Peterborough Blogs
Government of Ontario Partnering with Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre to Protect at Risk Species in Peterborough
/The Ontario government is providing nearly $500,000 in funding through the Species at Risk Stewardship program to the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre as they undertake on-the-ground work to protect turtles at risk in the community.
Dave Smith, MPP for Peterborough-Kawartha was joined by David Piccini, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, as well as donors and other community members on Wednesday at the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre for the groundbreaking of their new hospital for Ontario’s native turtle species.
“This forever home has been a dream that is finally coming to reality. I cannot express how much great work the centre does, from rehabilitating injured turtles to the recovery and fertilization of turtle eggs from those turtles who sadly do not make it,” said Dave Smith, MPP for Peterborough–Kawartha. “We are extremely fortunate to have such a world leader in conservation right here in our own backyard.”
Led by the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, the Hospital and Hatchling Program, and supported by the Species at Risk Stewardship Program, this project helps reduce some of the effects of road mortality on turtle populations. Seven out of eight of Ontario's turtles are at-risk. The funding will help mitigate threats to at-risk turtles through rehabilitation, education, field studies, research and data-sharing.
“Everyday, dedicated local and community organizations across Ontario demonstrate their commitment to protecting and recovering plants, insects, animals and their habitats,” said Minister Piccini. “Our government is proud to partner with grassroots organizations across the province to make a real impact. The 2023-24 projects continue Ontario’s track record of strong environmental stewardship and preserving the rich biodiversity of our province for future generations.”
As part of the Species at Risk Stewardship Program, Ontario has provided $914,703 to support the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre since 2018 in their work to rehabilitate, conduct field studies and research and mitigate threats for at-risk turtles. The new funding builds on this longstanding support and investment with the conservation centre.
“The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre gratefully acknowledges the tremendous support that the MECP's Species at Risk Stewardship Program has given, to enable us to continue our vital conservation work,” said Mandy St. Germaine, Chair of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre. “As we enter our new growth phase, we shall be able to increase our national impact in turtle conservation even more, and very much look forward to our continued partnership with MECP.”
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Ontario Government Providing Additional Funding for On-Call Care at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre
/Member of Provincial Parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha Dave Smith announced Friday that the Ontario government is investing $3,471,232 into the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) to support more on-call funding for doctors working after hours.
This funding will help patients to continue to get the care they need in-hospital, right when and where they need it.
“This funding increase will help PRHC by increasing the number of physicians available for patients when the hospital needs that extra support.” said Dave Smith. “This is just one more step the province is taking to ensure the right level of care is available when it is needed and further help reduce wait times for the people of the greater Peterborough area.”
This funding follows through on previous agreements between the Ontario Medical Association and Ontario Ministry of Health to increase dedicated funding for physicians on-call. This funding will support on-call coverage at nearly 100 acute-care hospitals in Ontario.
This funding will support after-hours care at PRHC and allow for more stable after-hours coverage. This investment recognizes the efforts of health care workers, especially those who provide on-call services in addition to their regular working hours whenever hospitals need it.
“On behalf of PRHC, I want to thank MPP Smith, Ontario Health and the Ministry of Health for today’s exciting announcement,” said Dr. Lynn Mikula, president and CEO of Peterborough Regional Health Centre. “This funding for on-call support will have benefits for both our physicians and our patients, and help to ensure that the people of our community and region have better access to the care they need, when they need it.”
This funding includes a $12.5 million investment from the 2021 Physician Services Agreement with the Ontario Medical Association which will also commits to a fundamental re-design of the Hospital On-Call Coverage program into a burden-based funding model. This ensures equitable distribution of funding across physicians providing on-call services.
Peterborough Animal Care Centre Receives Grant of Over $1.5 Million From Provincial Government
/The Peterborough Animal Care Centre (PACC) has received a grant of $1,560,500 from the Minister of Infrastructure of the Province of Ontario to continue its building development and expansions announced by MPP Dave Smith and the Peterborough Humane Society (PHS) on Friday morning.
The funding will aid in several programs and project completions such as an off-leash public access dog park, trail system, memorial patio and garden space according to Shawn Morey, PHS executive director.
"It's directly supporting our programming, we're doing a lot of kids camps, we're going to be doing some programming around responsible pet ownership and facilitation of adoption,” he said.
The PACC had known about the funding for roughly over a year but was finalized around Christmas according to MPP Dave Smith. He says the work PACC does in conjunction with the Solicitor General’s office was obviously to lobby for the facility to receive government funding.
“The Humane Society, they are the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals locally. They do a lot of that work for us and work with the Solicitor General's office,” explained Smith. “We recognize what's happening in the greater Peterborough area and I'll even go beyond Peterborough County. The facilities they had previously weren't big enough to do a lot of things they needed to do.”
To that point, the PACC had been community-funded however Morey says that they are still seeking $3 million to finish it. There could be more requests down the road for building expansion within the next few years.
“This center has been built by the community, for the community. That's one of our big statements with making this come to fruition,” said Morey. “It's been 10 years in the making since we initially had this concept of building this state-of-the-art facility completion. Plus we have additional phases that we're going to look at over the next few years to help advance the building.”
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Ontario Government Provides One-Time Funding Increase of $2.5 Million For Homeless Prevention in Peterborough and the County
/Peterborough and the County just got an extra $2,492,700 for homelessness prevention now totalling $7,657,000 for the city’s budget, announced by MPP Dave Smith at City Hall on Wednesday morning.
The money is part of the Ontario government’s investment of an additional $202 million for the province’s annually in the province’s Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supporting Housing Program, bringing Ontario’s total yearly investment in these programs to close to $700 million.
The funding is meant to support the most vulnerable by providing supportive housing and homelessness prevention services.
