The inaugural Lakeside Gala at The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough has raised $150,000 in support of the not-for-profit museum and its programming.

With the theme “celebrating excellence in the making,” the sold-out event on Saturday night (October 4) featured live music, fine cuisine, storytelling, a live and silent auction, the launch of an Inuit kayak build, and more.

Live music included Reuven Grajner performing jazz on a grand piano, Janet McCue performing a water song, and Dave Mowat and the Curbside Shuffle performing old-school blues.

Dining stations throughout the museum focused on locally grown ingredients and Canadian-inspired flavours, with dishes created by Michelin-trained chef Josh Keepfer of Kitchen Farmacy, Anishinaabe chef Shawn Adler of The Flying Chestnut Kitchen, Chef Adam Brown of Chemong Lodge, Chef Joshua Hendin from Treeline Catering, and pastry chef Miyeon Park of Mija Bakeshop.

During the live auction conducted by professional auctioneer Jim McCartney, guests had the opportunity to bid on a curated selection of unique Canadian products and experiences, such as a canoe trip with Black Feather Wilderness Adventures, a two-night stay at Killarney Mountain Lodge, and a 16-foot ruby red Prospector Canoe by Swift Canoes and Kayak.

The gala also served to launch the latest fourth and final builders this year in the museum’s Builders in Residence program: the Qajakkut Society, a non-profit organization based in Iqaluit, Nunavut that runs kayak-building workshops.

In their month-long residency, senior members of the Qajakkut Society will build two south Baffin-style qajait (kayaks) and share their knowledge and paddling skills through lessons and programs. These qajait will also be used in the museum’s on-water program fleet.

Guests were able to meet the builders, hear their stories, and learn about their important work in revitalizing traditional practices.

“What an amazing night we all shared on Saturday,” says the museum’s executive director Carolyn Hyslop in a media release. “We are still feeling so proud to have celebrated the excellence of not only the museum, but our featured makers who we were so lucky to have join us and make our inaugural Lakeside Gala an incredible success.”

Presented by Emily Creek Woodworking Inc. and Havelock Metal Co., whose work is featured in the construction of the museum, the Lakeside Gala raised $150,000 through ticket sales, sponsorships, donations, and auction proceeds. An additional $50,000 was contributed in-kind by artists, makers, vendors, and businesses.

Proceeds from the gala will directly support the museum’s core mission and programming, including exhibitions, educational initiatives, and signature experiences.

The museum will be holding its next Lakeside Gala on October 3, 2026.

Despite environmental concerns, Peterborough city council will allow GEPR Energy Canada Inc. to demolish a large number of vacant buildings at the historic General Electric factory complex at 107 Park Street North in downtown Peterborough, with the exception of several buildings that a consultant hired by the company has identified as having heritage value.

Meeting as general committee on Monday evening (October 6), council considered a report from the city’s commissioner of infrastructure, planning, and growth management Blair Nelson that recommended hiring a consultant to conduct a peer review of a 154-page heritage impact assessment (HIA) report prepared by ERA Architects Inc. on behalf of GEPR Energy Canada Inc. — a report that was completed since the property is listed on the city’s heritage register, although it has not been designated.

GEPR Energy Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of GE Vernova, an energy equipment manufacturing and services company that was formed from the merger and subsequent spin-off of General Electric’s energy businesses in 2024.

After a discussion that lasted almost two hours, council ultimately decided against the staff recommendation to hire a consultant to conduct a peer review of the HIA report. Instead, council decided to accept the recommendations made in the HIA report for which buildings should receive heritage designation.

The General Electric factory complex began operations in 1891 as the Canadian Works of the Thomas Edison Company and later continued under General Electric. The site includes a complex of 33 buildings built between 1891 and 1981 and used for industrial manufacturing and ancillary purposes.

