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<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MINISTER AXWORTHY - ADDRESSTO THE CANADA-EU SEMINAR ON CIRCUMPOLAR CO-OPERATION AND THE NORTHERN DIMENSION - AYLMER, QUEBEC</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 99/53 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE LLOYD AXWORTHY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE CANADA-EU SEMINAR ON CIRCUMPOLAR CO-OPERATION AND THE NORTHERN DIMENSION AYLMER, Quebec October 20, 1999 (4:25 p.m. EDT) I am pleased to extend greetings to all participants in the Canada-EU Seminar on Circumpolar Co-operation and the Northern Dimension. This seminar opens a new dimension in Canada-EU relations. Articulating and implementing the Canada-EU partnership through northern, as well as traditional transatlantic approaches, offers a range of policy perspectives and avenues for practical co-operation that we have not previously explored or exploited. Canada is delighted to be working with the Finnish Presidency in examining this aspect of our relationship. We congratulate Finland on the important efforts it has made to advance this agenda during its Presidency. Last month in Helsinki, when I met with the Finnish Presidency, we both emphasized northern co-operation as a priority. Working together and building on the broad community of regional organizations -- from the Arctic Council to the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and promoting co-operation, coherence and synergies between and among them -- there is much we can achieve. There are also exciting new possibilities for partnership with other countries of the North, particularly Russia and the Baltic States, as well as with the various communities within the North, especially Indigenous peoples. That is why this seminar is of particular importance -- to generate ideas that will help shape public policy in the North. This is especially well-timed as Canada and the EU have recently taken major steps forward in the elaboration of a northern dimension to our foreign policy. In the Speech from the Throne last week, the Canadian government expressed its intention to "enhance Canada's leadership in the Arctic region and...outline a foreign policy for the North that enhances co-operation, helps protect the environment, promotes trade and investment and supports the security of the region's people." Indeed, many of the issues are centred on the direct concerns of northerners. As a result, this initiative is also in keeping with the prominence my government gives to the human security agenda in Canada's foreign policy. This seminar represents an important step in establishing both a vision and an action plan for a northern foreign policy. I intend to move forward by examining possibilities in the trade, investment and transportation sectors; by exploring new ways of dealing with the pollutants that threaten the livelihood, lifestyle and, often, the existence of our northern communities; and by seeking new ways to connect our communities and forge partnerships among our governments in order to secure a better life for all northerners. I believe that together, we can bring a new and unique perspective to dealing with common challenges in the North and the broader global issues as they relate to the North and our shared northernness. To that end I am working on a comprehensive, new document on Canada's northern foreign policy, which I plan to have ready before the end of this year. I understand that the EU will hold a special ministerial-level meeting in Finland on the EU's Northern Dimension. This seminar, and the new networks of contacts it will generate, will make a significant contribution to this dialogue and to our follow-up work to implement a foreign policy for the North. Canada's Vision for a Northern Dimension to Its Foreign Policy A sense of northernness has long been central to Canadian identity. Even Canadians who have never been to the North have a sense of the North: its strength as a pillar of the world's ecosystem; its fragility as the unwilling recipient of the world's pollutants. Canadians know that we connect with the world around and over the Pole, as well as through our traditional transpacific, transatlantic and transcontinental links. Northern issues are varied -- ranging from questions of sovereignty and defence to issues of industrial and commercial development, new trading relationships and transportation routes, environmental protection, research and education, health and social development and the promotion of cultural diversity. The circumpolar community also embraces some of Canada's most important foreign policy partners -- from the EU to the United States and Russia. However, our approach has been largely ad hoc. It is clear that we have not been realizing the full potential of this aspect of Canada's political, economic, cultural and geographic nature. Until very recently we had made only limited efforts to use our northernness as a foreign policy template and to emphasize the link between our security and prosperity and our ability to manage northern issues. That is why, two years ago, Canadian parliamentarians, through the committee dealing with foreign and trade issues, took a new look at the North and prepared a comprehensive report on Canada and the circumpolar region. Thus began a process of extensive consultation and discussion. Last year, I released a paper, Towards a Northern Foreign Policy for Canada, at the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Iqaluit. As