In this edition:
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- Labour market may be cooling off as Niagara unemployment edges up
- Hate crimes on rise; Ontario invests in combating hate crime
- Red Dress Day honoured as leaders say more work to be done
- Gillian’s Place receives $1.5M donation to help expand St. Catharines facility
- WHO downgrades COVID pandemic, says it’s no longer a global emergency
- Paving work to disrupt QEW/Glendale interchange for next 4-6 weeks
Labour market may be cooling off as Niagara unemployment edges up
Niagara’s unemployment rate ticked up slightly in April to 4.4%, still at a very low level, but above the record low seen in March at 4%. The size of the labour force shrank by 900, while the number of employed fell from 221,800 to 220,100. Employment statistics held steady in Ontario and Canada. While it may be too early to tell if the labour market is beginning to slacken, they have been holding steady for several months, indicating that the labour crisis may have levelled out.
Nationally, employment rose by 41,000 (+0.2%) in April, all in part-time work. The unemployment rate was 5.0% in April, unchanged since December 2022.
Employment increased by 18,000 (+0.3%) among core-aged men (25 to 54 years old) and by 16,000 (+0.7%) among men aged 55 and older. Employment held steady for core-aged and older women. There was little change in female and male youth employment in the month.
Click here to view Statistics Canada’s interactive Labour Force Survey map.
Click here for more visualizations of Niagara labour market data.
Hate crimes on rise; Ontario invests in combating hate crime
Hate-related investigations by Niagara Regional Police nearly doubled for the second year in a row, likely fuelled by local reaction to international events as well as increasing anti-racism awareness.
According to the NRP’s recently released annual report on hate crimes, 41 investigations were conducted in 2022 — almost doubling the 21 investigations conducted a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the Ontario government is investing $25.5 million over two years to help address the rise of hate incidents against religious and minority groups. The new Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant will help faith-based and cultural organizations enhance or implement measures to ensure community spaces remain safe and secure.
Red Dress Day honoured as leaders say more work to be done
The head of the Native Women’s Association of Canada says it’s clear there’s an ongoing emergency nearly four years after the final report into missing and murdered Indigenous woman and girls was released.
“We are in a crisis,” said Carol McBride.
Red dresses are set to be on display across the country Friday to recognize the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People. It has become known as Red Dress Day and the empty garments serve as a symbol of lives that have been lost.
In a statement, Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley invited everyone “to reflect on the ongoing national tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people across the country.”
Gillian’s Place receives $1.5M donation to help expand St. Catharines facility
A safe haven in St. Catharines for people fleeing abusive relationships has received a $1.5M gift to expand.
Gillian’s Place says the donation from the Marotta Family officially launches the ‘Build a Safer Future Campaign’.
The funds will establish the Marotta Family Centre for Violence Prevention and Outreach Support.
WHO downgrades COVID pandemic, says it’s no longer a global emergency
The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least seven million people worldwide.
WHO said that even though the emergency phase was over, the pandemic hasn’t come to an end, noting recent spikes in cases in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The UN health agency says that thousands of people are still dying from the virus every week.
Even though the WHO Director General determined the current COVID-19 situation no longer constitutes a PHEIC, the Government of Canada stated that it recognizes that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is still circulating across Canada and worldwide. The Government of Canada will continue to work with the WHO, international partners and with Canadian provinces and territories to monitor the COVID-19 situation and to mitigate domestic health and societal impacts of this virus.
Paving work to disrupt QEW/Glendale interchange for next 4-6 weeks
Paving on the interchange on the QEW near the Daniel J. Patterson-Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake begins on May 7. Alternating two of three lanes will be closed during nightly closures in both directions on the QEW, while on and off ramps will be closed periodically as required when operations are in and around the QEW/Glendale interchange.
Please drive carefully and follow posted signage. For additional notices about closures, visit:
qew-glendaleinterchange.ca
Focus on Sustainability
A skeptic’s hope for packaging
Packaging policy is not new. Parts of Europe, for example, have had extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws on the books as far back as 1991, and those laws have expanded globally quite quickly since then. For a fun historical overview of EPR, check out this site from Multi-Material Stewardship Western, an NGO out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Two things have changed over the last few years, though, that I think are noteworthy.
Did you know?
The red and white Coca-Cola logo is recognized by 94% of the world’s population.
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.
