The long-term economic and social well-being of every Canadian depends on the state of our natural environment. Canada's ability to adopt innovative environmental practices and technologies will increasingly be part of Canada's strength in the 21st century.
Canadians have long recognized the underlying relationship between a healthy environment and a high quality of life. Canadians and leading businesses are already working in their own communities to preserve the natural environment, pushing the frontiers and opportunities of environmental technologies and new eco-efficient practices.
The quality of the environment in our communities is also linked to the environmental health of other communities around the world. Problems such as climate change and dangerous levels of persistent toxins can be resolved only through concerted international action.
Within Canada, the Government will work with other governments and citizens to meet our country's commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will set and enforce tough pollution standards, in particular to better protect the health of children, seniors and residents of the North. It will place greater emphasis on sustainable development in government decision making. It will also address the structural weaknesses that have been identified in the management of toxic substances. Internationally, Canada will provide technical assistance to developing countries in adopting sustainable practices.
The Government will introduce legislation and stewardship programs, working with provinces and territories to ensure that species at risk and their critical natural habitat are protected. The Government will also continue to extend Canada's national parks system.
In its own operations, the Government will make itself a model of environmental excellence. It will do more to clean up contaminated federal sites. It will strengthen its capacity for conducting environmental science research. It will also explore new environmental clean-up technologies.
The Government will report regularly on the results achieved in addressing the top environmental concerns of Canadians.
Building Stronger Communities
Working Together
Our history has been one of Canadians helping Canadians to seize opportunities and rise to challenges. This commitment to working together—by Canadians, their governments and their communities—will ensure Canada's continued success in addressing the complex issues of the 21st century.
The Social Union Framework Agreement, reached earlier this year, is a commitment by governments to work together for Canadians. It calls for governments to report publicly on the effectiveness of social programs. It also commits governments to eliminating barriers that unjustifiably impede the mobility of citizens within Canada. These barriers include rules that prevent some citizens from obtaining recognition of their qualifications when they move to another province, that deny some students use of their student loans when they study out-of-province, and that restrict access to essential services for some citizens—including those with disabilities—because of their province of origin. The Government of Canada is committed to working together with its partners to meet the deadlines set out in the Social Union Framework Agreement, thereby removing all unjustifiable barriers to mobility no later than 2002.
In 2001, Canadians will mark the International Year of Volunteers—a time to celebrate the achievements of Canada's everyday heroes. The Government recognizes the need to build partnerships with communities and to renew its relationship with the voluntary organizations that serve and sustain them. The Government will enter into a national accord with the voluntary sector, laying a new foundation for active partnership with voluntary organizations in the service of Canadians.
Strong communities depend on the participation of all their members. To this end, the Government will pursue its efforts with other governments, the private and voluntary sectors, and all citizens to build communities in which Canadians with disabilities are fully included and in which new Canadians feel more at home.
In addition, the Government will continue working with its partners in all sectors to address the root causes of homelessness and help communities respond to their members' needs for shelter and other support.
Promoting Safer Communities
Canadians are justifiably proud of having built communities where citizens feel safe. This is a key component of our quality of life and a contributor to Canada's comparative advantage.
The Government will work with Canadians to ensure that our communities continue to be safe. Its focus will be balanced, combining prevention and a community-centred approach with action to deal with serious crime. It will expand the community-based crime prevention strategy and re-introduce legislation to reform the youth justice system. The Government will combat drug trafficking while helping communities aid those most affected. It will also launch a program of restorative justice to help victims overcome the trauma of crime and provide non-violent offenders with a chance to help repair the damage caused by their actions.
The Government will focus attention on new and emerging threats to Canadians and their neighbours around the world. It will work to combat criminal activity that is becoming increasingly global in scope, including money laundering, terrorism, and the smuggling of people, drugs and guns.
The Government will strengthen the capacity of the RCMP and other agencies to address threats to public security in Canada and work with enforcement agencies in other countries. In addition, it will work to modernize legislation to better ensure public security.
The Government of Canada will also continue to work closely with the Government of the United States to modernize our shared border for the 21st century.
