 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. August 5, 2013. Halton Regional Police are investigating a series of night time residential break and enters that have occurred in the Brant Street and Upper Middle Road area of Burlington over the past two weeks.
In these instances, a door or window has been left open or unlocked allowing thieves to enter the residences or garages. Investigators believe that the suspects are targeting small electronics and in none of the instances have any home owners been confronted by the intruders.
Residents are reminded to remain vigilant and keep doors and windows locked when away from home or asleep as a screened door or window can easily be cut or removed by thieves.
Police offer the following tips to homeowners as a means of reducing the risk of their homes to being broken into:
• Securely lock all windows/doors to home
• Have an alarm/video surveillance system installed
• Utilize exterior lighting
• Use locks on gates to backyard
• If you suspect your home has been entered and/or an intruder is still present within or nearby, contact 9-1-1 immediately for police assistance.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. August 4, 2013. One of the biggest problems we face as a society is the theft that takes place of money that is not in our wallets or purses. Some call it identity theft; others call them scams – the result is usually the same – someone we don’t know, will never see, manages to convince us to give them information that allows them to take money out of our bank or from our credit cards.
They often get our money because we are greedy and think that there really is something for nothing waiting for us out there. Do we really believe someone in Nigeria has millions of dollars they want to get out of that country and that they will give us a large portion of that money if we help them? Some people do.
Does anyone not know someone who got sucked in by one of these schemes? The thieves play upon our greed or our naivety to get us to part with information they need to get our money.
The Gazette is doing an ongoing series of articles on identity theft and how these thieves work to take advantage of us.
 Read the notice I got carefully – what tells you this is a phony message designed to get me to give the sender information that would allow them to take money from my bank account. I happen to bank with the Bank of Montreal. Earlier today I got an email, sent to an address I seldom use. It was an email from my bank – well let the following tell the story.
Why is my bank telling me about a payment? And just what is a “pending status”. It sounds kind of official.
The email tells me that I am required to verify something – online. They use the words “secure verification link” but that’s just to make you feel confident.
There isn’t a bank in this country that is ever going to send you an email like this.
A bigger reason to be suspicious is in the Subject line. “Receive your payment now”; that’s the kind of language advertisers use.
The people who send emails like this buy lists of names from other thieves online and then they send out tens of thousands of emails. It doesn’t cost them a dime to send the email.
If one ploy doesn’t work – they will try another.
 This was a really direct attempt to get information. Banks do customer satisfaction surveys but they don’t use email and they don’t offer money if you do the survey. $378. is far more than any survey company will ever pay for participating. The best you’re going to get is a gift card for maybe $20. This one was pretty blunt and played on that little bit of greed we all have in us. I didn’t download this one – it would have taken me to a web site that could do very serious damage to the information on my computer.
It would have given them access to all my contacts and might have permitted the sender to install software on my computer that could capture every keystroke I entered.
This type of data theft is particularly vicious – but that $368 looks tempting to some people.
What can you do to protect yourself? Common sense and remember – if it looks to good to be true – that’s because it isn’t true.
This is one of an ongoing series the Gazette will be doing on Identity Theft as part of an effort to make our readers more aware of what might show up in your email inbox one day.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. August 3, 2013 When you ask Wayne Brown why a committee was formed to put on yet another gala event in Burlington he will tell you that the moment three people in this city get together the outcome is a gala – and if two people are in a pub having a beer, he adds, the result is a golf tournament. That’s just what people in Burlington do. It could be worse.
Wayne Brown is the chair of an event being called This Magic Moment and while not exactly a gala, it is a fund raising event for a good cause with a committee made up of anyone who is anybody on the letterhead.
 Don’t expect to see Connie Smith with this Vavavavoom dress at the Magic Moment event; she plans to wear a pony tail and her saddle shoes – if she can find them. Try this for influence: Wayne Brown as Chair; Scott Robinson of the Burlington Bandits baseball team as Co-Chair; Reg Titian, Artistic Director; Lucie Rivest, Treasurer; Connie Smith at CHCH is handling Publicity; Don Foster/Jackie Penner have taken on marketing. These are the working stiffs
The Board of Directors consists of Carol Leppan, Steve DeHaseth, Carla Leyer, Jason Stoner, Bill McKeon, Jenifer Rayworth, Sarah Allen, Salma Burney, Shannon Smith, Wendy Gzechowski, Barry Leppan, Mario Carr and Rob Wheeler.
 You need to be careful with this man: Once he has decided to do something – it is going to get done. Expect to see Jim Frizzle working with him Serving as liaison with the Halton Heros committee is Cheryl Goldring and Keith Strong. Strong is the guy you want to keep an eye on. This Magic Moment event would not be taking place if Strong had not learned that there are times when police or civilian working for the police service need help.
What are all these people doing when they get together in the same room? Organizing an event that will sell 2000 tickets for an outdoor dance event to be held at Nelson Park September 14th. This isn’t going to be any ordinary dance under the stars. The stars will be on the stage and the music will take the audience back to their youth – those time when they danced the jitterbug and the guys whirled the girl they were with through the air. The music of the 50’s and 60’s headlined by The Drifters, not some knock off group – but the original four who will be on the stage singing their signature piece: This Magic Moment.
No need to go looking for a scalper outside Nelson High – slip over to get tickets – don’t wait – this one will probably sell out.
The Magic Moment event is one part of a much larger organization called Community Cares Committee of Halton. It was incorporated late in 2012 by volunteers that care and want to help make a difference. Its first initiatives was the organizing of a gala for the Halton Heroes which held its inaugural event last year and raised $140,000 which will be used to support police officers and civilians employed by the Halton Regional Police Service who are injured in the line of duty.
The funds raised by the Gala were left with the Burlington Community Development Foundation on an in trust basis. When anyone working with the Police Service is injured the Foundation delivers a cheque to them within 48 hours.
Brown explains that while insurance and other benefits are available to police officers and police service staff there is a process to be followed and that takes time. For families in crisis with perhaps no immediate financial support, funds in hand immediately make a huge difference – thus the Halton Heroes funding.
The second gala, specifically dedicated to the Halton Heroes fund is to be held on Friday, September 20, 2013 at the Burlington Convention Centre. The sole purpose of this fund is to make sure the community is there for Halton Regional Police Service families.
“In Halton Region”, explains Brown, “ the public depend on the Police Service to protect us in times of crisis and need. We can’t prevent every act of violence or injury. But together we can offer our officers and civilian staff peace-of-mind.”
