The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) has said it has no problem with Dysart et al’s bylaw prohibiting deer feeding in Haliburton village.

Responding to claims by Highlands businessman Phil Primavera, who owns Haliburton Feed and Seed on Mallard Road, that the legislation contravened the Ontario Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, MNRF spokesperson, Mike Fenn, gave the township the green light this week.

“Currently, there are no regulations under the Act that ban feeding wildlife… municipalities can create bylaws related to public safety, which can be affected by human-wildlife conflicts,” Fenn said. “Regulations can be made about feeding wildlife, including baiting for hunting.

“Baiting for hunting is allowed in some cases, but it’s not mandatory. Municipal bylaws that ban feeding or baiting wildlife do not conflict with provincial rules,” Fenn added, noting many other municipalities have implemented similar legislation.

Dysart introduced its bylaw in June 2023, initially outlawing deer feeding in Ward 1 between May 1 and Sept. 30, though an update last November made it a blanket ban – meaning no deer to be fed at any time.

Hailey Cole, a bylaw officer with the township, said four tickets have been issued so far this year, with violators fined $150 – though at least two tickets, issued to Primavera, were dropped.

Council implemented the new rules after hearing from Haliburton residents, Mike and Debra Landry, who said an increased presence of deer in the downtown area has led to more accidents on Haliburton’s roads – estimating around 100 collisions between animals and vehicles annually.

Others complained about deer destroying their personal gardens, while Country Rose owner, Shelley Stiles, told council deer have destroyed thousands of dollars of stock in recent years.

Primavera said he’s not dissuaded by the MNRF response. Since an initial story published in the Oct. 3 Highlander, he estimated around 150 people had visited his business to discuss the bylaw and sign his petition, calling for the legislation to be repealed. The petition now has more than 570 signatures.

“I’m still going to bring the petition to council – I think there’s a difference between [what MNRF] allows and what is constitutional,” he said.

Primavera feeds deer at his Mallard Road business – often fruits and vegetables past their prime. He said he’ll dump a pile beside his building and watch as deer emerge from the forest for a snack. This week, it was a batch of around 200 apples, which were gone within a day.

If he didn’t feed the deer, Primavera said he’d have been forced to take the apples to the landfill – creating unnecessary waste.

“They’re already complaining about the massive amount of garbage that’s going into the ground… I’d much rather let the wildlife have it,” he said.

Dysart mayor Murray Fearrey felt the MNRF response drew a line under the issue, reiterating council has no appetite to repeal or amend the bylaw.

Trillium Lakelands District School Board students are testing at, or above, the provincial average in four of eight core study areas at both the elementary and secondary level.

Every fall, the Education Quality and Assessment Office (EQAO) releases annual results for testing completed during the previous school year, providing a snapshot of how Highlands’ students are doing compared to youth from other regions. The results are for the whole board, not County schools.

Students in Grades 3 and 6 are quizzed on their reading, writing and mathematics abilities, while Grade 9 students are tested in math only. Students in Grade 10 are assessed via the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT).

The County’s earliest learners are performing well, said superintendent Jay MacJanet, who looks after programming for Kindergarten to Grade 8. He noted Grade 3 students all tested over the provincial average in 2023/24, with 76 per cent reading at a Level 3 or 4 standard. This improved one per cent from the 2022/23 school year and is up six per cent from 2021/22. Provincially, 71 per cent of students are reading at an acceptable level.

The board’s Grade 3 writing results dipped one per cent from 2022/23, with 67 per cent of students at Level 3 and 4, though that was still ahead of the provincial average of 64 per cent. There were major strides in math testing, with 69 per cent of TLDSB students meeting expectations – a four per cent rise from last year, and 13 per cent increase from two years ago. The provincial average is 61 per cent.

There’s some literacy work to do at the Grade 6 level at TLDSB – 81 per cent of students are at or above the provincial average for reading, a two per cent drop from 2022/23 and down three per cent from 2021/22. The provincial average is 82 per cent.

On the writing side, 79 per cent are at a Level 3 or 4 standard – exactly in line with the provincial average. There was improvement in math too – 49 per cent of TLDSB students are where they need to be, up two per cent from last year and nine per cent from two years ago.

MacJanet said the introduction of classroom coaches in 2023 was a big reason for the improvements at local elementary schools. One of the benefits, he said, is coaches can support students in one-on-one instruction or small group settings to ensure they’re understanding assignments.

All elementary schools within TLDSB have daily access to a teaching and learning coach, while HHSS had a full-time coach to support Grade 9 students in 2023/24.

“These coaches work closely with administrators and classroom teachers on school specific goals… and work in classrooms to support capacity building, which in turn supports the student’s success,” MacJanet said.

Students are performing below the provincial average at TLDSB’s seven high schools. Around 47 per cent of students are at Level 3 or 4, down three per cent from last year and seven per cent under the provincial average.

