Seeing Ontario health minister Sylvia Jones in Haliburton last week – beaming for a photo op for the unveiling (again) of the new CT scanner – irked me.

First of all, the province did not pay for the CT scanner, and will not fork over any money for the CT mammography machine either.

The photo op should have been taken by drone over the high school track, showing all of the people who have donated to the $4.3 million capital campaign. They bought the CT, not Jones, MPP Laurie Scott, or premier Doug Ford. Even the taxpayers of the province did not pony up the money. It’s come on the backs of hard-working Highlanders.

We applaud them. Many still back healthcare services in the County even though they cannot get a family doctor; and despite seeing an ER shuttered; and even though it appears the government prioritizes booze over medicine. Well, at least we can all get our livers CT scanned closer to home now.

The Ontario government does not pay for medical capital costs. It’s why we rely on the Haliburton Highlands Health Services Foundation and the Haliburton and Minden hospital auxiliaries.

In the case of the new CT, we’re told that radiologists (medical doctors that specialize in diagnosing and treating injuries and diseases using medical imaging, such as X-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and ultrasound), bill fees for services directly through OHIP. Hospitals use their base funding from the province to operate CT services.

While Jones would like to take credit for this, too, it’s you and I who cover the bills through taxation, fees and charges.

Additionally, there are no operational funds available for CT.

In future, HHHS may be eligible for wait times funding to operate beyond the current five days/eight hours per day schedule, but I’m not holding my breath.

So, why was Jones here?

She certainly wasn’t when the Minden community was reeling from the sudden announcement last April that its ER would be shuttered in a mere six weeks’ time. She was missing in action. So was Scott. So was HHHS.

The Harvard Business Review ran an article during COVID entitled ‘Real leaders are forged in crises’.

It summarized that history’s iconic leaders acted in the face of challenging crises. They acknowledged people’s fears, then encouraged them with resolve.

In the case of the ER closure, nothing was done to shepherd the masses. It was only when current HHHS CEO and president Veronica Nelson took over that we saw that type of leadership. Shortly into her tenure, it was she (not Jones or Scott) who faced the unhappy masses. That has earned her respect. She deserved to be front and centre at last week’s photo op, as did Melanie Klodt Wong of the Foundation.

Jones needs to know that while County residents are delighted to finally have a CT scanner, and soon CT mammography, they are the last county in Ontario to get one, so it is long overdue. Nor do many see it is an acceptable tradeoff for the closure of the Minden ER.

I would have preferred she stayed at her desk in Toronto last week and spent time on the many challenges her ministry is facing. Properly fund healthcare in this province, and tell her buddy, Doug, we need family doctors, not mixed drinks in cans in grocery stores.

The rising cost of living – and the need for a livable wage – continues to be a hot local topic.

In Haliburton County, the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit said people need $20.60 an hour to get by. Ontario’s current minimum wage is $16.55. They base that on percentage of wages going to rent and food. And while that minimum wage will climb to $17.20 on Oct. 1, the gap remains wide.

I joined The Highlander as a summer student in May. I had been living with my folks in Oakville while attending university and will return there in late August or early September.

I’m finding the high cost of living in this County would be a deterrent to me wanting to come back as a permanent worker or resident of the Highlands. I was expecting Haliburton and Minden to be more cost-effective, but so far, it hasn’t been that way for me. Although the price of a cup of coffee is a little bit cheaper here than in Oakville or the GTA, I find things to be, overall, a little bit more expensive than I had anticipated.

Let’s explore the nuances of my adventure: I am renting someone’s basement with a roommate, renting a car for the summer, because as a reporter, you drive around a lot to get to and from events, and buying groceries at the chain supermarkets. After all of those things, I do not have a lot left in my wallet at the end of the month for other expenses. I had to brace myself when I heard the rent costs up here; I have it decent, considering a one-bedroom apartment can go for $1,450 in Gooderham, when I was looking for a place on Facebook Marketplace.

