[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 15 (Monday, April 14, 1997)]
[Pages 479-486]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Chretien

April 8, 1997

    The President. Good afternoon. Let me say again that it is a very 
great pleasure for me to welcome Prime Minister Chretien to the White 
House. It's an especially important day in his life, because this is the 
34th anniversary of Jean Chretien's first election to the Canadian 
Parliament. In the years since, he has held virtually every high office 
in the Canadian Government. He has traveled to Washington on countless 
missions. But this is his first official visit as Prime Minister, and 
I'm delighted that he's here.
    It's fair to say that there has never been a relationship between 
two nations like the one that exists today between the United States and 
Canada. We have the most comprehensive ties of any two nations on Earth. 
Every day, our governments work together to improve the lives of our 
people in ways no one could have imagined just a few years ago.
    We trade goods and services on an unprecedented scale and share ties 
of friendship that are unique. We've worked hard today and made progress 
on important issues. We discussed our common efforts to create an open 
and more competitive trading system throughout our hemisphere. The 
benefits of this effort will be tremendous.
    Since NAFTA took effect, trade between our nations has grown by more 
than 40 percent, a remarkable achievement for what was already the 
world's preeminent trade partnership. United States exports to Canada 
have grown over $133 million and now support more than 1\1/2\ million 
jobs in our Nation. As partners in the Summit of the Americas process, 
our efforts to expand trade in our hemisphere not only increase 
prosperity, they also reinforce democratic values, which have made such 
extraordinary progress in the Americas in our time.
    Today we've made concrete progress on key issues involving our two 
nations. We've agreed on new measures to crack down on criminals who use 
cross-border fraudulent telemarketing schemes to prey on the elderly and 
others. We're stepping up our cooperation to stop those who would abduct 
children and transport them across our borders. We agreed to modernize 
our border crossing so that by the year 2000, 22 pairs of towns will be 
equipped with remote video systems and new technologies to give them 24-
hour service. And residents won't have to drive hours out of their way 
to the next border crossing. We're streamlining import and export 
processing, cutting freight costs, reducing truck backups.
    We're working together to protect, clean, and manage the natural 
heritage we share. Twenty-five years ago, our nations signed the Great 
Lakes Water Quality Agreement, which has helped to revive the ecosystem 
of the Great Lakes Basin. Yesterday, Minister Marchi and EPA 
Administrator Browner signed an agreement to work for the virtual 
elimination of toxic pollutants in the Great Lakes. This unprecedented 
environmental effort will involve the public and private sectors at all 
levels. There are some other areas, like Pacific Salmon Fisheries, where 
further progress is needed. But we're working on it.
    Beyond our borders, we discussed the preparations for the July NATO 
summit in Madrid, where the Atlantic Alliance will take a major step 
toward creating security for the 21st century.
    I also want to salute the Prime Minister for his government's 
determination to sup

[[Page 480]]

