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
CBC documentaries & local films featuring Windsor’s independent producers, directors and student filmmakers
Links include:
Leslie McCurdy Story: On the Money
Award-winning actress and playwright Leslie McCurdy has dedicated her life to staging the stories of heroic Black women who stood up against racial injustice. For two decades, McCurdy has been bringing the stories of her heroines to life on stage. Like her, they inspire others to follow their dreams and to stand up for what they believe and not be treated as second class. They include Harriet Tubman and Viola Desmond, both known as firmly established heroines of civil rights in North America. McCurdy comes from seven generations of civil rights activists, the most recent being her father, the late Dr. Howard McCurdy, Jr.
You can watch it now on CBC Gem.
Graffiti: The art that changes a city
Watch as Windsor gets transformed by graffiti artists and discover how their art brings life back into the city’s neighbourhoods. This project is a collaboration with CBC Arts, CBC Windsor and local independent producer/director Sasha Jordan-Appler.
CBC ARTS | Meet Derkz, one of the artists behind the murals transforming Windsor neighbourhoods
Featured artists: Eugenio Mendoza (DREVMZ), Daniel Bombardier (Denial), David Derkatz (Derkz) and Briana Benore (Athena)
You can watch it now on CBC Gem.
A drama, documentary and musical all in one? Directors Trista Suke and Ellis Poleyko follow Trista’s experience struggling with alopecia, a hair loss condition. An eccentric memoir intertwined with interview segments of people living with the condition, Foxy shines a light on mental health and society’s unachievable beauty standards.
You can watch it now on CBC Gem.
Q&A | FOXY director Trista Suke on why alopecia doesn’t define her
A compilation of short, scripted films and documentaries from independent producers and student filmmakers from the University of Windsor and finalists from the Windsor Youth Short Film Showcase. This year’s compilation brings together stories about performance and the creative process, identity and learning to love who you are, plus some fun with time travel, dogs and fireworks. You’ll have to watch to find out more!
Short films include: Band Together, Starving Artist, Led By Her, Time Record, Season of Seven Loves, Love Me and Fire Work.
You can watch it now on CBC Gem.
Stories from the Land: Corn Soup and The Last Fishermen
Stories from the Land, a podcast dedicated to Indigenous storytelling, has been adapted into a documentary series by Wanderer Entertainment Inc. for CBC Short Docs. Watch a sneak peek of the series on Absolutely Canadian with this special Ontario broadcast featuring the short films Corn Soup, from Fort Erie, and The Last Fishermen, from Rainy Lake in Fort Frances.
You can watch it now on CBC Gem.
North Bay Farmers Market moves online
The idea to move online will reduce traffic at the market as buyers will only be able to pick up items they’ve already purchased.
The Help List curating the most relevant and meaningful resources for the Canadian tech sector during COVID19
The online platform helps connect Canadian tech job seeker with employers; provides industry resources to transition to tech/work from home, and serves as a place for industry supporters to share their services, sessions, resources, etc.
Ottawa ajuste les feux de circulation alors que le volume de trafic diminue de 50 pendant la pandémie de COVID-19
La Ville d’Ottawa indique à CTV News Ottawa que les feux de circulation, de piétons et de cyclistes ont été ajustés pour tenir compte de la diminution de la circulation automobile sur les routes.
Ottawa adjusts traffic signals as traffic volume drops by 50% during COVID-19 pandemic
The City of Ottawa tells CTV News Ottawa that traffic, pedestrian and cycling signals have been adjusted to reflect the decrease in vehicular traffic on the roads.
Edmonton making more room for pedestrians on two roads, eliminating beg buttons at 56 intersections
Two busy roadways in Edmonton’s river valley will open to pedestrians and cyclists Thursday to allow them to meet COVID-19 physical distancing requirements. The city will be also deactivating beg buttons at 56 intersections in the city’s core so pedestrians don’t have to press a frequently-touched button to cross the street.
City of Victoria restricting vehicle access and realigning parking along several streets to improve physical separation for cyclists and pedestrians
These interventions will free up space inside Beacon Hill Park and in constricted areas along Dallas Road so local residents can stay active, while also maintaining physical distance. City staff will be out in public spaces to engage with residents about playground and recreation facility closures and to encourage physical distancing.
Hamilton’s biggest arena transforms into a homeless shelter
The conversion of the FirstOntario Centre Saturday included adding 50 carefully separated beds in the concourse of the hockey arena, dining tables on the de-iced rink surface and a medical clinic in the media lounge. Even the giant scoreboard that looms over the 17,383-seat area will be repurposed to show movies for residents who want to stay through the day
A platform for supporting local bars and restaurants through the purchase of gift cards
Eatlater helps people to find restaurants, bars, wineries by location across Canada, and support them through thepurchase gift cards.
City of Cornwall platform to purchase gift certificates for downtown businesses
The Campaign to Save Main Street is a website to allow customers to purchase gift certificates for local small businesses in Cornwall, Akwesasne, and SD&G Counties.
Sommaire de l’engagement pour le Groupe de travail sur la relance et le soutien économiques de Toronto
Un résumé des commentaires que les propriétaires d’entreprises, les ZAC et les intervenants ont fourni à la Ville de Toronto. Le contenu ici ne sont pas nécessairement des recommandations, mais capturez toute la gamme des commentaires fournis. L’information vise à éclairer l’approche du Groupe de travail sur le soutien économique et le rétablissement du maire.