The board reported 84 per cent of students passed the OSSLT, just one per cent off the provincial average. Particularly impressive, notes superintendent Kim Williams, is that 96 per cent of students enrolled in academic classes passed the literacy test – a nice bump over the provincial average of 90 per cent.

She said classroom coaches had a positive impact on applied-level students, with 67 per cent passing the literacy test – 11 per cent more than the provincial average.

“Coaches add an extra layer of support to help build content knowledge, gather and analyze data, and use that information to improve teaching and learning,” Williams said. “We believe these coaches had an impact on student achievement, as well as with teacher confidence.”

Haliburton Highlands OPP are investigating after a homophobic insult was found inscribed on the Head Lake Park gazebo last week.

Sgt. Paul McDonald told The Highlander police followed up on a complaint late last week. The OPP has been working with Dysart et al township to obtain video footage from the park, in the hopes of identifying the culprit.

“We unfortunately do not have a timeframe of when this mischief occurred. Haliburton OPP does not have any further leads on this investigation,” McDonald said.

Highlands resident Matthew Saade said he was participating in an early morning Tai Chi class Oct. 2 when another participant noticed someone had vandalized the gazebo with permanent marker. The letters ‘A+H’ were written within a love heart – usually a sign of two people being in a relationship, with the letters representing names.

The word “faggot” – a derogatory term for gay people – was written beside the love heart.

“The message specifically targeted the LGBTQ+ community, underscoring the persistent presence of homophobia and hate in our community,” said Saade, who is gay.

He feels the incident highlights the importance of visible symbols like Pride flags, saying there should be more education and promotion of the LGBTQ+ community in Haliburton County.

“These are not mere gestures, but powerful statements of solidarity and equality. They stand for inclusion and human dignity, and it is crucial that our elected officials lead by example, demonstrating that hate has no place here,” Saade said.

Minden Hills routinely flies the rainbow flag during Pride Month in June and again for Minden Pride festivities in August, but Algonquin Highlands, Dysart et al, and Highlands East have yet to follow suit.

Minden Pride co-chair Chris Hewson said he was “deeply saddened” when he heard about the vandalism.

“Head Lake Park is meant to be a place where everyone – regardless of who they love or how they identify – should feel welcome, safe, and respected,” Hewson said. “Acts of hate like this remind us that the work of building a truly inclusive community is far from over.”

Hewson added, “Minden Pride stands firm in our commitment to fostering love, understanding, and unity. We encourage our neighbours to join us in rejecting hate and building a future where all people are free to live authentically and without fear.”

Dysart’s programs and events manager, Andrea Mueller, confirmed the township’s parks staff removed the graffiti Oct. 8.

McDonald encouraged anyone with information to contact police, saying all tips will be investigated. Call Haliburton Highlands OPP at 1-888-310-1122, Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477, or submit online at khcrimestoppers.com

Participants in this year’s Haliburton Highlands Challenge (HHC) removed musical notes, with first names written on them, from the walls and windows of Brooksong Retreat and Cancer Support Centre Oct. 6; and walked to the front of the centre’s downstairs room to place them in a binder.

The names represented people on Brooksong’s waiting list for a four-day cancer retreat. Those folks are now no longer on the list as the fifth annual HHC has raised more than $107,000 to fund their free attendance at a future retreat, similar to one Jenny Hill did in August.

Hill told people gathered for the challenge celebration Sunday, “that experience was absolutely transformative.” She said she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer about 18 months ago. She was in the process of early retirement to join the family business, “and that’s when our lives went upside down.”

She and her partner were “so shocked and stunned and unable to process,” they told nobody. “There we were at home, shocked, unable to seek out support because we were unable to process it ourselves.” During that phase, her massage therapist told her about Brooksong. She signed up for a retreat, with anxiety and apprehension. She feared she would not be able to talk about cancer and it would be uncomfortable.

Upon arrival, though, she said she had, “never encountered an experience that permitted so much space, so much respect, with facilitators that were attuned, responsive, working with us with metaphors, which is ultimately what enabled me to start to regain my voice; to be able to come to terms and acknowledge that, ‘okay, you do have cancer, you have a battle ahead of you, but you are not your cancer, you are far more than your cancer’.”

Executive director Barb Smith-Morrison said 17 teams, and more than 60 people, took part in this year’s challenge. She added there were more than 500 donors from Canada and the U.S. They exceeded their goal of $100,000, raising $107,160.45.

She said there are 240 people on their waitlist and, “this is why we got moving…” She said they can now move 43 people off of the list.

Jennifer Ramsdale is a board member, registered massage therapist for retreats, and now in active treatment for cancer. She attended the first-ever retreat at Brooksong, and another this past August.

