Keith Mitchell, the recently re-elected  Prime Minister of Grenada,  told a gathering of  Grenadians in Toronto  “the good news” about the deposits of  oil and gas recently discovered in the southern waters off  Grenada.      

Addressing a Town Hall  meeting on his recent flying visit to Toronto, Mitchell  reported that  the Russian company, GPG, carried out seismic tests and eventually proceeded to actual drilling for core samples which were tested by an internationally recognized American company in Houston, Texas.

He said  that the good news is that although it will take some time to extract the oil deposits and proceed to refining for commercial use, the natural gas can be extracted much more easily by laying a  delivery pipe system.

Mitchell  also reported positive growth in the  economy of  Grenada.

And he noted that unemployment in  his Spice-producing country had  fallen from  45 per cent  to 28  per cent.

But  this, he added , was still  too  high and vowed to  make changes to ensure  that unemployment continues on  the  downward trend.

He said his government’s plans to work in cooperation with the various Non Governmental Organizations and the Opposition for the improvement of  the country.

The Prime Minister also  noted that while his government had accomplished a great deal, there  is still a  lot of work to be done.

He told the  meeting of more than one hundred Grenadians that his government will embark on a new and expanded program to include more youth  in their quest “to lift the standards of living from the ground up.”

Mitchell  said  his new  government also  plans to modernize the  Grenada’s health care delivery system and to improve education and training to  ensure better paying jobs for Grenadians.

He also said that his government’s plans to work in cooperation with the various Non Governmental Organizations and the Opposition for the improvement of  the country.

According to Grenadian  officials in Canada  the  main purpose  of the prime minister’s visit  to Toronto  April 6-8 last was to  attend  the  funeral of his uncle, Cletus Mitchell who died on March 24 last.

After attending the funeral on April 7 last and visiting relatives, the Prime Minister agreed to meet with  nationals in Toronto.

The meeting was held  at the Tropicana Community Centre in Scarborough..

Derrick James, Grenada’s Consul General in Toronto, welcomed the Prime Minister to Toronto and thanked him for coming out to meet the nationals.

Grenada-born Celina Caesar Chavannes, federal Member of Parliament  for Whitby, Ontario who attended the meeting, congratulated Mitchell on his recent victory at the polls on behalf of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.