Speech by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to the National Forum on Canada's
I want to thank all of you for coming here today -- thank you for your commitment and your involvement in Canada's foreign policy. Your experience and knowledge are a major asset for Canada.
I would like to give special thanks to the two co-chairs, Lorna Marsden and Jean Monty, and to Janice Stein and her program committee.
In my view, it is a very exciting time to be involved.
In the Red Book, we promised a more open and democratic process for making foreign policy.
And that is what we have done.
We have held debates in Parliament on major issues, such as peacekeeping -- and we have listened carefully and responded to those debates.
We welcome the report of a Special Joint Parliamentary Committee. We responded with a white paper on foreign policy.
We are meeting constantly with Canadians -- including many of the people in this room -- to discuss specific issues: aid, trade, human rights, arms control, and so on.
As promised in the Red Book, we established this National Forum as a way of involving many different groups and individuals in the foreign policy process.
We need your help because the nature of foreign policy is changing.
All around the world, the walls are coming down. In some cases, this literal fact, such as the Berlin Wall. Walls against treader are being lowered. And technology is tearing down walls in ways that we could only dream of a few years ago.
We have made it easier to talk across borders. To travel to distant countries. To live, work, and study abroad.
The result is that relations between countries are largely in the hands of individuals. It is not just the government that promotes Canada abroad -- it is Canadians. That is what foreign policy is all about -- the millions of personal contacts that take place every year between Canadians and people around the world.
There ae new networks outside the direct control of government with non-governmental organizations playing a key role.
I see that as a very positive development, because NGO's are often very good at what they do -- often better that governments -- whether it is delivering aid or assistance, or saving endangered species and habitats, or working to promote a greater public awareness of international issues.
The interests Canadians pursue abroad are as complex as the country we live in.
No single individual, no one government, can do it all. No one has all the answers.
But working together, as Canadians, we can make a real difference -- for Canada, and for the world.
In our white paper, we have, we have identified three broad goals for Canadian foreign policy:
As you know, promoting Canadian Trade has been a personal priority for me. Canada is always has been a trading nation. Our impressive success in exporting our goods and services has been a profoundly important element of our economic recovery.
I had the honour to lead historic trade missions to Asia and Latin America. As we said in the Red Book, expanding trade in these areas is a priority for our government. And I was delighted that Canadian businesses got involved in a very enthusiastic was. The result was $11 billion in trade and investment deals, and thousands of new jobs for Canadians
Last June, we hosted the G-7 Summit in Halifax. And I think Canadians were very proud to see us welcoming the leaders of the world's most important developed nations.
We said we wanted to make it a down-to-earth, productive meeting -- a "Chevy Summit." We said our priority would be strengthening international institutions for the 21st century. And I was delighted with the progress that we made.
The G-7 is not a decision making body. We have no authority to rewrite the rules for the IMF or the World Bank. But we can play a very important role in helping to move things along, to encourage the global community to join us in these challenges. We accomplished that at Halifax.
During the past year I also attended ceremonies in Europe marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II -- the most terrible war in human history. I was very moved by the enormous gratitude that Europeans still feel for Canada's important role in liberating them a half-a-century ago.
Looking back fifty years should make all Canadians very proud. We took on more than our share in winning the victories of 1945. We also played a key role in the creation of the new institutions that were intended to promote a better post-war world.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the United Nations -- another event in which Canada was very involved.
Those were key years in breaking from the rather timid role Canada had played between the wars. We emerged with a new international role, conceived and advanced by a remarkable generation of Canadians, led by my first boss, Mike Pearson.
The basic architecture of our international system was laid down in the years following World War II. Since then, we have created a vast network or organizations, treaties, rules, and regulations. Not just the United Nations, but also the IMF, GATT, NATO and NORAD.
We believe strongly in multilateral action. We have plenty of evidence to show that it is arbitrary and unilateral action that leads to trade wars, hot wars, and cold wars.
It is our institutions that have made international relations more manageable, more predictable, more secure.
They remain the best place to establish a consensus on issues, and to develop the rules that put that consensus into action.
We spent a lot of time at Halifax discussing the United Nations. And we found broad agreement on the importance of the UN to international order and stability.
It is true that the UN has many problems. It is often frustrating. There have been great disappointments that could have been avoided. We do not ignore these.
But we must not lose our sense of perspective.
It was the United Nations that helped bring countries together on a footing of equality. It oversaw decolonization. It gave a voice to those most in need: women, aboriginal peoples, and children.
It was the UN family of organizations that established global approaches t poverty, refugees, and sustainable development. Through the World Health Organizations, the United Nations helped wipe out smallpox. UNICEF literacy programs offer hope to millions of children every year.
The United Nations has provided for the development of international law. Canada can be particularly pleased with the progress in the law of the sea -- and more recently, the rules on fisheries management.
It was the United Nations that steered the struggle against racism, against apartheid, and established universal standards of human rights. In many ways, the UN serves as the world's conscience.
But the United Nations is clearly in difficulty. Its involvement in Somalia, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia has raised questions about whether it can cope with the challenges of the post-Cold War era.
The UN is also in financial crisis. Its largest contributor, the United States, may cut its contribution sharply. Other members are not paying their fair share because of an outdated system of assessments.
Frankly, I am growing tired of UN-bashing. And it is especially irritating when it comes from those who are not paying their bills.
