In this edition:

• Ontario breaks ground on long-term care home in Niagara-on-the-Lake
• Simplii Financial supports Niagara College students with $1 million sponsorship
• St. Catharines asset conditions not a good news story
• Premiers ask Ottawa for COVID-19 small business loan extension
• Ontario Energy Board announces changes to electricity prices for small business
• Welland Mayor Frank Campion says he will invoke strong mayor powers
• Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund to provide funding of $500m for 2024
• Focus on Human Resources

Ontario breaks ground on long-term care home in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Construction is underway at Radiant Care Pleasant Manor, a new long-term care home in Niagara-on-the-Lake. This home is one of 67 long-term care home projects fast-tracked this fall with support from the Ontario government’s increased construction funding subsidy. This is part of the Ontario government’s commitment to build more than 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds across the province.

Simplii Financial, a longtime partner of Niagara College, today announced a generous $1 million commitment to expand recreation and engagement opportunities for students, across sports, extra-curricular programming, and events.

“This commitment represents a significant contribution to the lives and college experience of our students,” said Niagara College President Sean Kennedy. “Academic excellence and a wholistic student experience are key priorities for us as a College, and Simplii’s generous support gives us a leg up in providing academic and co-curricular experiences that set our students up for success in work and in life.”

Click here to read more.

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) announced that electricity prices under the Regulated Price Plan (RPP) for households, small business and farms will increase as of November 1. The winter Time-of-Use (TOU) hours and the change in the threshold for residential customers on Tiered pricing will take effect November 1 as usual.

Also effective November 1, the Ontario government’s Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) will increase to 19.3 per cent. The OER provides a rebate on the electricity bill of residential, small business and farm customers. For a typical residential customer who uses 700 kWh of electricity per month, the OER will decrease bills by about $26 each month.

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Welland Mayor Frank Campion says he will invoke strong mayor powers

Did you know?

The Toronto Stock Exchange was officially founded in 1861 and traded in stocks for eighteen companies.

Focus on Human Resources

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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.

In this edition:

• Ontario government introduces Less Red Tape, More Common Sense Act, 2023
• Raw material prices up 2.4% year-over-year, softwood lumber continues fall while precious metal costs increase
• Catholic teachers deliver “overwhelming” strike mandate
• Competition Bureau report finds Canada’s competitive intensity in decline
• Minister Bethlenfalvy to release annual Fall Economic Statement November 2
• Fulton Fitness owner calling it quits after 32 years
• Council for Aboriginal Business and Global Affairs Canada release Adàwe: Export Experiences of Indigenous Entrepreneurs report
• Focus on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Ontario government introduces Less Red Tape, More Common Sense Act, 2023

Today, the Ontario government introduced the Less Red Tape, More Common Sense Act, 2023 which, if passed, is intended to help improve services for people and reduce costs for businesses. This bill is a key part of the province’s Fall 2023 Red Tape Reduction package which also includes several regulatory and policy changes to make it easier to interact with government, resulting in as many as 100,000 hours in time savings for people and businesses each year.

As the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction continues its work, people and businesses are encouraged to visit the Red Tape Portal at Ontario.ca/redtape and submit their ideas on ways the province can continue to make it easier to access services and do business in Ontario.

Prices of products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), rose 0.4% month over month in September and increased 0.6% year over year. Prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), increased 3.5% on a monthly basis in September and rose 2.4% year over year.

Key upward contributions to the year-over-year movement in September were higher prices for motorized and recreational vehicles (+4.0%), gold (+15.8%), silver (+24.7%), motor gasoline (+4.4%) as well as fresh and frozen beef and veal (+19.9%).

Key downward contributions to the year-over-year movement in September were lower prices for softwood lumber (-17.8%), ammonia and chemical fertilizers (-31.9%), diesel fuel (-4.9%), plastic resins (-17.7%), nickel (-12.4%), as well as fresh and frozen pork (-6.6%).

In a province-wide vote conducted on October 18 and 19, Catholic teachers – the members of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) – delivered an overwhelming strike mandate, with 97 per cent voting in favour of authorizing strike action, if necessary.

