The time to invest money in the community health care sector is now, the Peterborough Family Health Team (PFHT) says.

In fact, more funding has been needed for about a decade, said PFHT CEO Duff Sprague.

Many of the province’s family health teams are advocating in their communities for a fair top-up from the government.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult to fill positions in the primary health care sector,” Sprague told kawarthaNOW. “If Peterborough is able to maintain a robust, fully staffed family health team, it will assist in attracting family physicians to our community. However, this is far from the current reality with no relief in sight.”

Sprague said compensation has been frozen for four years, there has been more than 10 years of no new clinical positions, and more than 10 years of no base budget increases.

“We are less and less able to support local family physicians, their patients, and area citizens who have no primary care,” the CEO noted. “The breakdown of family medicine and primary care is the number one reason that hospitals are overrun.”

Sprague hopes the government will “act quickly” and provide more money for primary health care.

“Fund us to pay our staff a competitive wage, to hire more clinical staff to work with and support family practices and recognize that our base budget is being eaten up by the rising costs of rent, IT and medical supplies,” he said. “We are not still paying 2013 prices.”

PFHT said in a media release that community health care in Ontario is in crisis as it struggles to recruit and retain health workers.

“The rapidly growing wage gap between primary care and other health care sectors is proven and the facts have been brought to light in the recent Ontario Community Health Compensation Market Salary Review.”

The salary review shows some clinical positions as having a wage gap of 30 per cent below market value, with most positions in the range of 20 per cent below market value, the PFHT noted.

“For years, community healthcare has been ignored,” Sprague stated in the media release. “It is extremely detrimental to the health of Ontarians that primary care is left to fall apart.”

“Ontarians already know about the severe and growing shortage of family doctors. They also need to know that years of frozen wages across primary care has resulted in a shrinking number of community-based healthcare professionals such as nurse practitioners, registered nurses/practical nurses, mental health clinicians, pharmacists, dietitians and physician assistants. Our community is fortunate that many of our FHT professionals see primary care as their calling and have stayed with us despite the better-paying opportunities in other health settings.”

Sprague said both the clinical and administrative staff at the PFHT “continue to go above and beyond in delivering services to our community.” They do this, despite not seeing those increases in staffing and compensation, he noted.

“A lot needs to change in Ontario’s health care system, starting with the front door to health care. Family physicians and primary care teams are the foundation of our system and the first step in a person’s health care journey and if they’re gone, comprehensive primary health care is gone.”

The PFHT was one of the first FHTs in Ontario. The health care organization applies a team-based approach to patient care. The PFHT’s interprofessional health care providers include mental health clinicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, registered dietitians, and more.

In the face of social media outrage, Peterborough police chief Stuart Betts has continued to defend the decision of his officers to charge a store clerk for assaulting and seriously injuring a man who attempted to rob a convenience store early last Friday morning (January 5).

At around 2:30 a.m. last Friday, officers were called to the Circle K convenience store at the corner of King and Bethune streets in downtown Peterborough. After arriving, officers learned the store clerk had been helping a male customer when another man entered the store brandishing a baseball bat and demanding money.

A struggle ensued, and the clerk was struck with the baseball bat before taking it away from the would-be robber, who then fled the store. The clerk pursued the man onto the sidewalk and struck him several times with the baseball bat. While the clerk was treated by paramedics at the scene, the robbery suspect suffered head injuries and was airlifted to a Toronto trauma centre for treatment.

Police subsequently issued a warrant for the arrest of the 37-year-old suspect for robbery, assault with a weapon, and possession of weapon, and arrested and charged the store clerk, a 22-year-old Peterborough man, with aggravated assault.

After Peterborough police issued a media release on Tuesday afternoon about the incident, there was immediate backlash on social media against the police and their decision to charge the store clerk, who was identified on social media as being a person of colour.

On Tuesday evening, Peterborough police chief Stuart Betts posted a public statement on his personal account on X (formerly Twitter), defending his officers and their decision to charge the clerk with aggravated assault.

Public Statement: I would not normally release a message of this kind, but the commentary that has taken place following our media release today, in relation to a store clerk also being charged following an attempted robbery (https://t.co/driE7iidYc), is unfair to the men and… https://t.co/wBeVI05vWp

— Chief Stu Betts, Peterborough Police Service (@PtboChiefBetts) January 10, 2024

“In a world where security cameras are everywhere, do you really think we would not have seized and reviewed the footage as part of the investigation and prior to laying charges?” Betts wrote. “This is not about politics — politics have nothing to do with the facts. This is not about race — as some have suggested. This is not about the perception that criminals go free while victims of crime are penalized — this is about the law.”

“I encourage you to stop and think about things before determining what you think has happened, or that an injustice has taken place, because I’m quite confident that not one person who has made a comment about this case has seen the video or has access to the actual facts.”

