GNCC’s 2021 federal platform on how we can build a brighter future
Yesterday, Governor General Mary Simon approved Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau’s request to dissolve Parliament. Election day will be September 20th, 2021, after a 36-day campaign (the minimum legally allowed period).
You can find a list of your Niagara candidates on our website, as well as additional resources on ways to vote, polling locations, registration, and so forth.
The GNCC has prepared Niagara’s Prosperity Matters, a list of policy asks from all candidates, which can be viewed here. These national policies will help business growth in Niagara and in Canada. Over the course of the next month, GNCC staff will be in touch with candidates to present this platform and to ask for their support in helping Niagara’s business community recover and rebuild should their party form the next government of Canada.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce mirrors GNCC’s efforts at a nationwide level with their What it Takes to Grow campaign, viewable here.
GNCC is a non-partisan organization, and has committed to working with all candidates and parties as a partner in assuring the prosperity of Niagara. We will keep you updated as the campaign progresses.
CRTC’s Voter Contact Registry to protect voters during 2021 federal election
The CRTC today announced that the Voter Contact Registry is now accepting registrations for the 2021 federal election. The Registry helps protect Canadians from rogue and misleading telephone calls during federal elections, and to ensure that those who contact voters during an election do so transparently.
As part of the legal requirements for the Voter Contact Registry, anyone (including candidates and political parties, corporations, trade associations and other persons or groups) using the services of a calling service provider to call voters during the election must register with the CRTC within 48 hours of making the first call. For more information, click here.
Ontario working with public health units to run COVID-19 vaccination clinics in schools
The Ontario government is working with public health units and publicly funded school boards to plan and host vaccination clinics in or nearby schools to continue to fight COVID-19. Clinics are expected to run before school starts and during the first few weeks of school.
The program is part of the province’s last mile strategy to target those who have yet to receive a first or second dose and will provide accessible and convenient access to vaccines for eligible students and their families, as well as educators and school staff who are returning to school this fall. For more information, click here.
Ontario providing more support to communities during COVID-19
The Ontario government is providing an additional $307 million to municipalities and Indigenous community partners to deliver critical services, create longer-term housing solutions and keep people safe. This investment builds upon the $765 million dollars of Social Services Relief Funding (SSRF) announced in 2020- 2021, for a total support to communities of over $1 billion. For more information, click here.
Welland’s Maple Park received $313,000 federal funding
The federal government announced $313,797 in funding for significant enhancements to Welland’s Maple Park as part of the Canada Community Revitalization Fund. The total project is estimated at $418,396. Construction for this project is estimated to begin September 29, 2021. For more details, click here.
Canadian home sales slipped 3.5% in July
Statistics released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales were down between June and July 2021:
· National home sales declined by 3.5% on a month-over-month basis in July
· Actual, not seasonally adjusted, activity declined by 15.2% year-over-year
· The number of newly listed properties dropped by 8.8% from June to July
· The MLS® Home Price Index rose 0.6% month-over-month and was up 22.2% year-over-year
· The actual national average sale price posted a 15.6% year-over-year gain in July
For more details, click here.
Statistics Canada data on wholesale sales
Wholesale sales fell 0.8% in June to $71.5 billion, ending three consecutive monthly increases with only the third decline since May 2020. June’s sales reflect sharp declines in the building material and supplies, as well as the machinery, equipment and supplies subsectors. Moreover, excluding sales in the lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies industry, wholesale sales rose 0.4%. For more details, check here.
Reading Recommendations
Ontario’s Big City Mayors call for proof of vaccination and childcare plan
CBC News
Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) are urging the province to establish a COVID-19 proof of vaccination system. Organizations, including the Ontario and Greater Niagara Chambers of Commerce, are all calling for such a system.
OBCM also passed a motion calling on the provincial government to reach an agreement on the $10 per day federal childcare plan to support the economy and reduce household expenses for Ontarians.
Tim Hortons plans to have 2,750 locations in China within 5 years
The Canadian Press
Tim Hortons in China is planning to go public in a deal that could significantly increase the number of the coffee and doughnut chain’s locations in the country to more than 2,750 restaurants in five years.
Restaurant Brands International says TH International Ltd. has entered into a business combination agreement with Silver Crest Acquisition Corp. The company says the deal with Silver Crest, a special purpose acquisition company, would see TH International traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission peg the implied value of Tim Hortons in China at $1.69 billion US, with the expected value of the new combined entity when it starts trading at above $2 billion.
The rise of indoor farming is exploding, but Canada is lagging behind
Financial Post, Jake Edmiston
There’s a popular vision among academics and executives in the agriculture world that involves windowless warehouses outside every city, each growing commercial amounts of fruit and vegetables indoors with LED lamps. The facilities are far smaller than traditional farm fields, but collectively pump out much higher volumes of produce, all without the assistance of sun or rain. Many industry experts say this vision of a thriving controlled environment agriculture sector, as it’s formally known, is not only a nice idea, but necessary, especially if climate catastrophes start to pose more and more challenges for field crops.
Despite the stakes, however, the growth of Canada’s nascent indoor farming sector is lagging behind other countries, amid concerns that major investors and governments here haven’t fully bought into the promise of vertical farming, or the technology that enables it.
Niagara COVID-19 data
These data show the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Niagara. The Province of Ontario is now using a provincewide approach to reopening, and these data no longer have any influence on Niagara’s restrictions.
Current number of admitted Niagara Health patients with COVID-19: 2
Patients with COVID-19 in Niagara Health ICU’s: 1
Data are drawn from Niagara Region Public Health and Niagara Health.
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker
Last updated: August 16, 2021
Niagara’s most up-to-date vaccination numbers are presented below, along with comparison data from Ontario, Canada, and G7 countries.
Total doses administered in Niagara: 644,311
New daily doses administered to Niagara residents: 754
Data are drawn from Niagara Region, the Government of Ontario, and Oxford University’s Our World in Data project.
Free rapid COVID-19 testing kits are now available to businesses. Visit gncc.ca/workplace-self-screening-kits to learn more and reserve kits for your organization.
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here. The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.
