HHOA launches 50/50 draw

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April 14, 2022

The Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association (HHOA) is holding its inaugural 50/50 draw starting April 15.

HHOA president Dan Smith said proceeds from the draws will support the fish hatchery on Gelert Road in Haliburton.

The hatchery is responsible for the annual stocking of area lakes, walleye spawning rehabilitation programs and other HHOA activities that benefit the region’s outdoors community, Smith said.

“Due to cutbacks in funding, and the effects of COVID, the HHOA is seeking other fundraising avenues, Smith added.

“The 50/50 draw provides an opportunity to raise funds for the hatchery, while giving the community a chance to help support the hatchery and win some money.”

The draws start tomorrow (April 15). Go to bigcatch5050.ca. to buy tickets. Fifty per cent of the proceeds from each monthly draw will go to one lucky winner. The other 50 per cent will be used to support HHOA activities.

Smith said HHOA’s mission is to help residents and visitors to the Haliburton Highlands enjoy angling opportunities while practicing good conservation. Since 1998, the HHOA has raised and stocked more than 700,000 fish in local lakes. For more information on the HHOA visit: hhoa.on.ca/news

HCSA applauds staff after ‘challenging’ winter

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Sam Gillett

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April 14, 2022

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Haliburton County Snowmobile Association (HCSA) president John Enright said he’s proud of grooming staff and volunteers for persevering despite a “very, very challenging winter.”

Enright said three significant thaws combined with rain made grooming operations difficult.

“Every time we’d get a trail base set up, we’d get set back,” he said.

However, at many points throughout the season, such as the last week of February, the trail network saw crisp conditions for snowmobiling under blue skies.

The HCSA employs grooming staff each year but this season the association struggled to fill the roster.

“I’m so proud of the team for what they delivered with not too much snow and the shortage of people we had,” Enright said.

Haliburton’s popular trail network, which helped distinguish the club as Ontario’s snowmobile club of the year in 2021, is also maintained by dedicated volunteers.

“Volunteers are the lifeblood of snowmobiling in Ontario, not just Haliburton County,” Enright said. He added that they’ve seen an increase in volunteers throughout the past two years.

“We’ve worked really hard at growing our volunteer base through our online volunteer registry,” he said.

Enright added that landowners are the “real heroes” of snowmobiling in the Highlands. Without access to trails over private land, the club wouldn’t have a trail network, he said.

School board facing bus driver shortages

By

Mike Baker

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April 14, 2022

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TLDSB superintendent Tim Ellis said several bus companies are struggling to find drivers to cover school trips and extracurricular activities, especially in rural communities like Haliburton County.

Local trustee Gary Brohman raised the issue during an April 12 meeting, saying he had heard from a handful of parents concerned about the bussing situation. He asked Ellis what plans the school board had to help alleviate the issue.

Ellis said since the hiring of bus drivers falls outside of TLDSB jurisdiction, there wasn’t much the board could do.

“The driver shortage, initially due to COVID, was very apparent at the beginning of the year and it continues to be a challenge. Finding reliable bus drivers has been very difficult for our providers,” Ellis said. “They’re doing the best they can to keep the drivers they have, keep their routes running and supporting our activities both during and after school as best they can.”

Superintendent Kim Williams said teachers and coaches have been trying to find rides for students. This has, on occasion, seen parents drafted in to drive.

“If we cannot access a bus, we’re looking to parent volunteers who have completed all the necessary paperwork [they need] to drive the kids,” Williams said. “Each school handles that differently, but it has worked quite well.”

Williams noted parents are usually compensated for driving, but, again, that is dealt with on a school-by-school basis.

New website coming

Director of Education Wes Hahn was excited to share that a soft internal launch of the board’s new website went off without a hitch earlier this month.

The project, led by Carolynne Bull and the communications department, has been months in the making.

Trustees signed off on the redesign during budget deliberations last year.

“It’s fantastic, very modern,” Hahn said. “We will have lots of great ways of communicating with our communities, not only externally but internally as well.

There’s lots of exciting things happening with the website, and we can’t wait to roll it out.”

The new site is expected to go live later this year.

