User talk:WikiWalkerH

Alvin Hamilton and his impact on trade between Canada and China

Senator LeBreton: There have been good articles in the financial pages about our trade relationships with China. In fact, businesses have been supportive of the Prime Minister's position.

To give a little history here, honourable senators, the Conservative government of the Right Honourable John George Diefenbaker began the whole process of opening up our trading relationships with China, under Alvin Hamilton. The fact of Diefenbaker's government selling wheat to what was then called "Communist China" was one of the reasons President Kennedy's government had such difficulty with the Diefenbaker government. Selling our wheat to China opened the door to trade in China and, subsequently, under the Honourable Mitchell Sharp we established diplomatic relations.

The fact is that we take seriously our trading relations with China. We have had many ministers visit China before and following the APEC summit, namely, Ministers Emerson, Lunn and Strahl, the Minister of Agriculture. We will work hard to establish good trading relations with China while at the same time raising human rights issues.

link from THE SENATE Tuesday, December 5, 2006:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/chambus/senate/deb-e/056db_2006-12-05-E.htm?Language=E&Parl=39&Ses=1