In a world gone mad, Charlie Angus is on a mission to inject some sanity.

To that end, the 62-year-old author, musician, and former NDP MP well known for his grassroots activism is bringing his Meidas Canada Resistance Tour to Peterborough on Wednesday, October 15.

Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. event at The Venue on George Street North, priced on a sliding scale at $15, $25, and $40 (plus fee), can be purchased at eventbrite.ca/e/1628950046439, with proceeds after expenses benefiting the YES Shelter for Youth and Families.

Co-sponsored in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, the Home Care Workers’ Co-operative, and the Peterborough and District Labour Council, with kawarthaNOW serving as official media sponsor, the tour stop will feature remarks by Angus followed by a question-and-answer session moderated by event host Kate Story.

Angus, who served Timmins-James Bay riding as an NDP MP from 2004 until 2025, sowed the seeds of his lifelong activism in the 1980s when he and his wife founded a homeless shelter for men, in particular former prisoners and minority refugees.

Now, years later, dismayed and angered by the rise of divisiveness and authoritarianism, he’s taking his message of hope on the road to inspire others to fight for the deeply rooted Canadian values that are being increasingly threatened.

“With the Trump election, we saw the rise of really ugly gangster, fascist-kind of politics,” says Angus of his motivation for the Resistance Tour.

“People being arrested on the streets. Elon Musk giving the fascist salute. We saw, in Europe, the destabilization of years of negotiations between American allies with the Putin invasion of Ukraine. People were frightened. And then Trump threatened our country. I felt I need to start speaking up.”

“We’re not going back to normal. There’s no normal to go back to. We were very much back in a dark 1930s dystopian world, so I started to try to articulate and speak out, and people began reaching out to me. I was overwhelmed, not just by the interest but the emotion behind it.”

“When Trump threatened our country, I sensed a determination amongst very ordinary people. They were going to stand up to defend our country and values. People said ‘We need you to come. We need you come rally the troops.’ That marked the beginning of the Resistance Tour.”

Angus says his Peterborough audience will hear a few key messages.

“No one is coming to save us,” he says.

“The idea that the Democrats will get their act together for the mid-terms and we can all back to sleep, or some politician is going to negotiate (with Canada) — there’s no negotiating with gangsters.”

“In the age of gangster fascism, there’s no such thing as being a bystander. You’re an enabler or you resist. Resistance seems overpowering at first, but part of what the tour is about is how do we build resistance? How do we build that sense of willingness to stand up? How do we build a democratic movement in the age of fear and intimidation?”

Angus notes he has been “inundated” with messages from Peterborough and area residents in advance of his tour stop here.

“The team on the ground in Peterborough, they get it. I don’t have to explain to them how we use the rally. We bring people together and we start an action plan.”

Among those “on the ground” in Peterborough are event co-organizers Justin Sutton and Danielle Turpin. Both stress the event is non-partisan, and anyone who wants to strengthen both democracy and community is most welcome.

“If we see each other, face to face, we’ll begin to resist the urge to see one another as enemies,” says Sutton.

“We’re friends and neighbours. We live together. We need to create our community together. That’s the way democracy thrives. We solve problems by coming together and talking to one another. I know that we have difficult problems to work through, but the only we can do that is in conversation with one another.”

For her part, Turpin feels Angus’ words will inspire hope.

“He’s going to give us the energy to realize that if we work together, not against each other, things will change. He fights for democracy, which is about engaging all people in the community — young, old, left, right — and that’s what this event is going to bring out: that by working together, we can bring about positive change.”

Angus says his tour “is absolutely a call to action.”

“What the far right wants us to believe is that there’s no resistance and that they’re going to get their way. They’re not going to get their way. They’re just a bunch of grifters. We’ve got to call them out. We can’t be afraid of them.”

VIDEO: “Why Meidas Canada is stepping up”

After his appearance in Peterborough, Angus will be taking his Resistance Tour to British Columbia the following week. What does he hope happens in the aftermath of his Peterborough visit?

