Canada and Ontario invest in agricultural research at Vineland

Canada and Ontario are supporting research projects to increase capacity and productivity in the horticultural sector through a more than $330,000 investment in the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership), the funding for each project will be used to purchase specialized equipment to improve the research capabilities that will benefit Ontario’s greenhouse sector. Research will focus on improving harvesting and storage practices, as well as inventory tracking and improvements to biosecurity and COVID-19 protocols.

The Partnership is a five-year, $3-billion commitment by Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments that supports Canada’s agri-food and agri-products sectors. This commitment includes $2 billion for programs cost-shared by the federal and provincial/territorial governments that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.

In addition to these research projects, Vineland Research will also study urban planting initiatives that will identify the best varieties of trees to plant for urban environments and streetscapes. This research will help lead to solutions and best practices for municipalities pursuing urban tree initiatives.

Since June 2018, both the federal and provincial governments have committed cost-share support to more than 4,400 projects through the Partnership, to help eligible Ontario farmers, food processors, agri-food businesses and sector organizations innovate and grow.

The Ontario agri-food sector supports more than 860,000 jobs in Ontario and contributes more than $47.3 billion each year to the province’s economy.

Ottawa Public Health region moves to Red-Control level

The Ontario Government is moving the Ottawa Public Health region to the Red-Control level in the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework. The government reports that the decision was made at the request of the local medical officer of health due to the concerning trends in public health indicators in the region.

Based on the latest assessment of data, Ottawa Public Health is being moved from its current level in the Framework to the Red-Control level effective Friday, March 19, 2021 at 12:01 a.m., as a result of worsening trends in key health indicators in the region. From March 10 to 15, 2021, Ottawa Public Health’s case rate increased by 24.8 per cent, to 46.8 cases per 100,000 people. In addition, COVID-19 wastewater signal data in Ottawa is worsening.

Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) now to include nearly 600 micro-credential programs

The Ontario government is expanding the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) to include nearly 600 micro-credential programs. Through this initiative, the province is ensuring loans and grants will be available to more learners looking to rapidly upskill and reskill for the in-demand jobs of today and tomorrow.

Micro-credentials are rapid training programs that help people retrain and upgrade their skills to find new employment. Offered by colleges, universities and Indigenous Institutes, micro-credential programs are short in duration, can be completed online, and are often designed for the specific needs of employers and jobs. They can also be taken in isolation or packaged together alongside degrees, diplomas and certificates.

OSAP approved micro-credential programs include artificial intelligence, biometrics, software quality assurance and testing. Courses are also available in areas such as healthcare, including specialities in pediatrics and digital process automation.

Employment Insurance (EI) program reforms receive royal assent

The Government of Canada put forward legislation to increase the maximum number of weeks available to workers through EI regular benefits. Last night, this legislation, Bill C-24, received Royal Assent. Workers claiming EI regular benefits can now access up to a maximum of 50 weeks for claims established between September 27, 2020 to September 25, 2021.

In addition, self-employed workers who have opted in to the EI program to access special benefits are now able to use a 2020 earnings threshold of $5,000, compared to the previous threshold of $7,555. This change is retroactive for claims established as of January 3, 2021 and applies until September 25, 2021.

In addition to Bill C-24, new regulations to increase the number of weeks available under the Canada Recovery Benefits have come into effect. This includes an increase in the number of weeks available under the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) by 12 weeks, extending the maximum duration of the benefits from 26 weeks to 38 weeks. It also includes an increase in the number of weeks available under the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) from 2 weeks to 4 weeks. Individuals can access these additional weeks through the Canada Revenue Agency beginning on March 18, 2021.

U.S. plans to send 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada

The United States plans to send roughly 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine that it is not using to Canada and Mexico through loan deals with the two countries, the White House confirmed today.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that a number of countries, including Canada and Mexico, have asked the U.S. for doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but those loan deals are still being worked out.

The “releasable” vaccines are ready to be used once they arrive, Reuters reported. Under the deal, the United States will share doses with Mexico and Canada now — with the understanding that they will send the United States doses in return. The official said that would take place later this year.

Bar and restaurant jobs were cut to less than half by the pandemic, Statistics Canada study shows

In March 2020—and continuing throughout the month of April—government interventions were put in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time provinces restricted access to and implemented closures of non-essential businesses. These measures severely impacted many businesses, particularly those in the food services and drinking places subsector which was one of the hardest hit by public safety measures. Since then, the industry has experienced constant challenges, exacerbated by the need to adapt in light of repeated re-openings and shutdowns as a result of fluctuations in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country.

By May 2020, employment in the subsector dropped 55.8% (-635,515) from pre-pandemic levels observed in February 2020 and remained one-third lower (-29.3%; -336,667) in December 2020 compared with February 2020. As of December 2020, food services and drinking places accounted for 5.6% of all employer businesses in Canada.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) of food services and drinking places fell 39.5% in March 2020 and by another 40.8% in April 2020 as many of these businesses either closed completely or operated at a greatly reduced capacity, providing take-out or delivery services exclusively. In fact, more than half (56%) of food service and drinking place operators reported being closed at some point last April, while 41% reported being closed for the entire month.

Nearly three-fifths (56.6%) of food services and drinking places expected their profitability would decrease over the next three months compared with just over two-fifths (41.8%) of all businesses. Nearly one-third (29.8%) of food services and drinking places expected profitability to remain the same, while 8.5% expected their profitability to increase.

At their current level of revenue and expenditures, over half (51.2%) of food services and drinking places do not know how long they can continue to operate before considering closure or bankruptcy. Over one-quarter (26.2%) reported that they can continue to operate for less than 12 months before considering closure or bankruptcy, compared with one-tenth (10.3%) of all businesses.

Reading recommendations

IMF warns Canada against premature stimulus withdrawal

A new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cautions Canadian policymakers from unwinding the extraordinary amount of stimulus they unleashed during the COVID-19 pandemic too early.

“As the economy transitions from crisis mode to recovery, it is vitally important to keep the spread of COVID-19 under control, and to avoid a premature withdrawal of fiscal and monetary support,” the IMF said in the report, which focused on analyzing Canada’s policy response to the pandemic.

The IMF said clear communication about how the federal government plans to unwind its relief policies will be key to managing expectations and maintaining policy credibility over the medium-term.

While the government telegraphed that it will take a data-driven view in mapping out the timeline for removing the measures, the Fund says more clarity is needed, especially as the federal deficit balloons.

Tax Q&A: What you need to know about filing your pandemic taxes

Gillian Wheatley, Jacqueline Hansen, CBC News

Your taxes might look a little different this year because of the pandemic. With special government assistance like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and new deductions for people who work from home, this tax season promises to be unique.

The Canada Revenue Agency says it is expecting a flood of queries related to COVID-19 benefits.

To help those with questions, personal finance expert Shannon Lee Simmons sat down virtually with CBC’s Jacqueline Hansen to discuss how taxes are different this year.

Niagara COVID status tracker

Niagara’s most up-to-date COVID statistics, measured against the targets for the various stages of the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, are presented below. This does not predict government policy, but is offered to give you an idea of where Niagara is situated and how likely a relaxation (or further restrictions) may be. These data are drawn daily from Niagara Region. The Grey-Lockdown level does not have its own metrics, but is triggered when the COVID-specific measurements in a Red-Control region have continued to deteriorate.

Definitions:

• Weekly Incidence Rate: the number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per week
• Percent Positivity: the number of positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed
• Rt: the reproductive rate, or the number of people infected by each case of the virus