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OVERVIEW
CANADA'S INTERNATIONAL
POLICY STATEMENT
A Role of Pride and Influence in the
World
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FOREWORD FROM THE PRIME
MINISTER
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
 Introduction: The Need to
Review
Foreign policy is how a nation best expresses itself to the
world. Our policies as a government, reflecting our beliefs as
Canadians, are articulated through the words we speak, the decisions
we make and the actions we implement in the name of Canada.
Over the course of the past year and a half, my government
issued our country’s first National Security Policy, launched the Canada
Corps with its work in Ukraine, led the International Mission for
Iraqi Elections, commanded the International Security Assistance Force in
Afghanistan and the multinational force in Haiti, negotiated a new Security and Prosperity Partnership with our
counterparts in North America, pursued modern trade and science and
technology agreements with India, Japan and Korea, and demonstrated
our leadership in combating HIV/AIDS in the developing world and
encouraging debt relief for the poorest of countries.
We are proud of these accomplishments. But we also understand
that from time to time, a government needs to take a hard and
comprehensive look at what is working and what is not in its foreign
policy; at how the world is evolving and whether Canada is prepared;
at how best to project Canadian values and interests into the world
and make a real difference in the lives of its embattled peoples,
now and in the future.
This is the right time to review our foreign policy.
Why?
Because the world is changing, quickly and radically, and these
changes matter to Canada—not in abstract terms, and not only to
students of international relations, but tangibly and to everyone.
Our security, our prosperity and our quality of life all stand to be
influenced and affected by these global transformations and by the
challenges they bring—from the spectre of international terrorism to
the threats of virulent disease, climate change and disappearing
fish stocks. It is through our foreign policy that Canada must and
will act to ensure that we as a nation overcome the trials and
embrace the opportunities of the 21st century.
Make no mistake: We are in the midst of a major rebalancing of
global power. New nations are rising as military and economic
forces. Many established powers are striving to maintain their
influence through regional integration and new alliances. In a world
of traditional and emerging giants, independent countries like
Canada—countries with small populations—risk being swept aside,
their influence diminished, their ability to compete hampered. That
may sound dramatic, but the stakes are that high. We will have to be
smart, focused, agile, creative and dogged in the pursuit of our
interests.
Why is the time right for a foreign policy review? Because we
want to make a real difference in halting and preventing conflict
and improving human welfare around the world. This may sound naively
altruistic, but it’s not. Rather, it’s a doctrine of activism that
over decades has forged our nation’s international character—and
will serve us even better in today’s changing world. The people of
our country have long understood that, as a proud citizen of the
world, Canada has global responsibilities. We can’t solve every
problem, but we will do what we can to protect others, to raise them
up, to make them safe.
Such intentions can be frustrating, for the world does not lack
for a supply of grinding poverty, murderous conflict and abject
despair. There is only so much that we, as one nation, can
accomplish. But that fact must not dissuade us. Instead, it must
inspire us—inspire us to rally cooperative action to address major
concerns; inspire us to focus on countries and conflicts within
which we can truly make a difference; inspire us to keep at it and
to follow through, to understand that real progress means not only
keeping the peace but doing the hard work of building the systems of
health, education and justice that will enable people to grow, to
succeed, to thrive.
Remember: There is no contradiction between Canada doing well and
Canada doing good. Canada benefits directly when the world is more
secure, more prosperous, more healthy, and more protective of the
natural environment. If we are to take our responsibilities
seriously to ourselves and the Canadian generations to follow, then
we must take our responsibilities to the global community seriously
as well, not only with noble sentiment and rhetoric—we must also
earn and perhaps re-earn our way. This will take effort and it will
take dedication.
Why is the time right for a review? Because we are now in a
position to reinvest in our international role. For decades, there
was a slow erosion in Canada’s commitment to its military, to
international assistance and to our diplomatic presence around the
world. Then, during the nineties, there were more cutbacks as our
government made tough decisions to save the country from financial
calamity. As a result, our international presence has suffered. But
thanks to the sacrifice and resolve of Canadians, we have restored
our fiscal sovereignty and have spent the past year renewing our
investments in domestic priorities, such as health care. Now is the
time to rebuild for Canada an independent voice of pride and
influence in the world. It won’t be easy. We will have to earn our
way in defence and security. We will have to earn our way in
international assistance and global commerce. And we will have to
understand that we can’t simply recreate what we once had. Instead,
we must build today for the world of tomorrow. That is what we are
dedicated to doing.
Canada in North America
Our security, our
prosperity, our quality of life—these are all dependent on the
success with which we help to manage the North American continent.
All Canadians understand that our most important relationship is
with the United States. As a government, we treat it that
way, devoting energy and effort to ensuring the relationship remains
strong, sophisticated, productive and focused on common goals, such
as the security of our borders, the health of the North American
economy and the free flow of trade between our nations. The fact
that most of our trade crosses the border each day free from dispute
does nothing to shake our determination to improve the existing
dispute resolution mechanism, which has come up short too often.
Living in proximity to the world’s only superpower has engrained
in Canadians both a pride in our friendship and a determination to
set our own course in the world. We share many goals, both within
our continent and within the world, but our societies are different.
