The Ontario government has approved $1.3 million in funding for a Consumption and Treatment Site (CTS) at Peterborough’s new Opioid Response Hub at 220 Simcoe Street.

Fourcast (Four Counties Addiction Services Team) is leading the Opioid Response Hub in collaboration with PARN – Your Community AIDS Resource Network, Peterborough 360 Degree Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, the Mobile Support Overdose Resource Team (MSORT), Peterborough Drug Strategy, and Peterborough County-City Paramedics.

The partners in the initiative have been waiting for provincial CTS approval since late 2020. In June 2021, the federal government provided an exemption to allow the use of illegal drugs at 220 Simcoe Street, conditional upon provincial approval of funding to operate the CTS.

The partners decided to renovate the site at 220 Simcoe Street in advance of approval of provincial CTS funding, so they could become operational as soon as possible after funding approval. Renovations at the location were completed in December after over $160,000 was raised as part of the Light The Way To 160K campaign.

Services at the Opioid Response Hub will include health supports such as harm reduction supplies and wound assessment, treatment supports including opiate replacement therapy and detox, and social supports including counselling. Hub staff will also connect clients with income supports, housing supports, and cultural supports including Indigenous services.

The provincial funding approval comes days after Peterborough Public Health issued its second drug poisoning warning, with 19 different overdose-related incidents reported over the previous week. The health unit also issued a drug poisoning alert on February 4, and extended it on February 8, after detecting a total of 17 overdose-related incidents in late January and early February.

Since 2019, the Ontario government has approved 17 CTS sites in communities across the province.

Two Peterborough-based organizations are receiving up to $74,495 in funding through the Ontario government’s EnAbling Change Program to promote accessibility and inclusivity.

The Council for Persons with Disabilities (CPD) is receiving up to $26,340 to expand its Time in My Shoes program to include a virtual reality program.

The experiential program promotes better accessibility for customers and employees in businesses and services by allowing participants to experience mobility challenges, vision loss, hearing loss and invisible disabilities.

The virtual reality component provides simulations that emulate what it is like to have a disability and do an everyday task like going to the grocery store. The Council for Persons with Disabilities has four simulations in production that focus on different disabilities.

Raymond Cho, Ontario’s minister for seniors and accessibility, attended a media event in Peterborough on Friday (February 25) where he spoke and later tried out the virtual reality demonstration.

“The Time in My Shoes program virtual reality experience is enabling people to have a first-person experience with a 21st-century technology,” Minister Cho said.

The media event, hosted by CPD director Lois Tuffin, was also attended by Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, Peterborough councillor and former CPD board member Keith Riel, CPD chair Andrea Dodsworth, CPD executive director John McNutt, and CPD vice-chair Leslie Yee.

Yee announced a new CPD event called Capable Con, described as “a convention that opens the conversation about disability, teaches us about and creates community with those living with disabilities.”

It will take place on June 4, 2022 on the final day of AccessAbility Week.

Orchestras Canada is also receiving up to $48,155 to design and deliver six webinars called “EnAbling Change: Accessibility for the Performing Arts” to educate Ontario not-for-profit performing arts organizations about their legal obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Two of the webinars have already taken place and the remaining four will be held from March to May. To view recordings of past webinars and to register for upcoming ones, visit the Orchestras Canada website at op.ca.

This story has been updated with photos from the media event.

The Workforce Development Board (WDB) has released its Local Labour Market Planning Report for 2021-2022 — an extensive look at the challenges and opportunities facing both the demand and supply sides of the labour market in Peterborough (City and County), the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.

An Employment Ontario project funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario, the 116-page document was written by Labour Market Analyst Sandra Wright, who relied heavily on data compiled by WDB’s Labour Market Information Analyst Sean Dooley.

The 2021-22 edition of the Local Labour Market Planning Report is available for viewing and downloading in both English and French at www.wdb.ca/our-projects/.

