News 

 Talking Trade

Freedland and Sitharaman pave new path 

India’s Minister for Commerce and Industry Honourable Nirmala Sitharaman met with Canada Minister for International Trade Honourable Christiya Freedland met in Toronto on September 29 at the Third Annual India-Canada Annual Ministerial Dialogue.

Arun Srivastava, the newly-elected President of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), participated in the luncheon held at MaRS in downtown Toronto. It covered outstanding trade and investment related issues and among other things, focussed on expanding bilateral trade, having more B 2 B interface with constitution of CEO Forum by Canada and regular interaction between the CEOs on both sides and also expediting the free trade and investment negotiations which are underway.

This was the first high level meet led by a Ministerial level delegation from India after the new Government came to power in Canada. The Trade Minister of Canada Honourable Freedland emphasied the importance of the bilateral relationship and expressed happiness at the back to back visit by the Indian Commerce and Industry Minister and the proposed visit of the Finance Minister Honourable Arun Jaitely in the first week of October.

Both the sides expressed their strong commitment for taking forward the negotiations in CEPA and FIFA and expressed the desire for early conclusion keeping in view the mutual benefits to both countries and working towards a balanced outcome by taking into account sensitivities in certain sectors. Both the sides recognized the importance of FIFA as tool for higher transparency and stability of investments providing greater protection.

Both the Ministers heard each other’s perspective on CEPA and discussed some of the sectors where negotiations seem to have been stuck. Responding to the Indian side which has shown enough flexibility in the services modalities, the Canadian side is looking into the issues concerned with movement of natural persons and what kind of provisions could be built into the CEPA.

India also took up the issues of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Entry Programme which has acted as a barrier for the Indian IT companies invested in Canada to source Indian IT professionals as the norms for temporary entry have become more and more stringent. Honourable Minister Freedland assured that a Parliamentary Committee is examining these issues and some of these concerns are likely to be addressed.

It is recognised that India and Canada have enormous scope for enhanced bilateral trade relations but, the bilateral trade between the two countries has not been up to the potential. Both sides recognized the immense potential and mutual interest in promoting trade.

Prime Minister of India, Honourable Narendra Modi during his historic bilateral visit to Canada in April 2015, stressed the importance of bilateral business and commercial linkages as key drivers of India-Canada partnership. During his visit both the nations recognised the need for early finalisation of the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) and expeditiously conclude a progressive, balanced, and mutually beneficial Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), as a basis for expanding two-way trade and investment.

Arun Srivastava was elected as 28th President of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) Friday September 23, 2016 at the Chamber’s Annual General Meeting.

Arun Srivastava, CPA-CMA, MBA is the CEO & President of Paystation Inc., a Canada wide Payment Technology Company. Paystation is primarily a provider of payment solutions to Canadian Banks and Businesses. Paystation also provides high security solutions for destruction of sensitive data, mainly to the Government of Canada. Arun worked in various executive roles before he became the owner of Paystation and subsequently has expanded the business globally. He is the founder of Inescalate Corp., provider of cloud based Google for work solutions to the SME market.

Arun is a staunch supporter and donor of Trillium Health Partners & other charities, and has actively contributed to several boards and community organisations. He is the recipient of Planet Africa's Enterprise Award; Diversity Visionary Star; CIBC's Mid-Week South Asian Entrepreneur of the Year and Community Service Award.

Three directors were also elected to the new board of the Chamber. These include one nominated director from the outgoing board - Ms. Devika Penekelapati who has been elected for a two-year term.

The other two new directors elected are:

• Sanjay Brahmbhatt
  
• Nareshkumar Chavda
  

All of them have been elected for a two-year term.

Mr. Arun Srivastava, Mr. Pathik Baxi, Mr. Kanwar Dhanjal, Mr. Ajay Tandon, Mr. Abu Becker and Mr. Pappur Shankar are the other elected directors on the board, who were elected last year, and are in the middle of their two-year term.

Speaking about his priorities, the new president emphasized that while the board will ensure continuity, they will work on two critical fronts - sponsorship and membership.

