Become lost in the Gobi Desert, and
you will see what sort of people Mongolians are, says Dave Tsubouchi, a former
provincial cabinet minister who this week was made Mongolia”s first consul
general for Ontario.

A former Markham MPP who grew up in
the Agincourt area of Scarborough, Tsubouchi has visited the landlocked Asian
nation several times, including the remote Gobi where, he said, there are no
signs and personal electronics don”t work.

Lost, the ex-politician was welcomed
by a camel herder to his yurt and offered tea mixed with milk, goat fat and
salt.

Mongolians, descendents of the
conquering Genghis Khan, are very hospitable and have much in common with
Canadians, Tsubouchi said during a Scarborough ceremony formalizing his
three-year appointment as honourary consul general.

“The job is very important, not
only for him but for us, for all Mongolians in Ontario,” said Tundevdorj
Zaala-Uul, Mongolia”s ambassador to Canada, who said the role required
Tsubouchi to attract investment to Mongolia, promote cultural exchanges between
the two countries and to help Mongolian nationals learn about Canadian laws,
customs and traditions.

Canada opened an embassy in
Mongolia”s capital, Ulan Bator, in 2008 but Canadians are already the
second-biggest investors in Mongolia.

Rich in coal, gold, silver, uranium
and rare earth – valuable minerals used in new technologies – the once-isolated
country has “gone from little wealth to sudden wealth” and many
Mongolians are leaving the old ways of the desert behind to live in cities.

Tsubouchi said he wants to help make
certain Mongolians participate at the management level as more of its resources
are developed.

He is trying to raise money for a
university library in Ulan Bator and said Canadians can make lives better in
Mongolia by bringing the country their expertise in infrastructure, healthcare
and education.

Zaala-Uul and Tsubouchi made the
appointment official Wednesday, July 11, by signing a memorandum of
understanding between the two governments before both men stood to hear the
recorded national anthems of Canada and Mongolia.

The ceremony took place in the same
Scarborough office off McCowan Road south of Steeles Avenue that will be
Tsubouchi”s headquarters as consul general. It also houses a travel agency and
Danny Leung Enterprises, a company run by Tsubouchi”s business partner.

“I believe Mister Tsubouchi is
going to help us,” said Oynkhishig Yura, director of the Mongolian
Community of Ontario. “We have a big opportunity to introduce our
community and our country.”

The first Mongolian families arrived
in Ontario a decade ago. The community, “growing year by year,” now
numbers 280 including children, she said.

Scarborough-Rouge River MPP Bas
Balkissoon and Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti told the ambassador Mongolia could
not have chosen a better man for the job than Tsubouchi, who grew up in
Scarborough and later served as a town councillor and MPP in Markham.

By making the former Conservative
cabinet minister a diplomat, “you have stopped David Tsubouchi from being
involved politically at all,” Scarpitti told the people at the ceremony,
who laughed.