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Canada in the World Main Page
V. PROJECTING CANADIAN VALUES AND CULTURE
Canadian values, and their projection abroad, are key to the achievement of prosperity
within Canada and to the protection of global security.
Canadians hold deeply that we must pursue our values internationally. They want to
promote them for their own sake, but they also understand that our values and rights
will not be safeguarded if they are not enshrined throughout the international
environment. Canada is not an island: if the rights of people abroad are not protected,
Canadians will ultimately feel the effects at home. They understand that our economic
and security interests are served by the widest possible respect for the environment,
human rights, participatory government, free markets and the rule of law. Where these
are observed, there is a greater prospect of stability and prosperity - where they are
not, of uncertainty and poverty. Their observance, therefore, is both an end in itself and
a means to achieving other priority objectives.
Universal respect for human rights is in Canada's interest.
- A priority field of international concern and action for Canadians has been and
remains that of human rights. The Government regards respect for human rights not
only as a fundamental value, but also as a crucial element in the development of
stable, democratic and prosperous societies at peace with each other. From the
drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to that of the recently concluded
Convention on the Rights of the Child, we have been in the vanguard of those fighting
for international consensus to uphold human freedoms and dignity. We are rightly
associated internationally with the promotion of the rights of women and children, and
with attention to their role in the economy. Human rights will continue to be a priority
for Canada's International Assistance programs. In this regard, the Government
applauds the excellent work around the world of Canada's International Centre For
Human Rights and Democratic Development.
Historically, closed societies have recorded the worst human rights abuses. In
contrast, human rights tend to be best protected by those societies that are open - to
trade, financial flows, population movements, information and ideas about freedom and
human dignity. Fortunately, as borders become more porous, no society can isolate
itself from intense scrutiny any longer. Conversely, no single partner can alone isolate
any other.
Bearing these lessons in mind, we will make effective use of all of the influence
that our economic, trading and development assistance relationships give us to
promote respect for human rights.
An effective human rights policy requires us to make use of positive levers of
influence as well as the various forms of sanctions at our disposal. With China, for
example, we are developing systematic and wide-ranging contacts. Our goal is to
open that country to the values Canadians espouse even as it opens up to the world economy.
In most cases, effectiveness will best be served through the exertion of our own
influence together with that of others, through multilateral fora and through close
coordination with other like-minded countries. For example, Canada helped to move
the international community on the human rights situation in Rwanda in 1994 by calling
a special meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights.
We will also seek to enhance the role of the newly appointed UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights. Our successful efforts to establish war crimes
tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia sought to ensure that justice is done.
These tribunals are now getting under way. We will persevere with our objective of
establishing a permanent criminal court for the prosecution of crimes against humanity
and similar offenses, an objective we now believe to be within reach.
Democracy promotes stability and prosperity.
- Democratic tradition has been fundamental to Canadian values and underpins
our prosperity. We believe that participatory government should be allowed to work for
others as well. Firmly rooted, it will promote stability within and among countries. One
of the ways we have supported democracy is by helping design, organize and monitor
elections all over the globe through multilateral organizations such as the UN, the OAS,
the Commonwealth and the Francophonie. The expertise of Elections Canada has
been placed at the service of the international community and is now regarded as a
unique asset around the world. Canadian election monitors are a familiar sight the
world over, from South Africa to Cambodia, from Mozambique to El Salvador.
But the Government recognizes that elections alone are not sufficient for
democracy to take root in a society. It is also vital to encourage the development of a
democratic culture and civil society - one that is pluralistic and participatory, that allows
for the expression of diverse views and that offers its members the opportunities and
resources to participate in the life of their community and country. Essential is a legal
and institutional framework, which includes the rule of law, an independent judiciary,
honest and open government, respect for human rights and the subordination of
military force to civil authority.
Our support for the restoration of democracy in Haiti reflects the need to work on
a number of fronts. We have sought to consolidate emerging new democracies
through dialogue and, in many instances, through technical, legal and other forms of
assistance. This is currently the case in Haiti, whose new police force Canadians are
helping to train. The Government will give priority to supporting democracy the world
over in coming years.
The international system must be ruled by law not power.
- The rule of law is the essence of civilized behaviour both within and among
nations. Clearly defined rules allow us to plan commitments and activities with
reasonable certainty that our expectations about the surrounding environment will not
be upset by arbitrary and erratic changes. Perhaps even more importantly, agreed
rules help to diminish the capacity of those with the greatest raw influence to bend
society - and the international community - to their own ends. Rule-making helps to
redress power imbalances.
Canada will remain in the forefront of those countries working to expand the rule
of law internationally. We will work to ensure greater market-based fairness in the
trading system through clearly defined, transparent rules governing trade and
investment liberalization. We remain committed to developing new frameworks and
rules to address emerging fields of economic activity and concern. Rules-based
regimes of arms control and conflict resolution are key priorities for the Government.
