CANADA

The Honourable Ralph E. Goodale, Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food of Canada

Over the past two decades, more than a quarter of the world's population, some 1.5 billion people, have enjoyed a dramatic surge in economic growth. In some countries, the recent gains have exceeded anything since the start of the Industrial Revolution two centuries ago. Mais un autre quart de la population mondiale n'a pas été aussi privilégié. En réalité, depuis 1980, le déclin ou la stagnation économique a touché quelques 100 pays réduisant ainsi le revenu d'environ 1,6 milliard d'habitants. La moitié de ce nombre souffre actuellement de faim et de malnutrition, soit 800 millions d'hommes, de femmes et d'enfants qui, dans ce monde d'abondance pour plusieurs, n'ont pas les aliments dont ils ont besoin pour leur assurer une vie saine et productive.

Canada firmly supports the ratification of the Rome Declaration and Plan of Action as an important way to help increase food security for all of the world's poorest citizens. We believe that the right to adequate food is a fundamental human right which should be reaffirmed, and we will cooperate closely with all our international partners to help ensure that all citizens of the world have access to sufficient nutritious food for healthy and productive lives. Canada is convinced that solutions to world food insecurity must be based on the principles of democratization and good governance, sustainable development, respect for human rights and peace.

Canadians believe that all nations must be encouraged to take greater responsibility for their own national food security by adopting national policies to increase economic growth and employment, promote gender equality, provide adequate social programmes for their citizens and in so doing reduce the levels of poverty among their people. As part of this, Canada strongly supports a well-functioning multilateral trading system and continuing the international trade reform process as an important way not only to help create new opportunities for development and growth but also to encourage increased food production in countries around the world. Canada will work to reduce trade and investment barriers in the food sector through its participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and various regional initiatives. We recognize, however, that it is unreasonable to ask net food importing countries to liberalize trade further and rely more on the international market, if exporters remain free to impose export taxes and export restrictions on food virtually at will. Canada therefore proposes that, in the next round of WTO negotiations, food exporters "walk the talk" and offer to support increased international disciplines on export taxes and on export restrictions.

In an increasingly interdependent and more open global food economy, security of supply must go hand in hand with security of access. Exporters should, in Canada's view, also move decisively to rid the world of one of the most grievous instruments of food production distortion, export subsidies.

In short, food exporters have a concrete role to play in improving world food security, and Canada is prepared to accept the responsibilities which are part and parcel of being a reliable supplier of agri-food products to the world market. At the same time, we recognize that more liberalized trade is not, in and by itself, a comprehensive solution to global food insecurity.

Canada will continue to provide food security assistance through numerous government and non-governmental organizations and agencies in countries around the world, and Canada reconfirms its commitment under the Food Aid Convention to provide 400 000 tons of grain annually to countries requiring assistance.

Of course, Canada, like nearly all other nations also faces some food security challenges of its own. Despite our many economic and social accomplishments, there are vulnerable individuals with low incomes and poor nutrition in our own country. In addition, we are learning that more must be done to conserve our natural assets, both on land and in the oceans. We are committed to the conservation of our fisheries resources and to a sustainable and responsible fishing industry. Forests also contribute significantly to world food security and the global eco-system. They must be carefully preserved. Clearly by reducing threats to the earth's resources and natural systems we can better sustain all forms of life.

In Canada, we believe that a key to addressing food security issues is to ensure that all citizens have a say in issues of food security - farmers, who are the basis of our productivity - women, who play a vital role in the provision of food; indigenous peoples, who contribute greatly to the stewardship of our natural resources; the private sector, and all other elements of civil society. Let me mention here and acknowledge most emphatically the strong community of NGOs both in Canada and around the world who have contributed so invaluably to the substance of this Summit. Clearly the multilateral development system and international conferences such as this one can make a major contribution to all of our efforts by supporting national initiatives to eradicate poverty and by helping chart new courses for the future. Both at home and internationally, we all need to follow up meticulously to build and sustain momentum toward real solutions.

War and civil strife can be major contributors to hunger and malnutrition. For its part, Canada has a long history of supporting peace-finding and peace-keeping efforts around the world. Our Lester B. Pearson, one of the founders of FAO in 1945 and later a Canadian Prime Minister, won the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in international conflict resolution.

As we meet here today conflict causing starvation is no theoretical problem. It is all too real in eastern Zaire. Each day people are dying, hundreds of thousands of refugees are quite literally eating leaves to try to stay alive. Our ability to handle this crisis together is a test of the credibility of our world organization. On behalf of my Prime Minister, the Honourable Jean Chrétien, who is responding to deep worldwide concern, I ask for support from all sides. Canada has agreed to lead a multinational humanitarian intervention force to enable food aid workers to go back into this conflict area to try to save the more than one million people whose lives are in jeopardy at this moment. We are taking on this urgent task after consultations by Prime Minister Chrétien with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Chair of the Organization of African Unity and other world leaders, and we are doing it because Canada believes that someone should step forward and take the lead now.

There are still many details to be worked out in putting this mission together. I sincerely hope that we can succeed. Our purpose is not to intervene in the conflict or to help some settle scores with others. Our purpose is solely to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and to feed desperately hungry people. Nothing in the world today is more symptomatic of the need for the global community to face up to its responsibilities highlighted by this Conference.

But the situation in Zaire is only the most urgent and the most desperate food crisis that we face right now. When this crisis is behind us and lives have indeed been saved, we must remember its lessons. The Canadian Government will work with all others to advance the concrete goals and commitments in our Plan of Action, including the need for civic development and sound government because this crisis in the Great Lakes Region of Africa is a man-made tragedy, if ever there was one, and we should all be dedicated to doing better.