 By Staff
August 29, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
We all know what Rib Fest is – we get ourselves to Spencer Smith Park where we have to look through a haze of smoke to see the lake. The crowds are usually very good, the eating tables tend to have places to sit down and chow down on those ribs – they ain’t bargain prices but that is not the purpose of the event.
 Last year Premier Kathleen Wynne tried her hand at flipping ribs. Her tutor on the right didn’t think the Premier should give up her day job. The event is the largest Ribfest in Ontario. That happens because the Lakeshore Rotary, that has just 65 members, manages to pull together 600 volunteers to make it happen.
The funds they raise support: Community Living Burlington; Compassion Society; Hamilton Food Share; Salvation Army; RCBL Scholarship Foundation; Athletic Scholarship Foundation; Kenyan Scholarship program; Joseph Brant Hospital; Sew-on-fire Ministries; Wheel Chair and Specialized footwear and Earth Day.
This year they have been asked to lend strong support to the Flood Disaster Relief Funds drive.
Mayor Goldring called Linda Davies, President of the Lakeshore Rotary Club, and asked her if she would help out with the need to raise funds. Davies immediately called the other three Rotary presidents in Burlington and by the end of that day they had pulled together a team and had their show on the road.
RibFest 2014 was going to be another super-duper event and at the same time it was going to become a “premiere” fund raising occasion for disaster relief.
You are going to see dozens of people wandering the grounds and at the gates, carrying plastic buckets and asking for a donation of at least a Twoonie.
With attendance at the 175,000 level – the flow from RibFest could add as much as $250,000 to the public fund raising drive.
During the Kick off lunch OnSite, an organization that does set up work on the grounds, put up a donation of $500 and said they were challenging two people to take part in an event that was a twist on the ALS dunking campaign.
Sometime during the weekend these gents will be dunked with – not cold water – but BBQ sauce. One of the two asked how much it would cost him to get out of taking part in the event. It is going to be a different RibFest this year.
The entertainment line-up is superb:
Friday August 29th
 Noon to 2:00 pm Mike Stevenson and Friends
2:30 to 4:30 The Kat Kings
5:00 to 7:00 pm The Groove Corporation
7:30 to 9:00 Elton Rohn; a tribute to Elton John
9:30 to 11 Simply Queen; a tribute to Queen.
Saturday August 30th
 11:30 to 1:00 Grindstone Blues Band
1:30 to 3:00 – Stinky and the Hotrods
3:30 to 5:00 Runaway Angel
5:30 to 7:00 Community Soul Project
7:30 to 9:00 Justin Time
9:30 to 11:00 Freedom Train
Sunday August 31st
11:30 to 12:30 Bare Blue Sea
1:00 to 2:00 No Sugar Tonight ; a tribute to the Guess Who
2:30 to 3:30 Tim Park and the Younger Guys
4:00 to 5:0 IN2U
5:30 to 7:00 The Soul Project
7:30 to 9:00 Images in Vogue
 9:30 to 11:00 The Spoons
Monday September 1st
1:0 to 2:30 Corey Lueck and the Smoke Wagon Blues
2:45 – Rib judging events
3:00 to 4:00 Desire; a tribute to U2
4:30 to 5:30 Scarecrow; a tribute to John Mellencamp
6:00 to 8:00 David Love Band
By Pepper Parr
August 29, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
There has been some movement – is it enough?
 Ron Foxcroft has been appointed chair of the Burlington Flood Disaster Relief Committee which will Roll Out its Action Plan September 3rd.
The public will hear how things are going to roll out on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 – 10:00 a.m. at the Central Arena Auditorium.
There have been meetings galore and the structure is in place – with lots of small details to get completed. The Flood Disaster Relief Committee was formed by the Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) at the request of Mayor Goldring.
Colleen Mulholland, president of the BCF, swung into action and began pulling together the team that will both drive the fund raising campaign and set up the process and procedures for distributing funds as well.
Foxcroft has business interests in both sports and trucking. Best known for inventing the internationally celebrated Fox 40 whistle – which is officially sanctioned by the NFL, CFL, NCAA and the NBA – Ron was a professional basketball official for three decades. Off the court, he’s also a legend among community supporters – recognized as the 1997 Hamilton Citizen of the Year, 2011 Burlington Entrepreneur of the Year and holds an Honorary Doctor of Law from McMaster University.
Foxcroft understands the plight of the people who were flooded in this city. His basement was flooded three years ago. On August 4th he was scrambling to make sure his pool didn’t overflow and flood him once again.
Foxcroft, who is the ultimate team player, says his first email at 5:00 am is from Mulholland and his last is from her at 11:00 pm. “This lady is a dynamite organizer and has a Rolodex worth dying for”, said Foxcroft
Foxcroft is off to New York for an National Basket Ball association meeting but will be back in town for the Tiger Cats game on Monday. Asked exactly where that game would be played – because it doesn’t look as if the spanking new stadium is going to be ready – Foxcroft said “the big LED signs that will be used during the game are in a Fluke truck – and the drivers of those trucks know where to drop them off.”
 We reminded Foxcroft that if Burlington had taken up the challenge to have a stadium built in Aldershot back in 2010 this problem wouldn’t exist. “True” said Fox, “but you know, we didn’t give Burlington all that much time. We met on boxing day and needed an answer by the end of February. Foxcroft who is the ultimate private sector guy was reminded that he bought Fluke Trucking in less time than that.
Watch Foxcroft create a superb fund raising team. “We’ve already got some major commitments, but we know that all we have is 60 days to get this done.
The total donated via the Burlington United Way fund raising site is now at $150,000.
Tim Dobbie, a former city manager of Burlington is going to head up the funds distribution side.
