Juno News - Parents' rights, Danielle Smith, and DEI– True North journalists on top stories of 2023

00:00:00.000 Welcome to Canada's Most Irreverent Talk Show.

00:00:05.400 This is the Andrew Lawton Show, brought to you by True North.

00:00:13.720 Hello and welcome to you all.

00:00:16.960 This is the last edition of the Andrew Lawton Show of the year.

00:00:21.500 I know it has just flown by or maybe it's dragged or maybe it's only dragging because you're listening to this show right now.

00:00:28.520 Although I hope that's not the case.

00:00:29.640 In any event, I hope you are enjoying your holiday season.

00:00:33.900 And as I've been talking about this weird twilight week between Christmas and New Year's where you just have a perpetual sugar coma

00:00:41.060 and you don't know what day or time it is and you're not shaving and you don't even know the last time you changed your pants.

00:00:46.360 That's the week we're in right now.

00:00:47.800 So what better time to look back fondly or perhaps not so fondly on the year that was

00:00:54.080 and unpack a few of the big news stories of 2023 as we just put them to bed before we head into 2024.

00:01:02.580 And I thought what better way to do that than by assembling a crack team of True North's journalists and commentators.

00:01:10.220 We have cruelly pulled one back from her maternity leave. 1.00

00:01:13.580 Rachel Emanuel, who is the host of the Alberta Roundup Show at True North.

00:01:18.420 Also, Cosman Jerja, who is our senior editor.

00:01:21.680 And Sue Ann Levy, who is the fantastic force of nature in Toronto.

00:01:27.720 Cosman, Sue Ann, Rachel, great to talk to you all.

00:01:30.720 Let's just get the obvious out of the way here because anyone who's in Canada is looking at Sue Ann's backdrop right now

00:01:36.780 and seething with jealousy.

00:01:39.500 How's the weather there, Sue Ann?

00:01:40.860 Are you wearing a sweater just on our account?

00:01:43.860 Yes, I wanted to make you feel better.

00:01:45.960 It's actually a coolish day in South Florida.

00:01:48.880 The second the show ends, she's just like ripping it off and jumping right into the pool there. 1.00

00:01:53.220 And all of us are just going to be freezing our hineys off.

00:01:56.280 But it's good to talk to all of you.

00:01:57.980 I've given all of our guests here a bit of a homework assignment before doing the show.

00:02:02.020 They were asked to come up with their top story of the year.

00:02:05.260 Now, the parameters were not like the most popular story or not even the most important,

00:02:10.220 just the one that they thought was the most meaningful in the work that they've done.

00:02:14.460 And I just realized, as I said that, that I didn't do the assignment myself.

00:02:18.000 So I'll come up with mine at the end, I guess.

00:02:19.680 But let's start off with you, Cosman, because you tend to cover like anything and everything at True North.

00:02:26.180 Like one day you'll be doing a business story.

00:02:27.940 The other day you'll be doing an immigration story.

00:02:29.880 So what for you stands out from the past year?

00:02:32.460 For sure.

00:02:35.180 When I was thinking about my story, I generally thought about the impact.

00:02:40.120 And I think the largest impact story that we really covered this year was the Million March for Children.

00:02:47.260 I mean, this was a movement that had international attention.

00:02:50.600 I had the opportunity to go to two locations here in British Columbia, here in Abbotsford, but also in Vancouver to see the protests for myself and just the value that True North added compared to the legacy media, which downplayed and minimized much of what was going on.

00:03:08.800 Yeah, that was certainly a big one.

00:03:12.980 And I would say, I mean, when you talk about going to a couple of them, it was hugely national as well.

00:03:17.880 I mean, this whole parental rights discourse we saw in large way in New Brunswick, but we've also seen these protests and rallies, whatever you want to call them, in I think virtually every single province.

00:03:28.980 I don't know if there was one in PEI, but I think there probably was.

00:03:32.360 And what do you take of that?

00:03:33.660 Because this was, I don't want to compare it to the Freedom Convoy because it wasn't that scale and the context was different.

00:03:39.540 But as far as protests in Canada go, this is one of the most widespread, I'd say, certainly for things that are loosely aligned with the right.

00:03:47.540 No, absolutely.

00:03:50.720 We saw protests in major cities throughout the country, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, also out east and Halifax.

00:04:00.380 So definitely it was everywhere.

00:04:03.160 And I think that was, it was such a moment that brought all kinds of people together, a unity that I think we're lacking now with some of the events that are happening on the world stage, but also in Canada.

00:04:14.900 And to me, these are the types of stories that I think rally Canadians together.

00:04:20.760 Let's talk to you about this one, Sue Ann, because I think you were on my show at least a couple of times when this was going on.

00:04:26.760 And you had this very strange alliance that took place.

00:04:30.780 You had, you know, some Christian evangelical conservative types.

00:04:34.420 You had a lot of the feminist TERFs, as they're called, you know, people that are very pro-women's rights but have some issues with some of the transgender ideology.

00:04:43.080 And then you had some Muslims that, you know, ended up in some cases being on different sides of people.

00:04:49.400 They were on the same side with in the parental rights march a few weeks later when Israel came up.

00:04:53.900 But how did you see this from your perspective as someone who's written about this issue and the interplay between women's rights and trans rights and gay rights in the past?

00:05:03.040 Well, I thought it was a wonderful movement.

00:05:06.780 And, you know, as an openly gay woman, you know, we don't count in the transgender ideology anymore.

00:05:16.160 They've tried to shift gay women, lesbian women's rights aside using words like queer and transgender ideology.

00:05:27.080 And I think we talked about this, Andrew, I don't consider myself queer at all.

00:05:33.620 I am a lesbian woman and I find queer a very, very unfortunate term.

