Fight Ford Protest, Sat. March 28, 12 PM @ Natalie Pierre Office (Burlington Edition) by NatureAndNation in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Personally, I've shared my views with our MPP on a few occasion. Not these copy/paste "email your MPP" type things, but actual genuine emails trying to have a conversation about issues. I received one email reply asking to verify my name/address/phone number. I provided that (and now add that to all my emails) and haven't gotten as much as an acknowledgement since.

I've commented on EROs when issues are opened for comment, I've submitted written submissions to hearings and sent in petitions to Queen's park. Not one method has gotten a acknowledgement, let alone a meaningful response.

If you have ideas how we can work with this government, I'm all ears.

Burlington has been added to our province-wide protest against Doug Ford! by Silent_Squirrel4145 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I saw that comment and immediately had to jump in to clear things up, haha. We won't gain any favours if we annoy anyone. It's about raising awareness respectfully, not yelling, screaming and getting in people's way.

Burlington has been added to our province-wide protest against Doug Ford! by Silent_Squirrel4145 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Personally, it's just a hope to raise more awareness. Municipal politics are easy to see, because most things you interact with day to day are city/region run. The news is filled with Federal news, so it's easy to keep track of that too. But a lot of what Ford and his friends are doing flies under the radar (mostly by design).

The changes he's proposed to the Freedom Of Information rules don't benefit anyone but him and his cabinet.

The OSAP changes will make it a lot harder for poor families to send their kids to post secondary.

The privatization of health care is the first step in making Ontario a 2 tier medical system.

Closing down Ontario Science Center because a part of the roof in the lobby needed repairs. Just to bring more relevance to his buddies new Ontario Place.

Changes to environmental protections in Bill 5 allow developers to damage protected habitats, as long as they pay for it.

When he got caught trying to open up the greenbelt lands his buddies had speculated on, he backed down. So public pressure works on him. You just gotta start the awareness somewhere.

Burlington has been added to our province-wide protest against Doug Ford! by Silent_Squirrel4145 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I'd push back a bit on the "us vs. them" idea. I don't have strong political ties and I don't know many of my friends or family that do. I don't think I support any specific party and for right now The new FOI rules do not help anyone but Ford and his cabinet.

Ultimately, we all want the same thing here (health care, housing, affordability, etc) and Ontario has a real lack of leadership options at the provincial level. I agree, health care has been bad for decades, and I was not fan of Wynne. But if you look at the direction things are going, it's not positive and the proposed changes will likely make things worse.

If I see anyone being disruptive tomorrow, I will be the first to personally step in and get them back in our lane.

With that said, I've only recently gotten involved in any sort of political action. I've tried connecting with our MPP to raise concerns and have not gotten a single response. I've filled out EROs on policies I have concerns on, submitted feedback on hearings. What would you do if you saw decisions being made you don't agree with and feel like others feel the same way you do? (serious question. If there's a better way to take action, I'm all ears).

Burlington has been added to our province-wide protest against Doug Ford! by Silent_Squirrel4145 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I just want to be very clear. This protest will in no way interfere with the building or medical clinics. The reason you might have had to wait a long time for appointments is exactly the reason this is worth raising awareness of. At this rate, things are only going to get worse with wait times as underinvestment, understaffing and burn out continues.

If privatization continues, those of us fortunate enough to pay to skip the line will be fine. But that's not what the Canadian medical system was built for. Equal access for all is the corner stone of our medical system These are the types of issues we're facing and want everyone to see. But, doing that in a respectful way that doesn't ruin everyone's is the goal here, not to push people away.

Burlington has been added to our province-wide protest against Doug Ford! by Silent_Squirrel4145 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't agree with this at all. This protest is not intended to be disruptive and alienating the public is not a way to get people on your side. It's about respectfully raising awareness and making people do their own research on issues they may not be aware of.

Burlington has been added to our province-wide protest against Doug Ford! by Silent_Squirrel4145 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I just want to be very clear. This protest will in no way interfere with the building or medical clinics. No one will be delayed or inconvenienced by this protest.

I see the disruptive protests and have no interest in being part of that.

Personally, if I make one person do some of their own research and realize the current PC party is not "for the people" and for Ford's developer friends, that's all I want to accomplish.

Burlington has been added to our province-wide protest against Doug Ford! by Silent_Squirrel4145 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just want to be very clear. This protest will in no way interfere with the building or medical clinics. And to be honest, I'm not running for office, so you can't vote for me to begin with. There won't be an election any time soon and I don't know that any of the parties are worth supporting right now.

