 By Pepper Parr
February 4, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Where would you go if you wanted to figure out what RBA and BPM and SBB meant? You could do worse than talking to someone who has CIA, CCSA, CFE, CGAP, CRMA behind her name, which is what Sheila Jones, the city’s auditor has behind her name.
And she can explain what RBA, BPM and SBB mean and why they are both very relevant and important to the financial management of the city.
Burlington has, up until the 2014 budget year, based its spending on what each department does. City manager Jeff Fielding has changed that approach to a focus on the service that is delivered to the citizens of the city.
The objective is to first identify the services the city is in and decide if these are businesses we want to be in. There are a total of 54 services, of those 13 are internal to city hall – think legal and HR; leaving 41 services delivered to the public. Of that 41 – 31 are delivered by the city. Others are delivered by other levels of government. Region is an example – they handle water and waste removal.
If the residents of the city, and let us hope that it is the residents who make the decision along with their council members, and not just the administrators at city hall, decide a particular service is something they want and are prepared to pay for the city manager will assign responsibility and accountability for the effective and efficient delivery of that service to a specific person.
As a broad approach to the delivery of services it would appear sensible – now how do you define the metrics that will be used to measure the value of the services and determine if it is being delivered in an effective and efficient manner?.
 Sheila Jones, CIA, CCSA, CFE, CGAP, CRMA, Burlington’s first auditor Back in December, at a Committee of the Whole meeting Auditor Jones took Council through a detailed overview that left them with more questions than answers. Jones used about 45 minutes to lay out the changes that were in the works and asked for feedback.
She started by explaining what was going to be fundamentally different.
 The city is moving from a traditional approach to budgeting where all the expenses were attached to a department. They are moving to an approach where the expenses are attached to a service the city delivers. The city administration does see this as an effective way to manage the city. The approach is going to be for staff to provide Business Plans and Cases, Performance Tracking and Monitoring, Performance Reporting and Continuous Improvements.
At the end of this process the city manager expects to be able to ask, and answer two critical questions. There is a third question that you the voter will get to ask and answer.
Fielding is requiring his staff to tell him:
How much did we do?
How well did we do it?
He then wants you, the public, to tell him if you are any better off?
The process he is putting in place certainly has merit. Fielding is the kind of guy who thinks things through but isn’t afraid to change his mind if he didn’t get it right the first time. He has a lot of experience with “unintended consequences”.
The time line for all this:
 First, if you ever wondered what they do at city hall – charts like this are an example. This was not an easy task. It sets out the time frame to get to the new approach. This will be a very significant shift for staff and will be the making of careers for some and maybe early retirement for those who can’t make the transformation. Public input and education are a critical part of this process. What the city wants to do is promote dialogue about: Service management, Council and Service Owner roles and responsibilities, and the portfolio of services delivered to the public.
The city wants input on the level of service performance accountability reporting people want to see, along with the Importance and value of services delivered.
Auditor Jones wanted to know where Council felt they fit into the process. Were they OK with maintaining a strategic view of services by making decisions regarding commissioning and/or decommissioning of services; increasing and/or decreasing service levels and their appetite and/or tolerance for risk and a review of service portfolio?
Examples of de-commissioning a service can be seen in the 2014 budget. Do you want leaf collection in the fall as frequently; how often do you want sidewalks plowed.
Jones asked: Do you accept Council’s role and responsibilities? 100% they said BUT, …there was still some work to be done to show the link from strategic goals to performance management.
The report that was being discussed set out Senior Management, Service Owner and Staff Role and Responsibilities. Each was to:
Maintain an operational and tactical view of services by: making decisions regarding how services are delivered within the limits of Council approved service levels and budgets; determining, tracking/monitoring and reporting on performance and identifying risks; determining and implementing opportunities for continuous improvement; reviewing services and maintaining the service portfolio based on the decisions of Council.
Jones went on to give a detailed example as to how this would work using Burlington Transit as an example. Those details will be part of a different article.
Everything the city does under the 2015 budget will be somewhere within the Service Portfolio that is currently being revised and refined. That data is expected sometime in the spring when it can ideally become part of the election debate.
At this point in time the service portfolio consists of:
 A Service Portfolio is a list of all the services the city delivers. With the new Service Based Budget there will be a business plan for each service that will be approved by each Council at the beginning of its term of office. This basically sets out what the city is going to deliver.
Full details of that portfolio have yet to be released – there could be some surprises in that document. The core, the foundation of this new approach is the service that the city delivers. What services does the city want to be in and which services does the city want to get out of. This is a Council decision – what staff want to know is: What is the most suitable cycle time for a Council to review the service portfolio? 60% said at the beginning of new council term; 60% said some other time and 20% said at the beginning of each year. That comes to 140% – is this a harbinger of the kind of number stuff we can expect?
Every service will have a Business Plan that sets out the rational, purpose and the expectation the service will deliver. Whenever there is a change to the Business Plan a Business Case has to be provided.
One assumes these business plans and business cases will be on-line, which, if the Strategic Plan is any example, the public will pick up on very quickly and begin to demand that what is published is delivered. Which is exactly what city manager Jeff Fielding wants them to do – he wants the public to hold his staff accountable for his staff to learn to be accountable to the public they serve.
What is going to be in a business plan: Service Banner, Current State, Sub-services, Recent Continuous Improvements Initiatives, Financial Investment, Human Resource Investment, Emerging Opportunities & Anticipated Risks, Measuring Success and Service Objectives.
The presentation was extensive. Each of the parts of the Business Plan had forms that staff had to complete.
It all starts with what city people call the Service banner which a high level view of what the service is, why it is being delivered, what it will cost and how it will be reviewed by city council.
 The document that sets out the high level view of the service being delivered.  This type of document sets out the working plan for a service. The focus is always on improving the quality of the service and keeping the cost in line.  How much money has to be put into the service and what are the HR needs. Burlington has managed to keep the number of people on staff down – and without the use of all that much in the way of contract work.  City manager Fielding wants to see improvements and realizes that means taking some risks – and some of those risks will not work out. Staff can advise Council, Council has to make the decision. The public has to learn that changes need to be made and that much of the territory we are moving into is uncharted waters. Mistakes will be made and the public is going to have to learn to accept the mistakes. The Pier was not a mistake – but it was a classic example of terrible oversight and shockingly poor management.
 These are the documents that performance evaluations are going to be based on: Did city hall deliver – and if they didn’t, why not and if the why not isn’t satisfactory maybe HR will suggest another line of work – outside city hall.  For city manager Jeff Fielding it is all about improvement in the way services are delivered along with a hard look at what the city wants to actually deliver. Fielding isn’t a hard-nosed, cut everything to the bare bones. He thinks the flowers along main roads is a plus and are a part of what makes Burlington the top city it is – BUT he wants to make sure the public fully understands the costs – and is prepared to pay them. Fielding says the ear he has to the ground tells him the public is prepared to pay the cost for the extras – Council of course has to make that decision. With Council having had an overview of the process Auditor Jones wanted to know how they, Council, wanted to track what was being done.
She proposed that Council review the service portfolio at the beginning of each new council term. The Service Portfolio is that list of all the things the city does – the different businesses they are in.
All the Business Plans for all the services in place would be before Council and be made part of the orientation process for a new council and reviewed again annually during the budget process.
Council would look only at those services that have had a change made to them which would be shown in business cases that would be before Council. Waiting for a staff member to decide a change was needed and that a business case should be written up works only if you have a civil service that is responsive and genuinely feels they are accountable to the public. Many are, quite a few are not – it’s a culture change that is still being created.
Auditor Jones then wanted to know: What is the appropriate frequency of reporting performance
Measures; 40% said quarterly; 40% said semi-annually and 20% said annually
Jones took the middle road and proposed that management report to Council semi-annually to coordinate with financial reporting starting in 2015.
Management proposed to assess quarterly as the methods and data for calculating performance measures become stable, predictable and easy to access. This is a work in process that will need quite a bit of fine tuning.
Jones then poses the critical question: What does the public needs to know? Key messaging would include: what is the service portfolio?; why is it important to them? why should they care?; what is the service management framework?; what is a business plan?; what is service based budgeting?
The intention is to do this work in Q2 2014 using various communications channels along with Council involvement to actively engage the public in a process of education and awareness promotion.
Jones is close to emphatic when she says the city needs this valuable information from the public to assist Council in making decisions about services and service levels and to help administrate and prioritize initiative and activities. The city will begin gathering this kind of information in Q3 of 2014 for the 2015 budget and every year after that to inform the budget process.
What is the most suitable cycle for review of a service?
When a service review is defined as a formal undertaking by the service owner to ensure what is delivered is of the highest value to the community; that it applies best modern practices for cost-effective delivery, and directs valuable, limited resources to the delivery of community valued programs and services, a business case is prepared. The limitation here is that it is the service owner making the decision to review. The city might want to look for a way to pull the public into the process.
Council split on that approach as well: 40% said let’s do it bi-annually; 40% by priority sequence and 20% based on some other criteria.
Management came back with having management determine a service owner and Council requirements and develop a Service Review Framework and Methodology for implementation in 2016.
The public will participate – if you give them the opportunity. More than 70 people turned out for a budget review that was held at the Art Centre. The city didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to hold an event at Tansley Woods, where space is admittedly limited nor did they look at all the space in the Alton Campus.
And that was it – Auditor Jones had set it out for them:
Develop performance measures and complete business plans
Undertake continuous improvement efforts
Develop and implement: service based budget views; service performance accountability reporting and service review framework and methodology. Then educate the public on service management
With just under an hour for the presentation Jones asked: What do you think? And there wasn’t a word, not a peep from one of the council members. All seven members of Council were totally mute. Not a word, not a question. There was no interaction, no debate – nothing, which did not bode well for where this vital initiative for the city is going to go.
What was it that Jones said that stunned the seven? If the elected types don’t respond – what likelihood for a robust public response?
Before this new approach gets taken out to the public a lot more work needs to be done on the current council – because they didn’t appear to get it.
Jones has been the city auditor since January of 2009. A 20 year Royal Bank Financial Group veteran where she ended her career with the ban as senior manager of enterprise operational risk assessments. She also holds business degrees from Dalhousie and Queen’s universities.
 By Pepper Parr
February 5, 2013
BURLINGTON, ON.
Jeff Black, Manager of Field Services for the Roads and Parks Maintenance (RPM) department thinks he is going to get home and find that his wife has done their driveway – what do you think – is Black in for a surprise?
The RPM people have been at it all day with every piece of available equipment the city has out on the roads along with that from the contractors the city calls in on occasions like this.
Black reports that all is under control and that some of the local roads have now seen equipment. “We have managed to get some of the smaller Courts and Crescents done and with the snow fall now ended and nothing predicted for the rest of the day – it’s clean up for the smaller stretches of road.”
 It was an impressive accumulation of snow. It is putting some pressure on the snow removal budget. Primary and Secondary roads get all the attention in situations like this. The city needs three hours to get all the primary roads done – they try to get that work done before rush hour traffic which had the crews out at 3 am this morning.
Sidewalk clearing will also begin this evening.
Everyone seems to have survived – except for the planned Public Open House scheduled tonight at Appleby Ice Centre for the Burlington Transportation Master Plan and Community Trails Strategy is cancelled.
City arenas, community centres and pools, are open; Burlington Transit continues to provide service today with buses behind schedule due to wintry conditions. Handi-Van buses are also running. Please call the BusLINE at 905-639-0550 for updated information and visit www.burlington.ca/transit.
The city’s roads and parks maintenance team is clearing snow from primary roads, which will be followed by secondary and local roads beginning late afternoon and continuing overnight.
Snow is expected to continue falling until mid-afternoon, with an expected accumulation of about 20 centimetres. Northerly winds of up to 40 kilometres an hour will contribute to blowing and drifting.
Updates on winter operations are provided three times daily at 9 a.m., 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. during winter events at www.burlington.ca/snow.
For news updates, visit the following local media outlets:
CHML 900/y95
The Wave 94.7 FM
COGECO
CHCH News
 Roads clearing priorities. The listing of the local radio and television stations is a new one for the city. After their dismal performance during the ice storm one must assume there were “words” with that portion of the media. The city hopes Burlingtonians will hear more about local conditions more frequently on the air.
Jeff Black may find that his drive is in fact done. We at the Gazette are very happy that Rob and his snow blower live across the street. Our driveway is clear – thanks Rob. Beer will be in the snow for you to pick up tomorrow; pension check will be in by then.
 By Pepper Parr
February 4th, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Did you know that the distance between two cities is measured from where the city hall is located? A city hall is the core of a community and if you listen carefully to city manager Jeff Fielding when he speaks you will realize quickly that from his point of view city hall is downtown.
Ward 6 Councillor Blair Lancaster spoke once of a visit to the Ottawa city hall where the place was “buzzing” – “there was a coffee shop in the lobby and it was busy” she told her fellow council members. Burlington city hall once had a small coffee shop but it was in an out of the way location, few members of the public knew where it was and staff didn’t seem to patronize the place – so they shut it down and the space is now a lounge with micro waves and vending machines for staff to use.
 The back end of city hall was added in 1986 and planned to accommodate an additional two floors – is that the solution to the space problems? Burlington has a city hall that was built in 1964, went through an addition in 1986 but that isn’t enough space for the number of people who work for the city. The city rents significant space in the Simms large binders and files tucked under their arms.
 Sometime referred to as “city hall south” the Sims building has housed a number of city departments for a long time. Lease is up in 2016 – does the city renew? Ward 4 councillor Jack Dennison thinks the city could have bought the Sims building with the rent money they have paid during the many years the city has used space in the building. The current lease runs out in 2016. Finance, legal, human resources, purchasing and some Corporate Strategic Initiatives work out of that building.
With the Sims lease coming to an end soon the city is looking at its options. The review is being led by general manager Scott Stewart with a lot of the spade work being done by Craig Stevens. These two handled the second run at the pier and oversaw the city part of the Performing Arts construction – they tend to get it right.
The city has engaged CBRE, one of the largest commercial real estate operations in the country to do a needs study that goes beyond the bums and seats approach to space management.
Their task is to review all the options and come forward with a recommendation.
One of the options is to add two more floors to the additional of city hall that was done in 1986. When that addition was put in place it was designed for two more storeys. That plan has become a bit complicated with changes in the building code that call for changes that were not anticipated back in the mid 80’s
The first task to figure out is just what the city has in the way of property and what it doesn’t have and match that up with what is needed both now and into the future.
Transit is housed on Harvester Road as is Roads and Parks Maintenance (RPM). The team revising the city’s web site works off site and the Cultural Planner will work outside city hall if that position is created. Spreading people who create policy over a number of different locations is not seen as good management. People need to be able to get to each other and to meet casually. Much gets done over the water cooler.
City hall isn’t seen as an efficient structure and it certainly doesn’t have the acronym LEEDS anywhere near it. What does one do with the structure? Enlarge it – there is adjacent land the city could acquire and the space could undergo a major refurbishment. But that doesn’t appear to be the direction the city thinkers are going in.
“What if we could convince a provincial government department to take over city hall, perhaps buy it from us so that the city could put up the kind of building they need” suggested a senior city hall staffer who spoke on background. It was suggested that the city could perhaps partner with a developer and get some class A office space in the city.
 It seemed like a good idea at the time but hindsight may teach us that the parking lot on Locust was not the smartest idea we ever had. Some people look at two significantly located pieces of property that could be re-purposed. The parking garage on Locust Street – part of the dream former Mayor Rob MacIsaac had for the city. The parking space was certainly needed but was property that close to Lakeshore Road with the potential view the smartest place to park cars?
The downtown core is still looking for the “vibrancy” everyone says it has. The impending construction of the Medica One project at John and Caroline will add some vitality to that part of the city and the hope is that additional development will begin to take place along the southern part of John street as well.
Parking lots 4 and 5 on John and Brant Street are locations looking for a purpose. There was a time when McMaster University was going to take up residence there but that one got away on us.
 It has been a number of years getting to the point where there are shovels in the ground but at least this project is going forward. We should see some digging on LAkeshore soon as well when the Bridgewater project begins. The Delta hotel won’t manage to open in time for the Pan-American games. But development and Burlington don’t seem to dance that well. The city is seeing a lot of condo’s and apartment units going up. Molinaro has a project on Brock that is under construction and a multi tower project is on Fairview beside the GO station is being actively marketed.
Project like that solve the direction the province has given the city to add more population. The problem for Burlington is that there are no jobs for those people in Burlington.
The Economic Development Corporation has done a terrible job of attracting new business even though Burlington has a great story to tell. Late in October the BEDC parted ways with their Executive Director – that was 90 days ago and to date there isn’t a hint as to when they will strike a committee to hire a replacement.
Without some serious economic development, all the talk of Prosperity corridors is just so much public relations. The city needs new business that will create additional tax revenue that is vital if residential taxes are to be kept competitive.
That needed economic development will also create new jobs.
Time to begin selling that “Canada’s Best mid-sized city” story to the rest of the world – and that can only happen if there are people who know how to do that kind of work. The kind of people who do that kind of work need to be led by a Board that can actually create a plan and then oversee its execution.
Burlington doesn’t have such a board in place right now. This has to be embarrassing.
 By Pepper Parr
February 1, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
In April 2013 Burlington resident Denise Davy spoke as a delegation at the city’s Community Services Committee, urging the city to take responsibility for the safety of pedestrians at railway crossings. City Council directed staff to consult with community stakeholders to research rail safety.
 This was the situation in Burlington before Denise Davey delegated to city council for a change. A rail line safety and awareness stakeholder committee was formed to bring the various groups together to review the issue and develop strategies to prevent rail line deaths. The committee included representatives fromGO Transit, CN, VIA Rail, CP, COAST, ROCK, Canadian Mental Health Association, theNorth Halton Mental Health Clinic, Halton Police, Region of Halton Public Works, Transport Canada and theTransportation Safety Board. The review resulted in a number of short-term strategies and long-term opportunities.
 Today there is appropriate fencing and protocols in place to ensure that the city tells the GO people and other authorities that the fence has been breached. It was not quite this easy when Denise Davey first took on the task of making the railway tracks safer by blocking crossing that were not properly secured. Davey’s son, Ryan, was 18 when he was killed by a train in March of 1998. Here is how she tells her story:
“Many more people have been killed by trains going through Halton since then and the numbers over the last year have increased at an alarming rate. In a six-month period, from August 2012 to February 2013, six people were killed, including a 23-year-old Hamilton man.
“That’s a huge increase from previous years and it speaks to the need for better safety measures to prevent further deaths. The area of major concern is along Fairview and Cumberland where many people have been killed by trains.
