At the Press event earlier today a reporter from Canadian Press asked: “Given the questions that my fellow reporters have asked, you guys have acknowledged what’s in the report and accepted most of the recommendations, did what was necessary to address the affordability crisis and also talked about the previous government’s roles in this.
“I’d like to know why the regional planners and municipalities in your own Housing Task Force are on record saying that Greenbelt lands are not needed to achieve your 1.5 million housing, housing target. So what’s your reason for pushing ahead given all this?
Minister of Housing: “Well, you’ve got a housing affordability Taskforce, that reported 19 months ago Since that report you’ve had the federal government add to the number of new Canadians, which we want to welcome but we aren’t going to have housing for them.
Premier and Minister of housing in Streetsville where they stick to their guns- housing, housing, housing.
Don’t take my word for it. TD economics the National Bank of Canada have all acknowledged that our numbers need to change. We need to have another 500 homes g built. And we need to be mindful of those other reports. We need to be mindful of the data we received from CMHC saying that the number might be closer to 1.8 million, – you know things are changing. There are forces that are out of our control, like interest rates.
We need to work with everyone, with municipal planners and municipalities. We need to work with the federal government on getting shovels in the ground and, to the Premier’s point about Burlington, we we need to have not approved projects. We need to have started projects, you’ll always hear me talk about housing starts. That’s the metric that our government needs, because you need to start that house to be able to build up at least 1.5 million.
Premier: “As the Minister said, that was 19 months ago. I didn’t know 19 months ago, we’re gonna have over 500,000 additional people show up. Supply and demand. We have to build more homes to at least level the market.
Premier asks the reporter: “I’m I’m just wondering if you own a home or if you rent? “You want to own a home. Every person in this area wants to own a home, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure it’s attainable and affordable for people like yourself and other people to own a home on a condo and and rental purpose built rentals to we need. So that’s what we’re doing.
So despite all the experts saying that you don’t need to do this to build a 1.5 million homes.
Reporter: “You keep repeating the message.
Premier: “And I’m going to repeat our message – that was 19 months ago, 19 months ago. Then all of a sudden, more than 500,000 probably 800,000 have arrived in 19 months that we didn’t expect.
Premier Ford: A singe message – we are building homes.
“We didn’t expect 504,000 people to arrive here. Now no matter if you’re in running a government or running a business, you have to read and react. You have to move with the times. We have two choices. We can sit back and say forget about this housing plan and make it everyone for themselves. We never got elected on that. I’ll tell you what we got elected on 12 months ago, we got elected and we said it over and over in our campaign – We’re going to build homes. We’re going to build 1.5 million homes. We couldn’t be more clear on that we wrote every single day.
“And I don’t think 1.5 million is going to is going to be enough. I think we’re going to need probably 1.8 million. Either way. We’re going to continue building homes but thank you so much for that question.”
Public response to the stand the Premier has taken on the Auditor General’s report that slammed the Minister of Housing for the manner he handled the Greenbelt issue resulted in calls to local MPP Natalie Pierre.
Natalie Pierre speaking in the Legislature
Here is what the Gazette received:
Just called Natalie
Blasted very bluntly the poor sap who answered the phone. Told her to quote me to Natalie. Said her tweeting about ice cream doesn’t cut it I said it’s corrupt and Ford and Clark should resign. Said if Natalie had any integrity she’d resign too
Was told they would email me a response
They are going to have something to say very soon
Told them I didn’t want a form letter canned response sent by Ford’s minions.
If the election were to be called today there is every reason to believe Natalie Pierre would be re-elected. The Liberals don’t even have a candidate – the Party doesn’t yet have a leader.
There’s one vote the MPP isn’t going to get.
However, the Premier did a press event this morning – he stuck to his guns and it may have been enough to keep him in office.
We report on what the Premier had to say in a separate report.
The National Rent Report charts and analyzes monthly, quarterly and annual rates and trends in the rental market on a national, provincial, and municipal level.
Toronto finished second on the list of 35 cities for average monthly rent in July for a one-bedroom at $2,592 and third for average monthly rent for a two-bedroom at $3,370.
Rent increases driven by demand which has increased inflation which pushes rental rates.
Other Greater Toronto Area cities and areas include:
Mississauga came in fourth on the list of 35 cities for average monthly rent in July for a one-bedroom at $2,364 and $2,832 for a two-bedroom
Year over year, average monthly rent in July for a one-bedroom in Mississauga was up 20 per cent and up 18.3 per cent for a two-bedroom.
Richmond Hill finished fifth on the list with average monthly rent for a one-bedroom at $2,267, and average monthly rent for a two-bedroom was $2,567.
