Juno News - November 23, 2024


Randy finally gets the boot — what’s next？


Episode Stats

Length

15 minutes

Words per Minute

162.73616

Word Count

2,475

Sentence Count

141

Misogynist Sentences

1

Hate Speech Sentences

2


Summary

Randy Boissoneau has stepped down from his ministerial position to focus on clearing the allegations made against him, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Also on the show, we'll be discussing the return to the spotlight of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, how Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek asked her citizens to find any theoretical budget cuts she could make, which she deemed impossible, to not affect essential services. We'll also dive into how Alberta dominated Canada's job growth in October, accounting for more than 91% of national gains, and we'll cover the recent news of Edmonton Police Chief Dale McPhee stepping down.


Transcript

00:00:00.160 Randy Boissoneau is once again leading off our show today.
00:00:04.100 When hearing that, I'm guessing that a lot of you thought of the first question I thought myself.
00:00:08.480 Which Randy? Is it Randy Boissoneau, the other Randy, or the newest alias, Cocaine Randy?
00:00:15.680 Stay tuned for the rest of the show and you'll find out.
00:00:18.940 Also on the show today, we'll be discussing the return to the spotlight of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper,
00:00:24.280 how Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek asked Calgarians to find any theoretical budget cuts she could make,
00:00:30.060 which she deemed impossible, to not affect essential services.
00:00:33.680 But people answered her call.
00:00:35.460 We'll also dive into how Alberta dominated Canada's job growth in October,
00:00:39.500 accounting for more than 91% of national gains.
00:00:42.800 Lastly, we'll cover the recent news of Edmonton Police Chief Dale McPhee stepping down.
00:00:47.860 But I know you guys are probably itching to hear about Randy, so let's dive back into that story now.
00:00:54.280 Randy Boissoneau has officially stepped down from his ministerial position to focus on clearing the allegations made against him,
00:01:09.740 according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
00:01:12.080 As for which of the many allegations against him he's focused on clearing, that was not necessarily made clear.
00:01:18.320 Fans of the show will remember that Boissoneau was previously promoted to ministerial lead for Jasper,
00:01:24.280 despite being in the midst of an investigation for having allegedly received nearly $120 million in government grants and contracts while being a minister,
00:01:33.740 potentially violating Canada's ethics laws.
00:01:37.080 That didn't seem to matter much, given Boissoneau's promotion,
00:01:40.580 but the straw, or straws, that broke the camel's back seemed to be the further whirlwind of scandals that followed.
00:01:47.080 Conservative leader Pierre Paulieffre had the following to say of Boissoneau when speaking in the House.
00:01:52.960 This Prime Minister, in nine years, doubled housing costs, doubled the debt, doubled gun crime, doubled food bank use,
00:02:00.240 and up until a minute ago, he had a minister with a double identity.
00:02:04.860 The Prime Minister knew the minister was directing his business illegally from inside cabinet.
00:02:09.680 He knew the minister had claimed there was another Randy when there was no other Randy.
00:02:14.380 He knew that the minister had falsely claimed to be indigenous in order to take money away from real indigenous people,
00:02:21.000 and yet he stood by him up until yesterday.
00:02:23.660 Why is it that he always stands up for corruption on his own side?
00:02:29.200 Boissoneau recently came under fire when it was revealed that he had made previous claims about a non-existent indigenous ancestry.
00:02:36.040 He was called out by indigenous leaders and various MPs.
00:02:39.700 The company he co-owned was allegedly claiming to be indigenous-owned while bidding on federal contracts.
00:02:46.000 Instead of shifting the blame to the other Randy, this time, Boissoneau blamed his business partner, Stephen Anderson.
00:02:52.560 On top of that, it came out that Boissoneau shared a post office box with a cocaine smuggler in Edmonton.
00:02:59.120 Liberal MP Ahmed Hassan got mad at Conservative MP Michael Barrett for calling Boissoneau cocaine Randy.
00:03:06.040 He responded with this.
00:03:08.080 Speaker, I'm sure that I was referring to the other Randy as cocaine Randy.
