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  • (applause)

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: Merci, Monsieur le President.

  • Female Speaker:: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: Thank you, dear friends.

  • It's wonderful to see you all here today.

  • Mr. President, it's an honor to welcome you

  • to Parliament.

  • On behalf of all Canadians, welcome to our house.

  • (cheers, applause)

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: Before

  • we begin, I would like to

  • ask we begin, I would like to ask everyone

  • here today to join us in a moment of

  • silence in memory of those killed and injured in

  • yesterday's attack in Istanbul.

  • Merci.

  • Female Speaker:: Thank you.

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: Mr. President, the house

  • extraordinary moments in history.

  • It's where governments made the difficult

  • decision to send young men and women to war.

  • Decisions that forever changed our country and

  • the world.

  • It was here in 1922 that Agnes Macphail, our first

  • female member of Parliament, showed

  • generations of Canadian girls that yes, they could.

  • (cheers, applause)

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: And now, finally, this house gets

  • to see a bromance up close.

  • (laughter)

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: Thanks for making that possible --

  • (laughter)

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: -- although I still think

  • "dude-plomacy" is more accurate, but I'll get

  • over it.

  • (laughter)

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: The truth is that, while Barack and

  • I are friends, it's a friendship that is far

  • from unique.

  • [speaking foreign language]

  • Female Speaker:: Be it through family, friends,

  • social media, or even by the $2.4 billion in goods

  • and services that cross our border every day, the

  • links between Canadians and Americans are everywhere.

  • And it is through those relationships that we give

  • life to what President Kennedy stated when he

  • addressed this house: "What unites us is far

  • greater than what divides us."

  • Canadians and Americans are united in their quest

  • for peace and prosperity.

  • We all want real opportunities for success.

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: And we understand that economic

  • growth means most when it improves the lives of the

  • people who work so hard to secure it, especially the

  • middle class and those working hard to join it.

  • And we echo the values of President Roosevelt, who

  • said the test of our progress is not whether we

  • add more to the abundance of those who have so much;

  • it is whether we provide enough for those who have

  • too little.

  • Canadians and Americans are also united in our

  • desire to leave to our children and grandchildren

  • a better world - a safer, cleaner world - than the

  • one we inherited from our parents.

  • That's an ambitious goal, but not one beyond our reach.

  • Today we made an important down payment on that

  • cleaner future with the new Continental Climate

  • Change Strategy.

  • (cheers, applause)

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: And finally, and, at this moment,

  • critically, Canadians and Americans are united in

  • our understanding that diversity is a source of

  • strength, not weakness.

  • Generation after generation, our countries

  • have welcome newcomers seeking liberty and the

  • promise of a bitter life.

  • And generation after generation, our identities

  • and our economies have been enriched by these new

  • perspectives, not threatened by them.

  • The North American idea that diversity is strength

  • is our great gift to the world.

  • No matter where you are from or the faith you

  • profess, nor the color of your skin, nor whom you

  • love, you belong here.

  • This is home.

  • (cheers, applause)

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: So let us reaffirm today with our

  • American cousins the spirit that, 153 years

  • ago, Abraham Lincoln called "the last, best

  • hope on Earth": openness, diversity, inclusion,

  • responsible self-government, freedom

  • for all people - these ideas are as important

  • today as they have ever been.

  • And we will promote them together.

  • On all these things - on economic opportunity, on

  • the environment, on building a more inclusive

  • and diverse society - Canadians and Americans agree.

  • [speaking foreign language]

  • Female Speaker:: When people say that the

  • President and I share a special relationship,

  • there's something that they often don't realize:

  • We're not inspired by each other, but by the people

  • whom we have the privilege of serving.

  • From the mother who does overtime in order to pay

  • her rent and buy new clothing for her daughter

  • and save a little money to help her parents; from the

  • retiree who gives his time to teaching children the

  • importance of wetlands; the communities that come

  • together after a natural disaster or who walk

  • side-by-side, hand-in-hand, to affirm

  • the right to love one another.

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: These are the stories I will think

  • of when I consider President Obama's time

  • in office.

