 By Pepper Parr
March 23, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
There are a couple of cardinal rules in the way people in positions of some authority must conduct themselves.
One of those rules is that you cannot have a personal relationship with a person that you have or can be thought to have some authority over. Another is that one cannot be abusive in their behaviour to people that report to them
 There is a situation on city council where the first cardinal rule has not been observed. At the least it calls for a discussion between the member of council and the city solicitor on what the rules are and how they are to be observed. Some have asked: Is there not a code of conduct? Apparently not – quite why one needs a code to regulate decency is beyond me.
A staff member’s integrity has been compromised and perhaps the trajectory of their career shortened.
The public looks for integrity and character from their elected leaders. We expect them to reflect the values of the community.
When they don’t there does not appear to be any redress.
There is a situation at the Seniors’ Centre where the behavior of a volunteer has and is making life close to intolerable for city staff.
The public has a right to expect nothing but professional service from the people employed by the city. There are very few instances of unprofessional behavior – those that do crop up are dealt with quickly and expeditiously.
 The city administration doesn’t have the same authority with volunteers. Investigations can take place and copies of reports made available to the offending party. But it is up to the members of the Seniors’ community to police themselves and set out the standard they want to see met.
If you don’t like what you see – stand up and say something.
By Pepper Parr
March 5, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
One would hope that a health club benefit is one of the perks that James Ridge negotiated when he met with the Human Resources people to negotiate his contract – he is going to need to ensure that his stamina is in top form.
 James Ridge – what kind of an administrative structure will he create? A number of files have been put on hold until he gets himself a chair to put behind the desk he will use. It will be interesting to see if Ridge goes the route that Jeff Fielding took when he moved from the 8th floor where he was a walk across the hall from the Mayor to the 6th floor where he was right in with his team.
That’s a pretty small team at this point. Scott Stewart turns out to be the only man on deck.
 Fielding, a city manager who excited staff and taught them how to rise up to almost any challenge. But he didn’t stay long enough to make a real mark – there are however going to be some stains. While Council members have had several interviews with Ridge, these were job interviews and the dynamic of that kind of a relationship is different. Ridge will have wanted to impress them and at the same time get the measure of the council he is going to serve.
Council members will have wanted to individually get the measure of the man and determine how their individual agendas might be advanced.
Given the style and ideological split on this Council Ridge will have figured out what he has to work with and for.
There are a number of significant files that are on hold until he arrives – officially that is set as March 23, 2015.
A Workshop that was planned on the “Alignment and Collaboration on Employment Lands” has been moved back to late May or June.
 Getting tough, tough about compliance with the Site Plan bylaw will occupy the new city managers for a time – bigger decision to be made is what role does an air park play in the city’s longer term economic development plans. No one at city hall believes they can work with the air park owner. There are some tough decisions to be made on the Air Park. The city is believed to be ready to use the authority the courts have given them to enforce the Site Plan bylaw. There are property owners along Appleby Line that are watching this with great interest. The pain on this one is going to be shared.
Emotions are running very high in at least one household.
Burlington has land that is designated for employment use – many in the real estate field believe that some of that land is much more suited to residential use – which is music to the ears of the developers that own the land.
Burlington has some very important decisions to make. The Fielding approach was to make all kinds of side deals – at least one of those is going to come back and bite this council in the backside.
Burlington is struggling to find just the right balance between residential and commercial and then figure out how we manage the very large seniors’ population we are going to have.
The politicians talk about how well they are going to take care of that seniors’ population – those people vote.
 Frank McKeown, former Chief of Staff to Mayor Rick Goldring now runs the Economic Development Corporation. His objectives don’t fit all that well with a growing seniors population that will require more in the way of services. Making Burlington a high-tech haven and a seniors heaven is going to be a challenge. Frank McKeown now runs the Economic Development Corporation – he isn’t comfortable with the idea of Burlington being seen as a seniors heaven; that doesn’t jive very well with a vision of a city that has loads of high-tech talent and is one of the most pleasant and safest places to live – expensive perhaps but the high tech field pays very well.
James Ridge and his wife are going to take four days to drive from Vancouver to Burlington with heir four pets in the car. One can imagine the conversations that will take place – between the husband and wife – we don’t believe the pets talk.
Staff know next to nothing about the man who is going to lead the administrative side of the city. Ridge will want to determine as quickly as he can what he has in the way of bench strength and figure out what he wants in the way of a senior level administrative structure. Right now many of the eggs are in Stewart’s basket.
During the early Goldring first term there were three General Managers. That got whittled down to two with the working relationship with one of those two less than sterling.
Roman Martiuk was the City Manager at the time; he wasn’t able to form the kind of working relationship Goldring wanted and after just over two years Martiuk moved on – ok he was pushed out.
Goldring himself had a very difficult first two years getting the hang of the job for which he wasn’t all that well prepared. His wisest move was bringing Frank McKeown in as Chief of Staff but that didn’t last.
Fielding’s octane level was far too high for this council. Time will show just how rough shod he ran over this council.
Besides the Air Park matter and the decisions to be made on what we do with the employment land we have there is a document that sets out what taxes could look like twenty years out. It is not a pretty picture.
Welcome to Burlington James Ridge!
By Pepper Parr
March 3. 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It is when people can appear before those they have elected and have an open dialogue; an exchange of ideas and concerns that the democratic process works at its best and the way it was supposed to work.
Burlington is not there yet.
Back in 2010 when the Shape Burlington report was published, it was a document put together by former Mayor Walter Mulkewich and the late John Boich. Boich was very close to then Mayor Cam Jackson – he ran his 2010 election campaign.
Jackson created the advisory group to produce a report to take away some of the heat he was getting from disgruntled citizens who were beginning to realize there were real problems with the pier.
 Crane working at the pier site topples. Proves to be the point at which problems with the design became evident. By this time the crane accident had taken place and things were beginning to smell. Law suits were threatened and writs were issued and everyone was off to meet with a judge.
City hall found their collective noses were a little out of joint when the Shape Burlington report was given to Jackson. They felt the report had slammed them, if ever so slightly.
Many people were unhappy with the treatment they were getting from the office of the Clerk.
In the municipal world – the Clerk is a major player. Both the Mayor and the Clerk must together sign each by law that is passed by Council – without the signature of the Clerk – the bylaw isn’t legal.
