Peterborough city council has endorsed the awarding of a non-standard procurement contract to Elexicon Group Inc. to purchase and install 16 electric vehicle (EV) charging ports for the use of city vehicles, with the possibility of an additional eight ports for public use in downtown Peterborough should a grant application to the federal government be successful.

The decision was made at council’s general committee meeting on Monday (April 5) and will be considered for final approval by city council at its meeting on Monday, April 25th.

In 2020, the city applied to Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program for a subsidy of 50 per cent of the project operating costs to purchase and install 16
EV charging ports. Due to the pandemic, most of the funds in the federal program were frozen so city council approved an allocation of $282,000 from its climate change reserve fund to proceed with the purchase and installation of the charging ports.

Since then, funds under the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program have become available again, and Elexicon Group Inc. — a company created in 2019 by the merger of Whitby Hydro Energy Services and Veridian Corporation — has become a delivery agent for the federal program.

The city’s application through Elexicon has been approved for an $80,000 federal subsidy for the 16 charging ports ($5,000 per charger). The 16 ports would be used to charge city vehicles at four locations, with eight of the ports to be installed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant on Kennedy Road, four of the ports at the Public Works Operation Centre on Webber Avenue, and two ports each at the King Street Parking Garage and the Transit Bus Barns on Townsend Street.

The city is now also applying through Elexicon for a federal subsidy for 50 per cent of the project costs to purchase and install an additional eight charging ports for public use at two downtown locations. Should the application be successful, four ports would be installed at the Simcoe Street Parking Garage and four ports would be installed in the marina parking lot at Del Crary Park.

The eight public EV charging ports would be level 2, which can charge a vehicle from zero to 80 per cent in around four hours. They will be free to use with paid parking. Parking in the spots where the ports are installed would be restricted to charging electric vehicles with a maximum time limit of four hours per vehicle.

The city estimates the annual cost of electricity for the eight public charging ports at $6,000 per year in the first year of operation, with the cost to be covered in future operating budgets.

The total estimated project cost for the 16 EV charging ports for city vehicles is $155,700 plus tax, with an additional $84,000 plus tax for the eight EV charging ports for public vehicles (if the federal subsidy is approved). Along with a $20,000 project contigency, the total project cost would be $263,918.72.

The electrical work required to install the city and public EV charging at the six locations would need to be completed by November 1, 2022 according to the requirements of the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program.

While the city’s purchasing by-law normally requires a competitive procurement process for amounts exceeding $100,000, an exception can be made when only one supplier is able to meet the procurement requirements.

“The city treasurer has considered this matter and is in agreement with a non-competitive procurement for the supply and installation of EV chargers,” reads an April 4th memo to general committee from Michael Papadacos, the city’s interim commissioner of infrastructure and planning services.

With Mother’s Day fast approaching, the YWCA Peterborough Haliburton is inviting local businesses and members of the community to join the YWCA Challenge for Mom and help women experiencing gender-based violence.

All proceeds from the fundraiser — which begins on Sunday, May 1st and runs until Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 8th — will directly support local resources for women and their children to safely escape gender-based violence, build upon their existing strength, and move forward in their lives.

“Violence against women has intensified,” says YWCA executive director Kim Dolan. “Locally, the need for YWCA shelter and support services for women and children increased by 30 per cent during the pandemic. We’ve also witnessed an alarming increase in the severity of abuse being inflicted.”

To support women experiencing gender-based violence, join the YWCA Challenge for Mom by visiting ywcapeterborough.org, where you can register as an individual or a team, set a fundraising goal, and invite your family, friends, and coworkers to show their support by making a donation online.

Challenge participants who raise $250 or more will be entered in a draw to win one of three prizes donated by six local businesses: a decor prize valued at $750, a foodie prize valued at $475, and a home care prize valued at $300.

Funds raised through the challenge will support YWCA programs that receive only partial government funding, including Crossroads Shelter, Haliburton Emergency Rural SafeSpace (HERS), Family Court Support, Transition Support, Nourish, and more.

“The YWCA Challenge for Mom is an opportunity to engage with members of our community and ensure that there is widespread knowledge of the resources that continue to be available at the YWCA for women and their children, while also working together to raise funds for core shelter and support services,” explains Ria Nicholson, the YWCA’s lead philanthropic advisor.

To learn more about how the pandemic has intensified violence against women, or to discuss possible corporate partnership opportunities, visit ywcapeterborough.org or contact Nicholson at 705-743-3526 x113 or rnicholson@ywcapeterborough.org.

The YWCA Challenge for Mom is sponsored by Ontario Insurance Network and Baker Tilly, along with local media sponsors kawarthaNOW, Move 99.7, Pure Country 105, Freq 90.5, PTBOTODAY.ca, Oldies 96.7, Peterborough This Week, and The Peterborough Examiner.

kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of the YWCA Challenge for Mom.

