February 15, 2002
Moscow, Russia

I am very pleased to introduce Team Canada 2002.

Team Canada 2002 is a powerhouse. I am joined by provincial premiers, territorial leaders and, above all, more than 200 of our best entrepreneurs. Men and women who want to catch the wave of positive change that is sweeping the new Russia.

What makes this visit extra special is that it brings us home. To the very arena where the name "Team Canada" first took on a very powerful and emotional meaning for Canadians. Where it became a symbol of Canadian team work. Of our best doing their best. At the highest level on the world stage. In the 1972 Summit Series of hockey.

There is not a Canadian who witnessed that series who cannot tell you where they were when it happened. I am sure that the same can be said for many Russians. And I am so pleased that members of both teams are with us today.

The shared legacy of that September to remember, for Canada and Russia, was that our people truly discovered each other, many for the first time. We saw each other as people. With much in common.

Thirty years later, Canada and Russia are partners on the world stage. In the G8, at APEC and at the United Nations. And I would like, again, to salute President Putin for his leadership in the international campaign against terrorism. At the G8 Summit in Canada this year, I plan to draw on his considerable skills as we work to meet our joint commitment to enhance the quality of life of the people of Africa.

Canada and Russia have also become partners in business.

Canadian business pioneers such as Stefan Simek and George Cohon have become household names. Canadian firms are fixtures across Russia. Canadian entrepreneurs have cultivated business prospects where many would have given up. From banking to engineering, Canadian professionals are shaping the face of the new Russia.

Team Canada 2002 comes to Moscow, in force, at a time of great promise.

The Russian economy is growing rapidly. And debt repayment is ahead of schedule. But the real magnet for our delegation is the historic structural reforms that President Putin and his team are implementing. Reforms that will anchor Russia as an open, market-driven economy.

Such reforms have a great potential to cause division. And I applaud President Putin for the skill has shown in explaining their value and purpose. He has made the market economy popular. Something that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.

Canada has long supported the reform process. We have worked with you on the new Civil Code. On bankruptcy and intellectual property laws. And Canada will continue to work with Russia in any way that you deem to be helpful.

In the context of growth and reform the conditions are ripe for Canada and Russia to expand our bilateral trade and investment. With less than $1 billion in two-way trade, we are not even close to tapping our potential as economic partners.

Canada has long demonstrated our commitment to expanding trade and investment. We were a pioneer in support of the accession of Russia to the WTO. And we have shown, and will continue to show, good faith on trade issues.

But both of our countries need to do more.

Frankly, I think that some Canadian business people have under-estimated the potential of Russia after 1998.

Russia, too, has missed opportunities.

Only a handful remain of the many Canadian oil and gas firms who were exploring Russian opportunities a decade ago. Disputes have held back major Canadian investments in mining. And the negative experience of some Canadian investors has tarnished the Russian market in the eyes of many more.

Both Russian government and business have an interest in identifying the real causes of these disputes and these departures if we are to succeed in lifting our business relationship to a new level. Another important step would be reaching a new and modernized Foreign Investment Protection Agreement that offers investors genuine protection and instills confidence.

Canada also needs to do more. We have to make business travel more efficient. And we have to provide better options for trade and project financing.

Business thrives on trust. And trust is a two-way street. With your support and engagement, Team Canada 2002 can be a major step in building mutual confidence.

The enthusiasm of our delegation is strong. Their energy is contagious. Their excitement crosses sectors and regions. They know that Russian ports, railways and air corridors are already major regional and global centres of trade. They are impressed by the rapid technological advances that have taken place in Russian telecommunications. And they know that the Russian firms represented in this room are major global players.

Team Canada 2002 is fuelled, not only by the quality of our delegation and the opportunities here in Russia, but also by the fundamental strength and dynamism of the Canadian economy. Which is extremely well-positioned to weather the current global economic slowdown and prosper in the recovery that will follow.

We have tabled five straight surplus budgets. And we are the only G8 nation projected to weather the current slowdown without falling into deficit. Our debt-to-GDP ratio has fallen faster than any other major industrialized nation. Inflation remains low and stable. Interest rates are at 40-year lows.

We have implemented the largest tax cut in Canadian history, under which corporate tax rates will fall about five percentage points below average U.S. rates. A strong incentive for new investment in Canada. And we have the most generous R&D tax incentives in the world.

Last month, KPMG released a study naming Canada the most cost-effective country in the G-7 to do business.

And we will continue to make strategic investments that contribute to building our long term economic strength. In building an advanced infrastructure of knowledge and skills for our people. To ensure that Canada is the place where new discoveries and processes get to market first and fastest.

The bottom line, ladies and gentlemen, is that conditions have never been better for business between Canada and Russia.

There is no better way to show the resolve of Canada to seize this moment than through Team Canada 2002. An idea conceived in the context of the global economy. But whose roots reach back in our collective memory to the fall of 1972.

When, for the first time, "Team Canada" became a lasting symbol of Canadian team work. Of our best doing their best. At the highest level on the world stage.

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