Two men have drowned after their canoe capsized on Moose Lake in Haliburton County on Sunday morning (November 7).

Haliburton Highlands OPP responded to a report at around 10:27 a.m. on Sunday that a canoe had capsized. with three men going into the water.

While one of the men was able to swim safely to shore, the other two men did not.

Police have since confirmed the two men’s deaths, but are not releasing their identities until next of kin have been notified.

Haliburton Highlands OPP are continuing to investigate the incident and are being assisted by the Underwater Search and Recovery Unit and Technical Collision Reconstruction investigators.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to call Haliburton OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

Greg Dempsey will be the Liberal candidate for Peterborough-Kawartha in the next provincial election, to be held no later than June 2, 2022.

Dempsey won the nomination after an online vote held Saturday (November 6), beating out his competitor Dane Bland.

“Greg is truly committed to improving life for those in Peterborough-Kawartha and brings a lifetime of experience advocating on behalf of Canadians to the table,” says Ontario Liberal Party leader Steven Del Duca in a media release. “By electing Greg Dempsey as their MPP, families in Peterborough-Kawartha will have a strong fighter on their side.”

Dempsey, who was born and raised in Peterborough and graduated from Adam Scott CVI in 1999, holds a BA in economics and a BSc in computer science from Bishop’s University in Quebec, a law degree from the University of Victoria, a certificate in International Indigenous Studies from Columbia University in New York, and a cum laude LLM in International Human Rights Law from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Since 2008, Dempsey served in the Canadian Foreign Service, representing Canada at the UN in New York, at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, and in Kabul, Afghanistan. Dempsey has also supported the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s special advisor on LGBTQ2S+ issues.

He returned to Peterborough in 2019 to serve as communications director on former Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef’s 2019 re-election campaign. Since 2020, he has worked with former Minister Ralph Goodale on Canada’s response to the downing of flight PS752 in Iran.

“From my roots in Peterborough, I’ve built a career bringing people together,” Dempsey says. “I’m committed to electing a better, more caring provincial government — one that will take decisive action on the climate crisis, support the under-resourced, partner with Indigenous peoples, and restore our relationship with healthcare and education workers.”

Dempsey will be vying against PC incumbent Dave Smith in the next provincial election. The Ontario NDP have not yet announced their nomination candidates for the Peterborough-Kawartha riding.

B!KE – Peterborough’s Community Cycling Hub celebrated its 15-year anniversary on Friday (November 5) with a party and concert in the alley behind their location at 293 George Street North in downtown Peterborough.

As well, they welcomed their new executive director Mark Romeril and bid farewell to Tegan Moss, their outgoing executive director of 10 years.

The event ran from 8 to 11 p.m., with drinks donated by Publican House Brewery. Peterborough band Pop Machine began rocking the alleyway at around 9 p.m., playing a danceable mix of pop, rock, and funk.

Romeril, excited for the event, saw it as a chance to meet some more of the community he’ll be working with.

“It’s been a long time since anything like this has really been organized by B!KE,” he said.

Although Romeril is new to Peterborough, working with cycling, advocacy, and charity is his background. He previously had a fundraising role with the non-profit Cycle Toronto, where he worked for seven years.

“When I think of B!KE, a social enterprise is one way I’d describe it, a charity is another — a community space and a bike shop as well,” Romeril said. “There’s a lot of overlap in those things, but they do have different fits and feelings.

“Each of them comes together in a really special way that I think makes B!KE not only unique, but important for the community that we’re in.”

It’s clear how B!KE sees itself is perfectly in line with his statement, with proof of this displayed on the vision, mission, and values board posted behind the bar for all partygoers to see.

Vision:
People empowered to travel by bike

Mission:
Teach people to maintain, repair and ride bikes
Provide a workshop space and tools for bikes
Provide access to new and used bikes and parts
Advocate for people on bikes

Values:
Fun; inclusivity; self-reliance; sustainability; wellbeing.

Starting in 2006, B!KE has lived up to this mandate, partnering with organizations like Peterborough GreenUP, the City of Peterborough, the Peterborough Bicycle Advisory Committee, and more to work with schools and the community to teach cycling, safety and repairs, as well as hosting events such as glow rides.

