INAUGURAL ADDRESS
December 2, 2003
First I would like to thank
the people of Markham for their confidence in electing me to a fourth term as
Mayor. I commit myself to making Markham
the very best community it can possibly be.
A special thank you
to Aline and my team for their loyal and valuable support.
I could never do what I do without your encouragement and help.
Congratulations to all of
Council on your own re-election.
Together we share the common trust of our community. To Regional Councillor Jones and Councillor
Webster (who is also the Town Crier) I congratulate you on your election and
welcome you to Council. Together we have
a unique opportunity to lead Markham into the future. We will retain the great traditions of the
past and create an environment for the future of a thriving, healthy community.
In 2002 we created a long-term
vision for our community. Through the next term of Council we will work towards
achieving the key elements of this vision. After reflecting on our
achievements, I’ll move to outline some of the new strategic initiatives we’ll
take to help us be where we want to be as a great community.
With the Town motto “Leading
While Remembering”, it is worth reflecting on our past achievements. All of the successes that have made Markham a
great community are a testimony to former Mayors, Councillors and citizens
whose commitment to values and a high quality of life, have made this the
wonderful community it is today
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Our agricultural roots are celebrated in the Markham Fair, Ontario’s
premier agricultural fair.
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The preservation and reforestation of the Rouge Valley and Don
Watersheds along with the Rouge North Management Plan will continue to protect
our natural heritage. We have set a new
environmental standard for the future. Our
community vision is to preserve our natural, and our built, environment.
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The service oriented Town staff have achieved Level 2 Quality standards
and our staff give excellent customer service.
The dedicated professional men and women who deliver Town Services are
respected and appreciated by Council and
Townspeople alike. This helps us achieve community excellence.
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The exciting Mayor’s Youth Task Force reaches out to thousands of young
people – involving them in community activities, recreation and education, and
underlines the community’s commitment to youth.
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Seniors’ programs in all parts of Markham demonstrate the ongoing
participation of older adults and the important role they play in the
community.
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Sound Town management practices have given Markham a solid bottom line:
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We are completely debt free.
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We have financial reserves.
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We have held tax increases below inflation.
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Our property tax system is the most balanced in Ontario.
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Our tax base is diversified and growing.
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Our infrastructure investments attract new investors.
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Markham is an economic powerhouse:
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We are Canada’s High Tech Capital and home of 800 plus high technology
companies and 400 corporate headquarters.
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We are the location of IBM’s world centre for software development.
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We have world Class communications infrastructure. We will build on these successes with a
strong economic development program.
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Markham celebrates its communities with its festivals in Thornhill,
Milliken Children’s Festival, Markham, Unionville, and numerous special events
for seniors and Canada Day. As the
community comes together on these occasions, it gains a deeper appreciation of
its neighbourhoods and quality of life.
There are major strategic projects
and programs that have been thought through by the previous Council – and we
will move forward on them.
We will, as a Council over the
next three years work
to keep the community informed as part of the public meeting process.
Markham
Centre
has been approved. This will be
Markham’s own unique and vibrant, mixed use gathering place. The first urban core for
all of Markham.
Overall, continuing
development of our community will be carefully
paced to provide balance with the demand for growth. The
pressure for new land for residential and employment growth will be considered.
Our transportation plan that we worked so
hard at creating must now be implemented:
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We will widen key north/south routes to permit better flow of traffic.
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We will open new north/south linkages on Birchmount and Rodick Road
along with crossovers on 404 to move traffic more freely.
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The northern part of the Markham By-Pass from Major MacKenzie Road to
Highway 407 will be opened next year.
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The Quick Start Rapid Transit system will be in use by September 2005
from Markham Stouffville Hospital to Brampton with a major north/south link on
Yonge Street.
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Go Transit expansion will enable better access to downtown Toronto.
We will complete construction
of major new facilities and services for our community.
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Markham Main Street reconstruction will return this community to its
grandeur of old.
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The completion of Angus Glen Community Centre will offer new swimming,
library and recreational services for all.
