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Canadian Performance and Potential in Asia-Pacific


Remarks by the Hon. David Kilgour, Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific)

and Member of Parliament for Edmonton Southeast,

to the 2002 Asia-Pacific Summit

Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, Vancouver

November 14, 2002

Your Excellencies and Delegates.

It’s very encouraging to see the depth of your interest in Asia-Pacific. The numbers are hard to ignore:

· If we shrink the earth's population down to a village of one hundred persons but keep all existing human ratios the same, there would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 people from the Western Hemisphere (North and South America), and 8 Africans.

· In 1960, Asia’s share of the world’s gross national product was 4%. Today it’s over 30%!

Global Village

It is appropriate that "the global village" metaphor was coined by a Canadian, Marshall McLuhan. I like to think that we are the Phoenicians of the 21st century: one in three jobs and about 45% of our economy already depend on trade.

Our increasing dependence on trade probably led to this year’s theme: “Asia-Pacific Community and North American Integration: Competing Visions?” Like many of you, I am opposed to the notion that our global relationships need to be viewed as “either/or” equations. To assume trade is a zero sum game is to take a very narrow view of our role as an honest broker in the world, which so many non-Canadians here spoke about yesterday. There’s no doubt that the U.S. represents our single most important relationship. No serious Canadian needs to defend the proposition that selling more goods/services to our two closest neighbours (Mexico and the U.S.) has been immensely helpful to our development as an economy in the creation of numerous good jobs for all three nations.

With an overwhelming part of our trade now done within North America, it’s easy to look at Asia-Pacific trade and investment statistics and conclude that the region is not important to us - either economically or politically. The truth is that Asia-Pacific matters enormously. If recent trade disputes such as softwood lumber have taught us anything, as we heard yesterday from Michael Phelps, it is the value of export diversification. Wood frame housing is badly needed in China and Japan, for example, and who better to supply it than Canadians? Asia’s alternative currencies, vast market size, relative stability, and diversity of needs make it an ideal target for Canadian investment, trade, and honest broker skills.

Canada Asia Review

That said, our focus here is Asia-Pacific. Our host’s important ‘2002 Canada Asia Review’ awarded a somewhat disheartening “C +” composite grade. Canada has made significant progress in many areas - and I’m proud of our accomplishments - but I’ll be the first to admit that we have much work to do in others. Permit me to address some elements of the report.

Outward Investment

In ‘Outward Investment’, our grade improved in 2002. The report notes that the strong flow of Canadian capital to Asia continued last year, but the 15% rise still leaves Asia’s share of total Canadian investment at levels lower than a decade ago. In my view, our problems here lie primarily with Canadian perceptions of the Asia-Pacific region. Burned by the “Asian Flu” of ‘97-’98, many Canadians unfortunately continue to view the region as economically unstable.

Some Canadians also view Southeast Asia as a haven for terrorists. Publicity since 9/11 and the recent Bali bombings has certainly been less than favourable. Front page stories on terrorism on the cover of a popular weekly magazine exclaiming, “Indonesia: The Weakest Link”, aren’t good for business.

Accounts tying various nations in the region to major terrorist networks make for bad PR. In reality, Southeast Asia is a region of relative economic stability and enormous potential. Most Asian governments have taken strong strides to condemn terrorist attacks and fight terrorism. Canadians generally need to know this.

The Foundation report identifies an “information gap”; firms already in Asia with direct access to their own sources of information are confident enough of the business climate to increase their holdings. Those that rely on second-hand sources of information - such as media or consultants based in Canada - show little interest.

We all need to work harder at getting firms already in Asia-Pacific in contact with other Canadians; we need to do a better job of marketing. Often overlooked, for example, is the emergence of a growing, educated middle-class with real consumer spending power - ideal targets for Canadian services and products!

Media Coverage

Canadian perceptions of Asia-Pacific will be broadly affected by our news sources which cover events other than terrorist attacks.