OECTA has issued the following statement from President René Jansen in de Wal:

“Our overwhelming strike mandate sends a clear message to the Ford Conservative government and the representatives of Catholic school boards that Catholic teachers want to see meaningful progress and results at the bargaining table that address the lack of resources, supports, and time teachers need to best serve their students… Our goal, as always, is to negotiate a fair collective agreement: one that recognizes Catholic teachers’ vital contributions to Ontario’s society and economy, and makes the proper investment – in our students, in our schools, and in the future Ontario deserves.”

Click here to read more.

People can also provide their feedback via a guided online survey, a new online submission portal or by mail to the Ministry of Finance.

Visit Ontario.ca/budgetconsultations to learn how to submit your ideas.

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Fulton Fitness owner calling it quits after 32 years

Did you know?

The Canadian dollar is the seventh most-traded currency in the world.

Focus on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

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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.

In this edition:

• Canadian home sales ease again in September
• Bank of Canada designates additional prominent payment systems
• Ontario to open Trade and Investment Office in Singapore
• Fort Erie to host Mayor’s Forum on Diversity and Inclusion
• Candace Laing re-elected as Chair of Canadian Chamber of Commerce
• Canada launches consultation on the implications of generative artificial intelligence for copyright
• Supreme Court rules against federal environmental impact law
• Focus on Sustainability

Canadian home sales ease again in September

Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales were down on a month-over-month basis in September 2023.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem has designated Visa Inc.’s VisaNet, Mastercard International Inc.’s Global Clearing Management System and Single Message System, and Interac Corp.’s Inter-Member Network as prominent payment systems under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act, effective October 16, 2023.

Designation brings these systems under formal Bank oversight and requires them to adhere to the Bank’s risk management standards. This includes having risk controls in place to ensure continued resilience so they remain safe, viable and effective methods of payment for Canadians.

As part of the Government of Ontario’s trade mission to South Korea, Vietnam and Singapore, the government announced plans to open an Ontario Trade and Investment Office in Singapore in 2024. The office will be the province’s first office in the ASEAN, or Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, a union of 10 states in Southeast Asia with a population of over 600 million people.

“Singapore has one of the world’s strongest and most diversified economies and is an ideal location for Ontario to establish a presence in Southeast Asia,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “Jurisdictions from around the world are looking to gain a foothold in the growing Southeast Asia market and establishing a Trade and Investment Office in Singapore will help unlock trade and investment opportunities for Ontario businesses.”

Click here to read more.

In partnership with the Fort Erie Diversity and Inclusion Coalition, the “Mayor’s Forum on Diversity and Inclusion,” to be held Friday, November 10, brings together thought leaders, professionals, activists, and advocates from diverse backgrounds to engage in insightful discussions, share best practices, and forge meaningful connections.

The conference offers a dynamic platform for participating in panel discussions, keynote addresses, and networking opportunities. Attendees will leave with actionable insights, a broader network of colleagues and a renewed commitment to encouraging positive change in their respective businesses, organizations and communities.

Click here to read more.

The Government of Canada proposed the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, as part of Bill C-27, and continues to consider how other legislative frameworks may need to be updated to address the changing technological landscape, including the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage, launched a consultation to gather Canadians’ thoughts on generative AI tools and the implications for copyright holders to give consent and receive credit and compensation for the use of their works.

Click here to read more.

Supreme Court rules against federal environmental impact law

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Oct. 13 against federal legislation on the environmental effects of major developments, with five out of seven judges finding most of it unconstitutional because it seeks to regulate activities within provincial jurisdiction.

Chief Justice Richard Wagner, writing for the majority, said the law as written could regulate activities that are provincial business, instead of restricting itself to environmental effects that are within Ottawa’s power to oversee.

“Even if this court were to accept Canada’s submission that the defined ‘effects within federal jurisdiction’ are within federal jurisdiction, these effects do not drive the scheme’s decision-making powers,” he wrote in the 204-page opinion released Friday.

Click here to read more.

Did you know?

The majority of Canadians are shareholders in Canadian banks, either directly through share ownership, or indirectly through pension and mutual funds, including the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).

