Environment Canada has issued a snow squall warning for the City of Kawartha Lakes for Tuesday (December 7).

Strong and gusty west to northwest winds in the wake of a sharp cold front are ushering in fresh Arctic air, resulting in snow squalls across the region.

Heavy snow and blowing snow are expected, with snowfall accumulations exceeding 15 cm in 12 hours possible.

The snow squalls will weaken on Tuesday afternoon.

Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations. Travel may also be hazardous due to very low visibility in bursts of heavy snow and blowing snow.

All school vehicles to schools in the City of Kawartha Lakes for Trillium Lakelands District School Board have been cancelled for Tuesday.

Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions. If visibility is reduced while driving, turn on your lights and maintain a safe following distance. Road closures are possible.

Parks Canada has announced the Warsaw Road swing bridge on Parkhill Road in Peterborough will be reduced to a single lane of traffic between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (December 10 and 11),

The lane reduction is necessary to allow for the temporary removal of perforated steel plates for cyclists, located on the outer edge of both traffic lanes on the main bridge deck.

Part of the work to replace the bridge between October 2020 and August 2021 included the installation of the steel plates to provide a smooth and safe ride over the bridge for cyclists.

However, following the reopening of the bridge, it was discovered that noise levels on the bridge were elevated as a result of the plates vibrating on top of the bridge grating when vehicles travel over them.

The plates will be removed and will be replaced in the spring with new plates that will allow for installation of fasteners to reduce noise levels. Noise from the bridge will not be fully eliminated but rather reduced to levels similar to what existed prior to construction.

Parks Canada is advising cyclists to exercise caution when crossing the bridge until the new plates are installed.

During the plate removal, traffic control will be in place.

An overnight warming room will open at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Cobourg this winter.

Northumberland County and Transition House Shelter are partnering with St. Peter’s to offer the service seven days a week from 8 p.m. to 8 p.m. beginning Monday, December 13th and running until the end of March 2022.

Located at 240 College Street, the overnight warming room will offer shelter from the cold as well as washrooms and light refreshments.

“With the cold weather upon us, an overnight warming room will once again be established as a winter relief measure where residents in need can access a safe space to keep warm during the night,” says Lisa Horne, Northumberland County’s director of community services, in a media release.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need for accessible services that protect the health and well-being of unsheltered residents,” she adds. “Together, community partners are increasing capacity within Northumberland’s homelessness system as part of efforts to ensure adaptive, responsive services for those in need.”

This initiative is being funded with social services relief funding from the Ontario government intended to enhance social services during the pandemic.

“Caring for others and walking next to people on their journey are foundational acts for a cohesive community,” says St. Peter’s. “We are pleased to be partnering in the delivery of this important service for our community’s vulnerable residents.”

As we slowly emerge from the pandemic, both employers and job seekers in the greater Kawarthas region are facing new challenges — and the Workforce Development Board (WDB) is here to help.

Founded in 1996, WDB is a not-for-profit organization located in Peterborough and funded by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. WDB provides labour market information, coordinates employment and training services, and engages employer communities across Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton.

“What we’re seeing with the pandemic is something that hasn’t been seen before in terms of shifts in behaviour,” says Sean Dooley, WDB’s Labour Market Information Analyst. “Working remotely changed a lot of people’s outsets. People were able to step back — they took the time to reflect where they stood in the labour market. Some were able to retire a little early. Some pulled out. Some saw new training or new education as a path forward. It has been an interesting time.”

A report released in February of this year by the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario confirmed that pandemic-related workplace shutdowns led to “an unparalleled disruption in Ontario’s labour market” — a sobering affirmation anchored in the stark reality of the loss of 355,300 jobs in 2020, Ontario’s largest ever annual loss of employment.

“The pandemic has exacerbated some of the trends we were already seeing, whether that’s in specific occupations that require certain skill sets or even just filling general labour-type positions,” Dooley explains.

That view is shared by representatives of employment service agencies and economic development organizations across the greater Kawarthas region, who rely on the data provided by WDB to gauge the state of the local labour market and determine what supports both employers and job seekers need.

“I’ve been in this field for 27 years and I don’t think I have ever had an experience where we’ve seen such an abundance of job opportunities and what feels like an absence of job seekers that are ready to go,” says Brenda Roxburgh, executive director of Victoria County Career Services (VCCS) in Lindsay.

