A pedestrian was struck and killed by a train near Colborne on Wednesday night (October 6).

At around 9:15 p.m., Northumberland OPP and emergency crews responded to a collision on the train tracks near Colton Street, southeast of Colborne in Cramahe Township.

Police say a train collided with a pedestrian who was walking on the train tracks. The person was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have not released the name of the victim, who has been transported to a hospital for a post-mortem examination.

No other injuries were reported in the collision.

The area was closed to vehicle and train traffic until 2 a.m. while police investigated.

Police say the incident remains under investigation.

This week (October 3 to 9) is Mental Illness Awareness Week and this Sunday (October 10) is World Mental Health Day. This week — and every week — is an opportunity to recognize the urgent need to scale up quality mental health supports and services at all levels.

What does mental health have to do with climate change?

Climate change is creating more frequent and severe weather events that destroy homes and entire communities. Rampant consumerism and unsustainable development are also destroying and polluting ecosystems, causing the largest mass extinction event in the history of the planet: more life is being lost now than ever before.

News coverage tends to focus mostly on this doom and gloom. It makes sense that a never-before-seen degree of loss, trauma, and change would impact mental health.

I want to share just two ‘tricky pairs’ of issues that I keep in mind when I try to balance mental health and climate change: one is anxiety and inaction, and the other is invisibility and inequity.

Tricky pair #1: anxiety and inaction

We know danger is coming because of climate change. In Peterborough and the Kawarthas, we may have been spared from the heat domes and flooding seen elsewhere this year, but local patterns in temperature and precipitation have changed dramatically.

I recommend you read local naturalist Drew Monkman’s columns to learn more.

Anticipating future devastation causes anxiety.

According to a recent article by Harriet Engle and Michael Mikulewicz published in The Lancet, this “eco-anxiety is characterized by severe and debilitating worry about climate and environmental risks and can elicit dramatic reactions, such as loss of appetite, sleeplessness, and panic attacks.”

Eco-anxiety sounds bad, but there’s more to it than that.

“Far from being a contemporary mental illness,” Engle and Mikulewicz explain, “there is evidence to suggest that eco-anxiety and habitual ecological worrying are actually adaptive responses to the changing climate.”

Pain reflexes jerk my hand away when I touch a burning hot surface. Likewise, “anxiety is an evolutionary alarm mechanism that functions to keep us safe.”

The challenge is figuring out how much eco-anxiety is enough to drive effective climate action, and how much is too much before it compromises our mental health.

“Environmentalists don’t do hope very well,” observes Graham Saul, executive director of Nature Canada, in a 2018 interview with CBC. “If we are honest with ourselves, we peddle mainly in fear.”

The same climate change facts that inspire fear can also compel action and hope.

“As a scientist, this is scary,” Katharine Heyhoe shared in a recent interview with Matt Galloway on CBC’s The Current. “But the science also offers this hope that it is not too late to avoid the worst of the impacts.”

“I study the difference that our choices make in the future, and I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that our future is in our hands,” Heyhoe continues. “Every choice matters, every year matters, every bit of warming matters, and every action matters. But if we don’t act, that’s a choice in and of itself, and it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“The world has changed before, and it hasn’t changed because people felt guilty,” Heyhoe affirms. “It’s changed because people recognized that there was something better.”

There’s something better for Peterborough, for Canada, and for the world. A community focused on empowering effective climate action is one of the most effective supports for hope.

Personally, I also find it helpful to learn how to identify and overcome the psychological barriers known as the “Dragons of Inaction” (to learn more, read our column from February 27, 2020).

Tricky pair #2: invisibility and inequity

One of the biggest barriers to climate action is that the problem is basically invisible to our eyes. If greenhouse gas emissions were always coloured with Pantone 448C (“opaque couché” — a.k.a. the ugliest colour the world), we’d be far more inclined toward climate action.

Likewise, mental health disorders are often neglected because they are less visible than physical health disorders. As Ingle and Mikulewicz point out, this is particularly true “in developing countries where mental health sits relatively low on the agendas of governments, aid agencies, and NGOs.”

We need to build awareness for these mental health issues in our fight for equity and climate action.

“This awareness will benefit those most vulnerable to and least responsible for causing the global climate emergency,” suggest Ingle and Mikulewicz.

In Rigolet, Northern Labrador, the average temperature is rising twice as fast as the rest of the world. Ice has already been forming a month later and melting a month sooner, resulting in loss of traditional Inuit hunting practices, loss of food, loss of an entire way of life and cultural identity.

As part of a study by the Memorial University of Newfoundland, residents of Rigolet were asked, “how are the changes in weather and ice making you feel?”

“People would talk about a whole host of emotional responses: fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, frustration, a lot of helplessness and hopelessness,” shares Professor Ashley Cunsolo in a 2017 story on CBC’s The National.

