 By Pepper Parr
September 15, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
How would you describe getting the kids to drink water and give up sugar-sweetened beverages?
Some would call that a “challenge” which is exactly what city staff and Community Development Halton are going to try to do at the Healthy Kids Community Challenge that will take place Tuesday, September 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mountainside Recreation Centre.
Residents are invited to a community workshop to share ideas on how to encourage children and families to drink water as a healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages.
 Mayor Goldring was on hand for the launch of the Healthy Initiatives program. He didn’t try the hoola hoop but he did draw in chalk on the sidewalk. “Having a city that is healthy and green is one of the four key objectives in Burlington’s 25 year strategic plan,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “We want to help motivate kids to drink water when they are thirsty and make choices that will lead to good health.”
Ideas generated from the community brainstorming event will be used to support the second theme of the Healthy Kids Community Challenge, Water Does Wonders.
Burlington is one of 45 communities selected to take part in the Province of Ontario’s Healthy Kids Community Challenge program, created to support healthy and active lifestyles in children zero to 12 years old.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care will launch a new theme related to physical activity or healthy eating about every nine months and Healthy Kids Community Challenge Burlington will work together with local organizations to develop programs, policies and initiatives that promote and enable healthy behaviours.
 The program started out as a provincial Healthy Kids Community Challenge, created to support healthy and active lifestyles in children zero to 12 years old. Millions were to be put into the program which the city outsourced partially to Community Development Halton. “Children need a lot of water to stay hydrated and healthy,” said Jennifer Spence, the co-project lead for Healthy Kids Community Challenge Burlington. “Water makes up more than half of a child’s weight, and a steady supply is necessary to keep bodies working properly.”
When members of city council are deliberating and are in their seats for a couple of hours – they have a small fridge that holds cool beverages. In the five years the Gazette has covered this city council we have yet to see anyone of them come out with a container of water.
The Mayor does bring in his personal water bottle.
City council chambers might be a good place to start this change.
There is more information about the Healthy Kids Community Challenge Burlington, visit www.healthykidsburlon.ca or like Healthy Kids Community Challenge Burlington on Facebook, follow @HeathlyKidsBurl on Twitter and @HealthyKidsBurlON on Instagram.
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 By Staff
September 15, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
A Halton resident has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV).
This is the first reported human case of of WNV reported to the Region’s Medical Officer of Health this year.
The Halton Region Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Hamidah Meghani , advises residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites and remove mosquito breeding sites
 “While 80 per cent of people infected with West Nile virus will have no symptoms, others will have West Nile fever consisting of fever, headache, muscle ache and a rash. If residents are concerned or experiencing symptoms, I would encourage them to visit their health care professional.”
Urban areas are more likely to have mosquitoes that carry WNV. The types of mosquitoes that transmit WNV to humans most commonly breed in urban areas and in places that hold standing water such as bird baths, plant pots, old toys, and tires.
Residents are encouraged to take the following steps to protect themselves and their families from mosquitoes:
• Cover up. Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants with tightly-woven fabric.
• Avoid being outdoors from early evening to morning when mosquitoes are most active and likely to bite, as well as at any time in shady, wooded areas.
• Reduce mosquito breeding sites around your home by getting rid of all water-filled containers and objects, where possible. Change the water in bird baths at least once per week.
• Use an approved insect repellent, such as one containing DEET or Icaridin.
• Make sure your window and door screens are tight and without holes, cuts or other openings.
As part of its ongoing West Nile prevention program, Halton Region staff continually monitor areas of standing water, eliminate potential mosquito breeding sites and larvicide when mosquito larvae is found. A map showing the locations of standing water sites on public properties that have had larvicide applied this year is available at halton.ca/wnv.
To report standing water at public facilities or for more information about West Nile virus, please visit halton.ca/wnv or dial 311.
 By Staff
September 16, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
Online business licence renewal disruption
Due to some scheduled system maintenance, the online business licence renewals will be unavailable from 6:30 to 11 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016.
 By Staff
September 14th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Last Saturday was not a good day for learning just how unsafe many of the cars seats in Milton are.
Members of the Halton Regional Police Service, Halton Fire and Halton Public Health, along with support from community volunteers, conducted their annual Milton Car Seat Inspection Clinic at the Milton Fire Station on James Snow Parkway. The results were not impressive.
