• Legislative and regulatory changes have come into force as of January 1, 2021. Employers and other workplace parties are encouraged to consult Canada.ca/labour or to contact the Labour Program at 1-800-641-4049 for more information or for support in implementing these changes in their workplace. A summary of the changes is as follows:
  • The anti-harassment and violence legislation (Bill C-65) puts in place a regime that aims to take all forms of harassment and violence into consideration.
  • Employers in federally regulated workplaces and parliamentary workplaces must conduct a workplace assessment, develop a workplace harassment and violence prevention policy, develop and implement violence and harassment training, and establish a thorough process for dealing with incidents.
  • The new Part IV (Administrative Monetary Penalties) of the Code establishes an administrative monetary penalties system, which penalizes employers who do not comply with the Code’s health and safety or labour standards.
  • Employers who do not comply with the Code’s occupational health and safety or labour standards provisions could face a monetary penalty of up to $250,000. Monetary penalties will be calculated based on the type of violation, the size of the business and any previous monetary penalties for violations of the same or higher classification.
  • To provide employers with more time to adjust to these changes, monetary penalties for administrative violations—for example, record keeping and reporting requirements—will not be imposed until January 1, 2022.
  • The amendments to the Employment Equity Regulations introduce new pay transparency measures to raise awareness of the wage gaps experienced by women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities in federally regulated workplaces. With the leadership of employers, the Government of Canada expects these measures to help shift business culture and expectations toward greater equality and better outcomes for workers and their families.
  • The first release of aggregated wage gap information is expected in the winter of 2023.
• The Ontario government is providing a guide on how to start a home-based food business, which includes an overview of public health requirements that need to be followed as a food operator. To further support these entrepreneurs, the government has also made regulatory changes to allow more flexibility to sell low-risk, home-prepared foods. Low-risk foods are considered non-hazardous and do not require refrigeration. They include items such as baked goods, pickles, jams and preserves, chocolates, hard candies and brittles, fudge and toffees, granola, trail mix, nuts and seeds, and coffee beans and tea leaves. All food premises, including home-based food businesses, must adhere to requirements under the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) and the Food Premises Regulation, as well as periodic inspections by their local public health unit. Home-based food businesses that prepare only low-risk foods are exempt from certain regulatory requirements, such as specified handwashing stations in food premises, compliance with commercial dishwashing requirements and food handling training certification. The full guide can be downloaded here (PDF link).
• The Provincewide Shutdown took effect on December 26th, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. The shutdown will last a minimum of 28 days in southern Ontario, and could be lifted later in some regions, thus ending no earlier than January 23rd, 2021. If the pandemic situation does not improve sufficiently, an extension seems likely. A summary of measures applicable to businesses can be downloaded here or viewed online here. Some of the more important points are listed below. Businesses should review the full list of rules and requirements. Questions can be directed to the Stop the Spread Business Information Line at 1-888-444-3659.
  • Closure of non-essential retail stores and malls (stores selling groceries, pharmacies, and liquor stores are considered essential; safety and medical stores or establishments and car dealerships are by appointment only), save for curbside pick-up and delivery, with capacity limits imposed on those stores that may remain open
  • No organized indoor events, with exceptions where all attendees are from the same household; outdoor events are limited to ten attendees. Weddings, funerals, and other religious ceremonies are permitted with up to ten people indoors
  • Child care facilities are open, including for the children of non-essential workers, but day camps are closed
  • Short-term rentals are only permitted for people without other housing
  • Restaurants, bars, and other food-and-drink establishments are closed except for pick-up and delivery. Alcohol may be included with pick-up and delivery orders.
• The Government of Canada has suspended all flights from the United Kingdom until January 6, 2021. On December 26, the first confirmed Ontario cases of the new COVID variant first identified in the UK were reported. Starting January 7, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. EST, air travellers 5 years of age or older will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test result to the airline prior to boarding international flights bound for Canada. Anyone who receives a negative test result and is authorized to enter Canada must still complete the full, mandatory 14-day quarantine. Violating any instructions provided when entering Canada is an offence under the Quarantine Act and could lead to up to six months in prison and/or $750,000 in fines. More information, including frequently asked questions, is available here.

