Scott: PCs to ‘get it done’ for Highlands

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May 19, 2022

With just two weeks to go until voters head to the polls, local Progressive Conservative candidate Laurie Scott is kicking her campaign into high gear, pushing a platform of continued provincial investment in housing, health care and rural broadband in Haliburton County.

Scott, seeking a sixth term in office, spent last weekend door knocking across the Highlands, where she spoke to voters about her party’s plan to lead Ontario out of the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic into a period of “progress and prosperity”.

She pointed towards several important initiatives the PCs have pushed forward since 2018, indicating she had achieved more in her past term than in any of the previous four.

“Being in government for the past four years we’ve actually been able to accomplish many long overdue projects in the riding,” Scott said. “For Haliburton County specifically, we’ve been able to bring 300 new and 436 upgraded longterm care beds to the riding… And the commitment, with Extendicare, to build a brand new facility in the community is huge.

“We’ve increased our investment in Haliburton Highlands Health Services… Adding money to their budget, and making several capital-related investments. That’s a top-of-mind issue for our residents, so something we will continue to focus on,” Scott added, noting the hospital’s operating budget had seen an increase of approximately 34 per cent since 2017.

She was proud, too, of the improvements that have been made, and will continue, in rural broadband. As minister of infrastructure from June 2019 to 2021, Scott said she spent a lot of time ironing out details to upgrade high-speed internet in the Highlands.

“I have been very, very passionate about improving broadband for a long time. I was the minister when we made a lot of the decisions about investing in bringing high-speed internet to every community in Ontario by 2025. That was a $4 billion investment,” Scott said. “We’re already starting to see some of those towers go up in Haliburton County.”

Addressing the ongoing inflation crisis, Scott said the PCs have already shown a willingness to work with families to reduce household costs. The cancellation, and refunding of license plate renewals, she says, was a good start, while Doug Ford’s ‘Let’s Get It Done’ plan also includes plans to cut the gas tax by 5.7 per cent per litre, and providing qualifying low-income Ontarians with an extra $300 in personal income tax relief per year.

“That’s going to help 1.1 million people in Ontario,” Scott said.

In terms of housing, Scott says the PCs have a plan to build 1.5 million new homes across Ontario over the next 10 years, including in Haliburton County.

“We need workers in Haliburton County and they need a place to live. We need to figure out how to get these places built as fast as we can… We have land, and we need to get to work on every form of housing, whether that be single detached, triplex, duplex or multi-unit,” Scott said.

“We’ve got solutions and we are going to work with our municipal partners to get things moving.”

Summit a chance for tourism ‘refocus’

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Sam Gillett

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May 19, 2022

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Raising a barn is tricky to do on your own. With a group? It’s a fair bit easier, said Trevor Benson of Bannikin Travel and Tourism.

The key is working together, he said in his keynote address at a Haliburton Tourism and Business Summit on May 16. Collaboration, or “synergy”, is how tourist locations can become well-rounded sustainable destinations.

The event at Sir Sam’s Ski/Ride was organized by the Haliburton Tourism Action Committee (HaliTAC) and the County of Haliburton with support from the Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization.

“We’re seeing the benefits beyond what we’re actually facilitating,” said HaliTAC co-chair Emily Stonehouse, surveying the busy conference room. “There’s a lot of creativity and optimism here.”

Co-chair Randy Pielsticker said Benson’s message of synergy sums up HaliTAC. “Our whole mandate… is it’s one thing to promote your individual business, it’s another thing to promote the County as a whole, and that’s our goal.”

Benson’s firm led a session on co-creating tourism values, and the Workforce Development Board guided tourism operators and businesses in two workshops on navigating the labour market.

In between events, attendees munched on cinnamon buns, sipped coffee and chatted around tables in the Sir Sam’s lodge.

Warden Liz Danielsen told the crowd the County’s destination management plan and the recently-finished service delivery review have begun prompting changes, such as the hiring of a manager of tourism, Tracie Bertrand, and a manager of economic development, Scott Ovell. “I’m really looking forward to the work they bring to us and how they bring us together going forward,” she said.

