Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Pictures Media Radio.
Speaker 2: Welcome to policy and rights shows.
Speaker 1: Welcome to Policy that Human Joys. Welcome back to policy rights.
Speaker 1: Here in Depictions Media Radio, I'm your host, Michael Cloggs.
Speaker 1: So we're gonna hear from Christia Friedland as she's speaking
Speaker 1: about well things are happening in our industry and how
Speaker 1: the federal government is going to support those things. We
Speaker 1: are also here from Doug Ford on issues around Ontario,
Speaker 1: and we'll also hear from Antonio Guerreres as he talks
Speaker 1: from Papua New Guinea. But let's start off with this though. Okay,
Speaker 1: So warships have with reportedly about twelve hundred missiles to
Speaker 1: be aimed at Venezuela, and there are also reports of
Speaker 1: some lethal military actions against what is said to be
Speaker 1: cart tell ships in off the coast of Venezuela. One. Okay, George, Sorry,
Speaker 1: Donald Trump has not absolutely proven that Venezuela is once
Speaker 1: shipping the dangerous drugs across the Caribbean into the United
Speaker 1: States and thus those also finding a way further north
Speaker 1: into Canada. He has not proven that, and yet he
Speaker 1: is taking lethal action against people. He is boarding ships
Speaker 1: and killing people.
Speaker 2: This is not the way that our world is supposed
Speaker 2: to do things. That we are supposed to.
Speaker 1: Follow evidence and act on that evidence in accordance with
Speaker 1: would do process, not just open fire, guns blazing and.
Speaker 2: Start killing people. This is the way of.
Speaker 1: One man, not the way of all of Americans. And
Speaker 1: I need to say this because it is time for
Speaker 1: Americans to step up to the plate and start casting
Speaker 1: votes to get rid of these people who.
Speaker 2: Want to.
Speaker 1: Go in guns blazing, open fire, kill people, mass shootings.
Speaker 1: It is time for America to step up and regain
Speaker 1: their country and get these people out of office. The
Speaker 1: American people have seemed to forgotten something that is very important,
Speaker 1: and that is the power of the vote, the election,
Speaker 1: and they need to regain that power so that we
Speaker 1: can stop some of what we see we're seeing.
Speaker 2: Okay, so.
Speaker 1: Back to things happening around in Canada. And like I said,
Speaker 1: we're going to hear from Christia Freeland as she is
Speaker 1: talking about made in Canada and made in Canada firies. Okay,
Speaker 1: eit a second, Let's stop for a second. At Ferries,
Speaker 1: the CEO of BC Fairies has been under fire and
Speaker 1: criticized for his choice of who is building the next
Speaker 1: BC ferry because it is a Chinese shipbuilder. Well and
Speaker 1: the CEO of VC Fairies, he also brings up brings
Speaker 1: up a point with that criticism as he pushes back
Speaker 1: that there are gaps in the Canadian ship building industry
Speaker 1: that need to.
Speaker 2: Be filled because truth be told.
Speaker 1: When BC Fairies went put it out there that they
Speaker 1: wanted to buy a new ferry, well needed to buy
Speaker 1: a new ferry, that they needed a ferry to come
Speaker 1: back into another ferry to come into service. When they
Speaker 1: put it out there that no Canadian shipbuilder stepped up
Speaker 1: to the plate, someone which could be simply put that,
Speaker 1: oh whoa, we built this and we built that. We
Speaker 1: don't build fairies, instead of asking this simple question because
Speaker 1: it is technically a government contract. This is BC Ferries
Speaker 1: is a transit company for British Columbia, so the money
Speaker 1: would have been there. He was given a budget or
Speaker 1: came up with a budget of what he could spend
Speaker 1: for that ferry. Why didn't a Canadian ship builder at
Speaker 1: least submit a.
Speaker 2: Proposal to build a ferry. Why is it that.
Speaker 1: With the we we're boasting about having domestic steel, domestic
Speaker 1: aluminium to build transportation infrastructure as Christia Freeland is going
Speaker 1: to talk about, which is wonderful.
Speaker 2: That is great.
Speaker 1: My question is though, why is it the BC Ferries
Speaker 1: didn't receive a Canadian proposal, they.
Speaker 2: Might have put it to the top. Why is it that.
Speaker 1: The Skytrain and the and the train commuter train trains
Speaker 1: in Vancouver are built by a company outside of Canada.
Speaker 1: Why can't they be built in Canada so that it
Speaker 1: gives Canadian people jobs? And Christia Freeland should be answering
Speaker 1: those sort of questions. Domestic steel, domestic aluminium to build
Speaker 1: transportation infrastructure is how she topic this particular press briefing
Speaker 1: from Hamilton, Ontario. So what happened to British Columbia and
Speaker 1: building our commuter trains and ferries. They're being built right
Speaker 1: here in Canada. Why are they being forgotten about?
Speaker 3: Okay?
Speaker 1: And we're also gonna hear, like I said, from Doug
Speaker 1: Ford as he talks about things that are happening in
Speaker 1: Ontario and how they're creating jobs and helping people with
Speaker 1: the trades find a find jobs and training Ontario. Guerrerez,
Speaker 1: as he was in Papua New Guinea, he led the
Speaker 1: Charge for Climate Justice as the UN Climate Conference approaches
Speaker 1: in Brazil. The world must move faster to keep the
Speaker 1: one point five degree limit alive. It goes on to
Speaker 1: to he's going to go on and talk about spending
Speaker 1: one point three trillion dollars?
Speaker 2: How do we do How do we do this? How
Speaker 2: do we.
Speaker 1: Make climate change a serious thing without putting a dollar
Speaker 1: amount to it? How do we make it so that
Speaker 1: it becomes a social thing that we're not looking for
Speaker 1: some industry to sol We're not looking for a billionaire
Speaker 1: to come up with an invention that will solve climate change.
Speaker 1: Why can't we just make it something way more simpler
Speaker 1: and take it back to the people doing what they
Speaker 1: can One not buying the latest, greatest thing as soon
Speaker 1: as it hits the market. Two, limiting the amount of
Speaker 1: single use products they go across that come with food,
Speaker 1: packaging whatever, limiting that finding ways to reuse those sort
Speaker 1: of packages, boxes, whatever things come in.
Speaker 2: Finding ways to make a.
Speaker 1: Product lasts longer. With the changes in technology, Why can't
Speaker 1: the corporations take an old allow an old phone onto
Speaker 1: the new network. Why can't the internet not have to Well,
Speaker 1: your browser is outdated, so you need to go buy
Speaker 1: something new. Why why do all those things. Why can't
Speaker 1: we just make it so that once a product works,
Speaker 1: it works until it can no longer be serviced or repaired.
Speaker 1: That's what we can do as human beings to help
Speaker 1: make climate change a real thing and limit the rise
Speaker 1: in in climate to the one point five degrees that
Speaker 1: mister Guerreras.
Speaker 2: Is talking about.
Speaker 1: So why don't we get started, And we're going to
Speaker 1: hear from Christia Freeland, and we will also hear from
Speaker 1: Doug Ford as they talk about things are happening in Canada,
Speaker 1: and it will listen to Antonio Guerreras as he talks
Speaker 1: about talks with reporters from Papua New Guinea about the
Speaker 1: charge for Climate Justice.
Speaker 4: Slots.
Speaker 5: I will just go like this, okay.
Speaker 6: So we are committed here at Arsener Middle DAFASCO to
Speaker 6: the health and safety of all those who come onto site.
Speaker 6: So in case in an emergency today, we're going to
Speaker 6: exit through the doors here out to the east parking
Speaker 6: lot to an assembly area at the back of the
Speaker 6: parking lot. We do have Arsener Middle team members here.
Speaker 6: Should we need to, we will guide you to that
Speaker 6: assembly area now before we start the formal agenda for today,
Speaker 6: I'd like to provide you a bit of background about
Speaker 6: Arsener Middle to Fasco. So first, we lost the slides here, sorry,
Speaker 6: so Oursler and Middle. We're part of the world's leading
Speaker 6: integrated steel and mining company Arsler Middle, who has manufacturing
Speaker 6: facilities in fifteen countries, over one hundred and twenty five
Speaker 6: thousand employees working to supply customers in over one hundred
Speaker 6: and twenty five countries. In twenty twenty four, we produced
Speaker 6: a total or we totaled over fifty four million shipments
Speaker 6: of steel tons fifty four million tons of steel and
Speaker 6: to ensure we continue to support our customers with their
Speaker 6: developing needs, we have fourteen research centers with sixteen hundred
Speaker 6: and fifty full time researchers. Next slide, Please thank you.
Speaker 6: In Canada, Arsler Middle has more than ten thousand employees
Speaker 6: and supports another forty thousand indirect jobs. We have operations
Speaker 6: in flat rolled, tubular, automotive, tailored blanks and long products steel,
Speaker 6: and we also have extensive iron iron ore mines in Quebec.
