Fitz is right back where he belongs

By *Marlon Bute

To be clear, I have absolutely no interest in working for anyone. I am quite satisfied being self-employed — being an entrepreneur, an employer of men and women, a producer, and a construction worker — because I am convinced that that is what I am destined to be about.

Let me take this opportunity to urge our young people — boys, girls, young men, young women — in fact, no matter the age: learn a skill. And if you learn it, you will never go hungry. And if you learn it well enough, you may amass a fortune. I would stick to construction any day.

What follows, therefore, comes from no place of personal ambition or desire for such a position. It comes instead from awareness — from seeing first-hand the opportunities that exist within the Canadian business community, of which I am a part, and how much potential there is for countries like St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) to benefit from them.

I am very pleased to see Fitz Huggins, our former consul general to Canada, depart this land. Yet my satisfaction lies not in his departure itself but in what his departure could represent — new opportunities for SVG.

Without animus, I believe he will be remembered as a divisive and narrow-minded figure in terms of his approach to the office — one who spent an enormous amount of time politicising everything, whether in person or virtually on Facebook. He will also be remembered for collecting Canadian junk vehicles, fire trucks, and ambulances — and we go on from there.

Instead of reaching out to Canadian businesses and encouraging them to invest in SVG, he leaned on Vincentians in Canada to donate corned beef, sardines, and other barrel goods. In over 10 years, he failed to attract a single substantial Canadian investment to our country. And we must hope he doesn’t again benefit from another taxpayer-funded off-lease vehicle.

So, I say good riddance. We welcome his replacement and sincerely wish her all the best in carrying out the duties that truly matter for SVG.

Canada remains one of the world’s wealthiest nations — a hub for innovation, investment, and knowledge exchange. Its advanced agricultural systems, fisheries, renewable-energy technologies, and educational institutions could be invaluable partners in SVG’s development. Hopefully, our new diplomat will be a capable and forward-thinking representative who builds networks, promotes trade and tourism, and creates new opportunities for Vincentians through education and exchange.

The consulate under his leadership became less a vehicle for national progress and more a platform for political loyalty and self-promotion. Those who disagreed with him were sidelined; those who praised him were rewarded with access.

The imported vehicles that still litter our public spaces are more than mechanical failures — they are symbols of a failed vision of what diplomacy should be.

Under Fitz Huggins, we were left with old ambulances and old fire trucks; cold, hard metal. The rush to beg for and accept Canadian junk vehicles — derelict, decommissioned, and outdated — and to import them into our small island state, already vulnerable to the harsh realities of climate change, is not just wasteful but environmentally reckless.

These gas-guzzling relics consume more fuel, emit more carbon, and ultimately burden the very environment we claim to defend. On one hand, we decry developed nations for not doing enough to help us mitigate the effects of climate change; yet on the other, we import tonnes of old iron into our country — turning ourselves into a dumping ground for the very waste we claim to be victims of.

Now he is right back where he belongs, and it is the failure of Kingstown to have had, at the level of the consul general, a coherent and well-thought-out foreign policy towards Canada — at least for the past 12 years. Otherwise, he would not have been such a spectacular failure.

Canada is not a country that merely dabbles in overseas investment — it is a global powerhouse. As of the end of 2024, Canadian direct investment abroad totalled CAD$2.47 trillion, up 12% from the previous year. Of that, CAD$384 billion was invested in the Caribbean.

These are not hypothetical opportunities; they are real flows of capital, technology, and partnership. SVG could have benefited from that engagement — if our representation in Canada had been guided by vision instead of vanity.

Diplomatic postings should not be prizes for party loyalty. They should be instruments to foster national development.

But under Fitz Huggins, we were left with old ambulances and old firetrucks; cold, hard metal.

And now, at long last, we must thank Canada — for saving us from the continued presence of Fitz Huggins. It took far too long, but eventually, even Canada’s diplomatic tenure rules did what Kingstown refused to do. They sent him home. And he is right back where he belongs — in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

A decade and more wasted in a land of tremendous opportunity — where Canadians are ready to invest, and do invest, billions of dollars in Latin America, the Caribbean, and other regions around the world.

*Marlon Bute is an entrepreneur, construction worker, and writer.

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