How often do Canadians play at online casinos

 

By Andrew Johnson

July 11th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The online casino industry is among the fastest-growing sectors, especially in Canada. With around 20 million online casino players, Canada is among the top eight countries in the world in terms of spending money at online casinos. The online gambling industry is reported to generate approximately $100 billion in revenues by the end of 2023. Canada earned around $3.5 billion from online gambling last year. This is because of the popularity of online casinos and the relaxed gambling laws in Canada, unlike other countries like the U.S.

Canadian Casino Player’s Demographics
According to statistics, most Canadian players play casino games at any online Canadian casinos between 4 pm and 6 pm, and 8 pm to 11 pm, with Mega Moolah, a popular progressive slot being the most popular casino game. It is important to note that nearly 80 percent of online casino players are males; however, it is important to note that the number of females using mobile devices for playing online casino games outnumber men. Regarding the age groups, online gambling is more prevalent in the age group of 20-35. This age group makes up around 16% of total online casino players, while all the other age groups are in the single digits. The younger generation prefers playing fast-paced casino games, while the older people prefer playing comfortable and relaxing casino games like bingo.

Canadian Casino Player’s Preference
Canadian loves sports betting. It is evident from the fact online sports betting is the top online gambling activity. While males prefer sports betting, females in Canada prefer luck-based games like bingo. In terms of table games, poker is the most preferred game of Canadians, with 59% of players playing this skilled game of cards.

Find a place to play online casino games that is safe and fun at the same time

Legality of online casinos in Canada
Online gambling activities fall in the grey area in Canadian law. According to Canadian law, operating an online casino within Canada without a valid license is illegal. However, since no particular laws target offshore online gambling sites, Canadians can play casino games safely and legally at any offshore casino.

The Canadian Gaming Commission oversees the online gambling industry and resolves any major issue. However, individual provinces govern the laws regarding online casinos and other betting activities. Since there is no nationwide legislation to regulate online gambling in Canada, it helps that each province can develop its casino regulations.

Any online casino in Canada must have a valid license from the local authority to operate legally. In addition, the local authorities of the provinces must enter into a special agreement for games to be played across provincial borders. Each province except Saskatchewan has at least one online casino.

Why Canadians prefer playing at online casinos
The number of Canadian players in online casinos has touched a new high, which resulted in Canada becoming a significant contributor to the online casino industry. There are many reasons why Canadian players are thronging online casinos. Some of the reasons are:

Easy of Convenience
Online casinos offer people the chance to play casino games from the comfort of their homes. Since online casinos can be accessed anywhere and anytime, they fit into the everyday schedule of people perfectly, thus saving both time and money.

Casino Bonuses & Promotions
Online casinos offer several casino bonuses to attract new casino players to their website and retain their existing players. Players can claim these casino bonuses to play casino games and win real money. In addition, online casinos run different promotions from time to time for their players.

Several Payment Methods
Online casinos provide several popular payment methods like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Neteller, and more. These payment methods provide a safe and secure environment to transfer money to and from the casino.

There are all kinds of computer games you can play on line.

Plenty of Casino Games
Since online casinos are not bounded by physical space, they can host plenty of casino games. As a result, online casinos have vast quantity and quality of casino games than any land-based casino.

Future of the Canadian Online Casino Industry
The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted several sectors, and the land-based casinos are one of them. Because of the different restrictions and health concerns, people don’t prefer to visit land-based casinos, which resulted in the shut down of many land-based casinos. Although many industries have suffered due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the online gambling industry didn’t slow down, resulting in the significant number of online casinos Canada has ever seen. The demand for new games is enormous right now, and the online casino industry is taking full advantage of this.

So, we can safely say that the future of online casino industry in Canada is looking pretty good.

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Lessons about Clean Energy from a by-gone era

 

By Ray Rivers

July 10th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

If there is anything certain in this very troubled world we live in, it’s that clean electricity is the future. Eventually it will replace every aspect of our lives that were once dominated by fossil fuels. And yet the history of electricity is relatively brief and the lessons not universally accepted.

Niagara Falls holds a special place for Canadians. It is the most popular tourist spot in the country, bringing in over 12 million tourists who spend more than $2 billion a year. And while there are the casinos and the tacky amusement arcade, it is the magnificent 167 foot high waterfall that tourists come to see.

This year the Niagara Parks Commission added an attraction, hoping to lure a thousand visitors a day. They opened up the 2200 foot water spillway tunnel in the historic power plant which takes visitors near the base of the falls. It is a view rivalling that of the ‘maid of the mist’ boats. Commissioned in 1906 the hydro power plant is now a museum and loaded with educational information about the role hydro electricity has played since its inception.

Not all water power projects are alike. The James Bay hydro project in Northern Quebec, poised to become the largest in the world, couldn’t be more different. Development of the Hydro Quebec project required flooding 11,500 square kilometres of wilderness, forcing thousands of indigenous James Bay Cree and Inuit out of their homes and villages.

Over 10,000 caribou were wiped out in the process. And even worse, flooded forest vegetation is now rotting, releasing mercury into the huge water reservoirs and making the fish inedible. The mercury is mostly a result of pollution from coal burnt in southern electricity plants and absorbed by the vegetation as it grew.

But no rivers were dammed at Niagara. As much as three quarters of the water exiting Lake Erie is now channelled to giant water turbines while the rest tumbles over the falls to entertain the tourists. And the good news – the diversion of water from the falls has been slowing down the rate of natural erosion, thus extending the life of the falls.

If you look closely to the centre left you can see the tunnel opening where the water is returned to the River.

Ontario gets about a quarter of its electricity from hydro power sources and Niagara is a major contributor to that. The demand for electricity is expected to increase as our population grows and as society converts from its current fleet of gas guzzlers and fossil fuel space heating. But there are few opportunities for clean water power left in Ontario.

Burning coal or gas for electricity production in Ontario never really made sense for a province with neither coal mines nor significant gas production. That was the case even before we understood the dangers of smog, acid rain and climate change. Nuclear energy allowed the province to get off coal and it currently supplies over half of the province’s electricity. But getting to reliability for the nuclear power facilities has been a long, costly and problem-plagued pathway.

New nuclear development, even with small modular reactors, is both costly and could take years to become operational. Recent research indicates that, though smaller in size and output, the new proposed small nuclear reactors (SMR) generate more nuclear waste per kilowatt hour than the larger heavy water facilities they’re intended to replace. The elephant in the room is the disposal of nuclear waste. Nobody anywhere has a viable solution to the steadily accumulating waste. Currently there are over three million highly radioactive spent fuel bundles lying in swimming pools, as ‘temporary’ storage.