“Right now”, adds Brown, “there is a gap in funding when one of our Police Service members is seriously injured or killed. By establishing an endowment fund to be administered by an independent board, our Halton Regional Police Service members and their families will have short-term financial assistance that is not currently available.”
The funds raised during that Magic Moment evening will be added to the Halton Community Cares Committee.
It sounds like almost too many layers of organization – but it gives them a reason to get out of the house at night. And the end result next September 14th will be an evening under the stars dancing to music some of us remember very well – Dancing to the sound of
 They’re collecting pension cheques now – but this is the way they did it when they were younger. He rocks in the tree tops all day long
Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and a-singing his song
All the little birds on Jaybird Street
Love to hear the robin go tweet tweet tweet.
Remember?
Connie Smith is going to MC the event, along with Robbie Lane; the Drifters will be on stage. Do you remember Pauly and the Goodfellas? When was the last time you heard Good Vibrations and California Girls?
It gets better. The Drifters don’t like running around at the pace most entertainers do; they prefer to relax; take the train and avoid the crowds – so they’re coming in Burlington a day ahead of their Saturday night appearance at Nelson Park.
 It’s a sound that will bring back wonderful memories from some of those wonderful moments – the Drifters – live at Nelson Park Well guys, thought the committee that put this together, if you’re in town, why not hold a nice, small, intimate evening with a small bunch of people who can sip wine, nibble on the noshes and chat up the Drifters and hear some of the wild tales they have to tell.
That resulted in the Soiree that will take place on Friday evening at the Waterfront Hotel. Tickets to that event right here.
It’s going to be a great weekend – with a number of people calling their chiropractors the next day – that “hoppin” and a “bobbin” stuff calls for a physical dexterity many of those people just don’t have anymore.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. August 3, 2013. Burlington has reported an abnormal number of measles cases this year – six so far when the number has not been higher than two for the past eight years and often there were no cases reported.
Measles just isn’t a communicable disease we see very much of in Canada and that is because most of the population is immunized.
 There was a time when many communities saw notices like this posted. Dr. Monir Taha, the deputy Medical Officer of Health for the Region, talked earlier in the week about how the six cases of measles broke out in Burlington. The first was traced to a family with three children who were in British Columbia passing through the Vancouver airport. Someone with measles passed closed to these children, who had not been immunized and they picked up the communicable disease. How does Dr. Taha know that? Turns out there was a case of measles reported in British Columbia and that person was also in the Vancouver airport at the same time. Good medical detective work arrived at the conclusion that the Burlington residents picked up their measles at the same airport.
When those children got back to Burlington they passed what they had picked on along to other people who had not been immunized. The Regional Health people tracked where these children had been and published that information which advised the public that if they had rashes and had been in any of the location mentioned on the dates indicated – get to a doctor.
Getting this kind of information out to the public is what electronic media are in place for. News can get published instantly and read whenever people decide they want to know what’s going on.
We live in a world where people travel. There are tens of thousands of people in other countries who travel and are not immunized and can be communicable disease carriers.
 Halton has a very good student immunization rate – 93% of students are immunized. The trick is to ensure that your immunizations are up to date.
Halton has an exceptionally high immunization rate. 93% of the student population is immunized. The Region only has records of the student population.
Of the remaining 7% the Region has no data on 1%; 4% are not immunized for various reasons, religious or otherwise; 2% are opposed to immunization.
There are some fears out there about immunization explains Dr. Taha who said “it is the safest way to prevent communicable diseases and it works.” There are some that believe there is a link between immunization and autism – Dr. Taha thinks the medical community has shown all too clearly that there is no link. The one doctor who put forward that theory has lost his license to practice and the journal that published the paper has withdrawn it.
Immunization for measles is best done at the age of 1 for the first dose and then at about the age of four for the second dose.
Taha explains that the demographic that are at some risk are those born in the ‘70’s – when immunization was not as thorough as it is today. Some of that demographic explains Taha may not have gotten that second needle. If you get both doses – you’re covered for life.
Measles spreads easily – and there have been recent occasions when it got close to pandemic proportions. In Europe in 2011 there were 26,000 cases with 14,000 of those in France. Within the same time frame there were 700 cases of measles in Quebec.
The six cases found in Halton are described as a cluster which suggests there is no underlying problem but each Region has a Medical Officer of Health (MOH), each province has a Medical Officer of Health who supervises the Regions who are in place to oversee public health and to communicate with each other when there is as much as a suspicion of a problem.
Nationally there are several organizations that coordinate what goes on with each province. The MOH has a lot of authority. They have the power to quarantine an individual home, a whole street or a community if necessary.
 Hers of cattle have had to be slaughtered because they had foot and mouth disease. When we were experiencing SARS in 2003 some hospitals were closed to the general public. In the 50’s some ranches in western Canada had to destroy thousands of head of cattle due to an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
Public health is serious business – in Halton we had people who were able to quite quickly trace the development of measles and assure the public that we did not have an epidemic happening. Government at its best.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. August 3, 2013. That was a bit of a surprise to the Roseland Community. They had been expecting the Ontario Municipal Board hearing that was to determine just what Councillor Dennison could do with his property to take place late in August.
 A designated home, bought under a power of sale which the owner, Councillor Jack Dennison wants to have severed into two lots. Dennison had decided to appeal the Committee of Adjustment decision that did not approve his request to sever his 3083 Lakeshore property. That put many noses on the Roseland community out of joint and meant that the Roseland Community Association now had to prepare for yet another OMB hearing. They had done this in the past with other owners who wanted to sever property and had won at those hearings and were apparently confident they will win at the OMB on the Dennison application.
Then – out of the blue they learn that the hearing has been moved back to May 29, 2014. That gets the hearing into the lead into the next municipal election. Don’t expect to see Dennison on the ballot that year
 Chair Michael Ramsay, on the left, voted with two of his fellow Committee of Adjustment members in denying Councillor Jack Dennison a request to be allowed to severe his 3083 Lakeshore Road property. Members who took part in this CoA hearing included Robert Bailey, Grant Newberry, Dave Kumar and Sam Sarraf What brought that about? People who have appearances can ask for changes in the date and as long as that process is not abused – changes in hearing dates are given.
Roseland residents are wondering aloud why this might have happened.
Among the possible reasons for a delay going the rounds are:
– his lawyer could not do the early date, and that was the next one that worked for him?
– they knew which Member of the Ontario Municipal Board was being assigned to the hearing and wanted to do some cherry-picking?
