00:00People who came from around the world would have left there feeling positive about Canada,
00:05and that's a really good thing.
00:06And certainly for Nova Scotia, the amount of opportunity we have in this province
00:12is recognized by so many people, certainly not just in Ottawa but across the country
00:17and now around the world, 27, 20 opportunities in that deal book of 167 is pretty remarkable
00:25when you think about the size of our province, both people-wise and landmass.
00:30But it tells you that there is something positive happening in this province,
00:35and I'm really excited about that. We're pushing hard.
00:38I think in many ways Nova Scotia has been preparing for this moment
00:44with some of the reversal of the bans that were in place,
00:48opening up opportunities so we can have real adult discussions and look at science on things,
00:53opening up those things.
00:54Just the movements we've made forward have prepared the province for this moment.
00:59So I'm excited that the moment is here.
01:01There's an incredible amount of interest in the Nova Scotia opportunities.
01:05Of course, the Win West project is a massive opportunity for the country,
01:10but people are excited about that.
01:12We know how to continue to move that forward,
01:17but I think that has support all the way through the highest levels of government in this country.
01:21So the summit, and in the ensuing days,
01:26you know, just continuing to tell the Nova Scotia story.
01:30And people want to know that the premier of the province is serious about development,
01:36that the premier of the province is serious about growing the economy,
01:39and a lot of times just that personal look you in the eye type thing is really important.
01:45As part of the summit, we hosted a Nova Scotia reception.
01:51We had many of the proponents of those 20 deals were in that room.
01:55I think there was over 130 people there.
01:57There was an incredible amount of excitement there,
02:00and that was a really direct opportunity to introduce potential investors
02:06to actual proponents in that moment,
02:09and they'll go away and continue to have discussions.
02:11But I'm really energized coming out of that summit.
02:16So you told the Nova Scotia story,
02:18saying it was dinner in Toronto, I guess.
02:21Is that what I understand?
02:26I tell the Nova Scotia story every day, every hour of my life,
02:31but certainly in very specific meetings with, you know,
02:36investors from around the world, one-on-one meetings.
02:39We talked about opportunities and what's possible,
02:43and did that on the streets and sidewalks and everywhere else I was as well.
02:46Can you talk about who some of those people were you spoke to?
02:49Yeah, well, these are major funds representing
02:52some of the sovereign wealth funds
02:53from different countries around the world.
02:57A lot of investment bankers from different jurisdictions,
03:00and also Canadian pension funds and Canadian bankers, too.
03:04But this is, it's all part of the Prime Minister's working hard
03:09to rebuild the reputation of Canada.
03:11We can all see that.
03:12We're working hard to rebuild the reputation of Nova Scotia,
03:15a jurisdiction that banned so many industries for so long,
03:19shut down so many things, crippled our own economy,
03:21crippled our people in so many ways financially.
03:23And so this is a massive rebuilding exercise,
03:26but we're making progress.
03:27We hear about potential and opportunities.
03:30Wondering, is there any new money you can point to
03:32that came from this summit, or is it too early to tell?
03:36Might we hear about investments in the fall economy?
03:38Yeah, I think there's a process.
03:41So there's obviously a number of those opportunities.
03:44There's an actual proponent.
03:45There's somebody who wants to build a mine or wants to advance a project.
03:49So they'll be raising their money.
03:51It's our job to kind of assist in that process
03:54and set overall kind of global conditions for the economy
03:58and just indicate where we're supportive.
04:00We'll be clear about the process.
04:02I mean, that is also one of the things
04:03that the Prime Minister announced there too.
04:06One project, one review.
04:08Of course, we've made that agreement
04:10with the Federal Government as well.
04:11The Prime Minister said one year.
04:13One project, one review, one year.
04:15So people want to know that there is a process
04:19and that there's a process they can trust.
04:21And that has not been the case in this process.
04:23We can point to, you know, potential even housing developments
04:26around HRM here that have been 10 years.
04:30So one of the things that I've always said as Premier
04:33is we would focus on getting to a decision.
04:37So it's not always yes.
04:38It's not always no.
04:39But we need to get away from this maybe stuff.
04:42And we've had projects for years and years of maybes
04:44and we just need to do that analysis.
04:46So I would say the ball is moving down the field
04:50and that forward progress is important.
04:53It looks like the session is about to wrap later today, Premier,
04:56and it's pretty quiet and lacking in controversy
05:00relative to some other sessions we've seen lately.
05:03Has that been by design that you've been trying
05:05not to ruffle feathers because of the negative attention
05:08that the spring budget drew?
05:09No, we're doing the work of the people.
05:11So obviously the budget can be more sensitive.
05:14Budget sessions, I think, historically would be more exciting
05:18for people than you look back.
05:20But this session, we will pass hopefully a legislation
05:27impacting over 20 pieces of legislation.
05:31I think they've been supported all the way through.
05:33I'm not exactly sure on that.
05:34But I think generally the votes have been unanimous.
05:37I think that's a sign of we're doing things that matter
05:41and we're doing it in a way that is supported by Nova Scotians.
05:45So we'll just continue to do that.
05:48There's been growing, I guess, trade relations between Canada and EU
05:51and I guess, yeah, just growing trade relations.
05:55I guess, can you tell me a little bit about your thoughts
05:57about where we're going with EU and their partnership?
06:01Yeah, so diversifying markets, opening up opportunities,
06:04those are good things for product and people.
06:07So those are good things.
06:08So I'm supportive of that.
06:10I think the Prime Minister has been clear
06:12that he would take it back to Parliament
06:14and have discussions.
06:15And I know there are people who are concerned,
06:16will this increase regulatory burden on certain things?
06:21What will be the impact on that?
