Juno News - Alberta fights Trudeau’s oil and gas cap

00:00:00.000 Premier Daniel Smith will invoke the Alberta sovereignty with the United Canada Act to

00:00:04.840 counter the Liberals' oil and gas emissions cap. Also on the show today, we'll be discussing the

00:00:09.800 Alberta UCP's recent vote to increase the accommodation allowance of MLAs, which led

00:00:14.980 to backlash from opposition parties given the cost of a living crisis being experienced by

00:00:19.560 everyday Albertans. We'll also talk about the province's newest insurance reforms,

00:00:24.240 which caused quite the uproar online. Additionally, we'll be reconnecting with an old friend,

00:00:28.880 former host of the show, Rachel Parker, who called out CTV for criticizing Smith for proposing

00:00:34.580 solutions to the Trump tariffs. We'll also take a broader look at all the premiers who spoke out

00:00:39.240 against the tariffs following the First Minister's meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

00:00:43.820 I'm Isaac Lammer, your host of the Alberta Roundup, and let's hop into that first story now.

00:00:58.880 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced on Tuesday, alongside the province's Environment Minister,

00:01:04.640 Rebecca Schultz, and Minister of Energy, Brian Jean, that the Sovereignty Act would protect

00:01:09.400 the province from federal overreach through its production cap. Smith said the following about

00:01:14.260 the legality of the cap.

00:01:16.200 We've been very clear that we will use all means at our disposal to fight back against federal

00:01:21.080 policies that hurt Alberta, and that's exactly what we're doing. On November the 4th, Ottawa released

00:01:27.020 details of its oil and gas emissions cap, which is a de facto production cap. The cap violates

00:01:32.980 Section 92A of the Constitution, which clearly gives provinces exclusive jurisdiction over

00:01:38.480 non-renewable natural resource development.

00:01:41.760 Ottawa seems to think that they need to save us from ourselves, but they are wrong, because

00:01:46.220 we're not just working with industry to continue to drive down emissions, we're succeeding at it.

00:01:51.660 Alberta already has a system in place that is working. Emissions per barrel are declining,

00:01:56.440 even as production and contribution to GDP grows. Alberta's energy industry doesn't just provide

00:02:02.320 jobs to Albertans, but to Canadians all across our country. And it doesn't just power Alberta's

00:02:08.100 economy, it powers Canada's. Despite numerous warnings from economists that the emissions cap

00:02:14.000 will have a negative impact on the Canadian economy, the Trudeau government has pushed forward.

00:02:19.180 A report from the Conference Board of Canada estimates that the cap will result in the average Canadian

00:02:24.400 family having $419 less a month for groceries, utility and mortgage payments. The report highlighted

00:02:31.600 that the cap would reduce Canada's GDP by up to $1 trillion between 2030 and 2040. An S&P study

00:02:39.440 highlighted that the cap would cut production of oil by 2 million barrels daily. Alberta launched a

00:02:45.360 national advertising campaign in October warning Canadians against the consequences of a federal

00:02:51.060 emissions cap. Smith said the advertising campaign's goal was to warn everyone who stands to lose

00:02:56.780 something from the cap, which is all Canadians, about the risks. She previously called the oil and gas cap

00:03:03.360 a quote, deranged vendetta targeting Alberta. The Alberta sovereignty within the United Canada Act

00:03:09.780 motion must be passed in the legislature. The motion proposes launching an immediate constitutional

00:03:15.540 challenge against the emissions cap. The motion seeks to ensure no provincial entity enforces the cap

00:03:21.400 while designating oil and gas facilities as essential infrastructure. It also prohibits

00:03:26.040 unauthorized access to these facilities. It declares emissions data proprietary to Alberta and mandates

00:03:31.580 that disclosure be controlled by the province. Additionally, it establishes royalty-in-kind programs for oil and

00:03:38.620 bitumen. It aims to expand pipeline capacity through collaboration with other jurisdictions.

00:03:44.160 Environment Minister Rebecca Schultz said that the cap would make life less affordable Canadians while

00:03:49.160 having no impact on reducing global emissions. In fact, she said that the cap will increase the

00:03:54.820 production of coal and other high emissions energy worldwide. She said the following.

