The Ben Mulroney Show - Ben is joined by Leafs Legend Wendel Clark to discuss Canadian teams in the NHL Playoffs

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

Guests and Topics: -Ben is joined by Leafs Legend Wendel Clark to discuss which Canadian team might win the Stanley Cup Guest: Wendel Clark, Retired NHL Player & Former Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs -Ontario Unleashing Economic Potential of Critical Mineral and Resource Development with Guest: Stephen Lecce, Ontario Energy Minister If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney Show and if you have been anywhere near a TV over the past few months, if you've been watching American News, you've no doubt seen Ontario Premier Doug Ford popping up on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News to talk about Canada having all the critical minerals, Ontario having the critical minerals that the United States is going to want as we both build a 21st century economy. He has talked about Fortress Amcan and how we've got what they need and we want to sell it to them. So Ontario has a plan to become a critical mineral superpower and the Ontario government has taken a pretty bold step to get there as quickly as possible. Joining me to talk about Ontario unleashing economic potential

of critical minerals and resource development, please welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show, the Ontario Energy Minister, Stephen Lecce. Minister, thank you so much for being here. Thanks so much, Ben. Yeah, so this is the ring of fire is what it's called. And it's, from what I understand, and you can add color to this, it has been it has not reached its potential, but in any way, shape or form.

This is a piece of legislation that could help get get Ontario there. Yes, it's a plan to really ensure we are economically self reliant. So we are a nation that really realizes its full energy potential. And I think many Canadians, particularly in the post-Trump world, are sort of shaking our head to think that we have one of the largest bounties of rare earths and minerals.

I'm talking about things like nickel and cobalt and platinum, copper, gold. Like these are all things needed for defense and for EV and for aerospace to power the future economy. And we're sitting on them. And, you know, last year we opened the mind, it took 17 years. We have one of the slowest permitting regimes

in the industrialized world. Australia could do it in eight years, EU could do it in nine years, 10 years, and Alberta could do it in 10 years. And here we are at 14, 15, 16 years, always the outlier. So this is our moment to really level up with speed and a sense of ambition, a balanced plan. But at the core of it, it's about getting resources out of the ground to create jobs,

unlock our potential and make sure we're independent of economically sovereign, independent nation that we're never relying on the US or anyone else that matter in the future. Okay. And the vehicle to do that is the introduction of a piece of legislation called Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act. So tell us what's give us the key bullet points that everyone should know. Sure, I think the first principle is we got to move with speed because it takes too long. And so we want to really come up with a program that gets us to become the most one of the

fastest permitting systems in the industrialized world. That's what this policy is going to do. And at the core, it's about unleashing our economy by getting resources to market. So the step one is we have for project proponents here at Miner, you want to open a mine in the province rather, we ensure it's called one window one process. We essentially streamline the approvals so that a project proponent doesn't have to go to 20 ministries. They now come to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, one ministry, and we sort of shepherd the policy and the permit through the government so that we save time, we save money, and we create a more efficient system for them. So that's a huge win for

the mining companies who want to make it easier to invest. The second thing is we're reducing the permitting approval time by 50% which is a hard KPI. We're actually, you know, you could benchmark that. It's going to be something we really are going to lead into to speed up the approval process. That'll get us from 48 months on average to 24 months. That's quicker than the EU who just announced their policy at 27 months. So we're on the cutting edge. We're staying competitive. We're realistic while maintaining environmental protection and of course, fully respected the duty to consult for indigenous people.

So okay, let's spend a minute on that minister, those two points, environmental protection and duty to consult First Nations because I don't even have to go out and find somebody on the other side of the aisle. And I know what they're going to say by speeding things up you're going to be running roughshod over those two key hurdles. Well I think you know we're the slowest permitting system on earth or one of them at least I think it's fair to say that we can do better the status quo is not working for Canada we've been talking about the ring of fire since you generation ago. And I think there's an opportunity to really seize our moment as Canadians by moving with a sense of speed. When I say speed, it still means we're within the relative benchmark of

