An Oshawa man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and multiple weapons charges in connection with a drug-related shooting in Peterborough earlier this month that left a Peterborough woman with serious injuries.
Police are continuing to search for a second suspect in the shooting, which took place around 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 8 at an apartment at 701 George Street North just south of Parkhill Road.
According to the police investigation, a 39-year-old Peterborough woman and 47-year-old Peterborough man were the victims of a targeted robbery connected to the drug subculture. While the suspects were robbing the couple of money, there was a physical confrontation and the woman was shot. The two suspects then fled the scene.
The woman was taken to Peterborough Regional Health Centre before being airlifted to a Toronto hospital. The man was not injured.
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At around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday (March 18), Peterborough police officers with the assistance of the Durham Regional Police Service Tactical Response Team executed a search warrant at a residence in the Simcoe Street South and Wellington Road area of Oshawa.
Police located the suspect with the home and took him into custody. During a search of the residence, officers also seized a loaded firearm found within the suspect’s belongings.
The suspect is currently bound by a 2024 order prohibiting him from possessing any firearm and any crossbow, restricted weapon, ammunition, and explosive substance for a period of 10 years and possessing any prohibited or restricted firearm, weapon, device, or ammunition for life.
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A 23-year-old Oshawa man was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder with a firearm, robbery using a firearm, two counts of unauthorized possession of a weapon, possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition, two counts of possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order, and discharge of a firearm with intent.
The accused man is being held in custody and will appear in court on Thursday (March 19).
“This suspect already has a conviction for armed robbery involving a firearm and we are asking he be held in custody,” Peterborough police chief Stuart Betts states in a media release. “We are thankful that the shooting victim is continuing to recover from their injuries and will continue to search for the second suspect involved in this incident.”
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The second suspect was described to police as a Black man with a skinny build wearing a black jacket, a grey hoodie with hood up, a grey toque, a grey backpack, and black shoes with blue soles.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Peterborough Police Service at 705-876-1122 ext. 555. To submit an anonymous tip, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or stopcrimehere.ca.
While another drug-related shooting took place at 701 George Street North on September 25, 2024, seriously injuring a Scarborough teenager, police says there is nothing at this time to suggest the March shooting is connected to that incident.
Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton Integrated Immigrant Services Association (KLHIISA) is partnering with New Canadians Centre in Peterborough to offer a series of six free, practical workshops designed to support immigrants and newcomers in Kawartha Lakes. The series is being supported through Together for Justice, a community-driven initiative led by the Kawartha Community Foundation and funded by Community Foundations of Canada along with The Law Foundation of Ontario. (Graphic courtesy of KLHIISA)
Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton Integrated Immigrant Services Association (KLHIISA) is collaborating with the New Canadians Centre in Peterborough to offer a series of six free, practical workshops designed to support immigrants and newcomers in Kawartha Lakes.
With three workshops in the spring and another three in the fall, the series will cover topics including immigrant orientation and resources available to newcomers, navigating the healthcare system, understanding legal rights and responsibilities and how the justice system works, employment standards and the labour market, the housing and rental market, and children services and family welfare.
Each of the workshops will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ampere Kawartha Lakes Makerspace in Lindsay, with a virtual option for people not available to attend in person. The first workshop in the series, on immigrant orientation and newcomer resources, takes place on Thursday, March 26.
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The series is being funded through Together for Justice, a community-driven initiative announced in January with $180,000 in funding for six local non-profit organizations in Kawartha Lakes to support residents who need help navigating the justice system.
Led by the Kawartha Community Foundation (formerly Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes), the initiative is funded by Community Foundations of Canada along with The Law Foundation of Ontario.
While some of the organizations are using the Together for Justice funding to support existing programs, KLHIISA decided to launch a new program that directly responds to the local need to address legal and other barriers that exist for newcomers adjusting to everyday life in a new community.
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“When we look at healthcare, it could be quite complex,” says KLHIISA’s director of operations Geraldine Silva. “For example, I’m from Nigeria and when it comes to things like prescription medication, we can just go to a chemist (pharmacist) and buy anything. So, a new immigrant from Nigeria might not understand that you have to go through a process (to get a prescription).”
Silva adds that newcomers are also often unaware of their legal rights in Canada when it comes to the rental market.
“We have community members who couldn’t stay in Kawartha Lakes because landlords were requesting one year rent in advance or two years in advance. We have that happening all the time, but that’s not legal, so they need to know their rights.”
