Canada’s
Re-engagement With India
Address to visiting Indian Scholars From
The Shastri Institute
by the Hon.
David Kilgour, P.C., M.P.
University
of Ottawa
22 May 2002
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Permit me
to begin by quoting Max Mueller, a German
scholar in the 19th century: "If I
were asked under what sky the human mind
has most fully developed some of its choicest
gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest
problems of life, and has found solutions,
I should point to India."
A more contemporary
source is the well-known Internet search
engine, Google.com. When I entered “India”
the other day, it indicated that it had
“about 14,000,000" entries, so
I entered two more, “India+importance
to Canada” and “Canada+importance
to India”. The result on the first
was 305,000 entries, whereas it was 306,000
for the second.
In short,
it is a pleasure to speak today to a group
of respected Indian scholars who are interested
in Canada. The Shastri-Indo Canadian Institute
is an excellent example of the bonds that
exist between our two nations, which are
among the most diverse religiously, culturally,
and linguistically on earth. For more than
30 years, through good times and bad, the
institute has reinforced mutual understanding
through academic exchanges. Shastri membership
in Canada has grown from four to twenty-one
Canadian institutions today, including our
Museum of Civilization in the National Capital
Region. Our government is prepared to continue
supporting Shastri, helping it to flourish
in the years ahead.
The Canada-India relationship is now rooted, moreover,
in fully three generations of people to
people contacts. How many of you have relatives
here in Canada or know people in India who
have relatives here ? Numerous Canadians
have close family members in India or other
life-changing ties with your country.
To offer
my own experience as an example, one relative
spent much of her life in your country as
a missionary. My wife’s late father
served in northern India for two years during
World War Two with our air force, helping
to provide supplies to Burma. My uncle,
a career soldier for Canada, and his family
were all present during some of the terrible
brutality occurring in northern India during
partition in 1947. No doubt, many other
Canadians not of origin in India have had
similar links with it.
Hidden
Advantage
Raymond Chan,
who was Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific)
from 1993-2000, has referred to the person-to-person
phenomenon as "Canada's hidden advantage"
in our relationship not only with India,
but with the entire sub-continent and the
rest of Asia-Pacific. It is far from hidden
nowadays.
The Indo-Canadian
community is fast approaching the one million
mark in Canada. Our latest census put our
national population at just over 30 million,
so the implications of this figure are clear.
India is now the second largest source country
for immigrants to Canada; we welcomed over
21,000 immigrants from your country last
year alone. Canadians of Indian origin are
doctors, teachers, business people, social
workers, lawyers and in probably every other
occupation. Indo-Canadians are also making
lasting impressions in government at the
municipal, provincial, and federal level:
one of our first provincial premiers of
"non-European origin" was of Indian
birth, Ujjal Dosanjh, in British Columbia;
Herb Dhaliwal, MP for Vancouver South and
Minister of Natural Resources, is a proud
Indo-Canadian.
There are
thousands of voters of South Asian origin
in southeast Edmonton; their support is
essential for electoral success. In our
most recent national election (November
2000), the Canadian Alliance candidate in
Edmonton Southeast was an Indo-Canadian.
A vice-president of my constituency association
is of Indian origin; so is my constituency
assistant for the past ten years. In fairness,
I should add that the association president
is from Pakistan and the treasurer is from
Vietnam. Everyone gets along splendidly.
I attempt to attend Vaisakhi, India Day,
and other celebrations, including the beginning
of Diwalhi, whenever feasible. Such events
demonstrate that the traditions of India's
culture are not lost on second and third
generation Canadians of Indian origin---and
are now being celebrated by Canadians of
all backgrounds and heritages. Canada's
cultural diversity is much more vibrant
as a result.
Re-engagement
in 2001
Given such
deep bonds between our peoples, the Chretien
government re-engaged India fully on the
political level in March 2001. Until that
point, as most of you undoubtedly know,
our relations had been severely strained
following your government’s detonation
of nuclear devices at Pokhran four years
ago. Canada has always sought to create
a nuclear free world and we are continuing
advocates of global disarmament. Our policy
remains unchanged. We cannot encourage India,
Pakistan or any other government to sanction
the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We
regard the nuclearization of South Asia,
particularly following the tragic events
of last September, as a step backwards for
international peace and security.
Permit me
to quote only part of a poem, “Hiroshima”,
written by Peter Miller, who worked for
many years as a church minister in South
India:
“Our
kids are asleep
dreaming
of fun
like so many
others.