– he can’t afford to pay the legal fees in the near term
– he is going to resign as Councillor before then
– there is going to be a favourable change in the Official Plan or some other law (but this should not matter, as current law would apply)
– the deal to sell the lot fell through and he needs another buyer.
Lots of speculation going on in Roseland – and while that is fine for those summer evenings when the chilled Chardonnay flows easily as people sit out on the patio or beside the pool chit chatting away – it isn’t good for the process of conducting civic business. It puts what goes on at city hall in a poor light.
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. August 3, 2013. This is certainly going to be a “get to the Beach” weekend. Lake Ontario is beginning to warm up a bit and the water is described as safe in most places.
The Beachway Park water is described as unsafe – caution. There is certainly loads of beach space along that stretch of the lake. Finding a spot to set up a shade awning and maybe setting up your hibachi won’t be easy and if you manage to find a parking spot along Lakeshore Road – good on you. Keeping out of the water – or at least not staying in for long periods of time might be a good idea. Very young children – not a good idea to have them in the water.
 The Region is responsible for testing water and advising the public on whether or not it is safe to swim.
 The water at the foot of Brant is safe – the way to keep it that way is to not feed the geese. If you put food in one end of the critters – you gotta know what is going to come out of the other end. And that stuff comes out in the water, which is shallow All that adds up to the high e-coli count that is reported.
 The Beachway Park is on a part of the lake where wind directions change frequently – which results in different wave patterns. It will be really difficult to keep children out of the water. There are consequences if they do play in the water.
Enjoy the weekend.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. August 1, 2013. The Nelson pool is closed due to a water main break. City and regional staff are on site to assess, conduct repairs and clean up.
The splash pad is closed due to the water to the area being cut off. Camps and rentals are being diverted to other locations.
We expect the next update from the city at 3:00 pm this afternoon.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. August 1, 2013. The city is reaching out to residents and visitors to Burlington, asking them to capture their special moments at the city’s many parks, recreation and cultural spots and then share them online as part of a community project called Burlington Moments.
The concept for Burlington Moments originated from the city’s Community Report, which featured a companion video of an up-close look at how people personally experience and enjoy the city’s parks, recreation and cultural assets. Since its launch in June, the video has garnered more than 1,200 hits on YouTube.
 Precious moment – captured forever – will we see pictures like this submitted? “We knew people liked the Burlington Moments video and that there were more great moments happening every day at pools, parks and cultural hubs across the city so we put out the call for people to share those ‘feel-good’ experiences with us and the rest of the community,” said Kim Phillips, the city’s general manager of community and corporate services. “Our hope is that when people watch the video they’ll be inspired to create and share their own special moments.”
 Do you think maybe Mom is a librarian? The city is encouraging people to post their favourite moments on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, using the #BurlONMoments hash tag for a chance to win one of three summer fun prize packs.
The prize pack includes: 4 swimming passes, 2 rounds of Golf at Tyandaga, golf shirt, cooler bag, 2 mugs, 2 water bottles, Tim Horton’s gift cards, 2 beach towels, sunscreen, sunglasses and sand castle toys. You don’t get all of this stuff – city hall will dole it out to the winners.
There are two deadlines to post your favourite moments online. The first round will close Aug. 13, the final round will close on Aug. 27.
The Region is inviting residents and visitors to share their favourite local summer activities in a new “Summer Wonderful” photo contest. Submit a photo with your favourite summer outdoor activity or location for a chance to win a $100 gift card from Burlington’s Mapleview Mall.
Halton Region’s contest will use popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to share submissions. All photos will be judged by Halton Tourism staff on the basis of originality and seasonality.
Other prizes include admission for two to Harvest Halton – The Farm to Chef Experience in Milton, a $50 gift card to Williams Mill Art Gallery in Halton Hills and a Family Day Pass to Conservation Halton Parks.
If you insist on being practical and want to use the summer to tidy up the place – then you can get out to On Saturday, August 10 and 17, Halton Region will host four Blue Box Pick-up events for residents. At these events, Halton’s new larger 22-gallon Blue Box will be available to residents for pick up, free of charge, with a limit of one Blue Box per household.
Regional chair Gary Carr announced that in the first few months of the expanded Blue Box program, Halton has distributed over 40,000 Blue Boxes to Halton residents and seen an increase of 13 per cent more Blue Box and GreenCart materials being collected, and a decrease of 6 per cent in the amount of garbage collected. This is a tremendous achievement, one that is helping to extend the life of Halton’s landfill site and provide savings of $15 million to taxpayers.”
 During the earlier distributions of the new larger Blue boxes the demand was big. If you want one of these new larger Blue Boxes get yourself over to one at the locations listed below. Halton residents only, proof of residency required.
 Here is what you can put in the Blue box now. Blue Box Pick-up Events
Saturday, AUGUST 10, 2013 (from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
· Robert C. Austin Operations Centre, 11620 Trafalgar Road, Georgetown
· Burlington Closed Landfill, 291 North Service Road, Burlington (west of King Road, east of Waterdown Road)
Saturday, AUGUST 17, 2013 (from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
· Halton Regional Centre, 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville
· Halton Waste Management Site, 5400 Regional Road 25, Milton
You can continue to use the older, smaller Blue boxes if that meets your needs.
 By Ray Rivers
BURLINGTON, ON. August 1st, 2013. The Council of the Federation, created in 2003, is a venue for the 13 provincial and territorial jurisdictions in Canada – to discus and resolve on federal-provincial and other inter-jurisdictional matters. Last week Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynn hosted the regular summer get-together at Niagara-on-the-Lake.
There were some modest accomplishments. The Premiers unanimously called on the federal government to conduct an inquiry into the mysteriously missing and/or dead aboriginal women (over 500), following up on a similar request from the National Aboriginal Organization. And for some reason, the premiers’ call was immediately rejected by the federal government.
Progress was made on energy issues, as all but two leaders signed onto an evolving national energy strategy led by Alberta’s Premier Alison Redford. Only B.C., concerned about the proposed Northern Gateway project and Quebec, in the process of suing Nfld over the Muskrat Falls power project stayed away from signing.
Overwhelming consensus came as the leaders jointly condemned the proposed ‘Canada Jobs Grant’. I have been critical of the federal government in the past, and it is because they keep doing things like this. Education and training is primarily provincial jurisdiction, so the fed’s role has traditionally been to top-up provincial programs, acknowledging that local needs are best met by provincial programs. Quebec, in particular, is very sensitive to the feds interfering. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/at-summit-canadas-premiers-take-on-a-crowded-agenda/article13412119/#dashboard/follows/.
