In this edition:
- Government of Canada takes steps to reduce number of temporary foreign workers
- St. Catharines business-sharing centre can accommodate as many as 50 businesses
- Welland City Councillor elected to Ontario municipal association’s Small Urban Caucus
- Canada announces tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, steel, and aluminum
- New data shows number of commuters on upward trend
- Williamson Point officially opens at Malcolmson Eco-Park
- Focus on Technology
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![](https://gncc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/migrant-worker-immigrant-canada-immigration-1024x683.jpeg)
Photo credit: New Africa / Adobe Stock
Government of Canada takes steps to reduce number of temporary foreign workers
Given current labour market conditions, and to further reduce the reliance of Canadian employers on the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, announced today that the Government is taking further action to weed out what it calls “TFW Program misuse and fraud.”
Effective September 26,
- the Government of Canada will refuse to process Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) in the Low-Wage stream, applicable in census metropolitan areas with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher.
- employers will be allowed to hire no more than 10% of their total workforce through the TFW Program.
- the maximum duration of employment for workers hired through the Low-Wage stream will be reduced to one year.
![](https://gncc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/coworking-space-1024x684.jpeg)
Photo credit: Yakobchuk Olena / Adobe Stock
![](https://gncc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/councillor-Setaram-1024x1024.jpg)
Photo credit: City of Welland
Welland City Councillor elected to Ontario municipal association’s Small Urban Caucus
![](https://gncc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BYD-china-electric-car-1024x683.jpeg)
Photo credit: RafMaster / Adobe Stock
Canada announces tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, steel, and aluminum
Today in Halifax, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, announced a series of measures to protect the Canadian auto sector from what the government has termed Chinese “unfair competition.”
The Government of Canada intends to implement a 100 per cent surtax on all Chinese-made EVs, effective October 1, 2024. This includes electric and certain hybrid passenger automobiles, trucks, buses, and delivery vans. The federal government also intends to apply a 25 per cent surtax on imports of steel and aluminum products from China, effective October 15, 2024.
![](https://gncc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/cars-traffic-jam-1024x683.jpeg)
Photo credit: disq / Adobe Stock
New data shows number of commuters on upward trend
The number of commuters reached 16.5 million in May 2024, continuing an upward trend that followed notable declines recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The number of commuters was up 585,000 (+3.7%) in May 2024 compared to May 2023, driven by employment growth (+373,000 or +1.9%) and by an increase in the share of the employed population working at locations other than home.
Among all commuters, 81.5% mainly used a car (including truck or van) to commute to work in May 2024, down 1.1 percentage points from May 2023 and 2.7 percentage points lower than the record high of 84.2% in May 2022.
![](https://gncc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/RibbonCutting_WilliamsonPointOpening_feature-1024x725.png)
Photo credit: City of St. Catharines / supplied
Williamson Point officially opens at Malcolmson Eco-Park
The City of St. Catharines is pleased to announce the successful grand opening of Williamson Point at Malcolmson Eco-Park, which took place Thursday morning.
The event, attended by community members, City officials, and special guests, celebrated the dedication of a parkette in the northernmost part of the park in honour of the Williamson family, who played a significant role in the history of the Welland Canal.
Did you know?
Focus on Technology
Explaining the absence of robots in modern greenhouses
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.