Clearview Chamber Of Commerce
220 Huron St, P.O. Box 1049
Stayner, Ontario L0M 1S0
Hours of Operation
Please contact us for our current hours of operation.
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ONTARIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: COVID-19 UPDATE
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Monday, Dec 21, 2020
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PROVINCEWIDE SHUTDOWN
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Today the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts, is imposing a Provincewide shutdown. Full details about the Provincewide Shutdown can be found here.
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The Provincewide Shutdown will go into effect as of Saturday, December 26, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. The restrictions would remain in effect from Saturday, January 9, 2021 to Saturday, January 23, 2021 for all 27 public health unit regions in Southern Ontario. Read the government's release.
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The current COVID-19 Response Framework will be paused when the Provincewide Shutdown comes into effect. The impacts of these time-limited measures will be evaluated throughout the 14 days in Northern Ontario and 28 days in Southern Ontario to determine if it is safe to lift any restrictions or if they need to be extended.
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The government also announced an additional funding of $42 million to establish isolation centres.
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The government of Ontario is urging Ontarians to stay home as much as possible with trips outside the home limited to necessities such as food, medication, medical appointments, or supporting vulnerable community members.
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Employers in all industries are encourage to allow employees to work from home.
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The list of essential businesses allowed to stay open can be found here (slides 12 to 21).
Measures include, but are not limited to:
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Restricting indoor organized public events and social gatherings, except with members of the same household (the people you live with). Individuals who live alone may consider having exclusive close contact with one other household.
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Prohibiting in-person shopping in most retail settings - curbside pickup and delivery can continue. Discount and big box retailers selling groceries will be limited to 25 per cent capacity for in-store shopping. Supermarkets, grocery stores and similar stores that primarily sell food, as well as pharmacies, will continue to operate at 50 per cent capacity for in-store shopping.
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Restricting indoor access to shopping malls - patrons may only go to a designated indoor pickup area (by appointment only), essential retail stores that are permitted to be open (e.g. pharmacy, grocery store), or, subject to physical distancing and face covering requirements, to the food court for takeout purchases. Shopping malls may also establish outdoor designated pickup areas.
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Prohibiting indoor and outdoor dining. Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments will be permitted to operate by take out, drive-through, and delivery only.
NEW ONTARIO SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT GRANT
The Ontario government is offering one-time grants of a minimum of $10,000 and up to $20,000 to eligible small business owners to help navigate the new Provincewide Shutdown.
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Starting at $10,000 for all eligible businesses, the grant will provide businesses with dollar for dollar funding to a maximum of $20,000 to help cover decreased revenue expected as a result of the Provincewide Shutdown. See our release calling for supports and our statement in response.
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Small business owners can use this grant however makes the most sense for them: for example, some may use it to pay employee wages, while others will need support maintaining their inventory.
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Who’s eligible? Businesses that:
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Are required to close or significantly restrict services subject to the Provincewide Shutdown;
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Have less than 100 employees at the enterprise level; and
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Have experienced a minimum of 20 per cent revenue decline in April 2020 compared to April 2019.
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For small businesses not in operation in April 2019 or April 2020, eligibility criteria will be announced in January 2021.
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Businesses that are not eligible include those that were already required to close prior to the introduction of modified Stage 2 measures, and essential businesses permitted to operate with capacity restrictions (e.g., discount and big box stores selling groceries, supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, and beer, wine and liquor stores).
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More information about the Ontario Small Business Support Grant is available here. Further details, including how to apply, will be announced in January 2021.
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Businesses with further questions on supports and programs can call the Stop the Spread Business Information line at 1-888-444-3659.
High Priority Communities Strategy: The government is also providing $12.5 million to implement a High Priority Communities Strategy to contain the virus in high-risk communities, funding community agencies in 15 priority communities in the York, Peel, Durham, Ottawa, and Toronto regions.
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The funding will also allow for the hiring of community ambassadors to make people aware of available services and assistance, for coordination of increased testing opportunities and for the arrangement of wraparound supports for those who are COVID-positive.
New School Protocols: All publicly funded and private elementary and secondary schools are to move to remote learning when students return from the winter break on January 4, 2021.
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Schools located in the following Public Health Unit regions can resume in-person instruction on January 11, 2021 for both elementary and secondary students (The District of Algoma Health Unit, North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit, Northwestern Health Unit, Porcupine Health Unit, Sudbury and District Health Unit, Thunder Bay District Health Unit, and Timiskaming Health Unit)
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For schools in all other Public Health Unit regions, elementary school students are set to return to in-person learning on January 11, 2021, and secondary school students will continue learning remotely until January 25, 2021, at which point they may resume in-person learning. During this period, child care centres, authorized recreational and skill building programs and home-based child care services will remain open.
