 It’s hard to miss the messaging this holiday season when it comes to where to spend your
hard-earned money. Among the various campaigns to support local businesses, the four local chambers of commerce recently launched our Hometown Holiday campaign. Thanks to local advertising agency Outpost379, you will be hit with promotion for shopping local when you listen to the radio, watch television, read the newspaper, or go online. It’s on billboards and at local events. We’ve been asking a lot of this community when it comes to supporting local businesses and we have been blown away by the response. Local support is critical. But supporting local businesses is not just a temporary measure to do our part locally in a global health crisis. Our Hometown Holiday campaign is just the beginning as we build momentum with our new regional partnership between ourselves, Kawartha Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, Havelock Chamber of Commerce, and Millbrook & District Chamber of Commerce. We also have the support of local agencies and organizations that work to enhance the local business community. We’re kicking things off with a holiday shopping campaign, but supporting local means much more. Our community is full of amazing opportunities to be entertained with a vibrant arts and culture scene, relax with a staycation, and enjoy some of the finest culinary offerings out there. We have some amazing locally manufactured goods, locally grown and raised food, and creative makers. We have local trades and homebuilders, local real estate agents and automotive dealers, and local accountants and lawyers. This list goes on, but supporting local covers everything from picking up presents to taking courses to building a house. Small and medium-sized business: • Employ almost 90% of Canada’s private sector workforce • Account for 30% of Canada’s GDP • Are twice as likely to be lead or co-lead by a woman (1 in 3) Thanks to the rapid adaption and reinvestment of businesses, supporting local has grown to have a significant online presence. In a time of supply chain disruptions, shipping delays and travel restrictions, the opportunity to spend locally offers a less-hassle approach to getting what you want when you want it. More than anything, supporting local business is an investment. It’s estimated that $68 of every $100 spent at a locally owned business stays in the community. That’s money that goes into taxes to pay for our services and infrastructure. It goes into wages that circulate back into spending on local goods and services. It goes into business supports from legal and accounting work to repairs and renovations. It is reinvested in cultural events, sports teams and social programs in our community. There are different degrees of local and opinions on what defines it. Not every business and product can have a regional supply chain. Opinions aside, we can say definitively that spending your money with a business that employs people locally — whether it’s an independent, franchise or chain — is better for the community than the alternative. Shop local and make this a hometown holiday.  The recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, has brought important
conversations to the forefront. There’s a lot of speculation about whether the targets set will be met and whether world leaders are serious about tackling climate change. Looking past the skepticism and rhetoric, progress is being made and part of that is the tone and urgency with which we discuss climate issues. Let’s take a look at some of the key conversations facing the Canadian business community coming out of COP26. Fossil Fuel Industry Canada’s continued investment in and use of fossil fuels is having an impact on climate change. As a country with cold temperatures and vast distances between communities, we use a lot of fossil fuels to stay comfortable and connect socially and economically. We’re also the fourth largest oil producer and exporter in the world. The Government of Canada recently pledged to: • Commit to ending public financing of fossil fuel projects • Implement a cap on oil and gas sector emissions • Reduce methane emissions The big conversation here is that our best bet at fighting climate change is to leave our oil in the ground and significantly scale back resource extraction, but that comes at a huge cost. It’s an initiative that is only effective if people also reduce our use of fossil fuels, otherwise we just offset our production with imports. To what degree are we willing scale back the sector that has pushed a lot of economic growth and prosperity in country? The death of gas-powered cars Jumping on the idea that reducing fossil fuel production is most effective if people reduce their use of fossil fuels, Canada upped its commitment on phasing out gas-powered vehicles. Our government committed to working toward zero-emission vehicles making up 30% of new truck and bus sales by 2030 and 100% by 2040. They have also committed to having the sales of all new cars and vans be zero emissions by 2040, or no later than 2035 in leading markets. Right now, fully electric passenger vehicles (EVs) account for a little over 3% of total sales in Canada. While the market share of EVs is increasing, it’s still a relatively small niche at the moment. The provincial government recently affirmed its commitments to building electric cars and battery systems in Ontario, but reiterated that they also have no intention of bringing back rebates for electric car purchases. There are a lot of points to debate regarding the high purchase price compared to lower cost of ownership of EVs, but it’s going to take focused investments to pull us away from our gas-powered vehicles. There’s an economic win in it if we make the transition right. Competitiveness