Blog

The much-anticipated introduction of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care plan and its goal to introduce its $10 a-day program by 2026 has created a higher demand for spaces as regulated child-care facilities struggle to find qualified staff, which in turn has impacted the economy as parents, many of them women, forgo entering or re-entering the workforce to stay home with their children.

“As the plan was introduced right at the beginning of 2023 fees have been cut in half and that has opened up the opportunity for a lot more families to access care that couldn’t, or didn’t, in the past,” says YWCA Cambridge CEO Kim Decker, noting the long wait lists it has created at the organization’s four school-based centres. “We now have parents calling us when they find out they are pregnant to see if they can get their kids on the list for child care because there just aren’t enough spaces.”

She says the national plan is being implemented in different ways by provinces and territories, explaining the political ‘will’ of each is dictating what level of success they will reach. In Ontario, which committed to reach $10 per day and create 86,000 new spaces by 2026 when it secured a deal last March with the Government of Canada, Kim says the plan has fallen short.

“It’s a status quo funding model and there’s no real opportunity for growth,” she says. “There needs to be a growth plan that accompanies this.”

Child-care ‘deserts’ created

Kim says the national plan was put in place to not only reduce fees for parents, but create spaces, particularly for those living in underserviced areas. Quoting a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Kim says 53% of younger children in the province reside in child-care ‘deserts’, adding that Kitchener-Waterloo was identified in the report as being underserviced, despite a push by the Region of Waterloo to the Province to provide more spaces.

“Right now, we know that from 2024 to 2026, we will only get another 200 spaces,” she says, adding other local licensed child-care providers are also experiencing space shortages.

Kim says the economic impacts of these shortages are being amplified as more companies continue to call employees back to the workplace, explaining that many parents had taken their children out of child care when the pandemic hit but now can no longer find them spaces.

“This has disproportionately impacted women because if a family has choices, I will say in most cases it will be the women who will have to make the decision to give up their careers and stay home,” she says. “It’s going to affect the economy and women need to be a big part of our economy if it is going to remain strong.”

Chamber submits national policy

In effort to alleviate the problem, the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce has submitted a national policy to be considered by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce network at its AGM this fall in Calgary, Alta. Included among our recommendations is a call for the federal and provincial/territorial governments to work together to investigate the possibility of providing subsidization for ECE (early childhood educators) wages and the creation of a fully funded pension and benefits plan in effort to attract more workers into the child-care sector with the goal of reducing wait lists.

Labour shortages in terms of attraction and the retention of qualified ECEs has compounded the issue of growing wait lists. As noted in a recent response released by the YWCA Ontario Coalition to the Province regarding its CWELCC discussion paper on the child-care funding formula, the group identified the fact the plan is based on operating capacity rather than licensed capacity. YWCA Ontario’s response states many Ontario child-care operators are operating below licensed capacity due to recruitment and retention issues yet must still bear the costs of maintaining rooms and unoccupied spaces which makes it difficult to hire additional staff to fill those empty spaces.

YWCA dealing with staffing crisis

“We are in a staffing crisis right now,” says Kim, adding the local YWCA has used reserved funds to hire someone to work with its director of child-care services on recruitment and retention. “We need to be able to staff the spaces we already have.”

The Province has set a wage floor of $18 an hour for ECEs, with Ontario’s Minister of Education Stephen Lecce recently announcing an increase of $1 a year annually up to $25.

“That’s not going to work,” says Kim. “It needs a whole new way of thinking and a whole new strategy, and a real commitment to paying people what they are worth.”

The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario has called for a minimum of $30 an hour for ECEs and $25 an hour for non-ECE staff members. Either one or two of the workers in a child-care room are required to be an ECE, depending on the age of the children.

“They have the responsibility for our youngest learners and creating a foundation and baseline for them going forward. It is a really important job and for a very long time, we’ve devalued the work child-care workers provide in our community,” says Kim, adding how local child-care workers were one of the first groups to return to work a few months after the pandemic began in 2020, allowing parents to get back to work sooner. “I think the pandemic also shone a light on how the whole care economy has been underpaid for a really long period of time and child care is part of that.”

A tidal wave of business ownership change is coming, and many business owners should be preparing now, urges Carson O’Neill, Managing Principal of Rincroft Inc., a Waterloo Region-based company which facilitates the sale of small and medium-sized businesses.

His firm has completed the sale of more than 50 family-owned businesses, many of them in Waterloo Region.