Bertrand told attendees the day was a chance to “reconnect, refocus, renew and rebuild,” in the wake of two tourism seasons marred by COVID-19 restrictions.

“Some businesses struggled to stay viable, others struggled to keep up with the demand,” she said.

Later, while the room buzzed with conversation during a networking lunch, Betrand said she was “blown away” by the tourism and recreational business industry’s response to the summit.

“The engagement I’m seeing here is by far the highest level of industry engagement in my career,” she said. “The community, the residents, the business owners, they’re going to decide how we responsibly grow the community.”

In another room, breweries, lodges, community services and activity providers mingled at display tables. For many, it was the first time they’d had an in-person industry gathering since before COVID-19.

Laura Harkness of Miners’ Bay Lodge said the day was a chance for her staff to network, increasing their knowledge of the community “so they can then go out in the community to create community-driven experiences when our guests come in the summer,” Harkness said.

Chef adds flair to Benoir Lake cuisine

By

Sam Gillett

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May 19, 2022

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Chef Hugo Saenz has taken the long route to the Haliburton Highlands. After training in Mexico, he travelled across Europe expanding his culinary palette before working at a variety of kitchens across Toronto.

Now, he’s helping forge a new culinary experience on the shores of Benoir Lake at NOMI Resort Club’s Lands8Fifty restaurant.

The name refers to NOMI’s 850 acres of trails, forest and resort space. Saenz’s menu takes inspiration from Mediterranean cuisine, Mexico and NOMI’s surroundings, but he said his style of cooking is expansive.

“I don’t like to be put in a category. I don’t want to lose anyone” said Saenz, sitting in the restaurant’s dining room across from NOMI COO Susan Elizabeth (Elise) Blouin. The menu includes classics such as beef short ribs and, Blouin’s favourite, the pan-seared steelhead trout with beet hummus, green lentils and salsa.

“It’s so fresh,” Blouin said.

Fresh is a must, said Saenz. That’s why he makes weekly trips to producers in Toronto that he’s worked with for years rather than relying on produce shipped north.

“We don’t take shortcuts,” Saenz said. From steak sourced from Wellington County – “natural, farm-raised, it’s a beautiful product” – to scallops or lobster, Saenz said he’s meticulous with sourcing menu items, often favouring unique combinations.

Paired with his steak? Fries, with a dash of sumac on top. “You need that acidity,” Saenz said.

“That makes the flavour profile richer.”

Blouin hired Saenz during the height of COVID-19. He said it was an unusual proposition.

“What caught my attention was ‘what kind of wacko would be hiring for a project like this right now?’”

He was hooked after Blouin pitched him NOMI’s vision: a resort community where guests might stay at the lodge and hike or cross-country ski before sampling his menu. Soon, work will start on dozens of houses on the property, many of which have already been purchased.

Along with the main Lands8Fifty restaurant, NOMI will expand dining options to a lakeside clubhouse. There will also be a Nespresso cafe.

“The first Nespresso cafe in the middle of a forest,” said Blouin.

“There’s always a risk,” she said, in investing so much time and capital into a fine-dining operation that’s relatively remote. “But you have to look beyond that.”

Blouin said the restaurant, part of NOMI’s first stage of redevelopment, has had a warm reception from guests and diners who’ve driven up to an hour and a half for a meal. One guest had Saenz’s French onion soup, which he takes five days to make, three times during her stay.

“I told her, ‘you know we have other things on this menu’,” Saenz said.

He said his work at NOMI will likely be the highlight of his career. He’s brought on long-time colleague Andrew Harasti to serve as chef de cuisine and is intent on shaping NOMI kitchen culture into a tightknit community of professionals.

Saenz added that the diners’ reactions have been the highlight of his time so far.

“They’re not expecting this level of cuisine. It just makes their day,” he said.

Chrysler dealership nears county opening

By

Lisa Gervais

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May 19, 2022

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It takes a car salesman to fall in love with a parking lot. And that’s what Reade Houston did when he and wife Jennifer saw the corner of Hwy. 118 and Harburn Road in Haliburton for the first time.

They were looking for the future home of a Chrysler dealership and the expanse out front was the first thing that caught their eyes.

