Chinese Canadians – China and Canada Today

Remarks by the Hon. David Kilgour, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Southeast and Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) to Members of Edmonton’s Chinese Community

Tory Lecture Hall, University of Alberta

May 24, 2003

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It’s an understatement to say that the Canadians of origin in China have played a major role in building our nation. Since 1858, people of origin in China, characterized by hard work, strength and perseverance have been changing Canada for the better. From humble beginnings, Chinese Canadians are now a vibrant and important force. Their achievements – your achievements – have included serving in two World Wars, making significant contributions to business and the arts, and building the Canadian Pacific Railway, a monumental example of Canadian engineering and a symbol of Canadian unity. As Paul Martin said quite simply while celebrating Chinese New Year here in Edmonton, “Without your contribution, we would not be the great nation that we have become.”

We needn’t look far to see your impact - or your accomplishments. I’m told that on this campus alone, there are over 50 professors of Chinese origin! Not only are you leaders in your own fields, like Dr. Charlie Hao, of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, you’re shaping the outlook of a new generation of young Canadians.

People like Raymond Ng, who came to Canada from Hong Kong to study business in 1970 have been setting positive examples for all Canadians as successful businesspeople, (Raymond owns a bookstore, community newspaper and travel agency) and volunteers (he’s active on seemingly countless boards, associations, cultural centres).

Frank Gee is another Chinese that has made contributions to community development in Edmonton. He is the President of Chinese benevolent Association and been working closely with Raymond.

Canadians of Chinese are also increasingly active politically. Our friend Jonathan Dai will hopefully be the next MP for Edmonton Strathcona! Carol Chen of Edmonton who is Executive VP of LEVCO, a Canadian company with numerous operations in China, is also here today. My former colleague, the Hon. Raymond Chan, was Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific). MP Sophia Leung, Senator Vivienne Poy, and Health Minister Gary Mar are determining our political landscape. And of course, perhaps by Canada’s best known person of origin in China – Her Excellency Adrienne Clarkson.

Given the importance of your community to Canada, it was embarrassing that SARS was wrongly associated with some Chinese Canadians. Some of you may have been adversely affected by this. Of course, many Canadians of all backgrounds have suffered as a result of SARS; it has impacted our economy and ultimately, the strength of our social fabric. Nevertheless, I am confident that this fabric can only grow stronger through adversity.

That said, the ‘people to people’ links between China and Canada bring our countries even closer together. China is our largest single source of new Canadians, numbering 40,000 per year. Students, academics, and administrators on short term exchanges form a ‘human bridge’ that brings us closer still. Chinese university students alone now number more than 20,000. CIDA estimates that more than 47,000 Chinese have come for short term learning stays since 1982.

These people-to-people links build bridges from Canada to all over China. They transport ideas, knowledge, culture, and values in both directions; we are all better off as a result.

Of course, it’s more than just China with whom Canadians hare growing bonds. Canada is now a nation of the Asia-Pacific. In addition to over one million Chinese-Canadians, there are one million more who trace their roots to South Asia; over 300,000 from the Philippines; 200,00 from the Koreas, and over 150,000 from Vietnam. With over half of our new immigrants coming from the Asia- Pacific region, what I like to call Canada’s “Asianification” will surely continue.

As such, our capacity for building human bridges is enormous. As we all know, the world is changing; the young and educated are leading the charge. We are in the midst of a massive shift in the way we communicate, live, work and learn, and the way we do business and trade. You've heard all the buzzwords - "wireless" … "e-com" … "the power of the Internet" … "globalization" … "the global village." We hear them so often, that it's easy to dismiss them, but they really are revolutionizing how we do business and live.

And they're picking up speed. In China, for example, the number of cell phone users is increasing at a rate of 5,000,000 a month! Mergers and acquisitions are a commercial "way of life." Companies are restructuring, and entire industries are co-operating. Trade barriers are giving way to trade integration. The monopolies and state-owned enterprises of yesterday are being toppled by competition, efficiency and privatization. In short, innovation and globalization are making the world a smaller and often better place … and significantly reshaping our social, economic and political landscape in the process.

For business, this translates into exponential opportunities - for foreign investment, global partnerships, joint ventures, trade. But there's also the human element - something often forgotten - which, in the bigger picture, is even more important. Technological advances, particularly in biotechnology and health, hold enormous promise for improving the quality of life everywhere.

As the world becomes a smaller place, and people communicate with great ease and efficiently, the role of the Chinese Canadian community only increases. The economic, political, and social of the world will be largely determined by how China develops in the coming generations. As Canadians, we have a responsibility to ensure that China’s emergence on the world stage occurs in a sustainable and peaceful manner. Our ability to work together to help China’s development will in large part be determined by the nature of our countries’ and peoples’ relations.

The Canada-China relationship is excellent. The opportunity is how to build on this strength. That’s where all of you come in – each of you and the communities you represent.

It’s time for me to ‘practice what I preach’ and hear from you. How do you think we can leverage the size and influence of your community to promote Canadian values of democracy and respect for human rights in China? How can governments (especially our Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade) be more effective in recruiting Canadians of Chinese origin to public service? How do we ensure that our trade agenda is balanced against our other interests? What could China’s emergence as a superpower mean for Canada’s traditional role as a middle power?

Permit me to end by assuring you that I am personally committed, as a friend, to helping Canadians help China.