In this edition:
- Secord takes Niagara Region to task over development charges
- City of Welland launches digital parking permits for greater convenience
- Niagara College’s annual Career Fair returns this February
- Decision to accelerate retail alcohol rollout estimated to cost province $1.4 billion
- West Lincoln receives $4M as part of province-wide infrastructure investment
- Ontario invests additional $100M in Skills Development Fund
- WSIB enhances Health and Safety Excellence program with financial incentives
- Bank of Canada widely expected to cut interest rate as tariff threat looms
- Focus on Canada-US Business
Did you know you can get the GNCC’s Daily Update emailed to you? Click here to sign up.

Picture credit: Regional Municipality of Niagara
Secord takes Niagara Region to task over development charges
Developers in Thorold and Grimsby succeeded in challenging Niagara Region’s classification of their properties for development charges, resulting in grants of almost $500,000.
Regional councillors, acting as a tribunal exercising quasi-judicial powers to hear the development charge complaints at a recent special council meeting, voted to change the classification of part of a building from commercial to industrial at 1520 McCleary Dr. in Thorold.

Picture credit: Vadim Georgiev / Adobe Stock
City of Welland launches digital parking permits for greater convenience
The City of Welland is making parking permit applications easier and more accessible with the launch of a new digital parking permit system. Residents no longer need to display physical permits in their vehicles, as the new online system simplifies the process of obtaining and managing parking permits.

Picture credit: Niagara College / supplied
Niagara College’s annual Career Fair returns this February
This February, Niagara College will once again be opening its doors to job seekers and employers alike at the College’s largest career event of the year.
Hosted by NC’s Career and Co-op Services department, NC’s Career Fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 3 and 4 at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake and on Feb. 5 and 6 at the Welland Campus and is open to all NC students and alumni.

Picture credit: jobi_pro / Adobe Stock
Decision to accelerate retail alcohol rollout estimated to cost province $1.4 billion
The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) estimates that the Province’s decision to expand the beverage alcohol marketplace in Ontario, including the decision to accelerate that expansion to begin in 2024, will result in a net cost to the Province of $1.4 billion to December 31, 2030.
The final financial cost to the Province will depend on how retailers and consumers respond to the expansion of the beverage alcohol marketplace.

Picture credit: maroke / Adobe Stock
West Lincoln receives $4M as part of province-wide water infrastructure investment
The Township of West Lincoln has received $3,969,375 for the rehabilitation of sewers and watermains at West St. and Wade Rd. The investment is part of a $325 million program of critical water infrastructure projects to help build up to 107,000 new homes across the province.

Photo credit: sidekick / Adobe Stock
Ontario invests additional $100M in Skills Development Fund
The Ontario government is stepping up to protect Ontario workers in the face of potential American tariffs on Canadian goods by investing an additional $100 million in the province’s Skills Development Fund (SDF) Training Stream, bringing the total provincial investment in SDF to $1.5 billion.
This investment will support workers in fields including manufacturing, construction, critical mineral extraction and other skilled trades.

Photo credit: Platoo Studio / Adobe Stock
WSIB enhances Health and Safety Excellence program with new financial incentives
Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has announced enhancements to its Health and Safety Excellence program. Among several new benefits announced is a $1,000 incentive as soon as employers get started in the program. They can also earn substantial rebates on their WSIB premiums; program members have earned over $72 million to date.

Picture credit: AddMeshCube / Adobe Stock
Bank of Canada widely expected to cut interest rate as tariff threat looms
The Bank of Canada is expected to cut its policy rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, amid widespread trade uncertainty with the United States.
The central bank’s interest rate currently sits at 3.25 per cent, the top-line of the bank’s neutral range. In December, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said policymakers would take a more “gradual approach” to reductions of the policy rate moving forward.
Did you know?
A federal inquiry into the recent Canada Post strike began today.
Focus on Canada-U.S. Business
How Trump could turbocharge the brain drain from Canada
The U.S. has long been a preferred destination for Canadian tech talent. One study by Charles Plant a consultant who researches startups in Canada, found that 10 per cent of all STEM grads in Canada end up working in the United States, with those from McGill University, Waterloo and the University of British Columbia most likely to head south. Among software engineering graduates, the numbers are even higher — an unofficial count of UWaterloo’s 2022 software engineering class of 2022 showed that 71 per cent accepted job offers in the U.S.
Canada’s tech industry got a boost during U.S. President Donald’s Trump first term, when anti-immigration sentiment and a visa crackdown in the U.S. brought a sizable migration of foreign talent to Canada. But this time, the forces appear to be reversing: Trump’s alignment with Silicon Valley just as Canada is toughening its immigration rules, and that has some fearful that a fresh tech-worker exodus from Canada is imminent.
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.