By Staff
June 9th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
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June 9th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
It was a good idea at the time – but by the time the city gets around to this one much of the summer might have passed us by.  Councillor Stolte looking for a response to her motion – put forward last April A motion was presented to Burlington Council on April 20, 2020 by Councillor Shawna Stolte which sought to direct staff to prepare a list of potential streets under the City’s jurisdiction that could be closed for the purpose of allowing space for walking and cycling within the roadway/road allowance in a manner that does not conflict with provincially mandated social distancing regulations. This motion failed, however in its place, the following staff direction was approved: Defer item 14.1 “Shared Streets Burlington” (ADM-02-20) regarding road closures to aid social distancing during the COVID-19 emergency to staff to determine criteria and return back to Committee or Council in May. It is now June In preparing this report, staff kept the following significant principles in mind: • There must be demonstrated and measurable need for increased space for pedestrians and/or cyclists. After careful consideration and taking into account the above principles, staff recommend a “responsive” approach as the best way forward when considering whether to implement road or sidewalk closures. This approach involves the identification of an issue requiring consideration of closures and developing a plan that addresses those site-specific conditions. Once a particular roadway section, intersection or sidewalk has been verified as a problem, staff can take a phased approach commencing with education, signage, coning off areas of conflict and/or proceed with the closure option from the very beginning. With several variables to consider when closing roadways and/or sidewalks, it was determined that setting pre-determined criteria for closures would not give staff the flexibility needed to address a wide range of issues and changing conditions at locations across the city. For example, finding solutions for the downtown or the Aldershot business areas require distinctively different approaches given the needs of merchants versus other areas of the city who may have the luxury of underutilized private parking lots. Given the State of Emergency it is further recommended that the Emergency Control Group (ECG) and Task forces be advised of any need to close roads and sidewalks to ensure consistency and alignment with provincial orders Through the City’s Delegated Authority By-law (099-2012), authority is given to the Director of Transportation Services, Director of Engineering, Director of Roads and Parks Maintenance, and Fire Chief, or their designate(s) to approve short-term emergency and temporary road closures. Any closures which could involve a longer time period will require consultation with Legal Staff and Council approval. In response to the varying needs already identified, the following initiatives have been undertaken by Transportation Services staff: Traffic Signal Timing Changes Paid On-street Parking Conversion to 20 min. Drop Off Zones  Will Burlington see special lanes opened up for cyclists and walkers? The downtown is an obvious source of high numbers of pedestrians, so it is not surprising that it has emerged as an area that requires attention. A number of intersections on Lakeshore Road through the downtown are continually being monitored by staff in order to quickly respond to changing conditions. City By-law staff who are continually circulating around the city are reporting hot spots so that staff can focus their attention on developing solutions. Staff recognize and appreciate the importance of Burlington residents communicating with their ward Councillors. Staff plan on using this intelligence by holding an open weekly invitation to Council members to convey what they hear from their constituents as it relates to pinch points around the city. Options Considered This one gets debated in a virtual city council Standing Committee meeting. .
June 8th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
We have a city Council that is approaching the half way mark of the term. It has been a roller coaster of a ride so far. From firing the city manager on basically their first day on the job to having to deal with a totally different form of doing their jobs – locked down in the homes and doing everything via Zoom while the City Manager runs the city with in a way he didn’t think he would be doing when he signed on.  City Council meeting – before COVID Five of the seven had absolutely no civic government experience; they were flying close to blind with nothing but their aspirations to guide them. Every one of the five have learned that this was not a simple gig. All have never worked harder in their lives. Some may decide this isn’t the business for them – and for some this isn’t the business for them. There are people who live and breathe what goes on at city hall. We refer to then as “local wags” people who have their ear to the ground. And no – we are not going to identify the wag. This person has been a very useful source of information. Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith – wants Aldershot to secede from the city so he can become Mayor of Aldershot. Could be – you never know. Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns – wants to be Mayor at some future date. Don’t put any real money on that every happening. Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan – wants to serve as the Mayors Lieutenant. Isn’t he already doing just that? Ward 4 Shawna Stolte – not bad for a former social worker. Tough on the spending side. Ward 5 Paul Sharman – the moment he thinks the Mayor is about to slip on a banana peel he will be at city hall filing nomination papers for the Office of Mayor. Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna – he is better than the person he replaced but not by that much. Has serious difficulty fully understanding the issue in reports. Mayor Meed Ward – she leads a council but that council doesn’t work as a team under this Mayor. And this is a Council that wants to be led in a collegial fashion.