Police officers interacted with all motorists on the James Snow Parkway, performing cursory checks of car seats and identifying those requiring further inspection. Officers conduct these initial inspections The Highway Traffic Act gives police the authority inspect motor vehicles. Car seats located in vehicles form part of a vehicle’s equipment.
 They are not cheap – but they are legally required. Over the course of four hours, police screened more than 1,200 motorists. Vehicles containing car seats were spoken with and observations were made that led 112 of those to be sent to the fire station for further review by qualified car seat installation technicians.
Results:
Booster Car seats
# of Inspections 26 86
# of Fails 13 67
Failure rate 50% 78%
While these are Milton numbers – the law of averages suggests Burlington’s numbers will not be much different.
Some of the more common issues encountered were:
• Inappropriate car seat for the child being transported (car seat, forward or rear facing, or booster seat) – determined by age, weight or height
• Expired seats with obsolete, ‘old-style’ restraint systems
• Missing equipment, including chest clips and tether straps
• Loose installations and harnesses
Police encountered one vehicle with a child seated on an adult’s lap in the rear of a vehicle; both were being secured by one seat belt. The child’s parent (driver) was appropriately charged by police and educated on the significant injuries that could be sustained by the child in the event of a collision. Police were surprised to learn, however, that a second vehicle following behind with other family members was half-empty – meaning this situation was completely avoidable.
 There is a right way and a wrong way to install a car seat. In another instance, clinic volunteers helped an expectant mother, who was overdue, install a new rear-facing car seat. A very teary eyed and relieved mom-to-be thanked technicians for ensuring her new arrival would be safe.
All told, 80 children – among our most vulnerable road users – are safer today as a result of this clinic.
All motorists who transport children – regardless of distance, relationship or destination – a vehicle’s driver is legally responsible for the safety of all occupants under the age of 16.
By Pepper Parr
September 14, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It is going to be a packed weekend with all kinds of things to do.
The MoonGlade event takes over the Art Gallery of Burlington Friday night; the Amazing Bed Race will close down Brant Street for a part of Sunday and the Terry Fox run will take place the same day.
The Terry Fox run is the focus of this piece.
 Thousands take part of the Terry Fox Run for a Cancer Cure every year. Small changes in the route this year. The route for the run is basically the same but shorter because of the rebuilding of Lakeshore road where it bends around the Joseph Brant Museum, the route had to be changed.
Instead of starting out on the western end of Lakeshore Road – the start will be at a location behind the Waterfront Hotel at the foot of Brant Street and works its way along the Naval Promenade of Spencer Smith Park to a point just east of the Brant Museum.
A detailed map of the route is expected later today.
The run will have a different emotional feel to it this year. Perched on a small rise of Spencer Smith Park is the monument to Terry Fox’s run through Burlington in 1980.
 Terry Fox running his Marathon of Hope in 1980 is shown at that point on Lakeshore Road that is exactly opposite where the monument to his achievement stands today. Mark Mulholland found a picture of Terry Fox running along Lakeshore Road in 1980 and posted it to a Facebook page. The picture was taken at a spot that is opposite where the monument to his remarkable achievement stands today.
For those who were around when Terry Fox made that heroic run across the country seeing the picture and knowing that he ran through our city leaves one feeling a little unsettled.
The Terry Fox run is a major event for hundreds of Burlingtonians who use the occasion to remember and reflect on those who have been lost to cancer and an occasion to raise additional funds for cancer research.
 The Terry Fox monument – steps away from the point at which he ran along Lakeshore Road 36 years ago. Given what we know now about that disease today, we may not have lost Terry Fox 36 years ago.
Progress but at the same time we grieve the loss of a remarkably courageous young man who set out to make a difference. The expression on his face is painful to look at. But he was out there every day running with that sort of a step and a hop that he used to propel himself.
By Pepper Parr
September 14, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Far too early to pay this much attention – but for those that think about federal politics – get ready for a new Member of Parliament in Milton next time around
 Lisa Raitt, who is the MP for north Burlington once said she thinks the air park is “not a bad piece of infrastructure”. Area residents didn’t see it that way. Lisa Raitt, the current MP for Milton and the Conservative party finance critic, learned yesterday that Peter McKay, a politician who has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General; Minister of National Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of Canada under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, will not run in the next federal election expected in 2019 and not seek the leadership of the Conservative party. His reading of the political winds tells him that any party he led would probably not succeed in forming a government.
