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<title>MR. PETTIGREW - ADDRESS AT THE REGINA EXPORT CAFÉ LUNCHEON - REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN</title>
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<p><font face="Arial" size="+1"></font><font face="Arial" size="+1"></font><font face="Arial" size="+1"><u>CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY</u></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1">NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1">THE HONOURABLE PIERRE PETTIGREW,</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1">MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE,</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1">AT THE REGINA EXPORT CAFÉ LUNCHEON</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" size="+1">REGINA, Saskatchewan</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" size="+1">March 7, 2003</font></p>
<p><strong>Introduction</strong></p>
<p>I want to begin by thanking Trade Team Saskatchewan for organizing today's events and this luncheon, and for giving me
this opportunity to say a few words to you about international business, both trade and investment.</p>
<p>Three years ago, I promised to use the days when the House of Commons was not sitting to travel to the various regions of
the country to promote the benefits of international trade and to talk about my mission as minister. Since that time, I have
gone to cities from coast to coast to encourage companies to export and to explain the advantages of trade, not only for
business, but for all Canadians.</p>
<p>So, what is my mission? As International Trade Minister, I regard my mission as international business development.
Obviously, Canadian business people like you understand and share this mission and are already out there selling
Canadian-made goods and services around the world. Some of you may be seeking foreign investment, including venture
capital. And most of you are enjoying considerable success.</p>
<p><strong>Importance of Trade to Canada</strong></p>
<p>Exports now account for over 43 percent of our GDP--up from just 25 percent in 1990. This means that, as a percentage of
GDP, we export about four times as much as the United States and three times as much as Japan. In fact, we are by far the
most export-oriented country in the G7.</p>
<p>Canada used to be mainly an exporter of raw materials, of natural resources. Now, however, more than two thirds of our
merchandise exports are in non-resource categories such as machinery and equipment and other high value-added products.
Furthermore, innovation is fully part of the Canadian export agenda. We are increasingly exporting technologies and
services and attracting investment that is bringing jobs and technology.</p>
<p>Canada excels in providing sophisticated services, such as telecommunications, engineering, and financial and engineering
services, for modern business. Canadian firms are now global leaders in telecommunications, aerospace, computer
software, biotechnology, environmental technology and many other sectors of the new economy.</p>
<p>I am impressed by the number of export successes you have here. In Saskatchewan, you export around $12 billion a year.
Later this afternoon, I am visiting Brandt Industries. Brandt's sales in manufactured products and the distribution of
industrial equipment total $450 million. Brandt exports $40 million in agricultural equipment, engineered products, and
road-rail power units. It has received several awards, including Entrepreneur of the Year and the ABEX Awards for
Business Excellence (Chamber of Commerce Saskatchewan), and it has been named among Canada's 50 Best Managed
Companies. Brandt has a long history of working cooperatively with the Team Canada Inc network--notably the
International Trade Centre here in Regina and of course the Trade Commissioner Service.</p>
<p>Consider, for example, Minds Eye Entertainment. This is western Canada's largest privately owned production, post-production and distribution entity; and a powerful contender in the worldwide motion picture marketplace. Minds Eye has
co-produced award-winning films and television series with partners from Germany, the United Kingdom, France,
Switzerland, South Africa and the United States. Its productions have been translated into a dozen languages and sold in
more than 100 countries.</p>
<p>SaskTel International helps clients around the world develop, improve and expand their telecommunications systems, often
under challenging conditions. In rural Tanzania, for instance, it has completed six stand-alone contracts ranging from the
delivery of dial-tone services in previously unserved towns and villages to high-speed optical connections. Although small
in comparison with international consulting conglomerates, SaskTel International has carried out significant projects in 30
countries, including installing the telecommunications system in the Chunnel connecting England and France, participating
in the deployment of 1,500 kilometres of fibre optics in the South China Sea, and providing over 550 telecentres in the
Philippines.</p>
<p>Harvest Sun Seed & Grain Company manufactures and distributes the world's only certified organic birdseed blends.
