By Staff

December 30th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The good folks at Recreation, Community and Culture have come up with a way to attract the grade 5 kids into the gyms, swimming pools and ice rinks.

The message is clear: Get active with our Active5 Pass!

The City of Burlington’s Active5 Pass gives Grade 5 students free access to drop-in recreation activities including:

• Open gym time
• Skating
• Recreational Swimming.

Click HERE to learn more and to Register

 

By Pepper Parr

December 29th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

 

What is it with a city government that seems incapable of telling taxpayers how big the increase in taxes this year was over the previous year ?

Set out below is a timeline on statements released by city hall sent to us by a Gazette reader.

“The number the city uses, 4.97%, was correct on October 25th, 2025, but became incorrect as soon as the police budget was released on October 31st, 2024. Why did CAO Basit and Mayor Meed Ward continue to use 4.97% as the overall increase on November 4th and November 7th”?

The number they use is an average of the taxes that are paid to school boards, and the Regional government – which includes the Police Services Budget.

What the people paying taxes need and want to know is – how much did the CITY taxes increase this year.  In Burlington, that was 7.8%

October 25^th, 2024 – Burlington releases the 2025 budget

“The projected overall tax increase for 2025 is now 4.97 percent”.

Burlington’s portion of our tax bill is increasing by 7.5%.

October 30^th, 2024 – Halton Police Services Budget is released

Burlington calculated the “overall” increase of 4.97% using a police increase of 5.65%.

The police budget, which Burlington’s council does not control, calls for an 11.84% increase.

The projected overall tax increase for 2025 is now 5.76%.

November 4^th, 2024 – Mr. Basit introduces the budget to council

Mr. Basit, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) states “Projected property tax increase is 4.97%”.

November 7^th, 2024 – Mayor Meed Ward’s virtual town hall

Mayor Meed Ward states “That total increase is 4.97%. Of that, the city portion is 3.79%.

November 25^th, 2024 – Eric Stern delegates to our council

“It was interesting to watch Mr. Basit present a 4.97% on November 4th when the Halton Police budget had been made public on October 30th. Did Mr. Basit knowingly misrepresent the truth?”

December 10^th, 2024 – Mayor Meed Ward speaks to this issue

No apology and no explanation to taxpayers.

Does a higher standard of engagement start with clear and accurate information from city hall?

By Staff

December 29^th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

 

It’s called the Community Improvement Program.

It offers substantial support and is wide open to ideas. Talk to the Planning department—the link is at the bottom of this article.

The program isn’t in place yet, but we expect to see it operational in Q2 2025.

What is a Community Improvement Plan (CIP)?

• Enabled through Section 28 of the Planning Act
• A Planning Act tool that can be used to make development more feasible or attractive for property owners, through financial and non-financial incentives

 Community improvement plan means a plan for the community improvement of a community improvement project area.

Community improvement means the planning or replanning, design or redesign, resubdivision, clearance, development or redevelopment, construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation, improvement of energy efficiency, or any of them, of a community improvement project area, and the provision of such residential, commercial, industrial, public, recreational, institutional, religious, charitable or other uses, buildings, structures, works, improvements or facilities, or spaces therefor, as may be appropriate or necessary.

Community improvement project area means a municipality or an area within a municipality, the community improvement of which, in the opinion of  council is desirable because of age, dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement, unsuitability of buildings or for any other environmental, social or community economic development reason.

Community Improvement Tools

• Make grants or loans to owners and tenants of land and buildings within the community improvement project area to pay for the whole or any part of ‘eligible costs’ related to community improvement

 Eligible Costs

• The total of the grants and loans that is provided in respect of the lands and buildings shall not exceed the eligible cost of the community improvement
• Includes costs related to environmental site assessment/remediation, development, redevelopment, construction and reconstruction of lands and buildings for rehabilitation purposes or for the provision of energy efficiency.
• Provide additional flexibility in offering financial incentives and can be stacked with other

Planning Act (Section 69(2) Fees)

Municipalities are permitted to reduce the amount of, or waive entirely, the requirement for the payment of a fee in respect of a planning or building application.

Development Charges Act (Section 5)

Allows a Municipality (through its development charge by-law) to provide for full or partial development charge exemptions for certain types of development.