 City Clerk Angela Morgan; has been with the city for more than 25 years. Doesn’t live in Burlington. Council cannot meet officially without the Clerk being in the room. In closed sessions it is the Clerk who is in place to keep everyone on the straight and narrow. The Gazette has it from more than one source that Burlington’s city Clerk has had to be quite vocal and direct with Council when it is in Closed Session in the past. The Clerk or the chair of the Standing Committee has to read out a statement setting out why a council or a committee is going into a Closed Session and then ensure that the discussion is directly relevant to the reason for going private.
Both city staff and Council members are sworn to secrecy but it is possible to put together a collection of comments to get a sense of how your Council behaves in closed sessions.
In a related article we write about the comments made by the WHO that recently completed an investigation into a complaint from the Burlington Waterfront Committee (BWF) on what did get discussed in a Closed Session on the sale of lake front land between Market and St. Paul Streets south of Lakeshore Road.
BWF people have delegated a number of times on this matter. That group of people is fortunate to have people who delegate very clearly and have their facts well set out. There was an unfortunate occasion when Gary Scobie was delegating on the sale of the Water Street property and Councillor Sharman asked how his Water Street views squared with his views on the Beachway.
Sharman had introduced a totally different subject and put Scobie off his stride. Fortunately for Sharman Scobie was too polite to call Sharman to account for that old political stunt of changing the subject
 Monte Dennis delegates frequently – ask him what he thinks of this council and the way it responds to delegations. Delegating is an art. The way people delegate in Burlington is set out in the procedural bylaw which most people aren’t even aware of. It is the Clerk’s job to ensure that the bylaw is enforced.
It should also be her job to take steps to ensure that the public is fully aware of the bylaw and take some initiative to ensure the public is educated.
Burlington’s Clerk focuses on enforcement.
Recently a long time Burlington resident wrote us about delegating – how it can be done to be effective
“I have had a delegation or two that was not on the agenda” our source said. “You have to ask or tell the Clerk that you want to speak, and what about. Do this with skill and thoughtfulness.”
Our source had delegated multiple times on a matter that he had put on the agenda. The individual reminded us that ”you were there, and eventually came to my house for a chat about it”.
“I was very insistent about my right to speak”, said the source “although you may have to wait for a meeting date if the next Committee meeting has a full agenda already. The web site directions for delegations allows for this, it’s just more trouble. You just have to push.
 Gary Scobie has delegated frequently; is always well prepared – but can seldom get this council to agree with some of the exceptionally good points he makes “I was told by an ex-mayor that they can’t just stop you, but it’s not straightforward as when you are speaking to an agenda item.
“It also helps to be imaginative about how what you want to say might fit into an existing agenda. For example, the just completed budget process provided an opportunity to position the issue as a budget accountability, business case matter, where the delegate would ask about how this expenditure would fit in.
“The Strategic Planning process might provide another item – the question being how does this property deal fit into the city strategic thinking, and what kind of business case was proposed.
“Imagination and tact, with rational evidence based arguments are needed. It takes time and planning.”
Indeed it does – but it can be done – and when done effectively changes can be made.
 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward used delegations to propel her way into public office. She is one of the few that probes and asks questions of the delegators. It is interesting to note that in Committee of the whole meetings, which are not broadcast, the dialogue between staff and council is very open and very healthy. There is mutual respect most of the time – not always.
That same level of respect isn’t nearly as evident when voters, taxpayers, the people to whom elected officials are accountable to – the same people who consistently say it is an honour and a privilege to serve the public.
Evidence of that honour and privilege is not evident at city hall much of the time.
Our source wrote the Gazette to comment on some of the comments that were appearing.
“I went back and looked at the story again’, he said “and saw that I had commented twice, both suggesting action on the part of the commenters.
“My take in both cases, and similar ones, is that the commenters don’t seem willing to call the mayor or Councillor, or whoever, to account for the issue raised. You have to go to city hall, as a delegation, and demand an explanation. That’s the only way to seek accountability. You have to call them out.”
“The commenters either can’t be bothered, are too lazy, or have no case. Or they like the system the way it is in case they get in power and can act the same unaccountable way.”
By Pepper Parr
February 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
City hall has announced the closing date for nominations for a BEST AWARD. It is April 7, 2015
There are a number of categories – all have merit.
What the awards don’t have is an acceptable level of transparency which tarnishes what is an important program that recognizes individual effort to better the community.
Last year there were a number of nominees whose names were put forward by either their spouses, partners or parents.
This is what fan clubs do.
 An award given by a community with the nomination coming from people who have taken the time to think about who they want to recommend is a true award. When Mom fills in the form and sends it in – it just isn’t quite the same.
The prestige behind the award is paramount to its usefulness. To be a true award with value there can and perhaps should be years when an award is not given.
This city keeps telling anyone with two ears that we are “the best mid-sized city in Canada” There is an opportunity with the Burlington Best awards to begin to behave like one.
There have been comments in the past about people who have “’gamed” the nomination and used the award to start a political career.
In 2011 a small group of people had gathered in the foyer space outside the Council chamber at city hall to talk about John Boich’s health. It was not good and he died several weeks later.
One of the group said to the others” I want to nominate John for an award – the rest of the group immediately agreed and collectively they put together the documents.
John was named the Citizen of the Year several hours before he died in 2011.
The terms of reference for the Awards committee appear to have a sunset date of 2006 – they need an update.
The following are the awards given by the city.
• ARTS PERSON of the Year: An individual who has contributed to the arts in Burlington as an artist, patron or advocate including but not limited to, visual arts, media arts, musical arts, performing arts and literary arts.
• Citizen of the year: A person whose volunteer activity has made a significant and sustained contribution to the vibrancy and wellbeing of the Burlington community.
• Junior Citizen of the year: A high school student, 18 years or younger who has made a significant contribution to the Burlington community.
• Senior Citizen of the year: A person, 55 years or older who has advocated on behalf of seniors and/or made a significant contribution to the Burlington community.
• Environmental Award: An individual or group that improved and/or protects Burlington’s environment.
• Community Service Award: An individual or group whose volunteer activity has contributed to the betterment of the Burlington community.
• Heritage Award: An individual who has demonstrated a commitment to the preservation of Burlington’s heritage, and has volunteered their time in an effort to support the preservation of Burlington’s heritage.
There are people who have done some incredible service for both the city and its citizens. Forms and background on the procedures can be found HERE
 By Pepper Parr
February 13, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
For Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman, it is all about the data. Without data – he doesn’t want to make a decision. The decisions he makes with the data tend to have an ideological tinge to them.
 Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman is said to have his eye on the provincial seat. About a week ago a Gazette reader sent us a copy of a letter Sharman had sent out. We made a few phone calls to reliable sources and learned that a number of people got the same letter – so we did a short piece about Sharman’s apparent interest in running for higher office.
Talk about data: the comments made on the piece were numerous – which was interesting. What caught our attention was the number of people who read the story. It led the list of readers on one day and was in the top three for four days.
What gives? We’ve no idea – all we can say is that the story was read by a lot of people. A look at the comments section will give you some sense as to how some people reacted to the news.
Premier Kathleen Wynne hasn’t been in office a full year yet – and assuming she behaves, which is questionable given what we’ve seen recently – the province will not be going to the polls until 2018 – which happens to be when Burlington will go to the polls as well.
 Paul Sharman, on the right, is not an easy man to convince. Here he leaves the distinct impression he isn’t buying what former Mayor’s office Chief of Staff Frank McKeown is selling., So if Sharman is casting a covetous eye on the provincial seat the dates do align for him. The province would go to the polls in the Spring or Summer of 2018 – which would give Sharman enough time to do it all over again should he not succeed in beating Eleanor McMahon, the current member for Burlington.
Assuming a 2018 election for the province is not something I would bet on.
The Premier has two nasty pieces of business on her plate: the scrubbing of data from hard drives once she was in office and the conversation the Ontario Provincial Police want to have with her over the suspicion that a job was offered to a Andrew Oliver, a possible Sudbury candidate that the Liberals wanted to step aside so their choice could run for the seat in the Legislature.
 Mayor Goldring chats with then Minister of Transportation Kathleen Wynne. He wasn’t buying what she was selling then. Will the provincial police buy the story she gives them over the Sudbury scandal? Karmel Sakran, the Liberal candidate in the last McGuinty election looks on. The scrubbing of the hard drives is related to the decision to cancel the construction of gas plants in Ontario before the last provincial election. That decision was said to have cost the province millions – but they did win the election.
The squabble over who would be the candidate in Sudbury and the claim that a reward was offered to Olivier if he did not run is now the subject of a police investigation.
The candidate the Liberals wanted ran and won the Sudbury seat.
Olivier has chosen not to go quietly into the night. He recorded a conversation he had with one Pat Sorbara in which is seemed clear to me that something was being offered. The tape runs for 24 minutes – it isn’t pretty.
The police will decide if a criminal act took place and do what they have to do. Liberals in this province are looking at a situation where their Premier is being invited in for a conversation with the police who are conducting a criminal investigation. THAT is astounding – the only thing keeping a bit of a lid on all this is that the Progressive Conservatives don’t have a leader – they are going through a leadership campaign. They will choose a new leader May 9th. In the world of politics that is years away. Kathleen Wynne has two months to clean that mess up.
The Conservatives must be pulling their hair out – a great political scandal – and it looks like it is going to get away on them. I can just imagine the indignant howls that Tim Hudak would be making in the legislature.
The Liberals have always had great “operatives” – this will get buried unless there are real tough, tough cookies at the OPP – and given that the Premier chooses the person who heads up that police service. Well – you figure it out. It does smell.
Sharman’s letter to local Progressive Conservatives.
By Pepper Parr
January 19, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON.
The city did another photo opportunity last week.
 Opened in 1965, expanded later the structure no longer meets the space needs of the city. Are there real plans for a replacement? There is a report being worked on that sets out the needs and the possibilities. The occasion was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of City Hall’s opening as the Civic Administration Building in 1965. A plaque was unveiled telling of the founding of Burlington.
The brief ceremony took place on one of the coldest days of the year when Wayne Kelly, Manager of Public Education and Community Development at the Ontario Heritage Trust delivered some remarks. Residents were invited to attend the event.
It is doubtful if there was any mention of how inefficient the building is or that it can’t hold all the people the city employs.
The Gazette didn’t cover the event – this Council didn’t need another photo opportunity.
 The building was a big deal back in 1965 – today it is too small and inefficient. What we are waiting for is the report that has been moving from desk to desk at city hall on the study of what the city has in the way of space it either owns or rents and what it is going to need in the way of space for the next 20 years.
The city currently rents space in the Sims building on the south side of Elgin where Human Resources, Finance, Purchasing, Legal and Capital Infrastructure beaver away on your behalf.
At one point it looked like the report was going to be made public before the election. Keeping that information away from the public was a smart political move and it maintained the practice of being opaque rather than transparent alive and well.
Former city manager Jeff Fielding had all kinds of ideas about where a city hall should be located and, had he stayed and completed his contract, there would have been all kinds of activity – that was just the way Fielding worked.
The file has been in the hands of the Capital Infrastructure people – once Council decides on who they want as a city manager it might see the light of day. For the time being the best citizens are going to get is some words from Wayne Kelly about how the city hall we have now came to be.
 The Sims building is more efficient than city hall. The city has leased space in the structure for some time; paid enough in rent argues Councillor Jack Dennison to have paid for the thing. The lease on the Sims building is due for renewal this year. There will probably be a short term lease renewal while the city gets its act together. The owner of the Sims building will push for a bit more than a short term renewal; they need the city as a tenant – at least until the Economic Development Corporation brings a company to town that will hire people for those high-tech, high paying jobs the city drools about having.
 The HiVe, one of the smartest ideas to settle in the downtown core has found that its costs are more than its revenue – they plan to move. The support they could have and should have gotten from the city just didn’t appear. Meanwhile The Hive over on Elizabeth Street, one of the smarter ideas to settle in the downtown core, has found that the rent they have to pay is more than the revenue they are bringing in – so they will be leaving the core and looking for digs that are less expensive.
None of this got mentioned during the plaque unveiling or while people were enjoying the refreshments at city hall.
 By Pepper Parr
December 17, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
What’s the rush?
Has your city Council let the holiday schedule deprive you of an opportunity to review what they have done at their Standing Committees before they rubber stamp their deliberations at Council where bylaws get passed?
The Standing Committee of Development and Infrastructure met on Monday and got a solid briefing on what the Economic Development Corporation has planned. There was a public meeting on a sub-division application for Twelve Mile Trail.
 Route 6 and 52 will stay as the are for now. Took close to an hour to make that decision. There was a review of transit service for the Headon Road part of town – routes 6 and 52 during which Councillor Dennison managed to use more than half an hour trying to work out all the twists and turns the buses on that route should take.
