SPEECH

Remarks by
Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
To The Tsinghua University Law School

November 7 , 2005 -- CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

It is an honour to be with you today.

Our trip to China has many events.

But I have been especially looking forward to this opportunity.

Tsinghua is well known in Canada — and worldwide — as one of China's very best universities.

Education is very important to me.

My father was a university professor.

My wife Terri is a teacher.

And my own four children are in university back in Canada.

I believe that education is the single most important thing that we can do to strengthen our people.

And strong people are the foundation for a strong country.

A strong country will enjoy lasting success in the global economy.

That means education is very important to the government I lead in the province of Ontario.

We are investing heavily in universities so our people and our province can succeed.

Representatives of nine universities have come with me to China.

So have people from five colleges and three school boards.

Meeting with Chinese students reminds me of a very happy time in my own youth.

Thirty-five years ago this fall, Canada and China established diplomatic relations.

That was a controversial action in Canada at the time.

China had undergone considerable internal turmoil and, to a significant degree, China was isolated from much of the world.

But Pierre Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada at the time, believed that China should be isolated no longer.

He believed that Canada would benefit, China would benefit, indeed, the world would benefit, if we engaged one another.

He was right.

Our two countries began that engagement.

In 1973, the first Chinese students arrived in Canada.

China's current Ambassador to Canada, Lu Shumin, was in that first group of nine.

All came to the city of Ottawa, my hometown — and Canada's capital.

Three of those students lived in my family's house while studying in 1973.

They lived with me, my nine brothers and sisters, my mother and father — and our two dogs.

One of those students is now with the Chinese delegation to the United Nations in New York.

Another is the Chinese Ambassador to South Africa.

And I understand the third works here in Beijing.

My first real insights on China came from them.

And I've been paying close attention to China ever since.

Those nine students have become a torrent.

Last year, more than 10,000 students from China were enrolled at Ontario universities and colleges.

I want to thank Dean Wang and Professor Alexandroff for inviting me to witness the reaffirmation of the Memorandum of Agreement between Tsinghua University and the University of Toronto.

Ontario universities — notably the University of Toronto and Waterloo University — have developed special relationships with Tsinghua University.

I encourage you to draw upon the expertise of those Ontario universities — two of our finest — to learn more about Ontario.

And I would also encourage you, as I encourage my own four children, that while you have every right to be proud of your citizenship and your attachment to your country, understand as well that, at the beginning of the 21 st century, we are citizens of the world.

And you would be welcome to visit our country, and if possible, to study there as well.

The City of Toronto is the most diverse city in the world. There are people there from every corner of the globe, speaking over 130 languages.

In the Greater Toronto Area, we have 500,000 Canadians of Chinese origin.

The more we know about each other, the more a basic human truth about this tiny planet that we share becomes clear, and that basic human truth is this: what matters most are not our differences.

What matters most is our common humanity.

It's not our language that is most important. It's not the colour of our skin that is most important. It's not our religion or faith that is most important. It is not our history that is most important.

What is more important is that we're all tied together by our common humanity.

If we can understand this basic human truth, the more we can live in peace and harmony and partnership and friendship.

You are engaged in studying law, teaching law or practising law.

I, too, worked as a lawyer.

And today, as Premier of Ontario, I am a lawmaker.

So, today, I want to speak about law.

Specifically, I want to talk about the rule of law.

Here in China — and in my own province of Ontario, Canada.

And about how we must engage each other to strengthen the rule of law.

I was fortunate to have had a meeting with President Hu Jintao when he visited Canada in September.

Prior to coming to Toronto, the President met in Ottawa with Paul Martin, Canada's Prime Minister.

President Hu declared, during the visit, that China now regards Canada as a ‘strategic partner'.

That designation is very important to us; it gives added impetus to my mission's work.

During their meetings, Canada's Prime Minister, on behalf of all Canadians, emphasized to President Hu the importance that Canada attaches to human rights.

To the ‘rule of law'.

To discharging the international obligations and commitments that our two countries have entered into, including the two human rights conventions that China has signed.

I share the Prime Minister's hope that China will soon ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Prime Minister raised these issues because they are important to all Canadians — and because the Government of Canada is responsible for the conduct of foreign policy at the state-to-state level.

Respect for the basic rights of our citizens is something that is also very important to me and to my government.

Human rights and the rule of law are inextricably and fundamentally linked.

When the Constitution of China was amended in March 2004, a phrase was added to the effect that the government will uphold and maintain human rights.

That was a welcome development.

I am happy to associate myself with leaders from Canada and elsewhere who call on Chinese authorities to ensure that these Constitutional protections are enforced fairly and universally.

Canadian leaders have consistently accentuated the dual themes of ‘engagement' and ‘respect for the rule of law'.

When former Prime Minister Chrétien spoke in February 2001, to the National Judges College here in Beijing, he said:

“In Canada, the ‘rule of law' has been a pillar of our development. It has enabled our economy to grow and adapt to change. It has ensured individual and collective freedom, social stability and peace.”

I share that view.

And I believe that we, in Ontario, can contribute to promoting respect for human rights in China by promoting respect for the rule of law.

Let me elaborate on how Ontario, through engagement with Chinese leaders and officials, has tried to contribute to respect for the rule of law.

Since my government was elected in October 2003, ministries in the Ontario government have hosted 202 delegations from China.

Delegations have come for many reasons.

