COVID-19 Business Update: January 11th, 2021

January 11, 2021 | Daily Update

The GNCC believes that the best & most sustainable way for our society and economy to return to normal is through rapid vaccination of our population.
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, as well as policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here.
The Government of Canada has a support page with summaries of current programs and application portals.

Vital updates

  • The GNCC has issued the following position statement regarding the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines:

The GNCC believes that the best and most sustainable way for our society and economy to return to normal while preserving the health of the public will be the rapid vaccination of the Canadian population.

We are concerned that the Government of Canada chose not to exercise an option to acquire an additional 16 million doses of the Moderna vaccine (which is easier to ship and store than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine). We hope that the government will explain this decision and, if made in error, their plans to correct it.

With the pandemic out of control in the province of Ontario, vaccines need to be administered at the greatest possible speed. Delays in inoculation should not be tolerated.

Canada has vaccinated roughly 0.85% of its population. The UK has vaccinated 1.9%, the USA and Denmark have vaccinated 2%, and an astonishing 21% of Israelis have been vaccinated to date. We do not believe there is a compelling explanation found in Canada’s institutions, infrastructure, or level of development which leads us to have a vaccination rate markedly lower than that of Israel, the USA, the UK, Denmark, Iceland, or Italy over the same period. There is clearly a need for increased supply and distribution. We urge governments at the provincial and federal levels to come forward with their plans to increase the speed of vaccination and correct this slow start.

  • The Government of Ontario will be expanding eligibility for the targeted emergency child care program to more frontline workers. This expansion helps the parents of school-aged children who may not be able to support their child’s learning/care at home because they are performing critical roles in their communities and are required to report to work in person. New Additions to the List of Those Eligible for Emergency Child Care:
    • Front-line staff in Children’s Aid Societies and residential services
    • Individuals working in developmental services, violence against women services, and anti-human trafficking
    • Individuals working in victims’ services
    • Individuals engaged in interpreting or intervenor services for persons who are deaf or deaf-blind
    • Individuals working in a homeless shelter or providing services to homeless persons
    • Food safety inspectors and individuals working in the processing, manufacturing or distribution of food and beverages
    • Provincial court services personnel, including Indigenous court workers
    • OPS staff employed in Radiation Protection Services
    • RCMP and Canada Border Services
    • Canada Post
    • Pharma and medical device manufacturing and distribution
    • Power workers
    • Non-municipal water and wastewater workers
    • Education staff who are required to attend schools to provide in-person instruction and support to students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated through remote learning
    • Employees of a hotel or motel that is acting as an isolation centre, health care centre, vaccine clinic or housing essential workers.
  • The Niagara Economic Rapid Response Team, with funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario, is currently accepting applications for its Tourism Adaptation and Recovery Fund program. The Tourism Adaptation and Recovery Fund program will provide financial assistance in the form of 80% grants to enable tourism-dependent, small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and Arts and Culture Not-for-Profits (NFP) organizations, to equip themselves to meet Public Health guidelines and protocols. The grant will enable the business to continue to operate, particularly through the shoulder and off-season in 2020/21. Priority will be given to projects that retain/create jobs, have a high jobs/dollar invested ratio and increase the competitiveness and sustainability of the business post COVID-19. To apply to the fund, please complete a Tourism Adaption and Recovery Fund Application Form and submit it by email to errt@niagararegion.ca.
  • The YMCA of Niagara has made the difficult decision to permanently close the Niagara Falls YMCA, located in the MacBain Community Centre, effective immediately. The location, which opened in 2005, has been temporarily closed since mid-March when the YMCA of Niagara shut down all five of its health, fitness and aquatics centres, in accordance with government directives related to the pandemic.
  • Niagara’s 12 Mayors and the Regional Chair recently met virtually to discuss the pressing challenges facing the community due to the second wave of COVID-19 and agreed on the following set of actions:
    • Explore opportunities to share staff resources in all appropriate areas to further bolster Niagara’s pandemic response
    • Call on the province to ensure our frontline health care workers and residents have equal and timely access to vaccines
    • Urge the province to consider increasing the role municipalities and local Public Health units have in the vaccine distribution strategy and to more openly share its plans regarding vaccine distribution
    • Add paramedics to the list of priority healthcare staff to receive the vaccination
    • Commit to share information in a timely and accurate way
    • Request the community’s patience and understanding as vaccines begin to arrive across the region.
  • Niagara Health expects delivery of the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday or Wednesday, and will begin vaccinating front-line healthcare workers in long-term care (LTC), high-risk retirement homes and the hospital at a vaccine clinic at the St. Catharines Site, followed by NH clinics opening in Niagara Falls, Welland, and/or other sites. At the same time, NRPH&ES will deploy small teams to long-term care homes and high-risk retirement homes to support their staff vaccinating the residents under their care. For information on the province’s vaccine implementation plan: www.ontario.ca/page/ontarios-vaccine-distribution-implementation-plan. For updates on Niagara’s Vaccination Clinic: niagarahealth.on.ca/site/vaccination-clinic.

Reading recommendations

Environmentalists were already bracing themselves for the glut of padded mailers, corrugated fiberboard, shrink wrap, and bouncy air pillows the rise in online shopping promised to leave in its wake. The pandemic has only accelerated the timeline. Corrugated box shipments have climbed since March, when they jumped 9 percent year over year, according to the Fiber Box Association. Technavio, a market research firm, estimates that demand for filled-air products is poised to swell by $1.16 billion between 2020 and 2024 because of the spike in online sales. While paper packaging isn’t entirely benign — some 3 billion trees are pulped every year to produce 241 million tons of shipping cartons, cardboard mailers, void-fill wrappers, and other paper-based packaging, according to forest conservation group Canopy — single-use plastics present the bigger concern for environmentalists because they can persist in the environment, sometimes for hundreds of years. And their recyclability is often oversold.

