Milton council shows complete disregard for rural residents

Milton, Ont.  February 8, 2016

Milton council showed its total disdain for the rural community last night. 

The majority (6 of 11) voted to increase taxes to the rural area by virtue of creating a uniform tax rate for the entire town, one tax rate for all. 

On the surface, one could say that sounds fair - but is it?  We do get snow plowing but it's done at a lower cost on rural roads with the trucks speeding along at 80K or more, taking out the odd mailbox, which we have to replace ourselves, but I digress.  

The rural area doesn't get a lot of the services urbanites get, nor is it requested - like sidewalk plowing (there are no sidewalks), streetlights, street cleaning, and public transit.  

Mike Cluett said to me in an email: "Given the current system we have, it would be impossible for us to provide transit to that area if residents aren’t paying for it." There is no intention of providing public transit to the rural area, yet he has no problem making the rural resident pay for what is basically a transit tax.

After hearing 22 speakers, the majority of council still voted to stick it to the rural taxpayer - we are a smaller community with only 2 councillors to represent ward 3, the largest ward in Milton, but a ward with fewer people.   

We were in the overflow room downstairs where the live video was very poor quality, so for that reason I can't state exactly how everyone voted.  And any material shown on overheads was impossible to be read.  (Milton, when will you make things equal for all who take the time to attend a council meeting? but again, I digress.)  I do know councilors Lunau, Best and Huffman voted in support of the rural sector.  More importantly, the names of whom we need to be aware, are the 6 who voted against fairness.  Malboueff, Cluett and DiLorenzo are three of them.

The sad thing is that this could be the straw that broke the camel's back.  The tax increase will be especially felt by rural business owners, most of whom are already marginal at best.  We've lost so many businesses over the years.  

And the farmer, who was already hard hit with the province's actions against the horse industry, and who struggles every day to maintain the viability of the farm - every penny impacts on their bottom line.  This tax increase is another strike against them.

Rural residents have seen their assessments (and taxes) shoot up since the rural area got wrapped up in the Green Belt.The tax burden just got much heavier for them.

All this was pointed out to council last night by the 22 delegations but it didn't mean a damn thing

Tougher Rail Safety Regulations needed

An article in today's Star (April 4, 2015) speaks of Toronto's Mayor and 17 councillors writing the federal Transport minister asking for tougher rail safety regulations.  Kudos to them.

Milton Mayor and councillors should also be demanding the same thing. One train length can block three Milton intersections at one time.  I don't recall how many level crossing there are across Milton but there many.  Currently there are two grade separations under construction but with price tags of multi- multimillion dollars it's totally impractical and unreasonable to treat all crossings the same way.

But constructing grade separations won't make the tracks safer.  It's the basic infrastructure, rules and regulations, and training, that need to be addressed, that need the investment. I would personally also question the number of employees on any one train.  There have been considerable cuts to manpower over the years: are we getting by (legally to be sure but is it enough) with too few to take the train from point A to point B?

After Lac-Mégantic  and other rail disasters, we shouldn't have to plead for better rail safety regulations.  It's well past time when funds should have been invested into critical infrastructure - or have the rail companies determined that it's cheaper to pay off lawsuits than to make the repairs, as the automobile industry* has been known to do? 

"CP has stated it is on pace to move 70,000 carloads of crude oil this year (2014) across its North American network, up from 53,500 carloads last year."  For the sake of every life, we need the assurance that that cargo is being moved safely through our towns, cities, villages and farmlands; across rivers and streams; through the mountains and across the plains.

Back to my opening paragraph, it shouldn't be a case of the loudest voices getting the best response- or the squeaky wheel getting the oil.  Our Transport minister and the entire government should be standing up for all Canadians to ensure our collective safety BEFORE there's another Lac-Mégantic . It's the ethical thing to do. Even the loss of one life to negligence is one life too many. 


* from https://hbr.org/2011/04/ethical-breakdowns.

