Ottawa Journal by David Tilson MP — Celebrating Canada’s relationship with India after 67 years

August 16, 2014 · 0 Comments

Aug. 15 marks India’s 67th year of independence.
This important milestone in India’s rich history is the perfect opportunity to reflect on the special relationship between our nations and celebrate the important contributions of Canadians of Indian heritage.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, our government is working hard to strengthen an already strong relationship between Canada and India.
Rooted in our shared values of democracy, pluralism, human rights, and the rule of law — not to mention our long-standing people-to-people ties — Canada’s relationship with India is expanding through enhanced trade and cooperation.
When Harper made his trip to India in 2012, he committed to enhancing bilateral trade between our countries. In fact, our government is currently working toward the completion of the Canada-India Free Trade Agreement as a part of our ambitious free trade agenda.
The Prime Minister also announced the conclusion of negotiations for the Canada-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA). India is currently the fourth-largest energy consumer in the world, and is expected to more than triple its electricity supply within the next 25 years. Meanwhile, Canada’s nuclear power generation sector supports 17,000 direct jobs and uranium mining supports roughly 5,000. When it is brought into force, this agreement will help create jobs here at home, while giving us closer ties with India.
Our government has also helped improve our countries’ people-to-people ties with the signing of the Canada-India Social Security Agreement. This deal will help better facilitate the flow of people and ideas between our nations by making it easier for business professionals to work in each other’s countries. Going forward, we’re working to enhance ties between our universities so that students can more easily benefit from being able to study abroad.
On behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the rest of our government, Happy Independence Day to the people of India and to all those in our community who are celebrating this milestone.