Betts’ post has since been viewed more than 105,500 times and has attracted more than 280 comments, many of which continue to object to the decision to charge the store clerk.

On Thursday morning, Betts appeared on CBC Radio’s Ontario Morning where he spoke to host Mike Crawley about the police decision, the reaction, and his social media post.

“The intent of my message was to try to address the runaway commentary on social media around vigilantism and then vilifying the police for the decision the officers made to charge the clerk, particularly from a position where people weren’t in possession of the facts,” Betts said. “In fact, the only one — other than my investigators — who’ve seen the video is me. I’ve watched it from beginning to end, so I am in possession of all the evidence that led up to this charge.”

Betts said he had no issue with how the store clerk disarmed the would-be robber inside the store, but it was what happened after the suspect fled the store that resulted in the aggravated assault charge.

“The clerk and the witness actually effectively removed that person from the store, and they did a good job,” he said. “I have no concerns whatsoever with how they dealt with that individual to get him out of the store. The problem is, once they were out of the store, things took a much more dangerous turn … this is what has led up to the (clerk) being charged with aggravated assault. I’m just happy that it didn’t turn out to be anything more serious.”

Betts added that aggravated assault is the most serious assault charge, just one level down from a charge of attempted murder.

“You’ll see that definition (or aggravated assault) includes ‘maims, disfigures or endangers the life’ — that’s what we were dealing with,” he explained. “This would-be robber was transported by air ambulance to a trauma centre (in Toronto) to address the scope of their injuries. The injuries sustained by this individual were disproportionate to their actions within the store.”

As for the outrage related to the police decision to lay a charge against the clerk, Betts said he was “not unsympathetic to the feelings that people have right now” and “can understand and appreciate why people are angry and why they feel that way.”

However, he rejected accusations the police decision was related to politics, police incompetence, or race.

“I needed to support my officers,” he said. “They made the right decision. They consulted with a Crown attorney along the way. This (decision to charge the clerk) wasn’t made in haste. There was the obtaining of evidence. I felt that, within the context I could, I hoped to be able to provide some assurance to people.”

Betts “absolutely, unequivocally” rejected the criticism that race was involved, and claimed that most of the outrage is coming from outside of Peterborough.

“Quite frankly, the outrage, if you will, that seems to have been generated, it is generated elsewhere outside of our community, which would suggest to me that our community has a very good understanding of what’s happening and confidence in what we’re doing here,” Betts said.

He added that he had hoped posting a public statement on social media would help people understand the police decision and “put an end” to the commentary.

“It sadly has had the opposite effect,” he admitted.

Betts said the courts will see the evidence that led to the police’s decision to charge the store clerk, including the video footage that Betts himself has watched.

“Any of the commentary that’s out there on social media, or mainstream media for that matter, do not know what’s happened,” he pointed out. “I can say from beginning to end — all the interactions — I have seen it all on video.”

The negative reaction to the Peterborough incident is reminiscent to the public outrage that followed a 2009 incident in Toronto, where David Chen, the owner of a grocery store in Chinatown, was charged with kidnapping, carrying a dangerous weapon, assault, and forcible confinement after he and two employees caught and confined a man who had earlier stolen plants from the store and returned to the store. Chen and his employees conducted a citizen’s arrest even though the suspect was not caught in the act of committing a crime — something that was not allowed under the criminal code at the time.

While police later dropped the kidnapping and dangerous weapon charges, the case went to trial in 2010 and the three men were acquitted on the remaining charges of assault and forcible confinement.

That case led to the 2013 passing by the Stephen Harper government of Bill C-26, the Citizen’s Arrest and Self-Defence Act, which allows people to make a citizen’s arrest within a “reasonable” period of time after witnessing a crime. Bill C-26 also made additional amendments to the criminal code sections for self-defence and defence of property, replacing the previous definitions of “necessary” and “proportionate” force with “reasonable in the circumstances.”

Canadian self-defence law differs from American law, which includes both “stand your ground” and “duty to retreat” laws in different U.S. states. Stand your ground laws allow people to use deadly force when they reasonably believe it is necessary to defend themselves or their property against certain violent crimes, while duty to retreat laws prohibit using deadly force if it is possible to avoid the danger with complete safety by retreating. Currently, 38 U.S. states have stand your ground laws and 11 states have duty to retreat laws.

In Canada, there is no stand your ground or duty to retreat law. Instead, the criminal code considers the act of self-defence itself and whether a “reasonable person” placed in the same situation would have acted in a similar manner. In general, Canadian courts find a “stand your ground” decision to be unreasonable in situations where retreat is available. Canadian courts have also unambiguously found that it is not reasonable to use deadly force in defence of property alone, where there is not a simultaneous threat to human life or safety.

