Collingwood, ON [01 November 2024] – The Town of Collingwood and Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) have initiated a water level study in Cranberry Marsh and the community is invited to participate.
NVCA has placed a community monitoring station at the lookout along the Cranberry Marsh boardwalk. Residents can help the study by submitting water level observations and photographs taken at the community monitoring station to the NVCA.
To submit observations, residents are invited to record the water level on the ruler at the station along with the date and time. Next, take a photo of the ruler showing the water level and text all this information, including the photo, to 705-717-8694. More detailed instructions can be viewed on the signage onsite.
“The community monitoring station was installed in August, and we will be collecting data for one year,” said Ian Ockenden, Manager of Watershed Science at NVCA. “This year-long project will tell us what is happening in the wetland. Wetland water levels fluctuate naturally, and we need to determine if these water levels are changing beyond what would be expected in a natural system.”
To learn more about how water levels fluctuate in wetlands, visit NVCA’s website at nvca.on.ca.
Findings from the Cranberry Marsh study will be reported back to Collingwood Council following the year-long study.
Twelve-game All-Star, Prospects tournament pits CCHL against OJHL
October 30, 2024 …. Star players from the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) and Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) will skate under the watchful eye of scouts from across the hockey world during the 2024 Battle of Ontario in Smiths Falls, Ontario November 19-20.
Hockey Canada is using the event to help select the Team Canada East squad that will play at the World Jr. A Challenge December 9-15 in Camrose, Alberta.
NHL Central Scouting and reps from individual NHL teams along with NCAA, U SPORTS and CHL scouts will also be at the Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre for the two-day event.
The Battle of Ontario will see two all-star and two prospect teams from each Junior A league play a total of 12 games during the tournament-style event.
“We’re thrilled to have this truly unique and special event hosted in Smiths Falls this year,” said Ian MacInnis, Acting Co-Commissioner of the CCHL. “The event is an exciting partnership with the OJHL and we could not be more excited to see our athletes, both from CCHL and OJHL, showcased in front of WJAC coaches and NHL, NCAA, U SPORTS and OHL scouts. Let the games begin!”
“The Battle of Ontario will attract a number of scouts from all levels to the OJHL and CCHL, with this ‘best of best’ format and All-Star and Prospects teams,” said OJHL Commissioner Marty Savoy. “It is another initiative by both leagues to provide a platform for our players to showcase their talents to levels they are working hard to get to.”
The home of the CCHL’s Smiths Falls Bears, the Memorial Centre features an NHL-size ice surface with seating for 1,500 people.
Smiths Falls, a town of 9,500 people, is located 72 kilometres southwest of Ottawa.
On-ice officials are being assigned to the event from each league’s governing body, Hockey Eastern Ontario and the Ontario Hockey Association.
CCHL teams are named after NHL greats Larry Robinson and Steve Yzerman. Robinson played for the Brockville Braves of the CCHL while Yzerman is an alumnus of the Nepean Raiders.
The OJHL’s squads are named for current NHL players: Evan Rodrigues (Georgetown Raiders) of the Florida Panthers; Chris Tanev (Markham Waxers, Stouffville Spirit, Durham Fury) of the Toronto Maple Leafs; Zach Hyman (Hamilton Red Wings) of the Edmonton Oilers and Jack McBain (Toronto Jr. Canadiens) of the Utah Hockey Club.
The schedule has been released:
Tickets are on sale at the Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre. The box office is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. Daily passes for adults will cost $20. Day passes for children aged 6-12 will cost $10. Children 5 and under will be admitted free.
The all-star teams will play each other once during the round-robin, followed by a semifinal, championship final and consolation final.
The prospect teams will play two games each during their four-game round robin. Games will be played using a modified two-period format and Hockey Canada rules.
The “Battle of Ontario” was first held in Pembroke in 2009 featuring teams of ‘Young Stars’ and ‘All-Stars’ from the CCHL and the Central Junior Hockey League, which was a division within the OJHL. The two-game series was held again in Pembroke in 2010.
More details, including rosters and coaching staffs, will be released in the coming weeks.
