 By Pepper Parr
September 3, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Construction cranes in the downtown core – a welcome sign of growth to some, and intensification that isn’t welcome to others.
The provincial government has said we are going to grow and that the population of Burlington is going to rise – those are facts that we have to live with.
While construction crews put rebar in place and pour concrete the citizens gather in meetings across the city to give their views on the Grow BOLD initiative the city has undertaken to create four mobility hubs in the city around which the growth is to be contained.
There is a public that is concerned about what is going to happen to their community and a Mayor who does his best to soothe the concerns and explain that intensification will only impact 5% of the city.
 In the meantime the Bridgewater project rises out of the ground – a 22 story condominium; an 8 story hotel and a seven storey condominium tucked in behind the hotel – and the Berkeley on John Street become visible as it rises to the 28 storey height that was permitted.
That John Street construction site is to include a public garage and a medical centre – they will follow the construction of the condominium.
 Medica One or the Carriage Gate project – pick the name you like best – will go up at the top of John Street and consist of a medical offices building, an above ground garage and an apartment/condo complex. It will bring significant change to the intersection and drive redevelopment of the plaza to the immediate north, A transit hub a couple of blocks to the south then makes a lot of sense. This rendering is from the Caroline – Elizabeth Street intersection. The city expected all three projects to rise at the same time – and were worried enough about the construction actually taking place that they had the developer commit to coughing up $300,000 if the project doesn’t proceed by March of 2020.
City hall does appear to fully appreciate the market forces the developer has to contend with.
 The utility poles will disappear – all the cable will be underground. Getting that decision in place was no simple matter.  Maria Street, currently closed to the public, will be the entrance to the Berkley condominium. Carriage Gate, the developer, has had their share of grief with both the city and Burlington Hydro over the existence of utility poles on John Street. A hydro line had to be pulled in from Lakeshore Road to the site – an expensive job. There was much discussion over whether or not all the hydro wires would be underground.
The developer was prepared to pay for the cost of burying the cable in front of their project but wasn’t prepared to pay for the cost of burying the cable for every foot of the distance from Lakeshore Road.
And they didn’t like the price for doing the work that Burlington Hydro had put on the table.
It’s getting resolved – with the developer trying hard to keep the lawyers out of the room.
When completed John Street will take on a much different look. Other developers have already begun to acquire and assemble property on the street.
As construction continues the planners are looking for ways to improve the look of the rest of the street and bring more activity to the area.
There are parts of John Street that are really the back alley of some of the properties on Brant Street – the top end of John Street isn’t even a street – it is designated a lane-way that leads to a supermarket.
 By Pepper Parr
August 8th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It is less than a year away. In June of 2018 we will elect a provincial government.
The provincial Liberals have been in office since 2003 and are described by many as tired and no longer have that edge one needs to govern a province the size of Ontario.
 Katherine Wynne decided to sell part of Hydro to raise the money for needed infrastructure projects. Many thought she had made a serious mistake. Hydro rates bother a lot of people and the selling of a significant part of Hydro One is seen as close to criminal by many.
The attention being paid to the upgrading of our infrastructure – roads, rails – and the building of hospitals has been admirable. Will all that be enough?
Wynne put immense pressure on the federal government to improve the Canada Pension Plan by creating an Ontario pension plan – the federal government caved in and improved the federal plan – something every Canadian can be grateful for.
The raising of the minimum wage to $15 an hour suggests the Wynne government hasn’t completely lost touch with what the province needs. The pressure from the private sector is immense – Loblaws is lobbying her fiercely.
 Patrick Brown is going to have a Joe Clarke experience. Keeping the provincial economy sound and maintaining the NAFTA agreement with an American president who wants to tear it up before he gets committed to either a mental health institution or a prison is not a small matter. Something well beyond the capacity of Patrick Brown.
When deciding who you want to run the government, being angry and wanting to get rid of what you have, requires a look at what the options are. The pickings aren’t all that inviting.
Andrea Horwath hasn’t excited anyone other than the limited NDP base and the support for her there isn’t exactly overwhelming. And there doesn’t appear to be a number two within the NDP ranks.
Patrick Brown struggles to define just what it is he wants to do – and seems to have an edition of his platform that is tailored for whichever part of the province he is in.
In Burlington it has been difficult to get a sense of what the Conservative candidate, Jane McKenna, has to say or to even get a look at her.
The Gazette has reached out to the Conservative’s in Burlington – they haven’t been returning calls.
Brown is still learning his way as the Conservative party leader – he should be aware that he isn’t going to hold that job for all that long.
 When she was a speaker at the federal Conservative leadership convention earlier in the year it was evident what the Mulroney game plan was – Caroline was headed for the leadership o the provincial Tories. The game changer is Brian Mulroney’s daughter Caroline, who has been nominated to run as the Conservative candidate in York–Simcoe, north of Toronto. She appears to have a home in Forest Hill, a very tony part of Toronto and a home in a township within the York Simcoe riding.
The team guiding the Caroline Mulroney nomination campaign are keeping her away from national media while they woo the locals. The sitting member for York Simcoe, is the longest serving female member of the provincial legislature and has thrown her support behind Mulroney.
Caroline Mulroney did not decide to enter provincial politics to sit as a back bencher at Queen’s Park. That is not the way the Mulroney’s do business
She will win the York – Simcoe seat and while she has zilch legislative experience the pressure on Brown to put her in his shadow Cabinet is something he will not be able to resist. Should he win the provincial election, which is a big assumption, the pressure to put her in his Cabinet will be even stronger.
The Mulroney’s are going to do to Patrick Brown what they did to Joe Clarke.
It will not take too long for Caroline Mulroney to outshine Patrick Brown and begin the move to ousting the poor man when there is a leadership convention.
Jane McKenna, who has been particularly adroit at figuring out where the power is in a room, will find herself warming up to Ms Mulroney as quickly as she possibly can.
 She has a strong profile: Caroline Mulroney is a lawyer, has experience in the financial sector and the required philanthropic foundation. Ms Mulroney is in this for the long term. Should she find herself on the Opposition benches the goal will be the same – to gain the leadership of the Conservative party in Ontario.
So what the public wants to do is look very carefully as Caroline Mulroney – is this the woman that is going to restore the Progressive Conservatives to power in Ontario?
Patrick Brown might, and this is a small might, defeat Kathryn Wynne. She is a formidable campaigner and she does not like to lose. She also believes that Ontario has done well by the Liberal government she has led.
These are all small matters – Catherine Mulroney is going to lead the Ontario Progressive Conservative party and will at some point defeat the Liberals.
 Former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney and daughter Caroline arrive at the church for the state funeral for the late Jim Flaherty. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette Wynne might prevail and get back in but 2018 will be her last election and there is no one on the Liberal front bench that can take the leadership and defeat Ms Mulroney.
The only thing in the woman’s way is any stupid mistake she could make. Highly unlikely – her Father will be up to his ears in her campaign and he will call in every favour he has and then some.
An opportunity to create a Mulroney dynasty is too much for Brian Mulroney to take a pass on.
 By Staff
June 26. 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The following media release was received from the Save Bateman Committee four days after it was released on June 17th.
Members of the ‘Save Bateman’ Committee have filed a complaint against Burlington Ward One and Two school trustee Leah Reynolds regarding her unprofessional conduct during a school board meeting and are demanding her immediate suspension until the issue is resolved.
Trustee Reynolds’ conduct at the June 7th meeting was not in accordance with the Halton District School Board trustee’s code of conduct, specifically point #5 relating to Integrity and Dignity of Office and Civil Behaviour.
 Meed Ward working on her IPad during a school board meeting. The incident occurred at the board’s head office on 2050 Guelph Line in Burlington during a critical meeting that was to decide the fate of two high schools. Several members in the audience watched as Ward Two City Councillor Marianne Meed Ward used her iPad to text instructions to Trustee Reynolds on how to block a motion that was introduced to save the closure of Bateman High School.
The motion was put forward by Ward Five trustee Amy Collard who represents the area where Bateman is located. The texting began between Reynolds and Meed Ward soon after the meeting began and continued for almost one hour. It was noticed by those in attendance and (later) by members of the public watching the online live stream.
The Gazette adds that: Meed Ward has since said she did send Trustee Reynolds text messages but that the messages related to procedural matters only and that when the procedural matter was resolved she no longer sent messages to Reynolds. The procedural issue took up about an hour of the meeting that ran to well past midnight.
 City Councillor Marianne Meed Ward and Leah Reynolds at a nomination meeting. Trustee Reynolds, who had campaigned on a platform of ‘no school closures’ fumbled to read words on her laptop while putting forward reasons why Collard’s motion should be struck down. It is critical to note that Meed Ward helped Reynolds in her election campaign and that Meed Ward served as a committee member on the school closure (PAR) committee, an involvement which received much criticism.