The leaders of Canada’s top banks believe an economic rebound is on the horizon, but say the short-term looks difficult and spending won’t truly pick up until the back half of 2021 or even 2022. The chief executives of the country’s most prominent banks think Canada is benefiting from generous government relief packages that reduced delinquencies and insolvencies and the arrival of several promising COVID-19 vaccines. However, they say the coming weeks don’t look pretty because growing numbers of Canadians are continuing to contract the virus.

Niagara COVID status tracker

Note for 2021-01-11: Today’s caseload reflects an additional 388 cases due to clearance of a large backlog. This is a one time spike that ensures that the cumulative case count being reported now reflects the accurate total of cases that have been detected in Niagara. The backlog resulted from:

  • Test reports that are not new cases e.g. duplicate receipt of the same test result, repeat test result for an individual already reported as a case, or test results for people who no longer live in Niagara.
  • Difficulty in keeping up with the large number of daily new test results and cross-referencing them with existing tests to determine if a new case was detected.
  • A growing backlog of unreviewed lab results, which has now been cleared via automation.

Niagara’s most up-to-date COVID statistics, measured against the targets for the various stages of the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, are presented below. This does not predict government policy, but is offered to give you an idea of where Niagara is situated and how likely a relaxation (or further restrictions) may be. These data are drawn daily from Niagara Region. The Grey-Lockdown level does not have its own metrics, but is triggered when the COVID-specific measurements in a Red-Control region have continued to deteriorate.

Note that the Provincewide Shutdown is not the same as the Grey-Lockdown level listed in the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, which has been suspended for the duration of the shutdown. Additional restrictions for businesses apply during the Shutdown. Businesses should not use the Response Framework as a guide during this time, but should instead refer to the Shutdown guidelines.

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%

Definitions:

  • Weekly Incidence Rate: the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per week
  • Percent Positivity: the number of positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed
  • Rt: the reproductive rate, or the number of people infected by each case of the virus

 If you are showing symptoms, contact your health care provider, call the Public Health Info-Line at 905-688-8248, or chat to Public Health online. For testing, call 905-378-4647 ext. 42819 (4-CV19) for information on test centres in Niagara and to book an appointment.

Previous updates can be accessed here.

The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.

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COVID-19 Business Update: January 8th, 2021

January 8, 2021 | Daily Update

At a morning news conference held today, Premier Ford stated that the province was ‘in a desperate situation.’
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, as well as policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here.
The Government of Canada has a support page with summaries of current programs and application portals.

Vital updates

  • At a morning news conference held today, Premier Ford stated that the province was “in a desperate situation,” that there could be more serious measures to come, and that, if the situation does not improve, the Provincewide Shutdown will not end at the end of January. So far, the shutdown has proven ineffective in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario. The Premier reiterated the need for the public to follow all public health guidelines. No details of what these more serious measures could include were provided, but examples from other jurisdictions have included curfews, travel bans, restricting movement outside the home to essential purposes only, and closing all those non-essential services currently permitted, such as weddings or childcare.
  • Premier Ford also warned that the province will exhaust its vaccine supply within days. The Government of Canada has committed to vaccinating all willing Canadians by the end of September. To do this, the government will need to supply 100,000 doses per day for the next 265 days. So far, the government has delivered approximately 22,000 doses per day, although this figure is expected to increase as vaccine production and deployment ramp up. So far, the United States has vaccinated three times as many people, per capita, as Canada.
  • Statistics Canada has released labour market data for December, 2020. Tightening anti-COVID measures across the country and the second wave of the pandemic both began to show their effects on the economy, as employment fell by 63,000 (-0.3%) in December—the first decline since April. As might have been expected, employment in accommodation and food services declined for the third consecutive month, falling by 57,000 (-5.8%) in December from the previous month and down by 129,000 (-12.4%) from September. Employment in the services-producing sector fell by 74,000 (-0.5%) in December, also the first decline in the sector since April. Part-time employment declined by 99,000 (-2.9%) in December, led by losses among youth aged 15 to 24 (-58,000; -5.1%) and those aged 55 and older (-27,000; -3.0%). Employment in retail trade edged up by 19,000 (+0.9%) in December. While this pace of growth was slightly lower than in October (+1.4%) and November (+1.5%), it brought the industry to within 2.9% of its pre-COVID employment level.
  • By December, 1.1 million Canadian workers were affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown—in the form of lost employment or reduced hours—compared with 5.5 million in April. Self-employment fell by 62,000 in December, while the number of employees in both the public and private sectors was little changed. Total hours worked declined for the first time since April, falling 0.3% in December. As the number of COVID-19 cases increased in the fall, the share of Canadians working from home trended up, reaching 28.6% in December.
  • The national unemployment rate was 8.6% in December, essentially unchanged from 8.5% in November, but the participation rate declined for the second month in a row in December, falling 0.2 percentage points to 64.9%.
  • In Niagara, analysis by Niagara Workforce Planning Board for December 2020 saw 4,000 people leave employment. 3,500 of these employment losses were among people in full-time employment and 500 were among people in part-time employment. Data such as these, when combined with national-level economic outlooks expecting a hard winter for Canada, suggest the coming months will prove challenging for Niagara as December typically sees employment gains for the region. There were 78.6% more job seekers in Niagara in December 2020 compared to December 2019.
  • Niagara employment statistics:
Nov 2019Dec 2019Nov 2020Dec 2020
Labour force215,800217,000211,900212,200
Employment205,200206,800197,800193,800
Full-time employment158,200158,800146,100142,600
Part-time employment47,00048,00051,70051,200
Unemployment10,60010,30014,10018,400
Participation rate60.1%60.4%58.6%58.6%
Employment rate57.2%57.5%54.7%53.5%
  • Niagara employment by industry:
November 2019December 2019November 2020December 2020
Agriculture3,2003,8003,7003,500
Construction17,60016,70018,50018,800
Manufacturing23,00022,70021,10022,200
Wholesale and retail trade30,90032,40024,50024,000
Transportation and warehousing9,2009,5007,1007,300
Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing8,7007,90012,60010,600
Professional, scientific and technical services7,8006,80010,3009,600
Business, building and other support services 9,90010,50013,60013,100
Educational services15,70015,80016,00015,800
Health care and social assistance21,10022,00026,00025,900
Information, culture and recreation11,60011,7006,8007,100
Accommodation and food services24,80025,50019,40017,200
Other services (except public administration)10,30010,60010,80010,700
Public administration9,2008,6006,3006,700
Total205,200206,800197,800193,800
  • The Government of Ontario today reiterated its promise of a new Ontario Small Business Support Grant, which will provide a minimum of $10,000 and up to $20,000 to help eligible small business owners who needed to close or significantly restrict their services during the shutdown. The government states that applications will open in January, but made no further details available at this time.
  • The Township of West Lincoln is accepting applications from local non-profit organizations for consideration under its 2021 Corporate Sponsorship Fund program. Applications may be submitted until February 22nd, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. Interested organizations may apply here.

