The U15 Haliburton Timber Mart team played Newcastle Feb. 23 in Minden with the stands full.
The Storm opened up the scoring in the first period with an unassisted goal from Brody Hartwig.
The second period saw the Storm adding to the scoreboard with two additional goals, by Brody Harrison and Kieran Cox, assists from Harrison and Hartwig.
The final score was 3-0.
The Haliburton County Huskies secured a playoff berth after a flawless weekend that saw the team score eight goals and goaltender Brett Fullerton record back-toback shutouts.
It’s the third successive year the blue and white have qualified for the post-season. Fullerton believes the hometown team, which climbed to fifth position in the East Conference after a 6-0 win over the Caledon Admirals Feb. 24, and 2-0 win over the North York Rangers Feb. 25, has what it takes to compete for an OJHL championship.
They will likely have to do it the hard way, ceding home ice unless they win their final two games, and several other results go their way. If the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and Markham Royals lose two of their final three games, the Huskies have a chance to sneak into fourth place, which would bring home ice advantage.
“For us to get that home ice would be huge, some other stuff has to fall into place, but our mindset right now is just to win out and see where that takes us,” Fullerton said. “Everyone has talked about playoffs… I don’t think we really care who we play. It’s just about knowing if we play our game then we can beat any team, as we’ve shown this season.”
More than 500 people packed into S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena Saturday for the Huskies penultimate regular season home game. The crowd barely had a chance to take their seats before Lucas Marshall opened the scoring 77 seconds in, notching his seventh goal of the season after being set up by team captain Patrick Saini and Charlie Fink.
Saini doubled the lead 17:51 into the first, assisted by Matt Milic and Marshall. Fink then got in on the scoring action, finding twine on the powerplay 5:17 into the middle frame on assists by Adam Smeeton and Ian Phillips.
Petrou added another powerplay marker two minutes later, assisted by Saini and Milic, before Phillips potted his 12th goal of the season at 8:14, assisted by Petrou and Noah Lodoen. Fink helped himself to his second of the game, and 19th of the season, 11:34 into the third, assisted by Saini, who had a four-point night, and Marshall, who had three points.
Fullerton was rock solid between the pipes, turning away 16 shots en route to his first shutout of the season.
“Right from puck drop, the boys were really up for it and that helps me, for sure. I felt pretty relaxed in net knowing if we stuck to our plan that I was probably going to have a good night,” Fullerton said. “All credit for the shutout goes to the rest of the boys – they really limited the shots I had to face.”
A quick schedule turnaround saw the Huskies take to the ice in Toronto approximately 20 hours after Saturday’s final buzzer. The players showed no sign of fatigue in a dominant win over the Rangers, capped by Saini scoring his team-leading 40th and 41st goals of the season.
The captain got his side off to the perfect start, scoring just 36 seconds in after being teed up by Fink and Alex Bradshaw. He made sure of the result 3:10 into the third, beating Rangers goaltender Amir Valiullin on the powerplay on assists from Milic and affiliate player Kyle Butt, making his first appearance of the season.
Fullerton was again perfect, making 12 saves to secure his second shutout in as many nights.
“Never done that before,” Fullerton said of his back-to-back shutouts. “I was still feeling pretty good from the Caledon game, thought it was important to get as many quality minutes under my belt as possible before playoffs. I’m feeling good. We feel like we can take on anybody right now.”
The Huskies welcome the Toronto Jr. Canadiens to town March 2 for a matchup that could have significant playoff implications, before finishing the regular season March 3 on the road in Niagara Falls. Playoffs will begin the following week.
Laurie Jones said this year’s salon exhibition at Rails End Gallery may be the most diverse collection in the 15 years the show has been open to the community.
Centred around the theme ‘Dream’, the exhibition features 67 pieces across a variety of mediums. Jones said submissions were received from renowned local artists and from amateur gallery members. The result is a spread she said people, “need to make an effort to see.”
‘Dream’ opened at Rails End Feb. 10 and will run to April 13.
“I like to give people a challenge,” Jones said, explaining the theme. “I felt it was something that is completely open to interpretation… there’s some wildcards. People have prepared pieces that are quite different, but you can tell they put a lot of thought, a lot of time, into their creation.”
