The citizens of the city got what they have been pushing for – they didn’t like the pace or the rate at which the draft of the Official Plan was being pushed by the Planning department.
The Gazette asked this early on November and Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward has been asking this question for months as well.
During Committee of the Whole meeting yesterday afternoon and evening Council heard again and again that the pace was far too fast.
Paul Brophy, a downtown resident said “The community is only just now becoming aware of the transformative change this plan, in its current draft format, will impose upon Burlington residents” and asked “Why rush such a fundamental change to the look and feel of our downtown. Remember once the plan is approved there are no do overs – city council with the assistance of planning staff must get it right the first time.”
“Frankly much of the community has a perception that the planning staff is running the show and council not so much. This perception must change with deliberate transparent action from council that clearly shows you have Burlington resident’s best interests at heart.”
Councillor Paul Sharman
Brophy took exception to a comment made by Councillor Sharman who was chairing the meeting and for the first time in our recollection a delegator pushed back and told the Councillor that his remarks were offensive.
Lisa Kearns told the Committee that more time was needed and asked that any decision be moved back to June of 2018.
Councillor Dennison pointed out that the city would be in full election mode by then – which was the point Kearns was making and that the end of March might by a better date.
Earlier in the meeting Sharman said the Planning department was looking for a way to tinker with the dates and come up with a way to give the public the time they were asking for.
Kearns introduced Council to ECoB – Engaging Citizens of Burlington – a group that took shape very quickly – managed to raise the first $5000 of needed funding, had their Director appointed and were in the process of incorporating all within a week.
ECoB plans to make extensive use of social media; part of the team that kept Central high school off the list of schools the Board of Education put forward last June has signed on with ECoB.
Kearns set out what their long term objectives were but chose not to mention that one of those was to appeal the decision council made earlier in the month to approve the 421 Brant development by a 5-2 vote (Meed Ward and the Mayor dissented on that one).
Director of Planning Mary Lou Tanner at a public meeting with Councillor John Taylor. There is yet to be a solid meeting of Council minds and the Planning department.
There appears to have been some back channel conversations on a later date for the draft Official Plan to get to Council. The Planners wanted it to be by the end of January, now they appear to be thinking in terms of late in March – those who delegated on Thursday are pushing for June.
This issue isn’t over yet – watch for as a boisterous city Council meeting on December 11th, when this gets decided.
Make a note then of how closely the Mayor stays to whatever position Meed Ward takes – he can’t afford to be too far from her politically.
There is a shift in the role the citizens of the city are going to play in the way the city is developed. Get ready for more – there are a number of groups across the city grumbling for better civic leadership. Expect to see them come together – some within that group talk about a slate of candidates that can clean things up at city hall. The words “reform” and Burlington now get used in the same sentence.
We appear to have attributed a comment made by Liz Benneian to John Was in the copy of the material from the Facebook page. Mr. Was is offended and has asked that we remove the comment attributed to him. He has asked for an apology – Sorry John – we certainly would not have you on the side of those who want to do something for the Trumpeter Swans
There are almost as many opinions on the usefulness of Facebook as there are people using the site. As a society we are still struggling with how to use it effectively, fairly and legally – without doing any harm. The Americans are still grappling with how the Russians intruded on their most recent presidential election.
Burlington is finding that its citizens have taken to Facebook to get their story out. The current story is the dis-satisfaction with the way city hall is rolling out an Official Plan and determining where growth can take place and what kind of growth can take place in various parts of the city.
The approval of a 23 storey tower opposite city hall was what set things off. Ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward putt her views on what is known as the 421 Brant development on Facebook. Liz Benneian a well known and respected environmental advocate commented on the Meed Ward posting – and then things took off.
Liz Benneian
November 29 at 9:26am
All the people commenting on this thread, if you want to have any power over these decisions, you need to organize. Share your emails with each other. Organize a community meeting. Support each other in getting your views heard and delegating at Committee and then Council. Be prepared to be in it for the long-term. Organization and persistence are the key to having an impact.
Comments flowed in. If there was ever any doubt in your mind that social media works read on, and on – and on.
Phillip Wooster I don’t agree with this intensification by adding numerous tall buildings in the downtown core which will destroy the character of Burlington as we know it. But the question must be asked, “Why are the politicians, special interests/developers, bureaucrats supporting this type of development when as Marianne has noted we get NOTHING in return.”
Pam Casey I would like to register to speak at the meeting but before I do register, I want assurance that I will not be booed at. I would like to express my view. Can you make that happen Marianne?
Deborah Jukes I have lived in Burlington ALL of my life in the core as a child, then to north and four years ago, right sized back to the core! Hearing about this plan makes me want to leave Burlington…. this plan angers and saddens me! It shows no respect for our history or the life style we aspired to when we talk about a walking community! Be careful City Council- you about to pave paradise!!!
Candice Carson
There have been a few posts like this providing a bit of an “FYI” to residents but as our ward representative can you please share with us what actions you have taken to advocate on our behalf? From what I can…See More
MizTracy Ann
Some of the buildings that will be replaced by this plan look like they should have heritage designations. Do they? If there are appropriate places for higher rise buildings in the downtown, couldn’t a requirement be that they be designed with retail space at ground level?
MizTracy Ann If we were to distribute and place small signs on our property stating our opposition to the intensification. What do residents feel would be a good message to put on the signs? One clear statement we could all display. Thoughts?
Liz Benneian
Sorry for butting in again. Lawn signs are nice but the very best way to advocate for what you want is to contact your Council members. Phone them, write them, email them. Sign up to have your say at the relevant Council or committee meeting. Show up a…See More
Larissa Fenn
Participants on this thread may also be interested in the relevant background: https://www.burlington.ca/…/ser…/Official-Plan-Review.asp
Lisa Kane
Do we need to register to attend the meeting, or it is just for speaking?
Mark Sheehan
This video is disturbing to say the least. So in essence, the City planners and the “Rogue 5” Councillors are basically planning to tear down every one of the city’s historic/character buildings that make up Burlington’s charm and heritage and replace …See More
Lisa Quondamatteo Is there any kind of petition I can sign Marianne?
Liz Benneian
My two cents again. Usually petitions mean very little to politicians. Call, write, email, show up at Council. Organize your community. Make this an election issue.
Phil Garner
Awful
Thomas C. Riddell
Burlington fine the way it we don’t want to be Toronto lakeshore
David G. Denis
I want to register my disapproval of these plans. What is going on with the City of Burlington? I planned to retire here after living here for 30 years but the gridlock and lack of a downtown is going to make me leave. Is this a high density property t…See More
Michelle Sallows Preyde
Every city NEEDS to maintain a quaint, downtown core if the want to attract tourists, both local folks who shop and eat downtown for the experience and out of town folks who want to experience Burlington.
Leslie Clanachan
Burlington was one of the few cities that voted in favour of keeping the OMB so that should tell you where there priorities are. For shame councillors. I can’t imagine any resident in Burlington thinking this is positive and responsible growth plan. Li…See More
Geraldine Armitage
I think the Council has gone absolutely MAD. I would like to speak but will have trouble keeping civil.
Enid Donaldson
What a terrible idea. I thought what they allowed up at upper middle and Appleby was bad enough.
Ron Dennis
Back in the 1960s, when I covered Toronto Township, (Now Mississauga) for The South Peel Weekly, they had a tall building-loving planner known as Highrise Harry (Petschar). Looks like his ghost is lurking in Burlington city hall.
Iain Stubley Someone must be getting something in return some nice brown envelopes full of $$$$ and trips overseas … very sad how can those in power be so detached?
Linda Yvonne Johnson
How many historical buildings are going to be knocked over for this?? People from Oakville, Mississauga, Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Grimsby and beyond come to Burlington for our waterfront and the ambiance that exists in the downtown core. All of this w…See More
Frances C Iuticone
BIG NO. I live in the core. Traffic is unbearable now. I had no idea. Thanks for the info. I’m sharing to everyone
Barbara Hitsman
This is just terrible! I sure hope the city doesn’t let this plan go ahead! These are some lovely charming buildings!!😩😩😩👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼
Marie Grenier Davis
The same is happening in Aldershot, concrete and more concrete tall buildings are part of the plan.