By Pepper Parr
August 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The announcement was going to be made sometime on Wednesday – but it didn’t arrive so Burlington still doesn’t know who is going to be Chair of the local Disaster Relief Committee that is required by the province before funds can be made available to people who have suffered hugely from the August 4th rainfall.
 Mayor Rick Goldring does a television interview, wearing, for what is believed to be the first time his Chain of Office A couple of weeks ago Mayor Goldring asked the Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) if they would take on the task of creating the Disaster Relief committee. BCF president Collen Mulholland, whose home was flooded, took on a herculean task of pulling together a team and has been in meetings with the 22 agencies that are part of what makes the city work as well as liaising with the provincial government through the offices of Burlington’s MPP Eleanor McMahon to ensure that the province has the information it needs. It is Flamborough MPP, also Minister of Housing and Community services, Ted McMeekin, who signs off on the Burlington request to be designated a disaster area.
We believed the BCF wanted a big announcement with major donations from several of the philanthropists and corporations to beef up the donations to date, which are at the less than $150,000 level.
Perhaps the people the BCF has been talking to needed to have their photographs updated for the announcement.
 The scale of this map doesn’t allow us to show just how many dots there are – but each represents a home that was damaged in the August 4th flood. For those who have not been directly impacted – it is difficult to appreciate the scope of this disaster. The Region advised us earlier today that 2053 applications have been received for the $1000. Exgratia payment the city will give people who have had sewers back up into their homes. That amount to more than $2 million dollars the Region is going to pay out.
Could that money have not been spent on preventive measures instead of being given to people who are at the desperate stage?
We are advised that the announcement as to who the chair will be and what will exist in terms of sub-committees to get things moving will be made on Thursday. The flood took place 23 days ago. Since that time the Samaritan’s Purse has done basic repair to more than 50 homes in Burlington.
Why is it that some organizations can get things into gear and have them moving while others – well, what can one say?
 By Pepper Parr
August 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Got a note from Joshua Miller, that’s the kid that delivers the Post to my dear three times a week.
The note Josh left me with the paper said: We wanted to let you know about a change in the Post distribution as of September 3rd. The Burlington Post will no longer have a Wednesday delivery, but will continue with a Thursday and Friday delivery.
Josh has had his time cut back by a third – the Post apparently is going to reduce their publishing schedule to just two days a week.
These decisions are always financial – the revenue just isn’t there to support three issues a week.
Odd – because when you go to lift that Thursday edition out of the mail box and catch the flyers before they fall out of your hands you might arrive at the conclusion that the Post is a very healthy business.
Burlington needs all the local media it can get and while the Post was limited in the coverage it gave many of the events and city Advisory Committees – it will now do even less.
The Burlington Gazette will continue to do the job it has been doing for more than three years. We publish seven days a week and everything we publish is on-line in the archive.
By Pepper Parr
August 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
There is a strange dichotomy at this time in this city. There are those who were flooded and those who weren’t. Those who were are, in some cases, devastated while others live their day to day lives and hope that we will have a nice fall because summer appears to have forgotten us this year.
 Graphic of the rainfall pattern August 4th. On August 4th 190 mm of rain fell on a part of the city in 3-4 hours causing havoc and devastation for the more than 2,600 homes that were flooded.
On May 13th 75 of the same homes flooded when 60 mm fell in one hour. Most people had adequate insurance, however many did not. The majority of the homes affected were in the South East part of Burlington. About 1,000 homes flooded in Ward 5, perhaps more than 15% of the homes south of the QEW between Appleby and Burloak.
About 1200 homes between Walkers Line and Guelph Line in Ward 4 flooded, mostly due to sewage back up. The Mayor’s home is reported to have experienced 4 to 5 feet of sewage in his basement. There were hundreds of others in other wards. For homes that received overland flooding there appears to be zero insurance coverage.
In notes left on the Burlington Sewer Backup Victims Coalition web site, Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman explained that the sewage back up happened because all of the houses in the badly hit areas were built prior to 1974 when the building code changed.
Prior to 1974 it was normal to have gutter down spouts and weeping tiles plumber into the sewage system. After 1974 those were not plumber in. Without storm water in our sewage system the risk of flooding is minimized.
 Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman Sharman says he has personally spoken to “about 500 flooding victims. I still have perhaps another 700 or more to speak to in coming weeks.”
Some of those flooded on May 13 had their insurance cut off; they were left totally unprotected for the August 4th flood. Many have had their insurance coverage drastically reduced, while deductibles increased to as much as $5000. Most people want to understand why the flooding occurred to them and not others. Everyone is anxious about whether the next significant looking rainstorm will cause their home to flood again and about what they can do to protect their homes in future. Multiple flooding victims believe the value of their home is compromised.
Sharman wants to see the Region and the City and our home owners have to take steps to get the water out of our sewage system so that this terrible flooding does not happen again. He points out that on July 9th he successfully got Regional Council to undertake a region wide flooding study to assess the hydraulic design of our sewer systems that might help provide relief in future. The study is being accelerated for high risk areas of the city.
The Region is paying out a $1000 “Ex Gratia” grant to those who experienced sewer back up.
There is a subsidy of up to $2,725.00 or 50% of the cost, to install a backwater valve, a sump pump and disconnection of weeping tile and redirection of gutter down spouts.
Sharman has provided more information in his remarks on the Sewer NAME web site than any other member of Council including the Mayor and the Region.
At the Regional level there is a communications bureaucracy that consists of a Director, a manager, advisors and specialists. One would like to think that with that level of resources, which you the tax payer pony up every quarter when the tax bill is sent out.
The Red Cross have now knocked on the doors of 10,000 plus homes. 62 of which have been identified as high priority cases. Some may have to be demolished.
