By Lincoln DePradine

Grenada soon will have a new top diplomat in the city, and consul general-designate Gerry Hopkins says he’s looking forward to his assignment in Toronto.

“For me, I see this as service,’’ Hopkins said in a weekend interview.

He was here for two activities that featured Dickon Mitchell, who heads Grenada’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) and who was elected the country’s prime minister in June 2022.

Mitchell addressed an NDC fundraising gala on Saturday in Concord, Ontario; and, Sunday, he met with Grenadian nationals at a townhall in Scarborough,

where he thanked current Honourary Consul General Dawne Francois. Mitchell addressed an NDC fundraising gala on Saturday in Concord, Ontario; and, Sunday, he met with Grenadian nationals at a townhall in Scarborough, where he thanked current Honourary Consul General Dawne Francois.

In March, the Grenada government announced several new diplomatic appointments, including the choice of Hopkins for the consul general post in Toronto.

The prime minister urged Hopkins to harness the strength and energy of the Grenadian community, by “encouraging the spirit of unity and cooperation, as we strive to move both the Diaspora and Grenada forward’’.

Hopkins, who has served as public relations officer for NDC’s New York Chapter, also was an aide to Tillman Thomas, former party leader, when he was Grenada’s prime minister.

A former employee of the education department of the City of New York, Hopkins also has run his own business as a consultant and community organizer, offering services in areas such as government affairs, law, conflict resolution, messaging, marketing, public relations and artiste management.

Hopkins, who has been a visitor to the city several times in the past, said he does not know the “exact date’’ he’ll be arriving in Toronto to begin working as consul general.

“I am awaiting marching orders from the ministry of foreign affairs,’’ he said. “I am looking forward to serving my country in this capacity. A lot of what I’ll be doing is stuff that I have been doing for years – such as listening, getting people to network and to pull together to make a difference and helping to develop Grenada’’.

One aspect of the job as consul general, said Hopkins, is continuing to take care of “all the basic things’’ such as passport renewal and application, and also “paying attention to the needs of people, their concerns, and seeing what’s working and finding ways to build on that’’.

He explained that it would mean “tapping into untapped areas in terms of potential, doing all we can to bring the potential and the assets of our people here in the Diaspora to bear in moving Grenada forward’’; and also finding ways to implement the “transformational agenda’’ of the one-year-old Grenada government.

“Transformational agenda’’ was an election campaign slogan that the NDC carried over into government after winning last year’s national polls.

Prime Minister Mitchell, in the government’s maiden budget presentation in parliament last December, said “transformation is the word that best embodies’’ his administration’s vision for Grenada, which includes Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

The “transformation agenda’’, he said, is “designed to empower our citizens with the skills and support needed so that we, as Grenadians, can assume our place, as leaders in our own right, among the community of nations’’.

He added that “transforming our healthcare system is the single most important priority for this administration. Our ultimate goal is to transform Grenada into the health capital of the Eastern Caribbean. This means the highest quality in healthcare facilities and services with access for all, underpinned by a culture of healthy lifestyles’’.