are a lot of balls in the air. And they’re going to stay up there for at least another three years according to Christine Elliott, the health minister. In the meantime, I guess it’s muddle through, the squeaky wheel gets the bed pan, and before you know it’ll be time to re-invent the system. That would take us to the next election and perhaps the next government.
‘Create a crisis’ was the marching song of the last PC government in Ontario. And it sure looks like create-a-crisis Mike is back in town, and back in charge, at least in spirit. Harris presided over the worst health care this province ever experienced. The longest hospital wait times in the country; cardiac patients literally dying in hospital corridors waiting for surgery; and cancer patients being bussed to Buffalo and Detroit for treatment.
According to the provincial auditor Harris’ restructuring efforts from 1996 to 2000, intended to bring common sense to the provincial health system, cost $3.9 billion mainly to lay off nurses and staff, close down local services, then rebuild them elsewhere. And his system savings amounted to only $800 million, leaving all of us in the hole.
We should be concerned and maybe even panicked at what is going on now, at how rapidly these changes are happening, at how little analysis has been undertaken, and at how little consultation has taken place. Even the official opposition seems overwhelmed, gob smacked or just sleeping. There have been no public hearings on any of these proposed changes or on the changes yet to come.
 Rivers on Ford: “That might be because he doesn’t even know. Perhaps he hasn’t had time to put it all together, given it’s only half a year since the election…”, There is no provincial program more important than health care. And that is particularly true for senior Ontario residents – those most in need of its services. It is the largest public expenditure item using up 40 cents of every tax dollar.
During the election campaign Ford bragged about how he was going to fix hallway healthcare by adding hospital and long term care beds. So far we haven’t heard of him doing any of that. Instead he is acting like God, creating a new universe of health care delivery out of the ruins of the one he is dismantling.
Mr. Ford may think he is inventing the wheel, but unless he is a miracle worker, he is just fixing what isn’t broken. He inherited a system with the shortest wait times and lowest costs of delivery per person in the country. He’d better not trash it.
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:
Ontario Health Coalition – Elliott – Toronto Garbage –
Super Agency – Regional Teams – Cancer Care –
A Sick Feeling – Privatization – Two Tier –
Social Assistance – Grifter Government – No Consultation –
By Staff
March 21st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The news is that the Burlington’s Best award will be given this May for the last time.
There were 28 nominations in eight categories.
Nominations closed March 7, 2019.
The Best is an awards program that honours Burlington’s most outstanding citizens. The winners in all categories will be revealed at the awards celebration on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
This year’s nominees are:
 Citizen of the Year
Jere Hartnett
Karen Phelps
Fareen Samji
Junior Person of the Year
Connor Clark
Ana Cunha
Keziah Oduro
Noor Toeama
Joel Wakem
 2017 BEST winners Senior Person of the Year
Ona Allen
Trudy Csernyei
Sue McBay
Robert Redhead
Alan Stupart
Environmental Award
Salma El Ali
Iroquoia Bruce Trail Club
Arts Person of the Year Award
Gary Fisher
Cheryl Goldring
Sarah Gonyea
Gery Puley
Hayley Verrall
 2016 BEST winners Community Service Award
Kevin Andrews
Kathy DeSantis
Dani Heroux
Greg and Andrea Howard
Jeff Moseley-William
Heritage Award
Joan Downey
Marie Minaker
Accessibility Award
None
Tickets to this event are $35 per person. A dessert reception will follow the awards ceremony. Tickets can be purchased at the Service Burlington counter at City Hall, 426 Brant St., or by contacting Briar Allison at 905-335-7600, ext. 7458 or briar.allison@burlington.ca.
One winner will be selected in each of the award categories.
 By Staff
March 21st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Walking is a healthy exercise. It is also a time when you can think and wonder at all the things we have going for us and worry a little about the problems.
Walking with a friend is one of the most civil things a person can do.
 Just out for a walk. Burlington is encouraging members of the community to take steps toward better health with Just Walk Hamilton-Burlington, an outdoor community walking program led by local healthcare professionals and funded in part through the City’s Neighbourhood Community Matching Fund.
Join registered Kinesiologist Jordan Kilpatrick-Smith for a free, fun and supervised walk on Saturday, March 23 at 9 a.m. through Nelson Park and Sherwood Forest Park. Kilpatrick-Smith and the Just Walk team will meet community members at the Nelson Park parking lot located behind the Nelson Arena near the baseball diamonds (4183 New St., Burlington).