In her executive summary of the report, WDB Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Lamantia notes some of the report’s key findings:

• Compared to two years ago, the number of Employment Insurance beneficiaries in early 2021 was almost triple for women and over double for men.
• The hardest-hit businesses over the last four years were in accommodation and food services, with the pandemic responsible for the majority of job losses. There were also significant employment losses in the retail trade sector as well as in arts, entertainment, and recreation.
• Online job postings began to increase in early 2021 and have remained steady, and are projected to continue to remain above normal levels as further restrictions are lifted and employers continue to recruit for positions.
• The increased hiring demand from employers indicates a renewed confidence in the economy, particularly in health care and social assistance as well as professional, scientific and technical services and public administration.
• The top skills in demand from employers continue to be employability skills, including customer service, attention to detail, organization, teamwork, and written communication.
• The main recruitment barrier for employers is finding qualified and experienced workers, with many employers reporting a general shortage of applicants to many job postings.
• Although the pandemic has created many challenges for businesses, it has also opened up possibilities for remote working that otherwise would never have existed, although the lack of reliable broadband connectivity in some areas is an issue for remote working.

The Local Labour Market Planning Report features many graphs and tables that highlight trends seen in Employment Ontario client data, labour market characteristics, and issues and challenges being experienced in the local labour market. Data sources for the report include input received from local employers, economic development agencies, employment service providers, and the education sector through more than 85 consultations and surveys.

Two employment service providers that provided input for the 2021-22 Local Labour Market Planning Report, and will also make extensive use of its findings, are Employment and Planning Counselling – Peterborough (EPC Peterborough) and Literacy Ontario Central South (LOCS).

According to EPC Peterborough’s manager of employment services Nancy Thompson, the real value of the report for her agency’s work lies in its “snapshot” focus on the local job landscape and associated challenges.

“A lot of the information we usually get is not as local — it’s federal or provincial information,” says Thompson. “What’s going on in Peterborough is different than what’s going on in Toronto and other larger centres. The report gives us a really good idea of what’s going on in our community and in the surrounding communities.”

“It allows us to focus our programming to be able to reach out to those individuals who seem to be having trouble in our area. It allows us to target groups that need more assistance in their job searches and in their career exploration.”

For LOCS, a Peterborough-based agency that provides support to adult training organizations throughout central Ontario, executive director Carrie Wakeford says the report’s comprehensiveness is over the top.

“You’ve got the demographics, you’ve got the employment stats, and you’ve got the trends and action plans,” Wakeford says of the report. “We couldn’t gather this information on our own. What we’d end up doing is pulling from little pieces of things and trying to piece them together and make some sense of what’s happening. We know what’s happening right now because we see it, but the report allows for some looking forward and a bit of prediction of where we’re headed.”

EPC Peterborough’s Thompson agrees, noting her organization is “too busy in the trenches” to gather the kind of information available in the report on their own.

“We’re grateful that it’s available, we’re grateful that it’s literally at our fingertips, and we’re grateful that it applies to our local economy,” she says. “It gives us a big picture look at what is going on in our community. We’re so busy dealing with individuals, sometimes we don’t step back and look at the big picture. This report allows us to do that.”

As for how EPC Peterborough applies the information gleaned from the report, Thompson says beyond helping her agency set priorities for “where we spend our marketing money, what programming we run, and what groups we’re going to target,” the report is also a helpful resource when assisting clients looking to retrain.

“We can reference this report with our clients when they’re looking for information on what the prospects are for certain occupations in our region,” she explains.

For Wakeford, the Local Labour Market Planning Report is also an invaluable aid for LOCS’s annual report for the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development that highlights local labour market trends and focuses on the development of plans on how to address identified needs.

“I rely completely on the Workforce Development Board for that information,” says Wakeford. “What are the trends? What are employers looking for? What are the demographics? When you look at all the stats, it’s a bit overwhelming but they break it down by county, which is really helpful.”

Wakeford adds her agency’s Literary Service Plan, an analysis of trends and needs also written for the Ministry and referenced by local literacy-focused organizations in their development of programs for their clients, “just wouldn’t have the same detail” if she didn’t have the Local Labour Market Planning Report at her fingertips.

“I’d still be able to write it but without the detail to back up what I’m saying,” she explains. “It would be like writing a report for college or university without having a source — it becomes opinion.”

Thompson echoes that comment, saying that having access to the report removes any “guessing” when it comes to advising clients.

“Without tools like this, we wouldn’t be able to help our clients navigate the outside world so they can make appropriate career choices and not spend a lot of time and energy and money only to find those jobs don’t exist,” she says. “This closes the circle of employment counselling.”

A self-admitted “numbers geek” who likes reviewing data, Thompson says “counsellors and numbers don’t always equate.” In recognition of that, she makes herself very familiar with the report’s contents so she can share it with frontline staff as required.

