By Staff
January 1st, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON

From Burlington MP Karina Gould:
I am pleased to invite you to my 10th Annual New Year’s Levee to ring in 2025! There will be light refreshments for the occasion and a special program to go along with it. You can find the details for the celebration below.
 Karina Gould with her second child at the Terry Fox Run for a Cancer Cure during the summer.
When: Sunday, January 12th
Where: Art Gallery Burlington – 1333 Lakeshore Road
Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
To RSVP to this event, please fill out the Google Form linked to the image above.
I hope you can join!
By Staff
January 1st, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Theodora Hamilton is the first baby to be born at Joseph Brant Hospital (JBH) in 2025, arriving at 5:02 a.m. on January 1, weighing 6 pounds and 14 ounces.
 Gabriella and Thomas Hamilton from Stoney Creek. Theodora seems quite content.
Parents Gabriella and Thomas Hamilton from Stoney Creek were very happy to ring in 2025 with the arrival of their first child and their parents’ first grandchild. Gabriella was also born at JBH.
The arrival of their first child was exciting in many ways for Gabriella and Thomas.
The original due date was Dec. 20, 2024, then changed to Dec. 27. As they got closer to the end of the year, the couple hoped that their baby would arrive in 2025. Gabriella went into labour at 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 31 and – to their delight – Theodora was born on New Year’s Day.
“It was right on time,” said Thomas. “We were excited about that.”
In keeping with a time-honoured New Year’s tradition, Theodora and her parents were presented with a gift from the hospital.
More than 1,600 babies were delivered at JBH in 2024. The physicians, midwives and nurses in the hospital’s Labour and Delivery unit provide excellent, quality care to pregnant, labouring persons and newborns.
After delivery, parents and newborns move to the Maternal & Child unit, which provides a broad range of care and services to address the physical and emotional needs of families before and after delivery
By Staff
January 1st, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
We made it through 2024 – by the skin of our teeth but we are still standing.

So, what are the plans for 2025?
We want to stay alive until 2026, when the Americans will hold their mid-term elections, which hopefully will result in the Democrats taking control of the House and the Senate.
We are going to elect a new Prime Minister – sooner than we expected. Will we make the same mistake the Americans made when they elected Donald Trump?
While it isn’t necessary, Premier Ford looks like he is going to call an election, hoping that the public will forget about the messy land transactions and before the RCMP issue their report. Where are the Mounties when you really need them?
It is going to be a challenging year.
Make the best of it.
By Pepper Parr
December 31st, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
 It was a scene seen far too often.
It would have been a better hockey game if the Canadians had stayed out of the penalty box.
They couldn’t – one player was in the penalty box twice when power-play goals were scored by the Americans.
Not quite the way I wanted to end the year.
By Pepper Parr
December 31st, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
Well – he does have to go.
When, yesterday would be great if all the baying and howling is any indication as to what the public wants.
 He was a great campaigner – not that good a Prime Minister and he certainly didn’t learn all that much when he had the job.
Justin Trudeau has said he would take time to reflect and he should do just that. Were he to throw in the towel today – nothing would change – except for the people who will then start their campaigns to replace him.
No reason for Justin to quit just yet.
Return to the House on the 27th of January which is when the House is due to resume sitting.
That morning Justin could choose to meet with the Governor General and ask that the House be prorogued for four months while the Liberals hold their leadership race.
What does Justin’s future look like – the political career has come to an end.
He isn’t a lawyer so he can’t serve as Counsel to a major law firm. There is no experience in the commercial sector – he can’t add much to a corporate Board of Directors. He might manage to land at some arts organization.
Justin Trudeau has a hard hard year ahead of him.
He won’t go hungry – his Father’s estate assures that he will be able to pay the rent can pay the rent and he still gets to drive the Mercedes.
As for the country – who will the Liberals choose to lead them when a federal election does take place?
Some mention Chrystia Freeland. Send her to the Senate.
Dominic Leblanc? Too close to the Irvings but has been an excellent Public Safety Minister and wpild have to be part of the team that will be in place to deal with Donald Trump.
François-Philippe Champagne – Could certainly do the job.
Mark Carney – let him win an election first.
 Nate – was finally made a Cabinet Minister for a portfolio he could make a huge difference with. He has the energy and the temperament needed and he actually knows how to think outside the box. He’s never been part of the party’s inner circle.
The surprise that is ahead of us is Nate Erskine Smith, the current Minister of Housing.
This is the one portfolio that is in desperate need of someone who can take bold, innovative positions on housing.
There are solutions and Erskine Smith has three to maybe four months to show the public what can be done. His return to politics – he did say he was not going to run again – is something he is going to get past his wife.
The work of the government doesn’t stop just because Parliament isn’t sitting.
The challenge for the Liberal Party is to show Canadians that they can lead the country and stand up to Donald Trump and his really stupid, ignorant behaviour. I can’t imagine Americans being proud of the man who is their president.
The challenge for Canadians is to learn from the mistake the Americans made in their choice – we don’t have to be quite as stupid.
