Youth action for the climate and environment has never been more important at a local and global scale.

This year was capped off with two highly anticipated events: COP27, the 27th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Egypt and COP15, the 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference of Parties in Montréal.

Combined, these conferences saw over 2,000 speakers and over 50,000 participants including representatives from over 150 governments. Multi-week global discussions emphasize the importance of working towards environmental action at local levels and international levels, for global issues including climate change and biodiversity loss.

There has always been something special about these COP events to me, and not only because they bring people all over the world together to talk about these issues that impact us all.

Environmental ministers, world leaders, policy makers, and internationally known activists are most likely to attend the high-level discussions. These discussions guide the outcome of international agreements which safeguard natural resources, plants and animals, and our atmosphere.

At the COP events there are ‘zones’ for public participation. The ‘Green Zone’ at COP27 and the ‘Public Zone’ at COP15 host Indigenous communities, scientists, reporters, business leaders, and educators in riveting events and discussion.

What was special to me this year was the increased presence of young people attending these globally recognized conferences, making headlines and showcasing their support for climate and environmental action.

I attended last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. I met many other young people from around the world who are dedicated to advocating for the environment in their communities and our global community. One way youth are taking action is by participating in the discussions and events at these global forums.

During my time in Glasgow in 2021, I met Danish youth from Copenhagen who entered the climate delegations to discuss rising carbon dioxide emissions. I also met youth from Brazil who attended COP27 as members of ‘Global Shapers’, a group of almost 10,000 young people creating dialogue, action, and change. I even met a 20-year-old Scottish storyteller who wove climate sciences into culturally relevant stories.

A year later, I am grateful to see more young people representing the causes that matter to us at COP15 and COP27.

Severn Cullis-Suzuki, the daughter of David Suzuki, was 12 when she spoke for climate action at one of the first Nature COPs. This year, 30 years after that original appearance, she is working to amplify the voices of youth.

During the COP15 Youth Summit, Cullis-Suzuki sat in conversation with Ta’Kaiya Blaneya. Blaneya is a 13-year-old singer-songwriter from Tla’Amin First Nation who speaks to lost natural spaces and the impact of people on climate change and the environment. Elevating youth voices like Blaneya’s is something I hope to see more of in the environmental movement.

Youth from organizations like Care about Climate also attended COP15 panels and meetings with policy leaders. They weighed in on the importance of these negotiations for children and youth around the world. The youth of Care about Climate specifically asked governments to set aside 30 percent of land and water globally to be protected by 2030.

Josefa Cariño Tauli, a young Ibaloi-Kankanaey Igorot indigenous leader from the Philippines, delivered a statement to the High-Level Segment of Nature COP15 in 2021. Tauli stated that she was “inspired by many youth, who despite the fear and the frustration and the many challenges, find it in ourselves to hope, to act, to persist.”

The world persists. When the COP15 discussions ended on December 19th, a historic landmark agreement was made to guide nations to protect nature until 2030 — including putting 30 per cent of the planet and 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030.

Youth are now more able than ever before to voice their knowledge and desire to act. They are also now more likely to be recognized in the formation of policy.

At COP27, youth constituents of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) were recognized as official stakeholders in designing and implementing climate policies.

The #youthpower of @COP27P!! After 20+ hours of negotiations and 10+ hours of bilateral discussions, my team @IYCM secured official recognition of youth as stakeholders in “designing and implementing climate policies” in the ACE Action Plan (Article 12 of the Paris Agreement)!! pic.twitter.com/Cxky3DkEax

— Hailey Campbell (@HaileyPCampbell) November 12, 2022

COP27 also concluded with a historic climate deal being sealed.

The agreement, fuelled by financial pledges made from countries such as Austria, Canada, New Zealand, Denmark and Scotland, created the Loss and Damage Fund, a fund for the loss and damage that developing countries face as a result of climate change.

These events gave me hope that a zero-carbon-emission lifestyle and protection of our critical species is possible. It will be made possible by including youth in discussions and events on a local and global scale.

Youth empowerment in the climate and environmental movement is happening here in Peterborough/Nogojiwanong. I feel inspired to be a part of it.

Youth like Shaelyn Wabegijig, a local 24-year-old Algonquin youth who grew up in Mnjikaning/Rama First Nation, are taking leadership roles like sitting on the GreenUP’s board of directors and working for the Kawartha World Issues Centre. Shaelyn demonstrates how young people can advance United Nations Sustainable Development Goals locally through events and engagement opportunities.