In many ways the closest relative to that Niagara Falls water turbine is the wind turbine. Excepting solar energy and the emerging potential for green hydrogen, wind is the safest and cleanest form of renewable energy. Wind towers are relatively low cost, can be located easily, and produce significant amounts of energy depending on the blow, obviously. Wind towers have been blamed for occasional bird and bat collision deaths, though nothing compared to office towers, oil spills and mostly domestic cats. And even water power ends up killing some fish.

Wind power development in Ontario grew rapidly from nothing at the beginning of the millennium to about 8% by 2018 before the Ford government killed new renewable energy projects. Germany, by comparison, is planning to be 80% reliant on renewable energy by 2030. In the first quarter of this year Germans are already producing half of its electricity with renewables, the bulk of that being wind power, a source which has more than trebled over the last decade.

A glass walled elevator drops to the bottom of the power station where it returns to the Niagara River.

Doug Ford has reversed Ontario’s leadership in combating climate change, embracing fossil fuels in lieu of renewable energy. The Province has invested $3 billion for gas plants during his first term. Mr. Ford’s opposition to renewable energy can only be described as ideological because it is certainly not economically rational. Wind and solar, not gas, are the least costly means of increasing Ontario’s electricity supply.

And it is shortsighted since the province will need substantially more electricity to accommodate the conversion from fossil fuels, be it space heating, electric vehicles or new industrial investment in the face of federal restrictions on greenhouse gas emitting sources. For example, Ontario is losing the proposed $2.5 B Windsor battery maker LG Chem because the government could not guarantee electricity supply. Ontario may claim to be open for business, but not if business requires electricity.

That old power plant at Niagara Falls is a learning centre with many lessons for all of us. Using renewable energy is one of them. As Mr. Ford embarks on his next four year mandate to govern the province, he would do well to take direction from that piece of valuable history.

The Gazette will be doing a feature story on the Power Plant – it is a truly amazing site – well worth a visit.

Ray Rivers, a Gazette Contributing Editor,  writes regularly applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking.  Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington.  He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject.   Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa.  Tweet @rayzrivers

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Burlington born hockey player wanted to be drafted to the Montreal Canadiens, planned to learn French. He will play for Seattle

By Alan Harrington

July 10th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The NHL Draft was held this past week in Montreal.

The 60th time for this showcase of talent where the NHL Teams get to pick the finest young hockey players from around the world.

Usually the BEST players are from Canada – but this time – a Slovakian was chosen first overall.

2022’s first pick overall was by the Montreal Canadiens for Juraj Slafkovsky – a player from Slovakia .

If that wasn’t enough for Slovakia, the 2nd player chosen – Simon Nemec – is also a player from that nation – chosen by New Jersey..

The third player – Logan Cooley – an American from Pittsburgh was taken by Arizona.

Where are the Canadians?

Shane Wright was an outstanding payer when he was with the Kingston Frontenacs. Seen as the # 1 draft pick in 2022.

Especially since Ontario-born players make up about a fifth of the NHL players?

Well the answer came next as the Seattle Kraken embraced the services of Shane Wright to join their team.

Shane Wright is a Canadian – 18 years old – playing for Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL as a centre.

Shane was drafted by Kingston with “exceptional player status” becoming only the sixth player to be granted exceptional status after the likes of: John Tavares and Connor McDavid, . (And that was mentioned in the Burlington Gazette back on February 8 2021).

In 2020, Shane’s first year – he won the CHL Rookie of the Year award. Sidney Crosby won that award back in 2004 and John Tavares in 2006

So what hometown claims Shane Wright as their own??

Burlington, Ontario – birth home of the first Canadian hockey player selected in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Here is how the sports world told the story:

“You gotta feel for Shane Wright. He was labeled as the top draft prospect in his class when he was granted exceptional status into the OHL as a 15-year-old back in 2019. It was pretty much Shane Wright and Matthew Savoie at the time.

Then Shane Wright took off and put up 66 points in 58 games as an under-ager during his first season with the Kingston Frontenacs to really separate himself as the consensus 1st overall pick. Then the global pandemic happened, then Juraj Slafkovsky had a preposterous draft year by being the leading scorer in the Olympics as a 17-year-old and also had over a point per game at the World Championships for Slovakia. There were rumblings a few weeks before the draft that the race would be tight between Shane Wright and Slafkovsky for the top pick but you figured the Montreal Canadiens would have to take the Canadian kid.

Selected as the 4th draft pick Shane Wright will play for the Seattle Kraken

Then the days leading up to the draft there was a lot of chatter that Slafkovsky could be the pick. And then last night with the 1st overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, the host Montreal Canadiens select…

For over a year, Shane Wright was labelled as the #1 pick.

Then when last night came around, not only did he not get taken off the board 1st overall but New Jersey didn’t need another center with the 2nd pick.

Then Arizona decided to stick with their plan and take Logan Cooley with the 3rd pick.

Finally the fourth overall pick came around for Seattle and somehow Shane Wright fell into their lap.

The first time the Seattle Kraken play Montreal will be a game to watch. Shane Wright is said to be very very upset – admits that he has a chip on his shoulder now.

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Car show on Brant Street draws hundreds

By Denis Gibbons

July 10th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

In May of 1937 King George VI was crowned in Westminster Abbey and rode down the Mall with his wife Queen Elizabeth in a blue Rolls Royce.  A similar vehicle was featured Saturday at the Burlington Car Show in the downtown area, complete with a tea set in the trunk and a Coronation flag mounted on the spare tire on the passenger side.

Tea set in the truck of an antique Rolls Royce

Anastasia Karpenko serves herself from an old A & W car tray.

The Karpenko family, which recently arrived in the Bay Area from war-torn Ukraine, was very impressed with the bright yellow 1955 Ford belonging to Randy Matthews. It was built in Dallas, Texas.

The Karpenkos hail from the city of Kryvyi Rih, which amazingly is 122 kilometres long and is the longest city in Europe.

Positioned on the driver’s side window of the car is an A & W root beer tray, harkening back to the days when waitresses used to deliver food to drivers on roller skates.

An 1897 Fossmobile was Canada’s first gasoline car.

Ron Foss of Burlington drew a lot of attention with a Fossmobile, which was invented by his grandfather George Foote Foss of Sherbrooke, Quebec, as the first successful gasoline engine automobile in 1897.

This young fellow is just loving being behind the wheel.

