Western Standard - Exclusive with Jean Charest.

00:00:00.000 Okay. Well, thank you very much for joining me today, Mr. Chere. We really appreciate it. And

00:00:08.440 hearing from you out West, you kicked off your campaign out here in Calgary. We don't have

00:00:12.880 anybody at this point in the conservative leadership race from the West. So of course,

00:00:17.560 we have concerns and that's where a lot of the questions are going to land today.

00:00:21.720 Well, and I'm your Western candidate, if that's the case, I'm happy to fill the

00:00:25.820 bill for Western Canada court. Okay. Well, we'll see how that goes. So I'll start with one of the

00:00:32.680 questions I got from a viewer the other day when I'd said you were going to be coming on. Some

00:00:36.220 people are looking forward to it, but she was concerned, of course, out here, the firearm

00:00:40.040 legislation, things like that. It's been going on since the 90s when you were in parliament.

00:00:44.100 And with some of the cabinet recently admitted, like with some of the rifle bans, some of it

00:00:51.100 overlapped and took on some hunting rifles and things such as that, as opposed to assault style

00:00:57.280 is what the goal was. It was a Carol Seville was asking about that. And we're wondering,

00:01:02.140 would you be looking at revisiting perhaps to make sure that firearms legislation is remaining a little

00:01:06.160 more fair to people who have been legally using firearms?

00:01:09.320 Corey, the focus of the federal government on firearms should be handguns in cities like Toronto and

00:01:14.680 Montreal and working at the border to stop those handguns from coming into the country. That's where we

00:01:20.960 should put our money and resources and not target hunters or farmers in northern Alberta. And so on the

00:01:29.880 legislation itself, I think we would need to look at what it does exactly to make sure it's efficient

00:01:35.020 and not just for the pleasure of trying to further legislate. So I would think that we would want to put

00:01:43.400 together maybe because it's done on a regulatory basis. There has to be a better control and a more

00:01:49.420 rigorous control of who makes decisions on what it is exactly that we want to ban. And instead of just

00:01:55.280 addressing appearances, why don't we address the real fundamental issue, which is handguns in cities?

00:02:01.340 Okay. I think that's what a lot of people wanted to hear. There was a bit of a knee-jerk, I think,

00:02:04.620 response and some things get banned and it's not necessarily actually impacting anybody except

00:02:08.700 law-abiding firearm owners. So getting on to another policy then that's quite big out here

00:02:14.640 of concern is the carbon tax, of course. That was a large dividing issue with the Conservative Party

00:02:20.860 in the last couple of years. And it's certainly a strong issue with us in the West. Energy prices are

00:02:25.140 very high. It's hard on agricultural producers. And whereas BC has had a carbon tax for quite some

00:02:31.240 years now, it doesn't seem to have had an impact on emissions. So where are you standing on a carbon tax or

00:02:37.360 emissions control? We have to be smart about this, which means a comprehensive climate and energy

00:02:44.280 policy that which includes carbon capturing, storage, biofuels, hydrogen, blue or green hydrogen,

00:02:50.800 small modular reactors, hydro, all these things, and oil and gas. And the only way to do it, Corey,

00:02:56.940 effectively is if the industry's in the room helping to design it and they buy into it. And the same is

00:03:02.820 true for the provinces. So I'm certainly able to look at a policy and have a policy that has carbon

00:03:09.960 pricing into it. It has to be flexible, simple, flexible enough to avoid increasing the carbon

00:03:16.280 tax as the Trudeau government wants to do on the 1st of April. And it doesn't make sense. And then it

00:03:22.060 should not discriminate against rural Canadians. It cannot be a wealth transfer tax. So we can walk and

00:03:27.740 chew gum at the same time. Alberta has done it. I mean, Alberta has a price on carbon for industrial

00:03:33.640 emitters, and they have a policy that makes sense. So that's the way we need to approach it. And if we

00:03:40.400 approach it that way and deal with the transition, which includes natural gas, and we'll include the

00:03:45.640 use of oil, well, then we'll get to the same objective, but we'll do it in a smart way as opposed

00:03:50.820 to just doing it while excluding industry or excluding the provinces.

00:03:55.780 Yeah, because Western energy producers, I think sometimes haven't gotten enough credit for how

00:03:59.280 much they have innovated and reduced emissions or taken on means of carbon capture or even taking

00:04:04.820 carbon and turning it into other products. So it'd be good to see that recognized and pursued.

