Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) held their tenth annual awards ceremony in Metro Convention Centre on June 23 with 1200 guests, who applauded as Ontario Premier, Mike Harris, the first Premier to attend the Annual Awards Day.

There were nine awardees. Dr Balbir S Sahni, Economist and Associate Professor at Concordia University in Montreal, was given the Life/Outstanding Achievement Award. Maria Minna, Minister for International Trade, was chosen for the President's Award.

The other recipients were Dr Shiv L Jindal (Humanitarian), Steve Gupta (Businessman), Neena Kanwar (Business Woman), Ramesh Khosla (Professional), Naseem Somani (Professional Woman), Anita Gahir (Youth Achievement) and Suresh Thakrar (Member).

Premier Mike Harris praised the contribution of the South Asian community to increase the "economic strength" of Ontario.

Rakesh Goenka, President of the Chamber, said the most important highlight of his two-year term was the expanding of the ICCC into Montreal, Quebec.

Donald A Stewart, Chairman and CEO, Sun Life Financial, was the keynote speaker and said he was proud that his company has a long history in India.

ICCC President, Rakesh Goenka, presented a plaque to Premier Harris.