00:05:40.540 And I think, you know, it used to be a derogatory term and now the far radical, the radical transgendered community and the radical gay people who don't represent the lion's share of LGBT people have adopted this term.

00:06:00.560 And I think that was very, the march was very symbolic of the fight against that.

00:06:09.320 Rachel, you're forgiven if you didn't follow this one too closely because I know you were technically off at the time.

00:06:14.140 So you had a pass on reporting it.

00:06:16.280 But was it breaking through to your world, you know, when you weren't like, you know, immersed in the news for your work on a day-to-day basis?

00:06:22.580 Were you seeing this come through on your channels?

00:06:25.200 Oh, absolutely.

00:06:25.840 This is something a lot of people in my circles were discussing.

00:06:28.260 And I have to say that it was one of those instances where sort of like the Freedom Convoy, you saw all these people banding together and you had this moment of, oh, this is really impactful.

00:06:37.660 There's a lot of other Canadians who feel the same way as me, who are concerned about the same issues as me.

00:06:42.680 And it was almost a relief to know that the pool of people who were concerned about this ideology wasn't as small as the mainstream media made it out to be.

00:06:50.360 And there was just a bit of relief in that sense that I'm not alone in fighting this issue.

00:06:54.520 Yeah, and I'm wondering, and this is a bit of a personal question, so you can take it in whichever direction you want, but how you as a mother view this issue a bit differently now?

00:07:05.100 Because obviously your little one's not at the age where they're going to school.

00:07:07.860 But I heard from a lot of parents of young kids that in just general terms have been increasingly unnerved by stories they're reading about what's happening in schools.

00:07:17.760 And how little control do a lot of parents feel like they have over that?

00:07:21.600 Well, I think it's completely redefined how we as parents proceed with parenting our children.

00:07:26.360 I think, for example, my mom felt like she had a lot more freedom in the people and the places she was able to leave me as a young child.

00:07:33.600 Nowadays, you just have to be so careful with what is going into your child's mind.

00:07:37.800 That means things like you can't likely access public babysitting services at places like the YMCA.

00:07:42.900 You have to find and vet a private sitter that you know and trust.

00:07:46.960 You probably don't want to put your kid into public school because you don't know what they're being taught. 0.98

00:07:50.960 You don't want to leave your kid alone at the bookstore because the bookstores are just full of this gender ideology crap. 1.00

00:07:56.580 So certainly being a parent is already very difficult and it is a lot of work. 0.85

00:08:00.380 And I would say that just the level of work that is required to protect your child's mind has just increased exponentially

00:08:06.580 because there's so few public spaces that are safe for children right now.

00:08:11.200 I mean, I'll ask you, Cosme, I know you're a parent as well, and I don't know how homogenous politically or ideologically your friend group is.

00:08:20.060 But what are the discussions like among parents you have spoken to about this?

00:08:24.300 Is it just like the hardened, you know, ideologically political ones that are worried about this?

00:08:29.580 Or is it really transcending that?

00:08:32.740 You know, it's quite the opposite, actually.

00:08:35.240 I have some family members who are teachers, traditionally liberal voters, and they've totally changed their position on these issues in the last few years.

00:08:45.420 And they're really coming around on the side of parents at large and saying this is enough.

00:08:51.180 A lot of them do feel stifled within that profession to not be able to speak up just because of the power that these advocacy groups hold over teachers individually,

00:09:03.200 but also just the teaching profession at large.

00:09:06.520 But I just wanted to add as well, just to the testament of True North's reporting,

00:09:11.320 we had people throughout the country, people in Ottawa, Toronto, here in British Columbia, and elsewhere,

00:09:17.760 reporting on this from the ground, bringing you guys live coverage.

00:09:22.460 And it's truly a testament to how important independent media is in Canada

00:09:27.440 when the legacy media just refuses to give the full picture.

00:09:30.600 Yeah, or in this case, the only coverage was through the lens of, oh, these are extremists and these are radicals,

00:09:37.680 as opposed to, hey, what are these people actually saying?

00:09:41.340 What do they think?

00:09:42.120 And we've seen, certainly on the Blaine Higgs thing in New Brunswick,

00:09:45.400 pretty consistent polling that this is an issue that has a wide consensus behind it.

00:09:50.200 I mean, parental rights in the context of gender ideology in schools is polling at like 75%,

00:09:56.060 which you just don't get on a political issue in Canada.

00:09:59.720 And I mean, I don't even think something as uncontroversial as like, you know,

00:10:03.140 kittens are cute or something would get 75% support if you were to, well, I mean,

00:10:07.980 kittens and dogs are, that's a bit more contentious than gender and parental rights, I think, sometimes.

00:10:12.340 But this actually segues nicely into your story, Sue Ann.

00:10:17.300 So I'll go to you next.

00:10:18.360 What's your big story of 2023?

00:10:21.820 Well, it's a sad story.

00:10:23.820 It was the sad demise of Richard Bilkstow, a popular and much-loved Toronto school board principal

00:10:34.040 who took his own life in July after he had been, I guess, humiliated, intimidated,

00:10:42.720 and just simply thrown under the bus by a diversity, equity and inclusiveness expert

00:10:54.280 who had given several seminars at the Toronto school board to administrators, principals and the like.

00:11:03.340 In 2021, he had been humiliated at one session simply for suggesting that the trainer had said that racism,

00:11:17.680 anti-Black racism was worse in Canada than the States.

00:11:22.020 This principal, Richard Bilkstow, had had experience in the States and said,

00:11:26.100 no, he felt that we had a lot more freedom in Canada.

00:11:30.840 That set the trainer off probably because she was challenged and she proceeded to humiliate him

00:11:36.300 and call him a white supremacist and mock him and nobody stood up for him.

00:11:42.420 This continued a week later at another session and then he found himself, he won an WSIB claim.

