Latest / North Shore News / January 29th, 2025

Transcript

January 29th, 2025 · North Shore News

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  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on Amherst Island Radio.
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  Each week we keep you updated on newsworthy events, happenings, and conversations that
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  we've had with people in the local community and beyond.
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  Rock underneath the ground alongside Front Road on Amherst Island is posing a problem
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  for the company looking to bring high-speed internet to residents of the island.
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  With upcoming construction set to take place on the road, it leaves the company no room
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  to dig or plow.
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  Explorers Municipal and Utility Access Relations Specialist Tracy Shalifoo noted the importance
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  of the connection along the road and outlined where the company stands on the project.
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  It's just one street, but it does provide us connectivity with the rest of the island.
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  We have worked with the Engineering and Planning Department.
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  We've spoken to the CAO and her team and as well the roads public works department to
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  try and find a way, but we're still back at the point where we don't have a solution as
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  to how to build on that street.
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  Shalifoo described the construction process the company was hoping to set in motion.
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  It's always going to include the construction methods that all ISPs use.
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  I think the number one method is plowing.
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  We'd like to plow in next to the road.
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  It's typically the space that's available, but in this particular case it's not because
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  of rock.
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  The company also looks into being able to use space on existing bell and Hydra 1 poles,
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  but in this case it was not possible due to the amount of extra work the companies would
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  have to do in order for Explore to use them as well.
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  Shalifoo noted that the poles won't work and again mentioned the problem they're facing
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  underground.
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  We've applied to both to get onto their poles.
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  There's too much make ready work required for Hydra 1 and the bell poles can't accommodate
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  us, so we're left with going underground, which we can't do because of the rock and
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  so now we have a real problem.
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  The scope of Ontario's accelerated high speed internet program includes 75,000 homes.
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  Shalifoo explains the significance of the program and the project Explore is working
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  on for Amherst Island.
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  It's really so rural that it doesn't make business sense for a company like Explore,
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  Rogers or Bell to go and spend $20,000 to go down a road to three homes and so that
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  is the whole purpose behind this project to make it feasible from a business perspective
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  to go and connect those homes.
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  Shalifoo describes where the need for the program came from, noting the funding that
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  the government has provided as well as the deadlines they're facing.
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  I think during COVID there was a lot of outages and lag times and internet service providers
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  going down.
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  There's just too much demand, people working from home and it didn't work.
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  Problems came up with an initiative to connect the most rural parts of these communities.
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  The accelerated high speed internet program as presented by the province, they provided
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  funding of $4 billion to bring access to reliable high speed internet.
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  What that looks like from our perspective is we will build this project using our own
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  money, our portion of it, and the province will reimburse us once we've met the criteria
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  that they have, which is to be on time and on budget by December of this year.
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  So we're kind of on the clock with every portion of this build, including Loyalists,
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  Amherst Island and Instella.
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  The Ontario government also passed the Ontario Connected Act in 2022 to help facilitate getting
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  the program underway.
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  Shalifu explained that the government helped them identify homes that need high speed internet
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  as well as ones the company would need to bring the service to themselves without being
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  eligible for funding.
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  Shalifu referred to these homes as go it alone homes.
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  The government undertook an initiative to find out which homes in rural Ontario don't
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  have basic high speed, which is 50-10 service.
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  They have identified for us which are the homes that don't and they've given us a
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  map identifying the homes.
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  And so our engineers go out and design this project to try and run fiber down streets
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  or on poles to get to these ASIP eligible homes.
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  Now to go it alone homes, the money spent to connect these homes will be our money and
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  there will be no subsidy applied to these homes.
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  We will spend our own money with the hopes that we'll get a customer out of that one
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  day.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  Prince Edward Lennox and Abingdon Social Services will see additional funding this year from
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  the Canada Ontario Housing Benefit.
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  With nearly an extra $110,000, they'll be able to support up to 20 individuals.
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  $5.5 million is being allocated provincially to top up the benefit this year.
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  The province is hoping to free up emergency shelter spaces for people living in encampments.
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  The county received correspondence in December from the Minister of Municipal Affairs and
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  Housing, Paul Calandra, regarding three funding opportunities.
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  The letter provides details on how the funding is to help address encampments and homelessness.
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  Prince Edward Lennox and Abingdon Social Services has received funding from the benefit for
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  the last three years, including an original total of just over $135,000 for this year.
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  With the addition, their total is now just under a quarter of a million dollars for the
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  fiscal year.
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  The county did not have any projects ready in order to be eligible for the other two
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  opportunities.
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  Manager of Social Services Scott Robertson explains the point of the benefit and notes
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  what they're working on now.
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  The Canada Ontario Housing Benefit, that's to fund people who are in our transitional
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  housing program, to move them from transitional housing so that they can move into permanent
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  housing, freeing up space for people in encampments.
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  And we're in the process of doing that.
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  There was some tight timelines.
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  So we're just working on it now.