Speaker 6: Defasco was founded in nineteen twelve as Dominion Steel Casting's company,
Speaker 6: and over the past one hundred and thirteen years, people
Speaker 6: have been and continue to be a key differentiator in
Speaker 6: our success. Our product is steel and people are truly
Speaker 6: our strength. Health and safety is a core value here
Speaker 6: for us here at Arsler middle Da Fasco. This encompasses
Speaker 6: two things, both physical safety as I mentioned for everybody
Speaker 6: who comes onto our site and works on our site,
Speaker 6: as well as mental and physical wealth. Our senior leaders
Speaker 6: do over fifteen thousand shop floor layered safety talks a year,
Speaker 6: with the focus on talking to our employees on how
Speaker 6: we can improve safety and then actioning from those discussions.
Speaker 6: In Hamilton, we're the region's largest private employer of nearly
Speaker 6: forty five hundred employees with an additional twenty thousand indirect
Speaker 6: jobs that we support. We make one hundred and thirty
Speaker 6: grades and produce four point five million tons of steel annually.
Speaker 6: We have three to four billion in procurement annually with
Speaker 6: more than three thousand suppliers, where the majority are located
Speaker 6: here in Hamilton. Since twenty fifteen, we've invested more than
Speaker 6: five billion into our facilities. That includes a new heavy
Speaker 6: gauge galvanizing line, additional capabilities with aluminum silic can product
Speaker 6: at our Automotive Number five galvanizing line, as well as
Speaker 6: modernization of our hot mill, which continues to make it
Speaker 6: besting class. In twenty twenty three, we launched our ex
Speaker 6: carb Recycled and renewably produced product. This is a product
Speaker 6: made with a minimum seventy percent scrap and one hundred
Speaker 6: percent renewable energy and it helps provide our customers with
Speaker 6: the low lower scope three carbon high And when you
Speaker 6: compare to global and North American averages, I am you
Speaker 6: going to let.
Speaker 4: People come in?
Speaker 7: Why not?
Speaker 5: Nice to see it?
Speaker 8: Wrap it of Disney.
Speaker 3: Bring back the slides.
Speaker 9: For Mecca Slides Place again, bring back the slidesh Government.
Speaker 6: Sorry, you can go to the next one.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 6: So we've been making electric ef furness steel here for
Speaker 6: almost thirty years since we started up the facility in
Speaker 6: nineteen ninety six, and today forty five percent of our
Speaker 6: overall shipments are actually produced with EAF steel. Okay, next slide.
Speaker 6: And lastly, I just wanted to mention that our teams
Speaker 6: continue to design and develop steels for our customers in
Speaker 6: the automotive, construction, food packaging, culvert, energy and agricultural markets.
Speaker 6: So again it's our pleasure to have you here today
Speaker 6: and we wish you all the success.
Speaker 10: Thank you, thanks very.
Speaker 9: Thanks very much, Tammy. Okay, so now we have everyone
Speaker 9: in the room, I would like to start off with
Speaker 9: a short video message from the right Honorable Mark Kearney,
Speaker 9: Prime Minister of Canada, the Tresident Mark Kearney, Le Premiunist Canada.
Speaker 2: You come up.
Speaker 9: Sorry, there's a told there's a technical glitch. So now
Speaker 9: we'll move on. So Minister Freeland, I'd like to introduce
Speaker 9: everyone knows Minister Freeland, the Honorable christiph Freeland, Minister of
Speaker 9: Transport and Internal Trade, first elected as MP in twenty thirteen,
Speaker 9: has served as Canada's tenth Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of
Speaker 9: Finance and and also played, in the context when we're
Speaker 9: talking here, a key role in the renegotiate of NAFTA
Speaker 9: back when as Minister of Foreign Affairs. So, Minister, I'm
Speaker 9: going to hand it over to you for opening remarks.
Speaker 5: Okay, Well, good morning everyone, bien venue some of it
Speaker 5: in hell mon de trici avec. This is a really
Speaker 5: important and special day for me and for all of
Speaker 5: the colleagues who are here. I'm sorry that we didn't
Speaker 5: get to see the video of the Prime Minister because
Speaker 5: he's very excited about us doing this too. You know,
Speaker 5: as Pablo has just said, steel and aluminum are found
Speaker 5: national to Canada, and steel and aluminum and the people
Speaker 5: who produce steel and aluminum in Canada are actually personally
Speaker 5: very special to me. My bonding moment was during the
Speaker 5: first NAFT negotiations or renegotiation, and then when we face
Speaker 5: the two three two tariffs, and that was a very
Speaker 5: testing time. Things are really testing now a game. And
Speaker 5: you know, we were talking with our MP's who I'm
Speaker 5: going to introduce in a minute beforehand, but my friend
Speaker 5: and colleague Lisa Heppner said in our pre chat that
Speaker 5: steel is foundational to Canada, and steel is is about
Speaker 5: jobs and the people who make the steal. It's also
Speaker 5: about our national economic security and our national security. Producing
Speaker 5: these foundational industrial products steel and aluminum is essential to Canada.
Speaker 5: And look, we're here at Dafasco, which is the largest
Speaker 5: flat steel producer. So you guys don't need me to
Speaker 5: tell you how challenging things are right now, but I
Speaker 5: want you to know that I recognize your amazing MPs,
Speaker 5: recognize your amazing mayor recognizes how great the challenge is,
Speaker 5: and we are here today because I'm the Transport Minister.
Speaker 5: We have another transport minister here two and we know
Speaker 5: that our transport industries, rail maritime transport use a lot
Speaker 5: of steel and aluminum. As a country, we need to
Speaker 5: very very quickly get really really good at using the
Speaker 5: steel and aluminium that we're so good at producing across
Speaker 5: our entire economy today, with a focus on rail and
Speaker 5: maritime transport. So that's what we're here to talk about.
Speaker 2: I want to.
Speaker 5: Offer a special recognition and showed out to the union
Speaker 5: leaders who are here today. This is about bringing together
Speaker 5: all levels of government, business and critically labor. At the
Speaker 5: end of the day, Canada and our steel and aluminum
Speaker 5: industries are strong because of the people who work here,
Speaker 5: and so I really do want to take a minute
Speaker 5: to recognize all of the great workers their union representatives,
Speaker 5: and I want you to know that you are at
Speaker 5: the heart of our economy and of our concern about
Speaker 5: supporting the steel and aluminum sector. Juvus de Lassier de
Speaker 5: Landistrie de la lumignum si cluciel again seclucielle pour les
Speaker 5: sector transport, le travaur don les enduce three d aluminium
Speaker 5: Saint Helmont and port.
Speaker 11: A poor guvernment a juv remon remer Si Le Travaur
Speaker 11: Travaus de sector, the Aluminium do La Sier representant San
Speaker 11: Dico ad Remon Sulier, kel puen Il Saint Neceser poor
Speaker 11: Lo Canada akel p On A la e c Poor
Speaker 11: lesa prier a kel puen on a Absolutement convey and
Speaker 11: Cue la Conomi Canadian du trouve lemoy N dauty Lise,
Speaker 11: not Aluminium notre.
Speaker 5: R c a e c Sha no.
Speaker 7: Sola we Y.
Speaker 5: I'm really thrilled by how many people are here today.
Speaker 5: When we started organizing this meeting in the middle of
Speaker 5: the summer, Aroun Bangorage, who is the Deputy Minister of Transport,
Speaker 5: I think was a little bit skeptical A roune is
Speaker 5: that fair.
Speaker 12: Uh.
Speaker 5: Uh that this was gonna be something that we could
Speaker 5: pull together so quickly, And I was of the view
Speaker 5: that we needed to try because the need is urgent.
Speaker 5: We're here at ASCO, We're here at an essential Canadian
Speaker 5: steel producer. You guys understand how tremendous the pressure is.
Speaker 5: And we recognized that we need to act with the
Speaker 5: kind of fierce urgency that you are feeling. What makes
Speaker 5: me really happy is the way that Canadians, that people
Speaker 5: here have felt that same urgency, and the way that
Speaker 5: we have had people from across the country users of
Speaker 5: steel and aluminum in rail transport, in marine transport, who
Speaker 5: have recognized that now is a moment that we have
Speaker 5: to change how we do things and reorient our own
Speaker 5: economy to be using our own steel and aluminum. And
Speaker 5: really it's that conversation that is what we are here
Speaker 5: to do and here to talk about. I had a
Speaker 5: conversation yesterday about this meeting with the Prime Minister, and
Speaker 5: we reminded each other that one of the things that
Speaker 5: he said during the election campaign that people responded to
Speaker 5: with the greatest excitement and energy was when he said
Speaker 5: we as Canadians can give ourselves more than any country
Speaker 5: can take away from us. We need to rely on ourselves.
Speaker 5: We need to build Canada. That is what we are
Speaker 5: here to do. I'm now just quickly want to recognize
Speaker 5: some great colleagues who are here with me, and I'd
Speaker 5: like you to stand up who are here with me
Speaker 5: to support this effort. I've already mentioned my friend Lisa Heffner,
Speaker 5: John Paul Danco, Aslam Rana and sema A Khan. These
Speaker 5: are our Hamilton and Oakville uh MPs. I want you
Speaker 5: guys to know they talk to me every single day
Speaker 5: about what you need and they are here to be
Speaker 5: part of this work. In this conversation, I am also
Speaker 5: joined by a guy who spends every single day working
Speaker 5: hard for Canadian workers, and that is my colleague and friend,
Speaker 5: John Zarachelli. Yeah, we have other orders of government here too,
Speaker 5: and I'm going to give them a shout out in
Speaker 5: a minute. But before I do that, I'm going to
Speaker 5: ask John if he wants to say a few words.
