Community Archives — Page 3 of 82

Being Black in Kawartha Lakes

Published on September 18, 2020 in Community by Kirk Winter

Since the murder of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis, U.S., Black Canadians and their allies have raised their voices and called for an end to systemic racism wherever it is found, as well as for equality for all. Protests have occurred in centres large and small right across Canada, including Kawartha Lakes.

It has taken considerable courage for Black individuals to come forward, particularly in a community like Kawartha Lakes where they are such a tiny and exposed minority, with few places to hide from those who hold racist views.

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Unpaid property taxes in city lower than provincial average, audit shows

Published on September 17, 2020 in Municipal by Kirk Winter

In 2019 the city collected a little over $139 million in taxation from the citizens of Kawartha Lakes, with $5.57 remaining in unpaid taxes from 2019 currently sitting on the city’s books.

“The ratio of taxes not paid is 4.01 per cent,” Carolyn Daynes, the treasurer for Kawartha Lakes, told council at their September meeting.

“And any delinquency under 10 per cent is deemed okay by the province. The average of uncollected taxes across the province sits at 5.6 per cent so the city is generally doing a good job.”

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CAO on hot seat; Councillors demand answers on slow city response times

Published on September 16, 2020 in Municipal by Kirk Winter

Kawartha Lakes Chief Administrative Officer Ron Taylor said the city’s priority was “cost containment,” not maintaining pre-pandemic level city services, at a recent council meeting.

The CAO was responding to councillors who were not happy with city response times or city services after fielding many calls from their constituents.

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City fine tunes fireworks legislation; Ashmore opposes limits in bylaw

Published on September 15, 2020 in Municipal by Kirk Winter

By a vote of 8-1, Kawartha Lakes council passed a sweeping by-law that will limit the use of fireworks to just six different sets of days in the annual calendar. Special permits will be required for all other days.

Councillor Ron Ashmore wanted to debate the issue because he felt that the whole idea of a ban “was taking away a lot of enjoyment in people’s lives.”

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Kawartha Lakes Library system eliminates late fines

Published on September 15, 2020 in Community by Roderick Benns

Kawartha Lakes Public Library has taken a historic step in further removing barriers to service for users by eliminating late fines.

Effective Oct. 1, the Kawartha Lakes Public Library Board has approved the removal of late fines from borrowed materials returned after the due date.

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Advocate signs national declaration seeking basic income as federal policy

Published on September 15, 2020 in Federal/Social Issues by Roderick Benns

The Lindsay Advocate is one of 3,600 organizations or individuals across Canada to sign a statement of support just released today to ask for basic income to be made a federal policy. The statement is directed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and other cabinet ministers.

Released today by the Basic Income Canada Network and other organizations, a “Statement on Basic Income: A Case for Women,” makes the case that women, especially, have been impacted harder than men during the pandemic and a basic income would not have left so many people out.

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First annual Scarecrow Festival coming to Omemee

Published on September 14, 2020 in Community by Kirk Winter

If Kelly Hiscock, Co-President of the Omemee Blooms Garden Club, has her way Omemee just might become the scarecrow capital of central Ontario over the next few weeks.

“In August, following a garden clean-up with volunteers in The Omemee and District Horticultual Society, a few of us went over to (Mickael’s) Bakery for lunch,” Hiscock said.

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Community anger growing with long wait times at LifeLabs

Published on September 12, 2020 in Community/Health by Roderick Benns

Outrage over long wait times at Lindsay’s LifeLabs – the only such laboratory in Kawartha Lakes – is growing.

The Advocate has fielded several emails and calls from residents who are increasingly frustrated not only with the wait times but with the conditions of their wait. According to several people who were standing in line, chairs are not provided for those who may need a break from standing and people are forced to be outside — even in inclement weather.

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Pandemic shows true picture of homelessness in Kawartha Lakes

Published on September 10, 2020 in Community by Denis Grignon

On the surface, it would seem that the pandemic created a surge in homelessness in Kawartha Lakes. Indeed, A Place Called Home did see its client base increase three-fold since COVID, says its interim executive director, David Tilley.

As reported in The Advocate earlier this week safety protocols at the start of the pandemic lead to the closure of the agency’s 19-bed shelter. This meant relocating those residents – and any new, additional ones – into local motels. Since then, the agency is consistently providing rooms for between 45 and 55 individuals.

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A view from Parliament Hill: What the heck is prorogation?

Published on September 8, 2020 in Federal by Robert Rivers

To understand prorogation, we must first have a quick refresher on the parliamentary cycle.

Following an election, the party with the most seats in the House of Commons is to ask the Crown, represented by the Governor General in our case, to form government.

This is a formality, as the Crown rarely rejects this request. The next step is for the new government to lay out what it plans to provide for Canadians.

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