Canada Post resuming operations

Whitby, Ontario – The Regional Municipality of Durham would like to notify residents that Canada Post restarted operations on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, and is in the process of ramping up operations across Canada.

When: Canada Post has begun working on mail and parcels that have been trapped in the system since November 15. Any large Regional mail outs will not be accepted into the network until December 19.

Residents should expect Canada Post delivery delays through the remainder of 2024 and into January 2025.

Alternative ways to access Regional services while Canada Post is working to get back to normal operations include:

• Water and sanitary bills can be accessed and paid through Durham Region’s web-based portal. Visit the MyDurhamWater web page to learn more. Water and sanitary sewer bills can also be paid at a financial institution; or by cheque (payable to The Regional Municipality of Durham) at these drop box locations:

Ajax: Municipal Office, 65 Harwood Avenue South

Brock: Municipal Office, 1 Cameron Street East, Cannington         

Clarington: Municipal Office, 40 Temperance Street, Bowmanville 

Oshawa: Municipal Office, 50 Centre Street South

Pickering: Civic Complex, One The Esplanade

Scugog: Municipal Office, 181 Perry Street, Port Perry

Uxbridge: Municipal Office, 51 Toronto Street South

Whitby: Regional Headquarters, 605 Rossland Road East

• The delivery of new water and sanitary sewer bills may continue to be delayed until January 2025. Residents who received an invoice for water and sanitary sewer are still responsible for paying by the date noted on the bill.

• Ontario Works (OW) clients - The following protocols have been put in place regarding client and vendor payments:
  • January 2025 monthly entitlement payments issued by cheque will be available for pick-up on December 30 at 9 a.m. These cheques will not be mailed. All other client payments produced after December 19 will be mailed.
  • Individuals receiving OW payments through direct deposit will receive payment, into a bank account, as usual. Those that receive their OW payments via Reloadable Payment Card (RPC) will receive payment as usual.
    • Direct Bank Deposit (DBD) and Reloadable Payment Card (RPC) statements will be mailed going forward.
    • Vendors and third parties receiving cheques will be contacted by Regional Staff to confirm whether they prefer to pick up their payment or have it mailed.
      • Note: Clients are still required to report income changes, and changes to their circumstances, to their caseworker.     

• Tenants/clients of the Durham Region Local Housing Corporation or Rent Supplement or Housing Benefit Programs Tenants/clients can begin mailing in information required for rent calculations though there may be delays in receiving documents into January 2025. Tenants/clients can continue to hand in documents in person at Regional Headquarters as well as Durham Region Local Housing Corporation sites to have them scanned and returned.

• Fines incurred under the Provincial Offences Act (POA) can continue to be paid in person at Regional Headquarters (605 Rossland Road East, Whitby); or online at durham.ca/tickets. Fines can also be paid over the phone by calling 905-668-3130 or toll free at 1-866-779-8839, or in person at any POA court office in the Province of Ontario.
  • Durham Region Transit (DRT) customers seeking eligibility for Specialized Services can drop applications off at Durham Regional Headquarters (605 Rossland Road East, Whitby) or DRT Customer Service counter (110 Westney Road South, Ajax) during regular business hours.

Note: Residents who recently received an invoice for a Regional service are still responsible for the timely payment of their bills. Online payments are encouraged.

Customers can connect with Durham Region by calling 311 for convenient access to information about potential impacts to Regional service. Customers can also use the myDurham 311 Customer Portal to submit and track requests or inquiries for Regional services online. The self-service customer portal is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at myDurham311.ca.

- 30 -

For media inquiries, please contact Corporate Communications.