Now is a time of need for the United Nations. Canada should be there to support the UN. We have been there. And we will continue to be there.
The UN has been a centre piece of Canadian foreign policy from the time of Louis St. Laurent and Lester Pearson.
I believe some of the challenges can -- and should -- be fixed through sensible reforms.
We know there are problems, but that does not let member states off the hook. Good global citizenship requires that all countries pay their faire share, on time and in full -- as Canada does.
Our government feels very strongly about this. We believe that Canada has the credentials to argue that reform can go hand in hand with paying your dues.
Canada is committed to reform, not just on the contribution side, but also in policy innovation that help get the best value for our money
This is why Canada brought together international experts over the last year to study ways of improving the UN's rapid deployment capacity. We believe the UN is still a good bargain on peace and security issues. Later this month, André Ouellet will present specific proposals when he speaks the the General Assembly in New York.
While the end of the Cold War may have brought inflated expectations for the future of the UN, there is no doubt that it has also brought real cause for new hope. This is being reinforced by the spread of liberal economic and politician values in the developing world. The longer term prospects for the United Nations are probably brighter now than they were fifty years ago.
We also see the potential for organizations to play a larger role in supporting stability and security. Often these organizations have the local experience that can make a difference between success and failure.
Later this month Canada will host a conference of experts from la Francophonie to discuss conflict prevention from an African perspective. We hope some of the conclusions of this meeting will feed directly into the Francophonie Summit that I will attend in Benin in December.
We are holding similar discussions with our colleagues in the OAS and ASEAN. We have also pushed the Commonwealth agenda towards active support for democracy and good government.
This is how multilateral rule-making works. Certain countries take the lead, develop proposals, and promote acceptance by the international community.
For example, on fish conservation, Canada played a leadership role. On other issues, other countries shoulder the burden
With this kind of progress, our confidence in international institutions is renewed. Our job is to pick the issues, develop the proposals, line up out partners, do not always share our views on the value of global institutions. There are increasing calls in the United States for a retreat from multilateralism. European priorities often seen to be heavily regional in focus. China, which has a seat on the Security Council and is emerging as an economic giant, has so far shown little interest in making a positive contribution to global institution building.
Despite this, I remain an optimist. We should see the obstacles as challenges. And Canada should use this anniversary year to promote realistic solutions for a world in transition.
The issues you will discuss today are linked. Stability, prosperity and security reinforce each other. I believe that the more countries work together towards common goals, the more stable their relations will be. The more private citizens connect across borders, the greater is their understanding and appreciation of each other.
The flow of ideas around the world promotes positive change within countries. As we adjust old partnerships and build new ones, the world becomes a more integrated community of nations. That is good for all of us.
This is a very Canadian view of the world. And that should be no surprise, because it clearly reflects the was se do things at home. The way we work to balance diversity with unity, tolerance with order, freedom with fair play. The way we try to integrate the views of difference regions, linguistic groups and cultural communities rather than isolate them.
It is not always easy. No one knows that better than me. But no county works harder at it -- and no country is better at it -- than Canada.
That is why there is commitment to Canadian values that weaves it way through our foreign policy.
Canada does many different things in our international relations. But others recognize that we have a special talent for what is sometimes called "strengthening civil society."
That is one of the greatest contributions we are making to improving democracy and human rights in other countries.
And we are doing it in a typically Canadian way. Quietly. Competently. More concerned with results that rhetoric.
we know how to run a police force in a democratic society. The RCMP are regarded as the finest police trainers in the world, and they are in constant demand in countries like Haiti that are trying to rebuild democratic systems.
we have a judiciary that is noted for its independence and professionalism. That is why Canadian jurist are welcome throughout the Commonwealth and la Francophonie when countries want help with their own systems of justice.
We have an outstanding record of holding fair elections. That is why Elections Canada has helped dozens of countries improve their democratic machinery. That is why the demand for fair-minded election observers from Canada continues to grow.
We know how to promote and defend a free media. That is why I proposed at the OSCE Summit in Budapest that the organization develop the capacity to identify the first signs of abuse in public communications. We are also working with specific Central and Eastern European countries on media issues because of our recognized experience in this field.
And of course, we are widely recognized for our expertise in peacekeeping. No country has contributed more to international peacekeeping efforts than Canada. Our peacekeepers are considered first-rate not simply because they are highly trained, but also because of the Canadian qualities of tolerance and respect for different points of view.
Just last week, it was an honour for me to welcome back some of our peacekeepers that were stationed in Croatia, from the Second Battalion, Roal 22nd Regiment.
Despite the difficulties our troops face in the former Yugoslavia, we can be very proud of their contribution to promoting an end to the conflict.
All of this makes me very proud to be the prime minister of a nation with these kind of values, values that are respected around the world.
The people of Canada are also very around of our honorable tradition in international affairs. They know that this tradition is on of the things that defines us as a nation and a people.
It is one of the things that makes us the best country in the world to live in.
You don't have to accept my word for it. The United Nations has confirmed it for the second year in a row.
And poll after poll shows that a vast majority of Canadians in every part of the country agree:Canada is the best!
Working together, Canadians have earned an outstanding international reputation -- a reputation for fairness, tolerance, peace, prosperity, diversity, and compassion.
With your help, we will maintain that proud tradition in the face of new international challenges.
Thank you.
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