Business Leaders Urge Prime Minister to Forge Closer Ties in Asia

January 13, 2005

On the eve of Prime Minister Paul Martin’s visit to tsunami-stricken South and South-East Asia, Canada’s business leaders have written to the Prime Minister encouraging him in his efforts to seek closer trade, investment, social, cultural and security ties with countries throughout Asia.

“The members of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) join me in expressing our sympathy for those affected by the disaster and our determination to do our part in rebuilding, both in the short term and over the long haul,” CCCE President and Chief Executive Thomas d’Aquino says in the letter.  A copy of the letter is available from the CCCE’s website.

Beyond providing humanitarian aid, one of the most effective ways that Canada can contribute to improvements in the quality of life of people in South and South-East Asia is by enhancing its trade and commercial ties with the region, Mr. d’Aquino said.

“Your meetings with public and private leaders during your visit will serve to underscore Canada’s desire both to help those affected deal with the critical needs of today and to be a genuine partner in longer-term reconstruction and economic growth,” Mr. d’Aquino said.  “Public and private efforts must go hand in hand to drive economic development, and we hope that your visit will mark the beginning of an enhanced effort to bolster Canada’s economic, social and cultural ties with the affected region.”

Mr. d’Aquino added that it is important to continue working to increase Canada’s presence and influence throughout Asia, especially in the three largest economies on the Prime Minister’s itinerary: Japan, China and India.

Prime Minister Martin and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are scheduled to meet in Tokyo next week to discuss practical steps to revitalize and strengthen bilateral economic relations, and Mr. d’Aquino urged them to take a significant step forward. “The CCCE believes that the time has come to negotiate a broad economic framework agreement.”

Over the past year, the CCCE and its Japanese counterpart, the Nippon Keidanren, have worked closely to lay the groundwork for such an agreement. Elements could include greater regulatory convergence and sector-based trade liberalization in information and communications technology, air transportation, e-commerce, food safety, energy and natural resources, the environment and tourism.

Mr. d’Aquino welcomed reports that Canada and China are close to concluding a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement. He said the CCCE views China as a strategic priority and intends to mount a CEO mission to the country in the coming months.  One objective of this mission will be to explore the possibility of a stronger, more formalized Canada-China economic partnership.

Widely recognized as Canada’s most influential business organization, the CCCE was the private sector leader in the development and promotion of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement in the 1980s and the North American Free Trade Agreement in the early 1990s. The Council’s engagement in Asia over the past two decades has involved frequent contact with business and political leaders.  In 1997, the CCCE organized in Vancouver the first-ever APEC CEO Summit.  The CCCE is currently engaged in several major North American and global initiatives as the government conducts a sweeping International Policy Review covering trade, defence, diplomacy and development.

Founded in 1976, the CCCE is composed of the chief executives of 150 leading Canadian enterprises. Member chief executives head companies that collectively administer close to $2.5 trillion in assets, have annual revenues of more than $600 billion and account for a significant majority of Canada’s private sector investment, exports, training and research and development.

In addition to Mr. d’Aquino, the members of the CCCE’s Executive Committee are: Chairman Richard L. George, President and Chief Executive Officer of Suncor Energy Inc.; Honorary Chairman A. Charles Baillie; and Vice-Chairmen Dominic D’Alessandro, Paul Desmarais, Jr., Jacques Lamarre, Gwyn Morgan and Gordon Nixon, the chief executives respectively of Manulife Financial, Power Corporation of Canada, SNC-LAVALIN Group Inc., EnCana Corporation and Royal Bank of Canada.