The cast and crew of the latest production from Highlands Little Theatre, Calendar Girls, announced that the sale of their specially-produced calendars during the run of the show netted $2,500 for Brooksong Retreat and Cancer Support Centre.

Following a tour of the facility and an explanation of the programming offered at the retreat centre, on April 12, members of the Calendar Girls team made the presentation to executive director Barb Smith-Morrison.

Among those on hand were, from the left, Jack Brezina, Karen Frybort, Rita Jackson, Amy Brohm, Elyse Boisvert, Smith-Morrison holding one of the calendars, Kate Hall, David Zilstra, Kate Butler, Cathy McIlmurray, Norma Bingham and John Jackson.

Copies of the calendars are still available from Brooksong. Minimum donation $25.

An Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) affordability and governance structure study for the County of Haliburton would investigate “credible governance alternatives” to the current upper-tier and four lower-tier system, CAO Gary Dyke told council at its April 8 meeting.

Dyke said operating five separate municipal organizations for a permanent population of 20,500 people results in duplication of several administrative functions. He added it restricts regional planning, creates inconsistent regulatory environments, slows response time for residents, and limits the County’s ability to realize sustained administrative savings.

He acknowledged the 2022 service delivery review identified several opportunities to potentially consolidate services for greater efficiency.

“However, a deeper, independent analysis would be needed to quantify savings, identify service-level impacts, and establish a realistic implementation plan.”

At yesterday’s meeting, Dyke received unanimous support for the study. Warden Dave Burton will write the minister of municipal affairs and housing for support – with the cost estimated at $100,000 to $150,000 – and to be completed by the end of this July. Dyke stressed any changes would be considered by the new, 2026-2030, council.

He said the need for change became clear during difficult 2026 budget deliberations. Many of the financial pressures are out of the County’s control; having to pay 35-40 per cent of the tax rate increase to external bodies, such as the City of Kawartha Lakes for social services, Lakelands Public Health, Haliburton County Public Library, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, health professional recruitment, and the Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association – leaving less for core township costs such as roads and bridges. He further estimated 98 per cent of taxes come from residents.

Current financial model ‘no longer sustainable’

“The current model … is not sustainable and brings significant risk to the County and the community. Risks that could result in decreasing levels of service and a greater burden on local households. The model requires review,” Dyke said.

The detailed study will explore options for the County’s future that will also quantify current and future fiscal exposure, identify realistic implementation options, and secure provincial support.

Risks with status quo

With household incomes 17 per cent below the provincial median – $66,000 after-tax according to the 2021 Census – high child poverty rates, low youth income, the high cost of housing, and 18 per cent facing food insecurity, Dyke said the community is highly sensitive to tax and fee increases.

He said there are risks to maintaining the status quo, such as ongoing structural inefficiencies that could lead to municipal service cuts, deferred infrastructure renewal work, or increasing the tax burden on the community.

“Independent scenario modelling can evaluate options ranging from targeted shared-services and functional consolidations to a transition to a single-tier governance model, providing clear forecasts of tax and levy impacts over five, 10 and 20-year horizons.” He added the study would identify one-time implementation and transition costs.

“A comprehensive study will strengthen any provincial funding request and demonstrate that local measures to ‘get our house in order’ have been thoroughly examined.”

Dyke added “lower-tier municipalities will be formally integrated into the information gathering and assessment phases as active contributors and co-analysts. This will include providing local data (financials, service levels, asset inventories), participating in stakeholder interviews and focus groups, hosting community engagement events when appropriate, and contributing local expertise to validate modelling and scenario testing.”

Unanimous support

Burton said council directed the staff report “in the best interests of the community.

“A governance review provides us with an opportunity to step back, take a comprehensive look at how we operate, and ask whether our current structures are serving us as well as they could or should. The goal is to build a clear understanding of what is working well, where there may be gaps, may be challenges, and what opportunities exist in improvement. This is an opportunity to shape the future of how we govern and ultimately how we serve the people.”

Deputy warden Liz Danielsen said she was pleased to see council moving in this direction. “We looked at service delivery, became bogged down, we are all facing serious pressures.”

Without the study even underway, Coun. Murray Fearrey said he was worried change could add $7-8 million-a-year to the tax base. He said the province might respond that Haliburton County townships should be amalgamated with larger regional government, such as Peterborough. “I fear we could lose our autonomy here.”

Coun. Cec Ryall said they could learn a lot from the health unit merger, in which the province financially assisted the process. Council unanimously endorsed the recommendation, 7-0, with coun. Lisa Schell not in attendance.

Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter calls up his preferred weather app on his smartphone and checks the forecast for the next week.

When it comes to the potential for flooding in downtown Minden, he said it’s all about the weather – and the water content in the snowpack. here is really about normal.” The mayor added most of the lower lakes have been, because of drought conditions, still running below average “so, you can look at that as storage space.”

The emergency management team – which comprises Parks Canada, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and townships such as Minden Hills, meets weekly as needed this time of year. If there is nothing much to talk about, the MNR simply presents its watershed conditions’ statement.

Overlooking the Gull River April 7, Carter said, “right now, the water coming through.

However, he checked Kennisis Lake April 6 and said levels were rising. “The problem is, three days after Kennisis goes up, the water runs into the Gull River into downtown Minden.

Trent-Severn Waterway anticipates rising lake and river levels

“Everything is the weather. If you have warm days, cold nights, everything goes smoothly. You get a weekend where it goes to 20 C and it rains” not so much.

Looking at his weather forecast, he said he did not see anything “super special.” Nothing worried him in particular, although warmer temperatures are coming.

Carter said the snowpack up north has a high-water content. Parks Canada upgraded their sensor units to measure not just the depth, but the water content.

Carter added so far, he is feeling “okay” that Minden won’t be flooded. “But you get some fluke weather, and then it’s really difficult.”

For now, he said the Burnt and Gull Rivers are both flowing normally. He said dams are open so there is not much they can do. “It comes down to when do you close it to make sure you have water through the summer.”

Carter said there have been improvements with real-time sensors on every lake so the Trent Severn Waterway knows the depth. They have a flow sensor on the Gull River.

“They’ve got an awful lot more data that they can analyze. They do a really good job this time of year. They are working day and night watching it.”

The TSW forecast for April 8 said with the onset of snowmelt and significant rain amounts, water levels and flows are rising rapidly in northern areas. Snow amounts still remain in the northernmost areas of the Gull River and Burnt River systems. Most lake levels on the Gull River and Burnt River systems remain above average and are rising due to melt, accelerated by warm temperatures and significant amounts of received rainfall. Most central lakes are above average and are rising. It went on to say flows on the Gull River will increase as a result of upstream operational adjustments in response to received precipitation. Flows on the Burnt River have peaked but are expected to increase again with forecasted precipitation and ongoing melt.

By Adam Frisk Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It appears that Canada Post is moving forward with its restructuring plan, which includes several proposed cost-saving measures, including the end of door-to-door mail delivery and the possibility of post office closures.

Last week, the Crown corporation announced that it is moving forward with the transformation plan, as directed by the federal government last year, which includes the transition to community mailboxes. While the latest announcement doesn’t directly affect the Minden, Haliburton and Wilberforce areas, since they don’t have letter carriers, it opens the door to the potential of having postal outlets shuttered, the union said.

“We continue to work closely with the government on the details of our proposed transformation plan. At the same time, given the government’s direction to begin taking initial steps, we are reaching out to our bargaining agents to consult on our approach to several proposed changes,” Canada Post said in a March 30 statement to The Highlander. “These proposed changes include converting the remaining addresses that still receive delivery at the door to community mailboxes and modernizing our retail network.”

The announcement comes as the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is in the middle of a ratification vote. Local union president Kelly Lawr blasted last week’s announcement, calling it a “complete s***show.”

“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” she said.

Lawr said that the government has had Canada Post’s proposed changes for about four months, only to end up releasing it now during the ratification process.

Canada Post said it would be working with the federal government “delivery standards for letter mail, which will require amendments to the Canadian Postal Service Charter.”

“Canada Post has reached an important turning point,” the Crown corporation said. “Our transformation will strengthen the postal service, allow us to be a better partner for businesses, and help us meet our dual mandate of delivering for all Canadians in a way that is financially self-sustainable.”

The proposed transformation also opens the door to the closure of rural, small-scale, postal outlets. Lawr pointed at Kinmount and Burnt River as high-risk locations that could be shuttered. She said that because both of these locations operate with only one route, they would be “top of the list” for closure, forcing residents to travel further to access postal services.

“It’s not, in the company’s eyes, worthwhile for them to keep it open for one route,” Lawr said.

While much of Haliburton County already utilizes roadside delivery, community mailboxes, and P.O. boxes, Lindsay still maintains urban letter carriers. These positions are now directly in the crosshairs as Canada Post pivots to community mailboxes.

