 By Pepper Parr
October 8th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Another memorable Burlington Public Engagement moment.
After going through a long presentation on the Council Composition and Ward boundary task that the city has entered into – the first of what will end up being many public meetings took place last night.
There were three people that were “public” and four staff people plus the staff from Watson and Associates why are doing the study for the city.
 The person on the right is part of the consultant team; the others were interested enough to show up. One of the three that were attending asked why there was just the one sign outside the building – there are three entrances to the Tansley Woods Community Centre.
Signs outside and inside each door helps.
The study is something the city has to do. More importantly, if there is going to be a council that is truly representative, the city needs to know where the 29,000 new homes are going to be located by 2031 and how big the population of each ward, as they exit now, are likely to be.
The presentation made at City Council on Monday was detailed. The Gazette had yet to publish a report on the event.
So when we learned that a total of three people showed up for the event we were not surprised.
Why the city scheduled the first public meeting the day after the presentation to Council suggests that the Communications people don’t know very much about how to engage a public – but that is a different problem.
The bigger problem is that people in Burlington just don’t participate in civic matters – less than 30% of the eligible voters in the 2022 election bothered to vote.
One of the consulting staff made the point that in 2016 when he was involved in this type of public meeting the room was packed. “Things have changed since the pandemic” – what the change is is something that has yet to be figured out.
There are two more meetings scheduled.
 By Pepper Parr
October 8th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Second of a series on the changes taking place in print media and the challenge keeping the public informed.
In the period leading up to 2000 media found itself facing realty difficult times.
When Y2k (remember that event) was upon us no one really knew what was going to happen when we moved into the new millennium.
 Newspapers were selling their printing presses and contracting the work out. Media covered the event like a wet blanket – there were those that said it wasn’t really a problem while others suggested the machines that drive production would come to an immediate halt.
Media did a lot of reporting – but they didn’t pause to ask: what does this mean to us as an industry?
I don’t recall reading about any industry wide workshops; I don’t recall seeing anything in the way of op-ed pieces on what the industry needed to do in the way of changes.
Media covered disruption – without realizing that they were in line for some major disruption to their industry and they weren’t prepared.
The industry no longer had the aura of Watergate or the Pentagon Papers that made reporters heros – at that time thousands flooded into the industry wanting to be reporters. Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were the subject of close to fawning news stories, television specials and movies.
By the late 1980s journalism schools were being closed. The number of students that graduated got smaller and smaller.
The age of the men and woman in the news rooms was made up of people in their late 40’s and 50’s – there was no new blood coming into the industry. And there were few MBAs on staff of the large newspapers.
Those that were public corporations had financial analysts looking at profits which were decent at the time – what those analysts didn’t see was that the boat was moving quickly toward a Niagara size waterfall.
When the disruption of the revenue sources began media didn’t have a Plan B – they watched is losses began to climb and subscriptions slowly slipped away.
 The data relates to American newspaper – the number will not be much different for Canada Part 1 of a series.
 By Pepper Parr
October 8th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Painful things happen.
 At about 7:30 this morning access to the Gazette seemed limited.
At -7:45 you could not get to the paper. A thing called an SSL Certificate had expired.
Getting to the people who provide the certificate was not easy – we all know about Customer Support don’t we.
The problem has been resolved – on the positive side – I had 42 calls from readers along with 21 emails telling us there was a problem.
Learning this morning that a Canadian (UofT) had been awarded the Nobel prize as the founder of AI suggest that we are entering a different age.
Heaven help us.
Thanks for the support.
 By Staff
October 8th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Walkn’n Roll fund raising drive reached $39,000 of the $40,000 target.
Would a handful of the people out there help them reach the total – today would be nice.
 Community Living promotes the inclusion for all in the community. Walk’n Roll is the initiative that funds some of the work done at Community Living – an organization that helps people who need help – people with a developmental disability in Burlington.
With just $1,000 more to reach the $40,000 goal, they are asking for your help. If you haven’t had the chance to donate yet or if you’d like to make a one-time contribution, now’s the perfect time.
The donation portal closes on October 10, 2024.
Donate here
 By Pepper Parr
October 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Gazette seldom actually attends meetings of City Council. We see the room as somewhat odious.
More than that – we make heavy use of photographs which we couldn’t take if we were in the Council Chamber – further we use a transcription service that allows us to capture what people say – we couldn’t do that if we were actually at City Hall.
This morning there were two people we wanted pictures of: Curt Benson, a City Commissioner and Jack Ammendolia Managing Partner from Watson who was reporting to Council on the ward boundaries and size of council matter.
We also like to keep our photograph data base of Councillors -up to date.
