 By Pepper Parr
November 7th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The developer got a rough ride. It wasn’t any better than the public reception they got when they first let Burlingtonians what they had in mind.
On Tuesday they were doing the mandatory Statutory presentation – a time when Planning department staff say relatively little other than the bare bones about the project.
The Core Development Group have yet to give the project they have planned for the “football”, that oblong piece of land bound by Lakeshore Road on the north side and Old Lakeshore Road on the south side, a name.
There is the Carriage Gate Development proposed for the eastern end of the “football” that didn’t pick up a lot of support when it took their idea to the public in a very poorly attended meeting. Less than 40 people in the room.
 This is what the CORE development group is proposing; the heritage building will continue as a restaurant; traffic will flow on to Lakeshore Road the other side of this rendering. Two people from Urban Design headed up the presenting – they were professional and polished and they gave it their best shot. It didn’t appear to be enough to move this council.
Lisa Kearns, the Councillor for Ward 2 made it very clear that she would not support the development.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward reminded the meeting that she was holding the football property to no more than eight storeys – and would go up to 15 if there were significant benefits for the public – which to her way of thinking was much more land for public use.
During the presentation the architect was brought up to explain what was sustainable about the site. He said the building would be heated and cooled geothermically – the equipment would be put in by a firm they owned.
The traffic expert came up to the podium to clarify just where the cars would get out of the 27 storey building that would have four floors of underground parking. Believe it or not they plan on having traffic in and out on Lakeshore Road. Keep in mind that the Nautique development will be on the other side of the road – almost directly across from the CORE development.
When asked what would the Chrysler Carriage House be used for the meeting was told it would be commercial and that they would probably use it as a restaurant location.
 Someone has finally come up with a reason for building the Pier – it was that “iconic” location from which people could see the city skyline and point out all the tall buildings. There is a word for that kind of traffic flow – wondering what the Transportation department will have to say when the project gets to them?
Bryan Nykoliation, who was introduced as the development owner (which he isn’t) was asked by the Mayor if he would withdraw the development until such time as the city has completed the study it intends to do once the review and refinement of the adopted but not yet approved Official Plan work is completed. Nykoliation said he would not do that.
 The western edge of the development lines up with Martha Street Their design consultant said she believed the CORE group had a very strong argument justifying the location and the building her client wanted to build.
A large part of the presentation was on how the proposed development fit into that part of the Lakeshore community. The design consultants used the existence of the under construction Bridgewater project and the approved ADI Nautique development as their view on what was to come and how their development fit into the bigger picture as they saw it.
 The developer argued that they weren’t adding anything to the skyline that wasn’t already there.  The outline on the right is the ADI Nautique structure. Lakeshore Road is in the middle with Emma’s on the other side. The CORE development would block the view of Emmas. They provided illustrations showing that there project wasn’t going to be any bigger than anyone else’s. They have illustrations of view from the Pier and an illustration that purported to show that the view from Martha street looking south to the lake left people with a clear view. They didn’t include Emmas Back Porch in the illustration.
The event was one of the more boisterous Statutory meetings we have seen in some time. The developers have been meeting with the Planning department people for some time; they left the impression that the planners are comfortable with the development. Consultants get paid to do that.
 Views on what the development will look like from different locations.  The consultants took the position that there development was, to some degree, an extension of Spencer Smith Park There will be a wide public path at the edge of the lake behind the Bridgewater that leads up to Old Lakeshore Road. Making the case that it is an extension depends on what gets built on the western end of the “football” 
 By Staff
November 6th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The Planning and Development service counter located on the second floor in City Hall at 426 Brant St, will be closed on Monday, Nov. 11, re-opening on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 8:30 a.m.
That is one way of slowing down the flow of development applications.
 Planning and Development is just to the right.
 By Andrew Drummond
November 6th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 Has the Ford government learned how to govern? This past week, the Ontario government returned to the legislature after an extended five-month break. Upon their return, they prioritized Bill 124 that would cap yearly public wage increases to significantly below the rate of inflation (with exceptions for groups that typically support the Conservatives like Doctors and Police Officers). However, they also last week announced significant retreats to three previously announced policies. These retreats were unexpected, and well received, and it is worth digging into how impactful these retreats are and why the government did not maintain their initial policies. Then perhaps more importantly what this means for public action against future government policy.
In September, two senior members of the Ontario opposition shadow cabinet (Marit Stiles and Sandy Shaw) came to Burlington for a town hall on education issues. One of the things they said to the crowd in Burlington was that it was possible to fight the government on its changes. Marit offered the example of the Health and Phys-Ed curriculum as an example of where public pressure pushed the government into changing its mind about a policy supported by Conservative members. The government had made a big deal about holding back the curriculum introduced by the previous government, but after a year of protests essentially allowed that curriculum to move forward with only minor tweaks.
This week, one of their backtracks was on regional amalgamation. Last year, the Ford government made a number of aggressive unilateral overhauls to municipal governments. It cancelled the decisions of the Regions of Peel, York, Niagara, and Muskoka to have a Regional Chair position while infamously using legislation to change the ward boundaries in the City of Toronto in the middle of their municipal campaign. When in January Ford appointed an advisory committee on regional government many residents in Burlington and elsewhere were worried it would spark another round of unilateral changes, possibly including the amalgamation of Halton Region in some way.
 Public pressure worked. In response, residents across Ontario organized to oppose any forced amalgamation. In Burlington, the grassroots group “We Love Burlington – Stop Amalgamation” formed. Across Ontario similar groups formed that organized responses to the advisory committee and emailed their MPPs. In all over 8,500 submissions were received and the government announced this week that no amalgamations would be forced upon municipalities. The answer was that public pressure worked.
The second backtrack was regarding advertising for vaping products. Everyone in Ontario has seen the proliferation of vaping advertising in the past year. Last October, the Ford government passed Bill 36 which primarily dealt with regulations around cannabis products, but also included the enabling of vaping companies to actively promote their products in stores. It was a reversal of previous Liberal policy to ban such advertisements, and was criticized by many including the Canadian Cancer Society. It was a transparent capitulation to lobbying pressure with the government absurdly claiming that
“The government is focusing on protecting young people from the potential harms of e-cigarettes and secondhand vapour. Retailers can’t sell the products to minors and they can only be promoted if the promotion complies with federal law.”
In September, CBC ran a story that outlined a story that showed just how little the provincial government was acting to restrict teens’ access to vaping. Despite hundreds of reports to local health authorities, across Durham, Toronto, and Peel only 16 fines had been levied all year. Many stores that had public reputations for selling products directly to minors had never been targeted for enforcement. Local health, already struggling under cuts to their funding didn’t have the resources to apply enforcement. The result of all of this has been a 74% increase in teen vaping over the last 12 months. Nearly 15% of teens 15-19 regularly vape, which in Burlington means approximately 780 teens have likely been newly addicted to vaping since the government allowed the increased advertising.
