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Ontario reports 3,424 new COVID-19 cases, with 1 new death in Peterborough

By kawarthaNOW -

Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.

After 2 days of fewer than 3,000 cases, today Ontario is reporting 3,424 cases, with Toronto and 7 other health units reporting triple-digit increases and all health units reporting at least 3 new cases. However, the seven-day average of daily cases has fallen by 63 to 3,369 and the number of active cases continuing to decline.

There are 2,839 more cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, 9 more cases of the B.1.351 South Africa, and 54 more cases of the P.1 Brazilian variant.

Hospitalizations has fallen significantly, with a smaller decrease in the number of ICU admissions and a larger decrease of patients on ventilators. Ontario is reporting 26 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes.

Ontario administered 141,038 vaccine doses yesterday, the highest number since vaccinations began, with almost 39% of the population now having received at least a single dose.

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 37 new cases to report (including 12 in Hastings Prince Edward, 11 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Peterborough, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) and an additional 30 cases resolved, with the number of active cases increasing by 5 to 204. There has been 1 new COVID-related death in Peterborough, the region’s 15th death.

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Most of the new cases reported today are in Toronto (958), Peel (900), York (291), Durham (175), Hamilton (155), Halton (129), Niagara (127), and Ottawa (108).

There are double-digit increases reported today in Simcoe Muskoka (95), Middlesex-London (89), Waterloo (63), Windsor-Essex (42), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (41), Haldimand-Norfolk (29), Eastern Ontario (23), Brant (23), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (20), Northwestern (15), Southwestern (15), Porcupine (12), Sudbury (11), Hastings Prince Edward (11), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (10), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (10), Peterborough (10), and Huron Perth (10), with smaller increases in Thunder Bay (9), North Bay Parry Sound (8), Grey Bruce (8), Lambton (8), and Renfrew (7).

Only 3 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with all reporting at least 3 new cases.

Of today’s new cases, 60% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,424) among people ages 20-39 followed by 954 cases among people ages 40-59 and 617 cases among people 19 and under.

With 3,997 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.2% to at 91.2% — the 17th straight day the percentage of resolved cases has increased. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.2% to 6.8%, meaning that 68 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on May 5.

Ontario is reporting 26 new COVID-19 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 26 new daily deaths over the past week, an decrease of 2 from yesterday.

The number of hospitalizations has fallen by 111 to 1,964, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs decreasing by 5 to 877 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators decreasing by 20 to 600.

A total of 54,118 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation falling by 1,893 to 27,286.

A total of 5,740,761 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 141,038 from yesterday — the highest daily increase since vaccinations began in Ontario. A total of 384,589 people have been fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 3,466 from yesterday.

The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.61% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.02% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 38.97% of the population, an increase of 0.96% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.

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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 37 new cases to report, including 12 in Hastings Prince Edward, 11 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Peterborough, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton.

There are 27 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 15 in Peterborough, 4 in Hastings Prince Edward, 4 in Kawartha Lakes, and 4 in Northumberland.

There has been 1 new COVID-related death in Peterborough, the 15th in the region. There are 4 new hospitalizations in Peterborough with 1 new ICU admission, 1 new hospitalization in Hastings Prince Edward, and 1 new hospitalization in Northumberland.

An additional 30 cases have been resolved, including 13 in Peterborough, 8 in Hastings Prince Edward, 5 in Northumberland, and 4 in Kawartha Lakes. An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Peterborough was declared resolved on May 6.

There are currently 204 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 5 from yesterday, including 75 in Hastings Prince Edward (13 in Quinte West, 44 in Belleville, 1 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 9 in Prince Edward County, 6 in Central Hastings, and 2 in North Hastings), 68 in Peterborough, 32 in Kawartha Lakes, 25 in Northumberland, and 4 in Haliburton.

Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,274 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,191 resolved with 15 deaths), 750 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (675 resolved with 56 deaths), 833 in Northumberland County (794 resolved with 14 deaths), 106 in Haliburton County (101 resolved with 1 death), and 980 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (895 resolved with 10 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on May 6.

The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 4 p.m. the previous day, as well as from systems in Toronto, Ottawa, and Middlesex-London at 2 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).

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Peterborough Public Health

Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.

The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.

Confirmed positive: 1,274 (increase of 9)*
Total variants of concern cases: 485 (increase of 15)
Active cases: 68 (decrease of 5)
Close contacts: 216 (increase of 12)
Deaths: 15 (increase of 1)
Resolved: 1,191 (increase of 13)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 57 (increase of 4)**
ICU admissions (total to date): 9 (increase of 1)
Total tests completed: Over 50,500 (increase of 100)
Outbreaks: Unidentified congregate living facility #3 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #5 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #7 in Peterborough, Sunshine Daycare in Peterborough, Unidentified home child care centre #1 in Peterborough County (decrease of 1)***
Vaccine doses administered: 56,409 (increase of 12,806 as of April 29)
Number of people fully vaccinated: 4,211 (increase of 1,730 as of April 29)

*The health unit is reporting 10 new cases in the last 24 hours. The total case count has increased by 9 because 1 case has been removed from a previous day.

**As of May 6, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 16 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (increase of 1) and a total of 67 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).

***An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Peterborough was declared resolved on May 6.

 

Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.

The health unit provides reports from Monday to Saturday, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays.

Confirmed positive: 1,689, including 750 in Kawartha Lakes, 832 in Northumberland, and 106 in Haliburton (increase of 15, including 11 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton)*
Total variants of concern cases: 411, including 143 in Kawartha Lakes, 247 in Northumberland, and 21 in Haliburton (increase of 8, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes and 4 in Northumberland)
Active cases: 61, including 32 in Kawartha Lakes, 25 in Northumberland, and 4 in Haliburton (net increase of 7)
Probable cases: 3 (increase of 3, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 62, including 33 in Kawartha Lakes, 26 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Northumberland)**
Deaths (including among probable cases): 71, including 56 in Kawartha Lakes, 14 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change)
Resolved: 1,570, including 675 in Kawartha Lakes, 794 in Northumberland, and 101 in Haliburton (increase of 9, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes and 5 in Northumberland)
Tests completed: 183,448 (increase of 670)
Vaccine doses administered: 72,365 (increase of 7,412 as of May 3)
Number of people fully vaccinated: 4,271 (increase of 723 as of May 3)
Outbreaks: Transition House shelter in Cobourg (no change)

*The health unit states that total counts and counts for individual counties may fluctuate from previously reported counts as cases are transferred to or from the health unit based on case investigation details and routine data cleaning.

**As of May 6, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 7 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).

 

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.

The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.

