 By Ray Rivers
September 20, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Were they set up or just naive? To be a candidate for the Ontario Liberal Party one has to be approved by the Leader of the Party. So how did this by-election in Sudbury become such a mess?
Liberal candidate Andrew Olivier had narrowly missed winning a Sudbury seat in the 2014 provincial general election. So when the seat became vacant a year later, he naturally assumed he’d be the automatic choice for the party. But the Premier had promised the nomination to someone else, a better candidate in her mind, Glenn Thibeault, the federal NDP member for the riding who was willing to leave the federal arena and change parties, presumably for a good reason.
 Ontario Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault with Burlington Hydro president Gerry Smallegange looking over the map showing where the outages were during the 2015 snow storm. Thibeault won the election handily, slipping past the NDP provincial candidate and trouncing Olivier, who had no choice but to run as an independent. Thibeault must have met the Premier’s expectations because she later moved him into her Cabinet as energy minister, giving him the hot energy file and the job of developing the province’s long term energy plan.
No doubt Olivier was sore about not having got the nod to run a second time under the red banner, but under provisions of the Liberal Party’s constitution the leader is pretty much allowed to appoint any candidate she chooses, especially in a by-election. And then, as we know, hell hath no fury like a spurned political candidate. So somebody in the Party needed to talk him down in case he walked right out of the Liberal camp with all his supporters. And that is when it all got messy.
 Pat Sorbara, major force in the Premier’s office has to resign and defend herself in a Sudbury court room And when the Premier’s chief of staff, Pat Sorbara, and a local Liberal organizer, Gerry Lougheed, spoke with Olivier, he recorded their conversations. He claims they had offered him a job or appointment. But instead of being placated by their apparent concern for his economic future, he took his recordings to the nearest cop shop.
Apparently Olivier knew something they hadn’t considered. There is a 1998 provision of the Ontario Elections Act….”96.1 No person shall, directly or indirectly, (e) give, procure or promise or agree to procure an office or employment to induce a person to become a candidate, refrain from becoming a candidate or withdraw his or her candidacy. 1998, c. 9, s. 44.”
Provincial MPPs may be elected locally and they are expected to serve their local electorate. But a Cabinet minister governs for the entire province and not just his/her constituency. And that can be a good reason for a party leader to have the authority to appoint a candidate.
Nomination meetings can become popularity contests where family and friends, and in some cases a whole community arrive in droves. And this wave of ‘instant’ party members can propel the favourite son or daughter on to victory as the chosen nominee. ‘Instant’ because they weren’t party members before this event, nor likely will be again.
None of this should imply that the most popular candidate is not the best or the best qualified. But just in case, the party always vets, the Leader has the final say and sometimes she/he appoints rather than allow a nomination meeting. The Premier wanted Thibeault for her Cabinet – her choice, her call. Anyone who meets the basic qualifications can run for provincial office, but those running under a party’s banner need to be blessed by the leader.
 Liberal party organizer in Sudbury – Gerry Lougheed Sorbara and Lougheed have been criminally charged and the case is now before a judge. There will be a determination as to whether what the party did amounted to bribery or whether the accused were just offering Olivier a gesture, a consolation prize after the fact. Even if the judge dismisses the charges, this will be an important lesson and precedent for the future.
Apparently Olivier wasn’t offered public service employment – which requires merit testing – or even a specific job or appointment at all. But the point is that Sorbara and Lougheed didn’t even need to talk with him, and you can bet they wish they hadn’t. The upshot, no matter how the judge rules, is that the Premier and her party will take a hit for something that could have and should have been avoided.
 Telephone calls that didn’t ave t be made were made – might cost Premier Wynne the June 2018 election. The one thing that might keep her in office is the quality of the other choices. Olivier stands to gain little if anything out of this case except the personal satisfaction of knowing that he has cost the accused their jobs and knowing that he may have hurt the Premier as she approaches another election next year. The notoriety of the case may help or hurt him with his political ambitions. And who knows, one day he may get to sit in the Pink Palace? But it won’t be as a Liberal.
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Ontario Elections Act – Ontario Liberal Constitution – Sudbury Riding –
Legality of Recording Evidence – Timeline
 By Staff
September 20, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The numbers are embarrassing.
This is not what decent people do.
The Regional police release the top traffic offences statistics gathered during the 2017 Traffic Unit’s Project Safe Start. The numbers reflect what drivers were doing as the new school year kicked off in Halton.
 The message is pretty clear. If we continue to disobey the rules there will come a time when a student will be under the wheels of a car. For more than ten years, Project Safe Start has been a highly visible reminder to drivers in Halton that children are back in school. Project Safe Start stresses the need to slow down in and around school zones, watch for pedestrians and pay attention to school crossing guards escorting children across busy intersections.
