Haliburton students will not return to in-person classes until Jan. 25 and will instead continue teacher-led online learning.
The province announced today that elementary students in the southern group of health units, previously scheduled to return to in-person classes Jan. 11, will not do so until Jan 25. That includes the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit. This aligns with the return date for secondary school classes.
“I have and remain firmly committed to getting students back into class as soon as possible – there is nothing more important. However, the best medical and scientific experts have been clear: while schools have been safe places for kids, the sharp rise in community transmission puts that progress and Ontario families at risk,” said Minister of Education Stephen Lecce said in a press release. “During this time, students will remain engaged in live teacher-led online learning with access to enhanced mental health and technology supports.”
The province pointed to rising COVID rates amongst 12-13 year-olds. The positivity rate was approximately 5.44 per cent in late November and early December, compared to nearly 20 per cent in early January. COVID cases also continue to rise, with more than 3,500 new cases reported in the province today.
Online learning extended for elementary students
OPP putting dent in local drug trade
Minden councillor Jennifer Hughey, who used to live in Toronto, says she’s never seen anything like the drug bust she witnessed on Bobcaygeon Road the night of Nov. 12, 2020.
Hughey, who lives on the road, described the scene in a recent interview with The Highlander.
“There were three police vehicles at the end of a driveway with no lights on. One of the SUVs had a drug dog. The police marched two-by-two with the dog in the front, very covertly down the road. There was another car parked at the end of the Minden Bible Church road. They just converged on [an alleged drug house] and there was a lot of dog barking.”
Hughey said following the initial police action, which involved eight to 10 officers that she could see, police were on scene for hours and the house and adjacent garage lit up as it was searched.
“The feeling of us on the street, who have seen things going on for about two-and-a-half years, is maybe this time it’ll be done, but we don’t feel extremely confident,” Hughey said.
On that night, Haliburton Highlands and City of Kawartha Lakes drug cops executed a search warrant at the house and said they found cocaine and fentanyl. They also located cash and stolen items. They arrested and charged five Haliburton County residents as well as a suspect from Ajax and one from Toronto. The charges included possession and trafficking of drugs as well as possession of property obtained by crime. Those suspects have now begun their slow march through the court system.
The year 2020 was a busy one for drug busts in the County. Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 29, 78 people have been charged with 304 offences. By contrast, 2019 saw 23 people charged with 99 offences.
The first major bust of last year was in the wee hours of Jan. 30, 2020, when police used choppers and dogs to raid six locations in the County and GTA, seizing 400 grams of cocaine/crack cocaine, two grams of fentanyl, 13 guns and more than $12,000. They also located stolen property. Thirteen Haliburton County residents were charged at the time and three from the GTA.
Dubbed Project Imperial, the OPP said it was the culmination of a nine-month investigation into trafficking cocaine into the Haliburton area from the GTA. They said they also identified a significant property crime network directly linked to the accused.
One eye witness to a bust in Carnarvon said she was awakened before dawn to the sound of a helicopter. When she went outside to investigate, the woman said she saw a home along Highway 35, just north of the village, being swarmed by police.
The busts continued from then with major warrants executed across the County.
Haliburton Highlands OPP detachment commander, Liane Spong, said, “There has been an emergence of increased drug availability in Haliburton County over the recent years and to tackle that the solution required a team approach aimed at gathering intelligence and actioning projects across multijurisdictional boundaries.”
She said the community street crime units (CSCUs) that are tackling the drug trade combine the organized crime enforcement bureau, the community drug action team and the detachment-based street crime team.
“We’re actually putting a really big dent in it,” Spong said. “It’s boots-on-the-ground police work that it’s coming down to, digging out that information, spending countless hours making linkages down to the GTA in several regions.”
Based on local police statistics, the drugs of choice locally are cocaine (74 occurrences and more than 678 grams seized), followed by crack cocaine (26 instances and 704 grams). Cannabis ranks next.
The drugs are coming from the GTA with activity from Durham to the Kawartha Lakes area, Douro-Drummer, Bradford-West Gwillimbury, Essa Township and Trent Hills.
