00:02:22.920To think that over all those decades we would not have deployed all of the resources necessary to try and do everything that is humanly possible to protect a town from a forest fire is simply not true.
00:02:35.000Realistically, I could talk about this story alone for hours, but instead of doing that, I'll leave you with this clip from Smith to remind you of the emotional toll it took on us all.
00:02:45.700To the residents of Jasper and those displaced far from home looking at the images of your town on TV and online, the feelings of loss and fear and loneliness must be overwhelming.
00:03:05.000For many generations, the town of Jasper and the parks surrounding it have been a source of pride.
00:03:17.240It was some of the most beautiful scenery in the entire world.
00:03:24.420Our grandparents visited to experience the majesty of this place with its mountains and lakes and meadows.
00:03:41.780They took our parents who then took us to this special spot that they'd spent time in as children.
00:04:00.180And now we take our own kids and our own loved ones and visitors from around the world to feel that same feeling that you get.
00:04:09.180And with your first glimpse of the mountains on the horizon, a feeling that even though you've just left home, you're coming home.
00:04:29.500And so although those of us who experience Jasper as visitors can't imagine what it feels like to be a Jasperite right now,
00:04:47.680how we share the sense of loss with all of those who live in the town, who care for it and who have helped build it.
00:05:00.800Jasper, we will continue to stand by you and as everyone works to get their feet back under them.
00:05:06.980The next story we'll dive into is a big one, that being Alberta Premier Daniel Smith's leadership review.
00:05:16.380You'll probably remember that Smith received an overwhelming 91.5% vote in the leadership review at the party's annual general meeting.
00:05:24.680I was at the meeting and was truly shocked by the results.
00:05:27.580Here's a short video I took that hardly captures the emotion and energy of the announcement.
00:05:31.900The results of the leadership review is with 4,633 cast ballots in the yes column to the decision of do you agree of your leader 91.5% vote in the yes column.
00:06:05.580Approximately 6,085 people attended the AGM and the majority voted in the leadership review.
00:06:35.460Additional ballots on some UCP board member voting were provided to members on top of their leadership review ballot.
00:06:42.520Members voted discreetly and then deposited their ballots into a box which would be counted later.
00:06:47.680Smith's actual approval rating might even be higher than 91.5% considering some members who attended wanted Smith to win but voted against her to teach her a lesson.
00:06:57.340For example, Wyatt Claypool, journalist and former Conservative candidate, told me that he voted no despite wanting Smith to win.
00:07:05.920He argued that she had not been clear enough on some key issues like tax cuts and would learn nothing if she got an 100% vote.
00:07:12.340However, he was, he said, 100% sure that Smith would win given that even Kenny won the review despite widespread opposition.
00:07:20.300Of course, Kenny resigned thereafter because he received just over the 50% threshold.
00:07:26.480Speaking of the AGM, I got the chance to speak with Jennifer Johnson while I attended.
00:07:31.540You may recall that Johnson was cancelled by Legacy Media for allegedly comparing transgender children to feces,
00:07:37.500but as we previously discussed on the show, that was a stretch at best.
00:07:40.640Johnson later made headlines when attending a meeting with various Alberta pride societies when an activist attempted to force her to say that biological men can be women.
00:09:38.440One of my friends, and I can't mention his name because of his fear of reprisal and being punished for that or getting cancelled,
00:09:46.140came to the legislature even on Thursday to attend for the dropping of those three pieces of really important legislation.
00:09:53.220So yes, it's been overwhelming even from that community.
00:09:56.900And again, for that time, so grateful.
00:09:58.440Another story we're going to cover was partially mentioned on last week's show when we discussed the notable ways that the Alberta government stood up for freedom in 2024.
00:10:06.940So sorry if you feel there's a bit of overlap.
00:10:09.340But here we'll talk about some of the legislation implemented by Smith and her government in 2024.
00:10:15.440Starting off is the trio of bills recently passed by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta that strengthen parental rights,
00:10:22.080promote fairness in sports, and prevent minors from undergoing irreversible gender transition procedures that they may live to regret.
00:10:29.500Bill 26, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, Bill 27, the Education Amendment Act, and Bill 29, the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act,
00:10:37.980each passed their third rating and will come into effect following a royal proclamation expected on September 1, 2025.