Our perspectives and our values sometimes diverge. It is natural
that even the closest of friends have their respectful differences.
Indeed, Canada has always chosen its own way, and it will continue
to do so.
More broadly, we understand that within North America, Canada,
the United States and Mexico each face unique challenges, and they
each look at the world in their own way. What is increasingly
obvious in the 21st century, however, is that there are more and
more challenges that affect all of North America—challenges that
require North American solutions that respect our differences as
sovereign countries, but that also recognize our profound
interdependence as neighbours on this continent.
Thus, on March 23, President Bush, President Fox and I signed the
Security and Prosperity Partnership of North
America that establishes the way forward on our continental
agenda for security, prosperity and quality of life. It is a
partnership that respects the past but is devoted to building for
the future, to ensuring that we as North Americans are able to
continue to thrive in a world in which China and India have emerged as economic giants.
Defence and International Security
The
first duty of government is to protect its citizens. That
responsibility today has been complicated by the emergence of new
threats: rogue states, failed and fragile states, international
criminal syndicates, weapons proliferation, and terrorists prepared
to act with no concern for the cost in human lives, including their
own.
The Statement sets out the steps we are taking and will take to
defend Canada against all threats, to protect the northern portion
of our continent and to preserve our sovereignty, including that of
the Arctic. Among the reforms is a fundamental restructuring of our
military operations under a unified “Canada Command”—a change that
will make certain that in a time of crisis, Canada’s military has a
single line of command and is better and more quickly able to act in
the best interests of Canadians.
We are also expanding our Canadian Forces, and we are ensuring that when our
military personnel are deployed, they are well equipped to do the
job—and to do it as safely as possible. By adding 5,000 new troops
and 3,000 new reserves, we are enhancing our ability to address
situations of humanitarian catastrophe in a way that will allow
Canada to play a leading and lasting role in peace support
operations.
And lead we will. For instance, Canada will direct a Provincial
Reconstruction Team in Kandahar, Afghanistan--just our latest contribution to
securing and rebuilding that country. We will maintain our leading
role in supporting the strengthening of police capacity in Haiti. We will strongly support renewed efforts
toward a just settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and will play an
integral part in abetting Palestinian efforts in capacity building
and reconstruction. And then there is Darfur, where the suffering continues and the
tragedy escalates. The international community has thus far made
unacceptable progress toward initiating a multilateral intervention.
Canada will work closely with the African Union
to improve its ability to restore security and bring stability to
the region, and we will do more in the areas of training, equipment
and logistical support.
Trade and Commerce
We have benefited
enormously from an open economy; we are the world’s eighth largest
economy and fifth largest trader. From the “outside in,” our
openness to trade, investment and people brings us cost-effective
and competitive industrial inputs and consumer products, new
technologies, new research and development, and the human capital we
need to fuel our continuing growth. From the “inside out,” global
markets for our goods, services and investments are a principal
engine of our growth, which could not be sustained by our relatively
small domestic market of 32 million people.
That is why we continue to place great emphasis on a positive
outcome for the Doha Development Agenda of global trade
negotiations at the World Trade Organization.
Our strategy for
international commerce has moved well beyond simply looking for
export markets, though that remains a very important part of what we
do. And it has moved beyond simply marketing our natural resources,
though that remains a thriving sector. In today’s economy, it is
ever more important to promote strong international investment and
scientific and research relationships around the world. Investment
abroad by Canadian companies is of increasing importance to the
Canadian economy; the numbers show that trade follows investment,
and that means more export-led, high-value jobs in Canada. The
future belongs to knowledge-based economies, and steps are being
taken now by government and the private and academic sectors to make
sure Canada is equipped to benefit.
While the U.S. remains our most important market, Canada will
step up its engagement with other mature nations, as well as with
those that today are emerging as the global titans of tomorrow.
That’s why we signed a science and technology agreement with India and
launched discussions on new economic frameworks with Japan and
Korea. That’s why we will undertake market access negotiations with
Mercosur in the context of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. And that’s why we
are pursuing major opportunities with China in tourism, technology
and resources, where our expertise and other value-added
capabilities make us a formidable global player. The International
Policy Statement sets out in more detail what we have done and what
we will do to strengthen our commercial relationships with key
partners. This is a crucial opportunity and we will not let it pass
us by.
International Assistance
Canadians have
demonstrated, time and again, a remarkable generosity toward the
world’s poor and suffering, most recently in the response to last
December’s Indian Ocean tsunami disaster. Whether as members
of religious congregations, as supporters of non-governmental
organizations, or as private individuals working and contributing on
their own, Canadians have done a great deal to share their good
fortune with others.
Those who donate want to know that their
contribution is having an effect, that it is improving lives, that
it is getting to those who so desperately need it. The same is true
of our government and its international assistance programs. We are
motivated by the imperative to ensure our aid reaches the people who
need it and is not wasted on unnecessary overhead.
