Juno News - Alberta tells Ottawa to fire RCMP Commissioner Lucki

00:00:00.000 Hey everyone, welcome back to the Alberta Roundup. I'm your host Rachel Emanuel. Thanks so much for

00:00:14.680 joining me today. Let's take a look at what happened this week in Alberta politics. Alberta

00:00:18.680 Premier Daniel Smith has banned mask mandates in schools and ended online learning. The Alberta

00:00:23.380 government is forecasting a $12.3 billion surplus and $12.4 billion will go to struggling

00:00:29.940 families. An Edmonton area Liberal MP says Daniel Smith is stoking disunity. And finally, the Alberta

00:00:36.480 Justice Minister wants RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucky to be replaced. All that and more happening

00:00:41.880 now on the Alberta Roundup. Okay guys, up first. Alberta Premier Daniel Smith has made good on her

00:00:47.280 promise to end mask mandates in school. She's also ending fully remote online learning. The Alberta

00:00:53.280 government says during the last two years there were periods of online learning and parents were

00:00:57.320 often given little to no warning before being told they would have to provide at-home care for

00:01:02.280 their children. Daniel Smith says she's heard from parents and students alike and they desire a

00:01:06.660 regular school year. Through new regulations, the Alberta government will not allow schools to move

00:01:10.600 to fully remote online learning. They also won't allow schools to ban students who choose not to

00:01:15.440 wear a mask. Education Minister Adriana Lagrange says parents and students want stability while school

00:01:21.140 boards want clarity. Quote, securing a face-to-face classroom environment means students can continue to

00:01:26.360 learn successfully while allowing their parents to go to work. It will also help to maintain

00:01:31.320 and improve student mental health while minimizing student learning loss. During the 2021 to 2022 school

00:01:37.980 year, the government funded a $45 million pilot project to undergo assessments for students.

00:01:43.460 Through literacy assessments, the province learned that about 70,000 students from grade one to three

00:01:48.420 were about 11 months behind their grade level. That period followed 17 months of on and off again

00:01:53.820 at-home learning. But after returning to consistent in-person learning from May to June 2022, the average

00:02:00.620 learning loss dropped by 3.7 months. The Alberta government has provided an additional $10 million

00:02:05.360 to continue funding the learning assessments. The province is also forecasting a $12.3 billion surplus

00:02:11.600 according to its fiscal update released on Thursday. The province will save another $13.3 billion

00:02:16.740 due to debt repayment. The surplus is $1 million shy of the province's last estimate due to softening

00:02:22.960 oil prices and demand. Still, high oil and gas prices contributed to a total revenue of $76.9 billion

00:02:29.640 or $14.3 billion higher than the budget estimate. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she promised to

00:02:36.120 balance the budget so Albertans are on the hook for debt repayment with showing compassion to

00:02:40.800 Albertans in need. Finance Minister Travis Taves said the government's disciplined fiscal approach

00:02:45.400 combined with a focus on investment attraction, economic growth, and improved commodity prices has resulted

00:02:51.020 in material surpluses. Quote, this is good news for Albertans as it allows for a timely response to

00:02:56.680 the affordability crisis many of our families are facing. In the face of a potential global recession,

00:03:03.080 Albertans can rest assured our province is in the best position possible as a result of our focus on

00:03:08.520 responsible fiscal management over the last three years. Take a listen to some of his comments for

00:03:12.900 yourself. I'm just very pleased that we can be at a point where we can be discussing, you know, the

00:03:18.760 tension between additional savings and additional debt reduction. The surplus announcement came just

00:03:24.100 days after Daniel Smith announced a $2.4 billion inflation-fighting package for struggling families.