She said of the first retreat, she and her husband “benefitted amazingly from being able to step out of our life and have a bit of time, and to have people who were in the same sorts of situations, who were able to listen and hold space for us, and really for each other.”

This summer’s retreat again gave her “a little bit of time, and space, to try to process what (her returned cancer) means, and what that is like in my story now.”

Find out more about Brooksong at brooksong.ca.

On Oct. 1-2, more than 850 Grade 4-6 students, with their teachers and parent volunteers, gathered at the Kinark Outdoor Centre to take part in the 19th annual Haliburton-Muskoka-Kawartha Children’s Water Festival, more than doubling last year’s participation.

Children engaged in hands-on fun at 36 activity-based learning stations set up across the site. Elementary schools from across the Trillium Lakelands District School Board and families of local homeschooling networks were involved.

More than 150 volunteers helped children explore the vital connections between water health, ecosystems, and personal and community well-being through motivational experiences.

The festival, a flagship program of the Haliburton-based charity FEEL (Friends of Ecological and Environmental Learning), is organized in partnership with U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research and the Kinark Outdoor Centre. Significant volunteer support came from high school students in the Kawartha Youth Leadership in Sustainability (YLS) program and Trent University students from the School of the Environment.

This year, 12 community partners, such as Turtle Guardians, Muskoka Watershed Council, TRACKS (TRent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science) and the Algonquin Highlands and Haliburton fire crews enriched the programming through their hands-on activities.

“Students soak in messages on water conservation, technology, protection and science and come to understand that their attitudes towards water matter and that their actions can and will make a difference,” coordinator Kara Mitchell said.

She added through the waterheroes.ca website, students can continue their water stewardship journey. Flowing from the festival until the end of April, students, as well as their families, friends and classmates, can enter the Big Splash contest by sending in water-friendly actions they pledge to do in the year ahead. Donated prizes will be awarded to individuals, classes and schools making inspiring positive impacts on local water systems through their ‘Water Hero’ actions, Mitchell added.

The team behind Those Other Movies says it’s busy finalizing the lineup for the Haliburton International Film Festival (HIFF) Nov. 1-3 at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion

Spokesperson Tammy Rea said, “after watching more than 50 films at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Sudbury’s Cinefest, the committee is juggling and debating to select the best lineup to bring to Haliburton County.”

However, she said, “stories will travel across time and geography, genre and language, and ideas and experiences, bringing the world and all its diversity to our community.”

The final lineup will include seven movies; one Friday evening, four Saturday, and two Sunday.

Those Other Movies announced the first three offerings Oct. 8. The first is

The Count of Monte Cristo, a subtitled action-drama out of France.

Rea said, “this big budget, big screen film, with incredible costumes and sets, is based on the classic French novel by Alexandre Dumas. It was the most expensive film made in France in 2024. The film, by directors Alexandre de La Patelliere and Matthieu Delaport, begins in Marseille in 1815 and moves quickly through the years as the lead, Pierre Niney as Edmond Dantes, seeks revenge for a crime he did not commit.

The second offering is Home Free, a Canadian drama.

Rea described this one as, “family secrets, family dynamics, the complexities of love: this powerful Canadian film has it all. Three estranged and very different daughters are invited home to their parent’s house to celebrate an anniversary, but all does not go as expected. This movie is sure to make connections and evoke emotion.” This film carries a trigger warning about suicidal ideas. She noted that director, writer, producer Avi Federgreen will be in attendance.

The third announced film is Can I Get a Witness, a Canadian sci-fi drama. Directed by Ann Marie Fleming, and with a Canadian cast including Keira Jang, Joel Oulettte and Sandra Oh, Rea said, “this movie offers a provocative and thought-provoking ‘solution’ to the world’s problems, including climate change, poverty and trans-species equality.

“What are you willing to do for the greater good? This film is a powerful look at personal grief, accepting death, and kindness towards one another.

The full lineup will be available at thoseothermovies.com when it is finalized.

Rea said, “as we consider programming, we are looking at going from really large films to super small films, true stories to science fiction, live action to animation, we are travelling through film and always making connections.”

New committee member, Myra Stephen, added, “it’s so exciting to see so many great films, then to work together collectively to figure out how to curate an experience that will be meaningful to the Haliburton community. Everyone brings a different perspective.”

Rea said they are also happy to announce a new projector and audio system will be in place for this year’s festival “to improve the viewing experiences.”

Weekend VIP passes are $65 ($60 for season’s pass holders) and are available at thoseothermovies.com – or cash ($10 per film) at the door.

Dysart et al mayor Murray Fearrey is taking aim at Haliburton County’s gasoline re-sellers, questioning why prices remain so high at Highlands pumps compared to other nearby areas.

Expressing his frustrations at a Sept. 24 Dysart council meeting, Fearrey said the rapid increase in fuel costs in recent years is making life difficult for County residents, a tough pill for the mayor to swallow given most locals need a car to get to and from work and to live their lives.

