When The Highlander was sent surveillance video of a person saying ‘f*** off, you faggot” to a cottager on Maple Lake, we didn’t think we should take it lightly.

We were told OPP had charged the person, and his wife, with criminal harassment.

We were cognizant it was the result of a long neighbourhood dispute, so ensured the cottager was not made out to be an angel. We reported on how his actions, including development on a shore road allowance he does not own, had upset many people.

Unfortunately, although OPP confirmed a text saying they’d charged a “Ray” and “Katrina,” they would not provide any more information. They would not release the full names, ages, or address, to protect the victim. Yet, it was the victim who came to The Highlander and his name and photo were in the paper. Protecting the identity of the victim was not an issue anymore.

After the story came out, another set of neighbours said we had defamed them because we had not printed the name of the accused. We went back to the OPP to ask them to reconsider, as surely, they did not want to create any more victims due to possible misidentification. Again, they declined, saying they stood behind their mandate of protecting victims of crime. They said they could not control whether victims independently made a decision to identify themselves to the media. We were told we could file a complaint through the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.

Consequently, it was left to The Highlander to get the names.

We contacted OPP media to see if they could tell us what their policy is on releasing names. We’re still waiting for a reply.

However, a quick online search revealed they have stopped giving out names in certain circumstances, such as accident victims. On the surface that seems a reasonable course of action. However, it can lead to misidentification and widespread rumours in communities. Once next of kin are notified, it is still prudent to release names.

Another policy switch appears to be not releasing the gender of people charged with crimes. They’re saying “the individual” or “the accused” instead of gender specific pronouns such as “he” or “she”.

One wonders what’s going on. An Ottawa Human Rights lawyer, who specializes in human rights and policing law, told CBC recently, the OPP seem overly cautious, possibly a result of pre-emptively trying to avoid legal liability. He suggested training officers to understand the human rights code and how to deal with people, as opposed to being overly administrative.

The City of Kawartha Lakes recently had a discussion about not releasing names of anyone carged so as not to stigmatize them.

Chief Mark Mitchell said it’s about balancing priorities. He said police agencies should be open and transparent with the public, which would favour releasing as much information as possible. However, that has to be balanced with the risk of unnecessarily stigmatizing and shaming individuals. He said for him the question is ‘is this a matter of public interest or is the public just interested?”

For example, he said police should say when someone is arrested and charged for impaired driving, but does the public need to know the name? Some would argue they do. It acts as a deterrent to other would-be drunk drivers.

It’s not only the OPP and other police services that struggle with naming. At The Highlander, we have opted more towards not naming. We do this because we cannot possibly follow every court proceeding to see if a person has been convicted – or exonerated – of an offence.

But we believe there are times when local OPP should release names, such as in the Maple Lake case. Another example is, if there is a fatal car accident, and wrong names of victims are circulating on Facebook or in the community, they need to notify next of kin first, and then release the names. Failure to do so simply creates more victims, public confusion and anxiety and is irresponsible.

PROBLEM:
Despite the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the current trajectory has Earth reaching 2.7 degrees by 2080 (Climate Analytics and NewClimate Institute, 2021).

The eight hottest years recorded are 2015 to 2022. The Lancet reported 489,000 people worldwide died directly from extreme heat in 2019.
Five years ago, climate scientists forewarned parts of the world would become uninhabitable.

North Africa and the Middle East suffer record breaking 47-53 degrees Celsius.

Spain and western Europe forecast 45C this week.

Temperatures in Asia are replicating 2022’s summer when 900 million Chinese suffered temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s for two months, killing crops, drying rivers, causing wildfires, and sending people underground.

In India and Pakistan, extreme heat kills, with 96 deaths in India this June, 46C with severe humidity.

Thirty-one straight days over 110F in Phoenix, Arizona last month; people hospitalized with third degree burns from the sidewalks.

At 4,000 feet in the Andes, South America is currently clocking one of the most extreme heat events: 38.9C in the Chilean Andine winter season.

With every one-tenth degree Celsius warming, another 140 million humans will be outside the “human climate niche” (zone of tolerable temperatures). Currently, nine per cent of humans (> 600 million) live outside this niche (Nature Sustainability, May 2023).

Humans cool down by sweating. Internal body heat is moved to the surface via blood vessels and cooled by sweat evaporating from our skin. The more humid the air, the less our sweat evaporates. Above a wet bulb temperature of 95F (high air temperature and humidity) we can no longer cool by sweating, and body temperatures rise steadily. When humid, air temperatures of 34C can speed heart rate. This cardiovascular strain occurs even before a person’s internal temperature increases.

