Canadian Business Leaders Urge Asia Pacific Forum to Set an Example for the World

October 17, 2003

The members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum should take a strong stand in favour of encouraging global growth and eradicating poverty by accelerating efforts toward freer trade and investment in the Asia Pacific region and beyond, Canada’s business leaders say.

“APEC has long stood for the promotion of freer commerce and trade, a cause that suffered a setback with the breakdown last month of the World Trade Organization Ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico,” said Thomas d’Aquino, President and Chief Executive of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE). “We need to restart the WTO talks as soon as possible. APEC members should set an example for the world by showing just how much industrialized and developing countries can accomplish when they work together constructively.”

Prime Minister Jean ChrǸtien and 20 other leaders are expected to attend the annual APEC summit next week in Bangkok. APEC’s member economies comprise some 2.5 billion people and account for more than 47 per cent of world trade. The key issues at this year’s summit are trade liberalization, regulatory transparency, global security and capacity-building in the developing world.

“The linkages between trade liberalization, economic growth and global security are clear,” Mr. d’Aquino said. “Terrorism poses an obvious threat to trade and prosperity. Over the longer term, promoting economic growth in developing countries is one of the best ways to build a more peaceful and secure world.”

APEC’s primary objective, established at the 1994 Leaders’ Meeting in Indonesia, is to achieve free and open trade and investment in the Asia Pacific region by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing economies.

The CCCE, composed of the chief executives of 150 leading Canadian corporations, is proud of its close association with the Pacific Rim organization, having organized the first APEC CEO Summit in Vancouver in 1997. Mr. d’Aquino will represent the CCCE at this year’s APEC CEO Summit, October 18-21 in Bangkok.

For more than a quarter century, the CCCE has been Canada’s private sector leader in advancing the cause of trade and investment liberalization in the global and regional arenas. Its members head companies that administer in excess of $2.1 trillion in assets, have annual revenues of more than $500 billion, and are Canadian champions in the principal markets of the world.

The members of the Executive Committee are: Chairman Richard L. George, President and Chief Executive Officer of Suncor Energy Inc.; Council President and Chief Executive Thomas d’Aquino; Honorary Chairman A. Charles Baillie; and Vice-Chairmen Derek H. Burney, Dominic D’Alessandro, David L. Emerson, Gwyn Morgan, Gordon Nixon and Paul M. Tellier, the chief executives respectively of CAE, Manulife Financial, Canfor Corporation, EnCana Corporation, Royal Bank of Canada and Bombardier Inc.