 By Sheldon Parker
May 6th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 This isn’t the only game in town Many users these days are looking for alternatives to Google Play Store because there are many applications that are not available on Google Play Store. It could be because of a regional restriction or due to policy violations, but whatever the reason might be, users are left wondering where else they can find the app that they are looking for.
This is where alternative app stores come into play, as they offer a wide range of apps and games that are not available on the Google Play Store. For Android users, these alternative app stores are a game-changer, as they provide them access to apps that are not available on the Play Store, beta releases, and open-source apps.
Let us explore the best alternative app stores for Android users so that they can find and install the apps that they cannot find on the Play Store.
Why Consider Alternative App Stores?
Many people have this question in mind: why should they opt for alternative app stores when Google Play Store is the official option available? Well, the Google Play Store is the official option for Android devices, and it is vast, but it doesn’t have everything. On alternative app stores, you can often find apps that are unavailable on the Play Store due to any reason, such as regional restrictions, beta versions, or niche apps that don’t meet Google’s guidelines.
For accessing apps and games that you cannot find on the Google Play Store, alternative app stores can be considered a treasure trove, as you find apps that are hard to find on the Play Store.
Top Alternative App Stores for Android Users
Amazon Appstore
 Amazon Appstore – a popular alternative app Amazon Appstore is a quite popular alternative app store on which you can find exclusive titles and general apps as well. It integrates seamlessly with all Amazon devices including Fire tablets and TVs, making it the go-to choice for Amazon users.
Benefits:
- Regular promotions and discounts on paid apps.
- Exclusive apps optimized for Fire devices.
- A Free App of the Day program that provides you with access to premium apps at no cost.
- Easy to use.
Just download the Amazon Appstore on your Android device and log in with your Amazon account to use this alternative app store. The process of downloading and installing the app like Telegram through Amazon Appstore is quite simple and easy, with you requiring only an Amazon account to get started.
Samsung Galaxy Store
For Android users with Samsung devices, the Samsung Galaxy Store is the best alternative app store available. Not only is it pre-installed on their devices, but it provides exclusive games and apps that are customized for Samsung devices.
Benefits:Enhanced performance on Samsung devices.
- Access to exclusive apps and customization options.
- Exclusive fonts and themes for OneUI.
- Loyalty rewards.
- Regular promotions and discounts.
The downside of the Samsung Galaxy Store is that it is limited to the Samsung ecosystem and not available for non-Samsung devices. However, on Samsung devices, you won’t face any issues with this app store.
F-Droid
 Focuses on privacy and open-source software. F-Droid is a popular alternative open-source app store that focuses on privacy and open-source software. The thing that differentiates F-Droid from other alternative app stores is that it offers ad-free and tracker-free apps, making it the go-to choice for users who are looking for privacy.
Benefits:
- All apps are free and open-source.
- No tracking or advertisements.
- Lightweight and easy-to-navigate interface.
- Privacy-focused and community-driven.
- Access to unique open-source apps.
Download the F-Droid APK from their official website, install it on your device, and get access to unique apps and games.
AppCafe.io
 Get access to a wide variety of safe and verified APKs Apart from these alternative app stores, we also have APK repository websites like AppCafe.io that offer access to a wide variety of safe and verified APKs. Through AppCafe.io, you can get safe and secure APKs of the apps that are free from malware and that are unavailable in your region.
Benefits:
- Get access to verified and secure APKs.
- Access apps that are not available on traditional app stores.
- No registration is required.
- Free access to all apps.
One of the best things about AppCafe or other similar app repositories is that these repositories allow users to download older versions of apps. For instance, if someone wants to download an older version of Instagram, they can do it from here.
These were some of the top and secure alternatives to the Google Play Store for Android users. Make sure that you download apps from trusted and reputable stores like the ones mentioned above and review app permissions to ensure that the app doesn’t request unnecessary access to your device or data.
 By Staff
May 5th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Kelly’s Bake Shop; opened in 2012 and became a reason to visit Burlongton.
Owners Kelly and Erinn closed their downtown Burlington location after 13 years. It wasn’t a decision they made – the property owner made it for them – giving them sixty days to vacate the premises.
 Planning a day – when the days were good. Kelly and Erinn
 Rendering of the proposed development. Interesting to note that the Bake Shop is included in the rendering which suggest that the developer was open to the idea of the Bake Shop being part of the development. No word from the developers as to when the demolition of the site will begin. Most recent information was that a development application has yet to be approved. Property taxes will be lower once the site has been levelled.
The site is bound by Brant, John and James with the southern end the parkette.
Proposed Development
To modify the Zoning for the previously approved development as follows:
- Reduce the parking rate to 0.74 parking spaces per residential unit (overall number of parking spaces),
- Reduce the parking stall dimensions,
- Reduce the second-floor height from 3.8 metres to 3.7 metres,
- Reduce setbacks to the parking structure and
- Increase the overall building height from 65m to 66 m to make room for a mechanical penthouse.”
Statutory public meeting and recommendation report
May 13, 2025
9:30 a.m.
Virtual Meeting held in hybrid format
By Pepper Parr
May 5th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
We asked the city communications people how Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith managed to find himself sitting on a park bench in Apeldoorn with the Mayor and Councillor Nisan when he was not part of the official delegation which consisted of:
-
 A photo op that could come back to bite. Mayor Meed Ward and Councillors Nisan and Galbraith sitting on a park bench in Apeldoorn that was donated to the people of the city by Burlington. Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
- Rory Nisan, Ward 3 Councillor and Council Liaison on the Mundialization Committee
- Hassaan Basit, Chief Administrative Officer
- Samantha Yew, City Clerk/Director of Legislative Services
- Hasan Raza, Chair, Mundialization Committee (volunteer)
- Anne Koopman, Chair, Apeldoorn Sub-committee (volunteer)
The Communications people got back to us with the following:
Councillor Galbraith’s participation in Apeldoorn is not as part of the City of Burlington’s official delegation. He was invited to participate in ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of liberation and the 20th twinning anniversary celebrations by Apeldoorn officials hosting the events.
Councillor Galbraith’s travel is funded through the budget for the office of Ward 1, and not from the Mundialization reserve which was set up when the twinning agreements were established.
So far so good. The next question is: Who invited Galbraith? And the question after that is: Just how much money is there in the “budget for the office of Ward 1”?
 By Pepper Parr
May 5th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 The T-shirt Dickert is wearing has a label. He wants the plants you buy to have a label so you can be informed when you buy plants that grow into trees. Howard Dickert will point to the T shirt he is wearing and tell you that the manufacturer of the T-shirt is required to attach a label saying what it was made of and where it is made.
Dickert wants plants that are sold to the public to be required to provide the same level of information.
He explains:
Plant labels must display: Both the scientific and common names. The forest zone or the continent or sub continental area from which the plant originates. Native plants will include the seed zone source from which this individual was grown.
The labeling rule as shown above, is not yet the law. But it should be!
