County Warden Gerry Marshall and Premier Deb Matthews

Focus Development Corporation: County Warden Gerry Marshall says Simcoe County has been working on a strategic plan to tackle poverty and homelessness, according to CTV. We have 50,000 households so far, we have 104 mother tongues in the south end of the county, we recognize we have to help this new demographic find employment, create jobs and connect people with people we need to connect with, says Marshall. They county top education and social services officials gathered in Alliston on Friday morning to meet Deputy Premier Deb Matthews as she announced the province was investing $230,000 in the Focus Development Corporation, which helps connect people with jobs. The money will be used to for specialized training for Employment Ontario staff so they can better serve the growing newcomer population. This is something that we established before Syrian refugee crisis became something that everybody was talking about but it is absolutely aligned, added Matthews. Mathews says the money is not in response to the refugee crisis unfolding in Europe but part of a broader plan to reduce poverty in Ontario. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.