Speeches – 2008

The Honourable Jason Kenney

Baltic Evening XXVIII

Ottawa, Ontario, May 28, 2008

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be with you this evening for the 28th annual Baltic Evening. 

I am particularly pleased that the President of Estonia, H.E. Toomas Hendrik, is with us tonight, and the Speaker of the Latvian Parliament, H.E. Gundars Daudze, has also joined us on this special Baltic Evening on the Hill.

Let me begin by commending the Baltic Federation in Canada for the tremendous work it has done liaising among the three Canadian-Baltic communities and the rest of Canada. 

And for organizing these wonderful annual galas that allow us to get together, enjoy each other' s company, and learn about what' s currently going on in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

As many in this room know, Canada did not recognize the occupation of the three Baltic States by the Soviet Union during the time of the Second World War.

Thousands of immigrants from this region came to Canada fleeing the repressive conditions under the Soviet Union during the second half of the 1940s and throughout the 1950s.  They have integrated into Canadian society and contributed tremendously to this country' s rich heritage.

The Government of Canada considers diversity to be one of this country' s greatest strengths, and we are committed to strengthening our pluralism and our national cohesion.

Today, Canada is home to some 80,000 citizens of Baltic heritage, many of whom – like you – help foster the close ties that we enjoy with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

At a commemorative ceremony held last November for the victims of Holodomor, the famine in Ukraine, Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke about the tyranny of past communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, saying:

"Between the two world wars and the long cold war that followed, apologists tried to persuade us that the ideology of communism was benign.

"They said we should be neutral towards it– ' an honest broker.' They said we should learn to live with it– that we had nothing to fear from the Soviet Empire. Canadians knew better. So we took a stand. We stood for freedom and fundamental human rights.  We stood against oppression. … We stood with [the] brave people [of the] captive nations of Central and Eastern Europe."

I am proud to say that Canada was one of the first western countries to recognize the re-independence of the Baltic States in 1991.  And since that time, we have enhanced our diplomatic presence in the region to encourage even closer links. 
Canada' s trade relationship in the region is good and growing.  For example, our exports to Estonia in 2007 were valued at 33.25 million dollars, an increase of more than 15 per cent compared to 2006. 

And our exports to Lithuania in 2007 totalled 42.4 million dollars, an increase of 32 per cent over the previous year. 

Our exports to Latvia have been growing gradually from 13.9 million dollars in 2002 to 39.7 million dollars in 2007.

And Canada was very pleased to lift visa requirements for all three Baltic States, as well as Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. 

Canada is committed to the free and secure movement of people between the EU and Canada, and to seeing all EU member states become visa-free as soon as possible.

As Canadians, we embrace core values of democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law – values we have in common with the Baltic people.  In fact, these values inspire our relationship with the Baltic States and guide some very important work that we are all doing together

In November 2007, the Canadian and Lithuanian governments co-sponsored a workshop entitled "Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan: Today and Beyond." 
This event, which encouraged an exchange of best practices and lessons learned, took place in Vilnius and was attended by 24 countries, NATO, and involved multilateral organizations.

Canada was the first country to ratify both Latvia' s and Estonia' s entry into NATO. Estonia currently has 127 troops in Afghanistan, most of them serving as part of the Regional Command South.  And more than 260 Latvian officers have received core training through Canada' s Military Training Assistance Program.

These are just some of the many ways in which our countries connect to promote the values that are such an important part of our democratic societies.

I am very pleased to be attending this evening' s gala.  It provides an excellent opportunity to recognize the Baltic community in Canada' s significant contributions to this country' s diverse heritage, and to the strong relationship that Canada enjoys with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.  It allows us to reflect on the many positive events that are happening in the three Baltic States and to celebrate the work we are doing in common to promote democracy, freedom, the rule of law, and human rights.

As the relationships among our countries continue to flourish, I look forward to attending many more Baltic Evenings in the years to come.

Thank you.