Juno News - Calgary's rezoning bylaw harms the middle class

00:00:00.000 Calgary City Council has passed a motion for citywide rezoning, meaning that if you've spent

00:00:05.200 your lifetime paying off your mortgage and investing in a neighborhood you love, all of that

00:00:09.400 could be undone when the modest bungalow beside you is torn down and a fourplex is built in its

00:00:14.420 stead. It also means that if you're looking for somewhere to rent or own in Calgary, the chances

00:00:19.220 of finding a detached home with room for your growing family are increasingly slim. What's

00:00:24.360 more likely is that you'll have neighbors pressed up on both sides, so close you can hear what movie

00:00:29.400 they're watching and smell what they made for dinner. You'll probably have an Airbnb beneath

00:00:33.840 you, hopefully those weekend parties aren't too loud, and another unit outback in what was

00:00:38.620 once a backyard for children to play in and mothers to garden in. Alberta Premier Danielle

00:00:44.380 Smith has said she's concerned that Calgary City Council rammed through this motion despite outrage

00:00:49.660 from Calgarians so it could get their hands on federal money. But one thing is increasingly

00:00:55.000 clear. It's getting harder and harder for the middle class. And while Prime Minister Justin

00:01:00.240 Trudeau often pegs his government as working to help those trying hard to join it, he's

00:01:04.940 doing a dang good job of wiping it out and replacing it with a ruling class and the rest of us tax 1.00

00:01:10.540 slaves forced to support it. I'm Rachel Emanuel. And this is the Alberta Roundup. Rachel Emanuel brings

00:01:18.380 the news each day on Alberta Roundup. She has her say. Okay, everyone taking a look at our first story

00:01:28.120 here, a motion to allow for blanket rezoning in Calgary and create higher density housing was passed

00:01:34.960 on Tuesday night in a nine to six vote along with numerous amendments. The vote comes after the city

00:01:40.000 council's longest ever public hearing, which began on April 22. And it was focused on the efforts to

00:01:45.340 rezone all of Calgary's residential areas that currently only allow for single family homes

00:01:49.940 over three weeks. It included multiple 12 hour days, 736 speakers and 238 panels. These are the

00:01:57.460 councilors that voted against the motion. Councilors Dan McLean, Sean Chu, Peter DeMong, Terry Wong,

00:02:03.720 Sonia Sharp and Andresha Bowe. Those in support of the bylaw spoke of its ability to eliminate

00:02:08.760 bureaucratic processes, allowing Calgary to adapt to a growing population and help those in precarious

00:02:14.240 housing situations, as well as reinforce other aspects of the housing strategy. More than 20

00:02:19.360 amendments were made to the motion during the meeting, including measures to increase residents

00:02:23.340 ability to implement privacy measures on their property and giving communities further say in

00:02:28.120 what type of developments are being built in their neighborhoods. Here's Calgary Mayor Jody

00:02:31.700 responding to the motion once it was passed. By passing this rezoning, we are not forcing anyone

00:02:37.380 to build anything specifically. We are simply opening the door for people who would like to build this

00:02:42.840 type of product to do so. And we have strengthened what happens at development permit by allowing

00:02:48.680 neighbors and community members to have a say. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was asked what she

00:02:52.740 thinks about the changes being pushed through despite so much opposition from Calgarians. Here's what

00:02:57.540 she had to say. Well, you know, I've been watching this because it was a process that was started under

00:03:02.620 the prior mayor and became pretty controversial. And I believe it was called the community guide or

00:03:09.140 something at the time and became something that I believe the residents of Calgary weighed in on in the

00:03:16.420 last election. What had me concerned is that it seemed like the resurgence of this was tied to a bilateral

00:03:25.260 deal that the city of Calgary signed with the federal government. Of course, it's emerged. It's a

00:03:31.560 little bit murky. It's first the seems like the federal government said, yes, they need to make

00:03:35.460 these changes. And then it sounded like the municipality said, no, no, no, we've got the

00:03:38.600 authority to and there's no tied to the money. I don't know what the what the what the real answer

