 By Staff
October 8th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The following comes from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
 Who doesn’t love a good political argument, preferably over good food? Some of us may even have grown up in households where loud political debate was (is?) the default communication mode.
But increasingly, it’s not just political perspectives that clash. Frequently, the truth itself is up for debate—and heated rhetoric can decimate friendships and divide families. Those who celebrate Thanksgiving may be dreading the awkward dinner table conversations this year.
How do we avoid that tense standoff or shouting match while still using the opportunity to reconnect and talk to family members about important issues? How can we, as progressives, have those conversations without sounding preachy and turning off potential allies? There’s an important key to doing so—and that’s to think like an organizer.
Research shows that people trust their close friends and family members when trying to figure out fact from fiction. That’s a vital role we can all play for the people in our life.
Approaching these conversations with a sense of genuine curiosity can avert the tense standoff scenario and help you find common ground you didn’t know existed. Organizers listen more than they talk—and that’s a good thing.
 We had this kind of behaviour well before Covid – just imagine what it is like now? That angry uncle might also have fear of job loss or housing unaffordability. Maybe that cousin has been growing afraid of the increasingly erratic weather on our burning planet but has been convinced that something other than fossil fuels are to blame—or maybe they feel utterly defeated at the prospect of things ever improving. Perhaps your mom is upset about the unpredictable or unstable future for her kids or grandkids.
Even if they’re taking out that anger on people who aren’t actually responsible, it’s worth listening, even when they’re misguided, because it’s how we can identify if there’s any common ground to work from—and there often is.
Here’s a starting point: despite rising prices, workers aren’t getting their fair share. No matter how hard we work or the sacrifices we make, the cost of living is rising faster than we can keep up. Everyone—even that uncle—can see that.
Behind all the bluster, the reality is that Canada is home to multiple misinformation campaigns, led by certain politicians and extreme right organizations that feeds an ongoing suspicion that the real reason things are so difficult and unpredictable is because of whoever the scapegoat of the moment is—trans folks, migrants, Muslims, woke students, whatever. There is an entire class of people whose purpose is redirecting people’s anger away from the actual source of the problem and towards scapegoats—to hell with the very real and sometimes life-threatening consequences.
To get to a place where we can find common ground, we need to identify who’s really benefiting from inequality: the actual elites. It starts with a more careful assessment of 1) who’s really taking far more than their fair share, and 2) who’s being vilified as the “real” problem and sacrificed by cynical power brokers as collateral damage.
On schools and pronouns
Maybe you have a family member who is critical of the public school system. We can all see there’s plenty of room for improvement! Schools are underfunded, classrooms are crowded, educators are unsupported, and some of the most vulnerable kids aren’t being as well-served as all kids should be. We want a well-resourced system that works for everyone. So why are pronouns suddenly the problem we need to address?
On the carbon tax
Anger about the carbon tax might actually be about the cost of living. But is the carbon tax the main driver of that—especially since Canadians get rebates for that tax? Grocery store CEOs are raking in massive profits—is it really the fault of the person stocking shelves at barely over minimum wage?
On the high cost of housing
Housing prices—for new purchases, mortgage carrying, and rent—are at or near all-time highs, and private sector “solutions” have been a disaster. Are newcomers to Canada, who are also struggling to find affordable housing, make a decent living and put food on the table, really the culprit? No. Is it high time for governments to step up? Yes.
On extreme weather
Talking about the weather used to be something everyone could agree on, but not necessarily anymore. The weather is getting more and more erratic—from summer becoming a “fire season” in much of the country to ice storms knocking out electricity grids in the colder months, there’s a lot to worry about. We can all see what’s happening in front of us, but there are still climate change deniers in our midst. Can we imagine a world where we manage to both address the climate crisis while also making the world more just? That’s something we must all take part in—because avoiding the harsh reality about climate change won’t make those forest fires disappear.
On health care
Our health care system—one of Canadians’ most prized pieces of public infrastructure—is falling apart under the weight of decades of cuts and austerity. The pandemic just exposed the reality of under-investing in the system. More and more of us are realizing that things aren’t working, as we see family members or loved ones wait for care. Those concerns are real and legitimate—but the solution is not to increase privatized care. We need to demonstrate—and we have the evidence—why that’s not the case. Creating private health care services via the back door only siphons needed resources in the public health care system. Remember that question we raised earlier about elites? Private health care lets the rich get to the front of the line while the rest of us wait. That undermines Canada’s vision of universal health care.
Reach across our differences
 Our youth face the biggest challenges with little in the way of support. As progressives, we need to be able to offer a vision of the world that isn’t just compelling—it’s irresistible. We need to understand that the anger that folks are feeling out there (and around the Thanksgiving table) is based on real issues—even if the target of that anger is, to put it charitably, misplaced.
That misdirection is often fed by politicians, capitalists, and the well-funded propagandists whose job is to keep the working majority squabbling amongst ourselves. Not only do we need to have a compelling vision of what victory looks like, we need to be able to map out how to get there—otherwise we’re just (pumpkin) pie-in-the-sky dreaming.
Of course, everyone has the right to draw boundaries—with family members or others—around conversations like this. Nobody has to participate in them. But as progressives, we also have a responsibility to try to move the needle a little bit towards justice. If we don’t, our opponents are happy to do their own organizing—at the Thanksgiving table, and beyond.
 By Staff
October 4th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
An Indigenous Student Bursary fund reaches a $150,000 milestone in its third year providing support for indigenous students pursuing post-secondary education.
 Teach for Tomorrow encourages and supports First Nations, Inuit and Métis students to fulfill their ambition to become teachers and provides a seamless approach for students to transition though high school into university. Launched in 2021 in partnership with Indspire as part of Wolseley Canada’s recognition of Truth and Reconciliation Day, the Indigenous Student Bursary is part of the Building Brighter Futures program. It. provides funding for individual First Nation, Inuit and Metis students enrolled in full- and part-time studies in college, university, skilled trades, apprenticeships and technology programs.
“It is important to Wolseley Canada that we give back to the communities where we work and live,” says Kim Forgues, Vice President of Human Resources at Wolseley Canada. “We feel strongly that it is our corporate responsibility to help build stronger communities, and a key part of that is creating opportunities for young people to start a career. With this bursary program, we reflect on history and consider how we can better support Indigenous youth for a brighter future.”
Wolseley Canada annually contributes $25,000 to the fund, which the Government of Canada matches for a total of $50,000 each year.
For more information about the Wolseley Canada Indigenous Student Bursary or to apply, visit indspirefunding.ca. Applications deadlines are November 1, 2023, and February 1, 2024.
About Wolseley Canada
Wolseley Canada is a market leader in the wholesale distribution of plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, waterworks, fire protection, pipes, valves and fittings and industrial products.
With its head office in Burlington, Ontario, the company has approximately 2,500 employees and more than 220 locations coast to coast. Wolseley’s team of sales and service specialists, an industry-leading e-business platform, Wolseley Express, and relationships with the best vendors and brands in the business, make Wolseley the professional’s choice across the country.
Wolseley Canada’s parent company, Ferguson plc is the world’s largest trade distributor of plumbing and heating products and a leading supplier of building materials. Ferguson plc is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: FERG) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: FERG).
 By Pepper Parr
October 2nd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward above with Councillor Shawna Stole on the left. See these two as BFF is a real stretch. It might seem a little confusing later in the week when Council meets as a Standing Committee to add a standing Committee at one meeting and merge to others later in the day. 
The new committee will be called Pipeline to Permit Standing Committee and will have two chairs (Mayor Meed Ward and Deputy Mayor Shawna Stolte)
Councillors Paul Sharman and Kelvin Galbraith will also be on the committee – the other three, Bentevigna, Kearns and Nisan are welcome to attend but are not actual members.
The rationale seems to be in order “to become more streamlined in our business processes and issue permits more quickly.”
A Standing Committee also ensures we can track our monthly progress and position ourselves to take advantage of funding opportunities at other levels of government.
A Standing Committee provides maximum transparency and accountability to the public, provides opportunities for greater participation, and highlights the seriousness with which we approach our responsibility to do our part to tackle the need for affordable and attainable housing.
As of July 2023, Burlington had 38,219 units in the pipeline including:
• 15,763 units in Pre-application consultation
• 7,754 units under review
• 3,642 units approved, waiting for permit application
• 3,112 units waiting for site plan application
• 7,948 units appealed to the Ontario Lands Tribunal
This new Standing Committee will not assess and approve individual development applications. That will remain the sole responsibility of the Community Planning Regulation and Mobility Committee.
That said, participants and delegates will be able to bring examples of specific applications in order to comment on policy, process, resource or other matters within the Pipeline to Permit Committee’s purview.
A monthly two hour meeting is proposed, the same week as other Standing Committees of Council.
Membership would be open to all members of council (though not required). Four are proposed to be appointed, with room for the balance of council to be appointed should they wish.
 Lisa Kearns, Ward 2  Ward 2 resident serving the ward 3 community.  Co-Chairs: Mayor Marianne Meed Ward & Deputy Mayor for Housing Shawna Stolte (Chair duties to rotate each meeting)
Deputy Mayor for Business and Red Tape Reduction Kelvin Galbraith Deputy Mayor for Strategy & Budgets Paul Sharman
Membership would be open to the balance of Council Members/Deputy Mayors for Wards 2, 3, and 6 should they also wish to participate.
A Standing Committee also allows members of the public to participate.
As partnerships and collaboration are key in tackling the housing crisis, public and stakeholder membership of the committee is proposed to include:
• Representative from non-profit housing association
• Representative from Halton Region housing division
• Representative from Conservation Halton
• Representative from West End Home Builders Association (WE-HBA)
• Representative from Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD)
• Two members of the public with relevant background/experience
• Four (and up to seven) members of Burlington City Council
Other members/stakeholders could be added to the Standing Committee during discussion of this report, and/or over time as work evolves.
If you add up the numbers – this committee looks a little bloated.
Why a standing committee of council?
A Standing Committee provides maximum accountability to the public, with meetings held in public session, livestreamed and archived, with agendas posted in advance online and ability for members of the public to delegate.
Standing Committees make recommendations to council, and council makes the final decision; the same would be true for the Pipeline to Permit Standing Committee.
Financial Matters:
There are financial benefits in ensuring speedy processing from pipeline to permit for housing applications, and significant corresponding risks if we don’t, including not qualifying for funding through the Building Faster Fund, related application fee refunds and significant delays in property tax assessment growth.
The provincial government has recently introduced the Building Faster Fund, a three year $1.2 billion program that provides new funding for municipalities based on performance against achieving provincial housing targets for municipalities. The fund will flow to municipalities that achieve a minimum of 80% of their housing pledge targets, and bonuses for those that achieve more than 100%. Those municipalities that do not achieve 80% will not be eligible for any of the funding.
As such, it is absolutely critical that we ensure timely issuance of permits so that Burlington residents benefit directly from the funding available. The Standing Committee will be focused on tracking our monthly progress toward speeding applications from pipeline to permit, which will position us to receive our share.
In addition, Bill 109, the More Homes for Everyone Act, requires municipalities to refund Zoning By-Law Amendment and Site Plan Approval application fees in a phased approach if no decision is made or no approval is issued within legislative timelines.
Zoning by-law amendment applications are required to have a decision made within 90 days (or 120 days if there is a concurrent Official Plan Amendment) and Site Plan Approval is required within 60 days. These changes came into effect July 1, 2023 for new applications submitted after that date.
Timely issuance of permits, the tracking of which will be the focus of the Standing Committee, is needed to protect taxpayers from having to subsidize fee-for-service development applications.
Additionally, each new housing unit built in Burlington delivers new property tax assessment growth, that helps to fund the costs associated with new residents, including more community amenities and programs, transit and more. Currently assessment growth is projected at .75%, for the proposed 2024 Budget, which does not cover the growth related costs on our budget.
Low assessment growth puts undue pressure on existing taxpayers to cover the costs of growth, so it is incumbent on us to ensure speedy issuance of permits, so developers can get shovel in the ground to get housing built to deliver assessment dollars to the municipality.
Finally, the new federal Housing Accelerator Fund provides incentive funding to local governments on initiatives that increase housing supply, and promote the development of affordable, inclusive and diverse communities that are low-carbon and climate- resilient. Led by Government Relations Manager, Helen Wallahura, Burlington has made a significant application to the fund representing an ask of $44M in total. The Standing Committee will provide an opportunity to track and report on our success in receiving these funds, and track any new funding streams that come available.
 Total Financial Impact
There is no additional cost related to the establishment of the Standing Committee. Staffing and resources required would be absorbed within existing budgets as part of the normal course of business in the municipality.
This new Standing Committee appears to see itself as being in a position to set the foundation for the future neighbourhoods of Burlington, to ensure the next seven generations of residents enjoy the same or better quality of life than we have come to appreciate and expect in Burlington.
Forthcoming Terms of Reference require some refinement.
By Lisa Bohler
October 2nd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
In Toronto’s 2023 housing market, buyers are often finding themselves entangled in costly bidding wars. While the temptation to outbid others is high, such competitions often lead to inflated prices and buyer’s remorse. But it’s not decided that you’ll end up in such a predicament. There are proactive measures to take that could circumvent this roadblock altogether. Let’s break down the lesser-known tactics that can provide you with an advantage.
 Overbidding Trends: What You Need to Know
Recent data analysis reveals that overbidding is becoming increasingly common in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). A study conducted in May found that 68% of GTA neighborhoods saw homes selling for more than their list prices. The increase in overbidding is a consistent trend that began in February. The data considers both condos and houses and excludes neighborhoods with fewer than five transactions per month.
It is not surprising that homes priced below their actual value tend to sell quickly, often at or above their listing price. So, if you wish to avoid getting stuck in a bidding war, it’s important to be aware of this trend.
Areas with Affordable Underbids
The same study also points out areas where homes are selling below their listing prices. Here are some neighborhoods with median prices below $700,000:
York University Heights, North York
In York University Heights, the median sold price for homes stands at $630,000, with an average underbid of -$4,000. This suggests that homes in this area tend to sell for slightly less than the listing price, making it a good area to explore if you wish to avoid a bidding war. The affordability of this neighborhood is a significant advantage for potential homeowners, especially first-time buyers.
 Yorkdale, North York
Similarly, Yorkdale in North York features homes with a median sold price of $646,000, and an average underbid of -$4,500. This area also offers the opportunity for buyers to potentially negotiate a lower price than the listing. The proximity to Yorkdale Mall and accessibility via public transit make it an attractive area for many buyers, yet the prices remain relatively modest.
Erin Mills, Mississauga
Erin Mills in Mississauga presents a different scenario with a median underbid of -$14,000 on a median sold price of $660,000. It indicates that the homes in this area generally sell for significantly less than the listed price. Given the spacious lots and family-friendly environment, this makes Erin Mills an ideal target for those looking to avoid getting caught in bidding wars.