port peace in Bosnia and Central Africa and other troubled places of the 
globe and especially for his nation's steadfast engagement in Haiti. 
Canada's efforts to help democracy put down strong roots in Haiti will 
long be remembered as a hallmark of the commitment to principle of the 
Canadian people.
    Our work together spans the globe. It reaches into the heavens. I'm 
pleased that the President has brought with him today a model of the 
remarkable 11-foot Canada Hand that will be used to build the 
international space station. I have personally seen it in its full-size, 
Mr. Prime Minister, and it is a dramatic and important contribution. 
This instrument will perform delicate assembly work essential for the 
space station's construction. And I thank you and your Cabinet for 
voting last month to fund this important project.
    Soon, Canada and the United States will be joined at the elbow in 
space, and that is a perfect symbol of the cooperation between our 
nations. Here on Earth, this cooperation has been a beacon of hope for 
countries on every continent. Today we've made that light brighter by 
reaffirming the ties between our nations and carrying forward our work 
together.
    Mr. Prime Minister, I thank you, your government, and all of Canada 
for your dedication to this extraordinary partnership.
    Prime Minister Chretien. Thank you, Mr. President. As I said 
earlier, I'm delighted to be in Washington, and I'm very satisfied and 
pleased with the discussions we had this morning. They were very frank, 
friendly, and very productive.
    We are neighbors who work together, and I think we're working quite 
well. The President and I discussed our partnership in the economy, the 
environment, fisheries, in managing our border, in space, and in 
promoting world peace.
    As you all know, our economies are performing very well, and that 
means more jobs and growth. Our trading relationship is the largest in 
the world. It's a real success story. And it is an example to the world. 
As you said, our trade has increased since 1993 by more than 40 percent, 
and most of our trade is problem-free. And when we have problems, we sit 
down and we work them out. Yesterday we announced a series of 
environmental agreements. We want to ensure that our citizens breathe 
clean air and drink clean water. Today we are announcing new ways to 
improve our shared border, all that based on the agreement that we 
signed 2 years ago on open sky.
    But what is very important is our cooperation on peace and security. 
[Inaudible]--with the partnership we have had in Haiti and in Bosnia. We 
are in agreement on NATO enlargement. We all agree on U.N. renewal, and 
it's very important that this problem be resolved.
    Once again, our cooperation is extending beyond the globe itself 
with the new Canada Hand, the next generation of Canada Arm. This gave a 
new meaning, Mr. President, to the term ``hands across the border,'' and 
it's a symbol of our relationship as we enter a new century. By lending 
a hand to the American space program, we will be creating new jobs and 
opportunities in Canada in the high-tech sector of the future.
    Sometimes, our approaches are different. Sometimes, in foreign 
policy it's a matter of different means of achieving common goals. 
Sometimes, it is because our national interests are different. But we 
approach these differences with the honesty and mutual respect that a 
relationship like ours deserves. But the areas that bring us together 
are much greater than those that divide us. Working together, we are 
creating jobs, opportunities, and prosperity for the people in both 
countries, and we are setting an example of international cooperation 
for the world.

[At this point, Prime Minister Chretien repeated a portion of his 
remarks in French.]

    And I would like to say that the Canadian people are very proud to 
be your neighbor. We have been able to work together, and we will do 
that in the future because together we can achieve a lot. And for you, 
Mr. President, as I said earlier, it's extremely important to carry on 
the leadership that you have shown in the last years because the United 
States is now the biggest and almost the unique power compared to the 
situation that existed a few years ago. And I salute your leadership. 
And I know that you face some difficult problems, but you'll always have

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Canada on your side because we are both for peace around the world and 
prosperity around the world.
    And thank you very much for your kind reception. And it has been 
fantastic so far. And the weather is well-organized. In Canada, I say 
that it is a federal responsibility. I don't know if it is the case 
here, but you've done a good job on that, Mr. President. [Laughter]
    The President. Thank you.
    Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International]?

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Mr. President, you seem to have struck out in getting the Mideast 
peace talks back on track at this moment. Does the U.S. lack any 
diplomatic leverage with Israel despite 50 years of assistance and 
support? And where do you go from here?
    The President. Well, first of all, I wouldn't assume that, based on 
the comments that have been made so far. Where I go from here is that 
we're waiting for the Palestinian delegation to come in. We're going to 
review the ground that we went over with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and 
we're going to do our best to get this thing going again.
    There are clearly two preconditions, one is zero tolerance for 
terror; the other is a genuine commitment to build confidence and to 
make progress and to do the things required by the Oslo agreement. And 
the parties are going to have to decide whether they're willing to let 
the peace process go forward.
    We are prepared to do whatever we can, but I would not conclude from 
the fact that I'm giving very noncommittal answers that I think there's 
no chance that we'll get it going again. I think that there is a fairly 
decent chance that we can, but I think it's important now not to say 
things which will undermine whatever prospect we have of success later.
    In the end, it still depends on what it always has depended on, and 
that is the parties taking responsibilities to take the risks for peace.

President's Relationship With the Prime Minister

[The following question was asked in French and translated. Prime 
Minister Chretien answered in French and then repeated his answer in 
English.]