A Stronger Relationship with Canada's Aboriginal Peoples
The contribution of Canada's Aboriginal peoples has shaped our country's heritage and will continue to enrich Canada in the new century. The Government will continue to build on the strong foundation of reconciliation and renewal created by Gathering Strength—Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan.
We are now building stronger partnerships with Aboriginal people—concentrating on improving their living conditions and, increasingly, on strengthening their economies. As a result, Aboriginal people will be able to more fully participate in and contribute to Canada's economic development and social well-being.
Fostering good government and strong accountability in First Nations communities will increase investor confidence, support economic partnerships, and improve living conditions. Land claim agreements, in particular, are essential to create certainty for Aboriginal people and their surrounding communities—providing the climate needed for partnerships, investments and economic opportunities. Early in the new session of Parliament, the Government will introduce legislation to implement the historic agreement with the Nisga'a.
Canada's Place in the World
As we move into the 21st century, Canada has the momentum to lead the way toward a safer and more secure world. Canadians have built the highest quality of life in the world by focussing on the needs of people. We have the expertise to advance an agenda of human security—protecting people from threats to their rights, their safety and their lives.
Canada is an outward-looking country, with a trade-oriented economy and a population drawn from every corner of the globe. We have a reputation internationally for making a difference—through our contribution to eliminating landmines, our work with NATO and the United Nations in Kosovo, our development assistance to Asia and Africa, our efforts to establish the International Criminal Court, and our work to renew the international financial system.
As the Cold War recedes into the past, there is a greater need to complement national security with an approach that addresses the growing challenges that undermine the security of individuals. Human security is challenged when children are used as soldiers in combat, when citizens are denied their rights, when civilians are caught in conflict, and when people are the victims of economic crisis, natural disaster, widespread disease, or environmental degradation.
Canadians recognize that their quality of life depends in part on the quality of life of their neighbours—those who share this planet with us. A world where people are secure is a world where fewer people are forced to flee their homes, where there is less crime and terrorism, and where there is a reduced threat of disease and pollution.
The Government will give increased prominence to human security in its foreign policy, working to achieve meaningful progress in the councils of the world on a global human security agenda.
In 2001, the United Nations General Assembly will hold a special session on children. In the spirit of partnership that led to the historic treaty banning landmines, the Government will work to reach key international agreements to protect the rights of children. Canada will champion efforts to eliminate the exploitation of children, including the use of child soldiers in armed conflict, and will help address the crisis of children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The Government will act with like-minded countries to reform and strengthen international institutions such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organization. It will also work to develop a new approach internationally to support the diversity of cultural expression in countries around the world.
To advance Canada's leadership in the Arctic region, the Government will outline a foreign policy for the North that enhances co-operation, helps protect the environment, promotes trade and investment, and supports the security of the region's people.
The Government will increase international development assistance and work in innovative ways to enable poor countries to improve the quality of life of their citizens.
The Government will also continue to ensure that the Canadian Forces have the capacity to support Canada's role in building a more secure world and will further develop the capacity of Canadians to help ensure peace and security in foreign lands.
Honouring Canada's Promise for the 21st Century
As we prepare to celebrate the turn of the millennium, we can look to our past with pride and to our future with confidence. Like previous generations, we will face new challenges. But guided by our values and our collective experience, we can ensure that Canada remains the best place in the world in which to live—the best place to raise children, to learn, to pursue opportunity, to share in rich, diverse and safe communities, and to admire the beauty of nature.
All Canadians—every citizen, every government, every business and every community organization—have a part to play. We will build the 21st century together.
Members of the House of Commons:
You will be asked to appropriate the funds required to carry out the services and expenditures authorized by Parliament.
Honourable Members of the Senate
and Members of the House of Commons:
As the representatives of the Canadian people across this great land, yours is a special duty—a higher responsibility to strive for excellence in the service of your country.
Let the Canadians of tomorrow look upon this Parliament and say, Here were men and women committed to building a stronger Canada and a better quality of life for their children and grandchildren.
May Divine Providence guide you in your deliberations.