Press release
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal welcomes the founding of the first International Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Montreal, July 27, 2006 The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is delighted with the choice of Montreal as home to the first International Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (IGLCC).
The Board of Trade is proud to have supported the candidacy of Montreal as host city for the IGLCC. Once again, Montreal and its citizens have been recognized for their spirit of tolerance and openness. This distinctive characteristic of Montreal a unique and exceptional city has already earned it a spot among the most sought-after gay destinations in the world, alongside Berlin, San Francisco, New York, and Melbourne. Thanks to the vitality of its gay community, Montreal's Gay Village one of the largest in the world and located in the heart of the city attracted almost 400,000 gay and lesbian tourists in 2005, assuring its reputation on both the national and international scenes, declared Isabelle Hudon, president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
The Board of Trade salutes the significant contribution of the gay community to all aspects of the city's development. Offering a welcoming environment that is open to diversity, Montreal has become the theatre for a rainbow of cultural and sporting events, including the Divers/Cité, Black & Blue, and Image Nation festivals and even the 1st World Outgames. This wellspring of activity bears witness to the dynamism of the men and women of Montreal's gay business community. Their ability to mobilize support for inclusive, unifying projects with social, cultural, and economic benefits for the entire province is inspiring, and the arrival of the IGLCC will only stimulate this type of activity, concluded Hudon.
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has some 7,000 members. Its mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montreal and to provide individuals, merchants and businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is the largest private organization in Quebec dedicated to economic development.
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Source :
Chantal Roby
Coordinator, Communications
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4088
croby@ccmm.qc.ca