“It’s wide open and also extremely close to one of the busiest shopping plazas in Burlington. Although there are “Danger” signs posted, the well-worn footpath is a testament to how few people heed them. The same problem exists with the tracks that run between Appleby Line and Burloak, by Sherwood Forest Park.
“Not only are there openings in the fence by the park, but in many areas the bottom part of the fence has been pulled up where people have obviously crawled under. Finding out who is responsible for safety along the tracks was so difficult, however, that even after several calls to rail officials, I’m not completely clear on it.
“Indeed, it seemed even rail officials weren’t clear on it. Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board were quick to deflect all blame for any deaths or injuries and talk about the public’s responsibility.
“And there is truth in that. The public needs to be responsible around the tracks. But at some point, the people who run the trains also need to take some responsibility. I can think of several stories I’ve covered as a reporter in which a person was killed crossing the street illegally but a stoplight was later put in place to prevent further deaths or injuries.
“Not only are rail officials quick to deflect blame, they’re tight-lipped when it comes to statistics on train-related fatalities and injuries. After several calls to the GO media folks I was told they don’t have statistics on the number of people who have been killed by GO trains along the Halton tracks.
“How can it be?” I asked the GO spokesperson, “You’re telling me that you don’t know how many people have been killed by the service you run?” I was quickly put on hold then told I needed to talk to someone else. I never got the number from GO.
“I was eventually told by Halton police (who told me earlier they didn’t have the numbers) that five of the six recent deaths in Halton were a result of GO trains.
“I will be talking to members of Burlington city council about changes I think need to be made to areas along the tracks. They include fencing, surveillance cameras, motion sensitive lighting and noise barriers, the same type you see along the QEW in Grimsby.
“I figure if they’re deemed important enough to buffer noise for residents who live close to the highway, they should be considered important enough to save a life.”
 Will the sign make a difference? If it doesn’t – well we tried. But if it does – that is a victory. Denise Davey deserves great credit for her efforts. Keep her in mind when it comes to selecting Burlington`s Best. It was an uphill fight for a long period of time but at a city council meeting in January Bruce Zvaniga, director of transportation services said: “The various stakeholders came to the table prepared to discuss and make changes,” said Zvaniga, and “I would like to thank them for their responsiveness, action and commitment to safety.”
The committee has already put in place a number of short-term strategies, including:
A communication protocol where city staff share information with rail operators regarding fence damage and footpaths near the rail line. Rail operators are also to share information with roads and parks maintenance staff regarding fence damage on city-owned properties
Rail operator “high rail” reviews that exchange information about identified outcomes
City fencing improvements in five different locations where chain fences will be installed
Rail line safety and awareness in 11 public schools and seven catholic schools as part of the schools’ safety awareness programs and under the leadership of Operation Lifesaver
Site specific strategies have been implemented by GO Transit and the Canadian Mental Health Association
“I am very proud of the work done by the stakeholder committee,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “ The committee has created a set of best practices for the entire country. If what we have set in motion can save one life, than it has well be worth it.”
An annual stakeholder review process is now in place. The stakeholder group will meet each year to look at the outcomes of previous strategies, identify possible new strategies and discuss long-term opportunities. In 2014, the committee will invite the Catholic and public school boards to participate.
Somewhere along the way the woman who had lost a child to a rail line accident got forgotten as all the bureaucrats who should have been on top of this issue from the beginning did nothing until Denise Davey delegated.
The power of one person with a voice and the courage of their convictions is immense and magnificent.
Background links:
City staff directed to start asking questions.
Three deaths in seven months.
Parent wants better rail line safety – death level intolerable.
 By Vanessa Warren
January 30, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
An open letter to the LaSalle Park Marina Association (LPMA),
Last night I attended a public Consultation Meeting and Workshop for the City of Burlington’s 2014 budget.
 Vanessa Warren on the right reading through the city budget workbook at a public consultation last night took exception the way the LaSalle Park Marina association tried to hijack the meeting. Ken Woodruff, former Burlington Green president, is on the left. Full disclosure: I am a farmer in Burlington’s rural north, sit on the board of Burlington Green, and Chair the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition. I had never attended a workshop like this before and to be sure, what got me off the couch and to the meeting was a desire to see that public transit, environmental sustainability and rural issues were being represented within the context of the City’s financial plan; but I also attended because I feel we all have a civic duty to ensure our municipality’s house is in order.
I prescribe to the belief that I cannot ask my government to be accountable to me, if I do not engage with them.
Upon arrival, an encouragingly large group of attendees were put into working groups around large tables, and instructed as to the evening’s ‘feedback’process. We were then given an opportunity to ask questions, and the first two or three queries from the group were salient, intelligent and budget-related; but when John Birch, president of the LaSalle Park Marina Association stood up, it quickly became clear that the meeting had been hijacked.
Some background. The wealthy boat owners at the LPMA, led by rhetorician John Birch, would like to expand their private harbor, currently occupying the waterfront of a public park and further, want the city to provide more funds beyond the $150,000 already given to them to start detailed designs before the environmental assessment challenge is resolved. The crux of the issue, as I and many others see it, is that the desired construction will almost certainly destroy the wintering grounds of 1/4 of Ontario’s Trumpeter Swan population; a population that has been crawling back from the brink of extinction. I would, and have, also publicly argued that there is no demonstrated need for this redundancy particularly in the face of the City’s fiscal concerns, and with a great deal more environmental assessment to come.
However, regardless of your position on the project IT WAS NOT AN AGENDA ITEM at this budget meeting. The LaSalle Park Marina Expansion is not even being considered in the 2014 budget, and yet, the LPMA thought it appropriate to use the workshop as an illegitimate soapbox for its cause.
Many, many people, citizens, City staff, and almost the entire City Council (with the exception of Councillor Blair Lancaster), devoted their time last night to be engaged in the messy process that is democracy. The workshop was well-attended, well-organized, and should have been much more fruitful; instead, we spent a devastating amount of utterly useless time being commandeered by a special interest group railroading a non-budgetary issue.
 John Birch of the LaSalle Park Marina Association, on the left, going through his workbook. John Birch and the LPMA: I find your case for public funding of a private marina totally without merit. However, if you believe it to have merit, and as a “joint venture”of the City of Burlington, then you must follow the public process as it has been laid out. Your project already hangs by a thread of legitimacy, and if you truly believe your cause is just, then you should promote it justly. Engage with the community and your council where appropriate, and where people who have a counterpoint may enter the dialogue as well. The guerilla tactics that you used so disrespectfully last night were disruptive and unprofessional, and from my perspective, only further eroded your project’s credibility.
 By Pepper Parr
January 29, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
“We would like to invite you to join Insight Burlington – an online, interactive community panel that will give participants an opportunity to engage and connect on a variety of issues. You will be invited to share your thoughts, ideas and insights on a variety of issues that are important to you and the City of Burlington”, said the email.
Sounded pretty straightforward.
“To get started please click on the link below and complete the short survey. It should take you no more than 6 minutes” took less.
You can be part of this Insight panel the city is setting up. Click on the link below and answer the questions and you’re in.
 Knowing what people think helps a city provide the services the city can afford. City manager Jeff Fielding had hoped to have several thousand people signed up and ready to answer whatever questions the city wanted to ask. When there is an issue being considered the city wanted to be able to turn this Insight panel – run a couple of questions by them and factor that “public opinion” into their decision.
The city does not own the software that runs the program and all the background technology that makes the service work is owned and operated by the son of one of the best public opinion polling expert this country has. Angus Reid, basically retired now, serves as a thinker for Vision Critical – the name of the service Burlington bought into.
Who you are is none of the city’s business. They will, for example, know you are 55 years of age, live in L7M 1T5, own your home and have a household income of $119,000. The WHO you are by name – the city will never know – all that information stays on the Vision Critical computers which happen to be located in Vancouver.
The Insight panel is something the city manager has control of – members of council don’t get to put their sticky fingers anywhere near it. They may be asked if there are questions they would like to see posed – but the service is in place for the city administration. It is a tool to help them make decisions.
The Insight Burlington panel is open to anyone 16 years of age and older who is a resident, taxpayer or business owner/operator in the City of Burlington. The goal is to create a panel that reflects the community. It is an opportunity to voice your opinions on a variety of topics and issues related to the city and the services it provides.
The service is described as a part of the Engagement Charter – now there’s something we haven’t heard about for some time.
What fascinates the people at city hall is the granularity the service will give them. Suppose you said you never used transit – they could ask you why and focus on people in specific parts of the community based on the postal code that was captured.
If there is an issue related to parents in the northern part of the city – the postal codes allow survey questions to be directed to people they are relevant to.
If you want to join click on the link below and answer the questions. The system will get back to you letting you know that you are one of the chosen – actually you choose yourself.
The system can’t be gamed, you can’t flood it by having all your buddies, people who think the way you do, register. The software was designed to provide the city administration with a balanced view.
The city manager is starting this with a soft launch – they want to see how well it works. Early thinking had them taking a look at transit but that may have changed.
Leah Bisutti, administrative assistant in City Manager’s Office has what is called “ownership” of the service. Bisutti along with four other people at city hall have been trained on how to set up a questionnaire. The intention is to send out questions frequently but keep them short. And for those with Smart phones – you will be able to respond on the GO train.
Bisutti is excited about the project. Burlington is the first city in Ontario to take this approach to community engagement. The question staff ask is: Will it work, will people take us up on this.
If you registered to become part of the panel – you can expect to see the first set of question within three to five days. I’m excited, Leah is excited and the city manager is hoping that the investment pays off – he doesn’t want to have to tell council that he blew $100,000 on an idea.
 Checking in – being heard. If you didn’t get one; accept this invitation from the Gazette. Join Now
Got questions? Bisutti has an electronic help line – pop her a note and ask your questions. insight@burlington.ca
If you are unable to click on the link above, please copy and paste the full URL below into your browser:
www.insightburlington.com
Background:
City reveals public opinion polling plans, not cheap.
City hall recruits public for opinions
Mayor Rick Goldring’s delivered his State of the City Address for 2013 on January , 2014 at the Burlington Convention Centre
The report is produced, in full, below for the record.
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen and thank you for attending today’s State of the City Address.
Before I go any further there are some people I would like to acknowledge and thank who have made this event possible:
 Pier is completed now – just not fully paid for – legal tussle may yet surprise everyone. The Chamber of Commerce, for not only hosting us this morning but also for the tremendous work they do throughout the year tirelessly promoting business and prosperity within Burlington. This year, the Chamber of Commerce is hosting the Entrepreneur of the Year dinner. The Chamber is working with BEDC to carry on the tradition of this great event. The winner of the entrepreneur award will be announced next week. Mark June 5 on your calendar for this special event.
Today’s sponsors – Scotia Bank, Bell, Certified Management Accountants, The Centre for Skills Development & Training, and BDO Canada, for providing this platform to present to you and the broader community.
TV Cogeco for filming today’s event and broadcasting for the community. TV Cogeco is always there to bring events like this to the community, to inform and engage Burlingtonians.
At this time, I want to introduce my Council colleagues. I am extremely pleased how this council has evolved into a very effective team. Marianne Meed Ward, John Taylor, Jack Dennison, Paul Sharman, and Blair Lancaster have joined us today; Councillor Rick Craven is out-of-town this week. Your dedication to the wards you represent, individual residents and the city as a whole is unparalleled and appreciated. It is an honour and privilege to serve with each of you.
Finally, I want to recognize the people who keep this city running; the city’s management and staff. These are the people who put forth great effort throughout the year providing services for our residents and step up during challenging times around events like wind storms and ice storms. Thank you for your unwavering commitment in making Burlington the great city it is.
I would like to introduce members of our executive team: Jeff Fielding, City Manager, Scott Stewart, General Manager of Development and Infrastructure, and Kim Phillips, General Manager of Community Services and welcome all other members of city staff.
I would like to take a moment to talk about the recent ice storm that we experienced on December 21st and 22nd. There was enormous damage and a loss of power to half a million residents across the GTA over the holiday season. By Sunday morning, approximately 7,500 households in Burlington were without power and there was no certainty for when this situation would be resolved.
The areas north of Dun das Street, including Lowville, Kilbride, and Cedar Springs, sustained the most damage. Trees toppled onto roads rendering them impassable and ice-encrusted branches fell across power lines resulting in those lines coming down. While residents and businesses were affected throughout the city, those areas waited 3 to 7 days for restoration. All had power restored by December 29th.
On behalf of everyone in our city, we thank all those involved for working and persevering through the most intensive storm-related, power restoration work in recent memory, that took time away from your families and your own holiday plans, in order to serve your community by working together in such a complex 24/7 operation.
I want to thank City and Region staff, firefighters, Burlington Hydro, police, and our friends at Oakville Hydro, Waterloo-North Hydro, Cambridge and North Dumfries Hydro, as well as contractors K-Line and the various tree trimming companies, and so many, many others who were committed to support, restoration, and clean up.
I also want to recognize residents who helped and supported friends, neighbours, and strangers in a variety of different ways including providing food, shelter and encouragement to those in need.
I was inspired by how people came together in true community spirit to serve others.
All your efforts are applauded. We will continue to learn from these events through our review processes so that we can learn from our experience and further improve future emergency plans.
At the beginning of this term, with help from the community, Council developed a strategic plan for Burlington, to define our priorities and action plans and identified three strategic pillars: Vibrant Neighbourhoods, Prosperity, and Excellence in Government. These themes serve as the road map we follow to ensure our people, businesses, and nature thrive.
 Today’s Roadmap
This morning’s address is divided into three areas:
1. A Look in the Rearview Mirror;
2. The Course We Are On; and
3. The Road Ahead.
In 2013, the world economy remained seriously challenged. Europe is unsteady, the US had a shut-down in government services due to fiscal constraints and political paralysis, and the Canadian economy grew at a modest 1.7%.
In this environment, the Federal and Provincial governments continue to make cuts and shift costs and responsibilities to municipalities. While we continue to advocate for more assistance at the municipal level, we must be fiscally responsible and manage and leverage our own assets to ensure our own prosperity. We cannot always have our hand out asking for more from the senior levels of government.
We need to be creative and innovative in addressing our challenges by maintaining the balance between revenues generated and providing the services our community wants and needs.
At your table are copies of The Burlington Story, which describes our city: who we are, where we have been, where we are today, where we need to be, and what our future opportunities and challenges are. I encourage you to review this document. At its essence, The Burlington Story is intimately connected to all of us.
In my case, I moved to Burlington when I was three in 1960 and have lived here ever since – except for an 11- month period when I lived in Oakville.
My father was a bank manager in the east end of Hamilton. He and my mother wanted to move to Burlington earlier but waited until the construction of the Skyway Bridge was completed making the commute from Burlington much easier. They chose Burlington because of its location, its great neighbourhoods, its rich natural surroundings, and because it was a great place to raise a family. These are the same reasons why Burlington continues as a desirable place to live for long time residents and newcomers.
 There are a number of public opinion surveys that find that over 90% of Burlington residents’ state their quality of life is good or very good. And once again we attained a top rating from Money Sense Magazine – as the number one mid-sized city in Canada to live. Our goal is to be and live the title as Canada’s “Quality of Life” capital.
So what did 2013 bring to Burlington?
While we are facing some challenges, our local economy continued to remain strong in 2013.
Over 660,000 square feet of new Industrial, Commercial and Institutional space was constructed in 2013, with a total value exceeding $211 million and adding new tax revenues of close to $1 million annually.
We welcomed 118 new businesses to Burlington, including:
• Newterra, a water and wastewater technology company who has established a third location here in Burlington;
• Seals Unlimited who renovated a 13,000 square foot warehouse on King Road; and
• Gyptech, a global supplier of wallboard process equipment and engineering services, built a new corporate headquarters, bringing 85 high-tech jobs to the city.
Our unemployment rate is at 6.4% which continues to remain lower than the provincial average. Over 1,100 new jobs were created and we look to continue that trend in 2014, providing opportunities for Burlingtonians to live and work in their city.
Burlington continues to have a strong real estate market that saw 412 new units created in 2013 and the average price of a home now exceeds $500,000 which is a 7% increase over 2012.
Many milestones were also accomplished in 2013 and are worthwhile noting. Let me take you back to ‘see’ some of these highlights through this short video. (See video link on www.burlingtonmayor.com)
Now I would like to provide you with a few more details on these great initiatives.
 With the city increasing in density and some areas having reached full “build-out,” protecting our natural lands is more important than ever before. Natural areas such as the Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System will ensure that current and future residents will experience the gifts of nature, learn about the bounty and diversity in our own backyard, and are critical to preserving the quality of life that Burlingtonians enjoy now and in the future. The Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System will be over four times the size of Central Park in New York City.
Last spring, long-time Burlington businessman John Holland—in memory of his wife, Eileen—donated 37 acres of property in North Aldershot for use as additional park land. Eileen believed this land should be given to the city for others to enjoy for generations to come. I’m very pleased that John Holland and his daughter Theresa have joined us here this morning.
The Haber Recreation Centre in Alton is the city’s largest community construction project made possible through a unique partnership between the City of Burlington, Halton District School Board, Burlington Public Library, and Haber & Associates law firm. This is our largest community centre and is equipped with amenities to support regional and provincial levels of play. The recreation centre shares the facility with the new Dr.
Frank J. Hayden Secondary School and the Alton Branch of the Burlington Public Library. This unique branch of our library system is used by both the high school students and the public.
This is a shining example of innovative partnerships that we need to consider and foster to build vibrant, complete neighbourhoods. Thank you to our partners, in particular to Chris Haber and his family who are here with us today.
This past June, after seven years of twists and turns, we officially opened the Brant Street Pier, which has now become a true destination and an integral part of our shoreline and our downtown. I can tell you that we have received overwhelmingly great feedback from residents and visitors alike. The community has really embraced the pier!
 Yes, we continue to work through the legal aspects associated with the Pier construction in the best interests of taxpayers, but we look forward to a timely and mutually satisfactory resolution for all parties. We will provide a full and transparent briefing once the legalities are completed.
We collaborated with Burlington Hydro and other stakeholders to produce a “made in Burlington” Community Energy Plan that will help identify areas where conservation and efficiency measures can be focused. It will also assess the potential for local generation, particularly for renewable energy sources, utilize smart grid technology, and to look at energy implications on future growth and prosperity.
I would like to take a minute and acknowledge and recognize Michael Schwenger for his leadership as the chair of the Community Energy Plan Stakeholder Advisory Group.
After years of planning and construction, the King Road Underpass was officially opened in December. The City, together with CN, installed an underpass at this busy rail crossing that is used by more than 100 freight and commuter trains daily. This new underpass results in much better commuting for everyone and provides the necessary infrastructure to further the potential of the Aldershot business community and employment lands.
