December 06

BBOT General Manager Sheldon Leiba and Dr. Yamil Alonso, Project Co-coordinator for the BBOT campaign Skills Without Borders attend committee hearings at Queen’s Park to support Bill 124.

Brampton Board of Trade made a presentation last month at Queen’s Park supporting Bill 124, Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, which in effect regulates standards for professional accreditation for newly arrived immigrants.

Speaking before the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills, BBOT General Manager Sheldon Leiba said government, settlement agencies, the education system and the business community must play a “strong role” in breaking down barriers and supporting the gainful employment of immigrants, “so that our society and economy can capitalize on their full potential.”

Bill 124, the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, is “one very important step” in the right direction because if we are successful in effectively integrating immigrants and foreign trained professional into our labour force and in the professions that they are trained, skilled and experienced in, Canadian society and our economy as a whole will gain:
• by providing employers, our economy and society with the skills we need;
• by providing immigrants the opportunity to contribute fully in their professions optimize their earnings, stimulate our economy with their consumer spending and contribute to the social and cultural development of our community and ultimately to our overall quality of life.

“If we are not successful…we will all lose. This should not be an option.”

Leiba told the committee “the case in favour of Bill 124 is less of a social case for The Brampton Board of Trade, but rather a strong business and economic case that has tremendous implications for Brampton, and communities throughout Ontario.

“We are here as a leading business association to say that business and professional bodies can not afford to be part of the problem. The fair, effective and expedient employment integration of immigrants is absolutely critical to strengthening our economic future, and thus business and professional regulatory bodies must be part of the solution.”

Earlier this year The Brampton Board of Trade, with funding support from Service Canada, launched Skills Without Borders, a year-long employer awareness campaign on the benefits of hiring immigrants. The campaign includes a study of local labour demands; exploring barriers for employers to hiring immigrants; employer awareness seminars and activities; focus groups; and the dissemination of information on resources and services to assist employers in attracting, recruiting and retaining immigrants as employees.

BBOT hires new operations manager

In this position, she will be responsible for the day-to-day administrative and financial operations of the Board including overseeing process improvement initiatives.

Carrie has an extensive background in leadership and business development. Most recently, she was Director of Sheridan Corporate, a business to business unit at Sheridan Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning. Prior to joining Sheridan, Carrie was responsible for business development for Corporate Education at Humber College. Her experience also includes entrepreneurship. As principle of Chrysalis Communications, Carrie specialized in facilitating strategic planning as well as providing management and communications training.

Carrie has been a resident of Brampton for 18 years and is a strong supporter of community. A recipient of numerous volunteer service awards, Carrie is currently a member of Business and Professional Women (BPW) of Brampton and the Brampton Downtown Residents Association.

She is excited about the many initiatives being undertaken by the Brampton Board of Trade and looks forward to supporting Brampton’s business community.

$1 million from RBC for new hospital

The Royal Bank of Canada has pledged $1 million to The William Osler Health Centre Foundation to be used for the RBC Child and Adolescent Mental Health Program at the new Brampton Civic Hospital. The program will provide specialized care in areas such as thought, severe anxiety and mood disorders.

Harriet Thornhill, RBC Regional Vice President, Brampton announced the gift at a community presentation at the RBC's Sunny Meadow Blvd. and Bovaird Rd. branch in Brampton, directly across the street from the new hospital.

"RBC is very excited about the RBC Child and Adolescent Mental Health Program. It is an opportunity to provide top notch support and care for youth at risk across Peel region,” said Thornhill.

Anne Randell, President and CEO of the William Osler Health Centre Foundation said "Young people and their families will be cared for in a new hospital that was designed with compassionate patient care first and foremost in mind. A number of additional beds in large, bright rooms and common areas combined with an outstanding clinical team allow the RBC Child and Adolescent Mental Health Program the opportunity to provide unparalleled care in our community."

Support for William Osler Health Centre Foundation's $120 million Community Campaign to build Brampton Civic and redevelop its other two sites, Peel Memorial Hospital and Etobicoke General Hospital, continues to grow as $84 million in cash and pledges has been donated to the Foundation to date.

