The Liberal government voted against a Conservative motion seeking parliamentary support for a new bitumen pipeline to BC, despite recent agreement with Alberta which expressed support for such projects. The federal Liberal government has spent over $1 billion dollars on diversity, equity and inclusion workshops for public servants since 2016, employing nearly 600 bureaucrats to push diversity in the public sector. Just last year, medical associations are applauding a federal initiative to fast-track permanent residency and increase immigration of health care professionals, but want to see further reforms to improve Canada s health care system.
00:00:00.000the Liberal government voted against a conservative motion seeking parliamentary
00:00:09.480support for a new bitumen pipeline to BC despite recent agreement with Alberta which expressed
00:00:16.620support for such projects the federal Liberal government has spent over 1 billion dollars
00:00:22.440on diversity equity and inclusion workshops for public servants since 2016 employing nearly 600
00:00:28.920bureaucrats to push DEI in the public sector just last year medical associations are applauding a
00:00:35.400federal initiative to fast-track permanent residency and increase immigration of health
00:00:41.280care professionals but want to see further reforms to improve Canada's health care system
00:00:46.920hello Canada it's Wednesday December 10th and this is the true north daily brief I'm Cosmin Georgia
00:00:53.100I'm Alex Soltan we've got you covered with all the news you need to know
00:00:57.780let's discuss the top stories of the day and the true north exclusives you won't hear anywhere else
00:01:04.000the Liberal government voted against a conservative motion on Tuesday that sought formal House of
00:01:13.700Commons support for a new bitumen pipeline to the British Columbia coast despite signing a memorandum
00:01:20.620of understanding with Alberta the non-binding motion mirrored key language from the memorandum of
00:01:26.480understanding Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Daniel Smith signed on November 27th it
00:01:32.780calls on MPs to quote to take note of the agreement and endorse construction of a pipeline capable of
00:01:38.600exporting at least 1 million barrels per day of low emissions Alberta bitumen from a deep water port on
00:01:45.420the BC coast it also references the need for a quote appropriate adjustment to the federal oil tanker
00:01:52.040moratorium act and affirms the duty to consult indigenous people during a Tuesday morning press
00:01:58.340conference energy minister Tim Hodgson called the motion a quote cheap political stunt so we will
00:02:04.960not be supporting the motion Edmonton area Liberal MP Eleanor Olszewski echoed a similar sentiment at an
00:02:12.420earlier press conference as a party we are united in wanting to make sure that we continue to build Canada
00:02:20.140that we build it well that we take into account climate change in the work that we do and that
00:02:25.740we respect indigenous rights holders our party is united on that and so I just I I won't accept that
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00:02:33.160as a premise for that question I we are you know he was dividing your own caucus you don't think there's
00:02:38.080divisions over that conservative leader Pierre Polyev who has promoted the MOU as an opportunity to
00:02:45.020expand access to Asian markets said on X that quote we need a new pipeline to the Pacific he added that
00:02:52.440Tuesday's vote would allow MPs to decide whether to quote bring home jobs and put Canada first
00:02:58.720senior government officials speaking to CTV news on background said the conservatives motion
00:03:05.020quote ignores critical elements of the MOU including Alberta's commitment to negotiate an industrial carbon
00:03:12.140pricing agreement with a 130 dollar per ton floor indigenous co-ownership opportunities and engagement
00:03:19.680with British Columbia so Alex the liberals say they support building a pipeline but here they are
00:03:26.980voting against actually putting that in a motion in the house of commons the conservatives are definitely
00:03:35.300holding Mark Carney's feet to the fire asking him to follow through on his commitments but I think it
00:03:42.800needs to be made clear that an MOU is not you know stakes in the ground pipelines being built right away it's a
00:03:49.280it's a declaration that they're willing to work together with the Alberta government but it doesn't
00:03:56.160necessarily mean that a pipeline is imminent but as it stands what would this the MOU accomplish
00:04:05.280if the liberals actually keep their word with Alberta and follow through on what they agreed to
00:04:12.320well in short Cosman it would basically mean that we would if if they were to follow their word
00:04:18.760according to the MOU it would mean that Alberta would be tied to 130 dollar per ton industrial carbon tax
00:04:25.700largely in line with the rest of the country and in return Ottawa would support a pipeline being built
00:04:31.320through British Columbia regardless of what Premier David Eby thinks and to the west coast so that we
00:04:37.820can export oil to other markets I think that it's important when zooming out on this pipeline drama
