President's Message

ICCC team’s successful India visit

18 to 22 November 2019

ICCC President & Directors accompany Ontario's Minister Vic Fedeli to
New Delhi and Mumbai

Ontario and India have traditionally strong trading links. the two-way trade between the province of Ontario and India is worth C$3.2 billion. Nine per cent of Canadian exports to India are from Ontario.

The province has Trade and Investment Offices in New Delhi and Mumbai to attract and facilitate investment deals, help small- and medium-sized enterprises expand their export capacity and promote the province’s open for business mandate.

In view of the growing economic reliance, frequent visits by Ontario Ministers to India are becoming a norm rather than an exception that they were a few years ago. Last month, Hon. Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade went to India between 18 and 22 November 2019.

Hon. Nina Tangri, Parliamentary Assistant to Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, and Hon. Deepak Anand, Member of Provincial Parliament from Malton-Mississauga accompanied Minister Fedeli. Both Hon. Tangri and Hon. Anand are Indo-Canadians who have a long history of association with the community and with our Chamber. 

The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce was the only stakeholder organisation working in the Canada – India bilateral trade promotion space to be invited to join the Ministerial delegation.

It was an honour and a privilege to accompany the Minister to Delhi and Mumbai. My colleagues on the board Vijay Thomas, VP & Director, International Trade and IT; Arvind Bhardwaj, VP & Director, Small & Medium Enterprises; and Virender Rathi, who subsequently joined the board, accompanied me on the trip.

We were a witness to a historic business trip by Minister Fedeli, and I have no hesitation in stating that the visit will lead to more intense cooperation between Ontario and India.

To read more, click here: President's Message

Update on Special General Meet

An overwhelming 84 percent of members of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce who voted at the Special General Body meeting on 03 December approved of the appointment of the following directors.

• Pramod Goyal
• Tauseef Sheikh
• Sanjay Kulkarni
• Surinder Sharma
• Vijay Thomas
• Arvind Bhardwaj
• Don Patel
• Virender Rathi

To read the profiles of the board members, click here: Directors

Note:

In view of her personal and business preoccupations at present, Mini Khurana has expressed her inability to take on the responsibility of a director at Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and has since withdrawn her name from the newly-elected board.

Program and Events

Canadian Trade Commissioner Service

Wealth Management & Tax Strategies

Canadian Trade Commissioner Service

Sue Rauth, Deputy Director and Amit Ranjan, Trade Commissioner, both from the Regional Office of the Trade Commissioner Service addressed members and guests of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) on Thursday 21 November 2019 on the services offered by the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service to Canadian businesses.

Their presentation, entitled Programs and Services of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS), provided a perspective for Canadian entrepreneurs to explore the global markets with the assistance of the Canadian federal government.

The four core services that TCS provide are:

• Prepare for International Markets
• Assessing Market Potential
• Finding Qualified Contacts
• Resolving Problems

These services are provided at no cost to qualified clients. Clients selection criteria is simple and involves Canadian companies who have developed an export plan; have selected and researched their target market. These entities should be incorporated and have an existing track record of sales in Canada.

They also spoke about the CanExport – SME scheme and its assistance to small businesses to explore global markets. The scheme funds the following activities:

• Business travel,
• Market research,
• Participation at trade events and fairs,
• Adaptation and translation of marketing tools,
• Intellectual property protection, certification, and adaptation of contracts,
• Expert advice on business, legal or tax matters

The presentation was well received by the members and guests of the ICCC.

Wealth Management & Tax Strategies

Rakesh Vijay, Senior Wealth Manager and Trevor R Parry, Senior Tax and Estate Planning Advisor at Raymond James made a presentation on Wealth Management and Tax Strategies on 6 December at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce. The audience comprised a select group of members and guests including high net worth investors and advisers.

Rakesh Vijay is a Senior Wealth Manager and Chairman Council Member at Raymond James Ltd. He leads a team of nine assisting both high net worth or a novice investor make the right investment decisions. His specialities include Wealth Management Services, including estate planning, life insurance, trust services, tax planning, and more.

Trevor Perry is an expert on taxation. He speaks regularly across the country for organizations such as STEP and Advocis. Trevor is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Albany Club, and the Royal Canadian Military Institute. He is an Associate Member of CALU and is a member in good standing of the Law Society of Upper Canada, having been called to the Ontario Bar in 1996.

Rakesh Vijay spoke on the Benefits of Fee Based Accounts versus Buying Mutua Funds and Trevor Parry spoke about Tax Challenges and Superior Solutions for Your Business. In his presentation titled, Navigating the Rapids: Tax Challenges in the Lifecycle of a Business, Parry spoke about the current political climate and its influence on tax policies and therefore its impact on investment decisions.

Speaking on the occasion, Pramod Goyal, President, ICCC, said, “Today’s session is part of our leadership’s effort to bring quality programming for our members that adds value to their strong and continuing association with their Chamber. Let me emphasize that the new leadership of the Chamber is committed to upholding the glorious principles on which it was established 42 years ago.”

India Mission 2020

6 January - 15 January 2020

New Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Mumbai

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) will lead its annual India Mission between 6 January and 15 January 2020.

The trade mission will primarily focus on F&B, agrifood and services sectors, and will visit New Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad and Mumbai. In New Delhi, the delegates will participate in Indus Food on 8 and 9 January.

The business delegates will be engaged in different B2B meetings, seminars, conferences, expo and focused group meetings based on their sectors. ICCC is closely working with its India office and MoU partners in India to finalize the meetings.

The mission delegates will be successful in getting new business connections which will pave the way for their cooperation with Indian partners and possibly open up the opportunities for collaboration.

Our past missions have witnessed participation from the decision makers from Canadian and Indian governments at the federal, provincial and city levels. During the last decade, we have successfully forged linkages with our partners – chambers of commerce, industry associations and trade promotion agencies – from across India.

These partners in success have ensured that every India Mission has resulted in tie-ups between Canadian and Indian small businesses, leading to collaborations. In addition, the Canadian diplomatic corps, and especially the Trade Commissioners’ Services, have taken a keen interest in ensuring that our missions are a success. All these factors are a clear sign that our India Mission 2018 is going to be a tremendous success.

We invite you to participate in the Mission. Contact Pawan Chankotra for more information: pc@iccconline.org / (416) 224-0090.