The Ben Mulroney Show - The love affair between Mark Carney and the Premiers' was on full display

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

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So what should we talk about? No sugar added? Neutral. Refreshingly simple. Welcome to the Ben Mulrooney Show on this Tuesday, June 3rd. Thank you so much for spending some time with us. Yesterday was a very significant day, not just for Mark Carney and his new liberal government,

but indeed for the entire nation. It was the first ministers meeting at Coming Together in Saskatchewan of our provincial and territorial leaders, as well as our prime minister, to lay out his vision on a number of issues and possibly to get some buy in and some advice, some opinion from our provincial leaders. And how did it go? Well, we have to wait for those in attendance to come out and give us their assessment. Here is what Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, had to say about the meeting itself. Let me tell you this. I'm going to be very blunt here. This has been the best meeting we've had in 10 years.

Simple. Best meeting I've had in seven years. And there was no expectations that the Prime Minister was going to come out and say, you get that project, you get that project. It was a great discussion. Now we were all talking. Now it's time to put it into action. All of us are responsible. But I thought it was an incredible meeting, great communication, great collaboration. And we all walked out of that room united. Yeah, I mean, so Doug Ford knows how to play the game, I think. I think he knows how to charm the people he's working with. Look, this is also about, if we're being honest, this is about a lot of money that is going to flow, I think, from Ottawa to the provinces. And so I think they had to, they had to play the game because they want to stay in the game when

it comes time to that money being awarded. Apparently at this meeting, Mark Carney sort of laid out as he sees it, the criteria by which the feds are going to decide on which national infrastructure projects get fast tracked. Here's what he talked about. We had wide ranging discussions. There was a lot of preparation for this meeting. We discussed a wide range of potential nation building

projects, including, and this is far from exhaustive, the Western and Arctic Corridor, which, amongst other things, connects energy, critical minerals, and trade infrastructure, the Eastern Energy Partnership, critical minerals pathways, which include a range of critical mineral projects that Premiers can speak to, the next stage of nuclear, from uranium to

SMRs to large scale nuclear and a series of infrastructure investments for export diversification from ports to rails to last mile roads. He talked about a lot there and all of it good. I mean, if this stuff materializes, it'll be a net benefit to the country. I still haven't heard him say the word pipelines. Anytime I've heard Mark Carney reference pipelines, it's within the context of saying something to the effect of pipelines dot dot dot if there's a national consensus to build them or, you know, not necessarily pipelines, only if there's a national consensus. I've never heard him say pipelines the way he talks about critical minerals or SMRs.

It's SMRs full stop, it's critical minerals full stop. It's never pipelines full stop. And I don't know why he's a man of very precise language. So if he's not saying it, there is a precise reason why he is not saying it. And I don't know what the reason is yet. I don't know what the reason is. He was in a room with dozens of natural resource CEOs just the other day.

There is no way he didn't hear a full throated endorsement for the national justification for building pipelines from that group. There's just no way you're not going to have the CEO of Sanobis in a room, and he's not going to talk about why we need pipelines. And Mark Carney, to his credit, was a closed door meeting. It wasn't for performance. It wasn't for show. I'm sure he was there because he wanted to get the details and the information. And still today, no mention of pipelines. Full stop. I'm trying to get to know this guy

and I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, but this is a sticking point for me. And I can't be the only one. Let's go back to Doug Ford, because as you heard, very much on board with this first minister's meeting, very much on board with this First Minister's meeting very much on board with the vision of Mark Carney, which I take as it is I take if he says so it's because he was in the room I wasn't. Here's what he had to say about Canada becoming that energy superpower that we all

want it to be. And I feel if everyone cooperates and collaborates, we're going to make that happen. We'll make it happen. As you were saying, Scott, you know, we will be a superpower when it comes to energy of all forms. And that's our goal today, to make sure that we have large national infrastructure

projects that will benefit every Canadian from coast to coast to coast. And see, that's where, that's why I'm confused. When I say this, when I talk about Mark Carney not saying pipelines, it's not a loaded statement. I'm genuinely asking a good faith question because then you got guys like Doug Ford, who were in the room, uh, who it seems to be offering a full throated endorsement of Mark Carney's vision. be offering a full throated endorsement of Mark Carney's vision. I know that Doug Ford supports pipelines. I think he understands the national importance for them. So for him to sit there and say these things, even though Mark Carney is not saying pipelines, I might be making a mountain

out of a molehill. Maybe in these meetings, they are talking about pipelines, but they've been asked to be very judicious in how they say those things because maybe Mark Carney believes if you give the pipeline people sort of an inch they're gonna take a mile a pipeline and so he just wants to be judicious before he says anything because once the cat's out of the bag you can't put it back in I don't know but all the more reason to be demanding more details and I would love for the press who have access to Mark Carney, I wish I was a member of that group that had access to Mark Carney,

but I wish they would press him on that. And like I said, I think it's incumbent upon somebody to put a microphone in front of Mark Carney and say, what do you mean by a national consensus on pipelines? And if there is no national consensus, do you as the leader of Canada commit to being also the leader of building that consensus so that we can build pipelines?

I very much want an answer to that question. The issue of, we talk about American tariffs all the time, talk about Donald Trump and his tariffs all the time, but there is a sizable effect to our economy due to Chinese tariffs on agricultural products. And here's a reporter talking to Mark Carney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe about Chinese tariffs and their impact

on our agricultural sector. Is the Canadian government prepared to lift the 100% tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles? The Canadian government is engaging with its Chinese counterparts, including at the ministerial level, and we'll continue those discussions. They are a top priority for us. I would just add to that. That is precisely what this will take to not only secure

our market access for products like canola oil and canola meal in the long term, but to secure a more broad trading relationship with China. They are the largest populated country in the world, and likely one of the largest economies in the world as well. So the fact that the federal government is working diligently not only to have those tariffs removed, but working diligently to, you know,

broaden that relationship for into the future, I think is precisely what we need to do as a nation. Yeah, I would have liked a more direct answer from Mark Carney. I like the answer he gave, but let's call a spade a spade. The 100% tariff that Justin Trudeau's liberals levied on the EV industry out of China. That was the action and the reaction by the Chinese was to levy a 100% tariff on Saskatchewan's agricultural industry and exports. That's one begot the other. And so in order to lift one,

I got to wonder whether the Chinese are going to say, Hey, open up your market to our EVs and you can have access to our economy again for your agricultural products. It's pretty simple. I I've never been involved in bilateral communication with the Chinese. I'm not quite sure. But it seems to me the answer to the question is the problem, fixing the original problem in the first place. And lastly, I do want to talk about sort of the new tariff world that we're living in. But as it applies to our economy, you know, as you know, a lot of nations in their reaction to Donald Trump was to levy tariffs of our own. And, you know, they have a lot of consequences, not the least of which is they bring money back

into the Canadian economy in the form because people pay those tariffs. And according to a new study, revenue from custom import duties topped a billion bucks in March, more than double the figure from the year before. The US counter tariffs helped Canada bank $617 million more in import duties than a year earlier. I don't know if that's a net positive, but it is a big number. And so we will have to see how those numbers proceed in the future.

Welcome back to the Ben Mo Rooney Show and I would love for you to call into the show because I want your take on an achievement of Air Canada that they were very proud of and that they shared on social media. On the Air Canada Twitter, on the X, they wrote, our first all 2SL LGBTQIA plus flight was a heartfelt celebration reflecting our unwavering commitment to inclusivity and equality in the air and on the ground. So apparently this was the very first time that the entire flight crew from the pilots all the way down the aisle through the flight attendants was made up of members of that community. Here is a little snippet of that post. We are doing the first ever. Now let me get that one straight because a few letters have been added to this one. 2S LGBTQIA plus flight ever in Canada. I do identify with the progress flag. There is

something in there that represents me as well. So it was a bit of joy having the opportunity to do this flight today. Um, okay. So let me just say off the top because it needs to be said, I'm proud to live in a country where pilots and flight attendants and people from all walks of life can work in whatever field they want. But this did not land with the people of Twitter, the way I think Air Canada expected to the point that they had to turn their comments off and

What it doesn't offend me I mean it doesn't rise the level of offense it's just I Just don't understand the point of this first of all they recorded the whole thing and they made a whole video about it Which means there's no way they shot this Without taking up time which means there were people on this flight that just wanted to get to their destination, but of course they couldn't because of the shooting schedule. And it's a fairly robust shooting schedule. You can see lots of camera angles, lots of people being interviewed, lots of speeches that had to be given. And lots of speeches that had to be given. And like this is, all of these people have jobs at Air Canada already.

Like the pilot wasn't hired because of an initiative. This pilot already worked at Air Canada and his co-pilot worked at Air Canada. All the flight attendants already worked at Air Canada. It's already an inclusive place. I'm unclear as to what the purpose of this was, except the performance of it. And look, Bud Light got it wrong a couple of years ago

when they hired a transgender influencer named Dylan Mulvaney to be their spokesperson. And they saw their profits drop a billion dollars. They dropped to the number three beer in America. I think they were the number one beer. I have absolutely nothing against Dylan Mulvaney. I'm sure they're a wonderful person. And again, I'm proud to live in a country

where if you are gay and wanna be a pilot, you can work at Air Canada as is Testament to the fact that these people already worked there I'm just unclear as to what the point is except the performance of it all I don't believe that that makes flights any safer any more reliable I don't think that it makes certainly didn't make that flight on time There's no way they left on time. And so I just, I want to hear from you.

