 By Staff
March 21, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is accepting nominations for its 2016 Hall of Fame Inductee.
Established in 2013, The Burlington Performing Arts Centre’s Hall of Fame recognizes people who have made significant contributions to the performing arts in Burlington. Recipients of this award demonstrate the diversity of artistic accomplishment that comprises the rich cultural tapestry of the City of Burlington. The Hall of Fame Inductee will be announced at the 2016/2017 Season Launch event held at The Centre on Tuesday, May 17.
Nomination applications must be submitted by noon on Friday, April 8th, 2016. The nomination form can be downloaded from The Centre’s website.
 When the pier was being constructed – both the first and the second time, Gordie Tapp could be seen most days checking on the progress. Here he talks with Pier Project Manager Craig Stevens.  Rainer Noack on the left.  Stewart Laughton The Burlington Performing Arts Centre recognizes that the individual and group artists are paramount and fundamental to cultural development. These individuals and groups contribute to Burlington’s reputation as a city with a strong and sustained commitment toward the development of cultural excellence. Hall of Fame Inductees include Gordie Tapp (2013), Rainer Noack (2014), Lawrence Bonanno (2015) and Stewart Laughton (2015).
 By Ray Rivers
March 21st, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The United States is one of a growing number of places on earth where political candidates can opt for public funding. But in that crazy world we call US politics, Mr. Obama shunned the public option for both of his election wins – because he could raise more money on his own. And much of that money came from small individual donations rather than contributions from corporations and unions
 While “Daddy Warbucks was a real person the name came to be used as a charicacture for “big men” with immense wealth that could be used for any purpose they wished – often political. In sharp contrast, later this year, the infamously wealthy Koch brothers, also known as Daddys Warbucks, are going to rain down almost a billion dollars for the GOP presidential campaign south of the border. And they are but one of the numerous corporate political action committees (PAC) in the game there throwing money into the election, hoping that will get them a win, in the increasingly expensive US election orgy.
Back on earth, Canada’s political parties in last year’s federal election were entitled to spend a maximum of $54 million dollars each. None of them actually got to the max, though the Conservative Party came closest at just over $50 million. And they lost the election anyway which makes me believe that there is a God and that the old Beatles standard, ‘money can’t buy me love’, is occasionally true.
The winners, the Trudeau Liberals, spent around $10 million less. It was what they were selling, rather than how much they advertised, which evidently won the election. Now that is refreshing – that ideas alone can win elections – putting to rest the notion that the public can always be bought with its own money. And it is our own money, or at least most of it, when we consider that the funds raised by these parties are tax-deductible.
 Cash in envelopes was the advice former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was said to have given his political cohorts. Individual donations are the only way federal political parties can raise money here since Mr. Harper eliminated the decade-old annual per-vote public subsidy last year. He argued that government should not be subsidizing the political parties. Who was he kidding? For starters he must have forgotten about the generous rebates Elections Canada doles out to eligible candidate campaigns.
Then there are those individual tax-deductible donations, which in 2009 accounted for almost twice as much of a subsidy to political parties as the per-vote annual government grants. Of course It is no secret that well-healed individual Tory contributors give far more money than that more economically diverse Liberal crowd. And the higher your tax bracket the more valuable these tax deductions are. But perhaps it was only well-meaning ideology and not self-serving hypocrisy which framed Harper’s argument?
But if anyone thinks the federal political funding scene could be better, they need only to look at the provinces. Following the Liberal ‘Sponsorship’ scandal, at the turn of the last decade, corporations and unions were prohibited from contributing to federal political parties. But, provincially, Ontario is still the wild west with the teachers unions, law firms and countless other corporate and labour associations pouring money into party coffers they hope will make a difference.
In B.C.’s last election, corporate donations to the provincial Liberals swamped individual donations. Of course, critics point out that banning corporate and union donations will just result in masked individual donations, leaving the influence peddling unabated. And that speaks to the rationale by those calling for the elimination of individual donations and fully subsidizing political parties, complicated as that might be.
 It may not come in brown bags any more but cash does move from the people who have influence to the people who want to see that influence used in their favour. These critics notwithstanding, it is remarkable that the provincial governments have not been forced to follow the federal government by at least eliminating corporate and union donations. Of course, it’s about the money. In fact Ontario’s premier has been criticized for holding ‘special meetings’ with those willing to cough up big bucks for that privilege.
The optics couldn’t be worse. Allowing money to buy access to Ontario’s chief policy maker is what we call influence peddling, and it is the first step on the road to corruption. Ontario residents expect and deserve better.
 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 where he ran as a Liberal against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province. Rivers is no longer active with any political party.
Background links:
Koch Brothers PACs (USA)
Money Can’t Buy Me Love
2015 Federal Election Spending Federal Financing Influence Peddling Ontario’s Political Financing
Political Party Financing Ontario Liberal Donation Limits Donations from Law Firms
Teachers Unions B.C. Political Financing
 By Pepper Parr
March 21, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Mayor is going to make another attempt at getting a private tree bylaw passed by Council – we think.
