The Lindsay Advocate - October 2018

NAYORO-LINDSAY AT 50 | WHY TEACHERS MATTER | BASIC INCOME WAS HELPING LOCAL BUILDERS

THE LINDSAY ADVOCATE KAWARTHA LAKES’ FINEST MAGAZINE

THE MAYOR NECESSITIES HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Four hours of extended shopping, family fun, live music, great food and good times in downtown Lindsay.

Friday, October 5th 6-10pm Furio Gifts • Fresh FueLL • Burns Bulk Food • Hamilton Creek • Tradewind Toys • The Olympia • Galaxy Picture Framing • Visual Sports Cathy Allan’s Ladieswear • The Kent Florist • Nisbett’s Clothiers • Kawartha Lakes Classic Flowers • Hamilton Creek Travel Trends • The Pipe & Bong Hobbies & Beyond • Friendly Dollar & Discount • Century Cinemas • Pizza Piza • 11:11 Full Circle Healing • Down to Earth • Ziggy’s Fish & Chips Cheslers Shoes • Sweet Annie’s • Pane Vino • Kate & Co • ARK Hair & Beauty • Houghton Creek • New Nails • Hi Sports • Lash KL The Lingerie Loft • The Kent Bookstore • Pita Pit • Twine x Twig • Scott’s Decorating • Kountry Kitchen • The Cat & The Fiddle • Wally’s Haircutting Kent Street Tattoo • Kawartha Computer Clinic • A Buy & Sell Shop • Mr. Sub • Pizza Nova • The Grand Experience • Hobart’s Steakhouse Midtown Mattress & Home Furnishings • Lindsay Sportsline • Wholesome Foods Catering • Kent Street Thrift Shop • Recycled Kids • Brittany N Bros Old Mill Primatives • QQ Sushi & Chinese Restaurant • Kennedy’s Appliances & Electronics • Kawartha Lakes TravelPlus • Boiling Over’s Coffee Vault

CONTENTS 4 6 7 8 14 15 16 18 20 24 26 27 28 30 33 34

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR BENNS’ BELIEF UPFRONT WHO WILL BE MAYOR? HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR KIDS AT SCHOOL SMITTY’S GOING GREEN BASIC INCOME: LOST OPPORTUNITY THE SAFETY OF ONLINE VOTING TEACHERS MATTER FRIENDS & NEIGHBOURS SHOW THE LOVE STUDENT TENANT INSURANCE / NATURE NOTES JUST IN TIME NAYORO-LINDSAY AT 50 BUSINESS BEAT: ANDREW VEALE KAWARTHA LAKES VIGNETTE

TEAM ADVOCATE: Roderick Benns, Publisher Trevor Hutchinson, Contributing Editor Joli Scheidler-Benns, Research, Writer-at-Large Jamie Morris, Columnist Ian McKechnie, Columnist Bob Polan, Marketing Coach and Consultant Judith Stoltz, Advertising Coordinator Jim Albert, Advertising Coordinator Robyn Barton, Graphic Design Erin Smith, Photographer

ABOUT US Even when life circumstances pulled me to other places, there was a greater part of me that always wanted to be home – in Kawartha Lakes. I’ve come back to try and make a positive difference in my community, this time with my family. My wife and I created The Lindsay Advocate to be media with a social purpose, to advocate for people over corporations, to push for a fair society where all citizens can reach their full potential. We know our institutions, non-profit sector, and small businesses are critical community partners. We thank them for their support and pledge to work together for a healthier, more prosperous Kawartha Lakes.

— Roderick and Joli

Advertising Sales: Contact us at 705-341-1496 or kawarthalakespublisher@gmail.com Volume 1, Issue 7 • Published by: Fireside Publishing House, a proudly Canadian company The Lindsay Advocate is published monthly and distributed to a wide variety of businesses and locations within Kawartha Lakes, North Durham and Southern Haliburton County.

We are a proud member of the Lindsay and District Chamber of Commerce. Printed by Maracle Inc. Cover Photos: Erin Smith • Publisher and Writer-at-Large: Roderick Benns Advertising/Editorial inquiries: 705-341-1496 Contributing Editor and Writer-at-Large: Trevor Hutchinson • Copy Editor: Ruth Noble • Contributing Writers: Ian McKechnie, Jamie Morris, Joli Scheidler-Benns Research, Strategy & Development: Joli Scheidler-Benns Marketing: Bob Polan • Advertising Sales: Judith Stoltz, Jim Albert • Graphic Design: Barton Creative Co. d The Lindsay Advocate @lindsayontario, Roderick Benns @roderickbenns • c /The Lindsay Advocate The Lindsay Advocate is independently owned and operated. The opinions expressed herein are the views of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of this magazine. Photos, text, and art work contained in The Lindsay Advocate are copyrighted and may not be published, broadcast, or rewritten without the express permission of the Publisher. Liability for incorrectly displayed advertising is limited to publishing corrections or advertising credit for subsequent issues. The Publisher reserves the right to reject, revise, cancel, omit, discontinue or even decline to print advertising without reason or liability, and without notice. The Publisher has made every effort to ensure information contained herein was accurate at press time. The Publisher does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for damage, loss, or disruption caused by errors or omissions.

A TE

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DSAY AD O C V

Laurie Scott didn’t speak up for basic income I’ve been completely gutted at the news of Ford cancelling the basic income pilot.

Before Lindsay was chosen for the pilot a delegation of us from Kawartha Lakes headed to Queen’s Park to speak of what our experiences are in relation to disabilities and low-income/ poverty.We met with some wonderful people there that seemed to really care about what we had to say.

On our agenda for that day was to meet with MPP Laurie Scott and others. There were about 12 of us in the delegation.

I was deeply embarrassed and feeling shame about telling her I needed to go to our local food bank for support.

The pilot for me was a possible chance to change the narrative, make self improvements and be part of our local economy.

Laurie Scott was given first hand information of individual struggles here in the Kawartha Lakes. So for this woman to turn around and blatantly deny this is happening in her community now that they are in power is an absolute travesty.

Let this pilot run the three years then get your data.We had the attention of the world on us here in Lindsay and were about to make history. Now, they’ll only know Laurie Scott’s legacy and that of her boss’.

Dana Bowman, Lindsay

Why did Scott cancellation?

support

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income

An open letter to MPP Laurie Scott: I am appalled that the cost for Premier Ford’s media outlet is being paid for by Ontario taxpayers. There is not enough money to fund the basic income project but we are obliged to fund a propaganda organization that is so anti-democratic. The media fulfils an important function in a democracy: to present the news in a balanced fashion. Any media outlet run by a sitting government will lose any credibility and certainly will lose any

sense of fairness in presentation.

As a representative of a riding where the basic income project was improving your constituents’ lives, it is incomprehensible to me how you can be a part of this party’s decision. I am deeply disappointed and I sincerely hope that you pass on my concerns and those of other constituents to the premier. I never thought I would see the day that such loutish and anti-democratic policies would be a part of this province.

Lorna Green

Open letter to MPP on Basic Income I was extremely disappointed to hear that your government announced their decision to end the Ontario Basic Income pilot. As an adult literacy educator I worked with many low-income individuals and families.

Now retired, I advocate for a basic income because I want to live in a society in which everyone can live with dignity, autonomy and economic security.

I understood that before the election you expressed support for the basic income pilot. I respectfully ask you to urge your party to reconsider this decision.

