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Canada participated in the Fourth Summit of the Americas on November 4 and 5, 2005 in Mar del Plata, located about 400 km south of the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. Prime Minister Paul Martin, Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and a Canadian delegation of Parliamentarians and government representatives attended the meeting. They joined the 33 other democratically elected heads of state and government leaders from the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean in this coastal city of 600,000 by the Atlantic Ocean. Canada fully supported this year's Summit theme - “Creating Jobs to Combat Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance”. The Government promoted the Canadian position that democratic governance underpins economic growth, that the Summit process should be inclusive and consultative, and that partnerships help fight poverty and create growth. The Government is fully committed to the Summit as an excellent forum to reinforce our shared commitment to democracy, build regional consensus on key issues and promote Canadian hemispheric objectives. These objectives include the promotion of human rights and human security as well as economic integration and hemispheric growth through a Free Trade Agreement. Canada continues to play a leading role in the Summit of the Americas process after four years as Chair and host of a successful Third Summit in Quebec City in 2001. Canada handed over the Chairmanship of the Summit of the Americas to Argentina in 2003 and worked closely with the new host and other hemispheric partners on the preparations for this year's Summit. FAC’s Summit of the Americas main page
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