Vaughan’s newsmakers in 2021 include children killed by car accidents, Hwy. 413 protests and new hospital

Capping off 2021 with bitter and sweet stories

Thestar.com
Jan. 4, 2022
Dina Al-Shibeeb

It wasn’t just the pandemic that made headlines in Vaughan. There were events that made people proud, like the opening of the new smart hospital, and tragic news that broke people’s hearts, such as the deadly car accidents.

Here are the top five newsmakers in 2021:

1. The Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital

In February this year, the much-awaited Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital -- York Region’s first new hospital in 30 years -- finally opened its doors.

The opening saw only COVID-19 patients being treated at the hospital. However, the new edifice on June 6 officially opened as a full-service hospital for the western York Region community.

2. Environmentalists and councillors object against the proposed Highway 413

On March 10, Vaughan councillors officially withdrew their endorsement, dating back to 2015, of the proposed Highway 413, which will cross through the protected Greenbelt.

At the time, the highway was reportedly worth $6 billion in taxpayer money, but there is no exact figure on how much it could end up costing.

The proposed highway not only created a divide between local councillors and their regional counterparts in Vaughan, but the schism extended beyond Vaughan. York Region as a whole remained in support of the highway. Like Vaughan, King councillors also won majority vote to confirm their backing.

Environmentalists sounded the alarm that so “little habitat” left and the highway would be devastating.

3. Three dead children symbols of dangerous driving in Vaughan

May 16 will always be a tragic date for one Vaughan family since it’s the day when they lost their daughter, Anaya Chaudhari, 10, and her brother, Jax, 4 after a Richmond Hill teen --who later pleaded guilty -- struck them both on their own driveway while the two were playing.

Dangerous driving at 102 km/h also caused bodily harm to their neighbour, John Chiarelli, 60, who was helping the children fix a bike chain at the time.

Sept. 1 is yet another unfortunate date to remember for a Thornhill family when they lost their 10-year-old girl Nikita Belykh, who was struck by a vehicle while riding her bicycle.

These incidents generated other headlines, such as Vaughan reducing its speed limits from 50 to 30 km/h on all public laneways.

The city also decreased its speed limits from 50 to 40 km/h in school zones. The city is now providing with #SlowDownVaughan signs for residents to place in front of their homes.

Despite some efforts by city council, including a plea to raise the driving age, the public still want more to be done.

4- Coun. Iafrate: Ontario’s growth 2051 plans ‘aggressive’

In May, Coun. Marilyn Iafrate described Ontario’s growth plan for 2051 as “aggressive,” saying it will spell the demise of Vaughan’s remaining whitebelt.

Unlike the Greenbelt, which is protected, the whitebelt, located in the vicinity of urban boundary, is designated as prime agricultural area that can be rezoned as residential. This has long created a divide on how it should be developed.

However, Iafrate and other environmentalists believe that there is already enough land to develop without the need to encroach on the whitebelt, especially in time of climate change when farmland or fertile soil are considered a finite resource.

5- Zincia Francis announced as the city’s first diversity officer

Starting Jan. 11, Zincia Francis started her new senior-level role as Vaughan’s first diversity officer.

Francis’s appointment came after Black Lives Matter protests the year before.

The year 2021 also further discussion on racism.

In April, Vaughan Coun. Sandra Racco urged people not to be mere bystanders amid an uptick in anti-Asian racism, especially during Ontario’s third COVID-19 wave.

On June 12, the Muslim community in Vaughan carried “Love not hate” and “Islamophobia is real” slogans carried during a walk to show solidarity to the Muslim family slain in London, Ont. after a driver drove into them.