 By Pepper Parr
January 3, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Understanding developers requires a mind that can see into all kinds of cracks and crevices.
The Gazette got a call from a reader alerting us to trees that were being cut on the property to the east of Emmas Back Porch.
We made some calls – city hall was shut down for the holiday period and it was difficult to get any real information. We visited the site and took some pictures – speculated that the property might be something the ADI Group was looking at for a sales office.
It took a little time to get through to people – here is what we know.
 What was once a gas station is now an empty lot with not a tree left on it. No one, other than the owner, knows what is going to happen next. We will keep you posted. The owner of the property Draco Vranich, who owns the Waterfront Hotel, has the right to cut down trees that are on is property because the city does not have a private tree bylaw.
Because the site is on the lake’s edge it comes under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Authority as well as the city.
Someone cut down a lot of very mature trees and pushed a lot of the brush over the bank and into the lake.
The Gazette was told that that Draco Vranich was planning on putting in a parking lot that would be used by the “trades” who would be working on the Bridgewater a couple of hundred yards to the west.
Bruce Krushelnicki, Director of Planning and Building informed the Gazette that a free standing parking lot would not be permitted on that site without a change in the zoning.
Krushelnicki also noted that some survey work had been done on the site – there were survey markers in the ground.
During a meeting with the Director of Planning “on another matter” he advised the property owner that a parking lot was not permitted on the property.
He added: “There are no permits issued for this site (site plan, site alteration or building permits) and since the site has no buildings on it, no demolition permits have been issued recently.
 By the time anyone from city hall got to the site most of the big trees were down and the trunks carted away. Could that have been why the work was done during the holidays? Accordingly I observed no excavation, construction or site alteration. It appears – as I reported to you earlier – that the owner in concert with the neighbouring owner, is “cleaning up the site” by removing vegetation and debris. There is no development or building taking place on the site and no applications for development or construction have been received. I did not see any work being done on the slope at the rear although debris had been dumped there historically and may be part of the clean up.”
Krushelnicki continued: “I will have the by-law enforcement people monitor the site to ensure that work proceeds in compliance with the permissions granted, the property standards by-law and property maintenance by-law.”
The owner had alerted us to the work, and asked for our advice. So far he appears to be complying with our advice and acting within his rights.”
Looking into those ‘cracks and crevices’ mentioned earlier we know this:
The site is being “cleaned up”; the property has been recently surveyed. The large concrete blocks that were at the front of the property are now at the lakeside of the property – very close to the top of bank.
The site could, under the existing zoning and Official Plan, take a structure three to five metres deep – and as high as four storey’s.
What bothers the public is the not being told what is going to be done to the properties that edge on the lake. The current city council is prepared to sell lakefront property – when there was no need to do so – which has the public a little spooked. If they will sell part of the community’s heritage there doesn’t appear to be any limit on what they will do.
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward strives to keep her constituents fully informed. She had to play catch up on this one.
 By Pepper Parr
January 2, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON.
“This means that the $3 million provincial government contribution we announced November 10th will be leveraged to help residents who need it most..”
 That is what MPP Eleanor McMahon said in a My View column she wrote recently. The statement leaves the impression that the province contributed $3 million.
They didn’t actually contribute that much – they will contribute that much if the citizens of Burlington raise $1.5 million locally.
The province’s commitment to the people of Burlington was to provide $2 for every $1 the citizens raised. They put a cap on what they would province – the cap was $3 million.
In order for Burlington to get $3 million from the province – the citizens would have had to raise $1.5 million locally. The fund raising team raised just shy of $1 million in a terrific 100 day drive. That amount of money has never been raised by the citizens of this city in such a short period of time before.
The people of Burlington are grateful for what they have been given by the province.
We would just like the province to be straight with the facts. They said they would provide up to $3 million on a two-for-one basis.
Note quite what the MPP said – is it?
 What the MPP hasn’t said either is that early in October the province said they would not be providing any financial support. McMahon had to work the telephones big time to get that decision reversed. She earned the right to get re-elected for that effort – but she isn’t going to say that her government came close to sinking any chance of any Liberal being elected in this city if the disaster relief request had been denied.
The Legislature is in a holiday recess – they return February 17, 2015
 By James Smith
January 1, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Enfant Terrible: A term not used much these days, but I like to think of my pal Eric Cunningham as the quintessential Enfant Terrible.
Quick, sharp, partisan, did not suffer fools quietly; who cut through the crap and saw stuff from many angles, but always with a sparkle in his eyes when he’d make a precise evaluation of a situation or an individual. What a shock to know that this force of nature has passed far too soon.
 Eric Cunningham – dead at 65. Eric and I have been putting off sitting down for a relaxing conversation over what he called, an Adult Beverage for weeks now. The stuff of day to day life just kept getting in our way, now, sadly at the far too young age of 65, Eric Cunningham has joined that smoky back room eternal.
Damn!
Damn and blast!
I first met Eric in 1987, I was new to Burlington, and a mutual friend in Calgary suggested I look Eric up when I moved here. I did and was at once both put on my heels by the forthrightness of this man and attracted to Eric’s no nonsense attitude.
Eric had resigned from the legislature a couple of years before. When elected as the MPP for Flamborough North Burlington, Eric had been the youngest Member elected to the Ontario’s legislature. I was a young Liberal and was thinking of running for the nomination here in Burlington and Eric had been beaten by our MP, the late Bill Kempling,
I wanted to know if he was thinking of running, and if not, to get some advice from him. We met for said Adult Beverage and Eric listened politely to me. After a few minutes he stopped me and asked: “Do you want to do the job or not”? Direct, to the point! I had learned just who the essential Eric was.
Eric was very good with his time, having understood what it is to put one’s life on hold, put your face in front of the public, only to be rejected.
Eric and I did not travel in the same social circles, but we were happy warriors, who often shared the same sophomoric partisanship and who liked each other’s company and the occasional Adult Beverage. For the most part, we ran into each other when we’d be working on the same side in the many political trenches we’ve found ourselves in over these past many years.
Recently when I was considering running for municipal council, Eric’s evaluation and advice made me a better candidate. The best advice he gave me was to ask some tough questions and to ask “win or lose, will you be at peace with yourself if you don’t run?”.
Eric’s personal life had been through a rough patch lately, but when we spoke last week he was excited to put these troubles behind him and wanted to catch up.
Like so much in life, our plans get made and then fate steps in to unmake them. Burlington is a smaller and different place without my pal Eric, and I shall miss him dearly.
Eric Cunningham is survived by his wife Heather and a daughter.
The funeral will be at Smith’s Funeral Home, details to follow.
 By Staff
January 1, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
There is an opportunity to get your habit of giving back to the community that has been so good to you back into gear – The Canadian Blood Service is holding their first Blood Drive for 2015.
 January 3, from 8:00 am to noon. Book an appointment at 1-888-236-6283
Besides booking an appointment to donate blood you can also register to donate stem cells and learn about donating cord blood.
Making that appointment for January 3rd is a little more important this time around; the Blood Service employees are set to strike January 8th. The 13 blood service workers in Burlington, part of the 800 workers that could go on strike will resume negations January 5th.
OPSEU, the union representing the workers warn that concession sought by management pose a serious risk to the safety of the blood system. The concessions are said to include the layoff of skilled professionals and replacement with lower cost, casual part time employees and a changing workplace climate that demands faster processing of blood products and unreasonable production targets.
