ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER JEAN CHRÉTIEN ON THE OCCASION OF THE ST. JOHN'S MAPLE LEAF DINNER

November 4, 2002
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

I am delighted to be here in St. John's. Today is the 9th anniversary of the formation of the government I have the honour to lead. Just think back nine years. A country in economic crisis. A deficit of 42 billion dollars. High unemployment. A lengthy period of high interest rates. The Wall Street Journal calling Canada a candidate for third world status. The unity of the country in turmoil after Meech Lake and Charlottetown. The Bloc Québécois as the official opposition in Ottawa.

Well, what a difference a Liberal government can make! Today our economy is growing faster than any other economy in the G-7. And by the way, Newfoundland's economy is growing faster than ever before. And that is a tribute to Liberal government in Newfoundland.

Here tonight is Gerry Byrne. He was elected at the age of 29, which happens to be the same age I was elected. Gerry entered Cabinet at the age of 35. Impressive to say the least. But, I have to say, I entered Cabinet at the age of 33. But who's counting. In all seriousness Gerry is an excellent Member of Parliament, as are his Newfoundland colleagues -- Bill Matthews, Lawrence O'Brien, and John Efford.

The Canadian economy in 2002 is creating jobs faster than it has for decades. Almost 450,000 new jobs in Canada in the first nine months of this year. When the United States lost 43,000 jobs. Interest rates, mortgage rates are very low. Personal disposable income has been rising for five years in a row. The deficit is long gone and we have had five years in a row of balanced budgets.

Canada is not a candidate for third world status. It is, in the words of John Manley, a "northern tiger."

Last week, Statistics Canada reported a significant decrease in the number of low-income families in Canada. And a large decrease in the number of low-income children. No, not enough. We still have to do better. But real progress.

The unity of the country is stronger than ever. Just look at the dismal prospects for the Bloc Québécois and the Parti Québécois. We have become a very strong, very confident country.

I have always said that a strong economy is the essence of a strong society. We have worked very hard as a government since the first day we took office. Who would have said at that time that today we would be outperforming the United States.

This is no accident. It is due to the hard work of Canadians.

During the recent global slowdown, our economy experienced only a brief contraction in the summer of 2000. But the American economy shrank in each of the first three quarters of 2001. Between the second quarter of 2000 and the end of 2001, our economy grew at a rate five times faster than the United States. Between the second quarter of 2000 and the second quarter of this year, our standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita, rose 3.3 % compared to a drop of .5 % in the United States. Our budget remains in balance. The United States budget is in deficit. Our current account is in surplus. The American current account is in deficit.

Impressive statistics. Hard won gains. Made possible by the support and sacrifice of our citizens. And by our insistence on rock solid fiscal discipline. And I want to assure you tonight that our government will never make commitments that drive Canada back into the red.

We will continue to balance our budgets. And we will keep the debt to GDP ratio on a firm downward track.

But our Liberal agenda recognizes that this healthy balance sheet will only remain healthy if we continue, as well, to make strategic, long term investments in our social and economic infrastructure: in learning, in health, in children and in the environment.

September 11th. Enron. WorldCom. These shocking events have reminded people of the value of government.

For my part, I have always believed that government is a force for good in society. I have never believed that government has all the answers. But I have also always rejected the right wing belief that government is always the problem.

My credo is captured best in the words of a great American President, Franklin Roosevelt, who said:

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much. It is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

I confess that our agenda may not meet with the approval of Bay Street or the National Post or even the Globe and Mail. But it is an agenda for Main Street: for Bonavista and Port Anthony, for Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean, for the East side of Vancouver, for Regents Park in Toronto and Market Square in Winnipeg, for the East end of Montreal, and for one-industry towns scattered throughout rural Canada.

And just look at what we have done: the National Child Benefit; a secure Canada Pension Plan; Aboriginal Head Start; SchoolNet; the Millenium Scholarships; investments in universities; new money for health care; investments in early childhood development; a new Agricultural Policy framework; the Clarity Act.

