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<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. GRAHAM - ADDRESS TO THE CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS SUMMIT 2003 - TORONTO, ONTARIO</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE BILL GRAHAM, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TO THE CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS SUMMIT 2003 TORONTO, Ontario October 30, 2003 I'm very pleased to be here today as the guest of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce The agenda of your conference today could not be more important and I'm glad to be able to talk to you about the future of Canada-U.S. relations. My colleagues and I in the government spend a great deal of time and energy on this most important of our relationships. That said, though, we must recognize that much of the future direction lies beyond the scope of government, resting in the hands of private enterprise, civil society and the citizens of our two countries. This is why I think it's important for us to reflect today on how we can work together to ensure that our shared experience on this continent benefits us all. For our relationship holds tremendous potential, I believe, not only for those of us who live in North America but for others around the world as well. A first and obvious thing to note about the Canada-U.S. relationship is that it is about much more than economic interests alone. Through NORAD, our countries are partners in the joint defence of North America and our civilian authorities work closely together on common security as well. We are joint stewards of the environment and, as this summer's blackout reminded us, we are deeply connected in our energy infrastructure. Beyond this, and perhaps more importantly, our peoples are interwoven by ties of family and friendship, travel, study, popular culture and much more. Canadians and Americans both live in amazingly diverse societies, and share a commitment to promoting fundamental values such as democracy, good governance, respect for human rights, and international peace and security. The complexity of all these economic, political and social elements means that the ties between our countries extend far beyond the sphere managed by our two federal governments. We in Ottawa certainly hear the calls for the government to do more to manage the political and economic dimensions of the relationship. We recognize the important responsibilities we have for assisting cross-border business and generally ensuring access to our greatest export market. In a moment I'd like to discuss with you some ways in which we in the government are working on our relationship with the United States, but first let me put this in perspective by touching on some broader points. As Foreign Affairs Minister, I have to balance that one vitally important relationship with Canada's other foreign policy interests, and with bilateral relations we conduct with some 160 countries around the world. In all of these, my responsibility is to pursue a broad range of goals for Canadian foreign policy. Economic prosperity is clearly important but peace and security and the promotion of our country's values and culture are also central. Advancing these goals requires a foreign service spread throughout the world, engaged in building political and economic ties with other countries; working bilaterally and multilaterally to promote global stability and prosperity; and helping developing countries to become more secure, self-sufficient and well governed. Unlike many other countries of our size, Canada has responsibilities and engagements of global reach. There are many reasons for this, not least of which is the fact that such efforts are crucial to making our world a better and safer place for Canadians to live and do business. We have much to gain by working to develop conditions under which new markets and trading partners can emerge. And we have even more to lose by ignoring the conditions of danger and misery outside our continent. As Torontonians have learned all too well from the SARS crisis, there are very few dangers that stop at national borders any more--not infectious diseases, nor environmental degradation, nor terrorism, nor economic instability. So conducting Canada's foreign policy on a global scale is, in the end, essential to protect our national interests. Kofi Annan has put the point this way: "Either we help the outsiders in a globalized world out of a sense of moral obligation and enlightened self-interest, or we will find ourselves compelled to do so tomorrow, when their problems become our problems, in a world without walls." My point here is that the United States shares our concerns in this regard and we can be mutually reinforcing in pursuing them. There are of course other reasons why we Canadians have engagements in the world stretching far beyond our deep interests in the United States. It is often noted that our strikingly open economy takes us into the world but so do our people. As those of us who live in this great city of Toronto know, whether we travel on the subway or walk along the streets, our city reflects the larger world around us. At city hall you can get service in 101 languages, and there is a reason for that--Toronto is one of the most multicultural and diverse cities in the world. This impacts in turn on our foreign policy. To give one example, I was recently in Sri Lanka and people there told me that there are more Sri Lankans of Tamil origin living in Toronto than in any city in Sri Lanka itself. This naturally impacts on our very active presence in promoting the peace process in that country. And other similar concentrations of immigrant populations mean that we have a direct interest in peace and prosperity in their countries of origin as well. But beyond our diverse population, there is also an economic factor. As you in this room know better than I, the strength of the financial sector is a key to Toronto's prosperity. Our banks and insurance companies are active in many corners of the world and when I travel to places like