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Manohar Lal Khattar, the Chief Minister of Haryana, invited Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) to lead a delegation of small business entrepreneurs and professionals to the #Happening Haryana investment conclave scheduled to be held in Chandigarh next year. The Honourable Chief Minister was addressing members of the Chamber at a business meeting convened on Sunday evening in Toronto.

The Haryana CM was accompanied by a high-powered business and government delegation that included prominent members of the Haryana businesses, government and bureaucracy. Deep Kapuria, the Chairman and Managing Director of Hi-Tech Gears, was the head of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) business delegation accompanying the CM that comprised several Haryana-based businesses. Capt. Abhimanyu Sindhu, Haryana's Industries Minister and Principal Secretary Devinder Kumar were among the government officials. 

The Canadian participants at the business meeting included several well-known Indo-Canadian entrepreneurs and professionals, and members of the Indian diplomatic corps.

In his speech, Honourable Khattar lauded the role Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) in promoting bilateral trade relations. The Chief Minister welcomed Canadian interests in Haryana and said that his state would benefit immensely from Canadian technical knowhow in different spheres. “The enhancement of relationship between Haryana and Canada would be a definite win-win,” he said.

He added that such a cooperation would help the people in his state meet their basic needs and also deliver tangible results in employment and education. While lauding the role of the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in India’s development, he urged those present to proactively work towards adopting villages in his state.

Sanjay Makkar welcoming Haryana CM	Manohar Lal Khattar

Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner H.E. Vishnu Prakash described the ICCC as a “leading organization for the Indo-Canadian business community.” He said that Haryana is a Silicon Valley of Northern India. Sectors such as automobile, education, pharmaceuticals, and IT are thriving in the state.

Sanjay Makkar, President, ICCC, in his remarks, spoke about the mission of the delegation. “The Haryana business delegation is in Canada to explore bilateral economic opportunities between Canada and Haryana, a relationship that has tremendous potential considering the commonalities that the state of Haryana shares with Canada in all the three spheres of agriculture, manufacturing and services,” he said.

Mr. Makkar introduced the Chamber to the visitors thus: “The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) is a 38-year-old organization that promotes bilateral economic and business relations between Canada and India by creating opportunities for Canadian small businesses and professionals to explore trade ties in India. Our Chamber has a coast-to-coast presence in Canada, and has councils in four of the most important provinces of this great country that is our karma-bhoomi. We have partners with whom we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in all the major states of our matru-bhoomi.”

He informed the delegation of ICCC’s visit to Haryana in 2014 during the 2014 India Mission, and assured the chief minister that in 2016, too, the ICCC India Mission would visit Haryana.

Mr. Deep Kapuria, head of the CII business delegation, said that Haryana houses the largest number of manufacturing units. He said that entrepreneurs’ participation in the value chain will help in longer cooperation and transformation of India into a developed country. He lauded the Indian PM slogan of Make in India with Zero Defect and Zero Effect. Captain Abhimanyu Sindhu, Industries Minister Haryana also briefed about the various programs started by the state government. Jagdish Bajaj, Vice President, Programs and Events, gave the introductory remarks.

VIPs at the business meeting

Canada’s trade ties with India continue to get enriched gradually, and both the countries are committed to taking this relationship forward steadily, Honourable Ed Fast, Canada’s Minister for International Trade, declared at an interactive session organized by Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Sunday between him and Indo-Canadian small entrepreneurs and professionals.

“Canada’s largest trading partner in South Asia and bilateral merchandise trade between our two countries is growing. It totalled $6.3 billion last year, an increase of more than 50% compared to 2010,” the Minister said.

Emphasizing new thinking and a new direction in the development of the burgeoning trade ties, the Minister said both countries have started to look beyond the traditional merchandise trade and have begun to identify areas of cooperation from diverse spheres.

For instance, cooperation in the education sector will take the bilateral ties to a different level altogether. “India needs thousands of colleges, universities and other technical institutions as it transforms its economy into a knowledge society to sustain growth. Canada is a world leader in innovation and we can provide India with the much needed knowhow in many sectors. Our educational institutions are capable to provide the resources to fill that gap for India.”

