Address by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to the Metropolitan Quebec Chamber of Commerce and Industry

February 27, 2001
Quebec, Quebec

For a some time now you have been hearing a lot of talk about the Summit of the Americas, which will soon be held right here in Quebec City. I also want to talk to you about it in the hopes of giving you a different take on this extraordinary exercise in democracy.

We are living in a rapidly changing world. Almost every day the media report about some scientific discovery or technological breakthrough that will radically transform our habits or our way of life. Around the world, profound and lasting changes are shaping our societies. The information and communications revolution, which offers everyone the possibility of conquering distances and gaining access to knowledge, is a prime example.

Canada’s foreign policy has also changed so as to better reflect these new realities. We have expanded and enhanced our relations with the countries of the Americas. We have embraced a hemispheric identity. These changes might not make headlines, but they, too, are profound and lasting.

Over the past 10 years the consolidation of democracy and the emergence of the market economy have had a very positive impact in our hemisphere. And Canada is proud to have actively contributed to this process. A process that has led us to diversify our relations with our neighbours and explore new avenues of cooperation with them, such that Canada, too, has come out of this process transformed.

As business people, you are all well aware of the benefits we gain from our dynamic relations with the nations of the Americas. These nations account for over 90% of our foreign trade. Currently, Mexico is our third largest trading partner. And a large portion of Canada’s foreign investments go to Chile.

The countries in our hemisphere account for the largest increase in trade that Canada has recorded over the past decade. During this period, our trade within the Americas increased by 170%, compared to 60 and 66% with Europe and Asia respectively.

Canada’s actions have been guided and motivated, I believe, by a broad and open conception of our national interests, and by the recognition that our own future as a stable, prosperous and democratic country depends on our ability to continue influencing the course of events in our hemisphere.

Ten years ago Canada embarked upon a new journey of hemispheric cooperation. And in a few weeks we will reach a new milestone in this journey when we welcome to Quebec City the democratically elected leaders of this hemisphere for the third Summit of the Americas.

This gathering has special importance, not only for Canada but for all the countries taking part.

First, it will remind everyone that the Americas are more than just a fact of geographic, but a "gran familia." A family of more than 800 million people. A young family, since the average age of the 500 million people who live to the south of the United States is somewhere between 17 and 21. It is within this growing family that we want to forge close links based on shared values.

Of course, each country is proud of its identity and determined to preserve it. But we all feel that on another level, we share a common set of aspirations and values, including an attachment to democracy, fair markets and social justice. It is our common objective to improve the quality of life of all our citizens.

When I addressed the assembly of the Organization of American States recently, I spoke of the means available to us to promote human progress and shared prosperity in our corner of the world. Because we have not only an historic opportunity but a moral obligation to work together for the welfare of all our citizens.

Today, I would like to talk to you about how all of this will come together at the Quebec City Summit.

At the outset, let us acknowledge that some complex problems and challenges are diverting the great family of the Americas from our common objectives. But I am firmly convinced that we will be able to tackle these problems head on and overcome them with the same determination that brought us together in Miami and Santiago, and that will sustain us as we move ahead.

We must also admit that despite an abundance of potential resources, there are some deep political, social and economic inequities in the Americas. The gap between rich and poor remains too large. And in the new economy, we are now faced with the additional challenge of guarding against gaps resulting from the information revolution and the unequal sharing of knowledge. What’s more, emerging democracies lack the solid institutions which democratic values need to take root. We must work together to put in place broader, more effective social policies. And we must identify ways of increasing and maintaining investments in social services.

For many, globalization and the technological changes that go with it are the sole cause of all these challenges and problems. But this argument does not stand up to analysis, nor is it borne out by the facts.

Globalization is not an option that one chooses from among others. It is a reality we are faced with day in and day out. In itself, it is neither heaven nor hell. But it can be, as the British Prime Minister so eloquently put it during his visit last week to Ottawa, "the key to jobs for our people, to prosperity, and, indeed, to development in the poorest parts of the world".

Our response to globalization need not be driven by irrational fear nor blind enthusiasm. Rather, we must together come up with the instruments which will give all the members of our large family a fair and equal opportunity to benefit from it.

In sum, we need to place the welfare of our citizens above all else and recognize that they can only realize their full potential if their security is assured, if their human and democratic rights are respected, and if they are given equitable access to economic and social opportunities.

That is the challenge which the democratically elected leaders of the Americas will take up in Quebec City – adopting a declaration and an action plan which express our collective political will and set out a series of initiatives to respond to our most urgent priorities.

I cannot emphasize this enough. In Canada’s eyes, the most important thing at the Quebec City Summit is that the participants engage in a joint effort to develop and implement a political, economic and social program that is both coherent and balanced. A program that will benefit all the citizens of the hemisphere and ensure stability, peace and prosperity in our region of the world.

In other words, and contrary to what some are saying, the Summit won’t just be about the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Certainly, economic integration will be on the Summit agenda; after all, every family has to consider its finances. But there’s more to a family than just budgets. And the Summit is much more than a vehicle to promote economic growth.

The leaders and peoples of the Americas know that democracy, human rights observance and respect for the rule of law are the best ways to ensure human security and the well-being of our citizens, both individually and collectively.

But they are only too aware of how hard it is to maintain this security in a context of poverty and inequity. They also know that the development of human potential requires broad access to education, effective social policies and a genuine culture of respect for diversity. That these are essential if democracy and prosperity are to flourish.

It is Canada's hope, therefore, that the Quebec City Summit produces a clear and vigorous commitment to democracy and equity. This commitment must extend to our democratic institutions, our electoral machineries, to impartial systems of justice, as well as the protection of human rights and freedom of expression.

It will mean empowering local governments and safeguarding the rights of minorities, indigenous peoples, migrants and the disabled. And making the strongest possible pledge to promoting the legal, economic and social equality of women and men.

And we must also continue our work in the field of economic integration with an eye to the creation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

We remain committed to the timetable announced in Santiago for the creation of this Area by the year 2005. Given its temperament and its history, Canada favours reciprocal free trade. We understand the links between trade liberalization, prosperity and social progress. And we feel that a free trade area, coupled with a clearer set of rules for all, is the best way of forging these links throughout the hemisphere, in countries both large and small.

At the same time, Canada is well aware that the prosperity and quality of life which we want, both for ourselves and the generations to come, cannot depend solely on trade.

Indeed, that is why the Summit Action Plan, in its chapter on Creating Prosperity, goes beyond economic relations between countries to discuss equal opportunities, social responsibility and equity.

The focus is on initiatives designed to promote the interests of all our citizens. Initiatives that are separate from the creation of the free trade area, and that could include streamlining financial markets, protecting workers’ rights and the environment, and seeking a form of cooperation that would make it possible to better distribute the benefits of economic growth.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Quebec City Summit must be seen as an important and significant milestone in the journey of the Americas. By the time this journey is over, we will have translated our ideas and our aspirations into a better quality of life for all the citizens of the hemisphere.

Those are the challenges and the opportunities facing us in Quebec City. And I am convinced that by making common cause, we will together break new ground for freedom, prosperity and social justice, from Nunavut to Tierra del Fuego.

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