In July 2013, the Development and Infrastructure Committee chose to receive and file an information report on a private tree by-law feasibility study. Council did not vote to see the creation of such a bylaw at that time. . The dean of Council, John Taylor, summed it up when he said “the will is just not there”, the public just doesn’t want this” and try as they might BurlingtonGreen and Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward, who pushed as hard as one can push, could not get this through the Development and Infrastructure Committee. ” It is going to be very tough to get a private tree by law in this city” said Taylor
In a Notice of Motion that he filed for debate at the Development and Infrastructure the Mayor said that since the 2013 failure he “ continues to hear requests for a private tree by-law in Burlington. Most recently, this came from members of the Roseland community as part of the Character Area Study process.
 Many of the trees in Roseland are very old – replace trees have not been planted – at some point the residents of this community will deeply regret the loss of their tree canopy. “Recognizing staff did not support a private tree by-law specific to the Roseland neighbourhood … I believe there is merit investigating a pilot private tree by-law to gauge its impact.
“I propose that a report on a pilot project with recommendations be drafted by staff, with considerations to such aspects as length of time, extent of regulations, performance measures, staff resources required, among others.
“There are several reasons I support a pilot project for a private tree by-law in Roseland. I believe our tree canopy is essential to the environmental and physical health of our city and its residents. As well, as one of the community’s oldest neighbourhoods, Roseland has a large number of mature trees that contribute to its character. Through the Character Study, many residents expressed a desire to maintain the tree canopy and the presence of the large, mature trees.
“The Roseland Tree Planting Initiative is a noteworthy endeavour started by interested community members.
 A truly spectacular tree canopy – most of the trees are on city owned property. “This cooperative effort by city staff and residents in the community to proactively plant trees within the public rights-of-way in areas with a high percentage of mature trees, and raise awareness among homeowners about the importance of trees within the neighbourhood, demonstrates the value placed on trees and as such, is an appropriate neighbourhood to implement a pilot private tree by-law.”
The Mayor added that “There are many other neighbouring communities that have private tree by-laws, such as Oakville, Hamilton, Toronto and Brampton. Mississauga is currently working on establishing a private tree protection by-law.
He also said: “When drafting the by-law, it is important staff strike a balance between private property owners’ rights and the intent of preserving our tree canopy. The outcome of this pilot project will be valuable in determining the applicability of a private tree by-law in other neighbourhoods, and, potentially, a private tree by-law for the entire city.”
The motion that will get debated is:
Direct the Acting Director of Roads and Parks Maintenance to investigate the implementation of a pilot tree by-law for the Roseland neighbourhood, with a review of options including, but not limited to: length of time for pilot project, extent of regulations, budget and staffing requirements, and measures to evaluate success, and to include community consultation.
Direct the Acting Director of Roads and Parks Maintenance to report back to committee on June 21, 2016.
There is a critical word missing from the Direction – the word “private” isn’t in between the words pilot and tree. Is this a motion to create a bylaw restricting what people can do with trees that are on their private property?
 A beautiful collection of apple trees next to st. Christopher’s church on Guelph Line that were cut down because Canada geese were eating the apples and pooping on the roadway. There have been a very sad story told about the man who cut down a 50 year old tree because he didn’t want to rake the leaves. A lovely collection of apple trees were cut down on the property next to St. Christopher’s Anglican church on Guelph Line because Canada geese were eating the apples and pooping all over a driveway used for the most car by just cars. There was a promise to plant new trees – two years and counting and still no new trees,
The environmentalists take the position that people do not own trees – that we are the stewards of a tree for the period of time we own the property on which the tree grows. Mayor Goldring has positioned himself as an environmentalist – he tends however not to walk his talk.
It will take some time for a shift in attitude to take place in this city. Changes in attitude take place when a society is educated – it is the leadership of a community that does the evangelizing.
The motion the Mayor has put forward isn’t going to get us very far – I would love to be proven wrong on this one.
Background links:
Council looks for every way out of a private tree bylaw.
The environmentalists lost the fight in 2013
 By Staff
March 20, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
New Street closed between Martha Street and Guelph Line starting March 21, 2016
The City of Burlington and Halton Region are making improvements to New Street, between Martha Street and Guelph Line, and to several of the streets located in the area of New Street and Drury Lane.
 Transit route changes while construction on New Street takes place. Construction to replace the water and wastewater mains on New Street will begin on Monday, March 21, 2016.
The work is being broken into sections with the work starting at Guelph Line through to Seneca
All local businesses will remain open throughout the construction period. Local access for residents and businesses will be in place.
Transit
Burlington Transit users will experience detours and schedule changes from March 21 until September 2016 during the construction on New Street.
 By Staff
March 21, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Regional Police, the RCMP and the banks are doing their best to get the word out to people about Identity Theft and the bank scams that take place every day.
Most recently in this part of the world we read about a senior citizen who is out $8900 – someone tricked him into thinking he was helping the police – when he should have been calling the police.
During a month that police cautioned the public on several occasions about email scams someone somewhere sends out emails to people they have identified as Apple users.
Here is the first mail
 The moment you click on the Continue and review line – you are in the process of telling crooks more about you than you want them to know. It does read like a reasonable request – in our case we aren’t Apple users so we recognized what the email was really about. Within hours there was a follow up email – from the same address.
Here is he second email.
 This email amuses there was a transaction – and for the millions that do transactions with Apple – this would seem like a reasonable request. How many people got caught with this one? These people never give up – it costs them next to nothing to send out tens of millions of each email – all they have to do is snare one person and they pull – wellone local resisdent lost $8900.
If you are in doubt – call the police or talk to your bank. THEY are on your side.
