Ford announces $680M in broadband funding

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November 5, 2020

Premier Doug Ford announced $680 million for broadband and cellular connectivity across the province when he visited Minden Nov. 4. But it is not clear how many of those dollars will come locally.

Ford, joined by other officials including MPP Laurie Scott and Minden Hills Mayor Brent Devolin, announced the new funding at the Minden library. He said it’s part of the 2020 budget being introduced Nov. 5 and will go towards “shovel-ready projects” to connect underserved communities.

The new financing is not tied to any specific projects. But Devolin said he is hopeful the dollars could further the Eastern Ontario Regional Network’s proposed $1.2- $1.6 billion gig project, which could bring gigabyte-per-second internet speeds across the region but still needs funding.

“We’ve fully developed a business plan and are ready to go when the commitment from provincial and federal governments make this possible,” Devolin said. “I’m hopeful that this announcement by Premier Ford and his cabinet ministers today will be a piece of a part of a solution moving forward.”

The new funding will be rolled out over six years and is in addition to the $315 million the province has already allotted for its broadband and cellular action plan.

The new funding will also double the existing pool for the Improving Connectivity in Ontario (ICON) program to $300 million. The County is already applying for an ICON grant to bring more fibre connectivity to the area with private partners.

Ford said reliable broadband is critical for everyday life and noted the challenges of 1.4 million people in the province who lack broadband or cellular access. He referred to Algonquin Highlands resident Elaine Cole, who struggles to get consistent connectivity to contact her family. The Highlander wrote about Cole’s plight earlier this year.

The premier added praise for partners like EORN, citing the $213 million project underway to improve cellular service in eastern Ontario, which the province is investing $71 million in.

The funding “will help communities like Minden and Kawartha Lakes get access to their internet and cell service we all rely on,” Ford said. “We will continue to grow and expand our investments with our telecom and municipal partners to make every dollar count. Partners like (EORN), that have incredible track records.”

Scott said the day was a “watershed moment” for broadband and said they hope the federal government will release its universal broadband fund, aimed at supporting broadband projects across the country.

“Ontario has stepped up,” Scott said. “Ontario isn’t waiting any longer. That is why we are taking action today. There is no more important infrastructure project than broadband.”

“COVID-19 has highlighted the necessity for access to reliable, high-speed internet services for all Ontarians,” Devolin said. “More needs to be done. EORN looks forward to continuing to work with the Government of Ontario to help our community.”

What is Frost Centre’s future?

By

Lisa Gervais

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November 5, 2020

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For years now, I have regularly driven Highway 35 N on my way to Dorset, Algonquin Provincial Park or Huntsville. I have also spent a great deal of time on the trails in and around the Frost Centre.

Every single time I drive by, or visit, I lament the emptiness of the centre and grounds and comment on its continuing deterioration. I can’t count the number of times I’ve said ‘if only someone would buy that and fix it up.’

For the first time in my years living in Haliburton County that may now be a possibility as the Province of Ontario recently put the property up for sale.

News broke late last week that a for sale sign had finally been installed outside the centre. Infrastructure Ontario, which is the Crown agency responsible for managing provincially-owned infrastructure and real estate, put it up for sale. CBRE Limited Real Estate Brokerage has it posted and the listing can also be found at Realtor.ca

For a lot of people, the sale came as no surprise. For some, it tug at a bandage that has been placed over a 16-year-old wound. Many locals worked at the Frost Centre for years until it was abruptly closed by the Liberals in 2004.

That closure still leaves a bitter taste in many local mouths. Some see the sale as the final blow to Leslie M. Frost’s declaration in 1944 that the school “may be the forerunner of other such establishments in Ontario.”

The closing was difficult. There were protests at the MNR building in Minden and at Queen’s Park. Former MPP Chris Hodgson is credited with doing a lot of heavy lifting to keep it open. But despite the best efforts of him, the Friends of the Frost Centre (which submitted an unsuccessful plan to take it over) and the Frost Centre Institute, which wound up in 2010, it was shuttered.