00:11:50.880 They said that she had behaved egregiously against him, but he found himself virtually cancelled

00:11:58.500 by the Toronto school board, by the leaders, the woke leaders of the Toronto school board

00:12:05.240 and not able to get any further contract jobs.

00:12:10.500 He sued the school board, he launched a lawsuit and just a couple of weeks after he did, he took his own life.

00:12:18.280 It was so tragic. I still have the chills thinking about it.

00:12:24.460 It was, and I don't want to take away from the individual loss to Bilkstow's friends and family members,

00:12:31.900 which by all accounts was and is very real.

00:12:34.860 But the episode was so revealing of a broader issue that you've covered,

00:12:40.140 which is just the complete and utter deference in the public school world in particular

00:12:44.860 to this DEI industry and this DEI ideology.

00:12:48.240 And I mean, I know you did a story a few weeks back where you looked at freedom of information requests

00:12:53.120 and just the sheer money that was being spent on this one individual consultant

00:12:58.380 that had had the run-in with Richard Bilkstow to say nothing of others.

00:13:01.380 So you've got people profiting off of this, but it isn't just a racket.

00:13:05.040 It isn't just a grift when you see people making money off this,

00:13:08.260 because there are very real casualties to this, not the least of which are the students

00:13:12.460 that are being told a very warped way of how to view the world around them.

00:13:16.700 And as in the case of Bilkstow, people who dare to push back against this or question it.

00:13:23.120 Yeah, it was just absolutely tragic.

00:13:26.880 But what it did was it revealed this DEI industry, or as some people have called die, D-I-E, industry,

00:13:34.100 after this tragic suicide.

00:13:37.560 But how it has infiltrated not just school boards, but city councils.

00:13:43.180 This woman was used, Kiko Ojo-Johnson, Thompson, excuse me, is her name. 0.99

00:13:49.000 She was used by city councils, by federal government, by many school boards.

00:13:54.100 We're still trying to get, I guess, invoice information on how much she cost other school boards.

00:14:02.140 But you could replicate her services by probably six or seven.

00:14:07.420 There are probably several others out there doing the same thing.

00:14:11.400 And it has become fashionable to provide these sessions where you denounce white people, 0.83

00:14:18.780 not just male white people, but female white people,

00:14:22.980 for, you know, assuming that they're, as a critical race theory says, 0.96

00:14:28.840 they're oppressors and black people are oppressed. 1.00

00:14:32.360 And it's just led to so many issues. 0.99

00:14:36.120 I mean, Andrew, I can draw parallels between that and what happened yesterday

00:14:42.440 when the three presidents of the Ivy League colleges spoke about

00:14:47.520 or were questioned about anti-Semitism on their campuses, Harvard, MIT, and UPenn.

00:14:53.060 And they're all involved heavily in this D-E-I industry. 0.65

00:14:57.540 And everybody's tracing it back to the beliefs that register with D-E-I, 0.85

00:15:04.940 critical race theory, saying that everybody is a white supremacist,

00:15:08.260 Jews, whatever, everyone who is not black. 0.66

00:15:13.240 And they even call Asians white adjacent. 0.91

00:15:16.100 So it's just a crazy time.

00:15:19.100 Yeah.

00:15:19.720 And I mean, obviously, your coverage on this has been focused on Ontario.

00:15:24.140 Rachel, how does this issue appear, if it does,

00:15:27.060 in the so-called conservative heartland of Alberta?

00:15:29.800 Is this still as pervasive in schools there?

00:15:32.800 Well, it's definitely very pervasive here.

00:15:34.620 We recently had the United Conservative Party Annual General Meeting

00:15:37.880 and there were motions passed saying,

00:15:40.300 we don't want to see these types of initiatives,

00:15:43.160 the diversity, equity, and inclusions.

00:15:45.140 We want that out of university.

00:15:46.700 Now, of course, policies passed at the AGM are non-binding on the party,

00:15:51.440 but that just speaks to how concerned the party membership

00:15:53.520 is about these types of policies in schools and in universities.

00:15:57.860 And even more recently at our True North Live,

00:16:01.080 that was our first conference hosted here in Calgary this year in October,

00:16:04.860 someone asked about the Biltsoe incident,

00:16:07.280 and they asked us to relay what had happened there.

00:16:09.120 So it just shows that this was really a national story.

00:16:12.340 It caught the attention of people all over Canada.

00:16:14.940 Their heart broke for this individual who faced bullying at a school

00:16:18.320 and ultimately ended up taking his own life because of it.

00:16:21.360 And it just shows that it really resonates with people.

00:16:23.940 And I understand why this was so difficult for this principal at this school

00:16:28.200 when he faced this, because, you know, if you don't have a conservative family,

00:16:32.100 if you don't have a conservative support system,

00:16:33.940 you might not have anyone to turn to in these types of issues.

00:16:36.900 And then you're also starting to question yourself.

00:16:38.780 I experienced something on a much, much, much smaller scale

00:16:41.960 when I worked within the mainstream media.

00:16:43.520 And at the time, it wasn't diversity, equity, and inclusion that was the problem.

00:16:47.060 But, you know, I was really concerned with the COVID narrative

00:16:49.960 and I was concerned with the breach of our freedoms and rights as Canadian citizens.

00:16:54.220 And I was trying to write articles that were critical of the government.

00:16:57.080 And I faced so much censorship within work.

00:16:59.280 And you start to feel like, is there something wrong with me?

00:17:01.500 And I'm the only one that feels this way.

00:17:03.040 You feel a little bit like you're going crazy.

00:17:05.440 And when I ultimately made the decision

00:17:07.220 to not only leave my position within the mainstream media,

00:17:10.220 but also to then write a column about what had happened,

00:17:13.260 that was very difficult for me.

00:17:14.400 I was extremely anxious about what would happen

00:17:16.740 and about losing, in some sense, my colleagues and my workplace community.

