County Closeup

Haliburton County has only two licensed childcare centers in the County – one in Minden, and the other in Haliburton, so for parents in need of finding reliable childcare face an incredibly difficult ordeal. Parents of young children here must endure years-long wait lists or turn to grandparents, neighbors and friends to fill in as caretakers for their children.

With 260 children on waitlists that stretch on for an average four years, the prospect of finding quality childcare in Haliburton County is bleak, forcing many young families to move out of the region, in search of employment, more affordable housing and better access to childcare.

In part one of the a four part series about the childcare shortage, CanoeFM spoke with two mothers who know exactly how hard it is to secure childcare for their kids. Each say it’s a situation that needs to be solved or local communities will continue to lose young families.

An intimate table for two looking out on a pack of grey wolves. It’s not for the faint of heart, Dinner with Wolves at the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve’s Wolf Sanctuary is definitely a night to remember.

Catered by a local restaurant, the Dinner with Wolves experience features a three-course meal and all the photos of wolves you can take. Guests have the whole center to themselves to view the wolves playing, eating their own dinner. The can also tour the museum there, undisturbed by crowds. It’s a program that came out of an unusual request, but now the Dinner with Wolves program is by far the center’s biggest and best-selling attractions.

CanoeFM visited the center recently and despite the wolves staying out of view, as they were working off the previous night’s dinner, the dinner location was certainly one of a kind.

Attracting tourism, while decreasing our carbon footprint were the rationale Environment Haliburton’s Susan Hay used to convince Dysart et al council members to apply for the Charged for Change $125 grant at its Jan. 28th session.

Susan, president of local environmental organization Environment Haliburton became aware of the grant in late 2024 and jumped at the chance to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations in Haliburton from one to possibly five in the community. She believes more stations will enhance the local economy as they provide the much-needed charging infrastructure to the increasing number of drivers choosing electric vehicles.

Peter Ewald from Lakeland EV Charging spoke to council as well, and gave his assurance the grant program will cost the municipality nothing. His firm will be responsible for the installation and maintenance of the EV charging stations in Haliburton and will work with staff and council to determine the best locations for them. He added local businesses such as grocery stores and restaurants will benefit as the drivers will visit the downtown core while their cars are being charged.

As of Jan, 1, 2025, the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge Health Unit and Peterborough Public Health officially merged into one agency, the Haliburton, Kawartha Northumberland Peterborough Health Unit, or HKNP.

The merger, was prompted by the Ontario government’s More Convenient Care Act, with the goal to build a greater capacity of people, processes, tools, technology and funding to better serve communities while maintaining the existing level of service in fiscally scare environments.

Point in Time in Haliburton offers a wide variety of support programs for children, youth and parents. Marg Cox, Executive Director says her organization relies of the support of the health unit and remains optimistic that it will be business as usual

Point in Time has received assurances from Dr. Natalie Bocking, the former Medical Officer of Health, that the organization will continue to be supported.

He’s something of an institution in Haliburton. Miles Maughan has been with the Dysart Fire Department for 47 years and on Dec. 31, 2024, he retired from a career that has meant the world to him.

CanoeFM invited Miles into its studio to share his fondest memories, greatest challenges and thoughts on his decades of service to the community.

Miles spoke about how the department has changed, and grown into a team that could rival any in urban centers. He talked about how women are just as qualified and hard-working as their male counterparts and how when firefighters sign up for duty, their spouses indirectly do as well. He thanked his patient wife for tolerating his hasty exits from dinners, grocery stores and golf courses to go fight fires, and expressed pride for honoring a former fire chief killed in the line of duty.

Through laughter and tears, Miles reflected on his storied career and his hopes for the future.

For the past few years, Youth Unlimited, a faith-based organization in Haliburton has been operating in local churches, without a place to call their own. Recently, the group celebrated the grand opening of The Bridge, a center for youth that aims to build confidence and foster respect while having fun with friends.

Thanks to the dedication of co-directors Kyle and Leanne Young, The Bridge is now a reality. A bright space with a large kitchen, a video games room, hang-out space and art areas, the center offers a variety of programs for both elementary and high school students.

CanoeFM attended the grand opening and met some of the youth and family members who attended.

It’s been decades since doctors made house calls in Ontario, but thanks to a pilot program, patients in Haliburton County are getting cared for in their own homes. It’s part of the province-wide Community Paramedicine program that offers both medical care and social interaction, aiming to take some of the strain off the healthcare system and cut down on 911 calls.

CanoeFM spent time with three Haliburton paramedics who see the value of the home visits and the rapport they build with their patients.

There’s a group of retired women in Haliburton who don’t believe in sitting on their laurels, rather, these three women are doing their best to improve Canadian society by starting with the basics – Basic Income, that is.

Judy Paul, Carolynn Coburn and Marybeth Wilson began the Basic Income Group because of experiences each had in their former occupations. They saw first-hand how poverty holds people back and puts an enormous strain on social services. Now they see Basic Income as a bridge to improve people’s standard of living, their dignity and their personal fulfillment, knowing that when those are taken care of, other challenges become less onerous.

CanoeFM sat down with the women – one joined on a Zoom call – to discuss their reasons for spending their golden years working on real change for all Canadians.

Highlands East Mayor Dave Burton was recently elected to the position of Warden of Haliburton County. He sat down at CanoeFM studios to share his hopes for the term ahead, the challenges and the reasons he's been committed to public service.

Canada’s 629,000 veterans have higher rates of depression, anxiety and substance use disorder than civilians. One in seven veterans is living with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a psychological response to the experience of intense traumatic or life-threatening events. PTSD can affect people of any age, culture or gender. That’s why the work carried out at Dimensions in Haliburton County is so important.

Thanks to support and guidance of Veterans Affairs Canada, there is a safe place for veterans in need of help for their PTSD. Dimensions, a retreat center in Algonquin Highlands, has treated nearly 200 veterans and is planning to expand their programs to include first responders.

CanoeFM recently spoke with a veteran whose life was dramatically changed at Dimensions, as well as the clinical psychotherapist that works with veterans to improve their quality of life and deal with their PTSD symptoms.