Confirmed positive: 980 (increase of 12)
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 342 (increase of 4)
Active cases: 75 (increase of 3)
Deaths: 10 (no change)
Currently hospitalized: 16 (increase of 1)
Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 6 (decrease of 1)
Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 6 (no change)
Resolved: 895 (increase of 8)
Tests completed: 132,221 (increase of 1)
Vaccine doses administered: 64,661 (increase of 1,403)
Number of people fully vaccinated: 4,508 (increase of 120)
Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Prince Edward County, Unidentified workplace in Belleville, QHC Belleville General Hospital, Unidentified workplace in Belleville, Unidentified congregate living facility in Belleville, Unidentified child care facility in Quinte West, ICU of QHC Belleville General Hospital (no change)

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Province of Ontario

Confirmed positive: 483,057 (increase of 3,424)
COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 83,350 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 2,839); 326 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 9); 1,055 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 54)*
VOC R(t): 0.92 (increase of 0.03 as April 30)**
7-day average of daily new cases: 3,369 (decrease of 63)
Positivity rate: 6.8% (increase of .02%)
Resolved: 440,467 (increase of 3,997), 91.2% of all cases (increase of 0.2%)
Hospitalizations: 1,964 (decrease of 111)
Hospitalizations in ICU: 877 (decrease of 5)
Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 600 (decrease of 20)
Deaths: 8,213 (increase of 26)
7-day average of daily new deaths: 26 (decrease of 2)
Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,929 (no change)
Total tests completed: 14,364,746 (increase of 54,118)
Tests under investigation: 27,286 (decrease of 1,893)
Vaccination doses administered: 5,740,761 (increase of 141,038), 38.97% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.96%)***
People fully vaccinated (two doses): 384,589 (increase of 3,466), 2.61% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.02%)***

*While Ontario’s daily update still is not yet reporting this information, Public Health Ontario confirmed on April 23 that 36 cases of the B.1.617 variant, a so-called “double mutation” variant first identified in India, have been detected in Ontario.

**R(t) is a virus’s effective reproduction number, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.

***An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.

COVID-19 cases in Ontario from April 5 - May 5, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from April 5 – May 5, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from April 5 - May 5, 2021. The red line is the daily number of tests completed, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from April 5 – May 5, 2021. The red line is the daily number of tests completed, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from April 5 - May 5, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs, and the dotted orange line is a five-day rolling average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from April 5 – May 5, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs, and the dotted orange line is a five-day rolling average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from April 5 - May 5, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily deaths, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily deaths. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from April 5 – May 5, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily deaths, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily deaths. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from April 5 - May 5, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily doses. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from April 5 – May 5, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily doses. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)

 

For more information about COVID-19 in Ontario, visit covid-19.ontario.ca.

Indigenous ancestral gifts to Prince of Wales in 1860 coming to Peterborough in 2023

By kawarthaNOW -
A birch bark basket made by Hannah McCue and presented as a gift to His Royal Highness Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, when he toured North America in 1860. Hiawatha First Nation and the Peterborough Museum & Archives have received federal funding to facilitate the loan of a group of quilled birch bark items from the Royal Collection Trust in England for a planned exhibition at the museum in 2023. (Supplied photo)

In 1860, His Royal Highness Albert Edward, Prince of Wales — the eldest son of Queen Victoria was heir apparent for almost 60 years, finally becoming King in 1901 — toured North America. During a stop at Rice Like, Michi Saagiig women presented him with hand-made birch bark gifts.

Now, thanks to a $153,817 grant to Hiawatha First Nation and the Peterborough Museum & Archives from the Department of Canadian Heritage Museum Assistance Program’s Indigenous Heritage stream, these items will be returning to their ancestral home for a planned exhibition in Peterborough-Nogojiwanong in 2023.

‘To Honour and Respect: Gifts from Michi Saagiig Women to the Prince of Wales, 1860’ will facilitate the loan of a group of quilled birch bark items from the Royal Collection Trust in England, which cares for the Royal Collection and manages the public opening of the official residences of Her Majesty The Queen.

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“It is so exciting to have our ancestors come back home to our First Nation, our traditional territory,” said Chief Laurie Carr of Hiawatha First Nation in a media release. “All of these gifts given to the Prince in 1860 are interwoven from our past, to our present, and into our future. The spirit of our ancestors lives in these gifts and it is such an overwhelming feeling to know that we will be able to meet them and have ceremony and bring together many generations.”

Peterborough Museum & Archives will provide a safe and accessible home for the ancestral items while they are in Canada, with Hiawatha First Nation leading all associated programming, such as workshops on quillwork, birch bark arts, and the Michi Saagiig language.

“I would like to say ‘chi-miigwetch’ to the Royal Collection Trust for working with us to have these items loaned, the Department of Canadian Heritage for the grant approval, and to the Peterborough Museum & Archives for partnering with Hiawatha to host our ancestors,” Chief Carr said.

A birch bark basket made by Polly Soper and presented as a gift to His Royal Highness Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, when he toured North America in 1860. Hiawatha First Nation and the Peterborough Museum & Archives have received federal funding to facilitate the loan of a group of quilled birch bark items from the Royal Collection Trust in England for a planned exhibition at the museum in 2023. (Supplied photo)
A birch bark basket made by Polly Soper and presented as a gift to His Royal Highness Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, when he toured North America in 1860. Hiawatha First Nation and the Peterborough Museum & Archives have received federal funding to facilitate the loan of a group of quilled birch bark items from the Royal Collection Trust in England for a planned exhibition at the museum in 2023. (Supplied photo)

“I would also like to acknowledge and give thanks to Dr. Lori Beavis and Dr. Laura Peers for all their hard work and dedication to have our ancestors come back home to be honoured and have ceremony with all our Michi Saagiig peoples,” Chief Carr added.

“To our sister Michi Saagiig Nations of Alderville, Curve Lake, Mississaugas of Credit, Missisaugi, and Scugog Island, we give thanks for your support and partnership in this honour of all our ancestors.”

Trent University anthropologist part of research team that used DNA to identify member of ill-fated 1845 Franklin expedition

By Bruce Head -
A facial reconstruction of what Warrant Officer John Gregory may have looked like, based on a DNA sample collected from a direct living descendant. A team of researchers at Trent University, University of Waterloo, and Lakehead University compared the descendant's DNA to DNA collected from tooth and bone samples that are more than 170 years old to confirm the remains are those of John Gregory, an engineer aboard HMS Erebus. (Photo: Diana Trepkov / University of Waterloo)

A researcher from Trent University in Peterborough is part of a Canadian team of anthropologists that has used DNA to identify a member of the ill-fated 1845 Franklin expedition — the first member of the expedition to be positively identified through DNA and genealogical analyses.

Dr. Anne Keenleyside, associate professor in Trent University’s anthropology department, along with researchers from the University of Waterloo and Lakehead University, made the ground-breaking discovery, which was recently featured in The New York Times and is making headlines around the world.

By comparing DNA extracted from tooth and bone samples — more than 170 years old — that were recovered in 2013 on King William Island in Nunavut with a sample obtained by a direct living descendant, the researchers were able to confirm that the remains are those of Warrant Officer John Gregory, an engineer aboard HMS Erebus.

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“We now know that John Gregory was one of three expedition personnel who died at this particular site, located at Erebus Bay on the southwest shore of King William Island,” says Douglas Stenton, adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo.

Stenton, along with co-authors Keenleyside, Stephen Fratpietro of Lakehead University, and Robert W. Park of the University of Waterloo, has published a paper about the team’s research in the journal Polar Record.

To confirm John Gregory’s identity, the researchers obtained a DNA sample from Jonathan Gregory of Port Elizabeth in South Africa — his great-great-great grandson.

