Labour Market Monitor - Human Resources and Skills Development ...

Labour Market Monitor
Stratford–Bruce Peninsula
May 2012
The Labour Market Monitor is a monthly report providing a summary of labour market news and events for the
Stratford–Bruce Peninsula Economic Region of Ontario. This region includes the counties of Bruce, Grey, Huron and Perth.
LABOUR MARKET NEWS BY INDUSTRY
Construction
Construction is expected to begin this fall on a three-phase, $6M expansion of the Hanover-Walkerton landfill
on the banks of the Saugeen River. (Owen Sound Sun Times, May 8)
The Province of Ontario announced plans to improve highways and bridges in southwestern Ontario. The
projects include: resurfacing Highway 21 from Tiverton to Port Elgin, replacing the surface of the North Thames
River Bridge, mending the Flat Creek Bridge, and installing new culverts and guide rails along Highway 23 near
Mitchell. (Ontario Newsroom, May 25)
West Perth Council has approved almost $1.7M worth of construction projects for road and bridge work. Lavis
Contracting Co. Limited was awarded approximately $1.02M to reconstruct Wellington Street and resurface
Line 21. Coco Paving Inc. was awarded approximately $344,000 to resurface Line 21 and Line 39. Theo
Vandenberk Construction Inc. will complete bridge work on Line 32 for approximately $224,000. Nicholson
Concrete was awarded $45,539 for sidewalk reconstruction in Mitchell and Strat-Con Construction Ltd. was
awarded just over $20,000 to replace a pedestrian bridge in Dublin. (Mitchell Advocate, May 1)
Information and cultural industries
Wightman Telecom Ltd. announced that it is expanding its fibre optic network to Walkerton starting in June
2012. Pickard Construction will be the contractor for the estimated $7M project, which is scheduled to be
completed in 2013. (The Post, May 18)
Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services
EFS-plastics Inc., a plastic recycling and reprocessing company, is investing $6M in a new 39,000-sq.-ft.
recycling facility in Listowel and expects to hire approximately five new employees over the next two years. The
company, currently based in Elmira, employs about 16 workers and expects to move into the new facility in
October 2012. (Stratford Beacon Herald, May 10)

Labour Market Monitor - Stratford–Bruce Peninsula, May 2012 Page 2
Educational services
The Bluewater District School Board issued layoff notices to some teachers as it prepares to balance the
budget for the 2012-2013 school year. The exact number of staff affected is unknown at this time. Some
teachers may be recalled in September. (Bayshore Broadcasting News Centre, May 23)
Health care and social assistance
The Southwest Community Care Access Centre in Owen Sound is eliminating 14 positions - eight case
managers and six community support assistants. Affected employees may relocate to existing centres in
Stratford and London. (Bayshore Broadcasting News Centre, May 18)
Accommodation and food services
The Best Western Plus Walkerton East Ridge Hotel in Walkerton opened in May. The new hotel features 52
guest rooms, an indoor pool and conference area. (Southwesternontario.ca, May 22)
Note: In preparing this document, the authors have taken care to provide clients with labour market
information that is timely and accurate at the time of publication. Since labour market conditions are dynamic,
some of the information presented here may have changed since this document was published. Users are
encouraged to also refer to other sources for additional information on the local economy and labour market.
Information contained in this document does not necessarily reflect official policies of Human Resources and
Skills Development Canada.
Prepared by: Labour Market Information (LMI) Division, Stratford–Bruce Peninsula, Ontario
For further information, please contact the LMI team at: lmi-imt@workingincanada.gc.ca
For information on the Labour Force Survey, please visit the Statistics Canada Web site at:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/lfss05d-eng.htm