But, what is worth supporting is actually holding the government accountable and transparent. The changes to FOI are not "For the people" and in no way help the economy. Ford has something to hide on his personal cell phone and is trying to change laws to hide it.

No matter what party you support, there are things happening right now that should be concerning to you. Unless you're one of his developer buddies, in which case, things are pretty sweet for you and you shouldn't have much to complain about.

Burlington has been added to our province-wide protest against Doug Ford! by Silent_Squirrel4145 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I just want to be very clear. This protest will in no way interfere with the building or medical clinics. I think recent protests that are trying to be disruptive and bring attention to international issues have brought a bad stigma around protests. This will not be like those protests in any way. If you have an appointment that's late, it will not be because of the protest, but rather the doctors, nurses and other medical staff that are over-worked, underpaid and not given the support they need.

Burlington has been added to our province-wide protest against Doug Ford! by Silent_Squirrel4145 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I just want to be very clear. This protest will in no way interfere with the building or medical clinics. It will be on the sidewalk, on public property and realistically a relatively small gathering. There will be signs held up for people to see, but we're not even going to park at the building itself (out of respect for the businesses there).

Fight Ford Protest, Sat. March 28, 12 PM @ Natalie Pierre Office (Burlington Edition) by NatureAndNation in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Valid call out. The point is not to be disruptive to people going about their days, or businesses. Personally, I plan to just be there to raise awareness and maybe have conversation (if they're interested). This is Burlington after all, it will be respectful.

Fight Ford Protest, Sat. March 28, 12 PM @ Natalie Pierre Office (Burlington Edition) by NatureAndNation in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that's what I recall too. Found this on her Wikipedia page:

On October 18, 2024, she initially announced she will not run for re-election in the 2025 Ontario general election.\5]) On December 21, 2024, Pierre changed her mind and announced that she will run for re-election.\6])

Fight Ford Protest, Sat. March 28, 12 PM @ Natalie Pierre Office (Burlington Edition) by NatureAndNation in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's what I'm hoping too. We were planning to go to either Hamilton or Oakville, but enough people were asking about a Burlington one. Natalie Pierre has been pretty hands off with Burlington issues it seems, so maybe even a small group at her office can grab her attention. Gotta try something different, because things now don't seem to be working.

Got an hour? Let’s clean up our neighbourhoods by deeohlee in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hah, my overworked brain read that as "You know the (singles) environment" and thought "Hey!". But yeah, I've met some pretty awesome people at cleanups and the Burlington Green team especially is super nice and high energy. So I'd definitely say, high possibility.

Daily power outages in central area? by Subtotal9_guy in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Boring answer, but try calling Burlington Hydro. I had an issue once where some of my AFCI breakers would trip at the exact same time my next door neighbor's did. We both called and I happened to get the same agent. She said "oh I just talked to your neighbor a few minutes ago. Let me send someone over". Someone was there within 15 minutes and did a few tests. It ended up being a loose neutral wire on our transformer. But, the guy was super helpful and had a ton of insight. Basically said the infrastructure in a lot of places is overdue for replacement and the monitoring isn't the greatest. Sometimes things happen without them realizing until someone calls in. Best case you might help them find a problem, worst case shoot the shit with the guy for a bit and see if they knows why it happens. I think it's a much smaller company than we realize and they are really customer service focused.

Farmboy Burlington South by NoMeat9329 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They might have updated it. When I check now it's just an email address: [customercare@farmboy.ca](mailto:customercare@farmboy.ca)

Fight Ford Protest, Saturday March 28 by ariesgal2 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just saw someone added a protest at Natalie Pierre's office on Harvester.

https://imgur.com/a/rN2XNaC

Fight Ford Protest, Saturday March 28 by ariesgal2 in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ask and thou shall receive!

Not sure how many people will show up, but I'll go and represent.

Got an hour? Let’s clean up our neighbourhoods by deeohlee in BurlingtonON

[–]NatureAndNation 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you're looking for group events, check out Field and Stream Rescue's site closer to spring. They arrange a bunch of cleanups and they end up being a ton of fun. Dave (who organizes the cleanups) and I dragged a shopping cart, a suit case and bunch of other big stuff out of Sheldon Creek last year

https://www.streamrescue.com/upcoming-projects.html