Carson most recently penned a book for business owners entitled The Road to Enterprise Value.

He confirms that most owners of Canada’s 1.2 million SMEs are now in their 50s and 60s and looking to sell their businesses over the next five years to fund their retirement.

“The owners are capable in running the operation. They’re down to earth, salt of the earth people and smart,” says Carson. “But most have never been down this path before. For many of them, it’s unchartered water with a lot of money on the table.”

Carson adds that the process is complicated and can last six to nine months.

“There are many issues above and beyond agreement on purchase price. Who’s going to pick up the employees? What about the future of the manufacturing facility? What about the leases? What about the intellectual property? It can be complex and multi-dimensional.”

As entrepreneurs, he says business owners often are often inclined do everything themselves which runs the risk of them receiving much less than what their business is worth, in turn resulting in a less comfortable ‘nest egg’ for retirement.

“The buyers are typically aggressive and want to get the price down,” says Carson. “They’re professional buyers, many of whom who’ve bought many businesses before, so they want to work with a business owner who unfamiliar with the process.”

To better understand the process of selling a business and some of the factors that drive business owners to sell, we discussed several questions:

Q. What would you recommend be the first steps a business owner should take when it comes to selling?

Carson: Delay if you possibly can and get the business in good shape. The business owner should step back, assess the state of the operation, and take steps to strengthen it any way possible. They should not be in a hurry to go to market; our company sometimes takes months working with owners to build the business up before the divestiture process even begins. The best defense is a good offense. Don’t go into this defensively, thinking ‘oh, we have to retire now’. You need to make sure the business is fundamentally strong to secure top dollar.

Q. What are some of the misconceptions a business owner may have when it comes to the process of selling?

Carson: Having never been through the process before, many owners think selling a business is like selling a house. The process is far more complicated and takes much longer. The valuation is far more complex, the information package is far more extensive and there are multiple conditions which need to be met before the funds are wired. Is there inherent value in the business? Does the business have unique capabilities so it can be sold? Where is the ‘secret sauce’?

Q. Other than impending retirement, what are some other reasons a business owner may decide to sell?

Carson: There are usually three other reasons: health problems with one of the owners; shareholders issues with at least one shareholder in need of cash; or the business has plateaued and is going south and that is never a good time to sell a business. Other reasons can include major players are entering the market with vast resources to spend to build market share and the owners are justifiably concerned they will have difficulty competing. They may not yet have reached retirement age, but they are concerned that the value of the business may well go down in the years ahead, so they are better off to sell now.

There is also the possibility of a pre-emptive offer. It is not uncommon for a buyer to approach an owner to buy even if the business is not being sold. This happens with very strong businesses. Sometimes millions are put forth, well over the assessed value. Owners may not have ‘planned’ to sell but many will seriously consider if the price is right.

Finally, the next generation has made it clear they have no interest in the family business. The owners may be in their late-40s with the second generation in their early-20s but that serves as a valuable wake-up call that it is inevitable the business will change ownership. With the emergence of the digital economy, at an early age, many in the next generation have absolutely no interest in ever taking ownership of the established family business.

Q. How has the pandemic affected the sale of businesses?

Carson: Not really. In the early months of the virus there was a period of adjustment, but people realized there was very little need to meet to complete the transaction. Our business did not miss a beat; actually, it got stronger. The change in ownership in Canada will continue relatively unaffected by the ebb and flow of the economy.

The reality is many owners have too much money locked in their business – they usually need it for a comfortable retirement. That has remained the primary reason why they sell, whether the pandemic is here or not. Canadian business owners are getting older. You can’t stop ‘Father Time’.

Q. How has the process of selling a business changed?

Carson: It is now more complicated due, in part because due diligence has become much more rigorous. We live in an age of increasing importance of transparency and full disclosure. No stone will be left unturned. Buyers will look at everything.

Did someone slip on the ice outside your business? What insecticides do you use on the grass and plants? Do you have an alleged harassment situation happening? If one is pending, it must be dealt with because the buyer doesn’t want any liabilities and will walk away. Due diligence and purchase agreements alone can now take three months.

The weather may be colder, but things are heating up fast when it comes to the winter tourism season in Waterloo Region.

In fact, tourism spending in Canada in general is expected to recover quicker than anticipated according to Destination Canada’s latest tourism outlook which is predicting a return to 2019 levels by 2024, up from 2025 as predicted last spring. As well, the report indicates Canada’s tourism sector could generate more than $142 billion by 2030 which represents a 35% growth over the next decade.

