People Bridges across the Pacific

Remarks for the Hon. David Kilgour

MP, Edmonton Southeast & Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) for the Asia-Pacific Accord

The Century Palace

Edmonton, AB

27 July 2003

Check against delivery

Terry Cavanaugh

Our guest of honour is Council Member Terry Cavanaugh. Terry’s been a part of Edmonton public life for the better part of 50 years. Not bad for a guy who started his career playing in the American Hockey League. What everyone here knows but nevertheless certainly bears repeating is that Terry is exceptionally dedicated to his constituents and his city. I can’t give him all the credit, mind you – some has to go to his lovely wife, June.

And if there’s one thing that people in Edmonton will tell you it is that Terry Cavanaugh is able to talk to anyone, about anything, anytime, anywhere. What’s more, I understand that Terry is manages to greet just about any Canadian in their mother tongue. As you’ll have probably gathered from my attempt at a greeting in Mandarin a few minutes ago, I still have to practice.

Terry also epitomises an old Chinese proverb, and I’ll paraphrase it slightly, which states that “If you want something, you should turn to society’s seniors for advice.” Indeed, with a culture that is over 4000 years old with a profound appreciation for tradition and ancestry, China has much to teach us about respecting society’s elders. Drawing on Confucian learning, we all know that ancestral worship plays a very important role in Chinese culture. This extends beyond the important rituals of incense burning and divination, to upholding the belief that respect for one’s ancestors means also respecting one’s parents and elders. Today, we pay this same respect to Terry.

Asianification

How appropriate it is, then, that the Asia-Pacific Accord of Canada has kindly hosted this event. Indeed, the ties between Asia and Canada are long and deep. The importance of Asia to global affairs and to Canada is impossible to ignore. For instance, if we shrank the earth's population down to a village of one hundred people 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%!

Evidently, the ties between Asia and Canada have been brought very close to home in the last couple of months – for some unfortunate reasons. Is it really all that surprising that outside Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, it was Toronto that registered the largest number of SARS victims?

Our struggles with BSE have also reinforced the often forgotten importance of our trading relationships with partners outside of North America - including many in Asia-Pacific. Many of you know that Japan, for example, is Canada’s largest trading partner after the United States. Although we directly provide only a small portion of Japan’s beef supply, many of the cattle we send south of the border end up in that country.

Japan and BSE

I was Japan a couple of weeks ago in an attempt to boost trade between our countries and persuade the government to abandon its unwarranted request for country of origin labelling and re-open its borders to what has time and again been proven to be among the safest beef in the world. The pending arrival of fall, of course, brings new urgency to the situation. Cattle will soon need to be move indoors and, unable to pay for feed, Alberta farmers alone may have to destroy up to one third of our over five million cattle. All scientific research clearly supports the resumption of trade and I assure you that we are working very hard to drive this message home and resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Cattle farmers are a backbone of our economy and deserve nothing less than complete dedication from their governments.

While in Japan I was struck by the almost overwhelming goodwill that exists towards Canadians and Canadian products. As in many countries around the world, we are perceived as an ideal vacation destination. Japan itself is about half the size of Alberta yet its economy is larger than those of all other Asia-Pacific countries combined plus thirty percent.

People Bridges

At a time when some accuse Canada of having a fading influence in the world, we need to be more aware than ever of all opportunities within our grasp. Canadians are more tied to Asia-Pacific than ever before. As part of what I refer to as Canada’s “Asianification”, our population is increasingly linked through immigration and education. Canada’s existing and potential people to people links are unparalleled almost anywhere in the world. From Afghanistan to the South Pacific, Mongolia to Australia, each Asia-Pacific nation has its own community in Canada. Our capacity for building human bridges is enormous.

Many see Vancouver itself as the epitome of a North American Asia-Pacific city. Over 60% of students in the Vancouver school board, and half of UBC’s domestic graduates, don’t speak English at home! Fully 12% of Edmonton’s population is of origin in Asia, and 56% of University of Alberta international students came from Asia last year. The same holds true for many of Western Canada’s cities. 15% of Calgary’s population and over 10% of Winnipeg’s is of origin in Asia.

We are, of course, a nation of immigrants and our historical immigration patterns have undoubtedly shaped our approaches to both domestic and foreign policy. There is little reason to believe that the results of Canada’s “Asianification” will be any different.

Canadian education has also served to forge ties throughout Asia-Pacific for decades. Many of the region’s government and business leaders have been educated in Canada. With so many students from Asia-Pacific countries currently studying in Canada, we’re set to leave a lasting influence on the next generation of leaders as well - and vice versa.

Evidently, the ties between Canada and all parts of Asia are growing stronger everyday, thanks to our expansive “people bridges” across the Pacific. Now more than ever is time to take advantage of them.

I promised I wouldn’t take much of your time and I know we’re all anxious to get to dinner. Terry: congratulations again – and to the Asia Pacific Accord, thank you for hosting this wonderful evening.