There was a lot of huffing and puffing over what a municipal council can and can’t do with development applications.
The following day, Tuesday, the Corporate and Community Services committee met and accepted the staff recommendation to sell the lands along the edge of the lake between Market and St. Paul Street.
 Mayor Golding mastered the art of the photo op during his first term of office. He is photogenic and that is apparently enough to get elected. We heard, for the first time, what the Mayor’s thinking was on that momentous decision. It was kind of wishy washy.
The Standing Committee approved 56 pages of changes in rates and fees – those are dollars that you will pay for the use of facilities that your tax dollars paid to have built.
The chair of each standing Committee diligently explains that the Committee does not make final decisions – they make recommendations that go to Council where final decisions are made and by laws are passed.
The practice in Burlington has been for there to be a full week, usually more, for the public to make themselves aware of what has been recommended before it goes to Council.
The public then has some time to think about was has been recommended and appear at Council if they want to offer a different opinion.
In a democracy the elected would welcome – maybe even encourage the public to appear and make their views known so that the elected could make decisions informed by the public.
Some might suggest that the media is in place to inform the public. And it is – but there has been a strange twist. The Burlington Post usually has a reporter at the media table covering meetings.
Tina Depko –Denver covers city hall for the Post – she is a good reporter – she frequently does a better job as a reporter than I do.
She wasn’t at the media table on Tuesday. Why?
We learned at the end of the Standing Committee meeting that Ms Depko –Denver has been hired by the Mayor as his Manager of Communications.
We congratulate Ms Depko-Denver and hope she serves the Mayor well and that she chooses to take direction from the Junius quote atop the Globe and Mail editorial page: “The subject who is truly loyal to the chief magistrate will neither advise nor submit to arbitrary measures”.
Junius, a pseudonym, wrote letters between 1769 and 1762 to inform the public of their historical and constitutional rights and liberties as Englishmen.
The Depko-Denver appointment probably means that the Post will not carry much in the way of news coverage unless they pick up the meeting from the webcast.
The Gazette will publish several pieces on the two Standing Committee meetings and go into some depth on the atrocious decision to sell waterfront property.
City Hall will close down at the end of the day on Tuesday, the 23rd and we won’t see anyone other than the people who keep the building secure until after the New Year. The holiday schedule for city hall is CLOSED between Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014, reopening on Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. Sweet!
 Is there a good reason for not deferring the Council meeting until after the New Year? Well one reason is that would be a lot of time for people to become informed and perhaps “mad as hell” and decide they don’t want to be treated this way anymore.
We did get the municipal government we apparently wanted less than 60 days ago.
What have we done to ourselves?
By Pepper Parr
December 11, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
One of the things the internet does is give those with something they want to say a much bigger megaphone.
Hydro costs have been a bugbear for Ontarians for some time – one of the Harris government’s gifts to us.
The natives are still biting back – another petition. The organizers of this one ask:
 Hydro in Ontario has been broken for some time. It is essential that it be fixed – the solution is not yet clear, “If you have a billing complaint with hydro one, please make sure you file a complaint with the Ombudsman as he begins his investigation into Hydro One. Click here to file your complaint.
“And if you haven’t yet, please make sure you share your concerns about Ontario’s broken hydro system directly with the Premier, the Minister of Energy, the Ontario Energy Board and Hydro One.
The problem with the petition is its source. Randy Hillier was part of the government that created the problem we have today. Is the petition part of his drive to at some point lead the Progressive Conservative party in Ontario? His views and solutions to some of the provinces problems would take Ontario back to where Mike Harris put us and to where Tim Hudak wanted to keep us.
The province is going through a profound change; the core of its economic engine is threatened and in some cases fractured. General Motors is moving its assembly lines to Mexico.
The province faces a huge demographic shift; we are now a much more demographically diversified people and we have a growing seniors’ population that we have to care for at considerable cost.
Adjusting to these changes is going to take political leadership that looks forward and not backwards. Randy Hillier is as backward looking as you can get.
The petition has merit – the guy behind it; questionable.
A Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
Whereas, the cost of electricity in Ontario continues to escalate;
And Whereas, other charges associated with electricity, such as delivery, regulatory, global adjustment and debt retirement charges make electricity increasingly unaffordable;
And Whereas, these costs have imposed a significant hardship on ratepayers and driven industry and jobs out of Ontario;
We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:
That the Premier and the Minister of Energy reduce the waste and duplication in Ontario’s electricity sector and other necessary steps to lower the cost of electricity so that Ontario’s electricity prices are competitive with other jurisdictions.
Sign here:
By Pepper Parr
November 28, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
Many a political career has been started with a citizen serving on a city board or committee.
There are hundreds of people as well who have served on a board and found immense satisfaction in being able to make a difference.
Burlington citizen advisory committees provide Council and staff with input about a wide variety of subjects through discussions, presentations and recommendations. Some committees also organize and participate in community events.
Burlington welcomes citizens who represent the diverse backgrounds of the community to participate on these committees. Becoming a member offers residents a unique chance to volunteer their highly valued skills and to strengthen our shared sense of community.
One of the key groups is the Burlington’s BEST Awards Committee. It is made up of 10 voting members, including: six citizens from the community, and four representatives from media and information agencies.
 The committee was established in and is seen as a Planning Committee reporting to City Council through the Community Services Committee.
Their mandate is to recognize citizens of Burlington who have brought favourable publicity and honour to the City of Burlington, to increase awareness of the committee so all citizens of Burlington have the chance to be recognized for their achievements.
The recognition is provided through Burlington’s Best Awards an annual event at which Burlington recognizes the Citizen of the Year; a Junior Citizen of the Year; an Arts Person of the Year, and a Seniors Person of the Year;. The city also gives a Community Service Award, an Environmental Award and a Heritage Award.
These awards are important – but there is a problem. In 2014 the nominations or recommendations did not come from the Planning committee – their task was to vote on the nominations they had before them.
Those nominations came from anyone who wanted to send in a nomination. The result was we had wives nominating husbands, Mothers nominating their children and girlfriends nominating their boyfriends, which, while admirable, is surely not Burlington’s definition of the BEST we have?
In the next few weeks the Clerks department will go through the applications for people who would like to be on the Planning Committee. Let us hope that the committee that chooses the people who will vote for the BEST that Burlington has are people who get to vote on merit.
