The US Office of Management and Budget has just released the regulations pertaining to the Buy American deal that was reached in February.  It is important that Canadian companies who are selling into U.S. markets impacted by the Buy American restrictions understand these rules and share them with their customers. Documentation is available which outlines how the regulations are to be applied and may be useful for Canadian firms who find procurement officers that lack an understanding of the new exceptions for Canadian goods.

At the Annual General Meeting (AGM), held at the GM Centre on March 30th, Chamber members learned that the Chamber was financially sound and for the 12th straight year the Auditor reported a surplus. The Chamber ended the year with a slight dip in membership and in the first quarter of 2010 membership was rebounding. Dave Hare, President of the Chamber in 2009, submitted the 2009 Annual Report reflecting on the actions of the Chamber during the past year—stating the Chamber remained focused on putting in place a marketing strategy, continuing its pro-active support for the completion of Highway 407 and the finalizing of the Oshawa Harbour.

Oshawa residents responded to the Earth Hour challenge by reducing the demand for electricity this past Saturday evening from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Oshawa’s demand for electricity dropped 6.84 per cent or 10 megawatts during the one hour worldwide initiative, compared to Ontario’s drop of approximately 4 per cent or 560 megawatts as reported by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

In a unique joint partnership, Corus Entertainment’s Channel 12 – CHEX TV Durham and Dan Carter Productions are relocating this fall, and moving together into the new Carter Centre for Media and Cultural Studies in downtown Oshawa. The new location in the downtown core will become a media hub, committed to fostering media innovation, education and creativity.

As part of the March 18th open house in Oshawa, Trent University unveiled a sign at its new Oshawa Thornton Road campus and announced a generous $1.2 million bequest that will provide direct financial support to students. The open house event attracted over 100 people, including prospective students and their families, to Trent’s current location at the UOIT/Durham College campus. Students were personally greeted by his worship John Gray, Mayor of the City of Oshawa and Trent’s President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Steven E. Franklin. At the open house students participated in sample lectures, toured the existing facility, engaged in one-on-one discussions with faculty and liaison staff, and learned more about Trent’s plans for a new campus in Oshawa.

Ontario is looking for organizations that want to be a leader in improving accessibility for people with disabilities. Under the annual EnAbling Change Partnership Program, the government partners with organizations that have the vision, leadership and commitment to improve accessibility by providing funding for projects that will significantly improve accessibility across industries or sectors. Deadline to submit your Letter of Interest is April 23, 2010. Click here for more information and how to apply.

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.