Tommy Gun’s Original Barbershop, at the corner of New Street and Appleby Line, got a lot of free advertising when owner Jamie Delaye Quong showed off a black 1939 Chevy Master Deluxe.

Tommy Gun’s Original Barbershop, at the corner of New Street and Appleby Line, got a lot of free advertising when owner Jamie Delaye Quong showed off a black 1939 Chevy Master Deluxe.

The sixth annual car show, which attracted hundreds of spectators, was presented by Angelo Paletta and TNG Exotics to raise money for Joseph Brant Hospital.

 

This qualifies as a people jam with the cars sitting quietly at the side of the street.

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Road Closure – Walkers Line, Britannia to Derry Road

By Staff

July 8th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

The bridge work on Walkers Line between Britannia Road and Derry Road will continue, resulting in a road closure July 18 – 22, 2022. 

A leisurely country drive through Escarpment country will be disrupted – Road closures.

From July 25 to 29, the roadway will be reduced to one lane when workers are on site and controlled with Traffic Protection Flagmen.

The work will include alignment changes, asphalt renewal, guide rail replacement (east side) and streetlight improvements.

The new bridge will meet the high water demands from heavy rainfall events and will be constructed with an upgraded traffic barrier and railings. The bridge width will be 1.5m wider on both sides.

 

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Municipal Election 2022 - very quiet at this point.

By Pepper Parr

July 8th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

OPINION

I was talking to a colleague about the October municipal election trying to get a sense as to how the public was reacting,  Everything appears to be so quiet.

The response was that: “We had something to fight for last time” adding that “the hope we had seems to have been misplaced.  Some of the antics at Council are just so embarrassing”

It seems so quiet.  Candidates are out on the streets.  All are pumping out as much as they can on social media.

There are new candidates filing their nomination papers but they don’t appear to be very active.

Ward 4 is busy – three new candidates; the incumbent finally filed her nomination papers.

Anne Marsden, an as yet to file nomination papers for office of Mayor

There will be a candidate running against Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.  Anne Marsden has been running in elections for years.  Indefatigable, blunt, certain of the issues and vocal.

Seen by many as the perpetual candidate Marsden took a stunning 17,407 votes in Burlington when she ran for Regional Chair.  Her total count for the Region was 41,136.

2018 election results

The vote count wasn’t a fluke – people were sending a message.

Keep that 17,407 in mind and then look at the race for Mayor in 2018.

2018 election results

Marsden got more votes out of Burlington when she ran for the office of Regional Chair than Rick Golding got when he ran for Mayor

Somewhere in those numbers there is a meaning to be teased out.

Marianne Meed Ward – running for re-election

If the dissatisfaction with Marianne Meed Ward is as deep as we suspect there could be one heck of an upset come October. Municipal elections usually have low turnout.  The current administration is doing more than we have ever seen a municipality do in trying to interest people in running for office.

Jane McKenna, who wants to be Regional Chair this time around, is driving around in Burlington and Oakville in a pickup truck with a huge sign in the back.

Profile she has – that’s the problem and we will leave it at that.

Gary Carr is running again.

Gary Carr running for re-election as Regional Chair

Our expectation was that Carr would retire from active politics and that a Regional Councillor would run to replace him. There are several that are more than qualified but Tom Adam, Colin Best and Zeeshan Hamid have shown no interest.

A Regional Chair has to have some on the ground experience to be able to do the job effectively. Is Carr running to ensure that McKenna doesn’t get to wear that Chain of office?

The public might be in for a very nasty election.  Power is the kind of thing wars are fought over – look at what is going on in Ukraine not to mention what appear to be desperate attempts on the part of Donald Trump to continue to be President.

Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.

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Car show on Brant - Saturday 10 am to 5 pm

By Staff

July 8th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The Burlington Car Show is back and will dominate Brant Street in downtown Burlington on Saturday.
.
This streetfest showcases 200 antique, classic, cruiser, muscle, exotic and iconic examples of the history of the automobile.

Pure muscle.

What: Burlington Car Show
Car show/streetfest on Brant Street in downtown Burlington Ontario. Over 200 cars on display
Red carpet exotic car display, specialty cars, museum cars, vendors and music Free admission

Where: Brant Street Burlington – Caroline Street to Lakeshore Road

When: Saturday July 9th, 2022 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

The Burlington Car Show is sponsored by Angelo Paletta and TNC Exotics as a fund raiser for the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation. A part of the sponsorship an exotic car procession will travel along Lakeshore Road from Joseph Brant Hospital, at approximately 10:00 am, to join the show in a red carpet presentation of exotic automobiles.

Also on display will be the first electric GMC Hummer in Canada, presented by the Leggat Group.
As well, we are delighted to present an authentic replica of the Fossmobile, Canada’s first gas powered vehicle

There will be over 200 vehicles in total for people to view. The show footprint includes Brant Street from Caroline Street to Lakeshore Road. Open to the general public from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

 

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Eight new electric vehicle charging stations coming to Burlington

By Staff

July 8th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

If this were a chicken and egg issue – we are talking about the eggs on this one.

With funding support through The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), the City of Burlington is adding eight more level two electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the City. Each station will have two charging plugs.

With these new stations, the city will have 30 EV charging stations.

The new charging stations are expected to be operational by the end of 2022 and will be located at:

  • Appleby Ice Centre (2 stations), 1201 Appleby Line
  • Haber Community Centre/Norton Park, 3040 Tim Dobbie Dr.
  • Mainway Ice Centre, 4015 Mainway
  • Mountainside Community Centre, 2205 Mount Forest Dr.
  • Nelson Recreation Centre, 4235 New St.
  • Tansley Woods Community Centre (2 stations), 1996 Itabashi Dr.

The TAF funding is helping the City to expand our existing inventory of charging stations that are primarily located in the downtown core, many of which were also supported through funding programs, to other areas of the city.

This is all part of the climate change response:

Electric mobility was identified in the community-based Burlington Climate Action Plan approved by City Council in 2020 as a key program area.

Supporting electric mobility efforts will help Burlington meet the target to become a net carbon neutral community by 2050 and is a top priority of Burlington’s Plan from Vision to Focus, “Supporting Sustainable Infrastructure and a Resilient Environment.”

The City is also partnering with BurlingtonGreen to develop an Electric Mobility Strategy as a community road map to support future investments in this area.

The City is also working on an Integrated Mobility Plan with a focus on moving people via sustainable options such as active transportation (walking, cycling, etc.) and public transit.