    Q. Mr. Prime Minister, the nice words you had with President Clinton 
plus what you said at the White House, would they reassure us in 
thinking that your relationship with President Clinton is as good or 
even better than that of your predecessor, Brian Mulroney, had with 
Presidents Reagan and Bush?
    Prime Minister Chretien. Perhaps I should translate; there will be 
an interest in English, I guess. [Laughter]
    Yes, we are good friends. The President and I, we are politicians 
since a few years. [Laughter] And we can share a lot of debate together 
and spent a good time together last night talking about the problems of 
the world and a bit about the political problems that we all face on a 
daily basis. He gave me advice. I gave him advice. And it's free, so no 
problem. [Laughter]
    It's a good relation, but he knows that we will disagree. And I'm--
and I know that he will disagree with me. But we have shown that it is 
possible to tackle a problem at a time. And today we realize that the 
number of the problems that exist between United States and Canada today 
are very small, very few. And we explain each other, but sometimes our 
national interests are not the same. But I have to tell you that he's a 
good guy, and I enjoy to be with him. [Laughter]
    The President. Let me say, the biggest threat to our friendship is 
this injury of mine because it has precluded our indulging our mutual 
passion for golf. I don't think that--I don't know if any two world 
leaders have played golf together more than we have, but we meant to 
break a record, and I've had to take a 6-month respite. But I'll be back 
in the arena before long.
    Anybody else? Mr. Hunt [Terence Hunt, Associated Press].

Khobar Bombing Suspect

    Q. Mr. President, are you asking Canada to extradite the Saudi man 
who is being held

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in Ottawa and is suspected of being involved in the bombing of the U.S. 
barracks in Saudi Arabia. Is the Prime Minister agreeable to doing that?
    The President. Well, let me say we have discussed this. It's being 
handled in accordance with Canadian law. But I believe the FBI put out a 
statement about it today, and we are fully satisfied with our 
cooperation with Canada at this point, and I think we have to let the 
Canadian legal process play itself out.

Canadian Unity

    Q. Mr. President, you came out strongly in favor of Canadian unity 
during the last Quebec referendum campaign. Can the Prime Minister count 
on your support again, given the fact that in all likelihood there will 
be another Quebec referendum in your second term?
    The President. Well, the United States--it's not just my position; 
we have long felt that our relationship with a united Canada was a good 
thing and that people of different cultures and backgrounds live 
together in peace and harmony with still some decent respect for their 
differences in both our two countries. And I would be--I haven't changed 
my view about that, and I haven't changed my relationship with the Prime 
Minister, so I don't know what else to tell you. My feelings have not 
changed.
    Mr. Bloom, [David Bloom, NBC] you're new here. Maybe we ought to let 
you get a question here. Welcome.

Affirmative Action

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, today a California 
Federal appeals court upheld Proposition 209. If the State proceeds with 
dismantling affirmative action programs, will that help or hinder 
efforts to ease racial tensions in America?
    The President. Well, I believe if States are precluded from trying 
to take appropriate steps that are not quotas and that do not give 
unqualified people a chance to participate in whatever it is--the 
economic or educational life--but do recognize the disadvantages people 
have experienced, I think that will be a mistake. And I think we'll all 
have to regroup and find new ways to achieve the same objective.
    I think--as you know, my position on affirmative action is that a 
lot of the things that we had been doing should be changed. I've worked 
hard to do that at the national level. But my formulation of ``mend it, 
don't end it,'' I still think is the best thing for America. And so--and 
that's what I said in California during the election that people 
disagreed with me. But I think that we will see that, for example, 
universities are better, more vital places if they are racially and 
ethnically diverse. I believe that. And I think that it ought to be a 
legitimate thing for any university to be able to seek an appropriate 
amount of diversity among people who are otherwise qualified to be 
there.

Cuba

    Q. Mr. President, on the Helms-Burton issue, Canada has insisted 
that its policy of engaging Fidel Castro is more effective than your 
policy of isolating the dictator. Have you seen any evidence that 
Canada's policy is paying off when it comes to human rights and jailed 
prisoners?
    The President.  No, but neither one of us has succeeded yet. I mean, 
the evidence doesn't--since there hasn't been appreciable change in the 
Cuban regime, neither of our policies can claim success. But this is an 
area where I think we have an honest political disagreement. The Prime 
Minister characterized it earlier: We have the same objectives; we 
differ about how to pursue it. And since neither one of us has 
succeeded, we really can't know.

Russia and NATO Expansion

    Q. Mr. Prime Minister, a number of experts at Harvard and elsewhere 
in the world say that the risk is increasing every day of nuclear 
leakage or nuclear smuggling out of Russia, which conceivably could lead 
to a nuclear terrorist attack somewhere in North America. In view of 
that mounting risk, wouldn't it be better to postpone NATO enlargement 
for a couple of years, continue with the Partnership For Peace, and make 
sure that denuclearization has taken full root in Russia with START II 
and START III?

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    Prime Minister Chretien. I don't think that you can link the two. I 
think that the expansion of NATO is something that is on the table since 
a long time, because when those countries decided to become democracy- 
and market-oriented, we told them that we were to accept them in NATO. 
And we have to deliver on the word we gave to them, and I compliment the 
President for the work he has done on that. He has had--he approached 
Mr. Yeltsin in a very practical way, in a very firm way, but in an 
understanding way, and we're very hopeful that NATO will be expanded 
this summer.
    The President. I'd also like to comment on that, because I believe 
that Russia has a big interest in preserving the security of its nuclear 
stockpiles, and they have worked with us in good faith hard now for 
years to try to dismantle the nuclear arsenals. One of the important 
agreements we've made here to try to get the START III agreement in 
force was also to make sure that we were actually destroying the weapons 
as well as dismantling them, and we have been working since I've been 
here very hard in a mutual and cooperative way with the Russians to 
ensure the security of those nuclear materials.
    Yes, as long as they're in existence, I suppose there is some risk 
that someone will try to pilfer them. We've had instances of that before 
in the last few years, but if we work at it and we work together with 
them, I think we're likely to succeed. But I do not believe that the 
Russians have any greater desire than we do to see any of this material 
stolen or put into the hands of the wrong people. I think they have a 
deep, vested interest in them.

Canadian Unity

    Q. In meetings yesterday with President Clinton, have you called 
attention to the international situation, and have you talked about the 
national unity issue? Has Mr. Clinton asked questions about it, and what 
were your general observations on the topic?

[The Prime Minister answered the question in French, and a translation 
was not provided.]

    The President. Gene [Gene Gibbons, Reuters].

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Mr. President, in his election campaign, Prime Minister Netanyahu 
was very critical of the Oslo accords. At one point, I believe he 
described them as a knife in the back of Israel. And since then, he has 
taken a number of preemptive actions that have created a series of 
crises in the peace process. How does that square with your statement 
that one of the requirements is a genuine commitment to build confidence 
in the peace process?
    The President. I have so far not disclosed anything that has passed 
between us, but I will say that both--because he said it publicly--the 
Prime Minister has said repeatedly publicly, and said again to me when 
he was here, that even though he did not agree with everything about 
Oslo, he felt that the Israeli Government was bound by it, and he 
thought that he ought to honor it. And that's been his public statement, 
and I believe it remains his position.

