iccc newsletter - march 2015
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March 2015
ICCC Newsletter
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce 924 The East Mall, Etobicoke ON M9B 6K1
ICCC Newsletter March 2015
President's Message
A modern partnership and robust relationship between Canada and India is waiting to be born when Prime Minister Modi visits next month. Such a relationship involves more bilateral collaboration than ever before — not just at the federal level but also at the state, provincial and local levels, and between the private sectors and civil society of two countries. Indo Canadians will have increasing opportunities to play their catalytic and bridging roles.
Supportive Role of Civil Society and Private Sectors-Two ideas:
Two ideas are worth considering. The first is to strengthen a public diplomacy program for branding Canada in India and India in Canada. Such a program should be funded by the two governments, private sectors in two countries and from contributions of the Indian Diaspora. The second is to formalize a working group consisting of representatives of all active business & Diaspora organizations for contributing in a synergistic manner to the promotion of comprehensive economic partnership between two countries.
The ICCC will do everything to ensure a successful outcome of Prime Minister Modi’s forthcoming visit to Canada.
Know your Organization
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce is a 37-year-old organization with twin objectives of fostering bilateral trade between Canada and India and creating entrepreneurial and professional opportunities for Indo-Canadians. It is run by an elected board with the help of various committees involving member.
To know more about your organization, please visit: www.iccconline.org
Dharma P Jain
Article
Resetting Canada-India Relationship
By Ambassador (Retired) Kant K. Bhargava, Honorary Advisor, ICCC
The prospects of Canada-India relationship becoming broader and deeper than ever before are apparent from progress made during negotiations on CEPA and talks held between ministers and prime ministers of two countries during their visits in last six years. US-India relations influence the Canada-India relationship. To that extent, the highly successful Obama visit to India as chief guest on the Republic Day a few months ago is likely to be a positive factor for resetting Canada-
India relationship. There also seems to be more popular support than before in India and Canada for strengthening their relationship. Also, friendship is now firmly based on knowledge which has unravelled numerous opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation and partnerships. At present, there are consultations between two countries on global and regional issues, as well as bilateral talks on economic growth, energy, food and homeland security, and cooperation in high technology, space and health areas. The forthcoming meeting between two prime ministers next month in Ottawa is an ideal opportunity to build on previous agreements in these key areas. One of the key factors in India’s relationship with Canada is the significant Indian diaspora that has grown over the last four decades. Indo Canadians are about 3 percent of the total Canadian population, and are on average highly educated and have a household income almost double that the national average. Consultations on trade disputes, intellectual property rights, civil nuclear cooperation, clean energy, and infrastructure investment indicate the serious efforts that have been ongoing to clear the backlog of hurdles and pave the way for enhanced cooperation in these areas in the future. However, given the sheer complexity of some of these issues, coupled with the lack of trust between the two bureaucracies and the entrenched interests on both sides, it is unlikely that all of them will be resolved by the meeting between two prime ministers next month. Nonetheless, it would be crucial for Prime Minister Harper and Prime Minister Modi to ensure that despite this the relationship continues to deepen and widen. They need to focus on a range of issues on which India and Canada are or need to be cooperating, including in the emerging discipline of the study of oceans including the Arctic.
Kant K Bhargava
ACTIVITIES IN FEBRUARY 2015 February 06, 2015 ICCC President Mr. Dharma P Jain met with Mr. Arup Banerji, General Manager CIBC. Mr. Arup felt a need of organizing a few Chamber events in east end. He promised to provide is fullest cooperation. February 09, 2015 ICCC President Mr. Dharma P Jain met with Mr. Shaun Rath of Business Development Canada (BDC). During the meeting sponsorship possibilities were discussed at length and a sponsorship program keeping in mind mutual benefits of both organizations was agreed. February 10, 2015 ICCC President Mr. Dharma P Jain met with Mr. Sudhir Gandhi, Chair, TEC Canada. TEC
Canada is a member based community of over 1000 chief executives, entrepreneurs and
business owners from across Canada. Mr. Sudhir said that we are trying to help senior
executives take their leadership – and their businesses – to the next level through the
power of peer advisory and support. Business leaders and entrepreneurs with common
goals will find in TEC a safe refuge for learning and growth, and a vibrant network to grow
their business. Mr. Sudhir invited Chamber to participate in TEC's endeavours.
February 10, 2015 ICCC President Mr. Dharma P Jain met with Mr. Anil Thapa, President Non Resident Nepalis, Canada. Both the leaders discussed the possibilities of cooperation and working together to achieve the desired common objective to engage small and medium businesses from both the countries. Nepal is India’s most trusted neighbor and most of its trade with the international players is routed through India.
February 10, 2015
ICCC President Mr. Dharma P Jain met with Mr. John Reynolds from Zenbanx to discuss the different opportunities of sponsorship with the chamber. Zenbanx is an online banking system providing multi-currency savings account.
