Canadian High Commissioner to the Eastern Caribbean, Brenda Wills, recently visited Dominica from the 4th to the 6th of November, and in a sit-down interview with Dominica News Online, shared insights about her visit to this country, her indigenous heritage, and the ongoing relationship between Canada and Dominica. Below is an edited version of the interview.
Q: Welcome to Dominica, High Commissioner Wills! Please tell us about your role as the High Commissioner of Canada to Dominica and the rest of the Eastern Caribbean.
A: Thank you for the warm welcome! Yes. Currently, I am in the process of presenting my credentials to several countries, having already done so in Barbados and St. Vincent, and now here in Dominica with more to follow.
Q: Have you already presented your credentials in Dominica?
A: Yes, I had the opportunity to meet with the President of Dominica last Friday and had a very warm conversation. We discussed our deep ties, especially our people-to-people connections and our indigenous backgrounds. I’m indigenous from Canada, so we got to share our own experiences and, I shared a bit about the Red River Métis, which is the group that I belong to, and I got to learn from her about the Kalanago people and we also went to the Kalanago territory.
Q: Can you elaborate on your indigenous background?
A: Certainly! I come from Manitoba, Canada, which is the homeland of the Métis people. The Métis culture emerged in the late 1600s from the intermarriages between European settlers and Indigenous populations during the fur trade era. Today, we celebrate the Métis as one of Canada’s three indigenous groups, alongside First Nations and Inuit.
Q: You were recently presented with the Sisserou Award of Honour, the second-highest national award in Dominica. What does this recognition signify for you and Canada?
A: Receiving the Sisserou Award was a highlight of my trip, especially in light of Canada’s support for Dominica’s efforts to become the first climate-resilient country by 2030. We are proud to support this initiative through funding for the Climate Resilience Execution Agency of Dominica (CREAD). And at the parade, attendees would have seen that I was accompanied, and very honoured to be accompanied by Samuel Carette and [Kalinago] Chief Annette Sanford. Samuel has been a very important interlocutor of ours with CREAD and with Chief Sanford, we have worked with an NGO that she founded through one of our Canadian funds for local initiatives. So I was honored to have them there to support us and I’m very happy on behalf of the government of Canada to receive the award.
Q: Is this the first time that Canada has received such an award, as far as you know?
A: As far as I know, I know in terms of our relationship with Dominica, climate resilience is a shared priority and also underneath our Canada CARICOM strategic partnership. So I imagine we’re doing a lot more with other countries but I’m not sure if we’ve received a similar award.
Q: Canada’s assistance to CREAD is one of the reasons that the award was bestowed on your country, as a new comer, what sort of feedback have you received about the programme?
A: Although I have only been in my role for six weeks, I have heard that CREAD is a model for other countries as they strive for climate resilience. It reflects a successful collaboration between Canada and Dominica, focusing on addressing the challenges faced by small island developing states.
Q: What can you tell us about the bilateral relationship between Canada and Dominica?
A: During my visit, I had a packed schedule, meeting with key officials such as the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. We discussed multiple areas for collaboration, including climate resilience initiatives, the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, the CARICOM-Canada strategic partnership, and regional security.
Q: Could you provide details about the CARICOM-Canada strategic partnership?
A: The CARICOM-Canada strategic partnership is structured to facilitate systematic engagement through annual foreign ministers’ meetings and other discussions depending on what issues the group would like to discuss. So we see it as a formalized way to engage with the region. Canada is going to be hosting the presidency of the G7 next year and I know our Prime Minister has said to CARICOM leaders that we will represent their interests in that forum. So I see the strategic partnership as a way for us to have systematic engagement with not just the leaders of the CARICOM countries, but also ministers of government as well as officials where we want to collaborate in a specific area.
Q: What is the current status of visa relations between Dominica and Canada?
A: Individuals wishing to travel to Canada must apply for a visa, usually traveling to Barbados for processing. However, we have previously conducted biometric pop-ups in Dominica to assist with the application process, and I am exploring the possibility of organizing another pop-up soon. There are other locations than Barbados where we have these application centers, so there are other options, but if and when we have another biometric pop-up here in Dominica, we will advise the government and open up appointments that people can sign up for. My understanding is that giving advance notice really helps people who are looking to apply. Our IRCC, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada department is constantly monitoring the visa requirements, and we continue to look at requirements and opportunities for lifting visas.
What criteria does Canada use to determine which countries should be visa-exempt?