Speaker 10: Thank you, Minister Freeland, thank you for bringing us all
Speaker 10: together for this important conversation today. I want to underline
Speaker 10: that Prime Minister's statement that you raise that we can
Speaker 10: do more for ourselves than any foreign government can take away.
Speaker 10: I think that's why today is really important, because we're
Speaker 10: talking about very strategic industries that we need to grow
Speaker 10: and protect, and I know we're all here to do that.
Speaker 10: So I'm really happy this is this is happening today.
Speaker 10: I think it's really critical. You know, unions, industry and
Speaker 10: government are coming together here to help help deal with
Speaker 10: this very strategic problem. So I look forward to the
Speaker 10: conversation today. My one message to my my colleagues from
Speaker 10: the union sector who have sometimes somehow strategically put themselves
Speaker 10: at the back of the room. Aha, make your voices
Speaker 10: heard today. Please, we need you, your workers need you.
Speaker 10: And I just want to thank everybody for coming here today.
Speaker 10: Thank you to colleagues from the other provinces to those online,
Speaker 10: and thank you Minister Freedom for this leadership.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and I really want to echo what John has
Speaker 5: said about how important the union voice in these conversations
Speaker 5: is because at the end of the day, this is
Speaker 5: about Canadian jobs and Canadian workers and that's who you represent.
Speaker 5: We are doing this as we learned how to do
Speaker 5: during COVID, in a hybrid format. So we do have
Speaker 5: the room is full and we have a lot of
Speaker 5: people joining us virtually. And I do want to give
Speaker 5: a shout out to our parliamentary colleague, member of the
Speaker 5: Transport Committee, she Nuian, who is here, so thank you
Speaker 5: very much, thanks for your hard work, and I want
Speaker 5: to turn it over to my colleague, our Ontario minister,
Speaker 5: proud me Sarkaria please.
Speaker 13: Well, thank you very much, Minister Freeland. A pleasure to
Speaker 13: be here for this summit today with many of many
Speaker 13: distinguished individuals, and I thank you for your leadership and
Speaker 13: bringing this together and bringing a very distinguished room and
Speaker 13: many of those online as well to participate in this
Speaker 13: very very important conversation. I want to take an opportunity
Speaker 13: by first introducing one of my colleagues, a local MPP
Speaker 13: for Hamilton, Monica, if you would like to stand up
Speaker 13: and give everybody away. She's been a very strong advocate
Speaker 13: at the provincial level, very quickly, very strong advocate of
Speaker 13: Hamilton and the sector that supported steel, aluminum and many others.
Speaker 13: And we've worked very very closely together in the past
Speaker 13: couple of very quickly in the past couple of months
Speaker 13: to to move forward on some great projects and initiatives.
Speaker 13: And I also want to give a big shout out
Speaker 13: to a Deputy minister, Doug Jones, who is also here
Speaker 13: for leading it. Lenny for the Minister of Transportation at
Speaker 13: a Department of Transportation here provincially. And I think Michael
Speaker 13: Lindsay will also be joining us shortly. I don't see
Speaker 13: him in the room, but I think he will be here.
Speaker 13: But you know, our commitment in this conversation is real.
Speaker 13: We want to be a strong partner as we move forward.
Speaker 13: You know, we were elected on a you know, a
Speaker 13: promise to protect Ontario from tariffs, but we also see
Speaker 13: this as an opportunity here domestically to support our industries
Speaker 13: in general. You know, Marra Horbath, I can't begin to
Speaker 13: you know, appreciate or understand the challenges your city is under.
Speaker 13: You know, Mary cares deeply about the community and her
Speaker 13: city and the challenges. We've had many discussions on, for example,
Speaker 13: transit projects. But I know where the Premier as well.
Speaker 13: You know, we're all in this together. The message from
Speaker 13: the Premiere from the day one has always been that
Speaker 13: we're in this together. How do we become more resilient.
Speaker 13: How do we build an economy that protects not only
Speaker 13: the workers, but also ensures generational opportunities for Canadian businesses
Speaker 13: and Canadian workers. One of the things that you know,
Speaker 13: our government was able to help support was very recently
Speaker 13: and I think we need to do more of is
Speaker 13: are a TTC line to trains being built up in
Speaker 13: thunder Bay. And I know some of the team from
Speaker 13: Alstam is here today, but where we have Canadian options
Speaker 13: and we can support Canadian workers, even if it does
Speaker 13: cost us a little bit more, I think we need
Speaker 13: to do everything we can to support those workers, to
Speaker 13: support and ensure that those jobs remain in Canada, in
Speaker 13: Ontario in that matter. So I think this conversation that
Speaker 13: we're going to have today we'll build upon that. You know,
Speaker 13: we've invested seventy billion dollars over the next ten years
Speaker 13: into rail infrastructure across metrolinks. So whether that's Lerts in Hamilton,
Speaker 13: whether that's going to be Lert's and subways in Toronto,
Speaker 13: this is going to be a strong driver of the
Speaker 13: economy and we need to continue to build that transportation infrastructure.
Speaker 13: But also very recently also he put forward our two
Speaker 13: hundred and fifteen million dollar shipbuilding program, which I know
Speaker 13: is really really important to places like Hamilton and also
Speaker 13: in Ontario, and I want to thank my colleagues, you know,
Speaker 13: Monica for also championing in that project here given the
Speaker 13: opportunities that exist not only in Hamilton but across Ontario.
Speaker 13: So we look forward to working with Minister Freeland and
Speaker 13: her team. I think you'll be hearing from the Premier
Speaker 13: very very shortly, and we hope to continue to build
Speaker 13: upon this momentum as we continue to protect Ontario and
Speaker 13: move forward. So Minister Freeland, thank you for your leadership
Speaker 13: for bringing this together, having us here being a part
Speaker 13: of the conversation. We look forward to working with you.
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, thank you very much.
Speaker 5: And I think we're all very happy about those TTC cars,
Speaker 5: and you know that's an example of us working together
Speaker 5: also with the City of Toronto to build and make
Speaker 5: things here in Canada, and our next step is to
Speaker 5: use Canadian steel and aluminum in the things that we
Speaker 5: manufacture here. There are I do want to recognize our
Speaker 5: colleague Stephan losan Kiati ci avek A, Virtuel is stiff fun.
Speaker 11: As the Deputy du Quebec on it, hamiltonos do la.
Speaker 5: Avic I thinkan, I think we have our premier who's
Speaker 5: going to be joining us virtually, so let's give him
Speaker 5: a chance. And then we do have, you know, really
Speaker 5: strong municipal representation and provinces from across the country will
Speaker 5: give them a chance to speak to But I think
Speaker 5: Premier Ford was going to join us at nine point
Speaker 5: thirty and he's a busy guy, so okay, so Pablo
Speaker 5: interrupt me when he's ready, because I think I know
Speaker 5: probably the I both know what a big believer he
Speaker 5: is in this effort to make clear to everyone that
Speaker 5: Canada is not for sale and that we are going
Speaker 5: to buy Canadian and build. And I'm really glad that
Speaker 5: he's going to have a chance to be part of
Speaker 5: our conversation. I am really glad that Minister Elvis Lovelace
Speaker 5: is with us. Thank you for coming and we would
Speaker 5: love to hear from you. It is great to have Atlantic, Canada,
Speaker 5: Newfoundland and Labrador here.
Speaker 14: Absolutely, thank you, minister, and certainly a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 14: I'm here with my deputy Minister Sean Dutton, who's a
Speaker 14: We all as ministers know how important our deputies are
Speaker 14: and staff for sure, and in terms of this meeting
Speaker 14: Minister Freeland, we were skeptical as well. So but we're
Speaker 14: here and we are it's a pleasure to be here,
Speaker 14: and so we'll wait for Premier Forward, so I'll have
Speaker 14: to be pretty good to outdo him, for sure. But
Speaker 14: the room is filled here today and this shows the
Speaker 14: importance of it. And mister Freling, you talked about the
Speaker 14: urgency and the skeptical, the essential time story of this,
Speaker 14: and it is essential and it is urgent as we
Speaker 14: are in testing times, as you alluded to, and we
Speaker 14: know there are union leaders and business leaders. The mayor's
Speaker 14: pleasure to be here with you. You talked about great
Speaker 14: workers and the heart of the economy, and I saw
Speaker 14: on one of the slides earlier it said people are differentiator.
Speaker 14: So that is the differentiator, our people, So I thought
Speaker 14: that was very important to state that this morning. I'm
Speaker 14: not going to say much more, but the give more
Speaker 14: than can be taken away are very very powerful words,
Speaker 14: and that's doable if we're partners. And now I'm here
Speaker 14: as Newfoundland and labradors rep and proud to be a
Speaker 14: partner in Canada, best country in the world. And at
Speaker 14: that I'll end it and open it up for others
Speaker 14: to have a few words.
