听
In her opinion article, Emily Zarevich says she not really feeling the charms of our home of Burlington. She asks, 鈥淒oes everyone who鈥檚 lived in the same city for twenty-plus years feel this way?鈥 As someone whose family moved to Burlington in 1989, I can only say, 鈥淣o.鈥
Burlington did not become a tourist destination overnight and based on the visits of my out-of-town friends, is still underrated. I can鈥檛 tell you how many times I鈥檝e heard, 鈥淚 though it was just a suburb!鈥
Yes, Burlington has traffic, but other than Lakeshore Road on a sunny weekend, it is not tourism-driven. Rather, it鈥檚 the clogging of the highways and lack of sufficient regional rail that sends travellers onto our roads, a common issue across the 905. And data shows our big parking garage has excess spaces almost every day of the year.
One of the things that makes Burlington special is its connection to nature 鈥 the Niagara escarpment to the north, the lake to the south, Bronte Creek Provincial Park to the east and the Royal Botanical Gardens to the west. And we also boast expansive greenspace in Lowville and down at the lake, hosting Canada鈥檚 largest free music festival and sandy shores to play in. That鈥檚 why we love living here.
Has Burlington changed since I moved here as a kid? Certainly. Do we wax nostalgic for the good ol鈥 days? Sometimes. Do we also love our patios, our ice cream shoppes, our parks and our restaurants, all thriving in no small part due to the pocket-emptying whimsy of out-of-towners chasing the sun and the romance of our city? Absolutely.
Burlington wouldn鈥檛 be Burlington without our visitors, and we love being tourists in our own town. We are really lucky. See you at the beach.
Rory Nisan is Deputy Mayor (Environment) of Burlington
Gurney is being wilfully naive about gun control
As a gun collector, Matt Gurney is being wilfully naive about them, and when he talks about gun control, he sounds like Pierre Poilievre. In an age rife with conspiracy theories available to unstable men, it’s madness to allow minimally vetted people to store efficient killing machines in their too-easily burglarized homes. Gurney’s claim that all cops are dismissive of gun control is nonsense, when anywhere between 20 per cent and a third of crime guns are domestically sourced. Guns are easily fenced, gifted, even rented. In the debates, Poilievre used the Quebec Mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonette as an example of sentencing laxity because he wanted the shooter to get several life sentences rather than just one, and “come out (of prison) in a box.” Doesn’t he know that Bisonette was a legal gun owner, who just happened to crack? Does Gurney feel that the presence of guns in the home doesn’t add menace in cases of psychological partner abuse, when one partner frequently threatens to kill the other, or kill themselves? Does he not know that guns are the second most frequently used suicide-completion device, second only to strangling? In cases of antisemitism, doesn’t he understand that shots fired at schools and community centres are more menacing than a scrawled swastika or a hurled insult or threat? Does he really think lockdowns and “active shooter drills” are a good thing to import from the U.S. because there are so many powerful guns around? On the subject of guns, Gurney, an effective debater, is all wet.
Ron Charach, Toronto听
听
Keep gun-control front and centre听
Canada doesn’t have a gun-control problem? What is Matt Gurney’s threshold for assessment? Does Canada have to reflect Chicago statistics (July 4 weekend, 2024, 109 people shot, NBC NEWS), before a gun-control problem qualifies here in Canada? Remove the word “control.” It’s been slyly inserted to make a quasi-legitimate argument of failed government control with legislation. Yes, it fails badly. Gun runners don’t declare them at the 8,890 kilometre border. But we do have a gun problem. Governments should never stop declaring war on guns.听It only took one illegal Ruger Mini-14 to murder 14 women and maim 10 for life in Montreal. A 2020 CBC investigation estimated there were听16,859 Ruger Mini-14s in Canada and more than听83,000 M16s, M4s, AR-10s and Ar-15s. If Carney sounds like Justin Trudeau, it sounds great to me. Keep promising! Keep trying! Keep it front and centre in your policies. Just don’t pretend we don’t have a problem.
Norman Coutts, Toronto
Province should reinstate funding for electric school buses
Schools aren鈥檛 ready for climate change, and diesel fumes have trapped kids and staff for decades.听Diesel is one of the worst GHG emitters, accelerating our planet鈥檚 heating. It causes asthma, cognitive delays, higher absenteeism, and harms student and staff health. The province can do more than just a couple of umbrellas on hot tarmacs 鈥 it can reinstate funding for electric school buses. The Ministry of Education should push to make it happen. Electrifying buses reduces emissions, creates green jobs, and improves health 鈥 local action for a livable climate. Our kids鈥 and staff health should be non-negotiable.
Melanie听Duckett-Wilson,听Newmarket
Canada must take bold action on the Arctic
With U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Canada, I would like to suggest our Prime Minister take some bold action on the Arctic to assert our sovereignty. I would like to suggest a treaty or coalition of all Arctic nations. Canada, Greenland/Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and any other like-minded western country but not including Russia or the U.S.A. At least not at the present moment. This will show a strong protective stance for both Greenland/Denmark and Canada. I believe this will send a strong message to the world at large and in particular the Americans, that they are not needed or necessary at this juncture.
Kurt Crist, Consecon, ON
Non-profit housing for the homeless is far less costly than police action
I am appalled to learn that Doug Ford intends to reintroduce in the Legislature Bill 242 (The Safer Municipalities Act). This act gives the police impunity to immediately evict an encampment, seize belongings, and arrest a homeless person on suspicion of drug possession/use (no burden of proof necessary), entails a $10,000 fine, six months of jail time, or both at the discretion of the arresting officer. It also allows physically relocating a homeless person to any social service agency for them to “deal with” without additional resources (and potentially opening the door to mandatory treatment) and considers it an aggravating factor if someone is deemed “likely to trespass again” 鈥 which is any homeless person.
Have we, as a society, stooped so far as to blame the victim in this situation too? Most homeless people have survived trauma, and homelessness creates yet more trauma. Housing cures homelessness. So instead of unleashing yet more expensive and cruel police action, we should be building non-profit housing with support services for those who need them. Non-profit housing is less costly than shelters and far less costly than police action. Let’s use our tax dollars wisely and in the service of compassion.
Kate Chung, Toronto
听
Name ‘Heroes Way’ is not representative of the tragic event
As we mark the 7th anniversary of the Yonge Street Van Attack, 海角社区官网has yet to erect a long-promised permanent memorial. Instead, the city plans to rename an adjacent street, 鈥淗eroes Way.鈥 While I fully support the renaming concept, the name chosen is not representative of the tragic event, nor the 11 the lives senselessly taken. Would 鈥淟ost innocence Place鈥 or “Lost Innocents Way” be more appropriate?
Ian Alter, North York
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation