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<title>MR. GRAHAM - ADDRESS TO THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - OTTAWA, ONTARIO</title>
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<p><font face="Arial"></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 BILL GRAHAM,</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1">MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1">TO THE</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1"><strong>CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS</strong></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" size="+1">OTTAWA, Ontario</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" size="+1">January 30, 2003</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">It's a real privilege to welcome such a distinguished group to the Pearson Building tonight to celebrate the 75th
anniversary of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA). It certainly gives me great pleasure to be
here at this gathering of former Canadian foreign ministers. Barbara McDougall and her staff at the CIIA are to
be warmly congratulated for their initiative in bringing us all together to share reflections on ministerial
experiences and insights into Canada's international role. On a personal note, looking out at this group
assembled here puts me in mind of a traditional Chinese saying: "If you would know the road ahead, ask
someone who has travelled it." I think I could do well this evening to go around asking driving directions from
those gathered here tonight. And I'm confident, of course, that we would all go in the same direction!</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Central to us all is the fact that over the past century or so, Canadians have created a country that is often
described as one of the best in the world, a fact that all of us who have had the privilege of serving as foreign
affairs minister have heard from other countries around the world. And from the start, foreign affairs have been
central to our efforts at nation building. The search for new markets and new immigrants, and the process of
defining and policing our new borders, meant that the first governments of Canada were forced to engage the
outside world, even in the early days of the British Empire. While various Conservative and Liberal
administrations differed on tactics, both showed a similar determination to ensure that Great Britain, which then
made foreign policy on our behalf, took due account of Canada's interests. As this untidy arrangement
collapsed as a result of our extraordinary contribution in the First World War, the generation of Canadians who
came of age in the 1920s and 1930s set out to seize greater control over their foreign policy, carving out a
distinctive place for Canada in the world. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">But I know--and my predecessors would certainly share this view--that the task of defining Canada's role in
the world has required more than the actions of individual foreign ministers or their ministries. Tonight, for
example, we are here not to celebrate the accomplishments of former foreign ministers, but to celebrate the
work of the CIIA, its relationship with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and its
enduring contribution to our sense of identity as Canadians. The Institute's emergence in 1928 was part of a
movement of national awakening and self-definition that redefined Canada. Just as the Group of Seven
struggled during these years to depict their country and its wilderness in a uniquely Canadian fashion, and
authors like Morley Callaghan and Hugh MacLennan experimented with new approaches to Canadian literature,
the CIIA and its members sought a distinctively Canadian perspective on the world beyond our borders.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Unlike the American and British institutions that inspired its creation, the CIIA has not generally tried to advance
particular causes or justify established policy. Of course, inadvertent influences on policy have been known to
happen. It might amuse you to know that in 1937, Escott Reid, the first national secretary of the CIIA, worked
his way through the tortuous prose of Mackenzie King, and produced an influential article outlining principles
behind the Prime Minister's foreign policy. King was delighted to find out that he had both a foreign policy and
the principles of such a policy, and he confided to his diary that the "excellent" article had "cleared my mind of
many points." </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Notwithstanding this episode, though, the CIIA's approach has always been non-partisan, and it has remained
committed to exploring the full range of international issues from different perspectives. That catholicity is
doubtless why the Department has found it such a congenial partner for the past 75 years.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Close personal ties have bound this Department and the CIIA since 1928. The Institute's first chairman was Sir
Robert Borden, who, as prime minister from 1911 to 1921, also served as the Secretary of State for External
Affairs. The first three national secretaries of the CIIA all ended up as "Ottawa Men," with Escott Reid and John
Holmes becoming senior members of the Department. Over the years, this Department has recruited its fair
share of new foreign service officers from among the younger members of the Institute. And often, the interest
of these young Canadians in international affairs has been inspired by the Institute and its activities on
campuses across the country. For this, we are immensely grateful.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">The exchange of people and ideas has worked both ways: departmental personnel have long been deeply
involved in the Institute's activities, and over the years, many from the Department have gone on to staff offices
at the CIIA. John Holmes, for example, returned to head the Institute for over 20 years when he left the
Department in 1960. More recently, Allan Sullivan followed a distinguished career in the foreign service by
serving as president of the CIIA. And of course, Barbara McDougall has brought her expertise as a former
minister to the role of president.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">But our relationship with the Institute is built on more than a network of personal relationships. Fundamentally, it
rests on our shared belief that the national interest is best served by a foreign policy that reflects the informed
views of Canadians. During its first few decades of operation, the CIIA provided a vital forum for the discussion
of foreign policy in a small and divided country, where the cautious Prime Minister Mackenzie King discouraged
speculation about Canada's role in the world. In the 1930s and early '40s, its series of conferences produced
much of the serious public commentary on Canadian foreign policy; and today these conferences remain a
hallmark of the Institute, and an important point of contact between it, this Department, and Canadians
interested in foreign policy.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">On a personal note, I might add that the Institute's tradition of fostering discussion among Canadians on foreign
policy issues is one that the Department and I are now carrying forward in the public consultations launched
last week. This consultation process, called A Dialogue on Foreign Policy, will be conducted on many fronts,
through an interactive Web site, expert round tables, and town hall meetings led my myself and other members
of Parliament. Even in its early days, the Dialogue is already bearing fruit in the form of the on-line responses
Canadians have submitted to the 12 questions asked in our discussion paper. I must say that many of these
responses are quite impressive, both in their thoughtful treatment of substantial issues and in their strikingly
positive remarks on the process of consultation itself. Perhaps the most succinct and gratifying response I've
seen yet comes from one person who wrote: "After finishing the questions, I realized how difficult it must be to
implement a foreign policy."</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Well, many of my distinguished predecessors in this job know just how right that respondent is, and I think they
would join me in affirming that one of the best assets a foreign affairs minister can have is an intelligent,
informed public that grasps some of the complexities of the terrain in which we work. By and large, Canadians
are pretty good at grasping complexities, and I'm convinced that in these times of crisis over Iraq, our citizens
are more than ever wanting to have serious and substantial discussions of foreign policy issues.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">This receptiveness among Canadians is due in no small part to the kind of work done by the CIIA, whose non-partisan engagement with citizens does much to foster a climate in which serious and sophisticated discussions
of foreign policy can take place. As the current occupant of that corner office upstairs, I can assure you that I'll
be doing everything I can to bring these citizen voices to the ear of government. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Once again, I congratulate the CIIA on its 75th anniversary, and I extend, on behalf of the Government of
Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, our deep appreciation for the work that
your organization has done over the years.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Thank you.</font></p>
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