They have met with our officials, and with political leaders, and have come back to China better aware of Canadian values.

Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General has provided expertise to Chinese officials on police education and on the education and training of prosecutors.

They have trained delegations on the relationship between the judiciary and prosecutors in Ontario.

We're providing training in the detection, investigation and prosecution of officials who use their authority for illegal detention, embezzlement, bribery and other criminal misconduct.

Legal Aid Ontario is partnering with other Canadian organizations and with China's Ministry of Justice in the Canada-China Legal Aid and Community Legal Services Project.

Model legal aid centres will be set up in three provinces of China; skills training for lawyers in the design and drafting of legal aid regulations will be provided.

The Ontario Police College has established a relationship with police and public security officials both in Beijing and in the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Justice.

Delegates from Jiangsu and judges from Shanghai have toured correctional facilities in Ontario — gaining a thorough impression of how our institutions treat those who are incarcerated, and how their rights are respected.

Through these 202 delegations, there has been genuine learning on both sides.

As a result of those exchanges, we are entirely confident that our ‘engagement' approach is the right one.

It's really important that whatever happens in your part of the world and my part of the world that we keep talking.

There are probably some things in my country with which you might have some disagreement.

As is there, in terms of what is happening in your country.

But the best way to influence each other is to continue to do business with each other and to have these exchanges.

I think some of the best hope we have for the future of our planet lies in our young people, who have this genuine desire to reach out to people in other parts of the world.

Another form of our engagement, our interaction, is commercial.

Tomorrow night, I will give a speech here in Beijing to more than 300 people.

Many of those will be representatives of Ontario businesses.

This trade and investment mission to China is about increasing our business ties.

China-Ontario two-way trade is now worth over $15 billion every year.

It has doubled in the last five years.

That's impressive.

But we know we can do much better, for the people of China and Ontario.

And our business people on this mission, by engaging Chinese business people, will do more than just business.

They will reinforce for one another the critical importance of the rule of law.

Business can only reliably be done in a climate in which the law is understood and consistently implemented.

While I'm in China, on behalf of the businesses accompanying me and those that aren't, I will promote the full and proper enforcement of Chinese laws pertaining to the protection of intellectual property.

In my meetings with Chinese government leaders, I am taking care to emphasize how important an issue this is.

I was very pleased to read in the Communiqué issued October 11 by the CPC Central Committee, that: “opening up to the world is China's basic national policy.”

There have been significant reforms to Chinese intellectual property law.

Sadly, those have not prevented the production and sale, in China, of fraudulent Ontario ice wine, bearing counterfeit labels of Ontario wineries and claiming that the wine is a “Product of Canada.”

Ontario ice wine is an exceptional product.

The counterfeit version is not.

Consistent with an emphasis on the ‘rule of law', it's important that authorities here enforce your country's new laws when a violation arises.

Delivering on the innovation agenda that China's government has embraced will depend to a great extent on enforcement of intellectual property laws.

We also believe that proper enforcement of the law will lead to considerably greater investment in China by Ontario's audio-visual and sound recording industries, as well as by major manufacturers for whom patent protection is vital.

Ensuring the ‘rule of law' will facilitate more investment and more trade — with high-value jobs being created in both of our jurisdictions as a result.

The law, of course, must reflect societal values.

As members of the World Trade Organization, both China and Canada must ensure that our laws conform to international norms.

And we must exercise leadership to build popular support for the commitments into which we enter.

In that vein, I'd like to close by telling you about one of the priorities of my government.

Ontario has a long-established democratic tradition.

To remain strong, however, it's my government's view that our democracy must be renewed.

We have two important goals in that regard.

First, to modernize our political institutions so that they are more accountable, more open and more responsive to the people of Ontario.

Second, we are committed to engaging citizens with their government in meaningful ways, so that we all can have an impact on the issues that matter.

We have taken several steps to renew and strengthen Ontario's democracy.

For example: it is now illegal for the government to advertise, on television or in print media, in ways that could be interpreted as ‘partisan'.

In other words, I cannot use taxpayers' money to buy television ads that boast of how good I am or my government is.

There must now be an independent audit conducted on the government's finances — and that audit must be made available to the public — before an election.

This is so the government seeking re-election cannot pretend that its fiscal situation is better than it actually is.

Our legislature has authorized the formation of a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, to study how our elections and system of democracy might be made more responsive to the people.

And a Citizens' Jury on Political Finance Reform — a group of non-politicians from across Ontario — will study how political parties are financed.

Finally, up until now, the Premier in power could decide when an election would be held, as long as one was held every five years.

Traditionally, this power was used to the advantage of the governing party.

I am proposing to take that power away from me, and from those who will follow me, by setting a fixed date for provincial elections — one every four years.

Everyone in Ontario knows already: the next election is to be held on October 4, 2007.

I profoundly believe in engaging citizens in our democratic institutions.

It encourages governments to make better choices.

It makes our province stronger.

I want to conclude with a story.

My father was a university professor. He was a big, imposing man.

There would be twelve of us for dinner every night.

My father would continue his lectures outside his classroom.

He used to tell us, “Nobody is as strong as all of us. Nobody here is as smart as all of us.”

And if we are going to be at our best, whether in China, or Ontario, or Canada, or as a human race, we will always be at our best when we do things together.

We understand that it is important that we work together, build together and dream together about how much better a world we could create, together.

Thank you very much.