Home The Ambassador Canada's chief representatives to the U.S. Michael Kergin Ambassador Kergin's Speeches February 6, 2002

Canada and the United States: Facing a new world reality — together

Speech given by Michael Kergin, Ambassador of Canada to the United States, to the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce

Miami, Florida
6 February 2002

Thank you, Walter, for that kind introduction. And thanks to the greater Miami Chamber of Commerce for helping to make this event possible. I'm very pleased to be in Miami — the gateway to the Americas — and am glad to have the opportunity to address such a dynamic and important gathering.

I would like to speak to you today about the Canadian perspective on the post-September 11th world, and the outlook for Canada's relations with the United States, within this hemisphere and globally. We face a new world reality together — in the context of the war against terrorism.

Canada has taken important action to safeguard the Canadian and the American homeland; and our commitment to the global fight against terrorism includes a number of significant new developments.

This is an important story for a business community like this, because the security cooperation between our two countries underpins the tremendously successful economic partnership between Canada and the United States.

Without mutual confidence that each country can assure its respective space against criminal or terrorist threats, our economic partnership would be gravely undermined.

Let me begin by telling you how deeply the Canadian people were affected by the events of September 11th. The terrorist attacks were also attacks on Canada, our democracy, our way of life and our values.

Like the Kennedy assassination (for those of us who are old enough to have lived through that period) we will never forget where we were on the morning of September 11th.

I was in the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C., on Pennsylvania Avenue — down the street from the White House and a few hundred yards from the Capitol building.

I was meeting with the embassy's senior staff moments after the second plane hit — and from our vantage point above the national Mall we suddenly noticed the pitch black smoke rising from the direction of the Pentagon.

Minutes later, Prime Minister ChretiŽn telephoned — he was concerned about the situation at the embassy — I will never forget that at that moment the PM predicted to me that the world had just changed before our eyes and that there would be war.

The events of September 11th were far reaching, and the reverberations echoed across Canada before the sun went down. Over 200 passenger aircraft were diverted away from U.S. airspace, depositing over 33,000 passengers at airfields across Canada — from Whitehorse in the Yukon to St. John's, Newfoundland.

Some remarkable stories have emerged from the odysseys of these passengers — including the story of the small town of Gander, Newfoundland — population 9,000 — which more than doubled as 12,000 passengers landed at the local military airbase.

In need of comfort and shelter, the locals opened their doors and their hearts to these unexpected visitors — most of whom were American.

Imagine these hapless passengers — undergoing four days of enforced tourism in remote reaches of Canada and exposed to such local gastronomic delicacies as: cod tongue, caribou meat and seal flipper pie! (a real local winner — fiddleheads — was unfortunately not in season!)

But letters we have received at the embassy from the stranded passengers attest to the warmth and kindness of Canadians. A woman from Columbus, Ohio, has raised nearly $35,000 in pledges for a scholarship fund to benefit students in the fishing community of Lewisporte, Newfoundland. She is not alone. Many of the "tourists" have said they wish to return and visit longer with their erstwhile hosts.

Later in September, I travelled to New York City with Prime Minister ChrŽtien as he toured ground zero. We grieved with the families of Canadian victims, and saw with our own eyes the enormity of the crime perpetrated by the terrorists.

As in the United States, the impact on the Canadian psyche has been appreciable: a year-end poll by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Canadian news magazine Maclean's indicated that Canadians strongly support stringent measures to combat terrorism at home and abroad.

Poll results like this demonstrate what can clearly be felt in Canada — on the streets, in the workplace, in the schools, in the chambers of government — Canadians, like Americans, are concerned about the world we now live in, and are determined to do whatever is necessary to secure our citizens, our values, and our prosperity.

The Canadian government's response to the terrorist threat has been swift and comprehensive. Following September 11th Canada invested quickly in new technologies and additional personnel to boost security.

We froze terrorist assets and introduced legislation to impede terrorist fund-raising.

Landmark legislation has sharpened the teeth of Canada's law enforcement agencies with additional tools in the fight against terrorist organizations.

The most recent federal budget, approved before Christmas, contained US$ 5 billion over five years in expenditures directly associated with security and border related initiatives — a significant strategic investment on Canada's part in safeguarding North American space, in areas such as policing and intelligence, defence and national infrastructure.

Armed RCMP officers are now present on many Canadian flights — in particular those destined for the United States.

