I want to thank all of you for coming today and for sharing your frontline experience. In particular, I want to thank those of you who are leading workshops or making presentations.

Your experience is invaluable and your willingness to share some of the "tricks of the trade" is powerful testimony to your belief in international business, not only as a vital contributor to our national prosperity, but as a key element of growing individual companies and expanding opportunities right here at home.

As you know, this is the second National Symposium on Exporting. Last year more than 70 associations participated in the event. You told us then that you found the Symposium valuable in offering new ideas and perspectives on export marketing. This year, your strong response indicates your continuing interest and commitment to exporting across all sectors of the economy.

I am delighted that the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has provided this opportunity for you to get together and share best practices, trade information and exchange ideas. We want to do all that we can to facilitate the entry of your members into international markets. You are our partners. When government and business combine forces we can do remarkable things. I know. I have seen it during my visits with our trade officers abroad.

Today, I would like to touch very briefly on three areas where we need to do better if we are to fully capitalize on the opportunities that await us. These areas are: confidence, coherence, and co-operation.

Now, I know that many of you represent large associations whose members may already be active exporters. Others are new to the exporting game -- your members may just be beginning to test foreign waters.

Whatever your level of experience, your members can approach the international arena with confidence. Every day, in every part of the world, Canadian companies are winning contracts, breaking into new markets, and attracting new investment. For instance, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association reports that in a matchmaking activity at K'98, a trade show in Dusseldorf, Germany, 4 out of 14 companies surveyed estimated on-site sales totaling $575 000, while 6 Canadian companies estimated sales of $48.5 million over the next twelve months. As a result of a trade mission to South America last year led by the Geomatics Industry Association of Canada, a network of 14 Canadian firms is now pursuing two World Bank-financed projects with the Argentine government for early flood warning systems. These are but a few examples of the successes that Canadian companies are achieving.

Indeed, Canadian companies have become such a powerful force in international trade that exports now account for 43 percent of our GDP. It is even higher if we include service exports. That's a higher percentage than the United States or Japan, two other major trading powers.

Today in Canada, one out of every three jobs depends on our ability to sell our goods and services abroad. One in three! And we should be proud that we maintain a 20 percent import market share in the world's biggest, richest and most competitive market, right next door! So it is clear that Canadians can compete with the best anywhere in the world -- and win.

But for all of our success -- and it is impressive -- we are still only scratching the surface of what could be.

One of your workshops this morning dealt with partnerships -- a tremendous way to build confidence. By joining forces with other Canadian associations or your counterparts in other countries, you can add value, divide the risk and multiply the benefits. A true win-win relationship!

Associations can play a critical role in instilling confidence and in encouraging their members to find new markets and new opportunities. You can be the catalysts for tremendous economic activity and the conduit for exciting new opportunities. I urge you to seize the possibilities and position yourself at the cutting edge of trade.

Of course, many industry associations are already stepping in to mount sectorally based promotional activities in Canada and abroad. These are particularly important for small and medium-sized businesses that cannot afford to undertake them on their own and I commend you for these initiatives.

These are the kinds of activities that generate leads, create opportunities, produce results and cultivate confidence.

Our message to all of your member companies is simple: based on the success which their fellow Canadians are enjoying around the world, we have every reason to have confidence in our companies, in our competence and in our competitiveness.

The second area we need to address is coherence. By that, I mean all of the various players working together and pulling in the same direction: government, your associations and your members. We each have a role to play, and we need to work as a team if we are to succeed. This requires enhanced communications and co-ordination in both directions.

For our part, we will continue to open doors and provide access to the markets of the world, because it is a simple fact of business that you can't sell if you can't get in.

We will also work to ensure that the access you have is secure, that the rules are fair and the playing field level.

But having prepared the way, it is up to you and your members to step forward and take advantage of the opportunities before you. Along with our trade officers, you are a key part of the bridge between the openings our trade policy creates and the success of your companies.

It is this integrated approach that is necessary, and it is this approach that will win business.

You also have an important role to play in terms of communicating the benefits of trade to Canadians.

It is one thing to hear about all of the wonderful things trade brings to the Canadian economy from a Minister of Trade. It is quite another to hear it from a fellow member of the local business community who can point to the new people they have hired or the new investment they have attracted.

These personal experiences are always much more powerful -- and persuasive -- than any political speeches! So we need your voices and I hope you will help us tell your neighbours the good news story of trade.

So we need to have confidence, we need to pool our efforts in a coherent way and third, we need to promote co-operation. Co-operation is what this Symposium is all about. It is the key to successful exporting.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade wants to be a partner in your success. Not just on the big-picture, policy front, but on the nitty-gritty, detailed work of facilitating and contributing to the efforts of your members in foreign markets.