“There’s a cycle that hasn’t settled yet and I don’t think it will until we see ourselves a little further along the recovery process. I don’t really expect it to go back to where it was. This is a real opportunity to start looking at how people work. People that are still nervous, but they’re thinking maybe this is the time to look for something different.”

According to Roxburgh, WDB provides VCCS with a “snapshot” of the local labour market that her organization might not otherwise see on their own.

“We depend on WDB in terms of the labour market information it pulls together,” she says. “That real-time information helps us understand what we can do with our existing programming to shift and pivot, so that we can meet the needs of job seekers and employers at the same time.”

Dan Borowec, director of economic development and tourism for Northumberland Economic Development, is seeing very much the same in Northumberland County.

“Whether it’s manufacturing or hospitality or retail, all employers are facing the challenge of availability of workforce,” Borowec says. “In some cases, individuals are reassessing what they want to do. The workforce has had time to think about things and is now being particular.”

That makes the services provided by WDB, according to Borowec, very much “in demand” on the part of employers.

“The work WDB is doing in providing labour market information is a tremendous assist to employers in the area, and those services don’t cost anything,” he adds.

In the Peterborough area, the same shift in the labour market has seen local employers struggling to fill positions. According to Rhonda Keenan, president and CEO of Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development, the shift is changing how employers recruit workers.

“Businesses are looking at how to be an employer of choice,” Keenan observes. “They know how important workers are, so they are asking themselves how they can create the most competitive space to get access to the best talent.”

The impact of the pandemic, according to Keenan, has also caused workers to revaluate their previous career choices, with some deciding to retrain for another type of job.

As with other economic development organizations in the greater Kawarthas region, Keenan calls WDB “a critical partner”.

“WDB provides us with the data that allows us to make the connections between the context of what the businesses are telling us and what the data is showing,” she explains. “How do we build a program that’s actually responding to the real problem? We need data to do that and that’s why WDB is so valuable to us.”

For Amanda Conn, executive director of the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce, the shortage of applicants for available jobs has brought with it some unique scenarios, including employers offering incentives to attract workers from their existing jobs.

“That doesn’t help the problem,” she says. “You just have people moving around.”

Barriers to employment in her region, says Conn, were already a roadblock well before the pandemic. She cites the lack of affordable housing and a public transportation system, as well as sometimes less-than-reliable digital infrastructure that makes working from home difficult, as examples.

WDB’s value, according to Conn, lies in providing information to employers that is both local and relevant.

“Any business can go to WDB and ask for a salary review and that will be provided for their area. What is someone with that job title earning? Employers can then ensure their postings are competitive and they’re going to be seen as a result. That’s a really valuable resource.”

Among the other valuable resources provided by WDB are regular job demand and job search reports posted on WDB’s website at www.wdb.ca.

WDB also offers its Labour Market Information (LMI) Help Desk at www.wdb.ca/lmi-help-desk/, which answers any and all questions from employers and community stakeholders looking to better understand the current labour market and associated trends, as well as queries for job seekers making employment or career decisions.

“We have a good cross-section of people who ask questions,” says WDB’s Labour Market Information Analyst Sean Dooley. “We hear from students and job seekers, we hear from employers, and we hear from our local school boards. Our economic development partners also use it quite extensively.”

While provincial and national labour market information is available to the public from Statistics Canada, Dooley explains, it can be confusing for the average person to sort through large amounts of data and especially challenging to find information specific to a local community.

“We do our best to visualize the data involved and put it in the larger perspective of the labour market so a layperson can understand what the data means,” Dooley says. “Sometimes that’s not always clear when you’re reading research reports and looking at long data tables. We do our best to make it easy to understand.”

LMI Help Desk staff consult with the person making the request to determine what decision they are trying to make and what data they actually need to help them make an informed decision, and then provide them with a single PDF report in an easy-to-understand and digestible format.

Another popular WDB service is the Local Jobs Hub at www.wdb.ca/jobs/, which automatically aggregates job listings for Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, Haliburton, and Muskoka from more than 35 online job boards. Job seekers can filter listings by key criteria, including skill level and type, part-time or full-time jobs, and whether a job is temporary, contract, or permanent.