Council unanimously approved the Revised Core Commitment for downtown. With over 1800 touch points from our public consultation process, came the vision “Creating an active waterfront downtown destination that showcases the cultural heart of Burlington.” The City will play a leadership role in setting policy and committing resources to implement the strategic actions required to create a more vibrant and prosperous downtown. I have often stated that I believe that our downtown is the heart and soul of our community.
Council unanimously approved Burlington’s Cultural Action Plan to enhance cultural development in the city, which contributes to our citizens’ enjoyment and well-being. 76% of polled residents said culture is “essential” or “highly important” in their daily lives and our cultural organizations attracted more than 624,000 visits to the city in 2013 alone. Culture can inspire generations of creative minds to lead Burlington forward to new technologies and ways of thinking and doing.
The Joseph Brant Hospital Redevelopment and Expansion Project made great progress in 2013 and is scheduled for the Spring 2014 completion of Phase One which includes the Halton McMaster Family Health Centre, an 800 space parking garage along with hospital administration space.
We now turn to Phase Two of the project which has been enhanced from the original six-storey concept to a seven-storey tower comprised of a new Emergency Department, 28 new Intensive Care Unit beds, and 146 medical-surgical beds. Construction for this phase is planned to start in early 2015 and open in 2018.
This is what our tax levy is supporting: a state-of-the-art care facility to better serve residents. Joseph Brant Hospital will essentially be a brand new hospital. While the City of Burlington is contributing $60 million to the project, the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation is also raising $60 million, so I encourage everyone to contribute to the capital campaign.
 We endorsed our first Community Engagement Charter aimed at making this city’s government more accessible and involved with the people it serves. The charter was created in cooperation between local residents and city staff. We continue to expand our engagement toolbox with our partnership with Vision Critical that will use innovative new forms of online technology to assist the City and Council in connecting with residents on a variety of issues. The community online panel, known as Insight Burlington, will consist of 5,000 residents from all areas of the city. Burlington will be the first Ontario city to use this online approach to citizen engagement and consultation resulting in valued input on the issues of the day.
In partnership with the City of Hamilton, Halton Region, and both the Federal and Provincial governments, we continue to make strides in the clean-up of Randle Reef and have signed an agreement as participants. The result will be a much cleaner Burlington Bay improving the quality of life and prosperity for all bay area residents.
2013 also brought us some challenging issues.
Residents reported to the City that literally tens of thousands of truckloads of fill were being transported onto the site of the Burlington Airpark for the apparent purpose of enhancing and expanding aviation activity. The negative impact was significant to surrounding residents and the airpark had never filed a site alteration plan with the City and did not recognize our jurisdiction.
The City took the position that the site alteration bylaw is applicable to this project and must be complied with. After much discussion with residents and airpark representatives, we filed a legal proceeding and the Milton Superior Court ruled in our favour. This is a significant decision for Burlington and for municipalities throughout Canada. I thank the residents for their perseverance and our staff for working diligently on this outcome. The safety and quality of life for our residents is our number one priority.
 We also tackled a review and update of the Burlington Beach Regional Waterfront Park Master Plan. This document had been in place for many years but had not had a meaningful review and update. This has been one of the most complex and controversial matters to deal with since I have been on City Council. There are many issues of land ownership, zoning, wastewater, and property standards. The City is committed to protecting the Beachway, an environmentally significant area of the city, while respecting the rights of the existing residents.
As a result of the Halton Regional Council decision on October 23rd, the City will continue working with the Region and Conservation Halton to deliver a detailed park design, master plan and an environmental management plan, while providing fairness and preserving value of the existing homes so that if home owners sell to the City/Region, home owners will be confident that they will be treated fairly, on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis. There is no plan to expropriate and Beachway residents will continue to retain ownership for as long as they wish.
In October, the Burlington Community Foundation presented the second edition of Burlington’s Vital Signs. This report evaluates Burlington as a place to live, work, and play by identifying trends that are critical to our quality of life.
The report offers information that all of us should consider and provides findings of great interest, some which I will share with you here.
Burlington is one of the safest communities in Canada and residents tend to see the quality of life in the city as improving; almost 30% indicate that the quality of life has improved over the past two years.
It is no surprise that we are, overall, a prosperous community. Our residential real estate values are holding strong and increasing, as noted earlier. We have a well-educated labour force and have cultural opportunities and environmental features, like the escarpment and waterfront, that are, frankly, the envy of others.
Our median household income levels are 24% higher than the Ontario average.
On the other hand, almost 1 in 10 individuals live in a low-income household. Moreover, Burlington is not immune to the youth issues that prevail elsewhere in Canada and the western world such as obesity, bullying, and mental health, and we need to advocate for quality infrastructure to provide the support needed so everyone can live healthy and productive lives.
Our population is aging faster and greater than the Ontario average: 17% of our population is aged 65 or older, compared to 14.5% in Ontario overall. To put this in perspective, there were 30,000 seniors in Burlington in 2011, and this trend is expected to grow, having implications for all of us. Currently over 9,000 people over the age of 80 reside in our city.
And the growth in local real estate values belies the challenge of providing affordable housing to those living with modest incomes, or in single parent or single person households, which is growing in number.
Burlington’s rental vacancy rate is very low at 1.3% compared to Hamilton’s 4.2% and Ontario’s 2.5%. To be an inclusive community, this gap needs to be addressed so everyone can be self-reliant and flourish.
 Traffic Congestion and Gridlock is a significant issue for Burlington and the GTHA. The annual cost of congestion is greater than $6 billion when travel delays, impact on the environment, increased vehicle costs from traffic delays, increased chance of vehicle collisions and loss of productivity are considered. With an additional 2.5 million people and one million cars expected to enter the region in the next 18 years, the congestion will only get worse if action is not taken.
Metrolinx has started to implement some projects that are part of the $50 billion “Big Move” for investing in public transit and it is crucial that work continue on the remainder as if it doesn’t, the cost of doing nothing will see the annual cost of congestion increase to $15 billion by 2031.
Within Burlington, work has commenced on the City of Burlington Transportation Master Plan. There are approximately 115,000 cars in Burlington and 70,000 household units. Those 70,000 household units create approximately 6 trips per day for over 400,000 vehicles trips per day. In addition there is significant cut through traffic often as a result of traffic delays on the QEW and 403. There is no magic bullet to address our transportation challenges. We need to take a balanced approach going forward improving our intersections and road networks where appropriate and also building complete streets that include appropriate infrastructure for cycling and pedestrian activity as well as transit.
Property taxes are the most significant revenue source for the City. Traditionally, we relied on residential growth to fund service levels that residents expect. In the future, the challenge will be to maintain these service levels because in the past we had lots of Greenfield development and Burlington is now reaching build out, thus the City is challenged to maintain services and infrastructure because revenue growth from property taxes has slowed dramatically.
Now, here we are in 2014, the slowest growing municipality in the GTHA over the next 17 years. In 2014, we are projecting assessment growth of .5% which is the lowest we have had in memory.
As a result of declining rate of assessment growth, it is more important than ever, to create new ways to
increase this revenue source while maintaining affordability and minimizing negative impact on service quality and quantity delivered to the community. We want and need to maintain quality of life.
If the current trend continues as the city migrates towards residential build-out without us taking action, Burlington may realize the need for more than moderate tax increases over the mid to long term along with a reduction in services.
Because of our limited capacity to grow, we must take a strategic approach to support and sustain our community, now and for the long term. The centre piece of that approach is the attraction and successful recruitment of new industrial and commercial businesses.
Earlier I mentioned The Burlington Story. If you look at page, Figure 1 – Commercial/Industrial Weighted Assessment Growth, this chart tells the story of where assessment growth has gone.
 In my last State of the City Address I indicated that one of the key priorities for 2013 was to have the Burlington Economic Development Corporation take a more direct, active and strategic role in the short and long-term development and marketing of Burlington.
The organization has been in been in a transitional mode internally while still maintaining its core mandate of marketing and facilitating existing and new business expansions. I would like to acknowledge the BEDC staff for keeping their foot on the pedal while we move forward through this process. We have reviewed the best in class models combined with a made in Burlington approach and we are in the process of creating a dynamic organization.
This organization will aggressively maximize market opportunities locally and internationally, lead transformation to key employment districts, be investment ready to streamline development processes and ensure land is shovel ready.
We are also looking at the viability of acquiring assets and assisting owners to create new development sites on underutilized lands in order to enhance their value and bring them to market. I would encourage you to join us for BEDC’s AGM in May where we will share even more information on the new Burlington Economic Development Corporation.
Part of our prosperity agenda is the development of the city’s employment lands which represent a strategic asset. Taking a proactive and targeted approach to preserving and optimizing our employment land inventory will help take pressure off the need for residential property taxes. This will be key to Burlington’s long-term fiscal capacity and sustainability.
We reached an agreement with IKEA that will accommodate the transportation needs of their relocation project and provide a long term transportation solution for the city’s Prosperity Corridor. Solving the transportation issue has allowed us to unlock the development potential of the North Service Road area and provided us the infrastructure to help us attract further investment.
On the expense side of the ledger, there are initiatives at play that build on the 2012 decision to re-focus investments in city services through a service-based approach. This transition from a traditional budget approach of department spending to investing in value-based service delivery is not esoteric; rather, it is rooted in a delivery and budgeting model that focuses on service quality and financial sustainability, and will be a primary focus in 2014, as we transition to a service based budget in 2015.
There are a number of opportunities that are being explored with the objective of reducing operational costs and creating new revenue streams. Some of these include:
 A Real Estate Asset Management Corporation would be an innovative approach to optimizing civic facility assets to increase their value and potentially creating a revenue stream, and making the best use of current infrastructure.
A Service-Based Corporation, in partnership with Burlington Electricity Services Inc. (which is managed under Burlington Hydro), would streamline existing services, avoiding duplication, creating efficiencies and enhancing existing services. Examples under consideration include storm water management, street lighting, and tree trimming.
An Energy Corporation that would offer residents effective, value-based and sustainable energy solutions to provide our energy needs now and in the future.
For each concept, a comprehensive business case will be developed to identify and weigh the benefits, costs and risks associated with each initiative. The models with the most return on investment would be implemented.
Exploring new service delivery methods has established an environment of change and transformation, to enhance service value and quality and build on our efforts for sustainable local government. The City, like other municipal governments, is under increasing pressure to think more entrepreneurial and be creative in revenue generation and service delivery opportunities. We are, in essence, reinventing municipal government.
So while it is great for Burlington to be lauded and recognized, we need to continue to stay ahead of the curve.
In times of high growth and great prosperity, we often neglect to look for the future challenges that we might face in the long term. It is often when we are experiencing the difficult times in life, personally or professionally, and we face challenges, that we learn to be innovative and creative. These are the times when we are often the most successful in finding a solution.
As a community, there are many challenges that lie ahead that we must confront. Your ideas, passion, and engagement have never been more needed than now.
 In my inauguration speech I closed with the African Proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” Ladies and gentlemen, we are in this together and we can, together, continue to build a city that works to provide the best in vibrant neighborhoods, prosperity and excellence in governance. Together we can be a shining example of the best a city can be.
The following sums up the keys to success to sustain Burlington as an attractive place to live, work, and play.
Attract new business to generate new sources of revenue, jobs, and increase opportunities for more residents to work and live in the city, thereby improving quality of life.
Continue our journey towards a performance-results and accountability culture at the city, to improve effectiveness, service levels, and value for your money.
We will continue to seek strategic commercial market opportunities both within Canada and internationally including continuing to develop the potential of our water technology sector.
We need to continue to invest appropriately to improve our local, regional and provincial transportation networks in order to improve prosperity and quality of life for our residents.
We need to work with the Region of Halton and developers to provide creative approaches for a variety of housing options for all residents.
We need to staunchly advocate for infrastructure that supports both the physical and emotional well- being of our citizens, particularly for our youth and seniors, while providing an environment that fosters healthy, happy, and productive living.
Meeting these aspirations will be a community effort. We need your support to make this happen and over the next few months, we will be soliciting your participation. I am asking you to get involved in any way you can!
The Burlington of tomorrow will be a healthy, vibrant, prosperous, caring, connected and compassionate community by providing a variety of opportunities to live, work and play. These include fostering a real and authentic sense of community where people thrive, reach their potential, learn, enjoy, and continue to support one another in good times and in times of need.
On behalf of your Council, I offer my thanks for your ongoing and continued support. I leave you with this.
In the words of Alan Kay, an American Computer Scientist and pioneer: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it”.
Ladies and gentlemen: The Burlington of tomorrow is in our hands, hearts, and minds. Let us form our future together.
Background links:
The State of the City address for 2012
The State of the City address for 2011
2013 address was limp at best.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON
January 15, 2014
There was a bit of a buzz in the Council Chamber Tuesday afternoon – the significant seven were gearing up for their first crack at the 2014 budget and given that they were going into an election year they both wanted to get it right and at the same time make sure they took care of the people in their wards.
Ward 3 Councillor John Taylor was the first one to approach the pork barrel – we will come back to that.
In a phrase – the city wants to spend $134,513,000 – up $2, 155,000 from 2013- and they are going to do that without adding to the staff compliment which now sits at 1311 with both full and part-time people. Staff salary increases is to be limited to 1% in 2014.
The document being debated was the recommendations from the city’s Executive Budget Committee (EBC) which consists of the city manager, his two general managers, the Director of Finance Joan Ford, Transportation Director Bruce Zvaniga, HR Manager Roy Male and Corporate Strategic Initiatives Executive Director Allan Magi.
At a meeting in December city manager Jeff Fielding put a number on the table that had his people looking for an increase that was 4.66% over 2013 or $6,106,ooo – you could almost hear the gulping on the other side of the horseshoe.
 City staff came up with a budget increase of 4.66% over 2013. Council pushed back and it was cut to 4.13% Service changes could add an additional 3.66%. The city has a couple of whoppers it has to deal with. The money it has to fork over to OMERS to cover the staff pension requirements got increased – taxpayers don’t get to say “no thanks” to this ask. OMERS found it wasn’t fully funded to meet the draw hat would be made so they slipped in a special levy.
Insurance premiums have increased and there has been more than expected in the way of assessment appeals that were lost and vacancy rebates.
The city’s infrastructure work is not up to date and more money is needed to fix the roads before they become so bad they have to be rebuilt. There is a half a percentage point ($643,000) tax levy dedicated to infrastructure that the city manager wants to raise to three-quarters of a percentage point.
Being added is $815,000 in spending which will get covered by additional revenue from the growth of assessment revenue.
Hayden Recreation Centre will get $375,000
Alton Library $295,000
Transit service for Hayden High School – this one won’t be a forever cost if the service is not well used.
Operating costs for water play features in three community parks: $49,000
Roads, Parks and Information technology growth: $52,000.
 Growth in the city’s property assessment has come to an end. The spending days have to come to an end as well. The gravy days for Burlington are now at an end. Assessment growth has plummeted. In 2002 the weighted assessment growth was 3.69% – we are now at .58% The big cheque days for the developers has come to an end.
The Executive Budget Committee recommended four areas for expansion: Heritage is to get a full-time Planner – if the Heritage Conservation District gets approved in principle that planer will be very busy.
Heritage Burlington will get $167,000 of which $64,000 is a onetime amount.
Culture has been given a lot of attention; the Cultural Action Plan has been approved in principle – next step for that is an Implementation plan which will require a full-time Manager of Cultural Services (think $128,000) and lastly $36,000 for the community garden initiative Burlington Green got off the ground two years ago. Agriculture has worked itself south of the rural urban divide.
The Burlington Economic Development Corporation is in for $275,000 for more studies – they want to revise their business model – what business? That crowd has delivered one cock-up after another in the past two years. They turfed the Executive Director and then added a significant chunk of change to the cost of the severance package with some ill-timed comments from the chair. The movement of that mouth is reputed to have cost the city an additional $10k.
The city feels it needs to add crossing guards and an additional crossing guard supervisor to the staffing list. And the final increase to the tax levy for the city’s portion of the cost to rebuild the Joseph Brant Hospital is due to come on-line this year.
There is also a service called One Call that the city can’t get out of which is going to cost us $111,000 this year and probably an ongoing amount for the service that has to do with knowing where anyone is going to dig to ensure that they don’t hit hydro lines, gas lines or anything else that is underground. when the service was mentioned at a Council Stranding Committee meeting Roads and Park Maintenance Director Cathy Robinson said there wasn’t much the city could do – it was being mandated by the province and we were stuck with it.
Looked at from a high level – the budget for 2014 looks something like this:
 This is what the Executive Budget Committee proposed to Council early in December. City Manager Jeff Fielding called it a status quo budget. Council wasn’t quite on for that much. Staffing has held firm: 1131 people of which 865 are full-time and 251 part-time – holding those numbers in an election year is no small feat. Kudos on holding that line.
 Staffing was kept at the 2013 compliment and salary increases will be limited to 1%. That will keep the rate payers happy. While not included in the Executive Budget Committee recommendations there are some suggestions Council can consider if they are looking for ways to cut the budget.
Limit overtime
Remove one leaf pickup south of the QEW ($65,000) and one north of the QEW ($70,000)
Revise the sidewalk snow plowing program ($27,000(
Convert 10% of the passive parks to naturalized areas ($24,000)
Eliminate enhanced maintenance of grass sports fields ($40,000)
A reduction in the bus cleaning contract ($100,000)
Staff provides a business case for each of these options which will get debated at the budget meetings.
Council members are currently going through the budget books, line by line for some of them, and picking items they want more information on. They then write-up short notes on items they wish to debate. When all the requests are in they get debated. It is at this point that Council members push for their pet projects and where they take positions they will want to use in the forthcoming election.
Each has to figure out where they are with their electorate. If you were wondering why none of the Council members, except for the Mayor, has yet to file nomination papers, perhaps this will help: once you file papers you are in the race and you have to begin taking a position on matters. And the budget, which determines the taxes people will pay, is a major matter.
When the budget is decided upon watch for the different political positions to become evident. Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward, who chaired the Budget meeting was sounding much more “financially fluent” than she normally does, may begin her 2018 campaign for Mayor if the budget fits her longer term agenda.
Will this Council save or spend? The city manager is turning out to be a bit of a spender – does Council want to encourage this approach?
There is $44,000 that can be saved from the tax levy if the transit service for the Hayden High students is paid for out of the Provincial Gas Tax funding – these are monies , gas taxes, the province passes along to the municipalities.
