Message from His Worship Mayor Dan Carter to Business Community Stakeholders, May 2022
Our economic recovery has always depended on the idea of working together. Whether you’re a local consumer, business or government policymaker, our collective actions have a profound cumulative impact on our economic direction. That’s why advocacy is so important to the work we do at the City of Oshawa. When we formed the Mayor’s Economic Recovery Task Force in 2020, we knew that advocating for your business, hearing your voice and communicating that message with all tiers of government would be critically important to emerge from the pandemic in a stronger position than ever. In this month’s letter, I would like to brief the business community on those advocacy efforts and the ways in which we’ve been standing up for policies that matter to you.
GO Train Lakeshore East Extension
Shortly after assembling the Mayor’s Economic Recovery Task Force, we determined that one of the most direct and impactful economic recovery efforts would be an accelerated implementation of existing commitments to the GO Train Lakeshore East Extension. As a result, we reached out directly to the Prime Minister’s Office and Ontario Premier’s Office to communicate the results of an independent economic impact analysis of the GO Train East Extension demonstrating $1.1 billion in transit oriented, walkable urban development that would enable 21,000 permanent new jobs. The City of Oshawa, Municipality of Clarington and Region of Durham have worked closely with Metrolinx and the Ministry of Transportation to make this transit option a reality for convenient travel within Durham, across the GTHA and beyond. We are pleased to share that Metrolinx is proceeding with procurement for the project, set to begin in late 2022.
General Motors Canada
Throughout the pandemic, constant communication and engagement with our local employers was critically important. General Motors Canada has played an especially important role throughout the pandemic, repurposing parts of their plant to make (at cost) 1 million medical masks per month amidst a global shortage of supplies. Through continued advocacy across all levels of government, our community is part of a landmark $2 billion commitment from GM Canada that includes a retooling of the Oshawa Assembly plant, creating 2,600 jobs to date, and attracting a diversified workforce, with over 50% of the assembly team made up of female workers. GM Canada’s 55-acre autonomous vehicle test track and new stamping manufacturing facility is also on location, all of which position Oshawa to play a major role in a new competitive auto industry. We look forward to continued engagement with GM Canada and their bold plans for the future of transportation.
Supporting Commercial Tenants & Landlords
Based on the recommendation of our business community, we requested timely and lasting support to the federal and provincial Governments for those who had to close and those who were facing occupancy restrictions. Direct aid to leaseholders was recommended to ease the financial concerns of both parties and provide some measure of security for those struggling to maintain and operate their businesses. Oshawa City Council also passed a motion calling on both the federal and provincial governments to continue to offer and expand wage subsidies, programs to cover lost revenues and rent subsidies until a return to full operations resumed and to consider other measures to assist affected businesses over the long term.
Provincial Occupancy Regulations
Based on feedback from many local restaurant owners to better balance public health measures with economic stability, we believed that it would be expedient and effective for the Provincial indoor patron capacity restrictions to be based on the occupancy level of the business establishment rather than a maximum single number of customers no matter the size of the business establishment. Public health measures restricted capacity to a limit of 10 patrons and 50 patrons in zones “Red” and “Orange”, respectively. We urged for a review of the guidelines and the consideration of indoor capacity to be a percentage of a business’ Ontario Building Code Occupant Load, AGCO Occupant Load, and/ or Fire Code Occupant Load.
As we continue to make progress on our advocacy and outreach efforts with all levels of government, we encourage you to reach out to us, whether that be through social media, contacting the Economic Development team at [email protected] or 905- 436-5617 or reaching me at 905-436-3311 or [email protected]. We want to hear from you and to understand how we can support your recovery and further advocate for your business.
Yours truly,
Dan Carter
Mayor