Speaker 5: Thank you, thank you, yeah, thank you very very much
Speaker 5: for being here. We know how important marine transport is
Speaker 5: for Newfoundland and Labrador and it's really really great to
Speaker 5: have you here. Okay, and then we have some other
Speaker 5: provinces participating virtually, so I'm gonna maybe go to West
Speaker 5: of Ontario. Do we have Minister Moses from Manitoba? Is
Speaker 5: he here with us on the screen? Give them a
Speaker 5: chance yeah, there we go.
Speaker 7: Good morning, Good morning, can you hear me?
Speaker 5: Okay, we sure can.
Speaker 15: Okay.
Speaker 7: I'm so pleased to be joining you today from Manitoba.
Speaker 7: Being in kind of in the geographical center of the country,
Speaker 7: it's really important for us to continue to work towards
Speaker 7: bringing the country together. Logistically. We know how essential it
Speaker 7: is for you know, transportation and trucks to make it
Speaker 7: from coast to coast to coast, and for us being
Speaker 7: in Manitoba here, we know we play a vital role
Speaker 7: in that.
Speaker 13: So we're very.
Speaker 7: Proud to be engaging this conversation in understanding our logistical
Speaker 7: importance to growing in Canada's economy. Furthermore, we're very proud
Speaker 7: to have a very good involvement with the steel industry
Speaker 7: as well.
Speaker 13: Here.
Speaker 7: We know that's going to be a large conversation for
Speaker 7: today with Gardell being produced steel being produced in Selkirk, Manitoba,
Speaker 7: to recycled steel powered by clean hydro electricity, some of
Speaker 7: the cleanest steel you'll find anywhere in the world, and
Speaker 7: so not only support that particular business and their enterprise,
Speaker 7: but all of the secondary manufacturing that spills off from
Speaker 7: that is very important to Manitoba's economy. So I just
Speaker 7: want to leave the words there that Manitoba continues to
Speaker 7: not only find its way to have a strong role
Speaker 7: in growing our national economy, but also to understand that
Speaker 7: our industries have a significant role and that can continue
Speaker 7: to bolster and support them means bolstering and supporting our
Speaker 7: entire national economy. So thanks very much, looking forward to
Speaker 7: a conversation today and looking forward to strengthening the relationship
Speaker 7: between Manitoba and the rest of our great cognation. Thank
Speaker 7: you very much.
Speaker 5: Okay, thank you very much, Jamie, and I think we
Speaker 5: have the premiere of our province that we're in right now,
Speaker 5: ready to address us.
Speaker 15: Well, Minister Freeland, thanks so much for having us on
Speaker 15: and Jamie, thank you for your talk there to Jamie's
Speaker 15: a champion by the way, n M before, he's a
Speaker 15: great leader, and I just want to acknowledge.
Speaker 4: Our ministers as well.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 15: We have Minister Pacinia, Minster Labor, Minister Primei Sakaria, Minister
Speaker 15: of Transportation, and they're doing an incredible job.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 15: It starts off with i'll say Minister Pachina and the
Speaker 15: Minister of Labor investing over two point five billion dollars
Speaker 15: in Skills Development Fund, making sure that we have our
Speaker 15: future students get ready for jobs of the future. And
Speaker 15: along with Proud Meat Sakari, our Minister of Transportation, has
Speaker 15: focused on the infrastructure. We have over two hundred billion
Speaker 15: dollars of infrastructure we're doing here in Ontario, the largest
Speaker 15: transportation system in North America, building subways and building roads
Speaker 15: and highways and bridges. You know, folks, we're in a
Speaker 15: battle like we've never seen against President Trump. You know,
Speaker 15: President Trump, in my opinion, wants to destroy our country,
Speaker 15: get every manufacturer they possibly can down to the US,
Speaker 15: and I'm hearing it, I'm feeling it right now. But
Speaker 15: we need to stand up. We have two choices. See
Speaker 15: either roll over and get run over by this guy
Speaker 15: and you know that would yet, or we stand up
Speaker 15: and fight like we've never fought before. I take the
Speaker 15: latter approach, and I think the government plays a massive role.
Speaker 15: I always say government doesn't create jobs, but they create
Speaker 15: the environment and conditions for companies to come here and
Speaker 15: invest and thrive and prosper and grow. And that's what
Speaker 15: we're doing here in Ontario. We reduce the cost of
Speaker 15: doing business for companies to come here by eleven billion
Speaker 15: dollars each and every single year. We've never ever raised
Speaker 15: a tax. Tax is a worse thing you could ever
Speaker 15: do to people, the worst thing you could ever do
Speaker 15: to businesses. You grow your revenues, you don't tax the
Speaker 15: you know the pants of companies. You do a tax
Speaker 15: reduction to corporations. What they do they invest it into
Speaker 15: their people, into technology, into their infrastructure via buildings, buy
Speaker 15: new equipment and they'll continue to grow. As talking to
Speaker 15: my minister Vic Fidelli over the weekend, he said, our
Speaker 15: pipeline is full of large, large companies coming to invest
Speaker 15: billions of dollars. The foreign direct investment last year alone
Speaker 15: in Ontario there was over four hundred and this is
Speaker 15: just foreign this is not everyone that's expanding within Ontario.
Speaker 15: There's over four hundred and nine companies that invested worldwide
Speaker 15: in Ontario, creating roughly an investment of thirty nine zero
Speaker 15: point eight seventy five billion, So let's say it was
Speaker 15: forty billion dollars, creating twenty five thousand jobs. This is
Speaker 15: how we create the environment. We have to send a message,
Speaker 15: minister and right across the country that we aren't going
Speaker 15: to be taxing people We're going to reduce taxes, put
Speaker 15: money back into the people's pockets and when you do that,
Speaker 15: they'll go out and spend it and stimulate. The worst
Speaker 15: place you can ever give your money, in my opinion,
Speaker 15: is the government, all three levels, municipal, provincial and federal,
Speaker 15: because I feel businesses and people know how to spend
Speaker 15: their money a lot wiser than government.
Speaker 4: That's what stimulates the economy.
Speaker 15: We have to give people hope right now, Minister, I'm
Speaker 15: telling you there's no one in the country that takes
Speaker 15: more calls and I take hundreds and hundreds of calls
Speaker 15: from strangers business people around the country, and people are
Speaker 15: getting anxious right now. We have to get out there
Speaker 15: and start announcing big infrastructure projects, no matter if it's
Speaker 15: a rail and by the way, the rail the steel
Speaker 15: rails should be actually produced, preferably here in Ontario or somewhere.
Speaker 15: But we don't even produce our own steel rails here
Speaker 15: in Ontario or Canada. That's what we need to start.
Speaker 15: Focusing on the steel sector is very simple in my opinion.
Speaker 15: You know, when you have steel manufacturing countries that their
Speaker 15: domestic use. For example, the US, the use seventy to
Speaker 15: eighty percent of their steel, and EU European Union they
Speaker 15: use sixty five to seventy five percent. Well guess what
Speaker 15: Canada uses. Canada uses thirty five percent of the domestic steel,
Speaker 15: which is absolutely ridiculous. And I'll tell you that. One
Speaker 15: of the reasons why they're doing it. It's a quota system.
Speaker 15: At one time it was sixty percent quota. Anything over
Speaker 15: and on top of that they'd get tariffed and then
Speaker 15: thank you Prime Minister dropping the fifty percent. But it's
Speaker 15: still not good enough. We need to drop those quotas
Speaker 15: down to twenty five percent. It's absolutely critical so we
Speaker 15: can start using domestic steel. I'm tired about hearing.
Speaker 4: You know, there's a big.
Speaker 15: Shipbuilder on the East coast using European steel, using German steel.
Speaker 15: Why That's why I ask why we're handing money over
Speaker 15: to another country when we can manufacture it here. We
Speaker 15: have the City of Toronto buying ferries from Romania, like
Speaker 15: because it's a electric ferry, I'm sure we can come
Speaker 15: up with an electric ferry as well, or out in
Speaker 15: BC that they're buying ferries as well.
Speaker 4: Maybe I'm wrong, but I didn't think they were building
Speaker 4: them in BC. As well.
Speaker 15: So these are the things we need to start focusing on.
Speaker 15: We need to start supporting Canadian manufacturing. We can get
Speaker 15: it done. I encourage the federal government as we did.
Speaker 15: We spend on procurement roughly about thirty billion dollars a year,
Speaker 15: and then over on top of that the two hundred
Speaker 15: billion dollars on infrastructure, directing any single company that wants
Speaker 15: to do business with a federal, provincial, or even municipal
Speaker 15: governments that they have to use Canadian products no matter what,
Speaker 15: because they always come up with an excuse when it
Speaker 15: goes out to companies, be it PCL or Eliston, the
Speaker 15: two big ones, while we went down to the US
Speaker 15: or Mexico to buy windows. And I'm tired of it.
Speaker 15: We need to pull together. We have to make sure
Speaker 15: we open up trade. We've signed ten deals with territories
Speaker 15: and provinces around the country to make it actually free
Speaker 15: trade and fair trade across our country. That will stimulate
Speaker 15: our country. I'm hearing numbers anywhere from four to six
Speaker 15: percent on our GDP, hundreds of billions of dollars within
Speaker 15: our country.