Dickert maintains that: “Any environmentally conscientious consumer will need this information to help them avoid selecting non native species. However, selecting a native species as defined by country (Canada or USA), or even from the forest zone you are in, is only half the process. More attention needs to be taken since plant life cycles also include epigenetic processes that effect events such as when they develop their leaves or flowers in spring, or the timing of dormancy in the fall. This could be compared to circadian rhythm in animals. Such regional variation is expressed as “Local Adaption”, and is particularly evident for plants that extend over a large longitudinal distance, or altitude range. Such a plant species will have sub groups of populations, each with their own local adaptions.
 Lovely to look at – environmentally messy
“An extreme example of such a plant is the Florida Dogwood (Cornus florida), a Carolinian forest zone tree that lives across almost the entire extent of this zone. The Carolinian Forest extends from northern Florida into southern Ontario. A Florida Dogwood grown from seeds harvested in Atlanta, but then planted in Toronto, will most likely die during it’s first harsh winter since it is not locally adapted. To make matters worse, should it live, and then grow to cross breed with the local population, then the succeeding generations will have mixed up adaptions weakening future generations. Clearly, the horticultural industry should NOT market native plants far beyond where the original seeds were harvested. Unfortunately, not every Grower or Garden Center is this conscientious. Gardeners need to know from where their plants originated.
”The current marketing of plants is much more messy, with shopping practices in other markets training consumers that what ever they see on the shelf – is “OK” to buy. All products, from the shirt on your back, to shampoos, to processed foods, to electronics, or big ticket items like a vehicle, all must complete extensive testing, and then must include labels or warnings, before it can be sold to the public – except plants! People are lulled into – see, reach for it, buy. Few will think about future ramifications. Most products are used and then discarded. Garden centers cash in on the same mind set, providing pretty plants to exploit impulse buying. But plants are different! Plants are not tested, and the label only gives a name (other info being optional).
”The difference extends to “Plants are a living system”. They don’t get used up and discarded. Plants will reproduce generations into an unforeseeable future, and the decisions you make at the garden center check out counter can have ramifications well beyond your lifetime. For the people who do take these facts into account, and choose to buy Native Plants (to help restore habitat at the same time that they beautify their gardens), then the typical Garden Center effectively block their ability to choose, by not providing basic information.
Shoppers either have to be extremely disciplined adhering to a premade shopping list, or basically have to Google each plant before they add it to their shopping cart. We need better information on labels!
”In this time of Climate Emergency, in which habitat loss is one of the symptoms, and since planting native plants helps to restore the environment, then it is critically important to make it easy for people to choose plants that live in harmony with local biota. Further, non native plants should be avoided (unless an accepted crop), and clearly – invasive plants should be made illegal to be sold (that’s another paper). Labels that include the forest zone where a plant lives, and the “Seed Zone” from where the seeds were collected, along with the plant names (scientific and common) should be considered as the minimum amount of info necessary. Reputable growers already track this data through their own internal systems. It’s not a big ask that this information be extended to the public.
“An interesting side point to buying locally adapted plants, is that they ARE already adapted to local temperature ranges potentially seen in the area, making temperature zone maps redundant.”
By Pepper Parr
May 5th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 What’s to investigate? The Gazette reached out to the city asking if anything was being done about the trees on the golf course property being cut down.
We received the following:
“The City is aware of the cutting down of trees on those portions of the Millcroft Golf Course that have been approved for redevelopment by the Ontario Land Tribunal.
“The City is investigating this activity and as such, no further comment can be provided at this time.
The City recognizes that many in our community have an interest in this project. The City will keep the community informed as much as possible as the project proceeds.”
What does all this mean? City is trying to figure out if there is anything they can do – meanwhile, the trees are being cut down
The city sent along a link to a news release that was issued on Friday, May 2nd.
A copy of the statement is available here: https://www.burlington.ca/en/news/city-investigating-tree-removal-activity-at-millcroft-redevelopment-site.aspx
“There isn’t any more that we can say on this matter at this time.”
 The city has known for some time that the developer planned to cut down many of the trees to make room for the approved development. Why would they wait until the trees had been cut down before investigating? Proactive is not a word used all that much at city hall.
 By Pepper Parr
May 5th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board joins school boards across Ontario in celebrating Education Week from May 5-9, 2025. This week provides an opportunity to showcase the meaningful work taking place across HDSB schools and workspaces, and to recognize the achievements and contributions of students, staff and the broader school community.
 Curtis Ennis, Director of Education for the Halton District School Board.  Amy Collard, Chair of the Halton District School Board. “It has been inspiring to witness the incredible progress and achievements of our students across every aspect of their learning,” says Amy Collard, Chair of the Halton District School Board. “From academic milestones to personal growth, our students are continuously demonstrating their creativity and passions. These successes are not only a reflection of their hard work, but also the dedication and support from our educators, families and community.”
“Education Week provides an opportunity to reflect on and share the many success stories of academic growth and achievements that are happening across HDSB schools,” says Curtis Ennis, Director of Education for the Halton District School Board. “These stories remind us that learning is not only about what happens in the classroom, but also about how we care for one another and grow together.”
Throughout the week, the HDSB will share stories and initiatives that demonstrate how the 2024–2028 Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) is shaping learning environments and supporting student success and well-being.
Monday, May 5 – Spotlighting the 2024–2028 Multi-Year Strategic Plan: To begin the week, the HDSB will share how the commitments in the MYSP, launched in the fall, are being put into practice through meaningful actions across HDSB schools and workplaces to support positive outcomes for students and staff.
Tuesday, May 6 – The role of Mental Health and Well-Being: As Education Week aligns with Mental Health Week, on Tuesday, the HDSB will showcase how schools are providing caring and supportive environments that create a genuine sense of belonging to support students in their pursuit of academic excellence.
Wednesday, May 7 – We are HDSB: The HDSB will spotlight the recently launched video series, We are HDSB, that shares the voices and experiences of students, staff and families across HDSB school communities. This series showcases the many ways people are building connections, demonstrating kindness and contributing to a strong sense of community. Each video provides a glimpse into the day-to-day experiences within schools, celebrating student success and the people and moments that help make HDSB schools and workspaces safe, welcoming and supportive places.
Thursday, May 8 – Celebrating Student Achievement: On Thursday, the HDSB will recognize the success of 108 students at the 41st annual Celebration of Student Excellence event. Friends and family are invited to celebrate virtually by viewing the livestream of the event which will be available on the HDSB website at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 8. The HDSB will also share student success stories from across HDSB schools that highlight how students are thriving in their academic journeys.
Friday, May 9 – Recognizing Kindness, Connection and Community: To conclude Education Week, the HDSB will focus on its commitment to Kindness, Connection and Community, as outlined in the 2024-2028 MYSP, and how it supports the success of students. Highlights will be shared from a recent Director’s Panel session where students and staff discussed how this commitment is being brought to life in schools.