Municipal Act

• Section 365.1 enables Municipalities to implement the Brownfields Financial Tax Incentive Program, intended to bring brownfields back into productive use. Municipalities may pass by-laws providing for the cancellation of all or a portion of the taxes for municipal purposes levied on eligible properties for which a phase two environmental site assessment has been conducted. CIP required
• Municipal Capital Facility Agreement (MCFA): allows municipalities to completely exempt development charges and property taxes. Affordable housing is an explicit permitted use under MCFA tools.
• Housing Strategy and Housing Accelerator Fund Action Plan Direction

• Need a minimum of 200 new rental units per year in Burlington to meet demand (2021 Housing Needs and Opportunities Study)

•           Increase housing options – affordable, rental, Missing Middle

Burlington Housing CIP Purpose

• Incentivize new rental housing and affordable housing options in a permanent building form:
  • New units: Additional Residential Units (ARUs), plexes (du/tri/fourplex), row houses, courtyard housing
  • Low-rise apartments (4-storeys and less)
  • Mid-rise apartments (5 – 11 storeys)
  • High-rise/Tall Building apartments (12+ storeys)
  • Larger rental units (i.e. 3-bedrooms)
  • Supportive housing, Accessible units
• Short term HAF Targets (2025/26)

–      Support HAF $8.25M allocation for ARUs; $2.5M for other rental and affordable units; $1M missing middle

• Long term Housing Strategy Implementation (2027+) – through the CIP, with CIP budget request
• Incentives for rental and affordable permanent units to bridge the gap

• Develop incentives that provide the best value and outcomes
• Develop a range of incentives with longevity
• Identify opportunities to stack programs/incentives – within the CIP and with other programs of City & other levels of government (e.g. Better Homes Burlington home upgrade interest free loan; Halton Region, CMHC Affordable Housing Fund)
• Address City priorities and Meet HAF targets, e.g. 3-BRs in MTSAs; energy efficiency/green infrastructure; missing middle & affordable housing

Incentive Types

Capital Grants: support new construction, rehabilitation, and conversion of spaces for affordable housing. Direct funding lowers the financial burden on property owners, making it more feasible to create affordable units.

Non-Reserve Fund Incentives: includes tax increment grants, fee waivers, and deferral programs –

reduce upfront costs for property owners.

• Tax increment grants retain a portion of the increased property tax revenue generated by the new development, which can be reinvested into the project.
• Fee waivers eliminate or reduce fees associated with building permits/ other municipal

Forgivable Loans: support homeownership and rental unit creation, with conditions tied to affordability and project completion. If specific criteria met, such as maintaining the units as affordable for a set period, the loan may be forgiven, effectively turning it into a grant. This approach encourages property owner commitment to long-term affordability.

 Non-Financial Incentives: range of incentives, including: the strategic use of surplus municipal land for affordable housing projects by providing access to land at reduced costs or even at no cost, thereby removing one of the most significant barriers to affordable housing—land acquisition costs.

Reserve Funds: specific funds maintained by the municipality to assist with affordable housing projects beyond typical funding mechanisms. By having dedicated funds set aside, municipalities can respond more flexibly and quickly to emerging housing needs.

Potential CIP Financial Programs

 Base Incentives

 Additional Residential Unit (ARU) Incentive (forgivable loan):

• • Requirement for affordable ARU units during the HAF timeframe, January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2026.
  • purchase and/or fund related construction costs for a new, legal permitted
    • detached ARU
    • garage conversion (detached or attached) to residential
    • ARU within existing residential unit (i.e. basement, main floor, attic).
  • renovate an existing noncompliant ARU
  • assistance with professional drawings (i.e. architect, engineering)
• Missing Middle Tax Increment Equivalent Grant (TIEG):
  • Annual grant over a long-term period to offset tax increases for new rental multi-unit developments that are 4 storeys or less including duplexes, fourplexes, courtyard housing, and low-rise apartments. Excludes single-detached homes and ARUs.

Potential CIP Financial Programs

 Base Incentives

 Mid/High-Rise Tax Increment Equivalent Grant (TIEG):

Annual grant over a long-term period to offset tax increases for new rental mid-rise/high-rise multi-unit residential developments. It would be for rental buildings that are:

• 5+ storeys
• Proposed in a strategic location:
  • City’s ‘Mixed Use Nodes’ such as neighbourhood commercial plazas;
  • Intensification Corridors like Fairview Street and Plains Road East; or
  • Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs): Appleby GO, Aldershot GO and Burlington GO MTSAs.

