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<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. EGGLETON - ADDRESS ON THE OCCASION OFTHE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OFTHE WORLD ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS - TORONTO, ONTARIO</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 97/23 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE ART EGGLETON, MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE WORLD ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS TORONTO, Ontario May 3, 1997 This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca When Sam Bulte invited me to attend this evening's event some months ago, I was pleased to accept her invitation. It is a great honour and pleasure for me to address this International Conference of the World Association of Women Entrepreneurs. Let me congratulate all of you for the work you are doing. And with the emergence of the new economy, no conference theme is more appropriate than the one you have chosen: "Launching Global Networks." Establishing strong networks and relationships is key to the success of any enterprise, especially in the global economy, where entrepreneurs must develop and adapt to new business practices, work in foreign countries and understand the cultures where they do business. Canada exports more per capita than the United States, and we trade more intensively than any other G-7 country. And, in Canada, we rely on international trade to sustain our economic growth and standard of living. For the past several years, Canadian entrepreneurs have been at the leading edge of an export boom that TIME Magazine calls "unprecedented in Canada's history and rarely matched elsewhere in the world." In the process, Canada seems to have entered a telephone booth as an inward-looking nation and emerged as what TIME calls an "exporting superhero." We're not used to thinking of ourselves in heroic terms, even though Superman was created by a Canadian. But the facts are impossible to ignore. Exports are the driving force of the Canadian economy. The figures speak for themselves: in the last 10 years, our exports have doubled; they represented a quarter of the Canadian economy a decade ago, and they account for over 40 per cent of our gross domestic product today. Our government has made job creation a priority and exports are proving to be the leading source of new employment. Every $1 billion dollars in exports supports some 11 000 jobs in Canada, underscoring the importance of securing and expanding Canada's trading relationships. So, for Canada, there is no other choice. The experience of the last few years has taught us that if we are to maintain our standard of living, then we have to export. That is why Canada is playing a leading role in the global trading system under the World Trade Organization and why we are seeking to expand trade with Latin America through the Free Trade Area of the Americas. It is also why we have signed the Canada-EU Action Plan. And, it is why we have designated 1997 as Canada's Year of Asia Pacific. In November of this year, Canada will chair the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation leaders' meeting in Vancouver, where we will aggressively pursue further trade liberalization in the Asia Pacific. On a bilateral level, this year Canada signed a Free Trade Agreement with Chile in the hopes of facilitating its accession to the North American Free Trade Agreement. We also signed such an agreement with Israel, and we are looking to deepen our trading relationship with the countries of Latin America. The Canadian government can help to provide a safe, regulated environment for foreign trade and facilitate business dealings, but it is Canadian entrepreneurs who are leading the way in finding new markets and new territories for their goods and services, which have a reputation for quality and competitive prices. Because of the crucial role they play in our economic future, I have set a goal of doubling the number of active exporters by the year 2000. We are well on our way, but Canada needs your help if that target is to be achieved. It has been our entrepreneurs, seeking larger and more specialized markets than Canada alone could offer, who have blazed the trail across borders. But women entrepreneurs remain underrepresented in Canadian export activity, while representing the greatest potential of new Canadian exporters. A recent independent study, conducted by Dun & Bradstreet for the Bank of Montreal, reported that nearly one-third of Canadian firms are now owned or operated by women. The analysis showed that women control some 700 000 business enterprises, providing 1.7 million jobs. While the number of women-led firms is growing twice as fast as the national average, these firms are creating jobs at a rate more than four times the national average. This holds true in every province, although the inventiveness of women entrepreneurs is best illustrated by the growth in numbers of women-led firms in regions where economic activity is otherwise subdued. In Saskatchewan, where 1 in 20 active companies actually disappeared, the number of companies led by women grew by 10 per cent. In Quebec, where the number of companies posted a modest 3 per cent growth, the number of firms led by women entrepreneurs grew at eight times that rate. Further, firms led by women are expanding in size and broadening in scope. Today 16 per cent of the jobs created by women are in firms with more than 100 employees. Retail trade and personal services still account for half the enterprises led by women, but women entrepreneurs are branching out to include finance, insurance and real estate; wholesale trade; business and community services; and manufacturing and construction. Clearly, women entrepreneurs, particularly those who own SMEs [small or medium-sized enterprises], represent a significant and fast-growing sector of the Canadian economy and a tremendous potential for new export trade. Realizing the potential this represents, I'd like to tell you about some of the programs and services we offer to help entrepreneurs harness their export potential. In recent years, we have increased the ability of the Export Development Corporation [EDC] to lend to SMEs seeking to enter emerging markets. In 1996 alone, the EDC supported nearly $4 billion worth of exports, by 2500 SMEs, to more than 120 countries. It has an Emerging Exporters Team, which provides services such as a toll-free hot line and same-day buyer credit approvals to exporters with annual sales of up to $1 million. Last year, it also began working with Canadian banks and credit unions to provide working capital financing to small exporters. Meanwhile, Canada's trade commission offices located throughout the world will continue to provide service to Canadian exporters as they have done now for over 100 years. Increasingly, services will focus on providing timely market information and analysis of new market opportunities, with particular attention to the needs of SMEs and women entrepreneurs. Leading the way in this regard has been the trade commission staff at our Washington embassy, which deserves the credit for bringing the potential and particular concerns of women entrepreneurs to the top of my agenda. The Washington trade commission is to be congratulated for its recent innovation in launching the Canadian Women's International Business Initiative, which will provide women entrepreneurs with information and business contacts to help pursue export opportunities in the mid-Atlantic states. This initiative has my full support, and I look forward to endorsing its expansion to include other markets as well. Building on the Washington initiative and in recognition of the important contribution women entrepreneurs can make to Canada's trading success, I am pleased to announce that an all-woman Team Canada trade mission will go to the Washington, D.C., area this fall. The team will be drawn from three broad categories: women-owned firms that are ready to export; leading women's groups, such as the World Association of Women Entrepreneurs; and women who are already successful exporters and who are willing to act in a mentoring role. As a measure of the value Canada attaches to this initiative, I have already spoken with my U.S. counterpart, Secretary of Commerce Bill Daly, about his possible involvement, and he has assured me of his support. This mission will be less concerned with nailing down export contracts and more concerned with establishing linkages among entrepreneurs, government agencies and women's business groups. At the same time, it will provide us with the opportunity to educate ourselves about the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs, such as in access to export financing, and what can be done about them. As the goal of network building emerged for this trade mission, the Washington area became the obvious destination. Washington is the network capital of the United States and home to more than 7500 national associations. The mid-Atlantic region has the highest U.S. concentration of technology firms outside Silicon Valley. The U.S. federal government buys commercial goods and services worth over $50 billion, providing lucrative opportunities for Canadian firms. And, one-tenth of all training services in the United States are delivered in the mid-Atlantic region. These are just some of the reasons why Washington is attractive for future exporters. I hope that many of you will be able to join this Team Canada mission. If any of you want more information or are prepared to sign up, I ask you simply to contact either of the two staff members from our Washington embassy who are here tonight. Astrid Pregal and Judy Bradt deserve credit for their foresight and initiative, and for bringing the idea of an all-woman Team Canada mission to my attention. They are in attendance with us tonight and will be pleased to arrange for your participation. It is my government's intention that the Team Canada mission will not only provide the catalyst for more export activity, but it will also send a strong message that Canada needs women entrepreneurs to take a full part in our overall trade boom. I believe you will benefit from it and so will the Canadian economy. Thank you for your kind attention. </body> </html>

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