<html>
<head>
<meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8">
<title>MR. GRAHAM - ADDRESS TO THE CANADA-FRANCE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE - PARIS, FRANCE</title>
</head>
<body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">
<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 BILL GRAHAM,</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>TO THE CANADA-FRANCE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>PARIS, France</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>October 3, 2003</strong></font></p>
<p>I am deeply honoured to be able to celebrate with you the friendship that unites Canada and France. </p>
<p>This friendship is rooted in a shared history and projects that have enabled us to define and develop a set of strong,
common values with which our citizens identify. Today, I would like to take the opportunity to talk to you about one such
project, the preservation of cultural diversity, which is, as you know, the basis for some especially close cooperation
between our two nations.</p>
<p>Particularly since 1998, France and Canada have come out in favour of the right of states to develop their own cultural
policies.</p>
<p>This is not only important for the right of artists and creators of all origins to produce and disseminate their works, but it is
also part and parcel of globalization, the benefits of which we, Canadians and French, would like to harness in favour of
humankind.</p>
<p>Cultural diversity is the very foundation upon which Canada was built. The first European explorers had to establish
contacts and exchanges with the First Nations. Starting in the 18th century, the accommodation made between French and
English defined our development. After the fall of New France, the Quebec Act recognized Francophones' religious and
language rights. This recognition gave rise to a culture of tolerance and respect that began to shape our country's policies.
Baldwin, the Upper Canada reformer, and Lafontaine, the nationalist from Quebec, joined forces to establish democracy in
the face of colonial power. In 1867, the partnership between Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Georges Étienne Cartier helped
create Canadian Confederation.</p>
<p>And throughout our history, each wave of immigration has enriched Canada with new ways of life, new creative energy and
new forms of expression. So much so that today, cultural diversity has undeniably become a vital element of our national
identity.</p>
<p>For us, cultural diversity has spawned social and political approaches that, by and large, have facilitated the emergence and
consolidation of public institutions working for social progress, respect for basic rights and human dignity.</p>
<p>It has led Canadians to develop health care programs that are accessible to all, in addition to a social safety net that is as
equitable and extensive as possible. It has led us to make choices reflecting our concern for justice and human dignity:
abolition of the death penalty, firearms control, and now the right of same-sex partners to get married--all the while
fostering this freedom of expression and opinion that has made Canadian democracy one of the most open and stimulating
systems in the world. This week, <em>The Economist</em> magazine, a publication that this audience is certainly familiar with, called
us "cool" precisely because of our policies. So you can see that what we call culture determines our policies and our
accomplishments as a nation.</p>
<p>On the international level, it can be said that the right to culture is one of the most fundamental human rights. Cultural
diversity is the expression of this right. It expresses the need to broaden the range of choices and sources to which
individuals can have access, and in so doing it gives tangible expression to the universalist aspirations that are mounting in
today's world.</p>
<p>Culture is the compost, if you will, that helps human beings and societies grow, flourish and take shape. What biodiversity
is to our ecological habitat, cultural diversity is to humankind--it plays that vital a role.</p>
<p>The terrible events that have ushered in the new millennium speak eloquently to the fact that respect for cultural diversity
has become a <em>sine qua non</em> for the emergence of an international society that can at last attain the objectives of tolerance,
peace and mutual respect to which all the world's peoples aspire.</p>
<p>In February of this year, President Chirac--discussing the need to achieve these objectives--defined cultural diversity as
the "achievement of worldwide democracy, united for the most part but respectful of differences, and the political
expression of a globalization that is under control and in tune with our values."</p>
<p>I very much support this approach. Indeed, it is precisely this important notion of controlled globalization that led to the
creation, under a Canadian initiative, of the International Network on Cultural Policy, whose mandate is to examine the
means available to states not only to participate in the global economy but also to actively promote the various forms of
cultural and artistic expression specific to each country.</p>
<p>You are aware, of course, of the efforts we are making to ensure adoption by UNESCO of a convention on cultural
diversity by the fall of 2005. In fact, we were very pleased to learn of UNESCO's commitment in this regard, as evidenced
by the draft resolution calling for the development of an international standard-setting instrument on cultural diversity, to be
submitted to the General Conference in a matter of days.</p>
<p>So we're off to a very good start. We have already succeeded in sensitizing the international community to the importance
of this issue. But much remains to be done.</p>
<p>Recognition of cultural diversity is tantamount to recognition--full and complete recognition--of modernity, globalization,
new technologies and the new links that they allow us to forge. It is recognition of the vast potential offered by the modern
world, while at the same time constituting a strategy that enables us to deal more effectively with the new challenges posed
by globalization.</p>
<p>The logic of cultural diversity is not directed against anyone. On the contrary, it is a policy of openness--of openness to
everyone, where all forms of cultural expression can flourish. That is why it is essential to preserve governments' right to
promote the development of diverse cultures within each country.</p>
<p>A convention on cultural diversity would thus strengthen the right of states to take the necessary measures to preserve and
promote cultural diversity. It would also serve as a basis for international cooperation in the exercise of these rights, and it
would enhance the transparency of cultural policy through the creation of obligations among the signatories.</p>
<p>At this point I think it is important to recall the positive nature of this undertaking, and I would like to reassure those
