Thank you for listening to Pictures Media Radio, Welcome to Policy and Rights the Show, US Welcomer Policy, Human Joys.
Good evening everyone. It was good to be here in London today. It was important for Canada to be there with allies as we discuss the importance of standing united in defense of Ukraine and in pushing for a durable and lasting piece in Ukraine. We all have important roles to play and we've recommitted today to continue to do that. In the rules, Prime Mister Stormer mentioned the Coalition of the Willing.
What role will Canada play that coalition?
Canada has been one of the strongest countries in support of Ukraine from the very beginning. For over ten years now, we've been training Ukrainian defense forces. We're up to close to forty thousand Ukrainian troops that we have trained over the years. Were continuing to play a significant role in training, as is the UK who is our primary partner in that.
We've also invested close to twenty billion dollars in supports for Ukraine, military, economic, and other and we're going to continue to be there to support Ukraine as necessary, with whatever it takes, for as long as it takes because Ukraine is not just defending its own territories, defending the very principles and values that underpin all of our democracies. So as we look at what's going to be necessary in the coming years, I can assure you that Canada and Canadians will be there.
Welcome back to policy and rights. Here in Depictions Media Radio, I'm your host, Michael Kloggs. As Friday ended, we all got word of a fight that happened in the Oval office in the White House, or maybe not actually in the office itself, but it did happen in the White House, and it was after live on American television, and it was promptly broadcasted on the White House YouTube channel as mister Zelensky was defending himself against bullies in the Trump administration.
It kind of all started with, sadly, with some blogger making a comment about mister Zelensky not wearing a suit. It's pretty certain that that person making a comment about why he doesn't wear a suit was planted there by mister Trump in order to demean mister Zelensky and demean him as a leader. This is a man that took up the torch for Ukraine and is to his country against odds that we can't even imagine, with Vladimir Putin
at the helm of the Russian Federation. The war has continued over a number of years, three years to be exact.
And.
The Ukrainian soldiers have managed to actually hit territories and targets inside the Russian border. They managed to push at some point push the Russians back across the border, and have defended themselves against innumerable attacks and inhumane acts of destruction that were caused by the Russian soldiers. We have heard on the on the United from the United Nations, the United Nations Security Council about how these are lies
proposed by the uh Western Powers. In the same conversation on the he ultimately turned into Donald Trump saying, either either mister Zilinki Zelenski jumps on and signs the deal that mister Trump has in front of him, or he holds no cards. He is ultimately going to cause World War III and the destruction of Ukraine. The only way he will have cards is is if he signs the deal right there, The only way he would ever have power.
Mister Trump, mister Rubio, and mister Vance tried to demoralize a person who stood strong against the bullies and is continuing to stand strong and has a history of standing strong against bullies, including Vladimir Putin. Mister Trump and his married little men displayed on Friday who they truly are aligned with, who their true allegiance actually belongs with, and it isn't the American people, it is Vladimir Putin. He put his cards on the table instead of holding him
holding them to his chest like he usually does. Of course, when mister Zelensky left the White House and he got to Europe, he was greeted with open arms by the EU. And with that being said, you heard already a statement from Justin Trudeau as we opened the show saying that Canada will stand by Ukraine. Okay, So it's now a few days later and mister Trump is still denouncing mister Zelensky, saying he is attempting to defame him and by calling him different names about and saying of that that his
leadership is weak and he is going to fall. The truth of the matter is is that mister Trump, by laying all of his cards on the table and revealing who he's truly aligned with, he opened up the door for the European Union to truly open its eyes and see that maybe for the next four years, we need to keep the United States at a distance. Other former presidents have made statements about the display that happened on Friday, and it isn't favorable. This isn't about democrats versus Republicans
any longer. This is about a fascist autocrat trying to
conquer and take over the American people. So we're gonna move forward into the show, and we're gonna hear statements from mister povier As and and we're also going to hear a interview that was done or a segment of the interview that was done in Vancouver, BC by the Vancouver Border Trade on Friday about the tariffs and how Canada can defend itself against the tariffs and what does it what does the tariffs in both of in both of their eyes, What do these same tarrors mean to
the American people? To my American friends that are actually listening to this, be warned that if tar go up, prices that you pay for a thing, for certain goods on the shelves and the stores that you that you like to buy are going to go up. Inflation is going to go up in America if the tariffs go up. Here's a reason why he why mister Trump keeps dangling
it and then moving the target. He knows because he has said several times that he is a businessman, he is not a politician, and he knows that if the tariffts go up too far, that the prices on the shelves through the American people are going to go up. It's going to cost you more to live because the United States cannot be self sustained. It doesn't have enough oil and gas. It doesn't have enough lumber, it doesn't have any aluminum to be had within the borders of
the United States. It's not an existent or it is limited. He knows this. He's telling you a story so that
he gets you on its side. But is that story going to truly serve you something to think about as we listen to the next two statements from the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and we listen to the opposition leadership of the Canadian government with the Conservative Party, mister Pierre Polvier, So why don't we get started, listen to what they have to say, and think about what mister Trump is truly doing and what his economic strategy really means to everyone's pocket.
