 By Pepper Parr
April 4, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The report before the Development and Infrastructure Standing Committee was a summary of the issues that have been addressed or are in the process of being addressed since the last Airpark Update Report to Council on November 20, 2014.
There hadn’t been much progress – but lawyer Ian Blue was in the Council Chamber and there was a notation on the agenda that Council would be going into a CLOSED session – so you knew something was up.
 Properly and collaboratively developed the \Air Park could become an economic jewel – it is currently mired in disputes that are taking up time and chewing up tax dollars for legal fees. With Blue now back in harness a number of things were going to happen. The legal departments spending was going to increase – we don’t know yet how much the city has spent on this file – but we do know how much the city has recovered from the Burlington Air Park Inc., in legal costs. The cit was awarded $40,000 in costs after the Superior court case and an additional $22,000 after the Air Park lost its appeal.
And we know that the city is working through what its next step is going to be. About time too, according to the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition (RBGC) which in a note it sent to Council set out what they felt was not being done.
It would seem, said the RBGC that based on the report released on Friday very little has changed since our last delegation on February 23rd; except that it has now been nine months since your legal victory with still no remediation on site or to neighbouring properties.
The Coalition went on to point out that:
 These people are not drilling for oil – they have sunk a drill to test the make up of the landfill dumped on the property. 1) A highly controversial, and in our opinion woefully inadequate testing program has been approved and carried out. Terrapex has stated that the small number of samples is adequate because the fill is ‘contaminated’. However, all public indications from the Airpark, including a message from the owner on the Airpark website, continue to state that the fill is ‘clean’.
2) Three Burlington citizens continue to spend countless hours and dollars on a defamation suit based on the fact that we’ve quoted the Terrapex reports and called the fill contaminated.
 The Air Park corporation dumped more than 30 feet of landfill without a Site Plan. Owner of the adjacent property stands on her property line and wonders why anyone can build a “small mountain” next to her property without getting approval. She is also terrified about what the hill is doing to the value of her property and what the leaching out of the landfill is going to do to her well water. 3) There is still no adequate storm water management in place to control spring runoff onto already damaged neighbouring properties.
4) There is still no resolution regarding the Conservation Halton regulated lands.
5) There has been no staff or Council response to our email regarding the new Aeronautics Regulations surrounding a public consultation process for expansion plans (comments due April 8th), nor was this important development mentioned in the current update.
6) The current Airpark report still lists Ward 6 as the only Affected Ward. The Burlington Airpark and its proposed expansion on contaminated fill is a City-wide concern.
When a council committee comes out of a CLOSED session they seldom say anything other than they are no longer CLOSED but now in a public session.
In the Staff report to city council they did advise that:
On November 14, 2014. A submission package was received that included:
A completed Site Alteration Permit Application form; a Proposed Development Concept Plan and grading plans.
A Risk Assessment was also requested by the city and this was not included. As a result, the submission was deemed incomplete. It was understood that the Airpark’s environmental consultant was reviewing the existing site data and preparing a Scope of Work for the additional site investigation work required for the preparation of a Risk Assessment.
 Vince Rossi, president of Burlington Air park Inc., at a meeting with members of the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition that took place in a barn a couple of hundred yards from the end of his largest runway. A letter was sent to Mr. Rossi on December 17, 2014 requesting the submission of the Scope of Work required for a Risk Assessment by January 9, 2015. The submission was not made by this date.
Subsequently, the Airpark submitted a report entitled “Proposal for Limited Phase II Environmental Site Assessment”, dated January 22, 2015. This report provided Pinchin Environmental’s proposed recommendations for additional site investigation work.
In summary, the recommendations include the proposal for 20 additional boreholes to be spread evenly across the area where fill has been placed on the Airpark property. Two soil samples are to be taken at each borehole location. Of these 20 boreholes, 2 will be utilized as additional ground water monitoring (GWM) wells. These 2 GWM wells are proposed to be located on the west perimeter of the property.
Terrapex Environmental has completed their review of the proposal. The following comments were provided:
Pinchin has proposed 20 additional borehole locations with two samples from each location (various depths) submitted for analysis of a wide range of Contaminants of Concern (COC). This equates to essentially 40 sampling locations which should provide a good data-set for this purpose. It is important to understand that the focus of the “Environmental Site Assessment” (ESA) is NOT to fully characterize the vast amount of material in order to prove that the site is impacted or not. We already know that it is. It is important for stakeholders to understand that the focus of the ESA is to provide a statistically valid data-set on which the modelling for the Risk Assessment can be based.
With respect to the proposed placement of two new monitoring wells for groundwater sampling, Pinchin has proposed two well locations that appear to supplement the western perimeter well network that already exists. While we have no objection to this, we suggest that additional monitoring wells be installed and groundwater analyses be conducted in the interior of the fill areas in order to assess risks of impacts in groundwater which may migrate from the interior of the site to the perimeter (and off-site) in the future.
The city forwarded these comments to the Airpark and requested a response by February 6, 2015. Updated status will be provided at committee on February 9.
The city expects the work schedule to proceed as follows:
Finalized scope of work for additional site investigation work – Feb 2015; Additional site investigation work – March 2015; Phase II ESA and submission of Risk Assessment – April/May 2015.
Given that few if any of the target dates have ever been met – it isn’t difficult to arrive at the conclusion that someone is giving someone a royal run around here.
Getting the Site Alteration Plan from the Air Park (Justice Murphy in his Superior Court decision said the city had the right to demand a site Plan – that decision was upheld on appeal) is not the only Air Park related issues the city is stick handling.
There is the matter of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) and the Freedom of Information Request (FOI) Request; there is the Groundwater Monitoring Program and City’s Peer Review; there is the Runway Construction, then there is the Drainage and Siltation Control Measures. Add to that the Region of Halton and the Conservation Halton issues and one is looking at a very full and complex agenda.
The municipal world runs at a pace only it understands but reading that at this point there are “no options being presented for consideration” is both disappointing and frustrating.
