Address by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to the Microsoft Can Win 2002 Summit on Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness

August 20, 2002
Toronto, Ontario

I want to thank Microsoft Canada for inviting me to Can Win 2002.

Of the many privileges I enjoy as Prime Minister, nothing gives me greater pleasure than proclaiming the Canadian success story in the new global economy.

And I am grateful that Microsoft has provided me this truly exceptional forum in which to share a few thoughts on the bold strategy of our government to make the Maple Leaf a global trademark for innovation excellence in the 21^st century. As well as on what I believe is one of the most fundamental challenges that Canada and other advanced nations must face if we are to sustain the innovation revolution as a global engine of economic growth and prosperity.

Of course, I am mindful of the fact that in extolling the virtues of Canada in the new economy, I am, in some respects, preaching to the choir. Because the participants in this conference already know that Canada can win. Indeed, that Canada is winning.

Canada is winning because we have embraced the power of the Internet. Our researchers are pioneering new technologies and processes. Our entrepreneurs are creatively showcasing new products and services. And our exporters, as never before, are aggressively pursuing new markets for business.

Leading high-tech clusters can be found right across the country. Many world renowned firms got their start here. Firms like Research in Motion whose famous Blackberry has set the world standard for wireless e-mail. And whose founder, Mike Lazaridis has set a Canadian standard for corporate leadership through his personal funding of the Perimeter Institute.

Canada is winning because of the fundamental strength of our economy. Governments, federal and provincial, have cleaned up their balance sheets. Our government has tabled five straight surplus budgets. Public debt is falling. Interest rates remain low and stable.

We have helped create a pro-growth and pro-investment framework for lower personal and corporate taxes. We have implemented the largest tax cut in Canadian history under which Canadian corporate tax rates will fall about five percentage points below average U.S. rates. And we have implemented the most generous research and development tax regime in the world.

At the risk of sounding a little boastful, ladies and gentlemen, I believe I can also say that Canada is winning because our government has adopted a pro-active and focused strategy to boost innovation.

When we first took office the new economy was a mere buzz word. Still in the depths of a severe recession, most Canadians at the time would have settled for any kind of economy. Back then, E-commerce was just a spelling mistake. The Internet was still a gleam in the eye of some Pentagon researcher. Since then, the information highway has revolutionized business, government and society.

We knew that we had to prepare Canada for the new century and the new economy. We knew that a long term national vision would be essential. But we also knew that government could not do everything. That our role was to build a framework for innovation on which the private sector could build for the future. And that we had to focus our efforts on those areas where we would achieve the maximum positive impact. Where we could make a real difference.

I believe that we have taken enormous strides to meet that challenge.

Through our world-leading Connecting Canadians strategy, we have become number two in the world for use of the Internet. We are the first major country in the world to have connected all of our schools and libraries to the Internet. We have the most advanced coast-to-coast fibre optic network in the world. And we have set bold and ambitious targets that will make Canada a global centre of excellence in E-commerce.

More fundamentally, we have also clearly understood that research and development is the currency of the realm in the new economy. That Canada must be a global leader in new discoveries and breakthroughs. And that human talent, ingenuity and creativity are the cornerstones of innovation.

That is why I believe we are making the most substantial contribution to ensuring that Canada can win in the new economy through ground breaking investments to promote advanced education and to create a state-of-the-art research and development infrastructure in our colleges and universities.

To help parents save for their children's education, we created the Canada Education Savings Grant. To broaden access to advanced education, we created the Millennium Scholarships as well as Canada Study Grants for students with dependants, disabilities or very little income.

Ladies and gentlemen, our colleges and universities are among the best in the world. Just ask Bill Gates. He has enjoyed great success recruiting research talent from the University of Waterloo. But while we Canadians are always good hosts, I must admit today that one of the fundamental goals of our innovation strategy is to ensure that he uses his Canadian talent right here at home. By making our colleges and universities magnets for the best minds and ideas, whether home grown or from around the world.

That is why we created the multi-billion dollar Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Networks of Centres of Excellence, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and Genome Canada. It is why we have substantially increased support to the advanced research granting councils. And it is why we are committed to creating 2000 advanced research chairs at our universities. To comprehend the potential impact of this initiative in Canada consider what the impact would be if the American government created 20,000 new research chairs.

I am proud of what our government has done. But we also know that we can and must do more.

We know that this is a global race where speed wins. That our competitors are innovating all the time. And that we must continue to challenge ourselves with ambitious new targets.

That is why we are committed to doubling the federal government's investment in R&D. With the goal of placing Canada among the top five countries in R&D performance by 2010. More, we are engaging all Canadians on the next steps we need to take to ensure that Canada can win in the new economy. And we will be announcing significant additional action in this area.

My friends, our plans are bold. They are forward looking. Some are unique to Canada. Others are based upon the experiences of other nations who, like us, are embracing the opportunities of the new economy.

But no matter how bold or how brilliant, our plans will come to nothing unless the new economy remains anchored firmly on a very old idea, an idea that is never out of fashion: the idea of integrity.

The shocking news about Enron and WorldCom, and others, has sent a shudder through world markets. We have seen how rapidly confidence can be shaken. While we in Canada have, for the most part, been spared such revelations so far, we are not immune. We all remember the Bre-X scandal.

Indeed, we are in a time when confidence in our institutions is in question. Whether in the public sector or in business or in our churches. I even know some who have little confidence in the media.

It is a time when ensuring confidence and trust is the responsibility of leadership – public and private. Transparency is more important than ever. For our part, our government will introduce a significant public sector ethics package this fall which will have transparency as its watchword. And which can serve as an example to the private sector.

And I challenge the business leaders assembled here today to follow our example and take strong action to ensure that corporate governance in Canada passes the test of transparency. And contributes to confidence in our institutions.

Confidence that is the pillar of the entire economy.

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