Algonquin Highlands Mayor Carol Moffatt said the province put the sale into effect as far back as 2012, sending a provincial surplus property notification to the County and AH, and in 2013 the province applied to sever the land now up for sale.

In its day, the Frost Centre was a fixture in the community. It linked the community to eco-education long before we worried about things such as Climate Change. Its history is deeply entrenched in the story of Dorset, Algonquin Highlands and Haliburton County.

I often run into people who worked there and have heard about the amazing work that was done. The Highlander has to agree with both Barrie Martin, a former Frost Centre employee and now tourism expert, as well as Moffatt. Martin envisions the Frost Centre continuing as a place of education about natural resources, ecology and climate change. Moffatt wants to ensure that the history is somehow honoured in whatever it becomes.

The buyer will have to be visionary. He, she or them will have to honour the trail system that runs through the land, and the launch to St. Nora’s Island. They will have to embrace the Haliburton Highlands Water Trails office and its hub of activity. They will have to love the land as much as we all do.

We will all be watching anxiously to see how this historic piece of Haliburton County can live on long into the future.

New director to spearhead arena reopening

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Lisa Gervais

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November 5, 2020

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Minden Hills has hired a new director of community services who’ll spearhead the reopening of the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena and Community Centre.

Mayor Brent Devolin told the Oct. 29 council meeting, and members of the public tuning in on YouTube, that Craig Belfry has joined the corporation effective Nov. 2.

Devolin, during the Mayor’s Report on CanoeFM last week, also updated progress on the $12.7 million arena and community centre project.

He said it recently passed two major thresholds, that of occupancy and substantial completion. That means builders MBC have turned the building over to township staff.

“So, now it’s the beginning of staff taking over the building and operationalizing it,” he said. The mayor said in normal times this is challenging so with COVID-19 even more so. He said hiring Belfry is now key.

“It’s been a long time, the better part of the year almost since we had a director of community services, and certainly while this facility is being built that hasn’t been a big deal.” However, with the need to make the arena and community centre operational, Devolin said it now is.

Belfry was recently manager of recreation and culture at the Corporation of the Township of Scugog. He has been hired to replace Mark Coleman who left in December 2019.

“Craig comes to us with 20 years of experience in the Brock, Springwater and Scugog municipalities, so central Ontario, somewhat similar circumstances to our own, and so it’s really good to know that somebody that comes with a full toolbox is ready to take over a newly-minted facility to begin to operationalize it as we go forward,” Devolin said.

The mayor said he knows the public wants to know how soon the facility can open.

“Obviously, that’s the first and primary task of Craig coming on board. I would expect, within a month or so of him being in his position, to roll out for the public when it will open.”

He said with COVID, it is going to be a staged approach.

“There are areas within the new complex that have different risk factors when it comes to COVID,” Devolin said. “And I’m hoping if all goes well that before the end of the year that we’ll be back doing some of the more normal things that we do in that facility that’s been offline for about a year and a half now. So, I think we’re all looking for a little joy to do some of those things that we used to do and maybe some new ones.”

Left to Tell: Part 17 – Continue to fight for freedoms won

By

Lisa Gervais

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November 5, 2020

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By the silver anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Canadians saw the War Measures Act implemented by Pierre Trudeau in an attempt to capture a Quebec terrorist who had kidnapped a British diplomat and a Quebec cabinet minister.

By 1975, it was necessary to adopt wage and price controls to curb inflation.

Twenty-five years more brought many more changes. We had watched a man walk on the moon and describe its beauty. We thrilled to such movies as The Godfather and Airport in 1970. Also, that year, a strong and strange aroma was blowing into Canada from a dairy farm in New York State. It was caused by a four-day gathering of 400,000 at a rock and roll concert. As often happened, disapproval of government is expressed through song and music.

In these articles, I have tried to express the feelings of the horror of war – especially a war which killed over 50 million of the world’s people and left countless others wounded in body and mind.

Canada now faces a new and different war – a moral war of hate, greed, discrimination, exploitation and other human life issues. They are many and complex without black and white answers. Like Hitler’s philosophy, these issues breed and thrive on indifference.

