Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Depictions Media Radio. Welcome to
Speaker 1: Policy and Rights, the show about DOLCOM Policy. Thank human Rights.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Policy and right here in Depictions Media Radio,
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Michael Clogs. Okay, So, of course there
Speaker 1: is always an ongoing thing with Donald Trump's being more
Speaker 1: hatred and ruffling feathers with his rhetoric and blame me
Speaker 1: on other people when things actually go wrong. But why
Speaker 1: don't we move forward with that because it won't be
Speaker 1: too many more weeks more until the United States actually
Speaker 1: goes to the vote in November and a final decision
Speaker 1: will be made who the President of the United States
Speaker 1: will actually be. So moving back to Canada, and we're
Speaker 1: going to hear later on from the premiere of bcd
Speaker 1: EV as he makes an announcement about housing, and we're
Speaker 1: hearing a lot about housing and how well it just
Speaker 1: isn't enough of it. And we heard yesterday from the
Speaker 1: Parliament floor where Pierre Pouvier of course is criticizing Justin
Speaker 1: Trudeau and his housing minister for how they are actually
Speaker 1: mishandling the whole housing problem and of course they're not
Speaker 1: building enough homes that they actually have done things to
Speaker 1: mock the whole system up and given money that has
Speaker 1: only managed to increase taxes. Okay, mister Bovier, You're still
Speaker 1: stuck on the whole tax idea either way, that people
Speaker 1: need the homes and it's it's should be a general right,
Speaker 1: not anything less than a right to have a home
Speaker 1: of your own, even if families decide to do what
Speaker 1: what would be a generational homes sort of situation. We're
Speaker 1: also going to hear today from Tonio Guerreres as.
Speaker 2: How about you.
Speaker 1: Makes a statement again about the Summit of the Future,
Speaker 1: the program and objectives he talked talked about it yesterday
Speaker 1: or a few days ago in a press conference, and
Speaker 1: how he wants to see the United Nations become more inclusive.
Speaker 1: So we're gonna hear a press conference about the some
Speaker 1: of their future and what that some of their future
Speaker 1: actually means to the world, and how the Summit of
Speaker 1: the Future is going to help shape how the United
Speaker 1: Nations goes. The You in General Assembly has has actually
Speaker 1: started up and they are also taking on the mission
Speaker 1: of making the United Nations more inclusive and wanting to
Speaker 1: include more countries on the on the African continent and
Speaker 1: making their voices louder so that they can get more
Speaker 1: as humanitarian assistance for the issues that are completely revolved
Speaker 1: around that continent up into including the equal sharing of
Speaker 1: resources that are being removed, such as lithium for batteries. Uh.
Speaker 1: And of course there is the issue about the blood
Speaker 1: diamonds and how they're being distributed and being the money
Speaker 1: being used for less than good things. While we're on
Speaker 1: the topic of terrorism, the Israeli Defense Force managed to
Speaker 1: make a number of pagris explode in Lebanon. They somehow
Speaker 1: managed to send a signal to them they blew up.
Speaker 1: Now it's causing that signal is now causing a problem
Speaker 1: with a number of other devices, and there has been
Speaker 1: a warning issued around Hey, if you're holding one of
Speaker 1: these devices, remove the batteries before they blow up. So
Speaker 1: my question is, though, when we start diving into warfare
Speaker 1: that sends signals to devices like that and weaponizes a
Speaker 1: communication device in such a way, aren't we still reverting
Speaker 1: to terrorist tactics and ideas make people afraid to live
Speaker 1: so that we can get control of what is in
Speaker 1: their mind. So why don't we move forward. We're going
Speaker 1: to start with the United Nations and we're going to
Speaker 1: hear from you and Under Secretary at a press conference
Speaker 1: as Guy Ryder speaks about the Summit of the Future.
Speaker 3: Thanko, mind, Hey everyone, thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 3: We have with us the Undersecretary and our for Policy
Speaker 3: and he's also the UN lead for the Summit of
Speaker 3: the Future. Mister Guy Ryder, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3: As you know, he's here to brief you on Summit
Speaker 3: of the Future. I'm sure you have a lot of
Speaker 3: questions on that, and he will start without some introductor
Speaker 3: remarks and then we'll turn it over to you guys.
Speaker 3: Please mister writer, thanks.
Speaker 2: Very much, Francia, and greetings to everybody here. Thank you
Speaker 2: for your interest in the Summit of the Future. Let
Speaker 2: me give you a brief sort of state of play
Speaker 2: on the summit and why we think it is so important.
Speaker 2: You know, the summit is a matter of days away now,
Speaker 2: takes place on the twenty second and the twenty third
Speaker 2: of September, preceded by a day and a half of
Speaker 2: action days where we're bringing stakeholders into the building to
Speaker 2: discuss irrelevant issues. We're expecting in excess of one hundred
Speaker 2: and thirty heads of state, heads of government to attend
Speaker 2: the summit, and in the action days we have registrations
Speaker 2: for in excess of seven thousand NGOs, academics, private sector representatives.