Concord, Vaughan
In Concord, Vaughan, the median sold price is $670,000 with a median underbid of -$9,000. The area is known for its convenient location and burgeoning community facilities. Yet, the median underbid value suggests that buyers still have a good chance of avoiding a bidding war here.
Smithfield-Clairville, Etobicoke
With a median sold price of $695,500 and a median underbid of -$4,900, Smithfield-Clairville in Etobicoke is another area where buyers may not have to face stiff competition. The neighborhood is up-and-coming, with several new developments and community centers, making it attractive for young families.
High-End Neighborhoods: A Different Scenario
When it comes to more affluent communities, the pattern is quite distinct. Only 25% of such neighbourhoods witnessed underbidding. Here are some examples:
 Hoggs Hollow in North York is an affluent neighbourhood. Hoggs Hollow, North York
In contrast, Hoggs Hollow in North York is an affluent neighbourhood where the median sold price is significantly higher at $1,705,000. The area typically sees a 5% underbid, translating to around -$92,750 less than the listing price. Though the homes here are expensive, the tendency towards underbidding means that well-off buyers can still avoid a bidding war if they choose wisely.
Southwest Oakville
Southwest Oakville also falls in the high-end category with a median sold price of $1,842,500. With an average underbid of -$84,000 or about 4%, this area provides opportunities for negotiation even within the luxury market. Its lakeside location and well-maintained neighborhoods make it an attractive option for those with a bigger budget.
Old Oakville
Lastly, Old Oakville features a median sold price of $2,350,000 and typically sees underbids of around -$79,000 or 3%. Given its historic charm and luxurious amenities, the lower bidding activity might come as a surprise. Yet, for those with the means, this means a potential deal without engaging in intense bidding.
Townhouses, Condos, and Homes: Different Effects
Another important consideration when navigating the housing market is the type of property you’re interested in. Whether it’s a townhouse, condo, or standalone home, each comes with its unique market dynamics.
• Toronto townhouses for sale are particularly interesting, as they often serve as a middle ground between condos and detached homes. The demand for townhouses is usually steady but may not provoke the same intensity of bidding wars as detached homes, mainly because they offer fewer amenities than full-fledged houses but more space than condos.
• Condos are generally the most abundant and may offer the most opportunity for avoiding bidding wars, particularly in buildings with many similar units. Often located in dense urban areas, the sheer volume of available condos can sometimes counteract the high demand, allowing for more negotiation room on price.
• Detached homes, on the other hand, are often the trigger for the most intense bidding wars, especially in highly desirable neighbourhoods. With land at a premium, these properties are fiercely competed for, often driving prices well above the listed value.
Practical Tips to Steer Clear of Bidding Wars
Conduct Thorough Research
Doing your homework is instrumental in avoiding a bidding war. Being well-informed about current real estate trends in Toronto, especially in neighbourhoods you’re interested in, puts you a step ahead. Research can include anything from understanding the average price range for homes in specific areas to the rate at which homes are selling over the list price. With increasing overbidding trends in the GTA, having up-to-date information is particularly valuable. Thorough research will not only help you set realistic expectations but also better prepare you for what lies ahead.
 Having a mortgage pre-approved is often underestimated, Pre-Approval is Key
Having a mortgage pre-approval is often underestimated, yet it holds significant importance. A pre-approval letter from a reputable lender shows sellers that you’re financially secure and can afford the home you’re interested in. This not only speeds up the purchasing process but also gives you an advantage over other potential buyers who may not have taken this step. In a seller’s market, where overbidding is increasingly common, having this competitive edge can be highly beneficial.
Hire a Skilled Real Estate Agent
Navigating the Toronto real estate market can be complex, especially with the growing number of neighbourhoods experiencing overbids. In such conditions, professional guidance is not just helpful but almost essential. A competent real estate agent can provide insights that might not be easily accessible otherwise. They can also assist in strategizing your bids and negotiating terms that could save you money in the long run. With the right agent, you can better understand the subtleties of Toronto’s housing market, such as why some neighbourhoods like Markham are hotspots for overbidding while others offer more reasonable pricing.
Flexible Timeline
Time is another important factor to consider. If you’re not under immediate pressure to buy a home, observing the market for a better entry point could be advantageous. While waiting might not seem ideal, it could result in more favourable conditions. For example, there may be months when fewer neighbourhoods are experiencing overbids or seasons when sellers are more inclined to negotiate. Flexibility can make a significant difference, offering you a chance to purchase without engaging in a bidding frenzy.
Negotiation Skills
The art of negotiation can never be overstated in real estate transactions. Knowing how to negotiate effectively can help you get a fair deal without necessarily engaging in a bidding war. It can be particularly helpful in affluent neighbourhoods like Hoggs Hollow and Southwest Oakville, where underbidding is more common. Effective negotiation involves multiple elements, such as timing your offer well, understanding the seller’s motivation, and being prepared to walk away if the deal isn’t right.
 Vigilance, preparation, and a well-thought-out plan can be your best assets. Home Inspection
One of the most important aspects of home buying is having a thorough home inspection conducted. This step not only provides assurance of the home’s condition but also offers room for negotiation. For instance, if the inspection reveals issues that will require immediate repairs, you can use this information to renegotiate the purchase price. A detailed home inspection can also prevent you from making a costly mistake, particularly in areas where the home prices are high.
The Bottom Line
Vigilance, preparation, and a well-thought-out plan can be your best assets. The stakes are high, but the advantages of sidestepping a bidding war are even higher: financial stability, peace of mind, and the opportunity to invest in a home that you can truly afford.
By Pepper Parr
September 25th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
She didn’t waste a second.
When NDP Leader of the Opposition Marit Stiles rose in her seat and said:”This summer people across the province of Ontario were feeling the strain of the rising affordability crisis, cost of living crisis, a housing affordability crisis. And meanwhile, they’ve watched their government lurch from scandal to scandal, crisis to crisis. Now we’ve seen the resignation of three cabinet ministers and two senior staffers so far.
 NDP Leader of the Opposition Marit Stiles going after the Premier. Speaker my question is to the Premier. How can people trust this Premier to work for them when he has spent the last five years putting his friends and insiders first
The Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker I want to welcome our friends from Arizona. Welcome. I look forward to speaking to you later. If you think politics are tough in the United States watch us for the next while.
 Premier Doug Ford: Has difficulty standing up to the Leader of the Opposition. “I want to thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question and I’ll answer – the reason why people should trust us when we came to office it was like walking into a bankrupt company. There was 300,000 jobs lost down to our friends down to the US. And now there’s 700,000 more people working today.
“We’re building $184 billion of infrastructure. We’re focusing on $70 billion of building roads and bridges and highways. We’re focusing on making sure the largest transit system largest transit system in North America, we’re building 50 new sites and hospitals are additions to hospitals spending over $50 billion.
Stiles: Talk about the past, not even at the height of the Liberals gas plant scandal has a government been in such disarray. The government said they were going to clean things up. That’s what this Premier ran on, and now he’s embroiled in a scandal that has seen ethics laws broken. Three cabinet ministers have resigned in disgrace or run for the exits. Conservatives are leaving under a cloud of suspicion and they’re lawyering up speaker. The Premier has said the buck stops with him. So let’s hear from him speaker – will the premier finally come clean and explain his personal involvement in the Green Belt scandal?
Premier: “I was very clear on my message to the people of Ontario on Thursday. That’s what you call leadership, admitting if there was a mistake and moving forward and making sure we get on with our agenda. But that’s not going to deter us from building 1.5 million homes. My friends from Arizona probably don’t realize that Ontario’s leading North America in economic development and trade and growth. We’re the fastest growing region right now in North America.
“We have over 800,000 people coming to Ontario every single year, and they’re coming to Ontario, because that’s where the prosperity is. That’s where the jobs are. That’s where economic development is. That’s where the quality of life is. You want a great life you come to Ontario, but I can assure the people out there the new Canadians that are coming here, the young people that have the need to afford to buy a home we’re gonna build homes you’re gonna build affordable attainable the final supplementary speaker, things are worse today for people in this province. than they were five years ago.”
Stiles: “This premier won’t share his phone records, emails have been deleted in the midst of this scandal.
“People out there thought something was wrong. And now we have two independent officers of the legislature who have confirmed it, the Conservatives rigged the system to benefit their friends. I mean, it’s so bad speaker. It’s so bad that it’s been turned over to the RCMP. So Speaker My question to the Premier is: Has he spoken to the RCMP about the circumstances of the Greenbelt?”
Premier “Mr. Speaker, is it better now than it was five years ago? It’s not a little better. It’s not 10% Better it’s 1000 times better on all fronts.
“Again, Mr. Speaker, we’re building the transit we’re building the 413 Bradford bypass we’re building highway seven, and highway three to get from point A to point B and people home a lot quicker. Mr. Speaker, as you see us report some of the health reports that I’m going to see, actually reduce the backlog surgeries are going down we’re pouring money into the new nurses that are coming here. There’s 30,000 nurses in our colleges and universities. We saw 15,000 come on board already 67,000 since we’ve been in office 8000 new doctors Mr. Speaker, I could spend another half an hour telling you why the province is 1000 times better now than it was.”
 NDP Leader of the Opposition Marit Stiles: If the Premier had spent more time listening to people Stiles: “If the Premier had spent more time listening to people this summer. People who’ve seen their emergency rooms closed. Kids who can’t get treatment for it with the Autism Program.
“People who were fighting forest fires all across this province, maybe maybe he’d have learned something and he wouldn’t have spent his summer divvying up the spoils to his friends.
“This afternoon. I’m going to be tabling the Greenbelt Restoration Act, the official opposition NDPs bill to restore and protect all of the lands this government removed from the Greenbelt a solution that the premier finally agrees is the right thing to do. We must restore integrity to government Premier. We’re going to be calling for unanimous consent of this house. So to the premier Ontarians will be watching Will he pass our legislation to restore and protect lands in the Greenbelt?”
 Paul Calandar – Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing responds to the question. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing responds to the question: Calandar:
“No we will not be supporting the member’s legislation. Obviously we have not seen the legislation so we will never provide unanimous consent to something that we have not seen. But to be very clear. We will be voting against that legislation today.
“Mr. Speaker I will be bringing forward legislation very soon, which will not only return the lands but ensure that an additional 7000 acres of land are put into the Greenbelt. And we will go one step further. Mr. Speaker, we will codify and legislation, the boundaries of the Greenbelt Mr. Speaker so that it is protected through legislation and not through regulation. So no, we will not be supporting legislative piece today because we’re going to go further and we’re going to do what has never been done in this province before I respond protect the Greenbelt once and for all.”
Stiles: “Why would anyone trust this government to fix a disaster of their own making? There are still so many questions, so many questions speaker that this Premier and this government refused to answer in this $8.3 billion scandal. So back to the premier. How did these speculators know to give your office the details about the parcels of land to remove from the green belt before it was announced to the public who tipped them off?”
Calandar: “Mr. Speaker, the reality is that both the Auditor General and the Information Commissioner, the Integrity Commissioner have reported on that, Mr. Speaker, but the reality is, is that the NDP and the Liberals continue to double down on policies that have put Ontario into a housing crisis. We have been working for five years to untangle the mess. That was the opposition policy on housing. In fact, Mr. Speaker in the members own writing in the members own writing where average income is about $55,000 a year the average house price is about 1.1 million. It would take somebody $80,000 in mortgage payments just to afford that home and what does the member opposite do? She continues to support policies that would take all of the people in her riding out have the ability to own a home Mr. Speaker, we are going to double down on policies that help build houses for people across the province of Ontario. Make no mistake, we’ll get the job done.”
Stiles: “Not only did it take two scathing reports and unprecedented resignations, to force this premier to do the right thing. Not only did he allow the housing crisis to get worse, yes, worse while this scandal expanded,but he’s put our province in a position where we could be on the hook for billions. Speaker back to the premier. How much is this Government’s Greenbelt disaster going to cost Ontario’s taxpayers?”
 Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing doesn’t want to hear another word. Calandar – Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing “Thank you Speaker – nothing nothing. Mr. Speaker. We will be presenting a bill later on this week which will ensure that the people of the province of Ontario are focused on what matters to them building houses for the people of the province of Ontario. She talks about us adding on to the housing crisis.
“It’s unbelievable to me Mr. Speaker We have seen because of the policies of this government housing starts at the highest level in over 30 years. And it’s not just single family. It’s not the single family homes that the speaker in his purpose built rental that under their policies came to a halt for over 30 years.
“Mr. Speaker, this is a party with the liberals that double down on increasing taxes for the people of the province of Ontario, year after year after year. They think that increasing taxes somehow encourages in the Congress. We have shown that by reducing taxes cutting red tape and investing in priorities of people. 700,000 jobs come back and the economy boomed and now we’re gonna get it done”
The member for Niagara Center Speaker through you to the premier the same favorite insiders who received preferential treatment in the Greenbelt decision are also benefiting from Shady backroom deals for MZO’s, urban boundary expansions and highway 413. Will this government stop paving over protected farmland to enrich its friends?
Calandar: “Well, let’s let’s unpack that if we can. So MZOs were requested by municipal partners for the most part. Where we didn’t get requests from municipal partners is when I was the minister of long term care, we now have a great minister of long term care.
“When I was the minister of long term care, we actually had municipalities for at Hope for instance, that actually refused to give us long term care homes. So I went to the minister and I said, Give me an MZO (Ministerial Zoning Order) because I want to close down 30,40 and 50 year old long term care homes that aren’t sprinklered and build brand new ones. I won’t apologize for doing that. I’ll continue to do it, Mr. Speaker, whether it’s for long term care homes whether it’s for the Minister of colleges and university who wants to build dormitories for students, I’m gonna double down on it and make sure that we build that housing not only for seniors, not only for young families, but for students in his area and in all parts of this province.”
A supplementary question. Member for Hamilton Ancaster Dundas.
“Mr. Speaker, I can assure the minister that the City of Hamilton did not request that you meddle with our urban plan.
“I have been ringing the alarm about this government’s backroom deals for urban sprawl in Hamilton for months now.
“The integrity Commission’s report revealed that the same developers who successfully influenced the Ford government to remove their land from the Greenbelt also benefited from a provincial order to expand the city’s urban boundary. My question, Mr. Speaker, did this government give preferential treatment to developers with Shady MZOs and undemocratic changes to our official plan?”
Calandar: “And there you have it, Mr. Speaker, don’t ya? Right. It’s not about the Greenbelt colleagues. It’s never been about the Greenbelt for them, right. It’s about stopping people from having the same benefits that generations of Ontarians have always had.