Reading recommendations

In most countries, men and women doing the same work earn different amounts. This discrimination is popularly known as the gender pay gap. And despite efforts to close it, particularly amongst advanced industrial countries, it persists. Part of the problem is that policy solutions to eradicate unequal pay have focused on changing individual workers’ behavior. More often than not, women are tasked with entering male-dominated professions; or female employees are expected to more effectively assert themselves in the workplace. There may be a better way.

I don’t believe a self-pardon’s gonna fly. I don’t mean to say that President Donald Trump will not attempt it. He very well might. I also don’t mean to say that it won’t be a big deal if and when he does attempt it. It will be a very big deal. I mean, rather, that a self-pardon will not materially decrease the likelihood of his attempted prosecution by the Justice Department after he leaves office, and may even increase the chances of his indictment.

Niagara COVID status tracker

Niagara’s most up-to-date COVID statistics, measured against the targets for the various stages of the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, are presented below. This does not predict government policy, but is offered to give you an idea of where Niagara is situated and how likely a relaxation (or further restrictions) may be. These data are drawn daily from Niagara Region. The Grey-Lockdown level does not have its own metrics, but is triggered when the COVID-specific measurements in a Red-Control region have continued to deteriorate.

Note that the Provincewide Shutdown is not the same as the Grey-Lockdown level listed in the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, which has been suspended for the duration of the shutdown. Additional restrictions for businesses apply during the Shutdown. Businesses should not use the Response Framework as a guide during this time, but should instead refer to the Shutdown guidelines.

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%

Definitions:

  • Weekly Incidence Rate: the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per week
  • Percent Positivity: the number of positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed
  • Rt: the reproductive rate, or the number of people infected by each case of the virus

 If you are showing symptoms, contact your health care provider, call the Public Health Info-Line at 905-688-8248, or chat to Public Health online. For testing, call 905-378-4647 ext. 42819 (4-CV19) for information on test centres in Niagara and to book an appointment.

Previous updates can be accessed here.

The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.

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COVID-19 Business Update: January 7th, 2021

January 7, 2021 | Daily Update

Niagara Health has described vaccine delivery in Niagara as “imminent.” The region’s first Vaccination Clinic will be housed in a temporary structure next to the Walker Family Cancer Centre at Niagara Health’s St. Catharines Site. The Clinic will operate by appointment only and will not initially be open to the general public.
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, as well as policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here.
The Government of Canada has a support page with summaries of current programs and application portals.

Vital updates

  • As COVID-19 cases continue to rise at an alarming rate throughout the province, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts, is extending online teacher-led learning until January 25, 2021 for elementary school students in the 27 Southern Ontario public health unit regions. In-person learning will be deferred to January 25, 2021 in Southern Ontario, which aligns with the planned return of in-person learning for secondary school students in these regions. The positivity rate for children aged 12-13 years old increased from 5.44 per cent in late November and early December to nearly 20 per cent in early January. In the nearly two weeks since Ontario was moved into a Provincewide Shutdown, trends in key public health indicators have continued to worsen in both Northern and Southern Ontario, including concerning trends in health system capacity, most notably in hospitals.
  • Niagara Health has described vaccine delivery in Niagara as “imminent.” Workers in long-term care and retirement home facilities and essential caregivers will be the first groups to receive the vaccine as per the prioritization framework developed by the Province of Ontario. Niagara Health staff and physicians most at risk of exposure to COVID-19 will also be scheduled for vaccination in a process beginning with this first shipment. The region’s first Vaccination Clinic will be housed in a temporary structure next to the Walker Family Cancer Centre at Niagara Health’s St. Catharines Site. The Clinic will operate by appointment only and will not initially be open to the general public.
  • In November, a new Statistics Canada report shows, Canada’s merchandise exports increased 0.5%, with gold exports posting the largest increase. Imports edged down 0.3%, on lower imports of industrial machinery, equipment and parts. As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $3.7 billion in October, to $3.3 billion in November. Despite this growth, 7 out of 11 product sections posted declines. Non-energy exports increased 0.2% to $39.9 billion, $129 million shy of their February levels. In real (or volume) terms, total exports rose 0.9%.
    • Exports of metal ores and non-metallic minerals (+26.0%) also rose significantly in November. Increases in exports of copper ores (+84.6%) and iron ores (+26.0%) both contributed strongly to the growth in this product section. These increases were offset in part by lower exports of motor vehicles and parts (-4.1%). After a 7.2% decrease in October, exports of passenger cars and light trucks (-4.0%) fell again in November. Exports of engines and parts (-4.4%) were also down, coinciding with lower motor vehicle production in the United States. Exports of forestry products and building and packaging materials (-6.2%) also declined in November. This was primarily the result of lower exports of lumber (-11.6%), which were down mainly on lower prices. Imports of industrial machinery, equipment and parts decreased 3.9% in November to $5.3 billion—the second decline in seven months. Since the 21.3% decrease in April, imports of industrial machinery and equipment have increased 28.0%.
    • The divergent trend between Canada’s trade with the United States versus Canada’s trade with other countries continued in November. Total trade with countries other than the United States was up 2.1% in November, reaching a record $33.1 billion. Total trade with the United States decreased 1.0% to $63.8 billion—the lowest level since June. In November, exports to countries other than the United States rose 7.4%, a sixth increase in the last seven months. The United Kingdom was by far the largest contributor to the growth in Canada’s exports to non-US countries—the result of higher exports of refined gold.
    • Following two consecutive monthly declines, imports of medical and protective goods increased 6.7% in November to $3.3 billion on a customs basis. Higher imports of diagnostic products (+35.4%) and medical equipment and products (+8.8%) were moderated by lower imports of personal protective equipment (-8.9%) and disinfectant and sterilization products (-14.8%).

