Durham residents will face closures at Regional offices, child care centres and health services on Thanksgiving Day, Monday, October 12, while Durham Regional Transit will operate on a weekend schedule, according to a Region of Durham service notice.

Primary care outreach and support for people experiencing homelessness will remain available during the holiday. Water sample services will also be affected before the long weekend, with no drop-off or pick-up on Friday, October 9.

Offices and community programs

All Durham Regional facilities will close on October 12, including Regional Headquarters in Whitby, Provincial Offences Courts and offices, Child Care and Early Years Division offices, and all Regional front counters.

The Region’s eight directly operated early learning and child care centres and all Family Services Durham locations will also close. Ontario Works offices in Ajax, Oshawa and Uxbridge will be closed.

Adult Day Programs at Hillsdale Estates in Oshawa and Lakeview Manor in Beaverton will not operate. The Port Perry program at 451 Paxton Street is routinely closed on Mondays.

Health services and water samples

Health Department programs and services will be unavailable. Water sample drop-off and pick-up will be suspended October 9 and October 12 at four locations: Regional Headquarters at 605 Rossland Road in Whitby; the Health Department’s Port Perry office at 181 Perry Street; Uxbridge Municipal Office at 51 Toronto Street; and Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex at 2440 Durham Regional Highway 2 in Bowmanville.

The regular water sample bottle drop-off and pick-up schedule resumes Tuesday, October 13, at 8:30 a.m.

The Primary Care Outreach Program continues operating daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Residents can contact it at RMD.PCOP@durham.ca, 289-979-9428, 311 within Durham Region, or toll-free at 1-888-721-0622.

Transit and support during the closure

Alongside transit’s weekend schedule, the Specialized Services/On Demand Call Centre will remain open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Customer Service Call Centre and customer service desk at 110 Westney Road South in Ajax will close.

Durham Region Outreach will remain available for homelessness support. Contact HomelessHelp@durham.ca, 905-668-4113 extension 5510, 311 extension 5510 within Durham Region, or toll-free at 1-800-372-1101 extension 5510.

For Provincial Offences Court matters, online payments and the 24-hour drop box at Regional Headquarters’ south entrance remain options. Electronic documents can be filed through the court services website, but those services will not be monitored during the closure.

Online prosecution services are also available to request disclosure and schedule pre-trial meetings for Part III offences.