countries that have expressed reservations, in particular the United States. We do not want the convention to be a pretext
for protectionism and for impeding access to markets; on the contrary, we want it to encourage the trade in cultural products
while giving states that are so inclined the right to develop their culture and their identity.</p>
<p>This convention could therefore foster better coordination between the objectives of trade liberalization and those of
preserving and promoting cultural diversity. Thus, it will be necessary to ensure the complementarity of this convention and
the other international agreements, including those of the WTO [World Trade Organization].</p>
<p>We recognize that coordination among various international obligations will pose a legal challenge, but we are convinced
that with the necessary will, the objective is an attainable one.</p>
<p>For our part, the Government of Canada is working to establish the needed dialogue, both among the responsible
departments and between the federal and provincial levels of government.</p>
<p>We understand that it is by working together and by adopting a harmonious approach to trade, culture and foreign affairs
that our country will be better able to contribute to the adoption of an international convention on cultural diversity. It goes
without saying that we encourage other countries to do likewise.</p>
<p>Seen in a wider context, cultural diversity also contributes to social and economic prosperity, to human development and to
security.</p>
<p>I would now like to return for a moment to what makes this issue so important for us Canadians.</p>
<p>Over the course of our complex but fascinating history, Canada has become a dynamic, multicultural, bilingual and
innovative country.</p>
<p>We take pride in our international accomplishments, such as convincing a majority of countries to sign the landmine treaty.</p>
<p>We are also proud that the United Nations recognized us for several years running as the country with the best quality of
life.</p>
<p>In my opinion, this reputation is directly linked to our policy on immigration, which now reflects our multiculturalism.</p>
<p>In his book <em>Fire and Ice,</em> author Michael Adams indicates that 77 percent of Canadians believe that immigrants exert a
positive influence on their country. What's more, Adams points out that not only is this majority very significant in and of
itself, but also that Canada is currently the only nation in the world where the majority favours immigration. <em>The Economist</em>
described the ramifications of this: "While other rich countries suffer a racist backlash over immigration, Canadians
welcome migrants and are proud of their tolerance and cultural diversity. This has turned Canada's big cities into vibrant,
cosmopolitan places."</p>
<p>To my way of thinking, the Canadian identity can be summed up in two words: adventure and challenge. What we have
become cannot be understood without including these aspects of our past and our present, composed at once of successes
and failures.</p>
<p>In the minds of the Fathers of Confederation, the idea of "political nationality"--that is to say, political union founded not
on ethnocultural dimensions but on democratic ideals, on the rule of law and on parliamentary government, as well as on
diversity and tolerance--was from the start an inalienable principle.</p>
<p>In contrast with a one-size-fits-all notion of citizenship, Canada offers a model where the search for unity and the
promotion of diversity are pursued simultaneously. This characteristic has made Canada a very multicultural country, home
to people from over 150 different ethnic origins.</p>
<p>I see this as a very vibrant reality: in my electoral district of Toronto Centre - Rosedale, for which I am the Member of
Parliament, the district of St. James Town comprises upwards of 57 different cultural communities, whose many voices and
cultures meld together to lend the community its special flavour. In fact, at Toronto's City Hall, citizens can obtain
information in 101 different languages, a situation that also exists in several other Canadian cities.</p>
<p>No doubt you have often heard Canada described as a mosaic. For such a society to function, its citizens--be they long-standing residents or newcomers--must accept the Canadian values and the system of government that unite us.</p>
<p>What I have just said about Canada, others could undoubtedly say about their own country. France is a country very
different from Canada: rather than the Canadian brand of multilateralism, you have developed a centralized model in which
"republican secularism" plays a key role. But despite these different models, both our countries are intent on respecting
differences. Both France and Canada deeply believe in the need to promote cultural diversity.</p>
<p>Four hundred years ago, Samuel de Champlain founded the first French settlement in America. This European settlement
amidst the Aboriginal population was to become the foundation of today's Canada. From the very beginning, this
foundation was the product of a diversity of cultures. On the occasion of the visit to Canada of French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin last May, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced the launch in France of a series of activities to
mark the 400th anniversary of the first French settlement on American soil.</p>
<p>In the months to come, these activities will afford us the opportunity to celebrate together the concrete expression of not
only our respective cultures, but also the common values and projects uniting our governments and our peoples.</p>
<p>In closing, dear friends, let me just say that in the present circumstances it is becoming increasingly critical to gain a proper
understanding of the importance of openness, of a dialogue among peoples, cultures and religions, and of mutual respect. In
recent years we have learned that no society can afford to shut itself off from the world, to ignore it and to let certain areas
become marginalized.</p>
<p>We are living in difficult times, to be sure. There is much talk of security, defence and protection in the new international
environment. Indeed, Canada and France are strongly committed, each in its own fashion, to combatting these new dangers.</p>
<p>But it is essential, I would even say vital, to understand that the nature of this struggle is not just military--far from it, in
fact. In this regard, I believe that it is more necessary than ever to gain a solid grasp of the complexity of today's world. But
we must also work to discover and appreciate this complexity, and not to protect ourselves from it or reject it.</p>
<p>This is where cultural diversity, which both our countries promote, becomes even more important and meaningful; for
without it, the quest for a world of peace, openness and tolerance would prove fruitless.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
</body>
</html>
