[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[January 13, 2004]
[Pages 54-56]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada and an Exchange With Reporters in Monterrey
January 13, 2004

    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 [Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press].

Iraqi Reconstruction Contracts/Canada-U.S. Relations

    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

[[Page 55]]

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 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.

[At this point, the Prime Minister repeated his remarks in French.]

    President Bush. Do you want to call on a Canadian reporter?
    Prime Minister Martin. Sure.

Mad Cow Disease

    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 [Steve Holland, Reuters].

Space Program

    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.

Passport Agreement/Deportation

    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?

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    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.

Note: The President spoke at 9 a.m. at the Presidente InterContinental 
Hotel. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these 
remarks.