“Employment counsellors, for the most part, use the labour market information and share it with their clients. The demographic information would be something I and my executive director would use more strategically when we’re doing our planning. There are parts that appeal to the frontline staff, and parts that appeal to our management.”

At the end of the day, adds Thompson, the report “validates what we do.”

“It helps us to keep motivated, knowing there are lots of people who need our help and there are lots of people who have had our help.”

The Local Labour Market Planning Report 2021-2022 is available for viewing and downloading in both English and French at www.wdb.ca/our-projects/.

Founded in 1996, WDB is a not-for-profit organization located in Peterborough and serving Northumberland, Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton. WDB is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to provide labour market information, coordinate employment and training services, and engage employer communities. For more information, visit www.wdb.ca.

This story was created in partnership with the Workforce Development Board.

Forests Ontario has given heritage status to five historic sycamore trees in Lindsay — a distinction only bestowed on about 100 trees in southern and central Ontario.

Well-known to Lindsay residents, the large 132-year-old trees are located on the west side of Victoria Avenue just north of Peel Street.

Canopy Project Kawartha Lakes, a volunteer-led community group whose goal is to increase the urban canopy in the settlement areas of the City of Kawartha Lakes, nominated the trees for heritage status with the approval of the municipality’s parks department.

Tom Mikel, coordinator of Fleming College’s urban forestry program, described the trees as “incredible specimens” in a letter supporting the heritage status of the trees, according to a media release from Canopy Project Kawartha Lakes, adding the trees are the highlight of his annual Lindsay field walks with students.

“For most students, this is the first time they may be seeing an American Sycamore (P. accidentalis) in real life, and almost certainly their first time seeing ones so massive,” Mike wrote in his letter of support.

Sycamores are the largest deciduous tree in eastern North America, but they usually don’t grow as far north as Lindsay. They are recognizable by their large canopies and the distinctive camouflage-like pattern created by their mottled and peeling bark.

The five trees were planted as two-year-old saplings in 1892 by Richard Sylvester, who operated Sylvester Manufacturing Co. along with his brother. The Sylvester Manufacturing Co. factory, which was located south of Kent Street West in the block now occupied by Tim Horton’s, Home Hardware, and Lindsay Dry Cleaners, made agricultural and farm implements and employed around 100 residents.

Sylvester, who lived in the large white brick house on the northwest corner of Victoria Avenue and Peel Street, also donated the land that became Victoria Park.

“The forethought someone had in leaving this legacy over a century ago is astounding,” Mikel stated.

Forests Ontario’s heritage tree program, launched in 2009 in partnership with the Ontario Urban Forest Council, recognizes trees associated with a historic person or event or growing on historically significant land, also taking into account a tree’s prominence in a community and other factors such as a tree’s age, size, rarity, and beauty.

There are four other trees in the greater Kawarthas region that have heritage status from Forests Ontario: a 185-year-old bur oak at Maryboro Lodge in Fenelon Falls known as the “Grand Old Lady”, a 130-year-old white ash in Balsam Lake Provincial Park in Kirkfield, a 235-year-old white oak in Port Hope, and a 265-year-old American beech in Cobourg.

The heritage status from Forests Ontario does not provide any legal protections for trees, although some municipalities have by-laws that may protect heritage trees.

Peterborough police are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing 60-year-old man.

Dwayne Pellerin was last in contact with his family on Wednesday afternoon (February 23).

Pellerin’s family and police are concerned for his well-being.

Pellerin is believed to be driving a red Mitsubishi Outlander with Ontario plate CTLP 613.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Peterborough Police Service at 705-876-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.stopcrimehere.ca.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has revoked the use of the federal Emergencies Act, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford has terminated the state of emergency in the province.

Trudeau made the announcement at a media conference on Wednesday afternoon (February 23).

“Today, after careful consideration, we’re ready to confirm that the situation is no longer an emergency,” Trudeau said. “Therefore, the federal government will be ending the use of the Emergencies Act. We are confident that existing laws and by-laws are now sufficient to keep people safe.”

The federal government invoked the legislation last Monday — the first time it has been used since it was passed by Parliament in 1988 — in response to the blockades of border crossings and the occupation of Ottawa by protestors, which have now ended.

On Monday, the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted to approve use of the act, with the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois voting against it. The Senate was in the process of debating the act on Wednesday before Trudeau made his announcement.

