As newly-elected Councillors prepare to be sworn in across Ontario this month, outgoing Councillors are saying farewell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eric Jolliffe, who was appointed by the Ontario Government to the role of Chair of the Regional Municipality of York in 2024, is just one official who is preparing to start a new chapter after deciding not to reapply for the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jolliffe, who will be succeeded in the role by Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca, presided over his final meeting of Regional Council on Thursday, November 5, looking over the accomplishments of the 2022-2026 Council term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jolliffe, who previously served as York Regional Police Chief, was appointed Chair at the end of 2024, replacing former Whitchurch-Stouffville mayor Wayne Emmerson in the role. His appointment, following Emmerson\u2019s retirement, came into effect January 1, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt has been a privilege to serve our residents for over 40 years, including 10 years as Chief of Police and the past two years as Chairman and CEO,\u201d Jolliffe told his colleagues last week. \u201cThe role has given me an even greater appreciation for the many dedicated people it takes to keep York Region strong, caring, and safe. I have seen firsthand a Council and staff who genuinely care about the 1.3 million residents who call our communities home. To our staff, the senior leadership team, our CAO, the Office of the Regional Clerk, and all members of Council, thank you. Thank you for your support and commitment, and a very special thank you to my Chief of Staff, Lina Bigioni, for her guidance and support. I also think it important that I recognize former Chairman Wayne Emmerson for his leadership during the first two years of this term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTogether, this Council has made important progress in the areas that matter most to our residents. We have heavily invested in community safety and well-being, significantly expanding police and paramedic resources by adding 391 sworn and civilian police staff and 140 paramedics and support staff to strengthen frontline capacity, emergency response, and community safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe’ve also invested in housing solutions, opening Mosaic House in The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville with 97 new housing units and advancing the Queensway South project in Georgina, which will deliver 86 affordable housing units, including community transitional and emergency housing. These are important steps in addressing housing needs in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jolliffe also highlighted the work of Council to address challenges related to a reduction in Development Charges while funding more than $21 billion in growth-related infrastructure projects through 2051, and advancing the North York Durham Sewage System, which will support 50,000 new homes and 150,000 future residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese investments are essential in accommodating growth responsibly and ensuring infrastructure keeps pace with our community’s growth,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe have worked to keep people, goods, and information moving. We’ve advanced major road and transit infrastructure, continued to support the Yonge-North subway extension and expanded YorkNet broadband connectivity, bringing fibre-to-home service to approximately 1,300 homes and advancing access for thousands more. These investments help connect our communities, support our residents and businesses, and prepare York Region for the future. None of this happens without collaboration, sound decision-making, and a shared commitment to public service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am proud of what we have accomplished together and excited to see York Region continue to evolve and meet the needs of our growing and diverse communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After paying tribute to outgoing members of Regional Council, including East Gwillimbury Mayor Virginia Hackson and Georgina Mayor Margaret Quirk, members of Council in turn paid tribute to Jolliffe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti in particular spoke to his long-standing relationship with Jolliffe, which was formed through the outgoing Chair\u2019s background in police services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am extremely proud of the work that you did there in giving members of the service, both responsibility, but also accountability,\u201d said Scarpitti of Jolliffe\u2019s time at the helm of the YRP. \u201cBack when you started [as Chair], I said, \u2018Welcome to the family and no sooner had I said that you began to chair what was a pretty interesting discussion on development charges. And again, like most of our discussions here, passionate about the perspectives that we bring, but recognizing that we have to make a decision and move forward collectively. You managed that meeting the best you could, that was brand new around the table. I think what’s impressed me most is that in all of our discussions, you’ve allowed for everyone to present their perspective and that’s not an easy thing to do \u2013 making sure that those perspectives are heard around the table. I’ll tell you even times when I disagreed them, I understood why you were doing it because it’s important to hear those different points of view. I’ll just say it was always to get the best outcome, best decision. The other aspect, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this [is when I talked] to you about issues or I said, \u2018I know you don’t agree with this, but could you look at this?\u2019 I never heard you say no, I always heard you say, \u2018Let me take that back. Let me think about this.\u2019 And in doing so you were able to advance a particular issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile your short ride here has not been that long, I truly do understand why the Province tapped you on the shoulder to undertake this role for the remainder of this term. Certainly it was clear to me why they did it, and hopefully it’s been clear to others that you brought that experience, that commitment to the people of York Region, and I think that’s been evident all through your leadership here as the Chair of the Region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Brock Weir <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As newly-elected Councillors prepare to be sworn in across Ontario this month, outgoing Councillors are saying farewell. Eric Jolliffe, who was appointed by the Ontario Government to the role of Chair of the Regional Municipality of York in 2024, is just one official who is preparing to start a new chapter after deciding not to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39274"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39275,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39274\/revisions\/39275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n