Senator Hazel Manning
Minister Parent
Ladies and gentlemen...

Good afternoon. I’m proud today to announce the signing of an agreement between Nova Scotia and Trinidad and Tobago. It’s an agreement that builds on our long and warm relationship with the island nation and it allows Nova Scotians to share their expertise as Trinidad and Tobago develops its national waste management framework.

I can’t think of a more fitting way to mark Environment Week in Nova Scotia than by announcing we are offering Nova Scotia's homegrown environmental expertise to an international market.

The Province of Nova Scotia has become a world leader in solid waste management.

Seizing the opportunity to turn waste into resources, the Province has created hundreds of jobs while protecting the environment and the natural beauty of Nova Scotia.

It’s a pleasure to be able to help our friends in Trinidad and Tobago achieve the same success.

For more than 150 years, Nova Scotia and Trinidad and Tobago have shared economic, educational, environmental and agricultural links.

Right now, organizations like Nova Scotia Business Inc., EduNova, the departments of Energy and Agriculture, the Environmental Services Association of Nova Scotia and the Offshore Technology Association of Nova Scotia are working hard to develop partnerships with firms in Trinidad and Tobago.

We share many common goals. Including the objective of reducing the amount of waste we generate and turning waste into value-added products.

By sharing our model of waste/resource management with Trinidad and Tobago, I know we will see even closer cooperation between our two jurisdictions – both in our private and public sectors. This approach supports the government’s partnership strategy for export development called: Going Global, Staying Local.

This agreement is a new tool for Nova Scotia in international business development. It provides a new opportunity for the province to export its environmental expertise.

And it’s the start of great things for Nova Scotia and Trinidad and Tobago. I look forward to seeing the benefits it generates for both of us.

On that positive note, it gives me great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to Senator, the Honourable Hazel Manning, Minister of Local Government for Trinidad and Tobago.