Salt with Pepper is an opinion column reflecting the observations and musings of the publisher of the Gazette, an on-line newspaper that is in its 12th year as a news source in Burlington and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
By Pepper Parr
December 31st, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
We are on our way out of a tough year.
What were the top stories for 2024?
In no particular order:
 The Ontario Land Tribunal said no to the development on the site of the Waterfront Hotel
The OLT decision to not approve the plans for the Waterfront Hotel site.
Pulling Sound of Music from a near-death experience – and chuckling at the comment David Shepherd made when he said he would like to see the debt “go away”.
Wondering what was really behind the quick as a wink resignation submitted by the then Executive Director of the Performing Arts Centre. They’ve yet to find a replacement.
Then there was the practice of using a number that isn’t defined to convince taxpayers that they are getting a decent deal.
 Nisan and Galbraith seemed to have forgotten who they were working for.
Best performance of the year had to be “the sky’s the limit” dance put on by Councillors Nisan and Galbraith who seem to have forgotten who they were working for. Link to that story – click HERE
Then there was the “dismissal” of two senior staff members. The Gazette was alerted to their being shown the door by a tip that came in from someone calling from a phone booth.
By James Portside
December 31st, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
This information is not professional investment advice. Investors are advised to do their own research into individual stocks before making an investment decision.
The five stocks with the largest dollar value of insider acquisitions in the public market are:
|
Rogers Communications Inc —–Buy Quantity: 20,000 Average cost: $43.67 Total: $873,396.00 |
Insider |
Relationship |
Transaction |
Date |
Quantity |
Price |
Total |
Gemmell, Robert |
4 – Director of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-27-24 |
20,000 |
$43.67 |
$873,396.00 |
|
Nutrien Ltd —–Buy Quantity: 10,490 Average cost: $64.04 Total: $671,779.60 |
Insider |
Relationship |
Transaction |
Date |
Quantity |
Price |
Total |
Seitz, Kenneth Alvin |
4 – Director of Issuer, 5 – Senior Officer of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-24-24 |
10,490 |
$64.04 |
$671,779.60 |
|
George Weston Limited —–Buy Quantity: 1,200 Average cost: $227.50 Total: $273,000.00 |
Insider |
Relationship |
Transaction |
Date |
Quantity |
Price |
Total |
Dalglish, Camilla H. |
6 – Director or Senior Officer of 10% Security Holder |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-24-24 |
1,200 |
$227.50 |
$273,000.00 |
|
Morguard Real Estate Investment Trust —–Buy Quantity: 47,800 Average cost: $5.40 Total: $258,120.00 |
Insider |
Relationship |
Transaction |
Date |
Quantity |
Price |
Total |
Armoyan, Sime |
3 – 10% Security Holder of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-27-24 |
200 |
$5.40 |
$1,080.00 |
Armoyan, Sime |
3 – 10% Security Holder of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-24-24 |
47,600 |
$5.40 |
$257,040.00 |
|
Ero Copper Corp —–Buy Quantity: 10,000 Average cost: $19.46 Total: $194,616.00 |
Insider |
Relationship |
Transaction |
Date |
Quantity |
Price |
Total |
Gosselin, Chantal |
4 – Director of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-27-24 |
10,000 |
$19.46 |
$194,616.00 |
The five stocks with the largest dollar value of insider dispositions in the public market are:
|
National Bank of Canada —–Sell Quantity: -16,741 Average cost: $132.70 Total: -$2,221,566.32 Options Issued: 42,888 Average cost: $47.93 Total: $2,055,621.84 |
Insider |
Relationship |
Transaction |
Date |
Quantity |
Price |
Total |
Ferreira, Laurent |
7 – Director or Senior Officer of Insider or Subsidiary of Issuer (other than in 4,5,6) |
51 – Exercise of options |
12-24-24 |
21,956 |
$47.93 |
$1,052,351.08 |
Gingras, Marie-Chantal |
2 – Subsidiary of Issuer |
51 – Exercise of options |
12-24-24 |
9,880 |
$47.93 |
$473,548.40 |
Gingras, Marie-Chantal |
2 – Subsidiary of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-24-24 |
-9,880 |
$132.80 |
-$1,312,053.10 |
Hébert, Brigitte |
5 – Senior Officer of Issuer |
51 – Exercise of options |
12-24-24 |
11,052 |
$47.93 |
$529,722.36 |
Hébert, Brigitte |
5 – Senior Officer of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-24-24 |
-6,861 |
$132.56 |
-$909,513.22 |
|
LIONS GATE ENTERTAINMENT CORP —–Sell Quantity: -100,000 Average cost: $10.38 Total: -$1,037,952.00 |
Insider |
Relationship |
Transaction |
Date |
Quantity |
Price |
Total |
Feltheimer, Jon Henry |
4 – Director of Issuer, 5 – Senior Officer of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-26-24 |
-100,000 |
$10.38 |
-$1,037,952.00 |
|
Propel Holdings Inc —–Sell Quantity: -18,800 Average cost: $37.40 Total: -$703,120.00 |
Insider |
Relationship |
Transaction |
Date |
Quantity |
Price |
Total |
Buchman, Noah |
5 – Senior Officer of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-24-24 |
-18,800 |
$37.40 |
-$703,120.00 |
|
