Honourable senators, during the last week of October, I welcomed Taiwan's official representative to Canada, David Lee, to my home province of New Brunswick. Since no commercial flights fly to my region, I met Mr. Lee at the Quebec City airport, and we travelled four hours by car to Edmunston, New Brunswick.
During his visit to New Brunswick, Mr. Lee met with business leaders and groups, in particular the vice-president of the Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick, representatives from Enterprise Grand Falls Region and from Enterprise Madawaska, as well as a number of businesspeople interested in exporting various products to Taiwan, such as hardwood floors, small motors, signs, labels, potatoes, chicken and beef.
These business people had an opportunity to meet with Mr. Lee and discuss the export potential of their products. Research going on at the Grand Falls Community College has proven to be very important, with the renewal of the memorandum of understanding relating to research signed between Taiwan and Canada, through the National Research Council.
On Wednesday, October 31, we took the three-hour scenic drive from Edmundston to Fredericton via the Saint John River Valley. In Fredericton, we visited the legislative assembly and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, followed by a visit with Premier Shawn Graham as well as three provincial cabinet ministers: the Honourable Ronald Ouellette, Minister of Agricultural and Aquaculture, the Honourable Rick Doucet, Minister of Fisheries, and the Honourable Greg Byrne, Minister of Business New Brunswick.
Discussions between Dr. Lee and the provincial ministers focused on additional exports to Taiwan of New Brunswick products via packaged marketing such as seafood, beef, beer, wine, and other possible targeted commercial exports.
Although the task of organizing Mr. Lee's visit to New Brunswick required time and energy from my office, I believe that fostering greater links between Taiwan and New Brunswick will benefit the citizens of New Brunswick as we continue our quest into the global marketplace.
Taiwan and its trade organization TAITRA have been incredibly successful and serve as a model not only for Asia, but also for all the countries that aspire to a better future for their business communities and their residents.
I hope that we will see an increase in exports from New Brunswick to Taiwan in the coming years.