November 30, 2004
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Paul Martin and United States President George W. Bush today issued the following joint statement on the occasion of President Bush’s working visit to Canada:



Canada and the United States are two great nations bound by a common commitment to protect our citizens and promote democracy, human rights, prosperity, economic opportunity, and the quality of life.



Over the past decade, Canada and the United States, in conjunction with Mexico, have taken important steps to expand economic opportunities in North America. Since September 11, 2001, we have also worked closely to address the threat of terrorism and enhance the security of our citizens while increasing the flow of trade.



Today, Canada and the United States commit to deepening our cooperation in North America and in the world. We will both work bilaterally to address Canada-U.S. priorities and continue our close cooperation with Mexico on issues of trilateral importance.



This New Partnership will set an agenda designed to increase the security, prosperity, and the quality of life of our citizens by:

• reinforcing our joint efforts pursuant to our Smart Borders Accord to secure the safe movement of people and goods within North America,
  keeping borders open for business but closed to terrorism;
  
  
  
  
  
• expanding economic opportunity by making our businesses more
  competitive in the global market place; and,
  
  
  
  
• enhancing our mutual efforts to protect our environment, improve our
  ability to combat infectious disease, fight crime, and prevent trafficking in
  humans and illegal drugs.
  

• improving the coordination of intelligence-sharing, cross-border law enforcement and counter-terrorism;
  
  
  
  
• taking further steps to secure the Canada-U.S. border while improving the flow of legitimate traffic, through investments in border infrastructure and a land pre-clearance initiative;
  
  
  
  
• combating human trafficking;
  
  
  
  
• increasing the security of critical infrastructure, including transportation, energy, and communications networks;
  
  
  
  
• ensuring the security and integrity of passports issued by each country, consistent with our Consular Understanding of January 13, 2004; and,
  
  
  
  
• working towards renewing the NORAD agreement and investigating opportunities for greater cooperation on North American maritime surveillance and maritime defence.
  

• pursue joint approaches to partnerships, consensus standards, and smarter regulations that result in greater efficiency and competitiveness, while enhancing the health and safety of our citizens;
  
  
  
  
• accelerate efforts to reduce “rules of origin” costs on goods traded between our countries; and,
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• expand technology partnerships that promote the clean and efficient use of energy resources, including initiatives in clean coal, hydrogen, and renewable energy resources.
  

• building on our joint efforts to achieve clean air and clean water, for example in the Great Lakes region; and,
  
  
  
  
• enhancing public health coordination in infectious disease surveillance.
  

• counter terrorism;
  
• prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems;
  
• build democracy and peace in the Middle East;
  
• support populations facing humanitarian crisis;
  
• help build and protect democratic institutions in troubled states;
  
• combat the spread of infectious diseases, including HIV-AIDS;
  
• pursue new approaches to multilateral cooperation and work to improve the effectiveness of multilateral institutions;
  
• advocate for improved human rights and a global commitment to the rule of law; and,
  
• ensure early completion of an ambitious Doha Development Agenda and promote free trade in the Americas.