“Every time I speak, I say to people ‘It’s over to you,'” he says.

“I can’t tell you how, in Peterborough, to build resistance. You know how to do it. You can figure it out. But you’ve got to start meeting people. Get off Zoom and get into community town halls. You’ve got to meet people that weren’t politically active before. People resist when they’re asked to do something. You know what to do at the local level. My job is to give you the larger framework of what we’re dealing with.”

As for the notion that Canadians’ widely recognized reputation for being overly polite and non-confrontational is a resistance roadblock, Angus doesn’t buy it.

“Canadians are nice until they’re not,” he says.

“Just ask the poor Jerrys (German soldiers) that faced off against us when we landed on Juno Beach. We come from a long line of fascist fighters. We’ll not be pushed around when it comes to standing up, not just for ourselves but for other people. We’re sorry until we’re not sorry, and then you’re sorry.”

To those who think Canada is immune to the vitriol and divisiveness seen south of the border, Angus says think again.

“That MAGA ideology is here in Canada,” he says.

“We saw it with the convoys. We saw it with the death threats against politicians. We saw it with people shouting at the prime minister at events. We can’t let that hate come here. I think the one thing Trump has done is woken us up. Canadians were sleepwalking in a very bad way. We were not recognizing the threat. This is an opportunity for us to take the lead.”

“People ask if I’m I optimistic? Nope. I’m not optimistic at all. Am I hopeful? Damn right I’m hopeful. You can push a Canadian on an issue of justice, you can push a Canadian about backing down when someone else is being picked on, but a Canadian will always stand up and do the right thing.”

For all that Angus has done — outside politics, his life journey has seen him co-found and perform with the bands L’Étranger and Grievous Angels, write eight published books, and launch a magazine devoted to Northern Ontario life and culture —— he says his Resistance Tour experience has reset his priorities.

“I’ve been a New Democrat my whole life, but my focus now is speaking up for my country. I’m going to do what I have to do. I’ve received I don’t know how many death threats over the last three or four years. Nothing is going to stop this work. If I can do anything, I’m going to do it. If there’s better voices, smarter voices, bring it on. I’m glad for it, but I’m going to be that voice for democracy in the age of gangster fascism.”

And his message to anyone on the fence about coming out for his talk?

“You know exactly what’s going on in the world. You may tell yourself it’s going to go away, but you know it’s not. This is your opportunity to stand up … to be there in history. You may think you’re one small person and your voice doesn’t count — your voice does count, and joined by other voices, you become empowered.”

“This is a call to arms. We are the grandchildren of those great heroes who took Juno Beach and freed the Netherlands and kept the seas open and chased the Luftwaffe from the skies. It’s our turn. We’ve got to do it for our kids so they don’t have to fight in the trenches against gangsters like Putin.”

Sponsors

kawarthaNOW is proud to be the official media sponsor of Charlie Angus’s Peterborough appearance.

It has been 22 years since Peterborough’s former mayor Sylvia Sutherland officially declared September 13 as Gay Pride Day, empowering around 300 participants to join the first Pride parade in downtown Peterborough.

Since then, Pride Week has been celebrated in Peterborough every September, and Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride is gearing up for 10 days worth of Pride celebrations, with more than 30 community-run, virtual, and in-person gatherings from Friday, September 19 to Sunday, September 28.

“The ever-expanding support from the greater community has been nice to see as it leads to greater safety and well-being for members of the 2SLGBTQIA communities,” Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride committee member Rick Lambert told kawarthaNOW about the changes over the past two decades.

“The increasing number and diversity of events and participation every year and the impact beyond the 10 days of Pride Week is encouraging. Beyond Pride Week, the way the 2SLGBTQIA communities are working together to build services to meet their needs is also great.”

There have been strides but there’s more work to be done, Lambert noted, and it begins by embracing the theme of this year’s Pride Week, which is “All of Us or None.”