The Fire department wants four more firefighters ($361,000); a proposed increase in the dedicated Capital Infrastructure Renewal levy from .50% to .75% would add $964,000. Not being recommended for this year.
Community Development Halton is in for $86,000 – Ward 3 Councillor John Taylor is pushing hard for this one. He will probably get his way; what he is prepared to give to get his way is unknown.
Sound of Music wants $44,000 – they argue that they bring in tons of spending to the city. Taylor wants to see their books – again, before he gives them as much as a dime.
The Museum Board wants a Special Events Assistant ($36,000)
Other places to spend that are also not recommended by the EBC include:
Restoring Transit resources: $1 to $2.8 million.
Increased money for storm response $747,000
Phase in the OMERS contribution which would stretch out the length of time we have to pay that big lump sum charge they hit the city with.
Jiggle the amount of money we take as a levy for the hospital will cut $300,000 this year but that amount will have to come from somewhere next year.
 City manager wonders why so much time is being spent over a half a percentage point difference in budget proposals. Is it worth a full month of expensive staff time. It’s called DEMOCRACY people having their say. If you look at budget scenarios chart again you will see that the difference between what staff first proposed, the status quo number, and what they came back with after council pushed back, is less than half a percentage point. What’s the big deal – live with it, it’s not a lot of money and the city has healthy reserves with debt permitted at 12.5% of net revenue currently at 8.4%
 Having to find an additional $60 million to pay for the hospital upgrade pushes Burlington close to its self-imposed debt limits. The hospital levy does edge us very close to that 12.5% of net revenue debt level – which is self-imposed – the province would let us go to 20% +. What neither staff or council underline is that the hospital levy will continue to come out of taxpayers pockets – they will just call it something else.
 Tax increases each year of this term of office. Comes in at more than the 10% Mayor Goldring promised. Watch for an explanation as to what he really meant when he made the promise. But look at the chart with the tax increases each year of this term – that’s where the real story on this budget is. In the first three years of the term tax increases totaled 6.63% – add in the 3.20 proposed for 2014 and you get to 9.83% over the four-year term, which keeps the tax increases below that magic 10% number the Mayor, and truth be told, most members of his Council hung their hats on. Add in the 2.96% we are scheduled to give the hospital and we are at 12.79%
Now Council members will say, frequently, that the hospital levy doesn’t count – but it does because what is now the hospital levy is never going to go away. They have plans to spend that sum right through till 2031 and beyond. When bureaucrats get their hands on a portion of your money – they don’t let it ever get back to you.
 Assuming the proposed budget gets passed – and that isn’t an assumption you want to bet on – here is where your tax dollars are spent. The first time Canadians were hit with an Income Tax was to pay for World War I – and we’ve been paying an income tax ever since. The hospital levy is money that will always go to the city – get used to it.
It was a full session, the Community and Corporate  Services Committee got through the high level overview in close to record time. You could almost see the Council members feeling their oats.
The one area that sort of threw Council members was the comment from the city manager on the amount of time being spent on the budget. He wanted to see as much as a month taken out of the process, arguing that far too much staff time is being taken up with relatively small amounts.
What the bureaucrat forgets is that those small amounts represent a service that people expect and want some say in.
City Manager Jeff Fielding pointed out that the Region has its budget wrapped up in December and that Burlington will still be at it in the middle of March.
The Region has a billion dollar budget Fielding points out – but, as Mayor Goldring pointed out – they don’t have the public delegations that municipalities have. Also Burlington basically packed it in early in December.
Councillor Taylor didn’t like the idea of the time spent on the budget being shortened. He pointed out that the budget books were just given to them last Friday.
The schedule right now calls for the Capital budget and the Current budget to be handled at different times. It was suggested both could be done at the same time which would cut out a few days.
Comments from the bureaucrats suggesting that the politicians spend less time on how they spend the dollars they ask citizens to pay in taxes are a hint that perhaps the political process isn’t fully understood or appreciated by the bureaucrats.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON.
January 12, 2014
“When people use the services we offer – they are buying me” is the way Jason Boelhouwer explains the franchise business he operates, which is the providing of services to people who need help taking care of themselves.
And Boelhouwer wants the people of Aldershot to buy him in the 2014 municipal election because he thinks it’s time for a change. The incumbent has been in place since 2000 and, Boelhouwer, a believer in term limits, would like to see current Councillor Rick Craven step aside.
 Jayson Boelhouwer wants to represent Aldershot at city council. He thinks its time for a change. Boelhouwer has been involved in Aldershot civic affairs for some time. He sits on the Plains Road Village Vision, right beside Craven; sits on the Aldershot Business Improvement Area, along with Craven.
Boelhouwer maintains that he had a chat with Rick Craven back in 2010 and let him know then that he was interested in running for the seat at some point. Boelhouwer says Craven led him to believe that the 2010 term might be his last. “I talked with him again about 18 months ago and began to realize that he might well run again so I decided 2014 was going to be the year I ran for the council seat” said Boelhouwer.
Councillor Craven commented at one time to this reporter that taking a run for the office of Mayor was not out of the question. Given that he has yet to file his nomination papers – we may see a race for the job of Mayor but it isn’t something I would count on.
 The old Mercedes-Benz site was developed into a small housing project. Councillor Craven supported this kind of growth. Boelhouwer doesn’t have a strong position on development other than wanting enough people to draw a supermarket to the west end of the ward. Jason Boelhouwer is Aldershot born and bred. He brings all the strengths and weakness a small town produces in a personality. High school was in Aldershot followed by the earning of a degree at Brock University in St. Catharines.
Boelhouwer would not do all that much canvassing door to door. “You spend three hours covering a street and you get to talk to maybe 30 people, that’s not very effective” said Boelhouwer.
He isn’t all that keen on lawn signs either – doesn’t think how a person is going to vote is anyone’s business. Boelhouwer would choose to put really large signs at major intersections where there is a lot of traffic and speaks the way only someone who knows everyone can speak. My friend at – and names an intersection – will put up a big sign for me. He believes as well that having a small sign in the windows of commercial establishments will do the trick.
 Will Pluckers become campaign central for Jason Boelhouwer? He kind of likes the fireplace inside. Boelhouwer plans to sit in front of the fire-place at Pluckers on Plains Road and let people know he is there ready to talk to them. Id he picks up the bat tab for those that drop by – he will do well. Otherwise B will not come before C in the final vote count.
Boelhouwer will tell you that there are seven hair dressers in Aldershot but no LCBO or supermarket in the west end of the ward. The supermarket he understands is because there isn’t the population needed to justify that kind of investment by one of the chains but Boelhouwer points out there has been significant growth in Aldershot population – but he doesn’t speak as if he expects a supermarket in the near future.
Local politics are about pot holes and swimming pools and keeping the roads plowed. Boelhouwer complains about the parking laybys that don’t get the snow cleared out of them making it difficult for people to park in front of the library for example.
Boelhouwer wants to see a Seniors’ Centre in Aldershot. “Oakville” he explains “has three locations for seniors but Burlington has just the one” and that is too tightly controlled for Boelhouwer’s liking.
Aldershot really doesn’t have all that much in the way of destinations – there is IKEA at the east end and the RBG at the west end – other than that it’s Tim Hortons if you want to get together with people.
 Planters along Plains Road have given what used to be a provincial highway a much more suburban look. Hasn’t slowed traffic down enough for most people – except for those who drive through the community. Don’t talk to Boelhouwer about traffic – its bumper to bumper starting at about 3:30 he will tell you and they want to cut the west end of Plains Road down to just two lanes – ridiculous from Boelhouwer point of view.
Boelhouwer will give Craven credit for what he has done. He has achieved what he set out to do – the Waterdown Road ramp to the 403 is in place and the King Road grade separation is done. Boelhouwer sits on the BIA board and thinks Craven has far too much influence on the job that Bob Meehan does as Executive Director of the association and adds that it was the same with the previous occupant of the job.
Boelhouwer isn’t a fan of the Performing Arts Centre, he wouldn’t have approved the pier. He did serve on the Museum Board for a period of time. While Boelhouwer has toured the Performing Arts Centre he has not attended an event.
Earlier in life Jason Boelhouwer played soccer; today that sport is now one he coaches. Jason and his wife have two children, a daughter in first year at Carleton University in Ottawa and a son at Assumption High in Aldershot. His wife teaches at the same high school.
So what does he want to see Aldershot grow into? That’s not entirely clear. He doesn’t want to see five and six storey buildings going up along Planes Road that come right out to the edge of the sidewalk. He wants to see more localized transit for people. He would like to see a Seniors Centre added to the Arena and changes made to the transit service so that they could get to the location. Boelhouwer still calls the place the Kiwanis rink.
Boelhouwer believes he can build his name recognition. His wife teaches at Assumption, he attended Holy Rosary. His Mother was once a columnist for the Gazette when it was a print publication. His is a strong parish member and an active participant in the Men’s club there.
While Boelhouwer will tell you he does not have an identifiable political affiliation – all his advisers are Tory’s which may be more a reflection of Aldershot than Jason Boelhouwer.
 More candidate than Craven could manage? Sandra Pupatello on a trip through town looking for local support for her Liberal leadership bid. Craven was prepared to let the party romance him. Craven is a known active Liberal, who has toyed with the idea of running against Jane McKenna – he thoroughly trounced her when she took a run at municipal politics in 2010.
Boelhouwer expects it will be difficult to reach the under 40 voters. “They are a disparate group and they are very busy people. He hopes he can catch some of them at Fortino’s in the east end and at the Aldershot Go station as well.
Boelhouwer comes across as a likeable guy. Folksy, friendly very much a part of his community. He isn’t going to set the world on fire, there is no burning objective, there is no “plan”. What he does want to make very clear is that he isn’t a copy of Rick Craven.
We look forward to what he has to say during the campaign.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON
January 7, 2014
To assist with the financial burden of the ice storm on those with limited incomes, the Province of Ontario has given Halton Region a limited number of grocery vouchers. Although many people lost food and incurred costs from the storm, the vouchers will only be available to Halton residents who lost power for 48 hours or more and are facing financial hardship.
 Line ups in Toronto for grocery vouchers were very long – but at least they were indoors and didn’t have to travel to some industrial part of the city to get the help they needed. Beginning Wednesday, January 8, the vouchers will be available at selected food banks throughout Halton Region until supplies are exhausted. Each food bank location will use their established screening criteria to assess financial need. Individuals must also bring proof of address.
In Burlington the location is: Salvation Army, Burlington Family and Community Services, 5040 Mainway, Unit 9, Burlington. Telephone number there is 905-637-3893
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
How much are the vouchers? Families can get $100; Individuals can get $50
The location for the distribution of these vouchers has got to be one of the most difficult to get to. With the weather as cold as it is – it seems almost cruel to send people that far for a food voucher. For those on assistance a car may not be one of the things they own. Bus route 81 will get you there – but it will be cold and there is no service from 9:30 to 3:00 pm.
A better alternative is Route 80 across Harvester and then a transfer to route 83 – the service is better. Doug Brown, one of Burlington’s transit advocates points out that for those who don’t have a car the $6.50 cash fare for a return trip – just to get $50 for a single person isn’t really worth the effort.
This effort on the part of social services from the Region looks to be something done quickly and done poorly.
The weather is so cold that the Region has suspended the pick-up of brush from road sides
Call your city council member and ask him to arrange a ride for you.
By Staff
December 31, 2013 BURLINGTON, ON. Ontario has the lowest number of public sector employees per capita. In 2012, Ontario had 6.5 public sector employees per 1,000 people, compared to a national average of 9.7 employees per 1,000 people.
 Tim Hudak, Progressive Conservative leader at Queen’s Park believes the civil service is too big – government says we have the smallest per capita in Canada. So much for Tim Hudak’s “bloated government” claim. Now we know why we can never find anyone at the end of a telephone line – they aren’t there.
At 6:00 am, on the Eve of the New Year the Office of the Premier did us all a dirty and released the following list of Regulation and Fee Changes Coming into Force Jan. 1, 2014
Agriculture and Food: The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is amending a regulation under the Food Safety and Quality Act to clarify language in the regulation and make requirements more flexible while preserving food safety. In addition, amendments were made to exempt the following operations from requiring a meat processing licence:
Facilities that prepare food products that are not primarily meat-based, such as a pasta business that makes sauces with meat.
 Handling of food regulations are being upgraded. Businesses that only prepare lower-risk meat products and wholesale less than 25 percent or 20,000 kilograms of meat products per year – such as grocery stores.
Businesses that are primarily geared toward food service, such as restaurants or caterers.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is amending a regulation under the Food Safety and Quality Act to change the way supplementary inspection fees are set out in the regulation and making them consistent with current practice for when to begin charging for supplementary inspection.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ministry of the Environment are amending a regulation under the Nutrient Management Act to require signage that includes contact information to be posted at all regulated, mixed anaerobic digestion facilities (farm-based facilities that break down organic material to produce biogas that can be used to generate electricity, renewable natural gas or heat). The regulation number of the Building Code, which is referenced in the regulation, was also updated.
Attorney General: The Ministry of the Attorney General is amending a regulation under the Liquor Licence Act that will remove Ipperwash Provincial Park from the list of Ontario parks that bans alcohol on and around the Victoria Day weekend in May as it is no longer classified as a provincial park.
 Paralegals will be able to take on more of the legal work in smaller matters. The Ministry of the Attorney General is amending regulations under the Courts of Justice Act regarding court rules for civil, small claims and family courts to allow people to hire a lawyer for only a portion of a case, to allow paralegals to officially receive court documents on behalf of their clients, and to streamline various court processes.
Community Safety and Correctional Services: The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services is amending regulations under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act that will give fire officials the power to carry out at least one annual fire safety inspection in every regulated retirement home, long-term care home or other residence caring for vulnerable Ontarians. The change will also allow fire inspectors to conduct a fire safety inspection when a complaint or request is made.
Consumer Services:The Ministry of Consumer Services is amending a regulation under the Vintners Quality Alliance Act to allow “Moscato” and “Primitivo” to be used as synonyms for two grape varieties, bringing Ontario in line with other jurisdictions.
Energy: The Ministry of Energy is amending a regulation under the Green Energy Act to set new or enhanced energy efficiency requirements for 25 products such as water heaters, boilers, household appliances (refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers), televisions, fluorescent lamps, and small motors. The amendment also updates required references to test standards and allow manufacturers the option of complying with upcoming efficiency requirements prior to their effective date.
The original regulation also sets energy efficiency requirements for certain types of windows manufactured after Jan. 1, 2014, intended for low-rise residential buildings.
 Regulations related to water heaters are being beefed up. A regulation the Ministry of Energy previously amended under the Green Energy Act prohibits 100 and 75 watt incandescent light bulbs manufactured after Jan. 1, 2014, from being sold in Ontario.
Environment: A Ministry of the Environment provision in a regulation under the Environmental Protection Act comes into effect after Jan. 1, 2014, that will increase the number of collection locations for pharmaceuticals and sharps from 80 per cent of retail and pharmacy locations where these products are sold to 90 per cent in 2014.
In addition, the Ministry of the Environment is amending several regulations that will:
Add a French version of the regulation
Rename the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Rename the Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation to the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment
Update references to the new Building Code and remove references to outdated or repealed acts
Finance: The Ministry of Finance is amending a regulation under the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act to update the list of dealership financing corporations that are exempt from licensing requirements. The list was out of date due to name changes, wind-ups, corporate reorganizations and entities no longer engaging in any activity that would require an exemption.
 The Ministry of Finance introduced a regulation under the Pension Benefits Act to allow public and broader public sector pension plans to enter agreements that would give eligible members and pensioners who were affected by past government divestments the opportunity to consolidate their benefits in the successor plan. This process was previously unavailable under Ontario pension rules.
The Ministry of Finance introduced a regulation under the Pension Benefits Act to facilitate the restructuring of pension plans affected by corporate reorganizations (e.g. sale of a business, public sector divestments). It sets out the requirements to be met regarding funding, filings, benefit changes and disclosure to obtain approval from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) for such a transfer. It is expected that this framework will ensure more efficient and timely transfers, while protecting the benefit security of plan beneficiaries. No similar framework existed prior to this regulation. Previously, asset transfers were made at the discretion of the Superintendent of FSCO. FSCO policy required exact replication of benefits.
The Ministry of Finance also introduced housekeeping amendments to an existing regulation to reflect the pension-related regulation changes. These amendments implement changes that give the Superintendent of FSCO discretion, if circumstances warrant, to extend deadlines for certain filing requirements, to add flexibility to the transfer process.
Ontario amended the Employer Health Tax Act to increase the employer health tax exemption from $400,000 to $450,000 of an employer’s annual payroll for private-sector employers or groups of associated private-sector employers. The exemption will be eliminated when their annual payroll exceeds $5 million. Registered charities, at all payroll sizes, will be able to continue to claim the exemption.
Health and Long-term Care: The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is amending a regulation under the Health Protection and Promotion Act to change the term “regional veterinarian” to “director”, consistent with recent changes made to the Food Safety and Quality Act.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is proclaiming into force a provision in the Nursing Act to authorize registered nurses (RNs) or registered practical nurses (RPNs) to dispense drugs on the order of a physician, dentist, chiropodist, midwife or nurse practitioner. This change will recognize RN and RPN competencies regarding dispensing a drug by clearly saying that dispensing a drug is within the scope of practice of nursing.
 Nurses will be permitted to dispense drugs on instructions from a doctor. The College of Nurses of Ontario made a regulation under the Nursing Act to clarify that a RN or a RPN who is authorized to dispense a drug may not delegate that act to another person.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is bringing in a regulation under the Independent Health Facilities Act and amending a regulation under the Local Health System Integration Act, 2006 to allow Independent Health Facilities to receive funding through the Local Health Integration Networks.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is amending three regulations under the Health Protection and Promotion Act to refer to the current version of the Ontario Building Code.
Labour: The Ministry of Labour is bringing in a regulation that changes the method that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is required to use to calculate its assets for the purpose of reporting its sufficiency ratio. The ratio measures whether there are sufficient funds to meet the WSIB’s future projected claims payouts.