As Canadian citizens, we are called upon to understand and to meet the challenge like we did when the war was started. We must make reasonable decisions on each ethical issue and then defend our chosen position.

“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” – Albert Einstein.

This is the reason when I disagree with something government is doing, I sit down and demand answers. I don’t complain, and I hope you do the same. I may have to write five or six letters. Stamps are not required but eventually they send a letter, because if not, a little old lady in Minden is going to hound the hell out of them until someone is accountable. And I never let go. Complaining to friends won’t get you anywhere.

Recently, we are faced with diseases unknown in the past. Decreasing Medicare funds have to be allocated fairly. There is the ethical dilemma of caring for the elderly with the numbers in this group increasing, and the family caregivers decreasing. Abuse of the elderly happens often, and the abuser is often a family member. Further, there is the issue around medical assistance in dying and moral challenges of controlling reproduction, and the continual debate on abortion. These are only a few of the issues today.

Those who gave their lives in the Second World War provided the opportunity for all Canadians to work together for a better country.

This is the last column in this series.

For the purposes of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the names of those who died from Haliburton County are listed below: Jack Anderson, Lyle Boice, Leslie Burk, Arthur Carhochan, Elmer Covert, Vern Cowan, Ross Davidson, Richard Dawson, Burt Fielding, Jordan Gainer, Mervin Harrison, Lyle Horsley, Elgie Henderson, Irwin Hout, Russel LaRue, Max McCracken, James Nicholls, Donald Pasquino, James Redner, George Swanton, Walter Winn, James Wright.

Opportunity knocks as Frost Centre on market

By

Lisa Gervais

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November 5, 2020

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News the Frost Centre is again up for sale didn’t come as a surprise to a former employee or the mayor of the township in which it resides.

However, both Barrie Martin and Carol Moffatt have a keen interest in what might eventually happen at the former Leslie M. Frost Natural Resource Centre in Dorset.

Martin worked there for 24 years and Moffatt, before she became mayor, fought hard to keep the centre open. Since then, as mayor of Algonquin Highlands, she’s watched the Frost Centre story unfold.

A ‘for sale’ sign went up Oct. 29. Infrastructure Ontario, the Crown agency that manages provincially-owned infrastructure and real estate, has enlisted CBRE Limited Real Estate Brokerage, which is offering the 40.63 acres of waterfront land, with 21 buildings, full kitchen, dining hall and recreation centre, for $1.1 million.

Martin told The Highlander the centre’s closing in 2004 was a tragedy and “hopefully it’ll be acquired to serve the broader good, but who knowns who’ll buy it and when they’ll buy it.”

Since the listing went up last week, Martin said it’s created a social media buzz. He said he’s even been approached by a couple of people about taking a leadership role in purchasing and developing the property but he is not interested at this point. However, he said he was happy to lend support.

Martin was on the Friends of the Frost Centre that had some ambitious plans, such as a leadership camp. He added that with the trails, some heritage designations and easements, he hopes whoever buys it sees that as an opportunity rather than a limiting factor.

Asked about his vision for the property in 2020, Martin said it would involve a lot of partners coming together, both local and other.

“And they would build a facility that would serve to educate people about natural resources and ecology and climate change – all of those things we’re all worried about.”

He added, “really people coming together in this current climate and dreaming and thinking about what could be and then making it happen with some good leadership and investment.”

Moffatt said for her it’s about honouring the history.

“We need to preserve this piece of our local story. It’s my hope that the heritage of the Frost Centre and its importance in the community is woven into whatever becomes of the property,” she told The Highlander.

She said the township wasn’t surprised by the sale, but it “ushers in the final blow to what Leslie M. Frost himself said about the new school in 1944, ‘this school may well be the forerunner of other such establishments in Ontario’.”

Moffatt said the township toured the facility in August 2013 when the province was making it surplus. She said there had always been hopes about Algonquin Highlands centralizing the Stanhope and Dorset operations into one place and perhaps developing an accommodation-based recreational program to go with the trails system. “There were lots of ideas.”