 

 

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Burlington isn't even on the list of the Best Places to Buy a Home

By Staff

July 7th. 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

When the list of the Best Places to buy a home was published people who wanted to buy in Burlington knew the city didn’t have a chance of being anywhere near the top of the list.

Burlington isn’t even on the list of 35 cities.

What does it all mean?  More people will be looking into the Guelph market which might take some pressure off the Burlington market.

But for those owning homes in Burlington, those sky high prices are just fine.

 

 

 

1 Guelph (ON) ON $527,300 8.65 $65,567
2 London (ON) ON $394,622 7.6 $26,506
3 Victoria (BC) BC $678,700 12.16 $18,159
4 Ottawa (ON) ON $403,800 6.53 $-56,276
5 Kingston (ON) ON $366,549 6.54 $50,265
6 Brantford (ON) ON $426,037 8.36 $13,963
7 Hamilton (ON) ON $585,500 10.36 $50,934
8 Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo (ON) ON $491,241 8.57 $40,590
9 Abbotsford – Mission (BC) BC $858,132 16.59 $204,819
10 Windsor (ON) ON $313,281 6.07 $-12,225
11 Saguenay (QC) QC $178,811 3.66 $-5,046
12 Peterborough (ON) ON $435,964 8.61 $75,786
13 Trois-Rivières (QC) QC $166,280 3.91 $-32,594
14 Barrie (ON) ON $466,400 8.2 $29,017
15 Durham/Oshawa ON $576,702 9.48 $120,917
16 Gatineau (QC) QC $267,187 4.85 $-71,252
17 Québec (QC) QC $266,201 5.14 $-43,130
18 Sherbrooke (QC) QC $226,354 5.18 $-37,611
19 St. Catharines – Niagara (ON) ON $397,000 8 $-27,449
20 Kelowna (BC) BC $494,500 9.2 $-173,514
21 Greater Sudbury (ON) ON $250,495 4.49 $-95,121
22 Vancouver (BC) BC $1,017,900 19.58 $-147,910
23 Thunder Bay (ON) ON $219,203 4.13 $-100,435
24 Charlottetown (PE) PE $221,761 7.68 $-36,488
25 Montréal (QC) QC $353,400 7.54 $-38,332
26 Halifax (NS) NS $301,011 5.82 $-89,910
27 Toronto (ON) ON $767,800 14.83 $68,201
28 Winnipeg (MB) MB $266,600 5.2 $-97,045
29 Saint John (NB) NB $182,350 3.68 $-76,154
30 Regina (SK) SK $264,200 4.4 $-141,302
31 Moncton (NB) NB $199,050 4.09 $83,337
32 St. John’s (NL) NL $285,287 5.14 $-72,966
33 Saskatoon (SK) SK $282,500 4.84 $-89,994
34 Calgary (AB) AB $414,600 6.5 $-118,239
35 Edmonton (AB) AB $316,200 5.02 $-141,471

 

1 Guelph (ON) ON $527,300 8.65 $65,567
2 London (ON) ON $394,622 7.6 $26,506
3 Victoria (BC) BC $678,700 12.16 $18,159
4 Ottawa (ON) ON $403,800 6.53 $-56,276
5 Kingston (ON) ON $366,549 6.54 $50,265
6 Brantford (ON) ON $426,037 8.36 $13,963
7 Hamilton (ON) ON $585,500 10.36 $50,934
8 Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo (ON) ON $491,241 8.57 $40,590
9 Abbotsford – Mission (BC) BC $858,132 16.59 $204,819
10 Windsor (ON) ON $313,281 6.07 $-12,225
11 Saguenay (QC) QC $178,811 3.66 $-5,046
12 Peterborough (ON) ON $435,964 8.61 $75,786
13 Trois-Rivières (QC) QC $166,280 3.91 $-32,594
14 Barrie (ON) ON $466,400 8.2 $29,017
15 Durham/Oshawa ON $576,702 9.48 $120,917
16 Gatineau (QC) QC $267,187 4.85 $-71,252
17 Québec (QC) QC $266,201 5.14 $-43,130
18 Sherbrooke (QC) QC $226,354 5.18 $-37,611
19 St. Catharines – Niagara (ON) ON $397,000 8 $-27,449
20 Kelowna (BC) BC $494,500 9.2 $-173,514
21 Greater Sudbury (ON) ON $250,495 4.49 $-95,121
22 Vancouver (BC) BC $1,017,900 19.58 $-147,910
23 Thunder Bay (ON) ON $219,203 4.13 $-100,435
24 Charlottetown (PE) PE $221,761 7.68 $-36,488
25 Montréal (QC) QC $353,400 7.54 $-38,332
26 Halifax (NS) NS $301,011 5.82 $-89,910
27 Toronto (ON) ON $767,800 14.83 $68,201
28 Winnipeg (MB) MB $266,600 5.2 $-97,045
29 Saint John (NB) NB $182,350 3.68 $-76,154
30 Regina (SK) SK $264,200 4.4 $-141,302
31 Moncton (NB) NB $199,050 4.09 $83,337
32 St. John’s (NL) NL $285,287 5.14 $-72,966
33 Saskatoon (SK) SK $282,500 4.84 $-89,994
34 Calgary (AB) AB $414,600 6.5 $-118,239
35 Edmonton (AB) AB $316,200 5.02 $-141,471
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Centre for Skills Development - Job openings

By Staff

July 7th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

 

 

SUSTAINABLE AND MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR EVERYONE.

TRANSFORMING LIVES AND IMPROVING THE WORKFORCE AND ECONOMY.

·    Business Developer – Ornamental Plant Breeding

·    Teacher

·    Bulk Selector

·    Cook

·    Early Child Educator 

·    Electrical Panel Assembler

·    General Assembler (Oakville)

·    General Labour (Milton)

·    General Labourer (Burlington)

·    Medical Office Assistant

·    Order Fulfillment Team Member

·    Production Line Operator

·    Project Assistant

·    Receptionist / Office Administration 

·    Room Attendant

·    Sanitation General Labourer

·    Security Guard Patrol

·    Sorter / Loader

·    Data Integrity Specialist

·    Demand Planner

·    Hotel Cleaner

·    IT Manager

·    Junior Woodworker / Helper

·    Sales Support Associate

·   Trades Assistant Instructor – Construction

·    Trades Assistant Instructor – Machining

·    Trades Instructor – Machining Warehouse Production Team Leader

·    Workers Compensation Specialist

·    EDI Specialist (6 Month Contract)

·    Application Specialist

·    Apprentice – Transit Mechanic

·    Customer Service Representative

·    Dispatcher – Crossborder

·    General Laborer

·    Graphic Designer

·    Material Handler

·    Production Associate

·    Receptionist / Admin Support

·    School Custodian

·    Shipper/Receiver Sr. Communications Manager

 

SEE ALL JOBS
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Canal lift bridge to get a $21 million deck replacement - work to start winter of 2023

By DENIS GIBBONS

July 7th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

John Diefenbaker was Prime Minister and Burlington still was a town of about 47,000 the last time the Burlington Canal Bridge was replaced 60 years ago.

