Thank you, Mr. Van de Vyver, for your kind introduction. I would also like to thank the Conseil d'administration of the Chamber for organizing this event and for making it possible for me to join you today.
I have come to take part in the Canadian weekend that brings to a close the 90th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of Passchendaele. This is something of a personal pilgrimage as well. Ninety years ago last month, a young man from Ontario — 22 years old — joined the attack through the mud. He was my grandmother's brother. He was killed in the early phase of the battle. I shall be thinking of him when we recite the “Act of Remembrance.” “At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.”
Canadians made heroic sacrifices on European soil during the last century. Those sacrifices underscored our shared values and helped weave together our deep ties. They helped create a peace in Europe that has been based upon security, and has resulted in unprecedented prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. We will build upon that mutual prosperity, and this Chamber of Commerce will continue to forge stronger business ties between countries that have strong historical ties.
Last month, I was very pleased to meet with Flemish parliamentarians who had come on a study visit to Canada. We were particularly interested in discussing innovation policy, and my Flemish colleagues had an opportunity to visit research facilities in Ontario and Quebec.
In March, His Royal Highness Prince Philippe will lead a trade mission to Vancouver. This will be the third Belgian economic mission to Canada in 18 months. A 2006 Belgian mission led by His Royal Highness resulted in eight science and technology agreements.
Last February, my colleague Minister Verwilghen led a second mission. It focused on the business opportunities that arise from Vancouver's role as a gateway between Asia and North America, and its preparations for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. I believe they called it a “ports and sports” mission. I hope you all will take advantage of the opportunity to come to Vancouver and the ski resort of Whistler to experience what is shaping up to be the best Winter Games ever.
His Royal Highness returns to Canada in March, where he will be a keynote speaker at Vancouver's GLOBE 2008. This third trade mission is particularly interested in life sciences, new media, and information and communications technologies. Belgium and Canada also want to explore possibilities in renewable energy and advanced materials and manufacturing. We can also take advantage of the trade mission to further develop our research and development partnerships.
We are also interested in Belgian expertise in transportation, logistics, ports management and customs facilitation. In fact, I will be visiting the Port of Antwerp later this afternoon to see how you manage the logistical challenges of the world's fifth-largest port.
There is obviously great potential for closer economic ties between our two countries. Canada is open for business. We welcome foreign investment. We want Canada to be your partner of choice in reaching the markets of North America.
There has never been a better time to do business with Canada. Our economy is the strongest it has been in a generation and is projected to continue to be strong through 2009. In fact, Canada is enjoying one of the longest periods of economic growth in our history. Business investment is expanding for the 12th consecutive year. Our unemployment rate is the lowest in 33 years.
Not only do we balance our budgets, we are able to pay record amounts of national debt. In fact, we are the only G7 country with ongoing budget surpluses and a falling debt burden. This all contributes to what we call Canada's fiscal advantage — one of the five advantages in our long-term economic strategy, which we call Advantage Canada.
We are making significant progress on the other four advantages as well, including a tax advantage. Last month, the Minister of Finance announced an additional $60 billion in broad-based tax relief over this and the next five years for individuals, families and businesses. By 2012, the federal corporate tax rate will be down to 15 percent, enabling our combined federal-provincial-territorial corporate tax rate to become the lowest among the G7 economies.
And, clearly, many businesses and many industrial sectors are already making use of Canada's advantages. We boast the world's third-largest biotechnology sector in terms of number of companies, and the fifth-largest aerospace industry. Canadian leadership in mining and in oil and gas extraction is unmatched anywhere in the world.
And from these advantages, and among these world-leading industrial sectors, many Canadian companies have created world-renowned brands. Perhaps our most instantly recognizable global brand — for a business audience at any rate — is Research in Motion, RIM. At this very moment, I'm probably competing for the attention of some of you. Competing with whatever's on your BlackBerry. It's a Canadian invention by a Canadian company.
Many of Canada's leading companies are members of your Chamber and are present here today. Hélène Deslauriers, who serves on your executive, is one of more than 800 members of the Bombardier team in Belgium — most of them in Bruges. Bombardier has put Canada at the forefront of rail transportation technologies and civil aviation.
SNC Lavalin has been active in Belgium's petrochemical, pharmaceutical, environmental and agri-food sectors, with some 200 employees in offices in Brussels and Antwerp.
Back in Canada, Belgian companies bring similar benefits to our economy. GSK Biologicals employs some 1200 Canadians. Agfa-Gevaert employs more than 200 research staff and 100 sales staff in Ontario. ASCO Industries has 130 employees in the Canadian aerospace industry — it has tripled its Canadian-based staff in less than five years.
