CARIBBEAN CHAMBER IN CANADA LONG OVERDUE
THE Canada-CARICOM trade and development agreement currently being negotiated between CARICOM Member States and Canada will bring significant benefits and challenges for Caribbean countries when it is concluded, hopefully within the next twelve months.

The need for a Caribbean Chamber of Commerce in Canada that is truly representative of the 15-member Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) is needed now more than ever in light of the impending new trade accord that will open up market access and investment but will also require reciprocity.
A viable Toronto-based Caribbean private sector organisation could be a considerable asset to the region’s governments and business community as they seek to reap the benefits of the new agreement.
In New York, the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce is a vibrant organisation with numerous programmes and services for its members and is expected to move into a brand new building with government support soon. The Florida Caribbean of Commerce is becoming more active and reaching out to members with new programmes and business building events. There is no equivalent organisation in Canada.
Among the very vibrant business organisations in Toronto are the Chinese Business Council and the Indian Business Council. Canada and China just signed a mega trade and investment deal and Prime Minister Stephen Harper is championing a similar agreement with India.
In 2007, efforts were made to start a Canada-Caribbean Chamber of Commerce, building on the already existing Canada-Caribbean Business Council, which was seeking to upgrade the organisation.
That initiative was short lived. Several members of the CCBC were reluctant to take the quantum leap required to catapult the CCBC into a more productive and engaging body that could provide services to its members to help them grow, identify potential investment opportunities in the Caribbean for Canadian companies and entrepreneurs and assist Caribbean export-ready companies to get into the Canadian market.

It is unfortunate that no Caribbean private sector group is lending support and providing advice on Caribbean proposals on the table with the Canadians. Such a Caribbean group is also necessary to encourage the Caribbean governments to keep on track and move the trade and investment dialogue with the Canadians forward.
In 2009, as part of Canada’s new aid effectiveness agenda, the Caribbean region was selected by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as an area of Focus. With China and India high on Canada’s international trade agenda, it is critical that the Caribbean ensures it is still a major foreign affairs focus for Canada.
CARICOM Member States are keen on getting the Canadian government to allocate as part of a new agreement additional financial resources to the region, separate and apart from the Can 600 million over a ten-year period announced by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007. A Caribbean Chamber of Commerce can help the region to make its case in this and other areas.
A Canada-CARICOM Trade Development Forum  to discuss the new agreement, held in Toronto a year ago, was organised by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs in association with the Trinidad and Tobago- based regional umbrella private sector group the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC) and Caribbean Export Development Agency in Barbados.
Unfortunately, CAIC appears to be dysfunctional. The writing was on the wall when the Barbados Manufacturers Association (BMA) withdrew from the organisation.
One of the things that emerged from the forum a year ago was scope of the opportunities that might arise for Caribbean companies and entrepreneurs both in Canada and in the Caribbean. Aside from the current accord being negotiated, business opportunities during the 2015 Pan Am games for Caribbean businesses were highlighted at the Toronto forum.
During a meeting I had with a senior executive of the Pan Am organising committee, he expressed surprise that there was no Caribbean business group they could make a presentation to on the major sporting event. They have had talks with numerous other Toronto-based Business Councils in Toronto.
Of course, the Pan Am games organisers cannot meet with representatives of every individual CARICOM Member State. Here again, is an opportunity for a Caribbean Business organisation to take the lead.
It is important that any new Caribbean business organisation be private sector driven so that business leaders, and not politicians, control the agenda and direction of this body. At the same time, it is important that strong relations be developed between such a group and Caribbean Consulates and High Commissions.

With the exception of Jamaica (which has a Trade Commission) and Barbados (Invest Barbados) most CARICOM countries do not have marketing budgets or staff trained in international trade research, international marketing and investment promotion.
During GuyExpo, a group of women from the Pomeroon who produce excellent bottled seasoning by hand indicated they could significantly increase production, exports and earnings if they had a machine and a factory. This is the kind of investment opportunity a Caribbean Business Organisation could facilitate by working with groups like the Canadian Manufacturers Association and the various Canadian Boards of Trade to identify potential investors.
Efforts are currently being made to bring together a group of like-minded individuals with a genuine interest in Caribbean economic and social development, who support the proposal for a Caribbean Chamber of Commerce in Canada, to move it to the next stage.
I have recommended that the original business plan, which I was involved in putting together, be revamped as some of the core concepts and proposals are still very valid.
There is need for a functioning small Secretariat that can provide benefits for members, both Caribbean and Canadian companies. Membership dues are unlikely to offset all the start-up costs so the search should begin sooner, rather than later, for seed capital from companies and donors that have a vested interest in the Caribbean, to lay the foundation for this badly needed Caribbean business organisation.
(Sandra Ann Baptiste is a Business Consultant and Specialist in Caribbean Affairs).