REMARKS BY PRIME MINISTER JEAN CHRÉTIEN ON THE OCCASION OF A CANADIAN-DOMINICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BREAKFAST

April 15, 2003
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

It is a great pleasure to be here with you today. Let me begin by congratulating you for all the hard work you have been doing to build stronger and closer ties between Canada and the Dominican Republic. There is no better indicator of the success of our relationship than witnessing the rapid growth and activity of this Chamber.

In 1987, barely 15 years ago, the Canadian-Dominican Chamber of Commerce was established. At that point, business was substantial enough to benefit from an institutional framework to bring together the private sectors of Canada and the Dominican Republic. Given the growth in trade and investment between our two countries, you have every reason to expect your membership to grow.

The Dominican Republic has taken steps to liberalize its trade and investment regimes, and by doing so, has caught the eye of Canadian investors. Your economic growth in recent years is impressive and every day sees new opportunities for commercial cooperation. In 2002, the two-way trade between our countries grew by 20 percent from the previous year. I would anticipate further growth given the very fruitful discussions that are taking place to establish a Free Trade Agreement between our two nations.

In addition to increased trade, Canadian investment continues to play an essential role in the Dominican economy. Many Canadian companies are attracted by the stable environment and higher than average growth rate. A number of top flight Canadian companies are active in the Dominican Republic in many diverse sectors: power generation, tourism, mining, housing, banking, and transportation.

Individual Canadians and families are also discovering the charm and hospitality of this country as tourists. In 2002, 71 flights a week brought more than 300,000 Canadians to the Dominican Republic. The number of tourists is growing and is expected to continue to grow as Canadians seek out the beauty and warmth of this country.

I would not be doing my job if I did not take this opportunity to remind Dominican companies about the benefits of investing and doing business in Canada.

Canada's fiscal policies have created a very competitive environment with low inflation, budget surpluses, a low debt, and the best growth performance in the OECD. We have low corporate taxes and attractive research and development incentives.

Interest rates are lower than they have been in 40 years. We are implementing the largest tax reduction in our history. And Canada's corporate and capital gains tax rates are now below those of the United States.

Canada's fiscal and economic policies make it a good place to invest and do business, but our social policies are also a good reason to think of Canada when you expand your business. Our universal, publicly-funded health care system, for example, saves businesses significant amounts. And unlike all other countries, our public sector pension plans are now fully funded and actuarially sound for at least the next 40 years.

But while we celebrate the goods and services traded between our countries, we must not forget the richness of the human exchanges that take place. Our people are visiting each other in increasing numbers and are forming families and friendships that span the waters between us.

Several universities and professional and technical institutions from the Dominican Republic and Canada are coordinating their efforts to share knowledge, skills, and technology. I understand that the Université du Québec à Montréal has had a joint agreement with the Universidad APEC to offer its Executive MBA in the Dominican Republic since 1997. And Capilano College of British Columbia is placing their management students in Dominican based organizations – even in this Chamber of Commerce!

Trade, investment, education, tourism, and cooperation are all ways that our countries have become closer as neighbours within the gran familia of the Americas. By doing business together and learning from each other, we also enrich our cultures.

This idea of greater prosperity moving forward hand-in-hand with a greater understanding of our cultural diversity is a cornerstone of the Summit of the Americas process.

The 34 Heads of State and Government have agreed that strengthening democracy, creating economic prosperity and realizing human potential are three goals that are intimately related. We cannot achieve one without promoting each of the other two.

More than ever, in our age of globalization, economic development is a challenging process, especially for small economies. We must therefore combine our efforts to ensure that all citizens are able to participate fully in the development of their respective countries by expanding economic opportunities and making a firm and unwavering commitment to social equity.

This country has been a strong and consistent supporter of the Summit process. It is precisely this kind of support that is allowing all countries of the Hemisphere to meet again this Fall in a Special Summit of the Americas. This will allow leaders, many of whom are new, to take stock of where we are in reaching these important objectives.

President Mejía and honoured guests, next year, our two countries will celebrate 50 years of formal diplomatic relations. It is a great pleasure for me to celebrate with you some of the accomplishments and benefits of the warm and lasting friendship between the Dominican Republic and Canada. Let our strong friendship flourish for the benefit of the citizens of our nations and for the citizens of the hemisphere.

Thank you very much.

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