In 2018, General Electric ceased its manufacturing activities on the site, with most of the buildings now decomissioned with machinery and equipment removed. GE Vernova has maintained office space for 60 employees in the site’s east block and leases several buildings in the west block to BWXT, which was originally part of GE Vernova’s nuclear energy division but became an independent company in 2016 and now specializes in nuclear components and services for government and commercial clients.

GE Vernova is proposing demolishing and removing the buildings in the complex’s centre block that haven’t been used since 2018, which represent around 84,500 square metres (910,000 square feet) of the 104,000 square metre (1.1 million square feet) site. The buildings proposed for removal are identified as 6, 6B, 6D, 8, 8D, 8E, 8I, 10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 12, 12ext, 13, 13A, 14, 14A, 16, 16A, 18, 20, 20A, 22, 22C, and 34.

The buildings that would be retained because they are currently in use or have heritage value include those occupied by BWXT (buildings 21, 24A, 26, and 28) and GE Vernova (buildings 2 and 2A), as well as two unoccupied buildings (8A and 30) that will be retained and mothballed pending potential future uses.

Much of the discussion at general committee revolved around the contamination of the industrial site with hazardous substances over the past 125 years and the impact of a demolition on the safety of the surrounding residential neighbourhoods.

“Did anybody ask the representative from General Electric what they’re going to do about remediation of the property?” councillor Keith Riel asked commissioner Nelson. “Because historically, and if you look across Ontario, the brownfields that we have, the corporation removed the buildings, put a fence around it, and there it sits, and we’re going to inherit another huge brownfield in the city.”

A “brownfield” is a former industrial or commercial site where future use is affected by real or perceived environmental contamination. Many contaminated post-industrial brownfield sites sit unused because the costs to remove contamination may be more than the land is worth after redevelopment.

Nelson said GE Vernova’s interest in demolishing the buildings is for “mitigating the property and maintaining the property from the perspective of risk management and cost management,” with the city’s director of planning, development and urban design Brad Appleby adding that site plan amendment plans indicate the buildings will be demolished to a “cement pad state” followed by landscaping and stormwater management to avoid off-site impacts.

“They don’t have a redevelopment plan in place right now for the land that is, for the lack of a better term, being freed up,” Appleby said. “They are looking to contain what they have … There’s nothing that they are doing right now that would trigger the city’s ability to ask them to clean up, in terms of requiring records of site condition or anything like that, because they are not proposing a change in land use at this point in time.”

Councillor Riel, who spent over 38 years working at General Electric, referred to a past clinic that found that the site had the most chemicals and resulted in the most diseases in Canada.

“This is a huge problem. It’s built on a swamp and every chemical known to mankind is sitting there, and unless it’s remediated by General Electric, we’re going to have this cesspool in this piece of property in the centre of the city.”

Councillor Matt Crowley put forward an amendment to require GE Vernova, as a condition of the city approving demolition, to confirm that a phase two environmental site assessment has been completed, that any required remediation plans are in place, and that the company guarantees it will comply with provincial environmental legislation.

Councillor Alex Bierk referred to a 2017 Unifor report, prepared by occupational disease researchers with members of the GE Retirees Advisory Committee, that details the toxic chemical exposures at the General Electric site between 1945 and 2000. The report found worker were exposed to over 3,000 toxic chemicals, including at least 40 known or suspected human carcinogens.

“We have families and residents that are living on the fence line of this potential demolition,” Bierk said. “If you were living on the fence line of General Electric, would you have concerns if you heard, that after 100 years, they were contemplating the demolition of these buildings? I think we have to look into it … This is very different from me wanting to demolish a residential building on my property.”

Nelson noted that the company would be responsible for complying with provincial legislation and requirements when it comes to hazardous substances, and that it is not within the city’s authority or purview to require a clean up.

Mayor Jeff Leal referred to the city’s experience with the demolition of buildings at the former Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) property, which was contaminated with carcinogenic degreasing fluids, and confirmed with Nelson that the provincial government would oversee the identification of hazardous substances and abatement plans.

