 By Staff
May 4th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
 They are kind of old school – not the kind of thing that students get excited about.
But they are fine examples of people with very good minds and the ability to do some hard work.
Truth be told – it is real talent.
The Spelling Bee of Canada will host its National Championship Competition on Sunday, May 28th at the Sheraton Parkway in Richmond Hill, ON.
Following a series of regional chapter spelling bee competitions across the country, 60 finalists (20 per age category) have made it through to the next round and are set to compete at the championship this month. The Burlington area finalists are:
Burlington / Milton / Hamilton, ON
Kiash Das (Age 7) – Primary
Temisan Johnson (Age 11) – Junior
Jaral Nathan C. Lasquite (Age 14) – Intermediate
Spelling Bee of Canada’s 36th Annual Championship will take place in-person on Sunday, May 28th at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel & Suites in Richmond Hill. The event will be live-streamed on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and on the SBOC YouTube channel.
Spelling Bee of Canada organizes a variety of competitions and programming aimed at children between 6-14 years of age. The participants are placed into one of three categories: Primary age 6 to 8, Junior age 9 to 11 or, Intermediate age 12 to 14, to vie for cash, trophies and prizes.
 By Pepper Parr
May 4th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The item on the Agenda was time sensitive and needed to be ratified before the scheduled meeting on May 16.
The one item from the Corporate Services Strategy Risk and Accountability meeting of May 3; the 2023 Tax Levy Bylaw. The motion is to approve the bylaw for which there has to be a recorded vote.
Mayor asks if there are any questions of Staff.
 Councillor Kearns: Why am I here? Councillor Kearns: I recognize that we’re in a pre scheduled special meeting of Council. I’m just wondering from staff, is there anything that could have been done to ratify this within a regular Council cycle ?
I’m curious why we’re here today.
 City treasurer Joan Ford Joan Ford, Chief Financial Officer responds.
We do need to get this ratified by council so that we can prepare the tax bills and send them out by the end of the month for a June 21 due date, September. 21st due date.
 The reason we weren’t able to make the April council meeting is we needed to wait until the region ratified there tax levy. That was done mid April.
Mayor turns it to the clerk for the recorded vote. Everyone votes for the motion
Mayor adjourns the Special Council meeting which lasted a mere 8 minutes – the tax bills can be printed and get mailed to you sooner than you think.
The City of Burlington collects property taxes for the city, Halton Region, and the Halton district school boards. The total combined tax levy for all three organizations is approximately $486.1 million. The city’s levy is $219.2 million. The city collects $150.1 million on behalf of Halton Region and $116.8 million on behalf of the Halton district school boards. The taxes levied for Halton Region and the Halton district school boards are sent to them.
All this happened because Lisa Kearns was there.
 By Staff
May 4th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
This annual exhibition celebrates the guilds who make, learn, share, and teach at the Art Gallery of Burlington.
Arts Burlington includes
Burlington Fine Arts Association,
 Burlington Handweavers and Spinners Guild,
Latow Photographers Guild,
Burlington Potters Guild,
Burlington Rug Hooking Craft Guild,
Burlington Sculptors and Carvers.
Opening Reception: Saturday May 6, 1 – 4pm
By Pepper Parr
May 3rd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
It wasn’t an attractive building and it got put on hold when the city introduced an Interim by law that put everything on hold back in
At that time Amica argued that the need for additional long term care facilities was important enough for them to be excused from the Interim bylaw.
 The rendering reminded one of the Soviet era brutalist style architecture – nothing very welcoming to the place. Council didn’t buy it.
The development application was taking longer than many people expected including the residents of the Co-op housing development: these were the people who were going to be bought out, the building demolished so that shovels could be put in the ground.
Nothing happened.
Then we learned that there was a rumour – and that is all it is at this point that “they found some sort of mineral in the surrounding soil (I think it was magnesium) that is at a high concentrate and due to the high water table they have to build holding ponds to filter out the minerals before they pump it out to the lake. The cost of this added several million dollars and
“I was told that Amico was considering their options.”
Our source added: “… when I first heard this on our street I didn’t think much of it but since the demolition of the CO-OP building … there’s been zero activity. All the construction trailers are gone.”
 Now there is just rubble and yellow tape. This makes me wonder that perhaps there is an issue. There should be construction in full swing right now.”
The development was a partnership between Spruce Partners Inc. and Amico Properties Inc. Bousfields Inc., are the Planning Consultants – they have always been stingy when it comes to handing out information
No word yet from the Planning consultant or either of the partners.
By Staff
May 3rd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Do you have a story to tell? Then, get ready to share your talents with us! Burlington Public Library’s annual writing contest is open to everyone ages 10 and up, including adults. We can’t wait to read your short stories, poems, and comics. Entries must be received by midnight on Wednesday, May 31 to be eligible for judging.
Burlington Public Library stands by the basic principles of intellectual freedom and the open exchange of information. The writing contest is an open forum for writers to express their ideas and creativity.
 Contest Details
• Entrants must live, work, or attend school in Burlington.
• All short stories, comics, and poems must be unpublished, original work of the entrant. Fan fiction is not accepted.
• Only one entry per category will be accepted.
• Digital submissions only. Please get in touch with us if you cannot create a digital copy of your work.
• Entries will be reviewed, shortlisted, and judged by a team of library professionals; their decisions are final.
• All participants with a shortlisted submission will receive a copy of the judges’ comments on their submission(s).
