 By Pepper Parr
October 10th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
There is not much more than confusion and a constant state of bickering between the political parties in Ottawa. The Conservatives desperately want an election – tomorrow if they could have their way. To pull the plug now would result in an election weeks before Christmas – which no one wants.
The Liberals seem to have taken the position to just wait it out and be ready to campaign in June of 2025.
 Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre The hope is that Pierre Poilievre will continue to blow his brains out and that the economy will turn taking some of the pressure off the Liberals.
Good luck to all of them.
Locally – it’s a tense game.
There are three potential candidates for the Conservative nomination.
 Emily Brown who has every right to expect to be given the nod from Burlington PC members. She has earned it but she is sweating this one
Newcomer Connor Fraser is out doing everything he can to get in front of people.
 Shaheryar Mian Shaheryar Mian tells people he is out knocking on doors – we’ve yet to hear of anyone who has seen him as their doorstep.
The Gazette is trying to interview – so far – no response. Not a good sign.
The rules of the game for the local Conservative Association is that anyone seeking the nomination can sign up new members – there are qualifications. Must live in the constituency.
 Connor Fraser campaigning during Appleby Line Festival The federal Conservative Association will at some point advise each constituency that they have 48 hours after which they must close off the accepting of new members to the local association.
At that point those seeking the nomination will have to register the people that have recruited as new members.
The fear is that Shaheryar Mian will dump hundreds of new members and be in a position to win the nomination when it comes to a vote.
Things are a little tense with local Conservatives.
 By Staff
October 10th, 2024
BURLINGTON,ON
 Oliver Parker Oliver PaArker announced Thursday, October 10th in Downtown Burlington, alongside friends, family, neighbors, and supporters that he was going to seek the Liberal nomination for the Burlington seat at Queen’s Park.
“Burlington should be a city within reach. A place where you can build a life and put down lasting roots. A community where affordable housing is a reality, schools are safe and nurturing for your children, and opportunities allow you to earn a living that lets you get ahead” said Oliver Parker
- Oliver Parker is the first candidate to publicly enter this nomination.
- Oliver and his family have lived in Burlington for over 20 years
- Oliver holds a Masters in Economics and is currently completing a PhD at Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom.
- A civil servant with the federal government, Oliver is a labour economist, with experience across several private and public organizations, including S&P Ratings and the Government.
- Oliver speaks three languages, English, French and
About the Nomination Contest:
- Only Ontario Liberal Party members registered before the nomination cut-off date, which is to be determined, will be eligible to vote in the nomination.
 Andrea Grebenc, former chair of the school board might yet decide to seek the Liberal nomination. Many thought that Andrea Grenbenc would seek the nomination. There is no word at this point on what her plans are.
Natalie Pierre, the current MPP has not made much of an impression on the voters. She was very big on photo-ops.
The Progressive Conservatives will put up quite a fight to keep the seat.
By Staff
October 10th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
From the Washington Post.
It’s our planet – are we paying attention?
Scientists have long hoped that if temperatures go above global targets, the planet could cool back down. New research suggests this could be more dangerous than originally thought. (JSC/NASA/NASA)
For years, scientists and world leaders have pinned their hopes for the future on a hazy promise — that, even if temperatures soar far above global targets, the planet can eventually be cooled back down.
This phenomenon, known as a temperature “overshoot,” has been baked into most climate models and plans for the future. In theory, even if global warming reaches the dreaded 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial temperatures, it could be brought back down by pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
 Scientists have long hoped that if temperatures go above global targets, the planet could cool back down. New research suggests this could be more dangerous than originally thought. (JSC/NASA/NASA) For example, for every 10 years Earth’s temperature remains 1.5 degrees C above preindustrial levels, the researchers calculated, sea level will rise by about 4 centimeters, or 1.6 inches. Even a small increase in sea-level rise can lead to more dangerous flooding when hurricanes and heavy rains strike. (In Florida, which is currently facing the danger of Hurricane Milton, sea levels are already 8 inches higher than they were in 1950.)
And as the planet teeters closer to that temperature limit, overshoot is looking more and more likely.
“A 1-in-10 chance of an existential threat is not small,” Joeri Rogelj, a professor of climate science at Imperial College London and one of the authors of the new paper, said on a phone call with reporters on Tuesday.
Since the Paris agreement, world leaders have promised to attempt to hold the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C. That target has stayed in place, even as countries have failed to limit fossil fuel burning: Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are rising at a record pace, according to observations in March at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory.
But in a special United Nations report in 2018, scientists and climate modelers popularized a controversial idea: that nations could “overshoot” the target temporarily, and then bring temperatures back down in the future.
By using techniques like direct air capture or other forms of sucking carbon out of the atmosphere, scientists said, countries could cool the Earth back down even if the planet has already reached 1.6 C or 1.7 C above preindustrial levels.
