Thank you so much. Good evening, members of the international trade committee, and colleagues from the Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce.
This is the first time we at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce have had an opportunity to come to the House of Commons to talk about the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce—to shorten it we call it the ICCC. The ICCC is a 40-year-old organization of the Indian diaspora in Canada.
We have been working on bilateral trade between Canada and India. As of now, the trade between the two countries is at $8 billion, which is much lower than the potential we have. The opportunities and chances are increasing. In the last eight months the trade between India and Canada has increased by 20%, which is quite significant, but still more needs to be done.
ICCC has been doing this activity for the last 40 years. In the past, prime ministers from Canada have visited India. In the previous government, Prime Minister Harper visited India, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Canada. This was the first official visit of any Indian prime minister in 42 years, and its only purpose was to increase or boost trade between India and Canada. That's what we are looking for.
India is the fastest-growing economy in the world, at more than 7%, but is lagging in so many sectors: infrastructure, clean tech, food safety, food security, and education.
I'm glad to say that every year in Canada we're getting 100,000 students from India. If I take an average of $40,000 in fees for four semesters, they're contributing $4 billion to the Canadian economy. Still, a lot of boost is required, and a lot of injection is required.
The thing that is lagging behind in terms of trade is CEPA, the comprehensive economic partnership agreement. We are still looking forward to signing it. It has been in the doldrums for the last 10 years, a decade.
This month, Minister Bains, Minister Champagne, and one more minister are going to India to push forward the signing of CEPA. At the same time, in the last two or three years, the Canada pension plan has invested a lot of money in India. Still there's not enough. We need to boost the economy between India and Canada.
If I look at the population of those with Indian origin in Canada, it's 1.5 million. It's a very high population—a high-density population. In looking at trade, it's not as significant as it should be. As a chamber, we are looking for support from the federal government, support from provincial governments, and support from municipal governments to work together to enhance trade.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne went to India last year. The premier of Saskatchewan has been to India. The mayor of Toronto, John Tory, has been to India. The mayors of Markham, Mississauga, and Brampton have been to India. The only thing is to boost trade, and we are really looking forward to making it stronger, more fruitful, and more enhanced.
Canada is a place where we have technology. India needs a technology partnership, infrastructure. Within Asia itself there is going to be a $6-billion investment in infrastructure. A major part is going to China and India, and Canada can play a very vital role in the infrastructure.
We need to build a strong relationship, a strong B2B, a strong B2G, a strong B2C interaction to increase our trade. As a chamber, we have a very strong association here, as well as in India. We have a strong association with the federal government and the provincial governments in India.
We have FICCI India, we have CII India. We are very strongly associated, and we look forward to increasing trade between India and Canada.
Thank you so much, sir. Thanks for your time.