Our Oshawa 2017 Highlights and Good News
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Sign up to receive information, public notices and timely alerts. Connecting you to your city! Service Oshawa Online is the City’s www.oshawa.ca/subscribe online service request portal, offering News delivered as it happens 24/7 access to common requests. Make your request today! www.serviceoshawa.ca Connect with us Twitter: Facebook: Facebook “f” Logo CMYK / .ai Facebook “f” Logo CMYK / .ai @OshawaCity /OshawaCity youtube.com/OshawaCity @OshawaCulture /CultureCountsOshawa linkedin.com/company/City-of-Oshawa @OshawaFire /activeOshawa @activeOshawa instagram.com/CityofOshawa our @InvestOshawa oshawa2017 highlights & good news www.oshawa.ca [email protected] 905-436-3311 www.oshawa.ca Welcome In Oshawa, 2017 was a year of many “firsts” and one of record-growth, economic transformation and collaborations. Oshawa was one of the country’s fastest growing economies in 2017; and, for the first time in its history, the City surpassed $600 million in building permits in one year and shattered 10 building records. City of Oshawa Council Standing, from left: Rick Kerr, City The City’s unprecedented growth continues to offer new Councillor; John Neal, Regional and City Councillor; Doug opportunities for residents and local businesses as we Sanders, Regional and City Councillor; Nester Pidwerbecki, plan ahead for Oshawa’s bright future. Regional and City Councillor; John Shields, City Councillor; Gail Bates, City Councillor; and, (sitting, from left) Dan Carter, The City and our educational partners announced a Regional and City Councillor; Bob Chapman, Regional and City formal partnership that will transform Oshawa into a Councillor; John Henry, Mayor; Amy McQuaid-England, Regional Teaching City. and City Councillor; and John Aker, Regional and City Councillor. Council adopted the City’s first-ever Diversity and Inclusion Plan that will guide us as we continue to build an inclusive and welcoming city for all. Public engagement was forefront, with 15 projects driven by the input of the Oshawa community. We celebrated together Canada 150 as well as community partner milestone anniversaries. Many more achievements and “firsts” are highlighted in this publication – take a look inside and learn more about our community’s accomplishments in 2017. City of Oshawa Corporate Leadership Team Standing, from left: Ron Diskey, Commissioner, Community Services; Stephanie Sinnott, Executive Director, Finance Services/Treasurer; Beverly Hendry, Commissioner, Corporate Services; Jag Sharma, City Manager; and, (sitting, from left) Paul Ralph, Commissioner, Development Services; and David Potts, City Solicitor. Page 2 www.oshawa.ca What’s Inside In the Right Place 2 Culture Counts 10 Community Celebrating 3 activeOshawa 11 Teaching City 4 Value for Dollar 12 Bright Ideas 5 Celebrating Our Roots 14 Economic Growth 6 Greening Oshawa 15 Destination Downtown 7 Investing in Our City 16 Canada 150 in Oshawa 8 Looking to the Future 17 Celebrating Canada 150 Red, white and Canadiana was seen across the city, from Oshawa’s gardens to art collaborations. 2017 highlights & good news Page 1 In the Right Place Oshawa, with a population of 166,000, is a modern, inclusive city situated in the right place. Farming roots Our ideal location and transportation network, economic diversity, vibrant The Durham Farm culture and access to post-secondary schools and healthcare, have helped to Connections make Oshawa the largest community within Durham Region and to become 150 Farm one of the fastest-growing Canadian economies of 2017. Family project recognized five local families farming since 1867 or earlier. These five families continue to farm here in Oshawa: 9 Bray family 45 minutes to cottage country 9 Glaspell family 45 minutes to Toronto Pearson and home to the Oak Ridges 9 Mackey family International Airport or to Moraine, conservation areas, 9 VanCamp/Linton family Downtown Toronto farms and countryside 9 Werry family easy to travel with bike lanes and GO-ing through Oshawa regional transit plus Metrolinx, the operator of GO Transit continued to move forward with VIA Rail, GO Train, plans for the eastern extension of the GO Rail system beyond Oshawa. GO Bus services The expansion project will include: 9 2 new stations in Oshawa (Thornton Road South, as well as Ritson Road South - former Knob Hill Farms site) located on the Hwy 9 2 new stations in Clarington 401 and Hwy 407 9 1 new layover facility corridors and with direct access to 9 expansion of the rail corridor and bridge expansions seaway, air and rail Construction is anticipated to start in fall 2019. Page 2 www.oshawa.ca Community Celebrating In addition to Canada 150 celebrations, over 10 Oshawa community organizations also celebrated milestone birthdays in 2017 