Today marks a somber day in our history. 33 years ago today 14 women were murdered at Ecole Polytechnic. We remembered them and other victims of gender based violence at #Milton Town Hall in cooperation with The Women’s Centre of Halton, Halton Women’s Place, Savis Halton and HVPC.
Roses were laid in their memory as well as for those missing & murdered indigenous women along with one to honour the survivors of domestic violence.
There have been too many lives lost to gender based violence – tragically even recently in our own community we have suffered that loss.
I had the honour of placing a white rose to show male allyship in our quest to end violence against women. This has to stop.
Conservation Halton CEO Hassaan Basit kicks off the days events with a land acknowledgement and a welcome to Pride In Nature
Under the warmth of a bright blue sky, people filed into Area 8 Kelso in Milton to take part in Conservation Halton’s Pride In Nature event.
Activities for the day included live music, dancing, drag queen performances as well as planting of shrubs and wildflowers along with a hike around Kelso Quarry Lake.
Dance, dance, dance!
It was a beautiful day to take in nature and support the Positive Space Network and to welcome everyone I luck g our 2SLGTBQ+ community. CH is committed to making sure we that diversity and inclusion for all is part of the fabric of the organization and community.
Mona Mousa was our emcee for the day and her energy and passion for this is infectious (and she happens to be a dedicated Glen Eden skier in the winter)
Thank you to everyone who attended this special day. Proceeds from ticket sales goes to support the Positive Space Network.
It seems like forever since the last time we met up at Milton Town Hall to celebrate pride month in Milton.
The last two years, for obvious reasons, the flag raising was held virtually and it wasn’t to difficult to see the enthusiasm of the participants this year.
From 2018 Pride Month in Milton.
The Town of Milton began the official flag raising back in 2018 in the the company of a much small but no less dedicated crowd and its grown ever since.
People packed the lobby of town hall to hear he Mayor read out the proclamation declaring June being Pride Month in Milton. We heard from many speakers as well – messages of their desire for acceptance and inclusion in the community they proudly call home.
As we made it outside, the sun began to shine brightly as the organizers of the event made their way to the flag pole to proudly raise the flag.
I was joined by several of my council colleagues (Clr’s Di Lorenzo, Tesser Dersken, Challinor & Best – with others not being able to make it but there in spirit) to hear the cheers from the crowd as the flag made its way up the pole.
As one of the speakers mentioned, this is a hugely proud moment and a symbolic event, but it’s just a start to ensure we all work towards acceptance of the 2SLGTBQ+ community by everyone. Education is key and the Town of Milton has committed to working towards that goal where everyone is and feels welcome in their home town.
Many thanks to Melanie and Austin from the Milton 2SLGTBQ+ community organization for making this such a memorable event for all of us. Happy Pride Month everyone!!!
At tonights Town of Milton Council meeting we will be having a public meeting on an upcoming staff report to regulate short term rentals.
Over the last few years, the issue of short term rentals has come up on a number of occasions in both the urban and rural areas. In some cases in ward 3, properties are being used as “Party Houses” in residential areas. I was witness to a full sized bus dropping off close to 75 people to one house and in turn there was local property damage, loud music and a huge disruption in the neighbourhood due to excess noise and “other activities”
Council recently asked staff to come up with guidelines for future uses of short term rentals in Milton to avoid these problems that do come up. Trying to balance the right of the homeowner to rent out their property and the rights of the surrounding neighbourhood is difficult and we’re asking Milton residents what they think.
Ban them? What kinds of restrictions should be put in place? It’s all up for discussion.
Here is a link to the report we have so far and after this meeting tonight, and via Lets Talk Milton website, they will come back to council on June 20th with the final report. There are already some delegations set up but being a public meeting, you can have your say tonight. If you cant make the meeting tonight, please feel free to email me your comments mike.cluett@milton.ca
As we inch closer to the summer months and higher demands for services like Air BNB, Vrbo and others its important we establish some clear guidelines to protect local neighbourhoods and the property owners themselves.
The Town of Milton is asking residents of Milton to take part in a discussion for “Living In Milton” policy to address important community issues from today until June 8th.
The discussion will look at the following topics – affordability and housing choices, climate change, history & culture, parks & recreation, places of worship, rural living, urban design & youth.
There are a series of videos you will find on Let’s Talk Milton that provide more detail on what we are looking for. All feedback received will be complied into a report to be presented to council for June 20, 2022.
This hasn’t been an overnight effort to get to this point. Our council has been working on this plan for the last few years, consulting with businesses & residents alike to hear what you need and want for the future of this town. We are surrounded by some amazing amenities and live a wonderful quality of life and we want to make it better.
This council and future ones need to hear from you on what the best direction forward is going to be. We’ve done a good job so far getting to this point but strong leadership is going to be needed to move forward and not get left behind. This is where your input is so valued.
In addition to finalizing our official plan, we need to ensure going forward this council continues making the investments needed in infrastructure and the delivery of services to make sure the quality of life in Milton improves.
The decisions that will be made going forward regarding future growth, economic development, the environment and the delivery of services to the residents of Milton will have a long term impact on our future prosperity and the ability to become the complete community we desire to be.
We want to hear from you!
Over the last 4 years, I along with other members of both Town and Regional council have been working through literally thousands of pages of documents on growth plans, where we are growing, how to grow, what to build, who to build for, and what we want our community to look like in the next 30 years. To say its been exhausting would be an understatement. Hundreds of hours of consultation with the public, staff, consultants and councillors has occurred over the last 3 years and we are reaching the end of our official plan review and soon be able to set the course for the future.
You’ve told me that you want walkable communities, the ability to live and work in town, better transit connectivity, and access to services provided by the town and region. Im confident that the course we are on is the best one for not only us, but for our children to provide them with a complete community where they can live, work, play, learn and raise their family in comfort and sustainability.
Please register online to Let’s Talk Milton and have your say. As always, Im available for comments via this site, my social media or simply pick up the phone and call/text/WhatsApp me.
I would just like to express my disappointment at the Mayor of Oakville’s comments in his recent email newsletter about working on a motion to limit the expansion of the urban boundary that will put at risk Milton’s ability to grow into a complete community.
Halton Region yesterday had a workshop that lasted several hours where Halton planners answered many questions brought forward by my colleagues around the table coming to the conclusion that the only option to move forward on is minimal expansion to the urban boundary.
For the last 10 plus years, Milton residents have worked on a vision they wanted for our town. There has been in person consultations, Milton’s Vision report and a lot of discussion on Lets Talk Milton about what we want Milton to be in the coming years.
Without expansion of the urban boundary, it puts at risk our long term economic development plans and bringing jobs for residents to live, work and learn in our community. A majority of Milton Town Council along with a majority of our Halton Region Councillors agree with the urban boundary expansion.
The sole Milton voice at Halton Region that opposes our vision that we have built is Councillor Best. He feels that all we need to do is “drive around town” and see that we have enough space for development out to 2051. This is a completely uninformed analysis based on anecdotal evidence. He ignores the numerous Region & Town of Milton’s studies and Land Needs Assessments that have come to the conclusion that no urban boundary expansion will work.
The next meeting of Halton Region council will be on February 16th where this and possibly other motions will be entertained to delay the submission for our official plan. If we don’t meet this deadline, there are chances where the province will step in and plan our growth without our plan.
This cannot happen. Its not about saving farmland as they might say…its simply about politics. Let Milton control its own growth and not have outside forces dictate to us what kind of community we should be. We already know what kind we want…a complete community.
