Category Archives: News

All but 4 Ontario Public Health Regions to transition out of shutdown

February 12, 2021

It’s nice to be able to send along some good news on a Friday:

The government of Ontario announced today that 27 public health regions will be moving back to the COVID Response Framework on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. and will no longer be subject to the Stay-at-Home order.

Enjoy the Family Day Weekend!


Moving to Grey-Lockdown: 

  • Niagara Region Public Health 
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Moving to Red-Control: 

  • Chatham-Kent Public Health  
  • City of Hamilton Public Health Services
  • Durham Region Health Department
  • Halton Region Public Health
  • Middlesex-London Health Unit;
  • Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services
  • Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit
  • Southwestern Public Health
  • Thunder Bay District Health Unit
  • Wellington-Dufferin Guelph Public Health
  • Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. 

Moving to Orange-Restrict:

  • Brant County Health Unit
  • Eastern Ontario Health Unit
  • Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit
  • Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
  • Huron Perth Public Health
  • Lambton Public Health
  • Ottawa Public Health
  • Porcupine Health Unit
  • Public Health Sudbury and Districts. 

Moving to Yellow-Protect:

  • Algoma Public Health
  • Grey Bruce Health Unit;
  • Northwestern Health Uni
  •  Peterborough Public Health

Moving to Green-Prevent:

  • Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit
  • Timiskaming Health Unit. 

For North Bay Parry Sound District, Peel Public Health, Toronto Public Health and York Region Public Health, it is proposed that the shutdown measures and the Stay-at-Home order will continue to apply until at least Monday, February 22, 2021.

Ontario eases some lockdown retail restrictions, begins staged reopening

February 9, 2021

The Premier announced yesterday that the province has updated its COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open to revise some retail regulations in areas under Grey Zone ‘lockdown’ restrictions, and will also begin a staggered reopening of the province as regions move from the Stay-at-Home order to Grey Zone designation.

Easing of retail restrictions 

The shutdown and Stay-At-Home order and all existing public health and workplace safety measures will be maintained in the majority of the public health regions in Ontario, with these amendments to restrictions in the Grey Zone lockdown regions:

  • In person shopping permitted for retail sales, with capacity limits;
  • In addition to the previous restriction of 50 per cent capacity limit for supermarkets and other stores that primarily sell groceries, convenience stores, and pharmacies:
    • 25 per cent capacity limit for all other stores that engage in retail sales to the public, including, big box stores;
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  • Stores will be required to publicly post store capacity limit
  • Individuals will be required to wear a face covering and maintain physical distance when indoors in a business, with limited exceptions

There are also revised regulations for Red Zone and Green Zone regions.  

The full list of revisions regarding retail operations can be found on this page of the Ontario government website:
In-Person Shopping at Retail Stores Permitted with Public Health and Safety Requirements in Place  

Reopening

The following three regions will be moving back to the Green-Prevent level on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. and will no longer be subject to the Stay-at-Home order:

  • Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
  • Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health
  • Renfrew County and District Health Unit

It is proposed that the Stay-at-Home order will continue to apply to 28 public health regions until Tuesday, February 16, 2021. 

For Toronto, Peel and York regions, it is proposed that the Stay-at-Home order will continue to apply until Monday, February 22, 2021. Final decisions will be subject to review of the trends in public health indicators at that time.

The full text of the News Release can be found at this page on the government of Ontario website.

CRA clarification of work from home expenses and deductions

While not specifically related to employment law, I thought that the information below might be of value to you and/or your employees.

The CRA has clarified information on the topic of work from home expenses and also provided some additional relief with respect to the taxation of certain employee benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to mitigate some of the extra costs associated with traveling to work safely.

I have summarized some of the most important details below. For your reference, this page on the government of Canada website provides full details:
Home office expenses for employees: What the changes are

CRA revisions to work from home expenses policies

For the 2020 tax year only, employees who have worked from home for at least one month due to COVID-19 can choose to deduct home office expenses through one of two methods:

  1. the new Temporary Flat Rate Method (new)
  2. the existing, but simplified, Detailed Method

Temporary Flat Rate Method

The new Temporary Flat Rate Method allows eligible employees to deduct C$2 per day for every day worked at home due to COVID-19, without regard to the expenses actually incurred, up to a maximum of C$400.

