In this edition:
- Canadian corporations report drop in Q3 net income as interest rates and labour shortages bite
- Ontario government introduces Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act
- Study: workers earning micro-credentials after layoff see smaller increase in earnings than those who did not return to school at all
- Latest outlook indicates full recovery for Canada’s tourism industry as early as 2024
- Virtual program streamlines Niagara Health care and reduces Emergency Department visits
- Brock-YWCA research addresses affordable housing barriers faced by women, gender-diverse people
- Town of Lincoln launches beta site of new Lincoln.ca to facilitate community feedback
Canadian corporations report drop in Q3 net income as interest rates and labour shortages bite
Business economic outlook has worsened in the third quarter, Statistics Canada has reported today. The continued increases in the policy interest rates (175 basis points hike during the quarter) began to have a cooling effect on the economy. The ongoing labour shortage, downward trend for energy and metal commodity prices, and a depreciation of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar by 2.3%, have increased uncertainty and concerns over an economic slowdown.
Canadian corporations reported a decrease of 8.1% (-$12.1 billion) in net income before taxes (NIBT) in the third quarter. This loss was driven by a decrease in both the financial sector (-11.6%) and the non-financial sector (-6.7%).
The construction industry NIBT declined 11.1% in the third quarter, as pressures on costs negatively impacted the industry.
The Bank of Canada continued raising its policy interest rate in the third quarter, up by 175 basis points as the average inflation rate declined slightly to 7.2% during the quarter. The rise in the interest rate and growing economic uncertainty contributed to a 4.8% decline on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).
NIBT of financial corporations decreased 11.6% to $39.0 billion in the third quarter.
Ontario government introduces Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act
Today, the Ontario government introduced the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act which, if passed, would implement measures aimed at increasing Ontario’s competitiveness, strengthening provincial supply chains, and making government services easier to access and interact with.
Highlights of the package include:
- The Grow Ontario Strategy to increase production and consumption of food grown in the province by adopting new and innovative technologies.
- Removing legislative barriers to support greater investment in clean and emission reducing technologies.
- Providing more data and tools to municipalities to determine optimal Reduced Load Periods on roadways and improve supply chain efficiency.
- Increasing court capacity and efficiency to improve service, including the introduction of digital jury questionaries.
- Modernizing the Veterinarians Act, including identifying opportunities to streamline requirements or reduce compliance burden for vets and practice owners.
Study: workers earning micro-credentials after layoff see smaller increase in earnings than those who did not return to school at all
A new study from Statistics Canada focused on individuals who lost their job in the period of 2010 to 2014 assessed the impact on earnings of workers who elected to attain new qualifications before returning to the labour market.
Individuals who obtained a college or CEGEP certificate (usually a one-year commitment) shortly after job loss saw their average annual earnings grow by more than $7,000, from $35,900 one year prior to the layoff to $43,100 five years after the layoff (all figures expressed in 2019 dollars).
Similarly, those who obtained a college or CEGEP diploma (usually a two- or three-year commitment) had an average increase in annual earnings of almost $10,000 over the same period (from $34,200 to $43,800). In contrast, displaced workers who completed a micro-credential, which is shorter in length than a certificate or diploma, registered a relatively small increase in earnings, roughly $1,300.
The earnings growth of displaced workers who completed a micro-credential was somewhat smaller than that registered by displaced workers who did not return to school. The latter group saw their average annual earnings grow by about $2,400, from $48,700 one year before job loss to $51,100 five years after job loss.
Despite the potential economic benefits of returning to school following job loss, a majority of displaced workers did not adopt this strategy. A recent Statistics Canada study reported that 4.0% of workers who lost their job during the recession in 2009 returned to school in that year, compared with 1.9% of other workers. By 2018, 14.1% of workers displaced in the 2009 recession had returned to school compared with 9.8% of others.
Latest outlook indicates full recovery for Canada’s tourism industry as early as 2024
Today, Destination Canada published its Fall Tourism Outlook which forecasts that despite ongoing challenges, the recovery trajectory for Canada’s tourism sector is strengthening, bolstered by the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and resilience in travel demand. Leisure travel is now expected to recover to 2019 levels by 2024, considered a remarkable feat, one year earlier than previously forecasted in Spring 2022. Download the Fall Tourism Outlook here.
Domestic tourism will continue to lead the sector’s recovery with strong spending providing a foundation for brisk recovery to 2019 levels. Domestic travel market spending is expected to reach 92% of 2019 levels by the end of 2022 and fully recover in 2023.
Virtual program streamlines Niagara Health care and reduces Emergency Department visits
A new program designed to help patients get the care they need from the right place is having an immediate positive impact on Niagara residents.
Since the SCOPE Niagara program launched in May, more than 70 per cent of patients whose primary care providers use the service have been able to avoid an unnecessary visit to the Emergency Department (ED).
Nearly 100 family physicians and nurse practitioners across the region have registered for SCOPE Niagara – Seamless Care Optimizing the Patient Experience. The program connects family physicians and nurse practitioners to a team of specialists from Niagara Health and from Home and Community Care.
“As one of 16 SCOPE hubs in Ontario, the program, which works closely with primary care providers in Niagara, helps to reduce ED visits and hospital re-admissions,” says Heather Paterson, Interim Executive Vice-President, Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Executive, Niagara Health. “The program allows family physicians and nurse practitioners to phone into the SCOPE nurse navigator to receive quick access to urgent testing for their patients who would have needed to go to the ED otherwise.”
Brock-YWCA research addresses affordable housing barriers faced by women, gender-diverse people
The lack of affordable, safe housing in Niagara hits women and gender-diverse people particularly hard, says a recent Brock University-Niagara YWCA policy brief.
But it is more than just a shortage of inexpensive shelter that sees women and gender-diverse people being disproportionality locked out of the affordable housing system, says the brief, “Improving Safe and Affordable Housing for Women in Niagara, Before and After COVID-19.”
“There needs to be systemic change in providing programs and supports, so women and gender-diverse people are in a position to access housing, which goes beyond adding more housing units,” says lead author Joanne Heritz, Brock Assistant Professor of Political Science and Niagara Community Observatory (NCO) Research Associate.
The research team will present the brief at the YWCA Niagara Region’s Annual General Meeting, to be held online in the Microsoft Teams platform at Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m.
Town of Lincoln launches beta site of new Lincoln.ca to facilitate community feedback
The Town of Lincoln is pleased to provide the Lincoln community with the opportunity to review and comment on its new corporate website through the launch of its beta site, beta.lincoln.ca.
The Town is actively seeking feedback on the beta site through a survey at Speak Up Lincoln, the Town’s public engagement site. Community members, local businesses and visitors alike are invited to participate in a brief survey to share thoughts on the new website.
“We see our website as a digital gateway to Lincoln and a first point of contact for most. It demonstrates who we are and what sets us apart from other communities not only within Niagara, but across the province,” said Town of Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton. “Community feedback is important to us and shapes all that we do in our service to the community, so we encourage everyone to peruse our new site and share their honest and purposeful feedback.”
Focus on Climate
How China, the world’s top polluter, avoids paying for climate damage
In 1992, the United Nations classified China as a developing country, as hundreds of millions of its citizens lived in poverty.
A lot has changed since then: China is now the world’s second-largest economy and the biggest annual emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gases. Average Chinese today are 34 times richer and nearly four times more polluting. But the classification has stayed the same for the past three decades, frustrating diplomats from developed nations who say it has allowed Beijing to avoid paying its fair share to help poor countries cope with the ravages of climate change.
The debate over what China owes to countries that are least responsible for global warming — but most harmed by its effects — has dramatically intensified in the wake of the recent U.N. Climate Change Conference in Egypt. At the end of the two-week summit, known as COP27, negotiators from nearly 200 nations agreed to establish a fund to compensate vulnerable countries for the costs of addressing rising seas, stronger storms and other effects of a warming world.
Analysts say it is unlikely that China will pay into the fund, despite the country’s rapidly rising contribution to the greenhouse gases heating the planet.
From ‘car-dependent hellscapes’ to green cities, Canadians find new ways to fight climate change
Canadians pondering their household finances know that there are always more ideas about how to spend money than there is money to spend.
That universal economic principle was conspicuous at COP27, the latest version of the United Nations conference on climate change that went into overtime this weekend in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. A long list of competing demands for that cash included compensation for climate damage, biodiversity loss and winding down the use of fossil fuels.
As governments at all levels consider the wisest use of tax revenue to avert a global climate catastrophe, there is growing evidence that urban development — that is, how Canada builds out its cities to accommodate an expanding population — is the cornerstone of long-term climate policy.
And while disheartened critics worry that car-centric urban sprawl still underway cannot be stopped, there are new glimmers of hope as a growing wave of low-carbon, high-density, tax-efficient, people-friendly city-building shows signs of spreading.
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.
