November 4, 2014

Monte Kwinter, MPP for York-Centre
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade
Chair of the Ontario Investment and Trade Advisory Council
Room 1307, Whitney Block
99 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1W3

Dear MPP Kwinter:

It is an honour and a pleasure to have you as my Parliamentary Assistant. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade and to outline some of the important work that lies ahead of us.

As you know, our government has a plan to invest in the talent and skills of our people, build modern infrastructure, support a dynamic and innovative business climate, and provide better retirement security to people across the province. At the heart of this plan are partnerships with businesses, people and communities, which will help our government grow the economy, create jobs and implement solutions that have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.

This balanced and comprehensive plan is underpinned by a focus on fiscal prudence. The mandate letter I received last month from Premier Wynne reinforced our government’s commitment to balance the budget by 2017-18 and to pursue increased openness, accountability and modernization.

Parliamentary Assistants play a key role in delivering these priorities and have a responsibility to put our government’s plan into action. As my Parliamentary Assistant and Chair of the Ontario Investment and Trade Advisory Council, we will work together to advance Ontario’s international trade interests and ensure that our province benefits from global investments and trade opportunities.

As Parliamentary Assistant your specific priorities include:

  • Participating in consultations with our stakeholders to leverage one of Ontario’s greatest strengths – our diverse communities – to ensure better international trade and investment opportunities.
  • Continue building on the existing relationships created through our International Marketing Centres to help our small and medium-sized businesses become more globally competitive to create more jobs and economic growth in Ontario.

As Chair of the Ontario Investment and Trade Advisory Council your specific responsibilities include:

  • In collaboration with MEDEI, re-establishing and re-invigorating the Ontario Investment and Trade Advisory Council to further strengthen Ontario’s relationship with our existing trading partners. The advisory council will further work to expand the reach of our province’s exports – finding new markets for our innovative goods and services.
  • Identifying prospective trade opportunities and investments to better promote Ontario as a premier destination for business investment and business immigration. By working with my office and the advisory council, you will leverage the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games to create new trade connections, participate in business to business networking opportunities, establish long-term relationships and showcase how Ontario has the ability to deliver solid investment returns.

I am confident that together, working in collaboration with our partners in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, we can deliver on our commitment to the people we are privileged to represent and serve. I look forward to working with you to deliver our ministry’s mandate, build Ontario up — and help achieve a brighter future for every person in this province.

Sincerely,

Original signed by

The Honourable Michael Chan
Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade