July 7, 2020

Your CFA Daily Update on COVID-19

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Ontario introduces legislation to extend emergency orders into 2021

Ontario introduced new legislation Tuesday to enable the extension of some pandemic emergency orders over the next year. The legislation, to be tabled Wednesday, would allow the government to extend or amend some emergency orders a month at a time, with the law expiring a year after it's passed. 

Under current legislation, the province can only issue emergency orders while the state of emergency is in place. Ontario's state of emergency is set to expire July 15, and the Premier's office said it would introduce a motion Wednesday to extend it until July 24 to ensure there is no gap between the provincial declaration and when the new bill takes effect.

If the bill passes, the government could move parts of the province back to earlier stages of the pandemic lockdown if required.

OECD Employment Outlook 2020 Released

According to the OECD, there is a real danger that the COVID-19 jobs crisis will increase poverty and widen inequalities, with the impact felt for years to come. Countries now need to do everything they can to stop this jobs crisis from turning into a social crisis. Reconstructing a better and more resilient labour market is an essential investment in the future and in future generations. 

Alberta providing free non-medical masks to Albertans at drive-thrus resumes Monday

A Alberta program giving non-medical masks to Albertans through drive-thrus is set to resume on July 13. In June, 20 million masks were distributed through restaurants, municipalities, and long-term care facilities as well as First Nations and Métis settlements, according to a Sunday morning news release from the province. The province said the second round will distribute another 20 million masks. 

About 600 A&W, McDonald's and Tim Hortons locations across Alberta took part in the program in June, giving away 14 million masks. The province announced it was pausing the program on June 22.

Sherrard Kuzz LLP Legal Support Program
To help navigate the recovery of COVID-19, CFA members have the opportunity to contact Sherrard Kuzz LLP for one free phone-consultation, once per calendar year, to a maximum of 15 minutes. A member may use their 15 minutes to seek information about any employment, labour or human resources issue related to the User (subject to Sherrard Kuzz LLP successfully completing a conflict check to ensure it may advise on the matter).

HOW TO ACCESS THESE SAVINGS:
To take advantage of this CFA member benefit, contact Michael Sherrard at msherrard@sherrardkuzz.com or 416-603-6240.

SaskPower taking revenue hit from COVID-19; too soon to rule out rate increases

SaskPower says it's taking a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, but it's too early to say what impact that will have on customer rates. The Crown utility says sales were down by 10 per cent from April to June, amounting to millions in lost revenue. It also reports that deferred bill payments totalled $47 million as of the end of last month.

Environment Minister Dustin Duncan is responsible for SaskPower and says it's too early to decide whether rates will have to increase to make up for the revenue shortfall this fiscal year.

SaskPower president Mike Marsh said some of the utility's expenses are falling and the $50-million drop in revenues doesn't necessarily mean a hit to net income, which is the main factor for rate increases. The utility has not raised rates for the last two years, Marsh noted, and any thought of doing so would have to balance the needs of the Crown with the financial impact on customers.

SaskPower's 2019-20 annual report shows the global health and economic crisis had little impact on last year's books. The Crown reported net income of $205 million. The utility also collected $83 million from customers who started paying the federal carbon tax in April 2019.

Facebook to Pay $9.5 Million Penalty to Competition Bureau for Misleading Privacy Claims

The Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”) recently concluded that Facebook Inc. made false or misleading claims to the public about the privacy of Canadians’ personal information on Facebook and Messenger. Facebook disagreed with the conclusion of the Bureau, but wished to resolve the matter by entering into a consent agreement and not contesting the conclusions for purposes of the agreement. As a result, Facebook is required to pay a $9 million penalty, plus an additional $500,000 for the costs of the Bureau’s investigation.

Canadian privacy regulators have not historically had significant tools to financially penalize companies for breaching the privacy rights of individuals. The Bureau is stepping into that gap, at least in part.

In light of this recent decision, organizations should take a good look at their privacy policies, statements and notices and consider whether any of the statements contained therein are or may be considered inaccurate or misleading.

MISSED TODAY'S WEBINAR?

Remaining Competitive in a Virtual World:
Why eCommerce matters and fraud protection even more so...
50 CFE PARTICIPATION CREDITS

Speaker: Marta Rzeszowska, Moneris

In this webinar, learn about a variety of digital tools that small businesses should consider to give consumers a safe, contactless payment experience that also protects your business from fraud.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

JULY 13, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

Business Resilience Planning: Preparing your business for long term success
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  

SPEAKER: Phil Racco, Senior Manager, Enterprise Risk Services, MNP LLP

COVID-19 caused a wave of disruption to business and life in Canada.In this interactive discussion, gain practical insights on how to prepare your business to respond to disruption now and in the future.

We encourage you to submit your questions ahead of time.

 JULY 22, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

Diversity and Inclusion in Franchising
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  

Members of the franchise community know that everything else aside, franchising is about people - and successful franchise owners are ones who take this to heart. Join this session to gain insight into diversity and inclusion practices that will foster growth and innovation in your workplace, giving your company an extra edge as you grow your business.

 JULY 28, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

Navigating the digital world and digitizing your business
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  

Join this panel discussion for an in-depth conversation about business in the digital world including: digital payments and cyber security, managing the customer experience in a digital world, choosing the right solution(s) for your business and where to find them, moving business processes online (e.g. accounting, payroll, etc.), and managing your data.

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Feedback from our Members

“I would like to take this moment to express how amazing the CFA webinar series has been for myself and my stores. I am regularly sharing the information and enjoy the daily "break" around lunch time, basically having a nearly daily lunch and learn.”

 - Suzanne Howie, Franchise Support, Print Three Franchising Corp.

COVID-19's impact on the world is creating waves across all sectors and industries.

Every member of the CFA community is dealing with an issue that is affecting the world, our industries, our communities, our businesses, and our people.

We would like to hear from you if you have any topics, issues or questions to navigate turbulent times in order to support you further: 

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