The Urban Indigenous Working Group in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough is bringing the community together on Tuesday, May 5 to show local Indigenous women and girls that “there is a huge community here to protect them and love them and keep them safe.”

So says Mshkiki Gitigaan Kwe (Katelyn Brennan), an artist, activist, facilitator, and consultant who is a member of the group.

Commonly known as Red Dress Day, May 5 has been recognized as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People (MMIWG2S+) since 2010.

The meaning of Red Dress Day and its cultural significance

The day of commemoration was inspired and established nationally in partnership with Métis artist Jaime Black as a continuation of her REDress Project, which displayed empty red dresses in recognition of missing or murdered women.

“The colour red is quite significant in our culture because that’s the one colour that spirit can see,” Gitigaan said.

The Urban Indigenous Working Group is a collaborative organization with representatives from the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre, Peterborough Community Health Centre, Lovesick Lake Native Women’s Association, Lakelands Public Health, City of Peterborough, Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle, and members of the community.

Gitigaan told kawarthaNOW that one goal of the Urban Indigenous Working Group is to “make sure days of commemoration occur in a meaningful and culturally relevant way.”

This year’s Red Dress Day commemoration from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on May 5 will feature a prayer and drumming ceremony outside Peterborough City Hall at 500 George Street North, followed by the sharing of stories, bannock, and tea in Confederation Square across from city hall.

Ahead of the gathering, the Urban Indigenous Working Group and Lovesick Lake Native Women’s Association hosted two workshops where community members participated in crafting felt red dresses and faceless dolls to be displayed at the event.

“We might have some of our stolen sisters wandering and looking for us, so having these dresses on display helps spirit find us,” Gitigaan said.

The working group and its affiliates continue to accept donations of red dresses for display and artistic purposes at the event.

Demands for government accountability and action on MMIWG2S+ crisis

Gitigaan said that since she began hosting events in 2014, she has seen reported numbers of MMIWG2S+ rise from 800 to over 5,000. For her, this demonstrates systemic failures to support and protect Indigenous women and girls.

“The issue is obviously growing and we need to address those policies and procedures in our workplaces that are discriminatory to Indigenous women,” she said.

As a professional Indigenization and decolonization consultant, Gitigaan works closely with non-Indigenous businesses and organizations to dismantle broken systems and build workplaces that accommodate and support Indigenous employees and clients.

She has worked recently as the lead consultant on projects including the Peterborough Community Health Centre and Planet Youth Nogojiwanong in collaboration with Lakelands Public Health.

For her part, there is “a lot that goes ignored” or that people become “used to” in terms of discriminatory and toxic treatment, especially in professional environments.

“Look under a magnifying glass at what is wrong and what can be done to dismantle oppressive and discriminatory systems,” Gitigaan said.

Speaking further to systemic discrimination and the large-scale nature of the MMIWG2S+ crisis, Gitigaan said that all levels of government have a responsibility in the harm caused.

She explained that this, in part, is why the May 5 gathering will take place at Peterborough City Hall and Confederation Square, saying that it is a reminder that Indigenous women are underserved and underprotected by the government.

“It sends a message to our government — it sends a message to the ones that need to hear it,” she said.

Gitigaan also spoke to the importance of all community members, regardless of Indigenous heritage, to demonstrate their desire for the government to take further action on — and take accountability for — the MMIWG2S+ crisis.

“When folks aren’t held accountable it sends a message to our young ladies that they’re not valuable or important,” she said.

Non-Indigenous people encouraged to take part and to educate themselves on the issues

An important aspect of the May 5 gathering for the Urban Indigenous Working Group is the opportunity to engage the whole community, including non-Indigenous residents.

For her part, Gitigaan said the event will be a demonstration of unity and collaboration in the ongoing work to protect Indigenous women and girls.

“This isn’t an event just for Indigenous people,” she pointed out. “We hope and encourage everyone to come and join us, because this isn’t just an Indigenous women’s issue.”

She also noted the importance of non-Indigenous people to be self-motivated in learning, and not to expect Indigenous people to provide all of the education and guidance for action.

