Ontario East Update from President Chris King

The Ontario East Economic Development Commission will continue to operate using our team's home-based offices. We are here to provide support and assistance to any members with questions on how to best support your community during these challenging times. Our association and government partners are providing continual updates and resources to Ontario East businesses and we have been approached by several to support their efforts to keep our stakeholders informed on various initiatives, so we will continue to provide e-news when appropriate.

We will make a decision on our Quarterly Meeting (scheduled for April 24 in Perth) in early April, although it is likely it will be postponed. The board of directors meeting scheduled for around this time will proceed using virtual technology, if necessary.

Our search for an executive director has been postponed and will be reviewed later this year. We will maintain the status quo for the foreseeable future and appreciate the efforts of our staff team during this time.

March 31, 2020 represents Ontario East's fiscal year-end and we will be preparing and distributing our annual membership invoices in early April. We realize that there are many priorities and challenges for our members and understand if there are delays in processing payments. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to working with you all throughout and after we exit the current situation.

Ontario East 2020-2021 Membership Fees and Categories

Please contact Lucy or Jay if you have any questions about Ontario East.

On behalf of the Ontario East Board of Directors

Chris King,

President Ontario East

CEO, Quinte Economic Development Commission

chris@quintedevelopment.com

COVID-19: A Message from the Ministry of Labour, Training and

Skills Development

As we all navigate these uncertain times, many of you are undoubtedly thinking about how your organization can support your community, health care system, and the businesses in your community. The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development is interested in discussing potential supports related to any labour attraction and/or training development needs you may have to maintain, increase or pivot production. If these needs are urgent to support any COVID-19 needs, please reach out to the ministry immediately. 

In addition, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your local MLTSD office with any creative ideas or challenges your community is facing related to your workforce development needs and how these fit into your overall strategic plans, as they may be able to provide support or referrals to some of the ministries partners.

Please connect with your local office contact or Mike Temple, Regional Manager via Mike.temple@ontario.ca or 705-761-7419.

Ontario Together: Help Fight Coronavirus

The Government of Ontario is seeking companies who can supply, innovate and have ideas on how to support the response to COVID-19. Ontario East is home to many innovative businesses well suited to join the fight to slow and eradicate the pandemic. For more information on how to help please visit: https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-your-organization-can-help-fight-coronavirus

CME is promoting the FedDev Ontario funded

Technology Assessment Program. 

The Technology Assessment Program connects SME’s manufacturers in southern Ontario with qualified experts to get customized technology assessments (up to $25,000 in reimbursable funds). CME’s Technology Assessment Program qualified assessors will work on-site with companies to create a customized plan on how they can improve productivity by capitalizing on existing assets and implement the latest advanced manufacturing technologies including hardware, software, and cloud computing. Upon completion of the assessment, the qualified expert will recommend an action plan that will enable your business to make informed decisions to assess, purchase, adopt, implement, train and maintain new technologies.

For more information please visit: https://cme-mec.ca/technology_assessments/

Ontario East Municipal Conference (OEMC) 2020

NAV Centre, Cornwall

September 16-18, 2020

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.