Reading recommendations

One of the surprises of the rise in work from home amid the pandemic is that workers’ productivity has remained strong. However, there’s also a perceived cost in long-term productivity, corporate culture, and innovation and creativity, according to a report from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield based on a focus group and survey insights from large building owners and business improvement district executive directors in major U.S. markets.

CIBC Deputy Chief Economist Benjamin Tal thinks the Bank of Canada should be getting concerned about the atypical strength in the Canadian dollar. Tal said the broad-market weakness of the American dollar has pushed the loonie to dizzying heights, carrying with it potential headaches for the domestic export sector and economy.

Major social media and e-commerce companies moved to further control outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump’s ability to post on their platforms Thursday after his followers stormed the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., a day earlier. Social media services, including Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat, froze the president’s accounts temporarily on Wednesday after he repeated baseless claims about election interference. Initial freezes on all platforms were for between 12 and 24 hours, but Facebook took the temporary ban one step further on Thursday, announcing his accounts will be frozen at least for the remainder of his term, and possibly longer.

Niagara COVID status tracker

Niagara’s most up-to-date COVID statistics, measured against the targets for the various stages of the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, are presented below. These do not represent or predict government policy, but are offered to give you an idea of where Niagara is situated and how likely a relaxation (or further restrictions) may be. This data is drawn daily from Niagara Region. The Grey-Lockdown level does not have specific metrics, but is triggered when the COVID-specific measurements in a Red-Control region have continued to deteriorate.

Note that the Provincewide Shutdown is not the same as the Grey-Lockdown level listed in the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, which has been suspended for the duration of the shutdown. Additional restrictions for businesses apply during the Shutdown. Businesses should not use the Response Framework as a guide during this time, but should instead refer to the Shutdown guidelines.

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%

Definitions:

  • Weekly Incidence Rate: the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per week
  • Percent Positivity: the number of positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed
  • Rt: the reproductive rate, or the number of people infected by each case of the virus

 If you are showing symptoms, contact your health care provider, call the Public Health Info-Line at 905-688-8248, or chat to Public Health online. For testing, call 905-378-4647 ext. 42819 (4-CV19) for information on test centres in Niagara and to book an appointment.

Previous updates can be accessed here.

The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.

Share this:

COVID-19 Business Update: January 6th, 2021

January 6, 2021 | Daily Update

The GNCC would like to remind readers about the government assistance programs now open, and to urge all of those who need assistance to apply for any and all eligible programs.
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, as well as policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here.
The Government of Canada has a support page with summaries of current programs and application portals.

