Juno News - January 25, 2025


Is the tariff dispute 100% Trudeauā€™s faultļ¼Ÿ


Episode Stats

Length

17 minutes

Words per Minute

175.82375

Word Count

3,006

Sentence Count

160

Misogynist Sentences

2

Hate Speech Sentences

2


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is 100% to blame
00:00:16.760 for any tariffs that will be placed on Canadian imports by President Donald Trump.
00:00:21.400 Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schultz has called on the remaining Canadian banks
00:00:25.640 in a United Nations banking alliance created by Liberal leader hopeful Mark Carney to abandon
00:00:31.280 SHIP and it may already be having an effect. Alberta said its hands are tied and accused
00:00:36.760 its federal and local partners for delaying the rebuild in Jasper. Calgary City Council
00:00:42.480 voted to maintain its pay increases despite affordability concerns and widespread opposition.
00:00:48.280 All of this and more in this week's episode of the Alberta Roundup. My name is Isaac Lamoureux,
00:00:53.160 our host of the show and it's wonderful to be here with you again. Let's hop into that
00:00:57.160 first story now. Smith said that despite President Donald Trump postponing his tariff threat until
00:01:02.720 February 1st, if any tariffs materialize, Trudeau should shoulder 100% of the blame. In fact,
00:01:09.400 let's hop right into a clip of what she said during a media roundtable. Here's what she
00:01:13.280 had to say. Let's be super clear about why we find ourselves in the situation that we're
00:01:18.440 in today. It lands 100% at the feet of Justin Trudeau, who even just a few weeks ago gave a speech
00:01:26.840 where he thought it was an affront to women that Kamala Harris didn't win. We're in a trade
00:01:32.360 negotiation with a brand new administration and we have a prime minister who keeps on poking his finger
00:01:40.280 in the eye of the current administration and has damaged that relationship. So if there's a failure,
00:01:45.960 it lands at his feet, which is why I'm counting down the days to when he's gone and we can have
00:01:50.840 a reset. It's 47 days to go and I hope he doesn't continue torching the relationship in the meantime.
00:01:57.160 All I can do is try to repair and build relationships that should have been repaired and built over the
00:02:05.320 last four years. That is what we do by having our office in Washington. We have good relationships with
00:02:11.720 people on both sides of the aisle because that is what diplomacy is. You have to be able to work with
00:02:18.120 both Democrats and Republicans and you have to refrain from expressing a preference for who you would
00:02:24.760 like in the White House. And so if there's a failure of leadership and if there's a damage to the
00:02:30.120 relationship, it's 100% at the feet of Justin Trudeau. Smith said she's doing what she can to negotiate
00:02:36.360 with the United States' administration through her province's Washington office. Smith held the media
00:02:42.280 briefing where she bashed Trudeau from Washington, D.C., where she had been meeting with various U.S.
00:02:47.320 governors, senators, and business leaders over the last few days. She called on all premiers to do the
00:02:52.920 same because there will be a new prime minister in 47 days and likely another new prime minister shortly
00:02:58.920 thereafter. Due to the rapid turnover of the federal government, premiers will be the only consistent
00:03:04.200 voices in negotiations. Despite being a provincial premier, Smith clarified that she was negotiating for
00:03:10.200 all Canadians and not seeking a specific carve-out for her province alone. Smith's negotiations for
00:03:16.200 Canada to remain tariff-free have focused on the mutually beneficial relationship between the two
00:03:21.160 countries and that the United States has a $58 billion trade surplus without energy. And this was
00:03:27.000 confirmed by the National Bank of Canada's report. The day before meeting with reporters, Smith issued a press
00:03:32.600 release with six steps the country could take to avoid future tariffs being imposed. One suggestion
00:03:38.680 was to restore immigration levels to those under former prime minister Stephen Harper. Some others
00:03:43.640 were to double down on border security and hit Canada's 2% GDP NATO target. Whether the tariffs come
00:03:50.040 on February 1st or April 1st as suggested by the executive order, Smith doubled down on her preferred
00:03:55.640 approach of collaboration over retaliation. She previously refused to support a potential export tax on
00:04:02.600 Alberta energy. Following a meeting between the country's premiers and the prime minister last
00:04:07.480 Wednesday, Alberta refrained from signing the joint statement that outlined the proposed retaliatory
00:04:12.440 measures to Trump's tariffs. Every other premier and Trudeau signed it. Trudeau recently said he
00:04:18.840 supports matching tariffs dollar for dollar with the U.S. Ontario Premier Doug Ford echoed Trudeau's call