00:17:21.080 And while those things did happen,

00:17:22.420 I was very relieved to then find a new community

00:17:24.860 of like-minded conservatives and independent thinkers.

00:17:27.660 But it was a hard experience for me.

00:17:30.380 And I was really only able to do it

00:17:32.180 because I already had a network of like-minded family and friends

00:17:35.760 that really supported me in that decision.

00:17:38.020 Yeah, and you saying that, I mean, you're a bit outnumbered here, Cosmin,

00:17:40.860 because Sue Ann, Rachel, and I are all mainstream media exiles.

00:17:44.800 So you just skipped right to the good guys immediately

00:17:47.540 without having to go through that period earlier on.

00:17:49.920 Although I think Sue Ann withstood it for far longer

00:17:52.080 than Rachel and I managed to.

00:17:54.000 But I mean, what you were just saying there, Rachel,

00:17:56.280 really goes back to what you were talking about

00:17:58.480 on the previous topic, Cosmin,

00:17:59.840 which is that you have these issues

00:18:01.040 where it can really distort the sense of reality around you

00:18:04.500 when you're convinced that everyone views it one way

00:18:06.460 because the media puts one narrative forward.

00:18:08.420 But really ordinary people, I think, are viewing this

00:18:11.080 exactly how Rachel and Sue Ann have just laid it out, aren't they?

00:18:16.660 Yeah, and I think our leaders in media, government,

00:18:20.380 at school boards, even in corporations today,

00:18:22.780 have fully bought in.

00:18:24.800 They've drank the Kool-Aid peddled by these shucksters, 1.00

00:18:29.680 like these people selling snake oil.

00:18:32.600 The idea that you can solve racism in society,

00:18:36.420 one of the negative, unfortunate attributes of human nature,

00:18:42.480 we can solve this through seminars,

00:18:45.100 through little meetings where we call white people racist, 1.00

00:18:49.980 is ridiculous. 0.99

00:18:50.940 It doesn't address the root of the problem. 0.97

00:18:53.880 But unfortunately, a small group, an activist class,

00:18:57.740 coming out of universities,

00:18:59.100 have been able to attach themselves

00:19:01.200 at the upper ecolons of organizations,

00:19:04.500 whether it's in school boards or in the government

00:19:08.420 or at corporations at the executive level,

00:19:11.300 and convince these people who make decisions

00:19:13.780 that their ideas should be taken as a dogma.

00:19:18.180 It should be spread throughout these institutions

00:19:20.840 to the lowest levels

00:19:22.840 and exert influence on people's individual behavior.

00:19:26.860 And I think it's outrageous.

00:19:28.460 We're seeing the consequences unfold across society,

00:19:32.480 and something must be done.

00:19:34.080 And the first thing people can do

00:19:35.440 is point it out at every instance it pops up,

00:19:38.300 because these people have absolutely no credibility.

00:19:41.660 Their actions and the resulting consequences

00:19:45.200 of the ideology that they preach,

00:19:48.160 like a religion,

00:19:49.000 is disastrous.

00:19:50.820 It tears people apart.

00:19:52.100 It tears families apart.

00:19:53.540 And it has no value added

00:19:55.800 for a company or a government.

00:19:59.040 Yeah, I think you're very, very apt

00:20:01.740 or you're very accurate in saying that.

00:20:03.860 And one of the points I would add on my own on this

00:20:06.640 is that we often have people

00:20:09.120 try to dismiss these concerns out of hand

00:20:11.440 by saying, oh, you're just importing an American story.

00:20:14.520 Critical race theory is not really a thing here.

00:20:16.720 It's not.

00:20:17.300 And I fear that a lot of people

00:20:19.280 are doing the same thing that was done.

00:20:21.800 I mean, even if you look at the heyday

00:20:22.860 of political correctness in the 90s,

00:20:24.520 where people just sort of shrugged it off,

00:20:26.360 dismissed it, downplayed it,

00:20:27.680 or said, oh, this is just some little thing

00:20:29.200 that's happening in corners of academia.

00:20:31.340 And then you blink and it's everywhere.

00:20:33.300 And you have this DEI narrative

00:20:35.320 that's really embedded in all facets of society.

00:20:38.960 And I'll give you the last word on this, Sue Ann,

00:20:40.980 because in my experience,

00:20:43.140 things that start in academia,

00:20:45.640 whether it's elementary, high school, or post-secondary,

00:20:48.840 rarely stay there.

00:20:50.060 Because it's, you know, in this case,

00:20:51.940 discussing how teachers are supposed to teach.

00:20:54.600 So that obviously filters into how children learn.

00:20:56.980 And then those kids grow up

00:20:58.500 and it becomes really this cycle

00:21:00.500 that no one is really able to deal with

00:21:02.660 at a certain point,

00:21:03.320 because that ideology is so embedded in society.

00:21:05.880 Well, the big concern is that

00:21:10.040 the kids who are taught these theories

00:21:13.160 or who are preached these theories,

00:21:15.040 because it is kind of like a cult,

00:21:17.160 Cosmin is right,

00:21:18.580 they're not doing well in school.

00:21:21.140 They're preaching these theories.

00:21:23.000 They're involved in social emotional learning.

00:21:27.300 And these kids are failing.

00:21:29.200 They're illiterate.

00:21:30.320 They can't read. 0.99

00:21:31.480 They can't write.

00:21:32.420 They can't spell.

00:21:33.820 They certainly can't add and subtract,

00:21:35.700 multiply, and divide.

00:21:37.220 So, so much time has been invested in this.

00:21:40.100 And certain, I guess, racial groups get a free pass. 0.98

00:21:43.720 They get a free pass from discipline.

00:21:45.760 They're not given suspensions

00:21:48.720 or expelled from school for really bad behavior.