The Emergencies Act provided temporary powers including prohibiting blockades or providing supplies for blockades, directing tow companies to remove vehicles, directing financial institutions to freeze personal and corporate accounts, and allowing the RCMP to enforce municipal and provincial laws.

Trudeau said an inquiry into the federal government’s decision to invoke the act, and subsequent police actions under the act, will begin within 60 days.

Following Trudeau’s announcement, the office of Premier Doug Ford issued a statement that, “in alignment with the federal government,” Ontario would terminate its declaration of a state of emergency as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

“The emergency tools provided to law enforcement will be maintained at this time as police continue to address ongoing activity on the ground,” the statement reads. “We remain grateful to all frontline officers and first responders that contributed to peacefully resolving the situation in Ottawa, Windsor and in other parts of the province.”

Following the “slow roll” vehicle convoy through Peterborough last Saturday and another one planned for this Saturday (February 26) — and with the possibility of counter-protests — the Peterborough Police Service has released a “message to our communities.”

The message from acting police chief Tim Farquharson asks residents to approach “differences of opinion” with “kindness and a willingness to understand or accept each other with grace.”

It also asks residents to “reconsider” attending events protesting COVID-19 public health measures, given that most remaining measures are scheduled to be lifted at the beginning of March.

The message also repeats the Peterborough Police Service’s previous statements that police response to such events “is not an endorsement” but instead a “commitment to public safety.”

Farquharson’s message also addresses the application of measures under the recently invoked federal Emergencies Act by local police.

“Our understanding is that it applies to situations and events where critical infrastructure is blocked,” Farquharson states. “We hope that we do not have to apply such measures in our community.”

Farquharson also states that permits around events are covered by a City of Peterborough by-law and that city by-law officers are responsible for determining whether the by-law has been contravened.

The message is repeated in its entirety below.

Message to Our Communities – February 23 2022

The Peterborough Police Service is committed to the safety of the communities we serve. We recognize that our community is being challenged by differences of opinion and we ask residents to continue to approach those differences with kindness and a willingness to understand or accept each other with grace.

We believe this is particularly important as we move forward in the reopening process. Given the lifting of some COVID restrictions last week and additional ones less than a week away, the Service is hopeful that residents will reconsider attending further events around COVID measures. If the restrictions and mandates were truly the concern, then as a community we should be rejoicing in the fact there are promising times right around the corner. We should be asking ourselves what the best way is to support our community and help it mend from the impact of the pandemic.

On March 1, 2022, the Ontario Government has announced that it will:

• Lift capacity limits in all indoor public settings
• Lift proof of vaccination requirements with businesses being allowed to implement them voluntarily

Protective measures that will continue for the time being include:

• Mask/face covering requirements and active/passive screening of patrons
• Public Health Units deploying local and regional responses based on local health indicators

Over the past number of months, Peterborough has seen many groups exercise their right to assemble and protest peacefully. Where this has not happened, charges have been laid.

The officers of the Peterborough Police Service approach each situation based on its own merit and will continue to do so. Throughout this pandemic the Service has been complaint driven and will continue to be. However, these events place significant demands on our service. We ask for patience and support as we work to minimize any disruptions that may arise. To reach out to the service call 705-876-1122 if it is non-emergency, 9-1-1 if it is an emergency or you can report non-emergency incidents online.

Police response to events is not an endorsement and shouldn’t be construed as such. It’s rather our commitment to public safety.

There are a lot of questions around the introduction of the Emergency Measures Act (sic) and when that will apply. Our understanding is that it applies to situations and events where critical infrastructure is blocked. We hope that we do not have to apply such measures in our community.

We have been receiving inquiries about whether permits are required for these situations. The City of Peterborough has a by-law around permitting for events such as parades and has had by-law enforcement officers on hand at recent events assessing whether there has been a contravention of that by-law. The results of those assessments would be released by the City of Peterborough. We thank our City partners for their assistance.

Peterborough Police Members are working tirelessly to ensure the safety of residents during these types of situations that have occurred in recent weeks and months while still answering the regular calls for service. We thank our team for their commitment to our communities.

We also thank the public for your understanding, cooperation, and commitment to that same goal – a safe community for all.

Sincerely,

Tim Farquharson
Acting Chief of Police
Peterborough Police Service