Happy summer. With further reopenings on the horizon, our priority as a community is to ensure that we are all vaccinated as soon as possible. All vaccines approved in Canada are safe and effective, and there are numerous vaccine slots open this weekend in Toronto. If you have not been vaccinated yet, I encourage you to do so. Here is the link to find out how.
COVID-19 Vaccine Updates
As of today, well over 42 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Canada, and nearly 50 million doses have been distributed to the provinces and territories. Our vaccine program continues to run on all cylinders, with millions of doses continuing to arrive every week, and we are well on track to ensure that everyone is fully vaccinated by the end of summer.
All eligible Ontarians aged 12 years and older are eligible to book an accelerated second dose of a vaccine. This means that, if your original second dose date was in September or October, you can now rebook your dose earlier.
Digital Adoption Program
A call for applications was announced yesterday for stream one of the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP), which will award funding of up to $336.8 million to not-for-profit organizations to support small businesses as they adopt digital technologies such as digital storefronts and e-commerce platforms. Announced in Budget 2021, the CDAP provides businesses from coast to coast to coast with the tools they need to bring their made-in-Canada products and services online, grow their businesses and hire workers as we all work to build back better.
For more details, please see the following news release.
Budget 2021 committed an additional $1 billion to help the hard-hit tourism sector prepare to welcome domestic travellers and reposition Canada as a world-class destination. Yesterday, Minister Joly announced that one of the key measures of this support package—the Tourism Relief Fund, is now open for applications. This important program will support businesses and organizations as they adapt their operations in line with COVID-19 restrictions while investing in products and services to ease future growth.
For more details, please see the following news release. |
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High Frequency Rail is Coming
The Government of Canada is committed to modernizing intercity passenger rail services in a way that will best meet the transportation needs of travellers, while also creating jobs and economic growth. Last week, our government announced that we're taking the first steps in preparing to build high-frequency train service in the Toronto to Quebec City Corridor.
The High Frequency Rail proposal in the Toronto to Quebec City Corridor involves building dedicated passenger rail tracks which would provide many key benefits to travellers, including:
- Shorter travel times and faster trains that would reduce average trip times between Toronto and Ottawa by up to 90 minutes;
- More reliable on-time arrival performance up to 95 per cent from a current average of 67 per cent;
- More direct routes with improved connectivity between cities and to other modes of transportation;
- New services to certain communities, such as Peterborough, Trois-Rivières and Laval, and new stations in targeted locations including near Jean Lesage Airport in Quebec City;
- More frequent departures between cities; and
a cleaner travel option using electrified technology.
The implementation of the Pay Equity Act is an important part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to close the gender wage gap. Last week, our government announced that we will bring the Pay Equity Act into force on August 31, 2021.
Once in force, employers with 10 or more employees will have three years to develop and implement their proactive pay equity plans. The Pay Equity Commissioner will be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Act and its Regulations, and they will continue to work closely with federally regulated private and public sector workplace parties to provide support and guidance on the implementation of this proactive pay equity regime.
Click here for more information.
Meet Mary Simon, Our Next Governor General |
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Last week, the Prime Minister announced that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has approved the appointment of Mary Simon as the next Governor General of Canada. As Governor General, Mary Simon will be the representative of Her Majesty The Queen in Canada. She will be Canada’s 30th Governor General since Confederation.
More information on Governor General-Designate Simon can be found here.
New Program from the Toronto Board of Trade
The Toronto Region Board of Trade and the City of Toronto recently launched We’re Ready Toronto - a campaign to bring back Toronto’s 550,000 daytime workforce and reboot the region’s $8 billion visitor economy when it is safe to do so.
Following nearly a year of research and analysis, as well as inputs from hundreds of business leaders, We’re Ready Toronto provides businesses with reopening playbooks that include leading practices that have been proven to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 transmission - including access to rapid COVID-19 testing kits.
For more information, click here.
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