Silva says the challenges newcomers face are amplified in rural communities in Kawartha Lakes that have limited local services and transportation available. As an example, she points to limited transportation options for newcomers to get to the GTA for citizenship tests or ceremonies.
“An immigration swearing-in (ceremony) is not something that you can put off and hopefully do next year,” she says.
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The workshops, which participants can register for individually or as a whole series, are designed so newcomers — including immigrants, refugee and asylum seekrs, international students, and migrant workers — and those who serve newcomers can learn directly from experts in each sector.
Guest speakers include Dr. David Firang of Trent University, Christine Crough from the Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton Ontario Health Team, Lisa Loader from the Community Legal Aid Clinic Simcoe Haliburton Kawartha Lakes, and immigration lawyer Ebanehita Joan Edeko.
There will be a virtual option for each workshop for participants who are unable to attend in person, and each workshop will be recorded.
“Kawartha Lakes is a very vast rural region, so we might have someone who is in Fenelon Falls or someone who is in Kinmount who doesn’t have transportation and might have challenges participating in this,” says Silva. “We’re trying to break down all barriers with an opportunity to get accurate information and to get the facts from professionals.”
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The interactive workshops will include open discussions, question-and-answer periods, and opportunities for participants to share experiences and explore real-life scenarios that help them better understand their rights and supports. Beyond gaining practical knowledge and professional contacts that can be used in the future, Silva says participants can develop a stronger sense of community through the workshops.
“Isolation is a very big issue in our community,” Silva points out. “There are a lot of immigration categories in Canada, so people may be isolated in their immigration category and think ‘This is my problem alone.’ The beautiful thing about this program is that it’s open to everyone regardless of their immigration status.”
Silva says KLHIISA hopes that participants will leave the workshops feeling empowered and knowing their rights and the local supports that are available to them.
“Where I come from in Africa, we say knowledge is power,” she says. “We hope they will be confident, and they will feel connected and have a sense of belonging.”
Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton Integrated Immigrant Services Association (KLHIISA) is partnering with New Canadians Centre in Peterborough to offer a series of six free, practical workshops designed to support immigrants and newcomers in Kawartha Lakes. The series is being supported through Together for Justice, a community-driven initiative led by the Kawartha Community Foundation and funded by Community Foundations of Canada along with The Law Foundation of Ontario. (Graphic courtesy of KLHIISA)
Below is a list of all workshops in the series.
Thursday, March 26: Immigration Orientation & Newcomer Resources – The first session will focus on understanding immigration pathways, settlement supports, and key services available to newcomers.
Thursday, April 30: Navigating the Health Care System – Participants will learn how to access services in health care systems and gain a helpful guide on allied health care services and wellness resources.
Tuesday, May 26: Criminal Justice, Legal Rights & Responsibilities – Participants will be guided on understanding legal rights and responsibilities and how the justice system works.
Thursday, September 24: Employment Standards & Labour Market Insights – Participants will be guided on knowing their workplace rights and employment standards and reflect on navigating the labour market.
Thursday, October 29: Housing & Rental Market – Participants will be given an overview of housing options, the rental process, and tenants’ rights under Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act.
Thursday, November 26: Children Services & Family Welfare – Participation will gain information on child care, education supports, family services, and child protection systems.
Each workshop is free to attend, but advance registration is required at rebrand.ly/TFJReg. For more information, contact KWHIISA at info@klhiisa.org or 705-212-2345.
B!KE program manager Jean Greig with kids' bikes in need of refurbishing. Through the Kids Bike Build program, B!KE volunteers repair donated bikes and provide them to partner organizations who distribute them to children and families who may not otherwise have the means to obtain one. (Photo courtesy of B!KE)
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s guest story is by Sunny Malik, Program Coordinator, B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop.
For many low-income families, lack of equipment to engage in physical activity limits their ability to achieve recommended amounts of exercise. B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop is working to change that.
Getting kids on bikes is a great way to increase physical activity while also providing many other benefits to the child, their family, and the community.
However, rapidly growing little ones present a unique challenge. Many families may not be able to keep up with the potentially high cost of buying bikes that fit, while also having outgrown bikes left languishing in garages and sheds.
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B!KE’s Kids Bike Build program refurbishes children’s bikes donated by community members and provides them to partnered social service organizations. The program affords children the opportunity to experience the joy of riding a bicycle, while setting them up for long-term success getting around by bike, all without financial barriers.
