Update

As you may or may not know, my court case with respect to election expenses was recently dismissed.

Clearly, I am disappointed with the decision of the court, however I want to take the time to further review the judgment to determine if there are grounds for appeal. I will keep you updated.

on the mend

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have been released from York Central Hospital after nearly two weeks. Again, I want to commend the doctors, nurses and other hospital staff for their professionalism, compassion and of course their patience.

I also want to thank those who have written me, your positive words of encouragement have been inspiring.

I have to say it is nice to be home and back with family as I continue to recover. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Have a great weekend.

Vaughan is a Shining Example for Others to Follow

It’s time to stand up and cheer. The City of Vaughan has won the National WinterLights Competition. The City received the highest score in the over 100,000 population category at the WinterLights Celebrations Symposium and Awards Ceremony held this month in Prince George, British Columbia.
Did you know that Vaughan is a three-time winner of the Communities in Bloom program at the provincial, national and international levels? Hopefully we will build upon our record of success when we host the world at the National Communities in Bloom Awards Ceremonies in September 2009.
WinterLights is the winter equivalent to Communities in Bloom, involving local communities promoting colourful displays, festive events and winter-related activities. It supports Canada as a winter tourism destination and creates awareness of our cultural and social events.
Congratulations to the members of Communities in Bloom and everyone involved. Job well done.

What’s in a Name?

It’s time to let your creative juices flow. Today the City of Vaughan launched the “Name the City Centre” contest. We are looking for your suggestions to give the planned downtown area a new name that captures the spirit of the City.
Great downtowns deserve great names, I truly believe that. Our new downtown will be the heart and soul of our community offering our residents all the amenities of an urban lifestyle: restaurants, cafes, hotels, shops and entertainment areas; as well as urban squares, green spaces, pedestrian walkways, bicycle networks, and of course the final stop of the Spadina Subway.

I encourage everyone to get involved, who knows you might win. What a tremendous legacy. The contest rules and prizes are posted on the City’s website at www.vaughan.ca.
Good luck to all of the contestants.

Vaughan Hospital a Step Closer to Reality

While I was recuperating here in the hospital, my colleagues on York Region Council made my day with the passage of the 2009 Operating Budget. That’s because it increases to $12 million York Region’s annual contribution to Hospital Capital Funding for the Region’s three existing hospitals and our hospital project in Vaughan.

As we all know, a hospital in our community is long overdue, and I intend to keep working until the final brick is in place.

The Budget also provides more money to improve community health services, to hire more paramedics, to hire more front line police officers, to improve social services, to improve our roads and to improve public transit.

Now I know what you must be thinking, who is paying for all of this? Well, all of the residents of York Region will pay for these enhanced services through their property taxes. In fact, this year there will be a modest increase in the Regional portion of your tax bill of 2.2 percent (or an annual increase of $42 on a property assessed at $400,000)

I appreciate that it may not be easy to absorb a tax increase, especially during these difficult economic times, but I believe it’s a small price to pay to maintain and enhance our enviable quality of life.

On the Mend

As you know from an earlier blog posting that I was admitted to hospital on Tuesday February 10, 2009. I am getting treatment for a condition called Omental Infarction. The condition results in severe abdomen pain that typically simulates acute appendicitis. In my case, the condition is not fatal and is treatable.

I want to thank the team of nurses and doctors for their excellent medical care during my stay. It has been difficult being away from the office, but I have been in daily contact with my staff and carrying out my responsibilities as Mayor through email.

In fact, on the day I was admitted to hospital my resolution to improve timely and local access to hospital care in Vaughan and high growth areas across Ontario was submitted to Committee of the Whole. The resolution calls on the Government of Ontario to speed up implementation of its hospital growth funding commitment ensuring that $100 million in growth funding is targeted to high growth hospitals and provides growth funding for social services.

The timing of my resolution and my hospital stay was coincidental, but undergoing treatment allowed me to see firsthand the great work being done by our heath care professionals and the fact that they really are under-resourced. I want to see my resolution passed quickly so we can get additional resources for health care as soon as possible.

I expect to be released from hospital within the next few days. I will update you on my progress. In the meantime, if you have a comment or question, send me a note and I will respond when I can.

Down, but not Out

I am writing to inform you that I will be off for an undetermined period of time. I have not been feeling well and was admitted to hospital early Tuesday morning to undergo some tests. I will provide you with further information as soon as it becomes available.

Thanks for your patience.

Improving Health Care in Vaughan

Tomorrow I will be submitting a resolution to the Committee of the Whole to improve timely and local access to hospital care in Vaughan and high growth areas across Ontario.

The resolution calls on the Government of Ontario to speed up implementation of its hospital growth funding commitment ensuring that $100 million in growth funding is targeted to high growth hospitals and provides growth funding for social services.

The resolution also calls on the Government of Ontario to quickly implement the “Health Based Allocation Model” providing population-needs-based-funding for provincial health care funding and for social services.

The resolution also calls on the Government of Ontario to develop a growth plan for health care and social services to compliment the “Places to Grow” document.

This resolution supports the resolution submitted by the Growing Communities Healthcare Alliance.

Did you know that high growth communities in Ontario, like Vaughan, grow at more than twice the rate of the provincial population, adding more than 100,000 new residents each and every year. These regions are also aging at twice the provincial rate.

Also, residents living in high growth communities receive $258 less per resident for local hospital services compared to the average resident in Ontario. That’s not fair. I hope that through resolutions like this we can begin to address this issue of health care inequity.

Vaughan Becomes a Leader in the Energy From Waste Business

Today, I attended the official opening of the Dongara Pellet Plant. The City is managing its waste locally with this innovative made-in-Vaughan solution.

This facility transforms garbage, or residual waste left over after diversion, into pellets that can be burned to produce energy. Dongara sends approximately 25 per cent of its pellets to Leamington, Ontario where they are used as a heat source for greenhouses. The remaining pellets are shipped to industrial sites in the United States for use there.

This is clean energy. This is an alternative to fossil fuels and this is the way of the future.

It was an awesome weekend.

If you didn’t get out to Vaughan Winterfest this year, you missed a great event. The weather was great, the rides were free and DooDoo the clown was MC. I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t attract a record crowd. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of sponsors and in particular our presenting sponsor, TD Canada Trust.

On Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the 5th annual Brandan's Eye Research Fund. The money raised helps supports the eye clinic at Toronto’s Sick Kids hospital. Over the past five years they have raised over $800,000. The fund is named after 8 year Brandan Cescolini and his parents Rosemary and James are the driving force behind the fund. The Cescolini's live in King City, but their business is in Vaughan.