Focus on Sustainability

Click here to read more.

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.

In this edition:

• Ontario to introduce new Greenbelt law soon as legislature resumes, new housing minister says
• With Ford deal approved, Unifor sets sights on GM for next round of auto talks
• Government of Ontario introduces Transportation for the Future Act
• Applications open for Niagara’s Building Safer Communities Grant
• Nearly 40% of Canadians unhappy with hybrid work processes: HP report
• Council for Aboriginal Business and Hydro One open applications for Indigenous Entrepreneurship Grant
• Reading Recommendations: Small Business

Ontario’s legislature has resumed sitting after a summer recess, with a controversy about Greenbelt land removals looming large, despite Premier Doug Ford saying last week that he is reversing the decision.

Ford says in question period today that his announcement is a sign of leadership, admitting he made a mistake and is moving forward.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra says the government members won’t be supporting an NDP private member’s bill today to return lands to the Greenbelt because the government will soon be introducing its own bill to do that.

Canada’s largest private sector union says it will turn to negotiations with General Motors after members voted to accept its labour agreement with Ford Motor Co. of Canada. Unifor says the talks will begin Tuesday.

Workers at Ford voted 54 per cent in favour of a new three-year collective agreement over the weekend. The ratification stands in sharp contrast to the 81 per cent support their previous contract received.

The narrow vote of support by Unifor members for the proposed contract with Ford has experts saying that reaching deals with General Motors and Stellantis could prove more challenging.

Click here to read more.

Government of Ontario introduces Transportation for the Future Act

Today, the Ontario government introduced the Transportation for the Future Act, 2023, that if passed, would help build more GO Transit stations, spur more housing and mixed-use communities around transit, and help make it more convenient to travel across the Greater Toronto Area.

The proposed legislation is in response to requests from municipalities for a new optional funding tool that would enable municipalities to raise revenues to build much needed transit and housing. The new tool, called the Station Contribution Fee, would allow municipalities to fund the design and construction of new GO stations and recover the costs over time as transit-oriented communities are built around these future stations.

Niagara Region is now accepting applications for the Building Safer Communities Grant Program, which funds community-based efforts to prevent youth gun and gang violence locally.

In partnership with Public Safety Canada, the Building Safer Communities Fund will be used to implement Niagara’s Gun and Gang Prevention Strategy. This initiative aligns with prevention activities identified with Niagara’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan.

Applicants may request between $10,000 to $300,000 per year, for up to two years.

Click here to read more.

HP’s first global study that tracks people’s relationships with their work found that nearly 40 per cent of Canadians are unhappy with their hybrid work processes and do not feel like they have the right tools and equipment to be successful.

The research, conducted between June 9 and July 10, 2023 in 12 countries, including Canada, surveyed knowledge workers (12,012), IT decision makers (3,612) and business leaders (1,204).

Over 70 per cent of Canadian knowledge workers think it’s important that a company’s office have all the equipment, technology and space for them to be successful, but only 26 per cent consistently experience this type of environment.

Click here to read more.

Today, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) and Hydro One announced the launch of the Hydro One Indigenous Entrepreneurship Grant for 2023. This year, 10 Indigenous entrepreneurs will each receive a $7,500 grant to expand their business and contribute to their communities’ prosperity.

Launched in 2021, the grant was created to provide financial assistance to Ontario-based Indigenous-owned businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. CCAB research from the 2022 COVID-19 Indigenous Business Survey: Phase III report showed that Indigenous businesses continue to experience negative impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than half (59 per cent) of the businesses that received government financial assistance reporting that the funding did not meet their needs.

Applications are now open and can be submitted until Oct. 23, 2023. To apply for the Hydro One Entrepreneurship Grant and for more information about eligibility, visit www.ccab.com/hydro-one-indigenous-entrepreneurship-grant-2023.

Click here to read more.

Learning opportunities abound in Lincoln on 2023 National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

City of Thorold to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day

St. Catharines to commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Did you know?

Indigenous people in Canada contribute almost $50 billion to the national economy.

Focus on Small Business

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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.