 Premier Ford responded to the first to question (he never really answered the questions) and then turned it over to his Minister of Housing and sat looking glum and very uncomfortable. “On the Greenbelt, they don’t even want it built in their own area. In fact, after the decision was made to restore the lands to the Greenbelt, some of those members called me to say that they had already done their job in their area and that they didn’t want to see intensification. They didn’t want to see towers. Well, let me tell you this. We aren’t going to build it all across the province because you know what young Ontarians deserve to have that first home, the seniors who want to downsize deserve to have a place that they can downsize to Mr. Speaker, they deserve to have long term care homes. Our students deserve to have dormitories, Mr. Speaker, that is what is important to all of those people who are in their parents basement right now and want to have a home – we have your back.
“We’ll get the job done.”
By Staff
September 25th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington will observe the September 30th National Day for Truth and Reconciliation holiday on Friday, Sept. 29. To mark the importance of the day, City administration buildings will be closed.
 Photograph taken at a Truth and Reconciliation event. September 30th is also recognized as Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day inspired by the story of Indian Residential School Survivor Phyllis Webstad.
As part of Orange Shirt Day, residents can come to Spencer Smith Park (1400 Lakeshore Rd) where local indigenous people will commemorate the day, starting at 12:45 p.m., from the pavilion at the east end of the park. Additional details can be found on the city’s online events calendar at burlington.ca/calendar. Participants are encouraged to wear orange shirts and moccasins if they have them.
We encourage residents to visit the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation website for educational materials and resources.
| City Service |
Holiday Closure Information |
| Animal Services |
The Animal Shelter at 2424 Industrial St. will be closed to appointments on Friday, Sept. 29. To report an animal control related emergency on a holiday, please call 905-335-7777. |
| Burlington Transit |
Burlington Transit will operate on a regular weekday schedule on Friday, Sept. 29. For real-time bus information and schedules, visit myride.burlingtontransit.ca.
The Downtown Transit Terminal, at 430 John St., and Specialized Dispatch will be open on Friday, Sept. 29. |
| City Hall |
Service Burlington and the Building, Renovating and Licensing counter on the main floor of City Hall at 426 Brant St., will be closed to all appointments and walk-in service on Friday, Sept. 29.
Many service payments are available online at burlington.ca/onlineservices
For online development services:
MyFiles can be used by residents who have applied for Pre-Building Approval after April 24, 2023. Once an account has been created, applicants can check the status of their files at burlington.ca/MyFiles. |
| Halton Court Services – Provincial Offences Office |
Court administration counter services at 4085 Palladium Way will be closed on Friday, Sept. 29.
Except for the holiday closure, telephone payments are available at 905-637-1274, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. All in-person services are available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Many services are also available by email at burlingtoncourt@burlington.ca or online at Halton Court Services. Payment of Provincial Offences fines is available 24/7 at www.paytickets.ca. |
| Parking |
Paid parking will be in effect on Friday, Sept. 29.
Free parking is available downtown, on the street, in municipal lots and in the parking garage (414 Locust St.) on weekends and after 6 p.m., Monday to Friday.
NOTE:
- The Waterfront parking lots (east and west at 1286 Lakeshore Rd.) do not provide free parking on holidays
- Parking exemptions are required to park overnight on city streets and for longer than five hours. Visit burlington.ca/parkingexemptions
- Please make an online reservation using Park Pass to visit Lowville Park on weekends. Reservations are free and available in three-hour time slots
|
| Recreation Programs and Facilities |
Recreation facilities are open for registered and drop-in programs and rentals on Friday, Sept. 29, and on the holiday, Saturday, Sept. 30. Drop-in recreation program schedules are available at burlington.ca/dropinandplay.
Customer Service
Recreation, Community and Culture customer service is available to assist you in person at recreation facility counters during program times.
Customer service is also available:
- By email at liveandplay@burlington.ca
- By phone at 905-335-7738, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (including Sept. 29).
|
| Roads, Parks and Forestry |
The administrative office will be closed on Friday, Sept. 29. Essential services will be provided as required. |
Why this holiday? In June 2021, the federal government passed legislation proclaiming Sept. 30 a public holiday. The holiday is one of 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and is intended to honour and commemorate Indian Residential School survivors and those children that did not make it home.
 In September 2021, Burlington City Council unanimously supported Sept. 30 as a paid holiday for employees at the City of Burlington, including the closure of City Hall and other non-essential city services.
Links and Resources
 By Pepper Parr
September 22, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
 Progressive Conservative Ford still did something you rarely see Liberal premiers or prime ministers do. He apologized. He took it on the chin, fell on his sword in full admission that this was messed up. Doug Ford has certainly had a better month – in three weeks he lost three of his Cabinet members and on Thursday had to drag his Cabinet into a parking lot behind a hotel to publicly apologize for what he admitted was a mistake.
At that point it became a bit of a pile on with Burlington’s Mayor Marianne Meed Ward saying she “applauded the reversal of Ford’s plan that will now see 7,400 acres of land returned to the Greenbelt” adding it was great news for the environment.
The mayor went on to suggest the Ford government was left with few options to push the development agenda once the Auditor General’s report confirmed no Greenbelt land is required to meet the goal of new housing units.
However, the mayor acknowledged that work still needs to be done to meet necessary housing requirements.
“Burlington remains committed to working with all levels of government to do our part to get permits to builders so they can get shovels in the ground (to build homes,” she said. “We know the City of Burlington can do this within our urban boundary while protecting our rural and Greenbelt lands.”
Environmental Defence has been hounding the provincial government for months on the decision to let Greenbelt properties be opened up for housing saying “We hope this change marks the beginning of a broader shift away from the government’s current misguided policies, including: forced boundary expansions in Hamilton and Halton, Waterloo and elsewhere; its lowering of Growth Plan density requirements; its gutting of Conservation Authorities; and its dismantling of regional land use planning. These damaging decisions, along with attempts to repeal laws which promote efficient land use and construction, must also be reversed.
 Environmental Defence kicking up their heals at a staff retreat “Environmental Defence is particularly concerned that Premier Ford continues to pursue the wasteful and unnecessary Highway 413 scheme. Not only does the highway divert billions in public funds but also misallocates crucial construction resources needed for housing and transit. The only beneficiaries of building highway 413 appear to be a select group of land speculators who have invested in farmland and forests along the proposed route. Building 413 would mean fewer homes, slower, and worsened traffic in the GTA.
“The only way to deliver the number of homes that Ontarians need – with the speed that our housing crisis demands – is to overhaul the zoning and official plans of existing neighbourhoods where people want to live. This would permit and encourage the construction of compact, affordable family homes on all residential streets – including those currently limited to single detached homes. This approach would expedite the creation of much-needed housing without compromising community integrity.
 NDP Leader of the Opposition Marit Stiles in a soybean field in the Greenbelt. Leader of the NDP Opposition, Marita Stiles, who deserves credit for sending those two crucial letters to the then Auditor General Bonnie Lysak and the provincial Integrity Commissioner J David Wake to investigate what was taking place. Without the letters from Stiles neither bureaucrat could do anything.
Stiles has been particularly tough on Doug Ford saying: “This is a government in complete and utter disarray, fractured after lurching from scandal to scandal. Ford’s Conservatives are now down three Cabinet ministers in just three weeks.
“Will there be any cabinet ministers left on Monday?
“The curtain’s been pulled back on a corrupt Conservative government all too comfortable with making backroom deals to benefit a select few of their friends – at the expense of everyone else.
“We can’t have a government that’s so entangled in its own messes that it’s not helping Ontarians with the very real challenges they’re facing.
People deserve a stable government that sees their frustration with the affordability crisis and how much the housing crisis is hurting them – and offers solutions that actually make their lives easier.”
The day Ford made his roll back announcement Stiles said of the eleventh-hour decision to reverse the Greenbelt Grab: ““This is a victory for Ontarians, who fought long and hard to get this government to reverse their corrupt decision to carve up the Greenbelt.
“It was clear from the beginning that this was the wrong decision, and yet Ford’s Conservatives pressed on. It was a calculated attempt by this government to benefit a select few of their insiders at the expense of everyone else.
“And Mr. Ford continues to dodge responsibility as the Premier of this province, especially as this whole scandal has pulled back the curtain on a government all too comfortable making backroom deals.
“This reversal won’t clear the air on a government that Ontarians know stinks.”.
 CBC reporter Mike Crawley at a press conference CBC reporter Mike Crawley said he didn’t think the announcement would bring an end to the story saying there was “much more to be learned”. Crawley wanted to know why the Premier didn’t ask questions is as to why the list of properties that were being approved for removal from the Greenbelt was debated – maybe it wasn’t debated – just rubber stamped.
The Legislature returns on Monday – expect Stiles to be in full attack mode.
By Pepper Parr
September 7th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Paul Calandra told a group of media that: In fact as the premier stated yesterday, we’ve seen more home starts, new home starts over the last two years than we had seen in 30 years.
It was quickly evident that Calandra was going to follow the lead the Premier set the day before: home, home, home – 1.5 million if you were asking.
 Calandra: “The Premier has directed me to begin a further review of the Greenbelt that was scheduled for a review by 2025. As the newly appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Calandra said “It is a very important commitment that we’ve made to build 1.5 million homes across the province of Ontario by 2031. It is something that the premier has reiterated to me before I took the job. He also said to me that it is important that all of the work that we do is done in a manner that maintains the public trust.
“The Premier has directed me to begin a further review of the Greenbelt that was scheduled for a review by 2025 as part of the legislation that was put in place when it was created.
“We will begin that review very soon. I’ve spoke to my deputy minister yesterday and asked her to put in place a fulsome review of the Greenbelt to give me options for that review to ensure that it is a public open and accountable process. Once I have that I will be coming to you – that review will start very, very soon.
“The review will include the 14 parcels of land that were removed from the Greenbelt. AgainI reiterated my commitment to ensuring that we get shovels in the ground, but also to ensuring that on the 14 sitesthe facilitator will continue her work – that work must include significant community benefits.
“Community developments have to include roads, schools, community centers, hospitals, and a protection of any natural heritage features within those sites. Once that work is completed – I’m hoping to have it completed by the end of the year – we will make that public. We will ensure that you have access to what it is that we are considering on those sites. And that will then be fed into the full review of the Greenbelt that will be underway by that point.
“So it’s two levels of accountability. At the same time, I will be moving to ensure that there are additional accountability measures moving forward.
“I’ve asked the Department to give me recommendations and options to revise the ministerial zoning order policy (MZO).
“I want to be able to restrict the transfer or sale of lands and make this retroactive to 2018. I want to ensure that any lands that have been rezoned using an MZO for the purpose of meeting our goals of building 1.5 million homes are used for that purpose.
“At the same time and speaking with a number of our municipal partners. I have heard more than once as I’m sure many of you have the need to look at a new policy. Have a use it or lose it. We have heard far too often how the really the extraordinary good work that our municipal partners do and their time and resources that they spend in moving forward on development proposals, only to have developers sit on those allocations of water and sewage.
“I’m working with my department and I’ve instructed them to bring forward a use it or lose it policy. The Premier has said and all of us have acknowledged we are in a housing crisis. We have to put shovels in the ground and we are relying on our partners in the development industry to get those shovels in the ground faster.
“I will also be looking at further options for speculation and cancellation penalties that will be implemented through the fall economic statement. I also want to work with the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery to look at additional consumer protections. I’m looking at options for increased penalties for cancellation of purchase agreements and increased penalties for extortion of purchase agreement and I also want to work with the Minister of Finance to potentially increase the non resident speculation tax
“We already have the highest tax in Canada, but we’re looking to see if we can make that even fair. So these are a whole suite of measures that that we are bringing in place to ensure not only the highest level of accountability in the process to re to build public trust, but at the same time to be able to live up to our commitment of building 1.5 million homes across the province of Ontario working with our municipal partners to respect the work they are doing and putting the development community on notice that bad actors will not be tolerated.
“Our intention to build is to build homes for the people of the province; all types of homes. We expect shovels in the ground and want our partners to work with us to get that done. And with that I’m pleased to take any questions.”
 Reporters awaiting the arrival of the newly appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Reporter: Not much has been said about what the actual parameters the actual criteria for this review. Will be one review could be where I build housing everywhere we’re in a crisis, one review might be one criteria might be let’s look at the original goals of the Greenbelt environmental sensitivity and all that. We don’t know much about that.
And when you also haven’t mentioned the 800 applications that the premier mentioned yesterday, several times existing many long standing applicants was to remove that he said they’d all be looked at so this review actually where else can we chop up the Greenbelt review or what is it?
Minister: Well, look, it’s a mandatory review that had to take place as we said by 2025 accelerating that to to begin almost immediately. I will ask the department to give me a full suite of recommendations how that review can take place. As I said it will be a full open and accountable process it will look at the entirety of the Greenbelt. There really might be lands that need to be added to the Greenbelt there may be some some lands that are removed but it will be a fair and open process that will live up to the spirit of the original intent of the Greenbelt.
Reporter: That review will say these 14 sites, some of them don’t make the kind of 100% back in … and that you’re committing now?
 Calandra: I’ve asked the facilitator to complete her work by the by the end of the year. Minister: I want to I want to be clear on this. So the provincial facilitator, I’ve given the provincial facilitator a clear mandate as to what I expect to happen with these these 14 sites – it’s very, very clear.
We’re building communities I expect significant community benefits on these lands. I expect the natural heritage and the natural heritage features on these lands to be protected. I will make that public. Her work. I will make it public when it is completed and then I will feed that work into the review of the Greenbelt that will be commenced sooner rather than later.
Reporter: The Rouge lands should have been left as agriculture as they had been for decades.
Minister: Look, I’m not going to I’m not going to presuppose what the work of the review is. What’s important is that we come up with a framework that is open and accountable. that respects the intention of of what we want to accomplish both not only in building 1.5 million homes, but also in preserving our natural heritage.
Reporter: Sorry, you’re saying that even if there is some significant construction on these lands, and your review process then determines that these lands should have been in the Greenbelt? What happened is that would you stop construction and revert the lands? Yeah.
Minister: Good question. Look, the reality is that I’ve asked the facilitator to complete her work by the by the end of the year. At that point, I will certainly make the results of her work. Shovels in the ground by 2025 is what my expectation is on those sites, but if they don’t meet the requirements under the Greenbelt review, as well, as I said that the mandated Greenbelt review, then they will not proceed and we will remove those lands from the Greenbelt at the same at the same time, as we said, on MZO on speculation, we will not hesitate to remove lands whether it’s an MZO if they do not meet our goals of building 1.5 million homes. We will take action on both on those developers and on the on the on the process of language.
 Reporters putting questions to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Reporter: Can you tell us what kind of screens you have put in your office to ensure that no one in your office has any direct communications or contacts or receives any kind of USB keys or packages from members of the development community?
Is there a hard cinder block wall now between your office and developers ?