Speaker 4: That's what we need to do to stimulate the economy.
Speaker 15: But I'm telling you, Minister, I'm hearing it loud and
Speaker 15: clear on the street per se, if you want to
Speaker 15: call it the street from businesses and when you go
Speaker 15: to little mum and pop shops and you go into
Speaker 15: a Tim Horton's. We got to give people hope, and
Speaker 15: we need to do it quickly. I always say faster, quicker, immediate.
Speaker 15: And I know one of the big challenges that we
Speaker 15: face is the government. The biggest problem with the government
Speaker 15: is government, the bureaucracy and red tape and regulations. I
Speaker 15: spoke to a big good company. The biggest problem with
Speaker 15: them compared to their US division, is the regulatory burden
Speaker 15: that government puts on these companies. We need to cut
Speaker 15: red tape, cut regulations, stimulate the economy and that's what
Speaker 15: we're going to do here in Ontario. And we look
Speaker 15: forward to partnering with everyone across the country. But again, Minister,
Speaker 15: we all have to stop talking and we have to
Speaker 15: start seeing action and start moving and making announcements literally
Speaker 15: on a weekly basis, right across this country. And I
Speaker 15: appreciate everyone's time, but we need to start moving and
Speaker 15: start announcing projects. So I appreciate everyone's time. Here, can
Speaker 15: I leave you with one more thing, Minister. Little things
Speaker 15: make a difference on the aluminum sector. So no one
Speaker 15: realizes our aluminum cans are all produced down in the US.
Speaker 15: The aluminum gets shipped from Quebec to the US, and
Speaker 15: I'm thinking we use billions of cans, no matter if
Speaker 15: it's the beverage cans or beer cans, other types of cans.
Speaker 15: We're now on shoring equipment to manufacture cans right here
Speaker 15: in Ontario. Same with the tin cans. We got together
Speaker 15: all the users of tin cans because the tin comes
Speaker 15: from to Fasco, gets shipped to them down to the US,
Speaker 15: gets converted and shipped up. So we're going to be
Speaker 15: manufacturing tin cans. I encourage every single province and territory
Speaker 15: do the exact same thing. Start on shoring everything we can.
Speaker 15: Unleash our critical minerals. Unleash are all. We be the
Speaker 15: wealthiest country in the world and it can't be taken
Speaker 15: fifteen years to get a damn shovel on the ground
Speaker 15: to get critical minerals out when everyone else is doing
Speaker 15: it for two years. So sorry for my last little rant,
Speaker 15: but I can go on for another hour. But you know,
Speaker 15: we need to fix the problem ourselves and create that environment.
Speaker 15: So thank you everyone. I appreciate your time of confidence
Speaker 15: and everyone on the line here. But the biggest problem
Speaker 15: of government. We talk too much.
Speaker 16: Let's start moving, you know what, Tom, Well, thank you everyone, express.
Speaker 17: Our country's profound appreciation on the Secretary General of Inalnations.
Speaker 17: It's excellency Anthony go through us a profound honor and
Speaker 17: privilege for Papaiginea to receive him at our most important
Speaker 17: month and in our most important and milestone ear he
Speaker 17: choose come to us in the midst of his business.
Speaker 17: Since October tenth, nineteen seventy five, when Papa Neginey became
Speaker 17: a member of the United Nations family, up till today,
Speaker 17: we have never been graced by Secretary General from the
Speaker 17: United Nations. He makes history as the first to arrive here,
Speaker 17: and more importantly, on his own accord, he accepted our invitation.
Speaker 17: Many of the world views that he's been advocating expressly
Speaker 17: from the global interest perspective on leaving no one behind,
Speaker 17: uplifting people out of poverty, fighting for climate change and
Speaker 17: climate justice, preservation of biodiversity and forestry, sustainable use of
Speaker 17: our os and resources, keeping peace at all France on
Speaker 17: p ANDG contexts the maintenance of Bugnville Peace Agreement, another
Speaker 17: peace program that has been run that has a strong
Speaker 17: input by United Nations and the continued involvement to us
Speaker 17: has been recognize and for him to come all the
Speaker 17: way gives recognition to the work of United Nations in
Speaker 17: the maintenance of our democracy that's for fifty years on. So, Excellency,
Speaker 17: we welcome you once again to the country. The media
Speaker 17: is here is a papaiguinea in Australian Neguleian pacifica media
Speaker 17: they at your pleasure, please speak to.
Speaker 18: Us, honorable Prime Minister, distinguished members of the media, Gulpela evening.
Speaker 18: Let me begin by thank the Prime Minister Marape and
Speaker 18: the government.
Speaker 3: And people of.
Speaker 18: Papu New Guinea for their very warm welcome. This is
Speaker 18: a visit of solidarity the Prime Minister. I'm perfectly aware
Speaker 18: of the enormous challenges that you face as you pursue
Speaker 18: sustainable and inclusive development, but I have an enormous admiration
Speaker 18: for the resilience, the courage and the determination of your people.
Speaker 18: I'm honored to be the first UN Secretary General to
Speaker 18: visit Papua New Guinea and to join you in celebrating
Speaker 18: fifty years of Papua New Guinea independence and democracy. Over
Speaker 18: the past five decades, you have taken on a profound
Speaker 18: task to weave your breathtaking diversity into one people and
Speaker 18: to one country that leaves no one behind. That process
Speaker 18: is by no means, Zizi, but it is the spirit
Speaker 18: of unity and dialogue that the world needs today. This
Speaker 18: is a moment of great turbulence, from conflicts to the
Speaker 18: climate emergency, to economic instability and inequality. Papuo New Guinea
Speaker 18: has felt the pin at these challenges, but you also
Speaker 18: provide a model for solutions. The Bougainville Peace Agreement has
Speaker 18: now been in place for twenty four years. Its durability
Speaker 18: is a symbol of what can be achieved through perseverance
Speaker 18: and mutual respect. And United Nations has walked with you
Speaker 18: on this journey from weapons disposal to the twenty nineteen referendum,
Speaker 18: and you will continue to stand beside you as the
Speaker 18: next phase begins. I salute the people of Buganville as
Speaker 18: they prepare to cast their votes in the fifth's autonomous
Speaker 18: election since the agreement, and wish them a safe and
Speaker 18: rewarding folling day. And they also welcome the adoption of
Speaker 18: the National Prevention Strategy on Violence. Every person deserves to
Speaker 18: live without fear, regardless of their tribe or gender. This
Speaker 18: strategy is an important step towards that future. For more
Speaker 18: than a decade, the NPS Building Fund has supported complementary
Speaker 18: efforts including conflict resolution, sustainable agriculture and access to well scare.
Speaker 18: I will have the opportunity to witness this work firsthand
Speaker 18: around the country, where the United Nations is honored to.
Speaker 3: Support your efforts.
Speaker 18: We work extensively with young people, who make up a
Speaker 18: full sixty percent of Apuni Guinness population and are one
Speaker 18: of the nation's greatest assets. We must ensure that they
Speaker 18: have opportunities they need to strive. There is another group
Speaker 18: for whom our partnership is especially relevant. Women. On this visit,
Speaker 18: I look forward to meeting with female community leaders. Violence
Speaker 18: against women and girls is a challenge that confronts all societies,
Speaker 18: including Pepuni Guini, and I command the efforts by the
Speaker 18: Parliament to address it. The contributions of women to this
Speaker 18: great nation deserve our full recognition and respect. Ladies and
Speaker 18: gentlemen of the media, papuor New Guinea has long led
Speaker 18: the charge for climate justice. Your country does not contribute
Speaker 18: to climate change. On the contrary, you absorbs you too,
Speaker 18: but is in the first line of its dramatic impact.
Speaker 18: You have emphasized that climate change is a driver of
Speaker 18: poverty and have a strong moral voice for climate finance.
Speaker 18: Your role in the Pacific Islands Forum declarations on sea
Speaker 18: level rise help to shape the global debate as the
Speaker 18: UN Climate Conference approaches in Brazil. The world must move
Speaker 18: faster to keep to one point five degrees limit alive,
Speaker 18: and this means an immediate turning point leading to a
Speaker 18: dastic reduction of emissions that can no longer wait. The
Speaker 18: countries of the G twenty have a particular responsibility as
Speaker 18: they are responsible for eighty percent of climate pollution. Simultaneously,
Speaker 18: developed countries must follow through on their commitments on climate finance,
Speaker 18: with a special emphasis on doubling adaptation finance to allow
Speaker 18: countries and communities to build resilience. The Loss and Damage
Speaker 18: Fund must also mobilize a very meaningful volume of resources,
Speaker 18: including through innovative sources of finance. I applaud the decision
Speaker 18: of the Pacific Countries to launch the Pacific Resilience Facility
Speaker 18: last year, and I appeal to the international community to
Speaker 18: fund it so that it reaches its full potential. The
Speaker 18: Cup in Brazil must also produce a credible path to
Speaker 18: achieve the one point three trillions dollars objective decided in Baku.
