March 21 2020
The Deputy Mayor's Exchange
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The
COVID-19
Crisis Continues ... and so do we
All of us here at the City of Markham, whether members of Council or staff, are continuing our work to keep your essential services up and running. While City buildings are closed to the public, behind the scenes, people are hard at work.
Our staff in
Waterworks continue to provide both routine and emergency maintenance when and where needed.
Waste Management continues to work with the City's contractor, Miller Waste Systems, to collect your household garbage, recycling and green bin material safely and on schedule.
Markham District Energy will continue to supply heating, cooling and steam for sterilization of instruments at Markham Stouffville Hospital.
Alectra remains ready for any emergency or power outage that may occur. Our Library staff have been creatively working to allow you to access library materials from your home.
Our
thanks goes out to all of our front line City and MSH hospital workers for all the great work they do every day to keep Markham safe, healthy and running well.
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There continues be a lot of fallout from COVID-19. I have learned that the Unionville Festival has been cancelled. There are a number of other events that have been cancelled or postponed. Check the list at the bottom of this letter.
Check out the videos I've included.
Stay safe, stay healthy.
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In this issue
- City COVID-19 Update
- Assessment Centres Open
- York Region COVID-19 Update
- Have You Travelled
- Parks are Open but
- Learn at Home
- Business Resources
- BDC Webinar
- York Safe Inspections
- Markham Cares Food Drive
- York Region Update
- Community Meetings and Events
- What's up with this Coronavirus
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Please forward this update to anyone that may find it of interest.
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Looking for more information?
Any of the
blue text,
blue buttons and most of the graphics have links to further detail.
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Worth Viewing ...
Check out a very sensible statement from the Executive Chairman of Loblaws. Many grocery stores are reducing their hours in order to be able to better sanitize and restock their stores.
click here
There's also a piece by CBC on what the situation is from one grocery store supplier and the need for sensible shopping.
London Drug CEO
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Click here
to read the previous edition of
The Deputy Mayor's Exchange.
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Break the Chain of Transmission
During this challenging time, the health and safety of the Markham community is the City's number one
priority.
Markham’s Emergency Operations Centre has been activated to coordinate efforts in response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation.
The City has taken the measure to close all City facilities to the public until April 5, 2020 and perhaps beyond. In addition, all City produced and permitted events have been cancelled through May 15 and will be rescheduled, as appropriate.
Residents are encouraged to access the City's
services online
or the Contact Centre at 905-477-5530 or by
email
.
Although meetings and events are cancelled, elected officials and our City staff are still working and will continue to provide services to our community.
- Curbside organic, garbage and recycling collection will continue according to the 2020 Collection Schedule. Collection of leaf and yard material has been delayed, and is now scheduled to begin on May 19.
- Markham Fire emergency response and fire prevention inspections continue but public education, station visits and community events are currently cancelled.
- City Road, Parks and Forestry operations are not impacted
- Markham's Waterworks Department is continuing their services including drinking water sampling in line with Provincial regulations, regular and emergency water and wastewater activities.
- The Planning and Urban Design Department is closed to the public with staff working remotely to support City projects. All types of applications are being accepted through the City's ePlan portal including building permits, zoning, minor variances and other.
- The Engineering Department is closed to the public with staff working remotely to support City projects. Inspection services are continuing.
- The City Bylaw Division continues to accept phone and email inquiries. These are being actively reviewed to ascertain whether it is safe to arrange face-to-face meetings to maintain essential services.
The City has a robust business continuity plan in place to help ensure that we continue to provide essential services to our residents, businesses and community stakeholders. More information is
available here.
Together we will do our part to help break the chain of transmission of COVID-19 in our community and protect our seniors and vulnerable populations. More City information on services and other updates are available online -
click here
.
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Morgan Pool Reconstruction Project continues
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COVID-19 assessment centres help ease some of the pressures experienced by emergency department teams coordinating the testing and assessment of suspected COVID-19 cases. They will also help ensure local hospital emergency departments are focused on treating people who are critically ill and have life-threatening illnesses or injuries.
Before heading out to the assessment centre, please use the Ministry of Health’s self-assessment tool to help determine if you need to seek care.
Not all people who attend a COVID-19
assessment centre will be tested
.
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The risk to York Region residents continues to remain low. The latest update on COVID-19 from York Region Public Health is available
here.
The symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath. You can contact Telehealth Ontario at 1.866.797.0000 for medical advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Further detail
can be found at the
Ministry of Health which is
translated into 19 different languages.
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Have you travelled during March Break or have you recently travelled?
York.ca/covid19
has been updated with several travel scenarios to help you make informed decisions as well as self-isolation and self-monitoring fact sheets.
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Social distancing applies to Markham playgrounds too. City parks are open but be sure to avoid high-touch surfaces at playgrounds.
It is critical that we apply social distancing in all walks of life to flatten the curve of COVID-19.
More information and updates are available
here
.
