Scott Moe signs nuclear energy agreement with Poland during European trip

Poland marks the last stop on Moe’s current trade mission.

Premier Scott Moe said in a virtual meeting with reporters from the Eurosatory Defense and Security Exhibition in Paris that the four-country trade mission has been “very positive.”

“As we look to really enhance our activity within a free trade agreement we have with the European Union, the CETA trade agreement, which I would say has been underutilized to this point, and certainly, Saskatchewan is going to be part of increasing the trade that Saskatchewan and Canada have through that CETA agreement with the European Union countries,” Moe said.

“I’d say (this has been) a trip with some very certain outcomes for Saskatchewan companies, for industries, and I think more to come in the months ahead on the relationships that are really being built in this particular trade mission.”

After visiting the Czech Republic, the trad mission continued on to Belgium, where Moe explained a partnership for expansion between the Port of Antwerp and the Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba could create more opportunities for Saskatchewan, including with Western Canadian LNG, as well as furthering and deepening the amount of exports produced in Saskatchewan headed to the Port of Churchill.

“The Port of Churchill is never going to have the volumes that, for example, we have on the West Coast at the Port of Vancouver,” Moe commented. “However, it has the opportunity to open up opportunities for Saskatchewan industries to access some very high-value markets in the European Union markets that today are a lot longer boat ride away from the West Coast than they would be from that Port in Churchill, Manitoba.

Premier Scott Moe spoke with reporters virtually from the Eurosatory Defense and Security Exhibition in Paris, France on Mon, June 15. (Screenshot)

“That’s more of a strategic relationship that is building, although it is present today with commodities, it’s one that I think would really have an opportunity to build significantly into the future.”

Moe said they’re trying to position Saskatchewan in a place to be successful in the years ahead.

The delegation next stopped in France, where Moe said the defense and security exhibition in Paris was proving there are new opportunities for Saskatchewan’s manufacturing sector.

“Some of that manufacturing expertise that we have in the agriculture sector, (and) the manufacturing expertise we have in the mining sector, which is global leading, is a very easy conversion to the defense space. As we see countries all increasing their investment in the defense space, this is a very great opportunity for Saskatchewan to expand beyond commodities and into that manufactured space.”

He said Saskatchewan has a growing role in global energy security, and for Saskatchewan to expand on existing trade relationships when it comes to nuclear technology with the European Union.

“They have their own nuclear technology; however, there’s a great opportunity to collaborate on nuclear technology as a whole, and how we’re going to build out in the western world the electricity and the energy needs.”

Moe said there are opportunities for Saskatchewan in the near and medium term in the manufacturing sector, the uranium and nuclear space, and the mining industry.

Moe hopeful peace deal between U.S. and Iran ‘sticks around’

When asked about the new peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, Moe said all peace deals are good, and he is hopeful this one will stick.

“I hope it is permanent. I understand it’s an initial deal, and there would be further negotiations that would happen. It’s a fair question, given we’ve had a number of those initial agreements that have been spoken to but haven’t come to fruition in the days post that deal being agreed to.”

The U.S. and Iran reached the deal on Monday, that is supposed to extend a ceasefire between the two countries, as well as fully open the Strait of Hormuz. Moe said the question still looms as to how this will continue to impact oil prices.

“Do I think it (oil) will go back down to where it was in the $60 range? Not sure,” Moe said. “Do I think it’ll stay in the $100 range? I doubt it if there’s a real reprieve on this conflict, but I truly hope there is, because we don’t want any conflict anywhere in the world.”

Moe is hopeful, however, that oil and gas prices will drop as people in Saskatchewan continue to feel the pressure of those heightened costs.

“The price at the pumps is a major inflationary pressure, and I would say indirectly that very fuel price is a direct pressure on the groceries that we are purchasing at our store, and virtually everything that we purchase at any store,” Moe said.

“For a province like Saskatchewan, it is all railed or trucked in once it gets here on a boat, so I think some reprieve of the fuel prices for us as families, and for industries as well that are employing us as families, would be a positive as well.

Meanwhile, Moe said there are a number of supply chains that have been forced to change due to the war in Iran.

“We have been engaged by a number of countries that want to at least diversify some of that supply – whether it be products like oil and gas, products like uranium, or other products that Saskatchewan is essentially diversifying into – but have the opportunity to be pretty significant in Saskatchewan’s economy in the years to come. ”

He said many countries have shown interest in a copper mine in our province, as well as inquired about how quickly Saskatchewan can develop its helium reserves.

“There are economic shifts that will happen when there is a conflict like what we’ve seen that has largely impacted a main trade route to the Strait of Hormuz, but at the end of the day, we’re all global citizens, and all these deals are good deals, and we hope that not only it comes to fruition … but that it does stick on behalf of all of those involved.”