Female leaders to be honoured at 2021 Women in Business Awards
Tomorrow, Women in Niagara (WIN), a council of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC), will host the annual Women in Business Awards to honour the outstanding achievements of Niagara’s female leaders in business and non-profits. Awards will be presented in many categories recognizing entrepreneurship, community contribution, the arts, non-profits, science, health care, and more.
The event is a hybrid, with in-person attendance and a livestream. Tickets are sold out, but the livestream can be viewed here.
Ontario to invest an additional $500,000 via Investing in Women’s Futures Program
The Ontario government is providing an additional $500,000 in the Investing in Women’s Futures Program, bringing the total funding to $2.7 million this year. Offered at 23 women’s centres across the province, the program provides free employment readiness and violence prevention programming to socially and economically marginalized women so that they can develop the in-demand skills they need to re-enter the workforce.
Over the past two years, the 23 women’s centres offering the Investing in Women’s Futures Program have helped more than 1,900 women find jobs or start their own businesses and pursue further training or education. Overall, 19,000 women have accessed the Investing in Women’s Futures Program over the past three years.
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Federal ministers to make announcements regarding border measures tomorrow
Federal ministers are slated to make announcements tomorrow at 1pm regarding border measures and other COVID-19 matters at 1pm in Ottawa on Friday, November 19.
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Ontario shifts to digital reminders, saving $29 million and 362 tonnes of paper over next five years
The Ontario government is eliminating mailing paper renewal notices in favour of digital reminders. By eliminating paper renewal notices, Ontario will save up to $29 million over five years in postage and mailing costs with funds being re-invested into critical programs and services like education. Further, it will benefit the environment by saving approximately 80 million pieces of paper – roughly 16,000 boxes or 362 tonnes – over five years.
Paper renewal notices will no longer be mailed for driver’s licences, licence plate stickers, and health cards that expire on or after March 1, 2022, except to designated groups.
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187,000 fewer Canadians claimed Employment Insurance in September
The number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits dropped 187,000 (-12.7%) in September to 1.3 million. Ontario, Quebec and Alberta accounted for most of the national decrease.
In September, the number of regular EI recipients declined in 9 of 10 broad occupational groups compared with August, with those who last worked in sales and service occupations (-124,000; -25.3%) accounting for two-thirds of the monthly decline. The number of core-aged (25 to 54 years) women receiving regular EI benefits fell by 89,000 (-21.1%), a decrease almost 1.5 times larger than that among core-aged men (-63,000; -13.8%).
The number of EI beneficiaries in Ontario dropped 19.1%.
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Ontario expands COVID-19 testing locations
The Ontario government is enhancing COVID-19 testing by expanding the number of testing locations and making it more convenient to access publicly funded testing for those who need it. These new testing options are being deployed as more people head indoors and attend family gatherings during the colder winter months.
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Reading Recommendations
Posts Misrepresent Data to Falsely Claim Italy Reduced Its COVID-19 Death Count
FactCheck.org
The vast majority of people who have died with COVID-19 had other medical conditions that put them at risk of severe disease, or other conditions caused by COVID-19. But internet posts misinterpret data about those conditions to falsely claim that Italy has reduced its count of COVID-19 deaths. It hasn’t.
In Italy, COVID-19 is the underlying cause of death in 89% of deaths of people who tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the ISS statement.
Italy hasn’t reduced the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19. The claims saying that it has are based on the same kind of misrepresentation of data that we wrote about a year ago.
Grocery bills get higher as food industry costs soar
Financial Post
A staggering combination of labour shortages, poor harvests and congested ports is driving price increases and product shortages across the Canadian food industry, two of the country’s largest supermarket chains said Wednesday.
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and Metro Inc. both gave quarterly updates on Wednesday as Statistics Canada reported a year-over-year increase of 4.7 per cent in the Consumer Price Index in October, the steepest rise since February 2003. The price of beef jumped 14 per cent and bacon rose 20.2 per cent, though food prices overall were up a more modest 3.8 per cent.
Niagara COVID-19 statistics tracker
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker
Free rapid COVID-19 testing kits are now available to businesses. Visit gncc.ca/workplace-self-screening-kits to learn more and reserve kits for your organization.
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here. The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.
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.
