Oshawa fines downtown businesses, tells them to hire private security

The City of Oshawa has begun fining downtown businesses for nuisance activity in and around their properties and is telling them to hire private security, the Durham Post reports, with the iconic Canadian Automotive Museum fined $1,500.

Residents quoted in the report say the city is effectively offloading downtown safety onto businesses that have long asked police for help — 'clean it, secure it, pay for it, or we'll fine you' — pointing to encampments in Memorial Park and along the trail, break-ins, needles and vandalism. The report also notes Durham Regional Police's $1.1 billion 10-year strategic plan centred on its Oshawa headquarters, while Mayor Dan Carter — who is not seeking re-election — has said security is the police's responsibility and housing is the Region's.

The museum, which has preserved Canada's automotive heritage downtown for more than 60 years with a collection of over 100 historic vehicles, says the incidents have strained staff and visitor confidence; its board has called on the city to partner on practical improvements to security, maintenance and infrastructure.