 By Jasmin Feltrim
May 3rd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Thanks to popular live dealer games, all modern online casinos let players immerse themselves in the atmosphere of a gambling establishment without having to leave their homes. On live dealer casino games, a player watches the professional croupier or host via a video stream. To feel confident and respond appropriately to current events within the game, it is crucial to understand what the key phrases and commands being used by the host are.
Leading online casinos worldwide, from US operators to UK sites like those analysed and compared by the expert platform legalcasino.uk, offer a wide range of live games. There you will find tables for roulette, blackjack and baccarat from top providers such as Evolution, Playtech, and Pragmatic Play Live. However, the dealer’s phrases in these games will differ, so the following is a look at which expressions are most frequently used within them.
Universal Phrases Used by Live Dealers
Let’s begin with basic expressions that appear in virtually every live game:
Roulette
Live roulette is one of the most dynamic casino games, and its rules are simple with a wide array of bet options. The popular game has its own set of terms that are worth learning before trying your luck:
- Spinning the wheel — the croupier begins the game and releases the ball.
- Ball is in the wheel — the ball is spinning and will soon come to rest in one of the sectors.
- Winning number is… — for example: “Winning number is 32, Red, Even, High.” — meaning that everyone who bet on 32, red, even, or high numbers (19–36) has won.
- Inside/Outside bets — these denote the type of bets: inside (on individual numbers) or outside (on groups such as columns, odd/even, dozens, etc.).
- Straight up, Split, Street, Corner, Line — types of bets on individual numbers or specific groups.
Blackjack
 Player constantly makes game decisions, to which the dealer responds with specific phrases. In live blackjack, the player constantly makes game decisions, to which the dealer responds with specific phrases:
- Hit — the player requests to take one additional card.
- Stand — the player finishes drawing and keeps their current cards.
- Double Down — where the player doubles their stake and receives an additional card.
- Split — the option to divide identical cards into two independent hands is called splitting.
- Blackjack — a hand with an ace and a card valued at 10 (ten, jack, queen, king). The highest possible score is 21 points with two cards.
- Bust — the player or dealer exceeds 21, which is an automatic loss.
- Push — when the player and dealer have the same number of points (not blackjack) it’s called a push, and the player typically gets their bet returned.
In real-world blackjack games, players use hand signals like tapping the table (hit) or a wave of the hand (stand). This does not apply to online casinos, as actions are obviously done digitally through a game interface.
Baccarat
 Task is to predict whose hand will have the highest score, either the Player’s or the Banker’s. In live baccarat, your main task is to predict whose hand will have the highest score, either the Player’s or the Banker’s. During the game, dealers use the following phrases:
- Player wins / Banker wins / Tie — the result of the round: the player wins, the banker wins, or it’s a tie.
- Natural 8 / Natural 9 — if either side has an 8 or 9 from the first two cards, this is a “natural” — the round ends without a third card being drawn and the highest “natural” wins.
- Drawing a third card — according to the rules, the dealer automatically draws a third card if required.
- Commission / No Commission — some tables charge a commission on banker wins (usually 5%).
Tips for Beginners
Be sure to learn the basic terminology as it will help to enjoy the flow of the game. Pay attention to the interface as well, because the dealer’s commands are also displayed visually, which helps you stay oriented even if you do not fully understand what was said.
Using demo modes for some practice is an excellent way to get used to the pace and vocabulary without the risk of losing money. First-person virtual table games can then be explored before jumping into the full live experience. Only start playing in a full experience when you are confident of a game’s process and phrases.
Conclusion
The language of live dealers is a structured part of the gameplay. It enables the player to make timely decisions, understand the round’s progress, and create the immersive atmosphere of a real casino. The greater your understanding of these gaming expressions, the more comfortable your live dealer experience will be.
By Pepper Parr
May 4th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 The piece of equipment will have that tree down in a matter of minutes. There will be no time for a noise complaint.
When we were made aware that Milton Greens, the developer in the process of adding 98 high-end homes to portions of the golf course, we wondered if the developer had the right to do what they were doing.
That prompted two questions to the City. I suspect that Blake Hurley, the City Solicitor and Commissioner, Development and Growth Management – Curtis Benson would both respond to the question:
Would the removal of those trees at this point in time comply with the city’s tree removal by law?
Or would the conditions in the Ontario Land Tribunal decision over-ride the city bylaw and thus make what is being done legal?
We have sent the questions along to the city’s communications team and will let you know what they dig out.
 The light grey part of the image is of existing homes; the full colour is what the developer now has permission to build on what is currently golf course land.
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 By Pepper Parr
May 4th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
If the photographs are legitimate, and in today’s world who knows what is real anymore, asking is a reasonable question
The park bench Mayor Meed Ward and Councillors Nisan and Galbraith are sitting on was a gift from Burlington to Apeldoorn. So, we are going to assume the pictures were not photo-shopped—they were distributed on Instagram by the Mayor.
A number of weeks go we asked the city for the names of the people going to Appeldoorn to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Holland.
They sent is the following:
Members of the official Burlington delegation visiting Apeldoorn are:
- Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
- Rory Nisan, Ward 3 Councillor and Council Liaison on the Mundialization Committee
- Hassaan Basit, Chief Administrative Officer
- Samantha Yew, City Clerk/Director of Legislative Services
- Hasan Raza, Chair, Mundialization Committee (volunteer)
- Anne Koopman, Chair, Apeldoorn Sub-committee (volunteer)
So – why is ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith sitting on the park bench in Apeldoorn?
Sticking to our reason for being – holding the elected to both transparency and accountability – we will put that question to the city and let you know what they have to say.
By Harold Dickert
May 3rd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
By Way of Introduction. There are environmentalists who do there part day in day out – they know that climate change is taking place and there is a lot of work to be done. Then there are the really hard core environmentalists. Vince Fiorita (and it if don’t know Vince, you are not a real environmentalist) and then there are the really hard core types. Harold Dickert is one of those. He lives on a 6 acre piece of land in Kilbride and probably has a nickname for every tree on his property. Don’t ask for half an hour of his time – you will end up talking to him for several hours.
A Soil So Magical, It Might As Well Be Wizardry
 This isn’t just dirt. It’s a carbon-hoarding, crop-boosting, water-hugging powerhouse – soil with serious staying power. Picture this: a soil so rich, so fertile, so ridiculously good at its job that it makes modern industrial farming look like a toddler trying to build a sandcastle with a teaspoon. This isn’t some lab-grown, corporate-patented monstrosity—it’s Terra Preta, the legendary Amazonian “Black Earth.”
Ancient civilizations whipped up this soil cocktail long before carbon footprints were even a thing. The recipe? A mix of local earth, bio-char (basically charcoal, but don’t you dare call it ash), nutrients, and enough beneficial microbes to send a scientist into happy convulsions. The kicker? It’s still in Amazonian soil 3,000 years later, still making crops go gangbusters. That’s right—it’s soil with serious staying power.
Why Should You Care?
