Oshawa Durham Central Newspaper

Shots Fired at Residence and Vehicles Police are investigating after multiple shots were fired at a residence and unoccupied vehicles parked in the driveway of an Ajax home. No injuries were reported.... On Thursday, January 7, 2021, at approximately 12:10 a.m., members of West Division were dispatched to a residence in the area of Salem Road and Taunton Road East in Ajax for shots fired. Officers arrived and discovered several vehicles parked in the driveway of a residence and the residence itself had been struck with multiple bullets. Multiple shell casings were located at the scene. The occupants inside the residence were not injured. A review of security footage from the area showed the gunshots came from inside a light-coloured SUV-style vehicle, which was last seen leaving the area at a high rate of speed

Ontario’s total coronavirus caseload surpasses 200,000 after 3,266 new cases reported According to Wednesday’s provincial report, 805 cases were recorded in Toronto, 523 were in Peel Region, 349 in York Region, 208 in Windsor-Essex County and 206 in Waterloo.

Every COVID-19 workplace outbreak in Ontario must be made public HAMILTON Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, together with the NDP’s Workplace Hea...lth and Safety critic Wayne Gates, are urging Doug Ford to publicly disclose the names and locations of all workplaces with COVID-19 outbreaks, following the lead of municipalities. We’ve already seen almost 9,000 workers infected with COVID-19 in workplaces in Ontario. These essential workers don’t have the option to stay home, and have been exposed on the job at manufacturing plants, distribution centres, farms and grocery stores. They have a right to know whether their workplaces are safe, as do customers, delivery workers and first responders, said Horwath. Keeping this information secret puts the lives of workers and their families at risk, it increases the risk of community spread, and it removes a critical piece of information we need to find COVID-19 hotspots and stop the spread. The Ford government must finally listen to workers and public health experts by making workplace outbreaks publicly-available. The City of Toronto announced Monday that it will reveal the names and locations of workplace outbreaks, but the Ford government is still refusing to do the same for workers in the rest of the province. Back in October, I urged the Ford government to reveal the names of workplace outbreaks across the whole province, said Gates. Ontario is in deeper depths of the COVID crisis than ever, and there is no excuse for the Ford government to keep hiding information that we know will help to save lives. Every worker in Ontario has a right to know whether their workplace is safe wherever where they live and work.