Speaker 2: We think this is indicative of a very high level
Speaker 2: of interest in the summit. And let me, turning to
Speaker 2: the substance of the summit, say that we believe that
Speaker 2: the stakes are high, that the issues on the table
Speaker 2: of the Summit are of the greatest importance to not
Speaker 2: just the UN system of multilateralism, but to the future
Speaker 2: of our member states as well. And let me tell
Speaker 2: you where we stand in the negotiating process, with a
Speaker 2: reminder that the Summit will be adopting three outcome documents,
Speaker 2: a Pact for the Future to which will be annexed
Speaker 2: to other documents, a Global Digital Compact, and a Declaration
Speaker 2: on the Future Generations. The overall objective of the summit,
Speaker 2: and people ask this question quite frequently, is very simply stated.
Speaker 2: The idea of the summit is to render the United
Speaker 2: Nations a multilateral system, more effective in its the fulfillment
Speaker 2: of its mandate, make it more participatory, more networked. This
Speaker 2: in the face of the very clear global challenges that
Speaker 2: we face, the fact that the world has changed and
Speaker 2: is changing rapidly, and the reality that many of our
Speaker 2: governance structures date back to the creation of the United
Speaker 2: Nations when it had fifty one member states instead of
Speaker 2: the one hundred and ninety three member states who will
Speaker 2: be gathering at the summit itself. Now, substantially, what are
Speaker 2: we going to find in these outcome documents? What are
Speaker 2: the issues being addressed in the Pact for the Future itself,
Speaker 2: the mother document, if I can call it that. There
Speaker 2: are five chapters, and I'm not going to take you
Speaker 2: through them in grinding detail, but simply to highlight what
Speaker 2: seemed to be us some of the most important issues
Speaker 2: at stake. We have a major section on sustainable development
Speaker 2: and financing of sustainable development, very clear signal that part
Speaker 2: of the objective of this summit is to complete and
Speaker 2: to improve our business around the twenty thirty Agenda. This
Speaker 2: is an accelerator for the twenty thirty Agenda for Sustainable Development,
Speaker 2: with an important access on financing, which is a recurrent
Speaker 2: theme I would say throughout the summit process. Secondly, we
Speaker 2: have a section on Peace and Security, designed in accordance
Speaker 2: with proposals presented by the Secretary General under the title
Speaker 2: of a New Agenda for Peace to address the whole spectrum,
Speaker 2: the whole continuum of peace. Conclusions that would address root causes,
Speaker 2: place an emphasis on prevention, look at an update of
Speaker 2: our peacekeeping peace building operations, but also address critically, I
Speaker 2: think new and emerging conflict domains. So think of the
Speaker 2: application of new technologies in lethal weapons, think of biological hazards,
Speaker 2: think about the dangers of the militarization of outer space.
Speaker 2: All of these are being addressed. A third chapter is
Speaker 2: on science, Technology and innovation, and of course this is
Speaker 2: where the annex on the Global Digital compat comes into play.
Speaker 2: If I could put it in a word or a sentence,
Speaker 2: the objective of the Global Digital Compact is to make
Speaker 2: technology work for humanity equitably. We are aiming at closing
Speaker 2: digital divides, expanding inclusion in the digital economy, creating an inclusive, open,
Speaker 2: safe and secure digital space, working on equitable data governance,
Speaker 2: and this has perhaps attracted more attention anything else. Creating
Speaker 2: the systems of governance of artificial intelligence that will benefit humanity.
Speaker 2: A fourth section is on youth and Future generations. There
Speaker 2: is a very strong emphasis on youth throughout the summit.
Speaker 2: And in the action days that precede it, and the
Speaker 2: sections on Youth and Future Generations two quite distinct groups.
Speaker 2: I would underline to you it's firstly to increase the
Speaker 2: participation opportunities for youth in decision making nationally and the
Speaker 2: new n system, and to address the key social economic
Speaker 2: challenges facing young people. A Declaration on Future Generations is
Speaker 2: intended to codify what is happening in many of our
Speaker 2: member states, the need to ensure that decisions we take
Speaker 2: today take into full account the needs and interests of
Speaker 2: future generations. And the last chapter and it captures a
Speaker 2: lot of different issues is around them transformation of global governance.
Speaker 2: This is a very wide ranging area of the Pact.
