Christmas is meant to be spent with family and friends, so imagine having to spend it in a hospital far from home and those you love.

That’s exactly what happened in 2018 to Nick Beamish, a teacher and coach at St. Peter Catholic Secondary School in Peterborough, when he experienced a cardiac crisis. After learning that Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) did not have the facilities to diagnosis and treat his condition, he had to spend Christmas in a hospital in Kingston, hours away from home.

Since then, Beamish has been an advocate for the PRHC Foundation’s $60-million Campaign for PRHC, which is helping to ensure the hospital has the lifesaving technology that he needed to receive care close to home.

“The whole family was uprooted at a time during Christmas when everyone’s supposed to be together because I was stuck in Kingston in the ICU,” Beamish recalls. “For me to be able to get the care that I needed at home would have made all the difference in the world.”

Given that he was in his early 30s and had an active lifestyle, Beamish was not initially concerned when he began experiencing regular chest discomfort and heart palpitations in the weeks leading up to the holidays in 2018, instead attributing it to exhaustion of the end of the school term.

When the symptoms continued to get worse, he went to the emergency room at PRHC, was hooked up to an EKG monitor, and learned there were issues with the electrical signals in his heart.

For PRHC’s healthcare professionals to assess the cause of Beamish’s abnormal heart rhythm and make a diagnosis, they needed to conduct an electrophysiology study. Unfortunately, the hospital did not have the facilities to conduct the procedure, and Beamish was rushed to Kingston General Hospital, where he spent Christmas and part of the new year in the ICU awaiting the procedure.

“My now wife was there with me, but she was staying in a hotel far from home the entire time that I was in the hospital,” he says. “My dad did the same. The amount of stress and loneliness and challenge that it posed for me and for my wife and family was a lot.”

Despite how difficult the experience was, Beamish says he’s grateful the emergency happened before he became a father of two young boys.

“I couldn’t imagine going through all of this with my boys at home, trying to navigate being in the hospital all the way in Kingston, or having to help them understand what’s going on with me while I’m so far away,” he says.

Fortunately for patients like Beamish and their families, with the support of donors, the PRHC Foundation’s largest-ever fundraising campaign is nearing its $60 million goal to reimagine healthcare at the regional hospital that serves a population of up to 600,000 people in Peterborough and surrounding areas.

“When you’re in Toronto, you can get care in 10 minutes because there are so many hospitals, but when you’re in Peterborough, there’s only one place to go,” says PRHC Foundation President and CEO Lesley Heighway.

“If I need emergency cardiac care, it has to be there, and it has to be ready. We have to have world class care available here, because the alternative is there will be times when that trip down the 401 in the back of an ambulance is just too long.”

According to Heighway, $11 million of the funds raised through the Campaign for PRHC will go towards “keeping hearts at home” through cardiac care advancements at the hospital.

Some of the early funds raised have already been invested into the upgrade of PRHC’s two state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab suites. The advances in technology have already improved the quality of diagnostic imaging that enables healthcare professionals to perform minimally invasive procedures there.

Now the community is being asked to support the next phase of cardiac advancements: the introduction of a new service to the region with the creation of an electrophysiology lab.

The technology will support patients who have abnormal heart rhythms, arrhythmia, or other problems that occur in the heart’s electrical system. For patients like Beamish, it means they will be able to receive the lifesaving care they need close to home.

“By bringing a third cardiac lab, we’ll be able to treat people that right now have to drive to Toronto or Kingston for electrical conditions of the heart,” says Heighway. “We’re really excited about the level of innovation and the lifesaving services that are coming from this campaign. We should not underestimate the impact of having care close to home.”

Having a cardiac electrophysiology lab at PRHC will improve care and reduce travel and costs for patients, but it will also attract top healthcare professionals to work at the hospital.

“Young doctors, nurses and staff want to be surrounded by state-of-the art technology and they want to be surrounded by innovation,” Heighway points out. “Having that technology will help the hospital to recruit the physicians we want to be working in our community.”

As for Beamish, he continues to be regularly monitored by PRHC’s cardiology department, since heart rhythm issues rarely happen in isolation.

“I was worried that it would come back and that I’d end up back in the hospital in Kingston or in Toronto because the services weren’t available at home,” he says. “If I ever experience those symptoms again, I’ll have to go right to the hospital and treat it with the severity that it needs to be treated with.”

As he approaches the six-year anniversary of his stressful health emergency, Beamish has a simple message for existing and new donors to the Campaign for PRHC.

“Our hospital is an invaluable part of our community, and we don’t realize how much we need the hospital and how important it is until we have to rely on it,” he says. “If we can raise the money to help bring that service closer to home, it’s going to help people and families stay together during such a challenging time in their lives.”

For more information on the Campaign for PRHC or to make a donation, visit prhcfoundation.ca. To volunteer as a campaign ambassador, email foundationeventsonline@prhc.on.ca or call 705-876-5000.

