Canadian Sikh minister on India visit from today

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 27

Punjabi-origin Bardish Chagger, Canada’s Minister of Small Business and Tourism and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, will visit India from March 28 to 31. Chagger is one of the four Sikhs who have been inducted into the Canadian Cabinet by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Chagger, 36, is also the first woman and the first person from a minority to hold the prestigious post of Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. Chagger’s family hails from Ludhiana.

In Delhi, Chagger will meet Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Commerce & Industry, along with other ministers. She will also meet with representatives of the tourism industry and representatives of Indian and Canadian start-ups and small businesses, women entrepreneurs, and Indian business leaders.

During the Mumbai leg of her visit, Chagger will join Canadian Solar to visit their new solar array at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. A business reception will highlight growing Canada-India linkages, including a planned direct flight between Toronto and Mumbai from July 1.

“This trip is very important to me,” said Chagger today ahead of her visit here. “I am proud to be one of four Canadian Cabinet ministers of Indian heritage, and to be one of the 19 MPs of Indian heritage in Parliament. SMEs are the backbone of our two economies and I am looking forward to encouraging greater interaction between them as that is how we will achieve greater growth. The Canada-India relationship is very important for Canada and we will continue to build on our significant economic and people-to-people ties.”