SPEECHES

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY

THE HONOURABLE JOHN MANLEY,

MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

TO THE U.S. FOREIGN POLICY ASSOCIATION

NEW YORK, New York

November 5, 2001

I am pleased to be welcomed by the prestigious U.S. Foreign Policy Association today -- actually, I'm pleased just to be walking after yesterday's marathon!

It is an incredible time to be in this city. The World Series was just here -- again. Maybe we shouldn't talk too much about that... but I can say that while the team may not have won, this city sure did. And yesterday, some 30 000 people from over 100 countries (including nearly 500 Canadians) ran 26.2 miles through the five boroughs of New York in the New York City Marathon. It was hard, it was gruelling -- but it was exhilarating, and it was an affirmation.

On a normal day, in a normal city -- that would be enough. But this is New York, and these are not normal times. Moving through these streets, you can't help but sense the resilience, the resolve, and the deep reserves of courage of New Yorkers. And this city is only just getting started.

If we want to get in the face of terrorists -- to reject terror, to repel the invasion of fear, which is their most potent asset -- this is how we do it. By living. We will win by taking the battle back to the terrorists, but also by doing those things, both large and small, that we cherish in our lives, and that make our societies free, strong and prosperous.

Easy words, but not a simple prescription. Two months ago we were worried about the next big e-mail virus. That people would now be afraid to open -- even carry -- just everyday paper letters was unthinkable.

Make no mistake: this is the hard part. Moving forward from the devastating events of September 11 takes courage. The courage of individuals to bear what seems unbearable, and not to let themselves be cheated of their freedom or sense of well-being, or of their aspirations and potential. It also requires the courage of governments, of leadership, to make the right decisions that will allow them to do all of that. The choices we now make are weighty, and they are as much about the nations -- the kind of world -- that we are all still trying to build as they are about what the terrorists tried to tear down.

I want to speak with you today about that world and about our common agenda, and how we are facing it.

The first thing I want to tell you is how deeply Canada and Canadians were affected by September 11. From the moment we watched the attacks, astounded and horrified; to later that day when we received 226 diverted aircraft and their 33 000 passengers (most from the United States) needing refuge and comfort; to the 100 000 Canadians who came to Parliament Hill in Ottawa for a memorial service on September 14; to the time when we ourselves could count, and name, and mourn our own dead -- 25 Canadians in this city -- this tragedy has been a part of our lives as well. And it has made us all consider the values that shape who we are, and who we want to be -- what that means to us, and what we must do to safeguard it.

Canadians, like Americans, are concerned about security, and about what kind of a country and what kind of a world we are to live in post-September 11. We in North America are privileged to share the world's most free and open society -- living and working together in a close community in which we have built a common prosperity and achieved an enviable quality of life for our citizens. Perhaps "privileged" is not the right term, because this is something that our two countries have earned over a long time, through hard work and a considerable degree of political will.

The interlinked goals of protecting our citizens, providing assurance to our allies and preserving the character of our society have guided the actions and decisions of Canada's Prime Minister and the Canadian government through this crisis.

Canada's response has been swift, and it has been comprehensive. Prime Minister Chrétien asked me to chair a new Cabinet Committee on Public Security and Anti-Terrorism, which has produced a wide series of measures, including investing some C$280 million in new technologies and additional personnel to bolster our security framework. We were among the first to implement new financial regulations to freeze terrorist assets and impede terrorist fundraising, in accordance with landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1373. Canada already has one of the safest aviation systems in the world; we have now strengthened further our security at airports and in the air. And we tabled last month an omnibus anti-terrorism bill in Parliament, which will provide Canadian law enforcement and our justice system with the right tools to shut down terrorist organizations.

Canada strongly supported NATO's historic invocation of Article V and is the third largest contributor to the U.S.-led military coalition; Prime Minister Chrétien made that pledge to our American friends and to our global allies from the very outset of this operation. We have committed ships, aircraft and special forces, and have issued orders and bid our farewells to some 2000 Canadian armed forces personnel dedicated to the international anti-terrorism coalition.