Vital updates

  • The GNCC would like to remind readers about the government assistance programs now open, and to urge all of those who need assistance to apply for any and all eligible programs. These funds have been made available to help Canadians and Canadian businesses through these difficult times. A full list is available here, including many provincial programs offering rebates and credits towards PPE and other expenses, but some of the more important ones available to businesses, non-profits, and charities include:
  • Important programs for individuals are:
  • The City of St. Catharines is providing property owners who have experienced financial hardship due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic some additional flexibility in how they pay their taxes in the year ahead. Specifically, City Council has approved a Special Pre-authorized Property Taxes COVID-19 Payment Plan for 2021 which would allow all tax payers whose taxes were paid in full by Feb. 28, 2020 — and who have since experienced severe financial hardship due to the pandemic — to pay their outstanding 2020 and 2021 property taxes penalty and interest free over a 12-month period. Applications are now open for the program and must be received by Jan. 29, 2021. Those applying for the program will be expected to provide proof of financial hardships experienced as a result of COVID-19. Additionally, landlords whose tenants make property tax payments will be expected to allow such tenants to undertake the application process and access the program. For more information, visit www.stcatharines.ca/COVID19TaxPayments
  • The Ontario government is launching a voluntary and free border testing pilot program at Toronto Pearson International Airport for eligible international travellers returning to Ontario aimed to help identify and stop the spread of COVID-19 in the province. 60,000 international travellers come into Pearson airport each week. Eligible travellers will be able pre-register for the program or proceed to get tested when they arrive at the airport. Those choosing to participate in the pilot will receive a free, self-collected lab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and be supervised by a health care provider either in-person or by video as the traveller self-administers the test. Switch Health, a health service provider, will provide the monitored self-swabbing tests in a convenient and dedicated space in the airport. Test results will be reported into Ontario’s Lab Information System within 48 hours and local public health units will follow up on all positive tests. All international travellers will continue to be required to follow the federal requirement for a mandatory 14-day quarantine after arriving or returning to Canada, regardless if they have a negative or positive test.
  • Meanwhile, the Government of Canada will enforce an Interim Order, beginning on January 7th, requiring a negative laboratory test to be presented at foreign airports prior to boarding a flight to Canada. This test must have been taken within 72 hours of departure. All travellers coming to Canada, regardless of citizenship, will be required to have this proof in hand at the time of boarding. Failure to do so will mean an automatic denial of boarding by the air carrier operating the flight to Canada.
  • The Canadian Coast Guard’s annual icebreaking season on the Great Lakes, which provides assistance to the shipping industry, is underway. Working in partnership with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) District 9, the Canadian Coast Guard has two icebreakers assigned to the Great Lakes for the entire winter season: CCGS Griffon and CCGS Samuel Risley. These vessels are supported as required by additional Coast Guard vessels during the spring icebreaking season. All ice surface users should plan their ice activities carefully, use caution on the ice, and avoid shipping lanes and icebreaking operations. Broken and fragmented ice tracks and ridging left behind by passing icebreakers or commercial vessels may not freeze over immediately. This can result in hazardous conditions for ice users. In addition, newly fallen snow will obscure ship tracks. Unsafe ice conditions can persist long after icebreakers have left the area.
  • The number of exporting enterprises in Canada increased by 0.3% to 19,258 in October, following a slight decline in September. Gains were mostly observed among medium- and large-sized enterprises. The number of exporters with 50 or more employees grew by 1.0%, while the number of those with fewer than 50 employees edged up 0.1%. Although the value of exports to the United States went up in October (+2.0%) on a balance of payments basis, fewer enterprises exported to this destination (-0.7%), the first decline since April. By contrast, the number of firms exporting to the United Kingdom, one of Canada’s most important trading partners, was up by 8.2% as a result of more manufacturing exporters. More firms also exported to China and India. rom September to October, the three sectors with the largest increase in the number of exporting establishments were manufacturing (+82); professional, scientific and technical services (+33); and transportation and warehousing (+30).

Reading recommendations

Republicans supporting Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the U.S. election are on a collision course with U.S. business leaders, as companies reconsider support and funding for politicians they deem to be a threat to national stability. Their action “undermines our democracy and the rule of law,” warned the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as a small business coalition blasted the “shameful complicity” of elected officials trying to help Trump “undermine the will of the voters.”

There is growing concern that China’s influence in the North could threaten Canada’s autonomy in the region and put politicians in uncomfortable situa­tions as they weigh national regulations with foreign-­policy strategies. Canada has spent decades ignoring its Arctic potential and, as a result, the region’s economy lags far behind that of most other northern regions around the world. Evidently, the Canadian Arctic has not proved such a blind spot for China.

Niagara COVID status tracker

Niagara’s most up-to-date COVID statistics, measured against the targets for the various stages of the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, are presented below. These do not represent or predict government policy, but are offered to give you an idea of where Niagara is situated and how likely a relaxation (or further restrictions) may be. This data is drawn daily from Niagara Region. The Grey-Lockdown level does not have specific metrics, but is triggered when the COVID-specific measurements in a Red-Control region have continued to deteriorate.

Note that the Provincewide Shutdown is not the same as the Grey-Lockdown level listed in the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, which has been suspended for the duration of the shutdown. Additional restrictions for businesses apply during the Shutdown. Businesses should not use the Response Framework as a guide during this time, but should instead refer to the Shutdown guidelines.

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%

Definitions:

  • Weekly Incidence Rate: the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per week
  • Percent Positivity: the number of positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed
  • Rt: the reproductive rate, or the number of people infected by each case of the virus

 If you are showing symptoms, contact your health care provider, call the Public Health Info-Line at 905-688-8248, or chat to Public Health online. For testing, call 905-378-4647 ext. 42819 (4-CV19) for information on test centres in Niagara and to book an appointment.

Previous updates can be accessed here.

The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.

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COVID-19 Business Update: January 5th, 2021

January 5, 2021 | Daily Update

The Ontario government has announced a commitment to ensure that all residents, health care workers and essential caregivers at long-term care homes in the priority regions of Toronto, Peel, York and Windsor-Essex receive a COVID-19 vaccination by January 21, 2021
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, as well as policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here.
The Government of Canada has a support page with summaries of current programs and application portals.

Vital updates

  • The Ontario government has announced a commitment to ensure that all residents, health care workers and essential caregivers at long-term care homes in the priority regions of Toronto, Peel, York and Windsor-Essex receive a COVID-19 vaccination by January 21, 2021. To date, 44 vaccine sites have been established. Over 50,000 people have been administered the Pfizer vaccine, including over 26,000 vaccinations administered to health care workers in long-term care homes and retirement homes, over 20,000 vaccinations administered to health care workers and nearly 1,000 vaccinations administered to residents. Nearly 3,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine were administered to 24 long-term care homes between December 31, 2020 and January 3rd, 2021.
  • Prices for products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), fell 0.6% in November, driven mainly by lower prices for lumber and other wood products. Prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), increased 0.6%, mostly because of higher prices for crude energy products and crop products.
  • The largest downward contributor to the monthly decline was the lumber and other wood products (-10.7%), driven mostly by a steep drop in the price of softwood lumber (-21.2%)—the largest monthly decrease on record. The price of softwood lumber exhibited a correction in October and November, after increasing dramatically (+95.9%) from April to September. In spite of the decline, softwood lumber prices in November were 34.4% higher than in November 2019.
  • Prices for meat, fish and dairy products fell 1.6% in November, mostly as a result of a 15.1% decrease in prices for fresh and frozen pork. Also within the category, prices for fresh and frozen beef and veal increased 5.7%. Energy and petroleum product prices were up 4.0%. The rise was mostly due to an 8.2% increase in the price of diesel and biodiesel fuels; prices for these products were nonetheless down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. The increase in diesel was attributable to seasonal demand for heating fuel, to demand from transportation, as well as to a rise in the price of crude oil.
  • The value of Canada’s dollar approached 79 cents US for the first time in almost three years today, as higher oil prices helped the loonie soar. The loonie was changing hands at 78.95 cents US early in the afternoon, its highest level since April 2018. The biggest catalyst for the move was the higher price of a barrel of oil, as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to not flood the market with cheap oil for a little while longer.