00:21:53.880 And I know in several school boards,

00:21:55.640 in Toronto in particular,

00:21:57.300 they have a real violence problem.

00:21:59.360 And violence is out of control in school.

00:22:01.920 So it all, one thing leads to another.

00:22:04.200 You have to connect the dots.

00:22:05.760 And this has been the result of these theories.

00:22:09.600 Yeah, very, very well said.

00:22:11.840 Rachel, you are last,

00:22:13.920 but well, I guess I'm last,

00:22:15.100 and maybe I am least.

00:22:16.360 You're second last and not least.

00:22:18.200 What was your top story of 2023?

00:22:21.560 Well, I'm not as generous as Cosmin.

00:22:23.460 I didn't necessarily think about the impact

00:22:25.280 when I chose the story.

00:22:26.260 I just thought about the story

00:22:27.420 that I enjoyed covering the most.

00:22:29.920 And that was perhaps, obviously,

00:22:31.280 the Alberta provincial election

00:22:32.780 for a couple reasons.

00:22:34.080 It's always really nice to get back out into the field

00:22:37.020 and to cover things on the ground.

00:22:39.080 We don't always have the opportunity to do that

00:22:41.000 when there's so much news

00:22:41.940 and so few people covering it.

00:22:43.580 But I really loved being able to go

00:22:45.060 to all of the press conferences

00:22:46.480 and ask my questions.

00:22:48.180 And one of the best parts about this

00:22:49.840 was that typically,

00:22:51.200 as some of my loyal followers know,

00:22:53.420 the Alberta NDP refuse to take our media requests.

00:22:55.820 They don't ever answer our questions,

00:22:57.200 but it became a little bit more difficult

00:22:59.420 for them to ignore us

00:23:00.680 when I would show up at their press conferences.

00:23:02.600 So I was able to even get-

00:23:03.760 And just shout the question.

00:23:05.440 Like, just shout over them.

00:23:06.840 That did happen a couple times, yes.

00:23:08.940 And they answered.

00:23:09.760 In fairness, it worked.

00:23:11.040 It did work.

00:23:11.700 It did work.

00:23:12.280 And then there was an interesting situation

00:23:14.060 where they refused to take questions

00:23:15.560 from other independent media outlets,

00:23:17.680 but they were still taking our questions.

00:23:19.120 So I don't really know what was going on there,

00:23:21.060 but it was great to have

00:23:22.120 at least one independent media outlet represented

00:23:24.480 and to ask questions on behalf

00:23:26.120 of so many conservative Albertans

00:23:27.920 across the province.

00:23:28.640 So I really enjoyed that experience.

00:23:30.420 And I would argue that the impact

00:23:31.720 was also very significant.

00:23:33.480 I think that our province

00:23:34.340 would look very different today

00:23:35.600 if we had an NDP government

00:23:36.980 and certainly very different

00:23:38.420 in a couple of years from now.

00:23:39.460 I think, you know,

00:23:40.280 people are really happy

00:23:41.120 with the work that Danielle Smith is doing.

00:23:42.860 And even though the legacy media

00:23:45.080 fought so hard to portray her

00:23:47.520 as really unstable

00:23:48.820 and as someone who couldn't be trusted,

00:23:50.240 there was even a recent

00:23:51.860 McLean's magazine article

00:23:53.340 that said the unsteady reign of Danielle Smith.

00:23:56.600 Well, that just isn't reflected

00:23:57.660 in the current polls.

00:23:58.840 She is one of the most popular premieres

00:24:00.480 in Canada right now,

00:24:01.500 and people are really happy

00:24:02.800 with her leadership.

00:24:03.700 So things are looking positive

00:24:05.120 in Alberta right now.

00:24:05.920 We've had a couple

00:24:06.380 of really strong news stories

00:24:07.660 like the overturning of the plastic span,

00:24:09.980 as well as Danielle Smith

00:24:11.180 really pushing back

00:24:12.260 on Ottawa's energy regulation.

00:24:14.440 So certainly going to be

00:24:15.320 another exciting year for us.

00:24:16.820 And I'm looking forward

00:24:17.480 to doing my show consistently again

00:24:19.480 and keeping up with Alberta coverage.

00:24:21.640 Well, that has actually become,

00:24:23.400 it's funny you mentioned that,

00:24:24.240 a bit of a national story

00:24:25.780 because Danielle Smith and Alberta

00:24:27.700 have been very direct

00:24:29.640 and very explicit

00:24:30.800 in pushing back against

00:24:32.200 what they see as Ottawa's intrusion

00:24:33.900 in their domain.

00:24:34.860 But this has now started

00:24:35.780 a wave of other provinces

00:24:37.080 doing very similar things.

00:24:38.800 Saskatchewan, most notably,

00:24:40.120 we've got, I mean,

00:24:41.320 New Brunswick has started

00:24:42.480 talking about this.

00:24:43.080 Even Ontario has.

00:24:44.360 So in that sense, Cosman,

00:24:45.980 we're seeing this federalist turn,

00:24:48.580 I guess you could call it,

00:24:49.700 where provincial rights

00:24:51.380 more broadly,

00:24:52.280 even outside of Alberta,

00:24:53.280 seem to be much more

00:24:54.080 front and center now.

00:24:57.600 No, absolutely.

00:24:58.800 I think there's been

00:24:59.620 a wake-up call

00:25:00.720 in the last year or so.

00:25:03.380 And the issues

00:25:04.720 of Western alienation

00:25:06.260 are beginning to prop up again.

00:25:08.360 I do think it is contributing

00:25:09.900 in large part

00:25:11.200 to Trudeau's declining popularity.

00:25:14.360 I mean, he's divided

00:25:15.540 the country more

00:25:16.840 than any prime minister

00:25:19.200 I can remember,

00:25:20.420 at least in my memory.

