By Pepper Parr
March 22, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The gloves are coming off!
While the Board of Education is considering adding more time for the PAR committee to continue their deliberations there are people who have been working on this file for more than eight weeks who are beginning to get very fed up.
“My personal view” writes an advisor to the Central Strong parents group is “ at this time is to STOP this nonsense immediately. It has become nothing more than another episode of The Twilight Zone.
The PAR committee members with the advisors.
“You, and other ALL other parents and concerned individuals from ANY High School who are VOLUNTEERING their time and resources, are in an unfair fight against people who are getting PAID by you to fight against you and to make you fight against your colleagues and parents from other communities. All the while restricting access to information that they control.
“I strongly suggest that a meeting be called’ inviting ALL parents, concerned individuals, and the media but NOT Board people or Trustees, to consider STOPPING this process ASAP.
Bateman high school representative on the PARC exchanging views with a parent.
“Do not issue a Report and refuse to participate in the BS any longer. Boycott this whole mess and send a petition, signed by everyone, to the Premier and Minister of Education, saying that ‘enough is enough’.
“No Report, No Decision, No Schools closed. All of the Parents and Students win until a FAIR, OPEN and TRANSPARENT process is established by the Ministry of Education. “
The advisor has asked that he not be identified at this point, has been helping the Central parents get data and plan a strategy.
If there is a meeting held the Gazette will cover it.
The line that “No Report, No Decision, No Schools closed” is not accurate. The PARC members are not asked to write a report. The Chair of the ARC a school board Superintendent will write the report from the PARC to the Director.
The PARC members could all walk out tomorrow – won’t make a difference – the Chair will still write a report and mention (maybe in a footnote) that the PARC members chose not to continue.
Hold the meeting and be as public as you can. Then have several of the PAR Committee members write a report of their own and submit it to the Director of Education and demand that he include it in his report to the trustees.
Don’t expect all the PARC members to be part of this approach but if there are enough of them – a majority would b nice – it will have an impact.
This is getting a little feisty isn’t it?
By Staff
March 22, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
On January 14th 2017, two male suspects were seen at Costco in Burlington where they began to follow a customer who was observed purchasing several electronic items.
The suspects then followed the customer to Best Buy in Burlington at which time; one of the suspects phoned Best Buy posing as a Fraud Investigator and reported that the customer may be involved in fraudulent activity. Staff at Best Buy began watching this customer while the original two male suspects made several trips in and out of the store while stealing merchandise.
The two male suspects then followed the customer from Best Buy to a Lakeshore Road underground parking lot where the customer left his vehicle unattended with numerous electronic items valued at $3106.00 which had been purchased at Costco and Best Buy.
The suspects then smashed a passenger side window to gain entry into the victim’s vehicle and stole all of the electronics.
Unidentified shop lifter captured on video leaving Best Buy
Police have identified one of the two male suspects as Gerald Daniel BLANCHARD, 45 of Vancouver, British Columbia who also uses the alias of Ricky WHITE. He was arrested and charged with two counts of theft under $5000 and one count of mischief under $5000. He will appear in Milton court on March 29th 2017.
Police have yet to identify the second suspect who is described as a white male in his 40’s with a heavy build wearing blue jeans, white t-shirt with a black jacket and baseball cap.
These thieves had no idea how deep the police coverage is in the high traffic retail locations.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Constable Mark Urie the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Residential Crime Team @ 905-825-4747 Ext. 2338. Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Pepper Parr
March 22, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a very productive meeting and the Program Accommodation Review heard comments that several thought they would never make – the committee had found its voice – and for the first time ever there was a round of applause from the people – 30 some odd – in the gallery.
The meeting – the fifth to date, started with an overview of the data that was collected through an on-line survey that everyone agreed was not accurate and had no validity in terms of useful information. Nevertheless it did reveal something.
The members of the PARC are not at all excited about closing any of the schools – and they want to take a time out and pause to get a clearer sense of where they are going.
Cheryl deLugt, a nurse, told the PARC members that she felt they all needed to take a “time out” and determine just what it is they are supposed to be doing. Many other members of the PARC felt the same way.
Lester B, Pearson parent Cheryl deLugt, who works as a nurse, told her fellow PARC members that she felt the committee needed a time out and explained a procedure that operating room staff use:
1-is this the right patient, 2-the correct surgery and 3- is it the right procedure.
Many felt that the PARC had not really found its way and didn’t like how the process had gone so far. They want to review what they have done so far and determine how much flexibility they have on what they can put forward.
DeLugt wanted the board to call a time out – pause and look at what has been done and what hasn’t been done and what they might do better. To follow the deLugt dictum they have the right patient; no one is sure they are doing the right thing and few are certain they are doing it the right way.
The Board of Education will meet Wednesday evening and the expectation is that they will revise the schedule that is supposed to have the Director of Education delivering his report to the trustees.
The sense is that more time is needed – quite a bit more, for the PARC people to offer some innovative ideas which they weren’t at all sure they could do.
1611 people responded to the survey. The details on the survey results are covered in a separate story.
By Pepper Parr
March 22, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Capturing data that is valid, balanced and detailed enough to tell research analysts what people think and what they would like to see done has been a challenge for the Program Accommodation Review Committee (PAR).
The Halton District School Board hired IPSOS Reid to take on the data gathering and the analysis of the data that was gathered as well as create the questions that would give both the Board, the trustees and the members of the PAR the information thy needed.
If you want to count how many chickens there are in a coop – there have to be some chickens – which is an awkward way of saying that IPSOS Reid was never able to get balanced data.
The first survey they did of parents at a December meeting was so skewered to Central high school parents that it was difficult to project what parents from all seven high schools thought about an issue.
The second survey that ended March 13th does not appear to have been all that much better.
IPSOS Reid presented an Overview of the data gathered on what responders thought of the six options for possible school closing were still on the table. The names given to some of the options were not as clear as they needed to be – for example 7b was to not close any of the high schools and change the Hayden boundaries.
Most of the options that came forward went through some modifications which added an alpha to the number. Thus 7b had at least two changes made to the original content.
The next piece of data explained who was answering the survey – a parent, a student – who?
The PARC wanted to know who was responding – – the vast majority were parents.