To reinforce the ability of our peacekeepers and the UN to do their job in dangerous
situations, Canada recently chaired UN negotiations that led to a new international
agreement on the protection of peacekeepers and other UN personnel. In all of these
ways, the Government is determined to build on Canada's proud tradition of rule-making in the international arena.
Sustainable development.
- Increasingly, a central component of the Canadian value system, sustainable
development, is a matter of both common security and good economics.
Environmentalists, development specialists and trade economists share a common
interest in promoting efficiency. More efficient production reduces the drain on scarce
resources such as raw materials and energy, and limits the demands placed on the
regenerative capacity of the environment.
Efficient use of land, labour and capital is also at the heart of development
efforts to combat poverty and satisfy human needs. Allowing the most efficient
producers to provide the world with its goods and services is the principal rationale for
an open trading system. We will ensure that Canadian foreign policy promotes
sustainable development globally through the careful and responsible balancing of
trade, development and environmental considerations.
Culture and education are vital to our success.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier said in 1877 that the only way to defend one's ideas and principles is
to make them known. That statement is a good illustration of the Government's strong
desire to actively promote and defend, on the international scene, the interests and
values that Canadians hold dear.
The Special Joint Committee rightly underscores the importance for Canada of
promoting its culture abroad:
- First, in the short term, the economic activity generated by cultural, scientific and
educational activities is extremely important for Canada's economy. Canada's cultural
industries have experienced unprecedented growth in the past ten years, and provide
employment to hundreds of thousands of Canadians, mainly through exports. Canada
also excels in the field of higher education: 60,000 foreign students have chosen our
colleges and universities at which to study or to perfect their skills. The presence of
foreign students in Canada, and the export of our skills in this field, yield economic
benefits on the order of $2.5 billion. In the next five years, the Government will
establish a network of up to ten educational centres in the Asia-Pacific region to
promote Canadian educational institutions.
- Second, in the medium- and long-term, a country that does not project a clearly
defined image of what it is and what it represents, is doomed to anonymity on the
international scene. Only Canadian culture can express the uniqueness of our country,
which is bilingual, multicultural, and deeply influenced by its Aboriginal roots, the North,
the oceans, and its own vastness. As John Ralston Saul stated in his study submitted
to the Special Joint Committee: "Canadian culture is the vision of a northern people
who, despite substantial and constant difficulties, found a way to live together while
other nations tore themselves apart and imposed monolithic, centralized mythologies
on themselves."
Cultural affairs are a pillar of Canadian foreign policy.
Cultural affairs, in addition to politics and the economy, are one of the pillars of our
foreign policy.
- Canadians want to highlight their achievements internationally and to contribute
to cultural exchanges and dialogue. The Government is studying very closely the
recommendations of the Special Joint Committee with regard to further developing
strategy to encourage creative processes and to improve the production and
distribution of Canadian cultural products at home and abroad. This is also true for
educational activities and industries.
Strategy will have to evolve with the full co-operation of the provinces, certain
private organizations and, above all, Canadian artists and creators, to promote their
access to foreign markets and publics. In short, we want to recognize the role played
by artists and creators in disseminating Canadian values and diversity throughout the
world, and to build a genuine partnership with them.
- The Government has already reversed a decision of the previous government to
close the cultural services of some of our missions abroad. Cultural Services in Paris
have been reorganized and now offer a dynamic showcase of Canadian cultural
activities that is making a name for itself throughout Europe and the Francophonie.
Nevertheless, the Government is very conscious of the limits of its financial
resources in this sector, as in others. Budgetary constraints oblige us to be particularly
prudent with public funds. We will, therefore, have to work together with all of our
partners in Canada to publicize our cultural assets abroad, and to promote our cultural
industries and educational services. We will also implement the Government`s strategy
in this field as means become available to do so.
The Government recognizes the key importance of international higher
education. We will work closely with the provinces, the private sector, universities,
colleges and all interested stakeholders, to promote Canadian institutions of higher
education to foreign students and to encourage the mobility of Canadian students
through exchange programs and otherwise. This will help our students to develop a
global perspective and to build networks of the decision-makers of tomorrow.
Our expertise in the communications field is among the best in the world. At the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) Summit in Budapest in
December 1994, the Prime Minister repeated Canada's offer to help the new
democracies in Europe strengthen free media in a context of democracy and respect
for human rights. Canada is already working to this end with a number of Eastern
European countries on a bilateral basis.
On a multilateral basis, Canadian participation in the international television
network TV5 represents an exceptional showcase for our francophone televisual
productions. In addition, it projects daily a Canadian presence to millions of homes on
five continents.
The celebration of Canadian culture and the promotion of Canadian cultural and
educational industries, so that they can continue to compete at home and abroad, are
central tenets of Canadian policy. The announcement in December 1994 of measures
of support for Canadian artists and for our magazine industry underlines the
Government's commitment in this regard. The Government is convinced that we can
and should manage our international economic relationships so that Canadian cultural
industries are effectively supported. We will remain vigilant in protecting and
promoting the capacity of our important cultural industries to flourish in the global
environment.
Canada in the World Main Page
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