Thank you for listening to Depiction's Media Radio. Welcome to Policy Rights to show
about government policy and human rights. Welcome back to Policying Rights. Here in
Depictions Media Radio, I'm your host, Michael Clogs this UH. Next episode,
we're going to hear from Anita Ann with UM as she joins NATO,
and she's talking to the NATO leaders and membership about how Canada is helping so
much with NATO, how they're supplying ships and equipment to to the NATO UM
causes and helping Ukraine and expressing how important UM the emission of NATO is and
how UM Canada will continue to keep supplying arms for all of the causes and
missions that NATO puts forth see UM and that the there is this Secretary Defense
from UM the United Kingdom, and he will chime in on issues around UH
different NATO missions and of course what is happening in Ukraine and what the ultimate
thing is. One of the things that I remember about NATO UM when I
was a child, and of course the UM it was the Soviet Union versus
the United States mainly then. And it's kind of interesting that it is still
NATO working working with with things that would seemingly go against what it is the
Russian Federation might want, and it seems that in order for NATO to exist,
that this particular enemy has to keep being there at some point. Shouldn't
these type of organizations in order to form a better defense, They should form
better negotiation skills, not necessarily better weapons, so yes, equipment and things
to remove things of the past, such as in this particular case, minds
that are in the ocean in our seas. Having ships built to remove them,
to remove them safely so that ships can travel on peaceful missions safely without
having to run into an explosive mind is actually a good thing, something that
we all should support. But maybe we need to stop supporting things that would
cause more wars, like building of ships that have large guns that just simply
or there to destroy an enemy anyway, just some thoughts. There are ongoing
issues with Ukraine because of the ongoing war, and it is good to have
NATO in that respect helping Ukraine, even if they aren't helping them completely,
just as NATO and is more of each individ visual country of NATO deciding to
donate what they can to help repel what would be an insane leader trying to
take territory from by force from from another country, trying to run his flag
in territories that don't belong to his country, and even if it is because
hey, if we want to pass, get us through, there are peaceful
ways to do that. And only a truly insane leader would continue a war
that and destruction of another person's country simply because I would gain, especially when
he can see the the rest of the world is not standing by idly to
let it happened. So on, moving on, We're also going to listen
to um the Western Canadian premiers. That would include h David Eby, Danielle
Smith, Scott Moe from Saskatchewan had their Stephenson of Manitoba, Rogie Polani of
Yukon, Caroline Coltrane Northwest Territories, and PJ al Gok from none of It.
They're gathered in worces Ord, BC to talk about issues that affect Western
Canada, including preserving Canada's Arctic sovereignty. They will discuss issues around climate changeing
with oil and mining. There are a whole list of issues that they are
gathered together in a meeting to talk about. They can make presentations back to
the federal government and hopes that the things would would change on the Parliament floor,
to change the conversations on the parliament floor so that some of the fears
and issues of the people who live in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, Yukon Northwest territories and none of it can be heard in a better
light all with us. I wanted to discuss one more thing before we actually
get the show started, and that has to do with Bill C A teen
and how now that the Google is on board saying well, we're going to
not accept Canadian news content, the question comes about how will Canadians actually find
news stories if they aren't already subscribing. Do we are we now supposed to
pick and choose a Newsvenian to listen to? That is the case. I
hope that many decide to choose US ad depictions media for that. What is
to come with Bill A teen when a major searching and social media platform aren't
accepting the content and simply because the government is saying that the corporations want more
pay for the content that is put out there, that they want a fair
or shake in comparison to other countries that they want it, and none of
the statement is it actually made lead back to who's telling the truth. How
as average everyday citizens, are Canadians going to find what is true? And
how is this bill going to polarize conversations or will it really unify conversations so
that people get on the same page with issues. Something you think about and
maybe something to write a letter or email correspondence however you want to say it,
send something back to the members of Parliament and see how this particular bill
can be augmented so that we have free information. So let's listen to today's
show and we're going to start with Canada in Nato, bonjou, Welcome to
Canada House. So we will get this pressor going. We will have introductory
remarks both and from the Minister and the Secretary of State before opening for a
Q and A session. So Minister, well, good afternoon everyone. It
is an absolute pleasure to be here in London at Canada House with my colleague,
Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace. Today Secretary Wallace and I had
a very productive meeting to strengthen the deep and important relationship between Canada and the
United Kingdom. Our alliance is longstanding and unbreakable. Canada and British armed forces
have fought side by side in some of the most pivotal battles in modern history
to defend the principles of democracy, peace and freedom. These are not just
empty words. These principles are the foundation of the rules based international order that
has kept us all safe since the end of the Second World War. But
these principles are increasingly challenged by countries such as Russia and China who wish to
upend the rules based international order for their own gain. And as the challenges
facing Canada and the United Kingdom accelerate, so will our collective response. Thank
you, Ambassador Vadim Pratishko for being here with us today. I want to
turn now for a moment to discuss Ukraine. We will continue to support Ukraine
