Juno News - Will Smith listen to UCP members and stand up for parental rights？

On this week's episode of the Alberta Roundup, I sit down with Richard Durr to discuss the United Conservative Party's upcoming AGM in Red Deer, Alberta on November 2nd. Richard is an award-winning politician consultant with extensive experience working on campaigns across Canada. On top of his professional work, he is also the volunteer Executive Director of Pro-Life Alberta, an organization dedicated to advancing pro-life public policy in the province. You may have read one of his two recently published op-eds with TrueNorth where he discussed Smith and her approach to parental rights. In his op-ed, Richard discussed Smith's selective approach to addressing parental rights, focusing on gender-related medical procedures, which he argued didn't properly address broader parental rights and opened her up to opposition from the trans community.

00:00:00.000 Hello everyone and welcome to a special episode of the Alberta Roundup. If you're watching this

00:00:15.760 as it's being released, then I'm likely at TrueNorth's conference in Calgary and I hope

00:00:19.940 that my speech went well. Thanks everyone for the ideas provided in the top 10 worst

00:00:25.260 leftist ideas over the last few years. As for this week's episode, I had the chance to sit down

00:00:31.940 with Richard Durr and discuss the UCP's upcoming AGM in Red Deer on November 2nd. Richard Durr is

00:00:39.200 an award-winning politician consultant with extensive experience working on campaigns

00:00:43.800 across Canada. On top of his professional work, he is also the volunteer executive director of

00:00:49.700 Pro-Life Alberta, an organization dedicated to advancing pro-life public policy in the

00:00:55.040 province. You may have read one of his two recently published op-eds with TrueNorth where

00:01:00.080 he discussed Smith and her engagement with parental rights. In his op-eds, Richard discussed Smith's

00:01:06.700 selective approach to addressing parental rights, focusing on gender-related medical procedures,

00:01:12.780 which he argued didn't properly address broader parental rights, and opened her up to opposition

00:01:18.360 from the trans community, who say that her policies unfairly target trans kids.

00:01:25.040 Richard focused on the issue of abortion, which he claimed was the most glaring example of Smith's

00:01:30.880 inconsistency, because a minor can get an abortion without parental consent, but not a vaccine or a

00:01:37.200 routine dental procedure. In his op-eds, Richard Durr said, quote, the opportunity is there for Smith to

00:01:44.260 broaden her approach and address the full range of parental rights issues, including parental notification

00:01:50.080 for minors seeking abortions and other significant medical interventions. By doing so, her government

00:01:56.880 can align itself more closely with the values expressed by the party membership, and most Albertans

00:02:02.520 in fact, while simultaneously preventing even the perception that her policies unfairly target trans

00:02:09.060 youth. It's time for the government to go beyond largely symbolic gestures and deliver real change for

00:02:15.540 parents across the province. He added that, quote, in other areas of life, whether it's a tattoo, a body piercing,

00:02:22.940 or school staff administering Tylenol, parental consent is required. Yet, despite widespread public support for

00:02:31.380 requiring parental consent, minors in Alberta are currently able to obtain an abortion without it. Yet, if a parent's

00:02:39.280 permission is needed for something as benign as a school trip to the zoo, shouldn't it be required for

00:02:44.760 a life-altering decision like abortion? No child should face the burden of a life-or-death decision

00:02:51.120 alone. Richard and I spoke in further detail about not only key policies, but the upcoming AGM and his

00:02:58.980 expectations. You can listen to that interview now. All right, Richard. So, yeah, with the UCP's AGM coming up on

00:03:06.740 November 2nd, I'm just curious what your overall expectations are for the event, and if there are any key issues

00:03:14.860 you think will dominate discussions this year.

00:03:18.740 Well, I'm not so sure about key issues that might dominate the discussion. I'm sure that there will be emphasis and

00:03:25.120 likely great emphasis on the parental notification and gender policy surrounding

00:03:32.320 gender-related medical interventions. I'm sure that will play a large in throughout the conference.

00:03:43.640 And then as for Smith's leadership review, which has obviously been a focal point of the AGM,

00:03:49.440 I'm wondering if you have any insight into what her expectations might be. For example, former Premier

00:03:57.340 Jason Kenney, obviously, he surpassed the threshold with 51.4% approval, but subsequently resigned because he said

00:04:04.500 obviously 51.4% was way below his expectations. So, I'm wondering if you have any idea of what Smith's kind of,

00:04:13.120 I guess, expectations will be for what percentage she's kind of going to try and meet threshold-wise?