An interactive regional map at www.wdb.ca/map/ also cross-references job postings with nearby bus routes, cycle routes, schools, childcare centres, and more.

“The Local Jobs Hub is a huge time saver,” Dooley says. “We pull from over 35 different job boards, including local ones you might not be aware of or may not check as often. We put all the job listings in one place so you can be more confident you’re seeing all the actual opportunities that are out there.”

The Local Jobs Hub also provides WDB with a wealth of employment-related data, including trends in different sectors and the top skills in demand by employers that is invaluable for both employment agencies and economic development agencies across Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, Haliburton, and Muskoka.

“For WDB, it’s really about being able to be the conduit that brings some of these organizations together,” Dooley says.

“A lot of times people are caught up in their own work and it’s hard to look at the bigger picture. That’s where we can step in and connect different agencies and different partners to initiate projects.”

For more information about WDB, including all the available resources for employers and job seekers, visit www.wdb.ca.

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

With confirmation of a positive COVID-19 case in the Peterborough Petes organization, Peterborough Public Health is reassuring Petes fans who attended the past two home games at the Peterborough Memorial Centre (November 28 and December 2) they are at “very low risk” of exposure.

On Friday (December 3), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) announced the Peterborough Petes game against the Mississauga Steelheads, scheduled for Saturday evening, would be postponed because of COVID-19.

While the announcement provided no details, OHL commissioner David Branch subsequently confirmed to the Peterborough Examiner there has been one positive COVID-19 test in the Petes organization. He also said all the players are being tested.

“All close contacts from this specific exposure have since been identified, tested, and remain in self-isolation while awaiting their results,” said medical officer of health Dr. Thomas Piggott in a media release issued on Sunday (December 5).

“While the risk to others who attended those games is very low, this is a strong reminder for everyone that exposures can happen in any public setting, so it’s always a good idea to monitor for symptoms and if they develop, get tested and isolate immediately.”

According to the health unit, the Petes’ general manager Mike Oke has confirmed all players and staff with the hockey club are fully vaccinated, and the entire Petes organization has been working closely with Peterborough Public Health to ensure all public health guidelines and protocols are being followed.

Dr. Piggott noted everyone 12 years of age and older who attended the last two Petes’ home games at the Peterborough Memorial Centre was required to provide proof of full vaccination.

However, he also acknowledged so-called “breakthrough cases” can occur — when someone who is fully vaccinated becomes infected with COVID-19 and develops symptoms.

“While the COVID-19 vaccination is proving effective at reducing transmission of the virus, its greatest strength is preventing severe illness,” he said.

For more than a few of us, the fight to protect natural habitat areas from extinction has started and ended with well-publicized encroachments on urban green spaces in communities like Peterborough.

But there’s a whole other natural world out there in the Kawarthas and Thom Unrau, Land Stewardship Manager with Kawartha Land Trust (KLT), is on the front lines of ensuring generations to come will be able to reap the benefits of protected natural landscapes across the region.

Since 2018, KLT’s Partners In Conservation project has enabled the stewardship of some 2,400 acres of land via its partnership with 20 private landowners whose property has been identified as having significant conservation value. Working collaboratively with the landowners, KLT has improved aquatic connectivity and habitat diversity while ensuring their protection into the future.

With his KLT colleagues, Unrau works to forge relationships with landowners in the hope they are inspired to sustainably manage their both their natural and working land, ensuring the “best parts” of their property are protected from future threats, urban sprawl chiefly among them.

“What we’re doing is meeting landowners where they’re at and celebrating what they’re doing already,” says Unrau. “Everybody loves the environment. We find that everyone tries to find ways to reduce any harm as a result of their actions. The more support there is to do this, the better the outcomes tend to be.”

The Partners In Conservation project is aptly named, as KLT approaches landowners with the understanding they are equally motivated to enhance and protect the natural features of their properties.

“We should applaud them for the conservation work they’re doing and thank them,” he explains. “Everybody benefits from a beautiful rural landscape — from local food produced by farmers to beautiful trees and woodlots we get to drive past. A lot of landowners have been regulated more than they’ve been encouraged and thanked. This is to encourage them and thank them rather than increase regulation.”

