County council agreed to spend up to $15,000 to broadcast future in-person meetings but are not returning to them yet.
Staff brought forward a proposal June 24 to install two cameras in the council chambers and prepare computers and software to stream future meetings. This comes with the province allowing groups of 10 people to gather as of June 12, which means councils can meet in-person again. County council meetings have been held electronically since March.
Councillors spoke positively about the idea of broadcasting meetings to improve accessibility both during and after the pandemic. But Coun. Carol Moffatt voiced concern about starting in-person meetings, noting the difficulty of distancing in the tight corridors around the County council chambers.
“We’re all right to be concerned,” Moffatt said. “Just want to make sure that everyone is 100 per cent comfortable and confident that reconvening in person right now is the right thing to do.”
Some municipal councils have resumed in-person meetings, including the neighbouring City of Kawartha Lakes. But County councillors agreed to delay until at least after their July meeting.
“I don’t know what the hurry is to get back in-person,” Coun. Dave Burton said. “I certainly support doing another council meeting by Zoom.”
Director of IT Mike March said he does not expect the equipment to cost more than $10,000 but wanted an upset limit in case additional purchases are required to address issues. The money will come from municipal modernization funding from the province.
Minden Hills and Algonquin Highlands
March also spoke at the Minden Hills council meeting June 25, saying they could resume in-person meetings with a maximum of 10 people. He said they would need a similar system as the County, at a cost of an upset limit of $15,000. Coun. Bob Carter said with seven councillors, the CAO and clerk, they were up to nine people. He didn’t think council should rush back.
“Let’s do some testing … wait on the County to see how that works. I don’t see this as any rush. I’m not getting in a room with a whole bunch of people before that, so this is probably sometime later this year at the earliest.”
A majority of councillors expressed some concern about hesitating, making it difficult to get the equipment, or at the price it is today. They added there are limitations with Zoom and YouTube.
“I’d like to go back to having live council meetings however possible,” Coun. Jean Neville said.
Coun. Pam Sayne wanted to know about delegations and committees of council. March said they could continue to use Zoom for delegations.
Clerk Vicki Bull said the County’s clerks were discussing committee meetings going forward. March said they could first use the County as a “guinea pig” and then go from there.
The council voted to receive the report as information, and give March the green light to acquire equipment. Councillors Carter and Jennifer Hughey voted against.
Meanwhile, Algonquin Highlands is preparing to hold virtual public meetings, primarily by phone.
Members of the committee involved with a public meeting could attend via video. However, given the varying levels of internet service and technical expertise in the community, public attendance at the meeting will be arranged by phone to ensure the largest number of people have access.
Public notices will include detailed information on how to participate. (With files from Lisa Gervais and Lisa Harrison)
Councils hold off on in-person meetings
What’s the plan, Pinestone?
It was nearly five years ago – on Sept. 28, 2015, that the new owners of the Pinestone Resort and Conference Centre, and the Wigamog Inn, announced big plans for the development.
Ravi Aurora, of the Aurora Hotel Group, told Dysart et al council the family’s intentions, including investing $2 million into renovations, and adding a gas station, car wash, plaza and medical facilities on the property.
He said they wanted to create more jobs, not just at the Pinestone, but in other sectors. They also wanted to make the resort more welcoming to local residents.
There was talk of renovating the hotel’s lobby areas and restaurants, and expanding the ballroom to accommodate 500-600 people.
Aurora said he wanted it to be head office for his company and there was discussion about rebuilding the relationship between the resort and locals.
He presented sketches to councillors of the day, pointed out that the new additions were just concepts at the time. He added his design team worked hard to ensure the additions fit well with the surroundings.
Plans for the plaza included a financial institution and some sort of medical facilitiy not currently in Haliburton. The plaza and the other new enterprises were to be located on a section of land adjacent to County Road 21, the former home to Coneybeare Motors. There was even talk of a sculpture competition.
It was all supposed to happen in time for the resort’s 40th anniversary. In 2016.
While Pinestone remains a major employer in Haliburton County, the 2015 plans have gone virtually nowhere. There have not been major renovations at the resort. While the land was cleared for the promised gas station and mini-plaza, it remains empty. There’ve been complaints about the property at the Wigamog, where long grass grows untended, as the once stately inn falls into disrepair.
Unfortunately, the Aurora Hotel Group, has not reached out to the community to tell us what is going on. There are reports that despite the best intentions of general manager John Teljeur – who has brought the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships and live entertainment to the resort pre-COVID-19, as well as housing for frontline medical staff – all is not well.
There have been guest complaints and grumbling among staff for years.
