Canada in the World of Today

MR. KENT: It is a great pleasure for me on behalf of the Canadian Club and the Empire Club to welcome as our guest today, the Honourable Howard Green, a Privy Councillor and the Secretary of State for External Affairs.

He addressed a joint meeting of our Clubs just over three years ago on November 26th, 1959. At that time he had been Canada's Minister of External Affairs for about five months. Since then Mr. Green has grown in fame and stature and I am sure in knowledge as the head of the Department responsible for some 85 Canadian diplomatic missions, for our relations with the members of the British Commonwealth, with the United States and for the part we play in the United Nations. The members of our Clubs are anxious to be kept informed on world events which affect our country or the Commonwealth and, therefore, are delighted to hear the person who can speak with the greatest authority about such events.

Mr. Green was born in British Columbia and I believe still considers his home is in the West. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1915, then served overseas from 1915 to 1919, returning with the rank of Staff Captain, having been mentioned in Dispatches. He and I were in the same classes at Osgoode Hall in 1919 and 1920. Also, I believe the Honourable Mr. Frost, who is present today, attended those classes. The Law Society provided a summer course for our third and final year and my recollection is that everyone passed, although some of the hard and seasoned veterans had great difficulty in going without smoking for three hours while writing examinations.

Mr. Green was elected to the House of Commons in 1935 and has not lost an election since. He occupied the posts of Minister of Public Works and Acting Minister of Defence Production from 1957 to 1959. He has established an enviable reputation for his unswerving integrity, for his deep attachment to the British Commonwealth and for his loyalty to Canada.

I present the Honourable Howard Green, P.C., Q.C., M.P., whose subject is: "Canada in the World of Today."

HON. HOWARD GREEN: May I say how happy I am to be here speaking once again to the Empire Club and the Canadian Club. It is a particularly pleasant occasion for me, because I have these two old friends on either side; meeting them again brings back memories of days at Osgoode Hall when we were just back from the First War, full of ambition and determined that if we did nothing else, we would see that Canada had good government. I must pay tribute to the way in which my old friend Les Frost achieved that aim.

Today, I am speaking on the subject of "Canada in the World of Today." May I point out that Canada is heavily involved in practically every part of the world, and I think is helpfully involved, working with unselfish motives, trying to do what she can to better conditions throughout the whole world.

First of all, with the United Kingdom and the United States; our relations with both of these leading powers are and have been extremely close. We are dealing with them in all parts of the world, practically on an hour-to-hour basis, and these, of course, will continue to be Canada's main contacts in the years ahead.

Then in Europe, largely through our membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, we come in very close contact with twelve other countries, all European; in the course of the development of NATO, representatives of the member countries have grown to understand each other very well, and there is really quite a spirit of brotherhood.

I am leaving next Tuesday for a NATO meeting in Paris, and there will meet old friends and we will talk things over in a most informal and friendly way. Mind you, we also have other extremely close friends in Europe, for example, Ireland, Austria, Sweden and Switzerland. With all of these countries our relations are good. Then, of course, we are involved in the Commonwealth, and these nations of the Commonwealth are in all the continents; I will have something to say later on the Commonwealth. We are also involved in the Middle East, where we have about nine hundred young Canadians serving in the United Nations Emergency Force in the Gaza Strip, with other young Canadians on truce supervisory teams in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon. This, of course, is a difficult area in which to operate, and Canada is quite heavily involved there.

In Asia, too, we play quite a part; for example, under the Colombo Plan which brings us into contact with all the countries of southeast Asia, most of them members of the Commonwealth, but others as well. In the former IndoChina, Canada is serving on Truce Commissions for Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos. A few months ago, along with thirteen other countries, we signed an agreement in Geneva which it was hoped would bring a settlement in Laos. The Foreign Minister sitting next to me there was the Foreign Minister of Red China; we had quite an unusual group at that conference. Canada was there as a member of the Truce Supervisory Commission for Laos and I think played a significant part in bringing about the success of that conference. Canadians also serve on a truce commission in Kashmir between the Indians and the Pakistanis.

Then we are also involved in Australasia; Canadians are serving in West New Guinea under the United Nations which has the supervision of that country until the Indonesians take over from the Netherlands next May. In Africa we have young men in the Congo; only three western countries have any substantial number of troops there, the other two being Sweden and Ireland. Because we have these troops there, we serve on the Congo Committee of the United Nations, along with others I have mentioned and with about fifteen African and Asian countries. Canada has been able to bring moderation into the deliberations of that committee.

Also we have contact with the Commonwealth countries in Africa and with the French-African countries. There are about 15-I can never be quite sure of the number-14 or 15 French-speaking nations, members of a group which corresponds to our own Commonwealth, and we are able to keep in very close contact with these French-speaking nations. We have a plan for helping them, by training their students and sending out teachers; and at the United Nations we have delegates whose main job is promoting friendship with these French-speaking nations. This not only helps in Canada but also helps us in the United Nations, where we need a lot of friends if we ever want to have any of our ideas accepted.

