Rebel News Podcast - City of Calgary's out-of-control spending on employees was uncovered, then ignored

00:00:00.000 Hello Rebels, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, I'm Sheila Gunn-Reed and you're listening

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00:00:15.900 and that is exactly how it works.

00:00:18.260 Now tonight my guest is my friend William Macbeth from Save Calgary.

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00:01:34.600 Looks like Calgary's ultra-progressive mayor is on Santa's naughty list.

00:01:54.240 I'm Sheila Gunn-Reed and you're watching The Gunn Show.

00:02:14.880 Calgary's property taxes are skyrocketing.

00:02:17.700 They've skyrocketed for a decade.

00:02:19.500 Look at this report as published, first in the Calgary Herald, but as penned by the folks

00:02:24.200 at the Fraser Institute.

00:02:25.900 A property that started with a $3,500 tax bill in 2006 but was subject to inflation-only

00:02:31.440 increases since 2007 would receive a bill this year for $4,001.

00:02:36.480 Instead, the bill is $4,802, an $801 difference.

00:02:42.380 So what's Calgary doing with all the money?

00:02:44.100 Well, besides wasting it on art and novelty positions like a climate change officer, Calgary

00:02:50.580 City Council members and bureaucrats have been giving themselves a golden parachute when

00:02:55.800 they retire or get unelected for, I don't know, about 50 years now.

00:03:00.420 Joining me now to explain how much of Calgary City Council and especially Mayor Naheed Nenshi

00:03:04.920 have put themselves on Santa's naughty list for their wasteful ways in 2019 is my friend William

00:03:11.460 Macbeth from Save Calgary in an interview we recorded yesterday afternoon.

00:03:30.580 Joining me now from his home in Calgary is my friend William Macbeth from Save Calgary.

00:03:36.880 You know, people, we were just talking off air, people say, Sheila, you're always ragging 1.00

00:03:40.040 on Calgary, why don't you give Edmonton a hard time?

00:03:42.900 I feel like Edmonton's a lost cause and generally I'm a hopeful person, but I feel like Edmonton

00:03:49.740 is, at least at the municipal level, so progressive and William, you made a great point that their

00:03:56.420 mayor has like a Trudeau vibe, he's young and attractive, no offense to Nenshi, but he's

00:04:01.640 just not.

00:04:02.740 And I feel like there's hope to save Calgary from Nenshi and I'm not sure that we could

00:04:07.900 ever save Edmonton from themselves.

00:04:10.480 Anyway, that's off my chest.

00:04:12.140 Thank you for joining me, William.

00:04:13.320 We've got so much to talk about when it comes to Calgary municipal politics.

00:04:18.820 I think the biggest thing right now, and it's like stories coming out every minute about

00:04:23.300 the mystery bonuses happening at Calgary City Hall.

00:04:28.200 Please fill us in about this because the more I read about it, the more outrageous it is.

00:04:33.180 You know, it's funny, it started off as something fairly, you know, something fairly understandable,

00:04:41.320 but the more we've learned about it, the stranger the situation has become.

00:04:46.240 So unlike almost, I think, any other jurisdiction in Canada, when you leave your job, either as

00:04:53.400 a city employee or as a city councillor, there's this special golden handshake you get from taxpayers.

00:05:01.280 It's based on how long you've been employed there or how long you've been a city councillor.

00:05:06.500 But what's funny is nobody can actually recall a city council authorizing this extra retirement bonus

00:05:15.060 for either employees or councillors.

00:05:17.000 So they did digging, and it's discovered that this is something that's been going on in Calgary for 55 years.

00:05:22.980 For 55 years, we've been paying people who are retiring from their jobs at the city or choosing

00:05:30.320 not to run again for city council or who voters kicked to the curb after an election from city council.

00:05:36.160 It makes absolutely no sense.

00:05:37.980 It's unparalleled as far as we can tell in any other jurisdiction, and it's an unconscionable

00:05:43.420 use of taxpayer money.

00:05:44.960 Okay, let's stop and just fill people in about the amount.

00:05:47.480 Like, it is not a pittance.

00:05:49.340 It's not like, it's $10,000 in some cases.

