Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Today, we welcome to our Parliament the 46th President of the United States of America, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Mr. President, you are a true friend to Canada, and that matters more than ever in this consequential moment. Make no mistake: These are serious times. When the consequences of a warming planet are intersecting with the aftermath of a global pandemic, when an unjustifiable war in Europe has shocked the conscience of the world and exposed the vulnerability of energy markets and supply chains, when families are facing the pressures of inflation and struggling with affordability, when citizens around the world feel anxious about their future and their kids' futures, Mr. President, as it should be, our two nations stand united in this moment, finding solutions side by side.
We will continue to work together to create jobs, and build healthier and more sustainable economies. The economy, the environment and security are interwoven, and that has never been more clear.
It has never been more clear that everything is interwoven: economic policy is climate policy is security policy. People need us to think strategically and act with urgency, and that is exactly what brings us together today.
Mr. President, throughout our history, Canada and the United States, as friends and allies, have faced many challenges together: pandemics, recessions and wars. Here in the House, in September 1939, members of Parliament debated going to war. A few years later, Canadian and American soldiers were fighting against fascism, shoulder to shoulder. There are battlefields around the world where our soldiers lay in cemeteries, shoulder to shoulder.
War has now returned to Europe. As you well know, Mr. President, Canada will continue to stand strong with Ukraine with whatever it takes. Together, both of us are partners that Ukraine and the world can count on. Since Putin launched his brutal invasion, like you, Canada has provided significant military support. In our case, artillery, ammunition, armour and tanks. From 2015 to today, with Operation Unifier, the Canadian Armed Forces trained the brave members of the Ukrainian military, about 35,000 of them, and counting.
With partners and allies, we have both used sanctions and punitive economic measures to continue to deplete the Kremlin's war chest. After a terrifying spring, a violent summer and fall, and an exhausting winter, Ukraine still stands.
One year ago, our friend President Zelenskyy addressed this House to thank us for having supported him from the start. Today, together, we reiterate our message to President Zelenskyy and to Ukrainians: We remain by your side.
We will ensure the security of Canadians and Americans by defending democracies and the international rules-based order. Vladimir Putin underestimated the determination of Europe and NATO allies. He underestimated the strength and courage of Ukrainians and their will to defend their language, culture and homeland.
Mr. President, today I want to introduce you to Natalia, who I met just last week. Natalia arrived in Canada from Ukraine more than 10 years ago. She is safe here with her family, but she still has a lot of loved ones in Ukraine. Every time she hangs up after speaking with a cousin or a friend, she feels a twinge in her heart wondering if this conversation might be their last.
Mr. President, we cannot and will not let Natalia's loved ones down. The Ukrainian people are counting on us. We must stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine with as much as it takes, for as long as it takes. I bring up Natalia now, not just because of what is happening over in Ukraine as we speak, but also because she is key to what we are building here today and tomorrow.
I met Natalia last week in Nova Scotia where she currently lives near Bridgewater, a small town of 9,000 people. For over 50 years now, the Michelin tire factory in Bridgewater has been one of the most productive in the world. Thanks to the strength of its workers, Michelin has just announced major investments to modernize its facilities to meet the growing need for electric vehicles. Good, stable jobs like the ones in this factory are really important for people like Natalia and her family. They are also important for our communities, be they large or small.
When I was in Nova Scotia, meeting with Natalia and others, I met third-generation tire workers at that Michelin plant, and because of the work we are doing together and the investments we are making for the future, that community will have jobs for generations more to come. That does not just impact them in Bridgewater; it means there will continue to be vans delivering food to grocery stores in California and trucks delivering medical supplies to hospitals in Pennsylvania that roll on tires made in Nova Scotia, as it should be.
Mr. President, in 1987, Ronald Reagan addressed this House in a final big push toward the first Canada-U.S. free trade agreement. He pointed out that the U.S.-Canada border was a meeting place, rather than a dividing line. More than 30 years later, our border is no longer just the place where we meet each other; it is the place where we will meet the moment. It is the place where we will meet the future, a future not only with good jobs, but good, stable careers for generations to come.