At an August 15th meeting between about 20 Ward 5 home owners and the Region Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), the Region`s Commissioner of Public Works and the Commissioner and Medical Officer of Health, home owners were advised that those who suffered multiple flooding and live in high risk flooding zones will receive free of charge implementation of backwater valves and sump pumps.
The Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) was asked by the Mayor to form the Burlington Flood Disaster Relief Committee which is now leading fundraising efforts. That organization expects to announce it’s chair today and then make public the Roll Out plans that will give people access to various forms of funding on September 3.
 The fund raising is coming along: The most recent number is $142,665.00 – which is a long, long way from the $2 million target that Councillor Sharman has mentioned
While raising funds is critical – what is more important is an understanding from those who were not flooded on just how devastating this has been for those who were flooded.
For them – it has been brutal
By Pepper Parr
August 26, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The flood has only begun as far as the flow of information is concerned.
 A graphic from the Weather Network shows just how much rain fell on Burlington August 4th. We are still struggling with the impact of that raifall. The four Burlington Rotary Clubs are pulling together at RibFest this weekend collecting funds for the Disaster Relief program. This is a significant opportunity for the community to help out – we don’t have details yet on exactly what the Rotary Clubs are doing – they will hold a media event later today and tell us more.
Tomorrow – the name of the chair of the local Disaster Relief Committee will be announced along with the sub committees that will be set up.
On Wednesday of next week there will be a major Roll Out event at which all kinds of information will be made available.
The Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) has been managing this community effort and will have a Disaster Relief portal set up on their web site. It is expected to become THE source for information.
Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman, whose ward was heavily hit by the flooding, said that the community is going to have to raise $2 million – which if the city actually gets a 2 for 1 deal with the province, will result in $6 million available for distribution.
“We need more than the two million” said Sharman “but that is the target”. It isn’t clear if this is a Sharman target or a BCF target.
 What has been disturbing is the very poor flow of information from city hall. A lot of people over there are beavering away at stuff – but there is no flow of information to the public. The section of the city web site with Flood Relief information says:
The City of Burlington and Halton Region are committed to helping people as quickly as possible following the storm of August 4 that resulted in extensive flooding in many areas of the city.
The city is taking this matter very seriously and has additional staff in place to meet ongoing needs. Please check this web page frequently for what the city is doing to respond to the flood and the needs of people in Burlington.
They then refer people to the United Way web site but don’t give people the specific address to log in and send in donations.
When asked about the poor flow of information Councillor Sharman said: “I don’t know about that – that isn’t my job. My job is to take care of the people in my ward.
 A very large part of the reason for so little information is – wait for it – the Elections Act – which sets out when incumbents running for office can use city facilities to talk to the public.
Given the crisis Burlington faces – someone could just say – to hell with – I’m going to tell the people in my city what has been happening. Given that the Mayor isn’t running against anyone yet and isn’t likely to have a challenger – he could step out and talk to people.
Lackluster leadership.
By Staff
August 25, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The first official data on mosquitos that are carrying West Nile Virus was released by the Region this morning.
A batch of mosquitoes trapped last week in Oakville has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). This is the second batch of WNV positive mosquitoes for Halton this year. In Halton, only one other batch of mosquitoes from Milton tested positive for WNV this year.
 This is how West Nile virus is transmitted. “We know West Nile virus is here in Halton and it’s usually just a matter of time before we begin to see more positive results,” stated Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health. “Halton residents should always protect themselves against mosquito bites and get rid of mosquito breeding sites.”
Urban areas are more likely to have mosquitoes that carry WNV. The types of mosquitoes that transmit WNV to humans most commonly breed in urban areas in items that hold water such as bird baths, plant pots, old toys, and tires.
The following are steps that residents can take to protect themselves and their families from mosquitoes:
Cover up. Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants with tightly-woven fabric.
Avoid being outdoors from early evening to morning when mosquitoes are most active and likely to bite, as well as at any time in shady, wooded areas.
Reduce mosquito breeding sites around your home by getting rid of all water-filled containers and objects. Change the water in bird baths at least once per week.
Use an approved insect repellent, such as one containing DEET.
Make sure your window and door screens are tight and without holes, cuts or other openings.
A map showing the locations of standing water sites that have had larvicide applied is here.
To report standing water or for more information about West Nile virus, please visit Halton.ca/wnv, dial 311, or call Halton Region at 905-825-6000 or e-mail wnv@halton.ca.
 By Staff
August 25, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Halton Regional Police sent out a notice last week that they intended to do a methodical grid search for a man missing since late July.
The search, which took place today resulted in the discovery of remains that are believed to be those of 24-year-old David Thomson.
 The remains of a body believed to be that of David Thomson were found in a heavily wooded area in the Appleby Line and Upper Middle Road part of the city. The investigation has been ongoing since August 13th, when the Halton Regional Police Service were first made aware by family members that he had been missing since July 28th.
Since that time investigators have been following up on a number of credible leads and tips, including sightings of David in and around Burlington.
On Monday August 25th, 2014 members of the Halton Regional Police Search Incident Response Team conducted a thorough and methodical grid search in and around the area of Appleby Line and Upper Middle Road in the City of Burlington. Investigators had previously conducted a general search of the trails and pathways in the area.
Today’s search resulted in a body being located in a heavily wooded area northeast of Appleby Line and Upper Middle Road.
Police are unable to confirm the identity at this time, pending the results of an autopsy; however it is believed to be David Thomson. No foul play is suspected.
Next of kin have been advised.
Linked story:
Search announced
By Staff
August 25, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
INCITE A Single Moms Support Group, a local non-profit organization, will be closing its doors as of August 31, 2014, due to financial reasons.
 INCITE did great promotion for their events and turn out was usually quite high – the business model they had proved to be unsustainable. “As the Board of Directors, we are pleased to have provided support, encouragement, guidance, direction and opportunities for empowerment; to single moms and their children in our community, since April 2011.