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  And we already have one person from a private encampment in the town of Greater Napa, and
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  he out on the west end of Bridge Street, who's moving from that encampment into our transitional
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  housing.
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  Robertson explains the process they're going through now with local individuals.
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  We have to find places for, I think, another eight folks who are living in our transitional
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  housing.
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  We can move them into private market, full rental housing.
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  They get the subsidy to make it affordable.
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  And then that frees up a spot in our transitional housing to allow somebody from an encampment
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  to move in.
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  And we have to kind of take action on everybody.
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  We're going to help with this funding by March 31.
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  The funding that some individuals received from Ontario Works was brought into question
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  regarding if Pellis staff are directing individuals to encampments and if the Ontario Works funding
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  would go towards them living in the encampment.
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  Director of Social Services Lynn Schenye explained the reality of the situation.
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  I did go back after our last council meeting and confirmed that staff are not referring
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  people to encampments.
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  They're having full-sum conversations about what the person's housing options may be,
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  whether that's staying with friends or family, renting a room, securing their own place if
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  they have the income to do that.
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  So they're having a full-sum conversation.
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  And sometimes options work out.
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  Sometimes they don't.
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  At their November 20th meeting, Councillor Terry Richardson made a motion for County
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  Council to seek legal opinion on the matter of providing financial assistance for those
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  living at encampments.
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  Acting Director of Social Services Pam Kent explained the opinion they received, noting
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  that withholding the money would create more of a liability.
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  If somebody is eligible under the Act, then financial assistance is a benefit they are
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  eligible for.
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  And actually withholding it would create a liability rather than avoiding it.
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  And also under the Ontario Works Act, there is no requirement for service managers to
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  assess compliance with other relevant legislations such as zoning, fire code, building code,
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  et cetera.
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  Schenye, citing the legislation they work under, noted her opinion on any potential
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  liability for the county.
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  I don't believe that there's any liability on behalf of Pellis or the county because
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  we are following the legislation that we work under and have been tasked with upholding.
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  Pellis does not have any ability at all to withhold the funds.
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  So if we've received verifiable shelter costs that the person is required to pay, then we
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  are to issue it under the Ontario Works Act.
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  And that's the legislation that we fall under.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  Warden of Lenox and Abington County, Nathan Townend, spoke about the county's response
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  to uncertain times across the world with a focus on economic resilience, with the potential
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  of tariffs being imposed by the U.S. Among other concerns, municipal leaders had a lot
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  to chat about at the annual general meeting for the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus.
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  Townend recently attended the meeting and spoke afterwards about the local impact of
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  global issues.
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  Minister Calandra and Minister Thompson were there from the provincial government.
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  Lots of constructive conversations were had.
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  I would say that remarks that were made had quite a serious tone.
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  I think it's lost on no one that we are in some serious and turbulent times globally
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  and nationally.
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  And of course, many discussions were had about how that impacts us at the municipal level,
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  what powers we have to do anything about it, which can seem limited.
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  But the message was certainly that we need to continue to create the economic resilience
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  in our communities as much as we possibly can and prepare for some hard times ahead.
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  And spoke about the work of the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus.
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  The Caucus certainly is doing very, very good work on behalf of Eastern Ontario and has
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  a lot of pull and a lot of strength and a lot of data and research collection capacity,
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  which has an enormous impact in influencing policy decisions at the government level.
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  Townend then thanked and officially offered congratulations to some of the other wardens
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  and attendees.
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  I officially offer congratulations to Bonnie Clark, the warden of Peterborough County,
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  who has duly elected the chair.
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  And to Steve Ferguson, our neighbor in Prince Edward County, elected as vice chair.
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  My thanks also to our member of parliament, Shelby Crapniman, and our member of provincial
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  parliament, Rick Brezee.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  Loyalist Township is reminding residents that they can take advantage of a special discount
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  on dog tags now through March 31st, 2025.
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  The discounted rate is just $15.
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  After March 31st, the price will return to the regular fee of $30.
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  You can pick up your dog tags at locations like the Odessa Municipal Office, Free Flow
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  and Shells Market and Bath, Amherst View Pet Hospital, or WJ Henderson Recreation Center.
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  And you can also purchase them online at loyalist.ca.com.
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  For Amherst Island Radio, I'm Jordan Webster.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  Comedian Al Babcock, who got his start in Kingston, has begun bringing comedy events
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  to Loyalist Township.
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  The next show he's set to host in the area is on February 1st, taking place at the Royal
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  Canadian Legion in Bath.
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  The show will feature Spencer Rice of the Canadian television series Kenny vs. Spenny.
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  Also during the night, there will be stand-up sets by Babcock and other guest comedians.
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  Rice will be doing a musical performance.
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  Babcock, now based between Kingston and Toronto, is recognized in the Kingston area for his
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  commitment to not only supporting comedy but bettering the scene and even bringing it to
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  new locations.
