News Release Ontario Releases Progress Reports to the Public for the First Time January 11, 2016 Ministers Report on How They Are Delivering on Mandate Letter Priorities Ontario's cabinet ministers today released progress reports detailing how the government is delivering on the priorities laid out in Premier Kathleen Wynne's mandate letters. As part of the Premier's Open Government Initiative, the cabinet ministers' reports were published online, bringing Ontario closer to its goal of becoming the most open and transparent government in Canada. In September 2014, the Premier's mandate letters to ministers -- 30 in total -- were made available to the public for the first time. Mandate letters outline the specific priorities for each member of cabinet and their ministry. Ministers were directed to work with one another on overarching priorities such as building modern infrastructure, poverty reduction, skills training and growing the economy. Since September 2014, Ontario's ministers have made substantial progress delivering on the government's priorities, including: Making the largest investment in infrastructure in Ontario's history -- more than $134 billion over 10 years on priorities such as roads, bridges and transit. Helping provide retirement security for the two-thirds of Ontario workers without a workplace pension by creating a framework to establish the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.   Announcing the introduction of a cap and trade program to fight climate change, and the government's intention to link its cap and trade program with Québec, Manitoba and California's, consistent with the Western Climate Initiative. Releasing It's Never Okay: An Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment, and committing $41 million over three years to support its implementation. Improving consumer convenience and choice while maintaining a strong commitment to social responsibility by expanding the sale of beer to 58 grocery stores across the province. Hosting the largest intern ational multi-sport event ever held on Canadian soil -- the TORONTO 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games -- welcoming more than 10,000 athletes and officials, and millions of fans from across the Americas and Caribbean. Maintaining a high standard of transparency and accountability to the public is part of the government's plan to build Ontario up. The four-part plan includes investing in people's talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario's history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives and building a secure retirement savings plan.

 

 

QUICK FACTS Ontario is adopting best practices that have been working in other jurisdictions to inform its approach to Open Government. Governments in Canada and about 60 other countries are implementing Open Government initiatives to improve transparency, effectiveness and accountability. People can visit Ontario.ca/open to see what the government is working on and learn how to get involved. The government has released a vast amount of data on the Open Data website that people can use to help dream up new business ideas and solve everyday problems.

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Read the cabinet ministers’ progress reports Read the mandate letters to Ontario’s cabinet ministers Read Open by Default, the Open Government Engagement Team’s recommendations on how to advance Open Government in Ontario

 

 

QUOTES "Sixteen months ago, I gave each of my ministers detailed letters outlining their priorities for delivering on our plan for Ontario. For the first time ever, these mandate letters were made public, and today we’re marking another first with the release of each minister’s progress report. The reports show how our open and collaborative approach is building more opportunity and security for people across the province. In 2016, we will build on these successes and continue to create a sustainable and prosperous Ontario today and for future generations."  — Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario

Happy New Year!!

2015 has been a busy year for EDCO and we are pleased to have been able to serve you, our valued members. We are looking forward to great 2016 filled with lots of opportunities for our members.

Renewal invoices are e-mailed out on January 1, 2016. Please check your emails and contact the EDCO office if you have any questions.

Thank you for your continued support and participation.

EDCO is excited to once again offer its scholarship program. Making the professional development needs of our members a priority, the Professional Development Committee established a scholarship program in 2014 for EDCO members.

The 2016 EDCO Scholarship fund will be awarded to 3 applicants; a young professional, a member from Northern Ontario, and a member from Southern Ontario. The funds awarded must be used towards EDCO training opportunities within 12 months following the announcement of the winning applicant.

The application process is simple; Complete the application form and submit to John Regan, Chair of the Scholarship Committee (edco@edco.on.ca). The EDCO Scholarship Committee will review all applications, and will select the winning applicants. Winning applicants will be announced at the 2016 EDCO Conference in Toronto on February 2-4, 2016.

For more information, or if you have any questions, please contact the EDCO office at edco@edco.on.ca.

Scholarship Application

All EDCO members, please be advised that the Economic Developers Council of Ontario's Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on February 3, 2016 at 8:00 AM.

The meeting will take place prior to the opening session of the 2016 EDCO Conference at the Toronto Downtown Marriott Eaton Centre -  525 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario.

An agenda will be available closer to the meeting date.

Don’t miss out on this chance to learn how your community can be ready to take advantage of investment and trade opportunities in the food and beverage industry.

EDCO is pleased to promote this opportunity at the EDCO conference.  Investment attraction & trade consultants from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will be available to meet with communities and economic development members to discuss investment & trade opportunities in Ontario’s food and beverage industry.