Reading recommendations

Face masks reduce the spread of viruses passed on from respiratory secretions. While cloth masks are imperfect, widespread use of an imperfect mask has the potential to make a big difference in transmission of the virus. Although mask use has been widely adopted, many people still have questions about them.

A red-hot trend in the car industry is for new entrants such as Fisker Inc. to hand over the complicated and capital-intensive work of engineering and building vehicles to a contract manufacturer. Increasingly, cars are judged on their software and electronics so why bother wasting time and money on metal bashing? There’s at least one big contract manufacturer ready to take advantage of these seismic industry changes: Canada’s Magna International Inc.

Niagara COVID status tracker

Niagara’s most up-to-date COVID statistics, measured against the targets for the various stages of the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, are presented below. These do not represent or predict government policy, but are offered to give you an idea of where Niagara is situated and how likely a relaxation (or further restrictions) may be. This data is drawn daily from Niagara Region. The Grey-Lockdown level does not have specific metrics, but is triggered when the COVID-specific measurements in a Red-Control region have continued to deteriorate.

Note that the Provincewide Shutdown is not the same as the Grey-Lockdown level listed in the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, which has been suspended for the duration of the shutdown. Additional restrictions for businesses apply during the Shutdown. Businesses should not use the Response Framework as a guide during this time, but should instead refer to the Shutdown guidelines.

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%

Definitions:

  • Weekly Incidence Rate: the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per week
  • Percent Positivity: the number of positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed
  • Rt: the reproductive rate, or the number of people infected by each case of the virus

 If you are showing symptoms, contact your health care provider, call the Public Health Info-Line at 905-688-8248, or chat to Public Health online. For testing, call 905-378-4647 ext. 42819 (4-CV19) for information on test centres in Niagara and to book an appointment.

Previous updates can be accessed here.

The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.

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COVID-19 Business Update: January 4th, 2021

January 4, 2021 | Daily Update

Information on government grants, resources, and programs, as well as policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here.
The Government of Canada has a support page with summaries of current programs and application portals.

Vital updates

  • 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

The “McTrain,” as it is unofficially known, reportedly got its start in 1992, when the Deutsche Bundesbahn (German Federal Railway) agreed to try outsourcing catering on long-distance routes to McDonald’s. The DB allowed McDonald’s to refit two of its dining cars for the program, installing deep fryers, coffee machines, soda fountains, water heaters, and multiple walk-ins in a 269 square-foot kitchen—still reportedly more than half the car. Despite the popularity of American cultural exports in former Eastern Bloc states and the regions surrounding them, the McTrain did poorly with German travelers. McDonald’s reputation for cheapness made it a hard sell to German travelers, especially the wealthy, by then accustomed to better meals on other routes. And despite the perception of fast food being cheap to produce, service proved anything but inexpensive for the DB and McDonald’s to provide.

A year into the pandemic, STAT is outlining a portrait of SARS-CoV-2 based on what scientists learned as the virus raced around the world, crippling some economies, societies, and health systems in its wake. There are still lots of questions about SARS-2, as scientists call the virus for short, from basic biological queries to multifaceted mysteries, like why certain people get so sick. But for a virus that’s sometimes portrayed as bestowed with superpowers, experts point out that SARS-2 is in many ways, well, pretty normal.

Featured Content

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.

 If you are showing symptoms, contact your health care provider, call the Public Health Info-Line at 905-688-8248, or chat to Public Health online. For testing, call 905-378-4647 ext. 42819 (4-CV19) for information on test centres in Niagara and to book an appointment.

Previous updates can be accessed here.

The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.

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COVID-19 Business Update: December 23rd, 2020

December 23, 2020 | Daily Update

Our Daily Updates will take a short break from December 24, 2020 until January 01, 2021. All major announcements during that time, will be posted on our LinkedIn Twitter Facebook and Instagram pages.

Health Canada announced the COVID-19 vaccine from U.S. biotech firm Moderna is safe for use in Canada

Our Daily Updates will take a short break from December 24, 2020 until January 01, 2021. All major announcements during that time, will be posted on our LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.

Information on government grants, resources, and programs, as well as policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here.

  • On December 26, 2020, the province of Ontario will go into a province-wide shutdown. Business measures can be viewed here.
  • The Government of Canada has a support page with summaries of current programs and application portals.