• The Library will notify the winner in each category, and post their submission on our website.
• By entering this contest, you permit BPL to use your name for promotional purposes, including the Library’s print, visual, or electronic/online media.
Judging Categories & Awards
• Short story: Ages 10-12, 13-17, 18+
• Poem: Ages 10-12, 13-17, 18+
• Comics: Ages 10-12, 13-17, 18+
Link to registration site.
 By Staff
May 3rd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The Ontario government is making it easier to take transit by giving riders more ways to pay.
 That green card is no longer the only way to pay for your ride. Riders on GO Transit, UP Express, Brampton Transit, Burlington Transit, Durham Region Transit, Hamilton Street Railway, MiWay in Mississauga, Oakville Transit and York Region Transit can pay fares by tapping a debit card on a PRESTO device, including debit cards on a smartphone or smartwatch.
“This latest milestone for the PRESTO system gives transit riders yet another convenient payment option when travelling for work, school, leisure, and more,” said Stan Cho, Associate Minister of Transportation.
Riders can also use debit payment on paratransit services in Burlington, Durham Region, Hamilton, York Region, Oakville, and Ottawa. The new debit payment option comes as PRESTO reports a million card taps on its devices since the launch of credit card payment in August 2022.
The Ontario government is also working with the Toronto Transit Commission to introduce both credit and debit payment options for Toronto transit riders this summer.
When transit authorities add Interac Debit, they are offering riders a payment method that almost 30 million Canadians already use for day-to-day transactions. Interac is proud to play a part in supporting the needs of transit riders in Ontario.”
What the announcement doesn’t say is how much the city of Burlington pays to give Presto access to its collection system. It isn’t cheap.
By Pepper Parr
May 3rd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Most people probably do not know that the Joseph Brant Hospital is a non-profit corporation. You would’ realize that when you pay for parking over there.
There is an item in the agenda of the Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk & Accountability Standing Committee related to the governance of the hospital that recently completed a governance compliance review that proposed amendments to Joseph Brant Hospital Administrative By-laws one of which is to:
Approve the recommendation outlined in Appendix A to office of the city clerk report CL- 11-23, Briefing Note dated April 18, 2023 regarding a recent Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) compliance exercise, and proposed amendments to Joseph Brant Hospital Administrative By-laws, one of which is to discontinue the Municipal Representative seat on the Joseph Hospital Board and adopt a practice of inviting the Joseph Brant Hospital Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer annually to a Council meeting to provide updates on the Hospital and its future directions.
Everything city Council does is expected to align with the Vision to Focus, which is the part of the Strategic Plan Council focuses on during its term of office.
The report presented to Council had the following two lines:
Alignment: Delete this line and the areas that do not apply.
Building more citizen engagement, community health and culture
The Hospital included Briefing notes on how and why they made the decision they made. The bulk of those notes are set out below. The full briefing note is available on the city web site.
 A rendering of the hospital before the addition was completed. At that time the hospital was reaching out to the public for donations. “As part of its By-law review, the OTF discussed the size and composition of the Board and independent Counsel recommended the Hospital contact the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) on best practices related to the role of municipal representatives on skills-based Boards.
“With regard to the composition of the Board, which currently includes an appointed position of a Municipal Representative as well as ex-officio (non-voting) positions as stipulated within the Public Hospitals Act (Regulation 965), the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) provided guidance that Hospitals have increasingly moved away from having ‘non-legislative’ positions on the Board as best practice to Boards that are resourced based on skills and to avoid any inherent or systemic conflicts that would arise from political appointees and special interest groups vis- a-vis the Board.
 Eric Vandewall addressing a reception that was waiting for a provincial minister to show up and announce a large chunk of cash the province was handing over to the hospital. “The OHA referenced the Guide to Good Governance which supports having a skills-based board as best practice. Further, with regards to ex-officio positions on the board from government or other such entities, the Board “should question why it has specific ex-officio positions and consider whether other actions might be more appropriate to maintain strong relationships”. The OHA noted in its Guide to Good Governance that “best practice in hospital governance is to recruit a skills-based board that is independent of any one interest group” and noted the inherent risk that ex-officio directors will have a greater potential for conflict.
 He loves the hospital – does the hospital love him? “More specifically, the OHA noted that “this is particularly evident where members of local government…feel a conflict between duty to the electorate and a duty to the hospital”. The OHA further noted that “it is important that a board be comprised of individuals with the skills, experience, qualities and diversity that are appropriate for the hospital’s mission, objectives and strategic directions”.
“The OHA had also confirmed that “the majority of Hospitals had some time ago shifted away from having Municipal, special interest groups and political appointees on Boards due to systemic conflicts.” This was done along with other considerations to ensure that these types of groups remain aligned with the hospital but not necessarily with a seat on the Board. The Board’s independent Counsel bolstered this view in the advice provided.
“Joseph Brant Hospital, as similar to other Ontario Hospitals, had historically had open memberships whereby members of the Community can purchase, for a nominal fee, a membership which would allow them to attend meetings and have a vote on hospital affairs.
“Over time, like most Ontario Hospitals, JBH became a closed membership whereby the Hospital Membership and the Board of Directors are the same. In his 2008 Annual Report, the Auditor General recognized “the challenging position in which ex-officio directors are placed when specific interests of the group they represent are in conflict with the hospital’s and the community’s best interest”. Once the Hospital moved away from open membership, some legacy ex-officio positions on the Board including the Hospital Foundation, the Hospital Auxiliary and Municipal Representative remained in the By- laws.