00:04:43.140to frame it against Canada's heavy reliance on the U.S. as essentially its only buyer for Alberta oil
00:04:49.040over 95 percent of our crude exports head south via pipelines and that leaves us vulnerable to American
00:04:55.220whims including those of the president when it comes to issues like cross-border tariffs
00:05:00.920that's obviously squarely at odds with the liberals elbows up anti-Trump rhetoric that clinched their
00:05:06.460slim minority win last spring in the federal election and that would be the hockey inspired call
00:05:12.500to stand up against U.S. bullying popularized by figures like Mike Myers and echoed repeatedly in
00:05:19.320Carney's campaign so in theory the MOU could break that dependence by paving way for a pipeline to
00:05:25.980new Asian markets and that would boost our leverage in potential trade negotiations and aligning with
00:05:32.600that defiant narrative of course the liberals voting down of this motion put forward by Pierre
00:05:38.460Polyev shows that this MOU is likely just window dressing for the same Trudeau anti-energy policies
00:05:45.660that got us into this mess in the first place looks like another classic case of liberal flip-flopping
00:05:50.940the federal government employed nearly 600 bureaucrats last year solely to push the liberal diversity
00:06:00.380equity and inclusion agenda and the true numbers could be even higher because some departments
00:06:05.020failed to report on their so-called quote representation goals some of the federal government's largest
00:06:10.620employers including the RCMP and the departments of health justice immigration natural resources and
00:06:15.900public works declined to report their figures meanwhile the department of foreign affairs said there were too
00:06:21.580many to count read the inquiry quote the department manages an extensive network of 182 missions in 112 countries
00:06:30.140it undertook an extensive preliminary search in order to determine the amount of information
00:06:34.620that would fall within the scope of the question and the amount of time that would be required to prepare a
00:06:39.420comprehensive response according to the immigration department providing the data was quote not
00:06:44.860possible in the time allotted it said quote the department is committed to providing an inclusive
00:06:50.380equitable and respectful work environment for all a staggering 1.049 billion dollars has been spent by
00:06:58.300the government on diversity equity and inclusion programs since 2016 according to a previous inquiry of
00:07:04.940ministry tabled in the house of commons in september so cosmo dei is almost like a state religion
00:07:11.980under the liberal government other than dei workshops for federal employees are there any other examples of
00:07:17.980the federal government spending taxpayer dollars to push this ideology yeah alex absolutely there's so many
00:07:24.300examples it's hard to go through all of them but it's clear that the dei push that's being essentially handed down
00:07:32.540from the top uh down to the bureaucracy because this is being pushed across all levels even when you
00:07:39.500look at the military this goes way beyond just mandatory workshops and seminars as well that federal employees
00:07:48.300are dragged into and i'm sure a lot of them go to these willingly from what we know about the public sector but
00:07:55.580what we're seeing especially under the liberal government is this full-blown dei ecosystem uh made up of
00:08:04.940consulting firms uh different businesses that peddle this like race-based identity stuff and it's being funded
00:08:15.500directly by taxpayers and there's loads of money as you've pointed out being funneled to these companies to these
00:08:23.420consultants for very little value because i have yet to see a single economic benefit presented why we
00:08:33.740need all of these training programs and what they're actually producing for the average canadian in terms of
00:08:40.940making their life better so the scope is honestly staggering and as you mentioned the federal government
00:08:48.940actually employed nearly 600 people just last year whose entire job was dei not you know accounting
00:08:58.060not working you know managing technological systems or delivering services to people it was just dei
00:09:06.700and i think taxpayers are looking at this where there's 600 people employed and wondering why are these
00:09:14.620jobs necessary i mean there's 600 jobs full-time salaries and benefits that get paid and if the government
00:09:23.340is serious about doing cuts they should be looking at these first but the number the actual number is
00:09:29.100probably higher because departments like rcmp immigration etc just refuse to report their numbers but
00:09:37.020as for actual projects let's go through some of them there is the national defense department that paid nearly
00:09:44.78023 000 for a single black history month guest speaker fisheries and oceans spent almost 50 000 for
00:09:52.860staff to attend a workshop on quote ethical space and engagement preparedness whatever that means
00:10:01.020veterans affairs paid 19 000 for the kairos blanket exercise which was dubbed as an indigenous sensitivity