Now the federal government is footing the bill of more than $21 million for another replacement, which will also widen sections of the sidewalk to allow more space for pedestrians and cyclists to cross safely and to improve traffic flow.

Filomena Tassi, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, made the announcement during a press conference at the canal on Thursday.

Burlington MP Karina Gould said the upgrades will significantly improve the safety for people who use the bridge.

Ship entering Hamilton harbour.  Skyway bridge is in the background..“

 

 

 

 

Construction is anticipated to begin in the winter of 2023, during the bridge’s annual winter shutdown for maintenance and repairs, in order to minimize disruptions. The project is expected to be completed by the fall of 2024.

The bridge deck itself will take approximately three months to complete. The waterway is closed during the winter to ships and the bridge does not rise, making it an ideal time to undertake this project.

On average, approximately 25,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day.

Karina Gould (right) chats with Filomena Tassi and Hamilton Mountain Liberal MO, Lisa Hepfner, with the lift bridge in the background.

During peak seasons, nearly 3,000 pedestrians and cyclists travel along the Beachway in Burlington daily, many of them using the bridge.
The first lift bridge was erected in 1830 well before Confederation and there have been six since then.

At one time there also was a railway lift bridge, which allowed trains to service frozen fruit plants in Hamilton and Stoney Creek.

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Lawson Hunter ask Council not to become a 'lame duck' and have the report get lost in the transition to a new term

By Lawson Hunter

July 7th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

Lawson Hunter delegated at a Standing Committee earlier today to comment in support of “Climate Resilient Burlington: A Plan for Adopting to Our Warmer, Wetter, and Wilder Weather”. He said:

To my mind, this is one of the best reports I have seen this Council receive this term. I have every confidence that this committee will accept this report. My hope is that you will embrace the messages contained within and set in motion the recommendations with the urgency and the full commitment that they require.

Unfortunately, this report comes at a time when Council is near the end of its term, a ‘near lame duck Council’. Please do what you can to see that this report does not get lost in the transition to a new term and more importantly, that the City implements many, if not all, of the plans of action.

Lawson Hunter: “we easily forget, especially if it doesn’t affect us directly.”

I have delegated to Council on more than one occasion about Mitigating Climate Change. Today, I’m here to say that I’ve turned a corner in my thinking. I still believe in Mitigation but my personal viewpoint is that we need to shift more towards Adaptation.

In 2019, Burlington City Council, along with many other municipalities in Canada, declared a “Climate Emergency”. At the time, the International Panel on Climate Change stated that we had 12 years to ‘mitigate’ climate change. Well, we’ve got 9 years left before we pass the point of no return. Nine years to keep global GHG emissions below 350 parts per million. Sorry to tell you, but we passed 410 ppm a mere four months later. The IPCC (which the report references) told us that we needed to limit average temperature level increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We’ve blown past that. We now talk about 2 degrees, or even 3 or 4 degrees by the end of the century.

The dilemma, we face is our brains protect us by pushing those events from the past further and further out of our minds as we tend to focus on our day to day activities. ‘Live in the moment’ our coaches, and trainers, and self-help gurus tell us. Well, we can’t do that anymore. Not when those “climate events” keep coming, more frequently and harder and closer to home.

Sure, Burlington experienced the Ice Storm of 2013 and the Flood of 2014. A year ago, we watched on TV the drought and fire and flood that hit B.C. And in May of this year, less than two months ago, we narrowly missed the Great Canadian Derecho that tore a path of destruction from Windsor to Quebec City. A derecho is when a thunderstorm marries a tornado and creates a hurricane on land.

We, as a global society, recovered from the long list of environmental crises but did we learn anything from them? In her book, “The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters”, Juliette Kayyem says, for the most part we did. She writes, “It isn’t that you can manage a disaster so that no harm will occur, … Essentially, we can learn to fail, more safely.”

My point is, we easily forget, especially if it doesn’t affect us directly. And even if we are affected we, “Pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, start all over again” as the song says. We take pride in Building Back Better. In a word we become ‘Resilient’.

And that brings me to my one, small uneasiness about this report. Words are important. They can spur us into action or they can lull us into complacency.

For example, in this report the word Resilience is used quite often in place of Adaptation. Resilience is described as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties”, or “the ability to cope with and recover from setbacks”, or, “to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune”.

The impact of the 2014 flood on a Burlington basement

Climate Change is neither a difficulty, a setback or a misfortune. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. It’s not a ‘what-if’ scenario. It’s a when-it-will-strike, there will be consequences kind of thing.

The report talks a lot about ‘collaboration’ as if that were a new thing. One has to hope that the City already ‘collaborates’ with entities like Burlington Hydro, Enbridge, the RBG and other stakeholders. I respect that stakeholders were invited to the table, but the collaboration must go further than a dozen or so meetings. It must infuse the landscape. Every organization, every company, every developer, every resident, should ask themselves “Is this the best we can do to respond to a climate change event?” And, “what part can I play after a disaster has impacted my neighbours?” rather than let ‘the City’ clean up the mess.

We are fighting against a system that none of us created. A system of global off-shoring, over consumption, externalities, short-term thinking, a ‘make it-break it-toss it’ society that is leading us over a cliff. Burlington used to be, largely, self-sufficient. Broken global supply chains have shown us that that is not sustainable anymore.

I get it. Your e-mail boxes are over-flowing with residents’ complaints about garbage, about potholes, about not enough ice rinks in the city. But you know what? Those fall into the category of the short-term thinking that got us here.

We, all of us, need to have the courage to say, “Stop it for a moment.” We need to shift our focus to ‘What will the impact of our decisions today, have on future generations?”. I’ve already spoken to Council about thinking, not in 20 years, or 50 years, but using the Indigenous wisdom of ‘seven generations’. In seven generations, 200 years or so, hurricanes, drought, floods, war, famine, will all probably hit Burlington. What will we construct today that will help future generations to Adapt?

We need to commit to the recommendations in this report. We need to set priorities. We need to ensure success by directing enough of the City’s budget now and into the future towards these goals. Let me tell you, it’s going to hurt, but future generations will thank us.

