Access Vaughan, at your service

Sept. 2, 2021 1:00 p.m.
​Reach the City’s customer service representatives at 905-832-2281 or accessvaughan@vaughan.ca

Do you have a question about a City service? Want to report a municipal issue? Looking for an update on the City’s COVID-19 response? Access Vaughan is here to help. The City’s contact centre is standing by, ready to respond to all resident inquiries.

Residents looking to get in touch with Access Vaughan can do so by:

Your call is important to us. And to continue to improve the citizen experience on a call, Access Vaughan now provides wait-time announcements to let callers know how long it will take to speak to a representative. The team receives, on average, more than 1,000 inquiries daily. During periods with heavy call volumes, there may be a longer wait time, however, every inquiry will be addressed and responded to based on priority. During the wait, make sure to stay on the line to hear relevant news and important updates from the City before speaking to the team.

A citizen service representative will respond to all inquiries in priority sequence during regular business hours – Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Outside of these core hours, a live agent will be available to respond to municipal emergencies, including COVID-19-related inquiries. The top five questions and answers received and responded to by Access Vaughan are also being shared in a monthly series called You Asked, We Answered.

To enhance service offerings and ensure Access Vaughan is accessible for everyone, a specialized Textnet software program has been implemented to enable deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or speech-impaired residents to easily access and converse with representatives. Individuals can use these services by calling 1-866-543-0545. The contact centre also features an over-the-phone interpretation system – Language Line – which provides verbal translation in more than 150 languages. Residents can request this service with a citizen service representative, free of charge. More information is available at vaughan.ca/AccessVaughan.

To ensure you are reaching out to the right level of government to address your questions, here is a breakdown of the roles and responsibilities of the City, regional, provincial and federal governments:

The City of Vaughan is responsible for – 
  • Animal services
  • Building permits
  • Burial permits
  • Development applications
  • Fire services
  • Organic, garbage and recycling collection
  • Park and amenity closures
  • Parking enforcement
  • Property standards and general by-law enforcement
  • Property tax
  • Winter maintenance on local roads

York Region is responsible for –
  • Ambulance
  • Policing
  • Public health
  • Public housing
  • Seniors housing
  • Shelter support
  • Transit (YRT, VIVAnext)
  • Winter maintenance for regional roads

The Province of Ontario is responsible for –
  • Business support and closures
  • Colleges and universities
  • COVID-19 testing
  • Health care
  • Hospitals
  • LCBO
  • List of non-essential businesses
  • Schools 

The Government of Canada is responsible for –
  • Access to credit
  • Business support
  • Canada Child Benefit
  • Canada Emergency Response Benefit
  • Canada Student Loans
  • Employee support
  • Employment Insurance (EI)
  • Foreign travel and support for Canadians abroad
  • Income tax
  • Passports

Many resources are available for people to stay informed and learn more about the different roles and responsibilities of the municipal, regional, provincial and federal governments in an emergency. The City has created a graphic to help break this information down for citizens who are looking for assistance from the government.




Those who feel unwell and believe they have symptoms related to COVID-19 should contact York Region Public Health or Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000. For additional information and resources on COVID-19, visit York Region's website at york.ca/COVID19.

To receive the most recent updates and news as they happen, visit vaughan.ca/COVID19, sign up for the City Update eNewsletter at vaughan.ca/CityUpdate and follow the official corporate channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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