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December 23rd, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
The parade didn’t take place this year – but the image of that float comes to mind today. Make sure your children understand what the message means. And have a Happy Christmas being grateful for all we have.  We sometimes lose sight of what the Season is about. 
December 24th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
The running around should be close to an end. If it hasn’t been bought by now – maybe it isn’t needed.
For now the Gazette wishes its readers a pleasant safe holiday. Take care of each other.
December 24th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
How do you go home and tell the family that you were arrested for driving while you were impaired? On December 17, 2021, just after 11:30 pm, Halton Police officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Plains Road and Sanford Drive in Burlington. As a result of an investigation, Gordon Winslow (29) of Dundalk was charged with operation while impaired. On December 20, 2021, just before 4:30 pm, Halton Police officers were conducting a R.I.D.E. initiative in the area of Walkers Line and Dundas Street in Burlington. As a result of this initiative, Alexander Speers (36) of Waterdown was charged with blood alcohol concentration 80mgs or more, within two hours. On December 20, 2021, just before 10:00 pm, Halton Police officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Davidson Court and North Service Road in Burlington. As a result of an investigation, Joseph-Sylvi Cormier (50) of Toronto was charged with failure or refusal to comply with demand. On December 22, 2021, just after 1:30 am, Halton Police officers responded to a collision in the area of Trafalgar Road and Hornby Road in Halton Hills. As a result of an investigation, Joshua Gillam (26) of Kincardine was charged with operation while impaired and blood alcohol concentration 80mgs or more, within two hours. On December 22, 2021, just before 4:30 pm, Halton Police officers responded to a citizen-initiated complaint in the area of Highway 401 and James Snow Parkway in Milton. As a result of an investigation, Justin Espinosa (30) of Cambridge was charged with failure or refusal to comply with demand. On December 22, 2021, just before 5:00 pm, Halton Police officers responded to a citizen-initiated complaint in the area of Millcroft Park Drive and Dundas Street in Burlington. As a result of an investigation, Josue Hernandez-Camacho (30) of Burlington was charged with operation while impaired and blood alcohol concentration 80mgs or more, within two hours.
Members of the public are reminded that driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol is a crime in progress and to call 9-1-1 immediately to report a suspected impaired driver. Here are some signs of an impaired driver:
Please be reminded that all persons charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
December 23rd, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
There is no precedent for the GO Expansion program – it is a highly complex undertaking unlike anything before in Canada. The largest and most complicated element of the program is the GO Expansion On-Corridor Works package, a single innovative, fully integrated contract to run more and better service. The winning team will design, build, operate, and maintain the new infrastructure and trains for 25 years, a massive, multibillion-dollar undertaking. What does it take to completely overhaul a transit system, move people out of cars, and onto transit? The people at GO Transit look at what the future could look like while looking over their shoulder at recent progress on the lines. Pundits agree that frequent, convenient service is the top driver for ridership growth. Build it, and they will come, to steal a line from Field of Dreams. GO Expansion aims to do exactly that – to provide a regional transit system so convenient, that the additional four million residents that will move to the region by 2041, will find taking the train a lot more convenient than driving a car. It’s hard to contemplate what it may mean to GO Transit customers to see trains pulling into stations every 15 minutes or less, in either direction. The closest comparison is Toronto’s TTC subway system, where riders simply walk to the station, with no need to check the train schedule. GO Transit – the commuter transit service – will be gone, transformed to the equivalent of a surface subway system for travel all day, every day, for any kind of trip.  GO Expansion includes adding over 200 km of new track, electrifying over 600 km of track, a new electric train fleet will combine to become the largest transit project in North America. (Metrolinx graphic) The GO Expansion On-Corridor Works package — known as ‘OnCorr’ to those in the industry— is the central piece that builds on all the other parts of GO Expansion to make that vision a reality. The successful proponent team will be responsible for delivering 15 minute or better, all-day service on our core lines. That means a train turning up every 15 minutes or less in each direction at every station between Union and Burlington on the Lakeshore West line, Union and Bramalea on the Kitchener line, Union and Bradford on the Barrie line, Union and Unionville on the Stouffville line, and Union and Oshawa on Lakeshore East. To operate those service levels, safely and reliably, the successful proponent team will need to design and build the right improvements to GO’s infrastructure. This includes implementing overhead electrification, upgrading train control systems, and expanding tracks and structures along the corridors to allow for 6,000 weekly train trips. These infrastructure improvements will complement the billions of dollars of GO Expansion Early Works projects already underway or complete, as well as planned work renovating existing stations, building new stations and extending the GO rail network to places like Bowmanville in the future. The contract is in a multi-year procurement process, and the bids closed on Nov. 30.  