More than 100 migrants have died from heat this summer along the U.S.-Mexico border. They report 226 rescues for dehydration and heat-related illness in the American Southwest in one week.

On Aug. 1, global sea surface measured 20.96 C, breaking documented records. Marine heatwaves in the UK are five degrees higher than normal. Other marine heatwaves: the North Atlantic (first ever), the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico. Florida sea surface temperature is 38.44 C (normal 23-31C, NOAA).

Additional broken records this summer: the hottest day globally, the two hottest months in human history (June and July), record-low Antarctic sea-ice.

As our planet warms and sea levels rise: the 30 per cent of Americans and the 20 per cent of Canadians living coastally are moving, joining millions of climate refugees globally; melting Arctic permafrost releases dormant viruses; by 2030, Arctic waterways will be navigable, risking North American security.

Heat domes and heat waves increase because the physical boundaries for the jet stream are changing. The jet stream helps circulate warm air from the tropics to the poles and bring cool air from the poles to the tropics. Because the Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, the temperature difference between the poles and the tropics is changing, creating “wobbly” jet streams, pushed beyond normal parameters. Climate-related changes to the jet stream could trigger multiple simultaneous extreme weather events, threatening global food security.

“The onset of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean.”

Marching onwards through the fog – more than just a simple, quirky motivational message to Patrick Monaghan; they are words he fully embraced, embodied, and lived his life by.

The charismatic, long-time host of CanoeFM’s weekly Buckslide Blues Cruise show, which aired on Tuesday nights, passed away peacefully at his home July 25. He was 64.

Monaghan had known for some time that the end was coming. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019, he eventually learned the disease he was fighting, which later spread to his lungs, was terminal. Rather than allowing that news to consume him, and wallow in self-pity, Patrick used it to keep pushing himself forward. He was never afraid to talk about his journey, or his eventual destination. But he also wasn’t going to let that ruin the ride, so to speak.

I first met Monaghan in the spring of 2021. He was one of the first people I interviewed in-person in Haliburton, coming out of the second wave of COVID-19 shutdowns. Going in, I was aware of his illness, but wasn’t sure how I was going to bring it up.

We were due to chat about his lengthy tenure on Canoe’s airwaves, and what he considered to be the culmination of five years of work after receiving the award for best Jazz and Blues Programming from the National Campus and Community Radio Association a couple of months earlier.

He took the pressure off right away by saying, with his trademark smile, that his cancer diagnosis had helped him appreciate his successes. He told how, when sitting through gruelling chemo treatments, he’d pass the time by thinking intently about his next interview – the questions he’d ask, how he’d ask them, what he thought his subject might say.

As someone who has conducted well over 1,000 interviews in my time, the one with Patrick still stands out. He had a way of making you feel comfortable, even in potentially uncomfortable situations.

I remember asking him to recall his favourite interview. Expecting to hear a story about an encounter with a Blues megastar, Patrick surprised me when he said, “this one. Right now.” I chuckled, but he was adamant. “I make an effort not to live in the past – every new experience is a gift,” he said.

That was a big teaching moment for me. I left with a bit of a different perspective than when I’d sat down.

Patrick loved his ‘job’ on the radio. He was a true pro and just had a way with people. That’s been the one constant I’ve heard over the past week while talking to those who knew him best. I didn’t have the chance to reconnect before he passed or tell him how much our interview had helped me. I wish I’d taken the time to do so while I could.

Monaghan’s legacy will live on in Haliburton – through the Buckslide Blues Cruise, which station manager, Roxanne Casey, has confirmed will live on, and through his efforts with organizations like the Highlands Buckslide Blues Society.

Dr. Seuss wrote the famous quote, “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” I’ll always think of Pat, now, when I hear that.

Every year, when it’s announced there will be a drag queen reading to children at a Haliburton County Public Library there is some form of backlash. Often it is an anonymous comment left on the library’s phone message system.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has garnered criticism for giving parents the option of opting their kids – aged six to 13 – out of a similar event there. While the TDSB decision has been decried by some, one could argue that tolerance is a two-way street. I would counter there is nothing hateful in choosing not to have your child attend drag storytime.

In June, the York Catholic District School Board voted 6-4 against flying the Progress Pride flag outside its headquarters in Aurora. The decision was because the rainbow banner does not align with the Catholic faith.

Unlike the choice to skip drag storytime, this school board decision is a bit whiffier. But is it hate? No, since the school board claimed it would focus its attention on systemic changes to support marginalized students.