The consistent flow of blood products is vital to hospitals
 By Pepper Parr
January 1, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON.
The Gazette got a call from a reader about some work being done on the lot that is the east of Emma’s Back Porch. Huge concrete blocks were being moved around and every tree on the property had been cut down.
 The property is accessed from Old LAkeshore Road. It was once the location of an gas station. Might that mean there are environmental clean up issues? There were a lot of stumps left – they were apparently going to be coming out later.
The work was being done at a time when city hall was closed – convenient?
Our first guess was that the ADI Group saw an opportunity to put a sales office on that piece of land; I would be in a direct line of site from where they plan to build a 28 story condominium.
 There was some speculation that the property next to Emma’s Back Porch might be the site for a possible sales office for the ADI Group that has an application in for both an Official Plan Amendment and a significant upgrade to the zoning for the site. The circle indicates where the proposed ADI Group project is to be built. ADI managed to get a zoning variance to set up their sales office on Brant Street but they are limited to three years at that location – and they are going to need more than three years to sell out a project that doesn’t yet have a name.
A comment from a city hall staffer said: “The property belongs to Mr. Vranich, who also owns the Waterfront Hotel. We met with him last week on another matter and he mentioned to us that he would be “cleaning up this site” and referenced tree removal from private property.
 The Conservation Authority is going to want to have a conversation with the owner of the property – and perhaps explain what “top of bank” actually means. “He also explained that he and Mr. Jackman owner of the Emma’s property plan to clear the brush and trees along their shared property line. We advised him that he can clear trees from his private property, but should speak to the conservation Authority about trees near the stable top of bank. We also advised that he cannot remove trees from City property without a permit.”
“He does not have a building permit so he should not be excavating and has no site plan approval or (to my knowledge) site alteration permit, so he should not be altering the grades on the site. I will visit the site and see what he is doing, and will provide you with an update.”
The “top of bank” issue – which falls into Conservation Authority will fall into one of those “I didn’t know that” or “the workers did more than they should have”.
All kinds of tree trunks and brush have been pushed over the top of the bank. It was that need to set back any structure a specific number of metres from the top of the bank – a definition every planners knows about – that made any plans Tim Horton’s had for any construction on the site.
It was also the issue that basically ended what IKEA wanted to do on that North Service Road site. Tuck Creek ran down the east side of that property and that limited what IKEA could do.
 This is what the site looked like a few years ago – before the pier was completed. The Gazette got out to the site and took some pictures and talked to a couple of sources and were told that the owners of the property had cleared the site and planned to create a parking lot – which they hoped to be able to rent out to the trades that will be working on the Bridgewater project.
Plausible – the concern is – why was all this being done at a time when there was no one at city hall that could slip on over to the site and check out what was being done.
When the Conservation Authority people get back to their desks on Monday – they will have a lot of questions to ask.
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward said she wasn’t aware of any development plans for the property – those things are always run by the ward Councillor
This is a small story worth following.
 By Staff
January 1, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
During holiday periods the gremlins that make the wheels of web sites go around get inside the engines and tinkers with the parts to make them run more smoothly.
 Look upon the Gazette as the strongest source of news and news analysis in the city. Our techie is beavering away with the web site – which is why the masthead doesn’t appear.
We are still the Burlington Gazette gearing up for an even stronger year than 2014.
 By Staff
December 31, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
 The Burlington Barracudas brightened up their holidays with two Tournament Medals at the 34th Annual Mississauga Chiefs Christmas Classic that was held December 27-29, 2014.
Burlington’s not-for-profit hockey organization offers girls a fun environment to play Canada’s favourite sport – hockey.
 Midget AA Silver medal winners at the Mississauga Chiefs Christmas Classic – Burlington Barracudas  Barracuda Peewee DS level they took bronze at the Mississauga Chief’s Annual Classic They brought home a Midget AA Silver Medal and at the Peewee DS level they took bronze.
Founded in 1996, The Burlington Girls Hockey Club provides a safe and fun place for more than 750 young female athletes to play hockey. The not-for-profit organization offers programs for girls ages 4 to 21 at both the house league and competitive (rep) levels.
 By Staff
December 30, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The Globe and Mail editorial of December 27, 2014 sums up the year and the ongoing performance of our Prime Minister. We saw that editorial as significant enough to re-print it.
 Columnist Ray Rivers on sabbatical enjoying a beach in New Zealand – that is really green grass in the background. Our regular political columnist, Ray Rivers, is currently on a short two month sabbatical and will be writing once every two weeks. He wanted to comment on this editorial. His remarks are shown in a different typeface,
From the Globe and Mail: I can’t even get my friends to like me,” Stephen Harper said this year. A joke, obviously, delivered during a moving eulogy for his close friend and political ally Jim Flaherty in April. But more than a joke, too.
The Prime Minister has never been the cuddliest of humans; he was once photographed shaking his young son’s hand as he dropped him off at school.
It is a mistake for us to believe Canadian’s falling support for Mr. Harper is about his personality. He is an introvert, which is not his fault. His trailing Trudeau in the polls has more to do with most Canadians feeling we are going in the wrong direction and could be doing better. It is more about his policies (than his personality) which are divisive – pitting the west against the east, a cynical foreign policy based on ethnocentric values, and stale economic policies which are serving to widen the wealth gap among Canadians.
That formality can be a strength in crises. After the two attacks on Canadian soldiers in October, Mr. Harper’s natural gravitas was reassuring to Canadians. It even gave his party a noticeable bump in the polls in November.
But the ring of truth in Mr. Harper’s quip reverberates less because of his solemn demeanour than it does because of the unyielding way he plays political hardball. The Prime Minister is not someone you want as a friend, politically-speaking, and much less someone you’d want as an enemy.
Not a friend and not an enemy – what does that leave us with? There are times when his demeanour makes us admire him, as in his response post the Parliament Hill fiasco. But then his lack of breadth of vision leaves us to wonder if he gets it at all. Somehow It doesn’t sink into his think skull that the shooting is the kind of thing that should be expected when you abolish the long gun registry, or jump into a war. Oh and Mr. tough guy hid in a closet during the incident, mimicking his own ‘Bush-like’ 911 courage.
He fights ruthlessly and without remorse. He dumps inconvenient allies, sows division with abandon, treats Parliament with contempt and works 24/7 to control what Canadians know and hear about him, usually through the hearty application of muzzles and misdirection.
I’d agree that he governs in an autocratic manner and is control-freak possessed, banning public contact with the public service, for example. Sometimes I wonder if he has not been understudying Mr. Putin. And his lack of loyalty to those who did his dirty work does not wear well on him. I’d add Duffy, Wright, Wallin to that list.
That’s not news, and nor is it all that peculiar to one politician. But, in 2014, the Prime Minister’s bloody-mindedness began to feel like a liability. With him as leader, the party has consistently trailed Justin Trudeau’s kinder, gentler Liberals in the polls in spite of the country’s relatively stable economy. If the Conservatives under Mr. Harper lose the general election next fall, this year may be remembered as the one when Canadians, including members of the Conservative Party, decided their leader’s ruthlessness was no longer worth the cost.
If Harper loses it will be because Canadians want a fresh face and a fresh approach to governing – out with the old divisiveness and back to some core Canadian ‘liberal democratic values’ such as fairness (e.g. how the PM mis-treats Ontario and Quebec).