00:05:55.020 Like, it is five figures.

00:05:57.320 Oh, absolutely.

00:05:58.420 And if you look at city council, it's two weeks for, I think, every year you've been on city council.

00:06:05.780 So someone like Councillor Jones, who's been here since the Victorian era, well, he's going to get

00:06:12.360 a payout of over $100,000 from taxpayers.

00:06:16.620 And that's on top of his very generous taxpayer-funded pension that he's also getting.

00:06:23.380 So they're the highest-paid city council in the land.

00:06:27.180 They get the best pension of any city council in the land.

00:06:30.860 And now they get a, you know, $100,000 golden handshake when they finally decide to stop

00:06:38.040 taking up space at city council meetings.

00:06:40.540 And that's, of course, in the middle of Calgary facing the worst economic crisis we've faced

00:06:44.420 in a generation.

00:06:45.360 So the fact that there are skilled councillors trying to defend this, you know, trying to

00:06:49.660 keep their snout so firmly in the trough of the taxpayer's money, well, it's only because

00:06:54.940 it's out of self-interest and it's absolutely outrageous.

00:06:58.620 How are they defending this?

00:07:00.260 I mean, like you point out, this is the worst economic downturn in at least a generation.

00:07:05.960 Taxes are going up.

00:07:07.320 Retail space is sitting empty.

00:07:08.720 Commercial space is sitting empty.

00:07:10.500 Calgary is really in a crisis.

00:07:12.680 And it's firmly on the backs of taxpayers to keep all of this afloat.

00:07:18.860 Who's defending this?

00:07:20.700 And why can't they just say, in the interest of shame, like just the fact that the public

00:07:26.040 now knows about this, shame should prompt them to end this.

00:07:29.400 But they aren't.

00:07:30.680 Who's defending it and why?

00:07:33.400 Well, I've enjoyed some of the things I've heard from Calgary Council.

00:07:37.160 One of them said it might be hard to attract really quality people to city council if we

00:07:43.780 take away some of the lavishness of being a city councillor.

00:07:48.000 And I thought to myself, well, if this is who we're getting under the current system, I

00:07:52.900 don't think the current system is doing that great a job of attracting top talent.

00:07:57.280 Others have argued that it would be unfair to switch a system midstream because people

00:08:02.900 will have been planning for this massive payout coming at the end of the term.

00:08:07.540 To me, it's pretty simple.

00:08:08.600 If you're sitting on city council and you decide not to run again, well, that's your

00:08:13.740 choice.

00:08:14.320 You are voluntarily stepping down from office.

00:08:17.060 Surely you should have planned for the day that this would happen and made arrangements

00:08:21.280 for it and saved.

00:08:22.460 The fact that you're the highest paid city council means you should be banking some of

00:08:25.760 that money for whatever's going to come next.

00:08:28.100 The alternative is voters have decided you did a terrible job and they no longer want you

00:08:33.100 in council.

00:08:33.780 And in that case, why would we give a bonus to someone the voters just fired?

00:08:37.900 I don't see a scenario where this payout makes sense.

00:08:41.080 Now, for city employees who also get this special retirement perk, it isn't as generous

00:08:46.620 as those facing city councillors, but it's still hefty, five figures in some cases.

00:08:51.600 Well, they're already very generously compensated and they get a full index link pension and they

00:08:57.680 get the very best benefits.

00:08:59.400 No other job just pays you an extra sum of money because they like you.

00:09:03.780 Especially when it's coming off the back to taxpayers who are already struggling with

00:09:08.440 property tax increases, higher fees and levies and the worst economy, certainly in my memory

00:09:14.380 and I think for most people in their lifetime.

00:09:16.780 You know, it's shocking.

00:09:17.980 You know, it's happening at the municipal level.

00:09:21.160 It's also happening at the provincial level where we have these government workers who are

00:09:24.340 just so insulated from the reality facing the people who are actually paying their salary.

00:09:31.100 And the entitlement is just astounding.

00:09:35.840 It paints such a picture of how really out of touch they are and how insulated they've

00:09:42.460 been from what the world is.

