In the last couple of weeks, people have begun to speculate that single issue candidates are going to come forward in this fall’s municipal elections.
Outgoing mayors Brent Devolin of Minden Hills and Carol Moffatt of Algonquin Highlands openly discussed the possibility at an April 29 County council meeting.
They aired their concerns during a discussion on the shoreline preservation bylaw. Devolin felt if the County does not adopt the bylaw, it will open the door to anti-bylaw candidates running a slate of mayors and deputy-mayors in the Oct. 24 polls. He predicted if that happens, similar to something he witnessed in Port Carling, it will be a mess.
Moffatt expressed similar concerns.
County warden Liz Danielsen said there will always be single-issue candidates.
In my six years in Haliburton County, I have not witnessed this. No doubt the shoreline preservation bylaw is polarizing. However, whether council adopts the bylaw before it ends its term or not, I believe it will be an election issue.
By that I mean, if the current council passes it, there is nothing stopping a new council from axing it. That’s politics.
While I appreciate the passion of those who have fought the bylaw, I caution them to reconsider a slate of anti-bylaw candidates, if that is in fact what is contemplated of planned.
The County and its lower-tier municipalities deal with a myriad of issues and would-be councillors have to have a general knowledge of a number of matters, not just strong opinions on one particular thing.
For example, the service delivery review and short-term rentals are hot issues at the County table. Then there is the day-to-day stuff of working with the OPP, emergency services including ambulances and firefighting, recreation, parks, cemeteries, landfills, sewer and water, a raft of social services, such as housing, and the list goes on and on.
I would hazard a guess that mayors are working full-time and most councillors part-time, at least 20 hours a week. I say that because I read council agendas and their sometimes hundreds of pages of reports for each and every council meeting. It’s one thing to run because you are disgruntled at something. It is a completely different matter to do the actual job and do it well.
The role of a councillor involves not seeing things as black and white. It is about relationship building and compromising to get a result that is as close to what you want as you can get.
For voters, the allure of a single-issue candidate may be strong. They may be willing to ignore a host of other issues to get their candidate across the line.
But I would argue that using your vote to push a single issue is irresponsible because it does not allow for compromise. It also means a number of other issues may be ignored.
I believe single-issue voting ends up being detrimental in the long run.
A broader consideration of a wide variety of political issues may allow for better-informed and more effective voting.
And that’s what we need in Haliburton Country right now, not divisive single-issue politics.
The Minden Hills Cultural Centre Foundation (MHCCF) proposes transferring governance of the Agnes Jamieson Gallery, Minden Hills Museum and Heritage Village, and Nature’s Place to its board of directors.
The request, raised at an April 28 council meeting, comes two months after news former curator Laurie Carmount was no longer employed at the gallery. That sparked concern about the gallery’s future.
Neil Briggs, MHCCF president, told councillors transferring responsibility of the Bobcaygeon Road facility would “reduce township administration and staff costs and increase economic benefits to the town from more events.” The proposal would see a chief curator oversee day-to-day operations, reporting back to the board.
Briggs compared the model to the Rails End Gallery and Arts Centre and the Haliburton Sculpture Forest. He said board governance would result in expanded programming, enhanced marketing and more social events.
The centre would be funded by grants from Minden Hills, the province and the federal government. Currently, it’s governed by the township’s community services department.
The Minden Hills Cultural Centre Advisory Committee offers feedback and suggests ideas, but isn’t able to make hiring decisions, direct staff activity or implement programming changes.
“We do not believe continuing the status quo is viable and the Cultural Centre will continue to drift and will be an additional burden on the council,” said Briggs.
The Minden Hills Cultural Centre Advisory Committee has not met since November 2021 and didn’t hold meetings between March 2020 and Sept. 2021.
The MHCCF reports it had “no input” on the township’s 2022 budget. Mayor Brent Devolin said he supported investigating the plan further. “I think this is the potential of a good start,” he said. Devolin said he was encouraged by the opportunities presented by Briggs and Jack Brezina, the latter who recounted a history of the gallery and Nature’s Place.
Brezina said recent “turmoil” at the MHCC prompted reinvigorated support of the MHCC. “In every challenge there are opportunities, and seizing on this moment the foundation rallied the supporters of the MHCC to explore ways to make the centre resilient and more viable.”
Council voted to accept the presentation as information and requested a staff report be presented at an upcoming meeting.
“I look forward to the dialogues and where this may go,” Devolin said.
After the presentation, supporters applauded from their seats behind Brezina and Briggs at Highland Hills United Church.
Briggs said he was encouraged by the council’s response. “We’re looking forward to working with council going forward.” Director of community services Craig Belfry said he will bring a report back to council by the end of May.
He said that will involve speaking with MHCCF board members about the plan.
“There’s a lot of information gathering that needs to happen over the next month,” he said. He’s received emails and phone calls from people voicing concerns over the centre’s future.
“The municipality supports the cultural centre as it always has,” Belfry said. The Minden Hills Cultural Centre Advisory Committee is set to meet May 10 for the first time since November 2021.
The person behind the proposed Harburn Holdings in Dysart et al has come forward for the first time to tell his story.
Paul Wilson and his plan for a possible 88 units off of Peninsula Road have come under scrutiny by a grassroots organization calling themselves Friends of Grass Lake (FGL).
Wilson, who brought the Haliburton County Huskies to town, said, “I’ve lived here all my life. I’m a community-minded person.”
He purchased the property in 2003 and said that he had filled land in and dug a pond, “making a pretty nice piece of property out of something that was not very desirable.”
However, he said he had permission from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of the Environment at a time pre-dating the County’s tree preservation bylaw.
He added that detractors need to realize it is a two-phase planning process so things they believe are missing are premature but come in the second phase. He’s not even sure he wants to build the actual condos or apartments himself. “I’m not a condo builder.” He said he might sell or partner with somebody. But before that, he said they need to get official plan and zoning approvals.
So, it’s too early for a design because they are determining the design specifications such as the maximum number of units, setbacks, and steps to protect the wetlands, for example. “So, all the guy has to do that wants to build the condos is prepare a site plan and a site plan agreement … he will show the exact size and location of what he proposes.
He will have to do a stormwater management, grading and probably an erosion control plan. Those are all things that are normal at the building stage.” “If I knew exactly what we were going to build right now, then we could do that, but this is only step one of two steps. This is to get it so the land has been approved for such development but the specifics of the development have to occur in phase two.”
Wilson said he wants to control what happens with the property and “be proud of whatever goes there so (if I do sell) I’m not selling it to somebody until they show me what they’re going to do generally speaking and convince me that they’re going to do it properly.”
As far as timelines go, if he can get municipal approvals, “it could happen in a few years.” And while he’s hoping for that, he added if the township says no, he won’t fight it. He feels he has been unfairly targeted, being called a “greedy developer” on social media.
However, he pointed to a number of concessions that he has made including his donation of one of the lots to Places for People, estimating the property is probably worth half-a-million dollars.
He said he is also concerned about the lack of housing in the County, and its effect on the ability of businesses to attract workers. “I talked to some restaurant owners, one in Minden and one in Haliburton, who both say they can’t stay open the hours they want because they can’t find anybody to work.
I talked to a guy at a lumber store the other day, he said he really likes the job, he just started there, but he’s driving from Lindsay. I asked him ‘why are you doing that?’ and he said ‘there’s no place I can live up here’.”
Wilson said plans such as the one he is proposing have to be on municipal sewer lines and there is not a lot of that developable land in the Highlands.
Places for People Haliburton Highlands Inc. president Jody Curry said they’re “incredibly pleased” that Paul Wilson has donated one of the lots of his proposed Harburn Holdings to the not-for-profit affordable housing organization.
Curry said while it is dependent on Harburn Holdings getting its official plan and zoning bylaw approvals from Dysart et al, it could equate to 15 new affordable housing units one day. “We’re incredibly pleased.
We’re desperately trying to provide affordable housing within the County,” Curry said. She added, “it’s come to the point where we really can’t afford to buy anything any longer. The numbers don’t really work. So, to have someone make such a generous offer is pretty outstanding.”
Dysart et al has also offered a piece of land on Wallings Road and an affordable housing project is in the works for that site.
“Between the two, if the Paul Wilson piece happens, we’re pretty excited about being able to provide more affordable housing in the County,” Curry said.
She added that with their architect, they have been working on standardized plans that can still be tweaked for lots, rather than starting from scratch every time they have a proposal.
“We’ve been preliminarily planning all along for the lots on Wallings Road. Our plan always was to create one pod of 12 units and then replicate that pod as many times as possible so that we wouldn’t constantly be reinventing the wheel,” she said.
The model they are looking at is based on being powered by solar energy, to attain efficiency. And while more expensive upfront, she said in the long-term it will pay itself off.
Places for People will continue to own and rent the units. In the case of the Wilson lands, Curry said they could take a pod of 12 and add something to it. The lot has sewer connections and a drilled well and is on a road, all of which are “huge,” according to Curry.
It’s “massively generous,” she said. Curry added the lack of housing in the Highlands, and affordable housing in particular, is now clearly on the radar as a huge problem that is preventing employers from being able to find and keep workers and students from coming to Haliburton School of Art + Design.
“It just goes on and on,” she said but added if Harburn Holdings gets its approvals, “there’s 88 new units that weren’t there before so I only see that as good. “I just pray the approvals go through and it happens because he’s (Wilson) done so much work up front … we could be developing a lot sooner than we thought we would be. “We’re very happy about it. Very thrilled. We believe in environmental issues as well, but we also believe very much in affordable housing. We have to wait and see what happens but all of us are bowled over by the generosity, too.
Harburn Holdings has written to nearby residents of its proposed condominium development on Grass Lake with an update of its plans. It’s also replied to a Friends of Grass Lake (FGL) consultant’s report panning the plans.
Anthony Usher is the planning consultant to Paul Wilson who is behind the condo project. Usher sent the letter and response to D.M. Wills Associates Limited’s report on April 20.
FGL hired the firm for a planning opinion. In late March, the FGL issued a media release saying the planner had submitted a letter of objection to the proposal to Dysart et al on March 16. “Planners with the firm say we have very good reasons to be opposed to this development and have itemized a laundry list of major deficiencies,” said longtime resident and FGL member Carolyn Langdon in a media release.
She added the FGL feel the applications before the township are premature and incomplete “as they do not provide the necessary plans and studies to determine if the proposed condo and commercial development is appropriate and can be accommodated on the site.”
For example, they said a site development plan, concept drawings and an analysis of the floodplain were missing.
But Usher replied some of D.M. Wills’ report “represents straight differences of planning opinion. I continue to believe the development is appropriate and represents good planning, and would have minimal adverse effects as demonstrated by the supporting studies.”
Further, in the letter to Grass Lake residents, he cites “several improvements in our proposal, mostly in response to comments from the public.” He also said there should be a public meeting in the next couple of months.
Concessions
The letter says Blanding’s turtles will be protected via added mitigation measures, such as temporary fencing on the lakeward side of construction, species at risk training for construction contractors, permanent fencing on the lakeward side of all parking lots and a stewardship brochure for all future residential owners.
He provided new estimates of forest clearing, reducing the forest to 48 per cent but said over time cleared buffer lands will be re-naturalized back up to 69 per cent “almost as much as at present.” They are increasing setbacks to a pond to 30 m from 20 m; and a new 30 m setback from a stream.
They also say no clearing will be allowed to encroach into buffers. Further concessions, they say, include no longer proposing a dock or pond viewing platform and any patio or deck reduced to 20-square-metres from 64.
Usher added there’ll be a traffic study for the intersection of Peninsula Road and County Road 21; they “will make good” on any impacts on the well at Haliburton Veterinary Services; and will comply with municipal rules for exterior lighting.