A parent took a photo of Meed Ward’s iPad screen that clearly showed she was instructing Reynolds. In one line, Meed Ward wrote; “DON’T VOTE IN FAVOR” and in another, “Do not uphold the Chair’s ruling.”
The same parent emailed chair trustee Kelly Amos to alert her to the incident and also talked to the parliamentarian who was present. Trustee Amos’ response was that trustees get lots of emails from their constituents so it was not deemed to be a concern.
Members of Save Bateman are demanding a full investigation into the incident because they believe that Meed Ward’s actions in which she appears to be directing Reynolds, unduly influenced the outcome of the vote.
‘Save Bateman’ members are also demanding an investigation into whether Meed Ward attempted to direct and/or influence the vote of other HDSB school trustees.
 Lisa Bull said she was shocked when she read the message she is believed to have read and photographed on Marianne Meed Ward’s iPad.  Denise Davy, a former journalist has delegated at city council to urge the city to involve itself in the school closing debate. Davy has been instrumental in getting the Bateman high school story news coverage at CHCH television. Bateman parents have filed complaints with the HDSB as well as through the Ontario Ombudsman, the City of Burlington, The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, he Canadian School Boards Association and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
This group of concerned parents believes this to be an issue of integrity and honesty and argue that both Reynolds and Meed Ward failed to behave in accordance with what is expected from elected officials – particularly during such a significant process focused on closing schools.
Throughout the process, Meed Ward also used her Ward Two e-newsletter to communicate about the PAR process and reported unvalidated information/data that many believe influenced the decision to close Bateman.
 Leah Reynolds talking to Central high school students at a public meeting. This formed the backdrop of the June 7th incident and further escalated the public’s concerns around Meed Ward’s involvement in the closure process.
Reynolds had campaigned on a platform of ‘no school closures’ yet voted for the closure of two schools.
 By Staff
June 17, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Won’t be long now.
The paving of New Street between Guelph and Walkers Line and then on to Appleby Line is well underway – and the markings that indicate where the lane lines are going to go are in place.
 The white paint dots are where the bike lane line is going to go. Then it will be safe to drive a bike along New Street – right?  The paving of New Street is well underway – when done the bike lanes without safety barriers will get really serious. The painting machines will be putting the lines in place really soon – next week perhaps?
Don’t expect an official opening event – the lanes will just be there for people to use and the transportation department will begin their traffic flow measurements while the two sides of what has become a very contentious difference of opinion can get back at in an even bigger way.
Hard to see how a positive result is going to come out of the pilot program.
This things was a mess right from the beginning – reflecting the significantly different opinions within the city.
Not much in the way of leadership from city council on this one.
Transit and transportation needs and policy direction have to be worked out before the city can become whatever it is going to become.
There is a solution out there – the city has to find it and then be resolute in implementing a policy – and then funding it properly.
For the immediate future New Street will open and the arguments can rise to a new level.
 By Pepper Parr
May 15th, 2017
BURLINGTON. ON
Steve Armstrong was one of the 14 members of the Burlington community that sat on the PAR – tasked with being the conduit between the Board of education and the community.
It is safe to say that every member of the PARC believes the process was badly flawed and resulted in communities fighting with each other rather than working together to find a solution that worked for everyone.
 PARC committee needed some time to understand the rules they had to work within. They had begun to realize that they were in an impossible situation yet began to come to the conclusion that not closing any schools was perhaps the best option for the immediate future. The PARC leadership was not able to find a route to a solution; the PARC members did begin to coalesce around the option that called for no school closures. What the PARC did do was reject the original recommendation which was to close Central high school and Pearson high school.
The second recommendation recommended closing Bateman high school and Pearson high school; that led to a much closer look at just what Bateman had going for it – a lot more than many people realized.
That realization and the better late than never arousal of the Bateman parents brought some exceptionally valid information the public didn’t have before. We will have more detail on just what Bateman does have going for it; as much if not more than Central.
Steve Armstrong, a Pearson parent said in his delegation that the Board of Education’s utilization (that portion of the capacity of a school that is being used) sits at 75% and, based on the Board’s projections, will hit 80% in 2020.
That 75% is a city wide number – it includes all the schools – some of which are at the Board policy utilization level of 90% while others are at significantly below. Pearson is one of the schools significantly below. Armstrong believes that “If these sorts of numbers (75%) were being seen at each of the schools we wouldn’t be undergoing this process.”
Armstrong prepared a series of graphs, one of which showed that Burlington’s overall actual enrollment bottomed out in 2014, and is presently on the rise. He also shows yearly Long Term Accommodation (LTAP) for as far back as 2006. The curve labeled as 2010 represents the 2010-2011 LTAP data.
 This graph shows what the LTAP boundaries were for each of the years – the actual number is shown in red and indicates that enrollment bottomed out in 2014 “Just focusing on the pattern associated with 2020 enrollments we can see that from the 2010 projections up to the most recent data provided to the PAR Committee there has been a strong increase in the expected numbers. Over 700 students to be exact, and 2020 isn’t very far away.”
 The LTAP numbers for Oakville are shown for comparison Armstrong notes that this pattern is also seen in the Oakville data, but is a little more “bursty”, and makes bigger jumps when it moves. Not surprisingly the accuracy of the projections goes down, in both municipalities, the further out one looks.”
“The Region is growing, the City is growing, high school enrollment is growing, and the pattern has been that the projection errors tend to underestimate the actual numbers. This isn’t to surprising as the Board recognizes the planned housing growth at a different point than the City does.
 Andrea Taylor, Principal at M.M. Robinson in conversation with Steve Armstrong during a PARC meeting. Given the known near term growth, and the lower confidence in the projections beyond 5 years, extreme caution regarding closing schools is merited. Especially if it involves selling real estate assets in return for short term cash benefit.”
“High over utilization (crowding) creates problems, and low enrollment numbers will reduce some opportunities for studnets. Both situations alter the student experience, and we have these conditions present in two close proximity schools located in north Burlington – Hayden and Pearson. As the image below indicates they show a large overlap in “walkability” zones.”
The most recent projections indicate that if nothing changes Hayden will grow in size and be 600+ students over capacity by 2021. And there is no room for additional portables or a permanent addition on that site.
 The symbol indicating the school aligns with the boundary area. Armstrong identified just three relatively small areas where a student would not be expected to walk to school from. Option 19 had proposed to move the French Immersion (FI) program to MM Robinson as a way to deal with this looming issue. The Board had also listed in its Options the idea of capping enrollment, with extra students being redirected to an overflow school.
The PAR Committee also briefly discussed boundary changes, but ultimately the present recommendation stays with moving FI, and monitoring the situation going forward.
Armstrong has great concern and takes “exception to the simple notion of “monitoring”,.
Armstrong argues that the “enrollment numbers for Lester B Pearson as depicted in this graph “we can visualize three sets of data. The upper most curve represents the projected enrollment prior to a boundary change associated with the opening of Hayden. The boundary change purposely reduced the expected enrollment to just below 600 students. Apparently smaller enrollments where Ok back then! The actual enrollment went off the plan quickly, and significantly. Presently that school is sitting 30% below its planned student body, and indeed those 392 students are witnessing the problems of too little enrollment.”
 Armstrong doesn’t have much faith in the Board’s plan to monitor. “If monitoring simply means standing by and watching then that is unacceptable. If 30 % off target isn’t enough to trigger action what is? The Board needs to put a stronger set of actions around tracking and managing, and the Trustees needs to press for frequent reporting back to them” he said.
Armstrong wil tell you that “Hayden definitely has a “vibe” to it, and it’s more than just being a new building. “When I toured the school as a PARC member I couldn’t help but feel that Burlington needs more of this. In reality, feel probably has little to do with the age of the walls.”
Armstrong likes the idea of conjoining Hayden and Pearson as a way of combining the best of both schools. “If Hayden’s Principal was to also oversee Pearson, similar to what happens with some elementary schools, would this not help ensure success? Since the goal is that some of the students presently going to, or about to start at Hayden, would be instead attending Pearson, why not bring some of the teachers over as well he asks.
Pearson has been a vibrant smaller school in the past, and not everyone is seeking out everything that a large school has to offer. Armstrong points out that currently 25% of Pearson’s students do so through optional attendance. A similar percentage also attend Bateman’s English stream program through optional attendance. Apparently there is value in having such environments available both north and south of the QEW.
With a proposal like this both student bodies expand their programming options, in an environment most suited to their preferences.
“The current set of recommendations would move the city’s overall utilization from the present 80% trajectory to 108%. Based on the historical inaccuracies of the projections beyond the 5 year mark this plan greatly increasing the risks of requiring capital intensive construction in the future.