  • History books will record the signature policies,

  • but I will remember -- what I hope we all will

  • remember - are the lessons that you taught us not by

  • executive order but by example.

  • That we are accountable --

  • (cheers, applause)

  • Prime Minister Trudeau: The lesson that we are accountable

  • to each other, that we are stronger together than we

  • are apart, that we are more alike than we are

  • different, and that there is a place in this world

  • for politics that is hopeful, hardworking,

  • ambitious, and kind.

  • Mr. President, in your last State of the Union

  • Address you said of the American people that they

  • are clear-eyed, big-hearted, undaunted,

  • and optimistic.

  • I can think of no better way to describe their leader.

  • Barack, welcome to Canada.

  • [speaking foreign language]

  • Female Speaker:: Ladies and gentlemen, the President

  • of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

  • (cheers, applause)

  • President Obama: Thank you so much.

  • Thank you.

  • (applause)

  • Thank you, everybody.

  • (applause)

  • Thank you so much.

  • Thank you.

  • Please, everyone have a seat.

  • Thank you.

  • (applause)

  • Thank you so much.

  • Good evening.

  • Bonjour.

  • Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Speaker, members of the

  • House, members of the Senate, distinguished

  • guests, people of Canada -- thank you for this

  • extraordinary welcome, which temps me to just shut up

  • and leave.

  • (laughter)

  • Because it can't get any better than this.

  • (laughter)

  • Obviously I'm grateful for the warm welcome.

  • I'm extraordinarily grateful for the close working

  • relationship and friendship with your outstanding Prime

  • Minister, Justin Trudeau, and his extraordinary

  • wife, Sophie.

  • But I think it's fair to say that much of this greeting

  • is simply a reflection of the extraordinary alliance

  • and deep friendship between Canadians and Americans.

  • Justin, thank you for your very kind words, and for the

  • new energy and hope that your leadership has brought

  • to your nation as well as to the alliance.

  • My time in office may be nearing an end, but I know

  • that Canada -- and the world -- will benefit from your

  • leadership for years to come.

  • (applause)

  • So Canada was the very first country that I visited

  • as President.

  • It was in February.

  • (laughter)

  • It was colder.

  • (laughter)

  • I was younger.

  • (laughter)

  • Michelle now refers to my hair as the Great White North.

  • (laughter)

  • And on that visit, I strolled around the ByWard

  • Market, tried a "beaver tail" --

  • (laughter)

  • -- which is better than it sounds.

  • (laughter)

  • And I was struck then, as I am again today, by the

  • warmth of the Canadians.

  • I could not be more honored to be joining you in this

  • historic hall -- this cathedral of freedom.

  • And we Americans can never say it enough -- we could

  • not ask for a better friend or ally than Canada.

  • (applause)

  • We could not.

  • It's true.

  • It is true.

  • And we do not take it for granted.

  • That does not mean we don't have our differences.

  • As I understand it, one of the reasons the Queen chose

  • this site for Parliament was that it was a safe distance

  • from America's border.

  • (laughter)

  • And I admit, in the War of 1812, American troops did

  • some damage to Toronto.

  • I suspect that there were some people up here who

  • didn't mind when the British returned the favor and

  • burned down the White House.

  • (laughter)

  • In more recent times, however, the only forces

  • crossing our borders are the armies of tourists and

  • businesspeople and families who are shopping and doing

  • business and visiting loved ones.

  • Our only battles take place inside the hockey rink.

  • Even there, there's an uneasy peace that

  • is maintained.

  • As Americans, we, too, celebrate the life of

  • Mr. Hockey himself, the late, great Gordie Howe.

  • (applause)

  • Just as Canadians can salute American teams for winning

  • more Stanley Cups in the NHL.

  • (laughter)

  • Audience: Ooooh --

  • President Obama: I told you I should

  • have stopped after the applause.

  • (laughter)

  • But in a world where too many borders are a source of

  • conflict, our two countries are joined by the longest

  • border of peace on Earth.

  • (applause)

  • And what makes our relationship so unique is

  • not just proximity.

  • It's our enduring commitment to a set of values -- a

  • spirit, alluded to by Justin, that says no matter

  • who we are, where we come from, what our last names

  • are, what faith we practice, here we can make of our

  • lives what we will.