The issue for most people is the damage that can be done to the water table if the fill that has been dumped on the Air Park property is “toxic”, as one north Burlington resident has stated: for which she, along with the Gazette are being sued for making public.
The weather is getting warmer, those heavy winter snows are melting; that melting is working its way down through the tonnes of fill and into the water table – if it is toxic – we may get to drink that water at some point. And that is a concern for every citizen in the city.
 Were it not for the strong delegations Vanessa Warren made to both city and Regional Council there would probably be trucks running along Appleby Line with loads of landfill from who knows where with who knows what in the fill. That libel case is working its way through the judicial system. It is at that point where lawyers are haggling over what is going to be permitted at the Discovery stage. The defendants; Vanessa Warren, Monte Dennis and Pepper Parr along with the Burlington Gazette want to know the following
1. Financial statements for plaintiff from 2008 to time of trial,
2. All records relating to any testing, or other evidence of quality, of material used for landfill on Burlington Airpark site (the “Landfill”),
3. All records relating to quantities, sources and/or quality of material used for the Landfill,
4. All records relating to charges and revenue for the Landfill,
5. Any records relating to the management and record-keeping of the Landfill operations,
6. All records relating to the Landfill operations from or to Conservation Halton, Region of Halton or other governmental authorities,
7. All records relating to any inspections, studies or tests conducted on Burlington Airpark site relating to the Landfill operations or their related effects,
8. All test reports and results regarding the effects, if any, of the Landfill on the groundwater, streams, fish, amphibians, reptiles and soil in or near the Burlington Airpark site,
 Monte Dennis – delegating at city council on an Air Park matter. 9. All correspondence from and to members of the community, including political representatives, concerning the Landfill operations, and
10. All communications to the public made by Vince Rossi or anyone else on behalf of Burlington Airpark concerning the Landfill operations.
There are some interesting times ahead – the questions the defendants in the libel case are asking are questions the city is interested in having answered as well.
 Former city manager Jeff Fielding, on the left, giving a lawyer who tried to convince city council that they had no jurisdiction on air park matters gets a bit of a lecture from Fielding while city legal staff on the left look on.
Just under two months ago the Air Park file was on a committee agenda – staff asked that it be moved back to the next cycle of Standing Committee reports so the incoming city manager James Ridge could be fully briefed and take part in the next step planning. Ridge didn’t say very much during the delivery of the report – we hope he is now fully briefed and turns out to be as aggressive as former city manager Jeff Fielding was when he suggested to the Mayor that a delegation explaining the law to Council be dismissed and sent on his way. Council is going to have to be tough on this file – the water table and the citizens of the city are depending on them.
 By Staff
April 4, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police have made an arrest in the April 3rd robbery at “Conspiracy Comics” on Fairview St. in Burlington.
Last Friday a suspect entered the “Conspiracy Comics” store at 2388 Fairview Street, and after completing a small purchase, took out a hammer and made a demand for money from the store employee before fleeing the store on foot. She was subsequently found and arrested.
Charged with one count of Robbery is:
Mary Margaret ROSS (30 years)
The accused is being held for bail and will be appearing in WASH court on April 5th. WASH stands for Weekends and Statutory Holidays – which means that Ms Moore just might get sprung from the slammer Easter Sunday.
 By Pepper Parr
April 4, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a little complicated but for Russ Weegar it was pretty simple. We paid the taxes, we are entitled to a rebate and we would like that rebate if you don’t mind
 Russ Weegar and Pastor Rosalie Schwarm delegating before a Standing Committee. Weegar and Pastor Rosalie Schwarm were delegating on behalf of Lighthouse Church International requesting a grant.
Lighthouse is a non-profit, non-denominationalchurch with charitable status that has in the past provided funding to various Burlington community programs (West Plains Food Bank and Habitat for Humanity) as well as pastoral advocacy services to indigenous groups, locally and internationally.
They used to lease space on Fairview Street. Property taxes were included in their rent. They have been leasing their current location since October 1, 2012.
Where a charity leases space in a taxable building, the charity is eligible for a rebate equal to 40% of the taxes paid by the charity. A charity rebate application was submitted in November 2014 for the years 2012 (part year), 2013 and 2014.
And this is where the problems for the Lighthouse Church began. Only the 2014 tax year rebate was processed because they did not get their application for the rebate in on time.
Weegar pointed out that they didn’t even know they were entitled to a charitable rebate.
When the city collects taxes – they don’t get to keep all the money. City hall collects taxes for the Region and for the school boards.
Of each dollar collected in taxes 28.2% goes to the city; they send 24.6 % to the Region and 47.2% to the province on behalf of the school boards.
The city denied the applications for 2012 (part year) and 2013 because they had missed the deadlines – which Weegar continually pointed out they weren’t aware of – had the 2012 and 2013 applications been submitted before the respective deadlines, the rebates would have been shared as follows:
2012 2013 Total
City 605.70 2,476.64 3,082.34
Region 571.09 2,237.16 2,808.25
School Boards 1,095.02 4,312.98 5,408.00
Total $2,271.81 $9,026.78 $11,298.59
Filing deadlines are legislated under the Municipal Act and must be made after January 1 of the year and no later than the last day of February of the following year.
The municipality may accept applications after that deadline if, in the opinion of the municipality, extenuating circumstances justify the applicant being unable to make the application by the deadline.
“Extenuating circumstances” generally means an event that is unusual or beyond the control of the parties. In this case, Lighthouse Church explained that they did not know about the rebate until 2014. Not knowing about a rebate or deadline is not considered an extenuating circumstance.
The Municipal Act does give a municipality with the general power to make grants if Council considers to be in the interests of the municipality.
If council chooses to provide a grant to Lighthouse Church, there is the risk that other charitable and non-profit organizations, which have missed application deadlines, may seek similar funding in the future.
 Rosalie Schwarm – Pastor at the Lighthouse church City Council has made grants to other charitable organizations in the past – The Humane Society had taxes written of – the circumstances were deemed to be extenuating.
There hasn’t been a single grant application since the Humane Society was given a helping hand.