Burlington came in sixth for average monthly rent in July for a one-bedroom at $2,260 and $2,624 for a two-bedroom
Year over year, average monthly rent in July for a one-bedroom in Burlington was up 4.8% per cent and up 7.8 per cent for a two-bedroom.
Average Rents in Canada Reach a Record High
Average asking rent in Canada reached a new high of $2,078 in July according to the Rentals.ca and Urbanation latest National Rent Report.*
This represents a 8.9% annual increase, marking the fastest pace of growth over the past three months. A 1.8% hike in average asking rents compared to June represented the most rapid month-over-month increase in the last eight months.
Compared to July 2021, average asking rents in Canada have increased by 21%, translating to an additional $354 per month on average. Several factors have contributed to this rise, including a surge in post-secondary students signing leases before the fall term, population growth at an unprecedented level, and homebuyers temporarily sidelined by the Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate increase to a 22-year high.
“Canada’s rental market is currently facing a perfect storm of factors driving rents to new highs,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation. “These include the peak season for lease activity, an open border policy for new residents, quickly rising incomes, and the worst ever homeownership affordability conditions.”
With rent rates close to sky high one might ask – why was this house torn down in the Beachway. The lot sits empty.
For the first time, average asking rents for purpose-built condominiums and apartments rose above $2,000 in July, reaching $2,008. One-bedroom apartments lead the way, posting a 13% annual increase and a monthly rise of 2.5%. Regarding specific unit types, one-bedroom rents averaged $1,850, followed by two-bedroom units at $2,191, and three-bedroom units at $2,413. Among the more affordable options, studios averaged rents of $1,445.
Calgary’s rental market retained its distinction of having the fastest rent growth among Canada’s largest markets, with annual asking rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments up by 16.1% to $2,036, although it moderated from its 18.4% pace in June.
Meanwhile, Montreal surged ahead with a significant acceleration from 11.2% to 15.3% in July, establishing an average asking rent of $1,987.
The remainder of Canada’s largest markets witnessed a slower rate of annual rent growth in July. Toronto experienced an 11.5% increase in average asking rents (compared to 15.7% in June) to reach $2,849. Vancouver maintained the highest average asking rent among the largest markets at $3,340, reflecting a 12.2% annual rise and a 2.9% monthly increase.
The rent growth in Ontario was led by Brampton and Scarborough within the GTA, where average asking rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments saw increases of 18.6% and 18.2% respectively.
During the Premier’s news conference this morning, Matt Ingram CHCH news said:
Premier want to help the Mayor “She is a good person”.
Burlington Mayor Marianne Meade Ward rejects your claim that Burlington is not building houses fast enough. I’m wondering what you say to that and why you singled her out the other day.
Well, first of all, I really like Meed Ward, I think she’s doing a fabulous job. But when everyone else is hitting their targets of 90% 100% 80% 70 and Burlington is 5%.
Premier wants to see more cranes working on development sites.
I did have an opportunity to talk to Mayor Ward and she’s going to be getting together with me – next week I think and and we’re going to help her.
She’s not a bad person. She’s a really good person. Actually, we get along quite well. And she does a good job.
But the numbers aren’t there. Now, maybe they’re waiting for something. If we can help them out, then we’re going to help them out.
But when there’s just a glaring difference of 5% versus everyone else, all other 28 largest municipalities, we have to address it.
More on that food chain and naturalized garden that the City weed-whacked recently
The belief on the part of staff at City hall that a bylaw was not being complied with are issues that “crop up” frequently.
What was astounding with the Karen Barnes situation was the decision on the part of the City to inform the holders of the mortgage she had on her property that she had not complied with a City bylaw.
Wow! That is egregious. That is mean spirited and we suspect illegal.
People who lend money want two things – they want their investment back with interest and they want to minimize their risk.
Interest rates are determined by the level of risk involved and the City of Burlington just told the money lenders that Karen Barnes was a bigger risk than they expected.
That is damnable.
We don’t know who made the decision to advise Barnes that they had sent a notice to her mortgage holder but we do believe that the work was done by the City’s legal department. They would have to search the title to determine who held the mortgage and then craft and send the letter.
Brynn Nheiley, Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility was a part of the approving of the harsh decisions that were made.
Why the City Solicitor didn’t advise Brynn Nheiley, Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility that it wasn’t a very good idea to send a letter like that is beyond me.
The timing of all this suggests that the work was done while Nancy Shea Nicol, now retired, was the City Solicitor at the time.
People like to feel that Staff at City hall are working for them – not against them. I wonder how Staff feel when they realize that someone has been treated in such a shabby manner.
The vegetation growing on Barnes’ front lawn and back yard wasn’t going to kill anyone.
