Juno News - November 26, 2022


Alberta tells Ottawa to fire RCMP Commissioner Lucki

Mentioned
Danielle Smith Brenda Luckey Amarjeet Sohi Marco Medicino Justin Trudeau Tyler Shandro Chair Martin Kennedy Alberta Sovereignty Adriana LaGrange Rachel Emanuel Freedom Convoy Randy Boscano Andrew Krapuschetz Travis Taves Rice Howard Bill C-63 Grinch
The reality of Covid-19 (ft. Jay Bhattacharya) The last gasps of the Covid Crazies

Episode Stats


Length

10 minutes

Words per minute

173.82

Word count

1,872

Sentence count

106

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has banned mask mandates in schools and ended online learning, the Alberta government is forecasting a $12.3 billion surplus, and $13.4 billion will go to struggling families. An Edmonton area Liberal MP says Danielle Smith is stoking disunity, and finally the Alberta Justice Minister wants RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucky to be replaced. All that and more happening now on the Alberta Roundup.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
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.