Accordingly, we have concluded that the government’s aid budget
is spread too thinly across too many programs in more than 150
countries. Put simply, the money that we contribute to international
assistance on behalf of Canadians is not accomplishing as much as it
should. We will narrow our focus to maximize our impact. We will be
realistic about Canada’s ability to help others, but we will be
resolute in ensuring that our aid money is targeted so that it does
as much good as possible.
That is why the International
Policy Statement sets out a new strategic aid policy for Canada that
will:
 focus our aid on 25 development partners;
concentrate our spending on the key sectors that
drive development—health, education, governance, indigenous private
sector development and the environment;
bring new and effective delivery mechanisms to bear,
such as Canada Corps;
continue to increase official development assistance
and other forms of foreign aid by 8 percent each year, resulting in
a doubling of assistance between 2001 and 2010; and
maintain increases beyond 2010, and accelerate the
projected rate of growth in international assistance as our fiscal
position continues to improve.
Through implementing this
integrated approach, we will ensure that our development assistance
will make a difference where the need and the prospects for results
are greatest. And we are committed to finding ways to increase our
aid even more.
The Statement elaborates our approach to institution building,
engaging Canadian expertise and idealism in developing countries.
And it affirms our commitment to enhanced research and development
to support a knowledge-based approach to the needs of developing
countries.
It also declares that the best way for Canada to make a
difference in post-conflict situations is to pursue a “3D” approach,
undertaking Defence efforts to strengthen security and
stability, pursuing Diplomacy to enhance prospects for nation-building
and reconstruction, and making certain that Development contributions are brought to bear in a
coordinated and effective way.
The New Multilateralism
In the post-war
period, the international community has asserted greater collective
responsibility for the well-being of the world’s peoples. In areas
ranging from human rights to civil conflict to the environment, the
United
Nations and other international organizations are addressing
matters that historically were thought to lie solely within the
authority of the sovereign nation-state. That is why, at the United
Nations last year, I argued that modern sovereignty increasingly
encompasses responsibilities to the international community as well
as to one’s own citizens, and identified five areas where Canada
intends to push forward the international agenda for
action:
first, the “Responsibility to Protect,” to hold governments
accountable for how they treat their people, and to intervene if
necessary to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe;
second, the “Responsibility to Deny,” to prevent
terrorists and irresponsible governments from acquiring weapons of
mass destruction that could destroy millions of innocent
people;
third, the “Responsibility to Respect,” to build
lives of freedom for all people, based on the fundamental human
rights of every man, woman and child on earth;
fourth, the “Responsibility to Build,” to make sure
our economic assistance programs provide the tools that ordinary
people really need to get on with their own development;
and
fifth, the “Responsibility to the Future,” to ensure
sustainable development for future generations through better
management of global public goods.
The Statement sets out how
these responsibilities are shaping our diplomacy and how they must
reshape multilaterism. Our multilateral institutions must be up to
the task. We must reform for the future the international systems
that have served us well. That means tackling the widening divide
between rich and poor nations, and accommodating new centres of
power. A recent UN report recommended a number of changes proposed
by Canada, including the enshrining of the Responsibility to
Protect.
This is a defining period for the United Nations, the best
opportunity in memory to significantly improve an institution that
is essential to our collective security and prosperity. We will work
with like-minded countries in support of recommendations for a new
Peacebuilding Commission, a Human Rights Council, and an
internationally agreed definition of terrorism. We will support
reform of the Security Council to make it more effective and
more representative—and to ensure that progressive countries like
Canada are able to participate more frequently.
We will also continue to press for a new forum that would bring
together the leaders of 20 or so leading countries from the
developed and developing world to hold talks on how to deal with
some of the world’s most pressing problems, including reforms to our
multilateral systems. The L20 may not come easily but it will be
created because it makes sense. It is always difficult to get
countries to accept changes in their political status, but it cannot
be avoided. As has been noted before, it can take a great deal of
effort to bring about the inevitable.
We seek nothing less than a new multilateralism, in which the
real and pressing needs of people are addressed. Canada has always
contributed to and benefited from multilateralism. We believe
strongly in finding cooperative solutions. But we also recognize
that we must be ready to change with the times and lead where we
can, especially where multilateral institutions are acting too
slowly or are not up to the task.
Making a Difference
In our current age,
the changes to the world’s economic, security and political
landscapes are increasingly seismic, the global fault lines more
unstable and numerous. We see it in the headlines of our day. We
feel the anxiety of a world on edge.
That is why as Canadians we must be active beyond our borders to
protect and promote our values and our interests--security in the
face of terrorism and the increasing threat of nuclear
proliferation, and our trading relationships with the United States,
Mexico and throughout the world. We must advance the concerns of
people who seek freedom, stability, democracy and above all, a
better life. And while we value multilateralism and know the great
good that international cooperation can achieve, we must ultimately
be committed to playing a lead role in specific initiatives and, on
occasion, to resolving to go it alone. We have the means to help,
and so we will. We must.
Canadians want us to promote our international interests
vigorously. Canadians know we have to make tough choices to
safeguard our freedom and security, our prosperity and quality of
life. Canada can make a difference through its foreign policy,
through its relationships across the globe. Building on our
strengths, adapting to a changing world, we will make a
difference.
The Right Honourable Paul Martin
Prime Minister
of Canada
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