Juno News - September 20, 2021


Maverick candidate says Ottawa needs to leave the West alone

Topics
oil and gas pipelines oil and gas industry divide between West and East
Mentioned
Andrew Lawton Show Erin O'Toole Jody Wilson-Raybould Yves Blanchet Bill C-63 Jean-Pierre
Why hasn't the government done anything about hospital capacity？ True North Election Night 2021

Episode Stats


Length

11 minutes

Words per minute

185.22

Word count

2,192

Sentence count

138

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged

Hate speech

2

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, I sit down with the candidate for the Maverick Party in the upcoming federal election, Andrew Scheer. We talk about his platform, why he s running for the party, and what he s looking for in a federal politician.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 I know one of the criticisms of the Maverick Party's approach has been that if you want to look at Quebec as being the poster child for advancing a provincial agenda, Quebec's success has mostly come from having a strong provincial party looking out for Quebec issues.
00:00:19.840 People have said the Bloc Québécois hasn't really done that much for Quebec and Ottawa.
00:00:24.040 What's your read on that? Because the Maverick Party is obviously seeking seats in Parliament in Ottawa.
00:00:28.460 Can you advance a provincial agenda through federal politics?
00:00:31.620 I think you need both, Andrew. I think what you do is you need both.
00:00:35.180 You need a federal party that backs provincial requirements that need federal intervention.
00:00:40.200 So things like equalization being an easy example of that.
00:00:43.540 And so when I look at when I look at the Bloc Québécois, for example, Yves Blanchet over the last few days has been on fire and has essentially trolled the other leaders and said, hey, I only care about Quebec.
00:00:55.400 Now, what we want is someone that at the federal level, because we have a lot of our industries that are federally regulated.
00:01:01.680 So I think of oil and gas being one, especially pipeline transmissions, and the second one being aviation.
00:01:07.200 So these are two big industries in the riding gear. I don't want Ottawa managing these.
00:01:11.380 I'd rather they be managed in Western Canada, because Ottawa is mismanaged or, if anything, has worked on shutting down our industries.
00:01:19.900 You mentioned the lack of a Western discussion at the debates, both English and French.
00:01:24.520 Obviously, the French debate probably not going to focus as much on the West.
00:01:27.640 But let me ask you, what are the issues that you think are distinctly Western that need to be addressed?
00:01:32.140 Because a lot of the things that Albertans and people in the West are facing are issues that everyone in Canada is facing,
00:01:37.520 whether it's affordability, taxes, government accountability.
00:01:40.020 Why do you think the West needs to be addressed separately from that?
00:01:43.960 So there's a number of issues that are uniquely Western, and I'll think of our energy sector as one.
00:01:49.460 So our energy sector provides the prosperity really for the rest of Canada.
00:01:54.100 And we look at it and we said, now we have a government that is comfortable buying foreign oil,
00:02:00.540 $60 million a day worth of it from places like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela,
00:02:05.000 but refusing to buy or develop our own resources.
00:02:08.480 This has never been a question of green energy versus oil.
00:02:11.640 So that's one.
00:02:12.540 Two, when it comes to things like taxation, equalization, etc., what we want is the government to get out of the way.
00:02:19.300 So we don't want subsidies.
00:02:21.000 We don't want handouts.
00:02:22.300 The Western way of life is to earn it, and the Western way of life is to work hard.
00:02:25.960 And right now what we have is the government in the way of aviation, in the way of agriculture,
00:02:31.300 in the way of oil and gas, and in the way of tourism.
00:02:34.060 Those are the four biggest industries we've got here in the riding.
00:02:37.300 And I'd like to see the government get out of the way because right now if you look at,
00:02:40.920 I mean, you go buy a plane ticket, look at what your fare is compared to all your taxes and fees.
00:02:45.080 And that over-regulation, that over-taxation is what we want.
00:02:50.460 So our issues are pretty unique here.
00:02:52.640 The other thing is we continue to see our economy get battered,
00:02:57.340 even though right now economic conditions are favorable.
00:03:00.300 The price of oil is really good, right?
00:03:01.980 But companies are reluctant to develop pipeline and to develop rigs
00:03:06.320 when the government's in the way and they're saying,
00:03:08.620 well, what will the permitting process look like, right?
00:03:11.120 For a lot of federal politicians especially, and arguably provincial politicians elsewhere,
