In this issue - April 3, 2012

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MBOT NEWS

MBOT Post-Provincial Budget Breakfast

(Bob Delaney, MPP, Dipika Damerla, MPP, and the Honourable Charles Sousa)

Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) in partnership with Mississauga MPPs and S+C Partners LLP Chartered Accountants hosted its annual post-provincial budget breakfast on March 28^th at the Novotel Hotel, Mississauga. The event is held each year as an opportunity for businesses and interest groups in Mississauga to voice concerns and questions related to the budget to their local Minister's and MPPs. Delegates in attendance were The Honourable Charles Sousa, Minister of Citizenship & Immigration, Bob Delaney, MPP Mississauga-Streetsville, Dipika Damerla, MPP Mississauga East-Cooksville, and Paul F. Keul, Chartered Accountant. Questions from the audience touched on:

• Wage Freeze's
• Jobs for Youth
• Education & Tuition
• Promoting Multiculturalism

Minister Sousa, Mr. Delaney, and Ms. Damerla echoed the concerns of the business community and interest groups. In response to wage freezes and its impact for individuals, Mr. Delaney stated that it was important to note that the provincial budget is a "continuum of a series of budgets". It was noted that Ontario is in line with the rest of Canada when it comes to youth unemployment, and that the provincial government is making a series efforts to ensure youth have access to education to better prepare them for the workforce in the form of tuition reductions and increases in spaces available at universities. When it comes to promoting multiculturalism the budget is making it increasingly difficult said Minister Sousa. There have been over $70 million in cuts in the last two years and approximately $225 million in total cuts in funding for newcomers. Furthermore, Ontario is only allocated 1000 placement spots in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) well below other Canadian provinces even though Ontario sees more newcomers than eastern and western provinces combined.

The delegates are optimistic of Ontario's future pointing out Ontario has not only recovered all the jobs lost from the economic downturn, but has also added new jobs and is outperforming countries such as The United States of American and The United Kingdom. There is no doubt that Ontario is still in a fragile state and no budget is ever perfect, but they believe proper steps are being taken to navigate us through these tough economic times and see a prosperous future in store for the province.
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MBOT to Host the Honourable Tony Clement
President of the Treasury Board of Canada

Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) will be hosting "Politically Speaking Breakfast with the Honourable Tony Clement" on Friday May 18, 2012 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Glenerin Inn. Minister Tony Clement will be talking about the Canadian economy and how it compares to other countries, what the 2012 federal budget means to Canadians, cutting red tape, and transparency in government.

Tony Clement is the President of the Treasury Board of Canada and Minister for FedNor. He has also been the Member of Parliament for Parry Sound-Muskoka since 2006.

Since his election to the House of Commons, Mr. Clement had previously served on the front benches as both Minister of Health and Minister of Industry, playing a lead role in getting Canada's economy back on track after the most significant global economic recession since the 1930s.

On May 2nd, 2011 Mr. Clement was re-elected for a third consecutive time. Shortly after his re-election, Mr. Clement was asked by the Prime Minister to take on the responsibilities of President of the Treasury Board. In this capacity, Mr. Clement will lead the development and implementation of a cross-government spending review - looking at transformational ways to support and deliver services to tax payers in the most effective and efficient means possible. This follows through on the Government's commitment to Canadians to eliminate the deficit and continue to strengthen the economy.

For more information on the event and how to register please visit the event page here.
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Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) Conducting Survey on Skills and Competitiveness
 
As part of the CCC's ongoing consultation with the chamber network on the issues related to skills/competitiveness, they are pleased to be able to provide you with a short survey that is appropriate for sharing with your members to gather their input on this important issue under the skills umbrella.

This first survey focuses on issues relative to post-secondary education. They encourage both you and your members to complete the survey.

Future surveys (every two weeks) will focus on a variety of issues related to Canada's skills challenges. The surveys will remain open until the end of June so that you can fit them into your member communications calendar.

A short one-page backgrounder on this issue is available to you if you wish to include it with the survey in your communications to your members.  All surveys will be accompanied by a similar background document.

For more information please contact the Canadian Chamber of Commerce at http://www.chamber.ca/.
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ITS in Mississauga Online Employer
Resource Featured Videos: Part 1

ITS (Internationally Trained & Skilled) in Mississauga is a program funded by the Ontario Government, an initiative of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, and is part of the Global Experience at Work Program. The objective of ITS in Mississauga is to create and increase awareness amongst employers on the benefits of hiring Internationally Trained Professionals. Through the program Mississauga Board of Trade has identified barriers & challenges businesses face when hiring foreign trade professionals. We then explored and identified key service support agencies that are able to help navigate employers through the process of hiring Internationally Trained Professionals. For the ease and convenience of employers, each agency was individually profiled at www.itsinmississauga.ca under "Employer Resource," but we didn't stop there. We also travelled to their offices and filmed them to discuss the services they provide and how they have helped local businesses (employers who have used their services were also interviewed). This installments featured videos are ACCES Employment and Accenture.

Some services provided by ACCES Employment are:

• Language Services
• Recruitment & Retention
• Skills/Cultural Adaptation

MBOT- ACCES Employment (An Employer Resource)

MBOT- Accenture discusses their experience with ACCES Employment

MBOT EVENTS 

MBOT East Coast Gala Teaser Part 2

COMMUNITY NEWS & EVENTS 

Southern Ontario Process and Automation Show

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Mississauga, ON L5W 1G3

BUSINESS MARKETPLACE