“I didn’t see that article” is a comment we hear frequently from readers.
 The Gazette is an on-line newspaper that you can get delivered right into your mail box just as soon as it is published.
Many readers have made logging into the site something they do every day – others come in and see what’s going on a couple of times a week.
We have lot of people who go south for the winter and they come on line to see what has happened in their hometown.
At the bottom of each story there are two small boxes – they are beneath the section you make a comment if you are so inclined.
If you want to get the Gazette automatically – scroll down to the bottom of any article. You will see two small boxes underneath the space where you can make a comment.
Click on the lower of the two small boxes – we drew a red oblong rectangle around the one you need to put the check mark in.
 You do need to make a comment – be polite and if you don’t want your comment published just say so. All comments are moderated.
Once you have entered a comment click on the Post Comment box and it gets sent to us. Make sure you put the check in that lower box.
You will then get an email asking if you really want to be notified when a new story is published.
Tell them you do – and zippo – you are a regular subscriber – and the news will be delivered to you automatically.
News that matters, news that puts what happens in your city in context with an approach intended to ensure the people who serve you are accountable to you.
It was the Gazette that broke the story on the Air Park bylaw abuses. It was the Gazette that followed the construction of the pier – the one we built twice and paid for both times.
By Staff
March 20th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police Service’s Human Trafficking and Vice Unit (HTVU) concluded a month long investigation of the Dynasty Wellness Centre in Milton. As a result two people have been charged and a third faces deportation on an outstanding immigration warrant.
The police also have appeared to add an interesting phrase to the English language.
On March 17th, the HTVU, in conjunction with Milton Municipal Law Enforcement officers executed a Criminal Code search warrant at the Dynasty Wellness Centre located in the area of Ontario Street and Derry Road in the Town of Milton.
As a result of the warrant, the following have been charged with prostitution related offences:
Chin-Yu (Tim) CHIU 50 year old male of Toronto – Receive material benefit from sexual services. CHIU will appear in Milton Court on April 25th 2016.
The police do not define “a material benefit”. Could it become a phrase used in some of the bars and pubs frequented by the single set?
A male from Milton was also charged with purchasing sexual services.
A third person, female, was detained on an outstanding Immigration Warrant and has been turned over to the Canadian Border Services Agency for processing.
The Halton Regional Police Service HTVU have ongoing investigations relating to suspicious activity in other similar establishments in the Region of Halton and will be following up investigative leads.
 By Pepper Parr
March 18, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The plan is for the lights to go out at 8:30 Saturday night and remain out for an hour. Will you flick that switch to recognize Earth Day? And if you do what difference is it going to make.
Turning off the lights for an hour isn’t going to save the planet.
It is however a statement – and it is a statement the public needs to make – for a couple of reasons.
The earth is not going to disappear – it will be around for a long time – it is we human beings who are at risk.
 Vince Fiorito – probably the city’s best environmental advocate. Vince Fiorito, a Burlington citizen nominated for the Environment award as one of Burlington’s Best, will bend your ear badly if you let him get started on what we human beings have done to the environment. He does however make a number of critical points.
“2015 a new record high average temperature for the planet’s climate. It broke the 2014 record that was a new high. What seems evident is that there is a rate of change taking place that we have not seen before.
“We are in uncharted territory now. It doesn’t take a genius to know that as these trends continue, the result will be series of unprecedented floods and droughts.
“No human being has ever breathed an atmosphere of 400 ppm of carbon dioxide. What does that mean? The more carbon in the air the warmer the climate gets.
“We have cut down most of the forests and altered the earth’s ecosystems in ways that reduce the ability of the earth to sequester carbon.
“No one can claim to know the future. What we do know is that CO2 levels are rising, along with the average global temperature and sea levels. Oceans are acidifying. Corals reefs and life at the bottom of the ocean food chain is dying.
 Arctic Ocean sometimes does not freeze over – even in winter. “The last time the earth’s atmosphere had this much CO2, the Arctic ocean didn’t freeze, even in “winter”. Eventually the climate may change to the point where Greenland will become tropical enough to support crocodiles and palm trees, like it was 55 million years ago when ocean levels were 50-100M higher than today.
“The Arab spring and the Syrian civil war are just a taste of what may be coming.
“How does one link a war half way around the world to climate change? That unrest and violence was preceded by a five year climate change exacerbated drought across North Africa and Middle East. Farmers couldn’t pay their bills, lost their land and moved to the cities where they didn’t find jobs and in the case of Syria, didn’t find a caring government either.
“When people are so poor they can’t afford to some of the nicer things they want, they pick up signs and protest. When they are so poor they can’t feed their children, they pick up guns. When the level of desperation reaches the point where the majority of people have nothing to gain from the status quo and nothing to lose from chaos, even the wealthy living in “safe” gated communities become refugees.
“Likely the biggest climate change exacerbated crisis in the near future will come in Bangladesh. Already they’ve lost about 10% of their rice production in the Ganges river delta to rising ocean levels and salt water contamination. Sooner or later a massive climate change exacerbated typhoon will hit this region, flooding and contaminating the remainder of the delta with salt. Then 100 million people will suddenly become food insecure and desperate. The same thing will happen in the Mekong river delta and many other food production areas.”
What would a drought do to wheat farmers in Saskatchewan?
