A Message from Sally Litchfield, General Manager: |
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Hello everyone!
I hope you are staying safe and well and enjoying the sunshine today! As we are all aware, we remain in the Red - Control zone of the province's COVID-19 Response Framework. Many local businesses have re-opened their doors with the appropriate measures in place, and we all look forward to hopefully progressing through the framework in the coming weeks and months. We encourage you to support local where and when you can, and to continue to follow the guidance of our local public health unit. 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.
A reminder that nominations for the 2021 Awards of Excellence are open, and we have extended the deadline until March 15! Please have a look at the categories, and consider nominating or self-nominating a deserving individual, business, organization, or group. Our committee has worked hard to create a plan for the 2021 gala-substitute, which will be a week-long celebration starting on June 14. We are in the process of confirming sponsors and will look to share all of the event plans with you all in the coming weeks! In the meantime, please consider submitting nominations!
We have several other upcoming events and programs in the works - keep an eye on your inbox next week for all the details!
Stay safe everyone, and we look forward to connecting soon!
Sally
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Government & COVID19 Related Updates |
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Government Announces Wage and Rent Subsidy Amounts to Remain Unchanged Through to June
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support have helped protect millions of Canadian jobs and supported businesses of every size across Canada through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, announced that the government intends to extend the current rate structures for these subsidies from March 14 to June 5, 2021. Read more here
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Funding will help arts organizations and artists cover losses due to COVID-19
The Ontario government has supported the arts sector with a one-time investment of $25 million to help artists and arts organizations survive the COVID-19 pandemic, remain solvent and prepare for a time when they can fully re-open their facilities, resume full programming and welcome back their visitors and audiences. Additionally, $1 million will provide much-needed support directly to artists and creators from across the province. More information on this, including eligibility requirements and application deadlines, will be available soon on the Ontario Arts Council website. Read more here
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The Ontario government has to-date provided more than $1 billion through the Ontario Small Business Support Grant to help eligible business owners affected by the COVID-19 restrictions. The grant provides a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $20,000 and can be used in whatever way makes the most sense for individual businesses; from paying employee wages, to offsetting the cost of rent, to purchasing inventory. Upon approval, successful applicants will receive payment within 10 days. Applications are still open until March 31, 2021 and a detailed step-by-step instructional video on the application portal is available to help guide applicants through the process.
Eligible small businesses can also apply for additional financial supports including
- The newly expanded Main Street Relief Grant, which provides up to $1,000 to help offset the costs of purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE). The grant is now available to main street businesses with 2 to 19 employees in all eligible sectors.
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Rebates for property tax and energy costs. Grant programs are available through a simple online application, and businesses can learn more by visiting Ontario.ca/COVIDsupport.
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Township Community Improvement Plan funding
The ‘improve Centre Wellington’ process was initiated with the objective of creating a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) that broadly and strategically addresses the physical, aesthetic, environmental, and economic development needs in the downtowns and key commercial, employment, and mixed-use areas of the Township’s ‘Urban Centre'. Details on this as well as applications and guidelines for financial incentives that are available, can be found here.
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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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Ontario Hires 100 Additional Health and Safety Inspectors
The Ontario government has hired over 100 new occupational health and safety inspectors to support business inspection campaigns, and help ensure employees, businesses and the public are protected. Workplace inspections continue to focus on educating small businesses across the province to help them reopen from lockdowns safely. Over the past week, provincial officers visited 1,081 workplaces in Eastern Ontario, Durham Region, and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, the majority of which were small businesses with fewer than 25 employees. The two-stage inspections provide COVID-19 education and guidance for small businesses in the first round - particularly those that were closed during the provincial shutdown - followed by more enforcement-oriented inspections on follow-up visits. Read more here
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CMHA WW to launch youth services site in Centre Wellington; plans to open 6 additional sites in the county
The Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington (CMHA WW) is bringing a youth mental health and support services site to Centre Wellington.
Encompassing 6,000 square feet, the Fergus site is slated to open in June 2021, and estimates that it will serve over 5,000 youth in the area. It is the pilot for CMHA WW’s Integrated Youth Services Network (IYSN) project, which will see a total of seven sites developed across the county. 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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