 Ciné-Starz Upper Canada Place,
Burlington, ON L7R 4B6
Week of Friday, October 30, 2015 through Thursday, November 05, 2015
Pan (PG)
Fri – Sun: 11:00 AM, 1:10, 3:10, 5:15, 7:20
Mon – Thu: 1:00, 3:10, 5:15, 7:15
Everest (PG)
Fri – Sun: 11:00 AM, 3:20, 5:00, 7:30, 9:45
Mon – Thu: 1:00, 5:10, 7:25, 9:40
Black Mass (14A)
Fri – Sun: 5:00, 7:20, 9:35
Mon – Thu: 3:20, 7:20, 9:35
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (PG)
Fri – Sun: 11:00 AM, 1:00, 3:00, 7:15, 9:30
Mon – Thu: 1:00, 2:45, 5:00, 7:15, 9:20
War Room ()
Fri – Sun: 1:20, 5:20, 7:30
Mon – Thu: 1:00, 3:15, 5:25, 7:30
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (PG)
Fri – Sun: 7:15, 9:40
Mon – Thu: 7:00, 9:30
Minions (G)
Fri – Sun: 11:15 AM, 1:15, 3:35, 5:35
Mon – Thu: 1:00, 3:15, 5:30
Inside Out (G)
Fri – Sun: 11:05 AM, 1:00, 3:00
A Walk in the Woods (14A)
Fri – Sun: 11:00 AM, 1:00, 3:00, 5:25, 9:40
Mon – Thu: 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 9:40
Graveyard Story ()
Fri – Thu: 9:40 PM
 Great popcorn – good service. 
 By Staff
October 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Neither the city or the regional governments wants to get caught over poor flood potential warnings.
This time everyone appears to be in town so we know where our leaders are – and they are telling us that the remnants of the hurricane that slammed into the west side of Mexico has worked its way north and that the city could see up to 50 cm of rainfall in a short period of time
The message to the citizens is that Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Halton Region, including Burlington, for significant rainfall beginning early tomorrow morning and continuing throughout the day.
 The city wants to be sure rainwater like this doesn’t collect anywhere is the city. “The city began preparing for this weather event yesterday, checking inlet and outlet structures and catch basins to ensure they are clear,” said Cathy Robertson, director of road and parks maintenance at the City of Burlington.
“We are also encouraging residents to take steps around their homes to help reduce the risk of flooding,” Robertson said. “We are asking residents to check catch basins on their streets to make sure leaves are not blocking the flow of storm water into the sewers.”
If you are scheduled to receive leaf pick next week from the city’s leaf collection program, please wait until after the storm before raking your leaves to the curb for collection as gusty winds tomorrow will result in blowing leaves.
 There are residents throughout the city who do not want this kind of experience again. Tips to protect your property from flooding during a heavy rainfall:
• Ensure your eavestroughs and downspouts are clear of debris, draining properly, away from the foundation walls of your home.
• Use an extension for your downspouts and ensure they are directed away from the foundation walls.
• Look around your property for any obstructions that could prevent water from draining away from your home.
• Ensure window wells are free from debris to ensure proper drainage.
• Clear debris away from catch basins (sewer grates) on the road to help the flow of storm water into the storm sewer.
Conservation Halton advises that the Environment Canada Weather Office is forecasting a low pressure system associated with the remnants of Hurricane Patricia will be moving into the Great Lakes region this evening. The system is expected to bring significant rainfall along with strong and gusty winds over the next couple of days. Rain will be heavy at times. Latest indications suggest 25 to 40 mm of rain in most areas with locally higher amounts of 40 to 50 mm possible, especially near Lakes Erie and Ontario. There is also the possibility of convective cells within the storm which could add an additional 10 to 20 mm in isolated locations.
The forecasted rainfall will result in higher than normal water levels and flows in all our streams and creeks, resulting in dangerous flow conditions. While no flooding is anticipated, watercourses will be flowing higher than normal causing local streams and creeks to become dangerous, especially in the vicinity of culverts and bridges.
All good news – hopefully we have learned some lessons.
 By Staff
October 27th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
They are out in force this week – the fraud artists are just flooding the internet with what at first glance looks like a message from your banker – always look at the email address the message came from – and even then – give the bank a call – they always want to hear from you about any effort to scam your money from you.
 The scam artists want to learn as much as they can about you – so they can become you and drain every dollar you have out of your account. Pay attention to the email you get. One of our people got two requests to check on their account – first one went like this:
It came from: CIBC Online <no-reply@cibonl.com>- that is not a CIBC email address
Because we have received multiple failed authentication attempts, your online access has been temporarily locked.
To restore your access, click: Sign On to CIBC Online and proceed with the verification process.
The second one came from:
Customer Contact Centre! <supervisor@hdt.es>
And used the first name of the person it was sent to: Good afternoon (name)
Your Bank of Montreal account has just been used to connect Internet Explorer on Windows 10/26/2015 12:27:39 Uganda
Could not this browser if you have used this device or with your account.
This can happen when you first connect to another computer, phone or browser when you use the browser incognito or private browsing or deleting cookies or when accessing your account else.
If this was you, please sign in from your regularly used device.
If you haven’t recently signed in from an unrecognized device and believe someone may have accessed your account, please visit this link to change your password and update your account recovery information.
Thanks for taking these additional steps to keep your account safe.
The grammatical errors were a dead giveaway with this one.
 The identity thieves are very good at what they do. They are out there – looking for someone who may not pay close attention. It is your money –make sure someone doesn’t steal it from you.
Stay vigilant.
 By Walter Byj
October 27th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It has been a trying five weeks for Director of Education Stuart Miller.
As if managing the ongoing teacher dispute was not enough to give him sleepless nights, he now is the lead figure in presenting to the public the impact of the French Immersion program on Halton schools.
