In this edition:
- Lincoln moving to Phase 2 of Heritage Conservation District Study for Beamsville
- St. Catharines Fire Services adds new dispatch partners
- Canada’s economy shrank by 0.3% in third quarter, StatsCan says
- Canadian ministers express disappointment over U.S. decision on Canadian softwood lumber duties
- Bank earnings: Expert reaction as CIBC, RBC, TD report results
- Most Canadians not financially ready for retirement
- Ontario to do away with mandatory coroner’s inquests on construction site deaths
- Focus on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Lincoln moving to Phase 2 of Heritage Conservation District Study for Beamsville
The Town of Lincoln is putting heritage first, as it charges ahead with the next phase of a Heritage Conservation District Study.
Set for the Beamsville King Street Corridor, council unanimously passed staff’s recommendation at the committee of the whole meeting on Nov. 28 to move on to Phase 2 of the two-phase study, with this second phase focusing heavily on public consultation.
If, in the end, a heritage conservation district (HCD) is formed for the area, it would protect certain heritage aspects from being changed or demolished without council’s permission.
St. Catharines Fire Services adds new dispatch partners
St. Catharines Fire Services (SCFS) is proud to welcome two more emergency dispatch partners. As part of new Fire Dispatch Services agreements, SCFS is now providing emergency call-taking and dispatch services to Hastings County and Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte.
Hastings County, the second largest county in Ontario, is comprised of 14 municipalities including Centre Hastings, Bancroft, Madoc Township, Tweed and Deseronto. Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte is a First Nations Reserve, located east of Belleville.
Canada’s economy shrank by 0.3% in third quarter, StatsCan says
Canada’s economy shrank in the three months up to September, as household spending was flat and exports declined.
Statistics Canada reported today that the country’s gross domestic product shrank by 0.3 per cent. Exports fell by 1.3 per cent and imports declined by 0.2 per cent.
Household spending was flat for the second quarter in a row, and after five consecutive quarterly declines, housing investment increased by two per cent in the quarter.
Canadian ministers express disappointment over U.S. decision on Canadian softwood lumber duties
Today, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, issued the following statement regarding the results of the sunset review by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) regarding softwood lumber products from Canada: “Canada is disappointed that the USITC has determined that the United States can continue to impose unfair and unwarranted duties on Canadian softwood lumber products.
“U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber are unfounded and unjustifiably harm Canadian businesses and communities. With significant challenges in housing supply and affordability, these duties also harm U.S. consumers and businesses that need Canadian lumber.”
Bank earnings: Expert reaction as CIBC, RBC, TD report results
Canadian banks that reported fourth-quarter earnings this week have all announced dividend increases despite a challenging operating environment, and experts say the road ahead looks good for the banks despite the recent underperformance.
Scotiabank, TD Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada have all posted higher-than-expected provisions for credit losses, while CIBC’s credit loss provisions came in below analysts’ forecasts.
TD Bank reported a drop in profit compared to a year ago and said it is unsure if it will meet its future growth targets for 2024. The bank also announced plans to cut three per cent of its workforce.
Meanwhile, RBC and CIBC beat analyst expectations for the quarter, though RBC also set aside more money for loan losses than expected.
Despite the weakness, all of the banks hiked their dividends. Brooke Thackray, research analyst at Horizons ETF Management Canada, was encouraged by the trend.
“It’s a positive sign that we’ve seen all three banks actually come out and make an announcement to say let’s increase their dividends. If they thought they were in serious trouble they would have held back a bit,” Thackray told BNN Bloomberg in a television interview on Thursday.
Most Canadians not financially ready for retirement
A new report by Deloitte Canada reveals that a significant number of Canadians are ill-prepared for retirement. Research indicates that the financial requirements for retirement have surged in recent years, leaving 55 per cent of households nearing retirement with the need to adjust their lifestyles to prevent running out of savings.
This percentage is projected to increase to 73 per cent when accounting for unforeseen expenses such as healthcare, long-term care costs, and one-off expenditures.
The report emphasizes the challenges faced by middle-income Canadians, often overlooked by the country’s support systems. Factors contributing to this retirement burden include heightened investment responsibilities, escalating retirement costs, limited planning resources, and unexpected expenses during late retirement.
Ontario to do away with mandatory coroner’s inquests on construction site deaths
Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey says the province intends to do away with mandatory coroner’s inquests for workers who died on constructions sites.
In its place, the province will conduct an annual review of construction site deaths in an effort to alleviate pressure on overloaded coroners.
Did you know?
The Volkswagen Group comprises the brands of Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, CUPRA, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Scania, TRATON, CARIAD, MOIA, and MAN, spanning seven European countries.
Focus on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Inclusive leadership as a tipping point for culture change
Ivey Business School
With more than twenty years of diversity and inclusion practice experience, Kimberley Messer understands what it takes to keep workplace progress moving forward. In short, she says, it requires “gentle pressure, relentlessly applied”.
Messer pioneered and led inclusion initiatives at the grass roots and in full global systems through her two decades with IBM, and now as VP Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at IGM Financial.
Inclusive leadership is no longer just a nice skillset to have, but a lifeforce for your organization’s performance. Messer recently joined Barnini Bhattacharyya and Shannon Rawski, from Ivey’s Organizational Behaviour group, for an Ivey Idea Forum discussion which dove deeply into the inclusive leadership skills needed to help build a workplace culture where employees feel valued, cared for, and welcomed.
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.