TC Energy Corporation —–Sell Quantity: -5,000 Average cost: $66.50 Total: -$332,500.00 Options Issued: 5,000 Average cost: $53.97 Total: $269,850.00 |
Insider |
Relationship |
Transaction |
Date |
Quantity |
Price |
Total |
Masud, Jawad |
7 – Director or Senior Officer of Insider or Subsidiary of Issuer (other than in 4,5,6) |
51 – Exercise of options |
12-24-24 |
5,000 |
$53.97 |
$269,850.00 |
Masud, Jawad |
7 – Director or Senior Officer of Insider or Subsidiary of Issuer (other than in 4,5,6) |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-24-24 |
-5,000 |
$66.50 |
-$332,500.00 |
|
STEP Energy Services Ltd —–Sell Quantity: -26,501 Average cost: $4.21 Total: -$111,646.20 Options Issued: 18,001 Average cost: $0.53 Total: $9,523.51 |
Insider |
Relationship |
Transaction |
Date |
Quantity |
Price |
Total |
Kane, Joshua Maxwell |
5 – Senior Officer of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-24-24 |
-8,500 |
$4.24 |
-$36,042.00 |
McFarlane, Bradley James |
5 – Senior Officer of Issuer |
51 – Exercise of options |
12-24-24 |
18,001 |
$0.53 |
$9,523.51 |
McFarlane, Bradley James |
5 – Senior Officer of Issuer |
10 – Acquisition or disposition in the public market |
12-24-24 |
-18,001 |
$4.20 |
-$75,604.20 |
What is Insider Trading?
How Insider Trading works.
By Staff
December 30th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
46% say PM should resign, prorogue House for leadership race; two-in-five want a Feb. 2025 election
In a year-end report the Angus Reid Institute, a multinational public opinion polling company said “… the federal Liberals, they are on the precipice of a very unhappy New Year.
 Justin Trudeau.
“Amid growing calls for their leader to resign, the latest public opinion data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute shows the party’s support among decided and leaning voters down to just 16 per cent.
 In the 2011 election under then leader, Michael Ignatieff, the Liberals received 18.9
It represents the lowest level of support for the party in Angus Reid Institute tracking dating back to 2014. It is also quite possibly the lowest vote intention the Liberals have ever received in the modern era. Even in the worst electoral performance in the party’s 157-year history, the 2011 election under then leader, Michael Ignatieff, the Liberals received 18.9 per cent of votes from Canadians, and at minimum 17 per cent in polling leading up to that election.
“Meanwhile, as he mulls his future during his ski in the snow in B.C., approval of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which had been steady in the low 20s, now plummets to an all-time nadir of 22 per cent.
“These latest blows come at the end of a punishing two weeks wherein Trudeau lost his finance minister and lost the would-be replacement star he’d been chasing. This culminated in an open loss of confidence by a growing number of Liberal MPs who are now publicly calling for him to go.
“While Trudeau has said that he would reflect on the growing rebellion within his own ranks, approaching half (46%) of Canadians and three-in-five (59%) current Liberal supporters say it’s time for him to step aside and call for a party leadership contest. Another two-in-five (38%) Canadians believe Trudeau should call for a general election himself when he returns from his holiday break.
For a detailed look at the polling link to the poll here: www.angusreid.org/
By Staff
December 30th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
 Boys lined up for basketball practice at the Haber Recreational Centre
The good folks at Recreation, Community and Culture have come up with a way to attract the grade 5 kids into the gyms, swimming pools and ice rinks.
The message is clear: Get active with our Active5 Pass!
The City of Burlington’s Active5 Pass gives Grade 5 students free access to drop-in recreation activities including:
- Open gym time
- Skating
- Recreational Swimming.
Click HERE to learn more and to Register
By Pepper Parr
December 30th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
It was the one picture that caught my eye during the year.
All that “bling”?
I thought it was the Russians who did this kind of thing; the Americans are pretty good at it.
Pictured here are:Gen. Jennie Carignan, left, assumes command of the Canadian Armed Forces, with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and outgoing Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre taking part in the ceremony on July 18, 2024. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
By Pepper Parr
December 29th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
What is it with a city government that seems incapable of telling taxpayers how big the increase in taxes this year was over the previous year ?
Set out below is a timeline on statements released by city hall sent to us by a Gazette reader.
“The number the city uses, 4.97%, was correct on October 25th, 2025, but became incorrect as soon as the police budget was released on October 31st, 2024. Why did CAO Basit and Mayor Meed Ward continue to use 4.97% as the overall increase on November 4th and November 7th”?
The number they use is an average of the taxes that are paid to school boards, and the Regional government – which includes the Police Services Budget.
