FERGUS – Michael Chong, Member of Parliament for Wellington–Halton Hills, today announced the launch of the federal government’s Call for Proposals for projects that will increase economic security and promote prosperity for women communities across Canada, including those in Wellington County and Halton Hills.

Led by Status of Women Canada, this Call for Proposals seeks to open doors to economic opportunities for women. All projects will include a number of predetermined elements, which organizations must address in their proposals. Projects under this Call for Proposals fall into three thematic areas.

The first theme is advancing women in non-traditional occupations, which has the objective of increasing opportunities for industry sectors and communities to advance women in non-traditional occupations.

The second theme is increasing economic options for women, which has the objective of engaging women and community partners in developing community strategies that increase women’s access to a broad range of economic options.

The third theme is improving prosperity for immigrant women, which has the objective of engaging women and community stakeholders in developing and implementing strategies that improve prosperity for immigrant women.

The deadline for applications under this Call for Proposals is 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on May 31, 2013. All required documents must be provided at the time of submission. Please note that incomplete or late applications will not be considered. To obtain application guides and forms, visit http://goo.gl/u83dd

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The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) enables employers to hire foreign workers on a temporary basis to fill immediate skills and labour shortages, when Canadian citizens and permanent residents are not available to do the job.

Canadians always deserve the first chance at available jobs, and any situation where already-employed Canadians are replaced by temporary foreign workers is unacceptable. The purpose of the TFWP is to fill labour needs when Canadians are not available for the work required. It was never intended as a means to bring in foreign workers to replace employed Canadian workers.

There is a genuine need for temporary foreign workers in many industries, especially agriculture.  For example, during the fruit and vegetable harvest season, Ontario’s agriculture industry is dependent on the labour of seasonal foreign workers. There are simply no Canadians willing to fill these jobs, and so, for over 40 years, foreign workers from Mexico and the Caribbean have come to Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program to pick Ontario’s fruits and vegetables.

In recent years, the government tightened the rules to prevent approved temporary foreign workers from having their permit renewed beyond 3 years. Budget 2013 is also bringing in restrictions to curtail the use of foreign workers by reforming the TFWP to ensure that Canadians always get the first chance at jobs. This is in keeping with our focus on connecting Canadians with available jobs and ensuring that Canada’s domestic labour force is prioritized for job opportunities.

With the reform details to be announced in the coming months, the government will make four main changes.

First, we will work with employers to ensure that temporary foreign workers are relied upon only when Canadians genuinely cannot fill those jobs.

Second, we will increase the recruitment efforts that employers must make to hire Canadians before they will be eligible to apply for temporary foreign workers.

Third, we will assist employers who legitimately rely on temporary foreign workers due to a lack of qualified Canadian applicants, find ways to ensure that they have a plan to transition to a Canadian workforce over time.

Fourth, we will amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to restrict the identification of non-official languages as job requirements when hiring through the TFWP.

These positive changes will make the system fairer by ensuring that Canadians are the first to be connected to available jobs, while still ensuring that any temporary labour shortages are filled.

I value your feedback and encourage you to contact me if you have any questions about the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. You can reach me by phone at (866) 878-5556 or by email at michael.chong@parl.gc.ca.

FERGUS – Michael Chong, Member of Parliament for Wellington–Halton Hills, was today saddened to learn that A.O. Smith will be discontinuing manufacturing operations this summer at its residential water heater plant in Fergus.

“It’s unfortunate that so many people will be affected by the company’s announcement,” said Michael. “My thoughts are with the employees and their families during this difficult time.”

Upon learning of the job losses, Michael contacted A.O. Smith to offer federal government assistance. Over recent years, Michael worked with A.O. Smith on efforts to keep the plant operational by securing federal support. Through the Achieving Innovation and Manufacturing Excellence (AIME) initiative, the federal government helped A.O. Smith by providing it with funding to provide advanced skills training for its employees. Despite these efforts, and despite the federal government’s continued focus on job creation and economic growth, Canada is not immune to the continued economic uncertainty south of the border.

In light of the company’s announcement, Michael has made arrangements with the local Service Canada office. He requested that they coordinate with affected A.O. Smith employees in order to ensure that Employment Insurance (EI) benefits and other employment services are available and accessible for those affected by the company’s announcement.

Any employees affected by the A.O. Smith announcement who wish to access federal government services such as Employment Insurance can also contact MP Michael Chong’s office at (866) 878-5556.

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The Three Centuries Festival presents the annual Elora Festival, a well-established summer music event that features opera, choral and chamber music, as well as jazz, folk, and world music. In 2013 and 2014, the Elora Festival will include pre-concert lectures and introductions, informal meet-the-artist opportunities, and special workshops for teens and children.

“I’m pleased to see our government’s continued support for arts and culture in Wellington County,” said Chong. “Thanks to the concerts presented by the Elora Festival, this community will experience world-class performances that will inspire audiences from near and far.”

“The tangible impact of the support from the Government of Canada will be gloriously apparent on July 12, when the 34^th annual Elora Festival opens with a magnificent performance of Verdi’s Requiem,” said Sharon Rice, Administrator of the Elora Festival & Singers. “We appreciate the ongoing financial support from the Department of Canadian Heritage, without which we could not continue to provide beautiful music.”

The Government of Canada has provided total funding of $104,000 ($52,000 in 2013–2014 and $52,000 in 2014–2015) through the Canada Arts Presentation Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. This program gives Canadians increased access to the variety and richness of Canada’s culture through professional arts festivals, presentations of live professional performances, and other artistic experiences.

