In this edition:

Canadian businesses send joint letter to elected representatives
Ontario declares state of emergency in response to convoy protests
Welland seeks community members for Affordable Housing Committee
Government of Canada extends support for audiovisual industry
Canada to make changes to COVID border restrictions next week

Canadian businesses send joint letter to elected representatives

Canadian businesses have suffered under the strain of constant disruptions over the last two years. The challenges they have had to overcome have included COVID-19, extreme weather events, increasing inflationary pressures, labour shortages and supply chain disruptions. Now achieving a successful recovery is threatened by the ongoing blockades of the critical infrastructure that enables the livelihoods and well-being of all Canadians.

The harm is both immediate and severe. Each hour that these blockades continue does more serious damage to our economy and to our society. Manufacturers that depend on just-in-time delivery have been forced to cancel shifts for thousands of workers, shipments of livestock and of fresh produce face serious delays or waste that threaten food security, and deliveries of products that are greatly needed by Canadian families are being cancelled. These curtailments will only grow in scope and impact if the blockades continue.

Canadians expect our elected representatives at all levels of government and from all political parties to set aside partisanship and jurisdictional squabbling to bring this issue to a quick resolution.

Our organizations call upon our elected representatives to expeditiously take the following actions.

• Deliver a strong and unified commitment from the Prime Minister, Premiers, Opposition Party Leaders, and Mayors that the rule of law will be upheld.
• Urgently enact measures to protect critical infrastructure to ensure further closures do not take place elsewhere in the country in the days ahead.
• Seek immediate injunctive measures through the courts to assert a clear message that lawlessness will not be tolerated.
• Ensure law enforcement agencies have all the necessary political support and appropriate tools needed to restore public order and remove any physical blockades that are not dismantled voluntarily.

The letter is signed by 175 business organizations from across the country, including the GNCC, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Port Colborne-Wainfleet Chamber of Commerce, and the Welland/Pelham Chamber of Commerce.

Click here to read the letter.

Ontario declares state of emergency in response to convoy protests

Ontario is declaring a state of emergency in response to convoy protests against public health measures meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, which have caused major disruptions in multiple areas of the province in recent weeks.

Premier Doug Ford made the announcement Friday morning while protest blockades continue to shut down parts of Ottawa’s city core and portions of Windsor’s Ambassador Bridge.

Meanwhile, more protests are expected at Queen’s Park in downtown Toronto, forcing police to close off several roads in the surrounding area.

At a press conference Friday, Ford said he will convene cabinet and “urgently enact orders that will make crystal clear it is illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure.

“This will include protecting international border crossings, 400-series highways, airports, ports, bridges and railways. It will also include protecting the safe and essential movement of ambulatory and medical services, public transit, municipal and provincial roadways, as well as pedestrian walkways,” Ford said.

“Fines for non-compliance will be severe, with a maximum penalty of $100,000 and up to a year imprisonment. We will also provide additional authority to consider taking away the personal and commercial licences of anyone who doesn’t comply with these orders.”

Click here to learn more.

Welland seeks community members for Affordable Housing Committee

Applications for the City of Welland’s newly created Affordable Housing Advisory Committee are now open and accepted until Thursday, March 31, no later than 4:30 p.m.

Seven volunteer positions are available – five will be ratepayers/residents with experience in affordable housing, and two members will be from the Welland Affordable Housing Task Force. Applicants must be a resident/ratepayer in the City of Welland to fill a vacancy on this committee.

Click here to learn more.

Government of Canada extends support for audiovisual industry

A second extension of the Short-Term Compensation Fund for Canadian audiovisual productions was announced today. The Ministry of Canadian Heritage still sees a pressing need for this program, especially as the public health situation continues to evolve.

That’s why Telefilm Canada will continue to provide as much as $150 million in compensation until 2023 to production companies whose filming has been interrupted or abandoned as a result of a COVID-19 diagnosis or outbreak.

The Fund is a temporary emergency measure to address the lack of insurance coverage in the Canadian film and television production industry. The Government will continue to help support a strong recovery for artists and producers in this important industry. The Fund will end on March 31, 2023, three years after the start of the pandemic.

Click here for more information and to apply.

Canada to make changes to COVID border restrictions next week

Canada is reviewing its pandemic-related border restrictions and will likely announce changes next week, as the worst of a Omicron variant-driven wave appears to have passed, Canada’s health minister said on Friday.

“With the worst of Omicron now behind us, our government is actively reviewing the measures in place at our borders and we should be able to communicate changes on this next week,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation earlier reported the federal government was close to removing mandatory COVID-19 PCR testing for fully vaccinated Canadians who travel outside Canada.

Click here to learn more.

Reading Recommendations

Blockades and the Economy: Where are Peace, Order and Good Government?

Canadian Chamber of Commerce/Policy Magazine

If “supply chain” was the economic term of the year for 2021, “blockade” is now on track to be the one that enters the public consciousness in 2022.

While we have become accustomed to frictions at the border that slow the movement of goods, the last few weeks have been a rude awakening. What started as a protest against vaccine mandates for truck drivers has evolved into a disparate group of dissidents who lack a single leader or even a single agenda, but instead reflect opposition to a range of COVID policies and to the current government.

At time of writing, things have escalated from the occupation of downtown Ottawa and a blockade at the Coutts border crossing in Alberta to the crossing at Emmerson, Manitoba and the closing of the Ambassador Bridge to traffic coming into Canada. The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest international crossing in North America; the major artery through which flows a quarter of Canada-US trade, with up to $400 million of goods passing each day, including $50 million in auto parts. We are seeing the real impacts of this with shift cancellations and shutdowns for our major automotive manufacturers and parts suppliers.

Unfortunately, the situation shows no signs of abating yet, to the detriment of Canadians’ livelihoods. With the blockades still ongoing and other points of entry able to partially absorb traffic, the precise costs will not be known for some time. The unprecedented nature of the current protests does not have an historical precedent for us to gauge the economic hit. The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated the economic impacts of the February 2020 rail disruptions to be $275 million. However, what is happening now feels qualitatively different and of a larger magnitude.

U.S. inflation rate soars to another 40-year high of 7.5%

CBC News

The U.S. inflation rate rose to the eye popping level of 7.5 per cent in January, its highest level since 1982.

The Bureau of Labour Statistics said in a release Thursday that the country’s consumer price index was 7.5 per cent higher in January than it was in the same month a year earlier.

The index rose by 0.6 per cent in January alone, just from December’s level.

Food, electricity, and shelter were the biggest factors driving up the cost of living. But even if volatile items like food and energy are stripped out, the index still rose by 6 per cent. The highest level for the so called core rate in 40 years.

Economists had been expecting the rate to rise to a new multi-decade high, but the 7.5 per cent figure was even higher than they were anticipating.