Canada was lauded for championing the merits of carbon taxes at COP26, calling for 60 per cent of all global emissions to be covered by a carbon tax by 2030. The big issue when it comes to solutions like carbon taxes — and really, most of the other environmental commitments our governments make — is competitiveness. Are we resolute enough to see these initiatives through, even if our trading partners don’t? It’s fair to say our largest trading partner, the United States, doesn’t share the same values as our nation on a number of things, including our plans to fight climate change. The same goes for other trading partners like China. It’s unlikely that we can meet our climate goals without driving up domestic costs for production, transportation, and innovation. How do we deal with importing goods from countries that don’t share our values and are able to produce goods at a lower price but a higher environmental cost? If our producers are paying carbon taxes but their competitors aren’t, how do we remain competitive? If nothing else, COP26 highlighted the giant game of chicken our world leaders are playing. There is a lot of promising and posturing, but no one wants to be the first to lead in implementing and accomplishing the tasks set out. The goal is to get everyone making the same goals and moving forward together, but that’s a stretch at best. So, as Canadians, where does that leave us? What are our priorities and what sacrifices are we okay with? Because everything, whether progress or the status quo, comes at a cost.  The Government of Ontario recently released its fall economic statement, a document aimed at laying out how the government plans to move our province ahead through recovery and into prosperity.
The report covers investments in infrastructure, healthcare, skills training, and attracting increased investment. Chambers of Commerce from across Ontario are advocating for more supports for small and medium-sized businesses. “The Government of Ontario is taking reasonable steps to support healthy communities and economic development across the province as we emerge from the pandemic,” says Rocco Rossi, President and CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “We welcome the government’s focus on investing in healthcare, infrastructure, and skills. However, ensuring a robust and inclusive economic recovery will not come immediately, particularly in absence of clarity and predictability for business. Further supports for business are still required because workers and the economy at large are better off if business prospers. Specifically, we would like to see the Province address businesses and sectors impacted by the unplanned minimum wage increase and Ontario’s labour crisis.” The minimum wage hike, which includes a 20 percent increase for alcohol servers, will have ramifications through an industry that has been greatly impacted by the pandemic and is still struggling to recover. The Chamber supports fair wages and appreciates that wages need to increase, but that lack of consultation and the suddenness of the increase are problematic. A sudden hike in fixed costs should be rolled out with enhanced access to capital and relief programs for businesses being most impacted by the unplanned raise. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is also advocating for targeted supports for small business that include energy efficiency and technology adoption programs. The fall economic statement also includes new tax credits for Ontarians to travel within the province, a move that will have local benefits for our tourism and hospitality sector. Another area of investment is a new Small Business Digitization Action Plan, which will see more targeted investment in helping our businesses pivot into the digital age. At the heart of the issues facing a lot of businesses right now is labour. It’s a complicated issue with many factors. No one solution will pull us through, which is why we’re asking the Government of Ontario to develop a strategic plan to address it. To address the current workforce challenges, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce is recommending that in the upcoming 2022 budget, the Government of Ontario: • Extend regional immigration pilots to bring more economic immigrants to rural and remote communities. • Provide new immigrants with more information upon arrival about employment opportunities in smaller communities, particularly where there are jobs relevant to their skills. • Work with other provinces and territories to remove barriers to interprovincial labour mobility and trade. • Implement the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System as a critical component of economic recovery and women’s participation in the labour force. • Support workers by requiring app-based platforms to contribute to flexible benefit funds and establish a committee of stakeholders to discuss the protections and needs of workers on an ongoing basis. • Ensure the new service delivery model for skilled trades is streamlined, client-facing, and equitable, as outlined in the OCC’s submission to the Skilled Trades Panel Consultation. We’re also recommending the 2022 budget include targets, timelines, and investments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while making investments in our communities to manage the impacts of climate change and boost our local green economy. We’re making progress in our economic recovery. Just as this pandemic is unprecedented in recent times, so too will be our recovery. It’s imperative that we keep open dialogue as we shape what our recovery is going to look like and what future we want to build.  Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade from across the country have been busy advocating for the business community.
