April 22, 2020 E-Newsletter
Ontario East News
If you have any news that you would like us to share, please forward to  info@ontarioeast.ca
CFWD Releases Report Examining Labour Force Participation
in Eastern Region

The Centre for Workforce Development (CFWD) has been awarded funding under the Ontario Labour Market Partnership program through the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to examine participation rates in detail, identify the root causes of this issue and develop strategies to address them.

This project, spanning all of Eastern Ontario, is a collaborative initiative led by CFWD and involving the Workforce Development Board (Local Employment Planning Council – Peterborough), Eastern Workforce Innovation Board, Eastern Ontario Training Board, Ottawa Employment Hub (Local Employment Planning Council – Ottawa), Labour Market Group of Renfrew and Lanark Counties, Quinte Economic Development Commission and Ontario East Economic Development Commission. Community Benchmarks, a research consultant firm that specializes in the measurement and analysis of economic activity and performance, will support the project. In order to understand this labour market issue, two key activities will take place. These include determining the underlying cause(s) of and identifying potential solution(s) to the decrease in labour force participation across Eastern Ontario.
A Message from the Ontario Centres of Excellence

OCE has launched the COVID-19 Collaboration Platform, an online portal that allows experts, agencies and companies who have a piece of the puzzle – whether it is an asset, a technology or a product – bring their solution to market. Through the platform, these resources will be available to support the industry across the province on some pan-provincial collaborations. If you know any of the businesses might be benefited through the network, or have a piece of technology might be useful, please feel free to direct them to the platform.

All current available OCE programs will all have the special COVID-19 stream funding to support technology development/commercialization related to this pandemic. That includes:

A Message from the Eastern Ontario Leadership Council

Dear elected officials and staff members across Eastern Ontario,
 
We hope that you and your loved ones are doing well, safe and healthy, given the current circumstances. The members of the Eastern Ontario Leadership Council (EOLC) are thinking of you and our many residents living and working within the incredible communities across our region.
 
We are writing today to provide a brief update and share the EOLC Quarterly Report for April 2020, with the goal of stimulating engagement across a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. Additional updates from the EOLC will be shared in the coming weeks and months, as there are many important projects and initiatives underway.
 
During these difficult and uncertain times, it is a testament to our collective strength, perhaps now more than ever, that the EOLC has committed to continuing its important regional work – always in partnership with its member organizations – in order to stimulate research, analysis, data and collaborative projects that improve the overall business climate in Eastern Ontario.
 
The EOLC invites you to read the attached report at your convenience, as well as visit www.eolc.info and write to contact@eolc.info if you are interesting in participating in these initiatives and projects, such as:
  • reviewing and commenting on the Commuter Strategy Literature Review (available online)
  • reviewing, validating, updating, and improving the Commuter Maps (available via DropBox)
  • participating in forthcoming surveys and sharing them with employers, in order to promote future consultation meetings
  • sharing municipal data, e.g. annual average daily traffic, business retention/expansion, sector-specific analyses, and strategic plans with workforce and commuter implications
 
We thank you again for your interest in the EOLC. Please stay safe and healthy.
 
Regards,
The Eastern Ontario Leadership Council
 
Represented by:
Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus
Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus
Eastern Ontario Regional Network
Ontario East Economic Development Commission
Community Futures Ontario East
Ontario East Events
Visit the Ontario East  Events Calendar  and stay up-to-date on what's happening
in East ern Ontario. If you have any on-line events that you would like us to share,
please forward to  info@ontarioeast.ca
NAFTA 2.0 (USMCA): how does it work and what’s new?
Free Webinar
1:00pm to 3:00pm
Monday, April 27, 2020
Our Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Mexico (NAFTA) has seen challenges but the US is still our first trading partner, both as an export market and as a supplier.

This seminar will explain the content of this major Trade Agreement and what it means for Canadian businesses, how to benefit from it, focusing on the trade of goods and the changes contained in the new agreement. This session will be of interest to companies and individuals wanting to get involved internationally, in particular importers and exporters of tangible goods.
Ontario East Municipal Conference (OEMC) 2020
NAV Centre, Cornwall
September 16-18, 2020
The COVID-19 Outbreak is causing the rescheduling of many events around the world. However, we hope that by the autumn of this year that the risks of the virus will have sharply receded, thus enabling us to continue with our annual conference. We will continue to monitor the situation and will advise you as soon as possible should this change. In the meantime, we are continuing to work on the programming to ensure that OEMC 2020 is the great event you have come to expect and look forward to.
Exhibition and Sponsorship Opportunities

OEMC Exhibits and Sponsorships are an excellent opportunity to showcase and demonstrate your products and services to, not only economic development officers, but to all municipal staff and elected officials.
Ontario East Economic Development Commission
613-634-8569| info@ontarioeast.ca| ontarioeast.ca