They also offer a supervised workshop space with tools, parts, and volunteers willing to guide you along the process of repairing your bike.

Although B!KE is a non-profit, they do have a full bike shop, selling bikes and parts at all price ranges. There is something for everyone, and they can feel at ease knowing that they are supporting an organization that is focused on much more than just profit.

For more information about B!KE, visit communitybikeshop.org.

The Kawartha Lakes Police Service has announced the death of one of its officers.

Constable Mike Broderick died suddenly on Friday (November 5).

The police service announced Constable Broderick’s death “with profound sadness and heavy hearts” in a media release on Saturday morning.

Constable Mike Broderick graduated from Fleming College in 2006 and joined the Kawartha Lakes Police Service in April 2009. He was currently working in the uniform division.

He leaves behind a wife and daughter.

“Mike was an extremely dedicated officer who served his community with professionalism and compassion,” said Chief Mark Mitchell. “His death is heartbreaking for all of us. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and loved ones and we will continue supporting them through this tragic time.”

Supports are also being made available to members of the Kawartha Lakes Police Service.

At the request of the Kawartha Lakes Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police Criminal Investigations Branch will be conducting the death investigation along with the Coroner’s office.

Constable Mike Broderick’s family has requested privacy while they are grieving the loss of their loved one.

Gymnastics Ontario has now placed Marcel Rene, owner and operator of Champion Gymnastics in Peterborough, under interim suspension effective immediately.

On Monday (November 1), Rene, 71, had already received a lifetime suspension from Gymnastics Ontario — the sport’s governing body in Ontario that sets operating standards and practices for member clubs — but that suspension was to take effect January 1, 2022, allowing Rene to continue his role at Champion Gymnastics.

The immediate suspension follows Rene’s interviews with both kawarthaNOW and the Peterborough Examiner, in which he claimed his lifetime suspension was not the result of anything “nefarious”, was “strictly a personal thing”, and was a “private matter between myself and Gymnastics Ontario” that did not involve Champions Gymnastics club.

In a statement about the suspension emailed to kawarthaNOW on Tuesday, Gymnastics Ontario CEO Dave Sandford stated Rene’s suspension resulted “following complaints” received by the organization, but provided no details about the nature of the complaints “out of respect for the complainants.”

After Rene’s media interviews, Lindsay lawyer Jason Ward contacted the Peterborough Examiner at the request of his clients, Kaylie Hengg, 22, and Tonya “TJ” Kirkwood, 35, who had filed civil actions against Rene and Champion Gymnastics in November 2020 and January 2021 respectively, alleging sexual harassment in the workplace.

Ward subsequently provided kawarthaNOW with copies of the statements of claims for both women and the statements of defence from Rene, as well as the results of a code of conduct and ethics investigation conducted by an independent third party on behalf of Gymnastics Ontario.

“Kaylie Hengg and Tonya Kirkwood are equally courageous, brave and inspiring,” Ward writes in an emailed statement to kawarthaNOW. “They are shocked and dumbfounded by Mr. Rene’s representations to the media about himself and their lawsuit against him.”

“They have sacrificed their own privacy and well being to step forward and publicly expose what happened to them and how it will forever change their lives. They did so to raise more awareness about sexual misconduct in gymnastics and elsewhere and to hopefully protect others in future.”

Both women were previously athletes at Champion Gymnastics and were working as coaches at the club when the harassment allegedly took place.

The women’s statements of claims against Rene both allege he “engaged in prolonged and continuous sexual harassment and other improper conduct” through verbal and non-verbal conduct. Both statements include multiple allegations of inappropriate jokes, unwelcome comments of a sexual nature, and unwelcome sexual solicitations while the women were working at Champion Gymnastics.

Rene’s statements of defence against both claims deny some of the allegations and admit to others, but state that each woman “was an active participant in sexual humour” and that neither “express(ed) any discomfort”.

