Issues

Updated: Community safety, break-ins, and vandalism

Over the last few months there have been a number of incidents of car break-ins, spray painted graffiti on private property, and more recently mail boxes being broken into in the Cornell community. The good news is that York Regional Police have made a number of arrests of individuals likely connected to some of these crimes, and they are continuing to investigate these incidents. In addition to the property damage and material costs associated with these incidents, residents are ... Read More

Andrew Keyes2019-04-29T18:31:57-04:00April 25th, 2019|

Ontario Invites Public Presentations on Regional Government Review

Special Advisors to Meet with Local Individuals and Organizations April 1, 2019 Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing The Ontario government is putting people first by providing another opportunity for local input on how to improve governance, decision-making and service delivery for regional governments and regional municipalities. Our government wants to make sure that the experience of real people is front of mind in every decision we make. Those who live and work in communities covered by the province's review ... Read More

Andrew Keyes2019-04-11T16:25:14-04:00April 2nd, 2019|

Markham’s 2019 Budget Delivers Value for Taxpayers

MARKHAM, ON – March 20, 2019 - On March 19, Markham Council approved the City’s 2019 Budget of $519.78 million, which maintains current high quality services and continues investment in Council-approved priorities. The 2019 tax rate increase of 1.97 per cent is below the rate of inflation and will mean an increase of $24 in property taxes for the average residential household in Markham. The tax rate increase includes 1.47 per cent for day-to-day operating costs and a 0.5 per cent infrastructure investment to ensure ... Read More

Andrew Keyes2019-04-11T16:25:43-04:00March 20th, 2019|

Ontario asking for public input into regional government review

Kate Bueckert · CBC News March 13, 2019 People whose municipalities are part of Ontario's regional government review are being asked to share their thoughts about what they want to see change — or stay the same — with their local governments in an online consultation. The province is currently doing a review of 82 upper and lower municipalities in Halton, York, Durham, Waterloo, Niagara, Peel, Muskoka District, Oxford County, and the County of Simcoe. The province says a new online form will ... Read More

Andrew Keyes2019-04-11T16:26:26-04:00March 14th, 2019|

Snow windrow removal in Markham: Yes or No?

It seems that each winter the question of whether or not the municipality should extend snow clearing service to include windrow removal comes up in Markham. This year is no exception. What is a "windrow"? A windrow is the pile of snow left at the end off your driveway after the street snow plow passes by. Markham is certainly not the only municipality dealing with this issue. Here's an excerpt from a recent article in York Region: The topic ... Read More

Andrew Keyes2019-04-12T17:40:53-04:00February 18th, 2019|

Markham council priorities: transit, seniors issues, housing take the lead

Councillors, mayor tell you their plans for this council term Tim Kelly, Markham Economist MARKHAM, ON – January 3, 2019 — Markham's 13 elected municipal politicians have a wide range of top priorities for this coming term of municipal council, but there are some fairly common themes when you start to dig deeper. Top of mind for several councillors was transit and transportation issues, specifically gridlock and improving transit links throughout the city. A few of the councillors also ... Read More

Andrew Keyes2019-04-12T17:43:14-04:00January 3rd, 2019|

Cannabis Retail in Markham?

Recreational cannabis was legalized by the Federal Government on October 17, 2018. In Ontario, we have new laws that tell us how, where and who can buy and have cannabis:See: Ontario Cannabis Legislation Regulations for private retails sales are currently being drafted by Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General; these regulations are anticipated to be in place for April 1, 2019. The Ontario government is also moving forward with a tightly regulated private retail model for cannabis that will ... Read More

Andrew Keyes2019-04-12T17:42:24-04:00December 3rd, 2018|