North Joint Chamber Address 2022

On June 16, 2022, Regional Chair and CEO John Henry spoke at the 2022 Annual Regional Chair Address and Luncheon for the Scugog Chamber of Commerce, Uxbridge Chamber of Commerce, and Brock Board of Trade.

Check against delivery.

Good morning, everyone.

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

It’s hard to believe it has been so long since we could hold these types of events in person.

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 Brock Board of Trade, Scugog Chamber of Commerce, and Uxbridge Chamber of Commerce for making this event possible.

As the aftermath of May long weekend’s severe weather event continues to unfold, my thoughts are with all of those impacted by this devastating event. Our very own Uxbridge had a confirmed tornado touch down causing destruction through the community.

Our residents and our communities continue to face the fallout of this storm, which has left extensionensive and unimaginable damage across north Durham.

I want to extensionend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all of those involved in the region’s recovery efforts, who have gone above and beyond to ensure our communities are safe during this time.

Durham Region will recover, and together we will be stronger because of it.

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

This is not my story—in fact, I am always honoured to say that this is the Region’s story.

This story is the results of many people coming together in pursuit of a better place to call home.

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

2021 was a historic year, as we prioritized getting vaccines in arms across Durham Region.

It 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.

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

We introduced a mandatory vaccination policy for Durham Region employees.

And throughout the various lockdowns and restrictions, we offered emergency child care across Durham.

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

It’s been more than two years 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. The downtowns of Durham features five north Durham downtowns that include Beaverton, Cannington, Port Perry, Sunderland and Uxbridge.

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 Scugog and Uxbridge Chambers of Commerce, and the Brock Board of Trade, 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, which improves DRT’s presence in our northern municipalities. On Demand provides north Durham residents with access to a transit service averaging 15 minutes in wait time and operates seven days a week.

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. Uxbridge is already the trail capital of Canada and by expanding our trail network, we will enhance tourism to the area.

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 that saw excellent engagement attracting more than 1000 seniors. It was a great program to stay connected throughout the pandemic and learn about senior-specific services and resources in the community.

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 and we are anticipating adding even more in 2022 to enhance our urban forests.

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.

This year, we launched a new video series aimed at encouraging high school students to consider a career in the agri-food industry.

A series of eight videos were developed featuring agri-food businesses and operators from across the region, highlighting the variety of career options available in this diverse industry.

The videos have been shown in Grade 9 Civics and Careers classes across Durham and beyond.

As a nextension step we are working with partners to develop a Specialist High Skills Major Program for high schools in the region, focused on building skills and experience in the agri-food industry.

As the major economic driver in north Durham, we recognize the importance of investing in the nextension generation of farm businesses.

The Township of Scugog will be kicking off a Business Retention and Expansion project later this year. This project will include one-on-one interviews with businesses across the Township. It will result in the development of an action plan to support economic development and tourism in Scugog.

The Region is proud to be a partner with the Township of Scugog in delivering this program, and we look forward to connecting with businesses to learn more about what you do, and how we can support to help you succeed.

Congratulations to the Township of Uxbridge who recently approved its Downtown Revitalization Strategy and Action Plan.

This plan was a collaborative effort led by Township staff with support from many partners, including the Region of Durham.

It identifies a strong forward-looking vision for downtown Uxbridge and identifies opportunities to enhance the downtown by making it safe and walkable; supporting the revitalization of lower Brock Street; and making Uxbridge a destination for visitors.

Over the last several months, the Township of Brock along with the Brock Board of Trade have undertaken a business survey program to gather feedback from the business community across Brock.

This helped identify a number of opportunities to support businesses in Brock. With almost 50 businesses having completed the survey, this information will be used to help inform future economic development activities in the Township.

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.

We worked with other regions and municipalities to share information and develop joint advocacy positions which led to increased support under the Social Services Relief Fund.

Across Durham Region, we have 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 and the microhomes pilot project in Oshawa.

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.

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

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 flagpole 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 2-S-L-G-B-T-Q-I-plus community, and introduced Durham’s first Community Safety and Well-Being Plan. On June 4 I attended the Youth Pride extensionravaganza hosted by Durham Children's Aid Society, Durham Children's Aid Foundation, The Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Regional Police Service, and the Durham District School Board, in association with Durham Pride and PFLAG Durham, hosted a free event at Headquarters that championed acceptance through an afternoon of performances, music, dancing and fun activities.

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.

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:

• The construction and rehabilitation of the York-Durham Line, and installation of new leading pedestrian intervals at Main Street and Toronto Street, as well as Brock Street and Toronto Street in Uxbridge;
• Rehabilitation of Reach street, and a new watermain at Scugog Line 3 and on Simcoe Street in Scugog
• Rehabilitation of Lake Ridge Road in Brock.  

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 segment is the first construction project led by Durham Region to address gaps in broadband access.

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

We’re proud that the construction has been completed in time and under budget.

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

Through Envision Durham, the Region’s Municipal Comprehensive Review, a Growth Management Study and Land Needs assessment is being completed.

Under the provincial Growth Plan, the Region is required to accommodate a forecast population of 1.3 million and 460,000 jobs by 2051.

To accommodate this growth, Regional Council approved a land needs scenario that calls for a 3,671 hectares (9,000 acres) of urban boundary expansion to accommodate population and employment to the year 2051

Phase 2 of the Study can now commence. Regional growth will be allocated to each of Durham’s eight area municipalities. Locations for urban boundary expansions will be part of the process, including exploring opportunities for modest (10 hectare) expansions of our northern urban settlement areas that are in the Greenbelt.

Public consultation on candidate locations for growth will form part of the process.

Staff look forward to bringing a new draft Regional Official Plan to Council early in 2023, and then forward it to the province for their approval.

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 in April, in a new, modern, hybrid style.

We also reopened our facilities to the public in April, 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.

When Regional Council declared a climate emergency in 2020, staff were directed to focus on relentless implementation of our climate action plans. I am proud to see the results of our collective efforts today with the launch of the Durham Greener Homes program. 

This program knits together partnerships with credit unions, utilities, and skilled trades, and demonstrates the power of municipal governments acting as a catalyst for collaborative action in the face of the complex challenges. 

We hope that this program serves as a blueprint for other municipalities and communities across Ontario and Canada as we work together to respond to one of the greatest challenges of our time.

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.

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

We are eager to help this project succeed.

We have 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 have begun 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.

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 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.

This is the Region’s story.

It’s your story and it’s just the beginning.

We have so much to look forward to and much to celebrate as we continue our story of success and property in Durham.

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 together.

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, and I’d be happy to take any questions.