Joint Chamber/Board of Trade Regional Chair address 2022

I’m very happy to be here with you all today, in person.

Land Acknowledgement: We are currently located on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange among the Mississaugas Peoples and is the traditional and treaty territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We honour, recognize and respect this nation and Indigenous Peoples as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters on which we meet today. 

It’s hard to believe, but March 3, 2020 was the last time we met in person for this event.

It goes without saying just how much the world has changed in that time.

I appreciate the opportunity be here today to provide you with an update from the Region.

It’s always great to see different organizations come together for occasions such as this.

I’d like to thank the Ajax/Pickering Board of Trade, the Clarington Board of Trade, the Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, and the Whitby Chamber of Commerce for making this event possible.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank:

Mayor Shaun Collier (Ajax), Chair of Regional Transit Committee for creating the most unique On-Demand Transit Service that is recognized at the best in Ontario.

Mayor Adrian Foster (Clarington), Chair of the Regional Finance & Administration Committee for his efforts on Nuclear and Small Modular Nuclear Reactors.

Mayor Dan Carter (Oshawa), Chair of the Durham Region Non-Profit Housing Corporation for championing the Oshawa Micro-Housing Pilot Project.

Mayor Dave Ryan (Pickering), Chair Regional Planning and Economic Development for his continued support for the Nuclear sector and his work o the Pickering Corridor, and attracting Kubota Canada Ltd. and FGF Brands Inc. and

Mayor Don Mitchell (Whitby) Chair of the Regional Works Committee for his efforts to attract Thermëa spa village to Whitby.

It is my pleasure to provide you with an update from the Region today—both on the past year and the year ahead.

On the COVID-19 front, we continue to manage the pandemic with cautious optimism.

2021 was a historic year, and extensionremely important that we continued to move our community forward while prioritizing getting vaccines in arms across Durham Region.

Getting vaccines in arms was our top priority, and through a true team effort, with our health department shifting many resources to vaccinations—with support from many other departments and divisions.

A special thankyou to Dr. Kyle & Dr. McTavish for their tireless efforts.

We saw more than 1.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in Durham Region last year.

And throughout the various lockdowns and restrictions, we offered emergency childcare across Durham which helped to support our essential workers.

While we are still managing high case counts amidst a sixth wave, we have begun administering fourth doses to individuals 60 years of age and older.

That said, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic, thanks to the hard work of our staff and community.

It’s been 23 months since the original launch of our Regional Recovery Framework and Action Plan.

Despite the ongoing nature of the pandemic, we have remained adaptable.

Priorities have shifted, projects have scaled up or scaled down as necessary, or become embedded in the way we deliver services.

It’s in these projects that you can see the four pillars of our plan and some key accomplishments under each.

Under the Social Recovery Pillar, we implemented the co-ordinated access system, organized community resources and wrap-around supports, and transitioned to virtual service delivery.

We also enhanced public health measures and public reporting.

Under the Municipal Recovery Pillar, we’ve adapted to many changes to meet our community’s needs.

From quick wins like purchasing garbage bag tags online, to enterprise projects such as myDurham311—a transformational project aimed at improving the customer experience and minimizing red tape—we’ve made many pivots and modernizations to prioritize a responsive municipal government.

Throughout this, our Finance Division has monitored financial impacts closely.

COVID-19 continues to have a significant and evolving impact on the Region.

We continue to be nimble and responsive in adapting to changing demands and requirements.

Under the Economic Recovery Pillar, we supported the local business community through several initiatives.

They include the award-winning Downtowns of Durham campaign, which in 2021 saw 45,000 visits from community members wanting to learn more about the businesses in their communities.

We worked with partners to produce the Shop Where You Live campaign, and the Shop Durham Region online marketplace.

This work to support our local businesses wouldn’t have been possible without the Ajax/Pickering and Clarington Boards of Trade, and Oshawa and Whitby Chambers of Commerce, through our joint efforts as members of the Durham Economic Task Force.

Together, we hosted 28 virtual events through the Durham Economic Task Force, to help support local business recovery. We worked together to advocate for the needs of our local businesses, and supported each other’s organizations through unified communications and strategies to support reopening and recovery.

The small business sector accounts for 75 per cent of all new jobs in Canada, and the joint efforts of the Task Force and the Chambers and Boards will continue to support recovery and help this sector flourish in Durham Region. 

Under the Built Recovery Pillar, we have seen many Durham Region Transit improvements.

New routes, overnight service, new connections and our successful new Durham Transit OnDemand service.

We have a plan that is focused on rebuilding ridership in a post-pandemic world.

We also updated the Regional Cycling Plan to support the increased demand for trails and cycling infrastructure; and advanced several sustainability initiatives.

We have been implementing Durham’s recovery and restoration for some time, and executing as many supports as we can for local businesses.

We owe a large portion of our success to the partnerships we have built and strengthened among businesses, post-secondary institutions, and all levels of government.

Our partners at OPG supported us in getting residents to their vaccine appointments for free, and we’re supporting our partners at Ontario Shores to plan for the creation of Canada’s first-ever Mental Health Innovation Incubator.