This doesn’t come as a surprise to Explore Waterloo Region CEO Michele Saran, noting that domestic travel has recovered much quicker than international visits.

“When you’re talking about Waterloo Region, keeping in mind we receive 96% of our visitations from the GTA, we expect to be fully recovered here to 2019 levels by 2023,” she says. “In fact, we’re almost there now.”

Michele credits this local rebound not only on a growing pent-up demand for travel opportunities following pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, but the fact the region has so much to offer.

“When you talk about the winter season, in Waterloo Region we always do quite well,” she says. “Interestingly, I’ve never seen a destination that doesn’t take a hit at this time of year except for us, and Christmas really seems to be our ‘thing’.”

Michele credits the numerous holiday festivals and activities for providing a major boost to our local tourism and hospitality sector, including Cambridge’s ‘Winterfest’ which offers numerous events and displays until the end of the month, Kitchener’s recent ‘Christkindl Market’ and KWFamous ‘Holiday Pop-Shoppe’, as well as Bingemans’ ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ and ‘Gift of Lights’ events.

“Everybody (tourism operators) seems very positive about this season,” she says. “And we’ve been doing our Road Trip campaign for the last few months on social media, and we’ve been talking about winter and amplifying all the fabulous things you can do within an easy drive of our target market.”

Besides Christmas activities, Michele says Waterloo Region is loaded with a variety of winter attractions such as Chicopee which should be welcoming skiers and tubers soon, as well Shades Mills Conservation Area in Cambridge for walking and cross-country skiing.

As well, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada has once again started its plant tours, which provide an inside look at its Cambridge facility via a motorized tram.

“Also, St. Jacobs and Elmira are always beautiful and magical places to visit in the winter,” she says, adding Explore Waterloo Region has been encouraging people to utilize the Ontario Staycation Tax Credit. 

The credit, which expires at the end of the month, allows Ontario residents to claim 20% of their eligible 2022 accommodation (cottage, hotel, or campground) expenses up to $1,000 as an individual or $2,000 if you spouse, common-law partner, or children, to get back up to $200 as an individual or $400 as a family.

“We’re actually lobbying as an industry to keep the tax credit in place for next year as well,” says Michele. “As you know, we were the first industry hit and the hardest hit and the last to recover, so we would love to keep this value added as part of our marketing arsenal.”

In terms of any potential threat from what has been dubbed as the ‘tripledemic’ (Flu, RSV and COVID-19), she remains optimistic that local tourism operators are prepared.

“I think everyone in the tourism industry is really good at listening to public health recommendations, and because our industry was the first hit, we’ve had to create all different types of scenarios about how to open safely and serve the public,” says Michele. “We’ve become really good at it and have a lot of practice.”

Visit Explore Waterloo Region to learn more.

A few things to check out:

• Cambridge Winterfest – runs until Dec. 31 and features light installations and a variety of events in all three downtown cores.
• Bingemans - Jingle Bell Rock, runs until Jan. 7 and outdoor light displays, surrounding a 40-foot dancing tree illumination. Gift of Lights runs until Dec. 31. Drive through holiday light display featuring over 300 animated and static light displays.
• KWFamous Holiday Pop-Shoppe - Until Dec. 30 featuring more than 80 local makers and creators taking part at shop located across from Kitchener City Hall.
• Jakobstettel – Celebrates 170 Years of St. Jacobs, featuring a series of events until Dec. 18.
• The City of Waterloo hosts  Winterloo on Jan 28, 2023
• Toyota Plant Tour – a 90-minute tour of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada’s Cambridge facility. Tours currently run Monday to Wednesday.
• Chicopee 

*  With files from the Toronto Star    

Quiet quitting, thanks to viral posts on social media, has become a term very familiar in workplaces worldwide.

It describes the phenomenon of employees who no longer go above and beyond by doing only what is expected in effort to maintain jobs that may no longer interest or inspire them.

This disengagement from work has grown exponentially since the pandemic. In fact, the 2022 State of the Global Workplace report from Gallup shows only 21% of employees are engaged at work.

“We’ve come through such a crisis over the last couple of years. To some extent, I think we’re over it now, but it has forced people to make different decisions about work, especially if they were burnt out already,” says Frank Newman, CEO of Newman Human Resources Consulting, who will explore quiet quitting at a Cambridge Chamber of Commerce webinar Dec. 1 entitled Is Your Team Quietly Quitting?

