Duane Hicks
NCDS is asking town council for its support for it to remain a provincially-funded agency that manages and delivers Employment Ontario programs here in Rainy River District.
The Northern Partners committee, consisting of more than 30 Employment Ontario agencies in the north, came together over a mutual concern about a resolution made at the Northern Ontario Service Deliverers Association (NOSDA) general meeting last June, NCDS executive director Nicke Paddock told council at its regular meeting Monday night.
Paddock, also sits on the committee, noted the resolution asked that District Social Services Administration Boards (DSSABs) and Consolidated Municipal Service Managers (CMSMs) become managers and planners of Employment Ontario within the north.
This would mean Employment Ontario would be funded through municipal levies–not the provincial government.
“And it was just announced last week by the Ford government that the management of these programs will be put out for a competitive proposal process,” Paddock noted.
“As you’ve guessed, this is a little concerning for the Employment Ontario service providers in north,” she added. “So we decided to embark on a government relations campaign and hired a government relations consultant.”
The campaign focuses on the positive impact Employment Ontario service providers, including NCDS, are making on the communities they serve.
It includes a social media campaign, as well as a paper that outlines how they’re currently delivering programs in an efficient and successful way in their respective communities.
“We are usually quite a quiet industry so we thought it was time to speak up a little bit and to toot our own horn,” Paddock said.
NCDS is the Employment Ontario service provider for Rainy River District. Its staff of 14 manages employment programs for the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU).
They work with job-seekers to help them find employment and work with many struggling youth to help them find the services they need on their road to employment training.
NCDS also supports many of the employers in the community to help them hire the people they need.
In 2017-18, Northern Partners served 4,217 businesses in the north, placing 11,685 people in new jobs and supporting 2,441 people returning to school or training in the community.
Here in Rainy River District, businesses have accessed the services of NCDS more than 10,000 times in the last five years.
“About 90 percent of those businesses are small and medium businesses who need the support the most,” noted Paddock.
In 2017-18, NCDS invested $1.4 million into the community through work supports, employment training, and more.
NCDS works closely with many community partners, especially the local school boards, as they know the importance of supporting youth in their training journeys, Paddock added.
“We also feel these strong partnerships are particularly important in the coming years as the Ford government doesn’t seem to have any emphasis on supporting the youth,” she warned.
Paddock feels the biggest and most important point is that NCDS continues to deliver these programs successfully year after year by meeting the service delivery targets given to them by the ministry.
“We have done so in eight years with a zero increase in operational dollars,” she remarked.
“We pass all of our risk assessments that the ministry does on us and we’ve never been put on a program improvement plan, which is quite significant,” she added.
NCDS also has supported the actual municipality, including the local library and Fort Frances Power Corp., through Canada-Ontario job grants.
“So we actually give dollars right back to the municipality, too,” Paddock said.
Paddock asked council for its support in the continuation of NCDS managing and delivering Employment Ontario programs in Rainy River District.
Mayor June Caul, who has worked with Paddock on several committees over the years, said she greatly admires her passion and the impressive way in which NCDS staff help local residents.
“I do know that you work hard, I do know that you do a really good job, and I find it unfortunate that if something is going to go the government and they’re going to start to make more cuts, we’re going to lose that valuable, personal touch that you do have,” she remarked.
“I am certainly a supporter of keeping you where you are and keeping your jobs intact, and making sure the people who need help still have it in a proper way,” Mayor Caul added.
“Thank you for bringing it to our attention,” said Coun. Wendy Brunetta.
“I certainly wasn’t aware of it [the motion passed by NOSDA],” she added. “I don’t know how many people here were.”