The Statement found a way to avoid the facts.
The meanness that surrounds this is really very disturbing.
This is not what civilized, caring people do.
We wondered what the members of City Council would have to say when this became public – now we know where three of them stand. The Joint Statement made by the Mayor and Councillors Nisan and Bentivegna was a disappointment. The statement itself has all the earmarks of a Meed Ward communiqué. It is overly long and does not directly address the main issue at hand – the manner in which the City executed its perceived mandate.
Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
A new Brock University study aiming to learn more about how youth think about kindness is calling on teens to share their thoughts and experiences.
Sandra Bosacki, Professor in the Faculty of Education and Director of Brock’s Theory of Mind in Education.
The Mentalization, Kindness and Well-being Teen Study is part of a larger five-year research project led by Sandra Bosacki, Professor in the Faculty of Education and Director of Brock’s Theory of Mind in Education (ToME) Lab.
Funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant awarded to Bosacki and co-primary investigator Victoria Talwar at McGill University, the research is focused on adolescents’ mentalization skills, identity and well-being.
Bosacki and the research team are particularly interested in learning what comes to a teenager’s mind when thinking about kindness.
“It is of utmost importance to listen to the voices of youth about what they think the word ‘kindness’ means, how they think and feel about it, and how they express kindness to themselves and others,” she said.
Previous research from Bosacki’s ToME lab showed that some adolescents may tend to show more kindness and compassion to others versus showing it to themselves.
By allowing young people to describe their perceptions and experiences of kindness and compassion, the researchers hope to determine how educational programs can incorporate aspects of mentalization in the secondary school curriculum to promote overall well-being and emotional health as well as behaviour that benefits others.
Victoria Talwar, McGill University, co-primary investigator
“The first of its kind in Canada, the study will give researchers in Brock’s Department of Educational Studies a chance to explore how kindness plays a role in the links between mentalization and prosocial acts in young people,” Bosacki said.
Adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 years old are invited to participate in the study. Each participant is required to have a personal email address and informed consent provided by one parent.
Participants will complete an online survey, which takes place using Qualtrics and over Microsoft Teams, lasts about 60 minutes, and involves watching short video clips and filling out questionnaires.
After the session is completed, participants’ parents will be sent a digital gift card and will have the opportunity to participate in a follow-up study next year.
Anyone interested in taking part can contact the Theory of Mind in Education lab by email at tomelab@brocku.ca
Visit some of Burlington’s notable cultural and historical landmarks as they celebrate the City’s 150th anniversary. All in-person Doors Open Burlington sites offer FREE admission and onsite activities. This year, learn more about the Doors Open Ontario theme of Food as you explore Burlington’s culture and heritage!
The eight locations are set out below.
Click HERE for detailed information on each location. The Railway Club location has been a big hit for a lot of people
At a press conference Thursday morning, municipal, provincial and transit officials introduced open payment to the TTC that will make riding public transit easier for those going into the city from Toronto and using public transit
Tap with a debit card on the TTC.
They hope this service improvement will bring back some of the riders that have failed to return to
TTC ridership is at 70 per cent of pre-COVID levels leaving a $366-million hole in its operating budget this year.
Riders on other transit systems across the GTA have been able to pay their fares by tapping a credit card since August 2022; debit payment was introduced in May.
Bringing open payment to the TTC — North America’s third-largest transit system — took longer because it required a “hardware refresh” for nearly 9,000 devices.
Digging into the data is what Municipal Budgets are all about.
There was a time when public meetings were held; participants were given a short version of the budget and staff were om hand to answer questions.
Members of Council will get a document that approaches 300 pages in length – that’s when they start in on the 2024 budget. As part of this annual work, residents and business owners are asked to share their feedback on City services that matter most. This feedback is presented to City Council to help them prioritize projects and services.
Oct. 30 at 9:30 a.m. Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee: Overview of proposed 2024 Budget
Nov. 7 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. – Virtual Budget Town Hall
To discuss the proposed 2024 budget and take questions from residents.
Joan Ford, Finance Director for the a City faces some serious challenges this time around convincing Council to cut back on spending. The amount of debt the city will carry is expected to be above what Ford has advised in the past.
Nov. 21 & 23 at 9:30 a.m.
Review and approval of proposed 2024 Budget, including delegations from the public.
Dec. 12 at 9:30 a.m.
Meeting of Burlington City Council: City Council to consider approval of proposed 2024 Budget.
Just in time to determine if you are going to have any money left for Christmas.
Parks and trails (multiuse paths, playgrounds, splash/spray pads, parkland)
8. As a resident of Burlington, what is the most important issue facing your community, that is, the one issue you feel should receive the greatest attention from your City Council and should be a priority in the 2024 budget?