00:04:18.220 Well, I mean, historically, it's always been above 80% or around 80% has always been what's been preferred by

00:04:27.140 incumbent leaders. So, I would imagine that in her case, it's much the same, and we'll have to wait and see as to whether

00:04:33.120 she'll have stronger policy commitments in exchange for widespread support that might help ensure that she does receive

00:04:42.180 the vote of confidence from UCP members above that threshold.

00:04:49.260 Yeah, and do you think that's pretty likely that she'll get above that 80% number?

00:04:55.800 We'll have to wait and see. I mean, I think it's definitely a possibility. We'll have to wait and see.

00:05:00.960 She has shown herself to be, to her credit, someone who's open to listening. She's whip-smart. She's photogenic.

00:05:10.040 She has many of the qualities that embody solid leadership, and I think there's just an expectation

00:05:18.580 of follow-through that many UCP members have not seen and would like to see. So, I think it might

00:05:28.100 depend somewhat on that. We'll have to see how it goes with the convention overall. I mean, she is

00:05:40.040 for members, there's an upcoming, what would that be, a tele-town hall coming up on the 26th. So, I know that she

00:05:48.840 continues to reach out to party members in hopes of solidifying her support.

00:05:56.480 And do you think that Smith's approach to date regarding her strategy surrounding parental rights

00:06:06.480 and, as you mentioned in your two op-eds with us, focusing on gender-related medical procedures has

00:06:13.120 resonated with UCP members and even taking it a step further with the broader public?

00:06:18.480 I do indeed. I think it represents a good first step. I think that though by expanding parental

00:06:25.800 notification requirements to include all medical interventions, this would function as a sword and

00:06:33.320 a shield issue for her. It would be a sword in that the associated electoral risk that the NDP would be

00:06:40.640 forced to manage in having to stake out a position either in favor of what Smith is doing or in opposition

00:06:47.440 to it, which would suggest that they take on a position of government knows best, which I do not

00:06:52.360 think would be well received by the public at large. And it functions also as a shield issue in that it helps

00:07:00.520 to prevent or it shields against opponents who accuse Smith of unfairly targeting trans kids.

00:07:09.120 So I think if she expands parental notification requirements, as is already passed UCP policy, I think it's 206.5B, but you could

00:07:23.620 probably pull that up for your viewers. That requires parental consent for a whole range of serious, irreversible

00:07:32.440 elective procedures performed on minors. And I think that her expanding the criteria of medical interventions that

00:07:44.140 would require parental notification would be to her benefit. And like I said, function both as a sword and shield issue

00:07:52.460 for her.

00:07:53.360 Yeah, and you had mentioned the policy 206.5B in one of your op-eds. I think you said that members had

00:08:01.760 overwhelmingly voted yes on it at the previous AGM, but still, it's a slow process in seeing it come

00:08:09.060 forward. And obviously, these policies are non-binding. So I'm just looking for your overall thoughts.

00:08:15.300 Obviously, there have been 35 policy resolutions put forward by UCP members this year. So in the past,

00:08:23.340 what have you kind of seen from these non-binding policies? And how does it really

00:08:27.900 sway not only Smith, but the UCP party as a whole with the motions that they bring forward?

00:08:35.000 Well, as to how much it sways UCP, you know, the leadership in the UCP, so to speak, or elected MLAs,

00:08:42.240 that's always hard to see. I mean, it takes away one additional excuse for them not to do something,

00:08:47.160 if we can put it in those terms. And it does demonstrate then that there is support at least amongst

00:08:53.040 partisan members to pass a policy. And so I think that is important. On the other hand,

00:08:59.920 it also engages the grassroots in policy decisions that matter to them. But it does so in a way then

00:09:07.020 that doesn't bind elected representatives to adhere to or follow through or pass legislation

00:09:12.820 reflecting those policies passed. And in most cases, I would say that that's probably rather

00:09:21.640 unfortunate if you, you know, of course, support those policies. So in that sense, it's, I think

00:09:28.280 that it's important, though, that they, especially with the, again, emergence even in this AGM of

00:09:34.320 additional public policy proposals that ask for parental notification and parental involvement

00:09:44.400 in medical interventions that, you know, that should be a sign that there is a strong desire,

00:09:51.600 especially amongst UCP members, but it can also be found in Alberta, in the Alberta public at large,

00:09:58.800 for an expanding parental notification requirements to include all medical interventions performed on

00:10:07.000 minors.

00:10:09.760 And you kind of alluded to this already, but I'm just curious, how responsive do you think Smith has

00:10:15.740 been so far as a leader to the wants and needs of the party members? And I'm wondering whether you

00:10:22.000 think that with this leadership review upcoming, has that shifted her responsiveness in any way?