Schools open to community

Ellis informed the board that schools across the district have been reopened for community rental.

Schools were locked down throughout the pandemic, only open to students and staff. Back in March, after the Ontario government lifted most COVID-19 restrictions, they started to welcome back groups that had typically used school facilities pre-pandemic. Any group wanting to rent space must first apply for a permit. Ellis says there are 76 active permits across TLDSB.

Space is rented on a cost-recovery basis, Ellis notes. For a full breakdown, or to register, visit tldsb.ca/community/ community-use-of-schools. Groups can rent gym space, classrooms and outdoor fields.

OSSLT results

Providing an update on secondary school learning, Williams said the board’s initial results from the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test were encouraging.

“The success rate of participating students was 74.6 per cent,” Williams shared.

The OSSLT will be written again in the spring.

Funding helps cancer retreats work ‘magic’

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Sam Gillett

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April 14, 2022

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A Haliburton-based cancer retreat centre has brought restorative experiences online thanks to an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant.

At a virtual event celebrating the funding April 9, Abbey Retreat Centre (ARC) executive director Barb Smith-Morrison explained how $30,600 in provincial funding helped create ‘Re-Shaping Our Cancer Stories’, a four-week online cancer retreat.

“It helped us work some magic,” Smith-Morrison said.

Smith-Morrison said ARC’s goal is to “strengthen and restore the body, mind and soul in the midst of a cancer experience.” The online program aimed to do the same from hundreds of kilometres away during COVID-19 restrictions.

In a trial run this winter, three facilitators guided 12 participants in two weekly Zoom meetings over four weeks. By the end of April, the program will have run three times.

The sessions include expressive arts therapy, breathwork, self-care strategies, diet and nutrition seminars and an accompanying series of videos.

Each week focuses on processing a different aspect of a cancer journey. Themes range from “discombobulation,” the uncertainty and whirlwind of emotions associated with a cancer diagnosis, to arrival and freedom when discovering new possibilities and worldviews.

“We honestly didn’t know if it was going to work,” said Fay Wilkinson, an expressive arts practitioner and program facilitator. Group sessions involving drawing, writing, interpretation and body movement are difficult to do online, but Wilkinson said they’ve received positive feedback from attendees.

Retreat participant Janet Auty Carlisle said receiving a cancer diagnosis during COVID-19 “was super lonely and super confusing.” She signed up for the online retreat without knowing what to expect.

She said the program “resonated” with what she needed at the time.

“Walking into this was like walking into a room of women I’ve known for years and having tea,” she said.

Smith-Morrison said ARC hopes to continue offering the online retreats for those who cannot travel to Haliburton or are not well enough to participate in-person. ARC currently has a waitlist of nearly 100 people.

Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott said she was glad to see ARC’s mission continue online. “It’s such a wonderful healing centre to walk into. When that is taken away and isolation occurs it’s a challenge, especially for those living with a cancer diagnosis”

Highlands sees spike in COVID-19 cases

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Sam Gillett

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April 14, 2022

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Easing restrictions and a new subvariant are to blame for a “surge” in COVID19 cases said Dr. Natalie Bocking, chief medical officer of health for the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge (HKPR) district health unit.

“When we saw a lifting of provincial measures of COVID-19, many public health professionals and community members reminded everyone the pandemic wasn’t over. If we forgot that, COVID-19 is here to remind us,” she said at an April 6 media information session.

The health unit reported 15 lab-confirmed active cases of COVID-19 within Haliburton County April 12 and 229 active cases throughout the HKPR region. Until April 11, only those in high-risk living areas or individuals deemed high-risk were eligible for testing. The majority of COVID-19 infections in Haliburton County are no longer recorded.

Local physician Dr. Nell Thomas said she’s diagnosing one to two patients a day with COVID-19, and Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) CAO Carolyn Plummer said the health care system has seen a slight increase in cases among staff.

“This latest wave of COVID-19 is certainly concerning, and we are monitoring the situation closely,” Plummer said.

She added that protective measures such as screening for symptoms and mandatory masking continue to be in place at HHHS locations until at least April 27 when the remaining rules are set to be lifted.