Maximum 255 characters
0/255
10. Keeping in mind the City of Burlington is not responsible for waste collection, recycling, ambulance, police, schools, health care or social housing, do you have any additional comments you would like to be considered by the City in preparation of the 2024 budget?
Demographic Questions
The next few questions will help the City of Burlington to understand who is completing the survey.
What is your postal code? Note – it may take a second or two for the postal codes to be found. Once your postal code is found, select it.
The following came in from the City’s Communications department.
Thank you for your patience. The court ruled that the property owner was convicted for ‘Failure to remove and destroy all noxious weeds on the property’. The trial in this matter was held on January 26, 2022 and judgment/sentencing was issued February 4, 2022.
Should you wish to obtain further information on the case, including copies of the transcripts or court documents, you can do so by contacting Halton Court Services (HCS).
Prepare a minimum deposit of $100 for the time of ordering.
Submit your order form and pay the deposit amount by email at CourtSupport@burlington.caor in-person at our provincial offences office.
We will contact you when the digital audio recording is complete and ready for in-person pickup. This is usually within three months of ordering. We will also provide information on any balance or refund that may be owed. Refunds are given in cash when you pick up your recording.
It was a pleasure to get back information this detailed.
Maintain the agenda, keep the spin.
Something to pay attention to. Note that the were convicted of failing to remove”noxious weeds” on their property.
We don’t believe there has been any suggestion that the plants on the Barnes property were noxious. In the very unlikely event that some of the plant life was noxious – Karen Barnes would have removed it instantly – no one would have to direct her to do so.
This should not be seen as a reflection on the communications people; it would appear that the Mayor has put a spin the Court decision that supports her agenda on this issue.
Premier Doug Ford stood before the cameras for more than an hour and did his best to get his version of how different pieces of land were taken out of the Greenbelt boundary and sold to developers – he was fighting an uphill battle.
Whenever he could he would deflect or pass the question over to his Minister of Housing Steve Clarke. Or bring up a different topic – anything to take the heat off the process that was used to select which lands would be taken out of the Greenbelt and be made available for building homes.
At one point he took a shot at Burlington saying:
I’m going to point out one city and it’s not fair to the rest of the province of the burden of going through this falls on every other big city and that jurisdiction is Burlington.
They’ve been allocated 29,000 new homes. So far all they have built is 208 residences. That’s 5% The minimum for some communities might be 29%. So it’s not fair to the rest of the province. That there’s a delay in Burlington is totally unacceptable.
Premier Ford: I think the mayor is a good person. I have to sit down and ask her what the problem is.
Asked: What are you thinking there? The Premier responded with: “Well, we’re gonna sit down … I think the mayor is a good person. I have to sit down and ask her what the problem is. Adding “But what the mayor can do is start diverting the attention from the homebuilders. They are doing their job. I’m sorry, there’s 28 other large cities all pretty close to hitting their targets.
“There’s no excuses when someone wants something done, like the mayor of Barrie or the Mayor of Brantford.”
The media event ended at 2:08 pm. At 5:30 Mayor Meed Ward issued a statement.
“We share the deep concerns of all Ontarians in the independent findings of the Auditor General’s (AG) report released today, identifying serious failings related to Greenbelt lands removed for development.
“The AG has confirmed no Greenbelt land is required to meet our housing crisis. The City of Burlington has always maintained this position. We have unanimously voted to protect our Greenbelt and urban boundaries, embedding it in our City’s Strategic Plan. The majority of Halton Regional Council also voted against Greenbelt expansion to meet housing targets. We can achieve our housing goals within our urban boundaries.
“The provincial government has much work ahead to restore trust, transparency, and confidence in the development process and decision-making around meeting the housing targets. The Province’s commitment to implement 14 of the 15 recommendations from the AG report and cooperate with the Integrity Commissioner investigation are steps in the right direction.
“We have joined the Province and municipalities across Ontario in acknowledging we are in a housing crisis Premier Ford: and committed to doing our part as a municipality. However, that housing crisis should not be provided as a reason to cut corners on fairness, accountability, and transparency in development.
“We continue to stand as a willing partner with both the federal and provincial governments, development industry, non-profit housing providers and others, to enable new housing construction in a way that is open, transparent, and accountable to the community we serve. In fact, we believe that’s the only way to deliver housing, at any time, but especially in a crisis.
“Municipalities know best where we can accommodate housing. We are ready to do our part and already have a plan to where we can accommodate housing in Burlington. That is around our three GO stations,aging retail plazas, growth centres and major corridors – all identified in our new Official Plan that was developed and vetted through an open, transparent, and fully-public community process.