Why do you think those millions of Americans want Donald Trump as their president? Because he says he will do something for them and they are so desperate they will vote for a man that is seen as a dangerous demagogue by many. And they are our neighbours.
xxx 2
 Millions around the world demonstrate regularly for changes – before the planet becomes a place we can no longer live in. The environmental movement has been around for a long time. When it began we were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. “Environment” was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.
Mainstream North America remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962. The book represented a watershed moment, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries, and beginning to raise public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and links between pollution and public health.
We are now at least at the point where we accept that the climate is changing – we have yet to get to the point where we are ready to do anything about it personally.
 Burlington doesn’t hold large demonstrations – we are too polite to do anything like that. Mayor Goldring did speak to a group of activists about climate change – it was during an election and he was told he couldn’t use the Gazebo in Spencer Smith Park nor could he use Civic square – so he gathered in front of a coffee shop. Earth Day has reached its current status as the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year, and a day of action that changes human behavior and provokes policy changes.
Today, the fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more manifest every day.
Flicking that switch for an hour on Saturday won’t save the world – but it will be a statement – and that is a start.
By Staff
March 18, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Some St. Patrick’s Day revelers didn’t get the message – park the car and find alternate transportation to get home.
Last night the Halton Police arrested four (4) drivers for alcohol related driving offences.
 Police doing RIDE checks – four Irish wanna bes didn’t get to complete the drive home. Police conducted R.I.D.E. checks in various locations throughout the Region, resulting in:
1164 vehicles stopped
34 drivers tested at the roadside for alcohol
3 drivers arrested for Over 80
1 driver arrested for refusing to provide a sample
The four drivers arrested were charged with criminal offences, had their licences suspended for 90 days and their vehicles impounded for 72 hours.
Ouch – and they have yet to hear from their insurance company. How did they explain the behaviour to their friends, family and their children.
The Halton Regional Police Service offers a sincere thanks to all those who celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and chose to be responsible and not drink and drive.
 By Staff
March 17, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
 On a day when we all manage to find a little Irish in us we like to pass on a lovely little Irish limerick that says it all for us.
May those who love us, love us.
And those who don’t love us,
May God turn their Hearts;
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts
May he turn their ankles
So we will know them
by their limping.
Gerry Murphy will be printing this one out and framing it
 By Pepper Parr
March 17th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The federal Liberal government is one step closer to filling some of the 22 vacant Senate seats with the naming of advisory board members who will help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau make his picks for the red chamber.
The creation of an appointment advisory board — which includes two members each from the federal government, Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba — is the next phase of government’s stated plan to make the Senate more independent and less partisan.
 The Senate – will one of our own grace the Red Chamber? The board will be chaired by a former top civil servant and includes several academics, as well as an accomplished musician and a former Olympian.
The Senate nominations list which the panel creates will remain secret and non-binding, and Prime Minister Trudeau will have carte blanche to appoint senators who don’t appear on any recommended list,” said the spokesperson.
What does this have to do with Burlington?
There is a prominent woman active in the social sciences field who we are told is being considered. She would make a great Senator – the loss to Burlington would be significant.
 By Pepper Parr
March 16, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Performing Arts Centre will soon show the public what its new Executive Director is made of – in the near future the The Centre will announce its 2016-2017 season.
 Suzanne Haines, Executive Director of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. When Suzanne Haines arrived she was given the gift of a career lifetime when the show that opened her first day on the job was sold out – the rest of the season did quite well. Haines followed Brian McCurdy who put together a strong program two years in a row and created a team of people that made the place work.
Now we get to see what Haines can do with her own skill set. She is certainly off to a good start – the Centre announced today a new $100,000 initiative sponsored by TD Bank Group.
The four event series is geared to 20 to 35 year olds; an audience that has been a bit of a struggle for The Centre in the past. In some of the best public relations language money can buy The Centre said: “Every show in this series will be met with an equally vibrant and modern ambiance, which may include post-show socials and the possibility of live pre-show performances from emerging local bands,” said Suzanne Haines, Executive Director.
“We are so excited that TD shares our vision in launching this new series. TD’s sponsorship will allow us the opportunity to expand our programming in order to continue with offering innovative and diverse programming.”
The intention for this new series is to create an entire experience for these patrons that will deepen and cultivate their long-term relationship with The Centre.
 “TD is proud to support The Burlington Performing Arts Centre and provide opportunities for people to connect with their communities and enable better lives through the arts,” said Anna Iacobelli, Senior Vice President, Western Ontario Region, TD Bank Group. “We understand the power of the arts in bringing people together and TD is proud to support initiatives that help make a lasting impact in the communities where we live and work.”
TD is committed to providing $50,000 annually for each of the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 programming years for a total gift of $100,000.
Since The Centre’s inaugural year, TD has supported The Centre through its sponsorship, which began with Title Sponsor for the Opening Celebrations held on December 3, 2011.
What the four part series is going to be about; who wrote the material; who will be on stage? It will take another media release from The Centre to get that information.
 By Pepper Parr
March 16th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It isn’t a new application – it is a revised application and the final phase of the Ontario Municipal Board hearing of the now revised Adi Development Group application to put 26 storeys of condominium development at the corner of Martha and Lakeshore Road will not be heard until February 20th of 2017.
