On Oct. 1-2, more than 850 Grade 4-6 students, with their teachers and parent volunteers, gathered at the Kinark Outdoor Centre to take part in the 19th annual Haliburton-Muskoka-Kawartha Children’s Water Festival, more than doubling last year’s participation.

Children engaged in hands-on fun at 36 activity-based learning stations set up across the site. Elementary schools from across the Trillium Lakelands District School Board and families of local homeschooling networks were involved.

More than 150 volunteers helped children explore the vital connections between water health, ecosystems, and personal and community well-being through motivational experiences.

The festival, a flagship program of the Haliburton-based charity FEEL (Friends of Ecological and Environmental Learning), is organized in partnership with U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research and the Kinark Outdoor Centre. Significant volunteer support came from high school students in the Kawartha Youth Leadership in Sustainability (YLS) program and Trent University students from the School of the Environment.

This year, 12 community partners, such as Turtle Guardians, Muskoka Watershed Council, TRACKS (TRent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science) and the Algonquin Highlands and Haliburton fire crews enriched the programming through their hands-on activities.

“Students soak in messages on water conservation, technology, protection and science and come to understand that their attitudes towards water matter and that their actions can and will make a difference,” coordinator Kara Mitchell said.

She added through the waterheroes.ca website, students can continue their water stewardship journey. Flowing from the festival until the end of April, students, as well as their families, friends and classmates, can enter the Big Splash contest by sending in water-friendly actions they pledge to do in the year ahead. Donated prizes will be awarded to individuals, classes and schools making inspiring positive impacts on local water systems through their ‘Water Hero’ actions, Mitchell added.

The team behind Those Other Movies says it’s busy finalizing the lineup for the Haliburton International Film Festival (HIFF) Nov. 1-3 at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion

Spokesperson Tammy Rea said, “after watching more than 50 films at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Sudbury’s Cinefest, the committee is juggling and debating to select the best lineup to bring to Haliburton County.”

However, she said, “stories will travel across time and geography, genre and language, and ideas and experiences, bringing the world and all its diversity to our community.”

The final lineup will include seven movies; one Friday evening, four Saturday, and two Sunday.

Those Other Movies announced the first three offerings Oct. 8. The first is

The Count of Monte Cristo, a subtitled action-drama out of France.

Rea said, “this big budget, big screen film, with incredible costumes and sets, is based on the classic French novel by Alexandre Dumas. It was the most expensive film made in France in 2024. The film, by directors Alexandre de La Patelliere and Matthieu Delaport, begins in Marseille in 1815 and moves quickly through the years as the lead, Pierre Niney as Edmond Dantes, seeks revenge for a crime he did not commit.

The second offering is Home Free, a Canadian drama.

Rea described this one as, “family secrets, family dynamics, the complexities of love: this powerful Canadian film has it all. Three estranged and very different daughters are invited home to their parent’s house to celebrate an anniversary, but all does not go as expected. This movie is sure to make connections and evoke emotion.” This film carries a trigger warning about suicidal ideas. She noted that director, writer, producer Avi Federgreen will be in attendance.

The third announced film is Can I Get a Witness, a Canadian sci-fi drama. Directed by Ann Marie Fleming, and with a Canadian cast including Keira Jang, Joel Oulettte and Sandra Oh, Rea said, “this movie offers a provocative and thought-provoking ‘solution’ to the world’s problems, including climate change, poverty and trans-species equality.

“What are you willing to do for the greater good? This film is a powerful look at personal grief, accepting death, and kindness towards one another.

The full lineup will be available at thoseothermovies.com when it is finalized.

Rea said, “as we consider programming, we are looking at going from really large films to super small films, true stories to science fiction, live action to animation, we are travelling through film and always making connections.”

New committee member, Myra Stephen, added, “it’s so exciting to see so many great films, then to work together collectively to figure out how to curate an experience that will be meaningful to the Haliburton community. Everyone brings a different perspective.”

Rea said they are also happy to announce a new projector and audio system will be in place for this year’s festival “to improve the viewing experiences.”

