Rebel News Podcast - SHEILA GUNN REID ｜ Nadine R. Wellwood’s #1 bestseller sparks debate on Alberta’s future

00:00:00.000 A new book asks the question, what could Alberta be?

00:00:03.720 If we just thought outside the box, I'm Sheila Gunn-Reed and you're watching The Gunn Show.

00:00:07.520 Alberta isn't short on opinions, but a new bestseller from Cochran's own Nadine Wellwood just put a sharper edge on that conversation.

00:00:32.000 The book's core pitch is simple, shrink government, grow citizen power, free Alberta, less Ottawa micromanagement, more local accountability.

00:00:41.920 And judging by the sales and chatter, I think Albertans are listening.

00:00:45.320 Wellwood roots her argument in classic thinkers and real world economics, making the case that families and communities do better when government knows its lane and stays in it.

00:00:55.440 Her goal isn't chaos in a free and independent Alberta, it's competence and freedom, fewer bureaucratic solutions that create new problems and more room for people to solve the ones right in front of them. 0.97

00:01:09.580 The book is provoking the exact kind of debate Alberta needs right now as it faces critical questions about its future within or without Canada.

00:01:21.200 For example, what is the proper size of government in a province that carries Canada's economy on its back?

00:01:27.420 Where should decisions live? In faraway federal offices or closer to home?

00:01:32.960 And how do we protect families' freedom to live as they see fit without outsourcing every choice to a consultant or a cabinet table?

00:01:40.700 If you're tired of being told government knows best, Wellwood's success is a signal.

00:01:45.360 Regular people just want to say again on pensions, on schools, on the day-to-day policies that add cost and subtract common sense.

00:01:54.960 Albertans want a say on their future.

00:01:58.160 Consider this your friendly reminder.

00:02:00.060 Alberta always works best when Albertans are in charge.

00:02:04.920 Here's our interview from earlier today.

00:02:07.100 So Dooney Me Now is author and I think independence activist, I would probably describe you as that, Nadine Wellwood.

00:02:21.280 For some of you, you might be meeting Nadine for the first time, but if you are around Alberta, I don't think you are.

00:02:28.900 But Nadine, tell us a little bit about yourself for the people who've never seen you before.

00:02:34.660 Sure. So I'm a chartered investment manager.

00:02:38.080 I've worked in finance for the last 20 plus years.

00:02:41.780 Prior to that, I owned a aerospace and defense company.

00:02:45.320 And I was born in the East, moved to Alberta here about 20 years ago.

00:02:50.500 About eight years ago, I got involved in politics, was very disenfranchised with what I was seeing from our political leaders.

00:02:57.000 And I'd say political managers more than anything else.

00:03:00.040 And most recently have become an author.

00:03:03.000 So I moved to Alberta about 20 years ago and went, these are my people.

00:03:07.460 I'm home.

00:03:08.620 And this is where my daughter was born and raised.

00:03:12.320 My husband's from Calgary, Alberta.

00:03:14.860 So, yeah, I'm very proud to say that I'm an Albertan.

00:03:19.280 Yeah.

00:03:19.600 Alberta is not just a geography.

00:03:21.660 And I say this about the West, too, because I don't think the interior of British Columbia is all that different from us.

00:03:26.220 And neither is, I think, our fraternal twin in Saskatchewan.

00:03:30.780 But it's really a way of being.

00:03:35.440 It's a philosophy of living your life as much as it is a location, a geographic location.

00:03:41.200 And there are plenty of Albertans, unfortunately, lost, wandering around Ontario, wondering what's happening around them.

00:03:50.020 Now, tell us a little bit about your, I don't know how to put it, your political pedigree, because you have been in politics.

00:03:57.360 You've run for elected office a couple of times.

00:04:00.360 Tell us what, you know, what parties you were engaged with and what motivated that for you.

00:04:05.220 Well, you know, being in finance, you're always in economics and big geopolitical as well as local political.

00:04:14.420 And I had never actively gotten physically involved in politics, just as an observer for, you know, three decades.