One of the more telling moments of 2014 came the day after an armed man had stormed Parliament and been killed within metres of a room where Mr. Harper was meeting with his caucus. The morning was marked by sadness and courage as MPs returned to the House of Commons in a display of solidarity; the Prime Minister spoke movingly about the symbolic importance of Parliament, and he even gamely walked across the floor to hug the Leader of the Opposition, Tom Mulcair, and Mr. Trudeau.
And then, several hours later, the Harper government dumped another monstrous omnibus bill onto the Commons, an act knowingly contemptuous of the Parliament the Prime Minister had just praised as the lodestar of Canadian democracy.
Omnibus bills are designed to defeat Parliament’s oversight role. The thick bills allow majority governments to push through major policy changes with little debate by combining multiple unrelated issues into one over-sized turkey. They are an abuse of process; the Conservatives have tabled four since 2010, and the most recent was the second largest.
Mr. Harper was also a repeat offender in 2014 with regard to the dispatching of belligerent junior ministers and hapless parliamentary secretaries to defend problematic legislation in the House or derail Question Period. Pierre Poilievre’s smarmy sales job of the flawed Fair Elections Act and his subsequent climb-down in April were the low points of the year. Or would have been, had not Paul Calandra reduced himself to tears in September after a demeaning display of question-dodging on Mr. Harper’s behalf.
That is a good point, that while previous governments have employed omnibus bills to move milestone, ‘sea change’ policies, Harper appears to use the approach more cynically, to hide stuff. Former justice minister Trudeau used omnibus legislation to make Canada a world leader in social policy under the Pearson government – but it was consistent and transparent.
Both incidents embarrassed some Conservatives as much as they outraged opposition MPs.
This was also the year a former Conservative MP, Dean Del Mastro, was convicted of overspending his campaign limit and trying to cover it up, and a former party staffer, Michael Sona, was convicted in the robo-call scandal. Mr. Harper has distanced himself from both men and their actions, of course, as he did with his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, who somehow believed it was appropriate to pay off the ineligible expenses of a Conservative senator in 2013. No one would dare say that the Prime Minister endorses unethical activities, but there are people in his party who think that anything goes.
And why wouldn’t they? Mr. Harper showed in 2014 that he will play with his elbows out even in the most inappropriate situation. That brings us to Beverly McLachlin, the respected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court whose integrity the Prime Minister deliberately impugned in an absurd and indefensible fashion. He raised a doubt about whether Ms. McLachlin had interfered with the appointment of a new judge, and was then exposed for being completely and knowingly wrong. His grievous misjudgment demonstrated once and for all that there is no Canadian institution he considers sacred if it stands in his way.
There is no excuse for Mr. Harper’s attempt to embarrass the senior justice of the country – in the end he only embarrassed himself. If he so lacks respect for our fundamental institutions – why should anyone respect him or his?
Other consequences of Mr. Harper’s antipathy to Parliament and to Canadian institutions in 2014 included but were not limited to two crime bills that were sent to the Senate containing serious errors, the use of taxpayer dollars on government advertising that happens to align with Conservative election promises, and a new prostitution law that is likely to fail a Charter challenge, and which police forces across the country have little intention of enforcing, thanks to the government’s refusal to listen to contrary opinions while the bill was in that former house of debate we know as Parliament.
It is remarkable that having seen the existing prostitution law thrown out by the courts as dangerous to the security of sex workers, his justice minister brings in a replacement which is even worse. A clear case of ideology trumping competence.
Ask Mr. Harper how it’s going after almost nine years in office and he – along with every single member of his party – will robotically respond that his government is continuing to fight for hard-working Canadian families and lowering their taxes. It’s a spiel that talks past his government’s many flaws. Mr. Harper is responsible for those flaws, which are mirror images of his own, and gets the credit for his party’s successes. Those include an economy that is not great but better than most, shrinking deficits, a real attempt to reform immigration and native education, tax cuts targeted at core constituencies and the effort to help defeat Islamic State in Iraq.
Not a bad record. The question in 2015 will be, Is it worth it? Or could someone else, inside or outside the party, achieve results on the same scale while respecting Parliament and setting a higher ethical standard?
No its not a bad record, except for all the deficiencies the G&M notes. Mr. Harper set out as PM to transform Canada, to make it a nation that more closely reflects his own values, some of which we agree with. And to some extent he has been successful in shaping attitudes and developing a following. How many followers we will only know after the next election, when we put to the real test whether his lagging poll numbers mean anything at all.
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington where he ran against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province.
By Pepper Parr
December 30, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The city is taking a different approach to the way they present their budget to the public and a significantly different approach to how staff work with the funds they are given to use.
In an effort to show tax payers where the money is going and the value gotten from the spending the city is now setting up budgets based on the service delivered rather than on just the department that that does the spending.
 This approach has introduced a significantly different business process management and brings forward a phrase you are going to hear a lot of from your council member: Results Based Accountability – the city wants you to know that staff will be accountable for the results they deliver.
Not quite sure how that phrase would be applied to the pier. Several council members expressed concern and surprise over how many people in their wards had not ever been to the pier. Yet we spent more than twice the original price of $6 million – and I’ve yet to hear any Council member even mention the word accountability let along accept any responsibility for the thing – which the public appears not to care all that much about.
The city has released a draft budget that will call for a tax increase of 3.55% in 2015 – a little higher than inflation isn’t it?
Included in that budget are nine business cases for new, or improved or upgraded services. Each business case sets out the argument for the expenditure.
One of the nine business cases is about transit – a service expansion, an upgraded Community Connection will cost $337,000, add three Full time employees (FTE’s) and tack on one quarter of one percent to the tax levy.
This service is designed to connect the places where seniors live to the places seniors want to travel to. The Seniors’ Centre would be the hub for this service.
 There is nothing fancy about the place. It’s simple, serves the purpose with a bus stop almost outside the door and plenty of parking. The site will become a bit of a mobility hub for the Community Connection the city proposes to upgrade. There is a Community Connection service that runs just two days a week – the proposal is to make this a Monday to Friday service running from 10am to 3 pm with additional links added to the service.
The Business Plan approach requires that the potential benefits and risks be spelled out and that what the metric for success will be. Smaller buses will mean lower fuel costs (lower gas prices aren’t going to hurt either) – the risk at this level is defined as low.
The Business Plan approach requires staff to explain “How Success will be measured”. Here they set the bar so low that they can’t possibly fail. Transit staff talk in terms of an additional 8 boarding’s each hour on the route. The service, if approved, will run for five hours each day –and they call success a total of 40 boarding’s during the week. That seems like an almost incredibly low number. It gets taken up to 14 boardings an hour in 2016.
Included in the nine new business cases is an $84,000 expenditure for 3D Visualization software – which the city should have bought five years ago. It’s a minor expense but the business case doesn’t tell the full story. There doesn’t appear to be any allocation for staff training nor is there any mention of ongoing upgrades to the software – and with software there are always upgrades.
 The terminal on John Street where many of the bus service transfers are made is to be made one of the mobility hubs in the city. Still a lot of thinking to be done on how the parking lot gets integrated into the plan. The benefit to the city is they will have a tool that will allow them to create images of the growth of the community. “Building on existing models” the business case made adds that “the downtown will be completed first with other mobility hub areas and intensification corridors to follow”. Mobility hubs are points in the city where different transportation modes come together: the GO stations at Aldershot, Burlington and Appleby Line are the prime identified bubs at the moment with the John street terminal added. There are many that believe there should be an additional hub somewhere near the top of Appleby Line.