In recent years, as emissions have continued to climb, the idea of “overshooting” climate targets hasn’t just become popular — it’s now essential to reach the world’s most famous climate goal.
“Emissions reductions haven’t happened as planned,” said Glen Peters, a senior researcher at the Center for International Climate Research in Norway who was not involved in the new study. “So if you still want to get to 1.5 degrees, you need overshoot.”
Last year, The Washington Post analyzed 1,200 pathways to 1.5 degrees C, and found that there were no pathways with “reasonable” assumptions about technological development that didn’t include some kind of overshoot.
But scientists have begun to warn that flying past our climate goals and then returning to them isn’t the same as meeting them in the first place.
In the new study, the authors warn that sea-level rise and melting permafrost may be irreversible for hundreds, if not thousands of years, even if temperatures later come back down. The extinction of species that could result from these massive planetary shifts, they added, are also not reversible.
“Excess deaths are not reversible,” said Rogelj. “If you have a couple of decades in which large proportions of vulnerable people are exposed to extreme heat in a society that is not adapted to this — that’s not reversible.”
Other recent papers have shown that catastrophic tipping points are more likely for each increment above 1.5 degrees C. In a study released in Nature Communications in August, researchers found that every tenth of a degree above that threshold increased the likelihood of triggering tipping points — like the Amazon rainforest transforming into a dry savanna or the collapse of the Atlantic Ocean circulation system — by 1 to 1.5 percent.
At the same time, scientists warn that cooling the planet might not even be technically feasible. The tools to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and reverse warming have not been deployed at a large scale. At the moment, companies pull about 2 million tons of CO2 out of the air every year — but that number would need to be increased by a factor of 1,000 in just the next few decades.
And future generations may not even be motivated to do so. Oliver Geden, a senior fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, says that once the world warms more than 1.5 degrees C, countries may not want to spend the money and energy to bring temperatures back down. “We’re in a world that does not even manage to bring emissions down now,” he said.
One thing, scientists say, is clear: Humanity is headed for a world with more than 1.5 degrees C of warming. The planet has already experienced a 12-month period during which temperatures exceeded that limit, and by the early 2030s, it will be above that mark for multiple years at a time — which is what matters under the text of the Paris agreement.
Overshoot is a way of softening that blow, of making it seem like the world’s climate target is still within reach. But sooner or later, world leaders will have to wrestle with the fact that the most famous climate goal is impossible to meet.
Geden says that many scientists accept that the world will go beyond 1.5 degrees C. “But,” he added, “nobody can decide what the next target will be.”
 By Staff
October 10, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Hard to imagine what it would be like to go Trick or Treating through the two levels of Mapleview Shopping Centre but the folks over there want you to at least drop by on Wednesday, October 30, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
 Guests are invited to don their spooky, silly and most magical costumes for a trick-or-treat adventure throughout the centre at participating retailers.
Mapleview’s Halloween event will also feature new immersive AI photo booths featuring spooky backdrops to capture bewitching snapshots. The photo booths will open at 5 p.m. and can be found on the Upper Level near the food court, as well as in the North Wing near Sporting Life. Participating guests will receive one complimentary 4×6 photo printout to take home, or a digital copy sent via email or text.
“We’re delighted to host families and the community for a special spook-tacular Halloween at Mapleview Centre!” said Rita Donnelly, General Manager, Mapleview. “This annual event provides an indoor setting where guests can enjoy trick-or-treating and capture memorable moments with friends and family ahead of Halloween.”
Participating retailers will display Trick-or-Treat posters in their store windows, and will hand out candy until supplies last. Guests are asked to visit and collect candy from a participating retailer once, and bring their own Halloween buckets or bags.
 Loads of parking.
 By Staff
October 10th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
It might be a little early – we haven’t experienced Halloween yet but the idea is a good one.
The Burlington Downtown Business Association (BDBA) is inviting children ages 12 and under, from all across Burlington, to creatively show us what the holidays mean to them. In support of the Burlington Downtown Gift Card program, we are proudly launching for the second year:
What it Means: The Children’s Holiday Art Contest!
 They are asking young and talented community to draw what the holidays mean to them and what makes it oh-so-special. Gathering with friends and family, helping to prepare a traditional holiday meal, skating & hot chocolate, the first snowfall of the year or the annual family car ride to look at the twinkling lights…..whatever makes their little hearts soar, we want to see it!
The winning design will be featured as part of the gift card holiday packaging for the Burlington Downtown Gift Card Program starting November 20th through December 31st.
The winning family will receive a $250.00 Burlington Downtown Gift Card and have the opportunity to be featured in our supporting marketing material.
This is YOUR chance to preserve those special holiday moments as seen through a child’s eyes. Indulge the magic of the season while supporting your local downtown business community, what could be merrier?
Ready to get creative? Click here to download the art template. The deadline for submission is November 5th, 2024.
*conditions apply, see blog for full contest rules and regulations.