To be eligible for the temporary flat rate method, an employee must have worked from home due to COVID-19 more than 50 per cent of the time for a period of at least four consecutive weeks in 2020. 

NOTE: Employees who chose to work from home when given the option are still eligible for the temporary flat rate method. 

  • Employees may count the days in the four-week period and any other day the employee worked from home due to COVID-19. 
  • Employees are not permitted to count days off, vacation days, sick leave days or other leaves of absence. 
  • Eligible employees may still claim the deduction if their employer reimbursed some home office expenses.

Employees will not need to file supporting documents, but it is expected that employees will need to be able to demonstrate which days they worked from home in 2020 if the CRA were to conduct an audit.

New simplified Detailed Method:

Employees who meet the eligibility requirements for the temporary flat rate method are also eligible to use the simplified Detailed Method.

Under the Detailed Method, employees may deduct the actual amount of supplies and home office expenses incurred while working from home, provided they have the necessary supporting documentation and a completed new Form T2200S.

The new Form T2200S is a simplified version of the traditional Form T2200 specifically tailored for working at home during COVID-19.  It is a one-page document that requires the employer to complete the employee’s name, the employer’s address and answer three yes or no questions. The employer then completes the employer declaration.
Link to Form T2200S 

The list of eligible expenses is the same as under the regular rules, i.e.: eligible expenses are limited to supplies consumed during employment and home office expenses used directly for work and not reimbursed by the employer. 

The one recent change (applicable to the regular process and the simplified process) is that the CRA announced that reasonable home internet access fees (but not connection fees) are eligible expenses.

The chart below sets out common eligible/non-eligible expenses. 

A more detailed list of eligible/non-eligible expenses can be found on the CRA’s website.

Eligible Expenses Non-Eligible Expenses
  • Rent paid for a house or apartment
  • Electricity, water, heat or the utilities portion of condominium fees
  • Maintenance (minor repairs, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, paint, etc.)
  • Home internet access fees
  • Office supplies (stationary items, pens, folders sticky notes, postage, toner, ink cartridge, etc.)
  • Employment use of a basic cell phone service plan
  • Long distance calls for employment purposes
Employees who earn commission income can also claim the following:
  • Property taxes
  • Home insurance
  • Lease of a cell phone, computer, laptop, tablet, fax machine, etc. that reasonably relate to earning commission income
  • Capital cost allowance
  • Mortgage interest
  • Principal mortgage payments
  • Capital expenses (replacing windows, flooring, furnace, etc.)
  • Office equipment (printer, fax machine, briefcase, laptop case or bag, calculator, etc.)
  • Monthly basic rate for a landline telephone
  • Cell phone connection or license fees
  • Internet connection fees
  • Purchase of a cell phone, computer, laptop, tablet, fax machine, etc.
  • Computer accessories (monitor, mouse, keyboard, headset, microphone, speakers, webcam, router, etc.)
  • Other electronics (television, smart speaker, voice assistant, etc.)
  • Furniture (desk, chair, etc.)
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Calculating Eligible Expenses

Employees can deduct home office expenses only for the part of the year the employee worked from home and the portion of the home office expenses related to working in their home office. 

Employees will need to determine the size of their workspace at home as a proportion of the overall size of home (e.g., the spare room is 10 per cent of the size of the apartment). 

The eligible portion of the expense will also depend on whether the space is used exclusively for work (e.g., a designated room) or a shared space (e.g., the dining room table). 

If an employee has a designated room, the deduction is not affected by the hours the space is used for work. 

However, if an employee is using a shared space (e.g., dining room), the deduction is based on the percentage of time that space is used for work (e.g., 40 hours out of 168 hours each week).

As an example:

  • Eligible employee pays C$2,000 per month in rent
  • Work space (eg dining room) is 10 per cent of total rented space

Employee can deduct:

  • C$200 per month if the workspace is a designated room, or
  • C$47.60 per month if the workspace is a shared space used 40/168 hours a week for work.

