In this edition:
Bank of Canada increases rate
Canadian childcare use still down from 2019
St. Catharines to implement Municipal Accommodation Tax
Welland will reopen Council chambers to public
GFL Environmental newest sponsor at Canada Games Park
Gillian’s Place seeks Director at Large
Fort Erie requests end to border restrictions
Bank of Canada increases interest rate
The Bank of Canada today increased its target for the overnight rate to 1½%, with the Bank Rate at 1¾% and the deposit rate at 1½%. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening (QT).
Inflation globally and in Canada continues to rise, largely driven by higher prices for energy and food. In Canada, CPI inflation reached 6.8% for the month of April – well above the Bank’s forecast – and will likely move even higher in the near term before beginning to ease. As pervasive input price pressures feed through into consumer prices, inflation continues to broaden, with core measures of inflation ranging between 3.2% and 5.1%. Almost 70% of CPI categories now show inflation above 3%. The risk of elevated inflation becoming entrenched has risen. The Bank announced its intent to use its monetary policy tools to return inflation to target and keep inflation expectations well anchored.
Canadian childcare use still down from 2019
Just over half (52%) of Canadian children younger than 6 years were in licensed or unlicensed child care in early 2022. This percentage was unchanged from late 2020 when the Survey on Early Learning and Child Care Arrangements (SELCCA) was last collected, but was down from 60% in 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the overall proportion of young Canadian children in child care in early 2022 was unchanged from 2020, there were differences by age-group. In early 2022, 14% of infants younger than one year were in some type of child care, compared with 20% in 2020. The main reasons cited by parents or guardians for not having their infants in child care were the same as reported in 2020: they were on maternity or parental leave (57%) or they preferred to have a parent stay at home with their child (17%).
St. Catharines to implement Municipal Accommodation Tax
On Monday, City Council approved a Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) that will allow the City to capture revenues from visitors and reinvest that money in efforts to promote tourism and attract world-class events to the community. The program will see a four per cent MAT per room, per night implemented on hotel, motel, bed and breakfast and short-term rental operators, with the money administered by Tourism St. Catharines, a newly created municipal services corporation that will ensure the majority of revenues from the program are directed to tourism investment.
Welland will reopen Council chambers to public
Members of the public wishing to attend City of Welland Council meetings in-person are permitted to do so beginning June 7.
Chambers have been closed since the beginning of the pandemic, and Council meetings shifted entirely online, live-streamed through the City’s website. Live streaming continues as an option to watch Council meetings, but now chambers are open to full capacity of 150 people.
GFL Environmental newest naming sponsor at Canada Games Park
Canada Games Park partners are thrilled to announce GFL Environmental as the newest naming sponsor at the new Canada Games Park (CGP). Headquartered in Vaughan, Ontario, GFL Environmental is the fourth largest diversified environmental services company in North America, providing a comprehensive line of solid waste management, liquid waste management, and soil remediation services across Canada and more than half of the U.S. states.
Gillian’s Place seeks Director at Large
Gillian’s Place is a Canadian charitable organization whose mission is to empower and support people experiencing gender-based violence by providing safety, support, and a range of services and to raise awareness about root causes to end the cycle of violence and abuse. The organization seeks individuals with charitable/non-profit finance and, legal and risk management experience.
Click here to learn more about Gillian’s Place, the important work that they do, and how you can make a difference.
Interested candidates are invited to submit a cover letter and recent resume to the attention of the Board Selection Committee, care of nicole@gilliansplace.com.
Fort Erie formally requests end to COVID border restrictions
The Town of Fort Erie has passed a resolution asking that the Government of Canada immediately return all travel requirements and land ports of entry to pre-pandemic operation, which includes but is not necessarily limited to the removal of all COVID-related public health mandates and measures, returning to pre-pandemic staffing levels, as well as no longer requiring compulsory usage of the ArriveCAN application for entry to Canada at the land border.
The Town has also recommended a Cross-Border Tourism Recovery Task Force to advocate to the federal and provincial governments on the importance of tourism and operation of the land border to Niagara’s post-COVID economic recovery.
Click here to read the letter (PDF link).
Reading Recommendations
Bank of Canada raises benchmark interest rate to 1.5%, signals more hikes on the way
CBC News
The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate to 1.5 per cent on Wednesday and signalled that more hikes are on the way.
The decision by the central bank to raise its rate by half a percentage point was widely expected as it moves to aggressively rein in high inflation.
In a vacuum, central banks slash interest rates to encourage borrowing and investing to stimulate a sluggish economy, and they raise rates when they want to cool down an overheated economy.
Just as many other countries did, Canada reduced lending rates in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But those record-low borrowing rates have contributed to rising inflation, which is what’s prompting the central bank to change direction.
‘We’re still in a pandemic’: PM defends extension of border restrictions as industry groups demand relief
CTV News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending the recent extension of COVID-19 border restrictions, saying the decision is “anchored in science” as representatives from the travel and tourism sector gather in Ottawa to demand relief.
Trudeau said Canada is still in the midst of a pandemic and lifting restrictions – such as requiring foreign tourists to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination upon entry — too soon could cause worse outcomes for the travel sector.
“The reality is, as much as people would like to pretend we’re not, we’re still in a pandemic. There are Canadians who die every single day because of COVID-19,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“I know people are eager to get back to things we love but what will also further damage our tourism industry is if we get another wave.”
The Election Section
Polls open tomorrow. Click here to find voting locations.
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.
