Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to participate in the debate on the summit of the Americas as a former chair on the Subcommittee on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment in the last parliament and also as the current Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
I will be splitting my time, Mr. Speaker, with the member for Mississauga South.
I would like to use the time I have been allocated, not only to speak about the free trade area of the Americas but also to speak about the themes of the 2001 summit, the history of the summit, and what we hope as a government to accomplish at the summit, especially in the area of cultural diversity.
I also believe that it is very important to stress to the people who are listening to us this evening that the summit will not just be about the free trade area of the Americas. In fact the ministers of international trade will be meeting in Buenos Aires on April 6 and 7 to pursue the negotiations of the FTAA prior to the summit. While economic integration will be on the summit's agenda, the summit is much more than a vehicle to promote economic growth.
From April 20 to April 22, 2001, this will be the third occasion on which the presidents and the prime ministers of the hemisphere's 34 nations will come together to consider the most important issues affecting the region.
The leaders of the hemisphere's 34 democratically elected governments met for the first time in December, 1994 in Miami with the belief that strong hemispheric partnerships would encourage mutual interests which included peace, democracy, economic integration and social justice.
At the first summit the leaders released a declaration of principles which focused on four major themes: first, preserving and strengthening the community of democracy of the Americas; second, promoting prosperity through economic integration and free trade; third, eradicating poverty and discrimination in our hemisphere; and fourth, guaranteeing sustainable development and conserving our natural environment for future generations.
The summit's resulting plan of action contained 23 initiatives covering the four theme areas. Then on April 18 and 19, 1998, four years later, the leaders of the 34 countries which had participated in Miami met for a second time at the summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile to continue the dialogue and strengthen the co-operation that began in 1994.
In preparing for Santiago, Canada identified a number of priorities and carefully considered the views expressed by Canadians during civil society consultations which took place in six Canadian cities in October of 1997. The human rights and democracy theme continue to be a priority for Canada and in the summit process. Our country presented the civic proposals to improve key aspects of the administration of justice in the Americas.
I am also pleased to report it was Canada that placed indigenous issues on the agenda as a separate item and placed importance on ensuring that women and people with disabilities be given particular attention.
Canada participated actively in all areas of discussion at the summit of Americas in Santiago. Among the issues addressed was how to combat the elicit drug trade in the hemisphere.
During this second summit of the Americas, and I stress it was only the second summit, the FTAA negotiations were initiated with the understanding that they be concluded by the year 2005.
Also in Santiago, Canada's leadership role in trade liberalization was recognized when it was announced that Canada would chair negotiations for the FTAA for the first 18 months and host the fifth meeting of the hemisphere's trade ministers in 1999. It was and remains Canada's position and belief that the creation of the free trade area of the Americas is important to the economic prosperity of the hemisphere and, in turn, to the consolidation of democracy in the Americas. At the conclusion of the summit in Santiago, Canada was chosen to host the next summit of the Americas in 2001.
In September 1998, the hon. Sergio Marchi, the former minister for international trade, asked the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade to report to him on positions Canada should take in negotiating an agreement that would create a free trade area of the Americas. The minister's request was then referred to the Subcommittee on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment.
From March to June 1999, the subcommittee structured its hearings in a way that would enable it to hear from as many Canadians as possible, covering a wide range of public concerns from many and diverse perspectives.
The committee also held joint meetings of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade when travelling across the country in undertaking its study of the WTO in the millennium round of negotiations.
Apart from hearing from the public at large, the subcommittee organized round table meetings of experts to address and debate principal stakes of an FTAA for Canada and to comment on key issues such as its opportunities and challenges, social and economic development of smaller economies of the Americas and the preservation of Canadian culture.
In the end 48 witnesses appeared before the subcommittee and 35 briefs and submissions were received. In addition, of the 394 witnesses who appeared before the joint meetings of the standing committee, many chose to address the question of the free trade area of the Americas.
In October 1999 the subcommittee tabled its report along with 29 recommendations to assist our trade officials in achieving a result that serves Canada's best interests. The committee also specifically stated that it wished to make known that the report was not a final report. It was a first report in what was expected to be an ongoing parliamentary review on an FTAA until the final deadline for concluding such an agreement in 2005 is reached.
In March 2000 the current Minister for International Trade presented to parliament Canada's priorities and objectives for negotiating the free trade areas of the Americas.
Last Thursday, officials from the Department of International Trade and the Department of Canadian Heritage appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to address the issue of culture within the framework of the FTAA. Claude Carrière, Canada's chief negotiator for the FTAA, confirmed Canada's position that Canada would not make any commitment which would limit our cultural objective and cultural policy, while at the same time we would work with other countries to develop a new international instrument on cultural diversity.
At that time Mr. Carrière tabled a proposal for the language on cultural diversity in the preamble to the declaration of the FTAA which I would like to share with the members here in the House of Commons and with Canadians. The proposed wording is as follows:
Recognizing that countries must maintain the ability to preserve, develop and implement their cultural policies for the purpose of strengthening cultural diversity, given the essential role that cultural goods and services play in the identity and diversity of society and the lives of individuals.
The concept of a new international instrument on cultural diversity was recommended in a report by the cultural industries sectoral advisory group on international trade, known as SAGIT, in February 1999. The SAGIT report recommended the new cultural instrument on cultural diversity should: recognize the importance of cultural diversity; acknowledge that cultural goods and services are basically different from other products; acknowledge that domestic measures and policies intended to ensure access to a variety of indigenous cultural products are significantly different from other policy measures; set out rules on the kinds of domestic regulatory and other measures that countries cannot use to enhance cultural and linguistic diversity and; and establish how trade disciplines would apply or not apply to cultural measures that meet the agreed upon rules.
In 1999, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade both endorsed the SAGIT report.
In the Speech from the Throne in October 1999 the government committed to developing a new approach internationally to support the diversity of cultural expression in countries around the world.
In 1998 the Minister of Canadian Heritage invited the ministers of culture of many countries to attend an international meeting to discuss a strategic approach to the pressures of globalization on the expression of cultural and national identity. The end result was the launching of the international network for cultural policy.
When it was first established there were 19 members. Today there are 45 and even more countries want to join. Every region of the world is represented.
This international network on cultural policy has strongly endorsed the instrument approach and has mandated that the Department of Canadian Heritage chair a working group to develop the scope and framework of an instrument for the 2001 annual meeting.
The summit of the Americas is about much more than just trade. We hope this will be an opportunity for the new international instrument on cultural diversity to be taken forward. I would also like to remind everyone that there are three themes: strengthening democracy, creating prosperity and realizing human potential.