“This powerful phrase speaks to the interconnectedness of our struggles and our liberation,” notes a media release from Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride.

“It reminds us that true progress doesn’t happen unless it includes everyone — especially those most often pushed to the margins. When any part of our community is under attack, we are all called to respond. None of us are free until all of us are free. We invite everyone to embrace the theme of Pride Week and make it their own.”

Events during Pride Week are intended to provide a safe and accepting environment for participants to gather, share ideas, speak their minds, support each other, and have fun.

Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride Events Calendar

Pride Week officially launches at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, September 19 at Peterborough’s City Hall in downtown Peterborough with Mayor Jeff Leal reading the city’s proclamation of Pride Week and the progressive Pride flag being raised.

Events continue throughout the week, with one highlight the New Stages Theatre’s presentation of “A Public Display of Affection,” written and performed by Jonathan Wilson, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 20 at the Market Hall in downtown Peterborough.

“Fresh off its smash-hit run in Toronto in the spring, Jonathan performs a staged reading of his fabulous and deeply personal play,” reads New Stages Theatre’s description of the show. “Mixing history, comedy, and poignant reflection in equal measure, A Public Display of Affection excavates the lives, loves, and landmarks of Jonathan’s queer youth on the streets of Toronto.”

Another highlight is the Lakefield Pride Picnic, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 21 at Cenotaph Park in Lakefield. The family-friendly outdoor event features singer-songwriter and fiddler Melissa Payne, drag performer and storyteller Betty Baker, children’s activities including a bouncy castle, a march through town, food, local crafts, community booths, and more.

This year’s Trans Day of Resiliency, also known as the Trans March, takes place from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 26. This event is for all trans, non-binary, and gender diverse people, as well as those who are exploring their gender, with friends, family, and allies of the community also welcome. Attendees are asked to gather at Millennium Park beside the Silver Bean Cafe to create signs for the march, which begins at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a community social with pizza.

Pride Week culminates on Saturday, September 27 with the Pride Parade, which departs from City Hall at around 1 p.m. and proceeds south to Millennium Park for the family-friendly Pride in the Park event, which runs until about 5:30 p.m. and features performers, information booths from groups and agencies that support the queer community, vendors and food, a beer and beverage tent, and a family and children’s area.

Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride invites residents and business owners to decorate their homes and businesses to help signal a welcoming community where nobody needs to feel alone or unsafe.

According to Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride, the annual Pride Week celebration involves time and effort from many volunteers and support from the city, community organizations, unions, local businesses, and the broader community.

Lambert said the best possible outcome of Pride Week would include having all members of the 2SLGBTQIA community in the Peterborough area “feel welcome and connected to others in a positive way.”

“We hope that folks are able to build on the connections they make during Pride to help them build community and thrive year-round,” Lambert said. “The theme of Pride Week, All of Us or None, points to this imperative to build community where everyone has their needs met. Of course, we also hope everyone enjoys the events and the weather is great for the parade and other outdoor events.”

For more information about Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride Week 2025, including this year’s theme and an events calendar, visit www.peterboroughpride.ca.

According to the website, Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride exists to support and celebrate people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, “to honour and give thanks to those who have come before us and contribute to the resilient spirit and courage of the present struggle for our human rights.”

“We promote a justice seeking future through education and advocacy so that all may participate fully in the life and work of the city of Peterborough and surrounding area with safety, dignity and respect.”

Out of concern for public safety, Peterborough police have released the name and photograph of a 23-year-old Peterborough man who has been charged with harassment, possession of child pornography, and multiple counts of indecent acts and voyeurism.

Police first arrested Mathew Saunders on April 28 and charged him with criminal harassment following an incident around 6 p.m. on March 8 at the Walmart store on Chemong Road. Female victims reported a man had been following them extremely closely through the store while possibly recording them or taking photos. The incident made the women feel unsafe.

