JERUSALEM — What do a Quebec cabinet minister and a former Beatle have in common?

Quebec Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade Raymond Bachand and former Beatle Paul McCartney both visited Israel on the last week of Hebrew calendar year 5768. They also provided this country with some good-news headlines, after weeks of gloomy, sometimes blood-curdling, domestic newspaper reports.

Bachand was in Jerusalem heading a large Canadian economic mission to Israel. One of its major accomplishments is an agreement, signed by the Quebec minister and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai, that creates an umbrella mechanism for economic collaboration between Quebec and Israel in various fields.

Bachand sees his ministerial role in this historic visit as that of a facilitator, an economic matchmaker, bringing together Quebeckers and Israelis interested in collaborating on projects in innovation, technology transfer, biotechnology, aerospace and other cutting-edge spheres of the 21st century, he told The CJN in an interview in Tel Aviv.

As Bachand states in his introduction to the brochure accompanying the mission, the goal is to share Quebec and Israel’s “expertise, develop business opportunities and strengthen our economic and technological co-operation.”

The bilingual French-English brochure evinces the mission’s getting-down-to-business orientation. Participants’ photographs appear with a profile of their company/agency, organized under the headings “Businesses,” “Research and Innovation” and “Venture Capital Investments.”

Quebec and Israel have much in common, as Bachand noted in his lecture, which was preceded by introductions from Canada’s ambassador to Israel, Jon Allen, and Israel-Canada Chamber of Commerce president, Yehuda Raveh. They share an entrepreneurial spirit, value their heritage and are obsessed with quality and innovation. Like Israel, Quebec has immigrants from many countries.

Referring to a landmark in Canadian and Canadian-Jewish history, Bachand noted that Quebec’s legislature was the first in the British Commonwealth in the mid-19th century to permit Jews to be members.

Observing that Quebec’s economy was once based primarily on natural resources, Bachand told his audience that its economy is now richly diversified, with Quebec firms providing 40 per cent of Canada’s information technology (IT), 45 per cent of its pharmaceutical research and development (R&D), and 60 per cent of aerospace R&D. As well, 60 per cent of Canada’s engineering talent is concentrated in Quebec.

In an interview with The CJN, the minister said, “Quebec’s economy is an innovation economy. It is a creative innovation economy.” This, of course, explains the affinity between Quebec and Israel, which highly values innovation.

He pointed out that the mission, one of Canada’s most important to Israel, was focused – it was not a tourist group. Also, the mission is not a one-shot deal: Quebec and Israel, he said, are a natural match, and his aim is to create more R&D collaboration between the two economies.

During the media roundtable discussion that followed his lecture, Bachand said that Quebec and Israel are strong partners and that, in general, quality research must be international.

Regarding the current U.S. financial crisis’ effect on future Quebec-Israel collaboration, Bachand replied that his purpose was not to work for the next quarter – crises come and go, and we must always have our eye on the long-term goal, he said, adding that Quebec’s economy is diversified and Canada’s financial system is solid.

Another similarity that Quebec and Israel share, Bachand told media representatives at the roundtable forum, is  that neither works exclusively, or even primarily, in its own domestic market; for instance, more than 50 per cent of Quebec’s manufactured products are exported.

Lawrence Bergman, MLA for D’Arcy-McGee, told The CJN that, with the unanimous passing of a private member’s bill he introduced, Quebec observes Holocaust Memorial Day on the same Hebrew date as Israel.

Eric Maldoff, chair of the Quebec-Israel Committee, said in an interview that “our belief is that Israel sells itself in the sense that it is a First World country. It has built a knowledge-based economy which most westernized countries would hope to build.

“It’s a modern society. Tel Aviv is a world-class city. And, as people come to know and understand the real Israel, Israel gains support, friends and allies.”