Mr. Srivastava assured the members that the board will continue to adhere to the principles of accountability as their guiding principle while taking the chamber to new heights. He also said that the chamber will strengthen all the councils and make them robust in terms of their structure so that they can attract new members and cater to their needs.

More than 70 members participated in the Chamber's annual general meeting, including several past presidents and former board members.

Sitting: From L to R: Kanwar Dhanjal, Sanjay Makkar, Arun Srivastava, Ajay Tandon, Pathik Baxi

Standing from L to R: Pappur Shankar, Devika Penekelapati, Abubakkar Noohujohn,  Nareshkumar Chavda & Sanjay Brahmbhatt

Alternative Career Options 

Many keys to many doors

One of the key factors of success in Canada is education. Education is not just for students and youth of a certain age, but increasingly, it has become an ongoing process and includes all age groups, even those who are categorized as seniors. This is because in a constantly changing world, upgrading skills has become an imperative. To survive in a tough competitive economy, education has become a sine quo non.

Understanding this requirement especially amongst newcomers and students aspiring to look at non-traditional career options, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s (ICCC) Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals (WEP) committee organized a session on Alternative Careers. The purpose of this information session was to help its members and constituents get to know of the different government schemes for getting financial assistance under OSAP, WSIB, and second career option.

Ms. Sharon E. Maloney, Chief Executive Officer, Career Colleges Ontario, was the main speaker. She explains the structure of the career colleges in Ontario and how they are working for the benefit of the society. The colleges are a key in developing the new skills among the people through their short term courses focused on specialized skills and training.

Sunita Vyas Founding Director, Academy of Learning College, Mississauga, explained how new immigrants can get help from the Private Career Colleges in getting jobs and in upgrading their skills. She also spoke in details about securing government grants for education. Vyas outlined the different programs of the government for the employers to upgrade the skills of their employee to improve efficiency.  

Meenakshi Vyas, a Director at the Academy of Learning, also briefed the participants regarding the value proposition by attending the Private Career Colleges and how they can help in shaping your future.

Ms. Ginni Sethi, ICCC’s Vice President, and Director of Membership and WEP, while welcoming the participants to the session said the Chamber is continuously trying to help its members in getting new information. She said the alternative career program is beneficial for the newcomers and the people who wish to opt for a second career here.

Ms. Shibani Sahney, Chair WEP Committee, introduced the speakers to the participants and at the conclusion of the program thanked the participants for their presence. 

Participants at the session

Understanding Energy 

ICCC's Hard Hats Tour of

PowerStream  

The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s (ICCC) energy committee led by Pappur Shankar, Director, Energy and Mining, organized on 9 September 2016 a behind the scenes tour of PowerStream as part of the Chamber’s Hard Hats Tour series.

PowerStream, based in Vaughan, is a community-owned energy company providing power and related services to more than 380,000 customers residing or owning a business in communities located immediately north of Toronto and in Central Ontario.

It serves communities in Alliston, Aurora, Barrie, Beeton, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Markham, Penetanguishene, Richmond Hill, Thornton, Tottenham and Vaughan as well as Collingwood, Stayner, Creemore and Thornbury through a partnership with the Town of Collingwood in the ownership of Collus PowerStream.

ICCC’s Hard Hats Tour Series is an innovative learning opportunity whereby attendees are given a privileged “behind the scenes” tour of a successful business enterprise. Principals of a variety of participating businesses host the tours and provide insight into establishing and managing a successful business.

Ms. Neetika Sathe, ‎Vice President, Corporate Development at PowerStream Inc. briefed the ICCC members about the Power Stream's Microgrid Demonstration Project that marks the next phase in the company’s aim of supporting Smart Grid development at the provincial level and raising awareness for the need to leverage innovative smart technologies in Ontario's electricity sector.

Mr. Shuvo Chowdhury, Project Manager, Micro Grid System at Power Stream gives a detailed demonstration of the project. He shows how the project will be cost effective in the long run as compare to the old power generation systems. He said that this is a new concept and it will take some time for the people to understand the concept and mass production of equipment in future. 

