I would like to begin by congratulating the Committee for its excellent report "Canada and the Future of the World Trade Organization." More generally, I want to thank all of you for the time you have spent listening to Canadians.

Because trade negotiations directly touch the lives of Canadians, it is more important than ever that we consult them - an understanding clearly demonstrated by your Committee.

Your report was received with enthusiasm and I am delighted to say that the government agrees, on the whole, with the Committee's recommendations and as such, it was my pleasure to table our response in the House of Commons.

I also want to thank the Committee members who filed minority reports and assure you that your concerns have also been carefully considered.

In my remarks today, I would like to focus on two principles which I believe must inform our policies and direct our actions. Those principles are confidence and coherence.

Let me explain what I mean by these.

Confidence

As this Committee well knows, Canada is a trading country and trade is vital to our continued prosperity. International trade accounts for one in every three jobs in Canada. Indeed, the vast majority of the more than 1.9 million jobs created since this government was elected in 1993 have come from the growth in exports.

Only five years ago, international trade accounted for 30 percent of our GDP. That figure is now 43 percent -- higher than any other G8 nation. We have seen similar growth in foreign direct investment in our country -- up 54 percent since 1993.

There can be no doubt that Canada's exposure to international competition has energized our economy, spurred innovation and created hundreds of thousands of jobs for Canadians.

It has demonstrated that we can compete -- and win -- in international markets. I am convinced that a large part of our success is due to the fact that we have developed our international position in close consultations with the provinces. Just recently for example -- on October 7 -- I had a very productive meeting with my provincial counterparts, and I'm delighted that six of them will be accompanying me to Seattle. We will be working closely together.

And so we approach this next round of WTO negotiations with confidence -- the confidence of a country which is outward-looking and which sees the whole world as its marketplace.

As you know, we did not achieve this degree of economic integration with the world in a vacuum; we did it within the security of a rules-based system. We must not abandon that process now! On the contrary, we must improve it and adapt its rules to reflect new developments in trade such as e-commerce. Participation in world markets is Canada's path to prosperity and we must follow it.

Concerns

Of course, this view is not unanimous and this Committee has heard concerns that the new negotiations represent a threat to cherished social programs, to labour standards, to the environment or to human rights.

While I do not share those concerns, I do understand them. Let me be absolutely clear, Madam Chair: Canada's health and education systems are not on the table. For us, these are simply not negotiable. As you will see in our response to your report, this government is committed to making progress on the social dimensions of trade, to ensuring that Canadian values and social programs are protected and that the benefits of trade are distributed widely throughout society.

Globalization

Globalization must have a human face. It cannot be seen as something that is happening to people -- we must make it something that is happening for people. It must be seen as something which is worthy of their support because it is relevant to their lives and resonant with their values.

In other words, Madam Chair, there must be a clear connection in people's minds between what we do at the WTO and what they can do in their own neighbourhoods and in their own lives.

Let me also say, Madam Chair, that I think it would be a mistake to put trade and further trade liberalization on hold while we "solve" these other issues. This would be missing the point completely. Human rights abuses, for example, are not caused by trade.

In fact, history shows that as countries have opened their borders to liberalized trade, democratic values have been as much a part of the flow of trade as have any goods and services. It is no coincidence that we have seen democracy gain a foothold in so many new places over the last 45 years. Trade is not the problem -- it is part of the solution.

To delay trade liberalization while we address these other issues would be to deprive ourselves of one of the most potent means of resolving them.

Coherence

The better approach is to increase co-ordination among the various international organizations and institutions, such as UNCTAD [United Nations Conference on Trade and Development], the ILO [International Labour Organization], the IMF and the World Bank.

At the moment, we see many different groups that have concerns about globalization, bringing those concerns to the trade arena. Whether it is labour standards, environmental issues or human rights, those involved have focussed their attention on the trade process in general and on the WTO in particular.

What is required is for all of the international organizations I mentioned, to work more effectively so that these issues can be addressed in the appropriate forum and in a coherent manner. We can't have, for example, the International Monetary Fund telling countries to increase tariffs at the same time as we've got the WTO calling for lower tariffs around the world.

This call for increased coherence is something I will be bringing to the WTO discussions in Seattle and I believe it is essential if we are to overcome some of the resistance that we're starting to see in some quarters.

As I close, Madam Chair, let me restate this government's support for the WTO. Canada has benefited greatly from the open, rules-based trading system that has been developed over the past 50 years and we know that our future prosperity depends on our continued ability to trade with the world.

I believe Canadians want us to continue to pursue those goals. I believe they want us to pursue globalization with a human face, remembering that people, not profits, should be the focus of our efforts, but also remembering that profits are the key to sustaining our social welfare system and to generating increased employment.

I can assure this Committee that those are goals which this government shares and will work hard to see realized.

Now I would be happy to try and answer your questions.

Thank you.

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