all industrialized democratic countries on earth. Why can Alberta or Saskatchewan or Western Australia or the European Union permit and get mines open quicker than us. I mean no one's suggesting the EU is an environmental pariah. No, but like it just come on. We are slow, but we can be balanced and responsible and I agree with the premise. We've got to protect the environment. I mean one day, you know, we all want our kids and grandkids to be raised in a country where we have clean air and water. That's at the core of the plan. This policy actually quadruples funding for conservation. It strengthens enforcement and it comes up with more tougher penalties because of the

messages zero tolerance. But this policy, what it's really going to help do, it's going to respect the environment, but it's going to help us make sure that we are never beholden to one nation. And China today dominates the critical mineral space. I mean, literally, they are right now 90% of processing capacities in China, 70% of resources of all rare earths are in China. China accounts for a third of the world's copper consumption. I mean, they are dominating the space and they've already said they're denying export

access into the US, because they don't want to give the Americans the upper hand. Fair enough. So we go back to the US issue and say, look, we want to get a deal with you, a trade deal, an enduring deal, remove the tariffs off the table. Well, we have soft power leverage, but we only have that leverage if we have a credible plan to get the resources out of the ground. Otherwise, it's just a talking point, a talking point for which our government and people have been talking about for 30 years. So this is a very existential to our prosperity for jobs, for GDP, for

revenue generation, but actually in the US discussion, Ben, I think it's really important in the week to show them a plan, a credible plan. And that's what this is. There's a reason why the Chamber of Commerce of Ontario, you know, there's a reason why the Business Council of Canada, there's a reason why the Ontario Mining Association, the Association of Major Power Consumers, like every mining company have come out saying, yes, this is exactly what we've been asking for for decades. And the government is finally bringing forth a policy that is ambitious, bold, but responsible.

I'm speaking with Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce. We're talking about unlocking the potential that Ontario has on the files of critical minerals and resource development. Mr. Minister, I have to assume that you still have to play ball with the feds, that you can't do this all on your own. Has there been any discussion with the government in Ottawa about what you're up to, and are they on board? You know, look, I think the current, the Liberal government of Ottawa, you know,

has been slow on this file. I mean, I just think we have to be honest, we need to be much more, I think, aggressive in the space. It's either us, democratic, stable, environmentally responsible Canada, or it's gonna be, you know, the authoritarian regimes of the world, of China and Russia that dominate.

And so the feds need, I think, move with a greater sense of speed and ambition. There's bills like legislation like Bill C-69. By its design, it's undermining resource development, duplicative assessments that the problems are already doing, adding months or years and creating a massive amount of cost and burden on these project proponents. And look, you all know this, capital flows on the path of least resistance. If we're making it so difficult to do business, companies are just going to say, the hell with it. I'm going somewhere else. They'll make more money, greater returns somewhere else. So we've got

to make sure we've got a system that attracts and retains the investment and the ingenuity and the research and all that. So the Fed needs to step it up. And I think, you know, both parties are saying the right things generally, but I think the Conservatives have come up with a much more ambitious policy to get resources to market and they've championed the idea of getting resources, tidewater. We don't have, you know, natural gas, we don't have petroleum, but we're a Canadian, I believe we're Canadians, like we're one country. And if we think as one country, we will support our Western and Eastern provinces who have that capacity to get those resources to market, to process and refine in the country and create

more value at a job. So we want to take a one Canada approach to this. And we're hoping whoever's elected will really make this a priority and remove the self-made barriers to our own economic progress as a country. The name of the game of this legislation is speed. You want to develop as quickly as you possibly can. So if speed is the name of the game, how long before this legislation becomes law? How long before you can actually start taking advantage?

And sir, you got 30 seconds. Well, I'll do it do in short of that which is historic for me then I will the answer is the goal is to just for this past legislature we'd have it brought forth for the spring for the for the fall meaning it'd be implemented later this year. Stephen Lecce, Minister of the of Energy for the Province of Ontario, thank you very much. I wish you the very best with this if we can unlock the potential that God gave us as a nation I'm all for it, but all the best to you sir and hope to talk to you soon Thank you

Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney show Thank you so much for joining us and you know, it's a special time when I can say that in less than a month I've had two incredible great legendary hockey players on this show just a few weeks ago We had Wayne Gretzky coming on, and today I'm so pleased to welcome in person, in studio hockey legend, Wendell Clark. Welcome to the show, sir. Oh, great to be here, man.