Citizens will gather at city hall this afternoon and this evening to listen to the Planner defend the plans for the Downtown Mobility Hub and then listen to the council debate.
2017 – The year harassment dominated our news! In an epidemic of outings, victims of harassment seemed to be popping out from the woodwork determined to slay their dragons – some of the very people we once respected. The truth is many of us, at one time or another, have been victims or perpetrators of this socially destructive wrong. There is that bully at school, the overzealous landlord or tenant, a supervisor at work or a subordinate or maybe even even a disgruntled life partner.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission defines harassment as “engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought to be known to be unwelcome.” Harassment is often related to the exercise of power where an unequal relationship exists, such as an employer threatening employees with job loss or demotion for something unrelated to their job descriptions. And of course harassment is often associated with racism, sexism and ageism. It’s the ugly side of human social interaction.
Former Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi leaves court with his attorney Marie Henein (R), after an Ontario judge found him not guilty on four sexual assault charges and one count of choking in Toronto, March 24, 2016. Jenna Marie Wakani/Reuters
Assault may be involved though not necessarily. We recall CBC personality, Jian Ghomeshi, who stunned his national radio audience when allegations of sexual harassment and assault filled the papers back a few years ago. It was hard to believe that such a mild mannered on-air persona, a Dr. Jekyll by day, could also be such a Mr. Hyde by night. His punishment was losing his job and watching his promising career vaporize as the complaints of sexual misconduct piled up around him.
And assault is at the heart of the allegations against Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Charlie Rose, Bill O’Reilly, Donald Trump and Alabama senatorial candidate Roy Moore. They have crossed a line which they either didn’t see or didn’t care was there. So they have met their comeuppance, except for Trump who despite something like 16 sexual accusations against him won the last federal election. He just denies everything and everybody as fake news and liars, with even more confidence than former president Bill Clinton.
President Donald Trump in a video that captured his views on how a celebrity could relate to women. It should have cost him the election but America ignored it.
Trump’s unwavering political support for religiously pious Alabama child predator Roy Moore is unconscionable. The irony of sexual predator Trump promoting another sexual predictor, Moore, while attacking former comedian Al Franken for his sexual harassment has obviously escaped him. One can only hope the voting public will place ethics and their own morality ahead of partisanship – but this is Alabama and this is an America in flux.
There is a cultural revolution taking place in our society. But the challenge, as with any revolution, is how to rein-in the overzealous and avoid over-reaction. Wilfred Laurier University (WLU) has hit the news over the matter of gender based personal pronouns and how they affect identity. The binary system of gender identification seems to be inadequate for some who cross over from one discrete gender to another.
One should always respect the wishes of how people want to be called, but it is difficult to understand why the terms ‘she’ and ‘her’ would be offensive to a person who has transgendered from a male body type to that of a female, for example. There is now a demand for the use of the gender-neutral terms like ‘they’ and ‘them’, or one of the new batch of pronouns, ‘ze, sie, hir, co, and ey’ and ‘Mx’ for Mr., Miss, Ms or Mrs.
Students at Laurie r University supporting the rights of a Teaching Assistant.
Of course the conflict at WLU is also about freedom of speech and the responsibility of educators to challenge their students to fully explore a subject’s matter. And that subject warns that the deliberate mis-use of an appropriate pronoun applied to someone could be seen as harassment. But looming in the distance is the concern that using the wrong pronoun might also be construed as discrimination under Canada’s recent law C-16. And that might lead to criminal penalties.
Country/pop singer Taylor Swift had been groped while doing a photo shoot with a radio personality back in 2013. After she complained to the station’s managers the creep lost his job and since he was out of work decided to sue her for damages. She’s the biggest star in music today, sings almost as well as me, and could afford the best lawyers money could buy, which I can’t. So Swift counter-sued and won as the judge threw his claim out the window.
Not everyone wants to end up in court on matters this personal, staring down aggressive legal beagles and exposing your innermost self to some fickle judge who might just deliver a bizarre judgement. Sexual harassment is a serious offence, was even before Canada’s government formalized its illegality, but so is libel and slander. And that puts more of the spot light on accusers to get it right – to be objective and fair.
Is the offense just a bad attempt at a joke or is someone genuinely out to hurt? As each new generation replaces the previous one, what was acceptable human behaviour continues to evolve. So jokes depicting racial or sexual topics and situations, once tolerated back in the day, are simply no longer acceptable. Still, the child is father of the man – people are captive to old habits and beliefs, even if those customs are no longer in fashion.
Tolerance cannot be a one way street. Some folks don’t understand that the world has moved on – they need help and education to wake up to reality. And education and conciliation may be a better pathway to peace than confrontation and litigation. That is true in cases of harassment, as in all things, despite the more recent trend to outing the culprits.
And sometimes actions and words can be ambiguous. A victim needs to be sure that harassment is what it seems before crying out, in case that cry turns out to be ‘wolf’ and the situation between them becomes intolerable. To that end the Ontario’s Human Rights Commission cautions that harassment needs to be seen in the context of a process – when it comes to words a single vexatious comment is insufficient. Because in the end nobody wants to be victimized twice.
Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Will the meeting in the Party Room at Buntin’s Wharf Saturday afternoon be seen as the event that changed the way Burlington citizens relate to their elected officials?
Jim Young chairs the founding meeting of ECOB – Engaged Citizens of Burlington. Just 25 people – but they are determined to make a difference,
Just over 25 people met in a building that changed the way the downtown core looked 15 years ago. Buntin’s Wharf, a 14 storey condominium was completed in 2004 – it is part of a collection of condominiums that changed Lakeshore. The people in those buildings – there are five of them don’t want to see much more in the way of high rise development in the downtown core – they would like to see it take place a little further up Brant Street.
It was a chilly afternoon with the Festive Season lights up in Spencer Smith Park. Many of the people who attended were there to find out if this group was real. “I’m here and will be reporting back to my friends who care about what happens downtown”. The people who attended take great exception to the city saying that they truly engage the citizens – they see what the city does as “something of a disgrace”. “When we delegate they just sit there and listen – and seldom ask questions of us. It’s insulting was the way one person described what she had gone through.
The wrong height and in the wrong place was the view of a group – ECOB – that plans to appeal the 5-2 city council approval of a 23 storey tower opposite city hall.
It didn’t take long for the direction this group wanted to go in – they had named themselves Engaged Citizen of Burlington – took on the acronym ECOB – elected a set of officers – there will be seven of them.
Resolved to be incorporated by the end of the week, open a bank account and deposit the $5000 they raised on the spot in less than ten minutes.
They put in place a social media pro who headed up the very successful drive Central high school parent drive to keep their school of the to be closed list.
They set up three sub committees – one to take the 421 Brant Street development to the OMB – they expect to file papers at city hall for that initiative very soon – they are fully aware of the ticking clock.
The ECOB people have a bigger agenda – they want to create a city wide residents association that wants to change the way city hall makes development decisions and be a force that holds city council accountable to the people that elected.
This group has had it with this council. “They don’t listen” was the refrain heard again and again.
This is not a group of wild eyed NIMBY types.
There was some very smart talent in the room. When discussion on the incorporation was going on – one of the participants was on the phone to a local lawyer – “he’s in” she said and with that the process of incorporation had begun.
They had financial commitments before they had a treasurer in place. One participant said he came to the meeting with a cheque in his pocket – he just wanted to know who to make it out to.
One of the team briefed them on the “Bay Street lawyer” who was in the process of doing a “conflict review” to ensure that they could represent the group before signing on.
What is it going to take financially – they seemed comfortable with raising $100,000. One of the sharper minds in the room told the group that money wasn’t the issue – that will come – setting out what it is we want is where the attention has to be paid.
Another participant asked: What is it we want the OMB to do – no point in taking our argument to them until we are focused on the objective.
“We can’t just ask the OMB to stop the development” said one participant.
The developer has a 12 story approval on one piece of the properties assembled – “we aren’t going to see anything less than that.
Mediation got talked about – arbitration got talked about. They all realized they had a tough row to hoe – but they were in for the long haul.