“Having John Gregory’s remains being the first to be identified via genetic analysis is an incredible day for our family, as well as all those interested in the ill-fated Franklin expedition,” Gregory said. “The whole Gregory family is extremely grateful to the entire research team for their dedication and hard work, which is so critical in unlocking pieces of history that have been frozen in time for so long.”

Jonathan Gregory (right), with his brother Stuart and Stuart's two children, who provided a DNA sample that allowed researchers to confirm that remains recovered in 2013 on King William Island in Nunavut are those of his great-great-great grandfather John Gregory, an engineer aboard HMS Erebus. (Photo: Jonathan Gregory)
Jonathan Gregory (right), with his brother Stuart and Stuart’s two children, who provided a DNA sample that allowed researchers to confirm that remains recovered in 2013 on King William Island in Nunavut are those of his great-great-great grandfather John Gregory, an engineer aboard HMS Erebus. (Photo: Jonathan Gregory)

In 1845, Captain Sir John Franklin led an expedition of 129 sailors on two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the northwest passage in the Canadian Arctic and to record magnetic data to help determine whether a better understanding could aid navigation. In late 1846, both ships became icebound in Victoria Strait near King William Island in what is today Nunavut.

The crews abandoned the ships in 1848, by which time Franklin and nearly two dozen others had already died. The survivors, led by Franklin’s second-in-command Francis Crozier and Erebus’ captain James Fitzjames, set out for the 400-kilometre march to the Canadian mainland. All eventually perished.

Since the mid-19th century, skeletal remains of dozens of crew members have been found on King William Island, but none had been positively identified. To date, the DNA of 26 other members of the Franklin expedition have been extracted from remains found in nine archaeological sites situated along the line of the 1848 retreat.

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“Analysis of these remains has also yielded other important information on these individuals, including their estimated age at death, stature, and health,” says Keenleyside, who has been researching the Franklin expedition since 1993, analyzing skeletal remains of more than a dozen crew members recovered from King William Island to construct biological profiles that include information on age, sex, ancestry, stature, and features such as trauma and pathology.

Keenleyside was also involved in the facial reconstruction by forensic artist Diana Trepkov of two of the crania found at the King William Island site, and started taking DNA samples for analysis.

“Once we had this database our next step was to seek out living descendants of the crew and ask them if they would be willing to submit buccal samples for DNA analysis to try and identify the remains found on King William Island,” Keenleyside explains. “We are truly grateful to the Gregory family for providing DNA samples in support of our research, and we encourage other descendants of the Franklin expedition crew to reach out to our team.”

Douglas Stenton, adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo, in Nunavut excavating an as-yet-unidentified sailor whose remains were found with those of John Gregory. (Photo: Robert W. Park)
Douglas Stenton, adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo, in Nunavut excavating an as-yet-unidentified sailor whose remains were found with those of John Gregory. (Photo: Robert W. Park)

Prior to the DNA match, the last information about Warrant Officer John Gregory’s voyage known to his family was in a letter he wrote to his wife Hannah from Greenland in July 1845 before the ships entered the Canadian Arctic.

The letter ends with the words “Give my kind Love to Edward, Fanny, James, William, and kiss baby for me — and accept the same yourself.”

The research was funded by the Government of Nunavut, Trent University, and the University of Waterloo.

How composting can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions

By GreenUP -
Hayley Goodchild takes a selfie with her compost. To celebrate International Compost Awareness Week (May 2-8), share your #CompostSelfie with @PtboGreenUP on social media. (Photo: Hayley Goodchild)
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s story is by Hayley Goodchild, Coordinator of Neighbourhood and Residential Programs at GreenUP.

This week (May 2-8) is International Compost Awareness Week — an ideal time to learn how composting can help reverse climate change.

What is composting? It’s a human activity that leverages natural processes of decay to turn organic materials into soil-enriching humus. In other words, it’s managing how things rot.

Organic matter includes anything that was once living, such as vegetable scraps, hair, animal bones, or that greasy pizza box from last night’s dinner. To us, these things are waste.

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To microbes, these things are food. Bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms break down the material into humus, water, and other by-products, such as heat and carbon dioxide (CO2). These organisms require oxygen to do their job effectively.

When we send organic waste to landfills, it decomposes without the benefit of oxygen, creating methane. Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that does much more damage to our atmosphere than the carbon dioxide produced in aerobic (oxygen-rich) compost systems.

Diverting organics from landfill to compost can achieve significant GHG reductions through methane reductions alone, which is why the municipal composting facility slated for 2023 is so important.

A compost pile with an internal temperature between 44 and 65 degrees Celsius tells you aerobic microorganisms are hard at work. (Photo: Hayley Goodchild)
A compost pile with an internal temperature between 44 and 65 degrees Celsius tells you aerobic microorganisms are hard at work. (Photo: Hayley Goodchild)

“The composting facility is estimated to be the main driver of corporate GHG emissions reductions, supporting the target to reduce emissions by 30 per cent below the 2011 baseline by 2031,” says James Byrne, climate change coordinator for the City of Peterborough.

When you factor in the ability of plants and trees to sequester carbon throughout their lives, the CO2 produced by composting plants and trees should be nullified. Byrne also encourages residents to think about the types of waste we generate in the first place, especially since the municipal system won’t be operational until 2023.

“Soiled cardboard and paper products, like that greasy pizza box, can actually generate more methane emissions than food scraps because of their high carbon content,” he explains. “Consider making pizza at home, or (when it’s safe to do so), eating out at a restaurant.”

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While Peterborough’s coming composting facility is great news for city residents, with only a decade left to avert catastrophic climate change there is no time to waste.

The urgency of the climate crisis inspired Desiree Bandi to begin 1.5 Degrees Composting Solutions (peterboroughcompost.ca/) last year. 1.5 Degrees collects customers’ organic waste each week, delivers it to a regional composting facility, and returns finished compost to participants in the spring. For those who can’t make use of their compost, Bandi donates their portions to local community gardens.

Closing the compost loop is a crucial piece of the puzzle.

Desiree Bandi is the owner of 1.5 Degrees Composting offers an organic waste pick-up service for residents and commercial clients in the Peterborough area. (Photo: 1.5 Degrees Composting Solutions)
Desiree Bandi is the owner of 1.5 Degrees Composting offers an organic waste pick-up service for residents and commercial clients in the Peterborough area. (Photo: 1.5 Degrees Composting Solutions)

“Returning organic matter and microbial life to the ground makes healthy plants, and that sequesters carbon from the atmosphere,” Bandi says. “There are also many other benefits to compost, such as healthier food, reducing the need for fertilizers, and better water retention in the soil.”

To take advantage of these benefits, add compost to your garden and vegetable beds on a regular basis, usually once per year. There’s no need to work it into the soil. Simply add a layer one or two inches thick in the spring or fall. Take care to work around any existing plants. Don’t bury their leaves or stems.

The Ecology Park Nursery — which opens for the 2021 season on Saturday, May 22nd — will be selling bulk compost with some restrictions due to COVID-19. For updates, visit the Ecology Park website at greenup.on.ca/ecology-park/nursery/.

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Spring is great time to begin composting at home.