Some familiar names include Greg Gillespie, a “world class woodcarver,” according to Jones. He submitted the carving ‘Unscheduled Departure’, featuring birds flying away from a snake, which took him around 1,000 hours to finish. Mixed media artist David Douglas is also featured, submitting his ‘Eurydice Hunting Antlers’ found art assemblage, made of chalk composite and an old lamp.
One of Jones’ favourite pieces is a political commentary submitted by Keith Rydberg titled ‘The Emperor has no clothes’, a wood carving with acrylic paint that focuses on former U.S. president Donald Trump.
Paintings from long-time contributors like Harvey Walker, Renee Woltz, Susan Hay, Ian Varney, and Deborah J. Reed are also featured.
Grethe Jensen is a first-time participant. After relocating to the Highlands in June 2023, she quickly discovered Rails End and has been an active member ever since. Her piece ‘All My People’ is an acrylic painting that focuses on people coming together.
“As people, we are gathering dreams all our lives. I was trying to portray the concept of gathering, that our lives are better the more connections we make,” Jensen said, noting she completed it in stages over a six-month period last year.
Coming from Toronto, where she was heavily engaged in the arts community, Jensen said Rails End stands out as one of the best galleries she’s been involved with. She believes the salon exhibition, held every year, is a great way to engage with the local arts community and showcase Highlanders’ talents.
“This gallery is an absolute gem here in the community. The fact we have a gallery that is so open and responsive to new things, that actually wants to promote people’s work whether they’re accomplished or not, I find it very welcoming,” Jensen said.
Jones said winter is an ideal time to stage the exhibit as it encourages artists to “get back on the saddle” after the holidays. It also helps drive traffic to the gallery during its quiet season.
“It’s a nice keynote to start the year. The artists seem to appreciate having something to do, having somewhere to stage their creations, and people get a real kick out of coming in and seeing all the different ways artists have interpreted the theme… it’s usually a very passionate, yet playful exhibit,” Jones said.
The gallery is open Wednesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jones noted the public can vote for their favourite pieces to determine the 2024 People’s Choice award. The exhibit is also available to view online at railsendgallery.com.
Rails End Gallery curator Laurie Jones said this year’s salon exhibition ‘Dream’ boasts more than 60 pieces, including this wood sculpture by Greg Gillespie.
Local entrepreneur Andria Cowan Molyneaux says fate was behind the decision to relocate her business, ACM Designs, from its current home in Haliburton village to Abbey Gardens.
The interior design firm will be slowly transitioning into the space vacated by Haliburton Highlands Brewing over the next few months. It brings an end to a fruitful eight-year stay in the village, which saw the company get its start in the basement of the old Haliburton County Development Corporation space, move into new digs along County Road 21, plan for a new home beside Tim Horton’s, before settling at its current home base at 7 Dysart Ave.
“It’s been a real story of evolution. I’ve been looking for a location that we can really grow into and this opportunity at Abbey Gardens fits all our needs size wise, is almost perfect style and design wise – it’s almost like a unicorn here in the County,” Cowan Molyneaux told The Highlander.
There was a huge element of luck behind the move, she revealed.
“The truth is I was contacted to see if I knew someone who might be interested in that old brewery space. Immediately, I said ‘yeah, me’. That’s exactly how this all happened,” she said.
Having grown from two employees in 2016 to 17 today, Cowan Molyneaux said she needed somewhere she knew she could stay for the long haul. She has signed a five-year lease.
The most exciting aspect of the move, she says, is being able to bring all aspects of the company together under one roof. While the bulk of the design team currently work together in the Dysart office, Cowan Molyneaux said some of her newer employees have been forced to work from home, or other spaces in the community.
Cedric Butz joined the company as a carpenter in 2022 and while the services he provides had been a great fit with the ACM team, Cowan Molyneaux hasn’t been able to offer him a dedicated space to work from. Until now.
“He creates goods that we design, so things like furniture, custom doors. As we’re conceptualizing different designs and products, he’s bringing them to life,” she said, noting Butz only uses locally salvaged wood for all his projects. “I had to figure out a way to execute on this new segment of the business on a wide scale, and I felt we needed a dedicated shop Cedric could work from to do that.”
Becoming a key component of the Abbey Gardens family was a big draw, too. There will be increased visibility at the new space, and more chances to collaborate with long-term partners like Abbey Gardens and Abbey Retreat Centre.
