Pop-up vaccination clinic to be held in downtown St. Catharines this weekend
Residents who need a first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine are invited to pop in to an upcoming Niagara Region Public Health clinic at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines. The clinic will run on Aug. 28 from noon to 8:45 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or until supplies run out.
The GNCC encourages all eligible people to get vaccinated as soon as possible to preserve health and life, avoid further economic restrictions, and ease the burden on our healthcare workers.
Click here for more information.
Lumber prices and silicon shortages drove increased input costs, lower net income for Canadian enterprises in Q2 2021
Input costs for Canadian businesses grew 6.1% on average over the second quarter, higher than the 5.7% increase seen in the first quarter. While an increase in the price of lumber drove the rise, input costs rose across most product lines, which drove up the costs of goods sold for Canadian producers. Consequently, net income before taxes in the non-financial sector declined by 2.0% in the quarter.
During the quarter, a worldwide shortage of semiconductor chips strongly contributed to the 1.0% decrease in net income before tax in the motor vehicles and trailer manufacturing industry. The shortage also caused a decline in exports of motor vehicles and parts due to partial shutdowns during the period.
Click here for more information.
Niagara College to require vaccination for all on campus
Students, employees, contractors and those visiting a Niagara College campus for college business will be required to provide proof that they are fully vaccinated or have received a first dose of a Health Canada or World Health Organization (WHO) approved vaccine by September 7, and a second dose/full vaccination by October 18.
Click here for more information.
Ontario Chamber of Commerce releases Proof-of-Vaccination Framework
Today, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), with guidance from legal experts at McCarthy Tétrault, released Vax-Pass Tenets, a proof-of-vaccination framework to support reopening plans for Ontario private sector businesses. The Framework outlines five guiding principles for private sector businesses to adopt in the development of their independent proof-of-vaccination frameworks in the absence of a domestic system.
Heat warning remains 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 of 37 to 42. Nighttime minimum temperatures are 17-21 degrees Celsius.
Click here for more information.
The Election Section
Latest Niagara federal vote projections
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| Niagara Centre | Niagara Falls | Niagara West | St. Catharines | Canada (338canada) | Canada (CBC) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloc Quebecois | 7% (32 seats) | 6.8% (31 seats) | ||||
| Conservative Party | 30% | 38% | 46% | 32% | 31.4% (126 seats) | 31% (119 seats) |
| Green Party | 3% | 3.7% | 3.9% | 3.5% | 3.4% (2 seats) | 3.5% (1 seat) |
| Liberal Party | 35% | 31% | 29% | 36% | 31.9% (148 seats) | 31.5% (155 seats) |
| New Democratic Party | 24% | 21% | 14% | 23% | 19.3% (31 seats) | 19.1% (32 seats) |
| People's Party | 7.6% | 6% | 6.5% | 5.8% | 6% (0 seats) | 7% (0 seats) |
| Christian Heritage | - | - | 1.1% | - | - | - |
Data are provided by 338canada.com using an aggregate of polls. Click here for more information and margins of error.
Download the Canadian Chamber’s policy tracker, which summarizes party commitments made to date.
Margin continues to narrow between Liberals and Conservatives
CBC News
Since the beginning of the campaign, there has been a four-point swing between the Liberals and Conservatives, closing the gap between the two parties and decreasing the odds that the Liberals can reach the 170-seat mark needed for a majority government. The NDP’s support is up since the last election and the party might be the only one that makes significant seat gains. The Bloc Québécois vote is stabilizing, while the Greens are sliding again. The People’s Party sits at 3.9 per cent.
Interactive: How Canadians voted in the past 7 federal elections
CTV News
We’re in our eighth federal election since 2000. The past seven have resulted in four Liberal and three Conservative governments.
Scroll through this map interactive, which tracks the outcome for each of the elections, giving you a breakdown of the number of seats each party won, who was elected prime minister, and the outcome of the popular vote for each election.
The map also shows how the electoral landscape changed throughout the writ periods, showing which party won each of the federal ridings for each election.
Trudeau vows 2-year ban on foreign homebuyers, end to blind bidding if re-elected
Financial Post
Erin O’Toole, leader of the Conservatives and Trudeau’s biggest rival in the election, put forward a similar plan last week. His party’s platform would ban home-buying for foreign investors living outside Canada for at least two years and refurbish 15 per cent of federal buildings into housing.
Meanwhile, the left-leaning New Democratic Party is proposing a 20 per cent tax on homes bought by people who aren’t Canadian citizens or permanent residents and a reintroduction of a 30-year mortgage.
Reading Recommendations
Shopify, TikTok team up to let users shop from app
Reuters
Canada’s e-commerce giant Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) said on Tuesday it was partnering with TikTok to work on a feature that would let shoppers buy directly from the social media app.
Shopify merchants who have a TikTok business account would soon be able to add a shopping tab to their profiles for the first time ever, the company said in a blog post.
The pilot version is currently available to users in the U.S. and UK and the company will launch in additional regions in the coming months.
B.C. brings back mask mandate for indoor public spaces; Quebec ramps up masking in schools
CBC News
British Columbia is reimposing a mask mandate for indoor public spaces and will require students in Grade 4 and up to wear masks at school this fall.
Quebec also said it would require students in nine regions to wear masks at all times when they’re indoors at school this year.
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 18 | December 25 | January 1 | January 8 | January 15 | January 22 | January 29 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive number | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| New cases per 100,000 | 101.2 | 267.3 | 469.8 | 575.8 | 507.1 | 295.5 | 250.6 |
| New cases per day (not including outbreaks) | 60.7 | 178.7 | 311.7 | 376.9 | 325.4 | 182.7 | 145.7 |
| Percent of hospital beds occupied | 97% | 95.2% | 98.2% | 103.2% | 104.5% | 103.6% | 106% |
| Percent of intensive care beds occupied | 78.8% | 77.3% | 87.9% | 87.9% | 90.9% | 89.4% | 93.9% |
| Percentage of positive tests | 6.1% | 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 5 patients admitted to Niagara Health with COVID-19. There are currently 2 patients 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 dose | Percentage of population fully vaccinated | |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara | 82.7% | 78.2% |
| Ontario | 84.6% | 79.1% |
| Canada | 84.7% | 78.6% |
| United States | 75% | 64% |
| United Kingdom | 78% | 72% |
| Germany | 76% | 74% |
| France | 80% | 77% |
| Italy | 83% | 76% |
| Japan | 80% | 79% |
| World | 63% | 53% |
Total doses administered in Niagara: 653,512
New daily doses administered to Niagara residents: 1,170
Last updated: August 24, 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.