Judy Paul, Haliburton

Agreement we need more inspiring policy Thanks, staff and writers, for publishing a very readable colourful magazine. It’s good to hear the local history and how newcomers are finding reason to drop their anchor here as they retire. Politically this is a very Conservative area giving infrequently the NDP or Liberals victories.

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It was a pleasure to see Roderick Benns put his political views on the line and I quote from his article: It’s time for more inspiring public policy goals that will enrich the lives of all of us, not just the top 20 per cent.

Hector Mc Neill, Lindsay

Richest men in world should be praised I read Roderick Benns’ latest essay (‘Power of the People’ – Sept. 2018 issue) with interest. It reflects the “collectivist” point of view. It positions academic elites, mainstream media organizations and the dominant political class as the ‘special people’ who can plan, orchestrate and enforce the ways and means of improving wealth equality for everyone.

I am a Libertarian and, as such, I envision a prosperous society built by individuals who are free to pursue their own interests and happiness while maintaining peaceful and productive associations with others.

Capitalism is not the dastardly force that manipulates outcomes to distribute wealth unfairly, as Mr. Benns seems to believe. The five richest men who control $400 Billion in wealth are men who built business empires that employ hundreds of thousands of people whose families depend on those jobs and whose earnings contribute to the GDP and tax contributions that fund government programs.

Why does Mr. Benns not praise them for their magnificent contributions to mankind?

Gene Balfour Chairman, Ontario Libertarian Party Capitalism is not one thing – there are many examples of different kinds of capitalism at work in our world. Within our preferred vision for capitalism, as citizens, we must decide if our primary goal is the enhancement of individual wealth or is it the common good? For instance, in Scandinavian countries, corporations do not have the same rights as individuals. They also have strong judicial systems, vigorous civil rights, and a comprehensive social safety net that is funded by a progressive tax system.

Hospital story had solid research

anecdotes provided valuable insights into the potential impact.Thank you for the solid research.

Guy Skipworth

Lakeridge Health Hospital Merger

on

Planned

Re: ‘Planned hospital merger could be big risk for Ross Memorial,’ August 15, 2018 in the Lindsay Advocate. We were dismayed to read the article which included erroneous information about Lakeridge Health and was written without offering us the opportunity to provide or confirm information.

The 2016 integration of Ajax Pickering Hospital and Lakeridge Health has resulted in: - Increased capacity to acute care services for the community; - Additional beds which are opening to support more complex patients, including a new 22-bed Mental Health Unit; - Reduction in the cost of administration; and - Substantial capital investment.

Our community and the Lakeridge Health team are working together to ensure acute health care services are available to serve patients and families for generations to come.

Matthew Anderson President & CEO Lakeridge Health What is the definition of “community?” If this community includes Bowmanville, Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa, you are proving the point of the article -the loss of local services. Are merger costs factored into the savings alluded to? We have sent a list of 18 questions to Mr. Anderson, and we will follow up on this when he replies.

The article on the stakeholder consultations about a proposed merger of hospitals was excellent. The data and The Lindsay Advocate welcomes your Letters to the Editor. Simply email thelindsayadvocate@gmail.com or mail to PO Box 1 Marsh Court, Lindsay, ON K9V 6J6. Please keep your letters to 200 words or less.

BENNS’ BELIEF Challenge and Change Things are going to slide, slide in all directions Won't be nothing, Nothing you can measure anymore - Leonard Cohen,The Future

It has been a challenging month, filled with community outrage, political deception, and collective anxiety, here in Kawartha Lakes.

WE’RE NOW OPEN!

Basic Income The cancellation of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot was not only a broken promise, it was colossally stupid. As a society we had a chance to try something new to deal with poverty and the changing employment landscape. The pilot was only three years long and offered the chance to collect valuable data. But the PC government was not interested in evidence.

Instead, our multimillionaire premier of ‘the people’ sold 2,000 folks down the Scugog River – the number of people enrolled in Lindsay. This was the kind of change we didn’t need. Perhaps that fight isn’t over though, with local lawyer Mike Perry spearheading a class action lawsuit against the provincial government.

Hospital Merger Last month we led the discussion on the imminent merger between Ross Memorial Hospital and Peterborough Regional Health Centre, with an in-depth article by Advocate Contributing Editor, Trevor Hutchinson. In it we questioned the prevailing wisdom of mergers. In truth, there is much to be wary of – particularly for the smaller hospital – with the very real threat of loss of services. Only a strong community outcry could possibly halt, or at least blunt, this ill-advised move.

Municipal Election There is more change on the horizon when we pick our mayor and councillors to represent us on Oct. 22nd. Sixteen councillors have been reduced to eight now, and there are bound to be new faces. At the mayoral level, voters have a chance to dig in on their landslide choice from four years ago and re-elect Andy Letham, or they can opt for leadership change in Gord James, Brian Junkin, or Peter Weygang.This issue should help with your decision. Please exercise your right to vote.

Though we are challenged by change here in Kawartha Lakes now, we also take solace in the adage that change is all there is. That means we keep fighting for the right kind, for the right reasons, in all the ways we can.

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8 Cambridge St. N., lindsay pieeyedmonkbrewery.com

cdf www.lindsayadvocate.ca

UPFRONT

Boots of Hazard played for 21 different Charities in 21 days across the local area. Here the band was on Day 2 of their journey at the Pie Eyed Monk in Lindsay. Photo: Roderick Benns.

John Howard Society Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton staff in front of the new Youth Intervention Centre.

Staff members from the John Howard Society of Peterborough joined their counterparts at the John Howard Society Kawartha Lakes & Haliburton for the grand opening of the new Youth Intervention Centre in Lindsay.

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Decision 2018: Who will be Mayor?

The Advocate sent a list of written and multiple choice questions to all the mayoral candidates of the City of Kawartha Lakes. All four responded and their answers are listed by question and arranged alphabetically by last name.

T R E VO R H U T C H I N S O N 1) DESCRIBE YOUR VISION OF THE CITY OF KAWARTHA LAKES

2) WHAT ARE THE MOST PRESSING ISSUES IN THE CITY OF KAWARTHA LAKES?

Gord James I have participated in three Kawartha Lakes Strategic Plans, each providing a collaborative (council/staff) vision for our entire community. My personal vision calls for community involvement in governing to provide transparent, effective, responsible and efficient services.

Gord James In two words...trust and transparency. Our Council and staff have experienced ongoing trust and transparency issues that have a negative effect on how we provide services. Our plan to invite the public talent that exists in Kawartha Lakes to assist us in governing will eliminate this issue.

Brian Junkin We want the City of Kawartha Lakes to be known as a progressive, forward thinking, vibrant municipality that attracts visitors, businesses and new residents.

Brian Junkin Most pressing issues are the need for responsible budgeting so our taxes don’t get out of control. We need intelligent planning and management for our projects, and we need oversight and accountability.

Andy Letham An affordable community where residents and visitors feel they can enjoy an exceptional quality of life. A healthy environment with a vibrant and growing economy.

Peter Weygang A true democracy that is rule by the people, for the people. The common sense of the people, and the wisdom of crowds, will determine what we do, how we do it, and how much we spend.

Andy Letham For 15 years we have been underfunding our service levels, roads and facilities.We finally have a plan in place to properly fund and increase services without draining our reserve funds as we have done in the past. We must stay the course to accomplish this with minimal pressures on property taxes.

