Ontario Business Regulations

Message from Ontario Ministry of Economic Development.

Please allow me to share the attached information for your awareness, reference, and dissemination to businesses.

Reducing regulatory burden on Ontario businesses is a priority.  This is why Ontario’s regulatory ministries are considering ways to better integrate their work and share information with businesses.  A longer-term goal is for compliant businesses to be visited by fewer regulators over a set timeframe, and regulators can more efficiently target non-compliant businesses engaging in high-risk behaviour.

It can be confusing, and time consuming, for businesses to understand their requirements and handle multiple inspections from many ministries over the same period and we are providing integrated information about their regulatory requirements across government to increase awareness and compliance.  Businesses will be able to more effectively use Ontario resources and make it easier for businesses to comply with requirements while improving protections for the people of Ontario.

Kind regards,
Michael

Michael Buranyi
Senior Business Advisor (A)  |  Business Advisory Services Branch
Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade  |  Ontario Public Service519-630-3879  |  Michael.Buranyi@ontario.ca

Regulatory Requirements

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BIA Holds Annual General Meeting

The 2024 Wingham BIA Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held Thursday, Feb. 15 at the Knights Lounge of the Complex. There was a light turnout, due to weather, but there was quorum to pass motions.

BIA Chair, Dave Tiffin, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The minutes of the 2023 AGM were viewed and passed as written. The achievements of 2023 were read, with the following being noted:

  1. The Curb Appeal subcommittee under the direction of Doug Kuyvenhoven performed the usual maintenance along Josephine St of clearing weeds on a regular basis.
    • A Waste Free Wednesday was also done across town.
    • They looked after ordering and installing the flower baskets at businesses along Josephine St.
    • Doug also organized “The Green Team” that sanded and repainted the fencing at the Wingham Cemetery. More on this later.
  2. The Wingham Community Cash was rebranded as BIA Bucks. Working with Libro Credit Union the BIA did a Christmas discount of 5%. The BIA Bucks program keeps shopping local to Wingham businesses. The BIA Bucks program has been very successful over the years and we’ve had requests for information on how it’s set up from multiple communities, even as far away as B.C.
  3. The BIA ontinues to see ongoing demand for postings on the LED sign by Tim Hortons.  Have also had requests from other centres as to how this project was planned and completed.
  4. Participated in the Huron County mural project that’s now installed outside by the Complex doors.
  5. The BIA was disappointed to hear the museum wouldn’t be moving to the train station, but started an initiative with the library to create a permanent Alice Munro display at the local branch in her honour. Work is ongoing, with financial support from the BIA, in conjunction with the local library and the Huron County Museum.
  6. The new benches for Josephine St were ordered in 2023, but didn’t arrive until the fall.  They have recently been installed and the old benches will be refurbished for the trail.
  7. Proposed to Council that the section of the park between Patrick and John St by the splashpad be renamed Vance Park in honour of Leland and Thora Vance for their generous, ongoing donation to the town. This is work in progress.
  8. Continued to support the Lions Club Santa Claus parade by paying the insurance costs and bringing in the Seaforth marching band. 
  9. Although not BIA initiatives per se we’re very happy to see many successful shows at the Town Hall Theatre which bring people into town.  And the new sidewalk and crossings at the south end of town are a great addition for the businesses in that area.

     In summary of the initiatives, Chair Tiffin noted that he’d like to thank the Board for their work throughout the year.  Wingham BIA Board is totally volunteer with no paid staff.  We are in the approximate 10% of Ontario BIAs that are all volunteer.

The financial statements for 2023 were presented by Treasurer, Doug Kuyvenhoven. He detailed the expenditures of 2023 for those in attendance and the report was passed as presented.

Next, the proposed budget for 2024 was presented. There being no questions from those in attendance a motion was put forward and passed to accept the proposed budget.

The goals for 2024 were next presented by Chair Tiffin. These include:

  • The new benches being installed along Josephine St.  Existing benches will be refurbished and placed at locations along the walking trail.
  • BIA is assuming oversite of the Town Hall Theatre.  A subcommittee has been set up to keep the bar high.  Township will do the bookings at least for the time being. Denise Lockie of the Township noted that several bookings are already in place for 2024.
  • The BIA will look into Christmas decorations north of the train tracks.  Businesses in that area feel left out, understandably so.  The street lights in that area don’t have hydro.
  • Projects planned for 2024 include: Security cameras along Josephine St., Josephine St wifi with easy access for visitors and working with the Alice Munro Library on the permanent display in Munro’s honour.
  • F.E. Madill is hosting a job/career fair on March 27. The BIA and Township will be assisting with promotion. There will be an afternoon and evening session.
  • The Chair will continue to attend the scheduled roundtable calls with other Huron County BIAs and HC Ec Dev for information sharing.  Also try to attend OBIAA zoom calls on Tuesdays when possible. OBIAA calls have been good source of information, sharing ideas with other BIAs across Ontario.
    • The BIA will continue to provide notices of programs and training available to businesses through the BIA FB page.
  • Curb appeal projects will be ongoing under direction of Doug Kuyvenhoven. Will work with Homecoming to have Josephine St looking great.
  • Retailers are starting to meet monthly to discuss promotion options.
  • The BIA is working with Marks Bros Auto for the refurbishment of the Welcome to Wingham signs at each end of town. Hopefully this will be completed in time for Homecoming.
  • We are planning to bring back a form of General meetings.  These were stopped due to Covid and have never returned. Although Board meetings are open and people have an opportunity to speak on an agenda point, it is felt there should be a more general session where any topic can be approached. We propose to start General meeting at 6:30 the night of a Board meeting.  There will not be an agenda, but guests can bring up items for discussion.  Once these are dealt with, the general meeting will be adjourned and we’ll move directly into the Board meeting.