 Meed Ward with Mayor Goldring: expect the two of them to head to head in the 2018 municipal election in 2018. At least one of the issues is becoming clear. Expect this to become a prime election issue in 2018 when ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward will run against current Mayor Rick Golding when the issue will be – what kind of a Burlington do we want?
A much more contrite Adi legal team did everything they could to ensure Chair Susan Schiller that they were going to do everything they could to ensure that there was public participation in the revised application.
 The next rendering of Nautique will not look like this. Hearings are as much about procedure as they are about the merits of an application. Because this is a revised application the city wants to know much more about just what the revision is all about – the only thing they know at this point is that Adi has purchased an adjacent piece of property and wants to merge it into what they already have. And what difference is that going to make to the shape and scope of the development – well those are the issues that are going to get discussed by the city’s planning department and the Adi architects before it gets back to the OMB.
What has been worked out is a schedule of events that has the Adi plans going to city council before they go back to the OMB hearing – which is a pretty interesting way to approach the problem.
Here is the lineup of events:
From now until the end of June Adi will have informal meetings with staff on what they have in mind with the new piece of land to the development.
At the end of June Adi formally amends the application.
There is then public notice of the of the revised application also at the end of June
Staff then does its review of the revised application and has until the end of September to get that done.
There is then a public meeting sometime in October
Late in October city council considers the revised application
There is then an OMB pre-hearing conference after the city council has had a chance to do whatever it wants to do. The date for this meeting will be late October early November.
Expert meeting reports are due November 28th
Witness statements are due December 12th
Participant statements are due January 6th
Reply statements are due January 16th
Visual evidence is due January 16th followed by a 10 day hearing that will start February 20th, 2017.
The city did have the right to ask that the development application be denied on the grounds that it was a new development which would have forced Adi to go back to square one and start all over.
This approach, which the public learned about this morning, is not bad – one might be gracious and call it pretty good.
Denise Baker, lead counsel for Adi promised everything but the kitchen sink as she explained the way Adi intended to proceed. One would have liked to see some of this willing to collaborate when the original application was filed rather than bully the city into an OMB hearing. They did have the right to do what they did – practice within the development community is to allow some grace time for development applications.
 Saud and Tariq Adi – it was heavy sledding for the twins at the OMB hearing. One gets edgy when hearing the promises from an organization that has in the past flouted bylaws and put signage up along main traffic arteries and install large signs that were called hoardings at one point and then a fence on another – forcing the bylaw enforcement people to seek advice from the city’s solicitor before ordering Adi to comply with the bylaw.
 Adi development added about 20% more land to the development they plan for the NW corner of Martha and Lakeshore Road. The OMB hearing that began on Monday came to be because Adi was not prepared to give the city some additional time to vote on the application.
With Chair Schiller running the OMB hearing as it goes through its various stages – there will be no nonsense. Those at the media table in the hearing room remarked that she appeared more diligent when it came to the public interest than the city’s council.
Because some land has been added to the assembly the boundary demarcation for those who are permitted to ask to be part of the proceedings and have standing will become a little bigger and include people who were not included up until now.
Chair Schiller went out of her way to ensure that all the lawyers let people know they could make presentations.
Schiller noted there was a high degree of public interest in the hearings – television cameras arrived at city hall on both Monday and Wednesday.
It now becomes a waiting game. Adi will work at figuring out how much more they can add to the development – they are going to have to find a way to pay for that additional land.
By Staff
March 16, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
A senior who was contacted by telephone by an individual claiming to be investigating illegal purchases on his credit card was coerced into sending over $8900 by wire transfer to China.
On March 5th the senior was contacted by an unknown individual on the telephone stating he was investigating fraudulent activity on his credit card in China and the RCMP was also assisting with the investigation.
 The man allowed the caller remote access to his computer and online banking and then the caller requested the male wire transfer money to China to assist the RCMP in tracking it.
The caller then instructed the senior to make separate withdrawals from three bank branches in order to avoid detection. Once the man had made the withdrawals he was advised to attend four different Money Marts in the area and wire transfer the funds to China. The victim transferred over $8900 as instructed by the suspect.
The fraudulent activity was halted when the victim’s bank alerted him to the fraud based on the unusual withdrawals from his account.
The Halton Regional Police Service is reminding citizens to be vigilant against any individuals seeking access to your personal computer or pushing a fictitious scam requesting you to send money via wire transfer.
The bank was the vigilant one in this matter – kudos to them.
 By Staff
March 16, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
One never knows what is going to appear in the mail box.
The following was passed along to us – interesting.
March 11, 2016
Fax: 416-314-8452
Application Assessment Officer
Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Operations Division
Environmental Approvals Access &
Service Integration Branch Application Verification Unit
135 St. Clair Avenue West, Floor 1 Toronto, Ontario M4V 1P5
E-mail: tina.dufresne@ontario.ca Ms. Tina Dufresne, District Manager
Halton-Peel District Office, Central Region
4145 North Service Road, Suite 300 Burlington, Ontario L7L 6A3
Dear Sir/Madam:
Subject: EBR Registry Number: 012-6693
Ministry Reference Number: 1720-A59NX4 Proponent: 2120901 Ontario Limited
Instrument Type: Environmental Compliance Approval – EPA Part 11.1-sewage
Location: 5432 Bell School Line, Burlington, Ontario
I am writing on behalf of the of the Corporation of the City of Burlington, in response to an application for a new Environmental Compliance Approval for 2120901 Ontario Limited posted to the EBR on February 4, 2016. For the reasons that follow, the City of Burlington is requesting that the application be returned to the proponent as incomplete for the reasons as will be set out below. In the alternative, the City is requesting that the time for the submission of comments be extended for an additional 60 days beyond the current deadline of March 20, 2016 to permit adequate time for consideration of the issues by Burlington City Council, and affected residents.