In one example from the statement of defence, “The Defendants admit that on one occasion in or around June 2020, Mr. Rene stated that he would not ‘physically assault’ Ms. Hengg because he viewed her as a friend, but that because he is a guy, the thought of it is ‘always in the back of [his] head’.”

As for the independent code of conduct and ethics investigation conducted for Gymnastics Ontario, the investigator found that inappropriate jokes and sexually charged comments took place, as did private interactions and sexual invitations, and that these constituted workplace harassment and sexual harassment that were unwelcome by both the women.

“I find that the behaviour exhibited by Marcel against Kaylie and TJ, meets the minimum threshold to constitute both workplace harassment and sexual harassment, as defined within the code,” the investigator concluded.

The civil actions were settled out of court, with Rene agreeing to a lifetime suspension of membership in Gymnastics Ontario, according to Sandford.

During his interviews with media following news of the lifetime suspension, Rene did not mention the allegations or civil actions against him, telling kawarthaNOW “The only reason there’s a sort of sensationalist attachment to this is I run a gymnastics club,” and stating “It’s not a big thing.”

These public comments led to Hengg and Kirkwood instructing Ward to release information about their allegations to the Peterborough Examiner.

“Neither will tolerate Mr. Rene’s deliberate attempts to re-victimize them, particularly for his own benefit,” Ward says in his emailed statement to kawarthaNOW. “Today no one should condone any attempt by any other to minimize, trivialize or conceal inappropriate and insidious sexual misconduct, particularly in the workplace.”

“Our clients firmly believe this an attempt by Mr. Rene to manipulate the media and the public by means of declaring mistruths and falsehoods, designed to protect only himself and his business, while continually degrading, discounting and endangering those who have suffered during what is supposed to be a life-enriching experience.”

Within 48 hours of the women’s complaints against Rene first being published in the Peterborough Examiner, Gymnastics Ontario issued a notice of the immediate membership suspension of Marcel Rene, including a prohibition on coaching and training of athletes and contacting Champions Gymnastics’ students, parents, staff, or employees.

“Effective immediately, Marcel Rene has been placed under interim suspension by Gymnastics Ontario,” the notice reads. “Mr. Rene is not to have any contact with members of Gymnastics Ontario, in relation to Gymnastics Ontario matters, while the suspension is in effect.”

On Friday (November 5), after this story was published, Marcel Rene provided a statement to kawarthaNOW:

“The dispute between myself and two former employees has been settled,” the statement reads. “While I deny the allegations of sexual misconduct, I understand that my actions have had an unintended effect on my former employees and I regret that.”

“I will be abiding by the agreement I made with Gymnastics Ontario to step away from Champions Gymnastics. I want to be clear that this matter had nothing to do with the youth who take part in the programming at Champions. The Club remains in good standing with Gymnastics Ontario and will continue to serve the community as they have for over 32 years.”

With those who received two doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine among the first approved for a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna, Peterborough’s acting medical officer of health is reassuring those who received AstraZeneca that is remains effective against COVD-19.

During a Peterborough Public Health media briefing held Thursday (November 4), Dr. Ian Gemmill — who himself, like Premier Doug Ford, has received two doses of AstraZeneca — termed its 80 per cent efficacy rate “pretty darn good” in terms of the protection it offers from serious illness and hospitalization.

“When they get a third dose of an mRNA vaccine, they’re going to have amazing protection,” he said.

“It is not a reflection of any concerns regarding the effectiveness of any of the vaccines,” Dr. Gemmill said of the booster dose. “We know that the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines are very safe. We know that they provide powerful and resistant protection against COVID-19. However, as vaccine protection may begin to wane over time, the booster shots will protect our most vulnerable population.”

Eligible Peterborough-area residents can book a booster shot starting November 8, with the first available appointments on November 9. Those eligible for a booster shot are individuals aged 70 and up, health care workers and essential caregivers in congregate settings such as long-term care and retirement homes, those who received two doses of AstraZeneca or one dose of Janssen, and First Nations people and their non-Indigenous household members.

Dr. Gemmill confirmed that, as of next week, all residents of local long-term care homes and retirement residences will have been offered a booster shot.