The ward Councillor who was not in the room – they didn’t want here there. They don’t want their organization to be seen as a front for a member of council.
There were some very savvy people in the room – they asked that they not be individually identified at this point.
The discussion between the 25 people was a model that city council could emulate.
Jim Young – the man who did one of the best delegations this city has ever heard.
Jim Young, an Aldershot resident chaired the meeting, filling in for Susan Goyer who appears to be the one who got the ball rolling a number of weeks ago. She was in Florida.
Assuming these people get their OMB appeal filed within the deadline – development decisions downtown are going to be different.
The Notice of Meeting was sent to Scott Podrebarac chair of the Program Accommodation Review (PAR) and to members of the Program Accommodation Review Committee (PARC).
It was sent on behalf of Margaret Wilson, Ministry of Education appointed Reviewer of the Burlington PAR
The language was stiff and stilted bit it did set out clearly what was going to happen.
Liz Sandals.ember of the Wynne government cabinet introduces Margaret Wilson.
“Margaret Wilson has been appointed by the Minister of Education to examine the Burlington PARC process relative to the Halton District School Board Program Accommodation Review (PAR) policy.
“Ms Wilson has been charged with the responsibility to review the process and has no authority to change the decision of the trustees of the Halton District School Board
“The purpose of this communication is to provide the details of the private PAR committee members meeting which is to take place, Wednesday, November 22, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the Lockhart Room, New Street Education Centre.”
The Agenda starts with an introduction to the PAR process that will be given by Margaret Wilson followed by the introduction of the 14 members of the PAR committee members.
That is followed by feedback from the PAR committee members that will include brief remarks from each of the PAR committee members related to the PARC process – three minutes per presentation.
Then there is open discussion
The session ends with closing remarks from Margaret Wilson.
Neither media nor the public will be present at this meeting as it is private to members of the PARC.
On Thursday, the 23rd and on Tuesday the 28th parents from the schools get their chance to tell Wilson what they thought of the PAR process.
PAR committee members in one of the seven public sessions they participated in – they were never able to reach a consensus.
Time slots will be set aside for a spokesperson from the two schools that are scheduled to close; parents from any high school in the city are permitted to speak at these two meetings. Each speaker has three minutes to speak.
The presentation from the Bateman and Pearson high school parents get 10 minutes to make their point.
Wilson will not want to hear how unfair the decision to close a school might have been – she is there to review the process – did the HDSB follow the policy that was in place?
HDSB parents at PARC meeting looking less than impressed.
This is a very difficult for many parents to get their heads around – they are arguing that it is the process that was faulty to begin with.
Board of Education staff were not forgotten in this process. Ms Wilson met with all the Superintendents to set out for them their role in the review process. She explained to them what they can do and what they cannot do.
Ms Wilson will have gone over literally every piece of information. She will meet with the Chair of the PAR.
HDSB Director of Education at one of the many public meetings he took [part in.
Stuart Miller got a call from the Ministry of Education that gave him his marching orders. The Review is a Ministry of Education initiative that came about when parents from Robert Bateman high school and Lester B. Pearson high school requested an Administrative Review of the process that was used.
The role of the Board of Education – both staff and trustees is to step aside and let the Review take place.
A number of school boards across the province requested Administrative Reviews – the Halton Board schools were the only ones that got a positive response.
There are all kinds of theories floating around the community.
Many feel that the Ministry now realizes that the procedure they put in place for the school boards to follow was flawed and as a result of the realization the Ministry ordered the no new PAR’s be put in place.
Will the Wilson report touch on that point or will she write a report that says the Board followed the rules – can she say that the rules were less than fair and couldn’t result in a fair decision?
Will the Ministry realize that their guide lines – regulations were flawed and first change them and then direct the school boards to hold new PAR’s?
From the left: Trustees Papin, Reynolds, Ehl Harris and Grebenc observing one of the public meetings.
Where do the trustees fit into all this? They are the elected leaders of the Board – they set policy and decide where a school is to be built and where a school is to be closed.
Those who paid close attention to the way the HDSB handled the issue quickly came to the conclusion that the Halton Board trustees were not up to the job.
Would a second PAR be under the same procedures that didn’t work the first time?
While Burlington works its way through the Review – the province looks months ahead to June when there will be a provincial election. If the public elects a new government and makes Patrick Brown the Premier expect a significantly different set of education policies to be put in place.
The Pearson and Bateman high school parent groups are taking much different approaches to the Review process. Pearson is using a data approach while the Bateman parents are using a human rights approach.
There was a time when the two parent groups worked together but that didn’t last very long. Now there are reported rifts between the parents in the Bateman group. Some describe the Bateman parent leadership as “obsessed”.
The better observers seem to be coming around to the view that the process was indeed flawed and that the Ministry of Education has admitted as much.
Choosing Margaret Wilson as the Reviewer for the HDSB situation and the consultant who wrote a stinging report on practices and procedures at the Toronto Board of Education, suggests to these observers that she will ferret out all the concerns and give the Ministry as report that will allow them to revise the PAR process.
Pearson parents at a Board of Education meeting.
Will that result in a decision to have the Halton District School Board to do a second PAR? And how long will that take – and what will happen to the work being done now to integrate the Pearson students into M.M. Robinson.
Pearson is scheduled to be closed in June of 2018.
David Suzuki has been doing media interviews for at least 50 years – he is an old hand at it.
The energy isn’t what is was a decade ago but the passion and the belief that we are the only people who can make the change if we are going to save this planet.
Suzuki tells his audiences that we human beings are the only creatures on this planet that think in terms of having a future – our challenge is to decide what that future is going to be.
David Suzuki – preaching his gospel knowing that we can save this planet on simple step at a time – he reminds us that WE have to take those steps.
Asked if it is too late – he will look at you through those eyes we have seen when he was doing Quirks and Quarks on CBC and on The Nature of Things, a CBC program he is still doing.
Suzuki works at two levels – evangelizing and getting out the big picture. He takes to the stage and repeats the same message – it is ours to live, work and play in – and now we need to save it – we have come perilously close to killing this planet.
His other level is more personal. He still rants about the damage done by the Harper government and still gets back to his core message – “pay attention to the science.”
He rails at what he sees the politicians doing and tells the story of a high school classmate who in the 50’s said he wanted to be a Politician because that is the level at which you can make a difference.
At that point David Suzuki will look at you intently and ask – “Do you know any young people who want to go into politics today?”
About a decade ago (was it really that long) the federal government decided that it would no longer have Statistics Canada do the long form census. The science community – indeed all of the academic world was stunned. (The long form census is the document that gathers all kinds of data that is used to learn what is happening in the country – what people are doing. It is a critical measuring device without which it is very difficult to make decisions.)
The long form census was brought to an end by the Harper government – sanity prevailed and it was brought back quickly by the government that succeeded him.
When the decision not to continue with the long form census was made by the Harper government the head of Statistics quit in protest. “They should have all walked out the door and made a statement” says Suzuki. David shrugs, looks up and without saying a word conveys the feeling that it is difficult at times to understand why people do what they do.
Suzuki asks: “How old are you” – I tell him – he says “you’re looking pretty good” – realizing that both of us are getting a little long in the tooth but don’t know how to stop fighting the good fight.
Later in the evening Suzuki will take to the stage and talk to an almost adoring audience. He is an icon that the young people admire, respect and look to for some of the answers.
When he gets going the energy comes back and he is close to unstoppable.
He touches the lives of all and he knows it – so he travels the country and spreads his gospel.
The Blue Dot message.
Suzuki was brought to the city by Burlington Green – they brought Jane Goodall a couple of years ago. These marquee speakers do well with the young audience that Burlington Green attracts. They are energetic, keen, wide eyed and bushy tailed. Suzuki put it very well when he said: “They get it.”
Tied into the talks Suzuki gave was the “blue dot” which is a project that wants every Canadian to have the right to clean water and a healthy environment.
“When our provincial and federal decision-makers have recognized our right to a healthy environment, we will turn toward the ultimate goal: we seek to amend the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to include the right to a healthy environment, so that we can join the 110 countries around the world that already have this right included in their constitutions.”
