‘I’m very proud of the things we’ve done’

Today officially marks the conclusion of Emina Tudakovic’s tour of duty as the Canadian high commissioner to Jamaica.

If she had more time in the role, one area in which she would give more focus is the agriculture sector.

In an interview with The Gleaner on Tuesday at the Canadian High Commission on Waterloo Road in St Andrew, the outgoing commissioner said that Jamaica needs to become more resilient to climate change.

“One of the things I was really shocked by was how much, in this beautiful island with all this sunshine, your agriculture is not at all resilient. So even when you have major rain, you can’t get tomatoes, [for example],” she said.

Tudakovic said that she had the pleasure of meeting some of the nation’s farmers and enjoyed connecting with people in the industry, adding that she would love to be able to spend “more time with Jamaicans in that way”.

Tudakovic first arrived in Jamaica from Vancouver, Canada, in November 2020 during the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic. She arrived with her two children, a dog, and her husband. Later, she adopted another dog that began following her around.

By March 2021, she officially received her credentials to take up duties as the Canadian high commissioner to Jamaica.

She described her early experiences of having to navigate her duties during the pandemic as “strange” and “interesting”.

EARLY EXPERIENCE

This, due to islandwide curfews and other containment measures, along with a kind of barrier of sorts – with wearing of masks, physical distancing, and heavy use of gatherings in an online space, which prevented her from getting to know her staff as well as she would have liked.

“You know, if you’re trying to build a team and you always meet virtually or you can’t have like a townhall, it’s very strange. I think that’s what – in a job like mine, [where] it’s all about connections and networking – it’s a barrier,” she explained, noting the “slow start” experienced.

But once things “opened up” between the period of late 2021 and early 2022, Tudakovic was ready and raring to go.

This was simply because of the long-standing bilateral connection that Jamaica and Canada share, celebrating 62 years of relations this year.

Although her professional background is tied to immigration, when applying to serve as a high commissioner, she ensured that Jamaica was on her list.

“I have been intrigued by Jamaica because ... we have almost everything here. We have a migration section, a consular section, we’ve got defence, we’ve got the police, the border services, we’ve got trade, bilateral relations and you don’t always get that in a lot of missions,” she stated.

“What was exciting to me about the work when I applied – and I applied a year and a half before I even arrived here, that was kind of the fun part – was really realising how much we do with Jamaica ... . Almost everybody you meet has a connection to Canada in some way,” Tudakovic said, adding that both countries had shared values with democracies, and how much Canada was involved with helping Jamaica reach its Vision 2030 goals.

This being her first time serving as a high commissioner, Tudakovic has had to learn quite a number of things, one of which was how to share the burden of the job.

“One of the challenges when you get to my level, like if you’re used to doing stuff and working really hard, is you realise that you can’t all do it by yourself and delegation can be hard. I’m very detailed-oriented. So, I’ve tried to let things go and realise as well that your staff and your team have to have the opportunity to shine as well,” she said.

THINGS SHE WILL MISS

There are many things that Tudakovic will miss about this small island, including the sun, the friendly people she met, and their warm personalities.

She went on to say that she wishes she had talked to the media and interacted with residents more during her time here.

“In every aspect, you could do more, spend more time, but I’m also quite conscious of the fact that it’s a really busy job and environment ... . I do wish there are a few things that are kind of almost started, but haven’t been finished, like we’re in the midst of negotiating a mutual legal assistance treaty. I had hoped to finish that before I left, but it’s still not done, but that is up to my successor. I think it will be done in the fall,” she stated.

She would have also loved to spend more time in the commercial sector.

“I think there have been a lot of interesting things that Canada does in renewables and climate-smart technology, and you’ve (Jamaica) launched your recent call for proposals in renewable energy [about] six months ago. So, I’d really like to see more of that with Canada. I think the trade is one that we haven’t fully unpacked,” she said.

Additionally, Tudakovic expressed how while there are a lot of Canadians living in Jamaica and owning businesses in the island, they were not making their presence known and were otherwise “hidden”.

“We do have something called the registration of Canadians abroad and we do always recommend to Canadians to register because, for example, for Hurricane Beryl, we will send out advisories saying, ‘Hey, you need to listen to Jamaican authorities. You need to do this. Here’s how to contact us’,” she explained.

However, she admitted that very few Canadians are registered in Jamaica. There are approximately 2, 000 Canadians registered, and the outgoing commissioner believes that far more Canadians are living in the island.

“If you’re a Canadian business here, people don’t always think immediately to contact us for assistance or networks or guidance,” she added.

Tudakovic believes that Jamaica will “pretty soon” no longer need overseas development assistance, as its economy “is doing really well”.

But while in the position to “do better”, she warns that citizens and government ministers should not be complacent with their approach to tackling crime and other security issues that have spilled over into the education sector and are impacting the youth.

“Jamaica is kind of on its way and I think what I get frustrated by is [when] I do look up things about security and crime and education, there is sometimes a narrative which is a bit ... blasé. Like you know people get outraged about some crimes, but not others, whereas I think they should be outraged by all crime,” she said.

Continuing, she added that in relation to the youth, she feels as though “Jamaica is incredibly hard on children”, and should do more to look at why children are acting out violently and fail to conform to societal norms.

“I really can see you getting over that hump,” she added, noting that it would take a lot of collaborative work.

One of the things that Tudakovic has found really rewarding, she says, was dealing with public agencies here.

“They are generally very professional, easy to work with, and it might have felt like a lot of my relationships with ministers, and I’ve found them generally responsive and helpful,” she said.

“On the bilateral relationship front, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I have a lot of respect for them. They are very professional, but where I’ve pushed them a bit is on that multilateral side. Canada would always want Jamaica to be on our side for things geopolitically, so, if there’s a resolution of the UN (United Nations), if there’s a vote, we want Jamaica on our side,” she explained, but noted that the country would often abstain or remain neutral instead, “for reasons related to their own foreign policy”.

“Where I would like to see more is for Jamaica to be willing to put themselves out a little bit more on some of the things that come up,” she added.

As she makes way for the incoming high commissioner, who has not been publicly named as yet, Tudakovic wishes for Jamaica to “stay close as allies and friends”.

She shared how much of a pleasure it has been for her to serve as high commissioner and urged both countries to maintain their “unique relationship”.

“I would never say I’ve accomplished all my goals because I’m always very critical of myself, to be honest. I think, certainly, I’ve done a lot; we’ve done a lot. I’m very proud of the things we’ve done,” she said.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com