An artist’s rendering of an electric GO train, subject to change. (Metrolinx image) They will be all electric, quieter, much easier on the environment Two proponent teams, EnTransit and ONxpress Transportation Partners, have submitted their proposals. Each team brings together international firms with extensive experience building and running frequent electric regional rail networks outside North America with local partners. EnTransit TSO ONxpress Transportation Partners Benefits of GO Expansion: GO Expansion will provide a major new travel choice to customers and significantly increase transit ridership, cut trip times, and help manage congestion across the GTHA Time savings (faster, more frequent, and reliable transit options throughout the region) Congestion management (similar transit services throughout the world have been shown to slow the growth of road congestion) Easier movement of people and goods to address estimated yearly congestion costs of up to $11 billion What’s Next? Over the next several months, Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx will evaluate the proposals. Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario will announce the winning team in Spring 2022, and there will be a 24-month development phase after the contract is awarded, where Metrolinx and the successful proponent will work collaboratively on design, early investigations, schedule optimization, and key initial construction work. Construction is expected to start in late 2022 or early 2023, subject to the successful proponent’s construction schedule.
December 23rd, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
We want to do something a little different this year. We want to recognize those people who left an impression on us with the work they did in the community which we define as the Region of Halton.  Joan Ford, the city’s Director of Finance, knows where every dollar comes from and where every dollar gets spent.  The GoTo person when you wanted something in the budget explained was Lori Jivan, That Burlington city Council actually passed two budgets in the 2021 calendar year is not something many people realize. Joan Ford, an Executive Director with the city and Treasurer for the Corporation of Burlington, and Lori Jivan, who stick-handled a lot of the data and information requests during both budgets, served in a way that the public has a right to expect. These two women went beyond. We are fortunate to have them.  Julie Neal looking pretty pleased with the cans and bottles collected – funds went to the Food Bank and Compassion Society The Neal family; new to the city, were overcome with how open, friendly and welcoming people were. When there was an opportunity to give back to the community Julie Neal jumped in and pulled off what is probably the biggest bottle and can drive the city has ever seen. Robin Bailey is a quiet individual. He took on the job of running the Burlington Food Bank – it had experienced some administrative issues that Robin fixed. The city now had someone who could adapt the organization to the changes that were being seen in food scarcity for a lot of people.  Robin Bailey, Executive Director of the Burlington Food Bank What Robin did not foresee was the role the Food Bank would play in the midst of a pandemic. It is an ongoing challenge Robin has succeeded in meeting and at the same time planning for the growth of the Food Bank’s services that are, regrettably, going to be necessary.  Lisa Lunski, listening carefully to what a Wellington Square volunteer is explaining.` Lisa Lunski at Wellington Square United Church found she had to pivot in order to continue the incredible success she directed. The Pandemic meant getting food to people instead of drawing people to the Church for a meal and some excellent community fellowship. She attracted, nurtured and mentored a crew of volunteers that are the envy of many NGO’s in the city. Dr Hamidah Meghani was delighted when she was appointed Medical Officer of Health for the Region of Halton. It was, she said at the time of her appointment, the best job she could possibly imagine. Not long after she had her business cards printed she found herself in a job that took mental dexterity, patience and the ability to cope with a provincial government that always seemed to be just a little behind the curve and municipalities who wanted solutions she could not always deliver.  Dr Hamidah Meghani had no idea the job she said was the best she would ever have would require her to serve in a critical capacity. The Region was lucky to have someone with the skills she had to get us through the pandemic – and it isn’t over yet. Being a Medical Officer of Health for a Region with municipalities that had different needs and problems and at the same time creating policies and directions that would keep students in schools and safe at the same time proved to be very demanding and she prevailed. Dr. Meghani went from running a reasonable sized operation to one that ballooned and required sums of money that she could not have even imagined when she took on the job. She is one of those unsung heroes.  Craig Gardner: If you want to get it done – give him a call. He is however still waiting for the federal government to decide to put Terry Fox on the next version of the $5 bill Craig Gardner is a full time volunteer involved in the Festival of Lights, drives for the Food Bank, runs the annual Terry Fox Run for a Cancer cure. Craig somehow managed to raise more money during the first year of the pandemic for the Terry Fox Run than in the history of the organization. Burlington would be well advised to clone Craig Gardner. There are others who have served the city well in 2021; these are the seven we wanted to name.