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From January 4-8, 2021, when elementary students move to remote learning, before and after school programs will be closed and emergency child care for health care and frontline workers will be provided.
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LATEST OCC REPORT
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On December 11, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Ontario Chamber Network released their latest policy brief, Realizing the Full Potential of Virtual Care in Ontario.
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This timely report underscores the need to permanently integrate virtual care into Ontario’s health care system. While the recommendations are directed to the Ontario government, the report truly underscores the national importance of virtual care, particularly with respect to pandemic preparedness. Read the report.
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ADDITIONAL UPDATES
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DECEMBER 20: Given the high number of cases of a variant COVID-19 virus observed in some areas in the United Kingdom, the Government of Canada is suspending flights from the United Kingdom for 72 hours. Learn more.
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DECEMBER 19: The Supporting Local Restaurants Act, 2020 came into effect on December 19, at 12:01 a.m. Food delivery companies are now required to limit the rates they charge to 20% for each transaction — with no more than 15% for commission for food delivery services. Learn more.
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DECEMBER 18: Governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million in immediate, emergency assistance to help the province's beef farmers manage costs associated with the impacts of COVID-19 and to help protect Ontario's food supply network. Learn more.
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DECEMBER 18: The Government and Canada announced they are raising the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy rate to 75 per cent for the period beginning Sunday, December 20, 2020, until March 13, 2021. Learn more.
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DECEMBER 18: The Ontario government is doubling funding for the Black Youth Action Plan by investing an additional $60 million over three years. This funding will renew existing Black Youth Action Plan programming, create a new economic empowerment programming stream and provide targeted supports to help Black families and communities recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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DECEMBER 17: The Ontario government is extending regulatory changes brought forward under the Employment Standards Act to July 3, 2021.
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The regulation's changes include putting non-unionized employees on job-protected leave during the COVID-19 outbreak any time their hours of work are temporarily reduced by their employer due to the pandemic to prevent temporary layoffs from becoming permanent. Learn more.
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GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO CONSULTATIONS
Public consultation is an opportunity for you to weigh in on decisions by government. Below are current open consultations by the Government of Ontario. Click here for a full list of open consultations.
OPEN COMMITEE MEETINGS
The committees of the House are small working groups of MPPs. They meet to consider bills or other specific issues that the House has asked them to review. Click here to see a list of upcoming committee meetings.
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2020 VIRTUAL ONTARIO BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
The 38th annual Ontario Business Achievement Awards (OBAAs) will be airing this Sunday, December 27 at 2:30pm ET on TLN! This year's OBAAs will shine the spotlight on the unsung heroes?who continue to support Ontario's communities throughout the pandemic. Learn more.
We will be celebrating our Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Joe Mancinelli, International Vice President and Regional Manager for Central and Eastern Canada of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) and our CEO of the Year Award recipient, Mike Rencheck, President and CEO of Bruce Power. We will also be celebrating the incredible frontline and essential workers who have truly risen to the COVID challenge: grocery workers, transportation workers, construction workers and frontline healthcare workers. This is an event you don't want to miss!
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Questions about #OBAA2020? Contact Jessica Wright, Senior Event Specialist.
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Last week, our member Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited made an incredible investment of $30 million in their Brampton, Weston, and Lachine manufacturing facilities. This is great news for manufacturing innovation and growth right here at home in Canada for years to come. See here.
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Indispensable Partners in the Fight Against COVID-19
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1. CHAMBER NETWORK ENGAGEMENT
Last week, we gathered for our last #ONChamberNetwork town hall of 2020. This has been an unprecedented year. Chambers of commerce and boards of trade across the province have worked tirelessly to respond to COVID-19 as the indispensable partners of business.
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Please join us in thanking Gerry for all his contributions and wishing him all the best in his retirement. After nearly 34 years as CEO, Gerry McCartney is retiring from the London Chamber of Commerce. McCartney's retirement takes effect Feb. 26, 2021, but has agreed to help out during the transition period.
2. COVID-19 ADVOCACY
We are taking concerns from the business community and communicating them to all levels of government. Click here to stay up to date on our advocacy.
3. #DIFFERENCEMAKERS
As the indispensable partner of business, our member companies are stepping up, joining the fight, and diverting resources to support COVID-19 efforts. Join us in celebrating our #DifferenceMakers on our website. If you know a business stepping up in the fight against COVID-19 please let us know.
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