 Interesting to note that the hospital met with the Mayor and ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna separately – six weeks apart. Any idea why ? The Board Chair, Randy Smallbone and Eric Vandewall President and CEO, met with Mayor Meed-Ward on February 3, 2023 to discuss discontinuation of the Municipal seat on the Hospital Board. On March 14, 2023, Board Chair Randy Smallbone and Eric Vandewall met Councilor Angelo Bentivegna to discuss discontinuation of the Municipal seat on the JBH Board.
Both Mayor Meed-Ward and Councillor Bentivegna appreciated the opportunity to hear from JBH in the regard, they understood the rationale and importance of best practices in governance, and both endorsed the hospital’s decision to proceed in this direction.
It was also agreed by both Mayor Meed-Ward and Councillor Bentivegna that based on the Board’s decision to update the Hospital By-law and discontinue the Municipal seat on the Board, that every effort will be made to ensure that the ongoing positive relationship between the Hospital and the City of Burlington continue.
Specifically, it was agreed that the City will invite the Hospital Board Chair and CEO on an annual basis to update Council on the hospital and its future directions. In addition, on a bi-annual basis, the Board Chair, Vice Chair and CEO will have a joint meeting with the Mayor and the Acting Deputy Mayor of Ceremonies and Emergencies to discuss any pertinent matters.
 This is a story you might really want to comment on. The Hospital is requesting a Motion of Endorsement from the City of the Burlington Council as follows:
THAT Council for the City of Burlington endorse the Joseph Brant Hospital Board of Directors decision to discontinue the Municipal Representative seat on the Hospital Board and THAT the Hospital commits to continuing its engagement and ongoing positive relationship with the City of Burlington.
Related news story:
Spectator tells the story about conditions at the hospital
Hospital CEO, Mayor and Councillor on the hospital board refuse to comment on what was a scathing report
By Pepper Parr
May 2nd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
City council has a policy of saving as much of the city’s heritage as possible. Some developers work with the city – others fight them every foot of the way.
 A rendering of the 31 storey tower the developer want to build. The Camero development at 795 Brant (at the intersection of Brant and Prospect) is one of the examples where the developer has dug in their heels and seems prepared to spend whatever it takes to get their way – which is to demolish the two storey house on the property and build a 31 story building on the site with 356 residential units.
 The house the developer want to demolish as it stands today. The city wants to see the facade at least kept and included in the final plans. Constructed in 1854, the house, according to a Staff report has significant heritage value.
On Sept. 21, 2022 the owner filed an application for an Official Plan Amendment and a Zoning By-law; The proposed new building did not incorporate the existing heritage structure. The application was deemed complete on Sept. 23, 2023.
On Dec. 13, 2022, City Council stated its intention to designate the property, and on Jan. 24, 2023 passed heritage designation bylaw No. 03-2023.
City Council did not decide on the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw Amendment Applications within 120 days after they were deemed complete as required by the Planning Act, and on Jan. 27, 2023 the owner appealed Council’s non-decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).
On Feb. 28, 2023, the property owner appealed the heritage designation to the OLT.
On Mar. 8, 2023, the owner submitted a heritage permit to facilitate the demolition of the heritage designated building.
On Apr. 12, 2023, the Heritage Burlington Advisory Committee (HBAC) reviewed the application and recommended that City Council decline the application.
Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 is very clear: Significant built heritage resources and significant cultural heritage landscapes shall be conserved.
The heritage value of 795 Brant St. has been established in two separate consultant reports. It meets six out of nine criteria for heritage designation under Ontario Regulation 9/06, whereas only two are required. The building is an early example of a brick-built vernacular Georgian house with a symmetrical three-bay façade. It was constructed by James Cushie Bent and Jabez Bent between 1854 and 1855 using brick manufactured on the site
It is historically significant in the following ways, among others:
The property is a physical reminder of the market gardening industry in Burlington; the agricultural output of the 53-acre property was substantial;
The building was prominently featured in the 1973 Centennial documentary “The Eyes of Memory and is one of only three heritage properties (1134 Plains Road East, 2021 Blairholm Avenue, 736 King Road) currently within the City of Burlington that were nineteenth century fruit farms of early settlers that produced goods for the market garden industry. It is the last visibly historic building on this section of Brant St.
 A 1902 photograph of the house when the property was a large 53 acre garden market that had a substantial output. Heritage Impact Statement Conservation Options
Consultants hired by the city had proposed to the owner that the new development retain the original 1854 house facing Brant St., provided the brick could be conserved; the developer claims the brick is beyond repair – Staff report that they do not see any evidence to support the claim.
The Ontario Heritage Act requires that the City approve or decline a heritage permit application no more than 90-days after a heritage permit submission is deemed “complete”. If a decision is not made in this time frame, Council is deemed to have “consented” to the application.
Staff sent the applicant a notice of completeness on Mar. 23, 2023 confirming that the application was complete on Mar. 8, 2023, which is considered “Day 1” of the required 90-day period. Day 90 will be June 6, 2023.
Once a decision is made, the owner has the option to appeal the decision to the OLT within 30 days.
Options Considered
Option 1- Decline the Application (Recommended)
Staff are recommending that Council decline the application, consistent with the PPS, 2020 and the Burlington Official Plan, which require that significant built heritage resources be conserved and their heritage attributes protected.
Option 2- Approve the Application (Not recommended)
Approving the demolition of a designated heritage building, which multiple heritage professionals have confirmed is worthy of protection, is not consistent with provincial and municipal policy and is not recommended.
