Free rapid COVID-19 testing kits are now available to businesses

Visit gncc.ca/workplace-self-screening-kits to learn more and reserve kits for your organization.

Second COVID-19 vaccine doses accelerated for all adult Ontarians

With more than 76 per cent of Ontarian adults having received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and over 30 per cent fully immunized, Ontario is accelerating second dose eligibility to all individuals aged 18 and over across the province.

Starting Monday, June 28, 2021 at 8:00 a.m., all Ontarians aged 18 and over who received their first dose of an mRNA vaccine will be eligible to book an appointment to receive their second ahead of schedule. This will accelerate second dose eligibility for approximately 1.5 million Ontarians.

New Niagara COVID-19 vaccination appointments available

• June 29-30 – Port Colborne, Vale Health and Wellness Centre
• July 1-10 – Pelham, Meridian Community Centre
• July 8-13 – Niagara Falls, MacBain Community Centre

Eligible residents can book an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination either online through the provincial portal at Ontario.ca/bookvaccine or by calling the provincial booking system at 1-833-943-3900.

Ontario appoints task force on women and the economy

The Ontario government is creating a Task Force on Women and the Economy. The new task force has been convened to fulfill a commitment in the 2021 Budget – Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy to establish a task force on inclusive economic growth that will seek to address the unique and disproportionate economic barriers women face, particularly in an economy that will look different after COVID‐19.

The Task Force will be chaired by Dr. Karin Schnarr, Associate Professor of Policy & Law at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University. The Task Force will meet throughout the summer of 2021 and consider three areas of focus relating to women’s participation in economic growth:

• supporting women as they enter and re-enter the workforce;
• supporting women’s entrepreneurship; and
• removing barriers for women to enter fields in which they are underrepresented, including the skilled trades and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Niagara Regional Council adopts Niagara’s first Community Safety and Well-Being Plan

Approved by Regional Council at its June 24 meeting, Niagara’s first ever Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Plan aims to strengthen how Niagara’s governments, police service and agencies work together on important safety and well-being issues in our community, and provides a framework to address emerging issues through ongoing engagement and collaboration.

The Plan identifies opportunities for action, alignment and monitoring in four areas of focus: mental health and addictions, housing and homelessness, poverty and income and systemic discrimination.

Government of Canada announces new Natural Infrastructure Fund

Today, the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities was joined by John Tory, Mayor of Toronto, to announce a new, $200 million Natural Infrastructure Fund. Under this new program, the first of its kind at the federal level, up to $120 million will be invested in large natural infrastructure projects. The new program will support projects that use natural or hybrid approaches to protect the natural environment, support healthy and resilient communities, contribute to economic growth, and improve access to nature for Canadians.

Government of Ontario to invest $7 million in training for automotive manufacturing sector

The Ontario government is investing $7 million to deliver training and paid job placements in the automotive manufacturing sector for up to 800 people from underrepresented groups. The project will be led by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA).

Starting this month, APMA is working with community agencies and employment service providers to place up to 100 trainees per month with hundreds of auto parts manufacturers across Ontario, most of which are small and medium-sized businesses, and APMA members. Trainees will participate in paid job placement sessions that last a minimum of three months. Participating employers will receive up to $8,000 in supports per trainee, of which a maximum of $3,000 can be used as a wage subsidy and $5,000 to cover costs related to training.

Government of Canada moves to increase transparency in Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program

Today, The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities announced another step in the Government of Canada’s commitment to “Open, Transparent and Accountable Government,” reflecting a mandate commitment to ensure that Canadians have access to accurate and timely information about infrastructure investments in their communities. Starting June 25, Infrastructure Canada will publish on its website the project funding applications it receives from provinces and territories (PT) under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. Information is updated on a weekly basis when project lists are received from PTs.

Childcare employment fell by seven times national average during pandemic

With provincially and territorially mandated lockdowns and restrictions on child care services imposed throughout the pandemic, child care workers experienced a 21% drop in employment from February 2020 to February 2021. This compares with a 3% decline in overall employment.

A new study released today, “Child care workers in Canada,” presents an overview of the personal and job characteristics of child care workers in Canada and how these characteristics may have changed over time.

The study shows that nearly 302,000 people were employed as child care workers in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The vast majority of them were women, accounting for 96% of early childhood educators and assistants, as well as home child care providers. It also found that child care workers were younger than the average worker in Canada, were overrepresented among immigrant workers and were more likely to be self-employed. In addition, the study found that they earned, on average, less than half the income of other workers.

Reading Recommendations

Unchecked circulation of coronavirus could lead to more variants, WHO’s Tedros says

CBC News

The head of the World Health Organization said the COVID-19 variant first seen in India, also known as the delta variant, is “the most transmissible of the variants identified so far” and that it is now spreading in at least 85 countries.

At a news briefing on Friday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN agency is concerned about the increasing reach of the delta variant, particularly among unvaccinated populations.

“We are starting to see increases in transmission around the world,” Tedros said, adding that “more cases means more hospitalizations … which increases the risk of death.”

WHO has previously said that two doses of the licensed COVID-19 vaccines appear to provide strong protection against the variant first seen in India, but warned the lack of access to vaccines in poor countries — which have received fewer than two per cent of the billion doses administered so far — makes them extremely vulnerable.

Featured Content

Niagara Workforce Planning Board Sector Specific Job Demand Quarterly Report

Niagara Workforce Planning Board

To support Niagara’s businesses and job seekers through COVID-19, NWPB created a new tool to shed light on Niagara’s in-demand jobs, the skills employers prioritize in their job postings, and the level of education typically required for advertised jobs. This tool provides a monthly snapshot, and can be accessed through this link.

When we take a longer view of Niagara’s job demand, we see that the first quarter of 2021 reported an increase in job demand, with a particular emphasis on sales and service occupations. We also saw an increase in demand for jobs in the retail sector and the accommodations and food services sector. These data likely reflect hiring for Niagara’s typical summer economy, albeit an adjusted summer economy with a greater focus on food service over accommodations given the current provincial re-opening plan.

For more insights, please see our quarterly report which covers trends between January and March, and our project page for current and industry-specific job demand profiles.

In addition to these resources, NWPB has a variety of job search tools which are available at our website, www.nwpb.ca