The Lighthouse Church at this point does not have a home. Their congregation of about 85 people has dwindled as a result but they continue to do what they believe they were sent here to do – help people. In the meantime they meet in people’s homes and hold their services.
In the past the church has sent people to Cuba. Yemen, Bulgaria and the Congo.
At one point they had a home in Waterdown where they rented from another church that decided they wanted to sell the property. Lighthouse could not afford to buy it at the time.
When it came to making a decision it took several votes to arrive at a decision that would get sent to the Council meeting on April 20th.
Councillor Meed Ward wanted the city to give Lighthouse a grant for the full amount they were asking for $11, 298.50 That got just three votes – they needed four
Give Lighthouse a portion of their ask including part that is educational and let them go to the Region and ask for a rebate at that level – that too lost
The final vote was to give the church the city portion – $3,082.30 – that passed.
Now that the Lighthouse church people understand the rules – expect them to mount a stronger argument at Council on the 20th.
In the meantime their Easter Sunday service will be in the home of one of the parishioners.
 By Staff
April 3, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
At about 8:00 pm on Friday evening, a lone female suspect entered the “Conspiracy Comics” store at 2388 Fairview Street in Burlington.
After completing a small purchase, the suspect took out a hammer and made a demand for money from the store employee before fleeing the store on foot.
The employee was not injured.
The police report does not say if the suspect was actually given any money.
Suspect is described as:
Female, white, approximately 20-30 years old, 5’5″-5’6″ with a slender build. She had a stud piercing under her lower lip (labret piercing).
Clothing: grey hooded sweater (hood worn up), light blue jeans, dark touque, black knap sack, dark coloured skater shoes low cut sneakers
Anyone with information that would assist in this investigation is asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905 825-4747 x2316, or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-TIPS(8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
In which Josephus describes the condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus at the hands of the Roman authorities
In which Josephus describes the condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus at the hands of the Roman authorities
In which Josephus describes the condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus at the hands of the Roman authorities
In which Josephus describes the condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus at the hands of the Roman authorities
 By Pepper Parr
April 2, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Here is the official story:
“Ontario is investing up to $371.3 million to support the construction of a new seven-storey tower at Burlington’s Joseph Brant Hospital and to significantly renovate other areas of the hospital to give patients faster access to the right care.
Through this expansion, patients in Burlington will benefit from:
Space for 172 additional beds in the new tower
Additional beds in the Intensive Care Unit
A modern emergency department and a new main entrance
Expanded diagnostic imaging services, which will provide capacity for an additional 23,745 exams per year
Nine modern operating rooms and a post-anaesthetic care unit with capacity for an additional 1,770 inpatient and day surgery cases
An expanded cancer clinic that can serve an additional 2,876 patient visits
Expanded ambulatory care programs, such as: comprehensive women’s health, children’s health, seniors health/geriatric assessment, nutrition counselling, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart function, ophthalmology, neurology, general medicine, fracture clinic, orthopaedic assessment, stroke assessment, medical day care and sexual assault clinic
An expanded and modernized laboratory to help accurately assess patients faster
A renovated Special Care Nursery for babies who need additional specialized care such as intravenous therapy or respiratory support
 City hall is apparently leaning on the hospital administration to ensure that the Tim Horton coffee shop is on the south side of the building so that the public walking along the Lakeshore and the old railway track can slip in for a double-double and a maple donut. The original plan was to have the coffee shop on the north side. Suspect that discussion isn’t over yet. Construction at Joseph Brant Hospital is now underway and is expected to be complete in the fall of 2018.”
But there is more to this story than what the provincial government’s media release said
The building is going to be much higher than expected.
It will be well built – Ellis-Don, the company heading up the construction project has consistently done very good work. Erik Vandewall, president of the hospital is as good as they get at getting hospitals built.
He will make sure things are on time and on budget.
The budget is going to be a problem.
The $371 million dollar project will get funds from three sources: the provincial government, which is using an innovative approach to getting its share of the cost.
The city of Burlington has had to burden its tax payers with a $60 million special tax levy that threatens to become permanent – but that’s another story.
The Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation has undertaken to raise an additional $60 million.
They recently announced that they had reached the 60% level – which is very good news.
BUT – there is $10 million of that publicly raised money that might be in doubt.
Last weekend the Globe & Mail published a report on a significant shortfall in the fund raising for the Royal Ontario Museum. Burlington’s Michael Lee Chin made a generous donation – it was a pledge actually that he has not been able to honour yet.
His gift to the Joseph Brant Hospital, announced in February by the hospital foundation said:
“Together, as a community, we raised an incredible $2 million from September – December 2014, in response to the Michael Lee-Chin & Family Community Matching Challenge. As a result the Lee-Chin Family added a matching million dollars.
In September of 2014 the Foundation announced: The Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation has announced that Michael Lee-Chin and his family have made a $10 million dollar donation at its 14th annual Crystal Ball Gala.
The donation is the largest ever made in the City of Burlington and the largest made to the Joseph Brant Hospital. This gift brings the total raised for Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation’s Our New Era campaign to $37M – more than 60% of campaign goal.
In light of the Globe & Mail story – we don’t know what Lee Chin has done or has not done in terms of meeting his pledge.
Meanwhile construction plans for a rebuild of Lakeshore Road are released.
 The road will have three lanes plus a bike path on the south side and will be between a metre and 3/4 of a metre higher than it is now. It will extend in phase one to just about the water treatment plant. The road is going to be raised between a metre and three quarters of a metre higher when the work is completed in 2018. There will be no work done on the road rebuild while hospital construction is taking place.
The Lakeshore Road re-build will not be complete. Scott Hamilton, Manager of Design Construction for the city said the final design of the Lakeshore extension cannot be completed until we know what is going to happen to the houses in the Beachway.
The new road will be three lanes wide with a bike path as well. Some of the houses are quite close to the existing road.
While the Region has said the situation with the property on the Beachway will be bought on a willing seller/willing buyer basis – the truth is that there is only one buyer and the sellers are being squeezed out.
The real estate agents for the Region are meeting with home owner on a one-to-one basis to – as they say – point out the options the home owners have.
