Chamber Updates & Local News

The Chamber membership asked three questions of our candidates, details below. 2022 Mayoral Candidates Incumbent:Bryan Paterson       Skyler McArthur-O’Blenes             Ivan Stolijkovic                              Tina Fraser   Question 1: Housing Availability and Affordability Incumbent: Bryan Paterson– Expanding housing…

According to the latest Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, Canadian businesses continue to see inflation as their biggest near-term obstacle. A whopping 60% of firms expect inflation to be a challenge, the highest response rate in the history of the survey. Read more key takeaways from our Business Data Lab and stay tuned for a…

The local Chamber of Commerce is part of a coalition of Ontario chambers asking the federal government to scrap the ArriveCan app, saying that it discourages tourism. “There are some chambers across the country who are looking at different alternatives but here we are saying that we need to lose the app. It really is…

Ontario has committed nearly $4 billion to bring high-speed internet access to every corner of the province by the end of 2025. The following internet service providers will help connect up to 266,000 unserved and underserved homes and businesses in as many as 339 municipalities across Ontario. Municipalities, provincial funding, and the number of unserved…

As of 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 28, 2022, parents and caregivers of children aged six months to under five years will be able to book appointments for the paediatric COVID-19 vaccine. Immunocompromised youth aged 12 to 17 will also become eligible to schedule their second booster dose (fifth dose) if at least six months…

The nominees have been announced for the 26th Business Excellence Awards, presented by title sponsor MNP and partner sponsor Bell. Across the nine award categories, there are 43 nominees including: Arts and Culture, sponsored by YourTv: Cornerstone Canadian Art & Craft, H’art Centre, The Katarowki Indigenous Art & Food Market, David Dossett, EronOne, Kingston Theatre…

Umicore plans to make a $1.5 billion investment to build a first of its kind industrial scale cathode and precursor materials manufacturing plant, in eastern Ontario. This investment would support Ontario’s vision of building an end-to-end electric vehicle (EV) supply chain in the province and becoming a North American hub for building the cars of…

Ontario’s rent increase guideline for 2023 is 2.5 per cent, below current rates of inflation. The rent increase guideline is the maximum amount a landlord can increase rent during the year for most tenants without the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board. The guideline is based on Ontario’s Consumer Price Index, a measure of…

For many of us, life is finally starting to feel more “normal.” But sadly, the latest CSBC reveals that the recovery remains incomplete for one third of businesses, representing over 361,000 companies. For many of us, life is finally starting to feel more “normal.” But sadly, the latest CSBC reveals that the recovery remains incomplete…

Whether you came downtown to see cars, the Pride Parade, Theodore Tugboat, or any one of our lovely local businesses in June, we hope you had a good time. Amidst all the sights and signs, you may have seen a new, but very common, display this year: Help Wanted. The causes are many, but the…