November 4, 2014

Ms. Marie-France Lalonde, MPP
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development,
Employment and Infrastructure (Economic Development)
8th Floor, Hearst Block
900 Bay Street
Toronto Ontario
M7A 2E1

Dear Ms. Lalonde:

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 Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure 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 Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure (Economic Development) you will support our ministry’s efforts to build a strong, diversified and globally competitive economy that provides jobs, increases productivity and results in more prosperity for all Ontarians.

Your specific responsibilities will also include:

  • supporting the passage of Bill 7 (Better Business Climate Act, 2014) in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
  • advising me, based on your experience as a former business owner, on how best to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses
  • assisting me in determining how best to support communities that are still recovering from the global recession, in particular our small and rural communities, including francophone communities, where small businesses are important contributors to local economies; and,
  • working with me as we implement the Ontario Youth Jobs Strategy in partnership with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

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,

Brad Duguid signature

Brad Duguid
Minister