“We haven’t even moved in yet, but it already feels like home. I know it’s where we’re supposed to be. We want to be part of the fabric here now,” Cowan Molyneaux said.
She said it’s easy to get excited for the future now, knowing she’s found a place that can house the business no matter how much it grows in the coming years. She didn’t expect to be where she is today, noting things “just took off and never really slowed down” in the early months of the pandemic.
Her focus now is on establishing new carpentry techniques, sending Butz on training programs in California and the UK later this year. She’s also working on a collaboration with Haliburton School of Art + Design.
“It’s been quite the ride these past eight years, but I’m so excited for the future. This move sets us up for the long haul… we’ve finally found our home in the County,” she said.
One of Jenn Emmerson’s favourite things to do is walking with family along Highland Street, stopping by stores that make up the fabric of the downtown business community.
Now, she’s a key thread of that tapestry after relocating her business, B.A.O. Beauty Clinic, to the corner of Highland Street and Maple Avenue – in the space that last housed Tipples of Haliburton. The clinic will close its current home base, above the SIRCH Bistro, Feb. 29.
The move comes just three years after Emmerson left her job as an ER nurse in Bancroft to focus on her clinic, formerly JE Medical Cosmetics. Since then, she and her team, which includes nurse practitioner Christine Wickson and four other staff, have built the business that now serves around 700 clients annually.
“It’s been a goal of mine, a bit of a dream actually, to move downtown and be a part of the downtown energy. There’s so much life and vibrancy here, especially during the summer. It’s going to be so nice seeing all the people walk by the store – hopefully we’re able to attract new clients. I’m really excited,” Emmerson said.
The clinic will open March 3, with an open house planned for later in the month.
Speaking to the services provided, Emmerson said she is certified for cosmetic injectables, such as Botox, and advanced procedures such as the application of plateletrich plasma for skin and hair rejuvenation, fat-dissolving injections, skin tightening, and non-surgical facelifts.
There will be some new services debuting in the spring too, Emmerson said, noting everything she and her team offer is Health Canada approved.
Emmerson has spent the past month extensively renovating the space, with the help of family and staff. The new clinic will boast four treatment rooms and several manipedi stations. Her goal is to breathe new life into the building.
“I’m hoping this spruces up the location, that it stands out for people coming into town. We’ve basically rebuilt a building within a building. I want to do some painting [outside] and maybe put a little patio in off the back [entrance],” Emmerson said.
While she may have been the one to launch the clinic, which bears the name of her three children Brooks, Ashton, and Olivia, Emmerson said it’s been a real team effort building the business into what it is today.
“When I was first starting out, I hired a business coach and told her I wasn’t planning to hire anyone, I just wanted a room to myself so I could do my thing. I hired someone the very next day and haven’t looked back,” she said. “All my employees have come organically. We all know each other from other parts of our lives and careers. We’re all very like-minded, which makes it easier to pull in the same direction as a collective.”
Noting she left nursing to strike a better work-life balance, Emmerson said that hasn’t exactly panned out – she works seven days a week and is constantly thinking up new ways to improve the clinic. She wouldn’t have it any other way, though.
“Owning your own business is a different kind of stress. You don’t get to turn it off, really. It’s constant. But I’ve had the best time digging in, getting to know my clients, and building this with my incredible team. Seeing how far we’ve come and the growth we’ve had in just three years makes [all the sacrifices] worth it,” she said.
For more information, visit baobeauty.ca.
The boards of the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) district health unit and Peterborough Public Health (PPH) announced Feb. 26 they will seek provincial approval, and funding, to voluntarily merge.
In August 2023, the Ministry of Health announced what it termed “plans to strengthen the public health sector” by offering one-time funding, resources and supports to public health agencies deciding to voluntarily merge by Jan. 1, 2025.
In response, the two regional boards of health decided to move forward with a process to explore the impacts of a voluntary merger. In November 2023, a joint board merger exploration working group was established with representatives from both, and external consulting firm Sense & Nous, to prepare a comprehensive feasibility assessment report. The findings were recently presented to both boards to help make a decision.
“Throughout this process, it was quickly identified that both HKPR and PPH have an extensive history of collaboration and share similar geographic, demographic, health status and population characteristics. Both organizations are also dedicated to reducing health inequities and addressing the most pressing public health challenges faced by the urban, rural, and Indigenous communities they serve,” the two boards said in a press release embargoes until Feb. 28.
During a Feb. 15 meeting, the HKPR board decided to proceed with a proposal to voluntary merge with PPH. The Peterborough-based board made a similar commitment Feb. 21.
Joy Lachica, PPH board chair, told a Feb. 28 media scrum that several benefits have already been identified for the merger.
“Beyond strength in numbers… we’re looking at improved program expertise in specialist positions; cross coverage of staff and improved succession planning; enhanced strength of central corporate service functions; better surge capacity and resiliency, which, hopefully, will lead to less burnout for future public health emergencies,” she said.
Lachica noted the province is likely to make a decision on the merger this summer, though work to bring the two organizations together is likely to stretch into 2025. Dr. Natalie Bocking, HKPR medical officer of health, said the two entities had committed to continuing all existing programs through the merger process.
Bocking said the new entity would serve approximately 345,000 people. There will be no immediate staff cuts, with HKPR currently employing around 170 people and PPH 130.
“I’m excited about the opportunity that a merger like this affords. HKPR and PPH shares similar type of communities, we have the same mandate, we have the same vision and focus on health equity, and we both have a long track record of serving our communities well,” Bocking said. “This merger allows us to bring the strengths of each organization and look at how we can maintain our services and add to them.”
While the HKPR board were told by consultants in November that a merger could cost up to $3.5 million, Bocking said a final figure will be revealed in coming weeks. She confirmed the provincial government had committed to funding all associated costs.
David Marshall, HKPR board chair, said the leadership and structure of the combined units will be discussed extensively before any merger is complete. He said it’s the two board’s intent to retain both Dr. Bocking and Dr. Thomas Piggott, medical officer of health for PPH.
“Some health units have an MOH and a CEO, some have an MOH and an assistant MOH… Dr. Bocking and Dr. Piggott are the only two physicians across both organizations now… [having both] offers an opportunity to look at what is the best leadership structure moving forward,” Marshall said.
While Bocking and Piggott stopped short of confirming they will both be around post-merger, they said they are both “pretty passionate about public health. We care a lot about the work, we believe in it, and we’re committed to our communities.”
Next steps
The HKPR District Health Unit and PPH Boards of Health will submit a joint voluntary merger application to the Ontario Government by April 2 – that demonstrates how a proposed merger would benefit the communities they serve, while supporting outcomes and priorities identified by the Ministry of Health.
Mergers of public health units require provincial legislative change, so will not be definitive until the province has approved it, and commits adequate funding for its success later in the year. Both PPH and HKPR District Health Unit will continue to operate independently during the provincial review period.
The Haliburton County Farmers Market Association is still yet to confirm whether it intends to host a weekly market in Haliburton this year, despite executive Angel Taylor telling Dysart council Feb. 27, “getting this settled now is really urgent.”
The township and farmers market board have been at loggerheads for months over the event’s return to Head Lake Park, where it ran for 11 years before being moved to Rotary Beach Park last season.
Taylor previously told council attendance was down approximately 30 per cent at the new location, with market manager Mike Townsend saying he didn’t think enough vendors would sign up for a re-run.
Addressing the duo Tuesday, council doubled down on its stipulation the market can return to Head Lake Park providing each vendor pays an additional $5 per market day. The market typically runs for 21 weeks, from May to October.
Deputy mayor Walt McKechnie reiterated his belief this week that an extra $5 per week “isn’t a big deal.” He said he has discussed the issue with about 15 downtown businesses, who he claims are on council’s side.
“There wasn’t one of them that was saying we were doing something wrong after I explained it to them. We’re not here for a fight… we’re trying to do what’s best for the municipality of Dysart and all taxpayers,” McKechnie said, while emphasizing he’s “very supportive” of the market.
Mayor Murray Fearrey suggested the $5 fee – which would run approximately $4,200 for the season based on the market having 40 vendors each week – at a meeting in January. That was reduced from earlier suggestions that would have cost HCFMA $15,000 and $5,100 to bring the event back to the downtown park.
On Tuesday, Fearrey said Dysart would likely spend around $70,000 on park improvements this year. He has previously said the township incurs “significant costs” repairing damage in the park after a market.
“Our offer is the same, that $5 fee, with no conditions attached to it. We will put the money into a park fund,” Fearrey said. “I think we’ve been more than fair… we’ll be looking at other events too, we’re not just going to pick on you. At the end of the day, you have three options – go to [Rotary Beach Park or the Head Lake boardwalk] for free, or pay the money and go into [Head Lake] Park.”
Taylor asked if council was willing to consider any of the three options HCFMA presented to the township in a letter earlier this month. They ranged from council waiving all fees to run the event at Head Lake Park, to HCFMA accepting the $5 fee, providing council use the funds on repairs to the park proven to be caused by the market and provide invoices to the association. Council declined, opting for no conditions.
HCFMA reached out to 18 other farmers markets across Ontario to find out if any were paying fees to their hosts, Taylor said 15 of them ran their market with no extra costs.
Addressing the $5 fee, Taylor agreed that to most people it may not seem like a lot of money, but for small agricultural vendors who may already be losing money, it could be the difference between signing up or not.
“I was a [vendor] from 2009 to 2019. I never made a profit. I am not saying other small local farmers are in the same boat, but some are. We care about and are mandated to protect and encourage the little guys. This means they’ll have bigger losses, some of them, and that matters. To others, it’s a principal position [not to pay any increased rate],” she said.
Councillors Pat Casey, Barry Boice, Carm Sawyer and Tammy Donaldson all favoured implementing a $5 fee with no conditions.
Casey said, “I think we should carry on with what we’ve proposed, ride it out for this year and in the fall see how it all went, just like we did last year.”
Taylor said HCFMA was “still pulling things together” and likely won’t make a final decision until next week. “We’re quite disappointed… in council’s position.”
Susan Tromanhauser will be one of several first-timers braving the elements to spend a night outdoors next month as Places for People brings its Sleeping in Cars fundraiser back for a sixth year.
The County-based non-profit uses the event to drive conversation about housing affordability in the Highlands, as well as bringing in money to help bolster local rental inventory.
Since 2019, Sleeping in Cars has raised approximately $100,000.
“We hear people say stuff like ‘oh, we don’t have homeless people here’, just because they aren’t sleeping on park benches or lined up along Highland Street, it doesn’t mean they aren’t here. Our homeless people are sleeping in cars, they’re couch surfing, or sleeping in housing that isn’t suitable,” said Tromanhauser, who took over as P4P president last fall.
“There are many people in our community in need of appropriate housing. This event gives people the opportunity to spend a night in their shoes, get a little taste of what they have to go through,” she added.
This year’s event takes place March 22 at Head Lake Park. Tromanhauser noted there are 37 people registered, which is roughly double the usual turnout. She believes this is proof P4P’s message is getting out to the public.
The organization owns and operates five properties across the County, with 12 affordable housing units. Its immediate focus is setting as much money aside as possible for a potential 16-unit build on Peninsula Road in Haliburton.
Owner of the land, Paul Wilson, pledged one of four lots fronting Grass Lake to P4P in 2022. A proposal to develop the property has been supported by Dysart et al and Haliburton County councils, though is subject to an Ontario Land Tribunal review, scheduled for November.
Tromanhauser said P4P is also looking for opportunities to invest in existing rentals, like the deal struck in 2022 to take over a fiveplex in Carnarvon.
“We need to maintain as many rental units in this County as possible. We can’t afford to lose a single one,” Tromanhauser said, noting P4P receives dozens of applications for every unit that becomes available.
More than 400 Highlands households are waiting on subsidized community housing through Kawartha Lakes-Haliburton Housing Corporation. Michelle Corley, KLH spokesperson, noted there has been a marked increase in homelessness in the County since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tromanhauser said she wants to be an advocate for those struggling to find housing.
“My husband and I moved from the city – we’re originally from St. Catherines but have had a cottage on Saskatchewan Lake for 30 years. We have a real love for the area,” she said. “It wasn’t until we retired here that we realized how big a gap there is between the haves and the have nots in Haliburton County, especially when it comes to things like affordable housing.
“I’m not really sure what to expect. We’re planning some activities for before bed – I’ve already dug myself a nice pair of woolly socks and a few blankets out to help get me through,” she added.