The report mentions that The Globe and Mail in Beijing and the Toronto Star in Hong Kong are the only print media to maintain permanent staff in Asia. CBC/Radio Canada and CTV have bureaus in Beijing, while the CBC has a part-time correspondent based in Bangkok. Even in Japan, Canada’s second largest trading partner and the second-largest economy in the world, Canada is not represented among the approximately 450 foreign journalists based there. We cannot expect our media to devote resources to issues that simply aren’t of interest to the majority of Canadians, but is that not a chicken/egg situation? The stationing in Asia of more writers for Canadian media would be a major step forward in rebuilding knowledge and interest in the region.

Inward Investment

The report describes inward investment as “one bright spot of the year”, partly because of government efforts in the 1990's to make Canada an attractive investment destination. In my opinion, much of why we aren’t reaching our inward investment potential lies in the widespread perception of Canada as a travel destination as opposed to a business partner. This has been reinforced time and again during my travels around the region.

Internationally, many see Canada as a vast unspoiled wilderness. That's great if you run an eco-tourism business in the Okanagan, but it's not so good if you're trying to interest potential partners in supporting your high-tech start-up. The point, of course, is that Canada encompasses both realities.

We recognize that we have an image problem in some areas. What do we do about it? What do we want to tell Asia-Pacific about Canada? First, we’re ‘open for business’ - and we’re an attractive, worthy partner. We have enjoyed ten years of low inflation. We are the only G7 country with a balanced budget this year, our fifth in a row. We are enjoying the longest period of uninterrupted growth in 30 years, and the economy seems to be actually strengthening despite all the background noise as we move into 2003.

The IMF and OECD both predict that Canada will lead the G7 in growth this year and again next. According to the OECD, Canada has the lowest regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship among member countries, with the exception of the U.K.

A major study by KPMG identified Canada as the most affordable nation in the industrialized world in which to do business. Compared to all other G7 countries, Austria and the Netherlands, Canada placed first in 7 out of 12 industry sectors, including promising areas such as electronics assembly, biomedical research and development, specialty chemicals, and advanced software.

We are reportedly the most affordable place to do business in the industrialized world. We must take this message to foreign investors.

So, we’re open for business. But business with whom? In what? Whom are we trying to attract?

While never ignoring key commodities and raw materials markets, we must change the perception of Canada as only a source of raw lumber, metals or wheat. We have to show the peoples of Asia-Pacific that while those sectors remain very important, our dynamism and innovation in information technology, aerospace, biotechnology and other knowledge-based industries are now equally representative of the Canadian present and future.

Trade

The continuing challenges just outlined are reflected in our overall trade performance. While economies on both sides of the Pacific slowed, the report indicates that Canada continued to lose market share in Asia. Why? Reasons suggested include an over-reliance on the U.S. export market, problems with investor confidence, inadequate access to market information, and an absence of formally negotiated trade agreements (about which we heard much yesterday afternoon).

On a positive note, I’m pleased to report that our effort to help developing nations to help themselves through capacity building for trade are described as one of our most notable achievements. Africa has received much of the attention in this area, but Bangladesh, for example, is set to benefit from such moves as Canada’s lifting of tariffs/quotas on products from the world’s 47 Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Education

Another way of harnessing the potential of globalization and building fulfilled lives is through education. As more students look abroad to meet their education needs, our colleges, universities, technical institutes and language schools are well-situated. Canada offers what most other countries cannot: an exceptionally high quality of education in a safe, diverse environment, at a relatively inexpensive cost.

Asia is by far our most important market in a sector that already contributes an estimated $4billion per year to our economy. In Asia, we are holding our own. Student authorizations are up in our two biggest markets of China and South Korea.

Challenges, as we all know, remain. Co-ordination among institutions, and different departments in the federal/provincial governments is often slow in coming. That said, I'm very pleased that the next meeting of the Education Marketing Advisory Board (or EMAB) is planned for early December.

Security Relations

None of us anywhere can feel fully secure in the post-9/11 world; nor can we responsibly give up one square centimetre to terrorism. According to a family member of mine working in Southeast Asia, it was probably not until the Bali tragedy that some residents of the region really understood the significance of 9/11 in North America. Now, we all understand that no mega-city or village anywhere is really safe from al-Qaida and its supporters. All of us understand that the real goal of terrorism, aside from murdering as many civilians as possible, is to reduce confidence in democratic governments and to divide us by faiths.