as it defends its sovereignty and as it has had to do for over a
year now after Putin's unprovoked, unjustifiable and illegal invasion. In fact, since
February of last year, Canada has fitted over one billion dollars of military aid
for Ukraine, and as we recently announced, we are adding another five hundred
million dollars in aid to Ukraine. Canada has committed hundreds of armored vehicles,
eight Leopard two battle tanks, a Naysam's air defense system, artillery, ammunition,
and so much more to help Ukraine defend itself. The United Kingdom is
home to the Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment in Presswick, Scotland, which has
delivered over ten million pounds of Ukraine bound military aid donated by Canada, its
partners and allies using three Hercules aircraft. Thank you, mister Secretary for hosting
this detachment. Through Operation Unifier, the Canadian Armed Forces have trained over thirty
six thousand Ukrainian troops with the skills that they need to defend their nation,
including right here on British soil. In collaboration with the UK's Operation Interflex at
Camp Lid, Canadian and Ukrainian United Kingdom Armed Forces work hand in hand to
train Ukrainians. Canada will continue to stand alongside our allies in support of Ukraine
for as long as it takes. Our two countries are both leading members of
NATO. Canada routinely deploys Royal Canadian Navy ships under the command of NATO Maritime
Command based in Northwood right here in the United Kingdom. Today, I am
happy to announce that His Majesty's Canadian ships Schwawinigan and Summerside, based at CFB
Halifax, will be the next two Canadian ships to deploy on NATO maritime operations.
The two ships will deploy from Halifax on July third to join Standing NATO
Mind Countermeasures Group one on Operation Reassurance. This NATO Mind Countermeasures Group was established
in nineteen seventy three as Standing Naval Force Channel to clear World War two minds
from the English Channel. In addition to our efforts at sea, we are
going to continue to be part of this high Readiness task group with a long
history of clearing ordinance from the seas, making maritime routes safer for all maritime
activity. This deployment demonstrates Canada's ongoing commitment to NATO's high readiness continue at sea
presence and the Royal Canadian Navies leadership on the world stage to strength and security
throughout European waters. This deployment will mark the first for HMCS showing again and
a second for HMCS summer Side on Operation Reassurance. Both of these ships have
clearance diving teams and mine countermeasure search capabilities using autonomous underwater vehicles or jo dug
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mondial por fur si scrit don o repayen. In addition to our efforts at
SEE, both Canada and the UK are leading NATO Enhanced Forard presence battle groups
Canada in Latvia, the UK in Estonia, and last year our alliance agreed
to upgrade these battle groups from battalion to brigade side where and when required to
protect our eastern flank. As part of these efforts, I announced earlier this
month that Canada will deploy fifteen Leopard AT two A four m battle tanks to
Latvia, as well as supporting personnel and equipment. Our commitment to NATO is
ironclad and we will always do whatever it takes to defend every inch of NATO
territory. Inclosing, Canada and the United Kingdom share a deep and historic relationship
forged on the battle fields where we defended the values of peace and freedom for
all people. Our countries have an unbreakable bond and an abiding faith in democracy.
This relationship is resolute and we'll serve our people well long into the future.
Now I will turn it over to you, mister Secretary. Thank you,
Thank you Anita, and thank you visiting. We have met I think
three times in as many weeks or three weeks for Singapore and NATO and now
today, and I'm delighted to host you, and I'm glad that we managed
to follow our relationships. We had a good, strong bilateral session this morning
where we discussed everything from Ukraine to the High North, to NATO and indeed
to the Pacific. And I think that's really important that we continue that strong
relationship that Anita has talked about going back hundreds of years and certainly side by
side and Canada Day, which is officially the first of July, is also
the first day off the PSALM and we shouldn't forget that fifty seven thousand Commonwealth
soldiers lost their lives on that day. Canada has gained seventy seven Victoria Crosses
and both the First and the Second World War, fighting side by side on
Juno Beach in D Day. And you know, even as recently as twenty
fourteen, after the invasion of Crimea by Russia, the illegal invasion, there
was four nations that stayed and trained in op orbital and the alongside the British,
with the Swedish, the United States and Canada, the fab four,
the original four who were there not at the time of the February invasion twenty
one, but have been there since the beginning, making sure Ukraine can stand
on its own two feet and help it with this capacity building. And you
know, I think when I think back to the day of the recent illegal
invasion, right there by our side. The next day when we had a
initial donor conference, Canada was there on the line immediately standing up for the
values that we both share and making sure that we started the process that has
led to this international community's response. And you know, Canada's position is very
very important in that it says it's not just a European problem, it's a
global chapel. You know there is more to do, and I know Canada
and the United Kingdom are going to continue standing with Ukraine to make sure Russia
is expelled from its illegal invasion of that country and return it to its sovereign
right. And you know, the message, as I always say at these
press conferences to Putin, is the international community is going nowhere. Canada is
going nowhere, Britain is going nowhere. So don't base your calculations, mister
Putin, on the fact that somehow we're going to get bored and going to
do something else. We're not, but continue need to stand up. We
continue to reinforce. Our friends in the East of Europe, in Lithuania,
Latvia and Estonia and Poland were producing defense of our people but also contributing to
deterrent. Thank you, Thank you, minister, Thank you, mister Secretary.