Weekend VIP passes are $65 ($60 for season’s pass holders) and are available at thoseothermovies.com – or cash ($10 per film) at the door.

Dysart et al mayor Murray Fearrey is taking aim at Haliburton County’s gasoline re-sellers, questioning why prices remain so high at Highlands pumps compared to other nearby areas.

Expressing his frustrations at a Sept. 24 Dysart council meeting, Fearrey said the rapid increase in fuel costs in recent years is making life difficult for County residents, a tough pill for the mayor to swallow given most locals need a car to get to and from work and to live their lives.

“It’s not really a municipal issue, it’s not in our mandate to focus on or be worried about, but I am worried. This affects our citizens in a huge way,” Fearrey said.

On his recent travels, Fearrey noted the price point for gasoline to be much cheaper in communities such as Lindsay, Peterborough, and Orillia than the County. Early last week, gas could be bought at the Haliburton Mobil for $1.56 per litre – it was a couple cents cheaper at gas bars in Minden, but as much as 20 cents cheaper at pumps in Kawartha Lakes.

Fearrey has reached out to owners of local stations to find out why the disparity is so significant. He said he’s yet to hear a reasonable explanation.

“When you start talking about a price difference of 60 or 70 cents per gallon, that’s an awful lot. I want to see if there’s a way to improve on that. See what the rationale is for hiking up the price here,” Fearrey said.

Costs more to haul gas to rural areas

Expert answers

Prices have fallen over the past seven days, with gas available in Haliburton for $1.48 per litre on Oct. 1, $1.46 in Minden, and $1.50 in Wilberforce. To Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis with the website GasBuddy, that’s a typical fluctuation in today’s market.

“Because we have a global market, the price of oil is constantly changing at a moment’s notice,” De Haan said.

He said the industry took a massive hit during the pandemic, with global demand slowing to a snail’s pace through much of 2020 and early 2021. This brought prices way down, to less than 80 cents per litre across much of Ontario.

Petroleum producers lost billions in a matter of months, De Haan said.

“When the price was so low, producers threw in the towel. They stopped producing until the market improved,” he noted.

That turn came in 2022, with prices eclipsing the $2 per litre mark in most areas by that summer. The quick rise was blamed on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with De Haan saying the market is quick to react to major world events.

“We went from one side of the extreme where there was no demand at all for gas, which drove prices down and caused supply to drop. When the economy reopened, demand increased very quickly and was exacerbated by one of the world’s largest oil producers invading another country – the risk of disruption of action to oil markets was increased… so prices went up,” De Haan said.

Cost breakdown

The Canadian Fuels Association (CFA) said there are four key components to pricing gas in Canada – the cost of crude oil, wholesale prices, retail mark-up, and taxes.

A 2023 CFA report found the average price at pumps in Toronto that year was $1.54 – of that, 64 cents went to crude costs (42 per cent), 50.3 cents to taxes (31 per cent), 31.6 cents to refiners’ operating margins (21 per cent), and 8.9 cents (six per cent) to the selling business.

De Haan said most retail stations have profit margins between five and 15 cents per litre. He feels the County’s rates are fair.

“Ultimately, it sounds like there might be a real aggressive competitor down the road [in Lindsay and Orillia] that is keeping prices down. Some stations are willing to take less of a profit margin if it’s new… the reality too is it costs more hauling gasoline to rural areas, so that might be why you’re seeing a bigger difference,” De Haan said.

Dysart Ward 4 coun. Carm Sawyer, who runs West Guilford Auto Centre, said when he was in the gasoline business several years ago, he was charged 10 cents per litre more for wholesale fuel than stations in Minden were charging customers.

The Highlander reached out to several stations to explain their methods for pricing gas but could not secure an interview. Thea Bourne, spokesperson for BG Fuels, which owns Haliburton Mobil, said in an email, “it is BG Fuels’ standard policy to not comment publicly regarding the management of its retail fuel prices.”

Local reaction

Alan Cook was filling his truck in Minden Sept. 27.