It is simple to do as long as you balance nitrogen-rich “greens” and carbon-rich “browns” in your pile. You should also avoid materials like meat or dairy products that can attract pests. You can find more information in GreenUP’s composting fact sheet below.

Compost accessories, like the hand-powered compost aerator pictured below, are available for purchase in the Outdoor section of GreenUP’s online store at shop.greenup.on.ca. Backyard composters are currently sold out, but we hope to have more soon.

Kayla's Compost Cane, invented in Canada and sold in the GreenUP store, is ideal for aerating your compost without putting stress on your back. (Photo: GreenUP)
Kayla’s Compost Cane, invented in Canada and sold in the GreenUP store, is ideal for aerating your compost without putting stress on your back. (Photo: GreenUP)

No backyard? No problem. Vermicomposting is a worm-based composting method that can be practised indoors or on a balcony.

Services such as 1.5 Degrees are also available for those who cannot compost in a backyard.

Businesses interested in composting as a means of reducing their carbon footprint can learn more through Green Economy Peterborough — a new local network that supports businesses to act on climate. Find out more at greenup.on.ca/green-economy-peterborough/.

PDF: GreenUP Composting Fact Sheet 2021
PDF: GreenUP Composting Fact Sheet 2021

Peterborough’s NanoNation Canada a game changer in the sanitization field

By Paul Rellinger -
NanoNation Canada is a 100% Indigenous-owned company specializing in the distribution and application of antimicrobial cleaning products ideally suited for use in hospitals, long-term care facilities, schools, food processing plants, restaurants, retail outlets, and more. The Peterborough-based company is also entering the retail market as an exclusive distributor of Bacoban disinfecting and cleaning wipes and spray bottles. (Photo: NanoNation Canada)

More than a year after sensing “there’s a good business opportunity here,” Steve Daynes is both anxious and excited to “hit it head on” with the official launch of his new business NanoNation Canada.

The 100 per cent Indigenous-owned Peterborough-based company (Daynes is the general manager and clearly very proud of his Indigenous roots) specializes in the distribution and application of antimicrobial cleaning products ideally suited for use in hospitals, long-term care facilities, schools, food processing plants, restaurants, retail outlets – anywhere that pathogens like viruses and bacteria find a home.

At the heart of NanoNation’s success is its exclusive use of Bacoban, a multifunctional hard surface disinfectant and cleaning agent manufactured in Lindsay. While deadly to disease-causing microbes, Bacoban is non-toxic to humans and animals and is perfectly safe for use on hard surfaces including cell phones, computers, and medical equipment.

“We saw that Bacoban came out of Germany and is a solid product, so we joined up and here we are,” says Daynes, who also owns and oversees Level A and The Staffing Connection, two Peterborough-based businesses that connect people with jobs, both temporary and permanent, in professional fields.

“It was in January of last year that we started talking to some people about this idea,” Daynes recalls. “We’ve had some pretty good clients since then, both here in the Kawarthas and as far away as the Northwest Territories.”

“All our clients have been quite happy,” he adds. “It has given them the reassurance they’re doing everything they can to keep themselves, their own clients, and their staff safe.”

Approved by Health Canada, Bacoban’s colourless and odourless solution kills 99.9 per cent of bacteria, viruses, and fungi while leaving behind a protective hygienic surface that prevents growth of bacteria, mold, and mildew. It’s highly effective on a variety of surface types, including plastic, ceramic, metal, stainless steel, porcelain, and glass.

NanoNation Canada uses electrostatic technology so that sprayed disinfectant uniformly reaches and bonds on all surfaces. This is followed by the application of a protective nano-coating that actively inhibits pathogens for up to 90 days. (Illustration: NanoNation Canada)
NanoNation Canada uses electrostatic technology so that sprayed disinfectant uniformly reaches and bonds on all surfaces. This is followed by the application of a protective nano-coating that actively inhibits pathogens for up to 90 days. (Illustration: NanoNation Canada)

Unique to NanoNation Canada is its application process, which uses electrostatic technology so that the sprayed disinfectant uniformly reaches and bonds on all surfaces, followed by the application of a protective nano-coating that actively inhibits pathogens for up to 90 days. This is a huge plus over other cleaning solutions where surfaces can soon become contaminated again, requiring repeated disinfection and increasing costs.

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Daynes admits the timing of his starting his business “was impeccable” as things turned out. While NanoNation Canada wasn’t started with COVID in mind, it has certainly become much more relevant and needed as a result of the pandemic.

“There was a need for this product before COVID and there’s going to be a need for it after COVID,” Daynes explains. “It’s unfortunate that a lot of businesses have been affected negatively by the pandemic, but this product is definitely a good news story for them.”

NanoNation Canada is an exclusive distributor of Bacoban, a multifunctional hard surface disinfectant and cleaning agent manufactured in Lindsay that kills 99.99% of viruses, bacteria, and fungi, including durable disinfecting and cleaning wipes (pictured) and spray bottles for consumer use. (Photo: Bacoban Canada)
NanoNation Canada is an exclusive distributor of Bacoban, a multifunctional hard surface disinfectant and cleaning agent manufactured in Lindsay that kills 99.99% of viruses, bacteria, and fungi, including durable disinfecting and cleaning wipes (pictured) and spray bottles for consumer use. (Photo: Bacoban Canada)

To coincide with the official launch of NanoNation Canada, Daynes is also branching into the retail market to have his product distributed and sold for home use. This will see wipes and spray bottles made available for use in smaller settings such as homes, vehicles, and small offices.

“We’re in talks with a couple of grocery stores,” he says, pointing out that consumers will notice an important difference with NanoNation Canada’s wipes.

“Our wipes are an actual thick towelette. A lot of competitors use a very thin cloth — so when you go to wipe something it rips on you. With our towelettes, you have to physically pull on them hard to rip them.”

VIDEO: NanoNation Canada and Bacoban partnership

Having started and overseen his other business interests for close to 20 years now, Daynes says lessons learned from those experiences are guiding him through this new venture.

“I’ve made sure I have the right people in the right places to help me be successful,” he says. “I’ve got a good team of people and I have the infrastructure in place to support me.”

“It’s exciting to be back in the trenches starting up a new business and being able again to do all those things I once did,” Daynes adds. “It’s nice to get back into the grassroots of building a business from scratch. I really enjoy it.”

For more information about NanoNation Canada and its application process or to purchase Bacoban products, visit www.nanonationcanada.com.

Businesses and workplaces looking for a quote can email quote@nanonationcanada.com.

 

This story was created in partnership with NanoNation Canada.

With 2,791 new COVID-19 cases, Ontario reports 43% of adults have received first vaccine dose

By kawarthaNOW -
At a media conference on May 5, 2021, Ontario health minister Christine Elliott reported that 43% of Ontario adults have now received their first dose of vaccine, with 65% of adults expected to receive one dose by the end of May. (CPAC screenshot)

Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.

With Ontario reporting 2,791 new cases today, the second straight day of cases under 3,000, Ontario health minister Christine Elliott said 43% of Ontario adults have now received their first dose of vaccine.