Which school did the responder represent as the next concern. What surprised many was that more of the responders came from Nelson high school which while on the list of possible closures was not nearly as at risk as Central, Pearson and Bateman.
Knowing who was responding to the survey, which schools they represented the researched asked the responder what they thought the impact would be for each option from their perspective.
The data for all six options was formatted the same way.
We have set these out for each of the six options.
Kirk Perris, IPSOS Reid researcher who presented the data on the second survey.
There were 1611 responses to the survey.
People completing the survey had seven choices from most positive to least positive. The blue area indicated people saw this as having a positive impact. grey was neutral, orange indicated a negative impact.
Kirk Perris, the IPSOS Reid researcher did point out that there was no certainty that the responses were all valid by which he meant that he could not say for certain that one person did not complete the survey many times,
He did point out that the average person who did the survey spent 22 minutes doing so which suggested that the bulk of the responses were valid. This wasn’t a survey you could race through.
Perris said the most important part of the survey was the comments people made – that data will be presented to the PARC at their next meeting on Thursday.
This option is slightly different than the option Board staff originally put forward. It has more to do with boundary changes than the closing of a specific school.
Once this option – closing Nelson was on the table the parents from that high school suddenly got very active. More Nelson parents responded to the survey than any other school – there involvement is reflected in the data.
Closing Bateman and Pearson would solve the 1800 empty seats – Parents at Pearson felt that if they were given the students that were taken from them and sent to Hayden they would be viable.
This option was the one the Board staff put forward. It had much higher negative responses than the option that appeared to be the most favoured which was #7 – don’t close any of the schools.
This option to not close any of the schools had the most or highest favourable response – but it doesn’t resolve the problem of those 1800 seats that are empty.
Closing just Bateman was not a clear choice – the positives outweighed the negatives but people felt neutral about many of the questions.
By Staff
March 21st, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Spring skiing can be really nice. It’s a chance to get an early start on your tan.
Not much left to the season though and for those in Halton, know that – Glen Eden will reopen for one last weekend of skiing and snowboarding for the 2016/17 season from Friday, March 24 until Sunday, March 26.
One weekend left in the season.
A combination of some recent natural snow, the remaining man made snow and some cooler seasonal temperatures mean the skiing and snowboarding season will continue for a few more days.
Glen Eden is closed this week Monday through Thursday, and is reopening Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Lifts will be running from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Lift tickets will be $22 this weekend (rather than $38 for adults and $33 for teens), and all season passes are valid (Super Value, 5×7 and All Access). Glen Eden opened for the 2016-17 season on December 17, 2016.
“We would like to thank all the skiers, snowboarders and lesson participants who visited Glen Eden during the 2016/17 season,” said Gene Matthews, Director, Operations, Conservation Halton. “Glen Eden enjoyed a successful season this past year with visitation returning to typical levels. Our grooming and snowmaking team did a fantastic job with temperatures which were above seasonal, particularly in February.”
The Glen Eden season typically starts before Christmas and Boxing Day and is usually concluded by the end of March Break. Last season, Glen Eden didn’t open until January 8, 2016, the latest start to a season in ten years, and closed on March 12, 2016, the earliest closing in the same time frame. Recognizing the varying winter conditions Southern Ontario receives each year, Glen Eden depends on making its own snow and continuous investments in snowmaking infrastructure
If you want to hit the hills next season there is an Early Bird special for the 2017/18 season on Season Passes and for the first time ever all the Snow School programs. You can register now for the Snow School programs now for next season.
The Early Bird features the best available pricing of the year on all Season Pass and Snow School programs. It closes on April 12, 2017.
By Staff
March 21st, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Between March 10th and March 20th 2017, unknown suspect(s) stole a 1999 International Model 3800 72 passenger school bus which had been listed for sale from a parking lot on the North Service Road near Appleby Line in Burlington.
The school bus is yellow in colour with Ontario licence plates BK8359 and “Hamilton Christian Transportation Services” written on the side of it (Pictures of similar bus attached)
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau @ 905-825-4747 Ext. 2316. Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
March 21, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Bikes that go for $4000 and $5100 a pop have been stolen from garages in the city that were left open. Police succeeded in recovering the bikes.
A thief appears to have scoped out a number of locations that had high end bikes in the garage and then made a trip back to snatch them, load them into his vehicle and drive off.
Didn’t work out as planned.
On March 7th 2017 between 11:00 AM and 9:30 PM, a black with neon green trim Scott Genius mountain bike valued at $4000.00 was stolen from an open garage on Blue Spruce Ave. in Burlington.
On March 13th 2017 at approximately 1:50 PM, a male suspect was seen stealing a black with white framed Cipollini bicycle valued at $5100.00 from an open garage on Casselman Court in Burlington. The suspect was seen fleeing in a grey Jeep Wrangler and a licence plate was obtained.
Members of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Residential Crime Team identified and arrested Trevor ARMSTRONG (30-yrs) of Grimsby in relation to both these thefts.
He was charged with two counts of break, enter & commit theft and one count of possession of property obtained by crime. ARMSTRONG was released on a Promise to Appear in Milton Court on April 12th 2017.
Police want to remind residents to take precautions to ensure your homes and garages are secure and to report suspicious people and/or vehicles in your neighbourhood to police immediately.
Anyone with information about this or any other break and enter and/or bike theft is asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau @ 905-825-4747 Ext. 2316. Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
March 21st, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
We are into the annual Fraud Prevention Month during which the Halton Regional Police Service Regional Fraud Unit will be hosting a Fraud Awareness Information Session on Thursday, March 23, 2017 from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in the Region of Halton Auditorium (1151 Bronte Road in Oakville).
Members of the public are invited to attend the free evening event to learn more about the growing fraud trend in Halton Region and how to protect themselves from becoming victims. Officers with the Unit will be discussing typical scams they have encountered and will provide a series of valuable crime prevention tips. They will also review recent criminal investigations they have undertaken in the past year or so. The session will be followed by a question and answer period.
Reservations are not required and light refreshments will be provided.
For additional information on emergency scams, follow us on Twitter (@HaltonPolice) or visit www.haltonpolice.ca/about/specializedunits/fraud.php
Anyone with information pertaining to a fraud or any other crime is asked to contact the Regional Fraud Bureau Intake Office at 905-465-8741 or Fraud@haltonpolice.ca. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
March 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
IPSOS Reid will not complete the analysis and formatting of the data on parent views related to the possible closing of two high schools in the southern part of the city. The data was collected during the first half of March.