Regardless, the feds talked with some private sector organizations and then created, what the provinces call, an unworkable ‘one-size-fits-all’ program. And talk about wasting our money, the federal government spent $95,000 per ad for all those ads you had to sit through during the playoffs this year, announcing a program that doesn’t exist, is still a concept and may never see the light of day. And, insult-to-injury, they hadn’t even bothered to consult with the provinces, who are expected to pay for a third of the program. Oh, and the reason for that is because they plan to slash their training contributions to the provinces.
The Council of the Federation’s first big success was in negotiating with Paul Martin to get the Canada Health Accord. Martin had earlier slashed federal payments to provinces, in order to slay the Mulroney-era deficits and the Council needed something more sustainable. And they got the 2004 Canada Health Accord, with guaranteed increases in federal funding until 2014.
That was then and this is now. In total contrast, last year, the ruling Conservatives tabled their plan for health care funding for the decade post 2014. There was no negotiation, just an offer, fait accomplis – take it or else… The Council of Canadians lobby on social issues, particularly health, and had arrived en-mass to rally the Council to press on for a better deal. But the feds weren’t open to discussion – the door was closed.
The premiers also discussed the Senate. There are so many inherent problems with the Senate but reform to a triple-E body, as the PM has asked the Supreme Court to consider, would not make it any better. Would an elected senator best represent the interests of his/her province – better than the provincial government? What if they were at odds? Is this a recipe for a constitutional crisis, pitting one level of government (fed senate) against a provincial government from which the senator was elected? There is already confusion over the sometimes competing roles of the Commons and appointed Senate – imagine if senators were also elected?
It was a missed opportunity for a provincial/territorial ask. Abolish the Senate, don’t reform it. And give due recognition to the Council of the Federation as a consultative body when developing public policy. What could be more vital to this nation’s future than inter-jurisdictional cooperation and what better body to do that than the Council? Imagine if they met more often. I mean even separatist Pauline Marois was happy to participate, discuss and resolve with her fellow Premiers.
How much government do we really need anyway, and does more government mean better government? If I put that question to Steven Harper, I think we’d all know his answer. So, why not do it – why not make government smaller? Put the $100 million we would save by abolishing the Senate into provincial health care programs instead.
The Council of the Federation exists. It offers vital political tension for the confederation. And it could be a useful political ally to a federal government that wants to represent all of Canada and wants to make Canada work better. Indeed the Council would be a better chamber for that ‘sober second thought’ than the dusty, corrupt, old Senate ever has been.
 Ray Rivers was born in Ontario; earned an economics degree at the University of Western Ontario. He taught in New Zealand and earned a Master’s degree in economics at the University of Ottawa. His 25 year stint with the federal government included time with Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Agriculture and the Post office. Rivers left the federal government to consult for private sector and government clients. He completed his first historical novel The End of September in 2012; a story about what might have happened had Quebecers voted for sovereignty association in the 1980 referendum. Rivers is active with ratepayers groups, a food bank, environmental organizations, community journalism and policing. He has run for municipal and provincial government offices and held executive positions with Liberal Party riding associations. He developed the current policy process for the Ontario Liberal Party
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. July 30, 2013. Regional Associate Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Monir Taha, reports another case of measles in a Halton adult. This brings the total number of measles cases in the cluster to six. This new case may have led to exposures in public, retail and health-care settings.
 Boy with measles – the signs are very clear. You will want to have mad sure a child looking like this does not go outdoors ad does not mix with other people. “To avoid spreading illness to others, we cannot stress enough the importance of staying home and not exposing other people when you are ill,” stated Dr. Monir Taha. “Measles is contagious from the beginning of the illness until four days after the rash first appears.”
The Health Department is also recommending that persons born 1970 or later who are unsure of their measles vaccination status discuss this with their doctors. Vaccination is the best way to prevent measles.
For those susceptible to measles, there was a risk of exposure at the following sites if you were at these locations during the times shown:
July 21: Trafalgar Presbyterian Church, 354 Upper Middle Road, Oakville, 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
July 21: Sunnyside Grill, 450 Appleby Line, Burlington, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
July 22: TD Canada Trust, 3471 Wycroft Road, Oakville, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
July 23: Home Depot, 3300 South Service Road, Oakville, 9 a.m. – 12 noon
July 24: Home Depot, 3300 South Service Road, Oakville, 9 a.m. – 12 noon
July 24: North Burlington Medical Centre Walk-in Clinic, 1960 Appleby Line, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
July 26: North Burlington Medical Centre Walk-in Clinic building, 1960 Appleby Line, Burlington, 12 noon – 5 p.m.
July 27: Tansley Woods Community Centre, 1996 Itabashi Way, Burlington, 9 a.m. –
July 28: Hopedale Presbyterian Church, 156 Third Line, Oakville, 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
July 28: Walmart, Appleby Line & Dundas Street, Burlington, 1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
 A severe case of measles. New measles cases are possible in non-immune people who have been exposed to this case as late as August 18.
Updated information on any new cases or new exposure sites can be found at.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. July 30, 2013. The federal government announced that it was going to gift the recently born Prince a gift that would include a number of books fit for a Prince from his Canadian citizens.
We asked bookseller Ian Elliott at the Different Drummer Book Store what he thought would make an excellent collection of children’s titles from Canada.
And we asked Maureen Barry, CEO of the Burlington Public Library if she would prepare a list. Barry turned to her children’s librarians and here is what they came up with. Interestingly, there was just one title Elliott and the librarians suggested: Red is Best. Other than that there was no duplication.
We were delighted to see The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier on that list. The gift will come from the people of Canada sent by the Prime Minister and The Governor General who are both avid hockey fans.
We are going to pass this list along to those two gentleman and see what they decide to put in the gift package.
 A future King of Canada, Prince George Alexander Louis gets a list of books he might want to read as he grows up. The Prince, George Alexander Louis, third in line to the British throne has made just the one public appearance but expect to see a lot more of that child. He will be King of Canada to many of those children who currently buy books at the Different Drummer and borrow books from the library.