00:04:22.400 But as somebody who actually jumped in and got involved, I never really felt like I had a place where I belonged.

00:04:30.840 And then when I had been introduced to Maxime Bernier with the People's Party of Canada, I don't get caught up with people.

00:04:38.200 I get caught up with ideas, policies, philosophy.

00:04:41.940 And I really did like the policies that the People's Party of Canada put forward.

00:04:47.280 They resonated with me.

00:04:48.380 They made sense.

00:04:49.400 And my husband challenged me.

00:04:50.860 He said, so what are you going to do about it?

00:04:52.340 And I'm like, what do you mean, what am I going to do about it?

00:04:54.000 He said, what are you going to do about it?

00:04:55.140 And I'm like, OK, you may not like what I'm about to do about it.

00:04:59.360 And got involved and ran for the People's Party of Canada in 2019, 2021, as well as the Senate race here in Alberta.

00:05:07.380 And when that, obviously, people, I think, are very afraid of change.

00:05:12.760 And there's lots of things that politicians even do, I think, that keep people under their thumb and in a position of fear rather than looking forward as to what can be done.

00:05:24.380 And so that didn't work out.

00:05:25.960 And so I had worked with some different freedom groups.

00:05:30.180 And I said, look, if Danielle Smith, I was very hopeful, I said, when our premier got elected, I said, if she gets elected, you know what?

00:05:36.260 I actually told Danielle, I said, I will run for the UCP.

00:05:41.380 And she actually encouraged that and was very supportive of that.

00:05:45.000 I ran down in Livingston-McLeod and was disqualified.

00:05:49.360 So I did win the nomination.

00:05:51.980 And I had six other people who were going to run against Roger Reed at the time.

00:05:57.180 All six of them stepped aside through all of their support behind me.

00:06:01.880 And then Roger Reed decided he wasn't going to beat me.

00:06:05.080 He knew that.

00:06:05.820 And I knew that.

00:06:07.780 And so he stepped aside.

00:06:09.580 So he wouldn't resign for the premier to run in her own riding.

00:06:12.080 But he definitely was going to step aside.

00:06:14.080 And so I should have been acclaimed.

00:06:15.740 I had my meeting with the CA in Livingston-McLeod.

00:06:20.120 They put my name forward.

00:06:21.700 And then the UCP at the highest level, the executive, said that I was not going to be the name on the ballot and disqualified me.

00:06:32.220 So that's my foray into politics.

00:06:35.140 Yeah.

00:06:36.520 And then I think people who are sort of in the, I don't know how to put it, independence movement.

00:06:42.040 I don't want to say sovereignty because that means so much for, you know, it's just such a broad point.

00:06:49.880 But it also comes with, I guess, maybe some stigma.

00:06:52.880 I know Corey Morgan talks about, you know, the independence movement.

00:06:56.800 And, you know, that can mean an entire spectrum of things, be it, you know, exerting more autonomy within Confederation, saying we're out of here, saying we're going to join the Americans.

00:07:08.300 And, you know, are we going to be more like Quebec?

00:07:12.060 Are we going to be more like, you know, a territory?

00:07:15.560 But I know that you were quite vocal in support of an Alberta pension plan, which seems like it would be a thing.

00:07:24.660 And then not so much now.

00:07:26.080 Tell us about that.

00:07:26.780 So the Alberta pension plan, because I have a background in economics and finance, and my designation as a chartered investment manager is a portfolio management designation.

00:07:37.260 So I could be one of the people who manage your pension plan, for example, if that's what I chose to do for a career.

00:07:44.680 The designation that I hold allows that.

00:07:46.620 And so I had jumped in and started to promote the Alberta pension plan as an option, because whether we separate or we don't, and whether we achieve full independence, we should be taking steps to achieve at least partial independence.

00:08:04.660 And the Alberta pension plan was an excellent way for us to assert a little bit more autonomy here at home.

00:08:09.980 Something that with the stroke of a pen actually is all it takes is a stroke of the pen by our premier to do that.

00:08:19.420 She just really has, because the Canada Pension Act allows for any province to leave to start their own pension as long as it's like and similar.