So now we'll open up the Q and A session. Um, well,
I'll try to alternate between Canadian and uk outlets and I'll take a main
question and I follow up if desired. So just if you can just take
your name in outlet um both join guarantee join dates and Russia that should act
and however you as very serious responsive exertion using days and that's awesome too as
well. I answered that first bit, then I'll do the NATA and then
over to you need to learn. On the first bit, I read the
report. It's completely spurious. Right, when I appointed General Patrick over a
year ago, he'd already been three years commander's track com as a four star.
He has currently I think the longest serving four star in our armed forces.
And when I appointed him, the condition was he would be doing a
two year post. So there is no I saw those ridiculous sort of gossipy
report today that somehow there was a sort of he's spoken out and he's getting
a shorter not at all. That was the deal we originally made. It
was very important. You know, he'd done three years as a commander of
one of the services strategic commands, so that's it. There's no conspiracy,
nothing else. And yet you know, yes, as a general, he's
made it clear his views, but I made my clear my views are in
support of him, that the army needs modernization. And I noticed his comments
at Russie about antiques or whatever, which is why he's got forty billion pounds
for his army modernization program. Of his equipment. It's why since i'ving Defense
Sectory, they've had a twenty percent real term increase in their in their budget
of equipment. It is why they have a greater a portion of spend in
the department than they've had before. Because the army needs modernizing. So by
all means, we can criticize the state of the army that's been inherited,
but you can't criticize that this comes termed to modernize that army and bring it
forward. Challenger three boxer. I've fixed Ajax Ajax and now being delivered to
the front line units to start their training. The purchase, very quick purchase
of Archer to replace the AS nineties when we donated them from Ukraine. AS
ninety was out of date. We needed to start the next process. All
of those things have taken place under my watch and General Patricks and they will
continue to do so. There are decisions around longer term deep fire platforms,
decisions around and and D and given other worlds Apache E grade that we've upgraded.
A lot of money gone into the army. It will be a very
modern army, but it has to do that time together on Natola Britain's position,
going right back to I think Bucharest, was that we believe Ukraine should
be able to join NATO. Obviously other members was less than thirty then,
but a number of members had a different view and NATO can only go forward
in an unanimous position. But we started the process. That's why we were
there in twenty fourteen, partly to help Ukraine's NATO capabilities build and its capacity
so that it would start on that program. I think it went from associate
member, and then the next discussion was membership Action Plan. Obviously Sweden and
Finland didn't have any of that, and I think that opens a fair question
about should at illness we just skipped that and say that subject to other conditions,
Ukraine should be able to come in and join. You know they after
all, they're going to have the most experienced land forces in Europe and probably
one of the most heavily armed countries in Europe. I think we should absolutely
look at skipping the Membership Action Plan, but of course we have to put
some realism in this space that there are thirty one members of NATO now and
you know we have to all move together. But yes, the direction of
travel should be towards NATO membership, but I can't promise that at the Villena's
summit you're going to resolve those thirty one But I think we could be able
to do is remove more barriers for Ukraine so that when this is over,
Ukraine moves towards more security, guarantees, more support. And right now we
are working the United Kingdom on a range of issues to ensure that after this
conflict Ukraine is safer. Along those lines, Canada and Ukraine share a bond
and a friendship that is long standing. We have one point four million Canadian
Ukrainians in our country and the people to people ties, the bilateral ties run
very deep. In twenty fifteen, when we started Operation Unifier, we did
that because we wanted to continue to ensure that Ukrainian Armed Forces had what they
needed in order to ensure a repeat of twenty fourteen in CRIMEA did not occur
again. And under Operation Unifier, we've trained over thirty six thousand members of
the Ukrainian Armed Forces. And I paint that picture for you to highlight the
strength, the longevity, the importance of the relationship between our two countries,
Canada and Ukraine, and with that in mind. We are very supportive of
Ukraine's work with NATO members collaboratively, and when the conditions are right, we
will support Ukraine's ascension to NATO. Of course, this is an increasingly important
issue right now. Ukraine needs to win this war, and as Minister of
National Defense, my job is to ensure that the allocated funding that we've been
given now another five hundred million dollars on top of the one billion dollars that
we've already spent, is put to good use in service of Ukraine's efforts to
fight and win this war, to ensure the security of its democracy and its
longevity in terms of peace and stability. Thank you. See see. I
think the first thing is to make sure that we're all moving in an upward
direction. But since I became Defense Sectuary, we've reversed the pattern that's happened
in the United Kingdom. We've actually had a real terms increase. We're going
to top out of over fifty billion pounds twenty four billion pounds extras since I
was Defense Sectuary. That's an important The first battle is the cultural shift that
the defense is no longer some sort of discretionary spend stuck on the side of
government that it is in fact a core part of our defense, of our
of our job as a government. And that's why I was really determined to
make sure that we see that shift towards a growing defense budget rather than a
shrinking one. You know, the defense budget twenty fifteen here was cut.
