Juno News - November 20, 2024


Trudeau “jeopardizing” Canada’s relationship with the U.S.


Episode Stats

Length

16 minutes

Words per Minute

186.10912

Word Count

3,019

Sentence Count

157

Misogynist Sentences

6


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jeopardizing Canada's relationship with the United States?
00:00:06.100 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith certainly seems to think so.
00:00:10.040 That's because, as Donald Trump has signaled the need for energy security in the U.S.
00:00:14.820 and plans to do that with his incoming administration,
00:00:19.180 Justin Trudeau is focused on emissions cap.
00:00:22.680 Emissions cap that, according to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith,
00:00:25.480 would make it harder for Alberta to get their product to markets like the U.S.
00:00:31.240 Now, the Alberta Premier has signaled that she's going to forge ahead with her own relationship with the United States,
00:00:38.220 leaving Ottawa aside.
00:00:40.340 And so, I didn't think it was possible, but with that,
00:00:43.480 Justin Trudeau's image on the world stage has diminished even further.
00:00:48.060 I'm Rachel Parker, and you're watching Rachel in the Republic.
00:00:55.480 Hey everyone, welcome back to Rachel in the Republic.
00:01:05.800 I'm your host, Rachel Parker.
00:01:07.440 As you guys know, I have covered Alberta politics for a very long time,
00:01:11.660 and when I left my old show, The Alberta Roundup,
00:01:15.440 I promised you guys that you would not be missing me,
00:01:18.760 but that you would actually be benefiting from even more Alberta coverage,
00:01:22.300 because the new host, Isaac Lamoureux, is obviously continuing that show and doing an excellent job of that.
00:01:28.220 But I told you that I would still occasionally dive into an Alberta story on my other shows from time to time.
00:01:35.940 And so, we are going to be talking about the Canadian-U.S. trade relationship today,
00:01:40.340 but taking a specific look at Alberta's role in this,
00:01:43.240 because Alberta Premier Daniel Smith has been making some very interesting comments in the days
00:01:48.220 since Donald Trump was elected to be the next President of the United States.
00:01:52.960 As you all know, the trading relationship between Canada and the United States is very important.
00:01:57.700 Those involved would often say it's one of the greatest examples of a trading relationship in the world.
00:02:03.320 And now, people in Canada, politicians in Canada,
00:02:06.140 are wondering how they're going to respond to Donald Trump's threats
00:02:09.540 of imposing a 10% tariff on products coming into the United States.
00:02:14.360 It's Alberta has quite the advantage here.
00:02:17.320 I don't think this is technically what is meant by the Alberta advantage,
00:02:20.040 but we have the advantage that the rest of the world wants our oil exports.
00:02:25.060 And the United States receives a host of Alberta exports,
00:02:28.260 and so Daniel Smith is hoping to use America's need for our oil
00:02:32.700 to essentially negotiate an agreement in which Alberta is not subject,
00:02:36.660 and our energy exports are not subject to that 10% tariff.
00:02:40.620 She's been asked about this repeatedly.
00:02:42.180 And while she's asked about this,
00:02:44.520 she's also asked if she plans on using Alberta's exports
00:02:48.200 to kind of give all of Canada a greater negotiating position.
00:02:53.580 If, for example, if America still wants the valuable Alberta energy exports,
00:02:59.020 maybe Donald Trump has to soften his position on tariffs across the board
00:03:02.720 for other industries in other parts of the country.
00:03:05.540 And the Alberta Premier has made it very clear that Ottawa,
00:03:10.980 and certainly Justin Trudeau, is not interested in a Team Canada approach
00:03:16.400 because Justin Trudeau continues to forge ahead with his emissions cap.
00:03:21.520 This is something you've probably heard the Premier talk about before.
00:03:24.780 We'll just touch a little bit about what that emissions cap would do.
00:03:28.200 We're still waiting for the exact specifics of the numbers for the cap,
00:03:31.180 but essentially the Trudeau Liberals have proposed beginning it in 2030
00:03:35.260 with the goal of reducing emissions by 40% to 45% from 2005 levels by 2030.
00:03:43.980 Now, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is not exactly opposed to reducing carbon footprints,
00:03:49.620 unlike some Conservative politicians or even some Conservatives of the province,
00:03:53.180 you know, don't want her to talk about carbon neutrality.
00:03:55.440 She thinks that it is possible,
00:03:56.960 but she has long expressed that we need a larger timeline.
00:04:00.580 She's often talked about 2050 as being a place where companies would then have the technology
00:04:05.320 that they would be able to reduce their carbon footprint.
00:04:07.660 And she says that 2030, 2035, that's too soon,
00:04:10.900 and that the industry simply cannot meet that target.
00:04:14.700 And she says that so long as Justin Trudeau is continuing to move ahead with his plans for emissions cap,