“We expect to administer first doses to 65% of Ontarians aged 18 and over by the end of May — nearly 7.9 million Ontarians,” Elliott said during a media briefing at Queen’s Park this afternoon. “The light of the end of the tunnel grows brighter with every vaccine administered.”

Elliott’s remarks came on the same day that Health Canada announced it had approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in children and youth aged 12 through 15, lowering the previous recommended age of 16 and older. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine approved in Canada for the younger age group, with the three other available vaccines — Moderna, AstraZeneca, and the recently approved Johnson & Johnson — currently limited to those 18 and over.

Of today’s new cases, Toronto and 8 other health units are reporting triple-digit increases, with the seven-day average of daily cases falling by 77 to 3,432 and the number of active cases continuing to decline. There are 2,862 more cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, 8 more cases of the B.1.351 South Africa, and 30 more cases of the P.1 Brazilian variant.

Hospitalizations and ICU admissions have both decreased, but the number of patients on ventilators has climbed. Ontario is reporting 44 deaths today, including 1 new death in a long-term care home. This is the highest single-day increase since February 18 when 47 new deaths were reported.

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 30 new cases to report (including 11 in Peterborough, 11 in Hastings Prince Edward, 6 in Kawartha Lakes, and 2 in Northumberland) and an additional 31 cases resolved, with the number of active cases decreasing by 3 to 199. There has been 1 new COVID-related death in Hastings Prince Edward, the region’s 10th death.

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Most of the new cases reported today are in Toronto (924), Peel (565), York (254), Durham (171), Hamilton (149), Ottawa (140), Middlesex-London (114), Halton (114), and Niagara (108).

There are double-digit increases reported today in Simcoe Muskoka (65), Windsor-Essex (47), Waterloo (45), Brant (31), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (27), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (25), Southwestern (18), Lambton (17), Haldimand-Norfolk (17), Hastings Prince Edward (15), Eastern Ontario (12), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (12), Peterborough (12), and Huron Perth (11), with smaller increases in Sudbury (9), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (9), and Thunder Bay (8).

The remaining 8 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 1 health unit (Algoma) reporting no new cases.

Of today’s new cases, 58% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,194) among people ages 20-39 followed by 871 cases among people ages 40-59 and 523 cases among people 19 and under.

With 4,361 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.4% to at 91.0% — the 16th straight day the percentage of resolved cases has increased. The average positivity rate across Ontario has dropped by 2.5% to 6.6%, meaning that 66 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on May 4.

Ontario is reporting 44 new COVID-19 deaths today, with 1 new death in a long-term care homes. This is the highest single-day increase since February 18 when 47 new deaths were reported. Ontario has averaged 28 new daily deaths over the past week, an increase of 2 from yesterday.

The number of hospitalizations has fallen by 92 to 2,075, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs decreasing by 4 to 886 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators increasing by 11 to 620.

A total of 45,767 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation rising by 4,130 to 29,179.

A total of 5,599,723 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 132,603 from yesterday, with 381,123 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 3,038 from yesterday.

The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.59% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.02% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 38.01% of the population, an increase of 0.90% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.

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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 30 new cases to report, including 11 in Peterborough, 11 in Hastings Prince Edward, 6 in Kawartha Lakes, and 2 in Northumberland. There are no new cases in Haliburton.

There are 10 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 5 in Hastings Prince Edward, 3 in Peterborough, and 2 in Kawartha Lakes.

There has been 1 new COVID-related death in Hastings Prince Edward and 1 new hospitalization in Northumberland. An outbreak involving 3 cases in the ICU of QHC Belleville General Hospital was declared on May 4.

An additional 31 cases have been resolved, including 11 in Peterborough, 10 in Hastings Prince Edward, 8 in Northumberland, 1 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Haliburton. An outbreak at Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough was declared resolved on May 5.

There are currently 199 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 3 from yesterday, including 73 in Peterborough, 72 in Hastings Prince Edward (11 in Quinte West, 42 in Belleville, 1 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 11 in Prince Edward County, 3 in Central Hastings, and 3 in North Hastings), 27 in Northumberland, 24 in Kawartha Lakes, and 3 in Haliburton.

Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,265 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,178 resolved with 14 deaths), 738 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (671 resolved with 56 deaths), 830 in Northumberland County (789 resolved with 14 deaths), 105 in Haliburton County (101 resolved with 1 death), and 969 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (887 resolved with 10 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on May 5.

The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 4 p.m. the previous day, as well as from systems in Toronto, Ottawa, and Middlesex-London at 2 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).

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Peterborough Public Health

Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.

The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.

Confirmed positive: 1,265 (increase of 10)*
Total variants of concern cases: 470 (increase of 3)
Active cases: 73 (decrease of 1)
Close contacts: 204 (decrease of 9)
Deaths: 14 (no change)
Resolved: 1,178 (increase of 11)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 53 (no change)**
ICU admissions (total to date): 8 (no change)
Total tests completed: Over 50,400 (increase of 150)
Outbreaks: Unidentified congregate living facility #3 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #5 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #7 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #8 in Peterborough, Sunshine Daycare in Peterborough, Unidentified home child care centre #1 in Peterborough County (decrease of 1)***
Vaccine doses administered: 56,409 (increase of 12,806 as of April 29)
Number of people fully vaccinated: 4,211 (increase of 1,730 as of April 29)

*The health unit is reporting 11 new cases in the last 24 hours. The total case count has increased by 10 because 1 case has been removed from a previous day.

**As of May 5, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 15 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (decrease of 2) and a total of 67 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).

***An outbreak at Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough was declared resolved on May 5.

 

Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.

The health unit provides reports from Monday to Saturday, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays.

Confirmed positive: 1,673, including 738 in Kawartha Lakes, 830 in Northumberland, and 105 in Haliburton (increase of 8, including 6 in Kawartha Lakes and 2 in Northumberland)*
Total variants of concern cases: 403, including 139 in Kawartha Lakes, 243 in Northumberland, and 21 in Haliburton (increase of 2 in Kawartha Lakes)
Active cases: 54, including 24 in Kawartha Lakes, 27 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (net decrease of 2)
Probable cases: 0 (decrease of 2, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 61, including 33 in Kawartha Lakes, 25 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Northumberland)**
Deaths (including among probable cases): 71, including 56 in Kawartha Lakes, 14 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change)
Resolved: 1,561, including 671 in Kawartha Lakes, 789 in Northumberland, and 101 in Haliburton (increase of 10, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 8 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton)
Tests completed: 182,778 (increase of 625)
Vaccine doses administered: 72,365 (increase of 7,412 as of May 3)
Number of people fully vaccinated: 4,271 (increase of 723 as of May 3)
Outbreaks: Transition House shelter in Cobourg (no change)

*The health unit states that total counts and counts for individual counties may fluctuate from previously reported counts as cases are transferred to or from the health unit based on case investigation details and routine data cleaning.

**As of May 5, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 7 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (decrease of 1).

 

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.

The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.

