Clarington Board of Trade remarks

On March 17, 2021, Regional Chair and CEO John Henry spoke at the Clarington Board of Trade's Annual Breakfast.

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Good morning, and happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I’m very happy to be here today, and I appreciate the opportunity to provide you with an update from the Region.

It’s been a very exciting month for us, as we began our public vaccination clinics, with one of the first clinics in Durham opening in Clarington—at the Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex in Bowmanville.

Our vaccine clinics truly signify the “beginning of the end” to the pandemic we have all been dealing with for a full year now.

While we aren’t out of the woods yet, we are getting closer by the day.

We have been planning for recovery for some time, and implementing as many supports as we can for local businesses throughout the past year.

Initiatives like the RitualONE free food ordering service; Digital Main Street program and the Downtowns of Durham website.

Speaking of which, I’m pleased to share that the Downtowns of Durham project was recently awarded the Marketing Canada Award in the Recovery Project/Plan category, from the Economic Developer’s Association of Canada, or EDAC.

Nothing has inspired me more over the past year than the grit and passion of our small local businesses. They have pivoted. They have adapted. And they have shown that they are the true heart and soul of our community.

Now, more than ever, it’s important to shop local.

Did you know that for every $100 spent locally, $70 is reinvested back into our local economy?

Further, 75 percent of all new jobs being created in Canada are within the small business sector.

And that’s why, earlier this year, we launched the Shop Durham Region online marketplace.

At Shop Durham Region DOT COM, shoppers can buy locally made goods from Durham Region businesses offering contactless pickup.

By centralizing the shopping experience with one easy-to-browse website, people are exposed to new local products and buy products from various local businesses in one transaction.

New products are added every day, and new vendors as well. If you are a local business, or know one who would be interested in listing goods on Shop Durham Region, be sure to check it out. It’s completely free.

At the Region, over the past year, we’ve remained committed to keeping key services and projects moving forward.

Here in Clarington, one of our top priorities is keeping the Lakeshore GO East extension on track.

The Bowmanville GO Rail Service Extension is crucial not only reducing highway congestion and helping us achieve our climate change goals, but also to rebuilding public transit ridership post-pandemic.

And of course—the economic impact will be incredible.

We estimate that this project will stimulate 21,000 new jobs, 6,000 new homes, and $1.1 billion in transit-oriented urban development.

Planning for and supporting transit-oriented development is so important for the Region, that we recently created a new Transit Oriented Development office to support the implementation of rapid transit projects across Durham.

We continue to urge the provincial government to commit to the Bowmanville GO Rail Service

Extension and the creation of four additional transit stations on an expedited timeline.

We are continuing to promote Durham Region as a good place to invest and continued focus on job creation.

A great success story of this coming to fruition is the recent opening of the Toyota Canada Inc. Eastern Canada Parts Distribution Centre on Lambs Road.

This 350,000 square-foot facility is a solid investment in our Region. Toyota has recognized that Durham Region is the best place to live, work, grow and invest.

One of my top priorities is to ensure that Durham Region is the best place to live for everyone, no matter their gender or race.

The Region recently appointed Allison Hector-Alexander to lead our new office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

And tomorrow evening I will be joining Allison, our CAO Elaine-Baxter Trahair, along with guest panelists, to host a public town hall about Anti-Black Racism.

It’s a chance for open dialogue—allowing us to better understand one another and create an anti-racist environment moving forward.

Because no form of racism is acceptable. I hope you will join the conversation; again, that’s tomorrow night, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Find out more details by visiting Durham DOT C-A SLASH Make The Connection.

As a corporation, Durham Region strives to be an innovative, sustainable, future-oriented organization.

And in late February, Regional Council approved a budget that keeps those priorities in mind while balancing affordability for our taxpayers.

Our 2021 Budget was approved at $1.488 billion—this represents a net property tax increase of 1.98 per cent. Or approximately $55 for the average home.

On top of continuing to deliver excellent services to residents and business in Durham, from roads and water to long-term care; we also have invested in many strategic priorities that will ensure Durham continues to grow prosperously.

Our budget underlines the Region’s commitment to land-use planning—creating more greenspace and supporting our rural communities.

Investments in climate and environmental sustainability include the development and implementation of a Corporate Climate Change Master Plan, and the launch of an innovative Durham Home Energy Savings program to help homeowners reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

And a top priority continues to be connecting our Region with broadband infrastructure.

