In this edition:
GNCC releases 2022 provincial election platform
Provincial grant supports NC, NHBA efforts for skilled trades
Province bringing two-way, all-day GO service to Greater Golden Horseshoe
Ontario to allow new home sales tactic to change bidding process
IMF downgrades outlook for global economy to 3.6% this year
Canada’s hot housing streak cools as prices, sales fall in March
GNCC releases 2022 provincial election platform
The 2022 provincial election finds us in a transitionary phase, as we move out from two years of pandemic and set our sights on recovery and growth. There are still many economic issues facing our province, but there are also opportunities to seize, and many reasons to be optimistic about our future.
Problems such as a lack of daycare and a lack of housing are reducing our potential for growth. Many industries are still suffering from the effects of the pandemic. It is clear that the next Government of Ontario will have to help many businesses if it is to save jobs and commerce.
The next government will also have opportunities to shape the province in the way that we want. Solving many of our problems will require the cooperation of different levels of government, and we can build mechanisms for cooperation that will benefit us for generations to come.
On behalf of Niagara’s business community, the GNCC is pleased to offer these policy suggestions to candidates for the provincial election of 2022. We hope that they will prove a useful tool to those elected as they seek to build prosperity for our region and our province, and we are ready and willing to assist in those efforts.
Click here to read the full platform.
Provincial grant supports Niagara College & Homebuilders Association efforts to meet demand for skilled trades
On April 19, the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, Monte McNaughton, visited Niagara College’s Welland Campus and announced a $1.2-million Skills Development Fund (SDF) grant for a partnership between the Niagara Home Builders’ Association (NHBA) and Niagara College to help meet the demand for skilled trades workers in the residential construction industry.
With Ontario projected to build 1.5 million homes in the next 10 years, the NHBA and Niagara College are working together to help close the skills gap in the construction industry and the trades.
The provincial SDF funding will support the delivery of a customized Construction Skills training program – hands-on instruction through NC’s School of Trades followed by an eight-week paid work placement – to individuals who have been unable to pursue a career in the trades due to financial or other barriers.
Province bringing two-way, all-day GO service to the Greater Golden Horseshoe
The Ontario government has awarded a contract to modernize and transform the GO rail network and bring frequent, two-way, all-day service to the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The investment will generate thousands of new jobs and create economic opportunities across the region. The project will include adding over 200 kilometres of new track and electrifying over 600 kilometres of track. A new electric train fleet will also be introduced that could reach speeds of 140 kilometres per hour between stations.
Ontario to allow new home sales tactic that would change the bidding process
The Ontario government is introducing new real estate regulations that would allow home sellers to share bids on their property and disclose the details of competing offers.
As the system stands now, individuals looking to put an offer on a home do so blindly, without knowing how much their competitors are offering above the asking price. The new regulation will give sellers the option to “opt for an open offer process.”
“Sellers will no longer be limited to selling their property through a closed or traditional offer system,” the Minister of Government and Consumer Affairs Ross Romano said in a statement to CTV News Toronto.
IMF downgrades outlook for global economy to 3.6% this year
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday downgraded the outlook for the world economy this year and next, blaming Russia’s war in Ukraine for disrupting global commerce, pushing up oil prices, threatening food supplies and increasing uncertainty already heightened by the coronavirus and its variants.
The 190-country lender cut its forecast for global growth to 3.6 per cent this year, a steep falloff from 6.1 per cent last year and from the 4.4 per cent growth it had expected for 2022 back in January. It also said it expects the world economy to grow 3.6 per cent again next year, slightly slower than the 3.8 per cent it forecast in January.
Canada’s economy is forecast to 3.9 per cent this year, before cooling to just 2.8 per cent in 2023.
Canada’s hot housing streak cools as prices, sales fall in March
Canada’s real estate markets saw a significant slowdown in March, as a decline in sales pulled the national average price of a home down to $796,000.
While the average price was still up more than 11 per cent year-over-year, it declined two per cent from the February reading of $816,720, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association.
National home sales volumes were also down in March, falling by more than five per cent after a short-lived surge in February. The drop was led by declines in markets such as the Greater Toronto Area and Calgary. Newly listed properties also tumbled by about 5.5 per cent versus the prior month. The report noted that this decline puts activity back in line with where it stood since last fall.
Reading Recommendations
‘Living with COVID-19’ must be more than an empty phrase: Individuals need tools to manage BA.2 and future waves
The Conversation
When Ontario lifted public health protective measures in March, the expectation was that we might see a small but manageable bump in COVID-19 cases. At the same time, Canadians were being told that it was time to learn to “live with COVID.”
The decision to lift the public health protective measures happened while many countries in Africa, Europe and South Asia were going through another Omicron-like surge, caused by one of its subvariants, BA.2. Many of these countries also removed their public health protective measures. In Hong Kong, while the restrictions were being removed, BA.2 hit like a tsunami with massive casualties among people age 60 years and over. China was also dealing with an Omicron BA.2 surge.
In Ontario, authorities had hoped the BA.2 wave would somehow pass by. However, instead of the expected small bump in cases, current predictions are at 100,000 cases per day, which is likely an underestimation due to lack of wider testing. COVID-19 hospitalizations have surpassed 1,000 in Ontario.
Although Ontario is now better prepared to handle higher cases of hospitalization and intensive care admissions, its challenge may now be to handle large absenteeism in health care and other sectors. The recent chaos in British airports and at other borders illustrates the potential impact of BA.2.
Update on Ukraine
Canada imposes additional sanctions on close associates of Russian regime
Government of Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing new sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations in response to the Russian regime’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine.
These new measures impose restrictions on 14 close associates of the Russian regime, including Russian oligarchs and their family members. This includes President Putin’s two adult daughters.
These actions demonstrate that Canada will not relent in holding Russian President Vladimir Putin and his associates accountable for their complicity in the Russian regime’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Moscow Mechanism report delivered by OSCE experts last week confirmed that the Russian forces are committing serious atrocities and human rights violations in Ukraine, including war crimes and likely crimes against humanity. Canada will also continue to implement further measures in response to the atrocities perpetrated by the Russian leadership, including a relentless pursuit of accountability.
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.