well, a national forum has been held to canvass the views of academics, experts and civil society on the North. And our Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs, Mary Simon, has met with territorial and provincial governments, Aboriginal leaders and organizations and other northerners to include their perspectives. As a result, the main elements of Canada's northern foreign policy are emerging. There are four overarching aims: to protect the security and territorial sovereignty of Canada in the North; to secure the well-being of northern Canadians and the health of the northern environment; to contribute to a stable circumpolar community and the security and well-being of its citizens; and, in these ways, to contribute to the security, economic and cultural pillars of our foreign policy. Canada will pursue these goals by promoting three things: the integration of a northern dimension into overall Canadian foreign policy; international co-operation contributing to sustainable development in the Canadian and circumpolar North; and circumpolar good governance through multilateral co-operation. We know that we cannot do this alone. I also know from my extensive consultations with my European counterparts, as well as from discussions with the United States and Russia, that this broad agenda is not unique to Canada. When I tell my colleagues that Canada's northern communities are concerned about their fragile environment, about opportunities for youth and children -- particularly in the areas of education, employment, cultural interchange and business development -- and that our northerners are tired of the usual North-South approach to dealing with northern problems, they understand instinctively. When I tell them that Canada's northerners are ready to reach out to communities around them, that they are ready for a serious process of dialogue and engagement to find effective ways of dealing with these common challenges, my colleagues tell me they have heard the same thing. That is why the time for the North is now. A northern dimension to our foreign policies is only logical. Current Multilateral Co-operation Efforts The past decade has witnessed unprecedented co-operation and institution building in the circumpolar North, designed to foster circumpolar co-operation to meet the region's challenges and aspirations. The Nordic Council has strengthened its role. The Council of Baltic Sea States was established to promote democratic development and foster economic development. The Barents Euro-Arctic Council was created as a forum for co-operation among its members on a wide range of issues. Three years ago the Arctic Council was inaugurated. It serves as a venue for governments and Indigenous organizations to join forces on common Arctic issues, especially sustainable development. Each has proven its worth. Through the Arctic Council, for example, a variety of exciting initiatives are now emerging. These include the University of the Arctic -- a "university without walls"; a program of work on children and youth of the Arctic; and the development of a system of electronic information exchanges related to environmental impact assessment. Multilateral bodies are not the only avenues for co-operation. Strengthened bilateral relations with northern neighbours have been important in meeting challenges and exploiting opportunities. It is no coincidence that our northern community -- Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden -- finds itself, more often than not, pursuing common interests, values and objectives in the world's multilateral forums, from the UN to the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]. The end of the Cold War has opened new possibilities for co-operation with Russia and with the Baltic States. The emergence of a circumpolar community was something that simply could never have been envisaged when we were more concerned with the trajectory of ICBMs [intercontinental ballistic missiles] over the Pole than the flow of pollutants under it. These are all forms of co-operation worth pursuing. The key is that we do so as efficiently as possible. Some overlap is inevitable -- but we should strive to ensure that our efforts complement not duplicate each other. A unique feature of circumpolar co-operation is the role and involvement of Indigenous populations. Building on Indigenous involvement in other northern forums, the Arctic Council broke new ground internationally. For the first time anywhere, Indigenous peoples, in particular the permanent participants, have an integral, ongoing role in a permanent multilateral body. When the Council meets, it does so with the full and active participation of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Saami Council, the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North and the Aleut International Association. This is only common sense. Those with the most at stake must have a clear voice. They should play a direct role. They need shared forums to resolve common transboundary concerns. Direct involvement by northerners -- particularly Indigenous peoples -- in the Arctic Council gives it particular legitimacy and relevance. This type of participation is unique among multilateral organizations, and serves as an important example for multilateral co-operation elsewhere. Indeed, the example of Indigenous participation in circumpolar co-operation shows the relevance and connection of the northern experience and solutions to the larger global