As part of the investigation, detectives with the Peterborough Police Service Sex Crime Unit seized a cellular device. After conducting an authorized search of the phone, detectives located disturbing images and, as a result, executed a search warrant on August 14 at a Peterborough residence. Saunders was then also charged with possession of child pornography.

Through further investigation, officers conducted a search warrant of a phone and located photos and videos of indecent acts and voyeurism Saunders allegedly committed while at his workplace, in his home, and in the community. Police say there is no indication that any incidents at the accused man’s workplace involved members of the public, as the business was closed at the time of the incidents.

As a result of the investigation, police arrested Saunders last Thursday (September 4) and charged him with five counts of an indecent act and nine counts of voyeurism.

The accused man was held in custody after his arrest and then released earlier this week after his court appearance with strict conditions.

“The Peterborough Police is releasing his name and photo, in accordance with the provision of the Community Safety and Policing Act (2019) and out of an abundance of concern for public safety given the nature of the incidents and evolution of the investigation over the past six months,” reads a police media release.

The police investigation is ongoing, with officers continuing to identify and connect with known victims.

Anyone with information is asked to call Peterborough police at 705-876-1122 ext. 555. If you prefer to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at stopcrimehere.ca.

Construction has begun on a new 224-bed long-term care home in Peterborough that will anchor Trent University’s Seniors Village.

An official groundbreaking ceremony was held on Tuesday (September 9), attended by Ontario Minister of Long-Term Care Natalia Kusendova-Bashta as well as Trent University leaders and faculty.

To be built and operated by peopleCare Communities, a Canadian family-owned provider of senior living communities in Ontario, the long-term care home will centre around seven “resident home areas” to create a more intimate and familiar living space for residents. The building will include therapy and quiet rooms, a bistro, a secure landscaped courtyard, and a multipurpose spiritual room.

Located on leased land on the northwest corner of Water Street and Woodland Avenue on Trent University’s Symons Campus, the long-term care home will also include a teaching and research space for the use of Trent University students and faculty.

“Following years of planning, breaking ground on this long-term care home marks a meaningful step forward for Trent, for peopleCare, and for the community,” said Trent University president and vice-chancellor Dr. Cathy Bruce in a media release.

“This project will help meet the urgent need for long-term care, while also creating a space where innovation, research, and learning come together to improve quality of life for older adults. It’s a place where care will be practised with compassion, informed by evidence, and to benefit others.”

As a designated age-friendly university, Trent University will also be inviting and encouraging residents of the long-term care home to engage in university life, and will be facilitating meaningful intergenerational connections on campus.

The home will be surrounded by 55 acres of mature greenspace and trails. Following engagement with the Michi Saagiig First Nations, the Elders and Knowledge Keepers Council named the site Nokomisinaanan Gitigan (Grandmother’s Garden), reflecting a shared commitment to honouring both community and environment.

Trent University and peopleCare have entered into a teaching and research agreement that will provide experiential learning for more than 90 nursing, social work, and kinesiology students each year.

“A strategic goal of this collaboration is to interest students in geriatric care, a sector challenged to attract young healthcare leaders,” according to a March 2021 document from Trent University and peopleCare.

“peopleCare and Trent will work together to spearhead research into promising practices in aging, conducting research and piloting initiatives within the LTC home (and potentially other peopleCare homes), with the intent to spread and scale innovation throughout the LTC sector and the broader healthcare system.”

Trent University selected peopleCare Communities through a competitive process, with public information sessions held in 2021 to share environmental studies on the land.

Construction is expected to take around 18 to 24 months, with the first residents to be welcomed to the home in 2027. Trent is currently undertaking a process to select a developer for the remainder of the Seniors Village, which is envisioned to include housing and related services for aging in place.

“peopleCare is thrilled to build and operate a new long-term care home that will be a centre of excellence for aging adults in Peterborough, as part of Trent University’s Seniors Village,” says peopleCare chairman and CEO Brent Gingerich.

“We’re excited to collaborate with an innovative partner like Trent and create something truly unique, where clinical best practices, teaching, research and intergenerational connections come together.”

