Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

The Honourable Michael Chan
Minister of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

PART TWO

I wondered how Minister Chan became the Minister of Tourism and Culture. He shares with us that his portfolio with the government started as Minister of Revenue, then Minister of Citizenship & Immigration and now Minister of Tourism and Culture in 2010. He tells us that the government found it a natural choice to combine Tourism and Culture. Muku adds here that “it is the Premier's prerogative to appoint a Minister, but they wanted to put someone with an economic background to the portfolio and someone with a business mind. Mr. Michael Chan met all these requirements and more”. The Festival Nomad and Minister Chan had a chat about both of their backgrounds. Michael Chan spent over 30 years as a leader in the insurance business in the Mississauga and Markham area. The Festival Nomad’s family is now in its fifth generation of insurance agents. Here though, Minister Chan went on to give us the Scoop, that he likes the business “because of the people he dealt with”. His brokerage offered both life and general insurance at competative and large quantities, which few agencies can offer. What Michael Chan enjoyed was “engaging the people all the time!” He tells us he “enjoyed the flexibility of time and enjoying life all at the same time!” Michael Chan shares that it was his own choice to go into politics, as he feel “it is also a way of engaging people”. He seems proud of the fact that he has trained himself over the years. It appeared Minister Chan is well received within the political field as he won the past election with the approval of 33% above others. Minister Chan states that “once people understand your style … like an Out-there-Person who likes to talk about issues and concerns of others, you get to engage with them”. He tells us “that regardless who the people are, what their philosophies are, whether they agree with him or not, he still enjoys his challenges”.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

The Honourable Michael Chan
Miniter of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

On this warm sunny Wednesday morning in July, the Festival Nomad and I traveled to downtown Toronto to get “THE INSIDE SCOOP”! It was with great anticipation and excitement today as we were being offered Scoop from none other than one of the main leaders in the industry, The Honourable Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture! Much preparation went into this occasion. The Minister is fortunate to have a remarkable advisor helping him with coordination and details. I must say that Mr. Mukunthan Paramalingham, Director of Communications, Office of the Honourable Michael Chan is incredible at his job! Muku (as he prefers to be called), is completely thorough, responsible, knowledgeable and kind! I had pre-sent Minister Chan a list of INSIDE SCOOP questions to ponder prior to our meeting. I might be a little “thorough” myself. Some of my pre-questions had been answered through our ever changing society and its rapid media availability. Fortunately, I had time to adjust my questions, which, in the long run, turned out to be much more genuine and I hope will help give you the best INSIDE SCOOP!

A day in the life of Minister Chan usually begins at 6:15 a.m. and he doesn’t return home until 9:30-10:30 p.m. Many times, he tells us his dinner hour starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes on for a long, long time as he is often required to attend up to 4 or 5 dinners per night. He laughed when he told us one of his nicknames is “The Honourable Ministry of Food Tasting”.
(To Be Continued)