Local youth ages nine to 14 are also working to spread awareness of the climate crisis, through volunteering with groups like the Youth Climate Action Club of Peterborough/Nogojiwanong.

Including young people in community efforts builds leadership capability, connections across generations, and inspires meaningful change. Making space for youth participation in environmental action gives agency to young people to better understand, and work directly on issues that can improve their future.

As a settler living and working in Peterborough/Nogojiwanong in 2023, I am proud to be a part of the GreenUP community amidst positive environmental progress. A community that has youth at the forefront, that is leading local change, and is working toward the global change we so dearly need.

The City of Kawartha Lakes has extended its declaration of a significant weather event until 5 p.m. on Friday (December 30), due to significant volumes of snow, drifting snow, and the amount of cleanup needed.

The municipality first declared the significant weather event — which suspends the standard timelines required to meet winter maintenance objectives such as clearing snow from roads — on Christmas Eve (December 24) and expected it to last until 5 p.m. on Tuesday (December 27).

“The sheer volume of snow in some areas is causing significant time impacts to achieving compliance with usual levels of service,” reads a media release from the city. “In some areas, it is taking an hour to clear one kilometre of road.”

The city states it has deployed all its available resources — both internal and external — since December 23 when the storm began. Work is continuing with a focus on opening and widening access on affected remaining roads.

“Residents are asked to please stay off the roads whenever possible and drive with extra caution,” reads the media release. “Clearing local roads blocked with snow drifts can be resource and time intensive, so response to some local roads may take longer than desired.”

To submit a winter maintenance request or another municipal service request, visit www.kawarthalakes.ca/reportit.

As many Peterborough residents hunkered down in their homes during the winter storm over the Christmas weekend, grateful to have shelter from the blizzard-like conditions and bone-chilling temperatures, some undoubtedly wondered how people living outdoors were surviving the brutal weather.

Perhaps some even considered the biblical story of the birth of Jesus, where Joseph and Mary were turned away because there was no room at the inn in Bethlehem and were forced to seek shelter in a stable.

If nothing else, the winter storm was a reminder of how vulnerable we all are to the elements, and why there is a need for an emergency winter response to the homelessness crisis in Peterborough.

That’s why the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough is seeking donations from the community to help support a new emergency overnight drop-in centre to offer those experiencing homelessness respite from the cold.

The Community Foundation has joined with seven other Peterborough-based non-profit organizations to provide the program, despite a recent decision by Peterborough city council not to provide $100,000 in funding to support it.

The other participating organizations include Fourcast, Canadian Mental Health Association of Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge, United Way Peterborough and District, John Howard Society of Peterborough, Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough, Research for Social Change Lab (Trent University), and One City Peterborough.

The new drop-in centre will be run by One City Peterborough at the former Trinity United Church in Peterborough from mid-January to the end of April.

“It isn’t enough. We all know that. But, it will save lives,” states Community Foundation executive director Jennifer DeBues in an appeal for donations. “We’re doing this so others may focus all their energy on setting up and delivering the program. We believe that no issue is too big to manage when we all work together as a community.”

If you would like to donate to support the emergency overnight drop-in centre, visit cfgp.ca/project/emergency-winter-response-fund/, where you can make a one-time or monthly donation.

“All money raised will go directly to the drop-in program to pay for snacks, winter clothing, survival gear, and essential outreach supports,” DeBues states.

Interventional radiologist Dr. Kebby King has been providing minimally invasive care to patients in the interventional radiology suites at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) for 14 years.

During that time, she’s seen a lot of innovation in her field — making interventional radiology a broad specialty that can be used to diagnose and treat patients with a variety of medical conditions.

One area that has shown a lot of innovation in the application of interventional radiology is cancer care. This sub-specialty can allow patients with a variety of cancers and cancer-related disease more time to live their lives. It can be used to treat some types of pancreatic, kidney and liver tumours, and cancer spread to the liver from a variety of tumours.

“Interventional radiology has revolutionized cancer treatment,” says Dr. King.

That’s because traditional cancer care involves administering chemotherapy medication to the entire body. For PRHC cancer patients who are candidates for interventional radiology, Dr. King and her colleagues perform very targeted treatments, using catheters and wires guided through tiny incisions in the skin and blood vessels, to focus precisely on the cancer.

“We’re able to specifically target the cancer,” explains Dr. King. “Either by delivering a higher dose of drugs to the target or by performing ablation or microwave therapy to kill the tumour directly.”

