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Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Daily Update: January 17, 2025

In this edition:

  • Government of Ontario begins issuing $200 taxpayer rebates
  • Niagara-on-the-Lake reaches settlement to develop 187 Queen St.
  • Bank of Canada admits it could have been clearer on pandemic-era measures
  • US Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban, leaving app’s fate to Trump
  • Nearly half of First Nations people having difficulty meeting daily financial needs
  • EDC to hold info session on global economic outlook
  • What are tariffs and what do they mean for Canada?
  • These are the Canadian sectors most vulnerable to Trump tariffs, according to Desjardins
  • U.S. tariffs could become catalyst to bolster Canadian food supply chains
  • Focus on Human Resources

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The Legislative Assembly building at Queen's Park, Toronto

Picture credit: JHVEPhoto / Adobe Stock

Government of Ontario begins issuing $200 taxpayer rebates

The Ontario government has begun issuing $200 taxpayer rebates to provincial taxpayers, as well as each of their eligible children, with cheques set to reach families over the coming weeks.

The government’s stated goal is to help address the cost of the federal carbon tax and high interest rates.

Click here to read more.


Rainer Hummel. A White man with blond hair wearing a suit jacket, dress shirt, and glasses sitting at an oblique angle.

Picture credit: Rainer Hummel

Niagara-on-the-Lake reaches settlement to develop 187 Queen St.

Niagara-on-the-Lake and Rainer Hummel have agreed to a settlement that will see the historic property at 187 Queen St. divided into two lots, even though it has a heritage designation under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Click here to read more.


The stairs outside the Bank of Canada building on Wellington Street

Photo credit: JHVEPhoto / Adobe Stock

Bank of Canada admits it could have been clearer on pandemic-era measures in internal review

A Bank of Canada internal review found that the extraordinary measures it took during the pandemic could have been communicated more clearly, including an explanation of how its actions would be eased after a crisis has passed.

The report also noted that the bank significantly underestimated the strength and persistence of inflation in 2021 and early 2022, something governor Tiff Macklem has previously acknowledged.

Click here to read more.


A man opens the TikTok app on a cellphone

Picture credit: nikkimeel / Adobe Stock

US Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban, leaving app’s fate to Trump

The Supreme Court upheld on Friday a law banning TikTok in the United States on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell it, putting the popular short-video app on track to go dark in just two days.

The court’s 9-0 decision throws the social media platform – and its 170 million American users – into limbo, and its fate in the hands of Donald Trump, who has vowed to rescue TikTok after returning to the presidency on Monday.


An empty wallet being held over a calculator and a budget sheet

Picture credit: photobyphotoboy / Adobe Stock

Nearly half of First Nations people having difficulty meeting daily financial needs

In 2024, close to half of First Nations people living off reserve (45%) and Métis (44%), and more than half of Inuit (54%) (all aged 15 years and older) reported that it was “difficult” or “very difficult” in the 12 months preceding the survey to meet their financial needs in terms of transportation, housing, food, clothing, and other necessary expenses.

Click here to read more.


Did you know?

Bank of America has upgraded its evaluation of TD to ‘buy,’ based on confidence in its incoming CEO.


Canada-U.S. Business

What are tariffs and what do they mean for Canada?

Donald Trump has talked repeatedly about tariffs — and Canada has been his prime focus lately. Here’s how new tariffs would work and what the potential fallout could look like.

These are the Canadian sectors most vulnerable to Trump tariffs, according to Desjardins

A new Desjardins report says there are five sectors of the Canadian economy that are most vulnerable to incoming U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, with exemptions expected for the energy and automotive sectors. “With Trump set to take office on Jan. 20, Canadian companies are rightly highly concerned. Some should be more worried than others,” Desjardins principal economist Florence Jean-Jacobs wrote in a report released on Friday.

U.S. tariffs could become catalyst to bolster Canadian food supply chains

Experts say U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods could accelerate a push to ramp up domestic food processing and manufacturing, even as some companies consider moving operations south. But if real change is to happen, they say more government support is needed.


Focus on Human Resources

How can we solve Canada’s productivity problem?

“In Canada, our productivity output per capita has been shrinking in relative terms to a lot of other countries around the world,” says Jeff Doucet, CEO of Thrive Career Wellness, in talking with Canadian HR Reporter.

“Canada’s economy is producing less per worker than is being produced in a number of other countries around the world that are competitive nations of similar economic status to Canada.”

Click here to read more.


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.

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