The Deputy Mayor's Exchange - The Christmas Spirit is Alive and Well 🎄

December 12 2021

The Deputy Mayor's Exchange

The Christmas Spirit is Alive and Well 🎄

I was pleased to attend a number of events this weekend. First was a drive to Dundalk (a town north and west of Markham) to visit a new site of rental housing built by Flato Homes. They also held a toy drive for local underprivileged kids.

Next we returned to Markham and participated in the Greek Orthodox Church's toy drive. It was a blessing to see the incredibly beautiful interior church dome that is currently being completed in the church.

Our Saturday finished by visiting Main Street Unionville where Ledgemark Homes spearheaded a toy drive. Thanks to Sweetie Pie for their cookie donations and for the Unionville BIA for their generous donation.

Sunday we visited a neighbour gathering hats and gloves for the homeless. This was an initiative by neighbours Karen and Frank.

It's great to see the Christmas spirit is alive and well!

Tomorrow Council will be receiving an update from Metrolinx on the Yonge Subway Extension. Revised plans still have the subway passing under Thornhill homes. No homes should have the subway passing underneath. Residents say that the subway should go under Yonge Street as was planned for many years.

Council will be voting Tuesday afternoon on a Vacant House Tax designed to make more homes available for purchase/rent instead of laying empty. Your current Mayor is vehemently opposed to such a tax. How do you feel about this issue?

The Markham Concert Band 🎵 is back and if you can help Hockey With Heart ❤️.

See you at Toy Mountain on Tuesday night at 6 pm at the Pride of Canada carousel. Details below.

Email - dhamilton@markham.ca

In this issue

- Now's the Time

- Explaining COVID-19 Vaccines

- Grab Your Skates

- 2022 Garbage Schedule

- Keeping Loved Ones Safe

- A Friendly Reminder

- A Seasonal Celebration

- Ready for Public Input

- Winter Road Maintenance

- Understanding Your Water Bill

- Holiday Bazaar and Café

- Parking Reminders

- YRT - Goodbye Paper Tickets

- Have Your Say

- Bundle Up and Explore

- Other Items

- Upcoming Meetings

- York Region Update

- Community Meetings and Events

Please forward this update to anyone that may find it of interest.

Looking for more information?

Any of the blue text, blue buttons and most of the graphics

have links to further detail.

Find Your Ward Councillor

It has been a busy weekend of events with many local groups gathering toys and food for various organizations. These are pictures are from two the events. Ledgemark Homes sponsored a toy drive on Main Street Unionville on Saturday. The Greek Orthodox church on Warden sponsored a food and toy drive that was a part of York Regional Police's Holiday Heroes program - details here. There was also a food drive for the Markham Food Bank that was done at the outdoor caroling tonight at Heintzman House in Thornhill.

I was happy to attend and donate at these wonderful community events. Especially at this time of year, there are many in our community that are struggling to make ends meet. If you are able, please consider making a donation to one of the local groups that assist the less fortunate in our community.

Click here to read the previous edition of The Deputy Mayor's Exchange.

Now's the Time!

York Region is continuing to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to all eligible York Region residents as vaccinations remain our best defense against COVID-19, providing protection from serious illness, hospitalizations and death. York Region is expanding eligibility - read more.

In York Region, children age 5 to 11 currently represent the highest incident rate of cases. As it stands now more than 25% of York Region children in this age group have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Appointments must be made for children age 5 to 11 and available at various vaccination clinics. New appointments are added daily and can be booked at york.ca/COVID19Vaccine or by calling York Region Access York at 1.877.464.9675 from Monday to Saturday 8:30am to 4:30pm. Every effort is being made to make the vaccination process as comfortable as possible for children and families including support to reduce anxiety and vaccine-related fears.

You're encouraged to get your booster as soon as you can. Starting on Monday December 13 at 8am, individuals aged 50 and over will be eligible to schedule their booster dose appointment. Eligibility and access to vaccines varies depending on your age or health status. You may already be able to obtain your booster dose - check here. Find out if you can walk in or book an appointment at one of the many clinics:

First and second doses 12+? Walk in or book an appointment
First doses for five to 11-year-olds? Book an appointment
Third dose-booster? Book an appointment

As eligibility widens, appointment availability may initially be limited. York Region Public Health and its partners continue to work to expand clinic capacity and new appointments are added regularly. Residents are encouraged to check back often. Be patient and keep trying especially if you are trying to book a third dose appointment early this week.

