Peterborough native Chloë Black is about to embark on a life-changing journey — she is travelling to Romania in eastern Europe to help animals displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The daughter of well-known Peterborough musician Alan Black, Chloë will be leaving her home in Tuscon, Arizona on Easter Sunday for Arad, Romania, where an all-volunteer group has come together to support rescued animals that have been lost or abandoned during the war in Ukraine.

“The day of the invasion, I felt so angry and helpless,” Chloë tells kawarthaNOW. “I’d been following the build up closely as I work with a man from Ukraine. He immediately lost contact with family as they are in Irpin. Alex is a wonderful man and he and his wife lost contact with family for over two weeks, not knowing if they were alive.”

As an animal lover, Chloë had already been following groups on Facebook helping animals (such as Breaking The Chains – Documentaries and WarPaws), so when they posted a plea for volunteers to help build an animal shelter and help care for animals vacated from Ukraine, she contacted them immediately.

“I needed to do something,” Chloë recalls. “Like everyone, the feelings of anger over such pointless destruction and loss of life just overwhelmed me. I love people, and wanted to help the people, but the animals were a casualty of this war that broke my heart.”

So Chloë made the difficult and brave decision to leave behind her home, her job (with the support of her employer), and her own three dogs (Jill, Catie, and Cash, who will be cared for while she’s gone) to join the group of volunteers in Arad, the third largest city in western Romania.

“Because I had to leave my job, move out of my home and have people step up to care for my dogs, I knew it would be a big decision. I’m comfortable, and I like my job and where I live. But so were the victims of the war. When I really imagined myself in their shoes, I knew I had to go.”

The volunteer group has been busy building an animal shelter that will house around 800 rescued animals, and they hope to be able to reunite the animals with their humans or, if that can’t be done, to find homes for these animals in the rest of Europe.

Chloë, who will be bringing a suitcase filled with items for the veterinarians who are volunteering and for the animals when they arrive, will be in Romania for at least five weeks.

Along with other volunteers, Chloë will be housed in Arad in a home that someone has donated.

However, she still needs to cover her travel costs and living expenses. One of her friends in Tuscon, Teresa Dodson, has set up a GoFundMe to support Chloë’s effort. The GoFundMe has raised over half of its $10,000 goal.

If you want to support Chloë, you can donate at gofundme.com/f/help-rescue-animals-from-ukraine.

Two days before the Easter long weekend, Peterborough Public Health is warning of a very high risk of COVID-19 transmission in the Peterborough area and is advising residents to wear masks and avoid indoor social gatherings and high-risk settings.

For the first time since it launched two weeks ago, the health unit’s COVID-19 Community Risk Index has reached “very high” — its highest level.

The index, which is updated every Wednesday, has five risk levels from very low risk to very high risk, and includes the status of six COVID-19 indicators used to determine the risk level: the local case incidence rate per 100,000, the number of hospitalizations, new deaths, PCR test positivity rate, community-reported rapid antigen test positivity rate, and wastewater surveillance signals.

Since last week, three indicators have moved higher, with hospitalizations moving from “high” to “very high”, rapid antigen test positivity from “high” to “very high”, and deaths from “low” to “moderate”.

“It is clear that the sixth wave is continuing to surge and I remain very concerned for the health of our most vulnerable residents,” says medical officer of health Dr. Thomas Piggott in a media release.

“I know this is not the news we wanted to hear before a long holiday weekend, but the safest course of action is to wear a mask and avoid indoor social gatherings and high-risk settings where transmission can occur. This is important for us all to decrease transmission, but especially those at high risk of severe illness with COVID-19.”

Given the very high risk of transmission, Peterborough Public Health is offering guidance for both the general population and for those who are at high risk of infection (including people who are immunocompromised, medically at risk, unvaccinated, or 60 years of age or older).

For the general population, the health unit strongly recommends wearing masks for all interactions with people from outside your household, avoiding social gatherings in all indoor settings, and avoiding high-risk settings where transmission levels could be higher due to large capacity limits and limited physical distancing.

For high-risk populations, the health unit is strongly recommending using a respirator mask if possible (N95 or KN95).

For residents of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton, and Northumberland, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit has identified a significant rise in viral signal from the municipal wastewater monitoring sites in Cobourg and Lindsay, as well as an increasing number of lab-confirmed cases and new outbreaks in highest-risk settings.

The HKPR District Health Unit is reminding residents to celebrate safely on the long weekend by avoiding the “three Cs”: closed spaces, crowded spaces, and close faces.