Ready to get creative? Click here to download the art template. The deadline for submission is November 5th, 2024.
 By Julieta Belen Correa
October 10th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
In the heart of Burlington, casinos are undergoing a transformation with exciting new thematic concepts. These changes are set to attract a diverse crowd, enhancing the gaming experience for locals and visitors alike. As these establishments develop, they aim to offer more than just traditional gambling entertainment.
Exploring the innovations in Burlington’s casinos
 Rendering of a thematic theme When you step into Burlington’s casinos today, you’re greeted by a realm of innovation and creativity. Thematic designs have breathed new life into these establishments, offering an immersive experience that captivates the senses. With each casino embracing unique themes, from the opulence of ancient civilizations to futuristic fantasies, there’s something for everyone. Online platforms such as Tooniebet Casino stand as a prime example of this trend, showcasing how thoughtful design can transform an online gaming platform into a space worth visiting. The emphasis on themes on platforms and in games such as the ones available on Tooniebet not only enhances aesthetic appeal but also creates a more engaging atmosphere for patrons.
The impact of thematic designs on local entertainment
As thematic designs become integral to online casinos such as Tooniebet, you might wonder about their broader impact on local entertainment. By incorporating diverse themes, these venues are redefining what it means to enjoy a night out. While traditional games remain a staple, the added layer of themed environments encourages exploration and repeat visits. This development is not just about aesthetics; it’s about creating memorable experiences that resonate with the community and visitors alike.
 A Canadian coin – known as a Twoonie to everyone Moreover, themed designs can lead to collaborations with local artists and performers, further enriching Burlington’s cultural landscape.
Why thematic casinos matter to you
For those interested in the local economy, the shift to themed casinos is particularly noteworthy. As these establishments innovate, they attract tourists and gaming enthusiasts from outside the area. This influx can boost local businesses and create job opportunities within Burlington. Additionally, themed casinos often host special events and promotions aligned with their distinctive settings, providing more reasons for you to visit. This transformation also signals an increase in competition among casinos, both online ones such as Tooniebet, and physical local venues, pushing each venue to offer superior experiences and services.
The future of gaming in Burlington
Looking ahead, the prospects for gaming in Burlington appear promising with these innovative changes. Casinos adopting thematic designs are setting new standards for entertainment in the city. By continuously updating their themes and offerings, they keep the experience fresh and exciting for regulars and newcomers alike. As technology advances, you can expect even more immersive experiences incorporating virtual reality or interactive elements. Ultimately, these developments ensure that Burlington remains a vibrant hub for entertainment, drawing visitors who seek both excitement and novelty.
By Pepper Parr
October 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
November the 5th is going to be a busy day for those who have concerns about the developments taking place in their community.
 Eight towers in a single development that will be constructed in phases The Oval Court development has scheduled a Statutory meeting for 9:30 on the 5th and there is a Statutory meeting for the 2030 Caroline development scheduled for the same day.
 The 2030 Caroline development is the last of three parts. The building on the north end was to be a six to eight story tower that is now a 28 story tower. Ward 4 Councillor Lisa Kearns is pushing to have the 2030 Caroline meeting held in the evening – nothing final on that push
The Oval Court development is huge – eight towers to be developed in seven phases – it will become a construction site for as much as a decade.
The third Statutory meeting on November 5th is related to the Stonehedge development in ward 5.
Statutory Public Meeting and Recommendation Report
November 5, 2024; 9:30a.m.
Virtual Meeting held in hybrid model
Application for Draft Plan of Subdivision to create 12 lots/blocks, 10 lots to accommodate single detached dwellings, a block to accommodate 8 street townhomes and a block to create a private ownership roadway.
 The Branthaven Oval Court development
By Staff
October 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation Night Light Walk – Burlington 2024 is back for another year. Join Royal LePage as they walk, talk, fundraise and share in a magical night of light under the stars in support of urgently needed resources for women and children experiencing domestic violence.
All proceeds are directed to Halton Women’s Place Transitional Housing Units, so sign up today knowing you will be making a real difference. With your support, we can help light the way forward for so many women and children who are ready to take their first brave steps away from violence.
 Date: October 24, 2024
Suggested Arrival Time: 6:15 p.m.
Walk Starts: 7:00 p.m. (rain or shine)
Location: Burlington Civic Square
Together, with friends, family and neighbours, we will walk 3k through the streets of our community. It all starts at 6:15 p.m. at Burlington Civic Square, where we will gather to hear inspiring stories before we head out to walk a lantern-lit route lighting the way for women and children experiencing domestic violence in our community. The night’s activities will also feature coffee and espresso, a light snack after the walk, Face Painting and a Clown/Balloon artist. All participants will receive a Royal LePage Shelter Foundation Night Light Walk Knit Hat and an LED bracelet.
 By Staff
October 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
A simple one name word – Downie tells what the event is about
 Gord Downie on stage An event at the Performing Arts Centre on Thursday, October 17, 2024 – 8:00 PM to celebrate the work that Gord Downie in his final days, shining a light on reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.