“Mostly the vision wasn’t even the building. It’s that frontage. Once it gets nice lights and all the product lined up, it’s going to stand out like crazy,” Houston said.

The 6.7-acre lot and 10,000-squarefoot building is nothing to sniff at either, as Houston proudly showed off the renovations they have been doing thanks to the help of local contractors.

He and Jennifer talk about features they will offer. For example, customers coming in for a service will be offered an iPad with headphones and a seat in a coffee lounge where they can have a nice cup of joe while they wait.

They have chosen earth tones for the walls, barn boards for the service desks, laid modern flooring and taken down some walls while adding others. The place has distinct areas for sales and service. Out back is a huge seven-bay garage for the service department.

They have vehicles in stock, now residing at their Midland dealership, until the new place is ready to open. And, they’ve been hiring staff.

While there has been a delay pouring the concrete for the service area, that was scheduled to happen this week with about three weeks to cure. If all goes well, they’d like to open in mid-June.

The Houstons have owned Midland Chrysler since 2015. When the parent company mentioned there was an “open point” in Haliburton, they jumped at the chance. Houston said he’s spent most of his career in dealer groups, or more than one outlet. He’s done three start-ups of brand-new dealerships. “I enjoy that part of the business immensely.”

Within a week of the chat with Chrysler, the Houstons made the trip to Haliburton. Two weeks later they were all in. Houston added they plan to be a good local employer and community supporter.

“We hope to be a big employer and put lots of money back into the community. We do believe in hiring locally. We have been actively interviewing for two months and it’s going really well.” He added their philosophy is happy employees translate into satisfied customers. “We are involved with a lot of charities in Midland and hope to be involved in Haliburton.

A one-winged debate

By

Sam Gillett

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May 19, 2022

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Arriving at the Cambridge Street United Church in Lindsay Tuesday evening for the local candidates debate, I admit I was a little disappointed to find that less than 50 per cent of the field would be featured.

Organized by The Lindsay Advocate, it was decided the event would be ran in similar fashion to the 2021 federal leadership debate.

Basically, no fringe parties allowed.

While it is encouraging that the Greens have been successful in shouldering their way into the conversation in recent years, here locally that meant that four candidates would not be afforded the opportunity to address the electorate.

I’m a big believer in democracy, and while I might not necessarily agree with the views of some of these candidates, I do think they had a right to be involved on Tuesday. Libertarian Gene Balfour was in the crowd, so too was Ontario Party representative Kerstin Kelly, flanked by half a dozen supporters. I wasn’t able to confirm whether or not New Blue candidate Ben Prentice or Grant Dewar of the None of the Above P

arty were there. Conspicuous in her absence, however, was Progressive Conservative incumbent Laurie Scott. Seeking her sixth term in office, The Highlander can confirm Scott declined to attend, as she has done with several other organized debates that have already taken place and are still to come.

Curious, considering Scott has never been one to shy away from the public eye.

Some of her competitors threw shade in her direction at the event, most notably NDP hopeful Barbara Doyle. Taking exception to Scott’s support of the controversial Bill PR 65, which would see Lindsay’s Ross Memorial Hospital transition away from a community governance model, Doyle sarcastically expressed her thanks to her “favourite” MPP for helping to facilitate a move she believes would not be in the hospital’s, or the community’s, best interest.

Liberal Don McBey ripped apart the PC’s most recent budget, saying Ontario simply cannot afford four more years of Doug Ford.

It’s a shame that Scott wasn’t on hand to defend herself, and explain her position on these items.

Officially, we’re hearing Scott had a scheduling conflict, which is why she could not attend. The harsh reality, though, is that Scott knows she doesn’t necessarily have to attend events like this and engage with her fellow candidates to secure her re-election.

The Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock riding has bled blue for decades, short a one-term blip in the late 2000s after Scott stepped down to help her at-thetime leader John Tory gain a seat at Queen’s Park. Even after that, she was welcomed back with open arms, winning three straight elections with an average of around 47 per cent of the local vote.

If I were a betting man, I’d suggest the result this time around will be pretty similar. While it was encouraging to watch a debate that, for once, didn’t disintegrate into a series of petty jabs and arguments, it was clear that something was missing.