Speaker 2: It addresses Security Council reform and we have the potential
Speaker 2: to take important steps forward on Security Council reform. It
Speaker 2: addresses a revitalization of the General Assembly and ECHOSOC. Critically,
Speaker 2: it contains extensive language at the current state of negotiations
Speaker 2: on reform of the international financial architecture. I would say
Speaker 2: one of the most important and certainly one of the
Speaker 2: most contested areas of the Pact for the future and
Speaker 2: goes on, for example, into the governance of outer space issues,
Speaker 2: new approaches to outer space traffic, a debris and of
Speaker 2: course this issue of militarization. I think you will see
Speaker 2: from this that we have a very ambitious agenda. The
Speaker 2: ambitions for this summit have always been high. What I
Speaker 2: think is very encouraging ten days out from the summit
Speaker 2: is that the negotiations which are continuing are continuing on
Speaker 2: documents which meet that high level of ambition. Now the
Speaker 2: negotiations are incomplete, the member states are working hard to
Speaker 2: reach the necessary consensus on these documents. We need consensus
Speaker 2: for adoption. But I think there is good reason to
Speaker 2: be confident that the successful conclusion of these negotiations will
Speaker 2: produce a pact with two nx's that will truly make
Speaker 2: a difference. This is something which is not only worth having,
Speaker 2: it is something that we need to secure for the future.
Speaker 2: A last word, and I will conclude the action days
Speaker 2: that precede the summit itself in consonants with the efforts
Speaker 2: we have made from the outset to ensure the involvement
Speaker 2: of multi stakeholders in this process. There was a major
Speaker 2: civil society conference in Kenya in May, but our include
Speaker 2: also private sector academia, the scientific community. We're bringing them
Speaker 2: together for a day and a half on the Friday
Speaker 2: before the summit. We will have a you quite deliberately,
Speaker 2: kicking off with a youth lead session and then going
Speaker 2: into a session which reflect the main themes of the summit.
Speaker 2: Messages from these action days will be brought to the
Speaker 2: attention of the summit as well, So we hope this
Speaker 2: creates a cohesive set of events that will lead us
Speaker 2: where we need to get. I will leave it there.
Speaker 2: Florencian of course, very happy to try to respond to
Speaker 2: your questions.
Speaker 3: Okay, so I'll start by taking questions in the room
Speaker 3: and for those asking online, yes, we will take questions
Speaker 3: online as well. We'll start with Emilie.
Speaker 4: Please, thank you very much for the briefing, Amli Boutolier
Speaker 4: from hp AND News Agency. You said the stake are
Speaker 4: high and the event has a big name, the Summit
Speaker 4: of the Future. The document has a big name, part
Speaker 4: of the future. Butbjectively reading the outcome document, even if
Speaker 4: you say that it could be improved a little bit
Speaker 4: in the next ten days, it's a list of commitments
Speaker 4: that are commitments to things that already exist. Recommitment to
Speaker 4: previous commitments, and a lot of experts, observers and diplomats
Speaker 4: basically describe it as not as a visionary document. So
Speaker 4: how do you expect it to make a real change.
Speaker 2: Well, respectfully, I disagree, disagree with that characterization the documents,
Speaker 2: and it doesn't correspond to what's on the table. It
Speaker 2: isn't a simple recommitment to things that have been done
Speaker 2: in the past. Look at the language on draft language.
Speaker 2: Everything I say is caveatd by the fact that negotiations
Speaker 2: are incomplete. The language on International Financial Architecture reform has
Speaker 2: not been on the table before, just not the case.
Speaker 2: The language on Security Council reform is seen by those
Speaker 2: who have formulated it in the IGN process as groundbreaking,
Speaker 2: as potentially the biggest step forward since the nineteen sixties.
Speaker 2: The commitments around peace and security. Clearly a review will
Speaker 2: be coming on our peace operations, but we are addressing
Speaker 2: emerging new domains of conflict in ways which they've not
Speaker 2: been addressed before. It's simply not the case. So the
Speaker 2: idea that we're just going back over ground that's already
Speaker 2: been covered, I just don't think stands up to examination.
Speaker 2: But we have to secure these results. So I'm going
Speaker 2: to repeat what I said. This is a document which retains,
Speaker 2: I think a very commendable level of ambition. There were
Speaker 2: things everybody would like to have, not everybody, but some
Speaker 2: people would like to have more of, some people like
Speaker 2: to have less of. That is a nature multilateral negotiations.
Speaker 2: But I think that what we had before us is
Speaker 2: something which is potentially very important if I look beyond
Speaker 2: the Pact itself to the Global Compact, Artificial intelligence governance
Speaker 2: has not ever been addressed in a way that's addressed
Speaker 2: in the Global Digital Compact. Commitment to future generations has
Speaker 2: never been addressed. This is not simply covering well trodden ground.
Speaker 5: It's not the case.
Speaker 6: Deji.
Speaker 7: Yes, Miss Ryder. First question I ask everybody, so you're
Speaker 7: the next one. Can you can you explain what I
Speaker 7: think this is totally good? The question for you? Can
Speaker 7: you explain what the Summit of the Future is to
Speaker 7: our audience in a very interesting way because we know
Speaker 7: you just explained it. But how to attract I mean
Speaker 7: normal people attention to other politicians. And secondly, I disagree,
Speaker 7: what respectfully with your disagreement, but well, we we saw
Speaker 7: all the we saw all those agendas and actions STG
Speaker 7: Acceleration Agenda, New Agenda for Peace. We heard a lot
Speaker 7: of those in Reform of the Security Council. But let
Speaker 7: me put that aside. If we if we have this
Speaker 7: Pact of Future, how how much do we can we
Speaker 7: expect the implementation of this very important document? And third,
Speaker 7: this is obviously a watered down, compromised version of Pact
Speaker 7: of the Future. How far away is this from secrest
Speaker 7: generous imagination or I mean expectation. Thank you.
