 By Staff
November 14th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
This month BurlingtonGreen is celebrating the close of the 2019 Grow to Give program by recognizing two of their amazing program leads, Ross Johnson & Darlene Duncan.
 “Both volunteers have tirelessly committed their time, energy and knowledge to support the Grow to Give program. They were on site every time a new volunteer required orientation, organized tasks and timelines, and got their hands dirty every week caring for the food donation garden, harvesting produce and more.
“We could not have operated this impactful program without these two wonderful team members and we are THRILLED that they will be leaders for the program again next year!”
This year Ross and Darlene were able to donate over 470 lbs (215 kg) of produce to the community, contributing a whopping total of almost 8,000 lbs (3,535 kg) since 2012.
 By Claire Nash
November 15th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Aspire Global, a well-known iGaming solution provider for both operators and white labels, recently entered the Canadian online gambling market through one of its leading proprietary casino brands, Karamba.com.
 Featuring all the top-rated gaming developers such as Play n Go, Evolution Live Casino, NextGen Gaming, Microgaming, NetEnt and many ASG proprietary games, online casino Karamba is backed by the best-of-its-class platform technology delivered by Aspire.
The purpose behind foraying into the Canadian market is to offer the country’s gamblers the most popular online slot games, scratch card games and multiple live casino options.
About Aspire Global
Aspire Global came into being in the year 2005, with the idea of offering comprehensive iGaming solutions to operators and white labels, involving a complete suite of services for support call centre, acquisition optimisation, online casino management, sports book management, VIP management, payments, risk control and multilingual CRM.
All these services are over and above their robust platform which is already setting new benchmarks in this space. The games offered are from leading developers of the market, apart from 30+ well-recognised global payment methods. Aspire has obtained its gambling licenses from multiple authorities including the ones in Belgium, Malta, UK, Italy and Denmark. The company is listed on NASDAQ too.
More on Karamba
Karamba Casino has been operational since 2006 and is widely respected in the iGaming industry today. Aspire Global rebranded this casino in the year 2015, giving it a completely novel celebratory feel and look, characterized by a charismatic and fun loving parrot. Over the years, Karamba has created a huge fan following of gamblers, which the company refers to as party people.
 Offering a 100% match-up welcome bonus (up to C$ 200) and 100 free spins, it doesn’t come as a surprise Karamba casino has a large number of returning as well as new players. Anyone who’s experienced at playing online casino games would know that when it comes to these platforms, it’s not just about how good an offer is, but what you are allowed to do with that offer in the long-term which really counts.
Aspire Global lays a lot of emphasis on responsible gambling and the same is evident in how Karamba.com functions. You need to be at least 18 years old to play on this platform. They constantly track down and ban minor accounts, preventing children from engaging in any sort of gambling activity.
In order to ensure that people enjoy their gambling experience with Karamba, the casino gives them better control over their gaming habits. The platform gives the players a wide range of options to gamble more responsibly.
For instance, you can set personal limits on your bankroll on a monthly, weekly or daily basis.
Furthermore, you’re free to take a break from Karamba at any point of time and put your account into temporary suspension. This is referred to as cool-off period and lasts for 24 hours. Self-exclusion from all Aspire Global Casinos is another way in which you can control your gambling habits. You can exclude yourself for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or even permanently.
By Pepper Parr
November 13th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
It is a continuing process – no sooner have you elected one level of government than you have to consider who you want to lead you at another level.
The provincial Liberals who were almost wiped off the map in the provincial election of June 2018 are now in the process of determining who the next leader of that political party will be.
At this point there are five people running for that job.
 Mitzie Hunter, former Wynne government Cabinet Minister re-elected in June of 2018. Kate Graham, a candidate for a seat in the legislature during the 2018 election. She did not win the seat but wants to be selected by the party membership as their leader.
Alvin Tedjo, also a candidate in the June 2018 election – he was defeated.
 Steven Del Duca, a member of the Wynne government Cabinet. Del Luca was not re-elected in June 2018. Mitzie Hunter, a member of the Wynne government cabinet is after the job. She was re-elected in the June 2018 election.
Michael Coteau was re-elected as a member of the legislature in June 2018. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Wynne government.
Steven Del Duca was a member of the Wynne government cabinet who was not re-elected in June of 2018
Alvin Tedjo is the focus of this story. He ran in Oakville North Burlington and was soundly defeated by the Conservative candidate – she got almost twice the number of votes as Tedjo.
That has not deterred him from wanting to lead the Liberal Party.
 Home for the Tedjo family is Burlington. He is the father of three children who are all attending Catholic schools. Alvin and his wife are both practicing Catholics who believe that the two educational organizations should be merged.
His plan is to create one English language school board and one French language school board.
“For students, this change means the convenience of attending their closest school, less time on the bus and access to an optional religious curriculum. For teachers and early childhood educators, it means smaller class sizes, availability of more resources and the freedom to teach in any publicly funded school,” said Tedjo.
Charles Pascal, a former Ontario Deputy Minister of Education and professor at OISE*/University of Toronto has previously said, “When it comes to publicly funded education in Ontario, it’s time to let go of our “separate ways” so we can come together. Providing Catholic education with public money is an anachronism waiting to be brought to an end by a courageous Queen’s Park legislature.”
From a fiscal standpoint, Tedjo argues that his plan to merge the school boards will result in substantial savings to the province. This figure is an estimated $1.6B dollars per year that would be reinvested back into public education for ongoing improvement.
“Quebec, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador have already done this. It’s time for Ontario to make a change and stop spending precious education dollars to maintain twice as many school boards as we actually need,” said Tedjo.
“Under the current system, the government is quite literally wasting billions of dollars to keep children apart. I firmly believe that a better solution is to have all of our kids – Catholic and non-Catholic – Learning Together,” said Tedjo.
 The Tedjo family grew to three children in four years, which meant that they had two of them in childcare at a time for four consecutive years. Tedjo wants to see massive changes to our child care system.