Having three left-wing candidates on hand going back and forth, the event felt more like a seminar than a real debate, which is too bad. Through a combination of Scott’s absence and the other four’s exclusion, the community was robbed of the opportunity of seeing real democracy at work.

Art around the corner at Haliburton’s historic Lucas House

By

Sam Gillett

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May 19, 2022

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Haliburton’s newest contemporary art gallery is set to open its doors for a full 2022 season May 21. Corner Gallery, nestled in Haliburton’s historic Lucas House on Maple Avenue, will rotate through five exhibitions ranging from pop art to hyper-realism to abstracted Canadian landscapes.

Gallery manager Pamela Brohm said she’s excited to provide a space for in-person art-viewing after years of COVID-19 restrictions.

“It’s been an opportunity to bring that back into the light,” she said. Highlands-based painter Rose Pearson will be featured first, bringing a vibrant collection of work including a series of paintings inspired by the 1912 garden manual, The Art and Craft of Garden Making.

“My sister had an old copy of it at her studio, tattered, losing colour, brown with age,” Pearson said.

She found those floral drawings captivating. “There is an element of the organic, but there is something about the deliberate nature of florals,” she said. John Lennard will take over the space June 18.

Lennard’s landscapes mix attention to detail with a nod to the energy of each scene. Whether it’s a stream cascading down Buttermilk Falls or a still early-morning lake vista, Lennard’s work immerses the viewer in Haliburton’s rugged contours.

Charles Pachter will be exhibiting work from his celebrated career starting July 16. He’s a force in the global art world, known for irreverent work such as the 1973 Queen on Moose, a print of which was gifted to the Queen herself.

He’s exhibited globally and been awarded the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals. Byron Hodgins, whose show starts Aug. 13, said he uses the landscapes around him “as a mirror,” finding meaning in the gentle flow of a river or sun-soaked evergreen.

His abstracted landscapes play with shape, light and flicks of colour, crafting landscapes that invite reflection.

Ian Varney will close out the exhibit starting Sept. 10. He has exhibited extensively around Haliburton County and depicts landscapes in acrylic, oil, oil stick and encaustic (pigments mixed with hot wax).

Brohm said she’s “absolutely ecstatic” about the lineup. “The response from the artists has been fantastic,” she said. For more information visit cornergallery.ca.

Highlands East operating short-staffed

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Sam Gillett

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May 19, 2022

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CAO Shannon Hunter said multiple township departments are “extremely busy” entering the summer season without a full roster.

At a May 10 council meeting, she said the finance department, for instance, is “working really hard with shortages we do have in the department. We have been trying to recruit positions.”

Highlands East has hired an accounts payable clerk, but is still seeking summer students, a tax collector, an environmental supervisor and a chief building official.

Hunter says that has stretched staffing capacity at the township to its limits.

“Our staff really stepped up and have been doing everything they possibly can to make sure we’re meeting our service requirements,” she said.

Bylaw enforcement officer Wayne Galloway said the best way for council to help his department wade through its backlog of infraction files is to hire two new bylaw officers.

“I’ve only got two hands and two feet,” he said.

Disconnecting from work policy

Highlands East has formalized a policy exempting staff from working unpaid overtime during weekends, holidays or sick days.

It’s now a legislative requirement for any employer with 25 or more employees to have a “right to disconnect” policy.

Hunter said it’s “to ensure employers and employees know what their obligations are.”

Deputy mayor Cec Ryall said “we are really short-staffed … how is this going to affect the more urgent issues we have to deal with?”

Hunter said, “it’s not going to impede what’s happening,” adding that positions that are required to work overtime, such as road crews, are compensated for their extra time on the job.

Information related to the new work policy will be circulated to staff, and details on the provincial legislation can be found at ontario.ca

HHHS polls community on staff shortages

By

Sam Gillett

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May 19, 2022

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MA-HHHS Health Hub -web — Health workers are still awaiting promised pandemic pay. File photo.

Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) wants community input as it searches for new ways to recruit and retain healthcare workers.

HHHS launched an online survey May 16 “to gather ideas about incentives and programs to help the organization attract new healthcare workers and keep current staff.”