In this edition:

• ‘It was a mistake:’ Ford reversing Ontario government’s decision to open Greenbelt
• Government of Canada introduces legislation lifting GST on new rental housing and increasing power of Competition Bureau
• Niagara-on-the-Lake wineries back Gates’ push to end ‘unfair’ 6.1% tax
• Sean Vanderklis of Meridian joins joint Indigenous business advisory committee
• Number of EI claimants increases by largest amount since 2021 as unemployment rate ticks up
• Brock grad on Time magazine’s list of emerging leaders
• International student flows could be affected by India tension: expert
• New research shows truck driver shortage will grow to 30,000 without systemic change
• St. Catharines to commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Niagara Region receives Distinguished Budget Presentation Award
• Reading Recommendations: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Premier Doug Ford said he will be reversing his government’s decision to open the Greenbelt to developers.

“I made a promise to you that I wouldn’t touch the greenbelt. I broke that promise. And for that, I am very, very sorry,” Ford said at a news conference in Niagara Falls on Thursday.

“It was a mistake to open the Greenbelt.”

Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, introduced Bill C-56, the Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, the first piece of government legislation introduced in the fall parliamentary sitting. This legislation would increase the GST Rental Rebate from 36 per cent to 100 per cent and removes the existing GST Rental Rebate phase-out thresholds, for new rental housing projects.

The legislation will give more power to the Competition Bureau to investigate when industries are behaving unfairly, for example where price fixing or price gouging is occurring, and take enforcement action. This is intended to increase competition, particularly in the grocery retail sector, and to stabilize grocery prices.

Click here to read more.

Only Ontario imposes a 6.1 per cent tax on wine sales at vintners’ retail stores and winery proprietor Bill Redelmeier can’t understand why the levy even exists.

Redelmeier, from Southbrook Vineyards, and Jakub Lipinski, of Big Head Wines, joined Niagara MPP Wayne Gates last week to unveil plans to reintroduce a private member’s bill that will end the “unfair” tax on 100 per cent Ontario VQA wine sold at winery retail stores.

“What nobody can really figure out is why only Ontario wines are charged a 6.1 per cent tax on sales through our own retail store,” Redelmeier said at a news conference hosted by Gates last Thursday.

Click here to read more.

Full disclosure: the GNCC is actively lobbying to end the 6.1% wine tax and for other measures to unlock the potential of the Niagara wine industry.

Sean Vanderklis, Director of Business Development for Indigenous Markets at Meridian Credit Union, has been named as one of eight members of the new Indigenous Advisory Committee formed as a result of a partnership between the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB).

“Earlier this year, we announced a partnership with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business aimed at advancing economic reconciliation by building business capacity to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 92,” said Sara Beyer, Committee Co-Chair and Senior Policy Advisor, OCC. “We are extremely grateful to these eight Indigenous leaders who bring a diverse range of experience and expertise and have committed to advising this work to help produce meaningful outcomes for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses.”

Under the Committee’s guidance, the Initiative will involve engagement with Indigenous businesses, communities, and OCC and CCAB members to inform a series of practical resources to contextualize the role of businesses in advancing reconciliation, promote existing resources, and showcase best practices in Indigenous partnership building across Ontario.

Click here to read more.

The number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits increased by 25,000 (+6.0%) to 438,000 in July. This was the third consecutive monthly increase and the largest increase since May 2021. From April to July 2023, the number of Canadians receiving regular EI benefits has increased by 10.5% (+42,000). The number of people collecting regular EI benefits fell by 3% in Ontario, however.

According to the Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points to 5.5% in July, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.

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Brock University graduate Andreas Flouris (MSc ’04) has been honoured with a place on Time magazine’s TIME100 Next list, which recognizes rising leaders in health, climate, business, sports, the arts and more.

Now an environmental physiologist, Flouris completed a Master of Science in Health Sciences at Brock in 2004 under the supervision of Brent Faught, Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences. After graduating, he attended Dalhousie University to pursue a PhD in Thermal Physiology under the supervision of Stephen Cheung, who is now a Professor and Senior Research Fellow with Brock’s Department of Kinesiology.