Last year, B!KE received an Ontario Trillium Foundation Grow grant to increase the number of bikes donated through the program, provide safety accessories with each bike (a helmet, lights, bell, and lock), and give recipients basic cycling skills training.
With safety accessories and training, kids’ independence also increased, allowing them to explore their neighbourhoods and nature more readily.
B!KE staff and volunteers refurbishing kids’ bikes during Kids Bike Build day on April 13, 2025 at the community bike shop’s location in downtown Peterborough. (Photo: Luke Best)
Why bikes and not scooters, skateboards, or inline skates?
Studies have shown that cycling one kilometre on flat ground is anywhere from four to five times more energy-efficient than walking the same distance. For getting to school, friends’ houses, or anywhere in between, cycling is simply the most effective mode of transportation when considering energy expenditure per kilometre.
This efficiency also allows cyclists to conserve energy for activities they have planned for when they arrive at their destination.
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Cycling has also been linked to improved mental health outcomes among kids and young adults. This could also have to do with getting and staying outside, spending time in nature, and being around friends — but cycling also facilitates easier access to these activities, so it’s a win for kids either way.
B!KE is also promoting the circular economy by repurposing neglected bikes, instead of seeing them be scrapped. Usually comprised of a steel frame with aluminum, rubber, and plastic parts, bikes are a high embodied-energy product that could have a long potential lifespan if not sent to landfill or recycling.
“We all benefit when people move toward options that are more sustainable, repairable, and resilient,” says B!KE exeuctive director Mark Romeril. “Getting the next generation on bikes is just the tip of the iceberg.”
B!KE staff and volunteers at Kids Bike Build day on April 13, 2025 at the community bike shop’s location in downtown Peterborough. In 2025, B!KE received an Ontario Trillium Foundation Grow grant to increase the number of bikes donated and provide recipients with accessories and skills training. (Photo: Luke Best)
As part of the messaging around Kids Bike Build, families are encouraged to tap into local solutions for long-term sustainability.
When a kid grows too big for their bike, it can be donated back to B!KE, ensuring that another kid will be able to enjoy it. There is also the option of passing the bike along to a neighbour, relative, or friend who could use it.
Kids Bike Build is also an enriching experience for B!KE’s volunteers. They become part of a team with a shared purpose that benefits a much younger population than the shop typically engages with, while engaging in a program that has direct, visible, and meaningful impact in Peterborough.
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To donate a bike or volunteer for the Kids Bike Build program, email Sunny Malik at sunny@communitybikeshop.org.
B!KE partners with GreenUP throughout the year to deliver a variety of cycling-focused outreach programming, including Shifting Gears, Rack ‘n’ Roll, and community cycling events.
Chris Vyn, former outreach worker with One City Peterborough, provides food and supplies to a woman experiencing homelessness in 2022. (kawarthaNOW screenshot of One City Peterborough video)
One City Peterborough is ending its outreach programs for unsheltered people in mid-May.
One City’s director of outreach services Auden Palmer communicated the “incredibly difficult” announcement in an email on Wednesday (March 18), stating that “shifts in funding were the catalyst for this change.”
Palmer says the funding shifts “prompted us to look carefully at where we can realistically sustain our efforts,” with the non-profit organization deciding to focus its resources at Trinity Community Centre, located in the former Trinity United Church on Reid Street.
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That’s where One City operates a daytime drop-in program and an overnight shelter program, with both programs funded through a three-year service agreement with the City of Peterborough.
According to Palmer, One City’s original outreach efforts were temporary, small scale, and reactive, with a single staff member checking on people living outdoors only in the winter.
Over the years, One City expanded its outreach programs to include year-round daily check-ins, also building partnerships with healthcare providers, housing teams, harm reduction services, and municipal staff.
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“We moved several individuals from their tents into our supportive housing program,” Palmer recalls. “We launched pilot projects to respond to unmet needs: the Unity team offering a rapid response for non-emergency crises in the downtown, and the LINK team providing case management services designed to prevent folks from getting stuck in the system.”
Palmer notes the number of people living outdoors has not decreased, and ending an outreach program built on accumulated trust and consistency “is difficult precisely because of its impact.”
“One of the hardest realities of ending outreach is knowing that people will be left with fewer touchpoints, especially those who distrust institutions or find it impossible to make it into a physical building,” Palmer writes.
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Palmer says One City is “doing everything we can to transition responsibly” before the outreach programs end in May, including “sharing tools, information, and training with partners who may be able to carry forward pieces of the work within their capacity.”
