Peterborough police have laid their first-ever charge of wilful promotion of hatred in connection with several incidents related to antisemitic flyers being distributed in neighbourhoods throughout the city in 2023.

Last September, police had already charged a 31-year-old Peterborough man with mischief and obstructing a peace officer and, at the time, indicated they were consulting with the Ministry of the Attorney General to have the incidents deemed as a wilful promotion of hatred under Canada’s criminal code, which is an indictable offence punishable with a prison term of up to two years.

“Police must balance constitutional rights with the Criminal Code of Canada which makes investigations very complicated,” police said at the time. “Before laying some hate-motivated or bias-motivated criminal charges under the Criminal Code of Canada, police are required to conduct an investigation and then turn the file over to the local Crown Attorney’s office and get consent from the Attorney General’s Office.”

There are several charges under the criminal code that require the Attorney General’s consent before charges are laid: advocating genocide, public incitement of hatred, wilful promotion of hatred, and wilful promotion of antisemitism. Advocating genocide is punishable with a prison term of up to five years, with the other charges each punishable with a prison term of up to two years.

In December, the police’s application to the Attorney General was granted and earlier in January the accused man was notified of the new charge. He appeared in court on Tuesday (January 23) for a first appearance on that charge. This incident is the first time the Peterborough Police Service has received authorization to lay a charge of wilful promotion of hatred.

“As a service tasked with ensuring public safety, and on behalf of our community, we are thankful the Ministry of the Attorney General agreed with our assessment that the charge of wilful promotion of hatred was warranted,” said Peterborough police chief Stuart Betts in a media release. “We take these types of incidents very seriously and believe that there is no room for hate in our community.”

Between May and July last year, antisemitic pamphlets were reported in the area of Parkhill Road West and Crowley Crescent, in the Medical Drive and Weller Street area, in the Lansdowne Street and George Street area, in East City, and the Wolsely Street and Chemong Road area. In total, police received 19 reports of the antisemitic flyers from residents.

In September, after a four-month investigation, police officers obtained a warrant to search a Peterborough residence and located items connected to the distribution of the antisemitic flyers. During the investigation, the suspect in the case provided police with a false name and address. He was arrested and charged with mischief and obstructing a peace officer.

The accused man’s Tuesday court appearance on the charge of wilful promotion of hatred comes four days after the provincial government announced a $167,000 grant for Peterborough police to develop a public education campaign about the difference between a hate bias incident, to streamline reporting protocols, to provide ongoing training to officers, and to establish a comprehensive hate incident database.

Given Ontario’s current physician shortage and the high number of “orphaned” patients, the enthusiastic reaction to word that a new doctor was coming to town is no surprise.

The applause from our own staff and the explosion of interest on social media to news that Dr. Sean Godfrey is joining Five Counties Children’s Centre as a consulting pediatrician isn’t surprising. As a children’s treatment centre, anything that boosts care for our kids is worth celebrating.

While Dr. Godfrey’s arrival here is not a cure-all to what ails pediatric care in our region, his presence is a dose of good news.

Pediatricians are doctors who specialize and focus on the health of infants, children, and youth, but these medical experts are few and far between.

At Five Counties, we’ve been extremely fortunate to have our long-time pediatrician and former medical director Dr. Mary Thain continue to work diagnosing and assessing children for autism spectrum disorder.

As Dr. Thain keeps up this important work, securing the services of another well-respected and highly-regarded pediatrician like Dr. Godfrey is an added bonus.

VIDEO: Welcome to Dr. Sean Godfrey

“Five Counties has a wonderful reputation for what it does for families in this region, and I look forward to contributing to that success,” says Dr. Godfrey, who brings 25-plus years of experience in hospital and community settings helping children and adolescents with a wide range of physical and developmental needs.

Based on the arrangement with Five Counties, Dr. Godfrey will spend about one-quarter of his time seeing our kids and clients at our centre locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, and Cobourg. The partnership will provide quicker access to care for Five Counties kids — especially those who need the specialized services of a consulting pediatrician.

It also fits the centre’s long history of collaborating with others and our strategic aim “to innovate and explore alternative methods to address the needs of our families that reduces wait times.”