We know that residents in our northern and rural municipalities faced different challenges during the pandemic, so we teamed up with the University of Guelph to conduct a survey to inform future policies, programs and services in rural areas of Durham.

And, in co-operation with our northern municipalities, along with various community partners, we delivered a Seniors Virtual Learning Series.

We’ve seen excellent engagement with this program, and we are continuing the series in 2022.

We also continued our support of the LEAF Backyard Tree Planting Program.

In 2021, the LEAF program saw more than 1,500 trees and shrubs planted on both public and private lands.

In August, we announced the Parasport Games Legacy Fund Grant, in partnership with Their Opportunity.

The new grant provides qualified families with subsidies to help alleviate registration costs for children and youth to participate in parasport programs in Durham.

It was also exciting to hear that Durham Region was  announced as the host of the 2023 Ontario Parasport Games, which will attract approximately 550 participants and result in an anticipated local economic impact of between $500,000 and $1 million.

We also expanded CityStudio Durham, a collaborative partnership with our local post-secondary institutions, Durham Regional Police Service and the Town of Ajax.

We worked with students on 34 different projects in 2021 and look forward to expanding our partnerships this year.

We partnered with Oshawa Power and Elexicon Energy on E-Mission, with partial funding from Natural Resources Canada.

This program aimed to inform and educate residents to use electric vehicles to reduce transportation greenhouse gas emissions in the region.

Pop-up test drive events were held across Durham Region in late August and early September to give residents the opportunity to test drive an electric vehicle.

There was great demand from the public for this initiative—every event was at full capacity.

The COVID-19 pandemic also deepened the complex social issues that lead to homelessness.
It’s partly why another major priority in 2021 was housing and homelessness.

Like communities across Canada, Durham Region has seen some of our most vulnerable residents face hardship and challenges—struggles with mental health, addictions, and affordable housing.

We continue to work to implement At Home in Durham, the Durham Region Housing Plan, while responding to the community’s needs.

To address the urgent need for affordable and supportive housing, we expedited two projects—the supportive housing project in Beaverton, which earned a 2021 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence, and the microhomes pilot project in Oshawa.

The Primary Care Outreach Program, which consists of Mobile outreach services from an Advance Care Paramedic and Social Worker saw 3,300 client interactions in 2021.

We joined the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness’ Built for Zero Canada program and engaged OrgCode consulting to work with us on a full review of the Homelessness Support and Co-ordinated Access System.

We’re using data to track our progress, and in 2021, 197 individuals were housed—averaging 18 people per month.

And, we created a Task Force to address challenges in downtown Oshawa, along with our partners at the City of Oshawa, Lakeridge Health and DRPS.

We participated in multi-region tables and networks including AMO, FCM, MARCO, the GTHA Mayors and Chairs Table, and the Municipal Government Relations Network to share information and develop joint advocacy positions.

Another major milestone for the organization was bringing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion right into our core, with the establishment of a Regional Diversity Equity and Inclusion Office (DEI).

Working across the organization and with the community, our DEI office provides a dedicated focus to our efforts to address systemic racism and promote community development.

I am very proud of the key accomplishments in this work for 2021, which include hosting the Make the Connection anti-Black racism town hall; launching the Durham Region Anti-Racism Task Force; and working on recommendations from the Anti-Black Racism Pillar Report.

We also participated in the Anti-Hate Symposium for Municipalities and Anti-Indigenous Racism Series.

We installed a permanent flag pole at Durham Regional Headquarters for the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, and hosted a Drum Circle in recognition of Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

We began work on an employee census, supported programs in the 2SLGBTQI plus community, and introduced Durham’s first Community Safety and Well-Being Plan.

Speaking of firsts, the Region advanced several key innovation and modernization initiatives in 2021.

We started off the year with recognition as one of the Smart21 Communities of the Year.

Then, we ranked in the top 15—up from the top 20 the previous year—North American communities’ Most Open Cities via Open Data Initiative.

And lastly, we launched a first-of-its-kind project in Canada, the myDurham311 Smart Home Device Voice Service Project.

These innovations are all driving towards the same goal—customer service excellence.

Of course, customer service is at the heart of what we do.

With a continued focus on community engagement, I am proud of how our teams kept up our commitment to service excellence for our communities throughout 2021 and the ongoing pandemic.

In 2021, more than one million transactions were processed through multiple channels.

We’ve continued excellent maintenance, repair and expansion of our Regional Road network, and water and sewer systems.

Major projects include Townline and Taunton Roads in Oshawa and Clarington; Brock Street North and Rossland Road in Whitby; a Conlin Road feeder main project in Oshawa; and work on the Waterfront Trail at Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant that spans from Pickering to Ajax.

As we know, broadband access is vital infrastructure that is essential for communication, education, and economic competitiveness.

COVID-19 has put a spotlight on the challenges faced by residents who don’t have access to adequate broadband.

In 2021, we began work to expand broadband infrastructure in Uxbridge and north Pickering.

The Uxbridge to Pickering link is the first construction project led by Durham Region to address gaps in broadband access.

It will create the underground backbone infrastructure necessary to facilitate high-speed broadband to underserved areas and bring the region in line with some of the best-connected communities in the world.