  • It was the grit of pioneers and prospectors who pushed

  • West across a forbidding frontier.

  • The dreams of generations -- immigrants, refugees -- that

  • we've welcomed to these shores.

  • The hope of run-away slaves who went north on an

  • underground railroad.

  • "Deep in our history of struggle," said Dr. Martin

  • Luther King, Jr., "Canada was the north star...

  • The freedom road links us together."

  • We're bound as well by the service of those who've

  • defended us -- at Flanders Field, the beaches of

  • Normandy, in the skies of the Balkans, and more

  • recently, in the mountains of Afghanistan, and training

  • bases in Iraq.

  • Their sacrifice is reflected in the silent rows of

  • Arlington and in the Peace Tower above us.

  • Today we honor those who gave their lives for all of us.

  • (applause)

  • We're linked together, as well, by the institutions

  • that we've built to keep the peace: A United Nations to

  • advance our collective aspirations.

  • A NATO alliance to ensure our security.

  • NORAD, where Americans and Canadians stand watch side

  • by side -- and track Santa on Christmas Eve.

  • (laughter)

  • We're linked by a vast web of commerce that carries

  • goods from one end of this continent to another.

  • And we're linked by the ties of friendship and family --

  • in my case, an outstanding brother-in-law in Burlington.

  • (applause)

  • Had to give Burlington a shout out.

  • (applause)

  • Our relationship is so remarkable precisely because

  • it seems so unremarkable -- which is why Americans often

  • are surprised when our favorite American actor or

  • singer turns out to be Canadian!

  • (applause)

  • The point is we see ourselves in each other, and

  • our lives are richer for it.

  • As President, I've deepened the ties between our countries.

  • And because of the progress we've made in recent years,

  • I can stand before you and say that the enduring

  • partnership between Canada and the United States is as

  • strong as it has ever been, and we are more closely

  • aligned than ever before.

  • (applause)

  • And yet, we meet at a pivotal moment for our

  • nations and for the globe.

  • From this vibrant capital, we can look upon a world

  • that has benefited enormously from the

  • international order that we helped to build together'

  • but we can see that same order increasingly strained

  • by the accelerating forces of change.

  • The world is by most every measure less violent than

  • ever before; but it remains riven by old divisions and

  • fresh hatreds.

  • The world is more connected than ever before; but even

  • as it spreads knowledge and the possibility of greater

  • understanding between peoples, it also empowers

  • terrorists who spread hatred and death -- most recently

  • in Orlando and Istanbul.

  • The world is more prosperous than ever before, but

  • alongside globalization and technological wonders we

  • also see a rise in inequality and wage

  • stagnation across the advanced economies, leaving

  • too many workers and communities fearful of

  • diminishing prospects, not just for themselves, but

  • more importantly, for their children.

  • And in the face of such rising uncertainty, it is

  • not enough to look at aggregate growth rates, or

  • stock prices, or the pace of digital innovation.

  • If the benefits of globalization accrue only to

  • those at the very top, if our democracies seem

  • incapable of assuring broad-based growth and

  • opportunity for everyone, then people will push back,

  • out of anger or out of fear.

  • And politicians -- some sincere, and some entirely

  • cynical -- will tap that anger and fear, harkening

  • back to bygone days of order and predictability and

  • national glory, arguing that we must rebuild walls and

  • disengage from a chaotic world, or rid ourselves of

  • the supposed ills brought on by immigrants -- all in

  • order to regain control of our lives.

  • We saw some of these currents at work this past

  • week in the United Kingdom's referendum to leave the

  • European Union.

  • Despite some of the initial reactions, I am confident

  • that the process can be managed in a prudent,

  • orderly way.

  • I expect that our friends on both sides of the Channel

  • will develop a workable plan for how to move forward.

  • And I'm equally confident that the Transatlantic

  • values that we all share as liberal, market-based

  • democracies are deeper and stronger than any single event.

  • But while the circumstances of Brexit may be unique to

  • the United Kingdom, the frustrations people felt

  • are not.

  • The short-term fallout of Brexit can be sensibly

  • managed, but the long-term trends of inequality and

  • dislocation and the resulting social division --

  • those can't be ignored.