00:04:25.960 for dollar for dollar tariffs. I'm curious to ask, what do you think of Smith opposing the approach of
00:04:31.560 Trudeau and other premiers? Is she the only one in the right or is she out to lunch? Smith explained
00:04:38.280 that Canada's economy is one-tenth the size of the U.S.'s and that Canada is much more reliant on its
00:04:44.200 southern partner than vice versa. She said, quote, trying to go tit for tat in a tariff war without
00:04:50.600 addressing the underlying issues is not going to go well for Canada. Despite Smith's reluctance, an Ipsos
00:04:57.000 poll from the same day as her press conference highlighted that 82% of Canadians support a
00:05:02.440 retaliatory tariff. However, Smith said that she doesn't govern based on opinion polls. Smith said,
00:05:08.680 quote, this is a relationship that's lasted more than a hundred years. We have from time to time
00:05:14.440 skirmishes, but you don't torch on a hundred year relationship over a temporary problem. She added,
00:05:20.360 you identify the issues that are causing the irritation and then you work through them
00:05:24.440 one at a time. Instead of fighting, Smith wants to double down on oil production and pipeline capacity.
00:05:30.840 She wants to get as many projects on the go during this four-year administration before potential
00:05:35.560 change in government and change in energy stewardship leads to abandoning projects,
00:05:40.120 much like what happened with Keystone XL. So moving on to our next story here,
00:05:44.360 I wrote an exclusive this week on how Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schultz was calling on
00:05:48.920 the four remaining Canadian banks in a United Nations banking alliance created by Liberal leader
00:05:53.800 hopeful Mark Carney to abandon ship. And her call is already having an effect. So I wrote the exclusive
00:06:00.600 on Monday and one of the four remaining banks, Scotiabank, withdrew from the alliance on the very
00:06:05.800 same day. Schultz said, quote, the alliance is a bit of a scam. It's designed to give Liberals like
00:06:12.040 Carney a platform to virtue signal about the environment. But it's also designed to attack industries who are
00:06:17.480 actually lowering emissions. She told True North that it was only a matter of time until the
00:06:22.440 alliance used its leverage to restrict financing to other industries it doesn't like, such as mining,
00:06:27.640 forestry and more. She added that any such attacks would result in a higher cost of living for
00:06:32.520 Albertans and Canadians as they would result in a worse economy, less money and fewer jobs. On top of
00:06:38.920 all the negatives, Schultz said that international agreements like the alliance do nothing to actually
00:06:44.360 reduce global emissions. Schultz said, quote, it's time to bring back common sense and put the
00:06:50.120 prosperity of our people ahead of ideological liberal policies. Before Scotiabank withdrew on
00:06:55.800 Monday, four Canadian banks withdrew from the alliance on January 17th. The four banks that
00:07:00.280 withdrew were CIBC, TD, National Bank of Canada and BMO. The departures followed various banks in the
00:07:06.920 United States leaving to name a few, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Wells Fargo,
00:07:13.400 Goldman Sachs and much more. Every bank in the alliance has signed the commitment statement.
00:07:19.080 The commitment forces banks to transition greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 or earlier.
00:07:25.320 Banks must also set 2030 targets within 18 months of joining the alliance along with a 2050 target and
00:07:31.880 interim goals to be met every five years. The net zero banking alliance is part of the Glasgow
00:07:37.400 Financial Alliance which Carney assembled in 2021. Working as the UN special envoy on climate action
00:07:43.640 and finance, he previously called on banks to join the alliance before COP26 in 2021.
00:07:49.400 Schultz told True North that she hopes all Canadians put pressure on the remaining banks in the alliance
00:07:54.360 to abandon the, quote, ideological and out of touch policies. She said, quote, it's time for Ottawa to
00:08:00.680 abandon their ideological and partisan pet projects and start putting Canadian families and workers
00:08:06.280 first once again. Schultz also took aim at Carney in her statement to True North. She said, quote,
00:08:12.280 he's a multi-millionaire liberal elite and Justin Trudeau's top economic advisor. He likes to claim
00:08:17.960 he's a political outsider. He's no such thing. He's as big of an insider as it gets. Schultz said that
00:08:24.200 Carney's environmental activism is no different than that of the liberal NDP government. She added that he's
00:08:29.400 supported policies throughout his career that harm Alberta's main industries and increase the cost of
00:08:34.120 living for every Canadian, like the carbon tax, the proposed oil and gas cap, the energy transition,
00:08:39.400 and even Greta Thunberg's shut it down movement, which he allegedly considers himself a part of.
00:08:45.560 Schultz said, quote, Canadians may not know who he is yet, but we know his work. Mark Carney is just