 Six properties were assembled in a part of the city that is to some degree isolated – they’ve basically nothing in the way of parks – and crossing the railway tracks is one way this community gets its daily exercise.  Those six properties in the Queensway shown above were assembled, houses demolished and 54 units built. would 3D modelling have let the public know how massive the change was going to be? The 3D models will be used for public engagement, council meetings and visioning exercises. “One of the central elements of the project will be the ability to build the model by requiring builders and developers to submit images of proposed and completed development projects for import to the model.
 An example of 3D rendering. The software used to create the image allows the image to be seen at different angles and elevations. Creatively used it can be a very effective tool. The Capital Works department says “success will be measured by” Customer satisfaction but it isn’t clear just who the customer is. The developers are not going to like the additional expense. They might want access to the model – will the city give it to them?
Heck – the Gazette would like access to that model.
The other two success criteria are “Model Utilization” and the “% of Complaint submissions”. So they have thought of the complaints that will come in. Interesting.
Each business case is required to set out the potential risks and benefits and what the probabilities of each actually are. The benefit/risk probability for the project is high if the project proves to provide an effective tool to assist Council and the public to visualize alternate development proposals.
Not implementing the service is given a medium probability due to the “lack of community support and understanding of intensification”.
 And that is what this $84,000 expenditure is really all about – showing the public what intensification will look like before it gets shoved down their throats.
 By Staff
December 29, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Roy Brooke is an avid cyclist who lives in Victoria BC. On a trip to Copenhagen Denmark he experienced physically separated bikes and cars with a dedicated cycle tracks.
Brooke tells his story: “Visitors to Copenhagen tend to notice that it is tough to take a photograph without a cyclist or bicycle in it. Cyclists seem to be everywhere, and statistics bear out the impression — 55 per cent of Copenhagers’ use bicycles each day and 41 per cent of people arrive to work or school by bike in the Danish capital.
 In Copenhagen cycling is not limited. any any one demographic “On a visit to Denmark I started to notice who was actually doing the cycling as much as their sheer numbers — old, middle-aged and young people, families with children, women in high heels, people doing chores, people just getting around; every possible segment of society seemed to travel by bike.
“As a parent, what surprised me were the many mothers and fathers in the downtown core with children on their bikes.
“At home in Victoria, I bike on quiet residential streets with my four-year old on the back in his carrier. However, I never venture downtown with him on my bike. In my judgment as a parent, neither the core of our city or the roads that lead to it are safe enough for me to travel by bicycle with my son.
“Yet in Copenhagen, a much larger and more bustling city than Victoria, families ventured into the busy core at all hours with children.
“I rented a three-speed cruiser at my hotel and set forth to find out why. After a few hours biking around Copenhagen, I had several clear impressions. Foremost, during the entire time I biked around town, I never once felt like I was running a gauntlet of death between parked cars on one side and speeding traffic on the other. Almost every route physically separated bikes and cars with a dedicated cycle track.
“In some areas, this was a bike lane on raised pavement. In others, simply but ingeniously, parked cars rather than people were the ones in the road nearest the traffic. This let bikers and pedestrians use the calm, safe space between parked cars and buildings.
 Lanes created for bicycles where they don’t put riders in harms way and pedestrians have the sidewalks to themselves. In Copenhagen it isn’t a “them” and “us” – cars and bikes each have their place.  Traffic management includes instructions for cyclists. “In places without physical barriers between cyclists and car traffic, thick lines painted on the pavement and wide cycle tracks kept cars at a distance, and all intersections were marked to prioritize cyclists.
“In a word, I felt safe.
“I also didn’t need to think much to bike. It was clear where I had to go because cycle routes were clearly delineated. It was clear when I had to go or stop because there were usually stoplights just for bicycles. And, it was clear where I could park or rent bicycles: just about anywhere.
“In short, things were designed not only for motorists but cyclists also.
“My overall impression is that Copenhagen’s physical separation of bike and car routes and having fully integrated design takes the “us versus them” out of cycling. I never felt irritated by motorists because I never came near them. I assume that I never bothered motorists, for the same reason. Pedestrians, motorists and cyclists thrived side by side because the urban system was built with everyone in mind.
“Above all, I understood why parents took their children into Copenhagen’s core on bikes. If Victoria had similarly modern cycling infrastructure, I would do the same here.
“Many other cities — Barcelona, Paris, Dublin for example — have made similarly large and fast leaps. Separated bike lanes, bike-share systems and lowered speed limits were common denominators in their success.”
 Burlington has recently marked lanes to alert car drivers to merging bicycle traffic. Is the time right for Burlington to make a similar leap? A start has been made. We have the chevron markers and there are now several bike lanes clearly marked with green paint alerting drivers to the merging of bicycle tragic,
During the recent municipal elections very little was heard from the cyclist lobby and as close to nothing from any of the candidates. Mayor Goldring seems to have assumed that he has learned a lesson after his flip flop on bicycle lanes along Lakeshore Road.
Burlington could join the ranks of leading, livable cities, not through a dialogue that is about cars versus bikes, but one based on the actual evidence: that proper, modern biking (and pedestrian) infrastructure makes life better for everyone.
New Street is scheduled to have some major infrastructure work done in the next few years. There was a proposal that dedicated bike lanes be part of that infrastructure upgrade – it wasn’t going to be cheap. The argument was to add the dedicated lanes while an upgrade was being done.
That item will come up during the budget debates in February.
By Pepper Parr
December 29, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
There are people in the Burlington Community Foundation offices plowing through piles of paperwork during the holiday as the 310 applications for funding under the ODRAP program are reviewed.
The Foundation was given the task of managing the claims process and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars locally to qualify for “two for one” matching funds from the province.
 Claims Committee member Nancy Swietek, Dan Lawrie Insurance listens to a resident whose home was flooded Monday of last week the claims committee, made up of Nancy Swietek, Dan Lawrie Insurance, Rick Burgess, a local lawyer, Mark Preston of Preston Insurance Services and Bruce Russell of Wardell Insurance, went through 22 applications and sent a couple back to the insurance adjuster hired by the Foundation, to give the applications a professional review.
The committee spent two hours clearing 22 claims. Using that as an average, the 310 claims are going to eat up an additional 28 hours of their time – and these people are all volunteers – they don’t get as much as a dime for their efforts; they probably don’t even get mileage.
Funds for those approved should work their way through the cheque requisition process and be in the hands of the applicants very close to the 15th of January.
Those who were late filing their applications will not see any funds until sometime in March. What surprised many, stunned would be a better word, was the more than 100 claims that came in the two days before the deadline.
The Claims committee is handing out funds that were raised by the community and matching funds that given to them by the province – they have a responsibility to ensure that those monies are distributed within the ODRAP guidelines – which, in the minds of many are a little on the stringent side.
 There wasn’t a microphone or a telephone Burlington Community Foundation president Collen Mulholland would get her hands on as she drove the organization that raised very close to $1 million for flood relief victims – she then made sure the province made good on the two-for-one matching grant. While there is no formal process for appealing the finical support given, Collen Mulholland did say that the Claims Committee will listen to anyone who has a concern about what they were given or if their application was denied.