The 2024 Junior A World Challenge is set for December 9-15 at Encana Arena in Camrose, Alberta. It will feature a four-team format this season. Canada East, Canada West, Sweden and the United States will each play three preliminary-round games over the first four days of tournament action to determine seeding for the semifinals on Dec. 14, while the bronze medal and gold medal games are set for at 1 p.m. MT and 5 p.m. MT, respectively, on Dec. 15. Canada East, which claimed silver in 2023, will kick off the tournament against the United States on Dec. 9 at 3 p.m. MT, followed by last year’s gold medalist, Canada West, matching up against Sweden to close out opening day at 7:30 p.m. MT.
About the CCHL
The Central Canada Hockey League, which began as a development league founded by the Montreal Canadiens in 1961, is a Hockey Canada/Hockey Eastern Ontario sanctioned Junior A league comprised of twelve member franchises across Eastern Ontario. The CCHL’s mission is to develop young student/athletes between the ages of sixteen and twenty for higher levels of hockey. Players from all over North America have enjoyed success playing in the Central Canada Hockey League. For many players, the CCHL is a stepping stone to the NCAA. Every season, players accept Division 1 hockey scholarships from the CCHL and even more advance to Division 3 hockey and U SPORTS. Last season, over 70 NCAA scholarship commitments were made by CCHL players. Young players advance every year to the Ontario Hockey League and there have even been selections from the CCHL directly to the National Hockey League.
About the OJHL – “League of Choice”
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is the largest Junior ‘A’ league operating under the auspices of the Canadian Junior Hockey League with 24 member clubs. The OJHL is the home of the 2024 Centennial Cup champion Collingwood Blues. A proud member of the CJHL and Ontario Hockey Association, the OJHL was originally named the Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ Hockey League and it was formed out of the Central Junior ‘B’ Hockey League in 1993-94. With a long and storied history of developing players for the next level, including U SPORTS, the NCAA, CHL, minor pro ranks and the NHL, the OJHL had more than 45 NCAA Division I scholarship commitments last season.
Go to www.ojhl.ca for additional information on the Ontario Junior Hockey League and www.thecchl.ca for more on the Central Canada Hockey League.
Come join us for a fun and creative evening at the Side Launch Brewing Company!
Learn the art of candle making with the talented team from Serendipity Candles. This hands-on workshop will guide you through the process of creating your own custom scented candles.
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned crafter, this event is perfect for anyone looking to explore their creativity.
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to craft beautiful candles while enjoying the company of fellow candle enthusiasts. Grab your spot now!
Join Warren & Elsie’s Daycare Food Drive and make a difference in your community! Donate non-perishable food items and help those in need. Thanks For Caring!!!
PLEASE DRIVE WITH GREAT CARE – Bush Drive off of Peel Street. Hoping to take donations until Friday, will update…
Warren and Elsie have been holding a Halloween set-up for about 15 years, and this is the fifth year they have held the food drive.
Last year they collected an amazing 2085 items to share with our community.
For too long we’ve clung to the Western concept of nature as something outside cities — far away and disconnected from most people’s daily lives.
Yet people need to spend time in nature because it improves physical and mental health. Without nature in their daily lives, people suffer more from depression and disease, reduced productivity and shorter lives. Children face the cognitive and behavioural consequences of living apart from natural surroundings. Without ecosystems to disperse, store and clean water, cities are saddled with crumbling pipes and sewers that municipal governments can’t afford to maintain and repair. Nature also provides clean air and water and healthy food. Urbanites removed from nature’s distress signals are slow to notice a planet in crisis.
So how do we invite nature into a city without pushing people out of the way?
It starts with the premise that both nature and people belong in cities, as intertwined co-creators of the urban landscape. Nature belongs where we are, and we belong in nature. From that premise flows an invitation that enhances cities, restores our connection with nature and rebuilds our relationships with each other.
I recently had the honour of co-authoring the foreword to a new book, Nature-First Cities: Restoring Relationships with Ecosystems and with Each Other. It promotes “nature-directed stewardship” in urban areas. This concept was developed by renowned ecological planner Herb Hammond and co-authors Cam Brewer and Sean Markey to address the non-urban challenge of protecting ecosystems and the rural communities that depend on them in the face of relentless resource extraction.