Peter Weygang Listening to the people. Preserving the unique identity, and independence, of our communities. Paying down debt. Reducing staff. Running the city as a business.

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3) WHAT ARE AREAS OF GROWTH/PROMISE THAT YOU SEE IN THE CITY OF KAWARTHA LAKES? Gord James We have growth potential in all areas of CKL. We will provide the commercial/retail zoning in the south east gateway lands the development community has identified as needed to provide choices through multiple locations. Currently Lindsay only has the required zoning on property in the North West opposite Wilson Fields.

Brian Junkin We need to promote and support the growing businesses we have that are creating year-round jobs.

We need to create a large area of serviced industrial land so we can grow our manufacturing base.

Brian Junkin I am for responsible budgeting and working hard to find savings, for which the other candidates have mocked me. I am for representation, public input, and debate not predetermined backroom decisions. Debate and different viewpoints is what leads to better decisions.

Andy Letham Leadership is about telling people the truth; politicians tend to tell people what they want to hear. We are hearing a lot of those promises in this election. My approach is to be honest with people and tell them the truth.

Peter Weygang A complete restructuring of the city administration.

Decentralized, with satellite administrations in the wards. A two-tier system created by reorganization, not by legislation. Stress on inter-ward cooperation, not central office edicts.

Andy Letham Tourism, home businesses and responsible growth.

Young people moving back for quality of life and affordability. Increase in arts, culture and heritage availability, and a community that cares about everyone and lives within its means. We are very close.

Peter Weygang [no answer provided by candidate]

4) WHAT POLICIES OR APPROACHES MAKE YOUR CANDIDACY DIFFERENT? Gord James We recognize the immense talent that exists in Kawartha Lakes. We will invite this talent to sit with your new mayor and council on eight standing committees at City Hall as voting members. By uniting members of the public, staff and council together as a team we will produce the oversight and accountability missing under the present system.

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5) WHAT WILL CANCELLING OF THE BASIC INCOME PILOT PROGRAM MEAN FOR THE CKL? Gord James Access to this supplement afforded many residents of Kawartha Lakes the opportunity for the first time to increase their quality of life through diet, education, accommodation and transportation. The premature cancellation of this pilot project will result in the loss of meaningful data that may have produced a design model breaking the cycle of poverty for those less fortunate.

Brian Junkin It means we will never find out or see if it would be a viable program with merit. I have been part of many pilot projects in my careers to collect data and review.

I am happy to support anything that the data shows makes life better for our residents.

means would provide incentive for investment in both residential and commercial development, allowing our community to flourish.

Brian Junkin We currently have more money than we have the ability to spend, but it comes with a huge debt load and tax increases. I’ve consistently fought hard to find reasonable reductions everywhere. I can and do respect that the people who live here do not have endlessly deep pockets.

Andy Letham Eight out of 10. We have worked hard over four years to get to the point where we can live within our means and look after our responsibilities. Finances are healthy, debt is well within limits and we have a good plan moving forward.

Peter Weygang Bankrupt.

Andy Letham People who signed up for the pilot project committed to three years. The government committed to them for three years. That should be followed through. This will create hardship for some of our more vulnerable residents.

Peter Weygang Not much. It is all taxpayers’ money. Give more here, take more there.

GORD JAMES

BRIAN JUNKIN

ANDY LETHAM

PETER WEYGANG

6) HOW DO YOU ASSESS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE FINANCES OF THE CITY? Gord James Over 18 per cent increased taxes in the past four years and water rates amongst the highest in Ontario is unacceptable and unsustainable. Holding tax increases to the rate of inflation and living within our means would provide incentive for investment in both

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Twenty Questions We asked the candidates to respond to the following statements by providing one of the follow four answers: Y= Yes N= No TC =Too complicated of a question for a Yes/No Answer NC= No comment

QUESTION

Cancellation of the basic income pilot project will hurt the City The City should be vocal in getting the Basic Income pilot program reinstated Should Hwy 35 south of Lindsay be widened to 2 lanes in both directions?

Are you in favour of two different police forces serving the CKL? Tax breaks should be given to any new business in the CKL to encourage employment.

The CKL should invest more money in tourism infrastructure.

Our municipal taxes are too high and should be lowered Our municipal taxes are at the right, sustainable level Our taxes should be increased to deliver better services to residents Environmental protection is crucial to maintaining our tourism industry Climate change could affect our tourism industry in the future Local government should speak on issues beyond its mandate for the well being of its citizens

Gord James

Brian Junkin

Andy Letham

Peter Weygang

Y

Y

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TC

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NC

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Y= Yes N= No TC =Too complicated of a question for a Yes/No Answer NC= No comment

QUESTION

We have too many City employees We have enough City employees We do not have enough City employees to do all the work we are required to do I anticipate more provincial cutbacks that will challenge our budget Our local MP and MPP keep the CKL front of mind when voting on an issue The CKL needs rural transit immediately Our infrastructure (roads, sewer systems, buildings, etc) is facing severe challenges because of age and required maintenance Citizens will have the same input with our reduced council size

Gord James

Brian Junkin

Andy Letham

Peter Weygang

N

N

TC

Y

Y

N

TC

NC

N

N

TC

NC

Y

Y

Y

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N

Y

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How parents can best support their kids in school L A R RY H O P E

they inevitably come along, and of course, our expectations of young people.

The second theme I heard, shared with even more conviction, is how important it is for us to have high expectations of one another. From our students’ perspective, it was very clear to me that they want us to have high expectations. In fact, they need us to push them to be their very best and feel they do better when we set the bar high for them in whatever they’re doing. Whether it’s school work, athletics or arts pursuits that our young people are involved in or as simple as their behaviour, it’s our shared responsibility to encourage them to put their best foot forward at all times, to reach as high they can and to achieve their full potential, whatever that may be.

Having high expectations not only sends a clear message to our kids, but it also gives them an opportunity to set goals and work hard to get there. Interestingly, as an aside, during the student forums, many students shared with me that they understand the realities of school and life being hard work, and that they are willing to do what it takes to be successful. I think sometimes as adults, we forget, and even underestimate the level of competence and work ethic of our young people.

Let’s not be afraid of pushing and supporting them in this regard.

It’s always wonderful to see our children achieve and do well. I believe it’s our shared responsibility to always set high expectations of our young people and one another, and to clearly communicate those expectations. As a system, TLDSB will continue to strive for clarity and we will do our best, alongside parents and caregivers, to make sure our students grow and flourish in an environment where they are expected to give their very best. As always, we appreciate the support from our communities in these endeavours, and wish all our families every success for another great year of learning.

LA

Welcome back to a new school year. By now, most of us with school-aged children have settled into the routines of fall and the new school year.

Of course, this means getting up early, packing lunches, driving here and there in our very busy lives and of course hearing about the school day at the dinner table. If your kids are anything like mine, you likely hear stories about what their friends did L A R RY H O P E that day, who the favourite teachers are and how they’ve done on their assignments. Of course, we always hope the stories are positive and that your child’s experience at school is a good one.

I’m often asked what parents can do to support their children as they make their way through school. It’s a great question, and one that has many different responses, depending on the moment. Over the past school year, I spent time talking with young people in focus groups in all seven of our secondary schools, as well as parents through a series of community forums in every region of the district.

In these discussions, I consistently heard two things that I think worthy of consideration and energy as a school system and as parents; being clear in our communication and having high expectations.