“We’re bombarding the cancer with all the good stuff to try to stem its spread and growth,” she says. “And because it’s so targeted, it has fewer side effects for the patient, and it can be done on an outpatient basis.”

Performed without the large incisions and associated risks of open surgery, it also means less pain and recovery time for patients.

Dr. King performed the first interventional radiology-radiofrequency ablation cancer treatment at PRHC two years ago. Cobourg resident Stuart Morley was more than 80 years old then and major surgery wasn’t the best option to treat his small kidney tumour. But he was a candidate for interventional radiology and became the first-ever patient at PRHC to receive this life-changing cancer treatment.

“It was amazing,” he says of the procedure where Dr. King put a metal probe through a small cut in his skin and, using a CT to guide her, found the tumour and dissolved it with radio waves. “I felt no pain and I was able to go home later that afternoon. Now I’m back taking photos and looking forward to travelling the world again.”

“Every year we see more and more people who benefit from minimally invasive cancer treatment,” says Dr. King. She recalls a patient named Neil with a mass on his liver who was referred to her when no other treatment was an option. His heart wasn’t strong enough for surgery and it wasn’t safe for him to have chemotherapy or radiation either.

“When every other doctor had to say no, I could say yes,” Dr. King says. “Neil and his wife came to meet with me. You can imagine how scared they were. But I knew I could help him. It made me so proud to be able to give them hope.”

Dr. King made a tiny incision in Neil’s skin and used imaging technology to help guide a metal probe through the liver to reach the tumour. Then she used interventional radiology-radiofrequency ablation to target the cancer cells. Similar to Stuart’s procedure, Neil’s treatment was quick, with very little pain and a short recovery.

“Stuart and Neil are just two examples of how interventional radiology has revolutionized cancer care,” says Dr. King. “We can offer much more precise treatments to target the exact location of the cancer, with less risk for vulnerable patients. I’m glad to be able to support the wide spectrum of cancer care at our hospital. It’s an amazing area to work in, touching so many different types of patients, not only saving lives but making life a little better.”

VIDEO: Interventional Radiology is helping to revolutionize cancer care at PRHC

It’s remarkable how many life-threatening health conditions can be diagnosed and treated with this innovative specialty. It can be used to biopsy or treat tumours like Stuart’s and Neil’s, put in ports for chemotherapy, or stop bleeding, in as little as an hour. It’s used to treat patients from every department of the hospital, including Emergency Department patients needing urgent care.

Dr. King and her colleagues already perform 6,000 interventional radiology procedures each year at PRHC, and the need for this kind of care is only growing in our region. PRHC’s interventional radiology suites are 14 years old, however, and too small to fit new, advanced technology and the staff required to use it.

A $6 million investment in state-of-the-art equipment not funded by the government, upgraded suites, and an expanded recovery room is essential to meeting the need — so Dr. King and her colleagues can treat more patients with more urgent and chronic conditions, close to home. Your donations now will help shape the future of interventional radiology at PRHC.

“Many of my patients have told me how concerned they are, with all the recent news about the challenges facing healthcare right now,” says Dr. King. “It can feel uncertain or scary. But I also hear from people who want to know how they can help make it better. That gives me hope, too.”

Not only this holiday season, but all year long, donors and grateful patients can help ensure PRHC’s frontline workers have the tools they need to provide expert, compassionate care, and receive some hope and good cheer. Tribute donations can include a message of thanks or best wishes to a hospital department or individual physician, nurse or staff member when made online or by phone.

To donate, find out more about interventional radiology, or share a message of hope or thanks with a PRHC team member, please visit prhcfoundation.ca or call 705-876-5000.

Images property of PRHC Foundation. Intended for promotional purposes only.

This branded editorial was published in partnership with the PRHC Foundation. If your business or organization is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.

Although the big story on everyone’s mind at the end of the year was the so-called “bomb cyclone” over the Christmas weekend, which disrupted holiday travel plans and knocked out power to thousands of Ontarians including in Cobourg, there were a lot of other significant news stories over the past year.

We no longer had to deal with pandemic mandates and lockdowns in 2022, but our healthcare system faced continuing challenges and we struggled with high inflation and interest rates, partially caused by the war in Ukraine, along with homelessness and other social issues. And, as the May derecho storm and Christmas winter storm reminded us, the climate crisis is worsening.

As with every year, 2022 brought local stories of inspiration, sadness, controversy, and tragedy. kawarthaNOW’s publisher and managing editor have chosen a selection of our most-read, most-shared, and most interesting stories from the past 12 months.