Because the planet is having a bit of a meltdown (literally), and Terra Preta is the comeback story we need. This isn’t just dirt. It’s a carbon-hoarding, crop-boosting, water-hugging powerhouse that can:
✅ Multiply Crop Yields – Up to eight times higher. That’s not a typo.
✅ Lock Away Carbon – Basically the underground vault of the climate world.
✅ Fight Climate Change – Because if we don’t, who will?
✅ Turn Invasive Plants into a Goldmine – More on that below.
The Mess We’re In
Terra Preta. It’s the ultimate Swiss Army knife of agriculture—restoring soil, capturing carbon, boosting food security, and turning invasive plants into a resource instead of a headache. Ah, the modern world. So many innovations, so many terrible side effects. Here’s what we’re dealing with:
❌ Dead Soils – Industrial farming sucked the life out of them. Oops.
❌ Toxic Runoff – Fertilizer pollution creating oceanic “Dead Zones.” Not great.
❌ Invasive Plants on the Rampage – Like a botanical zombie apocalypse.
❌ Droughts, Floods & Angry Farmers – Mother Nature is Not Amused™.
❌ Global Food Shortages – Because “progress” should not equal “less food.”
Enter Terra Preta. It’s the ultimate Swiss Army knife of agriculture—restoring soil, capturing carbon, boosting food security, and turning invasive plants into a resource instead of a headache.
How Do We Scale It Up?
Governments, it’s your time to shine. Here’s how:
Bounty Programs for Invasive Plants – Pay folks to gather problem plants, turn them into bio-char, and voila! A win-win.
♻️ Composting 2.0 – Green bin waste deserves better than the landfill. Let’s bio-char it up.
Carbon Cap & Trade + Carbon Micro Credits – If you put carbon into the ground instead of the air, you should get rewarded. Period.
Community & Backyard Bio-Char Production – Imagine every backyard being a tiny carbon-sequestering machine. Beautiful.
What’s In It for Us? (Spoiler: A Lot.)
✨ More Carbon in Soil, Less in the Air – Climate change just got a little nervous.
Bigger Harvests – More food, fewer chemicals. Cleaner Water – Say goodbye to toxic runoff. Healthier Plants – Who needs pesticides when your soil is thriving? Better-Tasting, Nutrient-Dense Food – Your taste buds will write thank-you notes. A Soil System That LASTS – Unlike conventional farming’s one-and-done approach.
Built-in Drought Resistance – Bio-char hoards water like a paranoid prepper, releasing it just when plants need it most.
Microbial Paradise – Soil microbes love Terra Preta.
♻️ Less Waste, More Smart Use of Resources – Even invasive plants get a redemption arc.
A Step Toward Real Climate Action – Because hashtags alone won’t fix this.
 Good Carbon: Locked in soil, feeding plants, keeping ecosystems happy. It’s Not Just About Dirt – It’s About Carbon
Science alert! Pyrolysis (the fancy word for heating organic matter in the absence of oxygen) transforms invasive plants and waste into bio-char and syngas (a renewable energy source). This means Terra Preta isn’t just a soil revolution, it’s an energy solution too.
Let’s Rethink Carbon
Carbon isn’t the villain here. It’s literally the backbone of life. The problem? We keep putting it in the wrong place.
Good Carbon: Locked in soil, feeding plants, keeping ecosystems happy.
Bad Carbon: Floating in the atmosphere, melting ice caps, wrecking the climate.
Terra Preta lets us take the bad carbon and turn it into good carbon. Simple. Brilliant. Necessary.
Take Action (Because the Planet Won’t Fix Itself)
This is not a fringe idea. It’s real, backed by science, and ready to go. We just need people to get on board. That means you.
Advocate for bio-char programs in your city.
Make Terra Preta in your backyard (yes, really).
Support farmers using sustainable soil practices.
Watch, Read & Get Inspired
For the skeptics, the curious, and the already-convinced, here’s your homework:
“The Secret of Eldorado – TERRA PRETA” (National Geographic Documentary)
Terra Preta: How the World’s Most Fertile Soil Can Help Reverse Climate Change and Reduce World Hunger (ISBN: 978-1856234375)
BURN: Using Fire to Cool the Earth (ISBN: 978-1603587833)
Join the Movement
I’ve been making Terra Preta in Kilbride, and guess what? It works. My last bio-char session had local environmental NGO leaders geeking out over its potential. Now, we’re figuring out how to scale this up.
Because climate change isn’t waiting, and neither should we.
Let’s dig deep and fix this—one bio-char batch at a time.
 By Staff
May 4th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 Saturday, May 10th from 1 – 5 pm The Art Gallery of Burlington will be holding a Block Party ( a first for them if memory is serving us correctly) on Saturday, May 10th from 1 – 5 pm
They describe the event as an exciting celebration of art, culture, and community. There will be delicious treats or sip from featured food vendors, with a portion of the proceeds supporting the AGB!
The Block Party is generously sponsored by SB Partners and Cintas Canada.
- Free family art activities
- Public Opening Reception for our Spring Exhibitions
- Music by DJ Cheffy
- Free Garden Starter Seed Packs, courtesy of OSC Seeds
- Featured Food Vendors: Bardō Brant St., Peach Coffee Co., Raw Roots, Sunshine Doughnuts
 Art by the students at St. Mark Catholic Elementary School on display at the AGB
 By Pepper Parr
May 3rd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
 Mayor Meed Ward, along with Councillors Nisan and Galbraith, sitting on the Burlington bench in Apeldoorn during the 80 anniversary of the liberation of Holland in WWII A Gazette reader spotted an Instagram photograph of Mayor Meed Ward along with Councillors Nisan and Galbraith, which surprised her.
The City had advised the Gazette that
Members of the official Burlington delegation visiting Apeldoorn are:
- Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
- Rory Nisan, Ward 3 Councillor and Council Liaison on the Mundialization Committee
- Hassaan Basit, Chief Administrative Officer
- Samantha Yew, City Clerk/Director of Legislative Services
- Hasan Raza, Chair, Mundialization Committee (volunteer)
- Anne Koopman, Chair, Apeldoorn Sub-committee (volunteer)
Was Galbraith added at the last minute or did he choose to spend his own money for the trip?
Both Galbraith and Nisan, along with the Mayor, were part of the group that represented Burlington in Itabashi, Japan.
 By Fiona Stein
May 3rd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Ontario has always dominated the gambling scene – big, bold, and buzzing with energy. From glitzy slot machines to poker tables, betting has long been a go-to activity for Ontarians. But the rise of technology has changed this scenario now. Now, you don’t need to get into your car, steer through traffic, find a parking spot, and then step into a physical casino. Just open your laptop from the comfort of your home, the casino is there. What’s driving this shift? How it’s shaking up the way you play? Let’s have a look.