Due to the passion, vision and direction of Executive Director, Beth Hudson, our organization has helped hundreds and truly made a difference in the Burlington community. For the last 3.5 years, INCITE has offered single moms a Weekly Support Meeting, Weekly Children’s Program, Social Outings, Philanthropy Events, Affordable Advice and a Good Samaritan Program.
We are proud that INCITE accomplished so much in such a short time, touching the lives of countless people. INCITE, with support from the community, through our Good Samaritan Program helped single moms-in-need through difficult times offering assistance with Christmas help, back-to-school supplies, furniture, food, toys, bikes and much more. Though many of our families were struggling, they gave back and helped others in the community through our Philanthropy Events; including volunteering at Wellington Square’s Community Dinners, the Rotary’s Ribfest and Amazing Bed Race, Salvation Army’s Christmas Toy Drive, as well as facilitated an “Extreme Makeover” on the Shifra House, a local shelter for young Moms.
INCITE A Single Moms Support Group quickly gained recognition across Canada and the United States, providing a rare and unique, but much needed support system, for single moms. Our popularity grew to over 11 000 visitors on our website annually and INCITE was showcased in the Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator and Burlington Post, as well as on CHML and Cogeco TV. INCITE also produced The Single Mom Show, a web-based show that offered professional guidance from experts, for Single Moms everywhere, as well as produced An Agenda For Single Moms, a book specifically for Single Moms that focussed on taking stock and goal setting.
We were very blessed and are extremely grateful for the support we received from the community. Though there are many to recognize, we want to especially thank Verico Designer Mortgages, Astra Print, the Central Rotary, Halton Region, Rick Burgess, Jeff Lewis, and The Centre for Skills Development & Training, for their on-going support.
 There were cheques, some very healthy cheques – there just weren’t enough of them. Thank you also to our amazing team of Volunteers and Staff, present and past. All of you added something very unique and valuable to the organization, team and families. We all greatly appreciate your passion and contributions, that ultimately made INCITE the success that it was, touching and changing lives.
We want to thank all of the Single Moms that participated in the group, offering their support, feedback, wisdom and experiences; ultimately helping other single moms along their journey. It definitely has been an incredible and memorable experience for all involved.
Thank you to all of you for your support these last few years and for your understanding during this difficult time.
Beth Hudson, the Executive Director of the organization that the annual operating cost was “around $36,000” – that amounted to $3000 a month. Hudson added that when they were refused charitable status by the federal government – that was the “nail in the coffin”. We could see it coming and there was nothing we were able to do to keep the doors open and the program running.”
There is one event – a weekend retreat in October that will take place. As for Beth Hudson -she will begin to work on a web based – national organization to be known as “Answers for Woman”.
Hudson reports that one in five families are run by single Moms.
 By Pepper Parr
August 25, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
My neighbour Rob, who is prone to stunts, pranks and practical jokes ,sent me an Ice Bucket Challenge. Jeez I thought, I’m going to have to do this or he won’t loan me his drill anymore and he does have a snow blower. So I was gearing myself up to walk across the street and submit myself to the dunking.
The President of the United States can duck these things – but I was pretty sure I had to go along with the gag. My one condition was that the event be filmed and the kids be on hand.
Then I came across the missive from School board chair and Ward 6 candidate Jennifer Hlusko who was passing along a piece form Macleans magazine.
Why the Ice Bucket Challenge is bad for you
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is bad … The marketing gimmick is very clever. It is short, immediately understandable, and like the most popular forms of slacktivism, it is easy to do, entertaining to watch, and narcissistically self-promoting. As a result, the ALS Association has received more than $70 million so far, compared to only $2.5 million during last year’s campaign.
We, as individuals and as a society, have finite resources to donate to medical research and other worthy causes. When we decide where to spend our charitable dollars, we need to consider three factors:
1. Where is the greatest need?
2. Where will my dollars have the greatest influence?
3. What is the most urgent problem?
The ALS challenge fails all three of these test.
 Did the School Board Chair get dunked? How did increasing ALS donations from $2.5 million to $70 million get defined as a failure. The people who went along with the dunking will send their donation and probably not cut back somewhere else.
The beauty of the human hearts is the way it can expand to meet the need.
Hlusko needs to think about an “expanded heart” procedure – and please – lighten up.
By Pepper Parr
August 25, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
It is coming together. It’s taking a little longer than many people had hoped but it looks as if they are going to do it right – right from the get go.
There will be a media release on Wednesday announcing who the chair is going to be along with additional information on just what the local Disaster Relief Committee can do and can’t do.
 Colleen Mulholland,BCF president, is stick handling the biggest project her organization has been asked to do. They are going to give her a T-shirt. On the following Wednesday, September 3, there will be a Roll Out event at a location in the east end where the full program will be explained along with the procedures people need to follow.
While the Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) has not yet announced a theme, based on the words BCF President Colleen Mulholland uses continually “Above and Beyond” just might be the call.
“This is a huge problem and there are hundreds of people who are hurting – hurting badly” explained Mulholland who is getting by on around four hours of sleep each night.
She is pumped over the size of the challenge and is stretching her team to the limit.
The BCF has encountered a number of desperate situations where they have had to dip into their own coffers to help out.
Their Annual Golf Tournament, being held September 4th, will be asking people to dig deep into those pockets.
A “portal” is being set up on the BCF web site that will have all the forms; all the details and answers to all the questions they think people will be asking.
That team leading this event are covering all the bases. There will be T-shirts for volunteers to wear; there will be coin boxes at every possible retail location. Great opportunity for the Burlington Downtown Business Association to show what they can do – and hopefully both malls are on board as well as all the supermarkets.