Speaker 18: Just as climate finance is essential, so is development finance.
Speaker 18: I applaud Papua New Guineas drive to implement a substenable
Speaker 18: development goals action that must be matched by the entire
Speaker 18: global community. I ratetrade my strong appeal for the reform
Speaker 18: of the international financial architecture that must reflect the world
Speaker 18: of today with a much larger participation of developing countries
Speaker 18: in its institutions and their decision making processes. This is
Speaker 18: a basic condition for to better serve countries like yours,
Speaker 18: and this includes re election on debt relief tripling, the
Speaker 18: lending capacity of multi leederal development banks, and the mobilization
Speaker 18: of private capital at scale to the service of developing countries.
Speaker 18: Dear members of the media, once again, I congratulate papor
Speaker 18: New Guinea on fifty years of independence and democracy and
Speaker 18: thank you for your commitment to multilateralism. United Nations stands
Speaker 18: in solidarity with you now and in the future for
Speaker 18: your vision, your ambition and the lessons you teach us all.
Speaker 18: Thank you to us all get.
Speaker 3: Them our Secretary General, he is a profound.
Speaker 17: Wisdom field man himself at a personal level, but also
Speaker 17: from the organization. And we want to comment you for
Speaker 17: continued advocacy on what is fair and just for all humanity.
Speaker 17: All right, media, I don't think you know we have
Speaker 17: left any room for questionings. Uh, but just one or
Speaker 17: two for me. Direct the questions to me if you
Speaker 17: if you don't mind, but uh, uh, he he's a
Speaker 17: he's a good friend of the pacifica in our country.
Speaker 17: And uh, please be easy on Nam the local media
Speaker 17: if you have one or two uh questions for him
Speaker 17: or myself?
Speaker 3: Okay and.
Speaker 5: One and.
Speaker 3: Okay Marion good quin.
Speaker 15: Alright, sec in right and your walking.
Speaker 18: So uh I'm terribly sorry, butuse I'm go'na be deaf
Speaker 18: and with these noise I'm not understanding you very well.
Speaker 4: Can you speak slowly?
Speaker 19: And the rights of asylum seekers is one of the
Speaker 19: core issues champions to Barking five United Nations internationally. And
Speaker 19: you're currently in a country that was used by Australia
Speaker 19: to retain the violent seekers and refugees between two thousands
Speaker 19: two thousand and sixteen, and Australia currently has a secret
Speaker 19: deal with MG to keep a handful of the silent
Speaker 19: singers here even though it won't disquo how much it's paying.
Speaker 19: My question is do you think Australia is responsible for
Speaker 19: all the welfare of these silent seekers.
Speaker 13: Even though they're not in Australia that we're trying to.
Speaker 6: Get to Australia.
Speaker 4: In January, you in you Wite so many published two.
Speaker 19: Decisions uh staged Australia retains responsibility?
Speaker 2: Will there of those in sint off short attention in.
Speaker 7: Naru and man silent?
Speaker 19: So do you believe in Australia attains such responsibility for
Speaker 19: the silent singers?
Speaker 18: Our position about refugees is clear, it comes on from
Speaker 18: international law. I was I Commissioner for Refugees during ten
Speaker 18: years and my appeal to all countries is to respect
Speaker 18: international refugee law, which means all borders must be open
Speaker 18: for those seeking protection and nobody should be sent back
Speaker 18: to where they might suffer persecution, and every country as
Speaker 18: the responsibility to grant protection and assistance to the refugees.
Speaker 3: That cross their borders. In search of protection.
Speaker 14: On and UH.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 18: First of all, our country team is working hard. We
Speaker 18: have no UH you and agenda for pap Guinea. Our
Speaker 18: agendas to support the government in its strategies and policies,
Speaker 18: and all our agencies are doing their best to.
Speaker 3: Fully support the government.
Speaker 18: But on top of that, we remain with our a
Speaker 18: strong advocacy for the reform of international financial institutions. It
Speaker 18: is absolutely essential that developing countries have a stronger participation
Speaker 18: and debt participation being translated into more resources to the
Speaker 18: developing countries that need them to overcome the enormous challenges
Speaker 18: of development.
Speaker 3: If you have heard me I mentioned.
Speaker 18: That we need to have effective debt relief, we need
Speaker 18: to multiply, as it was proposed in the meeting recently
Speaker 18: took place in Sevilla, multiplied by three the volume of
Speaker 18: resources multilateral development banks put at the disposal of developing countries.
Speaker 18: And at the same time we need to have multilateral
Speaker 18: development banks being able to leverage much more private finance
Speaker 18: and private investment in support developing countries, the risking them
Speaker 18: in order to make sure that they.
Speaker 2: See it's worth.
Speaker 18: Investing in developing countries. So on one hands with our
Speaker 18: meager resources, but our total commitments.
Speaker 3: We are ere to.
Speaker 18: Support the government. On the other hand, we will be
Speaker 18: making global advocacy for the creation of justice and less
Speaker 18: inequality in international financial system, to the benefit of countries
Speaker 18: like Papua New Guinea.
Speaker 12: Good afternoon, everybody. I'm Grand Shock, the chairman and co
Speaker 12: CEO of Their Boss. It's a privilege to welcome you
Speaker 12: to our Kitchener facility today. We're especially honored to out
Speaker 12: host two leaders whose commitment to Ontario's economic growth and
Speaker 12: workforce development continues to make a lasting impact, Premier Forward
Speaker 12: and Minister Puccini. We're also to welcome His Worship Barry Vbanovich,
Speaker 12: Mayor of Kitchener, Karen Redman, Regional Chair of Waterloo, and
Speaker 12: our local representatives Minister Harris MPP Dixon MPP Riddell. Thank
Speaker 12: you for joining us and for your continuous support of
Speaker 12: our region and its workforce. Premiere for It. Minister Puccini,
Speaker 12: thank you for being here and for your government's unwavering
Speaker 12: support of the Ontario manufacturing sector. The Skills Development Fund
Speaker 12: is a powerful investment in our province's future, including Air Bosses.
Speaker 12: We are deeply grateful for your leadership and expanding access
Speaker 12: to this vital resource. At air Boss, we believe our
Speaker 12: people are our greatest strength. The funding we received enabled
Speaker 12: us to enhance training programs, attract and retain top talent,
Speaker 12: and ensure our workforce is equipped with the skills needed
Speaker 12: to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry. As an example
Speaker 12: of this, our state of the art VR forklift training simulator.
Speaker 12: This is not just investment in our company, It's an
Speaker 12: investment in the lives and careers of hundreds of Ontarians,
Speaker 12: including many New Canadians, who are proud to call this
Speaker 12: facility their workspace. We are proud to be an Ontario
Speaker 12: made manufacturer with a team of over three hundred and
Speaker 12: fifty skilled worker right here in Kitchener, producing hundreds of
Speaker 12: millions of pounds of rubber annually for critical sectors such
Speaker 12: as automotive, healthcare, infrastructure, and quite importantly defense. As you
Speaker 12: can see from the various products around us, our defense
Speaker 12: division is truly unique as it's focused on equipment that
Speaker 12: will protect our bravest men and women in uniform. Minister Puccini,
Speaker 12: your support through this funding has empowered us to build
Speaker 12: a stronger, more resilient workforce Thank you for recognizing the
Speaker 12: value of our team and for helping us grow Ontario's
Speaker 12: innovation economy. Premiere forward, your vision for a competitive, self
Speaker 12: reliant Ontario inspires us. We are honored to contribute to
Speaker 12: that vision and grateful for your need support. Thank you both,
Speaker 12: and thank you to everyone for being here and being
Speaker 12: part of this exciting journey. Well, I'll pass it over
Speaker 12: to Mayor for Benovich to share a few remarks.
Speaker 20: Well, thank you so much Gren and it is absolutely
Speaker 20: wonderful to be here with you. I know Chris, who's
Speaker 20: part of the team isn't here, but we have all
Speaker 20: these incredible air Box members who are here. And your
Speaker 20: your your company and your leadership has really showed your
Speaker 20: commitment to your employees, to your community, uh and to
Speaker 20: to your company. Premier Minister Pectini, thank you both for
Speaker 20: being here today as well. You have an excellent team
Speaker 20: representing the government here in Kitchener and throughout Waterloo region.
Speaker 20: And I can use your words our local minister Mike Harris,
Speaker 20: he's he's a champ in terms of all of his
Speaker 20: support and of course pH just Dixon and MPP Brand
Speaker 20: do an incredible job of representing your government here in
Speaker 20: our community. Today's announcement falls a day after Labor Day,
Speaker 20: which is appropriate as your government works to invest in
Speaker 20: the workers of tomorrow as we protect Ontario's economy. Today
Speaker 20: marks an important day for our community, the City of Kitchener,
Speaker 20: in all of Waterloo Region. And I'm proud to stand
Speaker 20: here today with my colleagues and Chair Redman, who's here,
Speaker 20: as we celebrate a bold investment in the people, the
Speaker 20: industries and the future of our community by your government.
