Jen & Van Hansen : Blog : Latest Blog Posts

Open House. Open House on Saturday, May 9, 2026 2:00PM - 4:00PM

Wed, 06 May 2026 09:41:35 GMT

Please visit our Open House at 32 Crestbank Court in Vaughan. See details here

Open House on Saturday, May 9, 2026 2:00PM - 4:00PM

Move right in and start enjoying this beautifully updated end-unit townhouse in the Rural Vaughan neighbourhood. Freshly painted with hardwood floors throughout, this 3-bedroom, 3-bath home offers a clean, modern feel with nothing left to do. The kitchen is perfect for those who love to cook, featuring quartz countertops, updated sink and faucet and updated stainless steel appliances including a GE Monogram Dual Fuel Professional Range. Upstairs, the primary bedroom becomes your own private retreat, complete with a thoughtfully designed ensuite featuring a wet room. Having the laundry on the upper level just makes life that much easier. A professionally finished basement provides extra living space for relaxing or entertaining. Outside, enjoy a private backyard with no rear neighbours, complete with a stone patio and fire pit-ideal for summer evenings. Close to great schools, shopping, amenities and North Maple Regional Park, this move-in ready home is waiting for you to call it your own.

New property listed in Vaughan

Tue, 05 May 2026 09:39:23 GMT

New property listed at 32 Crestbank Court in Vaughan. See details here

Open House. Open House on Sunday, April 26, 2026 2:00PM - 4:00PM

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 09:15:03 GMT

Please visit our Open House at 126 Glenariff Drive in Hamilton. See details here

Open House on Sunday, April 26, 2026 2:00PM - 4:00PM

The moment you walk through the door, it simply feels like home. This 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom bungalow in the Antrim Glen Adult Lifestyle Community offers 1505 sq. ft. of thoughtfully designed space, perfect for those looking to simplify without giving up comfort. Warm, inviting, and exceptionally well cared for, the home features a spacious primary bedroom with ensuite and walk-in closet, along with a partially finished basement for hobbies, guests, or additional living space when you need it. The sunroom addition creates a peaceful place to relax, opening onto a deck with an awning ideal for hosting family and friends or enjoying quiet moments outdoors. It's about more than just the home-it's about the lifestyle it supports. Antrim Glen offers a vibrant community with many activities and clubs, making it easy to stay active, social, and connected. Monthly Land lease fees $1,203.32--Land Lease $975, Lot Tax $60.83, Structure Tax $167.49.

New property listed in Hamilton

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:44:13 GMT

New property listed at 126 Glenariff Drive in Hamilton. See details here

The moment you walk through the door, it simply feels like home. This 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom bungalow in theAntrim Glen Adult Lifestyle Community offers 1505 sq. ft. of thoughtfully designed space, perfect for those looking to simplify without giving up comfort. Warm, inviting, and exceptionally well cared for, the home features a spacious primary bedroom with ensuite and walk-in closet, along with a partially finished basement for hobbies, guests, or additional living space when you need it. The sunroom addition creates a peaceful place to relax, opening onto a deck with an awning ideal for hosting family and friends or enjoying quiet moments outdoors. It's about more than just the home-it's about the lifestyle it supports. Antrim Glen offers a vibrant community with many activities and clubs, making it easy to stay active, social, and connected. Monthly landlease fees are approx $1,205, includes property taxes.

Colleen Stinson, Community Connector

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 18:22:26 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

For nearly two decades Colleen Stinson served as Senior Library Technician with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, transforming their services to better meet evolving needs of the students and staff.

Today she applies the same approach but now for an entire community as Executive Director of Flamborough Connects. And her office is in the Waterdown Library. Some things are just meant to be.

Since taking the helm in 2022, Colleen has tripled the charity’s donor base, expanded the reach of its Holiday Gift Program for Seniors, and launched many new programs for residents who are isolated, rural, or simply new to Flamborough and finding their footing.

With the organization approaching its 50th anniversary, Colleen is looking forward to implementing their new strategic plan, not to mention the first-ever Rock-a-thon fundraiser.

I sat down with Colleen at the Waterdown Library to hear how this lifelong Flamborough resident found her calling as a non-profit leader.

Van Hansen: Thank you for meeting with me, Colleen. So you are the Executive Director for Flamborough Connects. Let's start with the why. Why do you do what you do?

Collen Stinson: I was born and raised in Flamborough. I've lived here most of my life. So this community is really important to me and serving the people who live here, making our community a better place for everyone who lives here is absolutely a priority for me.

Van Hansen: For someone who may not know, what exactly is Flamborough Connects?

Colleen Stinson: Flamborough Connects is a registered charity. We provide free and low cost services for seniors and members of the community. We provide lots of different programs to helping people keep engaged, active, and connected to their communities.

Van Hansen: As a demographic, who are the clients of Flamborough Connects?

Colleen Stinson: Anybody who lives in Flamborough can be one of our clients. We have programs that serve most residents, so something like our Community Guide or our Community Events Calendar serves a lot of people, but we also have a lot of programs that are targeted more specifically towards seniors. We offer a lot of seniors programs and we offer a lot of programs for seniors who are geographically isolated, socially isolated, vulnerable, or otherwise disadvantaged and living in Flamborough.

Van Hansen: If I can add some historical context, we're here today in the Victorian Village of Waterdown and now Flamborough Connects is coming up on its 50th anniversary. What does this mean for the community?

Colleen Stinson: Flamborough is an evolving community. All the construction in Waterdown means Waterdown is changing a lot, but a lot of the other more rural parts of Flamborough are not changing at the same rate. We serve all of Flamborough, so we serve a lot of residents who live in Waterdown, but a lot of residents who are living in the other communities in Flamborough or living rurally in Flamborough. So as the community evolves, Flamborough Connects is also evolving.

We are looking to enhance our programs, expand our programs as we have the ability. And we are also, as you mentioned, coming up on our 50th anniversary, which means we will be launching a new strategic plan aimed to better serve the residents of Flamborough.

Van Hansen: Which fundraising events do you have coming up for this year?

Collen Stinson: We have a 50-50 draw. It's our first time doing it online after we had a successful in-person 50-50 ticket sale last year. And we are also looking to do our first annual Rock-a-thon later this year. That's going to be really, really exciting. Stay tuned.

Van Hansen: What is a rock-a-thon? Is it music or climbing, or collecting?

Colleen Stinson: A rock-a-thon, it's actually a fabulous idea. One of our board members came up with it. It's similar to a walk-a-thon, except instead of walking, you're rocking in a rocking chair.

So teams of rockers will get together and we will be rocking for several hours in an afternoon. And all of the teams will have been getting pledges like you would in a walk-a-thon except we'll be rocking and it's going to be a Granny-themed event to help support the seniors programs and services offered by Flamborough Connects.

Van Hansen: Okay it's not what I thought it would be but it sounds fun.

Colleen Stinson: It's going to be a great amount of fun, it's going to be a blast.

Van Hansen: If I can ask a more personal question, are you a dog person or a cat person?

Colleen Stinson: Definitely a cat person. We have fostered cats for animal adoptions of Flamborough in the past. We are foster fails, so we still have the cats that we were fostering, or many of them. Definitely cat people.

Van Hansen: Well, it doesn't sound like a failure to me. How can people get involved in supporting Flamborough Connects?

Colleen Stinson: For anyone who is looking for more information, you can follow us on social media. We have an active Facebook and Instagram page. We're also on LinkedIn.

You can check out our website at flamboroughconnects.ca. You can give us a call at 905-689-7880.

We're happy to talk to you about all of the different programs and services that we offer. We also have volunteer opportunities for people who help lead our programs.

We could not present all of the amazing programs and services that we have without their support.

So we have volunteer fitness leaders for our Wheel of Fitness program, volunteer income tax preparers for our income tax program, volunteer drivers for our Flamborough Drives program and our Food Bank Delivery program. And we have people who help us with events like our education sessions and our New Knowledge at Noon sessions, as well as people who help us with fundraising events. So there's lots of ways to get involved and help, and there's lots of ways to get involved and attend our programs and services.

Van Hansen: Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Colleen Stinson: Flamborough Connects is always looking to spread the word about the programs and services that we offer.

So we're always looking for people to share what they know about us with their friends and their neighbors, especially any seniors who may be socially or geographically isolated and looking to be more involved in the community.

Anybody who is new to the community and they don't yet know about Flamborough or they want some information about how programs and services or events that are happening in the community.

We've got the Community Guide. Please share everything with your friends and neighbours and help spread the word about all the programs and services that Flamborough Connects provides.

Flamborough Connects

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Jen & Van Hansen

From Waterdown to Paris—One Gown at a Time

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 20:19:12 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

As a rule, Lisa Van Hattem’s clients are from Southern Ontario, with the exceptions coming from as far away as Vancouver, Puerto Rico, and Paris France.

“It’s amazing—women will travel when it comes to their wedding gown that’s for sure,” says Lisa.

Lisa Van Hattem is a designer, pattern drafter, and seamstress. You can find her custom bridal boutique tucked into the Victorian Village of Waterdown, where she produces all of her gowns in-house.

“We start with a consultation, and I sit down with the bride to talk about her ideas,” says Lisa, “And look at any pictures she has sent me.” Lisa does some sketches, bringing everything together into a cohesive design, while taking into consideration any religious needs, colours they like that would suit the bride’s skin tone, as well as body shape and height.

“When they say ‘Oh it’s exactly what I was thinking of,’ it’s really fulfilling,” says Lisa. She shows them samples of laces and fabrics, and examples of her work to give them an idea of how the gown is going to look.

The next step, after taking measurements, is drafting the pattern—which Lisa makes from scratch; she never uses a commercial pattern, which is how the bride can get exactly what she wants.

Lisa then creates a mock-up of the (top of the) dress. “That way I can make sure we’re on the same page, and that they like the cut on them,” says Lisa, “And together we go through the neckline, where the waist will be, and all those important details.”

After the mock-up Lisa sews up the entire dress minus zipper or buttons and details like beading, and the bride comes in for the first fitting. Most often they are happy with the first fitting, but nevertheless it is done early enough that there is time to make changes if necessary.

There are usually 2 more fittings in the gown, with final fitting about 2 weeks before the wedding, although it is completed well before that.

“My whole thing is that I want you to love your dress, so we work together to make sure it is exactly your vision,” says Lisa.

Timeless Elegance

Brides often look for the latest and greatest in magazines and social media. And naturally women who are getting married want to look fashionable and stylish for their wedding—which is exactly why Lisa’s perspective and insight can prove to be invaluable.

“While it’s important to have a modern look today, I do feel strongly that you want to emulate someone like Grace Kelly,” says Lisa, “Where you can look at photos of her wedding, and even though you can tell it’s not today, it doesn’t look dated.”

Sometimes when brides come to Lisa with design ideas that are really trendy, she will point out that they are probably going to look back and see that every other bride that year had a similar style. “You have to keep on top of the trends,” says Lisa, “But it’s also important to keep an elegant look to your gown, to make it a little more classic and timeless.”

Bridal Fashion Trends for 2026

Here is Lisa Van Hatten’s take on the latest bridal fashions:

Basque waist gowns and corseted looks are huge right now.

Strapless styles have made a big comeback with gauntlet sleeves or gloves rather than the full sleeve dresses that have been everywhere the past few years.

Brocade fabrics have taken centre stage while lace is used more for accents rather than all over.

On the other end of the spectrum, minimalist styles still continue to be popular with statement veils with pearls or lace.

Lisa orders from Canadian suppliers whenever possible, including for the basic fabrics including silks, but she points out that not a lot of fabrics are actually made here, so she also sources materials from around the world.

Parisienne Looks

Her lace suppliers are in England and France. “When I get a new shipment of laces,” says Lisa, “Those are the ones who get me so excited about design.”

Lisa grew up in Burlington, and worked as a seamstress at a fabric store before graduating from the fashion design program at Sheridan.

“After college, I never thought I would go into bridal,” says Lisa, “I thought I would be more into high fashion, or even a line of dresses.”

Lisa started out working for a custom bridal gown designer in Oakville, finding that she loved making wedding gowns, and putting the skills she had learned in school to good use.

After a couple of years Lisa decided that she wanted to be self-employed, and so she started her own line of wholesale wedding gowns.

Looking to take on some extra work, she took orders for custom gowns at a bridal show in Burlington. “I sold enough custom gowns to do an entire years worth of work,” says Lisa, “And I wasn’t loving the wholesale business because you never meet the clients, so after that bridal show I decided to just do custom gowns.”

Lisa has been working exclusively in bridal for 30 years now.

One Fall she was talking to Corina Van Sluytman, a photographer in the industry that she has worked with before on photo shoots, and they decided it would be a good time to go to Paris, France.

Lisa made some gowns, packed them up and they went there for four days. “We went around the city with the model,” says Lisa, “It was exciting, it was like a dream come true to do a photo shoot in Paris.”

Credits:
Paris photos 1, 3, 5, 6 by Corina V. Photography
Waterdown photos 2, 4 by Van Hansen

Lisa Van Hattem

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Educator. Entertainer… Diana Panton!

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 02:00:27 GMT

Interview by VAN HANSEN

Diana Panton’s artistic journey has taken her from classrooms to concert halls and back again. She is an internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist, as well as a French Immersion Arts teacher at Hamilton’s Westdale Secondary School.

Panton has charted in the Billboard Top Ten, and has earned many accolades ranging from (3) Silver Disc Awards in Japan, to her (2) JUNO wins closer to home.

In 2018 she was inducted to the Westdale Wall of Distinction—an honour she has in common with other notable alumni including Eugene Levy, Martin Short, and renowned blues musician Harrison Kennedy.

Van Hansen: How is standing up in front of your class different for you from being on stage in front of a live audience, and where do those experiences mirror each other?

Diana Panton: They are quite different actually. In the classroom, learning is the focus and this by extension means the students are the key.

When I am on stage the music is the focus, thus the interaction between the musicians is the key. Of course the audience plays a part, but not to the same extent.

Van Hansen: What sparked your jazz journey?

Diana Panton: I first discovered Ella (Fitzgerald) on an album in my dad's record collection. After I had exhausted his LP stash, I would go to the local libraries and take out the maximum number of CD and cassettes each week.

I was doing a lot of listening—not with the intention of singing, but I loved the freedom, authenticity and quality of the music. And even though I outgrew my dad's jazz collection, I will always associate this music with him.

Van Hansen: When did music become personal to you, not just something that you enjoyed but something that felt like it is part of who you are?

Diana Panton: The act of singing has always been ultra personal to me. From a very young age, I would sing to myself, making up songs as I went along. I found music soothing and a catharsis. It was not really for entertainment and I rarely sang for others.