Prices just haven’t been the same since pre-pandemic times. I still remember in 2020, during the first lockdowns, where I could get almost a week’s worth of groceries for a little over $60. Unless I am buying groceries for two or three meals, I will not be seeing that price anywhere these days.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for car rentals are 59.12 per cent higher in 2024 versus 1997. I am paying around $1,500 per month for my car, which is about half of my monthly pay cheque.

The cost of living crisis has made life more challenging for me; I have to decide which areas I want to spend on, rather than living the lifestyle that I want to up here and indulging in activities on my days off. The cost of living in Haliburton is almost on par to the cost of living in Toronto, or it feels like that.

Another thing I believe could help with the local cost of living is creating more jobs in the County. I think that more jobs should be created so that younger people like myself can move into the Highlands and help it flourish. I’m not talking about retail jobs, but jobs for what we have we have studied in our school.

I need governments on all levels to do better in getting the affordability crisis under control. I need municipal governments to make public transportation a viable option in rural communities and I need federal, provincial, and municipal governments to make housing more affordable.

There was an awful lot to unpack last week after Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) held its annual general meeting in Minden.

The auditorium at the former hospital site was packed as community residents came out to hear HHHS president and CEO Veronica Nelson and new board chair, Irene Odell, discuss highlights from the previous fiscal year – the first since the Minden ER was shuttered on June 1, 2023.

There was reasonably good news to start out – Nelson confirmed HHHS has made significant strides reducing its deficit, reported as $2.3 million as of year-end March 31. This was a considerable drop from the $4.2 million deficit the organization reported at the end of the 2022/23 fiscal year.

That Nelson and her team has been able to bring that number down despite unprecedented wage increases brought on by the Ontario government repealing Bill 124, which cost the organization approximately $3.5 million – and deal with record inflation that saw operating costs rise $1.9 million – is impressive.

When The Highlander asked what plans HHHS had to balance the books, and when the public can expect to see the service back in the black, I expected a vague response with no real answer. So, when Nelson retorted that she hopes to eliminate the debt completely by the end of the next fiscal year, I was a little caught off guard.

In a world where hospitals provincewide are reporting massive increases to debt loads, with seemingly no path back to a balanced budget, it’s curious HHHS has been able to steady the ship. Or at least stop taking on water.

A big reason for the improvement is the near elimination of spending on agency nurses. At its peak in May 2023, HHHS used agency staff to cover 160 RN and RPN shifts that month. Most of those temporary workers were paid more than twice what full-time and part-time staff earned.

Nelson has overseen a remarkable turnaround on the staffing front since joining HHHS last summer. More than 80 new workers have been brought on board over the past year, while changes to the organization’s hiring practices has meant new hires are starting, on average, within 35 days of being offered a job, rather than the 84 days it was taking last year.

As someone who could never understand why or how the Ontario government could allow private entities to spring up demanding grossly overvalued terms for employees carrying out a much-needed service, I’m glad to see HHHS freeing itself from agency-related shackles. Here’s hoping it continues.

The most shocking tidbit of information for me was right near the end, when Nelson revealed HHHS has been engaged in strategic and master plan discussions for much of the past year. In its pre-capital submission on the master plan to the Ministry of Health, HHHS is projecting to more than double its capacity for inpatient admissions over the next 25 years. It also wants to significantly expand the number of long-term beds it has.

We asked if that level of growth can be sustained at the Haliburton hospital, or if an expansion, or even construction of a new facility, would be required.

Nelson didn’t give much away there – in truth, there wasn’t a whole lot she could say. But the fact HHHS is projecting numbers that will almost definitely mean it needs to invest in growing its Haliburton location, or building another, so soon after pulling services from Minden isn’t a great look.

Credit where it’s due, though. Since Nelson arrived at HHHS last summer, shortly after the decision was made to close Minden, she hasn’t shied away from the public eye. She hasn’t been afraid to answer tough questions. She’s provided the kind of stability HHHS needed after years of perceived mismanagement.

A fitting analogy given it’s graduation season, but Nelson gets a passing grade for her first year on the job.