with anniversary-themed events and activities throughout the year. 200th 60th 50th Simcoe Street Oshawa Historical Durham College United Church Society / Oshawa 100th Museum 50th Parkwood Estate Oshawa Art National Historic Site Association 30th 130th 60th Francophone Organizations Council of Durham Region / Oshawa Power & Ontario Conseil des Organismes Utilities Corporation 70th70th Philharmonic 50th50th Francophones de la Région de Durham Oshawa Church The Robert Hockey League McLaughlin Gallery Oshawa Generals Hockey Club – 80 Years Oshawa’s hometown OHL hockey team celebrated its 80th birthday. The Oshawa Generals Hockey Club is the most successful OHL franchise in Canadian Hockey League history with 184 graduates to the NHL (including Bobby Orr, Marc Savard, Eric Lindros and John Tavares), winning the Memorial Cup a record five times, and capturing the OHL Championship 13 times. Page 3 Teaching City The City of Oshawa and educational collaborators formally partnered to make Oshawa a ‘Teaching City’. The City of Oshawa, along with Canadian Urban Institute, Durham College, Trent University Durham GTA, University of Ontario Institute of Technology and University of Toronto Department of Civil Engineering, are collaborating to establish Oshawa as a city focused on experiential learning, applied research and innovative teaching partnerships to address urban issues. As a Teaching City, the focus is on developing practical, scalable and sustainable solutions to urban issues; building research partnerships; coordinating experiential learning opportunities and innovative educational Oshawa embarks on activities; developing new technologies; sharing access to facilities, resources Smart Cities Challenge and equipment; and, working toward the long-term positioning of Oshawa as a locally and globally recognized community of urban research and learning. The City, in partnership with key stakeholders, announced its This partnership facilitated the development of the City’s first Diversity and participation in Infrastructure Inclusion Plan that was adopted in November 2017. Overall, the Teaching City Canada’s 2018 Smart Cities initiative reflects the City’s and its partners’ commitment to establish a smart, Challenge. livable community where residents, students, government and businesses can This community-driven initiative live, learn, innovate and thrive. will identify opportunities for developing smart city solutions to address local issues. Creating a Teaching City On June 5, 2017, Mayor John Henry and representatives from education and research institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding to guide Oshawa in its transformation into a Teaching City. Page 4 www.oshawa.ca Bright Ideas Our school boards and community partners are preparing Oshawa’s young learners for future careers in emerging industries by providing access to online tools and offering unique learning experiences. Putting technology into the hands of students Durham District Oshawa’s future STEM leaders School Board launched a rollout of Recognizing that science, technology, engineering and mathematics Chromebooks to all Grade 7 and 10 (STEM) skills are required for 70% of today’s top jobs and for future students – at no cost to the students careers, our community partners are bringing STEM learning experiences – for use at both school and home. directly to our young learners and into our schools. Learning commons Durham General Motors of Canada and the University of Ontario Institute Catholic District School Board of Technology partnered on four STEM-focused initiatives to deliver continued to transform its school students a hands-on interactive learning experience to encourage libraries in to learning commons, local students from elementary and secondary schools to pursue ensuring spaces are equipped with careers in the STEM fields. 21st century learning tools, including iPads, Chromebooks, iMacs, and 3D Oshawa Public Libraries brought STEM learning to Grades 4 to 8 Printers, to name a few. classrooms. Students learned about the library’s MakerSpace, experimented with Makey Makey invention kits and completed Lego Wi-Fi in our schools and recreation challenges. centres Both school boards have equipped Oshawa elementary and Oshawa Public Libraries launched STEM Village. This interactive secondary schools with full Wi-Fi web-based tool makes learning STEM subjects fun and accessible access, providing access to online for library members. learning and collaboration and enabling B.Y.O.D. (bring your own device). Additionally, City recreation Trent University expansion in Oshawa facilities provide free access to Wi-Fi. The City announced a donation of 1.8 acres of land to Trent University Homework help Oshawa Public Durham GTA, enabling the university to proceed with its plans to expand Libraries