Chamber Update

❄️🚨❄️🚨❄️🚨❄️🚨❄️

Unexpected cancellations and closures abound today!

Feel free to tag the Chamber in any cancellation/closure posts and we will share with our followers.

Pro tips for social sharing about cancellations:

✅ include the day/date of the closure in the post and in any images where possible

✅ delete the post at the end of the day so that Facebook can’t show it to customers later, causing confusion

✅ to increase the chances that your followers will see important posts like closures and cancellations, use the @followers feature in the comments. We recommend using this feature sparingly.

Colin Carmichael

Executive Director

Event Roundup

Huron Chamber Events

• Huron Chamber Board Meeting | January 7th @ 5:30pm

Chamber Member Events

• AI: Understanding the Impact and Risk | December 10 @ 1pm [WEBINAR]

The new "Chamber Community Calendar" will soon be live on our website, allowing our Chamber members and partners to submit their events directly to the Chamber website. Stay tuned!

Chamber News & Resources

Huron Chamber News

• Call for Nominations: Join the Huron Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
• Chamber Executive Director Reflects on Outgoing Warden McNeil and Welcomes Incoming Warden Heffer
• Municipal Council Round-Up – November 2024
• Temporary Tax Holiday: Relief for Consumers, Challenges for Businesses
• Huron County Entrepreneurs: Unlock New Opportunities with the Rural GROW Accelerator



News, Tips, & Resources

• Ontario proposes new parental leave for adoption, surrogacy
• KPMG survey shows that generative AI usage is increasing, but employers also at risk
• Trump tariffs: Why ‘it’s complicated’ for Canadian commercial brokers
• With Canada Post strike underway, small business owners scramble to make other arrangements
• How Big Policy on Taxes, Trade and Labour Affects Small Businesses

Do you have a news item or resource that would be useful to our readers?

Please share anytime to info@huronchamber.ca

Your Opinion Matters!

This holiday season, we’re asking for your support to help the Huron Women's Shelter, a valued member of the Huron Chamber and a critical support for women and families in Huron County. They’re in need of essential items, and we want to ensure these purchases support our local businesses—like yours!

By working together, we can encourage meaningful donations while keeping dollars in our local economy. If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly.

AI: Understanding the Impact and Risks

Magnet and WATSpeed join the Ontario Chamber of Commerce for a panel discussion on AI’s impact and risks for businesses.

As artificial intelligence (AI) embeds itself into the economy, understanding the impact, risks, and opportunities associated with its use is necessary. In this one-hour webinar,

Magnet and the WATSpeed at the University of Waterloo will discuss:

• The current state of AI and where it is headed;
• What businesses should do to address the AI knowledge gap;
• What and where to find free and accessible AI tools and resources for SMEs; and
• How businesses can adopt and utilize AI to foster a more competitive and productive workplace and economy.

The Retail Safety & Security Guide is a combined effort of the Toronto Police Service, Workplace Safety and Prevention Services, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and the Retail Council of Canada (RCC) that is intended to help retail businesses of all sizes across Ontario prevent and reduce incidents of crime as well as keep customers and staff safe. The information in this Guide is based on consultations with and best practices of retailers, security organizations, and police services and is provided as advice gathered from a collection of experts. We thank SAFE Work Manitoba for their initial collaboration with RCC, which led to the release of the first guide of this kind to help businesses across Manitoba. 

The Guide provides information to help businesses: 

1. Make their business less vulnerable to crime. 
2. Identify and select an appropriate response to address retail crime. 
3. Outline methods to prevent and address the most common and severe forms of retail crime that include: –Robbery –Break and Enter –Fraud –Shoplifting Review techniques to address abusive customers, suspicious individuals, intoxicated individuals, as well as individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. 
4. Provide measures to address or prevent violence in the workplace between customers or customers and staff. 

Checklists and risk assessment tools are provided in the Appendices section of the Guide to help businesses put in place the approaches discussed.

Canada Summer Jobs Program Update:

Key Details for the 2025 Call for Applications

The federal government has announced important details regarding the 2025 Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) Program, including an earlier deadline than in past years. Members of the Huron Chamber of Commerce are encouraged to review these updates to ensure they’re prepared for the new application window.

Application Timeline

The Call for Applications for the 2025 CSJ Program opens the week of November 18, 2024, and closes on December 19, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Employers are urged to apply early, as the application period will conclude before the start of the new year.

Program Overview

The CSJ Program, part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS), is designed to support young Canadians aged 15 to 30 in gaining valuable work experience, particularly for those facing unique barriers to employment. The 2025 program aims to fund 70,000 quality job placements for youth across the country.

The Huron Chamber of Commerce is proud to support the launch of the 2024-25 EmployerOne Survey, a critical initiative led by the Four County Labour Market Planning Board. We urge all businesses in Bruce, Grey, Huron, and Perth counties to participate in this important survey, which plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of our local workforce and economy.

Your Workforce. Our Future.

Understanding the unique workforce dynamics of Huron County is essential for sustainable economic growth. With consistently the lowest unemployment rate in Ontario, our region faces challenges and opportunities that are not always reflected in broader provincial data. The EmployerOne Survey is a comprehensive tool designed to gather critical insights directly from employers regarding local labour market conditions.

Hearing directly from employers allows us to identify workforce successes, challenges, gaps, and needs specific to our community. The survey collects local information not otherwise available on a range of topics, including workforce demographics, hiring challenges, skills shortages, and future employment trends. This invaluable data helps us pinpoint what types of skills-building and training programs, projects, and partnerships could enhance the skills of our workforce for today—and tomorrow.

EXCLUSIVE TO CHAMBER MEMBERS

Joining Chambers Plan means joining a community of over 30K Canadian businesses.

They choose our plan for its year-to-year stability, easy administration, and outstanding value-add features.

Get a free quote from a local advisor today, you’ll be in good company: www.chamberplan.ca