Reading recommendations

• Choosing Strategies for Change, Pollice Management

Change, is traumatic and for some it can be good while for others – it can be frightening. Change by nature can challenge employment, make people feel somewhat threatened by any alteration in the status quo or give organizations a path forward to a more prosperous future. Disruption accompanies change and these disruptions affect employees, leaders, resources, vendors and perhaps some clients. Organizations by their very being must change, and managers must implement changes and overcome resistance to them. This of course has never been more pronounced than the situation we find ourselves in today. From a positive perspective, COVID 19 has forced organizations to make changes that should have been made three to five years ago however, some of these changes are being conducted with little or no well thought out future goals or objectives in mind.

• The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, today provided additional details on how the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has made the home office expenses deduction available to more Canadians, and simplified the way employees can claim these expenses on their personal income tax return for the 2020 tax year. Employees with larger claims for home office expenses can still choose to use the existing detailed method to calculate their home office expenses deduction. Employees who worked from home more than 50% of the time over a period of a least four consecutive weeks in 2020 due to COVID-19 will now be eligible to claim the home office expenses deduction for 2020. A new temporary flat rate method will allow eligible employees to claim a deduction of $2 for each day they worked at home in that period, plus any other days they worked from home in 2020 due to COVID-19 up to a maximum of $400. Under this new method, employees will not have to get Form T2200 or Form T2200S completed and signed by their employer. For more information, visit Canada.ca/cra-home-workspace-expenses.
• The Ontario government is allocating an additional $120 million to help municipalities and Indigenous community partners protect the health and safety of vulnerable people during COVID-19. This investment builds upon the second phase of social services relief funding announced this fall and brings the government’s total allocation to $510 million. Municipalities and Indigenous community partners can use the discretionary funding to improve the delivery of critical services, protect homeless shelter staff and residents, renovate and purchase facilities to create longer-term housing solutions, add to rent banks and support plans to prepare for potential future outbreaks and/or emergencies. The funding is part of the Social Services Relief Fund, itself a part of the up to $4 billion being provided to Ontario municipalities under the federal-provincial Safe Restart Agreement.
• Today, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, announced that following successful negotiations and contingent on Health Canada authorization of the vaccine, Canada will be able to access 168,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020. These are part of the guaranteed 40 million doses, and up to a total of 56 million doses, that Canada has secured through its existing agreement with Moderna. As with all COVID-19 vaccine candidates, the Moderna vaccine must be authorized by Health Canada before being administered to Canadians.
• In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recognizes that for many employers and employees, there have been changes in the way that work is being conducted. Consequently, employers may provide certain benefits, allowances, or reimbursements to ensure that their employees are not unduly subject to harm when performing their employment duties. Under these extraordinary circumstances, the CRA has adopted new positions for employer-provided benefits pertaining to commuting and home office costs. These positions are effective from March 15, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
• On Monday, St. Catharines City Council approved the 2021 Operating and Capital Budgets, representing a 1.86 per cent increase to the municipal portion of property tax in the year ahead for the median home. In 2021, the City projects non-tax revenue decreases of roughly 4.5 per cent, while at the same time an increase in operational costs of roughly $574,000, both largely related to the pandemic. In addition, other revenues related to City facility operations, such as the Meridian Centre and parking operations, are also being impacted. In total these items amount to a roughly $4.2 million impact on the 2021 budget, representing a roughly 3.9 per cent increase to the budget over 2020. The City used increased transfers from reserves — $2.7 million from the Civic Project Fund; $160,000 from the Hydro Reserve Fund; and $157,700 from the Tax Stabilization Reserve — in addition to a $1.9 million decrease in capital project funding from the Operating Budget to offset COVID-19 related costs to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on taxes. For the average homeowner, with a property value assessed at $254,000, the City portion of the property tax bill will increase by 1.86 per cent, amounting to an additional $29.98 for the year.
• Statistics Canada reported today that manufacturing sales rose 0.3% to $54.1 billion in October, following a 2.2% increase in September. The increase in October was almost entirely attributable to non-durable industries, led by the paper, and petroleum and coal industries. Year over year, sales were down 5.2%. Motor vehicle sales rose 1.9% to $4.6 billion in October, following a 2.8% decline in September. Despite the increase, sales were 3.8% below the pre-pandemic level in February and were down 11.7% year over year. In October, motor vehicle inventories were at their lowest level since January 2018 and contributed to the slow recovery in motor vehicle sales. Production in the aerospace product and parts industry were down 5.9% to $1.6 billion in October, following a 15.3% increase in September. Aerospace manufacturers ramped down production due to the collapse in demand and uncertainty surrounding the length of global travel restrictions during the second wave of COVID-19. Production in the industry was one-quarter (-25.1%) below pre-pandemic levels in February.

