‘India is important’
Andrew Scheer
Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
In an address to prominent members of the Indo-Canadian community, Andrew Scheer, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, reiterated his commitment made to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to find ways to ship Canadian oil and gas to India to meet its voracious energy needs.
Mr. Scheer was speaking at an exclusive interactive luncheon organised by Canada India Foundation (CIF) at the University Club in downtown Toronto on 18 October 2018. The response to CIF’s event, appropriately dubbed ‘Setting the Agenda’, was overwhelming, and some guests had to stand throughout the hour-long program.
Attendees included business and community leaders, academicians, government officials, political leaders and members of the diplomatic corps.
He emphasized that his recent visit to India was indicative of India’s significance to Canada and to the Conservative Party of Canada.
Describing his visit as “extremely successful,” Mr. Scheer explained that his week-long trip, during which he met India’s Prime Minister and four other ministers, was his third trip abroad – the first was to the United States and the second was to the United Kingdom.
In his welcome remarks, Satish Thakkar, National Convener, CIF, said that focus of the new team that has taken charge is to make CIF an effective public policy advocacy platform to raise awareness about all issues pertaining to Canadians of Indian origin.
“Our focus includes a comprehensive engagement with not only our members, but also our growing community including women, senior and youth. On the bilateral relations front, CIF has advocated for improvement in bilateral relations 360 i.e. politically, socially, economically, and culturally.”
Anil Shah, Chair, CIF, in his remarks, underlined the contribution of the Foundation to improving bilateral ties between the two democracies.
“Our institution was established 11 years ago, and anyone who tracks Canada’s ties with India, will agree that the last decade has been one of the best phases of Canada – India relations. In a significant manner, our public policy advocacy group has tangibly contributed to this improvement in relations.”
Deepak Obhrai, Member of Parliament, in his remarks underscored the important role that Canada India Foundation has played in fostering bilateral ties and in creating space for the Indian diaspora to find its voice in the Canadian mainstream.
Ambassador Dinesh Bhatia, Consul General of India in Toronto, echoed these sentiments and said that the real engine that was giving impetus to the bilateral ties was indeed the Indian diaspora, which is growing steadily.
Prior to Mr. Scheer’s engagement with the invited guests, the leaders of Canada India Foundation met him privately and exchanged views on improving bilateral ties, enhancing the role of Indo-Canadians in the public domain in Canada.
In October, CIF’s new leadership organised three important programs that included a Speaker Series by Canada’s Chief Statistician Anil Arora, a high-powered meeting with the delegation of Indiaspora from the United States and the interactive luncheon with Andrew Scheer.
The purpose of these high-profile events is to reach out to the Indo-Canadian community leaders to join hands with CIF and achieve its objectives that would benefit both Canada and India and Canadians of Indian origin.