Spong said, “in the past, police agencies may not have had the same capability to work together, creating silos, however today’s advancements afford the ability to work with other police agencies across the province and beyond. And the OPP provides an integrated service delivery model whereby we work across multiple OPP detachments and OPP bureaus in developing coordinated approaches to investigations as crime knows no borders yet can have profound local impacts if not addressed in such a way. So, our local CSCU team taps into expertise across the province and works hard to pull it all together.
“Even our local members are involved in search warrants and seizures. Not just in Haliburton County, but other areas on joint projects and from there we have been executing search warrants, making huge seizures, and where the dent starts to happen, it’s hitting the distribution source much higher up in the chain.”
Police activity summary
| Item | 2020 | 2019 |
| Occurrences | 28 | 31 |
| Warrants | 11 | 18 |
| Warrant Services | 5 | 2 |
| Persons Charged | 78 | 23 |
| Charges | 304 | 99 |
Seized drug summary
| Drug type | 2020 Occurrences | 2020 Quantity | 2019 Occurrences | 2019 Quantity |
| Amphetamine/salts/derivates/isomers/analogues | 1 | |||
| Cannabis (Marihuana) | 24 | 19g; 6264 items | 6 | 3303g |
| Cannabis (plants) | 20 | 2409 items | 1 | 9 items |
| Cannabis resin (hash) | 1 | |||
| Cocaine | 74 | 678.17g | 34 | 147.35g |
| Crack cocaine | 26 | 704g | 1 | 0.50g |
| Fentanyl | 8 | 8 | 31.80g; 1 item | |
| Hydromorphone | 15 | 5 | ||
| Methamphetamine (Crystal Meth) | 4 | 7 | 512.30g | |
| Other | 14 | 4 | 42 items | |
| Oxycodone (Percodan) | 1 | 1 item | 4 | 4 items |
| Psilocybin (mushrooms) | 2 | 2 | ||
| Totals: | 191 | 1401.17g, 8674 items | 73 | 3994.95, 56 items |
Drugs and property crime
There is also a strong correlation between drugs and theft. Nearly every major bust finds not just drugs but stolen goods. People are stealing to sell items for drug money, or swapping stolen items for drugs.
Spong said, “They [police] do a lot of work where they are focusing on the local drug activity and related property crime and from there trying to link the distribution chain back to the source and it’s working really well.”
She added that in every investigation, they learn a little bit more about who is involved, the supply routes and distribution chains.
“Our team is incredibly busy having to connect all the dots across the County and the GTA.”
The detachment commander vows there will be more to come.
“Haliburton County is on the map. I think the messaging is loud and clear. If you’re going to engage in that type of illicit activity in the County it’s going to be found out and we’re going to take significant action to curb that.”
Spong emphasized the OPP are not alone in the war on drugs. She says justice and enforcement is just one pillar in the Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland Drug Strategy. The others are harm reduction, prevention and education and treatment.
“It is complex. It is deep-seated. We know it’s related to so many more things than just local people using. It has that deeper sense of being linked to overall social determinants of local health, there’s poverty, addictions, mental health. It goes across so many different facets and organizations. All these other areas play a role.”
Major OPP drug activity in 2020
• Nov. 12, 2020 – Bobcaygeon Road, Minden Hills. Five Haliburton County residents charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine and fentanyl.
• June 30, 2020 – motor vehicle stop. Three Haliburton County residents allegedly found to be in possession of cocaine and fentanyl. One was further charged with possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime.
• May 28, 2020 – Mountain Street, Dysart. Police seized more than eight ounces of cocaine and more than $7,000 in Canadian currency. Three County residents charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine. Two of them were the same people charged in a May 13 raid.
• May 13, 2020 – Mountain Street, Dysart. Four Haliburton County residents charged with trafficking cocaine.
• April 9, 2020 – Hutchings Road, Dysart. Police seized several ounces of cocaine, valued at $23,000, a small quantity of crystal meth, and $7,100 in Canadian currency. They also took four restricted firearms, and one prohibited firearm, a stolen side-by-side UTV valued at $5,500. Four County residents charged with various offences.