Over the course of the 2017 two week campaign, which ran from August 28 to September 8, Top Traffic Offences Halton Regional Police Project Safe Start 2017Halton Regional Police officers focused on a number of unsafe driving behaviours. The top traffic offences observed by police were:
Speeding (1,042 charges),
Disobeying stop signs (480 charges) and
Distracted driving (126 charges).
Those distracted driving charges will become a lot more expensive upon conviction when pending legislation is passed. If you are going to endanger people by using your cell phone while you drive – make sure you have taxi money in your pocket or purse – you may not get to drive your car home.
HRPS officers issued a total of 2,482 Provincial Offence Notices related to Project Safe Start 2017. This is a slight increase compared to the 2,299 Provincial Offence Notices issued during Project Safe Start in 2016. Police also issued 736 warnings to drivers in 2017.
HRPS also rolled out an aggressive social media campaign as part of the road safety initiative. Traffic messages and rules of the road were posted online every day. The messages gathered more than 137,000 impressions online.
“Traffic safety begins with the individual choices each driver makes.” said Sergeant Ryan Snow, Traffic Services Unit. “When drivers comply with the rules of the road, everyone wins and gets to go home safely.”
Residents are reminded that they can file driving complaints or request enforcement of a particular area online at www.haltonpolice.ca under Most Requested Information -> Roadwatch or Traffic Complaints respectively. Criminal/dangerous driving should be reported immediately by calling 9-1-1
 By Staff
September 20, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board has gotten into the broadcasting business.
Their public meetings are web cast live and saved to a Facebook channel.
 That channel is
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxrQzpKPvwi2QHRhSF4zffA
Book mark it.
For everything BEFORE September 1st, 2017 – videos of Board meetings are at:
https://www.hdsb.ca/our-board/Pages/Board%20of%20Trustees/Board-agenda-and-minutes.aspx
 By Staff
September 20, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
This arrest didn’t take long.
Bank robbery took place on Monday and by Wednesday a suspect was behind bars for holding up the TD Bank on Plains Road.
 Jason Hugh BUICK was recognized by far too many police officers. The male arrested, Jason Hugh BUICK (48-years-old) of Hamilton was identified with assistance from the Hamilton Police Service Break and Enter, Auto Theft and Robbery (BEAR) Unit and the O.P.P led Repeat Offenders Parole Enforcement (ROPE) Squad whose members recognized the suspect from the CCTV images obtained from the TD Bank.
On September 20th 2017 at approximately 7:00 AM members of the ROPE Squad arrested BUICK in Hamilton while members of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau executed a search warrant at an apartment on Surrey Lane in Burlington where the knife, sunglasses and articles of clothing work during the robbery were located. Investigators have also recovered some of the money from the robbery.
BUICK will appear in Milton Bail Court on September 21st 2017 charged with robbery (two counts), wearing a disguise during the commission of an indictable offence and assault with a weapon (two counts).
Anyone with information regarding this robbery is asked to contact Detective Phil Vandenbeukel of Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Robbery Team at 905-825-4747 ext. 2343. Tips can be forwarded to Crime Stoppers; “See Something, Hear Something, Say Something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.crimestoppers.ca or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
September 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
That Sesquicentennial we celebrated on Canada Day has become a gift that just keeps on giving for the federal political class.
 Pam Damoff, MP for Oakville North-Burlington. Pam Damoff the Member of Parliament for Oakville North-Burlington has announced the intention to award 15 special Canada 150 Sesquicentennial Pins to outstanding residents of her riding who positively impact and influence the community.
In the media release sent out Damoff invites all residents of Oakville North-Burlington to nominate a distinguished individual for the Sesquicentennial Citizenship Award.
Successful nominees will be individuals who strive to make a positive difference in the community, whether it is through devoted advocacy or dedication to an organization, in one or more of four main categories: environmental stewardship, youth engagement, diversity and inclusion and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
 Damoff is known for her annual New Year’s Day Polar dip. Successful nominees will be presented with a Canada 150 Sesquicentennial Pin given to MP Damoff by the Minister of Heritage Mélanie Joly. Consisting of the Canada 150 logo and a piece of the original copper which covered the roofs of Canada’s Parliament from 1918 to 1996, Sesquicentennial pins are a special keepsake to commemorate this important milestone in Canadian history.
The unique pins were made with the participation of Under One Roof, an initiative of the Ottawa-Carleton Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, and crafted with the help of people with developmental disabilities.
 Nominations will be accepted from Wednesday, September 20 to Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 5pm EST. Visit www.MP Damoff.ca to nominate someone today. You will be asked to include a short paragraph or two outlining how the candidate being nominated meets the above criteria.
Nominees can be of any age. All residents of Oakville North-Burlington will be considered.
Oakville North-Burlington’s Canada 150 Sesquicentennial Citizenship Awards will be presented at a special ceremony on November 16, 2017.
 By Pepper Parr
September 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It was pretty close to a last minute idea for the Lakeshore Rotary people who put on the annual RibFest – they’ve been doing that for decades.
They had never done a 50/50 draw before – it sounded like a good idea – so they went for it.
It was an astounding success – with less than nothing in the way of promotion the thing just took off – the line ups on the Sunday and Monday were too long for some people – they gave up and went home.
 Lisa Wilson preps her husband Dave for his big moment – accepting a cheque for $25,285 – his share of the 50/50 raffle the rotary ran during RibFest. David Wilson didn’t give up.
Wilson, a Hamilton resident, was at Ribfest and bought a ticket on the Friday . He was with a bunch of his friends who were Ribbers – wilson is a Ribber himself – runs Bibs and has been taking part in the Burlington event for at lat ten years.
He spent $20 in 50/50 tickets – that turned out to be a heck of an investment.
When he got the telephone call saying he had wone he was sure it was a prank call from one of his Ribber buddies
Dave and his wife Lisa attended the Rotary lunch yesterday to accept their cheque. Dave, who couldn’t stop smiling, was thoroughly enjoying himself.
 David Wilson with his wife Lisa and a big cheque The Rotary got their permit to hold the event days before the RibFest opened. They had to call in every member they could find to sell the tickets – but sell then they did – $50,570 worth of tickets of which Dave Wilson got $25,285
The Rotary will certainly be doing this event next year.
The winning ticket is drawn randomly from all the tickets that are purchased and the winner has to be able to identify themselves as the person whose name is on the ticket.
The Lakeshore Rotary will certainly be doing this again next year.
 By Staff
September 19th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Spring Gardens Road, near Valley Inn Road, will be closed for road work from Monday, September 25 to Friday, November 17, 2017.
For more information, contact Frank Vuk
frank.vuk@burlington.ca
 By Staff
September 19th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board’s Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) will be hosting the 10th Annual Parent Engagement Conference on Saturday, October 14, 2017 at Craig Kielburger Secondary School in Milton (1151 Ferguson Drive). The theme of the conference, held from 8:15 a.m. – 2:40 p.m., will be, 21st Century Student Success: Creating a Culture of Equity, Inclusion & Well-Being. Registration is open.
This year’s conference features keynote speaker Candy Palmater (Canadian activist, comedian and award-winning TV and CBC radio personality) on ‘The Road Less Travelled: Educational Leadership in a Diverse World’.
 Candy Palmater, social activist and a great entertainer. She is worth the drive to Milton From student council president in a small rural high school and valedictorian of her law school class to obtaining a Master of Education and appearing in a national TV show, Palmater’s accomplishments are unique and inspiring. She has made strides in public service at the federal and provincial level, delving into issues around self-acceptance and diversity in her motivational talks and comedy routines. She will, through words of guidance and personal stories, share her passionate perspective on equity, self- acceptance and inclusivity.
The theme of this year’s PIC conference will provide a variety of engaging workshops that address topics such as mathematics, literacy, promoting positive mental health for students, career pathways, diversity and healthy friendships.
 The Halton District School Board recognizes the important role parents play in the development of their children and in their success at school. The annual PIC conference provides parents/guardians with the opportunity to network, share ideas, offer input and enjoy informative presentations on various education related topics throughout the school year.
No mention in the media release on how parents can protect the schools they have in their neighbourhoods
Registration form
By Staff
September 19th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Every teacher in the Region realizes that if a student is hungry, if they did not have a breakfast the chances of that student absorbing what is being taught are rather slim
And there are students at high schools in Burlington who get to school without a full breakfast in their stomachs.
 Halton Learning Foundation executive offices. The Halton Learning Foundation was created to develop a source of funds to fill these gaps in the lives of students.
Nicole, is a high school student who lives with her father who is financially limited.
Her mother lives in a care facility due to her very high medical needs.
Nicole works at a part time job to help support the family financially, while also juggling her school work.
Funds from Halton Learning Foundation help Nicole purchase food for school lunches, as well as toiletries.
Her need was identified by teacher at her school. The request for funding is sent to the Foundation by the school principal.
 Halton Learning Foundation Executive Director Lesley Mansfield. Lesley Mansfield, the Executive Director of the Foundation, is on top of every request for financial support. “If the need is desperate we can have funds in the hands of a student before 3:00 pm if we are made aware of the need by 9:00 am”.
Last school year the Foundation met 780 requests for financial support; the year before that the number was 657 requests – a year over year increase of 17%. Mansfield does not expect the number to decrease.