An exception is in Alberta, where the 2019 Trespass Statutes (Protecting Law-Abiding Property Owners) Amendment Act provides civil immunity to property owners who employ force, including lethal force, in defence of homes and other premises.

This story has been updated to correct a misspelling of Mike Crawley’s name.

Environment Canada has now issued a winter storm warning for most of the Kawarthas region for Friday night (January 12) to Saturday night.

The winter storm warning, which was previously a winter storm watch, is in effect for Haliburton County, Hastings Highlands, Peterborough County, and the City of Kawartha Lakes. A winter weather travel advisory is in effect for Northumberland County.

Snow is forecast to begin early Friday evening and will quickly become heavy at times, before transitioning to periods of rain overnight or early Saturday morning as temperatures rise above freezing. Strong southeasterly winds gusting up to 70 km/h will combine with this heavy snow to cause significantly reduced visibility at times.

In Haliburton County and Hastings Highlands, total snowfall accumulations of 15 to 30 cm are possible. In northern Peterborough County and northern Kawartha Lakes, total snowfall accumulations of 15 to 25 cm are possible. In southern Peterborough County and southern Kawartha Lakes, total snowfall accumulations of 10 to 20 cm are possible. In all these areas, peak snowfall rates of 3 to 5 cm per hour are expected.

In Northumberland County, total snowfall accumulations of 5 to 10 cm are possible, with peak snowfall rates of 2 to 5 cm per hour.

Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow. Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow. Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve.

This story has been updated with the latest forecast from Environment Canada.

Providing more housing and increasing access to primary care physicians and health-care professionals are two top priorities for Peterborough County Warden Bonnie Clark as she contemplates the agenda for 2024.

Clark, who is also the deputy mayor of the Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan, took office for Peterborough County in December 2022. As she entered the second year of her two-year term as warden, she spoke with kawarthaNOW about a couple of the key issues and challenges for the county in the months ahead.

Like many places in Canada, having more housing options for residents is at the forefront of her thoughts.

“We have 4,000 housing starts in the next couple years just in the county, so we are doing our share here in the county with severances and different subdivisions going,” Clark said.

On a broader level, the warden is engaged in housing discussions through her seat on the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC). Housing affordability and attainability are current focal points for the caucus.

Across the EOWC’s region, there are approximately 12,000 to 14,000 units on municipal community rental housing wait lists, EOWC figures noted.

“People are waiting an average of almost five years and up to 10 years in some cases to access these community rental housing units,” states the EOWC website. “As part of the Ontario government’s goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031, the EOWC is looking to do our part in increasing housing supply through our bold 7 in 7+ regional housing plan.”

The EOWC’s ‘7 in 7+’ regional housing plan proposes building at least 7,000 community rental units over seven years across the region to address the wait lists.

“I’ve been quite involved in that and have been advocating both in Ottawa and in Toronto to our MPs and MPPs,” the warden said. Clark also served as a panelist on housing at the Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO) conference in 2023.

Also top of mind for Clark in 2024 is improving Peterborough County residents’ access to family doctors and/or nurse practitioners and other health-care providers.

The county recently hired a health care co-ordinator to drive physician recruitment efforts and advocate for a community health centre (CHC) in the county. CHCs are located throughout Ontario and are designed to help people access primary care providers, including doctors, nurse practitioners, social workers, dietitians, and others.

Clark said if one looks at a map that details where the CHCs are located in the province, the gap for Peterborough County is obvious.

“We’re like a desert when it comes to (having) that type of facility and it’s very crucial for new physicians who are not interested in doing (administrative work). They want to come in and take care of the patients. We know we are losing some potential partners, doctors, because we can’t provide that.”

If the provincial government provides the go-ahead for a CHC, Clark said the effort will encompass various partnerships with a variety of stakeholders to bring it to life.

On a broader level, she sits on AMO’s health care transformation committee.

“Anywhere that I can be involved to advocate for (housing and health care), I certainly take full advantage of that,” the warden said.

When asked what she is most excited about this year, Clark said there are a few projects and initiatives that come to mind. Read more in an upcoming story on kawarthaNOW.

Clark’s career in public service began more than 20 years ago as a township councillor for then Otonabee Township. She has served as deputy mayor of the amalgamated Otonabee-South Monaghan and as a member of county council since 2018.

Five Counties Children’s Centre is welcoming aboard a new consulting pediatrician who will support clients of the centre and also see area children with developmental conditions across the regions of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton.

Dr. Sean Godfrey joins Five Counties Children’s Centre, which provides speech, physio, and occupational therapies among other services for kids and youth, this month. The pediatrician brings to his new role more than 25 years of experience in both the hospital and community settings.

“The arrangement with Five Counties is a win-win,” explained Bill Eekhof, communications co-ordinator for Five Counties.