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Over the last number of months, I have reached out and talked to many local residents about what they would like to see in the federal budget. Overwhelmingly, I was told that the focus should be on job creation, economic growth and deficit reduction. The federal budget delivers on those fronts.

Since January 2006, nearly 1.5 million net new jobs have been created, representing the best job creation record of all G-7 countries. More than 950,000 of those net new jobs have been created since July 2009, 90 percent of which have been full-time jobs and most of them good, high-skilled jobs. Yet thousands more jobs go unfilled because of a lack of people with the right skills.

The budget will help with job creation by getting Canadians into those available jobs. To do this, we are increasing skills and training support through the new Canada Job Grant.

This grant, which will be available in 2014, will provide $15,000 per person for skills training. This will help Canadians connect with the nearly 130,000 available high-quality and well-paying positions that are currently going unfilled.

We are also going to make it easier for Canadian apprentices to get the work experience needed to become accredited by changing contracting requirements to encourage companies to hire apprentices in order to get federal work.

The budget will also help with small business job creation. To encourage new employee hiring, we are extending the successful Hiring Credit for Small Business for an additional year, helping small Canadian businesses save $225 million in 2013.

There is also help for manufacturing in Ontario.

Manufacturers will receive $1.4 billion in tax relief through a two-year extension of the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for the purchase of new machinery and equipment. We have also created a $200 million Advanced Manufacturing Fund for southern Ontario to encourage corporate investments in new technology and production methods.

We are laying the foundation for economic growth with a record $70 billion investment in the Building Canada Plan, a 10-year plan for infrastructure. This money will help build and repair roads, bridges, subways, rail, and more in communities across Canada. This represents the largest and longest federal investment in Canadian history.

We are also creating economic growth by investing nearly $1.9 billion in funding over 5 years to create more affordable housing and to combat homelessness.

Finally, the federal budget reiterates our plan to balance the budget in 2015, in two short years. By reducing government waste, closing tax loopholes and controlling spending, we will balance our budget without raising income taxes or the HST. In fact, federal taxes are at their lowest level in 50 years. The budget includes measures that will produce savings by making common sense changes such as eliminating tax loopholes and reducing unnecessary spending.

To find out more about our plan for jobs and growth, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca. I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions about the federal budget. You can reach me by phone at (866) 878-5556 or by email at michael.chong@parl.gc.ca.

This investment has contributed to the renovation of the new Helson Gallery, a professional public art gallery which is part of the Town ofHalton Hills’ expanded Cultural Centre. The Helson Gallery maintains a significant and valuable Canadian art collection that will now be available for public viewing for the first time.

“The Government of Canada strongly believes in Canadian arts and culture,” said Chong. “That’s why we are proud to support this collection of iconic Canadian art that includes paintings from the Group of Seven. Local residents will now be able to see these works of art for years to come.”

By investing in local cultural and infrastructure projects like these, the government is supporting the local economy and providing opportunities for people to connect in their communities though arts, culture and heritage.

“What great news as we officially open the Helson Gallery to the public,” said Rick Bonnette, Mayor of Halton Hills. “The support of the Government of Canada is invaluable as we unveil an amazing art collection of Canadian significance.”

The Government of Canada provided this funding through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund seeks to improve physical conditions for artistic creativity and arts presentation or exhibition, and increase access for Canadians to performing, visual, and media arts, and to museum collections and heritage displays.

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Just a few of the recent trade agreements concluded and brought into force include Canada-Jordan, Canada-Colombia, and Canada-Peru. Current negotiations include Canada-Honduras, Canada-India, Canada-Morocco and Canada-Singapore. These trade agreements, however, are dwarfed by two negotiations currently underway: the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed free trade agreement with Pacific Rim nations, as well as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a proposed free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union (EU). I would like to update you on CETA negotiations, as they are nearing completion.

CETA presents a huge opportunity for Canada. If negotiations are successful, CETA will be the largest free trade agreement since NAFTA was introduced.  The EU is the world’s largest integrated economy, with more than 500 million consumers and a GDP of over $17 trillion, larger than the United States.

With our low federal taxes and strong economy, Canada is an investment destination for companies from around the world.  In 2011, direct investment by European companies in Canada totaled almost $161 billion, representing over 26% of total foreign investment in Canada. That same year, direct investment by Canadian companies in the EU totaled almost $173 billion, representing over 25% of Canadian direct investment abroad.

CETA is expected to further boost bilateral trade by 20%, contribute an additional $12 billion annually to Canada’s economy, and create 80,000 new Canadian jobs.

CETA will cover things such as goods, services, and investment. It will put in place predictable rules and provide guaranteed market access, meaning that both Canadian and European businesses will have the clear rules necessary to invest abroad. This will create a level playing field for Canadian businesses wanting to invest or sell products and services in Europe.

Canadian businesses from every sector will benefit from increased access to the lucrative EU market and fewer trade barriers. For example, EU tariffs on chemicals and plastics (a sector employing more than 87,000 Ontarians) currently average 4.9 percent. CETA would eliminate these tariffs.

We expected to complete negotiations by the end of 2012. However, negotiations are still ongoing as the last remaining items are settled. We anticipate that negotiations will conclude this spring. Once complete, the details of CETA will be made public and tabled in the House of Commons.

Your federal government, through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, is focused on creating jobs and long-term prosperity by an ambitious expansion of trade agreements like the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).  If you have any questions, you can contact me by phone at (866) 878-5556 or by email at michael.chong@parl.gc.ca.