Juno News - Alberta strikes a pipeline deal with Ottawa

00:00:00.000 An Ontario school board is attempting to scrub the record from its parent-led meeting minutes

00:00:10.600 after one parent objected to the use of land acknowledgements.

00:00:15.100 Alberta and Ottawa have struck a verbal deal.

00:00:17.660 Ottawa will scrap the emissions cap and strike down other laws

00:00:21.840 which could prevent pipelines from getting to Tidewater.

00:00:25.420 A national security analyst is urging Ottawa not to wait for the U.S. to designate Muslim Brotherhood-aligned organizations

00:00:33.620 and warns that Canada is, quote, not prepared for the threat their ideology poses.

00:00:40.560 Hello Canada, it's Friday, November 28th, and this is the True North Daily Brief.

00:00:45.820 I'm Cosmin Georgia.

00:00:47.640 And I'm Melanie Bennett.

00:00:49.080 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.

00:00:51.980 Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.

00:01:00.720 The Waterloo Region District School Board attempted to remove a parent's objection to land acknowledgements

00:01:07.140 from its official Parent Involvement Committee meeting minutes.

00:01:11.480 This is the second time that an Ontario school board interfered in parent-led governance

00:01:16.800 to suppress disagreement with land acknowledgements from appearing on public records.

00:01:22.360 In September, parent member Christina Beiros Fernandez raised a procedural objection

00:01:28.960 to opening Parent Involvement Committee meetings with a land acknowledgement.

00:01:34.300 Fernandez has previously been successful at removing land acknowledgements from parent council meetings.

00:01:40.480 The Parent Involvement Committee's then-chair agreed to, quote,

00:01:44.200 note the objection, but Director Scott Miller immediately intervenes, stating that, quote,

00:01:50.540 as far as objections being noted in the minutes, we won't be recording that.

00:01:55.880 He said, quote,

00:01:56.760 I think we've been pretty clear as a district school board what we believe our commitment

00:02:01.940 to truth and reconciliation call to action, and that's across the province.

00:02:08.400 Miller was referring to the Ministry of Education's recent intervention

00:02:12.360 at the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board, compelling the board to raise the, quote,

00:02:18.100 survivor's flag for truth and reconciliation, even after the board adopted a, quote,

00:02:23.960 government flags only policy.

00:02:26.880 At the November meeting, the committee ultimately voted to record the objections,

00:02:31.500 but to exclude mention of the director's interference.

00:02:35.020 So, Melanie, you've spoken to the parents and you've looked into this issue.

00:02:40.500 How did parents react with regard to this interaction and how the board,

00:02:46.460 the committee handled this situation?

00:02:50.380 Well, Cosmin, I was able to attend the Waterloo Board Parent Involvement Committee meeting this week,

00:02:58.120 and from what I observed, most parents in the meeting didn't jump in at all when this happened.

00:03:04.360 And the parents were at the center of this story.

00:03:07.240 They were pretty clear in expressing their concerns that the committee would just so easily

00:03:12.160 and deliberately exclude really important detail from the public record.

00:03:15.740 So in this case, this, you know, the detail is that the board here is overstepping in their authority

00:03:21.920 to oppose ideological or political statements.

00:03:25.040 So both Christina Barros Fernandez and Jeff Horsman pushed back on the director's interference straight away

00:03:34.040 and also pushed back on the committee's refusal to include that detail in the minutes.

00:03:41.760 Now, there are obvious issues with the director of education interfering in parent-led governance,

00:03:45.860 but that's not really the central issue.

00:03:48.140 The central issue is why a parent involvement committee would agree to erase facts,

00:03:55.140 events that actually happened.

00:03:56.720 Why would they want to remove that from the official record?

00:04:00.140 So ultimately, board staff, and that includes the director of education,

00:04:03.560 really have no business interfering in parent governance.

00:04:06.420 So PIC or Parent Involvement Committee, they're supposed to be parent-run committees,

00:04:11.380 and those committees give feedback to the school boards themselves.

