For all the uncertainty around what the recent suspension of 29 Fleming College programs means for the future of the post-secondary institution, one thing remains crystal clear — those students affected by the cuts aren’t going quietly into the night.

On Tuesday (May 7), Fleming Frost campus students Emily Wakeham and Suzanne Mooser appeared before City of Kawartha Lakes councillors meeting at the committee level, asking that they consider and pass a resolution calling for the college’s reversal of the suspension of the programs.

Their appeal for councillors’ support comes as a Frost Student Action petition calling for the same continues to garner strong support, with more 3,150 signatures attained as of Wednesday afternoon (May 8).

Meanwhile, two other petitions remain active: one titled ‘Reinstate Environmental Technician/Technologist Programs at Fleming College’ and the other, launched by Fraserville based Iron Equipment, titled ‘Reinstate Heavy Equipment and Generator Technician Programs at Fleming College’. All three petitions are online at Change.org.

The plan is to eventually present the petitions to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Fleming College’s board of governors, and the college’s administration.

On April 23, staff and faculty of the affected programs were notified of the Fleming College board of governors’ decision to cut them. The following day, college president Maureen Adamson, in a prepared statement, confirmed that action, referencing “significant external events that have had an adverse effect on our college.”

Adamson pointed to the federal government-imposed cap on the number of international students coming to Ontario and the elimination of educational partnerships with the private sector as being the primary culprits.

In her address to City of Kawartha Lakes council, Wakeham noted that 15 of the 29 programs suspended were offered at the Frost campus in Lindsay.

“I understand that colleges are not within your jurisdiction,” she acknowledged.

“My purpose here today is to urge council for a resolution to keep these important programs at the Frost campus, and for the public to put pressure on the college for a reversal of its decision.”

Wakeham added that Adamson’s stated reasons for the “unprecedented” program cuts don’t make sense in light of which programs were actually suspended.

“The rationale does not fully justify the extent of these cuts. Even programs not open to international students, such as Conservation and Environmental Law Enforcement and Fish and Wildlife Technology, have been suspended. However, Advanced Water Systems, which primarily caters to international students, remains untouched.”

For the benefit of those councillors wondering if passing a resolution calling for a reversal of the college’s decision is within council’s purview, Wakeham laid out the effects the cuts will have on the City of Kawartha Lakes.

“For over five decades, Lindsay has thrived as a college town, experiencing benefits including economic spending, a more educated workforce, and accessible post-secondary education which has enriched the community and fuelled its growth,” she said.

Noting that the unions representing Fleming faculty and support staff estimate the loss of 1,200 students over the next two years as a result of the cuts, Wakeham said that will have ramifications.

“Students spend, on average, $20,000 a year in Lindsay. That’s tens of millions of dollars lost from the local economy. This will also have an impact on local businesses that rely on students to fill part-time positions, and losing such a large proportion of the Frost student population may result in small businesses closing.”

“Reduced program offerings will encourage residents to seek education elsewhere, hindering accessibility to post-secondary education. Having a wide variety of program offerings in town draws people from around Ontario. Suspending programs will push people out of Lindsay.”

Wakeham added the loss of the program also “jeopardizes the environmental stewardship of our region.”

“Graduates from these programs play a vital role in organizations like Kawartha Conservation, contributing to the preservation of our natural resources and the economic vitality of our community.”

“Without the expertise of these graduates, the sustainability and the beauty of the Kawartha Lakes is at risk, which contradicts the Kawartha Lakes strategic plan that emphasizes a healthy and growing economy, and aims to support environmental sustainability and resilience.”

As for the personal impact of the programs’ suspension, Wakeham said she was drawn to Fleming “because of the promise of a quality education.”

“It is really devastating that my time here has ended so suddenly. My plan was to continue here (at Fleming) for another year to take the Environmental Technology program, a continuation of the (Environmental) Technician diploma. However, that program was suspended after my acceptance.”