Next on the agenda was the annual awards. The Civic Improvement went to Arnold Morrison for the work done at Annette’s Treasures & Jewlz Designs and to Murray Simpson for work done on the former medical office building.
New businesses in 2023 were Harmony Hearing, Syd’s Barkin’ Beauties, Mane Inspiration, Soul Journey, Kneaded Relief and Wholesome Raw Pet Food.
Volunteer of the year went to “The Green Team”. This was a group of people who came together to paint the fencing at the Wingham Cemetery. Team members were: Paul and Gail Heffer, Tharon Riley, Jeanette King, Penny Mulvey, Gary and Maureen Lisle. On most days, there were at least 5 working and usually went from about 8:30 until noon. There are 159 sections of fence with an average of 23 bars per section for a total of 3657 bars and they were all sanded first, front and back and then painted, some twice. We figured we spent around 325-man hours on the job and had lots of laughs and fun doing it. I believe we were there about 5 weeks.

The final award was for Lifetime Achievement and was presented to Bruce Stainton. Chair Tiffin said the following about Bruce prior to presenting him with a certificate: “Bruce retired from the family business in 2023.  He took over the business of Stainton Home Hardware from his father, Murray and ran it for several years.  Bruce was a mainstay on Josephine St and very involved in business and community events.  Bruce led the Dig Our Downtown retail event when Josephine St was reconstructed several years ago. That led to regular business meetings and the eventual development of the Wingham BIA. Bruce was Chair of the Wingham BIA for several years after its establishment. We wish him well in his retirement

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:50 p.m.

BIA Chair Dave Tiffin congratulates Doug Kuyvenhoven and members of “The Green Team” that painted the fencing at the Wingham Cemetery. L-R are Tiffin, Kuyvenhoven, Gary Lisle, Tharon Riley, Penny Mulvey, Paul Heffer. Absent are Gail Heffer and Jeannette King.

BIA Chair Dave Tiffin presents Bruce Stainton with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Christmas Time in Wingham

Christmas season is officially on in Wingham with the annual Lighting of the Lights at Cruickshank Park on Nov. 17.

Several people were on hand for the 6:30 lighting sponsored by the Wingham BIA. The BIA would like to thank North Huron Public Works, the Wingham Firefighters and the United Church choir for their assistance and participation. The choir leads the gathering in singing Christmas carols. Also a thank you to Dave Wallace for the sound system and special thanks to Tharon Riley as the lead on this event for several years now, along with some volunteer assistance. After a welcome from the BIA chairperson, Wilma Hiemstra said a few words about the reason for the season before the carolling began.

Remax Realty was onhand serving hot chocolate and cookies to the crowd. Someone referred to the event as a “Hallmark moment”.

Merry Christmas everyone. And don’t forget to shop Wingham!!

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Community Cash (BIA Bucks) on Sale

The Wingham BIA Board has approved a sale on Wingham BIA Community Cash, commonly referred to as BIA Bucks.  There is a 5% discount on the purchase of BIA Bucks through November to December 24..

Great for Christmas bonuses to employees. Great for stocking stuffers.
The benefit to the community in that the BIA Cash gets spent in Wingham.
Purchase BIA Bucks at Libro Credit Union in Wingham. Sales is on now.

The following conditions apply to this sale:

  1. The sale only applies to purchases of full booklets.
  2. A booklet valued at $200 can be purchased for $190.
  3. Coupons are in a mix of $10 and $20 denominations.
  4. The purchase must be made between Nov 1st to Dec 24th, 2023.
  5. The maximum amount that can be purchased under the sale is:
    1. $4000 per business
    2. $600 per individual
  6. There is a limit on the amount being sold and when that limit is reached, the sale ends.

BIA Bucks should be redeemable at all Wingham businesses except for chains like McDonalds, Tims, Pioneer etc. Business owner takes coupons to Libro for full reimbursement.