00:04:15.600 So when leadership steps in to dictate what can or can't be recorded,

00:04:20.400 that really undermines the whole process of parents having governance at all.

00:04:26.180 And this really isn't the first time that a school board has interfered in this way

00:04:29.780 over parental objections to land acknowledgements.

00:04:33.980 So in Hamilton, if you remember Catherine Kronos,

00:04:37.420 she objected to a land acknowledgement at her school council, and that went viral online.

00:04:41.440 In the video, you can hear her asking that her objection be recorded in the meeting minutes.

00:04:47.500 And not long after that viral video, the school board intervened and suspended her

00:04:52.520 from attending further meetings.

00:04:54.780 And it really wasn't until the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom stepped in

00:04:58.740 that she was reinstated.

00:05:00.680 I think things like this send a strong message that parents are being punished

00:05:05.020 for disagreeing with political speech in a government setting.

00:05:09.880 And now in Waterloo, this has escalated even further.

00:05:14.200 And as of today, the JCCF has stepped in again, and this time with a legal challenge.

00:05:19.780 Jeff Horstman, the parent I just mentioned, he filed a judicial review arguing that

00:05:24.080 mandatory land acknowledgements, and basically banning all debate about them,

00:05:29.400 exceeds the board's authority and violates his particular charter rights to freedom of conscience.

00:05:34.060 I spoke to Jeff today, and he told me that he did try to go through all the proper channels,

00:05:39.260 but that he only turned to the courts or to the legal system when it became clear

00:05:43.420 that parents were not allowed to ask, they're not even allowed to ask any questions

00:05:47.180 about the policy at all.

00:05:48.660 So the reaction from parents, I think, well, at least Christina and Jeff is quite firm.

00:05:54.220 They're willing to defend their rights to express their views on political statements

00:05:57.640 like land acknowledgements, even if the school board does try to sweep that under the carpet.

00:06:02.120 It seems to me they're quite frustrated, they feel sidelined, that they're increasingly

00:06:07.960 turning to legal avenues because the avenues designed to give them a voice are completely

00:06:13.400 shutting them out.

00:06:16.840 Alberta and the federal government have signed a sweeping energy agreement that includes building

00:06:22.520 a new indigenous co-owned bitumen pipeline to Asian markets.

00:06:26.760 The suspension of the federal clean electricity regulation and the commitment from Ottawa not

00:06:32.600 to implement the oil and gas emissions cap.

00:06:35.160 Alberta and Ottawa have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on major energy

00:06:41.080 infrastructure, carbon reduction projects and regulatory reforms.

00:06:46.120 The deal was signed on Thursday.

00:06:47.720 The memorandum of understanding states that Alberta, Ottawa, indigenous peoples and the

00:06:53.960 industry must, quote, work together cooperatively to foster the conditions necessary for infrastructure,

00:07:01.560 including pipelines that will unlock and grow natural resource production and transportation

00:07:07.000 in Western Canada.

00:07:08.280 The provincial government called the agreement, quote, a critical step towards achieving Alberta

00:07:13.720 and Canada's shared goal of turning our country into a world energy superpower.

00:07:19.000 Central to the deal is a new privately financed pipeline to transfer more than one million

00:07:24.840 barrels per day of low emission Alberta bitumen to a deep water port with access to Asian markets.

00:07:32.440 The memorandum of understanding specifies that the project will be ready for submission

00:07:37.560 to the major projects office by July 1st, 2026.

00:07:41.160 This pipeline will be in addition to expanding Trans Mountain for an extra 300,000 to 400,000

00:07:47.160 barrels per day to Asia.

00:07:49.320 The federal government agreed to address the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act to facilitate construction

00:07:55.160 if the pipeline is approved under the Building Canada Act.

00:07:58.840 Alberta Premier Daniel Smith called the agreement a new starting point for nation building.

00:08:03.080 This is Alberta's moment of opportunity.

00:08:05.320 Our opportunity to show the nation as well as the entire world that resource development

00:08:09.800 and emissions reduction can not only co-exist but can actually complement one another

00:08:14.840 for the benefit of billions of people around the world.