In reference to councillor Crowley’s amendment to the motion, councillor Kevin Duguay noted that provincial legislation does not allow the municipality to require a phase one or a phase two environmental site assessment unless a change in land use is being contemplated.

“Commissioner Nelson has reminded us that, if a demolition were to proceed, it is subject to provincial oversight and very, very strict regulation abatement programs,” Duguay said. “If there are materials that have contamination, the manner in which they have to be treated, how they’re removed and to what extent, and what landfill sites they go to, that’s all provincially regulated. That is not our responsibility. Our responsibility this evening is decide if we wish to proceed with the designation of our property, and it includes the demolition of buildings.”

Councillor Crowley’s motion lost 5-6, with councillors Crowley, Bierk, Riel, Joy Lachica, and Mayor Leal voting in favour and councillors Don Vassiliadis, Dave Haacke, Andrew Beamer, Lesley Parnell, Kevin Duguay, and Gary Baldwin voting against it.

Councillor Parnell requested that the three parts of the original motion be separated out, and that council support that it has received a notice of intention for demolition but not support hiring a consultant to conduct a peer review of the HIA report completed by ERA Architects Inc. for GE Vernova. Parnell also requested that council not support the third part of the motion, that refers to staff consulting with the Peterborough Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (PACAC) after receiving the peer review report. She said she would introduce two new amendments if councillors voted against the two parts of the original motion.

Parnell argued that there was no need to spend $35,000 to conduct a peer review of “something that has been so professionally done” and that GE Vernova has identified the buildings it would accept for heritage designation. She proposed amendments that would indicate to GE Vernova that council has no interest in pursuing heritage designation except for the buildings identified in the HIA report, and that council direct staff to consult with PACAC on the specified buildings being considered for designation.

Councillor Lachica noted that a peer review of the HIA report would ensure the matter is being considered “in a fair and objective way.”

“Checks and balances are important for a site of such significance that we need to take our time and care — to not insist on that is not doing our due diligence,” Lachica said, adding that PACAC has the right to look at the entire site that it listed on the heritage register.

After further discussion, councillor Parnell called the question (a procedural tactic to end debate), which carried 7-4 with councillors Lachica, Bierk, Crowley, and Riel voting against.

Council then voted on the three parts of the original motion.

Council voted 9-2 in favour of acknowledging receipt of the notice of intention for demolition, with councillors Lachica and Riel voting against. Council voted 4-7 against directing staff to complete a sole source procurement for a peer review of the HIA report, with councillors Lachica, Bierk, Baldwin, and Riel voting in favour. Council voted 5-6 against directing staff to consult with PACAC after receiving a peer review report, with councillors Lachica, Bierk, Crowley, Baldwin, and Riel voting in favour.

Following additional debate on Parnell’s first amendment to the original motion, councillors voted 8-3 in favour of indicating to GE Vernova that council has no interest in pursuing heritage designation of 107 Park Street North with the exception of buildings 2, 2A, 8A, 21, 24A, 26, 28, and 30, with councillors Lachica, Baldwin, and Riel voting against the amendment.

After more debate on Parnell’s second amendment to the original motion, councillors voted 10-1 in favour of directing staff to consult with PACAC on the buildings recommended for heritage designation, with only councillor Riel voting against the amendment.

Items endorsed by general committee will be considered for final approval at the city council meeting on Tuesday (October 14) following Thanksgiving Monday.

Clean Up Peterborough founder Steve Paul might always be coming up with new initiatives that promote environmental stewardship, but his latest effort is focused on reusing and repurposing the old.

From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 29 at the Morrow Building, Clean Up Peterborough will be hosting RE:Connect, Peterborough’s inaugural circular economy event, during Circular Economy Month.

Presented with support from the City of Peterborough, Volunteer Peterborough, and kawarthaNOW, the free family-friendly event will give participants the chance to learn practical and innovating ways to reduce waste, repair things they own, and repurpose things they no longer need.