Peterborough native Matthew Crowley has announced he intends to run for councillor in the city’s Monaghan Ward in the October 24, 2022 municipal election.

Crowley, who was born and raised in Peterborough and lives in Monaghan Ward with his wife and three daughters, issued a media release on Tuesday (April 5) announcing his intentions.

“As a lifelong Peterborough and Monaghan Ward resident, I have seen the city go through a myriad of changes,” Crowley says. “Peterborough is at a serious tipping point. We have major issues affecting every facet of the city, from escalating crime in the west end, a decaying downtown core, major transit, and transportation problems, with homelessness and addiction treatment being particularly contentious.”

“Peterborough deserves better. It requires fresh, new leadership in city council to solve these problems. I will work to ensure these issues are properly addressed and bring positive change to Monaghan Ward, and to the entire city.”

After graduating from Sir Sandford Fleming College as a systems analyst, Crowley has worked as an IT support specialist with GM Financial for the last 20 years.

He has also been active in the local arts and music scene since his teens, writing and playing music with local bands as well as booking local and internationally renowned musicians in various venues throughout the city.

Peterborough Public Health is investigating a confirmed report of avian influenza (H5N1) discovered in a backyard flock located in Selwyn Township, noting that the risk to human health is low.

This is the fifth report of the highly pathogenic virus confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Ontario since March 27. Avian flu has also been found in poultry flocks in the townships of Guelph/Eramosa, Zorra, and Woolwich, as well as in a backyard flock in the Township of Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation.

Each infected premise has been placed under quarantine, according to the CFIA website, which points out H5N1 is spreading in wild bird populations across the globe and presents a “significant national concern” as birds migrate to Canada. Avian flu was detected in Newfoundland and Labrador in December and January and in Nova Scotia in February and March. In April, three cases of avian flu have been detected in Quebec geese.

“The risk to human health remains low and we are not aware of any local human cases at this time,” says Peterborough medical officer of health Dr. Thomas Piggott in a media release. “The virus does not easily cross from birds to humans, and the current strain is listed as being of ‘lower than normal’ concern for spreading to humans.”

Avian influenza is a viral disease that affects mostly domestic poultry and wild birds such as geese, ducks, and shore birds. Wild birds, especially waterfowl, are a natural reservoir for mild strains of avian influenza. The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain H5N1 is known to kill both wild birds and commercial poultry.

The spread of H5N1 in wild and commercial poultry in Ontario has been primarily attributed to the migration of infected waterfowl.

Dr. Piggott says the health unit is working closely with provincial and federal partners, including the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and CFIA, on the investigation.

The health unit advises residents not to touch any wild bird (including waterfowl) that is sick, injured, or dead. Any sick or dead birds (including waterfowl) should be reported to the Ontario Regional Centre of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative at 1-866-673-4781.

Those with backyard chickens or other domestic birds can get more information related to prevention and detection of disease in backyard flocks and pet birds by calling CFIA at 226-217-8022 or by visiting the CFIA website.

Transmission of avian influenza to people from the consumption of undercooked eggs or poultry is unlikely. As a general practice, food safety measures should always be practised when handling poultry and egg products such as washing hands before and after food handling, keeping products separate to prevent cross-contamination, cleaning and sanitizing all surfaces, and fully cooking poultry products.

For more information about avian influenza, visit the Peterborough Public Health website.

Peterborough resident Peter Sullivan is $44,775 richer after winning the latest Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation 50/50 lottery.

Sullivan won the grand prize when his ticket number D-1982608 was drawn last Friday (April 1). He also has the choice of a bonus prize of either a $2,500 Resorts of Ontario gift certificate or an additional $2,000 in cash.

Since the lottery launched last fall, over $240,000 has been awarded. Previous grand prize winners include Mary Overholt, Judy Johnston, Wendy Bianco, and Christina Dicosmo.

The next PRHC Foundation 50/50 lottery, presented by Peterborough Subaru, is now underway. Tickets are on sale online only at prhcfoundation5050.com, where you can buy 10 tickets for $10, 40 tickets for $20, 160 tickets for $40, or 400 tickets for $75. Ticket buyers must be 18 years of age or older and in the province of Ontario to play.

The more tickets you purchase, the greater your odds of winning. Half of all the ticket sales in the 50/50 lottery go the PRHC Foundation to support equipment and technology at the hospital that the government doesn’t fund.

The lottery runs until midnight on Tuesday, May 17th with the grand prize winner drawn the following day. The grand prize consists of the jackpot, which grows every time more tickets are purchased, plus a bonus prize of a $2,500 Resorts of Ontario gift certificate or $2,000 cash.

Ticket buyers are also automatically entered in two early bird draws totalling $4,500 in cash on “WINning Wednesdays” — with $2,500 cash awarded on April 21 and $2,000 cash on May 5.