Cunsolo’s team observed the deep ecological grief and collective anxiety that the residents of Rigolet feel because of climate change.

Historically, Inuit, First Nations, and Métis populations across Canada experience severe mental health disparities compared to the non-Indigenous Canadian population. This is an ongoing legacy of colonization. Without effective action, climate change will only exacerbate these disparities.

While we fight those Dragons of Inaction in our personal lives, we also need to keep perspective on inequity. Many residents of the Peterborough area may not know what steps they can take to support both equity and climate action.

VIDEO: “Climate change affecting mental health in northern Labrador”

A good place to start is the recent Sustainable Development Goals project co-ordinated by the Kawartha World Issues Centre and GreenUP. This project provides key community resources, organizations, and tools for addressing these inequalities and disparities locally as we take climate action.

GreenUP’s NeighbourPLAN Visions and Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood Action Plans also include actions you and neighbours may be able to take to create more sustainable and equitable communities.

Those are the tricky pairs I’m wrestling with this World Mental Health Day. By learning more and discussing with friends and family, you can build awareness for the importance of both mental health and climate action.

If success is measured by the attempt as opposed to the result, Ruby Rowan is well on the way to claiming victory in their bid to prevent Morrow Park from being home to Peterborough’s new twin-pad arena.

A co-administrator of the Facebook group Friends of Morrow Park, the Braidwood Avenue resident has been on a mission to pressure the City of Peterborough to reconsider constructing the $62-million complex in the west portion of the park fronting Park Street south of Lansdowne Street West.

With construction scheduled to begin by the fall of 2022, it’s projected the complex will open in September 2024, complete with 633 new parking spaces to augment the existing 594 spaces in the two parking lots bordering Roger Neilson Way. Also included in the site plan is an allotment of land for the future addition of an eight-lane indoor swimming pool.

As of Wednesday (October 6), Friends of Morrow Park had 96 members while an online petition, calling for a reversal of the city council decision to proceed with the complex’s construction at Morrow Park, has garnered 254 signatures to date.

This past Saturday, plan objectors — Rowan among them — were at the Peterborough Farmers’ Market, where another 103 signatures were added to a paper petition. In addition, close to 350 petition signatures were presented to the city earlier in the summer.

“We’ve been doing the city’s job telling people about this,” contends Rowan, adding “We can only grow support as quickly as we can personally inform people.”

Rowan points to what they categorize as a flawed public consultation process as being the reason so many who want to keep Morrow Park as is have been late to the game.

A public information process was held virtually April 28 to solicit feedback on the designation of Morrow Park as the site of the arena complex. In addition, from April 21 to May 14, a survey, accessible online and by phone, saw 374 people respond — 80 per cent in favour of the Morrow Park site, 16 per cent against, and 4 per cent with no opinion.

“I attended that (public information session) thinking it was a consultation,” says Rowan, adding “The plan was already made — that’s not a consultation.”

“One of the slides said no speaking allowed,” Rowan adds. “It was very difficult to access. And it was online, which isn’t accessible to everyone. I thought I must have missed some of the consultation process but later I found out there was no other process.”

A subsequent city council meeting, held July 30, saw some city politicians share Rowan’s view that more consultation is needed. A motion to put the brakes on the project until more public input is gathered was defeated by a 7 to 4 vote. Councillors Kim Zippel, Kemi Akapo, and Stephen Wright, along with Mayor Diane Therrien, voted to defer in favour of wider public consultation — a move city staff advised would delay the complex’s construction by a year.

It was subsequently moved that the twin-pad arena be built starting in 2022, with the eight-lane pool to be added later. It was also moved that a third ice pad, planned as part of an eventual third phase of construction, be dropped to preserve additional green space. Both motions were approved by council.

Also approved at that council meeting were the following recommendations from Sheldon Laidman, Peterborough’s commissioner of community services:

• City staff undertake the planning work to offset the loss of three ball diamonds and determine solutions to address the impact to the Peterborough Agricultural Society (which presents the annual Peterborough Exhibition at Morrow Park)
• $61,500,000 be pre-committed in the 2022/2023/2024 capital budget, including a pre-commitment of $4,000,000 from the 2021 Federal Gas Tax fund, to proceed with phase 1 of the project
• Toronto-based Perkins + Will Architect Canada Inc. be approved as the prime consultant at a total cost of $3,245,145.

Long on the list of potential sites for the twin-pad arena, the Morrow Park location moved to the top of the heap after plans fell through for its construction at Trent University and at Fleming College. The university location was deemed threatening to adjacent wetlands while the college, due to the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, chose to put on a hold on any development.

Along with their concerns about the loss of the Morrow Park green space that will result, as well as increased traffic and flooding worries, Rowan notes there’s the matter of the Morrow family having gifted the 27-acre property to the city in 1938 on the condition that it always be the location of a fairground — a trust reaffirmed in 1984 in the Peterborough Act.