“With only ten years (of capacity) left in our landfills, we have to make some dramatic changes,” says Steve. “So, a lot of what I’m focusing on right now is immediate diversion.”

Though it takes inspiration from Toronto’s REmarket, a community event to promote the remarketing of usable post-consumer goods that can be reused, repaired, and recycled, Steve says RE:Connect is a bit different because it’s more community-driven and focused on initiatives that are already being done locally to divert waste from the landfills.

“I wanted to bring circular economy together with community so that we could educate and celebrate doing more for our environment,” he says. “I came up with a tagline ‘where community and circularity meet’ and I think it’s perfect because it allows us to do both simultaneously and learn from each other, because there’s a lot more we could do in this area. I’ve continued to learn and grow and, as Clean Up Peterborough’s grown over the last 19 months, one thing I pride myself on doing is being able to take what I learn and share it with others.”

Throughout his work for Clean Up Peterborough, Steve has realized that a lot of people are still learning about recycling and what it even means to have a circular economy.

“It makes sense to have a celebration where we can have people bring in items for collection, but at the same time, come in and learn about the various businesses and programs that we have in Peterborough that focus on reusing items or materials for repurpose, so one entity’s waste becomes another one’s resource,” Steve says. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for people to learn all of it under one roof.”

At the event, visitors can drop off a number of items that Clean Up Peterborough collects such as writing instruments, eyeglasses, milk bags and tags, ink cartridges, and batteries. Some of these items will be recycled through TerraCycle while others will be given to community groups to be repurposed. Clean Up Peterborough has also taken over the TerraCycle collections at the Peterborough Public Library to now collect toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, razors, and other personal care products.

Clean Up Peterborough will also be educating participants on some of the other free recycling programs TerraCycle offers for hard-to-recycle items, such as Angie’s Boom Chicka Pop popcorn bags, Babybel cheese packaging, Burt’s Bees products, and Royal Canin and Open Farm pet food packaging. A full list of items RE:Connect will be collecting will be announced closer to the event date, alongside other resources on brands that divert from the landfill and where these items can be dropped off locally.

“We’re going to educate people that there are amazing organizations like Open Farm,” says Steve, referring to the Toronto-based pet food company that is the first to introduce a nationwide recycling program with TerraCycle for their pet food bags. In addition, some of Open Farm’s pet food bags are also recyclable at curbside.

Over 95 per cent of all pet food bags are considered unrecyclable because they are made up of multiple layers of paper, plastic, and foil that cannot be easily separated by recycling collectors.

“There are companies that care and try to take the time to make their products more recyclable,” says Steve. “What I’ve learned over the last ten months since I’ve been doing the recycling and circular economy initiatives is that we all live in silos, so we don’t tend to have an opportunity to see everything. It’s good to have everything in one area so that we can open everyone’s eyes.”

More than 25 local organizations, services, and changemakers will be in attendance at RE:Connect to showcase practical and creative solutions for reducing waste. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the membership at B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop which provides guidance on bike repairs, as well as Repair Café Peterborough, OPIRG Peterborough’s FreeMarkets, Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawarthas Region’s tool library, Lend-it.ca, and many more initiatives.

The event will also feature vintage makers and artisans who will be selling products that have been crafted from repurposed items and materials.

“It’s going to allow everyone to learn from various organizations about what’s happening locally,” Steve says. “The big thing I really want to come out of this is to showcase all of the people that are circular economy champions and to give the organizations and businesses a platform, showing they are viable and open to everyone.”

Though this is only the first event of its kind, Steve is hopeful RE:Connect will become an annual or semi-annual event and continue to grow as he learns about even more opportunities and solutions to give Peterborough a more sustainable future.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to make more dramatic changes and organically grow and offer even more, because I think there are even more programs out there (like) TerraCycle that we could find,” he says. “I’m excited to find out what more there is out there and bring all of it to Peterborough.”