This past week was the virtual Canadian Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting and Convention. A key part of this annual event is policy debate. This is when chambers and boards of trade put together resolutions on local business issues that have national significance and put it to the Canadian Chamber’s membership to debate. The resolutions are vetted through committees before being taken to a vote at the debate. This year members discussed 69 resolutions over 7 hours on the debate floor. The Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce had both its resolutions endorsed by the membership, which puts them on the books for the Canadian Chamber next three years to advocate directly to the federal government. CEBA Loan Forgiveness for the Hardest Hit Businesses The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan program has been a lifeline for many businesses, offering generous terms with loans up to $60,000. Organizations that pay back two-thirds of their loan by Dec. 31, 2022 will get the remaining third forgiven. Those that don’t are ineligible for debt forgiveness and begin incurring interest at 5%. The issue is that the pandemic has gone on longer with prolonged public health restrictions, well beyond what was being forecasted when the terms were drawn up. Our hardest hit businesses are going to need more time to rebuild themselves, boost consumer confidence, and begin repaying money back to all the places from which they’ve borrowed. We are asking the Government of Canada to: 1. Extend the deadlines for repayment of the Canada Emergency Business Account program by two years. 2. Make the forgivable portion of the loan available to all business that continue to have operations impacted by ongoing COVID-19 public health restrictions throughout 2021. 3. Allow businesses that continue to have operations impacted by ongoing COVID-19 public healthrestrictions in 2021 to be exempt from incurring interest prior to the balance of their loan being due. High Frequency Rail (HFR) Project by VIA Rail Canada The Chamber has been advocating for the return of passenger rail service to Peterborough for more than a decade. The current proposal from VIA Rail would see a dedicated passenger rail corridor connecting Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City with a stop in Peterborough. The proposal would help us meet our climate change targets by removing 12.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of a carpool reduction of 2.8 million vehicles annually. It would open up access through eastern Ontario and Quebec, driving economic growth. Having dedicated passenger lines would allow VIA to provide frequent and reliable service, bringing it to profitability within a few years. The VIA HFR project directly impacts an area of the country with 19 million people and frees up bottlenecks for national transportation. The federal government has begun investing in some of the infrastructure related to the project, but building the line itself has yet to get the green light despite being under consideration since 2016. The project is in the mandate letter on the desk of the Minister of Transport. This is why the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce teamed up with the Quebec Chamber of Commerce and Industry to bring this to the Canadian Chamber and its members. We’re asking the Government of Canada to: 1. Approve the overall funding and urge VIA Rail Canada to proceed with the entire HFR project as soon as possible. 2. Prioritize the HFR project and other passenger rail service as a key part of meeting our climate change targets 3. Develop a strategy for expanding HFR service beyond the current Toronto – Quebec project  For the first time since the start of this pandemic, we have a path back to normal.
