Editorials

The first thing that was obvious in the coverage, is that Alberta does not know how to create drama or excitement, even as it tries to break up a country that is already being besieged by its only neighbour. I am old enough to remember the battles...

Central Frontenac Council received a report at their meeting last week about how successful they have been so far in selling off surplus assets in order to cover the cost of buying the Simonett Building on Road 38, as a new home for the township’s...

The only time I have ever visited the first section of the K&P Trail in Frontenac County, which runs from Orser Road to Harrowsmith, was at an event marking the completion of the first section of the trail. It was somewhere around 2012. In advance...

While this coming election in Frontenac County is a hit and miss affair as far as races for council are concerned, there is a contest for mayor in South, Central and North Frontenac alike. Each of those three races are quite different from the...

At their respective council meetings last week, mayors Gerry Lichty (North Frontenac) and Ron Vandewal (South Frontenac) reported on meetings they each attended with Alto officials recently. What they reported is consistent with what Alto President...

It seems like centuries ago that Justin Trudeau was the Prime Minister who had lost his grip on governing, but lingered in power for at least a couple of years longer. He no longer had the confidence of the country, but managed to hang on to power...

A couple of weeks ago, the beginning of  'Asset Management: The Sequel' was played out in Sydenham. The keeners from Watson and Associates happily outlined how, with a mere 6.5% tax increase each and every year for 10 years, which would result in...

There are two distinct scenarios that could play out over the next 12 months in the world of high-speed rail in Canada. The first can be called the “world according to Alto” and its supporters in the federal cabinet, particularly transportation...

The recent spate of Federal MPs jumping ship to the Liberal Party has made voters more cynical than ever about politics. Calls for those MPs to resign their seat and run again under the Liberal banner have greeted each defection. They do not have to...

Tonia Stella moved to Flinton with her family four years ago from Ajax, and they have been getting used to living “North of 7” ever since. Tonia brought her years of experience as a yoga instructor, Reiki practitioner and meditation instructor...

When Doug Ford was first elected, he had plans to amalgamate all of Ontario's health units into ten centrally controlled organisations, all Conservation Authorities (CAs) into ten centrally controlled organisations, and to phase out school boards in...

The Ontario Sunshine List was established by the Mike Harris government in 1996. The Harris government was notoriously anti-labour and the list was developed as a way to embarrass public sector employees who earned $100,000 a year, which was a lot...

There is no denying it, syrup season is here. The commercial makers and the fancy amateurs with their lines and pumps have been all set for a while. They are ready to flip the switch to begin pulling sap from the bush, gather and tip it into the...

Central Frontenac is too poor and too rural to bring in a new service that will cost millions of dollars, even if some, or a lot, of people want to. And if that service is something as unessential as garbage pickup, it is up to our elected council...

It has been one month since Alto put out its map, establishing two potential corridors through Eastern Ontario for what is still a theoretical high speed rail project. In that time, not only have South Frontenac residents been galvanized to tell...

It is hard to say what Mark Gerretson was thinking when he put up a grainy post, just after Alto surprised a lot of people by including a potential “southern corridor” through Eastern Ontario, for the high-speed rail service they are developing....

A vast 1,000 km stretch of land between Quebec City and Toronto could be bisected by a thin high speed rail line within ten years. And who would have figured that in one small section of that vast expanse, two distinct corridors are being considered...

When the Province of Ontario established strong mayor municipalities as the norm, in rural as well as urban Ontario, in April of last year, it came as a surprise in many rural communities. Strong mayor powers were first brought in for Toronto, a...

If there was any doubt that 2026 will be a year of uncertainty, it was erased last week by the actions of the US military in Venezuela. Aside from all the political implications, which were the subject of an alarming editorial in the Globe and Mail...

As we come to the end of 2025, it is apparent that global impacts on the national and provincial economy have had a local impact as well. While our region is buffered somewhat from downturns in manufacturing and resource extraction industries, the...

(Update to this story. On Friday, the government of Canada said that the first section of the high speed network to commence construction will be the connection between Ottawa, Laval and Montreal - and that construction is targeted for 2029 - the...

The first big example of how strong mayor powers will change the way councils work is upon us now. Instead of Staff receiving instructions from Council, and then preparing and presenting a draft budget to Council, under strong mayor powers, the...

Bids for two energy projects are being proposed in Frontenac County this fall. One project is for a large array of batteries, all located in engineered metal buildings with sophisticated climate controls to ensure that any heat surges that ever...

There are differences in focus and circumstances between all townships, including those in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Counties. Council’s have to defer to planning consultants for much of the detail about the wording of the plans, because...

North Frontenac Council met for almost 3 hours on August 12 in a special meeting to discuss one topic, a proposed Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendment to permit a co-op with 7 cottages on Gravel Point on Palmerston Lake. This proposal has been...

