Author: David Fleischer

Markham is the most diverse municipality in one of the most diverse parts of Canada but how to make it a truly welcoming place is an ongoing challenge. That’s why York Region has tried to embrace diversity and enshrine a set of principles in a Diversity and Inclusion Charter and why you’re being asked to lend your voice to its creation. “We want to make sure it’s reflective of York Region,” says the Region’s Manager of Social Policy and Accessibility Lois Davies. “We know that it is one of the most diverse regions in Ontario … and our communities...

Traveling the Region’s roads at rush hour can be challenging, but at least it’s going to get a bit smarter. Travel Smart is a new initiative tying together and building upon a series of programs with which York Region hopes to make it easier to get around, even as more drivers keep making use of finite road space. As important as it is for York Region to keep building and maintaining its roads, it’s at least as important that “we also invest a lot of time and energy in making efficient use of network we do have,” York Region...

Markham got a little more fun over the summer. As the city keeps growing, more parks are being added to the landscape, creating opportunities to play and explore in some of the city’s oldest and newest quarters, many paying tribute to Markham’s rich history. Outside Thornhill’s historic Village Library, a leafy garden now recognizes the contributions to the community by Richard Jarrell. Jarrell, who passed away in 2013, was a significant member and former president of the Thornhill Garden and Horticultural Society. The garden pays tribute to the volunteerism of the recipient Ontario Volunteer Service Award and Ontario Heritage...

Bringing the Rouge River back to life may be as hard as swimming upstream, but a group of dedicated volunteers at the Metro East Anglers are working every day to make it happen. Their Ringwood hatchery’s 16,000 litre tanks are stocked, and with the spring, tens of thousands of young rainbow trout, Coho salmon and brown trout will make their way into the Rouge River and other streams and water passages. Urbanization, which brings road salt and construction mud to the watershed, presents an ongoing challenge, but getting the fish population back to the point where it can sustain...