GNCC: Businesses will need assistance and predictability to get through the Omicron crisis
The Government of Ontario announced new capacity limits and restrictions on Friday, December 17.
Many jurisdictions, already suffering greater public health effects from the Omicron variant, are enacting even tighter restrictions. If this new variant is as contagious as public health officials fear, it may become necessary for Ontario to further restrict our activities this winter.
If the government wishes to safeguard the economy, new restrictions should not be announced without further financial support for affected businesses.
Financial support should be offered based on severity of impact, and tied to the length of restrictions, rather than given on an ad-hoc basis. Instead of one-time grants, the GNCC urges the Government of Ontario to consider an ongoing assistance program that can help the most-affected businesses and be tapered off as restrictions end.
Businesses also clamour for predictability in the uncertain age of the pandemic. While we hope that further restrictions will not prove necessary, we must make contingency plans, but plans require some foreknowledge.
The GNCC therefore suggests that the Government of Ontario publish the measures that would call for further restrictions, and detail what those restrictions would be. Doing this would allow people to make plans for future changes. The previous plan tied to vaccination rates would not apply, nor will the current plan with timelines calling for lifting restrictions in January.
Click here for more information.
Walk-in vaccination clinic in Thorold to open for December 21-22
Govaxx will be holding an indoor walk-in COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic on Tuesday, December 21, 2021 and Wednesday, December 22, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Holy Rosary Hall – 35 Queen Street South, Thorold.
Two additional dates have yet to be confirmed.
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Niagara Health makes changes to visitor and Essential Care Partner guidelines, effective December 21
Beginning Tuesday, Dec. 21, visitors and Essential Care Partners must show proof of vaccination (i.e. 14-days since second dose) before entering the hospital and only one person can be at a patient’s bedside at a time. These changes are a result of the evolving situation with the Omicron variant and will help us maintain the safest environment possible in the hospital.
There is no change to visiting hours and to how many people a patient can visit within a day. The change to only one visitor at the bedside at a time is to ensure appropriate physical distancing inside all patient rooms. All other infection prevention and control guidelines remain in place, including masking, handwashing and screening.
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Bank of Canada autumn expert poll: risk of financial shock is low
The Bank of Canada conducts the Financial System Survey (FSS) twice a year to solicit the opinions of senior experts who specialize in risk management of the financial system. These experts provide their views on the risks to, and resilience of, the Canadian financial system as well as on emerging trends in financial products and practices.
Respondents believe the risk of a shock that could impair the financial system is low. However, this risk is viewed as slightly higher in the medium term than in the short term because of the prospect of rising interest rates, inflation, and geopolitical tensions.
Cyber risks remain the top risk that organizations face. Asset pricing risks—the potential for asset price corrections—are the second most frequently cited.
Overall, the prolonged period of low interest rates over the past decade has worsened respondents’ abilities to meet their profit or return goals. As a result, asset managers, pension funds and insurers have increased their exposures to riskier assets and may have taken on more leverage. However, many respondents noted that their overall risk profile has not changed significantly.
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Quebec shuts bars, gyms, casinos to fight spread of Omicron
Canada’s second most populous province of Quebec ordered bars, gyms and casinos shut on Monday and directed people to work only from home to fight the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Health minister Christian Dube said the province had a record 4,500 new cases of the coronavirus a day and predicted worse was yet to come.
He urged Quebecers to cut down their personal contacts with the approach of Christmas and New Year’s Day. The new measures were due to take effect at 5 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Monday.
“The situation is critical … right now we are waging a war against the virus,” Dube told a virtual briefing, saying the healthcare system was fragile.
Reading Recommendations
Businesses big and small slam the brakes on back-to-the-office plans amid rapid Omicron spread
CBC News
Some of the biggest employers in Canada are pausing plans to slowly bring some workers back into the office because of Omicron — and that’s having devastating consequences on the businesses that rely on them.
Major financial conglomerates, including the big banks and insurers, were all in the process of slowly returning some staff to offices in a limited capacity. But they’ve hit the brakes on those plans given the rapid spread of the latest COVID-19 variant.
Manulife was planning to restart office work on Jan. 24, but told employees in a memo this week that it is shelving those plans. Rival Sun Life told CBC News that it is “encouraging the people who were volunteering to come into the office to stay home until the end of January.”
Wage growth outpaces inflation as job vacancies surge to record
Financial Post
Jobs vacancies surged to a record in the third quarter, and wage growth exceeded inflation in about half of the occupations that Statistics Canada tracks, reinforcing the Bank of Canada’s decision to ramp up its fight against inflation.
Canadian employers reported 912,600 empty positions, an increase of 62 per cent from the third quarter of 2019, Statistics Canada said on Dec. 20. Strong economic growth coincided with the lifting of health restrictions, juicing demand that pushed businesses into a hiring frenzy. The labour market had recouped almost all of its pandemic losses by September, and gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 5.4 per cent in the third quarter, much faster than the economy grows during normal times.
Niagara COVID-19 statistics tracker
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker
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.
For information on rapid testing kits for individuals, click here.
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.
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.