00:10:10.940workshop workshop um where participants i guess stood on blankets and then there was industry canada which
00:10:17.180budgeted about 11 000 for a black history month project focused on quote freeing ourselves of imposter
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00:10:25.660syndrome so when people say dei has become a kind of state religion or belief under the liberals they're talking about this
00:10:36.300this senseless adherence to this ideology no matter the economic cost but it hides a billion dollar
00:10:48.300bureaucratic structure and all of these consulting firms that are leeching off taxpayer dollars
00:10:55.980uh to sustain their existence and honestly without the liberal government i doubt many of these companies
00:11:04.300would be able to sustain themselves and operate
00:11:08.140medical associations are applauding the federal government for introducing permanent pathways and
00:11:17.500additional immigration nominations for internationally trained doctors but are urging ottawa to implement
00:11:24.380further health care reforms to secure the recruitment and retention of doctors in canada
00:11:30.540during a press conference in toronto liberal immigration minister lena metledge diab along with mp maggie chi
00:11:38.780the parliamentary secretary to the health minister announced the government would be creating a permanent
00:11:43.820residence pathway for internationally trained doctors who have at least one year of canadian experience in their field
00:11:50.860gained within the last three years starting in 2026
00:11:54.540diab said the move is aimed at helping to fill gaps in canada's health care labor market in a system in dire need of doctors
00:12:03.740it means that as we return to sustainable levels we must simultaneously attract the high-skilled talent that will help relieve those pressures
00:12:15.100particularly in key sectors like health care
00:12:17.580we've heard a clear message from patients provinces and the medical community we need more hands on deck
00:12:27.820a government release of the plan noted that in 2024 around 5.7 million or 17 percent of canadian adults
00:12:39.020and 11 percent of children and youth reported not having a family doctor a recent poll by angus reed in
00:12:47.340institute and the canadian cancer society found that canadians without a regular physician
00:12:54.140were more than twice as likely to struggle to book cancer screenings and non-emergency medical care
00:13:01.900over the last couple of months conservatives and healthcare professionals have raised concerns
00:13:07.340at house of commons health committee meetings about internationally trained doctors already in canada
00:13:13.500not being able to work due to limited training capacity and barriers to physicians obtaining credentials
00:13:20.540and licenses you've had professionals and the opposition ringing the alarm about this for quite some time
00:13:27.580but what are some of the reforms they've suggested that they want to see from the government to improve recruitment
00:13:34.300and even retention of medical professionals in canada yeah so right now there are around and this is a staggering number
00:13:41.74013 000 internationally trained physicians who are sidelined in canada and unable to practice in their field due to red tape
00:13:50.140as well as limited spots um in the very few medical schools that canada has there's an old joke in toronto
00:13:57.100where it says you know if you want to find a doctor quickly order a taxi because there are so many doctors
00:14:03.340who are working as uber drivers uber eats drivers and other professions or jobs that are far below what
00:14:10.060they're capable of doing in terms of helping canada's health care system um the canadian medical association
00:14:16.620president margot brunel welcomes the move to get their skills to work sooner but urges a quote concierge
00:14:23.580style pathway with a single portal for exams immigration and background checks they're also
00:14:29.020calling for a pan-canadian licensure program to let doctors roam provinces interprovincial barriers are
00:14:35.900also exist in the medical profession where doctors have to be re-approved depending on which province
00:14:42.780they're going to it's just an extra bureaucratic hurdle that slows down the process of doctors being
00:14:47.900able to provide care even though the issue is only tangentially related to the health care
00:14:52.860crisis that canada finds itself in tying immigration numbers to housing availability makes perfect sense
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00:14:58.780from a quote-unquote common-sense conservative standpoint but it would also ensure that canada's
00:15:04.460population growth does not outpace our doctor supply and strain an already strained system even further
00:15:11.260especially when you're already losing trained international doctors here due to bureaucracy and
00:15:17.180interprovincial barriers to providing care so i would say stay tuned for updates on fixing our
00:15:22.860broken health care system that's it for today folks thanks for tuning in you can stay on top of new
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