Canadian experts to aid several local sectors in Guyana – High Commissioner

One of the ways Canada has been providing support to Guyana, is through the Canada-CARICOM Expert Deployment Mechanism (CCEDM), with Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Sebastien Sigouin revealing that several experts are being deployed in various sectors in Guyana.
During the opening ceremony of a training session for restorative justice practitioners on Tuesday, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Sebastien Sigouin was among those present. In his presentation, Sigouin revealed that this is just one of several other local projects in which Canada will be sending experts to Guyana to provide technical assistance.
“It was important for me to be here to express how privileged we are to be here today and how it’s a pleasure for me to be able to support this initiative. I think this initiative shows the strong cooperation between Canada and Guyana.”
“We’ve heard about the Canada-CARICOM Expert Deployment Mechanism. We’re using this mechanism to deploy experts, like Allan (Howard), in a number of sectors here in Guyana, but also other parts of the Caribbean region,” the diplomat also said.
The diplomat reflected on Canada’s partnership with Guyana and the region as a whole, noting that their work extends beyond Guyana’s justice system, into other member states of the CARICOM. Additionally, Sigouin also pointed out that Canada has partnered with others in order to bolster the support it gives.
“Canada’s partnership with Guyana in the justice sector, goes beyond today’s initiative. We actually have a very strong history, a long history of cooperation. For example, we did work with the justice education society in British Columbia, to empower women and indigenous people, to train the police, judiciary and prosecutors in trauma informed approaches and gender sensitivity and improve access to justice for the most vulnerable members of society.”

“We’ve also worked with other partners, to support Guyana and other CARICOM countries to modernise their legal systems, to improve case management, to reduce judicial backlogs and to enhance the delivery of justice across the region,” Sigouin further added.
Among the priority areas that the CCEDM project focuses on is trade policy and regulations. The project also provides experts in governance and public sector policy, tourism policy and management and environmental policy. In addition to Guyana, experts are sent to Jamaica, Suriname, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, St Lucia and Dominica.
Over the years, Canada has supported technical and vocational education and training (TVET) across the Caribbean, including in Guyana. In February 2024, the Government of Canada announced a contribution of 9.5 million Canadian dollars (CAD$9.5 million) to Guyana’s ‘One Guyana’ Digital Skills Development Programme, aimed at preparing young Guyanese for participation in the digital economy.
Since 2019, Canada has supported the CAD$18.75 million Skills to Access the Green Economy project, which aims to create a skilled workforce for climate-related sectors in Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Saint Lucia.
Last December, Canada’s then Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussen, had announced that country’s intention to contribute up to CAD$3 million to establish a Caribbean Future Skills Fund, to help build a workforce that can capitalise on technological innovation and contribute to inclusive and sustainable economies in the Caribbean.
Minister Hussen has travelled twice to the Caribbean in 2024, participating at the 47th meeting of the CARICOM Heads of State and Government in Grenada in July 2024. He also hosted the 54th meeting of the Caribbean Development Bank Board of Governors in Ottawa in June 2024.