Steve Yamada

04/11/2026

Had a great time at the grand opening of Rosie’s Burgers at the Glen Hill Plaza in east Whitby. This is a great neighborhood burger place with delicious food. Congratulations to Sunny and his team on a successful opening. Rosie’s will do great!

03/07/2026

Congratulations to Catholic Family Services of Durham on another successful Heart to Heart Gala last weekend. For over 20 years, this event has strengthened our community by supporting counselling, education, and vital services for families and survivors. Thank you to everyone who supported this amazing event and to the organizers and sponsors for a great evening!

12/27/2025

Crews continue to clear roads. Blowing snow and parked vehicles have been challenging for our snow plow drivers.

A few notes on our snow removal process:

✔️ Major routes are cleared first. Do you live on a primary, secondary or tertiary road? Find out. It's how we prioritize snow clearing. 👉 https://www.whitby.ca/services-and-payments/parking-roads-and-transportation/snow-clearing/
✔️ There is no on-street parking permitted during a snow event. Remove all parked cars from the street; give plows room to manoeuvre,
✔️ You can report winter issues on Town-maintained roads, sidewalks, or trails through our online form. I’ve added it in the comment section. You can also email me directly at [email protected]

Stay safe Whitby!

12/22/2025

Merry Christmas! I’m out this holiday season volunteering for my friends at the Salvation Army. If you are able to, please consider donating to the annual kettle campaign. The money goes towards helping those in need in our community.

12/17/2025

Yesterday night we celebrated Hanukkah with Chabad of Durham Region, lighting the menorah, sharing songs, and delicious treats. Grateful for our community in coming together to stand with our Jewish friends in the wake of the tragedy at Bondi beach. May the lights continue to inspire hope, unity, and joy throughout the season and beyond. Thank you to Rabbi Borenstein and Chana for organizing this fabulous event and to everyone who joined us.

12/15/2025

Let me know if your street was missed

❄️ Winter Response - December 13, 2025❄️

Happy Saturday, Whitby! 🚜 Roads crews are out actively salting and plowing primary roads and sidewalks and will be making their way to secondaries.

Your safety is our priority, and we'll keep monitoring conditions.

You can report winter-related issues by visiting https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/53ece9b022824814a73c484a05e0127f

Do you live near a primary or secondary road? Find out here 👉 https://www.whitby.ca/services-and-payments/parking-roads-and-transportation/snow-clearing/

Be safe, everyone!

12/14/2025

Today at sundown, our Jewish community will begin lighting the menorah. To everyone celebrating Hanukkah in Whitby and Durham, I wanted to wish everyone Chag Hanukkah Sameah! May the lights of Hanukkah usher in peace and happiness for you and your family.

12/10/2025

Come out and support the 4th annual Coco’s Cocoa! With SickKids celebrating 150 years and being named the world’s #1 pediatric hospital, Cohen is going all out to show our community’s love. All proceeds go directly to SickKids Foundation. We hope to see you for a custom cocoa at 31 Erickson Dr from 1-4pm on Saturday and Sunday until December 21!

11/28/2025

Budgets are about choices, and it would have been fair to have had all those choices presented at last night’s budget meeting. I’ve always believed that taxpayers should not have to pay more and get less. That’s what a majority of members voted to do. The residents who watched called me today and said it seemed a group of councillors ran out the clock so that eight amendments could not be heard. I’ve posted three of them for you to see. The plan with Councillor Leahy was to reduce the amount of tax collected for reserves. My belief is that we could have maintained the Whitby Public Library and Station Gallery grants by contributing less to reserves. That was a choice that Whitby Council could have made. Unfortunately, due to a self-imposed change to the procedural bylaw to stop meetings at 11pm (that I am vehemently against), the amendments were not heard. In my opinion, this is undemocratic. I will always continue to champion lower tax increases, and had this process been the one prior to the implementation of the American-style Strong Mayor’s Powers, I would have voted NO to this increase! Again, budgets are about choices.

11/27/2025

Tonight Councillors will be bringing amendments forward to reduce the TAX INCREASE proposed by the Mayor. My goal is to bring responsible amendments to reduce the increase and put more money back in your pocket!

11/25/2025

Statement on my Groveside Cemetery Motion

After reflecting on the concerns that have been raised, I would like to formally retract my motion regarding the feasibility of the deposition of Groveside Cemetery.

It was never my intention to cause distress or discomfort to families with loved ones at Groveside, nor to the broader community that holds this space in deep regard. I recognize and respect the emotional significance of the cemetery, and I understand that even exploring such a possibility can feel unsettling.

It is widely known that provincial legislation clearly protects cemetery lands from any change of use. These laws exist to ensure that burial sites remain undisturbed and treated with dignity, and I fully respect both the spirit and the letter of those protections. My motion aligned with the provincial legislation. All members of Council know or ought to have known that. Many of the comments on social media did not honestly convey that reality.

Some would say that my motion was distorted and weaponized to make people respond negatively. I will let you judge for yourself. My intent was to maintain and enhance the cemetery, including a possible heritage designation, or unlocking the asset value for other capital needs to serve the community. The social media firestorm happened before the motion was even published, a debate was had, or town staff could provide a thoughtful report.

I sincerely apologize for any worry or frustration this motion may have caused. I remain committed to listening to our community, learning from this experience, and approaching all future decisions with greater sensitivity and awareness.

Thank you to everyone who shared their perspectives. You can always contact me directly at 905-706-1587 or at [email protected]

11/13/2025

Please see listen to my statement on the independent workplace investigation report into how I was treated. My focus, as always, remains on serving the people of Whitby with integrity and dedication.