“A lot of reconciliation work it put on the shoulders of Indigenous people, and that isn’t really our work to be doing,” Gitigaan said.

Gitigaan said that organizations can ensure that Indigenous people are provided the opportunity to be involved in decision-making processes, and not simply tokenize their voices.

Building relationships with the Indigenous community beyond Red Dress Day

The Urban Indigenous Working Group was established in 2025 and operate at a grassroots level with the support of the organizations represented by their membership.

Gitigaan noted the group does not have a budget and often relies on its members to cover expenses from their own personal funds.

As such, she spoke to the importance of community support and engagement in continuing and amplifying the work being done by the Urban Indigenous Working Group, which encourages organizations and businesses to share their reconciliation efforts with the group and to engage them to provide advice and guidance.

Going forwards, the Urban Indigenous Working Group intends to organize events and initiatives for Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21 and Orange Shirt Day on September 30, which is also the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In 2025, the group hosted a sunrise ceremony and a day of educational activities to mark the day.

Gitigaan told kawarthaNOW the group is also beginning work on an initiative in 2027 for the Moose Hide Campaign, which is an Indigenous-led organization working to engage Indigenous men and boys in ending domestic violence.

She said it is important to bring together “the men in our community to end domestic and gender-based violence.”

Looking forward to Red Dress Day and beyond, Gitigaan encouraged non-Indigenous members of the community not to be afraid to reach out and establish relationships with the Indigenous community.

“Building trust is huge and it takes time,” she said. “You don’t want to rush things. Go to these events, go to pow-wows, get to know the community. Make yourself known as a safe person to be with and that you’re open to learning and being educated, but also not burdening Indigenous people with educating you — because those resources are out there.”

With the initial public consultation on Canada’s proposed high-speed rail network now completed, the Crown corporation responsible for the project will be releasing a report on the consultation in June followed by the announcement of a “more precise corridor” by the fall.

In a media release issued on Monday (April 27), Alto reported it has “successfully completed one of the most extensive public consultation initiatives ever conducted in Canada,” with president and CEO Martin Imbleau stating that Alto “made a deliberate choice to engage early.”

“We used the past hundred days to listen to communities to better understand their realities,” Imbleau added. “We value the significant number of people who took the time to share their views and suggestions with us, as well as their criticisms and concerns.”

Those criticisms and concerns include the impact of building a 1,000-kilometre high-speed rail network between Toronto and Québec City through agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands, the federal expropriation of private property, the closure of rural roads severing communities, the selection of the seven station locations (which include Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Québec City), and more.

Over the past three months, Alto said it has hosted 26 in-person open houses, 10 virtual sessions, and 32 stakeholder roundtables, and spoken to more than 10,000 Canadians in rural and urban communities across Ontario and Quebec.

In addition, Alto’s online consultation portal recorded a total of 324,026 unique visits, with 24,142 questionnaires completed and 19,903 comments added to the interactive map, “highlighting concrete local realities that will need to be taken into account as the project moves forward.”

“All of this feedback will help us find the right balance to design a project that reduces impacts on communities while delivering lasting benefits across the entire corridor,” Imbleau said.

During the consultation process, Alto presented a potential 10-kilometre wide corridor for the high-speed rail line between Ottawa and Toronto where the 60-metre wide route for train would be located, with both a northern and southern option.

Both options resulted in pushback from many rural communities in eastern and central Ontario, with some municipal councils passing resolutions opposing the high-speed rail network in its current form and suggesting the rail network should instead run along the Highway 401 corridor.

While Alto notes that exit surveys from the open houses “show that 70 per cent of attendees were satisfied with the information they received about the project,” some people have also expressed concerns the consultation process was insufficient.

Alto says it will publish a report in June “detailing key findings and insights from the first phase of public consultation,” and will be announcing a “more precise corridor” by the fall.

Although the initial consultation phase is completed, Alto adds that “broader community engagement work with Indigenous communities, provinces, municipalities, and special interest groups is ongoing.”