00:08:51.640 another out of touch liberal elite disconnected from the everyday concerns of Albertans. The three
00:08:57.000 remaining banks in the alliance are Coast Capital, RBC, and Vancity. Vancity told True North
00:09:02.440 that it remains committed to delivering on emissions reduction and achieving net zero,
00:09:06.280 which it believes the alliance is an important part of. Getting into our next story here,
00:09:10.120 the Alberta government said it can't move towards rebuilding Jasper unless the federal government,
00:09:14.920 the municipality, and Parks Canada hold up their end of the bargain. The province said it can't
00:09:20.200 proceed with its $112 million plan to provide 250 modular homes due to delays and obstacles from
00:09:27.240 Parks Canada and the municipality of Jasper. Alberta's Minister of Seniors, Community, and Social
00:09:32.360 Services, Jason Nixon, said that the province was on track to deliver 250 homes, but that Alberta
00:09:38.360 cannot proceed without land. He said, quote, it's been radio silence from Ottawa since Premier Danielle
00:09:44.040 Smith sent a letter to the Prime Minister nearly a month ago. Smith echoed the concerns in her own
00:09:49.720 post to X. She said, quote, this is unacceptable. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his federal
00:09:55.080 government are in disarray and they are leaving the poor people of Jasper behind. Nixon said the
00:09:59.800 province allocated $112 million to build 250 single-family homes by early 2025 contingent on Parks
00:10:07.160 Canada and the municipality of Jasper providing the land. However, Nixon said, quote, they have not
00:10:12.200 followed through on their promise. He added that the municipality and Parks Canada have also asked the
00:10:17.480 province to build outside of the national park and tear down $100 million worth of housing once the
00:10:23.080 town is rebuilt, which he deemed unreasonable demands. Nixon said, quote, at this point in time, the
00:10:28.680 province's hands are tied. This is outside of the province's jurisdiction and we cannot build housing
00:10:33.880 without the cooperation of the park, the federal government and the municipality. Parks Canada said in
00:10:39.160 a recent interim housing update that it has made over four hectares of land available for interim housing,
00:10:44.360 equivalent to four CFL fields. The organization said it is in the process of securing high-density
00:10:49.800 interim housing solutions consisting of work camp-style accommodation of 120 single units.
00:10:55.560 Additionally, Parks Canada said it had initiated the procurement process for 50 duplex units totaling
00:11:01.080 100 units. The agency also said it purchased four pre-built housing units that are ready to be delivered
00:11:06.840 to Jasper. The municipality of Jasper's director of recovery, Michael Fark, said that the government of
00:11:11.960 Alberta's offer is appreciated but unrealistic. He said, quote, with the government of Alberta's
00:11:16.920 requirement for permanent single detached units, using all of the serviceable 4.25 hectares of
00:11:22.280 available land would only yield approximately 60 single detached units, far below the 250 units of
00:11:28.360 housing support announced. The Jasper rebuild has five phases. According to Parks Canada, it is currently in
00:11:33.800 phase two, design your build, with construction scheduled for phase four and occupancy planned for phase five.
00:11:40.440 The Jasper wildfires caused nearly $1 billion in damage and destroyed a third of the town,
00:11:45.480 resulting in 360 square kilometers of burned or partially burned area and 358 destroyed structures.
00:11:52.360 Nixon said, quote, our hearts break for those who lost their homes and are now receiving the incredibly
00:11:57.720 disappointing news that their return to Jasper may be further delayed. We continue to call upon the
00:12:02.920 federal government to meet their obligations in their national park. Parks Canada told True North that it
00:12:08.120 remains flexible to work with all levels of government to resolve housing needs resulting
00:12:12.200 from the wildfires.
00:12:13.160 So our next story is on our favorite city to cover on the show, which is of course Calgary. Calgary City
00:12:18.440 Council rejected a motion to freeze salaries at 2024 levels after various councillors and the mayor
00:12:24.280 presented the proposal the week before. The motion proposed freezing salaries at 2024 levels,
00:12:29.400 which would have actually resulted in a slight pay decrease for the mayor and councillors,
00:12:33.320 since their recent raise would be rolled back. The motion resulted in a 7-7 vote and ties always
00:12:38.920 result in motions being defeated, but this motion needed actually a two-thirds majority to pass
00:12:44.120 because the previous raises were approved on the average weekly earnings formula.
00:12:48.520 The start of 2025 saw the mayor and councillors receive a 3.07% pay increase, bringing the total raises