 Director of Eduction Stuart Miller – less than three months into his job is leading the public discussion on the handling of a trend toward higher enrollment in French immersion classes. Monday night’s Burlington presentation at Nelson High School was the first of four presentations over the next two weeks. With a number of Halton Superintendents present along with all of the Burlington trustees (Collard, Reynolds, Pappin and Grebenc) and one Oakville trustee (J. Oliver) Miller took to the stage promptly at 7:00 pm.
Prior to the slide show presentation Miller stressed that this was an information session and that he was not looking for answers or solutions tonight.
“We want to share our information with the public”, he said “so that you can later provide input on facts that you have before you.” Speaking with a booming voice and the confidence of one who knows the topic well, he presented what could be a very complicated scenario with a straight “here are the facts “method.
Assisted for part of the presentation by Dom Renzella (Manager of Planning) the presentation covered how the huge uptake in French Immersion was negatively affecting English classroom sizes and potentially the quality of education the board could deliver.
His mandate and that of the board is to offer the highest quality of education to both the English and French students; the current trend was affecting the English program negatively.
He noted that getting qualified French teachers was another huge issue facing the board. He explained the current situation would be bleaker in upcoming years and that now was the time to act.
The initial step was to form a committee (the Program Viability Committee) that enlisted the aid of staff, principals and trustees that studied the collective information before them and then whittled down 14 recommendations to the current four.
RECOMMENDATION
Be it resolved that the Halton District School Board present the following options for the delivery of French Immersion to the public in the Fall of 2015 for the purpose of receiving feedback, considerations and comments. Feedback will be brought to the Board for consideration in the delivery of French Immersion programming:
1. Option 1: Grade 1 (early) French immersion remains a 50% French 50% English delivery model, but entry to FI will be capped. The method of capping would be determined at a later date.
2. Option 2: Grade 1 (early) French Immersion remains at 50% French and 50% English, however all FI programs will be delivered in single track FI schools. French Immersion will be phased out of dual track schools and no new dual track schools will be considered. The location of the single track schools will be determined at a later date.
3. Option 3: French Immersion will commence at a later entry point (mid entry); Grade 4. This will result in the delivery model of FI moving from a 50% model to at least a 80% French Immersion model. In addition the delivery of FI will occur in dual track schools only.
4. Option 4: French Immersion will commence at a later entry point (mid entry); Grade 4. This will result in the delivery model of FI moving from a 50% model to at least a 80% French Immersion model. In addition the delivery of FI will occur in single track FI schools on
 In presenting the four current recommendations Miller was emphatic in saying they were not etched in stone but are merely a starting point on which the public can tweak or reject outright and offer something completely different.
Miller wants public input would get to the board between November, 2015 to March 2016 and that a decision could be reached by June 2016. Implementation would not occur until September 2017.
Completing the presentation in a very quick forty-five minutes, a lot quicker than the planned hour and half, Miller offered to take some questions from the half packed theatre stressing that now was not the time for solutions.
He was asked if more drill down data would be available. Yes he replied.
What is the retention rate of FI students? 5% of students leave the program annually.
What is the definition of viability? The ideal classroom size is 20 students and many of our English classrooms have less than 10 students he said.
Will the original 14 scenarios be released? Yes he replied.
Why do parents enrol their children in FI? No definitive answer from Miller. Is the Halton busing policy too liberal and is it increasing the uptake in FI? Too difficult to measure Miller replied as buses carry a variety of students.
In conclusion, Miller said that each of his presentations are being taped and will be available on the HDSB site
It was a solid first presentation for Miller and no doubt he will feel more at ease with upcoming presentations. But will the solution be easy?
Although the audience did come for the information presented, some came in with a filter as to how to interpret the facts. Those who feel that French is essential will no doubt be building a case for why the FI program must not change dramatically from its current form.
Others, from past experience, felt that English programming would take a back seat to French and that the final result is pre-determined.
That is quite a divergence of opinion and it will take all the skill of Director Miller along with the HDSB trustees to execute a plan that will probably not gain many friends but will find an equitable solution.
By Pepper Parr
October 27th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Firearms and Weapons Amnesty ends in two days October 29, 2015.
The police have encouraged people to surrender their unregistered or unwanted firearms and weapons to the Halton Regional Police.
This amnesty is an opportunity for members of the community to hand in firearms and/or weapons and ammunition that are unused, inherited or illegal, without the fear of being charged for having them.
 Weapons previously turned in by the public. During this amnesty, the police encourage people to turn in illegally held guns and ammunition and any other unwanted firearms, imitation firearms and air guns. In addition, any weapon that may pose a threat to public safety such as switchblades, butterfly knives, pepper spray, nunchuks, shurikens, push daggers, knife-combs, crossbows, spiked wristbands, batons and/or blowguns.
There is a dedicated telephone line available to arrange a firearm or weapon pick up. (905) 465-8733 will be monitored from Monday to Saturday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm during the ten days.
DO NOT BRING ANY WEAPONS OR FIREARMS TO A POLICE STATION.
DO NOT TRANSPORT FIREARMS OR WEAPONS IN YOUR VEHICLE.
DO NOT GREET OFFICERS AT THE DOOR WITH FIREARMS/WEAPONS.
Officers assigned to pick up the weapons will provide police identification and will require a signature for destruction.
This Amnesty is an opportunity for everyone to take part in removing these firearms and weapons from the community, reducing the risk of them falling into the hands of criminals.
Last year, approximately 180 firearms were turned in, about 40 knives and 200 pounds of ammunition.
 By Staff
October 26, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Shucks – they aren’t advertising the seed catalog offerings yet are they?
The city however is ready to accept applications to secure a garden plot in 2016 at one of the city’s three community gardens starting November 2 through to the 22nd, 2015.
