US and Canada need to decouple from China.

0:00 Speaker 1 Sunday Morning with us today is Stephen Leche. He’s the Canadian Minister of Energy for Ontario and right now the number one thing in the world is energy. And well, Stephen, welcome to the United States, Welcome to New York. Tell us Ontario. You guys have a load of energy and you have so many projects happening. But in the last

0:29 few days oil has gone up wt I has gone up tremendously. Give us your evaluation of what the heck is going on in the world.

0:38 Speaker 2 Well, first off, it’s amazing to be here. A good morning to all your incredible listeners across New York. I will say off the top, my father came through Ellis Island, very strong connections to New York and to America. We love this country and we want you to succeed. And I came here really with a message of unity of purpose,

0:59 that we share this same democratic values and the energy space is dynamic, and we’re up against the same enemies, the same adversaries who seek to under minor economy in our way of life. I’m talking about the Chinas and the Russias, and they ran that do not wish well for America or for the West so there’s a lot

1:16 of change in the commodity markets, and we’ve got a lot to offer the US, from critical minerals to natural gas, to patroleum in yes, to clean energy. We want to sell it to a dependable ally like the US.

1:27 Speaker 1 Well, I’ve always said that America America is United States and Canada. So when I say God bless America, I mean for both of us, because we are in the same boat together. Yeah. President Trump has been advocating that North America America has to be self sufficient and between the United States resources and Canadians resources, especially Ontario, that

1:57 we’re gonna we could be so sufficient for North America and not worry about any energy. What say you.

2:05 Speaker 2 I think there’s a lot of wisdom for the President, for other political leaders around the world that are trying to decouple from China. This is the number one geopolitical and military threat to the West and to the US, and I think it is important that we Canadians, Americans, and other Western democracies we come together to fight back.

2:25 I mean the US right now, Foolishly, some I argue is overly dependent on China. Ninety percent of critical of rare earths are coming from China, a country that is trying to undermine your workers and your security, and we have it all. We’ve got the largest bounty of rare earts and critical minerals just to your north.

2:44 Speaker 1 I was very disappointed in China when we were having certain disputes over Wuhan and COVID that they threatened to shut off for antibiotics. I understand they make ninety percent of the antibiotics that come to America.

3:05 Speaker 2 Yeah, this is a country that still makes you know, over sixty percent of the windmills, eighty percent of solar and we all know that if we want to build a strong economy, should be building it right here at home.

3:19 Jobs for Americans, jobs for Canadians, as you say, a North American vision of our energy and dependence. And I know that the president, like our premier, our governor equivalent, was elected on a mission to keep energy rates down, make it more affordable. And if right now we have an opportunity to sell energy products in the US, given

3:39 that the logistics are close, the commodities are our massive bounty, we believe we can offer that affordable energy future. Because to the point about China, they’re not dependable, they’re not there when we need them. In fact, they are fighting us every step of the way. And they’re actually I legally dumping material of many materials and be it steel

4:00 or aluminum into the market to undermine our jobs. So there’s a huge opportunity for us to step it up in the defense of our workers to make energy more affordable. And I’d argue, Canada’s got what you need. We fight in the same wars, we share the same values. I mean, my goodness, I’m even a case study of this. My

4:17 own family immigrated to the New World through America and I still have family up in Schenectady, New York. So I love this place and I wants us to succeed together in the fight against these authoritarian regimes that are trying to undermine our values and democracies abroad.

4:32 Speaker 1 Now are you appointed by my friend Doug Ford. That’s right. He’s the Premiere of Canada, and he loves America. And when I say he loves America, he loves Canada. Yeah, but he loves the United States.

4:45 Speaker 2 So he does, you know, I think for Premier Ford, for him, it’s about standing with a country like the US. Canada knows we need the US to lead. We need the United States to be that force in the world to push back against the Russians, the Iranians, and those nations that are trying to export tear around the world.

5:09 And so the Premier has been very steadfast. We stand with America, we stand for democracy, we stand for freedom and the rule of law. Then we’re going to stand up against the communists, the authoritarian countries that are trying to really take their energy products and distort the markets.

5:26 Look what they’re doing in critical minerals. They’re trying to undermine American workers and Canadian workers by using state subsidies to draw down the price of commodities. So the Western companies exit the space and they just dominate where they are right now. They literally own and dominate the critical mineral space. So the defense sector needs it. You know,

5:47 you need titanium. We’ve got it in droves. We’ve got more titanium and other earths that most countries can dream of. And so my mission as Minister of Energy and Minds on behalf of Doug Ford, our premier in our government, is to get them of the ground and to move with speed, which is why we introduced legislation to do

6:04 what’s called one project, one process. We end the bureaucracy, we end the red tape, we ended lay, we get on with building. We’re going to get a permit approved in this country, in our province in twenty four months.

6:16 Speaker 1 President Trump, Lee Selden, who’s our EPA yet? And Yeah, yesterday on our show, we had Doug Bergham, the Secretary of Interia. I was there with the President Trump that when he was at the New York Stock Exchange and Lee Elden was standing next to him, and President Trump went and turned to Lee Selden and told them that

6:43 whatever permits needed, do them right away, because we want energy for America to go forward as fast as possible.

6:53 Speaker 2 I think speed is the strength right now, especially we’re up against the Chinese and others, and so we’re building in Ontario the largest nuclear reactor on Earth, up to ten thousand megawatts of power. We’re moving with speed to get our critical minerals out of the ground. We’re gonna have the fastest permitting regime in the G seven and

7:11 we’re building the first small modu reactor in the G seven right here in Toronto, Ontario. And we’re using an American technology partner ge ATACI. So we’re proud of this partnership that we’re leveraging together our technological strengths and we’re going to create tens of thousands of jobs for our our countries. So speed right now is the number one

7:31 variable for the success of countries in Ontario. Our Premier has been very clear, we’ve got to cut the timelines and permits by half. And that’s the commitment we’re making to investors around the world, including here in America, here in New York. We’re setting a signal we’re open for business and we’re going to move with speed to compete

7:47 and win.

7:49 Speaker 1 That is so wonderful. And I just want to say Ms. Minister, thank you for everything you do for America. And when I say America again, I mean America, North, North America, I mean Canada, and I mean the United States, because how did they say it in the old days. We’re in we’re in the same boat. We’re in this together, sir,

8:11 We’re in it. We’re in it together. And and I applaud President Trump, and I’ve said this to him, is you need a strong Washington, UH to keep the free world free.

8:26 Speaker 2 Amen to that. We want a strong America to succeed in the world.

8:30 Speaker 1 Thank you so much, and we’ll catch up with you again real soon.

8:34 Speaker 2 Thank you, And as our Premier would say, God bless the people of America and the people of Canada. God bless