A Dysart et al contractor has pleaded guilty to assault in a Lindsay courthouse. Mordecai M. Berlad, 64, of 4152 Trapper
Ct, Mississauga – who was referred to in an agreed statement of facts as ‘Moe’ from ‘Moe’s Renos’ in Haliburton – faced Justice
J.L. Broderick Dec. 17.

She ordered three years’ probation and bail conditions that include no contact with the victim and their spouse; a weapons prohibition; and not doing business under a last name other than his legal last name.

Initially, Berlad was facing a sexual assault charge. Mid-trial, that was changed to assault. A plea bargain was struck and a
guilty plea made.

In an agreed statement of facts, the Crown and defence said the victim and her spouse met Berlad at the Haliburton Home and
Cottage Show, saying he identified himself as Moe of Moe’s Renos. After a discussion, he agreed to renovate their Dysart et al
home.

The statement said the spouse said Moe did not provide a last name. The statement went on to say Berlad was bound by a probation order, for two years, for a sexual assault conviction (in Hamilton) on Nov. 15, 2022.

The statement said Berlad began renovations with a crew at the victim’s home in July 2024 – until he was fired in the middle of August 2024.

The statement said “Mr. Berlad made unwanted physical contact with (the victim), specifically he massaged her shoulders. She
did not consent to the massage.”

The victim testified during the trial, on the initial sexual assault charge, that he “groped” her on several occasions. Berlad was given an opportunity, but did not address the court. An outstanding fail to comply with probation charge was stayed.

Crown attorney Ghazi Jarrar, referencing the victim impact statement, said, “we do see that (the victim) was impacted by what
took place. It affected her sense of safety in her home. It had some impact on her relationship. Ultimately what took place
here did take place inside her home, which must have felt particularly violating for her, so she is entitled to the protection of the
court.”

Berlad’s defence counsel, Coulson Mills, said Berlad had been in business for 40 years, originally in Toronto and southern
Ontario, but in Haliburton the last four years, where he made “a move to try and start a new life after the Hamilton
experience.”

In that matter, The Hamilton Spectator reported that Berlad was originally charged with four counts of sexual assault but pleaded guilty to one count of sexually assaulting a realtor he lured to his home. In late 2022, he was sentenced to six months of house arrest.

On Dec. 17 in Lindsay, Justice Broderick said the joint submission took into account the seriousness of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender.

“The assault itself did not involve the use of excessive violence or weapons. At the same time, however, I find that his moral culpability is high in the sense that the touching was certainly intentional.”

She said there were aggravating factors: that the offence took place in the victim’s home, and in a trailer used temporarily as
a residence “a place where she was entitled to feel safe and secure from non-consensual touching.” She added Berlad’s criminal
record was aggravating … “in that he has a conviction which is relatively recent for an offence involving non-consensual contact.”

However, Justice Broderick said Berlad contributes to the community through his work as a full-time contractor. She also acknowledged that by pleading guilty, he spared the victim having to be cross examined.

She said registering a conviction sends a message not only to Berlad, but to others in the community “that there is a significant
consequence for unwanted touching.”

The Highlander cannot name the victim, or report anything that might identify them.

An automated phone survey has been doing the rounds in Haliburton for the past week, asking people questions about current Dysart et al council members and potential future candidates – with one of those singled out distancing himself from making another run for public office.

Mayor Murray Fearrey confirmed in a Jan. 26 interview he will not seek re-election this fall, instead calling time on a political career that has spanned almost five decades.

“If I told you there’s unfinished business and I was going to run again, you’d kill yourself laughing,” Fearrey told The Highlander. “Look, I’m 84 years old… I’ve had a good run, but I can definitively say I won’t [seek re-election].”

Fearrey was one of four elected officials mentioned in the survey, alongside deputy mayor Walt McKechnie, Ward 1 coun. Pat Casey and Ward 5 coun. Barry Boice. The question was a general one, asking people what they thought about each of them and the job they’ve done since being elected in October 2022.

Haliburton resident Sean Pennylegion said he learned about the survey from Barrie Martin, a fellow volunteer with the Haliburton Highlands Democracy Project, at a Jan. 15 Telling Our Stories Speaker Series event. Pennylegion ignored three automated calls the night before but picked up and stuck with it when they called back Jan. 16.

“It started with federal, asking people to pick the most favourable person out of, I think, five options – Jamie [Schmale, current MP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes] was mentioned, as was Nell [Thomas, the Liberal candidate in the April 2025 federal election]… then there were questions about provincial politics and municipal,” Pennylegion said.

“It was interesting though that it only asked about Dysart et al, and only four names were mentioned from the current council… it seemed pretty targeted,” he added.

Pennylegion wondered if the survey was focusing on incumbents in leadership positions and those considering a run for higher office. He said this was the first time he had ever received a robocall for municipal politics.

Robocall wants to know Dysart favourites

McKechnie said he heard about the survey last week. He told The Highlander that, while he hasn’t made a final decision he’s leaning towards running again in October’s election, though is unsure in what capacity.

“It’s still a long ways away, but the way my mind feels right now I definitely feel like I’d like to contribute,” the deputy mayor said.

Coming up to the end of his first term on Dysart council Boice indicated he wants to run again, though hasn’t decided for what role.

“At the very least I think I would run again for my ward,” Boice said. Asked for his thoughts on the robocall, he added, “it’d be interesting to know where it came from.”