We continue to work on the Municipal Comprehensive Review of our Official Plan, under Envision Durham.

It’s our opportunity to plan for a progressive and forward-looking land use planning vision for the region, through to 2051.

Speaking of looking forward, I’d like to briefly share what lies on the road ahead for the Region, in 2022 and beyond. 

Firstly, of course our top priority continues to be the COVID-19 pandemic, re-opening and recovery.

We were pleased to welcome our teleworking staff back to the office on April 4, in a new, modern, hybrid style.

We recently reopened our facilities to the public on April 19, which is a major step forward in continuing our recovery process.

To further bolster that recovery, we are continuing to advocate for funding from the provincial and federal governments to help us address financial impacts from the pandemic.

We know this has been a long and difficult road for so many of us, including our staff, many of whom have been on the front lines of the pandemic.

We’re committed to the ongoing health and safety of our teams, as well as enhancing mental health supports.

We remain focused on a sustainable future.

Our climate action plan aims for a 100 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

We have several projects proposed for 2022 to prioritize this goal.

We plan to increase waste diversion through the advancement of the pre-sort and anerobic digestion facility, while adapting to provincial legislative changes on extensionended producer responsibility in waste management.

And, we’ll continue to advance low-carbon fleet transitions, including Durham Region Transit’s first battery electric buses and the development of a long-term fleet transition roadmap.

We are focused on delivering services that contribute to safe, strong neighbourhoods, vibrant and diverse communities, and a great quality of life.

We will continue to advance and expand our Diversity Equity and Inclusion program, and work with OrgCode Consulting, and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness to implement housing-focused shelter standards.

And as Durham grows, we will build a new paramedic response station in Seaton and undertake a Paramedic Services South Whitby feasibility study.

We want to build a strong and resilient economy that maximizes opportunities for business and employment growth, innovation and partnership.

This includes continuing to advance transit service recovery and transit-oriented development opportunities, including GO East to Bowmanville.

The approval of the Lakeshore GO East extensionension to Bowmanville is key to our economic recovery.

The extensionension is important for creating jobs, stimulating the economy, connecting people to work and education opportunities and building complete, livable, affordable, walkable communities.

We will be ready when the Lakeshore GO East is approved, which we’re expecting to hear in a few short hours with the announcement of the provincial budget.

We accelerated the Regional Official Plan amendment for Protected Major Transit Station Areas.

And we have been working closely our local municipalities, Metrolinx and the Ministry of Transportation on a Station Implementation Strategy.

We will begin implementation of Durham’s Nuclear Sector Strategy, and continue to advance the development of the new Regional Official Plan as part of Envision Durham.

We are delivering the Region’s Community Improvement Plan, and will continue the implementation of our Broadband Strategy.

We’re also working on a new Economic Development Strategic Plan, along with updated five-year economic development plans for North Durham, Marketing for Investment, Agri-Food, and Tourism.

The demand for investment in Durham Region is high—Durham Region is simply the best opportunity for businesses to grow in the GTHA.

Just a few of some recent successes include investments as diverse as an automotive cyber security firm from South Korea establishing in the 1855 Accelerator in Whitby; General Motors Canada furthering their investment in their Oshawa Assembly operations; and a 90-acre film and television backlot—the largest of its kind in Canada—being built in the City of Pickering.

The Regional economic development strategic plan will be data-driven, consider a vast array of potential opportunities, and define a strategic direction for the future economy in Durham. 

Continuing to strengthen our business community is of top importance for the Region.

This takes many organizations working together.

Congratulations to the Joint Chambers and Boards of trade on their partnership with Durham College to facilitate membership.

Deepening connections between graduates and our business community helps to build the future of our workforce and economy. 

While our booming growth means our community is in-demand, we are striving to ensure a range of programs, services and supports are available and accessible to those in need.

So that no individual is left behind.

We will continue to advance our housing plan, including operating the new microhomes and supportive housing.

We will partner with Grandview Children’s Centre on the new Ontario Autism Program.

We are modernizing the way that Ontario Works paper records are handled, transmitted and retained by Durham Region, for better service to our clients.

And of course, we are committed to providing exceptional value to Durham taxpayers through responsive, effective and fiscally sustainable service delivery.

A few key projects include myDurham 311; the Region’s new Long-term Waste Management Plan; the Workplace Modernization Project and the Enterprise Maintenance Management System projects, among others.

I’d like to close by saying thank you for the opportunity to share some of our accomplishments and priorities with you today.

It was a challenging year.

However, we have achieved so much.

I could not be prouder of the work our staff have been able to accomplish and the dedication they have shown to this community.

We’re looking forward to another year of innovation, excellent service, and a strong recovery as we come out of the pandemic.

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

Congratulations to the joint Chambers and Boards of Trade on the formation of the Durham Business Alliance.

We are stronger when we work together, and seeing the Chambers and Boards join in advocacy across Durham Region is a demonstration of unity that will help strengthen our region’s business community.  

Thank you for all that you do, thank you for listening.

If you are looking for an organization to support, please consider Durham Hospice Hospice’s Capital Campaign to support the construction of two new hospice residences in Durham Region.

I am happy to take any questions.