Canam Manac of Ville St.-Georges, Quebec, operates two successful metal
fabrication plants in Monterrey and Ciudad Juarez, providing jobs for 500
people.
There are also a number of highly successful joint ventures between Canadian and
Mexican companies -- ventures that are bringing jobs and other benefits to both
countries. IDG Stanley, for example, in conjunction with a Mexican partner, has
been awarded a $4-million contract to help the Comision Reguladora de Energia to
create a framework for companies that are expected to be formed as Mexico
increases its use of natural gas.
So the momentum is there. Canadian companies have recognized the benefits to be
gained by establishing a presence in a country of 93 million people. And Mexicans
have seen the benefits and jobs that come from international investment. Clearly,
the number and variety of businesses accompanying us on this trade mission is
strong evidence that Canadian interest in Mexico is both substantial and long-term. This region has captured Canadians' imaginations, and their bullishness
bodes well for our future together.
The challenge before all of us is to make it as easy as possible for companies in
both countries to do business with one another. To that end, we are continuing to
work through the NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] process to address
issues such as the access of trucking firms to Mexico, and we remain committed to
streamlining customs procedures in both countries.
Of course, the world of tomorrow will be built by the efforts we make today. And
what we build will be passed on to the next generation. That is why the Canadian
Education Centre that we will officially open this afternoon is so important. It
will help to build stronger bridges between our societies. It will expand horizons
and increase understanding.
And it is to the younger generation -- more comfortable with technology, more
outward-looking in their views and more adaptable to change -- that we will look
for leadership in the years to come.
We have built a solid foundation for their efforts, and we see incredible
opportunities for the future of the Mexican-Canadian relationship.
In recent years, Canada has undergone a transformation that I think parallels one
going on elsewhere in the world: a transformation from seeing trade liberalization
as something to be resisted, to seeing it as something to be embraced. In fact, 70
percent of Canadians now support freer trade. Support for the NAFTA in particular
is up from just 37 percent in 1993 to 63 percent today.
Canada has recognized that our future is tied to expanding trade. And, just as our
country has been enlarged and enriched by the contribution of immigrants from all
over the world, so, too, has each new trading partnership expanded our perspective
and increased our opportunities.
Of course, globalization and freer trade have brought concerns as well as
benefits. Many people see things changing quickly, dramatically, fundamentally.
The comfort of the old certainties has been replaced by an anxiety about what
tomorrow may hold.
We must acknowledge and address those concerns. We must continue to demonstrate
the benefits that freer trade brings, and the opportunities that it offers for
all. We must show the connection between open markets and increased jobs. And we
must prepare our people to take advantage of those opportunities.
Certainly, Canada's transition to this world view has not always been easy. It has
required some fundamental restructuring of our economy, and it has involved a
dramatic shift in our own sense of ourselves and our place in the world. But it
has been worth it!
Part of our transformation has seen Canada -- a country with deep roots in Europe
and with strong commercial ties with the United States -- begin to recognize its
natural affinity with the Pacific Rim and to see itself as a country of the
Americas.
Today, Canadians look with great optimism and enthusiasm to expanding our
relationship with this hemisphere. As this trade mission demonstrates, this region
is an integral part of our trade strategy.
I am pleased to release today Canada's Trade Action Plan for Mexico. Copies are
available at the back of the room. This Plan identifies Mexico as one of 10
priority markets for Canada. To further assist Canadian companies, we have
developed an extensive database on doing business in Mexico called Export i
Mexico, which is available on-line through the Internet.
Our commitment to the economic future of this region has been demonstrated by a
free trade agreement with Chile. We have also proposed a trade and investment
arrangement with Mercosur, which will provide the framework for discussing trade
and investment issues.
We are also firmly committed to the FTAA, and we must not lose our momentum as we
move toward its creation. We cannot, for example, let the U.S. administration's
delay in obtaining fast-track authority derail our progress or divert our course.
There now exists a shared desire, and a unique opportunity, to build a true sense
of community in this hemisphere. That opportunity must not be lost.
Our commitment to strengthening our ties with trading partners in the region, and
to developing the FTAA in particular, should come as no surprise: after all,
Canada is a trading nation.
But our commitment is based on more than straight economics. We also see the
dangers inherent in allowing the FTAA to slip away. Dangers like a hemisphere
cluttered with overlapping trade arrangements, sometimes working at cross
purposes. Such a situation would only serve to frustrate and imperil our broader
goals.
And we also know of the social dividend we could lose by not moving ahead with the
FTAA: benefits such as new schools, hospitals, higher incomes and better labour
and environmental standards.
As we look ahead to the challenges and opportunities before us, I am reminded of a
book I once saw of 13th-century maps. When mapmakers of that day came to the edge
of the then-known world, they would write the words "Here be monsters" to indicate
that what lay beyond was uncertain and therefore frightening.
We too face many unknowns as we embark on this new era of freer trade and a more
interdependent global marketplace. But we must not restrict ourselves by imagining
monsters. We must not limit our horizons by only what can be seen at the moment.
Instead, like the explorers of an earlier day, we must sail uncertain seas,
knowing that new worlds of opportunity lie waiting to be discovered.
So let us go forward with confidence and sail those seas together.
Thank you.