We also need to acknowledge the things that we’ve done wrong, but also what we did right to respond to disasters. We can adapt to a rapidly changing environment. COVID taught us that. Will we heed that lesson?

Biologically speaking, adaptation is “a change or the process of change by which an organism, or species becomes better suited to its environment”. Not us trying to change the environment to suit our needs.

We are heading down the train track and no one’s got their hands on the brake. Here’s an example. And it is in no way a slam against Burlington Hydro. Burlington has experienced 33 power outages since January 1 of this year.

The 2013 ice storm blocked roads for days

My question is – is sixty plus outages acceptable when every house and building could have its own renewable energy source? Is 60 plus outages the new normal that we should expect? Again, I’m not blaming Burlington Hydro – it has to deal with flooding, wind storms, ice build up, drivers knocking down poles, and a few instances of preventative maintenance by the utility. Burlington Hydro is working with a system that was designed in the 1950’s, built in the 60’s and 70’s, and feeding power from a transmission system that was created some 100 years ago. Doomed to fail.

But see, there I go talking about a Mitigation to the climate change problem. It’s difficult to separate the two. We need both courses of Action. I’m here to ask you to take the next 15 or 20 minutes and really concentrate on what this city – not City (with a capital C), but the community of Burlington can do to prepare to ‘fail more safely’ because we will fail when it comes to climate change, it’s almost guaranteed.

I’m not an expert. You’ve got plenty of smart people on staff. You’ve already got a shelf full of reports, and you’ve got partnerships with good organizations with all kinds of environmental experience. What I want to impress upon you is the sense of urgency that I feel.

I don’t want Burlington to just ‘Build Back Better’. We can ‘hope for the best and prepare for the worst’ or we can prepare for the worst and hope that it never comes to that.

Take-aways:

• Don’t be lulled into complacency with aspirations and buzzwords.
• Give all City staff adequate training in first aid and disaster relief.
• Empower employees to assist and support the rest of the community, be it disaster, physical condition, mental health situation, knowing what to do and where to go in an emergency.
• Create more heating and cooling stations, and emergency shelters.
• Make floodplain maps easily accessible and support Conservation Halton’s program and frequency of new maps created.
• Instill a long-term vision in City staff, residents, local employees that we need to work together, support each other, for the common good.
• Work with developers, the largest group of game-changers, to build better, more equitably, and with robust safety features – additional stair egress, adequate fire protection and services.
• Recognize that disaster could happen at any time, in any location, and know how to respond.
• Learn to fail, more safely.

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BurlingtonGreen has a new home - The Pump House in the Beachway

By Staff

July 7th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

What a great idea?

The Pump House is a big part of the Beachway history.

Not sure how it came about – didn’t see anything about the space being available – but if it can be put to good community use – go for it.

BurlingtonGreen has a new home.

Plaque tells the story

Located at the historic Pump House at Beachway Park, they have put down roots at this new home to make it easier for you to join with us to take action for the planet, locally.

 

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Stolte announces: She will run for re-election in ward 4

By Pepper Parr

July 6th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

After a bruising council meeting in June, ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte pulled herself together, got over to city hall and filed her nomination papers and began her campaign for re-election saying:

Hi, my name is Shawna  Stolte and I’ve had the distinct honour of representing the residents of Ward 4 as your City and Regional Councillor this past term.

Shawna Stolte: She has made some bold moves and some mistakes as well. The city is better due to both

As most of you may know, our first term of Council has been a BUSY four years.   Four years full of progress on important issues like the Climate Action Plan, the Climate Resilience Plan and finalizing Burlington’s new Official plan.  I have also had the pleasure of chairing and of championing Burlington’s first Housing Strategy that will lead the way to creating new attainable housing options that support the vision that everyone is welcome in Burlington.

We managed these and many other important issues…all while navigating the Covid 19 pandemic and pulling together as a community to support each other in ways we could never have imagined. As your City Council we have largely worked together to pursue a more fair, sustainable and strong Burlington and I am proud of the work we’ve done.

There have been bumps along the way and that’s OKAY. You don’t want a Council that agrees on everything all the time, that’s not representative of the many diverse views in the community.  We need a City Council where different views are valued, challenges are welcomed and debates on important issues are dealt with integrity and respect.  Over the past few months I’ve taken the time to really sit down, reflect and think about how I can best serve the Ward 4 community going forward.  There is a lot of important work still to be done in our community and because of that I have reconsidered and am proud to be launching my campaign today, for re-election here in Burlington as your Ward 4 City and Regional Councillor.

I’ve never been one to shy away from difficult issues or bow out when obstacles come my way.  I believe in standing up for transparency and accountability at City Hall and will always do what I believe best serves the citizens here in Ward 4 and across the city.  I’m excited to get back out into the community to meet with all of you…because we can do better Burlington…let’s do it together!

There are two other candidates running for the ward 4 council seat.

Tony Brecknock
Phone: 905-334-8118
Email: tony@brecknock.com
Website: brecknock.com
Olivia Duke
Phone: 416-320-8843
Email: olivia@oliviaduke.ca
Eden Wood
Phone: 905-630-4949
Email: vote.edenwood@gmail.com

 

 

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AGB has a new Executive Director who might have some explaining to do to the tax people

By Pepper Parr

July 6th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

News from the Art Gallery is hard to come by.

They now have a communications/marketing person; Nadine Heath. She reached out to point to what she thought were misunderstandings on my part as to just how that annual meeting in June went.

Emma Quinn, new AGB Executive Director

In her email note to me she also mentioned that the new Executive Director is Emma Quinn who comes to the AGB with 30 years of experience working with cultural, charitable, and not for profit organizations in Ontario, paired with deep knowledge of the arts and craft sector. Emma will transition to her new role on July 25, 2022.

Quinn was the Executive Director of the Textile Museum in Toronto for a number of years

Settling into the job might require some time going over the AGB’s Charitable Annual Return for the 2021 fiscal year which has been published on CRA’s website, and it appears to have a few truly strange errors.

Whoever completed the return sets AGB as a charity with revenues of under $100,000, when they were in fact required to complete Schedule 6. The consequences of this are that significant financial details, including fundraising costs, are not broken out as they should be, making the AGB impossible to compare to its past returns and to other medium to large sized charities, and making it appear on the “Quick View” that their fundraising costs were 0.

Strangely enough, they also reported the City of Burlington grant as “other revenue” instead of “government revenue”.