He was in the thick of the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and Canadian Alliance in 2003, that resulted in the Conservative Party of Canada.
His decision not to seek the leadership of the Conservative party created the opening that Lisa Raitt needed.
McKay represented two different ridings in Nova Scotia. He decided not to run in 2015. He was and will be a force in Nova Scotia politics for some time but from the side lines.
 Lisa Raitt, second from the right, Tim Crawford centre behind the flowers and Vince Rossi in the red sweater at a social event. North Burlington residents didn’t feel their MP really represented them. Chances are Raitt will be representing people from Nova Scotia next time round. Milton’s Lisa Raitt will seek a seat in Nova Scotia leaving the good people of Milton to find another Conservative candidate. Raitt, who hungers for the leadership of the party, probably doesn’t have all that much of a hope winning in Milton again.
The diverse makeup of that community is such that someone as white as Raitt has the potential to get clobbered – better to find a safe seat in Atlantic Canada.
The Milton riding includes part of north Burlington where Raitt has not been as vocal against Vince Rossi’s Air Park as many would have liked.
Raitt has solid roots in Nova Scotia where was raised and completed her university education.
The political winds in Milton, and thus the federal representation that north Burlington will have, are shifting.
 By Staff
September 13th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Police on the lookout for male dubbed ‘Mr. Fill and Fly’
 Police would like some help identifying an elderly male who has been committing multiple thefts of gas across southern Ontario. The suspect has utilized at least two different vehicles and has attached license plates stolen from Burlington and Hamilton to these vehicles.
The suspect has been operating a black Jeep Grand Cherokee, but has also utilized an older blue GMC Safari.
The suspect wears gloves and will fill up with regular or supreme gas. On multiple occasions the suspect has filled up a jerry can after filling up his vehicle. The suspect has utilized three different missing/stolen license plates including BVYZ793, BDXT007 and BCFC942.
The suspect is described as: Male, White, 65-70 years old, medium build, white hair, eyeglasses, gloves.
In addition to various gas stations in Milton, Burlington, and Oakville, ‘Mr. Fill and Fly” has also hit Haldimond County, Brantford, Caledon, Brampton, Vaughan, and Richmond Hill.
 By Pepper Parr
September 13, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The finance department has crafted a budget and the bureaucrats are hoping it is passed and that they get the funds they feel they need to do their work.
One one wonders however if there isn’t a finance department that produces numbers and then a marketing department that goes out and sells the budget to the public.
Transparency and accountability were thought to mean that the bureaucrats “involve” the public and not work at trying to sell them a new “whiter than white” laundry detergent.
 Taxpayers reviewing a budget – they got explanations but not much in the way of impact on the budget. Burlington’s recent practice has been to create a budget based on input from each of the departments and once they have satisfied themselves that it works – they then hold public meetings and ask what the public thinks – but rarely, if ever, does the budget get changed.
Part of the responsibility for this is a public that isn’t prepared to do its part of the job.
There was a budget a number of years ago that was ready to go to a public meeting – and it snowed, heavy snow and the turn out was a miserable two people. There were two additional people who had run for public office in the previous election – it was a sort of continued training for the job they wanted.
 Participants at a public budget meeting.  Residents at the hockey arena less than 50 yards away from the room the budget was being reviewed in. Everyone thought no one showed up because of the weather – which seemed to be a reasonable conclusion. However, right next door in the skating rink part of the Mainway Recreation Centre there were a couple of hundred parents taking in a hockey game their children were playing – weather didn’t keep them away.
What was evident was that the city budget had close to zero mind share. Is it a matter that they just don’t care? Check out the vigorous debate on the bike lanes that have been added to New Street and tell me that we have a public that doesn’t get passionate about issues.
What the city administration has failed to do is engage its citizens. It is not an easy task – but watch how many people show up for the Remembrance Day parade- the crowd over flows into Brant Street.
Count the number of people who take part in the annual Terry Fox run and ask yourself why a group of citizens worked their buns off to have a monument to Terry Fox erected on a part of the city he travelled through 35 years ago. Note too that the group experienced considerable difficulty with city hall in getting all the paper work done.