This week, high school and elementary students, faculty and staff – as well as parents, guardians, siblings, aunts and uncles and grandparents – are busy attending graduation ceremonies and clap-outs.

It’s an exciting time of year. Not only does it mark the end of the school year, but the beginning of summer here in cottage country.
Starting today, we’ll see thousands of seasonal residents return to their cottages for the Canada Day long weekend. There’ll be a fair contingent of visitors, too.

We welcome them.

For those who have not read The Highlander from afar, it is timely to remind our seasonal residents and visitors of a few things.

Like all of Ontario, indeed Canada and the world, the cost of living has impacted Highlands’ residents and businesses. While our accommodators, tourism providers, restaurants, and retailers generally head into summer with a jump in their step, this year sees them more nervous about what the season will hold. Even our usually buoyant real estate market is off to a slow start.

While we know you already contribute to the local economy via your tax bills, we do encourage you to buy your groceries, alcohol and gas at local outlets. We ask you to patronize County restaurants, craft breweries, support tourism, and other service providers.

Many of you already know that Haliburton County shares the dubious distinction – along with Manitoulin Island – of being one of the poorest counties in Ontario. You’d hardly guess that in the summer as the Teslas pepper the streets of Haliburton, Minden and Wilberforce. However, the tale of the haves and have nots in our County has been a sad one for too many years. Some say we have invested too much in tourism, and the cottage industry, and not enough elsewhere. That may be true.

This weekend will feature a cornucopia of Canada Day events in which seasonal residents and visitors can get a taste of what Haliburton County’s small communities are all about. In addition, Dorset is hosting its heritage days and arts and craft show on Saturday.

While out and about, have a close look at our main streets and storefronts. Ask yourself if you think they are thriving? Do they look as prosperous as they did when you first arrived 10 years ago, or 20, or more?

In an age of online shopping, and access to big box retail stores, it’s easy to order online or stock up on supplies before coming to the Highlands. We have no doubt it would also be cheaper. However, for our towns to thrive – Haliburton, Minden, Wilberforce and all of those other hamlets, we need you to shop local.

Stop into Robinsons’ General Store in Dorset and Agnew’s in Wilberforce. Patronize the West Guilford and Eagle Lake country markets. Stop by the Lucky Dollar in Gooderham. Grab take away from the River Cone, or a scoop from Kawartha Dairy or Cool Licks. The list goes on and on. Each of our towns boast small businesses that will not only welcome your hard-earned dollars, but greet you with a smile and a friendly chat. You won’t get that from Amazon or Costco.

Welcome back. We’re here to support you, just as we know you’re here to support us.

June 17 was indeed an historic day for health care in Haliburton County.

A new, German-made CT scanner arrived at the hospital after being driven to the County from Mississauga by a transportation and storage company.

The machine will be installed as soon as construction of the new CT area is finished, which is expected by the end of the month.
Appointments will soon be scheduled, and it is anticipated there will be around 20 pre-booked outpatient procedures during the day, with availability for emergencies in the evening and overnight.

Thanks to the generousity of Scott and Chere Campbell – who have committed up to $1 million for the project ($500,000 as an initial pledge and matching community donations up to another $500,000) the HHHS Foundation is more than three-quarters of the way there. And let’s not forget that County taxpayers have already donated $1 million and the Cockwell family another half-million. The goal is $4.3 million. We challenge the community to match the Campbells.

We can only imagine how excited EMS chief Tim Waite is about all of this. It will mean one of his ambulances won’t be taking patients out-of-town for routine, and emergency, CT scans. One hundred locals a week won’t have to drive the hour-plus to outlying hospitals to get the diagnostic imaging done.

Meanwhile, Kawartha North Family Health Team has announced it now has a virtual care nurse practitioner staffing the clinic at the former Minden ER in addition to its regular nurse practitioner on select days.

This past Monday, however, the clinic only had virtual care available. Regular service resumed on Tuesday.

