Luncheon hosted by the Ottawa-Carleton Economic Development Corporation and Le Regroupement des gens d'affaires

At the end of this week I will be chairing a meeting of First Ministers in Ottawa.

This meeting of First Ministers will not be an occasion of high drama. We will not be "rolling the dice" on the future of Canada. It will not be a make-or-break gathering which will glue Canadians to their television sets. And nor should it be.

This meeting will be a step. A step in the long journey that is Canada. Our country is a work of every day. It has always been built one solid step at a time. It always will be. Grand gestures are fine. But the real work of nation-building is not glamorous. And ladies and gentlemen, as you know, I am no glamour-boy.

This is step-by-step, piece-by-piece approach to change. This is the approach we used at our two earlier First Ministers' meetings. And both of them were successful. The first resulted in the National Infrastructure Program and the concept for Team Canada Trade Missions. The second resulted in an agreement to reduce internal trade barriers.

Canadians want to see their Prime Minister and Premiers working together on the real problems and issues that touch people in their lives. Promoting jobs and growth. Protecting our environment. Securing our social programs. Ending waste and duplication in government.

Just look at the success of Team Canada. Canadians like that model. They saw their political -- and business -- leaders working closely together, opening markets and promoting investments... bringing home jobs and prosperity for all Canadians. This is the spirit we should bring to our meeting later this week.

The First Ministers' Meeting should have three guiding themes:

For some reason, some people think that this First Ministers' Meeting will not concentrate enough on the economy. That is not true. Everything we will do at the meeting will deal with creating a stronger economy and a better climate for investment. And if all First Ministers come out of the conference demonstrating we can work together, that will be very good for the economy and the investment climate and job creation.

In fact, the Government of Canada and the provincial governments have been working hard to restore a healthy economy. Every single government is getting its fiscal house in order. In less than three years, the Government of Canada's fiscal performance has gone from one of the worst in the G-7 to one of the best. Two weeks ago, the western premiers pointed out that in just four years they have collectively gone from a $6 billion deficit to a $600 million surplus. This is all impressive progress. And at the First Ministers Meeting, I believe we should all commit to staying the course.

But a strong economy is a growing economy. And in Canada, growth increasingly means exports. Since 1993, when this government took office, exports have grown from $209 billion to $289 billion a year, a 38% increase in only three years. In fact, our sales to foreign markets are now equal to 37% of our gross domestic product. We have become the most export-oriented country in the G-7.

We know that the opportunities in the fast-growing countries of Asia and Latin America are vast. This is why I have led three trade missions to these regions -- two of them Team Canada missions with the premiers. That is why we were able to bring home $20 billion in business deals during those trips. Ask any of the business people on the Team Canada trips. They will tell you the Team Canada approach helped them win business. Most important are the thousands of Canadians who have new jobs because the federal and provincial governments and the private sector worked together.

This week I will be proposing future Team Canada plans to the premiers. I would hope we will be able to announce our next trip.

But our home market is our main bread-and-butter and our launching pad for success. That is why we have to continue to remove barriers to internal trade that impose unnecessary costs on Canadian consumers and undermine good businesses across Canada. We started the process at the last First Ministers' Meeting two years ago. Since then some substantial issues have been resolved. But in other areas there has not been enough progress. I believe First Ministers should take careful stock of progress in this area and consider what is needed to move ahead. We need to set goals, targets and clear time lines for removing trade barriers.

And we need to clarify and modernize government roles and responsibilities to ensure the best service for Canadians. The Government of Canada has decided to withdraw from those activities that are better left to the private sector or to the provinces, in the mining and forestry sectors, and in recreation. That is why we are taking a similar approach to freshwater fisheries where we have offered to delegate certain responsibilities to the provinces. And that is why we are working to transfer responsibility for the administration of our social housing stock to the provinces.

We also want to create partnerships with the provinces and the private sector in areas that have both national and provincial features. The model of the Canadian Tourism Commission, which we have developed with the provinces and the private sector, shows how much a little imagination and flexibility can pay dividends. This sector is a big job creator. And now all the key players in Canada are pulling together.

This kind of approach makes sense. Neither level of government is the "senior" partner. The agency or commission is not federal or provincial. It is a true joint effort. And it can work to benefit the public. And it makes more sense -- much more sense. That is why we are proposing federal-provincial partnerships in the areas of food inspection, securities regulation and tax administration. We made these proposals in the Throne Speech in February and I want to discuss them this week with the premiers.

Now I know the idea of a national food inspection system does not exactly get your heart beating faster. True, it won't be the magic solution to national unity.

It may not be glamorous, but it can be a modest part and a good example of the much larger job of modernizing federalism.

The provincial Ministers of Agriculture recently expressed an interest in proceeding with a national food inspection system. Not federal, not provincial, but joint management. I want to hear what the premiers have to say later this week.

The two levels of government should work to clarify roles and responsibilities. That's what the federal and provincial environment ministers -- including Quebec's minister -- agreed to do when they met last month. They agreed to develop an umbrella accord that will provide for the highest level of environmental quality across Canada and that would guide future agreements.

The ministers committed to work quickly to develop agreements on environmental standards, an inspection service and environmental assessment. Sorting out roles and responsibilities will reduce costs and promote private sector compliance with environmental standards. And reducing costs to business while ensuring the highest possible environmental standards and protection is a practical, pragmatic way to help create jobs.

I hope the first ministers will endorse the work of the environment ministers. And tell them to get on with it and finish the job.