Potential Non-Financial Incentives

• Housing and Surplus Lands Policy: To acquire, sell, lease, or offer municipal properties at or below fair market value to support City Housing policies, plans, and strategies. By leveraging surplus lands, this will enhance financial incentive programs within the CIP.
• Housing and Capital Projects Policy: To require all major municipal capital projects be reviewed and assessed to consider the inclusion of new
• Draft CIP for Review: January 2025
• Report to Council, Statutory Public Meeting: February 2025

Email housingstrategy@burlington.ca with questions and speak with staff

 

 

 

 

 

By Staff

December 28th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

Conservation Halton advises that Environment Canada and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s (MNRF) Surface Water Monitoring Centre (SWMC) are forecasting up to 25mm of rain on Sunday. Daytime high temperatures near 10°C today and tomorrow will melt much of the remaining snowpack. In addition to the forecasted rainfall and melting snow, any remaining frozen ground will increase runoff and contribute to elevated water levels in rivers and streams within our jurisdiction.

Widespread flooding is not anticipated, however, fast flowing water and flooding of low-lying areas, natural floodplains, and areas with poor drainage may be expected, along with localized ice break-up.

Conservation Halton is asking all residents and children to keep a safe distance from all watercourses and structures such as bridges, culverts, and dams. Any ice-covered bodies of water are considered unsafe. Elevated water levels, fast flowing water, and cold water temperatures, combined with slippery conditions along stream banks continue to make these locations extremely dangerous. Please alert children in your care of these imminent dangers. 

Conservation Halton will continue to monitor stream and weather conditions and will issue an update to this Watershed Conditions Statement – Flood Outlook message as conditions warrant.

This Watershed Conditions Statement – Flood Outlook will be in effect through Tuesday December 31, 2024.

For further information or questions regarding this message contact:Kyle Slade,
Flood Duty Officer, Engineering, T: 905-336-1158 ext. 2234

The Burlington Gazette wishes the people of the city the very best during what is both a festive season and an occasion to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Imagine where we would be without him.

By Natalie Mehra

December 24th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

 

As I sit down to write a holiday message to you that I hope has some meaning, I am thinking about a couple of ground shaking events that have happened in the last few weeks, one in the U.S. and one here.

In the United States, Luigi Mangione has been charged with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson. The assassination-style killing has provoked an outpouring from the American public. MEMEs (internet graphics) and videos abound. All over the internet are new folk songs written about Luigi. People have taken to inserting Luigi into photos at their work, school, or home, to provide him with an alibi. Photos have been altered to look like stills from Mission Impossible: there’s Luigi, alert, svelte, young, almost impossibly tidy in his orange jumpsuit, highlit against a phalanx of police escorting him out of a helicopter overlaid with a soundtrack of pumping hip-hop.

Luigi has become a cultural hero.

It is no wonder. Forbes reported that UnitedHealthcare denies more claims than other health insurance companies in the U.S. —  rejecting up to one-third of claims the magazine says. Similar reports have gone viral. (The company denies them.) Thompson — the CEO who was killed — made of $10.2 million annually, including salary, bonus and stock  options. UnitedHealthcare, part of the giant conglomerate UnitedHealth Group, reported more than $16 billion in operating profits last year. That’s $16,000,000,000 in profits. Making millions (or billions) from denying health care to people has them angry. Beyond angry. This week’s events have tapped a vein of seething fury in America, uniting people across political lines in a country that is deeply divided.

In the United States, medical costs are the number one reason for bankruptcy. Fifty-six million people struggle with medical debt each year. That’s more than the entire population of Canada. Ninety percent of them took out a second mortgage on their home to pay their medical bills. Eleven million people last year ran up high interest debt on their credit cards to pay medical bills. The cost of (usurious) interest on those cards will leave them in a cycle of debt for years, if not for life.

Last week the public outcry resulted in Anthem Blue Shield reverse a decision to limit coverage for anesthesia during surgeries and other procedures. Their plan was to cease insurance coverage after a recommended duration of time for that type of surgery. Connecticut’s Democratic Senator Chris Murphy expressed the outrage of his constituents: “Saddling patients with thousands of dollars in surprise additional medical debt. And for what? Just to boost corporate profits?….Reverse this decision immediately.”