00:25:23.040 And it's becoming a time

00:25:25.560 when provinces realize

00:25:27.160 that they can put

00:25:28.340 their differences aside

00:25:29.660 and that there are some things

00:25:31.880 we can get together

00:25:33.040 and say,

00:25:33.980 hey, we can work

00:25:35.040 to figure these issues out.

00:25:38.180 And the government

00:25:39.020 has instead taken a top,

00:25:41.320 the federal government rather,

00:25:43.060 has taken a top-down approach

00:25:45.220 where they just feel

00:25:46.440 like they can dictate

00:25:47.620 their desire

00:25:49.440 onto the rest of the country

00:25:51.180 when we have such

00:25:52.380 a diverse country

00:25:54.580 in terms of different needs,

00:25:56.580 geographical location,

00:25:58.920 and different resources.

00:26:01.500 And it's so hard

00:26:02.660 to put a blanket approach

00:26:04.520 over the entirety of Canada

00:26:06.360 while ignoring

00:26:07.360 the specific needs

00:26:08.620 of Albertans,

00:26:09.700 people in Saskatchewan,

00:26:10.920 British Columbians,

00:26:12.320 Quebecers,

00:26:13.480 or people in Atlantic provinces.

00:26:15.940 So it's just a turning point.

00:26:19.640 I know you don't generally

00:26:21.540 cover Alberta politics, Sue Anne,

00:26:23.600 but I'm curious

00:26:24.280 what your take is

00:26:25.200 from Ontario on this.

00:26:27.320 Because it's been

00:26:27.700 a pretty significant change

00:26:29.640 in Alberta politics

00:26:30.560 in the last year

00:26:31.220 if you look at

00:26:31.740 the ousting of Jason Kenney,

00:26:33.540 the leadership race,

00:26:34.520 and then Danielle Smith

00:26:35.620 winning re-election.

00:26:36.620 Well, all I want to do

00:26:38.980 is ask Rachel

00:26:41.000 if she could send

00:26:42.080 the new leader,

00:26:44.340 Danielle Arway,

00:26:45.660 in Ontario.

00:26:46.380 Because we have a premier

00:26:47.740 who bills himself

00:26:50.640 as a conservative,

00:26:51.920 but really has governed

00:26:53.680 from the centre-left,

00:26:55.300 or from the centre at least.

00:26:58.240 You know,

00:26:58.660 all the things

00:26:59.280 I talked about in education,

00:27:01.260 he hasn't cleaned up education.

00:27:02.820 The plastics ban,

00:27:04.640 I'm laughing because

00:27:05.820 I can't go into

00:27:07.280 even a winner's store.

00:27:09.180 I have to carry

00:27:09.960 my purchases out

00:27:11.060 because they've banned

00:27:12.020 all plastic bags

00:27:13.320 and any bags whatsoever.

00:27:14.900 They've used that

00:27:15.640 as an excuse

00:27:16.280 not to provide anything.

00:27:18.300 I mean, you know,

00:27:19.520 it's crazy in Ontario,

00:27:20.860 and I want to say to Ford,

00:27:23.500 be a conservative.

00:27:24.820 Act like a conservative.

00:27:26.580 Because, you know,

00:27:28.080 I look at

00:27:29.500 Danielle Smith's reign

00:27:30.780 with respect

00:27:31.680 because she is

00:27:32.760 a true conservative.

00:27:34.540 And, I mean,

00:27:35.220 law and order

00:27:35.840 is another issue.

00:27:37.520 And, you know,

00:27:38.800 it's hit and miss

00:27:39.680 with Doug Ford,

00:27:41.160 unfortunately.

00:27:42.040 And some of the big,

00:27:43.560 big issues

00:27:44.020 have not been addressed

00:27:45.300 at all.

00:27:47.300 Yeah.

00:27:47.960 Well, I mean,

00:27:48.500 I think Rachel,

00:27:49.400 not to speak for you,

00:27:50.220 but I think her answer

00:27:50.940 will be that Alberta

00:27:51.700 is calling

00:27:52.240 and you have to go out there

00:27:53.580 instead of Danielle

00:27:54.500 coming to Ontario.

00:27:55.460 Am I right about that, Rachel?

00:27:57.460 Listen, I always say

00:27:58.680 that Kathleen Wynne

00:27:59.780 was the reason

00:28:00.420 that I became interested

00:28:01.360 in politics.

00:28:02.520 All the stores

00:28:03.240 that I liked

00:28:03.680 began to close

00:28:04.300 and they couldn't

00:28:04.800 afford their hydro bills.

00:28:06.000 But Doug Ford

00:28:06.820 is the reason

00:28:07.460 I left Ontario.

00:28:08.520 So, unfortunately,

00:28:09.560 you can't have

00:28:10.500 Danielle Smith.

00:28:11.440 And also,

00:28:11.820 I don't know

00:28:12.080 if it's fair

00:28:12.440 for you to be asking.

00:28:13.300 Looks like you spend

00:28:13.900 maybe half the year

00:28:14.600 in Florida

00:28:15.000 with Governor Ron

00:28:16.020 to stay out there.

00:28:16.780 Doing as bad

00:28:17.480 as some Ontarians

00:28:18.240 that I know.

00:28:19.720 Shots fired right there.

00:28:21.360 I will say, though,

00:28:22.600 I asked Danielle Smith

00:28:24.340 at,

00:28:24.940 I believe it was

00:28:25.440 at the UCPA GM

00:28:26.680 at a press conference

00:28:27.940 after her speech,

00:28:28.680 if she viewed

00:28:29.360 Doug Ford

00:28:29.960 as a conservative ally.

00:28:32.560 And I wouldn't say

00:28:33.440 it was a gotcha question,

00:28:34.400 but I was curious

00:28:35.040 how she would handle it

00:28:36.060 for the reasons

00:28:36.600 you just mentioned, Sue Ann.

