Juno News - Alberta won’t be bullied by Ottawa： Smith

00:00:00.000 Hey everyone, welcome back to the Alberta Roundup. I'm your host, Rachel Emanuel. On today's show,

00:00:04.500 we are going to be taking a look at Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who said she was forced

00:00:08.740 to invoke the Alberta Sovereignty Act for the first time because the Alberta government is

00:00:13.060 not making progress in its talks with the federal government. We're also going to be looking at an

00:00:17.620 infamous lockdown advocate and Alberta NDP supporter who blamed Premier Smith for Canada's

00:00:23.880 poor climate performance. Also on the show, Calgary Mayor Yodi Gondek refused to attend

00:00:29.320 the annual menorah lighting at City Hall because she said it supported Israel. I'm also going to

00:00:35.100 be responding to some of your comments from last week's episode. All that and more happening now

00:00:38.980 on the Alberta Roundup. Up first, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she was forced to invoke the

00:00:54.140 Alberta Sovereignty Act for the first time because the province is not making progress in its talk

00:00:59.300 with the federal government. Premier Smith announced that she was invoking the act to

00:01:03.560 quote, create a shield to protect Albertans from Ottawa's dangerous and unconstitutional electricity

00:01:09.260 regulations. In a recent interview with CTV Power Place host Vashi Kapelos, Smith said Alberta needs

00:01:15.840 to build more baseload power, but generators aren't willing to step up ahead of expected federal

00:01:22.060 regulations that would enforce a net zero electricity grid by 2035. Smith said energy executives have told

00:01:28.960 her that their board of directors won't allow them to take that risk over fear that someone will end

00:01:34.900 up in jail for breaking federal law by failing to comply with the expected regulations. In response

00:01:41.220 to that, Kapelos wondered why the Premier is invoking the act now when those regulations aren't expected

00:01:46.560 until mid-next year and Ottawa hasn't ruled out a carve-out for Alberta. Take a listen to the Premier's

00:01:53.020 response. Well, I can tell you that we're not making progress at the table. I mean, I told the Prime

00:01:58.600 Minister from the very first day I spoke with him that we wanted to have a 2050 target. I asked him

00:02:03.480 to wait for my emissions reduction and energy development plan to be released. He did. We asked

00:02:08.640 them not to come forward with these gazetted regs. And if they did, to give a carve-out to Alberta.

00:02:13.140 They refused. We've been having joint discussions every couple of weeks, and we're not seeing anywhere near

00:02:19.020 the progress that we need. They're not aligning around our 2050 target. They're not accepting

00:02:23.080 the reality of where we find ourselves in Alberta. And as a result, we have to take matters into our

00:02:27.580 own hands. I know that in other jurisdictions, they've got a supply of hydroelectric power.

00:02:33.980 Others have a supply of nuclear power. We don't have either of those. Our baseload power has always

00:02:38.480 been on natural gas and is going to be for decades to come, which is why, since the federal government

00:02:43.160 doesn't seem to be prepared to recognize how essential that is, we have to take steps so that we can start

00:02:48.180 getting some of those projects in the queue now. Later in that conversation, Premier Smith was also

00:02:52.400 accused of flouting the rule of law. But Danielle Smith said Ottawa is the one who is flouting the

00:02:58.400 rule of law by bullying Alberta. Here's what that sounded like. Oh, far, far from it. The federal

00:03:04.860 government is flouting the rule of law. They have now lost two court cases, and they've lost them

00:03:09.460 because they continue to overreach in our jurisdiction. Then they make us go to court for years at great

00:03:14.940 expense. Well, everything is frozen in the private sector to try to get our rights back. We're not

00:03:19.840 going to do that. We can't afford to do that this time. I can't afford to wait four or five or 10

00:03:24.420 years for the Supreme Court to ultimately come down on our side, as I believe they will. The federal

00:03:29.320 government has to stop acting in a lawless way. They've been given an admonishment twice that this

00:03:34.780 is not what cooperative federalism looks like. They cannot use their jurisdiction to trample on ours. 0.85

00:03:39.780 And we remain at the table. I think we can work with them on developing a framework for small

00:03:44.340 modular nuclear. We can develop a framework around hydrogen. And I think we can develop a framework