Required Documents

Employees will need supporting documents for the expenses that they deduct from employment income. 

Employees will also need an executed new Form T2200S signed by their employer.

Commuting Costs and Parking

Allowances, reimbursements, and payments for commuting costs and parking expenses generally constitute taxable benefits for an employee. 

However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRA has adopted the following positions with respect to the taxation of employee commuting and parking benefits:

Working at the Office: 
The CRA will consider an employee to not have received a taxable benefit if:

  1. the employee continues to work from their regular place of employment during the pandemic; 
  2. the employer pays for, reimburses, or provides a reasonable allowance for commuting costs incurred by the employee during the pandemic; and 
  3. the costs are over and above the employee’s normal commuting costs. This position applies to the use of employer-provided motor vehicles (assuming the employee did not normally commute to work using such a vehicle before the pandemic).

Working from Home: 
The CRA will consider an employee to not have received a taxable benefit if:

  1. the employee works from home because the employee’s regular place of employment is closed; and 
  2. the employer pays for, reimburses, or provides a reasonable allowance for normal or additional commuting costs incurred by the employee to travel to the employee’s regular place of employment for any purpose that enables the employee to perform their employment duties from home. (e.g.  an employee travels to the office to pick up certain office equipment)

An employer must maintain appropriate records demonstrating the reasonableness of any allowances in relation to commuting costs. 

If an employee uses an employer-provided vehicle, the employee should maintain records indicating the number of kilometres travelled by the employee between his/her home and regular place of employment.

Applications now open for Federal Credit Availability Program.

February 1, 2021

The Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP), which the federal government first announced in its November economic statement, will begin accepting applications today (February 1, 2021) following the release of details last week.Businesses heavily impacted by COVID-19 can access guaranteed, low-interest loans of $25,000 to $1 million to cover operational cash flow needs. The program will be administered by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) in conjunction with participating Canadian financial institutions.

Ontario: Businesses encouraged to apply for Ontario Support
The government of Ontario also released information last week on the large number of businesses that have applied for the province’s Small Business Support Grant and is encouraging all eligible small businesses facing challenges to apply for this financial support and receive at least $10,000 and up to $20,000. Approved businesses can expect to receive payment within “about 10 business days”.

Links

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Full government of Canada News Release

Full government of Ontario News Release

Further information on the federal HASCAP program can be found on this link on the BDC site:
https://www.bdc.ca/en/special-support/hascapClick on this link for details about the Ontario Small Business Support Grant and other provincial programs:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/businesses-get-help-covid-19-costs

Employment Contract Termination of Employment Terms

In early July I advised you of a very significant decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) in Waksdale v Swegon North America Inc., dealing with the termination of employment terms of employment contracts.

The employer applied to the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) for leave of the Supreme Court to appeal the OCA decision. On January 14th, 2021, an application to appeal the decision was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada with costs.

There are important implications in this decision for Ontario employers.

I have included the Overview and Summary of the case from July at the bottom of this post.

In short, the OCA held, and the SCC upheld, that the “termination for cause” term of an employment contract must comply with the Employment Standards Act threshold that an employee must have engaged in “willful” misconduct, in order to be terminated without pay.

If the “termination for cause” clause does not comply with the ESA, the entire termination provisions of an employment contract could be invalid.

In my experience, currently most “termination for cause” terms of employment contracts do not contain the required language to meet the Employment Standards Act threshold.

In addition to the termination terms of employment contracts, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the need for many employers to temporarily lay employees off during the pandemic. I am recommending that employers amend their employment contracts to include a term that provides for the employer to be able to temporarily lay the employee off.

Given these two important developments in regard to employment contracts, I am recommending that you have your employment contracts reviewed and amended.


SUMMARY FROM JULY 6

A decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal on June 17 could have significant impact on Employment Agreements in Ontario and the enforceability of termination clauses in those agreements.

I have provided a summary and analysis below. Please contact me if you have any questions about your Employment Agreements and how this judgment could affect them.Overview
The core of the case,  Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., centres around two termination provisions within the same employer agreement, one a “Termination for Cause” (“For Cause”) and the other a ‘Termination of Employment with Notice’(“With Notice”).

