By Pepper Parr
March 9th, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
During a Special Meeting of Council last week, Mayor Meed Ward set out her schedule for the weeks ahead saying:
“I have a couple of items for folks, lots of opportunities for public engagement with me on a variety of issues.
“First number of Town Halls that are coming up.
“March 10, town hall at the Alton Community Center with Councillor Bentivegna.
“March, 25 the Town Hall will be at the new Appleby branch library with Councillor Sharman
“April. 28 the Mayor’s Town Hall with Councillor Galbraith at La Salle Pavilion.
“We will be talking about the state of the city, as well as any questions that you have. I know traffic will be top of mind, public Safety always is an issue. Development Charges may come up. I’m happy to chat with you about that too, whatever is on your mind. We’ll share a little bit about what’s happening across the city, as well as some Ward and Regional-specific matters.
Councillor Galbraith
Councillor Sharman
Councillor Bentivegna
What the Mayor is doing is showing the city the four people who control city Council. The four council member votes can push through whatever they want. And with a municipal election taking place in late October, control of council is nice to have.
Mayor Meed Ward added: “I also have my drop ins. These are no appointment necessary. I come to you in the community.
March 26 Robert Bateman Community Center, 11:30 till 1:30 just come by and tell me what’s on your mind.
April 30, drop in at the Burlington Center Mall, 11:30 till 1:30 these are always really well attended, and I appreciate the opportunity to chat with folks.
The spring Telephone Town Hall is scheduled for April 14, 7:00 to 8:30 where you can get your questions answered from the comfort of your own living room.
On April 15 the Key to the City ceremony will take place at La Salle pavilion.
You can register a nomination on the city website. If you know a resident who is deserving of extra honour in the city, please recommend them and fill out that form.
And finally, the last Mayor’s Speaker series of the year is on April 21st at the Burlington Performing Arts Center from 6:00 to 8:30 with a focus on community wellbeing and safety.
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So I went to the MMW townhall meeting on Tuesday Mar.10 at the community room in Millcroft expecting to get some additional commentary and facts about the controversial development there. Of course there was no news except clarification that if you have property in Millcroft that’s associated in any way with the golf course, be prepared for the development in your backyard.
MMW, Bentivegna and city planners should be ashamed of the way they handled this, but there’s no accountability for anything in this City Government, so that didn’t/won’t happen.
What it did show however was the complete and total lack of knowledge and understanding by these two.
Such an embarrassing — and at times almost comical — performance by them … And they keep doing it… shamelessly.
My guess is about 50 residents came with reasonable questions — about Millcroft development, school traffic, and the growing scooter issues in the community — yet not once did we hear a clear answer or a recommended solution.
It began to feel more like a “Gong Show” than a serious community meeting.
Residents came looking for leadership. What they witnessed instead was confusion, deflection, and two elected officials who appeared completely unprepared to address the concerns of the very community they represent.
To her credit, Councillor Lisa Kearns was present and at times seemed to help keep the conversation from completely drifting into confusion.
Ms. Kearns upcoming town hall may actually benefit from being run independently — without the Mayor — if the goal is to restore some credibility and have a more productive discussion with residents.
Burlington residents deserve better than vague responses and political theatre when they take the time to attend these meetings.
It is so blatant that these four councillors are attached to the hip of the mayor. It also shows how dysfunctional this council is when the Mayor chooses to exclude Councillor Kearns, Nisan and Stolte. Instead of trying to mend this rift the Mayor has chosen to widen it.
In my opinion a good leader in the case would work hard to unite their Council. You don’t have to agree with everyone, but at the end of the day this council needs to work together for the residents they represent.
What is happening presently does not surprise me but definitely reinforces that we need some new faces on Council.
Where was this Mayor for the last 3.5 years? And what about the 2 councillors who have been left out? I guess there must be an election coming up?? It’s a little late for this don’t you think? And I don’t think the 2 she has left out have a thing to worry about, in my opinion.