13th Edition of Miracle on Main Toy Drive Raises Over $850,000!

January 20, 2022January 21, 2022Mike Cluett

Amazing news regarding this years #MiracleOnMain toy drive in #Halton. Over $850,000 raised in toys & cash donations for families in need. THANK YOU to everyone who supported the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation & Halton Regional Police Service’s efforts. You have made a huge difference in peoples lives!

Here’s the link to the Halton Police news story.

$850,418 Raised for Families in Need Through Miracle on Main Street Toy Drive

It was that time of year again when families were thinking about the holiday season. There are many families that are less fortunate and struggle to provide their children with an enjoyable Christmas, and some who are simply not able to buy their children a toy. This year the struggle was even greater for more families because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The partnership between the Halton Regional Police Service and the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation was not going to allow COVID-19 to put a headlock on the Miracle on Main toy drive and instead laid the smackdown on the pandemic by raising a record setting $850,418 in combined donations and sponsorships in support of youth, women and families in need living in Halton Region.

Halton Regional Police Service members and the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation volunteers spent an unbelievable amount of time collecting, packing and delivering the donated items to organizations and families in need. The time, commitment, and passion all of these individuals brought to the campaign is unmeasurable. With such dedication, the campaign will be able to support more families in need for years to come!

Approximately 45 businesses and community partners donated to this year’s campaign. The toys and gift cards collected were donated to families in need across the Halton Region and to several Halton community organizations including Salvation Army Chapters, Halton Women’s Place, CMHA, Big Brother’s Big Sister’s, Faith Based organizations, Halton Elementary Schools, just to name a few.

This year $45,000 in combined gift cards and funding was donated to public schools. $20,000 worth of gift cards were presented to 194 students from 41 schools and $25,000 was distributed to public schools in support of initiatives such as mental health, family wellness and technology.

Halton Regional Police Service and the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation would like to thank our volunteers, public schools, media partners, businesses, sponsors, and the community for the incredible support in helping us reach this milestone!

“A simple gesture of kindness can leave an impression on a child to last a lifetime and that’s what Miracle on Main hopes to achieve each year. Given we were not able to hold a live event again this year due to the pandemic, I am simply blown away by the amazing support from the community and record number of businesses collecting toys and promoting the message of inclusion, “ said Tiger Jeet Singh Jr., President of the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation.

“Community Safety and Well-being is a shared responsibility, and it is great to see so many people and organizations step up to do their part. The success of the Miracle on Main initiative demonstrates what is possible when our community comes together to help others. We are so immensely proud to partner with the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation in such a meaningful campaign each year,” said Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie.

Sergeant Ric Judson stated “Without the support and generosity of our local businesses and community partners, we could not do what we do! It’s inspiring to see a community come together to do amazing things!”

Visit www.MiracleOnMain.ca for more information.

Outdoor Skating in Milton

January 10, 2022January 10, 2022Mike Cluett

I had a chance to read a letter to the editor from a resident talking about how Milton needs a “real outdoor skating rink.” I happen to agree.

Here’s a link to the letter from Inside Halton – Milton Canadian Champion

EMMA:63194067 — *Image of Rotary Park courtesy of Milton Canadian Champion*

Preparations are now underway – in a matter of days from what I’ve been told by our staff – where Rotary Park and Campbellville Old Park outdoor rinks will be ready to go. Of course these are no refrigerated rinks and will rely entirely on the weather being cold enough to operate.

In the past, Milton has had these rinks in operation but pre-COVID, they weren’t utilized a lot due to warmer than normal winters we have experienced. Of course, during last winter, the temperatures were cold enough, but in a previous budget council had voted to close them. During the winters of 16/17 and 17/18, the rinks were in use for a total of seven days which made the decision to discontinue the service in 2019 easier.

Due to residents calls to action last year, our staff had put together some options for council to consider back in July and the decision was made to bring back the operations of Rotary and Campbellville Old Park as staff works on some numbers for council to consider moving forward.

There are other municipalities like Brampton & Mississauga who have over the years made the investments in outdoor skating rinks that are refrigerated and built into their budgets. Milton however hasn’t considered these investments in the past and now if we are to move ahead in providing these services, will be required to make some “significant financial investments” in these rinks.

I’ll give you some examples from that staff report for you wrap your heads around.

There are a number of options for outdoor rinks.

Run by the town & non refrigerated
Community Volunteer Program – run by local neighbourhood groups within town parks
Run by the town – Synthetic
Run by the town – Refrigerated

What we are currently providing with the two rinks costs us (taxpayers) roughly $16,000 for 2021/22 and $33,000 in 2022/23 in staffing, supplies and ongoing maintenance of the rinks. These costs will increase with the introduction of more rinks in town parks.

The next option of a community volunteer program is REALLY interesting and it would allow individual neighbourhoods in approved park settings to assist in the construction and maintenance of local rinks around the community. This is one of the options our staff are developing for council review and will be brought to us later this year for discussion. Costs will be dependent obviously on how many rinks will be approved, the uptake from the community to volunteer assistance as well as risk management (ie insurance) and screening processes.

The synthetic ice option is not something we would recommend at this point and would require a substantial capital and operating investment which in essence prices us out the market, but still can remain a long term goal for operations. There are synthetic rinks in Burlington and Brampton for those interested in seeing what its like.

Finally the town run refrigerated rinks which seems to be many peoples favourites as it guarantees a longer time of operation and less dependent on weather patterns. Notice its not entirely free of weather dependency but still can be used by the public longer than non refrigerated rinks.

