Talk and discussion with HE James R Wright.
Mr Wright assumed his responsibilities as Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 27th August 2006. He speaks English, French and Russian.
To follow is the text of his speech to the CFCC:
Remarks by James R. Wright
Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
Jo Johnson MP, Sir Ron Halstead, HE James R Wright and Melissa Crawshay-Williams (Photo thanks to Elizabeth Hallett)
It is a great pleasure to be with you today. Let me begin by thanking Sir Ronald Halstead and the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council for this kind invitation. I am always eager for any opportunity to discuss Canada’s foreign policy priorities; not only because it is part of my job as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, but also because I am passionate about my country, and Canada’s role in the world.
First off, a word or two about Canada/UK relations. Our two countries share a deep and enduring partnership, forged in good times and in bad by hundreds of years of shared history, values and tradition. We are united by the cause of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law in both our respective countries and throughout the world. Witness our shoulder-to-shoulder collaboration in Southern Afghanistan. We are partners in the Commonwealth, NATO, the G8 and G20, the UN and many other influential international fora. Our trade and investment relationship is impressive and flourishing.
And I can assure you that PM Harper looks forward to a close and personal working relationship with PM Cameron, who he congratulated on the evening of May 11.
2010 is a big year for Canada. In February and March, we were proud to host the Olympic and Paralympic games in Vancouver and Whistler. Next month, the world’s leaders, including your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will gather in Canada for the G8 and G20 summits. This will, in fact, be among the very first forays onto the world stage for Prime Minister Cameron. And Her Majesty The Queen makes her 22nd official visit to our country from June 28 to July 6.
High on the agenda, for all of us, is the global economy. The G20 has already played a pivotal role in dealing with the most severe financial and economic crisis facing the world since the Great Depression. The G20 will be judged not only by its ability to respond to the crisis, but also by its capacity to help lead the world through recovery and beyond, and to achieve long-term growth that is balanced and sustainable. At the G20 Summit in Toronto, under the theme of “Recovery and New Beginnings,” Canada will seek to ensure that the G20 maintains its commitments, and makes further progress on policies such as:
• Effective and sustainable monetary and fiscal measures;
• sound and well-regulated financial institutions; and
• open and competitive trade flows, resisting protectionism.
It goes without saying that no country has been immune to the cascading effects that the credit crunch, the banking crisis, and the unprecedented scale that this market downturn has brought about.
Canada, as a nation intimately interconnected with the world’s marketplaces, has been, and will continue to be affected by this crisis. But recovery is slowly underway and we are now officially out of recession.
Canada’s exceptionally resilient financial system has been widely recognized as an international role model. Canada’s banks and other financial institutions are sound and well-capitalized, and have not been compromised as some banks in other countries have been.
The financial position of Canadian households and businesses remains stronger than in many other industrialized nations. We did not face the housing bubble which affected the US and others.
Some have said that Canada has so far been “lucky” in avoiding the worst effects of the credit crunch. Let me tell you something: Luck has nothing to do with it.
Canada entered the current recession from a position of strength after more than a decade of balanced budgets and significant debt reduction. This means our structural position remains sound and our debt burden remains below other G7 countries.
Boring, prudent, fiscally conservative Canada suddenly looks rather sharp, in the midst of this turmoil.
And as a trading nation, Canada has invested a great deal in fostering greater liberalization in the Americas and beyond. Several weeks ago, PM Harper was in Brussels for our annual Canada/EU Summit. Leaders took stock of the progress achieved towards an ambitious Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement that will give impetus to trade, investment, innovation and job creation. They sent a clear signal that Canada and the EU reject protectionism, affirming also their commitment to the effective conclusion of the Doha Development Round.
In addition to economic difficulties, the international community faces serious threats to our security and stability, through nuclear proliferation, global terrorism, crime and conflict.
Foremost in the minds of Canadians is the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. Together with the UK and our NATO allies, we are working to enhance global security and, most importantly, to improve the lives of the Afghan people and to help them to rebuild their country as a stable, democratic and self-sufficient society.
The 3,000 Canadian soldiers and civilians who are engaged on the ground each and every day and the close to $2 billion in Canadian development assistance to Afghanistan are tangible demonstrations of the strength of our commitment. And this commitment of blood and treasure is matched by that of our allies – foremost among them the UK.
In addition to conflict within Afghanistan, we are working closely with our G8 partners to address border insecurity between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last March, Lawrence Cannon, Minister for Foreign Affairs announced the G8 Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Region Prosperity Initiative. This initiative was the culmination of years of work by the G8 countries, including a Canadian-led meeting of Afghan and Pakistani border officials to talk about practical steps to address the challenges in that region. We want to build on this effort, and are working with our G8 partners to see how we can help increase trade between the two countries.
After 10 long years, Canada’s military mission is planned to end in 2011. Our significant diplomatic and development efforts will continue well beyond next year. Canada's goal is clear: to leave Afghanistan to the Afghans. An Afghanistan that is better governed, more secure, more confident and more prosperous.
As well as helping to improve the lives of Afghans, Canada’s aim as part of our presidency of the G8 is to tackle how G8 countries can improve the coherence and effectiveness of our efforts in helping other vulnerable countries. We must recognize that many countries are simply not able to deal with their own security challenges. The issue that we, along with our G8 partners, need to address is the co-ordination of our efforts.
