Montreal, Quebec, Canada…August 29, 2011….Former Grenadian Prime Minister and Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell was the keynote speaker in Montreal at a luncheon held in his honour on Sunday, August 28, 2011. Accompanying Dr. Mitchell was Mr. Nicholas Steele, Town of St. George Constituency Caretaker. The event was part of their overseas tour which started in London, England a few weeks ago.

Among the Head table guests were The Hon. Dr. Jean Augustine former Federal Minister of State for Multiculturalism and the status of women and cousin of Dr. Mitchell, Ms. Mary Deros, Executive Committee Member of the City of Montreal with responsibility for Cultural Communities and Youth, and Ms. Vonnie Rochester, Honorary Consul for Jamaica in Montreal.

Mr. Steele addressed the audience giving an informative and clear picture of the happenings on the political front in Grenada. He spoke about NNP's economic policy and his vision for investments and tourism as he outlined the opportunities and challenges in the country and how the challenges would be met by an NNP government.

Dr. Mitchell in addressing the gathering, touched on various aspects of governance in Grenada, including his own party’s vision for Grenada as well as what he perceived to be the major shortcomings of the current administration. The former Prime Minister laid out some of the achievements of his NNP government while in office from 1995-2008. He highlighted the “vision for Grenada” which then guided his administration. Dr. Mitchell went on to say that while in government his party was responsible for unprecedented improvements to Education, health and Infrastructure in Grenada.

Dr. Mitchell also expressed concern over what he felt to be the lack of progress being made by the current administration. He believes that some of the administration’s policies have only served to put a strangle hold on Grenadians’ wallets while the public sector wage bill continues to inflate. Dr. Mitchell cited a proliferation of new Ministries, the cutting of certain social welfare programs as well as other ill-advised treaties with foreign governments as a cause for concern and evidence of the lack of leadership present in the current administration.

Dr. Mitchell then turned his attention to charting the way forward, insisting that a re-elected NNP government would ensure that projects which are beneficial to all Grenadians continue and are brought to fruition. He reiterated that the track record of the former NNP government was solid and that his team is ready and able to take Grenada forward.

After his presentation the floor was opened for a brief question period. The audience asked questions regarding the state of health care in Grenada and wanted to know the level of the Opposition's involvement in the setting up of the Diaspora Initiative.

“There was no doubt in my mind that the Honourable Dr. Keith Mitchell did in fact (in his words) place God first, the People second, the Country third and the Party last. For me it was time well spent! Very informative and educational”, says Brenda Rowe, a non-Grenadian guest who attended the function.

Dr. Mitchell and Mr. Steele then headed out to Toronto to attend a similar function there.

The evening ended with a wonderful Grenadian lunch, some musical entertainment and dancing.

Some other highlights of Dr. Mitchell’s Montreal visit were a meeting with a former school buddy Dr. Bernard Gibbs and touring McGill University campus. He also met with some European businessmen.