Taken together, these concrete measures constitute an important message from Canada to the American people: we share a continent with you, we share the responsibility for keeping terrorists out of both our countries and protecting all our citizens. Canada is — and will always be — a steadfast bulwark in America's homeland defence.

So how do Canada-U.S. bilateral relations fit into this new environment? For me — indeed for all Canadians — this is a crucial question. Like many countries in the world today, the United States is Canada's primary foreign policy concern. And it is easy to understand why.

As a Canadian columnist suggested recently: take a globe, cover the United States with your hand, and see where Canada is left. This may not be as evident in Miami as it is in Manitoba — but without the United States, Canada is pretty isolated — Australia-like — in the middle of nowhere. Siberia is to the west and Greenland to the east — a country without a region. Remove your hand and it is obvious: the United States is our region! And our market!

Talleyrand — the great French statesman — said that countries' foreign relations are a function of their geography. He certainly was right in our case. Geography puts the United States right at the centre of Canada's foreign and economic policy.

Talleyrand also said that great powers have no friends — only interests. But I take comfort in Talleyrand's observations because Canadian interests coincide very closely with those of the United States — and therein lies the immutable strength of our partnership:

It is in both our interests to succeed in the war against terrorism; it is in both our interests to cooperate in safeguarding the citizens of our countries; and it is in both our interests to ensure that these efforts do not detract from our economic partnership.

My assessment is that these terrible events have not changed in any way the fundamental commonalities binding our two countries. I would even argue that our awareness of the benefits accruing from these commonalities has been acutely sharpened.

For example, Canada and the United States continue to share the largest trading relationship in the world. But on September 12th we were dramatically awakened to the vulnerability of this trade by the massive delays and line-ups at ports of entry along the Canada-U.S. border.

As economic and commercial partners, the linkages which exist between our two countries are second to none. These are linkages which have been built and maintained by countless individuals on both sides of the border. Men and women who provide services, manufacture goods, develop energy resources, share information, grow agricultural products, and develop leading edge technologies.

All of these individuals account for the $1.5 billion worth of business which crosses the Canada United States border every single day — by far the world's largest and most comprehensive trade and economic partnership.

Twenty-five cents out of every export dollar earned by American men and women working in manufacturing industries comes from a Canadian. In fact, the United States sent more exports to Canada than to all of the European Union countries combined!

Although Canada-U.S. trade is not always trouble-free, as we are currently experiencing in the softwood lumber dispute. But while we may have our policy differences, we agree that it makes no sense to slow down artificially the movement of approved goods between our two countries to the detriment of our economies.

Canada and the United States have also forged an effective and longstanding defence and security partnership. Canada is a significant contributor to the U.S.-led military coalition — General Franks can tell you that, although you may not know it from watching CNN; Prime Minister ChrŽtien made that pledge from the very outset of this operation. One-fifth of Canada's naval fleet has been working with the U.S. Navy in the Arabian Sea.

A full battalion of Canadian land forces have been deployed at the battalion level alongside the 101st Airborne in Kandahar at the "sharp end" of operations. Now there's North American solidarity for you!

This is another important message from Canadians to Americans: Canada is — and will always be — a stalwart ally in the global pursuit and protection of our shared values.

And September 11th, if nothing else, consolidated agreement between Canada and the United States — and many other countries, I might add — on such basic foreign policy principles as the rule of law, democracy, and the merits of working towards free trade.

While these hallmarks of amity and successful cooperation are unshaken — and in many ways strengthened — by recent events, the context in which our bilateral relationship exists has changed:

We are both facing a long-term struggle to maintain our open societies against the threat of terrorism; and we are both endeavouring to ensure that the vigorous commitment to security does not detract from the advantageous economic partnership enjoyed by Canadians and Americans.

Before September 11th, many of us laboured hard to reduce the cross-border cost of doing business. Barriers to trade have fallen while new ground has been broken in areas such as services, intellectual property protection and dispute settlement.

This success contributed significantly to the booming trade between Canada and the United States — which has doubled since the signing of our bilateral free trade agreement in 1989 — and risen by 74 % since the 1994 NAFTA agreement. This growth fed the unprecedented economic prosperity enjoyed by North Americans over this past decade.

Together we must ensure that these benefits continue to flow. September 11th threatens to claw back some of that prosperity, and in particular jeopardizes many of the ideas for a smarter, more efficient border that is so very important to those with cross-border interests.

