The Haliburton Sled Dog Derby returns to The Pinestone on January 24rth and 25th — one of three remaining dog sled racing events still taking place in Ontario. It's a true team sport, where both the animals and humans must work together. This weekend's event will feature mushers competing in a number of different race classes from across the province, Quebec and the US. The event even attracted an international attention when the Jamaican Dog Sled team raced a few years back.In preparation for the weekend's event, CanoeFM ventured out into the woods northeast of Haliburton to learn more about dog sledding from a local expert, Tanya McCready of Winterdance Dog Sled Tours. We sat beside a woodburning stove as just outside, a group of dogs were being hitched up for an afternoon ride. Meanwhile, her young pup Sherlock tried to distract us from our conversation.

Balancing priorities, preparing for the future while keeping the taxpayers' burden as low as possible is what Minden Hills Mayor Bob Carter is trying to do with the 2026 budget process. That's why he chose to use his newly granted Strong Mayors' powers to veto eight amendments already passed by council during the budget deliberations.When Mayor presented the proposed budget to council on Dec. 15, the tax increase for residents was 3 point nine five per cent. Councilors then passed 27 amendments to this year's budget to include charges that were unknown or unavailable at the time of the original budget. Others were to correct errors or omissions.Carter spoke with CanoeFM to explain what amendments he vetoed and the rationale behind them. The majority of these involved adding back items that appeared in the first draft of the budget but had been voted out by councilors. Under the new Strong Mayors legislation, the budget process has much stricter timelines.

Under the guise of fast-tracking housing and infrastructure construction, consistent standards and better flood and hazard management across the province, the Ontario government is proposing to amalgamate 36 existing conservation authorities into seven larger regional bodies, with oversight from a provincial agency.The plan, announced in November 2025, has already received harsh criticism from several municipalities and conservation authorities through the public consultation or period, which ended in late December. Those in opposition have voiced concerns over the loss of local environmental knowledge, reduced community engagement, potential job losses, and disruption to critical flood management.When it comes to Haliburton County, only a small fraction falls under conservation authority jurisdiction, that being a tiny portion in Highlands East, managed by Crowe Valley Conservation. And yet, the Kawartha Conservation Authority manages Source Water Protection here.CanoeFM spoke with a number of local organizations who fear how the amalgamation of conservation authorities will impact the local environment and in turn, the county's economy.