St. Catharines Council supports consolidated regional transit
City of St. Catharines
With St. Catharines City Council’s approval, the pursuit of a single transit system serving all of Niagara took one step closer to completion Wednesday night.
On Dec. 8, 2021, Council voted in favour of an integrated regional transit model, continuing years of effort to establish one public transit system to serve all of Niagara’s 12 municipalities. The vote by Council to consolidate municipal transit systems into one regional entity follows a November vote by Niagara Region Council to begin consolidation efforts.
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Proven performance trumps cost in innovation adoption in Ontario’s agriculture sector, NCO research suggests
Brock University
When Ontario farmers consider introducing new technologies into their operations, there’s a laundry list of factors in addition to cost that go into determining whether they’re a fit.
Although the inclusion of innovation can be seen as a significant investment, cost is often outweighed by performance when results are proven and make sense for the operation in question, new research by Brock University’s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO) says.
The NCO’s latest policy brief, presented during a virtual event Wednesday, Dec. 8, examines the barriers and drivers to adoption of automation and robotics in Ontario’s agriculture sector. The research combines analysis of survey data from Ontario farms with that of in-depth interviews conducted with farmers and agriculture innovation stakeholders.
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Building construction investment increases after nearly six months of decline
Investment in building construction increased 1.6% to $17.8 billion in October, following five months of declines. Provincially, Quebec led the way, with growth of 3.5%. Investment in single family homes edged up 0.6% to $7.0 billion, with notable gains in Quebec and Alberta. Conversely, a decrease reported in Ontario (-2.2%) partially offset the growth observed in much of the country. Non-residential construction investment was up across all components in October, with an overall increase of 2.0% to $4.9 billion, the highest value since July 2020.
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Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee releases recommendations
Ontario Newsroom
The Ontario government is releasing 21 recommendations from the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee (OWRAC). The committee delivered their interim report in the summer, which has led to the passing of first-of-their-kind changes in Canada through the Working for Workers Act, 2021, including requiring most workplaces to have a right to disconnect policy, banning businesses from using non-compete agreements, and making it easier for internationally-trained individuals to practice in their professions.
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We’ll all be paying a lot more for food next year, says Canada’s Food Price Report
CBC News
Sky-high food prices were one of many negative impacts that Canadians felt during the pandemic-plagued year of 2021. And a new report suggests that problem is only going to get worse next year.
Canada’s Food Price Report, released today, is an annual report published by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph that’s the most comprehensive set of data currently available about a subject that all Canadians are impacted by: food.
Canada fourth out of 195 countries in preparedness for next pandemic: GHS Index
CTV News
The Global Health Security (GHS) Index painted a grim picture in its 2021 report on the world’s preparedness for the next pandemic, with not a single country scoring in its top tier.
The GHS Index measures preparedness for health emergencies and issues, and is compiled by the Nuclear Threat Initiative and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Canada scored fourth out of 195 countries, behind the U.S., Australia and Finland, with an overall rank of 69.8 on the index score, up 2.2 points from 2019, the GHS Index shows.
Niagara COVID-19 statistics tracker
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker
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