As you know, as part of this Symposium, we have set up an Info-Fair in the Main Lounge, which gives you an idea of the kinds of services our government partners provide to companies wanting to begin or expand and diversify their international business plans. I encourage you to visit these booths, talk to the experts staffing them, and avail yourself of their services.

In particular, you will find information about the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service [TCS]. We have more than 500 business professionals in 133 cities around the world. They know the local markets. They know the people. They know the culture. They know the opportunities. They are a tremendous resource and they're there to serve you.

Use them. They will help you help your members.

Of course, co-operation not only involves you knowing about us and our services, it also means helping us to know you better -- to understand your needs and build on your successes. It means providing feedback on where we could do better -- and I certainly welcome any recommendations for improvement that may come out of this Symposium.

On that count, last year's Symposium identified one area where you felt we needed improvement, namely better training programs for our officers abroad to enhance their knowledge of your industries. I am pleased to tell you that over the past six months almost 150 of our officers abroad participated in workshops and training programs in the information technology, biotechnology, building products, mining and environment sectors.

And because most of these were held in conjunction with such major trade shows as Softworld, Construct Canada, Mining Millennium and Globe, our officers also had the opportunity to meet with hundreds of leading companies in these industries. We will keep on using opportunities such as these to continually upgrade the skills and knowledge of our people. Indeed, we already have further programs planned in the oil and gas and aerospace sectors.

I understand that many of you played an important role in some of these activities. But I would like to challenge you all to take this one step further and keep us informed of events in your respective sectors where our staff abroad could benefit from participation. If there is an opportunity for us to share information on foreign opportunities and to learn more about your products and services, we will give this the consideration it deserves.

A major part of the new way we do business is to assess and evaluate how we are doing by instituting an active program of annual client surveys and focus groups. In fact, we completed our first survey last October and the results were very encouraging. First of all, we had an astounding 90 percent response rate, including 22 industry associations. Eighty-one percent said they were somewhat or completely satisfied with service received. And, even more encouraging from my point of view, 95 percent described the service as "tax dollars well spent."

We also inquired about the effect we had on clients' results. Based on a sample of clients who were prepared to divulge the value of their business successes abroad resulting from assistance by the Trade Commissioner Service, 400 firms reported a positive contribution of more than $4.6 billion in financial results. The Trade Commissioner Service was also deemed indispensable in transactions worth $364 million.

These surveys will now be a regular feature of our new, more business-like approach to our services abroad. If you are contacted, I encourage you to participate in them and give us your feedback.

Co-operation has a wide variety of forms. Overseas, many associations work closely with the Trade Commissioner Service network to promote their industry, with impressive results. For example, CAMESE [Canadian Mining Equipment and Services], in co-operation with our TCS officers, has participated in more than 47 trade shows and generated over 3000 business leads for Canadian companies supplying the mining sector.

In another instance, the Hotel Association of Canada, working closely with our trade officers, helped Canadian hotel suppliers to export more than $18 million in products to refurbish the Regency Hotel in Amman, Jordan.

Both these associations worked closely with our trade officers to help bring about successes. Do work with our Trade Commissioner Service to achieve similar successes. I urge you to incorporate into your export strategies direct links to the people who know export markets and can help you achieve your goals. There is a network to help you. Use this tremendous resource to your full advantage.

For our part, and as a direct result of last year's Symposium, we have now established a section of our InfoExport Web site dedicated to our trade association partners. This allows our trade officers, and many others, to connect directly with you and your members. So far, 21 associations have established themselves on this facility. If you are not yet listed on this, I urge you to speak with one of our officials to ensure you are included in this virtual networking tool.

The fact is that co-operation between business associations and government works -- and we need to encourage more of it in the days ahead. Our key competitors worldwide are also working closely with their own industry associations.

As I close, let me just make a quick comment on the future of international trade in light of the disappointments experienced in Seattle. As you know, the World Trade Organization [WTO] failed to launch a new round of negotiations when we met a few months ago in Seattle.

But let me say to you with all the certainty I can command: the impetus for a fair, rules-based system of trade is as strong today as it has ever been. And Canada's commitment to that process is unshaken.

We will continue to pursue wider, freer and fairer trade so that markets and opportunities will be open to you. And we are committed to listening to our client base to help achieve positive results together.

As natural allies, we can achieve great things for you, for your members and for Canada.

You are truly our partners in increasing the confidence of Canadian exporters.

You are part of the Canadian team that will ensure our success with coherence.

And, by working together in co-operation we will succeed on the world stage.

Thank you.

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Last Updated: 2006-10-30	Top of Page	Important Notices