• Jan. 30, 2020 – Project Imperial – a nine-month investigation into trafficking cocaine into the Haliburton area from the GTA. Also identifying a significant property crime network directly linked to the accused. Police recovered stolen property taken from residential and commercial properties in the County. Major bust with helicopter and dogs. Seized 400 grams of cocaine/crack cocaine, two grams of fentanyl, 13 weapons and more than $12,000 in cash. Stolen property, including generators, power tools and solar panels. Thirteen County residents charged.
Author says it’s taken 13.8 billion years to write book
Former Algonquin Highlands resident, Carol Kilby, says it’s taken her almost a decade to write the book she’s titled Evolutionary Dancer. Out, In, and on the fringe of the Church. However, she jokes, “some might suggest, it’s taken 13.8 billion years to write.”
The reference is to the story of the Universe, which Kilby shared with visitors to the Gaia Centre for Eco-Spirituality and Sustainable Work when she and partner, Paul Irwin, lived there for 16 years. They had a labyrinth set up in the woods on the property with stations marking key moments in the universe story, from the Big Bang to present day.
Kilby and Irwin moved to Algonquin Highlands in 2004 after retiring from ministry in the United Church of Canada. In 2015, the United Nations Year of Sustainability, they opened the Gaia Centre.
The non-profit charitable organization hosted workshops, retreats, and events bringing teachers to the County.
Retiring again, the couple moved to Scarborough in May, 2020.
Kilby said the genesis of the book came from when she was invited to take part-time leadership at Kinmount United Church.
“I took the teachings from the new science and earth-based spirituality with me. The open-minded congregation and I entered into an experiment in evolutionary spirituality. We looked for daily wisdom relevant to the climate crisis, in not just one holy book, but two, the second being creation itself.
“We tackled unusual topics such as, “will we evolve for shifting times?” and “I spy with my evolutionary eye” and “becoming evolutionary elders for adventurous churches,” Kilby said.
She said the response to these gatherings was so rich, she’d go home and write them down.
“We were discovering how the old sacred story of the Hebrew-Christian Bible and the new sacred story of the Universe from modern science made for powerful dance partners. But more than being compatible, they were stronger and more relevant for our times together than apart. That was the discovery that became the book.”
She said readers can expect lots of stories.
“In the first section, stories of the teachers, artists, mystics, shamans, yogis, and others whose strange ideas challenged the beliefs, ideas, and assumptions that I’d learned in what has been basically a Christian culture, up to now.”
She added there are original stories from Grandmother Universe, her inner storyteller. Kilby said she emerged, much to her surprise, as she led folks through the woodland cosmic labyrinth at Gaia Centre telling the story of the Universe – its origins, evolutions, and becoming conscious in the human ones.
In the second section, the stories come from the Sunday conversations in Kinmount. She said there are discoveries about bible stories and “readers will see that the environmental crisis is driving not only the evolution of consciousness but the evolution of religion and the emergence of a new kind of human – one who lives in mutual relationship with Mother Earth.”
In the last section, she said readers will find samples of inter-spiritual evolutionary rituals they used.
“And many will be surprised they can be used whatever one’s path – be it out, in, or on the fringe of the church.”
Kilby anticipates the digital version will be available at Amazon.ca in late December and the print book sometime in January 2021.
It takes a community
In late 2015, a public health nurse told Dysart et al councillors there was a serious drug problem in the County.
She told them people who use drugs were shooting up in and around Head Lake Park and disposing of their needles in garbage bins, putting municipal staff and the general public at risk.
Shortly after her delegation, two drug needle boxes were installed in Haliburton village, so those using fentanyl, heroin and cocaine intravenously had a place to properly get rid of contaminated needles.
Our County also learned in 2016 that we had the second highest use of doctorprescribed opioids in the province.
In response, the local health unit and several other agencies joined forces as The Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland Drug Strategy, to develop a way to combat the misuse of opioids.
