In this edition:
- Port Colborne weighs future of canal grain terminal against mixed public opinion
- St. Catharines issues poetry call out for 2SLGBTQI+ voices
- 2024-25 round of Gas Tax funding for municipalities announced
- LCBO looks to improve ordering experience for convenience stores, grocers
- Gardiner Expressway construction months ahead of schedule
- Consumer interest in EVs falls for third year in a row
- Trump doubtful on another tariff pause, wants China concessions
- Focus on Technology
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Picture credit: City of Port Colborne
Port Colborne weighs future of canal grain terminal against mixed public opinion
Port Colborne is exploring uses for its historic but aging grain terminal at the mouth of the Welland Canal.
A staff presentation to city council Tuesday night summarized results of community consultations that included paper and online surveys and two open houses held between Feb. 26 and March 21.
Picture credit: madscinbca / Adobe Stock
St. Catharines issues poetry call-out for 2SLGBTQI+ voices
All emerging, student and established 2SLGBTQI+ poets living in Niagara Region are invited to submit a short poem to the inaugural City of St. Catharines Poetry Call-Out, titled Pride in Every Step, Love in Every Action.
The theme asks poets to focus on the transformative power of action, language, love, and acceptance. The selected poem will reflect on small acts of allyship or personal reflections of how love and pride impact individuals and communities. The poem will be printed on vinyl and installed on the front steps of St. Catharines City Hall from May through September 2025.
Photo credit: Niagara Region Transit
2024-25 round of Gas Tax funding for municipalities announced
The Ontario government is investing over $380 million to help 106 municipalities improve local transit through the 2024-25 Gas Tax program. For 2024-25, municipal allocations have been maintained at 2023-24 levels. The funding can be used to expand service hours, increase routes, purchase new vehicles and improve accessibility to increase transit ridership.
Niagara Region is to receive $6,845,789.
Photo credit: Iryna / Adobe Stock
LCBO looks to improve ordering experience for convenience stores, grocers
Ontario’s main liquor retailer said it is seeking to improve the ordering experience for convenience stores and grocers.
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is also launching a new portal called LCBO Gateway, to help Canadian alcohol producers get listed for wholesale.
Photo credit: Jason Paris / CC BY 2.0
Gardiner Expressway construction months ahead of schedule
As a result of the Ontario government’s $73 million investment to speed up the repair of the Gardiner Expressway and allow work to proceed on a 24/7 basis, work is now underway on the third stage of the Gardiner Expressway Section 2 rehabilitation project months ahead of the advanced schedule announced in July 2024.
Photo credit: NVB Stocker / Adobe Stock
Consumer interest in EVs falls for third year in a row
Fewer Canadians are considering buying an electric vehicle, marking the third year in a row interest has dropped despite lower EV prices, a survey from AutoTrader shows.
Forty-two per cent of survey respondents say they’re considering an EV as their next vehicle, down from 46 per cent last year. In 2022, 68 per cent said they would consider buying an EV.
Picture credit: Office of the President of the United States
Trump doubtful on another tariff pause, wants China concessions
President Donald Trump suggested another delay to his higher so-called “reciprocal” tariffs was unlikely, raising pressure on nations to negotiate trade deals with his administration.
Asked about the possibility of granting another 90-day pause, Trump cast that scenario as “unlikely,” while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday. Trump also said that he would not drop tariffs on China, the world’s second-largest economy, unless Beijing offers “something substantial” in return.
Focus on Technology
What the tech sector wants from the federal election as Canada faces ‘perfect storm’ for foreign takeovers
The belief that Canada’s tax system needs to be more competitive, overall, to spur investment in innovation is widely held in the tech sector.
After the Liberals proposed a capital gains tax hike in 2022, Canada’s tech industry vocally campaigned for Ottawa to scrap the idea. High tax rates and complex regulations “deter investment, drive businesses to relocate, and stifle innovation,” said the Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA), a private capital sector lobby group that represents over 350 firms. In one of his early moves after taking over as prime minister, Mark Carney cancelled the unpopular increase ahead of the federal election.
The CVCA is proposing further measures. It recommends that Ottawa temporarily reduce the capital gains tax inclusion rate from 50 per cent to 25 per cent for investments into eligible Canadian businesses for a period of three to five years to stimulate “productive private investment,” it said in an April 2025 white paper.
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.
