City of Oshawa launches new online community engagement website, Connect Oshawa.

The City of Oshawa is proud to announce its launch of the final phase of the website redevelopment project and introduce Connect Oshawa, an online community engagement website. Designed to improve and increase community engagement opportunities, the site will allow the City to share new programs, policies, and initiatives in addition to seeking feedback from residents and stakeholders when it is convenient for them.

Connect Oshawa’s online tools will be used in conjunction with traditional in-person community engagement methods to ensure meaningful two-way dialogue occurs consistently between residents, stakeholders and the City on major projects.

“This a great step forward in our efforts to become more accessible and available for residents’ input and ideas,” said Councillor Amy England, Chair of the Corporate Services Committee.

Much like www.oshawa.ca, Connect Oshawa is accessible and mobile friendly, meaning that the site will resize accordingly to the device in use. It introduces a wide-range of new, innovative online tools, including:

• discussion forums,
• question and answer forums,
• surveys,
• online brainstorming,
• storytelling, and more.

Projects are online now and ready for public input. Visit Connect Oshawa today to register and get connecting!

Oshawa signs friendship agreement with Wuxi New District

Today, the Region of Durham and the City of Oshawa hosted a delegation from Wuxi New District of the People’s Republic of China. The delegation also toured the Regional Municipality of Durham Headquarters, Durham College and Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) at University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT).

Dignitaries from Wuxi New District and Mayor John Henry signed a friendship agreement to expand co-operation and friendly exchanges between the two cities to promote economic and business co-operation and bilateral trade, as well as exchange information in the field of education, business and culture.

The delegation learned about the Region of Durham and Oshawa’s economic development accomplishments, as well as the many achievements in science, education and other related fields. Information was also shared on potential economic development opportunities for Wuxi New District, Durham Region and the City of Oshawa.

Founded in 1992, Wuxi New District, a suburb of Wuxi city, is located approximately 120 kilometres west of Shanghai and has a population of 600,000. Situated in the heart of Yangtze River Delta, the Wuxi New District offers well-developed and diversified transportation systems for easy access to both domestic and overseas markets. In 2013, Wuxi New District was recognized as the 5^th best city for business and the 2^nd most innovative city in China. Wuxi New District is also known as the birthplace of national industry and commerce.

More than 89,000 Ontarians registered their consent for organ and tissue donation between July 1, 2015 and September 30, 2015, setting a new record for registrations in one quarter. Oshawa residents contributed to this record with 1,887 Oshawa residents registering their consent for organ and tissue donation. Today, 33% of Oshawa residents are registered organ and tissue donors.

Every day more than 1,600 people in this province are waiting for a lifesaving call, making registering consent vital. Between July 1, 2015 and September 30, 2015 there were 255 organ transplants in Ontario. Donor registration gives families clear evidence of their loved one’s donation. Registering is easy. It takes two minutes at BeADonor.ca.

Community to become Creative Director for new public art mural

The City of Oshawa and Durham College are inviting residents to share their aspirations and provide creative direction for a new public art mural. The project, located on the retaining wall in front of City Hall on Centre Street, will see students from Durham College’s School of Media, Art and Design Community Collaboration course undertake the design and painting of the mural, as well as community engagement initiatives in partnership with City staff.

Tabuchi Electric, a solar-plus-storage manufacturer, unveiled the installation of its first solar-plus-storage system as part of a broader program being led by utility partner Oshawa Power & Utilities Corporation (OPUC). OPUC is one of the first in North America to lead the installation of grid-friendly residential solar-plus-storage systems.

Under the program, Tabuchi is installing solar-plus-storage systems in homes across Oshawa to generate solar energy and store it onsite for use at any time. OPUC's customers participating in this pilot will be able to generate and use all of the clean solar energy produced at their home with the help of solar panels and a sophisticated storage system.

“We are excited to bring these advanced energy solutions that provide increased reliability with storage back-up while generating energy efficiently and sustainably on-site through solar power, right where our customers need it,” says Atul Mahajan, CEO of Oshawa Power & Utilities Corporation. “Integrating solar and storage with the grid in select homes across Oshawa will allow us to study the technology closely and most importantly develop innovative business models on our path to creating the utility of the future.”

The project is funded by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and is designed to deliver compelling energy management benefits to OPUC and its residential customers. This initiative also supports Ontario's clean energy efficiency policies already considered to be leading in North America.

“Our partnership is a testament to how utilities and solar-plus-storage technology companies can successfully bridge the gap,” said Harumi McClure, Tabuchi Electric Managing Director and General Manager. “We designed our grid-friendly system to help utilities like OPUC capture the benefits of solar power while also improving customer reliability during power outages, especially during extreme weather. We are committed to helping Oshawa and Ontario continue to lead the way in bringing solar and storage to its residents.”