“Avoiding the three Cs this holiday weekend makes extra sense, when COVID-19 cases are surging,” says medical officer of health Dr. Natalie Bocking in a media release. “For instance, indoor spaces that aren’t well ventilated can increase the risk of COVID-19 spreading, so open a window if indoors or take the celebration outdoors if the weather permits. Reduce the risk further by sticking with smaller gatherings, not large ones. In addition, wear a tight fitting mask if visiting indoors, especially if someone in attendance is at higher risk of severe COVID-19 due to age or medical reasons.”

At a public meeting of the Peterborough police services board on Tuesday night (April 12), acting police chief Tim Farquharson addressed what he called “probably one of the most polarizing, divisive challenges in our community right now” — how police respond to continued protests against COVID-19 public health measures.

Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien, a member of the board who also attended the meeting, had brought the issue forward in response to public complaints about a rally outside of Peterburgers restaurant in downtown Peterborough on Saturday.

Also calling it a challenge that affects “the trust and respect people have for the police and how we’re handling things,” Farquharson noted the police are in the business of protecting the public, no matter who they are.

“We don’t take sides, that’s not our job,” Farquharson said. “We’ve been accused of supporting the anti-mask group, the freedom convoy, the various groups that come, and that is not the case for us, and it won’t be the case moving forward.”

“We’ll use the tools at our disposal, we’ll adequately staff for any protests that come. Any offences that are criminal or provincial in nature, we are going to deal with. We will be working with the city municipal by-law.”

Farquharson added the police service’s senior team had a “lengthy meeting” on Tuesday with city staff and the city solicitor about “what we can do, what we can’t do, what we should do, what we shouldn’t do.”

“Moving forward, there will be an increased presence of officers in regards to the enforcement piece,” he promised. “We’ll make sure that we’re adequately staffed, that we keep everyone safe, but we expect everyone to follow the laws. And if those are breached, then we will have to deal with that part of it, and we are willing to deal with that.”

Indirectly referring to the rally on Saturday at Peterburgers, Farquharson said police are getting “a lot of calls from the public that don’t feel safe and want us to do more, and that’s what basically our weekend as a senior team was spent working on.”

“Our constituents and stakeholders are concerned, don’t feel safe, as well as council who are getting the calls from constituents asking questions,” he said. “And it’s part of our job to educate on what we can and can’t do.”

In response to Farquharson remarks, Therrien said city council and the police board supports people’s right to freedom of assembly and to protest “even though mandates have been lifted so I know a lot of people in the community are confused as to what is being protested exactly.”

“But the balance of that is what we do when the protests, or what’s going on, are having a detrimental impact on the residents,” she said. “Of not just that immediate community, but I get emails and calls — not just as a member of council, but I know at the police service we hear about this too — from people who were thinking about coming into town for the day but are staying away. So it’s bad for the economy, it’s bad for business, and community members are feeling unsafe,”

“Everybody knows I’m fine with f-bombs and all those types of things, but the line (is) drawn at comments that are harassing people in the community, any kind of slur, any kind of hateful comments, that is unacceptable,” Therrien added.

She asked Farquharson how police can address that if it happens to people, “because I have heard numerous instances of that.”

“One of the things we talk about in regards to the yelling and the disturbances, and the slurs, that would be dealt through cause a disturbance,” Farquharson replied. “Now that’s a summary conviction offence, and officers have to basically find (people committing (the offence) … saying that, that doesn’t mean you can’t do further investigation through video, through film, and somebody could be charged at a later date.”

“That won’t be tolerated. Now saying that, when we had some of the (protests) at Confederation Park, and we had 30 officers and a 1,000 (or) 1,500 people, we couldn’t see everything. As you know, we did do follow-up investigations later for criminal activity and provincial offences, and we did our best to lay those charges at a later date. Sometimes it’s safer, to be frank, with officer safety. That’s what the lead inspector is there for, to control that, decide when it’s best to do things, not just for the safety of officers also the safety of the people. There are people that lawfully protest.”

“There’s nothing that is going to permit people to be screaming,” he said. “The other thing that we found about megaphones, stereos, decibel levels, there’s been complaints about that. People are upset. We have laid our three summonses in the past, which means an automatic court date, a heavier fine, but that doesn’t stop it at the time.”

“We are speaking to the Crown. Does it raise to the level of mischief, which is a criminal code offence: interfering in the lawful use and enjoyment of people’s property? And that’s something we are working with the Crown (on), because that’s an arrestable offence. If you’ve done those other things — the warning, the part one, the part three summons — can it escalate to mischief? So we’re waiting for a call back, we’re working with the Crown on that. There are things we are doing that we’ve explained to the city.”

Farquharson also referred to the issue of excessive noise caused by honking vehicles.