Thanks so much for being here. Now, we're gonna talk hockey, but we're also talking men's health. Yes, no, we're talking prostate cancer and the awareness and us men that are quiet and don't talk about it and don't wanna be involved and when it comes to health and really just making everybody aware

that making sure you're looking after yourself. And then when you do look after yourself and you get to next stages of maybe you have it, there's the, you go to Pro Station Canada, you get a playbook and a help, and you get a team of people that'll help get through it. Cause you have to know who and what to ask of the doctors and your friends and your family.

And it really is a team effort to help you get through it. But just making sure everybody's aware. Now you could have aligned yourself with any number of charities or causes, but you chose men's health and prostate cancer. Why? Well, I think I had teammates that then, and more veterans of guys ahead of me had played hockey

that I know that have had prostate cancer and stuff. So just the, it's something that's close to the guys and a team and dressing room. And like, as we get older, this is when we start coming across all these things. So if you can just have the awareness out there to help everybody come forward, that's the big thing. People have to get over the hump. They've got to get over the discomfort. You're going to get everybody come forward. That's the big thing. People have to get over the hump. They've got to get over the discomfort. You're gonna get a you're gonna get a prostate exam. It's gonna feel weird. Just lean into it, man.

Because if you don't have the information, you can't help yourself. No, and you want to get everything in life. You catch it early, everything solvable or correctable. We've come that that much further and all the cancers now that you can look after yourself. But if you wait too long, then it is a battle. Yeah. Well, let's talk about a few battles that are going on. The Battle of Ontario right now in the NHL playoffs, because it's Ottawa versus Toronto, and there's five Canadian teams in the playoffs. So it's a good showing for Canada right now.

No, I think it's great. And this is our time of year in Canada. We love the playoffs, so it's a good showing for Canada right now. No, I think it's great. And this is our time of year in Canada. We love the playoffs. I think it's because you have weather all winter, and finally blue sky, sunshine. You get to come to the game as a fan with just a shirt on, not three jackets, mitts, and a tuque. And so the energy in all the buildings is unbelievable. As a player, that's what you love most.

And as an old player, that's what you miss is playoffs. You don't miss regular season and training camp and the grind, but you miss the playoffs because this is the fun time of the year. Your leafs are up to nothing right now. I read the tea leaves for me. What's happening next? Well, no, it's game one, you won by a couple.

Then last one, Ottawa just keeps coming. And that's their MO. They will keep coming. And we just won the 15th hardest game last night. So, so game 14, you gotta, you gotta win the 16 games to win it all. But it's, uh, Ottawa is going to be a new team. Travis green really has the guys playing well in Ottawa that they had a great end of the season and they're going to make it, they're going to make it hard.

They're going to come out. It's their home debut type thing for not being in the playoffs for a while. So we're gonna have some real tough games in Ottawa, but we played well. I like how we weathered the storm to come back and win it in overtime. What about Montreal?

That's my team. And they had to fight tooth and nail to make it to the playoffs. Are they tired right now? I don't know. It's a lot of times the teams that fight like that to get to the playoffs, they're more ready for the start of the playoffs than the teams that waited. Yeah. Just because they've been they've been in a month

earlier they've been in the playoff grind so they've had a great finish to the end of the season and you know their young players are all kind of coming into their own at their at the right time and and hopefully for their sake they they're not tired because I kind of predicted that they'd be one of the teams that do, do the upsets because just of how they finished the season, they get the goaltending, they get timely scoring Suzuki and the guys, uh, great young, young defense from there that's, uh, it's had a great start that's backing everything. Well, so we've talked about Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal.

You got to say something nice about Winnipeg and Edmonton. Well, Winnipeg, they want to be due, don't they? They've been so good for the last few years. And so they want to get through and get to the next stage because that town, hey, nobody has a bigger whiteout than they do. Those fans in Winnipeg and the energy they show and the team is showing it.

So they want to get to the next round and Ed round and, and Edmonton, the heck, they got there last year. So now they want to prove they can get back there again. But you know, that, that old rivalry that started when Wayne got traded to LA, they keep running in to LA at the start and it turns into a heck of a series. What has it been since 1993 that a Canadian team has not been able to win the Stanley cup? Is it a curse?