Engagement Summary for Toronto’s Economic Recovery and Support Task Force
A summary of the input that business owners, BIAs, and stakeholders have provided to the City of Toronto. The contents here are not necessarily recommendations but capture the full range of feedback provided. The information is intended to help inform the Mayor’s Economic Support & Recovery Task Force’s approach to recovery.
MyShoperon redesigned for the elderly and immunocompromised to reach out to the community for assistance in running errands
Everyone who registers is part of the MyShoperon community, however depending on what you need from the community, you can be a Requester or a Chaperon. A Requester is someone who needs errand assistance. The Chaperon is someone who has offered to help.
“Stay Home Toronto” initiative provides a platform for local small business support
The Stay Home Toronto initiative was established to reinforce the message for residents in the City of Toronto to stay home, and encourage residents to consider and support local small businesses. The website features small business owners across many industries in Toronto that have adapted to provide online, virtual, and other services for use while consumers are at home.
An online platform to help support local business during COVID-19
Local businesses can register for distantly.ca and community can donate funds to support specific businesses. The platform doesn’t charge a platform fee and funds are sent within 48 hours to local businesses.
Downtown Medicine Hat Development Incentive Program
The Incentive Program offers downtown property owners a series of incentives to assist them to redevelop or initiate new developments in the city center and includes five options for financial assistance. Architectural and Visual Enhancement, Commercial Development, Live-Work Residential Development, and Multi-Family Development.
Victoria COVID-19 Business Resources
This website provides links and information related to small business support. It notes that as a municipality, the City “is not permitted to grant direct assistance to businesses, however, Council has directed staff to examine all of the City’s fiscal, legislative and legal powers to support businesses and jobs to sustain the local economy during the pandemic”.
Victoria-based group of tech and marketing professionals offering free assistance to local small businesses, restaurants, and bars
Platform for connnecting those businesses that need support with organizations offering support.
Tiny Victoria Small Business Relief Fund
Google form to apply for support for small 0% non-recourse loans to Victoria-based small businesses.
La page Web du centre-ville de Kamloops recueille des initiatives coVID communautaires et municipales qui appuient un centre-ville dynamique et en convalescence
Le site Web coloré communique efficacement des outils et des approches sur la façon dont la communauté peut aider et comment les entreprises peuvent se rétablir |
Downtown Kamloops webpage collects community & City COVID initiatives that support a vibrant and recovering downtown
The colourful website communicates effectively tools and approaches on how community can help and how businesses can recover |
City of Duncan moves forward with downtown projects during COVID-19 shut down
To minimize disruption to businesses when many might reopen later, construction–including sidewalk widening and watermain replacement– is being fastracked to start now.
Coronavirus crisis leads Victoria to offer free hotel rooms to health workers to self-isolate
The Victorian Government has committed $20 million to pay for hotel rooms for healthcare workers who test positive to coronavirus or need to self-isolate while revealing “some wonderful success” in its COVID-19 strategy.
Burnaby hotel offers rooms for front-line workers during COVID-19
Health-care, pharmacy and grocery store employees and other front-line workers can stay at the Accent Inn if they don’t want to put their families at risk during the pandemic.
Kelowna hotel provides 940 rooms to 118 healthcare workers thanks to community donations
Accent Inns announced that it would discount its rooms to $59 per night for those healthcare employees and the community stepped forward to cover the rest. Donations were made through the United Way Hotels for Frontline Workers Fund and so far $62,000 has been raised. That’s covered a total of 940 nights in Accent Inns hotels for 118 essential frontline workers in Kelowna, Kamloops, Victoria, Burnaby and Richmond
Niagara Falls hotels offering rooms to health-care workers to self-isolate
Several Niagara hotels — business has been decimated due to the coronavirus — are offering rooms to health-care workers who want to isolate themselves as the battle to curb the global pandemic continues. “Health-care workers who may, through their job, be exposed to COVID-19, don’t want to go back to their families and risk infection,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, who has reached out to the hotel industry.
Calgary opens hotel rooms for homeless people with COVID-19 to self-isolate
Homeless people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are suspected of being positive will be able to go into isolation at a local Calgary hotel. The hotel is not being identified for privacy reasons and no longer accepts paying customers.
Older businesses in Toronto’s Kensington Market are going online
Kensington Market Business Improvement Area (KMBIA) says small businesses in Kensington are finding new ways to move their business online.
Local hotel providing free rooms to frontline healthcare workers during COVID-19
Comfort Inn and Suites in North Battleford will offer frontline healthcare workers free rooms to stay in for the next few weeks in order to help them protect their families.
Supporting Toronto’s Queen Street West local businesses through purchase of “goody bags”
Locals for Local TO is an initiatives to support Toronto’s West Queen West neighbourhood. People can buy “goody bags” for between $80 to $100 (plus delivery). Goody bags include items from local shops like fresh veggies, cookies, coffee and more, and are available for delivery or pick up. A portion of proceeds will go to food banks.
CBC launches Creative Relief Fund to provide support to Canadian creators
The new Fund will provide $2 million in development and production funding for a diverse range of innovative, original Canadian storytelling, including scripted comedies and dramas, unscripted entertainment, kids and young adult programming, podcasts, play adaptations and short documentaries.