Last week, the Province of Ontario laid out its plan to safely reopen Ontario and manage COVID-19 for the long term. This includes lifting capacity limits this week for businesses that require proof of vaccination, including restaurants, bars, gyms, and arenas. The really big news out of the announcement is seeing an end date. If all goes according to plan, on March 28, 2022, remaining public health and safety measures will be lifted. No more mask, proof of vaccination or social distancing requirements. Of course, the whole “if all goes according to plan” is a big if. Not much has gone according to plan for the last couple years. But it’s the first time our provincial government has been confident enough to put a date on the end of this and, right now, that’s a big light at the end of what has been an awfully long tunnel. Between now and then, the Province plans to gradually scale back public health restrictions. By mid-January, they’ll remove vaccine certificate requirements for lower risk settings like restaurants, bars and recreational facilities. Of course, the end of March isn’t going to just be a big reset back to 2019. The lifting of mandatory public health measures won’t be a snap of the fingers back to whatever it is we each want normal to be. It’s going to take a while to work through our habits and hesitations for social contact — and with good reason. Some of us are going to abandon our masks with great excitement and seek out physical contact. Others are going to want their space and thorough public hygiene. While some things seemed to have been on hold throughout this public health crisis, others have moved ahead by leaps and bounds. Business went online in a big way and we’re going to continue shopping, ordering and booking online. Committee, board, and team meetings that can be done over video will continue to be. The hybrid workplace is going to continue to evolve. Some people like working in a physical office, others like working from home, but it’s expected that quite a few people will maintain a hybrid setup that involves a bit of both. According to Statistics Canada’s third quarter Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, 15% of businesses anticipate shrinking their physical office locations. This also impacts neighbouring businesses who have depended on office staff grabbing lunch or picking up a few things on their way home. Working from home has also opened people up to work opportunities well outside our region. Then there are some big items that are going to take strong leadership to sort out. Pressure is mounting on our federal and provincial governments as well as employers to offer paid sick days. The days of workers showing up sick and powering through are over. Neither are schools likely to accept a coughing or snotty-nosed kid, keeping a parent home to look after them. Some of us can make it up by working from home. However, for many workers, there isn’t a lot of choice if not showing up means not getting paid. Employers are passing the pressure from employees on to the upper levels of government to create permanent sick day reimbursements through programs like employment insurance. We have new cohorts of people getting retrained and reinvesting in their skills. Our post-secondary institutions are taking a renewed look at their role in developing the skills and qualifications needed for a new, modernized workplace. We have a lot to sort out as far as what 2022 and beyond is going to look like, both in personal and business terms. But getting serious about what a post-COVID world is going to look like is refreshing.  Small businesses are the heart of our communities.
They create jobs, drive innovation, and generate wealth for our community. As we conclude Small Business Week, we’re encouraging people to shop and support local. The Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce joined the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and more than 155 chambers of commerce and boards of trade across the province to encourage Ontarians to support local businesses in their community as well as amplify on-going advocacy and initiatives to promote and protect small businesses who have been hardest hit by the crisis. As part of our celebration of local business, we held our annual Business Excellence Awards. Check out our website and social media channels to see the video presentation of all our award winners. Our local business community is resilient and inspiring. Where did they go? According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, long-term unemployment numbers are still nearly double what they were pre-pandemic. Despite being in a labour shortage, 27.3% of unemployed Canadians are unaccounted for. “We can speculate all day, but the fact is, we currently have no data to tell us why nearly 400,000 Canadians haven’t been able to rejoin the workforce after 27 weeks or more,” says Leah Nord, Senior Director of Workforce Strategies and Inclusive Growth with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “Is it a skills issue? Compensation? Life re-evaluation? This is critical information that we need to find out if we are to come up with effective, evidence-based policy solutions. Canadians want to work, most are not unemployed by choice, so we need to dig down and find out exactly what’s holding them back so we can make evidence-based decisions. Our full economic recovery depends on it.” We hear regularly about unemployment numbers as a benchmark for our economic success, but it’s not that simple. The Local Labour Market Planning Report from the Workforce Development Board notes that tracking our workforce through unemployment numbers misses out on other issues. Unemployment rates don’t differentiate between full-time and part-time work, reductions in hours, and it doesn’t include people not looking for work due to certain barriers. Our region typically has a lower workforce participation rate due to its older population. Between unemployment numbers and labour market participation, there are still a lot of unknowns that need more research to get a better handle on our workforce struggles. Recovery Despite an initial quick recovery, the supply of homes is drying up and impacting the real estate industry. According to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the real estate sector accounts for 13% of Canada’s GDP. Meanwhile, BDC reports that with more things open this summer, more Canadians traveled. This meant people spent less on home renovation projects, decreasing demand and prices for building products, dropping lumber retail sales by 7.3% and wholesale by 12.4%. As of the end of August, BDC estimates our economy to be running at 98.8% of its pre-pandemic level. It’s a worker’s market The Business Development Bank of Canada reports 55% of Canadian entrepreneurs are struggling to hire workers, leaving them working more hours as well as delaying or refusing orders. More than a quarter report difficulty retaining employees and 30% of companies report difficulty hiring new employees because the salaries are too low. BDC doesn’t expect the labour shortage to end any time soon. Wages are expected to go up an average of 2.7% for 2022, the highest in the last five years. This comes after 36% of companies froze wages in 2020, 12% in 2021, and only 3.3% expect to in 2022.  Ontario is going to need 1 million new homes over the next 10 years, according to the report Baby Needs A New Home: Projecting Ontario’s Growing Number of Families and Their Housing Needs. The report is from the Smart Prosperity Institute, funded by the Ontario Home Builders’ Association.
