This is a time when Canada must harness its community-driven resilience. We’re asking you to share examples of how Canadian communities are responding to the crisis with creativity and imagination. Collective problem-solving and collaboration will be instrumental in how Canada mitigates the local impacts of COVID-19 and creates on-the-ground solutions.

Highlighted Initiatives

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Initiatives

Brampton launching citywide gardening program in response to pandemic

Food | Parks and public space | Policy leadership

The initiative supports residents growing their own vegetables in their garden, which could help prevent person-to-person contact by allowing residents to make fewer trips to the store, as well as help social programs that are in need of donations, such as local food banks.To get started, residents can request free supplies—such as soil and seeds—by email, and those looking for tips on growing their own produce can view some tutorial videos on the City’s website.

Investir Ottawa a développé une page pour doter les entreprises et la collectivité d’informations, d’outils et de soutien clés.

Employment | General: Online communities and networks | General: Sector resources | Local businesses
Comprend le soutien aux entreprises, les ressources en santé et les connaissances exploitables

Invest Ottawa has developed a page to equip companies and community with key information, tools and support.

Employment | General: Online communities and networks | General: Sector resources | Local businesses

L’Université de Toronto a établi deux fonds en réponse à la pandémie COVID-19 : le Fonds d’action COVID-19 de Toronto et le Fonds de bourses d’études d’urgence COVID-19.

Children | Fundraising and volunteering | Learning and education

Le Fonds d’action COVID-19 de Toronto appuie des projets à l’UofT et à ses partenaires hospitaliers du Toronto Academic Health Science Network, qui pourrait obtenir des résultats rapides et des répercussions directes sur la santé des personnes, des collectivités et des soins de première ligne. Le Fonds de bourses d’études d’urgence COVID-19 aide à fournir des bourses d’urgence aux étudiants des cycles supérieurs et de premier cycle ayant des besoins urgents, en appuyant les besoins en matière de nourriture, d’abri, de voyages d’urgence et d’accès à Internet pour terminer leur travail de cours.

University of Toronto establishes two funds: the Toronto COVID-19 Action Fund and the COVID-19 Emergency Student Bursary Fund

Children | Fundraising and volunteering | Learning and education

The Toronto COVID-19 Action Fund supports projects at UofT and its hospital partners across the Toronto Academic Health Science Network, with the potential for rapid results and direct impact on the health of individuals, communities, and on the front lines of care. The COVID-19 Emergency Student Bursary Fund helps to provide emergency bursaries for graduate and undergraduate students with urgent needs, supporting requirements for food, shelter, emergency travel, and internet access to complete their course work.

Ottawa closes stretches of Bank Street, Rideau Canal driveway to vehicles

Mobility and transportation | Policy leadership

After weeks of lobbying, and examples set in Montreal and other cities, officials are moving to “pedestrianize” some of Ottawa’s streets for people out on essential trips. That should include bikes and all sorts of active transportation.

Médecins sans frontières/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aide à ouvrir un site de récupération COVID-19 de 400 lits pour les sans-abri de Toronto.

Housing and homelessness | Public health

Le site devrait être lancé dans un proche avenir et offrira un soutien social et médical aux patients sans-abri coVID-19, en veillant à ce que les résidents soient complètement rétablis avant de retourner au système d’hébergement de Toronto. MSF fournira des “conseils consultatifs et de soutien”. Le site de rétablissement financé par la province marque la toute première opération de MSF au Canada, étant donné que l’organisation ne se concentre généralement pas sur les pays qui ont des systèmes de soins de santé qui fonctionnent bien.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) helping to open a 400 bed COVID-19 Recovery Site for Toronto’s homeless 

Housing and homelessness | Public health

The site is slated to launch in the near future and will offer social and medical supports for homeless COVID-19 patients, ensuring that residents are fully recovered before returning to Toronto’s shelter system. MSF will provide “consultative and supportive advice”. The provincially-funded Recovery Site marks MSF’s first-ever operation in Canada, given the organization does not typically focus on countries with well-functioning healthcare systems.