The city will be holding a public meeting on Tuesday to display their thinking of a park design – with and without the homes that are in place now.
It could be a very noisy building.
In the meantime Eric J. Vandewall President & CEO of the hospital has to determine just where the money to pay the bills is going to come from.
The city has been quietly collecting tax money to pay for its $60 million share. City Director of Finance Joan Ford advises that there is a tight agreement between the hospital and the city as to when city funds get handed over.
One can assume that a similar agreement exists between the hospital and the hospital foundation.
Vandewall must wonder – is the $10 million plus that Lee Chin pledged going to be available?
 By Pepper Parr
April 2, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
Ontario’s provincial high school graduation rate has increased again, with more students gaining the skills and knowledge they need to thrive and prosper.
The rate of students graduating within five years of starting high school was 84 per cent in 2014, which is 16 percentage points higher than the 2004 rate of 68 per cent. The percentage of students graduating in four years is 76 per cent, an increase of 20 percentage points since 2004, when it was only 56 per cent.
Since 2004, approximately 163,000 more students have graduated than would have if the graduation rate had remained at the 2004 level.
The provincial government is going to publishing school board level graduation rates from across the province. Ensuring parents, students, teachers and boards have access to consistent data will help inform efforts to improve students’ success.
It is difficult to fathom how publishing the graduation rate is going to help a student. It might help parents push their boards to improve the performance on teachers in high schools – seems like an expenditure that doesn’t need to be made.
The idea of sending anyone out in the world with anything less than a high school education is close to criminal. The only way to earn a living without a high school education is to steal or sell drugs – which is of course what far too many of them end up doing.
It would help too if the provincial government could work to create an economy that resulted in jobs for those who do graduate.
 Graduation rate for students who took five years to complete high school. The Halton District School Board does keep graduation statistics. The Gazette education reporter Walter Byj will be reporting on this soon.
The graph below shows the rate of change for students who took five years to complete their high school education
By Staff
April 2, 2105
BURLINGTON, ON
The nomination closure date for Burlington’s Best Awards has been extended one week, now closing April 14, 2015. That is not a good sign.
There are a number of people and organizations that did incredible work during the August flood that deserve recognition.
There has been some fine work done by the Seniors’ community.
Have these awards fallen out of favour?
“There has been a lot of interest and talk of the awards but so far there has been very few nominations actually submitted,” said Mary Kay Aird, Chair, Burlington’s Best Committee. “The submission form only takes about 15 minutes to complete and it is quite easy.”
Visit www.burlington.ca/best to nominate someone deserving of civic recognition for their hard work, compassion and dedication. Nomination forms can be completed online at www.burlington.ca/best or by picking up a nomination form at the clerks department at City Hall, 426 Brant St.
There are seven categories of Burlington’s Best:
• Citizen of the year
A person whose volunteer activity has made a significant and sustained contribution to the vibrancy and wellbeing of the Burlington community.
• Junior Citizen of the year
A high school student, 18 years or younger who has made a significant contribution to the Burlington community.
• Senior Citizen of the year
A person, 55 years or older who has advocated on behalf of seniors and/or made a significant contribution to the Burlington community.
• Environmental Award
An individual or group that improved and/or protects Burlington’s environment.
• Arts Person of the Year
An individual who has contributed to the arts in Burlington as an artist, patron or advocate including but not limited to, visual arts, media arts, musical arts, performing arts and literary arts.
• Community Service Award
An individual or group whose volunteer activity has contributed to the betterment of the Burlington community.
• Heritage Award
An individual who has demonstrated a commitment to the preservation of Burlington’s heritage, and has volunteered their time in an effort to support the preservation of Burlington’s heritage.
Related article:
Are the BEST awards transparent enough?
By Staff
April 2, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Starting May 3, 2015, several routes and services are being either adjusted or enhanced based on public feedback and expanding service levels.
Scheduling improvements focus on a number of routes to adjust timing and connectivity as well as expansion of the Community Connection service and Handi-van service which will be expanded later this year.
 Tucked in behind the buses there is a small ticket office – the transit people talked seriously about shutting it down and sending people to city hall top buy ticket. Decisions like that – this one got killed – make one look askance when news comes out of the transit department. “A transit system that is efficient and effective is good for all, regardless of your reasons for taking it,” said Mayor Rick Goldring “Many of these improvements and adjustments are a result of public feedback. “We are constantly looking for ways to enhance services to improve the system for regular riders, as well as attract new ones.”
Improvements
• Based on rider feedback and transit data, Routes 2 and 3 will change slightly so riders will no longer need to transfer buses to continue their travel from Route 2 to Route 3, and alternatively, from Route 3 to Route 2. This will begin May 3, 2015.
• Also beginning May 3, 2015, and based on rider feedback, the schedules for Routes 10 and 20 will be adjusted to improve on-time performance.
• Burlington Transit bought a new Handi-van vehicle to meet increased service requests. The new van will be in service later this year.
• The Community Connection service will be expanded to provide a network of coverage into areas north, east and west of the city with routes meeting at the Burlington Seniors’ Centre. The service will be provided midday Monday to Friday and is served by smaller transit vehicles that will allow Burlington Transit to make stops at the entrance doors of key destination areas, such as malls and community centres.
Temporary Route Detour
• Route 1 will detour as a result of an extended construction project on Waterdown Road. The timing will be adjusted on both Routes 1 and 101 during the project, which is expected to be completed in October 2015.
We will get revised maps up as soon as they are available.
 By Staff
April 1, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It is close, you can almost feel it – but it isn’t here yet – is it?
The warm weather doesn’t have to be here to get BurlingtonGreen Environmental Association, in partnership with the City of Burlington, getting the word out on their annual event.
 Citizens, schools, churches, community groups and businesses can participate in this year’s Community Clean Up Green Up events taking place from 9:00 to noon on Saturday April 25th and Saturday May 30th, 2015.
Since 2010, the city-wide clean-up efforts have collectively realized the retrieval and proper disposal of more than 10,000 kg (10 tonnes) of litter, with a record high of 13,500 participants in 2013 who registered to do their part to help make Burlington’s parks, streams, school yards, and neighbourhoods cleaner and greener.
