REMARKS BY PRIME MINISTER JEAN CHRÉTIEN ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL DINNER IN HONOUR OF MR. JEAN-PIERRE RAFFARIN, PRIME MINISTER OF FRANCE

May 21, 2003
Ottawa, Ontario

Four hundred years ago, a group of French explorers made an expedition along a majestic river: the St. Lawrence. One year later, in 1604, those intrepid adventurers founded the first permanent French settlement in North America. It was the founding act of this country, Canada, built from the meeting of a rich Aboriginal civilization with the largest European nations.

Today, Prime Minister, I welcome you with undisguised pride and present to you this country that our French ancestors, our common ancestors, contributed so much to build.

Canada is shaped by the influence of major European civilizations, to which cultures of many horizons have been added. It is also a new country, driven by innovation. It is home to highly innovative industries on the cutting edge of new technologies.

Centres of excellence of international reputation have emerged throughout the country. Montreal, for example, which you will have the chance to visit, is the headquarters of the world's largest concentration of research and development organizations in the pharmaceutical sector.

Canada has always been on the leading edge of communications. Today, it is the country with the highest percentage of post-secondary graduates in the world, and the highest per-capita number of people with Internet access among the G8 countries.

The French business community has certainly not been remiss in seizing the opportunity Canada represents as a land of investment. France is now the second largest foreign investor in Canada and our third largest scientific partner.

Relations between France and Canada are on the right track. It is up to us to stay the course.

Prime Minister, you will be at home in Canada, whose diverse regions you know well, especially Quebec. Indeed, many Canadian families proudly lay claim to their Poitevin origins.

Our history, our culture and our common values form an unbreakable bond.

As you know, we are North Americans. But while Canada is firmly committed to forging a continental economic entity, it also places great importance on strengthening its transatlantic ties.

For half a century, the partnership and alliance between Europe and North America have been the most fruitful source of prosperity, security and human development in history. The power of that partnership is based on values that have gradually taken on a universal character: human rights, the rule of law, democracy and freedom.

For Canada, there is no inevitable rift between the two continents.

Each nourishes the other. The recent tensions between the United States and Europe must not obscure what is essential: we are more than allies, we are heirs to a democratic ideal. Weakening the transatlantic link would mean the decline of that ideal.

So it is important for us to work with you to restore the traditional climate of trust and cooperation between the two continents, which has contributed so much to the well-being and advancement of humanity.

I will very soon have the pleasure of visiting France, in Évian, on the occasion of the next G8 summit. I would like to express my personal gratitude for the efforts your government has made to maintain the Action Plan for Africa at the heart of our deliberations.

Prime Minister, next year we will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the permanent French presence in Canada. What a wonderful opportunity to recall the strength, the importance and the endurance of the transatlantic link.

We also hope this anniversary will be an opportunity to give new momentum to relations between our countries, by promoting exchanges and partnerships. We will also strive, through activities across France, to make today's Canada better known to our French friends. I hope that France will also take the opportunity to make itself a little better understood throughout Canada. For we all gain from knowing you better.

And now I would like to propose a toast to the deep and lasting friendship between Canada and France. Prime Minister, I raise my glass in honour of the friends who are here with us tonight. I toast the happiness and the prosperity of the French people.

Prime Minister, welcome to Canada.

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