Juno News - Smith takes on Quebec separatists

00:00:00.000 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Quebec Premier Yves-François Blanchet have been exchanging blows throughout the week.

00:00:07.320 Smith said that the Liberals have no mandate to bargain with Quebec separatists at the expense of Alberta, the West, and the rest of Canada.

00:00:15.320 She warned that if they do, an election should be called immediately.

00:00:18.860 I'm Isaac Lamoureux, your new host of the Alberta Roundup.

00:00:30.000 If you were expecting Rachel Parker, you can catch her at The Rachel Parker Show.

00:00:36.300 I hope that you don't find me replacing her on this show as too much of a detriment.

00:00:40.340 You may know me from my previous work elsewhere with True North.

00:00:43.100 I've appeared on this show a few times as a guest, and also I have the odd appearance on Off the Record and normally a bi-weekly appearance on The Daily Brief.

00:00:50.900 I also write articles for True North, and chances are, if you've ever read an article about Alberta, that I am the author.

00:00:57.220 Let's get back into that Alberta-Quebec exchange.

00:00:59.960 Blanchet said that when he saw Smith's post, he found it so funny that he shared it himself.

00:01:04.540 He suggested that Smith thinks the Bloc is serving Quebec better than the Conservatives are serving Alberta.

00:01:10.320 But instead of being just not satisfied with the job made by the Conservatives sent by Alberta to Ottawa,

00:01:22.680 compared to what the Bloc Québécois does for Quebecers,

00:01:27.140 maybe all regions of Canada should just do the same.

00:01:33.800 And if she's interested in knowing more about the way we did it,

00:01:39.160 because, obvious, she seems to believe that Quebec is better served by the Bloc than she is by the Conservatives,

00:01:46.560 I will be very glad to do it.

00:01:50.000 Smith responded once more.

00:01:52.940 She said that she didn't need lessons from Quebec, as the province's record speaks for itself.

00:01:57.540 She added that Albertans object to the Bloc's plan to leverage the Liberals to advance its own separatist and socialist agenda,

00:02:04.760 all the while blocking Alberta and even Quebec's natural resources.

00:02:07.540 The back and forth follows NDP leader Jagmeet Singh's announcement that he would be ending his coalition agreement with the Liberals.

00:02:27.200 A majority threshold in Canada consists of 170 out of 338 seats in Parliament.

00:02:33.980 The Liberals currently have 154.

00:02:37.020 The NDP have 24 seats, meaning those two parties together can pass any vote they want.

00:02:44.740 However, the Bloc Québécois also have 32 seats, meaning that even if the NDP-Liberal coalition comes to an end,

00:02:52.960 the Bloc Québécois could take the NDP's place in propping up this Liberal government.

00:02:58.240 An election is triggered if the government loses a confidence vote in the House of Commons.

00:03:03.120 Confidence votes can occur on key issues, such as budget bills or specific bills calling for confidence.

00:03:09.560 A judge sentenced the remaining Coutts protesters to over six years each on Monday.

00:03:13.940 The two remaining members of the Coutts Four had spent over 900 days in remand awaiting trial.

00:03:19.620 Two of the initial four members, Chris Lysak and Jerry Morin, accepted a plea deal on lesser charges in February.

00:03:26.280 The conspiracy to commit murder charges were dropped and the two men were released.

00:03:30.980 Lysak was sentenced to three years for possession of a restricted firearm in an unauthorized place,

00:03:37.140 and Morin was sentenced to three and a half years for conspiracy to traffic firearms.

00:03:41.560 Both sentences amounted to time served awaiting trial for the two men.

00:03:46.100 Olenek and Carbert both had conspiracy to commit murder charges dropped earlier this week before this recent ruling,

00:03:52.600 but Crown prosecutors are appealing.

00:03:55.100 Monday's ruling resulted in Chris Carbert being sentenced to six and a half years for mischief and obstruction,

00:04:00.900 and Anthony Olenek being sentenced to six years for the same charges and possessing an explosive weapon.

00:04:06.400 However, after accounting for time served, the remaining sentences are brought down to about two years each.

00:04:13.260 Both will also be subject to a lifetime firearms prohibition and have to submit their DNA to a registry.

00:04:19.980 Opinions of the sentencing varied online, with some commentators, including Carbert's mother, doubting the soundness of the sentence.

00:04:28.240 Gord McGill, a writer and trucker who commented on the Coutts trials in the past,

00:04:34.100 said that the judge's ruling obliged the Crown and spent much of the time re-litigating charges for which the two men were found not guilty.

00:04:43.260 Carbert's mother agreed with McGill's take.

00:04:45.460 To me, it just shows how our justice system isn't very just, and I don't feel that the judge based his decisions on actual facts.

