Ontario will raisethe minimum wage to $10.25 on March 31, 2010.  This will be the seventh ncrease since 2004. The province of Ontario started implementing annual increases early in 2003, raising the general minimum wage from $6.85 in 2004 to $9.50 in 2009. Phasing in these increases balances the needs of hard working families with the needs of small businesses that create jobs. Increasing the minimum wage is part of Breaking the Cycle: Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy, which will reduce the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over five years - lifting 90,000 kids out of poverty - by boosting benefits for low-income families and enhancing publicly funded education.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced the launch of Small Business Information Webinars as part of ongoing efforts to assist Canadians in understanding their tax responsibilities and how the CRA is available to help them. The Small Business Information Webinars are a new interactive way for businesses to learn about their income tax and value-added tax responsibilities, and will also provide small enterprises a means to communicate with the CRA.

The CRA is offering webinars focused on the HST for Ontario. For more information on these webinars, please visit www.cra.gc.ca/harmonization.

To get more information on the Small Business Information Webinars, visit www.cra.gc.ca/events.

The Regional Municipality of Durham, in partnership with the interim Local Diversity and Immigration Partnership Council, celebrated the launch of the Durham Community Immigration Portal—www.durhamimmigration.ca—an integrated web-based resource to attract, welcome and support new immigrants and businesses to the region. This project was made possible with a funding contribution of $535,600 from the Ontario and federal governments. This funding is part of the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement to support municipalities in attracting newcomers and helping them settle in their communities.

Canadian homebuilders remain cautiously optimistic about the year ahead as they put 2009 behind them and shovels in the ground for new developments across the country in 2010.  That’s the national view at home in Durham Region from Victor Fiume, General Manager of Durham Custom Homes, who assumed the presidency of the Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA) at a ceremony in Victoria early in March 2010. Assuming leadership of the Canadian Home Builders Association, while prestigious, is just the latest honour bestowed on the affable Mr. Fiume and Durham Custom Homes. Earlier this year, he was given an EnergQuality Hall of Fame Award for his advocacy of sustainable building practices and he’s a past-president of the Durham Region Home Builders Association and the Ontario Home Builders Association.

As of January 31, 2010, self-employed individuals can register for Employment Insurance (EI) special benefits. The four types of special benefits are:  maternity benefits parental benefits; sickness benefits and compassionate care benefits. Register online using My Service Canada Account anywhere you can access the Internet, including at a Service Canada Centre near you. Visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca for more information. You can also call the EI Telephone Information Service at 1-800-206-7218.

The City of Oshawa is fast becoming a hub for post-secondary education with Trent University and UOIT announcing plans to expand their presence in Oshawa by the start of the fall 2010 semester. In addition, Durham College plans to create new teaching spaces at its Oshawa campus to accommodate increased enrolment numbers and will soon be home to a new Student Services building.

Building on the success of the inaugural 2010 A Tribute to Our Troops dinner, a community-based volunteer committee has again come together to celebrate the troops of The Ontario Regiment and to raise funds for The Ontario Regiment Foundation.

The 2^nd Annual Dinner is set for Thursday, April 7th 2011, at Deer Creek Golf and Banquet Facility. If you would like to sponsor or attend this amazing event details can be found at www.troopstribute.com and click on partnership opportunities. The Dinner is $150.00 per person. For more information just go to the website or call Sgt. Andrea Downey, Regimental Chief Clerk at 905-721-4000 ext 4027.

Auditions for Season Six heat up in Oshawa on March 18, 2010 Do you have a hot new invention or the next million-dollar idea? Think you have the money-making chops to take on the savviest business tycoons in the country? Then Dragons’ Den wants to hear from you!  The DRAGONS’ DEN production team will be in Oshawa  scouting for Season Six of the hit series on CBC Television. The show gives aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their businesses to a panel of wealthy Canadian moguls for the chance to earn real cash and real investment – from the Dragons' own pockets!   Open auditions are taking place on March 18th, 2010 from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, 44 Richmond St., W. Unit 100. Please apply online and bring your completed application form to the auditions. More details can be found on the show’s website at cbc.ca/dragonsden.

Economy of ‘resilient’ city set to grow. The university’s continued expansion into the downtown and an agreement with the federal government that will finally allow Oshawa to develop its waterfront are among a long list of triumphs that reflect the city’s true character in the face of a global economic downturn, Oshawa Mayor John Gray says. “Far too many people predicted that 2009 was going to be a disastrous year for the City of Oshawa … however (it) defined our city as one that is resilient and that we alone determine our own fate,” Gray said in his 7th Annual State of the City address. “There will be more exciting news to come forward this year … We will rebuild and revitalize our city.”

A public school board report calling for the closure of an Oshawa high school is shortsighted and the process leading to the recommendation is flawed, the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce argues. “The process leading to a recommendation to close Dr. FJ Donevan Collegiate Institute has been insufficient and the outcome appears to have been predetermined by administration with little or no consideration to the needs of the community as a whole,” says Chamber General Manager and CEO Bob Malcolmson. He represents the business community on the Durham District School Board’s (DDSB) Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) for the East Oshawa, secondary schools area. The committee also includes parents, school staff and a representative from the City of Oshawa. When formed last May, it was asked to consider consolidating Donevan into Eastdale Collegiate Vocational Institute.

by Bob Malcolmson, CEO & General Manager, Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce

Recently the Chamber has become aware of other business and industry association plans holding themselves out to be “similar” to the Chamber Group (healthcare plan). This is just simply not the case. Most of these plans are for profit and claims rated programs, providing little to no protection to your business should you have a high usage year. In addition none have a “pool” the size of the Chambers Plan, and as such can’t provide the stability on core rates that the Chamber plan can.While some may offer significant first year savings they do so with no risk to themselves. If you claim more than 60-70% of what you pay in health and dental premiums you will see a significant increase on your renewal putting your plan in jeopardy.

by Sgt. Nicole Hamilton
PRO Unit, Central East Division, Durham Regional Police Service

Central East Project Unit, formerly COPR UNIT, is comprised of 8 officers and a sergeant working out of 17 Division in downtown Oshawa. The PRO Unit is tasked with identifying problems in the Central East and working with community partners to reduce calls for service by using a combination of proactive and reactive strategies. The unit uses targeted enforcement strategies and patrols downtown and south Oshawa with high visibility on foot and on bicycle and interacts with community partners to resolve problems/issues. As a problem solving unit, the team is also responsible for neighborhood problem solving. PRO is responsible for: identifying problems and interacting with community partners to resolution; developing a shared responsibility using problem based learning; enhancing community police relations; reducing calls for service using a combination of proactive and reactive initiatives; conducting targeted enforcement strategies in problem solving initiatives; creating high visibility on foot in the downtown and south Oshawa and parking marked vehicles in high visibility areas of downtown.

Plans to add a second shift to the Oshawa Car Assembly Plant’s state-of-the-art flexible manufacturing line were announced February 11, 2010 at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto. The shift will begin in the fourth quarter of 2010 in preparation for the North American production of the Buick Regal, which is slated to commence in the first quarter of 2011.