The ice storm that happened on the last weekend of March has caused tremendous damage throughout the community, and continues to leave thousands without power.

Minden Hills declared a state of emergency on March 31st and the County of Haliburton declared a state of emergency in support of Minden Hills the same day.

Since that time the Minden Emergency Control Group has met daily or twice daily, working in collaboration with the County’s Emergency Control Group.

Premier Ford reached out to me on Monday offering any assistance he could. On Tuesday, I contacted him and he was instrumental in helping us get back our cell phone and internet services. The leadership team has spoken to MPP Laurie Scott every day since the beginning of the state of emergency and she has visited the community three times. Jill Dunlop, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response visited on Sunday. I also spoke to the President of Hydro One, and the Executive VP of Hydro One visited on Thursday. We received direct help from each of these people and we were able to discuss plans for the recovery and future events.

We are grateful for staff and volunteer efforts, as well as the help offered by first responders, and the teams of support coming from throughout the province and the country. The mutual support of the County and municipalities has been critical to recovery and we cannot thank them enough.

We want to thank you, the community, for your patience.

While some of our residents were fortunate to experience just short power outages, many have been without any hydro service for longer than a week now, are without generators, and are now also dealing with basement flooding, loss of food supplies due to lack of refrigeration, and massive property clean-up efforts while also managing full-time jobs and family needs.

• Please make use of the warming centre at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena, which is open 24/7 and offers shelter, cots, showers, food, and paramedic support (from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) on site. This warming centre is open for all.

• Please contact the Community Paramedics for wellness checks if you are concerned about yourself or your neighbours: 705-457-3216.

Our teams are working around the clock to support residents, and to restore the services and programming you appreciate in our township, but the recovery process will take time. Your patience is greatly appreciated as we continue to assess the situation and prioritize the most urgent needs.

The health and safety of everyone in our community is paramount.

Minden should be proud of how we all have pulled together and addressed this challenge. I have received multiple comments from politicians, residents of other communities, and workers here to help us, that they have been extremely impressed with all the local people they have dealt with and how we work together.

Sincerely,

Mayor Bob Carter

April 8th, 2025