As sparks continue to fly around the economy and tariffs, the Province of Ontario wants to leverage the minerals and materials it has and invest right here at home. Minister of Energy and Mines for the Province of Ontario Stephen Lecce was in Innisfil Wednesday at a roundtable with local businesses to talk about the importance of investing in Ontario. “More Canadian product, more Canadian materials and more Canadian technology to drive our economic future,” said Lecce. “And I think now is the time that we double down on Canada and the supply chain in Barrie and Innisfil is massive.” Lecce, along with MPP Andrea Khanjin, held a roundtable talk with dozens of businesses from Barrie and Innisfil with a focus on mining and energy sectors. They heard the concerns firsthand from those industries. Derrick Campeau, the founder of Elev8 Visions specializing in infrastructure intelligence, said as a small business and new company, it’s talks like these that help bring their businesses to new levels. “Sometimes it’s very hard to slowly get in and work with these bigger entities whether it is private corporations or provinces,” said Campeau. “I was just looking for some more information on those programs that are available for smaller businesses.” Mining manufacturing companies like Raptor were also in attendance as they continue to look to the future of the mining industry. “It’s really important to have the communication lines with the government and also with the businesses to make sure they’re on the same page, looking at growth for the next couple of years,” said VP of Product Support Niels Roos. Lecce wants Simcoe County to understand his government is here for the manufacturing companies throughout the region. “I just want people to know in this community, we’re not giving up on this country, we’re motivated to fight for it by building more here at home,” said Lecce. “That’s the bottom line. We are going to be more intentional to procure machinery products, components that have that made in Canada stamp.” After the roundtable talk, Lecce was invited to tour the Raptor manufacturing plant in Barrie. Roos talked about the importance of investing in local companies, like Raptor, allowing them to grow and offer their services in Ontario. “We just need to grow our manufacturing base and build up a skilled trade force,” said Roos. “Make sure we bring jobs and opportunities to people here.” Roundtables assist businesses like Raptor to create local lasting partnerships. “Obviously we’re looking into whether it’s grants and things like that but we’re talking to the communities (like) Georgian College. We had a discussion about skilled trades and how can we improve that also,” said Roos. Raptor currently employs 30 people in Barrie, hoping to double their employment to 60 people in the next two or three years.