00:09:44.220 I mean, in one of my former jobs before being laid off, I had to take the salary cuts.

00:09:49.840 That's just what the company had to do in order to keep, you know, in order to protect

00:09:54.340 people's jobs and keep its doors open.

00:09:56.220 When that no longer became possible, we were, you know, laid off and it was difficult.

00:10:00.080 And that's the pain that I think a lot of families here in Calgary and all across Alberta are

00:10:05.280 going through.

00:10:06.280 And then to see civil servants paid for by tax dollars complaining that they won't get

00:10:10.520 a large enough salary increase this year or that through things like attrition, we're

00:10:15.660 going to try and reduce the size of the government's bureaucracy.

00:10:19.420 Well, for them, they just consider that the thin end of the wedge.

00:10:22.600 And I just don't I don't think any Albertan could really wrap their head around how out

00:10:27.060 of touch that seems, because for them, we're just happy if we still have work, if we can

00:10:31.400 still pay our bills, if we can still keep our houses and keep roofs over our heads, let

00:10:35.900 alone are we asking for salary increases during these tough times.

00:10:39.120 So, no, I think and I think it's creating a lot of resentment on the part of voters who

00:10:43.480 are scrimping and saving and pay their tax bills to then see these out of touch elite

00:10:47.780 civil servants demanding more money.

00:10:49.280 Now, let's talk to or let's talk about something else.

00:10:54.000 Now, Nenshi, he's got this constant grind going with the provincial government who, you

00:11:01.500 know, the provincial government is moving towards what the left calls austerity.

00:11:06.480 I would call it financial responsibility and care with taxpayer dollars.

00:11:11.880 And he's currently in a bit of a fight with the municipal affairs minister.

00:11:16.800 And I think this is the first time in a generation we've actually seen a municipal affairs minister

00:11:21.780 who's actually trying to do things in the interest of municipal taxpayers.

00:11:28.420 And, you know, our mayors of our big cities are sort of shocked by it.

00:11:33.700 No, you're absolutely right.

00:11:36.360 And I think people need to understand, you know, the difference between some of the previous

00:11:40.720 provincial governments and the one they have now.

00:11:43.100 And I'll say out of fairness, both NDP and before them PC governments who were kind of

00:11:49.160 wishy-washy on many of these municipal issues.

00:11:51.920 So both of those former governments were well on their way to giving cities like Calgary and

00:11:57.040 Edmonton special new taxation powers, the ability to create a Calgary sales tax.

00:12:03.580 Everything you buy in Calgary would have an extra tax put on the ability to raise more

00:12:07.460 money through taxes outside of property taxes.

00:12:09.760 These are things that were seriously being considered by previous governments under this

00:12:14.320 government and Minister Madhu in particular.

00:12:16.300 All of those are off the table.

00:12:18.160 He has said Calgary is already taking in well more than it needs to run its operation.

00:12:23.380 But it needs to do...

00:12:24.240 Sorry to interrupt you.

00:12:25.300 Sorry to interrupt you.

00:12:26.120 I'm just looking at an article here.

00:12:28.720 Minister Madhu called Calgary city councilors spending freaks.

00:12:34.100 Yes.

00:12:35.060 How refreshing and great.

00:12:36.400 Sorry to interrupt you, but I just had to put that marker down.

00:12:39.140 No, it's a great line.

00:12:40.360 And I think it accurately describes.

00:12:42.140 I mean, for these people, we just went through a budget cycle where, once again, Calgary raised

00:12:47.400 taxes.

00:12:47.980 They are raising taxes on property, on homeowners by 7.5%, on businesses by 20, 30, 40%, even

00:12:55.240 though those businesses are already struggling.

00:12:57.100 Why?

00:12:57.540 Because they couldn't agree on a package of spending cuts in order to preserve or hold

00:13:03.020 taxes at their current level.

00:13:05.100 And it makes you ask the question, are we really only spending money on super critical

00:13:11.520 things here at the city of Calgary?

00:13:13.440 And a cursory look at how they spend their money indicates, no, we're not.

00:13:17.980 They're implementing more bike paths at a cost of millions of dollars.

00:13:21.820 Bike paths, very few people use in this city.