There are now more than 150 municipalities that have signed on to the Blue Dot movement – Burlington made that decision in 2015.
The Halton Learning Foundation hold what they call a Benefit Bash, an occasion they use to thank the people who support their work and to let loose just a little bit.
The Foundation is in place to work with school principal’s to meet those immediate need situations that far too many students face.
Lesley Mansfield, the Executive Director of the Foundation reports that “This year’s Benefit Bash was one of the most successful to date, raising almost $89,000 in support of Halton District School Board students in need. Demand from schools to help vulnerable students is up more than 40% this year to date, so these funds are critical to ensure we can continue saying ‘yes’ to requests for support.”
The Foundation provides financial support and is one of those early indicators of where there are real on the ground needs that often don’t get detected.
HLF provides emergency funds for students who require basics such as warm clothing, food, school transportation and school supplies, or who need help to be included in experiences such as field trips or school teams.
The Board of Education sent out a media release asking Lester B. Pearson high parents if they might be interested in serving on a sub-committee to prepare for the school’s closing in June 2018.
They have until December 1st to send in an Expression of Interest Submission form.
On the same day a group of parents from the school were told by the Board that Patrick Brown, Leader of the Ontario Opposition could not tour the schools.
Rory Nisan and George Ward trading contact information – both have been active in efforts to keep their school open.
In their media release the Board said the Lester B. Pearson High School’s Integration Committee is seeking subcommittee members and volunteers to form two subcommittees in preparation of the school’s closing in June 2018. Members of the subcommittees can be students, staff, parents, alumni or community members.
The first subcommittee is being created to assist in the identification, gathering and cataloguing of Lester B. Pearson High School artifacts and the development of a plan to honour memorabilia. Members of the second subcommittee will assist in the planning of closing ceremonies and community activities.
Where will the school’s memorabilia go?
Tasks of subcommittee members and volunteers include, but are not limited to:
• Creating an inventory of artifacts and memorabilia items (e.g. banners, graduate composites, awards, etc.) • Designing and dedicating space to display memorabilia in the community • Liaising with the Burlington Historical Society and Burlington museums • Development and planning of closing ceremonies and activities • Developing a communication strategy and timelines
“Honouring artifacts and memorabilia from Lester B. Pearson High School and celebrating the history of the school is a priority for the Integration Committee, as well as current and former students and staff,” says Terri Blackwell, Superintendent of Education for the Halton District School Board.
If you are interested in this opportunity, as a subcommittee member or volunteer, please complete the Expression of Interest form The form will be available until Friday, December 1, 2017. The subcommittees will be formed prior to the first meeting on December 14, 2017.
Bateman and Pearson high school parents are hoping that Margaret Wilson, the Facilitator doing an Administrative Review of the Board decision to close the schools will recommend that the PAR process be done a second time.
Parents at the two high schools scheduled to close are hanging their hopes for a change in the decision on the Administrative Review of the process the Board used to close the school.
It is a stretch – but Administrative Reviews have in the past sent a decision back to a school board and required them to do the Program Accommodation Review a second time.
The problem with this “hope” is that it all goes back to the elected trustees that made the decision to close the schools.
That’s the level at which a change has to be made.
The Halton District School Board has denied a request to have Progressive Conservative Education Critic and party leader MPP Patrick Brown visit two Burlington High Schools.
Representatives from Robert Bateman and Lester B. Pearson Parent Councils submitted requests to have Brown visit their schools as part of their efforts to highlight the critical roles their schools play in the community.
The denial came from HDSB representative Marnie Denton who told the groups that “there aren’t to be school tours by politicians at this time.” When asked whether this was a Board staff or Trustee decision, Ms Denton provided a three word response “Board staff decision”. No other reasons for the denial of the request were provided despite several requests.
Tony Brecknock
Tony Brecknock, a member of the Pearson Parent Council said “denying a visit to the school – any visit by a very important member of our political system and society – is failing both the students of Pearson and Bateman and the community as a whole.”
Brecknock adds that the Board seems “afraid of the exposure but this is unacceptable in a transparent, democratic society.”
Both Robert Bateman High School and Pearson High School are slated for closure following the HDSB’s Program Accommodation Review (PAR) conducted earlier this year. Committees working to save both schools were successful in their requests to the Ministry of Education for Administrative Reviews – one of the only mechanisms available for communities to fight school closures. Last month, Margaret Wilson was appointed Facilitator for the Reviews currently underway.
Bateman parents and students demonstrating to keep their school open.
Deb Wakem who is a Bateman parent and a member of that Parent Council says that “if the school board is to learn from their mistakes and improve a process which has massive ramifications on the community and our children we need to work together – politicians, the school board, community – to ensure we have the best process in place.
Wakem also suggests that “by not allowing Patrick Brown to visit these amazing schools, the HDSB is merely hiding from responsibility, accountability and transparency.”
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward with Ontario Leader of the Opposition Patrick Brown at a Queen’s Park rally.
Patrick Brown, the leader of the provincial PC party has been an outspoken critic of the Liberal government’s record of school closures in Ontario and called for a moratorium on such closures in early 2017 well ahead of the government’s current moratorium. As part of the PC’s Recommended Policy Resolutions currently being considered by their members, the party is recommending “an immediate moratorium on school closures and an immediate review of any schools that are slated to close.”
Sarah Harmer, will speak at the Tyandaga Environmental Coalition public meeting.
Juno award winning singer, songwriter and conservation activist, Sarah Harmer, will speak at the Tyandaga Environmental Coalition public meeting on November 16, 2017 in Burlington, Ontario.
Harmer will join a group of environmental experts and advocates to raise public awareness of the scheduled deforestation of northwest Burlington by Meridian Brick.
An estimated 9,000 trees are scheduled to be clear cut for an urban quarry that mines shale for brick production. The threatened area contains about 35 acres prime forest, habitat to a number of at-risk and endangered species, including an endangered Jefferson dependant unisexual salamander that was discovered in the spring.
Meridian Brick is expanding its quarry under an aggregate license that was issued in 1972. The proposed quarry expansion would now come as close as 35m to homes in the Tyandaga neighborhood, threatening the health and well-being of the community.
PERL took years and a lot of local fund raising to get to the point where a Joint Tribunal ruled that the application for a quarry expansion was to be denied because of the endangered species on the property. The upper orange outline is the existing quarry – the lower outline is where the expansion was to take place.
Sarah Harmer co-founder of the conservation organization PERL (Protect Escarpment Rural Land) that helped stop an 82-hectare aggregate quarry on the Niagara Escarpment at Mt. Nemo north of Burlington. She continues to raise awareness of the environmental impact of aggregate mining.
Harmer will join a list of environmental experts that includes Gord Miller, former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, David Donnelly, environmental lawyer and former Director of the Canadian Environmental Defense, Dr. Lynda Lukasik, environmental advocate for sustainable community development and the Executive Director at Environment Hamilton, and Roger Goulet, Executive Director for PERL.
The Tyandaga Environmental Coalition (TEC) is a group of concerned citizens fighting to save Burlington’s greenspace and protect the health and wellbeing of the city’s residents. Once a small group of like-minded-neighbors that came together when quarry expansion was announced, the environmental coalition now has nearly 3,000 supporters that are helping to petition the Honourable Kathryn McGarry (Ontario Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry) and the Honourable Chris Ballard (Ontario Minister of the Environment and Climate Change).
The west and centre quarries are nearing the end of life and the company wants to now quarry in the eatern section that is metres away from private homes.
TEC is requesting that the proposed urban quarry extension have an immediate independent evaluation of the impact on the community based on the current demography and updated environmental and health standards. Also needed are further studies of how clear cutting an estimated 35 acres of forested habitat will affect endangered species. These studies need to be viewed from the perspective of current environmental law.
The meeting will be held on November16, 2017, 7:00 pm at the Crossroads Centre located at 1295 North Service Road, Burlington
Marcello Beltrami is a 17 year old Italian student in Burlington as part of a Rotary International student exchange. He will be staying with four different families during his yearlong visit.