The Heritage Burlington Advisory Committee recommends that City Council refuse the application for a heritage permit to demolish the two-storey Georgian- style brick house at 795 Brant St.
John Reilly, the Staff member with the best understanding of the file and is understood to be one of the team talking to the developer set out for Council where things stood and why he brought forward the recommendation to not approve a recommendation to demolish the heritage designated property
The file has an extensive history. The city did not act on the OP amendment or the Zoning Bylaw Amendment which were then appealed to the OLT for a non decision. The applicant then submitted a heritage alteration permit requesting permission to demolish the building which is the application before Council today.
Built between 1854 and 1855. Staff believe the property has historical value as a local landmark and would like to see some part of the structure built into the tower they want to build.
Reilly explained that the team on the project has done their best to convince the developer to work with the city to incorporate changes.
Nothing so far.
 There is a lot of development planned in the area. Reilly explained: “Situated on the property in a way that makes it relatively easy to conserve, the applicant objects to the designation and is planning to demolish the building because there is some damaged masonry on facades of the building. Staff have considered these objections. the areas of damaged brick are fairly minor. We’re not looking at 100% or anywhere close to that 100% of brick being damaged or stalled or cracked.
“We’re looking at specific areas of each facade that where there are some bricks in need of replacement or repair many of the alterations or you know evidence of age that the applicant is citing are repairable these are the alterations many of them are reversible windows are easily replaced. For example, paint can be removed from brick or a building can be repainted in a more sympathetic colour or historically appropriate colour. Staffs view, is that this building is not beyond repair . The building occupies less than 3% of the site and we haven’t been presented with any new evidence in the form of an engineer report that would tell us that the building is about to fall down or is past the point of saving.”
Staff are recommending that council refuse this heritage permit application to demolish the building.
The development is in ward 2 however the Mayor was the only person who asked questions.
“Your report mentions that refusing the demolition will create another appeal opportunity and can you just specify what that is?
Reilly: “There would be an opportunity for the applicant to appeal to the Ontario land tribunal.
He imagined that all the appeals would be merged into one hearing, assuming the developer actually appealed the decision council was about to make when the report gets to Council later in the month.
 Core Development has kept the Carriage Gate restaurant and included it in their development situated between Lakeshore Road and Old Lakeshore Road. “Our goal is for them to incorporate this into a development” which, we have seen take place at other development; the Beausoleil at Pearl and Lakeshore and the Core development on old Lakeshore Road that has included the Carriage House restaurant into their development.
Reilly – there are many conservation options and we’ve signalled flexibility throughout every meeting that we’ve had with the applicant.
The Mayor moves the motion and comments that “your rationale is entirely defensible”, adding “We have seen how well development can be incorporated into heritage redevelopment and the best example currently which is really exciting to see in real time is the Pearl and Lake Shore redevelopment adding that she has “never believed that it’s either preserve heritage or have redevelopment.”
“I believe there’s a win win here. And staff have been very clear about encouraging the applicant to go for the win win. “I continue to encourage them to incorporate this into a redevelopment and redo their plans. So fingers crossed, but I certainly support what we have here.”
With no further comments the vote was called to refuse the heritage permit application for demolition of 795 Brant street
The hands were raised – it passed and that was it for the day.
It was a short agenda that ran for less than an hour.
By Staff
May 2nd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
On April 6, Statistics Canada released the Labour Force Survey data for the first quarter of 2023.
The data shows that Halton’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.9% between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023; remaining lower than the provincial and national rates.
Meanwhile, Halton’s labour force participation rate decreased by 1.8 percentage points from the previous quarter, averaging 68.9% in Q1, similar to the pre-pandemic rate in Q4 2019.
Making a Killing:
Everything you want to know about privatization of public hospitals
Wednesday May 3 at 7 p.m.
By Pepper Parr
May 2nd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The Ontario Health Coalition is made up of groups across the province that want to see change in the way the health system works.
Using the attention grabbing headline:
Making a Killing:
Everything you want to know about privatization of public hospitals
The Halton unit of the coalition is putting on a series of events to help people understand what they are doing and to answer questions.
They are holding a briefing with a question and answer session on the privatization of public hospitals including:
 • what the real-world experience of privatization has been across Canada, in the United States and internationally; and,
• what the evidence shows regarding its impacts on quality of care, access to care for patients, health care costs, quality and deregulation for the workforce, and the foundational principle of equity in health care.
You can join and participate in any of the following ways:
• Zoom: To join the session via Zoom, please register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tceuqrz4iE9OzYM9y_W43i75Ohbpw-S5n. Afterwards, you will receive an email with a link to join the meeting on Wednesday May 3rd at 7 pm.
• Facebook livestream: To join the session via Facebook livestream, go to https://www.facebook.com/ontariohealth on Wednesday May 3rd at 7PM to watch and participate in the livestream
• Twitter spaces: To join the session on Twitter through a Twitter Space, go to twitter.com/OntarioHealthC on Wednesday May 3rd at 7PM, and click on the purple twitter spaces icon that will be at the top of our profile once the meeting has started.
By Pepper Parr
May 2nd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
When there is a public event that brings different interest groups together one has to watch carefully what is taking place in the room; who is talking to whom.
Last week the Burlington Chamber of Commerce hosted an event on Red Tape Reduction. It wasn’t particularly well attended – a little over 100 people took part.