06:23And kind of what I say to people on that is,
06:27we're dealing with Mark Carney here.
06:28We're not dealing with Justin Trudeau.
06:30So I'd have more faith that we would get something
06:32that works for Canadians and is positive for Canadians.
06:34In terms of your being here in the building,
06:36another session where your Chair was empty
06:38for maybe half the time,
06:41to speak to Nova Scotians.
06:42Is it more important, say, what you achieved
06:45or tried to achieve in Toronto versus what went here?
06:50I think Nova Scotians, this is part of the process.
06:53We've participated in this.
06:54This institution is an important part of the process
06:57to have an impact on the lives of Nova Scotians.
07:00We have a lot of members, a lot of ministers.
07:03We can move legislation through.
07:06But, you know, we also have other obligations to Nova Scotians,
07:10and that is to create opportunity for them and their families.
07:12And that cannot be done from sitting in the Chair in there,
07:18in the legislature, with all due respect.
07:20Did Nova Scotians benefit more from you being in Toronto at the summit
07:23versus the work being done here?
07:25That would be unquestionably yes.
07:28Premier, there's a new proposal for a stadium in Halifax.
07:31They're not looking for any money from the province,
07:33but they are looking for, it looks like they'd like to lease parking spaces to the province.
07:39I'm wondering what you think of what you've heard
07:42and whether the province is prepared to commit to renting those spaces.
07:47I think what both of the soccer clubs have done for the city
07:53and for Nova Scotians is a good thing.
07:55Those are exciting games.
07:58They've done good things.
08:00I'm supportive of that.
08:02I haven't really, I'm aware of a proposal.
08:05I haven't seen it.
08:07But, you know, obviously with the financial situation in the province,
08:11it's pretty difficult to ask for money.
08:14So I'm glad that they haven't done that.
08:16But in terms of just building opportunities to put Nova Scotia on the world stage
08:22in a positive light is a good thing, right?
08:24So any of that I'd be supportive.
08:26From your understanding, does the Firmary project, will that need more parking spaces?
08:30Is the parking garage that the Wanderers want to build a good fit for the project that your government is
08:38working on?
08:38I mean, we watched that closely.
08:40Obviously, we removed the parking fees from the hospitals.
08:46And that had a certain impact.
08:49It's had a great positive impact on families, for sure.
08:51I hear about it every day.
08:52But certainly, then we did have some bad actors who started parking to do other things.
08:56So we need to be conscious of the need for parking spots for those who are attending, visiting a local,
09:02and that's an important part of the healing process,
09:04who are attending their own health care appointments.
09:06So, you know, look, I haven't seen the proposal in detail.
09:10That's something I have to go look at.
09:12When you lifted the tolls on the McKay Bridge,
09:14was it your intention to provide an opportunity to funnel taxpayer money to private sector?
09:19No, it was, like, obviously, we have traffic issues in Halifax.
09:26I think that removal of the tolls has improved the flow.
09:29They told me, actually, the accidents on the bridge are down 40% as well,
09:32like, just from smoother, smoother commutes for people.
09:35So I think it's been effective in that.
09:39In terms of the, in terms of the, is there anything useful I can use in that?
09:45Okay.
09:46No?
09:48But just in terms of the, you know, there's a need to replacement, for sure.
09:53I think there's any number of opportunities.
09:56You know, there could be maybe a shopping plaza area.
10:00You know, there could be, there could be naming rights.
10:03There could be high, high, like, there's all kinds of things.
10:06And I just think if we go into Nova Scotia is to have those discussions and see what people think.
10:10Did that pique anyone's interest in Toronto?
10:12It wasn't any of the meetings that I was involved in,
10:14but I don't know of any members of the team spoke to them, but not my personal.
10:17Of those 20 proposals, did you hear any feedback from those people you met
10:22that they might have been interested in one more than another?
10:25Oh, for sure.
10:26Because people, different investment funds have different criteria and needs, right?
10:32So, some of them are looking for, you know, maybe they're in some jurisdiction
10:36and they're overweight that jurisdiction.
10:39So, they're looking for, intentionally looking for investments in other jurisdictions.
10:43So, that's always part of it.
10:45Some of them are more focused on energy.
10:47Some of them are more focused on green energy.
10:49You have the whole, but I mean, there are some pretty interesting projects in that Nova Scotia.
10:54What got her the most interest?
10:55The Wind West project is a big, in the window, it's a big opportunity.
11:02And it's a big opportunity to continue to scale.
11:06Obviously, we're going to start with 5 gigawatts, but that can go all the way to 60.
11:10So, investors like the opportunity to scale and they like the wind resource.
11:16The wind resource is very well respected.
11:18And the need for a new energy source is well known.
11:21So, there's definitely an incredible amount of interest on the Wind West opportunity.
11:28The maritime launch facility had an incredible amount of interest.
11:33Just because I think people are seeing what's happening with defense, sovereignty, security,
11:39all these types of things.
11:39That is an incredible asset for our country, but certainly for our province.
11:44There was a lot of interest around that facility as well.
11:47So, lots of good things to talk about.
11:49Did you feel you're close to a deal on either of those projects?
11:53I would say there's progress on all of those.
11:57And this is a process where we listen carefully to what they're looking for,
12:05how we can help de-risk it for them.
12:10We're talking about different things.
12:11More wind studies, more bottom studies.
12:12There's all kinds of opportunity there.
12:14But I would say the interest in the opportunities is sincere.
12:20And that's a really, really important step.
12:23What's standing in the way of Wind West?
12:24What can the government do to push Wind West?
12:28Are you giving us a ride?
12:30Good timing for that.
12:30Good timing for that.
12:31Good timing.