The year’s annual Carl Oake Rotary Swim fundraiser has marked a major milestone, having raised $1.5 million over the past 40 years for Easter Seals and projects supported by the Rotary Club of Peterborough.

At its meeting on Monday (April 27) at the McDonnell Activity Centre in Peterborough, the Rotary Club of Peterborough announced that this year’s event raised $51,286.35, bringing the 40-year total to $1.5 million.

The club presented a cheque for $12,000 to Andrea Peterson of Easter Seals Ontario and a cheque for $3,000 to Shannon Hunter of the YMCA for the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign. The remaining funds will support the work of the Rotary Club of Peterborough in the community and the work of Rotary around the world.

Sponsored by Baker Tilly and Holiday Ford Lincoln, the 40th annual swim was held on February 27 at the YWCA of Central Ontario’s Balsillie Family branch in Peterborough. The theme of the event was “1986” in recognition of the year the event was founded by Carl Oake, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 79.

When the local businessman and Rotarian founded the swimathon, he swam 120 pool laps solo until the event was expanded in the early 1990s to include teams. He continued to participate each year until 2016, when hernia surgery sidelined him, but he returned to the pool in 2017 for his final swim. Prior to that, he announced his three daughters would be taking over the reins of the event.

During Monday’s meeting, Rotary also awarded prizes to two teams who participated in this year’s event. Team World Barbie, the top fundraising swim team, received tickets to see the Century 21 Peterborough Lakers and The Crocodile Dundees, the team with the best costumes, won a game-worn Peterborough Petes helmet and game-worn Century 21 Lakers gear.

Having most recently donated almost $29,000 to seven local charities, the Peterborough Foundation is accepting applications until Friday (May 1) for its next round of grants.

Applicants can be not-for-profit charitable organizations of any size, with a charitable number carrying out operations within the city and county of Peterborough. Grants are for capital purchases only, not operating costs or deficits.

The Peterborough Foundation has supported hundreds of local charities over the past seven decades. Incorporated in 1953 from the estate of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Magie, the foundation has distributed more than $2 million from an original capital base of just under $1 million.

The work of managing and distributing the foundation’s funds is done by volunteers. The foundation’s board of directors meets twice each year, in June and December, to consider grant applications.

Following its December meeting, the foundation’s board of directors decided to distribute $28,655 in grants to the following seven charitable organizations:

• Achieve Charity: $2,000 for accessibility equipment
• Community Counselling & Resource Centre: $9,327 for computers and IT upgrades
• Heads up for Inclusion: $3,000 for strategic planning
• Kawartha-Haliburton Children’s Aid Society: $1,900 for Santa Claus fund sleigh signage
• Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes (PATH): $4,482 for a washer and dryer
• Peterborough Symphony Orchestra: $4,946 for computer hardware and software upgrades
• Watersheds Canada: $3,000 for backpacks and learning materials

To learn more about about the Peterborough Foundation and to apply for a grant, visit www.peterboroughfoundation.org.

“It’s very user-friendly to apply for a grant from the Peterborough Foundation,” says board chair Shirl Delarue in a media release. “We like to keep it simple for organizations, especially smaller grassroots charities. They simply have to visit our website and fill out an application.”

The board will meet in June to review the applications, and will then follow up with the submitting organizations before deciding which organizations will be granted money and how much.

Airport terminals bring forth a range of emotions, from impatience and frustration to anxiety and anticipation. And then there’s the joy of being reunited with loved ones.

For Peterborough resident Rashid Sheikh Hassan, it was all joy on Friday (April 24) at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport as he hugged and kissed his Syrian family after being separated from them for 12 long years.

Rashid’s parents and his brother and two sisters arrived in Canada via a flight from Turkey, long delayed from an originally scheduled arrival date of March 17 due to the war in Iran.

What mattered to Rashid, above all else, was his family was finally safe, now far removed from the war-ravaged Middle East that Rashid, then an 18-year-old Syrian refugee, fled close to four years ago for a better life here in Peterborough.