00:08:28.200 We just have to give notice.

00:08:29.680 And then we have three years basically to build our own pension plan.

00:08:33.080 And then everything just transitions over.

00:08:35.180 And of course, the economics around independence, whether it's a pension plan, police force, whether all the economics makes a hundred percent sense for Albertans to leave Canada and to go it on their own.

00:08:50.360 And there's many reasons why people say we shouldn't do that.

00:08:53.380 But I'll let you ask the questions.

00:08:56.020 The reality is from an economic standpoint, though, there is absolutely zero risk to us really to leave Canada.

00:09:04.240 I would argue there is far more risk in staying in Canada.

00:09:09.180 Tim, getting back to the pension plan, I mean, other provinces are able to do this.

00:09:16.320 And the idea that Alberta can't manage an investment vehicle is crazy. 1.00

00:09:21.940 We have AIMCO, you know, that does that already.

00:09:27.160 So there's a lot of fear.

00:09:31.400 It is just fear.

00:09:32.440 And of course, what happened was I think, you know, when the UCP took their foot off the gas, when they started this campaign, they came out, you know, heavy on the gas pedal and then they completely backed off.

00:09:45.440 And, you know, it's really funny.

00:09:46.800 When I was doing my pension plan meetings around the province, I did have some liberal NDP union people attend because they were curious.

00:10:00.080 And literally by the end of the meeting, they would look at me and go, nothing that I can disagree with here.

00:10:06.660 Right.

00:10:06.740 You know, it makes sense.

00:10:08.800 Economically, there is, you know, we send three to five billion dollars more each and every year to the CPP than we receive back to our own retirees.

00:10:21.900 And then people have this idea that the Canada Pension Plan is an actual pension, which it is not.

00:10:27.520 It's a payroll tax.

00:10:29.580 So and if anything, you can probably compare it more closely to a Ponzi scheme.

00:10:33.960 I pay my taxes.

00:10:35.760 You collect what I've paid in.

00:10:38.200 And the only little surplus that really has been available for the CPPIB to actually build up a small little nest egg of assets has actually come out of Alberta.

00:10:52.220 Isn't that funny?

00:10:53.180 And I just that just sends my brain on a little side quest here.

00:10:56.640 Do you think that's why one of the reasons that the besides, you know, the demographic changes and and the the political chaos that the liberals think they're going to be the saviors of?

00:11:08.060 Do you think that's one of the reasons why they have this out of control immigration? 1.00

00:11:12.920 Because they need more people in the pyramid scheme of the pension plan?

00:11:17.920 You hit the nail on the head.

00:11:18.880 So the CPPIB produces an annual report each and every year.

00:11:24.460 And the report actually identifies the three largest risks to the actual pension itself.

00:11:31.960 And one is the economy.

00:11:33.640 And we are the lowest producing economy.

00:11:36.560 And as you can see by liberal policies, we are anti-productivity, which is a huge risk to the CPPIB and to the pension plan.

00:11:45.760 The other one is demographics.

00:11:47.620 You've already touched on that.

00:11:48.940 We are the youngest.

00:11:50.160 We are the most productive.

00:11:51.940 We have the highest incomes.

00:11:54.460 And on that note, I'll just kind of point out there's two CPPs now.

00:11:59.140 There's the enhanced, which only applies to higher incomes.

00:12:03.640 Now, conveniently, and I'm sure the liberals knew this when they made the changes, who is that going to inadvertently affect?

00:12:11.260 Mostly Albertans, because we have the highest income.

00:12:14.560 So now we're paying more on top of the more we were already paying.

00:12:18.320 This is another equalization payment, right, to Canada.

00:12:22.140 And then in addition to that, immigration.

00:12:24.740 So Canada looks at increasing GDP.

00:12:28.060 And they say, well, if GDP is growing, oh, look, we're being productive.

00:12:31.200 So their way of doing that has just been to flood the Canadian population with immigration. 0.93

00:12:37.100 Well, quantity is not the issue.

00:12:40.580 Quality is the issue.

00:12:42.840 We want a better quality of individual who comes to Canada, not just a numbers game.