00:13:24.240 They have an entire climate change division, despite the fact that Calgary is not a coastal

00:13:30.000 city and does not face the risk of rising ocean levels.

00:13:33.960 We have a mountain range between us and the nearest ocean.

00:13:36.980 We're going to be fine.

00:13:37.920 We spend money on public arts that is an embarrassment to the citizens of this city.

00:13:45.460 And all of these things we ask ourselves, why can't we save some money by being a little

00:13:49.840 bit less generous on some of those, quote unquote, nice to have, while protecting things

00:13:55.380 like fire and police services that keep our citizens safe?

00:13:59.060 And they just don't want to do it.

00:14:00.860 These councillors would just rather keep hiking taxes year after year than ever have an honest

00:14:05.520 conversation about spending, and Minister Madhu has called him out on it.

00:14:07.940 He said, this is unacceptable.

00:14:09.620 We are overtaxed.

00:14:10.640 You have built a government that is too expensive for your taxpayers to afford.

00:14:14.800 Cut spending.

00:14:16.220 And I guess we'll see what happens in this ongoing war of words.

00:14:18.740 But I have to say that for the first time in a long time, I feel that those of us on the

00:14:22.740 anti-tax, better spending side have a real new champion in Minister Madhu.

00:14:27.080 And he's been one of my favourites since the campaign.

00:14:30.380 And he's working out to be absolutely fantastic.

00:14:35.920 He's irritating all the right people.

00:14:38.740 And, you know, just his concern for municipal taxpayers, because really, municipal taxes,

00:14:43.900 I mean, when you fill out that municipal tax check, that's a huge chunk of money.

00:14:49.600 And it's the tax layer that affects you most first.

00:14:52.560 You know, if you're writing that big check, and there's a pothole at the end of your driveway

00:14:58.500 that'll knock the earrings out of your ear, you wonder what happened to your money.

00:15:02.940 And I'm so happy to see Minister Madhu just ripping it up and taking on these out-of-control

00:15:08.660 big city mayors.

00:15:10.060 Next thing I want to talk to you about, Calgary Herald had an article about garbage bin snooping.

00:15:15.420 Tell me what that's all about.

00:15:16.540 So, you know, it's funny, Calgarians pay extra for the privilege of the city to come pick 0.91

00:15:24.020 up their garbage.

00:15:24.820 Now, in many cities, that's why you pay property taxes is to get basic affordable services like

00:15:30.300 having your garbage picked up.

00:15:31.580 But in Calgary, you pay extra, you pay between $20 and $40 a month to have the garbage sometimes

00:15:36.840 picked up from your house.

00:15:38.260 So what the city has decided is Calgarians aren't abiding closely enough to the very stringent 0.97

00:15:44.520 rules that the city has set for garbage.

00:15:47.620 What goes in which bin at what time and place in what distance from your house and all of

00:15:54.220 this.

00:15:54.660 And so first they used to leave no, no, no, which was just basically instead of picking

00:15:58.960 up your garbage, they slap a little note on your garbage bin telling you exactly why

00:16:03.340 they wouldn't pick up your garbage that week, which, of course, since you paid for it, is

00:16:07.660 infuriating.

00:16:08.440 Now they've decided to go further.

00:16:09.760 They pay people $200,000 specifically to go rifling through your trash to make sure you

00:16:16.980 are complying with the city's garbage rules.

00:16:21.120 So there will now be bureaucrats rifling through your trash to see if you're following the rules, 1.00

00:16:27.260 the garbage snoopers of Calgary. 1.00

00:16:29.140 It is a truly ridiculous use of our money. 0.99

00:16:32.120 And frankly, I don't know if I want city of Calgary staff burrowing through my garbage

00:16:38.720 to see, you know, my phone bill or my visa bill or something like that, personal information

00:16:44.020 that I've thrown out and expect to be treated as garbage and put into some sort of landfill

00:16:48.640 or incinerated.

00:16:49.840 But that's Calgary for you.

00:16:51.340 Why spend money on infrastructure or on priority services like fire employees when we could pay

00:16:55.600 people to snoop through your trash?

