Ted Arnott spoke at the Rotary Club of Fergus-Elora on February 15, The following is the text of his remarks:

Transcription

1 Ted Arnott spoke at the Rotary Club of Fergus-Elora on February 15, The following is the text of his remarks: Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for inviting me here today. Service above self. It s your motto, and it s your method in all Rotary activities. We see that reflected in your members who work both at home and abroad to combat hunger, to improve health and sanitation, to provide education and job training, to promote peace, and to eradicate polio. You have good reason to be proud not only for being part of an organization that supports these worthy humanitarian goals, but also for working actively, as individuals and as a community, to see them through. In our own community, your support for the food bank, your fundraising for the Rotary aquatic centre, and your commitments to the Groves Memorial Community Hospital are just a few of the ways you have made a difference. And speaking of Groves, let me just add that I will never, ever give up trying to get the government to let us move forward with planning for our new hospital. And it s because you work every day to put service above self, for projects large and small, our community is stronger, fairer and better. For that you deserve thanks. We know we re fortunate to live in such a community, but what about our broader community? World affairs and world awareness is the theme you ve asked me to discuss today. It s an appropriate theme, I think, for an organization of service above self. After all, if governments and institutions around the world would more frequently put service above self, following in the example of Rotary International, the condition of world affairs would no doubt improve. Likewise, world awareness would no doubt be enhanced. Today s theme also matches Rotary International s fourth guiding principle: the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service. As an MPP, I consider my role to be one, first and foremost, of service to my community. Just as importantly, it means trying to determine to the best of my ability what is in the public interest of the province as a whole. And while I ve occasionally met elected officials from other countries, the role of the MPP only rarely requires interaction on an international level. 1

2 Foreign affairs, after all, is a responsibility of the Government of Canada. That means federal Members of Parliament may need an up to date passport but as for Members of Provincial Parliament, well, let s just say that for MPPs a passport is not really a job requirement. In fact, I was once asked what the trips are like for MPPs. Yes, I replied, being an MPP does involve extensive travel. In fact, I do travel quite a lot -- to places like Clifford, Harriston, and even Palmerston occasionally! In our home, Lisa and I are savers, not spenders -- conservative even at home! So even though we ve enjoyed some travelling, my travel experiences to date have been more limited than you might expect. In the past 20 years, however, I have been to Britain twice, Washington D.C. twice, and New York City just once. So I really have no vast international perspective to draw upon today, based on exhaustive world travel. At the same time, I can draw upon my long-held interest in the opportunities and challenges facing our world. While studying at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo in the 1980s, I was very interested in Canada s international relations and, for a time, I even aspired to serve in Canada s Foreign Service. And although my life took a different path, I continue to read and I continue to follow current events. Like many in public service, I have a considerable appetite for news. I think it s always a good idea to read news and opinion from a variety of perspectives, even those with which we may disagree. I believe in lifelong learning, especially on matters of importance to the world around us. I d like to share one example. Just last week I read an article in the Globe and Mail about influential scholar Joseph Nye, who is a former senior State Department and Pentagon official. Nye has some lessons for Canada, and how it can build and use influence in the world. He advocates the use of so-called soft power as well as hard power. Soft power, explains Nye, is the ability to get what you want by attraction and persuasion. Any Canadian government, he says, should want it. Soft power has been called a narrative that confers legitimacy, such as respect for democracy, influence in institutions or networks of countries or people - nudges them to compromise or to share your goals. 2

