December 30, 2016

Ms. Cristina Martins
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development and Growth
9th Floor, Ferguson Block
77 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1L2

Dear Ms. Martins:

I am honoured to have you as my parliamentary assistant, and I thank you for the valuable support that you are already providing to me in this crucial role. I welcome you to the Ministry of Economic Development and Growth, and look forward to working closely with you to ensure that both ministry and overall government objectives are achieved.

At this mid-point of our mandate — and after having achieved two years of real and tangible progress — we are redoubling our efforts to deliver on our top priority — economic growth and good jobs. Our balanced plan to build Ontario up for everyone will deliver real benefits and more inclusive growth that will help people in their everyday lives. We will do this by continuing to invest in better infrastructure, more affordable and accessible postsecondary education, a competitive, low-carbon economy and improved retirement security.

Responsible fiscal management remains an overarching priority for our government, and, thanks to our disciplined approach, we are on track to balance the budget next year, in 2017-18.

The mandate letter I received in September from Premier Wynne sets out my specific priorities as minister for the coming two years. Parliamentary assistants play a key role in meeting these priorities and in helping put our government’s plan into action.

Our ministry is committed to: creating an innovation-driven economy; supporting innovative and high-growth companies as they scale up; modernizing the regulatory system and reducing the cost of doing business; developing a regional economic development framework and strategies; supporting Ontario businesses by improving internal trade in Canada; accelerating the growth of Ontario’s social enterprise sector; and supporting the Climate Change Action Plan.

As Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development and Growth, your specific responsibilities include:

  • Leading our efforts with social enterprises and co-ops, to ensure their contributions to our economy are adequately measured, and to ensure they have access to the support and expertise they need to grow and prosper in Ontario.
  • In collaboration with Minister MacCharles and the Ontario Women’s Directorate, working on the development of a government-wide approach to the economic empowerment of women, and working with our ministry officials and key stakeholders to identify and remove barriers and to improve supports for women seeking entrepreneurship opportunities.
  • Participating in upcoming consultations to develop regional economic development strategies.
  • Promoting the upcoming Red Tape Challenge consultations on the financial services, mining, chemical manufacturing, and forestry sectors, and any additional sectors.
  • Supporting annual Burden Reduction legislation, which will enable Ontario ministries to modernize and update their existing legislation.

A tremendous opportunity lies before us — to ensure that our ministry’s mandate is fully and effectively implemented, to continue to build Ontario up and to deliver real benefits to all Ontarians.

Sincerely,

Original signed by

Brad Duguid
Minister