Fortunately, the government has been able to see past its free market ideology and is starting to backtrack in order to protect teens from the dangers of vaping. The government announced this week that as of January 1, 2020 vaping products will only be legally advertised within establishments that restrict entrance to ages 19+.
The last government backtrack is actually not much of a backtrack at all.
Education Minister Lecce announced last week that government will only look to increase secondary school class sizes from 22 to 25 instead of the previously announced 28. This is a relatively transparent negotiating ploy for the government’s upcoming negotiations with both the elementary and secondary teacher federations. Unfortunately, for the government, few in the public accept that the 9% increase in class sizes is necessary and most are rightly concerned about the detrimental effect it will have on public education. Minister Lecce’s public comments that tax cuts can only be funded if education costs are cut did little to make anyone think that quality education was his top priority.
Making only half of their initially proposed cuts is not actually a solution. The beginning of the cuts came this year as secondary class sizes were raised from 22 to 22.5. This resulted in 124 teachers being cut from Halton region alone. The “walk back” from the government will result in “only” 600-700 more teachers being laid off over the next three years. While this is a backtrack from the over 1,000 that were going to be eliminated under the government’s initial plan, it will still have an incredibly damaging impact on school in our region.
But the point is that fighting the government has worked. Pressure on the education piece has made the government relent a little bit.
 Restrict teens’ access to vaping. Pressure on teenage vaping has gotten the government to do a flip-flop on their initial proposal. Pressure from local activists has made the government completely abandon its efforts to amalgamate local municipalities. The government has changed its priorities since the first year of its mandate, mainly in reaction to the plummeting polls. They are now considering walking back many other parts of their initial agenda.
The responsibility we have as residents is to keep the pressure on so that as little as possible gets cut to fund further tax cuts.
Andrew Drummond is Burlington resident who ran for the provincial seat in the last election. He works with a telecommunications firm in the private sector where hew applies his marketing skills.
By Staff
November 6th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
As part of their Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), Haltech Regional Innovation Centre and the Halton Region Global Business Centre are pleased to introduce Beyond Boundaries, an accelerator program designed to unleash the power and potential of women entrepreneurs.
Created to combat the unique challenges faced by women who start and run businesses, the program will offer:
• Skills development in key areas such as financial acumen, technology expertise, sales enablement and scaling up;
• Exploration of new markets and global opportunities;
• Mentorship, advisory support and peer learning circles; and
• Targeted connections through networking events and strategic introductions.
The first cohort of the program will start in early 2020. Apply here.
 By Ray Rivers
November 6th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Part Two – It’s Not a Horse Race
If not First-Past-the-Post (FPP) then what? Most parliamentary democracies around the world have evolved into some kind of proportional representation. We, in Canada, have not.
 Proportional representation could be as simple as introducing a preferential or ranked ballot, as discussed last column. Also called a single transferable vote, it pretty much ensures that the political party elected as government had been supported by the majority of voters. In our last election the Conservatives had more popular support than the Liberals. But would they have gained more seats with a preferential ballot?
There are more complicated and sophisticated forms of proportional representation and a link below provides an extensive discussion of these. New Zealand and Germany are good case examples. New Zealand, a fellow Commonwealth nation, has pioneered so much regarding democratic governance including becoming the first democracy to enfranchise women voters.
New Zealanders came to their version of proportional representation, called MMP for multi member proportional, via a series of public referendums. The first one in 1992 indicated almost 80% of the people wanted to change away from FPP. The next year a majority of voters chose MMP over the outdated FPP and a few years later it was in place.
Just to be sure people were satisfied with the change they had made, a follow-up referendum in 2011 confirmed they were on the right track and they would stick with MMP. New Zealanders get two votes at election time – one for the local candidate and one for the party they support. The party then appoints its best candidates based on the proportion of the vote they obtained. Being a 50-50% MMP there are an equal number of MPs elected by riding and appointed by the parties.
Coalitions among parties is pretty much the order of the day, though there is always the possibility of majority governments as well. Cooperation rather than conflict, though, is much more the modus operandi. That doesn’t mean parliament moves at snail pace as compromise might imply, but there should be fewer dramatic swings in policy, as we see in our system. Policies such as the long gun registry, the Northern Gateway pipeline and the non-partisan Senate would have had more consensus before implementation and more consensus before major changes.
 Lester B. Pearson was the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968, as the head of two back-to-back Liberal minority governments following elections in 1963 and 1965. For those who believe that Canada’s experience with minority government and quasi-coalitions or even rarer rare full-coalitions has been productive, MMP is the answer you’ve been waiting for. These folk would argue that our best governments have been during periods of minority, and will point to Lester Pearson as a shining example.
So what would have happened had Canada had a system of MMP instead FPP in the last election?
It’s all hypothetical, particularly since strategic voting had played such a big role in determining the final results. But assuming that voters hypothetically chose their MPs in the same manner as they did their parties, the results might look something like what we see in the table below, despite rounding errors.
 (note: includes rounding errors and excludes independent)
In this hypothetical illustration based on the last election, the Liberals would still have earned the most seats though the Conservatives would have improved their position relative to them. The NDP would have moved from fourth to third place, better representing the percentage of the vote they got. And the Greens would have remained in last place though their strength in members would have increased to better represent their popular support.
The depiction above presumes the same number of electoral districts and that the House is expanded to accommodate a doubling of members (50% MMP). Note that while today the Liberals could govern with support from either of the NDP or BQ, under our hypothetical MMP they would need the BQ plus at least one of the other parties. The Conservatives, as before, would not be able to govern without the support of at least two of the third parties or with the support of the Liberals.
 Jason Kenney served in the Harper government – now he wants to form a government as Prime Minister. Mr. Trudeau is challenged to make his new minority government work with a nation more divided than we have seen in decades. While it is easy to understand Quebecers voting for a party dedicated to their interests and with a charismatic leader, what happened in the west is concerning. The Liberal shut out was deliberate and orchestrated somewhat by the Alberta premier and his Saskatchewan cohort.
Jason Kenney’s goal was to defeat Justin Trudeau and he very nearly succeeded. It was a dangerous manoeuvre for a provincial premier which exceeded anything this country has ever seen, and even over the top given the performances of former Quebec separatist leaders like Lucien Bouchard, Rene Levesque or even Jacques Parizeau.
Though the newly formed Wexit political entity, seems like an adolescent bad joke today, one should not underestimate the ability of this movement to damage the apple cart we call confederation. We could call them Canada’s tea party with their “Make Alberta Great Again” blue hats and upturned Canadian flags, but nobody should dismiss them as just a fringe movement or childish pack of whackos.
 Would this be if it was an international border ? Perhaps one day they’ll explain why it would be easier for a landlocked Alberta to build a pipeline across an international border than over a provincial boundary – and why with the highest provincial per capita incomes contributing to national equalization is so unfair. Still, without some kind of formal representation in Canada’s government, these separatist voices in the west will only become louder, angrier and nastier.