Partners In Conservation takes a typically two-tiered approach when working with landowners.

Initially, KLT shares information with landowners about their property’s contribution to conservation. Central to that is a visit to the property and the subsequent preparation of a site-specific stewardship guide that lists the habitats and species observed and the significant landscape features, and makes recommendations regarding the property’s protection and enhancement.

That done, the facilitation of land stewardship is undertaken. That process sees the provision of expert advice and research on stewardship projects, administrative support for connection with other agencies offering grant funding and cost-sharing options, and on-site support from trained KLT staff.

Finally, there’s the offer of a voluntary land protection option that assists the landowner in realizing his or her vision for their land’s protection in perpetuity.

While acknowledging there is an “urgency” to ensure the protection of the environmental health of rural properties, Unrau admits KLT’s 20 partnerships to date “is a small number compared to the need.”

“But I continue to be inspired by landowners’ willingness to collaborate when they’re offered the opportunity, by their willingness to spend money on their properties to the benefit of the environment and to do good on their land and see it improved,” he says. “Our goal is to find people inspired to do that and see how they can continue to do it, or do it more.”

Inspiring landowners to look at their properties through the lens of conservation is an important part of Partners In Conservation, according to Unrau.

“I feel there’s always something someone can learn about a property they’ve spent their whole life on,” he explains. “A different person coming in and talking about their land in a certain way maybe gets them thinking about something they hadn’t thought about before. We’re not coming at landowners thinking we need to educate them because they’re ignorant. Rather we want to inspire them so we can work together.”

One of KLT’s priority areas for the Partners in Conservation project is the Fleetwood Creek Watershed, situated between Pontypool and Omemee along Ski Hill Road through Bethany.

According to Unrau, the area has been identified as having an outstanding amount of connected natural land and good water quality — all of which contribute to climate change resilience, wildlife habitat, and overall high water quality.

Many landowners in the Fleetwood Creek area have been caring for and enhancing their land for decades. The choices they’ve already made on their properties have helped to keep the area in good ecological health.

“In Fleetwood Creek, there are approximately 150 people, families and individuals, who own the bulk of the land,” says Unrau. “What happens if we can talk to all of them and have relationships? What can we learn that we can do together to secure the landscapes we want to see there in the future? What kind of collective impact on the future can we have if we work together?”

Unrau notes the pandemic has provided somewhat of a boost to the spirit behind the Partners In Conservation project.

“When things were shut down, particularly early on, all one really could do is go outside,” he says. “That reminded people that we something pretty spectacular right here in our own backyard. The more we can work together, the more likely we’ll continue to have that spectacular thing. I think it has inspired more people to think globally and act locally.”

The challenge, adds Unrau, remains what it has always been: getting word out about the Partners In Conservation project while raising awareness of the benefits. And then there’s the challenge of securing project funding, beyond the current support of Ontario Trillium Foundation grants.

“We need to make sure we build and grow a program that people see as valuable and will support — that’s it’s creating the kind of change they want to see in their communities. People like positive things and they like things that are collaborative.”

When all is said and done, notes Unrau, the project is about encouraging landowners who are already making good decisions regarding their property to continue to do so, while introducing the benefits of responsible land stewardship to landowners who haven’t given it much thought.

“We realize that people own their rural properties for so many different reasons,” says Unrau. “We want to support them when they make choices to manage their land for nature, or when their other goals in managing land result in something that’s positive for nature. We want to congratulate and applaud them for that.”

Unrau points out that KLT’s role as a partner in conservation is to help landowners, not to judge them for their decisions about how they choose to use their land.

“If you’re a farmer, you need to farm. If you have trails or you’re a hunter, you need to do those things. Those are the reasons you own your land. We seek to act as a true partner. That’s not to say that people aren’t doing enough — they’re actually doing lots. We just need them to continue doing lots.”

On a personal level, Unrau says he’s proud of the work Kawartha Land Trust has done, and is doing, to protect land throughout the Kawarthas region.

“As much as we see the immediate benefits, there are benefits in the long-term. I think people will look back on what’s being done now and be really thankful that we worked to make our communities greater and healthier. That feels pretty good. How could it not?”

For more information about Kawartha Land Trust, details on its current protect properties, the Partners In Conservation project, and ways you can help by gifting your time, money, or property, visit kawarthalandtrust.org.