Thank you very much everyone for being here today. I'm in politics to bring home Canada's promise, a very simple promise. You work hard, You've got a great life in a beautiful house on a safe street, protected by a solid
border and brave troops under a proud flag. That promise has been broken now for several years after the Carney true to liberals, doubled housing costs, doubled the national debt, doubled food bank lineups, doubled gun crime, pushed half a trillion dollars of investment out of Canada to the US, and gave us the worst economic growth in the G seven. Now they're seeking a fourth term in office, but more media lee. On Tuesday, we're faced with yet another possible
threat of tariffs. Mister Trump, the President of the United States, has threatened that tariffs will kick in on Tuesday. We don't know if he's going to pull back again, but if the tariffs do happen, we must retaliate, and we must use the revenues, mostly almost exclusively, to cut taxes for Canadian workers and businesses to bolster our economy against those tariffs. Regardless of what the President does, though we can't rely on him, and we can't rely on the
Americans anymore. We've learned our lesson from ten years of helplessness. We need to take back control of our economy and bring home a strong, self reliant and sovereign nation. Simply put, we need to bring it home. We must bring home our jobs, our resources, our production, our supply chains. We must not only harvest our resources, but we must build l ANDNG plants and ports that can get those resources
to over sees markets. That means tax cuts and green lighting massive resource projects to bring home our jobs, businesses, and money, and to become less dependent on the Americans. It means rejecting the radical keep it in the ground environmental agenda that Mark Karney has advised on Justin Trudeau
over the last five years. That is why over a month ago, I called on the government two immediately one repeal the liberal No New Pipeline's Law C sixty nine, a law that is blocked mines, pipelines, power dams, LNG plants that would make us more independent from the United States. Two immediately convene premiers to remove not talk about removing but remove exemptions in the Canadian Free Trade Deal so
Canadians can trade between provinces. Three pass a bring it Home tax cut on work investment, home building, energy, and making stuff in Canada. Four Imediately remove red tape and
taxes to boost home building. Wouldn't it be a wonderful way to help our beleaguered lumber business and our loggers to start building some homes If we were to ax the federal sales tax and get a deal with provinces and municipalities to take their taxes off, we could build hundreds of thousands of extra homes, creating jobs for our tradespeople and boosting demand for our domestic lumber that President
Trump is threatening and that President Brydon already tariffed. But despite asking for all of these things over a month ago, nothing has happened. The Liberals have done precisely nothing in the last month to make us less reliant on the Americans. They shut Parliament so that we were not even able to pass any laws or more importantly, repeal the devastating
laws and taxes that they had originally put in place. Instead, Liberals have spent the last three months raising money from Mark Kearny and fighting for power within their own party. So today, as we speak, the no New Pipeline's loss C sixty nine is still in place. All liberal tax increases are still in place. Trade barriers within the country are still in place. The federal sales tax is still
in place on new homes. The Carney true to liberal policies that have doubled housing costs, doubled food bank use, doubled the debt, gave us the worst growth in the G seven, and pushed a half trillion dollars out of our country to the United States, all still in place, speaking and pushing money out of Canada. We know that is exactly what Mark Karney did when he backed down
to Donald Trump. On October twenty sixth, twenty twenty four, Donald Trump threatened tariffs against Canada to take our jobs. Six days later, Mark Karney announced the Brookfield headquarters would move from Canada to Trump's hometown of New York City, giving Canadian jobs to Americans. And we all know, no matter what the corporate big wigs tell you, that when the headquarters goes, the jobs and the money will follow.