Registration for this year’s events is NOW OPEN on the Burlington Green website
 By Walter Byj
April 1, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board and staff thought that the matter was over – there would be no full day kindergarten at Pineland this year.
Well, the parents did not get the message. Despite being rebuffed by trustees and by Director of Education Eaule, the residents of the Pineland area continue to fight a grassroots campaign to spread their case for maintaining the program.
Through the posting of a YouTube video that has received 200 hits and a petition with 100 signatures; they are spreading their story within and beyond the community.
 Denise Davey with former Governor General who is presenting an award. Davey tends to get what she goes after. she brought about significant changes to railway crossings students were taking illegally. One of the parents, Denise Davy, was recently interviewed by Bill Kelly on CHML and fully elaborated the situation occurring at Pineland.
The parents are now taking their campaign to a higher level: a meeting has been arranged with the Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon on April 7th.
The parents will explain their interpretation of the Education Act to McMahon who will, hopefully explain the provinces position.
Will the two be the same?
 By Ray Rivers
April 1, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Canada’s former General, Rick Hillier, has struck out at those MP’s who didn’t show up to vote for ‘Harper’s War’ – the resolution extending Canadian bombing of ISIS into Syria. Hillier was the guy who oversaw Canada’s most active role in Afghanistan, so he should know about the costs of war and the value of war’s benefits.
And Harper’s War, like the one his government inherited in Afghanistan, has nothing to do with self-defence, despite our PM’s protestations to the contrary. Although there are potentially all kinds of enemies out there in the shadows, only a fool would believe that ISIS poses an imminent military threat to Canada. We are half a world away. How can they bomb us without an air force or invade us without a navy?
 Canada’s former General, Rick Hillier, has struck out at those MP’s who didn’t show up to vote for ‘Harper’s War’ ISIS is a consequence of GW Bush’s extrajudicial invasion of Iraq in 2003. Yes, that was the war which Mr. Harper believed we needed to also fight. Bush’s people won the war but lost the peace. Or more accurately, they won the battles and lost the war – since peace was never an outcome.
Defeated, demobilized and shut out, Saddam’s political and military organization, the Baathist Sunni party, re-grouped and re-engineered themselves as ISIS, then went to work taking back what Bush had taken away. History shows us how it gets more complicated, in that part of the world, with each new wave of outside intervention. I mean, just ask the Libyans, whom we helped liberate from Gaddafi with our CF-18s, how much they are enjoying their freedom.
Of course ISIS is nasty group of people and I wouldn’t want them as my neighbours – but they’re not. And some of their neighbours are almost as evil as they are. For example, Syria’s dictator Assad has murdered over two hundred thousand of his people, some with chemical weapons. And Iraq’s Shias have done their fair share of slaughtering their Sunni brethren.
ISIS seems to be killing everybody. Iran and the Kurds are fighting ISIS. And once this skirmish is over, Iran and Turkey will be gunning for the Kurds who have long sought their own national state in Iraq, Iran and Turkey. Meanwhile, Turkey, with the largest land army in the area, has refused to fight ISIS unless the US completely obliterates Syria’s Assad.
Syria, supported by Iran, Hezbollah and Russia, is also fighting ISIS and other rebel groups, including al Qaeda and the ones supported by the Americans. The Americans are bombing in Iraq, as we are, but also in Syria, where we are going. But at least the Americans have apparently got some deal, brokered by Russia or Iran, granting them immunity from counter-attack by Assad’s still intact forces, though we haven’t
 ISIS seems to be killing everybody Jordan is also bombing in Iraq and its neighbour and former enemy, Israel, has offered to help should ISIS invade the kingdom. Egypt has gone from dictatorship to Islamic quasi-democracy and back to military quasi-dictatorship, and has been bombing its neighbour, rebel-dominated Libya. Iranian backed rebels have taken over Yemen and are now being bombed by the Saudis, who are in the process of creating a twenty-plus nation pan-Arab army, with America’s blessing.
Israelis may remember, without fondness, the last pan-Arab army, which nearly drove it into the ground during the 1973 Yom Kippur war. We should always be careful what we wish for. And what about Hamas and those west-bank Palestinians, besieged by wave after wave of invading Israeli settlements, and who now know for sure that Israel will never agree to a two-state solution?
 Prime Minister Harper speaking in the |House of Commons during the debate of the the resolution extending Canadian bombing of ISIS into Syria Into this hornets’ nest, Mr. Harper’s government has decided to extend our ISIS bombing mission into Syria, with no military objectives, no timelines and no authority to invade a sovereign state (Syria). Syria used to be a real country in every sense of the word. Even besieged by civil war as it is today, it still has enough powerful high-tech Russian supplied anti-aircraft weapons to take down one, or all, of our CF-18s, if they wanted to.
It’s crazier than a flea circus, and nobody should know that better than former military chief of staff, Hillier. But he is the guy who said “we’re not the public service of Canada. We’re not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people.” Over a hundred of our soldiers died in battle during his watch and our reward is the chaos that still characterizes Afghanistan today.
 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 as a Liberal against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province.
Background links:
Syria’s Moral Maze Injured Soldiers ISIS Alliance Infighting Shaky Ground
Saddam’s Old Party Pan-Arab Army General Hillier’s Anger Rick Hillier
By Pepper Parr
April 1, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It was the third in a series of transit meetings – this time it was the riders who were going to do the talking – and talk they did. They packed the Centennial room at the library and told each other what worked and what didn’t work for them.
 Six breakout groups took part in animated discussions on what works and what doesn’t work. What was not surprising was the number of positive things the public had to say about the men and women who drive the buses – and the number of drivers who give students a break when the coins in their pockets don’t equal; the demand of the fare box.
However – it wasn’t all good news.
 Joey Edwardth, on the left isn’t sure the Mayor has it figured out. A newly converted transit advocate Mayor Goldring may have an issue he can run with. Routes don’t work the way they need to work and the service is spotty much of the time.