India, China or Indonesia, I am often engaged in talking about increased access for our financial sector. This city is also home to one of the largest stock markets in the world for mining enterprises. The prosperity created for us by that market too is directly related to activities in far corners of the world such as Central Asia, Russia, Africa, South America and other areas of relatively high risk. The promotion of good governance and stability in those regions is thus directly relevant to our economic health here in Toronto. As I suggested earlier, I also underline that many of our global efforts can have a direct bearing on our relationship with the United States. We share many interests and values, of course, and we are an important ally on the international scene. Sometimes we can usefully act in ways that are difficult for a superpower and Americans recognize the role we play in advancing our shared goals. Our U.S. allies deeply appreciate our contributions to the fight against terrorism and stabilization in Afghanistan; our substantial contribution of funds for reconstruction in Iraq; our leadership in the Global Partnership Initiative to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the wrong hands; our provision of debt relief and tariff reductions to developing nations; and our work in shoring up democracy in the Americas. These are appreciated by the United States not least because they contribute to its own security as well as to ours. This global dimension to our relationship presents us with many opportunities for greater cooperation. A couple of weeks ago, for example, I was meeting with other foreign ministers at the APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum] summit in Bangkok to discuss how we can collectively deal with the sense of frustration and despair leading to violence in the Muslim world. I told them how Canada is trying to find ways of improving our dialogue with the Muslim world and of the work of our parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, which is conducting a study on this critical topic. Canada's growing Muslim population only reinforces our commitment to this goal. During my conversation with Colin Powell, he pointed out that the United States shares similar perspectives and concerns and mentioned how much could be accomplished if our two countries worked together on this. I believe strongly that sharing such goals enables us to deal together with issues here on the continent as well. So bearing in mind this broader global context of the Canada-U.S. relationship, let me turn now to some ways in which we are working directly to advance economic ties with the United States. Diplomacy is carried out far differently today than it was decades ago, when it focused mainly on the White House and State Department. As we've increasingly seen, here as in all of our other relationships, the ties between states are no longer the exclusive sphere of diplomats. Recognizing the power of Congress, in the 1980s we established our Congressional Relations Unit in Washington. Since that time, we have also made greater use of the Canada-U.S. Parliamentary Association, one of the most successful such associations in the world, and one where I established, over several years, strong relationships in Congress that remain today not only useful but rewarding on a personal level. More recently, we've begun broadening our focus into local politics and grass-roots action, far removed from Washington itself, where frankly it's often difficult to get anyone's attention amid some 10,000 registered lobbyists. Now our advocacy aims at working with individual Canadian and U.S. partners who have active interests in particular issues or sectors. This way, instead of simply pleading for fair play, as we used to do, we're able to use the much more effective strategy of showing Americans that when they hurt our interests they're hurting their own as well. On the softwood lumber issue, for instance, we have actively engaged the American construction industry on our side. Whether it's about lumber or environmental issues or the proposed entry-exit system, this new approach to advocacy in the United States is paying off for Canadian business. We expect to see even more dramatic benefits from the government's Enhanced Representation Initiative that was announced last month. This initiative will see our diplomatic presence in the United States expanded from the 15 offices we now have to an eventual 22 consulates and consulates general. The new offices will be located mostly in the southern and southwestern parts of the country, in recognition of the ongoing shift of economic and political power toward these regions. And as we expand Canada's presence into new areas of the country, offices will have responsibility not just for trade and investment promotion on our behalf, but also for explaining Canadian policies in areas such as public health, the environment and culture. This isn't just good news for us. It's welcomed by Americans too. In Colorado this summer, the Governor told me that the opening of our consulate general in Denver is an important development for his state, where Canada is an important investor and trading partner. The Mayor of Denver repeated this message, saying that amid current economic problems in his city, the upgrading of our consulate is an event of real significance in its civic life. We are also reaching out to parts of the country where we do not yet have full consular offices. Coming months will see 20 new honorary consuls named to advance Canada's interests in cities across the United States. These honorary consuls will be prominent local figures such as businesspeople and former politicians and diplomats, both Canadian and American, who know our country and are willing to represent us. The initiative will also enable us to respond quickly to issues anywhere in the United States by engaging local advocates to work on our behalf. All of these measures allow us to spread messages far beyond Washington, to politicians, constituents and sources of influence at the state and regional