Friday, November 30, 2012

Charles Sousa brings out bold new ideas for Ontario Liberal renewal

Like Charles on Facebook!
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Today Charles Sousa continued to roll out bold new policies to re-engage our membership, support our unheld ridings, and empower our riding associations.

In particular, I'm a big fan of Charles committing to make it easier for youth to join the party online, helping unheld ridings keep more of their money, and supporting more free votes and private members bills.

Take a closer look at: http://www.votesousa.ca/renewal

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Follow the Young Liberals of Canada ground team at the COP 18 UN Climate Change Conference!

http://ylcatcop18.wordpress.com/

I was a member of the first YLC team to go to a COP meeting, attending the COP 15 in Copenhagen. I'm very happy to see the YLC continue to be committed to sending delegates as part of the International Federation of Liberal Youth. Please check out the link to follow the YLC on the ground at COP 18.

And don't forget to like and follow the YLC International Working Group on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/YLC.JLC.International

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

4 days left to sign up to support a jobs Premier! Here's why you should support Charles.

http://www.votesousa.ca/join-us/

Only a few days remain to sign up to join the Ontario Liberal Party and have your say in picking Ontario's next Premier. If you want to see a jobs Premier with real world business experience and a proven record of winning new voters to the Liberal Party, make sure to sign up!

Here's why Charles is the best candidate to lead Ontario and create jobs:

After a rough recession, Ontario families and companies did their part


to ensure Ontario has seen job creation and economic growth. In the

last provincial election, the Ontario Liberal Party was re-elected in

large part due to a strong focus on a real plan to create jobs and

grow the economy in order to protect investments in education and

healthcare. If Ontario Liberals want to be successful in the next

election, we have to be very aware that Ontario families want real

plans backed up with real experience, not untested schemes to protect

the things that matter to them.



With his strong real world experience in the private sector, and

legislative experience promoting new policies and ideas to create

growth and protect investments, Charles Sousa is the best candidate to

convince Ontario families to renew their contract with our party and

grow the economy in bold new directions.



Charles is no career politician. He has decades of experience working

in the private sector, from owning his own financial services business

that helped small business to serving as Director of Business

Development - Commercial Financial Services, Director of Government &

Community Affairs and Senior Manager of Marketing for Royal Bank of

Canada. He’s been a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, a

Director with the American Chamber of Commerce Ontario, a Member of

the Toronto Board of Trade, a Director with the International Chamber

of Commerce, Executive Director of the European Union Chamber of

Commerce in Toronto, and President of the Federation of Portuguese

Canadian Business & Professionals. Charles offers more hands-on

experience on the economy and jobs than any other candidate for

Liberal leader, and families deserve a leader with real world

experience at creating jobs and who understands what kind of ideas and

policies.



Since his arrival at Queen’s Park only 5 years ago, Charles has been a

champion of bold new ideas to grow the economy and stand up for

Ontario families. As Minister of Immigration and Minister responsible

for the Pan-Am Games, he managed one of the most complex and important

portfolios to attract new Canadians, and introduced Ontario’s first

immigration strategy to make Ontario’s newcomers an even more

important part of our provincial economy. A New Direction: Ontario’s

Immigration Strategy is crucial to help build a strong economy in our

province. The strategy focuses on bringing skilled immigrants and

their families to Ontario, in the numbers we need. Charles is standing

up to the Harper Conservatives to provide Ontario with an expanded

role in economic immigrant selection. Ontario needs to increase the

proportion of economic immigrants coming to Ontario to 70 per cent and

it needs to increase our nominations under the Provincial Nominee

Program to 5,000 from 1,000 – to help build a skilled labour force. It

sets a path so Ontario can attract the highly skilled immigrants and

investors that we need to fuel economic growth and help build stronger

communities.



As Minister of Labour, Charles led the largest overhaul of Ontario’s

occupational health and safety system in 30 years. Bill 160, The

Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act was passed in

May 2011 which, among other things, includes the creation of a Chief

Prevention Officer and a new prevention council.