 Rob Peachey says he is excited. Rob Peachey, the city’s manager of parks and open spaces, who doesn’t get excited very often said today that the city is entering the “fifth growing season with the community gardens program,” and he is “excited”.
Peachey overseas the Windows on the Lake program for the city. It isn’t a part of his job that brings smiles to his face.
The city is accepting the applications a bit earlier than in past years, to give gardeners more time over the winter months to plan and prepare their gardens for the spring.”
 This lady knows what a difference a community garden can make. Michelle Bennett was one of the people who taught city hall ho yo go after provincial money and get community gardens in place. she started with one – there are now three. Located at Amherst Park, Central Park and Francis Road Bikeway, the community gardens are open for planting from May 1 to Oct. 23, 2016. There are a total of 80 plots available, plus six raised, accessible plots suitable for persons with disabilities. Applicants may indicate a preferred garden location and plot style on the application.
The cost to rent a plot for the season is $50. Water, soil and compost are supplied and all plots have full sun. Plots will be allocated by lottery at the close of the application period, and all applicants will be notified of their lottery result by early December 2015.
Community garden application forms will be available online beginning November 2 at community centres, the Seniors’ Centre, or City Hall, 426 Brant St., at the Service Burlington counter. Completed applications must be received by the city no later than Nov. 22, 2015.
For more information about Burlington community gardens, visit www.burlington.ca/communitygardens.
By Staff
October 26, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It begins.
Not quite the shovels in the ground with the photo op and the silver spade – this is just getting hydro wires in the ground. The rest will begin in the New Year
 It was a dream back in 1985 when the city approved a legacy building on the edge of the lake. The burying of hydro lines marks the beginning of real construction. Occupancy is scheduled for 2018. The Bridgewater development that will consist of a 22 storey condominium, an eight story hotel and a second seven story condominium commences.
The first phase of construction will include the burial of hydro lines. This work is expected to take approximately 10 weeks. During the construction, there will be some minor lane disruptions and a one-day closure of the intersection at Lakeshore Road and Old Lakeshore Road (The Gazette will keep you posted on details.) All businesses in the immediate area will remain open for business as usual.
As part of the construction, the section of Elizabeth Street, south of Lakeshore Road, will be closed until November 2018. Access to the Waterfront Hotel is available through the north driveway.
For more information, please contact Carol Gulak, Capital Works, City of Burlington at 905-335-7600, ext. 7772 or carol.gulak@burlington.ca.
 By Pepper Parr
October 26, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
First of a multi part series on how the city thinks intensification could be managed.
What do you think your city is going to look like in 25 years?
The Bridgewater Hotel will have been open for at least 22 years so citizens will have gotten used to the idea of seeing tall buildings.
We don’t know yet if the ADI Development people are going to get to build the 28 storey structure they have in mind for the corner of Lakeshore Road and Martha.
But we can tell you that your city council is taking a long hard look at different heights for buildings as they think their way through the intensification they believe they have to do to meet the Ontario government’s Places to Grow policy.
At a Committee of the Whole workshop, led by a team of consultants, Council and staff went through a series of visualizations last week that presented various scenarios based on planning, urban design and market trend considerations.
There were visualizations of five locations around the city that showed what a particular road or intersection would look like if the full potential of the existing zoning were used and if the zoning was given a bit of an upgrade.
 An aerial view of the city before the Pier was completed. The Region of \Halton is expected to grow from half a million people to more than 1 million by 2041 – how much of that growth will take place in Burlington is a key question to those who want the city to stay just the way it is. The consultants chose a planned mobility hub – (1) Aldershot GO station; (2) an urban centre – Uptown; (3) an urban corridor; Fairview and Cumberland; (4) a neighbourhood commercial plaza – New Street and Guelph Line and an employment area – (5) Harvester Road, east of Appleby Line in one of the Prosperity corridors.
The objective was to give council some idea as to what the city would look like if the properties had their zoning changed or if the owners of the property developed the property to its maximum benefit.
The exercise was necessary because of the Province’s Places to Grow Plan, which calls for higher population densities across the province, will require the Region to grow by as much as half a million people by 2041.
The province will soon announce how many people and jobs have to be added to the Region of Halton. The Regional Council then has to decide how that number of job and population growth is to be distributed between the municipalities.
The exercise council went through was to look at what the city would look like under different sets of circumstances.
Existing Official Plan and Zoning By – Law permit 200 people and jobs per hectare within the UGC by 2031. This amounts to 22,800 people and jobs within the UGC by 2031.
The objective of the intensification exercise was to support the City’s strategic plan process by generating discussion about:
What we want to achieve through intensification
What intensification could look like
How we’ve prepared for intensification to date
How we can prepare ourselves further to manage intensification
Council wanted to know what could be achieved through intensification. Higher density growth within our Built-up areas can:
Reduce pressure for Greenfield growth, protecting rural and agricultural areas
Shift dependency from private automobiles towards walking, bicycling and transit
Create a critical mass of riders to support transit service
Make efficient use of existing infrastructure and services
Provide the opportunity to refine the urban environment and public spaces through urban design
Create opportunities to attract new growth
The visualizations are intended to show what intensification might look like in Burlington, and considered two scenarios:
Scenario 1: Current OP and Zoning Policies
Scenario 2: Hypothetical Intensification
Visualizations were developed through a conceptual block planning exercise relying on: Existing conditions, land use policy and zoning and general opportunities for pedestrian-supportive heights, densities, and streetscapes
The exercise was not conducted as a detailed master planning process, or technical planning exercise and therefore does not consider factors such as: transportation, utilities, servicing, site- specific constraints or general zoning requirements such as parking.
The visualizations are intended to provide a high level understanding of:
What intensification could look like?