This stuff works – but you have to work to make I happen.
 Sandra Baker on the left talks with Burlington Community Foundation president Colleen Mulholland during days when things were not nearly as hectic. On Friday – donations sent via the United Way collection point were at $140,000 but come Monday morning there was just $141,600.00
More is needed – that Above and Beyond call to action is vital.
In the very near future major donations will begin to flow in – but this is a grass roots effort – this is community helping community. We too are Samaritans – or we can be if we choose to do be.
By Pepper Parr
August 24, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Sometime soon – the Burlington Community Foundation will announce who the Chair of the local Disaster Relief Assistance Committee is going to be, and the flow of information for those unfortunate people who lost so much during the August 4th flood will begin.
It is going to be a complex process – governments just don’t hand out money willy- nilly.
The program, known as ODRAP, for Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program, is intended to assist those whose essential property has been extensively damaged as a result of a sudden, unexpected natural disaster such as a severe windstorm, tornado or flood.
The ODRAP program contains a private component and a public component. The public is used by the municipality to recover as much as they can of the cost of the flooding to the city. Burlington will be working with Halton Region on this.
 Each dot represent a home that was damaged in the August 4th flood. The data shown here was as of August 11th – there is more to show, The private component is intended for people who lost property and suffered significant damage to their homes. The first step in what will prove to be an exhausting process, was for the city to request that it be declared a disaster area. That happened on August 14th, when the city passed a resolution asking the Minister of Housing and Community Services to make that declaration.
That declaration has yet to be made by the Minister – but it is expected to happen in the very near future.
The program provides financial assistance within the declared disaster area, to restore private property to pre-disaster condition, when the cost of restoration exceeds the financial capacity of the affected individuals, municipality and community at large.
 While people worked at creating the administrative structure needed to get donations from the public and funds from the province into place – church groups were out on the street giving aid to clean up basements where needed. The Samaritan`s Purse expects to have partially restored close to 100 homes. ODRAP is not a substitute for adequate insurance coverage and does not provide full cost recovery.
The city enters into a legal agreement with the province, which calls for the city to (a) raise funds locally ($140,000 has been raised as of Friday, which the province “may” match on a two for one basis and (b) create the local Disaster Committee.
The province defines all areas damaged by the disaster, and whether all or a specified portion of the municipality is to be declared a disaster area.
When a disaster area is declared, a legal agreement is established between the Minister and affected municipality for accountability purposes.
The public component of ODRAP provides assistance to municipalities, when damage is so extensive that it exceeds the capacity of the affected municipality to manage. Burlington will be going after the province for the damage done to its infrastructure – the Region will be right in there with the city.
Municipalities within the declared disaster area may receive repayment/reimbursement of up to 100 per cent of eligible costs for uninsured municipal damage associated with a disaster.
The Private component of ODRAP requires individuals to bear the initial responsibility for their losses. If the losses are so extensive that individuals cannot cope on their own, the municipality and the community at large are expected to provide support.
The private component of ODRAP is intended to provide the “necessities of life” to help those impacted by a natural disaster get back on their feet, when it is beyond the capacity of the municipality or community to assist.
Local fund raising is what gets things rolling. To date people have donated $140,000. Once the local Disaster Relief Committee is fully operational, there will be a drive to pull in donations from people in a position to write big cheques as well as a major drive to the commercial/corporate sector.
The province may match funds up to a 2 to 1 ratio to settle the claims, up to 90 per cent of the estimated eligible amount.
Once the Disaster Relief Committee is set up, with the sub-committees it will require, one of their early tasks is going to be getting information out to the community and then receiving and settling the eligible claims of the victims as efficiently as possible.
The Disaster Relief committee members cannot be members of council and should have no conflict of interest in the collection and distribution of funds. The committee should avoid selecting members, who will likely be submitting claims for damages.
The disaster relief committee and its sub-committees, act autonomously from municipal council, operating within provincial guidelines to raise funds and settle claims. The committee ensures that all claims are dealt with fairly and equitably. Depending on the severity of the disaster, the disaster relief committee may operate for a period of several months or for up to one year or more, in order to receive and settle all claims.
 Seeing much of your house sitting at the curb waiting to be hauled to the dump, was very painful and expensive for hundreds of Burlington residents. The Region increased the collection days so that we didn`t see these piles of refuse on the streets for very long – which made it easy to forget how extensive the damage actually was. Members of the Disaster Relief Committee receive no remuneration. They can be reimbursed for expenses, however, such as travel to meetings.
Usually program administration, financial records and payments are made by a municipality upon the recommendation of the Disaster Relief Committee. The program administration costs of the Disaster Relief Committee are incremental to normal municipal administration activities, and are eligible for reimbursement from the Ministry. These costs could include:
A program manager to assist the disaster relief committee with day to day operations, fundraising and claim settlement;
An insurance adjuster to assist with reviewing claims;
Secretarial and other support staff fees, audit fees, stationary, printing, advertising and postage costs;
Rental of office space and furniture if necessary.
All administrative expenditures of the local disaster relief committee must be documented and kept separate from fundraising. No administrative costs are to be deducted by the disaster relief committee, from the locally raised funds. All donations must be channeled directly to the disaster relief committee to be matched with provincial funds up to 2:1 and used for claim settlement.
