Future 407, Future Go Station, Future Expansion are in Clarington's Near Future - Interview with MPP Granville Anderson

Jennifer Foley:     Hey there, Jennifer Foley, your local realtor and look who I'm here with today. I am here with Granville Anderson, the MPP for Durham. So everywhere you look Durham is growing, and right here in Clarington especially we're seeing huge growth. What kind of things can we expect to see in the near future?

Granville A.:       Well in the near future it's a great, great time to be in Clarington. It's a great, great time to be in Durham to be quite honest. In the near future there's a GO train coming to Curtis and Bowmanville and over the next couple of months we will have, the GO train site will be officially up and running. Shovels will be in the ground early next spring.

Jennifer Foley:     That's exciting. 

Granville A.:       That's very exciting. 

Jennifer Foley:     You've been working very hard on this.

Granville A.:       Yes, that's one of my pet projects. So the Bowmanville Hospital, which will be expanding-

Jennifer Foley:     Yeah, lets talk about that, 'cause that's exciting for Bowmanville. 

Granville A.:       Also funded and that should be happening anytime soon.

Jennifer Foley:     So it's going to be revisions to the current site and it's going to be larger and more services?

Granville A.:       Yes, it's going to be practically for intended purposes a new hospital, a new North wing with new room for surgical room facilities, and new emergency room. 

Jennifer Foley:     That's very exciting.

Granville A.:       About 20 odd new beds, so it's an exciting time.

Jennifer Foley:     That'll all facilitate the growth that's expected?

Granville A.:       That's right, and as you know, so those are two big projects and we also have the 407 going through to the 150. It's transformative, that's going to change our community from being a bedroom community to a community where people can raise families and work, and play and enjoy the best what Durham has to offer. 

Granville A.:       So it's really, really exciting and we have had for seniors, if seniors want to move here or want to retire here, I just announced a few months ago late last year a new facility. A redevelopment of our [inaudible 00:02:15] home in Bowmanville and an addition of 124 new beds. 

Jennifer Foley:     Wow, that's exciting. 

Granville A.:       So that's all exciting, so it's great, it's wonderful. It's a great thing-

Jennifer Foley:     That opens up the doors for so many new opportunities. 

Granville A.:       That's right. Current projects, something I'm working in, is a new interchange for Waverley Road, that's my next big project to make sure that, that comes to fruition. 

Jennifer Foley:     To open up that plug that happens down there. 

Granville A.:       The traffic and that yes, so you know it's also a safety concern. So it's a wonderful, wonderful time to be in this community and that has happened all within the last four years. So imagine what will happen over the next four years? It's going to be a fun time and a huge time for our community. I will continue to work hard to support these projects in Durham. 

Jennifer Foley:     That's excellent. So you have a goal as MPP to make Durham a better place to live, work and play, would you expand on that? 

Granville A.:       That has a number of faucets to it, a number of exciting challenges to it and transformation to make this community a community with that expanding factories, office buildings. So rather than people having to spend three hours commuting, they can work right here in their community- 

Jennifer Foley:     Closer to home.

Granville A.:       Closer to home, closer have more opportunities to take their kids, whether it's a soccer game or a hockey game, make sure all those amenities are here. Tourists are coming in, as you can see, look around-

Jennifer Foley:     Yes, lots of new commercial growth.

Granville A.:       New restaurants, new commercial growth, and with that will come new recreational facilities. New arena's, new parks, new baseball diamonds.

Jennifer Foley:     In the bigger plan.

Granville A.:       It's all in the bigger plan. Also that transformation has already happened, and it's happening with Toyota is coming here. Just down the road we have the Darlington Nuclear, so that's transformative and that's what this community is about. That's what I mean when I say this is a community that people can live in, work in, play in and have a good time.

Jennifer Foley:     Well thank you so much for taking your time today.

Granville A.:       You're welcome.

Jennifer Foley:     Speaking with me and sharing with everybody some information about what's happening here in Clarington and in Durham. I appreciate your time. Thank you. 

Granville A.:       Thank you.

Jennifer Foley:     You're doing an awesome job. 

Granville A.:       Thank you for taking the time.