Juno News - Poilievre stands with Smith

00:00:00.000 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's transgender and parental right policies continue to dominate

00:00:05.480 headlines in the country. The Premier was in Ottawa this week for meetings with federal

00:00:10.580 ministers, but Eastern legacy media seemed only concerned with questions on the Premier's recent

00:00:16.820 announcement to protect children here in Alberta. And of course, there were protests, both here in

00:00:22.900 Alberta and in Ottawa, and there's more planned to come on both sides. And if there's one big

00:00:29.120 takeaway, it's that the Premier's actions have already caused a ripple effect among Conservative

00:00:34.280 politicians, with Conservative leader Pierre Polyev finally weighing in and making a strong

00:00:40.560 statement in support of parents. I'm Rachel Emanuel, and this is the Alberta Roundup.

00:00:45.040 Taking a look at what we're going to be talking about on today's show, Pierre Polyev has made a

00:00:59.980 statement in support of the Alberta Premier. Of course, Danielle Smith was in Ottawa this week

00:01:05.160 to open a new Alberta office. As well, a Liberal MP and committee chair snubbed Danielle Smith

00:01:10.780 after goading her into appearing at his committee on X. All that and more happening now on the Alberta

00:01:16.880 Roundup. Starting with our first story here, Federal Conservative leader Pierre Polyev made a strong

00:01:22.100 statement in support of Alberta Premier Daniel Smith this week and accused mainstream media of trying to

00:01:27.380 demonize her. Take a listen. Trudeau has not given a single example of any of the policies that

00:01:33.480 Premier Smith has brought forward that he individually disagrees with because he doesn't want to be

00:01:39.280 specific about it. And that's because he and you want to peddle in disinformation in order to demonize

00:01:48.260 parents, Premier Smith and parents. And Justin Trudeau has spread hatred against parents. The Premier was in

00:01:59.260 Ottawa this week to meet with federal ministers and to open a new Alberta office. Here's what she had to

00:02:04.300 say about it. Our government is committed to standing up for Alberta within United Canada. The creation of

00:02:09.620 this office in Ottawa is one way we're delivering on that commitment. And I am looking forward to seeing

00:02:14.540 the positive effects that will come from this space right here. Alberta's new senior representative to

00:02:19.500 Ottawa, James Carpenter, told True North on Monday that his position is an advocacy role. Carpenter said

00:02:26.120 quote, basically, we're going to be building relationships and working with the bureaucrats and

00:02:31.120 the elected officials, stakeholders and interested parties in regards to Alberta issues on a federal

00:02:36.360 level. Carpenter said energy and the environment will be top priorities along with agriculture, health and

00:02:42.540 childcare. And both he and Premier Smith encouraged other provinces to follow Alberta's lead in setting

00:02:48.040 up shop in the nation's capital. I can tell you, you could probably talk to any Premier. I don't think

00:02:51.900 any one of them has a very positive or constructive relationship with the federal government right now

00:02:56.500 for the same reasons that we do. It doesn't matter what the political stripe is. So if we can help to

00:03:01.560 further the conversation with our provincial partners in Quebec, we'd be more than happy to continue that.

00:03:06.440 Discussion on Premier Smith's recent transgender policies dominated her visit. It actually seemed to be the

00:03:11.780 only thing Eastern media was interested in asking the Premier about. Here's the Premier explaining more about

00:03:17.700 her decision in one such exchange. Having a discussion about pronouns is really just the beginning of the process.

00:03:23.260 When a child changes their identity, it moves on to puberty blockers, then moves on to cross-sex hormones, 0.77

00:03:30.060 then moves on to top and bottom surgery. That's the pathway. And so we had to have a conversation about what is the

00:03:36.580 appropriate ages to be able to make those life-altering decisions. So that's part of the

00:03:40.980 reason why we put it together as a package. So there's some policy around health, some policy around

00:03:45.460 education, and some policy around sport. Meanwhile, Federal Employment Minister and Edmonton MP Randy

00:03:52.400 Boissoneau told Global News' David Aiken that children need the safe space to come out because they haven't

00:03:58.680 figured out how to tell their parents yet. Here's what that sounded like.

00:04:01.560 I'm still getting phone calls from people in the community that are quite rightly terrified by

00:04:07.920 last week's announcement by Premier Smith and the forthcoming legislation. I think

00:04:12.200 if I can just be really clear, the state has no business in interfering in the development of a

00:04:21.320 child in the relationship that they have with their parents. And what Danielle Smith is trying to do

00:04:26.000 with this broadside on the LGBTQ2 community and really targeting trans kids is she's trying to

00:04:32.160 insert herself between kids and their parents. She's trying to insert herself between kids 1.00

00:04:36.640 and medical professionals. She's trying to mandate that teachers out kids. 1.00

00:04:41.440 And the left's meltdown to Danielle Smith's policies continues to be so extreme

00:04:45.640 that even the libs of TikTok picked it up. Here's Janice Irwin. 0.90

00:04:54.540 To all the queer and trans youth out there, just know that you are so loved and we're going to be

00:05:01.680 with you for every step of this fight. We love you so much.

