*|MC:SUBJECT|*

News, updates, and so much more…

 
DETAILS OF STEPS TO CAUTIOUSLY AND GRADUALLY EASE PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES, STARTING ON JANUARY 31, 2022 ANNOUNCED TODAY   In the absence of concerning trends in public health and health care indicators, Ontario will follow a cautious and phased approach to lifting public health measures, with 21 days between each step. January 31, 2022 Effective January 31, 2022 at 12:01 a.m. Ontario will begin the process of gradually easing restrictions, while maintaining protective measures, including but not limited to:
  • Increasing social gathering limits to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
  • Increasing or maintaining capacity limits at 50 per cent in indoor public settings, including but not limited to:
  • Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments without dance facilities;
  • Retailers (including grocery stores and pharmacies)
  • Shopping malls;
  • Non-spectator areas of sports and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms;
  • Cinemas;
  • Meeting and event spaces;
  • Recreational amenities and amusement parks, including water parks;
  • Museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos and similar attractions; and
  • Casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments
  • Religious services, rites, or ceremonies.
  • Allowing spectator areas of facilities such as sporting events, concert venues and theatres to operate at 50 per cent seated capacity or 500 people, whichever is less.
Enhanced proof of vaccination, and other requirements would continue to apply in existing settings. February 21, 2022 Effective February 21, 2022, Ontario will lift public health measures, including:
  • Increasing social gathering limits to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
  • Removing capacity limits in indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is required, including but not limited to restaurants, indoor sports and recreational facilities, cinemas, as well as other settings that choose to opt-in to proof of vaccination requirements.
  • Permitting spectator capacity at sporting events, concert venues, and theatres at 50 per cent capacity.
  • Limiting capacity in most remaining indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is not required to the number of people that can maintain two metres of physical distance.
  • Indoor religious services, rites or ceremonies limited to the number that can maintain two metres of physical distance, with no limit if proof of vaccination is required.
  • Increasing indoor capacity limits to 25 per cent in the remaining higher-risk settings where proof of vaccination is required, including nightclubs, wedding receptions in meeting or event spaces where there is dancing, as well as bathhouses and sex clubs.
Enhanced proof of vaccination, and other requirements would continue to apply in existing settings. March 14, 2022 Effective March 14, 2022, Ontario will take additional steps to ease public health measures, including:
  • Lifting capacity limits in all indoor public settings. Proof of vaccination will be maintained in existing settings in addition to other regular measures.
  • Lifting remaining capacity limits on religious services, rites, or ceremonies.
  • Increase social gathering limits to 50 people indoors with no limits for outdoor gatherings.
To manage COVID-19 over the long-term, local and regional responses by public health units may be deployed based on local context and conditions.  
READ MORE

Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program now accepting applications

Eligible businesses required to close or reduce capacity due to the current public health measures put in place to blunt the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 can apply for the new Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program starting today. The program will provide eligible businesses with a rebate payment of up to 100 per cent for property tax and energy costs they incur while subject to these restrictions.

Eligible businesses required to close for indoor activities, such as restaurants and gyms, will receive a rebate payment equivalent to 100 per cent of their costs. Those required to reduce capacity to 50 per cent, such as smaller retail stores, will receive a rebate payment equivalent to 50 per cent of their costs.

In communications with the Government of Ontario, the GNCC has pointed out that this program only benefits businesses which pay property tax and/or energy bills themselves, and suggested that a supplemental program should be introduced for businesses who do not but are still affected by restrictions. At this time, no response has been received.

Click here for more information.

Click here to access the application portal.

Ontario cuts electricity rates for small business and residential customers

As of 12:01 AM today, electricity prices have been lowered to the off-peak rate of 8.2 cents per kilowatt-hour — less than half the on-peak rate — 24 hours per day. This relief will last 21 days, as long as the modified Step Two restrictions are expected to be in place.

The rate cut will be applied automatically to both Time-of-Use and Tiered rate plans on the bills of residential customers, small businesses and farms who pay regulated rates set by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB).

Low-income Ontarians can also access the Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) grant to help with bills.

Click here for more information.

New Ontario funding available to advanced manufacturers

Today, the Ontario government launched the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competitiveness (AMIC) program. As part of the 2021 Fall Economic Statement, AMIC is a new stream of the Regional Development Program (RDP). The two-year, $40 million program will support advanced manufacturing businesses.

Beginning today, eligible businesses can apply for the new program. Eligibility requirements include:

  • minimum of 10 employees
  • three or more years of financial statements, and
  • minimum of $500,000 in eligible project costs.

The first round of applications will be open until February 10, 2022. Click here for more information.

Canada receives first delivery of COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment

The Government of Canada has received an initial shipment of 30,400 treatment courses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment, PAXLOVID™, with 120,000 more expected to be delivered between now and the end of March. Canada has secured 1 million courses of the treatment in total. The treatment received Health Canada regulatory authorization earlier today. Distribution to provinces and territories will begin imminently.

Click here for more information.

Welland Bridge 13 February Illumination Schedule  

 

 

Media Release

COW-logo-hires.jpg

City of Welland invites the community to provide input on redesign of its municipal website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 19, 2022

Welland, ON – The City of Welland is redesigning its website and looking for community feedback to share ideas about what they would like to see in a new welland.ca.

Previously redesigned in 2017, the website is ready to undergo changes to enhance usability, navigation, and user experience. Part of what that looks like will be determined by community feedback. In addition to the community voice, the City’s communications department has assembled a team of staff from across the corporation to provide input.

“The team working on this project includes staff members in various departments who use the website for various reasons, which will help us determine some key areas to look at right out of the age,” said Marc MacDonald, corporate communications manager. “The end user’s experience measures a website’s success, so the more perspectives we have working on this project, the better product we’ll ultimately produce.”

Using the City’s public engagement tool, EngageWelland, residents are invited to complete a survey, share ideas, and ask questions about the project. Through this data, city staff will develop ways to implement successful ideas to make the website user-friendly and accessible.

Given the time and work that goes into a website redesign, a hard launch date is not yet determined, though the anticipated completion date will be in the late fall. Part of the project’s process will be rewriting each page on the site to ensure consistency in tone and style.

During the redesign, the current website will remain fully operational and updated, ensuring visitors retain access to the information they require.

To join the conversation and provide input on the redesign, visit www.engagewelland.ca/website

-30-

For media inquiries, please contact:

Marc MacDonald

Corporate Communications Manager

905-735-1700 x2337

znep.znpqbanyq@jryynaq.pn

Best regards,

Alexis Higginbotham
Executive Director
WDBIA 
60 East Main Street
Welland, ON
L3B 3X4
905.736.2884
downtownwelland.ca 
Facebook
Link
Website
Copyright © 2018, Welland Downtown Business Improvement Area, All rights reserved.


Our mailing address is:
195 East Main Street Unit 4C
Welland, Ontario

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.






This email was sent to *|EMAIL|*
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
*|LIST:ADDRESSLINE|*

*|REWARDS|*