00:28:37.740 And Doug Ford

00:28:38.280 has always been

00:28:38.940 very buddy-buddy

00:28:40.260 with the federal

00:28:40.880 liberal government.

00:28:42.000 And she was unequivocal.

00:28:43.260 She said,

00:28:43.600 yeah, absolutely,

00:28:44.440 100%.

00:28:45.120 I mean,

00:28:45.660 so oddly,

00:28:46.800 though I would see them

00:28:47.780 and I would agree

00:28:48.300 with your assessment, Sue Ann,

00:28:49.340 that they're very different.

00:28:50.080 She evidently has

00:28:51.620 a good working relationship

00:28:53.200 with Doug Ford in Ontario.

00:28:54.880 So I don't know,

00:28:55.440 maybe some of her approach

00:28:56.940 will rub off on him.

00:28:58.600 We can only hope.

00:28:59.780 We are coming to the end

00:29:00.780 of our time together.

00:29:01.640 I was thinking about

00:29:02.700 what mine would be.

00:29:03.940 And I think the big picture

00:29:05.460 for me is kind of interesting

00:29:06.860 of just this realignment

00:29:08.040 of conservative politics.

00:29:09.280 But to not give

00:29:10.960 a cop-out answer,

00:29:11.940 to point to a specific story,

00:29:13.340 I'm going to go

00:29:13.980 with a minor one,

00:29:15.000 which just is not

00:29:15.940 the biggest thing

00:29:16.640 in the world.

00:29:17.140 But it was one

00:29:17.760 where I,

00:29:18.320 as a journalist

00:29:19.000 and as True North

00:29:20.440 as an outlet,

00:29:21.060 really just dug into

00:29:22.080 a local small issue

00:29:23.540 and owned it.

00:29:25.000 And it was when

00:29:25.760 back in the summer,

00:29:27.420 I think it was May,

00:29:29.040 my city of London, Ontario

00:29:30.500 had a little story

00:29:31.320 come up where

00:29:31.980 the public library

00:29:33.640 would not allow

00:29:35.260 a speaker

00:29:36.400 to come and give

00:29:37.640 a lecture

00:29:38.120 at an academic freedom

00:29:39.200 conference

00:29:39.700 on free speech

00:29:40.700 and gender.

00:29:41.280 And it was Joanna Williams

00:29:42.220 from the UK.

00:29:43.360 She was going to fly

00:29:43.960 all the way across

00:29:44.700 the Atlantic.

00:29:45.400 She's an academic,

00:29:46.680 uncontroversial woman, 0.98

00:29:47.800 except for the fact

00:29:48.540 that she takes

00:29:49.080 a gender critical view. 0.59

00:29:50.560 And the library

00:29:51.700 would not let

00:29:52.700 the Society for Academic

00:29:53.920 Freedom and Scholarship

00:29:55.120 have her there.

00:29:56.580 And what was notable

00:29:58.160 is that a few days later,

00:29:59.940 they did allow

00:30:01.500 this like radical

00:30:03.020 pro-Hamas 0.86

00:30:04.240 Muslim comedian

00:30:05.620 who had done

00:30:06.480 like on the record

00:30:07.660 talks about

00:30:08.500 how great Hamas was 0.93

00:30:10.200 and it was the resistance

00:30:11.200 and they weren't terrorists.

00:30:12.520 He was fine,

00:30:13.380 but not a woman 0.97

00:30:14.060 who says

00:30:14.700 biological men

00:30:16.160 cannot be women. 1.00

00:30:18.000 So we certainly saw

00:30:19.640 just the manner

00:30:20.620 in which these things

00:30:21.580 can be so completely

00:30:23.020 and utterly distorted.

00:30:24.580 So just as we

00:30:25.840 now turn away

00:30:26.880 2023

00:30:27.460 and look to 2024,

00:30:29.180 I want to go around

00:30:29.720 the circle here

00:30:30.340 and ask what

00:30:30.940 you are all

00:30:31.880 most looking forward

00:30:33.300 to covering

00:30:33.860 or what you'd like

00:30:34.520 to cover

00:30:34.960 without having

00:30:36.160 a crystal ball

00:30:36.960 necessarily

00:30:37.540 in the year ahead.

00:30:39.200 Cosman,

00:30:39.600 we'll go to you first.

00:30:42.940 Well, Andrew,

00:30:44.300 as you know,

00:30:44.920 we'll be heading

00:30:45.420 to Davos

00:30:46.380 next month.

00:30:47.260 I think that's

00:30:47.980 the first thing

00:30:48.700 that will be

00:30:49.180 on my plate

00:30:49.900 this year

00:30:50.660 and I'm looking forward

00:30:52.480 to bringing

00:30:53.160 our viewers

00:30:54.440 coverage of that

00:30:55.520 directly from Davos.

00:30:57.160 Some of the issues

00:30:58.160 that I think

00:30:58.980 extend

00:31:00.080 and affect

00:31:00.860 to Canada

00:31:01.980 but at an

00:31:03.740 international level

00:31:04.680 and I think

00:31:05.540 that will be

00:31:05.820 very valuable.

00:31:07.400 Yeah, actually,

00:31:08.080 yeah, I forgot.

00:31:09.240 Well, I didn't forget

00:31:09.740 you were coming

00:31:10.260 but I, well,

00:31:11.600 I guess I,

00:31:12.020 no, I didn't forget it.

00:31:12.840 I just didn't think

00:31:13.640 to mention it.

00:31:14.340 That's,

00:31:14.940 our crew gets bigger

00:31:16.040 every time.