community. What happens in the North matters to the rest of us. And what happens elsewhere matters to the North. This interdependence requires a two-way agenda. The nexus between North and South is perhaps most clearly evident with regard to the environment. Effective policy and action in support of environmental protection is critical to Canada's northern residents. Their health, livelihoods and cultural survival are integrally tied to the environment. Environmental degradation -- especially the presence of persistent organic pollutants -- is putting many northern residents at risk. As we know, most of these pollutants originate outside the region. At the same time, the circumpolar region is of enormous importance to the overall integrity of the global environment. Signs of environmental problems in the North are often an indication of wider trends with consequences for the entire planet. As a result, it is important that in finding solutions to the Arctic's environmental problems, we reach out and make links with other international forums and institutions dealing with similar matters. Conversely, the experience and expertise of the circumpolar community in dealing with these threats might have application in the larger global context. Expanding Co-operation Without doubt, the circumpolar agenda is about co-operation on issues of specific concern to the North. This co-operation should continue. But the agenda is also about opening up activities, extending agreements and widening contacts in areas already covered in bilateral relationships. With regard to the Canada-EU partnership, there is a solid basis on which to build. Canada-EU co-operation in the Arctic on sustainable development and environmental protection has already been recognized. An Agreement on Economic Co-operation, a Declaration on Transatlantic Relations and a Joint Political Declaration and Action Plan are in place. In 1998, we launched the Europe-Canada Trade Initiative to enhance bilateral and multilateral trade co-operation. In addition, a growing number of sectoral agreements -- including those involving science and co-operation, education and training, and humane trapping -- attest to the vitality of our contacts. These general and sectoral agreements can provide the basis for extending co-operation beyond the environment. Possible areas for joint action include: • diversifying the northern economy and the economic opportunities available for northerners; • expanding trade and attracting foreign investment in the pan-Arctic region; • strengthening circumpolar transportation links; • considering possible avenues for improved trade in the goods and services of Aboriginal peoples in the northern regions; • addressing unique health and social infrastructure needs; • improving the education and mobility of northerners; • co-operating at trade negotiations to facilitate access for products and services, including those of interest to our northern communities, to help them play a full role in the new global economy; • addressing an overarching concern -- one spanning this agenda and spanning the North -- the need to build a future and open up new opportunities for the youth and children of the North. Conclusion A Canada-EU partnership, across the North, would open up a new dimension of our relationship -- one that would provide real benefits for our northern communities. Many of the challenges facing the Canadian North today originate beyond our borders, just as many of the problems confronting the circumpolar region have either global origins or implications. There is a recognition in both Canada and the EU that future security and prosperity are closely connected to our ability to manage northern issues effectively. This means being proactive together with our northern communities. The concerns and challenges in the North are real: the implications of global climate change, transboundary movements of toxins and pollutants, biodiversity. But the opportunities are just as real: the development and diversification of northern economies, the creation of new transportation links by air and sea, the building of a northern, knowledge-based society. We need partnerships to realize the full potential of the North and to let our northerners realize their full potential. The people of the North and our community of governments form a natural community: one united by geography but also linked by common experiences and, often, values. The challenge before us here today is to define our shared values and interests; to put them into sharper focus; to make better use of the community of existing organizations and network of contacts in the circumpolar region; and to draw on our collective resources to implement our new visions of the North. In December, Canada and the EU will hold a summit meeting in Ottawa. A wide spectrum of transatlantic and global issues will be covered, and I am confident that northern co-operation will be part of this dialogue. I can assure you that your deliberations at this seminar will be carefully noted by policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I extend my best wishes to all of you for success in your work today. I hope that the new contacts established at this event will lead to evermore fruitful collaboration and commitment at all levels as Canada and the EU pursue northern co-operation for the benefit of all our citizens. Thank you. </body> </html>

2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996

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