On Monday, March 1, Town staff presented a staff report to Whitby Town Council to update them on progress made toward its Local Economic Recovery Plan and what to expect next. Here’s what you missed:

Taking Action to Support Whitby Businesses

Through collaboration with community partners including the Whitby Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Whitby Business Improvement Area, 1855 Whitby Tech Accelerator and the Durham Economic Task Force, all but five of the 58 actions identified to support local business recovery have begun. Of those, 19 initiatives are complete, 14 are implemented and 20 are in progress. Action items completed under the plan include: the Town’s What’s Open Whitby portal to support shopping local, the delivery of more than 500 reopening kits to local businesses, downtown parking supports and an expedited outdoor patio process.

What’s Next?

While the Town has completed a number of action items, work will continue on the Local Economic Recovery Plan through 2021 to support all 2,400 Whitby businesses. The Town continues to work in partnership with the Whitby Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Whitby BIA, 1855 Whitby Tech Accelerator and the Durham Economic Task Force.

What is the Local Economic Recovery Plan?

A five-point economic recovery plan aimed at supporting Whitby business through the pandemic to the end of 2021. The plan focuses on:

1. retaining existing businesses by providing resources and support programs
2. revitalizing and rediscovering Whitby’s downtowns and managing the main street impact
3. fostering and sustaining the innovation economy
4. engaging with post-secondary institutions and other service providers to improve and match people’s skillsets to work opportunities through education and training
5. improving customer service processes and business experiences

The plan also identifies 58 action items to help minimize the ongoing impacts of mandated COVID-19 shutdowns on local businesses.

To read the full Economic Recovery Plan, visit whitby.ca/businessresources.