When Bfast (Burlington friends for accessible transit) put out a challenge to the members of city council to use the bus one day a week for a month – Mayor Goldring took up the challenge and made a media event out of it. He has continued to use the bus since that kick off date for him
Councillor Marianne Meed Ward used the bus to get to a Regional Council meeting – she won’t be doing that again – close to three hours and $12+ in costs for what she says can be done in a fifteen minute car ride.
So far none of the other Councillors have taken the challenge – don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.
James Smith, a consistent transit advocate said he wasn’t able to take transit to get to the meeting: “the bus schedule wouldn’t allow me to do the errands I needed to do and get to the meeting on time”.
 The public meeting for transit users broke out into different groups – these are the seniors talking about what the transit system does for them. Smith was originally concerned that the politicians would take over the meeting – that didn’t prove to be the case.
Councillors Sharman, Craven, Meed Ward and the Mayor were on hand. The Mayor has clearly gotten the message – he has a new understanding of just what the transit problems are.
Meed Ward isn’t that much of a transit user – but then she lives and works in the downtown core and can walk to almost everything she is involved in.
Councillor Sharman didn’t look like he was enjoying himself and Councillor Craven just worked the crowd.
There was no one from Burlington Transit at the event. “They were invited”: said James Smith.
 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward explains a point to one of the breakout groups. The much touted Presto pass can’t apparently be easily loaded – students found this a problem. The city had to spend a considerable amount of money to get the Presto pass service operational – it wasn’t an option and it wasn’t cheap.
The Burlington Transit system has 51 buses covering 31 routes. Coming up with a schedule that meets the needs of the ridership has been a challenge and synchronizing the bus schedule with the GO schedule has been close to impossible. GO trains come and go more frequently than the buses.
 A transit rider making a point. One of the Bfast organizers pointed out that there is apparently no one at the transit office with a long, deep background in transit – and it shows.
Signage was also described as a problem; especially when moving from the bus service to the GO service.
The biggest problem transit has is a lack of resources. The provincial gas tax rebate is devoted to transit in most municipalities – no so in Burlington. This city has a very significant infrastructure deficit and council has decided to repair the roads rather than improve the bus service.
And some of the roads are in close to desperate need of repair. The city’s namesake street – Burlington – is a mess. There are more people living on that street who drive cars and can complain than there are bus riders. And this city council knows how to listen to as few as a dozen complaints to make a change in a policy. They are certainly responsive – they need to work on being more responsible.
There is an announcement coming in May apparently on more changes to the schedule and in the not too distant future Burlington Transit will begin installing some technology that will provide them with real time information on how many people get on a bus and where they get off. It will cost millions – transit believes that with this data they can develop a schedule that will meet the needs of the bus riders.
 Everyone got an opportunity to tell their transit story – they weren’t all bad. Doug Brown, a retired engineer has most of the information the city needs in filing cabinets in his basement. A tireless transit advocate, Brown surprisingly is not used or appreciated by many members of council or the people who run the transit system.
Brown does have a style that is unique to him – but he knows what he is talking about. He is a resource that should be tapped into.
 Doug Brown, chair of Bfast, wants to see a bus schedule with routes that work for people and not the current bus route set up in place. It doesn’t work claims Brown. The city no longer has a Transit Advisory committee. The one they did have consisted of had some people who should not have been at the table; they were uninformed, rude and interested only in advancing their personal agendas. There were a few that served well – just not enough of them.
Bfast is an organization the city might think of outsourcing the advisory role to – they have a wealth of talented, informed and committed people that can help make a difference.
 Councillor Craven on the right explains a point to a transit users meeting participant while James Smith on the right looks on. There should be a group of people who use the bus daily serving as a sounding board for the people who run the transit service.
Transit apparently doesn’t have a Twitter account – it does have a web site that more than does the job; it’s better than the city’s web site.
Burlington is reported to spend 50% less than comparable municipalities – and it shows.
 Bfast will produce a report once they’ve gone through the comments that came from the several breakout groups that were created. Expected to be completed by the end of April, it will be a solid, fact based report.
Getting the response it needs from city council is not a given – however, the Mayor now has a better understanding of the needs and the problem.
Can he swing the minds of his colleagues? Don’t expect to see Councillors Sharman, Lancaster Taylor or Dennison becoming transit advocates – their focus is on repairing the roads.
The public is going to have to howl louder to get what the city needs. The squeaky wheel does get the grease.
 By James Smith
April 1, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Monday afternoon, Justin Trudeau, John Tory, and Rob Ford, joined Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr, Mississauga Mayor Bonny Crombie, Ontario Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn, Bob Rae, the Pakistani high commissioner to Canada, many other dignitaries, and hundreds of mourners at the ISNA Canada Mosque to bid farewell to Max Kahn. An Oakville city councillor and Federal Liberal Candidate for the riding of Oakville / North Burlington , Max Kahn died suddenly on Saturday.
 Max Kahn: remembered and celebrated Max touched the lives of very many people not only in Oakville and Burlington, but given the notable people in attendance, Max also meant a great deal to many people in the GTA and the nation’s capital. Max, was the kind of person who made one feel at ease the moment you met him, one got a sense meeting Max that his infectious smile was focused directly upon you. If you didn’t know Max was in politics, you’d come away from meeting him thinking he should be in politics. Not for the negative cliche ideas many have about politicians, but just the opposite, Max’s sincerity and integrity were apparent immediately and one felt this was a person who can get things accomplished.
While Max could be partizan and competitive, he was never negative, petty or divisive. Max’s Integrity made him the kind of person we need more of in politics, a sincere advocate dedicated to public service. Max’s family have suffered a sudden and great loss of a father, brother, and son. Oakville, Burlington, and Canada have lost a true caring public servant, quality politicians like Max don’t come along all that often. All of us, touched even a little by Max’s passing should reflect on his joy of life and remember and be inspired by his example of tireless dedication to our community.
By Staff
March 31, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Police investigators have now obtained surveillance images of the a lone male suspect armed with a black handgun who entered the East Way Bake Shop located at 4047 New Street in Burlington.
