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OTTAWA HOSTS MEETING ON YEAR 2000 STATE OF READINESS IN NORTH AMERICA

September 30, 1999

OTTAWA HOSTS MEETING ON YEAR 2000 STATE OF READINESS IN NORTH AMERICA

OTTAWA - Senior government Year 2000 officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico will meet in Ottawa on October 4 and 5 to discuss the state of Year 2000 readiness in North America.

"I am pleased to welcome our colleagues from the United States and Mexico. Their participation in this and previous meetings demonstrates that they share the Government of Canada's commitment to openness and co-operation on this important issue," said the Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board of Canada and Member of Parliament for Westmount-Ville-Marie. Minister Robillard will make a keynote address at a luncheon following the meeting on October 5.

The two-day working session will consist of bilateral and trilateral meetings of senior North American Year 2000 representatives. Discussion will focus on remaining Year 2000 challenges including outstanding issues for cross-border co-operation and management of the Year 2000 transition period.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy recently discussed the state of preparations for the Year 2000 with his American and Mexican colleagues at a trilateral meeting in New York on September 21.

"Because of the linkages between our economies and our citizens, Canada has placed a high priority on working with the U.S. and Mexico on Year 2000 concerns," said Minister Axworthy. "The co-operation among our three governments on Year 2000 issues is an indication of the special relationship that has developed with our NAFTA partners."

The Canadian delegation for the upcoming meeting will be lead by the Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada, V. Peter Harder. The Treasury Board Secretariat is the department responsible for the overall co-ordination of the Government of Canada's efforts to prepare for the Year 2000. The U.S. and Mexican delegations will be led by John Koskinen, Chair of the U.S. President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, and Antonio Puig, President of the Year 2000 National Conversion Commission of Mexico.

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Media are invited to attend Minister Robillard's keynote address on October 5 at 12:00 p.m. in the 9th Floor Dining Room of the Lester B. Pearson Building, 125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa. There will also be a media availability with representatives of the Canadian, American and Mexican delegations at 2 p.m. in the Main Lobby of the Lester B. Pearson Building. Mr. Harder, Mr. Koskinen and Mr. Puig will be on hand to answer media questions.

For more information, contact:

Roxane Poulin

Media Relations

Year 2000 Project Office

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

(613) 952-3360

Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874