There are some people in this city who have in the past year served us exceptionally well. They deserve to be recognized for what they have done – not for who they are or what their Mother, Father, husband, wife or girlfriend thinks of them.
Friends and family should be applauding the choice the committee makes – they shouldn’t be sending in nominations – nor should the committee be accepting them.
By Pepper Parr
November 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
I found myself thinking about the Swearing in ceremony that is going to take place December 1st at the Performing Arts Centre and wondered why the Mayor or perhaps one of the council members or maybe the manager of the city’s communications department or – heaven forbid, the people who are supposed to be working on “community engagement” – didn’t look for ways to open up the evening.
There will be as many as 700 people in the Main Theatre at the Performing Arts Centre. What an opportunity for this Council to use the occasion to actually listen to what residents have to say.
The organizers of the event could have four or five of those hand held microphones and the Mayor could invite people to ask questions of any member of Council.
These wouldn’t be delegations – just people asking questions.
Limit the time for this part to say 30 minutes. Anyone can ask any question. All they have to do is stand up and have the microphone placed in their hands. The questions would have to be short and direct
It wouldn’t hurt if there were a little back and forth permitted as well.
People in this city have things to say. Many will have nice things to say while others will ask pointed questions.
Somebody will have to control the event. Have current General Manager Scott Stewart take on that task; he’s pretty good at managing this kind of event. It will give the public a chance to see the man in action; they are going to be reading a lot more about the guy in the near future.
Is it risky? A bit – but leaders are supposed to lead – show by example. There are not many occasions when there are 700 citizens in one place and every member of Council in that place as well.
Worth a try folks and there is still time to juggle the agenda – no one is going to mind the additional half hour. Most people will stay glued to their seats waiting to hear the questions.
No pre-screening the questions – whatever comes out – comes out.
It will take a little courage but it is worth it.
By Pepper Parr
October 17, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
He’s calling the first four years of his time as Mayor the “cleanup/set up” phase for what one might assume is going to be the new beginning for Burlington. The phrase was used in an interview the Mayor gave recently.
 What was there to “clean up? The city certainly has its problems but is there a load of stuff that had to be cleaned up?
Infrastructure needs money, transit needs attention, the advances made with the arts and cultural file have been good.
We still don’t have an Economic Development Corporation that is going to do great things for us. Yes, they do need time to put the new story together but we said the same thing about the Executive Director that it took more than a year to get rid of.
On the surface all the public is seeing is an organization that holds networking events. The next biggie that will speak to the commercial elite is our own hometown girl Lisa Lisson, president of FedEx Canada.
We hear precious little from this Mayor on what could be done with the Air Park. Staff have carried this one – what the public is going to gulp at it how much money has been spent on legal fees. Is that clean up or has the public been set up?
Mayor Goldring has taken the position that he put the pier problem to bed – and except for a few minor details that file is closed: what the Mayor will not live up to or taken responsibility for are the several mistakes that added a couple of million to the cost of the thing.
This city managed to go through two city managers while Rick Goldring was Mayor. They pretty well fired the one that was in place when Goldring took office – the second one took a hike to a greener pasture – and if anyone thinks the council Jeff Fielding had to work with was not a part of his decision to change addresses – then they have the same limited vision our Mayor has.
When Goldring was elected there were some questions asked about his work as a financial planner/wealth manager. At the time we were told that Goldring had given up the various licenses he was required to have and that he would be a full time Mayor. We now learn that he “owns” a local branch of Assante Wealth Management from which he has taken a leave of absence – not quite the same thing as getting out of the business.
The public has heard nothing about what Rick Goldring’s vision is for the city. We do know that he is “not on” for the 28 storey tower the Adi Development people want to put up at the corner of Lakeshore and Martha but we know nothing about what he thinks that part of the city should look like.
There are parking lots in a large part of that area. Private and corporate property owners don’t operate parking lots – they hold land until they are ready to develop. Burlington needs to decide what it wants to see in an area that is going to have a 22 story condominium tower and an eight storey hotel just a block away from the proposed 28 storey tower.
Saying that Burlington already has the legacy tower it wanted (that was back in 1985) it a pretty weak argument for not permitting a 28 story tower.
The “set up” here is our Mayor failing to really fight for what he thinks is best for the city he is supposed to be leading.
At the recent Chamber of Commerce debate Rick Goldring, in an aside to candidate Peter Rusin, the Mayor is reported to have said he agreed with Rusin’s views on any NGTA highway but couldn’t say anything for political reasons.
How’s that for leadership?
 By Pepper Parr
September 29, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON,.
For the incumbents in wards four and five the August flood has become a campaign issue – one they are finding there isn’t all that much they can do about.
 The people whose homes were flooded need some information from their political leaders – has the municipal election made them all mute? The public isn’t seeing a lot of leadership from this lot. The flood certainly took place – and there are some very sad and serious situations – but Council members are restricted in what they can do by the Municipal Act and by the fact that the pipes that direct the water into homes are a Regional responsibility.
Worse – the Region has decided it is not going to meet with the Burlington residents that have serious problems until after the election.
Why is that?
In Burlington, city council has a regular meeting schedule but it can meet almost immediately, at any time at the call of the Mayor.
There are some technicalities – Council members have to be given some notice which can be waived if necessary.
One assumes that the same kind of rules would apply at the Regional level.
So why doesn’t the Regional Chair call a meeting?
Well the Chair isn’t being pressed to call a meeting – and Regional staff don’t appear to want a meeting – so there isn’t going to be a meeting at which the public can delegate.
 Mayor Goldring has recently taken to wearing his Chain of Office outside the Council chamber – will he soon begin to exercise the power and authority that goes with the Chain of Office? The situation for those people in this city whose homes were flooded appears to be close to leaderless.
There just doesn’t seem to be anyone elected to public office who wants to do anything.
Could Mayor Goldring not poll his council members and see if they would support him in a call for a Special meeting of the Regional government?
Could the Mayor not then call his colleague in Oakville, Mayor Rob Burton, and ask him to poll his members and see if they would support a Special Regional meeting.
And could they not deliver a document to the Regional Chair Gary Carr and ask –heck they should be demanding – that a Special meeting of Regional Council be called to tell the people of Burlington what went wrong and what they are doing and use the occasion to let the people of Burlington know what the governments they elected are doing for them.
