In this edition:
- Why more Canadians are leaving a gift to charity in their Wills
- Average income in 2021 grew despite lingering pandemic: StatCan
- Ontario breaks ground on long-term care home in Welland
- St. Catharines makes business licence applications available online
- NWIC deploys Next Generation Wireless Network across Lincoln’s rural & urban areas
- Niagara Falls Farmers’ Market to kick off 2023 market season
- $4-million donation helps Niagara Health launch Knowledge Institute
- Apartment building planned for St. Catharines property vacant for more than 20 years
- ‘There is still so much that people should learn’: Red Dress Day walk to be held in downtown St. Catharines
Why more Canadians are leaving a gift to charity in their Wills
Often people think about contributing to the causes they care about with monthly donations or volunteering time, but there is a growing number of people who are going one step further to leave a gift to charity in their Wills. These are ordinary Canadians who’ve realized they can make a powerful contribution that will last for generations to come, without taking away from the resources they or their families need.
This new mindset among Canadians of all ages has been triggered, to some extent, by the intensity of recent global events and the realization that it’s possible to do more just by giving in a different way.
In fact, if more Canadians left even a minuscule percentage of their estate to charity, the sum of all their efforts could represent as much as $40 billion to advance organizations like NCF.
When you look into it, you may be surprised to learn that a donation of as little as a 1% of your estate can result in a bigger contribution than you ever thought possible. You are still leaving 99% of your estate to support your loved ones, and you’re not using any of the money you need now. The best part is that leaving a gift in your Will can be a very simple process.
Sponsored content from Niagara Community Foundation
Average income in 2021 grew despite lingering pandemic: StatCan
Although many sectors of the economy continued to be impacted by the pandemic in 2021, the median market income of families and unattached individuals grew by 7.3% to $61,700. This growth more than offset the decline observed in 2020 and brought the median market income 3.5% higher than its 2019 level.
With the easing of economic shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the market income increase 2021 was led by a rebound in employment income and a reduced reliance on COVID-19 relief programs. Despite relatively stable after-tax income, Canada’s official poverty rate increased by 1.0 percentage point to 7.4% in 2021, but remained well below the pre-pandemic poverty rate (10.3% in 2019).
Ontario breaks ground on long-term care home in Welland
Construction is underway at the new Foyer Richelieu Welland, a long-term care home in the Niagara Region. This is part of the Ontario government’s $6.4 billion commitment to build more than 30,000 new beds by 2028 and 28,000 upgraded long-term care beds across the province. The home is one of 39 long-term care projects in development across the province where services for Francophone residents will be provided.
Foyer Richelieu Welland is expected to finish construction and start welcoming its first residents in summer 2025.
St. Catharines makes business licence applications available online
St. Catharines businesses no longer need to waste printer ink or stop by City Hall to pick up a paper copy of a business licence application, as they can now be filled out entirely online.
There are five applications now available on stcatharines.ca. Applicants can fill out forms to apply for a general business licence, a licence to run a business as a master plumber, a licence to operate a second-level lodging house, as well as general hawker and peddler and hawker and peddler event promoter licences.
Online business licence applications can be found at stcatharines.ca/BusinessLicences along with further business resources and assistance including information on business definitions, existing licence renewals, taxes and fees.
NWIC deploys Next Generation Wireless Network across Lincoln’s rural & urban areas
Niagara Wireless Internet Company (NWIC) announced today the completion of their Next Generation Wireless Network infrastructure investment in Lincoln, serving the majority of Beamsville, Vineland and Jordan rural and urban residents. The new broadband technology offered by NWIC will have the ability to match the speed and performance of fibre-to-the-home services.
The deployment of NWIC’s Next Generation Wireless Network marks a significant milestone in the company’s ongoing commitment to providing fast and reliable internet services to the residents of Lincoln. Next Generation is the fastest fixed wireless technology available in the world today.
Niagara Falls Farmers’ Market to kick off 2023 market season
Niagara Falls’ award-winning Farmers’ Market kicks off the 2023 market season at MacBain Community Centre on Saturday, May 20th, from 7 am – 1 pm.
The Farmers’ Market will relocate to its new, permanent home at the Niagara Falls Exchange later this summer upon substantial completion of the construction project. The Exchange is the City’s new 10,000-square-foot Arts & Culture hub and indoor/outdoor event space, located in the Main Street & Ferry Street neighbourhood adjacent to the Niagara Falls History Museum. In addition to the Farmers’ Market, The Exchange will also feature a café, artist & woodworking studios, an event and performance space, and two courtyards featuring public art and murals. For more information, visit nfexchange.ca.
$4-million donation helps Niagara Health launch Knowledge Institute
A significant donation from the McCall MacBain Foundation is serving as a catalyst to help Niagara Health launch a new program that will change how research and academic activities are organized and conducted at community hospitals.
Launched in St. Catharines Tuesday, May 2, the Niagara Health Knowledge Institute (NHKI) is on a mission to lead community hospital-based research in Canada and advance healthcare and health service delivery through research, quality improvement and education. The NHKI will transform healthcare in Niagara through knowledge generation and mobilization, and help position Niagara Health as a national leader in research at community hospitals.
Apartment building planned for St. Catharines property vacant for more than 20 years
A proposed five-storey apartment building on a long vacant St. Paul Street West lot got a green light from city council Monday, though some councillors expressed concerns the building is too short and doesn’t have enough parking spaces.
The empty lot at the corner of 47 St. Paul St. W. and Flummerfelt Street is set for a 20-metre-tall building with 16 one- and two-bedroom apartments and a small main floor commercial space.
‘There is still so much that people should learn’: Red Dress Day walk to be held in downtown St. Catharines
While we may have come a long way with how Indigenous people are treated, there is still a long way to go.
In honour of Red Dress Day on May 5, there will be a walk in downtown St. Catharines starting from city hall and ending at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.
The walk will begin at 5:30 p.m. at city hall, with a performance from the Strong Water Singers.
At the end of the walk, the Strong Water Singers will be performing again, and there will be an Indigenous artisan market inside of the school for people to shop at.
Did you know?
Michael Dell founded Dell Computer in his college dorm room with a thousand dollars from his family.
Focus on Finance & Economy
As prices soar, Canadians find new ways to save
Inflation has driven up costs across categories. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hikes is making borrowing money more expensive.
It’s no wonder Canadian consumers are highly cognizant of rising prices at the supermarket. The latest numbers from Caddle show that shoppers aren’t just aware of inflation’s impact in the grocery store in the past three months, but they’ve been actively changing their shopping habits to soften the blow.
Surveying a panel of 3,126 primary shoppers across generations, Caddle’s shopper intelligence insights found that soaring costs are top of mind from coast-to-coast. A whopping 92% of Canadians agree food is more expensive than it was just three months ago.
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.