He is with Tom and Margaret Hayes for the first three months. Exchange students are nothing new to the Hayes household – they have had students from France, Thailand, Brazil and Peru.
Tom and Margaret are basically empty nesters – he is a mechanical engineer she is an accountant.
Marcello is a student at Assumption high school where he takes English as a second language classes and is also taking classes in biology. His student bent seems to be in the sciences.
When student exchange interviews take place – everyone is on their best behavior – the situation is always perfect – never any problems.
Tom Hayes, Marcello, Margaret Hayes and the family dog
In the Hayes household – that’s actually the way it was. The dog barked and sniffed where you didn’t want him to sniff. The cat had that insouciance that only cats and very attractive women manage to pull off.
And Marcello giggled while telling me about how he was teaching Tom to make pizza. In Burlington pizza is something we order in – Marcello is Italian and he assumed that everyone makes the pizza from scratch.
Marcello wasn’t a guest – he was a member of the family and you could feel it as the conversation bumped from Tom, to Marcello and then on to Margaret.
What did Marcello know about Canada before he got here: that we are known for Maple Syrup and that it gets cold – very cold.
Home in Italy is in Cremona – in the southern part of Italy. His Mom is an English teacher and with Skype on his computer he can be in touch with his parents whenever he wants.
The Hayes are doing a superb job of ensuring that Marcello gets out and learns about the country. He had the traditional pea meal bacon sandwich at the St. Lawrence Market, got to Montreal to watch the Canadiens play Detroit; the Hayes household is part of that tribe that still believes the Maple Leafs will win a Stanley Cup – soon. Marcello was oblivious to that tribal trait.
On a trip to Little Italy Marcello met a woman from Calabria, Italy and immediately fell into a conversation about where he was from and what he was doing in Canada.
During the summer the family took Marcello to the lake and gave him a chance to try water skiing – “He got up the first time” said Tom. Skating is next for the Italian.
What is Marcello allowed to do? His behaviour is guided by what Rotarians describe as the five D’s.
Margaret Hayes explains the Rotary 5Ds
No driving No drinking No drugs No dating No dis figuration – tattoos, nose rings.
The last week of the yearlong experience is spent by all the International students on a two week tour of eastern Canada.
Margaret Hayes is a strong advocate for the International Student idea. She believes that the better we understand each other the more peaceful the world we live in will be. This she was disappointed when just three people in Burlington applied for the International experience and she isn’t quite sure why the number of applicants was so low.
Tom Hayes
Through the interview there was a lot of joshing and kidding back and forth. Marcello will move on to the next family he will spend three months with – Tom is going to miss that young man.
Marcello speaks to the Lakeshore Rotary Club at lunch on Tuesday.
It’s not a compliment. Calling our federal environment minister ‘climate barbie’ is a sexist trick intended to demean her and distract the public from the serious work she is doing. But The Rebel, Canada’s alt-right publication, is using this ad hominem because they don’t have a single shred of evidence to disprove the climate science she supports.
Why is it that The Rebel and its co-conspirators on this topic, the shrinking but determined pool of climate deniers, see this the earth’s climate as a partisan issue? And how can survival of life as we know it on this planet be even an ideological issue? This is a good question to ask as we learn that CO2 levels are now the highest they have been in a million years.
Of course climate change is happening and of course we humans are almost entirely responsible. Denying reality won’t make the problem go away or allow us to hide in an alternate universe, in the right wing. And calling an environment minister names will not change public policy in this country. At the end of the day even Mr. Harper realized that he had to take global warming seriously.
Perhaps in time his replacement, Mr. Scheer, will as well.
Andrew Scheer, Leader of the Opposition, House of Commons
Andrew Scheer has some history with The Rebel, at least through his campaign manager from the Tory leadership race. So when somebody in Catherine McKenna’s office sent a congratulatory note to two of the remaining nations to sign on to the Paris Climate Agreement, Scheer, he couldn’t help himself and fired a volley at the minister. But rather than get embroiled in squabbling over this nonsense McKenna elected to apologize and let the matter die.
It wasn’t like she was congratulating the despotic Mr. Assad on his human rights record – just that Syria was joining the rest of the world in agreeing to subscribe to global climate change targets. That by the way leaves only one significant polluter and rogue nation out of the global movement to combat this serious problem. And given what we understand about the changing climate, that is more scary for us than what’s happening in Syria.
The Rebel represents the worst in right wing extremist journalism. Their correspondents have even been banned by the Alberta government for their obnoxious behaviour. Not just a sexist rag, it has also cast itself as racist, given its response to the Quebec mosque shooting last year and its reporting of the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville Virginia. Its coverage of that white supremacist event, which culminated in street violence earlier this year, led to mass resignations among the less extreme supporters of this particular medium.
But The Rebel and its publisher are not relenting, even as Post Media, the other Canadian right wing standard, is trying its best to steal some of the almost million Rebel followers to boost its own ratings. So this week veteran Post journalist, Rex Murphy, tore into Canada’s new governor general (GG) for stating the obvious, telling us what we already know about science and the challenges scientists faces in an ever skeptical world of alternate facts and social media.
Governor General Julie Payette
Her Excellency Julie Payette, Canada’s former astronaut has exceptional qualifications in science and was addressing a science policy conference. Along with puzzling at the wherefore of climate change denying, she moved on to question people’s faith in horoscopes before shifting to that other faith – the wording Moses supposedly wrote into the book of Genesis – the one about creation. And seriously, nearly two centuries after Darwin there are still folks out there who deny that humans are an evolved species.
And this is important since while Ontario’s separate (Catholic) schools are required to teach evolution, that doesn’t necessarily mean they need to teach human evolution. But it wasn’t just Rex ranting. Andrew Sheer also leveled both barrels at the new GG.
Then outgoing Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall jumped in, actually sending the GG a personal letter scolding her and lecturing her to better behave if she ever plans to visit his province.
But earth to Brad, the GG is head of state (Queens representative) and doesn’t need your invitation to visit Canadians anywhere. Given that the the province’s police force, the RCMP is also Canada’s national police force, it’s not clear how he would stop her anyway. And she can speak on almost any topic she chooses, after all her position is non-partisan though hardly non-political.
Human evolution is a touchy subject since it does touch on the Bible and some other belief systems, such as those held by our indigenous folk. But Scheer and Wall are likely more bothered by her comments on climate science than her observations on our acceptance, or not, of evolution. Perhaps it is the other faith – faith in the future of fossil fuels – which is most threatening them. That would account for their over-reaction to a scientist speaking science at a science conference.
Many years ago, then newly appointed governor general (GG) Ed Schreyer was guest speaker at the University of Ottawa where I received my Masters degree. A former MP and Manitoba Premier, an environmental leader and a social progressive, there was just so many topics he could have explored before the crowd of eager young graduates. Instead he plunged right into discussing the eternal struggle between the arts and the sciences.
Give me Julie Payette any day.
Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward has always been a strong social media maven. She understands the technology and as a television broadcaster understands the visual medium.
Marianne Meed Ward at a city council meeting.
She is strongly opposed to the approval of a 23 storey structure at the corner of James and Brant street – opposite city hall.
Council gave the building its approval at a Standing Committee a few days ago. That recommendation goes to city Council on the 13th where it gets made the law of the land. If Council votes for the recommendation that came from the Standing Committee (and given that the same people are on the Committee and city council, the expectation is that it will be passed) a bylaw is passed and that’s the end of that story.
Meed Ward has never shied away from controversy. She is described as divisive – as if there is something wrong with that.
The two votes against the project were from the Mayor and Meed Ward. In order for that committee vote to be changed at city council two of the five that voted for it will have to change their minds. It is a defining moment for the city.
Councillors Craven, Taylor, Sharman, Dennison and Lancaster voted for the development.
Meed Ward produced a video – about a minute and a half long. She doesn’t mince her words.
Check it out.
Kelly Childs, owner of Kellys Bake Shop has also done a video. Hers runs for a full 32 minutes.
During a media event earlier today Detective Sergeant Dave Costantini , 1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau explained how some pervasive criminal activity is costing all of us a small fortune – $5 billion which is the value of the goods stolen through cargo theft.