I mean, Canada, I've said before, it will be the last bastion of woke ideology. And nobody asked for this. Nobody asked for this. And I don't know, they're not coming out unscathed on this. It was busy work for the sake of looking, look at me and look how inclusive I am. But you're already inclusive because you got gay pilots and you got gay everyone

as like I said, you didn't hire them just for this. They've been in the company for a long time. So what's the point? Let's welcome Chris to the conversation. Chris, thanks for calling into the Ben Mulroney show. Hi, Ben. Thank you. I totally agree with you. This is just, um, it's really touch, you know, I go about your business. Nobody has an issue if you're, um, what, what, what, if you're gay or you're lesbian or whatever you are, just go about your business. You don't have to be promoting it everywhere. wherever you are, just go about your business. You're saying you don't have to be promoting it everywhere. But I think, isn't the point, isn't it, Chris, isn't it, I think, isn't it wonderful that we live in a country

where a gay person can be a pilot and nobody gives a flying flip because it doesn't matter. We're past that point as a society where that needs to be highlighted. I totally agree with you. And I think most people would think the same way. Just go about your business, do your thing

and let everybody go along without putting your ideology, your agenda out there so we all comment on it. Just go for your business. Well, thank you very much for the call, Chris. Let's welcome Mark to the Ben Mulroney show. Mark, am I making a mountain out of a molehill here? Not at all. I think that this is exactly what people keep pointing to

is when they say, just do your own thing. Nobody cares. But when you push it in everybody's face and all those people on that flight, they might get a slightly negative perception that you don't want. Well, and look, I'm get a slightly negative perception that you don't want. Well, and look, I'm, I'm, I'm taking a slightly different angle here.

I'm not, this isn't making me want to be less inclusive. This isn't annoying me. The LGBTQ community, this doesn't annoy me about that. It annoys me that the company feels the need to highlight it when the simple, the act that you have hiring practices that allow people from all walks of life to feel included. That is this is the point for profit. They're doing it.

They're using these people. They're using it as a performance to potentially increase their profits. I don't see how it does when this flight. There's no way this flight left on time. There's no way it left on time. They think it does. This is what my point is the same with the Bud Light. They think that this is going to be a big bastion of, of pride and everyone's going to flock to them. And I think it's a mistake.

I really do. Just like you brought up the Bud Light thing. Yeah. Well, thank you very much for the call. Hey, Michael, thank you very much for calling into the show. What's, what's your opinion on this? The only reason why I think they may have brought this to the forefront and it completely annoys me when they keep bringing this kind of stuff out is because it's Pride Month. You know, I guess the only question I have is, is was there anybody straight that was working on that crew? No, no, it was a, it was a full LGBTQ flight. It was not all inclusive.

Well that's, I mean, yeah, I, your logic holds as well. Like, what, wasn't it great when you had a, I mean, 30 years ago, if you had a straight pilot and a gay pilot, the straight guy might have had a problem with the gay pilot or the gay pilot might've been in the closet for fear of, of retribution from the company. We don't live in that world anymore. We are living in a post like whatever, like we're past that as a society to bring it back and highlight it. I don't know is the progressive thing that you think it is. I think it's actually might be the opposite. But again, I'm, I can appreciate that for members of that community, this they might think that this is,

this is a wonderful thing. I just don't know how you get there from here. Frank, welcome to the show. Tell me if I'm wrong. Hi, Ben. No, you're not wrong at all. And I think this is another example of corporate exploitation of these groups. It's kind of connected even to the Home Depot thing a little bit. I'm getting a little tired of standing in line at the bank and watching ads from whatever bank saying that they are they are group friendly for mortgages, which begs me to believe that maybe the mortgage scores are different for these groups, but they're not supposed to be. And these groups are not asking for that. This is corporate exploitation. That's all it is. exploitation. That's all it is. Yeah. And again, like Air Canada is not the number one airline in the world. Air Canada has a lot of raft of issues. They are, they cost a lot to get from point A to point B. A lot of flights are delayed. A lot of people who work on those flights can be rude to customers. I mean, they have some issues that they got to work out. And I don't know that

highlighting something that I just thought as a society we were past. I thought we were living in a world where, my goodness, you could be anyone and you can work anywhere and you're going to get dignity and respect. That's to me the pride. That to me is something worthy of pride. To go back and say, hey, now this entire crew is going to be made up of one particular group. How is that inclusive? I might be missing something. I might be looking at this through the lens of a cis white male. I don't know. Hell, how long was I out? Close airlock seven. Rick! Seth, please let me out.

Rick put you in there for a reason, Speed. Mom, just... Get back here! This is for your own good! Rick and Morty. New season, Sundays on Adult Swim. Stream on StackTV. Get your mouth rounded.