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  The comedian has shared stages with acts such as Kenny vs. Spenny, Trailer Park Boys, and
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  the insane clown posse.
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  His company, AB3 Comedy, has produced over 200 shows in Kingston and the surrounding
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  area since 2016.
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  Most recently, he's hosted shows in Ganonakwe, Napa Ne, Sealy's Bay, Kingston, and Bath.
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  Babcock speaks on his belief of building a stronger community around comedy in the area.
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  We're really hoping that comedy kind of takes off into outskirts of Kingston as well as
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  the city of Kingston, and it all just feeds each other, right?
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  Just building the strong comedy community, not only in Kingston but in Bath and in Ganonakwe,
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  it's only going to benefit and bring bigger and better shows to the area.
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  Babcock notes how the different feel of smaller venues and communities has helped influence
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  what he's looking to do with the comedy scene in Bath.
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  There's a completely different vibe to going into a place like Bath that's so different
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  from doing a show in downtown Toronto or doing a show in downtown Ottawa.
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  Not that those aren't great either.
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  Every single comedy show serves its own purpose and has its own vibe, and creating this vibe
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  from the ground up is what we're trying to do here in Bath.
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  Babcock explains the history of his comedy career and how he's been bringing comedy
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  shows to surrounding areas of Kingston, including Loyalist Township.
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  I've been doing comedy for almost nine years now.
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  I started in the Kingston area.
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  I've moved to Toronto a couple of times, the Oshawa area, done comedy there.
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  With AB3 comedy, I've been mostly focused in the Kingston area with my own shows, but
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  then I've been branching out.
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  I've noticed that now there's a lot of comedy in Kingston, which is great, a lot more than
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  there used to be, but there wasn't a lot going on in the outskirts of town.
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  Ganonakwe, Celie's Bay, Bath, even Napa-nee.
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  So what I've done is I've made partnerships with the Legion, and those, I've been doing
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  that for about four months now.
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  And the shows have all been great.
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  I think every single show we've done has been sold out, except for one that was due to weather.
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  The response has been awesome.
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  So when we reached out to Bath, we really didn't know exactly what the response was
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  going to be, but we were pleasantly surprised when it was completely sold out.
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  And not only was it sold out, but everyone had a good time, and we're asking when the
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  next one's going to be.
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  The comedian's connection to Rice came from back in 2017, when he opened for a live Kenny
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  vs. Spenny comedy night after having only been performing for a year.
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  Babcock explains what the experience did for his career, and the current shows he's
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  booking along with Rice.
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  That went from me performing to, you know, 100 people, and even to 20 people at Open
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  Mics to performing for 700 people.
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  And that was, I think, what I considered, I guess, not my first big break, because it
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  didn't really get me that far.
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  But my first real taste of what a big crowd could be like for comedy.
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  I've always kind of stayed in touch and done shows with them here and there.
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  And when I started getting these Legion shows going, honestly, the idea just came to me
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  that Spenny is a musician, and I thought it'd be great to get together with a musician and
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  maybe do a little bit of a tiny variety show.
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  And honestly, came together very quick, sent him a message, he was on board, boom, we booked
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  two shows, here we are.
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  Reflecting on a previous show, Babcock says he just hopes everyone has a great time.
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  We were looking around, and there wasn't one person in there that didn't have like a huge
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  smile on their face at the time.
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  And that's all we really want, and we want to promote comedians and the comedy community.
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  But what everyone really wants is to have a good time and forget about their problems
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  for a couple hours.
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  So that's the main goal in this show and every show that I do.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  Loyalist Township has announced that their Family Day event for 2025 will be taking place
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  at the W.J. Henderson Recreation Center.
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  As reconstruction is still underway in the aquatic area, the event will be taking place
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  mainly in the arena, library, and parking lot.
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  The event lasts from noon until 2pm and is free to attend.
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  The skating will be open for the duration of the event, with ice resurfacing taking
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  place midway through.
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  The skating portion is sponsored by Lorna Willis and Lynn Wimminga.
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  Councillor Paul Proderick speaks about some of the potential highlights from the day.
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  The canteen is going to be open, and at that time we also hope that some of the Amherst
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  U Jets will join the people who wish to participate in that.
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  And in the parking lot, we're going to have the Loyalist Emergency Services Truck, which
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  is always a popular, I guess, activity for the young ones to get a look at it and go
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  through it.
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  Councillor Proderick lists some of the other activities taking place at the event and offers
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  a note to residents.
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  We've got a LEGO station, a coloring station, some temporary tattoos, maybe a bouncy castle,
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  and just dance, and then a photo booth from Photo Booth, Kingston will be there.
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  I hope you can join us at the W.J. Recreation Center and maybe take away a little bit of
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  the winter blouse.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Tat Evans.
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  This has been North Shore News and Interviews.
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  If you have an idea for a story or want to create stories for the show, consider joining
• 18:34
  our 100% volunteer team.
• 18:38
  Visit Amherst Island Radio for more details.