It was the
same in Hiroshima
many years
ago
on August
5th;
kids asleep
dreaming
of fun
And the bomb
fell
and they
were gone,
turned to
ash
with not
even
their shadow
remaining
on the street.”
On this very
unhappy theme, consider some points in Monday’s
National Post in a news story datelined
New Delhi under the headline, “India
Steps Up Preparation For War”:
·
India’s government has placed all paramilitary
units along the Pakistan border under army
control and your Foreign Minister, Jaswant
Singh, said this was “standard operating
procedure” when preparing for war;
·
A senior Indian army officer, who declined
to give his name, said, “There will
be war. But in all likelihood it will take
place after the summer and the monsoon rains.”
He added that there is no other way your
army can “let off steam and teach Pakistan
a lesson.”;
·
At least a million men have been mobilized
on both sides of the border since the attack
on your parliament five months ago; and
·
Various members of the international community
have been lobbying hard to calm the crisis,
fearing war could quickly result in nuclear
exchanges.
Canada condemns
India's nuclear weapons program. India’s
government refuses to alter its position;
the result was the longest sustained period
of strained relations between our two countries
in over fifty years. Our commercial relationship
faltered; our exports declined by 25%, despite
India emerging finally as one of the most
dynamic economies on earth. Until March
of last year, we continued to restrict diplomatic
and political contacts long after other
G-8 governments had renewed high-level ties.
Canada's position was widely viewed in your
official and academic circles as being unduly
hardline. Our opinion was, and still is,
that the message had to be delivered, as
one friend to another. In hindsight, our
very public approach on the issue proved
could have been better developed. We have
since changed our approach to re-engage
with your government as a major strategic
partner on the premise that a broadly-based
engagement is imperative for both Canadian
and Indian interests in regional stability
/ prosperity and for global security.
There are
three pillars to our evolving relationship
with India: political, economic, and, for
lack of a better term, "people-to-people."
As indicated earlier, personal contacts
have continued to deepen throughout the
past five decades and longer–indeed
going back to 1904, when a group of self-reliant
Sikhs from Punjab arrived in British Columbia.
The outpouring of donations to India following
the earthquake in Gujarat in 2001 was another
clear indication of the ties that bind us.
Until the collapse of Canada 3000 last October,
direct flights were underway between Toronto
and New Delhi. This aspect of our relationship
grows stronger almost by the week.
Political
and Economic re-engagement
We have been
working hard to improve the political/economic
dimensions of our relationship. Exchanges
at the levels of senior official and ministers
have accelerated: In early 2001, our then
Minister of Immigration led eight of our
MPs to India; Minister Herb Dhaliwal visited
India in January 2002. Deputy Prime Minister
John Manley paid an official visit later
the same month. Last month, some of you
may have had the opportunity to hear Intergovernmental
Affairs Minister Stephane Dion speak at
the Centre for Canadian Studies at the University
of Delhi. We have already received visits
from the your Minister of Power and Minister
of External Affairs. Not only are our citizens
now talking, but also our ministers.
Ashamedly,
I have never been to India --- a situation
that will be remedied shortly with a trip
hopefully as early as the summer or at least
in the fall. It is a most eagerly awaited
journey. How could one sense anything but
excitement at the idea of visiting what
Mark Twain described as, "...the one
land that all men desire to see, and having
seen once, by even a glimpse, would not
give that glimpse for all the shows of all
the rest of the globe combined." Mohandas
K. Gandhi, moreover, has long been a personal
hero; having sought out memories of him
in Durban, South Africa, it would be even
better to do the same thing in his homeland.
Economically,
you have overcome difficulties and are achieving
major success, including, I’m told,
100,000 engineering graduates yearly, with
all that implies. According to the World
Bank, India is the world's 13th largest
economy, but if the size of the relative
costs of living are adjusted, it is already
the world's fourth largest economy --
behind
the US, China and Japan. It is a magnet
for trade and investment. All countries
in a position to take advantage of India's
status as a potential global economic power
are doing so now.
Even more
importantly, India is the world's largest
democracy. If you'll allow it, I’d
like to speak very briefly about the relationship
between economics/ trade and India's status
as a democracy. Canada's goals in promoting
our business interests are twofold: one,
to help our economy. We are a classic trading
nation; some say we are becoming modern
Phoenicians. One in three jobs and 46% of
our GDP today are directly related to exports.
Transparency,
Accountability and Trade
Secondly,
in promoting trade, we also seek to build
on the increasing world thrust towards transparency,
accountability, and democratic legitimacy
in all lands, including our own. Fostering
good-governance and human rights can buttress
the economic advances any nation makes.