 Curt Benson – Commissioner of Development and Growth Management We were able to get several good screen shots of Curt Benson – this man is going to have a very significant impact on how development rolls out from a city perspective. Benson came from the Halton Region – knows the file particularly well. The city was lucky to get him
 Jack Ammendolia, Managing Partner, Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. Same went for Jack Ammendolia, Managing Partner, Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. We were also able to get pictures of Samantha Yew, City Clerk who does solid behind the scenes work.
 The image on the Thomson T-shirt. We can’t say the same about Jim Thompson. He delegated in person at Committee of the Whole, and as usual he was right on the mark with his comment. Thomson has been consistently correct when he points out the errors council makes on procedural matters.
His delegation appears below. What doesn’t appear are any pictures of Jim Thomson sporting a new T-shirt.
It takes less than a second for me to push the Print Screen key – I didn’t have that much time. The image was gone in a flash and never appeared again until the very end – and again it disappeared in a second.
The Audio-Visual team controls what appears on the screen for people who are watching a web cast – they are like the camera directors.
 Jim Thomson delegating at Council Traditionally they keep the camera on the person speaking – they made an exception for Jim Thomson this morning – and that was not an accident. Someone told them not to show Jim Thomson wearing his expressive T-shirt.
Mayor Meed Ward read out her usual remarks related to how people behaved when they are in Council Chambers. I’ve never seen any other Council in the Region issue statements on behaviour the way the Burlington Mayor does.
“We ask everyone to be respectful of others when they are speaking, listen as you would want to be listened to, and a reminder to our committee members to adhere to the procedure by law and limit your questions to two at a time. Further, our members may ask questions only for the purpose of obtaining facts that are relevant to the matter under discussion and necessary for a clear understanding of the matter. All questions are stated succinctly and should not be used as a means to make statements, assertions or engage in debate.
Thomson was in Council for the first time in many many months.
When Thomson had finished his delegation – no one asked a single camera – they couldn’t get him off stage fast enough.
This is really childish, immature behaviour.
Replace them all at the next election. Odious lot.
Mayor Meed Ward introduced Thompson, “who is joining us in person to speak to the approval of the 2025 meeting calendar.
“You have a presentation; We’ll ask our audio visual specialists to bring that up, and you can start whenever you are ready.”
Thomson begins:
“Staff Direction (SD) 1723 directed staff to include a public engagement component into the by law review.”
 Jim Thomson: I don’t find the staff position surprising, Staff put up a survey on the Get Involved Burlington website, but failed to incorporate any feedback from that survey into the proposed bylaw.
“The survey results were not included as part of the report on the bylaw review. Staff claimed that the questions were outside the scope of the bylaw review. I have a hard time understanding how the timing of meetings is outside the scope of the bylaw review. The public need to know the time of meetings and should have input.
“Staff eventually released the data from the survey, but didn’t include it in the urgent business section with the rest of the bylaw information. It was a separate memo under receiving file, and at least one councillor hadn’t read it.
“The survey data showed that 39% of respondents find a meeting schedule inconvenient or very inconvenient, while only 17% actually find the time to be convenient or very convenient.
“The survey also contained many comments that indicate the daytime meeting is challenging for people due to work commitments. It Should be noted that the change in start times to 9:30 happened in December 2022 without proper public notification of a change to the bylaw and with no public engagement.
“The staff direction was a belated attempt to get public input into the bylaw review. Staff were supposed to report in Q3 2023 but they failed to do so, and it wasn’t until September 2024 that they came back with the report that failed to include the public engagement they had been directed to provide.
 Jim Thomson – self portrait – in T shirt someone made sure the public never got to see. “It’s really galling that in this report, the staff have a section titled options considered. There aren’t any. No options were actually presented, let alone considered. There is just a bald statement the staff are not recommending changes.
“Staff apparently believe that if someone wishes to delegate, they have in person, online or telephone available, that, of course, assumes the person can get time off work to use any of those options.
“I don’t find the staff position surprising, as Mary Ann has stated at Council, that we give people their evenings back to spend their time with their families and go to ball games and have their personal time.
“The question I have for Mary Ann is, who asked for the readings back? Was it the public or was it staff rearranging things to their own benefit? Thank you for your time. Are there any questions?”
Mayor Meed Ward: Thank you for your delegation. I don’t see any questions on the board.
Later in the Council meeting the Mayor spoke at length on the data that Thomson mention – her comments seemed like an attempt to justify the decision to do away with evening meetings.
We will report on that in a separate article.
 By Pepper Parr
October 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Updated at 6:10 pm
Declarations of an interest on an item on the agenda are seldom declared by Council members. We don’t see these very often.
The morning Councillor Sharman declared a conflict of interest on Item 9.5 which is the confidential human resource department report regarding a personal matter.