February 11, 2015 ICCC President Mr. Dharma P Jain and Mr. Tony Chawla, VP-Events, visited West-in Harbour Hotel for exploring opportunities for switching venue for Chamber's annual award gala. They also met with Ms. Susan Vegas, City of Toronto for discussing opportunities of mutual cooperation and working together with City. Both also discussed and explored opportunities of city being chamber's funding supporter in chamber activities. February 12, 2015
Panel Discussion on Canada India Relations with special focus on Quebec India Relations
Mr. Dharma P Jain, President Indo Canada Chamber of
Commerce participated in the panel discussion on
Canada India relations with special focus on Quebec on
12 February 2015 at University of Montreal. The event
was organized by the Institute of International Studies in
Montreal (IEIM) and Centre for Research on India, South
Asia and its Diaspora (CERIAS).
Mr. Jain said that the recent visit of Indian Prime
Minister Mr. Modi to USA and US President Obama’s
visit to India in January 2015 on the eve of Republic Day
celebrations, the time is apposite to explore deeper three-
way cooperation between the US, Canada and India
given the deepening bilateral economic cooperation
between Canada and India, and the US and India.
Mr. Dharma P Jain Speaking at the event
February 13, 2015
ICCC launched its fifth round of mentoring program
The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) launched its fifth module of the mentoring program on 13th February 2015. The fifth module has been started in multiple sectors to cater the demand of newcomers. ICCC has already completed four rounds in information technology, accounting and finance. ICCC has selected the mentors from professional pool of talent available within its membership to help the mentee in their professional networking and job search strategies. Mr. Dharma P Jain, President of the chamber said that the main objectives of this program is to connect internationally trained Indo-Canadian newcomers with successful Indo-Canadian professionals to help build useful networks; learn tips and tricks to achieve their career goals in Canada.
Mr. Avin Mehra, Chair, ICCC’s mentoring Committee said that ICCC is working hard for
taking the initiative to introduce successful professionals to the newcomers through the
networking events and other programs.
Participants with ICCC President Mr. Dharma P Jain & Mentoring Committee
February 18, 2015 Mr. Jain was interviewed by Mr. Promod Sharma from Texivity. President talked about Chamber, Chamber's vision and mission, recent delegation to India and how chamber is working to improve bilateral trade between both countries. Full interview is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTmytfmPa0o President also had a meeting with Carmen Jacques, CPA, CGA and take forward the discussion of CPA coming aboard as annual sponsor. Both discussed in detail and fine tuned the demand and deliverables. A consensus were reached and CPA agreed to be on board. February 19, 2015 ICCC President was interviewed by the Ethnic Channel to discuss the role of Chamber in promoting the interests of its members for the promotion of small and medium businesses. The interview was aired on Zee TV, Canada on last Saturday, March 14th.
February 23, 2015
ICCC president Mr. Jain with Mr. Tony Chawla, Mr. Sanjay Makkar and Mr. Jagdish Bajaj met Her Worship Mayor Bonnie Crombie at City Hall, Mississauga. ICCC board discussed the cooperation between the city and the chamber and involvement of City for the Chamber’s initiative to engage the government at municipal levels.
From L to R: Jagdish Bajaj, Sanjay Makkar, Mayor Bonnie Crombie,
Dharma P Jain & Tony Chawla
February 23, 2015
Pre Budget Consultation with Hon Minister Kevin Sorenson
From L to R (sitting): Jay Banerjei, Minister Kevin Sorenson, Dharma P Jain, Sampat Poddar, Yogesh Sharma, Anu Jain & Shreyaa Chawla; Standing: Harmandeep Singh, Sanjay Brahmbhatt, Pramod Goyal, Ashok Baghwala, Tony
Chawla, Murarilal Thapliyal, Kanwar Dhanjal, Anil Thapa
Canadian government’s 2015 budget will focus on four major areas of supporting family,
business development, trade and culture, and balancing the budget announced Hon.
Kevin Sorenson, Minister of State for Finance during a pre-budget consultation
roundtable with the members of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) on 23
February, 2015. The other focus areas would be creating more jobs, promoting trade,
developing, skill development, manufacturing, infrastructure and energy in promoting its
relations with India. Minister Sorenson added “the government started negotiations with
43 countries for free trade agreement in which most of them have been signed or in near
conclusion to get signed shortly.” He also said that the government is cutting its
expenditure to lessen the burden on the economy and to utilize the saved money for family
health benefits. It will not put any extra burden on the tax payers.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Dharma P Jain, President, ICCC stated the chamber’s
initiative during the India Mission 2015 to promote Canadian businesses in India and
promoting the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector. ICCC led over fifty small
businesses to help them forge links with the Indian stakeholders. Low growth rate,
reducing GDP, increased consumer debt, unemployment, and low oil prices are some of
the major challenges our economy has been facing, Jain said.
