    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [June 25, 2002]
    [Pages 1066-1068]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada and an Exchange With Reporters in Kananaskis,
    Canada
    June 25, 2002

        Prime Minister Chretien. I am delighted to have the President in
    Kananaskis. It's a beautiful part of Canada, and it's where we produce
    oil and natural gas that you guys need a lot.
        President Bush. That's right. [Laughter]
        Prime Minister Chretien. And so I wanted to show this beautiful
    province, and it's just north of Texas. [Laughter] And so--and they play
    baseball here too.
        President Bush. That's right. [Laughter]
        Prime Minister Chretien. So, welcome, Mr. President.
        President Bush. Well, thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. The Prime
    Minister said I was going to be stunned by the beauty of this place. And
    you're right. It is spectacular. I really want to thank you for your
    hospitality and working hard to put on this important conference. We
    appreciate it.

    Middle East Peace Proposal

        Q. Mr. President, will you be asking the Prime Minister for support
    on your recent peace plan?
        President Bush. Sure.
        Q. Mr. President, can I follow up on that?
        President Bush. Sure.
        Q. Today the----
        President Bush. So this is two of the four questions. [Laughter]
        Q. Do you expect--today Israel captured the seventh of eight major
    cities and today announced----

    [At this point, cell phones rang.]

        President Bush. Everybody settled down? All right, go ahead.
        Q. In the incursions today by Israel, we now have 700,000
    Palestinians confined to their homes. Do you condone those actions? And
    do you think it will make it harder gaining the support of G-7 leaders
    with that kind of activity going on Israel right now?
        And quickly to the Prime Minister, do you support President Bush's
    position that the Palestinians won't, can't, will not get statehood
    unless Arafat is ousted?
        President Bush. If I might say what I said yesterday, I said the
    Palestinians need new leadership, elected leadership. They need a
    constitution. They need the international donor community to participate
    so long as there's transparency and the financial institutions are sound
    enough to reject corruption. In order for there to be hope, there needs
    to be the emergence of the institutions necessary for a peaceful
    Palestinian state to emerge.
        And I will continue to remind all parties they have
    responsibilities, that if there's a true desire for peace, they ought to
    work for that peace. And listen, everybody has got a right to defend
    themselves. But there also had to be a vision toward a way forward. And
    that's what I talked about yesterday.

    Israeli Incursions Into Palestinian Territory

        Q. Do you condone the action?
        President Bush. Everybody has a right to defend themselves. But all
    parties must work toward peace. If they're interested in peace, they've
    got to work toward peace. And I laid out the conditions necessary, that
    I thought were necessary. I called upon all parties in the region to
    assume the proper responsibilities.
        Prime Minister Chretien. And then for me, I think that it's
    important that the statement to the effect that we need in this part of
    the world an Israel that is secure and well-protected and, eventually, a
    state for Israel. And the situation of Jerusalem will always be
    complicated, but it

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    will take--we have to secure two countries there that can live in peace.
        And as the President said, on both sides we have to work towards
    peace. And of course, there will be elections; I'm told that there will
    be an election before the end of the year. And I hope that it will be a
    real election that will produce somebody that will be democratically
    elected. I'm not--the President talked about perhaps it will be better
    to replace Mr. Arafat. I don't have the specific point of view on that.
    I will--I think it might be a good thing. I don't want to comment on
    that. But I just say that we need quick election there and to produce
    the best leadership, because--and it's very important to have a
    constitution and a real state, alongside Israel that has to be secure
    and well-protected.

    Canada-U.S. Relations

        Q. Prime Minister, there are several thorny issues that continue to
    divide Canada and the United States, and you appear to be making no
    headway on them. Everyone knows softwood lumber is another one. And I
    also wanted to ask you about the border pact, how far along are you on
    that?
        Prime Minister Chretien. Oh, we're doing very well on that. We were
    supposed to have a meeting--we'll have a meeting very soon. I think that
    Governor Ridge and Deputy Prime Minister Manley have done a fabulous
    job. And I think that we've made a lot of progress on that, and we're
    supposed, eventually, to have an occasion to celebrate the good work
    between Governor Ridge and Deputy Prime Minister Manley.
        President Bush. Let me comment on this.
        Q. Sure.
        President Bush. We've got a significant relationship together. It's
    a vibrant, positive friendship. We've got enormous trade between our two
    countries. The trade is in the interests of all of us. There are some
    problems on occasion, but we've got the kind of relationship where we
    can be very frank about it and try to work them out. And the
    opportunities and the benefits from our relationship far exceed--far
    exceed--the few problems that face us.
        Adam [Adam Entous, Reuters], last question. There you are, Adam.
    Emerge.

    Strength of the Dollar

        Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Are you concerned about the weakening
    dollar? And should the United States do something about it?
        President Bush. Adam, as you know, my position is, is that the
    dollar will seek its level based upon--based upon market forces and
    based upon whether or not our country can rein in spending, can recover,
    can revitalize our manufacturing base. And so the dollar will seek its
    appropriate level based upon market forces.
        Prime Minister Chretien. And I say the same thing about the Canadian
    dollar. [Laughter]
        President Bush. Good fastball.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:09 p.m. in the Delta Lodge at the
    Kananaskis Village resort. Prime Minister Chretien referred to Chairman
    Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority and Deputy Prime Minister
    John Manley of Canada. A tape was not available for verification of the
    content of these remarks.

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