Sharman then said: “ because it relates to myself.”
Oh, Oh – what have you done Councillor?
You are not supposed to know what your fellow Councillors will hear nor will you know what they say. They will probably make a decision as to what they want to do about this “confidential human resource department report”
Time in the wood shed for Sharman?
 Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman seen at City Council meetings serving the public.. I feel you pain brother!  
Would this behavioural matter have anything at all to do with the fact that Councillor Stolte was absent from today Committee of the Whole meeting?
Council came out of a closed session and reported that on the Human Resources related to Councillor Paul Sharman – the decision was to file whatever there was in the way of a report.
This is too clubby a Council to find themselves making decisions about the behaviour of one of their colleagues. It should have gone to an independent group.
By Pepper Parr
October 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
First of series on the changes taking place in print media and the challenge keeping the public informed.
This is National newspaper week; an occasion to look at the challenges the news business faces.
That daily newspaper that was read in most households in the evening or the paper that was delivered in the morning before Dad left for work are things of the past.
 Once the largest newspaper in western GTA – the Spectator struggles to stay alive. We no longer have daily newspapers, or weekly newspaper that tell us what is going on in our communities, provinces, the rest of the country or the world.
There are some daily newspaper being published. The Hamilton Spectator comes out six days a week but it is not the powerful local daily it once was.
Except for a small number of daily newspapers that are national in scope – the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Los Angeles Times – include some of the financial press like the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times and that is what we have. There are exceptions but they are few and far between.
Those publications have reasonably robust advertising bases that fund the operation; everyone else was taken out by services based on the internet.
Craig’s List and Kajiji killed Classified Advertising; a service that drew in millions in revenue with little in the way of editorial expense other than taking down the information and setting it all up under the dozens of classifications. It was a brilliant idea that has been with us for centuries in different forms.
 Classified advertising was phenomenally successful Newspaper revenue from classifieds advertisements decreased continually as internet classifieds grew. Classified advertising at some of the larger newspaper chains dropped by 14% to 20% in 2007, while traffic to classified sites grew by 23%.
This was the beginning of the end for print newspapers. It took an additional decade and a half for the business side of newspapers to realize that they were in serious trouble – by that time it was too late.
In the past year the Toronto Star pulled the plug on their Metroland unit that published close to 50 weekly newspapers in the province.
 Soon after Kajiji was created others created versions of online advertising that included photographs – it was classified with colour and all on line. Without a financial base print was dead – going on line was the answer but it took time for the larger media companies to figure that out.
Newspapers could tell a story – they had sections that reported on business – the Globe and Mail Report on Business being the most successful. Ironic that while very good at reporting news they were not able to see how what they were reporting was going to impact them. They weren’t able to see the fundamental change that was taking place.
An interesting example of the newspaper that saw the change coming and found a way to change their business model.
The Toronto Star and LaPresse, the largest French newspaper in Quebec, formed a joint venture with the Toronto Star to create a digital version of the newspaper and publish as online newspapers.
 Going totally digital worked for Montreal’s French language newspaper. It worked for LaPresse – the Star was never able to convince their readers that online was going to be the way you got your news.
In 2016, a few years after the launch of La Presse+, print was restricted to Saturdays and shortly thereafter, on 31 December 2017, the last newspaper was printed.
Publisher Guy Crevier says the paper will become the world’s first major daily to go completely digital on weekdays as it responds to a permanent shift in advertising spending.
Guy Crevier, publisher of LaPresse, pointed out that the North American newspaper sector had lost 63 per cent of its revenues — or $29 billion — over the past decade. “There is nobody who can survive in an environment like that.
The Toronto Star was losing far too much money – the family trust that held a majority of the voting shares accepted an offer to sell the newspaper.
 Nicole MacIntyre – Toronto Star editor The newspaper was acquired by NordStar Capital on May 26, 2020, after the board of Torstar voted to sell the company to the investment firm for CA$52 million—making Torstar a privately held company.
The two businessmen, Jordan Bitove and Paul Rivett bought the newspaper along with the regional newspapers and the chain of weeklies, and found that they didn’t share the same vision for the Toronto Star. Bitove bought out Rivett. In July the Star appointed Nicole MacIntyre as editor.
By Staff
October th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington Residents Action Group (BRAG) released the following statement:
 “On Monday, October 7th, 2024 the Committee of the Whole is meeting. Item 8.1 on the agenda is:
Council composition and ward boundary review introductory presentation by consultant (CL-24-24)
“The agenda was made available late last week and included a 14-page report from Watson & Associates, a Mississauga-based consulting firm. This chart is from the report. The average population per council member column has been outlined.