The challenge for me was to share my music with an audience. I was very fortunate to have a local community youth ensemble practicing at my school (Westdale) where I could go and listen to them every week. Through this exposure, I eventually worked up the nerve to try out and after a few kicks at the can, I was accepted. Working with the Hamilton All-Star Jazz Band provided experience playing with others and for others.

Van Hansen: Is there someone that was instrumental in mentoring you as you developed your exceptional vocal talent, and what did that guidance mean to you?

Diana Panton: Initially, it was my classical singing teacher Joan Heels who encouraged me to try out for the Hamilton All-Star Jazz Band. Although we worked on Royal Conservatory material together, she appreciated my love for jazz.

So the Jazz Band, under the leadership of Russ Weil, was a critical part of my development as a performer. It was during one of my performances with the band that multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson heard me sing and suggested I go to the Banff Centre for the Arts.

It was there that I had the chance to work with him and he invited me to record with him. Don has always been my greatest supporter—whatever zany ideas I have he always can hear what I have in my mind.

In subsequent years, I returned to the Banff Centre under the tutelage of singer Sheila Jordan. She was very excited about my singing and encouraged me never to stop.

Sadly, Sheila passed away last year, but she continued to perform into her nineties and provided a template of what a career in this genre can look like.

Most recently, singer Meredith d'Ambrosio has been my champion. Musically, she has an introspective style like mine and she is also a visual artist.

Since I live outside the major city centres where jazz normally thrives, I have been so appreciative of the encouraging (and sometimes emphatic) words from my mentors who let me know I am on the right path (including singers Ranee Lee and Norma Winstone with whom I was also fortunate to study).

Van Hansen: What lessons did forming and performing with your jazz trio teach you not just musically but about collaboration, trust, and leadership?

Diana Panton: Especially with jazz, you take a big leap of faith in real time when you are performing live in front of an audience. Your fellow musicians encourage bigger and bigger leaps, but always with a trusting environment where they have your back.

Its not a competition so much as a good conversation, where everyone is listening, responding and feeling at ease, adding their ideas, and building on the ideas of others. No one person should dominate.

Touring on the road not only teaches you how to set clear expectations as a leader, but also how to respect everyone's boundaries, understanding that unexpected challenges are bound to arise. You have to stay flexible and compassionate in the moment.

Ultimately, you want everyone to look back on the experience and say, yes, that is something I look forward to doing again. Each person is respected and encouraged to flourish.

Having said that, I am very fortunate to be working with some of the best musicians in the country. With Don Thompson and Reg Schwager, it is all about collaboration and trust.

We have been working for 20 years together now as a trio. We can speak without talking. These two know how I breathe when I sing.

Van Hansen: As an artist, how has your music evolved from your first recording sessions?

Diana Panton: To date, my discography covers a 20-year span. Fortunately I can look back on each record and feel it was an authentic representation of my vision. Since I was my own producer and I was working with the full support of the musicians, I never felt pressured to compromise on my artistic values. I am so grateful for that.

Of course, my voice has mellowed over the years and each album has its own thematic story to tell, but as time went on, I started to hear the songs more as part of an overall narrative in which the song order became critical to the overall feel of the record.

I would like to think there is almost a cinematic aspect to some of my later albums that wasn't there at the very beginning.

Van Hansen: What influence did studying for your Master of Arts in French Literature and writing your thesis Jazz Aesthetics in the French Caribbean Novel have on your practice as an educator, and as a musician?

Diana Panton: My thesis was a melding of my love of literature and jazz music. It was interesting to note how French Caribbean writers used jazz music to stylistically influence their writing in terms of multiple perspectives, signifying, call and response and improvisation.

My research made me a more informed, responsible and grateful learner, educator and musician.

One of the tenets of jazz is to acknowledge those who have come before and to know the roots of the music. As well as the importance of developing your own voice (alongside discovering who you are as person), you should equally appreciate that you stand on the shoulders of giants.

Van Hansen: My readers will want to know; do you prefer dogs or cats?

Diana Panton: I have always had cats and I love cats!

Van Hansen: Your return to Westdale feels like a synergistic full circle story. What does it mean to you?

Diana Panton: I was very proud to be a student at Westdale and I am very proud to be a teacher here.

It is a fantastic school with great scholastic and extra-curricular programming. As a student, I took part in the music, drama, art, French and phys ed programs at the school and I am so happy to see these are all still flourishing years later.

When I first came back to teach at the school, I believe I was the first student to return as a teacher. Now there are many Westdale alumni on staff—many of whom I taught in one capacity or another.

I think this speaks volumes that we enjoyed our time at Westdale as students so much that we wanted to come back and pay it forward as teachers here.

-Interview edited for length and clarity-

Credits:
Top of page photo by Melanie Gillis
A Cheerful Little Earful illustration by Jacqui Lee
Westdale photos by Van Hansen
All other photos by Jose Crespo
Video by Leading Pictures

DianaPanton.com

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Becky Kellar—From Local Ice to Olympic Gold

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 02:42:11 GMT

Interview by VAN HANSEN

Burlington’s Becky Kellar is a four-time Olympian, having won 3 gold and a silver medal with Team Canada from 1998 - 2010. These days she is a keynote motivational speaker, and runs a hockey school for girls called Strictly Hockey with teammate Cheryl Pounder.

Kellar was inducted into Burlington’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, the same year she kindly sat with Van Hansen for an interview republished here in advance of the current Olympic Winter Games.

Van Hansen: When was your first memory of wanting to play hockey; what was that spark of inspiration?

Becky Kellar: I grew up watching my older brother (Nathan) who is 2 years older, who always played hockey. My Dad was a big hockey fan and we watched Hockey Night in Canada, so it was sort of part of my life before I ever wanted to play. I think that watching hockey, watching other people play kind of made me want to try it myself.

Van Hansen: What is your point of view on challenges for girls wanting to play hockey?

Becky Kellar: I think it was difficult when I was growing up. There were not a lot of girls playing hockey and I had this passion for something I felt like I really wasn’t supposed to like. That’s changed a lot.

The first world championships were in 1990 and then with women’s hockey included in the Olympics in ‘98 it changed things drastically. The sport has grown so much that I don’t think it’s unusual at all now for girls to want to play and to dream of playing in the Olympics, or playing at a high level which is great.

My advice to any girls that want to pursue a higher level is that it starts with a passion. If you don’t love it then it’s awfully hard to compete at that level.

Van Hansen: Tell me about Strictly Hockey.

Becky Kellar: Cheryl Pounder and I were teammates and defence partners for a number of years with Team Canada, and we decided after the 2002 Olympics that we wanted to start a hockey school. We work with some of the associations, we coach our own kids and then run a couple of weeks of hockey school in the summer which has been a really great experience for us on the ice with some of the local girls that are playing.

Van Hansen: Do you still play on a team at all?

Becky Kellar: No, I have retired from any sort of elite or competitive hockey. I do play a little bit of pickup hockey with my husband, and both my boys play for the Burlington Eagles so I coach my younger one and I help coach my older one. So I’m on the ice a lot, just not playing anymore.

Van Hansen: What is your greatest challenge right now?

Becky Kellar: (laughs) Time management. With two boys playing rep hockey and some of the commitments I have, it can be a bit of a juggle but we usually make it work.

Van Hansen: What was the best and worst experience from your career, and what have you learned from those?

Becky Kellar: I had a lot of really great experiences playing with Team Canada. Winning the Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002 was one of the greatest experiences I had.

We had lost every game to the US that year and we were 0 and 8 going into that Olympic final and I think a lot of people had written us off. So to be able to actually go into that game and do what we had set out to do and kind of prove a lot of people wrong was an amazing moment.

I don’t know if there’s any that I would consider a worst experience, they are all learning experiences for sure. I know standing out on the ice in Nagano having the silver medal put around our necks definitely fueled the fire for the years after that but it was certainly a moment I’ll remember as being a bit of a disappointment.

Van Hansen: What motivated you to get your MBA?

Becky Kellar: So it’s really difficult to pursue a full-time job or career when you’re training full-time for the Olympics, so I made the decision that I would go back to school.

It sort of fit with my schedule as something I could do that would be productive for me that I could use down the road so I applied to Laurier and got into their MBA program.

Van Hansen: Tell me about your motivational speaking.

Becky Kellar: I do a lot of speaking both on my own, and Cheryl Pounder and I give a joint presentation which has been a lot of fun relaying our stories and what we’ve learned in terms of team building, overcoming obstacles, and the pursuit of excellence.

I have also spoken at a lot of schools throughout the years as well as to every team from Minor Peewee and up for the Burlington Eagles last year.

Van Hansen: With a young family and a demanding career, how did you find your equilibrium?

Becky Kellar: When I had my kids I was still playing on the national team so from the day they were born I was learning how to balance family and work commitments.

Owen was born in October 2004 and I was back on the ice within 6 weeks and went to my first training camp about 6 weeks after that so I learned right away that you have to be able to balance the two things.

And it has been a positive, especially when I was training for the Olympics to be able to take a step back and not always be focused on hockey, but to have family to focus on as well.

Van Hansen: What did it feel like winning gold for Team Canada?

Becky Kellar: You know it was always an unbelievable experience to stand on the ice and have that gold medal placed around our neck. There is so much work that goes into it and it’s really a four-year cycle for us coming out of the Nagano Olympics where we had lost. It really started right away, pursuing Salt Lake City.

When you get to the top of the mountain it’s a pretty awesome feeling and then you basically go a month later and start all over again leading up to the next Olympics.

So you don’t spend too much time enjoying the moment, a little bit of time enjoying the moment and then your focus is on the next goal.

Van Hansen: How long have you called Burlington home?

Becky Kellar: I grew up in Hagersville, just outside of Hamilton. I’ve been in Burlington since 1999 so it’s definitely home now. This is where my kids are being raised and going to school and playing sports, and it’s been a great community for me to be a part of.

__

Fast forward to 2026 and the upcoming Olympic Games in Milano where the Women’s Olympic Team Canada will play their first round of ice hockey on February 5 versus Finland.

And we will see our local communities well represented on the roster this year with 10 of the players hailing from Halton, Hamilton and GTA, including Burlington’s Renata Fast (on Defence), and Emma Maltais (Forward), along with Hamilton’s Sarah Nurse (Forward). It all starts here.

Women’s Ice Hockey Schedule

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Video: Winter Wonders with Adrienne

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 20:25:33 GMT

by: VAN HANSEN

At the centre of the Royal Botanical Garden transformation to Winter Wonders is Adrienne Lister, RBG’s Event Producer.

I interviewed Adrienne in December, and she shared details on the new interactive art and light installations, the Artisan Village featuring local vendors, plus the planning that goes into creating this magical winter experience.

We also talked Adrienne’s journey from the theatre to event production, and she reveals what’s coming next to the RBG…

Royal Botanical Gardens

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The Latest Winter Wonders with Adrienne Lister

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 20:23:35 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

At Burlington’s Royal Botanical Gardens on a crisp Winter evening the forest paths glow with colour, with lanterns drifting overhead, electric reeds flickering to life, and a towering tree singing back to anyone willing to step up to the microphone.

At the centre of the transformation is Adrienne Lister, RBG’s Event Producer. For more than a decade, she has played a key role in shaping the garden’s most beloved events.

“Winter Wonders started in 2020 as a reaction to COVID,” Adrienne says. “It began as this outdoor winter light experience with festive food, music and art installations and it’s become what it is today.”

Today, Winter Wonders welcomes 30,000 visitors over its five-week run, with many returning year after year to see what’s new.

A Trio of Interactive Art Installations

Adrienne and her team have added three new interactive installations this year—each one enhancing the natural beauty of the gardens.

The Singing Tree

Visitors sing into a microphone and the tree lights respond in bursts of different colours and patterns.

“It’s a fun one, especially for the kids,” Adrienne says. “Half the time, it becomes the shouting tree”.

Tree Love by ZEM (Kitchener-Waterloo)

A heartfelt and playful display, when you hug the trunk of the tree, the lights respond to the warmth of your embrace.

Switchgrass by the Treehouse Collective (Montreal)

A field of luminous reeds invites guests to touch, tap, and explore, with every interaction triggering a ripple of light.

“The installations are something totally unique that you’ll see just here at RBG.”

The Art of Building a World of Light

Pulling together an immersive experience of this scale is a complex endeavour and planning begins in the Summer, long before the snow arrives.

“We work together as a team doing the creative thinking early on,” Adrienne says.

In addition to the artists and designers, they start bringing contractors onboard in the early Fall. “And we have a wonderful team of staff and volunteers that help put Winter Wonders together,” says Adrienne.

Once the plan is in place the detailed work begins; mapping pathways, testing lights, coordinating power, building temporary structures, and ensuring accessibility.

The actual set-up takes about two weeks.

From Theatre to Lantern Lane

When asked about her favourite display, Adrienne smiles. “It’s the lantern display,” she says.

“We call it Lantern Lane. There are all these beautiful lanterns hanging from a tree-lined path. It’s really magical.”

Adrienne’s background is in theatre, where she specialized in stage management. But after years working in Toronto’s theatre scene, she discovered she loved events even more than the world of live performance.

“Starting at RBG thirteen years ago,” she says, “I worked my way up from event coordinator to event producer. Now I oversee all of RBG’s signature events.”

Some of the events include the Summer Music Series, the Enchanted Garden, and the Great Pumpkin Trail.

What’s Next?

Once Winter Wonders wraps up, the team will quickly shift to the next major installation: Bloomland in Oz.

“This is our second Bloomland exhibit,” Adrienne says. “It’s going to be great.”

The first was inspired by Alice in Wonderland, with this year’s focus being The Wizard of Oz.

Celebrating Community Through the Artisan Village

Another new feature this year is the Artisan Village, showcasing nine local makers. The lineup rotates throughout the run, offering visitors a curated selection of sustainable and handmade goods—from textiles and body care to jewelry, pottery, and unique gift items.

“We’re really excited that we can showcase different artisanal talent from within the community,” says Adrienne.

The Spark That Keeps Winter Glowing

With the months of planning behind her, for Adrienne the reward comes in seeing visitors enjoying the event.

After touring the Winter Wonders it was obvious to me that events like this connect people. They bring families together, and create memories.

And as Winter Wonders continues to evolve, one thing is certain… Adrienne and her team will keep finding ways to let imagination shine—one glowing installation at a time.

ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

JEN & VAN HANSEN

Pavlo Pottery—Form, Function & Fine Art

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 01:19:14 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

Just down the road from the Rockton World’s Fairground, Pavlo Pottery beckons with the soft scent of clay and the quiet rhythm of creation.