“We are aware that numbers related to housing being built in Burlington were mentioned in today’s news presser. Those numbers are from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; however, they do not tell the whole story of how many developments are actually underway in Burlington. We will have more to say on this.
“Burlington Council has unanimously accepted our pledge to issue 29,000 permits by 2031, and our City already has 25,000 units and growing in the development pipeline. We are willing to work with the development industry to help enable them to get shovels in the ground.
“Everyone in this process has a unique and complementary role to play. The federal government sets national building code and immigration policies. The provincial government sets planning policy tools. Municipalities determine where growth and housing are best suited for our communities and issue permits. The developers build the units. Not one of us is to blame for the housing crisis and not one of us can solve it alone – we all must work together. Burlington has always been willing to do our part, in partnership with others.
“In all our actions, we must demonstrate the highest level of accountability and integrity to the public we serve – ensuring an open, fair and transparent process for all.”
Prior to issuing the statement she was on CHCH television explaining that the city had 25,000 units in the pipeline
Earlier in the hour long press conference the Premier said: “When they want to make things happen, They make things happen. When you don’t want to make things happen. You put hurdles and barriers every step of the way.
“When you create the environment and the conditions for companies to invest in your community, they’re going to show up; when you don’t create the environment for companies to come they won’t even look at it. They’ll look the other way.”
There are times when the communications people in the Mayor’s office find themselves in a damage control mode.
What has become clear now is that when under pressure the Mayor will manipulate the way she chooses to communicate with the public. She once said she had 17 different platforms from which she can send message. Does that meet the being transparent and accountable standard.
The Mayor had issued a Statement which we didn’t get; usually they are sent along to all media.
We asked:
Was there a reason for you not sending a copy of the Mayors Joint Statement to the Gazette?
The response was:
Regarding the Mayor’s statement – It was published exclusively via the Mayor’s website and reshared via her social channels which is why media partners (including yourself) wouldn’t have received an email directly. There is an option to subscribe directly to her site should you wish to – I believe other media partners have done so as well.
That answer came from a Staff person in the Communications department.
We also asked:
In her Joint Statement the Mayor made mention of a court case on naturalized gardens that the city won.
The response:
I wanted to touch base so that you know I’ve received your inquiry and am working on gathering the case details.
“This matter was recently before the courts and the ruling was in the City’s favour.”
We followed that up with:
Would you advise us as to when the case was heard; where the case was heard and provide us with a copy of the decision?
The City is ready to start two engagement opportunities related to the former Robert Bateman High School building.
One is engagement on the facility name.
The second is engagement on the vision for the indoor recreational and cultural services offered at our newest community centre.
These opportunities for engagement and input are only for the use of the inside of the building, and not about greenspace or parking. Input on greenspace and parking will come at a later date.
All of these opportunities and any updates will be posted on getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschool.
Indoor visioning engagement opportunities
• Aug. 22, 7 to 9 p.m. Appleby Ice Centre, 1201 Appleby Line. Registration required. • Aug. 23, 1 to 3 p.m. LaSalle Park, 50 North Shore Blvd. Registration required. • Sept. 16, noon to 4 p.m. Food for Feedback. Central Park, 2299 New St. No registration needed. • Sept. 24, 1 to 5 p.m. Appleby Street Festival, Appleby Line between New Street and Fairview Street. No registration needed. • Oct. 18, 7 to 9 p.m. Tansley Woods Community Centre, 1996 Itabashi Way. Registration required. • Oct. 19, 7 to 9 p.m. Online engagement session. Link to join is at getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschool. Registration required.
To register, email getinvolved@burlington.ca or call 905-335-7777, ext. 7965. Please include the date of the session you’d like to attend.
Name our new community centre Help us name our new community centre at the former Robert Bateman High School site.
Residents are invited to submit names and any supporting reasoning at getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschool.
City Hall asking the public to submit names for the new community centre.
The names will be reviewed to ensure they meet the City of Burlington naming standards and a short-list will be created. Residents will have another opportunity to vote on their favourite name from the short-list later this year. Once residents have voted on the short-list of names, the top names will be brought to City Council for final decision in late 2023.
This opportunity is open now. Names will be collected until Sept. 18, 2023.
Reminder: Opportunity for Community Service Providers We are also still looking for anyone interested in providing community programming with a long-term rental agreement for the exclusive use of space at the former Robert Bateman High School site. There is no commitment or expectation at this point. Tell us what services you can provide at getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschool by Sept. 30, 2023.
Background The City has purchased the former Robert Bateman High School building and greenspace.