A New Era Kicked Off in 2022
 Things changed on April 4th, 2022, when Ontario launched its iGaming market. Before the iGaming market, OLG was the only site regulated by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), and online gambling was a grey market. Offshore sites were making it possible, but they weren’t well-regulated. But, with iGaming Ontario, the province took charge of overlooking this industry. It wasn’t just a bureaucratic flex but a pivotal move for local bettors. Suddenly, running gambling sites in Ontario wasn’t a shady operation. It was a legit, licensed, and well-regulated industry. This change lets people place safer bets, lesser risks, better odds, and a lot less guesswork.
Convenience That’s Hard to Beat
People are busy. They usually don’t have time to go to a casino on the weekends when their family wants to spend some quality time with them. Online casinos have cracked this problem. Not feeling like driving? Sitting in a remote location? Or chilling in your living room? You can access these virtual casinos. Just open your smartphone or laptop, and you’ll be spinning slots in no time.
Who doesn’t need such convenience? And it’s this convenience that’s rewriting the Ontario gambling rules. Obviously, why would you wear a suit if you can play poker in your shorts and favorite hoodie from your living room?
Banking That Keeps Up with the Times
 Land-based casinos require cash. And cash withdrawals bring sketchy ATM fees and other stress. But those days are fading fast. That’s because online gambling sites offer payment options you already use every day. One such method is Interac e-transfers—quick, local, and trusted.
Not a fan of Interac? Or just don’t want to use it for your online gambling transactions? There are e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller to deposit money with ease, without linking it to their bank accounts.
And that’s not the end. For the tech-savvy, Crypto is the option. Bitcoin and Ethereum are popping up on many gambling platforms, providing a safe, secure, and futuristic transaction vibe. And for those preferring old-school methods, credit card options aren’t going anywhere.
So, where physical casinos stick with a few payment options, virtual ones offer you a bunch of them for flexibility.
More Than Just Slots and Poker
 This is the interesting part. Casinos usually conjure a picture of slot machines and basic blackjack tables in your mind. But that’s not the case with online gambling sites. These virtual playing spots can offer thousands of games, catering to different individuals with different preferences.
Not a fan of those old-school poker or blackjack? No problem. You have thousands of other games on the list. Table games, card games, slots, roulettes, wheel of fortune, arcade games, specialty games, there’s a lot to keep you entertained for an eternity.
Safety Nets That Actually Work
That’s where things get in their favour. Responsible gambling has always been a talking point when it comes to gambling. And just a while ago, this virtual area felt like the Wild West. But iGaming Ontario with AGCO changed this scenario. Now, online sites have to adhere to some strict gambling rules.
Mandatory age checks for casinos (19+) and lotteries (18), spending limits, and easy access to physical and mental health services are a must. You can’t say that’s flawless; nothing is. But that’s way better than those old unregulated days.
The Bottom Line
The way online gambling sites are thriving, the digital shift is not at all going to slow down. In fact, in the future, we might witness more complex technologies like VR, etc., integrating with gaming, making the experience more exciting and fun. So, what’s the verdict? Ontario’s online gambling scene is upgrading, and people are embracing it quite well. It’s safe, secure, and flexible, and who wouldn’t love such an experience?
 By Pepper Parr
May 3rd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Too little, too late.
That piece of equipment will take that tree down in minutes. The City is aware of the cutting down of trees on those portions of the Millcroft Golf Course that have been approved for redevelopment by the Ontario Land Tribunal.
The City is investigating this activity and as such, no further comment can be provided at this time.
The City recognizes that many in our community have an interest in this project. The City will keep the community informed as much as possible as the project proceeds.
The city will find that the developer is, in all probability, following the instructions were issued by the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Any complaint should be made to the Tribunal.
By Staff
May 3rd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Doug Ford’s Ontario government has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the provincial Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy for its continued failure to prevent senior employees from using their personal email accounts to also conduct public business.
 The Ford government got into the habit of doing greasy deals with developers on Greenbelt properties. The deals didn’t involve much of the land in Halton Region and many of the deals were rolled back. In Nov. 2024, the Toronto Star reported that a senior Ford government staffer implicated in Ontario’s Greenbelt scandal refused to hand over emails that may have been sent from a personal email account to other government staffers and lobbyists interested in developing the protected land.
This year’s Code of Silence jury found this violation of Ontario’s Freedom of Information laws was particularly egregious in light of the fact that Bonnie Lysyk, Ontario’s Auditor General, stipulated in an August 2023 report that using non-governmental resources to conduct official government business was unacceptable.
The staffer at the centre of the controversy resigned from his position after the Auditor General’s report found he did not abide by the best practices provided to bureaucrats.
“Communication between lobbyists and political staff using their personal email accounts also creates the perception of preferential access and treatment, and thereby an unfair advantage to those receiving unauthorized confidential information from political staff,” Lysyk wrote in her report.
 Brent Jolly, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists Brent Jolly, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), said safeguarding information through freedom of information legislation is vital to ensuring the integrity of government decisions and transparent public policy making.
“Politicians and those around them will always find creative loopholes to conveniently keep information about decision-making hidden from public scrutiny,” Jolly said. “Whether it’s the premier calling constituents on his personal cell phone or staffers actively circumventing FOI laws, our system is in dire need of modernization to ensure that all vital government decision-making processes are transparently – and proactively – exposed for full public view.”
This year’s Code of Silence jury also agreed to bestow a dishonourable mention on thirteen Saskatchewan ministries who disregarded a decision by the province’s Information Commissioner to have records released in a machine-readable format to The Globe and Mail as part of its Secret Canada project.
The Saskatchewan government has said it provided all the records requested, subject to exemptions and was “not considering changes to the province’s access to information legislation.”
“This is a symptom of a much wider disease that has actively spread across many public institutions in Saskatchewan,” Jolly said. “Refusing to release information in a simple spreadsheet format, particularly when it is widely available, demonstrates a degree of childish petulance that undermines the integrity of the provincial government’s commitment to the public’s right to know.”
The Code of Silence Awards are presented annually by the CAJ, the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University (CFE), and the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). The awards call public attention to government or publicly funded agencies that work hard to hide information to which the public has a right to under access to information legislation.
Last year, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston was recognized as the provincial Code of Silence winner for his office’s punting of promises to empower the province’s information and privacy commissioner.
The winner of the 2024 Code of Silence Award in the municipal category will be announced on May 14.
 By Anton Lucanus
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BURLINGTON, ON
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By Pepper Parr
May 2nd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
With the federal election out of the way – the political crowd will turn their attention to the next municipal election, October of 2026
The Gazette ran a readership survey recently – we sat on the results while the leadership mess at the federal level got resolved.
One of the questions we asked was:
 Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns has said she would run for Mayor in 2026 52% of the respondents said None of the above
 Could Ward 1 Councillor Galbraith be a contender for the office of Mayor in 2026? 27% of the respondents said Lisa Kearns was their choice
15% of the respondents said Kelvin Galbraith was their choice
Councillors Nisan and Stolte were named by 1 person each.
Some of the comments were pretty direct:
None of the above, I’d like a change
I know little about Kearns and Stolte.Paul has had lots of practice and has gotten Bateman and Skyway Arena for Ward 5 but I feel he is in bed with Developers.The other 3 are lightweight and look after their own careers rather than citizens.
