The Timmins Chamber of Commerce is pushing the Ontario government to help businesses find qualified workers. The chamber released a study in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, which outlines the issues employers face when trying to hire.

The report claims over 80 per cent of businesses that hired in 2016 found it hard to find a candidate with the proper skills. Christine Bender, President of the Timmins Chamber, says local businesses aren't able to grow or even maintain their current workforce because of staffing challenges.

The report outlined a couple of recommendations from the Timmins Chamber board to the provincial government. One is to improve the transition from school to work by creating more internships and work placement programs.

The second recommendation is to better support post-secondary Indigenous education programs.

The post Timmins Chamber asking the province to help local business owners find qualified workers appeared first on My Timmins Now.

The post Businesses can sign up for Welcome to Timmins night appeared first on My Timmins Now.

The post It’s a good time to find out more about heart health and strokes appeared first on My Timmins Now.

The post Book fair running in Timmins to coincide with Stars and Thunder appeared first on My Timmins Now.

An agreement that helps Metis students at College Boreal will continue. The school has renewed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Metis Nation of Ontario that meets the needs of Metis students at Boreal.

Under the agreement, a Metis student can get culturally-appropriate support for services and programs. The agreement first went into effect in 2009 and has been renewed ever since.

(With files from: Rocco Frangione)

The post Metis Nation of Ontario and College Boreal renews Metis learning agreement appeared first on My Timmins Now.

Timmins Transit is extending its hours for the Stars and Thunder festival, which begins on Saturday. The bus runs from 12:00pm to 12:00am from June 24th to June 30th. The same goes for Handi Transit, but you must be registered with the program. You can call the service to book a trip, at (705) 360-2600, ext. 3504.

There are also three shuttle services running throughout the week, one in the east end, one in the west, and one downtown.

The transit opens then double for Canada Day. The three shuttle buses goes to six in all areas of the city. That includes the Mountjoy area, Melrose, Schumacher, the downtown, and the south end.

More details on the pick-up and drop-off routes are on the Stars and Thunder website:

[embed]http://www.starsandthunder.com/transportation/[/embed]

The post Start planning your Stars and Thunder transportation appeared first on My Timmins Now.

The Wynne Liberals say they're helping northern businesses become more competitive by improving a key government program.

The Liberals say the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate program now provides more stable power costs.

The Liberals say with stable rates, big employers like mining and forestry companies can carry out long-term planning and create more jobs.

The program rebates participating companies up to $20 million annually.

So far 19 industrial companies in the north are part of the program including Tahoe Canada, a mining company in Timmins.

(With files from: Rocco Frangione)

The post Wynne Liberals say they’re helping Northern Ontario business by improving a government program appeared first on My Timmins Now.

The post Kidsport putting out a final call for summer applications appeared first on My Timmins Now.

The Kiwanis Club of Timmins is helping out a local festival. The festival is donating $4,500 dollars to this year's Great Canadian Kayak Challenge, which will go into the kids' play area.

Kiwanis representative Leo Lafleur says it's a natural fit for the club, as its motto is "serving the children of the world". He says they see the happy faces throughout the weekend and know that for many, this free festival is the closest thing to a vacation many of the children attending will ever get.

Kayak Fest runs from August 25th to the 27th this year.

http://www.thegreatcanadiankayakchallenge.com

The post Kiwanis Club of Timmins supports a local festival appeared first on My Timmins Now.

The post Timmins and Area Drug Strategy: Be safe while celebrating this summer appeared first on My Timmins Now.