Minister: The Premier was extraordinarily clear to me on what his expectations were. It took some time to read some of the recommendations in the auditor general’s report. And I will ensure by working with my deputy and in my team at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing that we have a process that is public, that is open that is meets the highest ethical standards – that includes myself and my office.
Reporter: Are you implementing any kind of wall here? Is there any instruction from you to your staff to not have any communications with developers. The chief of staff was named in the integrity commissioners report as having dinner with those in the development community. How are you going to prevent that from happening? What policies are you putting in place?
Minister: Once I undertake the review of the Greenbelt I will ask the Department to give me recommendations on how that review should proceed. And I will follow what the department has put in place at the same time. I expect everybody, my colleagues, myself reach out to the Integrity Commissioner to ensure the highest standards are met. It’s been the way I’ve governed myself and that’s the way I continue to govern myself and have the exact same expectations of people that work with me.
Reporter: Are instructions you’re giving to municipalities contradictory here because on the one hand, I understand from mayors and local planning conditionals, that the province is negotiating community benefits, that they’re still going forward with planning the urban Boundary Expansion, some of which, which does go into land and the Greenbelt. And now you’re also doing the review. Isn’t that creating a greater degree of uncertainty for freedom municipality, and a lot more work for them to do down the line?
Minister: No, I think just the opposite – local municipalities that are assisting us with the provincial facilitators work right now have been very cooperative with us. But we have heard that if we are going to be building 1.5 million homes across the province of Ontario we have to get this work underway. Look, we’ve done a lot of work in the lead up to this with, you know, transit oriented communities or housing supply action plans every single year to move to move the obstacles to route to remove obstacles and help us facilitate our desire to build these 1.5 million homes by reviewing the Greenbelt.
Moving it up sooner helps to alleviate some of the pressures that might have been built up in the system. So I actually think it is it is the right time to do it. And we can gather all of that information from our municipal partners at the same time. I think they all share the same goal. I don’t think anybody has disagreed that we need to build homes across the province of Ontario. I think we’re all unified on that. My municipal partners are unified when I’m out in my community. People are saying we need more homes. People are nervous about it. I think we can do it in a way that rebuilds public trust. But the ultimate goal is to build homes for people, and we will work with our partners and we will get that done.
Reporter: There’s an overwhelming sense that people don’t want building on the Greenbelt, your government is down in the polls. Why not follow that 15th recommendation for the Auditor General the premier didn’t mention yesterday and at least return these 14-15 sites to the Greenbelt. Now.
Minister: To be clear, what we are doing is we’re moving forward with the provincial facilitator and have asked her to continue her work that she has started, and I will submit her work after making it public.
I will submit her work to the Greenbelt review that will be underway by the ministry. I’ve asked the ministry to give me options for how that review would take place. It should be open and public. And it should allow us to have the highest accountability and public input as possible. So not only will that work continue with the provincial facilitator, but it will also then be submitted to the Greenbelt review that we are undertaking.
Reporter: Is the government committing right now to not issue any of those until that review is done.
Minister: I want to have a review. I want to make sure that the MZOs that were issued for the purposes that we’ve established them to do.
When I was Minister of Long Term Care I asked for an MZO to help me build a long term care home where I ran into obstacles with municipal partners who just didn’t want long term care home for one reason or another. I’ve asked for a municipal zoning order so to help me on that way so no, they’re still an important tool but when it comes to our progress to building 1.5 million homes, I think we are very clear to our partners in the development industry when we issue an EMS it is used to help us gain makeup ground on building those 1.5 million homes.
That’s what they’re issued for. And that’s what we expect our partners to use them for at the same time. I think equally important I’ve heard it constantly from our municipal partners how much work they put into this, when they when they take the plans from from developers, the allocations of sewer and water and then the developer does nothing with the permit and sits on that and then thereby restricting other developments down the line. That is not acceptable to us. It is a waste of of taxpayers money is a waste of resources and does nothing to help us build 1.5 million homes. So we are putting the development community on notice as well. That we will be moving with a use it or lose it policy. At the same time that we have it we have a goal we want to build these homes. We’re going to build the homes. We will meet our targets and we will make progress on this.
Reporter: Is it possible more lands could be opened up for development during this review ?
Minister: I’m not going to presuppose, I’m agnostic on what the final resolution will be. I think the outer agenda was very clear that politics should be removed from the process; that a thorough review should be undertaken. That was the mandate of the legislation when it was introduced. And that was what the tenure review is all about. We will put a fair open process in place to provide the accountability but and public participation in the process. And we will remove it in terms of being political decisions to one that are made with the support and assistance of our of the public service but more importantly, with people and rebuilds public trust in the process
Reporter: Who is responsible for the collapse of public trust in this process. He’s at fault for what has happened here
Minister: As I said in my opening, opening remarks, Minister Clark has put forward proposals to help us alleviate the pressures that we’re seeing on building across the province of Ontario, where there’s transit oriented communities each and every year a housing supply action plan that we as a government we as a cabinet and as a caucus have always supported.
We are in an incredible challenge right now. We have to build homes in every part of this province. And he has done remarkable work on that having said that, having said that it is very clear that the process that was undertaken for the initial 14 sites was not one that can be supported. And is not one that that builds public trust.
 Calandra: I have to be honest with you I will not be stopped on our mission and building 1.5 million homes – this is a priority for us. That is why we’re undertaking the the review of the Greenbelt. Now that is why the work of the provincial facilitator just to be clear, the work of the provincial facilitator right now will be made public and will be then further subject to the Greenbelt review.
But I will not be stopped I have to be honest with you I will not be stopped on our mission and building 1.5 million homes – this is a priority for us. And we will remove obstacles and we’ll find ways to do it. But we will do it in a way that ensures that we retain the public trust every single step and acknowledge that he is responsible for what has happened.
Reporter: How can we trust that you will do anything differently than he has done?
Minister: Look, I have the benefit of an auditor general recommendations. The premier has given me a clear direction on what his expectations are of me: first and foremost, to build, 1.5 million homes to ensure that the height of that we rebuild public trust where it is required, but at the same time to ensure that we conduct that we hold everybody accountable. We’re going to hold developers accountable for the work that they’re committing to do for us whether it’s through EMS or whether it’s through the planning process. We are going to ensure that any changes that are made to the Greenbelt are done in an open and accountable way. This is this is an opportunity for us across the province to to really start to make even more significant headway and helping reach our goal of 1.5 million homes.
I’m actually quite optimistic of what we can do. We’re listening to our municipal partners who look at moi heard this constantly. You know, we, you we do all of this work. We put significant resources into getting permits, and then a developer will sit on that allocation for years and not get anything done. And then you we as provincial government come to them and say, move on. Let’s get it going. Let’s get it going. Let’s let’s build more homes.
We are responding to that today by putting the developers on notice that we’re gonna do that we can always have better processes. Absolutely. But that’s why I think they review the Greenbelt right now. Makes sense, right so that I can put those 14 parcels that were removed already, under the microscope, have a review as well, both in terms of what we are wanting to accomplish. And both in terms of what the Greenbelt review would do.
Reporter: You mentioned a number of things you’re having to speed up home, use it or lose it but there’s still so much stuff in the housing affordability Task Force, whether it be four storeys on every street, six to 11 on transit routes, limited by the major transit areas. Why isn’t that?
Minister: Look, I don’t disagree. There’s more work to be done on that. And an undertaking to review that as well and and I will, I will be happy to come back to you with some of the progress in the near future that we release it. I’ll go with you.
 Reporters from media across the province take part in these sessions where questions are asked often with follow up questions. If one reporter doesn’t get the answer they were looking for a different reporter follows up. Reporter: When you sat in cabinet and these 15 sites were brought to you did you have any questions?
Minister: To be completely clear, I was very supportive of removing lands for the purposes of meeting our goal of building 1.5 million homes. I think we can accomplish the goal of building 1.5 million homes while respecting our natural heritage at the same time. I’m very familiar with this. The site obviously it’s it’s in my backyard. I was a federal Member of Parliament in that area.
When we brought in the Rouge National Urban Park I was a federal member, the very same parties that are now there’s screaming and hollering about this all voted against the creation of the Rouge national urban park because they wanted to reforest the area. In fact, the provincial government at the time refused to transfer the lands into the Rouge National Urban urban park. The Liberals when they were in office were the only government that that evicted farmers from my riding.
 Rouge National Urban Park It’s unacceptable to me frankly. My own daughter thinks she will never have the chance to buy or rent a home that it’s out of reach. I think we can we can manage both right? I really do. I think we can manage both. I’m very optimistic about where we can go on this. I think we can manage our natural heritage while meeting the goals of building 1.5 million homes.
I thank you all thank you very much for being here today. Appreciate it.
And with that the Minister left the podium.
While Calandra put on a decent presentation and held his own with the media the New Democrat leader at Queen’s Park wasn’t impresed. Maritt Stiles sets out part of the Calandra record of achievement:
Paul Calandra as the new Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs – a critically important file in the middle of a housing crisis with little in the way of relevant experience other than being infamous for misdirection.
Calandra’s qualifications as deflector-in-chief include:
- In 2012, he was Stephen Harper’s shield from the Senate Scandal (Calandra’s non-answers gained so much notoriety they inspired a joke generator of meaningless talking points)
- In 2014, he refused to answer so many questions about Canada’s involvement in Iraq, the Globe and Mail’s exasperated response was: “to call Mr. Calandra a clown is to do a disservice to the ancient profession of painted-face buffoonery”
- In 2015, CBC’s Peter Mansbridge coined Calandra’s non-answers as ‘The Full Calandra’, following an interview about Mike Duffy’s trial
Stiles said: “Ford is playing games and shuffling the deck chairs because he is cynical, and he thinks Ontarians are too. But Ontarians are smarter than that – they’re engaged and angry at Ford’s government. And they won’t be distracted by these cheap tricks meant to obfuscate and distract. “
By Pepper Parr
September 6th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The Premier started his hour long media event sating: “They’re the right team to get it done” and went on to congratulate, at length, all the people who had been brought into his Cabinet or given new roles as Cabinet members.
He couldn’t say enough about them.
 Premier Doug Ford on his feet for more than an hour with close to 1000 people listening to the web cast. I want to congratulate ministers taking on new portfolios and welcome members of caucus who are new to the cabinet table. As Minister of long term care Minister Paul Calandra has been hard at work for residents and their families. Under his leadership, shovels are in the ground to build new long term care homes across Ontario, with new homes for over 10,000 seniors currently under construction. Ontario is on track to be the first province in Canada to deliver an average of four hours of resident care per day as we bring on 1000s of new nurses and personal support workers. For the first time, we’re bringing diagnostic services to residents rather than disrupting and moving them to appointments.
Its clear Minister Calandra has a proven record of delivering on tough assignments. He has a proven record of getting it done. He’s going to bring this same get it done approach to Municipal Affairs and Housing as he takes on the housing supply crisis, the biggest challenge facing governments in Canada.
 Caroline Mulroney: President of the Treasury Board; I also want to congratulate Caroline Mulroney, as President of the Treasury Board, where she’ll apply her years of work in the private sector and financial markets to her new jobs standing up for Ontario taxpayers. It’s incredibly important role and one of the most important in government and there’s no better suited person than Minister Mulroney
Congratulations to Prabmeet Sarkaria as Minister of Transportation who will continue Caroline’s great work and who knows firsthand from his constituents, the importance of building highway 413 alongside the Bradford bypass.
Congratulations to Stan Cho, who has done amazing work as an Associate Minister and will continue the work of supporting long term care home residents and their families. By building 1000s of new homes for our seniors.
He congratulated Rob Flack, Todd McCarthy and Nina Tangri, who are taking on important new roles associate ministers to build attainable homes modular homes, build transit, and support small businesses.
 Steve Clark: “want to thank him for being such an important part of our team.” I also want to give my gratitude to Steve Clark for his years of service and cabinet. I’ve always had so much respect for Steve, his dedication to his community and his unwavering belief in Ontario. His decision to step away couldn’t have been easy, but it only demonstrates his integrity, his maturity and his commitment to our province. For that I want to thank him for being such an important part of our team.
As I’ve said since day one of receiving the auditor general’s report, and as I’ve said again, after the integrity commissioners report, the process we use to make changes to the Greenbelt could have been better, the process should have been better. It’s why we agreed to implement all 14 recommendations from the Auditor General to improve our processes. At the same time have also said that nothing matters more than building homes. You’ve heard me say it before, Ontario is growing at a breakneck speed.
Last year alone we added 500,000 more people. And as we grow, we need to build at least 1.5 million new homes or the dream of homeownership for newcomers and young families in particular will slip further away. Our government will never stop working to build homes for our growing province. As we do. We’ll also do what’s needed to ensure that the people of Ontario that people will never stop serving, have confidence in the decisions we’re making.
When the previous government introduced the Greenbelt, they put in legislation, that mandated the province review it at least every 10 years.
I’ve asked my new Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to launch this review. And as part of this process, reevaluate the remaining land swap sites. These sites will have to survive on their own merit. Last week, when we started the process of putting the Ajax lands back into the Greenbelt, we made it very clear. We have no tolerance for anyone who does anything that doesn’t support building homes quickly.
Minister Calandra will spend the coming days and weeks working with his officials to design and launch this review. It’ll be informed by recommendations put forward by the auditor general as ministry officials design and launch this review the government’s nonpartisan non political facilitator will continue her work (the facilitator was not named) with the remaining landowners and home builders. In fact, her work to ensure the landowners pay for important community infrastructure like parks, community centers, schools and hospitals will be an important part of this review.
Newcomers are struggling to find a place to live, young families not able to buy their starter home. That’s who we’re working for. That’s who will never stop working for.
Questions from reporters followed.
Rob Ferguson, Toronto Star. So this reevaluation and review of the Greenbelt lands will be a full and proper process? Well, what role will the housing Minister’s Chief of Staff play? What role will the bureaucrats play? What role will other land use planning experts play? And how will it be different from what just happened?
Premier: Well, we’re gonna go through the government, deputy ministers and government officials to review all lands. The mandate back in 2005was to review every 10 years. We’re following the recommendations of the Auditor General and we’ll continue to follow the recommendations – there’s going to be a complete review from top to bottom and then they’re gonna have to stand on their own merit. And it’s not just the 14 lands, it’s going to be the seven or 800 lands right across the board.
Reporter: Did you know that Steve Clark was going to resign yesterday morning or were you taken by surprise when it appeared on Twitter?
Ford: “No, Steve Clark called me. It shows the integrity, and the maturity of Steve Clark. He thought it’d be best for the government and for his family and his constituents that he step aside.
Laura Stone, Globe and Mail. I just want to be absolutely clear here. Are you pausing all development or assessment for development on these lands that you have removed? What are you doing? Are you not going ahead with your plan to develop on the ground?