Municipal Affairs and Housing: The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is amending regulations under the Building Code Act to:
 Building code revision come into force, Ensure specific requirements are met for care facilities such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities and retirement homes licensed under the Retirement Homes Act. It complements amendments made to the Ontario Fire Code that require retrofits to provide sprinklers in existing care facilities and retirement homes
Correct minor technical and administrative errors in the 2012 Building Code and revise references to standards in regard to wood-burning appliances and exterior insulation and finish systems, as well as heating, cooling and ventilation systems
Ontario is amending nine regulations under the Environmental Protection Act, Ontario Water Resources Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Health Protection and Promotion Act to ensure references to various Building Code Regulations refer to the new 2012 Building Code.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is amending regulations under the Planning Act to give more municipalities local planning approval authority. The amendments would:
Provide 20 municipalities across northern Ontario and Pelee Island with approval authority for plans of subdivision that allow for the creation and sale of multiple lots
Provide eight municipalities across northern Ontario with consent granting authority for the creation and sale of one or two lots
Allow four municipalities in northern Ontario to exercise their authority to validate title to a property and to exercise a power of sale of land
Provide clarification of exercises of power of sale to one municipality in Ontario
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is amending a regulation under the Housing Services Act to require municipal service managers to provide annual progress reports on their 10-year housing and homelessness plans to the public and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is amending a regulation under the Housing Services Act to update the Household Income Limits and associated High Need Income Limits for social housing.
Natural Resources: The Ministry of Natural Resources is amending two regulations under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act that will:
Let people follow rules outlined in regulation to hunt raccoon at night, or fox, coyote and wolf during the day, and allow the release of chukar partridge and ring-necked pheasant that were imported or bred from stock imported into Ontario
Make aquaculture-related licences valid for the length of time specified on the licence, where currently the term is only set out in regulation, and clarify that operators of aquariums open to the public and at educational facilities do not need an aquaculture licence but must follow rules outlined in regulation
The Ministry of Natural Resources is establishing a new regulation under the Public Lands Act that will let people follow rules outlined in regulation to relocate rocks on shore lands, dredge shore lands that were previously dredged, remove limited amounts of native aquatic plants in areas other than the Canadian Shield, and remove invasive aquatic plants. People will also be able to register with the ministry and follow rules outlined in regulation to maintain, repair and replace existing erosion control structures and to construct or place and buildings on a mining claim.
The Ministry of Natural Resources is amending a regulation under the Endangered Species Act to identify protected habitat for the bogbean buckmoth, four-leaved milkweed, Fowler’s toad, Laura’s clubtail, queensnake, and rusty-patched bumble bee, update the description of protected habitat for the pale-bellied frost lichen, and make administrative changes to the existing regulatory provisions for the American ginseng, redside dace, barn swallow, wind facilities, and butternut. The changes will also update language by replacing multiple definitions of the term “land classification for southern Ontario” with one definition.
Office of Francophone Affairs: The Office of Francophone Affairs is amending a regulation under the French Language Services Act that will designate Collège d’arts appliqués et de technologie La Cité collégiale, Sudbury East Community Health Centre and St. Gabriel’s Villa of Sudbury as agencies that provide services in French. These organizations asked to be designated as agencies that provide services in French.
Seniors Secretariat: The Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat is bringing into force sections of the Retirement Homes Act, 2010 and its regulation to further safeguard seniors living in retirement homes. These provisions include:
Making police background checks mandatory for staff and volunteers before they work in the home
Putting a formal complaints process in place within the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA) including a new independent Complaints Review Officer
Making additional expense insurance mandatory to ensure retirement homes can cover the costs of residents’ accommodation and care during most emergencies
Making Emergency Fund payments available to current and former retirement home residents for eligible costs in the event of an emergency that disrupts services and/or their accommodation at the home
Appointing an independent Risk Officer to review and assess how effectively the RHRA is administering the Retirement Homes Act
Allowing the RHRA to conduct inspections in response to retaliation of threats against whistleblowers
Transportation: The Ministry of Transportation is amending two regulations under the Metrolinx Act to allow municipalities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area to continue sharing the costs of GO Transit’s growth and expansion and collect development charges to offset them until Dec. 21, 2016.
The following fees come into effect on Jan. 1, 2014:
The Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Ministry of Labour, will introduce a new fee to charge 20 per cent to an employer to recover wages owed to an employee under the Employment Standards Act. This provision already existed, but was not enforced until now.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is amending a regulation under the Line Fences Act that provides a process for neighbouring landowners to resolve disputes about fences on property lines. The amendment will increase the fee to file an appeal from $50 to $300. The fee will be indexed to inflation and adjusted every year.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is amending the Building Code to:
Increase the application fee for Building Code qualification examinations from $80 ($70 online) to $150.New fees will also be established for Building Code Commission applications ($170) and requests for Minister’s ruling authorizing the use of innovative products, systems and building designs ($560). The Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be applied on the Building Code Commission application and Minister’s ruling fees going forward.
The Ministry of Natural Resources is increasing fees for the hunter education exam from $5.71 to $10 and the hunter education manual from $18 to $20 to support delivery of the Hunter Education Program.
The Ministry of Natural Resources is increasing fishing licence fees and hunting fees for Ontario residents and non-residents. The amount of the increase depends on the type of licence purchased. The increases range from 25 cents for a Resident One Day Sport Fishing License to $10 for a Non-Resident Moose Licence. Fees charged for hunting and fishing licences are used for fish and wildlife management purposes only.
The Ministry of Natural Resources is increasing fees for car camping in provincial parks by $1 to cover increased costs for utilities such as electricity, fuel, sanitation, maintenance, waste management, enforcement and wages. Fees for off-season rental of some provincial park lodges and staff houses will also increase depending on the location and range from 75 cents to $2.75 per person, per night.
 Tour bus fees in Niagara Parks to be raised. The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport is amending the Niagara Parks Act to update annual fees that have not changed since 2006. These include fees for sight-seeing vehicles, such as motor coaches that regularly make two or more trips a week and whose itinerary has been approved by the Niagara Parks Commission. The changes are as follows: Class 1 from $100 to $250, Class 2 from $150 to $375 and Class 3 from $45 to $50. Guide licences will increase from $50 to $65.
The Ministry of Transportation is increasing permit, registration, validation and plate fees as follows:
Registering an off-road vehicle (for example, an all-terrain vehicle) will increase from $36 to $37
Registering a trailer (which includes the permit, plate and one-time validation) will increase from $40-$46
A replacement permit and number plate for a trailer (in the case of loss or destruction) will increase from $23 to $26
 Registration of Off the road vehicles fee to be raised by $1. That’s it? Why bother? Range for a 10 day special permit, which allows vehicles to be temporarily exempt from Ontario registration when travelling in Ontario, will now be $20 to $175. The previous range was $17 to $152. Vehicles requiring special permits could include commercial vehicles and trailers and vehicles purchased at authorized auto auctions
Range for validation for farm vehicles will now be $107 to $848. The previous range was $93 to $737
Registering a motorized snow vehicle will increase from $31 to $32.
 December 5, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. Change is an awkward process. We say we are OK with change but we rarely approach it with a full heart – we kind of shuffle along towards it.
 Wise tree planting when development was done originally has given the city a community that has increased in value and given it a character the residents want to maintain. Developers want to cash in on the wise decisions made a long time ago. The people of Roseland are struggling to deal with change. In the years 2012 and 2013, the City and Roseland Community Organization (RCO) have been involved with appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) opposing development applications that do not conform to the City’s Official Plan. These repetitive applications are draining the resources of both the City and RCO.
Burlington is currently going through a very involved and complex Official Plan Review (OPR), something every city is required to do every five years.
There is a concept in the world of planners that while not new – it is new to Burlington and was introduced to use by Anne McIlroy, a planning consultant who has been involved as a consultant for Burlington for a long time. They are called Character Area Studies – intended to take a deep look at the character of a community and determine why it is as it is and what parts of it can be saved and what parts can be changed.
Councillor Rick Craven had asked that the Indian Point community in ward 1 have a character study done – when the Roseland people learned about the concept they asked to have Roseland included.
 Located on the east side of the city bordering the lake. Roseland is home to many very senior executives – probably the most powerful collection of people in the city. The RCO crowd are now arguing that if there is to be Roseland Character Area Study in order to address shared concerns, and if it is going to take a couple of more years to adopt the revised OP, then it is “appropriate and prudent to adopt an interim control by-law postponing this type of application until the appropriate regulations are in place.”
By “this type of application” the good people of Roseland mean those situations where development is taking place that results in significant change to the character of their community. One resident set out, quite clearly what the issue is:
In the past 5 or 6 years, a number of houses in Roseland have been demolished and replaced by ones of considerably greater size, often through the granting of minor variances. (As an example, the 70 foot lot diagonally behind our property is in the process of having its 1500 square foot bungalow replaced by a 5000 square foot multistory house). I and others in Roseland recognize that today’s homebuyers wish to have more “built space” and less “botanical space”, and are prepared to pay a substantial price for such a property. However the effect of these houses on both the smaller ones around them and the neighbourhood streetscape has become a cause for considerable concern.
About 100 people gathered at the Roseland Community Centre and discussed their concerns. The meeting arrived at a startling conclusion:
- Interim Control By-Law for the Roseland area to immediately halt applications for land severance and accompanying minor variances until both the Roseland Character Area Study being undertaken is completed, and consideration is given to the implementation of related Official Plan amendments;
- Establish additional regulations within this proposed Interim Control By-law to stop the demolition of existing dwellings within Roseland thereby ensuring that future new housing will be built in compliance with the future recommendations evolving from the Roseland Character Area Study.
City planner Bruce Krushelnicki described interim control bylaws as “draconian” – they are a blunt, brutal instrument and they do have limitations. The city can, if it so chooses put in such a bylaw that can last for just one year. The bylaw can be renewed for a second year but after that the bylaw must be lifted and cannot be imposed on that community again. Such a bylaw could be imposed on some other part of the city.
The following is a collection of some of the notes that individuals put on large pieces of poster paper: at the Roseland AGM. Their frustration is evident – their understanding of just how brutal an interim control bylaw is – is not as evident. These things have a tendency to come with a clutch of unintended consequences.
 The community has strength and money written all over it. The list is extensive:
“Freeze all building permits “ON HOLD” to avoid the ongoing levelling of existing homes to make way for new builds until study and plan have been approved…i.e. Rossmore has lost most of its homes
Preamble needed: There should be a preamble to the document, a very brief description of Roseland as a “long-established aggregate of historically diverse homes and a community of residents of all ages and backgrounds.”
Absolutely– We are tired of working so hard just to preserve the neighbourhood we bought into. We have already put much of our own money into protecting ourselves from speculators.
Interim Control By-law is essential to maintain veracity of the neighbourhood. We also need to stop the razing of bungalows to be replaced by large houses that are out of character with Roseland.
I wish this had been done years ago- our house is surrounded by “variances” and it is not what anyone wants.
This is an essential first step which halts the process which most damages the neighbourhood character.
Yes to this freeze and pass an Interim Control By-law.
Renewal and progress are inevitable and valued. No one wants that to stop. We want it to respect the character, streetscape and charm of the entire neighbourhood.
Interim Control By-law: I agree we should freeze severance applications until council completes the Roseland Character Area Study.
Exclude developers from meetings involving our area. Their only stake in our community is short term.
Yes it is essential to have an Interim Control By-Law.
Please define “minor variance”. There seems to be no limit to variance.
Please freeze all minor variances until the Character Area Study is completed!
Redevelopment of Roseland is out of control, particularly in the last few years. Much of this redevelopment, including lot severances, has been by developers, purely for profit, to the detriment of the unique characteristics -> lot widths, trees, architecture of Roseland. Therefore, an interim control by-law is essential before it is too late.
Interim Control By-Law: appropriate and fair to the community.
Agree with freeze or until official plan review is completed.
Given what has transpired around us, this is a good first step, one that is vital to maintain an orderly transition and understanding of proposed changes called for by council.
 Roseland homes have character, there are no cookie cutter homes. It is a community that just simply works and they residents want to keep it that way. I believe this is a necessary first step in the process. –> these severance/minor variance applications threaten to alter the essential nature /character of the neighbourhood
Yes- agree but would like to see even stronger controls, e.g. on reduction of setbacks by 50%
An excellent and necessary step to ensure that any development from today will fit with the eventual new Official Plan.
Developers are using our neighbourhood as their inventory for their business: complete one house; move to the next property; and, keep marching down the street – use the construction processes to disrupt the quality of neighbourhood life, forcing people out. They know the by-laws and use them to their advantage – we want an interim control by-law that will stop this until we get a new Official Plan.
Established communities are assets to all of Burlington and not just their residents. Once lost they cannot be regained.
Burlington’s Official Plan must recognize the reality of Burlington– that it is made up of unique communities which give Burlington its character.
Some areas of our neighbourhood have (almost) reached the tipping point where the developers’ new builds outnumber the older homes and the character has been destroyed. It has to stop.
Recognition of Burlington’s various neighbourhoods and communities essential to maintaining our livable status buildings in established communities needs different rules than fresh communities
Preserve Roseland as an established community and don’t allow changes to our historically diverse characteristics.
I’m very concerned about the excessive amount of time (that) construction vehicles are blocking traffic in Roseland- especially on Rossmore.
Need to set policies on “established” communities in the Official Plan and not just focus on “new” communities -need a definition of what an “established” community is
Maintaining the historical diversity of the neighbourhood is important.
Reinforce the need to different planning approach in different areas in the city.
Perhaps all council members should take a walk or drive through the neighbourhood to understand the uniquely beautiful style of this area.
It would be good for new buyers to be aware of this–before the damage is done. That being said, there has been quite a precedent set already for what NOT to do.
Yes…we in Roseland are unique and we need to preserve our special characteristics! People in Burlington like to park cars here and walk. -> Historically diverse -> charming, character type homes
Yes, enhance why Roseland needs to be recognized as corporate culture specific to Roseland…this community’s specific values –History of our past being successful lived in the present add the point somehow
Consideration has to be given to neighbours who have to endure the noise of the building process that is allowed to start at 7:00 a.m. and even all weekend.
Stop allowing the construction of “super-sized” homes. They don’t add to the character of Roseland.
Roseland should be used as an example of an established community and the benefit of community planning with the City’s Official Plan. Roseland could be used as a model for established community governance.
I want to see Roseland recognized as an established community with specific characteristics including valuing our historic diversity in our homes.
Add “historically diverse” to description of our neighbourhood.
“Growing in Place” is all about established unique communities with their own policies. It’s in the Strategic Plan for this council.
Community is special and historic and should be designated as such. Beware tearing down and rebuilding.”
Every community is unique. People move to a community for a reason – they identify with the feel of the streets, the amenities that are available, transportation in and out of the community – a host of reasons.
When people decide on where they want to live they kind of expect it to remain the way it was when they decided to move in.
Roseland happens to have an eclectic mix of houses that go from a small bungalow sitting next to a large three-story structure that has all kinds of character and sweeping lawns and wonderful gardens. It is more than physical character in Roseland – it is the people and the way the streets are laid out and how neighbours walk across the street to each other. It is a tight-knit group – they can be tough as a society as well. When the formed their community organization they promptly blackballed their member of council because he wanted to sub divide his lot.
These are intelligent people of means, the speak in paragraphs and don’t move their lips when they read.
 The communities tree canopy is superb – the residents want to keep it that way and want to see a tree bylaw as well. They have asked for an interim control bylaw. City council kind of coughed over that ask and gingerly handed it over to the city planner and asked him to come with the upside and downside of imposing such a bylaw.
When this report is delivered to the Standing Committee that hears these things – be prepared for the howls from the developers who are buying up whatever they can and putting bigger houses on whatever they can purchase
 Roseland worked right from the beginning of its development. The depression in the ’30s stopped the growth but the community adapted and now has a mix of large homes with much smaller bungalows tucked in here and there. RCO defines itself as a non-profit corporation established to keep Roseland as the special place we all know it is. Our intent is not to stop change, but rather to shape it. RCO’s mission is to:
- Sustain the character of Roseland by maintaining a vigilant posture to planning and development matters.
- Provide a means for communication among residents within Roseland and with City Hall, and a means for their participation in decisions that affect the livability and quality of our community.
- Take initiatives on projects which enhance the character of Roseland, preserve its heritage, and sustain its greenery.
It will be very interesting to read what the planner comes back with – and even more interesting to see how Roseland decides it wants to evolve.
Milla Pickfield is a Nelson High School graduate who decided to spend a year working in the community, helping her Mother with her business and doing volunteer work before she headed to university. She volunteered to try writing and did two piece for us; one with the Chief of Police and an interview with the new Hayden High school principal.
Milla’s most recent piece for us is on the school board, that organization that directed much of what she has done for the past ten years. Her attendance at a Board of Education meeting was a bit of an eye opener for Ms Pickfield.
 November 26, 2013
By Milla Pickfield.
BURLINGTON, ON. I got to my meeting of the Board of Education an hour early; when you have to use public transit or rely on your parents for transportation – your time is not your own
I wasn’t at all sure where I was supposed to go and asked the woman at the reception desk where the meeting was being held – school board meetings are open to the public.
 Milla Pickfield is a Nelson High graduate – understanding the proceedings of the school board was not something high school prepared her for. I was half hoping she could point me in the right direction and expected someone would supply me with an agenda. I was pointed in the right direction – without an agenda. And I had not brought anything else to read.
Half an hour after I arrived, Dr. Frank J. Hayden and his wife also showed up with Jacqueline Newton from the new high school. I had already interviewed Ms Newton and was delighted to meet Dr. Hayden and his wife.
When I was doing some research on what school boards do, I came across a quote that put everything in perspective for me. Sir Ken Robinson once said: “Everybody has an interest in Education.”
Those words resonated with me. I know that I am very interested in education which is why I was very excited to go to a Board of Education meeting. I didn’t know what it would be like, I didn’t know what the people would be like, and I didn’t know what they would talk about. After the meeting, I was left with more questions than answers.
 Dr Frank Hayden – spoke to Board of Trustees who had named the new Alton Community High school after him. It wasn’t a very satisfying experience for me. I don’t usually need help nor do I willingly accept it most of the time, however I did expect someone to greet me upon arrival at the large room in which the meeting took place. That was not the case. No one greeted me or any of the other three students in attendance. Everyone was crowded around Dr. Hayden, which was certainly understandable.
No one approached me and asked if they could help and without an agenda I found myself spending most of my time hurriedly trying to write down all I could and hoping to understand a little later from the notes I was taking. Working without an understanding of what was going on I was forced to pay extra attention to everything they were saying which still did not help. Most of the language used was part of my vocabulary however the fashion in which they used it was not.
I believe myself to be an educated person. I have done everything expected of me; I went to elementary school and high school and graduated from both with relatively high grades, what I lacked in book smarts I made up in common sense, and I can follow many conversations with adults and form and deliver an opinion. I could not follow the meeting of the Board of Education.
I wondered: if I could not follow the meeting how would other people in Burlington understand the proceedings. What about someone who just moved here from a different country; someone who just decided (like me) to drop into one of those meetings; someone with very little knowledge of the education system but with a hunger to learn; ever keep up with the meeting?
