In this edition:
- Revamping user fees could make St. Catharines a cool $7.5 million
- Niagara College launches EV safety training program with RBC support
- Ontario to invest additional $1.6 billion in Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program
- Canada Post union tables new offers seeking higher wages
- Economists split on BoC’s next rate decision
- Province to spend $70M on training for tariff-affected workers
- Building Faster Fund will be expanded, details TBD
- Heavy-handed use of labour code has painted federal government into a corner, unions say
- Focus on Retail
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Photo credit: City of St. Catharines
Revamping user fees could make St. Catharines a cool $7.5 million
St. Catharines could bring in millions of extra dollars if it rejigs its user fees to be more in line with other municipalities, a consultant’s report has found.
The core services review report by Blackline Consulting found St. Catharines brings in less money in user fees than eight comparable lower-tier cities in Ontario.
Picture credit: Niagara College
Niagara College launches EV safety training program with RBC support
Picture credit: Office of the Premier of Ontario
Ontario to invest additional $1.6 billion in Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program
At the 2025 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference, Premier Doug Ford announced that Ontario will invest an additional $1.6 billion in the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program (MHIP), bringing the province’s total investment to $4 billion.
Photo credit: Jerome / Adobe Stock
Canada Post union tables new offers seeking higher wages
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers presented new offers to Canada Post on Wednesday seeking higher wages while allowing for the addition of weekend delivery and part-time workers to the postal service.
The latest proposals include annual wage increases of nine per cent in the first year of the agreement, and four per cent in the second year, followed by hikes of three per cent in years three and four.
Picture credit: primestockphotograpy / Adobe Stock
Economists split on BoC’s next rate decision
Economists say they found some encouraging signs in the latest inflation numbers but some warn the Bank of Canada might need a bit more convincing to cut its key interest rate next month.
The annual rate of inflation fell to 1.7 per cent in July, Statistics Canada said on Aug. 19, down from 1.9 per cent in June. The reading was a tenth of a percentage point below most economists’ expectations.
Picture credit: Leonid Andronov / Adobe Stock
Province to spend $70M on training and employment services for tariff-affected workers
The Ontario government is investing $70 million in expanded training and employment services for those affected by U.S. tariffs and policies. This funding includes support for the province’s Protect Ontario Workers Employment Response (POWER) Centres, which builds on and enhances existing ministry-supported action centres.
Picture credit: Framestock / Adobe Stock
Building Faster Fund will be expanded, details TBD
Rob Flack signalled in a speech to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa that he will “extend and improve” the Building Faster Fund, but says details will come after he consults with mayors.
The fund rewards municipalities that achieve at least 80 per cent of a housing target the provincial government assigns and gives them money to put toward housing-enabling infrastructure.
Photo credit: NVB Stocker / Adobe Stock
Heavy-handed use of labour code has painted federal government into a corner, unions say
The federal government’s repeated use of the Canada Labour Code to force picketing employees back to work has undermined its ability to end strikes while setting it up for a fight with Canada’s labour movement, union officials and experts say.
Focus on Retail
Climate control: How grocers are responding to weather disruptions
Rebecca Harris, Canadian Grocer
Grocers have been going green for years—shrinking their carbon footprints, reducing waste and investing in renewable energy. But now, the heat is on retailers to do even more: mitigate the impacts that climate change itself poses to their business.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), this year’s average global temperature is expected to surpass 2024’s record-breaking heat of 1.55 C above pre-industrial levels. Over the next five years, temperatures are expected to continue at, or near, record levels. In its latest report, WMO notes the current level of warming is driving more harmful heat waves, extreme rainfall events, intense droughts, rising sea levels and more.
“We’re seeing nothing but increased temperatures and more severe and frequent storms,” says Joe Solly, a partner with Deloitte’s risk advisory practice and leader of the firm’s sustainability and climate change practice in Ontario. “So, we’re on a very unattractive trajectory and the impacts we’re seeing are more tangible and more real, whether that’s droughts in California, flooding in B.C. or wildfires in Alberta. These are having disruptive impacts on supply chains, shipments and deliveries. It’s in front of us now versus something that’s far out in the future.”
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.