 Lou Frapporti, second from the right is keeping a close eye on City Manager Tim Commisso, with his back to the camera. Frapporti is a Partner at Gowlings, a Hamilton law firm and corporate Counsel for Alinea. Dave Pitblado, second from the left is attentive. John Hutter is on the far left runs King Paving. A decent number of people from City Hall attended: Mayor Meed Ward was on hand to chat people up, she wasn’t one of the speakers. City Manager Tim Commisso was on hand as well is as city Executive Director Jackie Johnson who is responsible for Communications and Engagement. Neither spoke
Three city councillors were on hand: Paul Sharman, Angelo Bentivegna and Kelvin Galbraith; he was one of the panel speakers.
A number of politicians did speak: provincial Minister of Red Tape Reduction Parm Gill whose riding includes parts of northern Burlington: he addressed the attendees,. Natalie Pierre who is the MPP for Burlington said a few words.
Lou Frapporti, a partner at law firm Gowlings, spoke and told the audience that he was corporate counsel for Alinea , an organization that had taken over Paletta International, the largest land holder in Halton Region.
After the formal part of the event people gathered in small groups to chat. One group of four caught my attention. Dave Pitblado of Alinea who does a lot of the stick handling for different Alinea developments. Two of the developments on the go are 1200 King Road and Bronte Meadows. Recent changes made by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing made changes to the Regional Official Plan that opened up the kind of development that would be permitted on those two properties.
Recently Burlington City Council went into a CLOSED session to discuss an Alinea property. There was no detail given when Council came out of the CLOSED session.
 Dave Pitblado listens carefully to what City Manager Tim Commisso has to say. It was clear that Commisso was explaining something that was important to Pitblado and it wasn’t whether or not the Leafs were going to win the first round of the Stanley Cup finals. This was business – big business. So, when we spotted City Manager Tim Commisso in discussion with Dave Pitblado, Lou Frapporti, Corporate counsel for Alinea and John Hutter of King Paving we wondered what that conversation was about.
Time to take some pictures.
The two that are part of this story offer one interpretation of what the conversation is about.
We expect City Council to get brought up to speed when they are next in a CLOSED session.
When the public will hear anything from the City Communications department is anyone’s guess.
By Pepper Parr
April 30th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
If the sun comes out and things warn up a bit you might want to spend some time walking along the Naval Promenade and taking in the public art now in place.
It is a combination of Indigenous work and items from the Dan Lawrie collection
 A Waterfront Sculpture Trail with an interesting mix of some work that is a delight to the eye. Does anyone know what the flag markings on the left mean ? There is a story behind the Lawrie Collection – we are working on that.
 Having a woman putting on lipstick in front of those mirrors would make it complete.  This is a fine piece of work.  The Indigenous art is included in the collection spread out along the Naval Promenade
By Pepper Parr
April 30th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
It was billed is as a Symposium on Red Tape Reduction put on by the Burlington Chamber of Commerce with Alinea as the main sponsor.
Attendance was thin – maybe 100 people. City Councillor Paul Sharman and Angelo Bentivegna were on hand; Mayor Meed Ward glad handed her way around the room; Councillors Nisan and Kearns took a pass on the event – Councillor Stolte is out of action and on a leave of absence.
 For some reason the photo op is a necessary part of these events Milton MPP Parm Gil, Minister of Red Tape Reduction gave a pretty strong political speech which seemed to take too many pokes at the former Liberal government and far too much patting on the back for the Ford government – but this was a Chamber of Commerce crowd.
A banner at the front of the room with the statement ‘’’Business without boundaries” surprised me. They wish.
My immediate thought was – have they never heard of Walkerton?
Parm Gil made mention of using robots to do inspection work – can you imagine how quickly that would spiral out of control. Where public safety is the issue experienced eyes are required. You can program a robot to do whatever you want it to do.
 Deputy Mayor Kelvin Galbraith Our interest in the event was to see how ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith handled himself. He was positioned as both a small business owner and a Council member with a Deputy Mayor for Business and Red Tape Reduction portfolio on a panel of three people. That included John Romano of Nickel Brook Brewery and Josie Tavares, Senior Development Planner/ Project Manager, CLV Group Developments Inc., a group that has significant rental properties in Burlington and is one of the partners involved with the Holland Park development on Fairview close to the GO station where seven towers are proposed.
 Kelvin Galbraith getting a look from Josie Tavares during the panel discussion Ms Tavares knew her stuff and talk with both confidence and experience about the problems – she didn’t appear to hold much hope for any real change in the way planning is done remarked that planning is getting to be a legal exercise.
She made some very good points; knew her brief and was able to point to situations where the developers were able to work with the planners.
John Romano, Co-founder, Nickel Brook Brewing Co. had some hard earned experience with the planning department. When he moved from Drury Lane to Mainway his intention was to take the brewery operation with him – years later years later the brewing is now being done in Etobicoke and Romano has no idea when it will be on Mainway – if ever.
Galbraith didn’t have much in the way of experience as a business man with planning issues but as the Deputy Mayor for Business he was the guy getting the calls and the person who probably knows best where the problems are at city hall. And that wasn’t something he was going to talk about in a public session.
He did mention the reduction in the length of time needed to get a development application through city hall and spoke as well of the “My File Portal” software that was due any day now that would let an applicant log in and see exactly where their application was and where the holdup was is as well.