They will deliver the data to the Halton District School Board on Wednesday in advance of the last PARC meeting on Thursday.
On Tuesday they will give a top line overview and discuss some of the major results from the survey.
There were 1611 responses to the survey which was apparently sent to every parent or guardian the school board had an email address for – seems like a very low response for such a contentious issue.
By Pepper Parr
March 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
If your household is anything like mine the Netflix subscription is key to whatever time there is for home entertainment or the occasional binge on a series you just learned about.
Lie to Me keeps me away from the writing – I tend to take in three or four episodes at a time
So when an email showed up saying there was a glitch in renewing the subscription I pay close attention, I didn’t want to be cut off.
I use a prepaid credit card for everything I buy online; that allows me to limit any loss that might occur should someone manage to actually get their mitts on the way I pay for things.
I thought maybe I had forgotten to top up the amount on the card.
If you don’t know what a prepaid credit card is – talk to your bank manager. A safe proof way to protect your real credit and at the same time limit any loss.
I have taught myself to look at the url on every piece of email that comes in related to money.
The url is the the name of the address the email came from. In his instance it read: (EXPLAIN)
Take a look at the url on this example: Netflix <noreply@netflix.ssl1.com> Anyone could have made up that email address. You could go on line now and create an email address that reads @netflix.ssl2.com
This notice was not from Netflix; it was from someone who wanted me to click on that blue line which would direct me to a website where they could begin milking me for personal identity information. Don’t get pulled into things like this – look at the url
This is a legitimate Netflix email url: Netflix <info@mailer.netflix.com>
This was a scam – you can teach yourself the same little tricks and keep your bank happy at the same time.
Few people have any idea how much time the banks have to spend handling the return o funds that were taken illegally from an account. That plus the money that have to pay out.
The cardinal rule is this: If in doubt – don’t. And if it looks to good to be true – it usually isn’t true. Trust your instincts and reign in the greed all of us have.
By Pepper Parr
March 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The leading news story this past few months has been the work being done by the Halton District School Board to close two of Burlington’s seven high schools and the work being done by parent groups to keep their local high school open.
It is no surprise that the two are at odds much of the time.
Part of the process required to close a school is a Program Accommodation Review (PAR) that crates a committee of people, two from each high school, who are tasked with being the official conduit for information shared between the Board of Trustees and school communities.
They were given a framework to guide their deliberations. They had no input on what those guidelines were.
PARC members putting their choices and comments on large sheets of paper. This was part of the process of whittling down the 30 options that came forward down to the six that are now before the committee.
The fourteen people chosen to do this work, which is proving to be close to exhausting, have a tough job to do – and the HDSB doesn’t make it any easier.
The biggest issue appears to be the data that is collected and the information the Board staff pass along.
Parents at a December 2016b meeting entering their choices on hand held devices as they responded to the 25 questions that were asked of the audience. The data had little relevance because it lacked any balance – more than 50% of the respondents were from the one school.
Two surveys have been done, the first on December 8th at the New Street Educational centre where those in attendance got to use clickers to indicate their choice on 25 different questions.
The problem with the data that came out of that questionnaire was that more than 50% of the people responding were from central high school. The data was severely skewed to the Central high school view of things.
The survey was prepared by IPSOS Reid, a world class organization that found itself struggling to maintain their reputation – admitting that the December 8th event was not one of their finest moments.
The second survey was done on line and ended March 13th.
The second survey was released at the first public meeting. It turned out to be less than scientific – anyone from anywhere could do the survey as often as they wished,
The data was in the hands of IPSOS Reid at the end of that day. Unfortunately the results are not in the hands of the Board yet – this being early Monday afternoon.
That data will have to at least be looked at by Board staff and then sent along to the 14 PARC members who have just the one evening to go over the data and arrive at their own conclusions.
The 14 PARC members are all volunteers with jobs that keep them busy during the day.
It is both unfair and unprofessional to drop a long data dump on these people at close to the last minute and expect them to make reasonable comments. There is no time for them to talk to their parent groups and get feedback.
Members of the PARC entering data on large posters. These people have worked long hours and are not being given the respect they are entitled to nor the information they need to form opinions and arrive at conclusions.
The PARC was created to act as the official conduit for information shared between the Board of Trustees and school communities. In order for the PARC members to do this they need information on a timely basis – and that just is not happening.
The Ministry of Education Guidelines on the PAR process are new and there are clearly some changes needed.
Consideration might be given to changing the timeline these people have been forced to work within.
The Gazette had hoped to have the survey data in hand and be able to do an analysis so that the public could be aware of that the PARC members are working with.
When a public is shabbily treated by a publicly funded organization they get angry, feel they are being mistreated and look for ways to vent that anger and disappointment. That produces events that are pictured below.
The turn out at the first public meeting where parents could see what the Board of Education wanted to do had hundreds of people show up. The second public meeting has Board staff limiting the number of people who could be in the very large room – they were close to exceeding Fire Marshall limitations.
Unhappy parents who are not given the information they need get angry – resulting in outbursts like this – no one winds and the reputation of the Board gets badly tarnished and the democratic process take a huge hit. Can you imagine what the next election of school board trustees in 2018 is going to look like
By Staff
March 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
There have been 10 confirmed cases of raccoon strain rabies found in three skunks and seven raccoons in Burlington since October of 2016.
The city is co-operating with Halton Region Health Department and reminding residents of things they can do to help protect themselves and their pets from the threat of rabies.
They are cute to look at but when rabid these are very dangerous animals. Caution your children.
There is a point at which raccoons are cute – when they are infected they are very dangerous.
About rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes severe damage to the brain and spinal cord and, if untreated before symptoms appear, will lead to death. The virus is spread through the saliva of an infected animal, usually entering through a bite or scratch.
After someone is exposed to rabies, timely use of the rabies vaccine can prevent the rabies illness. While the rabies vaccine is extremely effective if it is administered before any symptoms occur, there are a number of things you can do to protect your family and pets from the threat of rabies:
A rabid raccoon.
