In this edition:
Ontario will raise minimum wage October 1st
Niagara Region launches Community Dashboard
Health Minister says Ontario will soon offer fourth doses to those 60+
Port Colborne to hold public meeting on increasing building permit fees
Ontario reports 1,091 people in hospital with COVID, up nearly 40 per cent in a week
Niagara College receives a $4.43M boost for applied research
Minister Jaczek to announce support for southern Ontario’s tourism industry tomorrow
Government of Canada introduces bill for sustainability of local news
Goodman School of Business holding digital marketing focus group for Niagara businesses and organizations
Ontario will raise minimum wage October 1st
The Government of Ontario will raise the general minimum wage to $15.50 per hour, starting October 1, 2022, representing an eight per cent increase over one year.
In January, Ontario raised the general minimum wage to $15 and removed the lower minimum wage for liquor servers. The government’s Working for Workers Act 2, if passed, would build on this action by expanding this minimum wage to digital platform workers for active hours worked.
The next increase this fall, which is tied to the Consumer Price Index, means that workers earning the general minimum wage and working 40 hours per week would see their annual pay rise by $1,768. Liquor servers who work 40 hours per week would see an annual raise of $5,512.
Niagara Region launches Community Dashboard
Niagara Region’s Community Dashboard uses key indicators to monitor and share important information about our community and Niagara Region’s programs and services. It tracks data over time, telling us what we’re doing well and where more focus and attention may be needed. The Dashboard groups approximately 90 indicators into four themes to give an overview of the community and Regional services. The dashboard is a hybrid that is broader than a typical organizational performance dashboard and includes data and information that is of community interest.
Health Minister says Ontario will soon offer fourth doses to those 60+
Ontario’s health minister says the province plans to soon make fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines available to residents aged 60 and older. Christine Elliott says the province will announce a plan tomorrow for expanding eligibility for fourth doses.
Fourth doses in Ontario are already available to long-term care and retirement home residents as well as those who are immunocompromised. The government’s plan comes as COVID-19 hospitalizations have been rising in Ontario _ the province reported 1,091 people in hospital with the virus today, nearly 40 per cent higher than a week ago.
Elliott says the rise in cases is no surprise and the province can manage it.
Port Colborne to hold public meeting on increasing building permit fees
The City of Port Colborne is proposing to adopt a new Building Permit Fee By-law following a review of the building permit fees under Section 7(b) of the Building Code Act.
The effect will be to increase the existing fee structure and introduce new fees. Information will be provided at the meeting on the estimated costs of enforcing and administering the Building Code Act, the amount of the proposed fee(s) and the rationale for changing (and/or imposing) fees.
A public meeting will be held on May 17.
Ontario reports 1,091 people in hospital with COVID, up nearly 40 per cent in a week
Ontario is reporting 1,091 people in hospital with COVID-19 today, nearly 40 per cent higher than a week ago. There were 790 people in hospital with COVID-19 last Tuesday. The province is also reporting 173 COVID-19 patients in intensive care today, compared with 165 a week ago.
There are six new COVID-19 deaths logged today, and three that the province says occurred more than a week ago have been added to the total count. Ontario is also reporting 1,991 new infections, though the province’s top doctor has said the number is likely 10 times higher since access to PCR tests is limited.
Niagara College receives a $4.43M boost for applied research
Niagara College researchers welcome the news of a $4.43-million investment from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
On April 5, NSERC’s College and Community Innovation (CCI) program announced three new Applied Research and Technology Partnership (ARTP) funding grants for NC. Funds included an ARTP grant to support a NC project in sustainable cannabis and hemp production research, as well as two multi-institutional ARTP grants for NC-led projects: to support craft breweries in Canada, and to expand the Southern Ontario Network for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation (SONAMI).
Minister Jaczek to announce support for southern Ontario’s tourism industry tomorrow
The Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), will make a significant announcement supporting tourism across southern Ontario tomorrow at 9 a.m. The Minister will be joined by Irek Kusmierczyk, Member of Parliament for Windsor–Tecumseh.
Government of Canada introduces bill for sustainability of local news
Today, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, introduced Bill C-18, the Online News Act, which would establish a new legislative and regulatory framework to ensure fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and for independent local news businesses, including rural and remote news organizations, by ensuring that news media and journalists receive fair compensation for their work.
More than 450 news outlets have closed since 2008. More than 60 of those closures have occurred in the last two years alone. Digital platforms and social media are now the gateways where people find, read and share news. Because of this, advertising revenues have shifted away from local news and journalists to these gatekeepers, who profit from the sharing and distribution of Canadian news content. In 2020, online advertising revenues in Canada reached $9.7 billion, with two companies taking in more than 80 percent of those revenues.
Goodman School of Business holding digital marketing focus group for Niagara businesses and organizations
A Goodman focus group aims to identify current needs and challenges that businesses/organizations in the Niagara Region have and encounter around digital marketing training.
Input at the group will provide important information for developing a Digital Marketing Certification (DMC) program that will help local communities to expand their businesses with an online presence and improve utilization of Internet and social media. The program will provide digital marketing training to existing and prospective employees. Learners will acquire knowledge and practical skills in digital marketing after completing the program and these newly trained employees will be able to help local businesses enhance their digital and online presence.
The meeting will be held virtually for 30 to 60 minutes. Participants can choose to attend at 12pm on Tuesday April 19, 2022, or 1pm on Thursday April 21, 2022.
As a token of appreciation, participants will receive a $30 Tim Hortons gift card.
Please sign up for this meeting by emailing Ms. Shuang Wang at sw18wh@brocku.ca. You will receive an MS Teams invite once registered.
Reading Recommendations
With her latest budget, Freeland faces pressure to do more — and a lot less
CBC News
In her first budget a year ago, Chrystia Freeland told Canadians that there was a risk of doing too little to secure the post-pandemic recovery.
As the finance minister prepares to deliver her second financial plan later this week, there’s every expectation that she will continue to spend.
Between the Liberals’ own election pledges — on housing, climate change and seniors — and commitments to pursue universal dental and drug care through the party’s supply and confidence deal with the New Democrats, the budget is expected to include billions of dollars in new spending.
All of it is affordable, Freeland argued last week in the House of Commons.
Update on Ukraine
More than 60% of Putin’s war chest frozen, [UK Foreign Secretary] Truss says
BBC
More than 60% of Putin’s war chest has been frozen by sanctions but more needs to be done, Liz Truss has said.
The foreign secretary said “crippling” sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back “into the Soviet era”.
More than $350bn (£266bn) of Russia’s $604bn foreign currency reserves are unavailable to the regime, she added.
Her call for more to be done comes amid condemnation after images of bodies in the streets of Bucha, near Kyiv, emerged after Russian troops withdrew.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned he believes the worst atrocities committed by Russian forces are yet to be discovered, but Russia has denied killing civilians – claiming, without evidence, that Ukraine has staged such scenes.
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.