Here in Canada, we watched the explosive resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland after a dispute with the Prime Minister’s Office. Reportedly, Freeland and the PMO disagreed over what she described as the HST tax holiday gimmick in the face of an economic statement that reported a $61.9 billion deficit. Leaked to the Globe and Mail was another claim that the Prime Minister’s people were of the opinion that Freeland was unable to articulate the government’s economic plans effectively. Whether it is the fault of the Finance Minister, the Prime Minister ( and/or the media, the opposition parties, the silent social movements in Canada…) it is definitely worrisome to me that Canadians do not have a clear picture of the economic choices ahead of us.

The government reports about $20 billion of that deficit is one-time spending for Indigenous land and other claims currently in court and special COVID payments. After these, the deficit will be in the $40 billion range. I note this in particular because a few years ago I was writing a report and I remember looking back at the Harper years in government, and trying to calculate the total of his corporate and income tax cuts. Bottom line? Harper’s tax cuts took $41 billion per year out of federal revenues as of 2015. That is per year, each year then and since. It is even more per year in today’s dollars.

Lest you think that you benefited from those tax cuts, let’s take a closer look at the actual evidence.

Corporate tax cuts are usually justified as attracting business investment and funding productivity gains, but in fact these tax cuts have resulted in more than $700 billion in corporate “dead money” not going to anything that benefits the public. In fact, Harper’s record was the worst since prior to World War II on key economic indicators including job creation and corporate investment.

Furthermore, income tax cuts virtually always benefit the highest income earners. Remember, income taxes are indexed. That means, the highest income earners pay the most and the rate of tax goes down as the level of income is less. Income taxes redistribute money from the highest income to the middle class and poorest. Under analysis, almost 80 percent of the Harper government income tax cuts went to the highest 15 percent of income earners.

Years ago, economists Richard Shillington and Hugh Mackenzie calculated the value of public services to the median (dead in the middle) income household. They found the value to that household to be $41,000 (in 2009). In today’s dollars that would be more than $60,000 per year for each household. Their point? Funding public services is a net gain to most of us, not a take away.

You may be wondering what this has to do with health care. The answer is taxes have everything to do with health care. Canada created our public health insurance for all in the 1960s because people couldn’t afford health care on their own. As Justice Emmett Hall famously said:

“As a society, [we] are aware that the trauma of illness, the pain of surgery, the slow decline to death, are burdens enough for the human being to bear without the added burden of medical or hospital bills penalizing the patient at the moment of vulnerability. The Canadian people determined that they should band together to pay medical bills and hospital bills when they were well and income earning. Health services [are] a fundamental need, like education, which Canadians could meet collectively and pay for through taxes.”  Justice Emmett Hall, was the Chair of the Royal Commission on Medical Services that resulted in the 1968 passage of the Medical Care Act.

The Canada Health Act, passed in 1984, banned extra user fees on patients for medically needed hospital and physician services. We do not have millions of people going bankrupt to pay medical bills because we have public health insurance – paid by taxes. We do not have profiteering insurance companies denying claims to make billions in profit from the sick and the dying.

At the Ontario Health Coalition we are not partisan. We don’t tell people how to vote and we don’t favour one political party over another.That does not mean that we shy away from telling people the truth about the various parties’ positions and records on health care and we will fight any party or government that threatens our health care.

The truth is this. The federal government floated the entire country in the pandemic. They brought in three new social programs: child care, the beginning baby steps of pharmacare and dental care for seniors.

Every new social program is an income transfer — from the highest income earners whose incomes have skyrocketed over the last generation — to everyone else. They mitigate the income inequality dished out by the private marketplace and support people to live to their human potential. Public health care means that we live without the risk of financial ruin if we have an accident or fall ill.

 

When politicians like Pierre Poilievre say they are going to reverse those social programs, like the new dental care program for seniors, in whose interests are they acting? (Remember, Mr. Poilievre was in Stephen Harper’s cabinet — a key decision maker in that government.)

Again, this is not partisan and it absolutely is not an endorsement of any political party. I am writing this because I’m worried about what is missing in the debate about the deficit. Costs are already crushing for most of us. Building & expanding our public services are a key way to reduce costs for people. Cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy (which most tax cuts over the last generation have done) increase inequality and costs for most of us. The toxic combination of budget constraints while privateers have moved in and are taking money out of our healthcare system that has been devastating. It has to stop.

In the debate about our choices going forward over the upcoming months in Canada, let us please remember that.

Let us also remember that what we do changes public policy. As we end this year, let’s celebrate the incredible job that we do as a Health Coalition, founded to safeguard our public medicare for all. We have shifted public opinion in our province in a way that is unmatched in Canada. Polls show that the opposition to privatization and support for public health care is far higher in Ontario than anywhere else in the country.