• Avoid all contact with raccoons, skunks and other wild animals
• Seek medical attention immediately if you come in contact with a raccoon, skunk or other potentially rabid animals
• Report all animal bites or scratches to the Halton Region Health Department
• Warn your children to stay away from any wild, stray or aggressive animals
• Do not touch dead or sick animals
• Do not feed or keep wild animals as pets
• Make sure your pet’s rabies vaccinations are up to date
• Keep your pet on a leash when off your property
• Ensure pets that have come in contact with a raccoon or other wild animal are seen by a veterinarian.
This is a serious health issue – children tend to get curious with animals. Not knowing that it might be very sick.
Caution your children.
By Staff
March 20, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
There was a time that all you had to do was skip town and your problems with the local police force came to an end. The advent of social media put an end to that loop hole.
The long arm of the law stretches from coast to coast to coast. For the 22 year-old male sitting in Hamilton’s Barton Street jail awaiting extradition to California for hacking into the Yahoo web site and making off with billions of names with all kinds of data attached to them, that arm was quite a bit longer.
The police now have tools that are difficult to defeat.
Halton Regional Police won’t be using motor cycles to bring back the two fugitives from British Columbia. They will be flown and the word will get out that the police are harder to evade these days.
Members of Halton Regional Police Service’s Risk Mitigation Team (RMT) announced that they have arrested and returned two wanted individuals to Ontario who fled the province in attempts to avoid prosecution.
Over the past few weeks, RMT officers developed lists of wanted individuals, confirmed that warrants were still in effect, and completed background checks on the intended targets. Working with the RCMP in Surrey, British Columbia, two individuals were identified and arrested. Combined they face 14 charges, including Possession of Stolen Credit Card, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime, Breach of Probation, Uttering Forged Documents, Theft Under $5000, Fraud Under $5000, and Fail to Re-Attend Court.
The names of the two individuals and associated charges they face are:
Joanne WALKER-CALLUM (49 yrs) of Surrey, British Colombia – Possession of stolen credit card X4, Breach of Probation, Theft Under $5000, Uttering a forged document X2, and Fail to re-attend Court.
Blanka DOLEZALOVA (53 Yrs) of Surrey, British Columbia – Possession of Property Obtained by Crime X2, Theft Under $5000, Fraud Under $5000, and Fail to re-attend Court. She is also facing charges with the Ontario Provincial Police
Anyone with information on wanted parties or parties who are breaching their conditions of release is asked to contact Sgt. Paul Harrower (Milton/Halton Hills) at 905-634-1831 ext. 2467, D/Cst. Tim Woollands (Oakville) at 905-634-1831 ext. 2208, or D/Cst Calvin Bulbrook (Burlington) at 905-634-1831 ext. 2387.
Tips can also be submitted through Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca or by texting “Tip 201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Pepper Parr
March 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
With Spring Break over and most of the snow melted away the citizens of the city can begin to look for warm sunny days – and fret about just what is going to happen to the city’s high schools.
Public attendance was good – not huge but those attending paid very close attention.
While many parents were out of the city the Board staff were working towards the last two PARC meetings that will take place later this week; one on Tuesday and a second one on Thursday. The Board would love the PARC to arrive at a consensus – the best this PARC is going to be able to do is go for the option that doesn’t close any of the high schools or choose to close Bateman if it is absolutely necessary to get the number of empty seats down.
This PARC has been less than satisfying to the parents and most of the participants. The process followed is a new one issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and it has some, (many?) bumps to be dealt with.
The 14 PARC participants have had a tough time getting a grip on the process and at the same time having to deal with a Board that has not delivered anywhere near enough in the way of data and information.
PARC Chair Scott Podrebarac on the left with city manager James Ridge on the right. Ridge had very little to say – the public was never told what his mandate was other than to occupy the seat allocated to the city.
The PARC was given nothing in the way of historical background and the reasons why the city now has seven high schools with 1800 + seats that are empty and one high school that is close to 150% of it rated capacity.
They were given a template to use as they made decisions on the various options that were put in front of them. That template asked them to consider, but not be limited to the following:
- Range of mandatory programs;
- Range of optional programs;
- Viability of Program – number of students required to offer and maintain program in an educationally sound and fiscally responsible way;
- Physical and environmental state of existing schools;
- Proximity to other schools (non-bus distances, natural boundaries, walking routes);
- Accommodation of students in permanent school facilities and minimal use of portable classrooms;
- Balance of overall enrolment in each school in the area to maximize student access to programs, resources, and extra-curricular opportunities and avoid over and underutilization of buildings;
- Expansion and placement of new ministry or board programs;
- Stable, long-term boundaries to avoid frequent boundary changes;
- Cost effectiveness of transportation;
- Fiscal responsibilities;
- Existing and potential community uses and facility partnerships;
- Goals and focus of the current multi-year
It would take a single edition of the Gazette to pick apart the 13 points in the framework – transportation is one of the better examples. Every time the question as to the cost of busing and the impact busing would have on the students was brought up everyone from the Director on own was told to “don’t go there” it is far too complex.
The issue that is almost as important as what students learn in the classrooms is how we get them there got shoved to the sidelines because it was too complex.
The Board has deliberately obfuscated on a number of occasions and has kept the PARC away from issues that are critical to finding an acceptable solution that is fiscally prudent, take into consideration the importance of community and strives to give the students the best possible educational advantage. Not an easy thing to achieve but there are some very smart committed people on the PARC. They deserved more respect from the Board than they have been given.
The PARC people had to learn new acronyms that the Board uses daily.
The principals or their proxy were on standby during most of the PARC meetings – they acquitted themselves very well. Not one of them stumbled.
The PARC members had to listen to data that was wrong the first time it was given to them and wrong the second time as well.
Parent groups from the high schools most at risk – Central and Pearson to begin with then Bateman and Nelson at a later date.
The public never got the sense that they were really involved. Meetings were held at which the public as not encouraged or given a chance to ask questions.
The five high schools that were not named as possible closure took a pretty relaxed attitude early in the process – when it became evident that Nelson and Bateman were being given a look at for possible closure they got active quickly.
The result was a turf war between the different high schools rather than an open co-operative and collaborative approach to resolving a serious problems.