June 6th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
Resiliency and mental health can determine how well individuals overcome the stresses and uncertainty of any situation.  Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe They are two very important aspects connected to a pandemic and how we cope with the social isolation and major disruption to the way we live our lives. Burlington residents are invited to attend an educational online talk from Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe There is no cost but participation is limited to the first 500 participants. To register, please email getinvolved@burlington.ca by Tuesday, June 16 at 4 p.m. Participants will be emailed the Zoom Meeting link on June 17. The events in these first few months of 2020 have been an incredible test of our resilience. Our existence has been stripped down to the essentials. We are in a global fight to protect and manage our health. This global crisis will change the world forever, and each of us will inevitably be transformed by the experience. This pandemic will be taught in future history classes! As with all seasons and events of challenge, how we respond is crucial. In this remote learning event, Dr. Hanley-Dafoe will present her work on resiliency that includes the five core competencies from a global perspective. Dr. Hanley-Dafoe will discuss how to best navigate personal and professional resiliency in times of uncertainty through stress performance, targeted focusing and value alignment. She will also introduce the Resiliency Trajectory Model to serve as a tool for seeing resiliency in action. The information is researched informed, readily available, and is grounded in wise practices. Her aim is to facilitate knowledge mobilization that is relatable, accessible, sustainable and realistic. The information presented here may not be radical, but it is ultimately practical for the everyday resiliency we all need right now. Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe is a psychology and education instructor who specializes in resiliency, navigating stress and change, leadership, and personal wellness in the workplace. Described as transformational, engaging, and thought-provoking, Robyne’s keynotes provide practical strategies grounded in global research and case studies that help foster resiliency within others and ourselves.
June 6th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
A reported 5000 people marched from Walkers Line to City hall last night in support of protests against the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis . He was murdered by a police officer who had pressed his knee again Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes at which point Floyd died. The last words heard from the man were ”I can’t breathe”. There were certainly issues of social distancing but the march was a typically Canadian peaceful event. The crowd in civic square was quiet and not filled with people pressed together. Half an hour after the event Civic Square was empty with not piece of garbage littering the space. Would that Spencer Smith Park and the Beachway looked as tidy at the end of a weekend.  Civic Square was basically spotless half an hour after the Solidarity March took place Thursday evening. It was more than a respectable crowd which struggled with the social distancing rule, especially those on the right hand side who were clustered far too tightly. Will we see an uptick in infections in a couple of weeks?
June 4th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
If you need a non-medical cotton mask you can send a note to ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith or ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte. The other four Councillor did not take up the opportunity to make free masks available to citizens. Councillor Stolte – ward4@burlington.ca Councillor Galbraith – ward1@burlington.ca  Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith and his wife Angie Blignaut  Ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte with her daughter wearing one of the free masks.