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It is not uncommon for agreements to contain both of these provisions, and you may have agreements composed in this way.

The issue in this case was that the provision “For Cause” was contrary to the requirements of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”). The court ruled that if any termination provision in the employment agreement is contrary to the requirements of the ESA, then all termination provisions in the employment contract will be considered unenforceable.

Further, this judgment was made even though the employment contract also contained a severability clause. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that a severability clause cannot be utilized to sever the offending term of the termination provisions and thereby save the remaining terms of the employment contract.Summary
Mr. Waksdale was employed as Director of Sales at Swegon with compensation of approximately $200,000 per year. 

Among other provisions, his Employment Agreement contained these separate provisions:a “Termination for Cause” provision. It is important to note that the employer conceded that this provision was not compliant with the ESA;a “Termination of Employment with Notice” provision, which provided that, upon termination “without cause” Mr. Waksdale would receive one week of notice or pay in lieu of notice, in addition to the minimum notice or pay in lieu of notice and statutory severance pay required by the ESA; and a “severability” provision, which would make any illegal clause (i.e. the “For Cause” provision) severable from the remainder of the Employment Agreement.Mr. Waksdale’s employment was terminated by Swegon after eight months on a “without cause” basis. Mr. Waksdale was provided his entitlements in accordance with the “With Notice” provision of his Employment Agreement.

Mr. Waksdale sued for wrongful dismissal. He argued that he had not been provided reasonable notice of dismissal, claimed six months’ pay in lieu of notice at common law, and moved for summary judgment, which was heard by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.Superior Court DecisionThe Superior Court Judge concluded that the “With Notice” term was a stand-alone, unambiguous, and enforceable term of the Employment Agreement. 

He stated further that there was no need to sever anything because the ‘With Notice” provision was used to terminate the employee and thus the “For Cause” provision did not apply.

Mr. Waksdale appealed  his case to the Court of Appeal.

He argued that the defective “For Cause” provision rendered the entire employment agreement, or at least both of its termination provisions, void and unenforceable. His  position was based on a prior precedent from the Court of Appeal that dealt with the interpretation of employment contracts.

The employer, while acknowledging that the “For Cause” provision was contrary to the ESA, argued that it could rely on the “With Notice” provision because the  provision was valid and because the employer was not alleging cause.Decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario
The Court of Appeal disagreed with the motion judge. It concluded that the “With Notice” clause was unenforceable due to the inclusion of the faulty “With Cause” provision within the agreement and that an employment agreement needs to be taken as a whole.

The court set aside the motion judge’s order, allowed the appeal, and ordered the matter remitted to the motion judge to determine the quantum of Mr. Waksdale’s damages.

In the decision, the Judge wrote:

An employment agreement must be interpreted as a whole and not on a piecemeal basis. 

The correct analytical approach is to determine whether the termination provisions in an employment agreement read as a whole violate the ESA. 

Recognizing the power imbalance between employees and employers, as well as the remedial protections offered by the ESA, courts should focus on whether the employer has, in restricting an employee’s common law rights on termination, violated the employee’s ESA rights. 

While courts will permit an employer to enforce a rights-restricting contract, they will not enforce termination provisions that are in whole or in part illegal. 

In conducting this analysis, it is irrelevant whether the termination provisions are found in one place in the agreement or separated, or whether the provisions are by their terms otherwise linked. 

Here the motion judge erred because he failed to read the termination provisions as a whole and instead applied a piecemeal approach without regard to their combined effect.

Further, it is of no moment that the respondent ultimately did not rely on the [“For Cause” provision]. The court is obliged to determine the enforceability of the termination provisions as at the time the agreement was executed; non-reliance on the illegal provision is irrelevant.

This judgment makes it clear that it is of vital importance that each term or provision in any Employment Contract be in compliance with the ESA.

Applications now open for $10,000 – $20,000 small business grant.

January 15, 2020

Applications are now open and full details available for the Ontario Small Business Support Grant (OSBSG) which I advised you of on December 21, 2020.

