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Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Daily Update: September 7th, 2021

The City of St. Catharines’ small-business support office is gearing up for another annual run of Starter Company Plus.

St. Catharines Enterprise Centre supporting entrepreneurs with Starter Company Plus

The City of St. Catharines’ small-business support office is gearing up for another annual run of Starter Company Plus. Through the provincially funded program, the team at the Enterprise Centre provides business training, mentorship and a grant up to $5,000 to help eligible entrepreneurs successfully launch their own businesses.

Since 2013 the centre has assisted 100 new businesses through the program. Of those 100 businesses, 88 still operate, accounting for over 200 local jobs.

The application deadline for this year is Sept. 27.

Before signing up, interested business owners are encouraged to participate in one of two upcoming information sessions on Sept. 15 and 22. More information, including registration, for the information sessions can be found at www.investinstc.ca/site/training-and-seminars.

For more information on the Starter Company Plus program, including how to apply, visit www.investinstc.ca/site/startercompany.


Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop urges citizens to become fully vaccinated

While over 70% of Fort Erie residents have received their first dose of a vaccine and over 65% are fully vaccinated, Mayor Redekop notes, the town is still behind the Regional and Provincial numbers for those categories. To alert those who wish to obtain their first or second dose of the vaccination, the Town is placing information on its website and social media regarding vaccination clinics being hosted in the town and pharmacies that are providing vaccinations. The Mayor urges everyone to become fully vaccinated, the one sure way to protect yourself, those around you and our community.

Click here for more information (PDF link).

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines here.


Severe thunderstorm warning in effect for Niagara

Conditions are favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms late this afternoon into this evening. Some of these thunderstorms will be capable of producing wind gusts up to 100 km/h, large hail up to 2 cm in diameter and locally heavy rainfall.

Click here for more information.


The Election Section

Reading Recommendations

No jab, no pay: Quebec gives health-care workers deadline to get fully vaccinated

CBC News

Quebec health-care workers in both the public and private systems who are not adequately vaccinated by Oct. 15 will be suspended without pay, the province’s health minister, Christian Dubé, announced Tuesday.

Dubé and Quebec Premier François Legault both said in recent weeks they intended to make vaccination mandatory for health-care workers, but until Tuesday, they had not specified a deadline or consequences for workers who didn’t follow the mandate.

Dubé made the announcement in Montreal during a provincial update on the pandemic situation in the province.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines here.


Bank of Canada ‘in a pickle’ when it comes to housing: National Bank

BNN Bloomberg

National Bank Economist Warren Lovely said the Bank of Canada is in a tough spot ahead of its monetary policy decision Wednesday, given housing markets all over the country are battling affordability.

“We’ve had a significant reliance on housing in our Canadian economic model,” said Lovely, chief rates and public sector strategist at National Bank, in an interview. “At the same time, affordability is getting away from a lot of Canadians and may require a policy response, not just from politicians contesting the election, but ultimately from our monetary policy makers as well.”

The issue for the Bank of Canada, said Lovely, is that it’s no longer a case of just two markets – Toronto and Vancouver – dealing with runaway prices for homes, which policy makers in this country had grown accustomed to.


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 18December 25January 1January 8January 15January 22January 29
Reproductive number1.41.81.41.11.00.70.9
New cases per 100,000101.2267.3469.8575.8507.1295.5250.6
New cases per day (not including outbreaks)60.7178.7311.7376.9325.4182.7145.7
Percent of hospital beds occupied97%95.2%98.2%103.2%104.5%103.6%106%
Percent of intensive care beds occupied78.8%77.3%87.9%87.9%90.9%89.4%93.9%
Percentage of positive tests6.1%15.6%28.1%28.6%26.6%21.2%16.2%

Last updated: August 28, 2021

Click here for definitions of terms used in this table.

On September 3, there were 10 patients admitted to Niagara Health with COVID-19, of which 8 were unvaccinated, 0 were partially vaccinated, and 2 were fully vaccinated. There were 0 patients with COVID-19 in a Niagara Health Intensive Care Unit.

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 dosePercentage of population fully vaccinated
Niagara82.7%78.2%
Ontario84.6%79.1%
Canada84.7%78.6%
United States75%64%
United Kingdom78%72%
Germany76%74%
France80%77%
Italy83%76%
Japan80%79%
World63%53%

Total doses administered in Niagara: 669,988

New daily doses administered to Niagara residents: 358

Last updated: September 7, 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.

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