Consul...ting

MARCH 2011 Publication of the Consulate General of Mexico in Toronto

The government of Mexico participa-

ted in the Prospectors and Developers

Association of Canada (PDAC) Interna-

tional Convention, which took place

March 6-9 at the Metro Toronto Con-

vention Centre.

To promote Mexican mining among

Canadian investors, the Consulate Ge-

neral of Mexico in Toronto, the Minis-

try of Economy and ProMexico, colla-

borating with the governments of Cana-

da and Ontario, organized the "Mexico-

Canada Mining Business Event" on

March 7.

The reception was attended by 535

members of the business community and offi-

cials from both governments. The speakers

included, among others, the Ontario Minister of

Economic Development and Trade, Sandra

Pupatello; the Ambassador of Mexico to Cana-

da, Francisco Barrio; and the Ambassador of

Canada to Mexico, Guillermo Rishchynski.

At the PDAC Convention, the Ministry of

Economy, coordinating the Mexican Geologi-

cal Service and the Fideicomiso de Fomento

Minero, hosted the Mexico Pavilion, which

featured digitized information about mining

projects in Mexico and opportunities to invest

there.

The first Mexico Mining Day was also cele-

brated, featuring the participation of officials

from the Mexican government, Dr. Luis Tellez,

president of the Mexican Stock Exchange, Ke-

van Cowan, president of the Toronto Stock

Exchange, members of the mining industry

from Mexico and Canada, members of the

chambers of commerce and researchers, as well

as the Ambassador of Mexico to Canada, Fran-

cisco Barrio.

The Undersecretary of Industry and Trade for

the Ministry of Economy, Lorenza

Martínez, ratified the Mexican govern-

ment's commitment to ensure legal

certainty to attract more Canadian in-

vestment in Mexico's mining industry.

"Mexico offers a stable economy, a

strategic geographical location, it has

eleven commercial treaties with 43

countries, a competitive and specialized

labour force, and a mining law that

provides certainty to concessionaires,"

she explained.

The undersecretary went on to say "in

terms of investment destinations for

mining, we are in fourth place in the

world, and first place in Latin America,

this speaks to Mexico's great potential and

shows that there are the right conditions to turn

foreign investment into a successful project."

The Ambassador of Canada to Mexico, Gui-

llermo Rishchynski, stated that the regulations

to the Mexican Mining Law have contributed to

the success of Canadian mining companies with

projects in Mexico.

Canada represents 75% of the total Foreign

Direct Investment in the mining sector in Mexi-

co.

"Of the 286 foreign mines in Mexico, 210

(73%) are Canadian. Of the total Canadian

investment in Mexico, 44% is in the

mining sector. Furthermore, of the

$4,400 million invested in Mexican

mining in 2010, $2,070 million was

foreign investments, of which $1,952

million (94%) came from Canadian

companies," noted the Ambassador.

Mauricio Limón, Undersecretary of

Management and Environmental Pro-

tection at the Ministry of the Environ-

ment and Natural Resources of Mexico

(Semarnat), spoke about how the pro-

cess for the review of environmental

impact studies of companies has been

streamlined and the wait time has been

reduced.

On Mexico Mining Day, examples of suc-

cessful mining companies were presented, such

as Grupo México, Goldcorp and Fresnillo PLC.

Successful “Mexico Mining Day” at the PDAC Mining Convention

(Above) Ambassador of Mexico to Canada, Francisco Barrio, (below) Minister Sandra Pupatello, during the

Mexican Night-PDAC 2011

Amb. Guillermo Rishchynski, Dr. Luis Tellez, Undersecretary Lorenza Martinez and Ambassador Francisco Barrio

Page 2 Consul...ting

■ 153 Passports ■ 70 Legalizations ■ 32 Certificates issued per request of parties ■ 29 Life certificates to pensioners ■ 25 Visas to foreign passports ■ 11 Birth registrations ■ 22 Notarized documents ■ 1,556 PTAT workers (1,524 to Ontario and 32 to Manitoba; 70 women) * PTAT (Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program)

Services of the Consulate General

during the month of February:

The Consul General Mauricio Toussaint

was interviewed on the program "En pre-

sencia de…" (In the Presence of...) of Ra-

dio Voces Latinas on February 15.

On the one hour program recorded live,

host Nery Quintero posed questions on a

variety of subjects related to Mexico.

On the topic of the Mexican economy,

the growing number of Canadian invest-

ments in our country was discussed, inclu-

ding the recent announcement by Magna, a

Canadian company, of a $100 million in-

vestment for the construction of an auto-

motive plant in San Luis Potosí. The con-

versation also addressed the fact that Mexi-

co has surpassed Canada as an exporter of

auto parts to the United States.

With respect to tourism, the Consul Ge-

neral noted that this is the Year of Tourism in

Mexico, and that the number of Canadians that

travel to Mexican destinations each year has

risen, reaching 1.5 million in 2010. There are

more and more charter flights between Canada

and Mexico.

In response to a direct question from the

host, he discussed some of the natural wonders

of Mexico, first pointing out how the Monarch

Butterfly Sanctuary links Mexico and Canada.

He also mentioned a few of the ten new Rou-

tes of Mexico, such as the Tequila Route.

The Consul General also noted that

UNESCO has added traditional Mexican

food to the list of Intangible World Heri-

tage.

Regarding the Seasonal Agricultural

Workers Program (PTAT), the Consul

General described it as a successful pro-

gram that has been running since 1974,

which permits the organized movement

of Mexican agricultural workers to Cana-

dian farms. The program guarantees a

secure income for the workers and their

families while at the same time allowing

Canadian farmers access to a very effi-

cient labour force in order to improve

productivity.

