Distilled Knowledge: Niagara College Teaching Distillery Unveils First Product

School spirit is so strong at Niagara College, you can now find it in a bottle. On January 16, the College’s Teaching Distillery made history by releasing its inaugural product: Eau-de-vie de Fruits, Fruit Spirit.

“It’s a historic day for us we release Canada’s first student-made distilled product,” said Steve Gill, general manager of NC‘s learning enterprises. ”As the first product from our Teaching Distillery, Fruit Spirit rounds out our portfolio of wine, cider, beer and spirits at Niagara College’s learning enterprises.”

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Leaving Cash Behind: Why One Hamilton Company Thinks the Future is Bartering

John Porter once felt like a man trying to sell the world’s first fax machine. He strode into Terence Webster Design in Ancaster over two decades ago with a singular idea: pitching a kind of formalized bartering economy, with a network of businesses that would trade goods and services instead of using cash.

Fast forward 22 years, and he has achieved this idea. Porter is the president and CEO of BarterPay, a Hamilton-based business-to-business bartering system that has expanded throughout Canada, now with close to 4,000 businesses on board in 18 different cities including the Niagara Region.

Read more from the CBC

Do You Know Your Healthcare Options in Niagara?

Niagara Health’s Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centres are busy over the winter months. There are many other options for healthcare in Niagara. Understanding your medical options will help you get the right care as quickly as possible.

In non-emergency situations, your first option should be your family doctor or nurse practitioner. Urgent care clinics treat abdominal pain, cuts that may need stitches, sprains, minor asthma attacks, and so on. The specialized emergency department teams treat patients who call 9-1-1 and arrive by ambulance. Knowing your options will help reduce wait times and improve service for everyone.

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CAA Niagara Moving Welland Location to Seaway Mall

CAA Niagara is tuning up its presence in Welland by closing its current location and moving into Seaway Mall. The branch that has been at Niagara Street and Thorold Road for the past 21 years will close Feb. 28 before moving into the mall on March 4.

One of five branches in Niagara, the new location will be the first retail location open seven days a week. There are 133,000 cardholders with CAA Niagara, equating to 44 per cent of the region’s households being registered with the club.

Read more in the Welland Tribune

Big Brothers Big Sisters Set to Strike it Big

The annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake campaign supporting Niagara’s Big Brothers Big Sisters is quickly approaching. A goal of $175,000 was announced at a regional launch on January 15 at the Parkway Social in St. Catharines.

The Bowl for Kids’ Sake campaign, sponsored by Tim Hortons, is the non-profit’s signature fundraising event, providing funds for the major differences BBBS makes in young people’s lives.

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Skills Shortage Hits Construction Industry

Despite Niagara’s 6.9 per cent unemployment rate, finding workers to fill those positions has posed a challenge for local construction companies. Industry types blame the current skilled trades shortage on changes made to the high school curriculum in the 1990s.

Roy Timms, who owns Timbro Design Build in Welland, recalled taking carpentry and a machine shop programs when he attended high school. “But way back decades ago they drastically reduced high school (trade) programs, and now we’re paying the price for it,” he said.

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Regional Chair Jim Bradley Hopes for Open Minds During Niagara Governance Review

Niagara Region Chair Jim Bradley says he is ready to work with the province as it reviews Niagara’s governance this spring. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark announced on January 15 that Niagara will be part of a provincial review of all eight of Ontario’s regional municipalities that will look for ways to find efficiencies, enhance services and cut costs.

Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce government relations policy director Hugo Chesshire said if the review does ultimately lead to amalgamations of Niagara municipalities, he said “it’s important that we take our time to do it right.”

Read more in the St. Catharines Standard

City of Niagara Falls Report Calls for Greater Local Pot Control

Niagara Falls city staff recommends council send a resolution to the province requesting municipalities be given greater regulatory controls when it comes to the location, distance separations and number of retail cannabis stories within communities.

In a letter sent to Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, Mishka Balsom, president of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, said by opting in municipalities can “take control” of the market and assure “this trade is legal, regulated, safe, that it creates local jobs and local profits and that it becomes an economic driver for Niagara.”

Read more in the Niagara Falls Review

Niagara Workforce Planning Board Partners with Niagara Region Public Health on Improved Employer Survey

Each year in January the Niagara Workforce Planning Board delivers the Employer One survey, asking Niagara-based employers to set aside 10 minutes to offer their perspectives on hiring, retiring, and filling positions. This year, NWPB and Niagara Region Public Health have collaborated to add a new question module on workplace mental health to the survey.

“There’s no denying that the pace and nature of work is changing. These changes can have a direct effect on the mental health of the workforce,” said Mario De Divitiis, CEO, Niagara Workforce Planning Board.

Read more  or   Take the Survey

If you’re thinking of adding group benefits to your company, there are a lot of good reasons to put your Chamber membership to work for you. Not the least is exclusivity: only members have access to the Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan®.

To contact your local insurance rep, call Jim Garrett or Cindy Haines at 905-468-8575

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MEMBER 2 MEMBER SAVINGS PROGRAM

Many other Chamber of Commerce members feature discounts and special offers — tailored specifically for other GNCC members. Check out the full Member 2 Member database. If you’d like to add an offer for your company, sign in to your account. You can add and update your offer any time you wish.

BUSINESS SAVINGS PROGRAMS

The GNCC offers many business resources that are regionally, provincially or nationally endorsed – programs offered to Chamber Members through the OCC (Ontario Chamber of Commerce) or the CCC (Canadian Chamber of Commerce). Affinity programs include the Chamber Group Insurance, FedEx savings, Gales Gas discounts, Desjardins payroll service, Chase Paymentech and FirstData merchant services, etc. For more information click HERE.

If your organization is interested in partnering with the GNCC on an affinity program, please feel free to reach out to Mishka Balsom, CEO, at mishka@gncc.ca.

GNCC REFERRAL PROGRAM

From the beginning, the GNCC has grown because of your word-of-mouth support.

This Referral Program is our way of saying thanks.

Get your choice of a $25 Starbucks Gift Card for every new member you refer and who joins the Chamber -OR- $50 in GNCC Cash for every new member you refer and joins the Chamber towards GNCC ads, sponsorship or event tickets.

More program information HERE.