 John Romano – Nickel Brook Brewery – waiting for an application to get through city hall Tavares and Romano appeared to agree that the problem in Burlington was at the Engineering level and that the number of retirements taking place has put a lot of younger people behind those desks now doing the work.
Did anything useful come out of the panel discussion ? Could anything useful have come out of it ?
The province is introducing new legislation that is going to have a huge impact on the way development gets done.
Burlington is expected to have 29,000 new homes in place by 2031 – they signed a pledge saying they would deliver.
Some of the legislation cuts deeply into the amount of money from Development Charges and Community Benefit Charges the city would receive.
The municipalities don’t have the power to do very much – they are on the receiving end of everything except the cash needed to do the work that has to be done.
The federal government is bringing in close to half a million people every year to do the jobs that are part of a robust economy.
Growth is taking place at every turn with a public that is fine with the growth –“ just don’t put it where I live”.
 Kelvin Galbraith responding to a question during a symposium on Red Tape reduction Anyone expecting more from Galbraith would be disappointed – he just wasn’t able to make a presence. His hopes to at some point be the Mayor of Burlington didn’t advance much at this event. This was a panel where the speakers were there to talk about planning problems – Galbraith didn’t have any. However he has more in the way of planning issues to deal with in his ward.
Lou Frapporti, a partner with Gowlings in Hamilton said publicly that he was corporate counsel for Alinea, adding that Alinea had taken over the Paletta International operations – which while true was just part of what was a messy corporate battle that ended up with Angelo Paletta leaving the firm and Paul Paletta taking the reins, forming a new corporate entity and doing his best to create a different, less abrasive approach to development.
Alinea is the largest landowner in the Region and the holders of the three largest development properties in Burlington; Bronte Meadows in the east and 1200 King Road in the west. Eagle Heights, in the north west, is outside the urban boundary where the infrastructure needs a lot of work.
Waterdown Road is undergoing some widening north of the 403.
It is in the southern part of Waterdown Road where all the action is taking place and where Galbraith has significant personal property holdings.
 By Staff
April 29th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The Conservation Halton Foundation has launched the largest fundraising campaign in its history. The Connected Campaign aims to raise $20 million to grow Conservation Halton’s ‘greenprint’ to provide communities with more opportunities to connect with nature. This effort will not only help to expand and enhance parks and greenspaces in the conservation authority’s watershed – it will also accelerate restoration projects that protect local ecosystems and make nature-based learning and outdoor recreation more available and accessible to all.
The campaign was announced by Garner Beckett, Executive Director of the Conservation Halton Foundation and Hassaan Basit, Conservation Halton President and CEO, during the official launch event held at Crawford Lake Conservation Area in Milton. The park is one of eight conservation areas that Conservation Halton protects and manages within its watershed.
“Halton has grown rapidly in the last two decades; in Milton alone, the population has quadrupled.
 Turtle clan longhouse at Crawford Lake. It is not surprising that Conservation Halton has seen record-breaking numbers of park visitors. People in our communities and across the province place great value on spending time in nature,” said Basit. “Being able to experience nature, learn about it, and really feel connected with it benefits our mental and physical wellness. These connections also motivate individuals and communities to safeguard these greenspaces for all to enjoy – today and well into the future. With this campaign, we aim to ensure these vital areas are preserved, protected, and enhanced for years to come.”
The announcement highlighted transformative projects and goals for community investment aligned with the campaign’s three priority areas: Parks and Greenspaces, Biodiversity and Resilience, and Education and Community. The campaign’s leadership also celebrated the generosity of new and long-time donors whose contributions have been “instrumental in the launch of Connected,” said Beckett.
“Over the past three years, our foundation’s efforts have been building momentum – thanks to the collaboration, partnership, and incredible support of our growing community of partners and donors.”
 Catherine Mulvale, center standing, is the Conservation Halton Foundation fund raising Chair. Campaign Chair, Catherine Mulvale, recognized Parks and Greenspaces donor EATON for supporting the creation of lakeside gathering spaces at Area 8, Biodiversity and Resilience donors Sheila and Keith Minkhorst for their significant gift toward Area 8 habitat restoration, and Education and Community supporters Francine McCarthy and Mike MacKinnon for recently establishing The McCarthy Fund for Crawford Lake, an endowment that will support engagement and education about the globally significant meromictic lake protected at the park.
Mulvale also recognized RBC, whose lead, multi-year funding commitment kickstarted a new climate action program for newcomer youth, enabled investment in new environmental monitoring technology, and is helping Conservation Halton connect more youth with nature at its parks and across the watershed.
Conservation Halton safeguards over 10,000 acres of forests, wetlands, creeks and other natural areas, all within one of Canada’s fastest growing regions.
The Conservation Halton Foundation is a registered charity and partner organization to Conservation Halton that raises funds for environmental projects and programs that protect natural assets, connect people with nature, and inspire positive change.
Our vision is an engaged and supportive community, driven to creating a healthy environment with clean streams, abundant forests and thriving natural spaces.
 By Staff
April 29th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Ontario will celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty The Queen.
This historic occasion will mark the first coronation of a Canadian Head of State in seven decades.
To commemorate The King’s Coronation, the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Premier Doug Ford, Speaker Ted Arnott, and Indigenous leaders will hold a flag raising ceremony, 21-gun salute, and drum circle at 11:15 a.m. on May 6.
The ceremony will also include a special presentation of the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers. Members of the public are invited to attend; the event will also be available to view via livestream on the Government of Ontario YouTube Channel.