Now, the resort has come under fire from two of its former employees. One says she wasn’t reinstated after the COVID19 shutdown because she spoke to The Highlander about a late wage payment issue in March. Another says she has opted to not return because of the employment climate at the resort.
Unfortunately, the Aurora Hotel Group declines to talk about any of this. They are letting their relationship and reputation with locals go to seed.
It’s time Dysart et al council asked some questions about the future of the resort, and the inn, and what the Aurora Hotel Group’s intentions are now. It’s okay to hold their feet to the fire about promises made, and that remain unfulfilled, five years down the track.
The public would like to know.
Pinestone accused of firing whistleblower
The Pinestone Resort and Conference Centre is facing an allegation of firing an employee who blew the whistle about a pay delay amidst the pandemic.
Cook Heather Allan Reid spoke with The Highlander about the resort’s ownership, the Aurora Hotel Group, missing a payday March 27 as they laid off her and other workers due to COVID-19. Ownership said the delay was caused by its payroll management firm closing its offices due to the pandemic and did eventually pay April 3.
But with the hotel rehiring people as the province reopens, Reid alleged she was ignored. When she confronted management about it, she alleged she was explicitly told she was being let go because she aired her grievances to the press and social media, which supposedly violated the employee code of conduct.
“I’m tired of living in a town where employers think they can get away with treating employees like this,” Reid said. “It’s ridiculous.”
The Highlander sent an email to Pinestone general manager John Teljeur June 15, asking for an interview about the allegations, and any documentation the company had about rules for employees speaking to the media. The Highlander reached out via email again June 19. The Highlander never received a directly reply to either email. The Highlander connected with Teljeur by phone June 26. Teljeur said he had raised the interview request with ownership and they had decided that the organization would not respond.
Another member of the kitchen staff, Michelle Delaire, also spoke to The Highlander about the pay issue in March. She alleges she was also ignored for days when she reached out about Pinestone rehiring this month. Five days later, she alleges she was told Pinestone wanted her back, but they would need to discuss her quote to The Highlander.
“After not hearing anything, to feeling bullied. Not a professional work environment,” Delaire said, adding she has opted not to return to the Pinestone. “I don’t want to go back to that hostile work environment.”
Andrew Monkhouse, an employment lawyer in Toronto, says the Employment Standards Act prohibits delaying the payment of wages to employees.
“If an employee doesn’t get paid, they can make a complaint to the Ministry of Labour, who could then order compliance.” he said.
But he also notes there is an enforcement gap with the government and few fines for breaking the rules.
When it comes to being fired for speaking to the media, Monkhouse said it’s very likely the employee would be entitled to damages for wrongful dismissal, in the range of three-to-five weeks per years of service. An exception would be if there
was another, genuine cause for termination. Monkhouse says employees are generally permitted to speak to the media, and attempts by employers to stop them are likely without legal merit.
Reid said she still expected to be rehired after speaking out. She said she believes if she was not vocal, owners would not have paid the next week.
“Whether or not I put it out, it was wrong for them not to pay money that I worked for. It is not against the law for me to put it out there that a company refused to pay us,” she said. “If I didn’t do that, (Pinestone) would have kept putting it off.”
Reid said she has retained a lawyer and is pursuing legal action. She said the Pinestone gets a lot of community support, but its workers need that support too.
“They don’t support us,” she said. “But they can support a guy who can do that to his workers.”
County mulls online store for businesses
County of Haliburton council is considering a proposal to bring area businesses into one, locally-based online storefront. Local web developer Donna Enright presented to council June 24 to pitch a centralized e-commerce and marking platform for the Haliburton Highlands.
She sought County support and council agreed to submit questions and hold a meeting to discuss the idea in more detail. Enright said with the pandemic hitting businesses hard and online shopping booming through the likes of Amazon, it would be best for local businesses to unite with a centralized e-commerce site.
“This is not a time, in my opinion, for each business to have to promote itself,” she said. “But instead for the community to pull together and support each other.”
Her site would have a combined view of all products and services from all participating businesses. Each vendor or association would pay a $235 set-up fee and a monthly usage fee of $40, as well as standard merchant account fees for each transaction, which she said would be about three per cent. Each vendor’s section would include links back to their own websites and any social media accounts.
“I laid awake at night thinking, ‘I know this solution could work’,” she said. “If I didn’t find a way of getting it into the hands of people, I’d totally regret this forever.”
She cited her business, TechnicalitiesPlus, as being experienced enough to head this,
having developed e-commerce sites used by print media companies across Canada. She said her business would cover the website redevelopment costs, which she estimated at $24,850. Enright said she wanted the County to establish a pandemic recovery plan, adopt the new site as a primary tool to support businesses, help source funding for those who cannot afford the start-up fees and promote the platform through its tourism department.