Speaker 20: Premier Forward and the Government thank you for your investment
Speaker 20: of over twelve point nine million through the Skills Development
Speaker 20: Fund Training Stream, a commitment that will help more than
Speaker 20: fifty thousand residents in our region gain the skills they
Speaker 20: need to thrive in high demand sectors like construction, manufacturing,
Speaker 20: skilled trades, education and health innovation. And I know a
Speaker 20: number of those companies are here in our community. Today
Speaker 20: is really about more than just a funding announcement. It's
Speaker 20: a declaration of confidence in our workforce and a recognition
Speaker 20: of the resilience and ingenuity that define Kitchener and Waterloo Region.
Speaker 20: Whether you're a student just starting out, a worker looking
Speaker 20: to upscale, or an employer seeking talent. This investment opens
Speaker 20: doors to opportunity and stability. We know that global economic
Speaker 20: pressures such as the recent US tariffs can shake local economies,
Speaker 20: but today's announcement sinds a clear message. Ontario is standing
Speaker 20: strong with its workers. The province is ensuring that the
Speaker 20: people of this area have the tools to adapt, grow
Speaker 20: and succeed no matter what challenges come our way. Let
Speaker 20: me be clear, today is not just about jobs. It's
Speaker 20: about dignity, security, and the promise of a better tomorrow.
Speaker 20: It's about building a Kitchener where everyone, regardless of their
Speaker 20: background or circumstances, has the opportunity to contribute, to grow,
Speaker 20: and to succeed. So on behalf of our community. A
Speaker 20: heartfelt thank you to you, Premier and all those who
Speaker 20: made this investment possible. Together we're building a stronger, more
Speaker 20: competitive Ontario and Kitchener's proud to be at the heart
Speaker 20: of that vision. And now I'd like to turn it
Speaker 20: over to another key part of the Premier's team here
Speaker 20: in the region, someone who had just introduced the PA
Speaker 20: to Education.
Speaker 4: And MPP Just Dixon.
Speaker 21: Thank you so much, Maror Berry, and thank you to
Speaker 21: everyone coming on this beautiful day, and to all of
Speaker 21: our wonderful air Boss employees who are making it just
Speaker 21: a absolutely beautiful show of support.
Speaker 8: Right here.
Speaker 21: I was thinking on my way here. I love where
Speaker 21: we are right now. I love that we're outside, not
Speaker 21: just because of the nice weather, because when you look
Speaker 21: at the building behind me, you really can't go anywhere
Speaker 21: in Kitchener or Cambridge, particularly without seeing copious evidence of
Speaker 21: our trade and manufacturing history. From the nineteenth cent throughout
Speaker 21: the early twentieth century, this region, more than many others,
Speaker 21: frankly on Ontario was a center of excellence for manufacturing, design, trades, etc.
Speaker 21: Whether it was textiles, mills, furniture, electronics, breweries. You know,
Speaker 21: we had legions back then of a lot of German
Speaker 21: and Scottish immigrants that brought their skills here, you know,
Speaker 21: trained their descendants, trained others, and made this region what
Speaker 21: it is, which is even to today. I think roughly
Speaker 21: seventeen percent of our local economy is based on manufacturing,
Speaker 21: which is much higher than the provincial average. So when
Speaker 21: you look at this incredibly exciting announcement and what is
Speaker 21: bringing to the region, I view it as carrying on
Speaker 21: what is already our provincial legacy of excellence in this area,
Speaker 21: which I'm proud to say I think for the most
Speaker 21: part we have carried on in a largely unbroken train.
Speaker 21: But with the support of Premier Ford and Minister Paccini,
Speaker 21: we are doing even more now to create that excellence
Speaker 21: in our history of immigration and innovation and teaching and
Speaker 21: learning and expanding is only going to continue. And what
Speaker 21: I think is so exciting about this, in which I
Speaker 21: know that Premier Ford and and Minister Puccinia have been
Speaker 21: so focused on, is how much this also supports this
Speaker 21: idea of sort of patriation and repatriation of what it
Speaker 21: is to be Canadian made, Canadian designed, Ontario made, Ontario designed,
Speaker 21: and that includes our labor force and their excellence. So
Speaker 21: I am so appreciative to the government for, like Mayor
Speaker 21: Barry said, sort of our vote of confidence in this region,
Speaker 21: I have absolute confidence that, after two hundred plus years
Speaker 21: of doing it right and doing it better than many
Speaker 21: other places, that we will continue to do that. So
Speaker 21: thank you all so much for coming, and it is
Speaker 21: my pleasure to induce Minister Harris.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 22: I'm going to keep it quick because it's a little
Speaker 22: warm out here, and for those of us in will suits,
Speaker 22: you can feel bad, but these guys have been standing
Speaker 22: out here waiting for a little while. So I'm going
Speaker 22: to pull a page from the boss and I'm going
Speaker 22: to go a little off script here, if that's all right,
Speaker 22: So listen. Thank you everybody for being here today. It
Speaker 22: is absolutely incredible to have Team Kitchener, Team Waterloo Region
Speaker 22: assembled here and to welcome the Premier and Minister Paccini.
Speaker 22: David has been a huge, huge supporter of Waterloo Region
Speaker 22: since becoming Minister of Labor, Training, Immigration and Skills Development.
Speaker 22: We've brought SDF funding into the region before. I see
Speaker 22: some folks from the IBW who have been recipients of it,
Speaker 22: and it's great to be able to see some more
Speaker 22: homegrown organizations taking advantage of this funding. As Barry said,
Speaker 22: a little over twelve million dollars is going to be
Speaker 22: spread across many different organizations here in the region and
Speaker 22: it's just incredible to be able to use the talent,
Speaker 22: the tools and everything we do here in Waterloo Region.
Speaker 22: As Jess said, we do everything just a little bit better,
Speaker 22: I like to think, and we're such a forward thinking region.
Speaker 22: There's such a rich history of manufacturing here and it's
Speaker 22: just great to be able to celebrate this investment throughout
Speaker 22: the region here today, so I won't take up too
Speaker 22: much more time than that. All I wanted to do
Speaker 22: was just thank you Premier Ford for being here with us,
Speaker 22: of course, and for Grenn for hosting us today and
Speaker 22: the amazing team you have assembled here. I think three
Speaker 22: hundred and fifty some odd employees calling this place home.
Speaker 22: So it's just it's great to be able to be
Speaker 22: here and celebrate with you all. And with that to
Speaker 22: kind of make our official announcement, I'll turn it over
Speaker 22: to Minister Puccini. David please, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 8: Thank you, thanks very much. Good morning everyone, and thank
Speaker 8: you all for being here today. Thank you Minister Harris
Speaker 8: for that introduction. We've got an incredible team in this
Speaker 8: region who have been such champions of workers and ensuring
Speaker 8: talent pipelines. And of course Minister Harris, MPPs Dixon and
Speaker 8: Riddell have been always on the horn speaking with me,
Speaker 8: sharing stories because this is all about real story of workers.
Speaker 8: And you know, to the Chair and the Mayor, thank
Speaker 8: you for being partners with us in this and to
Speaker 8: air Boss for hosting. This is my second or third
Speaker 8: time here and I really appreciate the incredible job you
Speaker 8: do and your commitment to training your workforce and your
Speaker 8: commitment to excellence. Air Boss is a vital part of
Speaker 8: our manufacturing sector. It's companies like these that help make
Speaker 8: Ontario a leader, powered by a world class workforce we're
Speaker 8: so proud of today, and supporting that workforce means preparing
Speaker 8: them for the future, especially at a time when we're
Speaker 8: facing all sorts of external threats, when one in three
Speaker 8: trades people are set to retire in the next decade,
Speaker 8: We've got to respond to the challenge. And I often
Speaker 8: reflect back, you know, as I visit places like this,
Speaker 8: at my own family story and my own grandfather who
Speaker 8: immigrated here, who was a steel worker. We were down
Speaker 8: with the steel workers last week in Hamilton, and this
Speaker 8: premier gets and has an incredible pride in our country
Speaker 8: and nationalism, and gets that to ensure that we achieve
Speaker 8: that same vision that he had what drew him to
Speaker 8: this country, part of a nation that built things where
Speaker 8: you could stand tall in the world stage with your
Speaker 8: Canadian flag and say we're a country that stands true
Speaker 8: to our international commitments, a country that produces the best talent. Now,
Speaker 8: I can't deal with things at the national level. But
Speaker 8: what Premier Ford can do is ensure provincially we're doing
Speaker 8: our part. And we've seen a nation builder in Premier
Speaker 8: Forward in making sure we can once again achieve that potential,
Speaker 8: that potential that my grandfather saw, and that's ensuring a
Speaker 8: talent pipeline, recognizing that through the pandemic. Premier took us
Speaker 8: through that or the aggressions we see south of the
Speaker 8: border where every day it seems policies are changing on
Speaker 8: the fly.
Speaker 22: But to respond to that, you.
Speaker 8: Need a nimble workforce. You need a workforce that is
Speaker 8: able to meet the moment and to invest in talent
Speaker 8: and in training from K to gray, lifelong learning matters.
Speaker 8: And you know, I was on the radio this morning.