The Foundation is supported by corporations and the Halton District School Board teachers. They hold an annual Benefit Bash to raise the $800,000 plus that is needed each year.
While the economy of the country and financial conditions in the Region are good – there are some who are not able to participate in the prosperity. They need help – that help comes from people like you.
If this is something you would like to direct your donations to – look at their web site and see if this is something you want to be part of. For more detail – give Lesley Mansfield a call – she is one of those people who somehow makes a work day last more than eight hours.
Related news story:
What the Foundation does on a day to day basis.
Nicole is not the real name of the student; the situation however is very real.
By Pepper Parr
September 20, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
While the city beavers away at getting all the public participation for the Mobility Hubs done and another group in the Planning department works through the steps that will be involved in getting what is going to be built on the Waterfront Hotel site clarified and the people over at Transit get used to the idea that theirs is going to be a much different world if what the City Manager had to say at a recent Council meeting was real, there is another department finalizing some of its work and will have information for all of us real soon – the BUDGET.
 The budget for Capital spending in 2017 The Finance department works to a well-honed time line to get all the numbers pulled up from the departments and worked into a number that gets cleared at the Executive level within city hall.
By this time the first cut of the budget is pretty clear in the minds of the people that do the number crunching.
The million or so that is going to have to be put into Transit is something they are probably still digesting.
 The processes that a budget has to go through involves some complex procedures – the theory is that any new spending has to be supported by a business case. The 2018 budget timelines call for a December approval of the Capital Budget and a January approval of the Operating Budget.
The people over at Finance tell us that in future years “we will be targeting more aggressive timelines which would bring both the Capital and Operating Budgets forward together in advance of year-end (excluding election years).
The timeline of the budget process for 2018 looks like this:
A Committee of the Whole meeting: Capital Budget Overview: November 9, 2017
Capital Council Information Session: November 16, 2017
A Committee of the Whole Capital Budget Review: December 1, 2017
A Committee of the Whole Operating Budget Overview: December 1, 2017
Council Capital Budget Approval: December 11, 2017
Operating Council Information Session: December 12, 2017
COW – Operating Budget Review: January 18, 2018
Council Operating Budget Approval: January 22, 2018
The 2017 budget hit the people of Burlington with a 4%+ tax increase. The budget for 2016 wasn’t any better.
The long term thinking in 2016 was for there to be some pretty stiff budget increases that would in 2019.
 The actual tax rate was always higher that the projection. The city of Hamilton kept their 2017 tax rate to less than 2%.
In 2016 the Mayor asked the city manager to look for new revenue sources. There was talk then about a Storm Water Management tax – that didn’t’ fly for a number of technical regions.
 The Joseph Brant Hospital now faces the lake. The city is still paying down our part of the $60 million that we had to put up for the new and re-developed Joseph Brant Hospital. (Burlington actually had to come up with $120 million – half through a tax levy and the other half was to be raised by the Hospital Foundation.) When that special tax levy was put in place the understanding was that it would end when the hospital was paid for – that isn’t going to happen. The Finance people have built that special tax levy into their regular revenue.
When the $60 million cost was put on the table the then city manager Jeff Fielding said it was the largest sum of money the city has ever had to budget for – he might have added that it was going to be funds the city could look forward to spending forever.
By Staff
September 18th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The weather was as good as it could get – and the turnout was superb for the 36th Annual Terry Fox Run
There were 1050 participants this year up from 900 last year and 70 volunteers which is about the same.
Funds come in throughout the year – so it isn’t easy to say how much was raised.
The final number for last year was $91,589.
 The Start and the Finish of th Terry Fox Run took place in Spencer Smith Park,  Team Casey people had their own T-shirt The total to date for this year is $91,971 – of that $16,691 came from Team Casey
Historically after the run another $5k to $15k comes in as donations which are accepted year round. Last year $12k came in after run day.
The past several years the Team Casey idea caught on – this year there was a tent set up for their use, it was never empty.
 They needed a drone to get the camera high enough up in the air to get everyone in the picture. The group wanted a picture with everyone in it – camera couldn’t get them all in – so a drone was used to capture everyone
For the first time ever the people who manage the Run sold out of the Terry Fox T-shirts.
The Team Casey people had their own T- shirt so the increase in sales wasn’t due to the close to 200 people who were members of the Team.
By Staff
September 18th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
There were a reported “hundreds” of United Way community partners on the tarmac at the John C. Munroe Hamilton International Airport to pull a 200,000 lb.
Over 250 community partners joined UPS and United Way to rally around this fall’s fundraising campaign. Teams of 15 pulled with all their strength to move the 200,000 lb. plane across the finish line.
 “We are so grateful for the support and dedication of partners like UPS and so many who continue to stay committed to making our community great for everyone”, said United Way
President & CEO, Jeff Vallentin during his opening remarks at the Hamilton Airport.
