CITIZEN-FOCUSED COOPERATION, PROPOSES
THE HONOURABLE LUCIENNE ROBILLARD

Vancouver, British Columbia, August 30, 2004 – During an address delivered at the annual conference of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, the Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, stressed the need to adopt a new approach to intergovernmental relations.

In her speech, entitled “Towards an even better Canada: citizen-focused cooperation”, the Minister reminded her audience that our intergovernmental relations rest on the foundation of our human success: our shared values and Canadian federalism. She also pointed out that our governments must draw on past experiences – successes and failures alike – and that they have to contend with a new environment, characterized in particular by a better-informed population concentrated in urban areas, and by globalization.

The Minister then expressed her belief that the new approach to intergovernmental relations depends first and foremost on the willingness of all governments to place citizens at the centre of their actions and efforts. “This is no time for obstinate attitudes (...) or pointless quarrels,” she said, adding that the upcoming First Ministers’ Meeting would be an opportunity for governments to launch a new era of cooperation and to go beyond their own interests to place the interests of all Canadians first.

Ms. Robillard concluded by urging both levels of government to take advantage of this First Ministers’ Meeting to engage in a constructive dialogue and put forward solutions responding to the needs and aspirations of Canadians. “ We must restore citizens’ trust in the governments of this country,” she stated, adding that this meeting represents a crucial step in the process aimed at regaining that trust, without which there can be no productive intergovernmental relations.

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This document is available on the Intergovernmental Affairs Web site at the following address: http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/