In this edition:
Chair Bradley delivers State of the Region address
Federal government to release budget on April 7
Government of Canada announces 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan
Lincoln releases first Annual Business Review
All doses available aboard GO-VAXX bus at NC’s Welland Campus March 30
Hospitality and arts sectors post job losses in January
Chair Bradley delivers State of the Region address
In his State of the Region address on March 29, Regional Chair Bradley delivered a speech focused on the themes of teamwork and respect, while also discussing numerous accomplishments that have been delivered by this term of council.
Appearing before a sold-out audience at the Balls Falls Conservation Area, and over 300 viewers online, Chair Bradley reflected on his time in office and the strength of the team that comprises Regional Council.
The event was hosted by the Niagara Industrial Association, Niagara Home Builders’ Association, Niagara Construction Association, Niagara Association of Realtors, and the Chambers of Commerce for Grimsby and District, Lincoln, and Greater Niagara.
Read a transcript of the Chair’s keynote here.
Federal government to release budget on April 7
The federal government will table its next annual budget on Thursday, April 7 at 4 p.m. ET.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland confirmed the budget’s release date on Tuesday during question period.
“Our government was re-elected on a commitment to grow our economy, make life more affordable and to continue building a Canada where nobody gets left behind,” Freeland told the House of Commons.
“That is exactly what we are doing. And that is what we are going to continue to do in the budget that I will present to this House.”
Government sources have told CBC News that the budget will be a “back to basics” document after two years of extraordinary government spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Government of Canada announces 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced the release of the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Canada’s Next Steps to Clean Air and a Strong Economy. The plan is a sector-by-sector approach for Canada to reach its new climate target of cutting emissions by 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and to put us on track toward our goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
The 2030 Emissions Reductions Plan includes $9.1 billion in new investments to cut pollution and grow the economy, including:
- investing more than $2.9 billion in EV charging infrastructure, providing financial support to make buying zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) more affordable, supporting clean medium- and heavy-duty transportation projects, and developing a regulated sales mandate so that 100 per cent of new passenger vehicles sold in Canada will be zero emission by 2035, with interim targets of at least 20 per cent by 2026, and at least 60 per cent by 2030.
- investing around $1 billion in a national net-zero by 2050 buildings plan, the Canada Green Buildings Strategy, to work with provinces, territories, and other partners to support the adoption of the highest tier building codes, pilot community-scale retrofits, and facilitate deep energy retrofits for large buildings.
- creating greater incentives for clean technologies and fuels, such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage to enable industries to be clean and competitive.
- making additional investments of about $850 million in clean energy projects like wind and solar power, and moving Canada’s electricity grid to net-zero emissions by 2035.
- achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and reduce oil and gas methane emissions by at least 75 per cent by 2030 through reductions in fossil fuel consumption. The plan includes a projected contribution for the oil and gas sector of a 31 per cent reduction from 2005 levels, which is equivalent to 42 per cent from 2019 levels and will guide the government’s work to develop the cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector.
- allocating $1 billion for new and expanded programs to help farmers develop and adopt sustainable practices, energy-efficient technologies, and solutions like capturing carbon from the air.
- investing $2.2 billion in expanding the Low Carbon Economy Fund to support projects from governments, schools, non-profits, Indigenous Peoples, and more to cut pollution and create jobs in communities across the country.
- an additional investment of $780 million to help Canada’s oceans, wetlands, peatlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands capture and store carbon, and explore the potential for negative emission technologies in the forest sector.
Lincoln releases first Annual Business Review
The Town of Lincoln yesterday released its first ever 2021 Annual Business Review, highlighting key economic development activities, local business success stories, and detailed investment in Lincoln throughout 2021.
Promoting an “Open for Business” message and attracting new investment is an important role that will drive results in terms of economic development for the Town of Lincoln.
The Town concluded 2021 with its highest ever overall value of building permits issued for new construction, at $182.9 million. Construction value is $14 million higher than the previous record and the 10-year average of $90.8 million.
All doses available aboard GO-VAXX bus at NC’s Welland Campus March 30
The GO-VAXX mobile vaccine clinic will be at Niagara College’s Welland Campus on March 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in parking lot A3 to administer COVID-19 vaccines to students, employees and the general public.
The fully accessible buses will be providing first, second, third, and booster doses for adults and youth ages 12 and up, as well as the pediatric Pfizer COVID‑19 vaccine for children aged five to 11.
Book an appointment via the COVID-19 vaccination portal or provincial hotline at 1-833-943-3900. Walk-ins are also accepted. Maps of campus lots can be found on the NC website. Parking is free for those visiting the GO-VAXX bus.
Hospitality and arts sectors post job losses in January
The number of employees receiving pay or benefits from their employer—measured by the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) as payroll employment—was little changed overall in January. Increases in professional, scientific and technical services (+28,100; +2.6% – its largest monthly payroll employment increase since the beginning of the pandemic) and construction (+21,900; +2.0%) were offset by declines in accommodation and food services (-64,500; -5.5%), and arts, entertainment and recreation (-15,600; -5.8%).
Payroll employment in accommodation and food services decreased by 64,500 (-5.5%) in January, its largest monthly decline since April 2021. In an effort to contain the spread of the Omicron variant, most provinces continued to tighten public health restrictions in January 2022, including closing indoor dining in restaurants and various entertainment and recreational facilities. Payroll employment in accommodation and food services decreased in eight provinces, led by Quebec (-35,800; -14.6%) and Ontario (-25,300; -5.9%).
Payroll employment in arts, entertainment and recreation declined by 15,600 (-5.8%) in January, with seven provinces reporting losses. The largest monthly payroll employment decrease in the sector was in other amusement and recreation industries (-12,400; -8.2%), bringing it 18.3 percentage points below its pre-pandemic level.
There were 94,000 job vacancies in accommodation and food services in January, down 33.0% (-46,300) from December 2021, and down 50.4% from the peak reached in September 2021 (189,500). This was likely due to a combination of expected seasonal effects (as vacancies in the sector usually decline in the winter season) and tightening of public health measures.
Reading Recommendations
Ontario is raising speed limits, but are higher speed limits safer?
CTV News
Ontario announced on Tuesday that the province would be permanently setting speed limits on some divided highways at 110 kilometres per hour, following similar moves made by other provinces.
In most provinces, the highest speed limits on divided highways have been set at 110 km/h. Speed limits in Newfoundland and Quebec remain at 100 km/h while in B.C., some stretches have speed limits of up to 120 km/h. The territories and P.E.I. do not have any divided highways.
Having too much variation in speeds among drivers was an issue on a Massachusetts highway that had a high rate of collisions, according to a study commissioned by the state’s highway agency. In order to reduce accidents, the study recommended increasing the speed limit from 55 miles per hour (88 km/h) to 65 mph (104 km/h).
Highway speed limits around the world also tend to be much higher than in Canada. Most U.S. states have set their highway speed limits at around 70 to 75 mph, or 112 to 120 km/h, but one highway in Texas has a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h). In Europe, most expressways have speed limits of around 120 to 130 km/h – although much of the German autobahn has no speed limit.
Other studies have suggested that higher speed limits could result in more injuries and collisions. After B.C. raised the speed limit up to 120 km/h on several highways in 2014, University of British Columbia researchers published a study in 2018 that found that the number of fatal crashes doubled on roads with higher speed limits. The roads with higher speed limits also saw a 43-per-cent increase in auto insurance claims and a 30-per-cent increase in claims due injuries from crashes.
Canadian crypto industry leaders launch Web3 Council to push for national strategy
Financial Post
The heads of some of Canada’s biggest cryptocurrency companies are coming together to create a new industry group to push for a national strategy on crypto and digital assets.
The Canadian Web3 Council, which is being formally launched on Tuesday, includes representative from a range of organizations that have been active in the Web3 technologies space, including Wealthsimple, Dapper Labs, Ledn, Ether Capital, WonderFi Technologies Inc., Aquanow, Aciom Zen, Chainsafe Systems, ETHGlobal, Figment and Informal Systems (Cosmos).
The co-founders of the non-profit trade association, Jelena Djuric of Informal Systems and Connor Spelliscy, who co-founded the American industry group The Blockchain Association, hope the council can help further establish Canada’s footprint in the Web3 space by helping the industry collaborate with all levels of government.
Update on Ukraine
Fact check: Debunking the false conspiracy theory about an Edmonton firefighter coat in Ukraine
CNN
Yet another false claim about CNN’s coverage of the war in Ukraine is swirling on social media — this one an absurd conspiracy theory that CNN faked its footage from the scene of a fire caused by a Russian attack on a fuel storage site in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
The conspiracy theory, which is being spread in multiple languages by pro-Russia accounts and others, is that CNN video from the Lviv fire on Saturday was actually filmed in the Canadian city of Edmonton.
Why would anyone say such a thing? Because, as CNN anchor Don Lemon was reporting live from the Lviv fire, a firefighter seen behind him was wearing a coat that said “EDMONTON” on the back.
But that’s not fishy. There is a good reason that a firefighter in Lviv would be wearing an “EDMONTON” coat.
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.
