In this edition:
- Ontario passes fourth Working for Workers Act
- Federal minimum wage rising to $17.30 per hour on April 1
- Competition Bureau asks Dept. of Finance to reconsider mortgage stress test, adopt consumer-driven banking
- framework
- Queen’s Park announces $1.8B investment in housing-related infrastructure
- Niagara Falls Council declines to take a position on quarry moratorium
- Niagara Health beats national average of women in hospital leadership roles
- 82% of internet users now bank online, but socioeconomic barriers prevent greater adoption
- Despite what province says, Niagara Falls adamant it met its 2023 housing target
- Focus on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Ontario passes fourth Working for Workers Act
The Working for Workers Four Act, 2023 has received Royal Assent, and its components are now law, including:
- Strengthening wage protections for restaurant, hospitality and service workers by clarifying that employers can never deduct an employee’s wages in the event of a dine and dash, gas and dash or any other stolen property and providing that trial shifts are paid.
- Banning the use of Canadian experience as a requirement in job postings or application forms.
- Making it easier for international students in Ontario to qualify for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).
- Requiring employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings and if artificial intelligence (AI) is used during the hiring process.
- Clarifying vacation pay provisions.
Federal minimum wage rising to $17.30 per hour on April 1
the federal minimum wage will increase from $16.65 to $17.30 per hour on April 1, 2024. This adjustment reflects the 3.9% increase in Canada’s annual average Consumer Price Index for 2023 and is aligned with inflation.
Approximately 30,000 employees in the federally regulated private sector will be affected by this raise. Employers are required to adjust their payroll information accordingly to ensure that all employees, including interns, receive the correct hourly wage starting April 1, 2024. Should the provincial or territorial minimum wage rate exceed the federal rate, employers must pay the higher of the two.
For more information, please refer to the Pay and minimum wage, deductions, and wage recovery webpage or contact the Labour Program at 1‑800‑641‑4049.
Competition Bureau asks Dept. of Finance to reconsider mortgage stress test, adopt consumer-driven banking framework
The Competition Bureau has published its submission in response to the Department of Finance Canada’s public consultation on strengthening competition in the financial sector.
The submission makes two recommendations to lower switching costs for consumers and meaningfully advance competition. Notably, the Bureau:
- encourages Finance to swiftly adopt a consumer-driven banking framework that will boost competition and innovation by challenging established providers and enabling new service providers; and
- urges policymakers to reconsider the application of the stress test at mortgage renewal for uninsured borrowers, to allow them to switch lenders and benefit from competition.
Queen’s Park announces $1.8B investment in housing-related infrastructure
The Ontario government is investing more than $1.8 billion in housing-enabling infrastructure funding to advance its goal of building at least 1.5 million homes by 2031, including $1 billion for the new Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program and $625 million more for the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, bringing its total funding to $825 million.
Niagara Falls Council declines to take a position on quarry moratorium
After receiving a request on February 6, 2024, to write a letter to the Province of Ontario requesting a moratorium on quarries from an interested resident, Niagara Falls City Council directed Staff to review the request and report back. Council then resolved in open session to take no position (i.e. neither accept nor deny) the request for a moratorium or an interim control by-law at this time.
The City has an active Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application that is to be brought to a future Council Public Meeting. Supporting a moratorium or issuing an interim control by-law at this stage means that Council would effectively issue a decision denying the quarry application in advance of the process under the Planning Act that the City must follow and that is designed to evaluate these applications based on their merits.
Niagara Health beats national average of women in hospital leadership roles
Health care has historically been a sector with a predominantly female workforce. When it comes to leadership, it’s also one where the glass ceiling is showing cracks.
Women represent 82 per cent of Niagara Health’s staff. At the executive level, seven of nine leaders gathering around the table are women, some of whom began their career trajectory on the front lines of health care. The Board of Directors is also chaired by a woman, Marylee O’Neill.
Based on numbers alone, Niagara Health is above average when it comes to female representation at the decision-making tier in Canadian hospitals.
82% of internet users now bank online, but socioeconomic barriers prevent greater adoption
Internet use in Canada is prolific, with 94% of Canadians going online for personal use in 2022, up from 91% in 2018, Statistics Canada reported today. Not only are more Canadians using the Internet since the COVID-19 pandemic, but more are managing their personal and household finances online.
Based on data from the Canadian Internet Use Survey, 82% of Internet users conducted online banking in 2022, representing a small but significant increase from 80% in 2018.
Lack of Internet access has been consistently linked to socio-economic disparities. The lowest-income families had the lowest rates of Internet access, meaning reduced opportunities to manage finances online. Racialized populations were also less likely to bank online compared with the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population.
Despite what province says, Niagara Falls adamant it met its 2023 housing target
Municipal officials in Niagara Falls feel left out as they recently watched Welland and St. Catharines receive a combined $4 million from the province for hitting or exceeding 2023 housing targets.
The Building Faster Fund rewards municipalities based on overall targets and contributions to Ontario’s goal of 1.5 million starts by 2031.
During Tuesday’s Niagara Falls city council meeting, Coun. Mona Patel brought up the province’s housing supply tracking website that showed Niagara Falls at 68 per cent of its target.
“We’re not so sure about that (number),” said Mayor Jim Diodati, adding city officials have spoken to Paul Calandra, the province’s municipal affairs and housing minister, about the matter.
Did you know?
Focus on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Toxic positivity could be a problem in your workplace
It’s not too often the words ‘toxic’ and ‘positivity’ find themselves side by side. But one emotional intelligence expert argues that not only do they belong together, but the combo is finding its way into workplaces, potentially making them less healthy and less safe.
“Toxic positivity manifests in various forms within workplaces,” explains Joshua Freedman, CEO and co-founder of Six Seconds, a global think tank dedicated to leveraging emotional intelligence. “We often attempt to motivate people by urging them to maintain a positive outlook, yet workplaces frequently struggle to acknowledge emotions authentically.”
Freedman says health and safety professionals, pivotal in fostering safe and supportive work environments, can benefit significantly from understanding and addressing this phenomenon. He elucidates toxic positivity as the denial of difficult or unpleasant feelings, which inadvertently conveys the message that experiencing normal human emotions is somehow wrong.
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.
