Those Other Movies is returning Nov. 10, with former Canadian diplomat, Gary J. Smith, coming to the Highlands for the premiere of Ice Breaker: The 1972 Summit Series.

Smith wrote Ice War Diplomat, on which the documentary is based. He is coming to sign copies of his book and discuss the documentary. Master’s Book Store will be ordering books for purchase.

Highlands filmmaker Helen Parker will also be speaking at the event, at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion, at the high school. She has worked on the film.

“Fifty years ago, more than 20 million Canadians and 150 million Soviet citizens were mesmerized by an intense series of hockey games now known as the ‘Summit Series’,” Those Other Movie organizers said in a media release.

“Ice Breaker follows the extraordinary story of former diplomat Gary Smith, the role he played during the Cold War hockey series, the events that surrounded the series, and how Canadians came together as never before.”

They added, “this compelling film is unlike anything ever done on the subject, uniting cinematic, evocative landscapes, poetic narratives, and behind-the-scenes politics with a gripping sports story about the way the Canada versus Russia match-up made a mark on the hockey world.”

The film features interviews with Wayne Gretzky, Vladislav Tretiak and Margaret Trudeau. The media release went on to say, “Ice Breaker unearths stories with fresh perspectives and unique analysis, exploring the impact of the games on Canadians from coast to coast.”

Parker will be present to talk about her part in the making of the documentary. The Highlander has interviewed her twice about her role in the film, in August 2021 and September 2022.

Parker had extraordinary access to the 45th anniversary celebration of the series in Moscow in 2017. She spent five days and five nights in the Russian capital interviewing former Soviet and Canadian hockey players who had been invited to the commemoration, which included an audience with President Vladimir Putin.

Parker did not get to meet Putin in-person but said the most memorable part of the trip was when she was told she could get on a bus and do interviews with some of the Russian legends. They were en route to meet up with the Canadian veterans before boarding a plane to a function being hosted by Putin.

“Very poignant, very interesting, they were very excited to meet the Canadian players,” Parker recalled.

Tickets are $10 at the door, and 2019 passholders, who are owed three movies, will be admitted free. Shows are at 4:15 and 7:15 p.m. at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion. For more information, go to haliburton-movies.com

Schools across Haliburton County could be set for a prolonged, unexpected closure beginning Nov. 4 as support staff provincewide get ready to go on strike.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) gave formal notice to the Ontario government Oct. 30 that its members are prepared to hit the picket line if a new contract isn’t agreed upon by close of day today (Nov. 3). This comes even after education minister Stephen Lecce attempted to quash any strike Oct. 31 by introducing the Keeping Students in Class Act, legislation that imposes a contract on the workers and prevents them from legally walking off the job.

Local CUPE 997 president, William Campbell, said many of his members are prepared to incur hefty daily fines of $4,000 in order to strike.

“My members are really frustrated. Since 2012, they’ve had a bunch of zero per cent wage increases. They’ve had a collective bargaining agreement imposed upon them. They’ve had Bill 124 thrown at them. They’ve had enough,” Campbell told The Highlander.

Campbell said 93.01 per cent of his members voted on the strike action, with 98.19 per cent in favour of it.

Negotiations between the province and CUPE have been ongoing for several weeks. The union is looking for annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent, while the government has so far offered raises of two per cent annually for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all others.

With inflation topping out at 6.9 per cent in September, Campbell said his members are struggling to make ends meet on their current salary.

“I have some members that are living in their car. They’re permanent, full-time school board employees and they cannot afford a place to live. You wouldn’t expect that to happen, but it does,” he said. “Most of my members live paycheck to paycheck, and a lot of them access food banks. Right now, they’re concerned about potentially missing one day’s pay because they don’t know how they’re going to pay their bills.”

Campbell said the local CUPE 997 currently has around 850 members. That number is down drastically from previous years, with people moving on to other careers in search of better pay. He said supply staff numbers are down 25 per cent from the previous school year.

He wanted to stress that the fight is with the Ontario government, not the Trillium Lakelands District School Board. If picketing, members will likely attend Laurie Scott’s office in Lindsay, he said.

TLDSB issued a statement of support for CUPE employees Oct. 31. He said schools would be closed to all students should a strike commence, with classes moving online.