The impression I left with was that the meeting was separated into four parts:
First were the speeches which were delivered by Dr. Hayden and a student attending Hayden High.
Second part was passing a whole lot of bills and not talking about any of them.
The third part was mainly focused on speaking about some bills that were to pass and problems they’ve encountered.
Finally there was the freelance period of time, or at least that’s how I understood it. In this time anyone was allowed to bring forward an issue they though important and speak about it to the council.
 Milla Pickfield started an internship as a journalist interviewing the Chief of Police. She ‘aced’ it – wasn’t able to do as well at understanding what gets done at Board of Education meetings. I found the second and third parts of the meeting the most confusing. Perhaps it was the fact that I didn’t have an agenda, so the bills were hard to follow, or maybe it was just the extremely fast pace of the meeting but I have to wonder how someone from the public, like me, would ever follow a similar meeting to that one.
The Board of Education controls a large chunk of our lives, along with a lot of our tax dollars, and we should be able to be a part of the process and understand what’s going on. What I experienced was personally disappointing. I went in with a desire to learn all I could, perhaps understand how our education system works, and see important decisions being made.
I left the meeting feeling as if there was something wrong with me; I should have been able to understand what was going on. I read, I am informed and I understand the English language. When I think about the several hours I spent in the Board of Education meeting, I feel like I wasn’t really there.
 November 21, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. Each Council member has their own style and their unique relationship with the people who elect them to office. They bring their personalities and their working style to what they do. They all hold meeting in their wards and hope that someone will show up.
Councillor Meed Ward has a following; she comes close to filling a room with groups of people around tables working on issues of concern to them.
Others have difficulty attracting groups of more than five. Councillor Dennison insists on holding his meetings at his place of business where there is a room with a fireplace and bowls of popcorn on the table
John Taylor pulled together a group of about 25 people at the Conservation Halton offices on Britannia Road Wednesday evening. It was almost like a family gathering but then he has been representing them for more than 20 years. We erroneously reported that the meeting was to have both Councillors Taylor and Lancaster taking part. We regret that error and regret that there wasn’t an opportunity to hear what each Council member had to say about progress with the legal differences on the airpark and what their individual thinking was on the role an airpark plays in the development of north Burlington.
Ward 3 residents use the occasion to hear what John has to say and at the same time get caught up with their neighbours. Rural life doesn’t have those places where people congregate naturally – given that a local Post Office is a thing of the past. There probably isn’t a coffee shop north of Side road #1
It was interesting to observe how people from across the rural part of the city look to Taylor for comment. People who are naturally in Ward 6, Lancaster territory, look to Taylor for comment and direction.
 John Taylor, in the red shirt, always an attentive listener, sits with Councillor Lancaster on his left and General manager Scott Stewart on his right. Taylor is not very big on agenda, he tends to roam from subject to subject and he often gets his facts mixed up. But his constituents like him and they trust him. You can observe that they realize he has been at the job for a long time and that perhaps another term is stretching his capacity, but they are loyal and unless there is someone they know well – Taylor is not in trouble politically.
Because Taylor doesn’t set out an agenda questions about anything and everything pop out. The mail boxes on the side roads, the speeding problem on Side road # 1, the Britannia traffic that zooms towards Waterdown and, of course the pier and now the Airpark.
 Taylor tells his constituents that the settlement of the pier dispute will go to mediation in January – and hinted that he expects a settlement. He stated he would insist the public get all the financial details. The observation deck on the pier we have yet to pay for completely has no cap on it – Taylor thought it looked like a champagne glass and liked it that way. The deck doesn’t have a wind turbine on it either but that wasn’t Taylor’s doing. The city will get into mediation on the pier – because it has to. A trial cannot be held unless mediation has taken place. All the parties involved in this – and there are five of them, have basically completed the discovery portion of the deliberations. Everyone now knows who did what when – and they now have to think through what their individual legal strategy should be. Burlington is not in a strong position. Mistakes were made – not by this Council but there are members of this Council who were around when the mistakes were made. Meed Ward, Lancaster and Sharman were not members of Council when the really dumb decisions were made. But they were there when there was an opportunity to resolve the design problems and complete the pier for far less than it eventually cost and they were there when a settlement opportunity was turned down.
Taylor and Dennison have to take responsibility for those early decisions. They were on Council in those heady days when the province and the federal governments were handing out money faster than it could be counted. Everyone was excited and there were ideas flying around like balloons at a New Year’s Eve party.
Then reality took the bite it usually takes when the rubber hits the road – and we begin to see where staff, especially those in the Engineering department made some major errors.
 But all those details are stories for another day. We are now in that reckoning stage – the settling up as it were and it is going to cost. We asked Councillor Taylor what his position would be if there was a settlement that had a gag order attached to it.
Taylor responded that if the city found itself able to resolve the problems during the mediation stage he would insist that the full cost to the city be part of the minutes of settlement and that the city publish those minutes.
Justice Fitzpatrick, the judge that will hear the case if it goes to trial, is pushing all the parties on this case. He wants them into mediation in January and our information is that no one appears to be against mediation – the problems have to do with dates. Everyone has to be in the room when the mediation takes place. The issue seems to be one of getting all the calendars to work together rather than one of attitude and the dragging of heals.
Burlington’s city council would like this out of the way well before the civic election next October. It is going to cost the city and the political objective is now – get it out of the way before campaigning gets serious. Each candidate will create their own smoke screen to keep the smell away from them. Stay tuned on this one.
 Were it not for the strong delegations Vanessa Warren made to both city and Regional Council there would probably be trucks running along Appleby Line with loads of landfill from who knows where with who knows what in the fill. Warren will become a member of the Burlington Green board this evening – she will not be a candidate for the Ward 3 seat in the 2014 municipal election Vanessa Warren, who lives over on Bell School Line, showed up and we learned that she will not be a candidate for the Ward 6 seat in 2014; part of the reason for that is there are two other possibilities for someone to run against Blair Lancaster. One will announce sometime in December, the other is meeting with various people and sounding out her potential.
The first is working through a number of family concerns with his wife – serving as a council member means big changes in the way a family lives its life.
The second candidate lives in the Alton community which is seen by many as key for a win in Ward 6. Both potential candidates are focused on their being just one person who runs against Lancaster, they do not want to split the vote. Mark Carr will not be running in Ward 6 in 2014. With much deep unhappiness with the way city staff and council handled the Air Park matter before Warren formed her Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition, the community wants to see some accountability. They would also very much like to see more room between Councillor Lancaster and the president of the Airpark Vince Rossi.
Taylor believes the city is in a good position on the Airpark matter however he didn’t talk much about what should happen with the Airpark long term
Taylor explained the changes that are taking place at the Economic Development Corporation where the Executive Director was asked to leave and the “good times” board of directors is being replaced with a much smaller board that will focus on bring new corporations to the city that will hire local people. Taylor was of the view that Burlington economic development went nowhere for the last ten years while other communities “ate our lunch”. Ron Witton, a builder, raised his voice and said – no not so – the reason no one wants to build in Burlington is because of the development charges are close to the highest in the GTA. Taylor’s explanation for that was a little on the weak side.
Dundas is eventually going to become a six lane road; Burlington’s population is projected to reach 190, 000 + by 2013 and a lot more people are going to be using public transit.
What is interesting to observe is that while meeting as Standing committees and as a Council the level of detail one hears at the media table is quite a bit different from what one hears at a community meeting. Part of that is because Taylor has been around for so long he has a much deeper understanding of the issues – there is something to be said for longevity.
 Ownership of the Regional roads: Guelph and Appleby stretches as far south as lakeshore. City has to pay for the upkeep – and it ain’t cheap. He explains that many of the major roads are Regional property and gave Appleby and Guelph as examples – however the ownership, and therefore the responsibility to maintain them stops at Mainway and only recently has the ownership extended to south of Fairview. Those are major roads and they require a lot of upkeep and maintenance – which the Region pays for. If the ownership of those roads extended all the way down to Lakeshore there would be a considerable savings for the city but Taylor contends that there are “powers in the Burlington core that don’t want the Region messing around with those roads”. Is Taylor talking about special interests?
The average driver stuck in traffic on Guelph Line who has to wait for two cycles of the traffic light to be able to make a left on Fairview doesn’t care a hoot who owns the road – the just want the traffic to move. This two tier level of government makes things complex and most people know next to nothing about what the upper tier- the Region does for them, or more importantly, to them.
 November 19, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. The item on the Agenda was to approve the Special Events Team plans for 2013/14. The Staff report recommended that Staff be given authority to approve events that have taken place previously and have gotten a successful post event reports and that they be given the authority to automatically approve minor events.
There are 151 events on the calendar with attendances that range from less than 25 to more than 200,000 people. More than 635,000 people took part in events during 2012.
The creation of the Special events Team has streamlined the process with everything coming to the one committee that includes: Parks and Recreation, Roads and Parks Maintenance, Fire, Building, Transportation, Transit, Health Department and Halton Regional Police Services. This gets everyone at the same table. The process now has staff from Parks and Recreation and Transportation meeting and passing information along to others. It wasn’t working.
The city came up with a collection of “process improvements” that Council has been asked to approve. After a long and arduous meeting the Standing Committee agreed to receive and file the report which will bring it back to Council on the 25th where it should get approved. Much needed changes were made; Kudos to staff on this one.
The following are new events scheduled for 2013/14: Ride for Betty, St. Timothy’s Run, Move – a-thon, Yoga by the Pier, Epic Ride, Spin for Limbs, Miles for Smiles, This Magic Moment Concert and the Marque d’Elegance Street Festival
There was a two-line mention in the report about the Chilly Half Marathon that has taken place in March of each year since 2009.
“Chilly Half Marathon has been questioned by a resident affected by the event. The resident who is requesting rerouting will be delegating at the committee meeting.” That was an understatement. Lakeshore residents turned in a petition with 150 names and had 10 people delegating to the Standing Committee – they did not want the Marathon being run along Lakeshore Road. After more than two hours of delegations and discussion they were still at it.
 The race is a major event for the city. The Esso station at the eastern end of the race losses out but the downtown core does exceptionally well. The race “officially” starts at 10:05 which puts it smack in the middle of church time. It is scheduled to run for 3 hours and 15 minutes. And that’s the problem for the people whose streets run into Lakeshore from the south side – they are basically land-locked for the duration of the race. Starting the race earlier is an option – some suggested starting as early as 7:00 am and being done by 10:00 am. That would take away from the excitement and momentum that builds up and probably cut down on the attendance.
Is there a compromise out there that will work? Were people willing to meet with open minds? There wasn’t much of that to be seen at the Standing Committee meeting.
When the Santa Clause parade takes place on Guelph Line and New Street a lot of people get locked in and there is nowhere near the number of complaints that the Chilly Half generates. Why the difference? Mostly attitude on the part of the people who are inconvenienced. Those along New Street see the Santa Clause parade as part of the season they take part in. The Lakeshore people don’t see the Chilly Half Marathon as something they are a part of.
Not everyone was opposed to the event. Colin Cameron, Pastor at the Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church took the position that if you can’t beat them – then work with them. He stands out on Lakeshore Road during the race offering Blessings and fresh fruit to the runners as they work their way back towards Brant Street – all 5000 of them.
The good pastor told of an 80-year-old parishioner who took issue with a police officer who wasn’t prepared to let her drive her car along Lakeshore Road. When asked what she would do her response was: “Well they are going to have to catch me aren’t they?”
Pastor Cameron in his refreshingly amusing comments referred to those who take part in the marathon as member of the St. Mattress and All Sheets parish. He talked as well about how his church coped with all the runners on Lakeshore on that Sunday in March.
Other residents objected to being locked in their homes while the marathon takes place. Traffic from all of the side streets on the south side of Lakeshore Road have their access limited while the race takes place. That can be very frustrating and a significant concern as was evident from several of the delegations.
Dr. Rita Moeinafar-Combden wanted the race organizers to be more forthcoming with their for profit agenda and stop hiding behind the veil their modest donations to the hospital.
Carol and Ian Milne Smith pulled Edmund Burke into the debate with his remark that “All government …is founded on compromise and barter” and the Milne-Smith don’t see much of either.
Nick and Dianne Leblovic delegated as a tag team – she spoke first and complained that the public process has failed and she wants city council to be responsive to public input – which if they delegations were fully understood they wanted the road opened so that caterers could get to the streets that run south of Lakeshore road.
Ms Leblovic maintained the city reneged on a commitment they made last May which was when they decided to do their own research and knock on doors and hold meetings.
 They do flood the streets. They met with the churches, they got names on a petition and while they believe it is a great event they want a change in the route. The Leblovic research revealed that the amount donated to the hospital was far less than many people imagined and that seems to have changed a lot of minds.
Ms Leblovic argued that more than 5000 people are locked into their homes for more than four hours. People do have limited access to Lakeshore Road while the race is being run. Traveling along Lakeshore Road this past three months has been limited due to the new water and sewage pipes being put down.
Ms Leblovic would like to see the race started much earlier and points out that sunrise on March 2, 2014 is 6:54 am. Is a change in the start time an accommodation the race organizer and the city can make? Ms Leblovic also pointed out that some consideration has to be given to “rolling openings” as well as putting caps on the number of participants. Her list of concerns has merit: what it doesn’t have, apparently, is enough meat on the bones to attract city staff to meeting with her to bring about some changes.
Nicholas Leblovic followed his wife to the podium and presented three alternate routes that he felt had merit. One was a loop around Mainway that would have the runners going through an industrial community; a second along the Waterfront Trail to Confederation Park in Hamilton and a third that used parts of Lakeshore Road and the North Service Road.
None compares all that favourably to the current Lakeshore route, however the Waterfront Trail route does have merit.
Mr. Leblovic wanted to see a committee created with representation from VR Pro, city staff and the Leblovic group. Staff doesn’t want to see any such committee and VR Pro will take part only if they have to.
As we listened to the delegations it was apparent that there is some significant hardship for some people. It was also evident that many of the Lakeshore residents just plain don’t want that race in their community and evident as well that the city isn’t going to do all that much about the complaints.
The Leblovic’s and the community they represent have a legitimate concern that is not being addressed. Both Diane and Nicholas could see the writing on the wall and left the Standing Committee meeting before all the talking between council and staff had been completed.
Councillor Meed Ward did feel that a committee could be struck that would have staff and the Lakeshore residents meeting to iron out the problems – and there are some problems. She couldn’t get anyone to vote with her for a committee. Staff was happy with what they have, Kelly Arnott loves the situation and it looks as if things will not change. There are people living south of Lakeshore Road who are being short-changed. Will this become a political issue in the Oct 2014 election? Think you can bet on that.
Greg Pace who organized the Moon in June event delegated as well. He has gone along with a change staff suggested that will have his event rolled into the Sound of Music Festival. What got Pace all kinds of brownie points was the revelation that 41% of his race revenue goes to a charity. Pace did ask Staff to reserve the date he had last year so that he can go back to that date if things don’t work out with his race becoming part of the Sound of Music program.
 The finish line Kelley Arnott of V-Pro also delegated and did her best to answer the questions put to her. There was a lot of spin to the answers given. Many people thought the Marathon was an event to raise funds for the hospital. The hospital does get some money from the marathon – it was difficult to nail Arnott down on exactly how much had been given in donations and she wasn’t prepared to let anyone near the financial records of the organization but she did say she would make financial statements available to council members on a confidential basis.
What the public saw was two sides with markedly different interests. The Lakeshore residents who resent Lakeshore Road being closed led by the Leblovic’s who deeply resent the closure. One Council member described Diane Leblovic as a determined activist. You can bet on her not giving up on this issue.
One the other side there was Kelly Arnott who runs a very popular and profitable race; that is the business her company is in and they do this very well. VR Pro appears to organize about a dozen races each year. Their Chilly Half race is seen as the standard for the running community. Arnott put out the figure of $3 million as the amount they have raised for charities. What she would not say is what percentage of the revenue raised gets into the hands of the hospital.
 VR Pro pricing schedule VR Pro earns its money from registration fees which come in at basically $75 per racer for the Chilly Half Marathon. The number of actual racers seemed to vary. One report had it at 5000, Arnott seemed to be saying it was 4000 and there was a projection of 6000 for the 2014 event. Use the lowest number and multiply that by the $75 fee and you come up with a substantial $300,000 in revenue. Yes there are expenses but the Chilly Half Marathon is one hot revenue generator for VR Pro.
Arnott said her revenue was $340,000 from the race in 2012 and that expenses came in at $300,000
The Burlington restaurants love the event. The operator of the No Frills supermarket on Brant has no love for the event NAME says the runners park their cars in his lot and plug it up leaving no space for his regular customers.
The Esso station at the turning point for the run doesn’t like it – he closes his gas station for the day – no one can get to his station and he resent losing a day’s revenue.
City staff want the event to continue and have come to the conclusion that the current route is the best one available. The runners love the route – it is flat and the view along the road suits them just fine.
Despite several attempts on the part of Council members to have a committee formed staff said again and again that a committee set up to guide their thinking was not needed.
 Nick Leblovic has been a part of civic life for a long time. He served as the Chair of the Waterfront Access Protection and Advisory Committee/ Diane Leblovic once served as a school board trustee. In this photograph Leblovic is seen on the right. Mayor Goldring told the meeting that he and Councillor Dennison had offered to meet with the Leblovic’s but the offer was turned down which was enough for Councillor Craven. He took the position that the city offered to help – the offer was turned down – and that was it. The Leblovic’s are adamant – if you don’t want to talk about a route change then there won’t be much of a conversation with them.
The Leblovic’s have an ongoing issue with public access to property. An article in the Orangeville Citizen, a community newspaper that has been around since 1974, reported that a “property squabble can be traced to 2001, when Nicholas Leblovic, a Toronto lawyer with a summer home on Balm Beach, made the first application under the Boundaries Act to extend his property line to the water’s edge. But the Marion’s are the only ones to cordon off their property — even though any of the others could do the same, transforming the beach into barricaded corridors.”
The news article went on to say: “Thankfully, Kim Craitor, Liberal MPP for Niagara Falls, has introduced a private member’s bill, the Great Lakes Shoreline Right of Passage Act, which would guarantee the public’s ability to walk all the shorelines of the Great Lakes. It’s now awaiting committee review and surely should be approved, either as is or as a government bill with the same purpose.”
The news article concluded by saying: “As we see it, this should be a matter for our legislators, not the courts. Provincial law should reflect a clear (overwhelming?) public interest in having all the Great Lakes shoreline accessible to everyone, not just a relative handful of rich property owners.”