The local union president questioned the financial logic behind the transition, pointing to the costs of manufacturing community mailboxes, scouting safe locations, and providing vehicles for previous walking routes, which might offset any projected savings. Prod:

“How much are you actually saving by doing this?” Lawr said. “It’s like they’re intentionally driving it into the ground. It’s unbelievable.”

The union president went on to voice her concerns for seniors and those with mobility issues, noting that while Canada Post offers the delivery accommodation program for those unable to reach a community mailbox, getting into the program is a bureaucratic nightmare.

“From the feedback [users] have given me… it is extremely difficult. It was a lot of back and forth, doctors’ notes. It just felt like pulling teeth trying to get onto this program,” Lawr said. “And that’s if you even have a family doctor in this area.

“I don’t think the corporation realizes how much of a lifeline we actually are,” she added.

The postal service said once the initial consultations with bargaining agents were completed, they will begin “engaging municipal officials.”

“We’re committed to moving forward in a thoughtful way that prioritizes service for all Canadians while protecting access to vital postal services in rural, remote and Indigenous communities.”

By Adam Frisk Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Haliburton tourism industry is ushering in a new era by welcoming the formation of an industry-led Municipal Services Corporation (MSC).

During a tourism stakeholders meeting that was hosted at the Pinestone Resort and Conference Centre on April 2, the County of Haliburton said it is restructuring how it handles tourism by moving toward a more collaborative, stakeholder-led model. The move comes after the County begins to see the revenue generated from the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) on short-term rentals.

Angelica Ingram, manager of tourism for the County, explained that the shift wasn’t just about tax dollars, but about rebuilding a connection with business owners that had been lost in recent years. She explained, following the seminar, that for nearly a decade, various tourism groups existed in the Highlands, but the most recent iteration disbanded in 2022.

“The two people who were leading it were just too busy, and they couldn’t continue, and nobody really took on the reins,”

Ingram said. Ingram said that since she stepped into her role at the end of 2023, businesses have been vocal about wanting to reconnect.

“I listened… I said I need a little bit of time to just get my feet wet,” she said. “Then in 2025, I started to have conversations with people: ‘let’s try to get this thing going again.’”

And thus a tourism stakeholder session was held. The informal stakeholder group will be supported by the County, the Haliburton County Development Corporation (HCDC), and the Chamber of Commerce. While not a formal committee of council, Ingram explained that the information gathered at these meetings will directly impact her department’s choices.

“This is a really great opportunity for me to hear what people are saying, how they’re feeling… You can send out emails, you can do online surveys, but the engagement isn’t always there,” the County representative said. “This is the kind of engagement I love.”

For many others in the room, the meeting was a welcome reunion.

“I used to religiously go to all the meetings previous to COVID,” Tegan Legge, general manager of tourism and recreation at Haliburton Forest, said. “Meetings like this are really important so that we can gather and see what’s going on and see who’s still in the room. There are operators in this room that I didn’t even know were still in the County.”

So how does the MSC work? Under provincial law, 50 per cent of MAT revenue must go to an entity responsible for tourism marketing and development. Since the tax took effect on October 1, 2024, the County has begun tracking its impact.

“The first year we’ve seen about $85,000,” Ingram said, adding that three townships are collecting, and one is still in the implementation phase. “I think $100,000 is a better picture going forward of what we could see.”

And where will the money go? The County said that the spending power would lie with MSC’s seven-member board, which would be made up of four council reps and three public members.

“The decision won’t be mine or Scott’s (Scott Ovell, director of economic development); it will be the MSC that gets to make that decision,” Ingram explained.

A “wish list” of projects for the MSC has already taken shape with wayfinding, signage, and rail trail enhancements. There’s also a plan to shift marketing behaviour from individual business competition toward an entire regional brand identity.

While the MSC focuses on marketing and signage, operators like Legge suggest that the County look at some of the barriers in the industry to keep Haliburton competitive.

“Tourism aside, but the County in general, if they can help with public transportation and cutting red tape for accommodators… that’s really beneficial,” Legge said. “Things like my canopy tour, I can’t fill it if I don’t have enough accommodations in the area for people to stay in.”

The stakeholder said that a successful tourism industry requires support for the workforce.

“It’s not just about staff housing. It’s also about daycare. It’s about being able to support those young families that are going to be working in our industry,” Legge said. “Housekeeping, servers, front office. That is probably even more important sometimes.”

The consensus in the room following the two-hour session was that Haliburton’s tourism industry will be stronger with a collaborative, not a solo, mission.

“People always think they’re in competition with one another. They’re not,” Ingram said. “Their best success comes from working together.”