00:16:56.780 I can think of nothing more horrific to a municipal taxpayer than paying some overpaid 0.99

00:17:04.840 bureaucrat to behave like a raccoon and go through your personal paperwork.

00:17:08.900 It's terrifying.

00:17:11.640 And how does this really save money?

00:17:14.260 How does this really make the system more efficient?

00:17:17.140 It seems like it's a make work project to punish taxpayers.

00:17:21.800 And we know the recycling program at the city of Calgary is completely broken.

00:17:27.860 Well, this is it.

00:17:29.160 Their argument is that one of the things that makes recycling so expensive is the fact that

00:17:34.220 people aren't doing a good enough job pre-sorting their trash, you know.

00:17:39.380 So there's contamination is the word I think they use to talk about recycling.

00:17:44.320 But the entire recycling industry has become, you know, just a farce here in Calgary.

00:17:49.760 We force the recycling of things like plastic, which is difficult to recycle.

00:17:55.560 And hence, we aren't recycling it.

00:17:57.160 We are keeping it in warehouses that are heated and protected, you know, keeping plastic garbage

00:18:03.120 safe and warm and dry because there's nobody out there who wants to recycle it.

00:18:07.080 And we're doing that with so many things because there isn't capacity to recycle all of the

00:18:12.260 things that Calgary is trying to recycle.

00:18:14.840 At some point, we may have to say this isn't working.

00:18:17.080 We can't endlessly afford to house garbage in its own affordable housing complex. 0.97

00:18:23.040 So I'm hoping that, you know, this latest act on the part of the city raises enough

00:18:28.140 ire that maybe some councillors will be brave enough to ask the administration some hard

00:18:32.380 questions about trash.

00:18:33.540 At this point, I think we have to look at more viable options like either increased

00:18:37.100 landfills or incineration and just really start to deal with this problem rather than

00:18:41.780 just kicking the can down the road.

00:18:43.180 Now, tell me, there's controversy going on in Calgary about reworking the boundaries for

00:18:52.820 the wards.

00:18:53.960 Some councillors are calling it, I believe the word they use is gerrymandering.

00:19:00.260 Some councillors want it rejected.

00:19:02.460 What's the problem with rejigging the boundaries?

00:19:04.500 Well, it is true that something weird is happening down at City Hall when it comes to ward boundaries.

00:19:10.900 So if you look at how other jurisdictions handle this, whenever they feel the need to

00:19:15.840 redraw riding boundaries because of population growth or because things have materially changed,

00:19:21.920 some places, of course, have more people moving into them than others.

00:19:24.940 So they have an arm's length process that is independent from politicians who decide ultimately

00:19:30.960 where those boundaries will be.

00:19:33.780 At Calgary, there is a citizen committee who provides a recommendation, but then councillors

00:19:39.860 themselves actually make the final call and oftentimes reject what the Independent Citizens

00:19:45.260 Committee has recommended and redraw the line themselves.

00:19:48.860 No, it's outrageous.

00:19:49.820 I mean, already, if you look at, you know, Calgary as an example, no incumbents lost their

00:19:57.160 re-election bids in 2017.

00:19:58.920 Incumbency is a huge advantage.

00:20:01.260 Now they want to be able to draw the lines around their little groups of supporters and

00:20:07.320 say, OK, these are the people who will vote for me in the next election.

00:20:10.860 I say, look, if you want to just rig the election, be honest about it and just go rig it.

00:20:15.980 Don't pretend this is anything other than your own political self-interest doing what's

00:20:21.820 good for city councillors rather than what's good for voters.

00:20:25.060 It's an outrageous process.

00:20:26.840 And I'm worried that not enough people are aware that it's happening, that council will

00:20:31.100 get away with this, with basically this attack on democracy because not enough people will

00:20:36.820 know what's going on.

00:20:39.000 Yeah, it's really shocking.

00:20:40.320 It's a city, like it's not a kingdom.

00:20:44.880 You just can't decide that you can rig the system so that you can be elected forever.

00:20:50.380 I mean, why would you even bother having the citizens vote?

00:20:53.300 The last thing I wanted to ask you about was recall at City Hall.

