Niagara Falls hotels face double whammy
Hotel owners in Niagara Falls are looking for some temporary tax relief from the city. In a recent letter to council the group laid out how devastating the COVID-19 pandemic has been to those operating hotels in Canada’s biggest tourist destination. Local hotels carry a very high property tax burden per room (four-star hotels in Niagara Falls pay more property tax per room than the average home) and that high cost coupled with revenue being down 80 per cent this year has left the industry in a very precarious state.
College design wins international award
On Oct. 23, Niagara College’s Welland Campus Student Commons – designed by Toronto-based architecture and interior design studio, Gow Hastings Architects – was announced as the Public Space Design winner in the prestigious Society of British and International Interior Design (SBID) International Design Awards 2020. The Student Commons was part of a $15-million addition and renovation to the Welland Campus Simcoe building, and the College’s $64-million campus redevelopment project that provided new and expanded facilities at the Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake campuses.
Regional Councillor continues to question regional bio-solids contract
Niagara Falls regional Councillor Bob Gale made a presentation to Niagara Falls City Council this week highlighting his continued concern about the region’s awarding of a bio-solids management contract. Gale claimed the contract was going to cost taxpayers substantially more per year than would bids submitted from other qualified bidders. Two other bidders are considering legal action against the award. Gale is demanding full disclosure and transparency on the bids.
Giving instead of receiving for Juravinski birthday
Philanthropists Charles (who turned 91 Nov. 1) and Margaret Juravinski recently donated $3 million to support health research through the Juravinski Research Institute, a partnership between Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. The gift will fund important health research projects through the Juravinski Research Institute, which was established through the couple’s transformative $100-million legacy estate gift they donated in May 2019. Earlier this year, at the peak of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Juravinskis made a $3.3 million gift to support COVID-19 and brain health research. Juravinski was an entrepreneur who made his money in construction and then built, operated and finally sold Flamboro Downs.
Defend or Defund?
In a recent Angus Reid survey three out of four Canadians do not support cutting local police budgets. In Toronto, just two in five said police budgets should be cut which was the highest number in the country. In the latest data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute less than two-in-five Canadians said there is a “serious problem” with the way police interact with Black, Indigenous and other non-white people across the country, while just one-quarter (27%) say it is a serious problem in their own community. When it comes to policy, calls to simply reduce police department budgets are not widely supported by Canadians.
COVID numbers climb
Ontario coronavirus cases continue to ramp up. The first four days of November has seen over 900 cases per day, with November 3rds 1050 cases being the highest one-day total since the pandemic hit. Testing has also slipped to below 30,000 per day each of these days so that the percentage testing positive has been above 3% each day – the highest rates since May. Toronto, Peel and York continue to lead in new infections accounting for more than two-thirds of new cases most days.
In Niagara it was also a bad week. We averaged 24 new cases per day this past week. Outbreaks occurred in Thorold and Fort Erie. Active cases were still led by St. Catharines at approximately 48, Niagara Falls 41, smaller municipalities Fort Erie with 27 and Thorold with 24. Only Lincoln had 0 cases.
Niagara Health to temporarily manage local long-term care home
The Ministry of Long-Term Care issued a Mandatory Management Order requiring the Millennium Trail Manor long-term care home in Niagara Falls to retain Niagara Health to temporarily manage the home. The order was issued to the home as it has an increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among residents and staff. The province said that the enhanced management is necessary to return the home to normal operations and protect residents. Niagara Health will manage Millennium Trail Manor for 90 days from the date that the Mandatory Management Order was issued (Oct. 27).
Colder weather cancels drive-through COVID testing
Niagara Health’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre in St. Catharines ended its drive-through service earlier this week. People requiring a COVID test will now access the centre through a dedicated entrance, located behind the Walker Family Cancer Centre in the Outpatient Mental Health area at our St. Catharines Site. Similar to the Niagara Falls and Welland Assessment Centres, patients will be asked to wait in their car upon arrival until they receive a call from Assessment Centre staff. If they do not have a cellphone or arrive without a vehicle, patients will be asked to come to the door and wait outside until a staff member greets them.
Province tables report on COVID emergency measures
On Monday of this week, Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones tabled a report in the Legislature providing details of the emergency measures put in place by the province to stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep Ontarians safe. The report focuses on the 47 emergency orders made between March 17 and July 24, 2020 when the Declaration of a Provincial Emergency was in effect under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA). The EMCPA requires the government table a report in the Legislature within 120 days after a provincial emergency ends. The COVID-19 report outlines the rationale for issuing the 47 emergency orders.
