    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 3 (Monday, January 25, 1993)]
    [Pages 57-60]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    The President's News Conference With Canadian Prime Minister Brian
    Mulroney at Camp David, Maryland

     January 16, 1993

        The President. May I just say how wonderful it is to have the Prime
    Minister of Canada here with us today. He's a great friend of the United
    States. The relationship between Canada and the United States is strong.
    They're a tremendous trading partner. Prime Minister Mulroney has done
    an awful lot in all ways in cooperating and working with us. Their
    leadership in many areas of peacekeeping is one that we respect and
    admire. He was the one that prodded me to do more on environmental
    legislation.
        And so for me and for Barbara, this is a fond farewell as we leave
    this job. And it's most fitting, in our way of looking at things, that
    Prime Minister Mulroney and his wonderful family are with us here today.
    So we're going to talk some business, and then we're going to look
    around and have a little R&R. The floor is yours, sir. Welcome.
        Prime Minister Mulroney. Thank you, George.
        Well, we're delighted to be here. The President has pointed out the
    strength of the Canadian-American relationship. It's, as you know, a
    huge and a complicated one and not always an easy one. But it indicates
    the extent to which neighbors can become friends and mutually assisting
    partners.
        Canada is the largest trading partner that the United States has,
    and you are ours. And so President Bush's visionary initiative in
    respect to free trade throughout the hemisphere is one part of a very
    important legacy that he will be leaving.
        The Clean Air Act that gave rise to the Canadian-American treaty on
    acid rain is another very important matter that people in both countries
    had fought for for literally decades.
        And I can tell you that because I happened to be there that his
    remarkable assembling of the coalition in terms of the Gulf war----
        Q. What do you think ought to be done on the Gulf----
        Prime Minister Mulroney. ----is probably without precedent,
    certainly in recent decades.
        So I'm delighted to have a chance to come by and say hello to the
    President and the family before he leaves office. And of course, he'll
    always have a friendship and the respect of Canadians.

    Iraq

        Q. Are you with him now in this current standoff with Iraq?
        Prime Minister Mulroney. Yes, I am.

    Canada-U.S. Trade

        Q. Prime Minister, you said there would be structural changes in the
    relationship between Canada and the U.S. to avoid some of the trade
    irritants when you were last here and met with the President. Do you
    think they'll survive the new administration, or will you have to work
    to put them in place again?
        Prime Minister Mulroney. Well, I think we have to--we have to work
    hard at trade at all times. It's a difficult matter because it affects
    jobs sometimes in both countries, and so it's not easy. And we're going
    to have to work hard to maintain this relationship, as we did in the
    past. Fortunately, in the past, we had a friend in the White House, and
    I suspect that will be the case in the future. Governor Clinton
    understands and has told the President----
        The President. That's right.
        Prime Minister Mulroney.----and told me of his recognition of the
    great importance of Canada as a trading partner and a friend to the
    United States.
        The President. No question about that. No question about that.

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    Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, what's your response to 'Aziz, Mr. President? Are
    there any more warnings?
        The President. We have no response now. We're interested in knowing
    what the United Nations response is. There's the United Nations going on
    with this; it's the United Nations, Dr. Ekeus, that we'll be talking to.
    And we'll all be talking about that a little later. But his move just
    was announced, and we'll just have to wait and see how it's regarded. We
    don't do these things unilaterally. We consult. We'll be able to talk
    now with the Prime Minister. We'll be talking with others as well, I
    think, during the course of this afternoon.
        Q. Mr. Prime Minister----

    [At this point, a question was asked and answered in French, and a
    translation was not provided.]

    Canadian Elections

        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, after a week of reflection, have you decided
    that you will definitely lead your party into the next election?
        Prime Minister Mulroney. I've already spoken to that issue in the
    year-enders in Canada, and I've got nothing further to add.

    Canadian Ambassador

        Q. What signal did you hope to send to the Americans with the
    appointment of General de Chastelain? Was there a message in it in terms
    of the role and expanded relationship we want with the United States?
        Prime Minister Mulroney. No. He's just an outstanding Canadian, a
    remarkably talented man who can do a very good job for Canada in
    Washington at a crucial moment. And he's held in very high regard. In
    fact, he'll be here this afternoon at Camp David.
        The President. Yes, I'm looking forward to that.
        Q.----push them on the U.N. or other matters?
        Prime Minister Mulroney. Well, we're not pushing anybody. He'll be
    there to defend our interests.

    President's Diary

        Q. Mr. President, on your diary, do you think you got a fair shake?
        The President. I don't like any stuff about that.
        Prime Minister Mulroney. Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press
    International], what we want to do is read your diaries. [Laughter]
    That's what I'm waiting for.