“CUPE members include secretaries, clerks, technicians, custodial and maintenance staff, and educational assistants. These members are critical in keeping our school buildings and sites safe for students, not only for the cleanliness of our buildings, but for the support students receive each day,” said Wes Hahn, director of education. “We respect and value our CUPE staff and are hopeful an agreement is met before the end of the week.”

The County’s physician recruitment coordinator says she is currently in regular contact with seven physicians who are considering relocating to the Highlands.

In a report to an Oct. 26 council meeting, Wendy Welch summarized her last six months of work.

She told council she had sourced a new rental for visiting doctors on Lake Kashagawigamog, giving up a lease on a Harmony Road property. She said it’s a three-bedroom, lower-level walk-out, furnished, with laundry, fully-equipped kitchen and a dock and firepit.

She said she is contacted regularly from community members about housing options and is keeping a file of potential rentals for when the need arises.

She noted five road-side signs are in place and she had received a couple of physician leads, who called after seeing the signs. They are the large billboards that depict a parking space for a canoe at work.

Welch added she had been posting on social media, targeting medical universities, resident groups and other physician recruitment groups. She is gaining followers on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

She noted the County had recently retained a local drone photographer to shoot footage of the hospital and medical building in Haliburton, “highlighting the beautiful lakes and lush green community surrounding them.”

They’ve been added to the physician recruitment website and #myhaliburtonhighlands YouTube channel. She said in future they would expand to include other County medical facilities. They’ve also updated the Halidoc website.

Welch said she also has lunch meetings with residents and learners and gives them a gift basket. As for recruitment events, next up is Nov. 25 at the University of Ottawa.

She’s had pull-up banners at events such as the recent Storm the Trent race at the Haliburton Forest, the Independent in Haliburton, and Dorset Tower over Thanksgiving weekend. She added she will be speaking at the high school this fall.

Referencing the seven candidates, Welch said it, “can often take months or even years as candidates seek out a location that works for them and their families. This regular contact ensures they know we are interested in seeing them practice in the County of Haliburton, and are willing to do whatever we can to assist in the transition.”

Haliburton County hotel and resort owners have won their battle to keep hot tubs open after the province changed some Ministry of Health regulations Oct. 24.

The ministry announced last week that Regulation 565: Public Pools under the Health Protection and Promotion Act was amended to exempt hot tubs operated in conjunction with an individual dwelling unit or suite of a hotel for the exclusive use of its occupants – if required signage is posted.

In July, the HKPR district health unit ordered Buttermilk Falls Resort, Sandy Lane Resort and Lakeview Motel and Resort to shut down their hot tubs. Steve and Megan Orr of Buttermilk Falls Resort quickly contacted the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce about the issue.

Executive director Bob Gaudette said the local health unit had interpreted the regulations in such a way that it forced the closure of individual unit spas for noncompliance with regulations.

“The interpretation identified the hot tubs as public spas, requiring costly and unreasonable modifications to the spa area and equipment in order to resume operation,” he said. This included things such as timing devices, no food or beverages, being inaccessible outside of a daily use period and having a telephone landline nearby.

“The negative impacts to these local operators were very significant; a disadvantaged ability to compete against neighbouring competitors (not subject to the same interpretation) as well as the loss of spa-related income,” Gaudette said.

However, the chamber took a lead role in advocating on behalf of the three businesses. They collaborated with stakeholders, “to solve a problem that was seriously affecting several local hospitality providers.”

Lakeview Motel and Resort co-owner Harsha Manani said, “we are forever grateful for the chamber of commerce’s involvement with the hot tub issue. Our initial meeting with Bob was very productive. We can’t thank the chamber enough for all the hard work and efforts in providing advocacy and supporting small businesses like ours.”

The chamber thanked the ministry, MPP Laurie Scott, Haliburton County Tourism, the health unit, the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario and County Council.

“This matter was handled in an expedited manner with an outcome that creates greater clarity in interpretation and provides improvements in the regulation of spas that are operated in conjunction with an individual dwelling unit or suite of a hotel,” Gaudette said. “I’m pleased the chamber was able to play a role in this outcome.”