The level of development that can be generated through intensification
How well the City’s current planning framework supports intensification
There are a number of key factors which drive intensification:
Access to higher order transit;
Other infrastructure condition/capacity;
Housing affordability;
Proximity to employment and amenities;
Land availability/suitability/value;
Urban character; and
Demographics/labour force characteristics.
What do the pictures drawn tell us?
We start in Aldershot on Waterdown Road which was recently widened after the property at Waterdown and Plains Road was expropriated.
 Waterdown Road looking north. The recent widening of the road and a fresh layer of asphalt are almost a “red carpet” for development. The Adi Development group has already stakes out their claim for a combination of stacked townhouses and five high rise residential building on a site close to the Aldershot GO station.  One scenario, possible under existing zoning Scenario 1. Under the existing zoning 365 people + jobs can be put on 8.8 hectares of property. Note the difference in height between on the right hand side of the street in the two scenarios.
 A second scenario of the same part of the city with a hypothetical zoning that would allow for more density. Scenario 2 – hypothetical intensification would see 450 people + jobs in27.1 hectares.
For those familiar with this part of Burlington these two scenarios are a huge change in the use of the land on Waterdown Road south of the railway tracks. It is not clear if any land assembly has been done in that part of the city.
The longer term plan is to develop a commercial hub around the Aldershot GO station. The ADI Development acquisition of 14 acres that they they want to place both stacked townhouses and apartment buildings on would bring residents into the community that could walk the short distance to these office buildings which would fit into the Live, Work, Play many at city hall have for the city. There would be few complaints about rush hour traffic.
The drawings shown here are what the Planning department thinks could be built on these properties. Now a developer who is looking for an opportunity will have some sense as to what is possible in terms of development.
If this kind of development took place in Aldershot – and that is a very big if – would it take some of the pressure off Plains Road? Many Aldershot residents are noisily opposed to anything over six storeys high.
The next possibility – and realize that these drawings are just examples of what could and might happen in different parts of the Burlington as the city looks at how it is going to cope with the need to intensify. There is no longer any land to grow – so any growth has to be by adding height and density.
The Planning department looked at a variety of locations around the city for these intensification exercises. They chose that part of Fairview east of Cumberland as an example of an urban corridor.
 Fairview east of Cumberland – this is what it looks like today. Barren, busy and certainly not people friendly. Not a sidewalk to be seen. This is what the corridor looks like today. Single storey structures for the most party set well back from the street.
 The first of two scenarios – this one under existing zoning would allow for higher structures and much more in the way of open space for the public. with this kind of intensification Fairview takes on a community feel rather than just a road o drive along. Scenario 1 – using the existing zoning would have 250 people + jobs in what is now a 6.8hectare area. The buildings would range between five and six storeys an be combinations of office and retail or retail and residential. The drawings show dedicated bike lanes and all kinds of trees. There are also a lot of open public spaces with benches and a lot foliage. It is certainly a more civilized looking Fairview Street.
 Scenario 2 would require zoning changes and allow for much more height and density. Scenario 2: Using a hypothetical intensification the street would have eight and ten storey structures that were mixed use allowing for retail, office and rental residential.
During the discussion Councillor Dennison, who is very pro development – within reason for the most part, points out that if intensification is going to be done in locations like Fairview – it makes more sense to go for as much height as possible “because we aren’t going to be able to make those buildings higher ten years later.”
The next part of the city to get a hypothetical makeover was the plaza at the intersection of New Street and Guelph Line. It is a fairly large sprawling plaza with entrance and exists on to two main Streets – New and Guelph Line. Well served by transit but rather barren looking places.
Scenario 1a under existing zoning would have 155 people + jobs on the 2.2 hectare site that would look a lot different than what is there today. Low rise office space with retail at the lower levels and parking at the rear.
Scenario 1b which was detailed in a Commercial Lands staff report would put 210 people + jobs on the site and see buildings that were six storeys and include the public square.
Throughout this visualization exercise of potential intensification sites there was the consistent inclusion of open public spaces with all kinds of foliage. One wonders if Parks and Recreation would create small skating rinks for people to use – that would certainly animate the space.
Scenario 2 for this commercial plaza ramps the population on the 2.2 hectare space to 285 people + jobs and takes the buildings up to eight and ten storeys.
During the discussion on this site Councillor Dennison who apparently knew the owners of the property well enough to say that they probably didn’t have the funds to undertake the kind of investment needed to change the plaza.
Part of what this visualization exercise was about seemed to be to let developers know what the potential in the city was now and could be with zoning changes.
The discussion on these “growth possibilities” was pretty heady stuff – now to learn what the public thinks about the ideas.
There were additional visualizations done – those for an Uptown urban centre – Appleby and Upper Midddle; an employment area, Harvester Road, east of Appleby Line in one of the Prosperity corridors, and an urban employment area – Appleby Line and Harvster Road, will be detailed in a following feature
 By Staff
October 26, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It is a well-established tradition in Burlington – 19 years and they are still slurping soup from hand crafted soup bowls.
 The AGB volunteers prepare for the 800 people they expect to slurp soup at their annual fund raiser. The Soup Bowl Event is a celebration of both culinary and ceramic art. From November 19 – 22, Burlington’s favourite fall fundraising event will feature all of the best loved Soup Bowl elements – beautiful handcrafted bowls donated by potters from across Ontario ready to be filled with delectable gourmet soups from some of the area’s finest restaurants and caterers, including Spencer’s at the Waterfront, Emma’s Back Porch, The Queen’s Head, Honey West, and many more.
Soup Bowl is an important fundraiser for the AGB and supports children’s programming, including vital education initiatives such as school outreach and financial assistance for youth.
This event traditionally sells out. Tickets are on sale now – $50 ($40 for AGB members) for all lunch (12pm – 1pm) and Thursday evening (6pm – 7pm) sittings. Tables of eight can also be reserved, the perfect opportunity for a staff lunch or family outing.