This branded editorial was created in partnership with the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.

With heavy hearts, GreenUP has made the difficult decision to close our downtown retail space known to many as the GreenUP Store.

GreenUP invites you to join us in December for holiday shopping featuring local makers. As always, the proceeds from your purchases will support our charitable work.

A longtime staple in the heart of Peterborough, the GreenUP Store at 378 Aylmer Street North has engaged hundreds of local businesses and supplied countless products and resources to support greener living. Our Refillery has diverted thousands of plastic bottles from landfill and encouraged lifestyle changes in its patrons.

GreenUP has made this decision as it is paramount that our financial health supports GreenUP’s mission to inspire and empower environmentally healthy and sustainable action in our community.

As a registered non-profit charity, GreenUP relies on funding from multiple sources. Operating as a social enterprise, our store was established to both share local sustainable products with our community and to serve as a revenue stream to support our environmental work.

Since the pandemic, while our programs remain in high demand, retail has been struggling across the board. The GreenUP Store is no exception. As our beloved store has not been able to contribute to our operating revenue, it is in the best interest of the organization to shift our focus to our many other programs which empower climate action.

GreenUP has been in a challenging fiscal year and shopping at the GreenUP Store this Christmas will directly support our charitable work. We would love to see you over the next couple of weeks to refill your favourite products and stuff those stockings with sustainable goods.

To prepare for the holiday season, GreenUP Store program coordinator and avid environmentalist Eileen Kimmett has curated a list of affordable and locally made stocking stuffers.

Locally made gifts for under $10

• Ornaments from RDR Creations and Brianna Gosselin
• Beeswax tealights / votives from This Old Flame
• Vegetable / flower seeds from Urban Tomato Lady
• Handmade gift bags and stockings from Marie Olver
• Lip balm and handmade soap from Swift Acres
• Christmas cards from Brianna Gosselin, Anita Clifford, Jackson Creek, and Ella Mollie
• Handmade key chains from Spruce Moose

Locally made gifts for under $20

• Shampoo bar and lip tints from Birch Babe
• Knitted mittens, hats, and pocket animals from RDR Creations
• Honey from Swift Acres and a maple syrup tasting trio from Red Mill
• Beeswax candles from This Old Flame
• Coffee from Birds & Beans and Old Rail Coffee
• Reusable facial rounds from Cheeks Ahoy

Your support this holiday season is deeply appreciated and the GreenUP Store will maintain regular business hours until December 21st. Clearance sales will be held January 7 to 17, with additional details to be posted on our social media and in our e-newsletter.

GreenUP gift certificates will continue to be honoured at GreenUP Ecology Park. However, if you have one you would like to use in our store, we encourage you visit us soon for your holiday shopping.

GreenUP’s dedicated staff of passionate professionals remain committed to community-centred solutions, engaging residents and stakeholders to address the climate crisis through delivering quality nature-based education and programs.

Our home energy efficiency services will expand in the new year, Green Economy Peterborough is offering new membership tracks, and we continue to grow our operation of the native plant and tree nursery in GreenUP Ecology Park in 2025.

The GreenUP team is already drawing up plans for new schoolyard green infrastructure projects, hosting youth-led climate action events, we will continue to inspire active transportation, and so much more.

As always, we are eternally grateful to our incredible community for the many years of support. If you would like to help us to continue offering climate solutions at this critical time, please donate to GreenUP at greenup.on.ca/donate-now. All donations are tax deductible.

At its general committee meeting on Monday night (December 2), Peterborough city council voted to defer final approval of the city’s complete draft 2025 budget for almost two months.

The draft budget was originally scheduled to be approved at the December 9th council meeting.

However, after two days of budget deliberations on November 18 and 19 resulted in a property tax hike of eight per cent rather than the draft budget’s proposed 7.8 per cent increase, council asked staff to report back with additional options for reduced spending and increased revenues to reduce the tax hike to seven per cent.

At Monday night’s meeting, councillor Dave Haacke brought forward a motion to convene a general committee meeting on Monday, January 20th to review the options prepared by city staff, also proposing that final budget approval take place at council’s February 3rd meeting.

As part of his motion, Haacke proposed council immediately approve $37,671,700 in expenditures in the 2025 budget for 30 capital projects, along with user fees and charges in the 2025 budget as well as the housing and homelessness 2025 operating budgets.

The biggest-ticket items on the list of 30 capital projects include $10.58 million for Brealey Drive reconstruction from Lansdowne Street to Sherbrooke Street, $5.5 million for the pavement preservation program, and $3 million for Television Road reconstruction over South Meade Creek.

Haacke amended his original motion to include the $500,000 Tree Removal By-Law Planting Program pending grant approval, with council voting to approve the amendment. A full list of the capital projects is provided below.