Power Stream started in the field of microgrids by commissioning its first microgrid at its head office in Vaughan in 2013. This pilot project led to the development of sophisticated and world-class microgrid deployments in its service territory through 2015 and 2016. Making the power grid more resilient, efficient and reliable through the development, deployment and commercialization of new and innovative technologies has always been one of PowerStream's key objectives. One of those technologies is microgrids. 

Mr. Shankar said that this technology can be  used in countries like India where the rural areas can be benefited. This technical knowledge can also be a boon for the urban centres especially for new smart cities. He thanked Mr. Nani Pradeepan, Energy Committee Member and the Power Stream for organizing the Hard Hat Tour. He said that Power Stream has always been at the forefront of smart grid technologies. 

In recognition of the synergies that the different ethnic groups would be able to generate in sharing experiences and resources, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce had pioneered the formation of the Greater Toronto Business Alliance (GTBA). The business chambers of the Italian, the Portuguese, and the Chinese were the other partners along with the ICCC in the GTBA.

Another milestone that the incumbent leadership of the ICCC has undertaken is to create similar synergies with other bilateral trade organizations including the Turkish-Canadian and the Japanese-Canadian chambers.

In continuing its efforts to create more multilateral trade opportunities for its members, the ICCC joined hands with the Italian Canadian Chamber Ontario (ICCO) to organize a joint networking event earlier this month (September 8) at the Savoia Canada Inc. in downtown Toronto.

ICCC-ICCO office bearers	Participants at the program

The turnout for the event was unprecedented and members and stakeholders of both the organizations flocking the venue to exchange not just business cards and partake in the delicately prepared delicacies, but also to exchange information about mutually beneficial opportunities in business and enterprise.

An appreciative audience lauded both the organizations for holding the program. The event was appreciated by the members of both the chambers and looking forward to have more events like this in future. Sanjay Makkar, President, ICCC, appreciated the effort and said that this will provide an opportunity to our members to get networked with the Italian business leaders. Similarly, the ICCO President George Visintin applauded the effort and said that networking of Indo Italian entrepreneurs will pave the way for more business engagements between Canada, India and Italy.

The Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2017 is scheduled to be held from 10-13 January 2017, and will be focusing on sectors such as energy, education, agriculture, information technology, finance, pharmaceuticals and textiles. These are sectors that have seen considerable bilateral collaborations between Canadian and Indian entities both in private and public sectors.

It may be recalled that the ICCC has been a partner organization at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2014, and Canadian Government has been a partner government for a couple of years in the past. In his remarks, Sanjay Makkar, President, ICCC, welcomed the delegation to Toronto, emphasizing that the ICCC has traditionally led a strong delegation to the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

He said that in 2017, too, the Chamber would redouble its effort to recruit a delegation to both the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Bengaluru and the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar.

Consul General Dinesh Bhatia	ICCC President Sanjay Makkar
Arun Srivastava, Pavi Binning, Jagdish Bajaj	Resident Commissioner Bharat Lal

Speaking on the occasion, Dinesh Bhatia, the Consul General of India in Toronto, said that the Indian diaspora has played a pivotal role in creating awareness about the growth story of India. He welcomed the delegation from Gujarat and assured complete support to the delegation in its recruitment efforts on behalf of the Indian diaspora in the Greater Toronto Area.

Bharat Lal, the Resident Commissioner of Gujarat in New Delhi, in his remarks lauded the role of supporting the Summit over the years. Gujarat has been in the forefront of the Indian growth story. The state has witnessed impressive growth for over a decade, despite the global economic downturn. The state accounts for 19% of the country’s industrial output.

He said the seven Vibrant Gujarat summits held since 2003 have rekindled the pace of investments in the state. The central focus of the eight edition of the summit is sustainable economic and social development. The summit will bring together heads of states and government, ministers, leaders from the corporate world, senior policy makers, heads of global institutions and academia from acround the world to promote development and promote cooperation.