“As you know, the beginning of April was a watershed time for the United Way movement in our region. Vallentin was referring to the decision to amalgam all four United Way operating in Halton with the Hamilton organization.
“We are focused now, more than ever, on ensuring that we remain connected to the issues that face each of the communities we serve and as always all dollars raised local will stay local. That means that whatever is raised in your community will go directly to support programs and services for your neighbours, family, and friends.” said Vallentin.
Ken Smithard, Campaign Chair and President of Cogeco Connexion also delivered opening remarks and helped to reveal the United Way Halton & Hamilton 2017 Campaign goal. “United Way Halton & Hamilton is focused on responding to local needs and providing critical impact in five distinct communities across the region. Monies raised in each community remain in that community.” Ken continued, “I am proud to support United Way and ask that you join me in helping make these communities better places for all of us to live; we’re stronger together.”
Ken then joined the rest of the Campaign Cabinet on the tarmac to reveal the $10,000,000 goal for the 2017 Campaign.
 Also in attendance at the event was Craig Rayner, Vice-president of Automotive at UPS Canada. He discussed the 30 year partnership between United Way and UPS mentioning that, “ In 2016, UPSers across Canada raised more than $1.2 million in charitable donations. These contributions were a combination of both employee engagement and sponsored events, including our four nation-wide “Pulling for U” plane pull events in Hamilton, Mississauga, Vancouver and Calgary.”
Craig spoke about the importance of giving back to our neighbours, family and friends and their over three- decade long partnership with United Way.
By Staff
September 18th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The TD Canada Trust bank located at 596 Plains Rd. E in Burlington was robbed shortly before 1:00 PM, when a lone male entered the bank armed with a large knife. The male jumped over the counter and demanded cash and was provided with an undisclosed amount.
The male then fled the bank and was last seen running towards King Road. No one was injured during this robbery.
Uniformed patrol officers, canine and Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB) members attended and conducted an extensive search of the area however the male suspect was not located.
The suspect is described as:
• Male white
• 30-45 years old
• No facial hair
• 5’6″ to 5’9″ tall
• Heavy build 190-200 lbs
• Black coat with hood pulled up
• Black sunglasses
• Grey track pants
• Black running shoes with white soles
Anyone with information regarding this robbery is asked to contact Detective Phil Vandenbeukel of Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Robbery Team at 905-825-4747 ext 2343. Tips can be forwarded to Crime Stoppers; “See Something, Hear Something, Say Something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.crimestoppers.ca or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Pepper Parr
September 18th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It was to be a Celebration – and it was certainly that.
And it was also an occasion when a lot of people , mostly from the eastern side of the city, most at or past the age of 50 who gathered to remember a man who made a difference to everyone he met.
He was their neighbour, he was the guy they all liked and admired. He was the guy who came within 500 votes of being the Mayor of the city. He was the guy who loved his wife so publicly it was a little embarrassing at times. He was the guy who saw his daughter as the most precious person on the face of the earth and he was the guy with one of the most unattractive dogs on the face of the earth.
 It was close to a Standing Room Only crows at the Convention Centre Sunday afternoon where the city celebrated the life of Casey Cosgrove. His brother Marty served as the MC.
Marty was there to help us remember Casey Cosgrove – a citizen we lost earlier in the month when he succumbed to cancer at the Carpenter Hospice.
Casey told his friends of his cancer more than seven years ago – at that time he was told he had 18, maybe 24 months left. Casey stretched that to seven years and in the process let us see what courage is all about.
At the same time we watched his children grow and we began to believe that he was going to beat the cancer.
 He was always involved in something. He always had time for whoever called him – he spent untold hours talking to people who were going through a crisis of their own.
He was exceedingly forthright about his disease. It wasn’t until the very end that we all felt that gulp of fear for the man as the realization that we were going to lose him set in
It was then that we saw the strength his wife had in keeping things together and seeing everyone though a crises that is unimaginable.
These Celebrations bring some surprising stories about the person being celebrated. Peter Pang attended university with Casey and then lost touch. He didn’t know a Casey who was battling cancer – the man he knew was a born leader and a practical joker who was inspiring people long before he became a husband and then a father.
Pang had to read through seven years of material on the Caring Bridge to learn about what his friend had gone through.
Everyone who spoke used words and phrases like “authentic”; “the world is a better place for his having been here”; “an example of what will never be forgotten”,
The 11 first cousins were mentioned – many of them in the room.
 Part of the crowd that took part in the 36th Annual Terry Fox Run. The 36th Annual Terry Fox Run had taken place earlier in the day; brother Marty asked how many people had taken part in that Run – more than 85% of the hands in the room were raised.