 I Have the Right to Be a Child, Alain Serres, illust. Aurélia Fronty, Groundwood Books
Alligator Pie, Dennis Lee, Harper Collins
The Hockey Sweater, Roch Carrier, Tundra Books
Something from Nothing, Phoebe Gilman, Scholastic Books
ABC of Canada, Kim Bellefontaine, illust. Per-Henrik Gürth, Kids Can Press
Picture a Tree, Barbara Reid, Scholastic Books
 Imagine a Day, Sarah L. Thompson, illust. Rob Gonsalves, Simon & Schuster
I Want My Hat Back, Jon Klassen, Candlewick Press
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, Mem Fox, illust. Helen Oxenbury, Houghton Mifflin
On the Day You Were Born, Debra Frasier, Houghton Mifflin
I Like to Play, Marla Stewart Konrad, Tundra Books
 Red is Best, Kathy Stinson, illust. Robin Baird Lewis, Annick Press
The list that follows is a compilation of suggestions from Burlington Public Library librarians who have had the privilege of serving as children’s librarians at various points in their careers. They chose Canadian picture books because, as they said, “we have a rich treasure of wonderful Canadian stories and illustrations for children. These are all ‘tried and true’ at many a storytime! It was difficult to narrow down our choices because there are so many great options.”
Barbara Reid – Welcome, Baby (Barbara is both author and illustrator and her ‘illustrations’ are all crafted with plasticine! It’s true that little Prince George has caused smiles around the world. This book is about babies bringing happiness.)
Barbara Reid – Read me a book (This is a collection of several wonderful Canadian stories compiled by Barbara Reid. It is a way to give Prince George a taste of Canada before his first visit.)
Marthe Jocelyn – Same Same ( Exploring in very simple images how things that are different can be very much the same.)
Marthe Jocelyn – Where do you look? (A fun exploration of homonyms.)
Jan Thornhill – Wildlife ABC and 123 (It is pretty clear what this book is about)
 Michael Kusugak – My Arctic 1,2,3 (Learning numbers, counting and all about Arctic animals, this book is a gem.)
Edith Newlin Chase – The New Baby Calf (There may be a “no fly zone” over Bucklebury while Prince George is in town but we are certain there are baby calves in town. This is a lovely story of the first days of a baby calf.)
 Kathy Stinson – Red is Best (A perennial favourite story about a little girl and debates she has with her mother about the colour red. This books begs to be read again and again.)
Kathy Stinson – Big or Little (Little ones cannot wait to be big, but sometimes they realize being little is OK too.)
Robert Munsch – Mortimer (Prince William said that his son had a ‘great set of lungs’ and we think the very loud repeated chant of Mortimer who loves to make noise “ all day” will appeal in the Royal nursery).
 Phoebe Gilman – The Balloon Tree (The story is all about fantastical royalty with Princess Leora prepares to use balloons to signal her father the King if something goes wrong while he is out of the kingdom. Something does go wrong. There is a happy ending.)
 Prince George Alexander Louis with his Father the Duke of Cambridge; second and third in line for the British throne. How many parents who are avid readers and take their child to the library on a regular basis recognize these titles? Is this a good list of books to send to the future king of Canada.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. July 29, 2013. The Wade Group Professional Services, a Burlington-based accounting and consulting firm, will merge with MNP LLP, one of Canada’s largest national accounting and business consulting firms, effective September 1, 2013.
Wade, formed in 1968, will become part of the MNP group; a national firm with 75 offices across the country staffed by a team of nearly 3,000 people
The five Wade partners and their support staff will print up new business cards and have a new sign put up outside their office saying they are part of the MNP operation which has been named in the past as one of the BEST EMPLOYERS in the country.
In a prepared statement the Wade Group said they were “looking for an opportunity to offer more specialty services to its clients, while MNP sought more resources to serve the GTA and Halton-Hamilton region.” Wade delivers services in accounting, tax, and consulting to entrepreneurial business owners in a wide variety of sectors including self-employed professionals, high-tech, tourism, construction, manufacturing, logistics, hospitality, healthcare, and education.
William Sloper, Managing Partner, Wade Group said: “We had been looking for some time to add more resources and specialty services and felt the best way to do that was to join forces with MNP,” says Sloper, Managing Partner, Wade Group. “With deep expertise in providing professional services to private enterprise, public companies and wide array of organizations— locally, across the country, as well as through affiliates around the globe—MNP enhances Wade Group’s ability to ensure our clients can address all their business needs no matter where their business takes them.”
Operating since 1945, MNP has over 75 offices and a team of nearly 3,000 from Vancouver to Montreal. “We are delighted to have the professionals of Wade Group join MNP. Their commitment to providing outstanding value and service to their clients matched the MNP approach,” says Sean Wallace, Executive Vice President for Ontario and Quebec. “Their highly personalized service has been the hallmark of Wade Group for 45 years. In fact, it has been their philosophy that an informed client is better able to assist when determining the strategies and advice that will best meet the client’s needs. It’s a philosophy we share.”
Sloper adds that MNP has an organizational culture and values founded upon an unwavering commitment to people that is similar to Wade Group. “MNP is quite simply a fun and rewarding place to work and do business, where authentic relationships, an entrepreneurial spirit and a healthy balance between home and work life are at the core of how business is run. We are excited to grow together in our efforts to help our clients and staff achieve even greater success.”
It looks like a good fit – will it make any difference as to how the professional accounting and consulting services business market is shared in Burlington? Will MNP become a more aggressive firm seeking new clients now that it can offer a wider range of services or will they be the Hamilton/Burlington arm of MNP’s national operation?
Expect the other players in the game in the Burlington market to tighten their relationships with their existing client base; they will want to make sure none of them wander elsewhere.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. July 29, 2013. – In what will become a Burlington Bandits tradition, the Bandits will make their last home game of the regular season a night of fan appreciation. Before marching into the IBL playoffs, the team will thank the best fans in the IBL for their tremendous support during the 2013 campaign by giving away an array of prizes! Everybody will get something!
Fan Appreciation Night is on Thursday, Aug 1st when the Bandits take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:00 p.m. at Nelson Park.
 Pretty close to the bottom – but the playoffs might give the Bandits a chance to redeem themselves. Upon arrival inside Nelson Park, fans will receive a free Bandits gift and then the giving will go on all night long! Prize Patrols will disperse autographed Bandits memorabilia, hundreds of local retailer gift certificates, t-shirts, tickets to a variety of events and attractions and much more.
“The Bandits are very fortunate to have the kind of fan support we’ve experienced this season,” said Scott Robinson, Team President. “Not only has this been the best year in franchise history for attendance at our games, but the players recognize the impact the fans have on the success of the team. We look forward to having that fan support make an even greater impact in the playoffs.”
Playoff tickets will also be available for purchase at a discounted price during the game.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. July 29, 2013. One side blinked; guess which one?