Want the mayor to have previous council experience
Feel like we need new leadership and it also seems like it should come externally
Lisa was my councillor until a recent move. She was available and open to hearing about issues.
 By Pepper Parr
May 2nd, 2025
Kilbride, ON
On Sunday, April 27th at 4 pm, a group of about 25 people gathered outside the Kilbride United Church waiting to hear the church bell ring to remember Marianne Schuett. She was abducted in 1967 and was never found.
The resulting search for Marianne was one of the largest in Ontario’s history, with an estimated 18,000 people involved in attempts to find her. Despite repeated and ongoing search efforts, Marianne has not yet been found.
 Class Photo, Kilbride Public School. Marianne Schuett.: Second row, second from the left Marianne had just a five minute walk from the school to her home at 2291 Kilbride Street. Witnesses came forward to say that they had seen her talking to a man in a dark-model European vehicle facing east, not far from the school exit. Ron Eden, who lived in Kilbride and was a passenger in a car driving west towards Carlisle, said he noticed the vehicle immediately.
“I’ve never seen that car before in the village,” he said to his fellow passengers as they approached the intersection in front of the school. Ron admits that he didn’t personally see Marianne as he was so distracted by the unusual model of the vehicle—the driver, Leonard Bodz, and Leonard’s wife in the backseat both saw Marianne standing at the car. A fourth witness, a teacher, said she had seen Marianne walk around to the passenger side of the door of the same vehicle and get in. The driver then took off in the direction of Marianne’s home, but drove past her home without stopping. Artist renditions of both the man and vehicle circulated, with police believing that the vehicle was most likely a Renault.
 Dave and Steve Schuett are sitting on the bench dedicated to their sister. There is a black iron bench with “Remembering Marianne Schuett” inscribed, was unveiled at a private ceremony lead by Helen Callaway of the Kilbride History Group, close to the location Marianne was last seen. The bench serves as a memorial to a little girl described as quiet and shy, and unlikely to get into a stranger’s vehicle. It is also a reminder of how even the smallest of communities can be affected by terrible tragedy.
Fundraising for the bench was raised through efforts of the Kilbride History Group and many community donors, including Marianne’s brothers, Dave and Steve Schuett.
Helen Callaway works with Co-chair Tina Ditoro planning and arranging the now annual ringing the bell event.
Bev Mehlenbacher was a student at the same school as Marianne. “I didn’t know her very well. Today I work as a crossing guard; something that didn’t exist when I was a student.”
The Schuett family had moved to Kilbride in 1965, just two years before the abduction. They were members of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church on Lakeshore Road in Burlington, and their pastor, the Rev. Herbert Hockbush, was one of the many out searching through the bush. Angry sentiments ran high through the community, with young and old equally affected. Children came with their parents to help search, and an elderly woman armed with a shotgun showed up, stating that she just wanted to “blast the so-and-so who took Marianne.” She was thanked for her offer but consoled and turned away.
When the search teams failed to find their daughter, Marianne’s parents wrote a desperate plea to the abductor in a letter published in The Hamilton Spectator:
“We beg you with all our heart to phone or write us a few words to tell us where she is. We promise on everything we hold dear we will not show the police your letter or tell them of your call. If Marianne is alive, let her go, and tell us where we can find her. If she is dead, let us know where we can find her. We will never identify you no matter what has happened. It is too terrible not knowing. Please phone us or write to us. Her brothers can’t go on not knowing where she is and our hearts are breaking. We have to know. Please be merciful and let our prayers be answered.”
Why Marianne chose to risk getting in an unknown vehicle is one of the mysteries of the case, and something that has always perplexed the Schuett family who said she was especially wary of ‘stranger danger.’
The day she disappeared, she’d turned down a ride home from the mother of a classmate, Cindy Muirhead, with whom she’d stayed a half hour late at school working on a project. “I’m just around the corner,” Marianne said. Cindy herself had been stopped by a man in a ‘classic car’ a few weeks earlier and asked for directions to the Cayuga Race Track, nowhere near Kilbride.
 Steve Schuett rings the Kilbride United Church bell 10 times during the gathering of residents on Sunday. Marianne Schuett was abducted when she was 10 years old Although Steve, Marianne’s younger brother, was just five at the time she went missing, her disappearance has been a weight on his shoulders. He has seen many searches with renewed hope at finding his sister, but there have been no firm clues other than a single blue running shoe found near Speyside, the day after she was taken.
A suspect was identified but took his own life in 1991 prior to police being able to question or arrest him. An article published by The Hamilton Spectator on Feb. 16, 1991, a month after his suicide, revealed that the subject—described as Mr. X—had purchased a 1967 Renault three days before Marianne went missing, and that it was only one of three such vehicles in Ontario. The article reported that the suspect was brought to police attention in 1972 after he attempted to abduct a 14-year-old girl from Burlington and in 1990 more information came to light. “Last Christmas,” The Hamilton Spectator reported, “police received new information that Mr. X had repeatedly sexually assaulted two young girls over a seven-year period.”
The suspect’s suicide note made no reference to Marianne, or her final resting place. He was married with children, seemingly living a double life.
Marianne was born on September 29, 1956. The Schuett family lived on Oak Street in Hespeler, and Marianne attended kindergarten at Centennial Public School before they moved to Kilbride in 1965. Her older brother, David, was fifteen when his sister went missing.
“Growing up, well she wanted to hang around with her older brother,” Dave Schuett said in a phone interview in November 2021. “Mom and Dad said, ‘when you go out to play, you’ve got to take your little sister with you.’ So, I did.”
At the time of the abduction, Dave was going to school in Burlington. “She did have a few friends that she hung around with,” he said. “They would come to our house, or she would go over to theirs. We had some games at home, Monopoly and that kind of thing … she liked to play those … one game that she really liked, I believe it was called Candy Land. She really, really, liked that game.”
Dave says that the mystery of why she got in the vehicle has always been one of the hardest things to understand.
“That is a big mystery to me because we had friends of the family who would come to visit us from time to time and she knew them … she knew them very well, and at least once or twice as she was walking home from school they would be coming to our house and they would drive by and go, ‘hey, do you want a ride home?’ And she knew them very well and she’d go, ‘Nope.’ She wouldn’t even get in the car with friends of the family. That begs the question, why would she get in with somebody else? Unless you were forced, you know?”
Mr. X. was found dead in a Hamilton house in January 1991 taking with him any answers the family had hoped for.
Marianne’s father, Milton Schuett, passed away in 1999 without knowing what had happened to his daughter. On the morning of February 1, 2022, just three months after the most recent search for her daughter, Marianne’s mother, Ethel, also passed away. It is hoped that one day Marianne will be found and that the mystery of her disappearance will come full circle. The most recent searches have been led by Linda Gillis Davidson (ex-RCMP), and Gord Collins (ex-Peel Regional Police) who have brought the search for Marianne Schuett back to the headlines.
