For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 13, 2004
President Bush Reaffirms Vital Relationship With Canada
Remarks by President Bush and Prime Minister Martin of Canada in a Photo Opportunity
Inter-Continental Hotel
Monterrey, Mexico
9:00 A.M. (Local)
PRESIDENT BUSH: The Prime Minister and I just had a very
constructive meeting. He's a straightforward fellow, he's easy to talk
to. We talked about a lot of issues. We reaffirmed the important
relationship between Canada and the United States. It's a vital
relationship; it is a relationship that is important for a lot of
reasons -- the most important reason is that we share the same values
of family and human dignity and treating people decently. And I really
look forward to working with Prime Minister Martin.
PRIME MINISTER MARTIN: Well, I can certainly say the same thing.
We share a continent and we share values and we share a perspective on
what's the best thing for our people. And essentially, working
together is really the way we are going to do the best thing for our
people.
We discussed a number of individual issues and I think that we made
a lot of progress. And so I feel very good about the meeting, and I
feel very good about the relationship.
PRESIDENT BUSH: We'll answer a couple, two questions a side.
We'll start with Lindlaw.
Q Mr. President, thank you. Dr. Rice hinted last week that
Canada might be considered in a new round of contracting for Iraq
reconstruction. Where exactly does that stand?
And, Mr. Prime Minister, you supported your predecessor's decision
to abstain from the Iraq war. Is there any reason to think this
relationship is going to thaw out now?
PRESIDENT BUSH: That assumes there was a freeze. And I didn't
feel there was. I understood why people disagreed with the decision I
took.
Secondly, yes, when I talked to Prime Minister Martin on our first
phone call I told him that Canada would be given serious consideration
for contracting. Here's the -- what's going to happen, is that, first
of all, they've been very strong supporters of the Madrid Conference.
They want Iraq to succeed; they want Iraq to be free. They understand
the stakes with having a free country in the midst of the Middle East.
And Canada right now is eligible for subcontracting bids in the first
round of construction projects. In the second round, the second
tranche of bidding, Canada will be eligible to bid.
PRIME MINISTER MARTIN: Yes, essentially, I think that -- and I
think this really shows how it can work -- we had a very good telephone
conversation before Christmas, and that subsequently, our officials
went to work, and that Canada will be eligible to bid on all of the
construction contracts in the next tranche. And we will -- at the same
time, there are a whole bunch of non-construction contracts, service
contracts that are coming out immediately in which we will be entitled
to bid. And so I think that that it actually does show that working
together you can arrive at a reasonable solution.
If you'll forgive me for a second, Mr. President, we have two
languages in Canada.
(Responds in French.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Do you want to call on a Canadian reporter?
PRIME MINISTER MARTIN: Sure.
Q Mr. President, could you tell us, given the mad cow crisis
that's currently affecting both of our countries, how will you work
with our Prime Minister to help resolve the issue?
PRESIDENT BUSH: This is an issue that's going to require close
coordination between our two countries. We've got a lot of beef going
across our border. We've got beef on the hoof and beef in the box.
And the cattle industries are very important for our respective
provinces and states. And the best way to make sure that we're able to
satisfy the consumers in both our countries, as well as around the
world is there ought to be very close coordination on regulation, on
information and on the science.
And I'm confident that we'll be able to assure those who buy
Canadian and/or U.S. beef that the products they buy are safe. It's
just going to require a very close coordination between our Secretaries
of Agriculture, which we are committed to doing. As a matter of fact,
they'll be meeting, I believe, sometime this week.
PRIME MINISTER MARTIN: This is a North American industry and the
solutions are science-based. And those science-based solutions are
going to be arrived at between the two of us. And that's where the
coordination comes in.
PRESIDENT BUSH: You know, I personally haven't stopped eating
beef. I like to eat beef and will continue eating beef, because I
believe the food supply is safe. But we fully understand that we will
work together to make sure that we address as many concerns as possible
in a scientifically-based way.
Steve.
Q Mr. President, thank you. Can America afford a major shift
in the space program, to go back to the moon and then on to Mars?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, I'll be saying that tomorrow. Thank you for
-- have you read the speech yet, Steve?
Q No.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Because you know I --
Q I was hoping to get some excerpts.
PRESIDENT BUSH: -- speech at the White House. Yes, I'll lay out
the program -- I'm going to give a speech tomorrow at our NASA
Headquarters about America's approach to space exploration. I really
don't want to give you the details because I want you to pay attention
to what I have to say. But I will tell you that the spirit is going to
be one of continued exploration, is to find -- seeking new horizons and
investing in a program that is -- that meets that objective. And
I'll lay it out tomorrow.
Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER MARTIN: Let me just say, I'm glad to see that we're
not the only government that's afraid of a leak. (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: That's right.
Q Mr. President, on the passport agreement, does that signal a
special status for Canada, in terms of U.S. matters of national
security? And can you assure Canada that beyond notifying the
potential for deporting a Canadian citizen, that it would not deport a
Canadian citizen to a third country that might torture them?
PRESIDENT BUSH: What I can assure Canada is that we will do
everything we can -- will do to protect our country from attack.
That's one thing I will assure, which should make Canadians very happy
to hear, because we've got a lot of Canadians living in the United
States and we've got a lot of Canadians with relatives in the United
States.
Secondly, I will assure Canadians that we will work very closely
with the Martin government on issues -- passport issues. And one of the
things that I promised him is that there will be prior notification
prior to any consideration of deportation. We owe it to the government
to be forthcoming and forthright.
Listen, Canada and America have got a special status already. You
said, special status -- we've got special status by virtue of the fact
that there is significant interchange on an hourly basis between our
two countries. I mean, it's a vibrant border, it's an active economic
relationship. It is special because we share values; it is special
because we share a long border. And the key thing on this issue is to
communicate clearly with the authorities, the Canadian authorities, and
for me to communicate clearly with my counterpart, the Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER MARTIN: Look, I think that, again, under
international law, countries have the right to deport to a third
country. And what's really happened here is that there has been a --
agreement that consular services will be provided, and prior
notification. And that is very, very important, and that is -- that's
pretty unique.
END 9:10 A.M. (Local)
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