As an alternative to activities such as clearcut logging, nature-directed stewardship focuses on what to protect: ecological integrity, biological diversity, healthy watershed ecosystems, community employment and diverse, stable communities — not on what to use (commercially valuable timber). It shows that by prioritizing ecosystem protection, long-term economic and natural stability follow.
Nature-directed stewardship has not yet been fully applied to urban areas. In Nature-First Cities, Hammond and his co-authors outline a comprehensive rationale for why we should pursue it. It includes a detailed methodology, supported with case studies from Vancouver and Vancouver Island, with international comparisons.
Restoration is neither a quick fix nor a primarily human endeavour. Returning ecological integrity to degraded ecosystems in urban areas, or anywhere, is a slow process. Humans can help to reactivate natural processes and sometimes catalyze positive change, but recovery is up to nature. Of course, the more ubiquitous the urban development, the fewer the opportunities for restoration. New developments offer more ecological restoration options, whereas older, established cities impose constraints on restoration of their more thoroughly degraded ecological conditions. In either case, nature-directed stewardship can help.
Accompanying the commitment to restoration is a commitment to stop doing the things that create the need for it to begin with. To achieve this obvious but often ignored goal, new designs and developments must protect ecological integrity, occur within ecological limits and fit people into ecosystems.
Nature-directed stewardship in cities starts by understanding the natural character of the ecosystems that existed before the cities. This is contrasted with existing conditions, and the gap in ecological integrity between the two is the restoration target.
Nature-directed stewardship aims to re-establish natural ecosystem character (composition, structure and function) over an entire watershed.
Instead of creating a network of primarily existing ecological integrity — as would be the case when applying nature-directed stewardship in forests, grasslands and other landscapes — in urban areas it starts with establishing a network where restoration activities will lead to future ecological integrity.
As these components emerge, the shape of a restoration network appears. Linking the components at multiple spatial scales will establish and strengthen a restoration network across the watershed. With enough time and effort, this will mature into a protected network of ecosystems with ecological integrity, from small sites to the focal watershed within which the city is located.
I love cities and I love nature. But we need to reconcile the two by dispelling the lie that humans are separate from nature. The practical outcome is restoration of an urban environment that reinforces our place in nature.
Nature belongs in cities. For this reason, we need to redesign cities so they include biodiversity and intact ecosystems. More importantly, we need a fundamental shift in our relationship with urban green spaces, one that recognizes we are part of nature.
David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation.
Collingwood, ON [29 October 2024] – Collingwood now has a new family doctor, thanks to a new program that helps bring doctors to our town. Other towns around Southern Georgian Bay have also used this idea to solve their doctor shortages.
On December 6, 2023, Collingwood Council decided to spend $14,000 each year for five years to help recruit doctors, totalling up to $70,000. One important rule is that the new doctor must mainly see patients from Collingwood while receiving this support. The doctor also needs to take on at least 900 patients within the first 18 months to help those who need care.
Collingwood is working with other local leaders to address the shortage of family doctors. The Town is part of the South Georgian Bay Regional Mayors’ and CAOs’ Forum, which recently talked to the Ministry of Health about this problem. Collingwood is also part of a team with other towns to recruit doctors, led by the South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team. Having local health care is very important for our community. We are happy to announce that Dr. Matthew Ladda has joined the Georgian Bay Family Health Organization at 339 Hume Street.
Dr. Ladda grew up in New Brunswick and started as a pharmacist. He then went to medical school at the University of Toronto and completed his training at Western University. He and his partner, along with their dog Ruby, moved to Collingwood last summer. Before starting his own practice, Dr. Ladda helped out other family doctors and worked at the Collingwood After-Hours Walk-In clinic. His patient list is now full.
If you don’t have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, sign up for a local waitlist through the South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team at www.southgeorgianbayoht.ca/community-wellness. If you need non-emergency care, you can see a nurse practitioner at the Shoreline Health Clinic in the Wasaga Beach Medical Clinic. You can also visit the After-Hours Clinics in Wasaga Beach (705-422-4019) or Collingwood (705-445-9711) for help.