Superintendent of Facilities Gerry Cullen gave a report in which he explained what was wrong with the data they were being given – that was the extent of it – other than to say that was what the Board was working with.
During all this the elected trustees chose to be mute. They didn’t want to “influence the process”.
The four Burlington trustees were on hand for every meeting – the others popped in on occasion. The city now faces a situation where all four of its trustees could vote not to close any of the high schools but the other seven trustees (there is a total of 11) could vote to close two of the high schools and that is what would be done.
What the PAR committee has to do is:
Remind themselves that while they were brought together to WHAT that they need to do is look at the bigger picture and determine in their minds what is best overall for the state of the high schools in the city.
PARC committee members from Ward 1 and 2 talking over what was taking place. Both were very direct with the chair.
Each PARC member needs to ask themselves why they are there: To fight for the existence of the school they represent or to be involved in a committee that looks at the available data and if it is insufficient then demand that the Board provide factual data.
The constantly updating data on the part of the Board is unprofessional and unacceptable and the PARC needs to tell the Board as much.
The PARC members need to demand that they have some direct input into the report that goes to the Director of Education. They should also demand that they be given the time and the resources to critique the report the Director gives the trustees March 29th.
Demand that the Board not rush the PARC – these 14 people have full time jobs that require time – as volunteers their time needs to be respected. The PARC should not be made slaves to a time line the board created.
Somewhere in this crowd are a number of Board of Education Superintendents explaining as best they can what the preferred school closing option is and why it makes sense. Many of the parents weren’t buying it.
The PARC has yet to find its voice – hopefully the Spring Break will have given everyone some time to catch their breath and provide the city with the service each one is capable of giving.
There is a lot more riding on this decision than most people realize.
By Pepper Parr
March 20, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
She was born in Burlington, graduated from Lester B. Pearson High School and went on to the University of Guelph where she earned an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts and a second degree in Landscape Architecture..
Tamara Kwapich then realized that unless she learned to drive a cab she wasn’t going to make much in the way of a living and took a course in Computer Aided drafting at Mohawk College, then toiled for a number of years and put oil on canvas while developing her art style.
Tamara Kwapich
She married her high school sweetheart (set her eyes on him when she was 14) and got to know him much better when she was 18.
Upon graduation Tamara and her husband spent eight months in Poland teaching English.
Now an established artist with two grown boys Tamara looks around her and wonders – “what’s next”?
She has been part of the Art In Action tours and was selected as one of six people to do a mural in a specific ward of the city.
Tamara chose Ward 5, the Orchard and, in a light almost whimsical way, she caught what the Orchard once was; acre upon acre of fruit trees that made Burlington the produce capital of the country.
The Orchard mural is on a field house beside Alexander’s public school on Sutton Drive. You can’t miss it.
When one stands back from the mural and glances to the left and the right you can imagine what those fields of fruit trees used to look like.
The Orchard. If you are in he area pull over and take a close look at the faces down into most of the apples. The community wasn’t called the Orchard because someone liked the name – that is what it once was.
The day we took the photographs it was cold, blustery with the few people that were out walking quickly to keep warm. One wonders if the earth did not ask – what did you do with the trees that used to be here?
The Owl and the Pussy Cat.
Kwapich currently has an exhibit of her work on display in the Fireside Room and the Art Gallery of Burlington. The style she used in those painting is considerably different than the orchard mural. Her “The Owl and the Pussy Cat is one the best we have seen.
Big art however seems to have gotten a grip on Kwapich; she has entered the competition for public art on sports facilities in the city. She wants to paint large air balloons and have them floating along the side of the Mainway arena.
Kwapich wants to paint big – “I want more physicality in my work”, she said and dreams of being hoisted up on a lift and so she can paint away at a large picture that will be seen by thousands of people
The big big murals are not the only thing that interest Kwapich – she is thinking about doing paintings of older people, portraits that show the wrinkles and the character in people’s faces.
Kwapich doesn’t have much interest in the photo-shopped look that is sought by people who want to control what an artist creates.
Boy on a roof near a cherry tree – the boy happens to be one of Tamara Kwapich’s sons
Making art in Burlington is not an easy row to hoe. Kwapich is aware of the city’s cultural stagnation and also very aware of how difficult it is to find affordable studio space. Burlington didn’t have very many factories that could be converted into loft for artists and musicians. Imagine what could have been done with the Aylmer canning factory that used to sit at the bottom of Brant Street – what an artist colony that could have become.
The saving grace for the arts community in Burlington is the amount of money the city is prepared to spend on public art.
There are murals, there is a nice piece of sculpture that was unfortunately out in the wrong place but that doesn’t take way from the quality of the art.
Tamara Kwapich’s submission for the art competition to celebrate what sports has done for the city.
There are plans to put murals on the sides or th grounds of sports facilities around the city. The Spiral Stella outside the Performing Arts Centre is a treasure that doesn’t seem to get the public exposure it deserves
Is the boy the prey? Or is the fox wondering why he is there? And what does the owl have to say about what is taking place?
There was a bit of a hope at one point that space would be available in the Beachway Park that is still in the design stage but it looks as if the plan is to ‘Disneyfy’ that part of the city and make it a destination of some sort. Artists done grow in that kind of environment and while there is a segment of every population that will always buy Elvis on velvet – it isn’t what Kwapich sees herself doing in the years ahead.
The city is still groping and trying to find the artist in itself; no clear direction yet.
Kwapich sees artistic growth for herself in those large murals the city is putting real coin on the table to have done – and she kind of likes the idea of doing portraits that are different, something that is more interested in capturing the character rather than the look of the person.
Certainly something well worth trying – is Burlington ready for that level of art?
The Kwapich art is on exhibit at the AGB until the end of the month.
By Pepper Parr
March 19th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Tom Muir’s bottom line is that “the Board is cooking the books”.
Tom Muir at a downtown planning discussion put on by Ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward.
Muir, is a Burlington resident who lives in Aldershot. He is a retired federal civil servant and a trenchant observer of what goes on in his city. He was once described as an “acerbic” personality which Muir thought was pretty accurate.
The Board cited two reasons for asking the trustees to hold a Program Accommodation Review:
Condition 1: Low Utilization, Enhance Secondary Programming and Learning Opportunities
Condition 2: Enhance Secondary Programming and Learning Opportunities
The first citing under-utilization of two schools at or below the 65% level is because the Board has cooked the boundaries and feeder distributions to produce that result.