What the people paying taxes need and want to know is – how much did the CITY taxes increase this year. In Burlington, that was 7.8%
October 25th, 2024 – Burlington releases the 2025 budget
“The projected overall tax increase for 2025 is now 4.97 percent”.
Burlington’s portion of our tax bill is increasing by 7.5%.
October 30th, 2024 – Halton Police Services Budget is released
Burlington calculated the “overall” increase of 4.97% using a police increase of 5.65%.
The police budget, which Burlington’s council does not control, calls for an 11.84% increase.
The projected overall tax increase for 2025 is now 5.76%.
November 4th, 2024 – Mr. Basit introduces the budget to council
Mr. Basit, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) states “Projected property tax increase is 4.97%”.
November 7th, 2024 – Mayor Meed Ward’s virtual town hall
Mayor Meed Ward states “That total increase is 4.97%. Of that, the city portion is 3.79%.
November 25th, 2024 – Eric Stern delegates to our council
“It was interesting to watch Mr. Basit present a 4.97% on November 4th when the Halton Police budget had been made public on October 30th. Did Mr. Basit knowingly misrepresent the truth?”
December 10th, 2024 – Mayor Meed Ward speaks to this issue
No apology and no explanation to taxpayers.
Does a higher standard of engagement start with clear and accurate information from city hall?
By Pepper Parr
December 29th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Gazette published an article on December 14th, about a delegation Eric Stern made at a City Council meeting on November 25th.
Early in the delegation, Eric Stern mused: “It was interesting to watch Mr. Basit present a 4.97% on November 4th when the Halton Police Budget had been made public on October 30th. Did Mr. Basit knowingly misrepresent the truth?”
Mayor Meed Ward wrote the Gazette with a complaint and copied the National Newsmedia Council, complaining about what we published.
This is what happened:
In the article we published we confused what Mayor Meed Ward said in her Spectator letter with what she said at a Council meeting where she used a Personal Privilege to make her point about what Eric Stern said while delegating on November 25th, 2024
We apologize for mixing up the issue. It was in fact incorrect. The Mayor’s Letter to the Editor of the Hamilton Spectator referred to an issue she had with a different media person.
Click HERE to listen to what the Mayor did say.
For those who want to read Stern’s delegation click HERE
Link to the Mayor’s Letter to the Hamilton Spectator is HERE
By Staff
December 29th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
It’s called the Community Improvement Program.
It offers substantial support and is wide open to ideas. Talk to the Planning department—the link is at the bottom of this article.
The program isn’t in place yet, but we expect to see it operational in Q2 2025.
What is a Community Improvement Plan (CIP)?
- Enabled through Section 28 of the Planning Act
- A Planning Act tool that can be used to make development more feasible or attractive for property owners, through financial and non-financial incentives
Community improvement plan means a plan for the community improvement of a community improvement project area.

 The different forms of housing that are now possible – “as of right”
Community improvement means the planning or replanning, design or redesign, resubdivision, clearance, development or redevelopment, construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation, improvement of energy efficiency, or any of them, of a community improvement project area, and the provision of such residential, commercial, industrial, public, recreational, institutional, religious, charitable or other uses, buildings, structures, works, improvements or facilities, or spaces therefor, as may be appropriate or necessary.
Community improvement project area means a municipality or an area within a municipality, the community improvement of which, in the opinion of council is desirable because of age, dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement, unsuitability of buildings or for any other environmental, social or community economic development reason.
Community Improvement Tools
- Make grants or loans to owners and tenants of land and buildings within the community improvement project area to pay for the whole or any part of ‘eligible costs’ related to community improvement
Eligible Costs
- The total of the grants and loans that is provided in respect of the lands and buildings shall not exceed the eligible cost of the community improvement
- Includes costs related to environmental site assessment/remediation, development, redevelopment, construction and reconstruction of lands and buildings for rehabilitation purposes or for the provision of energy efficiency.
- Provide additional flexibility in offering financial incentives and can be stacked with other
Planning Act (Section 69(2) Fees)
Municipalities are permitted to reduce the amount of, or waive entirely, the requirement for the payment of a fee in respect of a planning or building application.
Development Charges Act (Section 5)
Allows a Municipality (through its development charge by-law) to provide for full or partial development charge exemptions for certain types of development.
Municipal Act
- Section 365.1 enables Municipalities to implement the Brownfields Financial Tax Incentive Program, intended to bring brownfields back into productive use. Municipalities may pass by-laws providing for the cancellation of all or a portion of the taxes for municipal purposes levied on eligible properties for which a phase two environmental site assessment has been conducted. CIP required
- Municipal Capital Facility Agreement (MCFA): allows municipalities to completely exempt development charges and property taxes. Affordable housing is an explicit permitted use under MCFA tools.