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New Benches Have Arrived

The purchase of new benches for Josephine Street was approved at the BIA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in March with $30,000 being allocated for the benches in the 2023 budget. These benches will be placed where the existing benches are located.

A subcommittee researched and put out RFQ’s (request for quotes) to various Canadian suppliers. Classic Displays in Mississauga was selected by the Wingham BIA board to supply the new benches. The actual cost for the benches came in at $20,000 + HST.

The new benches have a slightly higher seat height and an extra arm at the 1/3 – 2/3 split to make it easier for anyone to sit down and get up from the benches.

The North Huron Works Dept will be installing the new benches in the spring of 2024. We look forward to these beautiful new maintenance free benches replacing the old ones!

The old benches will be refurbished and then installed along the Wingham Community Trail, replacing benches that are deteriorated, and/or providing additional benches along the trail. The $30,000 that was budgeted for the new benches included an allocation of $5,000 for refurbishing the old benches.

The BIA Board

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2023 Libro Grant Applications About to Open

  • Through our Annual Grants program, Libro funds initiatives helping address local priorities aligned with our pillars of financial resilience, employment, local food accessibility and housing across southwestern Ontario
  • This year we will invest $310,000 in our local communities through this program
  • Applications are open from April 17 to May 26 
  • Applications will be reviewed and selected by locally elected Owner Representatives (Grant Champions) 
  • Amount per grant:  $5,000 to $ 20,000 

Please pass along to the community groups you are involved in that might fit within one of the pillars.

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Wingham BIA Holds 2023 AGM

The Wingham BIA held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, Feb. 16 in the lounge of the Knights of Columbus Hall.

Called to order at 6:30 p.m. Chair, Dave Tiffin read the minutes of the 2022 AGM, which had been held virtually due to Covid in February 2022. The minutes were passed unanimously. Economic Development Officer Demetri Makrakos then presented proposed changes to the Wingham BIA constitution. This dealt with removing the industrial park businesses from the levy which reduces the annual levy by approximately $2,500. The changes were passed unanimously.

Chair Tiffin then gave a report on 2022 activities which included:

  • 2022 saw the reopening after Covid.  The online shopping trend will remain a concern for brick and mortar businesses.
  • However, we did see new businesses open their doors in Wingham– Riverview Local Eatery, Cornerstone Pizza, Pet Valu, Duck Duck Juice, Noah’s Pizza
    • We did, unfortunately, lose a few businesses well.  Some for personal reasons.
    • The LED sign project was completed in March.  We have received many positive comments from both residents and other towns.
      • We’ve been asked about putting paid advertising on it, but as a volunteer board we do not have the resources to manage that at this time.
      • 2 BIA member businesses are featured weekly
  • The July 1 fireworks returned and the Santa Claus parade was held again, as in 2021.  The BIA covers the extra insurance cost for these events.
    • BIA brought in and paid for Seaforth Marching Band.
  • The lighting of the Christmas lights in Cruikshank returned as an in person event.
    • Unfortunately vandalism is a problem at the park with items being broken or stolen.
  • Curb appeal continues with the addition of 2 Waste Free Wednesdays.  These were initiated by a Wingham citizen, but the BIA buys the gloves and garbage bags. 
    • Curb appeal also coordinates the summer flower baskets and Christmas gnomes, with help from volunteers.
    • BIA volunteers continue to assist with Josephine St appearance.
  • 2 successful retail promotions were held with the summer sidewalk sales moving to August from July.  Thank you to Ashley Vander Velden for all the work she did on these and initiating some new ideas.
  • As Chair, I spoke to NH Council to promote the Museum project.  This has unfortunately been discontinued due to budget restraints.  This is a loss to the business community from a tourism aspect.
    • There is however an initiative in the works to have an Alice Munro display at the local library.
  • Worked with Mid West Communications on the Tourist Map of Wingham and North Huron area.  These are distributed throughout the area.  We have samples here for anyone who hasn’t seen one.  Please feel free to take a few or request some that could be picked at your place of business.

Treasurer Doug Kuyvenhoven presented the financials for 2022. There were no questions from the floor. Kuyvenhoven then presented the proposed budget for 2023 which was passed unanimously.

Council representative to the BIA, Mitch Wright, gave an update from Council. Wright gave a brief but very informational report on some current NH issues.

Chair Tiffin then returned to the podium to list the BIA goals for 2023. These include:

  • New benches along Josephine St. to replace the existing ones.  Existing benches will be refurbished and placed at locations along the walking trail.
  • Continue to promote the Town Hall Theatre shows which draw people to Wingham and the business community.
  • New flags and banners will be on streetlights. See the image below.
  • Looking for new Christmas theme.  Gnomes have had their run.
  • Considering some other projects, but nothing definite at this point:
    • Security cameras
    • Historical plaques
    • Josephine St wifi
    • Alice Munro display at library
  • Will continue to align with Wingham Community Connectors to promote events and positive aspects of Wingham
  • F.E. Madill planning to hold a career/job fair in March.  BIA is assisting with promotion
  • Continue the biweekly roundtable calls with other HC BIAs and HC Ec Dev for information sharing
    • Will keep notices of programs and training on the BIA FB page.
  • Curb appeal projects – Doug Kuyvenhoven
  • Expect to run retail promotions again, but will be looking for a Coordinator.