00:04:01.020 Good afternoon and thank you very much, Premier, for your leadership in this area. After years of trying to

00:04:06.700 reason with this out-of-touch federal government, our province faces a choice. Secure our economic future and the

00:04:12.980 livelihoods of all Albertans or let Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sacrifice our prosperity for his

00:04:18.580 extreme ideological agenda. The federal government should not be willing to undercut Alberta's

00:04:24.640 economy just because we don't vote for them. They seem to just be trying to placate their eco-activist

00:04:30.860 base in Ottawa as they collapse in the polls. They are chasing headlines and sound bites while playing politics

00:04:36.880 once again with people's livelihoods. This is unacceptable. We voiced these concerns to Ottawa

00:04:42.220 many, many times, only to be dismissed and ignored. We will not be sidelined or silenced.

00:04:48.860 She added that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is telling Canadians to prioritize Environment Minister

00:04:54.300 Stephen Guibo's green agenda over feeding their families or paying their rent. She said the province

00:05:00.360 will use the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Agency to market its resources directly and independently.

00:05:06.180 The agency was established by Peter Lougheed in 1973 to defend constitutional rights in the war against the oil and gas

00:05:13.680 waged by Trudeau's father. So hopping into our next story here, Alberta's United Conservative Party

00:05:19.200 recently voted to increase their MLA's accommodation allowance by 14%. The decision resulted in opposition members

00:05:26.280 questioning the reasoning for the raise while everyday Albertans are struggling to get by.

00:05:30.780 Alberta NDP MLA Luann Matz was one of the members who spoke out. She said Albertans want their provincial

00:05:37.020 government focused on healthcare, education, public safety, affordability, and the economy. She said

00:05:43.100 quote, the government's focus and priorities are incredibly warped. However, a spokesperson for the Alberta

00:05:48.620 UCP told me that the 14% increase, which raises the monthly accommodation allowance from 1930 to 2200 a

00:05:56.040 month, is the first increase since 2012. The spokesperson added that the Consumer Price Index, which

00:06:02.880 measures inflation, has increased by 32% in the same time period. The spokesperson said quote, the increase brings

00:06:09.680 Alberta closer in line with residency allowances offered in other jurisdictions, such as the House of Commons and

00:06:15.600 Ontario, while remaining below their levels. The spokesperson added quote, the adjustment is a standard business

00:06:22.500 practice designed to ensure that MLA's representing constituencies outside the Edmonton metropolitan area have

00:06:29.340 have appropriate resources to fulfill their professional duties. According to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta's

00:06:35.340 Consolidated Members Service Committee orders, members are eligible for accommodation allowances for every day they

00:06:42.340 maintain a temporary residence in or near Edmonton, when the Legislative Assembly is in session or when it is not sitting but they

00:06:49.300 remain near Edmonton on official business. Any claims for the allowance must be supported by documentation

00:06:55.140 highlighting the members' stay-in, ownership, or lease of a temporary residence. Rentals.ca's November rent report showed that the average

00:07:02.260 one-bedroom rental price in Edmonton is $1,384 a month. The average rent for all types of accommodation in the city was $1,584 a month.

00:07:12.060 Across the country, the average rent was $2,152 a month. The province's recent second fiscal update

00:07:19.740 of the year highlighted another increase in its expected surplus, now rising further to $4.6 billion in

00:07:26.060 2024, growing $4.2 billion or 12 and a half fold from the initial projection of $367 million.

00:07:34.540 Switching gears now to a story that occurred late last week, the provincial government and its residents did not

00:07:39.900 seem to be seeing eye to eye when it comes to the latest auto insurance reforms proposed by the province.

00:07:45.580 You can let me know in the comments about your thoughts on the proposed changes.

00:07:49.820 The province announced the new auto insurance system that it argued would provide better and

00:07:54.060 faster auto insurance services to Albertans while reducing premiums. The new care-focused system is

00:08:00.940 intended to replace the current court-based system. Smith had the following to say about the changes.

00:08:06.460 In a nutshell, under the new system, if someone is injured in a collision, they'll get the necessary

00:08:12.220 care and benefits, whether they're at fault or not, without the need to litigate. No more costly

00:08:17.660 legal battles, no more drawn-out waits for care. Instead, Albertans who suffer serious injuries will

00:08:23.020 be able to rely on treatment until they are recovered. Albertans who suffer catastrophic,

00:08:28.940 life-changing injuries would be able to rely on treatment and care for the rest of their lives.

00:08:34.220 This is a care-focused system. Instead of forcing people through complex legal processes in order

00:08:39.900 to get the treatment that they need, the system default will be that those injured in collisions

00:08:45.020 get the care they need to recover. You could call it better, faster service. And these better,

00:08:51.500 faster services would be delivered at a savings of up to $400 per year on insurance premiums.

00:08:58.380 The provincial government said it heard from 16,000 Albertans in online surveys, which drove the changes

00:09:04.060 to the insurance policies. According to the survey's responses, 95% of Albertans agreed that bad

00:09:10.300 drivers should pay more for their insurance. 8 in 10 said that they wanted to pay the lowest possible

00:09:16.140 cost for their insurance, while 73% believed it was important to be able to sue at-fault drivers.

00:09:22.220 However, more than 6 in 10 said they would not need the right to sue if their insurance company

00:09:27.180 supported their needs. Smith posted the entire press conference to X, and while the post only had half

00:09:33.580 as many comments as likes, a large portion of them were negative. One of the most liked comments

00:09:38.860 highlighted that Albertans pay the highest auto insurance premiums in the country. Based on the

00:09:44.300 numbers provided, a $400 yearly saving would not change the province's rank. One user said, quote,

00:09:51.100 not acceptable. We have the highest rates in the country. And yet, you give the go-ahead to raise

00:09:56.380 premiums another 7.5% per year over two years with the hopes that these companies will suddenly become

00:10:02.060 cheaper because of no-fault insurance. Your math is adding up like Trudeau's. The debt will pay itself

00:10:07.340 off. However, finance minister Nate Horner said that classifying the new insurance system as no-fault

00:10:12.940 is misleading. He said, quote, some will categorize this care-first system as no-fault. I really think

00:10:19.020 that's a misleading label and just not right. Under this model, fault still matters. Bad drivers will

00:10:25.100 continue to pay more on premiums. Drivers will be held accountable for their actions. Despite the

00:10:30.860 negative reaction online, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance told me that asserting people

00:10:35.980 were reacting negatively was, quote, premature. The spokesperson said, quote, there are parties with

00:10:41.820 a vested interest in ensuring litigation costs and the status quo of poor benefits for expensive costs

00:10:47.580 remain in place. And they are spreading misinformation on the changes. These changes

00:10:52.940 will provide better, faster, and cheaper auto insurance 12 burdens when implemented in January

00:10:57.820 2027. And we look forward to ensuring the 3.4 million drivers in the country save money.

00:11:04.220 The spokesperson added that for every dollar taken by insurance companies, they pay $1.17 in settlements,

00:11:09.820 with some paying as much as $1.40. The spokesperson added, quote,

00:11:14.460 most will continue to lose money under the increased cap, leading to more leaving the

00:11:18.700 province between now and January 2027. We are taking action to protect Albertans from rampant

00:11:24.060 premium insurances until they can see savings under the care-first system. As previously mentioned,

00:11:29.180 the new system is not set to be fully implemented until January 2027. It will require legislation to be

00:11:35.740 introduced in the spring of 2025. In the interim, starting January 2025, the good driver rate cap will be

00:11:42.860 increased to 7.5%. It is currently 3.7%. Horner said, quote,

00:11:49.260 We know an increase in the rate cap is not ideal for Albertans. This wasn't something we wanted to

00:11:54.780 do. It's clear that auto insurance companies are not blameless in this situation either. But the

00:11:59.420 current situation is not about profitability. It's about viability. Many companies are losing millions

00:12:05.340 under the current cap system and we have chosen to limit the cap as much as possible in the face of

00:12:09.980 escalating costs. Two insurers have already decided to leave our market and others could

00:12:15.100 potentially follow without some adjustments to the cap. Now revisiting a post from an old friend,

00:12:20.780 Rachel Parker, who of course was the former host of the Alberta Roundup. She said, quote,

00:12:26.300 CTV News is upset that Premier Smith put forward tangible solutions to avoid tariffs instead of beep, 0.98

00:12:33.900 instead of bleep, and moaning like other useless politicians. Highlighting some of the top comments

00:12:39.020 from the post, which may be from listeners of this very show. For example, Andrew Noel said, quote,

00:12:44.460 Danielle Smith's big mistake, she's trying to have a grown-up conversation with news agencies. 0.54

00:12:49.820 These are people who don't think there's an issue with Canada right now, so why would they admit

00:12:53.740 that things need to change? Another user, Stan, said, quote, Danielle once again proving to all why she's the best

00:13:00.380 Premier in the country. And lastly, friend of True North and Alberta Director of the Canadian Taxpayers

00:13:05.500 Federation, Chris Sims said, quote, exactly, fix the problem or get out of the way. Let me know in the

00:13:11.500 comments how you feel about Smith's response to the tariffs and what more you'd like to see.

