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okay good morning everyone um thanks for
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thanks for coming out wanted to come
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here because um I think as we all know
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uh we have a housing crisis in Canada uh
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and we need to address it and in order
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to address the housing crisis uh we need
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to build a lot of homes uh just under 4
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million homes over the course of the
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next decade and there's a series of
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programs that are being put in place by
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the federal government uh support by uh
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provinces and municipalities that are
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going to help that uh but in order
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really to achieve those objectives like
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many of the changes we're going to need
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to do in Canada uh we need Innovation uh
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we need to build in a different way um
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and this is an example of uh modular
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housing uh it builds on Research that's
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been done here at uh in Vancouver at
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University of British Columbia uh and
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just to put this in context um we can
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speed up um increase speeds by 20 to 50%
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% uh reduce waste by almost 50% in the
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construction process uh reduce emissions
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uh over the course of the production
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process uh and the lifetime of the
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building by 20% um and really get
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housing for people uh more rapidly more
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efficiently more cheaply again cost
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reductions of over 25% uh and build True
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Canadian technology that not just serves
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uh Canadians here but ultimately serves
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around the world at all say if
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I'll take your
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questions CBC uh this is for my
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colleagues in Ottawa with Trump
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threatening to impose tariffs on steel
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and aluminum on March 12th your fellow
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leadership candidate Christ freand says
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it would not be ideal to go to the polls
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right after your party select new leader
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on March n what do you think well I
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think it's a very fluid situation uh the
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discussions with the Americans uh uh the
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demands of uh the Americans uh change uh
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or at least of the president uh change
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on an almost daily basis as do the
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timelines uh uh the government is
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currently engaged in direct discussions
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with the Trump Administration uh
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you know you never take a decision
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before you need to take a decision uh
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and so nothing is pre-wired uh let's see
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what the situation is in the middle of
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March uh and do what is best for
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Canadians and the government will do
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what's best for Canadians uh if
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Parliament needs to be recalled for
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certain reasons uh it will be uh if it
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makes sense to get a strong mandate uh
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at that point uh that is what will
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follow uh but make no mistake and uh I
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think this is a message uh for the
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United States is that Canadians
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uh and I'm not speaking about leadership
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uh contenders I'm not speaking about uh
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current governments federal or
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provincial Canadians uh are united on
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this issue uh Canadians have a strong
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sense of resolve uh we're going to stand
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up collectively for Canada uh and we're
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going to build our economy here in
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Canada first and foremost um and uh
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we'll see what Arrangements we come with
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the Americans uh when we get to the
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table and just a followup um previously
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all leadership candidates put out a
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joint statement on Donald Trump's
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but in the past few days Chris Freeland
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is back making aggressive proposals
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about better ways to deal with Trump is
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it constructive to have leadership
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candidates arm check quacking the
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government right now uh I I I'll speak
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for myself um I'm careful in what I say
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uh about the current status of
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negotiations uh you will have seen you
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may have seen I should say uh that my
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focus uh has uh majored on what we
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should do here in Canada uh to
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strengthen our economy irrespective of
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what the Americans take and uh I've a
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lot of experience in negotiations one of
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the most important things in
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negotiations is that you have options uh
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and of course a strong Canadian economy
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is in our interest is all Canadians
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interests we have many many uh ways to
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do that said from the start that it's
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time to
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build and uh we we should do that now to
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uh strengthen our negotiating position
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as well in terms terms of the real time
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negotiations uh leave that to the
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current prime minister uh and uh and the
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Ministers of the crown thank
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you in Rel list the Press
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IND
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govern
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Canada you know set set an examp
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have some questions my colleages what
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would your approach be towards the
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Ukraine situation message Orum
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Administration is signaling Ukraine will
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lose its chance membership and
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uh well we uh I'm very proud of the
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position that the Canadian government
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has taken uh to standing firm with uh
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with Ukraine uh and absolutely reinforce
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that and continue to that uh the pathway
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for uh Ukrainian membership of the
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European Union um and ultimately uh of
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NATO uh is something I
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support and your plan to reach the NATO
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2% Target is less aggressive and
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detailed your Rivals and won't reach the
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target Trump needs this so I'm hoping
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you could explain how you to reach that
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Target how you'll spend the money to get
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there and how you deal with Trump
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agressive posture on Canada's failure to
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meet the Target so I yeah thank you for
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raising it so a couple of things one the
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way I've framed It Is by 2030 which of
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course means as that would be the latest
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2030 if we can accelerate that we will
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but two things are crucial the first is
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these are taxpayers dollars these are
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precious taxpayers dollars we need to
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spend them wisely and effectively and
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secondly in the following respect
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currently 80% of our Capital spending or
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you know spend in the military on
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equipment uh Machinery other aspects uh
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not so not non-personal expenditures
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goes to the United States okay goes to
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the United States contracts with the
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United States the existing relationship
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with the United States we need to spend
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more of that money here in Canada we
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need to be ready to spend that money