Our populations is growing dramatically. From 2011 to 2016 the population of Ontario grew by 600,000 people. From 2016 to 2021 that number grew to 1 million. Over that same time, the rate of building new homes stayed about the same. Over the next 10 years, our province is expected to grow by 2.27 million people. Currently, the report states Ontario is short 65,000 homes and without changes in our approach to building housing, that gap will continue to grow. In the Peterborough census division (which includes the City of Peterborough and the townships of Selwyn, Cavan Monaghan, Otonabee-South Monaghan, and Douro-Dummer), the population is expected to grow by 15,400 people over the next 10 years. This is projected to add 6,601 additional households needing a home to live in. This housing crunch has hit new levels over the last couple years. According to the Peterborough and Kawarthas Association of Realtors, there is typically less than a month’s worth of housing inventory on the market, far lower than it has been over the last decade. All this has driven housing prices through the roof. The average house in Peterborough this year is selling for over $700,000. We’ve seen headline after headline about record house prices. The average house price has increased nearly 170% over the last decade. It’s not just difficult to find a place to buy, but rental vacancy has been hovering just above 0% for a few years now. It’s supply and demand. While some people can afford to compete for the limited housing available locally, others are being left out of the market altogether. Building wealth through real estate can be an effective economic driver, but there needs to be balance. Our community needs people from all walks of life to grow effectively and efficiently. If we’re going to welcome 6,601 new households in our community, whether that’s new residents coming to the region or our children growing up and establishing their own lives — they all need places to live. To realize our potential growth and provide the quality housing our community needs, it’s going to require investment and cooperation. The City and its neighbouring townships as well as the provincial government need to work together to provide the infrastructure, planning, and conditions to build more homes while growing our community in a responsible way that sets us up for success down the road. The City is also nearing the end of its decade-long Official Plan Update. This document guides all planning and growth for the City. There’s a public open house planned for Oct. 21 before the document heads to a public meet at the City’s General Committee on Nov. 1. It’s important that we get this right. It’s going to take leadership from our governments, our community, and our business leaders. Right now the balance of supply and demand is heavily in the demand category and left unchecked it will continue to swing further. We know our community needs more supply. Ultimately, people need a place to live.  We are in the midst of a period of economic growth as we head into the fall. It’s good news for most
businesses and industry sectors. We’re not in the clear by any means, but an upward trend is a good sign for what is a critical time of year for many businesses. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Deloitte Canada took a deep dive into Statistics Canada’s third quarter Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, coming back with some key takeaways. Over the next three months, 82% of business expect sales to increase or stay about the same. Optimism that things will increase or stay the same over the next three months hits 85% for demand for products and services, 91% for selling price of goods and services, and 93% for the number of employees. All of these figures have increased quarterly throughout the year. Expectations are up that operating income and profitability will rise this fall with operating expenses declining slightly. However, uncertainty is on the rise in terms of viability, with 39% of businesses unsure how long they can continue to operate at current revenue and expenses before they have to consider closing. With demand and sales expected to increase, businesses have shifted their concerns toward supply-related obstacles. This includes rising product costs and the ability to hire/retain skilled employees. Rising sales also increases cashflow and confidence, allowing businesses to be able to take on more debt. Confidence that a business could take on more debt jumped from 23% to 55% between the second and third quarters of this year. Additional debt capacity helps businesses invest in their facilities, workforce, inventory and production capacity to help them grow and thrive. It’s also a sign of recovery if fewer businesses are at the limit of what they can borrow. There has been a lot of talk about workforce challenges over the last few months. One route that businesses are taking to address this is through third-party platforms, often called ‘gig’ workers, freelancers, and contractors. The services businesses use