Coun. Brent Devolin said although the details need to be worked out, he thinks it is a great idea.
“I’m supportive in principle,” he said. “I would like some time to think about it … It’d be a private enterprise and we’d need to determine, as the County and other organizations, how we can participate to be fair.”
Coun. Carol Moffatt also said she had a lot of questions that would need to get answered first.
“I won’t ask them all right now,” she said. “The idea, in theory, is really great and something you can really move forward in this County.”
Cancer retreat launches movement challenge
The Abbey Retreat Centre is challenging people in the highlands to get moving however they can in support of people with cancer.
The cancer patient retreat is launching a new fundraising campaign in July: The Haliburton Highlands Challenge. The event invites participants to set an achievable movement goal to complete throughout July and August, whether it be running, walking, swimming, biking, paddling or anything else.
Executive director Doug Norris said the event is inspired by the importance of exercise to cancer patients, which helps their healing process and stress.
“Exercise helps liberate the body’s own strength and immune systems,” Norris said, adding it benefits non-cancer patients too. “COVID is a massive source of stress for people who aren’t necessarily dealing with cancer and exercise can be a great source of resilience for us in that stress.”
The centre will ask participants to collect pledges to fundraise.
Norris said the event is completely scalable, with people able to choose whatever exercise and goals they want. Norris said he plans to paddle across his local lake 10 times, representing approximately 10 kilometres, which he said represents the distance he used to drive to see his father, when the man was dying from cancer.
“He taught me how to canoe,” Norris said. “Every person will have their own story and their own goal.”
The Fenninger family is participating and plans to bike a total of 15,000 kilometres, with a goal of raising $15,000. Marianne Fenninger, a facilitator with the centre, said has seen the huge impact the retreats have on people. Their family goal represents the amount needed to cover a four-day retreat for 10 people.
“Cancer does not stop for a pandemic,” the family said on its fundraising page. “The retreat waitlist is growing. We want to do our part to support this program.”
The fundraiser is important for the organization, which has seen its revenues drop significantly due to the pandemic, he said. The organization relies on donations and renting its facility out, and although that is still happening, Norris said it has dropped. Meanwhile, the organization has had to halt its usual free group retreats, particularly considering cancer patients’ vulnerability.
But Norris said they have still been able to provide the occasional retreat for lone families experiencing cancer to get some respite. The organization is also delivering its therapeutic programming online. But Norris said they want to be ready when gatherings are allowed again.
“That’s the whole point of this fundraiser,” he said. “We have a waitlist of 35 people waiting to come on retreat and we want to be ready as soon as conditions permit.”
More information and signups are available at haliburtonhighlandschallenge.com
High school celebrates athletes of the year
Haliburton Highlands Secondary School (HHSS) capped off its two-week celebration of athletic achievement by awarding its athlete of the year awards to Emma Casey and Isaac Little.
The school prepared lengthy video tributes to the star athletes June 18 and 19 to end the online edition of its annual athletic awards. Casey and Little earned the female and male athlete awards, respectively. Little competed in sports such as badminton, hockey and cross country. He was the cross-country team MVP and hockey defensive MVP this year.
“I’m honestly ecstatic. I’m over the moon,” Little said. “I have three family members who are up there on the wall and I always aspired to be as good as them.”
Casey competed in volleyball, field hockey, curling, badminton and track and field throughout her career. She earned a volleyball MVP award this year and said it was a long-held dream to be athlete of the year.
“For it to actually happen is just so exciting,” Casey said. “And rewarding for all the work I’ve put into sports for the last four years.”
Coach Steve Smith, who coached Casey in volleyball and field hockey, complimented her athletic drive.
“She is and continues to be very coachable and is a great leader. She made everyone around her better,” Smith said. “She has won many MVPs; she has been a key player in other championships.”
Cross country coach Karen Gervais presented Little with his award and said he approaches sports with passion.
“He has unyielding determination, incredible stamina and takes challenges head on,” she said. “This Blairhampton boy stays true to himself, his dreams and his own individuality.”
Casey said she has not confirmed her postsecondary plans, but she expects she will always be athletic and pursue sports there. She said sports are an outlet for her.
“I knew I just had to go to four classes and then I can go play the game I love playing, whatever season it was at the time,” she said. “It was the way I could just get some frustrations out.”
Little said he may return for an extra year of high school and add to his tally of two school running records. He said sports have always driven him forward and he plans to pursue them in post-secondary.