And that alone should give Mr. Trudeau cause to think about adopting some form of proportional government which would allow the Wexiters and the Greens, and even the Bloc, the scope to channel their energy in a productive way.
Part 1
 Ray Rivers writes regularly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
What Canada Can Learn – Proportional Representation – German Political System –
New Zealand System – More NZ System – WEXIT –
By Staff
November 6th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 To support the Gift of Giving Back Food Drive, the parking lot in front of Centennial Pool is unavailable for pool customers Tuesday, Nov. 5 through Thursday, Nov. 8, 2019.
During this time all vehicles must park in the north lot behind Centennial Pool. North parking lot is only accessible from the west parking lot entrance for Robert Bateman School and by driving around the back of the school.
The Ascension Elementary School parking lot is not available for parking during daytime hours.
Please plan accordingly to allow extra time for parking.
The Centennial Pool parking lot will reopen for the evening of Thursday, Nov. 8, 2019
 By Gary Scobie
November 6th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Once more into the breach. While there have been some good measures this new Council has brought about in 2019, on the most important issue you face, I am feeling frustrated and disappointed.
 Keeping the historic Chrysler Carriage House and leveraging its heritage to get additional height for a development many think is taking place in the wrong part of town. I am delegating in opposition to the 27 storey mixed use condo application for 2093 etc. Old Lakeshore Road, in the middle of the
“football” between Old Lakeshore Road and Lakeshore Road. I would suggest nothing higher than mid-rise at this location and the
same goes for the site being planned next door to the east at the corner of Old Lakeshore and Lakeshore Roads. We don’t need
skyscrapers in our faces as we enter the eastern gateway to the downtown.
 There was a time when a much larger bus terminal existed 25 yards to the left of this small terminal on John Street – it was where people met. Today this tiny structure has been defined as an Anchor Hub. I am frustrated that the Interim Control Bylaw (ICB) has only four more months to run and Council still has not acted on its mandate from citizens to rid us of the Anchor Mobility Hub (AMH) and Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) designations downtown. Nor has it moved the Urban Growth Centre (UGC) to the Burlington GO Station. These requests have been there since ECoB formed.
The three un-designations would free you from having to scramble to please the Local Planning Area Tribunal (LPAT) with your refusals to bend to developer demands to build high, build dense and build expensive on small sites in our downtown.
I am disappointed that instead Council is having the Planning Department spend time and expertise teasing out designs for downtown precincts (excluding Old Lakeshore precinct I might add) to please no one except developers.
This department should be using its expertise to support you in un-designating the downtown as an over-intensification project and reclaiming your right as a Council to decide on the intensification of our downtown that was already clearly expressed in the current Official Plan (OP). I attended the final Downtown Development Lab on Saturday and the crowd was not enthusiastic about either concept and was wondering why we were doing this exercise.
I last came here in June of 2019 and advised that your first priority to stop the further proliferation of high rise buildings near our
lakeshore like this one and in our downtown like others was to get us out of the cross-hairs of the development industry by making moves that Oakville Council in its wisdom did well over ten years ago. Instead we are still seeing applications such as this one that run counter to our vision of our lakeshore re-development and give developers an easy ride at the LPAT to gain height without maximums on small sites that only add to existing congestion and ultimately result in a rebuild of our downtown in their image.
Yet we are spending time updating an Adopted OP so it might pass muster under the over-intensification mandates you continue to allow to stand. You ignore the fact that our small Bus Terminal never qualified as an Anchor Mobility Hub because it has neither rapid transit nor dedicated transit to the Burlington GO Station Gateway Mobility Hub. You appear to ignore the ability you have to revise the boundaries of the Urban Growth Centre to direct high intensification like this building being applied for to the GO Station Mobility Hubs instead of in the downtown. Meanwhile the clock continues to tick toward the end of the ICB in March 2020.
The canyon effect along Lakeshore Road predicted ten years ago by Save Our Waterfront is about to come to pass unless strong measures are taken by Council.
 The canyon effect along Lakeshore Road predicted ten years ago by Save Our Waterfront is about to come to pass. At one time, I think citizens believed that we had enough historic buildings in our downtown to forestall high rise developments everywhere. Alas, we have very few buildings designated as historic and protected. If one happens to be on a site of properties assembled by a developer, like this one with the Chrysler Carriage House, it is incorporated in a tiny corner of the new building as simply a cost of doing business and a token to those who care about history. Old buildings or interesting facades like Kelly’s Bakeshop are incorporated in the build to lower our unease that our downtown is being stolen from us, to make us feel more comfortable with the redo that is unfolding. I believe that most citizens realize that these small measures are little compensation for what is being lost in total – the vision that Council promotes of a continuing attractiveness, walk-ability and vitality of the small town feel of Burlington’s downtown.
Developers have been assembling properties for years in anticipation of the goldmine that awaited them in high rise luxury condos, with token retail and office space that is mostly unaffordable for the very people we want to stay in the downtown.
Developers want to demolish and build new. You only have to look out your window at City Hall to see the blank slate that was 421 Brant Street. That is the dream of every developer. No trees, no buildings left, just a vacant lot ready to dig down deep for dungeon parking and building footings, set to rise to new heights each time. Wind or shadow issues? We’ve got experts who will tell you all is fine. No trees that will ever live past seven years because the beds are too small and too shallow? You can plant another one in its place. It’s all going to be wonderful with well-off people moving downtown to support the businesses that might or might not be left. What’s not to like?
This type of viewpoint might work at a true mobility hub where you can actually build from scratch a complete community for rail commuters, but it just doesn’t cut it in a downtown that actually does have some buildings, both high and low, that will stay for a long time and need to be built around in a respectful manner.
Members of Council, expect to see the developer of this application at the LPAT soon. In the meantime, please get working with Metrolinx and the Province to at least give you and your citizens a chance at saving our downtown, not frozen in time, but with a reasonable intensification target of our own making.
 Gary Scobie is a Burlington resident who has in the past delegated to city council. His research has informed public opinion.
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 By Staff
November 5th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Something went wrong somewhere and Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan finds himself in a bit of a bind.
 Traffic on the road near the school is just too fast for many Kilbride residents.  Councillor Rory Nisan – said he thought the speed reduction was a done deal. People in the Kilbride community complained about speeding along the main road in the community. Many delegated at the time and the Councillor felt there was an understanding that the speed limit would be reduced.
The Councillor checked in with the Transportation department and was told that the speed limit would be reduced. Nisan passed the word around the community – he had delivered. The rural people remember things like this.
During the Planning and Development meeting Tuesday afternoon the Councillor learned that a 40 kmh limit would not be put in place because it wasn’t warranted.
You could almost hear Councillor Nisan gulp.
Director of Transportation Vito Tolone has advised Council that the department was trying to cut down on situations where a single area had a reduced speed limit. They wanted instead to impose speed limits on areas and a collection of roads.
 Director of Transportation Vito Tolone said the speed reduction request didn’t meet the criteria. Kilbride Road was not an area that they wanted to put 40 kmh limits on. There was apparently a report setting out why the department decided not to put the limit on that road.