Performing their own versions of your favourite Gord Downie and Tragically Hip songs as well as their own original music, these artists will join in our collective reconciliation journey to promote awareness, education, and thoughtful action.
THE POETS: The Poets are a Tragically Hip tribute band that is based in Moose Factory / Moosonee in northern Ontario.
The Poets are joined by Walking Through the Fire, a group that brings the magic of collaboration to the stage, with award-winning First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists from across Turtle Island joined by Billboard charting/6x CFMA winners Sultans of String!
The event is a concert in support of the Downie-Wenjack Fun
Buy Tickets HERE
 By Staff
October 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
 City of Burlington administrative services will be closed for Thanksgiving, on Monday, Oct. 14. For a list of which City services and facilities are available on the long weekend, please see the summary below or visit burlington.ca.
| City Service |
Holiday Closure Information |
| Animal Services |
The Animal Shelter at 2424 Industrial St. will be closed to appointments on Monday, Oct. 14. To report an animal control related emergency on a holiday, please call 905-335-7777. |
| Burlington Transit |
Burlington Transit will operate on a Sunday schedule on Monday, Oct. 14. The Downtown Transit Terminal, at 430 John St., and Specialized Dispatch will be closed.
Online services
|
| City Hall |
Service Burlington and the Building, Renovating and Licensing counter on the main floor of City Hall at 426 Brant St., will be closed to all appointments and walk-in service on Monday, Oct. 14.
Many service payments are available online at burlington.ca/onlineservices
For online development services:
MyFiles can be used by residents who have applied for Pre-Building Approval. Check the status of Pre Building Approval applications at burlington.ca/MyFiles. |
| Halton Court Services – Provincial Offences Office |
Court administration counter services at 4085 Palladium Way will be closed on Monday, Oct. 14.
Except for the Thanksgiving closure, telephone payments are available at 905-637-1274, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. All in-person services are available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Many services are also available by email at burlingtoncourt@burlington.ca or online at Halton Court Services. Payment of Provincial Offences fines is available 24/7 at www.paytickets.ca. |
| Parking |
On Sunday, Oct. 13 and Monday, Oct. 14: Free parking is available downtown, on the street, in municipal lots and in the parking garage (414 Locust St.).
On Saturday, Oct. 12: Pay parking downtown is required in high-demand parking lots (Lots 1, 4 and 5) and all on-street metered parking spaces. A three-hour maximum is in effect for all on-street spaces. Free parking is available in the remaining municipal lots and the parking garage (414 Locust St.).
NOTE:
- The Waterfront parking lots (east and west at 1286 Lakeshore Rd.) do not provide free parking on holidays
- Parking exemptions are required to park overnight on city streets and for longer than five hours. Visit burlington.ca/parkingexemptions
- Please make an online reservation using Park Pass to visit Lowville Park on weekends. Reservations are free and available in three-hour time slots.
|
| Recreation Programs and Facilities |
Drop-In Recreation Programs
Centennial Pool (5151 New St.) and Tansley Woods Pool (1996 Itabashi Way) are open on Thanksgiving Monday, Oct 14. for recreational and lap swimming.
Drop-in swimming, skating and other recreation program times vary for the long weekend. For schedules, visit burlington.ca/dropinandplay.
Outdoor Activities
Burlington has a variety of outdoor activities to enjoy with your family during the long weekend including:
- trails and multi-use paths
- parks and playgrounds.
Find out more at burlington.ca/outdoorplay.
Golf
Tyandaga Golf Course is open for the fall golfing season. Tee times can be booked online at tyandagagolf.com or by calling 905-336-0005, ext. 2.
Play Lending Library
Our Lending Library has a variety of outdoor and indoor play equipment available to borrow at no charge. Equipment pickup is on Thursdays, and return drop off is on Tuesdays at Haber Community Centre (3040 Tim Dobbie Dr.). Check out the variety of indoor and outdoor play equipment that we offer at burlington.ca/playlending.
Customer Service
Recreation, Community and Culture customer service is available to assist you in person at recreation facility counters during program times.
And with the exception of Monday, Oct. 14, customer service is also available:
- By email at liveandplay@burlington.ca
- By phone at 905-335-7738, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (closed Monday, Oct. 14).
|
| Roads, Parks and Forestry |
The administrative office will be closed on Monday, Oct. 14. Essential services will be provided as required. |
Burlington is a city where people, nature and business thrive. Sign up to learn more about Burlington at burlington.ca/subscribe and follow @CityBurlington on social media.
 By Pepper Parr
October 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
This happened:
 A December 2017 fire destroyed much of the Tender Foods plant and Paletta International offices on Paletta Court. Five years later what was Paletta went through re-organization and resulted in the Alinea Land Corporation that decided to tear down everything on the 18.5 acre site.