He tells the story of how when he and his wife Rebecca started having children they worried about things most first-time parents worry about: are we ready, will we be good parents, how are we going to survive?
“We also knew that we had to try and get a spot at a daycare as soon as possible, enough friends and family had told us that. Living in Toronto at the time we went on the city’s waitlist. We eventually gave up and found a different solution that made sense. We did eventually get a call back, only it was two years later while we were expecting our second child.
The Tedjo family grew to three children in four years, which meant that we had two of them in childcare at a time for four consecutive years. “Between our reduced income during parental leave, and the cost of childcare at $17,000 per child ($34,000 per year), those years were tough. We calculated that we were better off financially with Rebecca going back to work as a registered nurse full-time than we would be if she stayed home, but not by much.”
We only stopped paying for daycare last year when our youngest started full-day kindergarten, and we couldn’t help but feel like it was a bit late for the government to start supporting children, where childcare before that magic age of four cost us as much as sending an 18-year old off to college or university.
Tedjo claims that childcare has become so unaffordable that 80 per cent of Ontario families with children under four years old cannot afford the cost of licensed child care. He adds that there are only enough licensed spaces to accommodate 23 per cent of kids under the age of four. This is just not good enough. Many families are paying mortgage-level fees to access licensed childcare, and many more families can’t afford childcare at all.
The solution to this problem is right in front of us. High-quality universal licenced childcare can support better education outcomes for school aged children, improve social cohesion, take pressure off the family budget, and above all else, boost Ontario’s economy by giving families, and particularly women, the option of returning to the workplace sooner, leading to increased economic productivity as well as additional tax revenues for the government.
 Tedjo: The solution to the child care problem is right in front of us. The plan will take time — it’s a big project with no quick fix. After the review, we will start to deliver universal childcare in phases. As we implement phase 1 and build out the capacity to support and provide preschool aged children with childcare, we will work with our partners on expanding universal childcare to toddlers (age 1 ½–2 ½ years old).
In the short term, this expansion will require investments. In the long run, increased employment for parents, particularly for mothers, will contribute to the growth of Ontario’s economy. The taxes associated with their spending power, improved educational outcomes for children, and decreased costs to social programs will provide a return that makes this plan an economic winner, as well as the right thing to do.
The consensus among experts and economists is that for every dollar invested in quality early childhood education, there is a $2.40 return to the economy.
A study by Deloitte estimates that by addressing the wage gap, Ontario government revenues from personal and sales tax could increase by $2.6 billion. The same study also estimates that government spending on social assistance, tax credits, and child benefits could decrease by $103 million, due to the projected increase in families’ income.
Electoral reform is a big issue for Tedjo as well but he wasn’t prepared to talk about that at this point.
Transit has to be changed radically if we are going to get people out of their cars. Policy position on this objective are to follow.
Tedjo plans to implement the Basic Income pilot program that was in place when the Liberal government was defeated.
Tedjo believes our social safety net; ensuring our elderly don’t live in poverty, and making sure our children have the basic necessities of life, is something Canadians are proud of. This is where the Universal Basic Income (UBI) comes in.
Fighting poverty isn’t a partisan issue, at least it shouldn’t be. And it’s not an idea owned by progressives either. There have been nearly 500 studies on basic income, including pilots in Ontario and around the world.
Ontario’s Universal Basic Income would add over $10 billion to Ontario’s economy, create up to 80,000 jobs, and save the Ontario government hundreds of millions of dollars in administration costs and red tape. UBI grows the economy and unlocks opportunity for those stuck in the poverty cycle.
 The early end of the pilot Basic Income Guarantee program in Ontario was ended months after the Ford government took office. This basic income would replace programs more difficult and expensive to administer, like Ontario Works and ODSP, while retaining additional benefits and supports for people with disabilities. This brings dignity to our system, so people don’t need to justify the need for food, clothing, or shelter every two weeks.
The benefits of a universal basic income are well established. It provides a safety net for workers who lost their jobs that is less expensive to administer and easier to access than our current system.
And, like every other politician, Climate Change is right up there at the top for Tedjo. He would bring an immediate end to all the time and money he thinks is being wasted on court battels and go along with what the federal government Climate Change policy. Tedjo did not say if he would create model for Ontario. “It is too early to make that decision” he said.
In the game of politics endorsements can mean something – but not always. Frequently a candidate can get an endorsement from someone who is either a member of the legislature or planning on running and would like to be considered for a Cabinet position.
Hugh Segal, an intellectual giant within the Progressive Conservative movement, has endorsed Alvin Tedjo. Segal, the former senator and chief of staff to Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Premier Bill Davis, has fought for a universal basic income in Canada for over 40 years. THAT is an endorsement well worth having and speaks volumes about what Tedjo is setting out to do.
Tedjo wants change at just about every level. Not change for the sake of change but change to bring about a society that meets the needs of everyday people.
The Liberal government that was defeated in June of 2018 was not in touch with what people needed and not keeping in touch cost xxx
 Tedjo: “People are feeling uncertain about their future. For many, the cost of living is going up, but their salary isn’t keeping pace. We also face a rapidly changing economy where artificial intelligence, automation entrepreneurship and clean technology will be increasingly important. Tedjo believes that “People are feeling uncertain about their future. For many, the cost of living is going up, but their salary isn’t keeping pace. We also face a rapidly changing economy where artificial intelligence, automation entrepreneurship and clean technology will be increasingly important. Even so, the current government is making short-sighted decisions to cut the programs that will help us prepare for what’s coming.”
The Liberal Party will choose a new leader in March of 2020. Then they have to rebuild and put their vision out there and prepare for the 2022 provincial election. The Doug Ford government isn’t all that popular today but they have shown some capacity to change.
Three years in the world of politics is the equivalent to a century. Alvin Tedjo is the local lad who is after the brass ring – we shall watch his progress.