00:03:13.060 Honestly, I can hardly keep it together when watching these clips.
00:03:16.820 I just find it so funny.
00:03:18.540 But in reality, this is making a mockery of our parliamentarians who should hold themselves to a higher standard
00:03:25.740 than being caught in a whirlwind of so many scandals that nobody can seem to keep track.
00:03:30.660 Despite him stepping down, Randy will still make over $200,000 a year as a backbench MP.
00:03:37.900 Also, it's unclear to me whether he's stepping down from his Jasper ministerial role.
00:03:41.720 I haven't been able to find any confirmation on that, but I assume that he is.
00:03:46.580 And just to clarify quickly about Randy, he's stepping down, meaning he's not fired.
00:03:50.760 So I'm curious to ask whether you think that he'll ever be held accountable, either by the Liberal government or the RCMP.
00:04:00.960 All right, so getting into a more lighthearted story now.
00:04:04.180 Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper has officially been appointed as the chairman of the board of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation.
00:04:11.660 The finance ministry told me last week that it would officially announce the new chair within a few weeks.
00:04:17.680 And the announcement came slightly ahead of schedule on Wednesday.
00:04:21.220 It was rumored that Harper would be taking over his chair, but he allegedly had to sort out some conflicts of interest before taking the position.
00:04:28.700 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith thanked Harper for accepting the position.
00:04:32.800 She said, quote,
00:04:34.140 As one of Canada's most successful prime ministers managing our national economy, our province is thrilled to have you take charge of AIMCO and get this fund performing to the level Albertans expect.
00:04:45.760 Harper revealed that he would be chairing the board for free because he believes, quote,
00:04:50.160 It is a meaningful act of public service to my adopted home province of the last 46 years.
00:04:56.420 Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner said Harper's nearly decade-long experience serving in government and as a G7 leader
00:05:03.480 proved a strong track record of fiscal responsibility with tax dollars.
00:05:07.680 He said, quote,
00:05:08.980 I am confident that the former prime minister and his board colleagues will provide the necessary oversight and direction to AIMCO's management
00:05:15.600 to ensure AIMCO is strategically well-positioned for long-term success.
00:05:20.300 AIMCO ranks among Canada's 10 largest pension funds managing over $160 billion in assets.
00:05:26.320 It achieved a 7.3% annualized return over the past decade, including an $8.9 billion net investment return in 2023.
00:05:35.420 The Alberta government fired the entire board in early November and appointed Horner interim director.
00:05:41.200 The Alberta government cited that between 2019 and 2023, AIMCO's third-party management fees increased by 96%,
00:05:48.580 the number of employees increased by 29%, and the salary, wage, and benefit costs increased by 71%.
00:05:55.700 The increases came despite managing a smaller percentage of funds internally.
00:06:00.800 Harper served as Canada's 22nd prime minister from 2006 to 2015.
00:06:06.440 During his time in office, Harper reduced federal taxes to their lowest level in 50 years,
00:06:11.820 created over 1.3 million jobs, and balanced the budget while investing in infrastructure and healthcare.
00:06:17.800 He also created the modern Conservative Party of Canada and was the longest-serving Conservative Prime Minister since Sir John A. Macdonald.
00:06:26.420 Harper serves as chairman and CEO of Harper & Associates Consulting and chairs Vision One, an investment fund he co-founded.
00:06:33.980 He also serves as the director of Collier International Group, Alimentation Couchetard, and Recover Incorporated.
00:06:41.820 Following his retirement in 2016, Harper returned to Alberta and has lived there ever since.
00:06:46.780 Now hopping into beloved Mayor Jyoti Gondek, who was faced with a wave of backlash following some comments she made regarding the city's budget,
00:06:56.560 when she claimed that there was no room for cuts.
00:06:59.220 Gondek celebrated her budget on Monday, saying she stuck to her promises by not increasing the budget by more than 3.6% while addressing key concerns,
00:07:07.740 suggesting that there were no improvements to be made when it came to reducing city spending.
