Building
Relations Between Neighbours
By David Kilgour
Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa)
September 1997
These are
exciting times in Canada's relations with
Latin America. We are solidifying our trading
relationship with Mexico under NAFTA. A
new bilateral trade agreement is in place
with Chile. And we anxiously await further
developments with other countries of the
region that will lead up to the Free Trade
Area of the Americas after the year 2005.
More and
more Canadians from businesses, organizations,
and governments are travelling to Latin
America to meet neighbours -- ones who have
for too long been viewed as distant strangers.
They are finding a shared sense of community
-- a set of concerns, responsibilities,
challenges, and interests that go beyond
the exchange of goods and services.
Mexican writer
Carlos Fuentes has said: "Every North
American, before this century is over, will
find that he or she has a personal frontier
with Latin America. This is a living frontier,
which can be nourished by information but,
above all, by knowledge, by understanding,
by the pursuit of enlightened self interest
on both parts."
Fuentes meant
"North American" in the sense
that most Latin Americans use the term --
to refer to citizens of the United States.
But today it is equally true that no Canadian
is unaffected by our relationship with Latin
America.
Creating
a free trade area of the Americas, and doubling
Canadian exports to the region by the year
2000 are key goals of Canada's relations
with Latin America. But the relationship
cannot stop at dollars and pesos. A healthy
trading relationship cannot exist unless
Canada is also committed to regional stability.
Canada played
a major role in supporting the return to
democratic rule in Haiti and restoring peace
in Guatemala. Ideally though, stability
should be promoted through our ongoing efforts
to prevent problems before they reach crisis
proportions. Canada seeks to maintain that
stability by improving social conditions,
supporting a stronger role for civil society,
and encouraging the development and consolidation
of democratic institutions.
Latin America
is a changed place from scarcely a decade
ago. In the early- to mid-1980s, civil wars
raged through several countries of Central
America -- E1 Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua-
and the bloodshed and militarization spilled
over into neighbouring countries. Many countries
of the region were led by unelected military
governments. Today, those wars have ended
or are ending, regional tensions have abated,
and all countries of the region except Cuba
are led by elected civilian governments.
That such
a change has occurred in little more than
a decade is remarkable, but we cannot afford
to become complacent. Many of these accomplishments
remain fragile. In some countries, the military
remains a powerful force that has only cautiously
accepted civilian rule. In others, powerful
narcotics cartels pose a threat to stable
democratic government. In still others,
severe economic and social inequalities
persist, contributing to instability.
Canada has
a role to play in building peace and stability
in Latin America. But we can only achieve
this, to borrow Fuentes's words, "by
knowledge, by understanding, and by the
pursuit of enlightened self interest."
Unless we understand our neighbours, we
will be in no position to help them, and
may only make matters worse.
Fortunately
Canadians enjoy advantages that we can build
on with Latin America. We are a bilingual
and multicultural society accustomed to
dealing with peoples of many backgrounds
and cultures. As a nation, we are a middle
power with no history of imperialism, with
a strong tradition of acting multilaterally
in global and regional forums, and with
a history of working in partnership with
others. We enjoy a tradition of social equality,
peaceful resolution of conflicts, and respect
for the rule of law.
Our efforts
at peace building have already yielded successes
in the region. We have gained the support
of nearly all countries in the region for
Canada's efforts to ban the production and
use of anti-personnel land mines.
In concert
with our neighbours, Canadians are actively
pursuing the eradication of poverty in Latin
America. Through Canadian organizations
such as CIDA, working in partnership with
private enterprise and non-governmental
organizations, we have fostered a demand
for Canadian technical expertise in areas
ranging from oil and gas development to
telecommunications. Through programs to
establish micro-credit institutions, we
have encouraged the poor to become self
sufficient and entrepreneurial. These accomplishments
reflect Canada's desire to move "from
aid to trade."
In challenges
such as combatting the drug trade, and encouraging
harmonious relations between countries of
the Americas, Canada has used its role in
the Organization of American States (OAS)
to work with neighbours. We are projecting
Canadian values and culture into the region
through increased contact, exchanges, and
exhibitions like the one International Trade
Minister Sergio Marchi recently led to Brazil.
And we are working to increase Canada's
trade with Latin America.
Canada has
also worked closely with the OAS to promote
democracy and human rights. We were instrumental
in establishing the Unit for the Promotion
of Democracy, an OAS mechanism to promote
and reinforce democratic institutions in
the Americas. We have participated in and
provided expertise for the orderly operation
and supervision of elections. In partnership
with Brazil, we are co-chairing an OAS Working
Group on Human Rights and Democracy. And
we have provided training in human rights,
legal training to Aboriginal teachers, and
training in the integration of women in
sustainable development.
Our goals
and challenges in Latin America cannot be
viewed in isolation. A strong civil society
and improved social conditions can only
be achieved in a climate of economic prosperity.
The key to increasing that prosperity is
expanding trading relationships throughout
the hemisphere, and encouraging investment.
Trade and investment will only flourish
in an atmosphere of political stability,
in which civil society plays a leading role,
and social conditions are improved.
This is why
Canada is working to improve its relations
with Latin America on many fronts simultaneously.
Our humanitarian concerns cannot be seen
to be in conflict with our desire for expanded
commerce. Rather, they are a vital element
of an overall relationship between neighbours
-- neighbours we will come to know much
better as Canada and Latin America together
move into the next millennium.
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