Lots of questions.  Want to talk to the two lawyers who were directors but are no longer on the Board.  The Chair who was re-elected at the June meeting resigned shortly after.

Related news story

AGB directors are elected and then they quit

 

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Surprise candidiate running as Regional Chair - Andrea Grebenc school board Chair moving up the food chain

By Staff

July 6th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Here is a candidate announcement that surprised many – Andrea Grebenc, business owner for over 20 years, elected Trustee in 2014 and 2018 in municipal elections and elected Board Chair for four annual terms (2018-2021), is seeking the office of Halton Regional Chair in the October 24, 2022 municipal election.

Andrea Grebenc

Grebenc appears to be taking the position that younger more energetic leadership is needed at the Regional level. She wants to bring new ideas that meet the needs of those who are raising families and appreciate just how safe life is in the Region – she wants to build on that

Andrea is currently in her final year of her second four-year Trustee term with the Halton District School Board (HDSB). The organization is one of the largest organizations within Halton and one of the largest school boards in the province with an annual operating budget of $850 million dollars, over 100 facilities and 10,000 staff that serves the entire region.

The HDSB has been one of the top performing boards in Ontario during her tenure and while sitting as Chair she was often sought out by other Ontario School Board Chairs for advice. Halton Region functions under similar laws and governance rules and processes as the HDSB.

Andrea is known by many media outlets for providing frank and factual insight on education issues. A listing of interviews and articles is available on the Andrea4Halton.ca website. She looks to continue to serve the people of Halton in an alternate leadership position at the Regional level.

“The role of Regional Chair requires passion, energy and accessibility to fight for the well-being and interests of Halton Region. I have demonstrated these assets as a Trustee, Board Chair and entrepreneur.” – Andrea Grebenc

Grebenc:: core values include transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Andrea has developed relationships with local, provincial and federal elected officials and is always ready to listen and serve her constituents. She has an excellent record as Trustee and Board Chair, with stellar attendance and trying to improve the system by sitting on and often chairing standing and ad hoc committees. Andrea’s core values include transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.

As a business owner/consultant in the Information Technology (IT) field, Andrea has worked with organizations large and small to provide services and solutions. Her largest clients have included Toyota Canada Inc. and McMaster University where she has taught for over 20 years. She is a problem solver and collaborator.

Andrea has lived most of her life in Burlington. She loves Halton and has chosen to raise her three children here with her husband who also works in the IT field.

To be a part of this bid for fresh, strong leadership in Halton, join the campaign by volunteering, donating, and ordering a sign. Invite Andrea to events, large or small. Information is available at Andrea4Halton.ca. Reach out to Andrea at contact@Andrea4Halton.ca or call (905) 510-4847. Follow Andrea on Twitter at @AndreaGrebenc or on Facebook at @Andrea4Halton.

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Opinion writer finds fault with Canada’s legal system

By Connor Fraser,

July 6th,  2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

These last few weeks I have been unusually tired. Initially, I suspected that a combination of tough assignments at work and the warm weather were doing me in. However, a string of recent crimes and developments in high-profile cases have truly taken my breath away, to the point where I am ashamed to call myself Canadian. Happy belated Canada Day, I guess.

Accident scene in Vaughan where three children and a grandfather lost their lives

A few weeks ago, Edward Neville-Lake took his own life, 7 years after his 3 children and father-in-law were killed by Marco Muzzo at a Vaughan intersection. Muzzo – who was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison (despite having admitted to driving drunk in the past a handful of times) is now a full parolee, with no driving restrictions.

Back in May, Brady Robertson, 21, who killed a woman and her three daughters in a horrific crash in Brampton in 2020, was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Considering time served, Robertson will be released in just over 14 years. With our country’s disturbing affinity for early parolees, my money says he’ll be out in less than 7.

And this notwithstanding the fact that Robertson had the gall to appeal the government’s limit of THC concentration as “arbitrary” – despite himself having a THC concentration of 8 times the legal limit during the crash.

More recently, in its decision R v. Bissonnette, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down a Harper-era law allowing judges to stack parole ineligibility periods for multiple murders, alleging that such a punishment violates Section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms, which protects against “cruel & unusual punishment.”

In a country which prides itself for having a justice system designed to protect minority rights, these cases stand out for their egregious disregard for the rights of an oft-forgotten minority – victims. I cannot imagine the pain of the Neville-Lake family, who now live with the possibility of publicly encountering Mr. Muzzo. Were the roughly 4.5 years Muzzo (of his 10 year sentence) spent behind bars proportional to the damage he caused? Was the 10 year sentence?

Marco Muzzo

Perhaps more distasteful is knowing that Mr. Muzzo has also regained the privilege to legally drive a car. Sentences for drunk driving are no longer a deterrent and should be stepped up dramatically. For starters, I would advocate for a lifetime ban on driving for anyone caught behind the wheel with alcohol or THC concentrations above the legal limit.

The Supreme Court’s R. v. Bissonnette decision is a poster-child for how our justice system has been hijacked by an out of touch minority of jurists and academics. The decision is riddled with self-serving language that renders it nothing more than a pathetic monograph in defence of the most hardened criminals.

The justices write “For offenders who are sentenced to imprisonment for life without a realistic possibility of parole, the feeling of leading a monotonous, futile existence in isolation from their loved ones and from the outside world is very hard to tolerate. Some of them prefer to put an end to their lives rather than die slowly and endure suffering that seems endless to them (paragraph 97).”

Oh, I’m desperately sorry if some prisoners feel their predicament is “hard to tolerate.” Shouldn’t that be an intended result, to enforce upon prisoners a “monotonous, futile existence” that is “hard to tolerate”?

At its core, the court argued that because stacking parole ineligibility can completely eradicate a prisoner’s chance for re-integration, it violates human dignity and is incompatible with the principles of fundamental justice. Even if barely, the door to redemption should always remain open. Moreover, the court positioned its ruling as one “not about the value of each human life, but rather about the limits on the state’s power to punish offenders, which, in a society founded on the rule of law, must be exercised in a manner consistent with the Constitution (paragraph 142).”

Philosophically, I cannot agree with the court’s judgement. The concept of justice is fluid, subjective, and open to widely varying interpretations, none of which are inherently wrong. Despite what anyone might tell you, there is no such thing as “universal” or “fundamental” principles. In the United States, for example, many regions continue to apply the death penalty. Given that the United States is the among the world’s most enduring democratic societies, founded upon the rule of law, it would be hard to pinpoint what “fundamental justice” actually means when their methods of dealing with multiple murderers are so vastly different from our own.