Reading recommendations:

• The Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, is extending all orders currently in force under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 (ROA) until January 20, 2021. The list of orders under the ROA that have been extended can be found online on the Government of Ontario’s website.
• The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, has launched the 50 – 30 Challenge to advance and recognize diversity, inclusion and economic prosperity from coast to coast to coast. Minister Bains announced a $33-million investment in the Challenge, including for the development of tools and resources to help participating organizations advance diversity and inclusion in workplaces across Canada. Additionally, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) will leverage its programs to encourage companies that receive ISED funding to advance diversity and inclusion within their organizations. At the heart of the 50 – 30 Challenge are two goals for the board(s) and senior management of each organization: gender parity (50%) and significant representation (30%) of under-represented groups. To address the unique needs of various sectors in Canada, the Challenge offers three streams for participation: large corporations; small and medium-sized enterprises; and post-secondary institutions, not-for-profit organizations and charities.
• The Ontario government has made the sale of alcohol with food takeout and delivery orders permanent. Additional permanent reforms for the hospitality sector will allow:
  • alcohol service on docked boats by operators with a liquor sales licence;
  • reduced minimum pricing of spirits consumed on-site, to align with the reduced pricing introduced for takeout and delivery orders;
  • the length of time for temporary patio extensions to be set out by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO); and,
  • for a requirement that ensures third parties delivering from licensed restaurants and bars have a delivery licence.
• The province is also acting to support businesses by:
  • removing restrictive rules to allow for the delivery of alcoholic beverages in food boxes and meal kits;
  • allowing eligible alcohol manufacturers to deliver their own products and charge a delivery fee;
  • allowing restaurants and bars to offer mixed cocktails and growlers as part of a takeout or delivery order; and,
  • permitting eligible manufacturers to sell spirits and 100 per cent Ontario wine at farmers markets.
• Canada’s Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, and Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, highlighted that the Government of Canada is investing an additional $1.5 billion in the Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs) with provinces and territories. The Government of Ontario has received $614 million to help respond to the increased number of Ontarians looking to re-enter the workforce, particularly those in hard-hit sectors and groups disadvantaged as a result of the pandemic.
• Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Digital Government, announced that COVID Alert has been updated with two new features. The first app update allows users to clear the screen that indicates exposure to COVID-19. After receiving a negative COVID-19 test result, the screen can be cleared enabling the app to alert the user of a new exposure. Users should follow public health guidance, and only clear the screen that indicates exposure following a negative test result or after they receive instructions provided by their public health authority. The second feature allows users to turn COVID Alert on and off without disabling Bluetooth. This change was made after listening to feedback from health care workers, who need flexibility to turn off COVID Alert while they are at work wearing their personal protective equipment (PPE).
• The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, introduced Bill C-18, An Act to implement the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement (Canada-UK TCA), in the House of Commons. Subject to parliamentary approval, by preserving the main benefits of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), including the elimination of tariffs on 98% of products exported to the United Kingdom, this agreement will maintain preferential access to the U.K. market for Canadian exporters, even as the United Kingdom exits CETA. British officials have expressed concern that the legislation may not be passed before the House rises for its year-end recess on Friday, meaning that tariffs would be imposed on January 1st.
• Hudson’s Bay Co. is asking an Ontario court to review the province’s decision to temporarily close non-essential retailers in Toronto and Peel Region. In a judicial review filed on Thursday, the Toronto-based retailer called the province’s approach “unreasonable” and “unfair” and asked to recognize that there is a need for a solution that prioritizes health and safety without jeopardizing the livelihood of thousands of retail workers and the future of many businesses.
• Canada on Wednesday approved its first COVID-19 vaccine and said initial shots will be delivered and administered across the country starting next week, while every Canadian will be able to be inoculated as early as the end of September. Canada is the third country after Britain and Bahrain to give the green light to Pfizer Inc’s vaccine, developed with Germany’s BioNTech SE. General inoculations for all Canadians will begin in April after priority populations are taken care of, the government said in a vaccination plan also released on Wednesday.
• The office of Wayne Gates, M.P.P. has compiled a list of available business support programs, which has been reproduced with his kind permission below. A list of business programs and resources can also be found on the GNCC’s website. Businesses are encouraged to review the list and apply for any and all programs that would be useful and for which they may be eligible. Questions about programs can be directed to the Ontario Stop the Spread Information Line at 1-888-444-3659, the Government of Canada Business Enquiries Line at 1-800-959-5525, your Member of Parliament or Provincial Parliament, or the GNCC.