 There is a missing link in the relationship between the citizens and the civil servants who are hired to run the city. Any retailer learns very quickly to pay attention to what their customers want – city hall staff don’t appear to have picked up that same frame of mind.
This problem has plagued Burlington for some time. In 2010 then Mayor Cam Jackson commissioned a report written by the late John Boich and former Mayor Walter Mulkewich. They gave their report the title Shape Burlington. Several of the senior people at city hall took exception to the findings of the report which was basically to say that city hall wasn’t listening.
Click on the blue line below – the full report is on there for anyone who wants to read the document – it is as relevant today as it was the day it was released.
Shape Burlington Report.
I would wager a good lunch that the current city manager has not read that report and that the Mayor doesn’t have copies in his office that he hands out to people. At the time city council voted unanimously to adopt the report.
There have been some positive steps. The city now has a panel of people who respond to surveys the city does about once a month. The software used for the Insight Burlington surveys is excellent Hard to tell yet if they respond to the data they get – but they are at least asking good questions.
It would be interesting to do an analysis of the questions asked; the answers given and how the city absorbed what they learned. Given the current relationship between the Gazette and the senior levels of city hall don’t expect us to get any answers for you on that issue.
The Insight Burlington panel should be much larger than it is. There are a number of people who have asked to be placed on the survey – but not everyone fits the model the city has.
It is vital that there be an appropriate balance in the makeup of the panel – so if there are enough people who are male, over 65 with a college education and own their home and that definition happens to describe you – that are going to decline your application.
 But – don’t let anything deter you – if you are interested – click on the link – and give it a shot. The city really needs people who are prepared to answer the survey – they send out about one a month – they are usually quite short.
If you want to see if your demographics is needed for the Insight Burlington panel click on the link
In the most recent Insight Burlington survey they set out how much of a taxpayers money gets used for various services assuming a property is assessed at $417,645. The city asked which services should be cut back and by how much. They provided plenty of room for detailed responses.
It will be interesting to see what the panel participants had to say.
 The chart above shows where the City allocates the revenue it receives from property taxes to the major categories of services it provides to residents (based on an average home assessed at $417,645).
By Staff
September 13, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Yesterday afternoon, just after 2:00 pm police raced to an address on Edinburgh after a resident reported observing two males attempting to steal from his boat.
Officers quickly arrived in the area and with assistance of police service dog JAX, a stolen vehicle from Hamilton with three occupants inside was located in a parking lot off Prospect Street.
The three occupants were arrested and a search of the vehicle turned up additional stolen property including several licence plates, ownership, and a purse. Police also located several break-in tools (bolt-cutters, vice grips and screwdrivers_ and 4 grams of methamphetamine.
Arrested and charged and held for bail are:
Shawn Wayne DAWES (42 yrs.) of Limeridge Road East in Hamilton
• Theft under $5000
• Possession of property obtained by crime under $5000 (Three Counts)
• Possession of break in instruments
• Tampering with vehicle identification number
• Trespassing at night
Shawn MORIARITY (38 yrs.) of No Fixed Address
Justine O’DONNELL (27 yrs.) of No Fixed Address
• Possession of property obtained by crime under $5000 (Three Counts)
• Possession of break in instruments
• Tampering with vehicle identification number
• Possession of controlled substance (methamphetamine)
• Fail to comply with probation
It is the continuous vigilance on the par of citizens that keep the city safe.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Constable Kevin Hietikko of 3 District Criminal Investigation Bureau at (905) 825-4747 ext. 2357 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com; or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
 By Pepper Parr
September 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
They are called “ART QUILTs” which is defined as a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.”
 Donna Funnell’s Stitch Scroll is a delicate length of cloth with exquisite stitching. Kind of technical sounding and really isn’t much in the way of an introduction to a marvelous art form that is currently on display at the Art Gallery of Burlington.
 Those ;eaves are not painted – they were stitched onto a piece of backing – the detail is incredible. Titled the Ginko Tree by Cecelia Cameron, Sudan Durham, Shirley Kilpatrick and Patricia Mennon – the Ginko Tree predates the dinosaurs. Called Fibre Content – the show includes more than 100 pieces that will delight the eye – there is one piece that you swear is a photograph but in close inspection is a stitched piece of work.