Nisan said he wasn’t aware of any report and he certainly didn’t see anything.
Rory Nisan is going to have to find a way to convince the Director of Transportation to change his mind or corral enough council votes to Direct the department to put in a 40 kmh limit.
Let’s see what Nisan manages to achieve.
One of the things he might want to work on is polishing up the relationships with the various departments.
 By Pepper Parr
November 5th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Some thoughts and observations on the Committee of the Whole meeting that took place on Monday.
The number of city hall employees who quit increased by more than 80% during January to October 31st, 2019 when measured against the 2018 numbers for the same period.
 Councillor Sharman explaining his Father. Councillor Sharman told the world that his 98 year old father still drives a car, has a new girlfriend and is moving into a condo.
The difference in salary for people holding senior jobs who have decided to work somewhere else was reported to be as high as $15k to $20k
Retirements are up 67% over last year.
Council went into a closed session to discuss an Appendix to a report from Human Resources Director Laura Boyd who has told the city that there are some serious problems with the city’s pay rate.
 City manager Tim Commisso spoke about the The Evolution of the Customer Experience. They also went into Closed Session to discuss The Evolution of the Customer Experience. The report came from the hands of the City Manager who delivered it to Council late in the evening. That customer being you.
Mayor Meed Ward made it clear that she wanted to see more action and less waiting for reports from outside consultants.
Centurions are going to get a lot more attention in the months and years ahead. There are plans in the works to pay much more attention to those who have lived for 100 years. The city has literally dozens of them.
 Lining up for a Brown Bag lunch – annual Seniors’ Centre event held at Central Park this year. The Seniors’ Centre is said to be busting at the seams – but there are no plans to build another one elsewhere in the city. Councillor Stolte didn’t see it that way and let the meeting know that she thought it was time to look for a location north of the QEW.
Councillor Sharman let it be known that he thinks Freeman Station should be operated by the Museums group.
There is a longish list of projects the city has been asked to take on – but they aren’t funded. Shortfall is $720,000 in 2020 alone.
 Mayor wants the city to be “nimble, agile and to move quickly Mayor Meed Ward told her colleagues that she is a little jaded on “plans”. She said she thinks she has seen four or five on transit alone.
She added that “we know we are going to plant thousands of trees – why do we need to wait until a plan is written?”
She wants city staff to be “nimble, agile and to move quickly”
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.
 By Lawson Hunter
November 5th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The deafening silence that followed my delegation to Council of the Whole on Nov. 4th spoke volumes. I was there to urge Council to back up their claim of a ‘Climate Emergency’ as they pondered the Proposed 2020 Budget.
 The agenda item, “2018-2022 Burlington’s Plan Vision to Focus Financial Plan” was no doubt expected to be ‘received and filed’. However, as this would be Council’s (and the public’s) first glance at the new Budget – I jumped right on it and registered to delegate. I don’t think anyone expected that to happen. After all, a fuller report goes to Council November 18 after three closed Council Workshops to discuss in detail what is being proposed. Staff would like all this Budget stuff wrapped up by year’s end. Note: the 2019 Budget wasn’t finalized until March 26th of this year.
I visited the City’s GetInvolvedBurlington.ca website to gather some background and see what had been proposed. I clicked on Budget 2020 and there revealed was my first dilemma – the budget listed was for 2019.
Nevertheless, I had the 2019-2028 Approved Capital Budget and the latest version of ‘Vision to Focus’ (V2F) the guiding document that grew out of Burlington’s 25-Year Strategic Plan. Ambitious goals but no Operational budget numbers.
After an admittedly lame attempt at humour, I painted a nightmare scenario where the City took no action to address Climate Change (I called it a Climate Crisis). I asked, “What would people think of Council’s inaction 20, 30, 40 years from now?”.
In the Staff Report it stated:
It is important to note the V2F work plan is not being implemented in a vacuum, but rather aligned with organizational objectives and work plans and being cascaded down and linked into service plans.
If this is true, how is it that Council is being asked to approve a Budget without a Mobility Hub Plan; an Integrated Mobility Plan; a Climate Action Plan; an Urban Forestry Management Plan; a Green Fleet Plan; not to mention an official Official Plan?
The budget process provides a venue in which decisions are made to ensure the appropriate balance between affordability, service levels and financial sustainability are maintained.
There’s no balance to be had. We must act on all fronts and start the process today. Enough with studies. There are plenty of examples as to what other cities are doing to fight climate change. In fact, I gave various Council members a list of 103 actionable items that others cities in Canada have already put in place. Grab those concepts with both hands and start putting them into this Budget, I pleaded.
On the day before my delegation I stumbled upon the Proposed Budget 2020, all 686 pages of it. (www.burlington.ca/budget)
Approve the 2020 Operating Budget including any budget amendments approved by the Committee of the Whole -Budget to be applied against the proposed net tax levy amount of $173,597,452;
Capital Budget for the City of Burlington, with a gross amount of $85,791,551
Property taxes represent 65.5% of income for the City. The rest of the $264.9 million the City expends come from various revenues sources (think recreation fees, fines & debentures). However, the Budget default is already set at a 4% increase. Why look for any extras?
One thing that popped out at me was:
Business cases to address climate change impacts of $921K result in an additional tax increase of 0.55%
So what are we saying here? If you want to do something about climate change it’s going to go over-budget?
And:
Additional Items for consideration (not included in the proposed budget)
I think says a lot when you dangle nice concepts such as ‘Free transit for children under the age of 12”, and ‘Additional Forestry staff to implement a City-wide Tree By-law’ out on a limb, easy to chop off so you can say, “At least we kept the Budget increase at 4%”.
I also turned to the proposed Capital Budget to get a flavour of how the City viewed long-term actions. Even though it’s a bit of ‘apples to oranges’ the ‘Vision to Focus’ listed one of its 5 Focus Areas, “Supporting Sustainable Infrastructure and a Resilient Environment” the Budget lists many of the same items as “A Healthy and Greener City”. Say it quickly – it sounds very ‘environmental’. But including Cemeteries, Parks & Rec, and Organized Sport Support are a bit of a stretch for me.
When looking at the Capital Budget, I focused on things that could possibly relate to Climate Change: Tree Management – OK, Environment and Energy – yep, Storage Water Drainage – well, maybe. And where was Transit? That came under ‘A City that Moves’ along with Parking, Roads and Transportation.
So I tallied up the 324 Infrastructure spending items in the ‘Adopted Capital Budget 2019-2028’ and organized them as: Transportation, Roads, Bridges & Streetlights = 56.5% (of budget); Parks, Community Centres, Splashpads = 29%; Erosion, Culverts, Cycling & Trails = 10%; and finally, Transit = 4.5%.
I’ll leave it up to you what you consider Climate Change adaptation, and how much emphasis the City places on my motivating concern.
