Campaign on the Clock Connects Voters to Candidates

FUSION Saint John, Saint John Board of Trade and UNBSJ’s Students’ Representative Council present speed-networking event for members and municipal candidates.
With a full slate of names on Saint John’s municipal election roster, three local organizations have partnered to host an event to help voters put faces to names and connect with mayoral and ward candidates. FUSION Saint John, the Saint John Board of Trade and UNBSJ’s Students’ Representative Council (SRC) will co-host Campaign on the Clock, a speed-networking event that gives voters a chance to meet the candidates one-on-one.
“It’s important that voters be engaged in the political process and make informed decisions when casting their ballots,” says Imelda Gilman, president of the Saint John Board of Trade. “By partnering together to host this event, we’re extending our reach beyond our own memberships, and giving participants both a chance to interact directly with candidates and learn more about their platforms. Moreover, it allows for members from three organizations that represent different demographics a chance to connect with one another and discuss the upcoming election.”
This is the second time FUSION and the Saint John Board of Trade have hosted Campaign on the Clock, which was first held in 2008. By partnering with UNBSJ’s SRC, the hope is to engage Saint John’s student population in the political process by giving them direct exposure to the candidates.
All of the mayoral and ward candidates have been invited to attend Campaign on the Clock, and the host organizations expect that candidates running in all four Wards, as well as at-large and for mayor, will be in attendance. In addition, Michael Quinn, Elections New Brunswick’s Chief Electoral Officer, will be on hand with helpful voter information. There will be complimentary appetizers and a cash bar.
What: Campaign on the Clock 2012
When: May 3, 5:30p.m.-8:00p.m.
Where: Market Square Atrium
Who: FUSION Saint John, Saint John Board of Trade, UNBSJ Student Representative Council
About FUSION Saint John
FUSION is a networking group for active, civic-minded greater Saint John residents.
We serve as a catalyst for engagement through networking, partnerships and events, and are a leader in the movement that is helping to prevent the migration of educated young people to larger cities and to encourage those who have left to return to the greater Saint John region.
We strive to breathe new life into greater Saint John, and make it the premier place to live, work and play.
About Saint John Board of Trade
The Saint John Board of Trade is a nationally accredited business organization with distinction dedicated to fostering an economic climate that enhances growth, prosperity, and an improved quality of life in the community. With more than 1,000 members, representing 600 small, medium, and large businesses and organizations and therefore, the interests of more than 30,000 citizens, the Board is a dynamic advocate and the principal voice for the business community of Greater Saint John. It offers a variety of programs, activities, services, and networking opportunities designed to enhance the business prospects of members and the overall business climate of the area.
About UNB Saint John Students Representative Council
Established in 1967, the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) of the University of New Brunswick in Saint John (UNBSJ) is a non-profit, apolitical organizations run by students for students. The SRC is an organization made up of approximately 2400 full-time and part-time undergraduate students. As an SRC we offer many essential services to our students such as; health and dental insurance plan, student legal aid, clubs, societies, student activities, social events, federal and provincial lobbying, student employment and more! With the help of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) and the New Brunswick Student Alliance (NBSA) we will be lobbying tuition hikes, copyright issues, student debt, student loans application process and bursaries.
For more information:
Claire Ryan
FUSION Saint John
506-672-1860 x1
cryan@mtlpr.ca
Imelda Gilman
President, Saint John Board of Trade
506-634-4157
igilman@sjboardoftrade.com
John Runcie
VP External, UNBSJ SRC
506-648-5687
Src-external@unbsj.ca

Canadian Chamber of Commerce Webinar: How to Recruit, Hire and Integrate Skilled Immigrants

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is pleased to present the second of several webinars that will focus on the human resource challenges that chambers and their members face today. The second webinar will focus on How to Recruit, Hire and Integrate Skilled Immigrants. This webinar will take place on April 25, 2012 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EDT.
Finding workers with the right skills is a big challenge for small and medium-size businesses. Employers are finding it is increasingly hard to find Canadian-born skilled workers. The reality is that immigrants are becoming the source of all new net growth in Canada’s labour force.
Once you realize you need to consider immigrants as potential employees, the question is how to find and recruit them.
In this webinar, you will learn where to turn when looking to hire foreign workers, and which organizations are available to assist employers find and retain employees from Outside Canada. You will hear about the experiences of other Canadian businesses which have attracted and hired immigrants.
There is no cost for participation. Spaces for this webinar are limited. We ask participants to pre-register by clicking her: http://www.meetview.com/chambertop10-20120425/

Barrier 1: Resolving Canada's Skills Crisis Skills Survey #3: Older workers/people with disabilities

As part of the chamber network’s ongoing consultation on the issues related to skills/competitiveness, we are pleased to be able to provide you with a short survey that is appropriate for sharing with your members to gather their input on this important issue under the skills umbrella.
We encourage you and your members to provide feedback on all of our surveys on skills issues. This is the third survey we have sought your input on. This short survey (9 questions) focuses on issues relative to older workers and persons with disabilities; here’s our third survey: http://bit.ly/top10survey3
A short one-page backgrounder on each issue, older workers and persons with disabilities, is available to you if you wish to include them with your survey communications to your members.
Don’t forget, if you haven’t filled out survey #1 on post-secondary education; and survey #2 on life-long learning, they are still live and waiting for you and your members to comment.

Expressions of Interest – Board of Trade Magazine “Currents”

The Saint John Board of Trade would like to solicit proposals from its membership base for its bi-monthly magazine “Currents”. Proposals will only be accepted from interested parties who can be a “one-stop shop” for magazine publication, by coordinating all aspects of the production including editorial, graphic design, advertising sales, printing and delivery. Interested parties must be willing to take a financial risk in this project as all expenses in producing the magazine must be offset by the advertising sales. More details can be obtained by contacting the Saint John Board of Trade.
Interested parties should contact Carole Cunningham, Office & Events Coordinator at ccunningham@sjboardoftrade.com or (506) 634-4153 no later than Friday, April 20, 2012 (4PM) to express their interest in submitting a proposal.