In this edition:
- Economic uncertainty to continue in years to come for Niagara business and industry
- GDP drop in September wipes out August gains
- Equal Voice Niagara launches “Seat at the Table” program
- NOTL agrees to pause heritage designations and study insurance issues
- West Lincoln enhances accountability with strategic plan dashboard
- NPCA approves 2026 budget with a 3.59% increase
- Niagara-on-the-Lake officials propose lowest tax hike in recent years for 2026
- Ontario to create development-focused provincial conservation authority
- Grocery code nears completion as dispute resolution details take shape
- Government consultations open on CUSMA and anti-competitive conduct
- Canada’s Cyber Centre warns of hacktivists targeting water, energy systems
- Focus on Health & Safety
Did you know you can get the GNCC’s Daily Update emailed to you? Click here to sign up.
Picture credit: Chris Wilmering / Giant Shoe Creative Agency
Economic uncertainty to continue in years to come for Niagara business and industry
“Buckle up,” Vincent Caron advised.
Because after a tumultuous year of international trade, Caron — he’s the Ontario Chamber of Commerce vice-president of policy — said volatility will likely continue in 2026.
Caron was one of several economy and trade experts, as well as business leaders, who spoke at the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce Niagara Economic Summit on Thursday at White Oaks Resort & Spa in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
They discussed the challenges and opportunities Niagara businesses and industries face.
Picture credit: Who is Danny / Adobe Stock
GDP drop in September wipes out August gains
Real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.3% in August, Statistics Canada reported today, offsetting most of July’s 0.3% expansion, with decreases in goods-producing and services-producing industries.
Goods-producing industries declined 0.6% in August, marking this aggregate’s fifth contraction since the beginning of the year. Services-producing industries edged down 0.1%, marking this aggregate’s first decline in six months, driven by contractions in transportation and warehousing and in wholesale trade.
Picture credit: Foyer Richelieu
Ontario celebrates opening of Welland long-term care home
The Ontario government is celebrating the opening of the new Foyer Richelieu Welland, a Francophone long-term care home which will add 128 modern long-term care beds to the community.
The redeveloped Foyer Richelieu Welland home will provide 66 new and 62 upgraded beds and is now accepting its first residents.
Picture credit: Chanelle Malambo / peopleimages.com / Adobe Stock
Equal Voice Niagara launches “Seat at the Table” program
Equal Voice Niagara is proud to announce the launch of Seat at the Table. This program is designed to inform, inspire, and prepare women and diverse community members to run — or support others running — in the 2026 municipal elections.
Picture credit: Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake
NOTL agrees to pause heritage designations and study insurance issues
Preserving heritage homes is important, but it’s becoming a growing concern for some Delatre Street residents.
At the committee meeting Tuesday, Oct. 28, two residents urged the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake to pause the designation process for their homes, citing rising, unaffordable insurance premiums.
Photo credit: Township of West Lincoln
West Lincoln enhances accountability with strategic plan dashboard
Photo credit: Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
NPCA approves 2026 budget with a 3.59% increase
In what Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority officials are calling a “maintenance budget,” Niagara Region will see a jump in its 2026 rate apportionment from the authority by 3.42 per cent, while Hamilton’s levy will top all municipal stakeholders at 4.25 per cent.
Picture credit: Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake officials propose lowest tax hike in recent years for 2026
Niagara-on-the-Lake municipal staff is proposing one of the town’s lowest tax increases in recent years for 2026 at 1.81 per cent.
A year ago councillors began budget deliberations that started with a 14.4 per tax increase but managed to whittle the 2025 increase to 7.34 per cent.
Picture credit: JHVEPhoto / Adobe Stock
Ontario to create development-focused provincial conservation authority
The Ontario government will soon introduce legislation to create the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA).
Ontario currently has a fragmented system of 36 conservation authorities, each of which have different policies, standards, fees and levels of staffing and technical capabilities. This has led to unpredictable and inconsistent turnaround times for approvals across all conservation authorities, creating uncertainty and delays for builders, landowners and farmers seeking permits, the provincial government said in a statement.
Photo credit: monticellllo / Adobe Stock
Grocery code nears completion as dispute resolution details take shape
Though Canada’s grocery code of conduct is set for full implementation on Jan. 1, there is one fundamental piece still being finalized—the dispute resolution management process, which remains the biggest factor delaying progress.
Photo credit: Wangkun Jia / Adobe Stock
Government consultations open on CUSMA and anti-competitive conduct
As we approach the 2026 joint review of CUSMA, the Government of Canada is initiating a second phase of public consultations. To that end, the Government of Canada is seeking your views and experiences on key areas of CUSMA that are working well and on potential areas for improvement.
The Competition Bureau is also inviting Canadians to provide comments on its proposed Anti-Competitive Conduct and Agreements Enforcement Guidelines.
Following significant changes to the Competition Act between 2022 and 2025, the Bureau is updating its guidelines to help businesses comply with the law.
Photo credit: issaronow / Adobe Stock
Canada’s Cyber Centre warns of hacktivists targeting water, energy systems
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security warns that hackers with an activist agenda have been tampering with online systems that control water, energy and agricultural facilities.
An alert sent to information security officers says the Cyber Centre and the RCMP have received multiple reports in recent weeks of incidents involving internet-accessible information control systems.
Focus on Health & Safety
Constant stress and financial insecurity threaten worker safety
Shane Mercer / Canadian Occupational Safety
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.