00:03:49.120 around carbon capture. But we are not going to be bullied into giving up our jurisdiction. They

00:03:53.300 have no right to be dictating to us. And we would ask for them to continue to work cooperatively with

00:03:58.140 us because I think we can. Moving on to our next story here. This one is from my colleague,

00:04:02.440 Cosmin Georgia. While speaking at the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, lockdown advocate,

00:04:08.020 an infamous NDP supporter, Joel Vipond, laid the blame for Canada's poor climate performance

00:04:13.940 solely at the feet of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Speaking on the United Conservative Party

00:04:19.100 government's decision to invoke the Sovereignty Act, Vipond claimed that Canada was failing to meet

00:04:24.300 international commitments because of Alberta. Here's what that sounded like.

00:04:28.300 This is like three days ago, they said that they were going to do the Sovereignty Act to stop

00:04:34.440 any kind of clean electricity regulations from being implemented. Clean electricity is how we get

00:04:41.620 to net zero. If we don't have clean electricity, we don't get there. So yeah, myth. Alberta is a leader

00:04:48.080 on climate. So let's be clear though that Canada is not doing well because of Alberta. In fact, Alberta

00:04:57.320 has had, right now, has 38 percent of all of our country's emissions. 38 percent. And it's increased

00:05:05.000 55 percent since 1990. So we're failing because of our province. So the reality is we need to phase out

00:05:13.680 fossil fuels. We need to transition to renewable energy and energy efficiency. And Canada is not

00:05:19.100 going to achieve any of its targets unless Alberta steps up to the plate and starts doing its job,

00:05:24.920 taking responsibility for its past in actions and start doing what's right. So I told my daughters,

00:05:32.520 I'm going because I'm scared. I'm scared because this last summer sucked. It sucked because of fires.

00:05:39.760 It sucked because of floods. We are in big trouble. And unless we do something, it's all going to burn. 0.84

00:05:47.780 I'm sure some of you remember that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vipond was cited extensively by the

00:05:53.880 legacy media for advocating for increased lockdown measures. He actively led protests against the

00:05:59.940 Alberta government when it removed some restrictions, including a call for a general strike. Moreover,

00:06:05.480 in August 2021, True North reported that despite Vipond's claim that he had no affiliation with the

00:06:10.340 Alberta NDP, he was a stringent supporter for the party. Data from Elections Alberta show that a

00:06:16.520 Joe Vipond from Calgary donated nearly $20,000 to the Alberta NDP over the last seven years.

00:06:22.640 Moving into what we're watching, on Monday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith shot down any

00:06:28.240 suggestions that a methane cap would be introduced in the province. That happened after Federal

00:06:33.040 Environment Minister Stephen Goubeau announced new regulations at the COP28 conference in Dubai.

00:06:38.920 The new regulations call for methane emissions to be reduced by 75% from 2012 levels by 2030. Premier

00:06:46.480 Smith accused Ottawa of once again embarking on an unconstitutional, unrealistic, and costly path.

00:06:52.500 In a joint statement with Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schultz, the duo said,

00:06:57.220 quote, the federal government has unilaterally established new methane emissions rules and

00:07:02.460 targets to help win international headlines. Smith and Schultz also said the new regulations won't

00:07:08.220 help anyone except Goubeau's post-politics career. And while we're on the topic of COP28,

00:07:14.400 just ahead of that conference, Premier Smith announced tax credits to incentivize

00:07:18.960 carbon capture technology. Here's the Premier on CTV News explaining that decision.

00:07:25.140 Well, what I'd say is that we own the resource. Now, the Alberta government and Albertans own the

00:07:30.060 resource, 85% of it. And we asked the energy companies to develop the resource on our behalf.