 Average population for Council members in each of the Regional municipalities in the Halton Region. “The chart shows that residents in Burlington are underrepresented compared to other municipalities in Halton. However, when compared with Hamilton, Burlington residents are over represented.
“This is a complex issue. Each Burlington councillor has a full-time assistant to help with their workload, adding a layer between residents and elected representatives. Will adding more councillors remove the need for assistants or will costs increase? Councillors in Halton Hills, based on 2022 data, earned about half of what a councillor in Burlington earned.
“The chart above also shows that Burlington has the smallest number of councillors compared to other municipalities in Halton.
Smaller councils:
-
-
- Limit the number of people contributing ideas.
- Make it more difficult for people to have meaningful dialogues with their councillors.
- Require only four people, a majority, to make decisions about the direction of the city.
“Development is a major issue facing our city council. Are four votes sufficient to represent the diverse interests of the community?
“Currently, each Burlington councillor also serves as a regional councillor and the number of regional councillors will not change. If Burlington increases the number of councillors any new councillors would not have regional responsibilities or receive part of their salary from the region.
“Watson & Associates will present their report during the day on Monday. The first community engagement session is Monday night (7 pm Tansley Woods community room 1).
“The Burlington Residents’ Action Group is looking into this issue. At this point, all we can say is that we’ve seen the report. Like everyone else who lives in Burlington, and doesn’t work for the city, we have other commitments in our lives.
“Dropping a report on a Thursday and starting community engagement three or four days later is insufficient. Before providing input to the city, people need time to read the report, research the issue, and form conclusions.
“The report makes no recommendations for change, leaving residents without a starting point for a meaningful discussion with the city. This does not align with what was budgeted for in March, where the first step, for $60,000, included “recommendations for council composition” (CL-03-24).
 Cost of the research done by consultants. “This process is similar to the budget engagement sessions that wrap up on October 8th. There have been many “engagement” meetings but no detailed draft budget for residents to review.
“Burlington continues to engage with residents in a way that inhibits meaningful engagement. Something needs to change. Will having more council members help?”
By Pepper Parr
October 6th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington has many different types of facilities and parks available for rent to the public for sporting activities, meetings, parties, group photography and special occasions.
Space has always been available in city property but it was never actively marketed. That change in policy came out of some of the discussions as to how the Bateman High school, now repurposed as the Robert Bateman Community Centre, was going to use the space that was going to be available.
 Denise Beard, Manager of Community Development Denise Beard, Manager of Community Development, explained that events like Family Reunions needed a large space that didn’t quite work at commercial locations.
The idea then was to experiment which has resulted in:
 Tansley Woods Community Centre The City of Burlington is introducing two new ways to rent community rooms at Tansley Woods Community Centre, designed for flexibility and convenience. New Short-Notice Community Room Rentals at Tansley Woods – started September 16, 2024
The community rooms are available during non-peak hours on weekdays, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Spaces are intended for personal and community use only. Some examples of activities allowed are meetings, card games, light activities.
Residents can still book community rooms more than seven days in advance. Standard rental and insurance rates apply to bookings made more than a week in advance.
Exclusions include Tansley Woods Community Centre gyms and pools, commercial or for-profit organizations, and community rooms at other city facilities.
- Free, On-the-Spot Bookings
Walk in and check availability at the customer service desk
If a room is available, sign yourself in and enjoy a room for free
Insurance is not required
Room is available up to 90 minutes
- Pay What You Can
Book up to 7 days in advance and pay what you can
To book, complete the online rental request form or email the rentals team for more information
To complete your booking, select your Facility Room Setup
A minimum insurance fee of $4 per hour will be required
 By Pepper Parr
October 5th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
They are doing it again.
Holding public meetings about important events before the public has had an opportunity to read up on a decision council is going to have to make.
 The matter in this case is the announcement that the City is going to review the composition of City Council and the size and number of wards. There are currently six wards in Burlington.
The first council debate on Tuesday will start with a presentation by Wilson, the company that did the early research. Few if any know about the item on the agenda – difficult for people to delegate on something they not heard about before.
This is just so typical of this Council.
To the add to the concern and importance of determining how many Councillors there should be and if they should continue to also be Regional Councillors is the conflict they all face – half the pay cheques for the Council members comes from the Region.
This lip service on the claim to be engaging the public is getting very annoying.
The City has a large communications staff – do they never suggest that Council needs to up its game and be more direct with the public – or do they just churn out whatever they think Council wants.
Many of the staff at Communications are referred to as “advisors” – could they not advise council ?