For more information about the PRHC Foundation, visit prhcfoundation.ca.

With things looking up for tourism in Ontario, Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) is opening a new seasonal visitor centre in the Town of Hastings in Trent Hills later this spring.

The Kawarthas Northumberland Visitor Centre is located at Lock 18 along the Trent-Severn Waterway. An official opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place in late May.

RTO8 is a not-for-profit organization funded by the Ontario government to market the Kawarthas Northumberland region as a tourism destination to bring visitors to Kawartha Lakes, the city and county of Peterborough, and Northumberland County.

The organization is now hiring two full-time student travel counsellors for the new visitor centre. The minimum-wage contract positions, which are open to those between 15 and 30 years of age, will run from early May to mid-August.

For more information and to apply, visit rto8.com/external-job-posting/. Applications are due by April 22.

RTO8 has also partnered with local tourism hubs to bring digital kiosks into staffed locations across the region. The kiosks will be located in Bobcaygeon, Buckhorn, Campbellford, Fenelon Falls, Hastings, Havelock, Lakefield, Lindsay, and Peterborough

Ashley Doust has circled April 12 on her calendar.

One of 41 new homeowners that will call the Habitat For Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region condominium at 33 Leahy’s Lane home, that day will see the single mom — together with her 10-year-old daughter Emma — depart her parents’ house to realize her dream of home ownership.

On Sunday (April 3), following a celebrative dedication ceremony attended by a number of project partners as well as all 41 families, kawarthaNOW trailed behind Doust as she stepped into her finished first-floor two-bedroom unit for the first time.

“I never thought I would be able to own a home,” Doust said. “Without this opportunity, with the (housing) market as it is today, I’d never be able to get in. I didn’t want to throw my money into rent. When this opportunity came about, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I have to that.'”

“I worked really hard to make it happen. I applied in September 2020 and was approved in January the following year. It was like the best day ever when Sue (Habitat For Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region CEO Susan Zambonin) called me.”

Doust’s excitement, and that of each of her new neighbours, was palpable during both the ceremony and subsequent building tour.

“We are serving as many families this year as we’ve served in the last 20 … that is a true legacy,” said an emotional Zambonin during her overview of this journey, from idea and concept to shovels in the ground to completion.

“We are standing here because of the leadership of our trades, suppliers, and consultants who all said ‘We want to be part of what you’re doing.’ They have been working around the clock, through and around sickness and supply chain issues, and coordinating gift-in-kind and build donations. We are here to celebrate on day 412.”

“This journey begins and ends with our homeowners. Where you see a building, we see the homeowners — the people who are going to live in the homes that we have built.”

The building at 33 Leahy’s Lane has six one-bedroom units, 29 two-bedroom units, and six three-bedroom units. All units are energy efficient, accessible, and affordable, intended for families with a mixture of incomes of around $20,000 to $50,000 depending on family size.

To qualify for a condo, applicants need to prove they can repay an interest-free mortgage, with repayments geared to income, and that they do not have the means to get their own conventional mortgage.

Anyone familiar with the Habitat For Humanity story knows this project marks a dramatic departure from a tried-and-true formula that has seen 42 families move into safe and affordable single-family homes since the local agency was formed in 2002. This development marks the first time Habitat For Humanity in Canada has built a multi-unit building from scratch.

The norm also has seen successful applicant families help in the build of their homes, providing “sweat equity” as their contribution to their home’s construction. As the new homeowners at 33 Leahy’s Lane were prohibited from working on the building’s construction, primarily for logistic and safety reasons, they were required to provide volunteer hours and services in other ways.

They did just that, contributing more than 20,000 hours of their time to the benefit of Kawartha Food Share, Peterborough Regional Health Centre, and Fairhaven Long-Term Care, to mention just a few.

For Doust, that manifested itself in the form of painting two large murals that greet visitors to Habitat For Humanity’s ReStore locations in Peterborough and Lindsay, where she also volunteered.

According to Habitat For Humanity board chair Jill Bennett, the organization’s senior management first presented the board with “an innovative project to increase our impact, and provide homes to new demographics including singles, couple and seniors” three years ago.

“We sat in the boardroom with a piece of paper with a lot of numbers — really, really big numbers, mind-boggling numbers,” Bennett said. “They got the board’s support and here we are today.”

Bennett credited a number of partners, including the City of Peterborough through its Home Ownership Assistance Loan Program and Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan, with support totalling more than $800,000.

The federal government was a major financial partner for the project, investing $4.1 million as part of a $32.4 million financial commitment over the past three years under the National Housing Co-Investment Fund to support Habitat for Humanity Canada and its affiliate organizations across Canada.

Also credited with playing a major role in the development’s realization and the ability of new homeowners to finance their new homes were Habitat Canada, Kawartha Credit Union, Vancity Community Investment Bank, and Enbridge.