Background
The City of Burlington and the Burlington Airpark Inc. have been engaged in litigation for several years arising from an illegal fill operation taking place at the Burlington Airpark. The sewage works that are the subject of the application before you drain water from the landfill at the airport that is the subject of the litigation between the City and Airpark. The Airpark is located between Appleby Line and Bell School line, north of Highway 407, all of which is located in the northern rural area of Burlington.
 It was the dumping of landfill that resulted in neighbours calling the Gazette – we published the first stories on the problem which woke up people at city hall who began to look into the problem. A fill operation on the Airpark property commenced in late 2007. The City of Burlington was never consulted about the fill operation or about any proposed expansion plans that the Airpark might have with respect to its operations. On or about March 2013, the City began receiving a significant number of complaints from new landowners in the vicinity of the Airpark. The nature of the complaints ranged from grading activities, drainage, noise, dust, traffic safety and about the possible effects of contaminants in the fill on drinking water. After having investigated these complaints, staff concluded that the Airpark was using its lands as a fill site in order to generate revenue and was not depositing fill to implement a planned and/or imminent expansion of its airport facilities.
As a result of its investigations, on May 3, 2013 the City issued an Order to Comply pursuant to its site alteration by-law by obtaining a permit for the ongoing fill operation. After the Airpark failed to comply, the City issued a Violation Notice under its by-law. Since that time, the City has been engaged in protracted litigation with the Airpark to bring the Airpark into compliance with the City’s by laws to address the off-site impacts caused by its fill operation.
Litigation Round 1
The Airpark brought a court application in July 2013 to prohibit the City from enforcing its Topsoil Preservation and Site Alteration By-law against the Airpark and the Airport. The City responded with a counter application seeking a declaration that the City’s Topsoil Preservation and Site Alteration By-law 6-2003 was valid and binding upon the Airpark and to its fill activities.
In November 2013, the court dismissed Airpark’s application against the City and declared that the City’s Topsoil and Site Alteration By-law was valid and binding upon it. The Airpark subsequently appealed the decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on June 13, 2014.
Following the decision of the Court of Appeal, the City continued to press the Airpark to comply with the Order to Comply under the City’s Site Alteration By-law. The City adopted a new Site Alteration By-law #64-2014 which contained materially the same provisions found in the previous by-law. The City maintained that the Order remained outstanding and it continued to be entitled to enforce it. The Airpark subsequently did file an application, however maintained that it was in relation only to a small area at the north-west corner of the Airport. This position
ignores all of the fill unlawfully deposited at the Airpark between January 1, 2008 and August 2, 2013.
litigation Round 2
The City commenced an application to the court in April, 2015 seeking an order to remove all fill deposited on site between 2008 and 2013. In the alternative, the City seeks to have the court order the Airpark to submit a complete application for a site alteration permit pursuant to the new City’s site alteration by-law. The application was heard by the court on November 10, 2015 and at the time of preparing this letter, the court has not released its decision.
Nature of Burlington’s Interest
The City of Burlington has a clear and compelling interest in the application for Environmental Compliance Approval that has been submitted to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and posted on the EBR. As demonstrated above, the City has been engaged in a protracted dispute with the Airpark to regulate the fill that was brought onto the site illegally in order to address the environmental impacts resulting from those actions. In particular, the City is concerned with the grading of the property, and the impacts on the drainage of the lands, all of which are related to the proposed sewage works identified in the current application for compliance.
 Councillor Blair Lancaster walking through the property of a farm adjacent to the air port found the land spongy and soaked with water – now we know where that water is coming from. Prior to 2008, which was the start of the fill operations, the Airpark had a storm sewer drainage system that was located generally in the vicinity of the North South runway and the airpark buildings. These storm sewers discharged into the existing pond at the SE corner of the property and into the adjacent farm fields.
With the start of the fill operations, additional storm sewers were installed in the areas of fill. These storm sewers discharge into a regulated watercourse and also at several locations along the west property line. This has resulted in changes to the stormwater discharge regime onto adjacent properties. The change has been from the previous “sheet flow discharge” to “concentrated flow discharge”. As a result, adjacent properties have been adversely impacted, as identified above in the form of complaints received by the City.
The City agrees that the MOECC Environmental Compliance Approvals were required for these storm sewer systems. In addition, Conservation Authority permits should have been applied for. It is the City’s position that detailed storm sewer and stormwater design calculations should be provided for these systems. The application does not include adequate information in this regard.
Irregularities with the Present Application
City staff has had the opportunity to attend at the Halton-Peel District Office to view the materials filed by the proponent. The City submits that the application as filed contains a number of irregularities that merit the rejection of the present application on the basis of incompleteness.