The remainder of Dr. Godfrey’s time will be spent seeing and supporting children and families from across our region — Peterborough, Northumberland, Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton — at the private medical practice he is establishing at our Five Counties site in Peterborough.

Referrals from doctors and nurse practitioners will be required, although — knowing that many families do not have a primary care provider — families can call Dr. Godfrey’s practice directly at 705-745-1313 to inquire about a self-referral.

Having a private practice within a community setting is nothing new for Dr. Godfrey, as it provides him independence and a chance to work directly with families.

“In both situations, it’s a joy to see kids flourish and grow to reach their full potential,” he notes.

Five Counties echoes the sentiment. With the recent launch of our SmartStart Hub online referral form, enhancements to our provincial funding, and the new partnership with Dr. Godfrey, we will be able to help more kids and families get timely, life-changing care close to home.

You might say it’s just what the doctor ordered.

Attila, a documentary by Lindsay native Stephen Hosier that explores mental health and social issues, debuted on the Crave streaming platform on Monday (January 22) — two days ahead of Bell Let’s Talk Day.

The debut feature documentary by the Toronto-based filmmaker follows Hosier’s childhood friend Richard Csanyi as he investigates the life and tragic death of his 28-year-old twin brother Attila. Hosier and the Csanyi brothers all grew up in Lindsay and made videos together during high school.

On May 2, 2020, police and paramedics responded to a call about a man found without vital signs on the roof of Jackson Square Mall in Hamilton, Ontario. He was pronounced dead at the scene after unsuccessful resuscitation efforts. More than a month later, he was identified as Attila Csanyi.

Prior to his death, Attila has been homeless and missing for weeks after being expelled from a long-term care residence as he grappled with addiction and schizophrenia.

In the documentary, Richard opens up to Hosier about the abuse he and his brother suffered as foster children. According to a media release about the film, Richard’s own life is also now precarious, teetering on homelessness as he navigates the systems that failed his family.

“I believe it was our lifelong friendship and the fact that we had been making videos together throughout our youth that made Richard comfortable enough to open up to me about his and Attila’s more troubled past,” Hosier told Addison Wylie shortly before the documentary’s world premiere last October at the Rendezvous With Madness festival in Toronto. “I also believe that making this film allowed Richard (and me) an opportunity to channel our grief through a creative outlet.”

VIDEO: “Attila” teaser

“Stephen gave me a voice and a platform with hopes that one day there will be justice in his name and healing in my own life, and that similar tragedies could be prevented,” Richard added.

Richard’s hopes may at least be partially realized after the provincial government announced on December 13 that an inquest will be held into Attila’s death, with the potential of the jury making recommendations aimed at preventing further deaths.

“Attila will be viewed by the investigating team as part of the inquest,” according to the film’s media release.

The first Northumberland Personalized Assessment and Change Education (PACE) talk of 2024 will address the topic of housing and “why eliminating homeless should matter to everyone.”

People can register now to take part in the virtual conversation, which is being held on Thursday (January 25). Called “Why eliminating homelessness should matter to everyone,” the session features guest speakers Jacklyn Pearce, occupational therapist, and family physician Dr. Daniel Pepe, who both hail from London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) in London, Ontario.

The event is being moderated by Dr. Mukesh Bhargava of Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH). NHH is one of the partner organizations that present the PACE talks.

Bhargava shared his thoughts with kawarthaNOW about the subject of homelessness being the focus of the upcoming talk.

“PACE talks have covered a huge variety of subjects — everything from marijuana to the microbiome,” Bhargava said.

Topics are developed in a variety of ways. Sometimes they’re crowd-sourced at the monthly events during which the moderator will ask for input on future ideas and subjects of interest, Bhargava noted. Ideas also stem from PACE partners and the working committee that reviews the potential ideas and matches them with speakers each year.

“All topics tend to be connected by a tie to health and wellness, and this is a very timely topic for both, not just in Northumberland but across the country,” the doctor said.

Lasting an hour long, each PACE talk consists of a 30-minute talk, a 20-minute question-and-answer period with the guest speakers, and a short moderator summary.