I think by seven percent. We're on the upward should ejectory over two percent.
Of course, we want all NATO countries to be above two percent.
You know, that's no different that was decided in Cardiff. But you know,
the Canadians, I think of increased defense budget by seventy percent. That's
a significant uplift. That's the right direction to go. And I think,
you know, it's for individual countries to decide when they're going to get to
that target, and that's up to them. But ultimately the key here is
if we all spend our two percent, we could deter Russia and any other
adversaries better. But you know it takes time also to grow armies and defense.
You know, if someone gave me a check tomorrow morning for billions of
pounds, it wouldn't actually be able to just spend it, right, You
can't buy a warship in a year. You can't buy a missile in a
year. You can't recruit and train another brigade in a year. It takes
time. So the key for US as as an over two percent country is
to see that the direction of travel is up. Of course, I will
say to my friends in Canada and in France, in Germany and in Denmark
and in all those other countries that are not at two percent, you should
try and get there. Because also, you know, the United States,
as a big contributor, is quite clear that it believes that contributions matter.
And also the United States, that we can see when it discusses specific is
thinking about its liabilities. In America is on the hook for three hundred thousand
plus troops towards Europe and NATO. I'm quite sure if I had that liability
as a country, I'd been encouraging other people to burden share. But look,
the directional travel seventy percent up. You know, a rising tide is
important, and I think that's the first plank and very key. No I
am, well, first of all, I've just seen like you in open
media. I don't know what's happened to any of these people. Obviously,
mister Progoshan has gone off to Belarus for a summer holiday and Vagner has dissipated.
I think what I would say is, you know, from a from
a UK point of view, if General Grazimov and Minnster Shoigu are still in
charge, then the huge amounts of failure they've delivered on the battlefield will no
doubt continue. And you know, if if it means Laurel and Hardy are
still running the Russian armed forces and campaign, then that's to the benefit of
the Ukrainians. My view is twofold. First, what happens inside Russia is
particular to Russia. My focus is on Ukraine. My focus is ensuring that
we're continuing to support Ukraine with military aid and equipment. Canada is the largest
donor per capita in the G seven in terms of financial aid. We've contributed
over eight billion dollars in financial, military and humanitarian aid. My focus has
got to stay on Ukraine's winning this war, and they are showing gains in
the north, in the East and the South and showing incredible resilience and around
the NATO table. Our job is to continue to support that effort. Thank
you, Global will we have A lot of it depends on the options,
right, I mean there is a range of options you could do to help
Ukraine. How much do you want to gift, how much does Ukraine want
to buy, how much do you want to loan, how much? How
much physical support you want to give through training or or troop. I mean
it's a what we have examined is a range, and the problem is the
rangers vast so and also how many international partners you have doing with it.
So I think the key here is we have to make sure we support Ukraine's
economy and that it remains viable and all the way through this presidents of Anski's
the toughest task President Anski has faced is how to balance keeping his economy going
with fighting the war, because those are the two ways you can fail.
Either the military invasion of the Russia was successful, all the economy collapses and
Ukraine then effectively has real other challenges. And so that is a task at
an envy. But you know he's managed to do that, and that will
obviously dictate the cost and the scale of support required for Ukraine after this war.
But there's no point me speculating on such a broad element. And I'll
just add to that by stepping back and taking a look at the actual process
that these fifty plus countries undertake when they're around the Defense Contact Group table.
What we do as a group of collaborators is to ensure that we are filling
the gaps that exist in the military equipment in defense needs that Ukraine has.
So at every meeting we will have a broad based discussion about what is needed
at this time. And if you look at the military aid that has been
provided over the course of a year and a half, it is certainly shifted
to some extent, beginning with things like sniper rifles and ammunition for those rifles,
fragmentation vests and food packs, and moving towards more and more complex types
of military aid to armored vehicles M triple sevens, artillery for the M triple
sevens, nasam's defense systems, and labor two A four main battle tanks.