 The structure will be torn down – everything levelled to the ground. and this
 Every square foot will be demolished. and this
 Demolition has already started. The 18.5 acre site is going to be redeveloped as light industrial with nothing higher than four storeys – most of which are expected to come in at two storey. The expectation is for 300,000 square feet of space in three buildings.
There will be no residential housing on the site.
Alinea and Paletta International have site plan approval (there are some conditions) from the city. They want to have building permits in hand so they can construct when they have tenants.
The property will be developed in phases. There may be a situation when some of the fire damaged properties will be under demolition while other sites are under construction. Alinea will have a new corporate headquarters on the site.
What gets built when will depend on market conditions. “We don’t want to put up a building and have it standing empty” said David Pitblado who is responsible for the development of many of the Alinea properties.
Access to the site will be from Paletta Court and Zelko Drive.
By Pepper Parr
October 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
 Michael Patrick Moffatt is a Canadian economist and professor of Business, Economics, and Public Policy. He served as director of policy and research at Canada 2020, a progressive Canadian think-tank. He is also an assistant professor at Ivey Business School. How much have the developers paid in the way of development Charges and how much of that money have the municipalities spent?
Housing expert MIKE MOFFATT ran the numbers — “In 2022, the last year we have data for, Ontario municipalities collected $4 billion in development charges, but spent less than $3 billion of those funds.
In total, Ontario municipalities collectively have over $10 billion in unspent DCs.” That cash goes toward housing-enabling infrastructure like sewage and road systems.
By Pepper Parr
October 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
A lot of questions.
Several paragraphs below take you through the current Board level leadership of the Performing Arts Centre that lost its Executive Director quite suddenly on xxxx
Rumours of unacceptable financial behaviour, making decisions well outside the level of responsibility that an Executive Director is given was kept away from the public.
The Executive Director was gone and the search was on for a new one. That was in June – and not a word from the Board since.
The City found that it had to provide the 2024 Sound of Music (SoM) event a significant sum to keep the organization afloat until they had some cash coming in from the event which at the time of the financial rescue was days away.
All this was during that period of time when Performing Arts was “presenting” the Sound of Music – it was never quite clear what “presenting” meant.
A lot of people thought that tucking Sound of Music under the wing of Performing Arts was a great idea – that isn’t our view.
The structures of these two organizations is radically different – SoM has a large dedicated roster of volunteers who work very well together – groups like that don’t work all that well within a structured organization like city hall, which in Burlington is still a collection of silos. It’s getting better but they aren’t yet the well-oiled machine that has every moving part perfectly synced with every other part.
June 10, 2024
 Since 2011, the Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC) has been committed to bringing the best of the arts to its patrons. BPAC is thrilled to welcome seven new faces to its Board of Directors, who will join the hard-working directors currently on the Board and continue to drive and enhance the centre’s commitment to the community. The following new Directors were announced at the AGM on May 30, 2024:
Stephen Bell – Owner of Burlington’s Pepperwood Bistro with over 40 years of experience in the hospitality industry, in both restaurants and hotels, Stephen has been a proud sponsor of BPAC for many years. Pepperwood Bistro’s charity efforts have raised thousands of dollars for Cystic Fibrosis of Canada as well as other local charities.
Dr. Anna Danielova – Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs and Accreditation at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, Anna has spent two decades as a teaching professor and researcher in financial management, corporate finance, investments and valuation at McMaster as well as prominent universities in the US and Armenia.
Carrie Gervais – VP of Finance at MetriCan Group of Companies, with a solid reputation for providing strategic financial solutions to assist business growth. A trusted advisor and leader, Carrie brings a focus on building relationships and effectively collaborating with others.
Max Honiball – Associate Lawyer at Frederikse Law, practicing across all of the Firm’s practice areas. Max loves travel and is an avid musician; two hobbies which are serendipitously supported by his role as a British Army Reserve Musician.
Kari Pimentel – VP of Human Resources at TD Bank. A 25-year HR veteran, Kari is known as a strategic and pragmatic leader, adept at balancing business realities and employee experience while cultivating strong and collaborative relationships.
James Sweetlove – Formerly a lawyer with Ross & McBride, Jim retired in 2015 after over 40 years practicing in the areas of estate administration, planning and litigation. Jim has called Burlington home for over 50 years and has embraced community involvement since retiring, chairing, vice-chairing and sitting on a number of Boards.
Jim Thompson – A retired executive business leader, Jim spent 40 years working for the world’s #1 retailer, Walmart. Jim has lived in Burlington for 30 years and his not-for-profit activities keep him very busy – he currently spends his time as a Board Member, Consultant, Mentor and Speaker.