That is our work. The slight wins we have had in long-term care — some fines for terrible operators, reinstatement of inspections — have been are due to our relentless efforts together. We still have public hospitals despite Doug Ford’s attempts to privatize them, and the growth in private clinics has not been as robust as his budget plans indicate. That too is our work. We have  been featured in literally hundreds of media stories this year, effectively setting the key issues and holding the Ford government’s feet to the fire.

Much more is needed and we have much more planned, but as we head into the winter break, I just wanted you to know that we — together — are exceptional. The work we do is vitally important. Thank you to the local coalitions across the province, who are our backbone. You have my heart. You are the best of people and I love working with you. Thank you to the Ontario Health Coalition Board of Directors, a dedicated group of thoughtful people whose commitment to the cause deserves our deepest gratitude. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to the tens of thousands of volunteers out there who have leafletted, come to protests, organized events, helped to research, put out social media posts, written letters, attended meetings and every other thing you do to make our movement one of the most effective and unique in Canada. Thank you to those of you who have donated to help in our common cause. We could not do it without you.

I hope you are proud of our work. It is the privilege of my life to dedicate myself to the principles of equity and compassion that are foundational to our public health care for all. As we head into this season of light, let us keep the light of those beautiful principles burning for all.

Natalie Mehra is the Executive Director of the Ontario Hospital Coalition

By Pepper Parr

December 23^rd, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

 

After a week that will become an interesting part of Canadian political history, Justin Trudeau prepares for Christmas in Ottawa and then a skiing trip in British Columbia.

Meanwhile members of the House of Commons continue to demand that he quit now – yesterday would have been even better.

After a tumultuous week that saw Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resign and renewed caucus unrest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has no plans to step down over the holidays, according to the Globe and Mail.

Trudeau will continue to reflect on his future while spending time with his family on a ski vacation.

Over the weekend, a large portion of the Liberal Party’s Ontario caucus privately called for Trudeau to resign, while subsequent meetings between MPs are being organized, as more caucus members become impatient.

New Brunswick MP René Arseneaul said the prime minister did not have the luxury of time, and urged him to come to a quick decision.

“He cannot wait, he has to address Canadians and talk about what happened and be clear about his intentions,” said Arseneault.

Actually, Justin Trudeau can take all the time he feels he needs.  There is nothing in the rule book that requires him to leave at this point in time.

The Toronto Star reports that Chrystia Freeland is considering a leadership bid that has been propelled by Liberals, including some MPs, who believe she would be a strong contender to succeed Trudeau.

The Washington Post reports that President-Elect Donald Trump wants to take back the Panama Canal; something the American government turned over to the Panamanian government in 1999.

The Panama Canal Treaty, stated that the Panama Canal Zone would cease to exist on October 1, 1979, and the Canal itself would be turned over to the Panamanians on December 31, 1999.

It is not clear if Canada is going to become the 51^st State before or after the Panama Canal is once again in American hands.

 

 

By Staff

December 23rd, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The Beer Store Statement on 396 Elizabeth Street, Burlington Store Closure

The Beer Store at 396 Elizabeth Street, Burlington will close permanently at close of business day on Sunday, January 19, 2025.

We appreciate that this location closure may impact some customers. The two closest TBS locations that sell beer and accept empty alcohol container returns are:

• 1235 Fairview St. Burlington, L7S 2H9
• 2055 Mount Forest Dr. Burlington, L7P 1M4

These sites are open for product purchases and empty container returns. The Beer Store collects for reuse and recycling approximately 1.7 billion beverage alcohol containers, including beer, wine, and spirits. We have a deep commitment to our recycling program.

By Pepper Parr

December 23^rd, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

The Environmental Defence argues that the federal government refusal to assess the many dangers Highway 413 would pose in areas of federal responsibility, Minister Guilbeault, Prime Minister Trudeau, and MPs in the government caucus are reducing the number of tools at their disposal to properly ensure the survival of federally protected endangered species, fish habitat and the cultural values of Indigenous Nations.

In their report, Environmental Defence said:

“The decision now leaves federal Ministers and MPs with only a few tools to prevent the environmental destruction that would be unleashed if Highway 413 is built. For example, the federal government’s own recovery strategy for the endangered redside dace fish identifies construction, paved surfaces and urban sprawl (which is induced by highways such as Highway 413) as the “most immediate threats to the species.” The government now must issue a protection order prohibiting those activities everywhere they’d impact the species’ habitat, which includes much of Highway 413’s route. That order is due on January 25th, 2025.