 By Pepper Parr
November 13th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The big national corporations have deep pockets and layers of resources to mount a public drive to show that they care about the communities the operate in. It’s just good business and in this day and age expected.
What do the mid-sized local firms do that can express their concern for their community? Many firms have found a niche that allows them to involve their staff in giving back to their community in their own way.
 The response was more than overwhelming. Woolcott staff had to scramble a bit to find space for everything that was donated. The five tonne truck that was taking the donated goods was more than half full. Jayne Woolcott, partner at Woolcott Team, said to be the largest real estate brokerage in the Hamilton – to Burlington market (by dollar volume) said the idea for the clothing drive came out of their “mastermind” team. “We operate in a very collegial manner and are open to almost anything from any staff member.”
“We’ve been doing this for five years now – this drive was our biggest ever, partly because of the new location on Dundas east of the Waterdown core. Our signage is much better and having the truck parked in the driveway helped.
“Prior to that we worked out of a supermarket parking lot.”
 Trunks were filled with winter coats and other household goods. The flow of traffic into the Woolcott parking lot on Dundas east of the Waterdown core was consistent during the several hours they were open – the five tonne truck was half full by the time it was ready to head out to the Good Shepherd operation in Hamilton where the coats and other household goods were to be sorted and readied for distribution.
 Everyone who drove into the parking lot was greeted by a Woolcott staff member. Marty Staz was greeting the gentleman on the right and getting ready to take the coat he was holding thinking it was being donated. The gentleman on the right told Marty that it was his own winter coat and the goods he was donating were in the trunk of his car. It was a nice coat. Woolcott spent more on social media and emails to their extensive email list.
Each year Woolcott Team gets the names from the Good Shepherd of several families that need help during the festive season.
“We provide the funds for the food and buy the gifts that the families are just not able to provide” explained Jayne Woolcoot.
It’s a project that has grown – the Woolcott people can see no reason why it shouldn’t continue.
 By Claire Nash
November 13th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Enjoy a Staycation this Winter
 Dust off the Toboggan and get outside this winter! Photo by spDuchamp Dust off the Toboggan and get outside this winter! When we think of the kind of people who preach the benefits of the staycation, who comes to mind? Is it the California couple who have a plethora of yoga classes, beaches and organic restaurants to choose from? Is it the lucky newlyweds who relocated to Thailand and have endless nature at their fingertips? Chances are you don’t consider your own hometown a prime staycation location. However, nobody does!
We all take for granted the things we have around us, but looking at your surroundings like an outsider can bring a whole new excitement to your hometown. Here are some options to consider for your holiday at home to re-ignite that love of Burlington.
You Could Find a New Hobby Holidaying at home can seem a little dull at first, we all have our favorite places to go and we’ve done them time and time again.
However, finding a new favorite place or even a hobby in your hometown is a brilliant feeling! There are plenty of entertaining activities around Burlington, for example, visit the top tourist and local attractions, if you’re a chocolate lover try some Lake Champlain Chocolates, or get to grips with the game in the poker clubs around the city, which offer a friendly place for beginners to train their skills. If you’re doing this staycation with your partner, then there is always the chance that one of you might fall in love with the game a little more than the other. If that does turn out to be the case then luckily there’s a great deal else going at our casinos this winter, so neither of you will be left bored!
 Enjoy fresh corn flour tortillas and homemade queso fresco at MaracaZ Cantinerie. Photo by stu_spivack If you’re looking for a new laid back favourite, then MaracaZ Cantinerie could be just the thing. Having only opened relatively recently, this Mexican inspired bar has received more than its fare share of rave reviews already.
Their tacos and tequila are the main attractions here. The bar offers frozen drink machines to make fruity slushies (that can even be made a little bit naughty with the addition of one of their 20 tequilas!) The tacos are really great though; choose from crispy fried fish, spicy chicken, smokey pulled pork or a melt in the mouth beef brisket. Next load your tacos up with all of the traditional toppings, including a cheese, which is absolutely delicious and made in house.
It’s far enough away from traditional Canadian fare to feel like you’re having a holiday experience, but it has all of the benefits of that warm ‘sticks to your guts’ fodder that gets us through these icy winters!
Embrace the Cold
Sure, plenty of us go on holiday to escape the cold weather, but plenty of people make their way to Canada every year to make the most of our icy winters. Think like a holiday maker and book yourself a bit of time to try some winter sports. We are lucky enough to have free facilities that allow tobogganing and ice-skating around Burlington.
If you don’t mind contributing a little bit of money then there are also some fantastic skiing locations, which are totally suitable for beginners, or for the more competent there’s even the possibility of cross country skiing – a truly exhilarating adventure.
Whichever winter sport feels the most natural for you, remember to wrap up warm and pay attention to any warnings that are given. Done correctly, winter sports are a great fun way to exercise, but as with anything they can be dangerous if you don’t take sensible precautions.
Get Inspired
Living in Ontario, we have plenty of nearby galleries to choose from, but one of the most exciting ones is right on our doorstep in the heart of Burlington.
 Art Gallery of Burlington – over looking Lake Ontario – Open seven days a week – Admission is free. The Art Gallery of Burlington hosts around 20 exhibitions per year, which cross a wide spectrum of captivating themes. One of the collections that absolutely cannot be missed is of their contemporary Canadian ceramics, the largest on display in the world.
Although the gallery is free to visit, they run as a not for profit organization, so they rely heavily on donations from the public. So remember, if you enjoyed your visit, give a little tip or buy something from the gift shop.
Spending our money in local businesses is the best way to keep Burlington a diverse and creative neighbourhood.
 By Staff
November 12th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Each year the Halton District School Board holds a meeting to which community organizations and members of the public are invited to discuss potential planning and partnership opportunities.