We’re presenting them below, in chronological order.

1. Peterborough-area veterinarians and staff ditch New Year’s Eve plans to help overwhelmed emergency vet clinic

On New Year’s Eve 2022, the Kawartha Veterinary Emergency Clinic (KVEC) — which normally operates 24 hours a day all year long — was at full capacity by mid-afternoon and was forced to close its doors to new patients. After learning of the crisis, veterinarians and staff at Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital and Norwood Veterinary Hospital cancelled their New Year’s Eve plans to help pets that were unable to be seen at KVEC.

According to Dr. Kristy Hiltz Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital, the clinic’s capacity crisis was an example of the staff shortage and mental health crisis in veterinary medicine.

“Prior to COVID, we were experiencing a shortage of veterinarians Canada wide,” she explains. “Then COVID hit, and that really precipitated an enormous crisis in terms of our ability to provide services, and also in terms of mental health and burnout amongst veterinarians.”

2. Lakefield’s famous 7-year-old ‘Coach Cal’ appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Seven-year-old Callan Perks of Lakefield brought talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres to tears when he appeared on her show on January 5, 2022.

The enthusiastic young hockey fan rose to fame after he delivered a rousing speech to the Peterborough Petes before their game against the Ottawa 67’s the previous November. Callan had been selected to act as head coach as part of the OHL Team’s “Next Gen” promotion where kids five to 12 were invited to audition to shadow various roles with the organization.

The Petes went on to win the game and, after the organization shared a video on social media of “Coach Cal” giving the speech, it went viral. Callan and his family were flown to Los Angeles to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. After talking with Callan, Ellen presented him with a personalized “Coach Cal” tracksuit, clipboard, and megaphone.

“I think you’re going to go on to do big, big things,” Ellen told him.

3. Peterborough residents come together on Facebook to show their support for Dr. Thomas Piggott

On January 15, 2022, anti-vaxxers protested in front of the home of Peterborough’s medical officer of health Dr. Thomas Piggott.

Then, less than a week later, anti-vaxxers accosted Dr. Piggott after they knocked on his front door pretending to be friendly neighbours, resulting in two people being arrested and charged with criminal harassment and intimidation of a health official.

After Peterborough physicians issued a statement supporting Dr. Piggott, and Peterborough’s police chief warned anti-vaxxers against intimidating health professionals, a group of Peterborough residents came together to create the ‘Nogojiwanong Peterborough Stands With Dr Piggott’ Facebook group, attracting over 1,400 members who posted messages of support for Dr. Piggott, Peterborough Public Health, and all healthcare workers.

4. Mike Dalliday carries on his late wife’s entrepreneurial vision by launching redesigned Pilates on Demand website

When Jessica (Jess) Dalliday — owner and operator of Pilates on Demand in Peterborough — passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 32 on April 6, 2021 due to a rare complication of childbirth, five days after the death of her newborn daughter Angeline, Jess’s husband Mike and their two-year-old daughter Rachel were devastated along with the Peterborough community.

The outpouring of support from the community, including a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $200,000 within two weeks in support of the Dalliday family, inspired Mike to honour Jess’s legacy. He eventually decided to step away from his career as a physician assistant in emergency medicine at Campbellford Memorial Hospital to become CEO of Pilates on Demand and carry on the family business.

“When Jess passed away, I knew I wanted her story and passion to continue on and be passed along to our two-year-old daughter,” Mike said. “And while learning to operate a business, single parenting and grieving the loss of a spouse and child has made for an exceptionally challenging year, it has always felt like the right decision.”

5. Teacher at Fleming College in Peterborough leading effort to send hundreds of first aid kits to Ukraine

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, more than 42,000 people have been killed, more than 54,000 people have been injured, at least 140,000 buildings have been destroyed, and around 14 million people have been displaced.

Within a couple of weeks of the beginning of the war, countless Canadians showed their support for the people of Ukraine by donating their money, time, and effort. That included a teacher at Fleming College in Peterborough, who led an effort to send hundreds of first aid kits to the war-torn country.

Victor Waselenko, who has ties to Ukraine, enlisted the help of his family to assemble the kits, each of which contained $40 worth of bandages, gauze, and off-the-shelf painkillers. Waselenko asked members of the community to donate $10 to help cover the cost of the kits, with local Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Peterborough covering three-quarters of the cost of each kit.

