SCAN! KAWARTHA
Who We Are
SCAN! Kawartha was formed in the summer of 2023 after a rousing Canada is Burning rally in Lindsay. Still a relatively small group, we are drawing attention to the climate crisis in this geographically sprawling, traditionally conservative city in the country.
Through articles and letters in local media, meetings with the mayor and councillors, deputations to city council, tabling at the Enviro-Fair and farmers markets, door-to-door canvassing, and holding town hall meetings, we are pushing for change on a number of critical climate fronts, including:
- The Healthy Environment Plan: established in 2019 and re-confirmed in 2024, there has been little effort to reduce emissions and protect residents from climate impacts;
- Where’s the Bus?! More than half our working population heads to Durham or Peterborough every day by car or truck. And driving is the only way to get around in this city comprising more than 20 communities. This is an equity issue and a seniors issue.
- Enbridge? No Thanks – it gives me gas! (or Don’t Get Hooked by Enbridge) We are working to ensure that residents know that heat pumps are a less expensive, more efficient, and healthier alternative to heating with gas.
If you live in Kawartha and are interested in SCAN!’s organizing against climate breakdown, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d be delighted to hear from you!
SCAN! Kawartha Delivers!
On The People’s MOU Day of Action, organized across Canada by 350.org, SCAN! Kawartha members met with local MP Jamie Schmale to present him with the People’s MOU. The call opposes the fast-tracking of projects exempted from safety and environmental regulations that protect our communities and respect Indigenous Rights.
Earth Week 2026
SCAN! Kawartha joined Seniors for Climate’s campaign to “Break the Silence on Climate” during Earth Week with a booth during the Bobcaygeon 150 festivities that featured activities for kids and their parents. Kids painted two banners: one illustrating the things they love in nature and want protected; the other showing things related to climate they worry about. The banners will be presented to municipal councillors. Parents participated in a marble poll to indicate their concerns about climate and signed postcards urging MPs to act on climate NOW.
Draw the Line National Day of Action
On September 28, SCAN! Kawartha hosted a Draw the Line rally in Victoria Park in downtown Lindsay, drawing dozens of local residents – from seniors to high school students. The rally opened with teachings, song. and drumming by Anishnaabe-kwe knowledge-holder Brittany Taylor from nearby Curve Lake First Nation. SCAN! members Moya Beal and Ginny Colling gave the keynote speeches outlining the deepening climate crisis and its impact locally this summer. As in previous years, it was the Green Advocates, students from Weldon Secondary School, who drew the biggest applause talking about their fears for their generation’s future and demands for alternatives and action. City Councillors from City of Kawartha Lakes and Trent Lakes in attendance were acknowledged and thanked for passing resolutions opposing Ontario’s notorious Bill 5. The Pinocchio skit and Fossils Award by SCAN!’s Creative and Innovative Tactics Committee were a big hit. The skit and a couple of audience engagement exercises led by SCAN! member Sheila Cook got everyone animated and laughing. The rally, part of the global Draw the Line mobilization organized by Seniors for Climate in 72 locations in Canada, was endorsed by Council of Canadians with their Kawartha Coordinator George Hewison performing a couple of rousing songs. Folks from Peterborough attended, reciprocating the solidarity by SCAN! Kawartha members at their DTL rally the weekend before. Dozens of the Seniors for Climate Agonquin Wildfire postcards were signed, as well as a petition calling for a Lindsay GO bus to connect with the Oshawa GO train.
An Invitation
Seniors for Climate Action Now – Kawartha invites you to join us on September 28 for Draw the Line, an international campaign to demand action on climate change and for a just future for all.
In the Kawarthas we reel from one extreme weather event to another. After a bitterly cold and snowy winter an ice storm caused a state of emergency with widespread destruction and extended power loss throughout our communities. Summer followed with wave after wave of heat and smoke-filled air. Unending drought dried our farmers’ ponds and creeks, crisped our crops, and forced water restrictions in our communities. Who knows what the autumn storms will bring?
To download and share a PDF of the poster, click HERE.
“Stop Bill 5” Rally
Residents of all ages from across the City of Kawartha Lakes gathered on May 28, outside MPP Laurie Scott’s office in opposition to the Ford government’s Bill 5. Initiated by SCAN! Kawartha, the protest delivered the message that Bill 5 is an attack on Indigenous treaty rights, as well as on our fundamental values – our beautiful and essential environment, our precious farmland, our hard-fought rights and standards, our democracy.
The Peterborough Examiner covered the rally, and the article can be accessed HERE if you have a subscription.
“We feel that Bill 5 is a complete power-grab,” said Kawartha Lakes Environmental Action Committee and Seniors for Climate Action Now (SCAN!) Kawartha member Deborah Pearson.
“It takes away a lot of environmental protections that have been put in place for very good reasons … It’s unconstitutional, it’s undemocratic and it would totally bulldoze First Nations treaties … This is a recipe for corruption.”
National Seniors Day of Climate Action/October 1, 2024
From The Lindsay Advocate:
“On Oct. 1, seniors groups in 76 locations across Canada took public action to remind the world about the climate crisis, carbon emissions and all too often government inaction and indifference. The Kawartha chapter of Seniors for Climate Action Now (SCAN!-Kawartha) organized a rally at Victoria Park. About 100 people attended. Music was provided by George Hewison, Wally Koekebakker and Brenda Wall.”
To read the full account of the event, written by SCAN! member David Rapaport, just