Soon after, Mark Karney did exactly what Trump wanted. He backed down and sold out our country when Canada was under attack. He did it while he was acting as Justin Trudeau's economic advisor. When asked why he moved the headquarters out of Canada, he said he had nothing to do with it, that the decision was made after he
left the company in January. Yet documents show that the decision was made in October of last year at a meeting that he chaired, where the decision was unanimous, meaning he agreed with it, and then he recommended it in writing to his shareholders confronted him about his falsehood. He now says he should have been more precise. But here's the thing. He was very precise. He said, and I quote the decision, the formal decision of the board, happened
after I ceased to be on the board. Again, the decision, the formal decision of the board, happened after I ceased to be on the board. That is a very precise statement, precisely the opposite of the truth. The formal decision happened in October, three months before Mark Karney left, and he chaired the meeting. Now he told this to all of you the media. Here, we're here today, Let's digest that
for a second. He sat at that mahogany table, grasping the gavel and recorded the DECI which he agreed with to move the headquarters to New York from Canada. And then just the other night, when you asked him about it, he looked all of you in the eye and he said, the board made the decision before, excuse me, after he left the company and he had nothing to do with it. Are you ever going to believe anything he tells you again? Don't you think he should come before you and explain himself.
Mark Karney has to come before Canadians and explain. He needs to explain why he lied and why he sold out our country, why he failed to put Canada first when we were under attack. He needs to apologize to Canadians, not only for lying, but for putting his personal profits ahead of our country. Mark Karney put himself first instead
of putting Canada first. We need action to protect our country and its people, to take back control of our eccho noomic future, and to protect Canadians from greedy corporate executives who would ship our jobs abroad, and to bring home the promise of Canada. We have a common sense plan to do it. Conservatives will ax taxes, we will build homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. We will cut bureaucracy, consultants, corporate welfare, and foreign aid to
bring down liberal deficits, taxes and inflation. We will repeal anti development laws like C. Sixty nine and rapidly green light minds, pipelines, factories, LNG plants and other highly profitable, profitable projects. We will lower taxes on work, energy, investment, home building, and making stuff in Canada. We'll take the GST off new homes to build thousands of new places for young people to live. We will ax the carbon tax for a real for everyone and forever. We will
reject plans by Carti to bring that tax back. We will simplify our tax code so that our businesses spend more time hiring workers and serving customers in less time filling out forms. We will sell our natural gas in India and other overseas markets to displace dirtier forms of energy. We will actually confront Putin by displacing his energy dominance in Europe with Canadian natural gas, with energy plants that will get the projects up and running and out the door.
So that we can bring home powerful paychecks for our people in this country. So the choice for Canadians will be simple. Do you believe that the Trudeau Carni Liberals deserve a fourth term of hiking taxes, doubling housing costs, blocking resource projects, and making us hopelessly dependent on the Americans? Are you ready for real common sense change to ax taxes, green light big projects, secure our borders and our military,
and put Canada first. And in the end, we will bring home the promise of this country where hard work gets you a great life that buys you a beautiful home on a safe street, protected by solid borders and brave soldiers under a proud flag Canada. Let's bring it home.
As we take our seats, I remind everybody they can log on a slide dot com and to submit and vote from questions. Minister, we have known each other for
a long time. I've been in this role five years and when your previous portfolio, you were one of the first to reach out and to really connect with us and find out what was happening on the ground in Greater Vancouver during COVID, and so I've had the opportunity to watch you evolve in this role of yours now, and you know, quite just on a personal note, I don't think that you would have envisioned that it would have been quite all of this when you were appointed for an hears minister.
Maybe we'll just start.
With a few personal reflections and you can give some remarks about where things stand in this precise moment, on this precise day in regards to Paris, because it has been just such an ever changing situation.
Yeah, well, I'm happy to see you again. You and I worked a lot on creating the first economic development agency, a regional development agency for the Pacific, which is called Pacific n You needed a kibot clause to make that happen.
That's pretty funny.
So I was just T telling BRIGANDT beforehand. When when Prime Minister Trudeau appointed me foreign minister back in twenty twenty one, I was calling different former foreign ministers, and one of which well known it is called John, and I'll call Jean like, okay, so what are your.
Comments, what are your advice? What do you think? He said?