“Hayden’s projections involve it running at 150% of capacity by 2021. Redirecting FI to MM Robinson to relieve overcrowding is too critical to simply leave to “monitoring” the progress.
“Closing Pearson removes close proximity capacity from the North, eliminates an option for smaller school attendance, and takes what by 2020 will be a 88% utilization up to 111% overall for the remaining 2 schools.”
“Change isn’t always easy” acknowledged Armstrong. “Perhaps starting with a smaller project, that would develop better community based problem solving, is in order.”
 Closing no schools was always an option – it just took the PARC members some time to realize it might be the best one. 7 dots  The original option to close Central and Pearson was interesting to those who were not representing either of the schools. 9 dots  This was the same as option 19 with some variation on boundary changes and shifts in the program offerings. 9 dots Armstrong has come to the conclusion that Pearson is necessary to give Hayden some breathing room and to continue the community based approach to problem solving. He was a strong advocate for retaining access to a smaller school in the North.
The PAR committee members were asked to rank the options that were before them. Each of the 14 PRAC members were given two dots to put on which ever option they favoured. The objective was to begin to whittle down the 40 plus options that were on the table. The results made it immediately clear that there wasn’t going to be anything near the consensus the Board would have liked to see. It also meant that the trustees had a very hard job ahead of them.
After his three months of work on the PARC, Armstrong feels the trustees need to vote for the “close none of the schools option” and allow time for the Board, with significant involvement from the community, to fully study the issues and finally get it right.
Like many in the community, Armstrong believes that Hayden should not have been built – but it exists and parents are going to have to live with that decision. That is is a fine school today, even though it is over crowded, should not blur the issues about what is done with the other six high schools.
 By Pepper Parr
April 28th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It is going to be a whole new product line.
Media were invited to check out – a new truly comprehensive Medical Wellness Center.
Dr. Ira Price, internationally renowned for expertise in cannabinoid medicine is announcing a new Synergy Health Services clinic to serve Burlington area patients. An exciting new concept, the new clinic truly is a comprehensive Medical Wellness Center, adding vape yoga, massage, acupuncture, exercise therapy and a ground-breaking Cannabis Exploration Center to the Synergy model.
 We were invited to join them for a gala to celebrate! We were to be treated to kombucha samples (including a special Kombucha Martini made by a guest mixologist!), wine and beer tasting, and tasty organic treats by Green Bar, Hamilton’s vegan cafe.
Catering was to be provided by JONNY BLONDE, a celebrated local eatery known for its chef inspired, locally farmed, anti-biotic-free ethical eats.
Members of the local business community who donated many great prizes for the exciting raffles that were to take place throughout the evening were going to be on hand.
This had the look of a great evening; something to talk about for weeks.
 It is going to be a whole new product line. Dr. Price seems to have come to term with the three-month suspension for misconduct given to him by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, for altering a medical record and misleading a college investigator.
Synergy Health Services’ website lists Price as an assistant clinical professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, at McMaster University.
We weren’t able to “celebrate this innovative new addition to the Burlington health landscape” – we had to work the next day.
 By Ray Rivers
April 28th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Like a growing number of people these days, I almost never read a newspaper anymore, though I seem to be searching for more information than ever before. Oh sure a couple papers get delivered to the end of my laneway most days. That gives my dog some practice retrieving and allows me to pull off the sudoko. But the rest of the newsprint and advertising material make it to the fire-starter box mostly unscathed.
 Guys like this really existed once – and they really wore hats like that. Like so many, I just don’t have time to read any one paper anymore because I don’t get all I need from a single paper. There are so many potential sources of information of varying quality out there today such that that a single daily no longer does the job. So why pay for fire-starter?
Besides restricting oneself to only one paper, no matter how objective it claims to be, can’t but influence attitudes and beliefs. Editorial slant and policies are just as important as the topic at hand – sometimes more. So if the Toronto Sun and National Post are biased to the right and the Star too far left, does that mean we should all subscribe to the Globe and Mail? It’s not that simple.
The US leading network, Fox News, has long called itself ‘fair and balanced’, when we all know it is anything but. But then MSNBC, its politically polar opposite, is apparently even more opinionated. More opinion and less news – that is the trend today.
Then there are late night talk shows. Former ‘Daily Show’ host, Jon Stewart, used to brag about more people getting their news from his comedy show than the regular networks. Indeed, coupling news with entertainment may be the most effective way to deliver information to the public.
 There was a time when Toronto had three daily newspapers – each having several editions. It was a battle royal until the “Telly” folded. Thanks to technological evolution it now only takes only a couple of keystrokes to find anything on almost any topic of your choice. And that will eventually bring the traditional news networks and papers to their natural conclusion – and perhaps spin-off some other medium. Sure there will be still be some real news on the internet but you’ll have to search to find what you want among the blogs, opinion columns and fake news stories.
Objectivity is in the mind of the beholder these days, it seems. Otherwise how could so many seemingly intelligent people who look at the same facts come to alternate conclusions. Was the crowd at Trump’s inauguration larger than the one at Obama’s? Did Russia really hack into US political party computers? Are the high costs of electricity in Ontario due to Mike Harris’ deregulation or McGuinty’s green energy?
Trump has coined the term ‘fake news’ though we all know he is the master of all fakers. Truth can be what we want to believe it to be. And the guy who has become the US president, like in the fable about former president Washington, cannot tell a lie.
But the folks who make and run much of the internet are trying to do something about fake news. Google and Wikipedia, and even a United Nations agency, have stepped up to the plate promising to find ways to identify and reduce that problem. Good luck to them.
 Milla Pickfield started an internship as a journalist interviewing the Chief of Police. She aced it. Bottom line is that it is everyone for themselves when it comes to information and mis-information. And perhaps the quickest way to authenticate a story is check who else is carrying it. Peer review for professional journals includes the consideration of bibliographic sources, above and beyond the essence of the story itself. So shouldn’t we all be as careful?
And that means it becomes our responsibility, each and every one of us, to exercise vigilance over what we read and what we believe to be true. The old adage that ‘news is what’s in a newspaper’ is no longer valid. It might just be fake reporting or unsupported opinion.
This weekend the Canadian Association of Journalists is holding its annual convention and awards for Canadian journalism in Ottawa. I’ll be there looking for some answers on this topic, but I won’t be holding my breath.
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Newspapers – Newspapers Dying – Columnists vs Bloggers – US Fairness Doctrine –
Truth – Tump’s Truths – Media Bubble – Google and Fake News – Wiki and Fake News –
UN Fake News – Fox vs MSNBC –
 By Staff
April 18th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The city claims it has found the person who is going to clear up the mess over at Burlington Transit.
In a media release the city announced that “After an extensive search and evaluation of highly qualified candidates, the City of Burlington is appointing Sue Connor as the new Director of Burlington Transit.
Let’s hope the right choice has been made – the staff over at Transit have been thirsting for a solid, experienced innovative transit leader. Transit users would dearly like to see some innovation and consistency to the service and city hall will certainly want to see the ridership numbers climb up rather than continue the current slide.
 Sue Connors – newly appointed Director of Transit – she will take her fist bus out for a test run May 23rd. Connor began her career in 1976 working for Canada Post, moving quickly through the ranks of the government agency over her 12 year career in a series of managerial posts. In 1988 she made the move to the transit industry working for Mississauga Transit in a number of positions in their Operations department and finally leading that department.
Currently, Connor is the General Manager, Transit for the City of Brampton the ninth largest city in Canada, a position she has held since 2003. Connor is currently the Chair of the Canadian Urban Transit Association and Chair of Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium.
Connor’s first day with Burlington Transit is May 23, 2017.
James Ridge, City Manager says he is “… delighted to have Sue as part of our team. She brings a wealth of information and experience and is coming to us at a critical time as we are in the beginning stages of our Integrated Transit Master Plan which will shape the direction of our public transit for years to come.
Ridge thanked Jeff Black for his interim leadership of the Department. “He has not just been a caretaker leader, but has initiated a range of important work, including the beginnings of the Integrated Master Transit Plan.”
The city wants to keep an eye on Black – if there is going to be a deputy director – he is your man.
 By Pepper Parr
March 27th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
A resident sent us a note a few days ago asking why the contractor first hired to build THE Pier and then walked off the job was hired to build the new swimming pool at Nelson
“I was surprised to learn that this project was awarded to Schilthuis Construction Inc.”
Henry Schilthuis quit the Pier construction site because he realized that the plans he was given by the city were such that a successful pier could not be built.
It took a Judge who mediated a decision on who was wrong where and who was accountable. The blame rested with the company that provided the drawings the contractor had to work from.