 South Lawn of Queen’s Park (that doesn’t seem to have been renamed yet), Following the ceremony, ‘Coronation Celebration: A Fun Royal Fair’ will be held on the South Lawn of Queen’s Park from noon to 6 p.m.
Free family fun activities will include carnival rides and live entertainment. A ‘Taste of Ontario’ will provide complimentary food and beverages from Ontario farmers and processors. The Coronation Celebration is open to the public, free of charge.
Extending the celebrations across the province, 10 major cultural attractions and 39 provincial parks will offer free admission for day use.
To find out more about the provincial parks, please visit Ontario Parks.
Cultural attractions offering free admission on May 6 include:
Art Gallery of Ontario
Fort William Historical Park
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Niagara Parks’ Butterfly Conservatory and Floral Showhouse
Ontario Science Centre
 Royal Botanical Gardens Free Admission on Coronation Day Royal Botanical Gardens
Royal Ontario Museum
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons
Science North
Upper Canada Village
Participating provincial parks
39 provincial parks across Ontario will be open and offer free admission to the public.
Visitors will be able to book their day use permit at 26 parks that will be open on May 6 and participating in the advance daily vehicle permit service starting on May 1 at 7 a.m.
The Ontario Parks Reservation website can be found at the following link, Ontario Parks Reservation System or customers can navigate from our OntarioParks.com webpage. Where available, reservations for a daily vehicle permit are recommended but not required.
Customers can go directly to the reservation website through the link, or they can navigate through the “Reservations” drop down if they are on the ontarioparks.com main page.
Related news story
Rivers feels he might have to watch the Coronation by himself
 By Pepper Parr
April 28th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
They can be looked upon as photo ops, elected officials getting their picture taken – helps keep then in the public eye.
From time to time there is a photo op that is also a statement; a drawing to the attention of the public an issue that certainly isn’t pleasant to think about – but is important and needs to be addressed: Violence Against Women.
 Burlington MP’s Karina Gould and Pam Damoff helping get the story out: Violence Against Woman has to be stopped. There isn’t a day that goes by that a woman is abused, struck or diminished and has to seek shelter.
 Adan van Koeverden said recently, is as he stood wearing a pair of pink high heal shoes that: “Being an effective male ally in combating Gender Based Violence requires us to acknowledge something and articulate it clearly. The prevailing issue is men’s violence against women. Terms like “gender based” and “domestic” violence may be more acceptable, but the onus is on men.
“Men need to talk to one another, commit to being better ourselves, act like an ambassador for change and actively listen to women, survivors and those working in the sector for practical solutions to ending men’s violence against women and children.”
van Koeverden spoke at a reception organized by the Halton Women’s Place and the Women’s Centre of Milton/Halton for their work in organizing today’s reception, “adding it was a privilege to “walk a mile” in your shoes today – though it was considerably less than a mile this time.
By Staff
April 28th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington MP Karina Gould, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development in the Trudeau government spoke in the House of Commons on a number of public policy issues.
Responding to the comments made by a member of the opposition Gould said:
 The current Liberal government believes in the right to strike and the Public Service Alliance of Canada didn’t let them down. “Mr. Speaker, I think what is particularly concerning about what the member opposite is saying is that the public service grew at a time when Canadians were in their darkest hour. We are talking about a once-in-a-generation pandemic. We supported, and those same public servants supported, 8.5 million Canadians to access the Canada emergency response benefit. Those same public servants supported Canadians to receive the Canada emergency business account support. They were there in Canada’s time of need.
“We believe in collective bargaining. We believe in the right to strike, and we will get a good deal for the public servants and for Canadians.”
 Burlington MP Karina Gould in the House of Commons while former US president of the United States Barack Obama addresses a joint session. Later, on the same day, Gould said:
“Mr. Speaker, in difference to the Conservative members of Parliament, on this side we actually respect workers and we respect their rights. We are at the negotiating table right now to ensure that we get a fair deal for Canadian taxpayers, as well as for the hard-working public servants who have been there for Canadians, particularly in their moment of need, particularly during the worst economic and health crisis that we have seen in a generation.
“We are going to get a good agreement that is going to support our workers as well as Canadian taxpayers.”
It was a busy day for the Burlington MP who spoke about how they improved Canada’s child poverty rankings
 “Mr. Speaker, it is a bit hard to take the Conservatives at face value when they talk about Canadians in poverty, because when the Conservative government came into power in 2006, it was 17th in the OECD when it came to child poverty rankings. By the time Conservatives left office nine years later, they had fallen to 24th. They had actually done nothing to alleviate people who were living in poverty.
“We came into office in 2015. We have helped 450,000 children get out of poverty. We have helped 2.7 million Canadians get out of poverty. We are going to keep being there for Canadians, unlike the members opposite.”
 By Pepper Parr
April 28th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
There is a Town Hall meeting taking place on Saturday at the Mainway Arena – the topic is the level of Crime in the Community. The event is sponsored by the Burlington Conservative Association. A recent provincial government announcement ties in with what concerns the public.
Town Hall meeting
 The Ontario government is investing $112 million to immediately strengthen the province’s bail system and ensure that high-risk and repeat violent offenders comply with their bail conditions. The funding will be used to support new technology, establish violent crime bail teams, expand the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement Squad and provide prosecutors with the resources they need to conduct complex bail hearings.
