Toronto Chapter this week
Add the Toronto Chapter page and the LO events calendar to your bookmarks

Program offers free employment service
Toronto Community
Employment Services is an Ontario government-funded program that offers pre-screened candidates to match experience, skills and personal ambitions to business requirements. The free service refers qualified,
experienced and skilled candidate employees. A wage incentives program covers up to 40 per cent of the salary wage of the
new employee. To find out more about the program go to www.toronto-jobs.org, or contact Diana De la Cruz, Employer Services Consultant, at jobs@tces.on.ca, or 416-488-0084, ext. 205.


LO this week

 
Support Foundation and win cash
Try your
luck in the Ontario Horticultural Trade Foundation raffle, and
help support your industry. Tickets are $20 each; first prize is $5,000,
second is $1,000 and third is $500. Only 1,000 tickets have been
printed. The draw will take place at the 2011 Growers Auction on July
15. You may donate in increments of $20 to get raffle tickets. All proceeds to go to scholarships and research projects. Contact Kathleen Pugliese to purchase tickets.

Save the date for the Growers Research Auction
Set aside July 14 to visit Blue Sky Nursery in Beamsville, host of this year’s LO Growers Group Annual Research Auction. Come for the nursery tours, a great lunch and, of course, the chance to bid on top-quality plant material at below-wholesale prices. All monies raised support industry research and scholarships. Industry donations will be accepted for auction including plant material and related hard goods. Contact Kristen McIntyre at 1-800-265-5656, ext. 321, or Kathleen Pugliese at ext. 309.

CNLA needs stats to help negotiations
CNLA says it is about to begin “some serious negotiations” with merchant solutions companies that process Visa, MasterCard, and debit
cards. The national association is asking members to send in their May
and June 2010 statements. “We’re trying to determine what the membership
is currently paying now, the size of the average transaction, card mix
and a few more stats to give an accurate picture to present to these
companies to help us secure the best overall rate for the membership,”
says Joe Salemi, CNLA member services manager. Send items to joseph@canadanursery.com,
or fax 905-875-1840. Salemi says that all statements will be treated
with the utmost confidentiality, and used for negotiation purposes only.

Industry Canada business tools and resources

Industry Canada has created a web page that provides a number of tools
and resources for business, including a benchmarking tool, BizPal and
more. To access the page go to Business tools.

Skilled
Trades and Career Fair, Apr. 28
The Options 2011 Skilled Trades and Career Fair is looking for
exhibitors to participate in a one-day free event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
where more than 4,000 high school students and community members will
be seeking information and interactive displays about the skilled
trades, as well as general information. As part of this event, more than
200 high school seniors will be competing in 13 Skilled Trades
Competitions. For more information contact Michelle Lariviere-Ranger,
Options 2011 coordinator, larivim@algonquincollege.com, or Employer Registry, or 613-735-4308, ext. 6.


OPA Trails Specialist Workshop, May 11, 12

Petawawa will be the site for the Ontario Parks Association course for
municipal parks managers, supervisors, architects, planners and
volunteers to learn about design, tools, terminology and engineering
principals To register got the Trails Specialist.

Students can apply for flowerbulb scholarship

The North American Flowerbulb Wholesalers Association is offering
students a $1,500 scholarship. The successful applicant must be a
student in a field related to flowerbulbs in some form, in the academic
year 2011-2012. All application forms must be submitted by 5 p.m. July
31, 2011, attached with a 400- to 500-word essay about flowerbulbs. The
successful applicant will be notified by Dec. 20, 2011. To find out more
about the scholarship, go to Flowerbulb Wholesalers.

Sports Turf Association offers scholarship, deadline May 1
The Sports Turf Association’s goal to encourage those considering a
career in the sports turf
industry saw the establishment of a scholarship program in 1993. Since that time, 28
scholarships have been awarded. The STA Robert W. Sheard Scholarship in
the amount of $1,000 is intended to assist students with the cost of
tuition, books and related expenses. The application deadline is May
1. For more information, contact Lee Huether at 519-763-9431, or go to
Sports Turf Association.

OPA workshops in May

Ontario Parks Association has some exciting and informative workshops
coming up in May. Spaces are limited, register now so you don’t miss
out. Some courses include Parks and Landscaping Equipment Safety
Operations, Ball Diamond Maintenance, and Registered Playground Practitioner. For more information on other workshops and to register,
check out what is available from OPA’s website.

Safety Partners create easy access

Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety System Partners are now all
listed on one web page. See information and web page connections for
MOL, WSIB, OHCOW, WHSC, Health & Safety Ontario. Click on Safety
Partners.

Request free E-news or Horticulture Review online for your
employees
New member
applications
Express yourself in LO’s online
forums

Allan Dennis, editor
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