June 4th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
 Parking spot for those getting tested. Some of the negative and positive fall on the COVID19 front. Testing at Joseph Brant has gone up 70% since the Premier encouraged more people to get tested Test results are taking 24-48 hours to come back, on average A big question being asked, being led to a large degree by Collen Mulholland, is how charities will have to do things a lot differently in the years ahead.  This is what the Salvation Army would like to see – it may not be what will happen. The Salvation Army Kettle Campaign won’t be able to proceed as usual without retail locations they can be in front of and the handling of cash will be different – that’s a $400K campaign for them annually.  A very successful event that raised thousands for Rotary and was heavily attended. Can the event recover if they close for a year. Cancellation of Ribfest is a huge loss for Rotary fundraising. There is a need to look at innovation and flexibility in how charities fund raise – something to give thought to in future meetings. Domestic/family violence/mental health continues to be an issue – upcoming June public meeting to hear messaging around support. There are a lot of questions that have to be addressed.
June 4th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
There are dozens of places where her presence – at a safe social distance would be welcomed. The Burlington Food Bank would like to see her helping out for a bit; the Compassion Society would make room for her. A drop in at any one of the Ambulance stations would be appreciated. A bit of a tour in the hospital, personally thanking the staff. A picture of her wearing a mask and once again getting out her message – six feet apart and wear a mask – and if you are in quarantine – please follow the rule. She was seen yesterday on the webcast of a Special Meeting of Council she called – media wasn’t advised. She will be chairing the Mayor’s Task Force on Covid 19 this evening – starts at 6 pm Many municipalities post their Mayor’s daily schedule on line.
June 4th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
Seniors facing higher costs for groceries, transportation and prescriptions due to COVID-19 can expect emergency aid payments of up to $500 in early July.  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing the date for that seniors COVID bonus. He hasn’t looked very happy of late. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced during his daily news conference in Ottawa Thursday that the payments would be distributed starting the week of July 6. Trudeau initially announced the one-time top-up on May 12. The payments are to offset increases in the cost of living due to COVID-19. Seniors who qualify for Old Age Security (OAS) will be eligible for a one-time tax-free payment of $300, and those eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) will get $200.
June 3rd, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
Who gets the food handed out Monday to Friday by the Burlington Food Bank? The demographics look like this: 40% of the clients they serve are families with kids. The food they supply to families; about two weeks supply includes snacks with juice for school aged kids  Robin Executive Director of the Burlington Food Bank doing one of his regular, and short You Tube broadcasts. Robin Bailey, who does a podcast a couple of times a week, points out that “students need to eat economically, people have just been so impacted by this pandemic. It’s really important for people to be able to meet their basic necessities and one of the ways they can do that is by accessing community support through us. We are continuing on with our safe home delivery distribution model. Don’t go into debt for your food. Let us help.” The Food Bank is a not for profit organization that gets food from a wide assortment of organizations that are both local and provincial. Milk producers supply dozens of cartons of milk that is kept fresh. A number of organizations hold food drives. Different groups donate funds.  Just some of the volunteers who make the Food Bank work. The day to day work is done by volunteers who sort food as it comes in and then pack it into hampers for delivery.  Food hampers include cloth masks that are made by volunteers who cut the cloth, sew the pieces together and distribute them to different groups, including the Food Bank. The model created by the Food Bank is a direct delivery. They take orders by phone. When Food is being delivered the drivers calls the household when they are outside the door the drivers call and someone from the household comes out to pick it up. Covid19 safety procedures are paramount; everyone is masked. If you are in need or know of someone who could use our help have them email us at info@burlingtonfoodbank.ca or call 905-637-2273 to make arrangements to have food dropped at the door. If you live in Burlington, we are here to help.