But the true test of enduring public confidence is not the difference we have made, but the difference we can still make -- that we must make. Not what we have done. But what we will do.

Because, my friends, we have a lot more work to do.

There are still too many children who are not getting a good start in life. Too many families living in poverty. Too many communities living with contaminated sites. A health care system in need of modernization. Physical infrastructure that must be upgraded.

Our challenge is also to invest in our nation's infrastructure, building, for ourselves and our children, competitive cities and healthy, safe communities.

Today Premier Grimes and I announced a major investment to clean up the St. John's Harbour. The Federal government, through the Strategic Infrastructure Fund, will invest 31 million dollars. The province will invest a similar amount. As will the municipalities.

But you know what I am talking about. You have a beautiful harbour. But as the people of St. John's know, all too well, your harbour is not too clean.

And, we are going to change that. We are going to attack this problem of sewage that has for so long plagued your harbour. We will burst, what you call the "bubble." We are going to ensure that it, and the pollution it brings, becomes only a memory. For the health of your community. For the health of our economy. And for the health of your children.

Investment in people is both good economic policy and good social policy. Nowhere is this integration of economic and social policy more important than in health care. This is why a major priority over the months ahead is to take the steps necessary so that Canada's health care system can continue meeting the needs of Canadians in the 21st Century, and provide Canadians with a distinct advantage in the world.

Last week Senator Michael Kirby and his colleagues released a wide-ranging report on options for health care in Canada. In the coming weeks the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, led by former Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow, will table its report. Both reports will help governments to develop a national approach to addressing Canada's health care needs.

Our government will do its part. We will work with the provinces and territories to agree on a long-term plan to modernize medicare, with a First Ministers meeting early in the new year. We will provide resources to support implementation of that plan in the upcoming budget.

Our future depends on providing the best possible opportunities for our children. As a society, we must strive to ensure that every Canadian child, no matter where they live, has the best possible start in life and the chance to achieve their full potential.

This is why we have committed to further increase the National Child Benefit for low-income families, building on our reinvestments in recent years. Our challenge is nothing less than to equip our children with what they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

It is because of our fiscal management over the last nine years, because of the strength of our economy, that we can afford to make these major investments in health, in children, in infrastructure, in the environment. We will make them in a way that provides long-term predictability, sustainability and continued balanced budgets.

We will be resolute in focusing on major priorities rather than being diverted by less important pressures. By doing so, we will succeed. And we will succeed well.

But that is not all. In the interest of future generations, it falls to this generation of Canadians to confront the issue of improving our environment. Canadians want clean air and clean water and they are concerned about the impact of climate change. On this, our government is working with the provinces and industry to ensure that Canada lives up to its international responsibilities on climate change, as embodied in the Kyoto accord.

I know that how we approach the implementation of our Kyoto obligations must take into account the importance of the natural resource sector for the Canadian economy. And it must take into account our place in the North American economy.

We, as a country, have chosen a multi-lateral approach for addressing climate change. I strongly believe that in this, as in other areas, the world is less well served by unilateralism. I regret the decision of the United States not to ratify Kyoto. But the fact that the United States is not ratifying Kyoto does not mean that the United States is doing nothing. It does not mean that we should do nothing. The Americans are acting nationally and at the state level. In many respects, California is leading the world in addressing climate change.

I do not pretend that achieving our climate change objectives will be easy. It will not be. We have ten years to meet our obligations under the treaty. But we can make progress together. We can ratify Kyoto and implement our obligations with a made-in-Canada plan. That we will do. There are many good ideas: from industry, from provincial governments including the government of Newfoundland. That will take us a long way toward meeting our obligations. Technology will take us further.

The plan may not answer every single question. No plan can do that. It will be adjusted if necessary as we learn and work together. We are working very hard to put in place a plan that will reduce uncertainty for business and for investors. A plan that will meet our environmental responsibilities while taking into account the views of the most affected industries.

Working together, expanding our horizons, putting aside the rhetoric, I am confident that Canadians can rise to the challenge. We will meet our targets -- responsibly -- in the best interests of the economy, the environment and future generations.

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