00:10:29.720 Well, she is responsive in terms like she listens, and I think that's to her credit. However, I would

00:10:34.600 like to see stronger policy commitments in addition to that listening, and that these commitments aren't

00:10:40.480 just something spoken in word, but that are legislatively enacted, so that it results then in real policy.

00:10:50.680 That's what is expected. That's what the membership expects of her, and that's not an unreasonable

00:10:57.060 expectation.

00:11:00.420 And I'm wondering, what do you think a best-case scenario looks like for Smith at this upcoming

00:11:06.600 AGM, and conversely, a worst-case scenario, aside from her, of course, getting ousted as 0.99

00:11:10.720 a leader with the review?

00:11:12.940 Well, I think there you pointed out the worst-case scenario. The best-case scenario, I think, is

00:11:17.920 that she, you know, from the perspective of the membership, and from my perspective, would

00:11:23.300 be that there's a stronger policy commitment for expanding parental notification requirements to

00:11:29.780 include all medical interventions performed on minors. I don't think that's an unreasonable

00:11:35.000 position to take whatsoever, and again, I believe that would function both as a shield and a sword issue

00:11:40.600 that would be politically beneficial for Smith and the UCP party to adopt, and that in her doing so,

00:11:48.340 she would, in exchange, get strong support from the membership to continue on as leader.

00:11:57.140 Yeah, Richard, is there anything else I haven't asked or covered that you'd like to say?

00:12:02.320 I think the UCP membership has clearly stated already in the past, by way of its public policy

00:12:10.540 pronouncements, that parents, not bureaucrats, should be responsible for making the terminations

00:12:17.140 when it involves serious, irreversible electric procedure to foreign-bound minors,

00:12:22.680 and it's my sincere hope that Smith and the UCP party leadership will honour those policy pronouncements

00:12:32.160 and enact that into legislation that I think would be accepted by the Alberta population at large.

00:12:40.780 And will I see you at the AGM, or are you attending?

00:12:43.780 Indeed, you will. I'm excited to be there, and it'll be nice to meet you in the flesh, Isaac.

00:12:48.540 Right on. I'll see you then, Richard. Thanks a lot for coming on the show today.

00:12:51.860 My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

00:12:53.660 Per the policy 206.5b that Richard discussed in his op-eds, and a bit more on the show, it reads,

00:13:00.620 quote,

00:13:00.920 During this year's AGM, policy resolutions No. 7 and No. 8 both directly touch on parental rights.

00:13:25.960 A few other policies address trans rights and biological sexes,

00:13:30.780 but Policy Resolution No. 7 calls on the government of Alberta to, quote,

00:13:35.520 Support a bill of parental rights which ensures that legislation will recognize, support, and,

00:13:41.720 one, acknowledge that a parent's prior right and responsibility to raise their children

00:13:46.500 precedes government legislation and does not flow from it.

00:13:50.380 Two, provide legislative clarity for the courts to uphold and enforce the existing defined

00:13:57.160 and legislated legal age limits of the province.

00:14:00.880 Three, protect parents who are providing the necessities for the child's health, education,

00:14:06.020 and welfare as they exercise their parental custody and authority and does not interfere

00:14:11.520 based on religious, social, or fiscal grounds.

00:14:14.200 Four, include remedial provisions for unjustified interference by government, organizations,

00:14:20.880 or individuals in order to limit overreach.

00:14:23.820 And five, affirm that the ultimate responsibility for a legally defined minor child's health,

00:14:29.060 education, and welfare lies with the parents or legal guardians by legislating to regulate

00:14:34.600 the practice of subjectively ascribing children, quote,

00:14:37.900 Mature minor status.

00:14:39.200 Policy number eight calls on the government of Alberta to, quote,

00:14:43.640 Support parental rights in education by implementing the following.

00:14:47.640 One, require teachers and school boards obtain often informed written consent from the parents

00:14:52.640 of a student to any instance when a teacher provides formal, informal, or incidental instruction

00:14:58.660 or extracurricular activities on subject matter involving sexuality, sexual orientation,

00:15:04.500 and gender identity.

00:15:05.480 At the parent's written request, the teacher of the student shall permit the student to

00:15:09.780 leave the classroom without academic penalty or other censor.

00:15:13.840 And two, require that all third-party resource materials or presentations related to gender,

00:15:19.100 identity, sexual orientation, or human sexuality available in Alberta classrooms be pre-approved

00:15:25.180 by the Ministry of Education.

00:15:27.080 That pretty much wraps up the show today.

00:15:29.020 I hope to see some of you at the upcoming AGM in Red Deer on November 2nd.

00:15:34.160 If you see me there, feel free to stop by and say hi.

00:15:37.200 Thank you, have a good week, and God bless.

Juno News - October 26, 2024

Will Smith listen to UCP members and stand up for parental rights？

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