“We’re doing our best to make sure no one is left wondering where we went,” Palmer adds. “After May, our emergency efforts will centre on the Trinity Hub, where we’ll continue to offer food, washrooms, shelter, and a low-barrier place to connect to care.”
“Outreach was always about more than just a service; it was about the radical act of showing up. We are deeply proud of the years our team spent in the rain, the heat, and the quiet corners of this city. As we transition this work, we carry the lessons learned from the streets with us. The program, for now, is ending, but the work of seeing, supporting, and connecting our neighbours continues.”
An Alto team member, with a tablet showing the corridor options between Ottawa and Toronto for the high-speed rail network, speaks with attendees during an open house held at the McDonnel Street Activity Centre in Peterborough on February 26, 2026. Peterborough is one of seven stops on the proposed network. (Photo: Jordan Lyall / kawarthaNOW)
Following lobbying of the federal government by the mayors of Kingston and South Frontenac and recent comments by Ontario premier Doug Ford, concerns are emerging in Peterborough that the city’s stop on the proposed Alto high-speed rail network could be at risk.
However, Alto says its plans have not changed.
The Crown corporation has confirmed that Peterborough remains one of seven planned stops on the proposed 1,000-kilometre high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City.
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On Wednesday (March 18), kawarthaNOW spoke to Alto’s senior advisor of corporate communications Crystal Jongeward, who provided the following statement:
“Our mandate from the government of Canada remains the same — to develop a high-speed rail network between Ontario and Quebec, which includes seven stations: Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City.”
“Nothing has changed in our mandate,” Jongeward added. “All of those station stops that we’ve been consulting on remain.”
Alto’s official map for the study corridor in Ontario, with two scenarios being considered between Ottawa and Peterborough: a northern option that reduces travel distance and community impacts but involves complex work in remote and sensitive areas, and a southern option that is less direct but simplifies construction and operations. (Map courtesy of Alto)
Alto is currently conducting a public consultation on a 10-kilometre-wide corridor for the proposed rail network between Toronto and Quebec City, which includes a northern option and a southern option between Ottawa and Peterborough. Establishing the corridor is a preliminary step in determining the 60-metre right-of-way for Alto’s final alignment (route).
The northern option reduces travel distance and community impacts, but involves complex work in remote and sensitive areas. The southern option is less direct but simplifies construction and operations.
Since Alto began its public consultation, which included an open house in Peterborough on February 26, there has been pushback from rural communities in southeastern Ontario about the southern option for the corridor.
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On March 9, the mayors of Kingston and South Frontenac issued a joint statement calling on the federal government to build the proposed Alto high-speed rail project along Highway 401 and add a stop in Kingston.
Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson and South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal have argued that the corridor’s southern option — which would travel just north of Belleville, Kingston, and Brockville — will result in the destruction and fragmentation of farmland, wetlands, and rural communities, disrupting agriculture and tourism and recreation businesses.
The two mayors have proposed that Alto instead shift the southern option further to the south along Highway 401, to minimize the impact on rural areas and alleviate fears of land expropriation, and that Alto add a stop in Kingston.
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When asked by reporters at an event in Brockville on Monday (March 16), Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he supports the idea.
“I agree 100 per cent, follow the 401 corridor,” Ford said. “Don’t start taking farmers’ land and everything else out — just follow the 401 corridor. It makes sense. And maybe make a stop in Kingston.”
Since Highway 401 is located more than 80 kilometres south of Peterborough, Ford’s comments have raised concerns — including among city officials — that Alto’s southern corridor for the corridor would no longer encompass Peterborough.
On Tuesday, the City of Peterborough posted on Facebook that “Peterborough must be part of Ontario’s high-speed rail future,” encouraging locals to share their support through Alto’s online public consultation, which has been extended until April 24.
“Residents and businesses have a chance to advocate strongly for Peterborough to be included,” the Facebook post states.
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In its statement, Alto says it is currently working to refine the alignment “within the corridors already under study” — implying that a Highway 401 option is not on the table.
As for concerns raised by rural communities, Alto states that “Whenever possible, the project will seek to follow existing infrastructure corridors such as highways, railways, or energy corridors in order to limit impacts on communities and the surrounding environment.”
“Given public consultations are still ongoing, and we’ve not refined the corridor yet, it’s too early to speak to specific routing considerations for a specific locale.”