“The safety and wellbeing of our patients, residents, and clients, as well as our staff, physicians, and volunteers will continue to be our top priority,” she said.

Bocking said she is “fully expecting” an increase in hospital admissions as a new subvariant of COVID-19, BA.2, becomes the dominant strain.

Haliburton County has seen five hospitalizations due to COVID-19 since the beginning of 2022.

In the majority of cases since December, COVID-19 infection resulted in mild illness manageable without medical care. Bocking said despite a lack of provincial mandates, masking, vaccination, staying home when sick, avoiding or limiting social gatherings and handwashing still help prevent infection.

Health unit releasing case count by township

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) has issued an interim order compelling the health unit to offer COVID19 statistics by lower-tier townships.

Previously, it published COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, likely cases and deaths on a county-by-county basis.

“That information is basically useless to the consumer,” said Northumberland resident Randy Fallis, who issued a request under the Freedom of Information Act for the information in April 2020.

Fallis said lower-tier infection information paints a more accurate picture of COVID19 risk.

According to an IPC report, a month after submitting his request, the health unit denied it, claiming it was not obligated to create new records.

An IPC interim order signed Feb. 18, 2022, after nearly two years of mediation, directs the health unit to re-process Fallis’ request and issue township-specific reporting data.

While the decision is not final, the IPC urged the health unit to “proactively” publish the more detailed data. The IPC’s investigation found the health unit able to produce the records “without unreasonable interference with its operations.”

Bill Eekhof, of the HKPR health unit, said the IPC ruling coincided with an ongoing review of the unit’s COVID-19 reporting methods, which began in 2022.

“As such, the Health Unit decided to incorporate the release of case counts by lower-tier municipality into the updated COVID-19 Dashboard,” he said.

Healthy communities ‘rooted in local business success’

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Lisa Gervais

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April 14, 2022

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Into his second week as the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce executive director, Robert Gaudette said his number one priority is talking to members.

“I don’t want to make the mistake of coming in and thinking that I know anything,” Gaudette said. “I want to hear their experiences. I want to know what their unique needs are and what challenges or successes they’ve had.”

He added there is no point in establishing an approach that does not match members’ needs, so he will be gathering data and information to set a firm foundation moving forward. Gaudette said that will apply to advocacy, group buying power, and accessing programs and funding opportunities.

He started his career in the mid-1990s as an entrepreneur in the technology world.

It was a chance to “became immersed in business and how it worked and learn all aspects from operations to marketing.” He would go on to become a partner in a tech firm and “learned the rollercoaster ride of what it’s like to be a business owner.”

Fast forward 20 years and living in Toronto with his wife, the two navigated her cancer diagnosis. She is fine today but Gaudette realized he needed a more stable career with benefits. He got into marketing and non-profits and social enterprises as well as employment services. At one time he looked after a café and a 5,000 sq. ft. carpentry training centre. His most recent job was with the John Howard Society in skills development. He’s been on working groups and tables and is on the boards of the Workplace Development Board and Literacy Ontario Centre South.

He acknowledged the issues of housing and transportation in Haliburton County but believes one way to tackle those barriers is to upscale the local workforce.

“You really want to upscale your community and have a nice local economy where talent doesn’t have to leave to have a career,” he said.

In the short-term, it’s about coordinating with local training providers, making sure employers are aware of the existing programs that are available to them, including government initiatives. He mentioned that SIRCH, Fleming College and the John Howard Society are doing good things. He believes he has a lot to offer from the tech side to help businesses with digital and online spaces.

The chamber is also hoping to revive its awards this year. Gaudette said front-line workers got a lot of recognition during COVID but businesses owners – who had to pivot, take out loans, cover for staff shortages, and figure out changing public health policy – did not.

“I’m a real believer that healthy communities are rooted in local business success. It creates opportunities, employment opportunities, and supports the local economy. If we don’t take care of that, that facet of the community, I think it leads to a lot of social issues.”

