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Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Daily Update: August 23rd, 2021

Ontario extends temporary wage increase for personal support workers

The Ontario government is investing an additional $169 million to extend the temporary wage increase for personal support workers and direct support workers for the third time since its initial investment last year. This increase will continue until October 31, 2021.

Click here for more information.


Local Niagara doctor receives Community Leadership Award

Dr. Karl Stobbe, Medical Director of Regional Essential Access to Connected Healthcare (REACH) Niagara, has been recognized with the Community Leader Award for the Ontario region as part of the Canada Volunteer Awards program. In 2018, Dr. Stobbe created REACH to make healthcare services more accessible for those who traditionally have very little access and trust in systems of healthcare. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Stobbe and REACH collaborated with Niagara Region to provide vital medical services to the homeless population.

Click here for more information.


Town of Lincoln receives $1.03M to support community projects

The Town of Lincoln has received Provincial and Federal funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, which will allow four social infrastructure projects valued at $1.35 million to be completed over the next two years.

Projects that will receive support through the ICIP programs include:

  • Installation of inclusive playground equipment at Rotary Park (Beamsville)
  • Addition of a drive-thru service window at the Lincoln Public Library (Beamsville)
  • Installation of rubberized surfacing at playgrounds to increase accessibility (Community-wide)
  • Addition of a children’s educational space at the Lincoln Museum and Cultural Centre (Jordan)

Click here for more information.


Heat warning in effect for Niagara

Heat and humidity expected to continue today and possibly into the middle of this week. Daytime maximum temperatures are 30 to 32 degrees Celsius, with humidex values 37 to 40. Nighttime minimum temperatures are near 21 degrees Celsius.

Click here for more information.


The Election Section

Reading Recommendations

Companies are implementing vaccine mandates. Can employees reject them?

CBC News

Federal and provincial governments, private businesses as well as Canada’s biggest banks have in recent weeks announced plans to implement mandatory vaccination policies for many of their returning staff.

These vaccine mandates require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. But do employers have the right to impose such mandates? What if employees refuse?

CBC News looks at the legal issues these mandates raise.

​Canadian small business owners torn on vaccine enforcement: Survey

BNN Bloomberg

As COVID-19 vaccine mandates spread across the country, small business owners, it would appear, are split on how to handle passport requirements.

A new survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) indicates this country’s entrepreneurs generally support the use of a COVID-19 vaccine passport in certain settings, but these business owners are less than keen on having to enforce vaccine requirements for their staff and even more so, their customers.

Seventy-four per cent of small business owners polled by the CFIB said they support vaccine passports for international travel, while 65 per cent said they support a government-issued passport for events like concerts, festivals and sporting events.


Niagara COVID-19 statistics tracker

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. Lower numbers are better in all metrics.

December 18December 25January 1January 8January 15January 22January 29
Reproductive number1.41.81.41.11.00.70.9
New cases per 100,000101.2267.3469.8575.8507.1295.5250.6
New cases per day (not including outbreaks)60.7178.7311.7376.9325.4182.7145.7
Percent of hospital beds occupied97%95.2%98.2%103.2%104.5%103.6%106%
Percent of intensive care beds occupied78.8%77.3%87.9%87.9%90.9%89.4%93.9%
Percentage of positive tests6.1%15.6%28.1%28.6%26.6%21.2%16.2%

Last updated: August 14, 2021

Click here for definitions of terms used in this table.

There are currently 4 patients admitted to Niagara Health with COVID-19. There is currently 1 patient with COVID-19 in a Niagara Health Intensive Care Unit.

Data are drawn from Niagara Region Public Health and Niagara Health.


Niagara COVID vaccination tracker

Niagara’s most up-to-date vaccination numbers are presented below, along with comparison data from Ontario, Canada, and G7 countries.

Percentage of population with one dosePercentage of population fully vaccinated
Niagara82.7%78.2%
Ontario84.6%79.1%
Canada84.7%78.6%
United States75%64%
United Kingdom78%72%
Germany76%74%
France80%77%
Italy83%76%
Japan80%79%
World63%53%

Total doses administered in Niagara: 652,332

New daily doses administered to Niagara residents: 653

Last updated: August 23, 2021

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.

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