00:13:15.980 Speaking of the response to tariffs, for our last story today, we'll cover the recent First Minister's

00:13:21.020 meeting held between the country's Premiers and Justin Trudeau. Trudeau and Canada's Premiers

00:13:25.740 convened on Wednesday to address President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to impose a 25% tariff on

00:13:31.820 Canadian imports unless Canada enhances its border security. Trump said the tariff would remain in

00:13:37.900 effect until illegal immigrants and drugs like fentanyl stop pouring over the border. Trump wrote

00:13:43.660 in a post to True Social, quote, both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily

00:13:50.620 solve this long-simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power and until such time that

00:13:56.540 they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price. So Canada exported $439.6 billion worth of

00:14:04.620 goods to the United States in 2023, accounting for 76% of the country's total exports. While not all of

00:14:13.020 Canada's Premiers mentioned what they discussed in the meeting, some did and came out with their

00:14:17.420 proposed policies. For example, Smith said that Trump's concerns about illegal immigrants and

00:14:22.620 drug smuggling at the Canada-US border were valid. She said, quote, I communicated this very clearly to 0.57

00:14:29.900 the Prime Minister and further indicated that Alberta will be acting urgently and decisively to patrol our

00:14:36.060 own shared border with Montana, with more details to be announced soon in that regard. I also expressed

00:14:42.300 the need for the federal government to aggressively move up compliance with our country's NATO obligations

00:14:47.340 of a 2% GDP spend on our military forces, which is yet another concrete way to solidify our economic

00:14:54.620 and military alliance with the United States. Smith also used the meeting to discuss the importance

00:14:59.500 of energy security and partnering with the United States, urging the Prime Minister to halt his planned

00:15:04.540 production cap, which he of course will invoke the Sovereignty Act to combat should it not be

00:15:08.940 cancelled. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also spoke out about the meeting. He shared a clip where he

00:15:13.900 discussed the issues at a separate conference. He said, quote, I think all Canadians would be in

00:15:18.300 favour of ensuring that our borders are secure. Thus, our nation is secure when it comes to people

00:15:23.500 that are coming in illegally. When it comes to the drugs that are coming in and the scourge of drugs and

00:15:28.780 the poison that we see in our communities today, it's very, very different than when I was growing up.

00:15:34.380 Moe suggested that the Liberals bring in the Canada Border Services Agency and Military Coast Guard to

00:15:40.060 secure the border. He said this could work towards the country hitting its 2% of GDP NATO spending

00:15:45.820 requirements. Some other Premiers issued statements confirming they attended the meeting but were less

00:15:50.700 clear in what specifics they requested from the Liberals or from other Premiers. For example,

00:15:55.820 Quebec Premier Francois Legault said that he asked the Liberals to provide a detailed plan on how they

00:16:01.420 plan to improve border security without getting into any further specifics. Conservative leader Pierre

00:16:07.020 Polievre has also called on Trudeau to enhance border security despite calling the proposed tariff a,

00:16:12.380 quote, unjustified threat. Around six times more terrorists were apprehended between 2022 and 2024

00:16:19.740 at the Canada-US border compared to the southern border the United States shares with Mexico. So

00:16:25.100 firstly, Polievre called on Trudeau to cancel his quadrupling of the carbon tax. In fact,

00:16:30.140 he further called on the Prime Minister to halt all tax increases. The Conservative leader then joined

00:16:35.900 Smith's call to urge Trudeau to stop his energy emissions cap. Polievre said, quote,

00:16:41.420 the incoming American president says he wants to cut gas prices in half. Well, the only way to do it

00:16:46.700 will be to import more clean Canadian energy. So the Prime Minister has to stop this assault on our biggest

00:16:53.340 industry. Polievre also urged Trudeau to cancel his billion-dollar cut to the military. Lastly,

00:16:59.980 Polievre pleaded with Trudeau to stop his, quote, liberalization of drugs. In fact, take a listen

00:17:06.620 to what Polievre had to say of Canada's drug problem. I don't want to stop drug overdoses to please Donald

00:17:13.420 Trump. I want to stop drug overdoses so that there's not one more mother with her face buried in a pillow