Milton's Older Adult Strategy

Older adults are far more active than their parents, and their parents before them.  In fact, ask any "older" adult and they'll tell you that it's only the packaging that's changed -we're still the same person inside. 

Ensure active opportunities remain part of our future by having a say in the Town's Older Adult Strategy..

Follow-up Public Input Session
Review and provide feedback on the draft recommendations established after public input sessions held in April.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Milton Seniors' Activity Centre, 500 Childs Dr.

Your input on program interests, expectations and opportunities will help the Town understand the impact the growing older adult population will have on local recreation services.

If you are unable to attend, you can still review the recommendations and share your comments after the session until June 27 at: www.milton.ca/en/play/olderadultstrategy.asp
 
Spread the Word!
Help reach as many older adult residents as possible by forwarding this message to generate community awareness of the Older Adult Strategy.

Additional Information
For more information, online surveys and Older Adult Strategy progress updates, visit www.milton.ca/en/play/olderadultstrategy.asp or call 905-878-7252, ext. 2529.

Women's Liberal Club

In an effort to make our area of the Liberal party more relevant, I am starting up a Milton Women's Liberal Club under the Women's Liberal Commission.  The first event will be a breakfast meeting:  7:30, March 8 - the International Day of Women.  There will be a speaker, discussion about moving forward, setting future meeting dates, etc..

By meeting as women, we find a common ground for our interests and our needs in order to move forward. By forming a group, we have a stronger opportunity for a voice in the future.

If you are interested in attending the first meeting, please let me know as soon as possible.  Details will follow as as we determine attendance numbers.

Results of My Councillor Performance Survey

I asked people in Ward 3, along with other Miltonians for whom I’ve worked over the years, to rate my performance as their public representative to Milton Council.

I believe I am the only Councillor who has ever done anything like this. And to me, that is true accountability.  And I hope their ratings will be more helpful in telling you how I will represent you, than campaign promises.

The summary report from my 2010 Performance Survey is now available. Please read it if you really want to understand what kind of representation you can expect from me.

The bottom line on my performance?  Over 90% of people rated the quality of my overall representation as an 8/10 or better, where a “10/10” is “the best representation we could ask for”.

The people also gave me very high ratings on effectiveness and consultation with the public which are pivotal to me.

Read the report and you’ll see why 99% of decided voters have either already decided to send me to represent them at the Regional/Local Councils or are confident they are very likely to.

Women's Health Strategy

I attended Ontario’s first ever Women’s Health Strategy Conference. It was Wow, so empowering and so enlightening. It was hosted by Community Development Halton and ECHO:
Improving Women’s Health in Ontario. Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

Women of Ontario – some facts
Ontario’s women are:

• Growing (in population, not size)
• Older
• Diverse
• Urban
• More likely to live in lower income groups than men, with the largest group being those 65 and older

More women than men work in the healthcare sector, which sees many job losses.

Women of Halton:

• Make up 51% of the population (or 225,000 persons).
• In upper management, earn 71% of what men earn even with comparable education, degrees, etc.
• On average, earn 51cents compared to the dollar earned by men.

Halton population facts:

• 25% are immigrants
• 13% are women of colour
• 13.7% are 65 or older
• 82% of lone parent families are female headed
• And 22% of lone parent, female-headed families live in poverty
• 9.1% of all women (or 20,600) in Halton are low income

Women’s health issues are different from men’s…
• For instance, women’s lung cancer is more commonly found in the later stages. Men’s tend to grow in the bronchial tubes; he coughs, brings up blood… an obvious warning sign.
Women’s lung cancer grows in deeper tissue with little warning sign. Knowing this can shift screening methods.
• Chronic care beds have been reduced, impacting on women as most of those moved out of chronic care beds are women, and therefore most of those waiting for, or denied access to, long-term care are women. And for the most part, they are women who cannot afford to privately pay for supplementary care.

Although the Government lists long-term care as one of its programs targeted at women, no evidence can be found that shows women’s particular concerns, or differences among women, are taken into account. This is the case despite research demonstrating dramatic differences in, for example, heart disease, lung cancer and breast cancer not only between women and men but also among women from different ethnic backgrounds.

