Dear CanCham Members and Friends,

At CanCham’s Extraordinary Member’s Meeting on October 31st last year, the decision had been taken by the membership to dissolve (liquidate) the CanCham. According to the statutes, it is the current Board’s responsibility to do so. This process was not hurried as we wanted to provide adequate time for reflection. 

Two considerations were apparent:

• The loss of the CanCham would eliminate the only NGO in Latvia representing Canada.
• The CanCham’s ambitions, particularly those related to business development, far exceeded our resources and capability to deliver. 

The question was raised as to whether or not the CanCham could still serve a useful purpose with a more modest program. The following were two suggestions:

• CanCham should limit activities to organizing Canada related events such as the Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner, Canada Day, special events with Canadian visitors or the Embassy, and offering events on subjects of interest to Canadians in Latvia and their friends.
• CanCham should not be involved with facilitating business for members or others since it does not have the resources to do so. Business development issues would be deferred to organization such as the Northern European Business Association (NEBA), the Latvian Investment & Development Agency, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Services, or the Latvian Chamber of Commerce or similar organizations with funding for such activity.

The CanCham Board decided to defer action on liquidation and seek support for the continuation of the CanCham within a modified role.

You are invited to contribute to the discussion.