“I hate losing so I always just pushed myself to do better,” he said. “Sports kept me occupied and also kept me focused in the classroom as well. It’s just a huge part of my life, I’ve made so many memories, so many friends through sport.”
Scheffee concluded the ceremony by thanking everyone who helped make it happen. “We will get through this pandemic together and move on to bigger and better things,” she said. “This too shall pass. Please stay strong and stay healthy.”
Other individual award winners
Female Rising Red Hawk Award: Ava Smith
Coach Janice Scheffee remarks: “She works hard no matter the sport and she raises the level of play for her team and for the competition.”
Male Rising Red Hawk Award: Nick Phippen
Coach Brett Caputo remarks: “He had a fantastic year as a member of the crosscountry team, where he placed third at Kawarthas and third at OFSAA.”
Colin Hood OFSAA Award Deserving Female: Rebecca Archibald
Coach Janice Scheffee remarks: “Competes for the love of sport and the thrill of the fight. She is committed to being the best she can be and she leads by example with her passion, her enthusiasm and her energy.”
Colin Hood OFSAA Award Deserving Male: Liam Little
Coach Brett Caputo remarks: “Not only does he participate and compete but he raises the level of play for his teams around him … Liam has left his mark at Hal High for being an ambassador for fair play, inclusiveness and school spirit.”
High school students earn $5,000 for local causes
Haliburton Highlands Secondary School (HHSS) students earned $5,000 for local causes through the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) despite the impact of the pandemic.
Teacher and co-ordinator Paul Longo announced June 10 that YPI Canada would continue the funding despite school closures derailing its usual competition. The best groups from civics classes would normally compete in spring with presentations about local organizations, with the best presentation earning the $5,000 grant. But with the school year shifted due to the pandemic, YPI is instead splitting the grant between three of the top presentations from the fall semester.
This is the 13th year YPI has partnered with HHSS. Longo said it is wonderful the donation could go ahead.
“They assured me pretty early on they want to be committed to giving the money out this year,” Longo said. “We bounced around some ideas … For our situation, they were very happy to split the $5,000 up between the three teams that would have gone on to the finals in June.”
Two of those teams presented about the non-profit Walkabout Farm Therapeutic Riding Association, which will receive $3,334. Another group presented about Heat Bank Haliburton County, which will receive the remaining $1,666.
Normally, five or six teams across the two annual school semesters would compete, but Longo said the second-semester civics classes did not have much opportunity to get into YPI before the pandemic. They considered another presentation competition as usual, but Longo said it was difficult to work out given internet limitations.
“People’s differing wi-fi capabilities,” Longo said. “A lot of students are working during the daytime and trying to get everybody co-ordinated to make that happen, I just found that was almost too big for us to handle.”
Walkabout owner Jennifer Semach said the funding will go towards capital projects to improve accessibility at the locale with pathways and a shade shelter.
She added it was the first time the organization had been called to participate and she was impressed by the students’ efforts.
“The students did a remarkable job,” Semach said. “We can definitely use the exposure.”
“This has been an amazing program for our community,” Longo said, noting it has donated more than $55,000 to local causes in total over its run. “To have them continue to do that, in the atmosphere we’re in, it was uplifting for me.”
Associations warning speeders to slow down
Dysart et al is backing a community association initiative to fund signs reminding speeders to slow down.
Council voted June 23 to approve “slow down” road signs proposed by the Fort Irwin Residents’ Association and the Haliburton Lake Cottagers Association. The groups will be allowed to install one sign on Hodgson Road, one on Dunn Road, two on Curry Road and two on Haliburton Lake Road.
The signs are not legally enforceable and do not impact speed limits, instead only acting as a public service announcement. Deputy mayor Patrick Kennedy said they came about in response to growing concern about speeding in residential areas.
“Glad to see the associations have sort of run with it and made a solution that will work anywhere if desired,” Kennedy said. “Growing concern we’re hearing about speeding on all of our roads … Any effort to slow them down and stop a tragedy is good.”
The municipality will bear no costs for the signs. The associations will be in charge of maintaining and replacing them as necessary.
The effort comes after several speeding complaints came before council at its May meeting. For instance, Paul Carey of Haliburton Lake Road said he has noticed a rising trend of people going 20-30 km/h over the 50 km/h speed limit, which concerned him as an avid walker.
“Several people have shared stories of close calls with the speeding vehicles and all have expressed a concern that someone is going to be struck and injured or killed by one of these speeding cars if nothing is done,” he wrote to council, asking for more speed limit signs.