And so it's not so much about putting a specific number on a vast array
of different types of military aid needed in the moment, so much as it
is to suggest that at a very broad level, we are all committed to
supporting Ukraine in the short and the long term well I'm not going to speculate
what this report does or doesn't find. When the report's published, then of
course we will make a decision about all of that. I mean, the
Chief of the Air Staff is obviously given an interview to the media today about
it. He's apologized, he's recognized that they did discriminate, that the thirty
one individuals will be compensated, and that the other point of notice is that
while the whole thing has been I think a significant error and indeed a cause
for regret of the RAF, they didn't lower the standards. They discriminated against
those people that were applying who were above the standards, so our military output
wasn't put at risk. However, the treatment of the people applying was what
it was, you was wrong, unsatisfactory, and you know, I also
think that the treatment of the officer who raised concerns and her very genuine worry
is being ignored was something that needs to be looked at considerably about why she
was ignored, why indeed she was put under that pressure. And I don't
want to see anyone put under pressure to do something like what we've seen in
the RAF. But I have committed that I will be publishing almost in full
the whole reports, I think, as full as I can publish it,
and then we can discuss about what happens next globe Nil. I can't talk
for Canadian public opinion, but it's public opinions about seventy two percent in favor
of Ukraine. It's not waning here. I mean, I know I've had
endless questions from the media for the last year about waning support. But the
actions speak louder than that speculation. The actions show a high level of support.
Government itself has support another two point three billion pounds to support Ukraine.
The direction of try just look at the direction of travel the international community.
We started this whole thing with debates about whether or not we should put handheld
short range anti tank weapons, and now we're standing here discussing leopard tanks,
we're discussing long range fires, we're discussing F sixteen's, we're discussing you know,
a range of weapons system storm shadow systems. So so you know,
the evidence shows that the opposite. But I think if you if you know,
I was talking to my constituents in Preston and I'd say, why should
you support, Well, look at your fuel prices right. Number one,
you know, Russia using energy blackmail is one of the reasons you have fuel
prices like you do. That's why you're hurting under inflation. Secondly, bread
basket of Europe Ukraine. When Russia attacked Ukraine, look what it does to
the grain price. Your shopping basket is more expensive because of Russia's activity,
and we need to make sure that is stopped so we can try and get
back to some stability. And number three, Russia is directly trying to go
after the very values that you and your family believe in. And if they
are successful in Ukraine, they won't he won't stop there. And I think
that's important as well. Know, now is the time to realize that,
you know, sometimes freedom is worth fighting for and freedom is worth funding.
Freedom isn't free, as it says on these Korean War memoil in Soul.
And you know what's amazing, And I don't know, I can't speak of
Canada, but and you go to the British Parliament or you go and see
the demonstrations here. It's full of young people, It's full of the left
and the right who all believe that this is their conflict. Their value is
under threat and deeply value it. And I think you know the whole of
the British Parliament is in support. Everything from the Scottish National Party to the
Labor front Bench, to the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives are all entirely beyond
that. Now. I can't speak for Canada, but for us, we
know what it's like to stand alone. We know what it's like to be
isolated, and we don't like bullies, and we know that as a global
trade free country we are susceptible to things like energy blackmail. Across our country.
We see Ukrainian flags flying from porches, flying from cars worn on lapels,
and Canadians understand not only the importance of assisting Ukraine in its time of
need for the purpose of ukraine sovereignty, they also understand that Ukraines sovereignty and
democracy is our own sovereignty and democracy. That if we stand idly buy and
allow putin to redraw maps and walk across borders claiming territory that is not his,
then we aren't living up to the values that our four fathers and fathers
fought and died for. And we must therefore stand shoulder to short shoulder with
our NATO allies and friends and partners in support of that rule's based international order
that has kept us all safe since the end of the Second World War.
I would say further that the Canadian government has taken very seriously rising costs and
inflation, despite the fact that we have one of the lowest inflation rates in
the G seven. How have we done this? What is an example?
Well, I have many the Canada Child Benefit ten dollars a day, childcare,
dental care, the grocery rebate. We will continue to be there to
support Canadian families, especially in times of economic need, while at the same
time support the principles of democracy, freedom and peace. Thank you you have
done. For one last question us who leads Russia as a matter for Russian
people from the Russia and you know the needy said earlier on the question it
you know, what goes on is a matter for them. We of course
we can, we can be commentators on it, but ultimately, you know,
the reality is the most important thing is for Russia to be defeated in
Ukraine and the Russian armed forces leave Ukraine. And you know, of all
the Progosian event, there's one part of it that is really important. And
while I have no support or links or in any way with Vargner and Progosian,
which are a thoroughly nasty bunch of people, he did expose the war
narrative as false from the Kremlin his video he posted which clearly said NATO was
not going to attack Russia. Ukraine was not going to attack Russia. You
have been lied to by Karazimov and shure you go, mister Putin, there
was no need for that. That's his that's him saying that in Russia to
Russians. That is the truth that we have been saying for over a year,
even before the war, and that's coming from him. So that's quite
important that the Russian public understand and hear that. But that's something it's not
a relevant revelation. We all knew that, but it'll interesting if the people
of Russia hear that. Thank you very much. I know you were going
to y. But Patrick Swan is an outstanding and a first class general.
