Lakeview Waterfront Connection Environmental Assessment update: Nov. 20, 2013 meeting in Mississauga

On Nov. 20, 2013 I attended a presentation at the Oasis Convention Centre in Mississauga concerning the Lakeview Waterfront Connection Environmental Assessment project.

Slide from Nov. 20, 2013 Lakeview Waterfront Connection meeting. Jaan Pill photo

The meeting was well attended, professionally facilitated, and well organized.

The atmosphere was cordial and each person who wished to speak made good use of the opportunity.

All comments and concerns were listened to with care and received full responses.

Dave Hardy facilitated the meeting. Mississauga Ward 1 Councillor Jim Tovey and Charles Sousa, MPP for the riding of Mississauga South and Ontario’s Minister of Finance, provided welcoming remarks.

The main presentation was by Anneliese Grieve of SENES Consultants Limited.

The concluding remarks after the Q & A session were by Janice Hatton of the Region of Peel.

October 24, 2013 Peel Regional Council meeting

A report concerning the Lakeview Waterfront Connection tabled at the Oct. 24, 2013 meeting of the Peel Regional Council outlines the project. [Click on link in previous sentence to access the report.]

A video of the Oct. 24, 2013 Peel Regional Council meeting can be accessed here.

The report tabled at the Oct. 24, 2013 meeting was passed unanimously in a recorded vote.

Jim Tovey has indicated – at a Nov. 16, 2013 meeting related to the QEW Improvements from Evans Ave. to Cawthra Road project – that the unanimous approval of the above-noted report by the Peel Regional Council is a major step forward for the Lakeview Waterfront Connection project.

Upcoming Nov. 27, 2013 Inspiration Lakeview meeting

A next significant meeting will take place on Nov. 27, 2013 at which time an update will be provided regarding the Inspiration Lakeview Project.

I look forward to sharing my recorded documentation of the QEW-related meeting on Nov. 16, 2013 and the Lakeview Waterfront Connection meeting on Nov. 20, 2013. That will take some time as my primary focus is on first getting up to speed on professional video and sound editing.

At the Nov. 20 meeting Jim Tovey said, of the Waterfront Connection Project, (I paraphrase): “This is a small part of a much larger project – Inspiration Lakeview.”

What you can get done when you’re not on crack cocaine

Inspiration Lakeview and many other related projects are a source of excitement and genuine inspiration for many people. These projects are of significance, as Jim Tovey among others has noted, for Southern Ontario, for Canada – and, indeed, for the world.

Several agencies and levels of government are working together effectively and collaboratively to move the projects forward, in close consultation with community groups and individuals.

This work is a source of inspiration for large numbers of people. At one point in the meeting, Jim Tovey shared the thought (I paraphrase): “This is what you can get done when you’re not on crack cocaine.”

There is humour in the crack comment but there is a hard reality behind it as well, I would argue. The underlying message, I would say, is that: With a clear mind and a sense of purpose, and a willingness to listen and work together, much can be accomplished.

Concluding remarks by Janice Hatton, Region of Peel

Janice Hatton’s remarks at the end of the Q & A were perceptive and eloquent.

She said, among other things (I paraphrase): “Sometimes what we see is what we tend to look for.” She referred to the many positive and noteworthy aspects associated with the Lakeview Waterfront Connection project as the community consultation and the planning process moves forward.