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.