But Canada remains a crucial partner in this global war on terrorism, and we are grateful for that. Canadian naval vessels, aircraft and military personnel continue anti-terrorist operations in the Persian Gulf.

Like Canada, we very much wanted the United Nations to be a relevant and effective body. But once those efforts failed, we no longer saw things from a multilateral perspective. For us, now, it is much more basic than that. It is about family.

We already get more energy from Canada than from any other foreign country.

Our ties are deep and long-standing. We are dependent on each other. And no matter what the issue of the day, whether it be softwood lumber, whether it be a war in Iraq, we need to continue to work together.

Canada is preparing to play a major role in the continued stability and security of Afghanistan through ISAF.

We saw when those World Trade towers came down what these terrorists will do.

We are very grateful for what the Ontario provincial government is doing, and for cooperation from provincial and local police forces all across Canada.