 Robbery suspect looks directly into the camera – someone knows him. The suspect demanded money while pointing the handgun at an employee who then turned over an undisclosed amount of money.
The male suspect fled the store and was last seen running westbound along the plaza.
The suspect is described as a white male in his 30’s, 5’9″ to 5’10” tall, wearing blue jeans, blue plaid shirt, red toque and black sunglasses.
 Robbery suspect wanders around the bakery shop. Anyone with information that will assist investigators identify him are asked to call Det. Phil Vandenbeukel – Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Robbery Team at 905-825-4747 Ext. 2343 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).
 By Staff
March 31, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Easter bunny may do the hip- pity hop thing – that’s not what the Halton Regional police are going to be doing – and they will not be handing out Easter eggs either – although the idea if Chief Tanner handing out coloured eggs does have some public relations appeal.
During the Easter long weekend the Halton Regional Police Service will be participating in the Spring 2015 Provincial Seatbelt Campaign
The campaign will run from Friday, the 3rd of April 2015 to Monday, the 6th of April 2015.
 Expect almost every vehicle in the Halton Regional Police Service fleet to be out on the road over the Easter weekend. If you’re seen without a seat belt – $240 ticket. Road users should be prepared to experience much higher volumes of traffic over the weekend, making it a particularly important weekend for all drivers, passengers and young children to be properly restrained, regardless of the distance to be traveled or anticipated road time.
“A properly worn seat-belt greatly increases the chances of surviving a motor vehicle collision.”
Front line officers, Community Mobilization Unit and District Response Team members will be engaged in targeted enforcement for this important provincial campaign.
A reminder to drivers should you choose not to buckle up you could face a fine of $240 and 2 demerit points, which will remain on your driving record for two years from the date of the offence.
If you happen to be a little short on points you might get a call from your insurance agent as well.
By Pepper Parr
March 31, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It does happen – mistakes are made.
You fix them, you apologize and you hope it is the last mistake the staff member makes.
Earlier this week we posted the list of who gets paid more than $100,000 provided by the province’
A staff member started early in the day, downloaded the data and began to format it.
She downloaded the 2013 data by mistake.
It was an observant reader who saw the error.
We scrambled and corrected the mistake.
The corrected numbers can be found here.
This was embarrassing.
 By Pepper Parr
March 31, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
City council last night had to go into a closed session before they could actually get their Standing Committee going.
They had been advised that the ADI Development group had taken the application to build a 28 storey building at the intersection of Lakeshore Road and Martha that had been hotly contested to the Ontario Municipal Board because the city had failed to do anything with their application.
Councilor Paul Sharman, chair of the committee, told the audience that a summary of a planning report would be read but the city would not be voting on the matter.
Many thought the situation was unbelievable – “was this deliberate” one woman asked as she was leaving the Council chamber.
By Pepper Parr
March 30, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It could not have come at a better time.
A particularly good idea was close being on the ropes. It had its life extended for a short period of time when Councillor Taylor, after begging for ten minutes, got his colleagues to give Community Development Halton (CDH) $10,000 to carry them until a grant they were really hoping to get came through.
The grant did come through and now CDH can move forward with some of the best neighbourhood development work this city has seen in some time
 Joey Edwardth, guides and direct Community Development Halton – pulled in a grant that will keep a program alive for three more years. They call the project that is now funded North BurLINKton Community Group, they create spaces where young people can meet, make new friends, experience a sense of belonging, and gain leadership skills.
High school aged youth in north Burlington will secure and animate these spaces with the support of adult allies
These are people who could be and often are at risk of falling between the cracks. They come from poorer neighbourhoods; few if any of them are members of the Burlington Teen Tour Band or one of the hockey leagues – that kind of money doesn’t float around the kitchen table in these homes.
The province came through with a Youth Opportunities Fund grant of $181,700 over 30 months to create neighbourhood spaces.
This project will address the objectives of the Youth Opportunities Fund that expects youth to form and maintain healthy, close relationships and to engage their communities.
 Risha Burke, the Community Development Halton that is in the field working with community and helping stitch together the pieces that make it all come together. The program allows CDH to put staff into the community to facilitate, direct guide, advise and support as they develop the social structures that keep them focused and – to be blunt about it – keep them out of trouble.
The North BurLINKton Community is an emerging grass roots group that has shown it can, with some mentoring and guidance create inclusive and friendly neighbourhoods that help people connect and increase their sense of belonging.
This initiative comes at a perfect time, allowing the North BurLINKton Community Group to move forward building on the neighbourhood development work of community members and partners over the past few years. The initiative will be supported by adults but lead by youth, tapping into the potential of extraordinary young people in north Burlington neighbourhoods.
The city supported the program for two years – providing about $85,000 each year but decided this wasn’t the kind of community work they should be doing.
The programs and policies they developed have worked there way into other parts of the city and, with some leadership will be passed along to other municipalities in the Region.
These are dollars spent that return real value to the city. The program now has funding for the next three years – time enough to prove that it works and figure out how to fund it properly.
Community development in Burlington tends to fall between that space at city hall and the space at the Regional office – social issues are seen as the responsibility of the Region but they tend to define social a little differently than more progressive community leaders.
 Regional Councillors showing you the new 2 gallon blue boxes. Region tends to focus on waste, water and roads – people don’t rank very high on their agenda. Water and sewage pipes. Waste collection and road repair tends to occupy the minds of those at the regional level; what mind space is left gets used on determining what development charges should be.
People get lost at the higher level of local government.
By Pepper Parr
March 30, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a meeting that had the city planners meeting with some of the people in Aldershot to talk about possible changes that might take place along Plains Road between Cooke and Filmandale.
The city is in the process of doing the required five year review of its Official Plan. In Burlington the process is to go out into the community put some ideas up on a screen explain how the Official Plan is reviewed and then listen to questions and ideas from the community.
City planner Bruce Krushelnicki started the meeting by explaining there would be no decisions; no announcements and no surprises. We are here to listen to you.