third-parties for changes depending on the sector, but the leading services are website or software development, professional services like accounting or law, and graphic design/audio-visual production. Another popular workforce subject is teleworking with employees working from home. Businesses in urban areas are more than twice as likely to be planning to shrink physical office locations with 15% anticipating doing so. That number goes up in more dense urban areas like Toronto, where 24% of businesses are looking to reduce their office space by having staff work remotely. For those looking to recall their workforce back from the home office, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce partnered with Abacus Data back in March to survey employed adults. They found just under half of those surveyed would be comfortable returning to the workplace for most of their work. Within that, the survey showed women are less comfortable returning to in-person work and people 30 to 59 had more reservations than their younger or older colleagues. The survey identified interacting with customers/clients and use of public transit to commute as the biggest safety concerns. Top actions an employer can take to make their workers more comfortable with working in person include daily cleaning of the workplace, strict distancing rules, and having everyone where masks. We’re still a long way from being back to “normal,” or whatever that is going to mean down the road, but it’s encouraging to see more optimism in the business community. For some, this amounts to a shift in stress points from inability to serve their customers due to health restrictions to inability to meet demand due to supply limitations. There are still many challenges to overcome. But we’re moving forward.  Transportation is a fundamental part of our community. It affects nearly every part of our lives. It’s how we shop, commute, visit friends and family, get to school, and get the supplies our businesses need to produce and sell their goods. It impacts safety in front of our homes, our ability to exercise outdoors, and climate change. It’s also an area where we spend many millions of dollars every year. The City of Peterborough is currently undertaking a new Transportation Master Plan. This an opportunity to take a closer look at our priorities. Not just the opportunities for the municipality, but for ourselves. This isn’t about wishful thinking, but setting concrete goals and objectives that will guide City spending for years to come. Peterborough is growing and some parts of our transportation network are feeling the strain. But solving congestion and wear-and-tear issues isn’t just about expanding our road networks. At the core of the plan is the balance between different forms of transportation, including passenger cars, buses, bicycles and pedestrians. The vision statement reads: "As the City grows, Peterborough’s transportation network will be enhanced to create a low emissions, responsive system where people of all ages and abilities can move safely, sustainably and efficiently, no matter how they choose to travel, today and in the future." The objectives council set out for the Transportation Master Plan are: Travel Choices Continually improve travel choices for people and goods by providing an increased number of reliable, equitable, and accessible options that support the health and well-being of our growing community. Community Building Plan the transportation network to support the growth of vibrant communities in the region. Safe, Livable Communities Improve safety of transportation systems for all users. Ensure that investments in transportation systems enhance equity and accessibility by expanding access to jobs, services and amenities regardless of age, ability or travel choice. Climate Mitigation & Natural Environment Protect against negative impacts to the natural environment and reduce vehicle emissions to achieve Council’s Climate Change targets. Economic & Financial Enhance access to jobs, services and amenities to support a more resilient regional economy. Invest strategically in new capital projects that will provide long-term benefit to the City, while ensuring that existing assets are maintained and supported. Shifting people from cars to alternative transportation can have some huge benefits for community health and safety, reducing our impact on climate change, and less spending on expensive road networks. But this only works if the right investments are made that make people want to choose options other than their car. Transportation is a topic that brings out some strong opinions. We’ve seen the debates over new roads, bridges, bicycle lanes, street parking, busing, and street widening. The Transportation Master Plan will help guide this and future councils on how they make those investments. The City of Peterborough is currently looking for your input through an online survey available until Oct. 8. This is an opportunity to take a look at how you interact with your community, how you would like to do so in the future, and provide your perspective on your transportation needs.  