June 3rd,2020 BURLINGTON, ON
More grief in store of those who depend on or live near New Street. The final phase of the renewal of the street – from Walkers Line to Burloak where resurfacing is to be completed. The City of Burlington is making improvements to New Street as well as Shane Court, Patrick Place and Bower Court.  New Street west of Walkers Line was done more than a year ago. The biggest concern for many might be the disruption to home internet or telephone service which may occur. The city is aware of the heightened concern with respect to families who are working from home and has raised this concern with utility companies and their need to react quickly to disabled services. Our goal is to have affected internet connections repaired by the utility companies within 24hrs of an issue occurring. The contractor typically contacts the utility company, however if you lose service, please feel free to contact us. The City of Burlington and Halton Region are working with the contractors to make sure this work is done in a safe and timely way. This construction site is managed by Associated Paving Ltd (APL). It is APL’s Health and Safety Policies and Procedures that will govern the job site. City of Burlington staff, Halton Region staff and all other consultants that go to the project site will follow APL’s policies for onsite health and safety. Project Contacts All other inquiries Marc Daffre June 2020 Project Scope • Resurfacing Project Schedule and Temporary Lane Restrictions Work on Shane Court, Patrick Place and Bower Court will be completed weekdays during daytime hours. The roadworks will progress from east to west over the project duration. Traffic signal work will be completed in advance of the roadworks. Single lane restrictions will be in place in the area of the active work. Sidewalks will be closed where work is being undertaken. Access to Businesses Access to Your Residence Burlington Transit Lawn Irrigation System Vibration Waste Collection For more information, please contact:
June 2nd, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON Date moved to June 20th There is an organization that wants to register 10,000 Canadian artists for an event that will supports 10 different verticals within the arts community – film, fashion, music, visual art, performing art, beauty, accessories, photography, craft and technology. There is no charge for artists to participate. The National Arts Drive, a three-hour community experience on Saturday, June 20, 2020, 4 – 7pm, spanning throughout Canada, United States and Mexico. Local artists will showcase their work while respecting social distancing – from windows, balconies, driveways, front lawns, workspaces, or appropriate commercial spaces.
Described as an engaging and exciting opportunity for artists and art lovers its being sponsored by RAW Artists Canada who have teamed up with Artfest Ontario to bring the National Arts Drive to Ontario Communities. Highlights: Collingwood resident Michelle Bylow is leading the charge in bringing the drive to Canada. “We are using all the resources available to continue our mandate of supporting and empowering artists,” said Bylow, executive director of RAW Artists Canada. “The drive will give artists visibility and financial support from their communities. 100 per cent of the proceeds go to the artists”. Thousands of artists and art lovers are signing up. The driving tour will be paired with a mobile website designed and built by RAW Artists. Art showcases will be identified on a map within the app, enabling drivers to plan their routes. Using the site, visitors can support artists by liking, following and/or sharing artists’ work via social media, tipping artists through a touch free pay app (i.e. Venmo, PayPal), and/or making future purchases from the artists online. All donations go directly to the artists. For more information on CLICK HERE
June 1st, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
 Legislature will meet on Tuesday to get a motion to extend the State of Emergency Assuming the Provincial Legislature approves the motion the state of emergency, which was set to expire on June 2, will be extended until June 30. Included under the province’s state of emergency are a number of emergency orders. The emergency orders include restrictions on social gathering limits. This morning, Premier Ford said his government is “aggressively” working on a plan to continue reopening the economy. “If numbers go down, we’ll be looking at other stages,” Ford said. “I want to get the economy going but we have to do it safely.” The province was hoping to make an announcement on allowing larger social gatherings last month but said it was due to an uptick in cases. Meanwhile, Health Minister Christine Elliott said the province “still needs to go some distance” before moving to stage two of the reopening plan. “We need to take a careful and measured approached based on four factors: the number of new cases needs to go down, make sure that we have sufficient capacity in our hospitals, make sure we’re doing adequate testing and we need to do contact tracing with public health units.” A list of the Order the government has issued and the details behind the order is set out below. Just click on the link and you will be able to read the orders. This is what government is all about.
June 1st, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
Is the cheque in the mail? Not yet, but Burlington Member of Parliament Karina Gould (who is also a Cabinet Minister) assures everyone that – well let’s let the MP speak for herself:  That cheque is close but it isn’t in the mail yet. For most people the $300 will go directly into your bank account. “Over the past week, a number of Burlington residents have contacted my office asking when they will be receiving the one time Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement Payments. “This one time payment will be a separate payment to the OAS and GIS cheques that seniors receive at the end of each month. I can assure you that these payments will be delivered automatically as soon as possible and that beneficiaries do not need to apply. Further details will be available soon.” Soon is the best they can do at this point.