Partnership opportunities in existing schools and co-build opportunities in proposed new schools, as well as a new Board Administrative Centre, will be discussed at the J.W. Singleton Education Centre, 2050 Guelph Line, Burlington on December 11th at 7:00 pm
Potential partners are requested to bring relevant planning information such as population projections, growth plans, community needs, land use and greenspace/park requirements to the meeting.
The big one on this list is the critical need for a new administrative building on the Upper Middle Road – Guelph Line site. The existing structure is bursting at the seams. Much of the senior staff has to located at the Gary Allan High School on New Street which results in hours of wasted time in travel between the two locations.
A number of the trustees were hoping that any new administrative building would be located closer to the center of the Region; that probably won’t happen because the Board currently owns the land on which the administrative building is located where there is a lot of space for a new building.
 The Board owns the land right up to the NW intersection of Upper Middle and Guelph line. There is some background information, policy and the procedures the Boards are required to follow.
You will find that HERE
The key contact at the Board of Education is Domenico Renzella, Senior Manager, Planning. 905-335-3663 | Toll-free 1-877-618-3456
Related news stories:
New Admin building will cost $23 million.
Not all trustees like the idea of a new Admin building in Burlington.
By Staff
November 12th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Leaf collection has been suspended until the snow has been cleared.
Schedule adjustments, if any, will be posted on the city web site and in the Gazette
Clearing the snow of the streets has those heavy trucks pushing a snow plow.
 Depending on the need heavy duty trucks can be used to plow snow. The city’s snow fighting team was ready for the forecasted early blast of winter and snow. Once that snow is no longer an issue and the temperatures warm up to seasonal norms the leaves will get any attention they need.
The forecast was for 15 cm of snow for Burlington. It came in at closer to 20+; as a result, the City is declaring a significant snow event as of 6 p.m. this evening. All parking exemptions are cancelled and there is no on-street parking after 6 p.m. tonight and until the city declares the significant snow event has ended.
Many of the leaves on the streets might get taken up with the snow – a possible savings for the leaf collection budget.
 Now it is used for leaf collection. Residents wanting to remove their leaves can either use them as mulch on their lawn or garden or bag them for Halton Region’s yard waste pick-up.
During the winter season, the City of Burlington maintains 1,900 lane kilometres of roads and 850 kilometres of sidewalks.
• If a snow event is announced, all parking exemptions are cancelled and there is no on-street parking until the snow event has been cancelled.
‘• Do not leave vehicles parked over the sidewalk while in your driveway as this can prevent the sidewalk plow from completing its work.
• Do not shovel, plow or blow snow from residential or commercial properties onto the road. This poses a hazard to motorists and is prohibited by the Ontario Highway Traffic Act and City bylaw.
• Snow plows need room to clear the ice and snow. Please stay back 70 feet as sand and salt may be dropping from the trucks. This also gives you room to stop safely.
• Give snow plows plenty of space at intersections. The snow plow may need two or more lanes to turn or to get through the intersection. If a snow plow is waiting to turn left at an intersection, do not pull up and stop underneath or in front of the wing plow (the plow attached to the right side of the truck). Your vehicle could be struck by the plow when the truck pulls forward.
Mark Adam, Manager of Road Operations said: “Snow removal will always take priority over loose leaf removal. When the snow comes, all available resources are focused on making the roads and sidewalks safe. The cold weather is expected to last several days. We will be watching the weather and will announce when the loose leaf collection will resume.”
By Staff
November 11th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board (HDSB) is asking students, families, staff and the community to share views and identify areas of focus for the Board’s next Multi-Year Plan 2020-2024.
 Opportunities to provide input include community roundtable discussions, focus group sessions, and online surveys, available from Nov. 4 to Dec. 2, 2019.
The Multi-Year Plan (MYP) is the roadmap that informs the Board’s decisions and allocation of resources, while guiding collective actions for ongoing improvement over the next four years. It sets the direction to ensure the Board’s efforts support all students, staff and families across the HDSB.
The current MYP 2016-2020 can be found here.
All parents/guardians, staff, students and community members are invited to complete a survey to assess the Board’s current MYP and provide input on areas of priority in the next MYP. The surveys are open from Nov. 4 – Dec. 2, 2019.
All parents/guardians, staff, students and community members are invited to discuss and provide face-to-face input on the development of the Board’s next MYP at two community roundtable discussions held in the north and south areas of Halton.
Two separate identical sessions will be held from 7 – 9 p.m. on the following dates:
• Monday, Nov. 18: Milton Staff Learning Centre (215 Ontario St S, Milton) – Register here
• Thursday, Nov. 21: Garth Webb Secondary School (2820 West Oak Trails Blvd, Oakville) –
Register here
 Director of Education Stuart Miller “The Multi-Year Plan is strengthened by the experience and input of students, staff, families and community members,” says Stuart Miller, Director of Education for the Halton District School Board. “Your voice is critical to getting the plan right and setting the direction for the HDSB. We look forward to your participation in helping to shape the next four years in the Halton District School Board.”
Consultations will take place until December 2, 2019. The feedback and insights received from stakeholders through the online surveys, community roundtable discussions and other forums will inform the development of the new MYP over the next three to four months. The MYP 2020-2024 will take effect in September 2020.
By Staff
November 11th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
High school information nights are scheduled during the month of November to provide an opportunity for students, parents and guardians to learn about Grade 9 programs, services for students and diploma requirements.
Each high school in the Halton District School Board will host an information evening. Families should attend the information night at the school designated for their community.
Dates and locations for each information night are set out below:
Aldershot High School
November 28, 2019 at 6:30 p.m.
Burlington Central High School
November 14, 2019 at 6:30 p.m.
Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School
November 14, 2019 – from 6:00 pm – 9:00 p.m.
M.M. Robinson High School
November 14, 2019 from 7:00 p.m to 8:30 p.m., (includes a French Program info session)
Nelson High School
November 20, 2019, from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m
 Remembered, respected
The memorial was put in place after WWI when the citizens of Burlington wanted to do something to remember the fallen. It was paid for by citizens and then turned over to the city to maintain.