The City of Burlington and the Burlington Executive Airport have reached a settlement to stop fill operations at the airpark until a decision is made about whether the city has jurisdiction to regulate fill operations through its site alteration bylaw.
According to a city media release, “representatives from the legal teams for the city and the airpark continued discussions over the weekend to try and resolve the dispute. They reached a settlement on behalf of both parties, and together will request that the court endorse the following directions on Friday, Aug. 2:
that the city’s motion for injunction and the air park’s motion to strike or stay the city’s claim be adjourned pending the outcome of the air park’s court application regarding jurisdiction
that a hearing date for the application from the court be set for a date as soon as possible after Sept. 2, 2013
that the airpark will not bring any fill onto its land other than gravel and pavement grindings for a runway base (not to be mixed with any other fill) and asphalt for paving to allow completion of the work being done to widen a runway and taxiways
that the airpark will permit city staff on site to ensure no fill operations are taking place during the runway and taxiway base preparation and paving work
that the city will not exercise any self-help remedies, such as a prosecution under the Provincial Offences Act, against the airpark during the term of the settlement agreement
that the terms of the agreement will continue to apply until the court makes a decision on the airpark application.
Scott Stewart, the city’s general manager of development and infrastructure, sees this as “a positive step forward in resolving the issue of fill on the Burlington Executive Airport site.” He added that: “The settlement will ensure that fill is stopped on an interim basis until the disputed matter of jurisdiction can be determined by the court.”
Up until this recent shift in attitude the Air Park has been one tough customer. Shortly after a citizen, Vanessa Warren, delegated at city council the Air Park announced that it would be operating until as late as 11:00 pm some evenings while it dumped asphalt scraped from the 407. They explained at the time that this work had to be done at night because that was the only time the trucks had access to the 407. That didn’t go down particularly well with the city and the Air Park backed off that idea.
There will still be some trucks entering and leaving the airpark to complete the paving of the runway and taxiway, Stewart said, but truck traffic associated with the deposit of fill will not return until the court matter has been decided.
In the meantime, residents along Appleby Line and Bell School line are asking the office of the Regional Medical Officer of Health to test the water in their wells.
Sheldon said: “My suspicions and worst fears of Mr. Rossi’s mammoth landfill dumping operation have been confirmed by the environmental firm hired by City. Their report indicates the fill that has been accepted by Mr. Rossi does indeed contain contaminants.
“Mr. Rossi intentionally piled this fill, in some places at least 30 feet higher than my land, on three sides of my property and in very close proximity to my property line. Because of the towering elevations he created, Mr. Rossi has recklessly destroyed the natural storm water drainage pattern. Over the years, I have accumulated a great deal of documented evidence, photos and videos, of filthy surface water flowing onto my land and into my pond. I also have documented requests to Mr. Rossi, dating back to 2009, that he restore the storm water drainage pattern or at the very least have it professionally engineered to stop the flooding and ponding on my property. He never did.”
 Trucks bring in landfill described as contaminated onto their site south of a residents property. The fill is some 25 yards away from a pond on the residents property. Air Park has committed to stopping the landfill operation while the Court’s work out the matter of jurisdiction. “This dumping has been going on for 5 years, so I have grave (appropriate term) concerns about my well, my pond and my land being contaminated – if not already, then soon. These need to be thoroughly tested immediately and ongoing until the contamination and/or the threat of contamination has been permanently eradicated. For that matter, all of the landowners in this community need theirs tested as well. What about those here who farm commercially? Has Mr. Rossi contaminated their crops and endangered their livestock as well? And what about the treasured wildlife in this rural area – what happens to them when their water sources are poisoned? Not only have lives and livelihoods already been destroyed, but the significant natural elements of our rural green belt region have been jeopardized by this thoughtless, greedy man. I delegated to City Council a month ago that he is getting away with murder. Truer words I’ve never spoken.”
Sheldon advises her neighbours to call the Medical Officer of Health at the Region and demand to have the water in their wells tested to see just how contaminated it is.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. July 29, 2013. Why is he doing it? Does he need the money? He certainly doesn’t need the aggravation but none of that seems to be getting in the way of Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison from seeking a severance of his property on Lakeshore Road.
There are few of his neighbours on his side on this one. Many feel that Dennison can’t fairly represent the people in the community and at the same time seek a change in the size of his property that most feel will change the way Lakeshore Road grows.
 Bought by Ward 6 Councillor Jack Dennison under a Power of Sale in 2009 Dennison now wants to sever a portion of the property on the east side and construct a second house which he has said would be sold. Lakeshore is a premium location in the city. Large homes grace the road and properties are well maintained. Many feel that the attempt to severe a part of the property into a new lot will be the beginning of a process that will see others attempt to create smaller lots that will have smaller homes and that is not the way Rosedale sees Lakeshore Road.
 Chair of the Committee of Adjustment, Michael Ramsay put in a full day the evening his committee heard the Dennison application for a minor severance, which was denied. Chair Ramsay, on the left along with The vote went 3-2 against Dennison with Chair Malcolm Ramsay, members Grant Newbury and Robert Bailey voting against and members Dave Kumar and Sam Sarraf voting for. The Committee of Adjustment (CoA) didn’t see it that way and they turned down the application for what Dennison was calling a Minor Adjustment. Any Committee of Adjustment decision can be appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board which Dennison has done. That appeal will be heard at the end of August.
Residents of Roseland formed the Roseland Community Association to oppose a severance on Hart Avenue and won that case. “The request for a minor variances at 216 Hart Avenue was dismissed and the variances are not authorized.”
They feel confident that their argument against Dennison’s severance is even stronger and while the community doesn’t like taking their case to a tribunal they are quite prepared to do so on this occasion.
But the question lingers: why is Dennison doing it? Does he need the money? Jack Dennison has had financial problems in the past. The 2008 recession hit his business at the Cedar Springs Health and Racquet Club hard and for a period of time Dennison chose not to pay his municipal taxes. His was not the only business in Burlington that suffered financially. It was a tough decision to make – sitting as a member of council and not paying taxes, but one can do that. It was a business decision made during a time when business was terrible.
Dennison must have come close to having to shut the club down. He didn’t and today the business is understood to be healthy.
Still – why raise the ire of all your neighbours? Why put up with being black balled by the community association? No one wants to talk to Dennison at community events; city hall staff feel awkward dealing with him and are never sure if they are dealing with a citizen who wants to exercise a right that every citizen has or if they are dealing with a member of Council who expects favoured treatment.