With sustainability and community-building in mind, the City of Burlington is repurposing the existing Robert Bateman High School into a City-owned multi-purpose community-focused asset that will align with the City’s objective of being net-zero carbon by 2040. The reuse and conversion of the former secondary school will have interior renovations, exterior building changes and minor site plan modifications as part of Phase 1.
When the renovation is complete, tenants such as Brock University, Burlington Public Library, Halton District School Board, Tech Place and City of Burlington will move into the building and begin offering services. Burlington is a city where people, nature and businesses thrive. Sign up to learn more about Burlington at burlington.ca/subscribe and follow @CityBurlington on social media.
Emilie Cote, Director, Recreation, Community and Culture explains “Each of the registered sessions will be the same format, presentation and visioning workshop. The opportunities at Appleby Street Festival and Food for Feedback are a bit different but just as important.
No matter which session you attend, we will be gathering input for what kinds of recreation and cultural programming residents would like to see at the new community centre. This is a significant step in the creation of this community centre. Naming our new community centre is important. It should reflect the values of the city and the residents and will be carried forward for generations.”
According to recently released data from iGaming Ontario (iGO), people in the province are spending more on online casino games than they do on sports betting. The figures released by the iGO provide a comparison between the two sectors of the online gambling market.
People in the province are spending more on online casino games than they do on sports betting.
They also show that Ontarians spent more than $14 billion on wagering in total during the April-June 2023 quarter. This is an excellent figure, given that the province only launched its regulated online gaming market in April 2022. This launch allowed providers such as sites listed in this guide to offer sports betting, casino games, and poker services to people in Ontario.
Figures for legal Ontario online casino and sports betting markets
Looking more closely at the April-June quarter figures provided by iGO:
$11.6 billion was spent on casino games, including slots, live gaming, table games, and bingo.
$2 billion was spent on sports, esports, and novelty betting.
$350 million was spent on poker content.
Overall, betting and gaming online in the quarter generated $545 million in revenues compared to revenues of $162 million for the same quarter the previous year when regulated online gambling had just launched.
These increased revenues are good news for the operators and the government as it receives its own slice of the money made from online gambling, a welcome boost for its finances.
The growth of the industry is positive from a financial point of view. However, some people are concerned about issues with problem gambling increasing, given that were more than 900,000 active player accounts in the Ontarian market in the last three quarters.
Concerns about gambling dangers being addressed
Knowing what your financial limit is – makes gaming fun. Being responsible keeps you out of trouble.
The government of Ontario has taken action to address concerns about problem gambling in the province. According to the Office of the Attorney General, Ontario is a national leader in online gambling and puts resources into protecting consumers and providing them with help should they have any problem gambling issues.
The breakdown of support from the Ontarian Government is as follows:
$31 million in funding to help alleviate problem gambling.
$25 million in funding to create and run treatment programs.
$6 million in funding for education and efforts to prevent problem gambling.
In a further attempt to make it less likely that people will encounter difficulties from gambling, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is proposing banning the use of celebrities in sportsbook advertising.
Overall, the government of Ontario is dedicated to ensuring the online gambling market in the province continues to be successful. In addition, the authorities are invested in protecting consumers from the potential harms of gambling.
Given the dedication of the government and the promising figures so far, the future for online casinos and betting in Ontario looks positive. Casino gaming, in particular, is attracting impressive revenues and bringing significant financial rewards to the operators. It’s also providing vital revenue for the government of the province, some of which is invested to protect consumers and provide a safe playing environment.
There will be a full closure of Niagara-bound traffic on the QEW Burlington Skyway for critical repairs, beginning Friday, August 11 at 10 p.m. to Saturday, August 12 at 10 a.m.
Advance signing and notification will be provided to motorists so they can plan an alternate route.
Travellers can visit http://511on.ca/ or @511Ontario for updates on work and traffic impacts.
With less than a month to go in her term of office Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General for the province dropped a scathing 95 page report on what she saw is serious concerns about the exercises used, the way in which standard information gathering and decision protocols were sidelined and abandoned, and how changes to the Greenbelt were unnecessarily rushed thorough,”
She said the Ontario government’s process for choosing protected Greenbelt land to open up for housing development was heavily influenced by a small group of well-connected developers who now stand to make billions of dollars, the province’s auditor general says.
Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk wasn’t buying whatever was being said.
Lysyk offered a damning assessment of how the province selected sites last year for removal from the Greenbelt — a vast 810,000-hectare area of farmland, forest and wetland stretching from Niagara Falls to Peterborough that was meant to be off limits to development.
Lysyk found the selection process was largely controlled by Housing Minister Steve Clark’s chief of staff — not non-partisan public servants — and was also influenced by specific suggestions from developers with access to the chief of staff.