In welcoming Gaudette, chamber president Mark Bell said, “I am delighted to have Robert take on this important role, his broad experience and local knowledge will help us accelerate the implementation of the new strategic plan developed by the board of directors. Also, I’d like to thank Amanda Conn, our outgoing executive director, for her contribution as she moves to a new opportunity”.

AH defers Bear Lake Road plowing to lawyers

By

Mike Baker

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April 14, 2022

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A long-standing disagreement between Algonquin Highlands and residents along Bear Lake Road is no closer to being resolved after the municipality again refused to sanction snow removal on the municipal laneway during the winter.

The issue was last discussed in October 2021, when Doug Middlebrook and Kathleen Hedley, representing the newly formed Bear Lake Winter Maintenance Association, informed council that as many as 40 families that live on the road year-round were having trouble accessing their properties after the municipality closed a nearby parking area last year.

The road, assumed by the township in the early 1970s, isn’t maintained during the winter. According to Adam Thorn, public works supervisor with Algonquin Highlands, Bear Lake Road, in its current condition, is not suitable for winter clearing due to its steep hills, tight turns and poor condition.

“It’s a safety concern. One of the inclines in particular… If a vehicle was to take off on you, you would miss the curve at the bottom of the hill. There’s no safe zone or runoff where you can slow a vehicle down,” Thorn said. “This is a big concern in the winter with icy conditions.”

The resident group has requested that council allow them to hire a contractor to clear the road during the winter. Thorn said this could cause some liability issues for the township, especially if there is an accident.

While talks between the two sides are ongoing, mayor Carol Moffatt informed council that she and CAO Angie Bird received a letter April 4 from the association stating they “fully intend to plow the road next winter regardless of what council decides”.

Council sought advice from their legal representative, and discussed the issue during a closed session April 7. Not completely closing the book on the matter, council elected to defer the issue pending further discussions with municipal lawyers.

“There is a part of me that wants to say ‘sure, go ahead’, but there are so many problems and so many things to overcome that I just don’t think we’re anywhere near ready to make a decision,” said deputy mayor Liz Danielsen.

‘We should be part of the solution’

Coun. Jennifer Dailloux said she’d like to see Algonquin Highlands be more proactive when it comes to helping to clean up eyesores from local lakes, voicing her support for a proposed Kawagama Lake Cottagers Association initiative to remove abandoned docks from area waterways.

The initiative, brought to council April 7, included a request that the municipality waive all landfill fees for any debris collected on clean-up days. A similar request made by the Halls and Hawk Lakes Property Owners Association in July 2018 was denied by the previous council.

While Dailloux liked the idea, Moffatt had her reservations.

“One of my concerns is being able to provide equitable access to everyone. Would this just be for lake associations, or are we going to waive fees for the disposal of docks for everybody?” Moffatt said.

“In theory it’s a good idea. But I remain skeptical over the application… I think people would take advantage of this.”

Staff were directed to see if there are any similar programs happening in other communities and, if so, find out how they’re working. A report with a recommendation will be coming back to council at a later date.

Schmale critical of ‘bloated’ 2022 budget

By

Mike Baker

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April 14, 2022

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MP Jamie Schmale has said the recently-released 2022 federal budget will do nothing to halt the ongoing inflation crisis in Ontario.

Unveiled April 7 by finance minister Chrystia Freeland, the document includes $452 billion in federal spending in the new fiscal year, including $85 billion in new investments across a wealth of programs focusing on housing, defence and dental care. The budget carries a projected deficit of $52.8 billion, down from $113 billion at the end of 2021/22.

Schmale believes the numbers are being propped up by higher-than-anticipated revenues in the oil and gas sector, fuelled by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and are not sustainable.

With inflation in Ontario hitting new 30-year highs earlier this year, up to 5.7 per cent in February, Schmale pointed the finger at the federal government saying some of their decisions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic were coming home to roost.

The decision to print approximately $400 billion in new currency between Feb. 2020 and Dec. 2021, he said, has not only helped to drive inflation, but has had negative impacts on the housing crisis.

Freeland announced more than $10 billion in new spending on a slew of housing initiatives designed to increase supply, including $4 billion over five years to launch a new Housing Accelerator Fund that aims to create 100,000 new housing units. The budget also proposes spending $1.5 billion over two years to expand the Rapid Housing Initiative, creating 6,000 new affordable housing units for the homeless and those most in need.