“It’s a bargain compared to what it was about two months ago, but it’s still outrageous. We seem to get robbed quite nicely up here – I have a cottage in Penetanguishene and gas is always cheaper in Orillia,” Cook said, estimating price increases since 2020 have added an extra $100 to his commute from Minden.

Ashley Willoughby said she and her husband work outside the County and are now paying hundreds of dollars a month more for fuel than they were before the pandemic. The Minden resident said she often feels trapped at home as there isn’t much money left over for big outings.

Living on a fixed income, retired Haliburton resident Scott Spong said he’s been forced into adjusting his driving habits.

“Everything is planned out now. No more driving back and forth to get a loaf of bread – instead of 10 little trips I have to make sure I know what I need and where I’m going, because it’ll be a few days before I’m in town again,” Spong said.

De Haan warned residents current rates are likely here to stay.

“I think this may be the new norm – Canada’s carbon tax is going up every year… there’s going to be a continued rise regardless of how low the price of oil goes,” he said, with a barrel of crude running approximately $94 as of Oct. 2.

“I hear a lot of people saying things like ‘the price of oil is a lot lower than in 2008, so why am I paying a whole lot more?’ That’s because taxes have gone up, the cost of doing business has gone up. There’s been a lot of core inflation on the price of gasoline,” De Haan added.

Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter said he and Dysart et al mayor Murray Fearrey are requesting a meeting with Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) about a recent busing decision that is forcing some elementary and high school students to walk what they consider to be long distances to schools.

The board’s new policy means elementaryaged students living within 1.6 kilometres of school, and high school students within 3.2 kilometres, aren’t being bused any more. It is mainly affecting Minden Hills and Dysart et al, with only one family in Wilberforce, and none in Cardiff, impacted.

Carolynne Bull, TLDSB communications lead, said the review completed in Haliburton and Minden is similar to ones done in Bracebridge, Huntsville, Kirkfield, Kilworthy, and Fenelon Falls.

“These reviews look at whether exceptional conditions exist and whether changes are needed,” Bull said. “During the Haliburton/ Minden review, it was noted the conditions in the villages… are similar to those in other areas of review and similar to the conditions across TLDSB for schools without any exception areas,” she said. “Sidewalks are not a factor in the board’s decision-making. Posted speed does play a factor, though posted 40km/h [zones are] considered safe,” she added.

The decision is not sitting well with parents, such as Karin Kleer of Minden. In a letter tabled at council’s Sept. 26 meeting, she said, “the walk to school of 1.6 km is a safety issue in itself. It is too far for children to be expected to walk, some as young as three years old. How many adults walk 1.6 km back and forth to their place of work five days per week?

“In inclement weather, the safety risk is even more of a danger to the children. With buses already travelling past the driveways of our littles citizens, why is TLDSB not continuing to bus these students, thereby ensuring their safety? The safety of our community’s children should be paramount.”

Crossing guards

Coun. Shirley Johannessen said she shared Kleer’s concerns, especially around the busy intersection of Water Street and Bobcaygeon Road. She has already asked the township to beef up safety at the busy crossroads, investigating flashing lights for the pedestrian crosswalk.

At last Thursday’s meeting, she added she thinks it is time for the township to hire a school crossing guard and a spare.

“A trained, highly-visible person to manage traffic, and assist with crossing at busy intersections where the risk of vehicle-pedestrian collisions is high,” the ward 1 councillor said. She added the crossing guard and spare could come under township bylaw.

Coun. Tammy McKelvey said the busing decision is a major concern. “Not just Bobcaygeon Road and Water Street, there’s kids that are walking down Bobcaygeon Road from up past the cemetery in the winter with no sidewalks, or down Deep Bay Road with no sidewalks, and plows going by, and the stupidity of it is the buses they rode on last year are also going by them.”

She called for a meeting with TLDSB, as “I struggle to understand anybody making this decision. Did they actually drive these roads and see what kind of risk we are putting our children at?”

Carter said he and Fearrey have requested a meeting, although he noted the area has a school board trustee, Gary Brohman. “We intend to put all the pressure we can on the school board. The next approach is the provincial government directly.”