6. Peterborough-Kawartha MP comes under fire on social media for calling herself a ‘single mom with six children‘

No stranger to controversy, Peterborough-Kawartha MP Michelle Ferreri found herself under fire in March after she described herself as a “single mom with six children” in the House of Commons.

The Conservative MP made the comment during a debate on an opposition day motion for tax reduction on gasoline and diesel on March 22, 2022. After Mark Gerretsen, Liberal MP for Kingston and the Islands, said that a tax rebate would also apply to people like himself and Ferreri who can afford to pay higher prices for gas, Ferreri said “it is unfortunate the honourable member does not know my situation as a single mom with six children.”

Ferreri, who receives an annual salary of $185,800 as an MP, is mother to three children between the ages of 12 and 17 from a relationship with her former spouse, and is currently in a relationship with Ryan Moore, who is father to three children from a relationship with his former spouse. After Ferreri’s comment drew the ire of many people, including actual single mothers, she later “clarified” in the House of Commons that “I’ve been a single mother, and I now care for up to six children at a time.”

7. Quaker Oats announces ‘The Official Scent of Peterborough’ plug-in air freshener

On April 1, 2022, kawarthaNOW broke the news that Quaker Oats — which celebrated the 120th anniversary of its Hunter Street plant in 2022 — had announced a new plug-in air freshener called “The Official Scent of Peterborough.”

“The smell of baking oatmeal from Quaker Oats has long been the unofficial scent of Peterborough,” said Avril Sloof, a brand manager for PepsiCo Canada, the parent company of Quaker Oats. “We’re now making it official and sharing it with the rest of Canada.”

In case it’s not already obvious, this story was our April Fool’s joke for 2022.

8. Port Hope student Sarah Patterson throws ceremonial pitch at Blue Jays game

In April, Sarah Patterson — a Grade 4 student at St. Anthony Catholic Elementary School in Port Hope — received a very special reward for her participation in the game of baseball: she threw the ceremonial pitch at the April 25th Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The announcer first introduced Sarah, who has Down Syndrome, to the 20,981 attendees at the game, the first of a four-game divisional series against the Boston Red Sox, as her teacher Allison Jacques proudly looked on.

“Sarah has been participating in her school’s Girls at Bat and Challenger Baseball program,” the announcer said. “She was nominated by her teacher to be celebrated for her great participation with their Jays Care affiliate school program.”

9. Protester harassment of federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh puts Peterborough in national spotlight

In May, Peterborough was in the national spotlight and not in a good way, thanks to the actions of a small group of protesters who aggressively accosted federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh during his stop at provincial NDP candidate Jen Deck’s campaign office.

While Singh was leaving the George Street office, protesters yelled and screamed at him, calling him a “f**king traitor”, a “lying piece of sh*t”, and told him to “go f**k yourself,” with some showing him their middle finger. The protest was organized by Roy Asseltine and Nicole Comber — owner of Peterburgers, a burger restaurant that was shut down last December for four months for violating public health restrictions — shortly after they found out Singh would be arriving at Deck’s campaign office.

The protesters’ behaviour was widely condemned, including locally by then-mayor Diane Therrien, but police did not lay any charges. Three weeks later, Singh returned to Peterborough two days before the Ontario election to show his support for provincial NDP candidate Jen Deck. He was warmly welcomed, with no protesters in sight.

10. Parts of Peterborough remain without power after brutal long weekend storm

2022 was the year when we all became familiar with the weather term “derecho.” On May 21, at the beginning of the Victoria Day long weekend, a wind storm ripped through southern Ontario and Quebec. Winds over 130 km/h toppled hydro transmission towers and broke utility poles, damaged homes, and uprooted trees, with broken branches also taking down power lines and damaging property. At least four people in the greater Kawarthas region were killed by falling trees.

Four days later, around 28,000 Hydro One customers in the Peterborough area were still without power and the City of Peterborough declared a state of emergency. Representative of the damage caused by the storm, the Ganaraska Forest in Port Hope — southern Ontario’s largest forest — was closed to the public.

A week before the provincial election, then Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath visited Peterborough to survey the damage and call on the provincial government to provide urgent support and relief

11. Police find body of missing 11-year-old autistic boy in Scugog River

When 11-year-old Draven Graham went missing from his Lindsay home on June 12, 2022, police and members of the community conducted an extensive search to locate the autistic boy. They discovered his discarded clothing and believed Draven, who had limited verbal skills, may have been hiding from rescuers. A day later, the search ended in tragedy when members of the OPP’s Underwater Search and Recovery Unit found Draven’s body in the Scugog River.