“It means Dr. Godfrey will spend part of his time directly supporting our kids and families — especially those who need quicker access to the specialized services of a consulting pediatrician,” Eekhof said. “The other part of his time, Dr. Godfrey will spend seeing other kids and families from across our region that are referred to his own practice.”

Eekhof said Godfrey is in the process of establishing his own medical practice at the Five Counties Children’s Centre site in Peterborough. While the doctor will be housed at Five Counties, his medical practice is separate from the centre.

“Dr. Godfrey will also support children in Peterborough, Northumberland, Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton through the new private practice he is establishing at the Five Counties site in Peterborough,” Eekhof noted.

As a consulting pediatrician, Godfrey will take referrals from other health-care providers, including family physicians, nurse practitioners and hospital medical staff, for guidance on a specialized or complex medical issue with a child or youth.

Godfrey has worked extensively with children and youth with a wide range of physical and development needs, including helping kids with complex care needs, congenital heart disease and cardiology, asthma, and dermatology, Five Counties noted in a media release. The physician also has expertise in the areas of childhood developmental delays and learning disabilities — including autism, ADHD, and cerebral palsy.

“Dr. Godfrey is a well-respected and highly regarded consultant pediatrician who will enhance the specialized care available to our youngest citizens,” said Scott Pepin, CEO of Five Counties Children’s Centre, in the media release.

Godfrey served from 1999 to 2014 as a staff pediatrician at Lakeridge Health Oshawa in Oshawa. Between 2008 and 2014, he also served as the hospital’s chief of pediatrics. For more than 20 years, Godfrey has been director of Kinderclinic, a children’s urgent care clinic he founded that is based in Whitby and Simcoe.

The pediatrician said he’s excited about the partnership being forged with Five Counties.

“Five Counties Children’s Centre has a wonderful reputation for what it does for families in this region, and I look forward to contributing to that success,” Godfrey said in a statement.

“Over my career, I’ve been fortunate to have a private practice within a community setting that allows me independence and a chance to establish rapport with families. In both situations, it’s a joy to see children flourish and grow to reach their full potential.”

Five Counties Children’s Centre provides a range of specialized therapies and treatment services for kids and youth from birth to age 19 in the counties of Peterborough, Northumberland, and Haliburton and the City of Kawartha Lakes.

This past year, Five Counties served more than 6,200 children and youth in its region — the highest number of clients in its nearly 50-year history.

From queries ranging from prenatal care to breastfeeding, answers and support for young mothers-to-be are accessible through a program now being offered by health units covering Peterborough, Northumberland and Haliburton counties, and the City of Kawartha Lakes.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDHU) and Peterborough Public Health (PPH) are offering a pregnancy support program called the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). NFP is a free, home visiting program through which public health nurses visit young, first-time parents during their pregnancy and for the first two years of their child’s life.

Those who are 24 years old or younger and expecting their first baby can access supports that include guidance about pregnancy care, parenting, nutrition, and more.

Dr. Thomas Piggott, PPH’s CEO and medical officer of health, highlighted the need for these supports and services during the launch of the NFP program in the fall of 2023.

“We know the need is here,” Piggott said. “Income and equality, housing, and affordability — all of these massive issues that we know and often talk about as the social determinants of health are increasingly challenged in this region and in our province and country.

“But the NFP program is really a critical opportunity to provide supports for healthy growth and development that starts, we think, with these babies and these families, and these new families, but has a life-long impact.”

He said the program in the regions covered will have a combined reach of well over 250 babies and families per year.

Reese Merlin, public health nurse with NFP, said the reception has been strong since the program’s launch.

“We’re up and running, taking referrals, and many of us have clients at this point,” Merlin said. “We have gotten great feedback. The clients that we do have on our caseload absolutely love the program.”

Merlin is most excited about the access the program provides around prenatal education, particularly for those who are pregnant and living in rural areas, as well as the opportunity to visit people in their own homes and connect them with resources to help them through the transition to parenthood.

NFP can help with the following:

• Having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby
• Developing parenting skills
• Building a strong network of support for mom and baby
• Establishing life goals
• Creating a safe and nurturing environment for mom and baby
• Building life skills such as budgeting, managing stress, and preparing healthy meals.

Community members are eligible to enrol if they are under 24 years old, pregnant with their first child and/or are first-time parenting, are pregnant 28 weeks or less, and are experiencing financial hardship or limited resources, and live in Northumberland County, City of Kawartha Lakes, or Haliburton County.

Those interested can register by calling 1-866-888-4577 ext. 5003 and leaving their name and contact information.

The NFP’s broader goals are to improve pregnancy outcomes, improve childhood development, and improve parents’ economic self-sufficiency. Visit nursefamilypartnership.ca to learn more about the overall program.