Brohman would not publicly comment on the change, only to say it will be reviewed in 2025. He said it was a staff procedural decision, which is out of trustees’ hands. Brohman said he is being contacted by parents and is directing them to superintendent of business service, Tim Ellis, and director of education, Wes Hahn.

CAO Cynthia Fletcher said staff would report back in October with regards to crossing guards, while any physical changes, such as flashing crosswalk signs, would be discussed as part of the 2025 budget.

Bull told The Highlander the director and/ or superintendent of business services had not received a request to meet by either mayor as of press time.

“The walking conditions in the villages of Minden and Haliburton are similar to those in other areas and the review that was conducted ensured the rules are being equitably applied across TLDSB,” she said. “Questions about sidewalks and sidewalk conditions can be directed to the municipality.”

County resident Phil Primavera says he’ll likely never stop feeding deer at his Haliburton Feed and Seed location on Mallard Road, no matter how many tickets he receives from Dysart et al’s bylaw department.

It’s been about 15 months since the township introduced legislation outlawing deer feeding in Haliburton village and residential areas on the north shore of Lake Kashagawigamog. The original bylaw, passed in July 2023, prohibited feeding in Ward 1 between May 1 and Sept. 30, though an update last November made it a blanket ban – meaning no deer to be fed at any time.

Violators face a $150 fine each time they’re caught feeding. Primavera said he received two tickets earlier this summer.

“The first time I was charged was about three months ago, the ticket was filled out incorrectly. Then they came back a couple of days later and issued me with another ticket – I didn’t pay either of them,” Primavera said, noting the township opted not to follow through on the first offence, with the second thrown out in court.

The entrepreneur said he’s been feeding deer on Mallard Road for about four years. He gives them carrots and “supplementary treats” like corn and molasses. Seven fullgrown deer and a couple fawns could be seen wandering the Feed and Seed property Sept. 27.

Primavera said he gets a kick out of seeing the animals – he and his wife raise deer at their small family farm – and doesn’t see that changing any time soon. He told Dysart council last week he has no plans to stop feeding them.

“I just like them – I moved up from the city where it isn’t a normal thing to see a deer wandering around. I think it’s amazing you can walk out your front door and have these animals right there. I see them every day and never get bored of it,” Primavera said. “To me, feed them, don’t feed them – I don’t care what you do. This is more about property rights to me.”

He believes the township is wasting valuable time and resources on a bylaw he says is difficult to enforce – for a ticket to be issued, someone has to be caught, either in-person or on camera, feeding deer. With it largely being complaint-based, Primavera is also worried about pitting neighbours against one another.

Hailey Cole, a Dysart bylaw officer, told The Highlander as of Sept. 30 the township has issued four tickets for deer feeding.

Primavera said he’s not convinced the deer feeding bylaw is actually legal, referencing Ontario’s Fish and Wildlife Act from 1997. Section 13 of the act states the Minister of Natural Resources is responsible for prohibiting or regulating the feeding of wildlife, not municipalities.

Cole said the bylaw was sent to MNR for review before being adopted.

“The only commented we received was to ensure the bylaw does not interfere with baiting of deer for the purpose of hunting,” she said, noting an exception was included.

Many communities across Ontario have bylaws regulating feeding of wild animals, including Toronto, Thunder Bay, Midland, and Bracebridge.

Petition launched

Primavera understands the rationale behind wanting a ban, saying he’s not completely against one. But he feels there are better ways for the township to achieve its objectives.

While considering a bylaw, council heard how the increased presence of deer has led to more accidents on Haliburton’s roads, with residents Mike and Debra Landry estimating there to be around 100 collisions between animal and vehicle annually. Others complained about deer destroying their personal gardens.

“I’d focus more on education in town – why the deer are here. Deer like to be in open areas to feel safe, that’s why they’re coming into town, not just because people are feeding them,” Primavera said. “I’m probably one of the only guys raising deer in this town – the caloric nutrition one deer needs during the day to survive, a town the size of Haliburton would never be able to completely provide for the population.”