“There’s no doubt that the housing crisis is top of mind. I don’t think there’s an area in the country that isn’t affected by this,” Schmale said. “What the government needs to do now is not only work with the provinces and territories to build affordable housing, they also need to work at reducing bureaucratic logjams that are preventing housing from being built in the first place.”

An announced two-year ban on foreign investors purchasing property in Canada is more smoke and mirrors according to Schmale.

“These kind of purchases are a small piece of the overall pie… I caution people who think this might be the magic bullet [that corrects the market],” Schmale said.

He was apprehensive when discussing a new five-year $5.3 billion investment to improve dental care services across the country. The program will be limited to families with incomes of less than $90,000 a year, but Schmale said there hasn’t been enough details over the scope of work people will be eligible to receive, or how the government plans to fund it.

“Is this the cleaning of teeth, is it more than that? It’s not clear right now what this program means,” he said.

Schmale was pleased to see an increase in military spending, up $8 billion over the next five years, and commended the Liberals for setting aside $10.6 billion to support reconciliation efforts with Indigenous communities.

He feels more should have been done to address inflation, and says the longer this crisis stretches on the more it’s going to hurt Canadian households.

“As interest rates start to rise, and they are rising, you’re going to see more and more people hurt by this, because wages are not keeping up. People’s paychecks are getting smaller because their dollar isn’t going as far as it once did,” Schmale said. “This is a top of mind issue for every Canadian right now… I think that should have been more of a focus rather than putting more things on the credit card.”

Farmers association seeking large animal vet

By

Mike Baker

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April 14, 2022

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For the past couple of months, whenever local farmer Godfrey Tyler has had a medical problem with one of his livestock he’s had to take matters into his own hands.

Since March 1, there has been no active large animal veterinarian operating in Haliburton County. The only vet previously offering services, Dr. Aimee Coysh, was forced to suspend operations after failing to find someone willing to take the job on. Dr. Coysh, who owns Haliburton Veterinary Services, had been pulling double duty as a mixed animal practitioner at her clinic on Peninsula Road and on-road technician serving the Highlands’ homesteads for several years, but after recently starting a family found the burden to be too much.

Given the nature of the job, Tyler admitted it can sometimes be a lot of work for little pay. Large animal vets, typically, are on call 24/7 and often have to travel long distances to diagnose issues and carry out treatment.

Over the past year, Coysh developed a schedule where she was available 12 hours a day, six days a week in order to meet demand and serve the community. That worked well according to Tyler, but was only ever a short-term solution while she searched for a permanent replacement. Eventually, she was forced to pull the plug.

The position is funded, in part, by the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry through its veterinary assistance program. Introduced in the 1940s, the initiative reimburses eligible vets for their travel costs to and from farms up to a maximum of $40,000 per year, offers up to $2,000 for vets to participate in continuing education courses, and will pay 50 per cent of the costs up to a maximum of $3,000 annually if another vet has to be brought in to assist with, or take, a call.

“Everybody wants to soft step around the issue here, but this is about economics,” Tyler said. “It’s no longer feasible for a small business operator to do this on their own in Haliburton County. Aimee has been doing this for a long time, and she couldn’t find anyone interested or willing to take this on… The problem feeds right up to the policy level.”

Tyler said the provincial government should step up to cover an imbalance in pay between large animal vets and companion vets. Currently, he said large animal vets can expect to make in the range of $90,000 while receiving a signing bonus of between $20,000 and $30,000, while a companion vet’s starting salary is in the range of $140,000 and $150,000 and includes a signing bonus of up to $50,000.

This is an issue that stretches back to the mid 1980s, Tyler said, but Haliburton County has been fortunate to have vets in the area willing to do the work.

Shane Dykstra, president of the Haliburton County Farmers’ Association, said he’s had no luck trying to find someone to take on the role. Some clinics outside of Haliburton County are taking jobs on a case-bycase basis, but he said local farmers need someone they can depend upon.