  • How we respond to the forces of globalization and

  • technological change will determine the durability of

  • an international order that ensures security and

  • prosperity for future generations.

  • And fortunately, the partnership between the

  • United States and Canada shows the path we need

  • to travel.

  • For our history and our work together speak to a common

  • set of values to build on --proven values, values that

  • your Prime Minister spoke of in his introduction --

  • values of pluralism and tolerance, rule of law,

  • openness; global engagement and commerce and

  • cooperation, coupled with equal opportunity and an

  • investment in our people at home.

  • As Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once said, "A

  • country, after all, is not something you build as the

  • pharaohs build the pyramids, and then leave standing

  • there to defy eternity.

  • A country is something that is built every day out of

  • certain basic shared values."

  • What is true of countries is true of the world.

  • And that's what I want to talk about today -- how to

  • strengthen our institutions to advance these commitments

  • in a rapidly changing world.

  • Let me start with our shared economic vision.

  • In all we do, our commitment to opportunity for all of

  • our people has to be at the centerpiece of our work.

  • We are so fortunate because both of our countries are so

  • well-positioned to succeed in the 21st century.

  • Our two nations know firsthand the awesome power

  • of free markets and innovation.

  • Canadians help run some of Silicon Valley's most

  • innovative companies.

  • Our students study at each other's

  • world-class universities.

  • We invest in research and development, and make

  • decisions based on science and evidence.

  • And it works.

  • It's what's created these extraordinary economies of ours.

  • But if the financial crisis and recent recession taught

  • us anything, it's that economies do better when

  • everyone has a chance to succeed.

  • For a long time, it was thought that countries had

  • to choose between economic growth or economic inclusion.

  • But it turns out that's a false choice.

  • If a CEO makes more in a day than a typical employee

  • makes in a year, that kind of inequality is not just

  • bad for morale in the company, it turns out it's

  • bad for the economy -- that worker is not a very good

  • customer for business.

  • (applause)

  • If a young man in Ohio can't pay his student loans, or a

  • young woman in Ontario can't pay her bills, that has

  • ramifications for our economy.

  • It tamps down the possibilities of growth.

  • So we need growth that is broad and that lifts

  • everybody up -- including tax policies that do right

  • by working families, and robust safety nets for those

  • who fall on hard times.

  • As John Kenneth Galbraith once said, "the common

  • denominator of progress" is our people.

  • It's not numbers, it's not abstractions, it's how are

  • our people doing.

  • Of course, many who share this progressive, inclusive

  • vision can be heard now arguing that investments in

  • our people, protection for our workers, fair tax

  • policies, these things are not enough.

  • For them, globalization is inherently rigged towards

  • the top one percent, and therefore, what's needed is

  • an end to trade agreements and various international

  • institutions and arrangements that integrate

  • national economies.

  • And I understand that vision.

  • I know why it's tempting.

  • It seems as if we draw a line around our borders that

  • it will give us more control, particularly when

  • the benefits of trade and economic integration are

  • sometimes hard to see or easy to take for granted,

  • and very specific dislocations are obvious

  • and real.

  • There's just one problem: Restricting trade or giving

  • in to protectionism in this 21st century economy will

  • not work.

  • (applause)

  • It will not work.

  • Even if we wanted to, we can't seal ourselves off

  • from the rest of the world.

  • The day after Brexit, people looked around and said, oh!

  • (laughter)

  • How is this going to work?

  • The drag that economic weakness in Europe and China

  • and other countries is having on our own economies

  • right now speaks to the degree to which we depend --

  • our economies depend, our jobs, our businesses depend

  • -- on selling goods and services around the world.

  • Very few of our domestic industries can sever what is

  • now truly a global supply chain.

  • And so, for those of us who truly believe that our

  • economies have to work for everybody, the answer is not

  • to try and pull back from our interconnected world; it

  • is rather to engage with the rest of the world, to shape

  • the rules so they're good for our workers and good for

  • our businesses.

  • And the experience between our two nations points

  • the way.

  • The United States and Canada have the largest bilateral

  • trade and investment relationship in the world --

  • and we are stronger for it.