The responsibilities of the Disaster Relief Committee are as follows:
1. Appoint a chairperson and appropriate vice-chairs for sub-committees, where established;
2. Appoint a treasurer and a secretary, if one is required. The treasurer should not be a member of the committee but should be a municipal staff person or, depending on the scale of the emergency, a paid contract position;
3. Establish a disaster relief fund and bank account to receive donations;
4. Register as a charity with Revenue Canada to receive a charitable registration number, if not available through the municipality;
5. Solicit donations to the fund and organize fundraising activities;
6. Establish procedures for the receipt, appraisal, and settlement of claims for losses and damage;
7. Advise the municipality to issue advance payments in exceptional circumstances not exceeding 50 per cent of the estimated eligible payout;
8. Distribute claim forms;
9. Advertise the existence of the fund, availability of assistance, and terms on which assistance will be provided;
10. Appraise damage for claims less than $500 and, if necessary, hire professional adjuster(s) for claims greater than $500;
11. Approve payments in a consistent manner based on reports from the adjuster and/or program manager, and in accordance with ODRAP guidelines and the committee’s procedures;
12. Advise the municipality to make payments to claimants using the municipal financial system;
13. Hire auditors to review the activities of the fund and prepare an audit report; and
14. Submit an audited report to the regional Municipal Services Office for review and final payment of the provincial contribution.
ODRAP is not an alternative to adequate private insurance coverage and sound risk management practices. Claims from households and businesses should be directed first to insurance companies to determine the policy holder’s coverage.
 For homes that didn`t have, or could not get adequate insurance the ODRAP program might pay as much as 90% of the cost of replacing essentials. Burlington hasn’t dealt with a disaster of this magnitude before – there will be a learning curve and it will take a bit of time to get it all running smoothly. The names of some very competent people are being tossed around to head up the Disaster Relief Operation. Let us hope that those who can make things happen, step up and take on the task.
It would have been useful if city hall, the Mayor in particular, had kept up a steady flow of information during the period of time, when procedures are being put in place. The paucity of information from city hall was embarrassing – distressing as well. The public was told that City Talk – the city`s in house magazine that tells you what the city has done for you will be distributed to every home in the city.
By Pepper Parr
August 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
“We should have the door to door work wrapped up in a few days” said Peter Hodgson, lead Red Cross person on the task of learning just how many homes were damaged in the August 4th flood, and the extent of that damage.
 Peter Hodgson, lead Red Cross volunteer points to maps that show how many homes were damaged and where they are located. The volunteers will have covered in excess of 10,000 homes, explained Hodgson. Their data gets sent to the Region, where it is plotted on maps, which will allow the city to quantify the damage.
Mayor Goldring had explained at the city council meeting earlier in the month that “we need to know how extensive the damage is”. It is extensive and it is tragic.
For Hodgson the story is much more than numbers on a map. There are some truly tragic situations out there. “We were working with a man who had an extensive “collectibles” collection in his basement. “This was his retirement – and it was gone. The man valued it at more than $1 million.”
The dots indicate a house that was flooded. This was not a small disaster. There was an apartment building that had some affordable housing units in it. The owner of the building had moved a tenant with little in the way of personal means into a basement unit a few days before the flood so he could renovate the unit they lived in. All was lost.
There was an elderly couple who had suffered extensive damage to their house – all of which was more than they could cope with – but they didn’t want to leave their home.
Hodgson wasn’t able to say, but the sense is that there may be some homes that have to be torn down.
 Red Cross volunteers get training on what to do at eah house they call on. “We don’t talk about poverty in Burlington, but it is there” said Hodgson “and it is situations like this that bring these people to the surface – they have no resources to fall back on. The Red Cross is able to help out but just for a very short period of time.”
“We have people sleeping on air mattresses on the floor in some places” said Hodgson. “We opened up Evacuation Centres but they didn’t really get used – but we had them in place if needed.
The Red Cross has a Memorandum of Understanding in place with the Regional government- which allows them to move into a community on a couple of hours’ notice.
Their volunteers were on the streets within hours doing the door to door work. At the same time the Samaritan’s Purse had crews ripping carpet out of flooded basements and doing power washing, while the fire department put a calendar up on their website showing times, when fire fighters were available to help people with the clean-up.
While all this was going on, citizens were making donations to the disaster relief funds – the total on Friday was $140,000
 By Staff
August 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
David THOMSON is 24 years old – he has been missing from his residence in the Appleby Line and Dryden Avenue part of town since Thursday July 28, 2014.
Missing since the end of July – HRPS will conduct a search for David Thomson on Monday Halton Regional Police Search Incident Response Team (SIRT) will commence a methodical search operation in parks and wooded areas around David’s home on the morning of Monday August 25th 2014
This operation is expected to last several hours during which time the public will see an increase in police activity between Appleby Line and Burloak Drive, north and south of Upper Middle Road.
In the meantime, Police are asking local residents and businesses to check their properties including shed’s, garages and/or outbuildings for anything that would assist in locating David.
David is described as Male/white, 5’10, 160 pounds, medium build, fair complexion, short blonde hair, blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with a Canadian flag on it, blue jeans and running shoes.
Anyone with information that would assist in locating David are urged to contact the on duty Staff Sergeant at 905-825-4747 ext. 2310
 By Ray Rivers
August 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Quebec’s Charbonneau Commission uncovered gross corruption between Montreal politicians and the construction industry. That’s Quebec, some would say. Sometimes corruption is in your face, like inexplicable fat infrastructure contracts and some direct payoffs. And sometimes it’s more subtle, as in contributions made to a candidate’s political campaign in the expectation of favourable decisions.
I never took donations from developers when I ran for municipal office because of concern that the donors would want something in return. And of course they would. Our municipal councils approve development plans and make decisions on development charges for the infrastructure required by the development. This sure sounds like an investment by another name.
 Few politicians actually get arrested. Burlington has never had a politician convicted of taking a bribe or influence peddling – but in the three years we have observed this Council there have certainly been questionable decisions. The Municipal Elections Act allows corporate political contributions. And no corporations have deeper pockets when it comes to municipal campaigns than those in the development industry. After all they have a vested interest in getting favourable decisions out of municipal councils. And Councillors who pocket these contributions and then vote on development decisions have put themselves in a potential conflict, by anyone’s definition – notwithstanding the Elections Act.
