In this edition:
- Election Day: what employers need to know
- Leaked document reveals Ontario government intention to allow more housing by overriding municipal zoning
- Retail sales climbed to $61.8 billion in August, but may have fallen in September
- Registration open for Agri-food Innovation and Food Safety Conference at Balls Falls
Election Day: what employers need to know
Monday is election day for Ontario municipalities. Polls are open from 10:00am until 8:00pm. Here’s what you need to know as an employer.
- Under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, all employees eligible to vote are entitled to three consecutive hours while polls are open on election day to cast their votes. In some circumstances, this may require you to offer paid time off. Employees cannot suffer a penalty for missing time from work to vote if their employer is required to grant it under the Act. Employees who are not paid hourly but e.g. for piece-work must be paid what they would have earned in the time off that is granted. Click here for information on who is eligible to vote.
- If an employee’s regular or scheduled hours of work already allow them three consecutive hours to vote between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., they are not entitled to paid time off, and the employer does not need to take any additional action.
- For example, an employee who works 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. has three hours between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. to vote. Their employer does not need to offer any paid time off.
- If an employee’s hours of work prevent them from obtaining three consecutive hours to vote between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., they are entitled to be absent from work with pay for as long as they need to gain three consecutive hours in that window. The time off should be as convenient as possible for the employer; the employer must only ensure that three consecutive hours are available between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. These three consecutive hours can include time that the employee would not be at work anyway.
- For example, an employee who works from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. does not have three consecutive hours to vote. The employer could allow the employee to come in at 1 p.m. or leave at 5 p.m., giving them three hours in either the morning or the evening (two hours off work, plus one hour in which the employee is not scheduled to work). These two hours off would be paid. The employer may choose between the morning or the afternoon option and is not obliged to grant the employee’s preference.
Remember to exercise your right to vote! For information on where and how to vote, visit Niagara Region’s election portal.
Leaked document reveals Ontario government intention to allow more housing by overriding municipal zoning
Premier Doug Ford’s government will override local municipal zoning to allow duplexes and triplexes across Ontario as part of sweeping new housing legislation, the Toronto Star has learned.
The Progressive Conservatives want to “remove rules that prevent missing middle” housing — multi-dwelling units curbed by local zoning laws favouring single-family homes.
In legislation to be tabled when the house resumes Tuesday, the Tories will “accelerate planning” in a number of potentially controversial ways.
They will limit the role of conservation authorities to “commenting agencies” focused on preventing floods and other natural hazards rather than panels that residents have used to stall development.
“You have to have bold, transformative change in the immediate and long term,” Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark said in an interview Thursday.
Retail sales climbed to $61.8 billion in August, but may have fallen in September
Retail sales increased 0.7% to $61.8 billion in August. Sales increased in 6 of 11 subsectors, with these 6 subsectors representing 65.0% of retail trade. The increase was led by sales in food and beverage stores (+2.4%) and motor vehicle and parts dealers (+0.6%).
Core retail sales—which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers—increased 0.9%.
Given the continually evolving economic situation, Statistics Canada is providing an advance estimate of retail sales, which suggests that sales decreased 0.5% in September.
Registration open for Agri-food Innovation and Food Safety Conference at Balls Falls
The Agri-food Innovation and Food Safety Conference is held on November 3, 2022, at Balls Falls Conservation Area. The conference is hosted by Clean Works, Moyer’s Apple, and the Town of Lincoln to showcase the diverse economy in the greater Niagara region and promote Agri-innovation in Lincoln and Niagara.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs sponsors the conference. It is an opportunity to participate in a day of learning from industry experts while networking with various retailers, growers, processors, academia, and government representatives.
Niagara Economic Summit
Prof. Liette Vasseur to offer insight and action on climate impact in Niagara at Summit
Dr. Liette Vasseur, professor in Biology and Environment Sciences at Brock University and UNESCO Chair on Community Sustainability, will join the 2022 Niagara Economic Summit’s panel on Boom or Bust, tackling the questions of our near-term economic future.
The federal disaster adaptation fund, intended to make infrastructure more resilient to catastrophic weather events, will run out of funds years before the end of its mandate, and the FAO has reported that climate change will add between $43 and $116 billion to the cost of maintaining Ontario’s public buildings alone by the end of the century. The climate crisis is already impacting our economy, our businesses, and our infrastructure.
Dr. Vasseur is a renowned expert on climate change, sustainable development, community-based ecosystem management (including ecological restoration and biodiversity assessment) and environmental health. Join her at the Summit to hear how climate change is already affecting our economic health – and what we can do about it.
Contact us to submit your questions for Dr. Vasseur.
Click here for tickets to this year’s Niagara Economic Summit.
Focus on International Trade
Canadian investors retreat from foreign equity buying binge
Pandemic-weary Canadian investors flocked to foreign stocks in 2021. In 2022, they’re taking most of it back.
According to the latest tally from Statistics Canada, Canadians cashed out of foreign equities to the tune of $2.3 billion in August, resulting in a seventh month of divestment in 2022.
StatsCan says from Jan. 1 to the end of August, Canadian investors sold $57.6 billion in foreign shares compared with a total investment of $71.2 billion over the same period in 2021.
6 things to know about international trade this month
A slowdown in global trade growth is on the horizon. Higher energy and food prices are likely to combine with rising interest rates to curb import demand next year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) forecasts. It is also warning of a possible contraction in trade if the war in Ukraine worsens.
The WTO has cut its trade growth forecast for 2023 to 1% – a sharp drop from a previous prediction of 3.4%.
“The picture for 2023 has darkened considerably,” WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a news conference. “If the war in Ukraine worsens, rather than gets better, that’s going to have a huge impact.”
The world needs a more diversified and less concentrated base for the production of goods and services, she says. This should boost growth, increase resilience and promote long-term price stability by reducing the impact of extreme weather events and local disruptions.
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.