For more information and updates on the full schedule, visit the RE:Connect Facebook event or join the Clean Up Peterborough Facebook group. To discuss vendor opportunities at RE:Connect, email Steve at cleanuppeterborough@gmail.com.

kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of Clean Up Peterborough’s RE:Connect event.

For the fourth year in a row, Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival has surpassed its fundraising goal — donating a record-breaking $400,104.01 for breast and other cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).

Volunteers from the 2025 festival’s organizing committee and the Survivors Abreast Dragon Boat Team presented a cheque to PRHC Foundation representatives on Monday (October 6) at the hospital’s cafeteria, representing the proceeds from the 24th edition of the festival held on June 14 at Del Crary Park.

With last year’s festival exceeding its fundraising goal of $251,825.18 by $60,200 to raise a then-record-breaking $312,025.18 for the PRHC Foundation, festival organizers increased this year’s goal to $260,018.01 — with the numbers representing the two in five Canadians who will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, the original $60 million fundraising goal for the Campaign for PRHC (now $70 million), the one in eight women who will develop breast cancer, and .01 per cent of men who will also develop breast cancer.

This year’s festival saw 73 teams and over 1,400 paddlers generating more than 3,725 donations that pushed the total funds raised to $400,104.01 — $140,086 over this year’s fundraising goal and the largest amount the festival has ever raised.

“I am in awe of the community’s enthusiasm, generosity and desire to make such a big difference for our hospital, our community and the people we love,” said festival chair Michelle Thornton as she addressed paddlers, volunteers, sponsors, donors, and other attendees. “Over 3,725 donations were made by individuals this year, ranging from $5 to $5,000, and every single one of them helped us smash our goal.”

“Some of you are here for your first time, witnessing the results of our collective efforts. I hope you realize just how much of an impact your contribution, big or small has made. Because of you and our combined efforts, someone’s cancer will be caught early and receive the best possible outcome. Because of you someone won’t have to travel for their treatments and they won’t incur those additional expenses. Because of you, someone will be able to stay close to their friends and family, during one of their most challenging times. You make a real difference, whether you know it or not and the value of that is immeasurable.”

Hosted by the Survivors Abreast Dragon Boat Team, Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival was first launched in June 2001 as Liberty Mutual’s “Day on the Water”, becoming Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival the following year. Over the past 24 years, it has raised more than $4.9 million for cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment in the Peterborough region.

“Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival continues to break records and show what’s possible when a community comes together for a cause that touches us all,” said PRHC Foundation president and CEO Lesley Heighway as she accepted the largest gift to the foundation in the history of the festival.

“The money raised through this incredible event will help bring cutting-edge technology like digital pathology to PRHC for the first time. With cancer diagnoses on the rise, this state-of-the-art advancement will mean PRHC’s care teams can provide faster, more accurate diagnoses and begin treatment sooner. This outstanding fundraiser is possible because of the passion, dedication, and generosity of everyone involved, from the paddlers to the donors, sponsors, volunteers, the Survivors Abreast dragon boat team and Festival organizers. Thank you for making such an extraordinary impact on cancer care in our region.”

One hundred per cent of all pledges to the festival are able to be donated to the PRHC Foundation thanks to the sponsors who cover the costs of hosting the event, including Kawartha Credit Union, which has been the festival’s presenting sponsor every year since 2001.

“Cancer touches so many lives in our community, including those of our employees and members,” said Kawartha Credit Union president and CEO Norah McCarthy. “The generosity and spirit shown by everyone involved in Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival is truly inspiring. At Kawartha, we believe in the power of community to create real, lasting impact — and this year’s festival’s success is a perfect example of that.”

Planning for the 25th anniversary edition of the Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival on June 13, 2026 will begin soon and take place over the next several months. Anyone wishing to volunteer their time and skills can email Thornton at michellethornton.365@gmail.com.