They have done this, says Muir because the 1800 + empty seats in the seven high schools are the result of what the Board did back in 2009 to fill the new high school they convinced themselves was needed for neighbours close to Dundas Street and the homes being built in the newly created Alton Village.
Muir maintains the Board didn’t explain this to “the public or parents”. He adds that the PAR should have held the Bord accountable for that failure because the under-utilization of the existing six schools was part of what the Board knew was going to happen. The Board knew that surplus seats would be produced.” Muir adds “that was known, and part and parcel of the plan, at the time that the Hayden school was being planned.”
They made a deal with the Ministry, claims Muir, to at least partly fund new seats at Hayden by a “future disposition of surplus assets” which would be school properties – which they later identified as Central and Pearson high schools. “This is what they are trying to do now” said Muir.
The overall utilization is 75 to 80%. The new seats in Hayden are at 118 to 150 % – over-utilization of 214 to 604 seats.
Stuart Miller during a Q&A that was webcast by the school board.
According to the Directors Preliminary report, this will only get worse with growth, infill, and other development that is presently assigned to the Hayden boundaries and feeder distribution. These distributions are part of the recipe used to cook the result the Board wants.
In addition, the Board’s population and pupil yield models are projecting enrollment that is too low. The Board knows this but it still using a an enrollment model that produces bad projections. This happened when they did projections in the Alton Village, and this is known, but are still being used.
Muir believes this can be fixed. He suggests a “reshuffle of the city-wide boundaries and feeders can keep all schools above 65%, and move the average utilization toward the 75 to 80% level.
Muir opines that this is not what the Board wants. Not only that, but they are using the cooked books to show only the part of the feasible options that favor what they want, which is closures.
“I would add that the path the Board is on leads to another key logical implication, not yet in people’s consciousness, which is due to the overflowing utilization, portables, and over-directing of new pupils to Hayden” said Muir.
He adds: ” In time, with no boundary and feeder changes to balance things, the stated continued growth there, and actual population and pupil yields that have been over the Board estimates used, there will be another over-utilization based demand for another school. It’s a clear consequence of not changing how the utilization is managed and balanced.
Central high school is the oldest in the city – and needs a lot of repair work. Parents ask why that upgrading work was not done during the past 10 years.
Director of Education Stuart Miller responds with: It doesn’t matter where we put the boundaries or how we organize the feeder schools – none of these is going to produce students to fill those 1800 empty seats. And the Ministry of Education is not going to give the Halton District School Board any money to pay for maintaining those seats.
It appears however that funds will be available to do all the work that will come about should the Trustees decide to approve the closing of schools.
There is some hard number crunching to be done to determine just how much it is going to cost to close schools and what is really involved financially long term to keep them open.
Condition 2: Enhance Secondary Programming and Learning Opportunities
The second condition cited in the Directors report to the trustees was that reorganization involving the school or group of schools could enhance program delivery and learning opportunities for students.
“Director Miller repetitively says, and told me personally, that this PAR is only about the students and what is good for them.”
Director of Education Stuart Miller preparing for a public meeting at Central high school.
“I have asked Director Miller, the Board, Trustees, and the PARC for a detailed accounting of how much money will be saved, how many new courses will be offered, what will the courses be, how will the courses benefits the students, to how many new students, at what schools, and so on, in a detailed accounting.
“This information has never been provided and doesn’t seem to be in the offing.
Muir wants to know how if no such information is provided can the PAR condition be met.
“Also, maybe people don’t know, but the Board doesn’t have to spend the savings from closures, or other measures, on providing these additional classes and opportunities.”
Before we make such decisions based on assumptions, the PARC and Trustees should be asking for the information I asked for, and for Board and Director assurances that this will be delivered.
Muir maintains “this cooking of data and misinformation by the Board was started and done to get Hayden opened. They are doing it in order to smokescreen the options toward the closures they want and that were agreed to with the Ministry in 2009.
This means that all feasible options, of which there are many, are not being explored and explained.
All management and cost-benefit data and information is not being provided.
Muir argues that “the Board has no credibility and cannot be trusted. He told the PARC and the Trustees at the start of this PAR process, “that this is what the Board staff will do to them, and that if they tolerate it, they will be led down the garden path, which is what is happening. The Director is not their friend. The Board are not their allies.”
Parents listening to the proceedings of the PARC
Muir believes that the only thing that will save all their schools is solidarity. “You have to pull together. You have to demand the information you want and need to meet the PAR conditions and as many criteria as you set to meet yourself.
At bottom, the only power, and this is the real trump card of the Trustees, is that they have the power of the law.
No matter what anyone says or does, Board or Director, Ministry, the Trustees decide with their votes what will actually done.
Four of the eleven Halton District school board trustees listening to the presentation given by Board Staff early in December.
The Trustees are the law.
Muir pleads that PARC members not “waste this power fighting among each other, because you are all at risk, either now or in the not too distant future.”
Muir believes all the misleading misinformation, and the way the system talks in code, and partial truth is at the root of the problem the community faces. “Remember” advises Muir,” every partial truth is the beginning of a new lie.”
Catchment boundaries are complex – the PAR committee was faced with 30 options to deal with. The prime concern for many was the lack of a high school that would serve the families in the downtown core. Aldershot on the left appears to have the balance needed – in the east end of the city Nelson and Bateman have catchments that overlap – which raised the question: Should either Bateman or Nelson be closed?
Tom Muir is not the easiest man to get along with. He is direct, being polite is not his objective. Facts looked at logically will produce results that can be lived with is where he comes from.
Several months ago when Muir was delegating at city council, when Council wanted to reduce delegation time from 10 minutes to five he said:
“I would hope that Council votes in favor of the 10 minutes unanimously, as a show of good faith. I will say that a vote to reduce to 5 minutes is something I see as an insult to citizens and their possible contribution to what we do as a city – our city.”
“Further, if Councillors still want to vote down the 10 minutes, I say this. If you are so tired of and frustrated by, listening to the views of the people that elected you, then maybe you have been doing this job too long and should quit. I mean that, and will not forget how this vote goes tonight. “
“This Council is not your Council; it is the people’s Council.
