November 2, 2023 Newsletter

Find your Ward here and your Council Members here

Federal Housing Minister requests Oakville

Council change local development rules

for funding consideration

Long-term changes to local development

would "strengthen Oakville's application"

Federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser wrote to Oakville Council saying he needs the town to change the Official Plan and local development rules before he can consider approving Oakville’s application for funds from the Federal Housing Accelerator Fund’s three-year funding program.

The Housing Accelerator Fund provides grants to pay a portion of the costs of growth.

Town Staff had submitted an application at the invitation of federal officials and followed all of what they said was required in order to guarantee approval. The federal minister's unexpected letter poses additional requirements with no guarantee of approval of any amount if we make the 'requested' changes.

Mayor Burton wants to hear from you. Should we abandon neighborhood zoning and impose the four other changes to the way we manage development that the Minister has said he needs in order to consider approving the application?

Send your advice to [email protected]

Read the Minister's letter here.

E-mail Mayor Burton

Community centres and arenas closed as Oakville outside workers and facility operators go on strike

CUPE 136, the union representing the town’s outside workers and facility operators have officially gone on strike effective November 2, 2023.

Impacted facilities and services during a strike

Some of the Town of Oakville's facilities and public services are affected by the strike. The town has plans in place to limit the disruption as much as possible and ensure that essential service delivery, and health and safety related matters are prioritized.

The following facilities will close:

Community centres and arenas
Washrooms in parks
Leash free dog parks
Field house at Bronte Athletic Park

Other impacts include:

Recreation and culture rentals and programs will be cancelled
Loose leaf collection suspended on residential roads. Service will continue only on primary and secondary roads
Some other services offered by parks, and roads and works operations will also be at reduced capacity

Town Hall including ServiceOakville, libraries (including those operating out of community centres), Sir John Colborne Recreation Centre for Seniors, Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate, and the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts will remain open. Oakville Transit will continue to operate. The town also offers many services online.

For updates on the labour disruption and a list of impacted services visit the Labour Relations page. Information will also be shared on the town’s social media channels and with the media. Residents are also encouraged to stay up to date by subscribing to the town’s newsletter and visiting the News and Notices page.

Quote

“We value the work of our CUPE 136 employees. They provide very important services to the residents and businesses of Oakville. We are disappointed that CUPE 136 has decided to commence its strike. However, we are willing to return to the bargaining table for meaningful conversations about the issues that led to the impasse provided we have a partner who is also open to these conversations to substantially bridge the gap between the parties and reach a deal.”

– Jane Clohecy, Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Oakville.

Quick Facts

CUPE Local 136 represents the town’s outside workers and facility operators, and is the town’s second largest bargaining unit, with more than 285 members in various roles.
After numerous days of bargaining since April 2023, negotiations reached an impasse last month.
On Monday, October 30 the union notified the town they are proceeding with a strike as of 12:01 a.m. on November 2, exercising the first opportunity to strike.
Last month, the union rejected the town’s offer, which included overall wage increases worth 12.75 per cent over four years, significant enhancement to vacation entitlement as well as increases to shift premiums, meal and tool allowances, plus the introduction of compassionate care leave top up payments.

For Labour Updates

Mayor Burton will provide information to the Legislative Committee studying Regional Governance

Mayor Burton has been invited to provide information to the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure, and Cultural Policy at their meeting in Barrie November 4, 2023.

Mayor Burton will be sharing information from a research paper by a York University professor, Dr. Zac Spicer, on the history of the origins and purpose of Ontario's two-tier regional government structure set up beginning 50 years ago. Mayor Burton commissioned the research paper when the Ontario government announced the Committee would be studying regional government. You can read the paper here.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra asked the Legislature's Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure & Cultural Policy to take on the work of assessing regional government structures in Durham, Halton, Niagara, Simcoe, Waterloo and York that was originally going to be done by provincially-appointed "facilitators".

The Committee decided yesterday to add meetings in Halton and in the other Regions that are under review by the Ontario government, but has not set dates or locations yet.

Read the paper on Regional Government here

Toronto Star - Canadians want denser housing so long as that triplex isn’t next door, poll finds

A new poll shows the majority of Canadians support increasing high-density housing — just not in their backyards.

