00:00Under Section 40, offers options through a court process.
00:05First, making sure that they're obliged to comply with the commitments.
00:12Second, financial penalties.
00:16And third, a potential forced divestiture,
00:20so forcing them to sell their Canadian assets.
00:23And so we're looking at all of these options,
00:26and I'm always ready to sit down again with Stelco
00:29to find a solution,
00:30but it's not true that they will cut the jobs in Hamilton
00:35and continue to ship their steel from the U.S. to Canada, meanwhile.
00:40No way.
00:47So we have less than five minutes left,
00:49but I do want to try to get in two more questions.
00:52What is the government's timeline to either resolve this conflict at Stelco
00:57or to pursue legal action?
00:59Oh, it's a question of days.
01:02It's like, of course, we're working also with the union, with the workers.
01:08We're doing everything to make sure that this,
01:12not only to protect the jobs,
01:14but that this capability that is so key to our industrial base,
01:19that is so key to the Hamilton community,
01:25continues to operate.
01:27And so that is why it's really, really important.
01:29I have a strong sense of urgency.
01:34You talk about a wide range of industries in your speech,
01:37but there are many others in Canada as well.
01:41We have telecom.
01:42We have Mr. Dodig here from TELUS.
01:43Yes, I'm sorry, Victor, we're not talking about telecom.
01:45But what about the other industries?
01:47What are your plans?
01:49What can people expect?
01:50You know, I was talking to Victor Dodig from TELUS a bit earlier.
01:54I was saying, please,
01:56we're not talking about telecoms in this speech,
01:58but it's coming, it's coming.
02:00So, indeed, I'll have multiple announcements this week.
02:07Again, Space Bound is happening,
02:09so we'll talk about space this week in Ottawa.
02:11We're coming up also with a venture cap strategy
02:15to increase the pool of capital in this country
02:18that is from Canadian sources.
02:22And we're looking at a sea to space strategy also
02:28because we need to have the right telecommunication infrastructure.
02:32We're coming up with a commercialization of life science strategy as well.
02:36Why I say that?
02:38It's because we're in the midst of a big industrial transformation,
02:41and we need to be able to address all that
02:44while dealing with the issues of the day.
02:48Because if we don't do it, we will be vulnerable
02:51and we will be even more in a state of dependency,
02:54and that cannot be the position of the government right now.
02:57All right, I'm just going to squeeze one last question in.
03:01As a journalist, I have pessimism down pat,
03:04but I think people are desperate for optimism.
03:07So what keeps you optimistic,
03:09or what gives you optimism
03:10during these very difficult economic times?
03:13Well, yes.
03:15Well, I think we can be extremely proud of ourselves.
03:18Absolutely.
03:20We've...
03:20The country...
03:22We are.
03:25We can be...
03:27I think that, yes, there's a threat,
03:29and yes, and yes, we're...
03:31You know, when the American administration talks,
03:35they actually mean what they say,
03:38and that should be something we compute.
03:41But we are strong.
03:44We are in control of our country
03:46and of our economic levers.
03:48And so we can do this.
03:51And that's why I'm convinced
03:53that this can be also a very optimistic time,
03:56because we can do great things and big things together.
04:00The man nous appartient.
04:01Oui!
04:07Just wondering,
04:08how do you react to being called a bully
04:11by the CEO of Cleveland Cliffs
04:14in his interview last night?
04:15I'm just doing my job.
04:17I'm protecting Canadian jobs.
04:18And I just want to make sure
04:21that not only does he understand
04:23that when he has commitments
04:25with the Canadian government,
04:27he needs to abide by it,
04:28but also that we're sending a message
04:31for foreign companies
04:32that, of course, we're open for business.
04:34But if you come and invest in our country,
04:38well, you have to abide by commitments.
04:40And so that's why I'm very aware
04:42of the fact that we cannot set a precedent
04:46with TV and Cliffs.
04:47And that's why we need to abide by the letter,
04:52but also the intent of the law.
04:54He said that actually what he called bullying
04:57would actually discourage communities
04:59from investing in Canada.
05:01What are you doing?
05:01Well, I was just in London, Ontario,
05:04this morning with Minister Fidelity,
05:08and we announced a $500 million project
05:12in Hitachi,
05:14which will be building press boards
05:16for their Transformers.
05:19So half a billion investment,
05:21100 new jobs,
05:22great news for Southern Ontario,
05:26great news for London,
05:27and that's just an example
05:28of a fantastic Japanese company
05:30investing in Canada.
05:33What, you've been talking about
05:35the potential for legal action
05:37for a little while now.
05:38What's, I mean, simply,
05:40what's the holdup?
05:41I mean, what's keeping you
05:43from doing it,
05:43from pulling the trigger?
05:44So we hired the best lawyers in town
05:47over the week,
05:48and so we're working with them
05:51to make sure that we are looking
05:53at all options possible,
05:55and of course we've engaged
05:56with Cleveland's Lifts as well.
05:59As I mentioned two weeks ago,
06:02we offered them support.
06:04We were there to say to them,
06:07you know what,
06:07if you have some issues,
06:09no problem, we'll work together,
06:10and they said no.
06:12So that's why this was a decision
06:15of their own making,
06:16and we're reacting
06:18to their decision.
06:19Just to clarify,
06:20is that, have you hired
06:21an external counsel?
06:22Exactly.
06:23Okay.
06:23Exactly.
06:23What's the last time
06:24you spoke to the Lifts?
06:26My team has been in contact.
06:28I spoke to the CEO two weeks ago.
06:30I was the one personally
06:32to offer him support
06:33through the different programs
06:35we have because I thought
06:37it was important
06:38to offer that option,
06:40and we're doing that
06:41with Algoma,
06:41we're doing that
06:42with the Fasco,
06:43Arcelonital,
06:45Interpro,
06:46all the steel plants.
06:48That's what we're doing.
06:51Subscribe to One India
06:52and never miss an update.
06:56Download the One India app now.