City of Toronto launches DonateTO, making it easy for businesses and residents to make direct donations of products, services, and funds

Fundraising and volunteering | General: Online communities and networks | Policy leadership | Public health

Residents and businesses can help by contributing donations of personal protective equipment, non-perishable food, other goods and services, and financial gifts. Residents can also use the DonateTO portal to find out about volunteer opportunities in their community.

Aider à soutenir les entreprises de Calgary : Utiliser #SupportLocalYYC

La Ville de Calgary, en collaboration avec des partenaires locaux, a créé une campagne « acheter des produits locaux » pour soutenir les entreprises locales. #SupportLocalYYC, crée des liens, partage des ressources et des outils, et met en évidence des histoires positives pour inspirer la communauté et susciter d’autres innovations qui peuvent profiter à ceux qui en ont besoin.

Help support Calgary businesses: Use #SupportLocalYYC

Local businesses | Policy leadership | Shop Local

The City of Calgary, together with local partners, has created a “buy local” campaign to support local business. #SupportLocalYYC, is creating connections, sharing resources and tools, and highlighting positive stories to inspire the community and spark further innovations that can benefit those in need.

Porta-potties publiques installées dans le cadre de la réponse COVID-19 de New Westminster

La ville de New Westminster a installé des porta-potties dans les quartiers du centre-ville et du centre-ville, certains qui sont accessibles en fauteuil roulant. Il s’agit d’assurer l’accès aux salles de bains pour les populations vulnérables, qui autrement ne les ont pas, étant donné que toutes les entreprises sont fermées et autrement.

Public porta-potties installed as part of New Westminster’s COVID-19 response

Policy leadership

The City of New Westminster has installed porta-potties in the downtown and uptown neighbourhoods, some which are wheelchair accessible. This is to ensure access to bathrooms for vulnerable populations, who may otherwise not have them, given all of the businesses being shuttered and otherwise.

Farmers’ Markets Are Safe, Support Local Food – that’s the message from the BC government as some vendors also move online

Food | Policy leadership | Public health

The BC Centre for Disease Control currently considers farmers’ markets low risk for COVID-19 transmission because they are usually held outdoors and can limit the number of people in assigned areas. Additionally, a new public health order bans all non-food and merchandise vendors at the markets.

New Westminster drivers still have to pay for parking

Mobility and transportation | Policy leadership

All curbside regulations in New Westminster remain status quo, including paying for parking, permit parking and time regulated parking

Some New Westminster roads being reallocated to provide social distancing for pedestrians

Mobility and transportation | Policy leadership

Studying pinch points, the City is studying the situation and acting to “ensure people have safe spaces to walk and cycle – away from motor vehicles while also allowing social distancing to occur,”

Connect with Local Businesses: What’s open during the COVID-19 crisis in Calgary

Food | General: Online communities and networks | Local businesses | Shop Local

The Calgary Herald is compiling a local directory of businesses in Calgary and area that are continuing to serve their communities organized by sector: Food & Beverage; Health & Wellness; Business and Professional Services; Transportation; Home and Garden; Misc. The document also provides businesses an opportunity to be added to the directory

List of farmers and local food vendors delivering to Toronto

Food | General: Crowdsourced tools and resources | Local businesses

Two versions of this resources exist — a google map https://bit.ly/2RG9thL and a google doc https://bit.ly/2RTM6l1

La housingjobmatch.ca de la Colombie-Britannique relie les demandeurs d’emploi aux fournisseurs de logements sans but lucratif

Employment | Housing and homelessness

Le site Web du Housing Job Match mettra en contact les Britanno-Colombiens à la recherche d’un emploi avec des organismes de logement et d’hébergement sans but lucratif qui ont besoin d’aide.

BC’s housingjobmatch.ca connects job seekers with non-profit housing providers

Employment | Housing and homelessness

The Housing Job Match website will connect British Columbians looking for work with non-profit housing and shelter organizations that need help.