If you want to dine indoors this weekend, you’ll need to provide proof of vaccination, which is now required to patronize businesses and activities deemed by the Government of Ontario to be higher risk. The business community is once again being asked to take a leading role in our fight against COVID 19. We’re providing an overview of what the new rules and regulations mean for our local businesses. For more detail, visit covid-19.ontario.ca or check out the COVID-19 resources section at peterboroughchamber.ca. What does fully vaccinated mean? An individual is considered fully vaccinated if they have received: • The full series of a COVID-19 vaccine authorized by Health Canada, or any combination of such vaccines, or • One or two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine not authorized by Health Canada, followed by one dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine authorized by Health Canada, or • Three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine not authorized by Health Canada; and • They received their final dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days before providing the proof of being fully vaccinated Activities deemed higher-risk include: • Restaurants and bars (excluding outdoor patios, as well as delivery and takeout) • Nightclubs (including outdoor areas of the establishment) • Meeting and event spaces, such as banquet halls and conference/convention centres • Facilities used for sports and fitness activities and personal fitness training, such as gyms, fitness and recreational facilities with the exception of youth recreational sport • Sporting events • Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments • Concerts, music festivals, theatres and cinemas • Strip clubs, bathhouses and sex clubs • Racing venues (e.g., horse racing) Exemptions The Province has set out a work sheet (available at peterboroughchamber.ca) that lays out all the rules and guidelines, but here is a more broad summary. People with a doctor’s note indicating a medical exemption and children 11 years and younger are largely exempt from vaccination requirements. Until Oct. 12, people attending weddings and funerals can be permitted with a negative rapid antigen COVID-19 test from no more than 48 hours before the event. These rapid antigen tests must be privately purchased.Workers, contractors, repair workers, delivery workers, students, volunteers, inspectors or others who are entering the business or organization for work purposes and not as patrons are exempt. Vaccination requirements don’t apply to a patron who is entering an indoor area solely for the following purposes: • to use a washroom; • to access an outdoor area that can only be accessed through an indoor route; • to make a retail purchase; • while placing or picking up an order, including placing a bet or picking up winnings in the case of a horse racing track; • while paying for an order; • to purchase admission; or • as may be necessary for the purposes of health and safety Additional exemptions apply for funerals and youth participating in sports and athletics. Checking proof of vaccination Where the new program applies, patrons must prove that it has been at least 14 days since they received their second COVID-19 vaccination shot. That proof can come in the form of the printed or emailed receipt people received after getting their shot, they can download a copy of the receipt from covid19.ontariohealth.ca, or using a QR code when the Province releases its upcoming mobile app. Patrols will also need to provide photo identification. The province is advising business to confirm the name and date of birth using the photo ID (from an institution or public body) and verify that the receipt is from the Ontario Ministry of Health, signed by an Indigenous Health Provider, or from another jurisdiction showing full vaccination. Businesses are prohibited from keeping any of the information provided as proof of vaccination. What to expect It’s going to be time consuming, frustrating for patrons, and may lead to an initial decline in business for those most impacted by the program. Hopefully these measures will help avoid broader restrictions and lockdowns. Please continue to patronize your local businesses in a safe and responsible manor with a little extra patience as we all adjust our routines for another new normal. OHRC policy statement on COVID-19 vaccine mandates and proof of vaccine certificatesOn September 1, 2021, the Ontario government announced that starting September 22, Ontarians will need to be fully vaccinated (two doses plus 14 days) and provide proof of vaccination along with photo ID to access certain public settings and facilities. By October 22, Ontario plans to develop and implement an enhanced digital vaccine certificate with unique QR (Quick Response) code that will verify vaccination status when scanned. A paper version of the certificate will be available for download or can be printed from the COVID-19 vaccination provincial portal.