“In addition, the federal government will now have no legitimate basis for issuing the federal Species at Risk Act permits that would be required to build Highway 413. A federal impact assessment of Highway 413 would have given Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Minister of the Environment and other federal decision-makers clarity on critical information when permits will be sought by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. By not designating Highway 413 under the Impact Assessment Act, it is now impossible for federal decision makers to understand how to best mitigate cumulative impacts on the environment, and to understand species at risk and conditions downstream.

“There are 29 federally listed species at risk located along the proposed Highway 413 route and species such as the western chorus frog, redside dace and silver shiner could be extirpated from Ontario or Canada if Highway 413 is allowed to go ahead. These concerns were recently highlighted in a letter signed by over 100 scientists and sent to Minister Guilbeault. A Minister’s Emergency orders under the federal Species at Risk Act may now be necessary to stop these species from disappearing forever. A sad commentary on both our provincial and federal governments.”

Background Information:

This decision to not designate Highway 413 for impact assessment cannot be explained by any concerns about the federal government overstepping its jurisdictional limits. While a Supreme Court advisory opinion temporarily undermined the Impact Assessment Designation process, those vulnerabilities were eliminated with the passage of an amended revised Impact Assessment Act in June 2024. The amended Act clearly restored legislative authority to redesignate Highway 413, and other highways that pose such clear dangers within areas of federal responsibility, for an impact assessment.

The Memorandum of Understanding between Canada and Ontario also carefully safeguards Canada’s freedom to designate Highway 413 for an impact assessment.

A federal impact assessment for Highway 413 would not have been duplicative of processes that fall within provincial jurisdiction, like local traffic volume and construction opportunity costs. The provincial government recently passed Bill 212 to exempt the provincial aspects of the Highway 413 proposal from Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act and Greenbelt Act, and the federal government wasn’t being asked to overturn that exemption.

 

Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

By Blair Smith

December 23rd, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

 

When I read the announcement that Natalie Pierre had changed her mind and was going to be the Progressive Conservative candidate for Burlington, my first and very uncharitable thought, was that to have “renewed energy” one, theoretically, needs to have some energy in the first place.

I have some personal experience with trying to interface with Pierre and her constituency office over a personal health care issue. What I received was the official party line, no empathy, no personal contact and no help.

Whom I did receive a great deal of help from afterwards, quite unexpectedly since we have been on opposite sides of many issues, was Jane McKenna. Thank you Jane. So, there is my disclosure – I do not support Natalie Pierre. I consider her to be less than useful and certainly not the best choice for Burlington for the Ontario Legislature – a placeholder at the very best. But, she may take up residence at the end of Queen’s Park Circle again.

The Ontario Liberals in general and the Burlington Liberal Association in particular have a habit of shooting themselves in the foot while simultaneously eating their young. They draw defeat from the jaws of victory with little effort and even less thought. Moving in to the next provincial election they have chosen Andrea Grebenc as their flagbearer and, in my opinion, she is a good choice, Her competition in the nomination contest, Oliver Parker, was also a very solid candidate and has much to offer in the future. But what will they do with the opportunity? Grebenc will have her challenges; she is bright, personable and works hard but does she work at the right things; the things that will make a difference in the campaign? Will she tie herself to the local Liberal Association and follow its mediocre history of performance? And if she is wise, and aligns herself to the Provincial Liberals most securely, will she be able to differentiate herself from a nebulous Crombie and a toxic Trudeau?

I love American football and while watching the Cincinnati game I was surprised to see a political advert from the Provincial Tory Association. It focused exclusively on Bonnie Crombie – her “friendship” with Justin Trudeau and her history of approving tax increases – “Bonnie Crombie, she’s too expensive”. Wow! The campaign can’t be far off and now we know, as if it wasn’t obvious anyways, what the Tory tag lines will be. We know what Natalie Pierre is (and isn’t). Anyone that can say with a straight face “I continue to be inspired by the leadership of Premier Ford and our government’s vision for Ontario” will never be capable of independent action, will remain a party shill.

But do we know what Andrea is? Is she strong and savvy enough to be able to present an option that resonates with jaundiced voters like me; that offers the best choice for the City, divorced from the tired policies and unrestrained egos of those above?

We will know soon enough.