“As the country and our province face rising crime rates and people are feeling increasingly unsafe in their communities, this funding will help ensure anyone out on bail is following the rules and high-risk, repeat offenders are kept in jail,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We can’t have a justice system where violent criminals are arrested one day and back out on the streets the next. We’re doing our part to fix a broken bail system and look forward to working with our federal partners to finish the job.”
Specifics of the investment include:
The creation of a new Bail Compliance and Warrant Apprehension Grant
$24 million will be made available over three years to help the OPP and municipal and First Nations police services establish dedicated bail compliance teams. Teams will also assist prosecutors with gathering evidence and assessing public safety risk during the bail hearing stage.
Grant funding may also be used to acquire bail compliance technology or support a network that police services could use to share bail offender information.
Expansion of the OPP Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) Squad
$48 million to create a dedicated Bail Compliance Unit within the OPP’s Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement Squad. This new dedicated, provincewide, Bail Compliance Unit will apprehend high-risk provincial offenders who have broken their bail conditions or are unlawfully at large.
Establishment of Intensive Serious Violent Crime Bail Teams
$26 million to create Intensive Serious Violent Crime Bail Teams within the courts system to ensure that there are dedicated prosecutors and subject matter experts to prepare for and properly conduct the often lengthy and complex bail hearings.
Rollout of the Bail Compliance Dashboard
A new province wide bail monitoring system to allow police services to monitor high-risk offenders with the most accurate data possible.
“When it comes to keeping people safe and addressing crime in our communities, we’ll stop at nothing,” said Solicitor General Michael Kerzner. “This funding will help police and justice sector partners address issues of bail compliance by expanding the resources needed to monitor and apprehend high-risk repeat offenders violating bail conditions. It will also help to ensure that both sentencing and bail processes work to reduce violent acts and keep our communities safe.”
Today’s announcement follows months of advocacy from all of Canada’s premiers for the federal government to amend the Criminal Code and implement meaningful bail reform to prevent violent and repeat offenders from being released back into communities. The federal government has signalled its willingness to work with all provinces and territories to identify and implement meaningful solutions. Ontario will continue to be a partner in this work and looks forward to these changes being made.
“As part of our ongoing efforts with the federal government to reform the broken bail system, we are adding new resources to support our work to make Ontario’s bail process stronger,” said Attorney General Doug Downey. “These investments will immediately help to address serious, violent and repeat offenders by providing more resources to police to investigate and apprehend these accused persons and to prosecutors and courts to conduct complex, time consuming bail hearings with the best evidence possible.”
Quick Facts
On March 10, 2023, federal, provincial and territorial Attorneys General and Ministers of Justice and Ministers of Public Safety met to discuss Canada’s bail system. The federal government agreed to take action through amendments to the Criminal Code that would target repeat violent offenders and serious offences committed with firearms and other dangerous weapons.
Ontario experienced a 57 per cent increase in serious violence and weapons cases before the courts between 2018 and 2021. (Ontario Court of Justice)
Toronto Police Service report that over the last two years in the city of Toronto, 17 per cent of accused charged with shooting-related homicides were already out on firearms bail at the time of the alleged fatal shooting.
By Staff
April 28th, 2023
BURLINGTON. ON
The Halton District School Board has set out an ambitious series of activities for each day of next week to celebrate Education Week.
Monday, May 1 – Equity and Inclusion: This area of focus shows how schools champion supportive and inclusive practices to ensure equitable access to positive opportunities and outcomes for all.
 Figuring it out. Tuesday, May 2 – Mental Health & Well-Being: This area of focus highlights how students strengthen safe and caring school environments that promote well-being, and enhance relationships and positive learning and working climates where everyone belongs and feels safe. May 1-7 is also Mental Health Week, as designated by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), which promotes mental health awareness, decreasing stigma and helpful resources.
Wednesday, May 3 – Environmental Leadership: This area shows how students and staff take action to help create a sustainable world and will be showcased to demonstrate how HDSB schools are providing opportunities to learn about connections between ecosystems, social justice and climate, as well as elevate local environmental initiatives and practices.
Thursday, May 4 – Learning & Achievement: Examples will be shared of how the HDSB strives to create learning environments to elevate student achievement, foster a culture of high expectations to maximize student and staff achievement and promote innovative strategies.
Also on May 4, the HDSB is proud to recognize the success of students through the annual Celebration of Student Excellence event. This virtual event will start at 7 p.m. Each year, one student per school is honoured for their excellence in self-improvement, enhancing the school and/or local community, citizenship, student leadership, academics, vocational studies and specialized programs or extra-curricular activities.
A link to view the ceremony will be on the HDSB website (hdsb.ca) on Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m.
Friday, May 5 – Indigenous Perspectives & Awareness: On the final day of Education Week, the HDSB will highlight the many learning opportunities for students and staff that help promote knowledge and understanding of Indigenous perspectives and realities.
By Pepper Parr
April 27th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
It was the best day we have had, the weather was really nice – even though many people were out wearing winter jackets. Dozens and dozens of women out pushing carriage – some seemed to be travelling in groups of eight and ten carriages – almost in a convoy.
 The cherry trees are in full bloom. They are a gift to us from a man in Japan many years ago. Small groups gathered around the cherry trees that were really a welcome picture.
As one strolled along the Naval promenade there were welcome opportunities to look at some really amazing art. The Dan Lawrie collection is on display – some really exciting art.
The Lawrie collection shares the space with some interesting Indigenous art.
There are a few of the pieces included in this story- we will follow up with more later.
 The art on display in Spencer Smith Park is really worth your time.
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