Perhaps the Chief Administrative Officer might have a word with the Mayor
Related news article:
Changes to the size of city Council
Salt with Pepper is an opinion column reflecting the observations and musings of the publisher of the Gazette, an on-line newspaper that is in its 12th year as a news source in Burlington and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
By Pepper Parr
October 5th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The population growth the City is expected to experience calls for a hard look at the ward boundaries and deciding if the number of wards (currently six) is the right number and what any change to the Regional government is going to have on the composition of City Council.
A review of the composition of Burlington City Council and the city’s ward boundaries is set to begin. The review will assess how well the current council size and structure, and ward boundaries work for our community.
 The evolution of Burlington from 1914 when it was a town to with a population of 1,831 to the 2021 population of 186,948 Population in 2031 is expected to be more than 225,000 All residents and Burlington business owners are invited to share their input through a series of upcoming public engagements starting next week.
Public engagement and Council decisions
Public engagement and Council decisions will happen in two phases for the review.
Phase one, residents will be asked for their input on council composition. Input gathered from the community will be used to help inform a report that will go to City Council for their consideration in December 2024.
Phase two, public engagement will focus on ward boundaries. This phase is anticipated to start early in 2025.
 The changes that took place between 2011 and 2021 – the last census done was in 2021  Population of each ward based on 2021 census data.
Council composition public engagement opportunities
Monday, Oct. 7 – 9:30 a.m., presentation at Committee of the Whole, Council Chambers, 426 Brant St.
Monday, Oct. 7 – 7 to 8:30 p.m., Tansley Woods Community Centre, 1996 Itabashi Way
Wednesday, Oct. 9 – 7 to 8:30 p.m., Central Arena, 519 Drury Ln
Thursday, Oct. 10 – 1:30 to 3 p.m., Mountainside Recreation Centre, 2205 Mt. Forest Dr.
Tuesday, Oct. 15 – 7 to 8:30 p.m., virtual public meeting
Wednesday, Oct. 23 – 7 to 8:30 p.m., Haber Community Centre, 3040 Tim Dobbie Dr.
Residents and business owners can also share their feedback through the council composition and ward boundary survey, available on getinvolvedburlington.ca/boundaryreview – starting Oct.7.
There are a number of questions raised in the report that Council will debate on Tuesday:
How does the present electoral arrangement for the City of Burlington measure up?
Do the current wards deliver fair representation, conducive to good governance?
What are the goals of a Ward Boundary Review?
Is the principle that all local councillors are also regional councillors still right for the City?
What information does Council need to make an informed decision?
Why Undertake the Review?
Prepare Council to consider and discuss whether to maintain the existing council composition and ward boundaries or pursue an alternative arrangement.
Fair Representation
Reviewing electoral arrangements can help ensure equal representation and give communities an equitable voice in decision-making processes.
Consider Population and Demographic Changes
A review can align boundaries, reflect population shifts, and better serve evolving community distribution and interests.
Improve Democracy
An independent review promotes transparency and accountability, bolstering trust in the democratic system, and increasing civic engagement.
 The make up of Burlington City Council compared to Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills.
 By Staff
October 5th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Ross Scott, Marketing Specialist with Car Nation explained how the Drive Pink initiative came about when he said:
 “All across Canada, small, local businesses take on a life of their own, driven by one person’s vision, hard work, and determination. Trials and tribulations abound as a business grows into a mature enterprise. People help you along the way; you capitalize on your opportunities, learn from your mistakes, and move forward, always ensuring that you did your best, worked your hardest, and conducted yourself honestly while improving the industry that you are a part of.
“A portion of every car sold at our dealerships will be donated to Canadian Cancer Society. The $10,000 is our guaranteed commitment to the Cancer Society; meaning our donation will be at least $10,000 but could be more depending on how many cars we’re able to sell within the month.
“Yes, we’ve done this before. This is a tradition at our dealerships.”
Scott talks about how corporate practices helped – “Car Nation Canada became one of the most reputable automotive groups in Ontario. Their reputation was the result of unifying the sales process of the automotive-buying experience that assures exceptional customer service is experienced by anyone and everyone who walks through any Car Nation Canada Dealership door, no matter where they are located.
“Car Nation Canada has carefully considered who they are and how they wish to be perceived by the car-buying public. Today’s car buyer has done their research and is much more informed than ever when they make their purchase.
“Car Nation Canada understands the importance of making an informed decision. Our mandate is to become the market leader in providing resources that will help consumers make better purchasing decisions.
“No matter what brand or city you are in, you can always be assured that Car Nation Canada Dealerships include great-looking dealerships, exceptional service, a friendly, no-hassle environment, and the most competitively priced vehicles anywhere in Ontario.”
Which brings us back to the people at Car Nation that are working to make the Drive Pink a success.