“We do have certain vehicles that are driving around in circles blaring on their horn. Is there an offence for that? Yes, there is: unnecessary noise … it’s a provincial offence, so we will be enforcing that. Obviously, we’re using our discretion. There’s people that say they’re honking because a child ran in front of their car.”

Farquharson said the police will be dealing with “people who are going around the block consistently blaring their horn,” but didn’t provide details about how.

“Some of these noises are going on for hours at a time, and we are getting a complaints about that. So we’ll address that as well, and other things that I don’t want to get into at this time for obvious reasons.”

Therrien pointed out there is a “level of frustration in the community when people are feeling too intimidated to come to our downtown, to come to these neighbourhoods.”

“I’m just making it public that the police board and myself, we hear the concerns and certainly empathize with them. Of course there’s a right to peaceful protest, that’s fair, but again, when you’re impeding other people’s rights, that’s problematic.”

Peterborough police have charged the owners of Peterburgers under the city’s noise by-law following the restaurant’s grand reopening celebration on Saturday (April 9).

The restaurant, located at 25 George Street North, had recently reopened after having been closed since December by order of Peterborough Public Health for defying COVID-19 public health measures.

On Saturday afternoon, a convoy of vehicles decorated with Canadian flags and anti-Trudeau messages drove past Peterburgers on George Street while honking horns, with many of the vehicles ending up in the parking lot at Del Crary Park just up the street from the restaurant.

A crowd also gathered outside the restaurant to support the owners, who are known for opposing COVID-19 public health measures as well as vaccines.

A number of people spoke to the crowd through a sound system, and vehicles honked as they drove past the restaurant. At several times, members of the crowd spilled out into the surrounding streets.

Several people on social media complained about the event while it was happening as well as the lack of a police presence, tagging local politicians as well as the police.

Freedom = pushing people onto the street.

(No cameramen were harmed in the making of this video)#cdnpoli #antivaxxers #Peterborough pic.twitter.com/L36eTChjyY

— Caryma Sa'd – Lawyer + Political Satirist (@CarymaRules) April 9, 2022

Late on Saturday afternoon, police issued a media release that they had “several officers in attendance” and that “charges are forthcoming.”

Also late on Saturday afternoon, Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien posted on Twitter that, although she nor members of city council can direct the police, she was planning to bring the issue to general committee at Monday’s meeting and to the Police Services Board at Tuesday’s meeting.

However, as a member of the Police Services Board, I will bring this up at our meeting Tuesday. And I have followed up with city staff about our options on the bylaw front, which I will bring up at GC this Monday. Both meetings are public.

— Diane Therrien (@DianeNTherrien) April 9, 2022

At the end of the general committee meeting on Monday night, Therrien made a statement about the situation on the weekend.

“Myself and members of council are receiving complaints and concerns from residents about periodic disruptions on city streets and related noise that’s negatively impacting businesses, residents, and everyone who uses city streets,” Therrien said.

“So I’m just referring these complaints and concerns to (city) staff as an enforcement complaint and, further, I would encourage staff to consider whether the city’s regulatory framework adequately balances the rights of those who wish to assemble and express themselves, with the rights of the residents, business owners, and the rest of the users of city streets. And I’ll just leave it at that for now, thank you.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Peterborough police issued a media release stating they had charged Peterburgers on Monday “for permitting noise likely to disturb under section 90-273 of the City of Peterborough Noise By-Law,” and that a court date of June 27 has been set.

VIDEO: Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien at General Committee (April 11, 2022)

The fine under the noise by-law is $125 for a first offence. For subsequent offences, a summons may be issued, compelling the person to attend court, where the fines could reach a maximum of $2,000.

Peterborough-Kawartha MP Michelle Ferreri addressed Peterborough city council for the first time since she was elected during the virtual general committee meeting on Monday night (April 11), with most of the discussion involving housing.

“Thank you so much for having me everyone,” Ferreri said. “Finally, nice to be here — it only took, what, seven months?”

Ferreri, who is at her constituency office this week, attended council for 45 minutes to provide an update on her activities as federal MP and to answer questions from councillors.

Ferreri began by speaking about her focus on increasing housing supply, decreasing wait times, and supporting municipalities.

“As many of you know, I’m in opposition so I’m not making the decisions, but trying to work alongside government to help them make the best decisions, so that obviously places like Peterborough-Kawartha can have more housing and in turn help with the homeless crisis,” she said.

Ferreri also mentioned mental health and the opioid crisis — “the other key thing that I’m working on” — and described her recent trip to Vancouver where she visited a consumption treatment site and a mental health facility for youth.

