On July 29, the province announced that both Toronto and Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon) will move into Stage 3 on Friday, July 31 at 12:01 a.m.
The Ontario government says the decision, made in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and local medical officers of health, is based on lower transmission of COVID-19, ongoing hospital capacity, public health capacity to conduct rapid case and contact management, and a significant increase in testing.
Other parts of the province entered the third stage of the province’s reopening plan on July 17 and 24, 2020.
“This announcement is a result of the progress our community has made over the last month and demonstrates the ongoing hard work and dedication of our residents, businesses, frontline employees and healthcare professionals in keeping each other safe,” said Mayor Patrick Brown.
“As we move into Stage 3 of the provincial reopening this Friday, I remind everyone that we must keep up our efforts to help stop the spread of COVID-19. We must remain committed to following Peel Public Health’s safety guidelines so that we can continue to move forward in our reopening and recovery together.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Stage 3 in Brampton.
All City playgrounds, play structures and outdoor fitness equipment will reopen on Friday, July 31. Signage will be posted in parks to advise residents to practise proper health and safety measures.
Outdoor sports fields are now open to leagues for gameplay, in accordance with the Province’s Return to Play guidelines.
Beginning on August 10, canoe and kayak rentals will be available at Professor’s Lake.
Beginning the week of August 10, Brampton will reintroduce an extended offering of Fitness in the Park, a free outdoor fitness program that will be offered on a drop-in basis.
This program encourages residents to engage in safe, open-air fitness activities during the warmer months and in areas where physical distancing is possible for large groups.
Days, locations, and timeslots have been expanded for increased capacity. Program offerings will include Boot Camp, Meditation, and Zumba(tm). A full schedule will be available here.
After Labour Day, indoor pools, fitness amenities, and limited drop-in programs (by reservation only) will reopen for public use.
Public swims, lane swims, aquafit, and aqua therapy will be available at select indoor swimming pools by reservation only.
Drop-in programs will include Arts, Sports, Dance (Recital & Non Recital), STEM, and Skating. Fitness amenities will reopen for drop-in cardio and weight room use. More information on all programs and services beginning after Labour Day, including how to register, will be made available here.
All recreation centres remain closed to the public for walk-in use at this time.
All City festivals, events, performances and community event permits for events at City facilities and performing arts centres, including The Rose, will remain cancelled until Labour Day on September 7, 2020, inclusive.
New holds may now be placed for curbside pickup at select library branches with a valid library card.
Residents are invited to reserve materials online and select from a list of five library branches that are active in delivering this service.
Strict physical distancing measures will be in place at Brampton parks and indoor facilities as they reopen.
A distance of 2.0 metres must be maintained at all times from anyone a resident does not live with.
As part of Stage 3 of the province’s reopening plan, indoor gatherings of up to 50 people and outdoor gatherings of up to 100 people are now permitted with physical distancing.
Those not adhering to physical distancing regulation can be fined a minimum of $500 and a maximum of up to $100,000 for each offence. Residents can still call 311 to report non-compliance.
Effective July 10, 2020, non-medical masks or face coverings are required in all indoor public spaces in Brampton.
Brampton City Council passed the Brampton COVID-19 Mandatory Face Coverings By-law following the advice of Peel Public Health, which will remain in effect until October 1, 2020.
From May 5 to June 14, 2020, the City conducted a survey for residents asking how they would like to access services and programming.
A total of 4,500 responses were received.
Key highlights indicate that 87% of respondents preferred an approach to reopening of City facilities that prioritized public safety, even if that meant delays.
Additionally, it indicated that 88% of respondents agreed that the City should work to make as many services as possible available online and 82% of respondents preferred accessing City services online or by phone.
The City of Brampton is working closely with its partners at Peel Public Health and the Brampton Emergency Management Office to continue to monitor risks.
Click here for regular updates and call 311 to reach the City of Brampton and the Region of Peel at any time.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