There was a couple standing in front of me. At first they were just standing beside each other; then thy held hands; then they put their arms around each other’s waists and seemed to get closer to each other. They had lost someone dear to them, a peer who was taken by a disease that we don’t understand and the fear that is part of not knowing where it is going to strike next.
We were all holding on tightly at the Convention centre Sunday afternoon.
 By Staff
September 18th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It has been announced as the Mother of All Photo Ops – and for Burlington that is saying something.
The political class was thought to have that all to themselves but the Friends of the Freeman Station are moving in on that title.
On Friday night, September 29th at 6:30 PM Bob Chambers, a professional photographer who did the photograph accompanying this article will take another picture – this time it will include:
 Photographer Bob Chambers has produced the best picture yet of the Freeman Station. Those who have volunteered in any capacity during the restoration project
Members of the Friends of Freeman Station
Supporters of the project
This is going to be a historic group photo.
The picture is going to be taken — rain or shine — when everyone is assembled and the dramatic sunset light envelops is available.
Make sure anyone you know who’s been involved with the Freeman Station restoration project is invited to join the group photo.
 You can buy a T shirt and show your support. What do you wear? Wear what you’d wear when you were working at the Station. Please, no shorts, loud shirts, or humorous garb – or Bob may put you behind the group, even if you’re short!
The next day, Saturday, bring your family to a fun day at Freeman Station for the Doors Open Burlington event.
The Friends of Freeman Station expect to welcome more than 1000 people to the Station that has undergone a remarkable renovation. It is something well worth seeing.
 By Pepper Parr
September 16th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
In the near future there will be an announcement on the appointment of a Facilitator who will review the request for an Administrative Review of the Halton District School Board trustee decision to close two of the city’s seven high schools.
There was a request from the parents at Pearson high school and a request from the parents at Bateman high school for Administrative reviews.
The bar to getting a review was not low – the parents had to show they had wide community support.
The Facilitator will meet with each parent group and meet with the Board of Education staff for reaction from them.
And in the fullness of time there will be a response.
What if – the Facilitator decides there was enough wrong with the process and recommends that the PAR be done again?
 Would another PAR Committee be formed? The Board would, we think, have to create a new Program Accommodation Review (PAR) and put a new recommendation forward. Would a new recommendation be any different than the first which was to close Pearson and Central and then revised to close Pearson and Bateman?
Assume all this happens.
Would the current Board of Trustees act any differently?
The power to make a decision exists at the Board of Trustee level and that group does not appear to be in touch with the sentiment in the community.
Unfortunately the Burlington communities are quite fractured – making it difficult for the trustees to make a decision.
 The Central parents were out early and they spared no effort to make sure they told their story. Central high school parent care only that their school not be closed. They put forward very solid arguments and did a superb job of rallying the parents and focusing the concerns.
The Pearson parents didn’t have anywhere near the resources that Central had and there was a lingering unwillingness to be as bold and as forward as the Central parents were.
The Batman parents failed to read the tea leaves.
The issue the trustees were given was that Burlington has 1800 classroom seats with no students in them. (We appreciate the 1800 number is debatable.) If this was true, it was evident the moment the first map showing where the high schools were located that Batman was at significant risk. They failed to see that until their name was on the list of schools to be closed and while they have done a decent job of getting their story out they have not shown an ability to work with the Pearson parents and create a united front.
 That empty room was a damaging and telling statement made by the Bateman parents. The Bateman grievances are real. They have every reason to feel that they have not been heard. Part of the reason is they didn’t say very much early in the game when it counted.
Given all the turmoil within the different parent groups is it any wonder that the trustees took the safe route and went with the recommendation they were given by the Director of Education?
There was within all the options put before the trustees one that would have given the community the time it needed to take a long hard look at just what Burlington has in the way of high schools and what it needs now and what will be needed ten years from now.
 Option 7 – close no schools – was on the table but it didn’t get a lot of support from the PARC – this tally was 8 out of 14. Option number 7 was to not close any schools and take some time to determine just what future needs were going to be. Much of the data the Board staff put forward was suspect and didn’t stand up to the scrutiny the PAR tried to impose.
The public may have expected the trustees to make that kind of decision – the current board of trustees just isn’t up to that task.
Someone is going to have to come forward and pull the parent groups together and hammer out what they collectively want and take whatever consensus they can find to the Board administration and the trustees.
And then begin looking for trustee candidates across the Region to fill those seats with people who are up to the task.
Salt with Pepper are the opinions of the publisher of the Gazette
By Staff
September 15th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
During the overnight hours of 14/15 September 2017 Halton Police responded to a call about a male breaking into cars in Oakville.
 Patrol Officers attended and located a male in the backyard of a nearby residence.
