B;logers note ": with Transcript SEE at 3.37 CRITICAL MINERALS INDUSTRY and CHINA OWNED Canadian companies
VIDEO ....
thank you for joining us as we mentioned
the prime minister is currently on a 10-day trip through Asia tomorrow he will be at the G20 Summit in Bali Indonesia he's also there to highlight Canada's upcoming indo-pacific strategy part of that of course how Canada will approach a more powerful China Canada has already taken steps in recent weeks to limit China's involvement in key Industries in this country I spoke with the minister of innovation Science and Industry Francois Philip champagne about Minister champagne thank you for joining us from White Horse today I appreciate well it's very good to be here actually uh you know it's a part of the country that I love very much a bit chilly these days but uh you know Northern Light there's a lot of good things going on um I want to get right into it uh Minister Jolie gave some a preview I think it would be fair to say of the indo-pacific uh strategy and policy that will be announced in the coming days but you've been doing a lot of work sort of in and around that notion particularly around resilient Supply chains in China uh you have said that we need to see a decoupling uh from China and regimes that don't share our values how hard is that uh going to be how hard are you finding it to be given how much we have relied on China and its Manufacturing in well you know it's clear that we're going to continue to export and import uh from China but what I said is that we need to align closely with our American friends uh something is clear to me we need to stop to be overly reliant on countries who don't share our basic values and at a time where you talk to Global CEOs and you see global supply chain becoming more Regional uh more emphasis on resiliency than pure efficiency that plays very well to Canada what I want to be is to be the green supply of choice to our partners allies around the world that's why I was in Korea recently that I'm going to Korea I was in Japan recently I'm going back to Japan then I'll be in Germany and and I think our allies around the world they see Canada as a place to be when it comes for example of sourcing critical minerals when I was in Washington I was talking to our U.S friends you know we need to do more on the chip side because if you look at the inflation reduction Act and the chips act in the United States in my view this is all about resiliency yeah and how we increase resilience in North America guys by working together so my message to Washington is that Canada is the partner of choice if we want to be more resilient when it comes to our critical Supply chains well let me ask you about that is it because of the United States and their approach to China that we are acting or were we worried we were going to get left behind if we didn't make a dramatic shift in terms of how we were approaching Global Supply chains well I would say it's in it's in Canada's best interest when it comes to for example the critical supply chain yes I do believe that we need to be aligned with our U.S friends for me to increase resiliency to be avoiding of being overly dependent on a few countries who don't share our basic values or basic principle when it comes to human rights when it comes to labor law when it comes to human dignity I think this is in in Canada's best interests and and I've been putting that Vision that Minister Julie has laid out in action you know we've been engaging very much with our partners in Japan I'll be doing the same in in South Korea and you've seen what we've done with Germany by signing an mou with Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz which I think is going to lead to further investments in Canada well and I have some questions about electric vehicles because I know you like talking about it but definitely yeah you should be with me on the road let's talk about the critical minerals industry because you've decided that you were going to require three Chinese businesses to sell their stake in Canadian firms should I interpret that then as an indication that you don't trust China that you don't want them to hold those kinds of investment in this country particularly for something that's so critical well I think what you should interpret is that I'm going to be protecting our national security these Investments go to a very rigorous process and I think you know my role and I think this is widely shared by Canadians is that we need to protect for example the critical minerals that we have in Canada we want to develop them we want to refine them we want to do that with with partners and allies around the world but we need to engage with companies who would want to take stake in these companies it was eyes wide open and that's why the time I invoke National Security to block these transactions and you know I will be looking at these transactions with enhanced scrutiny at every step of the way to make sure that these critical minerals whether we're talking about lithium we're talking about graphite we're talking about manganese we're talking about nickel the type of things Rosie that are going to be powering our economy of the 21st century we've been blessed by geography so let's let's mine these critical minerals let's refine them let's add value in Canada but I'm also mindful of you know state-owned companies of different countries would want to take Equity interest in our company and I will apply and then scrutiny and I will block any transaction any transaction that I don't find to be in the National Security interest of Canada should we expect more of that are you reviewing current deals to see whether there are other countries that you don't want to hold those kinds of Investments I said very openly that when it comes to state-owned Enterprises we want to take stake in Canadian mining companies when it comes to critical minerals that in this case we would only approve them in exceptional circumstances and I think this is what Canadians expect from us it's about time that we we put our foot down and make sure that you know these critical minerals are going to be ex you know they're going to be mine and refined here in Canada with partners and and I'm going to be watching that very very carefully because this is the type of thing that's going to fuel the economy the 21st century we happen to have them in Canada we need to protect them you were as you said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs five years ago you had a very different attitude towards China you were interested in exploring free trade talks did the government have the wrong approach on China for too long well I would say the you know China of 2015 and China of 2022 is very different I think at the time not only Canada but I would say largely if you look at the G7 and many countries around the world there was a time where when China came to WTO that there was a time where people were saying uh you know further engaging with China you know my view today is one which takes into account that obviously we're going to continue to export and import with China but when it comes to critical Supply chains particularly when it comes to critical minerals microchips I think we need to engage with eyes wide open and I think this is what the strategy is about diversification and and I've been putting that strategy in action uh honestly because engaging further with South Korea engaging more with Japan engaging more with Germany I think it's in Canada's best interest this is looking at the long term and I think these steps that we've been taking and what Minister Julie has laid out is really in line with what I feel when I'm talking to to CEOs around the world this is you know supply chain are becoming more original more resiliency and Canada shines in that why because stability predictability and the rule of laws and short demand is in high demand and short supply and Canada stands out in the world when it comes to to that so we've been able to attract investment people are looking for example to Talent they're looking to the ecosystems that we have they're looking critical minerals renewable energy and access the market and that's our moment to shine that's why I keep saying let's be ambitious that seize the moment everyone wants to come invest in Canada right now well let me end on on one of your favorite topics anyway the one that you spend an awful lot of time on you mentioned mous with Germany's Volkswagen and and Mercedes on developing electric vehicle Manufacturing in in this country you did go down to California I believe and and have some talks with Tesla that's one of the leading companies you know how important it is to to the system any inroads there with trying to get them to move up here as well you're well informed uh yes I'm talking to everyone you know me Rosie I'm not the type of guy to sit at my desk in an office uh you know business is going on around the world I've been in Fremont we've been talking to to Tesla we're exploring a number of different things with them uh again I I said very humbly I said uh you know consumers are going to move from an electric car to a green car and I was making the point that Canada is the place to be we're going to be producing green steel green aluminum I'm working on green batteries I want to build green microchips and and my my my word I keep saying to the people you know not everyone wakes up in the world thinking about Canada my job and our job is to make the case for Canada and in this case when I was in Fremont in California I would say listen the market is moving I think now consumers pension fund you look financial institutions they want to see a more decarbonized economy and therefore moving from a pure electric car to a green car is the way to go and I think in this sense Canada offers everything that these big manufacturers would want that's how we signed with Mercedes-Benz that's what we've done with Volkswagen and by the way Rosemary just to tell you both Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen asked me to go present to their Global board meeting in Germany to make the case for Canada so what we've done is paying dividends and I'm going to continue to fight at every step of the way it's a very competitive world but I think so far so good we're going to have the full battery ecosystem we're going to produce the car of the future right here in Canada providing jobs for decades to come okay Minister you are a busy busy man so thank you for making the time for always a pleasure thanks for having me
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