Premier: The provincial facilitator will continue working with the landowners and the builders to move forward but it’s going to be based on the merits – they’re going to review the whole process, not just the 14 lands, the seven or 800 applications.
And they’ll be able to sit down and talk to stakeholders be indigenous communities, people that need homes. We’ll be talking to communities, and we’ll do a complete review.
Reporter: So is it possible that you would open up other lands for development as part of this review?
Premier: Well, first of all, we’re gonna see what the review says at the end of the review, and we’ll analyze it that will be up to the Minister to make that decision.
Colin Global News. I wanted to ask you about the mandate letter that you gave to Steve Clark in 2022. It specifically asked him to open up lands in the Greenbelt. Did he have the power to say no to that mandate letter?
Premier: Every minister has the opportunity to sit down with myself. I’m pretty accessible. I’m probably the most accessible premier that’s ever existed. I take calls from my MPPs, I take calls from my ministers. I take calls from mayors right across this province and I listen to their concerns. We have a great working relationship with 444 mayors and wardens across this province. I’m in constant communication with them, not just about building homes, even though that’s the number one issue.
Reporter: I wanted to ask about the relationship between the government and the owners of those 15 parcels of land. Did your government enter into any legally binding contracts with those owners to stipulate that they would have to build X amount of housing on that land? Was there a contract between the Ontario government and the owners or is it just a handshake?
Premier: That’s going to be up to the facilitator to make sure that these lands include community centers, hospitals, long term care parks, and that’s something that we wouldn’t be able to do. If a builder down the street for instance, decides to build. We don’t go up and say you got to build this you got to build that. We rely on the municipalities to build homes, to make sure that they get the permits out in a timely fashion.
We’ve given them every single tool possible to make sure makes their life easier to get homes built. And that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna make sure that we build those 1.5 million homes for people.
We’re going to go across the country to make sure that if there are modular home builders I want to bring them into Ontario.
Blaine Higgs, the premier of New Brunswick, that told me that they have for companies that build modular homes in New Brunswick, and after we exhaust all other avenues, we’re gonna go to the US and encourage them to open up their plants in Ontario to build modular homes.
Reporter, Trillium news Minister Clarke resigned for not keeping a close enough eye on his staff and letting this whole process get out of hand but your mandate letter told Minister Clark to come up with, and I’m quoting, “processes for swaps, expansions, contractions and policy updates for the Green Belt and to finish it all by fall 2022.”
Did you or anyone in your office communicate with Clark’s office along the way ? So are you not guilty of the same thing that Minister Clark resigned over?
Premier: I have confidence and our ministers. I don’t believe in micromanaging ministers that have confidence in our ministers and to follow the process. You know, Minister Clark came out admitted the process wasn’t, there. It could have been better. I came out and said the process wasn’t there.
We’ve taken 14 recommendations from the Auditor General. We’re moving as we speak on those 14 recommendations. And we’re gonna do a complete review of all lands in the Greenbelt, as it was mandated by the previous government.
We’re going to make sure that we review every single aspect of making sure that we follow the process.
But the most important thing is the people that are hurting out there that can afford a home on top of the interest rates that we’re seeing 10 hikes from the Bank of Canada in 18 months. You know, I pleaded with the Bank of Canada, the governor, go out there, talk to the average person like I do,meet the people that are struggling. People that can’t afford a mortgage, because the rate hikes, not just the hikes, but the speed that it did it at 10 hikes I can’t remember in living memory that the Bank of Canada or the governor raised rates 10 times in 18 months. If we don’t see a stop, people will lose their homes. They’re struggling, mortgages have doubled.
The federal government which is separate from the Bank of Canada should be investing in infrastructure like the 413 to get goods from point A to point B in a more efficient manner to make sure people can get home a lot quicker than rather than being stuck on the highway the 401 or stuck on the 400.
That’s the reason we’re investing over $30 billion unprecedented in building highways be at 413. The Bradford bypass high widening highway three expanding highway seven building highway seven from Kitchener all the way to Guelph, our province is growing like we’ve never seen. We’re the fastest growing region in North America, bar none. We have to make sure that we build the infrastructure. We’re building $70 billion of transit; the largest transit expansion in North America. There’s no one that comes close to that. We already have shovels in the ground on the Ontario line. That’s unprecedented at the speed that we’re moving. I can’t remember the last time any government is building subways and tunneling at the speed we’re doing. And we’re going to continue pouring money into infrastructure.
We’ve invested over $184 billion in infrastructure that includes $50 billion building 50 new hospitals and additions to those hospitals never been done before. That’s what we’re focusing on.
Reporter: I’d like to ask about the ongoing work of the facilitator integrity commission report said you guys have eight agreements in principle with the landowners. If these are still going forward. Will you commit to publicly releasing these agreements once they’re finalized?
Premier: Once they’re finalized, we’ll release them. We’re going to show how these builders these landowners are going to spend billions of dollars in supporting the community that they’re building. They’re going to be building parks, community centers; they’re going to be building hospitals and long term care.
The nonpartisan facilitator will be working hand in hand but we’ll also be reviewing all other applications right across the Greenbelt, like the previous government mandated, it should be reviewed every 10 years.
McIntosh from the Narwhal. So the housing affordability Task Force found that cutting into the Greenbelt isn’t necessary that Ontario already has enough land. But it did make 55 other recommendations, your government’s only finished three of them. Why not do that, instead of opening up Greenbelt land or reinstate rent control on newer buildings to improve affordability?
Premier: Thank you for that question. They did have so many recommendations. We’re going through 30 of them already. We’re going to follow up on the other 40 We’re working as we speak right now, but in saying that, even the person that headed the review would admit right now, when they did that review, they didn’t expect a half a million people show up to our doors.
And I always say that’s a conservative estimate. I believe it’s closer to 800,000. As a CIBC report came out saying we need to continue building homes right now with the volume that we’re seeing. And over the next 10 years at minimum, there’ll be five to six million people coming to our province. We do not have enough lands to be able to build enough homes for over five to six million people. Our number one goal for the people of Ontario, is to make sure they have affordable homes, have modular homes that they are going to be able to live in. I call them starter homes. They’re going to be basic homes, and they’re going to be affordable and attainable homes of under $500,000. They’ll be able to walk in through their front door, put the key in, they’re going to have a backyard. They’re going to have a finished basement that they can use as a rental unit. That’s what we’re going to focus on. But it’s not about just modular homes. It’s about building a community having more rentals that people can afford. We had more rental starts than we’ve seen in decades. We’re doing the right thing for the people that can’t afford our homes right now. We’re gonna fight for the hard working blue collar people that are getting killed right now by the interest rates from the Bank of Canada.
We’re gonna stand on their side. We’re going to make sure it comes down to supply and demand that we all know that’s out there. Right now. We’re gonna flood the market with new homes right across this province
Reporter: premier when it comes to Greenbelt land doing this review the reports from the Integrity Commissioner and the Auditor General found that you know, you and minister Clark were not in control of what the government was doing as you undertake this new review. How can Ontarians trust that you are in control now?
Premier: Well, let me first answer the first question that I’ll get to the second question about trust. We’re going to work with our government officials where we’ve already admitted numerous times and I’ve said it today, I’ll say it again – I wasn’t happy with the process. We’re correcting the process and the 14 recommendations. Now let me tell you about trust and why the people can trust this government. You know, results speak for themselves. Folks. When we took office back in 2018 we inherited a bankrupt company. We had a healthcare system that was totally broken. Move forward to 2023 we’ve added over 3000 beds we’re adding another 3200 beds. We’ve hired and registered 60,000 new nurses 8000 new doctors registered last year alone 15,000 nurses which was a record registered here in Ontario, as I mentioned earlier we’re the only government that’s putting $50 billion no matter where you live in Ontario. You’re either getting a brand new hospital, or you’re getting in addition to a hospital. The previous government stopped talking to the Ontario Medical Association We have a great relationship but they all may. We’re in constant communication with the Ontario Hospital Association and the CEOs.
We’re making sure that when you go get a prescription, you don’t have to go to your doctor to get the most common prescriptions. You can go into a pharmacy and get them and we’re going to expand on that. We’re making sure that we’re giving people opportunities on diagnostics, that we’re gonna have convenient care closer to home. We’re changing the education system for parents. We’re making sure through the great leadership of Minister Lecce that we’re investing right now. $500 million building 100 new schools and that’s going to continue.
Over $700 million more is being spent on hiring educators. We’ve hired you know, 1000s and 1000s of new educators over 8000 this year alone. We are going to hire an additional 2000 educators.
We have three credit agencies that have given us a positive report for the first time in decades. Folks, when I took office, companies were leaving the province in droves – 300,000 families lost their jobs. They couldn’t get hired because companies were leaving in the droves. General Motors Oshawa closed their plant and left. The other ones are ready to leave. But we came in and we changed the system.
We took $8 billion of burden off the backs of companies to invest back here in Ontario. Since then $25 billion of investments in the automotive sector, in the EV sector has been invested in Ontario because they have confidence in our government. We’ll see probably in the next year $3 billion in life sciences, no matter if it’s Moderna or if it’s AstraZeneca, or any of the other pharmaceutical companies Roche investing here and creating more jobs.
The tech sector has grown to overtake Silicon Valley, San Francisco Bay Area. We now employ more people than anywhere in North America. We’re leading North America in job creation and economic development compared to back in 2018. As I mentioned, we’re spending $184 billion previous governments totally ignored it. We’re building for subway lines we’re spending over $70 billion in transit expanding GO train service. We’re just expanding $30 billion, the highways and roads and bridges. And when it comes to long term care, the previous government and their whole mandate of 15 years built about 600 homes for long term care. We’re going to build 30,000 homes that seniors can call home that we’re renovating long term care homes right across the board.
We we’ve graduated over 65,000 STEM graduates we’ve given the support to the colleges and universities that we have the best in the entire world. That’s just a few of the things. Our track record speaks for itself. That’s the reason the people of Ontario can trust our government.
Reporter: Alan Hale from Queen’s Park Today. So just to be clear, you’re saying that this is not a backtrack of any kind you’re not giving into demands for a revisit of the Greenbelt. This is a review that you would have been doing anyway.
Premier: We’re going to review the whole system including the 14 properties.
We’re going to review all the properties; we’re going to acknowledge the process wasn’t up to snuff by any means. We’re going to make sure that all properties are reviewed to make sure they stand on their merit, and that’s what we’re going to look at.
Reporter: You talk about how you don’t want to micromanage your ministers, but given the fact that you have had one minister give himself and many of your caucus and some other party loyalists,the title of King’s Council without you apparently knowing and now you’ve let another minister sleepwalk you into a scandal where it looks to many people like a corrupt deal has happened and maybe is it time for you to maybe check in a bit more with what your ministers are doing and read documents before they come to cabinet.
Premier: Well, thank you for that question. First of all King’s Counsel; people don’t care. I’m gonna be very frank about having KC beside their name that’s really in the legal sector.
We’re gonna make sure at the end of the day, we have the best interest of the people at heart. That’s the reason folks were building these homes.
We see a crisis; the other party’s, the Greens, the NDP and the Liberals put us in an absolute disastrous position in 2018. When I took office, we’re fixing everything that was broken. They don’t have a solution. All they do is get up and complain and criticize. Ask them what is your solution? We have a solution. We have a plan. The plan is working. The plan is working in healthcare. The plan is working long term care and transportation infrastructure, education, colleges and universities and I can go on and on and on. We’ve corrected the problems of the previous government of 15 years that destroyed this province. No one in the world wanted to invest in Ontario.
I work hand in hand with everyone. I have a message at the Bank of Canada. You want to destroy people’s lives. You want to watch people go bankrupt and lose their homes. Just raise the interest rates. It’s going to be on your hands. We don’t need any more interest rates being raised what we need is infrastructure money to build highways. That’s what we need.
Reporter: Richard Southern. You said today that Ontarians can trust you but you’ve never told Ontarians exactly what you weren’t happy about with this process for three weeks. You’ve just said I’m not happy with the process. In your own words today. Can you tell us what went wrong here?
Premier: Well, there was 14 recommendations and I said we’re going to follow those 14 recommendations. You know, it was very clear with the auditor general’s report, the integrity commissioners report which I have a great deal of respect for the Integrity Commissioner, that these are the recommendations that they’re putting forward. You know, we realize it – we admit our mistakes. I’ve come out here with apologize.
We’re moving forward. But nothing is more important than building homes. And we have a record of getting it done. As sure as I’m standing here, folks, there’s going to be people that are going to be able to afford a home and attainable home. There’s going to be more rentals than there’s ever been. That’s our responsibility to make sure that we give the tools to the mayors and the wardens and councils all across this province. Get the tools to build homes. There’s no more important issue to the people of Ontario right now. There’s no more important issue for our government than to build homes. That people can afford at a reasonable interest rate.
Reporter: I didn’t get an answer there premier but I want to ask you about your new cabinet. Is shuffling Miss Mulroney out of transportation. Is that an acknowledgement about some failings on the Eglington Crosstown and are we any closer to finding out when the Crosstown is going to open?
 Portions of the elevated part of the new subway line  The Crosstown had time line problems – has yet to be completed. Premier: I’ll answer that in two parts. First of all, let’s talk about the Crosstown: GO CEO Phil Verster will be out frequently giving the people of Ontario an update. And as for Minister Mulroney. I think her record speaks for itself. You know something I’ve had the opportunity to know Minister Mulroney for the last five years. And make no mistake about it. She’s a brilliant person. She’s worked in the private sector. She’s worked in the financial sectors. And again, her record speaks for itself. Before we took office. There was no plans ever to build subways, under her watch under her leadership there’s four lines being built. There’s expansion and GP train services across our province to the tune of $70 billion. The reason that people in southwestern Ontario are getting highway three widen is because of Minister Mulroney’s leadership, the reason that we’re building the Bradford bypass that’s Minister Mulroney, the reason we’re doing 413 is Minister Mulroney. The reason we’re building highway seven that governments have talked about for years from Kitchener to Guelph is because Minister Mulroney She’s done an incredible job in transportation portfolio. She’s going to do an incredible job watching every single penny for the taxpayers of this province.
Reporter: Shavon Morris, CTV News. You said that lands will have to pass on their own merits. Can you explain what that means exactly given what we saw in the auditor general’s report and the integrity commissioners report that lands were removed from the Greenbelt that didn’t pass the kind of basics, first servicing and then speed of development.
Premier: First of all, I want to re emphasize the Greenbelt has expanded, it has not shrunk. There’s 2000 more acres in the Greenbelt that didn’t exist before. And as for the merit, we’re putting together a process, a process through government officials that we’re going to make sure that the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted. We’re gonna make sure that there’s merit to every application that comes forward. But in saying that again nothing is more important than building homes for the people of Ontario.