Daniel SAUNDERS 34yrs of Hamilton has been arrested and was held for Bail and charged with:
– Theft Under $5000
– Trespass By Night
– Possession of Break & Enter Tools
– Possession of Property Obtained By Crime
– Possession of Weapons Dangerous
– Fail To Comply Probation.
Police believe there are other victims in the Northwest Oakville and Northeast Burlington areas.
If you had your vehicle entered or property taken during this timeframe and location please contact HRPS 2CIB at 905-825-4747 x2216.
Ray Rivers
September 15, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
One only pays income taxes if one has some kind of income. The more income one has, the more taxes he/she can afford to pay. Canadians agreed a long time ago that it is only fair that the wealthy pay a greater share of the tax burden, commensurate with their greater income. So our income taxes are progressive, meaning that the percentage of income being taxed rises with earnings.
 Tax ladder Over the last several decades however, it has all gone awry. The richest one and/or ten percent of us continue to grow their share of the economic pie at the expense of the rest of us. And the spread between the upper and lower classes continues to grow wider while governments cut income tax rates and rely more on sales taxes (HST) for their revenues. Sales taxes are regressive in that they hurt the lower income folks more than the wealthiest.
 Robin Hood – Not a model any government wanted to use. Income taxation is not only the fairest from the perspective of equity, but also the most efficient in terms of economic growth. According to the early British economist Sir Robin Hood stealing from the rich to give to the poor favours economic growth simply because the poor spend more of the money they have than do the rich. Of course Sir Robin’s theory flies in the face of now disparaged right-wing gospel song titled ‘trickle-down-economics’, in which giving more money to the rich was supposed to eventually trickle down over the tops of their boots to the poorer people down below.
Mr Trudeau came to office with a promise to restore the middle class in this country and he knows appropriate taxation lies at the heart of that promise. So in his first budget he made the tax system more progressive by adding more tax classes and marginally increasing the rate the biggest income earners have to pay, while even more marginally reducing the ones at the lower end.
He also campaigned to reduce unfairness in the tax system by closing loopholes. So the other day his finance minister Mr. Morneau announced they were going to curb the way in which small incorporated business owners have been avoiding taxation by misrepresenting the costs of doing business – sprinkling payments to family members who don’t actually work in the business.
Of course everyone of us believes in getting rid of tax loop holes and believes in tax fairness. That is, until our own ox gets gored, the hens come home to roost, or whatever it is we say on the farm. So small business people, and most notably doctors are screaming blue murder that they’ll have to pay more taxes if this loophole is eliminated. And they have their rationale, indeed as we all do. But unless you are a doctor you can’t possibly understand how hard it is to get by on what doctors make, even the ones who opt to be paid a salary.
 The truth is that our tax system is a mess, a morass of loopholes and tax exemptions which have crept up on us like cobwebs in an untidy garage. Successive governments kept gluing on these addenda, primarily doing their best to serve the needs of the country, and too often and sadly, serving the needs or their electoral base in spite of the country.
Like everything governmental there is a political perspective to the tax system. So we retain popular personal deductions when that function could mostly be replaced simply by raising the minimum level at which people have to start paying taxes. If the politicians would agree to making our Canada Pension Plan a genuine livable pension, RRSP’s and private pension plan contributions could be eliminated as deductions. And of course broadening our health insurance system and adding dental coverage to our social programs would eliminate those health deductions from needing to appear on the tax form.
A dollar of income is a dollar of income, right? So why not treat all sources: employment earnings, net business income, bank/investment interest, dividends and capital gains the same? And why don’t we tax the other incomes, from windfalls such as lotteries, gambling and inheritance? Interestingly a professional gambler does need to pay taxes on his/her winnings, though he/she can also claim eligible business deductions.
 Aside from the loopholes and the degree of progressivity, there is the whole tax filing process. Once upon a time we could get by by mailing in a measly four sheets of paper and a couple T-4s. Today’s return requires reams of annexes and tables up the wazoo. There are now literally dozens of private sector computer-based and on-line packages and they are all just different enough to make them proprietary, though they all claim to be accurate.
In fact the government has stopped mailing out tax filing packages so one practically has to buy a package anyway, or hire a tax accountant. Complexity had made the long tax form obsolete. Nobody can file that way unless they have at their disposal a computer, calculator, abacus and rabbit’’s foot, perhaps not in that order.
So it is hard to argue against Mr. Trudeau taking on the long overdue and thankless job of reforming a system which was last re-invented in the late 1980’s when Brian Mulroney sought to give us a taste of his notion of tax simplification. However, the approach Mr. Trudeau is taking is piecemeal at best, a sort of facelift when what is really required is major surgery.
