Government of Canada announces plan to help support Canadians through the next phase of the recovery |
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Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada has put Canadians first, providing the support they need to continue to make ends meet while staying safe and healthy.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have had a negative impact on a worker’s weekly earnings, either because they lost their job or saw their hours of work reduced. To give Canadians seeking employment the support they need to get back on their feet, the government is making changes to the EI program. EI will now be available to more Canadians, including those who would not have qualified for EI in the past, adding more than 400,000 people into the program.Those receiving EI will be eligible for a taxable benefit rate of at least $400 per week, or $240 per week for extended parental benefits, and regular benefits will be accessible for a minimum duration of 26 weeks. The government will continue to work with provinces and territories to ensure Canadians receiving EI benefits have access to skills training and employment supports, to help them get back to work.
The government will also freeze the EI insurance premium rates for two years, so Canadian workers and businesses will not face immediate increases to costs and payroll deductions due to the additional expenses resulting from the pandemic.
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Ontario Extends Orders Under the Reopening Ontario Act, 2020 |
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The Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, is extending orders currently in force under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 (ROA).
All orders under the ROA have been extended to September 22, 2020, with the following exceptions:
On July 21, 2020, the Ontario Legislature passed the ROA to ensure important measures remained in place to address the sustained threat of COVID-19 once the provincial Declaration of Emergency came to an end.
The following orders under the ROA have been extended until September 22, 2020:
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Carrying on: Canadian infrastructure market shakes off COVID-19, poised to put stimulus funds to work |
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The latest assessment from the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), released this June, found investments under the plan remained delayed, but the lag had lessened since its previous check. The PBO estimates a total of $51.1 billion spent on approximately 53,000 federally-backed infrastructure projects coast to coast since the start of the IICP.
In terms of job creation, the PBO said the infrastructure plan has generated about 91,400 full-time equivalent positions over the past four years. It added that without the delays in spending, about 4,400 more construction workers would have found a place on job sites.
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Infrastructure will drive recovery in construction, but tighter margins expected, report says |
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According to the latest Construction Monitor survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), about 40 per cent of Canadian survey respondents anticipate workloads to increase in the infrastructure market over the next 12 months, far higher than their American or global peers.
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OCCA shifts focus amid pandemic to encourage students to pursue construction industry careers |
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The Ontario Construction Careers Alliance (OCCA) has had to get creative to engage students during the coronavirus pandemic.
The mandate of the alliance is to promote construction as a first-choice career pathway in high schools, job fairs and other events.
Before COVID, the OCCA was getting ready to use virtual reality headsets in the classroom to provide virtual tours of construction jobsites. When the pandemic hit, the real estate industry began using virtual house tours instead of going to houses in person and the team thought they could use the same concept.
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Exclusive Discount for TCA Members on publishing Certificates of Substantial Performance (CSPs) in the Daily Commercial News (DCN)!
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All certificates and notices published in the Daily Commercial News (DCN) are a flat fee of $300 (plus tax). Special Affinity Pricing of $200 per certificate is available to all ConstructConnect subscribers and TCA members.
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Click on the image for more details.
**IMPORTANT: To apply the discount, please mention the offer at the time of order placement.**
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TCA Resources on COVID-19 |
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To access TCA dedicated Covid-19 Updates, click here.
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