00:00As climate pressures intensify, geopolitical tensions shift and global threats evolve.
00:06Canada and the Caribbean are being urged to deepen their partnership through research, innovation and strategic dialogue.
00:14The call came at the fourth annual Canada-Caribbean Institute Research Symposium hosted by the Behavioral Sciences Department at the
00:22University of the West Indies St. Augustine campus.
00:25Regional and international leaders say cross-institutional collaboration is no longer optional. It's essential.
00:33Canada has undoubtedly been the most reliable development partner for this CARICOM area.
00:45Canada and the Caribbean share complex issues and bringing the region's best minds together in a period of shared uncertainty
00:53gives the power of shared purpose.
00:55We had not anticipated the kind of changes that would be happening at a global level that we see today,
01:02where constructs around, I might say, quote, world order and sometimes world disorder,
01:10where we might see a phrase that I've coined recently, the idea of soft power change to hard, the idea
01:19where partnerships turns to transaction.
01:22And that means that at a global level, it's so very, very important for regions, for countries to be an
01:30exemplar of what is possible between people,
01:34to be able to build on shared history, shared relationship, people-to-people relationships, to be able to be an
01:41exemplar, to inspire humanity.
01:43The facts are the Caribbean and Canada share a deep and long history.
01:47The trade predates the independence of both of our countries.
01:51Over 200 years ago, Canada would send lumber and saltfish down south in exchange for rum and sugar, among other
01:59things.
01:59But that lumber, that Canadian lumber, it actually made its way into some of the core foundational buildings of the
02:05city, of Port of Spain.
02:07There is to be a TNT trade mission to Canada in September this year.
02:12It seems like an opportune moment to rally interested partners and build this trade delegation into a wider Caribbean-Canada
02:19trade mission.
02:21It would be the first of its kind and would draw more engagement than any single nation visit on its
02:26own.
02:26A collective mission would allow conversations that stretch up and down supply chains, address regulatory obstacles,
02:33and introduce new commercial contexts that expand options for trade and investment.
02:40I could see the first Caribbean-Canada trade mission being an excellent moment to talk about the role of Canadian
02:46Chambers of Commerce in the region.
02:48Feature speaker Bob Ray underscored the central role of education and science in navigating global uncertainty,
02:56calling investment in knowledge one of the most powerful economic tools available.
03:01So the more we can insist on science, knowledge, learning, at every single level of society,
03:12preschool, school, you know, every possible one, higher education, advanced learning, whatever it is,
03:21it's part of the answer.
03:25And that's the meaning of education.
03:28Education is the one thing that provides for personal transformation, and we all know this.
03:36It provides for our own personal, individual expansion of our own awareness, consciousness, knowledge, and sense of security.
03:49And at the same time, it's a powerful economic investment.
03:55Arvishit Tamari, Rupinorain, TV6 News.
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