Another issue that concerns us all is nuclear proliferation. There are two grave threats to global security in this regard: Iran and North Korea. Both states are in contravention of their international obligations.
Iran continues to take steps closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon, while North Korea continues to develop its nuclear and missile programs. It has broken off the Six-Party Talks intended to find a way to eliminate nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula.
These irresponsible actions further erode the world’s trust regarding their intentions. They are a threat to the world and to their own people, who are deprived of their fundamental rights through intimidation and violence.
Both regimes deny due process of law, including access to fair and public hearings; use torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment; and persecute citizens based on their political or religious beliefs.
These injustices run counter to the values which anchor Canadian foreign policy. Canada does support the peaceful use of nuclear energy. But this right comes with a responsibility and requirement to be transparent and to allow the international community to verify that nuclear programs are strictly for peaceful purposes.
As a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, and as a country with a long-standing civilian nuclear power program, we submit ourselves to those requirements, as do almost all other countries. Iran should be no different. And our government is prepared to put more pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear enrichment activities. In this regard, the Canadian Government welcomes recent progress on the sanctions brought forward at the UN Security Council. Canada encourages all members to work together to deliver a sanctions resolution that will take Iran to task for its continued disregard of its obligations.
For decades now, we have had an international bargain enshrined in the NPT. It says that states will not seek to acquire nuclear weapons if those who have them agree to get rid of them, and that peaceful uses of nuclear energy will be supported.
Since the end of the Cold War, nuclear arsenals around the world have been reduced by more than 80 percent, and we welcome current efforts by the Russians and Americans to reduce theirs even more.
But the “grand bargain” in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is now under pressure, from countries like Iran and North Korea, and other countries with potential nuclear aspirations. It is also under pressure from countries that feel they are entitled to nuclear energy for peaceful uses, but do not have access. We owe it to future generations to stay the course toward a world without nuclear weapons.
Canada is proud of our record on non-proliferation. In 2002, under Canadian leadership at Kananaskis, Alberta, the G8 created the $20 billion program called the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. This program has played a key role in keeping WMD out of the hands of terrorists and at the same time dealing with the decommissioned Soviet era nuclear submarines and stockpiles of chemical weapons, and retraining former weapons scientists.
If any of you have had the pleasure of visiting Canada, or spoken to a Canadian regarding their country, it is likely that you would have noticed a reverence for space and place: space, reflected in the vastness of the Canadian landscape, and place, seen in the importance Canadians place on their hometown, city, province and region, all in addition to their country. This is especially true when you speak to Northern Canadians. This is why the Arctic and Arctic sovereignty is of the utmost importance to Canadians.
Canada is an Arctic nation. It is an integral part of our national identity; it played a role in our past, plays an important role today and will be important to future generations.
Canada's Arctic foreign policy is based on four pillars:
• protecting Canada's environmental heritage;
• promoting economic and social development;
• improving and devolving northern governance; and
• exercising Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic.
Canada’s sovereignty over the Arctic lands and waters is long standing, well established and based on historic title, international law and the occupation of the region by Inuit and other Aboriginal peoples for thousands of years. We exercise this sovereignty through our governance and stewardship of the Canadian Arctic, reinforced by the operations of the Canadian forces.
Like other Arctic nations, Canada is currently working to delineate the outer limits of its continental shelf and will make its submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in December 2013. It will be the UN and this well established legal process that will help address issues of sovereignty in the Arctic.
Canada believes that a better understanding of the realities of the Arctic, including the culture and practices of Northerners, must be at the heart of policies that affect it. This requires a wide range of creative solutions at the national and international levels: solutions that balance conservation, sustainable use and economic development.
In foreign policy, priorities can change instantaneously, such as in the wake of a natural disaster. This is especially true in the case of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Canada has a long-standing and close relationship with Haiti and its people. As you may know, Canada is home to a significant number of Haitian-Canadians, most of whom live in Montreal, my hometown. Canada is playing a leading role in helping Haiti deal with the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake that claimed so many lives.
Before the earthquake struck, Canada was already one of the world’s leading donors to Haiti and we are a long-standing member of the informal Friends of Haiti Group.
A few devastating minutes in Haiti’s history will take years to repair. We need to look beyond the immediate need for food, water, shelter and medical assistance; and to create a long term development plan for Haiti, focusing on ways to help the Haitian people meet the current challenges and prepare for the difficult task of long term stabilisation and reconstruction. That means better living conditions, a more secure environment, sounder democratic structures and strengthened rule of law. And Canada has committed some $500 million to help out the people of Haiti.
Finally, I will end my remarks by highlighting an initiative of particular importance to Canada. As President of the G8, Canada is championing a major effort to improve the health of women and children in the world’s poorest regions. These are two UN Millennium Development Goals or MDGs that are making the least progress. Each year 500,000 women lose their lives during pregnancy or childbirth and nine million children die before their fifth birthday. This is simply not acceptable. Far too many lives have already been lost for the want of relatively simple and inexpensive health care solutions. And we will use our G8 Presidency to advance the goalposts in support of September's UN MDG Summit in New York.
So a very challenging year ahead. Whether the issue is promoting economic/financial reform, safeguarding the security/prosperity in Afghanistan or building partnerships and plans of action within the Commonwealth, NATO, the UN and the G8/G20, Canada knows that we can count on the United Kingdom to problem solve with us.
Thank you.