“It’s not really a municipal issue, it’s not in our mandate to focus on or be worried about, but I am worried. This affects our citizens in a huge way,” Fearrey said.

On his recent travels, Fearrey noted the price point for gasoline to be much cheaper in communities such as Lindsay, Peterborough, and Orillia than the County. Early last week, gas could be bought at the Haliburton Mobil for $1.56 per litre – it was a couple cents cheaper at gas bars in Minden, but as much as 20 cents cheaper at pumps in Kawartha Lakes.

Fearrey has reached out to owners of local stations to find out why the disparity is so significant. He said he’s yet to hear a reasonable explanation.

“When you start talking about a price difference of 60 or 70 cents per gallon, that’s an awful lot. I want to see if there’s a way to improve on that. See what the rationale is for hiking up the price here,” Fearrey said.

Costs more to haul gas to rural areas

Expert answers

Prices have fallen over the past seven days, with gas available in Haliburton for $1.48 per litre on Oct. 1, $1.46 in Minden, and $1.50 in Wilberforce. To Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis with the website GasBuddy, that’s a typical fluctuation in today’s market.

“Because we have a global market, the price of oil is constantly changing at a moment’s notice,” De Haan said.

He said the industry took a massive hit during the pandemic, with global demand slowing to a snail’s pace through much of 2020 and early 2021. This brought prices way down, to less than 80 cents per litre across much of Ontario.

Petroleum producers lost billions in a matter of months, De Haan said.

“When the price was so low, producers threw in the towel. They stopped producing until the market improved,” he noted.

That turn came in 2022, with prices eclipsing the $2 per litre mark in most areas by that summer. The quick rise was blamed on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with De Haan saying the market is quick to react to major world events.

“We went from one side of the extreme where there was no demand at all for gas, which drove prices down and caused supply to drop. When the economy reopened, demand increased very quickly and was exacerbated by one of the world’s largest oil producers invading another country – the risk of disruption of action to oil markets was increased… so prices went up,” De Haan said.

Cost breakdown

The Canadian Fuels Association (CFA) said there are four key components to pricing gas in Canada – the cost of crude oil, wholesale prices, retail mark-up, and taxes.

A 2023 CFA report found the average price at pumps in Toronto that year was $1.54 – of that, 64 cents went to crude costs (42 per cent), 50.3 cents to taxes (31 per cent), 31.6 cents to refiners’ operating margins (21 per cent), and 8.9 cents (six per cent) to the selling business.

De Haan said most retail stations have profit margins between five and 15 cents per litre. He feels the County’s rates are fair.

“Ultimately, it sounds like there might be a real aggressive competitor down the road [in Lindsay and Orillia] that is keeping prices down. Some stations are willing to take less of a profit margin if it’s new… the reality too is it costs more hauling gasoline to rural areas, so that might be why you’re seeing a bigger difference,” De Haan said.

Dysart Ward 4 coun. Carm Sawyer, who runs West Guilford Auto Centre, said when he was in the gasoline business several years ago, he was charged 10 cents per litre more for wholesale fuel than stations in Minden were charging customers.

The Highlander reached out to several stations to explain their methods for pricing gas but could not secure an interview. Thea Bourne, spokesperson for BG Fuels, which owns Haliburton Mobil, said in an email, “it is BG Fuels’ standard policy to not comment publicly regarding the management of its retail fuel prices.”

Local reaction

Alan Cook was filling his truck in Minden Sept. 27.

“It’s a bargain compared to what it was about two months ago, but it’s still outrageous. We seem to get robbed quite nicely up here – I have a cottage in Penetanguishene and gas is always cheaper in Orillia,” Cook said, estimating price increases since 2020 have added an extra $100 to his commute from Minden.

Ashley Willoughby said she and her husband work outside the County and are now paying hundreds of dollars a month more for fuel than they were before the pandemic. The Minden resident said she often feels trapped at home as there isn’t much money left over for big outings.

Living on a fixed income, retired Haliburton resident Scott Spong said he’s been forced into adjusting his driving habits.

“Everything is planned out now. No more driving back and forth to get a loaf of bread – instead of 10 little trips I have to make sure I know what I need and where I’m going, because it’ll be a few days before I’m in town again,” Spong said.

De Haan warned residents current rates are likely here to stay.

“I think this may be the new norm – Canada’s carbon tax is going up every year… there’s going to be a continued rise regardless of how low the price of oil goes,” he said, with a barrel of crude running approximately $94 as of Oct. 2.

“I hear a lot of people saying things like ‘the price of oil is a lot lower than in 2008, so why am I paying a whole lot more?’ That’s because taxes have gone up, the cost of doing business has gone up. There’s been a lot of core inflation on the price of gasoline,” De Haan added.