The President’s Viewpoint
BBOT renews its Strategic Plan

For any business or organization to be successful, it must have a strong sense of where it wants to go, and develop and implement specific strategies on how to get there.

Strategic Planning has been a long-time business practice of The Brampton Board of Trade that is taken very seriously. At the beginning of each fiscal year, Governing Council and management dedicate a significant amount of time towards strategic planning, including developing and updating our plan, or focusing on specific aspects of the plan.

The Brampton Board of Trade’s 2002 Strategic Plan stimulated many new programs, services and initiatives including: the Early Morning Trade Show networking program (that received an Ontario Chamber of Commerce Award for best new program or initiative); new cost savings and affinity programs; new committees such as the Business Development Committee and Multicultural Committee; new strategic relationships with organizations where there were mutual interests; and the governance and committee structure of The Brampton Board of Trade was strengthened. We also worked on programs to increase the profile of The Brampton Board of Trade in our community; and enhanced policy advocacy initiatives on issues such as the Highway 410 extension; hospital development; preservation of employment lands, downtown revitalization, and more.

Over the past year, your Governing Council and management has once again gone through a very extensive organizational review process that has culminated in a renewed Strategic Plan for The Brampton Board of Trade.

The new Strategic Plan (that can be found on our website at www.bramptonbot.com) confirmed six key service areas for our organization: Member Relations; Advocacy and Policy Management; Business Relations; External and Government Relations; Community Relations; and Administrative Management. These will be the areas where we will focus our personnel, volunteers, and financial resources.

We have developed new Vision and Mission Statements that will always be kept at the fore of everything we do:

Vision – The Brampton business community will be a thriving, vibrant and diverse economic force.

Mission - The Brampton Board of Trade will proactively serve the interests of its members and the business community in Brampton through advocacy and business development.
In discussing our key service areas, we created and prioritized five Strategic Goals:
1. Provide services and programs to meet the diverse needs of the membership
• Lead and support the development of relevant and timely programs and services
• Provide information and resources that will support businesses
• Create and implement a process to assess membership and business needs
• Develop and implement a process for evaluating each program and service

2. Be a leader in advocacy and on policy issues that affect Brampton businesses
• Actively influence policy issues at all levels of government that impact business
• Engage business in the identification of key policy issues
• Promote the employment integration of immigrants
• Promote improvement of transportation

3. Increase awareness and profile of The Brampton Board of Trade
• Strengthen the membership recruitment and retention strategy
• Strengthen communication vehicles
• Enhance The Brampton Board of Trade’s presence in the media
• Communicate successes more effectively
• Strengthen The Brampton Board of Trade’s presence in the multicultural business community

4. Enhance strategic partnerships and alliances
• Work in partnership with existing and new business associations
• Assess and align current and future partnerships and alliances

5. Strengthen the overall performance of The Brampton Board of Trade
• Develop a member satisfaction measurement program
• Ensure financial sustainability
• Enhance operational effectiveness
• Ensure documentation of policies and processes
• Attract and retain high performing employees

For each of these Strategic Goals and sub-goals, very specific projects and initiatives are being identified, that will be regularly monitored and tracked for progress. All decisions and activities of The Brampton Board of Trade, from Governing Council, committees, management and staff, will be measured against the Plan.

All new initiatives must fit within the service areas and goals of the strategic plan.

Hopefully Brampton Board of Trade members and potential members alike will appreciate the value of this organization having such a strong and effective Strategic Plan that meets the long-term needs of this organization to be self-sustainable and relevant, and meets the needs of our members and our diverse business community.

We continue to welcome your input and feedback on how we can make your Brampton Board of Trade better – write us, send us an email, give us a call, or come for a visit.

Wayne Waters is President of The Brampton Board of Trade and is the Operations Manager at Waters & McDonald Associates, 31 Stafford Dr.; Tel: 905-459-0373; Email wayne.waters@watmc.com.