Mayor Bevilacqua delivers 11th State of the City address at Annual Business Luncheon

​Announcement of 400 new jobs at 200,000-square-foot global life science facility shows confidence in Vaughan's economy

Today, Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua delivered his 11th annual State of the City address to a virtual audience of business, government and community leaders at the 2021 Vaughan Chamber of Commerce's Annual Mayor's Luncheon. The theme of this year's event was Ready, Resilient and Resourceful and highlighted the City of Vaughan's ongoing response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the path to recovery.

During the event, Mayor Bevilacqua reflected on past accomplishments and outlined several transformational city-building initiatives currently underway. In his address, Mayor Bevilacqua announced that LGC, a leading global life science tools company, has chosen to locate its Toronto Research Chemicals subsidiary in Vaughan. Construction work has recently commenced on a new facility of more than 200,000 square feet, which will bring more than 400 highly skilled jobs to the area when it opens in 2024.

Mayor Bevilacqua participated in a Q-and-A with Brian Shifman, President and CEO of the Vaughan Chamber of Commerce. Throughout the pandemic, Mayor Bevilacqua has constantly communicated with the business community to provide updates on the evolving situation and work collaboratively to respond efficiently and effectively.

Today, there are more than 19,000 businesses in Vaughan that employ more than 225,000 people. Small business remains the backbone of Vaughan's thriving economy - representing more than 80 per cent of all local job creators. Since the onset of the pandemic, the City of Vaughan's Economic and Cultural Development Department has delivered 1,143 business consultations and responded to 4,621 inquiries, as well as provided 303 webinars to 5,961 attendees. The City is committed to supporting Vaughan's small business community and helping entrepreneurs and business owners unleash their full potential and achieve economic prosperity.

Since 2010, more than $13 billion in building permits have been issued by the City and, despite the global pandemic, city-building did not slow down in 2020. Vaughan issued more than $1 billion in building permits in the last year alone - a significant investment into the community's future.

The City of Vaughan proudly maintains one of the lowest and most competitive tax rates in the Greater Toronto Area. Last year, at the height of the global pandemic, Mayor Bevilacqua and Members of Council passed a zero per cent tax rate increase in the City's 2021 Budget.

With approximately 179 hectares of development opportunities, the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC) continues to be the largest and most ambitious project in the City's history, attracting residential, commercial and industrial investments. From 2015 to 2020, the VMC attracted more than $9 billion in economic activity and continues to exceed growth targets. Residential development currently represents more than 65,000 residents in 32,379 units moving into the VMC, achieving 270 per cent of residential units and 256 per cent of population targets identified for the 2031 planning horizon far earlier than expected.

The heart of Vaughan's emerging downtown is home to several transformational projects, including the VMC Subway, high-rise towers and commercial office buildings, which have created thousands of jobs, public art projects and community event spaces. As a result, Vaughan remains a city in demand.

In his address, Mayor Bevilacqua reiterated the importance of leveraging resources to bring healthcare, innovation and jobs to the community. Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital officially opened its doors as a full-service community hospital on June 6, 2021. It is the first hospital in Vaughan, and Canada's first smart hospital. As chair of Mackenzie Health Foundation's $250-million Ultimate Campaign, Mayor Bevilacqua proudly announced that more than $200 million has been raised toward the campaign goal.

In October 2019, the City of Vaughan, Mackenzie Health, ventureLab and York University signed a memorandum of understanding to undertake a feasibility study to identify the best use of lands surrounding Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, known as the Vaughan Healthcare Centre Precinct. Nearly two years later, Mayor Bevilacqua recently chaired the inaugural meeting of the City of Vaughan's Hospital Advisory Task Force, which has the mandate to oversee the development of the vision and priorities for making Vaughan a globally recognized example of a healthy city.

As home to Canada's first smart hospital, York Region's first subway stations with another on the way, a vibrant downtown core, a 900-acre park and a university, Vaughan upholds its global position as a city of choice.

