HE The Right Honourable David Johnston together with HE Mrs. Sharon Johnston paid a state visit to Poland October 23-26.

The program included aspects of business, academic, history and culture in the cities of Warsaw, Kraków and Oświęcim.  On October 23, His Excellency was officially welcomed by President Bronisław Komorowski at the Presidential Palace where a review of the military guard of honour took place.  Later in the day, the Polish Canadian Chamber of Commerce was honoured to hold a business luncheon for over 100 guests where His Excellency addressed key leaders of the business community on the trends, challenges and opportunities between Poland and Canada.  He also highlighted the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and its impact on strengthening and diversifying bilateral trade, investment and innovation projects.

The following days on October 25 and 26, the Governor General was in Kraków and Oświęcim.  The visit in Kraków included Rakowicki Cementary, Waweł Castle, and Innovation Round Table at AGH University of Science and Technology, while the Canadian delegation viewed the grounds at Oświęcim and pay tribute to those who lost their lives here during WWII.

HE Sharon Johnston took part in other events together with First Lady Anna Komorowska that included a roundtable with Polish NGO’s on current social issues, visit to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, a scholarship presentation to underprivileged Polish youth, and a visit to Life Farm (Centre for Autistic Young Adults) where support for vocational training is offered.

The Polish Canadian Chamber of Commerce would like to thank the following companies for their support in organization of the business luncheon:

BlackBerry

Bombardier Transportation

InPost

Miedzi Copper

SUM Poland

TriGranit Development Polska

UCan Universal