As Canada's ambassador in Washington, I find myself at the centre of this process. I consider it my responsibility to ensure that interrogation points at the border don't post dollar signs in the boardroom.

For example, the value of goods crossing one single bridge — the Ambassador Bridge which links Detroit to Ontario — is greater than all U.S. exports to Japan, your second largest trading partner.

And that is why it is so important to ensure that cross-border traffic at these bridges, at the border, continues to flow smoothly.

Floridians are acutely aware of the economic risks associated with September 11th — your vibrant travel and tourism sectors have been seriously affected by diminished travel within the United States and internationally.

And it is very much in your interest that the mutually beneficial economic relationship between Florida and Canada is not disrupted. Two million Canadian tourists — by far the largest number of visitors to Florida from outside the United States — spent over $1.5 billion here in 2000.

Thirty-eight states of the union count Canada as their top export destination, but most Americans more distant from the border — including Floridians — are unaware of how a border with Canada for the 21st century, which optimizes the access of goods, services and people while safeguarding the peace, can bring great benefits to their everyday lives

I'm pleased to be able to report that we are on the right track to a 21st century border. In December, the Director of U.S. Homeland Security, Governor Tom Ridge, had an historic meeting with Deputy Prime Minister John Manley. Together they launched a process that seeks to revolutionize border management.

As a result, Canada and the United States will jointly attack threats to North American security; and we will do so while expediting the legitimate flow of people and goods across the Canada-U.S. border.

Both governments are committed to a smart border: that means, "more user-friendly to friendly users."

Measures to secure the efficient flow of goods, include:

1. The establishment of complementary systems for commercial processing, including audit-based programs; and
2. The development of an integrated approach for processing truck, rail and marine cargo away from the border.

Measures to secure the efficient movement of people across the border include:

1. The development of a secure border card for pre-cleared, frequent and reliable users; and
2. The joint development and sharing of an automated immigration data base.

In the end, the Canada-U.S. border has evolved beyond bricks, mortar and pavement — it is indeed more a statement of values than a quantitative unit. And so we must ensure that our approach and attitudes reflect this 21st century reality.

As you know, the fight against terrorism is being waged on many fronts. Globally we are facing an astute and capable enemy with pervasive networks. President Bush, Prime Minister ChrŽtien and many others have often said that this is a battle like no other.

The Canadian government takes its responsibility to lead: on the political front, on the military front, and on the economic front. As your neighbour — as a country with strong ties to the Americas — and globally.

A great opportunity for leadership comes with Canada's chairmanship of the G-8 this year. Prime Minister ChrŽtien has established clear priorities for the summit, to be held at Kananaskis, Alberta. The themes will be strengthening economic growth, building a new partnership for Africa's development, and fighting terrorism.

Canada, like the United States, was a leading proponent of a new round of multilateral trade negotiations. We therefore share in the success achieved at the world trade organization ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar — and we will push for further success in the months and years to come.

And just as you do in Florida — especially here in Miami — Canada continues to focus on the southern hemisphere. The free trade arrangement for the Americas remains a high priority for Canada — the action plan endorsed by leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City last year provides a roadmap for further hemispheric integration.

The Quebec Summit of the Americas culminated the geopolitical migration of Canada towards the Americas that had been underway since our joining the OAS in 1990.

The Economist magazine recognized this shift: in 1997 it added an "Americas" category to its table of contents, and placed Canada inside. Three years ago, the State Department also recognized this phenomenon: moving Canada from the European bureau into its Inter-American bureau. The National Security Council has just done the same thing.

As a member of the OAS, Canada has championed the protection of human rights and democracy; judicial and police reform; anti-corruption initiatives; and the fight against illicit drugs. Canada also took the lead with the OAS to promote democracy in Peru and Haiti during difficult times.

Canada is strategically placed — from a geo-political perspective — to pursue our foreign policy objectives in the new context of the war against terrorism.

We are at the crossroads between Europe, Asia and the Americas. We have a well educated, multi lingual and multi-ethnic population.

We are open to five continents. And we participate in many of the world's best international clubs such as the Commonwealth, la francophonie, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, NATO, and the United Nations.

In conclusion, I have shared with you some observations and assessments of the state and direction of Canada-U.S. relations in the wake of the September 11th tragedies. I have described Canada as a steadfast bulwark in defending the North American homeland; and as a stalwart ally in the global war against terrorism. Our interests are shared; our objectives are the same; and the future of our great partnership is more promising than ever.

Thank you. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.