Haliburton County Voices

We are a group of concerned citizens advocating for
responsible government in Haliburton County.
We strive to hold our elected officials accountable for
their legislation, their words and their actions.

OUR STORY

Our group first came together when we discovered that Council in Algonquin Highlands was about to pass a bylaw called the License of Occupation. Those of us who were directly affected by this new bylaw, were only first made aware of it in a trivial article on page 4 of our local newspaper on July 27th 2023.  

It was not a trivial matter for those affected because of the financial and restrictive ramifications that the new bylaw would impose.  Our group had less than 2 weeks to educate ourselves, submit a delegation request and put together the content which was presented to AH council at their next council meeting on August 17th. The hope was to get them to pause the signing of the bylaw that would have taken place that day. 

Luckily, we did get the pause we were looking for, which gave us more time to research the issues and organize our response in a second delegation. Despite these efforts, the bylaw was signed on November 2nd, 2023.




We are HC Voices

James Cooper

James has an extensive background in the technology field, ranging from programming to technical software sales for some of the largest companies in the world. In the late 70’s, James and his future wife Lise started coming up to her parents’ property on Doe Lake Road just outside of Gravenhurst. Over time they developed many lifelong friendships with the locals and became part of the community. Recently they purchased property in Algonquin Highlands and are now retired full-time residents. They have since made many new friends and look forward to being active in their new community.

Gary Trapp

Gary, and his wife Cindy, began their love of Haliburton as cottagers on Maple Lake. About 20 years later they became permanent residents of Algonquin Highlands in 2006. As both regular long time vacationers and permanent residents they have developed an appreciation for the ongoing needs of their community in Haliburton County. Now retired, Gary is a CPA by profession with a broad business background. He has held a variety of leadership roles, been a member on a local municipal council committee, and volunteered both locally and abroad with a range of not for profit organizations. Belonging to a connected neighbourhood that has a strong sense of community values is a key priority.

Logan Percy

Logans mother’s family has been in Haliburton County since the late 1800’s while his father’s family has cottaged here since 1914.   As a result, Logan has either lived or cottaged within the County his entire life.  Logan and his wife Kristina own The Wine Store in Minden but Logan works mainly as the General Manager of a group of local construction related companies.  They have three children attending school in Haliburton. Logan and Kristina believe that Haliburton County is one of the greatest places to live in Canada. They feel a responsibility to contribute to the community wherever possible so their children can continue to enjoy the same luxuries of living here as they did!

Jacqueline Baptist

Jacqueline has been coming to Haliburton County since the early 2010’s – as a cottage renter, as a visitor when family members bought a home here and – since 2017 – as a proud property owner herself. She’s a volunteer Director with the Kushog Lake Property Owners Association and a volunteer for Airbnb, moderating a Facebook group of more than 375 local hosts to help educate them about responsible hosting. She supports fair and equitable STR by-laws and a fairly applied Municipal Accommodation Tax.

Go to our YouTube channel and Facebook page for more information about the License of Occupation in Algonquin Highlands as well as other issues that will affect our communities in Haliburton County