Order tickets online or by phone hone (905-632-7796, ext. 326) or in person at AGB 1333 Lakeshore Road, Burlington.
The AGB has prepared for 800 guests who will choose their handcrafted bowls, fill them with a gourmet soup to enjoy with the rest of their meal, and then take the bowls home after they are cleaned and packaged by our hardworking volunteers.
The people at the AGB don’t want you to forget the annual Christmas Sale of Fine Art and Craft presented by the seven Guilds of the AGB, and also to the seasonal beauty of the Art Etc. Gallery Shop’s Christmas Boutique, brimming with gift items carefully selected for quality and design.
 Wayne Cardinalli: one of the hundreds of potter who donated a bowl to the annual soup bowl event that takes place at the AGB November 19-22 Shopping at the Arts Burlington Christmas Sale is an added bonus during the Soup Bowl Event. There is free admission to browse and buy at the Arts Burlington Christmas Sale, which features a wide variety of handcrafted items produced by the Guilds of Arts Burlington with Christmas in mind. It is open to everyone on November 19 from 11 am to 9 pm; and November 20 – 22 from 11 am to 4 pm.
The Art Gallery of Burlington is located at 1333 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, and is an accessible facility with lots of free parking over the course of the event.
 By Staff
October 26, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Every couple of days one can see the re-developed Joseph Brant Hospital reach higher and higher. They are at the point now where the bridge that will lead people from their cars to the hospital is now having its pillars put in place – 2018 is not that far off.
 Pillars are not in place to hold the bridge that will lead from the garage to the hospital. The photo above shows a view of construction from the roof of our parking garage. If you take a look in front of Level 1 of the new patient tower there are 6 large columns leading to the garage. These columns will one day support the bridge connecting Level 1 of the parking garage to Level 1 of the new tower.
The construction of the Level 4 deck will continue over the next couple of weeks. You might be wondering why there is no Level 3. To facilitate the needs of the operating rooms, which will be located on Level 2, high ceilings are required for lights and an extensive amount of mechanical work. There is however, a small Level 3 section for an elevator bank that will connect the existing hospital to the new patient tower.
The columns from Level 2 to Level 4 are complete.
The pouring of concrete for the first half of Level 4 is complete. The second half will be completed by November 6.
Construction of columns and the pouring of concrete for Level 5 continues.
8 elevator shafts and 3 main stairways from Level 4 to 5 are currently being built.
The loading dock is nearing completion.
In our existing hospital, demolition, mechanical and electrical decommissioning has started to make way for the new engineering department. The department will be located in the basement of the hospital where the finance department was once located.
The Operational Readiness team has formed five Integrated Working Groups; these are subject matter experts from across the hospital working together to achieve specified goals around defined issues, and to ensure alignment with the hospital’s objectives for Opening Day View.
Opening Day View identifies the major changes that will be in place at Joseph Brant on the opening day of our new hospital. As the project progresses there will be 15 groups in total; the five formed so far are:
Alcove Management – new, starting in December 2015
Transition Budget – ongoing
Bed Mapping & Bed Management – ongoing
Move Planning – ongoing
Medication Management – new, starting in December 2015
The Gazette was not able to reach anyone at the hospital re-development office to learn just what Alcove management is all about.
 A portion of the fourth floor of the hospital be swung into position by a crane and lowered into place where construction crews secure it. This is better than side walk superintending. To see the pace of construction day by day – CLICK HERE and watch the crews build your hospital.
By Staff
October 26, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
On Thursday October 15th 2015 at approximately 4:00 am, an unknown person entered numerous vehicles in the City of Burlington. Among other items, the suspect stole credit cards which were later used at various locations in Burlington and Brampton.
 While the police news release was sketchy – there is nothing sketchy about the quality of the video that was captured. Anyone who has information that would assist investigators in identifying this male are encouraged to contact D/Cst Freeman – Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 Ext. 2363, Det Bale ext 2312, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
Not a lot of detail in this police report and why is it being made public ten days after the crime was committed?
If you can help – do help.
 By Pepper Parr
October 26, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a week ago today that Canadians made a choice – and now we have a new government and most Canadians feel better about themselves. Not all – but there is a different mood about the land.
Burlington now has three woman representing different parts of the city in the House of Commons: Lisa Raitt in Milton, Karina Gould in Burlington and Pam Damoff in Oakville North Burlington; quite an achievement on the part of the citizens.
 Karina Gould, member of parliament for Burlington Gould and Damoff can only grow as parliamentarians. Lisa Raitt has a major situation on her hands. She won but the Liberal candidate came close – and given the diverse nature of the Milton population Raitt can expect a much tougher fight for the riding next time out.
While Raitt is not bilingual expect her to take a run at the Conservative leadership and to hire a good tutor and get herself to the point where she has some facility with the language.
Gould will begin her duties as a Member of Parliament and probably be seen for the first time in a fully public capacity at the Burlington war memorial on November 11th.
She is currently hiring the team that will run her offices in Burlington and Ottawa.
Damoff represents a riding that is split between two communities Burlington and Oakville; Oakville has an MP of its own – so besides representing people who call and ask for help – which community does Damoff focus on?
Oakville and Burlington are all represented by Liberals – so they won’t be competing for the available oxygen but you get re-elected if you serve the community – Damoff will need to find a way to create and then maintain a profile.
 Pam Damoff, member of Parliament for Oakville North Burlington. She is a very likable woman; great smile and exceptional at putting people at ease. She will have to decide which community she wants to represent and the figure out how to best do that.
All three Burlington members of Parliament need watching; it was not easy to track what Raitt was up to – Cabinet Ministers have extensive staff who tend to take on the role of protecting their minister – strong ministers are confident enough to use their staff to help them get their story out.