Another major move is donating one of the lots to Places for People. (see page 3) The FGL, though, still feel, “until such time as the applications provide details on the form and function of the proposed development including location of buildings, structures, parking, access, landscaping or travel paths, the applications are considered premature.”
They are looking for 12 additional studies, such as a site plan. However, Usher said Harburn Holdings is applying for the first of two stages so not all documentation is now required.
For example, he said they haven’t had to submit a site plan yet as they are only looking for official plan and zoning bylaw amendments at this stage
In response to concerns heard through the community, Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) shared today [April 29] that no decision has been made about which Emergency Department might need to close or reduce services as a result of staffing shortages.
As well, no target date has been set for an Emergency Department closure or service reduction.
Since first announcing the impact of staffing shortages on HHHS in November 2021, the organization has been hard at work to keep both Emergency Departments open, while exploring options and alternatives.
This includes:
• Accessing provincial programs to fund recruitment of internationally-educated nurses and nursing students, and working with Ontario Health to identify other recruitment strategies
• Engaging in virtual career fairs to attract nursing students and new graduates
• Enhancing the organization’s social media presence
• Hiring a dedicated recruiter to work on other recruitment activities
• Meeting with local municipal leaders to identify possible collaborations and ways to support recruitment and current staff/physician retention.
• Collaborating with the Haliburton County Physician Recruitment Coordinator
• Focusing on retention by supporting education opportunities for current staff, expanding scopes of practice, upgrading and expanding technology, engaging with staff to improve practices, creating a Professional Practice Leader/Educator role to support the onboarding of new staff and professional development of our current team, and supporting the work of the Staff Wellness Committee and their efforts to address stress, burnout, and well-being.
“The fact that both Emergency Departments have remained open so far is a testament to the incredible dedication and commitment shown by our local teams, as well as the staffing support we have received from agency nursing staff and HealthForce Ontario Emergency Department Locum Program physicians” said Carolyn Plummer, President & CEO of HHHS.
“Though this is a very challenging situation to manage, HHHS will remain focused on our mandate of delivering essential, high-quality health services to the residents, cottagers, and visitors of Haliburton County and the surrounding area.”
HHHS will continue to communicate with the community directly about the staffing situation in the Emergency Departments.
Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) put out a notice April 28 saying the HKPR District Health Unit had declared a COVID-19 outbreak in the in-patient department of the Haliburton Hospital.
As of last night, there were three confirmed, asymptomatic, patients.
As a result, HHHS said all in-patient department patients had been isolated, the department closed to further admissions, and visitors limited to only those receiving end-of-life care. Volunteers were restricted from entering the department.
The release said although HHHS was already maintaining important Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) measures, including mandatory masking, vaccination, regular surveillance testing, and active screening before entry into all facilities, enhanced cleaning will now be conducted in the department and staff will monitor themselves for symptoms.
“We know that COVID-19 is still circulating in our community,” said Carolyn Plummer, President & CEO. “HHHS will continue to put the health and safety of our patients, residents, and staff first, through our rigorous infection prevention and control measures.”
Services in the Emergency Department remain unaffected by the outbreak and community members in need of emergency care should not hesitate to seek assistance, the release said.
HHHS has also been in contact with its neighbouring partner hospitals, including Peterborough Regional Health Centre and Ross Memorial Hospital, in case an admission is needed to an in-patient department.
The use of e-cigarettes and vaporizers among teens is on the rise, reports the Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Pine Ridge District health unit (HKPR).
“Warnings and charges have gone up dramatically,” said Robert Hewitt, an HKPR tobacco control officer, at an April 21 board meeting.
The unit has issued 270 warnings for noncompliance and conducted 267 inspections so far in 2022. In 2018, they completed 742 inspections and issued 49 warnings.
Infractions include selling tobacco or vaporizer products to underage people, smoking in prohibited areas or using tobacco or cannabis products while underage.
“Vaping is our predominant concern right now,” said Hewitt.
There isn’t long-term research on the health impacts of e-cigarettes and vaporizers, but early data shows chemicals they emit can cause lung disease, as well as cardiovascular (heart) disease.