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As Canada’s relationship with India deteriorates politically, an international governance expert suggests it’s still too early to speculate how the fallout could hurt either country’s economy – though the flow of Indian students to Canada could be affected.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the Indian government had a hand in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader living in Canada, a claim Indian leader Narendra Modi subsequently called “absurd.” Both countries have expelled one of the other’s diplomats, trade discussions have halted and India has asked citizens to take caution when travelling to Canada.

Did you know?

There are fourteen agricultural research centres across Ontario. Only one – the Vineland Research Centre – is an independent, not-for-profit organization.

Focus on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Click here to read more.

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.

In this edition:

• Minister asks legislative committee to review Niagara government
• Federal government will remove GST on new rental housing builds, senior source says
• Most wholesale sectors post monthly decline, but surge in auto sector drives overall increase
• Strong mayor powers could add up to problems, St. Catharines councillors fear
• Gates launching bill to end 6.1% tax on Ontario wines
• BMO, KPMG, Hydro One among newly-certified Progressive Aboriginal Relations businesses
• Reading Recommendations: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Minister asks legislative committee to review Niagara government

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Most wholesale sectors post monthly decline, but surge in auto sector drives overall increase

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) grew 0.2% to $81.3 billion in July. Despite the majority of subsectors reporting a monthly decline, it was the increase of sales in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector and the building material and supplies subsector that drove the overall sector to an increase. On an annual basis, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were up 1.1%.

Click here to read more.

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Niagara New Democrat MPP Wayne Gates is reintroducing legislation to cancel the basic tax charged on Ontario wines, a move the wine industry has been aggressively lobbying the Doug Ford government to make.

The bill would create an exemption for VQA and 100 per cent Ontario wine from the 6.1 per cent tax collected on wine sold at winery retail stores in the province.

“The wine industry is an incredibly important part of our community here in Niagara and the economic impact of COVID-19 has dealt a massive blow,” Gates said in a news release.

Click here to read more.

Did you know?

More than 180 million people in the world work in construction.

Focus on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Click here to read more.

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.

In this edition:

• Staples acquires longtime Niagara business Beatties
• Economic investment in Niagara unprecedented: analyst
• Niagara Falls will be part of this year’s Grey Cup festivities
• Additional Niagara-on-the-Lake bylaw officer proposed for 2024 to ‘stay on top of’ short-term rentals
• Wholesale trade dips following May uptick
• Ontario college faculty get salary boost after Bill 124 struck down
• Feds stick by immigration plan despite housing supply concerns
• New government regulations don’t ‘help us build now’: Electricity Canada
• Reading Recommendations: Climate

Click here to read more.

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Niagara Falls will be part of this year’s Grey Cup festivities

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Photo credit: Rebecca Bollwitt

Wholesale trade dips following May uptick

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 2.8% to $80.5 billion in June, following an increase in May—which was the largest since June 2020. A decline in sales was reported in the majority of the subsectors. The decrease in sales was led by the miscellaneous, the machinery, equipment and supplies, and the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsectors, following a surge of sales in these subsectors in May. Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were down 0.4% compared with June 2022.

Click here to read more.

Did you know?

Seventy-five percent of all cars produced by Rolls-Royce are still on the road.

Focus on Climate

We all have times when we feel anxious about our future; perhaps this is more acute for many people this summer, as we experience unprecedented wildfires and heat waves due to the warming climate. General anxiety intensifies climate or “eco”-anxiety.

This can spur some people to climate action, while for others it can lead to a state of paralysis and inactivity. Our recent Canadian study looked at how values and action around climate change vary with an individual’s personality traits. We found that the higher a person’s general anxiety trait and the more they valued nature, the more likely they would engage in climate action.

Last year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change delivered a “final warning”; we must take action on climate change while there is still time.

Click here to read more.

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.