 Lawson Hunter wanted maps which he finds don’t exist. This is the best the Gazette has. With a minute to spare, I concluded by noting some of the shoreline clean-ups that I, and many others have done. I mentioned the Repair Café (next one on Nov. 16), my weekly environmental podcast, and the fact that I took the bus to City Hall. I’ve asked the City for floodplain maps and ‘buried creek’ and culvert maps – apparently, they don’t exist! This was not to put myself on a pedestal but to merely observe that I, and others in Burlington, are doing their best to combat Climate Change, often without much in the way of thanks.
Now it was time for City Council to do their part come Budget 2020.
By Staff
November 5th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
TechPlace LaunchPad Company Kidictive was in Toronto recently for the 2019 Startup Canada Awards hosted at the MaRS Discovery District. During this award ceremony, Kidictive co-founders Michelle Gorman and Laura McLaughlin were one of five recipients of the Women Founders Fund.
The fund provides micro-grants to women-led companies in Canada to help them start and grow their businesses while accelerating gender parity.
Kidictive took occupancy in the LaunchPad program in August 2019 and are in early stages of the launch of their first product KIDICTED™, the app that helps kids put down their devices and get ‘addicted’ to the real world.
 Left to right: Kidictive Co-founder and COO Laura McLaughlin; David Souaid, Chief Revenue Officer at OnDeck; Kidictive Co-founder and CEO Michelle Gorman. “We were so humbled and inspired to receive this award in the company of so many exceptional Canadian Entrepreneurs and Supporters at the Startup Canada Awards,” said co-founder and CEO Michelle Gorman. “
As part of the TechPlace LaunchPad Program we have been able to accelerate our progress and strengthen our application for this grant. We truly appreciate the support from the Burlington Economic Development team.”
Co-founder and COO Laura McLaughlin echo’s this sentiment saying, “TechPlace has given us access to so many amazing resources to help advance our business.” She continued, “We are excited to use the proceeds from the grant to ensure KIDICTED™ is helping kids develop positive, self-directed behaviours around their engagement with devices.”
Since they moved in, Kidictive has been leveraging a number of TechPlace resources including Haltech’s programming and mentorship. “Kidictive’s growth in the LaunchPad program is already very apparent,” said Burlington Economic Development Acting Executive Director Anita Cassidy.
“Receiving this grant will help propel their growth further as they get closer to taking KIDICTED™ to market.”
 Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward. Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward was thrilled to hear about the news, saying, “the Women Founders Fund is an incredible resource for female-led STEM businesses positioned for growth. Having one of only five national recipients being located in Burlington demonstrates our community’s value to young companies looking to scale, to getting gender parity in the workplace and promoting the business successes of women.
Although women in Canada now represent 47 percent of Canadian business owners and contribute $148 billion in economic activity, they continuously face barriers to accessing capital to start and scale their businesses. This gap is particularly evident when looking at women entrepreneurs in STEM fields.
Through the Women Founders Fund, Startup Canada and OnDeck Canada aim to alleviate some of the financial barriers women in the STEM industry face when starting and accessing opportunities for business and professional growth. The recipients are funded with grants of up to $5,000 to support business operations or business growth opportunities.
STEM – stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
About Startup Canada
Startup Canada promotes and supports the success and growth of Canada’s 3.5 million entrepreneurs, with a mandate to foster economic growth, competitiveness, and prosperity through entrepreneurship.
Since launching, Startup Canada’s programming has directly supported more than 200,000 entrepreneurs and 50 grassroots Startup Community organizations. Working with over 750 ecosystem partners, including accelerators, incubators, research parks, educational institutions, economic development agencies, associations, and government programs, Startup Canada serves entrepreneurs from all backgrounds, industries, and stages of development, with a network reflective of Canada’s diverse population. Learn more at startupcan.ca.
About Kidictive Inc
Kidictive Inc. was founded in September 2017 to help parents create a tech balanced life for their families. Kidictive Inc.’s first product KIDICTED™ launched earlier in the month on the Apple App Store.
KIDICTED™ helps kids put down their devices and get ‘addicted’ to the real world by inspiring them to PLAY, CREATE, IMAGINE, DISCOVER and CONNECT.
Kidictive Inc., a Tech Place LaunchPad client, is a member of the Haltech Regional Innovation Centre and are recent recipients of Ontario Creates and OCE SmartStart grants which have helped fund their concept development.
 Burlington Economic Development Corporation Interim Executive Director Anita Cassidy. About TechPlace
TechPlace is a one-stop destination for new and growing technology companies. With the support of partners from across the public and private sectors, it is dedicated to connecting, developing, and advancing entrepreneurs at all stages. This means providing access to space, programming, mentorship, networking, and resources that are fundamental to growing a business in today’s technology-driven marketplace.
Led by Burlington Economic Development, TechPlace exists to help technology, talent and ideas come together under one roof to create and promote opportunities for economic growth.
About Burlington Economic Development
Burlington Economic Development has a mandate to enhance the growth prospects of existing companies and bring new high-value firms to the community. Burlington Economic Development ’s focus is on growing the economic base to sustain Burlington’s competitive and prosperous community. Burlington Economic Development is the first point of contact for companies looking to expand, start-up or locate in Burlington.
By Pepper Parr
November 5th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington Transit has great cred.
Council members love the job that Director of Transit Sue Connor is doing.
The Mayor keeps urging Connor to do even more than she does – and there is nothing shy about the woman.
Bfast love the women.
 Burlington Transit Director Sue Connor at a Bfast meeting. She is the transit champion they have been waiting years to arrive.
Yesterday evening Sue and a consultant from Dillon were giving Council an overview of their five year business plan. They were expecting the city to approve it in principle so they could go away and begin the detail work that had yet to be done.
Monday evening was the day the transit balloon was burst.
Councillor Sharman had read the report carefully and he had major problems with some of the number.
 Councillor Sharman didn’t like the math. “The numbers are all completely wrong.” During committee meetings council members get to ask two questions and then have to wait until all the other members of Council had a chance to ask their questions. Paul Sharman went through three rounds of questions – and he was scathing.
There are he said “a number of things where the numbers don’t make sense”
“The numbers are all completely wrong.”
 Table 5 “Table 5 is completely wrong” – it didn’t get any better.
A number of other Councillors had concerns but none was as probing or direct as Sharman.
Reports to Committee usually get approved – not this one. Sharman would not move the report – he said he wanted it to be referred to Council.
 Director Connor – does not appear to be very happy with her consultant. Sue Connor was not happy with her consultant. During much of the discussion he was hovering over a device re-working his numbers.
The vote to refer the report to Council where new, hopefully supportable data will be put forward was not unanimous.
Councillors Nisan and Stolte were prepared to go with the report. Galbraith, Sharman, the Mayor Kearns and Bentivegna wanted it to be referred to council
Connors got many complimentary remarks about her work; Councillor Sharman said his comments were not personal – but the numbers didn’t add up and they were going to have to add up if the Business Plan was to be adopted.