 It looks like a photograph – but it is stitching. “The Way is see myself by Sharron Deacon. A rare selfie. Our apologies to our readers for not telling you about this exhibition earlier – it runs at the AGB until the end of next Sunday.
Well worth taking the time to attend.
Art quilts came out of the quilting community and created a niche of its own that has grown in the past thirty years. The tendency within this niche is to explore new ideas and new forms.
 Mary Cope’s contribution to Fibre Content on display now at the AGB. These are not the familiar Mennonite quilts that the Kitchener area of Ontario are famous for – this work is known as art quilting; an art form that uses both modern and traditional quilting techniques to create art objects. Practitioners of quilt art create it based on their experiences, imagery, and ideas rather than traditional patterns. Quilt art generally has more in common with the fine arts than it does with traditional quilting. This art is generally either wall hung or mounted as sculpture, though exceptions exist.
The feminist movement and the new craft movements of the 1960s and 1970s, were the social environments that brought this art form into the public sphere.
The social activism of the time resulted in intricate, celebrated quilts (which often included rare Scandinavian indigo dyes). The transition from traditional quilting through art quilts to quilted art was rapid; many of the most important advances in the field came in the 1970s and 1980s.
Jean Ray Laury, one of the more prominent and influential of early modern quilt makers was an “academically trained artist and designer who encouraged women to create their own new designs based on their own experiences, surroundings and ideas rather than traditional patterns. Laury. Who died in 2011 said: “There are no rules in stitchery — no single ‘right’ way of working.”
 Firefly by Monika Sheddon of Dundas was inspired by a large piece of fabric created by using free motion machine stitching, collage and paints. Face is needle sculpted on cotton. That art form is on display at the Art Gallery of Burlington – not to be missed.
AGB Hours
Monday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Tuesday – Thursday 9:00 am – 10:00 pm
Friday – Saturday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday: 12 noon – 5:00 pm
By Staff
September 12, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
McNiven Road will be closed for traffic between Derry Road and Kilbride Street from Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 at 7 a.m. to Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 at 7 p.m. for Union Gas construction activities.
 A new gas pipe line is being buried underground.
Please use the following detour routes:
- From the north, traffic will be directed east on Derry Road to Twiss Road, then south to Kilbride Street and west to McNiven Road.
- From the south, traffic will be directed east on Kilbride Street to Twiss Road then north to Derry Road and west to McNiven Road.
For more information, please contact:
Susan Cudahy, Community Liaison, Union Gas Limited, Phone: 289-237-0068 – scudahy@uniongas.com
 By Pepper Parr
September 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Did Ontario’s Sunshine list just get a little smaller?
 If you’re happy and you know it – clap your hands. Former Premier Mike Harris brought in what got to be called the Sunshine list – it was the names of all the people earning more than $100,000 annually. In 2014 there were 111,400 names on the list, an increase of more than 14 per cent from the previous year.
The act was brought in under the Mike Harris-led Progressive Conservative government in 1996. At the time, Harris said it served as an important check on the public payroll.
Bureaucrats hated it – the public loved it and the Gazette of course published the list every ear.
The province began to sense that there was some concern over just how much of the public purse goes into the pockets of civil servants and decided it was time to put a cap on some of those salaries.
In a media release the province announced that
“Ontario is implementing a new framework for broader public sector executive compensation, including capping salary and performance-related payments for hospitals, universities, colleges, schools boards and government agencies.
The framework regulation comes into force on September 6, 2016, and applies to all designated employers under the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act, 2014.
The framework caps salary and performance-related payments for designated executives at no more than the 50th percentile of appropriate comparators and prohibits signing bonuses, retention bonuses, cash housing allowances and pay in lieu of perquisites.
As part of this process, employers will be required to consult with the public when determining executive compensation programs and to post program details to their websites. Employers will be required to submit reports attesting that the compensation for their designated executives complies with the framework. Failure to complete this process could lead to penalties.
Ensuring executive compensation in the broader public sector is accountable and transparent is part of the government’s economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs.”
And of course a few of the jobs that will be created are the people hired to manage all the paperwork. Ya gotta love the ingenuity of it all.
QUICK FACTS provided by the province:
• The Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act, 2014 was proclaimed on March 16, 2015 and applies to approximately 340 employers, including hospitals, school boards, universities, colleges, and designated provincial agencies.
