Peterborough’s Survivors Abreast Dragon Boat Team is asking for the public’s assistance in keeping an eye out for several stolen items.

Last Thursday (September 2) at around 5:30 p.m., a man broke into the team’s storage locker at Peterborough Multiple Storage at 581 Neil Drive.

Among the items stolen from the locker are a dragon head for the team’s boat, a drum, two wooden drum seats that fasten on the front of the team’s boats, a box of safety kits, and a camping tent.

The team is asking anyone who sees these items or hears of their whereabouts to contact the Peterborough Police Service at 705-876-1122.

Founded in 1999, Survivors Abreast is a group of breast cancer survivors from the Peterborough area in various stages of treatment and recovery.

The team was instrumental in the creation of Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival, first held in 2001. The annual event has since raised over $3.6 million in support of equipment that enhances breast cancer detection, treatment, and care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

This incident may be related to another theft from storage lockers being investigated by the Peterborough County OPP.

Last Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening (September 1 and 2), a man broke into seven storage units at a business on County Road 19 by cutting the locks off. The suspect — who is described as a white male of average height wearing jeans, a dark sweater over a white shirt, and a ball cap — was driving a grey Honda HR-V with a sunroof with licence plate 61TR46 on the back.

Investigators are actively looking for information that may lead to the arrest of the suspect in this case. If you have any information, call the Peterborough County OPP at 705-742-0401 or the non-emergency line at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or stopcrimehere.ca.

This story has been updated with information about a similar break-in being investigated by the Peterborough County OPP.

The school year has begun in tragedy in Peterborough.

Police report a Grade 11 student is in critical condition after they were struck by a vehicle on Tuesday morning (September 7) at around 8:50 a.m.

The student was getting off a City of Peterborough Transit bus near Langton Street and Hilliard Street, just north of Adam Scott Collegiate, when they were struck.

The student was flown in critical condition by air ambulance to a Toronto hospital for treatment.

Hilliard Street is closed while police continuing to investigate the incident.

Several recent surveys confirm that the environment is a top priority for voters in this election. It is exciting that so many voters are focusing attention on the need for effective, timely, and cooperative climate action.

This election comes at a critical time, with 2020-2030 the decisive decade for climate action. We have eight years left to meet our 2030 emissions reductions targets and keep the planet sustainable for humanity.

On Wednesday evening (September 8), GreenUP along with several local organizations is hosting an election debate — part of 100 Debates on the Environment across the country — featuring all four major party candidates for the Peterborough-Kawartha riding and moderated by Jim Hendry. Register via greenup.on.ca or directly on Zoom and join us at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

This is an opportunity to get to know your candidates’ positions on climate change and environmental policy.

I’ve had the pleasure of talking with co-organizers of this local debate about some of the issues.

Here are six environmental issues to inform yourself about and talk about with friends and family.

1. Emissions reductions

We need the federal government to empower and require reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at a minimum of 45 per cent below 2010 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050. We need to see plans to make measurable, significant progress each year during the next four-year federal mandate. We also need the federal government to put in place legally binding accountability to ensure we keep making progress toward these targets.

In the spring of 2021, Canada passed the Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, which puts in place legally binding emissions reductions targets starting in 2030. That is a step in the right direction, but we also need steps now in order to get there.

We need candidates who will support aggressive carbon pricing, carbon regulations, investments in low-carbon infrastructure, and work with climate-sincere provincial, municipal, and corporate leaders, to make progress towards those targets over the next government and beyond.

2. Sustainable and inclusive communities

In alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we need plans to improve equity and create sustainable, accessible, and healthy communities.

That means support for and planning with provincial and municipal-level organizations and Indigenous communities to create better public transportation and more walkable, bikeable, and accessible infrastructure.

This is a potential win-win-win for climate action, the economy, and public health. Studies show that active, bikeable, and accessible communities are healthier communities with more vibrant local economies. These communities also emit fewer greenhouse gasses because they are not built in a way that requires combustion vehicles for trips under five kilometres.

3. Preparing for a changing climate

Even with drastic reductions in emissions, climate change is going to impact our cities, electricity grids, forests, oceans, lakes, and farming in difficult and challenging ways.

Every dollar we can spend now to help prepare for increased flooding, fires, droughts, wind storms, invasive species, and changing seasons will pay us back ten-fold. Climate adaptation is an investment to help our children and grandchildren have a planet they can live on.

Ask your candidates what policies and investments they will advance now to prepare Peterborough for the challenges of a changing climate.

4. Energy-efficient retrofits

In the Peterborough region, one third of our emissions come from heating and cooling residential and commercial buildings.