Speaker 8: Reporters said tuck is cheap and they were responding to
Speaker 8: our action on labor mobility. It's this Premier that moved
Speaker 8: as of right legislation so that prioritizing Canadian workers so
Speaker 8: that they can work freely around this country. It's crazy
Speaker 8: to think you'd be stuck at the border, in visible
Speaker 8: provincial border for months for the engineers, the architects and
Speaker 8: so many that we need. And it's this Premier. That's
Speaker 8: refusing to to that's acknowledging, I would say, not refusing,
Speaker 8: but acknowledging that investing in our workers means having their backs,
Speaker 8: means recognizing that despite our global challenges, we can and
Speaker 8: must train our next generation and invest in their training.
Speaker 8: And that's what our Skills Development Fund is doing. It's
Speaker 8: empowering a next generation. And you know, I heard the
Speaker 8: story of Dean from this this morning, and I want
Speaker 8: to mention that because this is coming full circle. This
Speaker 8: Premier brought back skills training in high schools. We've mandated
Speaker 8: a tech class, We've brought back trades into high schools.
Speaker 4: We've invested in.
Speaker 8: Union training like none other in this province. And Dean,
Speaker 8: who's been employed in the Niagara Region, I just reached
Speaker 8: out to let Rob know that that tool and that
Speaker 8: precision tooling that he did on the CNC machine, and
Speaker 8: that incredible work that we've supported them in doing has
Speaker 8: come full circle because now he's employed with a local employer.
Speaker 8: And somewhere along the line, previous liberal governments lost sight
Speaker 8: of that they wanted to train an next generation of
Speaker 8: service workers, turning their backs on manufacturing workers of this province.
Speaker 22: Well, that's not this Premiere.
Speaker 8: We're going to make sure we train a next generation
Speaker 8: of manufacturing workers like Dean who's now proudly employed, gainfully employed.
Speaker 8: And that's what we're going to do here at AirBoss
Speaker 8: that new VR you heard, making sure our workers are
Speaker 8: well trained to thrive, not just succeed, but thrive on
Speaker 8: the global stage, because as the Premier is often said,
Speaker 8: it's a bet in our workers, and that's a bet
Speaker 8: I'll take any day, because we have the best workforce
Speaker 8: in the world and there's nobody that better recognizes that
Speaker 8: than this Premier through his investment with the Skills Development Fund.
Speaker 2: And now for.
Speaker 8: Exciting announcement today as to what that means, twelve million,
Speaker 8: fifty thousand workers, I'm pleased to introduce the Premier, Doug Ford.
Speaker 4: Thank cool.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 15: First of all, thank you so much, David, and it's
Speaker 15: great to be here and it's wonderful being back in
Speaker 15: the great city of Kitchener alongside as you just heard,
Speaker 15: Minister Paccini and Minister Harris and Brian Roddell and just Dixon.
Speaker 4: And Mayor the Bear or the bear or the Mayor.
Speaker 3: That's it.
Speaker 4: I love him.
Speaker 15: I actually do, we do actually I do text them
Speaker 15: at eleven o'clock and midnight telling them about someone's garbage
Speaker 15: wasn't picked up, and so on and so forth. And
Speaker 15: Chair Redmond, thank you so much for your leadership here
Speaker 15: as well in the Waterloo region. And thank you Gren.
Speaker 15: Thank you for being the commander in chief here. I
Speaker 15: had an opportunity to go through the facility during the
Speaker 15: election and spectacular. And we have to make sure that
Speaker 15: the federal government, the provincial government, inicipal governments buy your products,
Speaker 15: no matter if it's defense or medical or whatever it
Speaker 15: might be. Also want to acknowledge Jack and Frank and
Speaker 15: Chris and the whole team at AirBoss for hosting us today.
Speaker 4: But Gren, my favorite people.
Speaker 15: In the whole world are all these frontline people here
Speaker 15: because without them, we wouldn't even be here. So thank you, folks.
Speaker 15: This is a real serious time for our province in
Speaker 15: our country. President Trump is taking direct aim at our economy,
Speaker 15: targeting workers and businesses. That's why our government is doubling
Speaker 15: down on our plan to protect Ontario so we can
Speaker 15: stand up the President Trump's tariffs and anything else that
Speaker 15: threatens our province for decades to come. Our plan to
Speaker 15: protect Ontario will make our province the most competitive, most resilient,
Speaker 15: most self reliant economy in the G seven, so we
Speaker 15: can attract new jobs and investment and protect our workers.
Speaker 15: You know, I always I always say, you know, people
Speaker 15: need to hear hope, and we're going to give them hope.
Speaker 15: Last year, the foreign direct investment in our country, our province,
Speaker 15: I should say just our province, not including companies that
Speaker 15: are here already. There was over four hundred and nine
Speaker 15: foreign companies from foreign countries came to invest thirty nine
Speaker 15: point eight seven five billions of forty billion dollars and
Speaker 15: created twenty five thousand jobs. But we have to create
Speaker 15: the environment and conditions for companies to come here and
Speaker 15: they thrive and prosper and grow. And when that happens,
Speaker 15: the people a part of their team will thrive, prosper
Speaker 15: and grow. I've been over and over with a federal government.
Speaker 15: Let's create that climate. Let's start putting money back into
Speaker 15: the hardworking people's pocket instead of the government. Put it
Speaker 15: back into companies so they can buy a new equipment
Speaker 15: and build the infrastructure they need and expand their technology.
Speaker 15: We're expanding our plan to build Ontario by investing more
Speaker 15: than two hundred billion dollars to build roads, highways, bridges, schools, hospitals,
Speaker 15: so we can keep workers on the job and get
Speaker 15: shovels in the ground on critical infrastructure projects which is
Speaker 15: going to be happening here, which I'll get to you
Speaker 15: in a minute, that includes some major projects in Waterloo region.
Speaker 15: This summer, we announced an additional investment to support the
Speaker 15: planning and construction of a new Waterloo Regional Health Network hospital,
Speaker 15: which is part of our nearly sixty billion dollar plan
Speaker 15: to build an upgrade more than fifty hospitals. Earlier this year,
Speaker 15: we accelerated or celebrated, i should say, the completion of
Speaker 15: the Cambridge Memorial Hospital redevelopment. It's the largest redevelopment in
Speaker 15: the hospital's history, supported by two hundred and twenty million
Speaker 15: provincial dollars investment, sorry, two hundred and twenty million dollars
Speaker 15: a provincial investment. We're delivering on two way all day
Speaker 15: go service to Kitchener, and we're investing four billion dollars
Speaker 15: in infrastructure to support new housing, including over thirty one
Speaker 15: million in region of Waterloo, to enable over eighteen thousand,
Speaker 15: five hundred new homes. Sorry, folksing got something caught there.
Speaker 15: You know our plan to build more homes and we're
Speaker 15: going to continue to focus on building more homes. I'm
Speaker 15: looking forward to visiting Mayor Berry and Mary McKay got
Speaker 15: their city halls to present them with a check from
Speaker 15: the Building Faster Fund so we can get even more
Speaker 15: homes built in Waterloo Region. By investing in infrastructure and
Speaker 15: getting these contracts out the door faster, We're supporting Ontario
Speaker 15: workers while using Ontario made products in our plan to build,
Speaker 15: and that's just one part of our plan to protect workers.
Speaker 15: Last month, Minister Puccini and I also announced an investment
Speaker 15: of seventy million dollars to support workers who have been
Speaker 15: laid off because the tariff disruptions or whose jobs are
Speaker 15: currently at risk and across the province. We're investing two
Speaker 15: point five billion through the Skills Development Fund to support
Speaker 15: workers with job training to help them find good paying jobs. Today,
Speaker 15: I'm pleased to announce over twelve point four million for
Speaker 15: the Skills Development Fund to help train more than fifty
Speaker 15: thousand workers students for good paying, in demand careers across
Speaker 15: Waterloo Region surrounding areas. This investment will support ten projects
Speaker 15: and key sectors, including a project led by Canadian Tooling
Speaker 15: and Machining Association deliver work placements for eighty participants, another
Speaker 15: project led by Blue Branch to train fifty people in
Speaker 15: the modular housing industry. I'd want to thank all the
Speaker 15: incredible organizations that will be delivering these training programs, including
Speaker 15: Grand Valley Construction Association, Medical Innovation Exchange, Knowledge Huck Delta
Speaker 15: Elevator Company, Advanced Mill Rates, get In Corporation, International Brotherhood
Speaker 15: of Electrical Workers Local eight oh four, which I see
Speaker 15: right over there, and the Christian Labor Association of Canada.
Speaker 15: All of you are helping us protect Ontario workers in
Speaker 15: this critical time.
Speaker 14: We have to.
Speaker 15: Continue using every tool in our toolbox to push back
Speaker 15: against President Trump's tariffs to protect our economy and can
Speaker 15: you can continue building more competitive, more resilient economy. We
Speaker 15: will continue to invest in our province and protect Ontario
Speaker 15: workers and families no matter what comes our way. I
Speaker 15: want to thank everyone here and may God bless the
Speaker 15: people of Ontario.
Speaker 1: The show has been produced by Depictions Media.
Speaker 2: Please contact us at Depictions dot media for more information.