Guyanese Canadians encouraged to invest in Guyana

Guyanese in the Canadian Diaspora have been urged to return and invest in the development of their homeland.

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Pierre Giroux
Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Pierre Giroux

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Pierre Giroux, was answering questions from Guyana Times about what more could be done by his country to further strengthen ties with Guyana.

The two countries have had a longstanding relationship, he told this publication in an exclusive interview recently. He said he hopes that there could be stronger economic ties, and through that, Guyanese living in Canada can also make investments in Guyana.

“The human relation is good, we would certainly like to see more economic relations, more Canadian investments, particularly members of the Diaspora in Canada to return and make investments in Guyana.”

According to the High Commissioner, Canada as an immigration country has seen more than 200,000 Guyanese establish themselves there. This, he said, could do well for Guyana if persons could make investments here. Speaking to further investments here, the High Commissioner said there are some sectors which his country wants to improve its presence in operation, including the developing oil sector. He said both countries have similar experiences and are working together on this.

He said his country has already established a sturdy relationship with Guyana and this dates back to the 19th and 20th centuries. It was Canada, he said, that imported sand from Guyana; sand which was used to build planes used in the Second World War.

“The relation between Guyana and Canada are long standing. It has in fact started back in the 18th century, where from the maritime province of Canada; it exported salted-fish to what was then British Guiana. We started with banks in the early 20th century, the Bank of Nova Scotia.”

He said the two countries also have a longstanding relation which was linked to human relation. He explained that Canadian missionaries were among the first to establish schools for the freed slaves in the 19th century. The relation later evolved into two strands, including economics. Canada, he said, was a country which invested in the mining sector for a long time. First it was in the bauxite area. His ALCAN Canada was in partnership with US Company ALCO of the United States in the Demerara Bauxite Company which he said produced most of the bauxite which was sent to Canada. His country he said is also investing in gold in Guyana.

“So we have a very strong economic interest”. On the other hand, Canada is also an immigration country, receives over 230,000 immigrants a year and this has been a longstanding policy.

“This means we have a long human relation between Guyanese who establish themselves in 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s and today. There are even thousands of Guyanese Canadians living in Guyana today. So the connections are very strong”, he told Guyana Times.