Online records via YellowPages indicate the phone number used in at least two calls is operated by Iristel Inc., a Markham-based telecommunications company. The landline is located in the Ottawa-Hull region. Efforts to reach Iristel were unsuccessful as of press time. Casey could also not be reached for comment.

Dysart’s three other elected officials not mentioned in the survey – Ward 2 coun. Nancy Wood-Roberts, Ward 3 coun. Tammy Donaldson and Ward 4 coun. Carm Sawyer – weighed in, with Donaldson and Sawyer confirming they intend to seek re-election in their wards, while Wood-Roberts is unsure.

“I got the call and so started asking around to see if others had heard about it – I’d love to know what it’s all about,” Donaldson said. Sawyer said he, too, received a call. “The first time I got it, I hung up on it. Then it comes through again and again, so I answered and went all the way through… it was interesting the local questions were strictly Dysart but only mentioned half [of the current council]. I don’t know who got it started, if it’s some special interest group, or what the deal is.”

Wood-Roberts was the only councillor to say she had not heard about the survey.

Soliciting candidates

Pennylegion said the last question in the survey named two prominent community members not currently serving on council – Andrew Hodgson and Greg Bishop.

“It just asked how I would view them in terms of a political run – it didn’t mention whether they were thinking about municipal, provincial or federal. It was just looking for my reaction to the names,” Pennylegion said.

While Hodgson, a local realtor with Century21, has a history in provincial politics – he was executive director of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario from 2002 to 2004 and chief of staff to the leader of the official opposition from 2004 to 2006 – he told The Highlander he has no aspirations to run in any capacity.

“I’m not running for anything – I have no plans to seek election in Dysart. I like the group we currently have. I like the additions of Pat, Barry and Carm this term, I think they’re trying their best,” said Hodgson, who says he hadn’t heard of the survey before The Highlander reached out to him.

It was the same for Bishop, who expressed surprise at his name coming up. While he said he’s always wanted to get involved in local politics, his busy career as a civil engineer and Ontario Land Surveyor prevented him from making a run. Recently retired, he said he’s undecided on running this fall.

Haliburton Highlands OPP say they want to crack down on people reoffending in the community when already facing charges, or having been convicted of a crime.

In their action plan for 2026-2029, discussed at the police detachment board meeting Jan. 21, board chair Andrew Fletcher said Staff Sgt. Deb McClure wants her members to focus on offender management.

“We’ve heard a lot of that around the province, about the arrest and bail provisions and the catch-and-release scenarios, but actually focusing on some proactive engagement where we’re looking at those judicial conditions people have on them and going after them as far as spending some time and some effort and some energy on ensuring compliance.”

Fletcher said it means increased checks and working with probation and parole. He also said they can track it statistically. “So, for example, if we know we have 10 offenders out on release and when we do our compliance checks, we have 70 per cent of them at home when they are supposed to be.”

McClure added each detachment is getting an officer specifically assigned to the program who will work with partners, such as probation, parole, and Crown attorneys.

Fletcher said, “if we actually check on the individuals, and make sure they’re home when they’re supposed to be home with curfew hours; and make sure they’re complying with their bail conditions; hopefully the word gets out amongst the offenders in the community that we’re going to be doing that, that will hopefully drive that compliance. Not with all offenders, but some offenders just continue to reoffend. If we can make sure they are not reoffending it keeps our community safe.”

The three pillars of the plan are crime; roadways, waterways and trails; and community well-being.

Actionables under the crime category also include: training and mentorship so police can better tackle trends impacting our community. They also want to do a better job of letting the public know what those trends are. With property crime, they want better coordination and more timely response. They also want to crack down on opioid use in the Highlands.

McClure said the plan outlines “commitments, actions, and desired outcomes” over the next four years.

The detachment commander said they had a “comprehensive” consultation process with “key stakeholders” such as board members, did a public survey, and held a town hall (which was sparsely attended).

“This action plan has been thoughtfully developed to address the evolving needs of our communities and to ensure the delivery of an effective, responsive, and high-quality police service for all who live in and visit Haliburton County,” McClure said.

Fletcher added, “we are confident that this plan will address the current and emerging concerns identified through consultation with the communities we represent. We believe this plan strikes a suitable balance of addressing crime and preventing victimization, while ensuring resources focus on road, trail and waterway safety, along with expanding on our commitment of engagement and partnerships that enhance community well-being.

Roads, waterways, trails

When it comes to roads, lakes and trails, OPP are committed to a number of actions. For example, they want more local expertise in specialized traffic enforcement. They want to continue to focus on impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding and aggressive driving, as well as lack of seatbelt use; and educating the public better. Further, they want to be out on all terrain vehicles and motorized snow vehicles trails year-round and waterways in summer.

As for well-being, they want to interact more with youth, including structured and unstructured programming; spread the word about OPP and auxiliary jobs locally; and better help with mental health issues, substance abuse and addictions, persons with disabilities, homeless, and working to reduce gender-based violence and hate-motivated crime.

During the meeting, board member Bob Carter’s question about impaired driving was answered by McClure.

She said one-quarter of all charges in 2025 were by drug alone, or a combination of drugs and alcohol, while 75 per cent were alcohol impairment.

Carter said, “I think that’s something that should be tracked over time. Not really certain what we do with it. May be of interest, may show that there’s some changing social demographics going on.”

Fletcher agreed saying the need for drug recognition experts would have staffing implications for local OPP. McClure said she recently met with staff from Haliburton hospital about drug-related protocols. The plan is on the agenda of the police services board meeting for Jan. 21, 2026.