00:08:17.720 Alberta is willing to take on and conquer the challenge as partners with the federal government.

00:08:22.360 So Kazmin, can you tell me if there have been any further developments since this story

00:08:25.960 was published?

00:08:26.920 Like for example, how have other key players responded?

00:08:31.080 Yeah, there actually have been quite a few notable developments since the original story dropped.

00:08:37.800 And the key one is Stephen Gilboa's reported resignation from cabinet.

00:08:43.880 Now that happened immediately after the Alberta Ottawa energy agreement was announced.

00:08:50.600 And according to a senior government source who spoke to CTV, the timing was no coincidence.

00:08:58.200 It was linked and I guess Gilboa resigned in reaction to that.

00:09:04.280 Now, as we're recording this, Gilboa has actually not spoken publicly on this,

00:09:09.400 but that might have changed in the next little while.

00:09:13.480 But essentially, the government source said that the MOU and Gilboa's exit were connected.

00:09:20.600 And that makes sense considering Gilboa's background as a long time anti-pipeline activist.

00:09:27.080 I mean, he was arrested for scaling the CN Tower, and it's no surprise that he couldn't stomach

00:09:36.280 what seems to be an indication that Ottawa is willing to work with Alberta to some level,

00:09:42.840 albeit I will add that there has been no crystallization of a pipeline plan.

00:09:47.800 But this is at least a step in that direction and a political agreement to get something done, perhaps.

00:09:58.280 So yeah, Gilboa's resignation is the major one.

00:10:01.000 He said he's going to stay on as an MP under the Liberals, foreseeably for now.

00:10:06.600 But politically, it is a big signal and a shift within Carney's cabinet,

00:10:12.280 because Gilboa was one of the hardcore Trudeau loyalists and one of the holdovers from Trudeau's

00:10:21.960 own cabinet. He was the environment minister under the former prime minister, and Carney had

00:10:28.200 shifted him into his role as the culture minister. And he actually held that position before under

00:10:35.240 Trudeau as well. But beyond Ottawa, there have been quite a few other reactions, especially from

00:10:41.320 British Columbia Premier David Eby. And he's doubled down on opposition to a pipeline which will have

00:10:49.000 to go through British Columbia and exit on British Columbia's northwest coast. He alleged that there

00:10:57.640 were no proponents to the project, and even Trans Mountain Pipeline wasn't at capacity, which he said

00:11:06.520 gives further reason not to build a pipeline. And the other thing was that a coastal First Nations

00:11:15.000 group in BC that represents all the indigenous tribes and groups that live along the BC coast,

00:11:24.520 do not support a bitumen pipeline to the northern coast. And Eby said, without that support,

00:11:31.240 there is basically no deal, and it's dead on arrival. So quite a day, quite a reaction. But,

00:11:41.800 you know, I think things are developing rapidly. And who knows where this is going to go ultimately,

00:11:48.120 or whether a new pipeline will be built.

00:11:52.920 Canada is dangerously unprepared for the growing threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood, 1.00

00:12:01.400 according to a national security analyst. The expert is demanding Ottawa launch its own probe

00:12:08.040 into groups tied to the Islamist ideology, warning that the danger to Western society is being ignored 0.71

00:12:14.600 as the US moves to label some Muslim Brotherhood entities as terrorist organizations. Joe Adam George,

00:12:22.440 a national security analyst with the MacDonald Laurier Institute and research lead on Islamist

00:12:28.200 threats at the Middle East Forum, told True North that Canada must ban organizations linked to the

00:12:33.880 Muslim Brotherhood and ensure those groups members cannot rebrand. George said Canada should start its 1.00

00:12:40.280 own process of listing Muslim Brotherhood linked groups as terrorist entities. U.S. President Donald

00:12:47.400 Trump has signaled the start of a, quote, comprehensive U.S. campaign against the global Brotherhood network 0.99