    [At this point, a remark was made in French, and a translation was not
    provided.]

        Prime Minister Mulroney. I'm going to read them, Helen, I tell you.

    Haiti

        Q. ----tighten the net around Haiti as a favor to Clinton?
        The President. I don't think of that as a favor to Clinton. I will
    say this for the Clinton security team, and I'm sure General Scowcroft
    would agree with this: There's been extraordinarily good cooperation. I
    determined early on that from our end the transition would go well on
    these important issues. I think he made the same determination. And so
    there's nothing being done to kind of look like we're doing something
    that wouldn't be done, as if it were one team running the show.
        Q. But do you resent the fact that he insulted your Haiti policy
    during the campaign, and now he's adopted it?
        The President. No, I don't resent anything. It's a funny thing. I'm
    in a mood where I don't have any resentment in my heart. [Laughter] It's
    not ever--I can tell you guys. [Laughter]

    Transition

        Q. He doesn't think the transition's going well because you're not
    leaving anyone to hold over for a few weeks to----
        The President. I think we're following what they want. They want to
    have the decks cleared. They--remember all the stories you people wrote
    about--what was it? Calling--how was it? It wasn't rat-holing, but it
    had a lovely term like kind of people wedging their way into the
    bureaucracy so they could be employed. What we've done is follow the
    agreement--so to clear the decks with those, those people who were not
    civil service. And that's what an outgoing administration should

    [[Page 59]]

    do. So if they want somebody to stay, they're welcome to ask them, of
    course.

    Canada-U.S. Relations

        Q. President Bush, what is your assessment of Canada-U.S. relations
    as you leave office? Have they improved?
        The President. Thumbs up.
        Q. Still any problems that have to be worked out?
        The President. None. Well, once in a while you can run into a little
    hiccup, a little bump in the road. But once in a while we've had some
    trading differences on trading problems. But look, you've got to look at
    the big picture. And the relationship is outstanding. It's important. I
    mean, it is vitally important to the United States. It's important
    today, was yesterday, will be tomorrow. And so it really is
    fundamentally sound and good and strong.

    [At this point, a question was asked and answered in French, and a
    translation was not provided.]

    Iraq

        Q. Sir, have we moved back from the brink of military action that
    you hinted at yesterday?
        The President. We're not on the brink or moved back from anything.
    We're just going to be consulting, and we'll see where we go from there.
    I wasn't trying to be belligerent. I'm just simply saying they're going
    to comply with these resolutions, period. And so we'll see.
        Q. Well, was it more conciliatory, their response today? Was there
    any movement?
        The President. Well, we're going to talk about it. I mean, I've
    learned something about this. You don't jump to conclusions until you
    know all the facts, get all the translation. I heard him. What I heard
    in English sounded that he was going to let these people in, but we've
    got to wait and see. I don't know about these conditions and all of
    that. But those are the things you consult about. He's put some--thrown
    some conditions on it.
        Thank you all.
        Prime Minister Mulroney. Thank you very much.

    Camp David

        Q. How do you feel about leaving Camp David?
        The President. Leaving Camp David? Well, I'm not leaving until--
    [laughter]--Monday night. But Monday night if you ask me, I expect I'd
    feel sad about that. This has been a wonderful retreat here, and I've
    sure enjoyed sharing it with friends, domestic and from overseas. And
    this weekend is going to be pure joy because we've got some good friends
    here.
        Q. What have you got in store for the Prime Minister and his----
        The President. A lot of exercise. A lot of exercise. [Laughter]
        Q. Are you flying back to Houston without us, sir?
        The President. Look for deer.
        Q. Are you going to take a press pool to Houston?
        The President. No. Oh, I forgot to tell you. On January 20th at
    noon, I'm through with press pools. We're shifting. It shifts over to
    the new President. And I'm going back to private life. And it's going to
    be low key. And it's going to be--there's no point in trying to continue
    something that isn't. And I'm trying to conduct myself with dignity and
    hopefully in a spirit of total cooperation with Governor Clinton. No
    bitterness in my heart. But look, January 20th when I walk out of that
    Capitol, I'm a private citizen. And I hope I'll be treated as a private
    citizen by my neighbors in Houston. And I'm not looking to sit at the
    head table. I'm not looking to have press conferences. I love you guys,
    especially the photo dogs. [Laughter] But we're not going to--we're
    going to really shift gears like that. It's going to be interesting.
        Q. ----on that last ride in the big Government plane?
        The President. No, no, no. January 20th it ends at noon. It ends.
        Q. I bet you won't be able to do it.
        The President. I'm going to try. I'm going to sure try.

    Note: The President's 142d news conference began at 12:15 p.m. at Camp
    David. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this
    news conference.

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