Dominican Republic has great potential for investments and to date, taking into account the influx of Canadian capital, investments of CAD$ 5,000 million have been registered since 1993, stated the Canadian ambassador Tood Kuiack.
Canada has one of the most stable economies in the world. According to the Canadian ambassador here, his country has 5 strong points: low interest rates, low inflation, economic growth, increase in jobs and security.
Interest rates in Canada are around 2% and bank rates around 1%. Mortgage loans do not exceed 2.5% and 3%. During the global economic crisis Canada did not have to bail out the banks and its capacity for job offers is ever stronger. He said annual income is CADS$47,000 (Canadian Dollar) per capita.
WHAT IS THE CANADIAN ECONOMY´S POSTION ON A GLOBAL SCALE?
Canada is the strongest economy of all the G7 economies. That´s why we are talking about low interest rates, GDP growth, job recovery, the strength of our banks. We did not bail out our banks during the global crisis. But it wasn´t always like that, we had an economic crisis in 1994, with many debts and we started a program that made us strong globally.
WHAT DOES THIS PROGRAM ENTAIL?
We had to cut services, our debt, the size of the government (civil servants, and prioritize services). Health is paramount, so are education and research. Canada has the best tax rates for new businesses as well as for research. For example, the company Blackberry benefited greatly from help from the government, to become the best telecommunications company in the world.
DOES HELP MEAN TAX EXONERATIONS?
Yes. There is great help with tax payments and tax “breaks”, and those using their earnings for research are exempt from tax on the amount invested.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS ON AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL?
We have very low inflation, very low interest rates and lots of jobs. Companies also have a lot of capital, a lot of cash, that they are using to buy machinery and technology to improve their systems. Our health and education systems are guaranteed for all citizens. We are a font, many people go to Canada to study, including Dominicans, for whom we have set up 7 leadership grants for a year. It´s a good way to exchange as we started out with one and now we have seven. God willing, next year we´ll have fifty.
ARE THESE PROGRAMS WITH UNIVERSITIES?
Yes. We have curriculums in English and French. People like studying in Canada. We have a program where students can stay and work for a year afterwards. It´s a Canadian Government and university program. Whoever wants to, the youth, whoever wants to can do it, we have an agreement with the Dominican Republic and they can improve their work experience and learn from another country.
IS IT TRUE THERE´S A SHORTAGE OF WORKERS IN CANANDA?
It´s true. We need workers, there are provinces like Alberta that need more people, it´s an oil field area, and as you know we sell oil all over the world. We are a pretty strong country, we export commodities (petrol, gold, food), we have markets around the globe, we are a country of exporters. And thanks to exports the Canadian Dollar is really strong, it has gone up with the price of gold, fuels, oil, but also thanks to our infrastructures and our investments. We know that in 25 years we will have older people. There are a lot of young people there and families are growing.
HOW DOES THE CANADIAN DOLLAR FARE AGAINST THE US DOLLAR?
We almost on a par. Sometimes we´re ahead and sometimes we´re behind!
Like everyone, we want to attract more and more capable people and we have a program and we have a consulate here in Dominican Republic where people can bring their passports without having to send them overseas, like before, and thanks to this, we´ve seen an increase of almost two fold in the number of Dominicans visiting Canada and permanent residency status is processed much more quickly. That´s why we´ve seen more Dominicans going to live and work in Canada.
THE VISA GIVEN OUT RECENTLY ARE FOR WORK OR LEISURE?
For tourists, visitors, temporary residents. Many people who go to New York want to go to Canada. There the unemployed are protected, there are social programs that apply to these people.
LABOR AGREEMENT
Every year Canada receives more and more Dominican students though a series of grant programs with the universities in the country, private agencies and summer camps, said Yamile Adames.
Ambassador Kuiack defined the labor agreement signed between Canada and DR as innovative, moreover to give security to workers from both sides and to ensure the rights of Canadian businesses. A free trade and environmental agreement are also in the pipeline. Companies invested more in 2011 in this country than all the other countries combined: Canadian investment is the highest. It nearly reached US$ 500 million, but since 1993 it´s nearly US$ 5,000 million, and now we are like number two in the country and “this is a sign of confidence in the Dominican economy”, he said. We have the Bank of Nova Scotia, Blackberry and others. The Canadian Export Development Bank made DR a priority in Latin America and invested more that US$ 1,000 million here”.
Source: Candida Acosta - Listin Diario Newspaper