All levels of government have a role to play to significantly improve broadband access in Durham.

Now, more than ever, we understand the importance of being and staying connected.

Recently, we submitted an application for funding from the Province of Ontario and Federal Government of Canada for the phased implementation of a broadband network in Durham Region.

We’re working in partnership with the OPUC – the Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation – on this transformative project.

It will serve our rural and underserved communities; leveraging the existing fibre infrastructure of the Region and OPUC to extend broadband access across Durham.

It’s through these continued investments that we will be able to bring our vision of connecting our entire region with fast and reliable broadband to life.

We’ve also budgeted to provide funding for Grandview Children’s Centre, Durham College and Trent University Durham for their capital building projects under the Region’s Community Investment Grant program.

Under our Community Investment Grant program, I’m thrilled to share that we’ve committed $37.5 million to the Bowmanville Hospital Redevelopment.

Lakeridge Health and the Bowmanville Hospital are integral community partners in Durham Region.

The work they do to ensure the health and safety of our community is crucial. Look no further than this past year, and you will understand just how important our health care partners are.

That is why it is our distinct pleasure to help fund this vital redevelopment, ensuring that the Clarington and Bowmanville communities continue to receive access to high-quality health care services well into the future.

With this funding, Bowmanville Hospital is one step closer to breaking ground on the much-anticipated redevelopment project.

Once complete, the Bowmanville Hospital will feature a larger emergency department, expanded inpatient units, state-of-the art diagnostic imaging services, among other services.  

All the priorities I’ve outlined above underline our desire to capitalize on Durham’s legacy as builders and economic drivers going forward.

Our new economy will be one that features autonomous and electric vehicles, nuclear energy, AI and personalized medicine.

Here in Clarington, I am so pleased that OPG has resumed planning activities for new Small Modular Reactor (SMR) development at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.

SMRs, like traditional nuclear reactors, are designed to provide safe, reliable, carbon-free electricity, but with a much smaller land footprint than current reactors.

They also offer lower capital cost and faster deployment.

OPG is leading the way in the advancement of SMR technology, and Durham Region is excited by the economic opportunity of being one of the first sites globally for this emerging industrial subsector.

For Durham, this development will help drive innovation and stimulate new business throughout our region.

We look forward to working with OPG to achieve the community benefits associated with successful SMR development.

Durham Region is the Clean Energy Capital of Canada, producing about 30 per cent of Ontario's electricity, and is a recognized energy cluster with two nuclear generating stations.

We have unique nuclear post-secondary degree programs, and a highly specialized workforce.

With the potential for Durham to host the first grid-connected SMR, and the future home to a world-leading cluster of SMR technology companies, Durham and Ontario will be the clean energy capital of the world.

Durham Region has already taken important steps to accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon, climate resilient community.

This development complements the shift to a low-carbon economy and achievement of GHG emissions targets; and will provide carbon-free, affordable, reliable, and safe energy.

It’s an exciting opportunity and highlights the economic potential of new nuclear across the country.

Today, as we look forward, we know that COVID-19 will continue to impact us for the foreseeable future.

So, every decision we make will require a COVID lens.

But as you know, our priorities haven’t changed; their importance has only been amplified.

Priorities such as the importance of environmental sustainability and agriculture; social housing; and supporting our local businesses to foster continued economic success for our great region.

Our Durham Economic Task Force is providing direct one-on-one support to help businesses find the resources they need.

We are supporting local businesses in resuming operations to get our economic engine back up and running.

We are constantly looking at opportunities for partnerships, and continued investment and funding from partners such as the provincial and federal governments.

We are promoting current and new post-secondary programming to “upskill” and retrain the current workforce to ensure a more adaptable and resilient economy.

With everything I’ve mentioned here today, it’s clear that Durham Region has built a well-deserved reputation as an innovative community.

We are known for our ability to adapt and solve big problems.

We will continue to showcase these strengths, long after this crisis is over, while we continue to grow to be the greatest region in Canada.

I’d like to close by saying thank you.

I want everyone here to know that the Region understands the importance of the work you do in supporting and fueling our economy.

And not only do we understand it – we appreciate it.

Thank you for all that you do, thank you for listening, and I’d be pleased to take any questions.