Families, friends, and supporters of people lost to drug-related deaths in Peterborough and across the world are recognizing 25 years of calling for better care for people who use substances.

“We have been at this for 25 years, yet people are still needlessly dying,” said Aizha Pollock, manager of harm reduction at Peterborough AIDS Resource Network (PARN), in a recent interview with kawarthaNOW.

The 2026 theme for International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) is “25 Years On. Still Needed.”

August 31 gathering at Millennium Park will remember those lost to drug-related harms

IOAD was first recognized in Melbourne, Australia in 2001 and is now recognized in over 40 countries annually on August 31 as a day both of remembrance and prevention advocacy.

In Peterborough, IOAD was first recognized in 2016 but the event gained momentum in 2018 with the support of local mother Gail Parry and Canadian advocacy and support network Moms Stop the Harm.

“What began with one mother’s grief grew into something much larger. Gail created space for other families to honour the people they had lost,” said Pollock at a flag-raising ceremony at Peterborough City Hall on August 18.

This year, PARN will host its annual August 31 IOAD gathering in Peterborough’s Millennium Park at 131 King Street from noon to 4 p.m. The event will bring together people affected by overdose deaths, supporters, and community members interested in learning more.

Attendees can expect a free barbeque provided by M&M Food Market, music, community partners and information about local programs, services, and supports, speakers with a range of perspectives and experiences, naloxone training, harm reduction information and resources, and a memorial banner recognizing people who have been lost to accidental drug poisoning.

“I encourage everybody to come to show their support for people who use drugs, for people who have lost loved ones to drug-related harms, and to honour and remember and tribute people lost to drug-related harms,” said Pollock.

Naloxone pop-up events aim to equip community members

Ahead of the Millennium Park gathering, PARN is hosting free pop-up naloxone events where community members can receive free naloxone kits, be trained on how to provide naloxone, and learn more about overdose prevention and harm reduction.

The next pop-up event will be on Wednesday, August 26 at Peterborough Square Mall (360 George Street North) from 1 to 4 p.m. and the final event will happen on Friday, August 28 at Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer Street North) from 1 to 4 p.m.

“It’s so important to get naloxone in the hands of the broader community and to make sure they’re trained and comfortable if they come across somebody who’s in need of help,” said Pollock.

Community members can receive a free naloxone kit at any time from local providers including PARN, Four Counties Addictions Services Team (Fourcast), Lakelands Public Health, and most pharmacies.

Speaking to the importance of these events, especially in light of the 25th anniversary internationally, Pollock said that there is still lots of stigma and misconceptions about drug use, addictions, and overdoses.

“The big misconception right now is that people should just stop (using drugs), that it’s just that easy,” said Pollock. “In order to support people that use drugs, we need to provide a spectrum of supports and those spectrum of supports need to be all of the four pillars of drug strategy.”

The Peterborough Drug Strategy uses a four-pillar approach consisting of prevention and education, treatment, community safety, and harm reduction.

“It can’t be one or the other — it can’t be (just) treatment or (just) harm reduction,” Pollock added.

Culture of judgment around harm reduction, overdoses, and unhoused people

In relation to the recent closure of Peterborough’s consumption and treatment site (CTS), Pollock said this demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of harm reduction services and that simply removing a service does not remove the need for the service.

“Drugs are a fact of life and people are always going to use drugs. People don’t use drugs because we hand out supplies and because we have harm reduction services,” said Pollock. “Harm reduction services exist because people do use drugs.”

Pollock also said that the term “overdose” can lead to a misunderstanding about what causes drug-related deaths, which she said are primarily caused by tainted drug supply rather than excessive use.

“The reason more often than not why people tend to experience drug-related harms and lose their lives isn’t because they’re doing too much, it’s because the supply is so erratic,” said Pollock.

For Pollock, there is a pervasive culture of judgment against unhoused people regardless of if any one individual uses substances.

“People will look at somebody who’s living unhoused and instead of feeling bad for the person that’s in that position they feel bad for themselves for having to look at it,” she said.

Unhoused individuals face unique challenges and lack the same access to privacy and dignity that people who have housing enjoy, said Pollock.

“People that have the privilege of being housed, who have the privilege of using behind closed doors, aren’t stigmatized and judged the way people who are living outside or are unhoused are,” Pollock said.