 A rendering of the Nelson swimming pool – will it e open in time for the warm weather. Schilthuis was the contractor – not the designer of the pier. When it became evident that the plans had serious problems Schilthuis brought those problems to the attention of the city and offered a solution that would fix the problems.
The city decided it didn’t like the cost of the fix and sued – Schilthuis counter sued and then everyone was hiring lawyers. In the end the insurance companies ended up paying for the mistakes.
Cam Jackson, the Mayor at the time didn’t help matters with some of his comments.
 When a crane toppled on the Pier the flaws in the steel that was used became evident – that is when everyone went looking for a lawyer and the contractor gave the keys to the site back to the city. Schilthuis had a rough couple of years while the case was before the Courts. During that time every one of his sub-contractors stood by him – which is more than can be said for the Jackson voters.
Then incoming Mayor Rick Goldring found that he had a messy file on his desk. Neither he nor his council came out of it all with much in the way of glory. Schilthuis offered the city a solution that was less than what the city had to pay a second contractor – but at that time no one was touching Henry Schilthuis.
The city made one of its smarter moves when they gave Schilthuis the contract. The city will get value for the money it pays and the public will have a fine pool – that will be built on time.
Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison told his constituents in his newsletter that:
“Prior to the contractor being awarded this project, staff prequalified contractors who had extensive experience with collegiate pools and splash pads. Submissions were received and evaluated and qualified contractors were approved to bid the tender of the construction work. Schilthuis General Contractors was the lowest and most compliant bid and offered the best value.
“Schilthuis General Contractors have been in business for over 65 years and have worked with the City of Burlington on other previous projects over the years such as Aldershot Arena Renovations and Aldershot Pool Renovations.
When evaluating a General Contractor staff also evaluates their Construction Team assigned to the project includes a project manager who has worked with Schilthuis in the past.
The city is in good hands on this one
None of the key players in the building of The Pier the first time around are with the city now.
 By Pepper Parr
March 25th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
In the news business we get used to seeing documents released by a government late Friday afternoon. The hope for the government releasing the document is that there will be no one around to pay any attention to it and by Monday people will have moved on to something else.
Which is what surprised us when we saw a media release come in at 6:52 Friday evening announcing that a DRAFT of the New Official Plan will be released for community consultation.
Planning staff prepared a report titled: “Release of Draft New Official Plan for Community Consultation” that will go to Committee of the Whole on Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 1:00 p.m.
The intention is to have the plan adopted by City Council in the fall of 2017.
The staff report includes a series of recommendations related to the Official Plan Project, the Transportation Master Plan and the Integrated Mobility Plan.
It is going to take some time to wade through the 530 page Official Plan and the nine appendices.
.
By Pepper Parr
March 16th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The issue of land fill dumped on the Air Park on Appleby Line back in 2013 will become part of the news cycle on March 28th when the Ontario Court of Appeal hears arguments from Burlington Air Park Inc. to overturn the decision of Justice M.R. Gibson who heard a case in which the city of Burlington asked the Ontario Superior Court to compel the Air Park to file a site plan. It is this second Superior Court decision that was appealed
 A truck dumping land fill on the Air Park site in 2013 In an earlier court case the city sued the Air Park for allowing land fill to be dumped on their property and the Air Park sued the city saying they had no right to sue the Air Park because they were regulated by the federal Department of Transportation and did not have to comply with city bylaws.
Justice Murphy ruled in favour of the city on that case. The Air Park appealed that decision and lost the appeal in one of the shortest hearings heard in some time.
Justice Murphy decided that the Air Park had to comply with city bylaws except for that part of the aerodrome that was a runway or a taxiway. That called for the Air Park to provide the city with a site plan. The Air Park hired consultants to put together a site plan but a document never got to city hall.
 Land fill was brought onto the 200 acre Air Park site, ostensibly to level the land. After numerous delays the city decided it would ask the Courts to compel the Air Park to file a site Plan. That court case was heard by Justice Gibson who decided for the city. The decision was not all that clear cut however the intention was evident.
The Air Park didn’t like the decision and they took Justice Gibson’s decision to the appeal Court of Ontario.
 Vince Rossi, president of Burlington Executive Airpark Inc., at a meeting with members of the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition that took place in a barn a couple of hundred yards from the end of his largest runway. That appeal will be heard at Osgoode Hall in Toronto on March 28th.
Three Burlington residents and the publisher of the Burlington Gazette were sued for Libel by the Air Park.
That case has yet to get to the doors of a court room
Several weeks ago, Parr, Dennis and Warren along with the Burlington Gazette were sent an Offer to Settle by the Air Park.
The offer made to Parr and the Gazette had several element.
One was payment of $2500 to the Air Park, an apology and a settlement offer.
The apology was to read as follows:
I wish to express my sincere apology for having published material suggesting that the manner in which fill was placed by Burlington Airpark Inc. (“Airpark”) at its aerodrome in the City of Burlington raised issues of environmental concern. In part this arose from my reliance on a report commissioned by the City of Burlington based upon a review of soil test data obtained by the City from Airpark. I now understand that these data included data for soil that was rejected by the Airpark’s contractors as it did not satisfy the applicable Ontario guidelines and that there is no basis for the concerns that I expressed.
Yours truly [Settling defendant]
The Offer to settle was worded as follows: (it is filled with dense language; Shakespeare may have made a point when in Henry VI, Part2, Act IV, Scene 2 he wrote “Let’s kill all the lawyers“.)
TO: [the Settling Defendant] and each of his/her/its employees, partners, associates, agents, affiliates, attorneys, insurers and representatives and beneficiaries, heirs, executors, devises, personal representatives and administrators, successors and assigns, as the case may be;
FROM: BURLINGTON AIR PARK INC. on behalf of itself and its present and former officers, directors, shareholders, beneficiaries, employees, servants, agents, attorneys, insurers, heirs, executors, devises, personal representatives and administrators, successors and assigns as the case may be, and any parties who they represent or who claim a right or interest through it or them (collectively, the “Burlington Airpark”)
 For a short period of time in 2013 trucks were operating all day and into the evenings with loads of fill that no one was able to say where it came from. The Burlington Air Park earned a fee for every truckload. In consideration of the payment of TWO THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($2,500) by the [Settling Defendant], and in consideration of the terms and conditions of the Rule 49 offer to settle that was made by Burlington Airpark Inc. in an action commenced in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice under Court File No. CV-14- 2290-SR (the “Action”) (together, the “Settlement”), and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged,
1. Burlington Airpark hereby releases [the Settling Defendant] of and from all manner of action, causes of action, demands, suits, debts, dues, accounts, bonds, covenants, contracts, invoices, orders, complaints, claims, counterclaims, third party actions or proceedings of whatsoever kind or nature that Burlington Airpark now has or has ever had by reason of any cause, matter or thing whatsoever, without exception or limitation, whether in law, equity, contract, tort or by virtue of any statute, for any and all remedies, damages, monies, charges, losses, indemnity, costs, expenses, disbursements, fees of any kind whatsoever (including without limitation, legal, accounting, tax or any other professional advisory fees), controversies, set-offs, taxes, penalties, interest or injuries which hereto may have been or may hereafter be sustained by the Burlington Airpark or any one or all of them (collectively, “injuries, losses, or damages”) arising from the defamatory statements that are the basis for the Action (collectively, the “Released Matters”).
2. Burlington Airpark further agrees not to make any claims or take any proceedings against any other person or corporation who might claim, in any manner or forum, contribution or indemnity against the persons discharged by this release in connection with the Released Matters. In the event that [the Settling Defendant] is added to any such claim or proceeding commenced by any Burlington Airpark, Burlington Airpark agrees to immediately discontinue or have dismissed that claim or proceeding and shall fully indemnify [the Settling Defendant] for any legal costs incurred in respect of said claim or proceeding pending its dismissal or discontinuance.
3. This Release shall be binding upon Burlington Airpark and [the Settling Defendant’s] and each of their respective successors and assigns and shall inure to Burlington Airpark and [the Settling Defendant’s] benefit and to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns.
 Heavy construction equipment parked on a 30 foot + hill 50 yards from the kitchen window of the Sheldon property on Appleby Line next door to the Air Park landfill operation. Many thought the overnight parking of the equipment was intimidating. 4. The Burlington Airpark and [The Settling Defendant] acknowledge having had an opportunity to review this release and seek independent legal advice prior to signing it, and acknowledges that they fully understand all of the terms contained in it, are signing voluntarily and of their own free will and without duress or compulsion, and that the only consideration for this Release is as referred to above.