The walk will begin with a short educational talk titled, “Healthy Weight Loss to Gain Time, Money and Energy” followed by a guided walk at your own pace. Each walk is open to all abilities and pre-registration is not required.
Join the Just Walk group’s email list at justwalk-hb.weebly.com for information on upcoming walk dates and locations.
The group will be hosting 12 walks in Burlington between February and September.
By Pepper Parr
March 21st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The federal budget that was introduced on Wednesday in the House of Commons doesn’t get treated as top of the page new by most people.
The people at city hall found themselves paying attention when they learned that the gas tax the federal government gives the city usually has strings attached to it – this time the gas tax total was bumped up by $5.6 million – which covers a lot of infrastructure repair and upgrading.
This was good news for the City of Burlington
Yesterday’s federal budget included municipal top-up funding to support local infrastructure priorities. The City of Burlington will benefit from the one-time doubling of the Federal Gas Tax funding, which will result in an extra $5.6 million for infrastructure.
 This is where infrastructure money has been spent in the past. The federal funding will certainly help. Federal Gas Tax funding can be used in eligible categories including productivity and economic growth through areas such as roads, bridges or public transit, clean environment initiatives such as community energy systems or strong cities and communities via sport, recreation, culture, tourism or disaster mitigation.
City staff will bring a report to the Monday, April 1 Committee of the Whole meeting at 1 p.m. with recommended projects related to this.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward has been speaking with federal colleagues and confirmed that Burlington will get that additional $5.6 million in one-time funding and that it will be free of the usual restrictions we see from Gas Tax cash payments.
“This funding can be spent on infrastructure, on our roads, transit, brownfield redevelopment, sports, tourism and disaster mitigation, to name a few. City staff will begin working on a report to lay out the best uses for these funds for Council’s consideration.”
There is an opportunity here for citizens to float some of their ideas on what can be done with that additional $5.6 million. Don’t leave it up to city hall stuff to come up with the ideas. It’s your city – let both your council member and the Interim city manager how you would like to see those dollars spent – that’s was being engaged is all about.
 The chances of affordable housing in Burlington looking like this are slim – land costs are just too high. The city is going to have to think in terms of high rise – something in the order of 7 to 11 storeys. Mayor Meed Ward is “getting more details around the proposed $300 million to launch a Housing Supply Challenge that encourages municipalities to come up with innovative ways to grow its housing supply. She wants to make sure Burlington has access to these funds and adds that this “will certainly help us meet the growing need of affordable housing in our city.”
Real citizenship engagement:
There is an opportunity here for citizens to float some of their ideas on what can be done with that additional $5.6 million.
Don’t leave it up to city hall staff to come up with the ideas. It’s your city – let both your council member and the Interim city manager how you would like to see those dollars spent – that’s was being engaged is all about.
 By Pepper Parr
March 20th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Engaged Citizens of Burlington (ECoB) has moved into a new phase of its growth.
 They have amped up the energy on the engaged side and will be holding the first of their Inform Series; these will be debates, discussions – events that inform people on critical issued.
These are not intended to be dry, dusty, stuff, boring events. The first will take place on June 13th, in the Community room of the Performing Arts Centre and will feature a discussion between Mayor Rob Burton and Burlington’s Marianne Meed Ward with a Tale of Two Cities story line.
 Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward  Oakville Mayor Rob Burton The two cities, in some ways very similar, in other ways very different.
Over the last decade, Burlington, it is fair to say, has seen division over the direction of council, and the implications of intensification for different areas of the city.
Oakville, like Burlington, has to meet provincial targets for intensification. Yet it has not seen the major changes to its downtown that Burlington is seeing. Nor has it seen, so far, the strength of citizen opinion that has arisen in Burlington.
Join us for a wide-ranging conversation with the mayors of Burlington and Oakville, as they consider the contrasting experiences in each city, and what we can learn from the other.
Don’t miss what promises to be a fascinating evening!
Location: Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Studio Theatre
Date: June 13th 2019, 7-8:30pm
Cost: Free (Tickets must be obtained in advance, first come, first serve)
Tickets are limited! Sign up today to make sure you don’t miss out!
Register HERE for tickets.
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