Let me begin by adding my own welcome to all of you. We are delighted that the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) is holding its first major event here in Ottawa, and we hope that you will avail yourself of this opportunity to see more of our capital city.

So welcome to all of you!

Canada has great hopes for the Commonwealth Business Council. Building on the excellent work of the Commonwealth Business Forum held in London last year, we have every confidence that this Council will make an important contribution, not only to the Heads of Government Meeting, but also to encouraging greater private sector involvement in the promotion of trade and investment throughout the Commonwealth.

On this note, I was delighted to take part in the very successful Canada - South Africa Business Summit in Toronto last week during President Mandela's historic visit.

Our commitment to encourage greater trade ties between our two countries is strong, as demonstrated by Secretary of State David Kilgour's trade mission to southern Africa earlier this year, as well as the planned mission in November, which will focus on the power sector.

This morning, I was asked to share with you what Canada's approach has been to globalization: the adjustments we've faced, the policies we've pursued, the choices we've made. And I hope that in hearing about our experience with freer trade, you will find some things to adapt to your own situations.

Our approach has focussed on three fronts: the domestic economy, trade promotion and trade policy through multilateral forums.

First, our domestic economy. We began from the premise that getting our own economic house in order was a priority if we were to fully participate in -- and benefit from -- globalization. And so we embarked on a concerted effort to reduce our budgetary deficit and to rein in government spending.

It has not been easy. Tough choices had to be made, and we have had to say no to things that we wanted to do, so that we could say yes to the things we really needed to do.

But today, Canada has a balanced budget, government spending is under control, inflation is low, the GDP is strong and employment is growing. Productivity is on the rise, and our competitive position in the world is stronger than ever.

Now the debate in Canada is not about how to avoid hitting the debt wall but how fast to pay down the debt, how far to lower taxes and how best to spend the surplus we've created.

The nature of our economy has also evolved with the government's steadfast commitment to change. Today, Canada is no longer simply a resource-based economy. In fact, the percentage of our exports accounted for by commodities has declined from 60 percent in 1980 to about 35 percent today.

So ours is very much a new, high technology-based economy.

Secondly, while we were getting our own economic fundamentals right and shifting to a knowledge-based economy, we were also aggressively pursuing trade liberalization around the world. We knew that with a relatively small domestic market, we simply had to look beyond our frontiers in order to create the kind of economic vitality that Canadians expected.

Today, 40 percent of Canada's GDP is generated by trade, and one out of every three jobs in this country is related to our commerce abroad.

We also believe that free trade should not mean a free-for-all, and that rules are necessary to provide fairness and certainty. And access is crucial. That's why we negotiated a free trade agreement with the United States, the world's richest market. That's why we expanded that agreement to include Mexico under the NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement].

That's why we also signed free trade agreements with Israel and Chile. And that's why we are leading the way to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas [FTAA] by 2005, together with the 14 member countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean [CARICOM].

And, of course, our strong ties to the world of Asia Pacific -- both through formal trade arrangements such as the APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum] and through the cultural influence of Canadians of Asian descent -- position Canada as part of the dynamic Pacific Rim.

Let me just say that the current problems in Asia, while worrisome, have not changed our strong commitment to that region.

We very much take the long view, and we will not ignore the fact that by the year 2000, Asia Pacific will account for 60 percent of the world's population; 45 percent of the world's GDP and 40 percent of global consumption.

When I mention that Canada is a natural bridge to the North American, Latin American and Asian markets, it should be equally noted that we are also a nation with historic roots and strong ties in Europe.

Building on those ties, we are developing a joint action plan with Europe and have signed Trade and Economic Co-operation Arrangements with Norway and Switzerland -- arrangements that we hope to use as a basis for negotiating a free trade agreement in the coming months between ourselves and the nations of the European Free Trade Arrangement [EFTA].

We have also suggested that Europe combine its present three-pronged strategy, which involves separate negotiations with Canada, Mexico and the United States, into a single set of negotiations involving free trade between Europe and all three NAFTA countries. It makes more sense to us to have one superhighway across the Atlantic than three separate roads.

All of these efforts have made Canada a natural gateway for trade and investment.

And they have created access for our companies to exciting markets. But we know that access is only half the story -- businesses need to be made aware of the opportunities and provided with intelligence about these new markets.