In this edition:

• Prime Minister announces new Lieutenant Governor for Ontario
• Canadian universities collectively report $1.5bn budget surplus despite pandemic
• Instacart slashes shopper minimum order pay rates from $7 to $4
• Your latest questions about Bill C-18 and the blocking of Canadian news answered
• Orangeville father and son collaborate on Niagara region wine guide
• Beautification makes for good first impressions for business
• Reading Recommendations: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Prime Minister announces new Lieutenant Governor for Ontario

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced the appointment of Edith Dumont as the new Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

A passionate educator, Ms. Dumont is a special education teacher, a school principal, and an executive. She was the first woman to lead the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario. Most recently, she served as Vice-President of Partnerships, Communities, and International Relations at the Université de l’Ontario français, in Toronto.

When she assumes office, Ms. Dumont will be the first Franco-Ontarian Lieutenant Governor in the province’s history.

Click here to read more.

Canadian universities collectively report $1.5bn budget surplus despite pandemic

In 2021/2022, despite the ongoing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, universities collectively reported a $1.5 billion budget surplus. This was slightly lower than the $1.7 billion annual average recorded in the five years (2015/2016 to 2019/2020) preceding the pandemic. All dollar figures in this release are expressed in 2022 constant dollars to factor in inflation and enable comparisons across time.

The 2021/2022 fiscal year was marked by the gradual return of students, faculty and staff members to campuses, which positively impacted universities’ product and service-based revenues such as residences, parking fees and facility rentals. Universities also faced challenges with decreased revenue from government funding and investment income.

Click here to read more.

Instacart slashes shopper minimum order pay rates from $7 to $4

Instacart is dropping its minimum order base pay rates for shoppers from $7 to $4, leaving many workers up in arms about the pay cut, reports Business Insider. In fact, shoppers told Insider that they would “rather quit and work for McDonald’s or DoorDash” after the company lowered their minimum order pay.  

Some of the workers say they’re considering switching over to restaurant order deliveries (which don’t require shopping), while others are considering alternatives like full-time jobs.

Click here to read more.

Your latest questions about Bill C-18 and the blocking of Canadian news answered

It’s August 2023. Do you know where your Canadian news is?

All Facebook and Instagram users in Canada won’t be able to access news on those platforms soon, after parent company Meta said it would shut out news in the country over the next few weeks.

The social media giant has been signalling the move since the Liberal government passed its Online News Act, Bill C-18, in June. Google may follow suit.

Click here to read more.

Orangeville father and son collaborate on Niagara region wine guide

Beautification makes for good first impressions for business

Click here to read more.

Did you know?

60% of the world’s steel is recycled.

Focus on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Québec’s Minister Responsible for Relations with the First Nations and the Inuit, Ian Lafrenière, recently introduced Bill 32, which aims to “establish the cultural safety approach within the health and social services network.”

The intent of the bill is for health and social service networks in Québec to adopt a cultural safety approach towards Indigenous people, taking into account cultural and historical realities.

In November 2020, in the aftermath of the death of Joyce Echaquan at the Centre hospitalier de Lanaudière in Joliette, the Québec government introduced 90-minute mandatory Indigenous cultural awareness training for all employees of the province’s ministry of health and social services.

However, since the training program was launched, Indigenous leaders and health professionals have said it fails to improve cultural safety and poses safety risks to Indigenous Peoples.

Click here to read more.

Mary Simon Is Leading Indigenous Peoples to New Heights

In May 2021, ground-penetrating radar detected more than 200 potential unmarked graves of children in an apple orchard beside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The discovery exposed the crimes underlying a nation built on land taken from Indigenous peoples—systemic abuse, assault, rape, even murder—and reinforced the need for a national reckoning. Makeshift memorials sprung up across the country. People took to the streets. Institutions named after the architects of cultural genocide changed their nomenclature. Statues fell. Churches were vandalized. Some even burned. And as more First Nations initiated their own investigations, the potential number of child-sized graves climbed into the thousands.

Less than two months after the discovery at Kamloops, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Inuk leader and former Canadian diplomat Mary Jeannie May Simon to offer her a job. Canada has had four women (two of them refugees) and dozens of white men serve as governor general for a term that usually lasts five years. But there had never been an Indigenous person appointed. (New Zealand, another former settler colony of the British empire, has had three Māori governors general.)

Click here to read more.

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.