Regional Chair John Henry reflects on 2020 Whitby, Ontario The following statement is being issued on behalf of John Henry, Regional Chair and Chief Executive... Officer: As we move into the new year, our thoughts turn towards the future. I am hopeful that 2021 will bring reason for optimism and recovery, after a long road in the face of COVID-19. With a vaccine rollout on the horizon, we are very much looking forward to what 2021 will bring. However, just as the end of the year is a time to be hopeful for the next, it is also a time to reflect on the year that was. Last year was one of the toughest in Durham Region’s history. Since I declared a state of emergency on March 24, COVID-19 has changed so many aspects of our daily lives. For Regional staff, our work continuedand while some aspects of the work changed, it became more important than ever. Our Health Department was an integral part of the COVID-19 response. From their guidance on best health practices and guidelines, to their contact tracing and case management, they have done remarkable work to help keep us as safe as possible. They created the COVID-19 data tracker with the help of our IT team to help residents stay up to date on the latest status of COVID-19 in Durham. A platform that was accessed more than 1.1 million times in 2020. Not to mention that, as of December 2, our Health Department team conducted 2,379 investigations, handled 40,720 nursing assessments, and fielded 127,323 phone calls related to COVID-19. More statistics can be found in this Public Health Protects infographic. Social Services staff partnered with local agencies to create the In and Out of the Crisis program at Camp Samac, where unsheltered residents were provided with a roof over their head, while maintaining their health and receiving the support they need. They also offered emergency child care to health care and front-line workers in Durham Region; providing ongoing support to early learning and child care centres to ensure health and safety. Our Long-Term Care staff continued to provide much needed care for senior residents, in the face of COVID-19 outbreaks and hardships. Their dedication and support during this tumultuous time has been nothing short of heroic. The Planning, Economic Development and Tourism team played an essential role in supporting our local economy. Since its creation, the Durham Economic Task Force has met regularly to develop and deploy initiatives in support of local businesses. Innovative new programs and initiatives were launched, such as Downtowns of Durham, Shop in Durham Week, and the Shop Durham Region online marketplace. Partnerships were strengthened with Durham Farm Fresh in continued support of our agricultural sector, and local restaurants were supported through RITUAL ONEan accessible, online method of contactless food ordering. The Works Department continued to provide the consistent service our residents have come to expect every day, such as waste collection, water, road construction and traffic safety. Durham Region Transit continued its reliable serviceoffering free rides during the initial spike of the crisis, and continually adapting their service model to best serve residents during the pandemic, with health and safety remaining a top priority. Our internal teams, such as Finance, Communications, Human Resources, IT, Legal, Legislative, and the CAO’s Office have been doing excellent work behind the scenes to continue supporting residents. Work that is incredibly important, focused on ensuring key initiatives and projects were completed as we battle this pandemic. These are just a few examples of the tremendous efforts carried out by Regional staff and local partners. To say I am proud of the work they have all done would be a huge understatement. While COVID-19 was the major focus last year, there were still plenty of bright spots beyond the pandemic. General Motors announced that they aim to bring an estimated $1 billion to $1.3 billion investment and 1,400 to 1,700 hourly jobs back to Oshawa. Amazon announced the building of a one million-square-foot distribution facility with 1,000 new jobs in the Town of Ajax and a 354,000-square-foot facility in the Town of Whitby, with hundreds of full and part-time jobs. The Lakeshore GO East expansion project has made significant progress. We look forward to these expanded transit options for our residents in the near future. Durham Region Transit launched the new On-Demand service, which has had a significant improvement for northern residents’ access to transit services. There are 11 major Durham Region Transit projects are underway with provincial and federal investment in order to modernize our operations, such as the Bus Rapid Transit System that will connect Oshawa to Scarborough along Highway 2. Both the federal and provincial governments recently announced significant funding into broadband. And we are looking forward to securing the funding necessary to achieve our vision of a fully connected Durham. There were also some very important developments last year in identifying and addressing anti-Black racism. The Region hosted an Anti-Black Racism Town Hall, and Council approved the Anti-Black Racism Town Hall and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Follow-Up report in order to take measurable steps towards addressing anti-Black racism, diversity and inclusion. I remain committed to ensuring our policies and programs are built on equity and opportunity. The Region is continuing this important and necessary journey in 2021 and well beyond. There is plenty to look forward to this year. We will continue to cultivate a high quality of life for our diverse and growing population, backed by strong supportive services. We will aim to lead the way in technology and jobs of the future, to help our growing economy stay strong. Guided by the 2020 to 2024 Durham Region Strategic Plan, we are taking steps to implement our vision of a better Durham Region; the best place to live, work, play, innovate and invest. View our Momentum 2020 video for more information on our upcoming priorities, and how we plan to achieve our vision. We wouldn’t be able to achieve our vision without the support from you, our amazing community. Thank you for helping us get through 2020 and forge ahead to a better year in 2021. Your commitment to listening to public health advice, your resilience, and your unyielding spirit has been an inspiration. From the decorated windows and sidewalks, to the messages of thanks and respect for our frontline heroes, thank you for exemplifying the values that make me proud to call Durham Region home. As always, we remain #DurhamStrong

Vulnerable Canadians, front-line healthcare workers must be first in line for COVID-19 vaccines January 6, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... OTTAWA, ON Shannon Stubbs, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and Richard Martel, Quebec Political Lieutenant, today issued the following statement in response to reports that the Trudeau Liberals are giving COVID-19 vaccines to criminals, ahead of seniors and front-line healthcare workers: It’s outrageous that incarcerated criminals will receive vaccines before vulnerable seniors in long-term care homes, front-line healthcare workers, first responders, and correctional officers. Government data from this past year shows that prison outbreaks have been isolated. The reality is that the federal government’s failure to secure sufficient vaccine supply for all Canadians means that difficult choices must be made. Conservatives believe vaccinating the most vulnerable first must be the government’s top priority. Justin Trudeau needs to do the right thing and ensure that vulnerable seniors, front-line medical staff, and other essential workers are first in line for the vaccine.

Oshawa Executive Airport Operations related to COVID restrictions The Oshawa Executive Airport is regulated by Transport Canada under the Federal Government. The Federal Government has not restricted any domestic aviation activity and as such, both private and business domestic aircraft activity may take place. The airport is home to two flights schools, Durham Flight Centre (D.F.C.) and Canadian Flight Academy (C.F.A.). In addition to the federal aviation regulations these s...chools are also regulated by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities as private career colleges. The Ministry of Colleges and Universities has advised the City that under the current Provincial lock down restrictions, private career colleges are not permitted to provide in-person teaching or instruction to students such as lectures or other instructional material that can be presented online. However, they are permitted to continue with instruction that requires it to be taught in-person, such as flight time. Where in-person training does not lend itself to physical distancing protocols, private career colleges should follow the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and, where possible, seek advice from industry experts (e.g. Air Transport Association of Canada, etc.) concerning best practices. The Durham Region Health Department is responsible for monitoring business establishments for compliance with the Covid restrictions and protocols. City staff have advised the Durham Region Health Department that the flights schools are operating and have requested the Durham Region Health Department to monitor the flight school activity to ensure that best practices and protocols are embraced to protect public health and safety.