27 May 2010
Ottawa, Ontario
Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued the following statement on the occasion of Felipe Calderón, President of the United Mexican States, addressing Parliament:
"Your Excellency, Mr. President, Speaker Kinsella, Speaker Milliken, honourable colleagues, dear friends, it is my great honour and pleasure to welcome and introduce today a man I have come to know and greatly admire since we both came to our respective offices in 2006, his Excellency, Felipe Calderón, President of the United Mexican States. President Calderon and I have attended a number of summits together, including the G-20, APEC, the Summit of the Americas and the North American Leaders' Summit.
"This is the President's second visit to Canada. I have also visited his magnificent country on two occasions. It is always a pleasure to see President Calderón as well as the First Lady of Mexico, former congresswoman Margarita Zavala, who I'm happy to report is also with us here today. And I am very grateful that the President accepted our invitation to address the Parliament of Canada. We are fortunate to host a leader with such a sense for politics, legal affairs and the economy, a leader who shares our commitment to freedom, democracy and justice. President Calderón has shown remarkable courage in fighting the merciless drug cartels which spread violence and misery throughout our hemisphere; he leads a country that we love, a neighbouring country, a country that is one of Canada's major trading partners.
"Over the last 16 years, the North American Free Trade Agreement has brought Mexico and Canada closer together than ever before. It has increased trade, travel and investment, and raised living standards for both our peoples. Thousands of Canadian companies are now doing business in Mexico, and its glorious beaches provide warm and hospitable winter relief for tens of thousands of snowbirds. Educational and cultural exchanges are flourishing, and our Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program is widely recognized as a model for international labour mobility arrangements. We're working closely to combat drug trafficking and trans-national organized crime, including the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program our government announced last year. And the Canada-Mexico Partnership has fostered public- and private-sector collaboration across a wide range of economic sectors.
"Our governments also routinely cooperate on international issues as diverse as reform of international institutions, trade liberalization, and hemispheric security. Of course, no relationship, no partnership is perfect. False refugee claims have affected our friendly relations with some countries, including Mexico. But as I have said before, that has nothing to do with the Mexican government. Colleagues, this is a problem with our system. And our two countries are working together to remedy the situation. Last month, we took a major step toward resolving this problem by introducing a special visa program for Mexican business travellers.
"But on the fundamental, timeless principles that underpin free societies and successful economies, Canada and Mexico are as one. Here, I'd like to quote President Calderón, speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2007, where he strongly defended these shared principles: 'Many countries in Latin America have chosen a move toward the past,' he said. 'And among their most harmful decisions are seeking nationalizations, expropriations, state control of the economy and authoritarianism.' Mexicans have chosen a different, better way, the President said, and I quote: '[We] have decided to look to the future and to strengthen democracy, markets and investment.' Colleagues, that is precisely the message that Canada has advocated throughout the Americas and around the world, especially during the economic turmoil of the last two years.
"Like Canada, Mexico was hard hit by the global recession. And like Canada, Mexico was brought into a crisis that was not of its making. In the years preceding the recession, we made the wise decision to pay down our debt. And that's why today we are not caught in the spiral that is jeopardizing the economy of so many other countries.
"Canada and Mexico have also fought against the protectionism that was triggered by the global recession. And our two countries have advocated for a strengthened global financial regulatory system. Clearly, Canada and Mexico share these priorities and much more as we head into the G-20 Summit in Toronto next month. With the fragile global economic recovery hanging in the balance, it is crucial that we build consensus at the Summit on reform of the financial sector, control of sovereign debt, and the framework for strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth over the long term.
"And so, Mr. Speaker, fellow parliamentarians, please join me in welcoming a great friend and partner of Canada: Your Excellency, nuestra casa es su casa."
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