Peterborough Blogs
'Christmas By Candlelight' Hits Lang Pioneer Village To Get In the Holiday Spirit
/Lang Pioneer Village is celebrating a traditional pioneer Christmas with ‘Christmas by Candlelight’ for Dec. 7 and 8 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Heather Doughty Photography and Lang Pioneer Village.
The village is being lit with candles, lamps and lanterns. The nights feature horse-drawn wagon rides, campfire stories, old holiday treats, photo shoots and Christmas carols.
Events and activities include holiday treat samples, reindeer games, meals, raffles and more.
Sunday at 7 p.m. will feature a live nativity complete with animals and a choir by the Keene United Church.
Lang Pioneer Village is requesting one or more non-perishable food item(s) to donate to the Otonabee South Monaghan Food Cupboard (drop off in the Museum Shop).
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City Unable To Mail Property Tax Notices During Mail Strike
/Due to the ongoing Canada Post strike, the City of Peterborough cannot mail the final 2024 Reminder Notices for property taxes.
File Photo.
Residents can register or log in to the Online Property Tax Portal to verify any outstanding balances.
To register for the portal, property owners must have the property address, the property roll number, a unique Access Code and the first name listed on the bill. All required details are located on a tax bill issued in 2023 or later. The Access Code can be found in the upper right-hand corner of the tax bill.
The online portal allows users to manage their property tax accounts online, including the ability to:
View current and previous bills
View current property tax balance and payment history
Print a statement of account
Sign up for electronic billing
Enroll in the pre-authorized payment plan
Update mailing address
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Peterborough Man Arrested After Smashing Business Front Door and Taking Cigarettes In Break-and-Enter
/A 26-year-old Peterborough man is facing a break-and-enter charge from an incident on Wednesday morning.
Photo by David Tuan Bui.
At roughly 4:45 a.m., a business in the Charlotte Street and Downie Street area reported an unwanted person. Officers noticed the front door had been smashed and cigarettes had been taken.
They canvassed the area, located a man matching the description and took him into custody.
The man was arrested and charged with:
Break, Enter a place - commit indictable offence
The accused was held in custody and appeared in court on Wednesday.
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Peterborough Musicfest Releases 2025 Edition of Diner's Book to Discover Local Restaurants
/Saving at local restaurants has become easier with the return of Peterborough Musicfest’s Diner’s Book for 2025, announced on Wednesday.
Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The book is available starting Friday and costs $30. This year’s edition features 80 dining offers from restaurants, cafés, pubs, and other food venues across Peterborough, the Kawarthas, and Northumberland County (new this year).
The Diner’s Book, valued at over $1,000 in savings, contains ‘buy one entrée, get the second half price’ deals and more. Anyone can get the ‘Buy three Diner’s Books Get one Free deal’ with all proceeds towards Peterborough Musicfest.
“This year’s Diner’s Book isn’t just a way to save on incredible meals; it’s a way to give back and help keep free admission music alive for everyone to enjoy,” says Tracey Randall, Peterborough Musicfest executive director. “It’s also the perfect gift for the foodie in your life or that hard-to-buy-for person on your list. With something for every palate, it’s a gift that keeps giving all year long!”
The Books are available to purchase at Lansdowne Place (Customer Service Desk) and online.
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ReFrame Film Festival Launches Passes For 2025 Season
/The ReFrame Film Festival has launched pass sales for the 2025 midwinter festival.
Photo courtesy of the Reframe Film Festival.
This year’s edition boasts a lineup of the year’s best documentary films from diverse and renowned filmmakers worldwide.
Three different levels of passes are available for the acclaimed local film festival.
In-Person Pass: $110. Provides access to all in-person screenings, taking place between Jan 24 - 26.
Virtual Pass: $50. Provides access to all virtual screenings available from Jan 27 - Feb 2.
Hybrid Pass: $135. Provides complete access to both the In-Person and Virtual Programs.
Passes can be purchased on the ReFrame website.
After the success of last year’s hybrid festival, ReFrame 2025 is offering two programs:
In-Person Program: Jan. 24 – 26. Screening approximately 50 newly-released and ground-breaking documentary films. Venues: 2 centrally-located venues in Nogojiwanong / Peterborough: Showplace Performance Centre and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre
Virtual Program: Jan. 27 – Feb. 2. Just over half of the films in ReFrame’s 2025 lineup will be available to view online (due to licensing restrictions), on-demand and Canada-wide.
ReFrame will host a special in-person Opening Night event on Jan. 23, to be ticketed separately. Individual films will be available on a pay-what-you-can basis in January.
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Peterborough Police Make Arrest Regarding a Business Arson From Thursday
/A 26-year-old Peterborough man is facing an arson charge concerning a fire at an outbuilding Thursday.
Photo by David Tuan Bui.
At roughly 8:20 a.m., officers arrived at Aylmer Street and King Street to investigate a fire in a shed. When police arrived, Peterborough Fire Services had already extinguished the fire.
No one was injured.
The Ontario Fire Marshal attended the scene Thursday for investigation.
The man was arrested and charged with:
Arson – Damage to Property
The accused was released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 7.
Anyone with information is asked to call Peterborough Police at 705-876-1122 x555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
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City of Peterborough Provides Update For Social Services Mail Delivery During Canada Post Strike
/The City of Peterborough has provided an update on details have released on how Social Services clients and vendors typically receive cheques, statements, or letters by mail.