However, she said the condition of the facility was “disheartening.” The township realized the size of the property and the amount of work needed made it too expensive. However, they secured their trails system and had the area where the trails office is severed with a long-term lease.

Moffatt said the Frost Centre was a fixture of the community and an incredible link to community, education and natural resources.

“Its history is deeply entrenched in our local heritage,” she said, adding, “a lot of amazing people worked there and a lot of amazing work was done there. Many who worked there still have very strong feelings about their time there and how the closure was handled.”

Moffatt said she’s been in the centre since it closed and, “each time we wandered the barren halls and stood in the empty classrooms, there was a tangible sadness; you could feel the memories.”

Minister of Infrastructure and local MPP Laurie Scott said, “its time has come.” She added she is optimistic that there is now an opportunity for the centre to be something different while respecting its heritage. “There’s lots of good news that could come from it. Let’s get moving forward with an opportunity for economic development.

Board members pan Dysart for plan to charge rent for assessment centre location

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Lisa Gervais

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November 3, 2020

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LG-assessment centre 1_Easy-Resize.com — Staff in the County's new COVID-19 assessment centre.

By Lisa Gervais

A Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) board member said it is “absolutely ridiculous” Dysart et al is asking for rent for the parking lot where the COVID-19 assessment centre trailer is stationed.

However, Mayor Andrea Roberts said the municipality is simply trying to have a formal agreement in place and to recover costs during the pandemic.

The issue was raised at the Oct. 29 HHHS board meeting, where they discussed the trailer located outside the family medical centre in Haliburton.

CAO Carolyn Plummer said one of the upcoming expenses is rent and Hydro to the township.

“That’s going to be adding to our ongoing operating costs at a time when we’re really not even certain whether we’re going to be able to get sufficient funding from the province to cover those (costs)…” Plummer said.

Board member Irene Odell said it was disappointing.

“I’m kind of surprised because this is a service to our community,” she said.

Board member David O’Brien agreed. He said he could understand paying Hydro costs, but not rent.

“We are fighting COVID as a community and we’re doing it as a whole community and we’re doing it together as a community and, really, to think you should have to charge us to do this service for our community, absolutely ridiculous in my mind,” he said.

Odell asked where people would have to go if HHHS had to close the assessment centre if it became unaffordable in Haliburton. Plummer said Lindsay, Peterborough, Bracebridge or Bancroft.

“It’s quite a travel for folks, especially coming into the winter months,” she said.

She added they had also previously discussed a possible relocation but preferred the current site since it is so close to the Haliburton Hospital and the medical centre.

Plummer said they had been in talks with Roberts and, “she’s certainly aware of the circumstances we’re facing right now.”

Some board members said they did not think the parking lot was very full during COVID due to virtual appointments and did not think Dysart was losing revenue.

Roberts told The Highlander Oct. 30 that she did not attend the HHHS board meeting so she’s not sure what was discussed.

However, “I can say we are working with them and the other groups involved with the assessment centre to have a lease agreement, and are hoping to have it finalized soon. To date it has been in the parking lot with no agreement. We need to have things clear and fair for Dysart. It has always been our intention to be a good partner as we are all trying to deal with Covid-19.”

Police arrest Minden man suspected in taser-armed robberies

By

Lisa Gervais

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November 2, 2020

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JQOppbriefsweb.jpg.e4021104 — File photo.

Orillia OPP has charged a 46-year-old Minden man after a series of armed robberies involving a taser.

In a press release, OPP said a suspect approached a person using an ATM inside a Coboconk bank Oct. 25, brandishing a taser and demanding cash. The victim surrendered $300 and the suspect fled on foot. Nobody was injured.

In a similar incident, Oct. 26 at a drive-thru ATM in Orillia, an unknown suspect brandished a taser and demanded cash. The victim drove away, leaving their card in the ATM, but the suspect was unable to withdraw cash. Police attended and attempted a search but were unable to find a suspect at the time.