The process didn’t consider agricultural, environmental and financial impacts of the decision, and involved little input from non-political planning experts or other stakeholders, including the general public and Indigenous communities, according to the report.
“Our review … raises serious concerns about the exercises used, the way in which standard information gathering and decision protocols were sidelined and abandoned, and how changes to the Greenbelt were unnecessarily rushed thorough,” Lysyk said at a news conference at Queen’s Park on Wednesday.
“The process was biased in favour of certain developers and landowners who had timely access to the housing minister’s chief of staff.”
Lysyk didn’t name Clark’s chief of staff in the report, however, she later confirmed to reporters it is his current chief of staff. Ryan Amato is currently working in that role.
According to Lysyk, the chief of staff directed a small team of housing ministry bureaucrats in October 2022 who decided which sites would be removed. The work of the so-called “Greenbelt Project Team” was limited to three weeks and they were sworn to confidentiality, according to the report.
According to Lysyk’s report, Clark’s chief of staff identified 21 of the 22 sites the team considered. Ultimately, they settled on 15.
At a news conference later Wednesday, Ford acknowledged shortcomings with the process, but said the government would continue to do everything it can to address the province’s housing crisis.
“While we’ll never waver in our commitment to build more homes, we know there are areas for improvement as we move forward,” Ford said. “We were moving fast. We could have had a better process.”
Ford said his government would accept and implement 14 of the 15 total recommendations Lysyk made in her report. The single recommendation it will not accept is to revisit the land swaps and possibly reverse the decisions, he said.
The Auditor General issues a scathing report saying Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives “favoured certain developers” in a controversial Greenbelt land swap that could make the landowners $8.28 billion.
Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk turned in her report – she also turns in her keys to the office on September 5th when her term of office comes to an end. Premier Doug Ford on the right.
In a searing 93-page report to the legislature Wednesday, Bonnie Lysyk found Ford’s opening up of 7,400 acres of environmentally protected land last fall “cannot be described as a standard or defensible process.”
Lysyk said the Tories did not need the 15 parcels of land to achieve their promised target of building 1.5 million homes over the next decade to alleviate Ontario’s housing crisis.
Premier announces he will hold a Press Conference at 1:00 om.
Marit Stiles, Leader of the Opposition
Before he can get a word in Marit Stiles, Leader of the Opposition hammers the Premier saying:
“Let’s call this what it is: corruption. Ontarians deserve better than a government that enriches a select number of party donors at the expense of hard-working Ontarians,” said Stiles, after noting that the Ford government’s Greenbelt transferred $8.3 billion over to donors and developers.
“This is not about Mr. Ford, this is not about politics, this is about reinstating Ontarians’ trust in their government. Trust that this government has seriously eroded with their insider dealings and culture of corruption that goes all the way up to the Premier.”
Stiles and the Ontario NDP are calling to immediately remove Minister Steve Clark from Cabinet. Following the resignation, the Ontario NDP are calling to:
• Immediately recall the Legislature, to reverse course, and return these lands to the Greenbelt and cancel these deals with developers.
• And that this Conservative government not stand in the way of the Integrity Commissioner’s investigation, including any potential criminal investigations – because we know this is just beginning and the public deserve and to know everything.
The Statement didn’t provide the kind of information the public is asking for.
Huge public interest in that naturalized garden article we covered in detail yesterday and the article we published earlier today asking some very detailed questions is as to how this mess was created.
Several readers have asked if we could find out more about the Court case the Mayor said the City recently won.
Where was the case heard; when was it heard and would they provide a copy of the decision?
No answer yet. The note from her Media person has him away from his desk.
One reader make a good point:
“In all the media coverage, I haven’t seen any indication that the matter had already been to court.
I find it suspicious that the Mayor and Co. don’t actually provide details of the court ruling.
In The Spec, the lawyer for the home owner was talking about taking the case to court, not about appealing a court ruling.
The response to the article on the woman who had a garden at the front and back of her house weed-whacked by the city has been interesting.
We will follow the steps that her legal counsel takes to right what many see as a serious wrong.
Our interest at this point is – how did this happen?
Brynn Nheiley, Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility
Kerry Davren, Director of Bylaw Enforcement .
Who made the decisions?
Where was the oversight?
Burlington’s bylaw compliance policy is – or was at one point, to respond to complaints. “We don’t go looking for situations where a bylaw is not being conformed to. We get a complaint and we investigate and try very hard to explain to people where the problems is and what they need to do.”
The impression we got at the time was that the bylaw enforcement people look for ways to solve a problem assuming in many cases people were just not aware that they were not conforming to the bylaw.
Let’s follow that thread.
Someone calls the bylaw department and registers a complaint. Someone in the department takes down the details (is there a form they use – some way of capturing the information?)