The Standing Committee received and filed the Staff report which one can expect to see made final at Council on the 25th. Chilly Half Marathon will take place on Sunday March 2, 2014.
 October 26, 2013
By Ray Rivers
BURLINGTON, ON. There was time when the only way you could place a bet was to go a horse race. That was before Trudeau liberalized the criminal code, in 1969, bringing us into the modern age and decriminalizing abortion, homosexuality and lotteries all in one fell swoop. Prior to that it was strictly illegal to place a bet on anything.
I recall watching my parents stash away tickets they held for the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes, a complicated lottery based on horse races, illegal pretty well everywhere but Ireland, but which earned its big money overseas.
 Slot machine revenue subsidizes race track operations. Gambling is now very big business. In 2011 Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) turned in $6.7 billion. Another quarter of a billion came from horse racing. Horse racing is mostly located in rural areas and so less accessible to the average urbanite. The forms and betting are complicated, the seasons periodic and the industry heavily regulated. So, it was inevitable that horse racing would get dwarfed by the dollars rolling in from slot machines and the lotteries, especially when they co-located.
But horse racing is more than just gambling, it is part of our culture. If slots and lotteries didn’t exist, it is a safe bet that racing would be far more popular. When slot machines were introduced at race tracks a portion of the money they brought in was used to help finance the racing business. However, when former Premier McGuinty set up the Drummond Commission to help him cut the deficit, the subsidies for horse racing were high on the list of things to eliminate.
Despite the need for subsidies, horse racing is an important agricultural industry which generates significant employment underpinning the existence of many of Ontario’s rural communities. It is estimated that over 30,000 jobs are associated with the horse racing industry which expends over $1.2 billion a year, making this Ontario’s third largest agricultural industry. Ontario claims to have more race events than any other jurisdiction in North America. So when the axe fell and the cuts were announced, horse farmers and the agricultural community mounted a public relations campaign to save their industry.
 The horse racing community mounted a strong protest and the government took a second look – out came a compromise which the racing community calls a partnership. A little over a week ago Ontario Premier Wynne responded to that campaign by bringing forward a plan to restructure Ontario’s horse racing industry to make it more sustainable and economically viable. The settlement is not everything the industry wanted, these things never are, and some people had already exited the industry. Still a subsidy was re-instated and funding was guaranteed for a five-year period, giving stability to the industry.
Gambling is a big revenue earner, which is why even the Bob Rae New Democrats embraced it back when Ontario was suffering its worst recession since the dirty thirties. Annually about $2 billion of the money that comes in goes back out to help fund our health care system and other government priorities. Another $2 billion supports local economic development where Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) facilities are located and about $65 million is spent on gambler education, research and treatment.
One could argue that gambling is a natural process. Every time we get behind the wheel or into an airplane we are gambling with our lives. And what is the stock market or any investment but a gamble by another name. Placing a bet is a voluntary action by individuals supposedly responsible enough to manage their affairs. And if not, there are programs to help the chronic, problem gamblers get their lives straight again.
 There are trotter training operations dotted throughout rural Ontario. Over two-thirds of Ontario residents gamble at least once a year, although that might involve no more than purchasing a lottery ticket. And the poor are believed to gamble more than the wealthy thus leading to the label, gambling is a tax on the poor. Interestingly enough the rise in gambling activity over the years has been associated with the increasing gap between the wealthy and the poor in our North American society. But it would be a huge overstatement to blame gambling for that sad consequence. Clearly erosion of the progressive tax system and the introduction of regressive consumer taxes in Canada have weighed-in heavily on that phenomena.
Horse racing is an ancient sport. Its origins date back to about 4500 BC among the nomadic tribesmen of Central Asia, who first domesticated the horse. Since then, horse racing has flourished as the sport of kings. In the USA horse racing is one of the most widely attended spectator sports; over 50 million people attend racing events and wager billions.
That we came close to losing our horse racing industry here in Ontario is frightening. Hopefully the new plan will allow the industry to focus on attracting more participants to watch the magnificent horses and, if so inclined, to bet on the races. I enjoy doing both, the latter in moderation.
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington where he ran against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province. He developed the current policy process for the Ontario Liberal Party.
Addtional information
Horse racing subsidies
Guaranteed funding for a five-year period.
 October 4, 2013
By Ray Rivers
BURLINGTON, ON. Memorable leaders leave noteworthy accomplishments behind them. In the US ObamaCare will be that president’s legacy, even though it represents a glass half-full to us in Canada. Tommy Douglas is remembered for introducing universal health care, while Premier of Saskatchewan in 1962; and Pierre Trudeau and Lester Pearson credited for implementing it nation-wide.
 Avro Arrow – fighter plane that was to make us the envy of the western world. Pearson also gave us our flag and won the Nobel prize while positioning Canada as a global peacemaker. John Diefenbaker’s biggest accomplishment was drafting our first Bill of Rights but he will only ever be remembered for killing the best fighter jet in its time, the Avro Arrow. Brian Mulroney led an effective anti-apartheid lobby, but his name brings up the US free-trade deal, the dreaded GST and that nasty Karl-Heinz affair.
Trudeau eliminated the terrorist FLQ, introduced bilingualism and multiculturalism, made Canada a global entertainment force, implemented a half-hearted metric system, and really got Albertans ticked with his energy program. And Jean Chretien gave us the long-gun registry – a bill which had the early support of a newly minted Calgary MP named Stephen Harper, voting against his own colleagues with the Reform Party caucus.
One of Harper’s first actions, as PM, in 2006 was to arm our border guards – who had never needed nor wanted the guns. He is a tough cop as PM, introducing mandatory prison sentences here, extending Canada’s role in Afghanistan, and sending war planes into Libya. And this summer Harper got to actually fire a rifle while reaffirming his determination to maintain sovereignty in the arctic.
 Prime Minister Stephen Harper – showing the troops how its done as he fires a service long gun while in the Arctic Few people have difficulty supporting a tough-minded PM, trying to keep us safe from threats of internal or external violence. So his change-of-mind on the long gun registry and his cancellation of the program, a much celebrated event by his party, was bizarre. I thought banning guns was ‘de rigueur’ for a sheriff taming the Wild West. Perhaps he has bought the US Tea Party line that private guns are the only defence against an oppressive government.
The long gun registry had given Harper a wedge issue to solidify his right-wing base and adjust his moral compass to accompany his change-of-heart. His next step was to deconstruct his firearms advisory committee, and pack it with members of Canada’s National Firearms Association, Canada’s NRA. https://nfa.ca/news/nfa-supports-sensible-government-approach-att One of the new committee’s early recommendations was to legalize the sale of assault weapons, which the government fortunately ignored.
Weren’t we all stunned when the PM rebuked the RCMP in High River? He ordered them to return the weapons they had found, stored illegally, in the flooded homes in that Alberta town. The Mounties were only enforcing the law, so does this now mean that we can ignore the rest of Canada’s gun laws with impunity? What is this pre-occupation with guns anyway? I know a six-year-old boy who is also fascinated with guns – but aren’t we supposed to grow up?
Last week Canada announced that we would not be joining over 90 other nations, including gun-loving USA, to sign the UN Arms Trade treaty, which is intended to keep weapons out of the hands of terrorist nations and terrorists. At first this was puzzling, then the penny dropped. The Harper government has a strategy to transition Canada into a future as a significant arms manufacturing country. It all makes sense now.
 Stephen Harper, already the nation’s historic gunslinger, wants to be its gunsmith as well. Is this the industrial strategy Ontario and Quebec have been looking for? We’ll build weapons systems for rogue states and fuel them with oil from the tar sands. Harper’s quest is to create gold out of that dark place called war, thereby bringing jobs back to the voters in Canada’s industrial heartland and reversing the folly of Diefenbaker denying the Avro Arrow.
Canada will be completely transformed from historic peacemaker to ‘nouvelle’ arms-maker. That will be Harper’s mark, his legacy, and how he will be remembered after losing the next federal election.
A knight, without a horse, walks off into the darkest night…
On a quest for a treasure, that shines so bright.
A six-shooter on his left, his right he cannot use…
In search of a dark tower, others can only muse.
(The Gunslinger’s Tale – Ellen Walmsley, 1999)
 October 1, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. It wasn’t hard to figure out what the major message was behind the 2013 version of Burlington’s Vital Signs report is: there are many in the community who just don’t have enough – and it isn’t just the “poor” people that are going without.
The Burlington Community Foundation, around since 1999, released, along with 26 other communities across Canada, a report that touched all the usual bases and added in a significant push on the pressing needs for better access to mental health services.
The Vital Signs report is data driven and uses graphics very effectively to make the point. The cartoon cover page is Burlington: there’s the gazebo (I met my wife for the first time there) there’s Pepperwoods, there is Benny’s and the gas station. The drawings are all in colour and attractive in their own way. Cute – it isn’t until you get to the second page that the point is made. Well – compare the two versions and you know in an instant what the report wants to talk about.
The report is the second published by the Community Foundation. The 2013 report covers eleven key areas of focus, including physical and mental wellness, poverty, youth, and seniors.
“This year’s report again emphasizes that Burlington is a city of contrasts. We are a prosperous community, with higher than average levels of income and education, with remarkable environmental features such as our escarpment and waterfront. Yet, there are people struggling in our community, in ways that are often unseen, as we drive and walk through our neighbourhoods”, said Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) President and CEO, Colleen Mulholland.
Who are the people that collect all the data and tie the different strands that are woven into the tapestry that is our city?
Established in 1999 as a centre for philanthropy, Burlington Community Foundation is a local knowledge broker and one of the most reliable partners in the non-profit sector. They collaborate with donors to build endowments, give grants and connect leadership. Responsive to their donors, the grant making experts help people give, build legacies, address vital community needs and support areas of personal interest. The Foundation helps people, agencies and corporations improve the city’s vitality.
 Cover: 2013 Vital Signs report commissioned by the Burlington Community Foundation.  Take away the good stuff, the nice stuff and the picture is that of a different Burlington – not one we all get to see. The report argues that “connections are critical to community vitality” but how do you do that? You’ve heard it before and with a municipal election just over a year away you will hear it again from every one of the rascals running for office: – Burlington is ranked as the top mid-sized city in which to live in Canada.
 We drive – everywhere, in part because local transit has yet to develop to the point where it serves the community as well as it is going to have to. Biggest reason – we like our cars. And we drive our cars – to everything. 79% of Ontarian’s commute to work by car, truck or van. That number is 86% for Burlington where we have an excellent, frequent train service that has three stops in the city with plenty of parking – free.
We vote – in the last federal election 66.5 of us voted while the Ontario average was 61.5%. Didn’t do much for us in terms of the quality of our elected members though did it?
 We have one of the best educated populations in the province. We are a well-educated community – check out the charts.
 Burlington is doing better at both the number of people with jobs and the number that are unemployed. But there are other indicators that reveal serious problems. Our people are employed – they need to be – our housing is amongst the most expensive in the province and rental accommodation is not easy to come by.
Median household income levels are 24% higher in Burlington than the provincial average but according to Statistics Canada, almost 1 in 10 youth under 18 lived in a low-income household.
In 2012, 36% of all items circulated by Burlington public libraries were in the child or youth category. Attendance at children and youth programs at Burlington libraries was 35,195.
Overall, the age profile of Burlington is getting older and more so than the Ontario average – in 2011, there were 29,720 seniors 65 years of age or older living in Burlington, comprising 16.9% of the population vs. 14.6% in Ontario.
Young people in Burlington are preforming well in school compared to the Ontario average but there are some opportunities for improving the lives and outcomes for our youth, starting as early as kindergarten. Some issues we need to tackle as a community are obesity, bullying and mental health.
Burlington residents are better educated than the population of Ontario and Canada. 67% of Burlington adults 25 years of age and over have completed some form of post-secondary education, compared with 60% of the population of Ontario.
Among Burlingtonians 25–64 years of age, 95% have completed high school – this is a big positive change in a 10 year period: in 2001, 79% had completed high school.
In 2011, there were 143,510 people 15 years of age or older in Burlington. Within this age range, 93,030 people were employed and 5,755 were unemployed for a total labour force of 98,785.
Burlington has stronger employment statistics than Ontario as a whole. The employment rate among people 15–64 years of age was 65%, compared to 60% for Ontario. Burlington’s unemployment rate was 6%, compared to 8% for Ontario.
For the past 10 years, the rate of unemployment in Burlington has been consistently lower than elsewhere in Ontario and in other communities across Canada.
Here are some quick facts about jobs and businesses in Burlington, according to the Halton Region 2012 Employment Survey, released in June 2013:
The City of Burlington has 4,638 businesses providing 74,216 full and part-time jobs.
While Burlington accounts for 35% of the 15–64 year olds living in Halton Region, jobs in Burlington accounted for nearly 40% of Halton’s total employment.
Approximately 80% of jobs were in the service-based sector – the leading ones being the retail trade, professional, scientific and technical services, and health care and social assistance.
 Can we blame the air quality problems on Hamilton? Air quality good – but could be better
Burlington has good air quality, compared to downtown Hamilton. Hamilton has more poor to moderate air quality days (22%) than does Burlington (16%).
However, Burlington’s location in southern Ontario – in Canada’s manufacturing heartland and downwind from the industrial centre of the U.S. – increases the number of poor to moderate air quality days relative to more northern parts of Ontario and cities in other parts of Canada. For example, in each of Sudbury and Ottawa only 8% of the days in 2012 had poor to moderate air quality compared to 16% in Burlington.
 Price increases are great if you own property – tough market to get into for first time buyers. The average price of a home in Burlington in the first half of 2013 was $486,669 – up 7% from 2012.
Similar increases were seen in the neighbouring cities of Hamilton (+6%) and Oakville (+7%), with Burlington housing costs continuing to be intermediate between these two cities
 Burlington’s rental market is tight – far too tight. The city thought it had a hope recently with close to 100 affordable units coming on line – but that one got away on us. People looking to rent – particularly those with more modest incomes – can find it difficult to find affordable rental housing in Burlington. In fall 2012, Burlington’s rental vacancy rate was 1.3%. For reference, a vacancy rate of 3% is considered necessary for adequate competition and supply. By comparison, Hamilton’s vacancy rate was 4.2%, and in Ontario as a whole it was 2.5%.
In 2011, Halton had a higher percentage of households (4.6%) on waiting lists for affordable, rent geared-to-income housing than was the case for Ontario as whole (3.2%). Further, the demand for this housing greatly exceeds the supply, as only 0.5% of Halton households were living in affordable, rent- geared-to-income housing in 2011.
In Halton, between 2010 and 2011 there was a 47% increase in households waiting for rent-geared-to-income housing. Families with children are the hardest hit.
 The kids think they are getting the exercise they need – caution, this is “self-reported” data. Residents of Halton are more likely to rate their overall health as “very good” or “excellent” (72%) compared with Ontario residents as a whole (61%). Moreover, positive health ratings increased from 2011 (66%) to 2012 (72%).
Over 75,000 Burlington residents 18 years of age and older are overweight or obese based on their self-reported height and weight. That’s just over half of the adult population who have an increased risk of certain health problems, including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, gallbladder disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and certain cancers.
Mental health is now at least being talked about – it isn’t something we hide the way we used to – that was an improvement for the better. Now we have to address the problem and it is not going to be cheap.
 The Canadian Institute for Health Information tracks the performance of over 600 health care facilities across Canada on a variety of indicators of effectiveness of treatment, patient safety, appropriateness of treatment, and accessibility. JBH is either at or better than the Canadian average on all of the indicators.
 Seniors need different services. The city currently has one Seniors’ Centre and at least five high schools. Will we need additional Seniors’ Centers that can be converted to high schools 30 years down the road? There are some significant problems to need solutions and we don’t have a lot of time to find the answers. Canada’s age profile is getting older, and this trend will continue for several decades into the future. For example, the proportion of people 65+ years of age in Ontario is expected to grow from 14.6% of the population in 2011 to over 23% by the year 2036.
Burlington’s age profile has historically been older than that of Ontario as a whole, and the difference has been increasing over time. As of 2011, 16.9% of Burlington’s population was 65 years of age or older, compared to 14.6% of Ontario’s population.
 Burlington has more of the Region’s senior population – do we have well thought out plans to meet their needs? Based on Statistics Canada measures of low-income from the 2006 census, 5.6% of Burlington seniors have low-income after tax. However, the prevalence of low-income is particularly acute among female seniors in Burlington: this prevalence is higher than the Ontario average, and higher than other Halton region communities.
In 2006, about 1,800 senior households in Burlington spent 30% or more of their total household income before tax on mortgages, electricity, heat and municipal services. Of these, almost 500 spent 50% or more of their income on housing, which leaves very little money for food, medications, or other necessities.
In the Age-Friendly Communities Forum: A Seniors’ Perspective – an initiative of the Elder Services Advisory Council In Halton Region – the Burlington participants identified a need for affordable housing as one of the top 3 issues for seniors in Burlington, and noted that “some people are moving out of the community as they cannot afford to live here.”
 We love the place. Burlington residents tend to see the quality of life in the city as improving: 27% said the quality of life in Burlington has improved over the past two years, compared to only 11% who said it has declined.
Survey respondents were asked which factors had the greatest impact on quality of life in their city. What set Burlington residents apart particularly was the importance of a low crime rate, and a strong sense of community.
In a survey of Burlington residents, 76% said culture is “essential” or “highly important” in their daily lives. There are many types of cultural experiences. For Burlington residents, the top 6 are festivals (86%), museum & local history (81%), art galleries (78%), going to the theatre (75%), public art (69%) and family heritage & traditions (69%).
Benefits to Burlington from community cultural organizations include:
624,000+ visits to local festivals, events, productions and exhibitions
89,000+ hours of cultural programming offered to all ages
Burlington residents spend 37% of their cultural time in Burlington, and the remaining time in other cities such as Toronto and Hamilton.
 These numbers are the reality for many. A person cannot live on the minimum wage – it has to be close to doubled – and that’s not something a municipality can do. Ontario has a legally mandated minimum wage of $10.25 an hour. However, a person working full-time at the minimum wage rate will be living in poverty, as they will earn less than Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-off.
The concept of a “living wage” is motivated by the following question: What does a family working full-time (37.5 hours a week, year-round) need to earn in order to pay for the necessities of life, to enjoy a decent quality of life, and to be able to participate fully in the economic, political, social and cultural life of the community?
The answer to this question depends on family composition and on where you live. Community Development Halton has tackled this question for the Halton Region, including Burlington.