About 60 per cent of Canadians say they support increasing density in cities across the country, according to polling data published today by Pollara Strategic Insights, a market research group. However, when asked how they would feel if a single-family home on their block was converted into a triplex, only about 20 per cent said it would be a “good thing.”

“I think it’s certainly notable that there is this widespread support for density, but that erodes or becomes a lot more complicated when you actually give people that specific (example),” said Dan Arnold, chief strategy officer at Pollara.

“I think it highlights some of the challenges that governments have as they’re trying to deal with this issue.”

About 43 per cent of Canadians said they would view a triplex replacing a single-family home on their block as a “bad thing.” About half of homeowners surveyed felt this way, compared to 30 per cent of renters

Read the full story

Globe and Mail - How the baby boomer exodus will imbalance the Canadian workplace

The last of the baby boomer generation will be turning 65 in 2030, marking a pivotal moment in a demographic squeeze that has loomed over Canadian workplaces for years. By then, most of this generation will be retired – and the labour market will face a new reality.

“A big group of people that have a lot of experience and have seen a lot and [carry] a lot of wisdom will exit our labour market,” says Rafael Gomez, a professor and director of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources who has researched aging demographics in the working population extensively.

Presently, o ne-third of workers in Canada are millennials, with Gen Xers close behind at 29.5 per cent, and the younger Gen Z ringing in at 17.6 per cent. However, Gen Xers have been routinely passed over when it comes to promotions – meaning their experience levels may not completely fill the void left by retiring boomers. They’re also vastly outnumbered by younger generations.

This, says Mr. Gomez, may cause the labour market to lose its delicate balance – with some industries facing more dramatic upheavals than others. At last count, there were around 700,000 unfilled jobs in the country, most notably in food services, health care, social services and construction.

Read the full story

Remembrance Day ceremonies in Oakville

Remembrance Day provides residents with the opportunity to honour and remember those who have served, and continue to serve Canada during times of war, conflict and peace.

On the days leading up to November 11, including Indigenous Veterans Day on November 8, residents can pay tribute to veterans and active service members by:

wearing a poppy and making a donation to the Poppy Fund;
observing two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. on November 11 wherever they are;
expressing their gratitude online through social media by using #OakvilleRemembers hashtag; and
joining the local ceremonies.

Local ceremonies

The Bronte branch of the Royal Canadian Legion will be hosting a walk from its 79 Jones St. location to the Chris Vokes Memorial Park cenotaph, beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, November 5, with a ceremony taking place from 10:50 a.m. to noon.
A parade to George's Square will begin at Oakville Trafalgar Community Centre, 325 Reynolds St., at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony at George’s Square will follow.
A ceremony will take place at Memorial Park at the Trafalgar Memorial on November 11 from 10:50 a.m. to noon.

Town Hosts First Hindu Heritage Month Flag Raising

Councillors Nav Nanda and Scott Xie hosted residents, members of the Oakville Fire Department and the Halton Regional Police Services at town hall in a celebration of Hindu Heritage Month and raised the flag.

Mayor Burton proclaimed November 2023 as Hindu Heritage Month in the Town of Oakville.

Cricket field and additional sports fields at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex are on track to open in spring 2024

Latest project update:

Sod is being placed at the new cricket ground! The ground and sports fields will open in spring 2024.
Geothermal drilling is now complete. More than 200 boreholes have been drilled for heat pump purposes.

Mayor Burton joined Ward 7 Councillors Scott Xie, Nav Nanda and town staff on a tour of the future community park.

The community park will include two additional lit sports fields (one with artificial turf), cricket field, skateboard park, bike pump track, basketball courts, splash pad, children’s playground, a fieldhouse and washroom facility.

The sports fields and cricket pitch will open in spring 2024, with the other park features planned for later in 2024. The community centre and library will open in 2025.

For more information

Local News

Halton Police Board approves $203.8-million police budget for 2024

The Halton Police Board has approved a $203.8-million police budget for 2024.

The budget request, which will come before Halton regional council for final approval at a later date, was discussed during a board meeting on Oct. 26.

Halton police Chief Stephen Tanner acknowledged the funding request represents a 9.5 per cent increase compared to the $186-million budget in 2023, but he said these funds are what the service needs to help keep up with community growth and tackle emerging crime trends.