There will be live entertainment from 7 p.m., with people encouraged to gather and share stories around a campfire. A light breakfast will be served the next morning.
For more information, or to register, visit placesforpeople.ca. Minimum donation of $50 required to participate.
Algonquin Highlands mayor Liz Danielsen believes the development of tiny homes could form part of the solution to the community’s “crippling” housing crisis.
At a Feb. 15 meeting, council heard from representatives from Places for People (P4P), Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region, and Tiny Town Association, on ways the municipality could bolster its affordable housing supply.
Fay Martin and Roland Lange, board members with P4P, said their organization has “changed direction somewhat” in recent years to embrace new ways to bring larger housing projects to fruition.
Founded in 2007, P4P owns and manages five rental locations in the County, boasting 12 residential units. They are currently being used to house 30 people – 14 adults and 16 children. Martin noted P4P has provided housing to 91 people over the past 16 years.
While proposed projects in Minden and Haliburton have fallen by the wayside, Martin said she is optimistic about a possible 16-unit residential build along Peninsula Road, which would more than double P4P’s existing inventory.
Lange said the organization isn’t just putting all its eggs in that basket, however. He said he’s leading several new initiatives, such as investigating managing rental properties on behalf of local homeowners, encouraging short-term renters to transition to a long-term rental model, assisting property owners with secondary unit applications, and promoting communal developments.
He said P4P was looking into a pilot that would see them build up to four tiny homes on property it owns in Carnarvon.
“We’re very excited about this. We’ve been talking about it since we bought the property two years ago. We’d like to find a way to work with you to make this happen,” Lange told council. “We firmly believe everyone has to look at affordable housing in different ways. The needs are so great, we need to find out how we can start implementing things at a much faster pace.”
Danielsen said the tiny home concept “does interest us all”, vowing to keep in contact with P4P officials to see if there’s a path forward. Martin said those potential units could be offered at rent geared to income, like most of P4P’s other properties, or be offered for rent to own.
‘We want to be here’
Susan Zambonin, CEO of the local Habitat chapter, said her organization has recently rewritten the book on how it moves big builds forward. In the past, Habitat built houses for families and held mortgages for them at a zero per cent interest rate, capped at 30 per cent of their income, and paid off over 25 years.
When the real estate market ballooned in 2020, they were forced to pivot.
“Now, we’ve partnered with a local credit union, they provide a first mortgage to homeowners for what they qualify for and then Habitat holds a second mortgage for the balance of the purchase price at zero per cent interest, with no payments to be made until the owners sell or refinance,” she said.
Zambonin said Habitat recently completed a 41-unit build in Peterborough using this model, with another nearby 12-unit development wrapping up this summer. There are plans for additional 41 and 84-unit developments in Peterborough, too.
While Habitat has yet to complete a project in Haliburton County, Zambonin said she wants that to change.
“We’d love to be building here – this is our territory… we just haven’t found the land to build on,” she said.
Danielsen noted Algonquin Highlands has identified four lots that could be suitable for development, the largest along Hwy. 118. She asked what a partnership could potentially look like between Habitat and the township. Zambonin says whatever land a municipality donates, they would receive the value of it back in rental units once a project is complete.
Ed Peterson founded the Kingston-based Tiny Town Association in 2017, with a goal of popularizing communal housing developments in Ontario. He believes tiny homes are the cheapest and quickest way to address Ontario’s housing crisis.
He said his company looks to partner with municipalities, who would donate land and cover the cost of any permit or rezoning fees, with Peterson taking on the responsibility of building small communities and servicing them. He said he could build between 16 and 20 residences per acre, with units maxing out at 384 sq. ft. of living space.
The tiny homes could then be bought at a fraction of the cost of a regular home, offering them for less than $150,000. Rentals would be offered at $800 per month, with rent-to-own initiatives also available.
Peterson said he’s currently working on proposals with 24 municipalities, with a 91-unit project in Odessa and 82-unit build in Elliot Lake close to proceeding.
“We hope municipalities will see us not as a for-profit developer, because we aren’t, but as… a partner developing affordable housing within your municipality,” he said, noting once land has been committed, he could have the first units ready within a month.
Deputy mayor Jennifer Dailloux said she was “buoyed” by the three presentations, saying there was plenty of options for council to consider.