In today’s society, clarity in our communication is more challenging than ever. Social media, mixed media messages, political commentary and of course, coffee shop talk all create an environment where it’s sometimes difficult to ensure our communication is clear and understood by all.

This is no different for the kids in our lives. We all need clarity and we all do better when we understand the messages fully. Larry Hope is the Director of Education for the Trillium As parents and educators, it’s never been more important Lakelands District School Board. for us to clearly share our pride, our disappointments when

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Smitty’s Restaurant doing what it can to go green RODERICK BENNS

Now Booking Portrait|Editorial|Fine Art

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The new environmental enemy – straws -- creates about 2,000 tonnes of waste, equal to four per cent of the total plastic trash by number of pieces. That makes straws an easy place to start to clean up our environmental act, but it’s a start nonetheless.

One restaurant in Lindsay can’t save the world and isn’t pretending it can – but it is doing what it can to go green.

Shelly Hardaker, the owner of Smitty’s S H E L L Y H A R DA K E R .

Restaurant in Lindsay, says they start off by P H OTO : E R I N S M I T H ordering fresh food “as much as humanly possible, because it’s the best quality and also to avoid all the excess packaging.”

As for straws, Smitty’s isn’t giving out straws except by request until their line of ‘eco straws’ are back in stock. These straws break down completely in 36 months with no harm done to the environment.

Smitty’s has also embraced compostable take-away containers, even though they have to pay a premium cost to use them.

Hardaker, who took over the restaurant two-and-a-half years ago, also lists reusable children’s tumblers for drinks, recycling as much as possible, and LED-compliant fixtures and bulbs as more evidence of the restaurant’s focus on sustainability.

The restaurant also boasts water-efficient bathroom fixtures and certified green furniture that is locally made, so no shipping is involved.

They also re-purpose product containers and have reaplced all flooring to be SCS certified, and 80 per cent of her appliances are High Efficiency designated.

But it wasn’t at Smitty’s where Hardaker was first made aware of the urgency to be environmentally conscious.

“The changes and the need to be as environmentally aware and friendly as we could started long ago at home,” she says.

Her father was in the futures market, “so we had an early insight into changes, many of them because of population growth and pollution.”

As well, Hardaker’s daughter “is quite the activist as well and so we do what we can because it’s the right thing to do.”

LA

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Basic Income:

Lost opportunity for business owners PHOTO: ERIN SMITH.

RODERICK BENNS “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business.”

- Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

When she got her BA in psychology and English, Suzanne McCarthy figured a decent education would open the right doors so that she would be set in life.

Not in the kind of way where great riches are expected, but because of the simple notion that higher education has always promised a solid life, with economic stability.

In a modern, capitalist society like Canada’s, education is meant to be the great equalizer, no matter one’s socio-economic place.

While McCarthy got a good higher education and was raised in a solid, middle-class household, she soon found herself enrolled in Ontario’s new basic income pilot program in Lindsay, even though she is a small business owner along with her husband, Connor. They are among the 2,000 people (or couples) in Lindsay

who were getting the new benefit, before the new Progressive Conservative government led by Premier Doug Ford unceremoniously cut the program.

During the election of June 7, the PCs promised they would let the pilot program be completed. The new government was sworn in June 29 and on August 1 they cancelled it.

The husband and wife team operate Cottage Woodworks, local builders who specialize in small structures, from tiny homes, to sheds and garages.

There’s a lot of anxiety in running a small business, says McCarthy.“We provide employment, and yet we’re struggling ourselves. It’s common to make lower wages than your employees sometimes.”

McCarthy is the kind of entrepreneur that basic

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income advocates like to point to – someone who might be in need of financial assistance and a leg up, yet is attempting to participate in an economy that has For instance, the top 20 per cent of earners in Canadian society were the only people whose share of total income rose in the nine years during 2006 to 2015, according to figures from the Broadbent Institute.

Long before they began receiving basic income, there was a particular period of desperation for the family, McCarthy says. She reached out to Ontario Works back then to see if they could help.

“The Ontario Works woman laughed when I called,” McCarthy remembers. Once she found out the McCarthy’s were business owners, despite not having available income at the time, there was nothing Ontario Works could do. The McCarthy’s would have had to have been much closer to destitution in order to have gotten a hand up from the state, a gaping social policy hole that has yet to be filled but for which basic income held some promise.

During the election of June 7, the PCs promised they would let the pilot program be completed. The new government was sworn in June 29 and on August 1 they cancelled it.

Since then things have stabilized, but the basic income pilot had been a lifeline in many ways for the few months they had collected it.

The McCarthy’s were counting on it to help on a number of fronts. For instance, they currently have a leaky roof and do not have a working furnace.

“The new roof that we were planning to install would have served to provide work for our employees in between projects for other clients. Also, it would prevent water damage that will ultimately cost us more in the long run,” she tells the Advocate.

They had also been planning for some time to purchase a ‘metal break’ – “a large tool we use on most of our projects but currently have to rent.”

Purchasing this would have saved them money in the long term.

They also wanted to advertise more, since they serve all of Ontario cottage country. Advertising would help them find clients willing to invest in top-quality construction and carpentry that can withstand storms and the test of time.

“The better our advertising campaign the more steady our work and the better it is for our employees.

Without this additional advertising there is a much greater risk of long periods of unemployment,” she explains.

McCarthy says the amount that we were receiving on basic Income was “substantial.”

“It would have made a significant impact on our family and business. It would have offered stability for our family and the young families that our employees support.”

As well, the results of the basic income investment in their business would have helped them support an average of one additional full-time employee through the year, says McCarthy.

She also believes that through taxation, such as the tax on their services, tax on extra materials that would have been purchased, and tax on extra payroll expenses, the government would have made back much of the money they would have given them in basic income payments.

“Additionally, they (the government) would have been able to avoid some Employment Insurance payments for our employees during slow seasons,” says McCarthy.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) forecasts that more than 7.5 million Canadians would benefit from a national basic income program. The cost to implement such a program for all Canadians is estimated by the PBO to be about $43 billion, which could be even lower if it were administered by the federal government in cooperation with the provinces. This also does not factor into account expected savings. With less poverty, this typically would translate into less stress on healthcare, social programs or even resources spent for public safety.

www.lindsayadvocate.ca

LA

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A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE SAFETY OF ONLINE VOTING T R E VO R H U T C H I N S O N Like over 190 other municipalities in the province, the City of Kawartha Lakes has moved to an internet/ telephone telephone voting system and done away with the traditional paper ballot system, after a decision of council in 2017. The rationale for the move, explained on the City’s website, seems laudable: a convenient system that offers automatic tabulation that increases accessibility, accuracy and efficiency. A willingness to try new systems and processes should be commended.

But we can’t -- as engaged citizens -- just trust that a new system is good because it’s new, even if all the other municipalities are doing it.

An investigation into this issue by The Lindsay Advocate has revealed some issues that we, as a community of voters, should think about. We interviewed one of Canada’s leading experts on online voting, Assistant Professor Aleksander Essex, of the University of Western Ontario’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Essex’s response is sobering: “…We don’t have the technology to make online voting safe...online voting is missing key protections -- it’s not like online banking.”

When asked about online security of our election, Cathie Ritchie, City Clerk of the City of Kawartha Lakes replied,“We have hired a third-party organization in association with other municipalities using Dominion Voting [the company contracted to administer the election] called the Digital Boundary Group to audit the process and the integrity of the software. We also have implemented internal auditing procedures. We have taken appropriate steps above any provincial requirements to ensure the election is secure. Both third party and internal auditing measures will be used to ensure the election is secure.”