“And these Council Chambers are not your Chambers, but are equally, the people’s Chambers. All the Councillors and Councils hold these offices and chambers in trust. A vote to reduce the people’s time to speak in these chambers is to fail in that trust.”
City council kept delegations at the 10 minute level.
The Halton District School Board exists to serve the needs and desires of the public not the wishes of the Director of Education and senior staff.
Muir thinks quiet, polite demonstrations (the Burlington model) are not the answer. Demanding accurate data on a timely basis so that people can make informed decisions is the only way parents are going to be heard is Muir’s advice.
When the closure of high schools in the city became a public issue Muir had some advice for the parents that were going to be impacted.
“If parents don’t let their outrage loose, and in mass numbers demand answers to their key questions, on a schedule parents set, to the Board, and the Trustees, and your Councillor and Mayor, and right now, immediately, then the trip down the garden path will continue.
“Parents have to self-organize and go to war for what they want. Sheep are for slaughter. They are the big bad wolf.
“If parents don’t do this, then give up, because they will just put you down slowly, on their schedule, with their information driving the bus your kids are on.
“Don’t kid yourself, and don’t go quietly.”
By Staff
March 18th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The arrest earlier this week of Karim Bartov. a technically brilliant young man, who lived in Ancaster is both sort of local news and a look into how thieves steal your money and when they can your personal identification.
They use a process call phishing – which is basically an email sent to you, which you might want to respond to if you think it comes from an organization you do business with. Your bank, Netflix, Canada Post and Apple are just a few of those we have seen used.
Karim Bartov flashing a big handful of $100 bills.
The thieves buy tens of thousands of names and fire off an email to see who might bite – thus the word phshing.
Where do the names come from? – the young man from Ancaster arrested earlier in the week had hacked into the Yahoo web site and took hundreds of millions of names and sold them to others.
Those names were your identity which they were selling to people who would use them to send out those emails that pop up in your incoming email.
The cars were fast -hat about the women?
There is almost no limit to what they creeps will do.
Karim Bartov was arrested earlier in the week on a warrant from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for breaking into the Yahoo computer servers where billions of names and all kinds of personal identity information was stored.
Bartov’s skills were such that he was able to actually take over the operation of the software that controlled the servers. He is accused of working with federal Russian agents
The following is an example of a phishing attempt:
With the introduction of our company into the US and Canada markets, We are currently seeking services of a Representative and Accounts Receivable Personnel/Manager. These positions are on part time bases, requires less than 4hrs weekly and pays between 5,200 to 10,000 monthly with other benefits.
If you are interested this position, visit our website below and click on BECOME A FIDUCIARY AGENT fill out the form and send to us for more information
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best Regards,
Willaim Gifford.
www.the-ggallery.net
giffordgallery@protonmail.com
If you no longer wish to receive information regarding this offer, please reply to this message with the word “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.
This one is filled with red flags.
The amount they are offering to pay for a few hours work appeals to the greed that we all have.
The Christian name of the sender is spelt incorrectly.
Karim Bartov – a selfie of a selfie
The final insult was the line saying you could unsubscribe. When you do that you have given the thief a name that he knows will respond to something,
When you see what to you doesn’t look right – respect your instincts – delete the email – and remain vigilant because there will be more of them.
The Gazette was talking to a bank manager on Friday who casually said he had cleared an Identity Theft claim for more than $7000 – “and that was just one” he added.
Bartov is now in a Hamilton jail cell awaiting a bail hearing.
By Staff
March 18th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Police in Burlington are seeking assistance from the public to identify four persons responsible for a series of thefts from vehicles overnight on March 14/15th from rural driveways in north Burlington. One victim had credit cards stolen which were used fraudulently at several locations in the City of Burlington. Four suspects were observed at the various locations.
Theft from autos continue to be a concern in Burlington, particularly when windows are smashed to gain entry.
A second series of thefts from vehicles occurred in the same rural area of Burlington overnight on March 16/17th. Police would like to remind people to avoid leaving valuables inside and/or in plain view. Police also encourage citizens to report any suspicious persons.
Anyone who can identify these suspects is asked to contact Det. Ellie Bale of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Residential Property Crime Team @ 905-825-4747 ext 2312. Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
March 17th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Lowville Festival will again be presenting artistic experiences for audiences old and young in north Burlington’s Escarpment country May 26th to May 28th.
This year’s Festival, the third annual, will a couple of stellar headline attractions, including legendary Canadian guitarist Liona Boyd and the celebrated Toronto comedy troupe Second City.
What are the sounds of the Escarpment?
The Lowville Festival defines itself as “a festival of all the arts for the artist in all of us”. The ultimate aim is not only to feature all of the performing, visual and literary arts, but also to provide opportunities for attendees to participate in the creative process. To that end, local singers are again invited to join the Lowville Festival Choir, which will appear in the opening concert. And budding visual artists will have an opportunity to participate in demonstrations in Saturday’s Sights and Sounds in the Escarpment, the Festival’s first collaboration with the Art Gallery of Burlington.
Kudo’s to both Bob Missen and Robert Stephen, president of the AGB, for getting in bed together and making this happen.
For the third annual festival, the trio that puts the program together has changed the festival dates to late May to avoid the torrid heat that they experienced during the past couple of summers, and also to set themselves apart from the huge number of festivals that take place in July.
And the country will be going gaga celebrating Canada’s Sesquicentennial.
In addition to the two venues on the Guelph Line that the Festival has been utilizing since the it’s inception, Lowville United Church and St. George’s Anglican Parish Hall, Missen is going to erect a large tent in Lowville Park where both Second City and Motus O will perform.
The tent idea hearkens back to the days when the Stratford Festival fist performed under canvas. Bronte creek is a much more natural backdrop than the Avon River in Stratford will ever be.
The 2017 festival will be launched on Friday May 26th with a concert at St. George’s Hall entitled To Canada with love. Famed Canadian guitarist Liona Boyd, one of the finest guitar players this country has produced will headline a celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday along with her new guitar partner Andrew Dolson. A highlight will be the appearance by the Lowville Festival Choir under the direction of Hamilton-born Wayne Strongman , former conductor of Hamilton’s Bach-Elgar Choir.