00:07:12.940 The mayor challenged anyone to cut anything that didn't include the budget's three critical components,
00:07:17.940 infrastructure, transit, and public safety, which she said compromises 75% of the budget.
00:07:24.480 This challenge many residents took up on social media.
00:07:27.280 So kudos to everyone who chimed in, as there were almost 500 comments on Gondek's post to X,
00:07:32.920 generally offering the very ideas that she suggested did not exist.
00:07:36.980 So I compiled a top 5 list of the most common or salient suggestions.
00:07:42.000 They were,
00:07:42.540 Also, the day after Gondek issued her challenge,
00:08:00.920 2nd Street re-released a policy brief it had written in 2021,
00:08:05.320 containing 10 examples on how municipalities could cut their spending.
00:08:09.600 So yeah, let me know in the comments if you have any other ideas on how Gondek could cut wasteful spending,
00:08:14.440 and where that money could be better utilized.
00:08:17.160 So hopping into our next story here,
00:08:18.940 this, that Alberta accounted for 91% of Canada's net job growth in October.
00:08:24.880 Now I know that sounds almost impossible,
00:08:27.020 given our limited population compared to big provinces like Ontario and Quebec,
00:08:31.860 but it's key to understand that this is net job gains.
00:08:35.640 So Canada saw employment grow from 20,582,400 in September to 20,596,900 in October.
00:08:45.440 Alberta saw jobs grow from 2,529,800 in September to 2,543,000 in October,
00:08:53.420 which was a gain of 13,200 jobs.
00:08:56.360 Or 91% of the total 14,500 jobs gained in Canada.
00:09:02.060 So some provinces, like British Columbia, saw similar rises of 8,300 jobs.
00:09:06.960 However, these were offset by the 10,900 jobs lost between September and October in Ontario.
00:09:13.400 The job losses in Ontario came despite the population growing by 39,000.
00:09:18.420 In fact, the entire country saw its working age population rise by 85,200 people between September
00:09:24.900 and October.
00:09:26.340 Therefore, while the country saw an increase of 14,500 jobs,
00:09:31.680 it saw 70,700 more working age individuals enter the job market than the number of jobs created.
00:09:38.860 So the working population grew at 587.5% of the job growth rate between September and October.
00:09:47.100 Alberta has previously led the country in gains from interprovincial migration as Canadians are
00:09:51.860 fleeing expensive cities for greater affordability.
00:09:55.200 The trend of interprovincial migration driven by affordability has seen rent decrease in Canada's
00:10:00.140 most expensive provinces while it has increased in the most affordable.
00:10:04.180 While Alberta's population grew, it fared much better than the rest of the country.
00:10:08.280 So between September and October, Alberta's population grew by 14,400.
00:10:12.720 And of course, as I said, the employment grew by 13,200.
00:10:16.660 Therefore, only 1,200 more working class people entered the job force than did jobs,
00:10:20.920 or a rate of 109%.
00:10:23.240 Average hourly wages grew 4.9% to $35.76 an hour year over year in October,
00:10:31.340 rising further from the 4.6 annual increase seen in September.
00:10:35.740 Despite the rise in wages, only 61.3% of Canadians reported being very satisfied with their job.
00:10:42.440 This was a decrease of 0.9% since October of last year.
00:10:45.820 The younger people were, the more likely they were to be dissatisfied.
00:10:50.200 So hopping into our last story here, Edmonton Police Chief Dale McPhee announced on Wednesday
00:10:56.860 that he would be stepping down on February 21st after just over six years on the job.
00:11:02.600 The Edmonton Police Commission said that it will determine the hiring process of selecting
00:11:06.740 a new chief within the coming months.
00:11:09.240 McPhee said, quote,
00:11:10.360 I want to express my gratitude to the Edmonton Police Commission and to the people of Edmonton
00:11:15.240 who have allowed me to lead one of the best organizations in North America.
00:11:18.760 Thank you to the commission who set the vision we have delivered on and fought with us through
00:11:23.820 some tumultuous times.
00:11:25.600 Together, we have been impatient for progress, but steadfast in a shared belief about the
00:11:30.220 EPS and the community we serve.
00:11:33.540 This support was essential in allowing us to do our critical work.
00:11:36.980 I know that everyone at the EPS will continue forward with this good work.
