The agenda included productive meetings and meetings with representatives from Canadian universities, offices and companies

By Silvia Pimentel

A change in the calendar of Canadian Arbitration Week this year, which traditionally takes place at the same time as São Paulo Arbitration Week (in October), allowed the participation of the Arbitration and Mediation Center of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (CAM-CCBC) in the event which took place in June in Toronto (Ontario) and was on the agenda of the first official mission organized by CCBC together with CAM-CCBC in Canada.

The initiative represents the beginning of closer ties with the Canadian arbitration community and greater legal exchange between the two countries, which are at different stages in the development of arbitration, mainly in the institutional modality, in which Brazil has a strong presence.

The delegation’s agenda, composed of Rodrigo Garcia da Fonseca, president of CAM-CCBC; Ronaldo Ramos, president of CCBC; Luíza Kömel, general secretary of CAM-CCBC and Patrícia Garcia da Rosa, commercial director of CCBC for Canada, were intense, productive and included visits, meetings and meetings with representatives of Canadian universities, lawyers and arbitrators from law firms, as well as of CCBC member companies, in Toronto and Montreal (Quebec).

“It was an excellent opportunity to delve deeper into the Canadian legal system, the particularities of how arbitration works in Canada, the most common types of disputes and the most reputable institutions used by companies, in addition to presenting the work of CAM-CCBC as the pioneer in the development of arbitration in Brazil”, says Luíza Kömel.

Results

In Kömel’s opinion, the mission opened the way for numerous future opportunities, among them, the possibility of CAM-CCBC joining the list of sponsors of Canadian Arbitration Week 2025, in addition to organizing and presenting its own panels, further consolidating the institution’s image as a reference in the world of international arbitration, now also in Canada.

Meetings with representatives of educational institutions, in turn, may result in future partnerships and collaboration agreements to hold academic events, courses, internships, exchanges and even the offering of scholarships.

“They were very productive meetings, which combined CCBC’s expertise in the Canadian market with CAM-CCBC’s expertise in the market for appropriate conflict resolution methods. We participated in high-level meetings and we saw that this was the beginning of a prosperous path of strengthening relations with Canada in the area of ​​arbitration”, assesses Rodrigo Garcia da Fonseca, President of CAM-CCBC.

Optimistic about the promising and future results provided by the joint actions carried out in Canada, the president of the CCBC, Ronaldo Ramos reinforces the Chamber’s wide range of activities in Canada, now also promoting connections in the fields of arbitration and measurement.

“We opened important doors on this journey, in yet another area of ​​activity, together with CAM-CCBC. It was a winning combination of the Center’s consistent content with the Chamber’s networking”, summarizes Ramos.

According to Patrícia Garcia da Rosa, commercial director of CCBC for Canada, the mission was excellent and met its exploratory objective for CAM-CCBC. “In my view, it was very clear that there are excellent opportunities to be explored and the growth of CCBC in Canada can further strengthen these opportunities”, she highlights.

New status

In addition to the mission’s meetings with CAM-CCBC, Ronaldo Ramos also participated, during the trip to Montreal, in the Extraordinary General Assembly of Chambre Brazil Canada, in which the institution’s new statute was approved.