Police also believe the suspect was also responsible for two attempted armed robberies at convenience stores in Gravenhurst Oct. 26. In both cases, a suspected entered a convenience store with what appeared to be a firearm and demanded cash, but was unable to obtain any.

On Oct. 30, OPP arrested a suspect in the Township of Ramara.

Police charged the suspect from Minden with robbery with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and unauthorized possession of a weapon.

The accused is scheduled to appear Dec. 1 at the Ontario Court of Justice in Orillia.

OPP said the investigation is ongoing and more information will be released when it is available.

“The OPP would like to thank the concerned members of the public that assisted in the identification of the suspect which led to his arrest,” police said in a press release.

SIRCH opening bistro and marketplace

By

Lisa Gervais

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November 2, 2020

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JQ - SIRCH Bistro - 1-web — SIRCH Community services helps equip employees with soft skills, via training sessions, and also helps workers gain culinary experience in their open-to-the-public bistro. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

SIRCH Community Services is creating a new bistro and marketplace with the help of a three-year, approximately $800,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

The organization is shifting its main office to a new building at 49 Maple Ave., with the bistro portion soft-launching Nov. 4. At more than 3,900 square feet, it is more than twice the space of its previous building. The organization plans to use the building as a training centre with a commercial kitchen, that will allow it to expand its programming.

SIRCH executive director Gena Robertson said the move is a way to boost its Ready for Retail and Cook It Up programs, which train people for retail and kitchen jobs.

“Be able to support graduates better after they left us and got employed,” Robertson said. “Having this space provides so many opportunities.”

The new location, which also has a separate office space on the upper floor, will serve breakfast and lunch five days a week. SIRCH also plans to develop a marketplace featuring local artists and entrepreneurs. It will also be the new home for its free-meal production, which SIRCH increased to 500-per-week at the start of the pandemic but scaled back due to affordability.

Robertson said they hope to help fund those free meals through their annual Gifts from the Heart fundraising campaign, which runs from Oct. 13 to Dec. 31.

“We know the need is there for prepared meals,” Robertson said. “Sometimes if people are depressed or ill or frail or homeless, they need prepared meals. And we want to be able to do that for the County.”

Robertson added it is not their intention to compete with local eateries.

Marketplace co-ordinator Wendy Ladurantaye said SIRCH will strictly follow health protocols to ensure safety at the new facility. She said they are still developing the marketplace but hope to give local artists and craftspeople space to rent. It will also act as a training opportunity for its Ready for Retail students.

“Our Ready for Retail people will be able to help with merchandising, to learn about displays and the customer service end of things,” Ladurantaye said.

Food Initiatives Coordinator Jay McIvor said the larger space will make a significant difference for the organization.

“It’s certainly going to increase exponentially everything we do,” McIvor said.

The three-year Grow Grant requires SIRCH to successfully get people employed, Robertson said. SIRCH made the application in October 2019, with the sudden pandemic presenting an unexpected layer of challenge.

“We have to do the best we can with the circumstances we’re dealt,” Robertson said. “There’s lots of opportunities. I hope that other things will spin out of this as well, that will contribute to the community health.”

More need to Share the Warmth this winter

By

Lisa Gervais

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November 1, 2020

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JQ - Share the Warmth - 1-web — SIRCH increasing connectivity co-ordinator Rebecca Anderson holds some of the early donations for the Share the Warmth campaign, starting Nov. 1. Photo by Joseph Quilgley.

Winter is coming and SIRCH Community Services is readying itself to meet greater demand for its Share the Warmth campaign to provide warm clothing for families in need.

The fifth annual campaign provides winter clothing, including coats, hats, gloves, boots, socks and more for free to residents. The donation drive runs Nov. 1 to Nov. 12, with pick-up day Nov. 14. SIRCH increasing connectivity co-ordinator Rebecca Anderson said the campaign remains extremely important.

They handed out 337 coats last year and with the pandemic, Anderson said they expect that demand to increase.

“It’s important because winter outerwear is extremely expensive and it’s also a basic need with rural living,” Anderson said. “COVID not only exacerbates the existing vulnerabilities that were in our community last year, but it also creates new vulnerabilities.”