Many vaporizer products contain nicotine, the extremely addictive chemical found in cigarettes.
Hewitt pointed to Canadian studies which show 15 per cent of youth aged 15-19 have accessed vaporizer products in the last 30 days. He said teens report it’s “extremely easy” to acquire vapes.
Dysart et al mayor Andrea Roberts asked how adult vaping habits might influence a teen’s choice to smoke.
“If the youth are watching adults and think it’s ok because it’s legal for them.. what more could we be doing?” she asked.
Hewitt said, “Health Canada kind of missed the boat. These devices have been around for several years, and went unregulated.”
Even now, he said high schoolers report that it’s easy to acquire vaporizers while underage.
Pandemic work remains
HKPR chief medical officer of health Dr. Natalie Bocking said COVID-19, “is not something that is going to end.”
Instead, she said that means incorporating COVID-19 responses and activity into regular programming.
“At some point in time we need to plan how this is going to look in the future,” she said.
Bocking said Ontario governmental funding, covering extra staffing costs, COVID-19 personal protective equipment and more, won’t sustain a long-term pandemic response.
Some funding is yet to arrive, such as a $165,200 provincial injection into COVID19 programming retroactive for the 2021 calendar year.
COVID-19 case counts in the region are now “just the tip of the iceberg,” Bocking said, since most cases go unrecorded. She urged HKPR residents to receive their third or fourth COVID-19 shot to increase protection against severe illness.
Nursing incentives raise funding issues
Bocking said a new provincial retention bonus for nurses who worked through COVID-19 points to gaps in health unit funding.
“We absolutely acknowledge the role nurses have played in our response,” she said of the up to $5,000 bonus for nurses.
But she added, “in some ways it challenges the health unit and management as we have a number of other professions who have helped with the pandemic response.”
Bocking said the unit must continue to “demonstrate the tremendous role health units have … in [COVID-19] response.”
The Haliburton County Huskies may have been knocked out of the OJHL playoffs on April 20 but their inaugural season playing out of Minden’s new arena can be judged a success.
Standing along the boards last Wednesday taking photos and notes for a game report, I couldn’t help but notice the atmosphere around me.
The stands were full of people, some brandishing homemade signs. The upstairs warm viewing area was equally packed. People stood or sat in the lobby to look through the glass. I was joined around the rink by excited kids, and some big kids with a massive air horn.
During the break, there were volunteers everywhere. There were folks at the front door checking people in and others posted at other doors. The people selling the merchandise were doing it on their own time and dime. The ones dispensing the non-alcoholic beverages and snacks were also donating their efforts.
Some in the stands – many in fact – had offered to take players into their homes for the season.
The atmosphere in the arena was loud and very parochial. The crowd, not just from Minden but all points of the Highlands, have clearly gotten behind Paul Wilson’s team.
While playoff hopes were high, it was no small feat to relocate a team from Whitby and have it win its first playoff series against the Trenton Golden Hawks. Would the Cobourg series have been a best of five or best of seven, the Huskies might well be playing on.
The owner and staff frequently commented on visiting other arenas this season and there being far fewer fans at the games. We also heard from the players that there was something special about coming north to cottage country. They became country lads for awhile, enjoying the outdoors, and it allowed this team to forge a unique chemistry.
Does it mean everyone now backs a decision to build a $14-million arena on taxpayers’ backs. No.
Does it mean people have forgotten the County would dearly love to have a public swimming pool? No.
Have some people stopped grumbling about their perception the Huskies got too much of a sweet deal from Minden Hills? No.
However, those same grumblers have to concede that the more than $100,000 the Huskies spent making the former Scouts room their own has been a generous donation to the township’s new arena. Further, they can’t argue that local businesses have benefitted from having the Huskies in town.
It has certainly given many something to do on a weekend in the County. They have embraced the team. As a result, it looks likes the Huskies will be here for many years to come.
In making the announcement in May 2001, the Huskies brass said the move was a “no-brainer” with the County being a hockey and sports town.
“We think it could really be something special for fans, the community and our players,” they said.
Turns out they were right.
