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Canada in the World Main Page
SUMMARY
The world is changing rapidly. Influence depends increasingly on the strength of
economic relations, while security issues, some of a new order, continue to challenge
us. The measure of our success in this world will be our ability as a society to
effectively focus our international efforts in a spirit of shared enterprise.
- Canada occupies a position of leadership among the open, advanced societies
which are becoming increasingly influential as world power is dispersing and becoming
more defined in economic terms.
- Canada's geographic location gives it an important advantage as new poles of
political and economic power emerge in the Pacific and Latin America.
- Canada's cultural heritage gives it privileged access to the anglophone and
francophone worlds as well as to the homelands of Canadians drawn from every part of
the globe who make up its multicultural personality.
- Canada can further its global interests better than any other country through its
active membership in key international groupings, for example, hosting the G-7 Summit
thIs year and the APEC Summit in 1997.
- Canada's hIstory as a non-colonizing power, champion of constructive
multilateralism and effective international mediator, underpins an important and
distinctive role among nations as they seek to build a new and better order.
Canada, thus, is in a privileged position to influence change and to benefit from
opportunities as we move toward the end of the twentieth century. The Government will
exercise that influence responsibly to protect and promote Canada's values and
interests in the world.
Based on wide consultations, it is clear that Canadians want to remain actively involved
in the world, although they recognize the financial constraints we face. In response to
Canadians' aspirations and to meet the challenges of an evolving world, the
Government will pursue foreign policy to achieve three key objectives:
- The promotion of prosperity and employment;
- The protection of our security, within a stable global framework; and
- The projection of Canadian values and culture.
These objectives are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. They will guide decisions on
priorities and on the allocation of resources.
- The promotion of prosperity and employment is at the heart of the Government's
agenda. International markets present tremendous opportunities for Canadians: we
can compete with the best in the world. In order to assist Canadians to do so, the
Government will work to build a supportive domestic economic policy framework; to
gain access for our goods and services abroad; to reinforce an open, fair and
predictable set of rules governing international trade and investment; and to provide
means to ensure that Canadian firms are able to take advantage of opportunities abroad.
The Government will also work to reinforce global prosperity. When other parts of the
world prosper, we benefit in many ways. Prosperity helps to anchor international
stability and enables progress towards sustainable development. More prosperous
people are able to maintain more mature and mutually beneficial economic
partnerships with Canada, becoming increasingly open to our values and thus more
active partners in building the international system.
- The promotion of global peace as the key to protecting our security remains a
central element of our foreign policy. Stability and security are prerequisites for
economic growth and development. However, the threats to security now are more
complex than before. A whole range of issues that transcend borders - including mass
migration, crime, disease, environmental degradation, overpopulation, and
underdevelopment - have peace and security implications at the regional or global level.
Our own security, including our economic security, is increasingly dependent on
the security of others. More than ever, the forces of globalization, technological
development, and the scale of human activity, reinforce our fundamental
interdependence with the rest of the world. We need to address security issues in an
integrated fashion and to draw on all available foreign policy instruments.
- The projection of Canadian values and culture is important to our success in the
world. The Government agrees with the Special Joint Parliamentary Committee
Reviewing Canadian Foreign Policy that: "Canadian foreign policy should celebrate
and promote Canadian culture and learning as an important way of advancing our
interests in international affairs."
Successful promotion of our values - respect for human rights, democracy, the
rule of law, and the environment - will make an important contribution to international
security in the face of new threats to stability. Acceptance of such values abroad will
help safeguard the quality of life at home: Canada is not an island able to resist a world
community that devalued beliefs central to our identity.
Vitality of our culture is also essential to our economic success. In the new
knowledge-based world economy, the skills of people, their education, ingenuity and
social adaptability, will become key elements of international advantage. Our
educational system, cultural diversity and continued dynamic growth in exports of
cultural products and services will contribute significantly to our international achievement.
The Government intends to pursue these key objectives in the policy framework set out
in this statement. They will be the focus for the full span of the Government's
instruments, including the programs of international trade, diplomacy, and international
assistance.
More than ever before, it is important that foreign policy making broadly involves
Canadians. The Government will ensure that it engages Canadians in all aspects of
foreign policy on a systematic basis by conducting an annual foreign policy forum. We
will build on our existing series of consultations to create a permanent and open
consultation process with groups and individuals interested in key international topics.
We will also establish a mechanism within the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade (DFAIT) for policy consultation, research and outreach, and will turn
increasingly to Parliament for policy formulation and advice.
The Government is committed to ensuring that Canada will continue to do its fair share
for the world, maintaining our proud and uniquely Canadian contribution to global
governance and prosperity.
Canada in the World Main Page
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