“Obviously, we need someone for emergency situations, but it goes beyond that. I raise pigs, and I know when they’re born, I need to give them iron and whatnot. Now, I just make sure I have some of that stuff on hand. As far as others, like people that have horses, they need to be inoculated every year. This is creating a big hardship for those folk,” Dykstra said.

With nobody to call on right now, Dykstra said he’s heard of farmers being forced into selling livestock, trying to treat problems themselves, and even euthanizing animals. “We’re more than a full month into this now, and for some people it’s becoming quite desperate. We’re actively searching, and doing what we can, but there’s only so much we can do. We’re mostly small farms up here… The money just isn’t there,” Dykstra said.

‘Hundreds’ of employers looking for workers

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Lisa Gervais

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April 14, 2022

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Melissa Valentini of Up Right Roofing Inc. plans to attend a job fair in Haliburton April 20 in hopes of finding staff for the busy summer ahead and beyond.

In their fourth year of business, co-owner Valentini said a shortage of affordable housing has impacted their workforce and they are short staff.

She said they are not looking for high school students at the fair – to be held at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School (HHSS) – but skilled workers.

“The reason I am going is a shot in the dark that we might scoop up somebody that is employed here already,” she said.

Valentini added the housing crisis is not a new thing, but her business has never felt it so acutely before.

“For us this year, it our biggest obstacle. The housing crisis is stunting the growth of my business. I could run two crews easily, but we don’t have the manpower. It’s not that I don’t have the work. I don’t have the manpower.”

Valentini said other challenges include the high cost of living, not just for housing but gas.

“People are needing a lot more money. They need their income to be higher to live. So, we’re having to be looking at our offering. Maybe we need to be offering more. What we’re offering isn’t bringing people in. We posted for general labour, no experience at $20 an hour, and I didn’t get one inquiry.”

Pushing for resumes

Haliburton County students and members of the general public are being encouraged to polish their resumes in time for the Haliburton County Home Builders Association’s (HCHBA) job fair next Wednesday.

The event was last held in 2019, pre-COVID, but is returning to the school gym.

Aggie Tose, executive officer at the HCHBA, said while the event will be similar to ones in the past, “this time, we’re really pushing for resumes. Before, our drive was careers. What careers are in the County? Right now, we want to push that there are hundreds of employers looking for people and we really need the resumes. We really need people that want to work.”

Shortage of affordable housing barrier to hiring

Tose said local grocery and hardware stores, among others, want people hired and trained before the Victoria Day long weekend, which is May 20-23 this year, so time is of the essence.

Already, she said they have had a number of businesses register, from hardware stores to an optician, to a roofing business and carpentry.

“So, it’s a really wide range of people that are looking. I’m hoping we have a lot of options for both the students and the public to come and have a look, and meet people and put a face to a name.”

High schoolers not working

Many people have commented that they are surprised that high school students are not seeking work as they have in the past.

Tose said she spoke with some high schoolers last spring and they told her it was because they had been working parttime jobs but had qualified for government COVID payments so opted to stay home instead.

She said in her 30 years working with GJ Burtch Construction, last year was the first summer the business did not get any resumes for summer work.

Tose acknowledged for those not able to live at home with their parents, the Highlands’ shortage of affordable housing is a major barrier.

She hopes the new student residence planned for Haliburton School of Art and Design may help with future summer housing for employees.

“It will be huge no matter which way we get it, or however they use it because there will be a list of people waiting to get in. Like that baseball movie, Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come, They will. We are so desperate for housing up here.”

Back to the job fair and Tose said, “I’m really hoping it will give the employers a chance to meet people face-to-face and hopefully have a useful conversation. But I really want to push that we would like people to come expecting to talk to an employer.”

Hospitality worries about summer

Andy Oh of the Maple Ave Tap and Grill has advertised for numerous positions at his downtown Haliburton eatery.

Oh said he has had to go to five days a week, due to staff shortages, but would prefer to open six to seven days.

“Too hard. I don’t get what I expect,” Oh said of inquiries or resumes.

To register for the job fair as an employer, for free, call 705-457-6901, or email info@ hchba.ca