The grant provides a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $20,000 to eligible small businesses who have had to restrict their operations due to the Provincewide Shutdown which began December 26, 2020.

As I noted in my earlier email, the OSBSG is a one-time grant and the funding may be used in whatever way makes the most sense for each individual business. For example, some businesses could need support paying employee wages, while others could need support with their rent.

Eligible small businesses include those that:

  • Were required to close or significantly restrict services due to the Provincewide Shutdown being imposed across the province effective 12:01 a.m. on December 26.
  • Have fewer than 100 employees at the enterprise level.
  • Have experienced a minimum of 20 per cent revenue decline in April 2020 compared to April 2019. New businesses established since April 2019 will also be eligible if they meet the other eligibility criteria.
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More information about the Ontario Small Business Support Grant and other rebates is available on the Ontario government website at Ontario.ca/COVIDsupport.

The full text of the News Release can be found at »» this page on the Ontario government website.

Ontario Declares Second Provincial Emergency

January 12, 2020

Ontario Declares Second Provincial Emergency.

As anticipated, the government of Ontario is introducing stricter measures in an effort to reduce the rate of COVID-19 infections occurring throughout the province.

The measures will come into effect between Tuesday January 12, 2021 and Thursday, January 14, 2021.

I am providing a brief top line summary of the measures. The full news release can be found at »» this address on the government of Ontario website.

Workplaces

All non-essential retail stores, including hardware stores, alcohol retailers, and those offering curbside pickup or delivery, must open no earlier than 7 a.m. and close no later than 8 p.m. 

The restricted hours of operation do not apply to stores that primarily sell food, pharmacies, gas stations, convenience stores, and restaurants for takeout or delivery.

Non-essential construction is further restricted, including below-grade construction, exempting survey.

Employees

As I previously advised, the government has increased the number of ESA inspectors and these inspectors will be focussing on workplaces with reported COVID-19 outbreaks, manufacturing businesses, warehouses, distribution centres, food processing operations, construction projects and publicly accessible workplaces deemed essential, such as grocery stores.

An employee who becomes infected with COVID-19 may be entitled to federally funded paid sick leave of up to $500 a week for two weeks. 

NOTE: Workers can also access Canada’s Recovery Caregiver Benefit of up to $500 per week for up to 26 weeks if they are unable to work because they must care for their child under 12 years old or a family member who needs supervised care.

Over the summer, the government enacted a new regulatory amendment that put non-unionized employees on Infectious Disease Emergency Leave during the COVID-19 outbreak any time their hours of work are temporarily reduced by their employer due to COVID-19, ensuring businesses aren’t forced to terminate employees after their ESA temporary layoff periods have expired. 

Under the Safe Restart Agreement, the federal government is funding a temporary income support program that allows workers to take up to 10 days of leave related to COVID-19, preventing the risk of further spread in the workplace and allowing workers to focus on their health.

Schools and Child Care Centres

Schools in the following public health units (PHUs) will not return to in-person instruction until February 10, 2021:

  • Windsor-Essex
  • Peel Region
  • Toronto
  • York
  • Hamilton
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Schools in northern PHUs will continue to remain open and required to follow new health and safety measures.

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By January 20, 2021, the Chief Medical Officer of Health will advise the Ministry of Education on which public health units (PHUs) will be permitted to resume in-person school instruction.

In areas where in-person elementary learning is suspended, emergency child care will continue for eligible families in regions subject to school closures.  In those approved PHUs, any emergency child care for school-aged children will end on January 22.

Social and Public Interaction 

Outdoor organized public gatherings and social gatherings are restricted to a limit of five people.

Individuals are required to wear a mask or face covering in the indoor areas of businesses or organizations that are open. Wearing a mask or face covering is now recommended outdoors when you can’t physically distance more than two metres.  

Enforcement

Under the declaration of a provincial emergency, all enforcement and provincial offences officers, including:

  • Ontario Provincial Police
  • local police forces
  • bylaw officers, and 
  • provincial workplace inspectors 

will have authority to issue tickets to individuals who do not comply with the stay-at-home-order, or those not wearing a mask or face covering indoors as well as retail operators and companies who do not enforce. 