The bronze plaque on the front was put in place to commemorate those lost in WW II – beneath that plaque are the following words:
“To teach that he who serves is lost,
To bear in silence, though our hearts may bleed,
To spend ourselves, and never count the cost,
For others greater need.”
By Staff
November 8th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The average price of a freehold property in Burlington in October was $938,897, up 5.5% as compared to October 2018.
Sales were up slightly, but the bigger news was the low inventory levels, which were down 25% from last year at the end of October.
Year to date, the average price was $884,125, up 4.1% over last year, and sales were up 4.5%. Properties sold for just over 98% of the asking price on average in October, however almost 30% of them went for the asking price or more.
Burlington clearly can be described as a sellers market and if inventory levels remain this low, prices will inevitably be pushed upwards.
 By Pepper Parr
November 8th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
During a walking tour led by staff from the Planning department one of the group asked what was happening to the Bridgewater development.
The small crowd of 40 people were at the foot of Elizabeth Street at Lakeshore; it was evident there wasn’t anything going on at the site.
The planners leading the tour said “you can get an update on the city web site.
The Gazette had been told earlier in October that there had been an HVAC worked strike which slowed things down and also that the hotel operation that was going to go into the north west building had asked for a design change with the windows.
We went to the city web site and copied the information posted there on what the current schedule is supposed to be.
Then we arranged for a photograph to be taken from the condo directly across the street.
 The opening between where the hotel is to be on the right and the 22 story tower on the left is the passageway that will allow the public to walk through to the lake. The data provided and the picture don’t appear to tell the same story.
Construction lives by the weather – and is managed by people who understand the demands of the markets.
The path to the public area is said to be ready in October – it is now November. The pictures were taken on the 5th of November.
People who bought into the development and sold their homes expecting the builder to meet the schedule are more than disappointed.
 It was supposed to be a dream development – for early buyers iit has turned into a nightmare. When approved the development was referred to as The Legacy building. It was at one point going to soar 30 storeys into the sky. The hotel was going to be ready for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
 The Riviera motel was torn down to make way for the Bridgewater. There were issues before New Horizons took over the construction of the development site which at one point was home for a small motel.
At this rate the Adi brothers will have the Nautique built and occupied before people will be able to walk though the dream that the Bridgewater was supposed to be.
By Pepper Parr
November 8th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
When I first heard the word POPS at a Standing Committee this week, I thought the speaker was talking about a pop up stand or an event that takes place for a short period of time – like a couple of hours.
 The 27 storey tower seen from Old Lakeshore Road. The view to the lake would be unobstructed. City council was listening to the Statutory presentation being made by the Urban Design Group on behalf of CORE developments who are proposing a 27 storey tower with a heritage building kept on the site that is in the “football” opposite the bottom of Martha Street..
One of the features of the development is a piece of property on the west side that was described as a POPS which stands for Privately Owned Public Space.
 The space shown as green would be private property that the public could use. The called it POPS The developers plan was to open up the space to the public who would be able to walk around and enjoy the ambience.
The POPS space lined up with the foot of Martha Street and would allow a clean line of sight from Lakeshore at Martha through to the lake.
No mention was made of Emmas Back Porch sitting in the south side of Old Lakeshore Road.
Park space in that part of the city is going to be limited. Spencer Park is in the area but it is a bit of a walk.
Every development has to provide the city with 5% of the land as park dedicated land. Developers can choose to give cash in lieu of the land.
The cash that is given goes into the Park Reserve fund and can be used elsewhere.
 The POPS looking north to Martha  The POPS looking south to the lake. Mayor Marianne Meed Ward saw what looked like a bit of an opportunity to apply some leverage to a development that no one seems to want; she asked how much area would the POPS take up – would it amount to 5% of the overall land.
Turns out the 5% Park dedication would equal just 15% of the POPS space. The Mayor might not give up on that angle.
 If you were standing on Martha Street, half a block up from LAkeshore Road – this is what your view would look like. There are several concerns with the POPS concept. The owners of the development will eventually be the condominium corporation that takes over once the development is completed and at least one very vocal condominium resident pointed out that a public space is 24/7; condominium owners would really have no privacy.
With ownership of the property comes the right to do whatever they want with it as long as they stay within the rules. And that might well be the end of the “public space” part of the POPS.
 By Staff
November 8th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
In October 2019, members of the Halton Police Service – Human Trafficking Unit initiated an investigation pertaining to Jumanne Salmon (36) of Pickering, who is alleged to have been involved in human trafficking.
 Salmon is alleged to have forced, exploited and transported the female victim (adult) from hotel to hotel to work in the sex trade across several jurisdictions including Burlington, Mississauga, Brampton, and Kitchener. The offences are alleged to have occurred between the years 2012 to 2017.
At the time of the investigation, investigators learned that Salmon was already in custody at the Hamilton Wentworth Detention Centre for an unrelated matter. The Halton Regional Police Service obtained a Judge’s Order to have Salmon brought to the Ontario Court of Justice, Milton, in order to answer to the following charges:
• Trafficking in Persons
• Receive Material Benefit from trafficking in persons
• Exercise Control over a prostitute
• Living off the avails of prostitution
• Procuring – Exercise control, direction or influence
• Receive a material benefit from sexual services
• Assault
• Uttering threats to cause death
Anyone with questions or information about these events is asked to contact Det. Dan Ciardullo of the Human Trafficking Unit at 905 825-4747 ext. 4973.
Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See Something? Hear Something? Know Something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
 By Staff
November 9th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
During the past two week our political columnist Ray Rivers has written about the way we elect our federal politicians.
The current system is called First Past The Post (FPTP) It’s pretty simple, the political party that wins the most seats gets to form the government. If no one political party has 50% of the seats in the House of Commons they do get a chance to meet and see if they can create a majority with the support of a different political party.