The problem is that no company or small municipality can make it secure.While we reached out to Dominion Voting, the third party provider, they did not respond to questions by press time. Essex says in a recent survey worldwide of 100 election-related websites, all were

found vulnerable to a ‘man-in-the middle attack,’ which is “where a bad actor inserts themselves between the voter and the administrating website.” Adds Essex: “We don’t have substantive provincial or federal regulations for the security of online elections.

The problems arise from the feature that we cherish most in a democracy, according to Essex -- the secret ballot. In a nutshell, that’s what makes online voting unlike online banking. If someone pays a bill online, that person can see and the bank sees that a bill is being paid. The company being paid will also see part of the details of the transaction, too. Without finding a way to adjust the concept of the secret ballot, “when you press send we don’t know where that vote goes,” explains Essex. What we do know is that even if that vote gets counted as intended, it has gone through any number of countries, including China and Russia.

There are countless opportunities for bad actors to assert themselves into your vote malicious reasons.

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And any telephone vote is still as only as safe as the administrating company’s data.

There is no arguing with the City’s claim that online voting is more efficient. It is also clear that this process will make it easier for the people who don’t live in the City to vote (but are eligible because they own property).

But the claim that this process is ‘more accessible’ bears more scrutiny. In Policy & Internet by (lead researcher) University of Brock professor Nicole Goodman, she examined Canadian Internet elections in 2014. The paper concluded that there is some evidence that Internet voting can cause “digital disenfranchisement” noting “when paper ballots are unavailable...the voting population is made up of more technologically savvy electors...We interpret this finding to indicate that the elimination of paper ballots can disenfranchise those on the wrong side of the digital divide.”

What we do know is that even if that vote gets counted as intended, it has gone through any number of countries, including China and Russia.

And lest we think this is all money driven, this new system is not cheaper. The last municipal election cost the taxpayers of the CKL $257,319. The budget for this year’s election is $280,000, according to the City.

Most of that, no doubt, is going to a private company, and not being spent locally on things like, according to the City’s website, “staff time for vote counting.”

No municipality can be expected to have a technical staff to solve a problem that the world’s leaders in this field can’t solve: online security. But as Essex cautions, “city councils have to be a little more humble” in the face of this issue and not just accept the assurances of private vendors who are, after all, trying to sell us something.

LA

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TEACHERS MATTER:

Educators help create resilience JOLI SCHEIDLER-BENNS When we thought about our daughter going to Grade 7 this fall -- at a new school in a new town -- we had many concerns and hopes, but none were about the curriculum. The PC government’s attack on teachers and the threat to add a snitch line seems so petty. Teachers aren’t employed by the Province in the first place and the Ontario College of Teachers requires accountability and a professional level of standard -and boards are in place to monitor necessary levels of conduct.

Our concerns were typical parental concerns. Will she make friends? How will she adapt to having more than one teacher each day?

Our hopes were also typical and are mainly about her teachers.

Teachers matter more than anything, except for families, in the lives of their students. Ann Masten in her years of study on resilience situates education as a potential protective factor for students as the buffer between home/family life and larger social and political structures. A challenging home life can be eased through strong teacher and school support. At the same time, a teacher is given a social and political curriculum to teach, but has freedom in the classroom to include topics that are relevant to his or her students. She explains that the school values, the teaching itself, and the expectations of teachers and their school all help to ensure a more resilient outcome.

How does this translate?

Schools and teachers that have values such as inclusion, equity, and standards that ensure the support of all students promote higher quality outcomes.

John Hattie found that teachers who have high expectations of success for all of their students equals an effect size of 1.44. This is huge. What this means

is that teachers who believe their students can be successful end up creating successful students.

Finally in a recent study from 2016 about the increasing stress and burnout of teachers, it concludes by stating that “although some students learn despite their teachers, most learn because of them—not just because of what or how they teach, but because of who they are as people.” * We hope our daughter has great teachers, a supportive school environment, and enjoys a space that is caring and inclusive with high standards -- for her -- and all students. *Richards, K. A. R., Levesque-Bristol, C., Templin, T. J., & Graber, K. C. (2016). The impact of resilience on role stressors and burnout in elementary and secondary teachers. Social Psychology of Education, 19(3), 511-536. LA

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October is Community Support Month Each year, more than 4,700 local residents are served

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www.lindsayadvocate.ca

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10 Days 2 Ways

To Vote in the 2018 Municipal Election

Important Voter Information What are the new ward boundaries and how can I find out which ward I live in?

The election will use the new eight-ward boundary map as adopted by Council to elect eight ward Councillors. To find out which ward you live in, visit the Ward Boundaries section at kawarthalakes.ca/ election How can I make sure I am on the Voter’s List?

Visit kawarthalakes.ca/voterslist (suggested browsers Firefox, Safari or Chrome) Municipal Service Centre or the Clerk’s Office at 26 Francis Street in Lindsay to confirm, register or amend your information on the Voters’ List.

When registering in person or on the Voter Registration Portal, you will need a valid piece of identification (for example: driver’s licence).

When is the voting period?

Voters will be given 10 days and 2 ways to cast their vote. You can vote either online or by telephone from anywhere you have a connection.

Voting begins Friday October 12, 2018 at 9am and closes Monday October 22, 2018 at 8pm.

What do I need to vote?

A Voter Information PIN Letter will be mailed no later than October 9. If you do not receive a Voter Information Letter by this date, visit the Clerk’s Office or a Municipal Service Centre with a piece of valid ID to confirm your registration status and receive your unique Elector ID and PIN. They are required in order to log into the internet election site or to access the telephone election platform.

What if I do not have access to a computer?

City Hall, all Municipal Service Centres and/or select Kawartha Lakes Public Libraries will have computers and/or touchscreen kiosks available.

Are there polling stations or paper ballots?

With internet and telephone voting, there are no polling stations or paper ballots.

Where can I watch the election results?

You are invited to the Armory in Lindsay (doors open at 7:30pm) to catch the election results after 8pm or you can visit kawarthalakes.ca/election for the election results.

For more information, visit the Clerks’ Office at City Hall (26 Francis Street, Lindsay), call 705-324-9411 ext. 1888 or visit kawarthalakes.ca/election.

kawarthalakes.ca/election Help Centres For Voting Assistance

City Hall, 26 Francis Street Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm • • •

Saturday, October 13, 9am to 1pm Saturday, October 20, 9am to 1pm Monday, October 22, 8:30am to 8pm

Municipal Service Centres

Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm Touchscreen kiosks available. Voter PINs issued here. All centres are open until 8pm on Monday, October 22.

• Bobcaygeon, 123 East Street South • Coboconk, 9 Grandy Road • Lindsay, 180 Kent Street West •

Omemee, 1 King Street West

Stay connected to the City of Kawartha Lakes.

Download our free mobile app, Pingstreet. Get news, events and amergency notifications sent right to your mobile phone.