00:12:49.320 So if you look at GDP per capita, which is what people should be assessing,

00:12:54.460 that assesses the standard of living of each and every person within Canada.

00:12:59.720 And that is on a steep decline.

00:13:02.240 Numbers don't matter.

00:13:03.460 It really truly is about GDP per capita and making sure that the lifestyle of the people that live within your country is going up.

00:13:13.560 And unfortunately with Canada, that is on a very steep slide downward.

00:13:17.660 So we are, the Canadian government right now is really, truly, honestly, just managing decline.

00:13:22.760 While making it look like they're actually doing something to affect the economy.

00:13:31.120 But those GDP numbers don't lie when we're compared to the other G7 countries.

00:13:36.000 That's for sure.

00:13:37.460 The OECD on a productivity level has said that, you know, everybody talks about the last 10 years.

00:13:43.200 But on the OECD, they predict that Canada will be the worst performing country.

00:13:47.700 And the OECD monitors 37 countries, not even just the G7, 37 countries around the world.

00:13:54.160 And we are at the bottom.

00:13:57.180 Okay, well, thanks Toronto for sending us, Mark Carney.

00:14:02.240 Thank you so much for that.

00:14:03.720 I want to ask you about your book.

00:14:07.040 Tell us about your book and then maybe we'll get into why you wrote it.

00:14:12.380 Yeah, sure.

00:14:12.860 So the book is about Alberta rising.

00:14:14.400 So, you know, you have a lot of people right now that have been proposing what a new Alberta could look like.

00:14:21.000 And, you know, what I'm hearing is a lot of the same.

00:14:24.340 And people are just saying, I'm recycling the same old ideas.

00:14:28.520 And I'm like, well, no, if we're going to leave Canada, we're going to actually truly achieve independence.

00:14:34.080 As somebody who truly is a freedom advocate, I'm like, let's look at this with a fresh set of eyes, a fresh lens.

00:14:41.220 And what can we do differently?

00:14:42.780 And the beauty is we have hindsight.

00:14:44.600 We have precedent.

00:14:45.620 We have an entire world full of ideas and examples to draw from.

00:14:50.480 And, you know, the systems and the institutions that we have established currently, even inside of Alberta, in my opinion, have to change.

00:14:58.980 Our health care is dismal.

00:15:00.260 Our education is dismal.

00:15:01.840 Our banking doesn't serve the people.

00:15:03.760 We're overtaxed, overregulated.

00:15:06.160 That's not just a Canada problem.

00:15:07.640 In my opinion, that's an Alberta problem. 1.00

00:15:09.800 And so when I wrote the book, I wrote it from a perspective of principles and asking Albertans to be courageous enough and bold enough to actually maybe put aside some of our old beliefs and take a look at what's possible.

00:15:25.040 And so doing that, it's more of a provocation.

00:15:28.880 And it starts, each chapter starts with a little quote that gets you kind of thinking.

00:15:32.580 You know, it's that question, hook the mind.

00:15:35.240 Do I agree with this?

00:15:36.260 Don't I agree with this?

00:15:37.460 And then I give you a little bit of information.

00:15:39.280 And then it's like, what do you think?

00:15:41.080 So it really is about provoking thought and critical thinking about, you know, why we do what we do.

00:15:47.520 And can we do it better?

00:15:49.340 You know, when I had started the 1905 committee, it really was about people say, how did you come up with the name?

00:15:55.460 And I said, well, if we could go back, would we do anything different?

00:16:00.860 Yeah.

00:16:01.000 Yeah.

00:16:02.340 Yeah.

00:16:02.860 I mean, that's a question that Corey Morgan often asked, or at least a question adjacent to that is, if in 2025, knowing what you know, with the deal that we have right now in Confederation, and you weren't a part of Canada, would you vote to join?

00:16:18.720 And when you frame it in that way, you'd be hard pressed to find somebody who would opt to join Canada under the current terms and conditions for any other reason other than nostalgia, I think.

00:16:34.580 And if we didn't have that nostalgia, if we wouldn't, if we were our own country and we were asked to join now, it would be a hard no for most people.