Shelves lined with mugs, vessels, and luminous glazes tell the story of two artists; Pavlo Tsarynny & Oksana Pogorila—whose shared journey in clay has spanned continents, decades, and countless kiln firings.

“Every kid likes to play with dirt,” Pavlo says with a laugh. “I was not an exception.”

A Creative Journey from the Ukraine to Ontario

Long before they established their gallery on Old Highway 8, Pavlo and Oksana studied pottery and fine arts in Ukraine together in the early 1990s, completing a rigorous five-year program at an Art Institute in Kyiv.

“I learned that dirt can be made into different colours,” Pavlo recalls. “And out of dirt, you can create a lot of beauty.”

After immigrating to Canada, Pavlo honed his skills under a master potter before the couple opened their own studio. Nearly twenty years ago, they purchased a property in Rockton, transforming it into both their home base and the Rockton Potters Gallery—a space that celebrates handmade craftsmanship and community connection.

The Art of Collaboration

Pavlo and Oksana’s creative partnership is a balance of precision and artistry.

“There’s form, there’s colour, there’s glaze chemistry, physics, even engineering,” Pavlo explains. “I focus on the form and glaze design, and Oksana adds her magic touch with artwork and carving. Every piece becomes something unique.”

That magic is most evident in their latest creation of fossil-inspired mugs—a collection featuring carved impressions of T-Rex bones and mammoth fossils that look as though they’ve been unearthed from prehistoric stone. Each carving, Pavlo says, is an original, taking Oksana weeks or months to complete.

“They look like real fossils,” he says proudly. “And no two ever come out the same.”

More Than Just a Mug

Their mugs are among their most beloved creations—functional, collectable, and deeply personal.

“By far, the mug is the most popular piece,” Pavlo says. “It’s something more than just a drinking vessel.”

He believes the appeal lies in the individuality of each one.

“The mug you’re holding—you know there’s only one. Not another person in the world will hold an identical piece.”

Even the firing process adds an element of surprise. Variations in glaze and heat create subtle differences that make every mug a small work of art. “It’s just magic that never repeats itself,” Pavlo says.

Building a Community of Makers

Over time, the Rockton Potters Gallery has become a gathering place for Canadian artisans. Inside, visitors can find work from roughly 30 artists—from jewelers and painters to other potters and craftspeople.

“We’re primarily about pottery,” Pavlo says, “but we also showcase the beauty and skill of many different Canadian artists. We want people to find something special—something made by hand.”

Beyond Rockton, Pavlo and Oksana’s work can be found at St. Jacob’s Market and select Ontario boutiques. Yet their focus remains local—on the slow, deliberate process of creating and sharing.

A Legacy in Clay

After more than 30 years of working side by side, Pavlo and Oksana have built not just a business, but a life centered on art, family, and connection.

Visitors can stop by their gallery any day between 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., perhaps watch as new pieces take shape, and take home something truly one-of-a-kind. As Pavlo puts it:

“We make pottery you can enjoy every day—something that brings a touch of beauty to your life.”

Pavlo Pottery

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Drummond Farms 6.0

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 15:52:38 GMT

Interview by VAN HANSEN

Hugh W. Drummond is the sixth-generation owner and operator of Drummond Farms / Belvedere Orchards in Waterdown, ON.

And with his modern controlled atmosphere storage facility, he can now supply fresh off the tree tasting fruit all year round.

Hugh’s background is in the mining industry, and he continues to work short-term contracts in Canada and around the world during the farms off-season. He studied Mining Engineering Technology, graduating from the Haileybury School of Mines, and Laurentian University.

Van interviewed Hugh at Drummond Farms.

Next Gen Farming

Van: Was it always in the works for you to return home and take the reins of the family apple business?

Hugh: As an only child I was told to go work for somebody else and get your education so that the farm would be here if you need it or if you want to come back to do it. The opportunity was right in 2016 and it was just a dream come true to take over the family farm again. The farm has been in the family since the 1800s, and that’s the way I’d like to keep it.

Van: With your production at 2 million pounds, how big is your distribution zone?

Hugh: There are some large wholesalers that will come in and purchase the apples and take them by transport truck to the (Ontario) Food Terminal or other locations. So the majority of the apples have been just for Ontario. One year when Nova Scotia didn't have a very good crop, some of the apples went there, but they're all for Canada. And a lot of the apples go for school nutrition programs.

Van: How did you get into the nutrition programs?

Hugh: It all started at the Walker Street Market when someone said, hey, do you mind supplying our school for a nutrition program? And so I started out with one school, and then I contacted the Hamilton Tastebuds (Student Nutrition Collaborative); they run the nutrition program.

So it’s mostly in the local area. We have dropped quite a bit for Halton and focused more on the Hamilton area. It’s due to the logistics and trying to get everything delivered on the same day to each school.

Van: What is your biggest challenge right now?

Hugh: This year, it's probably the weather.

But in general the biggest challenge is not worrying about things you can't control. As a farmer, if you worry about things that you can't control, you're going to drive yourself crazy.

So you just roll with the punches and that's one thing I've really had to learn since I started is everything changes and you can't control it. So you don't worry about it. And now you just move on from things that are out of your control. Plan for them, but don't worry about them.

Van: What do you enjoy the most about your work here?

Hugh: The freedom. I enjoy the work and I enjoy the benefit that comes from feeding the local community. So I do a lot of labor, but I don't really call it work because it's not work if you love it.

Van: With more than 20 varieties of apples here, do you have a favourite?

Hugh: Well, my favourite is the Ambrosia. It's a quite sweet, firm apple.

It was discovered in British Columbia; it was just a chance find in a field so it’s a Canadian apple. And it stores well and that's why I like it.

Van: What are your hours for the Apple Shack?

Hugh: Store hours are Monday to Friday from 8 to 4:30, Saturday 10 to 4:00 and we are closed on Sundays.

Drummond Farms Apple Shack is located at 69 Concession 5 East in Waterdown and sells non-waxed apples straight from the farm, sweet apple cider, honey, and pure maple syrup.

__

Note: this interview was been edited for length and clarity and no AI’s were harmed in the process

Drummond Farms

Housing Horizon is your live Market, Economics, and Rate Review with Q & A, hosted by Van—don’t miss it!

Housing Horizon

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Love Your Neighbourhood

Scot Cameron, Skateboarding Advocate

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 01:43:13 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

Scot Cameron bought his first skateboard 40 years ago at a garage sale. Being in California during one of his formative years he was inspired by surf culture, in the place where skateboarding first began.

Looking back to the early 1950's, surfers were installing roller skate wheels on makeshift boards, determined to find a way to surf the streets at times when the ocean swell was too gentle.

Futuristic Hover Board with DeLorean ‘Time Machine’. Elliot Alder photo

The sport of skateboarding has been evolving ever since amidst a sometime rebellious counter culture while at the same time embedding itself into the collective psyche.

"The spark really ignited for me in the mid-eighties," Scot says. "It was in grade 7 or 8 when my friends and I kind of looked up to this group called the Bones Brigade with Tony Hawk being the most mainstream name. We all started skateboarding, and emulating what they were doing."

With no dedicated infrastructure available at the time, the boys were street skating, teaching themselves tricks on parking curbs or bombing a hill. "We were lucky we had a spot in Kitchener which was a vacant lot where they allowed us to set up some ramps," says Scot.

Scot’s first skateboard atop the rack holding his personal rider collection

World of Wheels

In high school Scot found himself spending a lot of time in the shop classes, and he vividly remembers his teacher Thomas Schmidt, who passed away 5 years ago.

“Mr. Schmidt was always there at the right moment. He set me up with a job which led to my career, and later helped with the body work on my 1967 Ford Fairlane when I was getting it on the road”.

Scot went on to complete his apprenticeship, becoming a full-time automotive technician at Gord Kaster Automotive. He worked there for the next 3 decades after which he ultimately co-founded a start-up metal fabrication and repair shop specializing in hot-rods, street trucks, and classic cars.

CoMaCan Skateboards

As a creative outlet while he was in the industry, Scot also plied his craft as a freelance automotive journalist and photographer writing feature stories and columns, rounding them out with assignments shooting races, car shows, and automotive celebrities.

With print media in decline, Scot found the time to start a new project with the intent of increasing his engagement with the skateboarding community and in 2017 he partnered with fellow skater Will Mackie to found CoMaCan Skateboards.

"It's a skateboard brand which started out as the Colorado Massachusetts skateboard collective, or CoMa for short," Scot says. "Will had the opportunity to bring the company to Canada so we bought up the existing stock and accounts, and launched as CoMaCan Skateboards."

Skateboarding has experienced significant growth in recent years driven by the sport becoming more mainstream through its inclusion in the Olympic Games, social media coverage, and the increasing availability of skateparks.

Olympic Games 2024 Skateboarding Mens Park Prelims. Stefan Scheepmaker photo

And with the proliferation of public skate parks the space is free, so cost of entry is essentially the equipment. As skaters progress, the boards become a consumable, eventually wearing out or breaking so CoMaCan’s philosophy is to supply top quality skateboard decks (and accessories) at low prices, to keep the sport fun and accessible.

“Local skate shops have always been the heart of skateboarding,” says Scot. So as well as offering their skateboards, apparel, and accessories for online ordering, CoMaCan has also become a trusted supplier to a growing roster of 15 skate shops across Ontario, 5 in Nova Scotia and one in BC.

Community Outreach

As well as sponsoring the Skate Jam at Waterdown’s Oh Canada Ribfest, you will find Scot & Will at the CoMaCan booth at various events in Hamilton, and Jackalope Festival Mississauga.

Scot has made CoMaCan Skateboards his full-time vocation, and it’s a labour of love.

“Skateboarding is a gift,” says Scot. “It doesn't mean everybody has to be a part of it. But I think everybody can see it as a physical benefit, a mental health benefit, a social benefit. It's a bit of everything”.

Rainy Day at Waterdown Skatepark

CoMaCan Skateboards

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Alex Moshtagh Treasures Antiques

Sat, 12 Jul 2025 19:38:16 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

When Alex Moshtagh was a child, he couldn’t walk past an antique shop without wandering inside, captivated by the silent stories evoked by old wood, porcelain, and brass. His father was a collector, and when they moved to Canada, Alex’s parents would go and search for things that reminded them of back home.

“There’s so much history,” Alex says, his voice carrying both nostalgia and quiet authority. “Where did these things come from? What’s the story behind them? It was always interesting to me.”

That childhood curiosity turned into a passion during his teenage years, when Alex took an apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker.

Working with his hands, he embraced the artistry of finely crafted furniture, developing an instinct for recognizing quality and authenticity.

As he matured, Alex realized his interests stretched far beyond the craft of woodworking. Objects weren’t just things to build—they were artifacts with stories, each one a puzzle piece in a broader historical narrative. Alex and his family decided to transform their shared passion into a business.

“We chose to become antique dealers,” he says. “So we started the store, and almost 33 years later, I’m still doing it.”

The Moshtagh’s opened their first brick and mortar store in Toronto at Yonge & Steeles. More recently Alex relocated the business to Oakville, and then later to Burlington.

Over the years, Alex has witnessed the antique market evolve dramatically. Trends come and go, tastes shift, and the internet has transformed how collectors and dealers connect.

Yet one thing remains unchanged for him: the allure of discovering an item’s past and helping others understand its worth—both sentimental and monetary.

“People often don’t realize what they have,” he says. “Sometimes it’s not about the dollar value—it’s about the history and connection.”

On the Road Again

Alex’s knowledge and approachable demeanor have made him a trusted resource in the community, and Jen & Van Hansen have engaged him regularly over the past couple of years to conduct Antique Road Shows in Burlington.

Whether offering advice to curious collectors from his shop or conducting estate appraisals, he approaches each encounter with the same wonder he felt as a boy exploring antique shops.

“Every piece has a story,” he says. “And that’s what makes it all worthwhile.”

Alex Moshtagh holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mathematics from York University, and he is the Owner of Treasure Antique & Appraisers.

Last Event was July 19, 2025—Antiques Road Show in Burlington

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Marc Garneau’s Most Extraordinary Ride

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 20:37:16 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

Launching his coast-to-coast book tour in Burlington, Marc Garneau presented his autobiography to a full house.

Garneau sat down with fellow engineer and author Terry Fallis for a captivating conversation in the sanctuary of Port Nelson United Church.

It was last Fall, and no coincidence that the event was held on October 5th—the 40th anniversary of Garneau’s historic Space Shuttle mission when he become the first Canadian to fly to space.

From the Sea

As a boy, Garneau harboured a long-standing fascination with the ocean and he joined the Navy at the age of 16. Four years later, in his final year at Royal Military College (RMC) he was given the opportunity to cross the Atlantic.

Garneau was part of a crew of 13 in a race from Newport, Rhode Island to Cork, Ireland on the Pickle, a 59-foot wooden yawl (2-masted sailboat).

“A few centuries before, stepping out on the ocean, you were taking your life into your hands,” said Garneau. “It was a voyage into the unknown. So that was a beautiful experience for me personally”.

The 20-day transit brought its share of rough seas and bad weather as they crossed nearly 5,000 kilometres of ocean. Sailing on to London, they were on the English Channel on the night of the first Moon landing.

Garneau was gazing at the moon and listening to the live broadcast on the radio as Neil Armstrong announced “The Eagle has landed”.

“I remember thinking to myself,” said Garneau. “Here I am in a sailboat, one of the oldest forms of transportation, and he and Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins had crossed 400,000 km of the vacuum of space and landed safely on the (Moon’s) Sea of Tranquility.”

The parallels were not lost on Garneau, and he believed that a seed was planted that night.

After graduating from RMC with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics in 1970, Garneau furthered his education studying electrical engineering in the UK at Imperial College London, successfully defending his PhD thesis in 1973.

Returning to Canada, Garneau trained as a combat systems engineer which led to a posting on HMCS Algonquin, and as an instructor at the Canadian Forces Fleet School.

Other assignments included work at the Naval Engineering Unit in Halifax, qualifying as a diver, and postings to National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. After attending Canadian Forces College, Garneau was promoted to the rank of Commander in 1983.

To the Stars

On returning home from HQ one evening in June that year, Garneau was reading the Ottawa Citizen (newspaper), when he stumbled on an advertisement from the National Research Council. Canada was looking for astronauts!

This was in response to NASA’s request for 2 Canadian astronauts to fly on the Space Shuttle as thanks for designing and building Canadarm, the Shuttle’s robotic arm.

Garneau was one of 4,300 applicants. Proving throughout the gruelling selection process that had the right stuff, he was selected as one of six who would become Canada’s first Astronaut Corps.