The ODRAP rules are strict. Funds are available to people who were uninsured or under-insured; if the applicant does not meet that criteria there claim will not get processed.
The Burlington Community Foundation hired an independent insurance adjuster who goes over the claim and ensures that the numbers and other data given are correct, fair and reasonable.
 Keven Reimer the insurance adjuster working for the Claims Committee talking to resident at a public meeting explaining the ODRAP program Keven Reimer, the insurance adjuster, made it clear at a public meeting that the objective was to help people get back on their feet. A furnace that was damaged by the flood will get replaced – that Persian rug that was in front of the 60 inch HD TV set – is probably not going to be replaced. You will get funding for a carpet and a decent sized TV set – but the new Persian rug is something you will have to save up for.
The drive to help people in Burlington who were very hard hit by the flood damage August 4th is now coming to a close. Burlington raised close to $1 million in less than 100 days – a remarkable feat that in due course will be properly recognized and celebrated.
All the recognition does not go to the politicians – Mayor Goldring made two critical phone calls and showed the kind of leadership his citizens expect of him when he called Colleen Mulholland at the Burlington Community Foundation and asked if they would take on the task of putting together the team that would deal with the provinces ODRAP program and raise funds locally. The Mayor placed a second call to Ron Foxcroft asking him to head up the fund raising drive.
The people who know Foxcroft knew he was going to put the squeeze on them – and squeeze he did. There wasn’t a banker in the city that didn’t get a call; several got more than one phone call.
There were some local retailers that came through big time for their customers and there were large suppliers of the kind of thing thousands of homes in this city bought to repair their homes that were not heard from.
When the final list is published you will see who showed up and who didn’t.
There were people who did some extraordinary work. Recently elected MPP Elanor McMahon jumped into the trenches and made numerous critical phone calls. When the province at first said no to the request from the city that it be seen as a disaster area and was entitled to the matching funding McMahon was one of the people getting back to the Premier and Minister Ted McMeekin.
There were two members of council who now know more about the basements of houses in the eastern
 There was hardly a basement in ward 5 that had been flooded that Paul Sharman didn’t look at closely. During the early stages of the fund raising he was one of the more passionate speakers.  Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison spends a lot of time at community events – more so than some other council members. During the early days of the flood his staff had him crawling through more than 1000 basements. Here he works with residents on community planning half of the city. Paul Sharman and Jack Dennison went into hundreds of basements to see first hand how bad the damage was. Both handed out hundreds of forms and handled even more phone calls from worried residents.
Burlington has a to to be proud of – the people and the commercial sector of the city pulled together in many marvelous ways.
By Staff
December 29, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Do you remember this time last year?
It was snow, on snow, on snow with dozens of senior staff members out in the field on Christmas Day.
 Millar Road was blocked solid – for several days  That was a live wire when it came down.  This tree actually survived – picture could go on a post card  Hydro crews worked around the clock and late into the night to get power lines back up. In several places new cable had to be strung.  Burlington Hydro CEO Gerry Smallegange explaining to a community meting in Kilbride that work was progressing but it was just going to take time. A little photo feature to remind you what it was like.
Maybe the August 4th flood is Burlington’s bad weather for the year?
Burlington asked the province for some financial relief due to the storm – the claim was for $1.8 million – we haven’t seen that money yet.
 By Pepper Parr
December 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
During the 2014 budget deliberations council wasn’t able to find the funding needed to cover the cost of a person to be named as manager of culture for the city.
 The first Culture week for Burlington had a great turnout in Civic Square. Then city manager Jeff Fielding said at the time that while he couldn’t promise anything he would do his very best to find some savings somewhere and crate the position of Manager of Culture for the city.
In 2013 and 2014 the city began to see a different cultural community; the Art Community Collective was formed, the first No Vacancy was put on at the Waterfront to critical acclaim to be followed by a second much larger presentation at the Village Square.
The city held its first Cultural week; the Performing Arts Centre was under stronger management and was making time and space for the smaller community groups – and they weren’t asking for an increase in funding.
The Burlington Art centre underwent a name change and then a change in its leadership.
 Angela Paparizo, now the Manager Art and Culture with Trevor Copp whose delegation brought about a shift in city council’s thinking in 2013 Things on the cultural side of the city were getting more attention and more funding.
General Manager Scott Stewart announced to staff that Angela Paparizo was the successful candidate for the position of Manager of Arts and Culture.
The internal announcement went on to say that “Angela brings more than 10 years of experience in Public Administration, a Master’s Degree in History and Bachelor Degree in Journalism. Angela is continuing her education in Cultural Planning with the University of British Columbia.
“As a Cultural Planner for the City, Angela’s work has been focused on the development of the Cultural Action Plan, Public Art Program, Cultural Mapping, Relationship with Cultural Joint Ventures and Support for cultural community through Community Development and Facility Fee Waiver fund.
“Angela’s experience and passion for arts and culture has helped her successfully develop and deliver Culture Days 2014 in collaboration with artists and cultural organizations.
 Performing Arts Centre – a key cultural stakeholder – where do they fit into the Cultural Plan and how much input will they have? will they be truly an arm’s length organization? “While working in various management positions in the past, Angela’s extensive experience in project management including proposal writing and budgeting has helped her strategically plan highly creative and impactful arts and culture programs that inspire public involvement and provide value to the community.
“As a Manager of Arts and Culture, she hopes to continue her rewarding work in advancing collaborative, community-based programs and services, developing cultural opportunities in Burlington and enhancing the quality of life.”
 With a new name and a brand that is being developed and some bright people running the show – where will the Art Gallery fit into the Cultural Action Plan. The challenge now is to put energy and financial resources into the job as it has been outlined. It is a significant step for the city. In the past culture has resided within the Parks and Recreation department where the focus was on sports and recreational activities.
With new, and hopefully more focused management, culture and the arts will have a chance. The trick is to ensure that we get beyond “Elvis on Velvet” and that the community understands it will take time to pull all the stakeholders together and get them singing from the same sheet music.
There is a very delicate balancing act to be done; diplomacy is going to be a key element and the prime stakeholders will have to be brought on side. Avoiding turf wars will be a challenge.
How avoiding a lineup of artists with their hands out gets pulled off will be interesting to watch.
By Pepper Parr
December 26, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
It was pretty close to a ten year project but John Taylor, Councillor for Ward 3 knew that he would eventually be able to deliver for the residents of the Mountainside Community – and he has.
 Project Manager Jennifer Johnson point out a detail in the entrance area of the rebuilt Mountainside Recreation Centre that is now open to the public. Last week the marvelously renovated Mountainside Recreation Centre was quietly opened for people in the community. Early in January there will be a public opening – but Jennifer Johnson, city Project Co-ordinator already knows how well the place is going to work.
While she was checking on some last day details she put on her figure skates and tested the rink. It has been some time since Jennifer has skated and gone up on her toes and used the picks to twist and turn on the ice. She had the sheet of ice all to herself – and made the best of it. She did not tell us if she took even one small fall on that perfect sheet of ice.
 The corridor that integrates the swimming – splash pad areas with reception and the ice rink is finished in material that has the look and feel of wood. Johnson was Project Manager for the Haber Recreational Centre in Alton where she worked with the Board of Education to bring in one of the few fully integrated collection of a high school, a recreational centre and a public library in a community that is in the process of finding itself. There are those in Alton who refer to that part of the city as the NEW Burlington.