He's brilliant, he has a great record, an operational record. He led
the Strategic Command, as I said, for three years as a full star.
He has now led the army. But look, we're organizing I'm twenty
forty thousand people. Ministers come and go, right, Generals come and go.
That is the nature of our armed forces. The fight against Russia in
support of Ukraine has been carried out by a range of people. And you
know, I don't think that, you know, interrupting the normal scheme of
things would necessarily will We'll make a difference. Ultimately, I am confident that
the quality of the generals we have that I will be interviewing for the post
will be able to continue to deliver the same effect as required. And of
course, remember how the services function. The services are there to generate the
forces to meet the task set by the Center, and the tasks are set
by effect for the sectory of state alongside Chief to de vent Staff and the
others other generals who then carry those out. So I'm very confident that whoever
were to replace General Patrick will be able to continue his extant work. And
I'm also very confident that General Patrick has contributed amazingly to not only the Ukraine
but the overall reform and modernization of the army. But I don't think you
should have a concern that changing him out on an agreed timetable already is.
It's not a reflection on him and it is not going to undermine in any
way our military response to Ukraine. Okay, thank you, thank you for
it's great to see you here on Lowat and Squamish Territory and real honor for
me to be here with my colleagues from across Western Canada and the North.
It was a wonderful set of discussions at the conference. We had a very
successful meeting and very grateful for their time. My apologies to the media.
We're starting a little earlier than you may have expected. We were told we
had to hit the Ontario newscast deadline. Just kidding. I grew up in
Kitchener. I'm allowed to make I'm allowed to make Toronto jokes. They played
particularly well in Western Canada. We had we had really productive discussion on our
shared priorities. We have certainly big challenges in the West today. Many of
us have grappled with very serious forest fires this season. We have issues around
finding the people to fill the jobs that we have to drive our economies,
our provincial economies, our territorial economies forward. We have challenges around the cost
of living and affordability for the people that we serve, but it's also a
time of incredible opportunity for Western Canada. We see the weight of population growth
shifting the weight of the country to the west. We see that our provinces
and territories offer the energy and the solutions to many of the problems that the
world's economy faces, and the security to many countries that they're looking for around
critical minerals and energy security, as well as what our own country is looking
for. We had really important discussions about a number of topics of shared interest.
In particular, we discussed strengthening our strategic infrastructure trade corridors, finding ways
to get our goods to market efficiently and effectively, to grow our provinces and
territories economies, but also our national economy, to collaborate on climate action and
adaptation, including addressing issues of energy security both domestically and internationally, related to
everything from electricity to energy project products like llergy. We talked about how provinces
and territories are key partners in the immigration system, how dependent we are on
working together with the federal government around immigration to address issues of labor shortage,
certainly and also to ensure that people who arrive newly to our provinces and territories
receive the support that they need. We talked about our labor market and they
need to remove barriers to ensure labor mobility, but also to meet the needs
that we have in our different provincial economies. The premiers from the North talked
about the critical importance of Arctic sovereignty and preserving Canada's Arctic sovereignty and it was
that a priority on that agenda item was supported by all premiers as we recognize
the importance of a free North and a sovereign North that is a critical part
of Canada and is of interest internationally right now, especially following recent events.
Finally, we discussed crime and the bail reform bill that was not passed at
the federal level and are shared urging to the federal government to prioritize the passage
of that bill and our share deep disappointment that that bill was not passed in
the recent parliamentary session. The last few years taught us through the pandemic certainly
that we can solve big problems if we work together. And while we're not
going to agree on every thing, we are politicians first of all, and
uh and we sometimes have challenges finding points of agreement, but actually during our
meetings, I think the focus because we're focused on Canadians, because we're focused
on our communities and who we represent, we found very broad areas of agreement,
shared priority and how we can work together to not just improve our own
homes, but to really help build the Canada that we're all so proud of,
we're all so proud to be a part of, and in that Western
Canada we believe will provide such prosperity to going into the future. So with
that, I'd like to open it up for questions from the media. All
premiers are prepared to answer questions and I'll pass it over to MC. Thank
you very much. A reminder to media on the line, please press Star
one to enter the queue. You will be limited to one question and one
follow up. We will begin with media here in the room. Our first
question comes from Richard Essman Global News. You speak about growing pressure on Western
Canada due to the population shifting west. Is there a call from the premiers
here to change the way that projects are funded from Ottawa to better compensate for
that population growth or growing pressure to this part of the country. Well,
I'd certainly invite another premiere to weigh in as well, But my feeling was
from our conversations today that we see huge opportunity in the growing numbers of people
that are choosing to live, in particular in Western Canada in the North,
but we also see challenges that come with that if that's not done in a
thoughtful way. That the need for the federal government to work with us to
ensure that we're targeting immigration that helps address pressures that we see in our labor
markets. So in British certainly around construction, around childcare, skilled trades,
we all discussed the need for healthcare workers, making sure that we're leveraging immigration