  • (applause)

  • It means a company in Quebec can create jobs in

  • North Carolina.

  • And a start-up in Toronto can attract investment

  • from Texas.

  • Now, the problem is that some economies in many of

  • the fastest-growing regions of the world -- particularly

  • the Asia Pacific region -- don't always abide by the

  • same rules.

  • They impose unfair tariffs; or they suppress workers'

  • rights; or they maintain low environmental standards that

  • make it hard for our businesses to compete fairly.

  • With the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we have the

  • ability to not only open up these markets to U.S.

  • and Canadian products and eliminate thousands of these

  • unfair tariffs -- which, by the way, we need to do

  • because they're already selling here under existing

  • rules, but we're not selling as much as we should over

  • there -- but it also affords us the opportunity to

  • increase protections for workers and the environment,

  • and promote human rights, including strong

  • prohibitions against human trafficking and child labor.

  • And that way our workers are competing on a level playing

  • field, and our businesses are less prone to pursue a

  • race to the bottom.

  • And when combined with increased investments in our

  • own people's education, and skills and training, and

  • infrastructure and research and development and

  • connectivity, then we can spur the kind of sustained

  • growth that makes all of us better off.

  • (applause)

  • All of us.

  • The point is we need to look forward, not look backward.

  • And more trade and more people-to-people ties can

  • also help break down old divides.

  • I thank Canada for its indispensable role in

  • hosting our negotiations with the Cuban government,

  • and supporting our efforts to set aside half a century

  • of failed policies to begin a new chapter with

  • the Cuban people.

  • (applause)

  • I know a lot of Canadians like going to Cuba --

  • (laughter)

  • -- maybe because there haven't been Americans

  • crowding the streets and the beaches.

  • But that's changing.

  • (laughter)

  • And as more Americans engage with the Cuban people, it

  • will mean more economic opportunity and more hope

  • for ordinary Cubans.

  • We also agree, us Americans and Canadians, that wealthy

  • countries like ours cannot reach our full potential

  • while others remain mired in poverty.

  • That, too, is not going to change in this

  • interconnected world; that if there is poverty and

  • disease and conflict in other parts of the world, it

  • spills over, as much as we'd like to pretend that we can

  • block it out.

  • So, with our commitment to new Sustainable Development

  • Goals, we have the chance to end the outrage of

  • extreme poverty.

  • (applause)

  • We can bring more electricity to Africa, so

  • that students can study at night and businesses can

  • stay open.

  • We can banish the scourge of malaria and Zika.

  • We can realize our goal of the first

  • AIDS-free generation.

  • (applause)

  • We can do that.

  • It's within our grasp.

  • And we can help those who are working to replace

  • corruption with transparent, accountable institutions

  • that serve their people.

  • As leaders in global development, the United

  • States and Canada understand that development is not

  • charity -- it's an investment in our

  • future prosperity.

  • (applause)

  • Because not only do such investments and policies

  • help poor countries, they're going to create billions of

  • customers for U.S.

  • and Canadian products, and they'll make less likely the

  • spread of deadly epidemics to our shores, and they'll

  • stabilize parts of the word that threaten the security

  • of our people.

  • In fact, both the United States and Canada believe

  • our own security -- and not just prosperity -- is

  • enhanced when we stand up for the rights of all

  • nations and peoples to live in security and peace.

  • (applause)

  • And even as there are times when unilateral action is

  • necessary to defend our people, we believe that in a

  • world where wars between great powers are far less

  • likely but transnational threats like terrorism know

  • no boundaries, our security is best advanced when

  • nations work together.

  • We believe that disputes that do arise between

  • nations should be, wherever possible, resolved

  • peacefully, with diplomacy; that international

  • organizations should be supported; that

  • multilateralism is not a dirty word.

  • (applause)

  • And certainly, we're more secure when we stand united

  • against terrorist networks and ideologies that have

  • reached to the very doorstep of this hall.

  • We honor all those taken from us by violent

  • extremists, including Canadians John Ridsdel and

  • Robert Hall.

  • (applause)

  • With Canada's additional contributions, including

  • training Iraqi forces, our coalition is on the

  • offensive across Iraq, across Syria.