Free Trade in the Americas

    Q. Mr. Prime Minister, in light of all of the discussion and talk 
about free trade and the possibility of expanding free trade, did you 
ever think you would be this comfortable as a free trader?
    Prime Minister Chretien. Yes. [Laughter] Because one of my problems 
at the time, I was afraid that the free trade agreements with the United 
States were to be a series of bilateral agreements, one with Canada, a 
bilateral with Mexico, a bilateral with something else. And I thought 
that we had to have a system where it will engage at the same time many 
countries to have a kind of counterweight to the might of the United 
States. And if we were to be alone, it was to be difficult.
    And at that time, I was afraid that they--they worked to be the hub 
and make deals with everybody. Now that we have the concept of NAFTA, 
and now that we're looking and I hope that the President will convince 
the Congress to proceed on the fast track for Chile because we want to 
have by the year 2005 all the Americas together. And it's urgent that we 
move, because some are getting impatient in South America.
    For example, MERCOSUR is working very well, and they are lobbied 
very strongly

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by the Europeans. And I would rather have them in the Americas then to 
be oriented elsewhere. So it's why I believe--and I will mention that to 
the leaders in the Congress this afternoon and in the Senate--that it's 
urgent to have a fast track to carry on to the commitment that we made 
in December '94 in Miami.
    The President. Let me say, I think it's very important that the 
Prime Minister has said this here in the United States and intends to 
continue and follow through with it. I am very concerned that we have 
not passed fast track authority in this country. I think we have to do 
it. It's clear that expanding trade will strengthen democracy in Latin 
America and will strengthen our hand in the second fastest growing area 
of the world.
    Last year, the MERCOSUR countries in South America did more business 
with Europe than the United States for the first time, simply because we 
have not had as aggressive a posture as we need. We had better go on and 
complete the work of the Summit of the Americas and create a free trade 
agreement area of the Americas if we expect to succeed.
    Wolf, [Wolf Blitzer, CNN] and then I'll answer Sarah's [Sarah 
McClendon, McClendon News Service] question.
    Relax, Sarah, I'm going to call on you.

Alleged DNC Access to Intelligence Information

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. There's a report, as you probably 
noticed in the Washington Post today, not only suggesting that there's 
an allegation of improper, unethical behavior on the part of the White 
House and the Democratic Party but perhaps even a crime, a violation of 
national security, that sensitive intelligence information was perhaps 
illegally passed on to the Democratic National Committee in order to 
prevent a fundraiser from getting someone into a dinner with you in 
1995. I wonder if you've looked into that allegation, if you could tell 
us if there's any merit to it?
    The President. Well, this morning the Counsel's office held a series 
of conversations, which to the present time do not reveal any basis for 
believing that any sensitive information was improperly transmitted to 
the DNC. But because it's nonetheless a serious allegation, I met with 
my Counsel this morning, and I asked him to give me some advice about 
what next steps should be taken to look into it further. But based on 
the conversations so far, there's--we have no basis to believe that it 
was done.
    Prime Minister Chretien. Yes, in the back there.

Arms Sales and Illegal Immigration

    Q. Mr. Prime Minister--[inaudible]--about the United States trying 
to sell arms to Latin American countries like Chile? And I have a second 
question for President Clinton. What's your response to the--
[inaudible]--of Mexico and other Latin American countries--[inaudible]--
in the immigration law in the United States.
    Prime Minister Chretien. Is it to you or to me?
    The President. They want to know--I think he--you want to know if he 
objects to the sale of arms to Chile by the United States?
    Q. Yes.
    Prime Minister Chretien. I don't know what kind of arms you're 
talking about. This is a problem with--every government has an army, and 
they have to have equipment. We buy equipment for our army, too, so I 
don't know if there is some materials that should not be sold. No 
problems have been mentioned to me in that possibility of United States 
selling arms to Chile.
    The President. Let me just respond to both those questions. First of 
all, the United States policy is to reduce tensions between our Latin 
American allies. We've worked very hard, for example, on the border 
dispute between Peru and Ecuador, and even sent our soldiers there to 
help to resolve the matter in a way that was mutually agreeable to both 
parties.
    And we have made no final decision about what to do with regard to 
arms sales to any country. But all the militaries there have to continue 
to modernize their forces. So the question is, you want to help the 
modernization process in a way that will not spark an arms race. That's 
how the line has to be drawn.
    With regard to the immigration law, the immigration law, I think the 
fears of the most

[[Page 485]]

extreme consequences have been exaggerated. But the law is tougher on 
illegal immigration and tries to speed up the process by which people 
who come to this country illegally leave. We have very high immigration 
quotas. We take a lot of immigrants in every year. I have strongly 
supported that, and I have strongly opposed attempts to discriminate 
against legal immigrants. But for all the people who wait their turn and 
come into this country legally, I think that they, too, are entitled to 
an immigration system that has as much as integrity as possible, which 
means we should be fair and generous to our legal immigrants and treat 
them in a fair way, but we should not countenance illegal immigration, 
and we should reduce it however we can within the limits of our law and 
constitution.
    John [John Donvan, ABC News]?
    Q. Mr. President.

