With the arrival of the warm weather, road work season has begun in Peterborough.

The City of Peterborough has announced road work projects that will take place from now until November. The work includes surface repaving, micro-surface treatments, and pavement crack sealing.

The city has identified 10 of the highest-priority streets that require surface repaving and micro-surface treatments. The road work is being done for the city by Coco Paving Inc.

Seven roads that will receive new surface asphalt paving are Fairbairn Street between Wolsely and Hillside streets, Ford Street between Chamberlain and Lansdowne streets, Langton Street between Hilliard and Water streets, Lansdowne Street West between Monaghan Road and Park Street South, Monaghan Road between Edison Avenue and Riverside Drive, Sherbrooke Street between Bethune and Reid streets, and Woodglade Boulevard between Glenforest and Kawartha Heights boulevards.

For Fairbairn Street, Lansdowne Street West, and Sherbrooke Street, grinding and paving operations will be conducted under road closure at night between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. to reduce the impact on traffic. For Monaghan Road and Woodglade Boulevard, grinding and paving operations will be conducted under road closures during July and August to coordinate with reduced activity at nearby schools during the summer.

Two roads that will receive full-depth asphalt pavement structures are Parkhill Road East between Television Road and the Trent Canal and Television Road between Parkhill Road and the CP Rail tracks. Pulverizing, grading, and paving operations on these roads will require a single-lane closure, with flagging operations for a duration of an estimated five days for each side of the road.

One road that will receive micro-surface treatment is Milroy Drive between Chemong Road and Towerhill Road.

Along with surface repaving and micro-surface treatments, pavement crack sealing will take place at various locations across the city.

The pavement crack sealing, which is being done for the city by Fine Line Markings Inc., will help to extend the life of roads by preventing infiltration of water into the asphalt pavement surface and the structure below the road.

While no road closures are expected during the pavement crack sealing, all locations where the work is being done will experience short delays with flagging operations and lane reductions. Traffic lanes may also be shifted where required.

The schedules for all road work may change due to delays or inclement weather.

Information about all road work projects in the City of Peterborough is available on the city’s interactive road construction map at peterborough.ca/constructionmap.

Members of the Peterborough chapter of Pflag, a national charitable organization founded by parents to help themselves and their family members understand and accept their LGBQIA2S children, were in Millennium Park on Tuesday (May 17) to recognize International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia and to remember two past local leaders of the organization.

The group gathered at the rainbow bench, located on the park’s walkway near No Frills beside the Nogojiwanong information panels, that Pflag Peterborough donated with the help of the City of Peterborough. The bench includes a plaque honouring the work of the Pflag Peterborough’s past leaders Joyce Barrett and Catherine Ginies.

Joyce Barrett, who had been involved with Pflag since the Peterborough chapter was first organized, was a family physician specializing in obstetrics. She and her husband Dr. John Hambley had two biological children along with several “chosen” daughters. One of their children identified as LGBQIA2S. Barrett took Dianne McKay, the past Pflag Peterborough president, to the first Pflag meeting.

Catherine Ginies, a co-leader with McKay, also had an child who identified as LGBQIA2S. Ginies, who designed Pflag Peterborough’s first website, was a very active member, working throughout the region and organizing many Pflag events.

“Both Joyce and Catherine were tireless supporters of their children and the LGBQIA2S community,” the organization states in an email provided to kawarthaNOW.

“Both died prematurely, much too young, and are missed by everyone that knew them. Their families and friends are delighted with the Rainbow Bench that Pflag Peterborough purchased together with the City of Peterborough, which we dedicated with a plaque to the memory of Joyce and Catherine, and for the tireless work they did.”

Pflag Canada originated in 1970s’ Toronto, where meetings of non-LGBTQ but welcoming family members were held under the banner of Parents Of Gays (POG). That group eventually amalgamated with Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (FFLAG), a group founded in October 1981. The new organization was rebranded as Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (or Parents FLAG). In recognition of more inclusive language used in the community, Pflag is no longer an acronym but stands on its own as the organization’s name.