Draven’s death prompted more than 90,000 people to sign a petition calling for the creation of a new alert system for missing vulnerable children. Similar to the Amber Alert for abducted children, the Draven Alert would be for autistic, vulnerable, and special needs children who go missing.

According to the U.S. National Autism Association, accidental drowning accounted for 91 per cent of deaths in the U.S. from 2009 and 2011 that were reported in children 14 and younger on the autism spectrum who wandered or eloped, with 68 per cent of these deaths happening in a nearby pond, creek, lake, or river.

12. Peterborough city council votes to allow demolition of former Montreal House

In July, Peterborough city council voted to permit the demolition of the former Montreal House, at the corner of Aylmer and King streets in downtown Peterborough, to allow a residential and commercial development to proceed.

The vote came despite a review in June by the Peterborough Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (PACAC) of a request by property developer Ashburnham Realty to demolish the building, which was constructed in the 1850s and later became a residence for French Canadian lumbermen working the forests north of Peterborough under the ownership of a French Canadian named Joseph Brault. Although Ashburnham Realty had originally intended to incorporate the building into the new development, unanticipated requirements meant that was no longer possible.

While the committee recommended that the building receive a heritage designation, which would have prevented its demolition, a city staff report to council recommended against providing a heritage designation to allow the development to proceed, and city council voted to accept the staff recommendation.

13. Peterborough’s Peterburgers restaurant, known for defying pandemic public health measures, is closing for good on August 5

Peterburgers restaurant in Peterborough closed its doors for good in August, only four months after it reopened following a four-month closure by Peterborough Public Health for defying COVID-19 public health measures.

Owners Nicole Comber and Roy Asselstine first opened their 25 George Street restaurant in late 2019. During the pandemic, they became vocal anti-lockdown advocates and continually defied public health measures. The couple later also participated in the “Freedom Convoy” protests in Ottawa in February.

In November 2021, Peterborough Public Health served Peterburgers with a section 22 order requiring them to comply with public health requirements or close. The restaurant continued to operate while ignoring the requirements of the order, and the health unit closed the restaurant in December. The restaurant was allowed to reopen four months later, and held a grand reopening celebration with a large crowd gathered to support the restaurant, leading to a charge under the city’s noise by-law.

14. Curve Lake First Nation, Trent University mourn passing of Elder Douglas Williams (Gidigaa Migizi)

In August, highly respected and much-loved Curve Lake First Nation Elder, knowledge keeper, and former chief Douglas Williams (Gidigaa Migizi) passed away.

Williams was one of the first graduates of Indigenous Studies at Trent University in 1972 and went on to become associate professor and director of studies for the PhD program at Trent’s Chanie Wenjack School of Indigenous Studies. One of Williams’ last public appearances was on September 30, 2021 — the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — for the unveiling of a ‘treaty rock’ installation in recognition of the treaty lands upon which the university is located.

A prolific writer, Williams wrote Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg: This Is Our Territory with Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. Published in 2018, the book recounts key moments of Williams’ personal history, connecting them to the larger history of the Anishinaabeg and other Indigenous communities. In 2021, the Peterborough Historical Society honoured Williams with its Thomas H.B and Christine Symons Heritage Award, which is annually presented for an outstanding or one-time contribution to local, regional, provincial, national or international heritage causes.

15. Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien’s f-bomb tweet goes viral

On August 16, 2022, then Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien tweeted about a group of around 30 followers of self-proclaimed “Queen of Canada” Romana Didulo who had arrived at the Peterborough police station with the intent of “arresting” police officers — only to see four members of their own group get arrested.

“I hate giving airtime/spotlight to these imbeciles,” Therrien wrote in part on her personal Twitter account. “Here is my comment: fuck off, you fuckwads.”

By the next afternoon, that tweet had received almost 16,000 likes, over 2,500 retweets, and over 1,800 quote retweets, with “Mayor of Peterborough” trending on Twitter in Canada and the story appearing on the home page of Reddit. As well as local media, the National Post, CTV News, the Toronto Sun, BlogTO, and more reported on the tweet. She was also interviewed by guest host Susan Bonner on CBC Radio’s As It Happens, and appeared on The Dean Blundell Show to talk about the reasons for, and reaction to, her tweet.

16. A young entrepreneur has just opened her second sunflower farm, located in Lindsay

As the national flower of Ukraine, sunflowers received some extra attention in 2022.