The 5500-mile border we share with the United States has also been brought sharply into focus by this crisis. Canada and the United States share the most extensive bilateral relationship in the world. No two countries anywhere cooperate more closely at their borders, which some 200 million people cross each year, and some US$1.3 billion in commerce crosses each and every day. An enormous 87 percent of Canada's merchandise exports cross that border; 25 percent of all U.S. exports are sent north, as are 25 percent of those from New York state. These are essential inputs into both our economies.

The ramifications of September 11 for border traffic are serious, and business people on both sides of the border are justifiably concerned about continued delays. For example, the Peace Bridge between Buffalo, New York, and Fort Erie, Ontario, which saw 1.5 million commercial crossings last year -- 6000 trucks per day, US$700 million per week -- has had its commercial traffic reduced by 15 percent.

This is a shared challenge for the Canadian and American governments, reflecting how deeply integrated our economies, and therefore our economic security, are today.

I discussed the need for intelligent management of the border with Governor Ridge in late October. We agreed it was possible -- and necessary -- for us both to protect our citizens and to safeguard the cross-border economy. This was also the focus of my talks in Washington with Senator Clinton and Representative LaFalce of the Buffalo area.

Your Ambassador in Ottawa, Paul Cellucci, and I have also held many discussions on the border, including the concept of a "North American perimeter" that he and others have raised. I have to say that I have not responded positively to talk of a perimeter because it has not been adequately defined. To some degree, we are getting caught in semantics -- "what's in a perimeter?" By any other name, it might be a community or a shared North American neighbourhood in which we assure our mutual security, through traditional cooperation like the NORAD defence pact, and now by seeking greater compatibility in how we manage the flow of goods and people through our common border. That border must remain -- talk of anything else is simply not on the table -- but it must facilitate the interests, political and economic, of both countries.

Our dialogue and cooperation with the U.S. administration, from President Bush on down, and with the various intelligence, law enforcement, border and immigration agencies of the U.S. government is intensive and exhaustive. It is positive and productive, much as it has always been. On a government level, we have few disagreements and have received no complaints.

But I will be frank with you: Canadians do become frustrated when our country becomes the subject of unfounded rhetoric from uninformed sources. When a popular television program like "The West Wing" (of which I am a fan, I should add) broadcasts an episode, post-September 11, where a suspected terrorist enters the United States through the "Ontario-Vermont border"(these are not contiguous territories), not only is it perpetuating bad geography, it also perpetuates false assumptions. Now that's fiction, but it shapes people's thinking. In real life, other voices -- in the media, in Congress -- are also being raised, and some of these, too, are getting the story wrong. That helps no one on either side of the border.

Both Canada and the United States will do our utmost to protect our citizens. We Canadians have our own share of security worries at the border: last year, 50 percent more criminals were stopped trying to get into Canada from the United States than the other way around. Almost half our refugee claimants enter from the United States; most of the guns used in crimes in Canada are imported illegally from the United States. These concerns to some degree explain why we have traditionally had almost triple the number of customs and immigration agents working at our shared border than has the U.S. government. And I want to state unequivocally that Canada is pleased at, and very much supports, recent decisions in the United States to substantially increase personnel at our common frontier. That is good security for both of us.

These are some of the realities; there are others. Canada has problems, as well -- if we didn't, we wouldn't be taking the steps I have just described. Do we believe that terrorist sympathizers have operated on Canadian soil? Unfortunately, yes -- this is probably the ugly truth, as it is in the United States, Germany, Britain and many other countries around the globe. Did the perpetrators of September 11 come from Canada? Not so far as either Canadian or American law enforcement or intelligence agencies know. In fact, we understand that a majority of them had legitimate entry documents that allowed them into the United States. But that is not what matters: the lesson we all need to absorb is that these people, the instruments of hatred and of evil, have been able to melt away into our cities and into our way of life. The harsh reality with which we were confronted on September 11 is that our enemy is capable, is organized, and operates networks that are more pervasive than we ever imagined.

We know -- and President Bush, Prime Minister Chrétien and many others have often repeated -- that this is a battle like no other. The enemy is unconventional and so, too, must be our response. We will win, because we have to. But it will be a long and complex campaign, and it will challenge our resources -- and our resourcefulness -- militarily, economically, politically and diplomatically.