They operate on a four-pillar approach: harm reduction, prevention and education, treatment and justice and enforcement.
Has the drug strategy been successful?
The Ontario Addiction Treatment Centre on Highland Street in Haliburton has more than 50 patients being treated for opioid addictions with substitution drugs such as methadone and suboxone. There’s a needle exchange program and the drug needle boxes. Police can now administer naloxone for overdoses.
The new Youth Wellness Hub hopes to encourage young people to steer clear of drugs.
There are treatment options, although we are told there is never enough money or staff and we are hampered because we are rural and remote and people face long waiting lists for local and out-of-town treatment options.
From what we have found out, the local OPP are doing a good job of cracking down on an increasingly sophisticated drug trade but the courts are slow to prosecute with COVID-19 adding to already existing backlogs.
In other words, there have been some gains but there is more work to be done.
Also worrying is a more organized and sophisticated illicit drug ring that is operating between the GTA and Haliburton County involving not just drugs but property crime.
Some will say there has always been drug use in Haliburton County and we are no different than other counties our size across the province and country. That might be true but is simply not good enough. We should expect more of ourselves.
Drug usage is a complex and deep-seated problem. As a community, we have to move beyond judgement of users. We have to ask ourselves why this is happening, and seemingly, increasing. Rather than building a multi-milliondollar treatment centre, as one local family doctor suggests, perhaps we need a community where people can have decent paying jobs, affordable housing, and public transportation to help break cycles of isolation, poverty, despondency and addiction.
But, at the same time, how do we convince a well-off professional in the community who has used cocaine for years to stop?
It’s not a pretty issue. We wouldn’t want a drug problem to get in the way of promoting Haliburton County as both a tourist destination or a place to move during a global pandemic or as an alternative to the GTA.
However, if it takes a village to raise a child, it certainly takes a community to tackle a drug problem. The first step, as always, is admitting that we have a problem.
The Highlander has been looking into the drug problem in the County over the past year and today launches a Highlander Investigates series on the front page.
Ice control school wants green light
The owners of the car control school held at the Minden fairgrounds and community centre every winter have asked the municipal emergency control group to rethink its decision to not allow them to operate this year due to COVID-19 closures.
President and chief instructor, Ian Law, made a delegation to the Dec. 17 Minden council meeting.
He said while they understand the decision was based over safety concerns during the pandemic, “we believe the (control group) was not in full understanding of our concern for public safety and the safety protocols we have in place to minimize transmission.”
He added he was not sure they know exactly what the school does.
He said the bulk of their work is training drivers to be safer on winter roads. The course includes classroom sessions and skills building driving exercises to help students understand techniques in how to control or regain control of their vehicles in limited traction conditions.
He added the majority of their clients come from government agencies, including Health Canada and the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit.
“This winter, York Regional Police had requested dates to train some of their officers at our winter driving course,” he said.
Law said they take their COVID safety protocols seriously and have run their car control courses in the GTA with strict protocols in place. He said they have reduced the number of participants to ensure social distancing in the classroom. Everyone must wear masks at all times and sanitization stations are set up and utilized often. They have hired a dedicated COVID coordinator whose sole job is to ensure everyone complies with the protocols. He added that vehicle windows must remain open at all times and they have the option of running the exercises with the instructor outside of the vehicle.
In Minden, he said, they can run courses with no direct local contacts at all.
Mayor Brent Devolin, who sits on the emergency control group with DeputyMayor Lisa Schell and some senior staff, said he knows what the school does and its COVID protocols.
However, he said with construction at the community centre and now COVID, no one has been able to use the community centre. He added the emergency control group is keeping an eye on lockdowns continuing in parts of the province, which is why they have stuck to their decision.
“But that doesn’t mean the dialogue can’t continue, that elements of this can’t be further discussed. And as circumstances change in the province, and with respect to our municipal facility, this doesn’t mean that all is lost for a season,” he said.
Devolin added he would love circumstances to change so they can open the facility in January or February. He said they also can’t pick and choose who gets to use facilities. “It’s like picking your favourite child. We can’t make decisions on one without respect for the others.