After 18 months of construction, the newly renovated Mountainside Recreation Centre is completed. It is not your typical recreation centre with that cinder block look to it.
 There are parking lots at the bottom of the slight grade leading to the entrance of the Recreation Centre; a drop off bay and a small parking lot at the top of the site. The architects chose a very fitting blend of stone, brick and paneling that fits in with the wooded location. ZAS Architects did the design work and produced something that looks and feel a little more like a mid-level resort location than a community centre with both outdoor pools and an ice rink.
The use of building material that has a finish resembling natural wood gives one the impression, and a look and feel of natural wood is everywhere.
The contract to build was awarded to Bondfield Construction Company Limited in May 2013. The cost for the project totaled $9.3 million, which included all the hard costs (construction) and soft costs, architect fees, permits, project administration, contingency and furnishings.
 The concession area is set up so that hockey players and those using the pools and splash pad outside have access. The job amounted to a complete revitalization and connection of the existing arena and pool house buildings into one integrated recreational complex that has two community rooms with screens and projection equipment, refrigerators and micro-wave ovens. These are rooms that small dances could be held in.
The customer service area is very pleasing – the concession is set up so that it can serve the people using the pools and splash pad area in the summer and the people using the ice rink in the winter.
 Change rooms on the left and a brand new sheet of ice. The change rooms in the ice arena are as upscale as most of the golf clubs in the community. Hockey referees have their own change room with lockers.
The centre is built into the side of a small mountain. Tree planting, re-forestation, trail installations were part of the revitalization.
The facility is now open for ice rentals and community room rentals. The grand opening will take place on January 2, 2015.
The Mountainside community now has the recreation centre it has waited for – Councillor Taylor just might burst with pride when the place is officially opened.
 Entrance to the Mountainside Recreation Centre. Public art is being done.
It was not an easy project to bring to fruition. Parks and Recreation wasn’t all that keen on the idea and a former city manager tried to kill the project at one point. They don’t call John Taylor the dean of city council because he has a pretty face. He slugged away to keep the project in the budget – next week his constituents can celebrate his perseverance with him.
In the months ahead, work on the public art that Simon Frank, the Hamilton artist selected, will be going forward – it will be interesting to see how this addition to the city’s bank of public art works out.
There have been some clunkers in the past.
 By Ray Rivers
December 26, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Canada faces an important federal election this year. There will be clear choices for the voters because the philosophies of the Liberals and Conservatives are so different. The NDP has been an effective opposition, but few Canadians are convinced that the party has much to offer, and expect the NDP to almost certainly fall back to its traditional third place standing.
The Harper government introduced a fixed-date election law back in 2007, which ordinarily would mean an election be held on the 3rd Monday of October this coming year. But a debate is emerging  about whether the PM will go to the voters earlier, arguably breaking his own law in the interests of political expediency.
Driving that speculation is consideration of Canada’s external rather than internal environment. I’’m not talking about ISIS, Iran and North Korea. These are merely distractions from the important global geo-political conflict – the one looming in eastern Europe. Vladimir Putin’s latest aggressions have plunged the world back into cold war mode with a potential for much more significant consequences.
Mr. Harper was foremost among world leaders in condemning Putin’s actions. And he will find enhanced electoral support among Ukrainian Canadians for his strong stand, much as he has found among some Jewish voters, who support his one-sided pro-Israeli policies. But it is the economic consequences of this conflict which will determine his timing on the election.
 Pipes waiting for US government approval before they can be buried and used to carry oil from the Alberta tar sands. It’s mostly all about oil prices. The Saudis and Americans are flooding the market with cheap oil, Russia’s main export and the basis of that nation’s economic strength. Since the price of oil has fallen to less than $50 per barrel, the Ruble has been cut in half and the country is now facing a major recession. In this way, oil pricing has turned out to be even more effective than sanctions at hurting Putin’s Russia, though neither appear to be able to curb his aggressive tendencies
 Harper government waits patiently for some movement on the Keystone pipeline that is supposed to carry oil from Alberta to US markets. Canada’s economy is also dependent on oil prices, though to a lesser extent than Russia. Since becoming PM, Harper has made the export of oil the central pillar of his economic policy, while jeopardizing our agriculture sector through new trade initiatives, and virtually ignoring Canada’s industrial base. Labelled the ‘Dutch Disease’, we have watched manufacturing and other industries in Ontario and Quebec die-off as oil exports lifted our loonie, thereby making Canadian goods and services less competitive globally.
Having cut corporate and other taxes, the federal budget has become more reliant on oil patch revenues than ever. And it was income from oil that was going to take Canada into the ‘black’ just in time for the PM’s 2015 budget. But, now, that is unlikely to happen, and the longer oil prices stay depressed, the bigger the deficit we can expect in 2015.
Harper has put a lot of his eggs into demonstrating his prowess at managing the economy, so showing up at election time with a big deficit in the basket is not what he wants. The betting is that he’ll call a spring election rather than risk facing the public come October when he is deeper in the red.
A spring election would also keep him ahead of the investigations into Senate-gate (Duffy, Wallin). And the Tory election machine is reportedly better funded, staffed and organized than either of the opposition parties. So why not?
Lower oil prices are good for consumers, the folks voting, balanced budget or not. It’s no secret that contented voters often share their good will by voting for the status quo. After-all, when you can put the savings from that last fill-up towards your child’s new I-Pad life looks more pleasant.
Harper’s throw-back social policies (mandatory jail, drugs, prostitution) or his assault on the environment (environmental assessment, Fisheries Act, Climate Change) may seem more academic than material when gas prices are lower and the man in charge seems to look like he knows what he is doing.
The situation in Europe seems relatively stable, if uncertain, but it could change rapidly as these things do sometimes. Recall how nobody expected the first world war to last very long – but it did. And Mr. Harper has cultivated a ‘tough guy’ image which would benefit him were we suddenly thrust into some kind of serious conflict over there.
The truth is that Canada has been criticized by NATO for underspending on its military and has cut defence spending even more – in order to achieve what now appears to an elusive balanced budget. And perhaps, in a time of war, people might reflect on just how poorly this government treats our veterans in need.
So it sure looks like a spring election is in the cards this New Year. Have a happy New Year however you decide to cast your ballot.
Background links:
Fixed Elections Law Russia Conflcit Dutch Disease
Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington where he ran against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province.
Ray will be having his Christmas Dinner in an airport somewhere as he wings his way to New Zealand where he will vacation, ponder and continue working on his second book, His regular column will appear every second week; in between will be a short photo essay on life on the other side of the world.
By Pepper Parr
December 24, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
A young Muslim boy we interviewed earlier in the year said his family celebrated some of Christmas.
“We call it the Commercial Christmas” he said. And for many it is a commercial season that draws people to churches Christmas Eve.
There is a reason for the season – we all know what it is.
 …and he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. There was a float in the Santa Claus parade that shouted it out for me.
For unto us …
We hope it is a Merry Christmas and that you are all with family, loved ones and friends.
By Pepper Parr
December 24, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
Six months into the job as MPP for Burlington and Eleanor McMahon can look back at a good first session as a provincial politician.
The government passed nine piece of legislation during its first session. There were just three bills passed in the previous session of the Legislature. The government brought back 20 bills that were on the Order Paper before the election was called.