Vital updates:

  • Today, Health Canada announced the COVID-19 vaccine from U.S. biotech firm Moderna is safe for use in Canada. The vaccine is the second to be greenlit in Canada, following the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine on Dec. 9. Moderna anticipates starting shipments to Canada within the next 48 hours. Up to 168,000 doses are set to arrive by the end of December, and two million by the end of March. Canada is to get 40 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine in 2021, enough to vaccinate 20 million people, or about two-thirds of the Canadian adult population.
  • The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, announced that the Government of Canada will provide up to an additional $70 million to the Canadian Red Cross (Red Cross) to support its ongoing relief efforts. Specifically, the Government of Canada will provide federal funding this fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) to the Red Cross for the following:
    • up to $35 million for Red Cross personnel to support Outbreak Crisis Management activities; and,
    • up to $35 million for testing-related activities led by the Red Cross COVID-19 Testing Assistance Response Teams (CTART).
  • Statistics Canada reported that Canada’s economy expanded more than forecast in October. The numbers suggest economic activity in October was about 96 per cent of output levels in February. Real GDP grew for the sixth consecutive month, up 0.4 per cent in October following a 0.8 percent increase in September. Both goods-producing (+ 0.1 per cent) and service producing industries (+0.5 per cent) were up as 16 of 20 industrial sectors posted increases in October. A more detailed report can be found here.
  • Today, Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries announced that the Ontario government is providing nearly $41 million to help 486 non-profit organizations across the province to rebuild and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These grants are part of the first round of funding through the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s new $83-million Resilient Communities Fund. The Resilient Communities Fund provides grants of up to $150,000 to eligible non-profit organizations. They can apply for a broad and flexible range of needs, such as mental and physical health and wellbeing supports for staff or volunteers, identify new health and safety processes or purchasing of new technology and personal protective equipment. For more information on the OTF’s Resilient Communities Fund, and for a full list of recipients, please visit the OTF website.
  • Effective immediately, Niagara Health will provide temporary management support to Oakwood Park Lodge, a long-term home in Niagara Falls that is in a home-wide outbreak of COVID-19. The outbreak was declared on December 12, 2020. A total of 97 residents have tested positive for COVID-19. Eight residents who tested positive have passed away. In addition, 91 staff have tested positive as part of surveillance testing. Dr. Mustafa Hirji, Acting Medical Officer of Health at Niagara Region Public Health, issued an order pursuant to Section 29.2 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act due to concerns with the outbreak. Niagara Health is awaiting confirmation of next steps from the Ministry of Long-Term Care. In-person visiting restrictions are in place at Oakwood Park Lodge. Only essential caregivers are permitted at this time.

Reading recommendations:

LG Electronics Inc. plans to spin off some its electric-car components business into a new joint venture with Canada’s Magna International Inc. Magna will buy a 49 per cent stake in the new unit for 501.6 billion won (US$453 million) while the remainder will be owned by LG Electronics, a South Korean company.

Welcoming the new year may feel a bit different this year, given the challenges of 2020 and the inability to celebrate together. As the year draws to an end, it puts a greater focus on long-term goals. The pandemic has given people a different experience of time. It has not only served as a visceral reminder that something unexpected can land in our well-envisioned path, halting all progress. It has also made the path beyond the pandemic unclear. Discover tips for setting goals.

From providing simple scheduling tools to better breathing exercises, here is a list of apps that might have helped make 2020 a bit more bearable.

 If you are showing symptoms, contact your health care provider, call the Public Health Info-Line at 905-688-8248, or chat to Public Health online. For testing, call 905-378-4647 ext. 42819 (4-CV19) for information on test centres in Niagara and to book an appointment.

Previous updates can be accessed here.

The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.

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COVID-19 Business Update: December 22nd, 2020

December 22, 2020 | Daily Update

Today, the Government of Ontario announced new financial supports to help during the province-wide shutdown which takes effect on December 26. Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, and Bill Walker, Associate Minister of Energy offered the following details:
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, as well as policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here.
  • As of 12:01 a.m. on December 26, 2020, the province of Ontario will go into a province-wide shutdown. Business measures can be viewed here.
  • Information on the new Ontario Small Business Support Grant can be found here.
  • The Government of Canada has a support pagewith summaries of current programs and application portals.

Vital updates:

  • Today, the Government of Ontario announced new financial supports to help during the province-wide shutdown which takes effect on December 26. Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, and Bill Walker, Associate Minister of Energy offered the following details:
    • To assist parents and guardians with remote learning, students aged 13 through Grade 12 will be eligible for funding under an expanded Support for Learners program. Parents or guardians will receive a one-time payment of $200 per eligible student to help offset education expenses. Support will be available for those who attend a public or private school or who are homeschooled. Application instructions will be available on the Support for Learners web page starting in January 2021. The application deadline for Secondary school students will be open January 11, 2021 – February 08, 2021. The application deadline for Support for Learners for children or youth aged 0 to 12 and for children or youth aged 0 to 21 with special needs is being extended to February 8, 2021.
    • The government will hold electricity prices to the off-peak rate of 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for all time-of-use and tiered customers on a temporary basis starting January 1, 2021. This rate will be available 24 hours per day, seven days a week for a 28-day period. The off-peak price will automatically be applied to bills of all residential, small business, and farm customers who pay regulated rates.
    • Any residential, small business, or registered charity customer with an overdue electricity or natural gas bill will be eligible to apply to get support to pay their energy bills through the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) . A residential customer can receive up to $750 to help cover their electricity bill and an additional $750 for their natural gas bill. Small businesses can receive up to $1500 for each. Newly eligible customers can apply for these enhanced benefits through their local utility, starting in January 2021.
  • Today, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, highlighted nearly $490 million in FedDev Ontario investments made this year. Details on some of the key investments can be found here. Businesses and organizations that have not been able to access sufficient relief, or are in need of complementary support to the measures they have already accessed, are encouraged to contact FedDev Ontario   or their CFDC Community Futures Ontario for more information on the RRRF or for help navigating other Government of Canada relief measures. Those looking to grow or expand are encouraged to contact us for more information on available funding opportunities.
  • Canada’s newly appointed Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, François Boileau, issued a statement on the response from Canadians regarding the service provided by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on the emergency benefit programs throughout the pandemic. Individuals are encourage to first try to resolve service issues with the CRA, or  formally through CRA’s Service Feedback Program.
  • The City of St. Catharines has announced their holiday closures set to begin December 24, with several facilities remaining closed after the holiday break as part of the province-wide COVID-19 shutdown.
  • The Town of Pelham announced their administrative and facility closures during the holiday break here.