“The fact of the matter is, for the most part people do the best they can with the hand they’ve been dealt and the circumstances they’re in.”

Challenging stigma around drug use and drug-related deaths

Furthermore, due to the stigma around both homelessness and drug use, there is often little opportunity for people to mourn their lost loved ones, as blame is often assigned to the person most harmed.

“People were losing dozens of people and there was no opportunity or allowability for these people to openly mourn their friends and family because of the stigma towards people that use drugs,” said Pollock.

Rather than criticizing an individual for using substances or for being a victim of the drug-poisoning crisis, there should be more recognition of the complex causes of addiction and the lack of support for those experiencing it, said Pollock.

“It is not the failure of somebody who uses substances — it is our failure in not supporting them and doing everything that we can with evidence-based research and evidence to prevent these preventable deaths,” she said.

“People have the right to use drugs and to do so without the risk of dying.”

IOAD calls on all members of the community to be allies and advocates for those with lived and living experience of drug use and drug-related deaths.

“To be good allies, educate yourself and don’t spread judgment, misinformation, or stigma,” said Pollock.

For Pollock, part of allyship is to recognize that everybody has a unique relationship with substance use and, rather than “impressing” specific goals or ideals onto people, the focus should be to provide resources and information to allow them to make informed decisions about their own health and goals.

“People who use drugs are a part of this community, they deserve compassion, they deserve to be treated with dignity no matter where they are in their journey,” she added.

For more information about International Overdose Day, visit www.overdoseday.com.

With the nomination period for October’s municipal election having closed at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon (August 21), Peterborough residents now know the final slate of candidates for the next city council.

Barring any additional updates that are not yet reflected in the list of uncertified candidates on the City of Peterborough’s website, there are a total of seven candidates for mayor and 28 for the 10 councillor positions — two in each of the city’s five wards.

Rob Hailman filed his nomination papers for mayor on Friday morning, joining six other candidates — Michael Eamon, Brian Lumsden, Jacob Méthot, Neil Morton, Keith Riel, and Rebecca Schillemat — who are vying to become Peterborough’s new head of city council.

After months of speculation about whether he would seek re-election, incumbent mayor Jeff Leal announced on Thursday morning that he will not be running for a second term, citing health-related issues and a desire to spend time with his family.

Hailman is the final candidate to join the mayor race. The director of operations for the non-profit Trent Radio who is also a business manager for Trent University’s student newspaper Arthur as well as a musician and broadcaster, Hailman is a community-based advocate who has served on the boards of local and national non-profits, including the Canadian Journalism Collective and Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre.

Hailman will be familiar to anyone who watches city council meetings, as he is a regular delegate and a frequent harsh critic of the existing council. Most recently, at a June 1 council meeting where councillors debated a winter shelter response plan, Hailman said “the majority of our council are wilful murderers and the remainder are collaborators” with reference to council’s approach to the issue of homelessness.

As for candidates for council, there are now five in Otonabee Ward (including the two incumbents), six in Monaghan Ward (including one incumbent), five in Town Ward (including the two incumbents), four in Ashburnham Ward (including one incumbent), and eight in Northcrest Ward (including one incumbent).

Newly registered candidates for Otonabee Ward are entrepreneur and former provincial Green Party candidate Lucas Graham along with Joe Laton-Trickett.

Otonabee Ward candidate Jessica Correa has withdrawn her nomination, after announcing her decision on social media on Wednesday, stating that a “concern regarding my candidacy was raised with my employer, triggering an additional and more formal review.”

“I was advised that continuing my candidacy was no longer considered compatible with my current professional responsibilities,” Correa added.

Correa is the second candidate in Otonabee Ward to withdraw. Shortly after filing her own nomination back in May, Noella Koshul withdrew her nomination and endorsed Correa.

Along with Graham and Laton-Trickett, the other Otonabee Ward candidates are incumbents Kevin Duguay and Lesley Parnell as well as Chris Potter.

In Monaghan Ward, local evangelist and pastor Aris Metaxakis entered the race last week, joining incumbent Matt Crowley along with Ashley Flynn, Rose Kitney, Jen Lacey, and AJ Shearer. As his name does not appear on the updated list of uncertified candidates as of Friday afternoon, it appears incumbent Don Vassiliadis has decided against running for re-election.