So let us not blindly accept the narrative that there is some universal, invisible force preventing Canada from, under very specific and carefully considered circumstances, guaranteeing that a dangerous criminal will spend their entire life behind bars with no chance at redemption. To anchor the verdict, the court cited the maximum sentencing possible in a host of European “peer” countries, none of which exceeds 30 years. Regardless of what pathway others have chosen, Canada is not obligated to follow. Perhaps the prevailing narrative should be that these European countries have erred, and the law existing in Canada before May 27, 2022 was in fact more “just” according to the views of Canadians.

Which arrives at my second and final disagreement, specifically with the notion that there was ever a need, through this case, to place “limits on the state’s power to punish offenders.” The original law enabling stacked parole ineligibility was advanced by a democratically elected, Conservative majority government. The government’s lawyers in R. v. Bissonnette advocated upholding that same law, and were acting on behalf of a democratically elected, Liberal minority government. With such clear and bipartisan support, I hardly concur that any government abuse of power was amok. This is the will of the people today, from which a uniquely Canadian notion of justice should flow.

The current mess we have gotten ourselves into will not be easy to rectify given the importance our legal system places upon precedence. The Charter of Rights & Freedoms is a vital document, but one which leaves the door too far open to an ultra-lenient interpretation of the rights that criminals ought to have. A mere “slap on the wrist” for killing four people while driving drunk, or even the chance at being released into society after shooting up a mosque, is inappropriate.

Connor was born in Hamilton in 1997, is a long-time resident of Aldershot.

In 2020, Connor completed undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto, with a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science and a major in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

 Between 2018 and 2019, he worked as a member of the technology development team at Microchip Corporation (North San Jose, California) where he contributed to the design of computer memory for FPGA chips. During the summer of 2013, 2015 and 2017, Connor lived in Quebec thanks to support from the YMCA Student Work Summer Exchange, and the Explore Program and is decently proficient in spoken French.

Connor has returned to U of T to enrol in the dual Master of Global Affairs and Master of Business Administration program.

 

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Standing Committee gets off to a rough start - both the Chair and the Vice Chair don't show up - sent their regrets

By Pepper Parr

July 5th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

Update:   Both showed up after the lunch break

Here is a first.

For the first time in my memory, which covers 12 years of covering council meetings, both the Chair and the Vice Chair of a Standing Committee could not make it to the meeting.

Stolte was a no show.

Nisan was a no show

Councillors Stolte and Nisan sent their regrets.

Committee Clerk Jo-Anne Rudy had to draft Councillor Sharman to take the Chair of the Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility Committee.

No word from either Council member.  Stolte has been emailing earlier in the day.

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Fast shuffle of the Art Gallery Board Officers: Jane Depraitere out after being re-elected two weeks earlier.

By Staff

July 4th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The Art Gallery held their Annual meeting virtually late in June.

Lina Jabra completed her interim Executive Director assignment. The Board has yet to announce who the new Executive Director is going to be.

While they didn’t announce who the new Executive Director is going to be they did say goodbye to Lina Jabra.

The following were elected to the Board:

John Arnold,
Maureen Healey,
Jeff Martin,
Diana Tuczynski,
Garratt Wootton

The Board of Directors and its Ad Hoc Nominations Committee were to determine:

– The appropriate number of directors to properly discharge its governance responsibilities and work of the Board on behalf of the AGB,
– The process by which directors are recruited, evaluated, and selected to the AGB Board which process will include consideration of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion as well as other criteria which will assist the Board to discharge its governance responsibilities and work on behalf of the AGB,
– The process by which the AGB orients and trains new directors: And
– To propose a slate of additional directors selected according to the above process
CARRIED

Then the Election of Directors took place. Allan Ramsay presented the Nomination Slate as follows:

Nominated for three-year terms:
Jane Depraitere (second term)
Dan Lawrie (second term)

Art patrons looking at the items being auctioned.

Later in the evening the following took place:

Jane Depraitere introduced the Officers of the 2021/2022 Board of Directors.

Chair: Jane Depraitere Vice Chair: Gokcin Nalsok Secretary: Susan Busby Treasurer: Tom Sawchuk

Ten days later we get this:

Jane Departure is no slouch; a lawyer with an MBA and a certification in accounting. LL. B., CGA, MBA

Jane Departure has stepped down as Board Chair.

Susan Busby is taking the position of Board Chair.

What happened?

There was no reason given for the departure of Jane Depraitere.

Once can speculate that there are issues over who the next Executive Director is going to be.

Susan Busby who is now the Board Chair. She is a retired Educator who worked as a teacher and Elementary School Principal for the Halton District School Board for 30 years. She has an undergraduate degree in History and a Masters of Education.

She was Chair of the Board at Nelson Youth Centres, Chair of the Board at the Halton Learning Foundation, Chair of the Board of Governors at Joseph Brant Hospital, and Chair of the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation Board. She has worked on fundraising event committees for all of these organizations as well as Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Halton, the Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington Flood Relief and in support of Breast Cancer services and equipment. She was a member of the Our New Era Campaign Cabinet in support of the Redevelopment of Joseph Brant Hospital.

Susan has lived in Burlington since 1975 with her husband Bob. They have two adult children and three grandchildren.

Busby certainly has the chops for the job she has taken on. She was secretary and not the vice chair of the AGB.

Some follow up to be done on this story.

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Unwanted talent in Spencer Smith Park becoming a problem. - Concerts in the Park is what the public prefers

By Staff

July 4th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

Revised and updated

Spencer Smith Park has a special meaning for the people of Burlington.

Trample on what it means to them and city hall tends to hear about it.

Marianne, a nurse, who lives in downtown Burlington wanted to share with you her environmental exposure.

During the late evening of July 2nd the downtown was exposed to a random guy playing acoustic guitar (not very well) with a speaker.

During the wee hours – aka 0330 hrs. – on July 3rd – the downtown was exposed to a random act of fireworks.

During the late evening (beyond 10 pm) on Sunday, July 3rd the downtown was exposed to a random gal singing (not very well) with the assistance of a speaker.

What is the City of Burlington and Spencer Smith Park becoming????; an uncontrolled panhandling mecca in our coveted park?

No police presence or control.

A little further east at the band shell in Central Park the mood and the music is what people preferred.

These concerts take place on Wednesdays and Saturday: 7:30 to 9:00 pm – bring a chair and a blanket.

The program is a joint venture with Rocca Sisters and the city.

That skyline looks as if it was painted in place – it was real and there are more of them to come.

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