Finally, the Consul Mauricio Toussaint

spoke about the Mexican community,

which he defined as a diverse and large com-

munity that has emigrated for a variety of

reasons. He urged Mexicans to be proud of

who they are, their culture and traditions, to

strengthen Mexico´s presence in Canada.

The Consul General Mauricio Toussaint, during

the interview with host Nery Quintero

The Consul General Mauricio Toussaint gave an

interview on the program "En presencia de…"

With the aim of broadening the

literary horizons between Canada

and Mexico, the first Festival of

Canadian Literature was held in

Mexico from February 18-20, in

Tepoztlán, Morelos.

The opening ceremony was

conducted by the Ambassador of

Canada to Mexico, Guillermo E.

Rishchynski.

The literary gathering included

an exhibition, a play, round table

discussions and lectures by distin-

guished personalities from both

countries, including, among oth-

ers, Douglas Gibson, Elizabeth

Hay and Federico Reyes Heroles.

Elizabeth Hay, winner of the

Scotiabank Giller Prize, gave a

talk on February 18 at the Faculty

of Philosophy and Literature at

the National Autonomous Uni-

versity of Mexico (UNAM).

The closing ceremony was

conducted by the prominent

Mexican journalist, writer and

commentator Federico Reyes

Heroles.

First Festival of Canadian

Literature Held in Mexico

Consul...ting

www.consulmex.com

“Consul. . . ting” is the

monthly e-publication of the

Consulate General of Mexico

in Toronto.

Register your e mail to re-

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Press Office

Isabel Inclán Phone: (416) 368-2875 ext.238

Fax: (416) 368-0676

E-mail: prensa@consulmex.com

"In 2010 Canadian invest-

ments surpassed $9 billion

and bilateral trade amounted

to almost $30 billion. In

2011 Canadian investments

in Mexico could grow by

10%.

"The best example of com-

mercial integration with

Mexico is that 50% of the

total production of Black-

berry in the world is done in

Mexico.

"Both countries can im-

prove their productivity by

working together and capi-

talizing on each country's

strengths, in order to be able

to continue developing cut-

ting edge products and tech-

nology". Source: Ambassador of Canada in Mexico, Guillermo Rishchynski, in an interview for El Universal newspaper.

Mexico at the Conference on Disarmament in Switzerland

The Undersecretary for Multi-

lateral Affairs and Human

Rights, Ambassador Juan

Manuel Gómez Robledo, took

part in the plenary meeting of

the Conference on Disarma-

ment (CD), in the high-level

segment of its first period of

sessions of 2011.

In his speech on March 1,

he reflected on the reasons

that have prevented the CD

from beginning negotiations

concerning the major issues

on its agenda, including the

lack of political will in the

actors and the absence of

suitable conditions in the

forum.

He stressed the need to

make decisions that will end

the current inertia, take up the

framework of the Conference

and allow progress to be

made on a disarmament

agenda that cannot wait any

longer.

He reiterated the call that

Mexico voiced in the High-

Level Meeting on Revitaliz-

ing the Conference on Disar-

mament (September 2010),

the First Committee of the

UN General Assembly and

other meetings of the CD,

strongly urging the CD to act

on its mandate to negotiate,

end its current inaction and

set a time limit for completing

the work for which it was

created.

For several years, Mexico

has tried to implement actions

that would build trust and

agreement on procedural

matters and key issues on the

Conference's agenda.

Page 3

Mexico Pavilion at the Restaurant & Food Services Show

Publication of the Consulate General of Mexico in Toronto

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock,

Rural Development, Fishing and Food

(Sagarpa) mounted a Mexico Pavilion at the

Canadian Restaurant & Food Services Asso-

ciation (CRFA) show in Toronto from March

6-8.

The Mexico Pavilion exhibited products

from 13 Mexican businesses that market sal-

sas, jams, flavoured tequila, nopales, coffee,

gourmet rice, quince jelly and pickled chili

peppers.

Some of these businesses already export to

Canadian provinces, while others came to

promote the quality of their products.

This was the first time that Sagarpa mounted

an exhibit of this type at the CRFA show,

which is one of the foremost business forums

for suppliers to the hotel, restaurant and hospi-

tal industries in Canada.

Sagarpa also held cooking demonstrations

with a Mexican chef, as well as a business

dinner to show Canadian importers the quali-

ty, variety and versatility of Mexican products.

The Ambassador of Mexico to Canada,

Francisco Barrio, the general coordinator of

Trade Promotion and Export Development for

Sagarpa, Gabriel

Padilla Maya, and

the Sagarpa repre-

sentative at the

Mexican Embassy

in Ottawa, Minister Ernesto Maldonado, were

all present at the Mexican Pavilion.

"We seek to promote the quality of Mexican

products, and to boost the number of direct

contracts between Mexican producers and

Canadian importers, to remove the intermedia-

ry role played by brokers from the United

States," said Gabriel Padilla, in a statement to

the press.

Padilla Maya said that currently, Mexican

exports to Canada in this sector amount to

$1.197 million, equal to Mexican agricultural

exports to the European Union.

"Mexican agri-food exports to Canada have

grown to 37% annually since 2005, which

makes Canada the second largest export desti-

nation, after the United States," he added.

Sagarpa seeks to support the Mexican expor-

tation of tilapia, shrimp, abalone, lobster, and

squid, seafood products for which "there is

interest in the Canadian market," the official

said.

Gabriel Padilla, Ambassador Francisco Barrio and Minister Ernesto Maldonado