“The first thing I did was hug my mom and my dad, and smell them, and kiss them on the head,” recounts Rashid of the unabashed joy that inevitably results when one reconnects with family after so many years of being apart — including the first eight years when he didn’t even know if his family was still alive.

“Just to hear ‘I love you’ from them, and to say ‘I love you’ to them, that was all I’ve hoped for. I hugged them the whole time and cried. It was a good moment for me.”

Shaped by war and separation as a youth

Close by, as he has been since Rashid’s arrival at the same airport on June 23, 2022, was Peterborough resident Dave McNab who, with his wife Kristy Hiltz and others, sponsored Rashid’s emigration to Canada and, specifically, to Peterborough.

“It’s been an absolute roller-coaster ride,” says McNab of the long and challenging journey that saw Rashid brought to Peterborough and acclimatized to his new home and now, with his family, safe and far removed from the violence and strife that has devastated his homeland.

“We saw the trauma. We saw the grief when we were all convinced that they (Rashid’s family) were no longer alive. We mourned along with Rashid. It was heartbreaking to see.”

“But then to discover in February 2023 that they were alive, the joy we felt was like nothing I can remember, aside from seeing my own kids born.”

It was after that discovery that Rashid, with the help of his original sponsors and other Peterborough residents, worked to sponsor his family to come to Canada, which included raising $45,000 to cover the travel costs and the costs of family support for one year.

“Watching the stages to get them (Rashid’s family) here unfold so slowly, we’ve shared Rashid’s frustration, and the anxiety and worry that it might not happen. Then we shared that joy again when each stage was achieved. Then to get the flights confirmed — that was the best day in last few years for everybody.”

The journey that McNab references started long before Rashid’s arrival in Canada almost four years ago.

In 2014, when Rashid was only 11 years old, his family home in Syria was bombed. Along with his parents and three younger siblings, Rashid made it out of the house safely but subsequently became separated from his family in the chaos that followed. He travelled 100 kilometres across a war zone to find his grandparents, hoping the rest of his family would follow. They never did.

Five years later, at the age of 16, Rashid fled Syria to Turkey out of fear for his life, leaving behind his grandparents and the hope of ever finding his family, as he would have no way to communicate with them after he left.

It took him a week to successfully enter Turkey, but he could not receive refugee status because it was no longer being granted. He lived in Turkey for almost two years, supporting himself with meagre wages in a country where he was not entitled to education or health care.

As a Kurd with no legal status in Turkey, Rashid was at constant threat of being captured and deported back to Syria.

From a chance online connection to a new life in Canada

Hoping to come to Canada, Rashid went on Facebook and searched for a Canadian Facebook group. He found one and posted a desperate plea for guidance on how he could come to Canada to start a new and safer life. However, with little knowledge of English, he had inadvertently posted his request in a group intended for people posting photos of birds, where his post was met with hostile, anti-immigrant, and racist comments.

Matt Park, one of the members of that Facebook group, defended Rashid and brought his post to the attention of McNab, a retired Peterborough County OPP officer, who began communicating directly with Rashid online. Over several months, McNab helped Rashid improve his English and, along with Hiltz, Park, and Michael VanDenHerberg, raised funds to sponsor Rashid to come to Canada.

From day one after his arrival in Canada on June 23, 2022, Rashid’s overriding concern was for his family, who he feared were dead. When Rashid launched a campaign to raise funds for the Canadian International Medical Relief Organization (CIMRO) after the devastating earthquakes in February 2023 in Turkey and northern Syria, Hastings resident and former Peterborough paramedic Mark Cameron, who is the president of CIMRO, was able to connect with two people working in the village where Rashid’s grandparents live.

During a brief call with his grandmother, Rashid was told his parents and his two sisters and brother were indeed alive. Shortly after receiving that good news, Rashid saw and spoke to his family for the first time in eight years via a video call.

That set the wheels in motion to reunite Rashid with his family.

His original sponsors formed a group called Azadi Peterborough (azadi is the Kurdish word for “freedom”), with additional members including Blue Beret and veteran Lee-Anne Quinn, Clayton Ibey and Brenda Wierdsma-Ibey (owner of The Avant-Garden Shop), retired paramedic Jim Vinn, Lainey Bates (one of Rashid’s high school teachers), pottery instructor Karina Bates, grocer Paul Halasz, and Trent University graduate student Simal Iftikhar. The group was supported by the Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough.

While that effort was underway, Rashid spoke to his family with increasing frequency. And all the time, he fretted and worried for their safety — something that ramped up even further this year with the war against Iran launched by the United States and Israel and its adverse effects on neighbouring countries.

During those conversations, Rashid has brought them up to speed on life in Canada, and particularly in Peterborough.

“I told them everything, but there is some private life I wouldn’t share with them,” says Rashid, adding “I tell them about the rules, the life and everything here. They were excited more than anything else to come. They just wanted to see me.”

Building a new life for his Syrian family with the support of his Canadian family

Far from being lost on Rashid is the love and unconditional support shown him daily by “my second family … my Canadian family.”

“I love Mr. David and Mrs. Kristy as a mom and as a dad. I respect them and will do anything for them, 100 per cent. The only thing that makes a difference is the language and culture, but we are family.”

When Rashid arrived in Canada, McNab says he was “very conscious of the fact that I could never replace his father.”

“As much as I tried to fill in some gaps, I knew that it just isn’t the same — we don’t have the childhood memories and the things you share with your parents — but it has been wonderful to get to know Rashid.”

“I’ve said to people ‘He’s like a son to me.’ He’s a close as you can get to someone you raised from a child. We love him like he is one of ours. To hear that from Rashid (that he considers us his second family) is heartwarming.”

Now that his parents and siblings — twins (a boy and a girl) aged 17 and a 21-year-old sister — have arrived in Canada to begin their own journey of adapting to a new home and life, Rashid is now the teacher rather than the student.

“I’m 100 per cent ready for any challenges,” Rashid vows. “I’m willing to teach my family about the culture, society, and everything.”

“When I got here, I was really curious. I wanted to be part of this community. I wanted to learn the language and join the society. I’m still learning English. I’m still chasing my dreams and the challenges. I still have to learn a lot.”

Now working as a tailor at a Peterborough business, Rashid has put his post-secondary education on hold but does plan to resume his studies at some point.

“Rashid has had a year of (post-secondary) schooling,” says McNab. “The door is open if wants to go back and finish. He has been balancing work and family stuff. I hope maybe his father and I can push him to go back. We’ll team up on him.”

‘Rashid has never relied on government support of any kind. The goal is his family will never need that either.’

Bringing Rashid’s family to Canada came with expenses, notes McNab.

“The day that Rashid first made contact with his parents, he said he wanted to sponsor them. Rashid worked and lived very modestly, and was able to save $10,000. He was banking that money for his education but when he said ‘I want to sponsor my family,’ he put his money toward the $45,000 needed.”

As for the family’s Peterborough accommodations, McNab says there is a house available for the short term but if something happens that makes that unavailable, “they can stay at our house.”

“Then there are all the things a Canadian needs: a health card, a social insurance number, a driver’s licence. Rashid is going to be the leader on all that. The sponsorship of Rashid and his family has been a community effort. The number of people involved is literally in the hundreds.”

“There’s an awful lot of discussion about taxpayers’ dollars being used for immigration — this is a sponsorship that’s all privately funded,” McNab points out.

“Rashid has never relied on government support of any kind. The goal is his family will never need that either. If all goes according to plan, Rashid’s family will support the Canadian economy and won’t draw from it.”

His family now safe and at his side, Rashid pledges to never forget the love and support shown to him and, now, to his parents and siblings.

“I thank everybody from the bottom of my heart,” he says.

As much as Rashid has learned from McNab and his other Canadian friends, McNab has also learned something from the experience: gratitude.

“We are so lucky because we live in a country that’s free of war — there are no bombs falling here,” McNab says. “We have complaints about not having everything we want, but Rashid has helped me appreciate we are lucky we have peace … that we have freedom. There is indeed a lot to be grateful for here.”