File Photo.
Beginning Friday, clients and vendors who typically receive Social Assistance payments mailed can pick up their December cheques from the Social Services Office, 178 Charlotte St.
Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
People must show identification when picking up cheques, statements, or letters at Social Services.
For clients who can receive direct deposit, Social Services is encouraging them to arrange for direct deposit or reloadable payment cards as an alternative and to ensure they are signed up for the MyBenefits program to track payments and support communication.
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Voice of Business: Second-Annual Mayor's Breakfast
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Addressing the Elephants in the Room: From Development Charges, Physician Recruitment, Tax Increases and More!
Last week, your local Chamber of Commerce brought together our local business and political leaders, Mayor Jeff Leal and Jasbir Raina, the Chief Administrative officer (CAO). This was the second annual Mayor's Breakfast, with a packed house at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club. This meeting covered important municipal matters, from increasing development charges and tax rates to physician recruitment and MAT tax.
With this meeting expected to be heated, Leal and Raina dove into the reasoning behind the proposed budget cuts. As you may know, last week, the city council proposed to cut funding by 25 per cent for various community organizations rather than raising our tax rates. A week later, council rejected most of the proposed budget cuts. Leal brought up how instead of applying budget cuts, he asked the "big three” to reassess their budget asks. These organizations were the Police Services Board, Peterborough County-City Paramedics, and Peterborough Public Health. Rather than raising our tax rates, Leal wants to make this budget work by asking the three organizations to reassess their funding requests.
Raina referred to his experience in Mississauga, where he learned the ropes of accurate municipal budgeting. He reasoned that a municipality must operate with a large tax base. Raina mentioned that "municipalities cannot function and expect to grow with smaller tax bases, specifically Band-Aid budgets." Raina pointed to the many completed roads and ongoing projects adequately funded through tax increases.
Leal also touched on cross-border servicing and physician recruitment. With little industrial land left in Peterborough, this is a big concern if we seek to grow our industrial sector locally. Leal went over how the city has proposed to work with other municipalities in cross-border servicing, where industrial lands would be co-managed. This would benefit the city and the neighboring municipality and bring more businesses and employment to our area. On a physician recruitment note, Peterborough currently has 32,000 people without a doctor, which is a complex situation. Leal touched on this complexity in the city's plan to help bring in more family physicians. The "Bring Them Home" campaign would seek to bring back overseas Peterborian medical students in Ireland to practice at home in Peterborough.
The next elephant in the room was the proposal to increase development charges. One audience member asked how the city expects to spur development with these high increases. Raina responded to this comment, saying, “Every house added to the city is putting pressure on the community, and in accommodating this growth, the community must bear the costs.” Although this makes it seem that development charges are necessary to accommodate growth, many developers are still concerned with this cost increase as it will make it more expensive to build and will pass on to the consumer, as one audience member pointed out. On a side note, the Chamber will address the proposed high increases in development charges with our local Peterborough and Kawarthas Home Builders Association.
The next hot topic was our Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT), implemented in 2019, in which 50 per cent of its revenue will fund a new city-managed tourism entity. An audience member asked about the city's plan for this. Raina highlighted that the MAT tax would strictly reinvest in tourism development, and the work to establish the city's tourism entity is still a novel proposal and a work in progress. Raina also mentioned the progress in the MAT tax funding projects, such as the new arena, and how this MAT tax can continue to rejuvenate downtown.
Moving on to successful city initiatives, Leal showcased the recent success of the city's green waste initiative. Members of the audience were pleased to hear about creating a plan to expand green waste to businesses. This green waste initiative helped the city see great benefits in reducing landfill use and extending its life. Leal also mentioned that the plan to provide green waste management services could occur in the next calendar year.
This Q&A was jam-packed with sensitive but necessary discussions regarding taxpayer increases and operating challenges. This was a great opportunity for businesses to voice their concerns and have our public servants and mayor hear them. Having this dialogue in uncertain times amidst proposed tax increases is refreshing to see. This Q&A provided much-needed insight into the city's rationale for the following calendar year. This breakfast closed off with remarks from Leal and Raina expressing that to build Peterborough, it will take a unified approach. While true, this unified approach should not come at the expense of our local businesses. We hope our city can hear these concerns addressed at our Mayor's Breakfast and that next year's proposed plans reflect the feedback they received.
Content provided by the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.
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City of Peterborough Prepared For Approaching Winter Weather Season
/The City of Peterborough’s snow-clearing crews are ready to respond 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to keep the community moving when the winter weather arrives.
Photo by Aaron Elliott.
“The City’s snow clearing operations prioritize safety and efficiency to make sure roads, sidewalks and trails are clear and accessible. No matter what the weather, our crews will be out there working around the clock to make sure residents can safely get to where they need to be,” said Municipal Operations co-chairs Keith Riel and Don Vassiliadis in a joint statement.
The City clears roads, bike lanes and sidewalks based on regulated maintenance standards.
The City’s snow-clearing operations include:
18 plow trucks, two graders, seven loaders and backhoes, and four light sanding units to cover 978 kilometres of roads
11 sidewalk plows to cover 450 kilometres of sidewalks
Maintenance to 39 kilometres of trails and 650 bus stops
Winter service to 27 Municipal Surface Parking Lots