About Tabuchi Electric

Tabuchi Electric is the leading residential solar inverter manufacturer in Japan and has been a leading power electronics company since 1925. Tabuchi's solar-plus-storage solutions are grid-friendly plug-and-play systems optimized for energy management and cost performance that are ready to install today. Tabuchi is a founding member of the Distributed Energy Resources Council of Hawaii (DERC), the first association formed in the U.S. to exclusively represent behind-the-meter technology and distributed resources. Tabuchi is committed to developing technologies to solve urgent global energy challenges and make all buildings net-zero.

Celebrate the holiday season at the Deck the Halls Around the World on Thursday, December 3 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Northview Community Centre.

This all ages, family friendly event features the official lighting of the Northview Christmas tree, a visit from Santa and the opportunity to write a letter to Santa. Children will also be able to create Around the World holiday crafts and enjoy holiday storytelling. Delicious holiday treats from Around the World will be available for a nominal fee.

“Our Northview Community Centre’s annual “Deck the Halls” open house will take on an international theme this year,” said Councillor Bob Chapman, Chair of the Community Services Committee. “Fun for the whole family and this year the kids can make crafts from “Around the World”. Come on out for some family fun!”

The City of Oshawa is encouraging anyone attending the event to bring a non-perishable food item to the event. Food items will be donated to the Simcoe Hall Settlement House Food Bank.

The annual open house is hosted by the City of Oshawa, Boys and Girls Club of Durham, Oshawa Lawn Bowling Club and Oshawa Senior Citizens Centres.

Northview Community Centre is located at 150 Beatrice Street East, just west of Ritson Road. For more information about the event, visit www.oshawa.ca/events or call 905-436-3311.

The City of Oshawa Toys for Tickets program, will once again be offering the opportunity to motorists who receive a parking ticket between November 28 through to December 11, 2015 inclusive(excluding those issued for illegal parking in accessible spaces and for unauthorized parking) to donate a new toy in lieu of payment.

On December 10 and 11 only, Service Oshawa will accept new unwrapped toys (accompanied by a cash register receipt indicating the value of the toy) in lieu of “payment”. Toys will be accepted for children aged newborn to the age of 18 and the value of the toy must equal or exceed the amount owing on the parking ticket. All of the donated toys will go to families in need through the Durham Regional Police Service Food and Toy Drive.

Service Oshawa, located on the first floor of City Hall at 50 Centre Street South, will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on both days.

“This is an amazing opportunity to turn a ticket into a special gift for a child this Christmas and gives residents an opportunity to give back to those who need it the most,” said Councillor Amy England, Chair of Corporate Services Committee.

The City of Oshawa first introduced the Tickets program in 2006 and has since collected and donated over $20,000 worth of toys for children in need through the Toys for Tickets program.

Do you know a community legend? The City of Oshawa is looking for nominations for the annual Community Legends Award. The Community Legends Award celebrates individuals and organizations whose everyday actions make a positive impact on Oshawa.

“If you know a person or group who works hard to make Oshawa a great place to live, work and play then please nominate them as a Community Legend,” said Councillor Bob Chapman, Chair of the Community Services Committee. “Nominating someone for this recognition is an excellent way to thank them for their contribution to our community.”

Residents of Oshawa can nominate their Community Legend, a person or group of any age, living in Oshawa who has:

• made a significant contribution to an activity, sport or community initiative;
• contributed to improving the quality of life of the Oshawa community; and/or,
• made a significant impact on the Oshawa community at a grassroots level through arts and culture, sport or community initiatives.

Previous recipients include Ken Shaw, Jim Potticary, Bob Hooper, Jackie Finn, Viola Pilkey, Chelsea Smith and the Oshawa Block Parents Association.

The deadline to submit a nomination is December 31, 2015. Visit www.oshawa.ca/CommunityLegends, call 905-436-3311 or email communitylegends@oshawa.ca.

Today, the City of Oshawa hosted a delegation of Cuban public officials including the Ambassador of Cuba to Canada, the Consul General of Cuba in Toronto and the First Secretary, Embassy of Cuba in Canada. The intention of the delegation was to further develop the friendly relationship that exists between Cuba and Canada in the year of the 70^th anniversary of uninterrupted diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Julio Garmendia Peña, Ambassador of Cuba to Canada, led the delegation that aimed to promote international cooperation and information sharing. The Cuban delegation toured Durham College, UOIT, Lakeridge Health and the R.S. McLaughlin Durham Regional Cancer Centre as well as the Darlington Power Generation facility in Clarington. The delegation learned about the Oshawa’s economic development accomplishments as well as the many achievements in science, education and other related fields. Information was also shared on potential economic development opportunities for Cuba and the City of Oshawa.

Visit www.oshawa.ca/business for up-to-date information on the City of Oshawa development news, business resources, site selection statistics and more.