You know, Melanie, it's create, it's very prestigious, but you'll never be in the media.
You know, nothing will happen.
Uh, So I was like, okay, well, thank you. And then four months later, uh the war in Ukraine started. And then from there, of course we know uh there were the October seventh uh that were in Gaza. I.
It's you know, the entire Middle East living.
On UH tensions with with China. We had our own issues also with India. It just never stopped every day, and now we know it is.
Uh the question uh of what is the US.
Role in the world v you know, the bilateral relationship between US and and and them, but also fundamentally, the geopolitical.
Technomic plates are moving so fast. I'm sorry, yep, are moving so fast, and.
Uh it is there's a fear of uh, the the changes creating a vacuum which could lead to us to be in a very dangerous world. And we we are indeed living in a much more dangerous world than four years ago. So, but we can organize ourselves. We can make sure that we defend our interests. It's not as if the arc of history is just something that we cannot have an impact on and we can't bend.
But to do so, we need to be organized. And so let's talk about the tariffs.
Okay, so yesterday.
Yeah, well, let maybe back it up.
We thought March fourth was going to be the deadline, and then we thought it was a pri second, and then we were told yesterday it is March fourth. So I have not seen Twitter in the last hour or so, so I don't know if it is changed. So let's assume that that tariffs could be imposed on March fourth. Let's talk about the Team Canada approach and the efforts that your government has undertaken to try to alleviate the imposition of these tariffs.
Yeah.
So there are three executive orders that we have to bear in mind. That's why the date seems a bit conflicting. But for President Trump to talk about a date, he actually is linking it to an executive order he assigned. So the first one we're referred to is the one link to the fact that there is a crisis at the border quote unquote, and that you know, we need to address the fentanyl issue. So we came up with a very strong border plan one point three billion dollars that we invested in.
We have a new.
Borders are and that's why this executive order, which was scheduled to be in January was paused for thirty days, and that's the more March fourth date.
And so when you hear in the media that we're talking a lot about border security, it is linked to that executive order, and that is a threat of twenty five percent tariffs against Canadian products and ten percent oil and gas.
So that's the first executive.
Order, and to be frank, we came up with a border plan because we believe we needed to do it for us because we know the US is a net exporter also of legal drugs and also of irregular migrants, so we need to do to make sure that.
Canadians were safe at home.
Second executive order is linked to steal an aluminum, and that's twenty five percent triffs and steel in aluminum. This is a This is an executive order that actually President Trump signed back in the days and during his first mandate, and it was an executive order that President Biden's also signed, but we had an exemption and the European Union had an exemption.
So the date for that is March twelfth.
And then there's a third one and last one which is affecting all countries in the world having a trade relationship with the US.
On inauguration Day.
On January twentieth, President Trump signed an executive order asking all federal agencies to report to the Commerce Secretary to study all the different reciprocal relationship trade relationships with the US. So when you hear reciprocal tariffs, it's linked to that executive order. And what the White House wants to do is to be able to do a deal with every single training partners. When they negotiate with US, they don't only talk about trade guides. They actually talk about a
series a flurry of different aspects of different topics. And so it is the case for US, but it is the case also for many other countries in the world.
So over the last many weeks, most I would say almost all of the cabinet, the federal cabinet, has been in Washington, DC. Yourself has been there, my minister, So, how successful do you think those discussions are? And I hesitate to call them negotiations because it's unclear what the end game is, But how do you what's your sense on how much progress you're seeing?
Yeah, so I've been five times to the US Washington and Marlago. Uh, and I've had many, many different conversations with the Trump administration itself, So Howard Lutnik, who's the Commerce Secretary, who's also talking to Minister LeBlanc, who is a key part of the discussions negotiations, and so I'm in touch with the White House, but I'm also in touch with the Senate, and in the Senate I'm talking to Lindsay Graham nearly every day.
So I just spoke to him this morning.
About a different subjects, including of course the tariffs. He's a he's very close President Trump. He's a Trump whisper, as we call it.
That's it.
And I've met you know, John Tune, the leader of the Senate Majority, who's the number two of the Republicans on Capitol Hill, and you know, go on and on and on, and I'm talking also to Democrats. That's really really important. So it is important because I think we've done a really good job, guys across the country to say to the American people and to their leaders that tariffs are.
A really bad idea.