In total, Canadian firms employ about 5000 Belgians, and the same is true for the Belgian firms in Canada — about 5000 Canadians work for Belgian companies.
But in today's economy, the true value of our two-way economic relationship is not measured simply in terms of jobs. It's measured in investment and the trade and technology transfer that investment brings.
This was certainly brought home to me a few weeks ago when I attended an event in the city of Quebec where GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals showcased a $199-million expansion to the facility that manufactures flu vaccines. This facility will be a major supplier to Canada, but also to the United States.
And in today's economy, this provides telling proof that Canada can serve as your business gateway to the North American marketplace. Many Canadian production hubs are closer to important U.S. markets than most American hubs. We want to encourage Belgian business to take advantage of Canada's business environment — and the North American Free Trade Agreement — to tap into the world's wealthiest market.
I know that I don't need to belabour this point here — not in a country that, like Canada, has a small population that has grown rich through international trade. Not in a country that is positioning itself as an effective gateway to the markets of Europe.
And I have come here, not simply to sell the idea of Canada to business people in Belgium and Luxembourg, but also to learn more about the great opportunities for Canadian business here. Canada is very interested in ways to position our businesses in Europe, and we see opportunities in Belgium's leadership in transport and logistics, and in Luxembourg's expertise in financial services.
We look at the European Union's (EU's) population of half a billion people — and its GDP of some $16 trillion. We want to find better ways to tap that market. The EU is already our second-largest market, second most important source of new technologies, second most important investment partner. In fact, the EU accounts for more than a quarter of the foreign direct investment in Canada — that's two-thirds of our non-U.S. foreign direct investment.
More than a quarter of Canadian investment abroad goes to the EU. The book value of total two-way Canada–EU investment stands at about $260 billion. The rate of our two-way investment is growing faster than the two-way investment growth between Canada and the U.S. We are becoming much more important to each other's economy.
But some impediments to trade and investment remain, in spite of our long history of friendship. Differences in regulatory regimes create problems. Tariffs and quantitative restrictions throw up barriers.
Last June, Prime Minister Harper met his European counterparts at the Canada–EU Leaders' Summit in Berlin. The leaders agreed to tackle challenges such as regulatory cooperation and agreed to launch a comprehensive study on the Canada–EU economic relationship.
With respect to regulatory cooperation, leaders have endorsed a regulatory cooperation road map that sets out concrete steps that Canada and the EU can take toward converging regulations in nine areas. Some of these include sectors that are very important to Belgium–Canada trade, such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and food allergen labelling.
In addition to the road map, leaders also committed to concluding a new regulatory cooperation agreement. For example, it would include a commitment for EU and Canadian regulatory authorities to consider each other's measures before developing new regulations.
Together, a new agreement and a detailed road map will help us move away from reacting to trade disputes, issue by issue. It will help both Canada and the EU anticipate and deal with potential regulatory barriers before they emerge, thereby facilitating commerce between our markets.
Last June, the leaders agreed to cooperate on a study on closer economic partnership between Canada and the EU. We want to examine existing barriers to the flow of goods, services and capital. We want to get an idea of the benefits both sides might gain should we remove those barriers. Canada hopes that the study will provide the impetus needed to move toward greater trade and investment liberalization with the EU.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Leaders' Summit last June set the stage for a new era of economic partnership. We've identified the challenges. Together we are taking steps to address them. We can look forward to new opportunities and to easier access to each other's markets. I am confident everyone here would welcome that.
At the same time, both Canada and EU continue to pursue these matters in the Doha Round negotiations, as the multilateral system remains our top priority. To complement the WTO process, Canada and the EU have also begun a new wave of bilateral and regional negotiations. For example, Canada has recently concluded free-trade negotiations with four countries of the European Free Trade Association.
This new era of trade and investment certainly creates opportunities here in Belgium and Luxembourg. You are making a compelling case for this region as a gateway to Europe, and initiatives such as Prince Philippe's trade missions to Canada help bring that message to Canadians.
I want to make the similar case to our hosts. Canada can be your partner of choice for tapping into the North American marketplace. So many of the companies represented here have led the way. There is so much more potential left to tap: opportunities in transportation and logistics, information and communications, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and aerospace and agri-foods.
This is a very exciting time to be involved in the Canadian economy — a time of enormous growth and unprecedented opportunity. I am looking forward to learning more about the opportunities that Canadian businesses find here as well.
Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg: trade-focused, outward-oriented — and, while the size of our countries differs, our keen interest in enterprise continues to bring us together.
Thank you.