The Partners in Conservation project is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. Last year, nearly $112 million was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non-profit sector.

The story was created in partnership with Kawartha Land Trust.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for all of the greater Kawarthas region for the possibility of freezing rain Sunday night (December 5), along with a winter storm warning for Hastings Highlands and northern Haliburton County.

The special weather statement is in effect for Peterborough County, Kawarthas Lakes, Northumberland County, Hastings County, and southern Haliburton County.

A low pressure system is tracking east across the Great Lakes Sunday through Monday. Precipitation will begin as snow Sunday afternoon, and then will change to ice pellets or freezing rain Sunday evening — mainly for areas inland from the lake shore — before changing to rain by Monday morning.

Periods of rain, which could be heavy at times, will continue through the day Monday. Environment Canada may issue freezing rain and rainfall warnings.

Hazardous travel conditions are expected due to ice build-up, and localized flooding is possible for areas that have recently received accumulating snowfall.

For Hastings Highlands and northern Haliburton County, significant snowfall may be mixed with ice pellets and freezing rain overnight on Sunday before changing to rain by Monday morning.

Total snowfall amounts of 10 to 20 cm is expected before the precipitation changes to rain early Monday morning.

Peterborough Public Health has shut the doors at Peterburgers restaurant, located at 25 George Street North in Peterborough.

The health unit closed the premises and restricted access on Friday (December 3) in accordance with an Ontario Superior Court of Justice order under section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act.

Under section 22 of the provincial legislation, a medical officer of health can issue an order to “require a person to take or to refrain from taking any action in respect of a communicable disease.”

Police officers, a public health official, and a locksmith arrived at the establishment on Friday night and the locks were changed, according to reports on social media.

The section 22 order was first served to Peterburgers last Thursday (November 25), requiring the owner to either to comply with all provincial COVID-19 public health measures for restaurants as required by the Reopening Ontario Act and associated regulations, or to close the premises.

The owner listed in the Section 22 order and Ontario Superior Court of Justice order, both of which are posted in the restaurant’s windows, is Nicole Comber.

I may have spent a week in #Peterborough for no real reason, but the moment everyone was anticipating took place tonight.

The locks at @PETERBURGERS1 have officially been changed.

h/t @sirbuyer #cdnpoli #antivaxxers pic.twitter.com/nQaf9YKJm5

— Caryma Sa'd – Lawyer + Cartoon Creator (@CarymaRules) December 4, 2021

“Failure to comply or close the premises voluntarily will lead to an escalation of measures necessary to ensure that public health measures are being followed,” reads a November 25th media release from Peterborough Public Health. “This could include a fine of up to $5,000 for every day or part of each day on which the offence occurs or continues, as well as the possibility of closure by Peterborough Public Health.”

The section 22 order was issued after weeks of defying public health measures by the restaurant, which received three $880 fines on October 8 under the Reopening Ontario Act. The charges were for failing to confirm proof of vaccination and identification of indoor diners, failing to ensure the use of masking and face coverings in the indoor area, and failing to collect contact information for patrons remaining at the premises to dine.

Prior to issuing the fines, Peterborough Public Health used a “progressive enforcement approach” at Peterburgers, according to manager of environmental health Julie Ingram, beginning with education of the owner on September 24.

This was followed with a written warning notice on September 28. During a follow-up inspection on October 1, according to the health unit, the owner confirmed she would comply with the requirement to check proof of vaccination.

“While we were hopeful that the business would comply, continued investigation this week confirmed ongoing noncompliance by the establishment,” Ingram stated on October 8 when the charges were laid against the owner.

After the section 22 order was served on November 25, the restaurant continued to operate while ignoring public health requirements, contrary to the requirements of the order. Supporters of the restaurant have gathered at the location in recent weeks to protest the fines and the section 22 order issued against the restaurant.

Meanwhile, a local bar that had contravened one public health measure was allowed to reopen on Friday.

The White House at 175 Charlotte Street had been fined $880 on November 21 for exceeding the 25 per cent capacity limit for a food or drink establishment where dance facilities are provided.

Peterborough Public Health issued a section 22 order on November 26 requiring the bar to close, and rescinded the order on December 3.