OMAFRA consultants are scheduling 45-minute consultations to share strategies and discuss approaches to successful business attraction and trade within the food processing sector.  Consultations need to be booked in advance and will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Topics of discussion will include (not limited to):

• OMAFRA’s new trade and investment program (U.S. & EU Markets)

• Food processing Industry overview

• Understanding the opportunities for growth

• Defining your outreach strategy

• Defining your value proposition

Consultations will be scheduled on:

Tuesday, February 2: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (time slots)

Wednesday, February 3:  9:00 am – 4:00 p.m. (time slots)

To book your meeting, or if you have any questions, contact Bill Harvie at bill.harvie@ontario.ca or phone 519-826-4405.

For more information on food and beverage investment in Ontario, please see OMAF and MRA’s Food & Beverage Investor.

Ryerson University today announced that it has formed a new collaboration with Prince Edward/Lennox & Addington Community Futures Development Corporation (PELA CFDC), First Stone Venture Partners (FSVP), and the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) to promote research and technological innovation, attract and accelerate start ups and advance economic development in Prince Edward and Lennox & Addington Counties and the Eastern Ontario Region broadly.

The collaboration brings together the expertise of Ryerson in entrepreneurship and its support of company creation, as well as leading research into bridging the gap between innovation and adoption with Eastern Ontario’s top public and private organizations who are already driving economic growth and entrepreneurship through investments, training, incubation of start-ups and the promotion of diversification of the region through growth of tech-focused companies.

“PELA CFDC and the new Upper Canada Equity Fund is proud to partner with Ryerson University, EORN and First Stone Venture Partners in this exciting new collaboration that will advance innovation, research and investment in our community,” said Debra Marshall, chair of the Upper Canada Equity Fund. “Ryerson University is a world leader in entrepreneurial innovation and support and we look forward to growing our relationship in the years to come.”

Immediately following the announcement, a matchmaking and pitch session is being hosted by Ryerson at its DMZ for a dozen tech-based start-ups and PELA CFDC and First Stone Venture Partners. The types of start-ups are diverse, ranging from online services and platforms to mobile technologies, security and automation and knowledge management with the goal of identifying possible investment, incubation and mentorship of some of these start-ups in Prince Edward/Lennox & Addington.

Mauro Lollo, President of Canada’s first rural venture fund was at Ryerson for the announcement. “First Stone Venture Partners was founded by serial entrepreneurs who understand the challenges of creating success, often with only ideas and effort,” said Lollo, President, First Stone Venture Partners. “Our vision is to create sustainable ecosystems for innovative start-ups in non-urban communities by investing in entrepreneurial talent and innovative ideas. Our unique investment and support strategy nurtures and accelerates early-stage companies while helping to diversify local economies for the long-term benefit of our communities and country. We're exceptionally pleased to partner with Ryerson, PELA CFDC and EORN in driving future opportunities and success.”

“Strengthening regional or rural technological innovation and their connection to other national or international markets is an important step in narrowing Canada’s innovation gap and promoting economic development,” said Wendy Cukier, vice-president Research and Innovation, Ryerson University. “Understanding the demand and application side of innovation and its impacts is also vital if we are to realize the transformational potential of emerging technologies. Ryerson is pleased to partner with PELA CFDC, First Stone Venture Partners and EORN and this collaboration will strengthen the innovation ecosystem of region.”

“EORN is excited about the potential of this new collaboration agreement with PELA CFDC, the Upper Canada Equity Fund; Ryerson University, and First Stone Venture Partners,” said David Fell, CEO of the Eastern Ontario Regional Network. “This project will leverage the entrepreneurial and research expertise of Ryerson University to help us increase the scale and scope of the start-up and innovation ecosystem in Eastern Ontario.”

While this collaboration is new, all partners have expertise in advancing economic development and contributing to innovation and have partnered together previously. Over the last two years, FSVP and PELA CFDC have a successful track record of investment that productizes and commercializes and takes to market globally competitive products and services including one of Ryerson’s DMZ companies Komodo Open Labs. Ryerson and EORN have also worked together through Ryerson’s Magnet program, which helps in matching companies to the best skilled talent. These partners and their programs have also been previously recognized and supported by government partners such as FedDev Ontario and the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities.

PELA CFDC is a community-based, not-for-profit corporation whose objective is to encourage local entrepreneurship and economic development in Prince Edward/Lennox & Addington counties through the provision of business loans, equity investments, grants, training and incubation of start-ups.

FSVP is a venture partnership founded and funded by successful entrepreneurs whose goal is to encourage the establishment of technology-based innovation in rural communities and who have established a 28,000 sq. ft. incubator in Picton, ON to support the growth of tech start-ups in the region.

EORN was established by the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus to increase the availability of bandwidth to homes and businesses in Eastern Ontario, and to encourage the diversification of the region through the growth of technology based companies.