Local Small Business Relief Grants — model

Fundraising and volunteering | General: Sector resources | Local businesses

A Phoenix-based organization is offering grants up to $10,000 to local small businesses experiencing economic distress and sudden loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Relief grants are intended to help for-profit small businesses keep employees on payroll and meet other necessary operating costs. Preference is given to small businesses owned by veterans and underrepresented groups located in economically distressed areas of Phoenix.

Sounds from the global Covid-19 lockdown

Arts and Culture | General: Online communities and networks

Online platform inviting people around the world to send a sound recording about how things are in that location.  Visitors to the site can listen to sounds and read the stories collected on a clickable map

Second Harvest’s FoodRescue.ca providing more than $4.5 million of new funding to community groups

Food | General: Online communities and networks

The new grants empowers local community organizations across Canada to ensure food makes its way to Canadians who need it most. The donation platform connects businesses with food surpluses to charities and non-profits in their own communities.

Halifax mainstreet BIA crée une plate-forme en ligne pour les magasins et les services

General: Online communities and networks | Local businesses

La Quinpool Road Mainstreet District Association a lancé une version en ligne des magasins et services de la rue à l’adresse www.quinpool.shop. Le site comprend des liens vers de nombreux magasins Quinpool, services et restaurants qui ont fait la transition de leurs entreprises dans les ventes en ligne, les livraisons et le ramassage organisé.

Halifax mainstreet BIA creates online platform for shops and services

General: Online communities and networks | Local businesses

The Quinpool Road Mainstreet District Association launched an online version of the street’s shops and services at www.quinpool.shop. The site includes links to many Quinpool shops, services and restaurants that have transitioned their businesses into online sales, deliveries and arranged pickup.

Big brands asked to donate social feeds to small businesses

General: Online communities and networks | Local businesses

A new initiative has been created to help larger brands use their influence and social followings to lend support to small businesses. Small businesses impacted by the crisis are being asked to add the hashtag “#LikeALocal” to an Instagram post to signal that they are willing to participate. Big brands search the hashtag on Instagram or by using one of their social listening tools to find a local business they’d like to support, reposting their post and explaining why. From there, the brands are encouraged to get in touch with the small business directly to find out if there are other forms of media they might be able to donate.

La Ville de Mississauga offre des webinaires en ligne en avril et mai pour soutenir les propriétaires et les entrepreneurs des petites entreprises

General: Sector resources | Local businesses | Policy leadership

Écoutez l’information et les idées d’experts des entreprises et de l’industrie sur une variété de sujets, y compris la cybersécurité, le marketing numérique, les médias sociaux, le commerce électronique, la fidélisation de la clientèle et la refonte de la croissance en temps de crise. Les webinaires sont hébergés par le Mississauga Business Enterprise Centre (MBEC) et comprennent des séances de marketing numérique qui sont une extension du programme digital Main Street de la Ville de Mississauga.

City of Mississauga offering online webinars in April and May to support small business owners and entrepreneurs

General: Sector resources | Local businesses | Policy leadership

Hear information and insights from business and industry experts on a variety of topics, including cyber-security, digital marketing, social media, e commerce, customer loyalty, and rethinking growth during a time of crisis. The webinars are hosted by the Mississauga Business Enterprise Centre (MBEC) and include digital marketing sessions that are an extension of the City of Mississauga’s Digital Main Street program.

Plateforme du centre-ville de North Bay pour soutenir les entreprises locales

General: Online communities and networks | Local businesses

Plateforme pour soutenir les entreprises locales en achetant des cartes-cadeaux pour aider à « aplatir la courbe ». Les certificats-cadeaux fournissent des flux de trésorerie rapides aux propriétaires d’entreprise et peuvent aider à payer les employés qui travaillent encore pour eux.

Downtown North Bay platform for supporting local business

General: Online communities and networks | Local businesses | Shop Local

Platform for supporting local businesses by purchasing gift cards to help “flatten the curve”. Gift certificates provide fast cash flow for business owners, and can help pay employees who are still working for them.

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