Reporter: There are lots of pictures online now of you and former Clarington Mayor John Mutton, can you shed any kind of light as to what role he might have had in having lands removed from the Greenbelt?
Premier: Well, this is a message to anyone any other see work that people do. If you don’t follow the rules, then you’re going to be held accountable and I encouraged the Integrity Commissioner to hold people accountable who don’t follow the rules.
Folks, I meet with 1000s and 1000s 10s of 1000s of people every single year in every sector, no matter if it’s the health care sector, manufacturing sector. You know, making sure that we’re building homes and endless amounts of sectors. I meet with a common folks do you know what I do? I want to find out what the people are doing. I don’t go in with anyone I don’t go in with my detail or anything. I can wander the local Walmart’s, the Home Depot’s – I go into the Sobeys and the Loblaws and the metros to talk to people. I go into the Canadian Tires. That’s where you get how people are feeling. You don’t sit here in a bubble. You don’t not give your phone number out. I talk to 1000s and 1000s of people. I hear what’s going on. I talked to endless people on the weekends by going out into public and hearing what they have to say. And let me tell you something. I’ll tell you what the priorities are. Number one priority is home ownership. Affordability, affordability, when you go to the gas pumps.
I want to work with the federal government when we build these homes to eliminate the HST well the GST on their behalf and we’ll do the same to make it more affordable. We want to make sure that when they go to a municipality on development fees, they don’t get charged $130,000 to put shovels in the ground.
Reporter: Allison Jones with the Canadian Press. How long do you expect this review will take if every Greenbelt parcel is going to be part of it?
 Premier announced that not only are the sites taken out of the Greenbelt going to be reviewed – everything is going to be reviewed.
Premier: Well, I’ve said it very clear, if we don’t see movement on the parcels that we see that will be under review that will have to stand on merit. Then they’re going back into the Greenbelt. I did it with the Ajax lands.
They’re going back and just a message to the 14 owners of this property. If I don’t see movement, you’re going back into the Greenbelt.
This isn’t about the builders. I don’t give two hoots about the builders, but they’re part of the process. Eliminate them. We don’t have homes. So we’re going to make sure that they follow the process that the facilitator is putting out, making sure that they’re investing billions of dollars. There won’t be a penny spent of government money when they put in the roads when they put in the water pipes and the sewer pipes. That’s going to be on them. All I want are more homes for the people. We have a crisis. You come up to Rexdale there’s 160 People living up at the mall. They’re newcomers, asylum seekers and a message to the Government of Canada. This is an emergency. You have to get these people working permits. They want a better life in Ontario, but they can’t be sitting in some mall living there without being able to have a shower.
It’s about the young people that are graduating of a university that are going to get a job that can’t afford a home. They’re gonna be living in their parents basement for the next 10 years. If we don’t build more homes, that’s what I care about. I don’t care about anything else. I care about the people. That’s why I got elected. And we’re going to continue focusing on what matters to the people.
Reporter: I just want to be clear on the timeline. So development is going to continue on these 14 parcels, while a review is underway to determine if they should in fact have been taken out of the Greenbelt based on merit.
Premier: The facilitator is going to be working, as she is right now, making sure that they have a responsibility to pay for the roads and the sewers, the community centers, the school’s the hospitals and long term care homes. And it’s going to be based on merit and all the other applications are right now.
There’s about seven or 800 applications, folks, there’s nowhere in the entire world outside of I don’t know, I guess Communist China and North Korea that a government comes in with no consultation and takes two million acres of privately held property off people. We’re going to review it.
Nothing should get in the way of building homes. As fast as we can. That’s what matters. A year down the road, folks, you’re going to see homes being built at an unprecedented rate. We’re going to make sure that there’s supply to meet the demands of over 500,000 new people that want to go out there and rent a condo or apartment or even better buy a condo or apartment, buy an affordable starter home. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to exhaust every single avenue we’re gonna use every single tool we have in our toolbox to make sure that happens. The worst thing we can do folks, is sit back, throw up the white flag and say we aren’t doing it. That’s not what I’m about. That’s not what our governments about. Our government is about working for the hard working blue collar folks. That I meet in factories every single week that I meet in the malls that I meet in the stores that I go into.
Reporter: Lorenda Redekop, CBC News. You praise Minister Clark’s integrity and his resignation but this wasn’t something you called for. You also didn’t call for his former Chief of Staff’s resignation. You stood behind both of them. What does this mean when it comes to your integrity?
 Former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: Steve Clark Premier: Something I believe strongly in is the work that Minister Clark has done from the day he got elected. When I talk about integrity, he could have sat back and said: Premier,I want to continue being the minister. I want to continue, even if you move me to another portfolio, but he didn’t. He took the best interest of the people of Ontario at heart. He took the best interest of our party at heart and said it’s time for me to step aside and let someone else move forward with this. We have one of the best people in our caucus Minister Calandra that has a proven record in anything he has done to make sure that he builds homes. We have great associate ministers with Rob Flack one of the brightest business minds that we have down here at Queen’s Park will be his Associate Minister.
Our environmental assessment is second to none in the world. There’s no reason in the world that the federal government should slap another environmental assessment to purposely slow down the build of the 413.We were elected to build the Bradford bypass and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
Last question. Charlie Pinkerton: Who is paying for the legal fees for yourself and others in the government in the various investigations that have taken place and continue to take place and excuse me into the Greenbelt.
Premier Well, I can’t speak for anyone else. Right now. I don’t have a lawyer. So I’m just going to sit down when someone has a question. I’m going to answer it truthfully, just the same as when I sat down when the Auditor General I answered it truthfully.
I never hide from the media. I don’t run away for weeks and avoid the media. I’m out here addressing the media’s questions, tough, tough questions. But I’m always going to be transparent with the people.
Reporter: Yeah, back to the point. So do I gather correctly that you aren’t aware of whether it’s the government or the PC party or anyone else who’s paying the legal fees for everyone under investigation the government or is there an answer to that question again?
Premier: That’s up to the people if they get a lawyer. I’m not at liberty to discuss their private finances. We’re going to make sure that we cooperate with any investigation moving forward. We agreed the process wasn’t up to par but we also agree we’re gonna fix the process. We’re doing that right now as we speak – make no mistake about it. This is not going to deter me from building homes for the people that need homes. Talk to people about food prices going up and gas prices going up and how they can’t afford homes and another message to the Bank of Canada. Enough is enough. You’re trying to kill the economy. You personally are responsible for creating inflation.
I’m working my back off 24/7 to make sure we have a strong economy. We have a great healthcare system, great education system, and making sure people can put food on their tables. That’s what I can control.
And with that the Premier walked away – no one laid a glove on the guy. He was there to talk about building homes and that is what he did.
The Greenbelt is important to most people – Doug Ford thinks having a home is even more important to the people who don’t have one – and he appears to be betting that those people will carry the day.
 By Ray Rivers
August 24th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
Ontario’s Premier must think we are all stupid. Everyone knew he had promised developers that he would open up the Greenbelt in his early days campaigning in 2018. And having come off from an impressive majority victory last year he obviously thought it was now or never to deliver on that original promise to his most keen supporters. Nothing else in this entire fiasco makes any sense.
Premier Ford and his Minister of Municipal Affairs: Will Steve Clark still have that job at the end of the year? Political staffers don’t undertake this kind of mission without authorization at least from their minister, and in the case of something as politically sensitive as the Greenbelt, from the Premier himself. And this chief of staff for the housing minister’s office was apparently hired by Mr. Ford. So the Premier has to be lying or hopelessly incompetent when he says he was unaware of what he was approving until the last minute. What kind of senior executive gives his approval to something like this without taking the time to review it?
Like in any decent crime story, the staffer, Ryan Amato, has now left the scene, resigned his post. That would allow the mob bosses to escape culpability by laying all the blame on him. Ford isn’t going to back down on his approval, or even reconsider it. Instead he and his housing minister claim it was ‘the process’ at fault.
But there was no ‘process’. Breaking up the Greenbelt was a covert operation, an ad hoc project led by a political staffer and a small cadre of trusted civil servants. The provincial government does have an exhaustive process for policy development, but this wasn’t it. The Auditor General provided an excellent summary of this matter.
It could take up to 20 years to get approvals and the required urban services into these lands, given their location. The developments, in the boonies, are likely to be neither higher density nor affordable. It is wishful thinking that 50,000 homes will actually be built or that this could happen in time to deal with Ontario’s current housing crisis.
Details on some of the properties shown on the map were handed to the former Ministry of Municipal Affairs Chief of Staff in plain brown envelopes at an industry dinner. This is all just one big lie. It is a mess and it stinks to high heaven. And it’s Ford’s mess – a crisis of his own making. And it will be his undoing. The Green Party and some environmental groups had requested that the OPP conduct an investigation of this affair. But the OPP, wisely, have bumped it up to the RCMP Anti Rackets Branch, to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
The next provincial election is scheduled for June of 2026. Clearly Mr. Ford is hoping that the public has a short memory and that this indiscretion will be forgotten by the electorate. Or like Mr. Amato he too may find it more comfortable to leave the scene. And from a partisan perspective this affair is fodder for the opposition parties.
The Liberals are in the throws of selecting a new leader for their party after disappointing performances in the last two elections. So the Burlington Liberals are hosting meetings for each one and I sat in for the two candidates thought to be leading the pack.
 Nate Erskine-Smith: He was happy to be in the room. Nate Erskine-Smith is a federal MP and former Toronto litigation lawyer. Perhaps his exclusion from Cabinet and the prospects of re-election by an eight year old government now struggling in the polls factored into his decision making. It’s my guess that given what he’s been saying, he fits pretty clearly on the centre right of the party. That is if we need yardsticks to help us understand our politicians.
He spoke in opposition to universal basic income; doesn’t like the idea of buck-a-ride subsidized public transit; will not promote ending Catholic school funding; and would only implement proportional representation after another referendum, like the failed McGuinty effort. In all fairness he supports meeting federal emission targets, protecting the Greenbelt and restarting the renewable energy program.
 Watch where you put your feet. Bonnie Crombie, was widely expected to be the front runner until she put her foot in her mouth, being quoted as labelling herself right-of-centre and apparently musing the it was OK to move some land out of the Greenbelt under the right conditions. She claims she was misquoted and has since come down hard on keeping the Greenbelt intact.
Crombie is a natural politician, personable, engaging, warm and very relatable, somewhat in contrast to the more matter of factly Erskine-Smith. So it is surprising that this three time mayor of one of Canada’s largest cities and former federal MP could have erred so easily this early in the game. Perhaps she was just testing the waters and found herself in the midst of sharks.
It appears these two candidates haven’t yet learned the oldest lesson for getting elected and succeeding as a Liberal. Govern from the centre but campaign from the left.
The election for leader will be later this year and there will be a series of public debates among candidates before that. Only party members can vote but membership is free and on-line, though the deadline to join is only a couple weeks away. The ballot will allow ranking by preference for candidate and the leader announced early December.
 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
Background links:
Ford’s Record Greenbelt-Gate Greens Call for Police Investigation
Bonnie’s Error Leadership Debates Nate’s Policies RCMP
By Staff
August 21st, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Friends…It’s great to be back here in the wonderful city of London…Alongside my caucus and cabinet colleagues for the 2023 AMO Conference.
I want to acknowledge Regional Chief Glen Hare and Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell as well as our host mayor Josh Morgan.
It’s my sixth time speaking at this conference and as I’ve said before this event is one of the highlights of my year. It’s always a privilege to join you to not only talk about the challenges we’re facing but also talk about the great progress we’re making together.
 Premier Ford’s sixth time speaking to an AMO crowd. And friends Ontario is growing at an unprecedented pace. Last year alone our population grew by more than 500,000 people. At this rate Ontario will add five million more people in the next 10 years. That’s like adding two new cities nearly the size of Toronto in a decade.
Ontario is now the fastest growing jurisdiction in all of North America…Bar none! We’re growing faster than both Texas and Florida. Hundreds of thousands of families are coming to Ontario because here in Ontario we have endless opportunity.
We’re seeing new businesses set up shop. We’re attracting billions of dollars in new investments…And new jobs…Across all sectors…In all regions of the province.
And I have to tell you as Premier nothing brings me more joy than joining you in your communities to welcome a new investment.
Another factory or a new shift. Another production facility or a state-of-the-art manufacturing lab.
 In April…I joined Mayor Vrbanovic and Mayor McCabe to break ground on the University of Waterloo and City of Kitchener’s new Innovation Arena for health-science start-ups.
In May I was thrilled to join Mayor Liggett to celebrate Moderna’s major investment to make vaccines in Cambridge.
And I’ll never forget last year standing shoulder to shoulder with Mayor Dilkens to celebrate Canada’s first large-scale electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor.
Or this past Spring in St. Thomas alongside Mayor Preston to announce that Volkswagen was following suit with their first overseas gigafactory.
And friends…I just want to take a moment to talk about our growing auto sector. We’re building a home-grown electric vehicle supply chain…That’s going to benefit every community in this province for generations to come.
 Rendering of the Volkswagen plant to be built in St. Thomas We’re connecting critical minerals in northern Ontario and clean steelmakers in Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie. We’ve attracted over $25 billion in auto and EV battery investments.
Ontario is the only jurisdiction in North America where the world’s six largest automakers have set up shop.
Last month alone Ontario added more than 7,800 manufacturing jobs to our economy. That’s more new manufacturing jobs than all 50 U.S. states combined.
Ontario manufacturing sector now employs over 820,000 people, the highest it’s been since December 2008.
Across all sectors…700,000 more people are working today, than when we took office in 2018. as our economy grows our population grows…
We need to make sure our infrastructure keeps up. That’s why we’ve embarked on the most ambitious capital plan in our province’s history. We’re investing nearly $50 billion to support more than 50 new hospital projects across Ontario.
We’re investing $28 billion in roads and highways…
And more than $70 billion in transit…
As we build the largest transit expansion in North America.
 The Bradford bypass Shovels are in the ground to build the new Ontario Line.
Work is underway…On a bridge crossing over the future Bradford Bypass. We’re building the new Highway 413… stretching across Halton, Peel and York regions.
In Windsor we’re widening and expanding Highway 3 from two to four lanes between Essex and Leamington and building a new interchange to connect Highway 401 to Lauzon Parkway. We’ve purchased three new train sets as part of our plan to bring back the Northlander connecting Timmins and Cochrane with Toronto.
And we recently approved the terms of reference for the First Nations-led Environmental Assessment to finally build the all-season roads to the Ring of Fire.
Together, we have to ensure that Ontario is a place where our shared potential is limited only by the scale of our ambitions.
We have to ensure that Ontario is a place where we can do and build big things. We can’t talk about building without talking about homes. As everyone in this room knows We’re in the midst of a housing crisis. I hear it everywhere I go. People are struggling. Struggling with affordability, with the rising costs of buying a home and with high rents.