In this edition:

• Is the labour market cooling off? Niagara unemployment ticks up as local economy sheds jobs
• Badawey planning ‘Niagara uncorked’ initiative in response to report on wine industry potential
• Bank of Canada expected to raise rates next week, despite rise in unemployment rate
• Minister of Transport announces funding to increase supply chain capacity at Toronto Pearson International Airport
• Advocacy report knocks Ontario’s early apprenticeship plan
• Cogeco withdraws its advertising investments from Meta platforms

Is the labour market cooling off? Niagara unemployment ticks up as local economy sheds jobs

Niagara saw a noticeable uptick in unemployment in June’s job numbers, with the local unemployment rate reaching 5.7% – the highest since October 2022. Local unemployment has ranged between 4% and 4.5% for 2023.

Local employment dropped as well, from 222,300 jobs in May to 219,000 in June. The labour force (people either working or actively seeking work) fell from 233,000 to 232,200. While the unemployment rate increases if large numbers of people enter the workforce but do not find work immediately, the changes in these numbers indicate that people may be losing jobs in Niagara.

Nationally, employment increased by 60,000 (+0.3%) in June, driven by gains in full-time work (+110,000; +0.7%). The unemployment rate rose to 5.4% (+0.2 percentage points), as more people searched for work.

Click here to read more.

Click here to access Statistics Canada’s interactive Labour Force Survey app.

Click here for more data visualizations for the local labour market.

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June marked the second month in a row the unemployment rate has risen as economists watch for softening in the labour market amid high interest rates.

The loosening of the labour market likely comes as good news to the Bank of Canada, which is looking for signs that its aggressive rate hikes are working to cool the economy.

But forecasters are still expecting the central bank to raise interest rates at its next interest rate decision on Wednesday.

Click here to read more.

Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced an investment of nearly $94 million under the National Trade Corridors Fund for a cargo development project at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

The project will improve cargo capacity by building two new facilities: the South Cargo Transfer Development Facility (YYZ South) and the North Cargo Apron Development (YYZ North). YYZ South will increase capacity for incoming cargo, and YYZ North will build additional infrastructure for more cargo aircraft parking spaces, which will also increase cargo capacity.

Click here to read more.

Advocacy report knocks Ontario’s early apprenticeship plan

The Ontario government’s plan to bolster the skilled trades by introducing a new pathway to a high school diploma for students who have entered apprenticeships after their Grade 10 year has been criticized by advocacy group People for Education as potentially leading to dead-end careers for those who don’t complete their apprenticeships.

A People for Education report, called Risky Business: Choosing Between School and Apprenticeships May Have Unintended Consequences, was itself slammed by some construction stakeholders who suggested the advocates don’t understand the growth that takes place during the apprenticeship cycle.

Others said the People for Education report raised important issues and suggested not enough details about the government proposal are known.

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The news of the past few days has revealed to Canadians the flip side of Bill C-18, which now requires web giants to negotiate with Canadian news publishers to pay royalties for the journalistic content they broadcast on their platforms.

Following the adoption of Bill C-18, Meta (Facebook/Instagram) approached the office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage to try to make fundamental changes to the act, even though the legislative process had been completed. In their negotiations with the minister, the web giants threatened to block access to Canadian news.

In support of this legislation and the regulatory process that will soon be launched for its implementation, Cogeco, along with many other industry members, has decided to withdraw its advertising investments from Meta platforms.

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Focus on International Trade

To President Donald Trump, America’s trade relationship with Mexico was intolerable. He seethed over the U.S. trade deficit and the shuttered factories in America’s heartland. “No longer,” he vowed six years ago, “are we going to allow other countries to break the rules, to steal our jobs and drain our wealth.”

So Trump pressured Mexico and Canada to replace their mutual pact with one more to his liking. After a couple of years of negotiations, he got what he wanted. Out was the North American Free Trade Agreement. In was the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The USMCA, which Trump hailed as “the fairest, most balanced and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed,” reached its third anniversary on Jul. 1.

The trade pact hasn’t proved to be the economic bonanza Trump boasted it would be. It couldn’t have been, given that trade makes up less than a third of America’s $26 trillion economy.

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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.