All enforcement personnel will have the authority to temporarily close a premise and disperse individuals who are in contravention of an order and will be able to disperse people who are gathering, regardless whether a premise has been closed or remains open such as a park or house.

The government notes that those who decide not to abide by orders will be subject to set fines and/or prosecution under both the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, (ROA) and EMCPA.

Ontario Small Business Support Grant.

January 11, 2020

On December 21, 2020 the government of Ontario announced a new Ontario Small Business Support Grant.

That information may have been obscured because the announcement focussed on the impending province-wide shutdown of December 26. Below is a government statement from this past Friday that highlights the Support Grant and other available financial programs.

The Ontario Small Business Support Grant will provide a minimum of $10,000 and up to $20,000 to eligible small business owners who needed to close or significantly restrict their services during the shutdown.

The application process will be instituted later this month and I will inform you when the government makes that announcement. Currently available information can be found here: https://news.ontario.ca/en/backgrounder/59788/post-4

The government statement below also touches on property tax and energy bill rebates to support businesses required to close or significantly restrict services because of public health restrictions.

General information on those programs are available here: 
https://www.ontario.ca/page/businesses-get-help-covid-19-costs#section-1

Specifics of the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program – Small Business (CEAP-SB) can be found on the Ontario Energy Board website at this address: https://www.oeb.ca/rates-and-your-bill/covid-19-energy-assistance-programs/covid-19-energy-assistance-program-small

STATEMENT

Ontario Continues To Support Businesses, Workers and Families during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Government’s responding to economic impacts with unprecedented supports.

January 8, 2021
Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

TTORONTO – Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, issued the following statement regarding today’s monthly employment release by Statistics Canada:

“Employment in Ontario decreased by 11,900 in December. Despite this decrease, employment in the manufacturing sector increased by 16,400. In the last seven months, Ontario’s employment increased by 893,300. Today, 29,600 more men and women are working in the manufacturing sector than pre-COVID.

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On December 21, 2020, in response to the alarming rise in COVID-19 cases, our government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts, imposed a Provincewide Shutdown. This difficult, but necessary, step was put in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19, preserve health system capacity, and protect vulnerable populations and those who care for them.

While the shutdown is intended to keep people safe, we are acutely aware that people across Ontario continue to struggle during this challenging period. And that’s why we are providing significant support to businesses, workers and families as we continue to plan for our economic recovery and the future.

To help businesses that are struggling we are introducing a new Ontario Small Business Support Grant, which will provide a minimum of $10,000 and up to $20,000 to help eligible small business owners who needed to close or significantly restrict their services during the shutdown. Each eligible small business will be able to use this funding in whatever way makes the most sense for their individual business. People will be able to apply for this support beginning later this month.

Our government is also providing $600-million for property tax and energy bill rebates to support businesses required to close or significantly restrict services because of public health restrictions.   

In addition, we are providing tax relief which includes a proposal to provide municipalities with the ability to cut property taxes for small businesses and reduce business education taxes. The province has also permanently increased the Employer Health Tax (EHT) payroll exemption to $1 million, meaning 90 per cent of employers pay no EHT.

The people of this province are making difficult sacrifices to stop the spread of this virus, often at great personal cost. But through it all they have continued to support one another, working together in the fight against this terrible virus. It is that Ontario Spirit that will power the economic recovery of Canada’s job-creation engine as we look towards a brighter future together.”


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Toronto Public Health announces changes in COVID-19 reporting and new safety measures.

January 5, 2021

Yesterday the Toronto Public Health Unit announced changes to its reporting of COVID-19 cases in the workplace and new safety measures for businesses and organizations permitted to be open under the Reopening Ontario Act.

Below is a brief summary of the changes with the full text of the city’s news release at the bottom of this email.

Workplace outbreaks to be published

As of Jan 7, 2021 all workplace outbreaks will be published weekly on the city’s COVID-19 monitoring dashboard. There are 10 categories of businesses for which information will be published. These are determined by Public Health Ontario and based on the North American Industry Classification System. The full list of categories is in the News Release below.