3 Hard power, on the other hand, can compel nations to do what they don't want to. Military force is the most obvious example of hard power. Too often in history, hard power has been necessary to help prevent great injustices or great loss of life. Today, hard power is necessary to provide security and rebuild Afghanistan. I agree with Nye that Canada has to be smart about how it uses its power, hard and soft. I agree that Canada can and indeed that we must play a meaningful role in world affairs. Our country has a great deal to contribute, and we have the capacity to effect positive change in the world. In recent years in particular, one of Canada s most important contributions has been our knowledge and experience in economic affairs and the financial sector. Canada may not have made all the right economic moves all the time, but, on the whole, we as a nation have weathered the global economic storm better than most of our Western counterparts. That s why when governments and global financial regulators responded to the economic crisis, Canada was at the table. And because of our successes, we had good reason to be there and to offer our best advice. As your provincial representative, I ve tried to offer my own advice to the government, and have tried to do so constructively and frequently in a non-partisan way. Ontario s economy has suffered in recent years. For a long time, even before our current global economic challenges, I ve been concerned about our province s lack of a long-term strategy for economic competitiveness something I believe we need, given the rapidly changing world in which we live, and the rapidly evolving global economy. As early as 2005, working with Perrin Beatty, who at the time was president of the Canadian Manufacturers Association, I brought forward a resolution in the legislature calling for the all-party Finance and Economic Affairs Committee to hold public hearings and develop an action plan to strengthen our manufacturing sector and save jobs. In 2006 and 2007, I continued to call for an action plan to deal with economic competitiveness, and the loss of manufacturing jobs affecting so many communities across Ontario. And you ll recall that we began lose manufacturing jobs even before Wall Street s financial crisis in 2008 and the great recession. And we re still feeling the effects of it. Again and again I called on the finance committee to address the specific economic challenges facing our manufacturing sector. Even though my resolution passed in the House, the government refused to follow up. Perhaps if the government had actually done the hearings, paid attention, and initiated a plan of action in response, we could have saved some of the jobs that were lost. 3

4 Even though the Legislature isn t presently in session, the all-party Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs has been busy. Recently I joined the committee and participated in some of the pre-budget consultations held at Queen s Park. It s a chance for the committee to hear the ideas and suggestions of various people and groups from across Ontario. The committee then attempts to achieve consensus on the most important priorities facing the province, and will then write and submit a report to the Minister of Finance. That report will contain priorities, based on those hearings, that could be included in the upcoming budget. One of the groups appearing at the hearings was the CME Canada s Manufacturers and Exporters. You ll be interested to know that Jay Myers, who grew up in Fergus, and who many of you know, is now heading up that organization. I m always glad to work with Jay; he is an outstanding leader in the province of Ontario. They called on the government to take action to ensure that the overall business environment is favourable and sufficiently competitive to retain and grow manufacturing investment in Ontario. I agree. But there is another aspect of manufacturing exports, and international trade more generally, that is positive for Canadians: international trade creates prosperity and creates jobs for our neighbours in our community. Our prosperity at home depends upon our economic relationships with the rest of the world. We know that Canada is not an island. We are a trading nation, and have been for more than 400 years, ever since that first boat of cod fish and the first load of furs left Canada for Europe. We are a trading nation, and that, I believe, is one of our greatest strengths. Trade produces economic benefits, of course, but it s more than that. In many cases, trade helps to facilitate international awareness. The world is enriched not only when we trade our resources and commodities, but also when we trade our ideas and our ideals. For that, we need strong interpersonal relationships reaching across borders. In that respect, Canada stands in an enviable position. Because of our immigration policies, which have brought millions to our shores over the last number of decades, we already have well-established relationships between our nation and so many others. 4

5 Looking to the next 40 years, our economic future will be brighter because of these relationships. By comparison, other nations nations that have followed less welcoming immigration policies will be less likely to be able to seize the opportunities of the future. In the end, however, government policies mean very little without people willing to take advantage of them and reach out to the world. Of course you know that Rotary is at the forefront of building relationships through its global service projects. You should be proud of those projects, and so should Canadians of all ages who are travelling, studying, working and serving abroad. They are forming relationships for today and for the future. Of course we can learn from the experiences of others. But at the same time, I assert that Canada is the greatest source of good in the international community today, and as Canadians, we can all take pride in this indisputable fact. We know we re a source of good. And that s why we should look to the future with anticipation, believing that tomorrow can be better than today. Let s embrace that kind of future. Let s embrace its promise its promise for peace, prosperity and harmony for generations to come. Again, thank you for this opportunity to be here today. 5