In Town Ward, Nigel Lister is the latest challenger to incumbents Alex Bierk and Joy Lachica, joining Jenni Cathcart and Jessica Kuhlmorgen-Hille. Previously a market development manager at Cambium Consulting & Engineering, Lister is president of the Peterborough and District Construction Association and vice-chair of the board of the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area.

There are no last-minute candidates for Ashburnham Ward, which has only a single incumbent councillor (Gary Baldwin) running for re-election as the other incumbent, Keith Riel, is running for mayor. Ashley Bonner, Andrew MacGregor, and Jason Stabler are the other candidates in the ward.

With Dennis Nephin joining the race in Northcrest, the ward now has eight candidates competing for the two councillor positions.

Incumbent Dave Haacke announced months ago he would not be seeking re-election, leaving his fellow incumbent Andrew Beamer to fight off seven challengers: Debbie Halstead, Phil Jolicoeur, Paul Lawton, Charmaine Magumbe, Gavin Muir, Jim Wasson, and now Nephin, who is best known for taking over Kawartha Ribfest when the Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha announced in December 2024 it would no longer be involved in the annual event.

The municipal election takes place on Monday, October 26.

The original version of this story has been updated to correct a misspelling of Dennis Nephin’s surname and to remove a reference to Rob Hailman as a contributor to Arthur. While he is a business manager for Arthur, he is not a regular contributor and does not have any editorial relationship with the publication.

Survivors of sexual assault and their supporters and allies will gather in downtown Peterborough in September for the 46th annual “Take Back the Night” event hosted by the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre (KSAC).

“Take Back the Night is a global movement that started by talking about how women and gender-diverse folks around the world don’t feel safe walking alone at night,” said Jocelyn Enright, prevention education and community engagement coordinator at KSAC, in a recent interview with kawarthaNOW.

Take Back the Night 2026 will take place on Thursday, September 17 from 5 to 9 p.m. outside in the Peterborough Square Courtyard at the corner of Charlotte Street and Water Street.

A global movement with deep roots in Peterborough

“This year’s event theme is Our Voices, Our Strength, Our Community and serves as a reminder to uplift the voices of survivors, to remind survivors of the strength and control they have in their life, and that we are all stronger together as a community,” reads a media release.

KSAC is a local non-profit agency that provides various free supports for individuals aged over 16 of any gender. They host a 24/7 crisis support line, one-to-one counselling, group workshops, and participate in advocacy for survivors.

The oldest worldwide movement to stand against sexual violence, Take Back the Night began in the 1970s with a tribunal council meeting in Belgium attended by over 2,000 women representing more than 40 countries.

Early activists protested the lack of safety for women, including when walking down the street alone at night. One of the first Take Back the Night events was held in 1972, when a group of women at the University of Southern Florida donned witches’ brooms and black capes and marched through campus to demand resources and safety for women.

Peterborough’s first Take Back the Night event was hosted in 1980 by KSAC that, at the time, was a volunteer-led community group called Peterborough Rape Relief. Just two years earlier, the Vancouver Rape Relief organization has held the first Take Back the Night event in Canada.

Enright said that, nearly five decades later, many people continue to feel unsafe walking alone, at night, or in secluded areas.

“Even to this day, what we hear from folks is that they don’t feel safe walking alone at night,” she said.

Survivors and advocates say that, historically, when their concerns are brought forward they are provided advice on how to change their behaviour to prevent risk and protect themselves. Enright said instead the focus should be on how to change the culture and response around sexual assault.

“Why are we putting the onus on the people who are most at risk, and why isn’t there more change happening?” Enright asks.

Community agencies and performers join evening program

This year’s event will consist of two sections, the first being a drop-in space with community agencies who support survivors sharing information about their services.

Key Take Back the Night partners will be in attendance including the YWCA Peterborough-Haliburton, Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough, Peterborough AIDS Resource Network (PARN), and Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle.

In addition to the core organizing team, Enright identified Peterborough Community Legal Centre and the Community Race Relations Committee as being in attendance at the event.

“We’re trying to build this community where we’re all connected and we all understand that one service is probably not going to be a one-stop shop for people,” said Enright.

Enright also said that KSAC will be providing poster- and sign-making supplies from 5 to 6:30 p.m. to enable people who do not have the opportunity or means to bring their own signs to the rally to be fully involved.

From 6:30 to 8 p.m. the formal program of local poets, singers, and performers will take place. Enright noted local Indigenous drumming group Naandewegaan (Healing With Drums) will be participating in the event.

