The POST Promise signifies a commitment to implement and practice the five key steps to workplace safety, helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It’s supported by many of the largest associations in Canada, which represent thousands of businesses. The objective is to have businesses across the country take part in a collective solution to help Canadians confidently and safely take the first steps back into public spaces and the workplace.

This winter will be special and the solution to isolation will be through the design of a multitude of small places that we will want to frequent despite the cold. From now on, let’s buy good boots and a suitable coat in our local shops, because let’s hope that the next winter can be one of the places where we can create human warmth.

Toronto’s live music venues contribute greatly to the city’s cultural, social and economic fabric. These venues require critical support in the face of ongoing pressures that have been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. City Council expanded the Creative Co-Location Facilities Property Tax Subclass to provide property tax relief for live music venues. As a result of this decision, properties that meet specific criteria are eligible to receive property tax relief of up to 50 per cent for the qualifying areas of the building. Immediately following this expansion in May, the City began accepting applications from live music venue operators. The deadline for applications was June 19. This relief measure will be implemented through the final supplementary property tax notices that will be issued in the fall. City staff will analyze the impact of this cost-saving measure for live music venues and report to Council in 2021. This measure is intended to remain in place beyond this year to support the long-term viability of Toronto’s live music sector.

The City of Brampton will defer rent payments for its not-for-profit and small for-profit tenants for a period of three months, and waive payments for its non-profit tenants who are unable to access new Federal programs, for a period of 3 months. This relief will support more than half of the City’s 81 tenants.

A restaurant owner coordinated the smart phone food ordering system, which has Patio “runners” deployed to pick up orders and deliver them right to the table.

The mission was to apply innovative design to make public bathrooms accessible for everyone regardless of gender, age or disability, so that people feel comfortable using public toilets and to foster a spirit of hospitality

Launched at the iconic Melba’s Restaurant in Harlem, the prototype can accommodate a range of restaurants and street conditions. DineOut NYC is being deployed at restaurants and bars in diverse neighborhoods across the five boroughs, using parking spaces and sidewalks.

Called Gerrard East Market, it comes with two decks, picnic tables, umbrellas, an outdoor screen showing sports, lighting and 22 tonnes of sand.

It’s a program any business can benefit from no matter where the are in their COVID-reopening journey. The strategy focuses on employees as advocacy champions because when employees feel able to come back to work safely, their positive attitude will inspire customers to return. Business owners and managers must make good on that promise and commit to an appropriate action plan that keeps their workplace safe. Employees are given an option to play a big role in our initiative, too. Through simple how-to’s Employees are invited to record a 10-20 second video about the steps their workplace has taken to protect them, which the program will share on social media channels to help promote the business.

The food is distributed to hundreds of families through the Fresh Roots and Grandview Woodland Food Connection programs. The park board is also growing vegetables at the city’s golf courses and at Van Dusen Gardens, although the nursery is the biggest supplier.

Rather than focusing on just return on investment from the uplift in spending, productivity and land values, London’s « High Streets for All » is about investment based on the social value of high streets & capacity to address inequality

The Edmonton Public Library is taking some of its operations outside to give the city’s homeless a place to read books and magazines, use a laptop computer or participate in adult classes. Called EPL on the Square, the pilot project has three designated areas in Sir Winston Churchill Square for outdoor library services. The initiative is a collaboration between EPL and the City of Edmonton, was launched five days after the Edmonton EXPO Centre closed as a temporary drop-in day shelter. The city, social agencies and the province have been working on a plan to find hundreds of physically distanced spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic since the EXPO closed.

The Halifax Public Libraries have made changes so working outside is more attractive. This includes pushing the public WiFi out into the fresh air and providing seating to reduce the likelihood of congestion; allowing borrowed electronic devices like Chromebooks and iPads to leave the building. “When they sign that iPad out, they can actually go take that outside now, and they can sit outside and use the free WiFi and use the library’s iPad to access information, or to watch a film or read an ebook,” says Kachen.