That included young entrepreneur Ursula Kressibucher, who opened a sunflower farm in Lindsay in August. The four-acre farm, named The Little Sunflower Farm, is Kressibucher’s second sunflower farm. The 29-year-old opened The Sunflower Farm, comprised of two 10-acre fields, in Beaverton in 2022.

Kressibucher grows black oil sunflowers for birdseed, and also opens her farms for photographers. As well as running a successful business, she gives back to the community, creating mason jar bouquets and donating them to Lakeview Manor in Beaverton. On Ukraine National Independence Day in August, she also earmarked 50 per cent of all her Beaverton farm ticket sales for the Canada Ukraine Foundation to assist ongoing humanitarian efforts.

17. Peterborough’s CTS site making a difference in opioid crisis, one saved life at a time

When Peterborough’s new Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site first opened in June at the Opioid Response Hub at 220 Simcoe Street at Aylmer Street in downtown Peterborough, it was unclear how many substance users would use it and what its effect would be on the surrounding neighbourhood.

In its first three months of operation, the supervised substance use site recorded 1,435 visits by 125 people. “That’s far more than we expected in the first three months,” said CTS program manager Kerri Kightley, With a paramedic on site at all times during the its hours of operation, “a number of overdoses” have been responded to almost immediately, Kightley said.

According to community impact report released in September, there has been a positive effect of the CTS site.

“I’ve certainly noticed a decline in public use and discarded needles in and around the downtown,” said Terry Guiel, executive director of the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area. “I’ve noticed nothing that could be tied to the site in any negative way. I haven’t received one call or email in association with the CTS site and I’ve noticed a great improvement in the downtown in the last several weeks.”

18. Fenelon Falls community devastated by unexpected passing of beloved Randy Meredith

In September, the community of Fenelon Falls in the City of Kawartha Lakes was devastated by the unexpected passing of Randy Meredith, the popular owner of Grr8 Finds Market and a LGBTQ+ champion. Meredith passed away peacefully at his Fenelon Falls his home on September 3, 2022 at the age of 56.

Meredith opened Grr8 Finds Market in downtown Fenelon Falls 13 years ago, initially as an indoor vendors market at 27 Colborne Street, and then expanding to include 29 Colborne Street. With an eclectic mix of antiques and upcycled, recycled, and retro collectibles and home decor, it was voted as Best Antique Shop in Kawartha Lakes six times and also appeared on HGTV’s “Scott’s Vacation House Rules.”

Grr8 Finds Market became a pillar of love and acceptance in Fenelon Falls with Meredith, who identified as gay, offering a safe and inclusive space for anyone, including those in the LGBTQ+ community and especially youth who needed support.

Meredith was also known for the often-outrageous outfits he wore for “Wacky Wednesdays,” with photos shared on the store’s social media accounts. Members of the Fenelon Falls business community paid tribute to Meredith with a village-wide “Wacky Wednesday,” when everyone was invited to wear wacky clothing in his honour.

19. Silver Bean Café will operate the café at Peterborough’s new Canadian Canoe Museum

Peterborough’s popular Silver Bean Café, located in Millennium Park on the shores of the Otonabee River, will have a second location at the new Canadian Canoe Museum, currently under construction at 2077 Ashburnham Drive on the shores of Little Lake.

‘The Silver Bean Café on the Lake’ will offer drinks (including alcoholic beverages), light lunches, treats, and grab-and-go options to museum visitors and local residents. The café will have seating for 30 people inside the museum’s café lounge and 32 outside on the terrace. The café is expected to be open seven days a week, year round, during the museum’s hours of operation.

In March, the museum issued a request for proposals from qualified vendors for the supply of café services at the new museum, which is set to open in summer 2023.

“We were searching for an energetic, warm, and welcoming team with proven experience to manage and operate the museum’s new café, that was also community minded and would work with us to enhance our visitor experience,” said the museum’s executive director Carolyn Hyslop. “The Silver Bean Café was a natural fit. We cannot wait to sip on an Americano by the outdoor fireplace on the lakefront terrace or enjoy an ice cream while walking along the trail and shoreline.”

20. Newly elected mayors include Jeff Leal in Peterborough and Doug Elmslie in Kawartha Lakes

The municipal election on October 24, 2022 saw a number of new and not-so-new faces being elected to serve in communities across the greater Kawarthas region, including some victories for former politicians attempting comebacks.

In Peterborough, former city councillor and former Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Jeff Leal was elected mayor. In the City of Kawartha Lakes, previous councillor and deputy mayor Doug Elmslie was elected mayor in a six-way race.