To support residents eligible for a booster shot, Peterborough Public Health will once again be part of the provincial booking system. Appointments can be booked online at covid19.ontariohealth.ca or by phone 1-833-943-3900.

The overall vaccination picture to date reveals a slow but sure increase in the number of people rolling up their sleeves, be that for a first or second dose.

As of late Wednesday (November 3) afternoon, 86.8 per cent of eligible residents aged 12 and up have received one dose while 83.6 per cent have received two doses. In the age 12 to 17 group, 86.5 per cent have received one dose while 80.4 per cent are now fully immunized.

“The percentage of fully vaccinated youth has increased by two per cent from two weeks ago,” noted Donna Churipuy, the health unit’s director of public health programs and COVID response incident commander, adding “This is contributing to the low number of cases in our secondary schools.”

Against the backdrop of increasing vaccine percentages and the pending administration of booster shots, the active case count continues to trend downward.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, there were 12 active cases in the region with 36 close contacts of cases being monitored. Both these numbers are down from the last briefing two weeks ago, in particular the close contacts total that was 132 at that point. To date this week since Monday, just three new cases have been detected.

However, this positive news is tempered with word of another COVID-related death involving a man in his 70s who, according to Churipuy, was unvaccinated. The first COVID-related death since September 10, it’s the 24th since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.

As for outbreaks, there is one that was just declared in a workplace.

Meanwhile, on the vaccine certificate enforcement front, Peterborough Public Health environmental health manager Julie Ingram said she’s pleased with the level of compliance.

“A lot of premises that we’ve done secret dining at have been fully compliant doing their proof of vaccine checks and proof of identification checks,” she said. “We know it’s not easy and we know it can be a pain but it’s exceptionally important that these activities continue, especially now with the increase in capacity limits.”

Since the last media briefing on October 21, two Peterborough eateries — Wild Wing on Charlotte Street and PJ’s Diner on Sherbrooke Street — have been charged and fined $880 each for lack of compliance with the proof of vaccination and identification requirement.

Earlier in October, Peterburgers on George Street was similarly fined. Ingram notes there remains “issues with compliance” at that business and an investigation is ongoing.

“We’re now six weeks into this requirement,” notes Ingram. “There was a time and a place for continuous education and warnings — we’re starting to get to the point that we’re past that. Proof of vaccine is an expectation. It’s your responsibility as a business owner to know if the requirement applies to you or not.”

Also in attendance for Thursday’s media briefing was Board of Health chair and Selwyn mayor Andy Mitchell.

This week, senior political officials from nations around the world are at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. This “Conference of the Parties” (COP for short) is the 26th annual meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

There’s a lot at stake with COP26, so I asked three local experts for their perspectives on COP26 and why it matters both globally and locally.

“The COP meetings began almost 30 years ago at the 1992 Rio Summit, when the UNFCCC was negotiated,” explains Stephen Hill, associate director of the Trent School of the Environment. “The goal of the UNFCCC has always been to commit to stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions. In their language, the goal is to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.”

Hill shares an analogy to explain this. Think of the entire planet as a bathtub that can only hold so much greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) before it overflows into “dangerous” territory. That overflow point is 1.5 to 2 degrees of global warming.

“There are two parts to preventing dangerous global warming,” Hill says. “First, we have to stabilize the GHG level in the bathtub by reducing the flow to a trickle. The modelling shows we must act now. That means reducing emissions at least 45 per cent below 2010 levels as soon as possible, ideally by 2030.”

“The second part is figuring out how to drain the bathtub. Reducing emissions to near zero is crucial but not enough by itself. That net-zero target requires capturing and storing significant amounts of carbon, both with natural and technological solutions.”

VIDEO: Earth To COP

The intention of the 2015 Paris Agreement (COP21) was for each nation to commit to reductions they felt they could achieve, not to stabilize GHG levels globally.

Brace yourself: here comes some doom and gloom. The global flow of GHGs into the atmospheric bathtub continues to increase — even during COVID-19 — and has increased every year since the 1992 UNFCCC agreement was signed.

Today world leaders are gathering at COP26 to evaluate the progress of each nation and set another round of ambitious reductions targets.