00:07:35.900 And we get a lot of revenue as a result of it. I think this year, in combination, our royalty revenue,

00:07:40.500 as well as our revenue from corporate income tax, along with personal income tax, is somewhere in

00:07:45.800 the order of $20 billion. And so if we can incentivize the construction of carbon capture

00:07:51.740 utilization and storage so we can have the best barrels and the greenest barrels and ensure that

00:07:56.180 that revenue stream continues for the next 20, 30, 40 years or more, then it seems to me it's a pretty

00:08:01.580 good investment. Finally, moving into the controversy of the week, Calgary Mayor Yodi Gondek refused to

00:08:06.980 attend the annual menorah lighting at Calgary City Hall, saying it became, quote, too political

00:08:12.320 after organizers decided to use the event to show support for Israel. In a lengthy statement posted

00:08:18.420 to X, formerly known as Twitter, the mayor wrote, quote, when I was asked to speak weeks ago, it was

00:08:24.720 to bring traditional greetings, celebrating Hanukkah and the spirit of Calgary's Jewish community.

00:08:29.980 The last minute change goes against the original intention and has left me feeling let down by

00:08:35.140 leadership. I am saddened that this change makes it impossible for me to attend tomorrow's event.

00:08:40.440 And I am incredibly concerned that people wishing to celebrate Hanukkah will have their good intentions

00:08:45.300 compromised. Gondek went on to say that by becoming political, the event went against the mission to,

00:08:51.980 quote, uphold diversity and inclusion. She added, quote, further, in the many conversations I have had

00:08:57.980 with Jewish and Muslim leaders, the outcome has been agreement to engage in an interfaith manner to move

00:09:03.860 forward in peace and prayer. The change nature of tomorrow's event creates a divide and forces people

00:09:09.160 to choose a side. There are no sides to choose when terrorists incite violence by murdering innocent

00:09:14.380 Israelis, knowing retaliation will follow and lead to the murder of innocent Palestinians.

00:09:20.160 It is absolutely possible to condemn acts of violence and war without choosing one community over another.

00:09:25.940 We have a moral imperative to do so. The killing must stop in Gaza because it is spreading division and hatred

00:09:31.860 far and wide. Eradicating Hamas must come in a different form than mass casualties.

00:09:38.160 The Calgary Sun spoke to a rabbi and organizer of the event who said the day's central meaning remains

00:09:43.700 religious and spiritual. Rabbi Maneke Mutzav said, quote, it is a celebration of Hanukkah and bringing

00:09:50.000 Hanukkah to life. We celebrate light over darkness and light over death. It's not a demonstration for

00:09:56.760 Israel, but at the same time, of course, we're supporting Israel. In her decision not to attend

00:10:02.100 the event, Gondek pointed to a poster advertising the ceremony, which said supporting Israel on it.

00:10:07.340 It also included the popular Hebrew phase, meaning the people of Israel live. Those of you who are

00:10:12.720 watching on video can see that poster now. Comment under the video below. What do you think of Gondek's

00:10:17.700 decision not to attend or speak at the ceremony? Okay, guys, moving into our weekly comment roundup.

00:10:23.380 I'm so glad to be doing this again. It's always one of my favorite parts of the show. User James

00:10:28.460 D27KY said, quite ironic what the environment minister says about it being illegal, considering

00:10:34.640 he's an ex-convict. He's, of course, referring to environment minister Stephen Gubot's claims that

00:10:39.980 the Alberta Sovereign Act is illegal. And in response to this comment, I'm once again going to show you

00:10:44.480 this excellent photo of Stephen Gubot in an orange jumpsuit. He looks a little bit like a madman in this

00:10:50.160 photo. I just see those eyes. Those are crazy eyes right there. User Jamie Mays 6065 said, I only approve 0.98

00:10:57.540 of photo raider in school zones, but nowhere else because outside of school zones would be fishing.

00:11:02.720 God keep our land glorious and free. I would still like to see them banned altogether, but maybe I will

00:11:08.100 feel a little bit differently when I have a child in school. I'll let you guys know in a couple years.

00:11:12.780 And finally, YouTube hates us 2651 said, keep the camera that pegged Krista Freeland at 142

00:11:20.660 kilometers the hour the day she left her bike at home. This is my favorite comment of the week. Of

00:11:25.080 course, these cameras are only useful should they be catching elected officials breaking the laws that

00:11:31.280 they created. All right, everyone. Thanks so much for tuning in. That's all I have for you today.

00:11:35.700 As always, if you're able to support our work, you can do that over at donate.tnc.news. I will see you

00:11:41.860 guys next week. Have a great weekend and God bless.

Juno News - December 08, 2023

Alberta won’t be bullied by Ottawa： Smith

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