Opinions

Burlington has a hidden homeless problem, with many people living in tents along the railway tracks. Social housing is the responsibility of Halton Region. While Halton Community Housing Corporation manages…

What does Community Housing in Halton mean? Where does the Indwell Project on Waterdown Rd fit in?

5 questions to consider asking candidates in the upcoming municipal election.

The political landscape in Burlington has shifted. The 2026 mayoral race, has been a field of speculation, suddenly ignited by the entry of Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan. Ward 2…

Do we need a Cadillac parking garage downtown? One ready to be converted to social housing once we don’t drive cars? This is not a glitch in the matrix; just another city council meeting.

Is Burlington missing the bus on transit?

Burlington is at a transit crossroads, and Joe Gaetan’s latest article suggests we might be “missing the bus” if we don’t adapt. Here is a quick breakdown of why this transit trial matters for the city’s future.

Joe Gaetan digs into the controversial approval of $160,000 in taxpayer funds for the FIFA Canada Caravan. Following a Freedom of Information request, new details have emerged that challenge the “last-minute urgency” narrative presented to City Council.

Thank you to the 238 people who responded to Focus Burlington’s survey on this issue. The results are included in the article.

With municipal nominations opening May 1st, candidates must weigh the risks of vote-splitting. In 2018’s Ward 5 race, Paul Sharman won with 33.99% of the vote, edging out his closest rival by only 6%. To unseat incumbents, challengers must realistically assess their funding and visibility, sometimes “taking one for the team” to avoid a split.

The 2026 municipal election is less than eight months away. In preparation, Focus Burlington recently hosted its second Town Hall event on February 26th titled “Taking the Next Big Step:…

This article was originally published in the Burlington Independent, Burlington’s only print newspaper. The AI-generated picture accompanying this article was added by Focus Burlington. The latest city council meetings have…

2026 will usher in another municipal election. It has been eight years since the mayor and councillors were first elected. https://www.focusburlington.ca/ready-set-run/ If their first term was heavily impacted by the…

In January 2024, Burlington’s council stood shoulder to shoulder with federal ministers to announce a “huge investment” in our city’s housing future: $21 million from Ottawa’s Housing Accelerator Fund. The…

There has been a lot of discussion lately about “engagement.” I previously wrote about this subject in the context of comments from a recent Focus Burlington Town Hall meeting about people’s experiences delegating at City Hall.

Some have asked what Focus Burlington would do differently. This post answers that question.

“What would you do to improve the delegation process at City Council”?

Join us on Tuesday, January 20th, 7 pm, Lions Club Hall. Our Panellists Mark Carr Mark is the retired Executive Director of not-for-profit agencies and has been involved in politics…

The City of Burlington has set aside $160,000 for a FIFA Caravan Event. In addition to the $160,000, a part-time staff member will be hired to coordinate the event with…

The Standing Committee meeting of December 1st, 2025, raised far more questions than were answered – in part because our councillors did not ask them. While some members emphasized keeping…

This post discusses two RFPs RFP-25-202 and RFP-25-203. Copies of the RFP documents are linked at the bottom of this article for anyone interested in reading the them. In Burlington,…

When it comes to competitive swimming, Burlington swimmers have 2 outdoor and 4 indoor pools to choose from. The city’s recent and controversial decision to award an “RFP” to the…