By Staff
November 4th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Sometime later in the month, we assume, the Mayor is going to give a full report on her trip to Japan. So far all the public has seen is what the Mayor put up on her web site – where you can influence outcomes for a Better Burlington.
The link to that collection of pictures is informative.
The reason for the trip was to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the twinning relationship Burlington has with Itabashi, a city that is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis
Here is what the Mayor adds on her web site
DAY 1
“After a full day of official meetings and ceremonies, some of the highlights from our first day in Itabashi included a visit to the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo (about a 20-minute car ride from Itabashi) and a meeting with JETRO — Japan’s External Trade Organization — to talk economic exchange.”
Not a word on what might have come out of those talks.
“We then toured Tokyo starting with a visit to the Sensoji Temple where you can read your fortune and incense is burned outside for people to wave good fortune. We next headed to Ueno urban park that features many stones and historic markers, a shrine, and a giant lake with massive water lilies.
“We also toured famous commercial streets in Tokyo, including the largest intersection in the world — Shibuya Crossing — where approximately 2,500 people cross at a time.”
 A cultural deep dive. DAY 2
“To start off Day 2 of our official visit, we headed to Itabashi City Hall where our hosts literally rolled out the red carpet to welcome us.
“There is a subway stop right in City Hall — the rail lines are privately owned, earning revenue from development around stations.
“Itabashi City Hall was filled with displays commemorating the 30-year anniversary of our twinning relationship. There was even a paper “maple tree” where people could write messages to Burlington and our citizens. One million people are served at Itabashi City Hall each year and the city has a population of about 550,000 citizens.
“I was honoured to bring greetings from Burlington and on behalf of our Official Delegation that included Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan, who is Council’s representative on the Mundialization Committee (the committee that maintains our twin city relationships).
“Children at the on-site day care made us paper frogs. The frog is considered a Japanese lucky animal, seen as good fortune in things returning.
 Mayor Meed Ward in the Itabashi Assembly Hall with Mayor Sakamoto. “We also had a tour of the Assembly Hall where I had an opportunity to sit Mayor Sakamoto’s chair and the large elevated chair reserved for the Chairman, who presides over the meetings. There are 46 Assembly Members, seated by parties or affiliations, similar to a parliament.”
The Mayor brought back a box of cookies that were shaped in a crest – wasn’t clear just what the crest was – but they were shared with people taking part in the Committee of the Whole.
We learned as well that the Mayor brought back some sake and some sake glasses.
 Mayor Meed Ward took every advantage to immerse herself into Japanese culture. “We then had a spectacular traditional lunch of sushi, soup, rice and sweets, served in a traditional-style Bento Box. These lunch boxes were used by Samarais when they would visit the Sakura trees in the spring.
“After lunch, we toured City Hall and got a glimpse into the City’s disaster operations room. They have two high-altitude cameras in Itabashi that are used to detect fires or floods. They also have 7 rivers through the city with rain gauges. In one rainfall, more than 3 metres fell in 30 minutes.
“Itabashi aims to be very environmentally sustainable. The tiny tiles on a street they named “wine block” is made with recycled wine glass bottles. Silver seats for seniors and the disabled are also made with recycled wine bottle glass. Itabashi aims to be “green” with planted medians on their streets.”
DAY 3
“This was a day to learn about and immerse ourselves in Japanese culture.”
 Fushimi-Inari-Shrine DAY 4
“This day was one to learn more of the history of Japan and visit sites of historical significance.
“Our first stop was a bullet train ride to Sendai (about a two-hour train ride from Itabashi) to visit the Yuriage Port Market Cooperative in nearby city Natori. The market there was hit by a devastating tsunami in 2011 that caused by an earthquake under the sea.
 The tsunami that struck the city of xx was devastating – close to the worst this world has experienced. “It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves that may have reached heights of up to 40.5 metres (133 foot) and that travelled, in the Sendai area, at 700 km/h for up to 10 km inland. Residents of Sendai had only eight to ten minutes warning, and more than 19,000 were killed, many at the evacuation sites — more than 100 of which were washed away.”
Of note – when that tsunami hit that city Burlington didn’t offer a dime in the way of financial support. Sendai was not the city we were twinned with however there is a citizen in Itabashi who send Burlington a reasonable sum of money every year. He is the gentlemen who sent us the cherry trees in Spencer Smith Park many years ago.
Today, we learned that during the trip Lisa Palermo, the Mundialization Committee clerk was searched at some point and got left on a train platform.
Palermo is a very effective, efficient member of city hall staff; no reason was given as to why she was searched or quite how she got left on a train station platform. Her role appears to have been the person who set things up for the Burlington visitors. Her effective efficiency would have been put to good use.
This trip belongs in that “nice to have” category the mayor used effectively in her three Burlington election campaigns.
 By Pepper Parr
November 4th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The race was run.
It was a solid run – just shy of the target Ashley Worobec set out for herself when she left Burlington on Saturday to run in the New York City Marathon.
 For the record.  Her name in there as one of the finishers in the 2019 race.  The bib number – it will probably go up in the office along with the Pan Am Torch. In a short message she said: I’m SUPER HAPPY with how it went today- my goal was 3:30 and I ended up at 3:32, but I gave it everything I had.
My hamstring seized up at Mile 24 so I lost about a minute there when I had to stop and massage it out- I literally couldn’t even bend my knee! Thankfully it loosened up and I was able to continue running.
I was crying tears of joy afterwards once I saw my husband and my friend Michaela.
 Ashley Worobec approaching the finish line at the New York City Marathon. Michaela and I stayed together until Mile 16 and then she pulled ahead and finished 5 minutes ahead of me.
That was our plan- we would stay together as long as possible, and when one of us (in this case, me!) could no longer hold the pace, the other one would go on ahead.
Back at the hotel and it’s time to eat and nap! What a great day!!!
By Pepper Parr
November 4th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Change only happens instantly on television.
The people in the Goodram – Lakeshore Road community are putting up with noise that would drive anyone bonkers – this at 2 am.
They have been asking for help for more than 18 months.
 The Monster Mansion that is being rented out via Air BnB was finally shut down by police – albeit well after midnight.. The efforts of their member of Council and a reach out to the police to step in has shut down the Air BnB operation that was the cause of all the concern.
Ward 4 Shawna Stolte said she has been pushing hard for relief for the residents in the area in regard to the troublesome AirBnB.
Saturday night was another big party with the police intervening multiple times and shutting the place down by 2am.
Councillor Stolte explains that: “The immensely frustrating challenge is that we have no jurisdiction to shut them down or enforce ceasing to operate as an AirBnB as we have no bylaw that speaks to this yet.
One option may have been to try to enact an immediate ban on all Short Term Accommodations in Burlington in order to catch this one…but that would have unfairly impacted the 160 other AirBnB’s in the city who are abiding by the rules and offering a great service.
Licensing will take a bit of time, it is being implemented by the Planning Department, who are so “under water” with the dramatically shortened timelines due to Bill 108 as well as the Official Plan and the Interim Control ByLaw timelines. Councillor Stolte said she “could have demanded something sooner but I know we would have ended up with an incomplete, not well thought out licensing bylaw.
