RUSSIAN-CANADIAN RELATIONS

During the past three years Russian-Canadian relations have been developing rather dynamically. 2007-2009 was the time when an independent parliamentary course of cooperation was basically formed within the framework of a traditional political dialogue. Moreover, there has also been a considerable boost of the Russian-Canadian economical relations.

In many ways it became the result of the numerous contacts at the summit level. In autumn 2007 there was the first in five years visit to Canada of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, during which a full package of bilateral documents was signed, first of all in the sphere of economic cooperation. During the visit a lot of mutual meetings and conferences in the Parliament of Canada were held with a wide range of Canadian parliamentarians as well as representatives of various governmental departments and Canadian business circles taking part in the meetings. In the course of the meeting between the head of the Russian government and Canadian Parliamentary Speakers of the both Chambers of the Canadian Parliament declared the foundation of a new and more numer- ous and ambitious structure Canada-Russia Roundtable on the basis of the already existing Canada-Russia Parliamentary Association. Being rather successful both from the point of view of the level of representativeness (there were meetings with the Canadian PM and Canadian Governor-General) and the content of the meeting (besides intergovernmental agreements a number of large-scale agreements between the largest Russian and Canadian private companies were made), the visit became a logical result of decades-long efforts of the Russian diplomacy.Back in December 2000 an official visit of the Russian President to Canada took place. In July 2001, in February 2002, in May 2003 and in October 2004 the Canadian Prime-Minister visited Russia. A practice of regular meetings between the leaders of our countries within the framework of various international forums was established.

Our leaders met during the G8 Summits in Sea Island (the USA) on June 9, 2004, in Gleneagles (Great Britain) on July 7, 2005, in Saint-Petersburg on July 15, 2006, in Heiligendamm in July 2007 and the APEC summit in Sidney (Australia) in September 2007.

In July 2008 there was the first meeting between the presi- dent-elect of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and the Canadian Prime-Minister Stephen Harper on the margins of the G8 Summit in Japan. The last “G8” summit took place in Italy in July 2009. Both leaders also had a bilateral meeting during 2009 APEC Summit in Singapore.

The former Canadian Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson visited Russia on September 23-October 1, 2003. Her participa- tion in the celebrations on the occasion of the 60-th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) which took place in Moscow on May 9, 2005 became a landmark in bilateral relations of both countries.

Russia and Canada closely interact within the framework of the UN, G8, G20, APEC and other international global and regional fora on a number of key international issues, including strategic stability and security, settlement of regional conflicts, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Our countries cooperate actively in seeking adequate joint response to the new global threats and challenges, such as international terrorism. On October 12, 2004 the Joint Statement by the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Canada on Cooperation in the Struggle against Terrorism was issued during the Prime Minister's visit to Moscow.

One of the major bilateral security undertakings is our coop- eration within the framework of the Global Partnership (GP) Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, which was launched in Canada at the G8 Kananaskis summit. The respective collaboration between our two countries has already led to significant progress in all the GP priority areas: the destruction of chemical weapons, the dismantlement of decommissioned nuclear submarines, nuclear & radiological security, and the redirection of former weapons scientists. Extremely high reliability and zeal of the Canadian partners is widely acknowledged by their Russian counterparts.

Our two countries actively cooperate within the tri-national (Canada-Russia-USA) Arctic SAREX (Air Sea Search and Rescue Exercise in the Arctic) process, which through continuous sharing of expertise on SAR procedures and capabilities has increased both civil and military interoperability between the three Arctic nations. 12 trilateral exercises in the Arctic have been hosted by Canada, Russia and the United States respectively since 1993.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs maintain regular contacts. They tend to compare notes in desultory fashion: whether it is the UN General Assembly sessions, G8 or APEC ministerial meetings. In September 2004 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada paid a working visit to Russia. March 2006 saw the working visit to Canada of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, who held talks with the Prime Minister of Canada and its Minister of Foreign Affaires. The Foreign Ministers of Russia and Canada had two bilateral meet- ings in 2009: in April on the margins of Arctic Council biennial ministerial meeting in Norway and in September at UN General Assembly.