00:12:55.160 to 9.49% since 2022. Councillors are paid about $124,000 annually and the mayor makes just over $220,000
00:13:04.760 a year, more than Premier Danielle Smith who makes about $185,000 annually. City Councillor Sonia Sharpe
00:13:11.800 introduced the motion and had some strong words following its defeat. Sharpe said she believes
00:13:16.440 councillors should have a set wage throughout their four-year term. She said, quote,
00:13:20.680 When you run for council, you should know what you'll be paid. And if you're only running for
00:13:25.080 the prospect of a raise every year, you're running for the wrong reasons. One of the councillors who
00:13:29.640 voted against the motion, thereby supporting the wage increase, Jennifer Wines, defended her vote.
00:13:35.160 She said, quote, Our wages go up and down with Albertans' wages as directed by citizens.
00:13:40.040 Calgary's economy is doing well and wages are improving. But even Gondek said elected officials
00:13:45.080 should not take pay raises while Calgarians are struggling. She said, quote,
00:13:49.000 Calgarians are struggling with higher grocery bills, increasing utility rates and inflation.
00:13:53.640 If we're asking city administration to find efficiencies and Calgarians to stretch their
00:13:57.800 budgets, we must hold ourselves to the same standard. Canadian Taxpayers Federation Alberta
00:14:03.160 director Chris Sims told True North that the council should not only freeze pay raises,
00:14:07.880 but also refocus on the municipal government's core purposes to keep the streets and infrastructure
00:14:12.840 safe, clean and in good repair. She said, quote,
00:14:16.440 Being a city councillor was never supposed to be a full-time dream career for politicians who
00:14:21.080 want to save the world. It was supposed to be a part-time role for people like small business
00:14:25.320 owners, retired teachers and former cops. So a stipend for their public service was just fine.
00:14:31.640 Sharp took a similar stance in her rebuke of the vote. She said, quote,
00:14:35.480 If you don't want to run because you don't get a raise every year, then you know what?
00:14:38.680 Maybe it's not the job for you. Maybe you're running for the wrong reasons.
00:14:42.360 I know that this job requires a lot of work, but it's really the impact that we have on Calgarians
00:14:46.680 and they see that. So that wraps up our stories for the week. Let's hop into the comment roundup.
00:14:51.240 The first comment comes from at Luis Hislop, V-O-8-L-H, who said, quote,
00:14:57.240 I'm so disappointed with my premier Scott Moe. He should be standing shoulder to shoulder with
00:15:01.880 Alberta and Smith. Stay strong, Alberta. True Canadians stand with you.
00:15:07.000 Yeah, I found this interesting to add because of the rift we've seen recently forming between Smith
00:15:12.520 and the other premiers and Trudeau, notably when she refused to sign the joint statement
00:15:17.400 regarding the Trump tariffs that I previously discussed in this show. I'm curious to ask whether
00:15:21.640 you think more premiers will join her side, as there seems to be some suggestions that they soon might,
00:15:26.760 or will they continue down the path of trying to be combative with the U.S.?
00:15:30.840 The next comment comes from at DianeVC4361, who said, quote,
00:15:36.200 Just another Trudeau. Public beware. This was among a clear theme of comments against Carney,
00:15:42.360 and I could have chosen any of the hundreds. You all clearly had a great disliking of Carney
00:15:46.840 and are skeptical of what he might do in power. Let's remember, the person who wins the liberal
00:15:52.440 leadership election will immediately become the prime minister without an election from the Canadian
00:15:58.040 people. Another person at RickVervoot9536 said, quote,
00:16:02.600 Thank you, Mark, for keeping us safe from the truth.
00:16:07.080 Yeah, Rick, that one made me chuckle, so I thought I'd throw it in. This was, of course,
00:16:10.600 in relation to the fact that Carney banned independent media, including True North and myself,
00:16:14.680 from his campaign launch. I'm curious, though, do you think Carney will definitely win,
00:16:18.600 or does Freeland have a chance, or perhaps even someone else?
00:16:21.960 The last comment today comes from at DennisGriffith2670, who said, quote,
00:16:26.600 As a Manitobian, Manitobian? I stand with Alberta and Smith, and wish Wobb would have
00:16:32.920 the same backbone as Smith. As for Carney refusing independent media,
00:16:36.600 it just shows he's another WEF slash Trudeau dictator.
00:16:40.120 Yeah, Canu has constantly pulled at the top of premiers nationwide, and I'm curious to ask what
00:16:45.400 impact you think the whole tariff dilemma and how premiers are handling it, notably Smith,
00:16:50.760 might have on the public reception of premiers across the country. Let me know.
00:16:55.480 That wraps up our Comment Roundup in this week's show. My name's Isaac Lamoureux,
00:16:59.480 your host of the Alberta Roundup. Have a great weekend. Thank you,
00:17:02.920 and God bless. May Alberta prosper, strong and free.