Confirmed positive: 969 (increase of 11)
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 338 (increase of 5)
Active cases: 72 (no change)
Deaths: 10 (increase of 1)
Currently hospitalized: 15 (decrease of 3)
Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 7 (no change)
Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 6 (no change)
Resolved: 887 (increase of 10)
Tests completed: 132,220 (increase of 12)
Vaccine doses administered: 63,258 (increase of 1,622)
Number of people fully vaccinated: 4,388 (increase of 290)
Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Prince Edward County, Unidentified workplace in Belleville, QHC Belleville General Hospital, Unidentified workplace in Belleville, Unidentified congregate living facility in Belleville, Unidentified child care facility in Quinte West, ICU of QHC Belleville General Hospital (increase of 1)*

*An outbreak involving 3 cases in the ICU of QHC Belleville General Hospital was declared on May 4.

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Province of Ontario

Confirmed positive: 479,633 (increase of 2,941)
COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 80,511 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 2,862); 317 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 8); 1,001 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 30)*
VOC R(t): 0.92 (increase of 0.03 as April 30)**
7-day average of daily new cases: 3,432 (decrease of 77)
Positivity rate: 6.6% (decrease of 2.5%)
Resolved: 436,470 (increase of 4,361), 91.0% of all cases (increase of 0.4%)
Hospitalizations: 2,075 (decrease of 92)
Hospitalizations in ICU: 882 (decrease of 4)
Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 620 (increase of 11)
Deaths: 8,187 (increase of 44)
7-day average of daily new deaths: 28 (increase of 2)
Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,929 (increase of 1)
Total tests completed: 14,310,628 (increase of 45,767)
Tests under investigation: 29,179 (increase of 4,130)
Vaccination doses administered: 5,599,723 (increase of 132,603), 38.01% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.90%)***
People fully vaccinated (two doses): 381,123 (increase of 3,038), 2.59% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.02%)***

*While Ontario’s daily update still is not yet reporting this information, Public Health Ontario confirmed on April 23 that 36 cases of the B.1.617 variant, a so-called “double mutation” variant first identified in India, have been detected in Ontario.

**R(t) is a virus’s effective reproduction number, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.

***An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.

COVID-19 cases in Ontario from April 4 - May 4, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from April 4 – May 4, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from April 4 - May 4, 2021. The red line is the daily number of tests completed, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from April 4 – May 4, 2021. The red line is the daily number of tests completed, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from April 4 - May 4, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs, and the dotted orange line is a five-day rolling average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from April 4 – May 4, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs, and the dotted orange line is a five-day rolling average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from April 4 - May 4, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily deaths, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily deaths. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from April 4 – May 4, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily deaths, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily deaths. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from April 4 - May 4, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily doses. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from April 4 – May 4, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily doses. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)

 

For more information about COVID-19 in Ontario, visit covid-19.ontario.ca.

The City of Peterborough is seeking nominations for the city’s first-ever poet laureate

By Sarah McNeilly -
In April 2021, the Ontario legislature appointed Scarborough spoken word artist Randell Adjei as Ontario's first-ever poet laureate, a position created by legislation in memory of the late poet and singer Gord Downie. Through the Electric City Culture Council, the City of Peterborough is in the process of selecting its own first-ever poet laureate. (Photo: Lady Mensah Studios)

After a long and rather tumultuous process, Peterborough-Nogojiwanong will soon have its first-ever poet laureate.

Nominations are now open for a professional poet to serve a one-year term in the honorary position, which will recognize the excellence and outstanding achievements of a professional (print/page and/or spoken word) poet living and working in the City of Peterborough or Peterborough County.

The poet laureate will be paid a $2,000 honorarium for their term, which will run from June 20, 2021 until April 30, 2022.

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The tradition of the poet laureate dates back to the ancient Greeks, who gave crowns or wreaths of laurel to recognize the achievements of celebrated poets and heroes. The tradition was revived during the Renaissance to recognize poetic preeminence at European universities in the Middle Ages, and has since been institutionalized by numerous nation states and cities around the world.

Today, in Canada, poets laureate are selected to reflect the cultural life of the city in which they live and write through poetry.

With the launch of the Poet Laureate Pilot Program, the City of Peterborough joins 16 other Ontario municipalities with existing poet laureate programs. Comparable regions include Barrie, Cobourg, Kingston, London, Owen Sound, and Windsor.

Poets laureate promote the importance of literature, arts, and culture in society by working to strengthen the public’s relationship to poetry and civic identity. The position of poet laureate recognizes the contributions of poets to the cultural life of the community in which they are appointed.

“Through poetry, a poet laureate inspires us and encourages us to reflect on our lives and the life of our community,” Mayor Diane Therrien stated in a media release.

“The arts community is a key part of the cultural, social. and economic vibrancy of Peterborough. Our first poet laureate is arriving at a milestone in the history of our community as we look forward to emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic when we will build back better together.”

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The city’s poet laureate will be required to compose and present poems for Peterborough city council and for official city events and occasions, which will be determined annually in coordination with city staff and the Electric City Culture Council (EC3), which is administering the program under the guidance of the City of Peterborough’s Arts Culture Heritage Advisory Committee (ACHAC).

The program requires a total of four new works and four public readings to be created and presented during the poet laureate’s one-year term.

In addition to creating and presenting new works of poetry to enhance civic identity, the poet laureate will be required to liaise with city staff and EC3 on a quarterly basis, work with city staff and EC3 to develop a legacy project, provide a written report regarding the experience at the end of their term, and participate in the following year’s poet laureate selection committee.

“The Poet Laureate Pilot Program supports outstanding professional literary artists in the creation and presentation of new work that speaks to our lives in this place called Peterborough/Nogojiwanong,” said EC3 executive Director Su Ditta.

As an arm’s length independent arts council mandated by the City of Peterborough, EC3 will coordinate the nomination process and facilitate the selection process, including the appointment of the independent selection committee and the management of its work according to best practice arts council standards.

The Peterborough Poetry Collective, which first proposed a poet laureate for the City of Peterborough in 2017, is a working collective of spoken word artists that presented the monthly Peterborough Poetry Slam series before the pandemic, as well as other spoken word, poetry, hip-hop, and storytelling performances, workshops, and initiatives. In 2015, the collective hosted SLAMtario! The Ontario Poetry Slam Team Championship (pictured are the Peterborough participants) and in 2017 hosted the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. (Photo: Andy Carroll)
The Peterborough Poetry Collective, which first proposed a poet laureate for the City of Peterborough in 2017, is a working collective of spoken word artists that presented the monthly Peterborough Poetry Slam series before the pandemic, as well as other spoken word, poetry, hip-hop, and storytelling performances, workshops, and initiatives. In 2015, the collective hosted SLAMtario! The Ontario Poetry Slam Team Championship (pictured are the Peterborough participants) and in 2017 hosted the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. (Photo: Andy Carroll)

The city’s poet laureate program took several years to develop and was not without controversy. Following a 2017 request from the Peterborough Poetry Collective, the previous city council agreed to a poet laureate program on the condition that the collective fundraise for the program.

However, after receiving inaccurate information in a 2019 report by city staff, which erroneously claimed the Peterborough Poetry Collective had not raised the required funds, councillors Leslie Parnell and Henry Clarke voted against offering $2,000 of city funding for the program, much to the frustration of local poets.

The program was ultimately deemed a civic project to be funded by the City of Peterborough and was slated to begin in 2020. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic hit before the program could be launched.