Is it like, what are they doing south of the board of building teams that we're not doing up here? We got higher taxes. We have tough guys. No, really it's just probably more fate than anything. It's hard to win. The more, you know, when you went from the original six, the odds of winning probably are a little easier. You only have so many numbers to play with. Now you get to this many teams, it gets harder and harder to make it.

And I think through, like most Canadian teams, you really do have to develop. You can't really just go out and get the guy and help and put you over the edge. It's, it's all about developing it. And, and when you do develop it and you're in the stage, say the way we are right now, it's our time. Our best players aren't young and they're not old.

It's their time to grab it. You know, all our players on our team, just in Toronto here right now. I am not going to ask you to make a prediction, but I will ask this, given these five Canadian teams in the playoffs is, do we stand a good chance of bringing the cup home somewhere north of the border this year?

Well, no, there will be Canadian teams in the second round. No. Is that walk in the fence too far on one side? Thank you for sticking your neck out there. Well done. I'm sure that's going to go viral. That goes a long way.

All right, let's go back. Let's go back and talk about men's health because a man, you're a man, everybody, actually everyone in this studio is and yet we really do not take the time to look after those things that are uniquely men health issues. No, we don't. It's something that that's that's probably if we can help get a voice out there and just say something. If a Johnson, it's it's something that's maybe normally always talked in November because of the president. But now it's November. So now it's talked this time year, which I think is great. Just keep it out there. Just don't make it a one-time jog.

And we have to keep it to the forefront and have us guys look after ourselves and be a part of wanting to live longer. As I look back at my hometown, it has nothing to do with the prostate cancer stuff. But I said, all the mothers lived longer than the fathers back in my hometown. It was like 10 years longer.

So us guys, and that's back in the old school where you really didn't say anything and really didn't go to a doctor in the old days. Yeah. You played through the pain. You just played it. You know, that was part of a badge if you were limping around and didn't know why, but that was a tough

life you had. Are you hurt or are you injured? Yeah, that's right. You can always play hurt, but you can't play injured. So, so you, you mentioned something off the top. There's you said if men want more information, they can go to a website.

ProstationCanada.ca and you'll get a whole playbook there that will help you answer the questions you need to be answered. And for doctors, cause it's probably the worst thing we always see the doctors and get so intimidated and then, oh no, I'm fine. You never say anything. You never ask them any questions. You don't, you just think if he has a for doctors because it's probably the worst thing we always see the doctors then get so intimidated and then oh no I'm fine you never say anything you never ask him any questions you don't you just think if he hasn't read your mind you're fine so all the questions are in there for you all the

questions are in there whether it be the doctor or friends or family especially if you've gone onto the next stage where you are treating it now it can travel and the PSMA test that you can get done to find out where it went to in your body. How's your health? My health is pretty good other than being banged up. Can I ask how old you are? I'm 58 going on 78, but it's, I turned 58 when I was 21, I think.

What hurts the most as a former NHLer? Is it the knees? No, no, right now my hip and back is, I had back injury. I missed a whole season. So that's always the go-to. I just I think retired three months ago from charity hockey So I've retired twice now once from the real stuff and once from charity stuff You don't play the charity. I can't know three months ago My body went sideways and you don't recover as quickly anymore And and so that man that's our great excuse to get together help raise money for great causes

But it's our excuse as old guys to get together and see each other as you put the team together to help raise money. When you see the young players today and all the training that they do that wasn't even available to you back in the day, do you ever say to yourself, God, if I had access to that sort of science back then?

No, we're not smart enough for that. We actually, our era, we blame Roddy, Brendan Moore and Gary Roberts for ruining it for everybody. Cause they all of a sudden, and the best thing going back to the OV's record and beating Wayne is watching OV have a subway bag of chips and a Coke for something to eat. And I said, that's our era.

Somebody out of our era gets the, gets the most goals. When I was a kid, I remember going out of Montreal, to eat and I said that's our era. Somebody out of our era gets the most goals. When I was a kid I remember going out to Montreal Canadiens games and some of the players were smoking butts. When I came to my first Toronto May and Philly training camp there was an ashtray and a spittoon and everybody stalled because the trainer didn't know who smoked and who chewed. Wendell Clark thank you so much. Men's health is so important. Appreciate you coming by and all the best to you. Great, thanks for having us.

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