In her role as shadow minister for tourism, Ferreri said she is “working hard” to help the local tourism industry recover, but provided no details.

After Ferreri invited questions, councillor Lesley Parnell asked Ferreri what she had been able to do to secure federal funding for affordable housing in the city.

“In my experience, a lot of this is at the municipal level in terms of the red tape in sort of the planning process. On our end, obviously I’m working across party lines to do this but I think there’s going to have to be a big shift in how the money is funnelled down to the municipality, and that’s what we’re working at — to open that up. Right now the biggest feedback I hear from builders — the timeline, the permits, the money.”

Referring to the planned new sports complex at Morrow Park, Parnell then asked Ferreri whether she is able to work with the federal government and MPP Dave Smith to “come up with some recreational subsidies for us.”

“Definitely working on the federal side, that’s for sure,” Ferreri said. “Hopefully we’ll have more updates for you guys in the coming weeks and months on that. But absolutely on my radar, and (I’m) working with the minister.”

Parnell also asked about whether Ferreri is working with the province on getting a detox and rehabilitation centre for Peterborough.

“I’m met with (federal) minister of mental health (and addictions) Carolyn Bennett to make sure that we are on the radar and whatever I can do to make sure that Peterborough-Kawartha gets what it needs,” Ferreri said.

In response to another question from Parnell, Ferreri said she supported the proposed “system navigator” position with the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA), which would help people experiencing homelessness. (Editor’s note: Later on in the general committee meeting, council voted to allocate $160,000 for the position over the next three years, despite a staff recommendation against it because it would duplicate work done by city social services staff and other agencies.)

Councillor Dean Pappas asked Ferreri for her support in securing funding for crisis management teams to help with the opioid crisis.

“I wish I could tell you I have funding secured and I could write you a big fat cheque right now, but the conversation is happening,” Ferreri said. “Again, I opened up that relationship with Minister Bennett as soon as she was announced (as) minister of mental health.”

Councillor Keith Riel asked Ferreri whether she could help the city in “getting our hands on any of that money” from the federal budget announcement of $10 billion for rapid housing.

“I’d like to say yes — I’m not going to say yes, because I’m not going to make promises,” she said. “I don’t know. What we really need to do is we really need to empower the municipalities.”

Riel asked Ferreri why she hasn’t reached out to either him or to councillor Henry Clarke, as the chairs of housing for the city and also the chair and co-chair of Peterborough Housing Corp, to discuss housing.

“I would tell you that works both ways, Keith — I haven’t heard anything from you either,” she replied, offering to book some time with him “in the next week or two.”

Riel then asked Ferreri about what she will be doing to help the tourism industry recover in the city and county.

“In order for us to restore this industry, we have to restore travel confidence,” she replied. “We have to say we’re open, safely, for business … I will continue to advocate for tourism.”

Riel also asked Ferreri about bringing jobs to Peterborough.

“We need to make Peterborough a destination for people,” she said. “It needs to be easy to get here, it needs to be easy to get around, and we need houses that you can afford to live in to work here as well

Councillor Kim Zippel asked Ferreri how she is supporting the city’s declaration of a climate emergency and its target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.

“I think it’s about listening,” Ferreri said. “What do you need and where is my role on the federal level to best support you? That’s the easiest way for me to answer that right now.”

Councillor Kemi Akapo asked Ferreri whether she could describe any “tangible results” from her meetings about housing.

“Money is fine, but it has to be targeted, it has to have a plan, it has to be well utilized,” Ferreri said. “It can’t be just kind of flown out there with no plan or strategy. So I think we’re really just putting that pressure on to make sure that there is a clear strategy, because we have to open up supply so those most vulnerable as well are off the streets.”

Akapo asked about the housing task force and when it will be providing some “tangible solutions” for communities.

“I’m trying to be mindful to not get too partisan,” Ferreri replied. “It’s a challenge not to, I’ll be honest with you, because when we’re standing in the House of Commons and we’re having meetings with the housing minister, there is this narrative that all these houses have been built and that their programming is working, and it’s not.”

Ferreri then raised concerns about fees and taxes a young couple had to pay to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Akapo also asked Ferreri about whether she had any updates on the status of passenger rail service to Peterborough.

“There’s no real further update on when, other than what’s been put out,” Ferreri said. “But it is a priority is what I’ve been told.”

(Editor’s note: in March, the federal government announced it was inviting the private sector to formally express their interest in partnering with the federal government to build the high frequency rail project, with construction expected to begin in the mid-2020s and the service fully operational in the early 2030s.)

Councillor Henry Clarke asked Ferreri whether she’s had a chance to “find out where the pots of gold are buried” for federal capital infrastructure funding for municipalities.

