In this edition:
- WSIB reduces average premium rate for Ontario businesses
- Niagara Region councillors press for more resources to tackle homelessness
- Federal government denies Marineland request to export belugas
- Weakened economy and tariff cuts led to BoC rate cut
- Export Development Canada says cleantech has “strong global growth potential”
- Ontario skills training funding not fair or transparent, auditor finds
- Ontario ‘at risk’ of missing $10-a-day child-care program targets
- Focus on Canada-U.S. Business
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Picture credit: visoot / Adobe Stock
WSIB reduces average premium rate for Ontario businesses
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has announced the average premium rate for Ontario businesses in 2026 will be reduced to $1.23 per $100 of insurable payroll, down from $1.25 in 2025.
This reduction will help businesses save $60 million compared to 2025, as they face ongoing economic uncertainty.
Picture credit: Erman Gunes / Adobe Stock
Niagara Region councillors press for more resources to tackle homelessness
Having declared a state of emergency for homelessness, mental health and addictions in February 2023, regional council went back to the well again last week with another call for provincial support.
Picture credit: Mikhail / Adobe Stock
Federal government denies Marineland request to export belugas
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has denied Marineland Canada’s request to export its 30 remaining beluga whales to a theme park in China.
In a statement, DFO Minister Joanne Thompson said she could not “in good conscience” approve the export and that her decision aligned with regulations in the Fisheries Act to protect marine mammals from exploitation.
Photo credit: Iryna / Adobe Stock
Weakened economy and tariff cuts led to BoC rate cut
The Bank of Canada today released the deliberations of its Governing Council that led to September’s rate cut. While the global economy had proven resilient to increased US tariffs in the first half of the year, there were increasing signs that economic growth was slowing. Tariffs and trade uncertainty continued to weigh on the Canadian economy, which contracted in the second quarter as the Bank had expected.
Picture credit: IM Imagery / Adobe Stock
Export Development Canada says cleantech has “strong global growth potential”
Amid global geopolitical tensions, trade uncertainty and setbacks in climate goals, Export Development Canada’s (EDC) latest cleantech industry report highlights Canada’s reported strengths in three sectors: renewable energy, electric vehicles (EVs) and electrification technologies. The report, titled Canada’s cleantech future: Scalable, profitable, essential, reportedly emphasizes the economic potential of these mature clean technologies.
Picture credit: Leonid Andronov / Adobe Stock
Ontario skills training funding not fair or transparent, auditor finds
Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini’s office has been heavily involved in selecting projects that get funded under a $2.5-billion skills training program and has doled out money to applicants ranked low by bureaucrats without documenting reasons, the auditor general has found.
The Skills Development Fund gives money to organizations for projects that help hire, train or retrain workers.
Picture credit: bernardbodo / Adobe Stock
Ontario ‘at risk’ of missing $10-a-day child-care program targets
The provincial government is “at risk” of missing its targets under its child-care agreement with Ottawa, including reaching an average $10-a-day fee by next spring, Ontario’s auditor general has found.
Focus on Canada-U.S. Business
Is the border closed? What Canadians need to know about the U.S. government shutdown
Anastasia Blosser, The Toronto Star
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.