and in partnership with the federal government to make sure that we're growing our populations
but also growing our economies, and the only way we can do that is
to do it in a coordinated, coordinated way. The second piece that stood
out for me from the conversation was how critical it is that the supports are
in place for new arrivals. We talked in particular about new arrivals from Ukraine
and making sure that they have the support that they need when they're arriving in
provinces under that special federal government program that is going to be renewed in mid
July, and treats that particular population differently than other refugees coming to Canada,
and so making sure that their supports they're not just for Ukrainian refugees, but
for new bivals generally, including international students, temporary foreign workers, and others
under federal programs. Including people immigrating through regular pathways is critically important for all
of us. I wonder if there's another premier that is interested in sharing a
perspective on the immigration issue. The only other thing I would might add is
the importance of having per capita funding with no strings attached, so that each
jurisdiction has the ability to identify the projects that are important to them so that
they can continue to grow with their needs. Acknowledging that small jurisdictions like the
territories need a special arrangement so that they can ensure that they've got the funding
support. We're also interested in equivalency and fairness. I think that if the
federal government wants to help support those projects, they need to be mindful of
providing some kind of equivalency in each jurisdiction. Those are some of the other
issues that were raised into the point of equivalency in it this maybe for Premier
Smith. I'd also like to hear from Premier beyond this as well. Is
this more money to Western Canada and less Ontario and Quebec, or is this
more money for old provinces from the federal government. How would that sort of
break down. We're considering the pressures we're feeling here in the West that may
be different than what they're seeing in Ontario and Quebec. Thanks, I want
to speak for the whole table, but certainly from British Columbia's perspective, one
of the messages that we continually send to the federal government is whether it's housing
money, whether it's money for economic development related to climate and ensuring that we're
competitive in the global transition that's happening, whether it's funding for indigenous housing,
whether it's funding for infrastructure that British Columbia needs to see at least our fair
share on a per capita basis with other provinces. And again we recognize nique
needs of places like the territories like the North to have special arrangements. UM
but I have been concerned and I have shared that concern federally that BC has
not seen our fair share of this type of funding. And you'll see in
the community ah the emphasis from all provinces that that needs to be a key
consideration of the federal government for funding programs. It doesn't mean that other provinces
need to be funded less. It means that the funding that's available from the
federal government needs to be distributed fairly. Yeah, I would agree with Premier
rev on all of that. And you know, our our our natural resource
based economies, innovation based economies in the in the western half of our nation
are are growing, you know, for example in the Scotch when we're growing
at our fastest rate from a population perspective um that we have in one hundred
and eight years over a century since we've grown at the rate that we are.
And I think that's true in many of the Western provinces. And and
so there is concerns, I think, at least from Saskatchewan's perspective and and
likely others, around fair and equitable treatment investing in uh in uh in in
the settlement services, for example, of of new immigrants including Ukrainian immigrants that
are coming to our to our communities. There's concerns around the investments that are
being made in that you know, that very economy. And as we are
you know, finding our way to not only producing the products energy products for
example, that have been used in the past or being used today, but
as we prepare to produce those those products that are are going to be in
demand tomorrow, the rare earth elements of lithium, those those uh, those
types of products. And so I think we would share in some of the
fair and equitable balance of investment not only in the advancement of m and preservation
of the jobs and in the in the strong economies that we have in our
respective provinces and territories, but also in you know, supporting those that are
coming to participate in that economy as we you know, as we grow our
our province's population and we grow our our community's population, and those services are
are are necessary and need to be provided. And so we discussed that,
um you know, that fairer and equitable investment by by other levels of government,
namely the federal level of government. We I think look forward to continuing
that discussion right through the Council of Federation table. So I'd like to add
on from the North. From the North, the other ones can join if
they want. The North is different. Um, when you talk about equitable
services, then you need to think of the North. And I think all
the premiers at this conference have agreed, and that's why they identified that the
North is different. We are at the forefront of climate change. We're at
the forefront of our security and safety, which people are now paying attention to.
We have infrastructure gaps that are huge that people don't realize. We have
no road systems to many of our communities. Some of us to any of
our communities is the energy sources are not there. We're reliant on diesel.
We don't have the telecommunications that people take for granted here. So when we
talk about equity, we need to make sure that the people in the Northwest
territ or the North period have the same level as services that people in the
South take for granted. So yeah, I do think that there needs were
redistribution of the wealth, and I do think that the federal government needs not
only give large funding to the eastern provinces. I think they need to take
care of the West and the North. We are all Canadians and we all
deserve to prosper. Thank you. Our next question from the room comes from
Bunois Ferradini, CBC at your Canada. Hello. My question is about climate
action. Can you detail what you request from the federal and also are their
diffront views depending on where climate chance had the most impact provinces, all territories.