“Since I’ve come onto council [in 2018] we’ve not embarked on a bold, possibly risky new partnership [for housing]. These are highly reputable potential partners; we all have the same goal. This is a really good opportunity for us to explore,” she said.
Council will discuss its options at a future meeting.
The Ministry of the Solicitor General announced Feb. 23 it will conduct an inquest into the death of Leslie Hegedus – the man killed in a shoot-out with OPP in Haliburton July 15, 2020.
Ministry spokesperson, Stephanie Rea, said details regarding the date and location “will be provided at a later date when the information becomes available.”
As of last Friday, she said Dr. Paul Dungey, regional supervising coroner, east region, Kingston office, had made the coronial inquest announcement.
The ministry noted Hegedus, 73, died in hospital on that day more than three years ago following an interaction with officers from the OPP in Haliburton. Inquests such as this are mandatory under the Coroners Act.
“The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding Mr. Hegedus’ death. The jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing further deaths,” Rea said last week.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has already cleared two OPP officers in connection with the incident. The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving police officers where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. In cases where no reasonable grounds exist to criminally charge police, the director files a report with the Attorney General communicating the results of an investigation.
SIU director Joseph Martino said in his investigation – as reported in the July 30, 2021 Highlander – that a heavily-armed and camouflaged Hegedus hid in the bushes at his Indian Point Road property and fired at police first.
Martino said it was unclear which of Hegedus’ three gunshot wounds came from which officer but “there are no reasonable grounds to believe that either subject officer one or subject officer two acted other than lawfully throughout this incident. Accordingly, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case, and the file is closed.”
SIU has cleared officers
Martino also said that the multiple rounds fired at Hegedus – nine by one and 19 by another officer – amounted to reasonable force.
“There can be little doubt that Mr. Hegedus was intent on killing police officers,” he said.
The incident began earlier that morning at the Minden Valu-mart. Martino said Hegedus fought with and assaulted staff members over wearing a mask. It was during COVID19 mandatory mask mandates. Hegedus got into his vehicle and ran into other vehicles in the parking lot, and struck the exterior of the store and several shopping carts.
He drove north on Hwy. 35 and then east on County Road 21. Police began a chase but called it off for safety reasons after Hegedus refused to pull over.
They checked the car’s licence plate and found the black Alfa Romeo was registered to a property on Indian Point Road in Dysart.
Police were also warned to proceed with caution as there had been some weapons complaints from 2011 involving the registered owner of the vehicle.
Shoot-out with police
Upon arrival, police saw fresh tire tracks going into the garage but did not see the suspect.
The investigator said Hegedus was wearing camouflage, had two guns, a ‘Ruger’ Mini 14 .223 calibre semi-automatic rifle and a ‘Browning’ .380 semi-automatic pistol and several boxes of ammunition in a knapsack, and was hiding in thick bush north of his residence.
The investigation revealed Hegedus fired his rifle twice at an officer, who was not struck but dove for cover. OPP then called for tactical backup. That’s when the two officers directly involved in the shooting arrived, armed with C8 rifles.
“Mr. Hegedus fired his rifle in subject officer one’s direction, prompting subject officer one and subject officer two to discharge their weapons at him multiple times. In the course of this exchange, it appears Mr. Hegedus fired further rounds from his rifle before he was incapacitated.”
After firing at the suspect, they could see Hegedus lying behind a tree stump and heard him groaning. His rifle was laying partially across his lap.
They asked Hegedus to show his hands and radioed for an ambulance. After no response they went to do First Aid on the gunshot wounds. Paramedics arrived and took him to hospital where he was pronounced dead at 11:47 a.m.
Martino said that in his interviews with the subject officers, they told him they fired their weapons out of fear for their, and each other’s, lives.
“I am confident that the officers returned fire believing it to be necessary to protect themselves from death or grievous bodily harm,” he said.
He added the two subject officers ordered Hegedus repeatedly to show his hands, he chose not to do so, “instead rising from a crouched position behind a tree stump and firing at subject officer number one.
“In that instant, the officers’ lives were in grave danger and they acted reasonably and proportionately, in my view, in resorting to lethal force of their own. Retreat or withdrawal were not realistic options in the moment.”