00:17:21.260 sobbing that she just lost her kid. After 47,000 other Canadians have died. That's more than we lost

00:17:29.740 in the Second World War. A 200 percent annual increase in drug overdose deaths have resulted

00:17:36.300 from Justin Trudeau's radical liberalization of drugs. Justin Trudeau must put partisanship aside,

00:17:43.820 not just for the sake of Team Canada, but for the sake of our people and fully reverse his

00:17:52.140 liberalization of drugs. Trudeau confirmed after meeting with the premiers that he did in fact

00:17:56.780 meet with them. He said, quote, our focus, Canadian jobs, securing the border and building on our strong

00:18:02.700 partnership with the United States. So that wraps up our stories for this week, but let's hop into the

00:18:07.420 comment roundup now. There were a lot of great comments from last week and I always find it a great

00:18:12.460 challenge to choose between them all. I bet you thought we could get through an entire episode

00:18:17.260 without talking about Randy Boissonneau, but we're going to discuss him in the first comment as there

00:18:21.980 were so many about him in the last show. So at Wes Wojciusin said, quote, he should resign and be

00:18:29.340 criminally charged and prosecuted if convicted. He should have jail time and lose his federal pension

00:18:35.500 and other benefits. Canada needs these corrupt politicians and others criminally punished also.

00:18:42.140 Politicians are not above the law. So yeah, I chose to highlight this comment particularly for

00:18:47.980 the last sentence because of course I agree and I think generally most Canadians do that

00:18:52.780 politicians should not be above the law. And yet, with the many scandals we've seen in government,

00:18:58.940 they no longer really seem to be held to account. I'm wondering what you think might occur if Boissonneau

00:19:05.660 was made an example of and prosecuted. Would him being charged change how politicians behave?

00:19:11.500 Sticking with politicians, the next comment comes from at FAQ who said, quote, mandatory drug testing

00:19:18.300 for all elected officials. Other public job sectors require it. Canadians should be demanding mandatory 0.96

00:19:24.860 slash random drug testing for our elected politicians. Yeah, so I really don't feel like

00:19:29.820 this is a far-fetched request. I mean, it seems reasonable enough of an expectation for our

00:19:34.620 politicians and elected officials to not take drugs. I'm curious if something like this was

00:19:39.420 implemented, how many would fail? The next comment comes from at Patrick Reed 2767 who said, quote,

00:19:45.660 it is scary to think the next Edmonton police chief will be hired with DEI. Now just imagine who it will be.

00:19:52.060 Yeah, obviously as an Edmonton resident, this is certainly a fear that I share. However,

00:19:56.780 I will say that many organizations have recently been straying away from DEI policies, although these

00:20:02.460 of course were private organizations. So I'm curious to ask, how long do you think it will take

00:20:07.580 for federal institutions to follow suit and realize the epic failure that is DEI? Lastly,

00:20:13.900 I want to discuss the many comments that listeners made about Stephen Harper. There seemed to be a

00:20:18.540 relatively common theme that many of you were happy with the economic job that Harper did,

00:20:23.100 but critical of other aspects of his governance. But of course, given the economic trouble our

00:20:28.060 country is in, it's hard to imagine that we'd be in a comparable situation with Harper as PM,

00:20:33.420 as some of you rightfully noted. For example, at Andrew Baldwin 4454 said, quote,

00:20:38.700 I voted for Stephen Harper every chance I could, but just the same I am mystified if it is really true

00:20:43.980 that a lot of people think that Harper was the best conservative PM ever. McDonald was the best,

00:20:48.700 Ben Mulroney was runner up, and Harper might not even make the podium because Borden was a very

00:20:53.660 consequential PM too. Read Mulroney's memoirs, Isaac, if you haven't already done so,

00:21:00.220 and see if you still think that Harper was the better PM. I mean, thanks for the advice,

00:21:04.220 Andrew. I'll give that a read this weekend. Another user at DaveJohnson3773 said of the economy,

00:21:10.620 quote, turns out we should have kept Harper because we would not be in the position we are right now,

00:21:15.820 which pretty much speaks to the previous points I covered. Anyways, that wraps up our comment

00:21:21.740 roundup and this week's show. My name's Isaac Lamoureux, your host of the Alberta Roundup.

00:21:26.700 Have a great weekend. Thank you and God bless. May Alberta prosper strong and free.

Juno News - November 30, 2024

Alberta fights Trudeau’s oil and gas cap

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