In this edition:
Ontario launches new website for businesses to cut red tape
Ontario Energy Board report finds ultra-low overnight electricity rate could save consumers
St. Catharines City Council recommends Mike Britton serve on Niagara Council
FAO: Ontario on track to balance budget by 2023-24
Statistics Canada: wealthiest 10% of property owners hold 25% of Canadian housing value
Ontario launches new website for businesses to cut red tape
The Ontario government has launched its new Ontario.ca/business website, one of the initiatives being implemented as part of the Fewer Fees, Better Services Act.
This new resource is the first step towards creating a single window for business that will reduce administrative burdens and make it easier for Ontario business owners and entrepreneurs to access the information and services they need to get up-and-running, create jobs, and grow their business.
Access the website at Ontario.ca/business.
New Ontario Energy Board report finds ultra-low overnight electricity rate could save consumers $90 per year
This report released today is the result of a request from Minister Smith, who asked the OEB to provide him with options to implement the new ultra-low overnight price plan. The OEB has proposed a new electricity pricing structure that would be presented as a third option to electricity customers, in addition to the existing TOU and Tiered plans.
If the proposed price plan was in place today, the OEB estimated that it could offer a new ultra-low overnight rate of approximately 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is 70 per cent lower than the current off-peak rate, in exchange for a higher on-peak rate. This would help consumers who use more electricity at night, such as EV users, find savings of up to five per cent on their bills, equivalent to savings of up to $90 per year.
How this would affect commercial and industrial rates was not discussed in the media release.
St. Catharines City Council recommends Mike Britton serve on Niagara Council
St. Catharines City Council has recommended Mike Britton fill the Niagara Region Council seat left empty after George Darte’s resignation. At last night’s meeting, councillors voted 9-1 to recommend Britton fill the seat as he was the next place finisher in the 2018 election. Britton is a former city councillor, and is a self-proclaimed ‘community advocate’.
Regional Council will have to approve the recommendation.
FAO: Ontario on track to balance budget by 2023-24
The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO), the province’s independent financial watchdog, has reported today that after posting a $16.4 billion deficit for 2020-21, the FAO expects an $8.7 billion budget deficit in 2021-22, reflecting a pickup in revenue growth combined with slow program spending growth, due to a decline in temporary COVID-19-related spending.
With strong revenue growth exceeding increases in program spending over the outlook, the FAO projects that under current policies, the Province will balance the budget by 2023-24 and run a $7.1 billion surplus by 2026-27.
Statistics Canada: wealthiest 10% of property owners hold 25% of Canadian housing value
New data from the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) show the extent of inequalities in housing: multiple-property owners possess nearly one-third of all residential properties and the top 10% wealthiest owners account for around one-quarter of residential housing value. Despite these inequalities, new data show an increase in the number of first-time home buyers from 2018 to 2019.
Reading Recommendations
Canada plans to double homebuilding in decade, but where are the workers?
Reuters
Canada has an ambitious plan to double the pace of homebuilding within a decade but the first big challenge is finding enough skilled workers, as the country grapples with the tightest labor market on record and with construction already at a multi-year high.
Building more homes is a key peg of the C$9.5 billion ($7.5 billion) in housing spending outlined by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in their budget on Thursday.
The average selling price of a Canadian home has surged more than 50% in the last two years, driven by record low interest rates and tight supply. Construction has failed to keep pace with immigration-driven population growth.
But the plan to build hundreds of thousands of new homes runs counter the reality that home building is generally the purview of municipal and provincial governments, leaving the federal government little role beyond handing out money.
Update on Ukraine
Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt, says S&P
CTV News
Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt because it offered bondholders payments in rubles, not dollars, credit ratings agency S&P has said.
Russia attempted to pay in rubles for two dollar-denominated bonds that matured on April 4, S&P said in a note on Friday. The agency said this amounted to a “selective default” because investors are unlikely to be able to convert the rubles into “dollars equivalent to the originally due amounts.”
According to S&P, a selective default is declared when an entity has defaulted on a specific obligation but not its entire debt.
Moscow has a grace period of 30 days from April 4 to make the payments of capital and interest, but S&P said it does not expect it will convert them into dollars given Western sanctions that undermine its “willingness and technical abilities to honour the terms and conditions” of its obligations.
A full foreign currency default would be Russia’s first in more than a century, when Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin repudiated bonds issued by the Tsarist government.
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.