The Monitoring Dashboard and up to date information on COVID-19 in Toronto can be found on the city’s website:
https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-latest-city-of-toronto-news/covid-19-status-of-cases-in-toronto/

Measures for businesses permitted to be open

For  businesses and organizations currently permitted to operate under the Reopening Ontario Act, TPH has issued new requirements including a Letter of Instruction that can be downloaded here:
https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/95fd-Medical-Officer-of-Health-Letter-of-Instruction-to-Workplaces-Jan-4-21.pdf

Broadly, the Letter reiterates the procedures and safety measures that are required to be in place, such as:

  • ensuring hand sanitizer and hand-washing facilities are available
  • providing rigorous and frequent environmental cleaning in all high-touch public areas
  • reviewing heating and ventilation
  • minimizing risk of individuals travelling together for work and
  • ensuring appropriate physical and operational barriers and precautions are in place
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It also outlines:

  • when TPH should be notified of COVID-19 cases
  • what contact information is required for workers
  • Notification procedures for Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development and other relevant government authorities

More information about workplace requirements, including the full COVID-19 Orders and Bylaws can be found on this City of Toronto website page:

https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-what-you-should-do/covid-19-orders-directives-by-laws/

TPH also recommends that employees be informed of income replacement and workplace-related benefits they are entitled to:

  • when they are being tested for COVID-19
  • if they are a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID-19 and/or
  • they have to isolate due to virus symptoms 

In the release, TPH continues to remind residents that washing hands frequently and remaining at home when ill are essential to reducing the spread of COVID-19.

It also stresses that all members of the public should:

  • only leave their homes for essential activities such as work, education and fresh air and exercise
  • limit contact, as much as possible, only to people in the same household
  • keep at least two metres (six feet) apart from people not in the same household and 
  • wear a mask when outside of their homes, especially in indoor settings and when physical distancing is difficult. 

Toronto Public Health releases new COVID-19 workplace outbreak data and announces new measures for COVID-19 related workplace safety

News Release
January 4, 2021

Toronto Public Health (TPH) has launched new content on its monitoring dashboard to illustrate how the pandemic is affecting workplace settings. Today, TPH released the findings and trends from recently collected COVID-19 case data on current and historical workplace outbreaks, organized by business sector.

As of Jan 7, 2021 all workplace outbreaks will be published weekly in the following categories determined by Public Health Ontario and based on the North American Industry Classification System:

  • Bar, restaurant, nightclub and other entertainment venues
  • Event venues, and religious facilities
  • Non-institutional medical health services including doctor’s offices, physiotherapy clinics, dental settings and wellness clinics
  • Personal service settings including hair salons, tattoo parlours, nail salons and spas
  • Recreational fitness facilities, group fitness classes, team sports and related events
  • Retail settings including grocery stores, pharmacies and malls
  • Farms
  • Food processing plants
  • Offices, warehouses, shipping and distribution, construction, and manufacturing settings
  • Other workplaces and community settings not captured in these categories
  • Unknown

TPH is disclosing workplace outbreak information where a public health risk exists when there is:

  • evidence of sustained transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace;
  • a significant proportion of staff have been involved in the outbreak;
  • significant duration of the outbreak and the approximate time for a positive case to generate a second and third positive case, or cases; and
  • the workplace is large enough that risk of privacy concerns are mitigated.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, TPH, along with the provincial government, has developed and promoted extensive guidance documents on how to prevent and manage COVID-19 spread in the workplace. This includes providing tailored guidance documents for specific settings and sectors. All of these documents are available online.

