Regional chair makes final appearance before council

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Region of Durham regional chair John Henry. Photo from durham.ca

In perhaps his last appearance in front of Uxbridge council as chair of Durham Region on Monday, John Henry departed briefly from his prepared remarks to take an apparent swipe at Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs Rob Flack.

In defending both the region and his role as chair, Henry said Flack's decision to appoint the next regional chair instead of having the position filled by election, is wrong.

"Flack thinks I only attend meetings," he said, pointing out his day often starts at 6:30 a.m., he works weekends and often works seven days a week. "I'm not sure an appointed chair would understand how big Durham is. If you've never been to Zephyr, how can you be an appointed chair?"

Henry said an appointed regional chair would not be in the best interests of Durham's residents.

During his appearance, Henry also gave an overview of the region and its accomplishments, pointing out that Durham was named Community of the Year in 2025 by the Intelligent Community Forum. Talking about Durham Transit, he said everyone in the region now has access to the service, quipping that "in rural areas, we're like Uber on steroids."