00:20:58.180 The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has introduced this.

00:21:01.800 It's got a very wild, rosy feel, which appeals to me.

00:21:04.940 Um, what do you think?

00:21:07.880 You know, I think if you look at the polling that's come out, uh, city council's approval

00:21:12.380 rating is dismal here in Calgary.

00:21:14.880 Very few people actually approve of the job being done by their elected city council.

00:21:19.920 And I think it's, it's the case of buyer's remorse on the part of a lot of voters, because

00:21:24.280 I'll tell you what happens in an election.

00:21:26.840 All of these incumbent councillors are almost all of them will present themselves as being

00:21:32.100 conservative.

00:21:33.020 They'll talk about treating tax dollars with respect.

00:21:36.060 They'll talk about wanting to keep more money in the voters' pockets.

00:21:40.600 Uh, they'll make sure their lawn signs are blue because everybody knows that lawn sign

00:21:45.540 means conservative.

00:21:46.460 So that's how they present themselves during an election.

00:21:49.720 But once the vote's over and they get back to City Hall, they're big spending liberals to

00:21:55.460 a T, almost all of them.

00:21:57.160 And so, you know, I think voters say, well, look, you told me and I voted for you because

00:22:03.020 you said you were going to cut my taxes or hold my, hold the line on taxes.

00:22:07.340 You were going to get me better value for money.

00:22:09.160 I feel betrayed.

00:22:10.520 And now I think maybe recall would give voters the ability to express their frustration democratically

00:22:17.480 in between elections.

00:22:19.120 You know, even if someone doesn't get actually recalled, the fact that the provision is there

00:22:23.680 may be enough to force some of these city councillors to listen a bit more closely to what their

00:22:29.100 voters are telling them, to the opinions their voters are expressing because of the fear

00:22:33.500 that a recall initiative might come forward.

00:22:35.580 I said almost all of them.

00:22:36.820 I give credit, and I don't do this often, to Ward 7 councillor Drew Farrell, who ran as

00:22:42.080 a socialist and behaved exactly like that while in office.

00:22:45.600 So I don't like it, but at least she was honest about it.

00:22:48.120 Yeah, it's fair.

00:22:49.320 I think recall is a tool that even if it's never used, it's something for, that gives

00:22:54.880 accountability back to the voter so that they don't have any tools to hold government

00:23:03.400 to account in between elections.

00:23:06.320 It's basically, you know, you get what you get for four years or whatever the term is,

00:23:10.300 and that's just what they have to suffer with.

00:23:12.360 At least this gives a tool to the taxpayer in the middle of an election cycle.

00:23:16.980 And if it never gets used, that's fine.

00:23:20.040 At least it's there.

00:23:21.440 Now, I wanted to ask what is on Save Calgary's agenda for 2020.

00:23:28.460 What are your projects that you're working on?

00:23:30.320 What are you guys focusing on?

00:23:32.700 So 2020, I think, is going to be a really big year for the city of Calgary from a politics

00:23:38.060 standpoint.

00:23:38.820 We are now past the halfway point heading into the next municipal election, which will be

00:23:44.260 in the fall of 2021.

00:23:46.000 So I would say 2020 is when we're going to get serious about trying to find candidates,

00:23:52.940 really good candidates, to contest the next election for City Hall and for the mayor.

00:23:58.680 I think, you know, the problem we had last time is so many candidates came on board just

00:24:03.560 a few months, or in some cases a few weeks before Election Day, and they did well, but

00:24:09.700 they couldn't beat those incumbents, who, of course, you know, helped redraw those board

00:24:15.540 boundaries so that they would be insulated against new people challenging them.

00:24:19.240 I'm sure it's a coincidence.

00:24:20.780 But we want to go out and find some really good candidates who are prepared to work for

00:24:26.160 months and months and months sending the message that they're different, that they believe

00:24:30.680 in respecting tax dollars, that they're fiscally conservative.

00:24:33.480 And I think that'll take up a big chunk of 2020.

00:24:35.820 The other thing I think that really needs to happen in the next year is the realization

00:24:40.600 that we cannot keep affording to spend as much as we are on salaries, wages, benefits,

00:24:46.080 and pensions.