00:04:09.720 So now we've still got the ongoing issue of getting our products to market. And that's been quite a battle

00:04:14.540 going on, whether it's coastal pipelines, east, west, or in any direction, to be frank. How can we get

00:04:20.440 assurances that we're going to still manage to meet those world energy needs? I mean, we may transition

00:04:24.820 away eventually, but for the time being, the world needs a lot of our product right now.

00:04:29.020 And this conflict in Europe, you know, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia now has shed light on what it

00:04:36.220 is that we should have been doing. And Canada should have been building pipelines. The last pipeline built

00:04:42.700 in Quebec, by the way, was built under my government. I've always been pro-pipeline and pro-oil and gas.

00:04:48.500 And the reason for that is the common sense that we all need to abide by as we see what's happening

00:04:54.900 in Europe in this conflict, where we could be an alternative of oil and gas for Europe, as opposed

00:05:00.740 to being shut out, as we are right now. So, but to do that, Corey, requires that there be a prime

00:05:06.800 minister who actually stands up from time to time and says, I'm in favor of a pipeline, as opposed to

00:05:13.380 to not saying anything at all or not supporting the industry. That's what has been sorely lacking

00:05:19.480 in the last few years. And now to have someone like myself, who has been premier of Quebec,

00:05:25.520 out there saying and defending these things, which I did when I was premier and what I did when I left

00:05:30.140 office, I think gives us a much more chances of succeeding at getting big projects done than if it

00:05:37.440 were someone else. Well, there's definitely been an investment chill. I mean, we've had an

00:05:43.060 ideologically driven government for quite some time and a person doesn't feel confident in investing

00:05:48.780 in a large infrastructure project when it sounds like the federal government wants to pull the rug

00:05:52.220 out from under it. So, I mean, changing that atmosphere would certainly be a good start to

00:05:56.040 improving our production facilities. It would be. And to get a prime minister who actually stands up

00:06:03.160 and says, this is a good idea. This project should be done. And then says, we'll do it right

00:06:10.500 environmentally. We'll do all the work that needs to be done so that it's environmentally sound, which

00:06:15.980 we can do and we can do in reasonable delays and do it in a fashion that is predictable, which in

00:06:23.120 industry, which everyone wants, would be a 100% change relative to what we've seen with the liberal

00:06:30.020 government. So moving more into regional challenges and issues, Senate reform, you know, again, I was

00:06:37.520 of the old reformers back in the 90s and Triple E was the big call. I understand reforming the Senate

00:06:43.600 itself would be a very large task to be done. But for the more immediate term, what are your thoughts on

00:06:48.920 appointing senators that have been elected in provinces? It's been something of a tradition for some

00:06:52.720 time, if we do choose to elect them, that often conservative governments will appoint them.

00:06:56.420 Well, for a while, that's what the federal government was doing. And during the Meach period

00:07:01.880 where they appointed provincially nominated candidates to the Senate, the Senate when it was

00:07:08.220 thought and designed, it was to be a house where the provinces were represented. That's the core idea

00:07:15.040 of what the Senate was designed to be. It's not that now. And that's one of the issues that needs to be

00:07:21.900 addressed in the future. The bigger question is, does this mean we reopen the Constitution? I think

00:07:27.620 there's probably other options that would allow the provinces a say in how we nominate senators. And

00:07:34.400 that may be an option that we would look at. I'm open to those ideas. If the province of Alberta brings

00:07:40.660 something forward and says, here's something that we would like to do, I would be very open to that,

00:07:45.740 Corey. Well, and going farther, though, I mean, we went through that with Charlottetown and Meach Lake,

00:07:52.340 but at some point down the road, are you receptive to looking at constitutional reform in Canada?

00:07:58.160 Well, it's, I don't see now how it can be done because the conditions are not there. I don't,

00:08:04.860 you know, if we undertake a round of constitutional discussions, we do it only if there is a huge

00:08:10.480 and a very substantial buy-in and preparation from the provinces. That work has not been done

00:08:16.200 and I don't see it right now, but that doesn't mean that there are not alternative things that

00:08:21.680 can be done in the meantime that would allow this federal system of ours to work more effectively.

00:08:26.860 And by the way, Corey, that's one of the things I want to bring to this job as leader of the

00:08:30.680 Conservative Party and Prime Minister. I know how the country operates. I know how this federal system

00:08:36.560 works and I know how to make it work to get big things done. It would be a breath of fresh air

00:08:42.400 in Ottawa to have a Prime Minister who has that direct experience and able to connect Quebec to

00:08:48.040 Alberta, able to connect the West to the East and Central Canada to make our country work. It's the

00:08:54.960 only way for Canada to be efficient, by the way. And so as a Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative

00:09:00.000 Party, that would be right up our alley in terms of what we represent in terms of our views and

00:09:05.700 our values and our history of making this country work.

00:09:09.800 And then likewise, I guess in a theoretical example, but something a very recent one,

00:09:13.860 we had that vote in the House of Commons over protecting Quebec seats no matter what the

00:09:18.220 population distribution would be. I mean, our Parliament is supposed to be repped by POP at

00:09:22.060 least. And at that point, we basically seem to have voted to override even that principle,

00:09:26.500 which sort of upsets some people out there. I understand it's just a single seat, but that's

00:09:29.660 a big principle. How would you have responded to that if you were in at that time?

00:09:33.160 Well, there was a second vote to which all the Conservatives voted in favor of that says

00:09:37.680 we could maintain the minimum level of seats in Quebec at 78 and then add, and then you'll

00:09:43.220 get the same outcome. Well, I mean, that's a common sense solution that the government should

00:09:50.600 have applied. And it avoids reducing the number of seats in Quebec, but also increasing the number

00:09:56.740 of seats elsewhere where the repped by POP should be respected. I mean, isn't that the right solution?

00:10:01.860 Isn't that the one? That's the one that Conservative caucus voted for. And I, and from my perspective,

00:10:07.080 works well for everyone, including Western Canada.

00:10:10.140 Well, it does lead to more politicians, which could be a problem for people in general, I guess,

00:10:14.060 but...

00:10:14.380 There's only one thing for it. It would be more journalists, but you know,

00:10:17.900 it's not a perfect world court.

00:10:19.880 No, no, I understand. Okay, well, going forward, something else. And same thing, you know,

00:10:25.180 I understand the equalization. That's a big issue out here. It is constitutionally entrenched,

00:10:29.900 but it is the government who does maintain, you know, periodically adjusting the formula. And

00:10:34.780 there's been a lot of, you know, concern that the formula really hasn't been well adjusted by

00:10:39.340 Conservative or Liberal governments over the years. And it just seems no matter how hard times get,

00:10:43.140 Alberta keeps paying in. And when the times are good, we pay in. It's consistent that way,

00:10:47.180 if nothing else. How could we adapt with that?

00:10:49.580 Well, you're right. I mean, equalization is written into the constitution. So it's not as

00:10:54.940 though we can just discard it. We have to apply it. How we apply it is the issue. And I went through

00:11:00.300 different debates where on the calculation, whether we should or should not include the revenues from

00:11:06.540 non-renewable resources or renewable resources, we have to look at the way it's calculated. That's

00:11:12.740 where the real decision is made. That's where the real impact is felt and ensure that it's fair.

00:11:18.600 And it has to be revised periodically anyway. I think it's on every five years. So let's look

00:11:24.120 at it so that it's fair for everyone, including the people of Alberta and of Western Canada in

00:11:31.200 general. So I've been through the process of revising it. And we've made it better in those

00:11:36.900 days. It's imperfect. But let's look at it with, again, a view of making it fair for everyone,

00:11:43.460 including Alberta. Okay, now we're getting into some times with foreign relations, of course,

00:11:49.540 are between the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and as well with China's really looming as a large power

00:11:55.380 on the world scene. And in my view, Canada has been fairly weak internationally, unfortunately,

00:12:00.420 though traditionally, we've been a very respected player on the world scene. How could we reclaim our

00:12:05.460 space, I guess, as a country to be respected in that sense and have a role on the world governance

00:12:12.100 scene? Well, Corey, Canada is, under this liberal government, has a weakened position internationally.

00:12:19.140 I mean, we are not the voice that we once were. And let's start with our immediate neighbour,

00:12:23.440 the United States, with whom, obviously, the relations are not as good as they were.