Speaker 2: I always tried to say things in an interesting way,
Speaker 2: not just for the people in this room, but for
Speaker 2: the world in general. Look, there is always is there
Speaker 2: not this thought that whatever happens in this building and
Speaker 2: in multilateral negotiations, it's rather distant from people realities everyday life.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's the nature of multilateral negotiations. So you
Speaker 2: have to scratch beneath the surface. You have to go
Speaker 2: underneath the formalities and sometimes language which is not easily accessible.
Speaker 2: But if we succeed in getting agreement from one hundred
Speaker 2: and ninety three member states on actions that will secure
Speaker 2: governance of new technologies, that will spread benefits much more
Speaker 2: widely through inclusion, through connectivity, through the governance of artificial intelligence.
Speaker 2: If we're able you've heard it before, to accelerate SDGs,
Speaker 2: if we're able to revamp the United Nations peace operations,
Speaker 2: if we are able to initiate the changes that will
Speaker 2: make the Security Council more effective. Yes, this will influence
Speaker 2: people's lives when it happen the day after the pact
Speaker 2: is gaveled. No, it needs and you pointed to the
Speaker 2: key here, it needs implementation. It needs implementation, and I
Speaker 2: think I have to recognize, looking at the content of
Speaker 2: the pact, which I still want to commend to you
Speaker 2: as a very positive thing, that a great deal depends
Speaker 2: on what happens with the commitments that to make the implementation.
Speaker 2: So I follow you entirely that everything depends on the
Speaker 2: level of implementation. You've made the point Security Council reform.
Speaker 2: We've heard it before. We've heard it before, but it's
Speaker 2: not the questions. It's the answers. There are new answers
Speaker 2: to the questions contained in this pact, and that is
Speaker 2: what makes it not just worth having, but very important
Speaker 2: to have. A sorry you can judge for yourself via
Speaker 2: a very easy process. Last year, the Secretary General published
Speaker 2: eleven policy briefs, which were his proposals to the summit.
Speaker 2: This is what he ideally would have liked to see,
Speaker 2: and he was very clear. He said, these are what
Speaker 2: I believe are the proper ambitions we should reach for,
Speaker 2: and he made those proposals in full cognizance of the
Speaker 2: fact that not all of these would meet with the
Speaker 2: agreement of member states. I leave it to you to
Speaker 2: take those policy briefs, look at the pack for the
Speaker 2: future as we hope it will be adopted in ten
Speaker 2: days time, and measure the gap. They are not identical.
Speaker 2: It would be futile to say that they are. But
Speaker 2: what is interesting is that the contours and structure of
Speaker 2: the pact follow very clearly the content of those policy briefs.
Speaker 2: So the SG has set the content a gender in
Speaker 2: a very very icink successful way.
Speaker 3: Okay, next question, a friend then.
Speaker 8: Gabriel, Thanks Larenthea, thank you, mister Rider. Could you please
Speaker 8: two quick questions. You just said that there's been groundbreaking
Speaker 8: language on Security Council reforms. Could you please say what
Speaker 8: is groundbreaking about the new language? Last time I checked,
Speaker 8: I may be completely mistaken, but the only thing that
Speaker 8: came out in the document is that there will be
Speaker 8: an office here at the Secretariat that deals with Security
Speaker 8: Council reforms and is there something else, what is groundbreaking
Speaker 8: about it? And second you said, and we know that
Speaker 8: the negotiations are not over yet, could you say something
Speaker 8: about what the remaining sticking points are and the hurdles
Speaker 8: to the unanimity, which you say is very needed.
Speaker 2: Yeah, let me take all questions in reverse order. My definition,
Speaker 2: we need a consensus because that's what our modality is resolution.
Speaker 2: This is not a matter at the discretion of anybody.
Speaker 2: We need to have everybody on board and that is
Speaker 2: of course a high bar to get over. Negotiations on
Speaker 2: all three of the outcome documents are continuing. They are
Speaker 2: quite intense. I think there's a strong focus on different
Speaker 2: parts of the pact for the future, where I have
Speaker 2: to recognize there are a significant number of issues that
Speaker 2: have still to be resolved.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 2: It would not be helpful for me to go into
Speaker 2: the detailed of areas of contention because it might prejudice
Speaker 2: I think the process in a way I would not
Speaker 2: wish to do. But we are aware that there are
Speaker 2: issues from the beginning, partly because they are so important,
Speaker 2: are very difficult reform with international financial architecture is one
Speaker 2: the manner in which climate and climate finance is addressed.