Each person can request up to two masks per immediate family member. They’re adjustable and come in both adult and youth sizes.

Toronto Public Library (TPL), in partnership with Renewed Computer Technology and with support from the Toronto Public Library Foundation, recently launched its Internet Connectivity Kit program. The initiative provides vital connections for some of our city’s most vulnerable residents by equipping them with a free laptop and WiFi hotspot with four months of unlimited data. Participants will keep the laptop and Wi-Fi hotspot at the end of the program.

The week-long pilot project Wi-Fi on Wheels begins on August 4. The Toronto Public Library’s bookmobile will travel to two parks in areas hit hard by the pandemic and provide free internet during the afternoon. Anyone can bring their own device to the park to connect or temporarily use a city device. City devices will be sanitized between use and staff will assess users to ensure they do not have COVID-19 symptoms. Toronto Public Health data shows that the northwest parts of the city are being most affected during the coronavirus pandemic. As of the weekend, the Jane and Finch and Rexdale areas had 511 and 496 cases, respectively.

Here’s a list of what Halifax Public Libraries has been able to do so far:

• Reorganized website to prioritize virtual services and brought whole programs online through the Virtual Library.
• Upgraded the E-Library to make in-branch services like PressReader and Ancestry available at home; introduced new online resources like Kanopy, RomanceBookCloud, Public Library Online and TumbleBooksMath.
• Set up an Ask the Library phone line to connect with and provide assistance to our community.
• Provided snack packs for families
• Loaned community organizations some technology items, including wifi hotspots and Chromebooks to a couple of shelters, and books and games to a children’s service provider.
• Set up portable toilets at Halifax Central Library
• Worked with Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) to offer virtual tax clinics
• Shifted staff to lead content for the Human Library Videos (storytime, how-to’s), social media and website blogs.

Each device can be borrowed for about 3 weeks. The GPPL is partnering with the Government of Canada’s Emergency Support Fund, Community Foundation of Northwestern Alberta, and Telus to make the wifi units available. The coalition is designed to allow all residents in Grande Prairie to have access to online resources.

• Purchasing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks, face shields, and latex gloves
• Renovating physical space to adhere to local, Provincial or Federal reopening guidelines
• Developing or improving e-commerce capabilities for your business

Restaurants around the city are asked to keep a bin in their freezer with good food they can feed to people.

The City will initiate this process by sending three masks to every household in Brampton in the coming weeks.

Are you interested in creating (or hosting) a pop-up but are not sure where to start?

In the wake of COVID-19 Wallplay has created a toolkit on how vacant spaces can be repurposed for public good. Wallplay has been facilitating pop-ups since 2013, we helped pioneer the “vacant space as pop-up venue” model and we are excited to share what we’ve learned.

Support local businesses and enjoy a unique, personalized experience with the people you care about, all from the privacy of your home. When you book a party, you will customize your event by choosing the number of participants, type of cuisine, and tour theme.

Each meal includes an appetizer, entrée and side dish, which you and your guests will savour as your tour guide takes you on a virtual adventure to learn about local art, architecture, history and more.  Celebrate your graduation, create a fun first date story, or just get together with your friends after a long spring apart!

This week, Vancouver unveiled their latest pop-up plazas, approved additional patio permits, and rolled out temporary changes to Granville Street.

The Bartenders Benevolent Fund is actively working with community members, industy organizations and our Board of Directors to create inclusive and empowering organizational policies, funding criteria and code of conduct. Considering the current impact of the novel COVID-19 on the hospitality industry, these processes are unfolding quickly and we continue to reevaluate on an ongoing basis.

VisitorBay is a digital visitor management tool that allows for an automated sign-in process that is more secure than traditional paper methods. Before COVID-19, the company launched a digital registration system for clients that would see the end of paper sign-in sheets left out in the open for all to see. A few weeks into COVID-19, company founders Brett Carrier and Ricardo Casanova knew there was an opportunity to adapt their product to help companies.

Port Coquitlam & North Vancouver seems to be going well, while City of Vancouver Parks Board considers it too