Spring has sprung and COVID restrictions are gone. We now plan to use the months ahead to reconnect.

Developments at the CanCham

• The Canadian Embassy: The CanCham Board has had two positive meetings with the new Canadian Senior Trade Commissioner, Tyler Wordsworth, and Irena Cīrule. The first was for introductions, the second, to discuss the way ahead and the coordination of the mandate of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Services and the CanCham. The Canadian Trade Commissioner Services’ main objective is the promotion of the sale of Canadian goods and services to the Baltics, while the CanCham’s is to promote networking with Canadians in Latvia and Canada and CanCham’s members to develop business opportunities for all. Several cooperation initiatives were agreed and will be announced when plans are confirmed. There is certainly reason for optimism in developing an enhanced working relationship with the Embassy.
• CanCham “Visit Latvia” program (https://cancham.lv/canchams-visit-latvia-program) was set up and launched in pilot project format for medical tourism, sports tourism, trade tourism and business tourism. Numerous challenges have presented themselves in the form of COVID and the war in Ukraine which has resulted in a reluctance for people to use the benefits of the program. However, we feel the concept is sound and will continue to promote it.
• CanCham’s DMC (https://cancham.lv/dmc) system continues to be promoted. As a reminder – a DMC (Destination Management Coordinator) is a service provider who helps companies enter new markets. For detailed information, please see https://cancham.lv/dmc/how-dmc-works or contact the CanCham.
• Social Media: The CanCham Board recognized that FB is the ONLY effective platform we have to communicate with our members and friends in Latvia and abroad. We encourage you to visit the CanCham’s Members and Good Friends group page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/250007135140429 and https://www.facebook.com/canchamlatvia. CanCham members are reminded that they can post advertisements in jpg format in the group’s site and are encouraged to do so. Let us know if you have difficulties doing so.
• Ukraine: The CanCham Board has been following the events of the tragedy of the war in Ukraine and is seeking ways to help Ukrainians in their time of need. This clearly will be a longer-term initiative.  We are looking for established aid providers that we can support locally. Suggestions welcome. This will be a subject of discussion in upcoming meetings.

Upcoming events

• Monday, April 25^th, 2022 at 18.30 – CanCham “Show & Tell” – update on member activities. Unity Business Centre Conference Room, 119 Vienības gatve, https://www.unityoffices.lv/en/location/ Register Here We need to reconnect with each other after a long COVID winter. We are inviting our members to provide a short presentation to remind other what services they provide and indicate recent changes and accomplishments. Presentations should not exceed 3 minutes and may be verbal or include a ppt (max 5 slides) presentation. These presentations may be posted in CanCham’s FB group page.
• Monday, May 16^th, 2022 at 18.30 - CanCham Focus on Canada and the Canadian Embassy with H.E. Kevin Rex, Canadian Government Ambassador to Latvia. Ambassador Rex will be completing his term in Latvia where he has presided over the Canadian NATO deployment and extensive expansion of the Canadian Embassy in Latvia and the Baltics, and, as such, this may be the last time he participates in a CanCham event. We look forward to hearing his story and impressions of Latvia as he prepares to move on to other assignments.   
• Thursday, June 15^th, 2022 at 18.30 – Plans are underway to mark the 5^th year anniversary of the Canadian Armed Forces in Latvia with an evening dedicated to this occasion.
• July, 2022: We have decided not to proceed with Canada Day celebrations on July 1st  in order to avoid timing conflicts with the Embassy. Instead, we are considering an event marking the famous Calgary Stampede https://www.calgarystampede.com/stampede with a BBQ cowboy style. Stay tuned.

Please follow http://cancham.lv/events and https://cancham.lv/news for updates.