Rosenbaum & Frank LLP

                      

U.S. CONSULATE BRIEFING

October 23, 2008

 LED BY U.S. CONSUL GENERAL JOHN R. NAY

Guelph, Ontario

On October 23, 2008, the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada, Ontario Chapter and the U.S. Commercial Service hosted a U.S. Consulate Briefing led by U.S. Consul General John R. Nay at the Holiday Inn in Guelph, Ontario. The event was sponsored by Berger, Singerman, a Florida law firm based in Boca Raton. Steven Garellek, a partner with Berger, Singerman, introduced U.S. Consul General John R. Nay who then made a brief presentation to an audience comprised of members of the business communities of Guelph, Kitchener and Waterloo.  Also in attendance were the Mayor of the City of Kitchener, Carl Zehr, Dean of the University of Guelph College of Management and Economics, Chris McKenna, Chair of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, Lloyd Longfield and Robert Bathgate, President of AmCham Canada. The Consul General introduced new members of the consulate staff: Scott Bozek, Consul & Principal Commercial Officer, Charles Cole, Public Affairs Officer, and Lee MacTaggart, Political-Economic Unit Chief Consul.  

The Consul General addressed a variety of issues including intellectual property, the military and humanitarian efforts of Canada in Afghanistan and the economic relationship between Canada and the United States. He advocated the need for tougher intellectual property law in Canada in order to protect against counterfeiting. Consul General Nay commended the Canadian effort in Afghanistan highlighting the successes that have been achieved thus far. He emphasized the importance of the economic relationship between Canada and the United States, noting that the partnership between the two economies is “huge.” Canada-US cross-border trade last year amounted to $1.7 billion per day or approximately $1 million per minute. He predicted that the relationship is not likely to change following the upcoming U.S. Presidential Election and stated that he does not believe that the North America Free Trade Agreement will change significantly as a result.  The Consul General and the consulate staff then had a lively discussion with the audience.  

 

From L-R: Charles Cole, Lee MacTaggart, Martin Rosenbaum, Lloyd Longfield, John R. Nay, Steven Garellek, Scott Bozek, Lawrence Steinberg & Robert Bathgate

 

                             

 

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