After the ceremony, Zambonin — clutching flowers presented to her — was still glowing.

“It’s huge to get something this big finished, but it’s also huge to have the confidence to do this again,” she said. “It’s not a one-off thing. We have a new mortgage model that helps to fund this. We can do so much more and faster.”

Zambonin noted other Habitat affiliates have purchased condos in existing buildings or built row houses that are condos, “but nothing like this — a three-storey building that’s all Habitat. That’s new across Canada.”

“Being as small as we are, doing something this big, Habitat Canada is watching and saying ‘OK, what can everyone else do?’,” she added.

Zambonin also pointed out that, while the new approach to multi-residential development has been proven do-able, the traditional Habitat home-building model won’t go by the wayside.

“That’s not going away, but we think the way we’re going to be able to have more of an impact is to build this (kind of development), build a few duplexes, and build a single (family home) all at the same time.”

Volunteers have always played a crucial role in Habitat’s traditional home-building model, but Zambonin noted there’s a limit to what they can do.

“What we’ve always done is try to figure out how to build faster with volunteers — we can’t,” she said. “Finally we’re realizing that if we do all of these things (multi-residential developments as well as single-family homes), we’ll have things at various stages.”

Of note, construction of a smaller 12-unit Habitat For Humanity condominium development has begun on a site that abuts the 33 Leahy’s Lane building.

But, at the end of the day, new homeowner Doust reminded everyone this story is about much more than bricks and mortar.

“They’ve helped 41 families, not just one. That is life changing.”

Just as the sale was about to close, the Ontario government has unexpectedly thrown a wrench in the Municipality of Port Hope’s plan to purchase 1,334 acres of lands from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) in the Wesleyville area in Port Hope.

The lands include around 700 acres of environmentally important land, 600 acres that could potentially be developed, 260 acres of developed industrial land, and over 18 acres located along four kilometres of protected Lake Ontario shoreline.

The $18.6-million sale, which was approved by Port Hope council on February 15, was set to close on Thursday (March 31) when the municipality received a notification from OPG that the province had stopped the sale.

According to a media release from the municipality on Friday (April 1), a letter from the province states that the lands “merit assessment” under the government’s proposed “Centre of Realty Excellence” (CORE), first announced in the 2021 fall economic statement as a way to establish centralized oversight of underused or surplus government property.

As OPG is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario, its surplus lands would fall under CORE’s purview.

The decision to halt the sale coincides with the province’s introduction of the proposed More Housing for Everyone Act on Wednesday, intended to increase the supply of housing in Ontario. The government’s plan for the proposed legislation states that CORE “would focus on how we can better use approximately 10,000 acres of underused government-owned real estate to meet our most pressing needs, such as new long-term care beds and community housing.”

The province’s last-minute decision to halt the sale of the OPG lands has raised a “lot of questions,” according to the media release for the municipality.

“To our knowledge, this proposed (CORE) program does not yet have a governance model, framework, or timeline for implementation,” reads the media release. “We have a binding, unconditional purchase and sale agreement with OPG in place, approved by OPG Board of Directors and Port Hope Council. For the past two years, we followed proper process and due diligence to reach the binding agreement. We negotiated a fair deal in good faith.”

The municipality was considering housing as a possible option for the 600 acres of purchased land that could potentially be developed, but had no immediate plans or recommendations. It was going to begin an extensive public consultation process in 2023.

The municipality says it has reached out to the province about the decision to halt the sale and has “extended an invitation to the province to work with them through the CORE process.”

“I was very surprised by the abrupt change of plans for this land purchase, since the agreement was approved by both parties,” says Port Hope mayor Bob Sanderson. “We followed a proper process, signed a binding agreement, and shared the good news story with our community. We are disappointed with this outcome.”

Two employees of Campbellford Memorial Hospital who inappropriately accessed the information of around 500 patients have been fired.

The hospital recently discovered and confirmed the privacy breaches by the two employees, according to a media release issued on Friday (April 1).

“We are very disappointed that these privacy breaches have occurred,” says Eric Hanna, the hospital’s interim president and CEO. “Patients expect us to protect their information and it is very unfortunate that we did not do so in this case. We apologize to everyone whose information was inappropriately accessed.”

The hospital says it is working with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, and that all patients involved in the breaches have been notified by mail. The hospital adds that at no time was the patient information accessed by anyone outside Campbellford Memorial Hospital

According to the hospital, it already has strict rules in place around patient confidentiality, including that physicians and staff are not allowed to access patient information “unless they are currently involved in that patient’s circle of care.”

To help prevent future internal privacy breaches, the hospital says it is will taking actions to “revisit and strengthen” its patient privacy education and training.

Campbellford Memorial Hospital also says a new electronic record system introduced in December gives the hospital “increased auditing capabilities and enhances the ability to protect the privacy and confidentiality of patients.”