Are there financial problems?
Sept 4, 2009 Dennison personally buys 3083 Lakeshore Road from FenFam Holdings Inc under power of sale for $757,000
On the same day he puts a $306,079 mortgage on the property from CIBC. The CIBC mortgage is Prime – 0.25%, and expires Sept 30, 2014
On May 17th, 2010 Dennison puts a second mortgage on the 3083 Lakeshore property for $460,235. This second mortgage is provided by TD Bank. The rate on this second mortgage is Prime + 5%, payable on demand.
On the same date Dennison puts a third mortgage on the 3083 Lakeshore property in the amount of $65,488 provided by Lillian and Loui Vukanovich. The Vukanovich loan had a rate of 9% and was due Feb 29, 2012; the charge is still on title.
All this information is part of the public record.
Total debt on the property is now $831,802, nearly $75,000 more than Dennison paid for the property. Neighbours report that virtually no work was done on the property.
In 2013 some work is done on the property. It is also the time frame within which Dennison seeks the severance from the Committee of Adjustment.
The real estate community estimates the property that Dennison wants severed would be worth about $700,000.
Many in the Roseland community want to understand what it is that is motivating their Council member to make financial decisions that raise the ire of the community and threaten to result in significant change to the make-up of the properties along Lakeshore Road.
They reflect on the difficulties Dennison had with his fitness enterprises and note that in June of 2007 Cedar Springs Tennis Limited borrowed $5,050,000 from the Hamilton Teacher’s Credit Union. The prime rate at the time was 6% but the rate shown on public documents for this loan was a demand loan at prime plus 10% guaranteed by Dennison and Castle rent-a-Car, Dennison’s private holding company.
On October 27, 2010 Dennison loans Cedar Springs $2,000,000 as a demand loan with a 5% interest rate. This loan is secured against the property.
 Dennison decides to personally sell a red convertible. No offering price was shown. Sometime in July Dennison parks his red convertible in his driveway with a For Sale sign inside the wind shield.
The community is concerned.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. July 28, 2013. Comments are an integral part of a newspaper on a website. The ability for anyone to write their opinion right alongside a news item they like or dislike and have that comment stay with the story is a tool that makes public discourse that much more robust.
However, there are some rules. You do not HAVE to tell the public who you are. You can use a “pen” name” but why you would not have the courage of your convictions and be prepared to tell people who you are is beyond me.
 Passionate it was – it was also honest and open dialogue about a major city issue. When a comment comes to us we have to approve each and every one. We test the email address the comment was sent to us from; a significant number fail. People make up an email address and send their message knowing that we can never get back to them.
We do capture their IP (Internet Protocol) address and in the hands of an authority the sender of the message can be traced.
At the Gazette we want to see honest, committed, passionate dialogue between people whose views may differ. We want to see new ideas and viewpoints that would not get expression in traditional media.
We have no problem with a tight, tart comment – call them “zingers” if you wish; they add colour to the public debate. We do however have a responsibility to ensure that the dialogue is fair and honest.
We test the email address a comment comes from; if the address proves to be invalid the comment does not get posted.
On occasion we have posted a comment from an email address that was not valid and added an editorial note advising that we could not verify the sender but felt the comment was worth making part of the public discourse.
 Citizens gather for budget discussions. This meeting involved a number of city firemen who were attentively listened to by Councillor Craven, on the right in the blue shirt. We have had comments from members of the clergy, the legal profession and senior staff members at various levels of government, who, because of the jobs are not authorized to comment. We will publish their comments if we feel they are a legitimate part of the debate.
We have regular contributors to the comments section, many who make very legitimate comment and several who are very good at catching our mistakes – all are valued and welcome.
Those who want to make a comment they know not to be true; those who want to disrupt and deliberately hurt a private citizen – they are not welcome.
Those who want to be able to hold civil servants and elected officials to account – let us hear from you frequently.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. July 26, 2013. She was paid fifty cents an hour to baby sit and didn’t like wearing the crinoline she had because it scratched her legs.
She was just a beat or two behind the drum when it came to fashion and wore stitched moccasins when others were wearing saddle shoes.
 She went to Pineland elementary school and is looking forward to being one of the MC’s at the This Magic Moment event that will be held at Nelson Park September 14th.
 Will Connie Smith go with her Vavavavoom look at the Magic Moment event or will go the pony tail look and still wow the crowd? We are of course talking about Connie Smith, that 39-year-old woman with the smile that lights up a room. When she takes to the stage at the This Magic Moment event she expects to wear the pony tail she still has. As for the rest of her costume – she is deciding on either the Olivia Newton John (1) look or the Olivia Newton John (2) look – but being a woman she automatically gets the right to change her mind at the very last-minute.
 Now a “39-year-old” seasoned broadcaster Connie Smith learned her trade at Mohawk and has been taking the “good news” to Burlington ever since. She will MC the This Magic Moment event at Nelson Park September 14th. Connie got her first transistor radio while at elementary school and thought she was the coolest kid on the street; she remembers watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. The crowd that the organizers of the event expect to draw will know exactly what Connie was talking about
The This Magic Moment event is all about those days and those memories – which may not mean a thing to you if you don’t recall the Ed Sullivan Show but Wayne Brown, chair of the event being held to raise funds for an endowment that will support police officers should they die or be injured while on duty, will tell you that there are thousands of people in Burlington who want to spend an evening at Nelson Park listening to the music of the Beach Boys, The Drifters and the Jersey Boys.
The Drifters will be on the stage in person – charming the audience with their signature tune as well as many other pieces of music that you will want to walk out to the dancefloor the minute you hear the first couple of beats and show the kids that you can still strut your stuff.
 The Drifters – live at Nelson Park on September 14th and up close and personal at the Waterfront Hotel on the 13th for an exclusive audience. Getting the Drifters to take part in this event is another story we will tell you about later. What you will want to know is – well the Drifters were a vital part of that 50’s and 60’s era and they don’t like to rush around. So they decided to arrive in Burlington a day early and Wayne Brown knew right away that he had another element to his program. Why not have the Drifters do an exclusive, limited engagement Soiree at the Waterfront Hotel the day before? Great idea and so if you want you can get a tickets for both events.
Wayne Brown pulled together one of the most impressive committees this city has seen and called in every favour he could; that’s what got him into a coffee shop with Connie Smith where he asked her to MC the event – she agreed and then Wayne called her back and asked if she would handle publicity as well.
I am told that the “Always Good News” girl has a dance card – and I think my name is on it.