00:03:42.380 is there. But it does concern me if municipalities feel that they have pressure from the federal

00:03:48.780 government to change their policies in order to get a couple hundred million dollars. That's part of the

00:03:53.140 reason why we've brought in Bill 18. The premier also said that policies like this are why her

00:03:57.920 government put forward Bill 18, which would prevent municipalities from signing deals directly with

00:04:02.460 the federal government without the provincial sign off. The premier also said we'll see whether

00:04:06.440 there's widespread support for this motion when the municipal elections come around in a year and a

00:04:11.140 half. Moving into our next story here, Alberta is once again voicing its opposition to the federal

00:04:15.920 government's proposed capital gains tax increase and is urging the liberal government to reconsider

00:04:20.580 this policy along with a host of other provinces. Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner sent a letter

00:04:25.680 to his federal counterpart, Christia Freeland, warning her that the budget proposal would harm

00:04:30.000 Canadians future standards of living. In the letter, Horner said, quote, your proposed tax increase is

00:04:35.020 also damaging and unfair to the many small business owners who plan for retirement and are relying on

00:04:40.400 the assets they built up and held in their small businesses. Horner urged Freeland to reconsider the

00:04:45.160 fairness of such a tax increase on family savings as they do not have a taxpayer supported pension plan

00:04:50.300 like the Liberal Minister and her colleagues. Canada's largest business groups, along with Canadian

00:04:55.500 CEOs and tech leaders, have pleaded with the federal government to scrap their, quote, ill-advised

00:05:00.440 inclusion rate increases that would cause, quote, harm to the Canadian innovation economy. Finance Minister

00:05:06.020 Christia Freeland announced plans alongside the 2024 federal budget to tax Canadian companies and

00:05:11.200 individuals on two-thirds of their capital gains, increasing from 15%. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has

00:05:16.600 defended the tax increase saying it would generate $20 million in revenue for social programs. Moving

00:05:22.060 into our next story here, the Alberta government is paving the way for a complete overhaul of the

00:05:26.220 province's health care system, and its plans include new ministerial positions for specific health care

00:05:31.220 branches. The Health Statutes Amendment Act, or Bill 22, intends to assure that Albertans can have

00:05:36.580 access to a primary health care provider, receive urgent care without long waits, have access to

00:05:42.320 continuing care options, and obtain mental health and addictions treatment. If passed, the proposed Bill 22

00:05:47.780 would transition Alberta Health Services to four sector-based provincial health agencies,

00:05:52.300 including primary care, acute care, continuing care, and mental health and addiction. The changes aim

00:05:57.960 to improve patient care and better support frontline health care workers who will work in organizations

00:06:02.440 focused on their specific areas of expertise. Here's what Health Minister Adriana LaGrange had to say

00:06:07.440 about it in a press conference earlier this week. By updating legislation to enable better governance and

00:06:12.680 oversight of health care, we are laying the foundation for a stronger, unified provincial health care

00:06:18.360 delivery system. The Health Statutes Amendment Act will foster a culture of collaboration and integration

00:06:25.040 within our health care system by providing the structure that supports its success. Moving into our

00:06:30.080 controversy of the week, we are once again taking a look at the situation in Chestermere with a report from

00:06:34.600 Deloitte now coming out, and it appears at first glance to be damning for the ousted mayor and

00:06:39.440 councillors. Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Rick McIver released the details of an independent report

00:06:44.360 into the investigation of the city of Chestermere's finances this week. The investigation was ordered by

00:06:49.020 the province after complaints of financial irregularities and council dysfunction prompted the minister to

00:06:54.220 fire Mayor Jeff Colvin and councillors Melfo, Stephen Hanley, and Blaine Funk in December of last year.

00:06:59.640 Then in January, McIver appointed Deloitte Canada to investigate the city's finances.

00:07:04.600 That report was released this week and McIver said it found significant gaps in the city's financial

00:07:10.000 management and found Chestermere's finances to have been managed in an irregular, improper,

00:07:14.440 and improvident manner between October 18th and December 2023, with Colvin and the other councillors

00:07:19.960 being dismissed in December. During a press conference, McIver highlighted some examples of

00:07:23.800 the report. Let's take a look. The inspector tested 565 council expenses undertaken by the mayor and

00:07:32.640 councillors and found that one of them was submitted with full documented, reviewed, and approved.