He’s offered to help train people on when and what to feed the deer, estimating there to be around 150 of the wild animals living in Ward 1.

Shelley Stiles, owner of Country Rose, supported the bylaw last year. She said deer regularly frequent her Hwy. 118 property.

She told The Highlander Oct. 2 the deer remain an issue, regularly eating her stock. A new eight-foot fence is currently being installed in an attempt to keep them away.

Primavera has launched a petition calling for the immediate repealing of the bylaw, signed by about 420 people. He plans to deliver it to Dysart council Oct. 22.

“I don’t think this bylaw is in the best interest of the deer, the town, or the people… we live in Haliburton. We’re not a metropolis or a concrete jungle, we’re literally in a forest. If people want to feed deer on their property, they should be allowed to do it,” he said.

Mayor Murray Fearrey said council has no plans to revisit the issue.

“We’re actually hearing from some of the rural areas that this is working, they’re not seeing as many deer,” Fearrey said. “There’s no appetite to kill the bylaw. We’ll look at it after a year, see what’s good, how reasonable things are, and what we can improve.”

While wearing orange T-shirts recognizes children who never returned home from residential schools, or survived colonial institutions, what’s really needed is reconciliaction, Larry O’Connor told students and staff at Haliburton School of Art + Design during National Truth and Reconciliation Day Sept. 30.

O’Connor has been on a years-long journey to rediscover his culture after being raised in Oshawa. However, he was born Anishinaabe Odawa, his home community is Sheshegwaning on Manitoulin Island, and he is from the Bear Clan,

He brought his eagle teaching staff to the college this past Monday, spoke about National Truth and Reconciliation Day, and offered tobacco and smudging to participants.

“Truth and reconciliation is a journey. It’s a long journey,” O’Connor said.

He travelled to Sault Ste. Marie to go through the archives of a residential school there. He found his great grandmother and a great-aunt. He shared some of the comments written adjacent to his great-aunt’s name; “holy untaught, didn’t speak English.” O’Connor said it was because she spoke her own language.

“Our ancestors, our family members went there (to residential schools). Some came home, some didn’t,” O’Connor said.

He added the orange T-shirts recognize that so many lives were lost and must not be forgotten, as “there’s not an Indigenous person on Turtle Island that hasn’t been impacted by the residential schools.”

He said he had heard numbers as high as 69 per cent did not survive residential schools, with graduation rates of just seven to eight per cent, delivering those graduates jobs such as domestics or blacksmiths, where they learned to use their hands, but not their language. “If they spoke their language, they were punished.”

He talked about missing and murdered indigenous women, and the red hand symbol against this.

“Reconciliation requires a lot of good work… and ceremonies. Ceremonies are important. We still have some of our medicines, languages weren’t lost. Had governments been successful, they would have been lost. They’re not.”

He noted treaties allowed people at the college to be on Indigenous land, and his people were glad to share their land, but “there are truths that have to be taught. That’s what truth and reconciliation is all about.

“If it wasn’t for an uprising on an Indian reserve because of a golf course expansion (Oka crisis), we wouldn’t have had that Royal Commission struck… that they dragged out as long as they possibly could… we wouldn’t have those 94 calls to action.

“We recognize in that process so many of our women were gone missing. Another commission had to be held. Two-hundredand-thirty-one (231) calls for justice came out of that.

“Next time there’s an election going on, or someone wants to go to Ottawa, ask them about that. What are you going to do that’s different?

“We can do something. We can have a conversation. They’re good conversations. Sometimes they’re hard conversations… sometimes it’s tough. That’s a good reason why we smudge, too, because it takes some of that burden off of us.”

He ended his talk with, “it’s easy for us to remember Remembrance Day because it’s been around for a long time. This is a conversation that we’re only having now. But the truth is that this needed to happen even before the last Remembrance Day. This is something that is part of our history; a sad part of history of Canada before it was Canada.”

O’Connor hosts Tales from the Big Canoe on CanoeFM the last Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m., rerunning the Friday at 11 a.m. The Township of Minden Hills also raised a Truth and Reconciliation flag at its municipal office building Sept. 26.