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<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title></title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 2004/19 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE JIM PETERSON, MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE, TO THE CAMBRIDGE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CAMBRIDGE, Ontario March 25, 2004 I want to thank the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce for inviting me to speak today. Before I begin, I'd like to offer congratulations to the Bell Award nominees here with us. Their commitment to business excellence is the cornerstone of prosperity and jobs not only in Cambridge, but also throughout Canada. And Canada's reputation for business excellence is the foundation of our success internationally. Budget 2004 On March 23, Ralph Goodale, the Minister of Finance, brought down the first budget of the new Paul Martin government. I may be biased, but I think this will be just the first of many, many more. But a more objective observer agrees. I quote: "The government has heard our call and delivered a back-to-basics budget that restores our confidence in the government's fiscal management." That was from Nancy Hughes Anthony, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Budget 2004 is fair, responsible and disciplined. It prudently mixes unswerving commitment to balanced budgets with strategic investments that strengthen both our social foundations and the competitiveness of our economy. It recognizes that, if Canada is to be a country of achievement in the 21st century, we must be a 21st-century technology-driven economy. It recognizes that achieving our 21st-century goals will require a fundamentally strong economy, as well as a healthy, well-educated, highly skilled population. It recognizes that dynamic communities like Cambridge are pillars of our prosperity and quality of life. And it takes strong measures to ensure that Canadians can trust that their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent wisely. Budget 2004 sustains a fundamentally strong Canadian economy with a forceful commitment to fiscal discipline and expenditure control. It is the seventh consecutive balanced budget, representing the longest run of balanced federal budgets since Confederation. It also projects balanced budgets or better for next year and the year after. Budget 2004 also sets the objective of bringing Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio down to 25 percent within 10 years. As many of you recognize, 2003 was a challenging year for the Canadian economy. The impact of shocks like BSE, SARS and the blackout here in Ontario combined to slow economic growth to 1.7 percent last year. Prudent fiscal management enabled us to address these challenges without falling into a deficit situation. To cushion against future shocks, our government will maintain its Contingency Reserve at $3 billion and set aside an additional $1 billion in economic prudence in both 2004-05 and 2005-06. To reassure Canadians that their money is being spent wisely and properly, Budget 2004 improves expenditure control and oversight by implementing a comprehensive plan including the re-establishment of the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada. Budget 2004 provides massive investments in the health of Canadians. It confirms the payment of an additional $2 billion in health care funding for the provinces and territories in this fiscal year. It also establishes a Canada Public Health Agency to ensure that effective surveillance and crisis response systems are in place to better deal with major public health problems. The 21st-century economy is driven by ideas, skills and innovation. In that context, well-educated, highly skilled people and an advanced research capacity are essential to building new prosperity and opportunity. Budget 2004 supports this objective through the creation of a new Canada Learning Bond of up to $2,000 for every child born after 2003 into a family entitled to the National Child Benefit Supplement. It also boosts funding for Canada's three federal granting councils to help foster knowledge and innovation, and includes $270 million to provide venture capital for start-up companies in key emerging sectors. Budget 2004 also recognizes that the small-business sector is a key source of innovative ideas. That is why, among other steps, we are accelerating by one year the planned increase in the small-business deduction limit--the amount of business income to which the lower 12-percent income tax rate applies--to $300,000 by 2005. We are removing an impediment that has prevented small businesses, in some circumstances, from fully accessing the refundable Scientific Research and Experimental Development Investment Tax Credit. We are extending the non-capital loss carry-forward period to 10 years. This will be particularly beneficial for innovative start-up small businesses, which may experience financial losses while developing new technologies and products. Budget 2004 also announces key first steps in fulfilling the government's commitment to a New Deal with communities across Canada. Among other steps, it provides full Goods and Services Tax relief for municipalities of all sizes. This will provide municipalities with $7 billion in GST relief over the next 10 years. It also sets out accelerated infrastructure funding, as well as funding for immigration settlement and integration. I am, indeed, proud of the initiatives outlined in Budget 2004. The fiscal discipline, its focus on strengthening our social foundations and communities, and its stress on building a 21st-century economy will greatly assist me in my role as Minister of International Trade, one of the chief salespeople for Canada. It sends a clear message to the world that Canada will continue to be one of the best places in the world in which to invest and do business. As such, Budget 2004 supports the aggressive trade and investment strategy we are pursuing in the newly created Department of International Trade. The trade and investment agenda As everyone here is keenly aware, the future of Canadian business lies in its ability to innovate, attract investment, compete and win in the world marketplace. We are working on a multi-track trade and investment liberalization strategy aimed at opening the world to your products, services and know-how. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the coming into effect of NAFTA. Looking back, it's clear NAFTA has been an unqualified success for Canada, Canadian businesses and Canadian workers. In those 10 years, Canadian trade with the U.S. and Mexico has almost doubled, and now surpasses $659 billion annually. Total foreign direct investment in Canada reached $350 billion in 2002, as investors increasingly recognize our competitive advantage and preferred location as a gateway to the world's largest market. To elaborate further on that last point, KPMG recently identified Canada as the lowest-cost country in which to do business among the 11 major countries studied, including the G7 countries. KPMG gave Canada a 9 percent cost advantage over the U.S. And of particular interest to this room, the study named the Waterloo region as the most cost-competitive of the Ontario communities in the survey. On the jobs front, the NAFTA years have coincided with our lowest unemployment numbers since the 1960s. So much for that "giant sucking sound" the skeptics would have had us believe was going to be the result of liberalized trade in North America. And, also contrary to many skeptics, these benefits were realized without sacrificing our unique values: our culture, our health care, our public education and our social services. Closer trade ties do not mean a loss of sovereignty. Canada and the world For Canada, the message is clear: we need more free trade, not less. Protectionism protects no one, least of all those it is invoked to protect. As a government, we are moving forward on all fronts to ensure that barriers to trade and investment are being chipped away. With the U.S., our largest trading partner with almost $1.8 billion in bilateral trade each day, we have put in place the 30-point Smart Border initiative to improve the security and efficiency of the border, and we're working on ways to ensure that NAFTA works even better. Regionally, Canada supports the creation of a Free Trade Area of the Americas, which would extend from Nunavut to Tierra del Fuego and have a combined GDP of more than $20 trillion, or about 40 percent of the world's economic activity. Emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil are becoming our potential customers as people there improve their living standards and increase their purchasing power. We are working to develop a strategy now to ensure that Canadian exporters and investors have the support they need to take full advantage of these markets. And we're looking aggressively toward the European Union, the world's second largest trading bloc. Last week, at the Canada-E.U. Summit in Ottawa, E.U. Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and I agreed to a framework for a Trade and Investment Enhancement Agreement, a very important initiative for Canadian businesses, particularly those in the services sector. Most important, we are taking a leadership role at the WTO. We are determined that, despite hitting a minor speed bump in Cancun, the current Doha Round of negotiations will succeed. Because it is in this forum that the major issues affecting our relationship with the world will be decided. The new economy As I said earlier, for Canada to be a country of achievement in the 21st century, we must be a 21st-century technology-driven economy. And there is perhaps no better example of the new knowledge-based economy of the 21st century at work than right here in Canada's Technology Triangle. What you have accomplished here is truly remarkable. In a short period of time, you have transformed the Waterloo region. An area that was mostly dependent on traditional manufacturing has become a high-technology incubator of new ideas and a magnet for investment. In Ottawa, we are well aware of what this region's entrepreneurs have accomplished. In a city where information is power, the Blackberry is king. However, even this region, as dynamic and successful as it is, cannot afford to rest on its laurels. The 21st century will be marked by fierce competition for markets, investment and talent. The rest of the world is catching up, and Canadians must constantly innovate to stay ahead of the curve. And I want to mention just one of the innovative approaches that our government is taking to help Canadian businesses get the information they need to compete in the global marketplace. It's called the Virtual Trade Commissioner. Just as the name suggests, the Virtual Trade Commissioner is a personalized Internet gateway to our hugely successful Canadian Trade Commissioner Service. It provides secure, direct access to trade commissioners around the world, as well as up-to-date market reports, trade events, foreign business leads and other types of information indispensable for doing business abroad. And it's free. If you have not already taken advantage of this exciting service, I encourage you to register at <a href="https://bac-lac.wayback.archive-it.org/web/20070221060251/http://www.infoexport.gc.ca/">http://www.infoexport.gc.ca</a>. In closing, I want to say that we, as a country, are ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow. As a government, we are working to establish the conditions that will make it possible for Canadian businesses to innovate and prosper on the world stage and create jobs here at home. Our economy, as the Finance Minister said on March 23, is strong and resilient despite the shocks of 2003. It is well-positioned to take full advantage as global growth picks up steam. Economic resilience is the ultimate dividend for Canadians from the prudent fiscal course that the Paul Martin government has charted. Indeed, it is a 21st-century Canadian trademark in a challenging world. One that I, as one of Canada's chief salespeople, find makes my job a whole lot easier. You've proven you are global leaders in what you do. If we keep working together, then all Canadians win. Thank you. </body> </html>

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Last Updated: 2006-10-30	Top of Page	Important Notices