To be eligible for selection, nominees must be 18 years of age or older, a current resident of the City of Peterborough or Peterborough County, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and have made a significant contribution to poetry or spoken word arts and the literary life of the municipality or surrounding region.

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Nominees must also be professionally published according to the eligibility criteria, prepared to accept the responsibilities of the position, and accustomed to citizen engagement and community outreach. Self-nominations are not permitted.

Nomnations are open until Tuesday, May 25th, with the selected poet laureate to be announced on Wednesday, June 23rd. A nomination information session will be held on Zoom from 7 to 8 p.m. on Monday, May 10th.

To learn more about the Poet Laureate Pilot Program, including how to download the nomination form and program guidelines, visit EC3’s website at ecthree.org/program/peterborough-poet-laureate-pilot-program/.

Here are the top 6 photos of Peterborough photographer’s ‘She Inspires Me’ contest

By kawarthaNOW -
The top six photos submitted to Peterborough photographer Heather Doughty's international 'She Inspires Me' contest (clockwise from top left): Angel (Sacramento, California), Neave Alderson (Peterborough, Canada), Thereza Campagnani (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Dr. Kathy Reilly Fallon (New York City, USA), Port Melbourne Icebergs (Melbourne, Australia), and Maibritt Jensen (Newbury, UK). (Photos supplied by Inspire: The Women's Portrait Project)

Peterborough photographer Heather Doughty’s Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project has revealed the top six photos in the ‘She Inspires Me’ contest — and is dedicating the photographic campaign to the late Jessica Dalliday.

The contest, which ran during March and April, encouraged people from around the world to submit a photo they had taken of a woman in their life who inspires them and to share a little insight into why.

Related story
Peterborough photographer hands the lens to the public to share their own photos of inspiring women

From the 48 submissions, a judging committee selected the top six photos that best represented the mission of the Inspire project: to create a safe space to honour, share, and celebrate the stories of women by recognizing “the remarkable in the regular”, according to a media release.

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Here are the top six photos in alphabetical order:

Angel, a mom in Sacramento, California, USA
Angel, a mom in Sacramento, California, USA

Neave Alderson, a 13-year-old cancer survivor in Peterborough, Canada
Neave Alderson, a 13-year-old cancer survivor in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

Thereza Campagnani, a 90-year-old grandmother in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Thereza Campagnani, a 90-year-old grandmother in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Maibritt Jensen, an operations coordinator at a soup kitchen in Newbury, UK
Maibritt Jensen, an operations coordinator at a soup kitchen in Newbury, United Kingdom

Port Melbourne Icebergs, an outdoor swimming group in Melbourne, Australia
Port Melbourne Icebergs, an outdoor swimming group in Melbourne, Australia

Dr. Kathy Reilly Fallon, surgeon and co-founder of a children’s charity in New York City, USA
Dr. Kathy Reilly Fallon, a surgeon and co-founder of a children's charity in New York, New York, U.S.A.

For the stories behind each photo, visit inspirethewomensportraitproject.com/projects/sheinspiresme.

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Related story
Peterborough community mourns tragic deaths of entrepreneur Jessica Dalliday and her newborn daughter

Along with the submitted photos, the collection now includes a seventh photo of a posthumous nominee to whom the collection is now dedicated: the late Jessica Dalliday, who tragically died in hospital in April after giving birth to her second daughter, who had passed away five days earlier.

“Jessica Dalliday was the definition of an inspiring woman,” says Doughty, the creator and founder of Inspire. “It is our honour to announce that the She Inspires Me Project will run annually in honour and memory of Jess.”

In the words of Jessica’s family, “Although her life was cut tragically short, her words and actions have the power to continue to inspire us to live each day with love in our hearts, to fearlessly pursue our passions, to find gratitude, and to encourage others to see the beauty in each day.”

'She Inspires Me' is dedicated to the memory of Jessica Dalliday, who tragically died in April 2021 after giving birth to her second daughter. (Photo: Chantelle Watt Photography)
‘She Inspires Me’ is dedicated to the memory of Jessica Dalliday, who tragically died in April 2021 after giving birth to her second daughter. (Photo: Chantelle Watt Photography)

‘She Inspires Me’, which was sponsored in its first year by Fox Law of Peterborough, will run for two months every year.

The entire collection of this year’s 48 photos and stories, as well as a tribute to Jessica Dalliday, can be found at inspirethewomensportraitproject.com/projects/sheinspiresme.

Peterborough Transit launches bicycle rack pilot program

By kawarthaNOW -
Susan Sauve, transportation demand management planner with the City of Peterborough, demonstrates unloading a bike from a bicycle rack on the front of a Peterborugh Transit bus. The bike racks are part of a pilot program and are available on a limited number of buses on Routes 4, 5, and 8. (YouTube screenshot)

Peterborough Transit has just launched a bicycle rack pilot program on a limited number of buses on Route 4 (Weller), Route 5 (The Parkway), and Route 8 (Monaghan).

The racks, each with space for two bikes, are installed on the front of the bus, similar to bike racks on GO Transit and TTC buses.

There’s no additional charge to use the bike racks, but you have to load and unload the bike yourself and remove all detachable items from the bike. The racks fit regular-sized bicycles only with a minimum wheel size of 16 inches (not fat bikes or scooter-style bikes).

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“Bike racks on buses enable people to get between one place and another more easily using different types of transportation,” says councillor Kemi Akapo, the city’s transportation chair, in a media release. “This is the way of the future, making sustainable, lower carbon transportation options more convenient and attractive.”

Although bike racks on buses were first recommended to the City of Peterborough by the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in 2019, the city has had operational challenges accommodating bike racks on its buses — including how to accommodate the racks at the downtown Transit Terminal and in bus repair bays.

The pilot program will help Peterborough Transit to work through these challenges.

VIDEO: Transit Bike Racks Announcement

Cycling supporter Wild Rock Outfitters in downtown Peterborough is sponsoring the bike racks.

“Anything that helps get people out of cars and onto bikes is good for the people, the planet, and the parking,” says Wild Rock co-owner Scott Murison.

Through the pilot program, the city will gauge demand for the service and determine what’s required to expand the program.

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“Bike racks on buses are helpful to cyclists who may need to take transit for part of their trip or who prefer to take the bus one way and cycle the other,” says councillor Don Vassiliadis, the city’s transportation co-chair.

The bike racks are available on a first come, first served basis. Instructions for how to use the bike racks are printed on the racks.

“Access to transit services with a bicycle are appreciated in many circumstances, but especially when there is a drastic change in weather, to avoid difficult portions of bike routes or to avoid riding after dark in unlit areas,” says Vassiliadis.

Dane Bland to hold virtual town hall on May 16th as he seeks provincial Liberal nomination for Peterborough-Kawartha

By Hannah Abrahamse -
Dane Bland, who is seeking the provincial Liberal nomination for Peterborough-Kawartha, is holding a livestreamed virtual town hall on May 16th at 7 p.m. open to all community members and engaged voters around the province. Bland has also invited subject-matter experts from the community to ask him questions about issues directly impacting the community. (Photo courtesy of Dane Bland)

Dane Bland, who is seeking the provincial Liberal nomination for Peterborough-Kawartha, is holding a livestreamed virtual town hall at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 16th. The event will be held via Zoom, with more information and a registration form available at www.danebland.ca/townhall.