Last week the Ontario government announced a one-hundred million dollar annual infrastructure program for small communities. Since smaller communities vary in their ability to pay for the repair and rebuilding of bridges, roads and sewers, provincial funding can be a great equalizer. Some of that money will be used for maintenance projects, and some will, no doubt, be directed to the infrastructure needs of new development – costs which have not been adequately covered by municipal development charges, for one reason or another.
Planning for new development is a municipal responsibility under Ontario’s outdated land planning regulations and policies, once considered the best system anywhere. Official land use plans and teams of planning officers have given the illusion that Ontario’s land use planning is better than that of other jurisdictions. Yet, in the end, the province’s development experience is not much better, if at all, than communities with less fancy planning systems.
Despite attempts to put a fresh face on planning with new labels like ‘Places to Grow’, development in Ontario’s smaller communities is classic urban sprawl. Even the creation of the Greenbelt, which promises to safeguard an area greater that the entirety of PEI, has failed to halt the on-going process of sprawling in the short run.
Auto-centric and land-intensive, urban sprawl discourages public transit, segregates workplaces and shops from living places. It is the most inefficient and environmentally destructive form of development. Eventually we will have to dig up most of these subdivisions and replace the kilometres of infrastructure, as we move to better ways of housing people.
 Burlington isn’t quite this bad – but what we have isn’t sustainable. The Town of Milton’s is a classic example. Its population grew by 56.5% from 2006 to 2011, at the same time that population growth in Canada averaged less than 6%. Landlocked Milton achieved its unprecedented growth, all urban sprawl, thanks to a single piece of infrastructure – the Big Pipe. Halton Region and Milton spent $30 million dollars over the last decade on a system to bring water from Lake Ontario to the town and send its wastes back down again.
A former Halton Regional Chair who was a big supporter of the Big Pipe that got water into Milton ans spurred the massive suburban growth was later hired by one of the Milton developers. The Mayor of Milton is still in office and running again – some think to be the politician who out lasted Mississauga’s Hazel McCallion.
At some point the old-town Milton residents and the newer ones as well will realize what has happened to them. Milton is still in its growth spurt phase; gridlock is commonly a sixteen-hour phenomena on the 401, the only Toronto-bound highway passing through the town. The hospital cannot meet the demand.
Residents who thought they were getting a deal buying cheap houses in the ‘burbs’ are now finding the savings illusory. Between the additional transportation costs and those associated with the time they have to spend commuting (e.g. for day care), they would have been better off to have bought in the city. After all, Toronto was recently judged the fourth most livable city in the world. It might have overtaken Vancouver had its infrastructure been better, which more transit riders would have helped fund.
Developers typically donate to as many local political candidates as they judge will be friendly to them. But some municipal Councillors will vote only in the best interests of their constituents regardless of pressure from past and potential campaign donors. Some Councillors may not truly understand the issues involved or may be outright disciples of urban sprawl, so will have no trouble being guided. And then there are those who will outright do the bidding of their benefactors.
This is another municipal election year and the City of Toronto has banned corporate and trade union campaign contributions to municipal campaigns. Voters in other places might wish to ask their candidates about where they obtained their campaign contributions; did they accept donations from the development industry; and if so, do they plan on abstaining from votes on development issues. Corruption is a slippery slope – a little here can lead to a lot more there. Just because it isn’t outlawed doesn’t make it right.
Editor’s note: Rivers argues that “eventually we will have to dig up most of these subdivisions and replace the kilometres of infrastructure, as we move to better ways of housing people.” What if he is right? How do we plan for that? What kind of social dislocation would we be looking at? How would this type of massive social change be paid for? Are the people we will elect to the Region and municipal offices think about this or will they continue to do the same thing all over again?
Background links:
Charbonneau Commission Political Corruption
Planning Act Election Rules Urban Densities Greenbelt Urban Sprawl
Provincial Infrastructure Program Big Pipe More on that Big Pipe
Most Livable Cities
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington where he ran against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province.
 By Staff
August 22, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
There is a reason those BMW’s are as expensive as they are – not that easy to break into.
At around 3:30 pm, Friday August 22, a frantic mother of two young children (a 3 year old and a 15 month old) contacted Halton Regional Police immediately after accidentally locking her keys inside a BMW SUV while parked at the Walmart store at Brant and Fairview.
 Unlocking these cars is easier said than done – police officer decides to break the window when tow truck driver cannot get into the car with two children locked inside. The children were alert and not in any medical distress; a tow truck was called to assist in unlocking the vehicle. Not that easy to get into a locked BMW. The police office attending the call decided to break the window of the SUV to gain access.
The officer cut their arm and needed a trip to the hospital to get it bound up. The children did not sustain any injury and were found to be in good health. The officer who broke the window sustained superficial cuts to their arm and attended Joseph Brant Hospital for medical aid.
By Staff
August 23, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
They figured it out.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), has looked at the nominations posted for various city council seats and come to the conclusion that Rick Goldring, current Mayor of Burlington is going to be acclaimed and elected him to the AMO Board of Directors, Large Urban Caucus.
As a member of the Board Goldring will help set policy for the Association and serve as a key municipal leader in the Province.
 Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring AMO President, Gary McNamara explained that the association’s key advocacy priorities are focused on achieving fiscal sustainability for municipal governments, advancing federal, provincial partnerships for infrastructure and strengthening municipal legislative authority to advance local economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.
AMO is a non-profit organization representing almost all of Ontario’s 444 municipal governments. AMO supports strong and effective municipal government in Ontario and promotes the value of municipal government as a vital and essential component of Ontario and Canada’s political system.