September the 14th – expect it to be a great event. Tickets are available on-line .
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. July 26, 2013 Very early in July, the St. Raphaels Church located on New Street was vandalized by two suspects. Damage to the church included anti-religion and profane writings on both the doors and windows.
On Thursday, Halton Regional Police Service, 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau arrested Patrick GRAY, a 21-year-old male from Burlington for one count of mischief under $5000. GRAY was released on a Promise to Appear and Undertaking with Conditions and is scheduled to appear in Milton court in August 2013.
 Use of Social Media helped police find and arrest a vandal. The wider community was able to assist the police using social media and Twitter accounts to help the police make their arrest. Graffiti is a community issue and it is partnership between the Police and the community that will help us address this issue.
Anyone with information related to this investigation or other acts of vandalism is encouraged to contact the Three District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext 2316, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting ‘Tip201’ with your message to 274637(crimes).
 By Ray Rivers
BURLINGTON, ON. July 15, 2013. It was a perfect storm. No, I’m not talking about the spectacular rain events that knocked out the great cities of Calgary and Toronto. I am talking about what hit the poor people of the small Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic. We can’t blame global climate change for this disaster – the responsibility lies a lot closer to home.
Rail World Inc. is one of those ‘take-over’ holding companies run by a modern-day tycoon, CEO Edward Burkhard. This rail road entrepreneur also specializes in buying up and privatizing public railroads from ideologically driven governments; running them into the ground, then selling back again for a profit. I’ve personally ridden on the rail systems where Burkhardt’s hands were busy, ruining rail transport in the UK and New Zealand. The formula is simple – sell snake oil, cut the bottom line, and keep cutting until the system is so bad that public outcry forces the governments to buy the rails back.
 Federal regulation let this accident happen. So one of his companies, in this case the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic, used the cheapest rail cars – single hulled and easily punctured – for flammable light crude (Bakken oil). The locomotives, hauling the cars, were so poorly maintained they regularly had engine fires, including on the night of this tragedy Then, the company figured it could save a few more dollars by reducing its operators to one. There would be no backup operator to take over the controls as the train ran from North Dakota to New Brunswick.
So there was nobody at the controls when/if the engineer went to the can, made a bite of lunch, caught a nap, or maybe had a personal incident, like a heart attack? And how could one person have properly set the handbrakes for an overnight stop when the procedure normally required two operators? In the evening the engineer had to leave the train for a good night’s sleep, unlocked, unattended and with the engine running so the air brakes would hold the train.
Lac-Mégantic, with less than six thousand residents, is a part of the glue that brought Canada together into Confederation – ‘a mari usque ad mare’. The town was built as a key juncture linking the Atlantic provinces and the rest of the country by steel rail. So it was such sad irony that the Canadian government was complicit, negligent and ultimately responsible for nearly destroying Lac-Mégantic so many years later. An environmental disaster, a burned-out downtown and as many as 50 people dead. How long will it be before separatist-minded Quebecers demand the federal government relinquish jurisdiction over rail safety to the Province?
One of the most basic roles of government is to ensure public safety. It does this through regulation. Yet the tanker cars, called DOT111, have long been determined unsuitable for hazardous liquids – and what is flammable oil if not hazardous. The risk of an accident has risen sharply since far more oil than ever is being shipped by rail. Unsafe tank cars and lots more of them…. duh? Finally, the federal regulator, in an unusual and thoughtless move, provided approval and authority for the company to run the train with only a single operator and no back-up personnel.
This was the worst rail accident in Canadian history and the worst disaster Quebec has ever seen. It was a perfect storm, an accident waiting to happen, and yet also perfectly avoidable. But isn’t that what happens when a federal government has taken its eyes off the ball – when it is more concerned about just moving cheap oil than about public safety?
Editors note: Since penning this piece the following has taken place:
Transportation safety officials have told Ottawa to rewrite train safety rules in the wake of the tragedy at Lac-Mégantic, Que., suggesting that Canada’s current regulations are too vague and open to interpretation by railway workers that can lead to disaster.
In a pair of letters sent to Transport Canada, the federal body that oversees the rail industry, the Transportation Safety Board said more detailed rules must be created to govern the number of brakes that must be set when parking freight trains, and whether those trains can be left unattended when carrying dangerous cargo.
 Ray Rivers was born and raised in Ontario and earned a degree in economics at the University of Ontario. He taught at a university in New Zealand for a period of time and then earned a Master’s degree in economics at the University of Ottawa. His 25 year stint with the federal government included time with Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Agriculture and the Post office. After leaving the federal government he consulted for private sector and government clients. Rivers completed his first historical novel The End of September in 2012. This story about what might have happened had Quebecers voted for sovereignty association in that first referendum in 1980 is set in Ottawa and Montreal.
He has been active in his community including ratepayers groups, a food bank, environmental organizations, community journalism, policing and community associations and service clubs, churches, boy scouts, and community theatre. He has been active politically, running for municipal and provincial government offices as well as heading executive positions with the Liberal Party and riding associations. He developed the current policy process for the Ontario Liberal Party.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. – July 25, 2013. The Halton Regional Police would like to caution the public that scammers are using the names of the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) in a computer scam.
Individuals report a frozen computer, or they have been locked-out of their computers, after receiving pop-up messages warning that the computer has been associated with pornography.
These warning messages claim to be from one of these agencies, and tell the recipient to pay a “fine” so the computer can be “unlocked.” The message also claims that if the “fine” is not paid within 72 hours, criminal proceedings will commence against the user.
“These types of messages, commonly known as “scareware”, are designed to create such shock and anxiety that victims respond by sending money quickly,” states the RCMP in a news release.
The public is advised that if you receive one of these messages please be aware that it is a scam and has not been issued by the CACP, CSIS or the RCMP.
Do not pay the $100.00 “fine”. Being “locked out” of your computer is an indication that your system may have been infected with malware and you will need to take steps to address that problem.
The police pass along some tips to help keep your computer protected:
• Never click on a pop-up that claims your computer has a virus;
• Update your anti-virus software often and scan your computer for viruses regularly;
• Do not click on links or attachments in e-mails sent to you by someone you don’t know;
• Turn on your browser’s pop-up blocking feature;
• Never download anti-virus software from a pop-up link sent to you in an e-mail.
If you have received a “scareware” message please report it to your local police office and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501).
One might ask why someone would be worried about being told there was pornography on their computer if they never visited one of those websites. Of course, if a person has visited such a site – perhaps there is reason to be afraid.
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