Prime Minister Harper Raises Canadian Concerns On Trilaterial Agenda At North American Leaders' Summit

Date: August 21, 2007

Montebello, Quebec - Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his satisfaction today with the outcome of the North American Leaders' Summit in Montebello, Quebec, where he met with U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderón.

"Canada, the United States and Mexico are good neighbours and also good friends. As sovereign countries in the modern world we are both independent and interdependent," said the Prime Minister. "This week's Summit has provided an opportunity to share individual perspectives and take stock of challenges we face together."

The discussions covered a wide range of issues the three countries face, including:

• Working together on consumer protection to ensure the safety of imported foods and products entering North America;
• Developing practical solutions to our mutual environmental challenges; and
• Assuring both efficient and secure borders, while respecting the bonds of friendship and commerce between the three countries.

The discussions focussed as well on international and hemispheric matters from climate change to the upcoming APEC meetings. Also discussed were the Middle East and Haiti, where all three countries are working to advance freedom, democracy and development.

Since last year's Summit, agreements on regulatory cooperation, pandemics, intellectual property and energy research have been achieved.

"Our three countries share peaceful and productive relations," said the Prime Minister. "These relations are rooted in our common commitment to democracy, free and open markets through NAFTA, and equal opportunity for all our citizens."

Prime Minister Harper met in separate bilateral meetings with Presidents Bush and Calderón.

The Prime Minister and President Bush discussed a range of bilateral issues including the countries' joint commitment to a secure border open to the exchange of goods and services and the interaction of peoples.

The Prime Minister and President Calderón discussed the growing breadth and depth of the Canada-Mexico relationship such as labour mobility, the environment, security and defence cooperation, and a range of hemispheric issues.

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• Backgrounder
• Regulatory Cooperation Framework (Spanish Version)
• North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza
• Intellectual Property Action Strategy (Spanish Version)
• Agreement for Cooperation in Energy Science and Technology (Spanish Version)

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North American Leaders' Summit Media Backgrounder

Since Prime Minister Stephen Harper, President George W. Bush and President Felipe Calderón last met in Cancun, Mexico in March 2006, much has been achieved in meeting the challenges mutually faced by our three North American nations.

Highlights of those achievements include: the development of a Regulatory Cooperation Framework, a North American plan for avian and pandemic influenza, an intellectual property rights action strategy and an agreement for cooperation in energy science and technology.

Regulatory Cooperation Framework

Incompatible regulations between trading partners can create unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles to trade and investment which can limit innovation, hinder exports and efficient supply chain management, increase consumer prices, and reduce consumer choice.

The Regulatory Cooperation Framework will enable Canada, the US and Mexico to increase regulatory cooperation in order to provide North America with broader product choice, lower prices, and more flexibility.

• This will be done while maintaining high standards of health, safety, and environmental protection and while respecting each nation's sovereignty and legal requirements.
• The Framework will track and report on progress to Leaders, Ministers and the public through a Committee which will also coordinate and oversee cooperation activities.
• The Framework's goals will be achieved by promoting a systematic approach of information sharing among regulators to encourage greater compatibility of regulations and regulatory processes.

North America Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza

The world is facing a growing threat posed by the spread of a new form of avian influenza-or bird flu-and the potential emergence of a human influenza pandemic. A worldwide outbreak of a new influenza virus could result in a high death toll, millions of hospitalizations, and hundreds of billions of dollars in direct and indirect costs to North American economies.

At their meeting in Cancun, the leaders of all three countries committed to developing a comprehensive, coordinated, science-based approach to prepare for and manage avian and pandemic influenza. The Plan would be based on the four pillars of emergency management: prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

Central to the Plan is a North American focus that will maintain the flow of people, services, and cargo across the borders during a pandemic while striving to protect our citizens. The Plan also builds upon existing national emergency management plans, and conforms to guidelines and standards set by international organizations.

Intellectual Property Rights Action Strategy

Counterfeiting and piracy activities cost North America hundreds of millions of dollars. These activities include manufacturing goods bearing imitation trade-marks (including pharmaceuticals, toys, clothing, auto parts, medical equipment and foodstuffs) as well as making unauthorized copies of books, CDs, DVDs and computer software for commercial distribution.

After the last North American Leaders' Summit, a strategy was developed with the support of both public and private sector representatives. It builds on existing cooperation and improves co-ordination among the three governments and businesspeople. The Strategy is based on the following three elements:

• Detection and Deterrence: the sharing of best practices among enforcement authorities and the identification of further areas of collaboration, including exchanging practices for training customs/border enforcement authorities on intellectual property rights;
• Public Awareness: public education, including media campaigns, around the negative impacts that counterfeiting and piracy have on both consumers and the economy and;
• Impact Measurement: a coordinated approach to data collection using the study of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on economic impact of counterfeiting and piracy as well as systematic surveys. This will help to define the scope of counterfeiting and piracy activities, to set objectives, and to measure performance.

Trilateral Agreement for Cooperation in Energy Science and Technology

This trilateral agreement is designed to support North American pursuit of energy security, environmental protection and economic sustainability. Developed by officials under the North American Energy Working Group, the Agreement provides a formal framework for collaboration and joint projects in energy science and technology.

It flows directly from the identification of energy security as one of five key priorities set by the Prime Minister of Canada and the Presidents of Mexico and the United States at their trilateral meeting in 2006.

Trilateral collaboration in the areas of innovation, energy efficiency and technology development, as well as in moving these technologies to the market, promotes energy security. This agreement allows for public and private sector cooperation in research, development and deployment on a wide range of energy technologies for peaceful uses, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, nuclear energy, fossil fuels and electricity.

Such cooperation will help to increase the pace of development and use of cleaner, more efficient energy technologies in all three nations.

This document is available electronically at www.montebello2007.gc.ca.