The proof of vaccine regime currently applies to certain higher-risk indoor public settings where face coverings cannot always be worn. In addition to these settings, over the last few months many other organizations have begun to mandate vaccines for employees and service users. Vaccination requirements generally permissible While receiving a COVID-19 vaccine remains voluntary, the OHRC takes the position that mandating and requiring proof of vaccination to protect people at work or when receiving services is generally permissible under the Human Rights Code (Code) as long as protections are put in place to make sure people who are unable to be vaccinated for Code-related reasons are reasonably accommodated. This applies to all organizations. Upholding individual human rights while trying to collectively protect the general public has been a challenge throughout the pandemic. Organizations must attempt to balance the rights of people who have not been vaccinated due to a Code-protected ground, such as disability, while ensuring individual and collective rights to health and safety. Duty to accommodate for medical reasons Some people are not able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for medical or disability-related reasons. Under the Code, organizations have a duty to accommodate them, unless it would significantly interfere with people’s health and safety Consistent with the duty to accommodate, the provincial proof of vaccine regime says that people who are unable to receive the vaccine must provide a written document, supplied by a physician (MD) or by a registered nurse extended class [RN(EC)] or nurse practitioner (NP) stating they are exempt for a medical reason from being fully vaccinated and how long this would apply. The OHRC’s position is that exempting individuals with a documented medical inability to receive the vaccine is a reasonable accommodation within the meaning of the Code. Organizations that are not included in the list of settings but wish to mandate vaccines are encouraged to use the provincial proof of vaccine certificate with the written documentation showing medical inability to receive the vaccine as their way of meeting the duty to accommodate where needed. The OHRC also stresses the need to make sure digital proof of vaccine certificates are designed to be fully accessible to adaptive technology, including for smart phone users with disabilities, in accordance with Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act regulations. COVID testing as an alternative to vaccine requirements Many organizations are not included in the list of settings. Organizations with a proven need for COVID-related health and safety requirements might also put COVID testing in place as an alternative to mandatory vaccinations or as an option for accommodating people who are unable to receive a vaccine for medical reasons. Organizations should cover the costs of COVID testing as part of the duty to accommodate. Time limited requirements, privacy protection The provincial proof of vaccine regime does not propose to limit access to any services for people who are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons. Proof of vaccine and vaccine mandate policies, or any COVID testing alternatives that result in people being denied equal access to employment or services on Code grounds, should only be used for the shortest possible length of time. Such policies might only be justifiable during a pandemic. They should regularly be reviewed and updated to match the most current pandemic conditions, and to reflect up-to-date evidence and public health guidance. Policies should also include rights-based legal safeguards for the appropriate use and handling of personal health information. Barriers in accessing COVID vaccines and testing While the vaccine may be readily available across Ontario, barriers persist in equitable vaccine access and COVID testing. Some examples of barriers to vaccine access may include:
Enforcement Under the provincial regime, organizations are responsible for making sure they meet the required proofs of identification and vaccination as outlined in the regulation. Service users must make sure any information they provide to the organization to show proof of vaccination (or proof of qualifying for an exemption like a doctor’s note) and if identification is complete and accurate. There are fines for both individuals and organizations that fail to comply. As with any regulatory regime requiring enforcement, providing law enforcement or any organization with discretionary powers to assess proof of identification and vaccination may result in disproportionate application and impact on members of marginalized and vulnerable communities. Any regime that requires service users to present government-issued documents may also create barriers for people experiencing homelessness or who are undocumented. The OHRC urges governments and organizations to take proactive steps to make sure any enforcement of vaccine mandates or proof of vaccination policies does not disproportionately target or criminalize Indigenous peoples, Black and other racialized communities, people who are experiencing homelessness, or with mental health disabilities and/or addictions. Personal preferences and singular beliefs not protected The OHRC and relevant human rights laws recognize the importance of balancing people’s right to non-discrimination and civil liberties with public health and safety, including the need to address evidence-based risks associated with COVID-19. Receiving a COVID-19 vaccine is voluntary. At the same time, the OHRC’s position is that a person who chooses not to be vaccinated based on personal preference does not have the right to accommodation under the Code. The OHRC is not aware of any tribunal or court decision that found a singular belief against vaccinations or masks amounted to a creed within the meaning of the Code. While the Code prohibits discrimination based on creed, personal preferences or singular beliefs do not amount to a creed for the purposes of the Code. Even if a person could show they were denied a service or employment because of a creed-based belief against vaccinations, the duty to accommodate does not necessarily require they be exempted from vaccine mandates, certification or COVID testing requirements. The duty to accommodate can be limited if it would significantly compromise health and safety amounting to undue hardship – such as during a pandemic. Read the OHRCs Policy on preventing discrimination based on creed for full explanation of creed-based discrimination and the duty to accommodate. |
AuthorThe Peterborough Archives
June 2022
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