This Week | Thursday, March 17, 2022 durhamregion.com | 6 Police are trying to identify a person suspected of pulling off two commercial robberies in Whitby and Ajax. Employees locked themselves in an office in one of the incidents, which occurred about a half-hour apart on Thursday, March 3, Durham police said. The bandit made off with cash in one of the robberies. Officers responded around 9 p.m. to a report of a robbery at Cash and Cell Mart on Dundas Street West in Whitby and learned a suspect had entered and demanded cash, police said. The suspect wound up grabbing the till and fleeing on foot toward the White Oaksfoot toward the White Oaksf apartment complex. It was determined the same suspect had also struck around 8:30 p.m., brandishing a stick while demanding cash from employees at a Money Mart on Kingston Road East, police said. The workers locked themselves in an office and after trying to gain entry the suspect fled empty-handed. The suspect is described as a Black man in his late teens or early 20s who is about feet tall with a skinny build. He wore a grey hooded sweatshirt pulled tight around his face with a drawstring, black pants and running shoes. TORONTO MAN ARRESTED IN ID FRAUD A Toronto man is facing 28 charges after three vehicles were bought using fraudulent identification. In October 2021, a victim filed a report with the Durham Regional Police after receiving mail congratulating him on a recent vehicle buy. The victim was confused as he had not bought any vehicles, police reported. A fraud investigation was started by the Financial Crimes Unit and investigators found a suspect had bought three vehicles in the name of the victim, police added. The vehicles were bought in Alliston, Toronto and Cambridge. The suspect was identified and he turned himself into police on March 1. Sharif Amiri, 52, has been charged with three counts of fraud over $5,000, three counts of personation with intent, three counts of making a false statement to procure a loan, three counts of dispose of property to avoid creditors, threeavoid creditors, threea counts of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, four counts of possession of a counterfeit mark, four counts of possession identity document, three counts of possession of an identity information of another and three counts of uttering a forged document. He was released on an undertaking. SUSPECT ROBBED STORES IN WHITBY, AJAX HALF AN HOUR APART change in the community as well as in all levels of government. It began as Fridays for Future Whitby in 2019 before changing its name. Before joining CJD, "I was feeling really down and depressed about how hopeless everything felt," Scanga said. She wanted to channel her anger and fear and put it into climate work. "We want to bring a connection between individual action and collective systemic action," she said. An early highlight was a clothing swap that diverted hundreds of pounds of clothing from landfill. "It's been a wild couple of years, and I feel we've made progress and I'm really proud of that." Scanga said. The group has pushed for national and international change, and has put an emphasis on the need for local improvements, specifically in the area of green development standards. In 2020, the group urged Durham Region council to declare a climate emergency, which passed. "There is real room for people to take action and make a real difference," Cohen said. With an active social media presence, the group translates municipal documents and press releases into layman's terms, making them as accessible and readable as possible, so people who are impacted by government decisions get an opportunity to comment. "We know what our best practices are," Cohen said. "It's just about making sure our government actually does those things." CJT is actively involved with the Town of Whitby, a leader in sustainable development, and Jade Schofield, Whitby's manager of sustainability and climate change, is grateful for their input. "What we build today will be there for tomorrow and it will be up to our youth to manage that," said Schofield. "It's our responsibility to do the right thing now for the future generation." Schofield recalls the early days when Friday for Future Whitby protested for climate justice every Friday. "From there they really have gotten themselves very organized, and started to approach town staff and elected officials on what they want to see as it relates to climate change," she said. Schofield calls the group "very present and vocal" and has worked with them on developing a number of initiatives including the Whitby Green Standard and the Zero Carbon Whitby Plan. The group has also worked with Clarington, and is working with Ajax and Pickering on green development standards as well. "It's really been quite inspiring to see youth telling us what they need to see in the future," Schofield said. CJD seeks guidance from advisers, people with decades of environmental experience themselves. Pickering resident Gail Lawlor of SoRo Good Neighbours is a senior adviser to the group. "These young people have passion and desire to live in a world that respects the limited resources of our planet and enacts measures that help mitigate and adapt to climate chaos," she said in an email. But since there is a growing number of issues that must be addressed in Durham, more members are needed. Julia Stimpson, a Grade 12 student at All Saints Catholic Secondary School in Whitby, was 16 when she read a book called "Youth to Power" and felt empowered to join a local group. "It's been a fantastic learning opportunity for me to grow and learn about municipal politics," she said of her involvement. Stimpson understands that taking on a big issue such as climate change can feel overwhelming. "I'm such a small person and this is a big issue," she said. And she agrees that some days more than others it's harder to be hopeful. "I do think that with the work that we are doing as a group, it definitely does give me hope," she said. To Scanga, there's power in numbers. "We have a lot of power when we work together," she said. "The more people who join the climate movement and get involved, the more collective power we have." No expertise is needed to join. "Come as you are, and we'll find out a way that you can help," Cohen said. Find Climate Justice Durham on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook or email climatejusticedurham@gmail.com. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: As Durham municipalities create green development standards, Durhamregion.com spoke to the group of young peo-ple ensuring they're up to par. NEWS 'THESE YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE PASSION AND DESIRE TO LIVE IN A WORLD THAT RESPECTS THE LIMITED RESOURCES OF OUR PLANET' Continued from front "We have a lot of power when we work together." - Alyssa Scanga, Climate Justice Durham JULIA STIMPSON Julia Stimpson photo SCAN THE CODE to read more Durham news online. THANK YOU FOR MAKING US YOUR TRUSTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION FIND UP-TO-DATE LOCAL COVID-19 NEWS ONLINE DURHAMREGION.COM/CORONAVIRUS