Although it only started exporting in 2001, Harvest Sun already sells 100 percent of its production to the United States,
earning the company a nomination as STEP Exporter of the Year in 2002. Employing two full-time people and utilizing
eight family farms for seed production, Harvest Sun is poised for entering new markets, with interest coming from
countries such as Germany, Venezuela and Taiwan.</p>
<p>All of these firms, and many others like them, are building their businesses and creating jobs in Regina, in other regions of
Saskatchewan and around the world.</p>
<p>The way I see it, there are two very important and constructive ways in which government can play a role in helping you
capitalize confidently on the stabilization of markets. The first is through trade policy--in other words, working with other
countries to build and preserve a rules-based system of international market access. The second is through trade promotion.</p>
<p><strong>Trade Policy</strong></p>
<p>Policy and promotion go hand in hand. Indeed, with our economic success so tied to trade, Canada's continued prosperity
depends on an open world economy.</p>
<p>That is why we are using a multi-track approach to trade liberalization through the WTO [World Trade Organization], the
FTAA [Free Trade Area of the Americas] and our bilateral initiatives. Our objectives for each set of negotiations are the
same: we seek better access to foreign markets, especially for value-added goods and services; we want rules that keep pace
with the needs of our modern economy; and we look for support for our broader political goals, such as improved labour
and environmental standards.</p>
<p>The WTO is the cornerstone of global trade, and we are currently at the midpoint of the new round of negotiations in what
is known as the Doha Development Agenda. The agenda includes several issues--agricultural reform, market access for
goods and services, and strengthened, clarified rules--that coincide with Canada's chief export interests. It has become
clear that many countries are waiting to see the scope of the agriculture negotiations prior to making decisions on how far
they will go in other areas.</p>
<p>Regional agreements such as the FTAA complement the global trading objectives that we are pursuing through the WTO.
They can stimulate the economy, explore innovative ideas in new areas and strengthen economic reforms. We have a lot of
negotiating ahead of us.</p>
<p>The potential for Canadian exporters is enormous. With barriers coming down and ensured access, Canadian firms can
increase exports and forge partnerships in many new markets. This will mean more jobs and opportunities for Canadians at
home. This is why we need to hear more from you, the business community, about the problems that you are facing and the
markets that are of interest to you.</p>
<p>Trade promotion is about the day-to-day promotion of Canadian goods and services. Trade promotion can take many forms.
It can be conducted in a high-profile way through Team Canada missions or missions led by the trade minister, or it can be
done in a lower-profile but every bit as important manner by the hundreds of trade commissioners we have posted around
the world, working with thousands of mainly small and medium-sized firms every day.</p>
<p><strong>Team Canada Europe</strong></p>
<p>In terms of profile, Team Canada missions are, without question, the most visible collaborative initiative we can take
together to demonstrate a common federal-provincial front to foreign clients and potential investors. Since 1994, Team
Canada has visited 21 cities around the world and generated more than $30.6 billion in business revenue for Canada.</p>
<p>Partnerships are as important abroad as they are in Canada. It is absolutely fundamental to our international success that
both levels of government be seen by foreign prospects as being cooperative, mutually reinforcing partners pulling in the
same direction on behalf of you, our business community.</p>
<p>The next Team Canada mission, led by the Prime Minister, will visit Amsterdam, London and Milan from March 25 to
April 4, 2003. This mission presents us with a golden opportunity to promote all elements of our international business
development program: export trade, investment promotion, and science and technology cooperation to bolster Canada's
innovation agenda, helping make us a northern tiger. Of course, there is still time to sign up for the mission. You can
contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade if you are interested. It is a great opportunity to expand
business horizons.</p>
<p><strong>Assistance from the Government of Canada</strong></p>
<p>Our efforts to ensure a level playing field in the world trade arena or to lead Team Canada missions, while key to Canada's
prosperity, might sound a little far from your everyday preoccupations as business leaders.</p>
<p>It's not enough to say there are export opportunities available to Canadian companies. We must help you claim those
opportunities. We want you to succeed, and to get there by taking full advantage of a key support network that is available
to you. That support network is the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service.</p>
<p>When I say your success is our success, I mean it. The Trade Commissioner Service is prepared to help you succeed. It
represents your tax dollars at work. Join the Canadian advantage. Right now, we have more than 500 trade professionals
working for you in 140 cities worldwide. These are people working on the ground, in your sectors, in your target markets.