00:03:30.060 In a broadcast of the province on Tuesday night, Smith promised $600 for each senior and each child

00:03:35.340 under 18 every six months. That will go to every family that earns less than $180,000. The Premier also

00:03:41.260 promised to reinstate Alberta's entire fuel tax relief for the next six months. And the government

00:03:46.160 will retroactively index all Alberta provincial tax brackets to 2022, meaning larger rebates for

00:03:51.680 Albertans. Furthermore, beginning in January, the government will index for inflation a host of benefits,

00:03:57.780 including income support, the seniors benefit, the Alberta child and family benefit, and many more.

00:04:03.500 Take a listen to what Premier Smith had to say on Tuesday night.

00:04:05.820 I wish to address the inflation and affordability crisis.

00:04:08.680 The severity of this crisis has been primarily caused by years of record spending and debt by

00:04:14.740 the federal government in Ottawa, combined with a continual string of anti-energy policies that

00:04:20.260 are driving up the price of fuel, electricity, heating, food, and everything else we need to

00:04:25.840 live and raise our families. But due to our strong fiscal position and balanced budget, we can offer

00:04:31.700 substantial relief so Albertans and their families are better able to manage through this storm.

00:04:36.740 That is why our government will be implementing a series of affordability measures to benefit all

00:04:42.720 Albertans with additional targeted relief for seniors, the vulnerable, and families.

00:04:48.120 In that same broadcast, after announcing the measures she would take to fight inflation,

00:04:52.500 Danielle Smith said her proposed controversial Sovereignty Act legislation would be ready in

00:04:56.600 about a week's time. For the record, it's now being called Alberta Sovereignty Within a United

00:05:01.420 Canada Act, which is a change from the Alberta Sovereignty Act Danielle Smith first pitched during 0.99

00:05:06.200 the United Conservative Party leadership race. The Premier said some people are attempting to use this

00:05:10.740 legislation to scare people into thinking that Alberta is planning to leave Canada.

00:05:14.640 She said, quote, nothing could be further from the truth. Still, just after her broadcast on Tuesday

00:05:20.160 night, Federal Tourism Minister and Edmonton Liberal MP Randy Boscano accused Premier Smith of

00:05:26.020 attacking Canadian unity. He said, quote, this act will not create a single job. It will not help a

00:05:31.500 single business, nor will it make life more affordable for a single family. Unequivocally, it is an attack on

00:05:37.620 Canadian unity. As a proud Albertan and an equally proud Canadian, this is something I can never support.

00:05:43.980 Okay, guys, moving into the controversy of the week. Edmonton Mayor Amarit Sohi has received

00:05:49.220 racist attacks in response to a city decision not to install a Christmas tree this year. We spoke

00:05:55.500 about this a little bit last week. The Edmonton Downtown Business Association has decided not to

00:06:00.520 install a giant Christmas tree at their holiday light-up event this year. That marks the first time

00:06:06.380 since 1999 they won't install a Christmas tree. And the city of Edmonton says it won't step in to

00:06:11.860 supply the tree, citing the environmental impact of transporting a full-grown tree. In a joint

00:06:17.080 statement, Edmonton City Manager Andre Korbold and Edmonton Downtown Business Association or Chair

00:06:22.760 Martin Kennedy said a small number of people are using the situation to make racist attacks

00:06:27.980 on the Edmonton Downtown Business Association staff and Mayor Sohi. Quote, these actions do not reflect

00:06:34.060 the views of the vast majority of Edmontonians or the organizations we lead. They are inappropriate.

00:06:39.440 We do not tolerate online hate and bullying and we will not be swayed by such behavior.

00:06:44.560 Mayor Sohi responded to the criticism in a rhyme he posted to Facebook. We're going to play some

00:06:48.960 of that for you now. There won't be a tree in the Churchill Square. But that doesn't mean the

00:06:54.740 Mayor and Council doesn't care. I've heard some people call me a Grinch, but accurate info can be

00:07:02.200 found in a pitch. The DBA is lighting up down down on Rice Howard way this time around. This is the project

00:07:14.840 that they are taking the lead. This Christmas, they will have just what you need. Everyone's holiday traditions are great.