  • And we will destroy the terrorist group ISIL.

  • (applause)

  • We will destroy them.

  • We'll continue helping local forces and sharing

  • intelligence, from Afghanistan to the

  • Philippines, so that we're pushing back comprehensively

  • against terrorist networks.

  • And in contrast to the hatred and the nihilism of

  • terrorists, we'll work with partners around the world,

  • including, particularly, Muslim communities, to offer

  • a better vision and a path of development, and

  • opportunity, and tolerance.

  • (applause)

  • Because they are, and must be, our partners in

  • this effort.

  • (applause)

  • Meanwhile, when nations violate international rules

  • and norms -- such as Russia's aggression against

  • Ukraine -- the United States and Canada stand united,

  • along with our allies, in defense of our

  • collective security.

  • (applause)

  • Doing so requires a range of tools, like economic

  • sanctions, but it also requires that we keep our

  • forces ready for 21st century missions, and invest

  • in new capabilities.

  • As your ally and as your friend, let me say that

  • we'll be more secure when every NATO member, including

  • Canada, contributes its full share to our

  • common security.

  • (applause)

  • Because the Canadian armed forces are really good --

  • (applause)

  • -- and if I can borrow a phrase, the world needs

  • more Canada.

  • NATO needs more Canada.

  • (applause)

  • We need you.

  • We need you.

  • Just as we join together in our common defense, so must

  • we work together diplomatically, particularly

  • to avert war.

  • Diplomacy results are rarely quick, but it turns out even

  • the most intractable conflicts can be resolved.

  • Here in our own hemisphere, just in the last few weeks,

  • after half a century of war, Colombia is poised to

  • achieve an historic peace.

  • (applause)

  • And the nations of North America will be an important

  • partner to Colombia going forward, including working

  • to remove landmines.

  • Around the world, Canadian and American diplomats

  • working together can make a difference.

  • Even in Syria, where the agony and the suffering of

  • the Syrian people tears at our hearts, our two nations

  • continue to be leaders in humanitarian aid to the

  • Syrian people.

  • And although a true resolution of this conflict

  • so far has eluded us, we know that the only solution

  • to this civil war is a political solution, so that

  • the Syrian people can reclaim their country and

  • live in peace.

  • And Canadians and Americans are going to work as hard as

  • we can to make that happen.

  • (applause)

  • I should add that here in the nation of Lester

  • Pearson, we reaffirm our commitment to keep

  • strengthening the peacekeeping that saves

  • lives around the world.

  • There is one threat, however, that we cannot

  • solve militarily, nor can we solve alone -- and that is

  • the threat of climate change.

  • Now, climate change is no longer an abstraction.

  • It's not an issue we can put off for the future.

  • It is happening now.

  • It is happening here, in our own countries.

  • The United States and Canada are both Arctic nations, and

  • last year, when I became the first U.S.

  • President to visit the Arctic, I could see the

  • effects myself.

  • Glaciers -- like Canada's Athabasca Glacier -- are

  • melting at alarming rates.

  • Tundra is burning.

  • Permafrost is thawing.

  • This is not a conspiracy.

  • It's happening.

  • Within a generation, Arctic sea ice may all but

  • disappear in the summer.

  • And so skeptics and cynics can insist on denying what's

  • right in front of our eyes.

  • But the Alaska Natives that I met, whose ancestral

  • villages are sliding into the sea -- they don't have

  • that luxury.

  • They know climate change is real.

  • They know it is not a hoax.

  • And from Bangladesh to the Pacific islands, rising seas

  • are swallowing land and forcing people from their homes.

  • Around the world, stronger storms and more intense

  • droughts will create humanitarian crises and risk

  • more conflict.

  • This is not just a moral issue, not just a economic

  • issue, it is also an urgent matter of our

  • national security.

  • And for too long, we've heard that confronting

  • climate change means destroying our own economies.

  • But let me just say, carbon emissions in the United

  • States are back to where they were two decades ago,

  • even as we've grown our economy dramatically over

  • the same period.

  • Alberta, the oil country of Canada, is working hard to

  • reduce emissions while still promoting growth.

  • (applause)

  • So if Canada can do it, and the United States can do it,

  • the whole world can unleash economic growth and protect

  • our planet.

  • We can do this.

  • (applause)

  • We can do it.

  • We can do this.

  • We can help lead the world to meet this threat.

  • Already, together in Paris, we achieved the most

  • ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change.

  • Now let's bring it into force this year.

  • (applause)

  • With our agreement with Mexico that we announced

  • today, let's generate half the electricity on this

  • continent from clean energy sources within a decade.

  • That's achievable.

  • (applause)

  • Let's partner in the Arctic to help give its people the

  • opportunity they deserve, while conserving the only

  • home they know.

  • And building on the idea that began in Montreal three

  • decades ago, let's finally phase down dangerous HFC

  • greenhouse gases.

  • This is the only planet we've got.

  • And this may be the last shot we've got to save it.

  • And America and Canada are going to need to lead the way.

  • (applause)

  • We're going to have to lead the way.

  • Just as we are joined in our commitment to protecting the

  • planet, we are also joined in our commitment to the

  • dignity of every human being.

  • We believe in the right of all people to participate

  • in society.

  • We believe in the right of all people to be treated

  • equally, to have an equal shot at success.

  • That is in our DNA, the basic premise of

  • our democracies.

  • I think we can all agree that our democracies are far

  • from perfect.

  • They can be messy, and they can be slow, and they can

  • leave all sides of a debate unsatisfied.

  • Justin is just getting started.

  • (laughter)

  • So in case you hadn't figured that out, that's

  • where this gray hair comes from.

  • (laughter)

  • But more than any other system of government,

  • democracy allows our most precious rights to find

  • their fullest expression, enabling us, through the

  • hard, painstaking work of citizenship, to continually

  • make our countries better.

  • To solve new challenges.

  • To right past wrongs.

  • And, Prime Minister, what a powerful message of

  • reconciliation it was -- here and around the world --

  • when your government pledged a new relationship with

  • Canada's First Nations.

  • (applause)

  • Democracy is not easy.

  • It's hard.

  • Living up to our ideals can be difficult even in the

  • best of times.

  • And it can be harder when the future seems uncertain,

  • or when, in response to legitimate fears and

  • frustrations, there are those who offer a politics

  • of "us" versus "them," a politics that scapegoats

  • others -- the immigrant, the refugee, someone who seems

  • different than us.

  • We have to call this mentality what it is -- a

  • threat to the values that we profess, the values we seek

  • to defend.

  • It's because we respect all people that the world looks

  • to us as an example.

  • The colors of the rainbow flag have flown on

  • Parliament Hill.

  • They have lit up the White House.

  • That is a testament to our progress, but also the work

  • that remains to ensure true equality for our fellow

  • citizens who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

  • (applause)

  • Our Muslim friends and neighbors who run

  • businesses, and serve in our governments and in our armed

  • forces, and are friends with our children, play on our

  • sports teams -- we've got to stand up against the slander

  • and the hate leveled against those who look or

  • worship differently.

  • That's our obligation.

  • That's who we are.

  • That's what makes America special.

  • That's what makes Canada special.

  • (applause)

  • Here.

  • Here in Canada.

  • (applause)

  • Here in Canada, a woman has already risen to the highest

  • office in the land.

  • In America, for the first time, a woman is the

  • presumptive nominee of a major party and

  • perhaps President.

  • (applause)

  • I have a bias on these issues --

  • (laughter)

  • -- but our work won't be finished until all women in

  • our country are truly equal -- paid equally, treated

  • equally, given the same opportunities as men, when

  • our girls have the same opportunities as our boys.

  • (applause)

  • That's who we need to be.

  • (applause)

  • And let me say this -- because I don't feel

  • particularly politically correct on this issue -- I

  • don't believe that these are American values or Canadian

  • values or Western values.

  • I believe, and Justin believes, and I hope all of

  • you believe, these are universal values.

  • And we must be bold in their defense, at home and around

  • the world.

  • (applause)

  • And not shy away from speaking up on behalf of

  • these values of pluralism and tolerance and equality.