Saturday’s daytime activities, Sights and Sounds in the Escarpment, will take place at Lowville United Church, a Victorian jewel located at the south end of the hamlet of Lowville. Attendees will have an opportunity to take in demonstrations from some of Burlington’s finest artists and artisans, and also to make art themselves. During the afternoon they will also be serenaded in the church sanctuary by some of the region’s finest young performers under the direction of acclaimed music director Michael Mulrooney.
The Lowville Festival Tent will play host on Saturday night to Second City. The celebrated sketch/improv company, which gave birth to the legendary SCTV television series, will be presenting what Festival promoter Bob Missen calls “a devilishly satirical show” entitled Canada, the thinking man’s America.
The festival finale will be a presentation of MOTUS O’s production of Alice. A tour de force for the entire family featuring music, dance and theatre, inspired by both Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, Alice will also be presented in the Lowville Festival Tent on Sunday afternoon May 28th.
Bob Missen and Loretta Bailey performing during the inaugural Lowville Festival.
The Lowville Festival is the vision of an artistic/management team of three. Two are Burlington performing artists: Lorretta Bailey, a Lowville resident, who has performed in musical theatre productions across Canada, including the original Toronto production of Les Miserables; and Robert Missen, proprietor of the Bobolink Agency, an artist management company that handles some of the bigger names in the Canadian arts field.
Missen was the 2016 inductee into the Burlington Performing Arts Centre Hall of Fame. Barbara Anderson-Huget, former Arts and Culture Manager for the Town of Gravenhurst and Executive Director of CARFAC Ontario, the association of visual artists, rounds out this trio.
Friday, May 26
7:30 pm
St. George’s Parish Hall
To Canada with Love: Celebrating Canada 150, featuring Liona Boyd and the Lowville Festival Choir
Saturday, May 27
1pm to 4pm
Lowville United Church
Free Event!
Sights and Sounds in the Escarpment in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Burlington
Sponsored by: Ontario Trillium Foundation
7:30pm
Lowville Park – Festival Tent
Second City Comedy Troupe
Canada: The Thinking Man’s America
Sunday, May 28
2pm
Lowville Park- Festival Tent
Motus O Dance Theatre’s Alice
Tickets will be available through Snapd after April 15th.
By Ray Rivers
March 17, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Globe and Mail journalist John Ibbitson sees little daylight between the foreign policies of Justin Trudeau and former Prime Minister Harper. Ibbitson should have an inside track on something like this given his extensive record as a journalist and someone who recently completed a biography on Mr. Harper.
A Canadian soldier explains the conduct of a patrolling raid to a Ukrainian platoon during small team training at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Starychi, Ukraine.
And the proof. Canada hasn’t yet reopened the embassy in Iran, which Harper had closed. The Liberals have extended Harper’s military mission in Ukraine, and like the former government are providing training but no serious defensive hardware. The European and other free trade deals are moving ahead as if Mr. Harper were still in charge. And Harper’s pet Keystone XL has been blessed with the go-ahead by the new US president.
But seriously, Harper would never have supported the recent UN motion condemning Israel’s ongoing settlements on Palestinian territory. Nor would the former PM have been seen signing onto the Paris climate change accord with such determination. Our immigration and refugee policies are at a significant distance from where Harper was taking Canada. And Trudeau has now granted our NAFTA cousins in Mexico visa-free entry.
Justin Trudeau campaigned on Real Change – the exact definition of what that meant wasn’t clear – what we are getting may not have been what we thought we were being given.
Trudeau was the candidate of change, so one should expect to see some daylight between him and the others. He out-flanked the NDP on the left and he turned conventional thinking on its head promising to run deficits, legalize pot, open the nation’s gates to Syrian refugees, do something serious about climate change, reform Canada’s indigenous policy and change the way MP’s get elected.
But some folks are losing their religion, getting anxious, frustrated, disillusioned, or worse. Time has a habit of eroding promises and dreams – like sand on a hillside on a windy day – or the brash and bold promises made on a campaign pulpit on election eve.
And a year later, there are business folk still waiting for that massive deficit-funded stimulus to kick-in. Aboriginal leaders are wondering when they’ll see real change in their lives and their place in Canada. Environmentalists, enthused with the declaration of a nation-wide carbon tax, are licking their wounds after the rash of pipeline announcements, and worrying about how the dinosaur leading the lemmings south of the border, might affect environmental policy in the Great White North.
Federal Ministers Jane Phillpot; Health and Jody Wilson-Raybould, Justice
And then there is that marijuana wannabe crowd. They know that pot is the biggest cash crop in the United States. So they’ve got the business munchies – eager to start making money by selling dope. But Mr. Trudeau has made it clear that legalization is mainly about keeping weed out of the hands of children. So he has smoked the wannabe vendors by sicking the cops on them – telling the police to enforce the law, even though everybody knows the law is slated to change sometime soon.
Well it is slated to change unless that particular promise gets deferred or cancelled. Folks are nervous after the PM dumped his promise on electoral reform into the trash bin of good intentions. We may recall that his father had commissioned a study back in 1969, the Le Dain Commission, which recommended removing criminal penalties for simple possession and allowing the cultivation of marijuana for personal use.
There may not have been broad consensus on pot then. Decriminalization may not have been the highest priority for the government of the late Pierre Trudeau at that time. And perhaps Nixon got in the way with his ‘war on drugs’. Still, decriminalizing Mary Jane would have kept a lot of harmless people out of jail, and would perhaps do more for the economy today than the billions Mr. Trudeau is pumping into infrastructure,
Marijuana – the new cash crop
Canola – an existing cash crop. which of the two is healthier?
Stephen Harper used to argue that the best way to keep narcotics out of the hands of young people was to just do what his government had been doing – throwing people in jail. But nothing could be further from the truth if the experience in US jurisdictions holds up.
Marijuana use among America’s youth has fallen dramatically since states started legalizing the substance. And that would put Trudeau definitely on the right track to meet his objective. And that, Mr. Ibbitson, would be a lot of daylight between him and Mr. Harper – at least on this file.
Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
John Ibbitson – Trudeau’s Foreign Policy – Enforcing the Law – Electoral Reform –
Indigenous Policy – Cannabis in Colorado – Legalized MJ – Le Dain Commission –
Youth Trends – USA Drug History –
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