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DESCRIPTION:Canada has announced policies and plans to encourage diversific
 ation of trade and investment into nontraditional markets such as Asia and
  Africa. This is in large part so as to not have reliance on uncertain tra
 ditional markets like the United States as a result of new tariff impositi
 on.\n\nHowever\, are Canadian businesses ready for this expansion into new
  markets? For example\, Canada’s anticorruption laws are among the stricte
 st in the world. How will Canadian companies deal with the compliance chal
 lenges that will arise when dealing with these new markets which have poor
  rankings on the Transparency International index? How about the challenge
 s in transacting in new digital currencies like the stable coins\, which i
 s popular in developing countries where there is sometimes scarcity of for
 ex for payments and remittances of profits?\n\nAnd what happens when there
  is a dispute-such as for nonpayment for goods and services exported? Are 
 Canadian companies well versed in effective dispute resolution mechanisms 
 available internationally? This event will explore the challenges Canadian
  companies will face and explore practical strategies to help them address
  these challenges.\n\nDate: February 27\, 2026\n	Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.
 m. EST\n	Location: Armstrong building\, Room 370\n\nRegister by February 25
 th Agenda Panelists\n\n\nObjectives\n\n\n	Explain Canada’s trade diversific
 ation strategy and opportunities.\n	Clarify anticorruption compliance requi
 rements for Canadian businesses.\n	Identify key risks in high-corruption ma
 rkets and how to mitigate them.\n	Share practical compliance solutions and 
 best practices for market entry.\n	Explore compliance as a competitive adva
 ntage in global trade.\n\n\nSpeakers\n\n\n	Manuel Balán\, Associate Profess
 or in Political Science and International Development Studies (ISID)\, McG
 ill University.\n	Alessandro Caruso\, CEO of the International Division at 
 La Vie en Rose\n	Sue Steffen\, Director General\, West Africa and the Maghr
 eb\, Global Affairs Canada\n	Karl Boustany\, Founder and CEO of Kiamin\n\n
 \nModerator\n\n\n	Franca Ciambella\, Executive in Residence\, Laidley Centr
 e for Business Ethics and Equity\n\n\nAgenda\n\n11:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m. | C
 heck-in\, networking\, and lunch\n\n12:00 p.m. -1:00 p.m. | Panel discussi
 on\n\n1:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m. | Audience Q&A\n\n1:20 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Addi
 tional networking\n\n\nAbout the Panelists\n\nManuel Balán\n\nManuel Balán
  is Associate Dean Academic and Faculty Affairs in the Faculty of Arts and
  Associate Professor of Political Science and International Development at
  ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï. His research focuses on comparative politics in Latin 
 America\, with emphasis on corruption\, governance\, and democracy.\n\nDr.
  Balán holds a PhD in Government from the University of Texas at Austin an
 d a law degree from Argentina. An award-winning educator\, he received McG
 ill’s Principal’s Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2019. He has also co
 nsulted with the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank\, brid
 ging academic research with policy practice in governance and development.
 \n\nAlessandro Caruso\n\nAlessandro Caruso is CEO of the International Div
 ision at La Vie en Rose\, a Canada-based lingerie\, sleepwear\, and swimwe
 ar retailer with over 400 stores and global franchise partnerships across 
 the Middle East\, North Africa\, Asia\, and other international markets. H
 e leads international expansion with full P&L accountability\, overseeing 
 market entry\, operations\, sourcing\, and brand continuity. He works clos
 ely with local partners to balance growth targets\, unit economics\, opera
 tional discipline\, and brand compliance. His experience is grounded in la
 unching and scaling businesses internationally\, structuring cross-border 
 supply chains\, and making commercial decisions in markets with uneven reg
 ulatory and governance conditions.\n\nSue Steffen\n\nSusan Steffen is the 
 Director General\, West Africa and the Maghreb\, at Global Affairs Canada.
  She was most recently the Director General\, Pan-African Affairs\, coveri
 ng foreign relations\, development and trade portfolios from a continental
  perspective.\n\nSusan’s 25-year career – focused mainly on Sub-Saharan Af
 rica – has spanned policy and operations\, field and headquarters work\, a
 s well as positions in NGOs and with the UN. She served for Canada oversea
 s in Tanzania and in Rwanda for the United Nations.\n\nSusan holds a Bache
 lors of Arts (Economics) from Queen’s University\, Canada and Bachelors of
  Laws (Civil and Common Law) from ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï\, Canada.\n\nFranca Ci
 ambella\n\nFranca Ciambella is the Laidley Centre Executive in Residence. 
 She has a degree in business from ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï\, and law degrees from
  New York University\, National University of Singapore and Universite d’O
 ttawa. She has practiced law for over 30 years in international business\,
  corporate compliance\, M & A\, contracts\, and dispute resolution. Since 
 2016\, her practice includes fintech and blockchain (cryptocurrency). Base
 d in Lagos\, Nigeria\, Franca currently works as a Senior Consulting Couns
 el at Dentons Law Office and as an Independent Business Advisor & Consulta
 nt. She is an Executive in Residence at the Lagos Business School\, where 
 she teaches MBA students\, and participates in training projects. She is c
 urrently a Board Director at the Nigerian-Canadian Business Association\, 
 and is the Head of its Trade & Investment Committee.\n\nKarl Boustany\n\nK
 arl Boustany is a Canadian entrepreneur\, investor\, and strategic advisor
  recognized for building cross-border platforms that expand Canadian exper
 tise and technology into global markets\, with a strong focus on the Middl
 e East and the critical minerals ecosystem. Karl also serves as Special Ad
 visor to the Canadian Saudi Business Council\, supporting bilateral trade\
 , investment flows\, and strategic collaboration between Canadian enterpri
 ses and Saudi institutions\, particularly within the mining\, industrial\,
  and technology sectors. Beyond mining\, Karl has deep roots in Canada’s i
 ndustrial packaging and sustainability sectors. He is actively scaling Nor
 th Water\, a premium Canadian aluminum-bottled water brand built around ci
 rcular economy principles\, while advising manufacturing and packaging gro
 ups on sustainable materials\, digital production\, and international expa
 nsion. His work consistently aligns Canadian environmental innovation with
  global sustainability mandates. He also serves on the Board of Directors 
 of AluQuébec\, Canada’s aluminum industrial cluster\, where he contributes
  to strategic development\, talent initiatives\, and the international pos
 itioning of Quebec’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem.\n
DTSTART:20260227T163000Z
DTEND:20260227T183000Z
LOCATION:Room 370\, Donald E. Armstrong Building\, CA\, QC\, Montreal\, H3A
  3L1\, 3420 rue McTavish
SUMMARY:The Diversification of Canada’s Trading Partners: How do we expand 
 into new markets while complying?
URL:/desautels/channels/event/diversification-canadas-
 trading-partners-how-do-we-expand-new-markets-while-complying-370521
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