A Message from Sally Litchfield, General Manager: |
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Hello everyone!
This week feels very surreal as we hit the one-year mark since the first lock down last March. On one hand, it feels like 2020 didn’t really happen, and on the other, so much has happened. We have had to use the word pivot far too many times, but as we hear of people we know being vaccinated, we hope that the light is at the end of the tunnel. It is important to continue to follow the guidance of our local public health unit and note that workplace inspections have been happening in our area and we will continue to be visited. If you have questions or concerns about compliance, please reach out and we will certainly help wherever we can.
We are pleased to share that we received 86 nominations for this year’s Awards of Excellence, which is certainly a new record and will be tough to beat next year! Adjudication will happen in the coming weeks and we look forward to announcing winners during the week of June 14-18. If you’d like to get involved as a sponsor for our gala-substitute event this year, please give Sally a call at (519) 496-1045.
We are looking forward to participating next week in the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Advocacy Week activities, where we will be in meetings with key decision makers from within the provincial government and political parties. If you’d like to ensure we are taking a specific issue, perspective, idea to that table, drop-in tomorrow to our Advocacy Drop-In between 10:30am and 12:00pm at the Zoom link here.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, ideas, etc, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Sally
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Government & COVID19 Related Updates |
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How do you want to Re-Shape your St. David Street?
The Township of Centre Wellington is seeking public engagement to find out how residents and business owners would like to see the reconstruction of St. David Street North from St. Andrew St to Edinburgh Ave look. There are 4 options - let them know what you think here!
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Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health Updates Masking Requirements
As cases of COVID-19 variants of concern continue to grow across the province, WDG Public Health is exploring all measures to keep cases low and the region as open as possible. The existing Section 22 Class Order on face coverings (September 18, 2020) has been amended to include common areas of multi-unit dwellings and temporary lodgings, as well as staff-only areas of commercial establishments. Read more here
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WDG Public Health opens vaccine pre-registrations to Phase 2 eligible groups
Eligible groups in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph under Phase 2 of Ontario’s Vaccination Plan can now pre-register online at wdgpublichealth.ca/register. In addition to ongoing pre-registration for Phase 1 Priority Groups, pre-registration is now available for these additional groups:
• Adults 60-79 years of age (80+ can still pre-register as well)
• Congregate settings staff
• Congregate settings residents and their primary caregivers
• Individuals with select health conditions
• Essential caregivers for individuals with highest-risk health conditions
• Essential workers who cannot work from home
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Ontario Supports Tourism, Culture, Sport and Recreation Organizations
New grant program will help those who are struggling during COVID-19
The Ontario government is investing $105 million through the new Community Building Fund to support non-profit tourism, culture, sport and recreation organizations. The funding will be used to help these non-profits recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and meet the needs of their communities. Read more here
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Ontario to Release 2021 Budget on March 24
Government will outline next phase of Ontario’s COVID-19 Action Plan
The Ontario government will continue to focus on protecting people's health and jobs through the COVID-19 pandemic when Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board, releases the 2021 Ontario Budget on March 24. The Budget will support the province's comprehensive vaccine distribution plan, along with providing additional resources for the health care sector and initiatives to protect the economic well-being of families, workers and employers. Read more here
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Ontario Taking Action to Expand Access to Reliable Broadband
New legislation would help lay the foundation for community growth, renewal, and long-term economic recovery
The Ontario government is introducing the Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021 which, if passed, would help connect more communities to reliable, high-speed internet sooner. This legislation proposes to reduce costs to broadband providers associated with attaching broadband wirelines to hydro utility poles, and would provide timely access to poles and to municipal rights of way to install broadband on municipal land. Read more here
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Ontario Businesses Making Workplaces Safer
Inspectors See Increase in Compliance with COVID-19 Safety Requirements
The Ontario government is seeing a greater number of small businesses complying with COVID-19 safety requirements. During follow-up visits for educational workplace safety campaigns, provincial offences officers found that approximately 73 per cent of businesses were in compliance with public health measures and compliance increased by 20 per cent. Read more here
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Ontario Setting Up Apprentices and Employers for Success
Province’s expanded apprenticeship programs will build a robust, skilled workforce
The Ontario government is investing $47 million in 2021-22 to hire more apprentices, improve the quality of training and help them complete their training and certification through the new Achievement Incentive Program and the expanded Apprenticeship Capital Grant. These programs are designed to support those who train apprentices, such as businesses, colleges and other training organizations, providing more young people with high quality training that will lead to successful careers. Read more here
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C-Screener is a Covid-19 Workplace Screening application for mobile phones that will enable companies to comply with the Ontario Ministry of Health issued Workplace Screening guidelines requiring businesses to screen employees and visitors for COVID-19 before allowing entry into the workplace and keep the screening records.
Ositech developed this application for company use, but they are offering it at no cost to any business that can benefit from it as their contribution to help businesses in dealing with COVID-19 pandemic.
The C-Screener mobile application has the following benefits:
- Easy to use
- Time-efficient; employees/visitors do not have to line up to fill or handover a checklist at the office/factory entry.
- The checklists are stored as emails that can be easily retrieved in case employees have to be informed of potential exposure to COVID-19
- Best of all; It is completely free. There is no catch and there are no charges at all for this application.
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Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce
400 Tower St. S., Fergus | 519.843.5140| www.cwchamber.ca
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