Hosted by Linda Kash, the event will see Bland answering questions from the community about both his ideas and his vision for Peterborough-Kawartha.

In March, Bland first declared his intentions to seek the nomination for the Liberal Party of Ontario. The graduate of Trent University’s business administration program and Seneca College’s fundraising management program has over a decade of experience working in provincially regulated fields such as arts, culture, heritage, education, and health care, long-term care, and human rights. Currently, he works for an international LGTBQI human-rights organization.

VIDEO: Dane Bland Campaign Announcement

In addition to answering questions from the community, the May 16th virtual town hall will feature subject-matter experts who will ask Bland about issues directly impacting the Peterborough-Kawartha community.

According to Bland, experts in health care and long-term care, mental health, climate change, education, and more will come prepared with questions he will not know in advance.

“These are people who have really specific subject matter expertise in these areas,” Bland says. “I want them to ask me questions they’ve heard in their day-to-day lives.”

“They can ask me important and critical questions, in a way that translates the complexity of the way the system works directly to the issues that impact people and matter to them most,” he adds.

Bland says the benefit of inviting these experts to pose questions is they will hold him to account.

“It would be one thing for me to say ‘I believe in improving our long-term care system,’ but an expert is going to ask ‘Yes, but what are you going to do?'” Bland explains. “I think that’s where the value is.”

Experts will be announced in the lead-up to the event at www.danebland.ca/townhall, where people will also be able to email their questions in advance if they prefer not to ask their question publicly at the virtual town hall.

“We’re opening these questions up to anybody who wants to ask me one,” Bland notes. “Everybody attending is an expert in their own right in how the provincial government impacts their day-to-day lives.”

Well-known Peterborough actor, director, and teacher Linda Kash has endorsed Dane Bland and will be hosting his virtual town hall at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 16th. (Photo courtesy of Linda Kash)
Well-known Peterborough actor, director, and teacher Linda Kash has endorsed Dane Bland and will be hosting his virtual town hall at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 16th. (Photo courtesy of Linda Kash)

The virtual town hall will be hosted by award-winning actor, director, and teacher Linda Kash.

“Linda keeps things moving,” Bland says. “She brings energy and brightness. Having somebody like Linda on board — who’s brilliant, unbelievably talented, and genuinely kind and funny — is going to make this an enjoyable evening for people to attend, beyond hearing about political issues.”

Kash, who endorses Bland, is well known and respected in the Peterborough community.

“I am so proud to be part of this diverse community and continue to be invested in its success,” Kash says. “I’m concerned by the issues we face, but I’m excited by Dane’s fresh perspective and commitment to change our local politics. I’m excited to learn more on May 16th with each of you and to support Dane.”

“I have an unlimited amount of respect for Linda,” Bland says. “The fact that she is willing to step up and do this and be a positive supporter of mine — I can’t describe what that means.”

The town hall is being held on the Zoom video-conferencing platform rather than as an in-person gathering due to the pandemic, which Bland notes has led to many changes in the way he would typically campaign for the nomination.

To accommodate the restrictions created by the pandemic, Bland is focusing on livestreamed events, social media engagement, phone outreach, and flyer distribution.

“The nomination stage of the process is built by grassroots support,” Bland explains. “Grassroots support is usually driven by me slapping on a pair of running shoes and introducing myself to people. Of course, for safety purposes, we can’t do that anymore. No candidate across the entire province can do that anymore — it’s against regulations to do it.”

Dane Bland's virtual town hall takes place at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 16th. Hosted by Linda Kash, the event will be livestreamed via Zoom and recorded and shared online for people to watch at a later date. (Graphic courtesy of Dane Bland)
Dane Bland’s virtual town hall takes place at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 16th. Hosted by Linda Kash, the event will be livestreamed via Zoom and recorded and shared online for people to watch at a later date. (Graphic courtesy of Dane Bland)

The downside to livestream events is that those without broadband access cannot participate.

“At this stage with everything that’s going on — from the nomination process to education to health care — internet access is critical,” says Bland. “That’s part of what I stand for as well as a potential candidate.”

Bland encourages anyone who cannot participate in the virtual town hall but would still like to know more about his vision for the community to speak with him directly by calling 705-313-2333.

“The number is open day and night for potential voters and for people who want to get to know me a little bit better,” Bland says.

“My version of door-to-door has been over the phone,” he points out. “On the one hand, it’s easier to reach more people that way. On the other hand, I’m missing out on meeting people face-to-face and having some of those interactions you only get when you introduce yourself to people on their front steps.”

As for the importance of events such as the virtual town hall, Bland says his main goal is to make it easy for people to learn more about how they can participate in the nomination stage of the democratic process.

“One of the things about the nomination process is that it often happens behind closed doors and only a few hundred people end up participating as voters,” says Bland. “One of my utmost goals in doing things like this town hall is building that tent a little bit bigger so more people have a say at this critical juncture in our democratic process.”

“If I can make it so that more people in our community feel inspired to attend events like this, learn about how they can get involved, and then take action and do it, that’s a huge win for me,” he adds. “I am so inspired by everybody who’s doing that, whether they’re going to vote for me or not.”

The town hall livestream will allow people to learn more about Bland and to decide whether they share his vision for the community.

“I don’t want to ask a single human being to vote for me without getting to know me first,” Bland remarks. “I hope that people who come and attend will get a sense of what it is that I’m trying to achieve.”

The livestream is expected to take just over an hour, but Bland says he will stay on as long as there are questions to answer. Those who cannot attend the entire event can tune in and out at their convenience. According to Bland, the event will also be recorded and shared online for people to watch at a later date.

A graduate of Trent University and Seneca College, Dane Bland has over a decade of experience working in provincially regulated fields such as arts, culture, heritage, education, and health care, long-term care, and human rights. Currently, he works for an international LGTBQI human-rights organization. (Photo courtesy of Dane Bland)
A graduate of Trent University and Seneca College, Dane Bland has over a decade of experience working in provincially regulated fields such as arts, culture, heritage, education, and health care, long-term care, and human rights. Currently, he works for an international LGTBQI human-rights organization. (Photo courtesy of Dane Bland)

As for his motivation for entering politics, Bland says he learned from a young age that if you want things to change you have to be willing to step up.

“My mom taught me a basic lesson when I growing up: if something is broken, you can either complain about it or you can roll up your sleeves,” Bland says. “Seeing everything that’s going on, I decided now was the right time for me to roll up my sleeves and to be a part of making a change.”

For more information about Bland’s platform and the May 16th virtual town hall, visit www.danebland.ca, where you can also sign up to support him or to donate to his nomination campaign.

“It’s unbelievably humbling every time anybody signs up at DaneBland.ca, becomes a member, and is willing to invest their political capital behind this campaign — this movement that we’re building for positive change,” Bland says.

You can contact Dane Bland directly at dane@danebland.com or 705-313-2333 and also engage with him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

 

This story has been sponsored by Dane Bland’s campaign to seek the provincial Liberal nomination for Peterborough-Kawartha.

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