During the meetings the parties discussed the present state of bilateral relations as well as a number of urgent international issues and confirmed the mutual interest in developing political dialogue, trade and economic partnership, rela- tions in humanitarian and academic sphere as well as Arctic and Northern cooperation. Bilateral ministerial-level consultations on strategic stability, counter-terrorism cooperation and regional issues are held on the regular basis. Yet another round of strategic stability consultations (headed by the two G8 Political Directors) took place in Moscow in April 2009. In February 2009 Canadian Assistant Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs James Fox and Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Ryabkov held political consultations in Moscow on a wide range of inter- national issues of mutual concern. Canada-Russia counter-terrorism consultations were held consequently in February 2003 (in Moscow), in October 2004 (in Ottawa) and in November 2005 (in Moscow). In May 2009 Canadian-Russian bilateral consulta- tions on New Challenges and Threats took place in Ottawa. During a number of meetings in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada, Canadian Privy Council, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canada Border Services Agency the two sides discussed different aspects of cooperation in fighting terrorism and organized crime. A num- ber of other bilateral consultation mechanisms was also established during the recent years. November 2007 saw the renewed round of Canada-Russia consultations on Latin America and the Caribbean. Canada-Russia policy-planning consultations took place in Moscow in April 2008. Russia-Canada military contacts develop actively. In October 2003 first Official visit to Canada of Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation took place. In September 2005 the Minister of National Defence of Canada during his visit to Moscow held talks with the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, Russian Foreign Minister and Secretary of the Security Council. In May 2006 the delegation of the "Rosoboronexport" (the Russian state company in charge of the international arms sales) arrived in Canada to review the prospects for the bilateral military-technical cooperation.

The parliamentary component of the Russian-Canadianbilateral cooperation has gained a new dynamics at the end of 2007. The establishment of the Canada-Russia Roundtable became the landmark in the history of interparliamentary coop- eration between Russia and Canada.

Back in October 1998 a Canada-Russia Parliamentary Association was created in the Parliament of Canada, which originally comprised 67 MPs, representing all the party factions. In 2006 the group was reregistered as a parliamentary association of more than 130 Canadian MPs. In November 2007 the Speaker of the Senate of Canada and the head of the parliamen- tary delegation Noel Kinsella paid an official visit to Russia. The Speaker of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada Peter Milliken was on an official visit in Moscow and Saint- Petersburg in October 2005. In September 2006 he participated in the meeting of the speakers of lower chambers of parliaments of the G8 countries in Saint-Petersburg. In November 2005 the delegation of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation headed by the Chairman of the Council Sergey Mironov paid an official visit to Canada. Active exchanges on the level of parliamentary committees are also going on.

Active cooperation between our countries within the framework of the projects of technical assistance to Russia through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is in progress. First of all it concerns the programs which have proved to be effective such as the Governance Advisory and Exchange Program (GAEP), the Public Administration Program (a joint project of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation and the Canadian International Development Agency) and the Canada-Russia Northern Development Partnership (NORDEP). One of the best examples of effective cooperation between Russia and Canada within the framework of the projects of technical assistance to Russia is Canada-Russia Judicial Partnership Program (CRJPP), also funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. This program was launched in December 1999 for a period of 5 years. Based on good results the decision to prolong the program for another 3 years was made in 2005. Under the sponsorship of this program several visits to Canada of Russian delegations of judges from the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation were arranged in the past years. The delega- tion of the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation headed by the Chief Justice Anton Ivanov took place in October 2008.

In March 2008 the head of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation Sergey Stepashin paid a visit to Canada at the official invitation of the Auditor General of Canada Ms. Sheila Fraser. The cooperation between the Office of the General Auditor of Canada and the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation has lasted for more than 5 years and became an illustrative example of a successful cooperation on the level of the state financial and auditing organizations on solving certain practical tasks. The main spheres of cooperation are the mutual exchange of experience in the field of administering and control of state finance, auditing effectiveness and corruption prevention in state management. Another important visit to Canada by the senior Russian official supporting the well-established tradition of exchange experience between Canadian and Russian authorities in the sphere of corruption prevention took place in July, 2009.

Konstantin Chuychenko, aide to the President of the Russian Federation and the Head of the Control Directorate ofthe Office of the President of the Russian Federation visited Canada in June, 2009.The importance of cooperation in the Arctic between Russia and Canada is poised to increase. Both countries emphasize the interest of further expanding ties in this area on bilateral basis as well as within interna- tional fora such as the Arctic Council. In 1992 the Russian-Canadian Agreement on cooper-APEC Summit in Singapore, 2009 ation in the Arctic and the North was signed and in 1997 - the interdepartmental Memorandum of understanding concerning cooperation on Aboriginal and Northern development. Cooperation in the North has become the major subject of the Governor General of Canada visit to Russia in 2003.

Bilateral contacts under the program of cooperation of Siberian Federal district and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development of Canada develop actively. In March 2004 a visit of the Committee on the Northern Territories and Indigenous Minorities of the Federation Council to Canada took place.

The issues of cooperation in the sphere of the North devel- opment became the main subjects of talks of deputy chairman of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Mr. Nikolayev during his working visit in Ottawa in September, 2009.

New impulse to the Russia-Canada arctic cooperation was given with further promotion of economic relations, with new perspectives of transport corridors between the arctic territories of our countries.The long discussed project the “Arctic bridge” came into play practically in the fall 2007. The first Russian vessel of the “Murmansk Shipping Company” with cargo for the Canadian agro-industrial sector came to the port of Churchill in province of Manitoba. For the first time the two countries proved to be bound by the shortest sea route which opens new possibilities for both Russia and Canada. The provincial authorities as well as export and import oriented private companies that are carrying out commercial operations through this transport hub are actively involved into this project.

