Charles Sousa was elected to the Ontario Legislature in 2007 and serves as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

Charles is also a member of the Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Economic & Environmental Resources Policy.

Before joining government, Charles worked at RBC Financial Group for more than 20 years. He was director of business development in the Commercial Financial Services sector and was senior manager of Government & Community Affairs.

Charles Sousa grew up in south Mississauga and lives in Clarkson with his wife Zenny and their three children.

* please end here for public introductions

Education:

1982 Hon. Bachelor of Business Administration
        Wilfrid Laurier University

1991 Fellowship – Commercial Banking
        Institute of Canadian Bankers
        Gold Medalist Award

1994 Executive Master Business Administration
        Richard Ivey School of Business
        University of Western Ontario

Accomplishments:

Waterfront and Airshed Protection: Upon taking office, Charles started to push for the protection and revitalization of Mississauga’s waterfront. Within one year, those efforts paid off when it was announced that Lakeview would never again host power generation.

Poverty Reduction: Charles has been working closely with community leaders and local service providers to help shape Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. As a part of his efforts, he hosted a meeting between local stakeholders and Minister Deb Matthews to discuss poverty in Mississauga.

Consumer Protection: During his service as Parliamentary Assistant to Minister of Government & Consumer Services, Charles was instrumental in passing new consumer protection legislation to regulate payday lenders. The Payday Loans Act, 2008 gives the government the ability to cap the total cost of borrowing and bans predatory lending practices.

Waste Reporting Act: In 2008 Charles introduced a private member’s bill to track and report the amount of waste generated by the Industrial, Commercial & Institutional sector. By tracking how much waste is generated and where it goes, the government would be better able to set targets for waste reduction and monitor progress.

Education and Financial Literacy: On October 8th 2009, Charles debated his private member’s resolution calling on the Ministry of Education to include financial literacy education in Ontario’s elementary and secondary school curricula. Citing a need to better prepare students to make financial decisions, the resolution passed unanimously. Then on November 2nd, the Ministry of Education announced that, starting in September of 2011, financial literacy education will be taught to students in grades 4 to 12.

Economic Improvements: As a part of the government’s Open Ontario plan, Charles has helped introduce Open for Business legislation that would, if passed, make it simpler, better and faster for large and small companies alike to do business in Ontario. Locally, work has begun on south Mississauga’s Lakeshore West GO line to add a third track. Improvements to public transit infrastructure are key to supporting our local economy and helping reduce the number of cars on our roads.

Health and Long Term Care: Charles works closely with the Mississauga Halton LHIN, Trillium Health Centre and Credit Valley Hospital to improve health services in our community. Since 2007, Emergency room wait times in south Mississauga have come down and new investment has helped our hospitals to expand and to open new clinics.

Community Involvement:
Member     Clarkson Airshed Study Advisory Committee
Member     Petro Canada Public Liaison Committee
Member     Lakeview Local Advisory Panel
Member     Port Credit Local Advisory Panel
Chair         Industry Caucus at Queen’s Park

Past Activities:
Member         Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Director         American Chamber of Commerce
Member         Toronto Board of Trade
Director          International Chamber of Commerce
                     CEIP
Executive       European Union Chamber of Commerce
Director          Toronto
President       Federation of Portuguese Canadian
                     Business & Professionals
Ambassador   Credit Valley Hospital Foundation
Honourary      The Rainbow Ball Foundation
Chair

Awards and Recognitions:

2003    Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of his service
           to the community
2009    Inducted as Commander to the Order of Merit by the
           Republic of Portugal