Apparently PM Martin went to Asia to make a difference.
“So what is this all about? It is fundamentally that I believe that Canada has to make a difference in the world,” he said. “We have a very large domestic population that reflects all the world hot spots and all the world’s tensions and we have a responsibility to make a difference.” Mr. Martin said he wanted to sell Asian leaders on his proposal to establish an L-20 group of leaders from the rich and developing world to deal with global crises. The idea has been supported by China but received a cool reception in Japan and has not been endorsed by U.S. President George W. Bush. He said Canadians need to understand that the principal goal of the trip was to promote trade, but he then added he also wants to combat global poverty. “The basic message is that we can make a difference and we will make a difference,” Mr. Martin said. “The number of people who live on a dollar a day in this world is just unacceptable and … I’m going to tell you I am not going to leave that to my children and my grandchildren nor to yours, so that is what this is all about.”
You know, that sounds good to me. I do think it is the responsibility of Canadians to help in raising the standards of living in other countries. And again PM Martin is correct that the way you do this is through trade. The two are intimately connected. But when you have no expressed point to your trip or no goals to measure the results against you can distill his defense to this:
Fundamentally (you have to start every Martin message with this) it is a Canadian Value to make a difference. By being able to make a difference we will be able to make a difference. To those who say we can achieve this differently, I say, vive la différence!