In addition to the new Directors, BPAC has named its new Youth Ambassador to the Board. Mark Mazuco, a 13-year-old student, will bring a youthful perspective and a vibrant energy to BPAC, and will serve as Burlington’s Youth Voice for the Arts. Mark’s leadership potential has been recognized through his participation in the Canadian Cadets program, as well as his selection to represent Burlington at the 2024 Ontario Model Parliament. These experiences honed his teamwork, communication, and diplomacy – all important skills he will bring to the Youth Ambassador role.
These new appointments join current Board members Ken Smithard (Board Chair), Peter Van Dyk, Deirdre Flynn, Emilie Cote, Kelly Gleeson and Angelo Bentivegna. Cote and Bentivegna represent the City and Council.
 Not quite a full house – but more than respectable audience size BPAC’s Board of Directors’ Statement of Purpose is to lead a progressive performing arts centre that is a gathering place, offering a balance of community and professional programming guided by artistic vision and excellence.
The objective of the Board is to build, foster and celebrate cultural vitality and diversity in the City of Burlington so that the performing arts are seen as an important component of everyday life.
Related news stories:
Performing Arts Director resigns
SoM to take place despite the confusion at BPAC
By Pepper Parr
October 8th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Another memorable Burlington Public Engagement moment.
After going through a long presentation on the Council Composition and Ward boundary task that the city has entered into – the first of what will end up being many public meetings took place last night.
There were three people that were “public” and four staff people plus the staff from Watson and Associates why are doing the study for the city.
 The person on the right is part of the consultant team; the others were interested enough to show up. One of the three that were attending asked why there was just the one sign outside the building – there are three entrances to the Tansley Woods Community Centre.
Signs outside and inside each door helps.
The study is something the city has to do. More importantly, if there is going to be a council that is truly representative, the city needs to know where the 29,000 new homes are going to be located by 2031 and how big the population of each ward, as they exit now, are likely to be.
The presentation made at City Council on Monday was detailed. The Gazette had yet to publish a report on the event.
So when we learned that a total of three people showed up for the event we were not surprised.
Why the city scheduled the first public meeting the day after the presentation to Council suggests that the Communications people don’t know very much about how to engage a public – but that is a different problem.
The bigger problem is that people in Burlington just don’t participate in civic matters – less than 30% of the eligible voters in the 2022 election bothered to vote.
One of the consulting staff made the point that in 2016 when he was involved in this type of public meeting the room was packed. “Things have changed since the pandemic” – what the change is is something that has yet to be figured out.
There are two more meetings scheduled.
 By Pepper Parr
October 8th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Second of a series on the changes taking place in print media and the challenge keeping the public informed.
In the period leading up to 2000 media found itself facing realty difficult times.
When Y2k (remember that event) was upon us no one really knew what was going to happen when we moved into the new millennium.
 Newspapers were selling their printing presses and contracting the work out. Media covered the event like a wet blanket – there were those that said it wasn’t really a problem while others suggested the machines that drive production would come to an immediate halt.
Media did a lot of reporting – but they didn’t pause to ask: what does this mean to us as an industry?
I don’t recall reading about any industry wide workshops; I don’t recall seeing anything in the way of op-ed pieces on what the industry needed to do in the way of changes.
Media covered disruption – without realizing that they were in line for some major disruption to their industry and they weren’t prepared.
The industry no longer had the aura of Watergate or the Pentagon Papers that made reporters heros – at that time thousands flooded into the industry wanting to be reporters. Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were the subject of close to fawning news stories, television specials and movies.
By the late 1980s journalism schools were being closed. The number of students that graduated got smaller and smaller.
The age of the men and woman in the news rooms was made up of people in their late 40’s and 50’s – there was no new blood coming into the industry. And there were few MBAs on staff of the large newspapers.
Those that were public corporations had financial analysts looking at profits which were decent at the time – what those analysts didn’t see was that the boat was moving quickly toward a Niagara size waterfall.
When the disruption of the revenue sources began media didn’t have a Plan B – they watched is losses began to climb and subscriptions slowly slipped away.
 The data relates to American newspaper – the number will not be much different for Canada Part 1 of a series.
 By Pepper Parr
October 8th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Painful things happen.
 At about 7:30 this morning access to the Gazette seemed limited.
At -7:45 you could not get to the paper. A thing called an SSL Certificate had expired.
Getting to the people who provide the certificate was not easy – we all know about Customer Support don’t we.
The problem has been resolved – on the positive side – I had 42 calls from readers along with 21 emails telling us there was a problem.
Learning this morning that a Canadian (UofT) had been awarded the Nobel prize as the founder of AI suggest that we are entering a different age.
Heaven help us.
Thanks for the support.
 By Staff
October 8th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Walkn’n Roll fund raising drive reached $39,000 of the $40,000 target.
Would a handful of the people out there help them reach the total – today would be nice.
 Community Living promotes the inclusion for all in the community. Walk’n Roll is the initiative that funds some of the work done at Community Living – an organization that helps people who need help – people with a developmental disability in Burlington.