And the only people on earth that we'll be able to push back against President Trump regarding tariffs are Americans themselves. And so the good news is is when you see all ministers going to Washington, when you see you know, colleagues from even you know, MP's going to Washington, premiers going to Washington.
It's great.
But fundamentally, when we buy local, when we decide to support Canadian products, when we decide to actually travel across.
Canada or around the world and not.
Necessarily travel to the US, we're sending a message. And that's the real Team Canada. Because now when you see polling in the US, the latest is there's a majority of American that don't support tariffs against Canada and Mexico.
We know that tariffs are going to hurt people on both sides of the borders. Some analysis that has been done is that it would cost each American about thirteen hundred dollars more for Canadians about eighteen or nineteen hundred dollars each, and that message, you know. I've had conversations with business leaders in Washington State and in Oregon and some other of the Western states, and certainly they understand the gravity of the situation in Canada. It's been the
top of the media cycle for weeks now. My concern is that it's not getting the same level of profile or importance in the United States. So how can we as Canadians help drive that message that tariffs will be painful for both Canadians and Americans.
Well, I think we did, particularly when mister Trudeau, Minister Leblain, myself and mine, mister mc ginty went and said, you know what, one hundred and fifty five billion dollars worth of tariffs when the executive order was signed, the first one regarding twenty five percent tariffs against US on Fentanel, and we decided to say, very strong response, one hundred and fifty five billion dollars worth of tariffs and the
first launch is thirty billion dollars. We were the first, you know, internationally to say here we go, this will be our response. We're the biggest client client of the US by far. We buy more about than China, than Japan, than the UK and friends all together, and so when we're the first trading partner of the US, and so when Prime Minister Trudeau gave his speech, which I think was a really good one to the American people themselves,
it made it. It made national use in the US, and what we saw is President Trump lost the narrative over that weekend. We need to continue to be strong. We need to continue that to say no problem, will find a way.
To address the border issues.
But if you do so, we'll fight back and you'll this will have an impact on American people who will pay more at the pump, who will pay more at the grocery store, and jobs will be lost in the US period. And so did you vote for that? American people know you didn't. There was a clear promise from President Trump which was we will make sure to put down inflation. This is going against his most important electoral promise,
and so we need to convey that message. You're doing a great job along with you know, all business people getting involved, and we have many allies in the US where the country also you know, on the on Earth that knows more the American people, we get how they think. We have friends and families on the other side of the border. We're connected throughout through mayors, through governors, through representatives. You know, when I talk to my European colleagues, they don't,
they just don't. They're just in another world. They're in Europe. They you know, they haven't all had their all Hall moment. Yes yet with becoming us that in a minute.
But beyond beyond fentanyl and the border issue. The other topic or issue that appears to be a challenger or a problem for President Trump is around our devent spending. And you recently said that you thought Canada should increase its defense spending. So does that mean that you think we'll reach that two percent target? And how would we do that?
I think you know, when it comes to defense, it's not about the relationship with US only.
It is fundamentally about us.
I've been the foreign minister for nearly well more than three years and a half at this point, and we need to defend ourselves. I just told you that the world is much more dangerous. When I was here I think two years ago, and we launched the Indo Pacific strategy, I told that there was an issue in terms of competition between China and the US which could lead potentially to you know, a greater international greater international tensions, and potentially in international conflict.
I do remember that conversation.
So now we presented a new defense policy update. I presented a new Arctic strategy last December because there is now cooperation between Russia and China and the Arctic, which is affecting our own sovereignty, which we need to do more. But my point is is I'm hawkish on this. We need to get to the percent quicker. And two days ago the UK just announced that they would get to two point five percent.
This is of the world in which we are now.
So what would be a reasonable timeline for us to get to that two percent.
Well, I won't go into the timelines, but my point is we need to be smart about it and we need to create jobs that home. You know, when we talk about defense spending or investments, all of you business community members should think, Okay, how can I be part of that supply chain? How can I you know, be part of the investments the government.
Will be making.
Because it is we can't just invest in defense and send basically all our money, your taxpayer's money, to the US.
We're talking about the full supply chain that comes to.
Well, yes, because it is about indeed investing in the Arctic and making sure we have bases there.
And much more equipment, much more people as well.
But it is about you know, the entire spectrum of technology that is linked to the protection of Canada physically but also virtually digitally.