00:04:59.000 I also feel that he based some of it on the charge that they were acquitted from.

00:05:04.220 Other Canadians noted their disbelief at Canada's lenient jailing procedures in non-politicized trials,

00:05:11.960 as people are charged and released the next day, only to be charged again the following day,

00:05:16.920 a cycle that's been seeming to repeat itself with this catch-and-release policy.

00:05:20.660 Every day in this country, we have politicians and senior bureaucrats committing crimes that are way worse than mischief,

00:05:26.980 but get away with it.

00:05:28.460 Sad day for Canada, said Marty up north, a well-known Albertan commentator on X.

00:05:34.580 The Alberta government is said to be releasing new guidelines on photo radar in December.

00:05:39.200 CTV News obtained a copy of the guidelines which listed the following policy changes.

00:05:43.840 Banning automated traffic enforcement on provincial highways and numbered highways and roads that connect with provincial highways,

00:05:51.760 restricting automated traffic enforcement to playground, school, and construction zones,

00:05:57.180 and eliminating speeding enforcement by intersection safety devices at intersections.

00:06:02.500 This feels like a promise that has been looming in Alberta for some time now.

00:06:07.760 As I'm sure many of my fellow big city Albertans can attest to,

00:06:12.080 I've been frustrated with photo radar for, well, most of my life,

00:06:16.980 especially considering there are some data suggesting that photo radar does little to nothing to actually improve road safety,

00:06:22.320 because obviously it makes drivers more nervous, but it also does make some drivers drive slower,

00:06:27.540 and I guess those balance each other out.

00:06:29.920 For example, a 27 study by Jason Garropy titled,

00:06:34.540 Picture This, Mobile Photo Radar in Its Efficacy on Traffic Safety,

00:06:39.480 concluded that, quote,

00:06:40.620 There is no statistical evidence between the presence and absence of photo radar

00:06:45.100 and the frequency of traffic collisions every month.

00:06:48.760 Also, something that always irked me is that small towns in Alberta seem to have already outlawed photo radar,

00:06:53.880 because I guess their populace generally has more influence on city council than, say,

00:06:58.640 the population of a big city like Edmonton or Calgary.

00:07:01.040 Obviously, the same can't be said for Edmonton,

00:07:04.500 but I do look forward to roads like the Anthony Hende, the Yellowhead, the White Mud, Calgary Trail,

00:07:09.200 and the list goes on.

00:07:10.560 They will no longer have photo radar.

00:07:12.440 In Alberta, photo radar generated $171 million in 2022-23.

00:07:18.300 The revenue from traffic fines are split between governments,

00:07:22.000 so that means that 40% goes to the province and 60% to the municipality.

00:07:26.720 While some councillors have expressed opposition

00:07:28.960 because they believe that photo radar makes the roads safer,

00:07:32.680 Alberta has previously called photo radar, quote,

00:07:35.280 cash cow, 0.90

00:07:36.560 and Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Drieschen

00:07:40.220 previously announced photo radar restrictions on ring roads near the end of 2023.

00:07:46.220 Alberta has the highest usage of photo radar in Canada,

00:07:49.100 and these changes will finally eliminate the cash cow that affects so many Albertans.

00:07:53.940 Photo radar must only be used to improve traffic safety,

00:07:56.700 and with these changes, municipalities will no longer be able to issue

00:08:00.480 thousands of speeding tickets simply to generate revenue, said Drieschen.

00:08:05.360 At the time, he said that more changes were to come after they consulted municipalities,

00:08:10.460 which they estimated would end December 1st, 2024.

00:08:13.720 And surprise, surprise, these changes and recommendations are slotted to come in December.

00:08:18.340 So Drieschen and the Alberta government are following through on their word.

00:08:21.480 All right, people, now for the much-anticipated sports section,

00:08:23.960 and surprisingly, we actually have two sports stories back-to-back.

00:08:27.180 I didn't even really expect to have one on this first week, but yes, we have two.

00:08:31.320 So the Edmonton Oilers announced their, quote, jersey partner on Monday,

00:08:36.420 meaning this upcoming season, their jerseys will have advertisements.

00:08:40.580 The initial post released by Edmonton on Monday was just a video showcasing their jersey partner,

00:08:45.540 but it didn't really explicitly say what was happening,

00:08:48.240 so it didn't get ratioed that hard.

00:08:49.980 But the same cannot be said for a post that they issued a few minutes later

00:08:54.020 with a press release explicitly describing the changes.

00:08:58.040 And if you thought jersey advertisements were bad enough, it gets worse.

00:09:01.860 While the home jerseys will feature a Play Alberta logo on them,

00:09:05.560 the helmets will also have a Game Sense advertisement on them during every single home game.

00:09:10.720 I scrolled through every single comment on the second post,

00:09:13.220 and it was more or less impossible to find a positive one.