ICCI PROGRAM LAUNCH

As of November 17, 2015, the Invest Canada-Community Initiatives (ICCI) program is accepting applications from Canadian communities seeking financial support for their foreign direct investment initiatives for 2016.

Applications must be submitted before 15:00 (Eastern Standard Time), on Friday, January 15, 2016. Communities must submit the final draft of their application by the deadline to be considered for funding. Incomplete applications or applications submitted after the deadline will be rejected. We would like to remind you that only one submission is allowed per applicant.

PREPARING YOUR APPLICATION

We invite you to visit our website at http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/icci for more information on program eligibility, evaluation criteria and list of eligible expenses.

In order to assist you with the preparation of your application, ICCI program management will be holding tutorial webinars on Wednesday December 2, 2015 in both official languages. The English tutorial will take place at 15:00 EST, and the French tutorial will take place at 10:30 EST. We expect the tutorial to last about one hour. For more information about the webinar, please consult the ICCI website.


ACCESSING THE APPLICATION THROUGH THE PARTNERS@INTERNATIONAL PORTAL

Please read the How to Submit an Application for Funding page from the ICCI website in order to familiarize yourself with the application process.

In order to apply for 2016 funding, you are required to register to the Partners@International Portal at the following link: https://paa-pac.acdi-cida.gc.ca/accueil-home.ex?sessionLang=en. Once registered, it may take up to 2 business days for you to be able to log in to your new account for the first time.

You will only be able to access the ICCI Application Form once you have (1) registered on the Portal, (2) uploaded the letter of incorporation/proof of legal status of your organisation, and (3) downloaded the PDF application form from thePartners@International Portal The deadline to submit your application is Friday, January 15, 2016.

The only way to submit an application is through the Partners@International Portal. Mailed, emailed or faxed applications will not be accepted.

Wellington County Warden Elected Chair of Western Ontario Economic Development Strategy

Wellington County - The Chair of the Western Ontario Warden’s Caucus (WOWC), Mayor Randy Hope of Chatham-Kent, is happy to announce that Wellington County Warden George Bridge has been elected as the Chair of the Warden’s Caucus Economic Development Committee. The committee was established to fill the void left by the dissolution of the South Western Economic Alliance (SWEA).

“Warden Bridge is an excellent choice,” says Mayor Hope. “His background in the financial industry and his current responsibilities in the economic development of Wellington County will provide focus and leadership for this new initiative.”

Among the committee’s first priorities will be the development of a Southwestern Ontario Economic Development Strategy. The committee will begin the process by advising the Premier of Ontario and appropriate provincial ministries of the intention of the Warden’s Caucus to approach the Mayors of the Separated Cities (Guelph, Brantford, Stratford, London, St. Mary’s, St. Thomas, Barrie, Orillia, Windsor) and the Chair of the Region of Waterloo, in order to formulate an economic alliance partnership.

Early in the New Year, the mayors will be invited to attend a WOWC meeting to discuss items of shared interest and consider a rural/urban Caucus structure that will allow for collaborative partnerships in infrastructure renewal, financial and technological opportunites, and addressing regulatory challenges. The final stage will be to define and develop a Southwestern Ontario Economic Development Strategy.

“I am honoured to have been chosen to lead this important committee,” says Warden George Bridge. “I look forward to the process, meeting with all of the Mayors and helping return economic prosperity to Southwestern Ontario.

As part of the Ontario Government’s implementation of the Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act, the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure (MEDEI) is now consulting on draft Cluster Guidelines from October 26 until November 9. 

These draft guidelines explain how to work with the Government on Cluster Plans under the Act.

As an important player in driving economic competitiveness in Ontario, We believe you may have an interest in commenting on the guidelines.

·       Please review the Cluster Guidelines, and fill out a brief ten question survey providing us feedback on your perspective on developing Cluster Plans with the Government of Ontario.

·        If you are looking for more information, join the webinar to learn more about the draft guidelines and the opportunity to ask questions. (See below for details on signing up.) 

IMPORTANT DATES

·         Oct 26: beginning of the draft Cluster Guidelines consultation period.

·         Nov 2-4: webinars to present the draft Guidelines and answer any questions.

·        Nov 9: deadline for feedback – link to survey 

If you have any comments or questions regarding the consultation, please do not hesitate to contact us at Clusters@ontario.ca.

The Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) is seeking a qualified consultant to provide professional services in the form of creating, coordinating and producing an enhanced PowerPoint presentation for the 2015 EDCO Marketing Awards ceremony to be held on February 4, 2016.

Qualified consultants are encouraged to submit a proposal before Friday, November 13, 2015 end of day.

View RFP