Blog : Ragazou

By ANDY LEVY-AJZENKOPF, Staff Reporter (CJN)

 

TORONTO ? On his first trade mission and visit to Israel, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty won't be looking for milk and honey. Instead, he'll be looking for smart business investments for the province.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty 

 

?Israel is punching far above its weight. There's something next to miraculous in terms of the dynamism and strength of its economy. It continued to grow during this recession.

 

There is much there for us to learn,? he told The CJN during an interview with members of the Jewish media last week at the Ontario Investment and Trade Centre.

 

On the five-day trip from May 23 to 27 ? which will see the premier tour Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramallah and Bethlehem ? McGuinty and a group of 43 delegates representing 34 organizations from the Ontario's life sciences, universities and health sectors will seek out ?focused investment opportunities,? he said.

 

Names of the delegates and the groups they represent, as well as a specific itinerary, were unavailable prior to The CJN's deadline.

 

Asked what he hoped to achieve on his first-ever visit to Israel, McGuinty said he hasn't set ?any financial targets' and referred to the trip as strictly an ?introductory mission' and an opportunity to ?build on the foundation that's already there'?between the province and the Jewish state.

 

?I've never heard of anyone having been on a trade mission [to Israel] being anything less than very pleased with the reception that they've had or the opportunities that they've found,??McGuinty said. ?Seeing is believing.?

 

According to the province's most recent statistics, in 2008 ?two-way goods' trade between Ontario and Israel totalled almost $1.1 billion, up 86 per cent from 2004.

 

?I'm looking to accelerate' those numbers, he said.

 

McGuinty reminded reporters that in 2005, the province and Israel ? via the Canada-Israel Industrial Research  and Development Foundation ? signed a ?memorandum of understanding' on industrial and technological development co-operation.

 

The premier said he chose this year to finally visit the Holy Land because it ?fits perfectly with our new agenda, our new five-year [economic] plan called ?Open Ontario.? In order for us to succeed and thrive in this post-recession world, we have to be open to and embrace new possibilities and trade ties. We see Israel as a very bright spot. We think it holds tremendous promise as a trade partner.?

 

As for what business or investment opportunities awaited Ontarians in the West Bank portion of the mission, McGuinty said that part of the trip would be less about strategic provincial investment and more about how Ontario can help ?strengthen Palestinian governance, education, small business creation and community development.?

 

McGuinty noted that Diaspora Jews have been key to Israel's success, and Ontario's 200,000 Jews have a real sense of ?commitment to Israel. They're helping build their economy as well as ours. And [the province] wants to have a stake in the growth of the Israeli economy. We intend to capitalize on it.?

 

Aside from the business aspect of the trip, McGuinty said he ?very much looked forward' to finally being ?on the ground to get a better understanding' of Israel geographically, culturally, historically and economically.

 

He said Jewish'MPPs have told him time and again how he'll ?never understand' Israel until he visits.

 

Accompanying McGuinty will be Minister of Economic Development and Trade Sandra Pupatello, and although the premier's office couldn't provide a final list of MPPs who will be going on the trip, published reports said it will include Toronto-area Liberal MPPs Monte Kwinter, David Caplan, David Zimmer and Mike Colle.

 

Thornhill Tory MPP Peter Shurman ? who represents the riding with the highest concentration of Jews in the province ? said he's ?upset about' being left off the mission. He said he was told only Liberal caucus members would be going.