Niagara Health to open new vaccination clinic in January
The President and the Chief of Staff of Niagara Health, in a joint statement issued today, announced the opening of a new public vaccination clinic in early January at a scale that would not impair their delivery of hospital services, in response to “potentially extreme pressures” on the provincial healthcare system. All hospitals have been asked by the province to prepare to pause scheduled surgeries and other scheduled activity until after the holiday season.
Niagara Health is also expanding hours at their Niagara Falls and St. Catharines Assessment Centres over the holiday season.
Healthcare officials noted that while this was not where we expected to be at this point in the pandemic, the professionals in our healthcare system have done this work before and will do it again, with the help of the Niagara community.
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GO-VAXX bus vaccination clinic to visit Brock on January 10
As part of ongoing efforts to get as many people as possible vaccinated with two full doses and a booster shot, the Ontario government is offering several walk-in opportunities over the coming weeks, including a GO-VAXX bus vaccine clinic at Brock University.
The fully accessible GO-VAXX bus will be on campus (location to be determined) on Monday, Jan. 10 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Vaccines, including boosters, will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. They do not offer appointments. Students, faculty, staff and anyone from the wider community are welcome.
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Third federal payment to dairy farmers now available
Today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced that the third payment under the Dairy Direct Payment Program (DDPP) is now available to producers. The owner of a farm with 80 dairy cows will be awarded compensation in the form of a direct payment of approximately $38,000 each year.
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Government of Canada will provide record $87.6 billion in transfer payments
Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, announced the Government of Canada will provide a record $87.6 billion in major transfer funding for provinces and territories in 2022-23. This represents an increase of over $3.7 billion from 2021-22. All provinces and territories will receive a year-over-year increase in total major transfer amounts.
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Canada receives over 1 million doses of pediatric vaccines
Yesterday, a shipment of 1.136 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty COVID-19 pediatric vaccine arrived in Canada, meaning that children aged 5 to 11 in Canada will be able to receive their second dose as soon as they are eligible. The Government of Canada will be working closely with provinces to distribute doses as quickly as possible.
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Car dealer sales rebound leads retail growth in October
Retail sales were up 1.6% to $57.6 billion in October. The increase was led by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers (+2.2%), as new car dealer sales (+2.8%) rebounded.
Sales increased in 7 of 11 subsectors, representing 59.9% of retail trade.
Core retail sales—which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers—increased 1.5%.
In volume terms, retail sales were up 0.9% in October.
Given the rapidly evolving economic situation, Statistics Canada is providing an advance estimate of retail sales, which suggests that sales increased 1.2% in November. Owing to its early nature, this figure will be revised.
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Reading Recommendations
Canada to challenge U.S. softwood lumber duties under trade deal, minister says
Reuters
The Canadian government on Tuesday launched a challenge against American duties on Canadian softwood lumber under the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal, Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng said in a statement.
The softwood lumber industry is a key component of Canada’s forestry sector, which contributed more than $25 billion, about 1.5%, to the nation’s gross domestic product in 2020 and employed nearly 185,000 workers.
The U.S. Department of Commerce nearly doubled its duties on imported Canadian softwood lumber to 17.9% in November after a review of its anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders regarding certain softwood lumber products from Canada.
New restrictions brought in as Omicron variant fuels COVID-19’s 5th wave
CBC News
Quebec on Tuesday reported yet another single-day high, with more than 5,000 new cases of COVID-19. The update came as the City of Montreal declared a local state of emergency in the face of quickly rising case numbers.
Prince Edward Island ramped up restrictions on Tuesday, including a quarantine requirement for people coming onto the island.
Health officials in several provinces and territories — Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia — are expected to hold COVID-19 briefings Tuesday.
Other parts of the country also experienced a surge in new cases unseen since before the summer as the Omicron variant, identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a potential concern only last month, has become increasingly prevalent in Canada.
Niagara COVID-19 statistics tracker
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker
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.
For information on rapid testing kits for individuals, click here.
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Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
