The
UWI Regional Headquarters Jamaica. Thursday, February 13,
2020—Recently,
The University of the West Indies (The UWI) and Brock University (BU)
established the Canada-Caribbean Institute, devoted to the study of
Canada-Caribbean relations. The Institute will host its inaugural
event, a three-day Canada-Caribbean Research Symposium, on February
17-19 in Jamaica at The UWI’s Regional Headquarters.

Caribbean
economic growth and trade with Canada, health and the environment,
social issues and education, and Caribbean culture and the diaspora
are tabled for discussion. The objective of the Symposium is to bring
together researchers and scholars across disciplines from
universities in Canada and the Caribbean as well as policy makers to
address related issues to identify ways to consolidate and revitalise
their ongoing relationship.

The
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Canada have had a comfortable
friendship and a sustaining partnership for many years. According to
Ambassador Dr Richard Bernal, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Affairs at
The UWI, “Canada has been an empathetic partner for the small
island states of the English-speaking Caribbean dating back to the
colonial era. This relationship has been reflected in trade, capital
for development, tourism, migration and remittances, as well as in
diplomatic solidarity.”

Ambassador
Bernal also noted that Canada represents the Caribbean on the board
of directors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
CARIBCAN, a Canadian government initiative aimed at promoting trade
and investment as well as providing industrial cooperation through
the access of duty-free goods from the countries of the Commonwealth
Caribbean to the Canadian market, requires periodic waivers at the
World Trade Organisation (WTO). These waivers have been increasingly
difficult to obtain and Canada has led the renewal process for the
Caribbean on each occasion.

As
Canada vies for one of two temporary seats on the UN Security Council
for a two-year term which begins in 2021, the Caribbean vote is seen
as critical. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is even expected to visit
Barbados next week to meet with CARICOM leaders and make his pitch
for why Canada should be given a seat on the UN Security Council.

The
Canada-Caribbean Institute was established in recognition that in
spite of the longstanding partnership between the Caribbean and
Canada, there was limited research in this area and no entity
dedicated to its study. It will provide a focal point for
multi-disciplinary research and teaching to deepen and improve the
multi-faceted relationships between Canada and the Caribbean while
also examining issues affecting the Caribbean diaspora communities in
Canada. Its mission is to deepen existing and forge new relationships
between Canadian and Caribbean tertiary educational institutions and
other agencies and individuals at home and abroad involved in inter-
and multi-disciplinary research and teaching on various aspects of
Canada-Caribbean interactions. A formal launch of the Institute is
also carded to take place during the February 17-19 Symposium. More
information is available at http://uwi.edu/ccrs.

End

200
Years of Collaboration

Trade

Canada-Caribbean
trade had its genesis in the 18th Century with salt cod exchanged for
sugar and rum. Financing the trade led to the introduction of
Canadian commercial banks such as the Bank of Nova Scotia. A
tradition of preferential market access for sugar began with the 1925
Canada-West Indies agreement. Since 1986, trade has taken place
within the framework of preferential trade arrangements in the form
of the CARIBCAN, which provides one-way duty-free access to the
Canadian market. Canada has offered to negotiate the modernisation of
CARIBCAN into a more comprehensive Canada-CARICOM Free-Trade
Agreement. This was announced in July 2007, but after seven rounds
the negotiations have been adjourned but can be re-activated. Canada
and Barbados have also concluded a mutual open skies agreement.

Foreign
direct investment has played a part in Caribbean economic
development, notably in the commercial banking system and Alcan in
bauxite mining and alumina refining. Investment in Barbados has been
facilitated by bilateral investment treaties and double taxation
agreements and Barbados continues to be the offshore financial
services centre of choice for Canadian companies. Recently one of the
largest Caribbean-owned firms, Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited
was purchase by Canadian private-equity firm Alignvest for a reported
US$536 million.

Capital
for Development

Canada
has supported the Caribbean with development assistance in various
spheres. For example, in transportation, Canada gave two ships to
assist in the transportation of goods and people during the West
Indies Federation of the early 1960s; and Air Canada helped in the
start-up and early operations of Air Jamaica. In development banking,
Canada was a founding member of the Caribbean Development Bank in
1970 and also cancelled the bilateral debt of several Caribbean
countries. Canadian grants funded the construction of buildings on
The UWI Cave Hill Campus and Canada Hall at The UWI St. Augustine
Campus. Haiti is one of the largest beneficiaries of Canadian
development assistance in the Americas since the 2010 earthquake.

Tourism,
Migration and Remittances

Approximately
338,000 people of Caribbean origin live in Canada, concentrated in
and around Toronto. People of Caribbean origin and descent have
distinguished themselves in academia, politics, the judiciary, the
church and in sports. More than 770,000 Canadians vacationed in the
sun and sea of the Anglophone Caribbean in 2016, mainly during the
winter. Temporary seasonal workers and Caribbean-Canadian citizens
send about US$20 million of remittances back to the Caribbean.