Tributes have been pouring in for the late Norma Goodger, who died Feb. 6.

Former Algonquin Highlands mayor Carol Moffatt served with Norma on the Stanhope Museum committee, which is “heavyhearted” by the news, she wrote.

Moffatt said Nomra’s roots were in cottaging, her parents having bought on Kushog in 1952.

“Norma always said her heart was here, she just had to work in the city.”

When she retired, she moved to the cottage “and forged a remarkable life in the Haliburton Highlands.” In addition to the Kushog Lake Property Owners Association, Moffatt noted Norma was keenly involved in the Highlands Festival Singers, the Highlands Concert Band, and Minden Pride.

In addition, “she loved ATVing, snowmobiling and tooting around the lake on her pontoon boat.”

Moffatt said she served on a number of municipal projects and committees, including the museum.

“Norma volunteered with Stanhope Museum for… well, forever. She was a dedicated contributor who remembered everything, kept immaculate records and, never one to waste words or time, had no problem chiding us when we wandered off in discussion.

“She was our go-to gal for anything that needed organizing, and was a natural fit as our longtime treasurer, always chasing that last dime to make sure it was in the right place.”

She served as the coordinator of Heritage Day for several years and was famous for “volun-tolding” friends to help out, Moffatt said.

Moffatt added Nomra was instrumental in the growth of the online heritage mapping project, spending hundreds of hours painstakingly adding information to the database.

“Norma was a steady, reliable presence who was smart, funny, and a wee bit saucy. She wasn’t just a committee member, she was family, and we will miss her beyond words.”

The lake association said Norma “loved Kushog Lake and devoted many years to the lake association.” Indeed, she was a founding member, past president and served on the board for its entirety.

“Norma will be missed by friends and family and as a devoted preserver of the health and beauty of Kushog Lake,” the association added. Minden Pride chair Allan Guinan said Norma’s death “is such a profound shock to all of us at Minden Pride. “For many years, Norma has been our number one volunteer and our biggest cheerleader. Norma was passionate about Minden Pride and all that it represents. She firmly believed that by being highly visible around the County we were helping to spread the positive message of acceptance towards the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

“There was not a farmers market, County fair, open house, Canada Day, Midnight Madness or Santa Claus parade where Norma was not there leading the team and promoting Minden Pride. “Each year during Pride Week festival, Norma was always the first, hours ahead of time, to set up and ensure everything was organized. She has been the strong and smiling matriarch of our group for so long, it is difficult to imagine continuing on without her.”

Glen Carter conducted Norma with the Highlands Concert Band. She played tenor sax. He said she had been with the band for more than 15 years. “Last Friday (Feb. 2), she was there and she was looking good and having a really enjoyable time playing,” he said. “She was an enthusiastic and conscientious member of the band.”

Melissa Stephens and Beth Kipping, on behalf of the Highlands Festival Singers, said Norma joined them in 2008 and had been a faithful member of the tenor section. In addition, just before COVID, she became the group’s treasurer.

“From the time Norma joined she was so friendly and personable and made everyone comfortable around her,” they said.

“Her involvement in the community was amazing. She truly was an outstanding citizen. No matter how busy she was, Norma always had time for you. She would look at you with her infectious smile and tell you everything was taken care of, and you knew it would be.

“Norma worked and played hard, she had a zest for life, a great sense of humour, and lived each day to its fullest. Norma’s dedication to every group and board she belonged to was outstanding.

“We have suffered a great loss with the sudden passing of Norma, but we are honoured to have had her in our lives. She will always remain in our hearts and memories.”

Minden Hills has taken steps towards moving a short-term rental bylaw forward. Council awarded the contract for monitoring and compliance to Granicus Canada Holdings, and is reassigning one staff member for a year to quarterback the township side of things.

While the bylaw has been spearheaded by County council, the four lower-tier municipalities will now take it on going forward. They are all in the process of signing off on the third-party contractor and figuring out what resources they will need for when the bylaw is finally passed. It is coming back to Minden Hills council Feb. 29.

CAO Cynthia Fletcher told a Feb. 8 regular council meeting, Granicus would use software to scan vacation home rental websites to determine numbers. They can identify addresses, track compliance, revenue and trends, and develop a database for the township.

Further, Fletcher said they can notify operators of registration and permit requirements, provide an online portal, notify noncompliant operators, and staff, of infractions and consequences, and provide education. They would have a 24/7 hotline where residents can report, prove, and resolve non-emergency STR-related problems.

If the County and its townships also give the green-light to a municipal accommodation tax, Fletcher said Granicus would also head that up.

“Granicus is a major player in the short-term rental sector, helping communities to address STR monitoring and compliance needs. The firm provides services to over 500 cities and counties across North America, including Huntsville, Lake of Bays, Ramara, Orillia, Georgian Bay, Tiny, Collingwood, and Penetanguishene. Staff have no concerns awarding the service contract to Granicus,” Fletcher said.