- Housing Strategy and Housing Accelerator Fund Action Plan Direction
- Need a minimum of 200 new rental units per year in Burlington to meet demand (2021 Housing Needs and Opportunities Study)
• Increase housing options – affordable, rental, Missing Middle

Burlington Housing CIP Purpose
- Incentivize new rental housing and affordable housing options in a permanent building form:
- New units: Additional Residential Units (ARUs), plexes (du/tri/fourplex), row houses, courtyard housing
- Low-rise apartments (4-storeys and less)
- Mid-rise apartments (5 – 11 storeys)
- High-rise/Tall Building apartments (12+ storeys)
- Larger rental units (i.e. 3-bedrooms)
- Supportive housing, Accessible units
- Short term HAF Targets (2025/26)
– Support HAF $8.25M allocation for ARUs; $2.5M for other rental and affordable units; $1M missing middle
Long term Housing Strategy Implementation (2027+) – through the CIP, with CIP budget request
- Incentives for rental and affordable permanent units to bridge the gap
- Develop incentives that provide the best value and outcomes
- Develop a range of incentives with longevity
- Identify opportunities to stack programs/incentives – within the CIP and with other programs of City & other levels of government (e.g. Better Homes Burlington home upgrade interest free loan; Halton Region, CMHC Affordable Housing Fund)
- Address City priorities and Meet HAF targets, e.g. 3-BRs in MTSAs; energy efficiency/green infrastructure; missing middle & affordable housing
Incentive Types
Capital Grants: support new construction, rehabilitation, and conversion of spaces for affordable housing. Direct funding lowers the financial burden on property owners, making it more feasible to create affordable units.
Non-Reserve Fund Incentives: includes tax increment grants, fee waivers, and deferral programs –
reduce upfront costs for property owners.
- Tax increment grants retain a portion of the increased property tax revenue generated by the new development, which can be reinvested into the project.
- Fee waivers eliminate or reduce fees associated with building permits/ other municipal
Forgivable Loans: support homeownership and rental unit creation, with conditions tied to affordability and project completion. If specific criteria met, such as maintaining the units as affordable for a set period, the loan may be forgiven, effectively turning it into a grant. This approach encourages property owner commitment to long-term affordability.
Non-Financial Incentives: range of incentives, including: the strategic use of surplus municipal land for affordable housing projects by providing access to land at reduced costs or even at no cost, thereby removing one of the most significant barriers to affordable housing—land acquisition costs.
Reserve Funds: specific funds maintained by the municipality to assist with affordable housing projects beyond typical funding mechanisms. By having dedicated funds set aside, municipalities can respond more flexibly and quickly to emerging housing needs.
 The province is serious and looking for municipalities that want to take part.
Potential CIP Financial Programs
Base Incentives
Additional Residential Unit (ARU) Incentive (forgivable loan):
-
- Requirement for affordable ARU units during the HAF timeframe, January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2026.
- purchase and/or fund related construction costs for a new, legal permitted
- detached ARU
- garage conversion (detached or attached) to residential
- ARU within existing residential unit (i.e. basement, main floor, attic).
- renovate an existing noncompliant ARU
- assistance with professional drawings (i.e. architect, engineering)
- Missing Middle Tax Increment Equivalent Grant (TIEG):
- Annual grant over a long-term period to offset tax increases for new rental multi-unit developments that are 4 storeys or less including duplexes, fourplexes, courtyard housing, and low-rise apartments. Excludes single-detached homes and ARUs.
Potential CIP Financial Programs
Base Incentives
Mid/High-Rise Tax Increment Equivalent Grant (TIEG):
Annual grant over a long-term period to offset tax increases for new rental mid-rise/high-rise multi-unit residential developments. It would be for rental buildings that are:
- 5+ storeys
- Proposed in a strategic location:
- City’s ‘Mixed Use Nodes’ such as neighbourhood commercial plazas;
- Intensification Corridors like Fairview Street and Plains Road East; or
- Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs): Appleby GO, Aldershot GO and Burlington GO MTSAs.
Potential Non-Financial Incentives
- Housing and Surplus Lands Policy: To acquire, sell, lease, or offer municipal properties at or below fair market value to support City Housing policies, plans, and strategies. By leveraging surplus lands, this will enhance financial incentive programs within the CIP.
- Housing and Capital Projects Policy: To require all major municipal capital projects be reviewed and assessed to consider the inclusion of new
- Draft CIP for Review: January 2025
- Report to Council, Statutory Public Meeting: February 2025
Email housingstrategy@burlington.ca with questions and speak with staff
By Staff
December 28th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
One of the good pieces of news recently is the two-month tax break on Groceries, restaurant meals, snacks, and children’s clothing.
The tax break amounts to 13% off the tab at restaurants, from December 14, 2024, to February 15, 2025, – which fits in very well with the Taste of Burlington that starts January 27th. The tax savings is on the food, beer and wine – not alcohol.
Thirty-three local restaurants are offering Prix Fixe offerings that are worth considering.
As we get closer to the start date the Gazette will tell you all about the opportunity to get out with friends and save 13%.