It will be interesting to see how Raitt organizes she staff she will now have to do her job.
The one upside of all this for Burlington is that Vince Rossi, president of the Air Park in north Burlington, will no longer have a friend in Ottawa to help him through his struggles with development of the air field he operates. Lisa Raitt was the Minister of Transportation and was believed to be in the habit of taking Rossi’s telephone calls.
 Former Minister of Transportation in the Harper government Lisa Raitt, second from the right, attended several Air Park social event – part of the job for any minister – she will now serve as a back bencher in the House of Commons When the election financial returns are filed we will get a look at how much the Rossi organizations contributed to the Raitt election campaign.
Rossi is due in court before the end of the year when his lawyers will argue a constitutional issue.
 By Pepper Parr (43164-H)
October 25, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
There are these things we call unintended consequences or we say “I didn’t see that coming.”
The Legion sent us a note yesterday asking if we would publish a letter on their behalf.
Let’s let them make their point before commenting on it:
As noted in recent news, Ontario’s public elementary school teachers are preparing to ramp up their work-to-rule campaign and could begin rotating, one-day strikes this month.
 Heroic – most of those who fought volunteered. The Royal Canadian Legion Zone B6 incorporating Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Waterdown, Dundas and part of Ancaster is concerned that this may impact student’s awareness of our annual Remembrance Poster and Literary Contests. It is through school contact that the appropriate information is circulated for teachers to implement this worthy program. The Royal Canadian Legion encourages the continuation of the tradition of honouring and remembering our military heritage through this annual contest.
These contests are popular with our students and we have had contestants go on from competing at the Branch level to compete at the Zone, District, Provincial and National (Dominion) levels. Contestants are challenged to exercise their initiative and create posters, essays and poems that honour the theme of REMEMBRANCE.
 War time experience is life time experience – the price these men and women paid is far greater than you can even imagine. We want to ensure parents and students that the contests are scheduled as usual. If children do not receive information from their school, we ask that you please visit www.legion.ca/contest for a registration form, rules and regulations. (Click here to get to the web site) All entries can be submitted to the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your local branch.
We look forward to another successful year with our Remembrance contests.
Jackie Ralston, Youth and Education Chair, Royal Canadian Legion, Zone B6
The whole purpose of the educational system is to teach and educate our youth for the work they will do in their future and pass on some of our core values and to enrich the lives of the young people who will lead at some point.
The teachers, I am sure, have genuine concerns but I’m not quite sure what those concerns are. As publishes we get flooded with material from the provincial government – we loved the one about the province passing on millions to the teachers’ association to cover their costs while they negotiated with the province. Receipts weren’t needed eh!
We have yet to see as much as a word from the various teachers’ associations on just what it is they are unhappy about. As publishers we know how hard most teaches work – they deserve to be fairly paid. The public also deserves to hear the teacher’s side of the story.
The Legion has given us theirs.
What is that number after my name – those who served will know.
 By Staff
October 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board has a programming problem on its hands – the uptake for French Immersion classes has created several problems. The Board is having some difficulty hiring experienced fluent French teachers and the number of students who want to be in the French Immersion classes has put the English program at some risk in some schools.
There are elementary English classes with as few as eight people in them which doesn’t work from a staffing aspect said director of Education Stuart Miller.
 The Halton District School Board is experiencing challenges in providing viable programming in English and French programs in some of our elementary schools.
In February 2015, a committee was established to examine issues related to the challenges of providing English and French Immersion programming. Their report, Program Viability, is being presented to the public with the board looking for as much feed back as they can get.
Committee”, studied the issues. The increasing interest in French Immersion and the impact on the core English program along with the board’s ability to recruit a sufficient number of qualified and fluent elementary French teachers is a situation that needs public comment.
Parents/guardians are invited to attend the public meetings to learn about the key issues, as well as the process and timelines to gather public input. Halton District School Board staff will present information concerning English and French Immersion program enrollment, as well as the preliminary recommendations of the Program Viability Committee.
All meetings will begin at 7 p.m.:
BURLINGTON Monday, October 26 Nelson High School (4181 New St.)
By Staff
October 22, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
A pretty smart guy from Hamilton and a partner from elsewhere in the province have come up with what they believe is a better way to borrow and a smarter way to lend.
Their initiative is not quite crowd funding – they call it debt funding which is a process that allows local small business to borrow from people in their community at decent rates – and at the same time allows people to invest in small businesses in their community.
The invest made by a lender can be as small as $50.
A small business can borrow as much as $500,000
Cato Pastoll and Brandon Vlaar call their business the Lending Loop.
Here is part of how hey describe their operation:
Traditionally, Canadians have had little choice when it comes to investing their money. Purchasing stocks requires substantial capital, time and knowledge. Mutual funds make hard earned money less accessible. Bonds pay little in the way of interest and bank savings accounts yield even less.
Today is a brand new day for Canadians and small businesses across the country, explains Lending Loop CEO, Cato Pastoll. With as little as $50, Canadians can lend their money to the thriving local coffee shop that needs new equipment to grow or the farm around the corner requiring staff to develop a farm-to-home produce delivery program.
 Lending Loop co-founders Cato Pastoll and Brandon Vlaar. They created the first peer-to-peer lending operation. Lending Loop was founded by entrepreneurs Cato Pastoll and Brandon Vlaar who, after witnessing firsthand the difficulties their friends and loved ones experienced as small business owners dealing with big banks, realized the need for a new financial model for small business to have fast and easy access to the capital needed to grow in a global economy.
Lending Loop believes they offer small business a better chance of getting the funds they need. While small businesses are believed to be the backbone of the Canadian economy, the traditional lending model offered by big banks often makes it difficult to access the capital they need to compete against global conglomerates and big-box stores.