If you have information about the abduction of Marianne Schuett we urge you to contact any of the following:
Halton Regional Police Service: 1-905-825-4777, Reference Case#: 67-MP-00036
Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS(8477), https://www.canadiancrimestoppers.org/tips
Email to the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains at: canadasmissing-disparuscanada@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Linda Gillis Davidson: 705-641-0768 or llgdavidson@gmail.com
A private Facebook page, administered by friends and family of the Schuetts, is also available to discuss her case. https://www.facebook.com/groups/270997185033374
By Staff
May 1st, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The CBC Ideas crew was in Burlington late in March to record a broadcast for CBC radio,
The program went live on April 24th. The following is who said what to who; it turned out to be an exceptional look at how the library works internally and the role they feel they play in keeping our democracy alive while battling misinformation and disinformation, while the country was in the middle of an existential federal election.
I’m Nahlah Ayed – welcome to our series, Ideas for a better Canada today from Burlington, Ontario, and how we as a country revitalize our democracy?
 Lita Barrie (CEO, Burlington Public Library), Sabreena Delhon (CEO, The Samara Centre for Democracy), Meg Uttangi Matsos (Director, Service Design & Innovation, BPL), Nahlah Ayed (Host, CBC’s IDEAS), and Ira Wells (Professor, University of Toronto, critic & author).
This is a forum dedicated to intellectual freedom and democracy. What those terms mean and why they’re related. That’s what we’re here to discuss, because libraries have become a target in the culture wars of the United States and here in Canada too. Let’s start right here at this library whose story in this community dates back to 1872. With me are two members of the Burlington Public Library team. Can you introduce yourselves and tell me what it is that you do at the library?
My name is Lita Barrie, the CEO here at Burlington Public Library – I work with our community and our municipality to make sure that we’re continuing to offer library services and collections that are relevant and meet the needs of everyone that we serve.
 Nahlah Ayed NA: Public libraries have been in the news quite a lot lately. In February here in Canada, local politicians in Valley View Alberta voted at a closed door meeting to close and move a small public library to a school, thereby restricting access to it.
In the United States, on March 14, an executive order by the Trump administration cut down an agency that provides federal funding for libraries there. They seem unconnected, but in both cases, these events were preceded by political objections to the contents of a library. .
NA: Does any of this surprise you at all?
LB: It absolutely surprises me. I didn’t expect to be in this moment where core values and concepts like intellectual freedom would be challenged at such a base level in so many different ways. I think as a sector we are really trying to rise to the opportunity and really reinforce the core role that libraries play in terms of upholding our democracy and how critical intellectual freedom is as one of our core values.
NA: Let’s, talk about that. As you say, intellectual freedom is a core value of public libraries, and it’s baked right into your official policy. What does it promise?
LB: I think that is really one of the pieces that’s being questioned: Is the lack of, potentially across our democracy, a shared understanding of what intellectual freedom means, that idea that everyone should have the right to access information and at the same time, that shared right and responsibility that none of us has the role to dictate how someone else might choose to select or access information. As an institution, we try and balance those two roles.
NA: What do you do here?
Meg Uttangi Matsos (Director, Service Design & Innovation, what that actually means is I work in our branches, offering customer service and the resources and the team that works with our digital resources and collections department. So that’s all of the items that you see in the library or online when you’re looking for material at the library.
 We don’t want to build a collection that just sits on our shelves. NA: So do you guys actually choose the books and materials, keeping in mind the idea of intellectual freedom. How is it that you make your decisions?
MU: We’re not working in a vacuum; we are using a lot of different tools. We use reviewing media, we use bibliographies. We have conversations with the publishing industry, with other libraries. We’re talking about the authoritative nature of some of the sources that we are looking at.
MU: And then we think about the different needs of our community. What are people looking for in our community? What are they actually reading? We don’t want to build a collection that just sits on our shelves. We want to build a collection that people are interested in borrowing and taking home. We use a lot of data around that as well. When we look at the breadth of our collection, we are trying to think about. What is the information people want from an opposing viewpoint. We’re trying to fill gaps within our collection around that that as well.
 Burlington Public Library CEO Lita Barrie NA: Your answer kind of suggests that maybe there’s a constant reviewing process as well, of what is on your shelves. What if a book isn’t being borrowed?
MU: We look at how that book communicates the content. Is it local to our region, and do we want to keep it because it’s unique? There are a lot of things that are considered. A glimpse of the diversity of voices that appear on our shelves is shown on the online BPL catalogue lists. For example, the book by infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci, who promoted public health efforts and vaccinations in the US during the COVID 19 pandemic is on our shelves; the library also carries a recent book by Robert F Kennedy Jr, that argues that Anthony Fauci was part of a global conspiracy and questions the efficacy of vaccines. As you can imagine, the community comments are very lively.
NA: Why include both books in your collection?
MU: I think if we don’t have both books, we don’t have that broad understanding of both scopes of that topic. People are interested in reading both sides of that topic, whether they agree with it or not. They want to know what’s being said. I think one of the fundamental things that we do in the library is we don’t judge beforehand how somebody is going to read a book. We have the information available. We have it so that people can read it and receive the information that’s in it, and then they can determine for themselves how they’re going to respond to that information. If we remove some of those items, we don’t give people the opportunity to experience the full scope of the issue.
NA: How often have you heard a complaint about either of those books?
MU: We probably see more of the comments in our catalogue than official complaints.
NA: I understand that when you receive a complaint, you actually use the word democracy. And I’m wondering, one, how that sits with the complainants, and two explain why you go that deeply into the reasoning behind what you’re doing?
 Freedom of thought, freedom of of expression, are really this concept of choice and access, and those are such important pieces in democracy. MU: I think the key things around freedom of thought, freedom of of expression, are really this concept of choice and access, and those are such important pieces in democracy. I think when you’re living in a community where there is the ability to see people around you that are not like you, you want to be able to interact in a place where you have lots of choice and lots of different viewpoints, and the ability to access those materials as well. I think those are kind of the parts that connect it back to democracy.
NA: Of course we’ve heard the stories across North America, about LGBTQ plus themed books that in particular face customer challenges. Can you both talk about, the kinds of things you would consider in reviewing a complaint about those books as well.
LB: I think one of the reasons these conversations are so important is as a society, haven’t given enough space to talking about the whys of these collections.
LB: As much as we open that choice, and particularly as it relates to our children’s material, we also recognize that the parent has the right and the responsibility to determine what they would like their child to access from the library. But concurrent with that right is they don’t have the right to dictate what another parent might choose for their own child. Across the US, and some of the concerns that we’re seeing across Canada is this idea that that having that item in the collection is creating harm amongst children. And really what we want to do, and Meg led with this, is we want to make sure that everyone sees themselves in the collection, that there is something in our collection that really speaks to everyone’s experience.
