Top priorities in Markham for 2021: A ‘shot in the arm, shovel in the ground and hope for the future’

Small business support, Yonge North Subway Extension, affordable housing, anti-Black racism strategy among top priorities ahead, says Mayor Frank Scarpitti

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 4, 2021
Heidi Riedner

Managing the pandemic will continue to be a priority for the City of Markham in the year ahead.

“Vaccination will be priority No. 1 and working with the federal and provincial governments, along with the public health agencies, to do whatever we can to support that program on the ground will be the focus for the majority of the year,” Mayor Frank Scarpitti said, describing the city’s key priorities as “a shot in the arm, a shovel in the ground and hope for the future.”

“Obviously, we are going to have to contend with a very unpredictable pandemic and by no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods yet.”

More immediately, the city will continue its efforts to roll out a sustainable reopening coming out of provincial lockdown Jan. 23 that allows for a levelling of the playing field for small businesses, he said.

That plan will most likely include overall restrictions that includes the big box retailers and shopping malls, as well as further supports for small businesses that allows them to reopen in a way that shares in the economic activity.

“Everyone needs to share in the piece of the pie of the economic recovery, and we will continue to advocate for small businesses,” said Scarpitti, praising them for not only rising to the challenge amid crushing restrictions, but going above and beyond health protocols to keep everyone safe.

The Destination Markham corporation, which is the city’s tourism board mandated to work on a tourism strategy, will continue to offer support and guidance for the hospitality industry, as well, he said.

While the city was obviously pleased the Yonge North Subway Extension got a financial commitment and priority status from the province in 2020, Scarpitti said getting the shovel in the ground on that project is the main focus for 2021.

“We need to get the federal government to come on board and for them to make their contribution so it can happen,” he said, noting the subway is not just the top priority for York Region in terms of transit infrastructure, but also continues to be at the top of the most justifiable transit projects with 3,300 daily bus trips “jammed with commuters” travelling the Yonge Street corridor.

“We’ll be working very hard in 2021 to get those shovels in the ground and finally start a project that actually should have been happening in advance of other projects in the GTA,” Scarpitti said, adding the EA for the extension was completed 10 years ago.

Acknowledging the provincial dollars spent on other transit projects formed an important part of the rapid transit network, Scarpitti said the subway extension “cannot take a back seat any longer.”

Formal city strategies to address affordable housing and anti-Black racism will be two major cornerstones of the hope for the future, Scarpitti said.

“When we talk about all the elements of a livable community, the way that we support each other is at the core of it,” he said.

After a successful virtual housing summit at the tail end of last year with key stakeholders, the city will hold a second summit this year that should finalize an overall strategy, policy that includes incentives and actual projects to get more affordable and rental housing in the community.

“Hopefully, that will culminate in some announcements in conjunction with the local development community,” Scarpitti said.

An anti-Black racism strategy will be another key element moving forward, with all city staff having already completed a learning module, as well as council and senior management completing a followup session to the module.

The city is also moving forward with its equity audit and update to the city’s diversity action plan, which is over 10 years old.

“A lot of work went into that plan, but like all plans, it requires a refresh to rebuild it and make it meaningful for the community today,” Scarpitti said.

The work ahead builds on significant achievements accomplished during what was a challenging year to say the least.

Scarpitti said he is proud of the way city staff, council and residents rose to the occasion.

“You can say it was a bumpy ride looking in the rear-view mirror, but there was also a sense of calmness that we were there for each other,” he said.

The surreal aspect to the announcement in March of a pandemic was quickly replaced by the harsh reality of taking necessary action, he added.

“We didn’t flinch,” he said, noting the city switched to remote work as much as possible, initiated the IBM Watson info app to set up reliable and interactive communication, and rolled out one of the most comprehensive municipal tax relief programs for businesses and residents in the country within days.

“We were also doing things that weren’t necessarily in our job description,” he added, referring to the city’s personal protective equipment (PPE) drive that resulted in over 100,000 PPE items being collected as one example.