00:03:17.320 oil and gas pipelines are very abstract, ideological issues.
00:03:21.380 You have NDP politicians that are very anti-oil and pipelines.
00:03:25.400 You've got Quebecers that oftentimes, even a conservative government in Quebec,
00:03:29.420 that's very much against pipelines, against Canadian oil and gas sector.
00:03:34.020 Here it's not ideologically.
00:03:35.920 It's the livelihood of a lot of people.
00:03:38.360 It's the lifeblood of the province.
00:03:39.540 And even the politicians that talk about transitioning and getting people new jobs
00:03:44.420 who are displaced because of anti-oil policies,
00:03:46.960 does any of that actually materialize to something that on the ground,
00:03:50.840 people in the oil and gas sector in the West think that they would actually get?
00:03:54.200 It doesn't. That's a great question. It doesn't.
00:03:56.700 I mean, I ask, go around and ask, where are all the green jobs around here? 1.00
00:04:00.520 And, you know, transition isn't a bad thing.
00:04:03.340 But I look at it and I say nobody regulated the VHS out of existence.
00:04:06.940 Something better came along, right? And something better, quicker, faster.
00:04:10.320 What we're doing is we're taxing the life out of our industry in favor of buying foreign oil. 0.99
00:04:16.320 So here, yeah, it isn't an ideological thing.
00:04:18.880 It is what pays for mortgages.
00:04:21.520 It is what puts food on the table.
00:04:23.360 And it is also what drives all of the services around the economy.
00:04:26.980 So people think it's just oil and gas.
00:04:28.440 But it drives hotels, it drives restaurants, it drives transportation,
00:04:32.940 it drives a whole bunch of other industries.
00:04:35.340 It's a key economic driver.
00:04:37.720 And to think that oil consumption in the world and oil demand right now is going up,
00:04:41.740 but we're intent on shutting down a very ethical, very responsible,
00:04:45.660 very human rights forward industry here in the West blows my mind.
00:04:50.580 And I think also the carbon tax is a big one.
00:04:53.120 And so it doesn't just affect oil and gas, but affects everything.
00:04:56.400 It's a tax on everything.
00:04:57.660 And I look at, to your point, the Conservatives, even out East,
00:05:01.580 have somehow convinced themselves that a tax is going to save the planet.
00:05:06.160 I think it's incredibly naive to think that, you know, that's going to save the planet.
00:05:09.860 And you're going to punish Canadians for heating their homes or driving their vehicles
00:05:14.080 when you don't have a choice.
00:05:15.480 It's not a discretionary choice here, whether you can or can't heat your home.
00:05:18.900 We had a mini-controversy earlier on in the election about the politics of pickup trucks.
00:05:24.560 And I think you and I talked about this in our previous interview.
00:05:27.160 One of the first things you did when you moved here was buy a pickup truck.
00:05:30.200 These sorts of things are kind of amusing when you've got, you know,
00:05:33.000 people on the left and people in the media saying no one should be able to have pickup trucks.
00:05:36.800 But they do reveal, I think, a very genuine disconnect
00:05:39.640 between the Western way of life and the rest of Canada.
00:05:43.740 And I'm curious if you think that divide can be bridged.
00:05:47.120 Right. You know, this is the beauty.
00:05:49.620 It's a great question.
00:05:50.480 This is the beauty of why I'm running for the Maverick Party,
00:05:53.380 is we don't have a divide to bridge.
00:05:56.200 We only look out for the West.
00:05:58.520 We have tried relying on the Conservative Party.
00:06:01.740 This is the base of the Conservative Party.
00:06:03.260 And we've tried relying on the Conservative Party
00:06:05.280 to really relay our way of life, our industries, you know, the way we live.
00:06:10.920 And we found not only have they failed at that,
00:06:15.020 but they've also not really stood up in defending us.
00:06:19.000 So, yes, people out in the cities in the East think that, you know,
00:06:23.200 we drive pickup trucks because we're bold and bad and all that.
00:06:26.580 Well, how am I going to move these guys?
00:06:28.060 You know, and I need a pickup truck as a tool for my way of life and work and all of that.
00:06:34.220 So, I look at it and I say, it isn't feasible for me to be driving around a Prius or a Tesla for my way of life.
00:06:42.020 Now, here's the difference between us and the Conservative Party.
00:06:45.700 The Conservative Party is now trying to appease a voter in Toronto and Quebec
00:06:50.280 that they've completely forgotten about their base, the base that lives like this,
00:06:54.980 and the base that lives in Saskatchewan and Alberta and the Prairies and BC.
00:06:59.120 And we've said, you know what, we have to look after our own now.
00:07:02.620 And if the divide wants to exist, and I'll give you another example of that, Andrew,
00:07:07.080 if Toronto want to ban all their guns, we're not going to argue with it anymore.