Small and medium sized businesses employ nearly 90 per cent of Canadians working in the private sector and produce 40 per cent of the country’s GDP. Yet many are rejected by traditional financial institutions when seeking financing because they don’t fit the lending requirements of big banks. Too often, this means their only recourse is to source alternative or private lenders who charge rates well in excess of 20 per cent.
Canadian-owned and developed Lending Loop is leveraging technology to make the financial sector work more effectively for all Canadians, and small businesses in particular. It is the first peer-to-peer platform in Canada, and offers small businesses a better way to borrow, with a quick and easy application, flexible repayment options and considerably lower interest rates than alternative lenders. By using Lending Loop to access the capital they need to grow their business and expand their market, small business will be able to compete and win.
Lending Loop’s borrowers also have built-in advocates for their business – the lenders who want to see the company succeed because it helps their community and investment grow.
Lending Loop brings Peer-to-Peer lending to the Canadian market place; it is the first peer-to-peer platform in Canada. Investors who don’t have or want to put a lot of money into a local organization can get into something with as little as $50 and earn attractive returns commensurate with risk.
To protect the hard earned money of lenders, Lending Loop uses an all or nothing funding model, where loans only come into effect if the borrower receives the full amount of their loan request in total pledges.
The Gazette talked to Brandon Vlaar to get more detail on what looked like an intriguing idea.
Let’s look at this from a lenders perspective. Ideally a lender could allocate $5,000 and spread it over a dozen small businesses in different communities across the country.
What if the local business goes “belly up”?
The Lending Loop then moves in and does everything it can to recover as much of the asset as possible. If a baker bought an oven and the business doesn’t succeed the Lending Loop goes in and repossess the equipment and re-sells it distributing the amount recovered to the investors.
For borrowers there appears to be a pretty rigid set of criteria to borrow. They use the same forms that bankers use to approve a loan; they do credit checks, they go over financial statements and make sure the company doesn’t have any outstanding legal claims.
The two partners also put some of their own money into every loan that gets approved – and these are real loans. The difference is that the money being loaned comes from small local investors. This gives an investor an opportunity to get into the butcher, the baker and the candle stick maker – and you have the Lending Loop vetting the investment and going after your investment if anything goes wrong.
You don’t get that kind of service from your financial planner.
The Gazette wants to do a little more research on this idea and get a sense as to what the rates are for the borrowers; what the returns have been like for the lenders and what there might be in the way of fees.
It does look interesting. The Lending Loop: click here.
By Pepper Parr
October 22, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Run, Jump, Play – every day. That’s the drill and Burlington got it off to a decent start with children and some staff skipping and twisting with hula hoops outside city hall as the Healthy community initiative got kick started.
The Healthy Community initiative involves the school boards, community groups including Community Development Halton and staff from the Parks and Recreation department and the YMCA.
 Hip swiveling and chalking are the recreational tools that will be used during the first phase of the three year Healthy Community initiative being funded by the province to the tune of $1.1 million The funding comes from the provincial Ministry of Health and Long Term Care that wants to get kids to those under 12’s that spend more time in front of some kind of screen and get them outdoors.
The program is a three year effort to get children outside and away from the screens – television and computers.
One of the school board trustees recently advised her colleagues that more than 2400 requests for courtesy space on school buses has been requested by students who would not normally be within the area where school bus transportation is provided.
 City hall staff show how its done with Hula hoops – the expectation is that they can get these things out into the community and have children under 12 swiveling their hips. There was a time when there was more phys- ed in schools – Stuart Miller, Director of Education explained that liability issues have made it difficult to provide the kind of physical education classes that used to be held. You don’t see ropes for kids to climb in the schools anymore; there are no more wall bars either he added.
Miller did say that students must get 20 minutes of exercise each day and that there are physical education classes – but it doesn’t look as if society is looking to the schools to ensure that children get the exercise they need in an educational setting.
That task has been taken up by the province and shifted to the city who in turn look to Community Development Halton who know where the pockets of the population who are not on good healthy diets and who don’t have the money to buy the equipment to play hockey or football live; those communities where running shoe’s come in at over $150 a pair are not in the household budget in the marginalized communities in the city.
Does this mean that Run Jump Play is for a particular sector of this city’s population? Difficult to say at this point – the maps outlining where Community Development Halton is going to focus their work have not yet been completed.
The program is a three year initiative with $1.1 million of funding in place. The intention is to collect a lot of data to determine how much weight can be lost with this kind of program.
 Mayor Goldring showing the four year old daughter of a city hall staffer how well he draws with chalk This kind of program was used in France where the results were reported to be very positive. Measuring Body Mass Index (BMI) changes is seen as a simple way to determine if there has been a change.
It is a positive program and it got off to a good start. The Mayor didn’t twist and turn with a hula hoop around his waist instead he drew with a piece of chalk – this after saying at the opening of his wife’s art gallery earlier in the week that he was so bad at art that his teacher gave him a 50 mark and suggested he leave the program.
Related article:
City gets $1.1 million in funding for health initiative.
By Staff
October 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The first thing you have to do is gulp.
Then sit down and let the facts sink in and then shout Holly Hannah.
The fine folks of Burlington decided Mike Wallace had served them long enough and elected Karina Gould to the House of Commons.
 This how you laugh all the way to the bank. Mike now has to travel to Ottawa, clean out his office and settle up with the paymaster – he should take a big briefcase with him or perhaps a Brinks truck.
Wallace served as a Member of Parliament for 9.3 years.
He will receive a severance package of $89,500
He will receive an annual pension of $46,036
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation estimates that the lifetime pension for Wallace, who is 52, will amount to $2,318,780
During his time as a Member of Parliament, Wallace contributed $115,932. to his pension.
Holly Hannah is putting it mildly.
By Staff
October 23, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
There are people who continue to evade the police and the court system and continue to live out in our communities while having a warrant for their arrest in place.