00:31:16.820 So the first time

00:31:17.460 I went alone,

00:31:18.340 the second time

00:31:19.320 Sean,

00:31:20.340 my producer

00:31:21.040 and videographer,

00:31:21.780 came,

00:31:22.120 the third time

00:31:22.760 you're coming along.

00:31:23.640 So who knows,

00:31:24.640 by next year

00:31:25.280 it might just be

00:31:25.800 the whole True North

00:31:26.420 team there

00:31:26.880 but I'm really

00:31:27.660 looking forward

00:31:28.160 to seeing what you do

00:31:29.100 there because I know

00:31:30.100 you've always been

00:31:30.700 very keen

00:31:31.300 at covering

00:31:31.760 a lot of these

00:31:32.320 European politicians

00:31:33.760 that are really

00:31:34.840 putting forward ideas

00:31:35.900 that are internationally

00:31:36.740 relevant

00:31:37.220 but often

00:31:37.880 fly under the radar.

00:31:40.260 Rachel,

00:31:40.620 what are you

00:31:41.000 looking ahead to

00:31:41.800 in the coming year?

00:31:43.500 I am looking forward

00:31:44.820 to seeing how

00:31:46.100 the Alberta Sovereignty Act

00:31:47.340 being invoked

00:31:47.880 for the first time

00:31:48.540 plays out

00:31:49.060 and covering that

00:31:50.220 it might just turn

00:31:50.820 into a big legal battle

00:31:52.380 which probably

00:31:52.920 wouldn't be super

00:31:53.560 interesting in 2024

00:31:55.060 as those things

00:31:56.100 tend to get

00:31:56.600 quite delayed

00:31:57.400 but that's what

00:31:58.000 I'm most keen

00:31:58.580 to cover

00:31:59.000 and I'm also

00:31:59.720 really hoping

00:32:00.320 just as a quick

00:32:00.920 bonus here

00:32:01.540 that we see

00:32:02.440 some parental

00:32:03.200 Bill of Rights

00:32:03.760 legislation come forward

00:32:04.820 I think that would

00:32:05.600 be a really good

00:32:06.380 thing for the province

00:32:07.280 and also just

00:32:08.140 a really good thing

00:32:08.720 for me as a parent.

00:32:10.800 Alright,

00:32:11.220 very good.

00:32:11.660 The personal

00:32:12.100 and what is that

00:32:13.140 old feminist axiom 0.99

00:32:14.520 from Gloria Steinem?

00:32:15.540 The personal

00:32:16.320 is the political

00:32:17.100 but in your case

00:32:17.880 I guess it is

00:32:18.700 accurate right now.

00:32:20.340 Sue-Ann,

00:32:20.740 last word to you

00:32:21.480 what are you

00:32:21.840 looking ahead to?

00:32:23.180 Two things.

00:32:24.040 I'm looking forward

00:32:24.720 to parents

00:32:25.260 taking more

00:32:26.640 of an active role

00:32:27.620 in their kids'

00:32:28.500 education

00:32:29.120 and exposing

00:32:30.560 more of the

00:32:31.480 DEI nonsense

00:32:33.760 shysterism

00:32:35.160 and I'm

00:32:36.620 looking forward

00:32:37.620 to a good outcome

00:32:39.780 in the Israeli

00:32:40.820 Hamas war

00:32:41.660 and I think

00:32:42.140 anti-Semitism

00:32:42.820 has been unmasked

00:32:44.180 and I'm glad

00:32:45.680 for that.

00:32:46.420 I'm not glad

00:32:46.940 for the anti-Semitism

00:32:47.800 but I'm glad

00:32:48.580 that it has been

00:32:49.320 unmasked.

00:32:49.920 Yeah,

00:32:50.660 it's not a new

00:32:51.880 problem

00:32:52.360 so if it exists

00:32:53.220 in our society

00:32:54.060 it's better

00:32:54.540 to know about it.

00:32:55.740 So very well said.

00:32:57.180 Well it has been

00:32:57.600 an absolute pleasure

00:32:58.360 working with all

00:32:59.360 of you over

00:33:00.020 the past year.

00:33:00.920 Rachel Emanuel,

00:33:01.900 Cosman Georgia

00:33:02.540 and Sue-Ann Levy.

00:33:04.040 I look forward

00:33:04.480 to what all of you

00:33:05.560 and all of us

00:33:06.440 and the rest of our

00:33:07.080 colleagues do

00:33:07.680 in the year ahead

00:33:09.080 and with that

00:33:10.300 let me also say

00:33:11.620 to the lovely

00:33:12.880 viewers and listeners

00:33:14.180 of this show,

00:33:15.800 however you tune in

00:33:17.280 to say thank you

00:33:18.680 so much

00:33:19.540 for all of your

00:33:20.720 support and contributions

00:33:21.940 financial and otherwise

00:33:23.020 through the previous year.

00:33:24.940 It has been

00:33:25.220 an absolute pleasure

00:33:25.980 and I wish you

00:33:27.160 a very happy

00:33:28.340 new year

00:33:28.920 and look forward

00:33:30.100 to seeing what

00:33:30.880 we come up with

00:33:31.520 in the days ahead

00:33:32.180 as well.

00:33:32.540 So we'll be back

00:33:33.080 next week

00:33:33.540 with more of

00:33:34.000 The Andrew Lawton Show

00:33:34.800 here on True North.

00:33:36.100 Thank you,

00:33:36.660 God bless

00:33:37.100 and good day

00:33:37.900 to you all.

00:33:38.580 Thanks for listening

00:33:39.220 to The Andrew Lawton Show.

00:33:40.920 Support the program

00:33:41.740 by donating to True North

00:33:42.980 at www.tnc.news.

00:33:47.420 www.tnc.news.

00:33:50.680 www.tnc.news.

Juno News - December 28, 2023

Parents' rights, Danielle Smith, and DEI– True North journalists on top stories of 2023

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