“Peterborough, like so many cities across Ontario, is experiencing a homelessness crisis,” said Mayor Jeff Leal. “This funding from the Province of Ontario will help support our most vulnerable with critical homelessness prevention and supportive housing services.”
The additional funding has come as a surprise to some City staff and Council members as the budget was finalized in January according to Smith. The money will be added to the original budget the City had intended for homelessness.
“This gives them an opportunity then to make some plans on what they're going to do with it,” he said.
City Council has until April 1 next year to spend the money as they see fit in a ‘use it or lose it’ situation and cannot be banked for next year’s funding.
Smith also added that partially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were more people who were unhoused and this increase in funding is in recognition of that increasing number.
“When we were developing the budget this year, we were able to find some additional funding that flowed into it,” he explained.
When asked about how many people it will aid, Smith says it’s hard to gauge as it could be premature to issue a number. He continued saying it could be as low as the high 90s but can reach the 300s.
“I think the most important thing we should be looking at is taking that snapshot in time, where are we sitting right now, how many individuals do we have that need that additional support and what plans can we put in place to address that,’ he explained.
Smith recognized during provincial budget talks that Peterborough was a city in significant need of reducing homelessness issues.
“We need to make sure we’re proactive so we don’t find ourselves in a position in July or August of this year that a number of individuals see themselves where their only recourse is to set up a tent at Victoria Park,” said Smith.
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$104,200 Ontario Trillium Grant Supporting New, Sustainable Fundraising Strategy
/Community Counselling and Resource Centre (CCRC) welcomed MPP Dave Smith on Friday to hear more about the $104,200 Resilient Communities Fund grant it received in 2022.
The grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) was used by CCRC to work with a fundraising firm, helping develop a fundraising strategy and plan to create new, sustainable sources of revenue.
Funding from the grant supported the hiring of a fundraising consultant, staff resources and the purchase of a subscription for a grant database.
"Today's announcement of $104,200 has helped the Community Counselling and Resource Centre to recover from the pandemic,” MPP Dave Smith said. "By focusing on new ideas to build for the future, they are able to continue focusing on the important work they do best, helping to support residents in the community.”
People from all areas of Peterborough City and County and now Northumberland rely on CCRC to provide them with low or no cost counselling and/or services through the Housing Resource Centre.
"We are so fortunate to have received funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation" said Kirsten Armbrust, executive director of CCRC. "This grant has allowed us to work with a consultant to strengthen our fundraising program. We are committed to the sustainability of our organization and fundraising is an integral part of that process."
For more information visit the website.
Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith Has Grand Opening of New Constituency Office
/Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith’s new Action Centre constituency office had its grand opening at the Asta Spirit Plaza on Wednesday.
The office is in Unit E of the plaza, located at 864 Chemong Rd. It replaces the prior location on 1123 Water St. Smith moved the office since the property was to be demolished to construct new housing units.
The new space has been operable since December but renovations had recently finished prior to the grand opening.
The location created greater accessibility for not just Peterborough but for the Kawarthas as well according to Smith.
“Almost 50 per cent of the population of this riding lives to the north and east of The City of Peterborough,” he explained. “I need to make sure that wherever we went was going to be a spot that was easily accessible for someone coming down from Kinmount or coming from Havelock or North Kawartha.”
He also emphasized that the new 2,300-square-foot location created a barrier-free space, something he was adamant about ensuring when he chose the new location. Full wheelchair accessibility, an automatic door opener, widened doorways and room upgrades were improvements made to the Chemong Road building.
“This is all wheelchair accessible, it's barrier-free and that was one of the main things for me, If someone wanted to come see their MPP, they have an opportunity to come here regardless of what disability they may or may not have.”
The expanded space added a new feature for the public as the Action Centre has in-person private constituent rooms for anyone wishing to speak to Smith or his staff.
“If somebody comes in and wants to talk to one of the constituent assistants or myself about something that's a little sensitive, we have an area we can go to now that's a little more private,” explained Smith. “They don't have to be sharing that information with others if they're coming in.”
The grand opening also had a ribbon-cutting ceremony that signified the end of renovations and that the office was running at 100 per cent.
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MPP Dave Smith Relocating Constituency Office to Chemong Road Plaza
/Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith is on the move as his is relocating his Action Centre to 864 Chemong Rd. announced on Wednesday.
The new location is in the Asta Spirit Plaza across from Brookdale Plaza. The signage has already been installed as of Wednesday. The current location at 1123 Water St. will be demolished to construct new housing units such as townhouses and two-bedroom apartments by Cherney Properties.
Over the last few months, the new location has undergone interior renovations to make it fully accessible for seniors and anyone with disabilities. The renovations include a wheelchair ramp, an automatic door opener, bathroom upgrades, widen doorways and the creation of open, barrier-free space for those with visual impairments according to a press release.
“After four years at our Water Street location, we’ve come to the decision that it’s time for us to move. We desperately need more housing in Peterborough,” said Smith. “We aren’t going far though. I’ve always said that it is important that people from across the riding, not just the city, can easily access the Action Centre. This location maintains the ample parking and access by the townships surrounding the City of Peterborough that our existing office has.”
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"I'm advocating on behalf of two million students." MPP Dave Smith Urges CUPE To Renegotiate and Stop Striking
/MPP Dave Smith explains the province's steps and stance toward the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ actions which are fighting for a pay raise. He says the ball is in CUPE's court to act but wants to have students back in schools as soon as possible.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has agreed to repeal Bill 28 if the CUPE workers agreed to stop striking. According to Ford’s tweet Monday morning, CUPE has agreed to withdraw.
I’m glad CUPE has agreed to withdraw its strike action so kids can return to class. We’ll be back at the table to negotiate a fair deal — for students, parents, workers and taxpayers.
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) November 7, 2022