“The region does remain the safest large municipality in Canada. We’re all proud of that. We’ve got the lowest crime rate, the lowest crime severity index, although things are going up … Organized crime is alive and well across Canada and it is here too, along with all the different elements that brings with it whether it be cybercrime, human trafficking, guns and gangs, auto theft,” said Tanner.

“We want to ensure that we have the capability and the resources so we can continue to have the successes we’ve had in the past.”

Read the full story

Globe and Mail - Halton Hills had plans for a walkable town. Ontario’s Ford government had other ideas

Halton Hills is one of three dozen municipalities in Ontario’s densely populated Greater Golden Horseshoe that were forced to expand their urban boundaries and designate more land for housing, after the Progressive Conservative government imposed its will on their growth plans – tearing up years of work by local officials.

Last week, Housing Minister Paul Calandra pledged to reverse those interventions. The U-turn follows accusations by opposition members that the government used the same flawed process for both the municipal boundary expansions and the now-cancelled Greenbelt carve-outs.

Then-auditor-general Bonnie Lysyk found in August that opening up parts of the protected Greenbelt to housing – the subject of an RCMP investigation – favoured a handful of developers and handed them a potential $8-billion windfall.

Although municipal leaders welcomed Mr. Calandra’s decision to scrap the province’s boundary changes, the entire episode has raised questions about the ease with which developers and their lobbyists circumvented municipal councils and exerted their influence directly on Queen’s Park.

Rolling back the interventions was “an act of courage” by Mr. Calandra and “a recognition that a mistaken process had been made,” Ms. Lawlor told The Globe and Mail. “There has been a huge set of machinations that municipalities have gone through.”

Read the full story

Provincial News

Ontario Helping to Build More Rental Housing

The Ontario government is taking steps to remove the full eight per cent provincial portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on qualifying new purpose-built rental housing in order to get more rental homes built across the province.

The removal of the provincial portion of the HST would apply to new purpose-built rental housing such as apartment buildings, student housing and senior residences built specifically for long-term rental accommodation, that meet the criteria. The enhanced rebate would apply to qualifying projects that begin construction between September 14, 2023 and December 31, 2030, and complete construction by December 31, 2035.

Read the news release

Ontario Strengthening Holocaust Education in High Schools

The Ontario government is introducing new and expanded mandatory learning about the Holocaust in the compulsory Grade 10 History course. In addition, the province is investing $650,000 in community partnerships that provide resources for students and educator training to expand learning on fundamental Canadian values, including the importance of safeguarding democracy from extreme and harmful ideologies.

Starting September 2025, new expanded learning about the Holocaust in the Grade 10 History course will explicitly link the Holocaust to extreme political ideologies, including fascism, antisemitism in Canada in the 1930s and 1940s, and the contemporary impacts of rising antisemitism.

Read the news release

National News

Stabilizing Canada’s immigration targets to support sustainable growth

The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, today tabled the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan. This plan is tailored to support economic growth while balancing with the pressures in areas like housing, healthcare and infrastructure. It charts a responsible course for sustainable and stable population growth.

With this Levels Plan, the Government of Canada is maintaining its target of 485,000 permanent residents for 2024 and completing the final step to reach 500,000 in 2025. Starting in 2026, the government will stabilize permanent resident levels at 500,000, allowing time for successful integration, while continuing to augment Canada’s labour market. The government also plans to take action over the next year to recalibrate the number of temporary resident admissions to ensure this aspect of our immigration system also remains sustainable.

Read the news release

Canada to match donations for humanitarian response in Gaza and West Bank

Canada continues to actively advocate for humanitarian pauses and the rapid, sustained and unimpeded access of essential humanitarian relief to Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, announced that the Government of Canada will match donations made to the Humanitarian Coalition’s Gaza Humanitarian Emergency Appeal. Every donation made by individuals to the Humanitarian Coalition and its members retroactively from October 7, 2023, until November 12, 2023, will be matched, up to a maximum of $10 million.

Read the news release

Upcoming Events

Oakville Historical Society - Speakers' Night on November 13, 2023

Dorval Crossing Civitan Farmer’s Market is the Town of Oakville’s longest running farmer’s market. Our market operates from 8:00 a.m. till 1:30 p.m every Saturday from May until the end of November. All proceeds earned by the market stall rentals are donated to local Oakville charities.

oakvillefarmersmarket.ca oakvillecivitan.ca