“All of these are time sensitive,” said Raymond Freymond, the city’s commissioner of finance and corporate support services. “We want to get the tenders out on the street in anticipation, prior to early in the new year, before February 3. We want to get good bids from the marketplace.”

“As well as we want to ensure that the draft user fees that are encompassed in the budget highlights book are also approved by January 1st, as well as any additional budget provisions for homelessness and the shelters … it’s very important that, given the cold weather that will be upon us, to make sure that we have provided for our shelters.”

In response to a question from councillor Keith Riel, Freymond was unable to advise how much of a property tax increase the expenditures represent, although he noted the 30 capital projects are only a portion of the city’s entire $147 million capital budget (25 per cent), and the housing and homelessness budget is “not that much in the big scheme of things” when it comes to the city’s entire $411-million operating budget.

Freymond said he would provide council with the requested information for the December 9 council meeting.

As for Mayor Jeff Leal, he said the “extended timeframe” for the 2025 budget approval would give city staff time to identify options to help reduce the property tax increase.

“We’ve heard the word efficiencies used over and over, and over and over, and over again, so they will be engaged in that process,” he said.

Council voted unanimously to approve Haacke’s amended motion. Items endorsed by general committee on will be considered for final approval at the regular city council meeting on Monday (December 9).

List of capital projects approved

Brealey Drive – Lansdowne Street to Sherbrooke Street – $10,580,000
Pavement Preservation Program – $5,500,000
Television Road over South Meade Creek – $3,000,000
Road Surface Repair Program – $2,300,000
Lansdowne Street Rehabilitation – Park Street to Otonabee River – $2,000,000
Sanitary Sewer (Relining, Renew & Repair) – $1,425,000
CCTV Inspection of Sewers – $1,350,000
Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation – $1,100,000
Storm Sewer Rehabilitation Program – $1,100,000
Municipal Snow Storage Facility ECA and Compliance – $1,000,000
City Wide Stormwater Quality Master Plan Implementation – $975,000
Curtis Creek Watershed Improvements – $940,000
Brookdale Watershed Improvements – $795,000
Next Generation 9-1-1 – $750,000
Fire Station #1 Replace Asphalt and Sidewalks – $690,000
City Technology Projects and Capital Improvements – $676,400
On-Street Parking Permit Program – $600,000
Byersville Watershed Improvements – $500,000
Tree Removal By-Law Planting Program – $500,000 (amendment to original motion)
Fire Station #3 Replace Exterior Windows and Alarm – $375,000
Stormwater Utility Program Development – $350,000
Asset Management Project – $350,000
CRM Phase 2 (City Departmental Projects 1034) – $300,000
Citywide Trail Rehabilitation – $250,000
Fire Station #3 Replace Interior Windows and HVAC – $225,000
Trails and Cycling Network Upgrades Program – $200,000
Rotary Trail Crossing – Hunter Street East – $125,000
Downtown Built Environment Outdoor Patio Program – $95,000
Transportation Planning Projects – $60,300
New Traffic Control and Street Name Signs – $40,000
Transportation Facility Planning – $20,000

Peterborough city council has voted to reverse its earlier decision to designate the Martin House as a heritage property, which means a GTA-based developer can proceed with its plans to demolish the well-known historic home and build a six-storey residential housing complex on the property.

Located on the northeast corner of Monaghan Road and Homewood Avenue, the Martin House was built between 1930 and 1931 for local businessman Herbert Samuel Martin — an innovator in the emerging industry of corrugated containers in the early 20th century — by Henry Thomas Hickey, a prolific contractor who worked on more than 100 buildings in Peterborough.

At its general committee meeting on Monday night (December 2), council was considering a formal notice of objection to the heritage designation from Toronto legal firm Overland LLP on behalf of developer J & J Developments, which had purchased the property in late 2023 for redevelopment.

Councillor Dave Haacke brought forward a motion to withdraw the city’s notice to designate the property, which passed 6-5, with councillors Haacke, Matt Crowley, Andrew Beamer, Kevin Duguay, Lesley Parnell, and mayor Jeff Leal voting in favour of the motion, and councillors Joy Lachica, Alex Bierk, Don Vassiliadis, Keith Riel, and Gary Baldwin voting against.

The decision to withdraw the heritage designation for the Martin House reverses council’s September 23rd decision to designate the property. At that meeting, councillors had voted 6-5 in favour of granting the heritage designation. The difference between that vote and Monday night’s vote came down to Crowley, who changed his earlier vote and this time sided against the heritage designation.

Under the Ontario Heritage Act, a municipality is required to publish a notice of its intention to designate a property, followed by a 30-day period where anyone can object to the notice of intention. While objections previously went directly to the Ontario Land Tribunal for review, amendments made to the Ontario Heritage Act in 2022 as a result of the More Homes Built Faster Act require a municipal council to consider the objection and make a decision whether or not to withdraw the notice of intention.