00:07:12.040 But what we want is a regional firearms officer that, you know, builds our own firearms laws because we need them.
00:07:18.820 It's a tool of our trade, whether we're ranchers, sport shooters, hunters, etc.
00:07:23.740 It's part of the lifestyle that we live here.
00:07:26.620 So, I look at it and I say, the divide exists.
00:07:29.200 It's, we've, for as long as I've known, we've tried educating Eastern Canada on how ethical and clean our oil is,
00:07:35.520 and how human rights forward it is.
00:07:37.800 We've tried telling them about our lifestyle, and it just seems like it doesn't work.
00:07:41.920 So, I'll say, you know what, if the divide exists, let it exist, and let's focus on the West.
00:07:46.000 So, at the risk of putting words in your mouth, you're not interested in winning over
00:07:51.840 Zoe in downtown Toronto or Jean-Pierre in Montreal.
00:07:54.880 You just want to be left alone.
00:07:56.360 Exactly.
00:07:57.080 And we want the governments out of the way, Andrew.
00:07:59.520 And the thing is, that's the beauty of our party, is we don't have a single voter to appease
00:08:04.960 or pander to in Quebec and Ontario, just like Aaron O'Toole is.
00:08:09.380 Because, you know, you look at the, it's simple numbers.
00:08:12.220 231 seats are east of Manitoba, and 107 of them are Manitoba West.
00:08:17.160 So, that you're always going to have the government being set, depending on what Eastern Canada votes.
00:08:23.080 And forget, you know, you always hear it, by the time we vote in Alberta,
00:08:25.820 well, by the time we vote in Manitoba, the government's typically decided.
00:08:29.000 So, relying on Eastern Canada to vote one way or another isn't a winning strategy.
00:08:34.440 We need to start voting now on Western issues and saying, we want a Western voice.
00:08:40.560 I put out a tweet this morning, like, can you imagine if the West had a Blanchette type in the debates
00:08:46.900 that said, Western Canada, Western Canada, Western Canada, all the time.
00:08:50.620 Right now, we don't.
00:08:52.300 And I'd like to see that, I mean, I hate saying it,
00:08:54.940 but I'd like to see someone speak exclusively for Western Canada
00:08:58.380 and start to push forward, and this is what we're trying to do,
00:09:01.540 is we're trying to push forward constitutional amendments
00:09:04.300 that bring fairness and equity back to Western Canada.
00:09:07.960 So, I guess on that note, let's say Mavericks do elect two or three members of Parliament on September 20th.
00:09:13.080 How much power can they really have if they are dominated by, as you've mentioned there,
00:09:18.620 an Eastern House of Commons?
00:09:21.920 So, I'll give you examples of power.
00:09:23.740 So, we're running 30 candidates, and just before the election was called,
00:09:28.500 if I'm not mistaken, the Bloc Québécois have 31, 32 candidates in the House.
00:09:33.580 That's equal.
00:09:34.760 And that's just our first start here.
00:09:36.800 As we continue to grow that movement, 107 ridings in Western Canada,
00:09:42.560 Quebec has 78 seats.
00:09:43.980 So, think about that in terms of a voting bloc over time as we grow.
00:09:48.040 And I'll give you the easiest example.
00:09:49.660 The Green Party has, what, two seats now, or three, two or three seats?
00:09:53.280 Look at the amount of voice, press, ink that they get for two or three seats.
00:09:59.200 Or, I'll use the easiest example, Jody Wilson-Raybould pushing Bill C-96 back into debate
00:10:05.600 as one independent MP.
00:10:08.960 Look at the power she had in the House to bring attention to that issue. 1.00
00:10:13.580 So, it is possible, and, you know, I'd love to see all 30 Maverick candidates go to Ottawa
00:10:20.780 because it would be the absolute best thing for the West.
00:10:23.940 Now, there is an issue in people's minds here in the West of,
00:10:27.680 ah, do we split the vote, etc.
00:10:29.480 Despite the fact that they're very disappointed with Erin O'Toole representing no Western issues,
00:10:34.260 flip-flopping on gun control, flip-flopping on the carbon tax,
00:10:37.600 continuing to appease Quebec for everything that it wants.
00:10:41.860 is the best outcome for Western Canada for this immediate election here in just over 10 days
00:10:47.460 is to see an Erin O'Toole government that gets supported by a Maverick party
00:10:55.760 who will never form a formal coalition.
00:10:58.000 But you say, if you want our support, then these are a list of demands,
00:11:01.220 including things like scrapping the carbon tax and building an energy corridor.
00:11:05.100 So, how powerful would it be if it's the Mavericks that get Erin O'Toole over the finish line 0.97
00:11:10.860 and say, you want our support? This is what we want.
00:11:14.280 Perfect. Thank you.
00:11:15.120 Thanks, Andrew.
00:11:16.020 Thanks for listening to The Andrew Lawton Show.
00:11:18.200 Support the program by donating to True North at www.tnc.news.
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