Camelon said he does not think the signs are a bad idea but cautioned about limiting the number that do get approved in the future, to ensure they do not overly burden the roads department.
“So they don’t interfere with snow plowing and that kind of thing,” he said.
Coun. John Smith brought up making a well-defined process for people to get these signs up. CAO Tamara Wilbee agreed with the idea, noting not every area with speeding concerns has an association.
“Maybe this becomes a template we could offer,” she said. “If people come forward with a request, we can look at it on an individual basis.”
Council also decided to have future signage requests come before it for approval for now, versus being left to staff.
Board of health pushes for basic income
The Haliburton-Kawartha-Pine Ridge District Health Unit Board of Health is joining a push for universal basic income in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board voted unanimously June 18 to support a letter from the neighbouring Simcoe Muskoka District Board of Health to the federal government. The letter asks the government to evolve the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) into a basic guaranteed income through the pandemic and beyond.
Chair and City of Kawartha Lakes Coun. Doug Elmslie said he would like to see a basic income tried to address poverty.
“We just continue to throw money at the problem and throw our support behind Ontario Works and social housing … keeping people basically with a stipend and making it difficult for them to get out of the poverty loop,” Elmslie said. “I’d like to see us at least try so we can see whether it will make a difference.”
Lindsay was one of the locations of a three-year basic income pilot project, started in 2017 but then cancelled July 2018 by the new Conservative government. Though the pilot was not completed, a Basic Income Canada Network survey of people enrolled found positive outcomes before the cancellation. Elmslie said during the meeting he was disappointed by the cancellation and would have liked to have seen more results at the three-year mark.
Medical officer of health Dr. Lynn Noseworthy said an initiative such as this is important amidst COVID-19, given how it has had a bigger impact on the poor. She said a basic income stands to improve public health.
“Going forward, once COVID-19 is over, they can continue CERB in some other form so people who are marginalized and who would benefit from these programs have the opportunity to enrol,” she said. “It’s a worthwhile investment.”
The health unit has long supported the concept of basic income as a way to improve public health, endorsing it back in 2016 according to the Basic Income Canada Network. The health unit also highlighted a 2018 report from the Ontario Living Wage Network which found Haliburton County had a living wage of $19.42 to cover basic needs for a family of four – $5 more than the $14 minimum wage and still the thirdhighest mark in the province.
Board member Bob Crate expressed concern about the costs of basic income and the letter not addressing that issue. But Elmslie responded the federal government would figure that out if they went ahead with the idea.
Elmslie said although a universal basic income is not likely to happen anytime soon, he thinks the pandemic has made people more receptive to the idea.
“More receptive people in the federal government than maybe have been there before, he said. “I know that’s no guarantee it’s going to happen but I think anything we can do to influence, for them to even look at it as an option, would be a step in the right direction.”
Bear damaging cars, homes at Drag Lake
Susan Meiorin awoke June 21 to find her car door open, with the perpetrator leaving an unusual calling card: bear paw prints.
The bear has made its way around the Drag Lake area all week, breaking window screens and opening car doors in search of food. In one case, the bear destroyed the interior of a car, which Meiorin said likely occurred when it got trapped inside after the door closed behind it. She said the bear than had to be released out the back by OPP.
The neighbourhood is on alert now, Meiorin said, locking doors, closing windows and posting regular updates. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) put out a live trap June 26 in hopes of capturing the bear, she said
“Everyone’s quite aware and being very diligent,” she said. “Just the sheer shock that a bear can open your car door. It’s amazing.”
MNRF senior media relations spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski said the ministry is working with Haliburton Highlands OPP to be responsive to the situation. He said every year, they receive reports of bear break-ins, including cars, which happen when a window is partly down, and doors are unlocked.
“Bears are quite clever at figuring out how to open unlocked car doors and can do a lot of damage to the interior of a vehicle when the door closes behind them and they are unable to escape,” Kowalski said.
He said the most important step to preventing such encounters is to remove items that attract bears from the neighbourhood: garbage, bird food, barbecue odours and ripe fruit left on trees or on the ground.
“When bears cannot gain access to non-natural foods, such as garbage, they will not stay in the area,” he said.
Meiorin said the neighbourhood is taking those steps now. She said authorities have told her the bear is young – likely one or two years old – and probably struggling as seasonal conditions mean berries are hard to come by.
Her family has also given the bear a name: Lola.
“Trying to make light of it, but at the same time, everyone’s on edge,” she said.
Meiorin said she hopes the MNRF can capture the bear safely and release it somewhere further away.
“I don’t want them to have to shoot,” she said. “Everyone just wants them to be able to capture it, release it and hopefully Lola will not return.”