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<title>MR. KILGOUR - ADDRESS TO THE HIROSHIMA-CANADA ASSOCIATION - HIROSHIMA, JAPA</title>
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<p><font size="+1"></font><font size="+1"><strong><u>CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY</u></strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>THE HONOURABLE DAVID KILGOUR,</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>SECRETARY OF STATE (ASIA-PACIFIC),</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>TO THE</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>HIROSHIMA-CANADA ASSOCIATION</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>HIROSHIMA, Japan</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>July 8, 2003</strong></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">It is a great honour for my colleague, Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre, Karen Redman, and me to be
with you. Karen has been active in our Japan-Canada Parliamentary Friendship Group for five years and
currently serves on our Foreign Affairs Committee. Thank you President Tada for allowing us to share this
special occasion. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">This city and its people are truly remarkable. Just before leaving Ottawa, I met with Japan's ambassador to
Canada, Kensaku Hogen. When he found out that our visit would bring us to your great city, he was elated. He
told me--and he was right--that we would be struck by Hiroshima's ability to balance an inconceivably tragic
past with a strikingly positive and constructive focus on the future. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">This positive outlook is shared by just about any observer of relations between our countries. Even 74 years
ago (a date subject to some debate, as I'll get to in a minute), Japan and Canada recognized one another as
close allies and dear friends. Japan honoured Canada by sending Prince Iemasa Tokugawa, the grandson of
the last Shogun, as its first ambassador in 1928. Reciprocally, Canada's fourth embassy in the world was
established in Tokyo in 1929. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">This technical one-year discrepancy in the establishment of embassies by our two countries has proved to be
quite a challenge, as we debated when exactly to set the date to celebrate our 75 wonderful years of diplomatic
relations. Ambassador Hogen, with typical Japanese creativity, found that although Japan established its
embassy in Ottawa in 1928, the ambassador did not present his credentials to our Governor General until early
1929, allowing us to celebrate our 75 years together at the same time next year! </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">The partnership between Canada and Japan over those 75 years spans the economic, political and social
spheres. Trade between our countries totals over $23 billion per year; we have adopted similar responses to
threats to international security; and we have united as committed multilateralists to support peacekeeping
missions and provide aid to developing and post-conflict societies. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">This relationship was not exclusively built between governments. Organizations such as yours are the
backbone of the friendship between our nations. Nearly three years ago, for example, you supported the
establishment of the first trade section outside of the diplomatic offices in Tokyo. Hiroshima citizens and
businesses now have easier access to information on Canada. And the trade section has had a steady stream
of requests for assistance from Japanese companies in the areas of production, food, wine, tourism, education
and biotechnology. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">The twinning of Montreal and Hiroshima as sister cities five years ago has fostered trade and promoted cultural
education. The academic exchange program between students and professors of Hiroshima Shudo University
and York University in Toronto gave insight and experience to those who participated. The Youth Experience
Canada Program provides young Japanese men and women with first-hand encounters with Canada and
Canadians. These personal ties make Canada-Japan relations uniquely fulfilling. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"><strong>Economic integration</strong></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Economically, the health of our nations depends heavily upon our partnership. Japan is, after all, the world's
second largest economy, and is larger than all of the economies of Asia combined. You are Canada's most
important national trading partner after the United States, and by far the most significant in Asia. Japan
receives nearly $7 billion in Canadian exports annually. Japanese industries are Canada's third largest source
of investment. As the world's largest creditor nation, largest aid donor, and a key developer and user of high
technology, Japan projects its influence around the world. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">At the same time, Canada serves as a healthy market for Japanese industry and businesses. As a trade
partner, we import nearly $13 billion each year from Japan, and the agriculture, forestry and energy products
we export are particularly essential. Our economy is sophisticated and knowledge-based, making us a natural
strategic partner for Japan. Canada is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, but is also a world
leader in the new economy industries, such as information technology, biotechnology and environmental
technologies. Our bilateral and regional trade agreements have made Canadian producers highly competitive in
a larger, more integrated and efficient economic arena. Canada is also a prime destination for investors,
especially in the new economy. And NAFTA has made Canada an ideal location from which to serve the North
American market. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"><strong>BSE</strong></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Our community-to-community ties and shared international outlook allow for constructive and open dialogue on
critical issues such as BSE [bovine spongiform encephalopathy]. As a member of Parliament from Alberta, I
can tell you that this is a very serious issue weighing heavily on the minds of hundreds of thousands of
Canadians. Since the early 1990s, we have maintained one of the most stringent prevention and detection
programs in the world, always far exceeding the international requirements. The very detection of our one and
only BSE case and the subsequent quarantine and destruction of animals are a testament to the robustness of
our anti-BSE strategy. We have been working very hard to assuage the fears of our trading partners; we spared
no effort in conducting a thorough, transparent investigation. The results of this investigation are clear: there is
no scientific reason to keep the border closed. Issues of health and food safety are, of course, paramount for
both Japan and Canada and should be the primary concern in this situation. In appreciation and understanding
of Japanese concerns, we have been working diligently to prove that Canadian beef is among the safest in the
world and to demonstrate that all scientific research clearly supports the resumption of trade. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"><strong>A Global partnership</strong></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Our friendship runs much deeper than trade and economic interdependence. Our peoples share a common
vision of the world. We both face rising transborder threats from illegal drugs and crime; tackle similar
environmental challenges; and share deep concern about conflicts and tensions around the world. Our two
peoples have said with a common voice that managed globalization must be embraced, while respecting
human rights and the environment. We have called for multilateralism and diplomacy practised within the UN
system. We have served side by side as peacekeepers in the Golan Heights and East Timor, and contributed
to the reconstruction and development of post-conflict states. We not only have strong cross-border relations;
the people of Japan and Canada also consider ourselves united global citizens. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"><strong>Conclusion</strong></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">The future of our two peoples is thus intimately connected. The bonds between Canada and Japan are vibrant,
and the city of Hiroshima is an integral link. The Hiroshima-Canada Association's 400 members are making a
huge impact in both of our nations, by promoting trade and the exchange of youth, academics and ideas. The
third Montreal Day is testament to the strength of our sister-city relationship.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">A young woman, Miss Yano, who participated in the fifth Youth Experience Canada Program in the summer of
2002, said that her image of Canada is "Dynamic Canada." I could not think of a better description of the
economically robust, culturally diverse and socially concerned Canada of today, nor of a more appropriate
description for Japan. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Thank you.</font></p>
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