You know when they don’t have the support from another political party when there is a confidence vote. These are votes that have to do with money bills – the budget being the biggest one.
When the government cannot get the confidence of the House – the government falls and under normal circumstances an election takes place.
The Governor General can ask another political party to see if they can form a government. In theory at least.
Dave Meslin, the author of Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up believes that Canada has it all wrong – he believes there is a way to elect Members of Parliament that allows everyone to be fairly represented based on the number of seats won. He has put together an informative series of graphics.
Here’s how Canadians actually voted at the ballot box:
 And here’s how that same chart looks, if we add all the registered voters who decided to NOT participate at all.
 One third of all registered voters decided not to vote. Canada’s ridiculous voting system gives us a lot of reasons to not participate:
Dozens of “safe seats” that never change.
Hundreds of candidates who “win” with less than 50% of the vote.
Endless chatter about “strategic voting” and “vote splitting”
Fake majority governments, that don’t actually represent a majority of voters.
Hostile and polarized election campaigns.
Larger parties getting more seats than they actually earned.
Smaller parties getting less seats than they actually earned.
Here are the seats “won” by each major party in Canada, on October 21:
 If you compare that to the ACTUAL vote we saw at the top of the page, you’ll notice a few major differences. First, the conservatives got more votes than the Liberals… but less seats.
That’s backwards.
Same goes for the Bloc Quebecois and the New Democratic Party.
The NDP got WAY more votes than the Bloc… but far less seats. Again, totally backwards.
And the Green Party, who earned almost as many votes as the Bloc, only won three seats – compared to the Bloc’s 32.
Lastly, the People’s Party didn’t win a single seat, despite having the support of hundreds of thousands of Canadians.
Proportionally, this is what Canada’s parliament should look like:
 As you can see, the Conservative party would have the most seats – since they got the most votes! Of course, that doesn’t mean that they would be able to form a government.
In Canada’s parliamentary system, a party needs to gain “confidence of the House”, meaning that they either need to win a majority of the seats or find another party to support them in the House of Commons.
With 116 seats, the Conservatives are nowhere close to a majority:
In fact, the Conservatives would have a very difficult time forming a government based on the proportional results of this election. Even if the Bloc Quebecois AND the People’s Party supported them… it still wouldn’t be enough:
The most likely scenario would be some form of coalition or agreement between the Liberal party, NDP and Greens:
 Under a proportional system, we’d also see an end to the wild distortions that paint Canada as a divided country with blue provinces and red provinces. While the seat count delivered on October 21st suggested that all Albertans voted conservative, all PEI voters are Liberals and the NDP has zero support in Quebec – the actual vote results reflect the diversity of opinions held across the country, in every province:
What that means, in terms of seat count, is that some parties earn way more seats than they actually deserve, while First-Past-the-Post robs other parties of seats they should have won. Regionally, this is what creates the myth of single-party domination within a province:
Of course, all these numbers are based on the votes cast under our current system. If we had a modern voting system (like most Western democracies), everything would change – not just the math on election night. We’d have more parties. Candidates would campaign differently. We’d likely have different leaders. We’d all be able to vote with our heart. And we’d end up with stable coalition governments that actually represent what voters asked for.
Is that too much to ask for?
Rivers and Meslin appear to agree. But, when the province of Ontario thought about doing this they held a referendum and the public just didn’t buy into the idea.
When the Liberals won a majority of the seats in 2015, Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister. Part of his campaign was a promise to change the way Members of the House of Commons get elected. He created a Ministry of Democratic Institutions that was going to change the way citizens determined who would represent them.
The first Minister, Maryam Monsef wasn’t able to get the job done. The Prime Minister appointed Burlington’s Karina Gould the Minister of Democratic Institutions. She claims to have done her best – saying that she could not get the needed agreement from the other political parties – the attempt to change the way we elect Members to the House of Commons was abandoned.
The mess that came out of the 2019 election created a lot of dissatisfaction and ended up with the government not having a single member from Alberta or Saskatchewan.
The Liberals will need the support of either the New Democrats or the BLOC to pass any bills. The BLOC could care less as to how the Liberals pass legislation – they have said they will support the Liberals as long as any legislation they put forward meets the interests and needs of Quebec.
The New Democrats have a much stronger social platform and will have a strong interest in the way Members are elected to the House.
Interesting days ahead.
The Meslin graphics are certainly instructive; worth paying attention to.
 By Pepper Parr
November 7th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Much of the public rationale for Marianne Meed Ward running in ward 2 in 2010 was that she would do everything possible to save the waterfront.
 Long time believers in saving the waterfront. Are there enough of them left to make a difference today? An organization was created – SOW – Save our Waterfront that Meed Ward rode all the way to city hall.
She was relentless with her use of social media. There were two film clips of her walking backwards along the lakeshore talking into a camera explain what she was trying to do with the waterfront and why. It was classic grass roots politics.
There are hundreds of people who still have their $10 SOW membership cards in their pockets. The organization morphed into the Meed Ward election campaign team.
In 2006 Meed Ward had run against Rick Craven in ward 1; the result of that election were not pretty. The Ward family moved from the Tyendaga community into the city core; ward 2 was a much easier win.
 Everything on the right hand side of what is Old LAkeshore Road has to be left the way it is – no development on that land. The Motel is now in the hands of the people who own the Waterfront Hotel, Emmas is on land owned by Mayrose Tyco. This is where Mayor Meed Ward is going to have to find the leverage she needs. Does she have an ace up her sleeve? Marianne has made the waterfront her issue. She fought tooth and nail to save the waterfront land between Market and St. Paul Streets – to no avail. It was sold to a property owner who saw an opportunity to acquire lakefront property for a song. The full story behind how that came about is a little clearer now that Council got a chance to hear what leading real estate agent Michael O’Sullivan told the city when delegating on another matter.