Kawartha Lakes Public Libraries

Computers and touchscreen kiosks will be available at the following libraries: Bethany, 1474 Highway 7A • Tuesday and Thursday 11:30am to 7:30pm • Saturday 10am to 2pm Dalton, 13 Rumohr Drive • Monday and Saturday 10am to 2pm • Wednesday 3:30pm to 7:30pm Fenelon Falls, 19 Market Street • Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10am to 5pm • Tuesday and Thursday 10am to 8pm • Saturday 9am to 2pm Kinmount, 3980 County Road 121 • Tuesday and Thursday 11am to 7pm • Saturday 9am to 1pm Kirkfield, 7 Munroe Street • Tuesday and Thursday 11am to 7pm • Saturday 9am to 1pm Lindsay, 190 Kent Street West • Monday to Thursday 11am to 7pm • Friday and Saturday 10am to 5 pm • Sunday 1pm to 4pm Woodville, 78 King Street • Monday 2pm to 8pm • Friday and Saturday 10am to 2pm

City of Kawartha Lakes @KawarthaLakes

A STORY OF THE ROHINGYA REFUGEE CRISIS from a Lindsay perspective

FRIENDS & NEIGHBOURS WITH JAMIE MORRIS The numbers are staggering. Over 700,000 Rohingya refugees, many of them children and women, have taken shelter in Bangladesh to escape wholesale slaughter, rape, and burning of their villages in Myanmar — systematic violence that the United Nations has described as as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

The descriptions of their conditions are moving.

Read, for example, this, from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHRC) website:“They have walked for days through jungles and mountains, or braved dangerous sea voyages across the Bay of Bengal . . .

Monsoon and cyclone season has arrived . . .Thousands of refugees will face grave risk of landslides and floods.”

Watching drone footage of the Kutupalang “megacamp,” video of the flooding or video interviews with refugees, makes the situation seem even more immediate.

But numbers, written descriptions, images are one thing. What must it be like to actually be on the ground, witnessing and providing relief in this humanitarian crisis?

Rhonda Gossen is the person to tell us.

She recently returned home to Lindsay after seven months in Bangladesh where her abbreviated UN title was specialist for host communities’ response.

When Rhonda and her Iranian-born husband, Shahbaz — who joined her in Bangladesh for two month-long stretches — sit down with me, it’s the Bangladesh experience and the lessons she took away from it that I want to hear about.

But I have other questions, too: How did she come to be there? What was it like to return to Lindsay after all that?

The Making of an Aid Worker Rhonda’s university degrees are in International Studies and Human Security and Peacekeeping, but

the experience that really set her on her path was volunteer work in India with the Canada World Youth exchange program (something she’d recommend to any budding humanitarian).

Since then she’s served as a Canadian diplomat and development worker with Global Affairs Canada and spent time as a research fellow at UBC for most of her career but the past five years, she has been a consultant with the United Nations.

It’s taken her into many fraught situations.

Her introduction to crisis response and conflict zones came in 2008, when she was posted to Kandahar in Afghanistan with the Canadian Government.

Later, when the Indus River flooded, affecting 20 million in Pakistan, she first saw the images on TV, sitting in Lindsay with her daughter. She then flew in to this crisis zone and later took assignments with UNDP in South Sudan, and in 2014 in Lebanon with UNHCR. The experience with massive numbers of Syrian refugees in Lebanon was particularly helpful preparation for Bangladesh.

But there were significant differences: the Syrians had been displaced and were fleeing violence; the Rohingya were victims of ethnic cleansing, and were essentially stateless (having been stripped of citizenship rights decades earlier).

And Lebanon was a much wealthier country than Bangladesh.

Bangladesh In December, 2017, Rhonda flew in to Dakha, then on to Cox’s Bazar, the epicentre of the refugee crisis.

Cox’s Bazar might, at some time in the past, have been a delight to visit. It has the longest sandy beach in the world (129 km) and provides wildlife habitat for tortoises and elephants. But in addition to now being inundated with refugees it’s an area prone to climate disasters such as high tides, monsoons, and mudslides. As Shahbaz notes, “the conditions are there for an emergency within an emergency.”

Here were those with very little, sharing their food, possessions and space with large numbers of refugees who had almost nothing.

Rhonda remembers the initial impression the camps made on her.

“When you see them what strikes everybody is the sheer size,” she says. “You know something has gone terribly wrong.”

Rhonda was not a first responder. Most of her energy went to work with the host communities — the Bangladeshis — who were facing the impact of the massive influx of refugees.

She was hugely impressed by the generosity and kindness of the Bangladeshis to the newcomers.

Here were those with very little,sharing their food,possessions and space with large numbers of refugees who had almost nothing.

She was equally impressed by the refugees, who demonstrated enormous resilience. Just a few weeks ago, the first democratic election was held in the largest refugee camp. Half the elected Rohingya leaders were male, half female. They were empowered to help make decisions about their situation and represent the wider community.

Coming Home Two months ago Rhonda returned to Lindsay. She’d left Bangladesh with mixed feelings.

The crisis was deepening, but there had been small victories.

She also took satisfaction in the role Canada was playing advocating for justice for the Rohingya people and contributing $300 million to relief and recovery efforts.

Being back in Lindsay was a relief. She was with Shahbaz and her daughter. “It’s peaceful, she notes, “and the air is clean. It’s so easy to live here.”

Coming back to Lindsay, though, she was reminded that poverty exists here too, despite the general affluence of Canadian society. Here, poverty exists side by side with prosperity.

As she decompresses Rhonda continues to work, from home or on trips to Ottawa or Toronto.

Both she and Shahbaz also hope to build their connections here in Lindsay and to contribute to our community.

LA

www.lindsayadvocate.ca

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SHOW THE LOVE

What do you love about Kawartha Lakes?

We love Lindsay and Kawartha Lakes. We love our neighbours and interacting with the community. We love being close to nature and enjoy exploring the people and places in our own backyard. Each day in the community brings new faces, places, and experiences to our lives. We couldn’t ask for a better place to call home.

There are so many things that we love about the Kawartha Lakes that we take for granted. Beautiful waterways, trails, a relaxing lifestyle, and yet everything you need, within easy reach. But if I do happen to jump in my car and find myself complaining about a couple of red lights, I usually chuckle and remind myself that many others see far worse ‘traffic jams’ every day!

- Shelly Peeken & Edward Wayne Hilton, Lindsay

- Dave Illman, Lindsay

I love that I not only call the Kawartha Lakes home, but also my place of employment. Our daughter is being raised and going to school here. How lucky are we that all these things happen in the same town? It creates an opportunity to connect with our community on a daily basis. We wouldn’t want to live, work and grow anywhere else.

- Rheanon Antoniak, Fenelon Falls

If you have been to Mickael’s, you know the space is tight and we re-arrange often, “just to keep you on your toes.”

Nearly every day, somewhere at the back of the line, I hear a, “Oh, hi, Sandy! When did I last see you?” or a “are you Jim and Nell’s boy? How’s your dad?” After one reunion the other day, a regular approached the counter, beaming, “I’m so glad I ran into them today. I’ve been meaning to connect, but haven’t got the chance.” In this community -- larger than a third of the world’s nations -- we are defined by relationship.

- Devin Cross, Lindsay

Want to be a part of Show the Love? Just send us 2-3 sentences on what YOU love about living in Kawartha Lakes, along with a high resolution photo, to thelindsayadvocate@gmail.com

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to stay temporarily. Insurance will cover these necessary extra expenses while repairs are completed.

5. It’s easy Contact your broker to purchase a tenants policy or confirm an extension from your parents’ policy. All you need is a value and list of any expensive items to confirm accurate coverage.