 Gary Carr took some hard shots as a goal tender; time to take some hard shots as a Regional chair and act on behalf of all his constituents. Chair Gary Carr isn’t very keen on this type of meeting. People tend to get rowdy and noisy and that isn’t the Carr style.
Tough, Chairman Carr – you have a responsibility to let the people you serve know that you are fully aware of their concerns and that you are doing everything you possibly can for the people who pay you.
Time for some leadership.
Salt with Pepper is an infrequent column written by the publisher of the Gazette
By Pepper Parr
September 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The Air Park is the most important issue in ward six however it really didn`t get the debate it needed. As publisher of the Gazette I did not choose the questions the panelists asked. I did choose the panelists.
 An early photograph of the Airpark property. There are now two runways and a lot more landfill now than there was when this picture was taken. The lines indicate the extent of the Air Park holdings. The Air Park is not just ward six issue – it is a city wide issue – what happens to that land and that operation will define for a long, long time what rural Burlington looks like in the years ahead.
Our task is not to decide the issues but to help in defining what the issues are. We have some very active (and opinionated readers in whom we delight) who take part in this process.
We got the following from a resident:
I’m a resident of Ward 6, and I was at the debate the other night. One issue I thought might come up was one that has previously been raised by Ms. Hlusko concerning Ms. Warren’s potential conflict of interest regarding the Airpark. Since she has stated in the past that Airpark expansion would negatively impact her equestrian business, there does seem to be a real possibility that she would have to recuse herself from discussion of any airpark expansion plans. It would indeed be ironic if she were elected to council, but was then unable to participate in the issue that brought her to local prominence in the first place.
Do you know if Ms. Warren has ever addressed this issue? I think those who support her with the thought that she would be their champion on the airpark issue should get some clarification on whether her role would be restricted.
 Tonnes of landfill were dumped on the Air Park property without the required permits. The public does not know where much of that land fill came from. The Air Park owners claimed they were regulated by the federal government and did not have to comply with municipal bylaws, Justice Murphy said they were wrong and that they did have to comply with city bylaws. How they comply is what your council is going to decide. We asked Ms Warren to respond and she sent the following:
A Buttonville-like expansion of the Burlington Airpark would negatively affect everyone living in Burlington, including my home and farming operation. The 5 year unregulated fill operation that I fought through the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition and the Ontario Soil Regulation Task Force negatively affected numerous families and properties in Ward 6, and may yet effect all of us if the fill is left untested.
Every decision a City Councillor makes also effects them personally as a resident of this City; what they may not do is have a pecuniary interest in the outcome of a decision. I will in no way financially benefit from a Burlington Airpark that is environmentally safe, or that remains feasible within the context of the Greenbelt Protected Countryside that it has operated on for the last 60 years.
As Ward 6 Councillor, I would never recuse myself from anything to do with the Burlington Airpark, and I would continue to advocate for environmental and social justice on this file. Jennifer Hlusko is plain wrong on this one.
There you have it – two opinions. You now have to think about what you want your Burlington to look like. We would like to add this: the Air Park would not be the issue it is had Ms Warren not brought it to public attention.
And you might want to ask why Vince Rossi is suing Ms Warren (and the publisher of the Gazette) for libel.
Salt with Pepper is a column written from time to time by Pepper Parr the publisher of the Gazette
 By Pepper Parr
September 18, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Politics is about power – even at the municipal level. Politicians have access to information the rest of us don’t have. They make decisions that determine how much of our money is paid in taxes; they decide when the swimming pools will be open and they decide when the snow gets cleared off your street.
There are thousands of municipal politicians who serve the public and there are some who serve themselves. They fight hard to become politicians and fight just as hard to stay there.
Politicians work at creating the image they believe their constituents want. Not all of them but the vast majority for sure. Some have agendas – others just want to make their community a good place to live in.
In Ontario municipal politicians have to go before the voters and seek re-election. They have to either spend their own money or raise money to pay for their campaigns.
Those who do the job well – work long hours, very long hours. We have one Councillor in Burlington who thinks being a city Councillor and a Regional Councillor is a part time job. It isn’t.
Burlington has had poor media this past eight to ten years. Poor media means an uninformed electorate. Uninformed voters cannot make informed choices. When voters don’t have enough information – they tend not to vote. Burlington has a poor voter turnout.
 Blair Lancaster, first term member of council seeking re-election. The Burlington Gazette has organized a debate for the people running in ward six – where nine people want to replace first term Councillor Blair Lancaster. That is a clear sign that a lot of people are unhappy and that a number of people think they can win the Ward six council seat.
We were able to get the use of the theatre at the Hayden High school and have had positive responses from all but two of the candidates.
Jennifer Hlusko has advised us that she has an important board of Education meeting on Wednesday September 24th. Ms Hlusko has served as a school board trustee for 11 years –however she ends that job in November. She is now a candidate for a municipal council seat and her obligation is to the people, who are voting for municipal representation.
Ms Hlusko appears to want to get permission from the Director of Education to miss the school board meeting. She advised us that she would “speak with the Chair, trustees and Director about the September 24th conflict.”
The director of Education reports to the trustees. Ms Hlusko is currently a trustee; quite why she feels she has to seek permission or approval from the Director of Education suggest she doesn’t fully understand the relationship between trustees and the Director of Education.
Blair Lancaster has not yet replied to our invitation to take part in the debate.
The Gazette got a call from a Brenda McKinley who said she was calling on behalf of a ward six candidate but would not identify who she was representing.
 Jennifer Hlusko, currently a school board trustee running as a candidate for the ward six seat on city council. Ms McKinley wanted a moderator from the Chamber of Commerce and she wanted questions from the panelists to be asked of all ten candidates. We declined to change our format and we did not want the Chamber of Commerce moderating this event. They have in the past held their own debates.
Our format was to have the panelists ask a candidate a question, after which any other candidate could make a comment – with one minute to do so. The candidate the question was put to would have a minute to respond to the comments from the others.
Ward six is clearly a contested seat and there are some powerful interests who want to see the “right” person win. We hope that the wines of the debate are the people of ward six.
The event will start with each candidate being given two minutes to put their case before the audience and two minutes at the end of the debate. The order in which the candidates speak will be drawn by lot.
We learned later that Ms McKinley has been in touch with at least one other candidate to get allocated seating for their supporters. The debate is for the public and we will do what we can to ensure that the candidates do not flood the room with their supporters.
