RIGHT HONOURABLE JUSTIN TRUDEAU (Prime Minister of Canada): Hello everyone, first of all,
I really want to give special thanks to President Macron for his warm welcome. From the beginning,
we’ve always gotten along very well. Emmanuel,your friendship and our partnership, both
bilaterally and in the world, is extremely dear to me. Thank you for all you do and all we do together.
We are, we share an ambitious vision of the France-Canada relationship,
thanks to which we’ll be able to help build a better world together. We are both determined
to increase our collaboration in order to create well-paid jobs for the middle class,
reduce the gaps between rich and poor and stimulate economic growth that benefits as
many people as possible. So it’s in that spirit of friendship that we have just concluded
a productive meeting during which we talked about the environment, the economy, culture
and artificial intelligence, among other things. The President and I first of all agreed to
step up our collaboration in the fight against climate change. Since COP 21, our government
is proud to have adopted numerous measures to reduce Canada’s carbon footprint and
achieve the ambitious targets set by the Paris Agreement. France and Canada have committed
today to redouble our efforts and increase our cooperation in the context of the Canada-France
climate and environment partnership. This initiative will encourage and accelerate achievement
of the Paris Agreement targets through concrete measures aimed at making this agreement-in-principle
a reality. We are committing to working together within the G7 and the G20 as well as with
the business community to promote sustainable development issues in international forums.
We intend to mobilize other actors throughout the world, including the OECD, to promote
carbon pricing, in addition to encouraging energy efficiency and reducing emissions from
the international aviation, marine and surface transportation sectors.
We’re also working with developing countries and island nations to mitigate the risks of
a changing climate, and help set up natural disaster early warning systems. Just a few
days ago I met with Caribbean leaders who reminded me of the difficult choice they face
in trying to grow their economy while protecting the environment. The France Canada climate
partnership will make us their allies. The leadership that we must continue to have
on the environment is important for Canada, important for France and important for the
world. We are going to continue working more ambitiously to demonstrate that our values,
our aspirations and most especially our actions are aligned with the interests of the planet
and generations to come. We also took advantage of this meeting to discuss a renewed economic
partnership. The Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement came into force provisionally a
few months ago, and we can already see benefits flowing to the middle class and those working
hard to join it. In 2017, Canada’s imports from France climbed four percent from the
previous year. Canadian investments in France increased 23 percent. We are already seeing,
only four or five months into CETA coming into force last year, we’re already seeing
results, and we’re continuing to see them every week throughout France, throughout Canada,
all across Europe. This is a modern agreement that reflects a progressive trade agenda which
provides for, among other things, workers’ rights, environmental protection, responsible
investment, food security, consumer protection and management of natural resources. So CETA
represents the future of our strengthened economic partnership. A partnership founded
on common values and objectives, united in our ambition to pursue and strengthen our
already strong cultural connections. The French Minister of Culture and the Minister of Canadian
Heritage today signed a joint declaration on cultural diversity and digital space. Through
that initiative, our respective governments seek to help promote and disseminate cultural
content in digital space and increase their cooperation in UNESCO. The declaration will
also promote direct and open dialogue between governments, the private sector and civil
society around protecting and promoting cultural diversity in the digital era. Finally, the
President and I share a keen interest in artificial intelligence. This new technology offers numerous
opportunities for our businesses and our fellow citizens, but we still need to put in place
a robust ethical framework and ensure that the labour market and workers especially are
able to adapt to this new reality. So over the next few years, France and Canada intend
to develop a joint initiative in that area to initiate and lead this important conversation.
Once again, I want to thank Emmanuel sincerely for his warm welcome, his continuing partnership
and especially his friendship. I am so happy about the prospect of working together in
all areas and at all levels, as when he visits Canada at…. Just before the G7, at the G7,
in Charlevoix, Quebec, and of course, that will continue the following year when France
will preside over the G7. We have a lot to accomplish in terms of our engagement in the
world to promote our values and priorities, and we’ll be doing that as friends, together.
Thank you very much!