00:10:45.040The three bills were among the 13 bills the Alberta government plans to introduce in this legislative session.
00:10:50.020The remaining bills focus on personal autonomy, property rights, and legal firearm ownership.
00:10:55.400Bill 27 requires parental consent for children aged 15 and under to change their name, gender, and pronouns at school.
00:11:02.80016 and 17-year-olds will not need parental consent, but their parents will be notified of any changes.
00:11:08.540Parents currently can opt their children out of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity curriculum.
00:11:13.220The legislative changes will require parents to have to opt them in.
00:11:16.040Executive Director of Parents for Choice in Education, John Hilton O'Brien,
00:11:20.700previously criticized the Edmonton Public School Board's motion opposing Smith for implementing parental rights policies.
00:13:04.780I think that we should stop looking at the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as the full, comprehensive expression of all rights and freedoms we are endowed with.
00:13:12.980I think we're entering an era now where people are demanding that their governments respect them and not treat them the way they were treated during that terrible COVID era.
00:13:22.080Smith added that Poilievre could probably make these amendments if he's elected prime minister without having a huge constitutional discussion.
00:13:29.240So we'll hop into our last story slash stories now, and you really didn't think that we could get through this without an entire section dedicated towards Calgary and the many developments it saw this year.
00:13:40.940Starting off with the water crisis, we'll remember that Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek apologized for having such poor communication during the crisis.
00:13:51.340Going forward, we will do a much better job of explaining what's happened, the expected timeline to get back to normal, and what we need from you in the way of water conservation.
00:14:00.500However, only a few days later, the City Council proposed permanent water restrictions.
00:14:04.900The proposed amendments included a watering schedule allowing Calgarians to use sprinklers for just three hours a day, two days a week between 8 p.m. and 10 a.m.
00:14:14.480Calgary's water restrictions began at voluntary water conservation before escalating to stage 1 to 4 restriction levels.
00:14:21.660Stages were determined by risk of drought conditions.
00:14:24.500Stages 1 to 2 were normally implemented when it was very dry, and stages 3 to 4 when it was extremely dry.
00:14:30.200Fines for violating stage 1 began at $400, rising to $600 for stage 2, $1,500 for stage 3, and $3,000 for stage 4.
00:14:39.420If the changes were to be implemented, the voluntary water conservation phase would have been replaced with the outdoor watering schedule, which would have been permanently in effect.
00:14:48.160However, that didn't come to be as Calgary eventually returned to normal indoor water use.
00:14:53.700Despite the water restrictions ending, the resulting view of Gondek may be everlasting.
00:14:58.360Her handling of the water crisis resulted in her becoming less popular than Justin Trudeau.
00:15:04.240As of June 2024, Gondek's approval rating was 26% compared to Trudeau's 28%.
00:15:10.540To be fair, Gondek may now be higher than Trudeau, not thanks to her own doing, but of course because of Trudeau's recent handling of the Freeland dismissal and the Liberal Caucus revolt,
00:15:21.360along with many Liberal MPs calling for his resignation.
00:15:24.260Adding to the disapproval of Gondek is the ongoing Green Line LRT project, which you may remember Alberta Transport Minister Jeven Drieschen called a, quote,
00:15:32.580multi-billion dollar boondoggle that will serve very few Calgarians.
00:15:37.500The Green Line was initially supposed to be 46 kilometers with 29 stations and cost $4.6 billion.
00:15:43.780It was then reduced to merely 10 kilometers with seven stations, but somehow Rosen cost the $6.2 billion.
00:15:51.080Nenshi also faced some of the backlash, for it was him at the helm of the initial proposal.
00:15:55.300The province has had to step in to solve the fiasco, and their most recent update from December 13 said it would save over $1 billion and add five more stops that will be 76% longer and serve 60% more Calgarians.
00:16:08.120But of course, none of these fiascos or her record low approval rating stopped Gondek from recently being crowned Mayor of the Year by an Ontario-based municipal magazine.
00:16:17.740However, the magazine's executive director, Greg Crone, told me that, quote,
00:16:21.800There were no runner-ups. There was no voting. We zeroed in on Mayor Gondek early and selected her by consensus of our editorial staff.