With just $1,000 more to reach the $40,000 goal, they are asking for your help. If you haven’t had the chance to donate yet or if you’d like to make a one-time contribution, now’s the perfect time.
The donation portal closes on October 10, 2024.
Donate here
 By Pepper Parr
October 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Gazette seldom actually attends meetings of City Council. We see the room as somewhat odious.
More than that – we make heavy use of photographs which we couldn’t take if we were in the Council Chamber – further we use a transcription service that allows us to capture what people say – we couldn’t do that if we were actually at City Hall.
This morning there were two people we wanted pictures of: Curt Benson, a City Commissioner and Jack Ammendolia Managing Partner from Watson who was reporting to Council on the ward boundaries and size of council matter.
We also like to keep our photograph data base of Councillors -up to date.
 Curt Benson – Commissioner of Development and Growth Management We were able to get several good screen shots of Curt Benson – this man is going to have a very significant impact on how development rolls out from a city perspective. Benson came from the Halton Region – knows the file particularly well. The city was lucky to get him
 Jack Ammendolia, Managing Partner, Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. Same went for Jack Ammendolia, Managing Partner, Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. We were also able to get pictures of Samantha Yew, City Clerk who does solid behind the scenes work.
 The image on the Thomson T-shirt. We can’t say the same about Jim Thompson. He delegated in person at Committee of the Whole, and as usual he was right on the mark with his comment. Thomson has been consistently correct when he points out the errors council makes on procedural matters.
His delegation appears below. What doesn’t appear are any pictures of Jim Thomson sporting a new T-shirt.
It takes less than a second for me to push the Print Screen key – I didn’t have that much time. The image was gone in a flash and never appeared again until the very end – and again it disappeared in a second.
The Audio-Visual team controls what appears on the screen for people who are watching a web cast – they are like the camera directors.
 Jim Thomson delegating at Council Traditionally they keep the camera on the person speaking – they made an exception for Jim Thomson this morning – and that was not an accident. Someone told them not to show Jim Thomson wearing his expressive T-shirt.
Mayor Meed Ward read out her usual remarks related to how people behaved when they are in Council Chambers. I’ve never seen any other Council in the Region issue statements on behaviour the way the Burlington Mayor does.
“We ask everyone to be respectful of others when they are speaking, listen as you would want to be listened to, and a reminder to our committee members to adhere to the procedure by law and limit your questions to two at a time. Further, our members may ask questions only for the purpose of obtaining facts that are relevant to the matter under discussion and necessary for a clear understanding of the matter. All questions are stated succinctly and should not be used as a means to make statements, assertions or engage in debate.
Thomson was in Council for the first time in many many months.
When Thomson had finished his delegation – no one asked a single camera – they couldn’t get him off stage fast enough.
This is really childish, immature behaviour.
Replace them all at the next election. Odious lot.
Mayor Meed Ward introduced Thompson, “who is joining us in person to speak to the approval of the 2025 meeting calendar.
“You have a presentation; We’ll ask our audio visual specialists to bring that up, and you can start whenever you are ready.”
Thomson begins:
“Staff Direction (SD) 1723 directed staff to include a public engagement component into the by law review.”
 Jim Thomson: I don’t find the staff position surprising, Staff put up a survey on the Get Involved Burlington website, but failed to incorporate any feedback from that survey into the proposed bylaw.
“The survey results were not included as part of the report on the bylaw review. Staff claimed that the questions were outside the scope of the bylaw review. I have a hard time understanding how the timing of meetings is outside the scope of the bylaw review. The public need to know the time of meetings and should have input.
“Staff eventually released the data from the survey, but didn’t include it in the urgent business section with the rest of the bylaw information. It was a separate memo under receiving file, and at least one councillor hadn’t read it.
“The survey data showed that 39% of respondents find a meeting schedule inconvenient or very inconvenient, while only 17% actually find the time to be convenient or very convenient.
“The survey also contained many comments that indicate the daytime meeting is challenging for people due to work commitments. It Should be noted that the change in start times to 9:30 happened in December 2022 without proper public notification of a change to the bylaw and with no public engagement.
“The staff direction was a belated attempt to get public input into the bylaw review. Staff were supposed to report in Q3 2023 but they failed to do so, and it wasn’t until September 2024 that they came back with the report that failed to include the public engagement they had been directed to provide.
 Jim Thomson – self portrait – in T shirt someone made sure the public never got to see. “It’s really galling that in this report, the staff have a section titled options considered. There aren’t any. No options were actually presented, let alone considered. There is just a bald statement the staff are not recommending changes.
“Staff apparently believe that if someone wishes to delegate, they have in person, online or telephone available, that, of course, assumes the person can get time off work to use any of those options.
“I don’t find the staff position surprising, as Mary Ann has stated at Council, that we give people their evenings back to spend their time with their families and go to ball games and have their personal time.
“The question I have for Mary Ann is, who asked for the readings back? Was it the public or was it staff rearranging things to their own benefit? Thank you for your time. Are there any questions?”
