Business, community and government leaders celebrate achievement in the Canadian Pakistani community

On Sept. 29, leaders in entrepreneurship, government and the Pakistani community in Canada gathered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Canadian Pakistan Business Council (CPBC (external link) ). The gala and dinner, hosted by the CPBC, included an award ceremony to honour excellence. During the ceremony, Sajjad Ebrahim, a noted philanthropist and CEO of Lark Investments Incorporated, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the organization and broader community. 

To open the event, Samir Dossal, the president of CPBC, welcomed attendees, including guest of honour Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development. As a not-for-profit organization created in 1983, the CPBC promotes trade between Canada and Pakistan. Dossal emphasized how the CPBC strives to harness the power of the Pakistani diaspora in Canada to form mutually beneficial relationships and enhance Pakistani culture, creativity and prosperity.

He highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on Pakistanis and thanked Ng for her ministry’s support. He said monumental progress has been made because of this relationship and the standing meetings that exist between Canadian and Pakistani officials. 

Dossal highlighted the CPBC’s achievements and underscored the impact of collaboration. He pointed to the organization's work with Wendy Cukier, founder and academic director of the Diversity Institute (DI), noting that DI and CPBC have worked on many projects that seek to advance a shared commitment to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion as essential to prosperity and global competitiveness. Among these projects are those related to the Future Skills Centre (external link) , for which DI is the research lead; the 50 – 30 Challenge (external link) , in which DI is an ecosystem partner; the Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation (external link) ; the Workforce Innovation and Inclusion Project (external link) ; and the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (external link) . These collaborations have led to new knowledge and best practices on enhancing diversity and inclusion in the business sector, he said. 

Cukier congratulated Dossal. “The CPBC has challenged stereotypes and assumptions. It has shown Canadians what great opportunities there are in Pakistan. It has strengthened trade relations, economic, educational and social connections,” she said.

Ng then applauded the CPBC for four decades of achievements advancing the relationships between Pakistan and Canada and the lives of Pakistani Canadians. She noted the importance of collaboration to address Canadian trade and entrepreneurship and their effect on the economy. She also emphasized the importance of working together to improve sustainability, citing examples of how the relationship between Canada and Pakistan has improved sustainability in Pakistan. She closed her speech by congratulating the award winners and the CPBC on their valuable contributions. 

At the evening’s end, Ng, Dossal and Cukier jointly presented Ebrahim with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his leadership and philanthropy. From joining his family business as a teenager, to purchasing Par Pak Ltd., a plastic food container manufacturer, and growing the business to a multi-million dollar company over three decades, Ebrahim has had an outstanding career. He has been recognized for his exceptional leadership and business excellence and now devotes his time to social and philanthropic projects. He helped to raise more than $1 million for the Brampton Civic Hospital and made the single largest individual contribution of $2.5 million to the Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness. 

Cukier, though, noted his significant humanitarian contributions. “I wanted to single out the work he did with us on the Lifeline Syria challenge to support 1,000 Syrian refugees who are now happily settled in Canada,” Cukier, who co-founded Lifeline Syria, said. She added that Ebrahim and the Sajjadiyya Trust Foundation are continuing to support the resettlement of refugees through Lifeline Afghanistan (external link) , which is grounded in the successful model of Lifeline Syria and seeks to support the 40,000 Afghan refugees coming to Canada. Emphasizing the reach and impact of Ebrahim’s work, Cukier highlighted the presence of some of the refugees he sponsored at the event. 

Other award recipients included Latafat Saddiqui, owner of Canadian Asian News, and Leena Latafat, reporter and anchor at CP24 for professional excellence. Rotarian Najeeb Sayed, a member of the Rotary Club of St. Catherine's South, received the Humanitarian of the Year award. The business excellence award was given to Liaquat Mian, president of LJM Developments in Burlington, Ont.