Marlene Morrison Nicholls

As the new school year is upon us, students are preparing to move away (or move back to) college or university; an important consideration is to have insurance in place that covers your personal belongings, as well as liability.

Some student residences or housing may require you to have your own tenant’s policy, but check first, you may already have coverage under your parents’ property policy. Here are five reasons tenant issuance is a good idea, even when it is not required.

1. Protect your belongings You own more than you think. From furniture to expensive laptops, insurance will protect it. Many students are surprised to realize how much stuff they actually have and how expensive it would be to replace all of it at once.

2. Protect yourself from liability It is important to expect the unexpected. Your building may get damaged, or someone may get hurt. If there are injuries or property damage the student(s) renting that home or dorm room could be held financially responsible.

3. It’s affordable Tenant’s insurance policy is roughly $200 - $400 a year for $20,000 in contents and $2 million liability. Your peace of mind will cost less in a month than daily coffee runs to the cafe.

4. It covers additional expenses after a loss If your home is damaged in a loss, you will need a place

So when you are making your back to school list – don’t forget to add your insurance protection. Call us today to help you protect what matters most.

LA - Marlene Morrison Nicholls is the President of Stewart Morrison Insurance

NATURE NOTES WITH SUZANNE ALDEN

Our Local Fish Hawk The City of Kawartha Lakes uses an Osprey as part of their logo appropriately as we are fortunate to have a large, thriving population of these ‘fish hawks’ nesting in the area.When fall arrives, these matedfor-life raptors part company to fly down south separately and will not see each another again until returning to the nest the following spring.The fledglings also fly down alone, but will stay 18 months before returning.The Osprey’s eyesight and fishing skill is beyond excellent and once a fish is caught it will arrange it parallel to their body with a reversible toe, creating less wind resistance.

For more info visit the longstanding charitable organization: friendsoftheosprey.org

www.lindsayadvocate.ca

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justIN TIME

with IAN MCKECHNIE

McQuarrie Point at 25: A Tribute to My Grandparents

The sun sets over Lindsay as a young family gathers at the end of a rustic peninsula on the west bank of the Scugog River to admire a heron standing regally on the opposite shore. If they are lucky, they might perchance see a beaver swimming through the water.To their left, in the shadows of a well-preserved remnant of the Carew sawmill complex (now part of the Rivermill Condominium community), a groundhog stealthily makes its way through the tall grass. In the distance, two ancient boathouses watch forlornly from the east bank as personal watercraft roar past.

This pastoral-looking site – one that has been attracting visitors young and old alike for a quarter of a century now – is called McQuarrie Point. Purchased by the Wilson Estate for the Lindsay Board of Park Management, it lacks the horticultural elegance of Victoria Park or Memorial Park, but its quiet simplicity in many ways speaks to the character of those for whom it was named.

Making their way to the tip of this 575 footlong peninsula, visitors pass a plaque which reads: “A tribute to Marnie & Jim McQuarrie For their dedicated community service to the Town of Lindsay and its parks system. Dedicated the 9th day of October 1993.”

“Who were Marnie and Jim McQuarrie?” these visitors may ask, especially if they are younger than 30 or new to town. This story seeks to answer that question. They were my maternal grandparents.

While I never knew my grandfather, who died three years before I was born, and have only the vaguest

recollections of my grandmother, their memory lives on in those whose lives they touched over the span of two generations.

Jim McQuarrie (1925-1988) worked as a lawyer in Lindsay, beginning his career with the firm of Frost, Richardson & McQuarrie. In 1958, he began his own practise which evolved into McQuarrie, Hill, Walden, Chester & McLeod. Descended from hardy Scottish farmers who settled in nearby Argyle some 15 years before Confederation, Grandpa inherited his own father and grandfather’s devotion to serving the communities in which they lived.

Lachlan McQuarrie (1844-1922), a rugged-looking farmer with a thick white beard, served on the Eldon Township Council. His son, Donald, or ‘Dan’ McQuarrie (1887-1970) enjoyed a 20-year career as a teacher before serving as the Registrar of Deeds for Victoria County and later as Lindsay’s Industrial Commissioner.

A community-minded man, my great-grandfather once served as Chairman of the Lindsay Board of Education, founding president of the Victoria County Historical Society, and an Elder at St.Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.

My grandmother, Marjorie Buchan McKerracher (1929-1994), known to most as Marnie, could likewise trace her interest in the health and well-being of others back into the mists of history. Like her own mother, Grandma was called into the nursing profession and worked for several years in the Ross Memorial Hospital.

Grandma’s maternal great-grandfather owned and operated a pharmacy in Wiarton, Ontario during the

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1800s; and in the person of Jonathan Fulford, an 18th Century United Empire Loyalist, Grandma shared a common ancestor with George T. Fulford (18521905), who launched a pharmaceutical empire and was later appointed to the Senate.

Marnie and Jim McQuarrie’s dedicated community service was clearly rooted in family, and they raised eight children who have perpetuated their commitment to serving others.

What did community service mean for Grandpa and Grandma McQuarrie? The causes of politics and education were dear to Grandpa’s heart. He served as a town councillor, and was active in the Progressive Conservative Party -- when progressive in Progressive Conservative actually meant investing in the long-term social well-being of communities. (Were they with us today, my grandparents surely would have questioned the present provincial government’s insistence on reducing the price of beer while failing to invest in helping the less fortunate.)

Always interested in the physical, mental, and educational well-being of young people, Grandpa served on the Victoria County Board of Education, the Lindsay Public Library Board, and the Lindsay Board of Park Management. Both he and Grandma served on the Board of Five Counties Children’s Centre, and Grandma had a special concern for the problem of child abuse, serving with the multidisciplinary Council on Child Abuse for some 10 years.

Both Grandma and Grandpa died far too young, at 63 and 64, respectively. McQuarrie Point remains a lasting physical memorial to their many contributions, but its future depends on regular upkeep. Erosion has eaten away at the peninsula, and litter is a common sight. The plaque bearing my grandparents’ names has been defaced from time to time, and the “winding, central granular pathway,” fishing platform, and wooden lookout area promised in the landscape architect’s plans 25 years ago have yet to materialize.

Perhaps the best and most lasting way to remember the dedicated service of Marnie and Jim McQuarrie is, in the words of the story about the Good Samaritan, to “go and do likewise.” Get involved in serving your community by making a positive difference in the lives of others. In this world of “fake news,” distrust, and injustice, we take heart from the epitaph inscribed on my grandparents headstone out in the little Argyle cemetery: “An honest man’s the noblest work of God.” LA

www.lindsayadvocate.ca

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CLOSE TO THE HEART: 50 YEARS OF NAYORO-LINDSAY

RODERICK BENNS

Executive Assistant to MP Jamie Schmale, Dylan Robichaud, Councillor Pat O'Reilly, Deputy Chair of the Nayoro-Lindsay Sister City Committee, Isamu Abe, and Lindsay native Mark Hamilton. Photo: Roderick Benns.

The first time Mark Hamilton was on an airplane he was 18, back in 1987. As a shy farm boy from Lindsay, he recalls he was on his way to Nayoro, Japan as an exchange student – something he notes was “more than a few latitudes beyond my comfort zone.”

His nervousness was soon assuaged though by the warm greetings of his host family, three of “the kindest people” he had ever met in his life.

It was an adventurous summer, he remembers, staying with 10 different families. He learned the exhilaration of new experiences and quickly realized that two months would not be enough time to explore all of the intricacies of Japanese culture.