Sixteen months after that he was on launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, the Payload Specialist on Space Shuttle Challenger, seated on the starboard mid-deck.

“I remember just being focused on my training,” said Garneau. “And then suddenly I was strapped in, the shuttle side hatch door was closed, and I thought this is not a simulation. We’re going today”. What followed was the longest two and a half hours of his life.

When the countdown finally reached zero as the solid rocket boosters roared to life, there was lots of vibration for the first couple of minutes until the boosters separated and the main engines fired, accelerating the Shuttle with Garneau feeling heavier in his seat, for the last part of the ascent sustaining a force of 3 g (gravitational force equivalent).

It was eight and a half minutes from 0 to 28,000 km/h which is orbital velocity, when the main engine cutoff happens. Suddenly there was silence.

“And you realize you’re floating. It is a moment of euphoria. You can hardly wait to take off your seat belt and float over to look out the window”.

On that mission they were on an unusual high-inclination orbit flying over the Canadian provinces every 90 minutes.

They launched a satellite and conducted several experiments including a package of Canadian experiments (CANEX).

Garneau was promoted to Captain (Navy) in 1986, leaving the Canadian Forces in 1989.

Garneau flew on 2 more Space Shuttle missions in 1996 as Mission Specialist on the Endeavour, and in 2000 as Flight Engineer. On his 3rd mission, Garneau used the Canadarm on Endeavour to install one of the four solar arrays on the International Space Station.

Following his career as an astronaut, Garneau was appointed President of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in 2001.

For the Common Good

Garneau was elected to Parliament and served as an MP for over 14 years in the House of Commons, including as Foreign Affairs Minister, and Transport Minister.

“Everything had to be, what makes the most sense? As opposed to doing things for, shall I say, political reasons,” said Garneau.

“I've never been drawn to making decisions for political reasons. I wanted it to be the best policy possible for Canadians”.

After a lifetime of public service, the Honourable Marc Garneau, PC, CC, CD retired in 2023, and set to work writing his memoirs. He dedicated A Most Extraordinary Ride, Space, Politics, and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream “To my children, as I promised”.

Penguin Random House

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Jen & Van Hansen

On June 4th, Marc Garneau passed away peacefully after a short illness, surrounded by his family, his wife, Pam Garneau said in a statement.

“Marc faced his final days with the same strength, clarity and grace that defined his life”.

Photo Gallery

Dr. Jean Clinton’s Secrets of the Adolescent Brain

Sat, 24 May 2025 18:30:19 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

Jean Clinton, MD is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, and a Specialist in Child Psychiatry.

Dr. Clinton is also a renowned keynote speaker and knowledge translator, aptly moving research findings from the lab or journal into practical use. This Spring she gave a talk for an attentive group of parents and educators in the auditorium of Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton...

Opening warmly, Dr. Clinton reflects on her personal connection to Westdale. “It’s great to be in these hallowed halls. Four of my children went here.”

Drawing from both personal and academic insight, she emphasizes that adolescence is a critical time of brain development, shaped by neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to be molded by experience.

A key point is that the adolescent brain is “under construction.” Dr. Clinton explains that during this stage the brain prioritizes emotional and social development over executive functioning such as planning and impulse control.

The limbic system, which governs emotions and rewards matures earlier than the prefrontal cortex, responsible for reasoning and decision-making. This neurological imbalance partly explains risk-taking behaviours, impulsivity, and the strong pull toward peer relationships.

Dr. Clinton used an anecdote about her own child leaping into unknown waters, showing that even knowing the risks, adolescents prioritize thrill and peer approval.

Bell Times

Adolescents stay up later because their melatonin is changing, effectively delaying their signal to feel sleepy by several hours. At the same time they need 9 hours, making sleep deprivation a big issue.

“There is very good evidence that later start times for adolescents in school makes a big difference,” Dr. Clinton says. “Even starting at 8:30 compared to 8:00”.

From Anxious to Z

Throughout the talk, Dr. Clinton weaved in research, citing sources like Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation” and studies on stress, social media, and brain development. They emphasize that adolescents’ heightened sensitivity to rewards (dopamine response) makes them more prone to seek novelty and excitement, which has evolutionary roots driving them away from the family nest to explore their world.

But how does modern technology disrupt the trajectory of this natural development? In particular, the rise of smartphones and social media, Dr. Clinton argues, is creating an anxious generation.

Children now grow up with a portal in their pocket that pulls them away from face-to-face interactions—an unnatural and potentially harmful shift for a species wired for social connection.

Data shows a decline in time spent with friends and an increase in loneliness, anxiety, depression, and self-harm since the early 2010s, particularly among adolescent girls.

Dr. Clinton shares that today’s overprotection in the physical world, along with underprotection in the virtual world, leaves children less prepared for real life. She highlights a cultural shift toward “safetyism” with shrinking zones of independent exploration across generations.

While free, unsupervised play has diminished, kids are being denied opportunities to develop resilience and problem-solving skills.

Dr. Clinton calls for a balance between protecting children and fostering independence. She advocates for delayed access to smartphones and social media, recommending no smartphones before high school and no social media before age 16.

She encourages “phone-free schools” and collective action among parents to set shared boundaries, reducing the social pressure kids feel when “everyone else has one.”

It Takes a Village

Beyond technology, Dr. Clinton stresses the importance of focusing on the whole child. Drawing from Indigenous teachings and the medicine wheel, she posits that education must nurture physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being—not just cognitive skills.

“Mohawk Elder Tom Porter told me that in their Mohawk tradition, children are the sacred ones. They are the heart of the nation and it is the sacred responsibility of the community to raise them up”, says Dr. Clinton.

Belonging, engagement, and meaningful relationships are vital for academic success and healthy brain development. Dr. Clinton warns against a narrow focus on curriculum content, comparing it to “stuffing the duck” rather than fostering genuine learning and inquiry.

Dr. Clinton underscored that “relationships are nutrients for the (developing) brain”. She promoted the mantra of “connect before you correct,” encouraging parents and educators to prioritize empathy and emotional connection before addressing behaviour. This approach activates brain pathways that support reflection and learning, rather than triggering defensive or reactive responses.

Stress and its neurological impact form another crucial theme. Dr. Clinton explained how chronic stress floods the brain with cortisol and adrenaline, which impairs memory, focus, and learning. And many behavioural issues attributed to disorders like ADHD may actually stem from toxic stress or environmental factors. Positive early experiences and supportive relationships can buffer against adversity, highlighting the protective power of connection.

Dr. Clinton closed with actionable strategies for parents, namely practicing gratitude daily, fostering joy and laughter, asking reflective questions that center a child’s needs and strengths, and modeling calmness. She cited neuroscience research showing that gratitude can biologically shift the brain toward a healthier mindset.

Ultimately, Dr. Clinton encourages a cultural shift in how we raise and educate adolescents. By respecting their developmental needs, fostering strong relationships, limiting harmful technological influences, and nurturing their whole being, we can support adolescents in building healthy brains—and fulfilling lives.

Dr. Clinton left the audience inspired to reflect, connect, and act with intention for the benefit of their children’s growth.

Dr. Jean Clinton’s talk was presented by the Westdale, Dundas Valley, and Ancaster School Councils

Dr. Jean Clinton’s latest book is “Love Builds Brains”.

Love Builds Brains

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Jen & Van Hansen

Antrim Glen Community

Mon, 05 May 2025 13:32:17 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

Antrim Glen is the Adult Lifestyle Land Lease Community ensconced in the rolling hills of Freelton, ON.

There are 289 detached bungalows in this idyllic country setting surrounded by conservation areas and farmland. And pride of ownership is obvious as soon as you enter the community as the homes are lovingly maintained, with manicured lawns & gardens.

“When I first drove through the entrance here I felt like I was at home, and I loved it,” says resident A. Adams.

One advantage of buying at Antrim Glen is that the homes are typically more affordable than those outside the community, making it popular with downsizing seniors.

“I have moved many times in my life, and there’s nothing better as far as I’m concerned,” Adams says. “Value for dollar you can’t beat being in this community”.

Featured Listings

126 Glenariff Drive

156 Gracehill Drive

Types of Home Ownership

In Canada there are several types of home ownership. For Freeholds, the house and the land are owned by the resident.

With Condominiums, the resident owns their unit, owns the common areas jointly with others, and pays a monthly fee to the condo corporation.

Other types of home ownership include Co-operative housing (co-op), Life Lease, Leasehold, and Land Lease.

With Land Lease the home is owned by the resident who in turn pays a monthly fee to the land owner for leasing the land.

The Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) applies in Ontario when a house on leased land is purchased. At Antrim Glen, new residents are approved by the landlord, and they sign a new lease prior to closing.

In Antrim Glen, the landlord is Parkbridge Lifestyle Communities Inc., the leading operator, developer and owner of more than 55 residential, and 35 recreational resort communities across Canada.

The monthly fees include land lease, maintenance, and property tax. Parkbridge maintains the common elements such as the clubhouse, pool, community well, lighting, roads, and snow clearance on the roads, while homeowners are responsible for maintaining their individual homes.

The Glen

At the hub of the vibrant, friendly social scene is The Glen, the 12,000 square foot community Recreation Centre. It features a meeting hall, lounge, library, billiards room, workshop, gym, sauna, and outdoor saltwater pool.

There are many organized activities and events such as BBQ’s, bus trips, card games, clubs, exercise groups, dances, and seasonal parties.

“This is an active lifestyle community, if you wish to be active. You can garden if you are a gardener”, says Adams. “You can play cards, go bowling or golfing with a group, there are just so many activities!

Antrim Glen is located halfway between Cambridge and Hamilton, with access to the 401 and 403.

The History of Antrim Glen

The 200 acres of Antrim Glen and adjacent Beverly Hills Estates were formerly farmland producing alfalfa, corn, grain, hay, and red clover, along with livestock including pigs, chickens, and Holstein cattle supplying milk to Silverwood’s Dairy.

William Russell Waller purchased the land in the late 1800s, and farmed it until the 1930s, with operations continuing up to 1968.

Gerry Maguire was one of the original partners in the Antrim Glen development after he emigrated to Canada from Northern Ireland, and the community owes its name to the Glens of Antrim. The Glens are in County Antrim, one of six counties in Northern Ireland’s province of Ulster.

The Glens of Antrim

There are nine glens: Glenarm, Glencloy, Glenariff, Glenballyeamon, Glenaan, Glencorp, Glendun, Glenshesk, and Glentaisie.

The Antrim Coast & Glens are an excellent example of the magnificent scenery of Northern Ireland, and in 1988 they were designated as an Area of Natural Beauty (AONB), the intent being to conserve and enhance the landscape. This area includes Rathlin Island, the coastal area between Larne and Ballycastle, and the Glens of Antrim.

The Word on the Street

Closer to home, Antrim Glen’s street names in Freelton were also inspired by places in Ireland’s County Antrim…

Armoy is a small village on the River Bush. In recent years Armoy has been host to a road race known as the “Race of Legends”
Ballycastle, Town of the Castle
Bushmill(s), watermill on the River Bush, famous for the Old Bushmills Distillery, founded in 1784 and still in operation
Crumlin, (Croimglhlinn or) Crooked Glen sits at the head of the Camlin River
Dunadry is a small village previously known as Dunedergel
Eden is a settlement on the edge of Carrickfergus, birthplace of international footballer William John Irvine
Emerald for Isle (aka Ireland)
Garron (Tower) is a cliff-top Victorian castle
Glenariff, is the largest of the Glens
Glenarm is named after the (southernmost) Glen in which it lies. Glenarm Castle is the ancestral home of the Earls of Antrim
Gracehill (Village) was founded in 1765
Kells, (Na Cealla) is a village near Ballymena
Kilroot, the town of the same name is on the mouth of Belfast Lock
Portrush – favourite holiday destination, on a mile-long peninsula extending into the Atlantic

Jen & I have experience brokering many sales of homes on land lease property including at Antrim Glen in Freelton, Martin Grove Village in Waterloo, and Cherry Hill at Vineland. And we have both earned our Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES®) designation.

So if you are interested in finding out more please contact us and we will be happy to talk about your wants and needs and how we can help you.

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Love Your Neighbourhood

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Jen & Van Hansen

Weathering the Cyber Storm with Birmingham Consulting

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 16:33:42 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

On a tree-lined street in the heart of the Victorian Village of Waterdown stands a Georgian style former church building, built circa 1838. These days it’s the home of Birmingham Consulting Inc. (BCI). While this may not be where you might expect to find a high tech information security firm, there is a certain synergy in the striking juxtaposition of old and new.

Jen and I were there to interview Scott Birmingham, BCI’s Principal Consultant, and he shared some valuable tips on how to avoid a cyber attack and protect your information online.

Scott founded BCI in 2009. The goal was to deliver information technology (IT) services using the engineering principles he applied while working in high-value manufacturing industries.

At the same time, BCI was an early adopter in delivering cyber security. And today they provide dedicated information security (InfoSec) services focussed on risk reduction for businesses.

Inside the renovated office space, Scott ushered us into a meeting room where we sat down across a custom black walnut conference table made from wood salvaged from a tree on their property.

All Around the World

Van: Does the risk of cyber attacks vary regionally, or is it more or less uniform because these are global threats?

Scott: So let's start with the bigger picture. Statistically, Canada is the third most attacked country or has the third highest number of cyber attacks targeted at it in the world after the US and UK.

And so it definitely varies on a national or global level. Regionally now I always just say follow the money. Well where's the money? It's where the people are.

So where you've got a higher density of people and businesses you're going to have a higher number of attacks occurring. If you've got some little town out in the middle of the prairies, they're less likely to have major attacks happen compared to somebody in Vancouver or Toronto where big businesses are and there are lots of people.

How to Protect Yourself

Van: From the consumers point of view what can be done to protect their information and their devices?

I know there is some controversy as to whether Mac requires anti-virus software for example. And VPN’s (Virtual Personal Networks) are popular…

Scott: So there's a whole list, almost an endless list of recommendations you can make and it's where you're going to get the most bang for your buck.

You mentioned Apple. Well, we get do get monthly notifications about actively exploited vulnerabilities on Apple. There's more on Windows but it still happens. But how secure are they? Ultimately nobody is fully secure, including Apple.

That said, of the steps you mentioned, antivirus is kind of the old term now. Now you have an endpoint protection or an endpoint detection and response. There was a next-gen antivirus or NGAV, but yeah, more in the business world, you want to look at more than just antivirus.

And you know there's a big technical difference between regular antivirus and something that's actually looking at not just the antivirus part, but what kind of weird behaviour might be happening, and let's shut it down, right?
Yeah those are both very important those two things you mentioned, antivirus, (catch-all term), and a VPN.