Explaining COVID-19 Vaccines

We rely on our immune system to fight off viruses. When we get sick, our bodies make proteins called antibodies to fight infections for us. The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine helps us to be able to make antibodies to fight the COVID-19 virus before we get the infection.

The “m” from mRNA means “messenger.” It sends a message to our cells to make those antibodies to fight against COVID-19. Without using the live virus, the COVID-19 vaccine teaches our bodies’ cells how to fight infection if the real virus enters our body in the future. mRNA blocks the virus from attaching and getting into your body’s cells. It gets broken down very quickly after it's injected and can't reach the area where genetics are stored, meaning it can’t change DNA or impact hormones - learn more.

Grab Your Skates! ⛸️

Lace up your skates and hit the ice at the Markham Civic Centre outdoor ice rink. The rink is open daily, weather permitting, until March 15. The rink is open Thursday 12pm to 10pm and all other days 10am to 10pm. Skate rentals are also available. More information is available here - markham.ca/skating.

Once the weather is colder, five new outdoor natural ice rinks will be build in these locations around the City:

Huntington Park
Victoria Square Park
Milliken Mills Park
Markham Museum
Milne Dam Park

The City will construct and maintain these rinks which will be made available pending weather conditions. A flag system at each location will signal when the ice is safe to use. Onsite parking is available at all locations.

There no tradition more Canadian than ice skating. Learn more about lessons, indoor skating, ice rentals and more at markham.ca/skating.

Now Available

The 2022 City of Markham recycling and garbage collection schedule is now available.

You can get the schedule online at markham.ca/collectionschedule or on the Access Markham mobile app.

Keeping Loved Ones Safe

Having a loved one who wanders due to Alzheimer's, autism, dementia or other cognitive conditions can be scary. Every second counts when searching for a missing person with cognitive conditions especially in cold weather.

Did you know that York Regional Police can help alleviate this fear by signing up for these programs:

Project Lifesaver - this program combines wearable advanced radio technology with a police response to locate wandering and disoriented loved ones. More information is available at yrp.ca/projectlifesaver.
Vulnerable Person Registry - this program expedites the process of locating and assisting vulnerable citizens by making essential personal information readily available to responding officers. Additional details can be found at yrp.ca/vpr.

A Friendly Reminder

We all need to do our part to keep sewer grates clear from all debris and especially leaves at this time of year. Leaves on sewer grates restrict the flow of water and can lead to flooding when we have large quick rain storms or melting snow. The City relies on all residents to keep these sewer grates clear to minimize flooding problems across the City. Please do your part and please clear the leaves and debris if you have a sewer grate near your home.

Learn more about sewer back-up and flood reduction programs including some rebate offers by the City - details here.

A Seasonal Celebration 🎵

The Markham Concert Band is very excited to perform music for you again with their Seasonal Celebration. You'll hear lots of your Christmas favourites and get to see the familiar faces of their members.

Join them for the premiere of A Seasonal Celebration on YouTube on Sunday December 19th at 2pm - watch and listen here .

Ready for Public Input

The York Region draft Regional Official Plan (ROP) outlining the blueprint to manage the Region’s growth for the next 30 years is ready for public feedback. The plan includes advancing new communities, affordable housing, managing growth, identifying employment lands and protecting natural and agricultural systems.

With a draft plan in place, the public can now provide input on how our Region can continue to be a place where people can have access to live, work and play. More information about the process can be found in this video and you can learn more and provide your input at www.york.ca/haveyoursay.

When it snows Markham's Operations fleet first clears arterial and primary roads, followed by secondary roads and then local roads. This ensures primary roads are cleared for emergency vehicles and transit and so that residents can access hospitals, schools and workplaces.

markham.ca/winter

Water is an important part of everyday life and so is understanding your water bill.

Watch Markham's Water Rate video - watch here.

Find out how your water bill pays to ensure safe, clean and reliable drinking water in Markham.

Holiday Bazaar and Café 🎄

Looking for that perfect holiday stocking stuffer or still trying to find that perfect something?

Join in on the fun at the Holiday Bazaar at the Unionville Community Centre for Seniors (UCCS) from 10am to 4pm on Friday December 17. New and gently used housewares, décor and seasonal items will be on offer, along with hot beverages and treats at their Holiday Café. Net proceeds from the bazaar will support programming at UCCS.