00:05:05.200 Of course, it's important to remember that according to media reports, Irwin is considering

00:05:12.900 a run for the Alberta NDP leadership. So that could be the next leader of the official opposition,

00:05:18.320 everyone. Just let that sink in. And for those of you who haven't viewed it yet, I headed out to the

00:05:23.360 streets of Calgary this week, well a mall actually, to pull regular Albertans to see what they think

00:05:29.420 about Danielle Smith's transgender policies. You can go back and watch that, but I'm just going to

00:05:34.440 play a brief teaser for you now. It's huge for women to have our rights and we're losing our rights 1.00

00:05:39.420 by allowing transgenders to compete in women's sports, especially even young women. I remember

00:05:46.320 as a kindergarten teacher, I got into trouble because I tacked up drawings of genitals. I thought,

00:05:53.720 yes, that was the 70s and people were shocked. Lots of good stuff there. You guys won't

00:05:59.340 want to miss that. And of course, I have moved up to two episodes a week now. I'm hoping to do some

00:06:04.020 more streeters. And of course, if there's anyone you'd like to see me interview, please drop it in

00:06:09.360 the comments below and I'll look into having them on my show in the weeks to come. Moving into the

00:06:13.660 controversy of the week, a liberal MP who goaded Premier Smith into appearing before the House of

00:06:19.920 Commons Natural Resource Committee never actually invited her, even though he's the chair. In a statement

00:06:25.820 posted on X prior to Smith's arrival in Ottawa, Liberal MP George Chahal wrote, quote,

00:06:32.120 when Premier Danielle Smith comes to Ottawa next week, I hope she'll explain to the Natural Resources

00:06:37.440 Committee why she's putting clean energy investment at risk. Hours later at a press conference in Ottawa

00:06:43.720 on Monday morning, Smith said she'd be happy to come. Take a listen.

00:06:47.600 I would note that as I was in flight, the chair of the Natural Resources Committee,

00:06:53.900 George Chahal, asked me if I would appear before his committee to explain our renewables policy.

00:07:01.560 And I would just like to accept that invitation. If they happen to finish their business today,

00:07:06.140 I know they have a packed schedule. I'd be delighted to join them. I do have time in my calendar.

00:07:10.300 So my phone is on. And if he would like to invite me to that, I'd be more than happy to come.

00:07:17.320 And this is part of the reason why we're here is to be able to explain Alberta's position and be

00:07:22.200 able to collaborate with our federal partners. But Chahal never responded. Later, the Premier's

00:07:27.160 press secretary, Sam Blackett, said the invitation lacked substance and was nothing more than a political

00:07:33.280 job. Moving in to what we're watching in the weeks to come. This one is from our good friends

00:07:37.560 over at the counter signal. A official petition has been launched to try and recall Calgary Mayor

00:07:43.900 Jody Gondek. You can only wonder what it is that finally did her in. Maybe it was the move to try

00:07:49.000 and cancel Canada Day last year, if you guys remember that. The city of Calgary confirmed

00:07:53.860 the reception of the recall petition against Mayor Gondek on January 30th, as announced by city clerk

00:08:00.720 Kate Martin. Martin said, quote, this is the first notice of recall petition that has been

00:08:06.240 received by the city clerk's office since the legislation took effect. The petition action

00:08:11.520 leverages the 2022 amendments to the Municipal Government Act, permitting the recall of municipal

00:08:17.380 officials through a structured process. Just over 500,000 signatures are needed to recall Gondek,

00:08:24.000 which is about one third of the total number of individuals who voted for her in the last Calgary

00:08:29.480 election. The petitioner, Landon Johnson, hasn't officially launched a website to collect signatures,

00:08:36.240 but you can register at the counter signal if you're interested in receiving updates and for

00:08:40.720 information on where the petition can be signed. And finally, moving into our weekly comment roundup,

00:08:46.320 these are some comments from the last two episodes I posted. Starting with a comment from

00:08:50.520 at Troy Lloyd here, he says, quote, transition surgery for adults should be classed as cosmetic surgery

00:08:57.000 and not paid for by taxpayers. The healthcare system is already overburdened. You are of course correct,

00:09:04.160 and I saw a lot of similar sentiments under my post. User at Laura Turner said, quote, I identify as a

00:09:10.620 younger and thinner woman. Now, maybe the government will pay for all the plastic surgery it will take 1.00

00:09:15.860 to make that happen. I had a good chuckle at that one. I actually think I'm going to identify as a blonde, 0.51

00:09:19.840 so the government should pay for all my hair treatment. It's very high maintenance to be a blonde. 0.96

00:09:24.740 I did it for a couple years, and I simply couldn't keep up with it. But now that I know the government's

00:09:28.960 willing to pay for it, I might give that a shot again. And finally, user, the voice of reason said,

00:09:34.980 these people are talking like they're looking for acceptance to their opinion. Just tell the truth

00:09:39.640 about how you feel. It's how we form a consensus. That comment was posted underneath the episode where

00:09:44.880 I was polling people. It was so difficult to get people to stop and give their opinion. To be fair,

00:09:50.220 some people seemed like maybe they were considering it. And as soon as I said the word

00:09:53.500 transgender, they scurried off. I know it's a very controversial topic. About 40 minutes in,

00:09:58.100 I finally got a little smarter and started asking people to give their opinion on women's only 0.65

00:10:03.460 sporting spaces. And I think that drew a few more people in. So lesson learned for next time,

00:10:08.280 though it was quite a bit of fun doing those straighters, and I hope to get back to them.

00:10:11.940 Okay, everyone, that's all for today. Thank you so much for tuning in. Don't forget to watch

00:10:16.220 both episodes this week. Don't forget to like this episode and subscribe to True North.

00:10:21.060 I'll be back on Wednesday with more content. I hope that you guys have a great rest of your weekend.

00:10:26.000 God bless.

Juno News - February 10, 2024

Poilievre stands with Smith

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