“I don’t have a pot of gold — I wish I did — nor do I have the map of where it is as of yet,” she replied. “That being said, (I’m) continuing to work with parties across all lines to figure out how we open up to access to capital.”

Councillor Parnell asked Ferreri what the solution is to the housing crisis, stating “You can’t just be partisan and blame the government.”

“I would tell you to vote for a Conservative government, would be my short answer,” Ferreri said. “What they’re doing, it’s not working, and so I don’t know what else to say to you other than that. The fact is that you can’t keep printing money and expect inflation to continue to grow and then expect the cost of housing to go down. You can’t expect to just continue to have the red tape for municipalities.”

Parnell then asked Ferreri what she would do differently if she were in government.

“You have to open up supply — there’s not enough supply,” Ferreri said. “So it’s a very simple equation because there’s not enough. So if I go to the grocery store, and there’s only three grapes, and 10,000 people need a grape, the cost of the grape is going to go up. So let’s replace grapes with houses. We need more housing.”

“So your answer would be to help us build more housing with federal funds?” Parnell asked.

“It’s not always about money,” Ferreri replied. “There’s lots of people who are there able to build right now. I have four or five builders on my phone right now that could put up 10, 20, 30 houses right now, but they are restricted by the red tape, the permits, the planning, the costs … It’s not always about spending money, it’s where the money is being directed.”

Parnell also asked whether Ferreri had any information about where the proposed high frequency rail corridor would go through the Peterborough area, as the city has not accommodated that in its transportation master plan.

“I cannot speak to it, but it is a great question and I’m open to discussing it further,” Ferreri said.

Councillor Akapo asked Ferreri for how she plans to advocate for funds for the Peterborough area for the new dental care program announced in the federal budget.

“I would be amiss if I told you I was well versed in this as of yet, and I’m not,” Ferreri admitted. “I’m open to have that conversation and follow up with you thereafter. I’m been a long-time advocate for making sure people have access to dental care.”

Mayor Diane Therrien asked Ferreri for a “specific example of the red tape that we need to deal with at the municipality,” as well as examples in the planning or permitting process.

“Delays are probably one of the biggest things I’ve heard … just the delay to get a permit is what some are calling red tape,” Ferreri replied.

Therrien also asked Ferreri about her opinion on closing tax loopholes for wealthy Canadians. Ferreri replied that she couldn’t speak on that issue, but agreed in principle.

Peterborough city council has rejected a proposed city by-law to regulate election signs in the city, mainly because candidates would have to pay a fee to recover non-compliant signs removed by the city.

A city staff team that included the city solicitor, elections coordinator, property standards officer, and others reviewed by-laws and rules from other Ontario municipalities to come up with the by-law, which was presented at the general committee meeting on Monday night (April 11).

The proposed by-law covered a number of issues with federal, provincial, and municipal election signs, including the placement of signs near voting locations, sign dimensions, the removal of unlawful election signs, the content of election signs, and third-party signs.

For example, the by-law would prohibit placement of signs on public property, including parks and areas adjacent to a roadway such as a boulevard. Signs displayed by third-party advertisers would have to identify the municipality where they are registered and provide contact information for the third party.

The staff report also recommended a fee of $10 be collected from candidates who seek to recover election signs that city staff remove because they were placed contrary to the by-law, with the fee helping offset the cost incurred by staff to remove non-compliant signs.

Councillor Dean Pappas moved that the report be received for information, which would mean council would not approve the by-law.

Calling it an “unfair by-law,” Pappas primarily objected to the proposed fee for candidates to recover signs, citing the lack of control candidates have over signs placed on private property such as a boulevard.

He said that the by-law would benefit candidates who could either afford to recover non-compliant signs by paying the fee or who could just produce more signs to replace those removed by city staff.

“I know there were some good intentions out behind this, but I don’t think it’s a workable by-law and I don’t think it’s fair in any way,” Pappas said.

Councillor Kim Zippel also expressed concerns about the fee but questioned why the entire by-law was not being considered by council.

“This is one small section of the by-law,” she said. “I’m not sure why we would be not using the by-law in its entirety and just removing that particular step, or setting the fees to zero at this juncture.”

In response to Zippel’s question, city clerk John Kennedy said the fee could be removed, or council could just move forward with sections of the by-law.

“I don’t think the whole by-law needs to be thrown out,” Zippel said, while adding a concern about the potential environmental impact for the city in disposing of collected signs that candidates do not pay to recover.

In the end, all councillors except for Zippel and Kemi Akapo voted in support of Pappas’s motion to receive the report for information, meaning council did not approve the by-law.