“I never would have come to Fleming had I known I would not be able to take a third year,” Wakeham added. “Many other students are in the same circumstance. This has completely disrupted our educational careers. We have signed year-long leases, turned down job prospects, and haven’t applied to other programs because our assumption was that our acceptances would be honoured by the college.”

Before the request for a resolution was deferred to the May 21st regular council meeting for a vote, Ward 5 Councillor Eric Smeaton said that while the programs’ suspension “is not municipal jurisdiction, it is certainly a municipal issue.”

Councillor Smeaton referenced an April 20th Fleming College open house that saw parents and prospective students tour the college, asking Wakeham and Mooser if they’re aware of any students who signed a lease for accommodation only to hear that their programs had been cut.

“I am in that situation,” replied Mooser.

“I was planning on returning to the Environmental Technology program. I actually signed a year-long lease and moved into a house already. Everyone I’m living with, and many others, are in the same boat.”

Meanwhile, Ward 2 Councillor Pat Warren asked for clarification of the college’s contention that the elimination of educational partnerships with the private sector is a factor in their decision.

Wakeham couldn’t provide a definitive answer but Marcia Steeves, the president of OPSEU/SEPFO Local 351 that represents full-time and part-time Fleming support staff, has since shed some light on that via an email to kawarthaNOW.

“Like 14 other colleges in Ontario, Fleming College entered into an approved Public Private Partnership (PPP) with Trebas Institute in 2022 to create Fleming College Toronto,” she wrote.

“The partnership provided the private partner (Trebas) with the ability to run a facility with Fleming College branding, offering specific Fleming College programs to mainly international students in the GTA. The college benefits financially from this partnership, and like many other underfunded Ontario colleges, found this as a way to grow.”

“The IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) announcements in January regarding international student immigration caps also removed the ability of new international students studying at private colleges to obtain graduate work permits for the next two years.”

“This along with the overall caps on international students at Fleming College will mean a large decrease in the number of international students attending Fleming College and Fleming College Toronto,” Steeves wrote. “These are the reasons the college has given for needing to make these unprecedented cuts, though, at the Frost campus, the majority of the programs being cut are believed to be mainly domestic student programs.”

As for Wakeham and Mooser, Kawartha Lakes Mayor Doug Elmslie thanked the students for their “very articulate, very thought-out, and very well-presented” deputation and invited them to return to the May 21st meeting to observe council’s discussion of the issue.

Watch kawarthaNOW for more updates to this story as they become available.

VIA Rail Canada’s morning train service through Northumberland County is back on the rails and while it’s welcome news, warden Brian Ostrander hopes there’s more to come to improve transportation options for residents here and beyond the county’s borders.

Starting May 27, VIA Rail Canada will reinstate morning commuter rail service between Ottawa and Toronto. The new VIA Rail Train 641 is scheduled to leave Ottawa at 4:19 a.m. and arrive in Toronto at 8:48 a.m. Monday through Thursday, with stops in with stops in Kingston, Belleville, Cobourg, and Port Hope.

“VIA Rail Canada’s introduction of Train 641 gets morning rail service back on track for Northumberland and Eastern Ontario,” Ostrander said in a press release.

“For the past 18 months, Northumberland County and our municipal partners have been calling for the reinstatement of morning rail service — depended on by thousands and suspended during the pandemic,” Onstrander added. “In announcing the new train, VIA president and CEO Mario Peloquin acknowledged this advocacy, noting that VIA had taken care to listen and act on this feedback. This action, although delayed, is good news for Northumberland residents.”

Prior to the pandemic, VIA Rail Train 651 provided early-morning community service, starting in Kingston and servicing Quinte, Cobourg, and Port Hope before arriving in Toronto around 8:10 a.m. By the end of June 2022, almost all of VIA’s previous train routes had resumed across the country — except for Train 651.

Northumberland County was involved in advocacy efforts around having the service reinstated. The county conducted a survey that netted more than 2,500 responses from residents about the need for the return of the early morning commuter service to Toronto.