But probably the number one thing, and as InfoSec professionals we harp on it, is to make sure your devices are up to date. I don't care whether it's Apple, Windows, iOS, Android, doesn't matter.

Make sure they're up to date, including the operating system. So there's a lot Apple's out there that are older (than 5-6 years) running that are not compatible with an upgrade.

So get a new Mac. Right? Otherwise you've got vulnerabilities on there that aren't being fixed.

The same applies to Windows and with Windows end of life in October, there's a lot of hardware that is going to become obsolete unless you pay to have support extended.

And that really leads to making sure your device can be on a supported operating system and it's fully patched. We just had an occurrence with a business client, but it was their personal phone. It was an iPhone 6. Let that sink in for a minute. What's that, 10 years old?

And we said we don't want to touch this because for all we know it's already infected. It's already compromised and we don't want to be held responsible for anything on here. You need to get rid of that phone.

And if they were doing banking on there or online purchases and that phone's compromised because it hasn't been capable of receiving updates for the last 10 years? You may not even know until the bank calls and says, hey, what's going on?

So that's the big, big thing. There are more security features on newer devices than on old ones. So even if it works perfectly well, I wouldn’t recommend using it.

All you have to do is find out if that's still supported. If the iOS 15.8 is still getting security patches released for it then you're okay for a bit, but you don't want to leave it too long.

Van: How do InfoSec requirements compare from a small business through to a large corporation?

Scott: I'll preface it by saying the financial risk is proportional. You know, if there's a hundred thousand dollar loss due to an incident, well a big company is not even going to notice that. But for an entrepreneur, that's a big deal.

So invest accordingly. When you've got millions or billions at risk as a big company, you're going to invest more in security than an entrepreneur might need to. The overall investment will vary, but the principles to follow are the same.

First is to conduct regular risk assessments at least annually. And of course act on the findings as well. I mean that kind of goes without saying.

The other one is to look at security as a continuous process, not just a project. And the short form of this is threats are ever evolving, so security needs to evolve to match.

And then create a culture of security, not just in your company, but in your personal life, with your family.

I think Christine might have mentioned the concept of safe words, which apply not just to families but to businesses as well. So by safe word, think of it as a code word.

If you get a phone call from somebody that's claiming to be your daughter or granddaughter or grandson or whatever saying I'm in trouble I need help I need money and the voice is an exact match because AI made it an exact match, you can say okay what's our safe word.

And AI is not going to know it. The criminal is not going to know it. They're not going to know it and right away you know this isn't real and move on.

The same as in business because you can have somebody try to impersonate an executive and say I want you to transfer money to XYZ. And In business there are also electronic ways to verify.

But if you don't have that culture of security you're not going to think to do that so keep it on your mind. It's not if, it's when. So be prepared and practice your preparedness to make sure that it's actually effective.

Cyber Insurance

And have adequate cyber insurance on the business side. If you go to our website there is a business cyber liability calculator on there so if you're wondering how much cyber insurance you should have that will give you an idea. We don't sell cyber insurance so it's just an education thing and then you can now have an informed conversation with your insurance broker because a lot of them don't understand all the risks.

On the personal side be sure that you've got some kind of identity theft protection insurance.

These are key fundamentals, whether you're a sole proprietor or you're a billion dollar enterprise. They apply either way, it's just the scale.

Something New

Van: What do you love about your work?

Scott: We've collected a lot of knowledge over the years here at BCI. And I love sharing that knowledge, whether it be with business owners, whether it be with large corporate executives, whether it be paid or unpaid, and just in the community, sharing what we've learned and making sure that somebody takes one extra step to protect themselves.

So it's always something new that we’re learning, and there's always something new to share. That's why we're doing that presentation with the Hamilton police on fraud in March.

__
Scott is a Certified Engineering Technologist (CET), with a CIM designation from the Canadian Institute of Management. He works with his wife Christine, who is BCI’s Operations Manager, and their team.

Their cat Kahn was named after Dr. Robert Elliot Khan, a visionary engineer and one of the fathers of the internet, having co-invented the transmission control & internet protocols (TCIP/ IP), the fundamental communication protocols underpinning the internet.

Birmingham Consulting is hosting the hybrid event Weathering Cyber Storms in 2025 at the Uptown Business Club and online on March 26th, 2025 from 12 – 1 pm EDT, with guest speaker Constable Ryan Clarke, Hamilton Police Service

Birmingham Consulting Inc.

Jen & Van Hansen

McCann’s Dog Training Leads the Pack

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:53 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

McCann Professional Dog Trainers have helped more than 100,000 families to train their dogs over the years.

The McCann Method® is always evolving, and today the business operates from a world-class facility on their 21-acre site in Flamborough, ON.

The main building has 3 air-conditioned training halls, adjacent to a new dock diving pool. And there is a 12,000 sq. ft. sports arena with artificial grass; many members of Team Canada use the arena when training for worldwide Agility Competitions.

Last month I had the opportunity to tour the McCann Dogs complex and interview Kayl McCann, Director/ Head Trainer and her husband Ken Steppe, Manager of Digital Strategy & Content Creation/ Trainer.

Away to the Races

Van Hansen: So Ken, my first question is can all dogs benefit from training?

Ken Steepe: Yes! And one of the ideas that we try to dispel is that old dogs can’t learn new tricks. And whatever your expectations are for your dog’s training, you can set the bar higher.

That's something that I learned very quickly. I mean, my expectations were I just didn't want my dog to chew my shoes or drag me down the street.

But understanding that with better information, I could get her to respond to name, and have her off leash in a busier environment. Then you can do more things and go more places with your dog.

So in training we would ask students on their first lesson, if we set up a scenario where their dog is in one corner of the room and they are in the other corner, they call come would their dog run by ten other dogs? And they always say there’s no way.

Kayl McCann: And if we flash forward to graduation we see dog after dog after dog succeeding.

This isn’t us though. They did the work, they put the stuff in and it's like the dog is completely transformed from the beginning to the end. So cool.

Ken Steepe: And even if you're not looking for any of those specific skills, I would recommend for anyone whether you're getting a rescue dog or you've got a brand new puppy in the household, I mean training is the fast track to relationship. It is such an important part of that. You learn a lot about your dog, they learn a lot about you. It's really valuable.

Kayl McCann: We are really focused on teaching the student to train their dog. Our goal is to empower the person to train the dog, to build that relationship; I don't need the dog to love me, I need the dog to love them.

I think once you get the person learning things, then it's away to the races from there.

Positive Reinforcement

Van Hansen: Kayl can you tell me how McCann Dogs was first established?

Kayl McCann: The family started the business 43 years ago now. And at that time my parents were a young couple who had separate careers—my Mom (Deb) ran a recreation center and my Dad (Marti) worked at a bank.

Dad bought Mom a dog and once they started taking dog training classes, they really enjoyed it. So they started dog training as a fun thing to do together and they ended up falling in love with it.

They started competing, and back then the dog training was more focused on negative reinforcement, which was something they wanted to change.

And they started paving a different route back then, because they really wanted the dog to behave, but also look like it was having fun at the same time instead of ears pinned and being worried about it.

So much so that they would have classes where people would be laughing and having fun, and they ended up getting kicked out of the school that they were in because they were doing such different methods, and that sort of forced them to do their own thing.

Then one class a week turned into two and on and on and they were working in church basements and things like that until they ended up renting a space over at the Rockton Fairgrounds.

The next step was to build this facility, I think it was 25 years ago. And yeah, it's just grown into something really big over the years.

So that's sort of where the family dog training program was developed. And then we've spun off in a bunch of different directions from there, just because once you sort of get foundation on the dog, there's like a whole world of cool things related to dog training comes up, which is awesome.

In Their Shoes

Van Hansen: I have a question for both of you. What do you love most about your work?

Kayl McCann: (to Ken) that's a big question. Do you want me to go first?

Ken Steepe: Sure. Gives me more time to think.

Kayl McCann: Okay, great. I love a lot of things about my work and I would say my job has really changed over the last 10 years since my parents have retired and I've sort of stepped into their shoes.

From an instructor perspective, if it has to do with helping students and that type of thing, that never gets old. There are always new challenges. And there’s so much satisfaction when I can literally lower their stress level.

Students are so proud of what they accomplish and there’s a lot of satisfaction seeing somebody have a lot of growth and I think that excitement is what led me into coaching.

And we have amazing staff here. We have staff that work inside the building full time, we have staff that are associates, they work part time including school teachers and engineers and nurses, staff that do all kinds of cool things in their normal life.

And then they come and teach for us a couple days a week. And we have instructors that are online, and it's such a cool group of people that we can push each other and continue to push the envelope in terms of training so that we don't get stagnant in our ideas and trying new things. And I really enjoy that aspect of it whether it's a mentorship role to them or learning things from them myself.

The dogs seem like an obvious part. Obviously I love dogs but you can't do this as a business if you don't like people as well because there's so many people things involved. And I'm a people person, so I really enjoy that part of it.

Ken Steepe: I have a unique perspective because I came in as a student, but without sounding overly dramatic, I've been a firefighter for 26 years, and I have also worked as a paramedic. So I've seen emotional extremes firsthand and also been in some very rewarding scenarios as well, but there's something uniquely gratifying about seeing someone's joy when their dog (for example) does a recall across this entire room.

When you see students in the parking lot and they're just so proud that their dog is walking at their side without pulling them on leash.

The feeling of being able to influence, to shape the next 10 to 15 years of someone's life. The opportunity we're given to allow someone to have the dream dog that they had envisioned, even if it didn't start out that way, which is my case.

That's really powerful. And now we do it on a global scale with the YouTube studio and YouTube team. But doing it for 500 dog owners a week in this building, boy oh boy, that's a really great feeling. And it's hard to compare that to anything else.

Gallery photos courtesy Kayl McCann

McCann Dogs delivers in-person and online classes and workshops from Puppy Prep to Essentials, and Life Skills. From there they offer Advanced Obedience, and Sports programs including Rally, Agility, and Competition.

“In just a few weeks your dog becomes a well-behaved family member!” — McCann Professional Dog Trainers

McCann Dogs

Jen & Van Hansen

Say hello… move forward with more™

Mortgage Minutes with Brent Ivy

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 16:17:18 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

My neighbour Brent Ivy, Agent with Key Mortgage Partners is celebrating 30 years in the mortgage business. And 2 weeks ago he stopped by my Right at Home Realty, Brokerage office in Burlington where we had a chance to chat for a few minutes about all things mortgage.

The Rules Have Changed

The first of the recent policies aimed at making housing more accessible to home buyers took effect November 21st, 2024. Now homeowners with uninsured mortgages will be able to switch lenders at renewal without having to pass the mortgage stress test.

“If you’re going to move from one lender to another, I suggest talking to your mortgage professional because we may be able to move you over at a discounted rate,” says Brent.

More changes that started on December 15th, 2024 include increasing the $1m price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5m.

“The premium that the insurers are going to request is added on to the mortgage” says Brent. “So it's not something first time homebuyers have to come up with, but it allows them to get into those higher priced homes”.

The other side of that is individuals with a separation agreement may qualify under this policy as well.

And 30-year amortizations are now available to first time homebuyers, and buyers of new builds.

Another policy coming into force January 15, 2025 is homeowners will be able to refinance up to 90% LTV (loan-to-value ratio) to use the funds to add a rental unit to their owner-occupied property.

Where to Start

A pre-approval will give you a ballpark figure. But in real estate time is of the essence. Which means that for buyer clients one of the first things I advise them to do is to consult with their mortgage professional. That way when I find the right home for my clients we can act quickly to offer on the property.

Brent's application is online. “I follow up to help complete any missing information. We look at documents such credit bureau, paystubs, T-4 for 2 years, and employment letter”.

Entrepreneurs may also need full T-1 generals, and sometimes bank statements and articles of incorporation depending how they have their business set up.

Down payment documents will be required once a property is selected, and the lender may require an appraisal.

Mortgage Brokerage v. Big Banks

“I'm fortunate in that I've been able to play in both sandboxes so I can speak with some experience on both sides,” says Brent.

“So kind of the best way to think about it is the broker actually goes out and finds you the product that fits best for you. Whereas if you go to the bank, they're trying to put you into their box”.

Brent’s mortgage brokerage works specifically with 50 different lenders.

Brent Ivy has lived in (West) Waterdown with his wife Tiffany for 21 years now. What drew them here was the proximity to schools for their children. They quickly established roots as they started to play hockey and meet families, expanding their network of friends.

Ivy Mortgage

Jen & Van Hansen

Say hello… move forward with more℠

Batches Bake Shop is the Neighbourhood Sweet Spot

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:58:59 GMT

by VAN HANSEN

Kate Batchelor is the extraordinary baker and proud owner of Batches Bake Shop at 321 Dundurn St S in Hamilton, a most welcome addition to the Kirkendall neighbourhood.

She was inspired from an early age by her Grandfather’s legacy. He had operated Gerry’s Pure Food Bakery in Milton, and in retirement baked birthday cakes and made gingerbread houses for Kate and her brother during the holidays.

Having graduated with her Diploma in Baking & Pastry Arts Management from George Brown College, she was perfectly positioned to fill the vacuum created when the longstanding Cake & Loaf Bakery shut down in October, 2023.

Kate opened Batches as a pop-up shop at the same location in November, 2023 and has been there ever since, offering a carefully curated variety of baked goods from cookies, cakes, and scones to soup and chicken pot pie.

Van Hansen interviewed Kate Batchelor at Batches Bake Shop in November, 2024.

Hansen: What was the first thing you ever baked?

Batchelor: It was the Betty Crocker box cake mixes and I made so many of them. I was like the family cake baker at eight or nine years old and my dad would supervise and then taste test but yeah it all started out of a box.

Hansen: Batches Bake Shop is a “from scratch bakery”. What does that mean exactly?

Batchelor: It means that all of our ingredients come in individually and we put them all together so nothing is coming out of a bucket and nothing is coming in pre-made. We make it all in-house from scratch, fresh, daily or every other day.

Hansen: Okay and where do you get your ingredients?

Batchelor: That depends on the season. We try to keep things as local as possible, so all through the summer we get things from the Waterdown Farmer's Market when we are there on Saturday.

That's why you'll see our menu change up seasonally, because when I can't get the produce, I can't produce the stuff.

Hansen: From a personal POV what does Baking mean to you?

Batchelor: Baking to me is love, right? That's how my family shows love. People cook for you, people bake for you.

Hansen: So you mentioned that baking was a hobby and a stress reliever, and that all sounds like great stuff.

