This Holiday season is unlike any other, to cap off a year unlike any other. Throughout this season, and as we move into a new, and hopefully better year, on behalf of the Ontario East Economic Development Commission Board of Directors, we thank you for your continued support through this challenging time and wish you moments of peace amid the difficulties, connections with family and friends even if they can’t be in person, and the warmth of memories from Holidays past.

Many people are looking to upskill right now to get an improved, more stable career. Ontario East has those jobs - so much so that OE-TISP created a guide, the 21 upskilling programs in demand by employers to prove what is running in our region now. Most of them are free! Please share this guide on social media and your emails. When you share this content, you'll be helping our local labourforce find best-fit work and choose eastern Ontario. There are programs like Elevate Plus Military in the Bay of Quinte where you can qualify for LOTS of training just because someone in your family works in the military. These 21 upskilling programs are AWESOME and people need to know!

Do you hear employers worrying about finding talent? All you need to do is send them to workforcedevelopment@ontarioeast.ca. OE-TISP has purchased TWO tools to help employers find talent they need now. OE-TISP can map where the talent they seek exists, and we can post and recruit jobs for free on LinkedIn where 17M of Canada's available 19M already have profiles! Plus, there is also SOPA there to help them (pre-approved permanent residents looking to come to Canada requiring NO PAPERWORK for employers). It's not impossible to hire people right now - you need to know where to look.

Toronto — The Ontario government is launching a virtual mission to India in December to continue to promote the province as a premier destination for international investment and create new opportunities for Ontario businesses. Led by Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, this mission builds off the success of the province's mission to India a year ago, which resulted in nearly 150 business-to-business meetings that brought Ontario companies in direct contact with Indian businesses to explore new partnerships.

The Partnership is a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative to strengthen the agriculture, agri-food, and agri-based products sector through economic development, environmental stewardship and protection and assurance initiatives.

The next intake period for Producers and Associated Agri-Businesses is December 9, 2020 to January 6, 2021.

Belleville’s CpK Interior Products has developed an anti-viral plastic additive for their automotive interior parts which kills the coronavirus within one hour. Research and product development was performed in collaboration with Western University.

CpK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Canada. Located in Ontario, CpK manufactures auto parts such as dashboards, consoles, and produces their own plastic resins in their compounding facility in Corbyville, a rural area of Belleville. The new product will make vehicle interiors safer for multi-person use - great news for carpooling and ride sharing!

In the future, germs and viruses will not be able to survive on the plastic surfaces inside vehicles. Imagine all the possibilities for products that use plastic! This anti-viral additive could eventually be used in many other applications.

Ontario East's New Mailing Address

Ontario East Economic Development Commission

623 Fortune Crescent

Suite 100

Kingston ON K7P 0L5