LB: I think another piece that we’re really thinking about is what it means to have material on display from a values perspective. Intellectual freedom is one of our core values, and inclusion is one of our core values. So what we choose to display in the library is really about supporting that concept that everyone is welcome. And I think in this moment, we’ve really been reflecting internally that having something on display is not necessarily a harm.
LB: We’re never going to force you to read anything. You get to decide what you read, but we’re going to work on the premise that walking by a book that you disagree with is actually not an act that’s going to be harmful, and to hold those two things as separate, I think some of the complaints and the concerns that we’re seeing across North America sort of conflating those two pieces that by even just seeing the book that it’s causing harm.
LB: I think in this cultural moment we’re in, so many of us have phones in our pockets and we are so used to, through our social media algorithms, being able to swipe the second we find something that we don’t agree with, we’re used we’re used to being able to control what we see and making sure that what we see aligns with our values.
LB: I think we’re really seeing that in our branches how that’s translating into real life. There’s no real-life manifestation of the swipe except for the complaint process.
 First of all, it’s a picture book. So it is designed in a way to be fun, colourful. It is based on a song, “If you’re happy and you know it”. NA: I want to anchor this in an example, because I didn’t give one. The book that that I was going to mention is: “If you’re a drag queen, and you know it”, is a children’s picture book written by the founder of drag queen story time.
NA: What if someone came to you with a complaint about that book, which I understand some have; what it is that you outline in terms of the necessity of having that book in your shelves,
MU: First of all, it’s a picture book. So it is designed in a way to be fun, colourful. It is based on a song, “If you’re happy and you know it”. A lot of the themes within the book are really meant to be something that a parent could interact with their child, or that the child could interact with themselves in a fun way.
NA: In terms of the that concept, why would somebody ask us to not have that book in the library.
MU: I think in so many ways, people are looking at it through a single lens. They’re looking at it through I wouldn’t want my child to read that, so why would I let other people read that? Or they’re looking at it through a – this might teach my child about something that I don’t want them to learn about. I think what’s missing in that is there are different styles of learning. There’s different styles of parenting, and there’s different ways that people access pieces of that knowledge. So in terms of like that particular book, I think it’s that just because one person doesn’t feel it’s right for them, it doesn’t mean that other parents don’t feel that it’s right for their children, and the fact that we have something like that in the library means we are able to provide that choice to our community
LB: Our process is really ensuring that people feel heard and listened to, and that they have an opportunity to share their position about why they might disagree with us having a particular author, and from that point, being able to really have that conversation about why, and acknowledging that not all of our events are intended for everyone in the community.
LB: It comes back to that premise of not precluding other people from having that experience, and what we can all learn as a community by getting a little bit more comfortable with listening to perspectives that might be different than our own, and listening to lived experience that might be very different from our own as well.
NA: How do you navigate those conversations? As you say, it’s intellectual. It’s a challenging notion to persuade someone who maybe isn’t predisposed to accepting the idea of having to hear in opposing point of view.
LB: The core piece of that is just acknowledgement and empathy
We don’t try and challenge if someone feels hurt or sad about something that we have in the collection. First and foremost, we start by acknowledging that we’re never trying to challenge someone else’s feelings about another book or something that we’re doing in the collection. We’re not saying that their feelings are invalid or not true. And that really often creates a great place to be able to then listen to someone else’s concerns and, in turn, sort of share some of our rationale or reasoning for offering an event or offering an item in the collection, and at the end of the day, some of those conversations, they don’t necessarily end with someone being on board with our choice or really excited about what we’re doing, but we’re coming back to that place of mutual respect and being able to acknowledge someone else’s experience and hopefully have have left them with a sense of being heard, an increased understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish through the work that we’re doing in community.
NA: Could this way that you look at books and navigating these differences inform the rest of us in society.
 This isn’t something that just comes easily. MU: Sure, the first place it’s uncomfortable. This isn’t something that just comes easily, and we don’t always get it right. I think part of it is being brave to engage in some conversations, sometimes being brave to stand in your own values or the values that you believe in. But then I think in terms of what we do at the library is seeing others as humans, treating people with dignity and respect, regardless of what the argument that they is or the or the belief system they have. We treat privacy and impartiality as really important in the library as well. The idea of passing judgment on someone just because they happen to take a certain book out of the library; that’s not part of what we learn in our core – it is not something that we want to be doing. We choose to be patient with others. Treat people with respect and listen.
 NA: Finally, when we’re thinking about the next iteration of our democracy, this is an opportunity to make the argument, why do public libraries deserve the understanding and support personal beliefs?
LB: Again, did I ever expect to be in this moment. No, but I think if we see what’s happening across North America we can see how important it is for us to connect in person to each other when we talk about some of these issues. There is so much that we have gained from our online world, but there is so much that just needs to happen in person, and we are really one of the few public services that is a lifespan service. People are welcome within our doors from the day they are born throughout their entire lifetime, and that is really a unique privilege that we have in community, and I can’t think of a more important time to have libraries thriving across our country.
LB: We are also a place where you are going to have that kind of friction with other people in your community. Where else do you have that in your community where you can come in, you’re welcome and you’re going to see other folks in your community? It’s really an important part of our society.
 By Staff
May 1st, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
On April 29, Halton Region Public Health was made aware of a confirmed case of measles that has led to potential exposures in Halton on April 26 and 27.
 Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads easily through the air. Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads easily through the air.
Individuals may have been exposed to the measles virus at the following locations on the dates listed below:
Halton Family Health Centre (whole building), 2951 Walkers Line Unit B, Burlington, on Saturday, April 26 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Halton Medix Clinic Milton, 100 Bronte St. S Unit 2, Milton, on Sunday, April 27 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Visitors to these locations during the times noted should:
- Check your immunization records to make sure you and any people who accompanied you have up-to-date measles vaccinations (two doses are recommended for anyone born on or after January 1, 1970). Your immunization record (yellow card) or your doctor can provide this information.
- Those who are not immune, infants under one year of age, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems can get very ill with measles. They should immediately contact Halton Region Public Health or their health care professional for further assessment.
- If you think you may have measles and need to see a doctor, you must call ahead to the doctor’s office, walk-in clinic, or emergency department. This will allow health care staff to take the necessary precautions to reduce the risk of infection and protect others visiting the office, clinic, or hospital.
- Watch for symptoms of measles for 21 days after exposure.
Symptoms can appear 7 to 21 days after contact with someone with the measles virus. Measles symptoms may include:
- fever
- cough
- runny nose
- red eyes
- sleepiness
- irritability
- small, white spots on the inside of the mouth (Koplik Spots)
- a red blotchy rash that first starts on the face and spreads down the body, arms, and legs (this rash can last 4 to 7 days)
“Measles is a serious and highly contagious illness, but it is preventable with vaccination,” said Dr. Deepika Lobo, Medical Officer of Health for Halton Region. “We are reminding residents who may have been exposed to review their immunization records and monitor for symptoms. Vaccination remains the best protection, and we urge all residents, especially families with young children, to ensure their immunizations are current.”
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