5. [The Settling Defendant] agrees to hold the existence and terms of this Release and the Settlement underlying it in the strictest of confidence and that this Release and the Settlement will receive no publication either oral or in writing, directly or indirectly by them, and agrees that neither [the Settling Defendant] nor his/her/their lawyer shall disclose, reveal, confirm or otherwise communicate the terms and conditions of the Settlement (except that the Action has been dismissed) or the amount of the consideration paid for this Settlement in general or specific terms, it being the intent and purpose of Burlington Airpark to prevent and avoid any publicity regarding the Settlement. Violation of this provision constitutes a material breach of this Release and Settlement, subject only to any disclosure required by law or deemed essential on auditors’ or accountants’ written advice for financial statement or income tax purposes. For greater certainty, the publication of the Apology Letters as required under the Settlement is not prohibited by this Release.
6. [The Settling Defendant] agrees not to negatively comment on, criticize, denigrate or disparage any the Burlington Airpark of any of its directors, officers, employees, representatives, agents or lawyers (either orally or in writing). The bold letters were added.
 These people are not drilling for oil – it is believed they have sunk a drill to test the make up of the landfill dumped on the property. 7. This Release and the Settlement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable therein. Burlington Airpark and [the Settling Defendant] irrevocably attorn to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in respect of any dispute arising in respect hereto and/or in respect of any of the underlying claims that are resolved by this Release and Settlement.
8. Burlington Airpark and [the Settling Defendant] acknowledge that they have obtained independent legal advice and are represented by counsel concerning the negotiation and entry into and subject matter of this Release and the Settlement. This Release and the Settlement embody and reflect the entire agreement by and between Burlington Airpark on the one hand, and [the Settling Defendant] on the other, and supercedes all prior negotiations and agreements, whether written or oral, relating to the Released Matters. This Release and Settlement may not be altered, amended, modified, or otherwise changed in any respect except by an instrument in writing duly executed by authorized representatives of each of the Burlington Airpark and [the Settling Defendant]. Burlington Airpark and [the Settling Defendant] each acknowledge that no statement, promise or inducement that is not contained herein was made or is relied upon, nor shall any subsequently alleged statement, promise or inducement be valid and binding. If any provision of this Release is held invalid, void or unenforceable under any applicable rule of common law or statute or in equity, only that provision or portion thereof shall be deemed omitted from this Release and only to the extent to which it is held invalid, and the remainder of the Release shall remain in full force and effect.
 Airpark dumped more than 30 feet of landfill without a Site Plan. Owner of the adjacent property stands on her property line and wonders why anyone can build a “small mountain” next to her property without getting approval. 9. This Release may be executed in multiple counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement. This Release may be executed and delivered by facsimile or .pdf (via email) and it is agreed that such facsimile or .pdf email execution and delivery will have the same force and effect as delivery of an original document with original signatures, and that each signatory may use such facsimile or .pdf signatures as evidence of the execution and delivery of this Release to the same extent that an original signature could be used.
SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED this day of , 2017.
Witness [SETTLING DEFENDANT]
BURLINGTON AIR PARK INC.
We did warn you about the language.
 Were the settlement offer signed the Gazette would be prevented from fully reporting on the progress of the court cases. What this does is basically expunge from the public record anything the Air Park has done and requires the Gazette to seal their lips and never mention their Air Park again, at least not in a negative or disparaging way. Is reporting that the Air Park lost two court cases and to date one appeal negative … or disparaging?
Not reporting is not what accountability or transparency is about.
Sometime after the Air Park sued Parr, Warren, Dennis and the Gazette for libel the province introduced SLAPP – Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation. It came a little too late for Dennison, Warren or Parr – the legislation would not cover the Gazette.
A panel of experts convened by the Ontario government in 2010 found that the threat of abusive lawsuits claiming massive damages, especially for defamation, is deterring “significant numbers” of Ontarians from speaking out on issues of important public interest.
Known as SLAPPs (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation), these dubious lawsuits are often brought by deep-pocketed companies with the specific aim of silencing resource-poor defendants. And they are very effective. The defendants, usually ordinary citizens or public interest groups, naturally feel threatened by the prospect of massive legal fees, disruption of their activities and the possibility of large damage awards. Even when the lawsuits have no merit whatsoever, they often result in a chill on free speech.
Comments on a wide range of public interest issues have attracted SLAPP suits in the past. These include reporting on environmental violations by large companies, exposing corruption and other forms of wrongdoing, and criticizing the behaviour of powerful individuals. In other words, SLAPPs are an attack on democracy. They undermine the ability of civil society and private individuals to act as watchdogs over the powerful.
A solution was found when the province’s political parties found themselves in rare agreement that it was high time to deal with this threat through strong legislation. The SLAPP legislation is now in place and it is being tested in the Courts
 The cast of characters: On the far left seated, is Ian Blue, the lawyer the city hired. Far right is Monte Dennis and in the second row is Vanessa Warren. Talking to the group is former city general manager Scott Stewart. He moved on to Guelph where he is now deputy city manager The Gazette and Parr are very clear on what they are going to do with this offer to settle. Dennison and Warren will make up their minds in the fullness of time.
An interesting and important point with the Monte Dennis situation. He wrote a Letter to the Editor of the Spectator. They published that letter – they are the organization that made Dennison’s view public – but the Spectator wasn’t sued. The Air Park wasn’t about to take on the Torstar Corporation, owners of the Spectator.
The Gazette has published more than 45 stories on this matter; they first broke the story in 2013 and it is far from over.
By Ray Rivers
March 10th, 2017
BURLINGTON,ON
What did you do to celebrate International Woman’s Day? I attended a media roundtable with Ontario’s first female Premier at her office in Queen’s Park. Always professional and direct, Kathleen Wynne should have been facing a potentially tough media presser, the trendy term for press conference. But she got off lightly considering the topic, electricity pricing, has been largely responsible for her party’s position at the bottom of the opinion polls.
The sorry history of the electricity file most recently begins with that common sense guy, Mike Harris, who did to Ontario’s electoral sector what GW Bush had done to Iraq. In his ideological zeal to replace everything government, he broke up Ontario Hydro then banned Ontario Power Generation (OPG), one of the largest and most experienced power companies in North America, from developing alternate energy supplies.
 The look pretty well sums it up. His mismanagement spiked hydro rates and led to black and brown outs, even in that brief period of these changes before the Liberals ousted him. But then Dalton McGuinty had also drunk the Kool Aid, and in his passion to keep the lights on while he phased-out the coal power plants, continued writing lucrative 20 year private sector energy contracts like the proverbial drunken sailor. The contracts mostly guaranteed prices and quantities of power delivered, regardless of whether the energy was needed.
It made some sense from the point of view of the small energy supplier who needed market assurances in order to invest. But in the process Ontario not only bought over-capacity, but over-production, which periodically has to be sold at bargain basement rates to utilities south of the border – or spilled.
 Niagara Falls – the source of a lot of the energy that powers western Ontario. It once made the province a leader in hydro generation.
McGuinty and Harris and their cheering section of academics and industry special interests were wrong when they claimed electricity in Ontario shouldn’t be a natural monopoly. It is no secret that those public hydro monopolies in B.C., Manitoba and Quebec have the lowest utility rates in the country. Of course those provinces have vast stores of water power and Ontario did waste a ton of money experimenting with the nukes. But where has all this new alternative private power development landed us? When prompted, the Premier confessed that her staff had considered re-inventing the old Hydro One, but they believe the time for that option is long passed.
We are now stuck with our mixed private-publicly owned system and the consumers are stuck with the big bills we’ve seen of late. So instead of forcing energy users to pay those bills as we go, Ontario’s new ‘Hydro Plan’ involves buying a 30 year mortgage at today’s low interest rates. That way those billions of dollars committed to private sector contracts will spread out over a longer term, and even with the new financing costs, the average utility bill will fall by about a quarter. Of course that presumes that interest rates don’t start to rise.
 Will the arms be as open in June of 2018 – which is when we get to cast a ballot. The government will peg rate increases to inflation for the next few years, while doing something to bring down the outrageous cost of delivery and using more tax-based subsidy to assist households with lower incomes, and small business. Electricity is no stranger to subsidy and debt. We should recall the massive debt the old Ontario Hydro had run up prior to Harris’ version of shock and awe. Almost 30 billion in liabilities exceeded the assets of both Hydro One and OPG.
Wynne may call this a structural change, sharing the financial burden imposed by these contracts with the next generation. But it is really just about moving money around, taking out a mortgage to help cover sunk costs instead of paying as we go. And it’s not like there are any other options to lower the prices, short of tearing up the contracts, something the courts would never allow.
So the Premier got off pretty lightly with the media at the presser. Perhaps they all understand that she is short on options to deal with something that should have been dealt with a decade or two earlier. Or maybe they are just tired of this topic that has been played too frequently by a media looking for human interest stories, and opposition parties looking to raise their own profile.
