Ontario to invest $100 million in Tourism Recovery Program
The new Tourism Recovery Program will help for-profit tourism businesses in the attraction, accommodation, and leisure travel sectors protect critical jobs in communities across the province and help them prepare to reopen and safely welcome back visitors.
Businesses that have experienced a loss of at least 50 per cent of eligible revenue in 2020-21 compared to 2019 will be eligible to apply from October 13, 2021.
Click here for more information.
Niagara joins Consider Canada City Alliance
At its Annual Fall Meeting on Sept. 22, The Consider Canada City Alliance (CCCA) accepted Niagara as its newest member. The Alliance unites 14 of Canada’s largest municipal regions —Vancouver, Surrey, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, London, Waterloo, Hamilton, Niagara, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax— to build a sustainable and globally competitive national economy built upon the collective strength of each member’s ecosystem.
As a partner, Niagara will work with other leading regions as well as with national and international networks of partners to make Canada the preferred location for foreign investment and trade.
Click here for more information.
Government of Ontario deploys 100 new health and safety inspectors to educate businesses about vaccine certificate
More than 100 new health and safety inspectors are graduating today and will be visiting workplaces in construction, industrial and health care settings. With the support of provincial offences officers, the inspectors will be deployed to help educate workers and businesses about the newly-launched vaccine certificate.
The addition of these graduates means Ontario now has a total of 507 labour inspectors, the largest ever number in provincial history.
To help businesses stay on top of health and safety guidance, the province has also launched the new Workplace Safety Plan Builder, a free interactive tool making it easier for workplaces to create and update their COVID-19 safety plans.
Click here for more information.
New mental health support available to farmers
The Ontario government is committing more than $385,000 to expand “In the Know”, a mental health literacy program tailored to support the well-being of the farming community. The In the Know program is an important mental health literacy program tailored to the needs of the agricultural community offered at 16 Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) branches in rural and agricultural communities by approximately 30 facilitators. The expansion of the program to more branches will help improve access to mental health supports in rural areas, reduce the stigma around mental health, encourage more open discussion, and help connect the farm community with the resources and support they need.
Click here for more information.
Visible minorities found communities became less safe and inclusive during pandemic, Statistics Canada reports
To examine how the pandemic influenced Canadians’ views on their communities and affected their economic and financial situation, Statistics Canada conducted its second survey from the Portrait of Canadian Society series (PCS2) from July 19 to August 1, 2021. The survey covers the experiences of the Canadian population during the first 16 months of the pandemic.
This study highlights the social and economic impacts of the pandemic on groups designated as visible minorities and those born abroad. The results show that during the pandemic, these populations have seen their communities as being less inclusive and consider their neighbourhoods less safe for people with a different skin colour, ethnic origin or religion. They have also reported more of an impact on their financial situation and their ability to meet essential needs compared with other Canadians.
Click here for more information.
Niagara Medical Officer of Health offers COVID-19 update
Niagara College announces all programs will offer on-campus learning this winter
With a strong focus on ensuring a safe learning environment, Niagara College is planning to increase on-campus learning in January for the Winter 2022 term, including the opportunity for on-campus learning for all students.
Recognizing that students need ample time to plan for their studies, Niagara College is planning to provide on-campus learning experiences in every program this winter. While many programs will continue to mix remote and in-person learning, students in all programs will be able to have at least a partial on-campus learning experience.
Click here for more information.
Truth and Reconciliation
Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be observed on September 30. It provides an opportunity for us to recognize and commemorate the history and ongoing legacy of residential schools and the trauma experienced by so many. From today until September 30, this section of the Daily Update will contain resources and information to aid and honour residential school survivors and their families, and to promote good relationships and economic reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. We believe the business community has an important role to play in reconciliation.
September 30 is a federal statutory holiday. If your business is federally-regulated, you must observe this holiday. For provincially-regulated businesses, observation is optional.
Help and Resources
For those who need support, a national Residential School Survivor Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week: 1-866-925-4419. For non-Indigenous people, Crisis Services Canada is available to help: 1-833-456-4566.
The Hope for Wellness Help Line offers immediate help to all Indigenous peoples across Canada.
The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program provides mental health, emotional and cultural support services to eligible former Indian Residential School students and their families.
Interactive map of residential schools
Reading Recommendations
Canada’s Green Party chief resigns, calling it ‘worst period’ of her life
Reuters
Annamie Paul announced her resignation as head of Canada’s Green Party on Monday after losing in her own district in last week’s parliamentary election, stepping aside just under a year after becoming the nation’s first Black leader of a mainstream national party.
Paul, 48, said she felt she was never truly allowed to lead the fractious environmentally focused party and was not interested in going through a fight to remain its chief. She called her time as party leader “the worst period in my life.”
“When I was elected and put in this role, I was breaking a glass ceiling,” Paul told reporters in Toronto. “What I didn’t realize at the time is that I was breaking a glass ceiling that was going to fall on my head.”
Alberta health-care system sets another record with 312 patients in intensive care
CBC News
Alberta has set yet another record for the number of patients requiring critical care as the health-care system buckles under the pressure of the pandemic’s fourth wave.
There are currently 312 patients in intensive care units, the vast majority of whom are COVID-19 positive, an Alberta Health Services (AHS) spokesperson said in a statement Monday morning.
AHS continues to open additional ICU spaces and redeploy staff to meet patient demand, including opening another 38 surge beds in the past week, the statement said.
Niagara COVID-19 statistics tracker
These data show the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Niagara. The Province of Ontario is now using a provincewide approach to reopening, and these data no longer have any influence on Niagara’s restrictions. Lower numbers are better in all metrics.
| December 18 | December 25 | January 1 | January 8 | January 15 | January 22 | January 29 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive number | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| New cases per 100,000 | 101.2 | 267.3 | 469.8 | 575.8 | 507.1 | 295.5 | 250.6 |
| New cases per day (not including outbreaks) | 60.7 | 178.7 | 311.7 | 376.9 | 325.4 | 182.7 | 145.7 |
| Percent of hospital beds occupied | 97% | 95.2% | 98.2% | 103.2% | 104.5% | 103.6% | 106% |
| Percent of intensive care beds occupied | 78.8% | 77.3% | 87.9% | 87.9% | 90.9% | 89.4% | 93.9% |
| Percentage of positive tests | 6.1% | 15.6% | 28.1% | 28.6% | 26.6% | 21.2% | 16.2% |
Last updated: September 18, 2021
Click here for definitions of terms used in this table.
On September 27, there were 11 patients admitted to Niagara Health with COVID-19, 10 of whom were unvaccinated and 1 of whom were fully vaccinated. There were 2 patients with COVID-19 in a Niagara Health Intensive Care Unit.
Over the last 28 days, a Niagara resident vaccinated with 1 dose was 4.1 times more likely to contract COVID-19, and an unvaccinated person was 7.7 times more likely. The average weekly rate of hospitalized cases in unvaccinated Canadians was 38 times higher compared to fully vaccinated people.
Data are drawn from Niagara Region Public Health and Niagara Health.
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker
Niagara’s most up-to-date vaccination numbers are presented below, along with comparison data from Ontario, Canada, and G7 countries.
| Percentage of population with one dose | Percentage of population fully vaccinated | |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara | 82.7% | 78.2% |
| Ontario | 84.6% | 79.1% |
| Canada | 84.7% | 78.6% |
| United States | 75% | 64% |
| United Kingdom | 78% | 72% |
| Germany | 76% | 74% |
| France | 80% | 77% |
| Italy | 83% | 76% |
| Japan | 80% | 79% |
| World | 63% | 53% |
Total doses administered in Niagara: 700,025
New daily doses administered to Niagara residents: 694
Last updated: September 27, 2021
Data are drawn from Niagara Region, the Government of Ontario, and Oxford University’s Our World in Data project.
Free rapid COVID-19 testing kits are now available to businesses. Visit gncc.ca/workplace-self-screening-kits to learn more and reserve kits for your organization.
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here. The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.
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.