Federal COVID-19 Resources for Businesses

Managing your business during COVID-19

A Government of Canada guide to reopening, financial support, loans and credit. This guide has a detailed list of programs open to businesses.

Provincial COVID-19 Resources for Businesses

Businesses: Get help with COVID-19 costs

A guide to government programs such as personal protective equipment cost recovery and rebates for expenses such as property tax and energy bills.

Small business recovery resources

An Ontario Government guide to resources available to businesses with fewer than 100 workers.

COVID-19: Help for businesses in Ontario

An Ontario Government for all businesses – including reopening guidance and financial relief.

Available funding opportunities from the Ontario Government

The following programs from this Ontario Government directory may be of interest:

• Reconnect Festival and Event Program 2020-2021 (in-person and online event funding)
• Tourism Economic Development and Recovery Fund (for-profit tourism organizations eligible)

Ontario Together

The province’s COVID-19 equipment supplier portal.

Ontario Pandemic Response Partnership Programs

Ontario Business Centres

Ontario announced it was providing $2,040,000 to support Small Business Entreprise Centres to create a Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Network to enhance services.

Digital Main Street Grants

Resources to help businesses transition to digital services (training and grants).

Advocis Connect

Available professional financial advisory sessions focused on questions about government relief programs and business continuity.

Ontario small business financial literacy resources

CPA Canada Financial Literacy Program guide to resources for small businesses.

General Resources for Businesses

Regional Development Program

Program invests in businesses, through funding or services, for programs developing the region (job creation, private investment attraction, business growth etc.).

Small Business Access

A government guide to support, information and advice for running a small business.

Small business: advice, support services, regulations

A government guide to support for small businesses and government regulations.

Ministry of Finance Credits, Benefits and Incentives 

A list of tax credits for businesses.

Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

This Government of Canada agency delivers funding programs for innovation and economic growth in southern Ontario.

Business grants and financing

A Government of Canada guide to grants, loans, private and public sector financing and how to leverage personal assets. The following funding directory allows businesses to filter information based on their personal business attributes and needs.

Community Futures Development Corporation

These offices offer services and financing to small and medium startup companies. Businesses can search an interactive map to find their local office.

Recent Ontario Press Releases & Plans

Ontario Supports Businesses, Workers and Families during COVID-19

Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, December 4, 2020

Province Proposes Cap on Delivery Fees to Support Local Restaurants

Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, November 26, 2020

Rebuilding Main Street: Helping Ontario Businesses Reopen Safer, Rehire Faster and Recover from COVID-19

Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, 2020

Ontario Supporting Small Businesses with Financial Advice and Training

Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, November 19, 2020

Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover Promotes Job Creation by Reducing Taxes on Employers

Office of the Premier, November 10, 2020

Reading recommendations:

Meet the clean supermajors. They have the clout and financial might of the energy behemoths that plumbed the world over for oil and gas before them. But instead of digging mines and drilling wells, they’re leading the race to electrify the global economy. These four companies—Enel, Iberdrola, NextEra Energy and Orsted—prioritized the building or buying of clean-power plants when those assets were still considered alternative and expensive. Now they’re on the cusp of a breakthrough.