Batchelor: That's how I started. I used to bake at home all the time, all through my university degree I baked and that was how I turned off my brain at the end of the day. I'd pop out a batch of cinnamon rolls or cook up a big pot of chili. So it was feeding me but also feeding my soul. Now it’s not as much a stress reliever but I still love it.

Hansen: Tell me about your Grandfather.

Batchelor: My Grandpa had a bakery when my Mom and her brothers were kids. I never got to see it—the shop closed before I was born.

But he used to make all of our birthday cakes and we would go and have sleepovers and there would be cinnamon buns in the morning. And at Christmas he would make gingerbread houses, personalized gingerbread houses for my brother and I. And so I just remember that was how he spread joy to our family was through creating everything.

Hansen: So you grew up in Milton. How did you end up in Hamilton?

Batchelor: When I finished university I moved back home for a while.

During that time I was working at a restaurant in Oakville and I had an epiphany… I realized that food service and hospitality is where I'm supposed to be.

And I started my first bakery out of my Mom's kitchen, which was a terrible idea because I really had no idea what I was doing at that point.

So after completing the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Program at Mohawk, I studied Baking and Pastry Arts at George Brown College. We had to do an internship, and I wanted to do it closer to home.

And I remembered a girl that I knew in high school who worked at the Cake and Loaf Bakery. She put me in touch with the owners and it just kind of blossomed and I worked for them for several years.

When they decided to close they asked if I wanted to rent the building and that’s how I ended up here.

It was a little bit like coming home because I already worked here for so many years, but never during the day. I never got to meet anybody, so now being able to meet the community is really lovely.

BATCHES BAKE SHOP

Jen & Van Hansen

Say hello… move forward with more℠

Someone Who's Cool—Trans-Canada Highwaymen

Mon, 13 May 2024 18:15:28 GMT

Moe Berg (The Pursuit of Happiness), Chris Murphy (Sloan), Craig Northey (Odds), and Steven Page (ex-Barenaked Ladies) are the Trans-Canada Highwaymen

The AutoShow—Now and Then

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:50:59 GMT

The Canadian International AutoShow (CIAS) opened its doors to the largest crowd ever in its 51-year history on Friday, February 16, 2024. With exhibits, displays, attractions, and an indoor EV test track rounding out 650,000 square feet of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC), there is also a new outdoor test track.

And for the test drives you can sign up, register, pick your time and then come back within a 15-minute window, so you have more time for browsing.

Canadian Premiers

This year more than 30 vehicles will be seen for the first time in Canada, several of which are also making their North American debut.

Jason Campbell, General Manager of the AutoShow says, “We take pride at the Canadian International AutoShow to bring consumers interesting and unique vehicles alongside a showcase of the newest and latest production models that will be in the market in the coming years.”

Celebrating the automobile since 1974, CIAS started out as the Toronto Auto Show, at the International Centre near the airport in Mississauga.

Bright Lights, Big Cities

I have fond memories of attending that first show with my Dad, Arne Hansen and exploring the vast brightly illuminated indoor expanse while taking in a seemingly endless review of shiny new cars on the 100,000 square foot show floor.

Back then, the former Toronto (now Trillium) Automotive Dealers Association (TADA), welcomed 85,000 visitors, a humble beginning compared to the 350,000 visitors per year that the CIAS has achieved in more recent years.

Dad was an automotive mechanic at Kennedy Ford in Oakville. In those days I had a Hot Wheels 24-car Super Rally Case that was never far from reach.

While I was still in public school, my Dad hung up his coveralls and commuted to Teachers College for a year in Toronto, while my Mom took an office job at an automotive dealership in Oakville.

Dad did some substitute teaching at high schools before going back into the automotive industry as a Technical Training Instructor at AMC Jeep Renault, where he gave courses to mechanics from the dealerships on how to service the latest models.

Dad arranged for a car for his colleague Claude Roucher, an instructor from Renault Paris when he was here for a few weeks working at the local HQ.

They got on well, and in the end Mr. Roucher invited our family to visit his in Paris. We did, and got to see the L’Atelier Renault, the international showcase of the Renault brand with new and historic models on display.

When Chrysler bought out Renault’s share in AMC, the merged operations become the new Jeep-Eagle division of Chrysler in 1987, and Dad stayed on as Technical Training Manager.

On the summer break from business school, I worked at the assembly plant in Brampton on the Jeep Wrangler chassis line, then trim & final. The next summer I worked the Chrysler parts warehouse in Mississauga.

By 1986 the AutoShow had outgrown the International Centre, and it moved to its current location at the MTCC.

“To the south there was nothing because Bremner didn’t exist, and the Rogers Centre didn’t exist,” said Tom Tonks, former GM. “The most important thing was that there was Union Station, the GO train and the TTC subways, as well as all that parking.”

From 1991 to 1998 the Rogers Centre (Sky Dome) was included as part of the venue, as it was again from 2001 to 2008.

Dad and I continued to attend the AutoShow in Toronto, as well as in Detroit at Cobo Hall, until the mid-90s.

After a long absence from the show, my good friend Frank—a former automotive mechanic who has retired from an Audi dealership—convinced me to go to the show in 2020.

We also attended when the show returned last year but were surprised to see that several of our favourite brands were nowhere to be found on the show floor.

So the 2023 show was a sized-down event with only 28 brands in attendance. But for this year, the show has bounced back to its pre-pandemic footprint, and with 44 automotive brands now on display.

Unfortunately, there are still several prominent brands missing in action this year including Audi, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, and Volkswagen. Compared to last year however, the expanded footprint, with 50% more manufacturers, is a big improvement.

When I arrive at the AutoShow, I do so with a curated personal portfolio of favourite brands in mind that I make a point to see, and that list has evolved over the years.

Currently I would look for Aston Martin, Dodge Ram, Jeep, (Honda), Hyundai, Kia, (Mercedes), Porsche, Subaru, Toyota, and Volvo.

“We're really excited about being able to provide a much broader experience for our consumers,” says CIAS GM Jason Campbell.

“That was the one challenge we had last year was a lot of consumers were coming, expecting to see everybody, and we didn't have everyone. But we've got a much better selection this year”.

Campbell is hoping that in the next year or two CIAS will be able to get back to where they were pre-pandemic, to have the fullest experience of all of the big consumer brands on the show floor.

The theme of this years show is THE RevOLUTION. Clearly positioned as the car of the future, there is no doubt that the electric vehicle has reached an unprecedented popularity.

Back to the Future

The EV first appeared 200 years ago, their initial debut being in the form of crude carriages sans the horses, but by the 1890s more practical EVs became commercially available. Since then, EVs have traveled a long and winding road to get to where they are today.

As with the rollout of any complex technology, under the hood there will always be a plethora of shifting and sometimes competing factors at play, which can be broadly framed by political, economic, social, tech, legal, and environmental.

Specific to the adoption of EVs, some of these factors include demographic, cost, charging infrastructure, and performance. Others involve incentives, restrictions, and charging infrastructure. Fleet charging and logistical support, and power grid development will be increasingly important. Not to mention the innovation curve and demand for batteries.

Some of the exciting features at this year’s AutoShow include Electric City, Canada’s Largest Indoor EV Test Track, the Little Car Company, Grand Touring Automobiles, Pfaff Auto Group, Auto Exotica, Camp Jeep, and Cobble Beach Classics.

The AutoShow is the ideal place to begin the car-shopping journey by checking out vehicle options in an experiential setting, connecting with product experts, and getting an up-close look at the car, and having a seat.

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Story by Van Hansen. Header photo by Van Hansen, 1964 GTO on display 2020 AutoShow

2024 CANADIAN PREMIERS

CONCEPT CARS

HOT WHEELS

GRAND TOURING AUTOMOBILES

THE LITTLE CAR COMPANY

ELECTRIC CITY

Royal Succession—Denmark’s Change of the Guard

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 00:17:43 GMT

Royal Succession

Disney's Radical Vision for the City of Tomorrow

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 18:56:53 GMT

The Epcot theme park that was eventually built diverged from Walt Disney’s plans for his ‘community of tomorrow.’ Story by Alex Krieger, Harvard University

Since Epcot’s inception, millions of tourists have descended upon the theme park famous for its Spaceship Earth geodesic sphere and its celebration of international cultures.

But the version of Epcot visitors encounter at Disney World – which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021 – is hardly what Walt Disney imagined.

In 1966, Disney announced his intention to build Epcot, an acronym for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.” It was to be no mere theme park but, as Disney put it, “the creation of a living blueprint for the future” unlike “anyplace else in the world” – an entire new city built from scratch.

Disney died later that year; his vision was scaled down, and then scrapped altogether. But when I was writing my book on urban idealism in America, I was drawn to this planned community.

Since the arrival of the first colonists, Americans have experimented with new patterns of settlement. Imagining new kinds of places to live is an American tradition, and Disney was an eager participant.

A City of the Future

A captivating 25-minute film produced by Walt Disney Enterprises remains the best window into Walt’s vision.

In it, Disney – speaking kindly and slowly, as if to a group of children – detailed what would become of the 27,400 acres, or 43 square miles, of central Florida that he had acquired.

Echoing the rhetoric of American pioneers, he noted how the abundance of land was the key. Here he would achieve all that could not be done at Disneyland, his first theme park in Anaheim, California, that opened in 1955 and had since been encroached upon by rapid suburban development. He proudly pointed out that the land on which Disney World would be built was twice the size of the island of Manhattan and five times larger than Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom.

Walt Disney announces his ambitious vision for Disney World and Epcot.

Among the remarkable components of Disney’s Epcot would be a community of 20,000 residents living in neighborhoods that would double as a showcase of industrial and civic ingenuity – a running experiment in planning, building design, management and governance. There would be a 1,000-acre office park for developing new technologies, and when, say, an innovation in refrigerator design would be developed, every household in Epcot would be the first to receive and test the product before it was released for the rest of the world.

Map showing 1966 plans for Epcot (orange) in relation to the contemporary situation (blue) at Walt Disney World® | image courtesy Lommes CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED

An airport would enable anyone to fly directly to Disney World, while a “vacation land” would provide resort accommodations for visitors. A central arrival complex included a 30-story hotel and convention center, with the downtown featuring a weather-protected zone of themed shops.

Epcot’s more modest wage-earners would be able to live nearby in a ring of high-rise apartment buildings. And there would be a park belt and recreational zone surrounding this downtown area, separating the low-density, cul-de-sac neighborhoods beyond that would house the majority of residents. There would be no unemployment, and it was not to be a retirement community.

“I don’t believe there is a challenge anywhere in the world that’s more important to people everywhere than finding solutions to the problems of our cities,” Disney said.

‘New Towns’ Abound

During the 1960s, the aspiration of building anew was much in the air.

Americans were becoming increasingly concerned about the well-being of the nation’s cities. And they were unsatisfied with the effort – and, especially, the consequences – of urban renewal.

They felt insecure in the face of growing urban poverty, unrest and crime, and frustrated about increasing traffic congestion. Families continued to move to the suburbs, but planners, opinion leaders and even ordinary citizens raised concerns about consuming so much land for low-density development.

Sprawl as a pejorative term for poorly planned development was gaining currency as a fledgling environmental movement emerged. In his popular 1960s ballad “Little Boxes,” Pete Seeger sang of “Little boxes on the hillside / Little boxes made of ticky tacky” to criticize the uniform suburban and exurban tracts of housing rippling out from America’s cities.

A hope emerged that building new towns might be an alternative for unlovely and unloved city neighborhoods and for soulless peripheral subdivisions.

Self-described “town founders,” most of them wealthy businesspeople with ideals dependent on real estate success, led America’s New Towns movement. As Disney was preparing for his Epcot presentation, the Irvine Company was already deep into the process of developing the holdings of the old Irvine Ranch into the model town of Irvine, California. Today, Irvine boasts nearly 300,000 residents.

Irvine, Calif., was built on a ranch. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Meanwhile, real estate entrepreneur Robert E. Simon sold New York’s Carnegie Hall and, with his earnings, bought 6,700 acres of farmland outside of Washington so he could create Reston, Virginia. Fifty miles away, shopping center developer James Rouse started planning Columbia, Maryland. And oil industry investor George P. Mitchell, keeping an eye on the successes and setbacks of Rouse and Simon, would soon take advantage of a new federal funding program and embark on establishing The Woodlands, near Houston, which today has a population of over 100,000 people.

These new towns hoped to incorporate the liveliness and diversity of cities while retaining the intimacy of neighborhoods and other charms associated with small towns.

Disney’s Dream Today

Disney, however, didn’t want to simply spruce up existing suburbs.

He wanted to upend preexisting notions of how a city could be built and run. And for all of its utopian promise, the genius of Disney’s Epcot was that it all seemed doable, an agglomeration of elements commonly found in any modern metropolitan area, but fused into a singular vision and managed by a single authority.

An important innovation was the banishing of the automobile. A vast underground system was designed to enable cars to arrive, park or buzz under the city without being seen. A separate underground layer would accommodate trucks and service functions. Residents and visitors would traverse the entire 12-mile length of Disney World and all of its attractions on a high-speed monorail, far more extensive than anything achieved at Disneyland.

In the car-crazed America of the 1960s, this was a truly radical idea.

Given Walt Disney’s legendary tenacity, it would have been fascinating to witness how far his vision would have advanced. After his death, some sought to fulfill his plans. But when urged by a Disney designer to carry through on Walt’s broader civic-minded vision, Walt’s brother Roy, who had taken the reins of the company, answered, “Walt is dead.”

Today, Disney’s utopian spirit is alive and well. You see it in former Walmart executive Marc Lore’s ambitions to build a 5-million-person city called “Telosa” in a U.S. desert and Blockchains LLC’s proposal for a self-governing “smart city” in Nevada.

But more often, you’ll see efforts that tap into the nostalgia of a bucolic past. The Disney Corporation did, in fact, develop a town during the 1990s on one of its Florida landholdings.

Dubbed “Celebration,” it was initially heralded as an exemplar of the turn-of-the century movement called New Urbanism, which sought to design suburbs in ways that conjured up the small American town: walkable neighborhoods, a town center, a range of housing choices and less dependence on cars.

However, Celebration has no monorail or underground transport networks, no hubs of technological innovation or policies like universal employment.

That sort of city of tomorrow, it seems, will have to wait.

Alex Krieger is Research Professor in Practice of Urban Design at Harvard University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Burlington Named Top Livable City

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 15:42:04 GMT

I was proud to see that my hometown of Burlington ranks as the top livable city in Ontario, and the 5th in Canada in a new study published in the Globe & Mail.

“Looking for the perfect place to call home is a profoundly personal journey influenced by countless factors,” writes Mahima Singh and Chen Wang.

