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CANDIDATES GATHER IN LISTOWEL - Four of the seven Perth-Wellington provincial candidates attended the third and final 2025 all candidates meeting at the Listowel Agricultural Hall on Feb. 21. From left is Jason David of the NDP, Matthew Rae of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Rob Smink of the Freedom Party and Ashley Fox of the Liberal Party. More coverage on page 7.
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Public Health discusses mitigation of alcohol harm NICOLE BESWITHERICK
nbeswitherick@midwesternnewspapers.com
STRATFORD - The Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) Board of Health received a report presented by Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen on Feb. 14 pertaining to a primer for municipalities in Perth and Huron counties on reducing alcohol harms. This report stems from the Ontario government announcing the expansion of alcohol retail outlets in December of 2023 – beginning no later than Jan. 1, 2026. On May 24, 2024, the government announced plans to move forward with this expansion with a phased rollout between August and October of last year. “Research confirms that ex-
panding alcohol availability results in increases in consumption, and consequently increases alcohol-related health and social harms,” the report stated. “A public health approach to alcohol regulation aims to find a balance between alcohol availability and the enactment of measures to protect public health and safety, raising awareness of the harms associated with alcohol, while removing commercial influences and product promotion.” The report also noted that the best practice guidelines for offpremises alcohol retail outlets are two outlets or fewer per 10,000 capita ages 15 years or older. “In 2022, the off-premises retail outlet density in the Huron Perth region was at 5.1/10,000 – well
above the provincial density of 2.1/10,000 off-premises retail outlets,” the report states. “Any increase in alcohol outlet expansion will further exceed what is considered a best practice limit and may result in increased alcohol-related harms in Huron Perth,” the report continues. Dr. Klassen told the board that much of the content about alcohol harms and mitigation strategies is not new to the board, but the board has previously supported a comprehensive alcohol strategy, and this work is building on that. “This report is aiming to provide support to municipalities to implement policies to mitigate harm at the community level. So staff are looking for board support to share the report, including … that primer to all munici-
DENNY SCOTT
WALKERTON - The winter storm that rolled in mid-February hit the area with a ferocity that hasn’t been seen in quite some time according to representatives of the Huron, Perth and Bruce Public Works departments, resulting in significant efforts to keep roads open where possible. While there was no single number as to how much snow dropped on the tri-county area, all representatives said this is the worst winter to hit their respec-
tive counties in at least a decade, if not in multiple decades. Official numbers from Environment Canada had snowfall totals as much as 20 centimetres for the area, while local school boards not only cancelled buses, but, in some cases, completely closed all school buildings. Weatherstats.ca reports that Walkerton, for example, had an average of 30 centimetres of snow on the ground as of Feb. 11, and, after the storm, hit a high of just under 60 centimetres on Feb. 18. Wingham saw similar increases.
PERTH COUNTY Perth County declared a significant weather event starting on Feb. 18, which lasted until the middle of the day on Feb. 20, however the declaration came less than week after another had been called. Director of Public Works Bill Wilson said the month has been hard, but storm that rolled in starting Feb. 14 marked an extremely busy time for the operations staff at the county. While the first of the snowfall was heavy, it wasn’t until the winds picked up that the difficult
Sharing concerns Earlier in the board meeting during the Medical Officer of Health report, representative for the Town of St. Marys Coun. Marg Luna told the group over Zoom that her local grocery store is now selling beer, wine, etc. She explained she walked in one day and noticed a “big” display of California wines at the front door. “You almost have to go around it to get past it,” Luna said. Later on she commented on the alcohol harms report saying, “I’m struggling with having the municipality be responsible for this. It seems like it should be a higher authority, if you will, Continued on page 3
decision to close roads started to be considered, Wilson said. He called the storm one of the most impactful he’s seen with the back-to-back snowfall amounts, high winds and lower temperatures causing issues for snow removal. The storm had an impact on everything from staffing to supplies to the fleet, Wilson said. As far as supplies go, he said the county needed to stock up more sand for spreading to combat the dangerous road conditions. He said he believes it’s been over Continued on page 8
Protect Ontario. Invest in Perth-Wellington.
“I’ll continue speaking up for everyone in Perth-Wellington. I’ll work to keep costs down, invest in our rural communities, and protect small businesses from Trump's tariffs.” On February 27, re-elect
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palities in Huron and Perth on your behalf,” she shared.
Supplies, equipment, staffing strained by hard-hitting winter storms dscott@midwesternenwspapers.com
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