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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 28 ,2 02 1 | 8 oakville.ca Notice of Public Consultation Joshua Creek Flood Mitigation Opportunities Study Thursday January 28, 2021 Materials available online oakville.ca/environment/flood-mitigation- joshuas-creek.html Your input is important! The Town of Oakville has initiated a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) to assess flood risks along the Joshua Creek south of Upper Middle Road to Lake Ontario. Town staff are seeking public input related to this project, including alternative mitigation measures, evaluation criteria, potential environmental effects, and any other concerns. The study is being conducted in compliance with Schedule 'B' of the Municipal Engineers Association (MEA) Municipal Class EA document (October 2000, as amended in 2007, 2011 and 2015), which is an approved process under the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act. This will be the first of two planned public consultation events for the Flood Mitigation Notice of Public Meeting Monday February 22, 2021 Oakville Town Council will hold a public meeting, pursuant to section 12 of the Development Charges Act, 1997, as amended, to present and obtain public input on the municipality's proposed development charges (D.C.) by-law and underlying background Opportunities Study. Materials available will include background information on flood-prone sites, updates from investigations and preliminary alternatives for flood mitigation. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this will be a virtual public consultation event with Study information made available on the town's website for review and comment. Please direct all comments and any questions to the following study team members via email or mail by March 4, 2021. Diana Friesen, C.E.T Water Resources Technologist Town of Oakville 905-845-6601, ext. 3904 Diana.Friesen@oakville.ca Janusz Czuj, P.Eng. Project Manager GHD janusz.czuj@ghd.com All personal information included in a submission - such as name, address, telephone number and property location - is collected, maintained and disclosed by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for the purpose of transparency and consultation. study. The proposed D.C. by-law would amend and restate the current by-law. A public meeting of Council will be held on February 22, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall. Due to COVID-19, attendance at Town Hall is restricted and public meetings are being held by videoconference only, and are live streamed on YouTube (youtube.com/ TownofOakvilleTV). For instructions on how to view the meeting or participate by written submission, The information is collected under the authority of the Environmental Assessment Act or is collected and maintained for the purpose of creating a record that is available to the general public as described in s.37 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). Personal information you submit will become part of a public record that is available to the general public unless you request that your personal information remain confidential. For more information, please contact the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks' Freedom of Information and Privacy Coordinator at 416-327-1434. videoconference or telephone please contact the Clerk's Department as early as possible prior to the meeting at TownClerk@oakville.ca or 905-815-6015. In order that sufficient information is made available to the public, the background study and proposed D.C. by-law will be available at least two weeks prior to the meeting on oakville.ca. Council may choose to adopt the background study and proposed D.C. by-law at a future meeting of Council. The Region is calling on the federal government to accelerate the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for local residents and all Canadi- ans. A motion to that effect was unanimously passed by regional council during its Jan. 20 session, coming on the heels of news that shipments of the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine into Can- ada are facing reductions and delays by the manufac- turer in the coming weeks. "We have a responsibili- ty to stand up for our resi- dents and do everything we can to keep them safe," said Regional Chair Gary Carr, who put the motion forward with Oakville Councillor Allan Elgar. "Our public health team and many partners have been working so hard to get these life-saving vaccines to our most vulnerable popu- lations. There is tremen- dous planning that happens behind the scenes, and without the ongoing, pre- dictable supply of vaccines, their plans are forced to change and the risk of se- vere illness or death rises." While some councillors contended the federal gov- ernment has left no stone unturned to get the vac- cines here as quickly as possible, the consensus was to put pressure on those in Ottawa to expedite the situ- ation. Once the vaccines are in the country, they're distrib- uted to each province. The provincial government then has to prioritize where the doses will go, and which part of the population will receive them first. The cur- rent priority is to immunize residents, staff and essen- tial caregivers in long-term care and high-risk retire- ment homes. During the meeting, Hal- ton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hamidah Megh- ani detailed the challenges the local vaccine program has faced so far. She said Halton Public Health was preparing for a shipment of the Moderna vaccine to roll out immuni- zations at long-term care and retirements homes, but the Province ended up real- locating Halton's share of the supply to harder-hit ar- eas of Ontario. Health officials then had less than a week to work with Halton Healthcare -- which is operating its own vaccination clinic for prior- ity populations -- to deter- mine a method to safely transport the Pfizer-BioN- Tech vaccine that requires ultra-cold storage from the hospital to local long-term care homes. "We continue to manage this one supply of vaccine with our hospital partners and have not received any additional allocations of ei- ther vaccine," Meghani said. Despite the hurdles, the Region managed to forge ahead with its mobile vacci- nation teams and hopes to finish immunizing all long- term care home residents by Jan. 23. Halton's COVID-19 Vac- cine Committee also has plans in the works for im- munization clinics down the road when the inocula- tion is more widely avail- able. The motion passed by council asks the federal and provincial governments to clearly and consistently communicate with the pub- lic on who's prioritized to receive the vaccine, and the timing of vaccine delivery. For further details visit halton.ca/COVID19. REGION PUSHING FEDS TO SPEED UP VACCINE DELIVERY MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@ metroland.com NEWS