Mr. Speaker, thank you for inviting me here today, and thank you for the distinct privilege of sharing some thoughts on the special nature and the importance of the relationship between Canada and the Netherlands.
It is an honour to be here today in the heart of Canadian democracy.
To anyone without a sense of history, a quick glance at the road map may suggest that Canada and the Netherlands are far apart and profoundly different. From Ottawa to Amsterdam, it is 3,500 miles. Canada is 240 times larger than the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, with 400 people per square kilometre, there is not much space to go around. In Canada, you can drive for hours without seeing another soul.
Despite these obvious differences, the Dutch feel a deep connection with the people of Canada, and with good reason. That reason is embodied by one man who is with us here today, a veteran of the Royal Canadian Dragoons who helped liberate the Netherlands from Nazi occupation, Mr. Don White.
[Applause]
This year, on May 5, I met Don for the first time in the city of Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland, a province in the north of the Netherlands. I was there for our national celebration of Liberation Day, when we commemorate the end of the Second World War and celebrate our freedom. Don was there because he was one of the heroes on the ground back in 1945, when he was barely 20 years old. Now he is in his mid-nineties and, as you can see, he is still going strong.
Don, it is a great pleasure to see you again today and in such good health.
This is what he wrote to his parents on April 17, 1945:
We have liberated a number of [Dutch] towns and you never saw anything like it in all your life. Once the Germans have been driven out and you enter the town, the people come out and put up their flags and royal colours. They crowd around the cars so badly you can hardly move. Your car is just one...bouquet of flowers that has been given you. The girls kiss you and the men shake your hand off. There is a lot so happy they cry.
Don and his comrades risked their lives so that we could be free. He survived, but more than 7,600 young Canadian servicemen did not. They made the ultimate sacrifice, and the Netherlands is their final resting place. So, yes, we feel deeply connected with Canada and we are forever grateful to those brave Canadian soldiers who carried the light of freedom to our country in its darkest hour.
This we will never forget. Thank you, Canada.
As you know, during the Second World War, our royal family found refuge here in Ottawa. In fact, an aunt of our king, Princess Margriet, was born in Canada on January 19, 1943. It was the only time in history that a foreign flag was flown over the Peace Tower. At a time when the Dutch were denied the right to fly their own national flag at home, the Canadian people did us the honour of raising the red, white and blue over your Houses of Parliament in yet another strong symbol of the special bond between our countries.
This we will never forget. Thank you, Canada.
After the war, some 150,000 people from the Netherlands came to Canada to build a future for themselves and their children. In doing so, they made a lasting contribution to your country. Today, over a million Canadians have a connection with the Netherlands through the bonds of family, so whenever you come across a name like Eyking, Van Kesteren or Mathyssen, you can be sure there is this connection.
Ever since 1945, Canada and the Netherlands have stood shoulder to shoulder in so many ways. We both uphold the same values: democracy, freedom and equality. We both stand up for human rights and the international rule of law. We both believe in the principles of free and fair trade as a source of progress and prosperity for people all over the world.
I think it is fair to say that Canada and the Netherlands are sturdy pillars supporting the international order that arose from the ruins of the Second World War. Both of our countries have actively contributed to the multilateral rules-based system that has brought unprecedented freedom, prosperity and stability to our peoples. We have shaped the system individually, but more than anything, we have shaped it together. After all, we are founding members of, and partners in, all of the world's major international organizations, including the UN, NATO and the World Trade Organization. We have teamed up in important military missions in Afghanistan and Mali. We are working together to modernize UN peacekeeping. What is more, as NATO's leading country in Latvia, Canada remains actively committed to security and stability in Europe. This shows that the commitment and cohesion of our military alliance is as strong as ever.
Of course, there is CETA, the comprehensive economic and trade agreement between the EU and Canada. CETA illustrates perfectly that free and fair international trade is not a zero-sum game, but benefits everyone. Back in the 18th century the philosopher and statesman Edmund Burke wrote that free trade is not based on utility but on justice. He was right, for it was on the principles of free trade that Europe built a prosperous and secure post-war future for many millions of people on a continent in ruins.