“I think that the decision that we’ve made for the moment holds.”
Teachers’ unions concerned about January shutdown
By Kirk Winter
Premier Doug Ford’s announcement of temporary closures of all publicly-funded schools in Ontario beginning January 4, 2021 has raised the ire of Ontario’s three largest teacher federations.
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA), the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) bemoaned what they considered to be a lack of consultation regarding the closings, a poorly thought-out return of elementary students to in-person learning while the province is still locked down and a lack of detail and inherent inequalities regarding virtual learning.
On December 21, Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce temporarily closed schools beginning January 4, 2021 with all students at all grades transitioning to virtual learning. Elementary students are scheduled to return to in-person learning on January 11, while secondary students will not return to brick-and-mortar schools until January 25.
In an open letter to parents Jan. 3, Lecce said schools are safe and COVID cases in them are minimal. “We will continue and enhance testing in schools … we will do whatever it takes to ensure our kids can continue to learn.” The province hopes that this closure will help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 which is currently spiralling ever higher, particularly in southern Ontario.
Liz Stuart, president of OECTA, which represents Catholic elementary teachers, believes the decisions to close schools “is long overdue.”
However, Stuart wonders where the consultation was between the province and the education workers in the lead-up to this decision being made.
“The province should have been engaging the education community in this decision,” Stuart said, “and there has instead been no prior consultation and few details of what this closure is going to look like.”
Sam Hammond, president of ETFO, which represents all public elementary teachers in Haliburton, was baffled by the provincial decision to bring elementary school students back to school on January 11, while secondary students are being asked to stay home until January 25.
“The plan to reopen elementary schools in the midst of a province-wide lockdown doesn’t make sense. These new provincial restrictions will not be effective unless every possible action is taken to prevent COVID19 transmission in elementary schools when they reopen. It’s time to do what is urgently needed, not what is politically convenient,” Hammond said.
Hammond agrees with Stuart that the lack of planning by the province for this closure is unfortunate.
“Had this government made its decision earlier, boards, educators, families and students could have been better prepared for the transition back to virtual learning beginning January,” Hammond said.
Harvey Bischoff, President of OSSTF, which represents all public high school teachers in Haliburton, added his voice to the other leaders who criticized the lack of consultation.
“Once again, despite this announcement’s significant impact on Ontario’s publicly funded school system, there was no prior consultation with organizations representing frontline educators,” Bischoff said. “This will lead to unnecessary flaws in implementation that could have been addressed in advance, and could have led to better decisions made in the best interests of Ontario students.”
Bischoff also reminded Ontarians of the inherent inequalities Hammond noted regarding virtual education. “Sadly, the government has not adequately mitigated the fact that many students and families do not have access to the technology or reliable internet connections that would allow access to online learning. This demonstrates a clear failure on the part of the Ford government to address the inequities created by relying solely upon online learning solutions for students.
Housing to undergo major changes
By Kirk Winter
Big changes are coming to the operation and governance of the Kawartha Lakes-Haliburton Housing Corporation (KLH).
The nine-member board, including Haliburton County CAO Mike Rutter, treasurer Elaine Taylor and vice-chair Coun. Brent Devolin, approved the HCS Housing Solutions report, six months in the making.
The consultants’ report recommends an additional senior management position to lighten the workload of CEO Hope Lee, the addition of tenant representatives to the governing council and the ability for the housing corporation to carry short-term debt that would allow it to continue to build more geared-to-income housing across its service region.
“KLH is a fully evolved mature organization with a clear strategic vision, an engaged board, a reputation as a credible and progressive partner, a knowledgeable staff and is financially viable in the long-term,” said lead HCS consultant Judy Lightbound in the report.
With that in mind, she was not looking for “wholesale changes” but rather improvements that would better prepare KLH for growth in the future.
Her first recommendation was to split the CEO position, currently held by Lee, into two jobs with the second position being a housing service manager. Lightbound said by bringing in a second individual the “workload will be better aligned moving forward.”