It is becoming very clear that this is not just an issue around trade relationships. It is an issue of sovereignty and you have you just said a few minutes ago it is a dangerous time. It is are more becoming a more dangerous time. I think yesterday the comments from the Prime Minister of the UK were quite surprising for many Canadians and it made us feel even more alone in this What was your take, Well.
I think that when it comes to Canada and UK, no country will be very able to divide us. You know, I'm in British Columbia right now. You know, it's part of our history, it's part of our relationship.
We have the same head of state.
But having spent the last two weeks and a half in Europe and also going to Johannesburg in South Africa for the G twenty, we are the ones along, I think, with Denmark and Panama that are really really in Mexico obviously really facing this much more tense relationship, which we were all surprised by because that was not discuss during the electoral period in the US. And I think that I was at the Immunich Security Conference when JD.
Vance gave his speech. I think that the many diplomats.
In the room were very heard heard a rhetoric they never heard from the US, which really shocked them. And afterwards there were conversations about, uh, the relationship the US had with Ukraine and with Russia.
And that was also a moment of.
Very great concern in the in in Europe. But when I was talking to them and with the foreign ministers of France, of Germany, of of the of the EU, and also of the UK, what we were going through and saying, hey, we're the canter in the coal mine, guys, this is coming to you your next, they were believing me and taking lots of notes. But this week Trump said eu U was created to you know, against the US, and twenty five percent tariffs against the U, and you know.
And I've well, I will.
I wrote all to all of them, I said, I told you, and they were like, yeah, thanks, Mal, you know, so we'll listen to you.
Mark so no. But but also why.
It was important is meanwhile I was there to organize the counter tariffs because my point was we've already published a thirty billion dollars list of first tariffs. We're the only ones that have published it. They are affected already by the stealing aluminum tariffs. So we're taking our list, talking to Europeans to make sure we all have the same line.
Do you think our relationship with the UK has changed though, given the new Ish Prime Minister kri Starmark.
Oh, I think you know.
I was just in London, had a really good conversation with his chief of staff. I went to the ten Downing Street. I was there on Tuesday or Friday. Yeah, I was with Johnathan Powell, his national security advisor. I sat down also with the Foreign Minister, David Lamy. I think that just countries are figuring out what does that mean? A change of leadership from the US and the world, and so I think, you know, all all of us, all countries are looking at ourselves and we're anxious.
We need to make sure that we organize ourselves, and by.
Organizing ourselves, we are able to bend that arc of history I was talking to You're about so that so I counter tariffs, having the same products, you know, targeting the same regions in the US is really really important, been.
The arc of history. I have not seen the video, but I understand that within the last hour or two there was a display between Vladimir Zelenski and President Trump in the White House, which actually became an argument which is quite hard to believe with media in the room. Have you heard about this or seen this? And then what would your reaction be to the situation with Ukraine given you have had a lot of dealings.
Well, I haven't seen the video yet, of course, you know, my phone was just buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. And I spoke to Lindsey Graham actually fifteen minutes before he went into that press conference, and he was actually quite positive and going they were going to sign the critical minerals deal. And I had spoken to the chief staff of Zelensky and Yeermak three days ago to try to organize what they would say and how, you know, and
he was briefing me on their strategy. What President Zelensky right now is going through in Ukraine is similar to what we're seeing here.
There's really a rally around the flag.
And he's actually extremely popular, more than maybe a month ago, because Ukrainians are really really mad at the way that, you know, the comments about his leadership have been have been you know, expressed, and so I think that and we've seen Ukrainians you can never think you can never underestimate them.
And President Zelensky is somebody that has gone.
Through a long war of three years, having death threats against him. You know, he is has shown great leadership and courage. So I think that you know, he will never settle for a bad deal, and I think it is for us important to make sure that we work with him and with our allies on that, because.
If we don't get a good deal.
For Ukraine, we're sending a message to Russia. And we know that President Putin has no red lines, and if he has no red lines, it means that then NATO territory is a threat.
And if NATO territory is a threat, we are a threat.
So that's why when you try to connect why is Ukraine important and why we need to make sure to support Ukrainians and European security, it is because basically we have played a role in Europe to defend Europe. But when we defend Europe, we also defend our own space, our own sovereignty, because we know that solidarity goes both ways.