00:07:25.640 No matter what they are, I love to celebrate. For years and years, we all loved the big tree.

00:07:34.520 But there's so much more that Christmas can be.

00:07:39.240 Honestly guys, don't like me less, but I thoroughly enjoyed that. Have you ever seen anything so wholesome?

00:07:43.480 While we're watching in the weeks to come, Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro is calling on the federal government

00:07:48.920 to remove RCMP Commissioner Brenda Luckey, saying the province has lost confidence in her.

00:07:54.280 Shandro said Luckey failed to provide accountability at two major inquiries. He's of course referring to the

00:07:59.640 Public Order Emergency Commission, which is currently studying whether the Trudeau government was justified

00:08:04.760 in invoking the Federal Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history to deal with Freedom

00:08:09.400 Convoy protesters. The second inquiry is the Mass Casualty Commission, an independent investigation

00:08:15.160 into the Nova Scotia massacre which claimed 22 lives. Shandro said Luckey failed to provide

00:08:20.280 accountability at both these inquiries and did not prove to Canadians that RCMP leadership could make

00:08:26.120 changes to ensure that errors of judgment would not happen again. Quote, So far, Public Safety

00:08:31.560 Minister Marco Medicino has stood idly by, while Commissioner Luckey has failed to meet even the

00:08:37.000 most meager of standards for the past two years. This is an abrogation of the Minister's core

00:08:42.200 responsibility to Canadians and must be rectified before the RCMP's reputation as Canada's Federal

00:08:48.360 Police Service is further damaged. For those of you who aren't aware, Luckey's testimony at the Public

00:08:53.400 Order Emergency Commission revealed that the RCMP still had measures they could use to remove Freedom

00:08:59.000 Convoy protesters before the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act. But Luckey failed to

00:09:04.600 tell Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that in her meeting with him just a few days before he invoked

00:09:09.480 the Never Before Use Act. Luckey acknowledged in her testimony that in hindsight she probably should

00:09:14.120 have told the Prime Minister. Luckey is also facing allegations from the Nova Scotia RCMP that she pressured 0.99

00:09:20.040 RCMP officers to release details about the types of weapons used to kill 22 people in the immediate

00:09:26.760 aftermath of the massacre. According to the allegations, Luckey wanted the details released

00:09:31.240 to advance the Liberals gun control agenda. Luckey denies the allegations. Speaking of firearms,

00:09:36.520 there's one more story I'm keeping a close eye on. After the Liberal government introduced an amendment

00:09:42.120 to ban hundreds more models of semi-automatic shotguns and rifles, Alberta Justice Minister Tyler

00:09:48.040 Shandro says the government wants to ban firearms ownership altogether. This new amendment primarily

00:09:54.040 focuses on semi-automatic shotguns and firearms primarily used by hunters, farmers and sport

00:10:00.200 shooters. Shandro says the Alberta government will be exploring all available options in the coming weeks.

00:10:05.320 He's also accusing Public Safety Minister Marco Medicino of not keeping his word of just seeking to

00:10:10.520 restrict what the Liberals call assault style weapons. Quote, if the amendments are successful,

00:10:15.560 Bill C-21 will lead to the most sweeping and arbitrary ban in Canadian history. The ban will

00:10:21.400 not only be enforceable, but will criminalize hundreds of thousands of Canadians. That amendment

00:10:26.440 is currently under consideration at the House of Commons Public Safety Committee, and I'll be sure to

00:10:30.680 bring you an update when I have one. Okay guys, that's all I have for you today. Thank you so much

00:10:33.960 for tuning in. As always, please visit donate.tnc.news to show us your support. And just a quick public

00:10:39.240 service announcement, there will not be a show next week as I'm out of the country. So I'll see you guys in two

00:10:43.400 weeks time. Thanks so much. Have a great weekend, and God bless.

Juno News - November 26, 2022

Alberta tells Ottawa to fire RCMP Commissioner Lucki

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript