In this edition:
- Building permit fees to increase by 3% in Niagara Falls
- Town of Lincoln celebrates second successful job fair
- South Niagara Hospital live feed camera now available
- Nest Niagara seeks people willing to lease property for small mobile units
- Vineland businesses flirting with forming their own BIA
- Most Canadian firms pay a ransomware gang, latest CIRA survey suggests
- Focus on Climate
Building permit fees to increase by 3% in Niagara Falls
Building permit fees will increase by three per cent in Niagara Falls next year, with city council saying the move will ensure the city is more in line with other regional municipalities and that “development pays for development.”
A Niagara realtors association, however, says the move could hinder the community’s push to address the housing affordability crisis.
In 2019, the city retained Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. to conduct a building permit fee review.
The study was to assess the “adequacy” of current building permit fees, propose new fees where they’re warranted to achieve full cost recovery and establish a “robust” reserve fund to “weather economic downturns” more effectively, said a staff report that was approved by council Tuesday.
Town of Lincoln celebrates second successful job fair
The Town of Lincoln has dubbed its recent job fair an “astounding success,” the second in a series of initiatives aimed at fostering economic development and connecting local employers with skilled job seekers. The event, hosted by the Town’s Economic Development Office, took place on October 3, 2023, at Great Lakes Christian Highschool, drawing in an impressive crowd of over 400 attendees and featuring numerous local employers.
The job fair is a vital component of the broader Work in Lincoln initiative, a collaborative effort between the Town and the Employment Help Centre. The Town is grateful for crucial funding from upper levels of government, including $58,000 from the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through the Rural Economic Development Program – Labour Stream, and $10,000 from Niagara Region Economic Development to help make this initiative possible.
South Niagara Hospital live feed camera now available
You can now get a glimpse behind the fence of the new South Niagara Hospital site. The live feed camera for the 1.3-million-sqaure-foot-hospital construction project is now broadcasting live on Niagara Health’s website.
With a new image updated every five minutes and a featured time-lapse video setting, you can now watch construction of the new hospital live from your desktop or mobile device. From the excavation phase, right through to the installation of the final beam and beyond, you can watch the 12-storey state-of-the-art hospital come to life in real time.
Tiny homes: Nest Niagara seeks people willing to lease property for small mobile units
A new Niagara not-for-profit focused on proactive housing is looking for homeowners interested in hosting mobile secondary suites to prevent vulnerable populations from becoming homeless.
Nest Niagara Inc., launched by Peter Schafrick, needs people willing to lease a part of their property for a tiny home to assist people such as pensioners, people receiving Ontario Disability Support Program and youths aged 20 to 30.
“I came up with the idea after seeing what’s happening with the homeless crisis we’re experiencing, not just here in Niagara, but everywhere in Canada,” said Schafrick.
Vineland businesses flirting with forming their own BIA
Businesses in Vineland are looking to work together to promote the area for shopping and tourism.
At a recent council meeting, Mayor Sandra Easton mentioned while she and several other staff members were doing their Business Walk in downtown Vineland, some business owners mentioned their wishes to form a Business Improvement Area (BIA) in Vineland.
Paul Di Ianni, the town’s director of economic development and communications, fully supports the creation of a BIA in Vineland.
Looking to other parts of Lincoln, Di Ianni notes how the BIA in Beamsville has helped its downtown. He said he’d love to see that for Vineland.
Most Canadian firms pay a ransomware gang, latest CIRA survey suggests
The vast majority of organizations in this country are still giving in and paying ransomware gangs after successful attacks, the annual survey of infosec pros by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) suggests.
That’s one possible conclusion from the results of an online survey of 500 Canadian cybersecurity professionals from organizations that had at least 50 employees that was released Tuesday by CIRA.
CIRA oversees the .ca registry.
Did you know?
Niagara is responsible for 80% of Canada’s total grape and wine production.
Focus on Climate
Emissions from oil and gas, buildings undercut Canada’s climate progress, estimate finds
Emissions from oil and gas and buildings continued to rise in 2022, undercutting Canada’s progress reducing emissions overall, according to a new independent estimate from 440 Mega tonnes, a project of the Canadian Climate Institute.
The Early Estimate of National Emissions for 2022 shows that Canada’s total emissions increased 2.1 per cent from the previous year, an increase of 14.2 megatonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (Mt CO2e). Despite the slight increase observed in 2022, overall emissions were 6.4 per cent below 2005 levels. Canada’s official emissions target for 2030 is 40–45 per cent below 2005 levels.
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.