As a judge friend noted, the rule of law
should be among Canada’s most attractive
exports. Such things are good for business;
there is no contradiction. In the eyes of
more and more Canadians, they are not merely
good for the kind of business where both
sides win; they are essential for any legitimate
business.
Canadians
want to increase trade with countries which
respect human rights and , in so doing,
give themselves the best means to improve
the lot of their own populations generally.
India is showing the world that democracy
and unity in diversity, where there is constitutional
space for all communities in a climate of
genuine pluralism, are possible outside
the industrialized nations of the West.
Canadians
are well aware of these issues through our
own history. The similarities in political
culture between our two nations reinforce
the elements necessary for our respective
business communities to prosper. Your market
offers huge trade/ investment potential
for Canadians. For example, synergies are
rapidly developing in our respective high-tech
sectors. Over the last year alone, we achieved
record growth in two-way exports, with total
trade touching the $2 billion level. More
can, and must, be achieved.
Our Trade
Minister Pierre Pettigrew last month led
a private-sector trade delegation to India.
More than 130 representatives of Canadian
businesses and government organizations
participated in the mission to Mumbai and
Delhi. Nineteen memorandums of understanding
and five contracts, worth over $25 million,
were signed.
Educational
Marketing
One area
of trade which is often overlooked, and
not really adequately catalogued, is education
marketing. Your visit here is a prime example:
as visiting academics, you share your wealth
of knowledge with Canadians and in turn
learn more about what makes us tick. Hopefully,
what you learn is positive, which you then
bring back with you to India, and share
with your friends, colleagues, and others.
While here, you spend some money and help
our economy; Canadian academics do the same
thing while in India. This is the way life-long
bonds are made and relationships deepened
-- and are hallmarks of the Shastri Institutes’
history of successes.
Considering
all students and academics who come to Canada
yearly now--about 200,000 in total-- educational
marketing today for us is a $4 billion/year
industry. Last year, over 2300 Indian students
contributed to these totals-- a classic
win-win situation. Canada's post-graduate
programs are among the best in the world,
and rival the top universities in Europe
and the United States. Living here is less
expensive than most other industrialized
countries and our safe streets, warm hospitality
(if not climate), and strong feeling of
community and social equality make Canada
an attractive location for foreign students.
Our Foreign Affairs and International Trade
department is consulting with various academic
institutions, private sector organizations,
and provincial governments to see how Canada
can more effectively market itself as a
global leader in post-secondary education.
Incidentally, I'm told that one of the world's
first universities was established in Takshashila
, India Perhaps Canada has much to learn
from an institution that was apparently
able to attract thousands of students from
around the world -- in the year 700 B.C.!
Some of the
agreements signed during the recent trade
mission to India might interest you: 1--
the Faculty of Education at McGill signed
a letter of intent to establish the Mussoorie
Teacher Academy in Delhi. McGill will provide
the curriculum, teaching professionals and
management based on its education standards,
with Mussoorie providing local expertise
and administrative personnel; 2--Universities123
of Brampton, Ontario, signed a contract
with the Baba Farid International Institute
of Foreign Studies to provide curriculum
and faculty to the institution’s facility
in Chandigarh; 3–The Karwal International
Group of Toronto signed a memorandum of
understanding with Overseas Project Consultant
Ltd. to establish schools in India with
Canadian academic curriculum accreditation.
The first three schools will open in Delhi,
Jaipur, and Nanital by 2003. As these examples
illustrate, Canada's education expertise
is already being felt in India; these sorts
of developments can only improve our bilateral
relationship.
In the interests
of ensuring the Shastri Institute's continuing
important role in this relationship, I will
soon extend an invitation to India’s
Secretary of State for Human Development,
who is in part responsible for education
in India, including the level of support
your national government gives to the Shastri
Institute.
Conclusion
Permit me
to conclude with two points, which are really
questions. First, as noted above, many Canadians
of origin in India and Pakistan–along
with all the rest of us–are profoundly
worried about the continuing frictions between
New Delhi and Islamabad. Is there something
you judge this country might add to assist
in the conflict resolution beyond what is
happening now?
As mentioned
earlier, this country is seeking a strategic
relationship with India. I’d thus welcome
any of your thoughts – now, afterwards
in private, or by email – on whether
you think this might be achieved in the
reasonably near future and, if so, how
it might be done to the advantage of both
peoples.
Thank you.
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