So far this year there have been 1336 cargo thefts in the country with 90% of them taking place in the GTA.
This is how the news story makes it to the evenng news. From the left: D/Sgt Dave Constantini, D/Cst Jodi Richmond, the CN truck driver, Deputy Chief Carol Crowe, Doug Maybee of Crime Stoppers and Steve Kee, Insurance Bureau of Canada
The media event was to create awareness of Cargo Theft – a crime which affects everyone.
The event was a joint Regional Police – Crime Stoppers event.
Crime Stoppers operations across Canada have undertaken numerous campaigns to combat various crimes including human trafficking, potential terrorist activity, targeting international fugitives and identifying criminal who damage the environment.
Commercial crime detectives who took part in the media event explained that cargo theft is a very organized criminal activity.
The actual stealing of the trucks is just the start. “There are occasions when the thieves will steal a truck load of a product that they have already sold to someone.
The tractor-trailer, loaned to Crime Stoppers for the media event is the typical size thieves will steal. The new Regional Police headquarters can be seen in the background.
On other occasions a truck will be stolen and driven to a location and left for a few days while any search for the truck cools off.
The thieves will return – move the cargo from the stolen truck onto another truck – sometimes several small trucks and get taken to whoever has agreed to buy the stolen goods.
It is a very organized theft – there are numerous people involved starting with the drivers trhat steal the trucks to the people who move the goods in the truck through commercial networks.
At the end of the chain is a consumer who buys something that might have been stolen.
Criminals are drawn to cargo crime because of the perceived low risk and high reward. However, profits from cargo theft fuel a wide array of criminal activity including incidents of homicide.
Halton Regional Police Service Deputy Chief Carol Crowe reading some of the numbers related to Cargo theft
The trucking industry transports 90 percent of food products and consumer goods that Canadian’s require. We certainly know that – we have to jockey with those trucks on the major highways every day.
Crime Stoppers programs allow members of the public who may be reluctant to get involved directly with police to give any information anonymously via the tip line.
The program also discourages criminals from committing crimes because they never know who may be watching and ready to call the anonymous tip line.
Crime Stoppers Halton has played a part in 18,251 arrests. Property worth $2,734,747 has been recovered. Drugs worth $18,098,333 have been seized
Canada’s first Crime Stoppers program was set up in Calgary, Alberta in 1982. A year later Hamilton was the first city to establish a Crime Stoppers program in Ontario.
A former Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner, Thomas O’Grady, said Crime Stoppers is ranked with fingerprints and DNA as the top three innovations in modern day policing.
First we take Alberta then we take B.C. But not likely so in Ontario, even with all the animosity being heaped on current Premier Wynne from all sides. Still, who would have thought Alberta. And now B.C., where questions about the Site C and Kinder Morgan projects are making residents wonder whether their new leader, like the one next door, will be taking no prisoners.
Rachel Notley, Premier of Alberta
Not everyone welcomes the changes Rachel Notley is delivering in that free-spirited cowboy-centric land, though most concede that after four decades of the Progressive Conservatives (PC) it was time for a change. Peter Lougheed ended almost half a century of rule by those unconventional, depression-era, and once anti-Semitic Funny Money Social Credit people in 1971. He ran such a good show over his years that a review by a panel of powerful and prominent political hacks had voted Lougheed the best Canadian provincial premier ever.
Peter Lougheed, one of the best Premier’s the province ever had.
Lougheed eventually was followed by Ralph Klein, a man loved by his electors despite his own love for the bottle and an occasional outrage. He lasted over a decade despite being ranked near the bottom of the barrel in that review of premiers, tied with his ole’ drinking buddy Mike Harris. But Klein, a former Liberal, had come into office a reformed man, determined to out-right the right wing of the Alberta PC party. He was the darling of the Fraser Institute, which cheered him on as he eliminated deficits and debt, cutting spending like a novice butcher, inadvertently removing a lot of the beef with all that fat.
His cuts to health care were massive, such that the province was faced with never before seen waiting lists for surgeries, and with the gurneys lining up on the corridors. It was a legacy of neglect on almost all fronts which would come to haunt his successors and eventually the NDP’s Notley, as she struggles to diversify the provincial economy after the last oil price shock.
Ralph Klein
King Ralph was the first Canadian premier to introduce a flat income tax, which together with reduced corporate taxes and oil royalties forced him to raid Lougheed’s cherished Alberta Heritage Trust just to pay the bills. So today, unlike other oil money endowments established in Norway and Alaska, Alberta’s trust fund is almost empty. And when that proverbial rainy day came there was almost nothing left in the kitty to help keep the lights on.
Notley has done some pretty dumb things too, reportedly dispatching civil servants to teach Albertans how to change their light bulbs and conserve energy. But her success in cooperating with the federal government landed her approvals for the pipelines the province so-badly needs to keep its oil sands extractions busy. Setting a limit on climate change emissions from the oil industry, phasing-out coal fired electricity, and introducing a carbon tax more generous that what the feds had been demanding have made her a kind of maverick in a province too often known to be a donkey on the environment.
Evacuation of Fort McMurray during fire storm
But people will remember her for her passionate response to the wildfire that ravaged Fort McMurray, the oil sands capital. Eighty thousand people were forced to flee their homes as more than 6000 square kilometres were destroyed, including half a million hectares of woodland. Costs, always suspect in something of this magnitude range into the billions, with almost $4 billion just in insurance claims. Some will call this an act of nature, but others will say I told you so. They will point to the irony of the devastating fire happening smack on the footsteps of Alberta’s immensely carbon-intensive oil sands operations, saying this is but a prime example of being hoisted with our own petard – wait for the second shoe.
Notley has also pushed infrastructure development to create much needed jobs, in the process necessarily expanding the deficit beyond what her immediate predecessor, former Harper minister Jim Prentice, had been forced to reinstate. She’s been getting flack over her $15 minimum wage for 2018, not unlike the flack Ontario’s premier has been earning on that file. And her plan for farm workers’ accident compensation has got the agricultural folks all riled up, regardless that it is there to protect them from tedious and costly injury law suits.
Jason Kenney
Enter Jason Kenny and his recent accomplishment merging the PCs and Wild Rose parties under a new United Conservative banner. Kenny is much like Stephen Harper, another ex-Ontarian whom he worked for as Minister of Defence. His resume shows that, like his former boss, he is a professional politician who once headed a taxpayer lobby group. He is a social conservative, having voted in favour of limiting a woman’s right to choose and was one of those Harperites who voted against same-sex marriage – before he too saw the light. Those perspectives should do him well out on the prairie farmland, though he may need to moderate his views when he campaigns in the cities.
Although Notley had won a majority of seats in Alberta’s first past the post (FPP) system last election (54 of 79 seats) she only obtained a little over 40% of the total vote. That is still a respectable mandate for a multi-party FPP election, but it will be an uphill battle to repeat that victory. There was unusual voter anger in the last election – a sense of betrayal over an empty Heritage Fund, a tumbling economy, corruption and a stale government in disarray without any answers or vision once the price of oil went into the dumpster.
The way Alberta’s cowboy culture likes to be seen.
Memories in politics tend to be short and many of these voters have spent decades only voting PC. Like any addiction that can be a little hard to kick. So the NDP would do well to take the threat posed by new Conservative leader Kenny seriously. Winning the next election won’t be nearly as easy for Notley as the last time despite the fact that Alberta is coming back. In fact the province is on the road to restoring its position as one of Canada’s leading economic powerhouses – in part thanks to Notley’s management.
Background links: Notley After 2 years – https://globalnews.ca/news/3427870/timeline-a-look-at-rachel-notleys-2-years-as-alberta-premier/
Lougheed the Best – https://www.edmontonjournal.com/technology/Alberta+Peter+Lougheed+easily+tops+list+Canada+best+premiers/6562534/story.html
Klein a More Positive Obit – https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ralph-klein-70-the-man-who-ruled-alberta/article10569210/?ref=https://www.theglobeandmail.com&
More Klein – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Klein
Heritage Fund – https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/what-happened-to-albertas-cash-stash/article24191018/?ref=https://www.theglobeandmail.com&
Jason Kenny – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Kenney
A review of the 2018 proposed budgets will begin on Nov. 9 at 11 a.m.