“Northumberland commuters need access to affordable and convenient transportation options rather than making the choice between unemployment or a costly and time-consuming commute,” Ostrander continued.

“We are encouraged that VIA recognizes this need and is reintroducing morning train service. We urge VIA and the federal government to continue working on infrastructure solutions that will enable sustained, effective commuter train service for our communities.”

Ostrander told kawarthaNOW he’d like to see additional infrastructure investments.

“We’ve heard that once the dedicated, higher-speed Montreal-Ottawa-Peterborough-Toronto line is up and running, it will free up opportunities on the lakeshore line,” Ostrander said, referring to the proposed high-frequency rail network that will extend over nearly 1,000 kilometres of dedicated and electrified tracks.

“The dedicated, higher-speed line needs infrastructure commitments to become a reality.”

In late 2022, the counties of Northumberland and Hastings, and the cities of Quinte West, Belleville and Kingston released The Case for Getting VIA Train 651 Back on Track, a report “on the critical importance of commuter train services for a growing Eastern Ontario.”

The report detailed both the need and demand for fast, reliable, and sustainable transportation options to get a thriving labour force to work, while also supporting access to education, retraining opportunities, and medical appointments.

Kawartha Lakes is endeavouring to foster a sense of civic pride and enhance the community at the same time with its 2024 instalment of “That’s a Wrap.”

That’s a Wrap is a temporary public art initiative that wraps selected traffic control boxes (TCB) along the Kawartha Lakes road network with artist-created imagery. The intent is to “enliven the landscape, reduce graffiti, and visually connect the communities of Kawartha Lakes for area residents and cottagers,” the municipality said.

Donna Goodwin, Kawartha Lakes’ economic development officer, arts and culture, told kawarthaNOW about how the initiative came to life.

“I brought forward the idea to work with our public works department and the Kawartha Arts Network in creating an outdoor art gallery,” Goodwin said. “Some positive outcomes I had in mind were to boost community pride and belonging amongst our residents and beautify both urban and rural intersections.”

The project also deters tagging and other types of vandalism on TCBs, she noted.

“Using local artwork has been a great way to showcase the amazing talent we have here in our community in a really accessible and interesting way. This year’s goal is to celebrate 10 new artistic works, so that all remaining municipally owned boxes are wrapped.”

The theme for the 2024 edition celebrates Kawartha Lakes’ rural and agricultural setting and also acknowledges the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo occurring in Lindsay October 1 to 5.

Visual artists and graphic designers in Kawartha Lakes are invited to participate by submitting digitally created artwork or scans of original artwork through Kawartha Lakes’ online form.

Submissions can represent a range of activities from hanging clothes on a clothesline to horses out to pasture. They could portray sitting around a campfire, swaying stands of corn or flowers down a country lane, the municipality noted.

Ten works of art are required to wrap 10 municipal TCBs. Kawartha Lakes is also seeking another three art pieces to place in the 2025 municipal calendar, including the front cover.

Along with exposure and name recognition, the artists chosen for the That’s a Wrap TCB art program will be rewarded with a $200 honorarium for their work. The honorarium will be awarded to the artists chosen for the That’s a Wrap TCB designs only. Artists chosen for the calendar only will not receive an honorarium.

Only original works of art, created by contemporary artists will be considered, Kawartha Lakes noted. Artists chosen for the inaugural 2022 program and the 2023 TCB call are not eligible to apply.

Below are the requirements to participate in the 2024 program.

• The artist must be at least 16 years old and a resident of the City of Kawartha Lakes
• The subject matter must include rural or agricultural activities, locations, symbols; artwork for any of the themed activities will be accepted
• Artists must include a short bio and the name of the community within the City of Kawartha Lakes in which the artwork was created
• Orientation for the artwork on the TCBs is portrait/rectangular
• For judging purposes, submissions must include a high-quality digital photo/image.