levels of the United States. Our plans have an excellent chance of showing real payoffs, I believe, because they build upon the larger relationship between us and the United States, which is basically flourishing. Let us not forget that trade between our countries has doubled since the introduction of NAFTA and the vast majority of it is free of disputes. On issues of continental and global security, we remain a trusted partner of the Americans, despite strains caused by our decision not to go to war in Iraq. As we've learned, when our two countries do diverge on major issues, the important thing is to communicate our differences clearly and respectfully. Over the past year, our government has showed that we can and will sustain a close economic relationship with the United States alongside an independent foreign policy based on Canadian interests and Canadian values. And frankly, from the point of view of U.S. business, the economic ties between our countries are too important to be derailed by the occasional political disagreement. This was confirmed for me when I had the occasion to visit Cleveland last spring while we were all conscious of tensions caused by our position on Iraq. Talking to leading businesspeople there about the impact of these tensions on our trade relations, they told me that they saw the impact as minimal. After all, they said, you're our best customer, and the place where we invest. It would be counterproductive for us to reduce our economic relations just because of a political difference of opinion. This just underlines the fact that we already have a fundamentally sound and stable relationship with the United States and though this is not something we ever take for granted, our cross-border commerce is thriving. We must keep this fact in mind as we consider where to go next. There is certainly lots of room for big ideas and challenges to the status quo. Trade, border issues, energy and the environment are all areas ripe for new developments and many of my cabinet colleagues are deeply engaged in these issues. As the recent poll reported in yesterday's National Post indicated, Canadians want us to look for ways to increase our ties with the United States and to benefit from the greater North American market in which we live. But to state, as an Member of Parliament was recently quoted as saying, that "our relationship with the U.S. is in a deep freeze" may be great political rhetoric to catch attention, but it's hardly reflective of the real state of affairs. If it is, it would be news to Colin Powell, who has often stated that the inextricable and deep relationship between our two countries would survive the disagreement we had on the best way to deal with Iraq. It would be news to Paul Cellucci, the American ambassador with whom I had lunch yesterday. After reviewing trade and border issues under discussion between our countries, he affirmed that from his perspective, our relations are doing well overall. Talk of a deep freeze would also be news to Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defence, who recently expressed American gratitude for our efforts in Afghanistan, and to Tom Ridge, Secretary of Homeland Security, who joined John Manley this month in praising the cooperation between our countries that has led to such progress on the Smart Border Action Plan. And finally, talk of frozen relations would probably be news to President Bush, who sat for three hours next to the Prime Minister at dinner in Bangkok two weeks ago in what was clearly a convivial setting. In my view, exaggerations of the kind I referred to--and there are those who argue for closer ties but then say things that are designed to prevent them--are neither accurate nor helpful. Of course there are differences, but they are differences that largely result from the very closeness of our relationship. One has to ask oneself, are these issues substantially different than the type of inter-provincial trade issues we often have to deal with? (The right of Ontario construction workers to work in Quebec, for example.) Our challenge is to address these issues bearing in mind our mutual interest in positive outcomes. And we are all pleased that there is a lot of work being done by the business community and research institutes such as the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the C.D. Howe Institute and others. From their work, we are considering a series of possible options. Some experts are advocating for further developments such as a "big bang" integration of our policies and economies; others advocate a more incremental approach. When we consider such measures we must, of course, understand where our U.S. partners are coming from. We've seen little appetite in U.S. political circles for any sort of "big bang" initiative, particularly as their election year approaches. Indeed, our Mexican friends have consistently faced that reaction in Washington when they talk of creating a supranational European Union type of structure in North America. Our distinct relations with Mexico, and our shared NAFTA relationship would introduce further complexities into any such idea; so would all the other economic alliances and agreements our three countries have with other countries and regions of the world. The sheer multiplicity of linkages and actors makes any grand economic deal, which will require supranational institutions to manage, hard to envisage. For that reason, it may be smarter for us to focus on building on the success of NAFTA by continuing the reduction of barriers to investment and trade in goods and services; by looking at particular spheres where it's clearly in our interests to deepen regulatory cooperation with the United States; by harmonizing standards; and by finding more effective ways of dealing with U.S. trade remedies that disrupt our highly integrated markets in steel, energy and lumber. Just this month, for instance, we and our NAFTA partners set up a new commission to promote more openness and integration in the North American steel trade market, which will touch on all these areas. If we turn to border issues, we