00:12:54.600 through an executive order, but Canada's laws differ from those of the U.S. George said, quote,

00:13:00.920 you can't have a blanket ban on an organization like the Muslim Brotherhood. Recognize that the Muslim Brotherhood

00:13:08.600 is far more of an ideology than an organization. It's a disparate group of entities. You're not a card-carrying

00:13:15.480 member of the Muslim Brotherhood. You merely need to be aligned with its ideology. George said Muslim

00:13:21.800 Brotherhood ideology believes in conducting, quote, covert or stealth jihad with the goal of fulfilling Allah's 0.97

00:13:29.400 wish to make the world Islamic. He said, quote, these are people who are extremely strongly ideologically

00:13:36.920 bound to this statute and they hold it dear because this isn't an ideology about guns and bombs. The

00:13:43.560 people we're talking about, a lot of them are white collar people. They could be your school teachers,

00:13:49.480 lawyers, nonprofit professionals working in the nonprofit sector and so on, people of influence.

00:13:56.200 He said the Muslim Brotherhood engages in, quote, institutional capture. Its groups are not

00:14:02.440 involved in, quote, carrying bombs and guns, but in creating a, quote, permissive environment and

00:14:07.800 running propaganda campaigns, which ultimately radicalize young individuals to act on Islamist rhetoric.

00:14:15.800 Melanie, you're familiar with Joe Adam George and his work. You've spoken to him before. What are some

00:14:22.200 recommendations for the Canadian government that he's made to tackle the ideological threat posed by

00:14:29.320 the Muslim Brotherhood and affiliated organizations?

00:14:33.400 Yeah, Cosmin, I have spoken with Joe Adam George and his message to Canada is pretty consistent in the times

00:14:40.200 that I have spoken to him. He thinks that Canada's problem really is one of enforcement. So this is not a question of

00:14:47.080 ignorance. Canada knows what's going on. And he recommends moving away from monitoring the situation

00:14:54.520 into actual criminal consequences where evidence supports action of that kind.

00:15:00.680 If individuals here in Canada are tied into extremist terrorist networks abroad, he wants Otto to be

00:15:06.280 willing to charge them under existing terrorism and anti-terror financing laws that we have in place

00:15:13.080 already. The second big piece here is definitely the charities. If a charity or non-profit is found to be

00:15:19.320 part of a Muslim Brotherhood ecosystem, and we know some are, he says that Canada should not only pull

00:15:24.920 their status permanently, but ban the key figures, the individuals from running charities under a

00:15:30.120 different name. So my understanding is for George that the rebranding game that we're seeing here is part of

00:15:35.960 a bigger long-term strategy. And like he says, Canada has a white collar Islamist problem. So he really 0.94

00:15:42.280 means that many of the people behind the Brotherhood are often doctors and lawyers, like he says. They're not

00:15:46.440 the violent street thugs that people might imagine. And I spoke to Joe recently about his meeting in

00:15:51.480 Washington, where he came away with a really strong sense that the world was waking up to the Muslim Brotherhood. 0.85

00:15:56.280 And we're certainly seeing that in America right now. But Canada is starting to look like a weak link.

00:16:01.880 A senior figure in the Trump administration told him that they see Canada's as, they see that Canada has an

00:16:09.560 Islamist extremism problem. And that's become, as he called it, a semi-domestic issue, right? So that's 0.73

00:16:15.800 because the problem here spills across the border. And whether that's terrorism financing or money

00:16:20.920 laundering or ideological networks, it sort of ends up in the same soup here. So the solution, I think,

00:16:26.520 is simple. Even if it is politically difficult, that Canada should use the tools that we already have,

00:16:33.480 things like investigating seriously or enforcing consistently and shutting down front groups to

00:16:38.760 stop pretending that Canada can sit this one out while our allies deal with the threat.

00:16:46.600 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday

00:16:52.600 by subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it,

00:16:58.120 make sure to hit us with a five-star rating and please leave a review.

Juno News - November 28, 2025

Alberta strikes a pipeline deal with Ottawa

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