 Jakes Grill & Oyster House
 West Plains Bistro
By Staff
December 28th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Conservation Halton advises that Environment Canada and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s (MNRF) Surface Water Monitoring Centre (SWMC) are forecasting up to 25mm of rain on Sunday. Daytime high temperatures near 10°C today and tomorrow will melt much of the remaining snowpack. In addition to the forecasted rainfall and melting snow, any remaining frozen ground will increase runoff and contribute to elevated water levels in rivers and streams within our jurisdiction.
 Elevated water levels, fast flowing water, and cold water temperatures, combined with slippery conditions along stream banks continue to make these locations extremely dangerous.
Widespread flooding is not anticipated, however, fast flowing water and flooding of low-lying areas, natural floodplains, and areas with poor drainage may be expected, along with localized ice break-up.
Conservation Halton is asking all residents and children to keep a safe distance from all watercourses and structures such as bridges, culverts, and dams. Any ice-covered bodies of water are considered unsafe. Elevated water levels, fast flowing water, and cold water temperatures, combined with slippery conditions along stream banks continue to make these locations extremely dangerous. Please alert children in your care of these imminent dangers.
Conservation Halton will continue to monitor stream and weather conditions and will issue an update to this Watershed Conditions Statement – Flood Outlook message as conditions warrant.
This Watershed Conditions Statement – Flood Outlook will be in effect through Tuesday December 31, 2024.
For further information or questions regarding this message contact:Kyle Slade,
Flood Duty Officer, Engineering, T: 905-336-1158 ext. 2234
By Staff
December 28th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Communicating With A Person Living With Dementia
Wednesday, January 15, Time: 6 – 8 p.m.
To be broadcast via Zoom.
We will provide the Zoom link days before the event
 Recognizing the signs of dementia.
It’s important to make an effort to engage people living with dementia to reduce their isolation and help them feel included. Yet it can be uncomfortable and intimidating if you don’t know what to say or how to respond – especially if they say things that we consider inappropriate or that don’t make sense to us.
Our Communicating with a Person Living with Dementia workshop will give you tips, tricks and strategies you can use to connect effectively with people living with dementia at all stages of the disease.
By Pepper Parr
December 26th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Let us not rush back into the real world quite yet.
Christmas was festive, fun, and family – the day after has become a holiday with a quaint tradition that is celebrated in the Commonwealth countries that reflects the class tradition of the times.
The first mention of Boxing Day as a tradition is believed to be in 1830. It was the day that the Upper classes gave a “box” to people like post-men, errand-boys, and servants of various kinds.
It was a present, a gratuity given at Christmas to people who had provided a service. In Great Britain the custom for tradesmen to collect “Christmas boxes” of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year. The tradition goes back as far as December 1663.
 It was a different time, a different era when class differences defined everything. The Boxing Day tradition came out of that era.
The tradition was linked to an older British tradition – servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts, bonuses, and sometimes leftover food.
In South Africa as recently as the 1980s, milkmen and garbage collectors, who normally had little if any interaction with those they served, were accustomed to knock on their doors asking for a “Christmas box”, being a small cash donation, in the week or so before and after Christmas.
The European tradition, which has long included giving money and other gifts to those who were needy and in service positions, has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown. It is believed to be in reference to the Alms Box placed in areas of worship to collect donations to the poor.
Boxing Day became a secular holiday that is traditionally celebrated on 26 December, the day after Christmas Day. 26 December is also St. Stephen’s Day, a religious holiday.
In the UK, Boxing Day is a bank holiday
In Scotland, Boxing Day has been specified as an additional bank holiday since 1974In Ireland – when the island as a whole was part of the United Kingdom – the Bank Holidays Act 1871 established the feast day of St. Stephen as a non-movable public holiday on 26 December. Following partition in 1920, Northern Ireland reverted to the British name, Boxing Day.
In Australia, Boxing Day is a federal public holiday. The Australian state of South Australia instead observes a public holiday known as Proclamation Day on the first weekday after Christmas Day or the Christmas Day holiday.
In New Zealand, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday; penalty rates and lieu time are provided to employees who work on Boxing Day.
In Canada, Boxing Day is a federal statutory holiday. Government offices, banks and post offices/delivery are closed. In some Canadian provinces, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday that is always celebrated on 26 December. In Canadian provinces where Boxing Day was a statutory holiday, and it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, compensation days are given in the following week.
In the United States, 26 December is not observed as “Boxing Day”.
The tradition has become a massive sales push that has people lining up outside large chain store operations as early as 5 am waiting for huge discounts, usually on electronic items that are positioned as loss leaders to attract customers.
 Boxing day at the Eaton Centre – packed.
The CTV television network reports that in 2010 Boxing Day sales totaled $1.8 billion. The tradition has become a shopping holiday that has become Boxing Week
Many retailers open very early (typically 5 am or even earlier) and offer door buster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. It is not uncommon for long queues to form early in the morning of 26 December, hours before the opening of shops holding the big sales, especially at big-box consumer electronics retailers.
In recent years, retailers have expanded deals to “Boxing Week”. While Boxing Day is 26 December, many retailers will run the sales for several days before or after 26 December, often up to New Year’s Eve. Notably, in the recession of late 2008, a record number of retailers were holding early promotions due to a weak economy. Canada’s Boxing Day has often been compared with the American Super Saturday (the Saturday before Christmas) and Black Friday.
From 2009 onward Black Friday deals become more prominent among Canadian retailers to discourage shoppers from crossing the border to the USA when the Canadian and USA dollars was close to parity, and this has lessened the appeal of Boxing Day in Canada somewhat as it was overtaken by Black Friday in terms of sales in 2013.
Boxing Day is not and has never been a shopping holiday in the USA.
In some parts of Canada, particularly in Atlantic Canada and parts of Northern Ontario, most retailers are prohibited from opening on Boxing Day, either by provincial law or by municipal bylaw, or instead by informal agreement among major retailers to provide a day of relaxation following Christmas Day.
A tradition that came out of a social class based society has evolved into a week-long shopping spree.
It isn’t just about shopping; sports events have become major Boxing Day events.
 Major European leagues may enjoy a winter break when players can put their feet up over the festive period. But it’s all go in the Premier and Football Leagues. And that means plenty of action for armchair soccer fans.
In the United Kingdom, it is traditional for both top-tier football leagues in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the lower ones, as well as the rugby leagues, to hold a full programme of football and rugby union matches on Boxing Day.
Originally, matches on Boxing Day were played against local rivals to avoid teams and their fans having to travel a long distance to an away game on the day after Christmas Day.
This is probably much more than you wanted to know about the holiday we celebrate today.
The Burlington Gazette wishes the people of the city the very best during what is both a festive season and an occasion to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Imagine where we would be without him.

By Staff
December 24th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON



By Natalie Mehra
December 24th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
As I sit down to write a holiday message to you that I hope has some meaning, I am thinking about a couple of ground shaking events that have happened in the last few weeks, one in the U.S. and one here.
In the United States, Luigi Mangione has been charged with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson. The assassination-style killing has provoked an outpouring from the American public. MEMEs (internet graphics) and videos abound. All over the internet are new folk songs written about Luigi. People have taken to inserting Luigi into photos at their work, school, or home, to provide him with an alibi. Photos have been altered to look like stills from Mission Impossible: there’s Luigi, alert, svelte, young, almost impossibly tidy in his orange jumpsuit, highlit against a phalanx of police escorting him out of a helicopter overlaid with a soundtrack of pumping hip-hop.
Luigi has become a cultural hero.
It is no wonder. Forbes reported that UnitedHealthcare denies more claims than other health insurance companies in the U.S. — rejecting up to one-third of claims the magazine says. Similar reports have gone viral. (The company denies them.) Thompson — the CEO who was killed — made of $10.2 million annually, including salary, bonus and stock options. UnitedHealthcare, part of the giant conglomerate UnitedHealth Group, reported more than $16 billion in operating profits last year. That’s $16,000,000,000 in profits. Making millions (or billions) from denying health care to people has them angry. Beyond angry. This week’s events have tapped a vein of seething fury in America, uniting people across political lines in a country that is deeply divided.
In the United States, medical costs are the number one reason for bankruptcy. Fifty-six million people struggle with medical debt each year. That’s more than the entire population of Canada. Ninety percent of them took out a second mortgage on their home to pay their medical bills. Eleven million people last year ran up high interest debt on their credit cards to pay medical bills. The cost of (usurious) interest on those cards will leave them in a cycle of debt for years, if not for life.
Last week the public outcry resulted in Anthem Blue Shield reverse a decision to limit coverage for anesthesia during surgeries and other procedures. Their plan was to cease insurance coverage after a recommended duration of time for that type of surgery. Connecticut’s Democratic Senator Chris Murphy expressed the outrage of his constituents: “Saddling patients with thousands of dollars in surprise additional medical debt. And for what? Just to boost corporate profits?….Reverse this decision immediately.”
Here in Canada, we watched the explosive resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland after a dispute with the Prime Minister’s Office. Reportedly, Freeland and the PMO disagreed over what she described as the HST tax holiday gimmick in the face of an economic statement that reported a $61.9 billion deficit. Leaked to the Globe and Mail was another claim that the Prime Minister’s people were of the opinion that Freeland was unable to articulate the government’s economic plans effectively. Whether it is the fault of the Finance Minister, the Prime Minister ( and/or the media, the opposition parties, the silent social movements in Canada…) it is definitely worrisome to me that Canadians do not have a clear picture of the economic choices ahead of us.
The government reports about $20 billion of that deficit is one-time spending for Indigenous land and other claims currently in court and special COVID payments. After these, the deficit will be in the $40 billion range. I note this in particular because a few years ago I was writing a report and I remember looking back at the Harper years in government, and trying to calculate the total of his corporate and income tax cuts. Bottom line? Harper’s tax cuts took $41 billion per year out of federal revenues as of 2015. That is per year, each year then and since. It is even more per year in today’s dollars.
Lest you think that you benefited from those tax cuts, let’s take a closer look at the actual evidence.