To complete their data-driven analysis, the Globe's 2023 Edition of Canada’s Most Livable Cities ranking selected 10 categories—Amenities, Climate, Community, Demographics, Economy, Education, Health Care, Housing, Safety, and Transportation.

In addition to overall rankings for the top 100 of 439 communities, the scores are also broken down by category.

Source of Data: Environics Analytics, Environment & Climate Change Canada, and CMHC

McMaster Graduates Ranked Among the Most Employable in the World

Sat, 09 Dec 2023 23:29:13 GMT

McMaster graduates continue to rank among the world’s most employable, according to a key ranking from Times Higher Education. McMaster ranked 85th in the world and 5th in Canada in this year’s Global Employability Ranking. "Our graduates have earned a global reputation for the creativity and collaborative spirit they bring to the workforce,” says McMaster President and Vice-chancellor David Farrar.

“The employability ranking reflects our commitment to fostering the type of innovative thinking and critical problem-solving skills graduates need to excel in their professional lives.”

The Global Employability Ranking surveys managers and recruiters from top companies across the world responsible for recruiting over 800,000 graduates in the past year. This year, more than 100,000 votes were cast by over 11,500 people across 44 countries.

This article was first published in Daily News. Read the original article here.

The Flying Officer

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 19:20:00 GMT

L-R: Maurice Harmes, Stan Mansfield, Cyril King, Ron Tarrant, Matt Kennedy, Dave Bremmer, Jim Mitchell, Charlie Mansfield

Let's talk Wills & Estates with Amanda Groves

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 15:30:56 GMT

Amanda Groves hung out her shingle on Dundas Street in Waterdown, ON four years ago. As a lawyer, she had already gained extensive experience working for a few years at other firms in Southern Ontario specializing in wills and estates.

Today at Groves Law she continues to practice in this area as well as real estate, corporate and commercial law.

Van Hansen interviewed Ms. Groves in her office.

Hansen: I saw you posted a couple of weeks ago “Awake and watching the CBC coverage” (of the Coronation).

Groves: Yes, oh my God, I woke up at four o’clock in the morning to see that. My mother-in-law is born in England, she didn't even wake up to watch it. Yeah, that was a long day.

Hansen: And your Twitter profile shows that you are “Obsessed with the news. All of it. All the time…”

Groves: My favourite thing about Twitter is that you can follow individual reporters. So anytime there is a really big case in Ontario, you’ll have them live tweeting from the courtroom, as it’s happening.

I will follow say four different journalists, and each will have a slightly different point of view on what the judge is saying. So it’s like an eyes on the ground perspective of what’s going on.

Hansen: How did you get your start in law?

Groves: Well, as a child I did well in school and I liked reading and I liked thinking and it was just a career that I kind of thought, gee, what can I learn if I stay in school for awhile?

And the nice thing about law is you can take anything in your undergrad as long as you do well enough and get into law school.

So I took history as an undergrad because I like learning about history and I'm glad that it worked out that I got into law school because I did not have a backup plan.

Hansen: What do you like best about your career now?

Groves: I really like the people the best. You meet a lot of different people, you see a lot of different scenarios that they are in and it's like having little peeks into their lives and learning what is important to them and what they value—so you can help them.

Hansen: I have some questions about wills and estates. The first is when should someone update their will?

Groves: I generally recommend people taking a look at their wills every five years—or if a major life event happens.

And if a client is not sure they can come in and we can determine whether or not they need to make changes at that point.

Wills don't expire they don't void out automatically so it's not like it's going to disappear on you. However, your will may not say what you want it to say now.

Consider if your executor is still people you talk to. Are your beneficiaries still in the same proportions you wanted the inheritance to go to? If you have a major life event, if you get married, maybe you have grandchildren, you want to put them in your will.

Those are examples of times where you might want to just take a look to make sure that it's still meeting your needs.

Hansen: In what situation would somebody need more than one will?

Groves: While most people have one will, there are circumstances where you might want to have multiple wills.

Now sometimes couples will ask if they can have joint wills. There is no such thing as joint wills; husband and wife for example each get their own wills.

Multiple wills is a probate (tax) savings tool. The probate fee is about 1.5% of the estate. When you have what’s called a non-probatable asset, it’s a way to potentially pay less probate fee to the court.

So if you have a certain type of asset like privately held shares, or say an artwork collection that you know will never require probate to be able to pass it on to the next generation—if you have a secondary will, you can put non-probatable assets into it, so if you have to probate the first will, you don’t have to include the value of those non-probatable assets in that secondary will.

So it’s really just a (tax) savings tool which is the number one reason why most of the time people would need multiple wills.

Hansen: In the event that someone wishes to exclude a family member from their will, is there anything they need to do to ensure their wish is realized?

Groves: It always depends on the circumstances. So number one, if you are an adult that does not have any dependents, most of the time you can do what you want with your money.

Now if you have dependents for example minor children, or if you have a married spouse and you exclude your dependents from your will and the will is challenged the dependents would likely prevail, even if you are estranged or going through a separation—you have to leave them the equivalent of what they would be entitled to under a separation agreement.

If you had a non-dependent family member, say an adult child or sibling, parent, or someone who is not reliant on you for funds that you wished to exclude you can leave them out of your will, then it’s just a question of making sure you put yourself into a defensible position.

So sometimes what people will do is they will just leave that person out of their will, so they will draft it tightly, you know, I leave everything to child A and child B and then outside of the will we put a provision in another document that says, you know, I have deliberately not put child C in my will for reasons that are known to me or for, you know, estrangement or whatever language the client is comfortable putting in.

Another method is something called a forfeiture clause. So for example if you leave child A and child B the majority of your estate, but maybe leave a smaller amount, say $50,000 to child C, and then at the same time put a clause in your will that says forfeiture, which means that if any individual who inherited under your will argues your will, then they lose their inheritance. So therefore, child C, she has the option of either saying, okay, I take my $50,000 and run, or I take my $50,000, try to argue this in court, knowing if I lose I don't get my $50,000 anymore.

So this is an encouragement for them not to bring a claim there.

Hansen: What does it mean to designate a power of attorney?

Groves: There are two types of powers of attorney (POA)—one is the power of attorney for personal care, which is the healthcare decision maker, and one is the continuing general power of attorney, which is your financial decision maker.

Hansen: For POAs, how is timing an issue with regards to someone’s (legal) capacity?

Groves: You have to have the capacity to be able to sign both those POA documents.

The person signing a document for the financial power of attorney, that's a higher capacity level than the healthcare power of attorney. However, there still is a level for both of those, and it's important to have those done while somebody has capacity to make them.

The number one reason is that if an individual loses capacity during their lifetime and they can't make financial decisions anymore, then there's no automatic person to take over those appointments.

What happens in that case is the public guardian and trustee (PGT), takes over that person's life. At that point if you wanted to step in place of the PGT to make decisions if your family member had lost capacity and the PGT took over, then you have to make an application to the PGT to be able to become the substitute decision maker (SDM) in place of the public guardian and trustee. That process is going to take months if not a year and it's going to be expensive.

And you would have to pay for a bond which is going to cost probably a couple thousand dollars if not a couple hundred dollars every single month that you're acting in place of that person.

On the other side if you do not have a health care decision maker the only way to be able to be appointed as an SDM for health care is to apply to the court to become appointed as a guardian of that person. So again, that is an expensive procedure and it's going to take a lot of time as well.

So if you just have the POAs set up ahead of time, then you already have the control of who your substitute decision makers will be.

Hansen: What are some things to keep in mind when selecting your POA?

Groves: When it comes to the powers of attorney, I always recommend that you think of somebody who would be good for your money when it comes to the financial decision maker and someone who's going to be good for health care when it comes to the personal care decision maker. And it doesn't have to be the same person and you can also have multiple people, right?

So sometimes if you know you want to name your spouse first up and you have two kids as a second up decision maker, as long as your two kids get along you can name both of those guys to be your backup decision makers.

On the other hand, if your two children do not get along, you being in some kind of financial or emotional or health care crisis is not the time that they are suddenly going to be able to agree and make decisions for you.

You need to take a look at what your family dynamics are and pick the best people who are going to be able to advocate for you financially wise and advocate for you health care wise.

Hansen: What is important to you outside of your work?

Groves: Outside of work I have really good friends, and my family is important. They live close by so we still do like Sunday dinner at my mom's house with my sisters and their spouses and their children.

And my spouse, my animals, we have a dog and two kittens in my house. My husband and I are really into hiking. We have a little cottage and we like to go up there in the Summer and just kind of enjoy the outside time as much as we can and get as much fresh air as we can too.

Please note this story has been edited for length and clarity and is for information purposes only. Always seek independent legal advice.

Amanda Groves, JD

Sign up for Housing Horizon, Your Market, Economics & Rate Review LIVE Online October 15th, 2025 at 7pm, Hosted by Van Hansen with Joe Digiambattista from GoMortgageCo:

Housing Horizon

Jen & Van Hansen are Leading Real Estate Brokers with Right at Home Realty, Brokerage serving Halton | Hamilton & GTA. Say hello.. move forward with more™

Authentic Trevor Noah

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 13:13:31 GMT

Trevor Noah talks about Authenticity in this exclusive excerpt from his keynote at Canada’s largest Real Estate Conference & Trade Show, TRREB REALTOR® QUEST on May 18, 2023 at the Congress Centre in Toronto.

In Trevor’s intimate and compelling conversation he shares his expertise in communicating effectively with individuals, and how to make connections that resonate with others.

Trevor Noah is a Comedian, Emmy-award winning Host of The Daily Show, and Author.

Cheryl Hickey, ET Canada Co-Host, Host of Family Home Overhaul on HGTV, is the keynote moderator.

Van Hansen attended ‘A Conversation with Trevor Noah’, and shares with you the ‘Authentic Trevor Noah’ video, plus an abridged transcript of the presentation.

TRANSCRIPT

Cheryl Hickey: On social media or on your stand-up tours you're so authentic. Here. He's incredibly authentic.

And... yeah. It can be really difficult in a world that is trying to keep up and the trends are changing in your world that's happening.

Trevor Noah: Right.

Cheryl Hickey: What are some key things that you think people could take away with to stay true to themselves and to stay on their path?

Trevor Noah: I think authenticity always has to be juxtaposed with context

You are never going to be your most authentic self with everyone nor should you be. I don't believe in that.

You know people like be yourself in the office! Hold on.

Figure out who yourself is. Figure out who your office is. See which parts of you match. That's good.

I've met many people who are too authentic in the office. They need to relax.

I think authenticity is context based.

Okay. You know. You are most authentic or should be with yourself.

And then as those concentric circles go outward there's different types of authenticity.

So you'll a different type of authentic with your partner or your spouse.

You'll be another type of authentic with your kids. You'll be another type of authentic with your family, with your friends, with your colleagues, with people you live in the same town with, city, country, world.

But I don't think you're just trying to just be you all the time with everyone without context.

I think that makes people you know, it's why people are a**holes a lot of the time?

Genuinely, because they just go like "Well that's what it is". Yeah, you didn't need to say that.

"Oh well I just wanted be authentic." Yeah you were authentically not nice. That's what you were.

It's like you didn't need to say that in that moment. You know?

So, you know, if you're going to be one of those people who did well, "I just tell it like it is".

Oh then I'll tell you like it is you're not liked in most places. And you're not actually achieving the thing that you're trying achieve.

And it's not to be liked but it is to try and find some sort of cohesive way way of being authentic. You know?

So I think in every space I'm trying to be as authentic as I need to be. It doesn't mean that you're being fake.

You're acknowledging that you're existing in a space with other people. You know?

Like I listen to music the way I listen to it, but when I'm in a different space I might be cognizant of the fact that somebody's close to me and so I'll turn the music down to a certain level.

Or I'll turn it... because I understand that you're here. It doesn't mean that I'm not being authentic. It just means that I'm acknowledging my authenticity might brush up against yours.

You know the way I would drive my car if there was nobody on the road? It's very different to how I drive when the rest of you are there with me.

You know because I acknowledge, I'm like this is not my authentic driving.

I don't drive at like a speed limit. The lines mean nothing to me!

Are you kidding me? If I was alone on the road, I would just be cruising. I would go backwards sometimes.

Cheryl Hickey: But nobody says that by the way. Because it's very cool right now, and you all know this. It's very cool to be your authentic self. But I think you talking about...

Trevor Noah: That's ridiculous! Who says this?

Cheryl Hickey: Everybody! But nobody says, I think it's the first time would you agree, in a long time that someone's like, you need to be aware of your surroundings?

Trevor Noah: Yes.

Cheryl Hickey: I don't think people say that Trevor; they don't.

Trevor Noah: You are existing in relation to others. If you're on a desert island, you're stranded like Tom Hanks, then you can be friends with a volleyball.

Do it, go crazy, have a good time. Because that is the situation you're in. That is authentic. You know?

But once you are in a space with other people it changes. You know?

There are cultural norms you have to be aware of, depending on the space you're in, depending on the place you're in. And it doesn't mean don't be authentic. It means find your spaces where you can.

And what happens over time, I'm sure you know this, when you work in office with people as you get to know them and that's why I'm saying context is important.

As you get to know them you start to reveal layers of yourselfand they do the same thing and that is natural. That is what we do as human beings. You know you don't just start off like that.

Have you ever met like a dog that's been rescued? Like if you go to a pound or you go to any place with a shelter, right?

You'll meet an animal. Most of them are shy. Most of them are afraid, you can feel this in them.

And then you start showing them love, you start caring for them and all of a sudden that dog starts jumping on you and it starts barking and it starts running around.

It's like, yeah that's the same dog. It's not that it's not authentic. It was authentically afraid and now it is authentically happy and enjoying the love that you're showing it.

Both are true. When people say be your authentic self, it's like which part of my authentic self?

Sometimes I'm nervous, sometimes I'm scared. Sometimes I'm grumpy, that is authentically me.

So I'm just gonna come in the office kicking trash cans. "Shut up!" That's authentic. "I'm having a shitty day. Welcome to real Trev".

No, no. Deal with your shit at home. Understand that in this space your authenticity is affecting other people.

Or if you know the people well in the office, and they know you well, then you can connect. I'm having a tough day... It's context. You should have enough EQ to understand the context.

How long have you known people? What is your position in relation to them.

You know how many bosses I've met who'll be like, "Yeah Trevor, I always tell jokes in the office, and it goes well".

I'm like, no you're the boss. Relax.

"How do I bring more humour into the office?" You don't, you're the boss.

Alright, because when you're a boss, you work in a different context to other people.

Understand your position in relation to them. Understand that they may be afraid of you. Understand that they don't know if they can voice their true opinion. Understand that. And the context builds over time.