Finally, the group will “take back the night” by participating in a candle-lit march through Peterborough’s downtown core, with signs and rally cries calling for change.

“It involves an evening event and a walk through the downtown streets to emulate walking alone at night,” said Enright.

Sexual assault statistics ‘only scratch the surface’

Take Back the Night continues to be a core event in KSAC’s annual calendar to bring awareness to the prevalence of sexual assault both in Peterborough and on a wider scale.

Enright cited data from Office of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime which showed that in Canada, one in three women and one in six men will experience sexual violence within their lifetime.

However, she noted that this data often relies on police reports, which KSAC recognizes is an underrepresentation of assault rates due to barriers to reporting and a lack of adequate law enforcement response.

“Statistics give us a little bit of an idea, but they still only really scratch the surface,” Enright said.

According to data released by the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, reported cases of sexual assault have increased in Peterborough since 2006 and remain above the provincial and national average.

For Enright, the continuation of Take Back the Night is an important demonstration of solidarity with survivors from the community at large and represents readiness for change.

“This event is so important because it brings together all different folks and you know that everybody there is there for the common cause. Whether they’re a survivor or not, they recognize what the problem is and they want to do something about it,” she said.

Prevention education aims to create cultural change

In addition to providing survivor services, KSAC also provides education and training on prevention to schools, community agencies, businesses, and many other organizations. This includes discussion of consent, healthy relationships, and human trafficking.

Enright said that prevention education plays an important role in building a positive culture from a young age, translating to fewer instances of sexual assault and fewer individuals needing survivor services.

“We often have to wait until a problem has happened, whereas we would like to talk to folks, and especially young folks, to try and create cultural change.”

In particular, Enright noted KSAC’s involvement with the Peterborough Petes as an important opportunity to connect with young men to discuss healthy masculinity, consent, and allyship.

“We have a really good relationship with the Petes, but we’re hoping to take that into some more minor sports in Peterborough,” said Enright.

KSAC has recently hired a part-time male allyship coordinator to support further outreach efforts.

Take Back the Night itself is open to people of all gender identities and welcomes male allies. However, Enright noted that KSAC will continue to centre the voices and lived experience of those most impacted by sexual assault and violence.

“We’re making sure that we’re doing these events keeping in mind that Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit folks are greatly impacted by sexual violence,” said Enright.

For more information about KSAC’s supports and services, visit kawarthasexualassaultcentre.com, email info@kawarthasac.ca, or call 705-748-5901.

Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal will not seek a second term in the October municipal election.

Leal made the announcement in the boardroom at Peterborough City Hall on Thursday morning (August 20), ending months of speculation about his political future just one day before the nomination period closes.

After describing accomplishments under his term as mayor — including the mayor’s task force on housing, physician recruitment, investments in city parks, infrastructure improvements, and taking economic development and tourism in house — the 71-year-old Leal said he has “to be realistic about my age and my health.”

“If this were a two-year term, I would happily run again to see some of the major projects we have worked so hard to advance through to completion,” Leal said. “But committing to another four years of seven-days-a-week work is not what I am looking for at this stage of my life.”

He noted that he requires knee surgeries and “consequent rehab that would make my high standards of work ethic difficult to achieve” and that he wants “to enjoy my beautiful family while I still have good health.”

Leal’s decision means his four-year term as Peterborough’s 63rd mayor will conclude when the next city council takes office following the October 26 election.

Six candidates have filed their nomination papers to run for mayor: Michael Eamon, Brian Lumsden, Jacob Méthot, Neil Morton, incumbent Ashburnham Ward councillor Keith Riel, and Rebecca Schillemat.

Trent Radio director of operations Rob Hailman has also announced he will file his nomination papers on Friday (August 21). If he does, he will become the seventh candidate seeking the mayor’s chair. The nomination period closes at 2 p.m. Friday.

“The electorate now has an extremely important decision to make in the next municipal election,” Leal said. “Nostalgia and generalities is not a plan. I firmly believe Peterborough needs leaders who will continue the growth mindset we have established, and who stand on the shoulders of others.”

Leal’s full speech is available on the City of Peterborough website.

A Peterborough native and graduate of Kenner Collegiate, Trent University, and the University of Windsor, Leal began his political career when he was elected to represent Otonabee Ward on Peterborough city council in the mid-1980s. Before entering politics, he was employed as a health and safety representative for Coyle Corrugated Containers in Peterborough.