 This is the part of Plains Road the community gathered to talk about – but it is just a small piece of a much larger puzzle. Citizens will have to figure out where their personal interests fit into the puzzle. The purpose was to talk about land use changes – to talk about how land use changes should be made or whether there should be any changes in the Official Plan and the zoning.
“People want to get the best possible value for their property when they sell and at the same time protect the character of their community” said Councillor Craven who took an active part in the meeting.
Guidelines for development along Plains Road were set out in 2006 which led to policy changes in the Official Plan. The official plan gets reviewed every five years and looks forward for 20 years.
The province set out an intensification strategy in 2008 and Burlington learned it was going to have to accommodate HOW MANY NEW PEOPLE
Burlington set out what they called intensification corridors to accommodate this growth – both residential and commercial– places where new growth or re-development would take place. Plains Road is on that map.
 There will be intensification and here is where is is going to be However, Plains Road isn’t a single stretch of land – it has been broken into segment for planning purposes. There are surprising differences between the segments.
The south side of the Cooke/Filmandale segment prohibits townhouses. Several in the audience wanted to know why.
The biggest issue for most was that there are no places to shop – there is just one bank.
The reason for the lack of retail choices is that the population isn’t large enough for retailers to come in.
Greg Woodruff, a candidate in the last municipal election said the small retail spaces that do exist are too small – “they don’t have delivery docks; they don’t have any venting if someone wanted to open up a small restaurant and there is no parking”.
The spaces are more suited to professional services and as one person said: People walking to see their tax accountant doesn’t create much in the way of foot traffic – which is what the people in Aldershot appear to want.
There are seniors who want the community to stay just as it has been for the many years they have lived in the community. The problem is that the younger families that will move into the community eventually, would not accept the small bungalows with small bathrooms. Families want more space.
Redevelopment is a good sign explained planner Krushelniki – the motels are for the most well past their best before date – Plains Road is no longer the road you take to get somewhere; it is the road that leads to a rich diversity of homes.
The homes south of Plains are protected – however when the New Horizon’s had a development proposal for the Plains Road and Falcon area one would have believed the end of the world was upon us – property owners were bellowing that once those four stories went up it wouldn’t be long before that kind of development crept south. That is not going to happen.
The Solid Gold entertainment operation made its way into the conversation – and the planner agreed that there will come a time in the not too distant future when that land will be put to a different use.
The development that is being thought through around the Aldershot GO station – they are calling these mobility hubs even through there is no such thing in the Planning Act or the city’s Official Plan. But they are very real in the minds of the planners and in the minds of those who are responsible for the economic development of the city.
While no one in Aldershot wants to see 30 story high rise buildings along Plains Road there was more than a muttering of approval for that kind of structure in the land adjacent to the 403 and on the west side of Waterdown Road.
 The black dotted box is what the residents of Aldershot were to be talking about at a recent community meeting. The elephant in the room was that large pink area – that is where very significant development will take place; perhaps as many as 2000 new residents and loads of traffic coming south on Waterdown. And a look at the map shown below one can easily see what the potential is for the part of Plains Road that is under study – it butts up against Waterdown Road and is a very short distance from the 403 and the Aldershot GO station.
Mention was made of a 775 townhouse development on lands between the GO station and Waterdown south of the 403; that may be the rumoured ADI Development Group’s plan for the property is is reported to have purchased from Paletta International.
There won’t be anything much above four floors along the part of Plains Road that is being studied. The planning department is aware of some land assembly that is taking place
Aldershot is a world of its own. It is a quiet community that doesn’t feel it has the amenities it needs – there is no beer store, no liquor store and they would like much more in the way of supermarkets
The planners and the ward Councillor explained that the world has changed and small supermarkets aren’t the way the food delivery system works anymore.
When there was an A&P supermarket in Aldershot it was closed because the market wasn’t big enough for them. “They weren’t pushed out” explained city planner Bruce Krushelnicki – “they came to the planning department and said they were going to close down and wanted to know what could be done with the property the store was on?”
Business makes decisions based on their own self-interests – people in Aldershot like the small town feel of their community – but without growth and a decent sized market – they don’t stay.
You will get a supermarket explained Councillor Craven when there is enough population to support a store with xxx square feet.
He might have added that there will be a beer store and a liquor store when there are enough people in the community to justify such operations.
 Council Craven wasn’t quite ready for the energy that emanated from Sandra Pupatllo when she was in town looking for possible candidates to run with her as Liberals when she was going after the leadership of the province. That drive fizzled but we don’t think Councillor Craven has ever been the same. Councillor Craven pointed out that Aldershot has had the slowest growth in the city – a mere 3-4 % each year.
Plains Road was once the road to Niagara Falls before it was a rural road with large productive farms on both sides.
Today it’s almost a road with a split personality. It is a backbone through the community that is trying to be a road that has a number of destinations.
The residents want the commercial concentration to be made up of places they can walk to with sidewalks that can accommodate patios.
The reality is that both Waterdown and King Road have been widened or are in the process of being widened – wider roads = more traffic that will end up on Plains Road – so much for becoming a quiet, pleasant neighbourhood, community road.
 The white oval is the part of Plains Road that the community was talking to the planners about – what did they want and what didn’t they want in that stretch of Plains Road. What wasn’t talked about was the development that is going to take place at the Waterdown – 403 intersection and the GO station. Big stuff. And of course – no mention of the Eagle |Heights development. There are developers with big plans for Aldershot and while it would be untrue to say the ward Councillor is in bed with them – he is certainly on the best of speaking terms
Rick Craven wants development in Aldershot – he realizes that in the not too distant future those quiet, peaceable people who have been his political base will be moving on – perhaps into one of the several retirement homes that have popped up in Aldershot.
 Rick Craven is a big booster for Aldershot – he fights for his constituents every chance he gets – there are some he doesn’t get along with and he’s not known for his warm fuzzy personality but he is effective. He is fully aware of the very significant development potential and he works hard to make it happen – he just doesn’t tell his constituents about the very real changes that are going to take place. What Craven does not appear to be doing is letting his constituents know that change – big changes are coming to town. And their lives will be different. Those people vote and right now he needs those votes.
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