Idea Of A Canadian Place In The Sun Remains Alive

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

24 March 2004

Thirty years after it was first dreamt up, it would seem that the idea of a union between Canada and the Caribbean jurisdiction of the Turks & Caicos Islands remains a realistic proposition in the minds of some.

One of the proposal’s firmest advocates is the Canadian Conservative MP Peter Goldring, who has organized a cross-party committee to examine the issue, and has previously stated that he would like the Turks & Caicos Islands to become Canada’s “eleventh province”.

"We had a sphere of influence in the Caribbean 100 years ago. Canada was a major shipper and transporter to the Caribbean from the Maritime provinces. We have lost that direct Maritime link with the Caribbean," Goldring lamented, according to a Caribbean NetNews report.

The news service also revealed that many islanders appear to be in favour of the proposition, and Goldring claims that the initiative would give Turks & Caicos the opportunity to expand and diversify its economy, in addition to providing greater regional stability. Moreover, he points out that the islands would provide Canada with a manufacturing and distribution hub for the Caribbean and South America.

The idea is also being promoted by Canadian businessman Richard Pearson, who has established a lobby group known as ‘A Place in the Sun'.

“The Turks & Caicos would become not only a sales centre for Canadian business people supplying products to the Caribbean, but an excellent trans-shipment point for Canadian goods sent into the area,” Pearson predicted. He also believes that the union would enable the jurisdiction to shed its previous dependence on the United Kingdom for grant aid.

This is not the first time that closer links between Canada and the Turks & Caicos Islands have been mooted. In the early 1970’s, a bill was introduced that proposed to annex the islands for Canada. A similar move was attempted in the 1980’s, although neither came close to fruition.

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