A: So Canada’s visa policy decisions are made on a country-by-country basis in an effort to support travel and tourism while protecting the safety of Canadians. And, as I mentioned earlier, changes to visa requirements are supported by close monitoring and careful review of key criteria. So these criteria include the socioeconomic profile of the country, immigration issues, travel documents, security issues, border management, human rights, and bilateral relations. I do think it’s important to underscore that the visa requirement is not a reflection of the importance that Canada places on its relationship with Dominica…and, I will say though from the people that I’ve been able to engage, we do still have a pretty steady flow of people traveling to Canada, whether that’s for tourism or studies or to visit family. There are a lot of family connections as well in Canada.
Q: Can you update us on the projects Canada is involved with in Dominica?
A: Canada is involved in several grassroots projects through initiatives like the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) and the Local Engagement and Action Fund (LEAF). For instance, I visited Lifeline Ministries, which focuses on promoting gender equality and addressing gender-based violence. Also, we have some other larger programs that include The Build Back Equal, Engender, Compete Caribbean, and Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean. I had the opportunity to meet with some of the beneficiaries of the Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean programme. I was very impressed to see how those initiatives have helped small farmers in Dominica. In one instance, a group of women has created a cooperative, and some are even exporting some of their products. I also had the opportunity to go to the Kalanago Territory where some of our larger development initiatives do touch on activities in that part of Dominica, but specifically, I met with a group that’s providing skills to people in the territory in areas such as garment making, pastry making, tiling, and helping to provide skills for future work opportunities and being productive within the economy.
What sort of assistance is Canada providing to those projects?
A: So what we do is we have a call for proposals every year and we set out what the parameters are, what the themes are, and then we receive proposals and we have a committee that reviews them. Once the selections are made, we then work with an implementing partner, which in that case was The Kibe Kuwati Inc, and then we monitor how the projects are going. So my visit helps to get a feel for how the project is going and what are the impacts, where there are areas for improvement, that sort of thing.
I read somewhere, in information from the High Commission, that you’re also involved with the Dominica Olympic Committee?
A: I didn’t have an opportunity to meet with that group, but yes. So our third project was with the Dominica Olympic Committee, and it was developed and implemented by two young Canadian Dominicans. So it’s called Rising Tides Save Waves Project, which has provided more than 60 young Dominicans, particularly girls, with training in first aid, swimming, and marine conservation over a seven-week summer program in Soufriere.
Q: How would you summarize your experience in Dominica so far?
A: Although it’s been several years since my last visit in 2008, I’ve felt a warm welcome and a strong connection to Canada from the people here. When I first visited, it was in a personal capacity and I did some river tubing, which I remember very fondly. So I would like to return to Dominica and repeat that experience because it was one of my favorite activities during the cruise but I remember being impressed by just the greenery and the lushness of Dominica and also the warmth of the people, which I have continued to feel on this trip. It’s been a very warm welcome for me and also just hearing about all of the connections with Canada, the fondness for Canada, you know. Post Hurricane Maria, we were swift in our action and support to Dominica so that I didn’t even need to raise it with interlocutors, it was raised by them with great appreciation. So, I feel very privileged and fortunate to represent Canada here and to continue building those ties and close connections.
Q: Your visit here coincides with Dominica’s 46th Anniversary of Independence celebrations a time of reflection and celebration in Dominica. How much of that were you able to experience during your trip?
A: There’s definitely a vibe here that I quite enjoyed, especially with Community Day of Service, seeing everybody pitching in, but then also taking time at the end of the day for the jump-up. So I felt the energy and I look forward to coming back. The parade was very impressive and there was a reception afterwards that provided the opportunity to engage further with the government here. I appreciated all of it. Lots of highlights from the visit but I would say the award stands out as the top highlight for me.
Q: Could you share some information about your professional background prior to this role?
A: My career spans several countries in the Americas, including previous positions in Washington, DC, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Singapore. My focus has been on trade, investment, and innovation. We already have pretty strong investment ties and Canadian presence in the Caribbean, and I am eager to explore how we can further strengthen our relationships in the Caribbean.
DNO this was an amazing interview and it shows the ambassador as very vested in the human capital and in the very work itself. Typically those ambassadors cant relate to engagements in such detail. Wel done to you both! She definitely has had good memories trips and the people interactions. Oh, and to the Canadian Intelligence Service (I know you are reading, analyzing and reporting this and paying close attention) – please advocate to lift the visa requirement