In a May 16 media release, HHHS president and CEO Carolyn Plummer said “with HHHS continuing to experience staffing shortages, we want to be sure to explore every possible option to recruit and retain the healthcare staff we need.”

HHHS reports a 40 per cent shortage in coverage for all emergency department and hospital nursing shifts.

There’s an approximately 25 per cent shortage in coverage for emergency department doctor shifts, which are being filled by HealthForce Ontario recruitment agency physicians. HHHS first announced the staff shortage in November 2021.

“It’s important to note that HHHS has not made a decision about which emergency department would close, or what that closure would look like, and that the survey does not ask for feedback about which emergency department should reduce services,” said Plummer. “This decision will be extremely difficult to make and must be made based on the resources HHHS can reasonably expect to have in the shortterm.”

All survey responses will be kept confidential. HHHS said more community consultation is incoming. “Community members and stakeholders can expect to be consulted about HHHS’ longer-term planning for its facilities and services. HHHS will continue to be guided by its mandate of delivering essential, high-quality health services to the residents, cottagers, and visitors of Haliburton County and the surrounding area, and our vision of being leaders in innovative rural health care,” states the media release.

The survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HHHSRecruitandRetain and at Haliburton County Public Library locations.

Candidates keep things cordial in debate

By

Mike Baker

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May 19, 2022

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A group of around 50 people were on hand at the Cambridge Street United Church in Lindsay May 17 as three of the candidates vying for provincial office duked it out in an election debate hosted by The Lindsay Advocate.

Liberal candidate Don McBey was flanked by NDP hopeful Barbara Doyle and Green Party representative Tom Regina for the 90-minute event, which was also live streamed online.

While invited, PC candidate Laurie Scott, seeking a sixth term in office, was not in attendance. Others whose names will be on the ballot June 2, including Libertarian Gene Balfour, the New Blue’s Ben Prentice, Ontario Party rep Kerstin Kelly and Grant Dewar of the None of the Above Party were not invited to participate.

“We decided to follow the criteria developed by the 2021 leaders’ debate commission,” said Nancy Payne, event moderator.

That meant, to secure an invite, a party must have an elected member at Queen’s Park, received four per cent or more of the public vote in the most recent election, or received four per cent or more support in a leading public opinion poll.

Each candidate was given two minutes to introduce themselves and their platforms, before they were asked to respond to a series of prepared questions posed by guest panelists. Regina was up first, stating that affordability has become “the central issue at the heart of all other issues competing for our attention”.

He laid the blame at the feet of the Conservatives, Liberals and NDPs who he claims, over the course of 30 years, have failed to prepare for a changing population and economy.

“Over the last 30 years, government has been keen to turn students and patients into clients, keen to allow private business to provide housing, education and health care to make better use of taxpayer money. The result is the mess that is at our doorstep,” Regina said.

McBey focused his speech on the misgivings of Premier Doug Ford, criticizing the recent 2022 budget as a document that nobody can afford. “He’s going to spend and put us $200 billion into debt… Never has any government spent so much money giving so little to so many people,” McBey said.

Doyle said the upcoming election is the most important one in her lifetime and that “after four years of incredible hardship” under the Ford government, the NDPs have a plan to fix what has been broken.

The first question, submitted by Matthew Robins, centred on the housing situation, asking candidates what their party will do to make rental properties reasonably priced for those who can’t buy a home. It was stated that even a starter rental in the riding today rents for anywhere between $1,400 and $1,800 a month.

Doyle said the NDPs would build 3,000 new units in the City of Kawartha Lakes alone to offset pressures, while McBey said the Liberals would reinstate rent control.

Regina said the Greens would work with housing cooperatives and non-profit corporations to build “deeply affordable” homes for those most in need.

Responding to a question about climate change; phasing out gas-fired power plants in Ontario and speeding up the transition to electric vehicles, all three candidates said this would be on the radar of their respective parties should they get into office.

They each said they would implement rebate programs for Ontarians that purchase EVs. After Heather Kirby, executive director of the Kawartha Lakes Food Source, asked about further supports for those living in poverty, Regina said the Greens would immediately double ODSP payments, something Doyle said the NDPs would match by 2024.