This struggle is being felt most by young people and newcomers who are priced out of the dream of home ownership. Even one of our own mayors, Mayor Salonen from Wilmot Township can’t afford to buy a home in the municipality she leads. That’s why it’s so important, that we work together to build at least 1.5 million homes by 2031.
Failing to act would worsen the housing supply and affordability crisis. Failing to act would hurt everyone in Ontario by driving up the cost of goods and services and by hampering new job creation and investments.
Failing to act…
 The gag was about the time he swallowed a bee. The Premier continued with one of the better Chamber of Commerce boost business speeches read in some time. He mentioned the
A Housing Supply Action Plan…
The Building Faster Fund.
Extending strong mayor powers to another 21 municipalities.
Urging the federal government to renew and expand the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
It wasn’t until the Premier got to saying “thank you again for inviting me here today” that we realized he didn’t use the word Greenbelt once in his address to the Mayors.
Only in Ontario
By Staff
August 16th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington is hosting it’s third annual Food for Feedback event on Saturday, September16 between noon and 4 p.m. at Central Park (2299 New St.).
 Almost every city department and every member of Council will have a table. Was there an opportunity for advocacy groups to set up a table and get out their story? Residents can come to enjoy a free meal in exchange for sharing their thoughts on City projects. City staff, Mayor Meed Ward and members of Council will be there to listen to resident feedback.
The free drop-in event features more than 26 booths and four food trucks. There is a special area called the ‘Kidz Zone’ sponsored by Canadian Tire where children can have fun while family members provide feedback on City projects.
Feedback collected at the event will help the City continue to improve services and initiatives.
Date and Location
Residents are welcome to attend Food for Feedback on:
Saturday, Sept. 16, between noon and 4 p.m. at Central Park, 2299 New St.
If it rains, the event will move to the Burlington Senior’s Centre.
This year, the City will be seeking feedback and sharing information on topics including:
Burlington Transit
Climate resiliency
Customer experience with the City
Civic Square renewal
Future use of former Robert Bateman High School
Transportation options
Recreation
Parks
Official Plan revisions
As part of the event, the City will also be celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the Community Engagement Charter. The Charter is a tool used by residents, City staff and Members of Council. It guides and promotes active and meaningful resident engagement. Residents will also have an opportunity to provide feedback and make recommendations on how to refresh the charter at the event.
 Michelle Dwyer setting up for a previous Food for Feedback event. Michelle Dwyer, Manager of Engagement and Volunteers “wants everyone to have a voice in shaping our community. We’re excited to host Food for Feedback for the third time and bring together hundreds of community members to talk about how we can make our programs, services, and initiatives even better. Let’s have fun and make a difference in our city.”
Related news story:
Deciding when and where these Food for Feedback events were to take place took hours – the individual council member comments were memorable.
By Staff
August 3rd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Metrolinx has announced a major step towards enhancing transit accessibility in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
Starting August 8, Metrolinx will reduce the price of PRESTO cards from $6 to $4.
 Don’t leave home without it! This is one of the ways Metrolinx is making it easier to take transit. PRESTO cards allow commuters to seamlessly travel between 11 different transit agencies, including GO Transit and UP Express. Cards are available at various locations, such as transit customer service outlets, Shoppers Drug Mart stores, fare vending machines and ticket vending machines.
After purchasing a PRESTO card, customers can create a PRESTO Account by following the steps in a Metrolinx YouTube video, before loading money onto the card. It may take up to 24 hours after purchase before this can be done.
 Metrolinx makes most local transit fares free for passengers connecting between participating agencies and GO Transit. When a customer uses a PRESTO card for both legs of a trip, the discount will be applied automatically. Some transit agency discounts – including those for youth, post-secondary students and seniors – are only available with a PRESTO card.
PRESTO cardholders also have access to exclusive discounts from PRESTO Perks partners, including major attractions and events.
Learn more about PRESTO card fee reduction and benefits here.
By Staff
August 1, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust and BlackNorth Initiative have partnered to offer a Canadian Real Estate & Trades Bursary for Black high school students. Launching this July, funding will be dispersed for the upcoming fall 2023 semester.
 The Well was a Sonshine initiative. It is more than a collection of buildings and stores—it’s a dynamic and fluid experience that puts the things people want most within easy reach. Here, residents and visitors will find an inspired mix of fashion, fitness, beauty, health, entertainment, arts and culture, home decor and services. In a statement from the company they said: “By investing in the Black leaders of tomorrow, RioCan continues to work towards its commitment to the BlackNorth Initiative CEO Pledge. The bursary, amounting to $21,200, will provide financial support for students entering post-secondary programs within the commercial real estate field at accredited schools. The investment will be key to creating a new generation of Black leaders in the real estate sector.
“The cost of post-secondary education can be a major barrier, which limits upward mobility in the employment journey. This bursary will help level the playing field for Black youth with less secure financial backgrounds, leading to diverse and inclusive workplaces from interns to leadership,” says Dahabo Ahmed-Omer, BlackNorth Initiative’s Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to working with RioCan, a BlackNorth Initiative signatory, to support Black students and foster their future careers in real estate.”
“Easing the financial burden for Black students interested in commercial real estate starts to tackle some of the systemic barriers that Black students have historically faced in Canada and can contribute to increasing representation in the industry,” says Jonathan Gitlin, President and CEO at RioCan. “RioCan is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive industry and workplace. Our commitment to the BlackNorth Initiative is unwavering, and we are proud to support the next generation of Black real estate professionals as they begin their careers.”
The bursary goes beyond a financial investment. RioCan will also offer recipients mentorship and internship opportunities, providing the foundation and skillset to build upon throughout their real estate careers. This investment expands RioCan’s existing DEI scholarship program, launched in 2021, which supports students identifying as historically disadvantaged at Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of Alberta.
 Edward Sonshine, Non-Executive Chairman of the RioCan Board of Trustees Up until very recently Edward Sonshine was the force, the energy and the lead thinker behind RioCan. This initiative is one he would be very proud of – he is still leading. I once had office space in one of his buildings where he had his office. A funny guy at times who was well grounded. He was the founder of RioCan and currently serves as the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Trustees
About BlackNorth Initiative
The BlackNorth Initiative is on a mission to end anti-Black systemic racism throughout all aspects of our lives by utilizing a business-first mindset. We are committed to the removal of anti-Black systemic barriers negatively affecting the lives of Black Canadians. For more information, visit: https://blacknorth.ca/ and follow us on social media @blacknorthca.
About RioCan
RioCan is one of Canada’s largest real estate investment trusts. RioCan owns, manages and develops retail-focused, increasingly mixed-use properties located in prime, high-density transit-oriented areas where Canadians want to shop, live and work. As at March 31, 2023, the portfolio is comprised of 191 properties with an aggregate net leasable area of approximately 33.5 million square feet (at RioCan’s interest) including office, residential rental and 11 development properties.
By Staff
July 31st, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
City of Burlington administrative services will be closed for the Civic holiday on Monday, Aug. 7. For a list of which City services and facilities are available on the long weekend, please see the summary below or visit burlington.ca.
Fireworks reminder
Fireworks are not permitted to be set off on the August Civic holiday. As per the City’s bylaw, family (low-hazard) fireworks can only be set off on Canada Day and Victoria Day. For more information regarding who to contact if you have a personal safety concern related to the use of fireworks, visit burlington.ca/fireworks.
City Service Holiday Closure Information
Animal Services The Animal Shelter at 2424 Industrial St. will be closed to appointments on Monday, Aug. 7. To report an animal control related emergency on a holiday, please call 905-335-7777.
 Transit on the Sunday Schedule for the 7th Burlington Transit Burlington Transit will operate on a Sunday schedule on Monday, Aug. 7. For real-time bus information and schedules, visit myride.burlingtontransit.ca.
The Downtown Transit Terminal, at 430 John St., and Specialized Dispatch will be closed on Monday, Aug. 7.
City Hall Service Burlington and the Building, Renovating and Licensing counter on the main floor of City Hall at 426 Brant St., will be closed to all appointments and walk-in service on Monday, Aug. 7.
Many service payments are available online at burlington.ca/onlineservices
For online development services:
MyFiles can be used by residents who have applied for Pre-Building Approval after April 24, 2023. Once an account has been created, applicants can check the status of their files at burlington.ca/MyFiles.
Halton Court Services – Provincial Offences Office Court administration counter services at 4085 Palladium Way will be closed on Monday, Aug. 7.
Except for the Civic holiday closures, telephone payments are available at 905-637-1274, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. All in-person services are available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Many services are also available by email at burlingtoncourt@burlington.ca or online at Halton Court Services. Payment of Provincial Offences fines is available 24/7 at www.paytickets.ca.
 You now have to pay for parking at the Beachway on weekends. You get a permit if you live in the Region. Parking Free parking is available downtown, on the street, in municipal lots and in the parking garage (414 Locust St.) on weekends and holidays, including the Civic holiday on Monday, Aug. 7.
NOTE:
• The Waterfront parking lots (east and west at 1286 Lakeshore Rd.) do not provide free parking on holidays
• Parking exemptions are required to park overnight on city streets and for longer than five hours. Visit burlington.ca/parkingexemptions
• Paid parking is in effect at Beachway Park (1100 and 991 Lakeshore Rd.) on weekends only (including holidays) using HONK Mobile
• Please make an online reservation using Park Pass to visit Lowville Park on weekends. Reservations are free and available in three-hour time slots
Recreation Programs and Facilities Drop-In Swimming
Nelson Pool and Splash Park, Mountainside Pool and Splash Park, and LaSalle Wading Pool and Splash Park are open for swimming through the weekend and on the Civic holiday (weather permitting). Outdoor pool lap swims and recreational swims are walk-in only, with no reservations.
Indoor pools swims vary over the weekend, including a free swim presented by Access Storage on Saturday, Aug. 5, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at Centennial Pool (5151 News St.). Pre-registration is recommended. Registration opens online at burlington.ca/dropinandplay for residents seven days in advance. Walk-ups are welcome if capacity remains.
Drop-In Skating
Appleby Ice Centre is open on Saturday, Aug. 5 for drop-in skating and recreational hockey programs. For schedules and registration please visit burlington.ca/dropinandplay.
 This is a large part of what Burlington is about. Easy evenings at the Band shell listening to music. Now if taxes can be kept reasonable – you might be able to continue living in the city. Concerts in the Park
Head over to the Central Park Bandshell on Sunday, Aug. 6 at 7:30 p.m. to enjoy an entertaining evening of music. Bring your own lawn chair and blanket. The concert series runs each Wednesday and Sunday evening from 7:30 to 9 p.m. (weather permitting). For more information including performer listings visit burlington.ca/concerts.
Splash Pads
The City’s nine splash pads are located throughout the city and are free to use. To find a splash pad near you visit burlington.ca/splashpads.
Outdoor Activities
Burlington has a wide variety of outdoor activities to enjoy with your family during the long weekend including:
• trails and multi-use paths
• parks and playgrounds.
• picnic site reservations for La Salle or Hidden Valley Park
Find out more at burlington.ca/outdoorplay.
 Good golf course – but why is the city paying for some of the upkeep? Link to that story https://burlingtongazette.ca/taxpayer-funds-are-expected-to-support-the-golf-course-going-forward/ Golf
Tyandaga Golf Course is open for the season and tee times can be booked online at tyandagagolf.com or by calling 905-336-0005, ext. 2.
Play Lending Library
Our Lending Library has a variety of outdoor and indoor play equipment available to borrow in time for the long weekend at no charge. From archery to wiffle ball, and Kanjam to pickleball. Lifejackets in various sizes are also available for your next outing on the water. Check out burlington.ca/playlending for details.
Customer Service
Recreation, Community and Culture customer service is available to assist you in person at recreation facility counters during program times.
Customer service is also available:
• By email at liveandplay@burlington.ca
• By phone at 905-335-7738, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (including Aug. 5, 6, 7).
Roads, Parks and Forestry The administrative office will be closed on Monday, Aug. 7. Essential services will be provided as required.
Links to related stories:
Public money paying for maintenance of the golf course
By Pepper Parr
July 31st, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Community Development Halton has moved. The organization has been providing social planning and volunteer centre services and capacity building support in Halton for almost 40 years.
 Rishia Burke with Ted McKeekin. A former Ontario government Cabinet Minister and a leader in the creation and early growth of Community Development Halton. Burke is the Executive Director of Community Development Halton. On July 1, 2023, the staff team moved out of the location on the South Service Road in Burlington to two anchor locations, one in the south and the other in the northern portion of Halton.
They are now at:
St. Christopher’s Anglican Church, 662 Guelph Line, Burlington on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and
The Roxy Center, 6 Mill Street E, Acton on Mondays, and Wednesdays
As a community development organization focused on social research, dialogue and action on social justice issues and civic engagement, being present and connected with the community they strive to walk alongside is now core to they way they want to work.
With this move they will experience a renewed opportunity for connection and partnership with the many non-profit organizations, grass roots groups and citizens of Halton.
Although addresses are changing, their email addresses and phone numbers have not. You can reach them at their general mailbox at office@cdhalton.ca and by calling toll-free 1 (855) 395-8807 or locally at 905-632-1975.
 Rishia Burke – thinking it through. For more information about Community Development Halton please see www.cdhalton.ca or follow us on social media @ComDevHalton (Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIN) and @cdhalton (Instagram).
Rishia Burke, Executive Director Community Development Halton
rburke@cdhalton.ca
How does this relate to Burlington city council?
CDH stopped spending money it didn’t have.
It chose to go out to the community and listen whereas Burlington city council has chosen to spend millions of dollars it doesn’t have, moving the borrowing past the limit put in place.
 By Pepper Parr
July 22nd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Tough future ahead for the group that owns Joe Dogs – the buildings next door are going to disappear and be replaced by a 26 storey structure that will have 226 units
The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) decided that the development could proceed. Getting to this point was messy. The developer, Renimmob Properties, chose not to work with the city’s Planning department and took their case directly to the OLT.
 Rendering of site with Brant Street in the foreground, the public parking lot shown in green and the parking space in front of the No Frills on the right.  Rendering of the eastern side of the proposed development with the public parking lot in green and the No Frills parking space on the right. Site address is 535 Brant.
No word at this point on when shovels will be put into the ground. The barber shop, the convenience store, the tire replacement location and the branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia will be demolished to clear the site for development.
 A development to the north, on the opposite side of the street gives a view of how Brant Street will change The statement that jumps out during a casual skim of the decision is this:
The Tribunal finds that it would be an inexcusable error to evaluate and base its decision on the Applications using the policies or vision of the ineffectual and non- operative 2020 OP. The Applications are subject to, and must be evaluated against, the policies of the in-force COP.