A copy of the proposed 2018 capital budget will be available online at www.burlington.ca/budget by Nov. 6, 2017.
Meetings for the 2018 capital and operating budgets will take place on the following dates:
Members of the public who would like to speak at the Committee of the Whole – Budget meetings as a delegation can register by calling 905-335-7600, ext. 7481 or visiting burlington.ca/delegation.
The deadline to register as a delegation for the Dec. 1 Committee of the Whole capital budget meeting is Nov. 30, 2017 at noon. The deadline to register as a delegation for the Jan. 18 Committee of the Whole operating budget meeting is Jan. 17, 2018 at noon.
Quotes
Joan Ford, Director of Finance said that “Seventy eight per cent of the 2018 capital budget is focused on renewing our aging infrastructure in accordance with the Asset Management Plan. The budget also makes key investments to deliver on initiatives in the Strategic Plan.”
The 2018 Capital Budget is focused on delivering initiatives in the city’s Strategic Plan and meeting the city’s commitment to infrastructure renewal projects identified by Burlington’s Asset Management Plan. Priorities for 2018 include road and storm water infrastructure improvements.
The 2018 proposed capital budget is approximately $68.6 million, with a 10-year program of $688 million.
No mention is made in the media release as to what the city is going to do about the financial mess at Burlington Transit. We will all feel the bite on that one.
BURLINGTON, ON
This from people who claimed to be the TD Bank – anyone who opened that pdf would have invited all kinds of grief into their lives.
Whenever you see something you are not absolutely certain about – take a pass on it.
To ensure uninterrupted processing of payments after November 1st, 2017, please refer to the document available thru this communication.
For more detailed information please open the attached PDF below. You will need a password to open the secure document.
YOUR DOCUMENT PASSWORD: wbb71dx4
You are now required by law to review these document(s) immediately or your commercial banking account will be suspended until further notice due to new regulations.
We thank you for your cooperation and appreciate your business.
TD Business Banking Management, TD BANK GROUP – Web Business Banking
The biggest red flag is the sender – this email came from an offshore location.
The city of Burlington Planning department has basically wrapped up their work on the draft of the new Official Plan – a red ribbon and a bow and it will be ready for the public. The document is going to get to the public November 10th.
When Suzanne Mammel heard that she at first gulped and then said to herself – really!
Mammel is the Executive Officer of the Hamilton Halton Home Builders Association (HHHBA); the wording of the Official Plan is critical to her membership and vital to the citizens of Burlington.
Suzanne Mammel is the Executive Officer of the Hamilton Halton Home Builder’s Association
Mammel, who at first says the current Official Plan is sadly out of date and that “if we are going to have a new Official Plan then let’s get it right” feels the most significant document the city has is being rushed through the Planning department. Why she asks.
Part of her concern with the rush that is taking place to get the document passed by city Council is that they appear to be trying to get it in place before the next municipal election. Besides being a very important document – it is also a very long document. “I spent weeks reading that document – I’m one of the few people that has read every page of it – I took it to Newfoundland and to Hawaii as I travelled.
“This document sets out policy before all the background work has been done.
“Representing my association, I met with the city planners and took them through a 30 page document that set out our concerns – we didn’t get any answers from the planners – they weren’t ready to respond.”
Mammel said she gets the impression that the planners are not going to listen to anyone.
When an Official Plan is written the document goes through several version – sometime six or seven versions – “the differences get worked out”.
Mammel was very surprised that there was not more in the way of delegations
Big rush to get the new Official Plan approved by Council – why? Can’t the city take the time to get it right the first time?
The Official Plan the public will see later this month will have gone through just two versions. Mammel is of the view that her association will not support the Plan and are prepared to take it to the Ontario Municipal Board if that becomes necessary.
“We want the city Planning department to do their job properly – let’s do it right and take the time to get it right”, said Mammel.
Where is the problem?
Mammel is of the view that the politicians “are positioning themselves for an election that is less than a year away and they want to be able to say that they have put a new Official Plan in place. The problem with that approach is that once the Plan is final the thing has no teeth to fix it.”
The city has rushed forward with the Mobility hub concept – and are pushing hard to get the Downtown Mobility Hub approved so they can put a check mark in the box and tell the public it has been done.
Mammel isn’t at all sure that the public really understands what it taking place.
People in Burlington complain bitterly that city council consistently allows developments that do not conform to the Official Plan. Mammel explains that is happening because the existing plan is so badly out of date. She sees the need for a new Official Plan and wants to ensure that the city gets it right.
Mammel is a graduate of Queen’s University where she studied music – she then studied engineering at Mohawk College and has worked in the construction sector since graduating. She has been with the HHHBA for the past three years.
Ground zero for the Downtown Mobility Hub – no one is all that clear on what the location will look like until the new owners of the site block of properties to the immediate north take their development to city hall.
While the Official Plan is at the top of her list – the Mobility hubs leave her shaking her head. The Downtown Mobility hub was to be a place where people could get public transit to wherever they wanted to go – but the planners seem to want the taller buildings to be further up Brant Street. “Wouldn’t they want the density to be as close as possible to the Downtown Hub?” she asks.
The public struggles to understand the role developers play suggests Mammel – “they build the homes we live in and they have to contend with a regulatory regime that is complex and ever changing.”
“Developers take significant risks – they have to pay for the land assembly – and we are talking about millions of dollars. They have to pay the development charges and for all the studies that have to be provided to justify a development.
“Do they do well financially? Yes they do” says Mammel but there are developers that have lost it all.
The company that is building the Bridgewater today is not the company that started the work. Right now things are very good for developers – but look back to the 80’s and the early 2000’s – it was a very very tough time then.
The block was recently sold – the developer wants to have shovels in the ground within two years – which means Kellys Bake Shoppe is looking for a new home.
The mix of housing available to the public is a challenge for the developers.
The politicians want to see what they call “affordable” housing – by which they don’t mean social housing. The difficulty is that in Burlington property assembling is very expensive. Add to that the cost of the studies that have to be done and you have a very significant investment. $350,000 homes are a thing of the past.
There are developers in this city said Mammel who have projects they want to go forward with now but the city isn’t ready. Those developers can put their efforts into some other piece of property they have assembled but very few of the developers who serve this city are in a position to move from project to project quite that easily.
Suzanne Mammel oversees the interests of the development community for both Hamilton and all of Halton.
Burlington is now attracting new developers who see the opportunities – the Elizabeth Interiors site on Brant Street attracted a number of bidders including National Homes and Reserve Properties – just two examples.
The provincial requirement that Burlington grow and the lack of very little in the way of “greenfield” space means that the growth will be in the high rise sector. The single residence housing that is the Burlington we have now is no longer possible. The cost of land and the demand for housing, explains Mammel is not what it was 10 – 15 years ago. It is a different market requiring different solutions.
While Mammel was not prepared to go on record with any comment on the municipal election that is ten months away she does wonders if the public is beginning to see the significant differences in the direction the known contenders for the office of Mayor want to take?
Building homes and condominiums and apartment buildings is a business – there are risks and for those who take those risks there are rewards. The public tends to see the rewards and shrug off the risks.
It is a little like closing the barn door with the horses already out and on the run but “better late than never” is perhaps an appropriate phrase to describe the provincial government decision to take another look at the way the decision to close schools are made.
In a media release the Ministry of Education said it was committed to revising its Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline (PARG) and Community Planning and Partnerships Guideline (CPPG).
“We heard that there is a need to strengthen the pupil accommodation review process for all school boards and to better encourage joint responsibility for integrated community planning across Ontario” said Mitzie Hunter, Minister of Education..
“Through this process, we will make certain that:
The Halton District School Board set out utilization numbers in their initial report that many parents looked questioned. The Ministry wants to see better information made available to the public.
“We are placing an emphasis on open and effective communication and partnership between school boards and communities;
“Decisions about the future of our schools consider a range of community and student impacts; and that Boards work collaboratively to consider joint-use solutions where possible.”