see that the Smart Border Action Plan has been a huge success in making the border safer and in speeding up the clearance of goods and people for cross-border transit. Indeed, it is a model to other countries concerned about security and transborder trade, as I learned at the recent APEC meeting in Thailand, where we all discussed ways to develop measures to counter terrorists' capacity to attack our prosperity by taking advantage of our open trading economies. We all know that security concerns remain paramount for the United States right now. We therefore need to continue thinking creatively about ways of reducing risk by establishing new practices that ensure a secure and open border and by cooperating abroad to address threats before they reach North American shores. Two further areas are ripe for new ways of cooperation. The first is energy. After the blackout in August, we set up a joint Canada-U.S. task force on electricity to prevent such a crisis from recurring. We should consider ways of building on this task force, perhaps by expanding our cooperation to other areas of energy supply. And in the related matter of the environment, here too we need to find ways of deepening our partnership with the United States. In the Dialogue on Foreign Policy I conducted across the country last winter and spring, I repeatedly heard that the environment is of vital interest and value to Canadian citizens. This summer, an encouraging step was taken with the signing of a new agreement between our two countries to reduce cross-border air pollution. Going further, we must find ways of cooperating with the United States on climate change. We must support states and provinces undertaking regional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and look to best practices on both sides of the border. There are many environmental initiatives in the United States that we could profitably consider. In all of these areas, increasing cooperation between Canada and the United States will benefit businesspeople in both of our countries. Some of these benefits, like easier cross-border flows, are obvious to everyone right now. Others, like a healthy environment, may require more intensive advocacy. Whatever the challenges, I assure you that this government will continue to work on ways of improving your ability to conduct business in the United States. If I may ask something in return, it is that all of you, who have so much influence within this country, bear in mind the larger context of your efforts and our country's important global interests. As you all know, in a globalized world, doing business with the United States often involves business with the world beyond our continent. As I've said, the prosperity of the wider world obviously impacts ours at home. We cannot ignore the demands of developing countries and the impact that North American commerce has beyond our own continent. Much of the responsibility for assuring the stability and prosperity of the global economy rests with and among the world's governments and I hope you will support the efforts of our government in this regard. And finally, one last thought. Though our security and prosperity are deeply interwoven, Canadians and Americans retain quite different national traits. This point is underlined by Michael Adams in his recent book, Fire and Ice, which analyzes public attitudes in the two countries and comes up with some provocative conclusions. When it comes to social attitudes, Adams finds that Canadians and Americans have significantly different perspectives. In our country those differences appear in political choices made in respect to universal medicare, family benefits, campaign financing and gun controls, to name a few examples. In international affairs we see these different attitudes reflected in our emphasis on multilateral institutions such as the International Criminal Court or in the priority Canada places on the goal of human security, which we're currently advancing through initiatives on small arms trafficking and on the substantial reform of multilateral institutions. In the face of these distinctive approaches, Adams makes the point that while economic integration has been proceeding at a considerable pace since we signed the Free Trade Agreement in the 1980s, Canadians have retained a distinct political identity and priorities. I can recall the 1988 election and the free trade debate that dominated it. I shared the concerns of many at that time that pursuing free trade might lead to a loss of Canadian sovereignty and our capacity to pursue distinctive Canadian objectives here at home. These fears have proven groundless. Canadians have not lost their individuality with deeper economic integration on this continent. On the contrary, we've been able to pursue it with Mexico as well as the United States, in a truly unusual arrangement where an underdeveloped country is engaged in an economic integration project with two of the most highly developed countries in the world. Michael Adams is right to conclude that we can go forward and press the goal of deeper integration with our U.S. neighbour without losing our distinct identity. Indeed, I would argue that the resulting increase in prosperity will, in the long run, bring an increased capacity to pursue our own goals here in North America, throughout this hemisphere and in the greater world beyond. In the end, recent events have clearly demonstrated that our partnership with the United States transcends disagreements we may have over specific issues. And despite our very different social attitudes and policies, we do work together to further our goals of a shared security and prosperity for North America, and a shared concern for a more just, secure and prosperous world. In the end, ours is not simply a matter of a relationship between two states but rather between two peoples. Our business community is key to establishing that relationship, and I look forward to working with you to ensure that we develop it to its fullest potential. Thank you very much. </body> </html>

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