Charles also introduced and received unanimous support for Bill 181,

the Fire Protection and Prevention Amendment Act, 2011.This

legislation addresses mandatory retirement for firefighters and

provides for the duty of fair representation.



Even before entering cabinet, Chares was effective as Parliamentary

Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development & Trade and

Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Government & Consumer

Services, introducing private members bill’s and motions focused on

the economy and financial services which were adopted by the

government. Charles was instrumental in passing new consumer

protection legislation to regulate payday lenders. The Payday Loans

Act, 2008 gives the government the ability to cap the total cost of

borrowing and bans predatory lending practices. Charles’ private

member’s resolution calling on the Ministry of Education to include

financial literacy education in Ontario’s elementary and secondary

school curricula passed unanimously, and the Ontario government has

since made financial literacy part of the Ontario curriculum from

grades 4-12. Charles has also served as chair of the Industry Caucus

at Queen’s Park.



From his extensive experience in owning a business and helping small

businesses grow to putting forward bold new ideas, Charles Sousa is

the candidate Liberals need to ensure the continued trust of Ontario

families on the critical issue of the economy.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

"Let’s initiate some change. It's going to help us initiate some jobs. It’s going to help us prepare for the future because this is all about making decisions today to have greater long-term benefit"

Like Charles on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/VoteSousa
Follow the campaign on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/votesousa
Sign up to support Charles at http://www.votesousa.ca/join-us/
____________________________________________________

That's Charles Sousa talking about his high speed rail plan in a great interview with The Windsor Star.

Here's what Charles has to say about creating jobs across Ontario by investing in rail and ensuring we support the auto sector:

Mississauga South MPP Charles Sousa, who threw his hat into the provincial Liberal leadership ring on the weekend, says he would push the federal government for a high-speed rail link if he becomes premier.




“Forever we’ve been talking about a high-speed rail from Windsor to Quebec City,” said Sousa, who visited The Windsor Star Wednesday on a swing through Southwestern Ontario.



“Well let’s get on it. Let’s initiate some change. That’s going to help us initiate some jobs. It’s going to help us prepare for the future because this is all about making decisions today to have greater long-term benefit.”



Sousa, 54, has served as minister of citizenship and immigration and minister of labour since his election in 2007. Prior to that he worked for more than 20 years with the Royal Bank of Canada, serving in several senior positions.



Sousa says his focus is on jobs, and he would be the “jobs premier,” staking out territory on the right of the party spectrum where former Windsor West MPP Sandra Pupatello has also positioned herself.



“Government doesn’t produce jobs, businesses and entrepreneurs do,” said Sousa.



“What we need to do as a government is provide stimulus, the programs to enable those jobs to flourish, to invite and initiate some of that. In the end all of the decisions we make should revolve around how do we make a new job, and that in turn will provide greater economic benefit to enable us to afford the things that matter.



“It’s all about being fiscally responsible and socially and environmentally conscious.”

...

Sousa also said he would fight to bring more auto industry jobs back to Ontario.


“It is essential,” said Sousa.

“I know the opposition called it corporate welfare when we stepped in to protect 400,000 jobs, and that’s critical, the ripple effect is huge had we not stepped it up. We’re got to be diligent in continuing to attract those investments.”

A real plan to create real jobs. If you think Ontario deserves a jobs Premier, check out Charles' website and sign up!



Saturday, November 10, 2012

Follow Charles Sousa's campaign on Facebook and Twitter!

Really excited that my local MPP Charles Sousa is about to enter the OLP leadership race this morning.   Charles has decades of experience in the private sector, knows how to win conservative voters (he's the first ever Liberal MPP re-elected in Mississauga South) but his work on issues like an Ontario immigration strategy, financial literacy for youth, and reforming workplace safety shows he understands  why we need a strong economy - to protect and build on investments in education and health care.

Please follow Charles' campaign on Twitter: http://twitter.com/votesousa
And on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VoteSousa

He's having a special event this morning at Oasis Convention Centre, 1036 Lakeshore Road East, Mississauga, so please join us!