December 23rd, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Enhanced safety measures in response to Omicron also include visiting restrictions To protect the health and safety of its patients and healthcare workers amid rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in the province, Joseph Brant Hospital will be implementing new vaccination requirements and limits on essential care providers (ECPs) and visitors. Effective Thursday, December 23, all essential care partners (ECPs) and visitors must show proof of full vaccination (i.e. vaccine receipt or enhanced vaccine certificate with a QR code) or a documented medical exemption, as well as government-issued ID.  Joseph Brant Hospital will be implementing new vaccination requirements and limits on essential care providers (ECPs) and visitors. In addition, limits will be placed on the number of ECPs and visitors entering the hospital each day. Patients staying in the hospital may designate a maximum of two (2) ECPs or visitors; only one is permitted in the hospital at any time. ECPs and visitors are prohibited from eating or drinking in patient rooms and must wear hospital-issued masks at all times, as well as practice physical distancing and hand hygiene. For more information about ECP/visitor restrictions in other areas of the hospital, including the Emergency Department and Labour and Delivery, please go to our website. These changes are in response to a surge in community transmission of the Omicron variant. Many hospitals in the Hamilton-Niagara-Haldimand-Brant-Burlington Region and the Greater Toronto Area have taken similar measures to protect their patients and healthcare workers from potential COVID-19 transmission and outbreaks that could impact hospital operations and care. “These are difficult decisions, but we are taking necessary precautions to help keep everyone safe in the face of this new threat,” said Eric Vandewall, President and CEO. “We know this is a stressful time for everyone, including our staff and physicians who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. They recognize and value the important role that families, loved ones and caregivers play in supporting our patients. We will get through this together, with your patience and kindness.”
December 22, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON
It is the kind of document that Burlington Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman has in the past said he “lusts after” It is data heavy On December 21, Halton released results of the Halton COVID-19 Business Recovery Survey administered in November. The survey collected approximately 700 responses from Halton business owners on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected operations and workplaces, and supports that businesses may need as they move toward reopening and recovery. The results indicated that the pandemic has had significant impacts on business revenues, financial liquidity, and has led to rising debt loads. Halton business owners identified supply chain disruptions, employee shortages and continuing economic uncertainty as the biggest challenges facing business recovery. The data speaks for itself. The disappointing aspect is that the really large employers appear to have taken a pass at the opportunity to respond.
December 22, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Pictures are worth a thousand words – or so the saying goes. The pictures tell us that the Covid19 variant is here amongst us – now! The tools to protect ourselves are available. We will know early in the New Year how well we did during the holidays  We have seen those rising numbers before. They will be back again if we do not take care of ourselves.
 The 1320 number has not been seen in the Region for some time. The numbers for the Region are above.  The 370 active cases is likely to grow. The numbers for Burlington are above.
December 22, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
 This is what an online casino gambling bonus looks like The casino bonuses world is, without a doubt, a vast one. You can run into new and lucrative bonuses daily, making the online casino gambling world quite competitive. Online casinos have to constantly come up with new ideas and bonuses to stay in the game. For example, the casino bonuses in Canada can offer you some great deals that will be pretty compelling and hard to say “no” to. This significant choice of casino bonuses is one of the leading reasons why more and more Canadians are opting for online casinos rather than going to physical ones. Of course, it’s not all just about the bonuses. Online casino gambling can offer you easy accessibility, excellent comfort as you can play from your couch or on the go, and a chance to play for free. Newbies should always choose free slots at first before they set on to play for real cash. Now, let’s take a close look at why casino bonuses are so appealing and how to choose the best ones. How to choose the best casino bonus?Some casino bonuses are staggering, but experienced players still don’t consider them the best bonuses available. Why is this so? The reason is quite simple; that online casino lacks some other qualities, such as safety measures, SSL protection, or end-to-end encryption for your transactions.  Determine the reputation of your online casino. There’s another reason for the most lucrative bonuses not being the best ones. Usually, you can take a tremendous welcome bonus but only use it on some games, not your favorite ones. Therefore, some of the best ways to tell good bonuses from bad ones are to determine the reputation of your online casino. An online casino is reputable if it has an issued license. You can check whether your casino has a license or not on their website. Another way to check whether the casino is reputable is by looking for the safety measures they use. If there’s ID verification, end-to-end encryption, SSL protection, and two-step verification available, you can rest assured that the online casino is worthy of your time. In line with this, the bonuses will also be trustworthy. Final thoughtsWe hope we have helped you understand why more and more Canadians are opting for online casinos and why casino bonuses are extremely popular among them. Also, we hope that you can now tell a good online casino from a bad one. Have fun in your next gambling experience, and good luck!
December 21, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Kim Arnott who writes for the Oakville News reported that: In its final budget before next October’s election, town council will limit the residential property tax increase to 1.5 per cent while putting money into initiatives to slow down traffic, fight off gypsy moths and increase loose leaf pick-up service. Oakville’s 2022 budget got the final nod from town council during its Dec. 20 meeting. “This budget is about being ready for our future,” said budget committee chair and Ward 6 councillor Tom Adams. Along with expanding services and investing in community infrastructure, the budget will advance important infrastructure needs for growing areas of Oakville, he said.
December 21st, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Those who are actually working within City Hall will limp out of the building on the 24th and return on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. – hoping that things will be much different and much better. Given the Covid infection numbers we are seeing (more than 3000 plus on Friday) the year we are going into could turn out to be very hard for a lot of people. Here is what’s open and closed at the City of Burlington Over the upcoming holiday season, City of Burlington administrative services will be closed between Friday, Dec. 24, 2021 and Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, re-opening on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. For more information about which City services and facilities are available over the holidays, please see the summary below or visit burlington.ca. *Important information regarding COVID-19: The information provided below is accurate as of Dec. 15, 2021. In the event of any changes made by the Province of Ontario to current COVID-19 public health measures, please visit burlington.ca/coronavirus for potential impacts to City services and programs. Residents can stay informed about City news at www.burlington.ca/coronavirus and our social media channels: @cityburlington on Twitter, @cityburlington on Instagram and facebook.com/cityburlington
My life-long friend Patti Stren, author of several children’s books, is handing out hugs. Something you might want to consider.