The Ministry statement pertained to both Pupil Accommodation Review and Guideline Community Planning and Partnerships Guidelines; this report will focus on just the Pupil Accommodation Review and the decision-making around school closures.
The ministry’s proposed revisions to the PAR aim to create a stronger, more collaborative process that better promotes student achievement and well-being and better recognizes the impact of school closures. The ministry proposes to achieve this by considering the elements.
Public meeting participants responding to questions that we put on on a screen – Many felt that the questions were skewed from the get go and they began to mistrust the Board from the very first meting.
Extending the current minimum PAR timeframe beyond five months;
Eliminating the minimum modified PAR timeframe of three months; and/or
Further extending time-frames under specific circumstances, such as if new closure recommendations are added mid-way through the accommodation review process.
Superintendent of Facilities Gerry Cullen provided data that he admittedly found confusing – it was the best they could do at the time – the Ministry appears to be suggesting that school boards will have to do better.
Introducing minimum requirements for the initial staff report by requiring school boards to include:
At least three accommodation options (a recommended option, an alternative option and a status quo option).
Information on how accommodation options will impact:
School board budget; Student programming /achievement; Student well-being; and Community and/or economic impact.
Promoting community input in the PAR processes by requiring:
School boards to invite elected municipal representatives and municipal staff to a meeting to discuss the initial staff report;
School boards to disclose municipal participation / non-participation in PAR and Community Planning and Partnership (CPP) processes;
A broader role for trustees throughout the PAR process, beyond ad hoc membership of Accommodation Review Committees, hearing public delegations and making the final decision; and
A participatory role for secondary student representatives in PARs involving secondary schools.
Reforming the PAR administrative review process by:
Extending the time frame to submit an administrative review petition from 30 to 60 calendar days; and Reviewing the signature thresholds and requirements for launching an administrative review request.
Developing ministry supports, such as:
A PAR toolkit to standardize type and format of initial staff report information;
A template for use by community partners to engage boards with proposed alternatives to school closures or other proposals for community use of schools; and
New support for the review and validation of initial staff report information and community proposals by independent third parties.
The public consultation on revising the Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline will be conducted in two phases:
Phase 1: Discussion Questions
The first phase of the consultation will focus on collecting feedback on the areas of change listed above, as well as other proposed changes to the PARG. This phase will run from October 12, to December 6, 2017.
Phase 2: Revisions and Editing
In January 2018, the ministry will post a draft of the revised pupil accommodation review guideline and community planning and partnerships guideline for further public feedback.
This draft will be informed by what we heard during Phase 1. The ministry will also post a summary of all Phase 1 feedback.
The Ministry is asking the public for input:
Do you think the ministry’s proposed revisions to the PARG will create a stronger, more collaborative process?
If not, why? Are there other elements the ministry should consider?
If yes, do you have suggested improvements or comments on the elements being proposed?
Do you think the above measures to support improved coordination of community infrastructure planning will work to promote sustainable use of school space in communities?
If not, why? Are there other elements the ministry should consider?
If yes, do you have suggested improvements or comments on the elements being proposed?
When making decisions about school infrastructure within communities, what measures could be conducive to fostering collaboration and cooperation between municipalities and school boards?
Several of the public meetings were packed – there were city council members at the meetings – there was a public that wanted information. They don’t feel they got what they were entitled to.
To submit your thoughts and ideas on revising the PARG please send your feedback with the subject line “Revising the PARG and CPPG” to information.met@ontario.ca.
These are very wide ranging proposed changes. Had they been place in October of 2016 when the Halton District School Board announced it was going to hold a PAR would the outcome have been any different?
The public would certainly have had much better information. The Gazette works from the assumption that an informed public can make informed decisions.
Kelly Childs opened up a cup cake shop on Brant Street in 2013
With exceptional marketing skills she managed to turn it into a destination that frequently has people lined up outside to get in.
Kellys Bake Shop serves as a back drop for a display of antique automobiles on Brant Street.
Childs says she gets thousands of customers a week and has had people fly to Burlington from Buffalo to savour her cupcakes.
Her operation was seen as a local success story that grew beyond Burlington and included an upscale cupcake recipe book that was as much a coffee table item as it was a cook book for the gluten free people.
The first few years of operations were great – the name Kellys was splashed on the side of buses; Child used social media to great advantage – there was hardly a promotional angle that she didn’t find a way to use. The cookbook, interest from financial interests in Dubai was talked about – the only thing that wasn’t mentioned was plans to franchise the operation.
Childs was one of those serial entrepreneurs who always has something on the go.
Kelly Childs addressing a Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
Right now she has what one can only call a crisis in front of her. The owner of the property she rents has sold the building to a developer who wants to have shovels in the ground within the next 24 months – even though there is not as yet an application before the Planning department that is public.
The block on the east side of Brant from James Street to the Brant Street parking lot opposite the Queen’s Head has been bought by Reserve Properties.
Burlington has become a hot spot for developers who seem prepared to put a high rise wherever they can assemble enough land. Brant Street, John Street and Lakeshore Road are ripe for the pickings.
Which creates a problem for Childs – she has nowhere to go.
Her lease was for five years but she is apparently going to have that lease bought out from under her.
“There is very little in the way of commercial space available in the downtown core” she explains. “What there is, is owned by the developers and you can’t get much more than a five year lease.”
Childs is far from a quitter but brick walls tend to be difficult to get over. She will be meeting with the Mayor, talking to the people at the Economic Development Corporation.
Childs will tell you that there will be street level space in the new buildings going up but she adds “they want twice what I am currently paying in rent.”
Childs is thinking through the options that might be open to her and is going public and asking people if they know of a location in the downtown core that she can move into in the next 24 months.
The issue that Child faces is one that every retailer that doesn’t own their premises faces – there just isn’t the commercial – retail property that is needed.
The Brant Street public parking lot is undergoing an upgrade to accommodate the Elgin Street Promenade that will skirt the building. The location is basically ground zero for the Downtown Mobility Hub. Why do this work now when the city knows that the block is going to be redeveloped soon soon?
And for those that who do own the property they are located in – the prices that are being offered by the developers are at times too good to take a pass on.
Childs would like to find something with 25 to 26 thousand square feet – what she is seeing in front of her is a location that would amount to 8000 square feet which she doesn’t feel will meet her needs.
“I’m thinking of creating a petition said Child but she wasn’t clear on who the petition would be addressed to and what it would achieve.
Someone is a going to have to do some serious in-depth thinking to find a way to maintain a vibrant retail life in the downtown core.
By Pepper Parr
And sometimes actions and words can be ambiguous. A victim needs to be sure that harassment is what it seems before crying out, in case that cry turns out to be ‘wolf’ and the situation between them becomes intolerable. To that end the Ontario’s Human Rights Commission cautions that harassment needs to be seen in the context of a process – when it comes to words a single vexatious comment is insufficient. Because in the end nobody wants to be victimized twice.
Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Lesley Mansfield, the Executive Director of the Foundation reports that “This year’s Benefit Bash was one of the most successful to date, raising almost $89,000 in support of Halton District School Board students in need. Demand from schools to help vulnerable students is up more than 40% this year to date, so these funds are critical to ensure we can continue saying ‘yes’ to requests for support.”
The Foundation provides financial support and is one of those early indicators of where there are real on the ground needs that often don’t get detected.
Why is it that The Rebel and its co-conspirators on this topic, the shrinking but determined pool of climate deniers, see this the earth’s climate as a partisan issue? And how can survival of life as we know it on this planet be even an ideological issue? This is a good question to ask as we learn that CO2 levels are now the highest they have been in a million years.
Canada’s first Crime Stoppers program was set up in Calgary, Alberta in 1982. A year later Hamilton was the first city to establish a Crime Stoppers program in Ontario.
The 2018 Capital Budget is focused on delivering initiatives in the city’s Strategic Plan and meeting the city’s commitment to infrastructure renewal projects identified by Burlington’s Asset Management Plan. Priorities for 2018 include road and storm water infrastructure improvements.
Her operation was seen as a local success story that grew beyond Burlington and included an upscale cupcake recipe book that was as much a coffee table item as it was a cook book for the gluten free people.