While things such as suspected urinary tract infection, pink eye, yeast infections, sinus congestion, tick bites, prescription renewals, certain ear pains, and a long list of other things can be attended to virtually, there is an equally long list that cannot. People should check the KNFHT website for what can be done, versus what cannot, before going to the urgent care clinic in Minden, since the virtual nurse will likely just send them to Haliburton hospital anyway for certain injuries and ailments.

It will be interesting to see how staffing at the clinic goes over its second very busy summer in the Highlands.

At the end of the day, while we are pleased the County is finally getting a diagnostic tool every other County in Ontario already has – it does not negate the fact that an emergency room was closed in our community last June. And if the urgent care clinic struggles with staffing this summer and has to use more virtual than in-person care, that is a concern.

So, by all means celebrate the arrival of a CT scanner – and hopefully mammography CT soon – but never forget that one of two ERs has closed in the Highlands and we have an urgent care clinic that does come with its own set of challenges. The fact it is now open seven days a week for the summer, though, is most welcome.

I left last week’s Teeny Tiny Summit in Minden feeling pretty inspired.

Keynote speaker, Peter Kenyon, was a breath of fresh air as he spent an hour dissecting what it takes to build strong, thriving communities. Only, rather than regurgitating a series of verbose ‘how-to’ bullet points telling people how to improve life in Haliburton County, he said they need only do one thing – listen.

Kenyon believes the answers to all a community’s problems lies with its people.

As a society, I feel there’s been a shift recently in that whenever there’s a problem, we look to others to fix it – usually government. The issue with that? Governments have become so bloated, so fixated on process that it can take years to bring even the simplest solutions forward.

Or they’re so oblivious they only see an issue when it’s too late.

Just look at housing. Anyone paying attention could have told you, given the demand for homes from young Canadians, the refusal or inability of successive federal and provincial governments to invest in new builds, and the growing number of immigrants coming to Ontario, that we were on the cusp of a housing crisis.

The same can be said, locally, when it comes to childcare.

Usually, when these big-ticket issues arise, they land on some politician’s desk, or a council’s table, that maybe strike up a volunteer committee, which gets frustrated by a lack of action and disbands. Or worse, pawns it off to a consultant who, for big dollars, puts together a verbose ‘how-to’ list of bullet points telling people what they could be doing.

There’s been a lot of that in Haliburton County in recent years.

Kenyon suggested the first call should be going directly to the public. Host a town hall asking for people to come and suggest ideas. Make it a time that is accessible to everyone. Buy some pizzas and offer a free meal.

This is what the town of Kulin, about 300 kilometres east of Perth, Australia did when it realized it was losing its young people. The community decided the best way to retain talent is to make itself as attractive a place as possible to the younger generations. Volunteers launched the Kulin Bush Races in 1994, which now attracts 5,000 visitors annually and pours about $2.6 million into the local economy.

When they found the benefits of the races weren’t particularly long-lasting, the community came together to raise $25,000 to buy a waterslide and establish a waterpark. When they learned the slide was located 3,000 kilometres away, people volunteered to drive on their own dime to dismantle and transport it back to Kulin.

It’s worked – Kulin now has one of the youngest demographics in Australia. More babies were born there than in any other small town across the country.

These young people have revitalized the local economy. Stores are fully staffed, services you wouldn’t usually find in a small town are available. And they all invest locally too – Kulin was one of the first communities in Australia to open its own community bank. Its people rallied to raise $1 million to save its pub from going under, re-establishing it as a community hub.

The County does well from a tourism perspective but given the difficulty many full-time residents have making ends meet here, it’s incumbent on us to do better. That’s the only way we’ll get our young people to stay.

We need to involve them in local decision-making and help them bring their plans to fruition. Crazy ideas can work – Broome, Australia became world famous for its camel rides on public beaches. It’s now a multi-million-dollar business and one of the community’s top employers. That came from a teenager who wanted to do something different.

Engage our youth. Maybe then Haliburton County could become the Canadian-equivalent of Kulin – a true example of what can be achieved when a community comes together.