Corporate tax cuts are usually justified as attracting business investment and funding productivity gains, but in fact these tax cuts have resulted in more than $700 billion in corporate “dead money” not going to anything that benefits the public. In fact, Harper’s record was the worst since prior to World War II on key economic indicators including job creation and corporate investment.
Furthermore, income tax cuts virtually always benefit the highest income earners. Remember, income taxes are indexed. That means, the highest income earners pay the most and the rate of tax goes down as the level of income is less. Income taxes redistribute money from the highest income to the middle class and poorest. Under analysis, almost 80 percent of the Harper government income tax cuts went to the highest 15 percent of income earners.
Years ago, economists Richard Shillington and Hugh Mackenzie calculated the value of public services to the median (dead in the middle) income household. They found the value to that household to be $41,000 (in 2009). In today’s dollars that would be more than $60,000 per year for each household. Their point? Funding public services is a net gain to most of us, not a take away.
You may be wondering what this has to do with health care. The answer is taxes have everything to do with health care. Canada created our public health insurance for all in the 1960s because people couldn’t afford health care on their own. As Justice Emmett Hall famously said:
 Justice Emmett Hall
“As a society, [we] are aware that the trauma of illness, the pain of surgery, the slow decline to death, are burdens enough for the human being to bear without the added burden of medical or hospital bills penalizing the patient at the moment of vulnerability. The Canadian people determined that they should band together to pay medical bills and hospital bills when they were well and income earning. Health services [are] a fundamental need, like education, which Canadians could meet collectively and pay for through taxes.” Justice Emmett Hall, was the Chair of the Royal Commission on Medical Services that resulted in the 1968 passage of the Medical Care Act.
The Canada Health Act, passed in 1984, banned extra user fees on patients for medically needed hospital and physician services. We do not have millions of people going bankrupt to pay medical bills because we have public health insurance – paid by taxes. We do not have profiteering insurance companies denying claims to make billions in profit from the sick and the dying.
At the Ontario Health Coalition we are not partisan. We don’t tell people how to vote and we don’t favour one political party over another.That does not mean that we shy away from telling people the truth about the various parties’ positions and records on health care and we will fight any party or government that threatens our health care.
 The federal government floated the entire country in the pandemic.
The truth is this. The federal government floated the entire country in the pandemic. They brought in three new social programs: child care, the beginning baby steps of pharmacare and dental care for seniors.
Every new social program is an income transfer — from the highest income earners whose incomes have skyrocketed over the last generation — to everyone else. They mitigate the income inequality dished out by the private marketplace and support people to live to their human potential. Public health care means that we live without the risk of financial ruin if we have an accident or fall ill.
When politicians like Pierre Poilievre say they are going to reverse those social programs, like the new dental care program for seniors, in whose interests are they acting? (Remember, Mr. Poilievre was in Stephen Harper’s cabinet — a key decision maker in that government.)
Again, this is not partisan and it absolutely is not an endorsement of any political party. I am writing this because I’m worried about what is missing in the debate about the deficit. Costs are already crushing for most of us. Building & expanding our public services are a key way to reduce costs for people. Cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy (which most tax cuts over the last generation have done) increase inequality and costs for most of us. The toxic combination of budget constraints while privateers have moved in and are taking money out of our healthcare system that has been devastating. It has to stop.
In the debate about our choices going forward over the upcoming months in Canada, let us please remember that.
Let us also remember that what we do changes public policy. As we end this year, let’s celebrate the incredible job that we do as a Health Coalition, founded to safeguard our public medicare for all. We have shifted public opinion in our province in a way that is unmatched in Canada. Polls show that the opposition to privatization and support for public health care is far higher in Ontario than anywhere else in the country.
That is our work. The slight wins we have had in long-term care — some fines for terrible operators, reinstatement of inspections — have been are due to our relentless efforts together. We still have public hospitals despite Doug Ford’s attempts to privatize them, and the growth in private clinics has not been as robust as his budget plans indicate. That too is our work. We have been featured in literally hundreds of media stories this year, effectively setting the key issues and holding the Ford government’s feet to the fire.
Much more is needed and we have much more planned, but as we head into the winter break, I just wanted you to know that we — together — are exceptional. The work we do is vitally important. Thank you to the local coalitions across the province, who are our backbone. You have my heart. You are the best of people and I love working with you. Thank you to the Ontario Health Coalition Board of Directors, a dedicated group of thoughtful people whose commitment to the cause deserves our deepest gratitude. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to the tens of thousands of volunteers out there who have leafletted, come to protests, organized events, helped to research, put out social media posts, written letters, attended meetings and every other thing you do to make our movement one of the most effective and unique in Canada. Thank you to those of you who have donated to help in our common cause. We could not do it without you.
I hope you are proud of our work. It is the privilege of my life to dedicate myself to the principles of equity and compassion that are foundational to our public health care for all. As we head into this season of light, let us keep the light of those beautiful principles burning for all.
Natalie Mehra is the Executive Director of the Ontario Hospital Coalition
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