La Mesita Mexican Restaurant is one of 20 restaurants in downtown Peterborough and East City that are participating in the 2026 Peterborough Mac & Cheese Festival organized by the the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) and running from April 1 to 25 with a grand finale event at Quaker Foods City Square on Saturday, April 25. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)
Peterborough’s award-winning Mac & Cheese Festival is returning for its fifth time, with a spring edition for the second year that includes an outdoor celebration at the end of the festival where a champion will be crowned.
First organized by the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) in 2021, the festival won a special events and promotions award at the Ontario Business Improvement Area awards conference the following year. Previously taking place annually during the fall, except for 2024 when it was not held, the festival took place in April for the first time last year.
Running this year from April 1 to 25, the festival features exclusive limited-time specials at 20 restaurants in downtown Peterborough and East City, each of whom will put their own creative spin on the classic comfort food, and will culminate with a grand finale celebration at Quaker Foods City Square on the last day of the festival.
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Locals and visitors can expect even more creativity from participating restaurants this year — including Lola’s Cakes and Coffee, which has created the first mac-and-cheese dessert dish in the festival’s history. The new cafe located at 136 Hunter Street West will be offering the Mac and Cheese Tiramisu.
“People are going to ask if there is really macaroni in the tiramisu and the answer is yes,” says Lola’s owner Nino Ante in a media release. “It sounds crazy, but one bite and you’ll be hooked. It’s the dessert adventure you didn’t know you needed. We decided to push the boundaries and make people smile with every bite”.
This year’s festival will again feature a Judge’s Choice Award, presented at the grand finale event, as well as a People’s Choice Award based on online votes starting April 1 until the end of the festival.
Lola’s Cakes and Coffee, a new cafe located at 136 Hunter Street West in downtown Peterborough, will be offering the Mac and Cheese Tiramisu, the first-ever mac-and-cheese dessert dish in history of the Peterborough Mac & Cheese Festival. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)
Along with Lola’s Cakes and Coffee, other participating restaurants include Agave by Imperial, Ashburnham Ale House, The Back 40 Smokehouse, By the Bridge, Cork and Bean, Dreams of Beans, La Mesita, Love You, Mean It, McThirsty’s Pint, Pappas Billiards, The Revy, Bar Vita, Riverside Grill, Sam’s Place Deli, St. Veronus, The Boardwalk Game Lounge, The Railyard Cafe, The Vine (last year’s People’s Choice Award winner), and Turnbull Cafe (last year’s Judge’s Choice Award winner).
“Our downtown is home to so many passionate entrepreneurs and talented chefs and this event is a great way to experience that firsthand,” says Peterborough DBIA executive director Nour Mazloum.
“Showcasing this talent is a large part of how we’re building a vibrant, welcoming downtown people want to return to all year long.”
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The festival wraps up with the grand finale event taking place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 at Quaker Foods City Square on Charlotte Street in downtown Peterborough, where attendees can sample dishes from a selection of participating restaurants — Agave by Imperial, The Back 40 Smokehouse, By the Bridge, La Mesita, Lola’s Cakes and Coffee, The Revy, The Boardwalk Game Lounge, The Vine, and Turnbull Cafe — with other vendors on site offering treats and beverages.
Made possible with support from the City of Peterborough’s tourism department, the event will also feature live music, family-friendly activities, and lounge spaces. For the first time this year, the event will be fully licensed for attendees 19 years and older.
A good crowd turned out at Quaker Foods City Square in downtown Peterborough to enjoy the grand finale event for the 2025 Peterborough Mac & Cheese Festival despite chilly and rainy conditions. This year’s grand finale event takes place on Saturday, April 25 where attendees can sample dishes from a selection of participating restaurants and enjoy live music, family-friendly activities, and lounge spaces. For the first time this year, the event will be fully licensed for attendees 19 years and older. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)
Shawn Grenke has been appointed as the new artistic director and conductor of the Peterborough Singers. (Supplied photo)
He has big shoes to fill, but accomplished Toronto-based conductor, pianist, and organist Shawn Grenke is up for the challenge.
The board of the Peterborough Singers has announced that the Belleville native will be the choir’s new artistic director and conductor, succeeding founder Syd Birrell who retired in December after 35 years leading the ensemble.
According to a media release, Grenke was selected for the position after the board conducted a “comprehensive national search” that included surveying choir members, screening applications, conducting in-person interviews and reference checks, and inviting finalists to lead the choir in conducting sessions.
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“Our search committee sought a leader who would carry the choir strongly forward while honouring the history and tradition that have made the Peterborough Singers what they are,” says board chair Dr. Carey Gibson. “In Shawn, we are confident we have found exactly that.”