The City is pleased to recognize the Vaughan Chamber of Commerce for its ongoing partnership and contributions to advance Vaughan's strong economy.

QUOTES

"In preparing for today's event, I reflected on our city-building journey. When I was elected Mayor in 2010, our city did not have a hospital, a subway, a university, a thriving downtown core, a 900-acre park and we had 60,000 fewer jobs. I also reflected on last year's Vaughan Chamber of Commerce's Annual Mayor's Luncheon, which took place on Feb. 25, 2020. A few weeks later, on March 17, 2020, Vaughan became the first city in Ontario and the first municipality in York Region to declare a state of emergency. We have been laser-focused on protecting the health and safety of residents while upholding the local economy. That is why I was pleased to announce that LGC, a leading global life science tools company, has chosen to locate its Toronto Research Chemicals subsidiary in Vaughan. Construction work has recently commenced on a new facility of more than 200,000 square feet, which will bring more than 400 highly skilled jobs to our community when it opens in 2024. Vaughan's story is about a city and people who remain ready, resilient and resourceful in facing COVID-19. Today marks 575 days under the declared state of emergency. Since then, our small business community has felt the financial hardships of this pandemic, and our frontline and healthcare workers have put their lives at risk in the name of duty to ensure the safety and well-being of their neighbours. As a community, we will continue to honour and remember the victims of COVID-19 and their families and recognize the significant sacrifices made by all citizens and businesses in our collective fight against this virus. Despite the universal challenges presented by COVID-19, Vaughan is stronger than ever. That is because of the unwavering efforts of our local business community and their ability to pivot and adapt their businesses during these unprecedented times. I want to express my warmest and sincerest gratitude to all business owners and entrepreneurs for demonstrating strength, resiliency and exceptional citizenship, which has set Vaughan apart as a city of choice. We are on this journey together, and by continuing to support each other, I am confident we will emerge stronger."

- Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua

"We are excited to make Vaughan our new home in Canada and are grateful for the partnership and support that we have received from Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, the ZZEN Group and our other local partners in helping to turn our vision for a new facility into reality. The products produced at this facility play a critical role in enabling science; our Toronto Research Chemicals facility has a close to 40-year history in serving scientists and we look forward to building on that heritage from our new facility in Vaughan."

- Euan O'Sullivan, LGC's President and Chief Executive Officer

QUICK FACTS

• The Vaughan Chamber of Commerce's Annual Mayor's Luncheon was held on Wednesday, Oct. 13 and presented virtually this year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
• This year marked Mayor Bevilacqua's 11th annual State of the City address.
• The theme of this year's event was Ready, Resilient and Resourceful and highlighted the City of Vaughan's ongoing response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
• On March 17, 2020, Vaughan became the first city in Ontario and the first municipality in York Region to declare a state of emergency in response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.
• Today marks 575 days under the City of Vaughan's declared state of emergency.
• Since the onset of the pandemic, the City of Vaughan's Economic and Cultural Development Department has delivered 1,143 business consultations and responded to 4,621 inquiries, as well as provided 303 webinars to 5,961 attendees.
• In his address, Mayor Bevilacqua announced that LGC, a leading global life science tools company, has chosen to locate its Toronto Research Chemicals subsidiary in Vaughan. Construction work has recently commenced on a new facility of more than 200,000 square feet, which will bring more than 400 highly skilled jobs to Vaughan when it opens in 2024.
• LGC is a UK headquartered company, founded in 1842. It provides mission critical components and solutions for the pharmaceutical, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental markets. LGC's vision is Science for a Safer World - and its products play a key role in enabling science, helping its customers to bring new therapies and diagnostics to market, progress research and development and continuously monitor and enhance the quality of food, the environment and consumer products.
• LGC's new Vaughan facility will serve as its global centre of excellence for synthetic chemistry. The complex biochemicals produced at this facility will enable scientific research, development and commercialization around the world, whilst also providing a valuable amenity for scientists in Canada.

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