Several prominent members of the Indo-Canadian community were present at the reception to network with the visiting delegation, which included in addition to Bharat Lal, Deepak Bagla, MD and CEO Invest India; Rajiv Modi, Chairman and Managing Director Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd; Ajay Kumar Pandey, MD & Group CEO Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Ltd; Balrajsinh A Parmar, Managing director Suzlon Wind International Ltd; Hemant Desai, Advisor and Mentor, Reilance Industries Ltd; Jaimin Shah, Co-Founder & MD, Chairman-ICBC Gujarat; Amitabha Banerjee, President, Finance and Group CFO, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd; Suvas Barot, Director, Creatibe Infocity Ltd; Chintan Thaker, Welspun India Ltd; Dipesj Shah, Head (IFSC & Strategy) Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Co Ltd; Vivek Sonny Abraham, Assistant Vice President, Invest India; Devendra Agarwal, GM, Gujarat State Petronet Ltd; Pramendra Singh, Assistant Manager, KPMG (India); Param Shah, Head-Gujarat State Council, FICCI; Sandip Samaddar, FICCI; among others.

For more photos please click here

Sanjay Makkar briefed the Turkish CG about the various activities of the ICCC, especially its mandate of promoting global trade and creating global trading opportunities for Canadian small entrepreneurs. He informed the Turkish Consul General of the different initiatives the Chamber had taken in the Greater Toronto Area to promote cooperation between entrepreneurs of different ethnicities, and how it had been a part of the Greater Toronto Business Alliance, an informal alliance comprising trade chambers of China, Portugal, and Italy.

He also informed the CG of the initiative that ICCC had taken earlier this year in March when it joined hands with the Turkish and Japanese chambers to create awakening of the tremendous potential these markets have for Canada-based entrepreneurs of these ethnicities.

The Consul General of Turkey Erdeniz Sen briefed the delegation of the Turkish Consulate’s trade promotion activities. He expressed a keen desire in attracting Indo-Canadian entrepreneurs to trade with Turkey. He proposed B2B meetings as well as exploring opportunities of investment and trade. He assured the ICCC delegation that the Consulate’s trade office would facilitate trade.

 ICCC Special General Meeting

Two crucial resolutions passed

 New bylaws adopted

New auditors appointed

Toronto: Ninety-five percent of the members who participated in the voting approved of the adoption of the new bylaws of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), and slightly over 95 percent of them voted in favour of the appointment of Collins Barrow as the Auditors of the Chamber at the Special General Meeting (SGM) held Thursday 18 August 2016 at the ICCC headquarters in Toronto.

Over 50 members of the Chamber were present at the SGM that was held to approve these two resolutions. Former President of the ICCC Ajit Khanna was the Returning Officer of the SGM, and he announced the results after the online voting closed at 7:00 pm. Eight members present had not voted online, and were provided the opportunity to vote on ballot paper.

Pathik Baxi, Corporate Secretary and Vice President of the ICCC, chaired the meeting, and answered questions of the members pertaining to the new bylaws. Ajit Khanna, who is also chair of the governance committee of the Chamber, lauded the efforts of the incumbent board in ensuring that the new bylaws were passed. He said that the previous two boards had also worked on this agenda, and the passage of the bylaws reflected the aspirations of both the members and stakeholders about the transformation required in the Chamber’s operations.

In his remarks, Sanjay Makkar emphasized that the incumbent board had taken into account opinions of as many members as possible to draft the new bylaws. He said the old set of bylaws had stood the test of time and had served the Chamber well for more than two decades. But the changing operational realities had necessitated a new set of bylaws. Makkar also said that the bylaws would also be a commencement of a process of transformation which would involve creating policy documents that would envisage formulations of procedural regulations for the conduct as office bearers of the institution.

He thanked the contributions of both Ajit Khanna and Imtiaz Seyid, the audit committee chair, who is instrumental in spearheading the audit of the Chamber’s finances for the last decade. Makkar said that the governance, audit and nomination committees have become mandatory and permanent, and would continue to do good work.

Pathik Baxi called for the meeting to be concluded after the agenda had been achieved.