Ontario government updates eligibility for Ontario Seniors Dental Care and Co-Payments
The Ontario government is updating the income eligibility thresholds for the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program and the Seniors Co-Payment Program. Starting August 1st, 2021, eligibility thresholds for both programs will be updated to reflect cost of living increases in Ontario and align with income support programs for seniors. Income thresholds will be updated for single Ontarians aged 65 and over, from $19,300 to $22,200, and for couples with a combined annual income, from $32,300 to $37,100. This will allow approximately 7,000 more seniors to access the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program and 17,000 more seniors to access the Seniors Co-Payment Program in 2021-2022.
Ontario Chamber of Commerce pleased to see federal and provincial governments partnering on transit
Today, Rocco Rossi, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), released a statement in response to the federal government’s major investment to support the province’s transit plan, remarking that “as Ontario’s indispensable partner of business, we’re pleased to see the provincial and federal governments work together to expand important transit projects in Ontario. Together, these projects will help spur job growth, which will be critical to supporting economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. These projects will also help reduce traffic congestion, improve productivity, and pollution.”
Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival postponed until 2022
With the health and safety of residents, staff, and the community a top priority in Port Colborne, the annual Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival has been postponed for another year due to COVID-19.
At yesterday’s Council meeting, the Canal Days Advisory Committee presented a report with recommendations for postponing the much-loved annual event which was scheduled to take place July 30 to Aug. 2, 2021. This decision, although difficult to make, was based on current provincial legislation and public health guidelines.
“We want the community to know this wasn’t an easy decision,” said Scott Luey, CAO.
Reading Recommendations
Placing employees on IDEL constitutes constructive dismissal
Brittany Taylor, Canadian HR Reporter
On April 27, 2021, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released its decision in Coutinho v Ocular Health Centre Ltd, which confirmed, for the first time, that an employee who was unilaterally placed on a layoff as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic had been constructively dismissed from their employment.
This is a groundbreaking case with massive ramifications for employers everywhere that placed staff on temporary layoff, reduced their wages or implemented other significant changes in order to try and weather the pandemic.
Trudeau says pandemic restrictions shouldn’t be eased until case counts are ‘way down’
John Paul Tasker, CBC News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged provinces today to maintain strict public health measures until COVID-19 case counts are much lower than they are now — so that Canadians can enjoy a “one-dose summer.”
Speaking to reporters at a COVID-19 briefing, Trudeau said that with the steady supply of vaccines now streaming into the country, there will be enough shots to immunize every eligible Canadian with at least one dose by the end of June.
But vaccinations alone will not crush the third wave stretching the country’s health care system to its limits, he added.
Posthaste: The Big Tech rally is fading — is it time to cash in your chips?
Yadullah Hussein, Financial Post
Tech stocks around the world have been swooning lately after reaching giddy heights over the past year.
Chinese tech heavyweights Baidu Inc., Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. and Tencent Ltd., also known as BATs, fell more than 3 per cent each this morning, while Facebook Inc., Amazon, Netflix Inc. and Alphabet Inc. (Google), also known as FANG stocks, had collectively slumped 3.6 per cent on Monday; electric car maker Tesla Inc. had reversed 6.4 per cent yesterday.
The market is not off to a great start today either, with Nasdaq futures down 1 per cent this morning.
But analysts are cautioning against a mad dash for the exits, given the strong market fundamentals. The global 12-month forward earnings per share estimate has risen by almost 20 per cent over the past six months, which is the fastest pace since the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2010, according to Oxford Economics.
Niagara COVID status tracker (May 1)
Niagara’s most up-to-date COVID statistics, measured against the targets for the various stages of the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, are presented below. This does not predict government policy, but is offered to give you an idea of where Niagara is situated and how likely a relaxation (or further restrictions) may be. These data are the most recent published by Niagara Region. The Grey-Lockdown level does not have its own metrics, but is triggered when the COVID-specific measurements in a Red-Control region have continued to deteriorate.
The Province of Ontario is currently under a stay-at-home order. The COVID-19 Response Framework does not apply during this order. Click here to review the restrictions currently in place.
▲: Metric has increased since last published measurement
▼: Metric has decreased since last published measurement
— : Metric has not changed since last published measurement
| December 18 | December 25 | January 1 | January 8 | January 15 | January 22 | January 29 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive number | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| New cases per 100,000 | 101.2 | 267.3 | 469.8 | 575.8 | 507.1 | 295.5 | 250.6 |
| New cases per day (not including outbreaks) | 60.7 | 178.7 | 311.7 | 376.9 | 325.4 | 182.7 | 145.7 |
| Percent of hospital beds occupied | 97% | 95.2% | 98.2% | 103.2% | 104.5% | 103.6% | 106% |
| Percent of intensive care beds occupied | 78.8% | 77.3% | 87.9% | 87.9% | 90.9% | 89.4% | 93.9% |
| Percentage of positive tests | 6.1% | 15.6% | 28.1% | 28.6% | 26.6% | 21.2% | 16.2% |
Definitions:
- Weekly Incidence Rate: the number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per week
- Percent Positivity: the number of positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed
- Rt: the reproductive rate, or the number of people infected by each case of the virus
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker (May 11)
Niagara’s most up-to-date vaccination numbers are presented below, along with comparison data from Ontario, Canada, and G7 countries.
Total doses administered in Niagara: 205,640
Total doses administered in Niagara since yesterday: 3,357
| Percentage of population with one dose | Percentage of population fully vaccinated | |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara | 82.7% | 78.2% |
| Ontario | 84.6% | 79.1% |
| Canada | 84.7% | 78.6% |
| United States | 75% | 64% |
| United Kingdom | 78% | 72% |
| Germany | 76% | 74% |
| France | 80% | 77% |
| Italy | 83% | 76% |
| Japan | 80% | 79% |
| World | 63% | 53% |
Data are drawn from Niagara Region, the Government of Ontario, and Oxford University’s Our World in Data project.