In Latin America and in the Caribbean, we also have many contacts. We have gone out of our way to build up friendships with our neighbours of the Western Hemisphere. We haven't actually taken the step of joining the O.A.S., and it is very interesting to me as I go around the country to ask audiences whether they think we should or should not join the O.A.S. I did that just last week at the University of Toronto and at York University, and in each case the result was about fifty-fifty. Probably that reflects the feelings across the country.

Then, of course, at the U.N. we are very heavily involved, I think in a very helpful way; also in the Disarmament Conferences at Geneva, where Canada is serving as one of the four western countries. France refuses to participate, otherwise there would be five. In addition we are on very good terms with the eight unaligned members at that Conference. We have diplomatic relations now with about eighty-five countries. That is almost double the number with which we had relations five years ago. We have about three hundred and sixty-five foreign service officers who are the key men in the Department of External Affairs, and you will be interested to know that eighty-three of them are graduates of my old alma mater, the University of Toronto, almost double the number from any other Canadian university.

It all adds up to the fact that in 1962, Canada is one of the leading middle powers; not ranking of course with the great powers like the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and France, but as one of the leading nations in the next group; one which I think has greater growth potential than any of the other middle powers, and a country, which could become one of the great powers of the world.

That is a rough sketch of the degree to which we are involved in the world today.

Then a few thoughts about three of these particular activities. First of all, the Commonwealth. I know it is of great interest to both of your clubs, more so than it would be to any other clubs in Canada. Certainly no clubs in Canada are more interested in the Commonwealth. It has great traditions, for example traditions of the two World Wars. How long was it in the last one that this Commonwealth was standing alone and saving civilization? Today it is a changed Commonwealth. Today there are four of the old members, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and twelve new members. Two months ago I had the privilege of participating in the Prime Ministers' conference in London, and I wish each one of you could have been there just to see the group assembled, sitting at a large oval table, Prime Minister Macmillan sitting on one side, Canada opposite as the senior member, and then Australia, India, Ceylon, Malaya, Cyprus, Tanganyika, and Trinidad to our right; on our left New Zealand, Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, and Sir Roy Welensky, representing the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. There was something about it which touched one's emotions, which I cannot adequately describe, and I think that was the reaction of everyone present at that table.

There are, of course, many significant features of the Commonwealth. One is the common allegiance to the Crown, which is of great value. Her Majesty the Queen is the Queen of Canada; in some others she is recognized as head of the Commonwealth; but there is an allegiance which means so much in keeping the Commonwealth together. Also there is a sense of belonging, belonging to a club, and I think it is of great importance not only to older countries like Canada, but also to the new nations; the Commonwealth stands for something fine today and they are proud to be be members; everyone expressed this view at the Prime Ministers' Conference. Then the new countries are linked in the sense that the Commonwealth brought them their independence. This was brought about by the British, and I think the British have exercised outstanding statesmanship in the way in which they have launched these new nations. Incidentally, at the conference of Prime Ministers there was unanimity in urging the cause of disarmament. The Commonwealth must stand for disarmament, because it would be broken into pieces if there should be a third World War. I believe that the Commonwealth stands today for the dignity of the individual, regardless of race or creed or colour. Every member nation stands for the dignity of the individual. As the Commonwealth is made up today, it is vital that the value of the individual be maintained, otherwise the Commonwealth cannot endure. I think it is the best bridge there is between the races, and between the continents.

At Commonwealth meetings, Canada speaks first after Great Britain. She is, of course, a former Colony; an outstanding example of what a Colony can become, and looked on as such by all the new countries of the world, Canada is looked on to set standards. Don't ever forget that. We have that obligation to be careful about the standards we accept. I haven't time to go into details, but there are plans under which Commonwealth students come to Canada. Also, a few weeks ago I had the privilege of saying good-bye to 75 or 80 Canadian teachers at their final briefing before leaving for other parts of the Commonwealth; they were there with their wives and children, and the spirit of that group was amazing; it was very much like the old missionary days when young people went out, particularly from Toronto, to China and India and Japan, with fervour and zeal, knowing that they were doing something worth while in the world. Some of these teachers were older people, they were not all young people.

We are going to have a Commonwealth educational conference in Canada in 1964. This body supervises the Commonwealth scholarships which were initiated by my predecessor, the Honourable Sidney Smith, under which a thousand young people from the Commonwealth get a two-year course in one or other of the Commonwealth universities. We have about two hundred and fifty here in Canada at all times.