• Designated executives under the legislation are employees and office holders eligible to receive $100,000 or more in a calendar year, including CEOs, presidents, vice-presidents, chief officers, directors of education, and supervisory officers at school boards.
• Executive compensation at hospitals, school boards, colleges, universities, and hydro entities has been restrained under the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010 since March 31, 2012. All elements of compensation have been frozen, including base salaries.
• The existing freeze on salaries for executives under the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010 remains in effect for a designated employer until the employer posts their final executive compensation program to their public website.
By Staff
September 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton Student Transportation Services (HSTS) advises that a shortage of school bus drivers is having an impact on school bus operations in the Halton Region, similar to many school boards in the greater Toronto area. This shortage could be negatively impacting some schools because of bus delays.
So it isn’t just Toronto that can’t find the school bus drivers needed – Might that be because they don’t pay enough?
 That school bus you are used to seeing show up every day – just might not be there this month – there is a serious shortage of drivers for school bus routes in Burlington and Oakville. Halton Student Transportation Services is working with the bus companies to try to minimize the impact on students. Parents are encouraged to sign up for delays and cancellation notifications on the HSTS website (haltonbus.ca). A list of bus delays is also posted on the HSTS website.
HSTS is a transportation consortium providing home to school transportation services to students of the Halton District School Board and the Halton Catholic District School Board.
The bus driver shortage is currently impacting Oakville and Burlington bus routes. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the following bus companies about job requirements:
First Student Canada, Burlington and Oakville – 905-335-7010
Attridge Transportation Inc. – 905-333-4047
 By Staff
September 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
How does a person with a serious housing needs get to take part in the $876,000 of new funding under the Survivors of Domestic Violence Portable Housing Benefit Pilot program?
The provincial government selected Halton, which includes Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills, as one of 22 communities across the province to test the pilot.
Currently, survivors of domestic violence are given priority access to rent-geared-to-income social housing. The problem with this approach is that there just isn’t enough affordable housing available.
 Women’s issues have always been front and centre for Eleanor McMahon – she was a champion of the pilot project that is now in place for Burlington. Under the new pilot, those people approved under the Special Priority Policy will have the option of receiving “a portable housing benefit” which basically means cash they can use to find housing in their community immediately instead of waiting for a social housing unit to become available.
Based on the outcomes of the pilot, Ontario will consider ways to enhance the program and extend the portable housing benefit to other communities.
Burlington MPP and Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Eleanor McMahon points out that Halton Women’s Place has seen the number of clients served annually decrease, not because fewer families are experiencing violence, but because women are forced to stay in shelter for longer periods of time, which reduces access to people who need to find shelter to get away from abusive relationships.
Last year, 1126 families were referred elsewhere because shelter facilities were at or over capacity.”
McMahon says “This pilot program is an important step in helping to ensure that survivors fleeing domestic violence can quickly obtain affordable and adequate housing of their choice in Burlington and Halton.”
So – where does one go for help through the pilot program?
Employment Housing & Social Services Division: 690 Dorval Drive, 7th Floor, Oakville, ON L6K 3X9 Tel: (905) 825-6000 or Toll Free: 1-866-442-5866
Staff at the Region are supportive and patient
This initiative also supports the Ontario government’s goals of ending violence against women and providing better supports for survivors which includes the government’s It’s Never Okay: Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment.
 By Pepper Parr
September 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It was one of those really pleasant afternoons – the weather was fine, there was food and a chance to bump into friends and get caught up.
The event was Eleanor McMahon’s annual summer BBQ – the turnout was good – not packed but good. They did run out of hamburgers – five maybe six people had to go without.
 The Teen Tour Band Alumni handed out the cooked up and handed out the burgers – there were none to spare. The food as taken care of by the Burlington Teen Tour Band Alumni – an interesting group of people who get out into the community and just help out.
Oddly, none of those I spoke to actually played in the band; they either had children or grandchildren or friends who played in the band but they themselves didn’t.
It was a full day’s work for our MPP who is also a Cabinet Minister.
 The McMahon hug People with issues, grievances, personal matters they need some support on were literally lined up to talk to the MPP. When you meet to talk to Eleanor McMahon you start out with a hug. And then you get the full fifty by which I mean you get all her attention. There is nothing passive about this woman – she is in everything she does up to her elbows.