The first speaker, Pearce, is executive director for the office of health system transformation at LHSC. Through her work, she strives to help build everyone’s capacity to solve complex problems “by helping them to walk the path to solutions one step at a time,” a media release about the event stated.

“She is passionate about building inclusive communities, where every person has a place, purpose, and voice.”

The second speaker, Pepe, is the physician lead for the office of health system transformation at LHSC. “Pepe sees the art of the possible in the toughest of challenges and believes that if you do the right thing for each person you see, then success naturally follows.”

Their discussion will explore issues about homelessness, including, “why the path to becoming homeless is a winding road filled with many dead ends” and “what the impacts of homelessness are for you and your community.”

“They will also share their insights into how communities can start building bridges to end homelessness and create a blueprint for shifting hearts and minds,” the release noted.

Questions from the audience will also be addressed during the PACE talk. Questions can be submitted in advance by emailing mbhargava@imcare.ca before January 25, or, if time permits, can be posed live during the event itself.

Advance registration is required, and space is limited to the first 300 registered attendees.

This event is hosted on Zoom, and attendees are asked to login five minutes prior its 5:30 p.m. start time. To register for “Why eliminating homelessness should matter to everyone,” visit www.pacetalks.com.

Northumberland PACE is a collaborative between community health care providers and area residents interested in learning more about, and promoting, health and wellness. PACE began as “a TED Talks-inspired speakers’ series.”

Since 2018, Northumberland PACE partners have been hosting free public education sessions on a broad range of health and wellness topics and have consistently drawn large groups of community members with a variety of questions and perspectives, organizers noted.

NHH, the Northumberland Family Health Team, the Community Health Centres of Northumberland, internal medicine specialists IMCare and local patients and caregivers are all represented at the Northumberland PACE planning table, together with the Ontario Health Team of Northumberland.

There’s no such thing as having too many charcuterie boards, so what if you had the opportunity to win one while giving back to a young boy in need?

For the second year in a row, Millbrook resident David McNab has launched a fundraiser to raffle off his handmade charcuterie boards in support of family friends in Kenya — specifically a 10-year-old boy named Emmanuel who needs financial help to continue with his education.

With raffle tickets priced at $10 for one ticket or $20 for three, McNab will draw a a winner on Thursday (January 25). The winner can choose from one of McNab’s already-made butternut charcuterie boards or can order a custom board with any design or shape using epoxy inlay.

Even those who don’t have the best luck can purchase a board for a cause, as McNab will also donate 100 per cent of proceeds from sales of his boards during the fundraiser.

With the goal of raising $1,000, all money raised will be in support of a young female farmer named Noamy in Kenya and the education of her adopted son Emmanuel.

“Five hundred or seven hundred dollars may not be that much for some people here, yet it might make all the difference for this young fellow going to school, getting an education, and having a future,” says McNab, who is a professor at Trent University and a retired OPP officer.

VIDEO: Kenyan woman and ex-cop form unusual business partnership

Calling them “true family friends,” McNab and his wife Kristy Hiltz have been in contact with Noamy since the spring of 2021, when she sent a Facebook message pleading for help.

With his history of helping Syrian refugees come to Canada, McNab is accustomed to receiving these kinds of messages and he didn’t think much of it at first, recognizing that he can’t send money to everyone in the world who is in need.

However, as he started having a online conversation with her and heard more about her life, things began to change.

“The biggest thing that struck me was her kindness,” McNab says. “She took in this two-year-old child when she was just 18 or 20 years old herself, already struggling to feed her grandparents. She was abandoned as a child and didn’t want this to happen to him, so she took him in and now he’s part of the family.”

As McNab’s friendship with Naomy grew, he says he became “fascinated” with her life and how she continues to spend five hours by public transport to get to the plot of farmland she rents to support her grandparents and Emmanuel.

Since McNab makes some income by uploading interesting videos to the Rumble online platform, McNab asked her to start sending him videos and he would upload them and give her the earnings.

“It wasn’t a handout — she was earning the money herself,” McNab notes, adding that there’s an audience for the videos because of how different her world is from ours. “Here, we turn on the tap and water pours out. In Naomy’s world, they hike two kilometres with a water jug or two, fill it up at a drainage ditch with a cup, and then haul it back home.”