Additionally, TPH has issued new requirements to businesses and organizations given the continued acute rise in COVID-19 infections in Toronto. TPH has also issued a letter of instruction to those businesses currently permitted to operate under the Reopening Ontario Act. The letter outlines additional measures to take to further limit opportunities for COVID-19 spread including:

  • Immediately notifying TPH of two or more people who test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days that are connected to the workplace setting by calling 416-338-7600.
  • If two or more people test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days that are connected to a workplace, the employer must provide a designated contact to work with TPH to immediately implement any additional required measures to reduce virus spread.
  • Providing contact information for all workers within 24 hours to support case and contact tracing, and notify the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development and any other relevant government authorities.
  • Following enhanced infection prevention and control recommendations to help reduce virus spread such as ensuring hand sanitizer and hand-washing facilities are available, and that there is rigorous and frequent environmental cleaning in all high-touch public areas.
  • Conducting a regular review of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to ensure they are functioning well.
  • Minimizing instances of more than one individual travelling together in a vehicle for work, or ensuring face coverings are worn in the vehicle and driving with the windows open.
  • Ensuring a two metre physical distancing between workers throughout the workplace in lunchrooms, change rooms and washrooms. This includes installing one-way walkways to reduce close physical interactions and implementing physical barriers, such as plexiglass, when physical distancing is not possible.

TPH also recommends that employees are informed of income replacement and workplace-related benefits they are entitled to if they have to isolate due to virus symptoms, when they are being tested for COVID-19, or if they are a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID-19. Licensed child care programs, schools and school boards are currently exempt from these instructions due to sector-specific legislation, directives and guidelines governing COVID-19 measures in these settings.

TPH continues to remind residents to only leave their homes for essential activities such as work, education and fresh air and exercise. As much as possible, residents are asked to limit contact to people in the same household, keep at least two metres (six feet) apart from people not in the same household and wear a mask when outside of their homes, especially in indoor settings and when physical distancing is difficult. Washing hands frequently and remaining at home when ill are essential to reducing the spread of COVID-19.

More information is available online on the City’s reporting platform.

Quotes:

“Even during the lockdown, we know there are many people who can’t work from home. I urge all businesses permitted to operate under the Reopening Ontario Act to do the right thing and follow these additional measures to protect their employees and help protect the health of all Toronto residents. This is about providing as much protection as possible to all the hardworking people who are still going to work in-person to provide essential goods and services. These are recommendations based on the best public health advice we have and will help keep people safe while ensuring businesses can stay open.”

– Toronto Mayor John Tory

“In our fight against this pandemic, information is power. The more that we know about COVID-19, the better we can understand how it’s spreading and what we need to do to keep people safe. The data released by Toronto Public Health clearly shows that people are getting sick at work, and that frontline and essential workers – the very people we rely on every day to keep our city moving – are at greatest risk. At Toronto Public Health we will continue to do everything in our power – absolutely everything – to keep frontline essential workers safe.”

– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair, Toronto Board of Health

“Toronto Public Health continues to review the most current evidence to identify ways to better protect our community against COVID-19. This is why I am providing instructions to local businesses today to equip them with additional measures to prevent opportunities for this virus to spread and help keep these settings as safe as possible. On behalf of my team, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our local business community for their efforts to protect the health and safety of workers, volunteers, customers, and our city as we live with this virus.”

– Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health

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Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on Twitter Instagram or Facebook . Toronto Public Health Media Relations
tphmedia@toronto.ca

Extension of Compliance Report Deadline: Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

December 29, 2020

The government of Ontario has extended the deadline for filing an accessibility compliance report from December 31, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) sets out the process for developing, implementing, and enforcing accessibility standards to make Ontario more accessible and inclusive by 2025. 

You must submit an accessibility compliance report if you are:
    •    a business or non-profit organization with 20 or more employees
    •    a public-sector organization

The compliance report confirms that businesses have met their current accessibility requirements under the AODA. Consequences for failing to complete an accessibility compliance report can include financial penalties.

NOTE: While the deadline to file the report has been extended, the timelines for compliance have not changed.

Websites:
Beginning January 1, 2021, the requirement to ensure all public websites and web content posted after January 1, 2012 meets WCAG 2.0 Level AA, (with limited exceptions) applies for:

  • private or non-profit organization with 50+ employees or
  • public sector organizations
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More information on the web accessibility requirements and deadline can be found on the Ontario government website:  How to make websites accessible

Information on how to complete the accessibility report can be found on the Ontario government website here: Completing your accessibility compliance report