December 20th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
How many ways are there to pay for the Rainbow Crosswalks City Council wants to install? An initiative that was a really good idea; something that was important to do got politicized during the budget exercises which is unfortunate. The crosswalks are not cheap – they come in at $10,000 plus each and funds have to be set aside to keep them sharp looking.  Mayor Marianne Meed Ward has politicized the Rainbow Crosswalk initiative and made it her own. Is it going to backfire on her? A number of Councillors felt that having three in place at this point and making room in future budgets was a fiscally prudent thing to do. Mayor Meed Ward felt that all six were needed now and she wondered aloud if some of the public art money could be made available to pay for the final three. And so the squabbling began with the City Manager dragged into the issue. When three Council members disagreed with the Mayor on the timing of the installation she took it upon herself to make a public statement that made it sound as if the three, Councillors Sharman, Stolte and Kearns, were somehow anti LGBTQ2S+; nothing could be further than the truth.  Did Public Art funds pay for the Black Lives Matter art work done on the sidewalk outside City Hall ? Has the fund become the Mayor’s piggy bank? During the summer when people were outdoors a large graphic was painted on the sidewalk outside city hall. Public Art funds were found to pay for what was a strong Black Lives Matter statement. Politicians have their favourite projects; they currently have a budget to pay for projects within their wards. The Mayor has a very healthy budget that she reports on publicly. In the ten years the Gazette has been covering city Council we have never before seen so much nasty squabbling. There are numerous examples of this poor behaviour – what is most disturbing is that this situation impacts on a community that has had attention it did not need. Real people with real issues are being hurt – all the satisfy a small political objective. The Mayor was very much a part of that initiative. The LGBTQ2S+ acronym stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, and Two-Spirit.
December 20th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
The rate at which the Omnicron variant of the Covid19 virus is tearing through the province (3784 new infections yesterday) has put pressure on everything and everyone.  Food donations arrive daily but the demand is bigger than the supply. Cash on hand makes it possible to purchase needed food items. The Burlington Food Bank soldiers on with their service that provides fresh food to families that need help on the three week rotation they use. With the holidays upon us the Food Bank has had to do what can only be called an extreme pivot. Robin Bailey, Executive Director of the Food Bank said earlier today that they are able to meet the growing demand with enough in the way of food donations coming in and enough money in the bank to be able to purchase what isn’t donated. “We have found that we need to purchase more these days and inflated prices aren’t helping. We are fortunate in that we have a number of corporate supporters that work with us on an almost daily basis.”  Robin Bailey, Executive Director of the Burlington Food Bank is before the cameras almost daily – thanking people for the food and cash donations Longer term, adds Bailey “it is difficult to project where we will be this time next year. We thought we were on our way out of the pandemic and edging towards a more normal environment. The numbers on the need side are getting a little worse but the support from the community is holding up and the really wonderful part of all this is that the volunteer staff are continuing to show up every day. “We are going to be closed for the week between the holidays (December 27th to December 31st) but we will be open the afternoon of Christmas Eve to ensure that everyone who needs food is taken care of. When we decided that we had to be open I hoped that some of the staff would be able to stay the extra few hours” said Bailey who added that the “volunteers were asking me this morning if the Christmas Eve hours were still on.” Indeed it is still on. The Burlington Food Bank will be open until 2:00 pm the afternoon of Christmas Eve.
December 20th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
COVID and climate change, not the federal deficit, is driving up prices in this country. Public health measures have led to global supply chain blockages and workplace interruptions. And 2021 has been the absolutely worst year for disastrous climate events, including forest fires, flooding and drought. Prairie grain harvests, for example, are reported to be 30-50% lower this year, which also impacts meat prices.  Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre in the House of Commons So it’s unfortunate that Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre is peddling misinformation. He blames the high deficit and debt levels for the country’s current 4.7% increase in the price of an average basket of goods. He argues that it is because government debt has resulted in too much money being printed and circulated in the economy. But that is not what is happening. To complicate his argument, Poilievre is demanding federal tax cuts, including the revenue neutral carbon tax, which will….put more money in people’s hands and further increase the deficit. Poilievre is entitled to his opinion but no reputable economists support his thesis. Canada is actually doing better than most OECD nations when it comes to inflation and with an inflation rate a whole third lower than we’re seeing south of the border. Canada’s inflation has been hovering around 4.7% for the last couple of months, though nobody is discounting that it might climb a little higher before it declines again. In any case,Ha good chunk of Canada’s economy is inflation proofed – our pensions, income tax deductions, etc. which have been indexed to the consumer price index (CPI). And our health and education programs are all publicly funded. So it’s mostly food and other consumables, some of which are waiting to unload at the ports or sitting in a barge adrift in Vancouver Harbour.  The Covid19 virus and the variant Omicron along with Climate Change are the structural changes we are going through right now.