Minister Fast lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Canada and the finalization of the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. He said that the new policy of visa on arrival that India recently announced will help tourism in both the countries, and added that Canada is keen that India develops financial and structural reforms which will help enhance bilateral business opportunities.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Makkar, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce described Honourable Ed Fast as a “friend of the Chamber,” and pointed out that Sunday’s visit was the Minister’s fifth interaction with ICCC’s members in the last four years.

“Our members will understand the significance of this achievement if I contextualize it with reference to our Chamber. Mr. Fast has seen five Presidents of the Chamber as Minister of International Trade. That is longevity in politics, and in the highly competitive world of politics, such longevity doesn’t come without performance,” Mr. Makkar said.

The ICCC President said that during the Minister’s tenure, bilateral trade in merchandise rose from $5 billion to over $6 billion. “It is obvious that the Minister has a special affinity for India. In the last four years, he has visited India on four occasions.”

Both Minister Fast and ICCC President expressed confidence that the bilateral ties between Canada and India would witness an impetus once the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) was formalized. Mr. Makkar informed the Minister that sector-focused bilateral merchandise trade would be the theme of the Chamber’s annual India Mission in January 2016. He also strongly urged the minister to consider declaring 2017 as the Year of Canada in India. In 2017, Canada will be celebrating 150 years.

The interactive session saw the participation of several prominent Indo-Canadian small business owners and professionals. A lively question-answer session was conducted after Mr. Fast’s speech. ICCC’s Vice President for Sponsorship and Finance Arun Srivastava gave the welcome remarks.

On the occasion of the 69th Indian Independence Day, Sanjay Makkar, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), pledged to forge more meaningful economic relations between Canada and India. In a statement released in Toronto, Mr. Makkar said that as the head of the only bilateral chamber of commerce, he was committed to lead the relations in a new direction and follow the lead given by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his April 2015 visit to Canada. “We are focused on creating opportunities for enhancing investments in India to support the Indian Prime Minister’s Make in India project. Similarly, we want to ensure that the high level of investment by India’s private sector in Canada continues and broadens to different sectors.”

He added, ICCC's new slogan for bilateral relations is: Better. Stronger. Wider. 

The ICCC President and the members of the board participated in a series of programs and events related to the celebrations of the Indian Independence Day in Ottawa and Toronto. Mr. Makkar participated in the reception that India’s High Commissioner to Canada His Excellency Vishnu Prakash hosted in Ottawa on 13 August. The reception was attended by Canadian political leaders, government officials, businessmen, academicians, members of the diplomatic corps, as well as, prominent Indo-Canadians and representatives of various Indian community associations. The over 300 guests were treated to a colourful cultural programme and sumptuous Indian cuisine. Earlier, to mark the occasion, a special flag hoisting ceremony was held at the Ottawa city hall. The Mayor of Ottawa Hon'ble Jim Watson participated in this program. Members of the community and friends of India turned out in numbers to honour the national flag.

Mr. Makkar and his colleagues on the board also participated in the India Day Parade on 16 August 2015 at the Yonge and Dundas Square organized by Panorama India. Hon. Jason Kenney, Canada’s Minister for National Defense and Multiculturalism, and Hon. Chris Alexander, Minister for Citizenship and Immigration participated in the program that saw hundreds of Indo-Canadian community members join in with great enthusiasm. Hon. Dr. Asha Seth, Senator, was also present along with several other dignitaries. The program also attracted film stars such as Preity Zinta and music composers such as Shankar Mahadevan. The highlight of the program was the parade around the YDS led by Consul General Akhilesh Mishra and Minister Kenney.

Toronto’s Indo-Canadian community held a memorial program celebrating the life of Dr. APJ Abul Kalam, the 11th President of India who passed away July 28, 2015 in Shillong while talking to youth and future leaders of India.  To honour the memory of arguably the greatest Indian after Mahatma Gandhi, a who’s who of the community leaders including political leaders, entrepreneurs, academics, and members of the diplomatic corps gathered at the SVBF Community Centre in Toronto and recalled the many achievements of the people’s president.

