The Ontario government has expanded the capacity restrictions at facilities that rent out indoor professional meeting and event spaces, and has also eased the requirements for bars and restaurants to collect contact information from customers.

The previous COVID-19 public health restrictions limited to 50 the total number of people (excluding staff) who could attend an indoor meeting or event at convention centres, conference centres, banquet halls, resorts, and hotels and motels.

The limit has now been expanded to a maximum of 50 people (excluding staff) for each dedicated indoor meeting room or event space within a facility, as long as each room or event space is separated by an impermeable barrier and physical distancing of two metres can be maintained between people in the room or event space.

The facility would also have to adhere to a plan approved by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health for the rental of meeting or event space.

Trade shows or any events requiring guests to mingle are prohibited, and buffet-style style food service is not allowed. The 100-person limit on events or meetings taking place outdoors is still in place.

The change has been welcomed by Ontario’s hospitality industry.

“We applaud the provincial government in permitting the hospitality industry to allow meetings and events on a per room or dedicated space basis,” says Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association president and CEO Tony Elenis. “This will support many operations through this challenging pandemic period.”

Facilities will also have to adhere to existing legislation and public health requirements.

The government has outlined all the requirements as well as health and safety recommendations at Guidance for professional meeting and event facilities during COVID-19.

The government has also eased the requirements for bars and restaurants to collect contact information from customers.

As of August 21st, bars and restaurants will only need to collect contact information from a single member of a party entering indoor or outdoor dining areas.

The new requirement also applies to tour guides and services.

“This will reduce the administrative burden on businesses such as restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments, and tour and guide services, while continuing to support case and contact tracing,” the government states in a media release.

Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for all of Peterborough County as well as eastern Northumberland County for Friday afternoon and evening (August 21).

Conditions are favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms that may be capable of producing strong wind gusts up to 90 km/h and large hail.

The thunderstorms are expected to develop Friday afternoon over the area and persist into the evening.

Large hail can damage property and cause injury. Strong wind gusts can toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles.

Remember, severe thunderstorms can produce tornadoes. Lightning kills and injures Canadians every year. Remember, when thunder roars, go indoors!

The Dragon Flies Breast Cancer Survivor Group in Lindsay has donated $10,000 to the Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Better known as The Dragon Flies, the registered charity was formed in 2002 and uses the sport of dragon boating as their major activity to encourage and maintain a healthy lifestyle during and following the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

Since 2004, The Dragon Flies has raised a total of $390,328.72 for the Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation.

“The Dragon Flies’ commitment to advancing local patients’ diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer has helped the Ross Memorial Hospital to acquire the best diagnostic technology, giving local patients their best chance to beat breast cancer,” says foundation CEO Erin Coons.

“Thanks to their efforts, Ross Memorial is an accredited breast assessment centre with a high risk breast screening program affiliated with Cancer Care Ontario.”

Funds raised over the years by The Dragon Flies have helped the hospital acquire diagnostic technology including digital mammography, a sentinel node machine, a mammoviewer, breast imaging software and a biopsy console for the MRI, and an ultrasound machine.

Thanks to donor support, the Lindsay hospital’s breast health services now include tomosynthesis — 3D imaging that helps to pinpoint the exact size and location of breast lesions — and stereotactic biopsies.

Ross Memorial Hospital is also the first in Ontario to use the SmartCurve Breast Stabilization System, which features curved paddles and processing algorithms to ensure a more comfortable experience for patients.

For more information about The Dragon Flies, and to make a donation, visit www.thedragonflies.org.

People who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to receive assistance, as the federal government revealed on Thursday (August 20) that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) will be extended for another month, before being transitioned into the employment insurance (EI) program.

Federal employment minister Carla Qualtrough and new finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland announced the details of the plan at a media conference on Parliament Hill on Thursday afternoon.

“There’s no denying that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit has helped millions of Canadians,” Qualtrough said. “Canadians have confidence in this program. It’s been a lifeline for many people and has been monumental in our country’s efforts to slow the spread of the virus, keeping Canadians safe and supporting our economy.”

Qualtrough announced that the $2,000-per-month CERB benefit, which is in its final month for those who have applied consecutively for the past five months, will be extended for another four weeks for a total of 28 weeks. Qualtrough said the extension will provide “certainty and continuity”.

Qualtrough said it’s important to continue the financial support as different regions of the country are reopening at different rates, and to accommodate the possibility of future lockdowns, as well as recognizing the uncertainty of parents that they will be available for work as schools and day cares reopen.

In addition to the CERB extension, Qualtrough announced details of the transition from CERB to EI, which will come into effect on September 27th.

A new EI benefit, called the Canada Recovery Benefit, will be made available for those previously receiving CERB who would not normally qualify for EI, including those who are self-employed or gig workers.

The benefit will pay $400 per week ($1,600 per month), which is $400 a month less than CERB. Consistent with EI, workers receiving the new benefit can continue to earn money, but will be required to repay 50 cents of every dollar earned above $38,000.