Today, it is the spirit of free international enterprise that makes our societies robust and our countries so attractive to live in. In this respect too, Canada and the Netherlands stand shoulder to shoulder. Our bilateral economic relations are already excellent. The Netherlands is the second largest investor in Canada. Conversely, there are more than 100 Canadian companies active in our country, providing thousands and thousands of jobs. In the last 10 years, total trade flows from the Netherlands to Canada have almost tripled. Since the provisional application of CETA, we have seen a remarkable upswing in the trade figures between Canada and the EU member states. I am happy to say that the rise in trade figures between Canada and the Netherlands is among the highest of all EU countries, and rightly so. We can only expect more positive effects of CETA in the years to come as ratification progresses and businesses become more familiar with its benefits.
Let me emphasize that CETA is not only about earning more euros and Canadian dollars. It is also about protecting consumer interests, advancing sustainable production, and promoting equitable labour relations and gender equality. You could say that CETA sets a positive and modern example of the way forward for free trade and constructive multilateralism, because when trade is free and fair, only then can we all be winners, or in the spirit of Edmund Burke, free trade and a just society relate to each other like cause and effect. It is important that we keep broadcasting this message, especially at a time like this.
For many years, the transatlantic voice rang out loud and clear because both sides of the Atlantic were singing from the same hymn sheet. Today, we are seeing debates on trade barriers and import tariffs that are putting trade relations under pressure. Having said that, I think it is a positive sign that Canada, the United States and Mexico have negotiated a revised trade agreement.
The European Union and the U.S. are also making progress on their bilateral trade agenda. This shows that we all realize how much we need each other and that transatlantic co-operation is as crucial for jobs and prosperity as it is for security in our countries. In all fairness, we cannot blame the U.S. for urging other NATO members to step up their efforts and pick up their share of the bill.
In Europe, we now face the great unknown of Brexit. Let me be totally honest. I still think it is a terrible idea and I can imagine that many of you feel the same, if only because 40% of Canada-EU trade passes through the United Kingdom. The negotiations are proving complex because, as it turns out, it is not so easy to unbreak the eggs that made the omelette. Nevertheless, the people of the United Kingdom have spoken. We have to respect that and deal with the consequences.
We in the Netherlands are going to miss a key partner in the EU, a partner that thinks like we do on many issues. We also know that Brexit will cost us dearly. Of all the economies of mainland Europe, the Dutch is the most interwoven with the British. The U.K. is our third largest bilateral trade partner. So, yes, we will miss our British friends in Brussels.
At the same time, let us not overreact. I believe that after Brexit, two things will be essential. First, we need to keep working with the United Kingdom as friends and allies wherever we can, economically, politically, culturally and in matters of security and defence, both bilaterally and in the UN, NATO and all corners of the international arena, because the United Kingdom remains a key partner of the Netherlands, Europe and, of course, Canada.
Second, I believe that we must keep investing in a transatlantic relationship and that Canada and the Netherlands have a special role to play, especially after Brexit. After all, we both have a special relationship with the United Kingdom, and together with Canada, I am sure we will succeed in building new and even stronger bridges between both sides of the Atlantic. That is something that Prime Minister Trudeau and I discussed earlier today, because with all the geopolitical shifts and global challenges we face, working together is now as crucial to the future of our children as it was for our grandparents after the Second World War. It is up to us to make it happen.
Even back in 1945, Don White observed in a letter to his parents that it seemed as if everybody in the Netherlands spoke English and French. I suspect those words may have been a little bit too kind, but he was definitely right about one thing: Canada and the Netherlands do speak the same universal, multilateral transatlantic language. That is something we should cherish and build on.
In the past, we worked together to build a better world order, and it is true that after so many years, the system we built is now showing some cracks. It is true that globalization and the multilateral system do not benefit all countries and all people equally. So now we should work together to reform and improve the system and make it our purpose in the 21st century.
Mr. Speaker, next year will mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the start of western Europe's liberation from Nazi tyranny. I promise you that it will not pass unnoticed. The anniversary celebrations will reflect everything that Canada and the Netherlands stand for: freedom, peace and equality.
Last year in Leeuwarden, Don White said on Dutch national television, “I did not come back, I came back home.” I think these few words sum up the firm bonds of history and the sense of kinship that unite us, a bond that holds both a promise and a responsibility for the future, a bond that was forged in the courage and commitment of veterans like Don and all of his comrades who paid the highest price for our freedom. This we will not forget.
Thank you, Canada.
[Applause]