The initial capital costs of this rinks are roughly $2-3 million each and approximately $300-400,000 in operational costs as you have to ensure each location has a changing facility and washroom structure and staff room available in where these are located.

As I mentioned, we will be getting an update as a part of our community services master plan process as we continue to grow. One of those areas is part of our Downtown Civic Square Study which should be updated later this year.

I hope this post helps in providing you some information about the outdoor rinks, where we stand now, why we made the decisions as a council in the past and what we’re doing about it moving forward.

The other hope I have is that you understand we are following this process to ensure we’re making the best decisions possible and not spending money on band aid solutions, but working on a plan that will service residents properly as we continue to grow.

The next steps are for council to review these options when they come to us later this year and to make the decisions about the capital and operating investments that will have to be made. As I mentioned, the refrigerated rinks comes with a price tag – a cost that will have to be paid by taxpayers (i.e. property taxes) and our council will have to decide if there is enough political will to make these investments in our community. We are going to grow in size over the next 10-20-30 years and in my opinion if we are to be a “complete community” our council will have to make these investments now. Waiting for a “want to become a need” as some around our table have described it is simply shortsighted knowing full well how large we are going to be growing.

We have to realize on the vision we have for Milton. Its all good to talk about it – we need to start doing it.

COVID 19 Vaccination Clinic Info

January 10, 2022January 10, 2022Mike Cluett

In collaboration with the Town of Milton and with the support of our surrounding Family Health Teams, Prime Care FHT will be hosting a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the Milton Sports Centre beginning January 11, 2022.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: MUST BE AGE 18 OR OLDER; pediatric doses not available at this time 1st, 2nd and 3rd doses available For booster dose, must be 84 days after second dose Ages 18 to 29 will receive Pfizer Ages 30+, will receive Moderna Available to members of ALL COMMUNITIES

BOOK NOW

This Week on Local Matters on YourTV Halton

January 6, 2022January 10, 2022Mike Cluett

Cant take the stripes off the referee no matter what role he’s in.

I had the pleasure of having Ward 2 Halton Hills Councillor Bryan Lewis on the show with me where he quickly corrects me as to the exact location of the Yourtv Halton studios … in ward 2 Halton Hills.

“Clark is that you….?” I thought I could get rid of him but not even a dental procedure could keep him off the show Tune in to Local Matters with Mike Cluett tonight at 730pm and 10pm CH 14/700HD Truly Local Television (to the exact coordinates in fact)

Happy New Year Milton 2022 Is Here

January 1, 2022January 10, 2022Mike Cluett

Statement from Halton Region RE Milton Intermodal

November 25, 2021November 25, 2021Mike Cluett

For Immediate Release

November 25, 2021
Halton Municipalities reviewing legal options following Canadian Transportation Agency decision regarding CN’s Milton Project

On November 22, 2021, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) released its decision to approve CN’s application for railway line approval as part of CN’s proposed Milton intermodal facility.
“We are extremely disappointed the CTA’s decision,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “The Federal Government has once again ignored its obligation to protect the health and safety of our residents, and at a time when health is our collective focus.”

While this Federal decision is essential for CN to move forward with the Project in Milton, it fails to address the serious concerns of the Halton Municipalities, Conservation Halton and 34,000 residents living near the CN lands in Milton regarding the Project’s significant adverse environmental effects – impacts confirmed by the Federal Government’s own environmental assessment review panel. There is no urgency to this Project. CN has an existing facility in Brampton that is not at capacity and is not adjacent to tens of thousands of residential homes, 1 hospital, 2 long-term care homes and 12 schools.

The Halton Municipalities and Conservation Halton are reviewing their legal options to challenge the CTA’s decision under federal and provincial laws. “I want to assure the residents of Milton that we are pursuing every avenue available us to continue the fight,” said Mayor Gordon Krantz. “We have said since day one that Milton is not the right location for CN’s truck-rail hub, and we will continue to advocate to protect our community and environment.”
The Canadian Transportation Agency decision follows the January 21, 2021 decision of the Federal Government to approve CN’s proposal, despite findings from the environmental assessment review panel that the Project will cause significant adverse environmental effects that cannot be mitigated, including on air quality and human health. The panel also found that the Project required extensive mitigation to avoid causing an additional twenty-five significant effects, including effects on noise, ground and surface water, wetlands, endangered species, cultural heritage, and archaeology.

CN has continually claimed that it is exempt from all municipal and provincial laws, including those dealing with the significant adverse environmental effects requiring extensive mitigation. On April 15, 2021, the Halton Municipalities and Conservation Halton resumed its 2018 Ontario court case to challenge this claim, demanding that CN comply with all laws that protect the health of residents and the environment.

The Ontario court case is the second court action taken this year by the Halton Municipalities. On February 21, the Halton Municipalities and Conservation Halton filed an application with the Federal Court of Canada to review the decisions made by Federal Cabinet and the Minister of Environment and Climate change to approve CN’s project without addressing the serious issues raised by the federal panel.

To learn more about the Halton Municipalities’ position on the project, please visit halton.ca/CN.

The Regional Municipality of Halton serves more than 595,000 residents in the City of Burlington, the Town of Halton Hills, the Town of Milton, and the Town of Oakville. Halton Region is committed to meeting the needs of its residents through the delivery of cost-effective, quality programs and services, including water and wastewater; Regional roads and planning; paramedic services; waste management; public health; social assistance; children’s and seniors’ services; housing services; heritage programs; emergency management and economic development. For more information, call 311 or visit Halton Region’s website at halton.ca.

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Media Contact:
Stacey Hunter
Communications Advisor
Communications & Customer Service
Halton Region
905-825-6000, ext. 7529
Stacey.Hunter@halton.ca