Joint scientific research of the Arctic constitutes another sphere where Russia and Canada have a long history of cooperation. The international initiative “The International Polar Year” which started in March 2007 has united thousands of scientists from around the world. For more than two years they will be exploring the impact of global warming on ecological systems of the Arctic. Russia and Canada are in the first flight of this initiative because the main scientific projects in the Arctic region will be carried out on the territory and with an active participation of our countries.

The successful launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome ofthe Canada’s second generation commercial SAR satellite RADARSAT-2 on December 14, 2007, of the Telesat Canada Nimiq-4 satellite on September 20, 2008, and of the private Ciel-2 communications satellite on December 10, 2008 as well as the participation of the Canadian Astronaut Robert Thirsk on the Expedition Mission aboard the Soyuz (in May 2009) are the most recent examples of the progress made so far in our tradi- tional space cooperation.A founder of the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil Guy Laliberte became seventh private spaceflight client and Canada’s first space tourist when he was launched to International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz booster rocket on September 30, 2009 together with Russian cosmonaut Maksim Suraev and US astronaut Jeff Williams. Guy landed safely on October 11, 2009 completing his 11 day stay in space.

Exchange of experience as well as a closer cooperation primarily on a regional level represents an integral part of Russian-Canadian bilateral relations. On the federal level Russian-Canadian interaction is successfully coordinated by the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Indian Affairs and Northern Development of Canada. It was confirmed once again through the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the ministries during the visit of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Viktor Zubkov to Canada in November 2007. On the interregional level the most active cooperation exists between the Northern provinces and territories of Canada and such Russian regions as the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Komi, Chuvashia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Tyumen and Magadan Regions, Taimyr and Chukotski Autonomous Areas. More than half of the bilat- eral business projects are carried out in the northern regions of Russia. Among them there are some important areas like nonferrous and precious metals mining industry, crude oil production and refining as well as construction (for example, “the model Canadian village” on the basis of innovative “northern” technologies was built in Yakutia).

Russian-Canadian cooperation in the sphere of education is developing primary by means of direct contacts between research centers and universities as well as through realization of the Russian state scholarships and grants for foreign students. On the basis of existing agreements with Russian partners the Canadian universities send their students on traineeship to Russia. The practice of encouragement of the up-and-coming Russian philology students by awarding with honorary diplomas and prizes for success in studying the Russian language is going on. Especially for this purpose the “Prizes of the Ambassador of Russia for progress in studying the Russian language and literature”. They were instituted, which were pre- sented to the students studying the Russian language and literature in the University of Waterloo. Special “Certificates of honour named after N.B.Struve” (the first Russian consul in Montreal) are designed for presentation to the best specialists in Russian studies of the McGill University in Montreal in the province of Quebec. Regularly held on the basis of Carleton (in particular, The Institute of European and Russian Studies), Ottawa and Toronto Universities conferences devoted to different aspects of Russian-Canadian relations and Russian foreign policy contribute to widening cooperation in the sphere of education.

Thus in March 2008 the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation Sergey Stepashin delivered a public speech concerning the perspectives of development of the rela- tions between our countries at the Carleton University. The international scientific conference “Education as a Dialogue Model of Social Development” held in Ottawa in June 2008 also became one of remarkable events within the framework of the Russian- Canadian educational cooperation.

Among the main organizers of this event were World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations”, the Carleton University and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada. The substantial Russian delegation headed by the President of the WPF “Dialogue of Civilizations” Vladimir Yakunin participated in its work. Cooperation between the Embassy and the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) is developing very actively.

The Bureau arranges shortlisting of Canadian students to study in Russia and works with foreign students in Canada. This being said a stable growth of interest of Canadian students to educational programs in Russia has been observed lately. At the same time the scale of specialization expands and steps already over the bounds of literature and art.

Approval of Sochi candidacy for 2014 Winter Olympics became one of the most important events for the Russian sport diplomacy in 2007. Canada supported Russia during the voting in International Olympic Committee. Canadian and Russian governmental bodies, both federal and provincial, are holding constructive dialogue and cooperate on the issues of preparing Vancouver and Sochi to 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics respec- tively. The cooperation in this field is one of the main elements of Canadian-Russian cooperation for the nearest future. Of significant importance was deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Kozak’s visit to Vancouver on February 6 - 8, 2009. He held talks with the Honorable Stockwell Day, the Canada’s Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, the Honorable Gary Lunn, Minister of State (Sport) and the Honorable Colin Hansen, Minister of Finance of British Columbia and Minister Responsible for the Olympics. During this visit fruitful contacts took place between the heads of Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Organizing Committees John Furlong and Dmitry Chernyshenko.