00:09:16.280 Most replies complained about the advertising, especially with them being related to gambling, 0.98

00:09:21.860 and contained vulgar language like trash, disgusting, and gross. 0.75

00:09:26.440 I'm really not sure what caused the shift for the Oilers. 0.90

00:09:29.860 They were previously celebrated during the 2022-23 season

00:09:33.460 when they were one of the few teams to say that they wouldn't have advertisements on their jerseys.

00:09:38.380 This may be the change here that PlayAlberta.ca generated $235 million in net sales last year,

00:09:45.100 which was a $42 million increase from 2022-23.

00:09:49.220 And this contributed to the $1.5 billion in total gaming revenue

00:09:53.920 funneled into Alberta's general revenue fund.

00:09:57.080 Even before gambling ads flooded arenas appearing virtually on boards and on the ice during games

00:10:02.300 and all across city signage,

00:10:04.820 a January 2023 Ipsos poll revealed that nearly half of Canadians

00:10:09.340 believed gambling ads were out of control.

00:10:11.240 Nearly 48% of Canadians felt that the volume of gambling advertisements was excessive

00:10:16.760 and should be reduced.

00:10:18.320 Additionally, 63% supported limiting the amount or placement of ads,

00:10:23.400 which have since essentially become unavoidable.

00:10:25.860 While the Oilers had previously avoided ads,

00:10:28.200 the greatest player right now and the greatest player of all time,

00:10:31.880 Connor McDavid and Wayne Gretzky,

00:10:33.840 appeared collaboratively in a BetMGM commercial promoting sports gambling.

00:10:38.380 Look, as an avid hockey fan myself,

00:10:40.820 many of my fondest memories growing up were watching sports with my family.

00:10:45.640 I can only imagine the children now that are bombarded with these sport gambling ads.

00:10:50.700 I'm curious, given the money these companies are making for the leagues,

00:10:54.580 whether we'll ever be able to tone it down.

00:10:57.200 Sticking with hockey,

00:10:58.660 another hockey story in development surrounding Johnny Goudreau came to light this week.

00:11:03.920 For those who don't know,

00:11:05.440 former Calgary Flames forward Johnny Goudreau and his brother

00:11:08.320 were both killed by an alleged drunk driver on August 28th.

00:11:11.840 The two were in New Jersey,

00:11:13.580 set to be groomsmen at their sister's wedding the very next day.

00:11:18.220 They were riding their bikes when both of the brothers were struck by a jeep driver

00:11:23.200 who allegedly was trying to pass another vehicle and they were both pronounced dead at the scene.

00:11:28.180 At the brothers' memorial on Monday,

00:11:30.420 Meredith Goudreau, Johnny's wife, revealed that she is nine weeks pregnant

00:11:34.660 with her and her late husband's third child.

00:11:37.380 John and I had the best six months as a family of four.

00:11:41.720 These will forever be the best six months of my life.

00:11:45.500 There's specifically one week that I will cherish forever

00:11:48.520 and will be my favorite week of my life out of those six months.

00:11:53.960 We're actually a family of five.

00:11:58.060 I'm in my ninth week of pregnancy with our third baby.

00:12:02.520 A total surprise, but again, John was beaming and so excited.

00:12:07.080 The post-to-ex of this announcement has already garnered over one million views

00:12:11.000 and the comments are flooded with support.

00:12:13.440 Good luck reading through them without teary eyes.

00:12:16.460 Aside from the announcement of the child,

00:12:18.220 there has been an outpour of support across the country.

00:12:21.000 At a recent WWE event in Calgary,

00:12:24.220 they gave the Goudreau brothers a shout out

00:12:26.100 as fans were seeing sporting jerseys throughout the arena.

00:12:30.460 You'll see that number 13 jersey around town.

00:12:34.040 Today, Johnny and his brother were laid to rest

00:12:36.580 on a day when this community continues to remember him.

00:12:40.320 Jackie Redman has more.

00:12:46.120 Tess, thank you.

00:12:47.240 I'm outside the Saddle Dome

00:12:48.480 where a very large display of love

00:12:50.700 to honor the memory of Johnny and Matthew Goudreau

00:12:53.440 continues to grow.

00:12:55.140 As fans arrived here tonight,

00:12:57.140 they walked by dozens of number 13 jerseys,

00:13:01.000 love letters from fans,

00:13:02.820 and even some of Johnny's favorite snacks.

00:13:06.460 Johnny Hockey,

00:13:07.380 as we lovingly refer to him in the hockey world,

00:13:10.360 spent the better part of a decade

00:13:11.740 electrifying hockey fans

00:13:13.540 in this very arena.

00:13:15.440 And he was a special type of player.

