Timmins business community reacts to province lifting pandemic health rules
Timmins business community reacts to province lifting pandemic health rules
It was a happy Valentine's Day for Dominic Flaminio of the Porcupine Dante Club. As the general manager hosted 100 sweethearts over two dinner sittings.
He's also heard the news that COVID-19 public health restrictions are lifting sooner, which means the club can get back to doing what it does best--hosting banquets--as it's been tough the past two years.
"The no dancing (restriction)…so a lot of weddings got impacted, so I didn’t book any weddings for almost two years ...The ones we did do were outside catering," said Flaminio.
He said support from clients and financial subsidies from the Ontario government have carried the organization through the pandemic. Now, he's excited to be moving forward.
"I have a few more Saturdays in the summer to book up and if I can book those two up, I’ll have a full summer this summer for the first time in three years," Flaminio said.
The province said it will also lift proof of vaccination requirements as of March 1, but businesses and other settings may choose to continue with that rule.
"At the end of the day, if the business owner wishes or chooses to leave certain safety measures in place, they’re welcome to do so, so long as you know they don’t infringe on anybody’s particular discriminatory rights or at least are within the lines of the Ontario Human Rights Code and Commission," said Cameron Grant, senior policy analyst government and stakeholder relations with the Timmins Chamber of Commerce
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce said the plan to reduce restrictions will only be successful if it is accompanied by the necessary measures to support business predictability, build public confidence and sustain the re-opening.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested an 18-year-old man from the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal on Thursday morning in connection with allegations of terrorism.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he feels it is his role to see the Safe Third Country Agreement upgraded, in order to make sure Canadians can continue to have confidence in Canada's immigration system.
The largest recorded earthquake in Alberta's history was not a natural event, but most likely caused by disposal of oilsands wastewater, new research has concluded.
Han Dong has announced he will be sitting as an independent MP after being the subject of allegations involving interference by China in Canadian affairs.
York Regional Police will hold a news conference Thursday morning when it's expected they will announce two more suspects wanted in the alleged attack of missing Ontario woman Elnaz Hajtamiri.
United States President Joe Biden is set to deliver a speech to Parliament on Friday, becoming the ninth president to address Canadians in Ottawa. Here's a look back at past presidential speeches and the eras that defined them.
A federal source says the coming budget will detail how the Liberals plan to go after hidden or unexpected consumer fees, following the United States announcing its own crackdown on these charges.
A group of lawyers is racing against the clock to get Canadian children and their foreign-born mothers onto a plane that will soon be dispatched to repatriate detainees from prison camps in northeast Syria.
York Regional Police will hold a news conference Thursday morning when it's expected they will announce two more suspects wanted in the alleged attack of missing Ontario woman Elnaz Hajtamiri.
An Ontario mother and father say their four-year-old was recently diagnosed with a brain tumour after doctors believed his symptoms were a flu-like virus for months.
Ottawa police and the city of Ottawa have warned residents and visitors will see an increased police presence across the downtown core on Thursday and Friday, and there will be "significant traffic and transit disruptions" during the visit.
Emergency crews responded to the collision involving a pedestrian on Highway 105 near the Chem. Ditchfield intersection in Chelsea at approximately 5:15 p.m. Wednesday.
The resurrection of Zellers is officially underway in Waterloo region with the Cambridge location opening its doors to a handful of eager fans who lined up ahead of the store's official reopening.
At least four vehicles were involved in a collision at the intersection of Wonderland Road south and Commissioners Road west at around 9:40 a.m. on Thursday.
A fog advisory that covered most of southern Ontario has been lifted. Poor driving conditions were reported Thursday morning throughout the region as dense fog spread across area roads.
Plans are in the works to connect the existing Oneida Water Supply System to the Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) investing over $43 million to support the design and construction phases of this project.
Two people are charged after an investigation by Windsor’s Drugs and Guns (DIGS) unit. Officers seized over $25,000 in cash and drugs from a home in the 1100 block of Church Street on Tuesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested an 18-year-old man from the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal on Thursday morning in connection with allegations of terrorism.
Two staff members who were stabbed at a Halifax-area high school have been released from hospital, while the student accused in the stabbing remains in custody.
A Transportation Safety Board of Canada report has linked the fatal sinking of a Nova Scotia scallop dragger in 2020 to years of federal inaction on the imposition of stricter stability standards for fishing vessels.
After a number of parents were left frustrated this week over not getting their kids into swimming lessons, the City of Winnipeg confirmed a drop in the number of courses it offers.
TBA was started last year by long-time right-wing activist David Parker. It began as a way to push back against COVID-19 measures, but has since drastically grown.
Authorities say charges have been laid against a Calgary resident in connection with the attempted importation of 300 kilograms of methamphetamine at the Coutts, Alta., border crossing.
The largest recorded earthquake in Alberta's history was not a natural event, but most likely caused by disposal of oilsands wastewater, new research has concluded.
Wearing her husband's police jacket, Ashley Ryan walked to centre ice at a charity hockey game in Spruce Grove, Alta., Wednesday night. She, a paramedic, then dropped the puck on the matchup that Brett was planning to referee.
Mounties in Surrey say a man they arrested last week for breaking into a home was also wanted by Burnaby RCMP, New Westminster police and the Metro Vancouver Transit Police.
Three years after the start of the pandemic, surgical backlogs and wait times are only just starting to improve, according to new data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, with patients still waiting significantly longer for surgeries than they did before the pandemic.
