Ted McMeekin

ONTARIO PREPARES TO WELCOME THE OLYMPIC TORCH

Province supports community torch relay celebrations

November 27, 2009

Ontario is helping Hamilton to boost its torch relay celebrations and attract more visitors. The Olympic flame will arrive on December 19^th for an evening celebration to bring together Ontarians, celebrate community achievements and cheer on Ontario athletes.

Ontario is investing $15,000 to help Hamilton develop and deliver an enhanced community celebration event marking the anticipated arrival of the Olympic flame. This celebration will feature local attractions, artists, cuisine and talent, showcase their community, promote tourism and investment and stimulate the local economy.

The Government of Ontario is a proud partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

QUOTES

“On December 19^th, our community will come together to celebrate the Olympics and cheer on our athletes. I know that we will put on a celebration that will excite and inspire the Olympic spirit in all Hamiltonians.”

Sophia Aggelonitis, MPP for Hamilton Mountain

“The Olympic flame represents the human spirit of hard work, perseverance, and being the best you can be. This is an inspirational time for our community and an opportunity for us to come together, celebrate our achievements, cheer on our athletes and show the world what a great province we live in.”

Ted McMeekin, MPP for Ancaster Dundas Flamborough Westdale

“We are proud to support local communities and promote Ontario to the world. We know There’s no Place like This to live, visit and invest. We are looking forward to cheering on our athletes and promoting Ontario as a world-class tourism destination.”

Monique Smith, Minister of Tourism

QUICK FACTS

• The torch will travel 45,000 kilometres across Canada. It will spend 21 days in Ontario, visit 232 communities and involve 2,900 torchbeare
• There will be 42 communities hosting a mid-day or evening celebration and 20 First Nations communities hosting a traditional Blessing of the Flame ceremony.
• The Olympic flame will be within a one-hour drive for 92% of Ontarians.
• The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are expected to have over 350,000 visitors, over 3 billion TV viewers worldwide and over 10,000 media in attendance.

LEARN MORE

www.ontario.ca/olympics

There will be sufficient H1N1 vaccine available for everyone that needs and wants to be immunized. No one will be left out. 

The clinics are available for the general public.
Vaccine will continue to be available through your healthcare provider.
 

Contact information

City of Hamilton residents with questions concerning Pandemic H1N1 Influenza 2009 can contact Public Health Services by:

• phoning (905) 546-H1N1 (4161) or 
• emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Please note at this time we are receiving a large volume of email requests for information. All efforts will be made to respond to your enquiry within 24 hours, however this may not always be possible

Privacy and Confidentiality
To protect your privacy and confidentiality, please do not send any personal health information through this website.  For personal health concerns, contact your family physician.  For general information about H1N1,  call the Public Health H1N1 Hotline at 905 546 H1N1, or Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 or TTY at 1-866-797-0007. 

Elementary students started the school year with more than one million new books in school libraries, and there are more on the way.

School libraries play an important role in encouraging young students to develop strong literacy skills and a love of reading. It is essential that those libraries have up-to-date collections for all students.

Over one million library books were delivered to schools this summer, while about 700,000 more are expected before the end of this school year.

Last January, the government selected 72 Ontario-based vendors, and negotiated discounts up to 50 per cent for school boards. To date, this has saved boards about $3 million and allowed them to purchase 175,000 more books. More savings and additional books are expected during the school year.

QUOTES

“Strong literacy skills are crucial for future success. By ensuring that our elementary school libraries are stocked with up-to-date and affordable books and resources, we’re giving young students more tools to succeed.”

— Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Education

"We knew that our library needed updating to reflect new curriculum needs and materials for our diverse school community. This funding provides valuable resources for students and for teachers to continue delivering effective instruction. Thanks to the significant discounts, we received more value for our money. Our students are definitely benefiting from a more current and exciting library collection."

— Karen Richardson, Teacher/Librarian, Terry Fox Public School

“As an independent company, the business that this funding brought to us was wonderful. It gave us – and other small retailers and distributors from Ontario – the opportunity to build strong relationships with new clients and to expand our market.”

— Scott Millar, Manager of Sales & Marketing for book wholesaler Tinlids Inc. and President of the Educational Library Booksellers of Ontario

QUICK FACTS

• School boards received an initial investment of $15 million in February and an additional $10 million in May, for a total investment of $25 million to purchase library books.

• Ninety-nine per cent of the initial investment went to businesses in 37 Ontario cities.

• Over 40,000 additional Grade 3 and Grade 6 students are meeting or exceeding the provincial standard in reading, writing and math, compared to six years ago.

LEARN MORE

• Get tips to help your child learn to read.

• Find out more about the first phase of the elementary library investment.

ANCASTER, ONTARIO – Residents in the Hamilton region will benefit from federal and provincial infrastructure funding to expand the Morgan Firestone Arena, thanks to a joint contribution announced today by David Sweet, the Member of Parliament for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale, the Honourable Ted McMeekin, Ontario’s Minister of Consumer Services and Member of Provincial Parliament for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale. , and His Worship Fred Eisenberger, Mayor of the City of Hamilton. The governments of Canada and Ontario, as well as the City of Hamilton, will each invest up to $3.425 million in the project.

Canada’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister John Baird, and Sophia Aggelonitis, Member of Provincial Parliament for Hamilton Mountain were also in attendance to celebrate this new project.

"Under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, our Government is taking action to put shovels in the ground to create jobs and stimulate the economy here in Hamilton”, said MP Sweet. “The new ice surface will allow the residents of Hamilton to maintain an active lifestyle, as well as support local athletes and teams that call Morgan Firestone Arena their home ice.”

“The McGuinty government is committed to investing in infrastructure projects that stimulate the economy and create jobs for the region,” said Minister McMeekin. “Local ice rinks are a vital part of every Ontario community and our government is proud to support projects such as the expansion of Morgan Firestone Arena. And when all is said and done, it’s all about the kids.”

This project will involve the construction of a second ice surface within the Morgan Firestone Arena of the Ancaster Rotary Centre. The new ice pad will be a mirror image of the current pad (except for seating) with six change rooms and referee rooms, as well as seating for 250 spectators.

This project is one of nearly 1,200 across Ontario alone that will break ground thanks to $1.84 billion in joint federal and provincial funding under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund.

LEARN MORE

Learn how the Government of Canada is investing in Ontario infrastructure.

Learn how the Government of Ontario is helping to build and revitalize infrastructure across the province.

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