00:07:40.160 Now, as some of you know, I have been covering the Chestermere situation closely over the past couple

00:07:44.640 of weeks. I had Mayor Colvin and former councillor Stephen Hanley on my show. I also spoke to some

00:07:49.960 Chestermere residents to see how they feel about the situation. Mayor Colvin and the councillors

00:07:53.860 have actually been traveling the province, speaking to rooms of people explaining the situation,

00:07:57.100 so it doesn't appear that they're trying to hide anything. I reached out to Mayor Colvin this week

00:08:00.480 to get his response to the report, and he, of course, disputed it. He said that the report appears

00:08:04.920 to make it seem like his financial activities were improper, when in actuality, the city had numerous

00:08:10.720 credit cards when he and the other councillors were elected, and they cancelled all those credit cards

00:08:14.360 and just used one credit card that he was in charge of that had all council spending on it.

00:08:19.640 He said every two weeks, his executive assistant would come and collect those receipts and staple

00:08:24.900 them to a financial statement, which would then be given to the finance department. Now, he said when

00:08:29.980 Deloitte was going to do their report, they could not find any of the receipts, and they claimed that

00:08:35.020 the financial statements had not been filed. Colvin said that isn't the case, and I actually also spoke

00:08:39.040 with his executive assistant, who backed up that claim and said she absolutely collected those receipts

00:08:43.900 every two weeks and sent them to the finance department. So, it certainly seems there is

00:08:47.640 more going on to the story here. My question of the week for you all is, what do you think is going

00:08:51.900 on in Chestermere? Do you think that Municipal Affairs Minister Rick McIver was right to fire the

00:08:57.160 mayor and these councillors, or do you think that there is something untoward happening here?

00:09:01.280 Moving into what we're watching in the weeks to come, I know that you will be very interested in

00:09:04.300 this story, and I suspect many of you to attend this event. The United Conservative Party

00:09:08.040 Riding Association of Calgary-Lougheed is planning a town hall to discuss the harms and even

00:09:13.600 deaths attributed to the COVID-19 vaccine. The event, titled An Injection of Truth Town Hall,

00:09:18.620 will host vaccine researchers and critics in Calgary-Lougheed next month, according to a

00:09:23.520 listing on the UCP's official website. Attendees who purchase tickets will also receive access to

00:09:28.660 the after-party titled Politics and Popcorn, where they will have the opportunity to mingle with

00:09:33.800 both speakers and MLAs, including the rookie MLA for the riding, Eric Bouchard. The event page reads,

00:09:40.480 Was your child killed or injured by a COVID shot? Do you have a story to tell? You should be heard.

00:09:47.000 Are you one of the remarkable doctors, scientists, or researchers who knows the answer? Now is the

00:09:52.160 time to say the quiet part out loud. Let's target the elephant in the room. The page cites recent

00:09:57.540 statistics that shows excessive deaths for children are up 350% since 2021. Why are an excessive number of

00:10:04.780 Alberta's children dying? The page reads, What's scientifically different today than 2020? United

00:10:10.460 Conservative Party President Rob Smith told me that the party has a responsibility to support

00:10:15.800 constituency associations events, so long as they are not irresponsible or immoral. He's also putting

00:10:21.260 pressure on Alberta Premier Daniel Smith to amend COVID-19 vaccine policy, and I'll have an episode

00:10:26.260 about that next week. So you guys are definitely going to want to stay tuned for that. Okay, everyone,

00:10:30.640 and just ending on a lighter note this week, I often get emails from different groups trying to

00:10:35.400 get their work published. Usually it's not super relevant to this audience, but I did get this one

00:10:38.940 study this week that I thought was pretty funny about the different ways to pronounce Edmonton.

00:10:42.580 Apparently there isn't a lot of consensus about how Alberta's capital should be pronounced.

00:10:47.000 78 people said it should be pronounced as Edmonton. That's the crowd favorite. 57 said it should be

00:10:52.160 pronounced as Edmonton, and some strongly felt that you need to pronounce the D. And then some people

00:10:58.680 actually said it should be pronounced Edwardmonton. That's 12 people. That's bizarre. I've never heard

00:11:04.260 that before. I think we can all agree, but that last one was probably wrong. But how do you guys

00:11:08.180 think is the proper way to say Edmonton? I think I say the D. Edmonton. Am I saying it differently now?

00:11:14.340 It's kind of when you start to think about something too much, then you forget how to pronounce it.

00:11:18.480 Okay, and finally, moving into our weekly comment roundup, Last said, I thought that Bill 20 goes too far.

00:11:23.320 Some of you agreed, but some of you didn't. Let's take a look.

00:11:25.300 There was a fair number of comments who said that they support Bill 20, and we need to get some of

00:11:36.880 these radical left loony mayors in check. That being said, maybe it was because COVID-19 was

00:11:43.580 such a defining moment. I was in my early 20s, just as 9-11, I'm sure, was a defining moment for

00:11:48.760 some of you. We all kind of have that traumatic thing that happened maybe early on in our lives

00:11:52.920 that really shaped a lot of the way that we see the world. COVID-19 was definitely that for me.

00:11:57.620 My political views radically changed during COVID-19, and I became so much more skeptical

00:12:02.540 of government. And even since covering government so closely, as I obviously have been doing,

00:12:07.240 I just am very wary of them, even when we seem to have a good government. And I do think the

00:12:12.080 Smith government is by and large doing a good job. I'm still not eager to hand them over tons of power.

00:12:17.820 I don't like this policy. I explained that very clearly last year. You guys can go back and hear my

00:12:21.800 monologue last week. I just think it gives the government too much power. And even if you like

00:12:25.060 the Smith government, Daniel Smith is not always going to be premier. I hate to break it to you

00:12:29.140 guys. There's even a chance that we could have an NDP government again. So I'm just wary of giving

00:12:33.660 any government too much power. And we can't forget, scariest words in the English language are,

00:12:38.520 I'm from the government and I'm here to help. User Disdriver said, it goes too far. Province should

00:12:43.160 not be able to unilaterally recall councillors or mayors. For everyone supportive of the changes,

00:12:48.540 what if you have a good city council and terrible provincial government? Then the province will 0.73

00:12:52.720 force their agenda on you, like the feds are doing to Alberta now. Yes, that is essentially what I

00:12:57.700 said last week. And I absolutely agree with this statement. I think if we really don't like a city

00:13:01.840 councillor or council, it's incumbent on us to get unorganized and remove those politicians.

00:13:06.600 And finally, user Scott Comano said, end Alberta's calling. Absolutely agree with this. Our provincial

00:13:11.020 immigration numbers are way too high. I think I've been one of the loudest critics of this, 1.00

00:13:14.540 maybe not on this show particularly, but definitely on off the record, one of our other shows and

00:13:18.420 things like that. There's too many people coming here. We can't support them. It's time to pause

00:13:22.300 the Alberta's calling campaign and also just pause immigration federally for probably like three to

00:13:27.300 five years. Will we get these numbers under control? Will we get our infrastructure built

00:13:31.440 up to support all these new people? And then we can re-examine if mass immigration is something that

00:13:36.360 we want to continue to proceed with. Okay, everyone, that's all we have time for today. Thank you so

00:13:40.060 much for tuning in. I will be back next week with some more episodes. I hope that you guys enjoy your long

00:13:43.680 weekend. God bless.

00:13:48.420 And then you again, well, I'll see you next week in the next week.

00:13:54.300 Bye.

00:13:58.380 See you next week.

00:14:00.180 Bye.

00:14:01.660 Bye.

00:14:05.500 Bye.

00:14:06.580 Bye.

00:14:07.720 Bye.

00:14:13.400 Bye.

00:14:14.300 Bye.

Juno News - May 18, 2024

Calgary's rezoning bylaw harms the middle class

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