In this edition:
- Government of Ontario invests $1.8m in Niagara Pallet
- St. Catharines artists and organizations seeking grants invited to attend free webinar
- Start Me Up Niagara selling downtown building in face of mounting upgrade costs
- Niagara Region treasurer welcomes review of municipal property assessment system, despite concerns about reassessment delays
- Canadian corporations report net income drop in Q2 2023
- AMO panel outlines multiple hurdles to housing creation
- Business email compromise scams getting more sophisticated: Report
- Reading Recommendations: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Government of Ontario invests $1.8m in Niagara Pallet
The Government of Ontario is investing $1.8 million to help Niagara Pallet expand its production facility and install automated pallet-making equipment. This investment will triple pallet production, increase the company’s sales by 46 per cent and create 30 new jobs.
“This investment in Niagara Pallet is giving a thriving forest sector business the facilities and the tools to take its operations to the next level,” said Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. “We are building prosperity and creating jobs right here in the Niagara Region and investing in a strong, sustainable forest sector across Ontario.”
St. Catharines artists and organizations seeking grants invited to attend free webinar
The City of St. Catharines is offering a free webinar focused on applying to the St. Catharines Cultural Investment Program (SCCIP).
The webinar will take place on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. and will feature a presentation led by staff, followed by an interactive question-and-answer session.
SCCIP development funding has two grant programs designed for small and emerging arts organizations, artist ad-hoc groups, non-profit organizations leading culture-related projects, and businesses and individuals leading community engagement activities.
Start Me Up Niagara selling downtown building in face of mounting upgrade costs
A St. Catharines not-for-profit is looking to sell its downtown property after consultations for upgrades left them with sticker shock.
Start Me Up Niagara (SMUN) recently listed its 17 Gale Cresc. property for nearly $600,000 after consulting with contractors regarding vital upgrades needed to bring the building up to code by Jan. 1, 2025, under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
The building would need about $700,000 in upgrades to improve access for people with disabilities who use the facilities, said Laura Dumas, executive director.
Niagara Region treasurer welcomes review of municipal property assessment system, despite concerns about reassessment delays
While continued delays reassessing the tax value of homes in Niagara are having an impact on local municipalities, Niagara Region treasurer Todd Harrison said he welcomes changes that may result from a provincial review of its system.
Harrison said the delayed reassessments are having an impact on municipalities who use that data as a basis for setting tax levies, while the value of Niagara properties “has gone up significantly” since the last time a province-wide property reassessment was conducted at the start of 2016.
“If you live in Port Colborne and your property value doubles compared to other properties that only go up by half, then the properties that double will be more impacted by it,” he said.
Canadian corporations report net income drop in Q2 2023
Canadian corporations reported a 2.0% decrease (-$3.3 billion) to $163.8 billion in net income before taxes (NIBT) in the second quarter, impacting the non-financial sector (-4.5%). The decline in NIBT was partly offset by gains in the financial sector (+4.5%).
During the second quarter, the Bank of Canada increased its overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%. In the second quarter, the main economic headlines were the inflation rate (+2.8%) falling back to Canada’s target range at the end of the quarter; oil production curtailment caused by wildfires; and a strong consumer demand for air travel.
AMO panel outlines multiple hurdles to housing creation
On Aug. 21, the first full day of the conference held in London, Ont., Premier Doug Ford announced a new $1.2-billion Building Faster Fund offering incentives to municipalities to approve housing more quickly. The next day during the panel discussion, Ontario Chamber of Commerce senior policy analyst Sara Beyer asked a pointed question.
“I’ve heard folks talking about, why aren’t we offering things like production subsidies for affordable housing the way that we are for electric vehicle battery manufacturing,” said Beyer. “We’re in a housing crisis. Let’s really prioritize it in the same way.”
Business email compromise scams getting more sophisticated: Report
Messaging scams that try to trick employees into performing risky transactions continue to dog organizations.
In a report released today, Trustwave said a category of cons called business email compromise (BEC) scams followed a historical trend by jumping in January and February before settling down.
More importantly, attackers have come up with a new tactic: Instead of sending an email purporting to be from an executive and asking for action — paying a supposed invoice or changing payments to be made to a bank account controlled by the threat actor — the message asks the employee to email a supposed staffer of a company. It’s a way of convincing the victim of the legitimacy of the message.
Did you know?
In 1900, one-third of all cars on the road were electric. Today, it’s one in every 250.
Focus on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Why Business Leaders Are Pulling The Plug On DEI
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.