He will not only touch on some of the top reasons why employees quietly quit as well as the warning signs but provide insight on how employers can alter their work environment so they can not only attract but, more importantly, retain employees.

“You want to make sure you create the best work environment as possible,” says Frank, acknowledging the existence of an “employees’ market” due to labour shortages.  “That really means taking a very critical look at your work environment. Do you know what people need? Is it benefits? Is it better management? This is the ideal time to do an employee survey or workplace assessment to provide you with some sort of tool you can use to get a fix in terms of what are you going to fix first.”

He says this process may not prove to be a comfortable experience for some workplaces, however, insists this information can go a long way in assisting an organization set benchmarks regarding branding, image or even compensation.

“There are so many changes happening right now and if you don’t understand where you’re going or where you’re at, it’s pretty hard to make any progress,” says Frank.

He also recommends employers conduct exit interviews, formally or informally, to get a sense of why an employee has decided to leave.

“Make sure you understand what people are feeling. Also, spend some time with your newest employees and ask them what attracted them to your organization.”

Frank says in the age of social media, it’s important to encourage people who leave to remain an ambassador for the organization adding that bad reviews tend to get more traction than good ones.

“Organizations need to think about that as they manage those who are quietly quitting and those who suddenly walk out the door,” he says. “I always encourage my clients to search various job boards to see what’s being said about them.”

Frank admits it’s a tough time to be a manager right now, noting that employees have become much more critical on how their companies are managed than they were in the past.

“People looking for work have so many options out there now, and if you’re a hiring manager, it’s putting more pressure on management to get work done with less resources,” he says, noting the difficulty this causes employees who are now required to pick up the slack due to staffing shortages.

However, Frank says he’s optimistic as the economy continues to readjust following the pandemic there will be less quiet quitting.

“As companies get smarter in managing their businesses and people, I think you’ll see less of that," he says.

Work Trends Facts:

• Burnout is a big risk in the workplace, especially amongst younger Gen Z professionals aged in their 20s, research shows. A survey of 30,000 workers by Microsoft showed 54% of Gen Z workers are considering quitting their job.
• In its 2021 Global Risks Report, the World Economic Forum ranks “youth disillusionment” as eighth of 10 immediate risks. Findings include deteriorating mental health since the start of the pandemic, leaving 80% of young people worldwide vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and disappointment.
• Workforce data from organizations including McKinsey & Company suggests 40% of the global workforce are looking to quit their jobs in the next three to six months.

Source: World Economic Forum website

Keeping workers safe and healthy is an important component of any well-run company.

However, managing the protocols and requirements that surround it is often an area that creates frustration for many businesses.

“A lot of companies put health and safety on the backburner prior to the pandemic,” says Ray Snow, President of Heartzap Safety Training & Equipment in Cambridge, noting the costs that often surround it. “But now they realize they can’t put it on the backburner and have to address it and that’s what we’re seeing now.”

He says companies that had once been shut down during the pandemic are seeing a larger Ministry of Labour (MOL) presence of in the community and are paying close attention.

“MOL is at construction sites and knocking on company’s doors seeing if they have their policies in place and are they following health and safety rules, and nobody today can afford to have their operations shutdown again.”

For that reason, he recommends businesses revisit their health and safety policies and protocols to make sure they are up to date.

“But not everyone has that ability,” says Ray, noting larger corporations have the staff to manage health and safety compared to SMEs. “An SME may have a health and safety committee, but they may not have a designated staff person that does health and safety management on a regular basis.”

He suggests an outside health and safety audit, which Heartzap provides, is a viable alternative to ensure a business is meeting the correct standards and practices, possibly saving them money in the end. According to Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, the average cost of a lost-time injury is $106,500 - $21,300 in direct costs (WSIB premiums) and $85,200 in costs to the company of the injured employee.

“We’re not there to point out all the faults. We’re there to help and grow with you,” says Ray. “Health and safety has always had that negative ‘cracking the whip’ connotation. It’s really more about education.”

Through a wide variety of virtual training courses, something Heartzap has offered for several years prior to the pandemic in a blended online and in-class format, he says companies can ensure staff working remotely can remain up to date on their training as part of any work-from-home policies.

“The shift is changing in the world and in Canada on how people learn. They don’t necessarily have to be in a classroom all day long,” says Ray, noting keeping current on rapidly changing health and safety guidelines has been a big concern for Heartzap clients. “As much as the government did a great job creating templates for everybody, they still required somebody to go look at them on a bi-weekly or weekly basis because it changed so much. The biggest concern now is getting people up to speed.”

He says the costs surrounding health and safety training have risen, just like they have for most businesses and that supply chain issues have affected the availability of products causing potential delays in delivery.

“I think everybody is kind of two and half years behind in health and safety in terms of training or policy work or reviewing their facilities, but everybody wants it done today,” says Ray, noting like many sectors, staffing shortages are causing delays. “We only have so many staff to get out there and get the job done.”

As a result, he recommends businesses don’t wait until the last minute when it comes to reviewing or updating their health and safety policies.

“If you want it done for the fall or winter, don’t wait for the fall and winter to come.”

To learn more, visit Heartzap Safety Training & Equipment.

As discussion mounts about another pandemic wave this summer, the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce is prepared to do what it can to help businesses and their employees remain safe.

Since the beginning of April 2021, the Cambridge and Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chambers have been working with Health Canada and the Province on a pilot program to provide free rapid antigen self-screening kits to small and medium-sized businesses throughout Waterloo Region.

That program – open to all SMEs not just Chamber Members – continues this summer and as of June more than 1.2 million kits had been distributed to more than 9,100 businesses in our area. This translates into screening kits being provided to approximately 151,000 individuals which in turn aims to help curb transmission of the virus in the community.

“We must always be ready. We need to accept the fact there is a ‘new normal’ and that consistency in our environment is not in our favour any longer,” says Cambridge Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Greg Durocher. “We need to ensure our business and ourselves are nimble, prepared, and strategic.”

Like many public health agencies in Ontario, through wastewater testing the Region of Waterloo Public Health has detected an increase in positivity rates indicating an increase in COVID-19 activity.

In a recent edition of the Waterloo Record, Region of Waterloo Public Health’s Sharon Ord is quoted as saying: “Although the wastewater signal — up to June 25, 2022 — is dominated by Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1, the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are increasing in Waterloo Region.”

According to health experts, these subvariants are the most transmissible variants of Omicron and can evade the immune system in previously infected individuals.

For this reason, Greg is urging businesses to ensure they are well stocked with screening kits in effort to provide as much protection as possible to their employees and customers.

“Don’t dismantle your plexiglass dividers just yet or toss out your hand sanitizer. Ensure you have access to a good supply of masks to keep you, your employees, and your customers safe, which in turn will keep your business safe,” he says. “We are so very close to finding our way out of this so let’s not blow it now. The ‘new normal’ is here to stay. Let’s be prepared, always.”

The program was expanded by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce network to Chambers provincewide soon after it launched here.

In Waterloo Region, businesses can order kits by visiting chambercheck.ca.

The forecast is looking good for the summer tourism season in Waterloo Region.

After two years of uncertainties, restrictions and pivoting due to the pandemic, the hospitality and tourism sector is poised for a significant comeback.

“Everything is coming back this summer,” says Michele Saran, CEO of Explore Waterloo Region. “There is so much pent-up demand, and it seems like the concerns about COVID-19 are receding and people are feeling a lot more confident to get out and about.”

Compared to last year at this time, she says tourism operators in Waterloo Region, including hotels and attractions, have already seen a higher demand in the first quarter of this year.

“It’s going incredibly well so far, but there are still labour shortages and supply chain issues,” says Michele. “I know some of our hotels can’t run at full capacity just yet because of these shortages which is a shame because we’ve been hit so hard the last couple of years.”

To offset some costs surrounding the implementation of health and safety protocols to keep patrons and employees safe, Explore Waterloo Region and RTO 4 (Regional Tourism Organization 4 Inc.) distributed nearly $600,000 to support 125 attractions, hotels, and other operators in 2020 and 2021 through the Tourism Adaption and Recovery Program (TARP).

“Our industry was the first hit, hardest hit and the last to recover is what we say, and we still have those impediments in a way with these labour concerns,” says Michele.

She says this summer Explore Waterloo Region is taking a ‘divide and conquer’ approach when it comes its marketing tactics.

