[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[April 21, 2008]
[Pages 542-543]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Discussion With Prime Minister Stephen 
Harper of Canada in New Orleans
April 21, 2008

    President Bush. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you, sir, for your 
personal friendship. Thank you for your leadership. I don't know if the 
people of Canada understand the leadership role you took in Romania, but 
it was strong and effective. And I want to congratulate you in front of 
your media about the job you did. Not only did you represent your 
country well, you represented universal values, and you spoke clearly 
about them. And so I thank you for that.
    We had a good visit. I'm always interested in making sure that if 
there's any bilateral tensions or bilateral issues, that I know of them 
so that we can work collaboratively to deal with them. And in the past, 
one such issue was whether or not our people could travel back and forth 
between our respective countries in a way that didn't inconvenience 
them, or if our borders were--being able to flow smoothly so it didn't 
inconvenience trade. And I think we've worked through those issues.
    I can remember the last time we visited, there was great concern 
about whether or not the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative would be 
counterproductive to our friendship and relationship. And I thank your 
government, thank your ministers, and the people in your staff for 
working hard to find a way that meets our laws and didn't inconvenience 
the people of Canada or the United States. So I'm pleased with that 
progress.
    We also talked about the importance of trade between Canada and the 
United States, and Canada and Mexico, and the United States and Mexico. 
And I assured the Prime Minister that I'm a strong advocate for free 
trade. I believe it's in our nations' interests that we continue to have 
a free trade agenda. All of us want to make sure we're treated fairly, 
and we can do

[[Page 543]]

that. And this summit comes at an opportune time to reaffirm the 
benefits of the trading arrangements between our three nations.
    Canada and the United States have got a very unique and important 
relationship, and I really appreciate the chance to spend time with you 
and visit about these--about the issues of concern.
    Finally, the Prime Minister is very articulate on the subject of 
climate change. And I assured him that my speech in the Rose Garden was 
a sincere speech, a speech that laid out a strategy that I think will be 
effective. And I look forward to continuing to work with you on that 
issue.
    But thanks, good to see you.
    Prime Minister Harper. It's nice to see you again. Thank you for the 
warm welcome and hospitality.

[At this point, Prime Minister Harper spoke in French, and no 
translation was provided.]

    Prime Minister Harper. I'll just say once again, delighted to be 
here in New Orleans, originally a francophone city, in fact, founded by 
New France----
    President Bush. That's true.
    Prime Minister Harper. ----my dad's favorite American city, I was 
telling him. We discussed a lot of things to do with the border, to do 
with environment, energy, trade, and commercial relations. And as you've 
mentioned, we've made some considerable progress on some of these 
things.
    That said, what I appreciate most, what I've appreciated in our 
relationship over the past couple years, has been the fact that whether 
we agree or disagree, we're always able to talk very frankly, very 
upfront. The President has never promised me anything he couldn't 
deliver, and that's always appreciative--appreciated.
    We have some important joint work going on, not just in this 
continent but around the world, including in Afghanistan. I appreciate 
your words about Bucharest, and I can tell you our armed forces look 
very much forward to working in partnership with your people in 
Kandahar.
    So I'm sure we'll have a great summit. And see you again at the G-8. 
And I feel we've got a few more of these to go through before it's over. 
[Laughter]
    President Bush. Thank you, sir.

Note: The President spoke at 4:19 p.m. at the Windsor Court Hotel.