Madam Speaker, my colleague mentioned international trade.
Last week, the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, or MCFR, welcomed two guest speakers, namely the High Commissioner of India to Canada and the High Commissioner of Canada to India. These two speakers were there to talk about the trip to India. I was there myself. I went to hear the speeches. Their remarks were reported in an article by Alexis Riopel that appeared in La Presse on April 14. Anyone who wants to verify what I am saying has only to go and read it.
This is what the High Commissioner of India said: “I think [our Prime Minister's] visit to India was very important.... However, it ended up in the news for the wrong reasons.... Canada and India complement each other. Canada has the technological and financial resources that India needs. India offers Canada a market of 1.3 billion people”.
The Standing Committee on International Trade just came back from a trip, and we absolutely have to be there. We need to take advantage of the imminent economic progress there. Plus, India is an English-speaking market, so we will have no trouble communicating. It is also a Commonwealth country. The article also reported that “The purpose of the visit was to strengthen and expand the relationship”.
I would like to know what you think of that.