That's why we have trade commissioners in posts around the globe, seeking out opportunities for Canadian companies and acting as matchmakers with local firms. We have also established International Trade Centres in our major cities across Canada, which provide one-stop shopping for information about government programs and the resources available to companies that want to sell their products or services abroad.

We have made it a top priority to encourage our small and medium-sized companies -- particularly those led by women and

Aboriginals -- to look abroad for new opportunities. Within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, a special branch has been established, focussing exclusively on small businesses to help them begin exporting.

One of our most successful initiatives has been our "Team Canada" trade missions. On these missions, our Prime Minister, provincial premiers and territorial leaders travel with business leaders to various parts of the globe in pursuit of new business opportunities. While our travels to date have taken us to Asia and Latin America, I hope one day soon that the Team Canada mission will touch down on the African continent.

These Team Canada missions have shown how productive we can be when our private and public sectors work together, with politicians opening the doors and business people closing the deals.

So far, we have had four such trade missions, involving more than 1000 companies and producing contracts worth over $22 billion. The great success of these trade missions has underlined in a powerful way that Canada works best when Canada works together.

Our companies realize that they can compete with anyone in the world, and are determined to reach even larger markets.

In short, success has bred confidence, which in turn has bred more success, which in turn has generated tremendous momentum. Canada is truly coming of age.

Third, and finally, while Canada has sought to develop our own trade and investment, we have also recognized our responsibility to work with other countries, particularly developing economies, to build their capacity to participate in the multilateral trading system.

I am proud of the concrete steps that Canada has taken to encourage trade with developing nations. As long ago as 1974, Canada introduced our Generalized Preferential Treatment for these nations and, in 1983, extended duty-free entry to the least-developed countries.

In 1986, we formalized a preferential trade arrangement with the CARICOM, which gives its member states duty-free access to the Canadian market.

We have also worked to enhance the capacity of developing countries to take advantage of new commercial opportunities through trade-related technical assistance -- both bilaterally and through multilateral forums like the World Trade Organization.

The Commonwealth too, has taken a number of concrete measures to ensure that smaller and less developed countries participate more fully in the benefits international trade has to offer.

Recently, for example, it has created the Trade and Investment Access Facility, which will assist developing countries to adjust to and take advantage of, the opportunities globalization offers.

The Commonwealth has also led the way in north-to-south sharing of technology, providing developing nations with the expertise and equipment most appropriate to their situations and most useful to their populations.

And it has implemented the Commonwealth Private Investment Initiative, which mobilizes capital for private-sector enterprises in developing countries.

In these, and a host of other ways, the Commonwealth is working hard to ensure that its smallest members have the opportunity to realize their fullest potential.

But our pride in our past does not make us content with the present -- not when there is so much opportunity in the future. We know that much more can and must be done.

This, then, has been our approach to globalization: concentrate on getting our own economic fundamentals right, break down the borders and barriers to trade, work for a rules-based, multilateral trading system while assisting other countries, especially developing countries, to participate more fully in the opportunities of this new era.

In that effort, government involvement will be important. But engaging the private sector will be essential.

That is why this meeting of the Commonwealth Business Council is so important. It paves the way for a stronger partnership between business and government. And it recognizes the simple truth that the best way to expand trade and create jobs is to involve those who actually do the trading and create the jobs.

This Council is the right vehicle, with the right approach, at the right time.

Of course, we do not seek freer trade as an end in itself. We seek it as a means to other, greater goals.

This is something that the members of the Commonwealth have always understood: trade is important because of the benefits it can bring to the lives of our people, and trade means markets for our products, rewards for our labour and hope for our future.

Indeed, if we are not guided in our pursuit of markets by an equal concern for the citizens within those markets, then I believe we are destined to fail. Moreover, we deserve to fail.

We also understand the obligation on the part of national governments to ensure that their citizens are given the capacity to manage these forces of change, rather than simply allowing these forces to manage them.

So, as we move forward, we do so with both optimism and realism. We are under no illusions about the nature of the task before us, but we are also aware of the historic opportunities that await

us -- and of the responsibilities that must guide us.

I believe that this meeting of the Commonwealth Business Council will play a vital role in helping to build a better future -- a future where the free movement of goods and people and ideas expands our frontiers and our fortunes.

So let us embrace the new realities that globalization brings, and let those of us in the Commonwealth continue to work together as friends, plan together as allies and trade together as partners.

I thank you for your presence here today and for the contribution I'm confident you will make to the future that we seek.

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