00:24:47.260 Those have grown out of control at the city of Calgary.

00:24:50.500 And while many councillors admit privately that something has to be done, in public, they're

00:24:56.380 all too afraid to really take this on because of the pushback they're going to get from the

00:25:01.540 big union.

00:25:02.500 Well, I'm sorry, but sometimes being an elected official means doing what's right, even if

00:25:07.620 doing what's right is difficult.

00:25:09.120 So we want to make sure that that conversation happens in 2020, first of all, ideally so that

00:25:15.540 we can get some rollbacks and some concessions from salaries and wages from employees.

00:25:20.800 Or at least so we can get on the record where every councillor stands on this by a vote,

00:25:25.720 so that voters will know exactly what they're getting when they go to vote next time.

00:25:30.640 You know, I think that's fantastic.

00:25:34.400 Like you rightly pointed out, everybody in municipal politics, especially in Calgary,

00:25:39.500 save for one, runs as a conservative.

00:25:42.260 But it's good to track their behavior after the fact, do a little bit of a municipal review

00:25:47.300 on them.

00:25:47.800 Now, lastly, what if people want to give themselves the gift of a municipal watchdog, a well-funded

00:25:57.300 municipal watchdog, and give Save Calgary a gift for Christmas?

00:26:03.000 How do they do that?

00:26:04.460 Well, thank you, Sheila.

00:26:06.020 It really is the season of giving as we head into Christmas.

00:26:09.380 And, you know, we would be very appreciative if voters value the fact that there is one

00:26:16.480 group who consistently stands up for tax reform, for spending cuts, for fiscal responsibility,

00:26:23.680 and for real accountability at City Hall.

00:26:25.800 Then I would hope they might think that it was worth giving a gift to Save Calgary through

00:26:31.120 our website at savecalgary.com.

00:26:33.260 And, you know, while you're there, please sign up to our weekly newsletter.

00:26:37.260 Please check out some of the content that we've been posting.

00:26:40.200 We're very excited that starting in 2020, we're going to have a new video series that

00:26:45.180 gives you a really quick rundown of what's happening at City Hall, because so much of

00:26:49.400 it happens behind closed doors or in 12 or 14-hour meetings.

00:26:53.300 It's hard to keep track.

00:26:54.440 So we want to give you a really quick summary of here's what's coming up at City Hall, mostly

00:26:59.220 because we're tired of them spending your tax dollars without you knowing that's coming

00:27:03.360 up.

00:27:03.620 So if you're in the mood for giving, I did read that it is better to give than to

00:27:07.560 receive, then I would hope you would consider going to savecalgary.com and making a donation.

00:27:12.600 We would very much appreciate it.

00:27:14.560 That's great.

00:27:15.440 William, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, I'll talk to you in 2020, and enjoy the time

00:27:20.320 off with your family.

00:27:21.760 Well, thank you.

00:27:22.320 Merry Christmas to you too, Sheila.

00:27:23.560 Thanks, William.

00:27:24.440 You know, I'm very glad and excited to hear that Save Calgary is working to identify potential

00:27:35.840 conservative challengers to Nihid Nenshi.

00:27:39.260 It should always be campaign mode when you're holding a bad government to account on behalf

00:27:45.020 of beleaguered taxpayers.

00:27:47.700 Well, everybody, that's the show for tonight.

00:27:49.500 Thank you so much for tuning in.

00:27:51.140 I'll see everybody back here in the same time, in the same place next week.

00:27:56.500 Have a very Merry Christmas, a blessed remainder of Advent, Happy Hanukkah, or just, you know

00:28:03.180 what, a plain old secular Christmas.

00:28:05.560 Whatever you're celebrating, be sure to have a great one.

00:28:08.420 And remember, don't let the government tell you that you've had too much to think.

00:28:12.440 Merry Christmas.

00:28:17.740 Merry Christmas.

00:28:19.400 Merry Christmas.

00:28:35.780 We'll be right back.

Rebel News Podcast - December 19, 2019

City of Calgary's out-of-control spending on employees was uncovered, then ignored

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