00:04:20.680 it is not possible for Alberta to have a Team Canada approach
00:04:23.700 in which she would use Alberta energy to advocate for the rest of Canada
00:04:27.800 and for advocating to help Ottawa as they negotiate with Donald Trump and with his administration.
00:04:33.800 Here's Alberta Premier Danielle Smith explaining her position to Vashi Capello of CTV News.
00:04:39.100 Take a listen.
00:04:40.320 I'm not bending on some of the direction they've taken.
00:04:43.440 It will jeopardize our relationship with the United States,
00:04:46.240 which is the largest trading relationship that we have,
00:04:49.360 not only Alberta, but all of our provincial counterparts.
00:04:51.480 We know one of the things that the new White House wants is energy security.
00:04:56.020 We have the ability to offer that.
00:04:58.020 And if you put on the table an emissions cap,
00:05:00.020 which we know will cause a cap in production,
00:05:03.080 you're not going to be able to negotiate in a way that's going to be best for Canada.
00:05:07.260 So if they want to have a Team Canada approach,
00:05:10.080 it means the emissions cap has to be off the table.
00:05:12.740 So Daniel Smith has certainly corrected her assessment
00:05:15.220 that the Donald Trump administration is interested in energy security in the U.S.
00:05:19.640 They want to be drilling more.
00:05:21.580 They want to be supplying more of their own energy,
00:05:23.520 as opposed to sourcing it from other countries,
00:05:25.740 including unethical oils that they receive from places like Iran and Saudi Arabia.
00:05:31.500 And so the Trump administration has signaled that they are interested,
00:05:35.540 that that's the direction they're going to be taking.
00:05:37.460 And Donald Trump made this stance very clear when he announced that he would be appointing
00:05:41.920 an oil executive, Chris Wright, to lead the energy department in the U.S.
00:05:47.120 Now, if you're wondering a little bit about who Chris Wright is,
00:05:49.220 it really signals how seriously Trump is taking this need for energy security in the U.S.
00:05:54.340 and how the climate crisis is definitely not a top priority for the Trump administration.
00:05:59.040 Chris Wright is actually somebody who said that there is no climate crisis.
00:06:02.700 He's been a very vocal critic of the efforts to fight climate change.
00:06:06.820 And he's a long-standing critic of these efforts.
00:06:10.740 So with that decision, as with so many of the other decisions that the Trump administration has made,
00:06:16.940 he's signaling the direction that the U.S. is planning to go in.
00:06:21.260 Now, in terms of Canada and its relationship with the United States,
00:06:25.420 Danielle Smith is going to be, you know, working her best to secure her own deal with the United States
00:06:30.780 to ensure that Alberta and its energy exports, as I said, are not subject to these tariffs.
00:06:35.300 Danielle Smith has even said she'll be going down to the inauguration in the U.S.,
00:06:40.140 to President Trump's inauguration.
00:06:42.260 She announced that this week.
00:06:44.020 And that she's working on building her own relationships.
00:06:47.260 She expressed this further in an interview with CBC.
00:06:49.960 Take a listen.
00:06:51.440 Coach first on this to ensure that your energy products aren't tariffed,
00:06:54.140 or does the access to your energy become part of the Team Canada conversation
00:06:58.120 about ensuring all sectors of the economy are not subject to any kind of new tariffs?
00:07:02.680 I would love a Team Canada approach, but look, we're not going to allow for an emissions cap
00:07:09.460 to have any role in reducing our production.
00:07:12.560 And so if the federal government is insistent upon going down that pathway,
00:07:16.160 then we'll take care of our own interests.
00:07:18.020 I would like our interests to align with the federal government.
00:07:20.080 I've told them so.
00:07:21.120 I've told them that dropping the emissions cap is part and parcel of being able to do that.
00:07:26.100 They have been unresponsive so far, but I think they need to recalibrate the relationship with the United States.
00:07:30.660 We know what the United States wants.
00:07:32.280 They want the federal government to mean its 2% NATO commitment,
00:07:35.380 and they want to be able to participate with us in energy security.
00:07:38.340 If those are the two things that we have to bring to the table,
00:07:40.600 then you don't come to the table with an emissions cap.
00:07:42.720 So that's part of the reason why we are going to be as collaborative as we can
00:07:47.880 with the federal government's approach.
00:07:49.940 But we absolutely will defend our own interests and make our own relationships if we have to.
00:07:54.280 So what you can hear there is you can hear the premier.
00:07:58.480 She's being, you know, very democratic about what she's saying.
00:08:01.200 She's saying, yeah, I would like to have a Team Canada approach with Ottawa.
00:08:04.260 But if you really cut through what she's saying, she's getting to the point and she's saying,
00:08:08.160 Alberta is going to be defending its own interests,