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The Province has rolled out online learning resources to keep students learning while the schools are closed. There are even helpful resources for parents. More information
here.
Also the Markham Public Library has announced online resources that can be accessed without a library card which means unlimited eBooks, eAudiobooks for kids.
Free digital resources for adults are available
here
.
Since the
Markham Library
branches are closed until April 5 all items on your account are now due April 10.
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The following information has been provided by the Markham Small Business Centre.
Note: Please
carefully consider taking advantage of business loan/credit solutions to ensure it makes sense for your business; for some, the cash flow is critical, for others, taking on additional debt may be challenging. Even though access to in-person service at MSBC is not currently available, they remain accessible by phone and email.
COVID-19 is an unprecedented disruption to small businesses everywhere. MSBC is working to ensure that small businesses in Markham continue to have access to business information and advisory services as we all do our best to prepare for these disruptions and plan going forward. They don’t have all the answers (nobody does) but they are working closely with partners at all levels of government to provide Markham small businesses with accurate, up-to-date information while committing to the health and safety of the Markham community.
If you are a business that can supply products and services in support of Canada’s response to COVID-19, Canada wants to hear from you (visit the website for a detailed list of products and services being procured) -
details
Financial supports:
- CRA: Helping Canadians with the economic impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic (extension of tax-filing and payment deadlines; Emergency Care benefit $900 bi-weekly, for up to 15 weeks; Emergency Support Benefit, Goods and Services Tax Credit payment; Canada Child Benefit payments; Registered Retirement Income Funds; Temporary wage subsidy for employers) - details
- Department of Finance - Economic Response Plan - details
- Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan (find details about access to additional credit, proposed wage subsidy of up to $25k for small business and non-profit groups, interest free extension of income tax filing and payment deadlines, and financial market support) - details
- Business Development Bank of Canada (access additional credit, financing resources, including postponement of payments for up to 6 months) details
- Canada’s Six Biggest Banks Take Action (support will include up to a 6 month payment deferral for mortgages, and the opportunity for relief on other credit products – links to each bank are posted in the above – contact your bank for options) - details
- For Exporters – access additional credit/financing resources - details
Helpful tips:
- Canadian Federation of Independent Business Tools and Resources (dealing with the slowdown, employee-employer concerns) - details
- MaRS Discovery District collection of tools and tactics startups can use to prepare, plan and respond to COVID-19 (business implications to consider, general resources, global supply chain management, managing cash flow, people practices, remote work planning - details
- Canadian Chamber of Commerce Pandemic Preparedness Guide - details
- Mental health resources from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (talking to your children and supporting loved ones; strategies for coping with stress and anxiety, questionnaires to assess your stress levels; dealing with self-isolation; reducing stigma and prejudice for those affected) - details
Additional details including online resources and webinars -
found here
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The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is hosting a free webinar to help businesses learn to cope with the impacts of COVID-19.
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The listing of YorkSafe health inspections has been updated to reflect recent findings.
Click here to see if there are any Markham establishments on the list.
You can review all locations in York Region
here.
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While you may have been out to the stores purchasing groceries and other supplies, please remember that some in Markham may not be as fortunate.
The Markham Cares Food Drive has been launched in support of the
Markham Food Bank
which is experiencing a high demand at this time. You can make an
online donation here
or drop off non-perishable food items at:
- Donation boxes are in vestibules of all Markham Fire Stations
- No Frills (Markham locations)
- Longos (Markham locations)
- Freshco (Markham locations)
- Whole Foods (Markham location)
Also with the need to practice social distancing due to
COVID-19
, many seniors and vulnerable people will face challenges with picking up essentials and caring for themselves. Call and check on them. Help make sure they have the proper supplies and support at this time. Also, please note that many stores have now allocated the first hour of shopping to seniors to allow them to shop in a less crowded environment.
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Stranded passengers. Shuttered stores. Panicked airlines. How Toronto Pearson, Canada's busiest airport, is working through the current chaos.
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Also this separate video highlights the airport's role in the community's response to COVID-19.
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A calendar of York Region meetings and other information is available
here
.
More information about the items highlighted in the Council Highlights can be found
here.
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Community Meetings and Events
All City of Markham meetings are listed on the City's website at
Upcoming Council and Committee Meetings
. Unless noted differently on the link above, meetings are held at the Markham Civic Centre and are open to the public. If you aren't able to attend in person, meetings are live streamed.
The calendar of York Region meetings is available
here.
You can listen to meetings on line. The details from past meetings are available online.
As it stands now, these are the upcoming events. While it is unknown whether more events will be cancelled, the current changes have been
struck through
and they maybe rescheduled.
- Upcoming Markham Public Library Events - here
- Upcoming Varley Gallery Events - here
I'd be pleased to highlight other community meetings in future newsletters. Please forward the details to
dhamilton@markham.ca
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Here is the Corona COVID-19 virus as explained to kids in a recent
blog
and some adults could use a reminder too.
We all need to do our part.
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Working together to make Markham better!
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