That’s why he returned to teach English on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme in 1993.

Everything about Japanese culture fascinated and challenged Hamilton, from the seemingly incomprehensible language, the raw fish and rice-based diet, as well as the communal bathing, dance festivals, and the kimono.

There was also great hospitality, heartfelt communication without words, and expressions of gratitude for Hamilton’s efforts to experience their culture.

Now a professor at Tokai University in Japan, Hamilton notes he will have spent close to half his life in his adopted nation. He spent over two years in Nayoro, one year in Okoppe, and 22 years in Sapporo.

In 2000, Hamilton married a Japanese woman – Mikako – in Lindsay. They then rushed back to Japan to

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hold a traditional Shinto wedding ceremony at Nayoro Shrine, with many of his old host families in attendance at the ceremony.

50 Years Celebrated It was just a few weeks ago when a delegation of 13 Japanese dignitaries arrived in Lindsay to celebrate 50 years of the Nayoro-Lindsay sister-city relationship. It was a fulfilling moment for Hamilton to be among them, who acted as the official interpreter.

“I feel very proud to now have the ability to interpret in Japanese and to help forge new friendships. I truly hope that other students and visitors may be as excited about exploring our cultural differences as I have been,” he tells the Advocate.

Hidenori Inaba, the chair of the sister city committee for six years now, said through Hamilton that he is “most satisfied and honoured” to be part of this relationship. He found the people of Lindsay to be “very kind” and pointed out that he has hosted 20 students from Lindsay over the 50-year relationship.

Heather Newman is chair of the Lindsay-Nayoro Twinning Committee on this side of the Pacific and has been involved since the very beginning. She says Nayoro is very much like Lindsay.

Nayoro is not much bigger than Lindsay, has a wide main street, and it’s a farming community (growing mainly rice). There’s also a ski hill close by (paralleling Devil’s Elbow near Bethany) and Nayoro area even went through an amalgamation process, somewhat like this area did, when Victoria County became City of Kawartha Lakes.

Newman says one thing Japanese students consistently observe when they come here is they can’t believe how much freedom teens have.

“Our teens who go over there find the schooling much stricter, including the length of time they have to spend in school. The minimum number of school days in a year is 210 in Japan, compared to 194 in Canada. However, students will typically attend school for 240 to 250 days in school a year for extra classes and academic or sports activities.

The Japanese delegation appears ready to make decisions at Kawartha Lakes City Council. Photo: Carm Hamilton.

“Our students are also amazed by their pride in their schools,” says Newman. To walk into a public school over there and see them cleaning up their classrooms and to see the school and community spirit is quite incredible, she says.

Vice Mayor Masamichi Hashimoto, of Nayoro also spoke to the Advocate through Hamilton. He said he feels the two places have really “grown together” over the years and that the exchange program “has been a great benefit” to both communities.

Tomio Sato, a farmer who made the trip with the delegation, was an exchange student to Lindsay 40 years ago, staying with the Newman’s back then. He says he will never forget how the town accepted him, even though he knew no English at all. He calls it “a kindness I hold close to my heart.”

Overcoming that challenge here decades ago was a great source of his future confidence as a young man. He didn’t want to miss this chance to return to Lindsay, even though, he says, as a farmer “it’s a busy time of year” for him.

Next year, a delegation from Lindsay area will travel to Nayoro to continue the celebration of 50 years as sister cities. LA

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We want arts and culture put on the table for this In advance the Citycandidates of Kawartha municipal election.

Let'sofelect who support Lakes municipal election in October, culture and believe that long-term investment in it is we want arts and culture put on the vital to our social table. economic We want to electand candidates whogrowth. support culture and believe that longAttend the town forum toand learn about the termhall investment in arts culturemore is vital to our economic and social growth. mayoral candidates’ positions on the cultural sector.

Sept. 27 at 7 pm, Academy Theatre.

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James Mulhern, president of the Lindsay and District Labour Council, recently said a few remarks to celebrate workers’ contributions to their communities. The recent Labour Day Picnic featured door prizes, food, refreshments, games, and music courtesy of the band Stockdale Central.

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Andrew Veale believes in giving back to Woodville, Kawartha Lakes RODERICK BENNS Andrew Veale knows he’s a fortunate man. Born and raised in Woodville, he has lived there all his life without ever needing to leave Kawartha Lakes for career opportunities, as many of his young contemporaries felt they had to do.

Veale, who manages and oversees both Lindsay Kia and Lindsay Buick GMC, is a fourth generation automotive man. He started out washing cars and pumping gas at his family’s used vehicle dealership.

Over the years the dealership owner became president of both the Woodville Legion and Kawartha Lakes Health Care Initiative. He was the past president of the Woodville Lions Club and Curling Club, and is still associated with the clubs.

His work with the Lions Club has benefited the village in many ways.

With so many people moving in, building new homes, and then removing older-growth trees, the Lions Club recognized the need to do something.

Over the last two years they have planted 100 maple trees around the village.

“I know I won’t see the benefit of that but my nieces and nephews and others will,” Veale says.

His work with the Lions Club has meant involvement in other key projects for the village, such as the park initiative for kids, and the Woodville Town Hall restoration that the club spearheaded.

“I like history. I think it’s important to maintain our buildings and our historical papers. How can you ever move forward if you don’t know where you came from?”

From a business perspective, Veale says he grew up seeing his family’s involvement in supporting the community and local events.

“The business people I know believe they have an obligation to give back,” he says, noting his own dealerships’ involvement in giving back to Ross Memorial Hospital, United Way, hospice, festivals, fairs, parades, and more.

Just as he feels fortunate to have been able to earn a living in Kawartha Lakes without leaving, Veale is also proud he can provide good jobs for more than 80 people between his two dealerships.

“I think if the community succeeds, your business will succeed.”

LA

KAWARTHA LAKES VIGNETTE

PHOTO BY ERIN SMITH

COLLEEN IRWIN Number 5 on her travel bucket list was the Amazon jungle – and it was Number 5 that almost killed her. Irwin has had an eclectic career, from the music industry, to running a global entertainment company to her now full-time embrace of life as a visual artist in Lindsay.

But in 2000 she was on a journey to meet up with a rainforest tribe who would teach her how to hunt for plants and seeds that produced natural colour and paint-like pigments.

Navigating the wildest river in the world, the Amazon, isn’t for the faint of heart. When Irwin mistakenly broke her water bottle getting onto the tiny raft, it never occurred to her the guide taking her inland wouldn’t have water.

The parrots, piranhas, and monkeys she could see inland from the raft were like something out of a Hollywood movie.

Mammoth, green water lilies, spanning eight feet across, floated surreally in the river’s grasp.

After going ashore it was only 15 minutes into the hike before she blacked out from a lack of water.

She awoke to see a small, G-string-wearing man and a bare-breasted woman hovering above her. Then the little man, now holding a machete between his teeth, shimmied up a tree. He tossed something to the ground with a thud, then made his way back down and split what looked like a large nut.

Digging his dirty fingers into the pulp, Irwin would later blog, “he…shoved it into my dry mouth.” As it turns out it was chocolate nut – and the effects of it had Irwin on her feet again within 15 minutes.

She eventually and successfully collected the plants and seeds she sought and was able to finish her incredible journey with a bucket-list story worth retelling.

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-- Roderick Benns

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