Some level of inflation is not unhealthy in a growing economy and/or one experiencing some measure of structural change. And structural changes is what we are going through right now, thanks to COVID and climate change. The federal government has a number of tools to slow down inflation should it get out of hand. These include tax increases, reducing government spending and transfers, import and export restrictions and controlling the interest rate. The Finance Minister just renewed the Bank of Canada’s mandate, which includes exercising monetary policy to raise interest rates and attempt to bring inflation down to 2% or less. However, given the still shaky economic situation with an ongoing pandemic, nobody should expect the Bank to jack up rates, particularly for the current bout of price increases which reflect an economy very much in transition.  Higher interest rates will also raise the cost of the government borrowing to finance our debt and deficit. That will lead to increased deficits and possibly eliminate funding for other government programs. In the end higher rates suppress economy activity by reducing consumer demand. That will lead to higher unemployment which no government ever wants. Raising interest rates would push Canada’s international exchange rate up as foreign investors up their Canadian investments to get the higher rates here. That would prompt exchange rate increases and impact Canada’s international competitiveness as our exports become relatively more expensive and imports relatively cheaper. This is the situation Brian Mulroney found himself in the late 80’s as he attempted to quell inflation with monetary policy. We ended up with higher unemployment, deterioration in our terms of trade and creating the greatest accumulation of federal debt in Canada’s history – that is until the pandemic hit us. Over-reacting to Canada’s modest inflation rate can be fraught with these potential complications. The Minister of Finance and Bank of Canada are betting that the supply chain blockages will be resolved and the price pressure will lessen. But given where we are with the pandemic rebounding energetically, and climate change throwing curve balls around every corner, nobody is in a hurry to raise interest rates or cut taxes. That is possibly except for Pierrre Poilievre who has no idea what he’s talking about.
Background links: Pierre Poilievre – National Debt – Crop Failures – Food Prices – Inflation – Fiscal Update – Actual Fiscal Update – Home Prices –
December 20th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Snow on the ground – get ready for winter fun. And watch the people at Parks, Recreation and Culture pivot once again to keep people active and staying healthy at the same time. There are many opportunities for everyone to be active outside. The information provided below is accurate as of Dec. 20, 2021. In the event of any changes made by the Province of Ontario to current COVID-19 public health measures, please visit burlington.ca/coronavirus for potential impacts to City services and programs.  Scheduled to open on Tuesday, Dec. 21. The Burlington Rotary Centennial Pond at the waterfront in downtown Burlington is scheduled to open Tuesday, Dec. 21. The rink will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve and closed on Christmas Day. Registration is not required. Residents are encouraged to call the ice conditions hotline, 905-335-7738, ext. 8587 before leaving their house, to make sure the Pond is open. The skate lending program is back this season at the Burlington Rotary Centennial Pond and is available Friday, 5 to 10 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and during the school breaks, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more about the Pond’s features and rules, visit burlington.ca/pond. Outdoor artificial rink Neighbourhood Rinks For more information on the Neighbourhood Rink program and locations, visit burlington.ca/neighbourhoodrink.  That was fun! Tobogganing • Brant Hills Park, southwest of the tennis courts, 2300 Duncaster Dr. To view designated tobogganing sites and tips for safe tobogganing, please visit burlington.ca/tobogganing. Tim Hortons Free Swimming and Skating Play Equipment Lending Library  Imagine the golf course covered in snow – what a great place to hike. Disc Golf and Hiking at Tyandaga Golf Course Players need to bring their own discs. Discs can also be borrowed through the Play Equipment Lending Library.