And I think you have to have a certain amount of emotional intelligence to process that, but that's what living in a society is all about.

But try and be yourself in as many places as you can, try and grow. And I think that's what building a relationship and communicating is all about.

But please, save your authentic self for the situations that deserve it.

Jen & Van Hansen are leading Real Estate Brokers with Right at Home Realty, Burlington Branch serving Halton | Hamilton & GTA. Say hello... move forward with more™

A Conversation with Trevor Noah

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 14:55:49 GMT

Trevor Noah is a comedian, Emmy-award winning host of The Daily Show, and author. He was keynote speaker at Canada's largest Real Estate Conference & Trade Show—TRREB REALTOR® QUEST 2023 at the Congress Centre in Toronto.

Cheryl Hicky is ET Canada Co-Host, and was the keynote moderator.

Van Hansen attended 'A Conversation with Trevor Noah' this May, and presents an abridged transcript of the presentation here.

TORONTO

Cheryl Hickey: I'm just so excited to sit down with you. I know that you spent some time in Toronto with your Netflix special so my question is this, are you looking for a home? And what kind of home are you looking for? Like, do you need a stacked dishwasher? Do you want a pool? I know some real estate agents that...

Trevor Noah: I like this, this is full service.

Cheryl Hickey: I just want to know.

Trevor Noah: This is full on, this is the Canadian hospitality I've been promised.

Cheryl Hickey: What do you need?

Trevor Noah: You're going to help me find a home?

Cheryl Hickey: I will drive you.

Trevor Noah: Okay, okay.

Cheryl Hickey: I'll take you where you need to go.

Trevor Noah: Alright, I'm in, I'm in, I'll take it.

Cheryl Hickey: Do you love Toronto?

Trevor Noah: I do, I've had a great time out here. I love Toronto I've loved all of Canada and in all the time I've been lucky enough to come out here I've really enjoyed myself, you know, every place has a different vibe to it you know Toronto has like a very polite bustle as I like to call it you know.

I found I really enjoyed Vancouver. It's got like a beautiful, you know, just like an energy to it. And then Montreal is very French. It's lovely. So I've really been lucky to not just enjoy myself, but be welcomed every time I come to Canada.

UPS & DOWNS

Cheryl Hickey: Your path to success from stand up to even acting in a soap and then certainly to The Daily Show has been so incredible and what a journey it's been to watch and to see. And perserverance seems to be a thread throughout it all. Can you talk about or share some ups and downs and struggles that you've overcome throughout that time period that maybe the team here can learn from?

Trevor Noah: Ups and downs! Life is ups and downs. It is a constant journey of ups and downs, becauseI think we forget the great paradox of every success is that you are higher up for the next down, you know.

I grew up in a country that was finding itself in a new democracy. I grew up in a family where my mother was a single mom who was forced to be such because of the country's laws that restricted people of different races being together.

I grew up in a familv that was try ing to make ends meet. And so there were many times when we couldn't eat or there were many times when we struggled just to make ends meet-but then there were many times when we were laugning when things were going well and my grandmotner was cooking the food that my mom and my aunt and evervbody was able to cobble together.

So the ups and downs are constant in life you know I always tell people every single moment, every single failure. is the reason I got to my success.

It's a weird thing to accept you know, one of the phrases I use for myself is let everything in life be an answer to a question you already have.

What I mean by that is, oftentimes we only see something that is happening to us to be good or bad And what we often fail to do is let the bad, or let the thing that is happening to us be an answer. Just an answer to a question.

Should vou be doing what vou're doing? Do you have to work on your resilience? Are there answers that you can garner from this? Are there lessons?

The greatest paradox in life is that resilience only comes from come sort of adversity. It's tough but it's true you cannot become stronger without some sort of resiliency you know it's like when you go to the gym the reason you become stronger is because you have to lift weights and you have to it's terrible but that's the reason you become stronger you know if it's not terrible in the gym then you're not going to become stronger you're having a good time but it's not going to make you stronger.

Cheryl Hickey: So all those people on Instagram and stuff are faking it that they're having a good time?

Trevor Noah: Oh yeah, definitely. Yeah, they're not.

Cheryl Hickey: I just want to make it clear.

Trevor Noah: Or they've convinced themselves to now enjoy the adversity, which is a good thing.

Cheryl Hickey: Which is a really good thing. Fake it till you make it. I'm a person who loves working out.

Trevor Noah: Yeah, there it is. And so I think, you know, in all of my journeys, stand-up comedy is constatnt failure. That's what stand-up comedy is. It's you trying to tell an audience jokes and every time they're not laughing, you're failing and then you're gaining and garnering infromatino for what you then wish to say the next time you're in front of an audience.

You know, every business venture I entered into that didn't work pushed me to the area that it did and so yeah I think that's the hardest thing to accept in life is that you are not trying to achieve constant success, but what you're trying to do is use your failures as information that become the seed that grows your next success.

And that's really difficult to understand and achieve because of how debilitating some of your failures might feel.

Cheryl Hickey: For sure. Who do you get that from? Were you born with that soret of insight in your soul or was that from your mom?

Trevor Noah: No, I think definitely from my mom. Yeah. I saw my mom do everything yo know so my mom's a real estate agent a lot of people don't know that.

It's true and one of the reasons my mom got into real estate was because she loved the idea of creating a few areas in our world and in the world that she felt hadn't been fulfilled. So one was owning property in areas that black people have been excluded from for a very long time.

That was always our dream was to not drive an hour to get to school and to work. You know, that was one of the dreams that my mom was able to achieve. And then beyond that, it was just like finding a way to provide sustainable and affordable housing to people who couldn't necessarily access it. And that's really the position you're in when you're in this job.

You are the person who is trying to connect somebody with an answer. You are the person who is trying to connect somebody with what they wish for, what they can get, what they hope to et, where they're going to start their life, what they're going to do. You know what I mean? And I would watch that journey.

How my mom got into it was just by being a secretary. You know, that's how she started. And she tells me the storv of how she worked at a real estate agency and her boss was just like a full-on drunk. He just partied hard and he would come in drunk every day. And because of that, he never did his work.

So she had to do his work, which is a terrible situation to be in except for the fact that she now learned in an environment where she wouldn't otherise if she had a really efficient boss and she only had to do the part of her job that she had to do that would have been it forever.

But instead now here she was handling title deeds and here she was understanding what needed tobe moved around and what land surveyor needed to do what with which parcel of land and here she was understanding what needed to be appraised and how it needed to be appraised, et cetera.

She was learning. And then because of that, she was like, well, now that I've done the learning, maybe I should go and get mv license and actually apply what I've learned. But that was an adversity that she then turned into a gift. And so that's definitely something that I've inherited.

IMAGINATION

Cheryl Hickey: Another gift, what I read in your book that she you that I thought was so clever is drivingaround neighbourhoods, looking at homes and creating, helping you foster imagination. How important has that been in your life?

Trevor Noah: Oh, it's been one of the most important things. I even say in the book, you know, people always tell you to dream and to imagine, but you can only imagine what you know. It's a real conundrum. It's a paradox. You know?

And so one of the best things vou can do for anvone in life is to explore the possibilities of what youare able to think about, you know? What are the ultimate constraints of your mind.

That's why reading is so fantastic because it's almost the explosion of your imagination up against somebody else's. It's that compounding effect.

So my mom used to do that. She'd drive me around. We would come back from church every Sunday and what my mother would do is instead of just driving us home she would drive us to really really nice neighbourhoods. right?

And these were predominantly white neighbourhoods where we would never be able to afford to live there, like never and we'd get there and they had these massive walls. You couldn't see the house onthe inside. And then what my mom would do is, we'd park the car and then we'd just I'd point at a house and I'd be like, that one!

And we'd walk up to the wall and then my mom would lift me up onto her shoulders like a little periscope. And then I would look over the wall and then she would say, what do you see?

And I'd be like, they have a tennis court! And they've got a swimming pool! And they've got rose bushes! And I'd just describe the whole thing and then she dropped me down and she's like okay let's go to another one and then we'd look at another house.

I always imagined what it was it must have been like if you were on the inside, because you were in the house at your pool, and you just see a very tall child just like popping up over your wall you'd be like is that an eight or nine foot tall seven year old child? What is happening here? And why are they describing my yard? That's essentially what it was.

But what I loved about that is that it just showed me what was possible. It showed me what was out there. It showed me a world that I may never have access to, but yet knew existed.

Cheryl Hickey: She gave you that whole if you see it you can be it. She was like no, this is there.

Trevor Noah: Just to know that it's there. I live in New York City and I speak to people today who have still never left their borough. You'd be shocked at how many people live in Harlem and have never been to Times Square. My mind was blown by that. And yet that is common around the world.

There are so many people who do not understand or do not know what exists in the world because nobody has just held their hand and lifted them over a wall to see something.

Cheryl Hickey: That's right. What a gift she gave you!

Trevor Noah: Yeah, absolutely.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Chery Hickey: A big bart of realtor's jobs of course, is connecting with people and connecting with families and you are one of the best at it--you're really aood at communicating and bringing peopletogether. What do you think some keys to that kind of communication are for people who arelistening, to get to the families, to get to the neighbourhood?

Trevor Noah: I think the first and most important thing when getting to know anybody is to be interested.

I find in my experience that's been the difference between every great real estate agent I've ever met and every real estate agent who just feels like they're going through the motions. It's them being interested. Sometimes you walk into an open house and it feels like you're a breeze flowing from onedoor to the next. And you're just like, okay, but thev're not interested.

People take for granted what an emotional journey buying or renting a home is. It's the place you will exist in. I think people really take that for granted, and I find that's the difference between great real estate agents and, you know, people who are just doing the job.

There are people who will ask you, they will listen to you, they will want to know, how do you enioy living? What do vou wish to achieve? Where are vou trying to get to?

You know, okay, you may not be able to get what you want now, but can we get you close to that? Can we find the gap that can be bridged?

Sometimes the person doesn't even know that there is something that they want because they're basing their wants and their needs on everything that they've experienced beforehand.

You know, the only style you know in a house is the style that you've been exposed to. It's when somebody else takes an interest in you and savs, have vou ever seen this style of home? And you'relike, I don't know.

And they're like, well, let's see it. And let's see what you like about it. Let's see what you don't like about it. They're interested in you as a human being.

And I think that's the thing people should never forget. You're dealing with human beings. It doesn't matter who it is. It doesn't matter if it's like a Hollywood star who's in movies or you know, it's just somebody off the street who's coming to you because they want to find a place to stay. They're a human being. Everyone is.

And so if you treat them accordingly with a certain level of interest, an interest that you would hope somebody would pay to you, you will find that you'll connect with them in an interesting way.

And I found oftentimes, I found the mistake most people make is thinking that every transaction is concluded on the day that it begins when in fact, a transaction may be concluded in 20 years from now. You don't know. You genuinely don't know.

I always say, specifically in the world of real estate, because I love seeing houses, I love going and seeing where will I stay, what will I do, what will I not do, et cetera, et cetera.

I've always loved the realtors who are, they're just like, they're patient with you, they care, they understand that you're not wasting their time, you're trying to find the place.

And I know it can be annoying, I'm sure it is. There's someone being like, well, I don't know about this, I don't know about this, I don't know about this. You don't know about anvthing. Yeah, but that's what it is, yo know.

And I find that veah the best ones are always the ones who they almost like take a take a mental note and they start knowing you. They'll start saying to you "I don't know if this is for you I know the pictures look like that, but knowing you I don't think it's your vibe.

Yeah, and it's just them being interested. What is it that you enjoyed in the places you enjoy and what is it that you didn't enioy in the places you didn't enioy? And I find that beyond even business connects you with human beings.

Cheryl Hickey: Would you be a good real estate agent? I mean it begs the question.

Trevor Noah: I think so. I think so. Yeah. Are you kidding me? Yeah, I think I'd be fantastic at it.

Cheryl Hickey: I feel like we should go and try and sell a couple houses.

Trevor Noah: I promise you I would be fantastic at it. You know why because I love it itself. Yeah, and that's the most important thing when I walk into a home I'm enioying it more than most real realtors who are showing me around, you know?

I want to know how and why it was built why it's shaped the way it is why did the architect design it the way that they did. Why is this room here, in that room there who chose carpet? Why do they always choose carpets? All these things are in my head when I'm walking around.

I really enioy it. And I think that's one of the most important things. And I enioy fulfilling that need. I think that's one of the greatest joys vou can experience. There's nothing greater than finding somebody who needs something and fulfilling that need have you seen how happy people are when they get the right home?

Not when they're pushed into buving a home not when they're like tricked into it not when they've been like bamboozled. Oh, we've got multiple offers. You've got to act now! The best realtors are the ones who've said to me like hey yo relax, relax. Hey. it's okay relax. You know?

Cheryl Hickey: So, our time is up. I have one last question, which is when are you moving?

Trevor Noah: When am I moving?

Cheryl Hickey: Here.

Trevor Noah: To Toronto?

Cheryl Hickey: Yeah, for a bit.

Trevor Noah: Okay.

Cheryl Hickey: Right? Okay. I feel like it's the question.

Trevor Noah: Okay. Well, I mean, I would have to live in a neighborhood that's close to Jamaican patties so..

Chery Hickey: So we can do that. We absolutely can do that.

Trevor Noah: I find a lot of my real estate decicions are baced on food. That's like my keyword when I search—food. Yes. Close to great food places. That's me. So if you can find me some Jamaican food. Oh, you've got amazing Jamaican food in Toronto I know that. Something like that?

So Where is the warm part of Toronto right? That's another thing I'm looking for.

Chery Hickey: We'll work on that part, how about that.

Listen, a wise man once said that the greatest gift you can give someone is to be chosen and I am so grateful that you chose to be here with me, have this conversation and to be here with everyone else. And by the way that wise man is Trevor. Trevor Noah everybody!

Trevor Noah: Thank you everybody!

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

From Penguin Random House Canada:

The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime New York Times bestseller about one man's coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous davs of freedom that followed.

Trevor Noah's unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five vears in prison. Living proof of his parents' indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away.

Finally liberated by the end of South Africa's tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.

Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man's relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.

The eighteen personal essays collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pittalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humour and a mother's unconventional, unconditional love.

Welcome to the Real Estate Blog

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 21:14:11 GMT

Welcome to our Real Estate Blog! Here you can find timely updates of my latest properties, open houses, just solds and much more.

Whether you are interested in buying or selling real estate, I am here to help guide you every step of the way.

If you have any questions about real estate from home evaluations to mortgages to searching for properties in your area, don't hesitate to contact me today!