Closer to home, there is nothing debateable about a decision by two people who live on Maple Lake to call their neighbour a “fing faggot” on video. It is hateful. We acknowledge the victim of the act is no saint. He has admitted to being at loggerheads with neighbours over property issues since moving to the Highlands in 2020. The disputes have become downright ugly on both sides. The victim has shouted at his neighbours. So, it is not a black and white story of a sainted gay man being attacked by his neighbours. However, those neighbours have crossed a line. Choosing to use the word ‘faggot’ elevates this to something more. Had they chosen to call the man a ‘fing idiot’, it would have passed with a lot less fanfare.

Tolerance. It appears to be something we see less and less of in the Highlands these days. Neighbourhood disputes seem to be much more prevalent; verbal and other threats more common. People want to protect their patch at all cost, regardless of what effect it is having on their neighbours. That is what started something that led to a homophobic slur being hurled.

I acknowledge the Highlands is not alone.

A recent Statistics Canada hate crimes report notes that in 2021 there was a 64 per cent rise in crimes against people identifying as LGBTQ2+. In 2020, Canadian police reported 2,669 criminal acts motivated by hate – the largest number recorded since comparable data became available in 2009. CTV news has reported that, in Ontario, hate crimes based on sexual orientation are up 107 per cent.

The Ontario government is investing up to $2.6 million over two years through the Safer and Vital Communities grant to help cities and towns combat hate-motivated crime.

One way to tackle hate crime locally is to attend – and show support for – Minden Pride celebrations the week of Aug. 21-27. As chair Allan Guinan says in today’s paper, Minden Pride isn’t asking for much – just for its members to be respected and a welcome part of the community.

Earth’s destabilizing climate with escalating extreme weather events is attributed to human behaviour. Carbon dioxide level increases in Earth’s atmosphere appears vertical on graphs since 2022 – now at 420 parts per million. The last time the planet saw 400 ppm C02 was three to four million years ago during the Pliocene period when global sea levels were 10-20 metres higher, and temperatures globally were two to three degrees Celsius higher. But those changes occurred over millions of years, not over two centuries. Scientists are now tracking increasingly faster changes with interconnected cumulative effects at only 1.1-1.2 degrees of global warming.

The warming planet exponentially increases melting (permafrost, Greenland ice sheet, Arctic Sea ice, Antarctica’s Thwaite’s glacier and western ice sheet), droughts, wildfires, floods, and extreme heat on land and in oceans. Sea level rise means even more devastating storm surges.

At a time when humans (and all life forms) are being pummelled by the violence of natural phenomena, we must reframe our relationship with nature. We must stop Ecophobia, “an ethical undervaluing of the natural environment that can result in cataclysmic environmental change.” We must love nature, respect and nurture it.

Respecting our place in the natural world means we “love not man the less, but nature more” (George Byron).

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Reframe your actions from the perspective of frogs, insects, birds, fish, trees, water systems, air.
  
• Drive less. Drive slower. Mow less. Eat less meat. Grow more fruits and vegetables. Waste less. Buy less. Consume less. Toss out less. Fix more. Share more. Grow more flowers and trees. Compost. Avoid pesticides and herbicides. Buy local.
  
• Allowing your lawn to grow for at least one full month can provide enough nectar for 10 times the number of bees and pollinators than does a regularly cut lawn, and provides insects, frogs, and snakes their habitats, plus conserves water. Use native drought resistant plants and you will enjoy a colourful landscape. Birds also benefit from less noise and gas pollution.
  
• See the Haliburton County Master Gardeners website for ideas to naturalize your garden. Abbey Gardens offers gardening and ecology-based workshops with a sustainable and reclaimable focus.
  
• Be sure to use rainwater and gray water.
  
• Build bird boxes and bird baths. Protect birds from hitting your windows. Vertical blinds work. Draw vertical lines with a bar of soap or hang ribbons.
  
• Support the Haliburton Apple Tree Identification Project, SIRCH Apple Sauce Project, U-Links and Master Gardeners Heritage Apple Project.
  
• Support local farmers markets (Haliburton, Minden, Stanhope, Abbey Gardens).
  
• Try the Fork Ranger App to learn the environmental impact of your food choices from seed to table.
  
• Try indoor tower gardens (see Minden Mercantile options), smart gardens and garden kits.
  
• Get political. Push for local public transportation. Send messages to our members of parliament urging rapid phase out of oil and gas.
  
• Use the Haliburton County Waste Wizard App and follow reuse, reduce, recycle practices.
  
• Choose sustainable products or eco-friendly products having cradle to a grave approach.
  
  Simple actions to protect mother Earth include buying local and seasonal produce, closing curtains on hot days, surrounding your home with native greenery, turning off all electrical appliances instead of putting them on standby when not in use, using carpools whenever possible and avoiding plastic bags.