 Might one speculate that the Liberals are hoping the changes they are making, like decorating a house room at a time, will be harder for any subsequent Conservative government to dismantle and discard? Or perhaps the task of tearing down and reconstructing the entire building at one time is just too daunting for a government nearing the middle point in its term in office. In which case we can only hope that there is a master blueprint for the design of a better castle or implement shed.
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Tax Fairness – Morneau’s Changes – Tax Reform –
Taxes and Growth – Tax Consultations – Capital Gains Taxation –
 By Pepper Parr
September 15th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Revised
There is word that the recommended re-development of the Waterfront Hotel property will allow two towers with maximum heights of 17 and 25 storeys.
 The 8 storey Mariott Hotel is on the left side of this picture. The Waterfront Hotel parking lot is to the right (west) and then the Waterfront Hotel. The plans have been to demolish the existing building and put up two towers. Heights of 17 and 25 storeys are reported to have been recommended. We have yet to get conformation – our information is from a usually reliable source who however has a vested interest in what gets permitted in the downtown core.
 Three structure project has been the “in the works” since 1995 when developers were given the right to build a 22 storey plus building on the property where the Riviera Waterfront Motel used to exist.  An aerial rendering of the Bridgewater project. The Bridgewater development to the east of the Waterfront Hotel is going to top out at 22 storeys – something that was approved in 1995 – assembly of that land had begun in 1985
 The site would be completely redeveloped with two towers – 0ne 17 storey and a second 25. Not much more than a recommendation at this point. The city’s Planning department has been holding public presentations and workshops seeking public input.
City planner Mary Lou Tanner in a response to our piece on the height limits of the proposed redevelopment of the Waterfront Hotel said: “Your information is not correct. We are only part way through a process with the community. We held two public workshops and a stakeholder workshop yesterday. We received valuable feedback and commentary from over 60 community members. We have not formulated any recommendation because we need to review and incorporate the feedback into the analysis. To repeat we have not formulated any recommendation.
Tanner adds that the “Waterfront Hotel site is a complex public planning process. I strongly believe we must respect the process and the members of the public who give their time and views. That includes providing accurate information as to where we are and what has been decided.
We are only part way through this process and no recommendations have been formulated. I was so pleased with the feedback last night and the many comments we received. We must be partners with the community in an honest process.
By Staff
September 15th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It is that time of year again when everyone is asked to pitch in, pull together and raise the funds the United Way needs to support those in need.
This Saturday, September 16th, United Way and UPS Canada will bring together community partners to pull a pull a 200,000 lbs Airbus A300 as a demonstration of what can be done when everyone pulls.
The event will take place at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.
 United Way Plane Pull 2016 Each team will get one opportunity to pull the plane 50 feet across the tarmac in the shortest amount of time. The fastest three teams will participate in a pull-off.
Prizes will be awarded to the three fastest teams, top fundraising team, and teams with the most spirit.
The United Way is a different organization now. We used to know it as the Burlington Greater Hamilton United Way – they outgrew that name and are now United Way Halton & Hamilton and include all the municipalities in the Region rolled into the one organization
It was a controversial move – didn’t get the required number of votes the first time around but after some lobbying and frank conversations all the municipalities were brought to realize that his kind of structure is what was needed.
 The new organization will be “showing the flag” in all five communities it serves this weekend! Look up into the sky Saturday morning to see a surprise, sponsored by Cogeco! Share your photos on social media and include @UnitedWayHH and #improvingliveslocally.
All those whose living depend on photo ops will be on hand on Saturday at the airport. Scheduled to attend:
 United Way Executive Director Jeff Valentin MP Bob Bratina, Hamilton East — Stoney Creek
MP Karina Gould, Burlington
Sam Oosterhoff, Niagara West—Glanbrook
Mayor Burton, Town of Oakville
Jeff Vallentin, CEO United Way Halton & Hamilton, will deliver opening remarks.
Ken Smithard, CEO Cogego & United Way Halton & Hamilton Campaign Chair will deliver remarks and reveal the 2017 campaign goal.
It all takes place Saturday, September 16th, 2017 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
 Former City general manager Kim Phillips gives it more than the old college try for the United Way. In the past few years the Gazette has watched the public face of the United Way change. We used to see city hall much more engaged. The equipment pulls used to take place on Brant Street outside city hall with a BBQ lunch where staff got to pony up.
The city was always very good in the way they supported the United Way. The occasion was fun and at the same time told the story about the need.
It seems more corporate these days – which has not been the United Way in the past. Supporting people is a human endeavour – it’s a heart to heart thing – not a page of talking points.
 Someone at city hall decided to hold a content – and had each department competing with the others on how they would tell the United Way story. One department had two teams. Everyone had fun – and they raised more from the staff than they had in the past. United Way is a people story which the city staff once told very very well.
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