“The property in question never would be granted a license to operate as they are anyhow…this situation is a matter of them using the guise of AirBnB to skirt the zoning bylaw and rent out a residential property as a commercial event venue.
“The fastest way to shut down this property is to take the legal approach re: residential zoning infraction which is what has been happening these last 6-8 weeks. We are well into this process and should see an impact any day now.
 Shawna Stolte: Rookie Councillor who took on a defeated a double decade incumbent is proving to be very effective. The Gazette had asked why the MAT (Municipal Accommodation Tax), was being considered at this time; she explained that “this is a completely separate issue that coincidentally just happens to include Short Term Accommodations. It is being spearheaded by the City Managers Office, not the Planning Dept. “Believe me, if I thought for one second that the Planning Department was taking time to implement the MAT instead of dealing with the Licensing Bylaw, well let me leave it at that.” She added that “I am holding the Planning Department’s feet to the fire as much as I can without running the risk of damaging things for a department that is struggling with the workload.
“The ultimate result is to get this AirBnB shut down by whatever means possible. As of Friday the advertisement for the offending property is gone from the AirBnB website. I had had contact with the AirBnB company as had a number of residents. Now AirBnB has banned all “party houses” after the shooting last week at a “party house” in California.
The residents may now finally have some peace and quiet on their street. Give the Councillor a kudos on this one.
Related news story:
City Council vows to take action
 By Staff
November 3rd, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 As the colours change they mark the days to the leaves falling – get ready to rake them up. Getting close to that time of year when all those coloured leaves give it up and fall to the ground. They then have to be raked up and put in piles at the side of the road.
The loose-leaf collection program starts on Monday, November 4th. Residents are encouraged to check the leaf collection schedule and rake leaves to the curb or edge of pavement if there are no curbs, as close as possible to their pickup date.
To ensure the safety of collection crews and avoid damaging equipment, please keep the loose-leaf piles free of debris and sticks. Leaves mixed with debris and waste will not be collected. Please help prevent flooding, by keeping catch basins and ditches clear of leaves.
To ensure a successful pick-up, residents can:
• Rake leaves to the edge of the curb or roadway in a loose pile
• Remove basketball nets, cars and other obstructions from the road during pick-up dates
• Clear leaves from sidewalks and walkways
• Avoid placing garbage bags, bins, Blue Boxes or GreenCarts on top of loose-leaf piles
• Give crews distance to remove the leaves when driving
After the collection program is complete, any remaining leaves should be placed in yard-waste bags for curbside collection by Halton Region.
As a greener alternative, residents can mulch their leaves with their lawnmower to help feed the soil for the spring.
Mark Adam, Manager of Road Operations asks you to: “Please ensure your leaves are at the curb by the start of your zone collection date and ensure there is nothing but leaves in your piles. Sticks, garbage, toys, rocks and anything other than leaves will damage the equipment.”
By Pepper Parr
November 3rd, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
It was the day before the race.
 Ashley Worobec at the airport waiting to board a flight for New York where she will run the New York city marathon.  Spectators can follow the race on-line or if in New York they can chase the runners by using the subway system to keep up. Ashley Worobec and her husband Chris were at the Pearson airport waiting to board their flight to New York. Her parents had travelled to Burlington from Calgary to take care of the two children and the family dog.
Ashley was less than a day away from the starting point of the New York City marathon –a race that includes some 52,000 runners. Next to the Boston Marathon – this is the granddaddy of them all – in the United States. The Race around the Bay has taken place in Canada since 1894 – three years before the Boston Marathon – but we digress.
Ashley has been preparing for this race for the six months. The Gazette has followed her progress during that time.
Why? Ashley put it best when she said “you set a goal, chase your dream and you keep at it day after day.”
Her last marathon was 12 years ago. With a professional practice to keep up and two children the runs were usually when the sun was rising – which was nice in the summer but as the fall weather set in those were dark mornings and often chilly.
The drive, the self discipline, and the example she was setting for her children were all part of what she was setting out to do.
But there was more than that to it. ” The satisfaction in knowing that you could do something few people my age take on was important to me.”
Where to from her? “Don’t want to say – my objective is to run this race.” After that I will do some yoga
While Ashley is running her husband Chris will be scooting between subway stations in New York city to get to the viewing points where he hopes to catch a glimpse of his wife as she runs the race.
The first New York City Marathon was held 49 years ago in September 1970.
That first race had 127 competitors running several loops around the Park Drive of Central Park.
Over the years, the marathon grew larger and larger. During the 1970s, the race was run in September. In the 1990s, the race day was moved to November. The New York City Marathon has now become the largest marathon anywhere in the world. Each year nearly two million spectators line the course.
 Veranzo Bridge – the point on Staten Island where the race begins. The start take place on Staten Island where they leave in waves and head out over the Veranzo Narrows Bridge and head for Manhattan where the race ends at Central Park. It is the largest marathon in the world with 52,812 finishers in 2018
Because of the popularity of the race, participation is chosen largely by a lottery system. Guaranteed entry to the marathon can be gained by satisfying the requirements of the 9+1 program or the 9+$1K program or having completed 15 or more previous NYC Marathons, or meeting time qualification standards.
Ashley met time qualification requirements.
Ashley Worobec is a chiropractor who specializes in sports medicine. A former Boston marathoner, Dr. Worobec often runs the Chilly Half marathon and Around the Bay 30K. She has lived in Burlington for ten years with her husband and their two children.
A 40 year old mother of two children. She was always a runner but when the children came into her life – things changed.
The time needed just wasn’t available.
Her professional life had its own demands.
In 2015 she was one of the Torch carriers in the lead up to the Pan Am Games, which is where we first met Ashley.
 Her time was where she wanted it to be – at this point she began to taper down the length of her runs. Race day was getting closer.  Ashley Worobec – one of a select few invited to carry the Torch that opened the Pan Am Games in Burlington/Hamilton in 2015 When we learned that she had qualified for the New York Marathon we decided to follow her progress. The practice runs, the developing strength and stamina were all part of her work. Throughout she wore a watch that recorded at all. Her last run before tapering down was on October 23rd, when she recorded a run that went … well the results are in the image.
Ashley hope to complete the race in three hours and thirty minutes. She is running with three other women from Burlington who will have husbands in the crowds – that will number in the millions – trying to catch a glimpse as they pass the various checkpoints.
 By Staff
November 4th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The federal election is over and the country got the leadership it wanted.
What many didn’t realize until Elections Canada released more detail on that vote was that 70% of the people in Halton cast a ballot.
The Advance polls were much higher this election.
 Burlington – 12,989 advance ballots in 2015 – 20,143 advance ballots in 2019.
Oakville North Burlington 14,501 advance ballots in 2015 – 22,344 in 2019
Total advance ballots for Halton in 2015 was 52,088 – 77994 in 2019
The voter turn out for each municipality was better than the national average.