The act states “that the (Peterborough Agricultural) Society, the Corporation (of the City of Peterborough), and the trustees of the R. A. Morrow Memorial Park Trust believe that it would be in the best interest of the Society and the Corporation that the property be conveyed to the Corporation to be used for park and recreational purposes and to be used by the Society as an exhibition grounds for an annual exhibition and for other purposes … in perpetuity”, adding that if the terms and conditions are not met, the property reverts to the Morrow family. However, the act does not specify what “park and recreational purposes” means or how much green space must be maintained.

kawarthaNOW asked the city for an update on the status of that agreement and what impact, if any, it has on the twin-pad arena being developed at Morrow Park, but that information was not provided by deadline.

“Harold Morrow gave the property in trust to the city on the condition that it be used by the Agricultural Society to share and nurture around food production,” says Rowan. “Somebody has got to care about this.”

In its online petition, Friends of Morrow Park lists a number of reasons why the decision must be made to leave Morrow Park as is and search for another site.

Among them is “Natural green spaces in and around urban areas are a key tool for CO2 sequestration. Morrow Park could be one of those places. In this time of climate crisis, action is required to keep this 27-acre natural site for current and future generations of Peterborough citizens.”

“The city hasn’t invested, in any real way, in Morrow Park in maybe 30 years,” says Rowan.

“It’s essentially been left fallow. When you ask people, it’s like ‘It’s a weird open space with a chain link fence around it.’ Over a decade ago, there was a plan to turn it into something beautiful. If they had done that, people would fight more for it. Inverlea Park has mature trees and benches, so people were willing to fight for it.”

Rowan is referencing Friends of Inverlea Park which mobilized in a very big way earlier this year when a consultant shortlisted the park as a possible location for Peterborough’s new north-end firehall. The firehall was eventually approved by council for the former Northcrest Arena property.

“I see Morrow Park as being a forgotten soul,” Rowan says. “This space, that has all the potential, that could host so many trees and so many pollinator gardens, that could have gardens and have playgrounds and all these beautiful things — people would want to steward it and defend it.”

The city, adds Rowan, “is unnecessarily pitting the need for need for an arena against the need for green space. They don’t need to be in conflict with another.”

“I think this is an egregious dismissal of the voices of citizens who live in the neighbourhood (of Morrow Park). I’m doing this because I feel passionate, especially now, about this land, about food sovereignty, about the heritage of the space. This is a values issue for me.”

“They (city councillors) know there’s insufficient park space here from the consultation that was done back in 2011. They know what people care about. There’s been a real disregard of that.”

Rowan plans to make a delegation to city council at some point. In the meantime, the gathering of as many petition signatures as possible will continue.

What happened to the Morrow Park Master Plan Design Study?

In August 2011, Brown and Storey Architects Inc. completed the “Morrow Park Master Plan Design Study” for the City of Peterborough.

“This study recognizes both the long history of the Peterborough Agricultural Society and the Peterborough Exhibition, and the substantial potential for Morrow Park to become a major open
space of the city — connected to the larger context of parks and trail networks for pedestrians and cyclists, and a place for year-round recreational use,” the study states. “The goal of the Master Plan recommendations is to strike a balance, improving facilities for the activities that occur there now while opening up the park to the city as a year-round major open space, creating opportunities for new programming and a new cohesiveness for present programming.”

Among other elements, the study proposed a “linear park” — “a new 25 meter wide zone along the park perimeter, establishing an everyday use of the park for the city, creating a new edge and boulevard on all streets; contains major tree planting, track, paths, and built facilities (public washrooms, offices, barns, trellis with grandstand provision)”. The idea of the linear park was to create a “park within a park” by establishing a “green membrane” around the property.

The study also proposed a “new trail system connecting the trail system in the new linear park to city-wide cycling and pedestrian networks, with particular links to the railway trail and to the Y.M.C.A.”

As for parking, the study “does not suggest additional surface parking on the site, while the current parking layout could be optimized marginally.” The study proposed underground parking be considered, although it recognized this would be a costly option.

In December 2011, Peterborough city council voted to adopt the Morrow Park Master Plan Design Study “as a guide for future planning and budgetary decisions.”

The study was still recognized as the city’s planning guide for Morrow Park as late as May 2017, when the city was negotiating with the Peterborough Agricultural Society on future development of the park. However, the only element of the study that had been implemented by that time was the demolition of the grandstand, as the city determined other options would require additional funding.

By September 2018, Morrow Park was being considered as a site for future development. That’s when Sierra Planning and Management completed a “locational analysis report” for the city with respect to a proposed multi-use sport and event centre. The report shortlisted Morrow Park as the top four out of six possible locations. The report concluded Morrow Park was a “leading site” because it was all city owned, with no third-party negotiation or acquisition required.