December 20th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON  A very modern look for a fine piece of leather-craft. Available only at the art gallery in Burlington. You are at the point where the bulk of your Seasonal shopping is done. But – there is one person you don’t think you have just the right gift for. And – you’ve never been to the AGB Shop. The arts may not be quite your thing but they offer numerous choices that are unique and tend to delight the person getting the gift. There is a purse that caught our eye when we were taking the pictures a month or so ago. Hours for the Art Shop are: Tuesday to Friday: Noon to 5:00 pm Saturday: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Masks are required. While the Art Shop has quite a bit of room should there be too many people and social distancing is not possible, management will look for ways to schedule people.  Wine poured from a glass slipper into beautifully decorated wine glasses. You won’t find this kind of stem ware anywhere else in the city.  Skilfully crafted, one of a kind – at the Art Gallery Shop  See anything you like? Art Gallery members can rent pieces they like and if they really like what has been hanging on their walls they can buy the piece. A number of Burlington corporations rent art work for their offices. You might want to think about buying a membership for someone and then introducing then to the rentals. Theo Roma is the person to talk to at the Gallery about this idea
December 17th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Giving Tuesday for 2021 went well – better than the year before. The idea of creating a day in the year when the focus was on giving came out of the 42nd Street YMCA in New York City in 2012 and just grew. Kristen Curry, Chair, Halton Gives explains how the idea works in Canada, in each of the provinces and then how in Ontario, where there are 42 local groups, work with not for profit organizations, to help them reach out to local groups and guide them as they do their own very local fund raising This year Halton residents, businesses, community groups, charities and non-profit organizations came together to celebrate GivingTuesday on November 30th, and demonstrate their generosity on this global day of giving! Over 70 Halton organizations partnered with Halton Gives and took part in GivingTuesday this year. Here are some of the local highlights: 200 families from Immigrant Services and Childcare Programs will receive $100 gift cards to use for a holiday meal and/or warm clothing for winter 7 cribs were filled with items for families in need (diapers, formula, cereal, etc.) Funds were raised for Child and Family Services to alleviate the cost of programming for families of children with developmental disabilities  The Oakville Rangers – took some time off the ice to raise funds to purchase gift cards for people in need. $1,500 was raised in grocery gift cards plus 2 boxes full of food items, with the help of a local youth hockey team Oakville Rangers Donors were thanked on social media with a reach of 1,000 Funds were raised to purchase 100 Reindeer Chocolate Packages to be delivered to clients $4,700 was raised to support students experiencing food insecurity 4 guide dogs were fully funded and named through a contest (Alfonso, Jaz, Magic and Neka) Over $7,500 was raised to provide in-need clients and families with a hand up over the holiday season  Food4Kids volunteer Gayle Cruikshank with Linsday Batstone from Two Sevens Capital. Curry explained the impact the pandemic has increased the need for human connections, acts of kindness and positivism. The demand for support programs and services across in Halton . It also has Thank you to everyone who participated in GivingTuesday this year. Whether you donated your time, money, talent, or voice for a cause – your actions made a difference!” said Kristen Curry, Chair of Halton Gives. Halton Gives is a civic movement participating in the global GivingTuesday initiative. Our goal is to engage the Halton community in supporting (and celebrating!) the work of the amazing charities and non-profits that support the Halton region. GivingTuesday is a movement to celebrate giving of all kinds, celebrated on the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday; in 2021 the date was November 30th. The movement was launched in Canada in 2013 by GIV3 and CanadaHelps.org The idea was originally founded in the US in 2012 by 92nd Street Y in partnership with the UN Foundation. Giving Tuesday will be on November 29th in 2022
December 17th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Responding to the rising number of Covid19 infections and the rate at which the Omicron variant is replicating the province of Ontario released the following statement: To further strengthen its response to Omicron and reduce opportunities for close contact as the province gets as many vaccines into arms as possible, Ontario is introducing a 50 per cent capacity limit in the following indoor public settings: Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments and strip clubs; Personal care services; Personal physical fitness trainers; Retailers (including grocery stores and pharmacies); Shopping malls; Non-spectator areas of facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities (e.g. gyms); Indoor recreational amenities; Indoor clubhouses at outdoor recreational amenities; Tour and guide services; and Photography studios and services; and Marinas and boating clubs. These limits do not apply to any portion of a business or place that is being used for a wedding, a funeral or a religious service, rite, or ceremony. Businesses or facilities will also need to post a sign stating the capacity limits that are permitted in the establishment. To further reduce the spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, additional protective measures are also being applied: The number of patrons permitted to sit at a table will be limited to 10 people and patrons will be required to remain seated in restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments, meeting and event spaces and strip clubs. Bars and restaurants, meeting and event spaces and strip clubs will be required to close by 11 p.m. Take out and delivery will be permitted beyond 11 p.m. Dancing will not be allowed except for workers or performers. Food and/or drink services will be prohibited at sporting events; concert venues, theatres and cinemas; casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments; and horse racing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues. The sale of alcohol will be restricted after 10 p.m. and consumption of alcohol in businesses or settings after 11 p.m. In addition, to mitigate COVID-19 transmission that can occur at informal social gatherings, the province is also reducing social gathering limits to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors. These restrictions will come into effect on 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 2021.