We are trying to work within the framework of a democracy and giving everyone an equal opportunity.
There will be questions from the audience when the debate concludes.
At this point we do not have a commitment from either Ms Hlusko or Ms Lancaster. There will be a seat for them with their name on it – it is up to them if they choose to speak to the voters
By Pepper Parr
September 13, 2014
Burlington, ON.
The phrase social media means different things to different people. And there are few really good examples of how social media works and the role it can play in the sharing of information.
While there are mountains of information out there – what exists may not be what you want. Perfect social media is when what you want is also what others have to share.
 A plaza on Fairview – stores flooded. Last August 4th when rain fell on the city for close to eight hours and left 191mm of water looking for a place to go – the Weather Network was collecting data from anyone who had something to send in.
The link here is a really good example of social media doing what it is supposed to do. The piece you have looked at was obtained by the city from the Weather Network and shown at a city Development and Infrastructure committee more than a month after the rains fell.
The Weather Network took video clips sent to them and just stitched them together into a strip of film and loaded it on their web site.
 Individuals sent in clips taken from the cell cameras – which are stitched together by the Weather Network and aired. Imagine if that piece of video had been shown to the public the day after the storm – Burlington would have had a much better idea as to what had happened and the response to the flood would have been much more engaged.
Had video like this been used at the Ribfest; had the story of the flood been told to the more than 100,000 people who came from places other than Burlington – the amount raised would have been much more than the $40,000 that was raised.
That $40,000 was $40,000 more than the Community Foundation had before Ribfest and the community is grateful – but when compared to the $20,000 that one man and 35 volunteers raised in four hours on Elwood Street – questions get asked.
 By Pepper Parr
August 25, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
My neighbour Rob, who is prone to stunts, pranks and practical jokes ,sent me an Ice Bucket Challenge. Jeez I thought, I’m going to have to do this or he won’t loan me his drill anymore and he does have a snow blower. So I was gearing myself up to walk across the street and submit myself to the dunking.
The President of the United States can duck these things – but I was pretty sure I had to go along with the gag. My one condition was that the event be filmed and the kids be on hand.
Then I came across the missive from School board chair and Ward 6 candidate Jennifer Hlusko who was passing along a piece form Macleans magazine.
Why the Ice Bucket Challenge is bad for you
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is bad … The marketing gimmick is very clever. It is short, immediately understandable, and like the most popular forms of slacktivism, it is easy to do, entertaining to watch, and narcissistically self-promoting. As a result, the ALS Association has received more than $70 million so far, compared to only $2.5 million during last year’s campaign.
We, as individuals and as a society, have finite resources to donate to medical research and other worthy causes. When we decide where to spend our charitable dollars, we need to consider three factors:
1. Where is the greatest need?
2. Where will my dollars have the greatest influence?
3. What is the most urgent problem?
The ALS challenge fails all three of these test.
Did the School Board Chair get dunked? How did increasing ALS donations from $2.5 million to $70 million get defined as a failure. The people who went along with the dunking will send their donation and probably not cut back somewhere else.
The beauty of the human hearts is the way it can expand to meet the need.
Hlusko needs to think about an “expanded heart” procedure – and please – lighten up.
By Pepper Parr
August 21, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
James Curran, candidate for the ward 6 council seat, just can’t seem to keep out of trouble.
There have been more than 25 comments on his status as a real estate appraiser – with lots of back and forth and accusation and upgraded explanations.
What should have been a perfectly clear answer to a reasonable question got twisted and turned with people saying they just didn’t believe the man. At this point I’m not sure exactly what his status is as an appraiser.
 Jim Curran complained to the city about the amount of time candidates were permitted to put up election signs. Says the rules were not clearly set out in the Candidates Manual. We advised our readers that we were not taking any more comments on what his status is as an appraiser.
People in the community are bothered by the way that part of the Curran background played out but the issue seems to have ground down to he said – she said. At that point we stopped taking comments unless there was some really solid information.
Then – just when the heat was off the status issue – we get an email advising us that:
In light of recent events and concerns of citizens of Burlington, including the flooding, I have arranged to hold a town hall this evening at 7:00. I apologize for the short notice.
We got this at 6:30 – and complained to Curran that such short notice was unacceptable
Curran responded with: “I just received media codes less than an hour ago. The team informed me just hours ago that it was even taking place. I am as unprepared as you my friend.”
Is Curran telling us that he wasn’t fully aware that something this critical to his campaign was something he didn’t know that much about?
Setting up a Virtual Meeting takes time – someone has to make the arrangements with the company handling the calls – and someone has to have sent out notices to people advising them of the event.
Is Curran telling us that, if this was done he wasn’t aware of it – and if it was done by others – why wasn’t he on top of it.
Jim Curran has exceptional political contacts and connections and he would have people who knew how to set this kind of thing up. To screw it up the way he has – does not bode well for putting this guy at the horseshoe come October.
By Pepper Parr
July 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Well – it wasn’t transparency at its best was it?
Interim city manager Pat Moyle took Council through his take on where the city is in terms of its growth; what has to be done and wasn’t isn’t as necessary as it used to be in terms of where the city is in its growth.
He then took Council into a closed session where he clearly got into the nitty gritty of it all and had council agree that at least part of the “new” structure should be put in place now.
Next thing was to tell the public. There was a little confusion as to just how this was going to be done. Moyle explained that he had staff meeting the following day after which he would issue an announcement. He said that would happen at around noon on the Tuesday.
 She started out as a life guard for the city a long time ago. If there was a project she believed in she gave it her best. Community engagement and someone to manage the cultural opportunities were files she wasn’t able to completely close. Kim Phillips however was the best Clerk Burlington had in the past 50 years – no small feat. Then – not a word until Thursday when a laudatory media release on General Manager Kim Phillips and Director of Engineering Tom Eichenbaum whose retirements had been made public at the Monday Council meeting. Tucked in at the bottom of that media release was the following:
With the retirement of Phillips and Eichenbaum, the city is making the following organizational changes:
Corporate strategic initiatives and engineering will be amalgamated into a new capital works department, responsible for the construction and renewal of the city’s capital assets, including buildings, roads, bridges and culverts.
Allan Magi will become the executive director of capital works effective Aug. 1, 2014.
On an interim basis, the clerks and fire departments will report to Pat Moyle, interim city manager, and parks and recreation will report to Scott Stewart, general manager of development and infrastructure.