 The Premier explaining … We should all hope that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated and that somebody in the energy ministry is working on a real plan, but that was not revealed in the Premier’s presser. Perhaps that is something she is keeping under wraps until the party’s election platform is unveiled next year? But for now it looks like this is as good as it gets.
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background Links:
Premier’s Statement – Wynne’s Popularity – Hydro plan – More Hydro Plan –
Voter Anger – Business Perspective –
By Pepper Parr
March 7th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
 Rivers looks at print media from time to time – he prefers the electronic format for the immediacy it gives him and the ability to link what he writes to solid background material, Our ace columnist Ray Rivers has become a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists, sometimes called the Centre for Investigative Journalism and plans on attending one of Premier Wynn’s media Roundtables being held for regional media to discuss Ontario’s Fair Hydro Plan and how it benefits communities across the province on Wednesday, March 8, 2017.
River cover politics for the Gazette – he’s been doing that for five years now.
Members of the media able to attend in person are asked to arrive at the Premier’s Office at 4:45 p.m. Those unable to attend are invited to call in.
 In his spare time Rivers like to play the guitar and enjoy the Goodness of Guinness. Rivers will be on deck Wednesday afternoon when he and a herd of other media will meet with the Premier as she explains what she plans to do to get her government past the post on the June 2018 provincial election
By Pepper Parr
March 3, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Here we go again.
It is hard to believe how obtuse some of the people at City Hall can be.
A seven paragraph media release with the word pilot project slipped in but not one use of the work bike or the words road diet.
Here is what the city sent out.
“Water main work with Halton Region will begin on New Street between Dynes Road and Cumberland Avenue on March 7, resulting in lane closures and scheduled water service shutdowns. The construction is scheduled to be completed in May.
“The installation of a new water main between Guelph Line and Dynes Road began in October and November 2016. The work to install the rest of the water main between Dynes Road and Cumberland Avenue will start earlier than scheduled due to mild weather.
“Residents and businesses will be given 48 hours’ notice for scheduled water service shutdowns. Water main installation will include the replacement of curbs, gutters and the boulevard to restore any damage from the water main works.
“New Street between Walkers Line and Guelph Line is the site of a pilot project that began in August 2016 for all street users.
“Completing the water main installation in May will reduce the disruption to New Street into two shorter, two-month intervals rather than one six-month construction period originally planned for the spring and summer of 2017. This will allow for longer, uninterrupted traffic data collection.
“The city is collecting data, and will continue to collect data after the water main work is done and until the end of the summer to ensure the city has the data needed to assess the pilot. That information, along with travel times on nearby residential roads that run parallel to New Street, will be included in a recommendation report to Burlington City Council this fall.
“Creating more travel options for the community means thinking differently about how our city road network looks and functions. The one-year pilot on New Street is an example of how some existing roads in Burlington could be redesigned to give people more travel options to get around the city.”
One of the most contentious projects the city has decided to do – lessen the amount of road space for vehicular traffic on New Street and put in bicycle lanes. It was set up as a pilot project and public opinion views were all over the map.
It was so contentious that the Mayor couldn’t get some personal private time at the Y – residents kept approaching him to bend his ear.
In future they should take him by the ear out to the woodshed.
 New water mains being laid down on New Street west of Guelph Line. One of the reasons for doing the pilot project on dedicated bicycle lanes was because New Street was going to have significant water main work done and then a new layer of asphalt laid down – it was thought that would be a convenient time to install bicycle lanes and see how they worked.
To not even use the words “road diet” or bike or bicycle is sneaky and only adds to the cynicism over the way city hall works. Do they think that by not using the words that people will forget?
Transparent – accountable – please!
 Vito Tolone, Director of Transportation They transportation department should be ashamed of themselves for letting this kind of media release get sent out. The close to 3000 people at have signed a petition have every reason to be angry – city hall has been exceedingly disrespectful
Vito Tolone, Director of Transportation is quoted as saying” “A lengthy and uninterrupted time-frame to collect all the data needed for the New Street pilot will be beneficial to staff when incorporating this information into our report to City Council.” He can’t say the words either.
By Pepper Parr
January 23rd, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The New Street road diet is one of those stories that just does not want to go away.
Each day we see new information dribble in while two woman continue to collect names for their on-line petition that now has 2141 names plus 500 signatures on a paper based petition.
The petition is at: bit.ly/newstreetroaddiet
Ruth Langdon, one of the two retired teachers behind the online petition, said one of her concerns is that this road diet will be continued onto Burloak Drive.
 The idea was to share the road – motorists were taught to respect the signals painted on the road. “The plan seems to already be completed for bike lanes on New Street from Guelph Line to Burloak Drive.” She adds that she believes “the city has started working on a road diet for Maple Avenue from Lakeshore Road to just south of Mapleview Mall – pilot project for next spring.
“And that they have started working on a road diet for Lakeshore Road from water treatment plant to Eastport Drive. Are these really pilot projects or done deals?
One of the problems is the city hasn’t provided the level of information people need.
 The city did hold an information night at Robert Bateman high school with a number of impressive aerial photographs that set out what city staff thought was possible in terms of a road diet. There were almost as many photographs as there were people. The city did hold a public meeting at Bateman high school where they had impressive drawings laid out showing some of the options that were being considered for New Street. The meeting was poorly attended.
This all began when the Regional government announced they were going to upgrade the water mains along New Street – which meant re-paving the road. The work between Martha and Guelph line was done last summer.
The balance of the water main work, from Guelph Line to Burloak was to be done at a later date. The city has a commitment to a better modal split between cars, transit, cycling and walking and saw this as an opportunity to put dedicated bike lanes in just a portion of New Street and measure data they would collect. Were cycling accidents reduced? Was traffic relay slowed down? What differences in the flow of traffic were observed?
The cycling lanes on that part of Lakeshore Road that begins at Maple and runs along the edge of the lake to Eastport is a part of the redevelopment of the Beachway Park.
Cycling lanes on Maple was not much more than a thought.
The city did a very poor job of getting the long range story out to a public that was concerned about traffic congestion.
 Many think that if there is going to be a cycle lane it could be on the median between the sidewalk and the road. One staff engineer told the Gazette one of the reasons for the medians was for possible bike lanes. Members of council who voted for the New Street road diet (all did except for Councillor Sharman) didn’t do much better. There is a confused public out there – they want answers and they aren’t getting them.
The New Street plan was to be a one year pilot project that got off to a poor start and didn’t get any better as the public began to learn more about the plans.
The understanding is that in a Phase 2 the city will look at physical separation between the bike lanes and vehicle lane – cement barriers
Ruth Langdon wants to know if barriers are going to be put in to protect cyclists from traffic whizzing by at 60km – how much will barriers cost? Will they be removed in winter, if so how much will that cost? If not removed how will plows work around them? Where will the bus stop, how will handicap vans function? How do they sweep debris from the curb lanes, do they need to buy another machine for that?
All reasonable questions – just no answers.
Langdon has arrived at the conclusion that “intensification plus implementation of bike lanes = more congestion.”
Alternatives to putting bike lanes on main roads is to improve existing bike paths(multiuse) and , pavement beside sidewalk-boulevards.
Chris Ariens, an avid cyclist and a member of the city’s Cycling Advisory committee said he wonders how many people on the on-line petition are non-residents. He said he had heard in conversation that some of the petition comments were from non-residents, but can’t say how many. He said he did read the petition a couple of weeks ago. “No indication of how many were from neighbouring municipalities but I did see Philip Waggett’s name there 3 times.
Ariens added that: “I understand that many people are upset about the situation, and there is a feeling of there being nothing in it for the 1/3 of the public who have zero interest in cycling and focused on getting where they need to go quickly.
“The payoff for them is many years away, which explains some of the negative feeling towards the project. The road diet is mainly a scapegoat for the larger issue of congestion – particularly on the QEW / 403 that plagues our city’s commuting experience.
 Is the New Street road diet a scapegoat for the larger issue of congestion – particularly on the QEW / 403 that plagues our city’s commuting experience asks a Gazette reader. “That congestion is the root cause, which providing more convenient multi-modal options should help address in the long run. That is why the data from this project is so important. But we can’t ignore the feelings either, because as we have seen, it is feelings that drive action at the ballot box, not data.
Ariens has said previously that he isn’t committed to bike lanes on New Street – he just wants to see data that supports any decision made.
The public does get bits and pieces of information from Dan Ozimkovic, Transportation Planning Technologist through his online communications. Nothing with any consistent detail from the city which is causing much of the angst. There is a sort of ‘if they aren’t telling us – then there is something wrong’ attitude prevailing.