I am so happy to have been able to set up my family practice in Collingwood. The support of the local medical community and town has been instrumental in my decision to lay down roots in Collingwood and I look forward to caring for my patients in this wonderful community! I love the longitudinal and relationship-based care that family medicine allows for and could not see myself working in any other capacity,” says Dr. Matthew Ladda. “While I have taken on hundreds of patients without a family doctor, I alone cannot take everyone. Unfortunately, the family medicine crisis continues to worsen across Ontario with 1 in 4 Ontarians projected to be without a family physician by 2026 unless immediate appropriate action is taken. I encourage those frustrated with the state of our healthcare system to share their concerns with their local MPP.”
“We are thrilled to welcome our newest doctor to our community,” says Councillor Brandon Houston. “Doctor Ladda’s presence will help address the critical healthcare needs of our residents and ensure better access to care for those in need of a family doctor in Collingwood.”
Collingwood Council has sent a letter to Premier Doug Ford, urging the Province of Ontario to recognize the physician shortage in Collingwood and Ontario, to fund health care appropriately, and ensure every Ontarian has access to physician care.
Pictured: Councilor Brandon Houston and Dr. Matthew Ladda
Road Waves presents… ‘AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE’ — A Jimi Hendrix Halloween Party!
Catch one of Canada’s hottest touring acts, Road Waves, as they take on the classic Jimi Hendrix album ‘Axis: Bold As Love’ followed by a full set of Road Waves originals. This prog-funk, soul-rock trio is NOT one to miss as they bring the costume party to Collingwood, ON on November 2nd. Join the costume party for a chance to win exciting prizes!
Grab your big kid pants and head on down to the water where we are finally putting on a haunted house at the Meaford Harbour pavilion.
Saturday October 26th – 7 – 9 PM
A big thank you to Grey Noise Entertainment and crew for joining us and hopefully making this a yearly thing.
Some cool things to remember: * Free and lots of parking * Bathrooms * Treats for the kids * Wheelchair accessible * Accepting food bank donations for entry * Multiple exits if you get too scared …and much more. Stay tuned to our facebook page for more details.
This is our first year, and hopefully not our last!
🎃 The Black Harvest Festival returns this Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm in downtown Collingwood.
Dress your best in your finest costume and Halloween attire to Trick-Or-Treat at our amazing local businesses! Stick around Town Square Park (84 Hurontario Street) afterward for your chance to win in one of our various costume contest categories and take home a spooktacular balloon creation!🎃
Midhurst/October 23, 2024 – The County of Simcoe, along with identified key partners recognizes a considerable need for integrated community-based services to address a homelessness health crisis through the establishment of a Homelessness & Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub. As such, the County of Simcoe has applied to the Government of Ontario to host one of ten HART facilities in the province.
Primary partners included as part of the application are Barrie and Area Ontario Health Team, Barrie Native Friendship Centre, Canadian Mental Health Association – Simcoe County Branch, (CMHA SCB), Mamaway Wiidokdaadwin IIPCT/ Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle (BANAC), Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, and Barrie Cares.
Since launching its 10-point Homelessness Prevention Strategy in 2023, the County has been making significant investments and enhancements to social services programs and supports in Barrie and our communities. Within this 10-point plan, the pillars we have created include improving safety and well-being, creating easier ways to access services, enhancing our community shelter services and standards, and finding new opportunities. The HART Hub is one more tool that is available to us to complement these pillars and provide even better support for this vulnerable population within our community.
In addition to supporting this pillar, we also believe this project will help increase our efforts to move residents who have been living “rough” or staying in shelters to more stable housing outcomes. We’ve seen this by providing wraparound supports in our Supportive Rapid Rehousing Program (SRRP), transitional and supportive housing, and we believe this project presents this same opportunity in addition to the support with addictions and mental health.
Communities whose applications have been approved to house one of the ten provincial HART Hubs will be announced by the Ontario Ministry of Health in December 2024.