“As we are easing out of COVID-19 we’re looking to our local operators and BIAs to market our region to local residents,” says Michele. “We as Explore Waterloo Region are expanding a little further out with our marketing focus and trying to encourage people from the GTA to get out of the city and come to a place where it might be a little less urban, but with all the amenities of the big city; close to nature where they can get out and enjoy walking and bike trails and still have incredible culinary and cultural experiences, just with a little less of the crowds.”

Michele says the many festivals and attractions Waterloo Region has to offer this summer will be a big draw, such as the Cambridge Scottish Festival and the Canada Day celebrations which features a parade and returns to Riverside Park with fireworks.

“People are feeling a bit safer in being groups but still outside,” she says, noting this should be a good summer for domestic tourism due to long lineups at major airports which has been blamed on staff shortages and COVID-19 screening.  “There is still a little bit of concern about travelling internationally so I think this is the summer we really have to take advantage of the opportunity to get people in and around Waterloo Region to come and experience everything we have to offer.”

For a detailed look at what’s available, visit Explore Waterloo Region.

A few summer highlights in Cambridge:

• Kin Carnival (May 26)
• Cambridge Tour De Grand (June 12)
• Cambridge Celebration of the Arts (June 17 – Civic Square)
• Host Springs Music Festival (June 25 – Central Park)
• Cambridge Celebrates Canada Day (July 1 - Riverside Park)
• Thursday Night Live Performances (July 7, 14, 21 and 28 - Mill Race Park Amphitheatre)
• Hespeler Village Music Festival (July 9 – Forbes Park)
• Cambridge Scottish Festival (July 15-16 – Churchill Park)
• Forbes Park Movie Night (Aug. 18 – Forbes Park)

The COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis have created an unstable environment for Ontario business. Inflation, labour shortages, and supply chain backlogs have been exacerbated by the global state of emergency.

In effort to outline our policy priorities for the next four years, the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce and Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released Vote Prosperity.

“Businesses continue to face a myriad of challenges on their road to recovery,” said Cambridge Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Greg Durocher. “Balancing short-term needs with critical long-term investments will be key in supporting growth and predictability. This is a watershed moment for Ontario’s future economic prosperity, and we want to underscore the importance of continued collaboration between government and industry to get us to where we need to go.”

Business competitiveness results in more prosperous communities, higher consumer confidence, high-quality jobs, and a more resilient economy. This requires:

• Boosting confidence and predictability
• Implementing pro-growth policies
• Building resilient communities
• Supporting entrepreneurship and innovation

The recommendations outlined in OCC’s Vote Prosperity were developed together with businesses, associations, labour, post-secondary institutions, as well as chambers of commerce and boards of trade from across the province.

As the indispensable partner of business, we look forward to putting our members’ issues front and centre this election. To ensure the next provincial election advances business competitiveness, we have developed Vote Prosperity. Read the full plan.

The collective power of the Chamber movement to assist businesses succeed was front and centre at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s recent AGM and Convention.

Approximately 150 delegates, the majority representing Chambers and Board of Trades from across the province, gathered at the Pearson Convention Centre April 28-May 1 in Brampton to network, hear from Ontario political leaders, and debate policy issues to assist them in their advocacy work with government on behalf of businesses.

“Ensuring businesses have the legislative backing and supports they need to succeed and prosper plays an important role for all Chambers and Boards of Trade,” says Cambridge Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Greg Durocher, who led a strategy session on delivering Chamber services across a diverse membership base and was joined at the event by in-coming Chamber Board Chair Kristen Danson. “The conference is a great place to share new ideas and connect with other Chamber leaders from around the province.”

This was the first in-person AGM the OCC has held since the pandemic and featured appearances by the Ontario leaders of the Liberals (Steven Del Duca), NDP (Andrea Horwath) and Green (Mike Schreiner), as well as the Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria, President of the Treasury Board of Ontario. All four spoke about the strength and importance of the business community and what their parties can do to help our economy.

Also, Canadian Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Perrin Beatty was on hand to offer an update on the Chamber network from a national perspective.

“It’s great for the Chamber network to hear from all sides of the political spectrum,” says Greg, noting potential policy resolutions are formulated from a wide range of issues and concerns.

This year, 34 resolutions were up for debate on a variety of topics ranging from improving supports to employers, to the creation of a construction strategy for tiny homes.

The Cambridge Chamber’s policy calling for the creation of a ‘backstop’ for the implementation of mandated workplace vaccination policies was among 32 that received approval from delegates. The approved policy calls for the Ministry of Labour to include elements within the articles of the Occupational Health & Safety Act to provide protection against discriminatory legal actions aimed at businesses that wish to implement such a policy.