May 31st, 202- BURLINGTON, ON
The Farmer’s Market Opens on June 10 The Burlington Centre, (you used to know it as the Mall) on Guelph Line, continues to be the home of the Farmers Market, which has been operating for 62 consecutive years by the Burlington Lions Club, offering great fresh and processed products from local farmers and vendors.  Burlington Lions showing their support for the redevelopment and expansion of the Joseph Brant Hospital The opening of this Ontario Essential Business, a fresh air grocery, is the culmination of careful collaborative work by Vendors, Halton Region Health, City, Centre Owner RIOCAN, Lions Club and local businesses. Changes have been made for COVID safety and protection of the public, vendors and Market volunteers.  It’s a bit of a maze but there will be a lot of people to help out if you get confused. Make it a fun day. The biggest changes are mandated for disease control and are based on experience at other already open operations: 6 foot distancing, cough containment and hand sanitizer, controlling the number of patrons in the Market at one time, and one-way traffic flow. The Market perimeter is defined by rows of bright colour pennant flags. There is one entrance Gate (watch for Greeter’s Green or Red Wait sign) from the Parking Lot side indicated by an 8 ft high yellow ENTER sign. Once entering, all patrons will use one-way traffic flow in much wider aisles, including a centre median to mark the travel lanes and direction. Patrons may cross the median at various locations to change direction to the other side of the Market or to the single EXIT.  This is one of those “abundance of caution” situations. Follow the instructions from people who really want you to have a good experience. Other precautions include protection from touching the produce and a new slogan: “Point to Buy” – Vendors will put less product on display at one time to help protect it. Cash is facilitated and some vendors are offering electronic payment options. All bags are supplied by Vendors. Sorry, no samples permitted. Visitors are encouraged to wear a mask, use the Market Hand sanitizer (or your own), contain your cough/sneeze, keep six feet apart at all times. Service Dogs only please. Crops are coming in a bit later this Season, but Vendors will be happy to see You! It will be a different experience but all that fresh produce will make it worth the bit of bother.
May 31st, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
New Covid19 infections show up in Burlington, Milton and Oakville, reports the Halton Public Health Unit. The data released by the Halton Public Health brings the total confirmed and probable cases in Halton to 717. Eight more residents across the four local municipalities are now listed as recovered — two in Oakville, two in Milton, three in Halton Hills and one in Burlington — bringing the total number of resolved cases to 581. Summary: Milton has 167 confirmed cases and 147 recoveries Halton Hills has 140 confirmed cases and 125 recoveries Burlington has 122 confirmed cases and 113 recoveries Among the total Halton cases, 11 % have been residents or patients associated with a confirmed institutional outbreak. There have been 25 Halton residents whose death has been attributed to COVID-19.
May 31st, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
It started on the 25th when the weather was great – that Beach was either just too tempting to stay away from or there are a lot of people who are hard of hearing and can’t read. On the 28th, Thursday, the city decided they would take strong steps and put up fences to keep people off the beach.  People want to be near the water – it’s the lake and beach that make much of what Burlington is all about. The province mandated that Beaches were to stay closed period. Many appear to have thought that if they respected the six foot social distance rule they were Ok – they weren’t. The Premier of the Province has taken part in a media event every week day for some weeks. We expect that he will be on TV again on Monday – maybe that rule about beaches being closed will be relaxed.  It used to be people, people, people – for almost as far as the eye could see along the Beachway. Province said No and the sound has fenced off the area. There are a lot of people who aren’t happy with those Beaches being closed. The Mayor isn’t one of them. When asked why, she is reported to have told other media that they can look to the FAQ section on the city website for the details.  Mayor Meed Ward presiding over a virtual city council meeting The Mayor’s statement is reported to read: “Unfortunately, despite announcements and signage asking people to comply with the Provincially-mandated beach closure, last weekend, we saw a high volume of users on the beach who even when approached with educational measures by our bylaw team, still refused to leave,” reads the statement. “Our options at this point are either: to issue a high volume of costly tickets; to accept increasingly higher numbers of COVID-19 in Ontario as we have seen since May 10; or to put up a fence.” Public beaches across Ontario are currently closed following the provinces Emergency orders.