• More women than men are caregivers. Caregivers are stressed due to a shortage of support systems. For instance, there is no stroke rehab in Milton, caregivers must take the patient to Oakville, adding to stress of the caregiver.

Immigrant women face their own challenges.

• South Asians are less likely to access cancer screening;
• They are uncomfortable talking about problems;
• They prefer women doctors especially for gynaecological exams
• They believe in a holistic approach to health, that social support, personal health practices and socio-economic factors are the most important factors affecting their health.

• Social circumstances can be a barrier to good health for women: poor housing, low income, lack of childcare, etc. The minimum wage keeps people poor.
• Life circumstances can also impact on health: poverty, housing, education, violence, race, ethnicity, gender, etc. Health is affected by many factors and certain groups of women are at high risk.

All these factors impinge on women’s health. We need increasing access to improve women`s health. We need social and community-level change and support. We need to invest in prevention and social determinants of health.

These women are our sisters, mothers, daughters, nieces, cousins– they could be us. The Region of Halton and Milton in particular, statistically speaking, is considered a wealthy community but statistics often hide harsh realities.

The hospital situation is under stress. The province is in the unusual guardianship role; the system is under pressure from growth, funding, etc.

LHINs
LHINs are an added cost to service delivery –an extra layer of expensive bureaucracy.

Halton Healthcare CEO John Oliver told me at council Monday, June 28, that they argued for keeping all Halton together in one LHIN but the province put Burlington in with Hamilton, then lumped Milton, Halton Hills and Oakville in with Mississauga. The entire population of the 3 municipalities amounts to a mere 30% of Mississauga’s population. This break -up of the region weakens our case at the regional council table and healthcare IS a responsibility of the Region. That's why we have the Halton Chief Medical Officer.

The Milton Hospital has not increased in size since 1987 when the community was a fraction of the 90,000 now calling Milton home.

Even if Milton taxpayers cough up the money, approval to build must come from the Minister of Health & Long Term care. But, approvals are not going forward despite Milton being the fastest growing municipality with all the associated pressures of growth. I won’t get into the double taxation issue - that’s the topic of another blog: http://janmowbrayblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/milton-hospital-expansion.html

Milton and Multiculturalism

Further to the topic of the infamous Notice of Motion, there is little I can add to what Mike Grimwood has said below.
Although a probable mis-attribution, the Motion quotes Edmund Burke (more likely Leo Tolstoy in his book "War and Peace"), as saying "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing". If we sweep this under the rug, if don't speak to it, this evil will triumph.

I was born in New Zealand and to think that the country of my birth was lumped in as a moral and political cesspool offended me deeply. I know my feelings are shared by other New Canadians, one of whom said he was sickened when he read that Motion. He couldn't even discuss it with his wife, he had her read it for herself.

When I, and others, became citizens of Canada, we took the following oath: "I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen."

I am proud to be a Canadian, and I am proud to be have been elected to serve my community, the residents of the Town of Milton.

Building new schools in Milton

Posted on February 13th, 2010, by Jan at http://www.janmowbray.ca/

School lands. School lands are set aside by the town through the planning exercise – so many per expected population per area. There are quite a few planned. Schools are planned next to parks and trails for the benefit of children and the neighbourhood at large.

All lands are privately owned, most likely by a developer. The school board negotiates the purchase of the lands from the developer. The province will not build any new schools until the current ones are at capacity (or overcrowded), and have the required enrollment for a new school.

It’s the school board's job to force the issue. From my understanding the Halton School Board has a done a good job in that regard as several schools are set to be built in Milton.

The province has a per capita dollar amount for schools. To any suggestion that the town buy the land and hand it over to the school board makes no sense. Taxpayers already pay an education tax (a big portion of our property tax bill) and to expect the town of Milton to raise tax money to buy land to hand over to the school boards wouldn’t lower the education tax – it would result in a double tax whammy - and wouldn't result in a new school anyway until after the enrollment requirement is met.