Former NHL Players help Hotel Dieu raise $266,000

Former Toronto Maple Leafs star Doug Gilmour joined fellow NHL alumni Rick Vaive, Mike Krushelnyski and Darcy Tucker on February 22, once again helping the Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre meet the needs of patients from throughout Niagara.

The former players took part in the Rankin Celebrity Ice Cup, helping the rehabilitation centre’s foundation set a new fundraising record for the event — netting more than $266,000. “It’s a great tournament. It’s my second time here and it’s a lot of fun,” Gilmore added.

Read more in the Niagara Falls Review

Idea Planted for Welland Pollinator Garden

Working with the City of Welland is a priority for Small Scale Farms’ Renee Delaney. Tuesday was her second time appearing before city council, asking it to work with her to help save bees and other pollinators.

The first she appeared it was to ask Welland to become a Bee City — part of continentwide movement to help save the bee population. St. Catharines and Niagara Falls are Bee Cities, but Welland council did not decide on whether to join the movement and Delaney came just a month before the municipal election..

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Niagara Jazz Festival Gets Spicy in its Sixth Year

Come for the jazz, stay for the Mardi Gras. When the TD Niagara Jazz Festival returns this July, it will have a taste of New Orleans. A new addition to the two-week event will be Niagara’s Summer Mardi Gras, featuring The Shuffle Demons, Turbo Street Funk and Heavyweights Brass Band.

It’s all part of expanding the festival’s reach, for people who might want more out of their jazz festival. “When we say we do a jazz festival, a lot of people go, ‘Ugh, jazz,’” says Juliet Dunn, who founded the festival with husband/pianist Peter Shea. “But if you say New Orleans, Mardi Gras, their eyes light up.”

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Niagara College Becomes Canada’s First College to Join Age-Friendly University Global Network

Niagara College has become the first college in Canada to be designated as a member of the Age-Friendly University (AFU) Global Network. Currently comprised of 44 post-secondary institutions from around the world, the global network is dedicated to the role higher education can play in responding to challenges and opportunities associated with an aging population.

“Niagara College is a strong advocate of lifelong learning and, as a pre-emptive college, we have been offering programs and services that support the needs of an aging population and welcoming more older and second career adults to our campuses,” said Niagara College President Dan Patterson.

Find out more

Hundreds Participate in Niagara Falls Coldest Night Fundraiser

Project Share exceeded its goal of raising $25,000 during the agency’s sixth annual Coldest Night of the Year walk on February 23. The event, which started at Saint Paul High School and featured about 200 participants, supported the homeless, hungry and hurting in Niagara Falls.

The local walk was one of more than 130 that took place across Canada to support various charities. Locally, money raised will help Project Share continue to provide emergency food to an average of 126 families a day who are living below the poverty line.

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Bowl for Kids Sake a Milestone for Changing Big Brothers Big Sisters Chapter

The crash of pins and the glow of neon lights set the scene for a coming-out party of sorts. The Tim Hortons Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake filled the bowling lanes at Parkway Social on February 23 as the local iteration of the signature fundraising campaign of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada rolled on.

St. Catharines, Thorold and District and Grimsby, Lincoln and West Lincoln agencies joined forces as one organization in September. This was the first time they worked together on the bowling event that serves to help fill coffers annually.

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Federal Committee Recommends Increased Use of St. Lawrence Seaway

A federal committee on transport, infrastructure and communities will recommend the Canadian government consider the creation of a mid-peninsula corridor, encourage increased use of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and utilize Welland Canal corridor lands to expand and create new economic development opportunities.

The recommendations came about after Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey tabled a report on Establishing a Canadian Transportation and Logistics Strategy in the House of Commons on February 21, a release from his office said.

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National Employment Policy Needed for Canada’s Immigrant Population

There is a major discrepancy between the expertise (and expectations) immigrants bring with them and how Canada positions itself to be able to absorb that expertise.

This is the overall understanding of several reports published over the last year that studied employment inequity in the labour market. These reports, focusing mainly on Ontario — still the most popular destination for new immigrants — show that immigrant populations are some of the most underemployed in Canada.

Read more from the Ottawa Citizen

Chambers Issue Call for Royal Commission on Taxation

Armed with a paper developed by the London Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian chamber — representing more than 200,000 businesses — has developed its most comprehensive policy position, calling on the federal government to strike a royal commission on tax reform.

The last time Canada undertook a comprehensive review of its tax system (the Carter Royal Commission in the 1960s), humans had not yet set foot on the moon and in the five decades since, repeated cutting and pasting has left Canadian taxation uncompetitive, cumbersome, inefficient and anything but modern.

Read more in the London Free Press

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.