Pflag Canada, which operates with the slogan “Family For All,” currently has 59 chapters across Canada. While there is also a U.S. organization called Pflag, which originated in New York City in 1972, Pflag Canada developed independently.

For more information about Pflag Peterborough, visit pflagpeterborough.com.

The Peterborough Police Service announced on Tuesday afternoon (May 17) they are not laying any charges in connection with last week’s protest against federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, which saw a small group of protesters accost Singh with verbally abusive language.

In a video statement, acting Peterborough police chief Tim Farquharson said the two investigators assigned to the incident “scoured social media and over the past week have watched and analyzed the clips provided by various sources” and also spoke to the complainants in the matter.

“While the behaviour, actions, and comments are disrespectful and should not be encouraged or condoned, they fail to rise to the threshold of being criminal in nature,” Farquharson said, adding “We recognize that this may not be the news some have wanted to hear.”

The decision of the police that “there are no grounds to proceed with criminal charges at this time” comes on the same day Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien issued a statement condemning the protestors for their behaviour and calling on all political leaders to do the same.

“The fact that exchanges between those with differing opinions continues to be disrespectful and unproductive is troubling and the systemic undercurrent of hate and anger should bother us all as a community,” Farquharson said. “As we have during the past several years, the service continues to encourage residents to be respectful in their expression of opinion.”

In a video statement issued last Thursday (May 12), Farquharson said police would “use every investigative tool possible to deal with (the protestors’) actions.”

VIDEO: Acting Peterborough Police Chief Tim Farquharson

Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien has spoken out strongly against the “ugly, unacceptable attack” that greeted federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh during a stop in Peterborough last week in support of local NDP provincial candidate Jen Deck, saying “Peterborough is better than this.”

Last Tuesday (May 10), as Singh was leaving Deck’s George Street campaign office, he was aggressively threatened and insulted by a small group of protestors who called him, among other things, a “f**cking traitor” and a “lying piece of sh*t.”

Some of the group showed Singh their middle finger and yelled “go f*ck yourself.”

Speaking in front of City Hall Tuesday morning (May 17), with councillors Henry Clarke, Keith Riel, Kemi Akapo, Stephen Wright, and Kim Zippel standing behind her in a show of council unity, Therrien minced no words.

“This was not a protest or act of civil disobedience,” she said.

“Mr. Singh was targeted and physically harassed as he left the campaign office and walked to his vehicle. People yelled at him, insulted him, and swore at him.”

Noting “This incident is one of many that our and other communities have been subjected to in recent months,” Therrien said “The purpose of this behaviour is to intimidate.”

“It is to incite others to join in the rage, anger, and violence. It is intended to disrupt our freedom to safely and securely participate in the democratic process. It is to distract us from working together to address the issues that truly matter and are increasingly urgent for all of us — climate change, mental health, drug addiction, child poverty, housing affordability, the list goes on. These are deliberate, and very damaging, distractions.”

6) More up close video as Jagmeet Singh left the building where you can REALLY hear the disgusting things the crowd is saying. Might not be safe for work, so watch the volume before you listen to it at. #ptbo pic.twitter.com/QjytzTayTa

— Johnny Fondue (@Eatsfood2) May 11, 2022

Saying “We are better than this … the City of Peterborough is better than this,” Mayor Therrien added “We must all be better than this” before calling on political leaders across Canada “to stand with the good people of Peterborough and condemn these tactics.”

“To refuse to be intimidated and coerced into appeasing or collaborating in any way with those who are terrorizing our democratic processes. To say that this terror must stop now for the good of our country and for the protection of our democratic freedoms. To say nothing is a choice. To not clearly, forcefully and repeatedly condemn these tactics is to be complicit.”

Therrien concluded by revealing that city council will bring forward a motion at its next meeting (on May 24) “to invite Mr. Singh back to our city, to show solidarity, to stand united with him, and to let him know that we are better than this.”