February 25
EHSP – A Business Solution for Health Risks
Indo- Canada Chamber of Commerce organized
an interactive session on an interactive session
on The Executive Health Savings Plan (EHSP)
on 25-February 2015 at the ICCC headquarter.
Mr. Dawit Hamilton, Regional Sales Director –
Individual Insurance and Mr. Percy Dastur,
Chartered Financial Advisor from Desjardins
Financial Security Independent Network were
the main speakers.
Mr. Hamilton gave a detailed presentation on
the benefits of executive health saving plans. It is an advanced sales concept offering
critical illness coverage through a company. The success of a company depends largely on
the contribution of key leaders, employees and partners. The sudden loss of one of these
key contributors, even temporarily, can threaten the future of the company. The EHSP
helps hedge this risk to enable business leaders to protect against the economic risk
caused by the serious illness of a shareholder or key employee. And if the key employee
remains healthy, he can claim the health benefit.
February 27
Interactive session with Minister Chris Alexander
Hon. Chris Alexander, Canada’s minister for Citizenship
and Immigration emphasized that the government is
promoting the immigration under ‘Express Entry Scheme’
to get required skilled category workers for Canada. The
Minister was addressing members of the Indo-Canada
Chamber of Commerce at an interactive session in
Toronto.
Dharma P Jain, President, ICCC welcomed the minister
and said that the ICCC is a 38 year year-old business
organization with twin objectives of fostering bilateral
trade between Canada and India, and creating business and
professional opportunities for the Indian Diaspora in Canada,” Jain said.
Dharma P Jain with Chris Alexander
From L to R: Surjit Babra, Tony Chawla, Dharma P Jain, Rajeev Misra, Dawit Hamilton & Percy
Dastur
February 28, 2015
ICCC President Mr. Jain was invited by Mr. Anil Thapa,
President NRN-Canada to welcome new Nepali Ambassador
His Excellency Kali Prasad Pokharel. Mr. Jain in his address
brief them regarding the Chamber and its activities. He
further said that India and Nepal share a unique
relationship of friendship and cooperation characterized by
open borders and deep-rooted people–to–people contacts &
shared cultural values. The event was also attended by
Indian Counsel General, Mr. Akhilesh Mishra.
Mr. Jain with Nepali Amb. Kali Prasad Pokharel
ICCC Annual Awards 2015 Call for Nominations
Last Date: 31-03-2015 (This date will not be extended)
For more than 21 years, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) has been recognizing the contributions of the Indo-Canadian community to the fabric of the Canadian society. These awards have come to represent the best that Canadians of Indian origin have achieved. For 2015, ICCC will shortlist the nominees based on the criteria set by the Chamber, from which the Chamber’s Advisory Board will independently select a winner.
You can participate in these awards by nominating a deserving person or persons in one or more of the nine categories. You may also spread the word around in your circle of friends and loved ones, and help us to reach out to a wider audience. To download forms, click on the links for each category. The categories are:
Female Entrepreneur
Male Entrepreneur
Female Professional
Male Professional
Young Achiever
Technology Achievement
Corporate Executive
Humanitarian
Lifetime\Outstanding Achievement
In addition, ICCC will bestow two awards – Member of the Year, and President’s –
along with the nine categories.
ICCC will recognize the award recipients at its
Annual Awards & Gala Night on Saturday, June 06, 2015
Last Date: 31-03-2015 (This date will not be extended)
UPCOMING EVENTS
18-March-2015 Asia meets Quebec
25-March-2015 Economics and Strategies following the Budget
02-April-2015 Hard Hat Tour
10-April-2015 Interactive round table session on “How to thrive during the current economic landscape”
06-June 2015 Annual Awards & Gala Night
For details please see www.iccconline.org
ICCC in news
Newswire ICCC President’s Interview at Taxevity FOR ADVERTISEMENT IN NEWSLETTER Please contact Mr. Tarun Verma at [email protected], or by calling 416-224-0090
SUGGESTIONS Your new board is committed to make this esteemed organization member friendly, open, transparent, and truly a business organization working to achieve its mission and vision. Board is considering of: i) Publishing achievements of members in the upcoming issues of ICCC newsletter. Therefore, members are advised to send their achievements such as new position, additional qualification, awards etc. at [email protected]. ii) Publishing articles on different topics involving trade, commerce, tax etc. Interested writers can send their articles (500 words) at [email protected] iii) Starting blogs on Chamber's website. Send your resumes and subjects you wish to write a blog. iv) Constituting a newsletter committee. Those who have flare of writing, designing and passionate about this, send in their resumes at [email protected] Board is there to steer this august body in the direction provided by articles and by-laws and ensuring that interest of various stakeholders is protected. Board invites your suggestions and opinions regarding future events, newsletter content, and ask you to get engaged more and more and participate in Chamber events. You are the true ambassador of Chamber and your board is working for you in. Please feel free in contacting any board member. Please feel free in sending your suggestions and recommendations at: [email protected] or [email protected].
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