Reading recommendations:

Canada is introducing extra measures to screen people who have spent time in Britain to check for a fast-spreading mutated COVID-19 variant. Although Ottawa imposed a 72-hour block on flights from Britain on Sunday, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said more steps were needed to handle people who had been in the country and then flown to Canada via Europe or the United States. Visitors to Britain during the previous two weeks prior to arrival in Canada will be referred to health officials for additional assessments, screening and questions. They will also have to go into quarantine for 14 days.

The International Monetary Fund’s top 10 charts of compelling facts and figures of 2020, everything from global uncertainty, personal wealth, tourism trauma, low internet access, fiscal stimulus impact and more.

Apple Inc is moving forward with self-driving car technology and is targeting 2024 to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology.

 If you are showing symptoms, contact your health care provider, call the Public Health Info-Line at 905-688-8248, or chat to Public Health online. For testing, call 905-378-4647 ext. 42819 (4-CV19) for information on test centres in Niagara and to book an appointment.

Previous updates can be accessed here.

The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.

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COVID-19 Business Update: December 21st, 2020

December 21, 2020 | Daily Update

The Government of Ontario has announced that as of 12:01am on December 26th, 2020, the entire province of Ontario will go into a Provincewide Shutdown.
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, as well as policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here.
The Government of Canada has a support page with summaries of current programs and application portals.

Vital updates:

  • The Government of Ontario has announced that as of 12:01am on December 26th, 2020, the entire province of Ontario will go into a Provincewide Shutdown. On the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, all Ontarians are advised to stay home as much as possible with trips outside the home limited to necessities such as food, medication, medical appointments, or supporting vulnerable community members. Employers in all industries should make every effort to allow employees to work from home. The current COVID-19 Response Framework will be paused when the Provincewide Shutdown comes into effect. The impacts of these time-limited measures will be evaluated throughout the 14 days in Northern Ontario and 28 days in Southern Ontario to determine if it is safe to lift any restrictions or if they need to be extended. Businesses can review their requirements under lockdown here.
  • The Government of Ontario has announced the launch of the new Ontario Small Business Support Grant, which will provide a minimum of $10,000 and up to $20,000 to help small business owners during the province-wide lockdown. Starting at $10,000 for all eligible businesses, the grant will provide businesses with dollar for dollar funding to a maximum of $20,000 to help cover decreased revenue expected as a result of the Provincewide Shutdown. The business must demonstrate they experienced a revenue decline of at least 20 per cent when comparing monthly revenue in April 2019 and April 2020. This grant and other available supports for businesses are listed here. Eligible small businesses include those that:
    • Are required to close or significantly restrict services due to the Provincewide Shutdown being imposed across the province effective 12:01 a.m. on December 26
    • Have fewer than 100 employees at the enterprise level
    • Have experienced a minimum of 20 per cent revenue decline in April 2020 compared to April 2019.
  • In light of today’s announcement, the GNCC reminds Niagara businesses of the recent extension of regulatory changes brought forward under the Employment Standards Act regarding layoffs. These changes are now extended until July 3, 2021.
  • As part of the government’s ongoing commitment to transparency, today the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) launched the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Registry. This web page allows Canadians to identify which employers are using the wage subsidy to support jobs. Analysis in the Fall Economic Statement demonstrates that government support measures offset about half of the negative economic effects of the pandemic on the unemployment rate. This support has helped Canada to recover almost eight in ten of the lost jobs, compared to just over half in the United States.
  • The City of St. Catharines has announced the following service changes during the Provincewide Shutdown:
    • Access to services at City Hall, such as Citizens First Customer Service, will continue to be available by appointment only.
    • St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre are closed to the public.
    • The Farmers’ Market will operate on Saturdays only between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Only local vendors may participate. Masks are required, and only one patron per vendor is permitted. Facility monitors will be on-site to manage lines.
    • Arenas, older adult centres, community centres, and the Kiwanis Aquatics Centre are closed.
    • St. Catharines Public Library will offer curbside pick-up for holds.
  • Niagara Health is implementing new restrictions for visitors at their Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centres, effective today (Monday, Dec. 21) at noon. Consistent with provincial guidelines, visitors/support people will only be able to accompany patients in the ED/UCC if they are supporting patients:
    • in life-altering circumstances.
    • experiencing a mental health crisis.
    • at end of life.
    • who are vulnerable. This includes those under 18 years of age, cognitive or developmentally delayed, and those with severe language impairment.

Reading recommendations:

A new variant of the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is spreading in Britain and prompting high levels of concern, especially among the country’s European neighbours, some of which have cut transport links. In April, researchers in Sweden found a virus with two genetic changes that seemed to make it roughly two times more infectious, said Dr. Ravi Gupta, who studies viruses at the University of Cambridge in England. About 6,000 cases worldwide have been reported, mostly in Denmark and England. Several variations of that strain now have turned up. Some were reported in people who got them from mink farms in Denmark. A new South African strain has the two changes seen before, plus some others. Scientists say there’s no evidence that the vaccines being deployed in the U.K. — made by Pfizer-BioNTech — or other COVID-19 shots in development will not protect against this variant.

From virtual workplaces to the challenges of child care, 2020 eroded the border between labour and leisure.

 

 If you are showing symptoms, contact your health care provider, call the Public Health Info-Line at 905-688-8248, or chat to Public Health online. For testing, call 905-378-4647 ext. 42819 (4-CV19) for information on test centres in Niagara and to book an appointment.

Previous updates can be accessed here.

The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.

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