 The Car Nation Drive Pink Team Grimsby Kia – Grimsby, ON – GrimsbyKia.com
Car Nation Canada Direct – Burlington, ON – CarNationCanadaDirect.ca
Northway Ford – Brantford, ON – NorthwayFord.ca
Northway Lincoln – Brantford, ON – NorthwayLincoln.ca
Unique Chrysler – Burlington, ON – UniqueChrysler.com
By Staff
October 4th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The development planned on Caroline a block to the east of Brant Street will be the subject of Statutory meeting on November 5th, 2024.
 Rendering of the tower that will be located on Caroline one block eat of Brant Street. Development applications have been submitted for an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment by Inaria Burlington Inc., for a 28-storey mixed use building with 302 residential units and a 6-storey above grade parking structure with a green roof adjacent to an existing 17-storey residential building bounded by Caroline Street, Elizabeth Street, Maria Street, and John Street.
This proposal has a background that is both disappointing and not what the public has a right to expect from the developers that want to change the skyline of the city.
Link here for background on this one.
The city has scheduled this event for 9:30 in the morning – not very convenient for those who work full time and are doing the event virtually. The days when the public could meet the developers at city hall and ask questions. This format lets the developer hide.
Why this Council tolerates this form of engagement is truly disturbing.
You might want to reach out to Mark Bales at 905-637-8888, ext. 214 or by email at: mark@carriagegate.ca
Note that Bales is a senior staff member at Carriage Gate, the people who built the tower opposite City Hall and are now putting up a 29 storey Tower on Pearl Street and have a development that is proposed for the eastern end of the football.
 Currently under construction at Pearl and north side of Lakeshore Road  Developer has situated the tower at the convergence of Old Lakeshore and Lakeshore Road
By Pepper Parr
October 4th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Oakville North Burlington Member of Parliament Pam Damoff stood in the House of Commons yesterday and said to the Speaker.
 Pam Damoff speaking in the House of Commons. Mr. Speaker, last month, I was thrilled to present the King Charles III Coronation Medal to 20 deserving individuals who have made significant contributions to their communities and to Canada.
Commemorating the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and his lifetime of committed service, these medals recognize outstanding Canadians of all ages, abilities and from all walks of life for their dedicated service to bettering their communities and the lives of others.
With so much negativity in the world today, it is important that we take time to celebrate the accomplishments of others and the positive impacts they make to their communities, our country and, in many cases, the world.
These individuals truly exemplify the values of service and selflessness, professionalism and commitment.
I congratulate all the deserving recipients of this honour. Our country is better because of them.
For the most part the comments were true and had merit.
What bothered many people was adding the Mayor of Burlington to the list of 20 people were “presented” with the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
 MP Damoff pictured with Mayor Meed Ward when she was “presented with the King Charles III Coronation Medal. Marianne Meed Ward holds both Canadian and American citizenship. Representing the people is the Mayor’s full time job for which she is well rewarded financially. Of late the reward from her constituents is much lower than it was when she was elected Mayor in 2018. Prior to that she was a very good Council member who brought the words transparency and accountability into the lexicon of the city and lived by it.
One can only hope that the practice of one politician presenting medals to another politician in the same city is something that doesn’t become a nice thing to do.
Politicians are in place to serve the public that elected them – they are not there to serve each other.
 By Pepper Parr
October 4th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Funding a Not for Profit is not easy.
Along with operating the organization and finding the money to pay those people who do the day to day work – they have to find donors – and that is not easy.
Mental Health has become a serious issue; helping people learn how to cope with their personal issues– the need for support is rising.
Eagles Nest, an organization that works out of a church on the border between Burlington and Waterdown has been serving anyone in the Region that needs help for a number of years.
They offer a selection of services that are priced well below the market rate.
 Amanda DeVries, Eagle Nest Executive Director – trying to stay dry under a leaking tent What allows them to do that is a collection of donors who gathered at Shy’s Restaurant to in Waterdown recently. Despite the rain a good crowd showed up for a quiet evening where people gathered to meet with and talk to other people about what the organization was doing.
There wasn’t much room to move around – the place was full.
There were two elected officials – no speeches – they were just acknowledged.
The rain didn’t lessen up; the tent that covered the deck leaked – didn’t matter – no one was leaving early.
The food – innovative would be a nice way to describe it. Those attending – close to 80 – maybe more was my count.
 Candles provided the illumination for parts of the evening creating a quiet peaceful place. People got to mingle – I sat at a table with people I’d never met and learned that the Mother of a family made up of her three children and two children adopted from China and two people adopted from Africa. Fascinating to listen to how the family grew.
Tables were set out in three different parts of the restaurant. Many of the participants sat with friends other chose a table to sit at and spend the evening with people who were deeply committed to the work Eagles Nest was doing.