Grenke currently serves as director of music at Eglinton St. George’s United Church in Toronto, collaborative pianist with the Elmer Iseler Singers, artistic director and conductor of the Achill Choral Society in Orangeville, and instructor of conducting at Brock University in St. Catharines.
With a Bachelor of Music from Mount Allison University and a Master of Music from the University of Toronto, Grenke is currently a doctoral candidate in choral conducting at the University of Alberta, where his research focuses on a collaborative choral commission with Cree composer Andrew Balfour, supported by a fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
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Grenke has performed throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe, and has participated in international choral festivals and competitions in Sweden, China, and Quebec. His performance credits include appearances at Roy Thomson Hall and the Winspear Centre, as well as broadcasts on CBC Radio. He was nominated for a Juno Award in 2019 and for the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting in 2018.
“It is a true honour to become part of such an outstanding musical community,” Grenke says of the Peterborough Singers. “I am especially grateful for the remarkable legacy created by Syd Birrell during his extraordinary 35-year tenure. To follow in the footsteps of a founding conductor is both humbling and inspiring.”
An accomplished organist, Birrell and and his wife Pamela (herself a soprano soloist) founded the Peterborough Singers in 1990 as the Peterborough Symphony Singers, an unauditioned choir that annually performed Handel’s Messiah with the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra. Three years later, frustrated with the difficulties related to rehearsing an ever-changing roster of singers for that oratorio, the couple formed the Peterborough Singers as a year-round, auditioned choir.
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Each season since has seen the group perform four concerts, ranging from classical oratorios to the annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah, and tributes to mainstream artists songs to music from Broadway, Celtic, blues, and gospel genre. That tradition will continue under Grenke’s leadership.
“This choir has always been about more than just good singing — it is about building something meaningful in a community, and about believing that a small city can produce music that rivals anything in the country,” says Birrell. “In my conversations with Shawn, it has been clear that he shares that belief. The future of the Peterborough Singers looks very bright indeed.”
While Grenke does not officially begin in his new role until July 1, he is already working on the program lineup for the ensemble’s 2026-2027 season.
“Choral music is a uniquely powerful art form,” Grenke says. “It brings individual voices and hearts together to create something deeply moving, meaningful, and memorable. For me, fostering community through music lies at the very heart of choral singing.”
In early 2025, the Peterborough Family Health Team expanded its by-appointment-only clinic for local residents who currently do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner to a new location on George Street, in addition to the King Street location. The clinic is now known at the Connect Clinic. (Photo: Peterborough Family Health Team)
The Peterborough Family Health Team has rebranded its by-appointment-only clinic for local residents who currently do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
The Connect Clinic offers in-person, team-based primary care with same or next-day appointments at two locations in downtown Peterborough: 185 King Street and 555 George Street North. The George Street location was originally opened in early 2025 to serve more unattached patients.
“Connect Clinic care is delivered by family doctors and nurse practitioners, some of whom have come out of retirement to help our community,” says Peterborough Family Health Team CEO Duff Sprague in a media release.
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The clinic is intended to provide care to patients while they wait to get a permanent family doctor or nurse practitioner. Unlike virtual walk-in clinics, the Connect Clinic works with patients to build a complete medical record that will follow them to their new family physician, nurse practitioner, and primary care team.
There are around 32,000 residents of city and county of Peterborough who don’t currently have a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
“This clinic is a response to the healthcare crisis in our community,” Sprague says. “Area residents without a family doctor or nurse practitioner now have a place to go for in-person, quality care.”
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The Connect Clinic is not a walk-in clinic. New patients need to book an intake appointment first, and existing patients need to book an appointment by phone or online. An OHIP card is required for all appointments. The clinic is not open on weekends or statutory holidays.
Local family doctors and nurse practitioners at the clinic provide timely access to acute, chronic, and preventative care including immunizations, birth control and family planning, blood pressure checks, skin issues, stomach and bowel issues, cold symptoms that persist for more than one week, sore ears and throat, diabetes checks and medication, urinary tract infections, prescription refills, and more.
The clinic also offers mental health navigation as a new service in partnership with the local Canadian Mental Health Association, and supports the Peterborough Community Health Centre, 360 Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic (NPLC), and the VON NPLC (Keene) to take on new patients.
