The offer was made to OECS Director General Dr. Len Ishmael during talks with the Mayor at his City Hall office, downtown Calgary on June 4th 2008. Dr. Ishmael was in Canada heading an OECS Secretariat mission to raise awareness of the OECS and promote its growing economic and investment opportunities.

Mayor Bronconnier spoke of his city’s need for significant numbers of skilled workers in the booming construction industry and for planners, engineers, nurses and other professionals.  He said the province of Alberta, in which Calgary is located, has signed a partnership arrangement with the Federal Government to sponsor specific categories of workers which allows the province to avoid delays caused by stringent federal immigration requirements.  Mayor Bronconnier also offered to coordinate a meeting between OECS representatives and top executives of the Calgary-based West Jet airline to discuss expansion of its service to other islands in the region beyond St. Lucia where the airline recently began offering flights from the affluent Western Canadian tourism market. The Mayor said the small and medium size energy companies in Calgary will have a strong interest in assisting OECS Member States in offshore oil exploration initiatives and he has offered to use his good offices to facilitate any initial encounters.

A number of OECS nationals already live and work in Calgary and the OECS High Commission in Ottawa has, as a follow up to this mission,  initiated discussions with Calgary’s labour officials with a view to securing increased employment opportunities. 

The Director General updated Mayor Bronconnier on Canada’s expanding business interests in the Caribbean especially in the banking and financial services sector and on the pending start to negotiations for a Canada/CARICOM free trade agreement.  She noted the strong OECS interests in seeking joint ventures and strategic alliances with Canadian businesses  in a number of key areas including  offshore education facilities, the health and wellness sector and the creative industries.

The OECS Secretariat’s visit to Calgary also involved meetings with senior officials at Calgary Economic Development (CED) the City’s business development and promotion agency. Discussions were also held with  the University of Calgary on educational opportunities and collaboration in research on critical social policy issues including those affecting youth. The university has done work in St. Lucia under a Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) financed project and has sent students on assignment to Antigua/Barbuda.  Engagements were also held with companies in the creative industries including Joe media, Seven24Films, Ampia, and the CED and these have led to offers of training and collaboration on film projects. A meeting was also held with New Energy Corp, a company which has developed small water turbines to produce electricity from tide movements, and it has expressed a strong desire to work along with electricity companies in the OECS and the wider Caribbean to explore possible use of this form of renewable energy.