This is just one more way that the County is #BuildingUp our communities. For updates on how the County of Simcoe is investing in our communities, visit simcoe.ca/BuildingUp.
Quotes “We know that within the unhoused population in Simcoe County, a large majority of people are in need of greater supports than simply housing. That is why, when we saw the Ontario Government’s proposal to facilitate these new HART facilities across the province, we knew that with our existing 10-point Homelessness Prevention Strategy, we were prepared to take this on for our communities and support those who need it.” ~ Basil Clarke, Warden, County of Simcoe
“The Barrie and Area Ontario Health Team (BAOHT) is committed to ensuring everyone in our community – including those facing challenges of homelessness and addiction – can access the care they need, when they need it. With the application for a new HART Hub, we have the opportunity to bring these much-needed mental health and addiction supports directly to this vulnerable population. By working together with our partners, we can create a space where individuals can access safe and compassionate care that can truly transform their lives. We’re proud to support this initiative and look forward to making a meaningful impact within Simcoe County.” ~ Tracey Fletcher, Chair, BAOHT and Operations Director, Medicine, Innisfil Health and Wellness Centre (Rizzardo), RVH
“We know that mental health and addiction challenges cannot be separated from the broader issues of homelessness and social instability. The proposed HART Hub will offer a vital, integrated response that meets individuals where they are, providing the services they need to heal and thrive. We are eager to see the positive impact this collaboration will have on our community.” ~ Dr. Jennifer Fillingham, Interim CEO, CMHA SCB
“Collaborative and trauma-informed initiatives that address mental health and addictions needs have been identified as Indigenous key priorities in the region. As an Indigenous led and Indigenous governed organization, BANAC is proud to support this initiative as an Indigenous collaborator and to work with partners to support Indigenous communities.” ~ Lynn Monague-Sauve, President, Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle
“RVH’s purpose is to be there for our community in providing the care they need when they need it. To be effective in meeting this purpose, we look for opportunities to collaborate with partners, combining expertise and resources to best serve our community. Between all the partners and RVH’s ability to support with the addiction recovery aspect of the HART Hub, we will be able to support the treatment, recovery and housing needs of the most vulnerable individuals within our community.” ~ Gail Hunt, President and CEO, RVH
“Our HART Hub application will offer a range of services to our community’s most vulnerable. This includes Indigenous health and wellness programming, substance use treatment, specialized mental health care and transitional and supportive housing. Through taking a collaborative approach we are confident that we can build a truly innovative and highly impactful model.” ~ Dr. Kevin Young, Vice President, Medical Affairs & Chief of Staff, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
“Barrie Native Friendship Centre supports and responds to the needs of the urban Indigenous community in Barrie and is hopeful the services that will be provided by the HART Hub will improve the lives of all community members served by this process and lead to a more integrated approach in addressing addictions and homelessness.” ~ Samantha Kinoshameg, Executive Director, Barrie Native Friendship Centre
About the HART Hub model HART Hubs serve clients with complex service needs (i.e. those experiencing a range of overlapping issues and marginalization including homelessness, substance use, mental health, social service support needs and unemployment) through the provision of specialized community supports. These supports may include mental heath, primary care, substance use, addiction, case management for income security, employment and social service needs. These services allow for clients to start to receive treatment, addressing presenting needs and providing a platform for positive long-term treatment outcomes with access to longer-term stabilizing services, including bed-based services.
About the County’s 10-point Homelessness Prevention Strategy The plan provides a strong, data-driven strategy to help vulnerable residents and our communities. It includes considerable added investment, enhancements, and support for the unhoused population in our communities.
The plan takes a collaborative approach to building up communities, service providers, the business community, and residents. Through this strategy, the County continues to work collaboratively with partners and municipalities to continue to prevent and end chronic homelessness. For further details and ongoing updates to the homelessness prevention plan, visit simcoe.ca/HomelessnessSystem.
About the County of Simcoe The County of Simcoe is composed of sixteen member municipalities and provides crucial public services to County residents in addition to providing paramedic and social services to the separated cities of Barrie and Orillia. Visit our website at simcoe.ca.