00:11:40.760 Chair of the Edmonton Police Commission, John McDougall, thanked McPhee for his service.
00:11:45.260 He said, quote,
00:11:46.880 Dale transformed our city's police service into an organization focused on innovation
00:11:51.140 and delivering policing as an outcome-based public service driven by community safety
00:11:55.820 and well-being.
00:11:57.100 As a result, the EPS is now internationally recognized as one of the most innovative police
00:12:02.300 organizations in North America.
00:12:04.240 So yeah, let me know if you had any opinions on McPhee and what you expect the next chief to
00:12:09.660 hope to accomplish in Edmonton.
00:12:11.640 So that wraps up our stories for this week, but let's hop into the comment roundup now.
00:12:16.240 At Ria Timmersman 5177 said, quote,
00:12:19.520 Voter ID is the most important ID there is.
00:12:22.620 The states that are still blue in USA don't need ID.
00:12:25.640 If you don't pay taxes, you should not be able to vote.
00:12:28.720 Adding to this, the Shane Hansel said, quote,
00:12:32.060 Absolutely.
00:12:33.200 Democrats in the US rely on illegals voting, hence the desire to flood the country with them.
00:12:37.700 And defending the no ID requirement to vote, I can't understand why presenting an ID can
00:12:42.840 be viewed as racist.
00:12:44.360 You have to have a room temperature IQ to think something like that makes sense.
00:12:48.500 So yeah, I agree with both of these sentiments.
00:12:50.160 Voter ID should be necessary in every single democratic process.
00:12:54.520 It is a vital aspect of democracy.
00:12:56.520 I mean, illegal immigrants should not be voting in our elections.
00:12:59.760 I don't know why anyone would argue against this.
00:13:02.480 The next comment comes from At Ordinary Canadian, Y6P, who said, quote,
00:13:07.940 I'm a lifelong conservative supporter.
00:13:09.960 I think the conservative party should not take a 15 or 20 point lead for granted.
00:13:14.940 These numbers are bound to go up and down between now and the election day.
00:13:18.740 The conservatives should attempt to build a broader coalition consisting of young females,
00:13:23.520 moderate Muslims, and yes, even with the PPC of Maxime Bernier.
00:13:27.160 Come election day, every vote will matter.
00:13:29.720 That's how Trump won down south.
00:13:31.220 And also work out some sort of deal with other opposition parties to force an election
00:13:35.620 instead of painting all of them with the same brush.
00:13:39.120 Trudeau has become too costly and destructive to Canada for another day.
00:13:43.600 Yeah, I wanted to highlight this because I agree that the conservatives have a long way
00:13:47.300 to go before the latest day the next federal election could take place, which is October
00:13:52.700 2025.
00:13:54.140 And if they get complacent, they could certainly lose the lead they've seen in the polls.
00:13:57.800 And on top of that, these polls are meaningless at the end of the day.
00:14:00.520 If the election results are different, I think the conservatives should do everything in their
00:14:05.080 power to keep growing their base and aim to get as close as they can to 100% of the vote
00:14:10.980 instead of thinking they already have the election in the bag.
00:14:13.980 Because remember, nothing is guaranteed in this life.
00:14:16.960 The last comment comes from at Spare Parts Army 2.0 who said, quote,
00:14:21.660 I'd like to see Harper continuing doing whatever he's doing, wherever he's doing it, and not
00:14:26.520 getting near power.
00:14:28.020 Yeah, so this was a theme I saw develop in the comments among some of you that said you
00:14:32.300 weren't interested in seeing Harper return in any way, which took me by surprise because
00:14:37.240 many Canadians I've spoken with consider Harper to be the best conservative prime minister
00:14:41.480 in our country's history.
00:14:42.880 I'm curious now if your opinions have changed, seeing the role that Harper will take and that
00:14:47.580 he will be doing so for free on a pro bono basis.
00:14:51.400 Harper was always touted for his economic mind, so do you not feel that he will manage Alberta's
00:14:56.780 investment portfolio properly?
00:14:59.060 Let me know in the comments.
00:15:01.120 And that wraps up our comment roundup and this week's show.
00:15:04.700 My name's Isaac Lameru, your host of the Alberta Roundup.
00:15:07.460 Have a great weekend.
00:15:09.060 Thank you and God bless.
00:15:10.320 May Alberta prosper strong and free.