 McMahon was everywhere during the early days after the August 4th flood. We asked McMahon: “What’s it like?” How did you feel when you first walked in the Legislature and took your seat”?
“There are 13 million people in Ontario” explained McMahon. “And just 107 in the Legislature – that fact just overwhelmed me. I am one of those 107 and the 13 million expect me to make good decisions for them.”
It is a demanding job and at the same time a rewarding job explained McMahon. People bring their problems to this office she said. They frequently don’t understand the rules and all too often there are very real hardship cases.
The Burlington office is an all-female operation. The three staff; Meaghan Eisenberg, Executive Assistant and Sydney Grieve, Constituency Assistant. We neglected to pick up the name of the third staff member.
McMahon is located in the Brant Plaza – and she wants out. She thinks a store front operation better serves the public – it gives her more of a profile as well. Finding something suitable and affordable is a concern.
Bill 10, the Child Care Modernization Act is one that gave McMahon a lot of satisfaction. “It meant” she said, “that parents would have more assurance that their children were safe with the people they hire to provide daycare.
McMahon is bilingual which involves her in the Francophone caucus – not something any one in Burlington past took part in.
She serves as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry and is a Member, Standing Committee on General Government and a Member, Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly
There is some legislation on the Order Paper that is of interest to several people in Burlington – Bill 52, Protection of Public Participation Act, 2014. It is an Act to An Act to amend the Courts of Justice Act, the Libel and Slander Act and the Statutory Powers Procedure Act in order to protect expression on matters of public interest.
 Pulling in the dollars for flood relief had McMahon out at dozens of photo ops. Two Burlingtonians, and the Burlington Gazette have been sued by the Burlington Executive Air Park for what they wrote about the air park’s use of un-inspected landfill at the 200 acre property between Bell School Line and Appleby Line.
The purposes of this legislation is to:
(a) to encourage individuals to express themselves on matters of public interest;
(b) to promote broad participation in debates on matters of public interest;
(c) to discourage the use of litigation as a means of unduly limiting expression on matters of public interest; and
(d) to reduce the risk that participation by the public in debates on matters of public interest will be hampered by fear of legal action.
McMahon wasn’t up on that particular piece of legislation – it has only had First Reading.
The Ontario Disaster Relief fund legislation isn’t being reviewed –
McMahon thinks it needs an overhaul. She became fully aware of what the legislation called for and played a leading role in ensuring that Burlington got to benefit from the legislation.
ODRAP required a community to raise funds locally and then ask the government to match the funds raised in the community in two dollars from the government for every dollar raised by the public.
Burlington raised $905,000 locally and will get $1,810,000 from the provincial government making $2.715.000 available to people in Burlington who suffered significant financial loss when their homes were flooded.
The provincial government at first said no to the Burlington’ request – it was pressure from McMahon and Ron Foxcroft that brought about a change in the thinking of Minister Ted McMeekin.
McMahon was everywhere during the early days of the flood. There wasn’t an event she didn’t show up at offering support, understanding and an open mind. She was tireless in fighting for her community.
Question Period is her least favourite period of time in the legislature. Her strength appears to be in Committee where a reasoned, carefully thought through approach is supposed to prevail. The cut and thrust of
Question Period doesn’t fit with the McMahon character or temperament.
It helps that she is a member of the governing party. Her predecessor didn’t have that going for her and it had an impact on her effectiveness.
McMahon has taken to the job and its complexities quite quickly and is doing well within the community. She argues that majority government works much better than minority government – she will certainly get some blow back on that position.
While it is far too early to tell if McMahon will look as good in four years’ time as she does today – Burlington’s Tory roots run very deep – she is certainly working the riding.
 We have never seen anyone work a room the way Eleanor McMahon does; she just oozes empathy. There have been consistent rumours floating around city hall that Council member Paul Sharman plans to seek the Progressive Conservative nomination for the Burlington seat. That will certainly be an interesting race – if there was ever two diametrically different people – it has to be McMahon and Sharman.
The Gazette got two tips that Sharman was making himself known within the Progressive Conservative Party. The Gazette asked Sharman to comment on the rumours – he did not confirm or deny the rumours.
 By Pepper Parr
December 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The city released the draft version of the operating budget for 2015 – it amounts to a 3.55% increase over the previous year.
The gross budget of $216.1 million for 2015 will result in a net tax levy of $139,912,648 – this includes $4.8 million that is levied to pay for the Joseph Brant Hospital Redevelopment Project.
 There are a number of Business Cases made for increased funding, which is included in the draft budget.
The Gazette will pour over the budget during the holidays and provide detail on a service by service basis as well as detail the several business cases put forward.
The draft budget was delivered to members of Council this afternoon.
 Giving the obstreperous tone at the last Council meeting – the budget deliberations could be tense. Councillor Taylor who referred to members of Council as the “gang of four” will chair the budget deliberations which begin on January 12th with a Community and Corporate Services Committee meeting where an Overview and a review of the 2015 proposed current budget.
That event will be followed by a Council Information session on January 21st and then a Public Consultation at the Mainway Arena on January 29th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm
On February 11th the Community and Corporate Services Committee will hear public delegations on the proposed current budget.
On February 17th and 19th the budget committee will review and approve the current budget after which it will go to Council for approval on February 23rd.
At the Council meeting on December 18th the city passed a bylaw approving an interim tax levy. The city sends out tax bills four times a year and cannot collect more than 50% of the tax levy with the first tax bill. Tax bills cannot be sent out until there is a specific by law passed by Council.
Tax bills are sent out in February and April followed by tax bills in June and September.
By Pepper Parr
December 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Tony Bavota, Burlington’s Fire Chief would like you to buy a gift for your house.
Nothing sexy about what he wants you to buy and no, it isn’t a calendar of a dozen of the hunks that put in fire helmets.
Something pretty simple, that you are now required to have in your home and it could well you’re your life.
 Tony Bavota, a serious minded fire chief – with a sense of humour. Tony Bavota wants to you buy and install a Carbon Monoxide alarm; they are now required by law in most Ontario homes.
The regulations mean any home with a fireplace, gas stove, water heater or furnace that burns fuels, such as gas, must have a CO alarm. The new law also applies to homes with an attached garage.
“We’re experiencing an influx of calls from residents asking about the new law,” said Chief Fire Prevention Officer Joe Wintar. “If the house contains a fuel-burning appliance, fireplace or an attached garage, a CO alarm is required to be installed near each sleeping area, including any basement or main level bedrooms.”
For added protection, CO alarm(s) can be installed in other areas of the home near a possible CO source. Always check the product’s instruction manual for details and installation requirements.
Known as the silent killer, CO is a tasteless, colourless and odourless gas that is responsible for the deaths of about 50 Canadians, including 11 Ontarians on average, every year.
The department recently released a valuable and funny video (They weren’t kidding – this is a funny video – didn’t think the fire department had this kind of funny in them) about the importance of testing both smoke and CO alarms called Test Yours Today that can be viewed on its YouTube channel.
 A number of different brands – check to see that the one you by is CSA approved. Proper placement of a CO alarm is important. In general, the human body is most vulnerable to the effects of CO during sleeping hours, so an alarm should be located near all sleeping areas of the home.
CO alarm(s) should be located near every sleeping area, where it can wake you if you are asleep. Where sleeping areas are located in separate parts of the home, an alarm should be provided for each area.