Following the mayor’s statement, longtime city councillor and Peterborough mayoral candidate Henry Clarke told kawarthaNOW that he and his council colleagues are “appalled by what went on.”

“Racism has no place in this city. Abuse of elected officials has no place. The values that those demonstrators displayed are not Peterborough values,” Clarke said.

“It’s almost as if it (protesting) has become a fad thing to do. But it’s not just in Peterborough. It’s going on all over the country. I don’t like the focus on Peterborough, as if somehow we are typical of this thing. We’re not. There were 40 or 50 people that did something terrible, but there were 84,000 people that didn’t.”

Speaking to the increasing vitriol displayed by protesters, and the resulting divisiveness, Clarke pointed to a few reasons for it.

“I think, in part, it’s COVID and the isolation, and also the anonymity of social media where you can say just about anything. I call it anti-social media.”

As for the protest making national headlines, Clarke expressed frustration.

“I’m getting real tired of us getting kicked around like that. It’s not our city. It’s a small group.”

In Ottawa the day following the protest, Singh addressed the reception he received, terming it one of his “worst experiences” in politics.

“There were some folks who were saying some really bad, some really horrible, things,” recounted Singh.

“Some folks were saying ‘Hope you die’ and things along that nature. (There was) a lot of aggression and violence in terms of the behaviour and demeanour.”

“There is a level of polarization that is going on in politics which is troubling,” said Singh.

“It shouldn’t be that someone has to be physically trained in martial arts and be able to deal with conflict to be a politician.”

He added that while it’s “absolutely necessary for people to express dissatisfaction,” his experience was “something really troubling.”

The protest was organized by Roy Asseltine and Nicole Comber — owners of Peterburgers, a burger restaurant that was shut down last December for four months for violating public health restrictions — shortly after they found out Singh would be arriving at Deck’s campaign office.

Asseltine and Comber posted a video on social media asking protesters to come to Deck’s campaign office. A “call to action” was also posted on the “Hold Fast” Facebook group.
Comber live streamed part of the protest on Facebook, and other videos taken by protesters’ were circulated on social media.

Despite previous incidents involving Asseltine and Comber, including a raucous grand reopening celebration of Peterburgers in April that led to charges under the city’s noise by-law, there was no police presence during the protest.

The day after the protest, Peterborough police posted on Twitter they were unaware Singh was in Peterborough and had received no calls for service.

On May 12, acting Peterborough police chief Tim Farquharson confirmed, in a YouTube statement, that police are “actively investigating” a complaint lodged in relation to the actions of the protestors.

“Anyone seeing the video should find it disheartening, morally unacceptable, and lacking in respect each resident and visitor deserves,” said Farquharson, adding “”Your (protestors’) actions and belief systems are reprehensible, unconscionable, and, in some cases, criminal.”

Speaking to criticism of his department’s non-presence at the campaign stop, Farquharson pointed to a lack of resources as the culprit.

“Due to our staffing shortages, we’re not always able to engage in pro-active policing patrols,” he said, adding “We also understand that public safety is of paramount importance, and encourage residents to contact us with their concerns or any evidence that could aid in our investigations.”

On Tuesday afternoon (May 17), Farquharson issued a statement that investigators had reviewed all available evidence and concluded there are no grounds to proceed with criminal charges at this time.

“While the behaviour, actions, and comments are disrespectful and should not be encouraged or condoned, they fail to rise to the threshold of being criminal in nature,” Farquharson said.

The RCMP is also looking into the incident, with force deputy commissioner Michael Duheme terming the reception Singh received “unacceptable.”

On May 12, he told the House of Commons public safety committee “We’re following up on it to determine what can be done.”

Despite the threatening reception he received, Singh subsequently posted on Twitter his thanks to “everyone that has reached out” to him in the aftermath.

“I want to say especially say to the people of Peterborough — I have visited many times and I know your community is filled with good people who want the best for each other,” he wrote, adding “Peterborough, I love you.”

This story has been updated with information from a Peterborough police statement issued on May 17 about their investigation into the incident.