 The letter included in this article was handed out to people during the evening.
Other than maybe five minutes – not more than ten – there were no speeches, no pleas for funding. Everyone attending was either a staff member or a donor – more of the latter than the former.
It is organizations like this that do the work governments have decided they cannot do.
The evening was titled “Embracing Change for Good”; they raised more than $22,000 for local, accessible, mental health services.
These funds will help provide adults, youth and children fully subsidized or low-cost mental health services like counselling, coaching and therapeutic programs.
The Eagles Nest web site sets out what they do and how they operate. If you know someone who is struggling with mental health issues direct them to the Eagles Nest web site – here is the link.
 By Pepper Parr
October 4th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
 The City’s Chief Administrative Officer had said that data on just what happened during the July flood and what the costs for flood mitigation going forward might be would be presented to Council during the October cycle – that has been moved to November We learned yesterday that the reports on how the July Flooding were going to impact the 2025 budget, expected in October, will not get to Council until the November cycle of Committee of the Whole meetings.
In November the Flood Hazard Impacts and Mitigation Assessment and the July 15th storm event and response update will be presented.
This is going to take place at around the same time the Mayor will release a proposed Budget to City Council.
It is very hard to fully understand how the Mayor is going to table a report that doesn’t have all the data that is relevant.
For the past three weeks the Mayor has been meeting with citizens in each ward looking for feedback on the budget knowing that critical data is not available.
 We know that the on November 4, Mayor Meed Ward will release her proposed Budget to Burlington City Council.
On November 7, 2024 – Telephone Budget Town Hall hosted by Mayor Meed Ward – it will run from 7:00- 8:30 p.m.
Members of Council have until November 11, to propose amendments to Proposed Budget
November 18 & 21, Committee of the Whole will review of Proposed Budget amendments proposed via Motion Memorandum process
 Attendance at Mayor’s firs budget meeting was sparse – information was non existent. November 25, Council will review the Proposed Budget and at that time decide on what the tax increase for 2025 will amount to.
It is a very tight schedule that was put in place by the province when Strong Mayor powers were declared by the province.
The most essential part of the budget creation process is public engagement – with all the data being used available. This looks like another one of those situations where the city is determined to be able to say that the public was engaged, while knowing that the public did not have all the facts.
By Pepper Parr
October 3rd, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
 Word on the street is that there is an individual taking a hard look at running for Mayor of Burlington.
No details yet but the source is as good as they get.
Male – with a solid business background. No council experience, never been involved in politics at any level.
Just said to think that Burlington needs better political leadership.
There is a growing number of people who want to see a change in the political leadership of the current city council; many are unhappy with several members of this council including those who were aghast with the totally irresponsible video that Councillors Galbraith and Nisan let themselves get sucked into on the Alinea King Road development.
We don’t know if the developer asked the two to take part in the video; we don’t know if they saw the less than a minute long production before it was shown at a Bay Area Climate Change Council event – perhaps they volunteered thinking it would be a good idea to boost a development that is certainly going to make a difference to the Burlington that will exist a decade from now.
What Galbraith and Nisan didn’t appear to know is that there job is to oversee developments that go to Council and wait until all the facts are known. At this point the city has yet to see a development application.
By Pepper Parr
October 3rd, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
We learned this morning that the reports on how the July Flooding were going to impact the 2025 budget, expected in October, will not get to Council until the November cycle of Committee of the Whole meetings.
 Flood waters running out of community and on to the 407 Hwy. In November the Flood Hazard Impacts and Mitigation Assessment and the July 15th storm event and response update will be presented.
This is going to take place at around the same time the Mayor will release a proposed Budget to City Council.
It is very hard to fully understand how the Mayor is going to table a budget report that doesn’t have all the data that is relevant. There will not have been any opportunity for the public to delegate – perhaps that’s the intent?
For the past three weeks the Mayor has been meeting with citizens in each ward looking for feedback on the budget knowing that critical data is not available.
We know that the on November 4, Mayor Meed Ward will release her proposed Budget to Burlington City Council.
On November 7, 2024 – Telephone Budget Town Hall hosted by Mayor Meed Ward – it will run from 7:00- 8:30 p.m.
Members of Council have until November 11, to propose amendments to Proposed Budget
November 18 & 21, Committee of the Whole will review of Proposed Budget amendments proposed via Motion Memorandum process
November 25, Council will review the Proposed Budget and at that time decide on what the tax increase for 2025 will amount to.
It is a very tight schedule that was put in place by the province when Strong Mayor powers were declared by the province.
The most essential part of the budget creation process is public engagement – with all the data available. This looks like another one of those situations where the city is determined to be able to say that the public was engaged knowing that they did not have all the facts.
