By Pepper Parr
September 3rd, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Well Friday came and went. Stephen White was logging into his email on the quarter hour to see if the city had managed to meet the commitment it had made to get a report out to the public on how they were going to manage the coyote problem by the end of Friday.
Signs and whistles are the tools the city is using at this point – citizens were waiting for a report that was scheduled to be released on Friday.
Many thought it was a target that would not be met. The two meetings on the Thursday: one at 10:30 and the other at 1:00 pm didn’t leave enough time for the communications people to put together a solid review of what they had discussed – things just don’t work that quickly at city hall – especially if you want to get it right the first time.
On the Thursday evening I was with a group that was singing as a choir that wasn’t competing, wasn’t preparing for an event – just singing and enjoying themselves.
When it was over I was heading back to my car and Jane Kelly Cook, the organizer of the event – it was held in her back yard which borders on the Centennial Trail, said she would show me the way – as we approached Seneca Street she paused and said: “It was right here, on this spot that someone was bitten by a coyote – it wasn’t a serious bite – but more than enough to scare the daylights out of the person.
Many think that city hall and some of the Council members are just not really in touch with their constituents – and if they are they aren’t saying very much.
There doesn’t appear to be much in the way of leadership from the Office of the Mayor or the city manager. And none of the members of Council have chosen to be a voice the public can pay attention.
What the public was getting was statements that appear to have been written by the communications department.
One Gazette reader, who isn’t always that reliable but he did seem to have information that wasn’t made up, told of a program the city of Thunder Bay has in place.
Alfred Facenda, at times known as Albert Facenda, a small developer who has made Burlington the market he works in, sent the following comment to the Gazette:
Let me give you an example of what leadership looks like.
In Thunder Bay the citizens were experiencing an incredibly high motor vehicle collision rate. In the urban part of Thunder Bay the amount of deer vehicle collisions numbered 800 per year. Clearly the thought of a 250 pound deer slamming through your windshield at 60 kmh began to concern citizens.
Taking everything into consideration the City council decided to reduce the number of deer in the city. They then did the unthinkable. They allowed the citizens to hunt deer within City limits. Now remember this is a City of 175 thousand people, about the size of Burlington. The stipulations were archery only, shooting from stands or platforms 10 feet or higher. Resulting in shooting at close distances into the ground for safety reasons and you had to be a licensed hunter having completed all the safety courses.
The deer vehicle collisions dropped by 700 and citizens are much safer. To date no archery accidents This program has been in place since 2012. The “Citiots” of Burlington might learn something from people who hunt and fish and routinely see bears, moose, deer and other incredible species and understand what has to be done to manage animal numbers.
Not to mention knowing what a great venison roast tastes like.
. 2% of the population should not be telling the 98% what to do.
City Manager Tim Commisso
Editor’s note: The irony of this is too much to keep to myself. On Thursday when Stephen White was on a Zoom call with City Manager Tim Commisso, he told the Gazette that Tim was in Thunder Bay, his home town and where he has family. He also served Thunder Bay as city manager for a period of time. He retired from that job, worked in the private sector for a period of time – until Marianne Meed Ward invited him for a cup of coffee. And we know where that led.
In the meantime the libraries ran out of whistles on Aug 31. Where is plan B,C and D?
Coyotes are a daily siting in Shoreacres and Spruce Avenue a major street children walk to school.
Pepper and Stephen
The plot thickens. It appears Mr Commiso has a great deal of experience with problem animals. If my information is correct, he would have been the City Manager of Thunder Bay. Between 2008 til 2015. The by-law was passed roughly in 2012 all things being correct he would have been part of the administration of Thunder Bay when the urban deer hunt was passed. Clearly he is the right man for the job. He more than likely had to deal with many more dangerous animals than coyotes. Let’s see how council spins this.
As stated in the article “Well Friday came and went. Stephen White was logging into his email on the quarter hour to see if the city had managed to meet the commitment it had made to get a report out to the public on how they were going to manage the coyote problem by the end of Friday.
Signs and whistles are the tools the city is using at this point – citizens were waiting for a report that was scheduled to be released on Friday.
Many thought it was a target that would not be met. The two meetings on the Thursday: one at 10:30 and the other at 1:00 pm didn’t leave enough time for the communications people to put together a solid review of what they had discussed – things just don’t work that quickly at city hall”
At the very least the City should have sent out an email on Friday indicating that more time was needed to prepare the report. Residents would have accepted this, as a one day turnaround in city time is an impossibility.
Sad. We are not safe in Ward 4. Coyotes are a daily occurrence.