In this edition:
Government of Ontario introduces More Homes for Everyone Act
Niagara Falls issues call for positive environmental product vendors
National tourism spending up in Q4 2021
Ontario introduces A Plan to Stay Open
Government of Ontario introduces More Homes for Everyone Act
The More Homes for Everyone Act outlines the next suite of actions the province is taking in an attempt to address Ontario’s housing crisis. This plan, built on recommendations from the Housing Affordability Task Force and the first-ever Provincial-Municipal Housing Summit, aims to deliver both near-term solutions and long-term commitments to provide more attainable housing options for Ontario families.
More Homes for Everyone will, if passed:
- Increase the non-resident speculation tax rate to 20 per cent and expand the tax beyond the Greater Golden Horseshoe to apply provincewide.
- Work with municipalities to identify measures that will crack down on land speculation in response to feedback the province solicited from municipalities regarding projects that are approved by the municipality, but unbuilt by the developer.
- Double fines and extend building license suspensions for developers, and enable Tarion to extend warranties on unfinished items in a new home.
- Offer municipalities resources, tools and standards to provide timely review and adjudication processes by both extending legislated timelines for decisions while focusing the decision-making process.
- Create a Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator to help municipalities expedite approvals for housing and community infrastructure, like hospitals and community centres, with clear requirements for both consultation and public notice. The tool will not apply in the Greenbelt.
- Invest over $19 million to help the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) and the Landlord and Tenant Board to reduce their backlogs.
- Conduct consultation on the concept of a multi-generational community, which will begin the process of implementing “missing middle” housing policies that will work to implement gentle density and multi-generational homes on the ground across different types of municipalities.
- Make better use of provincially-owned lands for non-profit housing providers.
Ontario commits to a housing supply action plan every year over four years, starting in 2022-23, with policies and tools that support implementing the recommendations from the housing affordability Task Force’s report.
Niagara Falls issues call for positive environmental product vendors
Mother Earth Day, a new event celebrating the environment, will take place Saturday, June 11, 2022, between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Firemen’s Park. The event, presented by PenFinancial Credit Union, is being organized and hosted by Park in the City Committee, in partnership with the Stamford Centre Volunteer Firemen’s Association. Planned activities will enable residents to interact with demonstrators and vendors throughout the day. Entry will be free and open to the public to attend and participate.
The Park in the City Committee is currently accepting retail vendors, specifically those that focus on positive environmental products or services. Businesses interested in becoming a vendor can submit an application here by Friday, April 15, 2022.
For more information, please visit niagarafalls.ca/motherearthday.
National tourism spending up in Q4 2021
Tourism spending in Canada increased 8.7% in the fourth quarter, following a 29.3% rise in the third quarter. Annually, tourism spending rose 4.4% in 2021 after a 49.0% decline in 2020. Tourism gross domestic product (GDP) rose 11.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021 and was up 5.0% annually.
Growth in tourism spending in the fourth quarter was partly attributable to increased outlays in passenger air transport (+27.5%). This reflects the easing of travel requirements seen up until December 21st. Increased spending in accommodation services (+12.3%) further contributed to the quarterly rise. Tourism spending was 64.4% of what it was in the fourth quarter of 2019, prior to the pandemic.
Ontario introduces A Plan to Stay Open
Ontario is introducing A Plan to Stay Open, which includes legislation that, if passed, will expand on policies and measures already in place to build a stronger, more resilient health care system that is better able to respond to crisis.
The cornerstone of the province’s Plan to Stay Open are innovative measures to recruit more doctors, nurses and personal support workers to the province’s health system. The Plan includes measures such as:
- Offering tuition reimbursement for nurses who practice in underserved communities
- Reduce barriers for foreign-credentialed healthcare workers
- Make the temporary wage enhancement for personal support (PSWs) and direct support workers (DSWs) permanent
- Add 160 undergraduate seats and 295 postgraduate positions for medical schools
- Add 3,000 new hospital beds over 10 years
Reading Recommendations
Ford government unveils plans to fix soaring Ontario housing prices — but not everything’s on the table
CBC News
Premier Doug Ford’s government is unveiling the first phase of its plan to deal with the skyrocketing cost of buying a home in Ontario.
The government has tabled a bill that, in part, takes aim at delays within planning at the municipal level, suggesting the approval process in place slows down home construction and drives up prices.
Steve Clark, municipal affairs and housing minister, told reporters after the legislation was tabled Wednesday that he is confident this bill will create more housing, faster.
“While housing starts have hit record levels over the past two years, long, drawn out processes are delaying housing, and pushing the dream of home ownership out of reach for too many Ontarians,” Clark said at a news conference.
The province first revealed the details of its plans in a dense, 42-page document during a technical briefing with reporters Wednesday afternoon.
Sixth wave was ‘guaranteed’ after mask mandates dropped, experts say
CTV News
As officials in Ontario and Quebec report the provinces have entered a sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, some experts say the rise in infections was inevitable as health authorities removed restrictions, such as mask mandates and proof of vaccination requirements, amid the emergence of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.
Dr. Kashif Pirzada, an emergency physician in Toronto, told CTV News Channel on Wednesday that decreased public health vigilance cleared a path for BA.2 to drive up infections and hospitalizations.
“I think it was pretty predictable that when they dropped the mask mandates it pretty much guaranteed that this would happen,” said Pirzada, adding that the sudden rise in hospitalizations in Ontario is “alarming.”
Update on Ukraine
Putin ‘feels misled by Russian military’ and has lost trust in top brass
The Telegraph
Vladimir Putin feels “misled by the Russian military” and has lost faith in his top officials, a western intelligence chief has revealed.
The Russian president is being misinformed about how poorly the military campaign is progressing in Ukraine because his advisors “are too afraid to tell him the truth,” a US official has said.
New declassified intelligence, first reported by CNN, found that Putin “didn’t even know his military was using and losing conscripts…showing a clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information.”
“We have information that Putin felt misled by the Russian military. There is now persistent tension between Putin and the MOD, stemming from Putin’s mistrust in MOD leadership,” the US official said.
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.