For added protection, additional CO alarms can be placed on each level of a residence and in or near rooms where CO sources are located (such as in a room that contains a solid fuel-fired appliance, gas clothes dryer or natural gas furnace, or adjacent to an attached garage).
 Once you’ve made the purchase – make sure you install it correctly. Unlike smoke, which rises to the ceiling, CO mixes with air. Recognizing this, a CO alarm can be located at knee-height (which is about the same a prone sleeping height). To work properly, a CO alarm should not be blocked by furniture, draperies or other obstructions to normal air flow.
If a combination smoke/carbon monoxide alarm is used, it should be located on the ceiling, to ensure that it will detect smoke effectively.
By Pepper Parr
December 20, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
It was a blood bath.
It was a rude, crude attempt to strip ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward of all her committee and Board responsibilities. And for the most part what Councillor Taylor called the “gang of four” succeeded.
It didn’t start out that way – but there was a hint that something hard was coming at the Community Services Committee earlier in the week when the chair for the next year was selected. Meed Ward was elected as vice-chair and Taylor made chair. Meed Ward had expected to serve as chair. This is the committee that handles the budget and the work load is little taxing for Taylor.
 Last Thursday was not the Mayor’s best day – his council trashed some of his key recommendations and there was nothing he could do to stop. At the Council meeting Thursday evening the Mayor put forward his recommendations on who would serve where. This is usually a quickly approved report given that the Mayor has already canvassed the members of Council.
The recommendation was that the following members of Council be appointed as representatives of Burlington’s Council to the identified local boards and committees, for a term to begin effective immediately. Those shown in red are the ones that his Councillors didn’t go along with.
LOCAL BOARDS
Burlington Public Library
Rick Craven
Burlington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC)
Jack Dennison, Rick Goldring and Paul Sharman
Art Gallery of Burlington
John Taylor (2015/2016), Blair Lancaster (2017/2018)
Burlington Museums
Blair Lancaster
Joseph Brant Hospital
Marianne Meed Ward
Tourism Burlington
Jack Dennison
Burlington Hydro Board
Rick Goldring
Burlington Downtown BIA
Marianne Meed Ward
 Councillor John Taylor was not a happy camper at the end of last Thursday’s Council meeting. Burlington took a number of hits that damaged the way the city will be run in 2015 Aldershot Village BIA
Rick Craven
Greater Bay Area Sub- Committee
Rick Craven & John Taylor
Burlington Performing Arts Centre Board
Rick Goldring & Paul Sharman
Downtown Parking Committee
Marianne Meed Ward
Licensing Committee
Rick Craven, John Taylor & Marianne Meed Ward
Conservation Halton
John Taylor & Marianne Meed Ward
Burlington Seniors Centre Board Liaison
Paul Sharman
CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEES
Heritage Burlington (HB)
Marianne Meed Ward
Sustainable Development Committee (SDC)
Paul Sharman
Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee (BAAC)
John Taylor
Burlington Cycling Committee
Jack Dennison
Burlington Mundalization Committee
Blair Lancaster
Burlington Seniors Advisory Committee (BSAC)
Marianne Meed Ward
Burlington Inclusivity Advisory Committee (BIAC)
Blair Lancaster
 Councillor Meed Ward is passionate about her Boards and Committee work: having two of her favorites taken away from her hurt – and that was what Councillors Craven, Sharman and Lancaster wanted to do. Quite why Councillor Dennison went along with them isn’t all that clear. Meed Ward got taken off two boards that were dear to her heart. Councillor Taylor has asked that the city representation at Conservation HAlton be revised to two Council members with Meed Ward being the second. Councillors Craven, Sharman, Lancaster and Dennison voted against that idea. Taylor then withdrew his name which gave that position to Meed Ward.
Councillor Sharman is now on the hospital board and Meed Ward is on the seniors board. The Seniors has asked for Meed Ward to be on their board.
Meed Ward was replaced as the council representative on the Burlington Downtown Business Association by Councillor Lancaster who had complained to the Mayor that she wanted to serve on boards where she could grow.
At the beginning of each term of a new Council the members of Council decide who will represent the city on the various local boards and committees. The established process includes the completion of a form indicating individual council members’ interests in specific boards and committees. Based on each member’s input, the Mayor presents recommendations to the Community and Corporate Services Committee appointing Council members to local boards and committees.
The Procedure By-law describes appointments and includes, in part, the following information:”The Member of Council appointed as a liaison for each citizen advisory committee is not required to attend meetings or to take part in sub- committee meetings. Their role is to be available as a liaison to the citizen advisory committee.
The Council Representative is not counted when considering quorum and does not have a vote at citizen committee meetings”.
Mayor Goldring canvassed the members of Council and put forward a set of recommendations set out above.
Three of his Council members did not like what they saw in the report and actually conspired to ensure that Meed Ward was removed from every possible committee.
 Councillor Rick Taylor “owns” Aldershot; he rules that roost. Were his actions and machinations at council last Thursday a moved to expand his clout? He has said that he hasn’t ruled out a run for the office of Mayor. Councillors Craven and Sharman appeared to lead what Councillor Taylor called “the gang of four”; Councillor Lancaster went along for the ride; a ride it might be added being one she benefited from. Councillor Dennison joined in at the end.
In his report to Council Mayor Goldring said: “I am confident that the unique interests and talents of members of council are reflected in the recommended slate of council representatives to Boards and Committees. These representatives will ensure effective communication between the local boards and committees and council over the next four years.
That one blew up in the Mayors face. There were three amendments to the report that took everything away from Meed Ward. A surprise and somewhat intemperate move by Councillor Taylor had him withdrawing as the representative for city council on the Conservation Halton board which allowed Meed Ward to then take that appointment. Councillor Taylor then withdrew from the Art Gallery Board as well.
What does it all boil down to?
 Councillor Lancaster, on the right, relies on her fellow Council members for guidance and direction. Has she been foolishly led by Councillors Craven and Sharman who is seen here on the left. Mayor Goldring had said he was happy with the Council he had prior to the election – and they were all re-elected. His Worship is clearly not fully aware as to just how dysfunctional his Council is – there is now a very clear divide between the Mayor, Councillors Taylor and Meed and what Councillor Taylor called the “gang of four”; made up of Councillors Craven, Sharman, Dennison and Lancaster. They meant to cut Meed Ward down a peg or two and on the surface it sure looks like they succeeded.
The Seniors are going to love Meed Ward; they didn’t take to Councillor Sharman all that well. It will be interesting to see how Sharman fits into the hospital board – watch for some ego clashes over there.
Getting Meed Ward onto Conservation was a surprise move on the part of Councillor Taylor. She will have er work cut out for her.
Booting Meed Ward off the Downtown BIA puts a dent in the Meed Ward ego – but it won’t make any difference to what happens at that Board: Meed Ward can and will participate fully. The city representative is not needed to make quorum and doesn’t have a vote – and that board will deeply resent Lancaster pushing herself in the way she has. Look for fire works between the two female members of city Council at the BDBA.
Taylor’s intemperate decision to withdraw from the Art Galley is unfortunate.
There weren’t any winners last Thursday evening. what there is however is a very clear divide on city council that is not in the best interests of the city.
Only time will tell if this is what the residents of the city really want. There are going to be reverberations coming out of this for sometime. Getting a budget passed will be great fun!
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