In a press release, SIRCH asked that donations be clean with no rips, tears, stains or smells. Due to COVID-19 protocols, all donations must be cleaned by the donor beforehand. Drop off locations include Haliburton Foodland, Todd’s Independent, Algonquin Outfitters, Dollo’s Foodland, Easton’s Valu-Mart and St. Paul’s Anglican Church. In previous years, Anderson said they have been able to give everything they received away. But she added she is not worried about getting enough donations to meet the growing demand.

“We have a generous community,” Anderson said. “I’m always awestruck with how generous our community members are. Getting enough is definitely on our mind, but it’s not a concern.”

Pick-up days are Nov. 14, at St. Paul’s Anglican Church from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and at the SIRCH main office in Haliburton from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Anderson said people cannot try on clothing due to COVID. SIRCH will require masks and maintaining social distancing.

For more information contact SIRCH at 705-457-1742 or email Rebecca_ anderson@sirch.on.ca.

“Thank you to every single community member who donates,” Anderson said. “Thank you for helping our neighbours stay warm this winter.”

Tekrider: government forgets ‘little guys’

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Lisa Gervais

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October 31, 2020

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JQ - TekRider Contract - 1-web — David Brown works machinery at the Tekrider facility in Minden Oct. 19. The business says the end of a government order could force layoffs. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

Tekrider TekVest owner Steve Brand answered the call to a province needing medical gear at the start of the pandemic, transitioning from high-end recreational clothing to personal protective equipment (PPE).

The move was costly during a pandemic – Brand said he took out a second mortgage on his home and business in addition to a $40,000 small business loan from the federal government. But with advocacy from the County and the province expediting the licencing process, he was successfully able to start producing equipment, including medical gowns and non-medical masks, in early April. A recent one-time order for 12,000 reusable medical gowns from the provincial government helped further sustain the business and allowed it to buy more equipment. As orders came in, Tekrider expanded from nine to 26 employees, with the possibility of hiring more.

“We did it on our own,” Brand said. “It was the right thing to do.”

But all of that is up-in-the-air with the end of the order, with Tekrider’s last shipment going Sept. 18. Brand said they hoped for an extended contract, but it never happened. With thin margins, he said there is a good chance he will have to cut a lot of the staff he hired to produce more PPE.

“We’re collectively disappointed at the lack of leadership on the part of the government,” Brand said. “Doug Ford says he stands up for the little guy, well clearly that’s not the case.”

Ministry of Government and Consumer Services spokesperson Barbara Hanson said the contract was a one-time purchase order.

“Our efforts, and those of local companies, were a great success with Ontario holding sufficient stock of reusable gowns,” Hanson said.

The province has invested millions in recent months to improve PPE manufacturing supply, such as $23.3 for the 3M plant in Brockville for N95 respirators and $1.8 million at Southmedic in Barrie for oxygen masks and face shields.

TekRider director of community outreach Lisa Schmidt said it is not about growing the company, but helping more people get by.

“It’s to keep a community going,” Schmidt said. “This is not one of the economically most advantageous parts of the province… It’s not like we’re looking for a handout. It would be great to have the orders continue knowing COVID isn’t going away.”

“I could have had an immediate increase of 10 (employees),” Brand said. “But now I may have to reduce in the opposite direction.”

Schmidt said although the government’s move may be cost-saving, keeping local businesses going helps keep people employed and off government assistance.

“There are many parts of the province that are really working hard to build up their local communities. Steve is an example of what that looks like,” she said. “They’re not making a profit on any of these gowns – basically the whole point was to keep people employed.”

With a long history in the military and peacekeeping, including a tour in Afghanistan, Brand said he used to governments acting slowly. In contrast, he said he was appreciative of just how quickly governments moved in April to ensure he and other businesses could pivot to making PPE.

“The government did move very quickly,” Brand said. “Things have changed. I give the government – both levels – high marks in the initial three-to-four months, but failing grades now. Because they’re focused on bigger issues, bigger people etcetera, etcetera, and they’ve forgotten the little guys.”