The project is a recipient of the construction funding subsidy top-up from the Ontario government and is part of the government’s commitment to build 58,000 new and redeveloped long-term care beds across Ontario as outlined in its 2025 budget.

“This new long-term care home is a critical step forward in addressing the needs of our aging population here in Peterborough and across Ontario,” says Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith.

“It’s more than just a building; it’s a promise to our seniors that they will have a safe, modern, and comfortable place to call home, where they can receive the high-quality care they deserve. I’m proud to see this project moving forward, as it directly supports our government’s commitment to building a stronger, healthier future for everyone.”

A 26-year-old Peterborough man is facing three charges after he recorded himself speeding on his cellphone and shared the video.

The Peterborough police’s traffic management unit was made aware of a cellphone video in which a driver recorded himself travelling 150 km/h in a 60km/h zone on The Parkway — two-and-a-half times the posted speed limit.

Through investigation, officers were able to confirm the date, time, location, and speed of the vehicle.

As a result of the investigation, police located the driver on Monday (September 8) and charged him with three offences under the Highway Traffic Act: stunt driving, speeding 150 km/h in a 60 km/h zone, and driving while using a hand-held communication device.

Police impounded the man’s vehicle for 14 days and suspended his driver’s licence for 30 days.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call Peterborough police at 705-876-1122 ext 289. If you prefer to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at stopcrimehere.ca.

Community members who donate to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation are not only supporting world-class healthcare close to home, but are inspiring healthcare professionals to find innovative solutions to the most pressing healthcare needs facing the region.

PRHC has shown commitment to fostering such innovation by being among the first hospitals in Canada, and the first of its size, to develop a dedicated multi-year nursing strategy that sets a visionary path for the nursing profession at the hospital.

Some recent nursing innovations that have been championed at PRHC were recognized through the donor-funded PRHC Foundation Nursing Innovation Awards, held at PRHC’s inaugural Nursing Symposium during National Nursing Week in May 2025.

“Innovation is one of the focus areas of PRHC’s strategic plan and an ambitious goal that the PRHC Foundation is proud to support,” says PRHC Foundation President and CEO Lesley Heighway.

“It’s wonderful to have an opportunity through the Nursing Symposium and the PRHC Foundation Nursing Innovation Awards to recognize, celebrate, and encourage all the innovations our hospital colleagues are pursuing.”

Through the PRHC Foundation awards, the hospital recognizes five nursing groups or individuals for their exceptional creativity, leadership, and the impact they have made to significantly improve patient-centred care, nursing practice, or healthcare systems.

“The focus has really shifted to promote nurses to make these changes and to be leaders and have professional development and growth in their career,” says award winner Rachel Whiteside, RN and PRHC interim clinical nurse educator for the hospital’s Women’s & Children’s program.

“I started my career wanting to be a nurse and wanting to help people and, to me, that meant going to work, doing my job, and providing the care — but now it’s so much more than that,” Whiteside says. “To have the support from the hospital and to see they’re prioritizing that really does make a difference, and it does make me want to keep going.”

Whiteside’s award-winning innovation involved collaboration with Peterborough City and County paramedics to add warming mattresses to every ambulance for neonates — babies that are 28 days old or younger. The idea came to her when she noticed a pattern and learned that 10 out of 13 neonates who arrived at PRHC within the past year were hypothermic upon arrival.

Among the many detrimental effects of hypothermia in babies are respiratory distress, hypoglycemia, and increasing risk of sepsis — all of which require separating newborns from their mothers for treatment, at a time when that connection is crucial.

“We try our best not to separate mom and baby, but when the baby needs to be in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, there is that disconnect,” Whiteside explains. “Mom and baby can’t be rooming together, and babies can’t have a constant connection if they’re hooked up to monitors or if they’re on CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) or any other kind of intervention.”

“It causes a lot of stress on the baby to not be with their family that way, so I wanted to figure out why this was happening,” she adds.

