In this edition:
- Ontario announces “as of right” healthcare worker rules
- Winners of 2022 Niagara Biennial Design Awards announced
- Welland community invited to Transportation Master Plan PIC
- Wholesale sales edge up, motor vehicle sector sets record high
- Cost-of-living increases drive down savings and wealth
- Brock scores highly for federal research funding in national report
Ontario announces “as of right” healthcare worker rules
The Government of Ontario will introduce legislative changes in February 2023 that, if passed, will allow Canadian health care workers that are already registered or licensed in another Canadian jurisdiction to practice in Ontario immediately, without having to first register with one of Ontario’s health regulatory colleges. These changes will help health-care workers overcome bureaucratic delays that have made it difficult to practice in Ontario.
In addition, Ontario will also be helping hospitals and other health organizations temporarily increase staffing when they need to fill vacancies or manage periods of high patient volume, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. In February, the government will introduce legislation that, if passed, will increase staffing levels on a short-term basis by allowing health care professionals, including nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists, and others, to work outside of their regular responsibilities or settings, as long as they have the knowledge skill, and judgement to do so.
Winners of 2022 Niagara Biennial Design Awards announced
The excellence and innovation in design of the built environment in Niagara was on full display Tuesday as the winners of the Niagara Biennial Design Awards were announced at its first in-person awards ceremony held on Jan. 17, 2023. The 2022 Awards was the second installment of Niagara’s Biennial Design Awards, its bi-annual program that began in 2020.
The awards were open to owners, developers, architects, landscape architects, urban designers, planners, engineers, interior designers, artists and students involved with a specific design project in Niagara. A total of 11 award-winners were selected from 35 submissions, and represent the quality and diversity of design of the built environment in Niagara in five design categories. Award winning submissions were chosen by a panel of design professionals.
The winners recognized at the awards were as follows:
Grand Prize Winners
- Niagara Parks Power Station, Niagara Parks Commission
- Neil Campbell Rowing Centre, City of St. Catharines and Henley Rowing Corporation
Outstanding Achievement Winners
Architecture Category
- Walker Sport and Abilities Centre, Brock University, City of St. Catharines, City of Thorold, Niagara Region
- Spirit in Niagara Small Batch Distillery, Spirit in Niagara Distillery Corp.
- Student Commons, Niagara College
Landscape Architecture Category
- Rotary Park, Town of Lincoln
- Bridge Street Roundabout, Niagara Region
- The Gardens at Pillar and Post Inn, Lais Hotel Properties Inc.
Outdoor Art Category
- Poppy Project, Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum
- Downtown Bench Alley, Downtown Bench Beamsville BIA
Visionary Design Category
- Port Robinson Ecological Park Conceptual Master Plan, City of Thorold
Learn more about the Niagara Biennial Design Awards and the winning projects.
Welland community invited to Transportation Master Plan PIC
The first of two Public Information Centres (PIC) for Welland’s Transportation Master Planning has been scheduled for February 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Community Room at City Hall.
The PIC allows residents to provide feedback and input on the plan’s direction.
Dubbed a City on the Move, the plan provides Welland with a long-term road network and active transportation strategies to support existing and accommodate projected population and employment growth.
Click here to read more (PDF link).
Wholesale sales edge up, motor vehicle sector sets record high
Wholesale sales rose 0.5% to $83.8 billion in November, new data from Statistics Canada has revealed today. Higher sales were posted in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector and the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector, while sales in remaining subsectors decreased.
Sales of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories rose 10.1% to $13.8 billion in November, a new record high for this subsector. This increase was the largest monthly increase since July 2020. There was widespread growth in all industry groups, but the bulk of the increase and driver of the movement was the motor vehicle industry (+12.0% to $11.1 billion), based on an increase of electric vehicles sales.
Cost-of-living increases drive down savings and wealth
Today’s release of the distributions of household economic accounts shows that expenditures and debt rose more than income and assets in the third quarter of 2022, suggesting that increases in the cost of living are having a negative impact on net saving and wealth, especially for more vulnerable households, such as those with the lowest incomes, the least wealth, and in the younger age groups.
Net saving for the bottom 40% of income earners was down about 12% in the third quarter of 2022 compared with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020. In the third quarter of 2022, net worth declined by 10.8% for the bottom 40% of wealth holders and by 9.8% for those aged less than 35 years relative to the same quarter of 2021.
Brock scores highly for federal research funding in national report
Brock University’s innovative research, and the funding it earns, is being recognized on a national scale.
Brock was among the top five universities in its category for research income originating from the federal government’s three major research granting agencies, according to a national company that tracks Canada’s research and development performance.
Research Infosource’s latest report, Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities 2022, was released Wednesday, Jan. 18 and saw Brock ranked second out of 19 full-service undergraduate universities for research income from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for fiscal years 2017 to 2021.
The report says support from SSHRC totalled more than $14.4 million over that five-year period.
Focus on Markets
Three big questions facing tech stocks this earnings season
Netflix (NFLX) earnings are set for release on Thursday, kicking off two-week period during which most of the market’s biggest tech companies will report their quarterly results.
And according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, investors are focused on three big questions ahead of these results.
First, a key focus will be on whether enterprise spending is holding up better than feared.
Over the past decade, there’s been a rapid adoption of cloud services, with this trend accelerating during the pandemic when many businesses were forced to upscale cloud services to help staff work remotely.
But now, there are signs that continue to point to a slowdown in this profitable pocket of the industry.
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.
