THE Canadian Government, through its High Commission in Jamaica, has donated six computers and software to three civil society groups in Jamaica, a gift which they hope will further strengthen relations between the cities of Kingston, Portmore and Toronto.

The donations to the Rose Town Benevolent Society, the Gregory Park Community centre and the Mountain View Peace centre are part of a larger project aimed at fostering greater collaboration between the three cities.

The project is still in its planning stages.

Blair Bobyk, counsellor for political and economic affairs at the High Commission in Kingston, said the donations were part of continued partnership between Jamaica and Canada.

According to Bobyk, in 2006 at a stakeholders meeting between representatives of the Jamaican Diaspora, discussions were held, and common experiences of governance issues shared among the partners.

“Nothing has been formally approved yet, but there are some things that are currently under consideration by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). What we are looking at is a bottoms-up approach to governance issues,” he told the Observer.

Discussions are being led by University of the West Indies professor Barry Chevannes, of the Governance on the ground project, and University of Toronto professor Patricia McCartney, of the Global cities programme.

For his part, High Commissioner Denis Kingsley expressed pleasure at the partnership, while noting that the donations would open up the lines of communication even further.

“Technological advances have created new and greater opportunities for Diaspora’s to connect more intensely with their home countries, in ways that were not possible by earlier waves of immigrants and their home communities,” he said.

Through electronic technology, the High Commissioner said, “we do not always need to be physically next to each other to connect to one another”.

In throwing his support behind the linking of the cities project, he said Jamaicans living overseas can play a positive and influential role in foreign investment, job creation, poverty mitigation, community development initiatives, and political issues such as transparency, accountability and anti-corruption within Jamaica itself.

Phillip Mascoll, president of the Jamaican Diaspora in Canada, said the contribution of the Canadians was a sign of that country’s commitment to promoting development.

According to him, the Diaspora was actively seeking more ways to create investment opportunities between Jamaican and Canadian companies.

He praised the efforts of Ron and Lorna King, who donated and erected a pump for a communal wash area for residents in the community. Mascoll said the Diaspora was actively engaged in helping youngsters in the community who have been identified as having potential, but who are in need of help.