Europe is his message..

The mental distance between Canada and Europe has widened during the current
conservative reign in Canada. But this has not discouraged the president of the EU Canada Chamber of Commerce. He is committed to making Europe and European values better known in Canada. As an alternative to that growing influence from the South.

Canada does 85 % of its trade with the 300 million people in the US, and only a fraction of that with the 500 million Europeans.

This feature appeared in Vapaa Sana/FCR in April 2007.

French born Christian D Frayssignes is well on his way to become Mr Europe here in Toronto. Currently the president of the EU Canada Chamber of Commerce in Toronto. Mr Frayssignes has successfully promoted the agenda that Canadians should not forget their European roots, think about European values and engage in more trade with Europe.
Canadians are listening, at least. But is the advancement of interest in European values an uphill struggle, at least in the current conservative environment in Canada? Mr Frayssignes does not seem to think that way.
Originally a biotech specialist heading a consulting firm in the field, Mr Frayssignes is perhaps more of an idealist than a lobbyist. Actually, he underlines the non-political nature of his voluntary organization. And, of course, the chambers have no political role anyhow. More in this piece
Europe has its official representatives in Canada. Besides that there are civic organizations, or comparable bodies, promoting Europe. One of them is the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Toronto, EUCOCIT. The Canada Finland Chamber of Commerce is one of its members and affiliation in the EUCOCIT has opened new visions to the Finnish Chamber.
The EUCOCIT reflects the plethora of European-tied chambers of commerce here in Toronto. There are 19 member chambers and 3 associated ones. This does not fully cover the whole of the EU. Who are missing?
- The Romanians and Hungarians are not covered presently and are in discussions to join, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovenia neither. There has been a Spanish Chamber here, but they are not active currently., tells Mr Fraysignes.
The trade union scene here in Toronto is partially a reflection of immigration to Canada and its current scope. The leading EU countries such as Germany, Italy have large chambers, needless to say, but the state of the other nations varies with their size and also the way they are represented, with or without other Trade organisations . The Portuguese have a large chamber, obviously taken the Portuguese presence here in Toronto.
The EUCOCIT organizes regular networking meetings such as the European Business Club and its annual EU Rendez-Vous,Friendship in Business in Toronto is expected to attract close to 1000 people on May 15th, 2007 to showcase European culture and business.
In his recent speeches, Mr Frayssignes has taken up the contradiction that Canada has been perceived in the world to be more European than American but on the other hand the Canadian way of life: habitat, urban development, shopping habits and locations, nutrition habits get more and more influenced by its big southern neighbor and less by its European origins (and other continents more recently)
When it come to business Canada does 85% of its trade with the US (300 million people) and only 5.5 percent of its exports and 11.7 percent of its imports with the 500 million cousins across the Atlantic.
Mr Frayssignes notes that not only is the EU a community of people with a single market of 27 countries, currency, passport heading and no stop at its open borders but also one of very strong values, including a model for some such as providing peace, prosperity, over the divisions, ensure that its peoples can live in safety, meet the challenges of globalization and preserve the diversity of the peoples of Europe, uphold the values that the Europeans share such as sustainable development and a sound environment, respect for human rights and the social market economy.
Until early 2006 the task of bringing Europe and Canada closer did not seem that difficult. However, as perceived in Europe, during the current conservative minority government in Ottawa the mental distance between Europe and Canada has increased. We asked Mr Frayssignes whether he thought the image of Europe had worsened here?
- That is difficult to judge from my position, but I do not see any such decline, as the trading figures keep going up, even if it is at a very slow peace, not in tune with its true potential, as an increasing interest is demonstrated for the large new Asian giants. On the perception side, when Canadians look at themselves, they cannot see that they are not always the best in the world, mainly because they are not enough aware of what is happening elsewhere and are not informed enough by the media (how do we read and see about Europe on a daily basis in newspapers and national TV?
Getting the European message through directly is not easy. Bank of Canada Chairman Dodge was addressing a European arranged chamber of commerce luncheon in Toronto earlier in the spring. His words were well quoted by the Canadian media, but the remarks by the European hosts not. Who knows that Europe is by far the 1st trading power in the world, home of most of the largest economies and largest investors in the world, a place where renewable energies and sustainable development have been a reality and on the agenda for decades, with many technologies far more advanced than in North America?
Mr Frayssignes believes European values will be received with interest here in Canada. He keeps saying that Canadians do not know enough about Europe.
And he recommends some reading. The European Dream: How Europe’s Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream, by Jeremy Rifkin (2004)
“The new Europe has its own cultural vision — and it may be better than ours”
“[Rikfin’s] major achievement in The European Dream is to draw together and cohere the complex historical, philosophical, and theological forces that have created such very different worldviews for shaping the future for us and our neighbors across the pond....
Americans used to say that the American Dream is worth dying for. The new European Dream is worth living for..”