May 28th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON Emma’s Back Porch and the Water Street Cooker will re-open but Craig Kowalchuk will not be behind the bar.  One of the greatest watering holes in the city. The buildings were always owned by 2084 Lakeshore Holdings Ltd., they were Kowalchuk’s landlord.  Craig Kowalchuk speaking to his Customer base  2084 Lakeshore Holdings, Craig Kowalchuk’s former landlord, decided to run the two restaurants when the province permits them to re-open The Pandemic forced Kowalchuk to close the restaurants which he explained to his loyal client base on March 19th. Between then and May 12th, when Kowalchuk declared bankruptcy something changed. The sign on the door explains that 2084 Lakeshore Holdings Inc. will be the operator of the two restaurants. No word yet on when the province will permit restaurants to re-open.
May 28th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON
Aldershot Food Collection Committee reaches out to the wider community: “We need your help!” Unfortunately, the hot weather this week decreased the food donations.  Robin Bailey, Executive Director of the Burlington Food Bank Also, according to the Food Bank, they are low on Peanut butter and Mac & Cheese which is very unusual. Of course, with the kids at home, their snacks and juice boxes are still needed and most families are also running out of toiletries. Please share with your contacts, so maybe they can shop over the weekend and we can make up for the low donations this week to both the Food Bank and Compassion Society. Robin Bailey, Executive Director of the Burlington Food Bank shared the love with the organizations the Food Bank collaborates with. The Salvation Army tends to the east side of the city, The Compassion Society manages to reach a vulnerable sector (homeless) that we aren’t able to connect with in the same way. Wellington Square and their Community Meals program, is supported by the Food Bank every month and more regularly during COVID-19. The Food Bank provides meal preparation support from Glad Tidings Church, Open Doors at St. Christopher’s, Next Door Social Space. Food for Life shares the rescued food around Halton. Bailey makes the same plea every time he speaks: If you are in need or know of someone who could use our help have them email us at info@burlingtonfoodbank.ca or call 905-637-2273 to make arrangements to have food dropped at the door. If you live in Burlington, we are here to help.
May 27th, 2020 BURLINGTON, ON The town hall will be hosted by Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, who will be joined by a panel of local leaders to help answer residents’ questions.
1. Register in advance: Burlington residential phone numbers will be randomly selected to be part of the telephone town hall. Residents who would like to be added to the telephone call list can email getinvolved@burlington.ca by the end of day on June 3. 2. Join by telephone: Anyone who does not receive a telephone invitation can call 1-800-779-7154 just before 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 4 to join the town hall. For those individuals calling in, please be advised more than one attempt may be required due to the high volume of traffic on the phone lines. If the first call does not connect, please hang up and dial the 1-800 number again. Once the call begins, a moderator will provide participants with instructions for how to submit their questions to the leadership panel. Any questions not answered during the call will be posted, with answers, to the City’s website at burlington.ca/townhall, along with an audio file and full transcript of the call after June 4. Mayor Marianne Meed Ward will be connecting directly with the community on what will be the third public telephone town hall since this crisis began. With the volume of ever-changing information people are dealing with on a daily basis, the Mayor wants to create the opportunity to answer questions about current health advice and testing, programs and facilities that are resuming throughout the city, and how we can continue to mitigate the spread of this virus while we adjust to the reopening of many businesses, services and popular activities this summer.
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