00:00It is a fluid situation in terms of the negotiations, as you know.
00:05The importance of Ukrainian sovereignty cannot be overstated.
00:11We know that Marco Rubio, for example, has mentioned Ukrainian sovereignty, Ukrainian prosperity, post-cease-fire, as being important in the short and the long term.
00:23This has been Canada's position as well.
00:25When you see Luhansk, Donetsk, Crimea being put on the table for Russia and Russian interests, that is problematic from a Ukrainian standpoint.
00:39Remember that we have over a million Ukrainians in Canada.
00:43There is a very strong Ukrainian voice that comes up through our foreign policy, and we believe strongly that Ukraine should be at the table, not on the table.
00:56In terms of the role of NATO in the peacetime process, if something were to come through, what do you imagine the role of NATO is?
01:02And, of course, initially in that 28-point plan, there were impositions not just on the Russian and the Ukrainian side, there were also some impositions on NATO, for example, not accepting any other members.
01:12Where do you think NATO stands in this, and what is your reaction to that, to those?
01:16Canada's position has historically been, we welcome the accession of Ukraine at the table in the process that Ukraine would need to go through to exceed to NATO.
01:32Obviously, that's a NATO conversation to have, and therefore, once again, there are some items of the peace plan that need to rest with other organizations, including NATO.
01:47And we've seen, for example, the Trump administration come in, come in with a lot of enthusiasm, then abandon their efforts.
01:52If there is a failure to get an arrangement with this latest push, is there a plan B that the Coalition of the Willing and the Europeans can put forward a sort of more concrete architecture, which, again, has been sort of missing at this stage?
02:04Well, listen, let's take a step back.
02:07We are at a point, three and a half years following February 24th, 2022, where there is an active and viable conversation relating to a ceasefire and a peace plan.
02:23The view that we hold is that we want this to work, but it has to work with Ukraine's interests in mind as well, relating to its geographical boundaries.
02:34Luhansk, Donetsk, Crimea, these are all areas on the eastern flank that are of deep concern to Ukrainians, and those areas, as well as the broader geographical boundaries of Ukraine, are the very tough issues right now, and we want this to work, but we also want Ukraine to stay strong and sovereign.
02:58And also on the Pearl Program, which was developed this year and was put into effect, I'd like to get an idea if Canada intends to purchase any more and additional sort of, again, forward-looking in terms of support for Ukraine, if you can give us an update on that.
03:11Well, I appreciate the question, because we were one of the first countries to come forward to donate to the Pearl Program.
03:19And that shows, again, our deep commitment to Ukraine at the top of our foreign policy agenda.
03:30We have just put forward budget 2025 in Canada.
03:35We are working with an $80 billion commitment to our defense industry.
03:41That is going to mean getting to 2% of GDP this year and 5% of GDP by 2035.
03:49So you can see that Ukraine and NATO are steadfastly at the forefront of our foreign policy agenda, and we will do whatever we can to support in both directions.
04:04And the other dimension, of course, of foreign policy increasingly is not just geopolitics, but, of course, trade.
04:09This has obviously been one of the animating conversations both for Canada, Europe, and the Americans.
04:14Can you give us an update on where things stand currently with the Trump administration in terms of trade?
04:19Look, taking a step back, Canada intends to double non-U.S. trade in the next 10 years.
04:25That is going to necessitate diversification of supply chains and trading routes.
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