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The new Thornhill Seniors Community Centre will accommodate the 1,000
plus seniors who have become founding members.
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The Centennial Community Centre expansion will add 20,000 square feet to
the existing facility.
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The Markham Public Library will be expanded to meet increased demand.
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The new YMCA will be opened in 2005.
Markham is one of the most diverse communities in all of Canada
with over 53% of our population being first generation new Canadians. Our Race Relations Committee and Council will
reach out to new residents to make them feel at home in our midst. As a major employer we will continue to have
a hiring policy that encourages diversity. This comes back to our community
vision. We want to achieve harmony in our communities, while recognizing and
building upon their diversities.
Our relations with other levels of government will proactively
encourage more cooperation and a better working relationship. This community has special requirements
because of growth, the new Town Centre and our diversity that requires more
understanding by other government levels.
Markham has a large investment
in its hydro in Town as
well as a 50% share of Richmond Hill Hydro.
With our experiences this summer, we have a chance to benefit and
provide more electricity services to our community and possibly the province as
a whole. We also have a responsibility to optimize cost efficiencies.
Waste
diversion
is an ongoing challenge. Markham has
been a world leader in recycling and was recognized as such by the Communities
in Bloom. The next stage of organic
waste collection will be carefully assessed as to its financial and
environmental benefits.
As a previous Provincial and
Canadian Champion in the annual Communities
in Bloom competition, we will again rejuvenate our staff and
involve our neighbourhoods and communities to make our streets, parks and
properties more beautiful.
As Canada’s High Tech Capital
with the concentration of technology businesses in Markham, we wants to continue to be a leader of technology. Last year Markham established a special
vendor relationship with IBM to assist us in implementing new technology. An information technology plan needs to be
created and funded. Markham will address
the issues of fibre optic concentration, wireless technology and new equipment
to increase productivity and expand services.
The Contact Centre has delivered new levels
of customer service and better levels of management of Town resources along
with the complaint management system.
These services will be expanded.
The municipality will identify problem service areas and achieve a
higher quality of responsiveness to our constituents.
The Character Community initiative is now
well under way and will become more of a community cultural standard as more
and more people appreciate that the traditional values of honesty, respect,
responsibility are fundamental to a strong society. Markham has already passed a resolution to
this effect. We will move forward on
initiatives that will encourage more people to live with character, drive with
character and play sports with character.
I would like to announce three
new, special initiatives for this term of office:
a) The need for continuing speed bumps and how and where they are
to be built. We need to review how
effective speed bumps are and how this program is working.
b) Better enforcement through the use of photo radar, red light
cameras and more police on the beat. It
would be my hope that photo radar would initially be installed near schools and
playgrounds where children and people are most endangered by speeding drivers.
c) An educational program could be developed that during at
least one month of the year, there would be a special crackdown on the streets,
road signs and media support, driver’s and pedestrians would gain a greater
sense of the importance of safe practices on our streets.
Markham Council has
given strong leadership in the deployment of high speed and broadband networks
to connect the majority of homes and businesses making it one of the most
connected communities in the country. It
has a visionary e-government agenda, putting services on line and using the web
to increase participation in public affairs. After all, Markham was the first
in Canada to introduce on-line voting in the recent municipal
election. Over the next three years
Markham will collaborate with the York University, the University of Toronto
Scarborough Campus, Seneca Collage, and York Region District Public and
Separate School Boards to broaden the vision by creating the Markham Connected
Knowledge Community. This initiative
will provide superior access for Markham residents to educational
opportunities, knowledge and research making Markham the Knowledge Capital of Canada.
A task force will
be created consisting of leaders from the community along with young people to
assist us in assessing the present situation and developing a comprehensive
plan that supports Markham as a Knowledge Community.
The next three years will
see Markham leading as we work toward fulfilling our vision for this community.
There will be an annual report card provided to our residents, so that we can
let everyone know how we’re doing. By
working together we will continue to preserve the past, while building for the
future. We will provide high quality services that exceed the expectations of
Town residents and businesses. We will continue to be Canada’s Number One place
to live, work and play.