Thanks. There was a broad interest across the table from all premiers and
certainly from all Canadians about reducing carbon pollution and addressing climate change. I would
say that there was certainly some anxiety around the table from premiers from some jurisdictions,
particularly around timelines related to decarbonizing the electrical generation systems and their provinces.
British Columbia is fortunately in a position of having a lot of hydro electricity and
the ability to support jurisdictions other than our, so certainly part of the conversation
was how do we support each other in sharing our strengths, and one of
those the British Columbia was able to put on the table as if we can
find ways to entertie with for example, with the Yukon to support them in
their efforts to access more electricity to grow their economy and carbonized their electrical grid.
Then that's very good news for everybody. And so that was what my
takeaway was from the discussion was that we need to look to each other's strengths
to support each other and the work that we need to do, and that
the federal government in their programs needs to look at each province in terms of
our strengths and also where we're going to need additional support and consideration for the
unique positioning of our provinces. I wonder if there's another premiere that is interested
in sure, I mean, I can win as well. I mean,
obviously it won't surprise you that the thirteen billion dollar investment in Ontario's battery factory
and the Atlantic Loop and the significant investment came up, and we've got equivalent
investments that need to be made in Western Canada. We've got carbon capture,
utilization and storage in Alberta. We've got hydrogen. We've got very jurisdictions exploring
small module or nuclear. We've got the strategic infrastructure that needs to be built
in the northern communities with ports as well as rail access so that we can
get critical minerals to market and so seeing that federal government's prepared to make those
kinds of investments in Eastern canada's fantastic and we support that those kind of investments.
That's what I'm talking about with equivalency, is that there has to be
a recognition that if we're going to address these issues, we have to address
them in different ways in each jurisdiction, and there has to be a similar
amount of interest and investment from the federal government. Uh yeah, I just
I really appreciate it. The conversation about collaboration today and speaking with Premier ev
And and focusing on for us in the ukon the potential of a great connection.
It's it's it's foundational to our ability to reduce our emissions and to meet
our climate change goals. We're we're having a season this year where we're lucky
we can deploy resources to our neighbors that are dealing with with fires and our
floting season has been minimal this year. But I mean the collaboration is going
to be key. Think as Premier eb said, there's there's strengths that we
all can lean on. For us, a great connection to British columby the
early stage conversation that opportunity not only will drive a Northwestern Canadian economy when it
comes to critical minerals and you would and the cleanest way possible, but it
is also going to help us meet our overall goal. So I think the
support from the premiers, especially from the provinces, and as Premier Cochrane touched
on, understanding the uniqueness of the North and having the provincial leaders from Western
Canada stand by us and understand and support us is so important coming of these
meetings and I just really appreciate that over the last two days. To add
a bit as well, I think the most impacted region by climate change is
right in the North. We see in daily as people who rely so heavily
in terms of the ice and really the discussions that we've had were really powerful
in terms of our ability to see nation building projects such as the Kiva de
hydro and Fiberlink that really would allow us to be able to to get away
from diesel. But right now there's no outside solutions that allow us to be
able to get out of diesel as we move forward, but we do have
the solutions, as David mentioned, in terms of solutions that really allow us
to see nation investments really in the North and western Nuna. In particular,
I look at the Grace Bay Road in Port as a project where really there's
twenty two of the thirty one critical minerals that we could provide not only the
Canadians but to the world that really would unlock these incredible resources and that would
really create incredible jobs that tie obviously to the climate change that we see.
So the discussions that we've seen and have had here has been really poopful from
the lens that there's such an infrastructure deficit in the North that it's important to
recognize that gap and for us to really play a leading role in terms of
providing those solutions as we move forward as well in light of climate change.
If I can just end on one thing to that as well, as stated
the North Fields climate change four times, there's the South and I appreciate a
premiere from Nunavut actually speaking and saying we don't have a choice many of it.
Most of our communities, all of our communities except for a couple,
all of Nunavuts are reliant on diesel. We don't have an option to get
off at this point. So my point is that you can't make one policy
to fit all of Canada. It doesn't work. The carbon tax is a
huge example of that. It's an incentive so that people get off and use
renewable energy. Great incentive, except when you don't have any alternative. What
it became as a punishment to people in the or. We're experiencing climate change,
Our animals are migrating that we don't know. Our elders don't aren't able
to read the land anymore, our fires are we're experiencing fires in the south.
We've got flooding in the north, We've got snow in communities. This
is all in the last week and so one policy throughout Canada will not work.
It's important that the federal government work with all jurisdictions to identify what we
know we live there, so we need to have a say on what policies
will be implemented for us. Thank you. Our next question comes from Chuck
Chang, Canadian Press. Chuck, please go ahead. Oh, thank you
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