Canada and Ontario invest $4.4 million in Niagara recreation infrastructure projects
The Government of Canada is investing over $2.4 million in four recreational infrastructure projects through the Community, Culture, and Recreation Stream of the Investing in Canada plan. The Government of Ontario is providing more than $2 million, while recipients are investing more than $1.6 million in their respective projects.
Among the projects announced are upgrades to the existing tennis courts and playground at Bogart Street Park in St. Catharines, the rehabilitation of the Marlene Stewart Streit Park in Pelham, renovations to the Wainfleet Community Complex, and the the Play Space Resurfacing Project in the Town of Lincoln.
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Ontario provides free training to Niagara youth for information technology jobs
he Ontario government is investing over $2 million to provide over 90 youth in the Niagara Region with free, paid training for high-demand information technology (IT) jobs. Participants will get practical experience by assisting local businesses with their technology-based needs to help them recover by expanding online.
The Town of Lincoln is partnering with the non-profit training organization Civiconnect, at a Youth Skills Studio in Beamsville, Ont., to offer at least 90 Niagara-area youth ages 15-29 with 15 weeks of in-class and on-the-job learning. Technical skills taught include IT marketing, web development and systems administration as well as soft job skills such as communication, decision-making and teamwork.
Interested candidates from the Niagara Region can apply for the training by contacting Civiconnect at Info@civiconnect.ca
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Food and beverage processor support projects receive $6 million in provincial and federal funding
The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $6 million in projects to help Ontario food and beverage processors improve their operations, increase their competitive edge and adapt to challenges.
Some examples of projects eligible for support under the first phase of applications for food and beverage processors include:
- implementing new technology to improve food safety
- developing new products to increase sales
- improving animal health through preventing the introduction and spread of disease throughout an operation
Click here for more information.
Statistics Canada sketches profile of work-from-home employees
From April 2020 to June 2021, 30% of employees aged 15 to 64 who worked during the Labour Force Survey (LFS) reference week had performed most of their hours from home. In contrast, about 4% of employees did so in 2016.
As expected, the propensity to work from home varied substantially across industries. Roughly 7 in 10 individuals in the finance and insurance and professional, scientific and technical services sectors worked from home from April 2020 to June 2021. At the other end of the spectrum, 5% of workers in accommodation and food services performed their jobs from home during that period.
In many industries, employees in large firms—those with 500 employees or more—were more likely to work from home than those in small firms (those with fewer than 20 employees).
Virtually all self-employed workers who could work from home did so.
Click here to read the report.
Total value of Canadian building permits rose to $10.3 billion in June
The total value of building permits rose 6.9% to $10.3 billion in June. Seven provinces contributed to the gain, led by Ontario, which jumped 22.7%. Construction intentions in the residential sector were up 9.1%, while the non-residential sector advanced 2.2%.
On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), building permits increased 5.2% to $7.2 billion.
High-value permits for new apartment buildings in the census metropolitan areas (CMA) of Toronto and Hamilton helped push multi-family permits up 13.5% to $3.7 billion nationally in June. Provincially, Ontario led the way, rebounding 67.8% to $1.8 billion.
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Niagara Medical Officer of Health offers COVID-19 briefing
Quebec becomes latest province to sign affordable childcare agreement
The governments of Quebec and Canada have announced an asymmetric agreement for the federal transfer of nearly $6 billion over five years. The agreement follows the Government of Canada’s plan announced in the last federal budget to provide parents across Canada with early learning and child care spaces for an average of $10 a day for children under the age of six.
The announcement follows similar agreements with Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia.
Click here for more information.
Reading Recommendations
Canada unexpectedly posts huge trade surplus in June, biggest since 2008
Reuters
Canada unexpectedly posted a trade surplus of C$3.23 billion ($2.58 billion) in June, the largest in almost 13 years, as exports jumped on higher shipments of oil and autos, Statistics Canada data indicated on Thursday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a trade deficit of C$0.68 billion in June. The surplus was the largest since the C$3.45 billion recorded in September 2008.
Quebec to implement vaccine passport system
CBC News
Quebec will implement a vaccine passport system in the coming weeks, Premier François Legault announced today.
Details of the system will be released soon, Legault said. But he said the rising case numbers in Quebec and the prospect of more hospitalizations and deaths have made the vaccine passport system necessary.
The system will allow the province to avoid the widespread closures that have marked its pandemic response to date, he said.
PM says he’s considering making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for federal workers
CTV News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that he’s considering whether to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for federal employees.
Speaking alongside Quebec Premier Francois Legault, who announced his province would be instituting a vaccine passport amid concerns over rising case counts, the prime minister said he’s also looking at whether new requirements to either require or encourage vaccination would be necessary in federal workplaces or in federally-regulated industries such as banking, rail and air travel, and Parliament.
Niagara COVID-19 statistics tracker
These data show the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Niagara. The Province of Ontario is now using a provincewide approach to reopening, and these data no longer have any influence on Niagara’s restrictions. Lower numbers are better in all metrics.
| 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% |
Last updated: July 31, 2021
There are currently 0 patients admitted to Niagara Health with COVID-19. There are currently 0 patients with COVID-19 in a Niagara Health Intensive Care Unit.
Data are drawn from Niagara Region Public Health and Niagara Health.
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker
Niagara’s most up-to-date vaccination numbers are presented below, along with comparison data from Ontario, Canada, and G7 countries.
| 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% |
Total doses administered in Niagara: 629,374
New daily doses administered to Niagara residents: 1,603
Last updated: August 5, 2021
Data are drawn from Niagara Region, the Government of Ontario, and Oxford University’s Our World in Data project.
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.
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here. The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.