What is included in a living wage, and what is excluded? “A living wage isn’t extravagant. It doesn’t allow families to save for retirement, to save for their children’s education or to service their debt. But it does reflect the cost of affording the basics of life – something the minimum wage doesn’t do,” states the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Community Development Halton considered three types of Halton households: a family of 4 (two parents, two children – a boy age 10, and a girl age 14), a single-parent family (mother age 30 and a boy age 3), and a single person (male age 32). In each household, each adult is working full- time, year-round. The calculation of living wage reflects the typical costs in Halton, as well as taxes and benefits.
 The number of youth have grown since 2006 but the senior population has grown more. The number of youth in Burlington has increased since 2006, but at a slower rate than older age groups. As a result, the overall age profile of Burlington is getting older.
Burlington is an affluent community, but not everyone is well off. In the 2006 census, 7% of all residents lived in low income households. However, this was greater for youth under 18, where 9% – almost one in 10 youth – lived in a low income household.
 This is what students have said they did in terms of getting the physical education they need for balanced growth. According to the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, youth 12–17 years of age require at least 60-minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity activity per day.
In the Halton Youth Survey, two–thirds of Burlington Grade 7s claimed to meet the 60-minute-per-day guideline, but only just over half of Grade 10s claimed to meet the guideline.
Girls in the Halton region were much less likely than boys to report meeting the physical activity guideline, with only four in ten Grade 10 girls meeting the guideline.
 This is not a healthy number. Why in a community where genuine financial need is not pervasive? The Halton Youth Survey, conducted by the Halton Our Kids Network, developed an indicator of involvement in criminal activity based on four self- report questions asking about vandalism, carrying a weapon, selling drugs, and group or gang involvement, and these define what is meant here by “criminal activity”. Note that because this is based on self-report, it includes not only youth accused of crime but also youth who “got away with it”.
 Our girls are at very serious risk: do we understand why and do we have programs to help them deal with the depression they are experiencing? One in five people in Ontario experiences a mental health problem or illness. Because mental illness can affect people in all walks of life, this is as important an issue in comparatively affluent communities like Burlington as it is in other less affluent communities. When you take into account family members and friends, almost everyone is affected in some way.
Mental illness affects people at all life-stages. However, one of the most significant characteristics of the onset of mental health problems is that, unlike many other illnesses, they are more likely to first emerge and affect people early in their lives.
According to a Mental Health Commission of Canada report, the potential negative effects of mental illness on the lives and prospects of young people are considerable:
“Mental disorders are the most common medical conditions causing disability in young people. Most mental disorders begin before age twenty- five and tend to be chronic, with substantial negative short and long-term outcomes. They are associated with poor academic and occupational success, economic burden, personal, interpersonal and family difficulties, increased risk for many physical illnesses and shorter life expectancy.”
Early detection and treatment of mental health problems is vital for the young people in our community and for the future health of our city.
 Access to youth mental health services is not what it needs to be
Only one-third of those who need mental health services in Canada actually receive them.
71% of family physicians ranked access to psychiatrists in Ontario as fair to poor.
While mental illnesses constitute more than 15% of the burden of disease in Canada, these illnesses receive only 5.5% of health care dollars.
ROCK reports that due to mental health funding gaps, as of March 2013, youth and families were waiting for just over 1,000 various services they offer. Wait times for these services range from months up to 2 years.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people in Canada. One of the most important causes of youth suicide is mental illness – most often depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and substance abuse.
The effects of youth suicide go beyond the deceased, impacting those who survive their death – their parents, friends, peers, and communities.
 Do our students feel their schools are safe? A survey conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that in response to the question, “In the last 12 months, did you ever seriously consider attempting suicide?”, 7% of Ontario Grade 7s and 12% of Grade 12s answered “yes.”
The Halton Youth Survey asked a somewhat different version of the question, focusing on teens who “sometimes, often or always” had thoughts of suicide in the past 12 months. While the question is somewhat different the results are similar: one in twenty (5%) Grade 7s in Burlington had thoughts about suicide in the past 12 months, increasing to over one in ten (13%) by Grade 10.
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by intense negative emotions and feelings, that negatively impact on people’s lives leading to social, educational, personal and family difficulties.
The Halton Youth Survey created an indicator of being at risk for depression, based on a person saying they “always” or “often” had experienced the following four emotional states in the past week: feeling sad, lonely, depressed, or like crying.
The percentage of Burlington students at risk for depression increases from Grade 7 to Grade 10, and by Grade 10, one in 10 teens are at risk for depression.
This increase in risk for depression from Grade 7 to Grade 10 is occurring primarily among girls. By Grade 10, one in seven girls is at risk for depression.
In the qualitative research project, Halton Youth Voice Road Show (2011), participants suggested the following causes for depression in youth:
Being bullied, which was seen to lead not only to depression but also suicide
Different social groups within a school bullying one another
The fact that sometimes youth were just mean to each other
Technology, since youth don’t actually need to connect to each other on a personal level any more
Images and expectations portrayed in the media
The pursuit of material possessions, with participants saying that it would be better if youth just spent time hanging out instead of shopping
Stress
Not having friends
Being pressured to do drugs
Youth mental health trends at Joseph Brant Hospital
Trips to the hospital emergency department because of a mental health issue represent the tip of the iceberg for youth mental health and substance abuse issues in Burlington. Emergency department visits can occur when mental health or substance abuse issues are undiagnosed, or are untreated, or treatment is not working. Youth visits to the JBH emergency department because of mental health or substance abuse problems show:
Emergency department visits for mental health or substance abuse issues spikes upwards for youth 18–24 years of age.
The annual number of youth under 25 years of age going to JBH emergency because of mental health or substance abuse issues has increased 30% over the last 3 years.
The rate of increase has been even higher among the subset of youth under 18 years of age – showing an increase in emergency visits of 43% over the past 3 years.
JBH operates the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Consultation Clinic, which provides support to children/youth under the age of 18 years. The case load for the Clinic increased by 16% from 2010–11 to 2011–12, and the average wait time for assessment increased by 31%, to 47 days.
The Community Foundation serves us all well – now the community has to look at the data, talk about it and figure out where we can shore up the weak spots and ensure that we continue to do what we have done well.
Collen Mulholland plans to hold a Roundtable on Mental Health early in 2014. How about ensuring that every grade 10 student in the Board of Education’s high schools be given a copy and make it the focus of a civics class.
 September 24, 2013
By Ray Rivers
BURLINGTON, ON. “Toronto is a great place to live, if only you could manage to get to work” – so says the Toronto Board of Trade. Commute times in the greater Toronto area were the longest of 19 major cities in a recent survey. It takes the average commuter 80 minutes round-trip, a full 24 minutes longer than it would in Los Angeles, the very birthplace of urban sprawl.
 Ray Rivers, the Gazette’s political columnist with Premier Kathleen Wynne and MPP Kevin Flynn on the left and Dr. Eric Hoskins on the right – all at the recent Roundtable held in Burlington. So Ontario’s Premier Wynne has made it a priority for her government to improve the lot of commuters by building transit. “It is a matter of social justice, I want to improve people’s lives by allowing commuters to spend more quality time with family and friends,” she emphasized in an exclusive interview last Friday. Ms. Wynne had earlier test-ridden the new half-hour GO train service, en route to a meeting with the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. Flanked by her Minister of Economic Development, Dr. Eric Hoskins, and the Parliamentary Assistant for Transportation, Kevin Flynn, Kathleen Wynne shared some thoughts on this topic with me.
 Premier Wynne believes that this level of traffic eats away at the time people deserve to have with their families and that the time spent in cars is damaging the provincial economy. Is GO the answer – and will we go along with that kind of a solution? The Premier’s goals are straight forward: invest in people; provide much-needed infrastructure; and improve business opportunities that will result in job creation. But she has her work cut out for her. We know that most of Ontario’s urban areas are poorly configured for efficient public transit. Three generations of urban sprawl have made public transit costly to deliver and inconvenient to ride – so the result is gridlock. And yes, the Greenbelt, introduced by her predecessor, was intended to curb urban sprawl, but the benefits of that initiative will not be seen for another generation – until after all the approved developments in the queue have seen their day.
Back in 1990 former Premier David Peterson, another Liberal, had proposed an ambitious $6.2 billion expansion of public transit for Toronto. Then he lost the next election to the NDP, who cherry-picked elements of that plan. The NDP lost the next election which resulted in a virtual cessation of transit progress under Mike Harris. Even when the Liberals did return to power, progress was slow as the Toronto kept changing its mind between subways and light-rail and subways again – making sustainable funding difficult.
The Province can’t really afford to do much in the way of funding these days. Ontario has been bleeding red ink since the 2008 recession and is now carrying a staggering quarter trillion dollar debt-load on its books. Metrolinx, the organization tasked with creating some order to the provinces transit mess, is saying they need $2 billion a year for needed transit expansion,and they are probably right.
 This is clearly not working? That money is not likely to flow from the business community; having lowered corporate taxes earlier, it is unlikely the province will raise them again. One of Wynne’s priorities is to promote business development, not scare it away with higher taxes. Wynne talked about bringing more jobs out to the suburbs, places like Burlington, so fewer folks need to be on that long daily commute. There are fewer businesses paying taxes these days as we become more reliant on imports.
 Is this a better option? Can we rely on the public sector to deliver consistently reliable service that works within the reasonable budgets they are given? Worse still, if we are to believe one think-tank, the left-leaning Centre for Policy Alternatives, we should expect an even greater decline in our industrial base following conclusion of the planned Canada-EU trade agreement.
Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Harper government’s economic blueprint, has committed $14 billion for infrastructure renewal. Premier Wynne hosted the Council of the Federation meeting last July and there was unanimous agreement for “continuing the conversation” about infrastructure – which really means they want access to that fund. Ontario, with a third of Canada’s population might reasonably expect about five or six billion dollars of that commitment – enough to make a really good start on adding public transit. And, as if on cue, the federal government has just announced over half a billion dollars for the Scarborough subway extension.
Aside from the auto companies Mr. Harper hasn’t shown much interest in helping Canada’s industrial heartland move forward. In fact, there hasn’t been a PM in recent memory with so much interest in selling off the nation’s natural resources and so little interest in protecting home-grown manufacturing and services. Ontario was once the mighty province that led the nation in economic prosperity, yet today it has slipped to the status of a ‘have-not’ province. It would be such a shame if the province ended up becoming another rust belt jurisdiction like Michigan or Ohio, and Toronto another bankrupt city like Detroit.
 Ray Rivers, born in Ontario earned an economics degree at the University of Western Ontario and a Master’s degree in economics at the University of Ottawa. His 25 year stint with the federal government included time with Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Agriculture and the Post office. Rivers is active in his community; has run for municipal and provincial office and held executive positions with Liberal Party riding associations. He developed the current policy process for the Ontario Liberal Party.
 September 23, 2013
BY Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. It has been so long since Burlington has seen a high-rise building that includes office space in the city that we may have forgotten what this kind of development means to a city.
 An eight story office building and a 17 story apartment building with an above ground parking garage in between the two. Somewhere along the way some people let themselves believe that 70+% of the apartments were going to be affordable housing. The Carriage Gate project is a mixed use development consisting of an 8 storey office building, a 17 storey, 154 unit apartment building, an 8 storey above-ground parking garage, three levels of underground parking garage, and ground floor retail/service commercial uses.
A group of citizens will argue before Council that changing the content of the Community Benefits negotiated in exchange for extra height and density on the Caroline/Elizabeth Street development is a mistake and are asking: “Do they have the right to make this change or does this become a new project?”
In 2010, council approved the project and changed the Official Plan on this site to grant double the height for an 8 storey office building and parking garage, and over four times the height for a 17 storey apartment building.
In exchange, the Developer agreed to negotiate a Section 37 Community Benefits Agreement which was to have over 70% of the units as “affordable” housing under Halton Region’s definition of affordability.
Nick Carnacelli, the developer doesn’t see things this way. He argues that he got the additional density for the parking that he put in place and that affordable housing was not part of the deal. At the committee meeting where the issue was threshed in the city planner explained that while some people felt there was a deal in place – there is no deal in place until the documents are signed and as of today the Section 37 agreement has not been signed. The city did approve the change to the Official Plan
According to community advocates the community benefits document that was to be signed by the develop included: a) providing an additional 269 parking spaces; b) Apartment to be constructed to LEED certified environmental standard; c) Parking garage will contain a green roof design and d) Residential component will have over 70% affordable housing units.”
The Official Plan change was approved and changed. The developer is asking for a reduction in the affordable housing component from 73% to 27%.
The community advocates maintain the developer is not now willing to sign the agreement. They argue that the project cannot proceed until the Section 37 Community Benefits Agreement is signed as it was an integral aspect of the deal and was to be registered on the title of the property. They add that the zoning bylaw cannot be changed and a building permit cannot be issued until the Section 37 Agreement is signed .
The change to the Official Plan has already be made but the zoning by-law amendment remains outstanding. Some were surprised that any changes could be made without the attendant agreements being signed or that the changes to zoning and the official plan were not made conditional to the community benefits agreement.
Bruce Krushelnicki patiently explains that Section 37 agreements cannot be made conditional. The benefits to the community are separate from the issuing of an Official Plan change or a change in the zoning bylaw and the issuing of a building permit.
“A section 37 Agreement is one that allows the city to reap certain benefits when an advantage is given to a developer allowing an increased return on a development. The development has to stand on its own merits – it is only if it stands on its own merits and is approved by a city council that we planners can then negotiate a Section 37 agreement.”
Much of the council committee debate on affordable housing focused on the question: is there a place for affordable housing in the downtown core south of Caroline? Where should affordable housing be located and who should be paying for that housing?. Council committee heard arguments that social housing is a Regional responsibility and should be addressed at the Regional level and that developers should not be expected to take on this social service. The city already has a significant amount of social housing on John Street, immediately north of Pine and south of the Burlington transit station.
Staff and the owner agreed to a total direct community benefit valued at $6-7 million to be spent in the provision of parking as well as several other benefits that do not have direct costs but which are nevertheless community benefits.
The Planning department also notes that other Section 37 Agreements where affordable housing was secured the amount was less than 30% in all instances.
Carnacelli explained that the affordable housing units he would have built were so small that families would not be able to live in them thus defeating the purpose of social housing in the downtown core.
Is the city working with a developer who has out maneuvered them several times? Does the developer understand the process better than the people he has to deal with at city hall?
The project has been something of a paper nightmare for the planning department. A condition of the agreement approved by Council in 2010 was the imposition of an 18 month deadline for the signing of the required agreements. The bylaw passed by Council at that time was not enacted because Carriage Gate Group Inc. did not enter into the required agreements or pay the rezoning unit fees within the specified time-frame. The conditional approval lapsed on January 5, 2012. In September of this year Council granted an 18 month extension to the approval lapsing date.
Carnacelli faces some exceptionally stiff costs on the hydro side of the project. In order to get hydro to the site he was expected to pay for the cost of getting a hydro lines up from Lakeshore to his site. Once that hydro line is in place anyone south of the Carnacelli site, which is at Caroline and Elizabeth, would get a free ride. Carnacelli felt hydro should put the line in and then have anyone developing along the route pay for a share of the cost.
The Molinaro Group didn’t have to pay for the costs Carnacelli is expected to pay to get hydro into the buildings they built along Lakeshore Road because the hydro line ran along Lakeshore.
The Carriage Gate project is to have a total of 522 parking spaces of which 193 spaces were required for the residential portion of the development and 60 public spaces were required as part of the land sale. The site is located within the Downtown Parking Exemption Area (DPEA) and therefore the provision of parking is not required except for the residential units. The developer was thereby providing an additional 269 spaces that would not otherwise be required by this development. The estimated value of these parking spaces to service non-residential development is approximately $6-7 million. The developer however will charge a fee for those parking spots when they are used.
The staff report points out that approval was granted almost three years ago when the initial Section 37 community benefits were being discussed. In that time economic and market conditions have changed. In that time costs, including but not limited to, development charges, hydro and construction, have increased significantly.
The community advocates argue that a lot of due diligence, expense and research went into the preparation of the original Staff Report presented to Council on July 5, 2010 which included wording for a Section 37 Community Benefits Agreement which they maintain resulted in the approval of the development.
They suggest that “if the deal can be changed on this development after the approval process has been completed, this sets a precedent going forward for every Development throughout the entire City of Burlington.” True perhaps but the Section 39 “deal” has not been signed and as Krushelnicki explains – it isn’t a deal until it is signed.
The community advocates argue that “altering a Section 37 Agreement after the approval process is complete merits a very serious review as developments of this size are going to change the landscape of Burlington forever and this deal sets a serious precedent going forward. When is a deal not a deal?
Krushelnicki would respond – a deal is not a deal until it is signed.
The community advocates suggest that any change to the approved Section 37 Community Benefits Agreement on the Carriage Gate Development makes it a different project and thus warrants further serious review.
The signatories to any agreement can negotiate changes before the agreement is signed and city planners have reviewed the requested changes and approve of the requested changes.
Is this a battle between Marianne Meed Ward, Councillor for that part of the city this project is to be built in, and the development community along with those who argue Burlington desperately needs new office development in the downtown core if the city is to have a core that is viable?
There are some impressive properties along Caroline that may not be comfortable with a large office/residential complex parked on their shoulder.
There are those who argue that Meed Ward does not understand the economics of development and is giving the city a bad reputation as a place for developers to ply their trade.
The city has to comply with a provincial Policy Statement that requires the Region to develop a specific amount of housing and a specific number of jobs. The city does not have a choice – that is what we must do and if a project like Carriage Gate helps the city meet that requirement – they will negotiate the best deal they can get and then happily approve it.
Burlington currently faces negative net growth in the amount of Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) tax levels. The money to run the city comes from taxpayers for the most part and if it isn’t raised on the ICI side – then it will come from the residential side.
The issue, actually the elephant in the room is what kind of development will there be in the downtown core? That’s one on which there is the kind of community consensus this council would like to see. Should Burlington office development just be on the North and South Service Roads and over along Burloak?
During the committee debate Meed Ward suggested that if the community benefits were being scaled back then the height and density given should be scaled back as well.
 The buildings in this photograph are gone – the developer bulldozed everything as they moved on both the constructions and their marketing plans. What Carnacelli argues is that the development charges he has to pay have increased 40% since he started work on the project.
Staff in their report have recommended to Council that the city solicitor be directed to re-work the Section 37 agreement and have it conform to what the developer has asked for while a group of citizens want Council to send the project right back to the drawing table and see it as a new project.
The developer has already flattened the buildings that were on what was once called Tudor Square and has begun to market the project. Would anyone care to wager on what city council will do Monday evening? If there is ever going to be any serious or significant development in the downtown core the Carriage Gate project has to be approved. That might mean holding their nose for some.
|
|