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The Connect Clinic does not provide emergency care, suturing of lacerations (stitches), setting of bones, minor surgical procedures, narcotic or controlled drug prescriptions (except for people diagnosed with ADHD and current prescribed medication), or forms such as insurance, driver’s licence medical, and disabilty.
The clinic is funded by Ontario Health and works in partnership with Health Care Connect and the Peterborough Ontario Health Team.
Police in the city and county of Peterborough are warning the public of a local increase in bank scams, after at least four recent incidents including two where residents were defrauded of a total of around $31,000.
According to the Peterborough Police Service, in one of the incidents a victim received what they believed to be a call from their banking institution claiming the victim’s bank cards were compromised and they needed to be sent to the bank.
The scammer instructed the victim to place their bank cards in an envelope and leave it on their porch for a courier. The envelope was picked up sometime overnight last Friday (March 13) and, shortly after, the victim noticed fraudulent activity in their accounts with almost $17,000 lost.
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In another incident, Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say a victim received a call last Wednesday (March 11) from someone claiming to be from their bank. The scammer said the victim’s credit card had been fraudulently used in another province and instructed the victim to place both their credit card and debit card in an envelope for collection as part of the bank’s investigation.
At around 11:30 p.m. an individual attended the residence and picked up the envelope. The following day, the same scammer contacted the victim and asked them various personal questions, telling the victim the information was needed as part of the bank’s investigation. It was later discovered that over $14,000 had been transferred out of the victim’s account.
Police also report two other recent incidents where victims were convinced by someone claiming to be from their bank to cut up their bank or credit cards and leave them for pick up. One of the victims lost $3,000 and the other victim realized it was a scam and called their bank to have their cards cancelled before they lost any money.
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Police are providing these reminders to avoid falling prey to bank scams:
Slow down and verify. Fraudsters rely on fear, urgency, and confusion to pressure people into making quick decisions.
Don’t trust phone calls or texts that appear to come from your bank as they can be spoofed. If you receive a phone call or text from your bank, verify it is valid by calling the number on the back of your bank card and not the number from the phone call or text.
Banks will never ask for your bank or credit cards or send someone to pick them up, and they will never ask you to provide your PIN or personal information over the phone.
If you believe you are the victim of a scam, report it to your local police service or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
A scene from Romanian-born Canadian artist Laura Taler's 1995 directorial debut "the village trilogy," which will be screened along with her latest work "Matryoshka Crush" during a double bill presented by Public Energy Performing Arts at the Art Gallery of Peterborough on March 27, 2026. Part of the dance film's 30th anniversary tour in Canada, the screenings will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Peterborough multidisciplinary artist Kate Story, with a masterclass led by Taler herself the next morning. (Photo courtesy of Laura Taler)
A double bill screening of dance films created by Ottawa-based interdisciplinary artist Laura Taler will reveal the evolution of her innovative filmmaking over 30 years.
Public Energy Performing Arts will be screening Taler’s 1995 film the village trilogy and her 2025 film Matryoshka Crush at the Art Gallery of Peterborough beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 27.
Part of a 30-year anniversary tour, the screening will be followed by a facilitated discussion with Taler about her films and, the next morning, a masterclass led by Taler herself.
A Romanian-born Canadian artist, Taler works across a range of media including performance, film, sound, sculpture, and installation. Praised for its unique combination of emotional resonance, wit, and striking visuals, her acclaimed work has led her to residencies and fellowships in Canada, Buenos Aires, and Berlin. It has also earned her numerous awards including the SAW Gallery Dennis Tourbin Prize for New Performance and the 2024 Creative City Network of Canada’s Public Art Legacy Award for her MONAHAN installation.
Taler first branched out from being a contemporary dance choreographer to being a filmmaker and visual artist with her 1995 directorial debut the village trilogy. Shot on black-and-white 16 mm film by director of photography Michael Spicer, the 24-minute film is a portrayal of the search for home, alluding to the millions of people uprooted through emigration in the past century. Consisting of three distinct though related chapters, the village trilogy reinterprets the physical characteristics of early cinema.
The film premiered at the 1995 Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film and Video, a screendance event and touring program that took place in Toronto. In an interview with the festival co-founder Kathleen Smith published for the International Journal of Screendance in 2025, Taler explained that she began to dance because she “never really felt comfortable with words,” noting she learned German when going to kindergarten in Romania, Italian and Hebrew when her family moved to Italy, and English and French when they moved to Canada.
