Carleton Celebrates Canada Day With A Full Slate Of Events

7 min read July 1, 2023

By Goldie Ghamari, MPP for Carleton

Happy Canada Day!

The busiest and most exciting weekend of celebrations is once again upon us in the riding of Carleton. For the first time in four years, there will be a full slate of Canada Day celebrations and events in the riding.

Carleton is a large riding geographically, and we have Canada Day festivities at every corner of the riding and many places in between! Canada Day celebrations will take place in Riverside South, Vernon, Greely, Osgoode, North Gower, Stittsville and the Rideau Carleton Casino.

I hope to see you on Canada Day at one of the many events that I will be attending in the riding!

Free Fishing Week July 1-9

Over the next week and two weekends (July 1-9), Canadian residents can fish in Ontario for free. This means you do not need to buy a fishing licence if you want to fish during this time.

Follow fishing rules

Free fishing periods remind us of the value of Ontario’s recreational fishery, and the importance of keeping it healthy for future generations. While fishing you must:

follow conservation licence catch limits
obey size limits and sanctuaries
follow the fishing regulations
carry a permit or identification card issued by the provincial or federal government, showing your name and date of birth
Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary
Use Fish ON-Line

Free loans for rods and reels

TackleShare loans out rods and reels for free. Initiated by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) and proudly sponsored by Ontario Power Generation, the TackleShare Program gives new and intermediate anglers the opportunity to go fishing by removing the barriers that prevent them from getting involved, such as access to fishing equipment, and knowledge about recreational angling. Participating anglers simply sign out a rod and reel, as well as an assortment of tackle in the same way that they would borrow library material from a TackleShare Loaner Site or learn about fishing from educational fishing videos on the tackleShare YouTube channel.

New anglers can gear up at locations across the province including:

Ontario provincial parks
conservation authorities
libraries

TackleShare is an Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters program supported by Ontario Power Generation.

Learn To Fish

Fishing is a fun and relaxing way to spend time outdoors, but for some people just getting started into the sport, it can be intimidating. There’s a lot to learn when it comes to fishing, like which fishing rod and tackle to choose, how to follow the fishing regulations, and how to identify fish species. These are only a few challenges beginner anglers face when taking up fishing for the first time.

The Ontario Learn To Fish guide is suitable for people of all ages and is designed for online reading or printing. If you would like a more interactive experience with videos and quizzes, check out our Learn to Fish Online program at https://www.ontario.ca/page/learn-fish-digital.

Ontario Invests in Electricians

I was honoured to be part of an exciting announcement last week, as Premier Doug Ford visited rural Ottawa with Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

The Ontario government is investing $2.7 million to support an innovative project to help 65 electrical workers upgrade their skills and meet the demand for qualified electricians in eastern Ontario. Led by KE Electrical, the free program will provide participants with the training needed to progress from labourer to apprentice, apprentice to journeyman, and journeyman to foreman. This will help electrical workers earn more take-home pay for themselves and their families, while tackling the critical shortage of skilled trades workers the province faces.

Across the province, we’re facing historic labour shortages with thousands of jobs going unfilled in skilled trades each and every day. Programs like these are helping to ensure we have the skilled workforce to build the homes, schools, hospitals and infrastructure projects our growing province needs.”

Across Ontario, at least 1,600 more electricians are needed– a number projected to grow in the coming years, with one-in-three skilled trades workers aged 55 or over and nearing retirement. This project will provide new and existing KE Electrical workers with the chance to participate in 8,500 hours of hands-on training focused on learning technical skills and abilities, health and safety, professional development and other critical industry skills.

In addition to helping 65 men and women take the next step in their careers in an in-demand industry, the program will help the province find the electricians needed to help build its historic infrastructure plans. Training will be delivered at sites throughout eastern Ontario and will be free to all employees, while mileage and other travel expenses will be reimbursed.

The project is funded through the government’s Skills Development Fund, an over $700 million initiative, which supports innovative programs that connect jobseekers with the skills and training they need to find well-paying careers close to home.

Minister McNaughton said something that was very poignant to my family. He said that when you have a career as an electrician, you have a career for life, adding that our government will continue to invest in ground breaking training programs that help people gain the skills they need to advance their careers and build Ontario.

Those words resonated with me as my father is an electrical engineer. He began working in the trades in Ontario almost immediately after arriving in Canada in the mid-1980s, and he still works as an electrician today.

Perhaps you could say that my job of being a Member of Provincial Parliament is an important job in Ontario as we represent people and create policies. But the jobs that thousands upon thousands of workers in the trades like my father have done in Ontario is just as important. After all, they built Ontario from the ground up, and they continue to do so at a record pace.

Quick Facts

Through its first three funding rounds, the Skills Development Fund has supported 596 projects, to help almost 522,000 people around the province take the next step in their careers.
In March 2023, there were roughly 300,000 jobs vacant in Ontario.
Ontario’s Skills Development Fund is supported through labour market transfer agreements between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.

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

Your voice at Queen’s Park

cutline

Goldie Ghamari, MPP for Carleton, was the judge of last year’s Osgoode Village Canada Day Bike Decorating Contest.