And not knowing the details of what this display was in the White House this morning, you know, what does it say about the shifting allegiances between the US and Russia.
Well, I think there's still a lot to be seen there. I think that it's important that there will be conversations diplomatically. At one point, we know the war needs to end. The question is how will it end on with conditions and how we can make sure that, you know, we get a good deal that will make sure that present Putin doesn't leave rearm and reattack.
That's the risk.
We cannot be in a position where a bit like what was done on Chermea and Minx. You know the peace accords of Minsk one and then Mins two, which eventually led to the full legendation of Ukraine. Ukrainians have a right to be part of Europe, have a right to also for their own destiny. And if we don't do that, it means that, you know, the borders are of every single country on the planet, are actually can be can be redrawn through force. And and we're middle power,
we are not of superpower. We believe in these international norms and rules that have kept us safe, that are at the.
Core of the United Nations, that are at that core of the you know, the idea of peace.
That our grandparents had in mind after the Second World War, and so we need to defend them. And meanwhile, I think what I've been saying a lot to Trump the Trump demonstration is President Trump cannot have a bad deal on Ukraine because China is looking on the other side of the ocean to.
See what type of deal.
Because then it's also the relationship of what type what China could do on Taiwan. And he does not want to be seen weak even at home. So there are many different reasons why this Ukrainian deal is is really really important because it sets for the next steps of whether we will be in a much more peaceful world without too many threats through security or not.
So how does Canada's role on the world stage evolve given these kinds of global tensions. Canada was always known as a peacekeeping country and had a pretty central role. Things are obviously very fluid and changing very quickly. So where do you see Canada's role in the global stage? And I think that's also one of questions on Slider there.
Well, I think you know, when I came two years ago also talking about the Indo Pacific strategy, we need to reckon that we need new alliances and new partnerships. We have to be closer to Japan and Korea than we are from Germany, France and the UK.
We need to be closer also to Europe.
We need to diversify not only the trade side, but also on the security front. We need to make sure that we have you know, we presented I presented a new approach on the Arctic. We have to be closer to the seven of the eight Arctic states, which are now Finland, Sweden are part of NATO now, which we're not you know, three years ago, but also Norway, Denmark, Iceland,
so the Nordics. And I'm seeing that in full DISPLAYGID, because I'm seeing that now we're having conversations with countries that we weren't that close to, but now we're saying, okay, we need to share intelligence, we need to do more defense cooperation, we need more of your trade, and we need also more of your knowledge. It is that is what's happening. And we have so much to offer. We have fantastic natural resources we have. You know, I was saying to French you want uranium, why do you get
them from Kazakhstan? You can get it from us, you know, we potash fertilizers, there's still no sanctions on Belarussian and Russian UH fertilizers and potash because it's too expensive for European farmers get it from US, you know. And well you'll put maximum pressure on Belarus, belar Belarus, Belarus and and and and Russia. So and we have, you know,
all the talents. Y. Basically, we're very rich country. I have lots to offer, but we have not necessarily had the reflex to device diversify, and we've been over reliant on the US.
Do you think that there.
Is uh enough profile and importance being put on the Arctic. I feel like there's a lot of conversations and a lot of analysis about a lot of other pieces of this puzzle, but the Arctic, to me seems it is one incredibly important piece of the puzzle that maybe we're underestimating.
Well, when I talk about the Arctic a couple of things. I don't think it will be the theater of where tensions will start, but I think it will be a theater where it will be impacted by all the other tensions. So President Putin went to Beijing last June last spring and he signed a cooperation military cooperation agreement with President g to have military cooperation between China and Russia in the Arctic before the war in Ukraine.
Russians believe, like we all did, an Arctic States, the Arctic states, that the Arctic needed.
To be a high nor low tension region and there was a lot of multilateralism, lots of diplomatic conversations, and it was kept there through the Arctic Council. But bit by bit, as the war in Ukraine was not successful for the Russians has they were drawn into sending more resources and eventually asking.
For you know, North Korean troops.
They allowed more China to come in the Arctic because China for a long time has been wanting to be in the Arctic. The Arctic as the ice is melting, will be the shortest route between Asia and Europe, and that is why, and it's going through our Northwest passage. So that's why we need to make sure that we are there defending our sovereignty, but also working with other Arctic nations, with NATO, with the Americans on NORAD to ultimately defend ourselves.
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