Ottawa, ON – On Monday, December 7, Conservative Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Michael Chong held a phone call with H.E. Ines Coppoolse, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Canada, about Canada-Netherlands relations.
MP Chong highlighted several items with the Ambassador, including:
- Canada’s close and friendly ties to the Netherlands, both historically and in the present. MP Chong mentioned the nearly one million Canadians of Dutch origin and the role Canadians played in the Liberation of the Netherlands.
- Conservatives’ belief in expanding trade with the Netherlands. He pointed to the opportunities under the new CETA for Canada to expand trade and investment with the Netherlands.
- Conservatives’ belief that Canada should work with Netherlands and other European democracies to strengthen democratic values and to provide a counter to increasingly authoritarian regimes.
H.E. Coppoolse thanked MP Chong for the Conservatives continued support for the bilateral relationship. They discussed the agri-food sector, the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the ports of Rotterdam and Vancouver, Schiphol airport, smart cities and rail transit. They agreed to continue to a dialogue on expanding Canada-Netherlands trade and investment.
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