These are professionals with expertise and a proven track record. The Trade Commissioner Service has helped thousands of
Canadian companies to succeed abroad--and we can help you, too!</p>
<p>Six trade officers from some of Canada's largest trading partners are here today. They have come from countries on three
continents--China, Turkey, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina and Chile--to talk to you. Actually, I should say they have
come from four continents, since Turkey is in both Asia and in Europe. You heard them this morning during the seminar,
and you also heard about the six core services that they deliver, free of charge.</p>
<p>I had an opportunity to meet with the 140 trade program managers at a leadership conference in Vaudreuil, Quebec, a few
months ago. This is an exceptional and dedicated group of professionals who pull out all the stops to help Canadian
business succeed abroad, often in very difficult situations. They can after you market intelligence, key contact networks,
business leads and advice. This service enjoys a high degree of satisfaction amongst its clients. The third annual client
survey--which some of you may have participated in--has confirmed a satisfaction level of nearly 80 percent
--outstanding for any service organization. Yes! A government service with satisfied clients! Why? Because our clients
said that the Trade Commissioner Service saved them time and money and helped them make better business decisions,
giving them more of a competitive edge.</p>
<p>But the Trade Commissioner Service is not resting on its laurels. It has been undergoing significant renewal over the past
few years in order to tailor its services to meet the needs that exporters have told us are priorities: solid trade leads, focused
market intelligence, and personal advice and counselling on international business conditions. Essentially, trade
commissioners are knowledge brokers and relationship builders.</p>
<p>As a complement to this service, a few months ago I launched one of the most innovative tools we have developed: the
Virtual Trade Commissioner (VTC). The Virtual Trade Commissioner is a personalized Web page that includes the names
of, and direct links to, the trade commissioners responsible for particular sectors and specific markets abroad. The Virtual
Trade Commissioner then pulls all relevant information to the client's page--market reports, trade events and business
leads--essentially all pertinent information that matches the client's international business interests.</p>
<p>Once the client has reviewed the information provided by the Virtual Trade Commissioner and feels ready to export, he or
she can contact any of our international offices through the VTC portal to request any of the six core services on-line. We
are demonstrating the VTC here today, and you are invited to apply for your personalized Web page.</p>
<p>The Government of Canada offers many more services to exporters, including market intelligence, information on financing
facilities, trade fairs and exhibitions, and export rules and regulations. Some of you are familiar with Team Canada Inc, a
virtual network relying on the cooperation of 23 federal departments and agencies, working to help Canadian businesses
succeed in world markets. This single window for Canadian business vastly simplifies access to everything from training
and financing programs for new exporters, to on-the-ground support in foreign markets for more experienced Canadian
businesses. Team Canada Inc is your first stop en route to the information, counselling, market intelligence, financial
assistance and on-the-ground support you need to make your export venture a successful one. Why not visit the Web-based
search engine on the Government of Canada Web site? Just search for Export Source!</p>
<p>To demonstrate how committed we are to defending and promoting Canada's interests with our largest trading partner, the
most recent budget committed increased funding to bolster Canada's ability to actively engage at local and regional levels
across the United States through the establishment of additional regional offices and an increased consular presence in
strategic locations, such as the U.S. southwest. This includes the creation of new satellite offices that will focus on specific
sectors or issues, and stronger, targeted trade and economic advocacy initiatives. The Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade together with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Industry Canada are working in partnership on
this initiative and providing additional resources.</p>
<p><strong>Investment</strong></p>
<p>I also want to take a minute to talk about investment. Investment is part of the trade continuum and is indeed an important
element of our phenomenal success in international trade. International firms produce not just for the domestic market but
also for their international affiliates, which often means they are ahead of Canadian firms in the export race. This is
especially significant as many business sectors shift from production aimed at the domestic market to production for the
export market. Investment and trade linkages go hand in hand.</p>
<p>Foreign direct investment (FDI) means jobs for Canadians. More than one out of 10 jobs, 50 percent of our total exports
and 75 percent of manufacturing exports are due to foreign direct investment. It can stimulate competition, innovation and
economic growth. It benefits local labour with higher wages, and consumers with cheaper prices and better-quality
products.</p>
<p>Foreign investment is also an important source of technology. Considering the high costs of research and development,
international investment, often through international alliances, is a critical way for Canadian firms to access leading-edge
technologies.</p>
<p>Trade commissioners also keep their eyes open for organizations abroad that are planning a major expansion. They pitch
the Canadian advantage to them, emphasizing that Canada's top cities remain the most competitive places for business in
the world, with their combination of high-quality infrastructure and workforce, and low operating costs.</p>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>To conclude, I want to reiterate that progressive and forward-looking trade development programs and policies are the key
to maintaining and enhancing Canada's current prosperity. We all benefit from having clear and enforceable international
trade rules, which help us facilitate more global business for you. This is good for Canada, for Saskatchewan and for
Regina.</p>
<p>I will continue to do my utmost to ensure that when you seek out international markets, you will find doors that are open,
policies that are fair, and playing fields that are level. And I will continue to resist those voices that would limit our
horizons by limiting freer trade.</p>
<p>I will also continue to spread the word that Canada is the most welcoming place for investors.</p>
<p>Keeping Canada competitive in an ever-changing international marketplace is a responsibility for all of us. When we
succeed, we reap numerous benefits: more better-paying jobs, financial stability, greater productivity, economic strength, a
diversified economy and technological progress. All of this will be a legacy for our children.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
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