1996 Campaign Financing

    Q. Mr. President, there's a perception that, as a result of all the 
questions and anguished debate about the campaign finance issue, that 
your administration is in some areas of--other areas of Government 
becoming somewhat bogged down. For example, it is said to be a factor in 
the delay in appointing Ambassadors. It is said to have made the 
administration less sure-footed in its dealings with China. How accurate 
is this perception?
    The President. Oh, I disagree with that. I can't comment on what 
others are concentrating on or doing, but what I'm working on is how to 
balance the budget, how to get my education program through and get the 
national standards movement going all the way to success, how to 
complete the business of welfare reform. And dealing specifically with 
the Vice President's trip to China, he did and said exactly what he 
should have done and said, and he would have done it anyway in exactly 
the way that he did. So I just disagree with that.
    With regard to the appointments process, the appointments process 
generally is always more political when you have the President of one 
party and the Senate of another. I don't think there's any question 
about that. But we're working very hard. We spent--I spent a lot of time 
on the Ambassadors in the last 10 days, on both the career and the non-
career Ambassadorial posts. And with the Secretary of State, the 
National Security Adviser, the Vice President, we've signed off on a 
large number. And we're trying to finish the process so we can send a 
great big group to the Senate and they can all be considered at one 
time.
    So the work of this White House is going right on and will continue 
to go right on.
    Q. Mr. President.

Middle East Peace Process

[The following question was asked in French and translated. Prime 
Minister Chretien answered in French, and then repeated his answer in 
English.]

    Q. Mr. Prime Minister, have you and President Clinton talked about 
the situation--the peace process in the Middle East? And did you discuss 
about your position, about the new settlements by Israel?
    Prime Minister Chretien. We have discussed, yes, the Middle East 
problem with the President. I agree with the President that only 
cooperation between the Israelis and the Palestinians will permit a 
solution to the problem. We consider that building new settlements in 
places that were not contemplated by preexisting agreements cannot be 
supported, because there will be a difficulty to achieve peace.
    The President. Sarah, what were you going to ask?

Canada-U.S. Drug Traffic

    Q. Sir, this is a question for both of you. The records show that 
there are far more drugs coming over the border from Canada into the 
United States now than ever before. Can you look into that and maybe do 
something about it--both of you?
    Prime Minister Chretien. It's more trade. [Laughter]
    Q. More drugs coming in from Canada to the United States.
    The President. More drugs, she said.
    Prime Minister Chretien. More drugs--I heard ``trucks.'' [Laughter] 
I'm sorry.
    The President. I'm glad we clarified that, or otherwise he'd have 
delay calling the election. [Laughter]

[[Page 486]]

    Prime Minister Chretien. But we discussed the problem, and we have a 
good collaboration between the two groups who enforce the laws in Canada 
and in the United States. And of course, we're preoccupied by the level 
of drug trafficking in North America, and we are working as close as 
possible with the administration to control this problem because, of 
course, it's very devastating socially in both our countries.
    The President. One of the important things we did as a part of this 
meeting was to take steps to deepen our law enforcement cooperation 
generally. This is a difficult problem, but the only answer is to more 
closely cooperate and do the best we can and make the best use we can of 
our officials and our technology.
    Thank you all very much.

Note: The President's 140th news conference began at 1:31 p.m. in the 
Rose Garden at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Minister 
of Environment Sergio Marchi of Canada and President Boris Yeltsin of 
Russia.