Organized under the aegis of the Canada-India Foundation, the program also witnessed participation from many Indo-Canadian community and business organizations. Replete with personal anecdotes and memories of personal interactions, the speakers at the congregation remembered Dr. Kalam’s visits to Canada, and his intense and interesting interactions with the Indo-Canadian community.

The Canada-India Foundation had aptly described the event as a celebration of the memories of a person who “had several distinctions that deserve the attribute “highest” – the highest position in India, that of the President of India; the highest civilian honor in India, the Bharat Ratna; the highest levels of accomplishment in India’s indigenous space technology; innumerable honors including doctorates from Indian and international universities.”

ICCC President Sanjay Makkar paying his tributes to Dr. Kalam

The President of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) Mr. Sanjay Makkar was among the speakers at the program. In his remarks, Mr. Makkar described the former President as a knowledge activist, who had enabled the knowledge revolution in India.  He said, “When one thinks of Dr. Kalam, the image that comes to mind is of an activist. He was India’s first knowledge activist. India’s post-liberalization surge in the knowledge sphere in the late 1990s coincided with Dr. Kalam’s term as the President.

Providing a perspective to Dr. Kalam’s contribution to the making of the postmodern Indian mind, Mr. Makkar said, “In a world where knowledge economies are reshaping the new world order, India has a fighting chance to emerge as one of the leading nations if it is able to retain and build upon its lead in the knowledge sector.  Dr. Kalam epitomized the best of what India stands for and what it offered – a scholastic mixture of the science and culture, heritage and progress, inclusive ethos and forward thinking.”

Describing the former Indian President as “soft-spoken and unassuming scientist” Mr. Makkar said that he (Dr. Kalam) “gave India and Indians a vision for the future – something that the country and its people could aspire to achieve if all Indians worked together. In a large measure, India has seized Dr. Kalam’s vision for its future. Indians are working in a myriad different ways to bring to fruition a grand dream.”

Giving reference to a previous visit of Dr. Kalam to Canada, Mr. Makkar noted, “A few years ago, Dr. Lakshmanan released a slim volume of a compilation of Dr. Kalam’s speeches. The book is a gem because it gives insights into the depth of knowledge that the former President of India had of the Indian society, and his vision for the world. The book contains a lecture that he gave at the Sringeri Community Centre on 26th September 2010 on Tolerance and its universal relevance.”

The ICCC President then proceeded to read from the book:

“Tolerance is the foundation of sustainable development and peaceful society. It will be appropriate to have introspection by all of us about the social awakening needed for the national and international development. Every civilized society exists not for day-to-day, but with a clear perception for the future and the generations to come.

“Such a situation would pre-suppose that each individual in such a society would cherish and translate into practice noble ideals of constructive tolerance, positive fellow-feeling and a total commitment to live and let live.

“Albert Einstein could not have expressed this better, when he said: “Laws alone can’t secure freedom of expression; in order that every man presents his views without penalty, there must be a spirit of tolerance in the entire population.

“We have to evolve a society that will respect differences and celebrate differences. What are the various issues on tolerance?

1. Tolerance for people’s opinion

2. Tolerance for people’s culture

3. Tolerance for people’s belief system

4. Tolerance for people’s styles

“In fact, such an attitude, be it that of an individual or a collection of them i.e. society, is the hallmark of civilization and that is what characterizes and differentiates life from sheer existence. Honesty and integrity – both in thought and action, independence and inter-dependence – in their wholesome and positive manifestations, would distinguish a civilized society in its true sense. It is for each individual to strive to inculcate these external values in him or her, and that alone would be the surest path and unfailing guarantee for a civilized society and its future.”

The trio of experts covered the following topics related to tenancies:

• Lease
• Landlord and Tenant Responsibilities
• Evictions
• Rent and Deposits
• Tenants Moving Out
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006
• Termination of tenancies etc.

The seminar focused on raising the landlord’s awareness about their rights and obligations. The speakers emphasized that while it is vital to have a written lease agreement with a tenant, where there is conflict between the lease agreement and the Residential Tenancies Act, the Act supersedes the contract, and it is important for a landlord to know how to stay on-side with the provisions of the law.

