Free rapid COVID-19 testing kits are now available to businesses
Visit gncc.ca/workplace-self-screening-kits/ to learn more and reserve kits for your organization.
Remote learning to continue across Ontario for the remainder of school year
The Ontario government will continue with remote learning for all elementary and secondary students across the province for the remainder of this school year. The Government referred to recent modelling presented by the Science Advisory Table which revealed that if Ontario reopened schools to in-person learning, the province could see an increase of six to 11 per cent in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases. The government could not be certain how many of these would be the new, more dangerous B.1.617.2 variant first identified in India.
GNCC calls for further business supports as restrictions continue
Ontario has now moved out of the stay-at-home order, yet the vast majority of restrictions on businesses remain in effect. Although the new provincial plan commits to begin reopening when the adult vaccination rate reaches 60%, that reopening is still planned for the middle of this month, despite the 65% milestone having been passed last week.
The Step One restrictions are still onerous, with essential retail able to open only at 25% capacity and non-essential at only 15%, for instance. If the United States and the United Kingdom are indicators of Canada’s future, ahead of us in vaccine deployment, we can likely expect vaccination to slow and stall as we run into the limits posed by those who cannot – or will not – get vaccinated. If this is the case, Ontario could be stuck in Step One or Step Two of the plan for some time, with heavy restrictions continuing to hamper our economy.
The GNCC is calling for the Government of Ontario to introduce a third round of small business support grants, to create an appeals procedure for rejected applications, and for the Government of Canada to delay the tapering of the wage and rent subsidy programs.
Youth and family vaccination clinics to begin June 14 in Niagara
Niagara Region Public Health is pleased to announce a run of vaccination clinics tailored for youth and their families, beginning June 14. The clinics are available now for booking through the provincial booking system, for those 12-17 years old and their families. Click here for a list of locations. Eligible residents can book an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination either online through the provincial portal at Ontario.ca/bookvaccine or by calling the provincial booking system at 1-833-943-3900.
St. Catharines unveils first Pride Crosswalk as commitment to inclusivity and diversity continues
As Pride Month celebrations get underway, the City of St. Catharines is celebrating the installation of its first Pride Crosswalk, recognizing the community’s diversity and the importance of continued efforts toward inclusion.
The crosswalk was installed last week at the St. Paul Street pedestrian crossover located in front of the FirstOntario PAC, with a design developed in consultation with the City’s LGBTQ2+ and Anti-racism Advisory Committees.
One in three Canadian workers received CERB payments in 2020
Of all Canadian workers who earned at least $5,000 in 2019, 35.2% received CERB payments for the period between March 15 and September 26, 2020, a new Statistics Canada study has shown.
Women (36.3%) were more likely than men (34.2%) to receive CERB, reflecting the fact that they were more affected by the lockdowns than their male counterparts.
Labour Force Survey data show that from March to September 2020, the total actual hours worked by women fell 16.3% from the same period a year earlier, compared with a 13.1% decline for men.
Roughly two-thirds (66.6%) of workers employed in accommodation and food services in 2019 received CERB payments in 2020, the highest rate among all sectors. The corresponding percentage for their counterparts employed in arts, entertainment, and recreation was 62.7%.
By contrast, relatively few workers employed in utilities (7.0%) or public administration (11.7%) received CERB payments in 2020.
Total value of building permits remains historically high
The total value of building permits remained at historically high levels in April 2021, edging down 0.5% to $11.1 billion, following the record set in March. The slight pullback was mainly due to declines in the residential sector in British Columbia and Quebec, which outweighed national gains in the non-residential sector.
On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), building permits were largely unchanged (-0.0%).
Reading Recommendations
What’s your sales automation strategy?
Harvard Business Review
In this article, we’ll examine sales automation’s overarching benefits, how it can be applied to standard sales processes, and how to successfully adopt new processes to improve your team’s ability to sell. We will also detail five key principles to consider while building and executing on your sales automation strategy.
From ‘deadly enemy’ to ‘covidiots’: Words matter when talking about COVID-19
The Conversation
So much has been said and written about the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve been flooded with metaphors, idioms, symbols, neologisms, memes and tweets. Some have referred to this deluge of words as an infodemic.
And the words we use matter. To paraphrase the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein: the limits of our language are the limits of our world. Words place parameters around our thoughts.
These parameters are the lenses we look through. According to literary theorist Kenneth Burke, “terministic screens” are defined as the language through which we perceive our reality. The screen creates meaning for us, shaping our perspective of the world and our actions within it. The language acting as a screen then determines what our mind selects and what it deflects.
Featured Content
Servant Leadership
Pollice Consulting Group
Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy in which the goal of the leader is to serve. Given the upheaval that we have experienced over the past twenty months, servant leadership has been taking on a life of its own in some major organizations.
This is a very different approach from the traditional leadership style where the leader’s main focus is the thriving of their company, usually based on metrics. A servant leader shares power, puts the needs of the employees first and helps people develop and perform as efficiently and effectively as possible. In other words, servant leadership inverts the norm, which puts the customer and the employee as a main priority. Instead of the people working to serve the leader, the leader exists to serve the people.
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker (June 2)
Niagara’s most up-to-date vaccination numbers are presented below, along with comparison data from Ontario, Canada, and G7 countries.
Total doses administered in Niagara: 295,025
Total doses administered in Niagara since yesterday: 4,904
| Percentage of population with one dose | Percentage of population fully vaccinated | |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara | 82.7% | 78.2% |
| Ontario | 84.6% | 79.1% |
| Canada | 84.7% | 78.6% |
| United States | 75% | 64% |
| United Kingdom | 78% | 72% |
| Germany | 76% | 74% |
| France | 80% | 77% |
| Italy | 83% | 76% |
| Japan | 80% | 79% |
| World | 63% | 53% |
Data are drawn from Niagara Region, the Government of Ontario, and Oxford University’s Our World in Data project.