Speaker 2: Because we're meeting on there's a contextual problem. We're meeting
Speaker 2: on the eve of COP twenty nine, and we're not
Speaker 2: trying to do the job of COP twenty nine, and
Speaker 2: that creates a contextual complication. Some of the areas of disarmament,
Speaker 2: Nuclear disarmament in particular also difficult. That's regrettably, that's not
Speaker 2: an exclusive list of difficulties. But what I can say
Speaker 2: is that the co facilitators on the pact, that is,
Speaker 2: the governments of Germany and Namibia, are convening very tensive
Speaker 2: negotiating processes as we speak. By the end of this week,
Speaker 2: we hope to have another draft of the pact, and
Speaker 2: the intense would be for that to meet with the
Speaker 2: type of consensus that we require. Now very properly and understandably,
Speaker 2: you want to know a little bit more about why
Speaker 2: the language on Security Council reform is important. Now, let
Speaker 2: me say groundbreaking. I think groundbreaking is a word I
Speaker 2: will stick by.
Speaker 5: It's not just.
Speaker 2: About trading an office. It's not about that, it's not
Speaker 2: even part of really of what matters. There is a
Speaker 2: commitment to addressing historic injustice against Africa, improving representation of Asia, Pacific,
Speaker 2: Latin America on the Council, new language. There is a
Speaker 2: commitment to the enlargement of the Council to be more
Speaker 2: representative of current UN membership. There is commitment to intensify
Speaker 2: efforts to find an agreement on category of membership, and
Speaker 2: the intention to develop a consolidated model of reform. Now
Speaker 2: this might sound rather esoteric, This would be one of
Speaker 2: the difficult things to explain to the person in the street,
Speaker 2: but for those engaged in this type of process since
Speaker 2: the nineteen sixties, and I think that the co facilitators
Speaker 2: of negotiations Austria and Kuwait recognize this as groundbreaking language
Speaker 2: which appears appears at this point to have the broad
Speaker 2: consensus subject and confirmation of our member states. So I
Speaker 2: think it is fair, it's not hyperbole. It is fair
Speaker 2: to say that this is breaking new ground.
Speaker 3: Okay, we'll go to Gabriel and then I'll take a
Speaker 3: couple of questions online.
Speaker 9: Thank you Florencia, Thank you mister Rider for briefing. It's
Speaker 9: very helpful. Two questions Gabriel Alisondo from Aldisi English. Two questions,
Speaker 9: one as, when the summit is over, how will you
Speaker 9: judge if it was successful or not? By what parameters
Speaker 9: will you use? And my second question is on AI.
Speaker 9: Wanted to follow up on that. Can you just flesh
Speaker 9: out a little bit more on the language related to
Speaker 9: AI and specifically why the AI issue is so important
Speaker 9: to be put in the agenda. Thank you.
Speaker 2: Your first question, which is a good one and almost
Speaker 2: impossible to answer, is I mean, how would we judge
Speaker 2: if this has been important? I would say that if,
Speaker 2: judging from where we stand today, the key issues that
Speaker 2: I've tried to outline to you, which have been sort
Speaker 2: of built into the pact process from the outset, are
Speaker 2: able to be adopted in something close to the form
Speaker 2: they are in now, that will be important and worth having.
Speaker 2: But there is a caveat attached to all of this
Speaker 2: that language has to lead to action.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 2: It is not by accident that the Pact has been
Speaker 2: framed in terms of areas of action. I would underline
Speaker 2: the word action, But adopting a document is not an
Speaker 2: action in itself, is a commitment to action. So the
Speaker 2: success of the summit, I would say, would be difficult
Speaker 2: to evaluate more than provisionally. As a gavel comes down
Speaker 2: on the end of the summit, I think we ought
Speaker 2: to have this conversation one year on from there to
Speaker 2: see the extent to which this has influenced the behavior
Speaker 2: of member states and the dynamics of the multilateral system.
Speaker 10: Wi okay on Half and Squalwen, Chris Clay a Quaich
Speaker 10: Nomi to Noyapen and Cii and Sequelro to Squial's deceits.
Speaker 10: I'm really happy to see that you all came here today,
Speaker 10: all of you, my friends and family, and Sequalia Kusham
Speaker 10: and Snam. My ancestral name is Sequali Yeah, also known
Speaker 10: as an Wanik, one of the Squamish nation counselors and
Speaker 10: elected spokesperson for the nation. And I'm going to be
Speaker 10: m seeing today and i just really want to thank
Speaker 10: everyone for being here and just going to ask us
Speaker 10: all to open our hearts and minds and hands quickly
Speaker 10: because I'm going to say chen quin Mentomi ka ka
Speaker 10: Kanic Chase the Jones and so Tonyapen mon Month Squalwen
Speaker 10: to Squiles de seats, asking Creator to watch over all
Speaker 10: your children that are gathered here today and help us
Speaker 10: with our squalen the feelings in our hearts and minds,
Speaker 10: our total being emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health and wellness,
Speaker 10: and asking prayers Creator to have a yet one halt,
Speaker 10: seats up and excellent work today. I'd like to know
Speaker 10: and invite to the Frontier Hollas Alec Dan from Muskwiham
Speaker 10: Indian Band to Spaunston Calvin, Charlie Dawson from the Squamish
Speaker 10: Nation and Hannas William George Thomas from the slable Tooth
Speaker 10: Nation to come join us in Frontier, and they're going
Speaker 10: to open us with a song from each of the
Speaker 10: three nations.