This is the 27th week that the Halton Regional Police have published a “Fugitive Friday” notice that reaches out to the public for help locating wanted persons and hold them accountable for their actions.
The Burlington Offender Management Unit of the Regional police is searching for Jordan Travis MILLER, 28 years old, of Ohsweken, ON.
 Jordan Travis MILLER, 28 years old, of Ohsweken, ON. In July 2011, the accused was in possession of a vehicle stolen from an address in Cambridge.
The vehicle was located and recovered in Burlington. A warrant was issued for the accused after several attempts were made to locate him and he continues to evade capture at this time.
The accused has 29 criminal charge convictions for various offences such as Dangerous Operation, Theft under & Over $5000, Possession of Break and Enter Instruments, Flight from Police and Fail to Comply Probation.
He is wanted by Halton Regional Police Service for:
Possession of Stolen Property under $5000
Breach of Probation Order x 2
MILLER is also wanted by:
Brant County OPP – Possession of Stolen Property over $5000
Brantford Police Service – Possession of Property Obtained by Crime, Possess Break and Enter Instruments x 2, Breach of Probation Order x 2, Attempt Theft Over, Drive Disqualified x 3 and Fail to Re-Attend Court
MILLER is described as 5’7”, 130lbs, brown eyes and black hair. Miller is known to frequent the areas of Burlington, Hamilton, Ohsweken and the surrounding areas.
Anyone who may have witnessed this person or has information that would assist investigators in locating him are encouraged to contact D/C Bulbrook – Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Offender Management Team at 905-825-4747 Ext. 2346 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
The police share “Fugitive Friday” information on their website and via social media through Twitter @HRPSBurl and @HaltonPolice.
 By Staff
October 23, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
November is Woman Abuse Awareness Month
Violence against woman is not a women’s issue – it is a men’s issue – they have to change their behaviour and find other ways to resolve their differences with the women in their life. It is really that simple.
Regional Chair Gary Carr and Halton Regional Police Chief Stephen Tanner and community leaders will join members of Halton Violence Prevention Council to mark the beginning of Woman Abuse Awareness Month.
Our language gas to change – “slapping someone around” is not acceptable language.
The Halton Violence Prevention Council will be hanging “Act Against Violence” banners throughout the Region for the month of November.
 The Council’s mission is to end violence against women and their children in our community. It is a coordinating committee working to improve services for women and children experiencing abuse, in order to achieve a healthy, safe and inclusive community.
HVPC members consist of more than 20 agencies in the Halton community, including representatives from legal and police services; counselling and sexual assault agencies; women’s shelters; child protection; addictions, housing and mental health sectors; health-based services and survivor-informed agencies.
The Council has been busy with many initiatives this year, including developing and facilitating training aimed at strengthening service provider responses to victims of violence who are also experiencing co-occurring issues, such as addiction and/or active mental health; supporting collaborative practices between the Violence Against Women sector and our Children’s Aid Society; and fostering survivor-informed initiatives, including our Speakers’ Bureau.
The launch this year will feature a member of our Speakers’ Bureau, who’s keynote address, “Life in the Shadows”, will focus on her experience of being stalked by her ex-partner.
In addition to these newer initiatives, the council continues to be engaged in the Neighbours. Friends and Families Campaign – a provincial strategy to raise awareness of the signs of woman abuse, so people who are close to an at-risk woman or a man who uses abusive behaviours can provide information, support and resources.
 The Council will use the launch to invite community members, businesses and organizations to engage in the “Purple Thursdays” campaign – a movement to draw attention to the issue of woman abuse and gendered violence throughout the month of November by wearing purple every Thursday as a way to start conversations, raise awareness and support.
Are you currently involved in an abusive relationship? You and your family can get help! Call the 24-hour crisis line of Halton Women’s Place (south 905-332-7892, north 905-878-8555) or the Assaulted Women’s Helpline (toll free: 1-866-863-0511).
By Staff
October 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The province wants to help cities become more bike-friendly – that perked up the ears of council members as they worked through a draft of the Strategic Plan that is going to set a direction for the balance of the current term of office.
 MPP Eleanor McMahon is a strong and consistent cyclist. Burlington has an MPP, Eleanor McMahon who is a champion of sharing the road. The city has hundreds of kilometres of bike trails and a rural area that offers some of the most challenging terrain for the truly committed.
McMahon said: “Ontarians want to spend less time in their cars and more time travelling by active transportation. The number one reason Ontarians don’t ride their bike is because they don’t feel safe to do so. In addition to recent changes to the Highway Traffic act, the amendments support the development of cycling and pedestrian infrastructure by simplifying the process for municipalities to plan and build off-road multi-use pathways.”
Burlington could be the poster boy for community cycling. So when the province announces funding for more bike use – we are in.
Ontario is helping cities become more sustainable and environmentally friendly by making it easier to build off-road bike paths and large-scale recreational trails. The province will invest $25 million in #CycleON: Ontario’s Cycling Strategy to create a more cycling-friendly the province.
The province has created a new streamlined process for municipalities to submit proposals for environmental assessment on new paths and trails. The new process will be easier and quicker, saving municipalities considerable time, money and effort.
The amendments were proposed by the Municipal Engineers Association and received significant public feedback during the province’s public consultation. The new environmental assessment process also supports CycleON, the province’s long-term strategy to help make Ontario the number one province for cycling in Canada,
 Cycling enthusiast Rob Narejko keeps a couple of bikes in his garage and can often be seen on the rural roads. Supporting cycling and helping Ontarians reduce their carbon footprints is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario up. The four-part plan includes investing in people’s talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives, and building a secure retirement savings plan.
Great wording – now where would Burlingtonians like to see “off road bike paths” built?
Leave your ideas in the comments section.
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