One other aspect of the Commonwealth I would like to mention is that we owe it to the United Kingdom to help her out when she is attacked on the Colonialism issue. There have been some very nasty attacks in the U.N., led in every case or stirred up by the Soviet Union; attacks on Britain and France as colonial powers, when these two great nations have been launching nation after nation; think of the nerve of the Communists in spearheading attacks of this kind, particularly when you look at what they have done in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and so on. I have attacked the Soviets in the U.N. on this point, largely for the purpose of defending and trying to help the British beat off the attacks which have been made on them. Canada has an obligation to do no less, and we suggested at the Prime Ministers' conference that so had the other members of the Commonwealth.

Canada has a great responsibility for maintaining the Commonwealth and developing it.. Don't take it for granted. Nothing can continue long if it is taken for granted. I know that the members of these two great clubs will see to it that in Toronto the new Commonwealth will not be taken for granted. It needs a lot of maintaining. It needs a lot of help, new ideas must be worked out, and I urge that you make this one of your main endeavours in the work of the clubs.

Then a word about the United Nations. It is of great size, one hundred and ten nations. Many people are critical of it, but it is a wonderful forum for the expression of world opinion; it is also a great place for obtaining an understanding of what other countries are thinking, and it is steadily increasing in value. I point out that in the Cuban crisis the United States and the Soviet Union got the issue into the United Nations very quickly. Here you had two great powers recognizing the importance of going to the U.N. I hope that U.N. will continue to grow in value, grow in importance. It has had a very constructive session this year. In my experience, delegations are largely made up of very responsible people. The president last year was an African, this year it is an Asian, doing a grand job, and just last week the Asian Acting Secretary-General was appointed on a permanent basis. The troika principle which the Russians put forward last year has been forgotten, at least for the time being.

Canada, of course, has always had a good record in the U.N. We have ties with the many groups in the areas I have mentioned. We have taken many initiatives, taken many initiatives this year; one, for example, with regard to the financing of the U.N. I think there has been no more active member, and I was very pleased to read a favourable report in the Globe and Mail about ten weeks ago under the heading "Canada and the U.N.", reporting a British journalist as saying: "When you come right down to it, the Canadian delegation is the best at the United Nations."

I am convinced personally that the U.N. is the hope of mankind. Don't ever write it off, don't ridicule it. It is an extremely difficult operation. Imagine 110 delegations there. But I repeat, it is the hope of mankind, and I would hope that you would lend your support to U.N. activities in Canada; do what you can to build up support here.

Finally a word or two about what I call basic Canadian thinking. We believe that the basic Canadian thinking on world problems at the present time should be to maintain our defensive strength and at the same time to try to reduce tension. I think they are equally important, maintaining strength and reducing tension. If there should be a nuclear war, a third world war, what this would mean would be sixty million people killed in the United States at the first strike; followed by other strikes and radiation, and so on. I feel we are dealing with the survival of mankind. Never have the stakes been so high in the world. This basic thinking explains why Canada is in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. We don't believe in neutralism. I think a neutral Canada would be completely out of line with the character of the Canadian people. Not only that we would lose all our best friends by adopting a role of that kind. In the field of reducing tension Canada is active in the 18-nation Disarmament Committee now sitting at Geneva and has been ever since it was set up. As long as we keep up our defences, surely there can be no criticism of trying also to reduce tension. I think with the attitude being taken at Geneva, it may be possible for agreement to be reached to prevent further nuclear tests. As yet there has not been much progress on this question, but in Lieutenant-General E. L. Burns we have the finest expert on disarmament in the world today, and Canada will continue to make this work one of her main objectives. The United States has recently suggested an improved plan for world communications; there are possibilities of this great tension in the world being reduced, and Canada, of course, will do her part.

Canada in the world of today-what a fine part we have to play, not only now but in the years ahead. Sometimes I get a bit worried about whether Canadians really care what Canada does in world affairs, whether they are interested, and sometimes I am convinced that a great many Canadians are much too prone to criticize Canada. I have an article here from the Toronto Star, written by Celia Franca of the National Ballet. It is entitled "My biggest beef ... Canada's beefing stunts her growth." And she ends up: "As an antidote I propose that one week of each month be designated "be tolerant of Canada week." There is a lot of truth in that article.

Have faith in our nation. If Canadians don't have faith in their nation I don't know who they can expect to have faith in it. A nation cannot play its part in the world if its people don't have faith in their nation. There is a need in these days particularly when things happen so fast and on such a wide spread scale, more need than ever for cool analysis, steady heads. It is very easy to stir up hasty action. You men in these two clubs are leaders in this community, and many of you are leaders throughout the nation. I know that you will do your full part to see not only that Canada maintains her place in the world, but that she continues to expand her efforts in this regard.

THANKS OF THE MEETING were expressed by Dr. H. Cruickshank, President, The Canadian Club of Toronto.