She has this capacity to listen intently and she will tell you straight out if she thinks you are being unreasonable.
 Chasing a butterfly The event done, the Teen Tour Band people all packed up and on their way home and McMahon gathers with her team around a picnic table to debrief and make sure that all those who were spoken to have been handed off to a staff member and the follow up work done.
 The interview line-up – for the MPP the annual BBQ was a work day. Based on our observations McMahon talked directly with as many as 25 people – and these were not 15 second quickie chats.
The Gazette has watched every politician in the city – some quite closely – this one has a gift rarely if ever seen in the others. Her political stripe is one we happen to share but it doesn’t colour our ability to see how effective she is.
There are concerns with several of the major issues the provincial government is dealing with – hydro rates are a problem and the decision to see a part of the hydro assets is disturbing. The cash for access problem just doesn’t seem to have really gone away and there is that lingering suspicion that something isn’t quite right.
 Deciding what she will have to drink. Those are matters for another day. Yesterday was a full day for our MPP and a fun day for most of the people who were there.
By Staff
September 10, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Is this coming to Burlington?
The Halton Regional Police has received numerous traffic complaints related to the volume of traffic that blocks two heavily travelled intersections in the Town of Oakville; Trafalgar Road and Cornwall Road and Trafalgar Road and Cross Avenue.
 In response to this traffic dilemma, the Oakville District Response Team has created Project Bottleneck.
Over the past three days, traffic officers focused on those drivers who imped the flow of opposing traffic by entering the intersection when it is not clear. Over 40 tickets were issued to drivers who failed to keep the intersection clear, not yielding to traffic or stopping at a red light.
“It is the Halton Regional Police Service’s goal to make Halton a safe driving community,” said Sgt. Gus Bistas.
Halton Regional Police would like to remind drivers of the importance of following the rules of the road. When approaching a traffic controlled intersection, please be patient and do not move forward until the vehicles in front of you have fully cleared the intersection.
By Staff
September 9, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton Region is receiving $876,000 in new funding under the Survivors of Domestic Violence Portable Housing Benefit Pilot program. Ontario has selected Halton as one of 22 communities across the province to test the pilot.
The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing more than $20 million over two years to provide ongoing assistance to approximately 1,000 survivors of domestic violence per year under the pilot program.
 For the physically abused and sexually harassed mother – finding a safe place to live is paramount – the federal and provincial governments have set up a pilot project for the Region of Halton Currently, survivors of domestic violence are given priority access to rent-geared-to-income social housing. Under the new pilot, those survivors approved under the Special Priority Policy will have the option to receive a portable housing benefit, so that they can immediately find housing in their community instead of waiting for a social housing unit to become available.
Based on the outcomes of the pilot, Ontario will consider ways to enhance the program and extend the portable housing benefit to other communities.
The new investment complements the commitments made through Ontario’s recent Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy update, and supports the province’s goal of ending chronic homelessness in 10 years.
This initiative also supports the Ontario government’s goals of ending violence against women and providing better supports for survivors which includes the government’s It’s Never Okay: Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment.
By Staff
September 9, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
On September 8th 2016, the Halton Regional Police, Burlington Street Crime Unit (SCU) concluded a drug trafficking investigation that resulted in five arrests and the execution of Controlled Drugs and Substances Act search warrant at a residence on Fairwood Place in Burlington.
Seized as a result of the Investigation:
• 58.5 grams Crystal-Methamphetamine
• 2.9 grams Cocaine
• 2 grams Ecstasy
• 2 Hydromorphone
• 77 Percocet
• 2 LSD
• 14 grams Psilocybin
• 6 grams Marihuana
• 11 Marihuana plants
• 2 extendable batons
• $1095 in cash
The drugs have an estimated street value of $17,000
The following persons have been charged:
Timothy Oliver KING (43 yrs) of Burlington
• Trafficking in a schedule I controlled substances (methamphetamine)
• Possession of a schedule I controlled substance for the Purpose of trafficking (Five counts)
• Possession of a schedule III substance
• Unlawfully produce cannabis (marihuana)
• Possession of cannabis (marihuana) under 30 grams
• Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose (Two counts)
Carol Anne MCENEMY (30 yrs) of Hamilton
• Possession of a schedule I controlled substance for the Purpose of trafficking (Five counts)
• Possession of a schedule III substance
• Unlawfully produce cannabis (marihuana)
• Possession of cannabis (marihuana) under 30 grams
Timothy POCIUS (54 yrs) of Hamilton
• Possession of a schedule I controlled substance for the Purpose of trafficking (Three counts)
• Possession of a schedule III substance
Kyle ADAMOWICH (44 yrs) of Hamilton
• Possession of a schedule I controlled substance for the Purpose of trafficking
• Fail to comply with probation
All four accused were held for bail and a fifth person arrested was released unconditionally.
