By Lincoln DePradine

As the top Grenada diplomat in Toronto, Gerry Hopkin says the office will continue to provide traditional consular services such as the issuing and renewing of passports.

However, Hopkin pledges that there will be a new accented focus in the position he now holds as consul general.

He’s placing a “lot of emphasis on trade, investment and export development’’, Hopkins said December 1 at a “networking reception’’ at the consulate general. It was titled, “Meet, Greet & Engage for Continuity & Transformation’’.

“I want to help folks to think about things that we can do, no matter how small or large or mid-sized; we all can do something,’’ Hopkin said in an interview.

“Because I value continuity, I will respect my predecessors who paved the way; I will credit them for the good they have done for us; and, I will build on what they have done and add value to it.’’

Hopkin, a former New York-based city employee who also taught school in Grenada, replaces Dawne Francois as consul general.

Francois, who attended the recent event at the consulate, held the job for about two years. Also in attendance was George Griffith, a retired Canadian Justice of the Peace and former Ottawa-based Grenada high commissioner to Canada.

Since his arrival in Toronto, Hopkin has been involved in what he describes as a series of “Diaspora community engagements’’, and said the ‘’networking reception’’ was to further introduce himself to Grenadians in Toronto, as well as “to get to know the folks who are the leaders in the community’’.

“I’m a common sense guy,’’ said Hopkin, who once served as an aide to Tillman Thomas, who was Grenada’s prime minister from 2008-2013.

“I listen and try to balance things,’’ added Hopkin, who also has run his own business as a consultant and community organizer, offering services in areas such as government affairs, law, marketing, public relations and artiste management. “I make decisions based on principle, not on ideology.’’

According to Hopkin, the invitation to the reception was extended to Grenadians that are leaders and influencers in various sectors including business, community service, the clergy and the entertainment industry.

“I invited over 60 people who are leaders in the community so that I can engage them and share with them the agenda, what we would like to accomplish beyond consular services, with more emphasis on trade and investment and export development,’’ he said.

“I am looking to each one of you to be engaged,’’ Hopkin told the audience. “I would like us to approach this as a collective. I would like you to join me in doing the good that’s to be done.’’

Part of the evening get-together included an interactive virtual segment with Grenadian lawyer and agribusiness entrepreneur, Tricia Simon; Leslie McQueen, who has been appointed to the newly created position of trade and investment officer in the Grenada consular office in Florida; Grenada’s Diaspora Ambassador, Terry Forrester; and chief executive officer of the Grenada Investment Development Corporation (GIDC), Ronald Theodore,

“Let us continue to move Grenada forward as a united force,’’ Forrester appealed, saying he looked forward to visiting Canada as the ambassador responsible for Diaspora affairs.

Theodore outlined some of GIDC’s services – including technical assistance with business plan preparation, and help in finding available grant funding and low interest loans – and he urged Grenadians to avail themselves of the existing opportunities at the corporation.

The objectives of the reception, and the “Diaspora community engagements’’, include increasing investments in Grenada’s productive sector by Grenadians living in Canada and elsewhere, said Hopkin.

The activities also are designed to enhance trade between Grenada and Canada and to increase tourism arrivals in Grenada.

In his outreach so far, said Hopkin, he has had meetings with business leaders, “who are in a position to invest and do more to contribute to the Grenadian economy in health and wellness and the productive sector’’.

Investment isn’t “just as a million-dollar thing’’, Hopkin explained.

“You don’t have to have a million-plus dollars before you could start investing in Grenada. It could just simply be a matter of partnering with a farmer who wants to upgrade, or someone in agroindustry, and enhance what they’re doing, so they could do a better job at producing.’’

Spending, as well, is “not only investing in Grenada’’, Hopkin suggested.

“You could invest here in Canada, too, and be helping the Grenadian economy. You could invest in a warehouse, so that when we bring up our goods here, they can be warehoused and properly stored,’’ he said.

“You could invest in a distribution company and you find the outlets where our products can be sold and make that your business right here; and, that’s investing in Grenada.’’

Hopkin is chair of the Toronto-based Grenada Independence Planning Committee, which is organizing activities to commemorate Grenada’s 50th independence anniversary.

The country has launched a year-long program of commemorative events. The theme is, “One People, One Journey, One Future’’

“The theme is one we all embrace,’’ Hopkin said. “We’re going to make it a grand celebration of our heritage, our history, our accomplishments, and learning from the lessons of the past as well in the process.’’