Leal remained on council until 2003, serving as deputy mayor from 1993 to 2003, first under Mayor Jack Doris and then Mayor Sylvia Sutherland.

He first ran provincially as the Ontario Liberal candidate in Peterborough in 1999, narrowly losing to incumbent Progressive Conservative MPP Gary Stewart. In a 2003 rematch, Leal defeated Stewart by more than 6,000 votes.

He was re-elected as Peterborough MPP in 2007, 2011, and 2014. During his 15 years at Queen’s Park, Leal served in several parliamentary assistant roles, as chief government whip, and in the provincial cabinet under then-premier Kathleen Wynne.

Leal was appointed minister of rural affairs in 2013 and became minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs the following year.

His provincial political career ended in 2018 when he finished third behind successful Progressive Conservative candidate Dave Smith and NDP candidate Sean Conway.

The results reflected an election that saw incumbent premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal party recording both the worst result in the party’s 161-year history and the worst result for any incumbent governing party in Ontario, as Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative formed a majority government, the Ontario New Democratic Party led by Andrea Horwath formed the official opposition, and the Liberal party lost official party status.

After four years away from elected office, Leal returned to municipal politics in 2022 when he announced his intention to run as Peterborough’s mayor. He defeated four other candidates — including then-city councillors Henry Clarke and Stephen Wrigt — finishing more than 4,600 votes ahead of Clarke.

Leal’s single term as mayor included several controversial decisions and incidents, particularly during 2025, when kawarthaNOW named him Peterborough’s Newsmaker of the Year.

In February 2025, Leal used his strong mayor powers to expedite Brock Mission’s proposed six-storey transitional housing project at 738 Chemong Road despite opposition from some neighbouring residents and most members of city council.

The decision prompted Northcrest Neighbours for Fair Process to launch a legal challenge. The group ultimately abandoned the case after a judge ordered it to provide $30,000 as security for the legal costs of the city and Brock Mission, later agreeing to pay $22,500 to settle the matter.

In May 2025, the city’s integrity commissioner Guy Giorno found Leal had violated city council’s code of conduct by intimidating councillor Alex Bierk and bullying councillor Joy Lachica in connection with the controversial redevelopment of Bonnerworth Park for pickleball courts.

The report, which also found Leal’s decision-making on the redevelopment did not involve a “private advantage” for him or for his wife, concluded the mayor’s comments to councillor Alex Bierk that “You’re going to regret you ever said that” and “I’ll carve you like a Thanksgiving turkey” — comments made after Bierk mentioned the mayor’s pickleball-playing wife by name during a council meeting — constituted intimidation.

Giorno also found that Leal had bullied councillor Joy Lachica by yelling at her in a city hall corridor following a council meeting on the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment, as well as through his behaviour toward her at a subsequent closed session.

Despite Giorno’s findings, city council meeting as general committee voted 7-3 against penalizing the mayor for breaching city council’s code of conduct, with councillors Bierk, Lachica, and Keith Riel voting against the motion (Leal had recused himself from the discussion and the vote). The arguments in support of the mayor were that he had already been penalized enough through the public shame of the integrity commissioner’s report.

Giorno issued another report in January 2026, this time clearing Leal of breaching council’s code of conduct during an incident in March 2025 while speaking to a business administration class at Trent University, when he used the n-word. The mayor claimed he had been quoting former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson, but the incident prompted calls for his resignation, a protest outside city hall, and nine complaints to the integrity commissioner.

In his report, while Giorno described the slur as “odious” and said the mayor’s use of the term was “not acceptable,” he found that council’s code of conduct did not apply to speech made in an academic setting where the mayor was not acting in his official capacity. City council later amended the code of conduct to address the use of racial slurs.

Leal also faced criticism over his support for substantial increases to the Peterborough Police Service’s operating and capital budgets, including a 9.22 per cent operating increase for 2026 and a $25.4-million increase to the estimated cost of renovating and expanding the city’s two police stations.

The 2026 municipal election will be held on Monday, October 26. Peterborough voters will elect a mayor, two councillors in each of the city’s five wards, and school board trustees.

With files from Paul Rellinger.

The original version of this story has been updated with excerpts from Mayor Leal’s speech.