Qualtrough also announced the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit, which will provide $500 per week for eligible Canadians who are unable to work because they need to provide care or support for a child, family member, or dependent, and the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, which will provide $500 per week for workers who are unable to work because they are sick or have to self-isolate for reasons related to COVID-19.

The Canada Recovery Benefit and Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit will be available for up to 26 weeks over a one-year period. The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit will be available for two one-week periods within a single year.

Qualtrough said the federal government will table legislation to create these benefits during the first week when the House of Commons resumes sitting on September 23rd.

“For the millions of Canadian workers who will have access to EI because of these changes, we want to ensure you that there will be equity between the EI program and the recovery benefits,” Qualtrough said. “We’ll be establishing a minimum EI benefit amount of $400 per week to ensure that no-one on EI is receiving less than someone on the recovery benefit.”

Along with the new recovery benefits and minimum EI benefit, the government also announced reforms to EI, including eligibility. Canadians will now need only 120 hours of eligible employment to qualify. The same criteria applies to maternity, parental, sickness, and compassionate care of family caregiver benefits.

“By supporting Canadians who are out of work because of the pandemic, we are making it possible for our country to practice social distancing and to do the right thing in the fight against the coronavirus,” finance minister Chrystia Freeland said. “As we shift towards living with COVID-19, our approach also needs to evolve.”

Freeland said the EI reforms recognize that workers affected by the pandemic may no longer qualify for EI under the old eligibility rules, because of greatly reduced hours.

Freeland also announced that EI premium payments that both workers and employers are required to pay will be frozen at 2020 levels for two years, amounting to an estimated $2 billion over two years.

“This will make it easier for Canadian businesses and Canadian workers to get back to work in this difficult time,” Freeland said. “We want to encourage Canadian businesses to hire back their workers, rather than to spend their money paying higher EI premiums.”

Qualtrough said the total cost of the announced changes is estimated at $37 billion over one year, with the extension of CERB for another month costed at $8 billion, the three new EI recovery benefits at $22 billion, and the additional EI reforms at $7 billion.

Freeland added that, taking into account the loss of $2 billion in revenue through the freezing of the EI premiums, the total economic impact of the changes is $39 billion over two years.

Assuming parliament approves the legislation to create the new recovery benefits, Canadians can begin applying for them in October, with payments made in three to five days.

In response to a reporter’s question about whether these changes will be permanent, Qualtrough said “it’s too early to tell”.

Ganarascals at 53 Walton Street in Port Hope is permanently closed.

The restaurant made the announcement on its Facebook page on Monday (August 17).

“We are very sorry to announce that Ganarascals will not be reopening,” reads the Facebook post.

“The dream was for an all day, all season, dine-in family friendly restaurant and community space. That dream has been on hold during the pandemic and it looks like it will have to be on hold for longer than is sustainable.”

Chef Mathew Thompson and Caitlin O’Sullivan opened the restaurant in June 2018.

Thompson, who studied at Humber College, worked in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal before moving to Port Hope. Before opening Ganarascals with O’Sullivan, Thompson worked as executive chef at Trattoria Gusto in Port Hope.

Before the pandemic, Ganarascals also regularly hosted live music events.

Ganarascals is among the first restaurants to close in the greater Kawarthas region due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Toronto, at least 65 restaurants and bars have closed since the pandemic began.

The Ontario government is making almost $1 million available to agricultural societies in the province to help offset financial losses due to the cancellation of fall fairs, exhibitions, and activities during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Agriculture, food and rural affairs minister Ernie Hardeman made the announcement on Thursday (August 20) at the Lindsay fairgrounds, along with infrastructure minister and Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott.

The Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies, which represents more than 200 agricultural societies across the province, has reported that over 175 fall fairs and events — including the Lindsay Exhibition — have been cancelled this year due to the pandemic.

“Our agricultural and horticultural organizations are part of the backbone of rural Ontario,” Hardeman said. “We know that the decision to cancel their fairs and events was a difficult but important one in order to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19. We are providing this funding to help continue operations and relieve some of the burden they are experiencing during this difficult time.”

For this year only, nearly $1 million will be made available to all qualifying agricultural and horticultural societies to help ensure operations. In previous years, organizations could only qualify for provincial funding if they operated fall fairs.

The province provides some funding to individual agricultural societies through grant payments enabled through the Agricultural and Horticultural Organizations Act. Under the Act, Regulation 16 sets out that in the year an agricultural society is paid a grant they must hold an agricultural exhibition, such as a fall fair.

The COVID-19 restrictions have prevented the events that would help agricultural societies to meet this criteria in 2020, with some societies at risk of closing their organizations without government funding support.

“Our horticultural and agricultural societies have educated and entertained us on the importance of agriculture for more than a century,” said Scott said. “This funding will help support this important sector of Ontario’s economy as the province recovers from the impacts of COVID-19.”