Makrakos then reviewed the nominees for the Wingham BIA Board for 2023. The BIA can have 4-8 members plus 1 Council representative. There were 5 returning Board members and 2 nominations. Returning members are Dave Tiffin, Doug Kuyvenhoven, Annette Monsma, Carolyn Young and Jim Snyder. The new nominees are Joey Havers and Ryan Fergusson. The members will need to be approved by North Huron Council, but no issues are anticipated. Ashley Vander Velden decided to not return to the Board due to work commitments.

The annual BIA awards were next on the agenda. The BIA has categories for new businesses in the year, civic improvement, lifetime achievement, and volunteer of the year. Not all awards are necessarily given each year. For 2022 the new businesses were Duck Duck Juice, Noah’s Pizza, Riverview Local Eatery, Cornerstone Pizza and Pet Valu. Civic improvement went to Fogal’s Independent and KYC for work done on their facades as well as Maitland Family Dental for their new accessible entry. Volunteer of the year was presented to Ashley Vander Velden for her work on the year’s retail promotions.

The meeting closed with a question and answer session but there were no questions from the floor. Monthly BIA Board meetings are the 3rd Thursday of each month with the exception of July. They start at 6:30 p.m. and are held in the Hot Stove Lounge of the NHWCC.

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Update from Economic Development Officer

Hello to all Wingham members,

At the September 19th council meeting, the proposed parking by-law was sent back to North Huron staff with direction to get feedback from local businesses. Staff has decided to take the opportunity to include with some parking questions, a more in-depth Downtown Business Survey. We are aware some of you filled out a similar survey last year for the Huron County Business Retention & Expansion report, however we believe the economic environment has changed enough to warrant recollecting, updating and adding some further questions. We have also included a one-page economic development update as well as a Jobs Posting Analysis:

  1. Downtown Business Survey à will take 20-30 minutes to complete. Digital survey link here (https://forms.northhuron.ca/Downtown-Retail-Survey-Oct-2022), paper copy available as well attached to this email, can be sent to dmakrakos@northhuron.ca.
  2. Economic Development Update à community profile, grant funding opportunities, upcoming webinars & training. See the link below. 
  3. Job Postings Analysis à this report was presented to council at the Oct 3rd meeting, looking at the number and types of occupations posted in North Huron since 2018. See the link below. Businesses having trouble hiring might find this useful. A regional analysis expanding on this report is currently underway.

Should you want to discuss Josephine and Queen Street parking in more detail, North Huron staff welcomes businesses to join us at the Wingham Town Hall theatre on Wednesday October 26th between 8am to 9am. We’d ask that you email dmakrakos@northhuron.ca if you plan to join us so we have an idea of numbers.

Thanks,
Demetri Makrakos

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Municipal All Candidates Meeting

The Huron County Chamber of Commerce is hosting an All Candidates meeting for non-acclaimed candidates in the North Huron municipality.  This is for candidates for Reeve and Council. It does not include School Board candidates. It will be held Thursday, Sept. 29 beginning at 7:00 in the Wingham Town Hall Theatre.  Voters can submit questions to candidates ahead of time to info@huronchamber.ca

The official list of candidates can be viewed and downloaded at https://www.northhuron.ca/en/municipal-government/elections.aspx#Official-List-of-Certified-Candidates-and-Acclamations-to-Office

Candidates have 2 minutes to present their platform. After a break they will respond to written questions. Questions can be emailed ahead of time to Huron County Chamber as noted above, or written during the break and submitted to the Moderator.

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Sidewalk Sales

The summer sidewalk sales weekend was changed from July, as in previous years, to the Aug 4-6 weekend. Feedback has been very positive on the change. This year, the event also included many more activities. The Alice Munro Library ran a Kidz Zone with face painting and arts and crafts. There was a fundraiser with proceeds going to the Wingham and District Hospital and buskers displaying their talents. Lady Glaze Donuts were in town for Friday and Saturday serving up their unique donuts, coffees and delicious shakes.

On Saturday, Castings Public House hosted a parking lot party with live music, a dunk tank and live entertainment. Mary Cook was the winner of the business gift cards, which was the prize of the hospital fundraiser.

It was great to see some new ideas this year, and hopefully we can continue to grow this event into something larger. If you have some ideas or would like to help out with future events we are always open to constructive input. You can reach us directly by email at chair@wingham.ca.

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