The Unionville Community Centre for Seniors is located at 17 Anna Russell Way in Unionville.

Don't be a Grinch this holiday season. Accessible parking spaces are only to be used by permit holders. Parking in an accessible parking space without a permit can cost you $350 and guarantees you a spot on the naughty list.

While Canadian winters can be cold, it still isn't an excuse to park in a fire access route.

Please keep these routes clear for Markham Fire and other first responders.

Goodbye Paper Tickets

York Region Transit (YRT) will no longer accept paper tickets after December 31 2021. York Region Transit (YRT) will not provide refunds or transfer the value of tickets to PRESTO.

This YRT Fare Policy was approved by York Regional Council in March 2015. YRT stopped selling paper tickets November 2019 and has been reminding riders about the elimination of paper tickets. With all GTHA transit agencies fully transitioned to PRESTO, including the TTC, there is no longer a need for the production and distribution of YRT paper fares.

A paperless transit system allows travellers to pay for transit at their convenience and at a reduced price. Travellers have the option to purchase YRT fare using a PRESTO card or through their smartphones with the mobile payment apps, YRT Pay App and Transit App and cash fares will still be available.

More information about going paperless and payment options are available at yrt.ca/paperless.

Have Your Say

The South York Greenway active transportation route could span the entire west to east limits of York Region and they are currently gathering input on an interactive map. Help shape the route by adding notes to the interactive map. Learn more about the project and provide your input - here.

Bundle Up and Explore

Exploring the York Region Forest is a great way to stay active, relax and improve your concentration. Please stay on designated paths to protect the forest. Plan your trip and find a trail to tackle. Right now the trails are great to walk even with a light dusting of snow and once we get more snow you can snowshoe and cross country ski too.

Get outside, enjoy the Forest and its 22 tracts. Learn more at york.ca/yrf.

Other items

With the holidays quickly approaching, let’s help make sure no family goes hungry or without toys this holiday season!

If you can, please donate non-perishable, unexpired food (including unexpired pet food) and personal care items for this year's drive. Food donations will be collected for the Markham Food Bank.

New and unwrapped toys are also being collected for those in need in our community this holiday season. Toy donations will be collected until December 21st and will go to the Salvation Army and the Markham-Stouffville Hospital’s Children’s Centre.

All donations are being accepted at all of the Markham Fire Stations. Learn more at markham.ca/HolidayDrive.

Once again, the Unionville Men’s Hockey Club Hockey With Heart committee is launching their annual Christmas Food Drive in support of families needing a helping hand this holiday season.

This year, through its virtual food drive, Hockey With Heart will provide 260 families with a Christmas dinner hamper and also provide much-needed food supplies for the Markham Food Bank. Each year, Hockey With Heart provides support in our community for homeless youth, families in need, Children’s Make-A-Wish, and other support groups in the community.

Help them, help others by making a donation at hockeywithheart.ca.

Santa and some of his hardworking elves will be collecting toys for Toy Mountain at the Pride of Canada Carousel in Downtown Markham (corner of Birchmount and Enterprise). The antique firetruck will be parked at the Carousel and you can drop off an unwrapped toy:

Saturday December 18th and Sunday December 19th

On December 14, CTV News will feature a live report from the Carousel on their 6pm news. Stop by and help spread the Holiday spirit!

When you are on your way somewhere or heading out for a winter walk or perhaps even a bike ride, make sure to bring your phone or camera and capture the winter scenery. 📷

You can then submit your picture to the York Region Get Moving Photo Contest for a chance to win - details here. 📷

Join the online Holiday Party with the Varley on Tuesday December 14 from 7pm to 8:30pm.

Celebrate the holiday season with the Varley and play games, get crafty and reconnect with your gallery pals, online. Participants are encouraged to wear ugly (yes ugly) holiday sweaters and share their video screens throughout the event. Registration is required as space is limited. Tickets include one game card, a guided art workshop delivered by a Varley instructor and a chance to win a Varley Studio supplies kit. Registrants will receive a suggested materials list for the art workshop in advance and a zoom meeting link - details here.

The Markham Public Library is excited to announce the launch of the newly improved MPL mobile app on December 15.

The new app includes all the functions you previously enjoyed and a number of great new features that make things much more intuitive to use - learn more.