McNab hosted his first charcuterie board fundraiser last year when, during one of their regular conversations, Naomy mentioned she had to pay Emmanuel’s tuition as he entered grade four. After posting the fundraiser and GoFundMe page on Facebook, they raised the money needed for Emmanuel’s schooling in just one night.

“Together, we managed to put Emmanuel through school last year and give him proper food and buy him a backpack and a new pair of shoes he desperately needed,” says McNab. “I thought this year we’ll try again and put Emmanuel through fifth grade.”

At the time of this writing, McNab had raised $310 of the $1,000 goal through GoFundMe and e-transfers.

“I was hesitant to put this out there the first time,” McNab recalls. “It’s difficult to ask your friends to contribute to a cause, but it was very quick, and everybody was excited, and I had people donating from all around the world. It’s incredible that people would not only help me and get onboard my cause, but would reach out and help a child like Emmanuel across the world.”

Naomy herself continues to not only be grateful for the funds, but just as generous with them. In one of Naomy’s videos that McNab uploaded for her, a young girl — likely eight or nine years old — was filling up a jug of water to bring back to her home. Naomy used the earnings from that video to help the young girl.

“She went out and traced down this young girl and brought her a school uniform, shoes, and a few groceries as well,” says McNab. “It was a really amazing thing that she was thinking about sharing some of the earnings with someone else who desperately needed a little bit of help as well.”

Another time McNab saw the ripple effect was when his neighbours Dave Kennedy and Catherine Ives chose to raise funds for Naomy by hosting a raffle to name the calves being born on their own farm. Knowing how difficult farming in North America can be, they acknowledged how hard working Naomy must be to do it in Africa.

That fundraiser earned $450 towards Naomy’s medical expenses and left Kennedy and Ives with some pretty creative calf names, including Lactose and Looly.

“They’re amazing people, very community-minded, very kind-hearted, so I’m not surprised to see they would do it, but it’s still amazing to me,” says McNab. “It was probably more entertaining than anything else, but completely touching that this farmer who knew Naomy’s story said ‘I want to do something’ and turned this calving season into grocery money and medical funding for this farmer across the world.”

McNab adds that Emmanuel is very excited to be entering grade five, and notes that it’s a “wonderful” thing that Naomy and Emmanuel can both see how eager people here in Canada are to support them.

“Not only does it give Emmanuel a bit of a future and opportunity, but it sends a real message that there are people that care — even though they’re across the world — and that’s just so heartwarming to me,” says McNab.

To enter the charcuterie board raffle, you can make a donation for Emmanuel’s education on GoFundMe. The raffle draw for the charcuterie board is happening on Thursday, January 25th.

To purchase one of McNab’s charcuterie boards, with proceeds also going towards Emmanuel’s education, message McNab through Facebook.

The Peterborough Police Service will use a $167,000 grant over three years from the Ontario government to develop a better understanding of and response to hate bias incidents and hate crimes in the community.

Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith made the announcement of the grant — which comes from the proceeds of crime forfeited to the province following criminal prosecutions — at police headquarters on Water Street in downtown Peterborough on Friday afternoon (January 19).

“There is no better way to use the proceeds from crimes then using that money on prevention,” said MPP Smith in a media release. “We are seeing a rise in hate-related incidents and it is unacceptable in our community. Everyone deserves the safety and assurances that they will not be targeted because of their beliefs, race, or sexual orientation.”

The police will use the provincial grant to develop a public education campaign about the difference between a hate bias incident, to streamline reporting protocols, to provide ongoing training to officers, and to establish a comprehensive hate incident database.

“It’s important for us to know when these types of incidents happen and that all residents continue to feel safe in reporting them,” said Peterborough police chief Stuart Betts, who added such incidents are being underreported. “Community safety is always our top priority, and we want to do everything we can to ensure a safe inclusive community for all.”

The $167,000 in funding comes from the provincial government’s Proceeds of Crime Front-Line Policing grant program, which has invested over $16 million in more than 280 crime prevention initiatives across Ontario since 2018. The grant program was first established under a previous government.