00:08:10.800 and we're going to be forging ahead and building our own relationships with the United States.
00:08:14.200 I'm not sure if you guys are aware, but Alberta already has a trade ambassador based in D.C.,
00:08:19.680 someone who lives in D.C. full-time,
00:08:21.960 ensuring that we have good trade relationships with the United States,
00:08:25.560 someone who's based there full-time to represent the Alberta government.
00:08:28.640 And, you know, I've posted some videos on X of James Bazan,
00:08:33.080 the current trade relationship ambassador there in the U.S.,
00:08:35.960 who's now, you know, especially in the limelight
00:08:37.880 and has to build relationships with the new Trump administration.
00:08:40.800 And as I said, Alberta Premier Daniel Smith will be attending Trump's inauguration.
00:08:43.860 So this is something that we can see Danielle Smith taking very seriously,
00:08:46.960 and she signals exactly what it is that Ottawa is looking for.
00:08:50.800 They want Canada to meet our NATO targets,
00:08:53.380 and they are interested in energy security,
00:08:55.700 which are two things that Ottawa could easily provide for the United States
00:08:59.100 if they were taking this issue seriously,
00:09:01.420 and if they wanted to have a good relationship with the Trump administration.
00:09:07.040 Which seems unlikely, given that they have announced that
00:09:10.580 Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is going to be the one heading up negotiations
00:09:16.000 with the Trump administration.
00:09:18.680 I covered this a little bit last week.
00:09:20.200 It seems like that was an ironic pick at best,
00:09:24.620 given that Donald Trump has already said he doesn't like Chrystia Freeland.
00:09:29.520 He said that he doesn't like Canada's negotiator
00:09:31.660 when they were negotiating the new NAFTA.
00:09:34.400 And of course, at the time, that was Chrystia Freeland.
00:09:37.000 So it does seem like an interesting pick from Team Trudeau
00:09:42.100 to signal that Chrystia Freeland was going to be the one heading up these negotiations,
00:09:45.820 when she already has a rocky relationship with Donald Trump,
00:09:50.320 so much so that he just says that he doesn't even like her,
00:09:52.860 which I know most of you in the audience will be signaling your agreement with.
00:09:57.340 She is a rather difficult personality and comes across kind of just annoying.
00:10:01.380 She was asked about how she's going to respond to the Trump administration
00:10:05.880 and why she was the best person to head up these negotiations,
00:10:10.240 given the President-elect's past comments about her.
00:10:14.000 Take a listen to what she had to say.
00:10:16.220 Donald Trump has said that he doesn't like you very much.
00:10:19.720 Donald Trump has said that he doesn't like you very much in the past.
00:10:22.480 What makes you the best person to lead the Canadian government's efforts here?
00:10:25.360 I think that President Trump will obviously speak for himself,
00:10:30.780 and I would never put words in his mouth.
00:10:33.240 But in my experience, President Trump respects strength,
00:10:38.720 and he respects people and countries who are strong and clear in defending their countries,
00:10:48.000 in defending their national interest.
00:10:50.780 That's what I've always done, and that's what I will continue to do.
00:10:55.360 I know I played that clip for you guys last week.
00:10:57.880 I'm sure some of you will have complaints about having to hear from Chrystia Freeland
00:11:01.620 two weeks in a row, and I did definitely cut it short for this week.
00:11:06.640 But just to hear the irony of what she's saying,
00:11:08.720 I think it's important to point it out once again,
00:11:10.900 when she's saying Donald Trump respects people who stand up for their own national interests
00:11:17.760 and who project strength.
00:11:19.920 Two things that Chrystia Freeland, and to a latter extent,
00:11:23.280 the true-to-liberals seem incapable of doing.
00:11:25.660 They do not project strength.
00:11:27.260 They seem incapable of standing up for their own national interests.
00:11:31.440 If you were interested in defending your country,
00:11:33.500 I think you would, at the very minimum, meet your NATO commitments.
00:11:37.080 And we haven't seen that under this administration.
00:11:39.000 We haven't seen a willingness to do that.
00:11:40.660 Even now, with President-elect, as Alberta Premier Daniel Smith rightly pointed out,
00:11:45.220 Canada could offer the United States things that the United States wants and needs from Canada.
00:11:50.140 And they are reluctant to do so because they are so busy spending government dollars on other things
00:11:57.020 that do not benefit Canadians or our national interest.
00:12:01.100 And so we'll leave that with you.
00:12:02.920 Chrystia Freeland is going to be heading up these negotiations.
00:12:05.560 I suspect that it won't go very well for her.
00:12:08.420 I'm certainly looking forward to the change in government
00:12:11.080 and hopefully the renewed efforts that Canada's negotiator will bring along with them
00:12:16.420 when we see change in those positions.