In the Municipality of Port Hope, Olena Hankivsky was elected mayor, defeating two current councillors to take over from outgoing two-term mayor Bob Sanderson who did not seek re-election. In Cobourg, newcomer Lucas Cleveland defeated incumbent mayor John Henderson.

21. Three members of Peterborough family among four who lost their lives in Highway 7 crash

The most tragic local news of 2022 was the November collision just east of Peterborough that claimed the lives of four people — including three members of the same family — and left the only survivor without her parents and brother and with life-altering injuries.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, November 22nd, 46-year-old Jonathan MacDonnell, 52-year-old Stephanie Hart, 18-year-old Riddick Hart, and 14-year-old Rowghan Hart — who called themselves the “MacHart” family — were travelling on Highway 7 when their SUV collided head-on with a pickup truck driven by 42-year-old Jason Schmidt of Hastings. Rowghan, the sole survivor, was airlifted to SickKids Hospital in Toronto in critical condition.

Two GoFundMe campaigns have raised almost $100,000 in support of the MacHart family, as Rowghan recovers in a Toronto hospital with life-altering injuries. As well as finding out she lost her parents and her brother, Rowghan was also told she may never walk again, prompting actor Ryan Reynolds to send her a video of encouragement.

22. New Peterborough city council votes down two motions to address city’s homelessness crisis

At its inaugural meeting in December, the new Peterborough city council voted down two motions brought forward by first-time councillor Alex Bierk to address the city’s homelessness crisis over the winter months, one of which was for the city to support a proposal for an emergency winter response from a partnership of community organizations and for the city to provide a grant of $100,000.

Despite the city’s lack of support, a partnership of community agencies is moving ahead with an overnight drop-in centre, with the partnership including Fourcast, the Canadian Mental Health Association of Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge, Mobile Support Overdose Resource Team (MSORT), United Way Peterborough and District, John Howard Society of Peterborough, Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough, Research for Social Change Lab (Trent University), Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, and One City Peterborough.

“City council’s recent decision to deny funding to a much-needed winter-drop in came as both a disappointment and a shock,” said Mark Graham, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association of Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge. “We are proud to be among the partners rising to the occasion to respond to this serious need in the community.”

One City Peterborough will provide staffing and oversight of the drop-in program, which would operate at the former Trinity United Church between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. The one-time emergency response program will begin in mid-January and operate until April 30, 2023.

“People who are unhoused deserve the dignity of being sheltered and included in our community,” said Christian Harvey, co-executive director of One City Peterborough. “Until that is possible, we want to ensure no one dies in the cold.”

The 23rd annual In From The Cold has raised almost $20,000 for YES Shelter for Youth and Families, after returning to Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough for the first time since the pandemic began.

The two in-person concerts, held over two nights on December 9 and 10, raised $19,963.43 for youth and families experiencing homelessness — the highest single-year amount ever, bringing the 23-year total raised for YES Shelter for Youth and Families to almost $170,000.

“That is a lot more than we’ve ever made before and I’d like to thank everyone who played a part in that success, including all performers, Brooke Erickson of the YES Shelter for Youth and Families, and our generous sponsors, whose increased donations were responsible for a large proportion of the increase,” writes John Hoffman, who first organized In From The Cold in 2000 with Susan Newman, Rob Fortin, and Curtis Driedger.

Hoffman, Newman, and Fortin once again performed as Carried Away, along with with multi-instrumentalist Michael Ketemer and Celtic harpist Tanah Haney, as well as the 30-voice Convivio Chorus led by Newman and Curtis Driedger and his youth performers.

Highlights included the rollicking old Provence carol “Noël est arrivé” (“Christmas is here”), Newman’s musical arrangement for choir of Robert Frost’s famous poem “Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening,” Driedger’s “The Santa Situation, Fortin’s original song “The Coldest One,” which was featured in LA Alfonso’s short film “One Day in December” about the catastrophic Quaker Oats explosion and fire in December 1916, and an English-language version of the 19th-century Swedish carol “Gläns över sjö och strand” (“Shine over lakes and shores”).

Sponsors for this year’s In From The Cold include kawarthaNOW, McInroy and Associates Private Wealth Management, Jo Pillon of Royal LePage Frank Real Estate, LLF Lawyers, Herod Financial Consulting, Manitoulin Transport, Stoneguide Realty Limited, Artspace, Wildrock Outfitters, Camp Ponacka, Sam’s Place, Ashburnham Ale House, Black Honey, Kawartha Credit Union, Teachers For Kids, and Long and McQuade.