Nothing earth shaking there. Moyle has explained in the past that the fire department is the largest staff expense and should report directly to the city manager. It was just difficult to understand why it took two and a half days to get all that out – and so very little in terms of detail.
Both Moyle and his predecessor Jeff Fielding knew that it was time for both Phillips and Eichenbaum to move on. With the legal problems on the pier resolved there was no reason to continue to pay Eichenbaum. There was nothing useful coming from the pen of Phillips – that gave Moyle an opportunity to cut the payroll by close to $400,000.
It also cleared the decks and left some room for whoever is brought in as the new city manager, probably sometime in February of next year, to create their own staffing structure.
Moyle, who saw Burlington through the lens of the regional Chief Administrator where he served for six years, has a very clear big picture. With Director of Finance Joan Ford running the financial side of the city and Scott Stewart running the departments that matters, the city should be able to get to the end of the year with the staffing compliment it has.
All the departments have submitted their 2015 budget numbers which will get to the public almost the day after the new council gets sworn in. It is at that time that the public will get a close look at the Results Based Accountability (RBA) the city has embraced.
Former city manager Jeff Fielding brought that concept to Burlington. He put it to very effective use in London Ontario where he was city manager. RBA is not a new idea but it is certainly a different approach to the running of a city. It took London sometime to get the hang of it – it will take Burlington even longer.
This city’s finance department is as good as it gets – their challenge is going to be to get the rest of the crew at city hall on board.
Accountability was not a word that got much use as the city bid good luck and adieu to Phillips and Eichenbaum.
By Pepper Parr
June 30, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition (RBGC) has created a web site to raise funds for what they are calling the Burlington Airpark SLAPP Suit Defense Fund.
A SLAPP Suit (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) is a merit-less legal action brought to intimidate opponents, deplete their resources, reduce their ability to participate in public affairs, and deter others from participating in discussion on matters of public interest.
We, the Burlington Gazette and me, Pepper Parr seem to be a part of it – but until a colleague told us about this fund raising web site – we knew nothing about it other than there were plans to put up a web site to solicit funds to help with the legal costs to defend ourselves against the law suit that has been filed against us by the Burlington Executive Air Park Inc.
Support is certainly going to be needed but this is not the way to get it.
First, the web site focuses on what it calls a SLAPP suit, unfortunately in law there is no such thing at this point in time. There should be such a thing but in a court of law what should be and what is – are two very, very different things. Judges go on evidence and precedent.
There is no SLAPP suit; there are no such things as SLAPP suits. The legal counsel representing Vanessa Warren and Monte Dennis have a vested interests in promoting legislation that would prevent SLAPP suits – and good on them. What they are advocating is necessary; should have been done years ago.
David Donnelly of Donnelly Environmental Law, and Brian MacLeod Rogers, a leading libel lawyer and member of the Attorney General’s Anti-SLAPP Advisory Panel have been advocating for SLAPP legislation for some time. Both will become specialists in this niche market and do some good work. We assume some of the funds donated will go to Donnelly and Rogers.
Rogers represents both Warren and Dennis. Parr and the Gazette have different legal counsel and a different legal strategy. The word SLAPP will never leave our lips in our defence arguemts.
What the Gazette, Parr, Warren and Monte are facing is a libel suit where the plaintiff is seeking $100,000 in exemplary damages from the three of us. It’s a significant case and only fools try to pretend the case is something other than what it is.
At some point there may be anti SLAPP legislation. But we do not have that now. What we do have now is a court case – and some financial support fighting that case would be welcome. But from the Gazette’s point of view, not under the terms and conditions the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition is asking for donations.
The RBGC does not say what will be done with the funds; they do not say how any funds received will be distributed; they do not say they will be accountable to the donors and report on exactly where every nickel goes.
It is just a request for financial support – and I guess they are saying trust us. Neither the Gazette nor Pepper Parr will be accepting any funds you may choose to donate until there are solid rules in place for the accounting of funds.
It looks as if the funds are going to the RBGC – but that isn’t clear. Were it not for the fact that I know these people personally I would look upon this as one of the dozens of internet scams that show up in my email box every day.
I expect the highest possible level of transparency and accountability from the people mounting this fund raising campaign. The web site they have up right now is the equivalent of what a couple of high school students might do because they didn’t know any better.
RBGC should know better – the candidate for public office should know better; if this is the way Vanessa Warren is going to conduct herself as a member of city council – she will be worse than the incumbent. The city Clerk has a form available for those who feel they want to withdraw from the election.
The fund raising web site does an excellent job of setting out the problem and what the issues are about – they just lost their focus and are talking about something that doesn’t exist – yet.
The Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition fund raising web site .
By Pepper Parr
June 26, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Now that she is sworn in as the Member of the provincial legislature for Burlington, Eleanor McMahon can open her constituency office, get staff in place and be open for business locally. We look forward to hearing from her frequently and getting regular quarterly updates.
While getting the constituency office opened, Ms McMahon will also be getting her legislative agenda set up. We look forward to the day she gives her maiden speech.
All that stuff is in a day’s work – this Friday there is an evening’s fun to be had, as the Liberals gather somewhere in the city to hoot and holler; let their hair down and just have fun.
Had the Premier decided to make McMahon a Parliamentary assistant, we just might have seen McMahon dancing on the table tops.
The Liberals do have their work cut out for them. There is a public that remembers all too well, the profligate spending during the McGuinty era. One of their fears going into the election was that this pattern might continue.
There was a recent report on the way Premier Wynne handled the handing out of food cards, during the December ice storm. The process that was used proved to be less than effective. City of Toronto staff advised the Premier of several alternative approaches that could have been taken – the advice was apparently dismissed – rather quickly.
One can appreciate Wynne wanting to ensure that people had funds to buy food – putting a program like that in place was good public policy and also very good politics. That’s what the politicians are supposed to do – then they need to leave it to the bureaucrats to manage the program.
Premier Wynne needs to show the public that she is running a much more financially responsible government. She needs to not only be accountable, but to be seen to be accountable – and when someone screws up – and someone will – she needs to be decisive and direct in rooting out the problem.
Economic growth in both Quebec and Ontario are slower than the rest of Canada. Far more public money is spent in these two provinces than western Canada. The public needs to see benefits from that spending – and they need to see something soon.
The people of Ontario are generous; they believe that we need to take care of each other, to be considerate and compassionate – but realize that there is a financial score card that needs to be paid attention to.
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