Thank you, dear colleagues, Mr. Speaker of the Senate, Mr. Speaker of the House of Commons, Senators and Members of Parliament, Chief Justice and members of the Supreme Court of Canada, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great privilege for all of us to welcome to our Parliament today the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Right Hon. David Cameron.
On a person note, David, I have seen you recently and often--many times, in fact--both as Leader of the Opposition and Prime Minister in Great Britain, and around the world, but it is a special pleasure to meet you here in Canada, where you are joining a distinguished register of British prime ministers who have addressed this chamber.
For instance, most recently in 2001, the Right Hon. Tony Blair addressed this House.
The great Margaret Thatcher spoke in this place on two occasions. Perhaps most famously, it was right here in 1941, during some of the darkest days of the Second World War, that Sir Winston Churchill made his famous “some chicken, some neck” speech that did so much to rally spirits on both sides of the Atlantic.
Prime Minister, another of your predecessors, Sir Anthony Eden, called appearing before this House an almost daunting experience for the visitor. Let me assure you that he found, as you will, that in the tradition we inherited from your own country, the Commons treats its visitors much better than we do each other.
Once again, we welcome you and we look forward to hearing you speak in just a few minutes.
First I ask the indulgence of this House to refer briefly to those security matters and economic matters that have brought Prime Minister Cameron and myself together, usually with other world leaders, no less than seven times during the last 16 months. They are matters, I must say, in which Prime Minister Cameron's leadership has been decisive and matters that will continue to demand his firmness of purpose, such as in Libya.
In particular, I am referring to the role played by our two countries, with the assistance of Canada's other mother country, France, in the efforts we have devoted to helping the people of Libya build a better future. Those efforts were driven by certain fundamental convictions.
We believe, for instance, that “the state was made for man and not man for the state”, as the Right Hon. Harold Macmillan observed in this very chamber.
We also believe that when we help others to be free, it is our own liberty that we also secure. Those ancient rights of democracy and the rule of law that our two countries share are also the common aspirations of millions of people around the world. They are clearly the aspirations of the Libyan people themselves, and our mutual hope is that they will someday enjoy them in all their fullness.
Of course, we cannot forget the very serious problems that are facing the global economy and that bring us together as G20 partners.
Neither of us will be accused of exaggeration if we acknowledge that the most immediate test confronting all of us is to avoid the devastating consequences of a return to global recession, yet without key countries taking systemically appropriate and coordinated economic measures, without resistance to protectionism and acceptance of more flexible exchange rates, without fiscal consolidation and, above all else, without a will to address growing uncertainty to decisively tackle what are in some cases dangerous and unsustainable levels of national indebtedness--without actions on these matters, the world will not avoid such consequences.
I would therefore like to commend the leadership shown by Prime Minister Cameron on the economic issues of the day.
First, the strong guidance Prime Minister Cameron has offered to our G20 partners and his determined advocacy for fiscal discipline.
Second, his consequential handling of the difficult fiscal choices confronting the British economy. Truly among our G20 partners, Prime Minister Cameron has been a leader by example.
Prime Minister, here in Canada we have followed your progress carefully and I can safely say that, where it matters most, your thinking parallels that of our own government. To be precise, while deficit reduction is not an end in itself, the G20 fiscal targets agreed to in Toronto last year remain an essential element for rebuilding the economic health of industrialized nations.
Like you, Prime Minister, we are targeting those objectives with a clear plan to stimulate job creation and economic growth. Later this year, G20 leaders will meet in Cannes.
And, I dare say, when we get there in Cannes, we will have much to occupy us at the G20.
Hon. members, without further ado, it does give me great pleasure to introduce a man of immense resolve and principled action, a great friend of mine and a great friend of Canada, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Right Honourable David Cameron.