Speaker 6: So msty.
Speaker 5: P y.
Speaker 11: H h.
Speaker 5: Uh oh.
Speaker 12: Oh oh a a a a.
Speaker 11: A a a.
Speaker 5: A oh by bye bye.
Speaker 11: Oh bye bye bye.
Speaker 13: Oh oh oh b b.
Speaker 10: Nk wament me up kalay S Goonston Hannahs. Joining our
Speaker 10: celebrations today are Yukioku Chief Wayne Sparrow from muskoem Syoking
Speaker 10: Councilor Wilson Williams from the Squamish Nation, Curtis Counselor Curtis
Speaker 10: Thomas from the Slaveytooth Nation, as well as Premier Eby
Speaker 10: and Mayor Ken sim And I also want to acknowledge
Speaker 10: today that we have many of our MST Nation members, counselors, elders.
Speaker 10: I have to acknowledge my cousin Cockleton Cum from Squamish
Speaker 10: Nation who and the many others who worked on this initiative.
Speaker 6: Before we got to today.
Speaker 10: And also want to acknowledge MST Development Corporation, the BC
Speaker 10: Government employees and other leadership, other leadership from the BC
Speaker 10: Government that are here and all the many people. And
Speaker 10: this announcement today is a really special and historic day
Speaker 10: as it is the result of, as I said, years
Speaker 10: of advocacy and hard work that got us to this
Speaker 10: point where we're at today. And I'd like to now
Speaker 10: introduce Premier David Eby of the Government of BC to
Speaker 10: share some words with us.
Speaker 14: Thank you so much for the welcome to the territory
Speaker 14: for the opening songs. It's great to be with everybody today.
Speaker 14: We're actually going to start with a bit of a
Speaker 14: gift presentation for the representatives of the Musclian, Swamish and
Speaker 14: Slave are here today. I'd like to begin with a
Speaker 14: gift for Chief Wayne Sparrow for the Musquam Indian Band.
Speaker 14: Chief Sparrow has been absolutely instrumental and ensuring that this
Speaker 14: announcement today was able to happen. Thank you for your
Speaker 14: vision on this, Chief. We're honored to present you with
Speaker 14: the Minister here at Coming Up, Chief. The Minister has
Speaker 14: a bent wood box and it's by Joe Campbell, a
Speaker 14: Co Salish artist. On the box is an image of
Speaker 14: a bear, and the artist advises us that the bear
Speaker 14: represents courage and strength, and that's certainly two attributes that
Speaker 14: helped us get across the line here, Chief, and in
Speaker 14: your leadership. So thank you very much for your work
Speaker 14: on this.
Speaker 1: Golf club.
Speaker 14: You like golf, so that's okay. The next gift is
Speaker 14: for Counselor Wilson Williams, who's representing the Squamish nation. The
Speaker 14: commitment of the Squamish nation to supporting people through affordable
Speaker 14: housing certainly can't be questioned, and I want to really
Speaker 14: recognize the leadership of Squamish on that. Counselor Williams were
Speaker 14: presenting you with a spindle and whirl which is by
Speaker 14: the Co Salish artist Roger Charlie. The image on the
Speaker 14: world is a wolf, which we're told represents family and togetherness,
Speaker 14: which is what this project will be all about, bringing
Speaker 14: community together, bringing families together. So thank you for your
Speaker 14: work on this. Thank you squamsh nation. Yeah, and our
Speaker 14: final gift is for slave to the First Nation, represented
Speaker 14: today by Counselor Curtis Thomas and Chief Gen Thomas has
Speaker 14: been very involved in this project as well. I want
Speaker 14: to thank you for your steadfast support on this project,
Speaker 14: your commitment to delivering housing for people.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 14: And the image that Roger Charlie put on this one
Speaker 14: is an image of an eagle, which we're told symbolizes
Speaker 14: great vision and strength and the ability to go further
Speaker 14: and bridge different worlds. And I think that today's announcement
Speaker 14: is really all about that, all of us working together
Speaker 14: to deliver amazing and affordable housing for people in this province.
Speaker 14: So thank you very much for your work on this.
Speaker 15: You're speaking now utility.
Speaker 14: To do their gifts after sounds good. Sequalia is just
Speaker 14: coaching me through here. We'll get there. Thanks for the advice.
Speaker 14: Great to see everybody here today. And I was pinching
Speaker 14: myself a little bit in the car on the way here.
