Consider This Northumberland

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Local teachers’ union rep explains current situation regarding talks

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Talks between the teacher’s unions and the provincial government were started in the spring. But by the end of August, the contracts ran out without a settlement. Then, in October, frustrated by the lack of movement, the elementary and secondary teachers’ unions decided to hold a vote to go on strike. Already, elementary school teachers gave a resounding 98 percent approval to go on strike. The secondary school teachers will announce their strike vote results sometime around Nov. Continue Reading →

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Safe interview room helps victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, says police

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Unless you have been through it, understanding the terror and pain of domestic abuse, it is not easy to fully appreciate what someone is experiencing. As we learned last week when I interviewed Nancy Johnston, executive director of Cornerstone women’s shelter, there are some 2,600 women and children, who seek help from their services. In many cases, these women have faced violence in the home. The first responders to these cases of domestic violence are the police. During such cases, interviewing the victims of violence, rape or sexual assault can be very hard. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Police

Yarn, poles and building community subject of film debut and guest speaker

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In 2016, Nancy Belmont, an American activist, launched a unique interactive art installation used to bring people in a community together. It quickly gained interest from around the world, including most of North America, Western Europe, India, and Australia. In September, a coalition of local organizations brought the installation to Northumberland. Located at the Farmer’s Market in Cobourg, it involved a number of polls and a lot of yarn. A film was produced and it will be premiered this coming Monday at 7 p.m. at Venture 13, along with a talk with Toronto based author Dave Meslin on his recent book ‘Teardown.’ Here to tell us about this project, the film and the presentation on Monday, I am pleased to have in-studio Megan Deyman, Coordinator – Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland Drug Strategy & David Sheffield, Community director of Greenwood Coalition. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community

New provincial animal welfare system impacts local humane society, says general manager

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Since July, the Northumberland Humane Society in Port Hope took on the duties of animal welfare investigation and enforcement. With that announcement came a timeline. The province said there was some new legislation in the pipeline and the situation would be reviewed in the new year. Well, this week the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act 2019 (notice the acronym is PAWS.) was announced by the solicitor general. It means there will be some changes coming in January. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Politics

Hamilton Township ratepayers seek 2020 budget input, says citizen’s council

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A group of concerned citizens came together in 2015 in an effort to take a more positive approach to engaging with the Hamilton Township council. There was a long history of citizen activism in the township dating back to the 1990s that was inspired mostly by the amalgamation talks of the day. In between then and more recently, the group would be activated around a single burning issue, according to some. This is what the citizen’s council wanted to change. So for the past few years, it has looked to impact the relationship between the citizens and the council. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Politics

Pre-election analysis of the national and local campaigns with politico Ben Burd

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Pundits are the modern version of an ancient shaman. They rhetorically dance around rattling on in a language all their own in an effort to see predict the future. Ben Burd certainly qualifies as a local pundit. He is a former municipal councillor and candidate for the NDP in Northumberland at both the provincial and federal levels. He is also the person behind one of the first local blogs in the county, The Burd Report, which he wrote for more than 20 years. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Federal Election 2019, Politics

Clearing the smoke about e-cigs, along with a new cancer peer support group in Northumberland

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Taking care of oneself is critical to good health. Today, I have two guests talking about some serious health-related issues. My first guest will be talking about vaping, which has made headlines recently across North America — as of yesterday, USA Today reported the number of vaping illnesses surged to 1,299 cases, and the death toll sits at 26. In September, Ontario health officials were watching three cases possibly related to vaping. And, the Health Minister, Christine Elliot, has called for a review of the situation related to vaping, calling for more data and input from experts before announcing any action. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Health

PPC candidate dives deep into party’s policy around racism, environment, free speech and more

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For candidates running for the People’s Party of Canada, the CBC news story published yesterday surely drew a reaction from both supporters and detractors. A People’s Party of Canada candidate in Saskatoon is coming under fire for sharing a cartoon photo on Twitter that depicts NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wearing a turban with a bomb on it. The candidate said he did not realize it was a bomb, saying it appeared to look like a toque. However, the executive director for the Canadian Anti-Hate Network said the cartoon is racist. The network is monitoring all candidates from all parties during the federal election. Well, today’s guest will hopefully shine some light on this and other issues related to the People’s Party of Canada. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Federal Election 2019, Politics

Candidate Mallory Macdonald outlines challenges NDP face in riding, across country

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To local NDP supports in Northumberland-Peterborough South, the IPOS poll released on Wednesday must have been music to their ears. While the party has polled at about 15 percent over the last few weeks, the leader of the party, Jagmeet Singh, watched as his personal appeal numbers took a dramatic jump. When people were asked which leader would make the best prime minister, 14 percent named Singh. That is up from 10 percent only a week ago. In another poll,  on Friday morning, his personal numbers were up by six points. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Federal Election 2019, Politics

Green candidate explains balance between saving jobs and fighting climate change

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Green Party candidate Jeff Wheeldon talks at length about the impact of his party’s platform to fight climate change, while maintaining a strong economy. He does not back off of the predicted job losses in the oil and gas sector, along with several other sectors of the economy, saying other jobs will be created. He also talks about a basic income program for the country, among other policies. Wheeldon speaks directly to the revelation regarding Justin Trudeau’s use of blackface, its influence on the national election campaign and its effect locally. Please listen. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Federal Election 2019, Politics