Remarks at Scugog Chamber of Commerce Virtual Luncheon

On June 25, 2020, Regional Chair and CEO John Henry hosted a Virtual Luncheon with the Scugog Chamber of Commerce.

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Good morning.

I appreciate the opportunity to provide you with an update from the Region. It’s also a great time to hear from you and hopefully address any questions you may have.

Yesterday, June 24, marked three months since I declared a state of emergency in Durham Region. It was first time the Region has ever declared a state of emergency.

Like all of you, our Regional team had to quickly modernize the way we do business. More than 1,300 staff quickly shifted to teleworking, and we kept projects moving forward. We were, and are, committed to keeping Durham’s economic engine running.

Early in the pandemic, we quickly formed The Durham Economic Task Force–a collaborative response team made up of Durham Region’s Economic Development and Tourism team; Business Advisory Centre Durham; all of Durham’s boards of trade; local municipal economic development teams; our BIAs and our chambers of commerce—including you great folks at the Scugog Chamber of Commerce.

In Scugog, I’ve heard incredible stories of businesses innovating to make challenges into opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic:

I understand the brand-new Port Cheese Co., in downtown Port Perry, opened during the pandemic! While it certainly isn’t an ideal time to open a business, that didn’t stop them from starting off with a bang. They offered online ordering, build-your-own cheese boards, and gift packs. We will have to make sure we give this business a proper ribbon-cutting ceremony when the time is right.
Many local businesses have pivoted their operations to make PPE – including Canplex Profiles and Kwiksigns right here in Scugog.
And of course, our local food producers, our agriculture industry. The hard working people who are truly the foundation of our community. An ongoing driver of our economy. You are also some of the most resourceful and innovative folks I have ever met. You have great ideas on how to build agri-business at the individual farm level and through co-operation with partners. And, you have made sure that our supply chain has stayed intact. I know many of us “South of 7” have subscribed to Willowtree Farm and Forsythe Family Farms Community Supported Agriculture programs. Because of these programs and the work of all our local famers we have had access to fresh, local food throughout this pandemic. You are pillars of the agriculture community here in Scugog, and I thank you for your ongoing hard work. I know all of Durham Region is excited that strawberry season is here.

Yesterday at Durham Regional Council, we approved two very important reports—possibly two of the most important reports that have come across my desk since becoming Regional Chair.

The first was our new Durham Region Strategic Plan implementation. As a corporation, the Region strives to be an innovative, sustainable, future-oriented organization. This plan lays out our priorities and sets achievable goals for the short and longer term.

This plan reflects the desire to capitalize on Durham’s legacy as builders igoing forward. Our new economy will be one that features autonomous and electric vehicles, AI and personalized medicine. It also underlines the Region’s commitment to land-use planning--creating more greenspace and supporting our rural communities.

Our strategic plan was largely consulted on, and put together, before the COVID-19 pandemic. We now know that COVID-19 will continue to impact us for months, even years. So, every decision we make will require a COVID lens.

But you know, our priorities haven’t changed; their importance has only been amplified. Priorities such as the importance of sustainability and local food; priorities such as social housing; and priorities such as supporting our local businesses to foster continued economic success for our great region.

This mindset helped develop the second report we approved at Council yesterday—the Region’s Recovery Framework. That is what I’d like to take some time sharing with you today, as I know economic recovery is what’s on everyone’s mind. And no one is more eager than me to get our economy back open.

Our Regional Recovery Framework is centred on four pillars: Social, Built, Economic and Municipal.

Chair Henry spoke on the following topics (included in point form below):

The SOCIAL pillar is all about taking care of our people:

Health and safety of residents. Let’s beat COVID-19. We are all in this together.
Housing and taking care of our vulnerable residents.
Re-opening our child care centres this Monday.
Primary Care Outreach Program for COVID-19 testing.
Managing COVID-19 outbreaks.

The second pillar of our recovery, BUILT ENVIRONMENT, focuses on our objectives around economic development and climate change adaptation:

Changing how we build and design facilities, housing and services.
Building back better: focussing on sustainability in everything we do.
Building back Durham Region Transit ridership, including in the north.
Innovative new Durham Forest Centre in neighbouring Uxbridge.
As people look to move out of downtown Toronto out to Durham where there is more space, we will continue to promote a quality of life that is second to none.

The third pillar, ECONOMIC RECOVERY spells out specific actions the Region is taking to ensure our local economy not only recovers, but comes out of this stronger than ever:

Durham Economic Task Force is led by the Region’s Economic Development and Tourism Team.
Support local businesses in resuming operations.
Improving vital business infrastructure, such as broadband internet.
Looking at opportunities for continued investment – such as the Collision Conference taking place this week.
Buy local campaign.
Downtowns of Durham campaign.

The final pillar of our Recovery Framework is MUNICIPAL. We too have taken a major financial and operational hit and we will be working hard to get our own house back in order:

Fiscal impact of approximately $40.5 million–advocating for relief from the provincial and federal governments.
Transit fares to resume July 2.
Regional staff demonstrated amazing work, resiliency and adapted to change.
Apply lessons learned from the pandemic to modernize services.
Creation of a new 311-type service for Durham to modernize how we do business.
A staged plan for getting our buildings re-opened.

Durham Region has a reputation as an innovative community; known for its ability to adapt and solve big problems. We will continue to showcase these strengths, long after this situation is over, while we continue to grow to be the greatest region in Canada.

Right now, our Economic Development and Tourism Team is at Collision Conference—virtually of course. It’s north America’s biggest tech conference. We are there alongside our local municipalities—including Scugog—and community partners to show investors and businesses that Durham is ready to build new partnerships that take the world’s current challenges and turn them into opportunities.

Of course, while we know it’s important to think big, it’s just as important to think local. Our Economic Development and Tourism Team has been there to support our local business community, since early on in the pandemic.

Through the Durham Economic Task Force, this team is providing direct one-on-one support to help businesses find the resources you need.

I must give credit to this team for their quick action. If you haven’t yet, I hope you take advantage of these resources, because they really are great. And please let me know what else we can do to support you. I have been taking these concerns to our MPs and MPPs to ensure your voices are heard.

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 feeding our families, taking care of our countryside, and fuelling our economy.

While the world looks wildly different than it did a few months ago, your hard work has remained unchanged. Thank you for all that you do, thank you for listening, and I’d be pleased to take any questions.