Mayor Meed Ward: Thank you for your delegation. I don’t see any questions on the board.
Later in the Council meeting the Mayor spoke at length on the data that Thomson mention – her comments seemed like an attempt to justify the decision to do away with evening meetings.
We will report on that in a separate article.
 By Pepper Parr
October 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Updated at 6:10 pm
Declarations of an interest on an item on the agenda are seldom declared by Council members. We don’t see these very often.
The morning Councillor Sharman declared a conflict of interest on Item 9.5 which is the confidential human resource department report regarding a personal matter.
Sharman then said: “ because it relates to myself.”
Oh, Oh – what have you done Councillor?
You are not supposed to know what your fellow Councillors will hear nor will you know what they say. They will probably make a decision as to what they want to do about this “confidential human resource department report”
Time in the wood shed for Sharman?
 Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman seen at City Council meetings serving the public.. I feel you pain brother!  
Would this behavioural matter have anything at all to do with the fact that Councillor Stolte was absent from today Committee of the Whole meeting?
Council came out of a closed session and reported that on the Human Resources related to Councillor Paul Sharman – the decision was to file whatever there was in the way of a report.
This is too clubby a Council to find themselves making decisions about the behaviour of one of their colleagues. It should have gone to an independent group.
By Pepper Parr
October 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
First of series on the changes taking place in print media and the challenge keeping the public informed.
This is National newspaper week; an occasion to look at the challenges the news business faces.
That daily newspaper that was read in most households in the evening or the paper that was delivered in the morning before Dad left for work are things of the past.
 Once the largest newspaper in western GTA – the Spectator struggles to stay alive. We no longer have daily newspapers, or weekly newspaper that tell us what is going on in our communities, provinces, the rest of the country or the world.
There are some daily newspaper being published. The Hamilton Spectator comes out six days a week but it is not the powerful local daily it once was.
Except for a small number of daily newspapers that are national in scope – the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Los Angeles Times – include some of the financial press like the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times and that is what we have. There are exceptions but they are few and far between.
Those publications have reasonably robust advertising bases that fund the operation; everyone else was taken out by services based on the internet.
Craig’s List and Kajiji killed Classified Advertising; a service that drew in millions in revenue with little in the way of editorial expense other than taking down the information and setting it all up under the dozens of classifications. It was a brilliant idea that has been with us for centuries in different forms.
 Classified advertising was phenomenally successful Newspaper revenue from classifieds advertisements decreased continually as internet classifieds grew. Classified advertising at some of the larger newspaper chains dropped by 14% to 20% in 2007, while traffic to classified sites grew by 23%.
This was the beginning of the end for print newspapers. It took an additional decade and a half for the business side of newspapers to realize that they were in serious trouble – by that time it was too late.
In the past year the Toronto Star pulled the plug on their Metroland unit that published close to 50 weekly newspapers in the province.
 Soon after Kajiji was created others created versions of online advertising that included photographs – it was classified with colour and all on line. Without a financial base print was dead – going on line was the answer but it took time for the larger media companies to figure that out.
Newspapers could tell a story – they had sections that reported on business – the Globe and Mail Report on Business being the most successful. Ironic that while very good at reporting news they were not able to see how what they were reporting was going to impact them. They weren’t able to see the fundamental change that was taking place.
An interesting example of the newspaper that saw the change coming and found a way to change their business model.
The Toronto Star and LaPresse, the largest French newspaper in Quebec, formed a joint venture with the Toronto Star to create a digital version of the newspaper and publish as online newspapers.
 Going totally digital worked for Montreal’s French language newspaper. It worked for LaPresse – the Star was never able to convince their readers that online was going to be the way you got your news.
In 2016, a few years after the launch of La Presse+, print was restricted to Saturdays and shortly thereafter, on 31 December 2017, the last newspaper was printed.
Publisher Guy Crevier says the paper will become the world’s first major daily to go completely digital on weekdays as it responds to a permanent shift in advertising spending.
Guy Crevier, publisher of LaPresse, pointed out that the North American newspaper sector had lost 63 per cent of its revenues — or $29 billion — over the past decade. “There is nobody who can survive in an environment like that.
The Toronto Star was losing far too much money – the family trust that held a majority of the voting shares accepted an offer to sell the newspaper.
 Nicole MacIntyre – Toronto Star editor The newspaper was acquired by NordStar Capital on May 26, 2020, after the board of Torstar voted to sell the company to the investment firm for CA$52 million—making Torstar a privately held company.
The two businessmen, Jordan Bitove and Paul Rivett bought the newspaper along with the regional newspapers and the chain of weeklies, and found that they didn’t share the same vision for the Toronto Star. Bitove bought out Rivett. In July the Star appointed Nicole MacIntyre as editor.
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Emily Brown who has every right to expect to be given the nod from Burlington PC members. She has earned it but she is sweating this one