By Staff
October 3rd, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The CUPE Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE) and Ontario Health Coalition are kicking off a Trojan Horse tour this Friday at Queen’s Park, to protest the Ford government’s privatization of public hospital services.
 A 15-foot replica of a Trojan Horse will travel to media conferences around the province. The Tour will be in Burlington on October 11th, Joseph Brant Hospital 9:00-10:00am and at the St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (9:00-10:00am), then the Hamilton General Hospital (11:30am-1:00pm) and the McMaster Children’s Hospital (3:00-4:00pm) all on October 15th.
CUPE, the union and the Ontario Health Coalition maintain the Ford government is privatizing surgeries by taking public funding and staff away from public hospitals to for-profit clinics which only makes wait times worse. Not only do these clinics cost more, but they illegally and unlawfully charge patients thousands of dollars for medically necessary care. To represent the false claim that privatizating surgeries will reduce wait times in public hospitals, a 15-foot replica of a Trojan Horse will travel around to media conferences around the province.
The list of dates and locations can be found below
11-Oct Joseph Brant Hospital (9:00-10:00am)
15-Oct St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (9:00-10:00am) + Hamilton General Hospital (11:30am-1:00pm)
McMaster Children’s Hospital (3:00-4:00pm)
By Staff
October 3rd, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Royal Bank of Canada has created a security Index – the results suggest far too many Canadians are being careless with the amount of information they make available to people when they are online.
 Once you enter data when you are using the internet – that data becomes available to thieves who access the data and use it to steal from you. Strong passwords keep these thieves away from your information. Despite awareness of cyber best practices, many Canadians are still putting themselves at risk online, according to a new RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) survey, which found that two-in-five Canadians (38%) qualify as moderate to high-risk potential for becoming victims of cyber-attacks.
RBC’s new Cyber Safety Index reviewed how often Canadians engage in certain behaviours online. While the majority practice at least some good cyber hygiene, less than half say they always use all of the recommended online safety behaviours, which include keeping their software and operating systems updated (71%), using two-factor authentication/verification on online banking accounts (67%), enabling privacy and security settings on all devices (65%) and limiting who follows them on social media (63%). Less than a third (30%) always or often use virtual private networks (VPN) when surfing public Wi-Fi; or password generators to create secure, random passwords for online accounts (28%), leaving considerable room to improve across the board.
 ”
The responses to our Cyber Safety Index show that while many Canadians are aware of things they can do to be safer online, there’s still opportunities for them to change behaviours and close that risk gap,” said Adam Evans, chief information security officer at RBC. “At RBC, we’re focused on providing Canadians with the practical tips and education they need to take control of their online safety and mitigate risks in an ever-evolving digital world.”
On the flip side, many Canadians are also participating in risky online activities that could further increase the potential of exposure to cyber-attacks. Within the past year, over three-quarters (77%) have knowingly or accidentally engaged in at least one risky online behaviour, with the most commonly reported being using public Wi-Fi (49%). Others include consenting to share their personal information when asked (27%), clicking on pop-up ads (19%), visiting unsecure websites (18%) and ignoring privacy settings on social media platforms (13%).
Furthermore, over a third (35%) agree they have used the same password(s) across multiple platforms, and nearly as many are more concerned about missing out on exclusive events/activities than disclosing personal information online (32%), and/or have interacted with unsolicited texts or social media messages (31%).
The vast majority of Canadians said they are concerned about being victimized by online fraud (80%), identity theft (84%), corporate data breaches (79%), being hacked (84%), and/or experiencing unauthorized access to their online accounts (87%),
However, significantly fewer feel safe engaging in social media activities (69%; -7 pts) compared to 2023.
Fortunately, a growing proportion of Canadians (85%; +3 points) say they are comfortable learning new ways to protect their online information compared to last year, underscoring the importance of ongoing education and support to help them navigate the digital landscape safely and effectively.
RBC offers the following tips:
Limit the information you share on social platforms. Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know, and even if the privacy settings on your accounts are enabled, try to limit what you share online to avoid scams like spear-phishing.
Keep your financial information safe. Never log in to online banking using a link sent through email, text message, or social media. Instead, type the address into your browser. Clear your browser’s memory cache regularly to improve security.
Be vigilant when shopping online. Look for the little padlock icon to the left of the URL bar and ensure the website you’re visiting has an address that begins with “https.” Read reviews before you buy to ensure they’re legitimate and trustworthy businesses.
Create long, strong passwords. Always use the maximum password length allowed and aim for at least 16 characters. Longer is better, like “passphrases” made of randomly chosen words, that can be easy to remember and hard for someone else to guess.
|
|