Open societies in full cooperation must use every legitimate means to make ourselves harder targets. Simultaneously, we must promote the many values related to human dignity we all cherish. Protecting human rights, including non-violent dissent and demonstrations are, of course, included. Each Canadian, including our governments at every level, must, for example, do everything feasible to ensure that no one is singled out for their religion or place of origin.

In one of the books published in Canada about 9/11, Canada and September 11th: Impacts and Responses, we 25 or so contributors all concluded that most Canadians have decided not to abandon our national values of diversity and inclusion, but to embrace them even more tightly. Another recently-published book, Canada: The Best Country: Why Canada will Lead the Way in the Future, by Satya Das takes a similar view.

The combat role of our troops in Afghanistan was favoured, I think, by a large majority of Canadians despite the tragic loss of four soldiers. Certainly, the Afghani Foreign Minister and the representatives of the country’s NGOs I met this week in Seoul (whose presence Canada funded) seemed grateful for Canada’s role in liberating their country.

“Coalitions of the willing”, to use Ambassador Owada’s term, must also do far more to reduce world poverty, the persecution - usually by governments - of minority communities and dissenting individuals, and inter-community conflicts.

President Kim Dae-Jung

Permit me to quote President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea, a Nobel Peace Laureate, at the opening of the Second Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies earlier this week:

“Poverty lies at the root of the friction and disputes among religions, nations, and cultures. Zealots have manipulated despair and danger resulting from poverty into religious and racial issues to incite terrorism and unrest.”

Many of you will know that President Kim has paid a high price for his life-long democratic convictions. There have been several attempts on his life and he still walks with a limp from beatings he received in the 1970s.

It is perhaps not surprising then that our host also told us that the greatest achievement of the 20th century was helping democracy to take root and spread across the planet. He noted, “Out of 200-odd countries in the world, 140 have adopted a multi-party system. This is significant progress, considering the feat that only about 30 countries were rated as democracies up until the mid-70s.”

President Kim went on to say that in his mind democracy is necessary to achieve a “transparent, fair and viable market economy. It was precisely because of the failure to establish a democratic market economic system that the Korean economy, which flourished under authoritarian rule, became mired in serious crisis in 1998. Thereafter, Korea launched a reform drive to promote a market economy in parallel with democracy, thereby overcoming the crisis in only two years and leading to the success of today.”

By the way, it might surprise some of you to learn that a study released by the Democracy Coalition Project at the conference indicated that among the 40 democracies assessed for their record in defending democracy through their foreign policy, the three which received the strongest rating were Canada, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Asia-Pacific nations which received a good or fair rating in the study were Australia, Chile, Korea, the U.S., India, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines and Thailand.

Projection of Canadian Values

Now a word on the subject I am most passionate about - the Projection of Canadian Values.

Having just returned from the Conference in South Korea, I’m filled with renewed vigour to project Canadian values of respect for human rights, peaceful dissent, equal opportunity for all and the absolute sanctity of the rule of law. A judge friend of mine thinks that the rule of law should be our most cherished export. Canadians expect us to continue to stand up for these values; our efforts in the areas of human security, human rights advocacy, development assistance, and international initiatives, such as the International Criminal Court, must be unyielding.

Democracy is not a just a Western concept. The opportunities it creates for people around the world to live fulfilled lives are obvious. I hope the day will soon come when all Asia-Pacific nations can be listed in the democratic column.

Conclusions

Finally, a word about Tom Axworthy’s stirring address last night about a new “coalition of the willing” to work in Asia-Pacific and elsewhere in common purpose towards a world where international norms and the rule of law can flourish. He based his proposal in part on points made by participants in our afternoon session. We gave him a standing ovation, in large part, I think, to show our support from many corners of Asia-Pacific for his proposal.

The 20th anniversary of the Asia-Pacific Foundation’s creation by a unanimously passed Act of Parliament is approaching in only two years. All of us must find a way between now and 2004 to reinvigorate the excellent work of the Foundation so that future generations of Canadians will know just how inter-dependent our country and the other nations of Asia-Pacific are to each other.

Thank you.

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