McBey said the Liberals would scrap the proposed Hwy. 413 project and use some of the $10 billion earmarked to eliminate HST on prepared foods, while upping minimum wage to $20 an hour over the next four years.

Each candidate spoke of their personal desire to outlaw for-profit long-term care companies from operating in Ontario when asked how they would ensure a crisis like the one that hit the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t repeat itself.

“We know that the best outcomes were in municipally-run homes… We know that taking the profit out works, we know that putting all the money back into patient care and good staffing levels works. Being prepared with PPE and suitable supplies,” Doyle said.

“What doesn’t work is taking money out of healthcare and putting it into the pockets of wealthy corporations… The NDPs will put a stop to that.”

Cultural Centre enters ‘transitional’ year

By

Sam Gillett

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May 19, 2022

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It won’t be business as usual at the Minden Hills Cultural Centre in 2022.

Director of community services Craig Belfry said the cultural centre aims to open the Heritage Village by the Victoria Day long weekend, but staff turnover means many traditional programs likely won’t run this year.

The township is hiring a manager of cultural services, as well as a cultural programming position.

Since these positions likely won’t be filled until mid-summer, Belfry said it would be “very challenging” for new hires to schedule last-minute kids programs or summer events like the Victorian high tea.

“But I’ll never say never,” he said at the Minden Hills Cultural Centre advisory committee’s first in-person meeting since 2020 on May 10.

Mayor Brent Devolin asked if 2022 will “be basically a preparatory year” for the centre.

Belfry said it will be a “transitional year” with 2023 expected to bring the full suite of programs such as March break programs, summer kids activities and other events. Four artists are still booked to exhibit in the Agnes Jamieson Art Gallery in 2022.

Belfry said the township is struggling to fill summer student positions.

“It is a stress point, Belfry said, adding that “It’s not a unique thing coming out of COVID.”

Students often lead tours at the cultural centre or help with long-term jobs such as organizing archives.

Devolin said hiring administrative positions will help determine future funding priorities and goals for the centre, or human resource needs.

“If we get those people on staff, they look at what we have,” he said. “If they bring a suggestion forward to those positions… staff are going to want them to build a case.”

Belfry and CAO Trisha McKibbin both have extensive experience working in cultural resources. They said they’ll ensure the manager of cultural services has curatorial experience.

“There’s some concern about our [Ontario Arts Council] funding: in either one or both of those jobs, in one or both of those positions will be addressed or covered,” Belfry said.

Committee member Jim Mitchell asked how either position will handle archives, much of which he said aren’t humiditycontrolled or catalogued, when previous staff have been “overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done.”

McKibbin said incoming staff will help define “the priorities, and what support do we need,” adding that the centre could begin to expand its volunteer base to help in the process.

She said the centre’s buildings, the “largest piece of the collection,” are set to receive maintenance this summer, which is a good first step.

Minden Hills’ 2022 capital budget includes money for fixing the cultural centre’s roof and one of the heritage barns.

Committee to discuss role

Mitchell proposed the committee discuss its role at its next meeting. He said he does not believe it’s effectively advising council on the centre.

“The essence for me is since COVID we had a meeting in March of 2020. We didn’t hear anything until July of 2021,” he said. “I have to question how much value the township of Minden Hills has in an advisory committee when they don’t keep us in the loop about what’s going on?”

Devolin said many committees have “mainly been offline for the larger course of two years” due to COVID-19.

Also, both McKibbin and Belfry were hired since the committee last met in person.

Committee Member Mary Hamilton said she’d like to see more communication with the public about the centre’s future. It’s been a topic of concern for many within the township’s arts community since curator Laurie Carmount departed in March 2022.

“I’ve been stopped on the street saying – ‘What’s going on at the cultural centre…’ I don’t know, nobody has told me,” Hamilton said.

“Are we doing any advertising on events that are happening here? there’s been a real lack of any sort of information.”

Belfry said the township is attempting to up communication initiatives, including “trying to do more press releases than we have in the past: it’s trying to do a multifaceted approach.”

He said the township will prepare a media release on the centre’s upcoming year