Good evening,
everyone. Thank you all for the warm welcome.
It is an honour
to be here. It’s truly a privilege just to be invited to the St. Matthew’s Day
Banquet, and an even greater privilege to be one of your keynotes this evening.
I’d like to
start by thanking Mayor Scholz for his gracious invitation. And to speak after
Foreign Minister Gabriel is no small feat, but I’ll do my modest, Canadian
best.
You know, when
my office received the mayor’s invitation to this historic dinner, there was no
question that I would attend.
Of course, this
banquet’s repution precedes itself, as much for the great meal as for the
mangnificent room. And I knew I had to be here because of the friendship
between our two countries.
We have long
been partners on the world stage.
Canadians and
Germans value democracy and the rule of law. We understand the importance of
international cooperation and partnership. And we share a progressive vision of
the world, realizing the immense potential that comes with embracing change.
I talk a lot
about how our goal as a government is to help the middle class and those
working hard to join it. That, ultimately, was the vision for change that
elected us. Regular Canadians were worried about their future, and we made a promise
to support them through these uncertain times.
But that worry –
that anxiety – isn’t unique to Canada. It’s everywhere.
Too many people
around the world are anxious about what the future may hold.
And who could
blame them?
With the pace of
globalization and technological change, there is a very real fear out there
that our kids will be worse off than we are. That they won’t have the same kind
of opportunities that we have, despite being generally much more educated, and
infinitely more tech-savvy.
Citizens across
the political spectrum are looking for guidance. They’re looking for
leadership. They’re looking for a voice.
And so far,
they’re feeling a little let down.
When companies
post record profits on the backs of workers consistently refused full-time work
– and the job security that comes with it – people get defeated.
And when
governments serve special interests instead of the citizens interests who
elected them – people lose faith.
Increasing
inequality has made citizens distrust their governments. Distrust their
employers.
It turns into
“Us” vs. “Them”.
And we’re
watching that anxiety transform into anger on an almost daily basis.
It follows that
people’s natural defence mechanism is to hunker down and recoil inward. To give
into cynicism. To retreat from one another.
But it’s time
for us, as leaders in politics and business, to step up. It’s time to get real
about the challenges facing the middle class, and those working hard to join
it.
Whether your
goal is to build a successful company, or lead a respected and effective
government, it’s time to realize that the old approaches don’t work anymore.
We can’t go
about things the same way and expect to succeed in this new world.
People are
looking for leadership. It’s up to each of us to determine what kind of
leadership they find.
People don’t
need leaders to tell them they have problems.
People need
leaders to help them build solutions together.
I want to use
this speech to challenge us. To highlight that the challenges we’re facing
require real action and real leadership. And I’m choosing to do it here in
Germany because I know you get that. On values, on approach, on inclusive
success you’re on the right track and inspiring others to follow.
But we all need
to do more.
For business
leaders, it’s about thinking beyond your short term responsibility to your
shareholders. You have an equally important responsibility to your workers,
their families, and the communities that support you.
It’s time to pay
a living wage. To pay your taxes. And give your workers the benefits – and
peace of mind – that come with stable, full-time contracts.
You can’t build
loyalty into corporate culture when people feel overworked and undervalued. You
must give your workers avenues to update and modernize their skills for a
changing world.
You must be part
of the communities where you operate, realizing that these towns and cities
support you, and you must, in turn, support them.
And when you
hear that an employee is expecting a child, congratulate her, don’t make her
question whether or not she’ll have a job to come back to.
And you must
ensure your workplace, and especially your boardrooms, reflect the full
diversity of society.
It’s time to
take a broader view of employee-employer relationships. One that treats workers
as partners in success.
Now, I fully
appreciate the irony of preaching about the struggles of the middle class to a
sea of tuxedoes and ball gowns, while wearing a bow-tie myself.
But this
discussion needs to happen. We need to realize our collective responsibility –
to the people who elected us. To the people who put their faith and trust in
us.
The answers are
not in this room. They’re out there. We all need to leave this place, and truly
listen to people who are anxious about their futures.
Hear first-hand
about their concerns, work with them to develop solutions, and actually
implement them.
The hard work of
change begins with each and every one of us – around our boardrooms, our water
coolers, and our Parliaments.
As for
Parliaments, let me tell you a little bit about what we’ve done in ours, in
Canada.
We know that we
are far from perfect, but what success we’ve had didn’t happen by accident and
won’t continue without effort. So what I’ve done over the past years is listen
to people talk about their worries. About the fact that the rising tide no
longer seems to lift all boats.
In Canada, we’ve
taken some steps to help allay that anxiety. To help people deal with the
uncertainty of a changing world.
For example, we
raised taxes on the wealthiest one per cent, so we could cut taxes for the
middle class.
We improved
child benefit payments into one single, monthly, tax free Canada Child Benefit.
This initiative has given 9 out of 10 families more money to help with the high
costs of raising their kids. Because of that, we’re on track to reduce child
poverty by around 40 per cent in our country.
We’re increasing
the amount of assistance Canadian students can get, helping to make
post-secondary education more affordable.
And we’re
investing in a range of training and employment programs for unemployed and
underemployed Canadian workers, allowing them to upgrade their skills so
they’re ready for the modern workforce.
These are just a
handful of the things we’ve done to help people adapt to and absorb the changes
we’re all feeling.
We could not
have done this without listening to Canadians.
In fact, I’ve
spent the last month and a half back at home on a cross-Canada tour. Over the
past few weeks, I’ve done about a dozen town halls, filling arenas and
community centres, and took questions for hours. On anything and everything.
Nothing scripted, nothing staged. Just heard directly from middle class
Canadians about the things they were worried about. And, more importantly, I
heard what they needed from my government to help.
Now, for the
politicians in the room, it probably sounds like a high risk proposition to
answer a host of questions for hours on end. It was unpredictable and, at
times, very intense. But it’s only in having those tough conversations that we
can get at the heart of what matters.
To everyone
here, I leave you with this. Better is always possible. But we have to make
better happen.
We’re not going
to get it right everyday.
But Canadians
and Germans need to continue to lead by example.
Whether you’re a
business or a government, it’s time to realize that this anger and anxiety we
see washing over the world is coming from a very real place. And it’s not going
away.
We can no longer
brush aside the concerns of our workers and our citizens. We have to address
the root cause of their worries, and get real about how the changing economy is
impacting peoples’ lives.
Ladies and
gentlemen, we can all play a role in making the transition to the new economy a
smooth one.
And it starts
with listening.
Let’s be better,
because we know we can do better.
For our
citizens, for our workers, and for the entire world.
Thank
you.
