PRESS RELEASE
As I end my diplomatic career as Canada’s High Commissioner and return to Ottawa, I do
so with enormous gratitude and pride for the privilege of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
bestowed on me over the past seven years to represent Canada to Guyana, Suriname and
CARICOM (2017-2020) and to Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint
Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Organisation of
Eastern Caribbean State (2021-2024).
I am humbled by the affection and respect that you have for Canada and our long history with you. You taught me that Canada has been with you for hundreds of years and we —
like you — gained our independence from Britain. In the beginning, we traded with you —
our cod for your rum — and later traded for other natural resources. In the early 1960s,
Prime Minister John Diefenbaker’s government gave the West Indies Federation two
multipurpose ships — the Federal Palm and the Federal Maple, which you used as a ferry
to connect you with your neighbouring islands. During Prime Minister Pierre Elliott
Trudeau’s tenure in the 1970s and 1980s, in partnership with you, we built schools, airports, and even legislatures.
While our relations with you are evolving, we are still here for you and with you. We have
recently enhanced collaboration between our governments, demonstrated by the first
Canada-CARICOM Summit on Canadian soil in Ottawa in October 2023 and multiple primes
ministerial and ministerial and citizen visits to and from our countries.
What I have learned from you is resilience. In the face of adversity, you continue to
rebound and to build back better. Why? Because you come together as a community. I
have seen this repeatedly — when you shared vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic
and, most recently, when you provided relief, personnel, and funds to those impacted by
Hurricane Beryl because you know that, despite your differences, you are neighbours
and share the same challenges.
Your Caribbean culture, warmth, and hospitality are legendary. It is what draws our Canadian tourists, snowbirds, businesses, universities colleges, and professionals from every sector to your shores. But this is not a one-way street. Canada has been enriched by your diaspora who have contributed to Canada’s cultural and economic mosaic and are now
part of our Canadian story.
Our intertwined past, present, and future collaboration is built
on shared values, interests, and geographic community that continue to connect us.
On a personal note, I was fortunate to be embraced by so many of you who contributed to
my knowledge and appreciation of Dominica. A heartfelt thank you for welcoming me to
your country. It has been the honour of my lifetime to have represented Canada.
So this is not farewell but à la prochaine!
H.E. Lilian Chatterjee
High Commissioner of Canada to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean
Ambassador to the OECS