Speaker 14: I'm so excited to be here. So much work has
Speaker 14: gone into today's announcement by so many different people. City
Speaker 14: of Vancouver within the provincial government, our team in the
Speaker 14: public service, the First Nation's leadership and their teams, and
Speaker 14: the results I think are remarkable and I'm hopeful show
Speaker 14: the way forward on one of the most vexing issues
Speaker 14: that people face, not just some British Columbia, but red
Speaker 14: across Canada is the issue of finding a home, making
Speaker 14: afford for themselves, for their families, to build a good
Speaker 14: life for themselves. We're just two days, amazingly from the
Speaker 14: start of the writ period, the election period. I don't
Speaker 14: know if there's enough Pumpkins spy in the world to
Speaker 14: get us through it, but we're going to do our best.
Speaker 14: And despite that, the work can't stop on these critical issues,
Speaker 14: which is why I'm so excited to be able to
Speaker 14: share this announcement with you here today. The vision that
Speaker 14: we have for the province is that everybody should be
Speaker 14: able to find a decent place to live. We should
Speaker 14: be able to finish the day if they're working hard,
Speaker 14: following the rules, that finished the day further ahead than
Speaker 14: they started the day, not further behind. And part of
Speaker 14: that critical piece of feeling that security and feeling that
Speaker 14: connection to community is having a decent place to live.
Speaker 14: It is fundamental to our economy, to the success of
Speaker 14: our economy, but most importantly to the success of British Columbians.
Speaker 14: For too long, the vision of home ownership, the idea
Speaker 14: of home ownership has been out of reach for way
Speaker 14: too many people, people who earn a decent income, priced
Speaker 14: out of the market and not seeing any path to
Speaker 14: being able to own a home. We have worked hard
Speaker 14: with our partners in municipal government, with First Nations, partners,
Speaker 14: with the private sector, with a nonprofit sector to turn
Speaker 14: that around, and today's announcement is part of that work.
Speaker 14: We have an action plan in place that will deliver
Speaker 14: experts say about three hundred thousand attainable middle income housing
Speaker 14: units across the province by getting a lot of the
Speaker 14: process and the red tape out of the way to build.
Speaker 14: We've legalized town homes, We've legalized side splits and the
Speaker 14: ability for people to build more than one home on
Speaker 14: a single family lot, creating that entry point for people
Speaker 14: into the housing market. We're seeing some moderation in real
Speaker 14: estate prices. Where I'm most heartened is to finally see
Speaker 14: rents starting to come down in the province while nationally
Speaker 14: our rents are still trending up. There are lots of
Speaker 14: possible explanations for this, but I can assure you that
Speaker 14: the report about our work on Airbnb that came out yesterday,
Speaker 14: it says that that helped produce rents here in the
Speaker 14: City of Vancouver. The fact that we're building four times
Speaker 14: more rental housing than the Province of Ontario, the fact
Speaker 14: that we're addressing vacant homes by opening them up for
Speaker 14: rent through the speculation tax. All of these pieces are
Speaker 14: contributing to that work, as well as the more than
Speaker 14: ten thousand units of student housing we're delivering across the
Speaker 14: province to take pressure off the local rental market. I
Speaker 14: think the contrast is quite stark with the proposals for
Speaker 14: where this province should go on housing in the upcoming election.
Speaker 14: On the one hand, we're committing to and have committed to,
Speaker 14: doing everything all of the above, addressing the toxic demand
Speaker 14: in the housing market, the speculation, Airbnb, all those other pieces,
Speaker 14: as well as the supply and making sure that the
Speaker 14: homes are getting built that we need in the province.
Speaker 14: And I could spend the whole morning and I won't
Speaker 14: I promise, talking about how we're going to address this
Speaker 14: housing crisis for people, how we're going to support them
Speaker 14: with the biggest challenge that they face. On the other hand,
Speaker 14: John Russad, who is committed to going back to the
Speaker 14: old status quo on housing, to eliminating all of these initiatives,
Speaker 14: to getting rid of the speculation tax on vacant homes,
Speaker 14: to opening up homes to speculators again through the Airbnb program,
Speaker 14: to putting red tape and barriers in place, to building
Speaker 14: the attainable middle income housing that we need. When he
Speaker 14: was asked what part of the government's housing initiatives he
Speaker 14: would keep, he had a two word answer, not much. Well,
Speaker 14: that's about the same answer that he would give to
Speaker 14: the question of British Columbians asking what are you going
Speaker 14: to do for me to get into attainable housing? Not much.
Speaker 14: We have a different approach. So enough of Enough of that,
Speaker 14: Let's talk about why you're here and why I'm so
Speaker 14: excited about what's happening here today. What has been envisioned
Speaker 14: by the leadership at Musclium, Squamish and Sliotith for the
Speaker 14: use of this land, and what we have been able
Speaker 14: to deliver here together in partnership with the City of
Speaker 14: Vancouver and the Nations. Today I'm announcing that we have
Speaker 14: partnered with the MST Nations to create twenty six hundred
Speaker 14: homes on this site, the Heatherland Site, that middle income
Speaker 14: British Columbians can actually afford. The way we are delivering
Speaker 14: this for middle income British Columbians to ensure affordability involves
Speaker 14: really all hands on deck. It involves the City of
Speaker 14: Vancouver fast tracking the permits and the zoning so that
Speaker 14: we can get built quickly on the site, reducing the
Speaker 14: holding costs. It involves the Nations bringing the land to
Speaker 14: the table so that we can do this work together.