Name of Proponent
 The ownership of the Air Park and the taxes they actually pay are now being questioned. The name of the proponent making application for environmental compliance approval is 212091 Ontario Limited. The Certificate of Incorporation and the Articles of Incorporation attached to the application for that numbered company date back to 2006. Our recent corporate search of this company discloses that the numbered company was in fact amalgamated with the Burlington Airpark Inc. on January 1, 2007, forming a new company, Burlington Airpark Inc. being Ontario Corp. Number 1721779. Burlington takes the position that the application has been made by a defunct corporation which cannot have legal responsibility for the proposed works to which the application relates. The documents submitted in support of the applicant’s name are neither current, nor do they provide proof of the name of a genuine applicant. Furthermore, the documents submitted do not include copies of the subsequent articles of amalgamation.
Burlington submits that the proponent’s name as posted on the EBR is misleading, and a reasonable person having an interest in postings on the EBR respecting the Burlington Airpark Inc. would not have adequate notice of the application as posted in its current form.
Location(s) Related to this Instrument
The posting to the Environmental Registry identify the relevant address as 5432 Bell School Line, Burlington. Our information is that the actual address for the site is 5342 Bell School Line, in the City of Burlington. Again, any reasonable person having an interest in activities related to the Airpark would not have adequate notice that an application had been made for those lands. Also, 5342 Bell School Line is only one of three land parcels forming the Airpark lands.
Statement of the Municipality (s. 5.1)
The City notes that section 1.5 of the Application – Statement of the Municipality has been left blank. The Municipality has to indicate that it has no objection to the construction of the works in the municipality. I can assure you, that the City of Burlington, where the works are located has not been contacted and has not been consulted. Furthermore, the box has not been checked as “NA”.
Our understanding is that a municipal declaration is required from the municipality in which the sewage works are or will be located. The Ministry’s own “Guide to Applying for an Environmental Compliance Approval”, identifies that this declaration, “is required to establish the municipality’s general concurrence with the proposal, to ensure that the proposed works would not contravene any municipal by-laws or other requirements.” Also, the common law requires that the City be consulted in these circumstances.
Based on the background provided in this correspondence, the City of Burlington has very serious concerns about the sewage works identified in the application, and the municipality ought to have been consulted prior to the application having been made. The City takes the position that the installation of sewage works was done concurrent with the illegal infill operation that was occurring at the site, in contravention of the City’s site alteration by-laws.
Burlington’s Request
 Barbara Sheldon look at 32 feet of landfill less than 50 feet from her kitchen window. All dumped without any permits because an airport maintained they were federally regulated and did not have to comply with city bylaws. The City of Burlington is requesting that the application be returned to the proponent as incomplete for the reasons as presented. The application contains incomplete and inaccurate information, and has the effect of misleading any person with an interest in tracking environmental activity on the EBR. The proponent ought to correct the application, and ensure that discussions are held with the relevant municipal authorities, including the City of Burlington and Conservation Halton before an application for environmental compliance is re submitted.
In the alternative, the City is requesting that the time for the submission of comments be extended for an additional 60 days beyond the current deadline of March 20, 2016 to permit adequate time for consideration of the issues by Burlington City Council, and affected residents.
Please note that these submissions are preliminary and deal only with the adequacy of the application and process followed to date. Should the application continue to be processed for approval, the City will submit its technical comments on the application for environmental approval.
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours truly,
Nancy L. Shea Nicol
City Solicitor & Director of Legal Services cc. Mr. Ian Blue, Gardiner
This is the kind of document that would get circulated to council members and discussed in a closed session of council. Our thanks to the citizen who had the courage to pass it along to the Gazette.
 By Staff
March 16, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The nominations for Burlington’s Best Awards are in. This year there are 20 deserving and devoted nominees for the seven categories.
Residents are invited to join some of Burlington’s finest civic-minded volunteers, advocates and community leaders on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at the Burlington Convention Centre, 1120 Burloak Dr., for the 2015 Burlington’s Best Awards, a gala evening in honour of Burlington’s most outstanding citizens.
 Anne Swarbrick is the chair of the Art Gallery if Burlington Foundation. she has been nominated for the Community Service Award.  Ken Woodruff a former Burlington Green president was nominated for the Environment award.  Vince Fiorito was nominated for the Environmental award. The nominees are:
Citizen of the Year – Paul Echlin, Brenda Hunter
Junior Citizen of the Year – Chris Choi, Kelli Hornick, Erin Richardson, Olivia Walker-Edwards
Senior Person of the Year – Ed Dorr, Bob Pring, John Worobec
Environmental Award – Vince Fiorito, Herb Sinnock, Ken Woodruff
Arts Person of the Year – Cate Beech, Dan Murray
Community Service Award – Gilbert Deveer, Frank Lupton, Janice Martin, Anne Swarbrick
Heritage Award – Derek Martin, Winnifred Stewart
By Pepper Parr
March 15th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
 Mayor Goldring and Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward. The statement released by the city on the decision they made not to oppose the request ADI Development Group made to the Chair of the Ontario Municipal Board hearing for an adjournment that will push any decision forward to 2017 was so typical of this council. Every member of Council is on record as being opposed to the project.
What their thinking was during a two hour plus session of council is secret – but one would like to think that these high school graduates could say something.
Councillor Marianne Meed Ward did say : “This is the right decision and if no more comes from the city I will work with legal to draft a statement that can be shared, probably after the hearing tomorrow.”
Now you know why she is the odds on favourite to become the next Mayor of Burlington.
By Pepper Parr
March 15, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
In an earlier version of this story we said Councillor Craven did not attend the Special Council meeting: we erred. Council Craven was in attendance, Council Sharman was absent.