The seminar included discussion on topics such as Rent Deposits, Increasing Rent, Landlord’s Obligations, Entering the Unit, Terminating a Tenancy and Selling a Property with Tenants. It helped every participant better understand their rights and their role as a Landlord. A number of questions were raised which were satisfactorily answered by the presenters.

Mr. Jagdish Bajaj welcomed the participants to the seminar and said that the Chamber’s new team of directors is geared to give its members and stakeholders business-themed programs that would enable them to take better business decisions. Among the ICCC board members, Mr. Arun Srivastava, Mr. Kanwarjit Dhanjal, Mr. Pappur Shankar and Ms. Shivani Sharma Gupta were also present. 

Ajay Tandon, has been assigned the new portfolio of Director of Tourism and Hospitality: Ajay was elected director in June. He is the CEO of Canadian Travel Services, a fast growing complete travel solution and Aviation Company specializing in projects across the globe. A proven global leader in travel industry from South Asia, Middle East, Europe , Africa, Central Asia and Canada. Ajay joined travel industry in Islands of Maldives with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines & during two decades in Airline management and Corporate Travel, took challenging posts in UAE Dubai & Abu Dhabi, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Yemen achieved numerous awards. KLM & Alliances awarded the highest honor in sales for Middle East and South Asia.

In a special appeal to members, both the President Mr. Makkar, and the new director of the tourism and hospitality, have requested qualified and interested members to come forward to become members of the newly-formed Tourism and Hospitality Committee. The committee will be actively promoting the tourism and hospitality sector, and encourage two-way trade in the sector. It may be recalled, that both the governments in Canada and India have been actively promoting tourism.

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) runs on volunteers. Right from the President of the Chamber to the young committee member who helps at the reception desk of the chamber’s event, the Chamber depends entirely on the services of volunteers. It was, therefore, wholly appropriate that the Chamber felicitated its volunteers at the Annual Volunteer Appreciation Night on July 29th 2015. All the volunteers were awarded Certificates of Appreciation by the President of the Chamber Mr. Sanjay Makkar. A majority of the new board members participated in the program at ICCC headquarters in Toronto. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Makkar, said, “Volunteering is a big tradition in Canada, and volunteers are the backbone of ICCC; we at the Chamber have adopted it since the Chamber’s inception in 1977.”

The ICCC is privileged to have always had unstinting support of a legion of volunteers who have helped accomplish a large part of the Chamber’s mandate.  In 2014-15, ICCC organised over 80 events between July 2014 and June 2015, and the volunteers played a pivotal role in making these events successful. Recalling some of these events at the felicitation program, Sanjay Makkar said, “The Chamber is proud of you, proud of your effort, proud of your support. If it were not for volunteers, our Chamber wouldn’t be able to do anything besides a few programs in a year. That we do so many programs every year is thanks to volunteers like you.”

Emphasizing the contribution of volunteerism to an individual’s development, Makkar noted, “Volunteering offers incredible opportunities and priceless professional development which can enhance business and careers. It provides a sense of fulfillment and a perfect platform for those with leadership potential. By working with others, sharing experiences and identifying best practices, one starts to identify key qualities in oneself, and begins to develop those qualities.”

Mr. Jagdish Bajaj, Vice President, while introducing the event said that the contribution of volunteerism to the Canadian economy was in the range of $38 billion. Quoting statistical survey, Bajaj said that among the many reasons for people to enthusiastically volunteer was to build a network, improve skills and knowledge.

Mr. Bajaj said “The Chamber depends upon volunteer support for all of its marquee events such as the Annual Awards and Gala Night, the Holiday Dinner and Dance, the Annual Charity Golf Classic. The volunteer appreciation dinner was a small measure of thanking all volunteers for their dedication and involvement.” He also added that dedicating time and energy leads to both social and professional gains. These rewards include recognition of skills and expertise which ultimately result in positions of responsibility within the Chamber.

Mr. Pathik Baxi, Vice President & Corporate Secretary ICCC, Mr. Arun Srivastava, Vice President ICCC, Kanwar Dhanjal, Director ICCC, Ajay Tandon, Director ICCC, Pappur Shankar, Director ICCC were also present.