There are two large construction projects pending in the middle of Verona, but you wouldn't know it by visiting the hamlet today. At the two sites in question, the former McMullen Manor site, and a property on Verona Street, a block away to the east...

The purchase of the Simonett building has been controversial in Central Frontenac. The financial struggles of the township have been well documented. While remaining solvent, the township has less in reserves, and more debt to service, than either...

Local municipalities that have become strong mayor communities as of May 1st, are putting measures in place to bury the designation in a series of “delegated authority” protocols to return decision making to Council and senior township staff, in...

Does Michelle Foxton Have A Chance to Beat Scott Reid on April 28? Looking at the local election by the numbers, using previous elections as a baseline, and then taking into account the undeniable drift of Green and NDP voters to the Liberal Party,...

As Justin Trudeau steps away from the role of Prime Minister, I’m reminded of a statement made by his father Pierre, 56 years ago in 1969, to US President Richard Nixon, with whom he had a fractious relationship. "Living next to you is in some...

I understand why a lot of people get angry when they see american flags flying in canadian public space these days, Not only is the President of the United States threatening to levy tariffs on all canadian imports, based on ever shifting pack of...

On a Tuesday, the Weather Network may forecast a chance of freezing drizzle on Saturday morning, and Environment Canada may call for a mix of sun and clouds and only a 10% chance of snow. You could alter your weekend plans to go up to Ottawa on...

Covering the Central Frontenac Township this week, I got a sense of Deja Vu, and with the benefit of the google search bar on our own website, I now see why. In 2012 and into 2013, there was a debate in the township about whether to bring in a...

It is my tradition, in the first issue of the Frontenac News each year, to ask readers to consider supporting the cost of delivering the paper to their post box each week. I will get to that later, but first, many readers may notice this week that...

For some of you, this is the first that you have heard from us in over a month. I must say it is nice to be able to once again deliver papers to postal outlets around the region, and have Canada Post take care of getting the papers safely into your...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been fighting the clock ever since his COVID election call in 2021. His government had already been reduced to a minority less than 20 months earlier, and he tried to parlay a bump in the polls in a COVID lull, to...

Over the past 3 weeks I have talked to many people about the postal strike, and everyone seems to have an opinion.  I have heard that the union is just trying to keep its members in secure jobs, protecting pensions and working conditions as well...

It has been a brutal year in our communities. It began with a car crash on Burke Settlement Road in early May, an event that continues to devastate the Sharbot Lake community and Granite Ridge Education Centre, This was followed by the Bobs Lake...

As we were preparing this issue of the Frontenac News, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) gave a 72 hour strike notice. The notice comes into effect on Friday, November 15, so it should not affect delivery of this particular paper, which...

Just under a year ago, the federal government established a new corporation to explore, once again, the possibility of a new rail corridor liking Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. The corporation is called VIA HFR (High Frequency Rail) but...

A friend of mine pulled me over the other day, and said, in a whisper, that they had heard a rumour that there may be a postal strike coming in November. I knew about it because, as a Canada Post customer, we receive updates from the company about...

The Frontenac News is a member of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA) and News Media Canada. These organisations work on marketing their members to advertisers across the province and across the country, provide research for their...

Every once in a while, there is a flurry of media attention when it takes a while for someone to purchase a winning ticket in a progressive lottery. That happened across Canada three weeks ago, when the Lotto Max jackpot reached $80 million, which...

Verona used to be a dry town, not that long ago. But as of this week, there are 3 stores selling beer and wine, the LCBO outlet at the Foodland store that has been there for almost 20 years as well as the newly re-opened Toppers store and the Verona...

The Frontenac News office is located next to the Sharbot Lake Pickleball court. This means that throughout the summer at least, whether it is a sunny day or a cloudy, whether it is a little cool or a lot hot out, there is relentless noise emanating...

Canada Post is in big trouble. At least that is what the corporation is telling Canadians. In releasing its 2023 annual report this past June, the corporation announced an annual pre-tax loss of $748 million, and said it must change its delivery...

MP Mark Gerretson, MPP Ted Hsu, and Mayor Bryan Paterson are the three senior politicians in the City of Kingston, and they all came to Frontenac County at the same time last week. The occasion was the cutting of a corn stalk to mark the start of...

For those Ontarians who don't particularly like all the fuss and bother of elections, it looked like we were in luck until the tale end of 2025 before another visit to the polls for those who come out to vote. In the late spring, however, rumours...

Am I mistaken or have many traditionally ‘rural’ ridings and the counties, cities and communities within them more recently evolved into something different? Look around you – are your neighbours the same? Are the shops the same? Are the...

On August 1, communities in Frontenac and across the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Health Unit will no longer have any information about the levels of COVID and other diseases in the community. At the start of June, the Ford...