Prior to September 11, globalization was emerging as a key motivator in international relations. I believe that terrorism globalizes us -- it globalizes outrage and condemnation, just as it does compassion and a cry for justice. We must ensure that it also globalizes a sustained commitment to fight terrorism. Terrorists exploit people, ever ready to draw new converts to their supposed cause. We reject outright any and all attempts to justify terrorist acts. Terrorism does not speak to us, and it does not speak for anyone but its criminal perpetrators.

We do not need the obscene political opportunism of terrorists to tell us how to deal with issues of human rights, human dignity, human development. These are long-standing elements of the policies of all democratic nations, and remain in critical focus on the international agenda.

Continued coalition building in the international community, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, is essential. Colin Powell has done a tremendous job in raising and holding together support for the anti-terrorism campaign, through both focused bilateral engagement and a reinvigorated American multilateral diplomacy in the United Nations and other key forums. Canada very much welcomes this. The UN must play a key role in the resolution of this crisis, and we applaud the unity of purpose demonstrated by the Security Council since September 11. The global commitment to end terrorism is being further reinforced through the G8, of which Canada will assume the presidency in 2002, and in organizations as diverse as APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum], the Commonwealth and La Francophonie. Canada, a member of all, is uniquely placed to carry forward the message of the coalition.

I also spent the last week travelling through the Middle East, meeting with leaders and ministers in Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and with the Palestinian Authority. It was not an easy visit -- if there ever was such a thing in that part of the world. But my messages, Canada's messages, were clear: terror and violence cannot be condoned under any circumstances. I assured my Iranian and Arab hosts that this was not a campaign against Islam; our quarrel is with terrorists and criminals and those -- like the Taliban -- who harbour them. I welcomed Middle East support for the campaign against terrorism. From Israel and the Palestinians, I sought a commitment to end the violence, restore calm and return to the negotiating table -- the only way they have to go forward out of their deadly conflict.

The Middle East has changed since September 11. We need to galvanize support for the fight against terror, which many in the region have experienced for too long. The intensification of diplomatic communications with countries such as Iran provides us with opportunities to make progress in the region. We can now move past old barriers if -- and it is a big "if" -- countries choose to deploy the political will to make the right things happen. A more free, more peaceful world is the ultimate goal.

The humanitarian agenda surrounding this crisis also remains critical.

The welfare of the Afghan people has long been of grave concern to Canada and to the international community, who for years have tried to meet the basic human needs of Afghans, denied because of their rulers' neglect, abuse and discrimination, and by protracted conflict, drought and poverty. That's why we have contributed C$150 million in humanitarian assistance over the past 10 years, and why, in light of the hardships they now face, we have responded to the new UN humanitarian appeal for Afghan civilians (which has now been fully subscribed). Many coalition states, including Canada, are also actively examining scenarios through which the Afghan people could establish fair, stable and effective post-conflict governance in their country.

The enormous horror of September 11 has concentrated minds and catalysed relationships. We need only look at the leadership being provided by China and Russia, and the steps those countries are taking to enhance their relations with the United States, to know that these are indeed historic times.

In a world in which almost everything has changed, one thing remains constant. That is the closeness of the Canada-U.S. relationship. As your President and our Prime Minister have said, we're family.

The multitude of interests, partnerships, objectives and ideals that we share goes beyond any relationship that exists between two states anywhere else on earth. And, most importantly, they work. This is the partnership that will enable us to meet this new challenge of terrorism.

Conclusion

Eleanor Roosevelt once described courage as meaning that "You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'...You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

New York is doing just that, as is the whole of the United States and its closest friends and partners -- and there is none closer, in every possible sense, than Canada.

We must continue to work together so that our citizens can live in peace and security.

We must maintain a commitment to shared prosperity through good times and bad, including through a secure but fully functioning border.

On September 11, terrorists sought to sow fear, but instead they reaped outrage. Their only notable success was in galvanizing world opinion, and world leadership, against themselves. They induced neither retreat nor resignation. They have assured their own destruction.

We will finish what they began, and will emerge stronger, prouder and more united than ever we have been.

Thank you.