00:12:27.940 I mean, they are as a protectionist as they were under the Biden administration,

00:12:31.680 as they were under the Trump administration. One of the messages coming out of that is that we have

00:12:36.160 to rely on ourselves. We have to diversify trade. We have to do it aggressively. We have to get out

00:12:41.040 in the world more and depend less on the United States. The other part of it is defence, which the

00:12:46.480 terrible conflict in the Ukraine has brought home. I mean, it's heartbreaking for us to watch

00:12:51.600 the reports every day on the news. But what lesson should we draw from that? We need to do more on

00:12:57.200 national defence for ourselves, to start with, occupy our north and not lose sight of the fact that we

00:13:04.240 are neighbours of Russia in the Arctic. We need to occupy our northern territory and to make sure that 0.99

00:13:09.840 we are there and not absent as the way we are now. And you know, Corey, even in the Northwest Passage,

00:13:17.200 the Americans do not recognise the Northwest Passage as being Canadian territory.

00:13:21.760 That speaks volumes of the fact that we have to be much more assertive in our foreign policy across

00:13:30.160 the world. It starts with defence, but it also starts by being present in Africa and the Middle East,

00:13:35.600 where we're missing in action in a lot of places in the world, where our interests are at play. Asia is

00:13:41.280 part of that. Now, we do need an Indo-Pacific strategy that puts China in the context of Asia, but not only

00:13:49.920 China. We need to look at the broader Asia area and region, which includes India, which includes

00:13:57.040 ASEAN, which includes Southeast Asia. That's the only way for us as a country to be able to

00:14:04.000 have a strong, relevant presence in those parts of the world.

00:14:09.120 I appreciate that you brought up Arctic sovereignty. I spent a number of years working up there,

00:14:12.960 actually. And ironically, some government scientists would come to our oil field camps

00:14:16.960 to study because they didn't have the means to get as far north as we did, which is pretty unfortunate

00:14:22.080 when you look at things. You know, the private industry can get up there, but not government

00:14:25.040 funded things. And we're leaving a big space up there unattended, so it's kind of hard to claim

00:14:29.200 sovereignty if we can't even get to it. And, you know, Stephen Harper made annual trips to the north,

00:14:36.480 and people, you know, sort of pooh-poohed it. They thought, well, what's the point? It was very relevant.

00:14:40.880 We look back on that. It establishes a presence that is extremely important in a tangible way. So,

00:14:48.320 at least the minimum is that we have to occupy our own territory.

00:14:52.240 So, going a little further, you were talking about international relations with the United

00:14:55.200 States. I'll kind of close out, and it's been a sticking point regionally as well, though,

00:14:59.280 and a sticking point when it comes to trade is supply management. Our dairy system and poultry and such,

00:15:06.160 we've had difficulties. Do you like bringing that up when we do get a trade dispute with the United

00:15:09.520 States? Are you willing to start examining supply management for reform and maybe starting to work

00:15:13.280 our way out of that? Well, supply management in the industry is very important for the dairy. It's

00:15:18.720 not just dairy. It's poultry, for example, and eggs. And so, you know, it's been fairly good for

00:15:25.120 Canada. I understand those who think it's not the best system in the world, but we've already given some

00:15:30.400 on supply management. We did it in the Canada-Europe trade agreement. We gave some. We did it on

00:15:35.520 CPTPP. We also gave in to some part of the market there, and we did it on Kuzma in three different

00:15:42.160 trade agreements. So, the industry and producers have already made some concessions on that front.

00:15:49.520 I wouldn't go any further than the concessions that we've already made now.

00:15:52.400 Okay. Fair enough. Well, I think that's about the time we had with you. Is there more you'd like

00:15:57.680 to add before we let you go, and where can people find information on your campaign?

00:16:00.800 Corey, I would, I just have one request for it. That's to support a candidate that's going to make

00:16:07.600 the Conservative, allow the Conservative Party to unite, and allow the Conservative Party to be the

00:16:13.040 national political party that will win an election campaign, which is what I can do for this country

00:16:18.240 and this party. Thank you, Corey, for hosting me. Oh, thanks for coming on. I hope we can talk

00:16:23.120 again before the end of the campaign. It's going to be a long one developing, I'm sure, for some time

00:16:26.800 over the next coming months. Thank you.

Western Standard - March 21, 2022

Exclusive with Jean Charest.

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