Lightbound also recommended that the governing board managing KLH become more diverse by including a representative of tenants in Kawartha Lakes and one from Haliburton.
Her final recommendation suggested that KLH look at a debt management strategy to understand what its debt capacity might be to fund projects in the future.
Lee said treasurers for Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County are working together to produce a report by the second quarter of 2021 that will contemplate debt limits for KLH and what that might look like.
Kawartha Lakes CAO Ron Taylor backed Lightbound’s recommendations saying, “Any debt taken on by KLH would be good debt because it will generate income that will later pay for the debt. We run a really good operation (KLH) and we need it to expand and grow.”
KLH chair Pat Dunn said there was much discussion about hiring the additional manager. “But the feeling of all nine board members was it’s time. The system currently only works because of Hope Lee and the entire board supported the hiring of the new person.
Deck pedicure leads to pandemic opportunity
Long-time Halls Lake cottager, Yvonne Kreuzwiesner, has made the bold decision to not only move full-time to the County but start a new business during COVID-19.
Kreuzwiesner recently launched Skin Tech Face and Body Care.
“I have been a cottager on Halls Lake since 1967. I love the Haliburton Highlands and I am so proud and happy to be living, and to have started the business, here in the Highlands,” she said.
Kreuzwiesner said she believes that the pandemic has changed people’s lives for the better.
“If anyone had told me in February, 2020 that I would be living and working in the Haliburton Highlands in May, I would say they were kidding me. However, as fate would have it, here I am living in a truly beautiful place and now running a new business.”
Kreuzwiesner had been teaching medical esthetics at a college in Mississauga until March, 2020 and then was laid off due to COVID. Feeling upset and lost and not comfortable in her condo in Toronto, she decided to come north to her cottage. Once there, she decided to paint and fix the place up to pass the time.
Then one day a neighbour asked her if she could give her a pedicure on her deck. From there, she decided to give the community Mobile Medical and Traditional Esthetic services. She said she had a steady summer and met some great people.
“I wanted to offer more than just mobile services, so through the help of Royal LePage in Haliburton, I met Amy who was setting up Blush Hair Design in the Village Barn in Haliburton. On Sept. 28, 2020 we officially opened our businesses.”
Skin Tech is located in Blush Hair Design at 195 Highland St.
“It’s so great to offer esthetics and medical esthetics with the convenience of hair design together in one location,” Kreuzwiesner said. She said she believes it’s the only esthetic, hair combination shop in the County. They offer mobile services as well.
“I truly feel blessed to be part of such a warm, friendly and kind community.”
Skin Tech can be contacted at 705-489-1598; text 416-806-9682; skintechfaceandbodycare.com; email ykreuz@hotmail.com.
Artists given chance for a six-minute escape
If you are an artist with a message that fits the theme of transformation, the Arts Council Haliburton Highlands (ACHH) wants to hear from you.
The ACHH is looking for proposals for an opportunity to have the artists’ six-minute video become a part of the second episode of “The 6-Minute Escape: Transformations” premiering in mid-April.
ACHH chair, Kate Butler, said they’re pleased to build on the success of the first episode by opening the request for submissions to all artistic genres. She said anyone with a message to convey on the theme of transformations is welcome to apply.
The first episode premiered Oct. 3. It featured well-known Canadian authors, alongside local authors, recounting stories related to the theme of ‘Beyond the Borders of Home.’ The stories were tales of travel near and far. The episode is available to watch at youtu.be/xridaoddVdY.
Butler added The Arts Council hopes that the second episode will feature artists from a broad spectrum of genres including, but not limited to, visual art, dance, music, theatre, and literary. The committee is recruiting a couple of well-known Canadian artists, who have a connection to the Haliburton Highlands, to show their work alongside the local artists and artisans.
To learn more about the submission process and requirements visit haliburton. librariesshare.com/6minuteescape/ . Deadline for submissions is Feb. 1, 2021 with successful candidates being notified by Feb. 15 and the final video due on March 15, 2021.
“The second episode of “The 6-Minute Escape: Transformations” promises to be a multi-media extravaganza that comes right to your living room.” Butler said.