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here in Canada if we can accelerate that
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spend more of an Canada securing Canada
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building Canadian jobs we absolutely
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will do that I'm not going to make a
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promise in advance without going into
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detail and I I don't see a great deal of
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detail in those other uh those other
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accelerated timelines I'm not going to
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make a promise in advance uh that either
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runs the risk of wasting Canadian
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taxpayers dollars or sending those
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taxpayer dollars to the country that is
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currently threatening us
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you
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talk this was opposed by people in the
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area when it was beinged yeah well
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there's so there's a a series of issues
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uh there Monica one is in terms of how
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we build uh in our communities and
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issues around densification and uh and
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social acceptance of that and of course
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uh those uh issues are first and
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foremost responsibilities of local uh
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local government ments and
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representatives uh stakeholder groups
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Community groups and coming together I
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think there's a broader recognition for
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within the country of the value of
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densification appropriately done um and
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the various Federal programs that uh is
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supporting that so I I'll address that
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aspect of it but of course the decisions
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in the end are taken by are taken by the
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communities as they should be um in
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terms of what uh what we're highlighting
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here but then what does it mean we're
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highlighting uh the value of this type
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of construction Innovation more modular
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housing as I said at the outset but I
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really want to reinforce we're talking
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about 25 to 50% acceleration in the
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speed with which the homes can be built
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we're talking about reducing waste by up
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to 50% there's a huge amount of waste in
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construction uh and and that's uh not
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unique to Canada but it's an issue in
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Canada it's one we should address we're
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talking about reducing costs by 25% we
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have a huge problem with affordability
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if we can strip out 25% of the cost of
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homes it's going to be make it easier
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for young Canadian families to get those
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homes uh more people into proper housing
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decent housing so all of those benefits
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are there now what is the role of the
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Federal Government in that it's a role
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partly as a partner it and it can do
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several things some of these are in
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train some of them my government would
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reinforce um one is around building
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codes um so when you come up with new
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Innovations you have to make sure that
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uh uh that they meet certain code
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standards uh that for example Federal
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Financing through something called cmhc
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which you would know um uh that that
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financing is available um and so
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accelerating the speed with which we set
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as the federal government the range of
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codes the range of structures that we
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will finance and support through various
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Federal programs that's a huge role uh
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for the federal government another point
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I'd make and I just came from the um uh
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the uh The Faculty of applied
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engineering at UBC and their uh smart
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structures lab volumetric uh structures
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um some of that is supported through
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Federal res resarch funding um so
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providing that Federal research funding
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and then taking the next stage in terms
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of commercialization and tax credits and
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others that promote that
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commercialization that provide the
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incentives and also provide support for
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those who are building and if I just
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wrap all of this together uh said from
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the outset for the country uh this is a
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time to build it's directly relevant to
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the uh to the uh tariff response uh to
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the United States we don't need the
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United States permission to build more
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housing we need uh support from the
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federal government uh both in terms of
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uh of the tax incentives uh support for
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building codes support for financing of
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individuals and to drive this this can
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be one of the big motors of our economy
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um and uh and my government will
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absolutely stand for square behind it
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last question also wondering you said
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running you have to run in the next
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election regardless of how this
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leadership goes wondering do you know
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running in and if you don't get know
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would you commit to not parachuting into
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a what's deed a writing that you might
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have little I'm not paring too uh the um
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okay so I will run in the next election
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irrespective uh just to be absolutely
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clear um I irrespective of the outcome
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of the leadership uh election uh I would
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hope to win that seat so irrespective of
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what happens in the general election I
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will serve my entire term as an MP uh if
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I am elected if I'm given the confidence
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uh of the voters wherever I run uh I'm I
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am a politician I'm running for uh
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running for the leadership I will run uh
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to uh be selected as a candidate um and
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I would just make the following
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observation uh which is that what is
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happening is Canadians are listening to
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the message that we're sending out a
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positive message about building the
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economy moving forward message standing
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up for uh to the Americans getting the
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best deal for Canada uh but also
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changing our trading partners building
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one Canadian economy is that more and
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more seats are becoming attractive um in
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other words uh Canadians are rallying
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behind the liberal party uh that gives
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us a tremendous responsibility uh in
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order to deliver uh to them and I'm I
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look forward to standing uh in the
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location that's appropriate where
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appropriate I have ties I maybe I'll
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just say one more thing which is um I
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have many ties uh in this country I grew
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up in Alberta I was born in the north uh
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my parents are from uh British Columbia
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uh my family good part of my family
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lives there I lived in Toronto I live in
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Ottawa uh you know I have many uh many
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ties uh and obviously I would be a local
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MP but also uh my intention is to win
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this uh leadership to become Prime
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Minister and to represent all Canadians
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thank you very
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much okay come that way
