The City of Oshawa should adopt a confidential whistleblower policy that enables current and former employees to report suspected misconduct, weak controls, and ineffective processes without fear of reprisal. We have lost many tenured employees through retirements, dismissals, and voluntary leave. What can they tell us about working at the City of Oshawa? Why wouldn’t they want to see improvements to the City processes, employment, and the overall state of the City? How do we

What are DCs and why do we collect them? Purpose of City of Oshawa Development Charges Development charges are fees collected for the City for new development and redevelopment of land. Collecting development charges is the City’s primary revenue tool for funding growth-related capital costs. This reduces the overall burden on the taxpayer. City-wide Development Charges By-law 91-2024 imposes residential and non-residential development charges on all lands within the boundari

I was honored to be asked to sit in with Sid Goyal, Candidate for City Councillor in Ward 5, to talk about taxes and budgeting. Sid recorded our conversation and put together this video, which he shared on his facebook campaign page: https://www. facebook.com/reel/910254148819516/?__cft__[0]=AZgxjmqSCgJks4D5pRtxJ4fhSahgnkMXy3kFRucmnCC_8_jqdYfedRaFoqLVYwHxRlSh6JJv5wbo_3l_45zCwl3Kbip8IEO9wzjLoNHwMNPDBZHdLncZlYB0rdjoiczAC8xfhODMAFc67FMsSU2hrl-U3P1WoaVSydL35abS0eRXJENW3xNC_8lLSK

Candidate endorsements can help voters, but their value depends on who is offering the endorsement, why they are offering it, and what the relationship reveals about the candidate. I am a resident and second-time candidate, not a professional politician. I am seeking election to Council to improve Ward 4 and the City through active, accountable representation. I am not looking to represent special interest groups unless they provide benefit to the greater community. My value

Oshawa has historically been a caring and giving City. Our large blue collar workforce at that time was a driving force that supported those less fortunate. That is not something we need to apologize for. Over the years, the need has grown while the blue collar support network has dwindled. Since Regional amalgamation, Oshawa continued to be the supporting lower tier municipality at an unequal level to other lakeshore municipalities. The Global pandemic known as Covid great

There has been a lot in the media, both social and mainstream, about donations to municipal election campaigns. The emphasis has been on the historically high number and value of donations that can be linked to developers and it is a common issue across the province. Integrity is being questioned of those accepting the donations, voting on development proposals, and on those making the donations with unspecified expectations. A number of candidates, mostly nonincumbents, have

I am not a politician. This isn’t polished or sugar coated. It’s real. I am a resident of Oshawa concerned with the current administration and our ever-worsening financial position. I believe that I have knowledge and experience that can help the citizens of Oshawa and the City as a whole. I believe in ‘civic duty’, public service, and democratic governance. I also believe this election is one of the most important opportunities for the City of Oshawa to finally move forwar

Oshawa Municipal Election, 2026 I am not a politician. I am a resident of Oshawa concerned with the current administration and our ever-worsening financial position. I believe that I have knowledge and experience that can help the citizens of Oshawa and the City as a whole. I believe in ‘civic duty’, public service, and democratic governance. I also believe this election is one of the most important opportunities for the City of Oshawa to finally move forward. Our mayor is re

We often hear about Economic Development as a catalyst to transferring the tax responsibilities from the homeowner to industry and about developing new job growth for the citizens. But in Oshawa, Economic Development doesn’t appear to be working that way. Oshawa has been waiving Development Charges (DC) fees on industrial development for a long time. Yes, it has added some new industrial facilities, but has it added to our tax base in a positive way? Have those new developm

The process to election is fraught with setbacks. Incumbents have a huge benefit with name recognition. Incumbents have an inside track to fundraising. Incumbents benefit from shorter sign advertising by-laws. Incumbents have ‘inside information’ from closed reports, tight relationships with staff, developer contacts. But those are just the obvious things. My latest challenges: Website updates. After successfully relaunching my web domain and website, I proceeded to transfer

I have lived primarily in Ward 4 since returning to Oshawa in 2013. Even for the short time that I lived in Ward 3, I continued to...

I have spent more than 9 years advocating for increased Accountability and Transparency at the City of Oshawa. The City has an...

There has been a great deal of public discussion on the recent letters sent out by a third party insurance company (SLWC) on behalf of...

Homelessness, Addiction & Social Disorder Here’s where I stand Disclaimer: I spoke publicly in front of Council when they last...

First off, a huge thank you and shout out to all those people providing feedback, ideas, concerns and most importantly, support! Your...

Since returning to Oshawa in 2013, one of the sayings I have repeated is; Oshawa has the most potential of anywhere I have lived. We...

Oshawa has a history of accepting Parkland in Lieu from developers. While this may be a well intended policy to allow the city to...

A healthy and prosperous downtown is the hallmark of every successful town and city. Ward 4 is centered around our downtown, with its...

Jeff Davis has spent the past 9 years honing his research skills on the processes of the City of Oshawa, particularly with respect to...

Ward 4 is Oshawa’s most populous ward. Comprising the Central area of the City of Oshawa, Ward 4 includes the historic 4 corners of...