We are also joined today by steelworkers from Dofasco in Hamilton. One of them is Neil. Neil's mother worked at Dofasco in the seventies. His father worked in the finishing steel area for 37 years. Now, with the investments we have made to help Dofasco phase out coal-fired steelmaking in favour of electric arc, Neil's kids, grandkids and great-grandkids will be able to choose careers making the clean steel the world needs to build EVs, buildings and bridges. Clean steel will be the backbone for manufacturing in the future, and workers like Neil, from generations past to generations future, will continue to be at the heart of the economy we are building for the middle class.
Economic policy is climate policy is security policy. With growing competition, including from an increasingly assertive China, there is no doubt why it matters that we turn to each other now to build up a North American market on everything from semiconductors to solar panel batteries.
Mr. President, with the Inflation Reduction Act, you are creating the jobs of today and tomorrow for the middle class in America. This also means more clients for Canadian critical minerals processors, for our clean-energy innovators, for our integrated auto workers, for our farmers, growers and producers, and so many others. It is an example of how we can make progress at home and as partners.
To support good jobs in the economy of the future, Canada has one of the cleanest electricity grids in the world. Approximately 83% of our electricity is already carbon neutral, and we are on track to reach 100% by 2035. To achieve that goal, we are working with local communities, including on indigenous-led projects across the country, be it for solar panels or wind turbines. All of our clean energy exports go to the United States. Across the globe, we need to accelerate our transition to renewable energy.
This week, the United Nations panel on climate change published a new report indicating that our planet will hit a critical global warming threshold in the next decade. This means more heat waves, more droughts, more floods and more endangered species.
When I think of the families I met on the Atlantic coast last fall who saw their houses being torn to pieces by hurricane Fiona, when I think of the people who live in B.C. whose town burned because of the wildfire during a record-breaking heat wave, I know that responsible leadership means doing more to fight climate change and more to protect families. Climate policy is economic policy is security policy.
As leaders, keeping people safe is our priority. Not only do we need to continue our work, but we need to more and to do it faster.
I know that you agree, Mr. President. I remember the discussion that you and I had in 2016 on the fight against climate change, during your visit to Canada as vice president. You had met with the premiers of the provinces and territories, as well as with indigenous leaders. That same day, during the first ministers' meeting, our government adopted the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change, the cornerstone of which was pollution pricing across the country. I am very pleased, then, to welcome you back today, knowing that environmental protection remains one of your top priorities.
Mr. President, what makes this such a moment of consequence is that our world, our way of living, is facing multiple threats at the same time. That is why security policy is climate policy is economic policy, because climate change, inflation, war, energy shortages but also foreign interference, misinformation and disinformation, and constant attacks on our values and institutions all compound.
Democracies like ours, just like democracies around the world, did not happen by accident and will not continue without effort.
We need to be there for each other. We must continue to stand up against authoritarian threats, both at home and abroad, and continue to defend what is just.
This is not a moment to compromise on our values. This is a moment to double down on them. We must continue to show resilience, perseverance and strength.
Resilience, perseverance and strength, these are words that perfectly describe two men who are here with us today, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.
Mr. President, when the plane transporting the two Michaels landed on Canadian soil after their more than 1,000 days of arbitrary detention in China, Canadians proved that resilience, perseverance and strength are more than just lofty ideals. They are commitments that drive our actions and shape our character.
Canada got the two Michaels home, and we did it the right way, not just by respecting the rule of law but by anchoring ourselves to it. When under great pressure to undermine our commitment to our agreements and treaties, and to the rule of law, we did not capitulate. We did not abandon our values. We doubled down and we rallied our allies against arbitrary detention, and through that, with your support and your leadership, Mr. President, the rule of law prevailed and the Michaels came home.
With our allies and partners, Canadians and Americans must remain a source of inspiration to the rest of the world, but, above all, we must continue our work. We need to make the necessary efforts every day to build a better future for people like Neil and Natalia, and for their children and their grandchildren.
We must and we will meet this moment.
Mr. President, in your most recent powerful state of the union address, you encouraged the American people to stay optimistic, hopeful and forward-looking. This is a vision that Canadians share too. Therefore, let us keep working hard, and together, let us continue to build a better future for our people.
Welcome to Canada, my friend.
Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden.