[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?
[[Page 56]]
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.