All of these issues, which deal with clarifying roles and responsibilities between federal and provincial governments, will be part of our agenda on Friday. It's a part of the agenda that's called "renewing the federation."

In each case it's a matter of taking an issue, finding different ways of working together to solve it and moving on to the next. That is what effective renewal of federalism is all about. It may not be very exciting. Certainly not as exciting as a big constitutional fight with threats and ultimatums. But I believe that is exactly the kind of excitement Canadians can live without right now.

That is why we are going to spend very little time to deal with Section 49 of the Constitution Act. The best thing we can do is to remove the unproductive deadline to have a constitutional conference by April of next year.

Some people say that we have fulfilled our legal obligation as a result of the Meech and Charlottetown constitutional rounds, others say we have not. I don't want to leave it to guesswork. I want to make sure that we have fulfilled our obligation. So I will give First Ministers the opportunity to express themselves and get that obligation behind us. It is clear that some premiers don't want a substantive discussion on the amending formula at the meeting. That is fine with me. That discussion will come another time -- when everyone wants it. That is better than putting the country through a sterile, pointless constitutional exercise now.

What Canadians want us to work on now is jobs. The first time I convened a First Ministers meeting was six weeks after I took office as Prime Minister. That is when we agreed to proceed with the $6 billion federal-provincial-municipal infrastructure program we promised in the Red Book.

In the last two and a half years, that program has created over 100,000 jobs and left our communities with improved physical facilities that will last for years. It has been a model of cooperation between our three levels of government.

I want to talk to the Premiers about that success when they come to Ottawa. And see if we can put that model to work in a new infrastructure program. It does not need to be a carbon copy of the program we are winding down. It could be more targeted. In high tech areas. Or in low tech ones -- the Western Premiers when they met a couple of weeks ago called for a national highways program. Or it could be focused at strengthening a growing economic sector -- such as tourism.

There are many options. But the point is to build on the success of the infrastructure partnership. To create jobs. And to invest in our long-term economic growth and improve the quality of life of Canadians and do it in a way that is fiscally responsible.

And when we discuss jobs, we can take encouragement in the fact that since November 1993, when this government took office, Canada has created more than 600,000 new jobs -- more than Germany and France combined.

But we must also recognize that too many young Canadians are not sharing in that job growth. And we have a responsibility to do something about it. Our government has doubled its number of student jobs this year. Several provinces have taken similar initiatives. I believe First Ministers should find ways to cooperate more closely to assist young Canadians. And we should collectively challenge the private sector to do more.

Labour-market training is another area where many felt a change in jurisdiction would be better for the economy. We listened. The Government of Canada is withdrawing from the field of training in order to allow the provinces to adopt programs and practices to meet the needs of their residents.

The federal government has offered to the provinces the opportunity to deliver non-training measures funded from the Employment Insurance fund such as wage subsidies, income supplements, self-employment assistance and partnerships for job creation. The significance of the federal offer has been widely recognized. We will discuss it at the meeting. I have been encouraged by the largely positive comments from the provincial governments.

The First Ministers' Meeting will also be an opportunity to discuss an important document made by nine provinces -- the Ministerial Council Report on Social Policy.

This is a serious report that deserves serious consideration. We all have an obligation to work together to protect the social safety net in Canada. And all of us must exercise leadership and responsibility.

On some of those issues the Government of Canada has already acted. I already mentioned manpower training. We addressed another concern from the provincial report when we stabilized the cash component of the Canada Health and Social Transfer in the 1996 Budget.

And in the Throne Speech we also announced that in future we would not use the federal spending power to engage in new cost-shared programs in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction without the agreement of a majority of the provinces and with appropriate opting out provisions.

It is the first time in Canadian history that such an undertaking was offered outside a constitutional agreement. It goes further than the similar commitment in Meech Lake -- which Mr. Bouchard supported.

So we have shown our commitment in these areas. And we are proving we take the Council Report very seriously, although there are some things in it we do not agree with.

The Western Premiers at their recent conference recommended we agree on a national goal to reduce child poverty. I agree. I hope all First Ministers will agree. One idea the Western Premiers are proposing is a National Child Benefit that would integrate all the existing federal and provincial programs that support low income families. This is worth a serious discussion. I hope we can mandate ministers to get to work now on finding concrete ways to reduce child poverty in Canada.

Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, we will have a pretty heavy agenda at the end of the week.

But if we roll up our sleeves and get to work, we can make some headway. What Canadians want is an honest effort and team work. What they want are changes that will benefit people -- not politicians or bureaucrats. What they want is progress not turf wars.

What they don't want are pressure-cooker tactics, threats and ultimatums, tantrums and accusations, jealousies and posturing. Those would be a cop out -- from me or any other first minister. That's not the way I run a meeting. And in speaking individually to all the premiers in recent days and weeks, I know that's not what they want either.

We have been through two failed constitutional attempts in the last ten years. In each case, large, complex, allornothing packages were put on the table. In each case, good intentions ended in failure. The country was no further ahead. Real renewal of federalism no closer.

If we have learned anything from these experiences, it is that a different approach is needed, a more stepbystep, pragmatic approach. Identifying a problem, getting agreement and solving it. Then moving on to the next problem.

This kind of approach builds one solid block on another. If we are serious about renewing federalism and I believe my fellow First Ministers and I are very serious then it is time for this new approach. An approach that works.

Return to regular web page:
http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/default.asp?Language=E&Page=archivechretien&Sub=Speeches&Doc=speeches1996061813_e.htm