00:12:19.140 Just to close it off for this week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was asked about how she would,
00:12:26.060 you know, if she was willing to have this Team Canada approach.
00:12:28.260 And she said that's something that we would like to have.
00:12:30.540 But it's just not possible because we've told the federal government time and time again
00:12:35.120 that we will not accept this emissions cap.
00:12:37.600 We are not going to reduce production in Alberta's oil and energy industry.
00:12:42.800 And she was pressed a little bit further about this in her interview on CTV.
00:12:48.280 And essentially she got to the point where she said this is something that Jefferson Trudeau
00:12:51.780 is not willing to budge on.
00:12:54.480 And I think that that's so indicative of this current government.
00:12:57.960 They seem very unwilling to acknowledge when mistakes have been made
00:13:01.280 and very slow to course correct.
00:13:04.480 It seems to be sort of a new and modern phenomenon
00:13:06.820 that no matter how unhappy a nation is, government, they have their ideological drive
00:13:13.960 and they will continue to pursue that agenda no matter how unpopular it is
00:13:19.700 and no matter if it's really what the people want or not.
00:13:22.460 I suspect the part of the reason for that is because they feel some moral superiority
00:13:27.000 with that agenda.
00:13:28.480 And so even if people are suffering, they are hell-bent on continuing to push through that agenda
00:13:35.080 even if it means that Canadians are struggling as we talk about extensively on the show
00:13:39.820 with the high cost of inflation.
00:13:41.480 Justin Trudeau knows that he's not liked.
00:13:43.380 He knows that he's down in the polls.
00:13:45.100 I mean, part of it is that he's, I would assume, very narcissistic
00:13:48.260 and that he's unwilling to step aside even when his own caucus has asked him to step aside.
00:13:53.420 Part of it is, I would say, that they feel that they have a moral superiority
00:13:57.480 to continue pushing through these policies that Canadians don't want and didn't vote for
00:14:02.200 as evidenced in the low poll numbers that the Trudeau Liberals have
00:14:05.780 and in the fact that they are trying to continuously secure these agreements
00:14:09.380 with the NDP and with the Bloc to keep them in power
00:14:11.900 in return for giving the parties what they want
00:14:14.920 rather than giving Canadians what they want and they need.
00:14:18.500 I think the best example of this in recent history
00:14:20.820 is when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau essentially said
00:14:24.160 that climate change is more important than feeding your kids.
00:14:27.640 I'm sure you guys caught this one, but if not, take a listen.
00:14:30.500 I saw the caption for it.
00:14:31.800 I assumed his words were being taken out of context
00:14:34.100 and then I heard it for myself.
00:14:36.140 Take a look.
00:14:37.140 It's really, really easy when you're in a short-term survive.
00:14:41.640 I've got to be able to pay the rent this month.
00:14:43.500 I've got to be able to buy groceries for my kids
00:14:45.560 to say, okay, let's put climate change as a slightly lower priority.
00:14:53.460 And that's something that's instinctive.
00:14:55.300 When the storm comes, you want to hunker down
00:14:57.420 and just sort of huddle up and wait for it to blow over.
00:14:59.900 We can't do that around climate change.
00:15:03.740 Truly shocking stuff, and I have to note that the irony of that
00:15:06.620 is that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was recently in Brazil
00:15:09.700 and he brought his daughter.
00:15:11.680 I mean, nothing necessarily wrong with that.
00:15:13.360 There was some criticism that he appeared to be skipping
00:15:15.520 some of the events while he was out walking on the beach
00:15:18.700 with his daughter, but the irony of telling Canadians
00:15:21.600 that climate change should be just as important
00:15:24.180 to them as feeding your kids while your daughter is able
00:15:26.440 to travel around on a private jet,
00:15:28.740 paid for them by the Canadian taxpayer,
00:15:31.180 and you have the audacity to tell Canadians
00:15:34.520 that climate change really should be as important
00:15:37.720 as putting food on the table for your kids.
00:15:40.340 Totally out of touch.
00:15:41.680 All right, everyone, let me know what you think
00:15:44.240 in the comment section below.
00:15:45.660 Do you think that this is good news for Alberta,
00:15:48.640 that the Premier has signaled that it will be forging
00:15:51.040 its own relationship with the United States?
00:15:53.240 What could that mean for Alberta's future?
00:15:55.520 And do you think that the rest of Canada
00:15:56.820 is going to get on board, or do you think
00:15:58.740 that they are going to be left behind
00:16:00.840 as Alberta uses its oil advantage
00:16:02.880 to secure a strong relationship with the United States?
00:16:05.420 Let me know what you think in the comment section below.
00:16:08.180 I'll be sure to take a look at some of those.
00:16:09.620 I hope that you guys have a great weekend.
00:16:11.980 I'll see you next week.
00:16:12.860 God bless.