00:13:18.260 The type of player that got people out of their seats

00:13:21.040 and onto their feet

00:13:22.160 the second the puck was on his stick.

00:13:25.040 I mean, he was magical to watch.

00:13:27.960 Now we're going to get into the comment roundup portion of the show,

00:13:31.380 which I know Rachel started,

00:13:32.520 but as a fan of the show myself,

00:13:34.160 I always loved watching

00:13:35.560 and I really like the connection it builds with fans.

00:13:37.820 So I'm going to go through a few comments from last week

00:13:40.500 when Rachel was hosting the show.

00:13:41.720 Obviously, it wasn't me,

00:13:42.580 but still I read through all your comments

00:13:44.140 and I'll read some now.

00:13:45.860 So the first comment featured is from Leona369

00:13:48.520 and it says,

00:13:49.180 I really like Isaac as well.

00:14:17.280 So now I just have to add another show to my list.

00:14:20.120 Awesome.

00:14:20.760 Thanks, Leona.

00:14:21.480 Yeah, it really means a lot that you showed me out there.

00:14:24.080 So I really, really appreciate that.

00:14:25.500 This one from MikeCortese931.

00:14:28.040 He said,

00:14:28.480 Here's an idea.

00:14:29.880 Let's take the money the city had aside for the green line

00:14:32.720 and reallocate it to a new water supply for the city,

00:14:35.920 considering we're still under a water ban

00:14:37.760 due to a total incompetence at the city level.

00:14:40.880 Might be a good idea to fire everyone first,

00:14:42.940 then give it to a private company to complete.

00:14:45.260 Look, Mike, you're right.

00:14:47.020 Generally, private industry can do things more effective

00:14:50.600 than the public sphere.

00:14:52.780 And I don't know how long Calgary's been in this water crisis.

00:14:56.920 It seems like it's been months now, 0.94

00:14:58.280 but this is ridiculous. 0.93

00:14:59.680 I can't believe it's still going on. 0.91

00:15:01.540 And for all the residents of Calgary,

00:15:03.300 I really hope that you guys get out of this pretty quick.

00:15:06.500 Then the last comment here,

00:15:07.700 and sort of on Calgary as well,

00:15:09.360 this from BrianWing2326.

00:15:10.960 He said,

00:15:12.720 Gondek had better start focusing on Calgary's water supply

00:15:15.340 rather than wasting so much money elsewhere

00:15:17.420 that pipe needs to be replaced,

00:15:19.540 not patched up long enough for it just to break again.

00:15:23.000 Nenshi ignored our infrastructure

00:15:24.420 in favor of vanity projects,

00:15:26.440 spending huge amounts of money on things

00:15:28.300 that were unnecessary.

00:15:29.860 Keep that in mind

00:15:30.800 while he looks for your provincial vote.

00:15:32.720 Brian, I decided to shout that out

00:15:34.420 because I really liked the mention of Nenshi.

00:15:40.180 He's running for provincial politics

00:15:42.000 as if Calgarians haven't forgotten

00:15:43.620 the kind of mayor he was.

00:15:45.160 And I remember his approval ratings were

00:15:46.800 among the worst I've ever seen.

00:15:49.720 So just going to do a quick outro here.

00:15:51.420 Just wanted to thank everyone again

00:15:52.860 for wishing Rachel good luck on our new show,

00:15:55.660 the Rachel Parker Show.

00:15:56.620 I'm sure she'll do amazing. 0.99

00:15:58.360 And try not to be too critical of me.

00:16:00.760 This is my first time,

00:16:02.020 and Rachel had years of experience.

00:16:03.740 I hope to one day be able to live up

00:16:05.900 to her revered reputation.

00:16:09.600 I didn't get much sleep last night,

00:16:11.020 which generally happens

00:16:12.540 when I have a stressful situation the next day.

00:16:16.360 And then worse yet,

00:16:17.200 I wake up to my roof leaking.

00:16:19.700 Yes, my roof leaking in my house today.

00:16:22.200 So that really helped things move along swiftly here.

00:16:25.700 And I've been dealing with that all day,

00:16:26.940 so you can imagine.

00:16:28.080 If you don't recognize me from before,

00:16:29.920 it might be because I'm not wearing a three-piece suit

00:16:31.840 and I shaved my mustache.

00:16:32.720 But if you remember someone coming on talk shows before

00:16:36.400 with a mustache and wearing a suit,

00:16:37.760 yes, that was me.

00:16:39.200 I know I look much different now,

00:16:40.640 so my mom will be happy.

00:16:43.260 She really hated that mustache.

00:16:44.520 And I'll see you next time.

00:16:51.100 Yeah, I hear you next time.

00:16:53.660 Thank you.

Juno News - September 14, 2024

Smith takes on Quebec separatists

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