If a decision to withdraw is made, the property is removed from the heritage register and is no longer protected from renovation or demolition.

The City of Peterborough published its notice of intention on October 1 and received a letter dated October 31 from Overland LLP with a notice of objection, which included a report from Toronto-based ERA Architects Inc. Both the letter and report questioned the validity of the heritage designation brief prepared by the Peterborough Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (PACAC) that was considered by council when making its September 23rd decision, as well as the historical value of the Martin House and its original owner Herbert Samuel Martin, his business, and their significance to the Peterborough community.

Prior to Haacke’s motion, Lachica brought forward a motion that council defer consideration of the notice of objection until PACAC had the opportunity to provide feedback on the ERA Architects report. She noted that council has not yet put any procedures in place to consider notices of objection as per the 2022 changes made to the Ontario Heritage Act.

“Council has not had adequate time to assess this letter of objection,” Lachica said, adding that council did not see the letter and report until November 14, two weeks after city staff received it. “This report, by rights, should have been in a November cycle, so that council could have taken the opportunity to consult with our expert, Erik Hanson (the city’s heritage resources program manager) and PACAC.”

“The letter of objection, it disparages our city staff, our expert city staff who made the recommendation, our PACAC local experts on heritage and architecture,” Lachica said. “I find it insulting and I would also just say it is disrespectful to our community.”

Lachica also claimed the developer has met with some city councillors “to broker deals around affordable housing, and it’s inappropriate and in my opinion unethical.” She said council should hold a special meeting the following week when PACAC could present its response to the ERA Architects report “because it could be conjecture.”

Duguay said he would not support a deferral, noted that it is the role of council and not the role of PACAC to consider a letter of objection.

“There’s nothing to be gained by a deferral,” he said.

Lachica’s motion to defer consideration of the notice of objection lost 5-6, with Lachia, Bierk, Crowley, Vassiliadis, and Riel voting in favour, and Haacke, Beamer, Leal, Baldwin, Duguay, and Parnell voting against.

Haacke then brought forth his amending motion for council to withdraw its notice of designation, making it clear that he does not support designating a property against an owner’s wishes.

“I don’t like it. I never have, and I never will,” he said.

Bierk said he would not support withdrawing the heritage designation, noting that he disagreed with claims made in the ERA Architects report.

“I strongly urge the council members that voted in favour of this decision (on September 23) to stick with it,” he said. “It was a celebrated decision in the neighbourhood — it’s a beloved property. Again, just like the Memorial Centre conversation, this is part of the history that makes Peterborough a unique and special place.”

Bierk was referring to an earlier item on council’s agenda, when councillors voted against considering the Peterborough Memorial Centre for naming rights, after city staff had brought forward a report to council indicating they had received an unsolicited request from a business seeking naming rights for the arena that was originally named in honour of local war veterans.

Riel questioned whether Haacke’s motion, which would rescind a decision already made by council, would require a vote by two-thirds of council to pass. Beamer, as chair of general committee, said Haacke’s motion was in order and asked for confirmation from the city’s legislative services commissioner David Potts, who agreed.

Speaking in support of Haacke’s motion, Parnell did not address whether the Martin House had heritage value but instead talked about the developer’s plan for the property.

“This isn’t about heritage,” she said. “The only reason this (heritage designation) even came forward when it did was to block an application that was in process within the planning department.”

Bierk interrupted Parnell with a point of order.

“That accusation is not founded on any truth or any discussion that we had at council, or at a council meeting, or in the public minutes of our PACAC meetings, so I would not like it not to be considered,” he said.

Beamer said Bierk could respond to Parnell’s comments later and allowed her to continue.

Parnell then spoke about the benefits of the developer’s plans for the property, including making some of the units affordable, that the Martin House “is in fact destroyed inside, very unfortunately, by a previous owner,” and that the city has housing targets to meet.

Riel then raised a point or order, stating that Parnell should be addressing the notice of objection itself rather than speaking about the developer’s plans for the property. Beamer again allowed Parnell to continue.

“We’re talking about money,” she said. “We are looking at 2.5 (to) three million dollars in development charges, probably $250,000 to $300,000 in annual property taxes.”

Councillor Bierk raised another point of order, stating that Parnell should be addressing the notice of objection, but Beamer ruled her comments in order as she was explaining why she supports Haacke’s motion to withdraw the designation.

After further comments from Duguay, Lachica called the question to end the debate, which passed unanimously. Council then voted on Haacke’s motion, which passed 6-5 with Haacke, Crowley, Beamer, Duguay, Parnell, and Leal voting in favour of the motion, and Lachica, Bierk, Vassiliadis, Riel, and Baldwin voting against.

Items endorsed by general committee on will be considered for final approval at the regular city council meeting on Monday (December 9).