Business View Magazine | November 2020

281 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2020 Courtice all the way to northeast Oshawa. And that will do a lot for our employment land.” BVM: How has COVID-19 impacted the way you do business? Mayor Foster: “Clarington has really led in our response to COVID, how we’ve adapted quickly with the infrastructure and IT applications we’ve been using, and work has continued. Council set out a strategic plan and redeployed staff and carried on the business of the municipality. It was a priority that our citizens got the services they needed in a safe manner, both for residents and our staff. We had very robust protocols in place from the very beginning. “We are a busy spot. Despite the pandemic, building permits and development charges this year are way up. When one of the developers opened its sales center for new homes, there were lineups outside the door. Now that people are realizing they can work from home, we’re getting an influx of buyers from the City of Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) because prices here are quite reasonable in comparison. So, if you didn’t want to do the commute to Toronto last year, understanding that you may only have to commute a couple days a week this year has made Clarington far more attractive. “Our municipal offices were never shut down. We closed them to public access and many of our staff are working from home, but Council continued to meet, applications were still processed. So planning was exceptionally busy all the way through. Inspections stopped for a while and our recreation facilities were closed, but it’s really been ‘business as unusual.’ One of the things the pandemic did was allow us to catch up. Our rec staff was re-tasked to operations; there is never any shortage of work to do. Documents that should have been digitized years ago, finally got done. Pulling meetings together on Zoom or Skype without needing to drive for an hour – in some ways it’s Knowledge. Experience. Results. 177 Nonquon Rd. N, 20th floor, Oshawa 905 579-1626 | www.vrpl.ca Apartments Commercial VALIANT RENTAL PROPERTIES Since 1922 MUNI C I PAL I TY OF CLAR INGTON, ONTAR IO