  • (applause)

  • I fear sometimes that we are timid in defense of

  • these values.

  • That's why I will continue to stand up for those

  • inalienable rights, here in our own hemisphere -- in

  • places like Cuba and Venezuela -- but also in

  • more distant lands.

  • For the rights of citizens in civil society to speak

  • their mind and work for change.

  • For the right of journalists to report the truth.

  • For the right of people of all faiths to practice their

  • religion freely.

  • Those things are hard, but they're right.

  • They're not always convenient, but they're true.

  • In the end, it is this respect for the dignity of

  • all people, especially the most vulnerable among us,

  • that perhaps more than anything else binds our two

  • countries together.

  • Being Canadian, being American is not about what

  • we look like or where our families came from.

  • It is about our commitment to a common creed.

  • And that's why, together, we must not waver in embracing

  • our values, our best selves.

  • And that includes our history as a nation of

  • immigrants, and we must continue to welcome people

  • from around the world.

  • (applause)

  • The vibrancy of our economies are enhanced by

  • the addition of new, striving immigrants.

  • But this is not just a matter of economics.

  • When refugees escape barrel bombs and torture, and

  • migrants cross deserts and seas seeking a better life,

  • we cannot simply look the other way.

  • We certainly can't label as possible terrorists

  • vulnerable people who are fleeing terrorists.

  • (applause)

  • We can insist that the process is orderly.

  • We can insist that our security is preserved.

  • Borders mean something.

  • But in moments like this, we are called upon to see

  • ourselves in others, because we were all once strangers.

  • If you weren't a stranger, your grandparents

  • were strangers.

  • Your great-grandparents were strangers.

  • They didn't all have their papers ready.

  • They fumbled with language faced discrimination, had

  • cultural norms that didn't fit.

  • At some point, somewhere, your family was an outsider.

  • So the mothers, the fathers, the children we see today --

  • they're us.

  • We can't forsake them.

  • So, as Americans and Canadians, we will continue

  • to welcome refugees, and we can ensure that we're doing

  • so in a way that maintains our security.

  • We can and we will do both.

  • (applause)

  • We can and we will do both.

  • We're increasing our support to Central America, so that

  • fewer families and children attempt the dangerous

  • journey north.

  • This fall at the United Nations, we'll host a global

  • summit on refugees, because in the face of this crisis,

  • more nations need to step up and meet our basic

  • obligations to our fellow human beings.

  • And it will be difficult, and budgets are tight, and

  • there are legitimate issues and not everybody is going

  • to be helped.

  • But we can try.

  • People of goodwill and compassion show us the way.

  • Greek islanders pulling families to shore.

  • And Germans handing out sweets to migrants at

  • railway stations.

  • A synagogue in Virginia inviting Syrian refugees

  • to dinner.

  • And here, in Canada, the world has been inspired as

  • Canadians across this country have opened up their

  • hearts and their homes.

  • And we've watched citizens knitting tuques to keep

  • refugees warm in the winter.

  • (laughter)

  • And we've seen your Prime Minister welcome new

  • arrivals at the airport, and extend the hand of

  • friendship and say, "You're safe at home now."

  • And we see the refugees who feel that they have a

  • special duty to give back, and seize the opportunities

  • of a new life.

  • Like the girl who fled Afghanistan by donkey and

  • camel and jet plane, and who remembers being greeted in

  • this country by helping hands and the sound of

  • robins singing.

  • And today, she serves in this chamber, and in the

  • cabinet, because Canada is her home.

  • (applause)

  • A country "is not something you build as the pharaohs

  • built the pyramids...a country is something that is

  • built every day out of certain basic shared values."

  • How true that is.

  • How blessed we are to have had people before us, day by

  • day, brick by brick, build these extraordinary

  • countries of ours.

  • How fortunate, how privileged we are to have

  • the opportunity to now, ourselves, build this

  • world anew.

  • What a blessing.

  • And as we go forward together, on that freedom

  • road, let's stay true to the values that make us who we

  • are -- Canadians and Americans, allies and

  • friends, now and forever.

  • Thank you very much.

  • Merci beaucoup.

  • (applause)

  • Thank you.

(applause)

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