And as the township’s seven-year-deal with the Huskies progresses, it stands to make more money off of the club every year to make it all a little more palatable for taxpayers
There will be at least six names on the ballot when local voters head to the polls for the 2022 Ontario general election, to be held on or before June 2. Don McBey is the most recent candidate to be approved for the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock (HKLB) riding, acclaimed as the Liberal nominee during a virtual nomination meeting April 19. McBey is a lawyer with a background in medical and community advocacy, and was most recently the vice-chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. His other previous roles include minister with the United Church of Canada, pastoral and community worker with the Methodist Church of Great Britain and executive director of the Hamilton Halton Counselling and Mediation Centre. While this will be McBey’s first run for office, he has experience volunteering on election campaigns. During the 2014 and 2018 provincial elections, he supported Granville Anderson, a former Liberal MPP from the neighbouring Durham riding. Speaking at last week’s nomination meeting, McBey criticized the way premier Doug Ford has governed the province over the past four years. He believes people are ready for change after what he described as a term of turmoil. “I think we have a number of things going in our favour. One of those is that we can be, I think, the rational party of empowerment, empowering people to take back some control over their lives,” McBey said. “We want to restore some predictability, not only to politics but to people’s lives.” He said getting a handle on Ontario’s housing and inflation crisis would be priorities for him should he be elected. Judi Forbes, who served as the Liberal candidate in HKLB during last year’s federal election, has been brought on as McBey’s campaign manager. Elsewhere on the ballot, incumbent Laurie Scott has already been acclaimed as the Progressive Conservative candidate as she seeks a sixth term in office. During her current stint, Scott spent considerable time as one of Ford’s inner-circle, serving in cabinet positions as minister of labour and minister of infrastructure. She was relegated to the backbenches in June 2021. Barbara Doyle, manager of the Olde Gaol Museum in Lindsay and co-founder of the Kawartha Lakes Health Coalition, will represent the NDP in the summer election. She previously served as the NDP candidate during the 2019 federal election. Tom Regina, a retired schoolteacher, has been acclaimed as the Green Party candidate, retired veterinarian Kerstin Kelly will stand for the Ontario Party and retired farmer Grant Dewar is running for the None of the Above party. Scott secured 56.7 per cent of the local vote during the 2018 election, comfortably defeating Zac Miller (NDP), Brooklynne Cramp-Waldinsperger (Liberal), Lynn Therien (Green), Thomas Rhyno (None Of The Above), Gene Balfour (Libertarian) and Chuck MacMillan (Consensus Ontario
Ever since the snow melted, 76-year-old Peter McLuskey has been pedaling around Eagle Lake on his bike. He’s not riding strictly for pleasure, and he’s certainly not taking it easy. McLuskey is training for a 70-kilometer charity ride in Ottawa, one of three cycling events he spent months training for this winter. He’s raised more than $900 for the ride so far, with all proceeds going to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s (CHEO) cancer treatment programs McLuskey decided to participate due to a decline in physical fitness that began with a hip replacement in his early 70s. In the years following, he became slower on his bike. “I thought if I carried on going downhill like this it’s going to make me a really old man,” he said. So, he decided to start training. Throughout the winter, McLuskey logged hours of indoor workouts, guided by video classes and self-monitoring blood pressure and heart rate. Windy conditions have made on-the-road training difficult this spring, but McLuskey said it’s important to gauge his condition by hitting the hills. Eagle Lake has plenty. He’ll often ride around County Road 6, up Highway 118 and loops around Irish Line. As he begins this season’s calendar of rides, he said age and experience count for a lot on long-distance rides. After the start, he said, “these young guys go like the clappers about 20 kilometers down the road.” The burst of speed can’t be sustained, and McLuskey often will cruise right by them. He’s received good-natured pushback from friends about riding long-distance in his mid- 70s, but he said it’s important to keep moving and active no matter your age. “Try to do something. We’re at an age now where there might be no tomorrow,” he said. To donate to McLuskey’s fundraiser search for Peter McLuskey on cheofoundation.donordrive.com