December 17th, 2021 BURLINGTON, O N
Students at Burlington’s Clarksdale Public School wrote and decorated Christmas cards that are currently on display in the lobby of Joseph Brant Hospital as a way to brighten the days of patients, staff and visitors.
 The walls of the hospital lobby are a lot brighter looking these days. Teacher Kelly Kozsurek says she learned of this activity from a former HDSB teacher and thought it would be a great way for students to provide patients, staff and visitors with colourful holiday cheer. The school was provided with cards by Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation’s ‘Join the Joy’ committee and students decorated one side of the card and wrote a kind message on the other side. “We chose to do this activity to provide students with the opportunity to do something for others,” Kozsurek says. “Not only will they brighten someone’s day, but they will feel empathy for others and pride in themselves for making a positive impact.” Principal Shelly Andrews says this activity has taught students a wonderful holiday message that there are many ways they can help make the world a better place. “I’m so proud of the contributions they have made to help give back and in their efforts to let people know they are cared for. Students of all ages were so excited to participate in this tradition. I love that they have learned we can change the world one smile at a time.”  Anissa Hilborn, President of the JBH Foundation. “One of the objectives of the Foundation is to connect the community with the hospital, and our Join the Joy campaign and the holiday greetings are a great way for our staff, physicians, patients and their families to feel the support of the community at the holidays,” said Anissa Hilborn, President of the JBH Foundation. “It truly brightens the hospital at this time of year and we’re so grateful to Clarksdale Public School and all the schools across Burlington who sent in messages of joy this time of year.”
December 16th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
 Delivered to citizens on the 14th with budget decisions that had not yet been made. It was less than a fulsome apology and it does beg a number of questions: Who wrote the article that appeared in City Talk? Who signed off on the content ? When did the material go to the printer and when did it get sent to the delivery people ? All the possible answers suggest City Talk was in one level of production at least four days before it was delivered on the 14th – which suggest that the material was written on the 9th – the day the Budget Standing Committee passed a recommendation that went to Council.  Did the Mayor get her way again – at the expense of the City Manager ? It also suggest that the Mayor was involved. There is precious little information coming out of the mouths of the other members of Council but it appears that they did not see what was being sent out. The information sent to citizens was purely political – Staff have no business getting involved in the political drama that pervades the Council Chamber even though as a Council they don’t meet there anymore.  City Manager Tim Commisso This is no small matter. Anne and Dave Marsden made the point when they wrote us to say: “We find it very difficult to understand why Burlington taxpayers seem to have no understanding of how serious an issue the City Talk issue is. “Correct Anticipation” and “Mountains out of Molehills” leaves one wondering what the Gazette has to do to expose things like this which should have the City up in arms! How the City Manager let this one take place defies rational explanation. He knows better.
Related news stories: The City Apology: The recently issued copy of City Talk, which is managed by City staff, was inadvertently sent out and delivered earlier than anticipated. City communications to residents about Council services and initiatives, like the City budget are never sent out prior to formal City Council approval. As much as possible, City staff work on communication materials like City Talk in advance, however, information isn’t shared till approvals. We apologize for the error.
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