Carleton Family BBQ Sept. 7 at Richmond Fairgrounds

By Goldie Ghamari, MPP for Carleton

I am pleased to once again host my annual Carleton Family Barbecue.

This year’s event will take place Sat., Sept. 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Richmond Fairgrounds. Firefighters from Richmond will be manning the grill and cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs, while we will also be serving up cobs of corn, vegetable spring rolls, veggies and dip, ice cream, and more.

The most entertaining and multi-talented man in all of Carleton, Dr. Kaboom, will be joining us. We will also have face painting, and entertainment and activities that will be announced closer to the date.

I also want to emphasize that this is a non-partisan, non-political event. This is an event to celebrate Carleton, and to celebrate our best summer in years.

If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact my office through my website contact form at www.goldiempp.ca/contact.

I hope to see you there!

The Capital Fair is underway at Rideau Carleton Raceway

One of the great things about being the MPP for Carleton is that our riding hosts three amazing fairs every year.

The Richmond Fair and the Metcalfe Fair are well known throughout Eastern Ontario, but the entire fall fair season kicks off with a big one right here in the Carleton riding.

The Capital Fair is taking place at the Rideau Carleton Raceway. While many people think the fair started to replace the old Central Canada Exhibition or Ottawa Ex, the Capital Fair is actually the old Gloucester Fair.

In 1999, the Gloucester Agricultural Society moved the Gloucester Fair to the Rideau Carleton Raceway. They changed the name to the Capital Fair in 2014. In taking on a new 10-day format in August, the fair moved to introduce its expanded program to the region by implementing an introductory free gate admission program. The results were wildly successful as in 2017 the fair attracted more than 255,000 guests.

With all of the restrictions from COVID-19 now behind us, we hope to see the biggest and best Capital Fair ever!

Ontario Helping More Women Build Skills and Get Jobs

The Ontario government is investing up to $1,045,000 over three years through the Women’s Economic Security Program to support Connecture Canada’s entrepreneurship program in Mississauga, which supports women from Francophone, Black, immigrant and racialized communities to gain the knowledge and experience they need to start a hair-braiding business

This funding is part of the government’s investment of up to $26.7 million over three years in 25 local programs across the province that provide career training opportunities for women, helping them gain the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to find a job, start a business and achieve financial independence.

The Women’s Economic Security Program offers training in four streams: the skilled trades, entrepreneurship, information technology, and general employment. To help remove barriers to participating, the training programs also include additional supports such as providing meals throughout the training day, transportation to and from training, and support finding child care.

Through the program, women, including those who have experienced or are at risk of intimate partner violence, can also access wraparound supports, including referrals to mental health and well-being supports, counselling, housing, and legal support.

Women interested in the program can visit Ontario.ca/women.

This investment is part of Ontario’s four-year action plan to prevent and address gender-based violence. In addition to the province’s $15 million investment this year in the Women’s Economic Security Program, Ontario is providing up to another $11.7 million through the bilateral agreement with the federal government on the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence.

Quick Facts

• Organizations funded under the Women’s Economic Security Program deliver employment, pre-employment, pre-apprenticeship, and entrepreneurship training to low-income women. The 25 training programs are delivered through partnerships between women-centred organizations, educational institutions, and businesses.
• Since its inception in 2018, the Women’s Economic Security Program has helped more than 2,600 women secure employment, become entrepreneurs, or pursue further training and education. This includes helping 1,298 women start small businesses and 237 get jobs in the skilled trades.

Ontario Reaches Tentative Agreement with Principals and Vice-Principals

Ontario has reached a tentative agreement with the associations representing school boards and the associations representing principals and vice-principals on the employment terms and conditions for principals and vice-principals in publicly funded schools.

The memorandum of settlement is between the Ontario government, the associations representing principals and vice-principals (Ontario Principals’ Council, Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario and Association des directions et directions adjointes des écoles franco-ontariennes) and the four associations representing school boards (Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association, Association franco-ontarienne des conseils scolaires catholiques and Association des conseils scolaires des écoles publiques de l’Ontario). The term of the agreement is four years, applying from 2023.

Ontario’s commitment to stability in the classroom ensures that students benefit from the government’s back-to-basics agenda, which is focused on what matters most: boosting reading, writing and math skills in Ontario schools to prepare students for the careers of tomorrow.

Quick Facts

• There are approximately 8,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) principals and vice-principals across Ontario, and most are members of one of three voluntary associations.
• Principals and vice-principals in Ontario are not unionized.
• Over the next several weeks, all parties will be undergoing their separate approval processes with respect to the tentative settlement.
• Ontario has successfully reached central agreements with all 9 of its education labour partners, namely teacher federations and education workers.

Marketing Initiative Bears Fruit for Ontario’s Tender Fruit Growers

The Government of Ontario is investing up to $1.6 million over four years to support Ontario Tender Fruit Growers in purchasing display bins branded with the Foodland Ontario logo. This will help consumers identify seasonal, locally grown tender fruits when shopping in grocery stores.

Display bins branded with the Foodland Ontario logo increase in-store product visibility and secure shelf space during peak season to create demand and support for Ontario grown fruit. This investment will help customers easily identify locally grown and in-season items such as peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums, apricots, fresh table grapes and pears.

This initiative will help achieve the Grow Ontario Strategy goal of increasing consumption of food locally grown, raised and produced by 30 per cent.

Quick Facts

• The tender fruit farmgate value for fresh market and processing sales accounted for more than $85 million in 2023.
• The $1.6 million invested by the Ontario government represents 50 per cent of the total costs for this project. The remaining 50 per cent is paid for by the Ontario Tender Fruit Growers. This funding demonstrates the partnership between industry and the Ontario government that helps the province’s growers remain competitive in the marketplace.
• The Ontario agriculture and food sector supports more than 871,883 jobs in Ontario and contributed more than $50.7 billion to the province’s economy in 2023.
• Foodland Ontario is a consumer marketing program by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness that has been informing Ontario consumers about the availability of locally grown foods since 1977. Visit Foodland Ontario’s Availability Guide to find out what is seasonally available in Ontario.

Inspiration for the week

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

• Maya Angelou

Office Notice:

My office is open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4 pm. If you require assistance on any matter, please contact me at any time. My staff and I will be happy to assist. Even if it’s not a provincial issue, I’ll make sure to connect you with the proper office.

Goldie

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