She has watched the public presentations from the CORE people and Burlington Old Lakeshore Inc., part of the Carriage Gate interests. and realized she was up against some pretty big guns.
She should be able to hold her council with her on this fight, Bentevegna might be problematic. She is going to have to work very hard to ensure that the Planning department fully understands the “will of council.
 The four eight to 15 story structures is a lousy deal for everyone. But more than that – she is going to have to come up with a strategy. At this point it looks as if she is going to hang her hat on the zoning of 8 storeys as of right with up to 15 storeys if the right benefits are made available to the community.
She is going to have to deal with the tight grip the Conservation authority has on what can and what cannot be done south of the Old Lakeshore Road.
 Conservation Halton has ruled that nothing can be built south of that dotted blue line. The buildings there now can stay, It is those buildings on the south side of Old LAkeshore that Meed Ward is going to have to find a way to leverage. What we didn’t see or even get a hint of from Meed Ward was that big, bold audacious idea that former Toronto Mayor David Crombie once told the Waterfront Advisory Committee was needed to save that piece of land.
Marianne understands the theatrics of politics. She use social media well, the ‘moth to a flame” part of her makeup will not serve her well. But these are small matters.
There is an opportunity to do something magnificent with the “football”. It will take imagination and a willingness to go for that “Hail Mary” pass, but if she can get her hands on the ball she will have created a legend for herself that can propel her some distance in the world of politics.
The 22 story Bridgewater development was done on Mayor Walter Mulkewich’s watch. It was originally going to be a 30 storey structure and be known as a legacy building.
Meed Ward can move the needle on legacy – but only if she surrounds herself with people that are imaginative, innovative and politically connected.
 Victory is sweet – living up to the promise is the hard part. Settling for 15 storeys on that patch of land will be nothing to boast about.
There is time for a better brilliant idea to come forward – just not that much.
The Meed Ward position at this point is that there is policy in place that limits what can be done with the land. The developer’s consultant said these were guidelines with little in the way of force.
Meed Ward is going to have to galvanize the people in the Planning department to put the minds of some of the young and very bright people in the building to give the city their very best.
Meed Ward’s long term political career and the soul of the city that many people want depends on it.
By Pepper Parr
November 7th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The developer got a rough ride. It wasn’t any better than the public reception they got when they first let Burlingtonians what they had in mind.
On Tuesday they were doing the mandatory Statutory presentation – a time when Planning department staff say relatively little other than the bare bones about the project.
The Core Development Group have yet to give the project they have planned for the “football”, that oblong piece of land bound by Lakeshore Road on the north side and Old Lakeshore Road on the south side, a name.
There is the Carriage Gate Development proposed for the eastern end of the “football” that didn’t pick up a lot of support when it took their idea to the public in a very poorly attended meeting. Less than 40 people in the room.
 This is what the CORE development group is proposing; the heritage building will continue as a restaurant; traffic will flow on to Lakeshore Road the other side of this rendering. Two people from Urban Design headed up the presenting – they were professional and polished and they gave it their best shot. It didn’t appear to be enough to move this council.
Lisa Kearns, the Councillor for Ward 2 made it very clear that she would not support the development.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward reminded the meeting that she was holding the football property to no more than eight storeys – and would go up to 15 if there were significant benefits for the public – which to her way of thinking was much more land for public use.
During the presentation the architect was brought up to explain what was sustainable about the site. He said the building would be heated and cooled geothermically – the equipment would be put in by a firm they owned.
The traffic expert came up to the podium to clarify just where the cars would get out of the 27 storey building that would have four floors of underground parking. Believe it or not they plan on having traffic in and out on Lakeshore Road. Keep in mind that the Nautique development will be on the other side of the road – almost directly across from the CORE development.
When asked what would the Chrysler Carriage House be used for the meeting was told it would be commercial and that they would probably use it as a restaurant location.
 Someone has finally come up with a reason for building the Pier – it was that “iconic” location from which people could see the city skyline and point out all the tall buildings. There is a word for that kind of traffic flow – wondering what the Transportation department will have to say when the project gets to them?
Bryan Nykoliation, who was introduced as the development owner (which he isn’t) was asked by the Mayor if he would withdraw the development until such time as the city has completed the study it intends to do once the review and refinement of the adopted but not yet approved Official Plan work is completed. Nykoliation said he would not do that.
 The western edge of the development lines up with Martha Street Their design consultant said she believed the CORE group had a very strong argument justifying the location and the building her client wanted to build.
A large part of the presentation was on how the proposed development fit into that part of the Lakeshore community. The design consultants used the existence of the under construction Bridgewater project and the approved ADI Nautique development as their view on what was to come and how their development fit into the bigger picture as they saw it.
 The developer argued that they weren’t adding anything to the skyline that wasn’t already there.  The outline on the right is the ADI Nautique structure. Lakeshore Road is in the middle with Emma’s on the other side. The CORE development would block the view of Emmas. They provided illustrations showing that there project wasn’t going to be any bigger than anyone else’s. They have illustrations of view from the Pier and an illustration that purported to show that the view from Martha street looking south to the lake left people with a clear view. They didn’t include Emmas Back Porch in the illustration.
The event was one of the more boisterous Statutory meetings we have seen in some time. The developers have been meeting with the Planning department people for some time; they left the impression that the planners are comfortable with the development. Consultants get paid to do that.
 Views on what the development will look like from different locations.  The consultants took the position that there development was, to some degree, an extension of Spencer Smith Park There will be a wide public path at the edge of the lake behind the Bridgewater that leads up to Old Lakeshore Road. Making the case that it is an extension depends on what gets built on the western end of the “football”
 By Staff
November 6th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The Planning and Development service counter located on the second floor in City Hall at 426 Brant St, will be closed on Monday, Nov. 11, re-opening on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 8:30 a.m.
That is one way of slowing down the flow of development applications.
 Planning and Development is just to the right.