A naturalized area is defined as “an area or vegetation deliberately planted or cultivated with one or more species of wildflowers, shrubs, annuals, perennials, ornamental grasses, or combination of them, that is monitored and maintained by a person.
Then a bylaw officer is assigned the task of meeting with the person making the complaint.
Did that happen in this instance ?
At some point Kerry Devron, who at the time was the Manager of Bylaw Enforcement, has to make a decision.
There is little doubt in our mind that Ms Devron would have taken the complaint to the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility and sought some direction.
Back in October when the issue became real – by which we mean there was a complaint and some action was taken by the department and that at some point the Executive Director was brought into the loop.
We now know that the City legal department was in the loop as far back is as last October. David Donnelly, a lawyer, who was very familiar with the issue – he had in the past defended, successfully we might add, provided the legal department with the existing case law.
All this happened before the beginning of August.
Why is that important? On August 3rd, the City announced that Kerry Devron was being promoted to the position of Director of the newly created By Law Enforcement Department.
We the elected and the staff that serve the public are not punching bags. Tax payers – that’s a different issue.
So, everything Ms Devron did was as a Manager.
Managers don’t make decisions that advise a citizen that they could be facing a fine of $10,000 per day.
And Managers don’t advise a citizen that should they obstruct city staff from doing what they were required to do that they could be facing a fine of $100,000
So, if Ms Devron, a manager didn’t make the decisions – who did?
Move up the food chain to the Executive Director.
One final question? Who decided to inform the company that holds the mortgage on the property that Karen Barnes might not be complying with the City bylaws?
Who sent that issue to the legal department – and why did the legal department accept the assignment?
That’s enough in the way of questions for today.
We expect to be moving further up the food chain on this one.
Mayor Meed Ward along with Councillors Nisan and Bentivegna issued the following Joint Statement:
Our offices have been receiving questions from residents regarding the City of Burlington allowing for naturalized gardens on properties, based on an article that appeared in the Toronto Star over the weekend. We appreciate the concerns members of the community have been raising regarding naturalized gardens and environmental protections in Burlington – we share them. That is why the City of Burlington updated our Lot Maintenance Bylaw in 2018 to allow for naturalized gardens and again in 2022 to clarify regulations that apply to naturalized gardens.
There are numerous examples of naturalized gardens in neighbourhoods across our City that are operating within our bylaw. Such gardens are regularly maintained and pruned, have no other non-conforming weeds growing, and no invasive species being grown. Examples of non-conforming weeds come from the definitions of noxious weeds that are set by the Province of Ontario under the Weed Control Act.
We welcome and support these gardens and appreciate residents who maintain them within City and Provincial standards.
We will do our best to continue to educate residents about naturalized gardens, invasive species, and lot maintenance responsibilities. Our bylaw allows for naturalized gardens and those gardens must conform to lot maintenance standards. Each complaint the City receives is investigated and treated the same under the terms of our bylaw. We will also defend our City bylaws in a balanced and impartial manner. When the City investigates a complaint, it provides the property owner with information regarding the requirements of the bylaw, where they may not be in compliance, and continues to work with them until compliance is achieved within reasonable timelines.
Only when that process fails, and as a last resort, would charges be filed with the court. Fines, up to a maximum, established by the Province and adopted by the City, may be imposed by a Court on an owner of any property found in non-compliance with the bylaw. The amount of the potential fines is included in all notices for transparency.
The recent Star story listed a property that does not comply with our bylaw for naturalized gardens. It has been under formal and extensive City of Burlington bylaw investigation and enforcement since 2015. The City has attempted to work closely with the property owners to bring their property into compliance with our bylaws. In doing so, the City consulted with experts in naturalized gardens. This matter was recently before the courts and the ruling was in the City’s favour.
We invite Burlington residents to review our bylaws and provide feedback and suggestions, if they have any. We also recommend the community reviews the Province’s Table of Noxious Weeds and shares any suggestions they have regarding those regulations with their local MPP.
We appreciate the opportunity to engage with the community on this important environmental matter, to reassure residents that naturalized gardens are welcome in Burlington and to share information about how residents can ensure these conform with our City’s bylaws.
The Joint Statement doesn’t appear to suggest that this issue can be worked out amicably. Karen Barnes is going to need financial support. She has created a site where the environmentalist can help.
By Pepper Parr
Saturday, August 12, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
All of these opportunities and any updates will be posted on getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschool.
Emilie Cote, Director, Recreation, Community and Culture explains
Advance signing and notification will be provided to motorists so they can plan an alternate route.
“The process was biased in favour of certain developers and landowners who had timely access to the housing minister’s chief of staff.”