“Even with our late start, it will take time to turn a big ship like our energy system around,” Hill points out. “Emissions don’t go down that quickly. What we need to see first are domestic policies and accountability measures that back up the commitments nations make at the COP.”

“The Paris Agreement, along with public pressure and youth activism, acted as a catalyst for recent political action. In the last five years, climate politics have changed tremendously in Canada. For the first time, we now have credible policies and plans.”

Stephanie Rutherford, associate professor in the Trent School of the Environment, agrees.

“The plans that the Canadian government has put forward in the last year aren’t perfect, but they’re the first I’ve seen with any kind of teeth,” Rutherford says.

“We need to be asking for real, measurable targets, enforcement mechanisms, and plans for ratcheting down emissions throughout the course of the policy over many years. There are also lots of environmental non-governmental organizations, like GreenUP, that have decades of experience and knowledge on these issues that the government could leverage going forward.”

Rutherford’s research focuses on environmental justice and multi-species perspectives. While previous COPs have tended to overlook the importance of habitat and ecosystem protection and restoration, this year’s COP looks different.

“The climate crisis is not separate from the biodiversity crisis,” explains Rutherford. “These are interlinked crises. You can’t have a conversation about climate change without also talking about habitat loss and mass extinction.”

According to Rutherford, the stakes are high for Canada.

“Climate change is an issue not only of the environment and the economy, but also of justice and equity,” she says. “First Nations people in Canada have disproportionately felt the impacts of climate change, and there is a lot at stake in the relationship between climate change and reconciliation.”

“Canada was once known as an environmental leader, but no more. We take a lot of body blows at these COPs because we make big promises but with almost no follow-through. The world is waiting to see us actually act. It will not be easy. There are jurisdictional disputes with some provinces. Historically, Canada has also not pursued the kind of policies that prioritize habitat protection, ecosystem integrity, and treaty rights before resource extraction. We have work to do.”

Like Canada, Peterborough (once known as “The Electric City” as it was the first town in Canada to use electric streetlights in the late 1800s) likes to stake claim to a reputation for innovation and environmental leadership.

“As a community, we should be thinking about how we will live in this changing world in a low-carbon economy,” Hill says. “We should be anticipating what this means for jobs, businesses, housing, education systems, and transportation systems. There are pockets of truly amazing leadership in Peterborough, but we are falling behind other communities.”

One of those pockets of amazing leadership is the Endeavour Centre, the Sustainable Building School.

“I am most excited and also most frustrated about the potential of the building industry for emissions reductions,” shares Chris Magwood, founder of the Endeavour Centre. “There’s so much talk about incremental reductions in emissions over decades, but with buildings it could be way more than incremental. We could literally — right now in the next few years — reverse the climate impact of buildings.”

“COP26 is the first time that buildings and the building industry have had a central presence. There is a net-zero demonstration house at COP26. For decades, the Endeavour Centre has been trying to demonstrate the potential of low-carbon building approaches. The new forensic crime scene building at Trent University is a net-zero carbon storage building. This and other local projects are world-leading demonstrations of what’s possible right now. These approaches exist, but it seems people do not recognize them as the major precedent-setting examples that they truly are.”

Magwood believes municipalities are going be the leaders in this area, even though building codes are written at the national level.

“Duoro-Dummer had the very first low-carbon building incentive program in North America,” Magwood notes. “The Endeavour Centre is working with Nelson in B.C. right now on something like that. We start working next month with Vancouver and Toronto looks on the verge of doing something. Municipalities don’t have power over building codes, but there seems to be the most willingness to move quickly at that level.”

“I would hope that politicians start to see the potential for becoming the world leader in manufacturing biogenic building materials,” suggests Magwood. “Canada is rich in all the best sources of raw materials, and most of these resources are available in rural areas like Peterborough. We are smart enough to manufacture here. We just need the push to do it and scale it up. There’s a compelling economic and environmental case for doing this.”

To learn more about the global significance of COP26, visit the UN Climate Change YouTube channel.

For more information on the climate action resources available locally, now, visit greenup.on.ca/climate-action-resource/.