 By Andrew Drummond
November 6th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
 Has the Ford government learned how to govern? This past week, the Ontario government returned to the legislature after an extended five-month break. Upon their return, they prioritized Bill 124 that would cap yearly public wage increases to significantly below the rate of inflation (with exceptions for groups that typically support the Conservatives like Doctors and Police Officers). However, they also last week announced significant retreats to three previously announced policies. These retreats were unexpected, and well received, and it is worth digging into how impactful these retreats are and why the government did not maintain their initial policies. Then perhaps more importantly what this means for public action against future government policy.
In September, two senior members of the Ontario opposition shadow cabinet (Marit Stiles and Sandy Shaw) came to Burlington for a town hall on education issues. One of the things they said to the crowd in Burlington was that it was possible to fight the government on its changes. Marit offered the example of the Health and Phys-Ed curriculum as an example of where public pressure pushed the government into changing its mind about a policy supported by Conservative members. The government had made a big deal about holding back the curriculum introduced by the previous government, but after a year of protests essentially allowed that curriculum to move forward with only minor tweaks.
This week, one of their backtracks was on regional amalgamation. Last year, the Ford government made a number of aggressive unilateral overhauls to municipal governments. It cancelled the decisions of the Regions of Peel, York, Niagara, and Muskoka to have a Regional Chair position while infamously using legislation to change the ward boundaries in the City of Toronto in the middle of their municipal campaign. When in January Ford appointed an advisory committee on regional government many residents in Burlington and elsewhere were worried it would spark another round of unilateral changes, possibly including the amalgamation of Halton Region in some way.
 Public pressure worked. In response, residents across Ontario organized to oppose any forced amalgamation. In Burlington, the grassroots group “We Love Burlington – Stop Amalgamation” formed. Across Ontario similar groups formed that organized responses to the advisory committee and emailed their MPPs. In all over 8,500 submissions were received and the government announced this week that no amalgamations would be forced upon municipalities. The answer was that public pressure worked.
The second backtrack was regarding advertising for vaping products. Everyone in Ontario has seen the proliferation of vaping advertising in the past year. Last October, the Ford government passed Bill 36 which primarily dealt with regulations around cannabis products, but also included the enabling of vaping companies to actively promote their products in stores. It was a reversal of previous Liberal policy to ban such advertisements, and was criticized by many including the Canadian Cancer Society. It was a transparent capitulation to lobbying pressure with the government absurdly claiming that
“The government is focusing on protecting young people from the potential harms of e-cigarettes and secondhand vapour. Retailers can’t sell the products to minors and they can only be promoted if the promotion complies with federal law.”
In September, CBC ran a story that outlined a story that showed just how little the provincial government was acting to restrict teens’ access to vaping. Despite hundreds of reports to local health authorities, across Durham, Toronto, and Peel only 16 fines had been levied all year. Many stores that had public reputations for selling products directly to minors had never been targeted for enforcement. Local health, already struggling under cuts to their funding didn’t have the resources to apply enforcement. The result of all of this has been a 74% increase in teen vaping over the last 12 months. Nearly 15% of teens 15-19 regularly vape, which in Burlington means approximately 780 teens have likely been newly addicted to vaping since the government allowed the increased advertising.
Fortunately, the government has been able to see past its free market ideology and is starting to backtrack in order to protect teens from the dangers of vaping. The government announced this week that as of January 1, 2020 vaping products will only be legally advertised within establishments that restrict entrance to ages 19+.
The last government backtrack is actually not much of a backtrack at all.
Education Minister Lecce announced last week that government will only look to increase secondary school class sizes from 22 to 25 instead of the previously announced 28. This is a relatively transparent negotiating ploy for the government’s upcoming negotiations with both the elementary and secondary teacher federations. Unfortunately, for the government, few in the public accept that the 9% increase in class sizes is necessary and most are rightly concerned about the detrimental effect it will have on public education. Minister Lecce’s public comments that tax cuts can only be funded if education costs are cut did little to make anyone think that quality education was his top priority.
Making only half of their initially proposed cuts is not actually a solution. The beginning of the cuts came this year as secondary class sizes were raised from 22 to 22.5. This resulted in 124 teachers being cut from Halton region alone. The “walk back” from the government will result in “only” 600-700 more teachers being laid off over the next three years. While this is a backtrack from the over 1,000 that were going to be eliminated under the government’s initial plan, it will still have an incredibly damaging impact on school in our region.
But the point is that fighting the government has worked. Pressure on the education piece has made the government relent a little bit.
 Restrict teens’ access to vaping. Pressure on teenage vaping has gotten the government to do a flip-flop on their initial proposal. Pressure from local activists has made the government completely abandon its efforts to amalgamate local municipalities. The government has changed its priorities since the first year of its mandate, mainly in reaction to the plummeting polls. They are now considering walking back many other parts of their initial agenda.
The responsibility we have as residents is to keep the pressure on so that as little as possible gets cut to fund further tax cuts.
Andrew Drummond is Burlington resident who ran for the provincial seat in the last election. He works with a telecommunications firm in the private sector where hew applies his marketing skills.
By Staff
November 6th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
As part of their Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), Haltech Regional Innovation Centre and the Halton Region Global Business Centre are pleased to introduce Beyond Boundaries, an accelerator program designed to unleash the power and potential of women entrepreneurs.
Created to combat the unique challenges faced by women who start and run businesses, the program will offer:
• Skills development in key areas such as financial acumen, technology expertise, sales enablement and scaling up;
• Exploration of new markets and global opportunities;
• Mentorship, advisory support and peer learning circles; and
• Targeted connections through networking events and strategic introductions.
The first cohort of the program will start in early 2020. Apply here.
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“Both volunteers have tirelessly committed their time, energy and knowledge to support the Grow to Give program. They were on site every time a new volunteer required orientation, organized tasks and timelines, and got their hands dirty every week caring for the food donation garden, harvesting produce and more.