Based in Ottawa, Laura Taler is a Romanian-born Canadian artist who works across a range of media including performance, film, sound, sculpture, and installation. Praised for its unique combination of emotional resonance, wit, and striking visuals, her acclaimed work has been presented around the world and has led her to numerous awards, residencies, and fellowships. Public Energy Performing Arts will be screening her 1995 film the village trilogy and her 2025 film Matryoshka Crush at the Art Gallery of Peterborough on March 27, 2026. (Photo: Charlotte Frank)
“When we went to Italy, I had no idea what people were saying to me,” Taler recalls. “When we came to Canada, my parents sent me to sleepover camp after we were here for a week. I had like five words of English, so I had to read people’s gestures and facial expressions. I had to read the affect in the room to understand what was going on, and so I would mimic people’s faces or I would mimic what they were doing. I think I started to dance because I felt really comfortable expressing myself in a way that didn’t include words.”
When asked about her transition from dance to filmmaking, Taler says part of the inspiration came to her at the Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa in 1992. A lover of musicals and silent films, she had already been in a 1989 CBC television drama series called 9B when she was a teenager and loved being on set. During the festival, she came across a bunch of dance films at the library, watched all of them, and loved them.
“I can’t remember the names of the films, but I can see them in my head. I loved the fact that these films created these different worlds, different from the one we live in, through set and costume and location and movement,” she said. “That was a big inspiration.”
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That fall, Taler attended a “hard, intensive” workshop at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity where she was already thinking about the village trilogy.
“I had applied as a choreographer thinking that I might want to direct eventually. When I left, all I wanted was to direct,” she said. “I had done the opening solo as a live stage piece and I had a group of dancers that I got into the forest in these funny outfits to do these weird little Laura Taler movements.”
Taler told Smith she’s always been drawn to works that don’t fit into boxes but that are “strange” in a positive way as being something that audiences are not familiar with but that makes them think differently.
“I’ve always tried to play with the idea of creating something cinematic with movement, not necessarily like capital C choreography, but with movement where you’re not being told so much through words,” Taler said. “And then trying to figure out like, what if it’s not like what you would expect or what you would want. Instead it kind of pushes you to think differently or to slow down or it makes you uncomfortable — all those things.”
VIDEO: Excerpt from “the village trilogy” (1995)
As for the village trilogy, the film was awarded Best Experimental Film at the Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival, the Gold Hugo for Short Subject Experimental at the Chicago International Film Festival, and the Cinedance Award for Best Canadian Dancefilm at Moving Pictures. Presented internationally over 30 years, the film was heralded by Dance International Magazine as a catalyst for the beginning of the dance film boom in Canada.
Thirty years after that first film, Taler created her most recent work Matryoshka Crush, a darkly funny and disturbing tale of intense yearning depicted through a series of monsters revealing themselves in an old tavern, where their ordinary acts transform into a chain of micro-disobediences.
Taler wears a series of masks, layered upon each other like Matryoshka nesting dolls, to play Kukeri, Big Head, Hairy Face Medusa, and Little Head. They recall, respectively, nature and magic, the old world, female rage, and childlike wonder.
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Named for the symbol of Eastern European culture, Matryoshka Crush breaches narrative conventions, straddling contemporary video art, dance film, and personal narrative, and is described as “a lament to the old world and how we are enmeshed in one another.”
The 47-minute film premiered as a continual loop playing every hour alongside an installation at Gatineau’s AXENÉO7 Gallery in the summer of 2025.
Public Energy’s screenings of the village trilogy and Matryoshka Crush on March 27 will be followed by a question discussion about the films with Taler facilitated by Peterborough theatre artist and author Kate Story.
One of two films being screened by Public Energy Performing Arts on March 27, 2026 at the Art Gallery of Peterborough, Laura Taylor’s 2025 film “Matryoshka Crush” is a darkly funny and disturbing tale of yearning depicted through a series of monsters revealing themselves in an old tavern. Named for the symbolic Eastern European dolls, the film sees Taler wearing four masks layered on top of one another representing nature and magic, the old world, female rage, and childlike wonder. (Photo: Melanie Mathieu)
On Saturday, March 28, Taler will lead a masterclass at the Theatre On King from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. using the village trilogy and Matryoshka Crush to explore how her artistic practice has evolved over decades.
The half-day masterclass will look at the evolution of her practice using case studies from the films and video installations, offer in-depth discussions about the processes of planning a shoot, and equip participants with practical tools and tactics for communicating ideas. Performers, visual artists, dance artists, filmmakers, musicians, and all other artists interested in movement, the camera, and installation are invited.
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