Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce brings out its weekly Newsletter Feb 19

Asha Bajaj

7 min readFeb 19, 2022

ICCC Weekly Newsletter

19 FEBRUARY

President’s View

RIPUDAMAN SINGH DHILLON

ICCC recommendations for Ontario Budget

On behalf of our Chamber, I thank Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria for giving our Chamber an opportunity to participate in this pre-budget consultation. The ICCC is one of the largest diaspora business organizations representing Indo-Canadian micro, small and medium businesses since 1977.

The pandemic and the lockdowns have resulted in both closure of business and loss of revenue for small businesses and have affected minority-owned businesses more.

I appreciate the efforts of the PC government in Ontario to support small businesses through the entire period and help them survive the economic uncertainties during the last two years. Now, when the pandemic appears to have become less virulent, it is important that the PC government continues to maintain its support to small businesses.

The ICCC believes that this can be done in the following ways:

Continuing all the rebate programs that were announced in the last two years for at least the next six months. Specific provisions as contained in Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program may be maintained for the next six months, or, if necessary, to be extended throughout the budget year.

The continuation of the following measures throughout the budget year:

Reduction in Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) premiums
Allowing businesses to accelerate write-offs of capital investments for tax purposes
Reducing the small business Corporate Income Tax rate to 3.2%
Introducing and temporarily enhancing the Regional Opportunities Investment Tax Credit to encourage investments in certain regions of Ontario that have lagged in employment growth in the past
Lowering high Business Education Tax rates for job creators
Increasing the Employer Health Tax exemption from $490,000 to $1 million
Lowering electricity bills through measures such as the Renewable Cost Shift program, with the Province paying for a portion of high-priced, non-hydro renewable energy contracts
Providing targeted COVID-19 support through the Ontario Small Business Support Grant, which supported over 11,000 small businesses to the tune of $3 billion

In particular, the ICCC welcomes the announcements made in the fall economic statement pertaining to skills development. The ICCC firmly advocates for the continuation of an extension to the temporary Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit, providing Ontarians with an additional $275 million of support for eligible training expenses.

Continue the proposal to invest an additional $90.3 million in its Skilled Trades Strategy over the three years to promote and streamline careers in the skilled trades, and invest $5 million in 2021–22 to expand the Second Career Program to aid newcomers, gig workers, and people with disabilities acquire the skills needed for in-demand jobs.

Let me conclude by thanking Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria once again, on behalf of our Chamber, its members, and stakeholders, for providing me this opportunity to share some thoughts on the forthcoming budget.

India Mission 2022

26 March 2022 to 09 April 2022

New Delhi (28 & 29 March), Lucknow (30 & 31 March),
Jammu (04 April), Chandigarh (05 & 06 April),
Dehradun (07 & 08 April)

Putting the Covid-19 pandemic’s lockdown restrictions firmly behind, the ICCC is organizing its Annual India Investment and Trade Mission 2022 between 26 March and 9 April 2022. The ICCC’s ‘India Mission’ focuses on promoting trade relations between micro and small businesses and exploring investment opportunities in Canada and India.

The 2022 India Mission’s focus is on the growing and economically thriving centers in North India. The be a multicity, multisector mission with whistle-stop visits to New Delhi, Lucknow, Jammu, Chandigarh, and Dehradun will comprise meetings with political and government decision-makers, industry and corporate leaders, representatives of Chambers of Commerce and Industry Association, micro and small business owners.

If you are a micro or small business owner or a professional and are interested in joining the ICCC’s India Mission 2022, please write to Mayank Bhatt at mbhatt@iccconline.org.

To encourage more participation, the ICCC is not charging registration fees.
All participants in the mission will be making their own travel, stay and commuting arrangements.
You have the choice of participating in the entire mission, or only select cities.

Get a flavor of the 2019 India Mission,
browse through the report below

India Mission 2019

Upcoming Programs

Are you looking to hire highly-skilled, knowledgeable students?

Virtual Information Session
Centennial College Recruitment Services for Employers

5:30 pm — 6:30 pm

Tuesday 22 February 2022

Many Centennial College students are available year-round for Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities, including co-op placements and field placements. Our students can help businesses with short-term staffing needs, small projects, peak period demands, and other recruitment needs.

Find out how your business can benefit from Centennial College’s various Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities, learn about available employer funding programs and discover the numerous ways you can work with Centennial College to attract qualified employees.

The session will include information on:

Hiring Co-op Students
Recruiting Field Placement Students
Available Graduate, Summer, and Part-Time Recruitment Services
Applied Research, Capstone Projects, and International Partnerships
Funding and Tax Credits

Co-op Students

Centennial College offers over 50 co-op programs in the fields of Business, Engineering Technology Applied Sciences, and Transportation.

The co-op program gives our students a chance to gain meaningful work experience while allowing them to fill short-term staffing needs and assess potential full-time employees.

Students are available full-time for 4-month assignments (8- and 12-month work terms may be arranged)
Organizations that offer paid co-op opportunities may be eligible for the Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit (up to $3000 per student for each co-op work term)

If you are interested in hiring a co-op student, contact our staff by phone: 416–289–5209 or by email: cooped@centennialcollege.ca.

Field Placement Students

A large number of academic programs require students to complete a mandatory field placement. These placements are ideal for short-term recruitment needs. Field placements are unpaid and can range from a few days to several weeks, depending on the program. Placements are offered in a range of programs, such as Community and Health Studies; Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts; Communications, Media, Arts, and Design.

If you are interested in hiring a field placement student, please contact SOLV, our single point of contact for employers seeking to connect with business-enhancing opportunities and services across Centennial College. You can reach SOLV by phone: 416–289–5022 or by email: solv@centennialcollege.ca.

Canada — India Trade & Investment Collaboration Initiative

8:30 AM EST Thursday 24 February 2022

The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) in collaboration with the Consulate General of India in Toronto and Invest India is organizing a webinar on Canada — India Trade & Investment Collaboration Initiative.

The program will comprise a special address by Consul General Apoorva Srivastava, and a detailed presentation by Invest India on investment and trade opportunities in India especially in Food Processing, Pharmaceuticals, Renewable Energy, Tourism & Hospitality.

It will also include a panel discussion comprising industry veterans and experts.

ICCC is Partner Organization

at Panorama India’s Republic Day Celebrations