In Burlington 70,888 of the 99,972 registered voters cast a ballot – 70.91%
In Milton 59,005 of the 84,807 registered voters cast a ballot – 69.58%
In Oakville, 61,882 of the 90.144 registered voters cast a ballot – 68.65%
In Oakville North Burlington 68,452 of the 97,439 registers voters cast a ballot – 70.25%
Canada wide the numbers were 17,890,264 of the 27,126,166 registered voters cast a ballot – 65.95%
Now if we could only get that kind of a turn out for the municipal election we would have a very engaged communities who would hold those elected accountable which would result in better government.
Wouldn’t that be nice.
By Staff
November 1st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
This time THEY are coming to YOU.
You are not going to have to spend time staring at the computer monitor thinking about your answer to a question that might not be that clear or make that much sense.
The 2019 Community Survey; that opportunity for you to add your wisdom to that of 750 people so that the city can confidently move forward with what it has decided to do.
 750 citizens will get the call. Stand By The Survey is scheduled to begin Monday, November 4th to provide the City with information about the opinions of the public as it relates to services provided by the City.
There will be 750 telephone surveys completed; 125 households in each ward. A combination of land and cell phone numbers will be contacted by random selection. The caller ID for the survey will show the phone number: 1-866-415-0012 and “TSP”. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
An online version of the survey will also be made available on Get Involved Burlington. This online survey gives residents whose telephone numbers were not chosen an opportunity to provide input.
The survey results will indicate how the community would like to receive information from the City, the methods of public involvement they prefer (and if they feel they are part of the decision-making process), value for taxes, identification of the most important issues in Burlington and questions about transit.
How survey results will be used
Information gathered in the survey will be used in updating City business plans, guide the development of communication initiatives, and public involvement programs on City issues and provide benchmarking and performance indicators. Council may also use the information to influence budget and spending decisions.
Kwab Ako-Adjei, Director of Corporate Communications & Government Relations wants people to know that: “This survey will provide Council and City staff with important community feedback to help shape the City’s services, communication initiatives and business plans.
Input from all wards will be included to ensure all corners of the city are heard. These survey results will help the City better understand resident opinions and needs to inform future City planning.”
By Pepper Parr
November 1st, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
About 50% of the non-union staff at city hall are not paid all that well.
Laura Boyd, Director of Human Resources, delivered that news in one of the most frank and direct reports the Gazettes seen come from a senior staff person at city hall. It was refreshing.
Boyd’s report was delivered to city council in July. She was instructed to return to council with “more detailed information and specific recommendations regarding non-union salary market competitiveness.”
 Director of Human Resources Laura Boyd Boyd talked about the culture at city hall – it was about as bleak as the pay rates.
Human Resources undertook to “re-surveying staff this year to take a pulse on if, as an organization, there has been improvement on our workplace culture scores.”
What wasn’t made clear was – who was going to be doing the re-surveying. Having HR do it would be close to a conflict of interest.
While, compensation in and of itself does not motivate people, “if employees are compensated poorly in relation to the marketplace, it will lead to higher turnover and less engagement.” The Boyd report outlined “the current experiences with staff turnover, especially related to compensation, our current retirement outlook and our capacity to deliver on Council’s work plan.”
Boyd refers to a report from Mercer, a leading consultant on matters of salary matters in the public sector.
“Most companies align themselves with a market position of the 50th percentile – however in the highly competitive GTA, companies align with the 60th to 75th percentile to compete for employee resources.
 The policy is to give staff a better deal. Will the public go along with what that is going to cost? “The City’s current Council approved market position is mid third quartile, between the 50th and 75th percentile. Here is what comparable municipalities are offering:
 Burlington does not compare all that well with comparable communities – the Region offers a much better deal salary wise. “Actual salaries are aligned appropriately to our current job rates (the 50th percentile).
“Our market competitiveness varies across the salary grades and this could be an indication of challenges with our job evaluations system not being robust and up to date.
Given the current challenges the City is having in attracting and retaining talent, the following will outline options for Council to consider moving forward.
A compensation system comprises of the following elements:
1) Alignment with corporate strategy;
2) External competitiveness;
a. Market comparators
b. Market position/Pay philosophy
3) Internal consistency;
a. Job Evaluation System
1. Alignment with Corporate Strategy
Compensation strategy must be in line with corporate strategy.
Private Sector Comparators: Based on information provided by Mercer, municipalities within the GTHA do not typically lose employees to the private sector. Private sector compensation systems and philosophies can be very different from the public sector.
While the public sector provides base salaries, pension and a benefit package it is not uncommon for large private sector employers to offer this plus incentives and bonus programs which are not typically provided within the public sector and therefore from a total compensation approach do not provide a good match.
Conversely, smaller private sector firms are not able to provide some of the benefits afforded to the public sector and therefore, do not compare well from a total compensation perspective. Private sector compensation approaches are different from municipal practices and as such do not provide a good basis for comparison.
The Broader Public Sector: The broader public sector was also considered especially in the areas of hospital and academic employers. The size of employers in these two areas tends to be much larger and the core business or service delivery very different. In addition, employers in these areas tend to be more heavily unionized. Compensation approaches between non-union and unionized staff is quite different.
Finding good matches with these employers to positions across our entire organization is difficult and as such these employers do not provide a good match.
 Great weather to be outside, enjoy a burger and contribute to the United Way Campaign and be part of a team that pulls a fire truck down Brant Street. Regional Governments: In the past the City has compared its positions to those found both within municipalities and regional governments. Regional governments and municipalities have both similar and dissimilar governance areas. Regional governments also tend to be much larger in size from both an FTE and operating budget perspective. However, as we have lost staff to regional governments, they are a potential source for comparison and should be considered when determining market comparators.
A business case of $180,000 (one-time funding) has been included in the 2020 operating budget to secure the services of a consultant to source, design and re-write job descriptions and develop a rating system against which all current and future non-union positions will be rated. Implementation of the salary impacts of a new job evaluation system will be included if required as a business case on the 2021 operating budget.
$450,000 has also been included in the proposed 2020 operating budget to initiate a multi-year phased implementation which will result in a renewed competitive market position.
The consultants have put forward a number of options and recommendations. Thought was given to creating one salary policy for Managers and another for Director level people. The Burlington salary schedule doesn’t attract much in the way of Director level talent.
 The Mayor is having fun: photo ops are close to a daily event. Is city staff as happy? Missing in the deep dive look at how the city pays its staff is this: who is responsible for the culture of city hall? It isn’t about just money. People have to be proud of the work they do and see that what they do is making a difference. That stuff works its way down from the top. Burlington has gone through so many City Managers that it is difficult for young people to see the city as a stable place to develop a career.
The people in the Planning department have been whip-sawed back and forth with all the changes.
 Is City Hall a fun place to work? In the 2014 municipal election there was a well qualified candidate for the Office of Mayor who said it was far too toxic – he took a pass. Related news story:
Boyd lays it all out on the table: there is trouble in paradise
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