There is low-hanging fruit here, especially in older buildings. Improving energy efficiency and transitioning off gas heating towards electric heat pumps are quick and big-impact steps toward achieving 2030 emissions reductions targets — and they make financial sense.

In 2021, the federal government launched the $2.6 billion Greener Homes Grant Program. This is a good start, but the huge scope for retrofits in the Peterborough region and beyond requires sustained support for property owners and the service organizations working to meet the huge demand for these energy audits.

5. Indigenous leadership

We need all federal leaders to commit to good relations with First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people.

Indigenous people are stewards of these lands and waters. Indigenous people are key partners and hosts in collective efforts towards climate action and environmental protection and renewal. Indigenous leadership needs space within federal policy.

In spring 2021, Canada passed the UNDRIP Act — the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Ask your candidates what key environmental policies they will support to advance UNDRIP in Canada and also through listening to local First Nations leaders.

6. Prioritizing and strengthening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act

Last but not least, we need to update the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).

“The Canadian Environmental Protection Act really is the cornerstone of federal environmental laws,” says Lisa Gue, senior policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation, in a recent online panel (see video below; Gue’s presentation begins at 8:17).

CEPA was first introduced in 1999 and remains largely unchanged. As the Canadian Environmental Law Association points out, we need updates to CEPA in order to regulate pollution and hazardous waste effectively, and protect vulnerable communities, including children, women of childbearing age, workers, people of low income, and Indigenous communities.

VIDEO: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Perspectives on Bill C-28

This past April, Bill C-28 was introduced to update CEPA. Unfortunately, Bill C-28 did not make it past first reading before Parliament was dissolved for the election.

If Bill C-28 is reintroduced and passed, CEPA could become the first federal law to recognize the human right to a healthy environment.

While these six things are important to watch for in this election, it may be more crucial to talk about these issues with your friends and family.

These can be hard conversations to have. The David Suzuki Foundation has put together an online Climate Conversation Coach to help us find common ground on topics that can divide us. You can find it at davidsuzuki.org/climate-conversation-coach/.

Join us for the September 8th debate. Follow @ptbogreenup on social media, and let us and your local candidates know what matters to you in this election.

After her parents lost their 240-year-old Trent Hills barn to fire last Sunday (August 29), Peterborough resident Tiffany Alton-Froggatt launched a crowdfunding campaign to help them recover from the devastating loss.

Ian and Cheryll Alton’s historic bank barn at 12th Line West in Campbellford was fully engulfed in flames minutes after it was struck by lightning last Sunday night.

While Cheryll was able to get their horses and alpacas to safety in a nearby field, their chickens perished in the fire.

Along with the structure itself, the Altons lost tractors and other equipment, winter feed, horse tack, and more.

Although the barn was insured, the Altons have since found out from their insurance company the structure was underinsured. At a result, their insurance policy will only pay $140,000 of the $500,000 cost to rebuild the barn — and that some of the payout may also have to cover the costs of the fire department that responded to the fire, according to Alton-Froggatt.

“They had never been advised by their insurance broker that their policy should be increased from what it was 15 years ago,” Alton-Froggatt says. “They just assumed that their insurance was sufficient, and, like most of us, they also thought that they would never actually need it anyway.”

Alton-Froggatt says her parents were already dealing with financial issues before the fire, as her father was off work last year for knee-replacement surgery, was laid off during pandemic lockdowns, and only has two years left before he will have to retire.

“They are not going to be able to financially recover from this on their own,” she notes.

Alton-Froggatt adds her parents worked hard to maintain the barn over the years, replacing boards and patching the steel roof.

“It has taken everything that they had to keep this place going,” she explains. “This farm is not a money-making venture for my parents — it is a labour of love. They have brought in rescues and nursed them back to health. They have committed to caring for animals that need ongoing medical treatment and medication, because for them, it’s about the quality of life of the animal.”

While insurance will cover some of the cost of rebuilding, Alton-Froggatt says her parents need financial help to replace tractors and other contents of the barn that were destroyed in the fire, as well as to cover immediate expenses such as feed for the animals, equipment (including shelter, gates, pens, feeders, and water troughs), and medication and veterinary care.

There’s also the significant costs of clean-up, not to mention costs associated with rebuilding including permits, architectural drawings, site surveys, raw materials, and labour.

Alton-Froggatt has set a fundraising goal of $100,000 for her GoFundMe campaign, and so far has raised just over $7,000.

If you’d like to help the Altons get back on their feet, you can donate at gofundme.com/f/help-rebuild-the-alton-family-farm.

“They need all of the support that they can get, and at the moment, they are not feeling very hopeful about their future,” Alton-Froggatt says.