Chief Administrative Officer Matt Gaskell has released the following statement in response to a second communication that was sent to residents of Lupin Drive by a company called Audmax regarding their proposed halfway house:

In follow up to a statement issued last week by Mayor Roy, it’s come to my attention that Audmax has notified some residents that they have concluded their required community engagement on their proposed halfway house on Lupin Drive (see quote below).

“Our community consultation included the Town of Whitby, Corporations, residents, colleges and other organizations including the Fire, Bylaw office, the police. We are happy to announce that we have accomplished our goals, The consultation is now closed.”
– Maxcine Telfer, Senior Consultant, Audmax

This information is inaccurate. I want to make it clear that while the Town has now been in contact with Audmax regarding this proposal to obtain more information, from our perspective, consultation has not been completed and further engagement is required with the community, Town staff, and Whitby Town Council. This engagement is a requirement of Correctional Services Canada – the regulator of such housing projects – as a part of their review process.

In addition, the Town’s Group Home Licensing By-law requires all group homes in the town to be licensed annually. To date, Audmax has not applied for a license for the home. This means that Audmax is not yet authorized to operate a halfway house on Lupin Drive and no commitment has been made to Audmax that they will be permitted to do so.

We will continue to follow-up on this matter and keep our residents informed.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Erin Mikaluk
Manager, Communications and Creative Services, Town of Whitby
Phone: 289.314.6913
Email: mikaluke@whitby.ca

Jillian Follert
Public Affairs Coordinator, Office of the Mayor
Phone: 289.314.9101
Email: follertj@whitby.ca