Burlington City Council voted to not oppose a request from Adi Developments to adjourn the Ontario Municipal Board hearing regarding the application for a 26-storey condominium proposed to be developed at 374 Martha St.
 Council members standing for a recorded vote not to oppose the ADI Development group’s request for an adjournment of the OMB hearing they sought. Councillor Sharman was absent. In 2014, Adi Developments submitted an application to the City of Burlington for a 28-storey condominium to be developed on a .136 hectare parcel of land at 374 Martha St. Adi Developments launched the OMB appeal in March 2015. In February 2016, the developer amended its application to 26 storeys.
 The bungalow on the right was recently purchased by the ADI development group and added to their land assembly on which they propose to erect a 26 storey condominium. At the OMB hearing on March 14, the developer told the OMB it has bought the property at 380 Martha Street, and will include that property in its condominium development application. The city’s legal team asked for an opportunity to receive instruction from Burlington City Council.
The Chair of the OMB hearing asked the City of Burlington to have a response to Adi Developments’ request for adjournment by 3:30 p.m. today. The public was informed after 4 p.m. of City Council’s decision.
 The property marked 380 was purchased by ADI and added to the original land assembly. The OMB hearing will resume on Wednesday, March 16 at 10 a.m. in City Hall, Room 247, to deal with the developer’s request for adjournment and to establish a future process for dealing with the appeals that are currently before the board. The meeting is open to the public.
That was what the city had to say: What they didn’t comment on was that the adjournment will push the hearing back to sometime in 1Q of 2017 – that’s the earliest date the OMB can hear this case.
In their comments made while asking for the adjournment legal counsel for Adi said they believed many if not most of the concerns the city had expressed over the original development application could be resolved through discussion about the impact the additional property would have on the scale and scope of the project.
The most recent rendering of the Nautique Patrick Devine, legal counsel for the condo/apartment building directly across the street from the small piece of property that has been added to the land assembly amount to much more than a small change and should be seen as a new application and treated as such.
Unless someone objects to the adjournment, which could be as long as a year, things at the corner of Martha and Lakeshore Road are going to be quiet for some time.
Background links:
Original story on the ADI request for an adjournment of the OMB hearing they demanded when the city failed to act within the required 180 day timeline
By Staff
March 15, 2016
Burlington, ON
During the past five days members of the Halton Police service have travelled to both of Canada’s coasts to arrest parties wanted on Canada Wide Warrants.
As previously reported, on Friday March 11, 2016, officers flew to British Columbia and took custody of 35 year old Burlington male who was wanted in Halton Region for drug offences. After being released from custody when originally arrested, the fled to BC, a Canada wide warrant was issued for his arrest.
On Tuesday March 15, 2016, officers flew to Newfoundland to take custody of 33 year old Halton Hills male who was wanted for offences relating to an alleged domestic assault.
Halton Regional Police Service works closely with the Halton Crown Attorney’s Office to identify serious cases that deserve this response. Each case is thoroughly reviewed, if determined to possess a serious risk to the victim or public safety or the gravity of the offence is so great, a Canada Wide Warrant may be issued allowing officer to arrest and return offender from different provinces.
The Halton Regional Police Service encourages the public to visit the Service’s Most Wanted webpage and contact us if you have any information on a wanted party.
If you wish to remain anonymous with information on this or any other crime is asked to call 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
March 14, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
 Can Mayor Goldring keep his council focused and on topic in order to meet the two hour limitation he was given by the Chair of the ADI development appeal now before the OMB. The Mayor is going to have to be brisk and focused when he chairs the Special meeting of Council Wednesday afternoon as they work through what they want to give their legal counsel in the way of instructions on the latest twist in the Nautique development that ADI took to the Ontario Municipal Board.
Can a substantially revised development still be appealed on its original grounds? ADI purchases property to the north of their Nautique development site. The ADI Development Group appealed their application to build a 28 storey structure to the OMB because they didn’t like the fact that the city did not give them a decision on their project within the required 180 day timeline.
Now they have the temerity to ask the city to go along with an adjournment for six months or more – and it will be more because there is no room on the OMB calendar until the 1Q of 2017.
There is also a bigger issue – the addition of a significant chunk of property to the development proposal would suggest that the OMB can (some say should) throw the appeal out and let ADI make a new application to the city.
The Mayor might have been better advised to call the meeting for 9:30 am – there is going to be a lot to talk about and there is significant doubt that this council can get through the jibber jabber they do when they debate in time to meet that 3:30 deadline put in place by the Chair of the OMB hearing.
City council recently approved the salaries for city council and reported on what council members were given in the way of expense and benefits money. On has to add about $60,000 to the number shown – this is what the council members get paid for their work as members of the Regional council.
 Recorded votes are not the norm for Burlington’s city council. In this instance Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward votes against – it will be interesting to see if she demands a recorded vote for whatever comes out of the closed council meeting on Tuesday. The debate that takes place, in a closed session of city council, which the Gazette believes is one of those occasions when the discussion should take place in camera; however the vote on what the city decides to do should take place in a public session where the public gets to learn what the question was and how individual members actually voted.
This is an important decision that gives the city an opportunity to bring a developer to heal.
One can hope that Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward will do her duty and once again ask for a recorded vote – don’t let your constituents down Councillor.
|
|