“It’s important that businesses have the protections they need in order to operate in the manner which they feel works best for them,” says Greg.

The approved policies now become part of the OCC policy ‘playbook’ in its efforts to advocate for change with provincial and federal levels of government.

Besides adopting policies, the conference wrapped up with an awards ceremony to recognize the achievements of Chambers and Boards of Trades.

The Cambridge Chamber, in partnership with the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, was presented with the Chair’s Award for Innovative Program or Service to recognize the success of their rapid screening kits program which has been adopted by Chambers provincewide. Since April of 2021, the program has resulted in the distribution of more than one million kits to more than 7,500 businesses throughout Waterloo Region.

“This program has made a huge difference to thousands of businesses in our region, and we couldn’t be more pleased,” says Greg.

For more information about the kits, visit https://chambercheck.ca.

A decision by the Government of Ontario to lift vaccine passport requirements on March 1, 2022 came as much-needed relief to many and a positive signal to businesses that better times may finally be ahead.

But it’s a move that may be fraught with questions and concerns since Ontario’s current Roadmap to Reopen Plan indicates that certain high-risk settings are required to have vaccination policies, or proof of vaccination requirements, in place.  Further, under the current rules, other settings, can “opt in” and choose to continue to require proof of vaccination, even though they are no longer legally obligated to do so. 

We discussed these changes, and related issues, with Tushar Anandasagar, of Gowling WLG’s Employment, Labour and Equalities Group.

Mandatory Workplace Vaccination Policies (Employees)

On February 17, 2022, the province announced that it was considering the elimination of mandatory workplace vaccination policy requirements that are currently in place in various high-risk sectors. When these requirements were first introduced, the province stipulated that policies would meet the compliance requirements under law if they allowed employees to choose between proof of vaccination and/or proof of a medical exemption, or submitting to an education campaign and undergoing regular Rapid Antigen Testing.

According to Tushar, a business that complied with provincial proof of vaccination requirements is unlikely to face legal consequences. “If the employer implemented a bare minimum statutory compliance policy that gave the employees all the options stipulated by the Province - like saying the speed limit is 100 and go do the speed limit - I don’t think an employer is going to be penalized for having done the speed limit."

However, if the province eliminates mandatory vaccination policy requirements after March 1, businesses could face additional legal exposure, particularly if the business implemented a policy that went beyond the provincial requirements for employees.  “If the provincial requirements fall away, businesses in the high-risk sector that choose to maintain their policies could face additional legal consequences because they will be exceeding the provincial requirements.”

Proof of vaccination issues (Customers / Patrons)

The province eliminated proof of vaccination requirements that were previously in place for restaurants and similar settings, earlier this month.  However, the current rules provide certain businesses that were previously subject to vaccine passport requirements with the ability to “opt in” to require proof of vaccination on a day-by-day basis, if certain requirements are met.

“At this stage, it is unclear whether the province’s announcement will affect the current ‘opt-in’ rules beyond March 1, 2022,” says Tushar.  “On a purely theoretical basis, I don’t think the province will completely eliminate the proof of vaccination system that was developed at great expense just a few months ago – even though the (COVID-19) numbers are dropping.”  Tushar adds, “rather than eliminating this option, we could see an expansion of the current Stage 3 opt-in rules, which could make this protocol available to businesses outside of the limited sectors noted in Regulation 364/20.”

Even though there is currently an opt-in protocol for certain businesses, those that choose to opt in could face legal challenges from customers.  “Ontario has a free and open court system – so there is always an element of ‘use at your own risk’,” Tushar says.  He adds, “However, I think a plaintiff would face an uphill battle based on the current rules, since there is currently a legislative provision that allows for this, assuming the business is eligible and meets all of the province’s opt-in requirements.”

Tushar says the more expected risk for businesses who decide to keep proof of vaccination requirements in place will likely relate to managing public relations, including negative feedback popping up on social media. “That has been an ongoing concern that businesses have been dealing with since Day 1 of the pandemic,” he says.

Tushar and his team at Gowling WLG continue to diligently sift through the latest legislative changes as restrictions around the pandemic in Ontario ease.  We will be working with the legal team at Gowling WLG to bring you updates on a variety of issues over the coming weeks. 

For further information or specific questions about the recent changes to Ontario’s Reopen Plan, please contact Tushar directly at [email protected].