Investigators remind the public to utilize Crime Stoppers to report any illegal drug, gun or gang activity at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637(crimes).
 By Pepper Parr
September 9, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
Just a little more than a week before the 4th No Vacancy event takes place in Burlington – this time the event will be branded as MoonGlade and take place at both Brock Park, right behind the Art Gallery and within the gallery as well.
 The first event took place at the Waterfront Hotel in 2014 and while the attendance was small it was the most startling cultural event in the city that year – we might add that it was startling in the most positive way possible.
The second event took place at the Village Square where the place was packed.
The third event took place on Old Lakeshore Road and something didn’t work. Was it the location, was the line-up of talent not quite right – the event just wasn’t as good as the public had come to expect.
During the conversations surrounding the Supernova event Denis Longchamps, Artistic Director & Chief Curator, suggested that using Brock Park might have been a better choice. He added that some of the installations could also be held in the Art Gallery.
Longchamps however said if the Art Gallery was involved it would have to be a curated event – which means the participants would be selected by people with the depth and experience needed to know who to invite.
While that approach could prove to be limiting – with Longchamps in place that is not likely to happen. The involvement of the Art Gallery gives a degree of legitimacy that these events didn’t have previously.
 There will be 17 art installations at the MoonGlade event to be held on September 16th at the Art Gallery and in Brock Park at the rear of the Gallery. Food Trucks will be in place as well. There is now a level of professionalism that hasn’t been in place up until now.
Involving the Art Gallery also gives that organization to support and promote an event that has the potential to put the gallery on the map in a way they haven’t been able to do in the past.
There is nothing but good news behind this move on the part of Longchamps. The artists participating in MoonGlade this year offer some amazing opportunities to see art in a way that you may not have seen it before – you can expect several of the illustrations to be interactive.
By Pepper Parr
September 8th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
“Burlington was part of a national moment, where people came together in parks, community centres, restaurants and living rooms across the country to honour a beloved band and raise money to combat cancer,” said Marianne Meed Ward, Ward 2 Councillor, and co-chair of the event planning committee.
 A reported 12,000 people took in the CBC simulcast of the Final Tragically Hip concert that was shown at at Spencer Smith Park. “The people of Burlington responded very positively to this event. It was like no other in recent memory”, added Brian Dean, General Manager, BDBA, co-chair of the planning committee. “Attendees were very generous to our local charitable partners and responded to Gord Downie’s heartbreaking diagnosis by going out of pocket to support local cancer care.”
Hundreds of Burlingtonians also added their personal thoughts to a “book of well wishes” set up at the event.
The book has been available for signing at the lobby of City Hall and Tourism Burlington office post-event. The book will be officially closed at the community donation ceremony and sent to the agent for The Tragically Hip.
The presentation is to take place at city hall Monday September 12th at noon in the atrium.
The CBC simulcast at Spencer Smith Park was financed through a cost-sharing agreement between the City of Burlington and the BDBA. A significant number of community partners also lent their time and talents to the execution of the event.
 Gord Downie performing at his final concert. Partners will be present at the community donation ceremony. Total costs for the event were approximately $22,000, under the projected budget of $25,000. The City and BDBA equally committed up to $12,500; the Hamilton Halton Brant Regional Tourism Office and Councillor Meed Ward’s office also contributed $1,000 each.
More than a reported 12,000 people crowded into Spencer Smith Park on August 20th to watch the CBC simulcast.
Donations to Joseph Brant Hospital Cancer Clinic and Canadian Cancer Society – Halton Branch amounting to $3900 was collected. The funds will be split with 50% given to each organization.
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