Speaker 14: And it involves the Province of British Columbi with an
Speaker 14: innovative financing arrangement for the home buyers will be moving
Speaker 14: into these homes where government initially finances and covers forty
Speaker 14: percent of the market price, allowing homeowners to be able
Speaker 14: to buy in here for sixty percent of market value.
Speaker 14: Now this bear with me gets a bit technical here,
Speaker 14: but this is where the magic is. The forty percent
Speaker 14: contribution from government is not a grant, it's not an
Speaker 14: ongoing subsidy. It is financing. The forty percent is repaid
Speaker 14: at the end of twenty five years or when the
Speaker 14: owner sells. The government also the public participates in any
Speaker 14: appreciation in the value of the property. What this means
Speaker 14: is that what we have created here together is a
Speaker 14: financing too that protects taxpayers, that minimizes impact on public budgets,
Speaker 14: and yet at the same time delivers affordable housing now
Speaker 14: and when the loan is paid back by the homeowner,
Speaker 14: protects affordability in the future, creates the possibility of that
Speaker 14: money going back into further attainable housing initiatives. The money
Speaker 14: is not used up, it catalyzes further attainable housing into
Speaker 14: the future. The units are sold as ninety nine year
Speaker 14: leases strat of leaseholds with Musclim, Squamish and Slayertoth Now.
Speaker 14: The unit prices will be determined at the time that
Speaker 14: they actually go up for sale. But if they were
Speaker 14: for sale today under current marketing market conditions, a studio
Speaker 14: apartment on this site would sell for six hundred and
Speaker 14: twenty thousand dollars. Under this program that we're announcing today,
Speaker 14: that same studio apartment will sell for three hundred and
Speaker 14: seventy two thousand dollars on this site today the market
Speaker 14: price for a two bedroom condo would be one point
Speaker 14: three million dollars. Under this program that we're announcing today,
Speaker 14: that will be seven hundred and eighty thousand dollars. In
Speaker 14: terms of who will qualify to be able to buy
Speaker 14: these homes, there will be a priority placed on first
Speaker 14: time home buyers. There will be strict criteria around income
Speaker 14: and asset ceilings for buyers. I want to assure you
Speaker 14: that we will have strict rules and screening measures in place,
Speaker 14: and anyone who thinks that they can gain the system
Speaker 14: when we detect that, there will be serious consequences. So
Speaker 14: there's no point. This will be dedicated for people who
Speaker 14: help make our communities grow, who have been priced out
Speaker 14: of the market and would not have any other opportunity
Speaker 14: to get in in a reasonable way. The registration for
Speaker 14: this project will happen in the spring and construction will
Speaker 14: begin soon after. Now, the piece about this that I
Speaker 14: really like is that by doing this work together, we
Speaker 14: are creating a new model of delivering attainable middle income housing.
Speaker 14: And it is not exclusively government money that needs to
Speaker 14: participate in this way in attainable middle income housing. This
Speaker 14: creates the possibility for patient capital with foundations and other
Speaker 14: groups to potentially provide the financing support as a social
Speaker 14: purpose investment for their funds. The possibility of leveraging not
Speaker 14: just the strength of government to deliver attainable housing for
Speaker 14: people without impairing government budgets, and also creating a pathway
Speaker 14: for those that have that capital and want to assist
Speaker 14: in delivering attainable housing for people, but have commitments that
Speaker 14: they need to meet around return on their investment create
Speaker 14: the possibility that this could be leveraged on many many projects.
Speaker 14: Keep in mind that these projects are in the most
Speaker 14: expensive real estate market in Canada, one of the most
Speaker 14: expensive real estate markets in the world. That we are
Speaker 14: delivering units at forty percent or forty percent below market.
Speaker 14: This can be replicated across British Columbia in markets that
Speaker 14: on are significantly less affordability challenge, delivering significantly more affordability
Speaker 14: for people right across British Columbia. I'm so excited about
Speaker 14: the possibility of scaling this right across British Columbia. We've
Speaker 14: delivered a number of important changes that are showing up
Speaker 14: in actual results in the province that I'm proud of.
Speaker 14: Eighty four thousand new homes delivered or underway in the
Speaker 14: province with government support financing, from social housing to student housing,
Speaker 14: you name it. We're leading Ontario and rental housing construction
Speaker 14: by nearly four times, and we're seeing impacts on rents.
Speaker 14: But I am nowhere near satisfied until all British Columbians
Speaker 14: have the opportunity to get into attainable housing that they
Speaker 14: and their families can afford. Our work is not done
Speaker 14: and we will not rest. But today is a wonderful
Speaker 14: day and I feel us taking one step closer to
Speaker 14: that goal. Thank you very much.
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