She noted the cost of the service, for both Granicus (estimated at just over $60,000 for three years) and the township, would be fully recovered through STR license fees.

Fletcher said they would also need a dedicated staff person for enforcement and inspections. She said this person would be the point of contact with Granicus, help build the Minden Hills program, administer the program, act as the point of communication with operators, and lead the enforcement of STR bylaws. Fletcher suggested a 12-month secondment of a municipal staff member to focus on the development of the program. They’ll look to a permanent position in future.

Coun. Bob Sisson queried the staff ask, saying the STR program has not even begun. However, Fletcher replied, “if we do not dedicate a resource to this, I have nobody to run this program.” She said other townships with STR programs have staff.

She added, “there is no shortage of work around us, and it’s not the type of program, if we want it to be successful, that people can do off the side of their desks.” She emphasized the person will oversee enforcement of complaints.

Fletcher said the target for starting applications and licensing is August.

She reminded staff and the public the license fee is $500-a-year. With Minden Hills conservatively estimated to have 297 rentals, that would mean $148,500 in revenue. For now, township costs for initial set-up are pegged at $90,588.

Mayor Bob Carter said the program was never meant to be a revenue-generator, but to cover costs. “We wanted to ensure that not one taxpayer dollar was spent on this.”

Coun. Ivan Ingram said he thinks there will be more than 297 short-term rentals, and Carter agreed.

Coun. Pam Sayne expressed hope the seconded employee might be able to monitor “how short-term rentals generally are affecting our long-term full-time housing.”

Dysart has also signed off on Granicus, while Algonquin Highlands and Highlands East have yet to do so.

A new $3.1 billion joint federal and provincial investment in Ontario’s health care system should be welcome news to everyone in Haliburton County, according to Haliburton Highlands Health Services executives.

On Feb. 9, prime minister Justin Trudeau and premier Doug Ford said the money will help increase access to family doctors, reduce wait times for appointments and emergency response, and allow hospitals to hire more healthcare workers.

It’s part of a wider, $200 billion 10-year commitment, including $46.2 billion in new money, the federal government made in 2023 to address funding shortfalls across provincial and territorial health systems.

Jennifer Burns-West, vice president of clinical and community programs and chief nursing executive at HHHS, said HHHS will use the extra funding to support frontline care, place resources where patients need it most, and support staffing pressures. It was not disclosed how much the organization would receive.

“Optimizing health and wellbeing in Haliburton County is our primary objective. Every day, our staff, physicians and volunteers go above and beyond to care for the needs of our patients, so this funding will help provide them with the resources they need to continue,” Burns-West said.

Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott’s office did not respond to questions submitted by The Highlander, instead forwarding the request to health minister Sylvia Jones. Hannah Jensen, ministry spokesperson, said the province’s contribution is being split over three years and will build on initiatives the Ontario government is already working on through its Your Health: A Plan for Connection and Convenient Care initiative.

Jensen noted new primary care teams will be established to allow Ontarians without a family doctor to connect with one. There will also be money to hire more nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and social workers.

“This will help reduce backlogs for surgeries and wait times in emergency rooms, while improving access to care for patients without a family doctor, especially in rural, remote and underserved areas,” a Feb. 9 press release states.

Scott has previously told The Highlander she considers Haliburton County to be a remote and underserved area.

Enrollment in health care education programs is also being expanded, with more than 700 spots – including over 70 in northern Ontario, expected in 2024. The agreement will also make it easier for internationally trained doctors and health professionals to practise in Ontario, removing barriers to foreign credential recognition, simplifying licensing processes, and increasing program access for highly educated and skilled professionals.

Kimberly Moran, Ontario Medical Association CEO, noted approximately 2.3 million people in Ontario don’t have a family doctor in 2024, with that number expected to nearly double over the next two years. “Everyone in Ontario deserves to have access to a family doctor,” Moran said.

HHHS ‘faces pressure’

Martin Mazza, interin chief financial officer at HHHS, said specific details over funding amounts the local hospital expects to receive will be known later this year. He noted the organization was still in a hole financially.

“All of us in our day-to-day lives see the impact of rising costs… HHHS faces considerable inflationary pressure with its ongoing budgetary responsibilities,” Mazza said.

Hospital president and CEO, Veronica Nelson, told The Highlander in a December 2023 interview HHHS had been focusing on its organizational deficit, which was down to around $1.7 million as of Sept. 30 last year compared to $4.2 million at the end of the 2022/23 fiscal year in April.

She attributed much of that to a decreased reliance on agency staff. The organization peaked in May, with 160 agency RN and RPN shifts, though that number had dropped to approximately 80 shifts per month by the end of the year.