By Pepper Parr
August 22, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
There is a squeeze coming.
For the past two weeks the United Way has served as the donation point for disaster relief fund raising. The United Way offered their services immediately, with a bit of a nudge from Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon who was at one time a senior vice President with the national office of the United Way in Ottawa. McMahon knew what United Way had in terms of technology and the ability to handle a large number of donations in a short period of time.
So far the community had donated more than $130,000 to the Disaster Relief fund through the United Way.
 There might be fewer Friends of Freeman Station sold in the next while. However, come September the 11th – the United Way will be kicking of their 2014-15 campaign and they are concerned about some confusion being created in the minds of donours – is money being sent in going to the United Way campaign or to the Disaster relief program?
The sense seems to be that the Disaster Relief Committee will be setting up a funds collection point of their own.
Burlington will then be faced with a United Way Campaign; the Disaster Relief Campaign along with the Joseph Brant $60 million campaign for the building of the hospital additions.
Will the Joseph Brant Foundation suspend their drive for six months to allow the Disaster Relief people collect what they need?
The Friends of Freeman Station have a fund raising drive going on and the political parties are in the process of fattening up their coffers for the federal election in 2015.
Burlington is going to be stretched.
How does a city that everyone seems to love living in, and is the owner of the Best Mid-Sized City in Canada title, handle a situation like this?
Will we see some truly creative ideas coming out of one of the service clubs – maybe even from city council?
 Could the hospital fun raising drive be put on hold while funds for disaster relief are collected? Is there someone out there who has decided Burlington can do better than it is doing with the current Mayor and will mount a last minute campaign for the job and put forward an idea that captures the heart and mind of almost everyone and find himself/herself swept into office? If there is such a person – you’ve got until September to get your name on the ballot.
 By Pepper Parr
August 21, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The small print needed a closer look.
On August 14, ten days after that disastrous flood that wreaked havoc on thousands of homes and left close to a hundred almost uninhabitable, the city council passed a motion requesting the province to declare Burlington a disaster area.
 Minister Ted McMeekin is no stranger to Burlington. He took part in the opening of the Community Garden a few years ago – a project funded by the province. City is now waiting for McMeekin to sign off on the papers that will make Burlington a disaster area. Many thought, as did this reporter, that being declared a disaster area was a mere formality. MPP and Minister of Housing and Community Services, Ted McMeekin, who is the member for Dundas, Ancaster, Flamborough and Westdale, just to the west of us certainly knows Burlington and understood the need has apparently not signed the document yet.
Why not Mr. Minister, do you need a pen?
 Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon needs to prod Minister McMeekin to sign the papers making us a disaster area. Burlington has just elected a Liberal MPP for the first time in a very long time – what could go wrong? Well something appears to have gone a bit kaflooey – because it appears that the Minister has not yet put pen to paper and declared Burlington as disaster area.
McMeekin’ s press secretary said, when asked when the Minister is going to sign the document: “the Ministry is still assessing the damages and the Minister will make a decision soon.”
While the Minister fiddles Rome burns. The fire fighters are out there doing their thing; the Samaritan’s Purse people have restored more than 30 homes and have work orders for another 30. Steve Elliott, the point man for the Samaritans, said he expect his crews will have wrapped things up by Labour Day which is a short ten days away.
The city is working away on its application for funding to cover as much of the infrastructure damage as possible and the local Disaster Relief committee is working its way towards getting some oxygen into its system and taking on a life.
But nothing can happen until McMeekin signs the document saying we are in fact a disaster area.
The public is pumping funds into the bank account being maintained by the United Way on behalf the yet to be created local Disaster Relief Committee. An announcement is expected from that Committee very soon – however – other than collecting funds and setting up a committee structure to disperse whatever funds there are – there isn’t much they can do. Nothing becomes real or live until the Minister puts pen to paper.
We put in a call to Burlington’s newly minted MPP, Eleanor McMahon but she has yet to return our call.
Everyone is scrambling around – getting things organized – but no one is saying anything.
The suffering public out there needs to know what they can expect and what they cannot expect.
By Pepper Parr
August 21, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
James Curran, candidate for the ward 6 council seat, just can’t seem to keep out of trouble.
There have been more than 25 comments on his status as a real estate appraiser – with lots of back and forth and accusation and upgraded explanations.
What should have been a perfectly clear answer to a reasonable question got twisted and turned with people saying they just didn’t believe the man. At this point I’m not sure exactly what his status is as an appraiser.
 Jim Curran complained to the city about the amount of time candidates were permitted to put up election signs. Says the rules were not clearly set out in the Candidates Manual. We advised our readers that we were not taking any more comments on what his status is as an appraiser.
People in the community are bothered by the way that part of the Curran background played out but the issue seems to have ground down to he said – she said. At that point we stopped taking comments unless there was some really solid information.
Then – just when the heat was off the status issue – we get an email advising us that:
In light of recent events and concerns of citizens of Burlington, including the flooding, I have arranged to hold a town hall this evening at 7:00. I apologize for the short notice.
We got this at 6:30 – and complained to Curran that such short notice was unacceptable
Curran responded with: “I just received media codes less than an hour ago. The team informed me just hours ago that it was even taking place. I am as unprepared as you my friend.”
Is Curran telling us that he wasn’t fully aware that something this critical to his campaign was something he didn’t know that much about?
Setting up a Virtual Meeting takes time – someone has to make the arrangements with the company handling the calls – and someone has to have sent out notices to people advising them of the event.
Is Curran telling us that, if this was done he wasn’t aware of it – and if it was done by others – why wasn’t he on top of it.
Jim Curran has exceptional political contacts and connections and he would have people who knew how to set this kind of thing up. To screw it up the way he has – does not bode well for putting this guy at the horseshoe come October.
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