In this edition:
- Industry champions celebrated at 2023 Canadian Wine Industry Awards ceremony
- Niagara Region moves forward with plans to support more attainable housing, find efficiencies
- City of Welland adopts Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Program
- Ontarians wagering far more on legal online casino games than on sports betting
- Retail sales in Canada up 0.2 per cent to $66 billion in May
Industry champions celebrated at 2023 Canadian Wine Industry Awards ceremony
Wine Growers Canada (WGC), the national association representing the Canadian wine industry, honoured industry leaders and champions through the 2023 Canadian Wine Industry Awards, which took place this week in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
This year’s distinguished recipients are:
- Canadian Wine Industry Awards of Distinction – Jay Wright, former President & CEO at Arterra Wines Canada, and John Howard, Owner/ Founder of Megalomaniac Winery
- Canadian Wine Industry Champion Awards – Minister of Agriculture & Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau & the Parliamentary National Wine Caucus
- The Karl Kaiser Canadian Winemaker Award – Jean-Laurent “J-L” Groux, the founding winemaker of Stratus Vineyards
- Ontario Wine Industry Champion Award – Rebecca Mackenzie.
Niagara Region moves forward with plans to support more attainable housing, find efficiencies
In response to some of the most pressing concerns of residents and businesses, yesterday Niagara Region outlined its initial plans to both increase the supply of attainable housing options and find ways to better utilize public resources across Niagara.
In March, Regional Council worked with staff to create the Strategic Transformation Office, a division that houses staff dedicated to finding opportunities to better share municipal resources, as well as increase attainable housing options across Niagara.
Highlights of the new Office’s early work include:
- Shared Services – Niagara Region has dedicated resources specifically focused on finding more opportunities to share services between Niagara’s municipalities, to make both service delivery more seamless for residents and ultimately more cost-effective
- Attainable Housing – Staff outlined initial plans to increase the supply of attainable housing that is available across the region. The work will complement the initiatives undertaken by Niagara Region Housing and the Region’s Community Services Department related to supportive, subsidized and community housing programs.
- GO Implementation – Staff is also tasked with carrying forward the final stages of Council’s GO Station Development Strategy.
City of Welland adopts Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Program
This week, Welland City Council officially adopted an Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP). This program aims to establish a new housing partnership with multiple providers to address the city’s affordable housing needs.
The CIP and its accompanying programs offer financial incentives to private property owners and non-profit housing providers who wish to build affordable rental housing. Creating the CIP is part of the City’s Housing Action Plan and will help the City meet its housing growth target.
Ontarians wagering far more on legal online casino games than on sports betting
Ontarians’ total wagers on online casino games stand far higher than what’s spent on sports-related betting, according to newly released figures from iGaming Ontario (iGO), providing a first glimpse into how these two segments compare.
The province launched a regulated online gaming market last year, allowing licensed operators to provide services including casino games, sports betting and poker services. Data released this week by iGO, a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario that manages the regulated market, indicates that Ontarians placed $14 billion in total wagers in the recent April – June quarter.
Together, these wagers generated $545 million in gaming revenues. By comparison, the market generated $162 million in these revenues during the equivalent quarter last year, its first in operation.
Statistics Canada says retail sales up 0.2 per cent to $66 billion in May
Statistics Canada says retail sales rose 0.2 per cent to $66.0 billion in May, helped by gains at motor vehicle and parts dealers, and food and beverage retailers. Core retail sales – which exclude gas stations and fuel vendors, along with motor vehicle and parts dealers – were unchanged in May. In Ontario, retail sales were down for the second time in three months.
Statistics Canada also said its initial estimate for June suggested retail sales for that month were unchanged, but cautioned the figure would be revised.
Did you know?
If you type the word “askew” into the Google search box, the entire page will tilt slightly.
Focus on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Why we should talk about ‘belonging’ when we talk about DEI
Art Markman; Fast Company
Over the past few years, many DEI efforts have added “belonging” as a core element (and have sometimes been recast as DEIB). The concept of belonging focuses on an individual’s sense that they feel like a member of the community and deserve to be there.
The sense of belonging matters, because it affects how people deal with adversity. When something goes wrong, that can either be motivating or demotivating – and belonging plays a role in determining which it is. If you feel like you do belong in your role and in your organization, then setbacks are just part of the normal challenge of doing difficult things. Your belief in yourself creates a sense that your actions can lead to desirable outcomes. As a result, setbacks can be motivating.
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.