Members of the public wishing to be notified of information about this project are invited to sign up for the newsletter at haliburtonarts.on.ca/ . The 6-Minute Escape is a fundraiser for the ACHH. To donate, go to gofundme. com/f/6-minute-escape. Butler said donations help the ACHH continue their good work in promoting and nurturing the arts and artists of Haliburton County.
The Interview: MP Jamie Schmale
By Lisa Gervais
Q: How has COVID drastically changed your work life this year?
A: COVID-19 certainly impacted the way I would have normally interacted with the riding. In the early days, as you might recall, everything was shut down. We were still answering phone calls but there were no meetings or events. Then, little by little, we all started to adapt. Zoom became a thing and meetings started picking up, virtual events were being held, selfdistancing was the norm and by September it was busy as usual. With local federal government resources being partially shut down in the first half of the pandemic, my office in Lindsay was very busy helping constituents with issues, particularly around CEWS and CERB.
Q: What do you think COVID has revealed about your riding … share one positive thing and one negative thing.
A: Without a doubt, the resilience, indominable community spirit and resolve of the people of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock was certainly the bright spot of the year. Front-line workers in the service industry, medical professionals, teachers, parents, charities, not for profits, service groups, everyone really stepped up and helped those suffering during the pandemic. In terms of the negative piece, of course we know that the pandemic has shifted many of us more quickly to adapting to online schooling and meetings, which has only served to exasperate an already present issue of the need for reliable, affordable, highspeed internet in many parts of the riding. Internationally, this pandemic has shown us how countries around the world are treating their elderly in long-term care. Countries such as Spain, Italy, and even right across our own country. We all need to do better.
Q: What have you been able to accomplish, in your portfolio, and on behalf of constituents. What have you been unable to do?
A: At the beginning of the pandemic, I was still the Shadow Minister for CrownIndigenous Relations. In that role I was particularly concerned with the impact of COVID on remote Indigenous communities and spent some time with my Parliamentary colleagues on both sides of the House working on solutions. As the pandemic progressed, I really pushed hard for a plan for the recovery of those Indigenous communities and businesses hit hard by COVID-19. Economic Reconciliation was and is still a high priority for me. In September, I was appointed to the role as Shadow Minister for Families, Children and Social Development. Recently, I have been working hard to find a solution for childcare and to help charities whose fundraising efforts have been severely tested by the pandemic. Right here in the riding, from the very start, my staff and I have made ourselves available via all sorts of different mediums to ensure all of the constituents and business owners who needed help navigating the rapidly evolving situation could have access to the resources they needed. In terms of what I have not been able to do, that is hold vital services, like our seniors seminars that helped get valuable information to our seniors across the riding. My Capital Experience Program is also something that due to the pandemic I wasn’t able to host this year. I also missed out on many of the community events, as we all did. I hope as we move forward, and move past the pandemic, that I will be able to bring back these very informative events, and be back out into the community.
Q: What are you most proud of in the past year. What do you wish you could take back/do differently?
A: This question ties very easily into the same answer from the last question, of course the work I do on behalf of residents in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock would be what I continue to be most proud of. I am so proud of raising the profile of the elected Chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en ensuring that they had a voice at the table with the government. I would add that I am also proud of the new outreach methods and expanding the way we engage people differently. Such as with my podcast, The Blueprint, which highlights the work of my colleagues in Ottawa and across Canada. Lastly, my Conservative colleagues and I also worked with the chambers of commerce and businesses across our riding to hear their needs and feedback on the government’s pandemic response. This allowed us to fight for and secure changes to the wage subsidy program (including an increase from 10 to 75 per cent) to help more Canadians keep their jobs during this pandemic.
Q: What do you think 2021 has in store for HKLB?
A: I have faith that the people of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock can weather any storm. I expect that we will get through 2021 and put the pandemic behind us. It is my earnest hope that the lessons we have learned from 2020 will be put to good use in Canada and will make us a stronger, more unified, and resilient country.
The Interview with MPP Laurie Scott will be in our Jan. 7 edition