The Applicant, Renimmob Properties, advised the Tribunal that the Applications were modified in December 2022 to address comments resulting from a peer review of the Applications conducted by Mr. Hannay. The revisions include:
a. A relocated vehicular access from Brant Street to John Street that allows for a continuous active frontage along Brant Street;
b. Road widenings of 3.55 m and 2.50 m provided along Brant Street and John Street, respectively;
c. A reduced tower floorplate from 797 m2 to 749.4 m2;
d. An increased tower stepback from the podium to a minimum of 4.28 m along John Street and 5.57 m along Brant Street;
e. A 12.73 m tower setback from the west property line and 13.18 m tower setback from the east property line;
f. A reduced underground parking footprint to accommodate the proposed road widenings;
g. An overall reduction in vehicular parking from 253 spaces to 226 spaces; and
h. An overall increase in bicycle parking from 36 spaces to 88 spaces.
The Applications were submitted and subsequently revised to facilitate the development of a 26-storey residential apartment with retail on the ground floor on lands municipally known as 535-551 Brant Street
Since the initial application was filed in December 2020, the pattern of heights in the Downtown area, particularly along Brant Street, has continued to transition, including many existing, approved, and proposed developments. Some examples are:
an 18-storey mixed use development, with ground floor commercial uses and residential uses above, at 409 Brant Street (approved by the Tribunal);
a 23-storey mixed use building, with ground floor commercial uses, office uses on the second floor and residential uses above, at 421-431 Brant Street (approved by City Council);
a mixed-use development, with two towers of 18 and 25 storeys with ground floor commercial uses and residential uses above, at 774-782 Brant Street (under City review);
a 31-storey mixed use development, with ground floor commercial uses and residential uses above, at 789-795 Brant Street (under City review);
an existing mixed-use development of 22 storeys, with ground floor commercial uses, and residential uses and hotel suites above, at 2042-2054 Lakeshore Road;
a 26-storey mixed use building under construction at 374 Martha Street (approved by the Ontario Municipal Board); and
a 29-storey mixed use building, with ground floor commercial uses and residential uses above, at 2069-2079 Lakeshore Road and 383-385 Pearl Street (approved by the Tribunal).
With all this development is there a place for what Joe Dogs brings to the city?
 Winter never did much for Joe Dogs.  Summer – ah a great opportunity for a photo op that ward 2 Councillor takes advantage of. Will she be on hand when the site closes? Central to the submissions by the City was City Council’s adoption of a new official plan in 2018 that was modified by the City in September 2020 and approved by the Region in November 2020 (“2020 OP”).
The 2020 OP was subsequently appealed to the Tribunal by 48 appellants and is not currently in effect. Nevertheless, it is the City’s position, and the opinion of their witnesses, that the Tribunal ought to give significant weight to the 2020 OP in evaluating the Proposed Development given the considerable public input and studies that led to its adoption.
Notwithstanding the 2020 OP provisions for the Subject Property requiring a maximum height of 11 storeys and a tower setback of 20 m from Brant Street, both Mr. Lowes and Ms. Jay proffered that a 17-storey building with a 17.32 m tower setback from Brant Street would be appropriate for the Subject Property.
The Tribunal found this position conflicting. On the one hand, the City’s witnesses urged the Tribunal to rely on the provisions of the 2020 OP given the significant efforts that led to its adoption and the risk of setting a precedent for the area that was not consistent with the new policies. On the other hand, they also opined that deviating from the 2020 OP policies on the Subject Property was appropriate.
The Tribunal finds that it would be an inexcusable error to evaluate and base its decision on the Applications using the policies or vision of the ineffectual and non- operative 2020 OP.
The Applications are subject to, and must be evaluated against, the policies of the in-force COP. While the 2020 OP may assist the Tribunal in understanding the City’s vision for the Downtown, it is not a determinative policy document. This is supported by the opinions provided by the City’s witnesses suggesting that certain policies of the 2020 OP need not be adhered to in this instance.
Further, it should also be noted that the appeals of the 2020 OP may lead to modifications of the prescribed policies or revocation of the stated provisions for development.
The Panel, having regard for the evidence and submissions presented by the Parties, notes that there is no real dispute that intensification and development of the underutilized Subject Property are appropriate. The main issues at hand relate to the appropriate height and built form of development on the Subject Property, and specifically:
1. What height is appropriate for the Subject Property?
2. Is the proposed tower setback from Brant Street appropriate?
3. Is the Proposed Development compatible with adjacent properties and the surrounding context?
The upshot was …
The Tribunal accepts and prefers the evidence of the Applicant’s expert witnesses and finds that the Subject Property is suitable for the proposed intensification and density, and that the Proposed Development is consistent with the policies of the PPS, conforms to the policies of the Growth Plan and the ROP, and conforms to the intent of the COP.
 The outdoor space at Joe Dogs. It will be tough to relax and enjoy a brew with construction taking place next door What’s next: The developer gets on with construction, determining of course when the market will be ready for what the developer will offer.
And the group that owns Joe Dogs has to decide if they should stay where the are and find a way to operate while the construction of a 26 storey tower takes place yards to the north of the property they rent.
To the immediate south of Joe Dogs is Culaccino Bar & Kitchen, to the south of that is a branch of the Bank of Montreal. At some point those properties will be assembled (if that hasn’t already taken place and another 26 story tower (perhaps two) will rise on the east side of Brant Street.
 Joe Dogs will never be the same. Is that location and the other two shown going to be the next development on the east side of Brant?
 By Pepper Parr
July 17th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
City Council went into a closed session July 11th and today released some of what was discussed.
The Ontario Land Tribunal has accepted the settlement agreed upon between Latch Residential Developments and the City of Burlington – all it took was a Presto card to make the two tower development a done deal.
 Development approved for the 1989 Appleby Line location The application proposes to replace the existing gas station use with the development of two 20-storey residential buildings connected by a shared 6-storey podium with retail at grade. This would result in a total of 475 residential units, 871m2 of at-grade retail space, 502 vehicular parking spaces, and 304 bicycle parking spaces. Vehicle access is proposed via two driveways: one on Appleby Line and one on Upper Middle Road. Amenity space is proposed at the 7th storey within two indoor spaces (275m2 in each tower) and one outdoor space (413m2) on the roof of the podium. The apartment building use is permitted, and the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments are requested for the proposed increases in density, Floor Area Ratio, height, as well as a reduction in parking.
At its meeting of July 11, 2023 Burlington City Council approved the recommendation to accept an offer to settle the issues in dispute between 1989 Appleby Latch Limited and the City with respect to the non-decision appeal currently before the Ontario Land Tribunal (“OLT”). As part of this approval, Council approved the recommendation that the planning analysis be released publicly and posted on the City’s webpage.
The settlement between the City and 1989 Appleby Latch Limited resolves the issues in dispute between the City and 1989 Appleby Latch Limited on the basis these parties will seek OLT approval of a revised development proposal and related Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments for the site. The revised development proposes the following:
 Site location. Traffic will be a challenge. ▪ Decreased number of residential units from 475 to 463;
▪ Decreased retail floor area from 871m2 to 786m2;
▪ Decreased Floor Area Ratio (FAR) from 5.7:1 to 5.2:1;
▪ Decreased height of the east tower from 20 storeys to 17 storeys;
▪ Increased height of the west tower from 20 storeys to 22 storeys;
▪ Rotated west tower slightly so that it is parallel to the east tower rather than parallel to Appleby Line;
▪ An additional level of underground parking (for a total of 4 underground levels);
▪ Increased overall parking rate from 1.06 to 1.11 parking spaces per unit;
▪ Introduces 0.8m wide planting strip along north side of surface parking area adjacent to Hydro One corridor;
▪ Increased building setback from Appleby Line from 0m to 4.2m (ground floor); and
▪ Increased total amenity area from 9.03m2 to 9.28m2 per unit
Transportation Impacts
Impact on traffic in the Sheldon Creek neighbourhood was a common concern identified at the public meeting for this application. The revised proposal addresses transportation impacts through Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and traffic calming measures.
The TDM measures seek to minimize car dependence through a variety of means:
- prospective residents of the proposed development will be provided with information about transportation options, including transit and cycling;
- two on-site bicycle repair facilities will be provided for use by residents and visitors;
- bicycle parking and storage facilities will be provided in the amount of 272 long-term spaces and 48 short-term spaces;
- residents who do not purchase a parking space will receive a Presto card preloaded to allow for two years of travel; and,
- parking supply will be managed by unbundling parking space from residential unit so that each is purchased separately, allowing purchasers to adjust their unit purchase to reflect their parking needs, and limiting the sale of parking spaces to maximum one space per residential unit.
 Development site as it exists today.
 By Pepper Parr
July 17th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
Most of us got through last week – but not everyone fared well.
Mortgage rate increases are ruining some families; the heat that has become oppressive. The Climate change issue is now top of mind for the thousands that basically ignored it a year ago.
Some serious thought has to be given to how city council wants to handle transit – free rides bump into the cost of converting to an electric fleet. One Gazette reader reported pointed out that Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster said a traditional bus comes in at about $700,000 range, while the electric version come at about $1.5 million.
We know what the diesel buses do to the environment – but cutting over to electric buses can’t be done in the immediate future. And if it could will the public put up with the increase and at the same time make transit free for everyone?
Another Gazette reader took exception to our comment that there was a level of greed driving up rental rates – 20% plus increases – is hard to attribute to the rising costs for property owners.
Somewhere something has to give – and the one thing that can’t give is the environment.
Fires in western Canada have cost the country the lives of two firefighters, 100 families in an Ottawa suburb are looking for trades people to repair their homes.
There are parts of Burlington that understand what flooding did to their basements in 2014.
 City Treasurer Joan Ford has a very tough budget to craft – council will disappoint her with some of the decisions they make. Residents will see the beginnings of the budget in September – it isn’t going to be pretty.
Leadership at the federal and provincial levels has been terribly disappointing; does anyone want to ask how that $10 a day for daycare program is doing.
It took the federal government close to a year to get the agreement in place with the province – all the other jurisdictions already had their agreements completed.
Once the province has its agreement with the federal government – it then has to turn to Regional governments to determine how the daycare sector is going to become part of the funding plan and at the same time thousands of certified child care workers have to be found and trained.
 One of the few construction cranes to be erected in the city. The housing needed to accommodate the half a million people that are going to come to Canada has yet to be built – the development industry has realized that affordable housing is not a part of the industry that offers the profits that the high end condominiums offer.
Has anyone seen a crane going up on any one of the development sites that have been approved?
Far too many of the development applications are waiting for their Ontario Land Tribunal(OLT) hearings; the developers don’t like the Official Plan that was passed by the current City Council and are hoping some of the items they dislike can be changed.
The City has not done all that well at OLT hearings.
The problems, the pain and the grief are far from over.
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.
 By Eva Johnson
July 17th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
After a major legislative update of Ontario online gambling laws in April 2022, Ontario became a place of rapid industry development as dozens of online casino operators acquired the local license for legal performance.
Already in a couple of months after the legislation update, the industry showed a major boost and Ontario became a successful case in Canada and globally.
This positive case allows us to make suggestions and predictions about the development of the online gambling industry in the province.
General Expectations for the Online Gambling Industry in the Province
 Canada has always been gambling-friendly. Canada has always been gambling-friendly, but Ontario has pioneered among other provinces by introducing its new legislation in 2022. Already in a couple of months, the Ontario gambling industry saw an increase in revenues, taxes, and positive competition.
Based on this fact alone, there are several predictions that can be made about the future of the industry and the licensed online casinos in Ontario.
Increased Revenue
The legalization and regulation of online gambling is already resulting in a significant increase in revenue for the province, as more people will be able to access and participate in Internet gambling activities legally.
Not only do Internet casino operators make more money because local players are more willing to try their casino sites out but also more taxes are paid to the province and charities.
Healthier Competition
With the legalization of online gambling, more companies will enter the market, resulting in increased competition. AGCO has already closed the transition period when operators could request the local license, so the number of Internet casinos in the province will not show unlimited growth.
However, the increased number of legal competitors will lead to better services and products for customers, as companies try to outdo one another.
 Good jobs in a safe environment are part of what makes gaming as attractive as it is in Canada More Jobs
According to the gambling statistics, the online gambling industry is likely to create more jobs in Ontario, as companies set up operations and hire staff to manage their Internet platforms. Of course, not much is needed to run an Internet casino locally because it only means access to the services while all the staff can be located elsewhere. However, legal online gambling means more control and supervision in the corresponding agencies that will hire staff.
Also, Live Dealer facilities may want to hire local Dealers for Ontario players, and so on. Who knows what new type of gambling entertainment will be invented next in a transparent and competitive market?
Enhanced Responsible Gambling Measures
With the legalization and regulation of Internet gambling, the government is likely to introduce more responsible gambling measures to protect players. This could include increased education on gambling addiction, self-exclusion programs, and limits on the amount of money players can spend.
AGCO and iGO have strict Responsible gambling policies and requirements that all operators must meet, and it is very likely that with time, these measures will become even more specific and elaborate.
Potential for Increased Gambling Addiction
While responsible gambling measures are likely to be introduced, there is a risk that the legalization of Internet gambling could result in an increase in gambling addiction. The government will need to be vigilant in monitoring the industry and ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to prevent and treat addiction.
It is too early to provide any adequate statistical data about addictive gambling issues increased in Ontario since April 2022 but this seems to be a legit consequence of more available and affordable gambling entertainment.
 Technology has become a large part of the growth of gaming in Canada Technological Advancements
The Internet gambling industry is likely to continue to evolve and develop new technologies to enhance the user experience.
This could include virtual reality casinos, Live dealer games, and more. Interestingly, many technologies are developed as entertainment first because people are ready to pay for fun whereas they are not ready to pay for useful things.
Some streaming technologies, KYC and verification procedures, payment technologies, and other inventions for Internet casinos can eventually turn out useful in other niches.
Potential for Increased Tax Revenue
The legalization and regulation of online gambling could result in increased tax revenue for the province, which could be used to fund public services and infrastructure.
International Competition
Ontario’s online gambling industry could face competition from other jurisdictions, both within Canada and internationally. Of course, being the first, Ontario is now a dream-come-true province for all Canadian players.
However, as other provinces and states follow (which can really happen with time!) Internet casino operators may find other locations more attractive for licensed services, and Ontario will stop being a buzzword in the online gambling industry.
Final Thoughts
Ontario shows a positive example to all provinces in Canada and other jurisdictions that were reluctant to upgrade their gambling legislation and preferred to turn a blind eye to the gray zone in which gambling currently operates in the majority of countries. Therefore, it is easy to understand that Ontario is being watched closely to analyze its case.
However, the industry is rather unpredictable, and new inventions can create additional nuances in the near future – like the introduction of AI technologies did for many industries. Therefore, while Ontario seems to be managing well, it is still too early to state that its example will be followed massively.
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