Ozimkovic is pretty clear when he says: “The new street bike lanes are absolutely not a done deal, it will depend on if there is a reduction in accidents in that stretch and not a significant increase in travel times, all of which will be reported on.
 Existing traffic lane set up on the left. Pattern during th road diet for New Street. The drawing suggests there is some form of barrier between the cars and the cyclists – there isn’t – at least not during the trial phase. Ozimkovic is as strong with his words when he tells a resident that “I can guarantee you that New Street isn’t a done deal. This is a pilot project and staff will write a report to Council Fall 2017.
This report will include all of the feedback received regarding this pilot project as well as the traffic data that we collected prior to the start of this pilot project and during the pilot project.
In another email to a resident Ozimkovic reports that: “We have 3 months’ worth of data. You are absolutely correct, we aren’t able to collect any data now for the reasons you stated below (less sunlight to power the batteries that run the data collection equipment) but we will start collecting data once again as soon as the nice weather rolls around. From that point, we will collect data until the end of this pilot project.
“We recorded close to 53,000 travel time trips. This includes prior to pilot project and during the pilot project. We recorded these trips using the Bluetooth technology. The only other way to record travel time trips is by going out there with a stop watch and driving on New Street. We would never be able to get that sample size if we chose to record travel times that way.
Ozimkovic reports that all of this info is available on our project website www.burlington.ca/newstreetpilot –
Eva Amos, the other retired teacher who organized the on-line and the paper based petitions with Ruth Langdon asks: “Why not reverse this decision now based on 2141 signatures on an online petition opposing the New Street Diet, plus 500 signatures on a hard copy of the petition, add the many comments councillors have received directly from residents?
“Drivers do not feel safer, cyclists tell us repeatedly they will never ride their bikes in these bike lanes. They prefer Spruce Avenue, Lakeshore Rd or the Centennial Path. Residents on the feeder streets say traffic and speed have increased on these once quiet residential streets.
“The short merge lane is a major concern. Emissions from idling cars now sitting in the backlog at Walkers and New Street at peak times is also a concern. Trying to get onto New Street from Pinecove especially is a problem.
“At the beginning of this diet we were told data was being collected by the city transportation Dept and we could get updates there. Trouble is, this data has never been updated. The technology being used cannot collect data now in the winter months, the days are too short and the batteries are not charging properly. Data will again be collected once the nicer weather is upon us. So at best we will have data for a portion of this trial and none in winter?
“I also have trouble with the technology being used. It may be the best we have at capturing most cars but it does not capture every car. How many are missed. We have no way of knowing. As I understand it, a mobile device has to be turned on in the car in order for it to be captured and counted. I for one drive with my phone on. My husband turns his off when in the car, as does my neighbour.
 Time to travel between Guelph Line and Walkers Line with the road diet in place on New Street. A lot of people are going to experience heart burn when they see those times. Data comes from the city web site. “I find it almost insulting to the many drivers and residents of south Burlington trying to get from the east end to downtown or simply get home after a day’s work in a timely, safe fashion to tell them it only takes 72 seconds longer now to travel the distance between Walkers Line and Guelph Line.
“Based on resident’s daily experience it should read, after waiting in gridlock at Walkers and New Street or after waiting several minutes to make a turn onto New Street, it now takes 72 seconds longer to travel the distance.
“I don’t think we would have so many signatures on the petitions if it simply took 72 seconds longer to travel the distance as reported on the city website.
“Burlington is a bedroom community. People out of necessity have to drive to work or to the GO station. Burlington was never built as a pedestrian or cycling friendly city. Distances are too far between, shopping, services, appointments, sports activities. When I go to Toronto I take the GO train, and subway or buses to get around or walk. There is no comparison between the ease of getting around Toronto to Burlington on public transit.”
Eva Amos and Ruth Langdon have each lived in Burlington for more than 40 years. They are the epitome of decent people who expect decent services from their municipal government and straight answers to their questions.
Both were school teachers who met each other at the curling rink and now play golf together.
“New Street was a functional east/west road for years. Now with the population growing, Councillors decide to narrow this major east/west roadway. “I fail to see the logic. It seems I am not alone” – there are at least 2641 people who share that view.
This story isn’t over yet.
The online petition is still open and can be found at: bit.ly/newstreetroaddiet
By Pepper Parr
November 5, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
In response to the question: What happened? Ward 2 city councillor Marianne Meed Ward said she “ was hoping the discussions the city and board were having over the past year would lead toward a new MOU that would benefit both parties.
Meed Ward was talking about the significant change that has taken place in the way programs and services are being delivered at the Seniors’ Centre which is a piece of city property that the seniors use.
 The Bistro, the heart of the Seniors’ Centre and the focal point for many of the administrative problems. The Seniors organized themselves as a not for profit – Burlington Senior’s Centre Inc. (BSCI). They elect a board which serves for a two-year period. It is that Board that has been “negotiating” with the city
There was a Memorandum of Understanding that set out who was to do what and who was going to pay what that had been put in place a number of years ago after considerable disruption and happiness on the part of the seniors.
There was a meeting a number of years ago that drew 300 seniors and they were not happy. The MOU seemed to settle things down.
Now things have flared up again.
 Joe Lamb wonders why someone didn’t call him. Joe Lamb, the person who negotiated a very fat deal for the seniors wonders why no one called him when things were going wrong.
The current president of the BSCI, a non-profit organization, hasn’t been able to make himself available for any kind of interview. Fred Hendriks issues media releases and doesn’t allow for any follow up.
Some of those with past board experience complain that Hendriks isn’t much of a communicator – they got that right.
Meed Ward adds that “With the recent change, members of the Seniors Centre should not notice any difference to services or programming.”
 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward listening to a senior. She continues: “The BSCI now has an opportunity to chart a new role for itself serving seniors in Burlington, and I have committed to stay on the board to assist them in this transition for as long as they would like.”
Meed Ward is the city representative on the Seniors Advisory committee.
There is indeed trouble in paradise. Don’t think this story has come to an end.
The seniors are one of the few really well defined groups in the city with a lot of time on their hands. They have in the past badgered city councillors with telephone calls when they weren’t happy.
The French have a phrase for it – some things never change – Et certaines choses ne changent pas.
 By Pepper Parr
October 27, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
 A safe, secure, confidential place to call with information that will keep our streets safe. Everyone knows what Crime Stoppers is – we see their logo and sort of understand what they do. But has anyone told you the amazing story about how the organization got started – and the fundamental principle behind what Crime Stoppers is all about?
Greg MacAleese, who had just become a detective with the Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD) violent crimes unit, sat down during one of his shifts and started typing up some of his random thoughts. “I started focusing on why we have so much unsolved crime,” he said. “I realized it’s citizens who control the crime rate in any city. We don’t. We just react to it and most crime is solved with their help.”
Think about that – it is the citizens who control the crime rate – the police use the information they get to react to a crime.
MacAleese said eventually he wrote something along the lines of “Why don’t people come forward with information they have about crimes?”
The next logical question, he said, was how we get people to help us solve more crimes.
“They were afraid of retaliation or becoming a target of that criminal,” he said. “I thought if we allow them to remain anonymous they could tell us what they knew.”
 Fingerprinting, DNA and Crime Stoppers are descried as the three most useful tools police have going for them. And so was the beginning of Crime Stoppers, which now exists in every major city in the United States, Canada and countless countries around the world.
 Greg MacAleese, Jerold McGlothin, Myrle Carner and Cal Millar at 40th Crime Stoppers anniversary banquet in Albuquerque. MacAleese recently published a book, co-written by Cal Millar, a former reporter and founding member of Toronto Crime Stoppers and a well know Burlington resident.
“Crime Stoppers: The Inside Story,” celebrates the 40th anniversary of the program by exploring crimes APD solved with Crime Stopper tips. The book is available on Amazon.
The program has become an irreplaceable tool in solving crimes for law enforcement officers and according to the book, a major crime is solved every 14 minutes because of Crime Stoppers tips. Police have recovered $2 billion in stolen property, seized $10 billion worth of drugs, and made more than a million arrests.
MacAleese realized there was a lot of apathy and said: “I knew money talked out on the street so I wanted to include a reward.”
An independent board of citizens was created to raise money for the rewards. MacAleese said initially he received some resistance from the APD with one of his superiors questioning why people should be paid to do their civic duty.
“I told him ‘You have a point,’” he said. ”But the fact is they aren’t.’”
The third and final component of the program, he said, was partnering with local newspapers and television stations to pass along information about unsolved crimes to the public.
Jim Busse was a Captain with APD when MacAleese started floating around the idea of the program. He said Albuquerque was still a “sleepy little town” in many ways but had its share of big-city crime. He said there was some cynicism about the program but that all disappeared when crimes started getting solved.