In the emergency department, PRHC uses warming mattresses for patients with cracked discs to provide “instant warmth.” Whiteside suggested that, as is done in some remote communities, local emergency medical services could also have warming mattresses in their vehicles so they can keep the neonates warm during transportation.

At very little cost, Whiteside’s innovation means fewer neonates will come to the hospital in hypothermic states, ensuring they are at less risk and can connect with their families sooner.

“If they are properly thermally regulated, the chances of us stabilizing them are higher,” Whiteside says. “Hopefully if they come in nice and warm, they’re not going to have all these trickle-down effects like hypoglycemia. If it just helps one family in our community and one baby, that’s a big deal for me.”

Carly Ryan is another inaugural PRHC Foundation Nursing Innovation Awards recipient for her efforts in conducting an evidence-based review that introduced a topical lidocaine rubbing cream for procedural pain control in pediatric patients.

The new cream is more cost-effective, acts more quickly, and results in a better experience for pediatric patients when compared to the product previously used.

“We know as nurses that pediatric populations can be a bit tricky to reassure because they don’t always understand what we’re doing when it comes to painful procedures,” says Ryan. “We have to be a bit creative with that so the patient can have a good therapeutic relationship with us.”

The previous numbing cream required up to 60 minutes to take full effect. In comparison, the new cream takes only 20 minutes to activate and is just as effective, which improves the patient experience.

By reducing wait times, children spend less time feeling anxious, which helps build trust in healthcare professionals from an early age.

“The new cream offers a near-painless experience which can completely change how a child feels about their healthcare provider,” says Ryan. “The more positive of an experience we can give them, the more likely they’ll grow and adapt, and the anxiety will be less and less as they become adults.”

“The new cream also helps us move children through the clinic more quickly, which reduces the risk of infection between patients,” Ryan adds.

Not only were the Nursing Innovation Awards funded by donors, but a hospital environment where equipment and technology is donor-funded reinforces the ability of nurses, doctors and staff to innovate.

“With donor support, the PRHC Foundation funds advanced equipment and technology that our hospital colleagues use to provide exceptional patient care,” says Heighway. “Often, it’s that great care that inspires a donor to give. They or a loved one were treated at PRHC, received expert compassionate care from nurses, doctors, or staff, and they want to do something to give back. So, they donate to say thank you and help PRHC’s healthcare providers help the next patient.”

“When we use those donations to update equipment, we never replace like with like. That new, donor-funded technology is always better than what was in place before. It’s faster, safer, more accurate, and it helps bring new services and more great medical professionals to our region. That’s an environment that fuels innovative solutions to hospital challenges and supports world-class patient care.”

For Ryan, support from donors in the community along with initiatives like the Nursing Symposium inspire nurses to continue finding new and creative solutions that benefit their patients.

“Having that community support encourages us to engage in these dialogues to see where we can maybe make changes, and it allows us to grow, adapt, and feel like we’re part of a team that is ever-expanding and ever-evolving with a patient-care centred approach,” she says.

“With continued support from the hospital and Foundation year after year, the possibilities keep growing. I’m really excited to see how this progresses and what it will mean for the future of patient care at PRHC.”

For her part, Heighway says Whiteside and Ryan and their fellow PRHC Foundation Nursing Innovation Awards winners have all demonstrated exceptional creativity, leadership, and impact.

“Through innovative practices, projects, and research, they’re significantly improving patient-centred care and nursing practice,” she says. “Ultimately, that means patients — our family, friends and neighbours — are receiving better care.”

“Rachel and Carly’s innovations are making a difference for some of PRHC’s youngest, most vulnerable patients, which is particularly inspiring — for donors, and for Rachel and Carly’s colleagues who may be considering the ways they can address challenges they see in their own areas of care and are looking to them as an example.”

VIDEO: “If my mind is good, my heart is good, my work is good”

This branded editorial was created in partnership with the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.