Each box will be wrapped with artwork and include the Kawartha Lakes’ “Jump In” logo, the artist’s name, and a QR code.

By submitting an application, artists grant consent for their artwork to be cropped as needed to fit the necessary dimensions for the calendar.

The deadline for submissions is Thursday, June 20.

Artists will receive correspondence in July and the successful applicants will be announced in August/September. Installation will also begin in August/September.

For more information and/or to submit artwork, visit forms.kawarthalakes.ca/Economic-Development/Thats-a-Wrap-2024-Public-Art-Program.

It’s Emergency Preparedness Week from May 5 to 11, and both the Ontario government and municipalities in the Kawarthas region are reminding residents to “plan for every season” — the theme for this year’s national effort led by Public Safety Canada, provincial and territorial emergency management organizations, Indigenous organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.

“Plan for every season” underscores the importance of readiness for the unique challenges presented by Ontario’s changing seasons, including the increase of extreme weather events due to climate change, and highlights the opportunity for year-round practice of emergency preparedness.

Regardless of the season, residents are advised to be prepared for emergencies by taking the following steps:

• Understand the local risks from emergencies such as extreme weather events and power outages so that you can better prepare for them.
• Make an emergency plan so you and your family can respond effectively when faced with an emergency, including making and practising a home escape plan.
• Prepare a 72-hour emergency kit with essential supplies (including water) to support you and your family (including any pets) for at least three days during any kind of emergency that may occur.

As part of Emergency Preparedness Week and in advance of the summer, the Ontario government is hosting “Exercise Heatwave” from May 7 to 9. This large-scale simulated exercise, which will not affect the public or any provincial services, will reinforce provincial procedures and response to heat-related emergencies.

“Exercise Heatwave is a valuable opportunity to practise and plan for our response to potential extreme heat emergencies,” says Caroline Mulroney, Ontario’s minister responsible for emergency management, in a media release. “Planning exercises like this one will play a critical role in keeping Ontarians safe while reducing economic strain and minimizing impacts on our infrastructure and environment.”

In the Kawarthas region, the City of Peterborough is one of the municipalities that will participate in Exercise Heatwave, along with Guelph, Mississauga, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, and Toronto, as well as three federal government departments and more than 50 non-governmental organizations.

“Emergencies can vary widely in nature, so it is important for us to adapt our preparations accordingly,” says Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal in a media release. “Whether it’s a natural disaster, power outage, or other unforeseen event, having a well-thought-out emergency plan and supplies can provide peace of mind and increase our resilience in challenging situations.”

Champion spellers from Peterborough elementary schools won great prizes for themselves and their schools during the Rotary Club of Peterborough’s 10th annual spelling bee on Saturday (May 4) at Whetung Theatre at Fleming College.

More than 50 students from grades 4 to 8 competed in the fun competition, with participants selected from students across Peterborough County who competed in mini-spelling bees at their schools.

The spelling bee final consisted of a junior division for students in grades 4 to 6, and an intermediate division for students in grades 7 and 8.

Chloe Cupit from Monsignor O’Donoghue Catholic Elementary School was the top speller in the junior division, with Emily Gordon from Queen Elizabeth Public School placing second and Verna Conlin-Hanley from St. Anne Catholic Elementary School placing third.

In the intermediate division, Charlotte Brown from Children’s Montessori School placed first, with Pax Wallace from Prince of Wales Public School placing second and Adeniji Adejolaoluwa from St. Alphonsus Catholic Elementary School placing third.

The top spellers won prizes donated by Camp Kawartha, Zap Attack, Canadian Tire on Lansdowne Street, Rebecca Quinn of Century 21 United, the Art School of Peterborough, Trent Excalibur Camp, By the Book, and Crayola.

Students in each division also won cash awards to fund literacy projects worth a total of $3,500 at their schools.

The first place school in each division won $1,000, with the second place school winning $500 and the third place school winning $250.

The spelling bee will be broadcast on YourTV Peterborough-Lindsay several times between May 11 and 17.