The idea took off very quickly,” he said. “Not everybody believed it would work. We had seen many programs come and go only to be reinstated with a new administration.”
A crime in July 1976 would give MacAleese the opportunity to launch his program and test its merit. Michael Carmen was a 20-year-old college student working at a gas station in the Southeast Heights in the early morning hours of July 25.
 Michael Carmen, a 20-year-old college student was murdered – that crime was the first crime to be solved through a Crime Stoppers tip. Armed robbers shot Carmen at close range with a .12-gauge shotgun. MacAleese believed they were worried that Carmen could identify them so he was killed to be eliminated as a witness.
Initially the police had no leads. The department put together a re-enactment of the crime that KOAT television broadcast on Sept. 8, 1976. The clip included a hotline number with a promise that all tipsters would stay anonymous.
“The phone started ringing immediately,” he said. “The second call was about a gang rape that happened a month before that we hadn’t been able to solve.”
The caller turned out to be a relative of one of the offenders and the information he gave led to the arrest of the three assailants, who had offered the young woman a ride after her car broke down in Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The sixth call, MacAleese said, broke open the Carmen case. A man who happened to live in the area said he recognized the car used in the crime and it belonged to a man in the neighborhood. MacAleese asked him to call back with an address.
A few hours later he did and after some surveillance police arrested Thomas Charles Boone and Lawrence Edward Tate. Boone was acquitted but Tate was found guilty and sentenced to prison for killing Carmen.
MacAleese, 69, now lives in the Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines, where he is an associate pastor. A widower, he traveled there years ago and met the woman who would become his second wife. They have two sons, 5 and 7 years old.
“What happened when my wife told me she was pregnant is that I realized it was a tremendous blessing,” he said. “I made a deal with God, even though that’s not what you are supposed to do, and I said ‘If you provide me with a healthy baby, I’m yours.’”
His first son was healthy and MacAleese dedicated himself to helping others by becoming a pastor.
APD, he said, solved almost 300 crimes the first year with the help of Crime Stoppers tipsters. Word spread and other police departments across the state and the country started establishing similar programs.
“You know we had success instantly,” he said. “They (other officers) would joke about my Crime Stoppers program but after that first broadcast, the guys started coming forward to me with their unsolved cases.”
 Cal Millar wrote a book of his own about Crime Stoppers. He has been very active with the organization in Halton Region. The Halton Chapter of Crime Stoppers gets about 100 tips each month. Of those, 20 are instrumental in solving local crime.
MacAleese was right: it is the citizens who control the crime rate – the police work with what they get from the people they are there to protect.
Cal Millar is part of that group that keeps the Crime Stoppers concept alive – because it works.
By Pepper Parr
October 19th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Wow!
THAT is crass.
Less than an hour after sending out a media release announcing the holding of two by – elections on November the province sends out a second media release announcing significant infrastructure projects for one of the ridings – Niagara West Glanbrook.
The by-election release came out as 12:07 – the infrastructure release came out at 1:01.
It is stuff like this that give politics a bad smell.
Was it just a coincidence?
The province has hundreds of communications specialists working to grind out media releases – sometimes as many as ten in a single day.
These people are trained to get out positive messages – and they are expected to be politically aware – especially those who work in the office of Cabinet Ministers.
The media release on infrastructure work that I to “Improving Roads and Bridges in Niagara Region” said the following;
Ontario is supporting upgrades to roads, bridges and other local community infrastructure in Niagara Region, helping to connect communities and keep people moving while creating jobs and economic growth.
Municipalities benefiting from upgrades include:
• Grimsby
• Lincoln
• Pelham
• West Lincoln
• Niagara Falls
• Niagara-on-the-Lake
• Fort Erie
• Port Colborne
• Thorold
• Wainfleet
• Welland
The boundaries for the riding of are shown below:
 That detailed information is followed by the boiler plate stuff put at the end of every media release the province sends out – sort of like Burlington’s fetish for the news that it is the number one mid-sized city in Canada
Ontario is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province’s history – about $160 billion over 12 years, supporting 110,000 jobs every year across the province with projects such as hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit. Since 2015, the province has announced support for more than 475 projects that will keep people and goods moving, connect communities and improve quality of life. To learn more about infrastructure projects in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.
Investing in municipal infrastructure is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.
They do all this with your tax money – don’t you just love them?
Related article: By-election announcements.
By Pepper Parr
October 10th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
New Street is taking on mythological features – one of those things that happened and no one can really explain why.
It seemed like a good idea at the time – then “things” got in the way.
The Pier – that story is now part of the folk lore of the city – an expensive bit of our history.
Now we are asking the same kind of questions about the “road diet” New Street was put on.
 The road diet is the lane pattern on the right. It was to be a pilot project to find out if cyclists would actually use a main thoroughfare and what reducing the number of lanes of vehicular traffic would have on the flow of cars.
The price wasn’t bad – $210,000. It seemed like an idea worth pursuing.
Then the different interests got into the game – the cyclists, who were well informed and well connected at city hall, kept putting out what appeared to be solid information.
They were opposed by those who will enter the Pearly Gates behind the wheel of their cars.
It was difficult to get a civil dialogue going and the city didn’t help. To the best of our knowledge they didn’t issue one media release.
There is some information on the city web site where the statement is made that: “Currently, 60 cyclists a day use New Street between Guelph Line and Walkers Line.” That does not square with anecdotal evidence.
To date there does not appear to be anything in the way of measuring equipment in place on New Street between Guelph Line and Walkers Line to determine if just what the flows of traffic are at different times of each day.
The cyclists report that in a meeting they had with the city’s Transportation department there was detailed discussion about the technology to be used to measure traffic flows.
But nothing in the way of a media release from the city.
We then learn that parts of New Street are under repairs – something to do with grates in the road which apparently is going to limit usage by cyclists.
What?
Road construction is taking place while a pilot program is underway?
Did one department not talk to another?
New Street is a road managed by the Region. The people in Burlington’s Transportation department are in touch with the Region daily.
James Ridge, the city manager, created a Leadership Team that meets once a week to go over what is being done and the status of the various projects. Every Director and Executive Director is reported to take part in those weekly meetings. A pretty good way to manage a city.
Did someone in one of those Leadership Team meetings not mention that the Region was going to be doing some work in the gutters of New Street between Guelph Line and Walkers Line?
Apparently not.
Transparency and accountability fit into this scenario somewhere. When do we send in the clowns?
Related article:
By Pepper Parr
September 23, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It’s gone
Two willow trees went first followed by the destruction of the gazebo that once sat in a small bowl of land at the east end of Spencer Smith Park.
The Gazette first reported on this last May when a city staffer quietly mentioned the plans during a Jane’s Walk put on by the Sustainability Advisory Committee,
There are some good reasons for the changes that are being made.
 The old gazebo and the willow trees that used to keep it company are gone. No new Willow trees but there will be a new gazebo and a pathway carved into the park leading to it. The bowl of land tended to collect water – and when we get rain we get a lot of it.
The Gazebo that will go up on the spring will be a little bit bigger and it will be accessible and it will be located a little to the west of where it was and set back further from the water’s edge.
There will be a new pathway leading to the gazebo.
 The new gazebo – slightly larger and accessible will get put up in the Spring in that area in this photograph, upper left.  A new pathway is being cut into the park that will lead to the gazebo’s new location. You would not know any of this had you not been a regular Gazette reader.
But there is a bigger story developing around the changes to the gazebo.
The Waterfront Hotel to the immediate east of Spencer Smith Park, currently an eight story structure will undergo a significant change if the talks underway between the city and the hotel ownership come to a positive conclusion.
The plan it to tear down the hotel and put two – perhaps three structures in place. A new hotel would be something in the order of 20 storeys – similar to what the Bridgewater condominium that is east of the Waterfront Hotel.
The thinking the Gazette last heard was for the hotel property to be re-oriented so that it looked west right down the Naval Promenade at the edge of Spence smith Park.
If all this comes about – the downtown core of Burlington will have a totally different look.
 If the talks taking place come to fruition – this structure will come down and be replaced by two – perhaps three – buildings that will be south of the current Waterfront Hotel. Add to that a dream a developer has to put two – perhaps as high as 40 storey structures – on the north side of Lakeshore Road between Brant and John Street.
For the immediate future – look for a considerably different look to the eastern end of Spencer Smith Park in the spring.
The one thing you will probably not see next Spring is any work being done on those two Windows to the Lake that were supposed to get built between Market and St. Paul.
 The Market Street Window on the Lake and the St. Paul Street Window on the Lake haven’t even been started yet. What’s taking so long? The money for those is in the bank – that came from the sale of an incredibly precious stretch of edge of lake land the city sold to property owners whose land abutted what was once public land – a dream opportunity that got away on us.
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