The report noted the city would have to pay a $500,000 “without cause” relocation payment if it terminated the Peterborough Agricultural Society’s licence agreement, and cautioned “other extant conditions built into the City of Peterborough Act may place limitations on development at Morrow Park and will require careful consideration” — a reference to the agreement between the Peterborough Agricultural Society, the City of Peterborough, and the trustees of the R. A. Morrow Memorial Park Trust that the property be used in perpetuity for a park, for recreational purposes, and for an annual agricultural exhibition.

“It is likely that any consideration of the Morrow site would provide the opportunity to revisit the existing Morrow Park Master Plan,” the report added.

In the July 2021 staff report to council recommending Morrow Park be approved for the twin-pad arena, the only reference to the Morrow Park Master Plan Design Study is as follows:

“The linear park element of design from the Council approved Phase 1 of the Morrow Park Master Plan Study 2011 as presented to Council through Report CSAD11-011 dated December 5, 2011, continues to retain high value in concept and remains as a design element to be implemented in the overall conceptual design of Morrow Park.”

In its July 5, 2021 presentation to city council, Perkins + Will Architect Canada Inc. referenced the Morrow Park Master Plan Design Study by proposing a “continuous linear park and promenade along the street front” — but as a scaled-down version of what was originally proposed in the 2011 study.

— By Bruce Head

Peterborough’s rental market continues to outpace both inflation and wage increases, according to a new report released Wednesday (October 6) by the United Way Peterborough & District.

The 16th annual Housing is Fundamental report reveals average rents in Peterborough have increased by more than the provincial rent review guideline for the fourth year in a row.

“Many of us with privilege take for granted safe affordable places to call home,” said Jim Russell, United Way Peterborough & District CEO, at an event releasing the report at the organization’s Stewart Street offices. “Until everyone in our community enjoys the dignity that comes from having safe affordable housing, our community will not be whole.”

The report was written by housing advocate Paul Armstrong, who noted the average one-year rental increase for a two-bedroom apartment in the Peterborough area was 7.9 per cent in 2020, with the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment rising to $1,191. The overall rental market showed a one-year increase of 4.9 per cent.

“Throughout Canada we are losing affordable housing much faster than we are replacing it,” Armstrong said. “In the context of Peterborough, rental markets continue to outpace both inflation and wage increases.”

Along with housing costs, the report cites substandard housing as a significant contributor to poverty and poor health outcomes.

“We must see housing in the perspective of health,” Armstrong added. “Housing costs are significant contributors to poverty and the link between poverty and health has been irrefutably established.”

The report also defines what housing “affordability” means as it pertains to household incomes, pointing out that at least 34 per cent of Peterborough households cannot afford the current average market rent of $1,124 per month.

Peterborough’s vacancy rate of 2.6 per cent is lower than comparable cities, the report finds.

The full 12-page report can be viewed below or on the United Way Peterborough & District’s website at www.uwpeterborough.ca.

PDF: 2021 Housing is Fundamental Report
2021 Housing is Fundamental Report - United Way Peterborough & District

Havelock-Belmont Public School in Havelock has been closed because of a COVID-19 outbreak, with 10 cases now confirmed at the school.

According to an email sent to parents and staff from principal Tania Lamond on Tuesday afternoon (October 5), the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board has made the decision — in consultation with Peterborough Public Health — to close the school to in-person learning effective immediately.

“This decision will help prevent spread of COVID-19 within the school,” Lamond says.

“Today we learned of five more positive cases, for a total of 10 cases at the school,” Lamond says. “Four of these new cases are from a previously dismissed class and one case is within a new cohort. At this time, evidence of transmission within the school is limited to one cohort. All other cases did not acquire COVID-19 within the school.”

Lamond says all students will transition to virtual learning until further notice, until at least Friday, October 15th.

She adds classroom teachers will contact families with instructions to begin the transition to virtual learning and will discuss technology needs for students.

Lamond says Peterborough Public Health will continue to contact anyone identified as close contacts on self-isolation requirements.

“All students and staff should self-monitor for COVID-19 signs and symptoms,” Lamond says.

She adds the health unit is recommending that all staff and students with possible COVID-19 symptoms get tested to identify any additional cases in the school.

The entire Trent-Severn Waterway will reopen for recreational boating for the Thanksgiving long weekend.

Parks Canada had temporarily closed the system from Lock 1 Trent to Lock 27 Young’s Point (excluding Lock 20 Ashburnham and Lock 21 Peterborough Lift Lock) due to unusually high levels of rain.

Thanksgiving is the final weekend of the 2021 navigation season.

The closure had allowed Parks Canada operations staff to move water through the system to address high levels and flows caused by the rain and to create safe boating conditions.

The Trent-Severn Waterway will reopen for recreational boating on Friday morning (October 8) and will close for the season on Monday (October 11), with the last lockage at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.