00:16:43.560 And yet you have so many people that they are unhappy with the status quo, but yet there is this fear holding them back in being willing to say yes on a referendum.

00:16:53.240 We have no political clout.

00:16:56.020 Reform has been promised for 50 plus years.

00:16:59.280 You know, the West wants in.

00:17:00.640 None of that has ever changed a single thing for Albertans.

00:17:04.760 And things have only progressively gotten worse, not only for Alberta, but for all of Canadians.

00:17:10.580 And so, as Bruce Party points out, I think Alberta has the opportunity here, if Canada can be saved, which I don't think it can, but if it can be saved, it is going to take something like Alberta leaving, I think, to shake it up enough to look in the mirror, re-examine its own bad policies and its own bad governance.

00:17:30.000 To say things need to change.

00:17:32.740 Well, and, you know, I reject this idea that we should be governed by fear.

00:17:37.400 I mean, we saw that during COVID what governing from a place of fear was all about.

00:17:41.040 But it completely negates the sort of people that we are here in Alberta.

00:17:51.420 Some people are new, all things considered, like you are.

00:17:56.800 But then there are people like me and my family, and we all set aside our own fear to come here.

00:18:02.640 I live on the land my family broke with their backs and their hands in 1903.

00:18:07.200 They didn't know where they were going or what they were going to encounter.

00:18:10.920 But this was a place where they could chart their own course forward, and they weren't scared of hard work.

00:18:16.900 I don't think we are scared of hard work, and I don't think that people should be telling us that we can't do this.

00:18:24.900 Look what we were able to build in 120 years.

00:18:28.600 They said the oil sands would never be profitable.

00:18:30.620 They said that we would never have a prime minister from here.

00:18:36.840 We were able to do all these incredible things and build an economy.

00:18:41.600 And so for the people who are, you know, largely it's urban people, but for those people saying, like, it's just too complicated.

00:18:49.360 I don't know, have you met an Albertan?

00:18:51.140 Because that's just not who we are, to be scared to do something because it's difficult.

00:18:57.220 Well, people have gotten too attached to their comforts.

00:19:00.460 I grew up in Labrador, Sheila, 30,000 people.

00:19:04.660 I grew up hunting and fishing with my dad.

00:19:06.960 When someone tells me they're going to take away my guns, I'm like a hard sell.

00:19:11.020 Yeah.

00:19:11.460 You know, and not because I use them much here in Alberta, but it's just because, you know, it's a representation of our rights and our freedoms.

00:19:20.300 And this is part of the problem with the Constitution, even in Canada.

00:19:23.280 We, as Canadians, have no property rights, like no property rights.

00:19:28.380 And this is your property and you have no right to it.

00:19:32.720 And if anything, that is what COVID truly pointed out.

00:19:36.920 And so, you know, we really do have to re-examine what freedom actually is and what values do we actually put forward.

00:19:46.760 So when people talk about, you know, leaving Canada and they go all the economic reasons, I look at it for the reasons you just said, the cultural reasons, the moral reasons, the political reasons, not just economic reasons.

00:20:01.620 And there are like we again, you know, for all of those reasons, you know, we are not the same as the people in the East.

00:20:08.020 No.

00:20:09.080 And, you know, you are more better aligned with our Southern neighbours.

00:20:13.980 Yeah.

00:20:14.360 I think that's, sorry to interrupt, I think the cultural divide is East-West, not North-South, especially when you're in the West.

00:20:23.540 Absolutely.

00:20:24.420 It is definitely East-West. 0.80

00:20:25.920 And it's not even East-West because there are some people in Ontario and there are parts of Newfoundland that are claiming they want independence too now, you know, because they have that sense of freedom, that entrepreneurial spirit.

00:20:36.660 They don't want that dependency welfare state, right?

00:20:41.400 You know, they are willing to accept responsibility for their own actions and their own behaviours.

00:20:46.020 And that's really where Albertans, I think, have always been.

00:20:49.460 Like you talk to a true blue Albertan and it's like, get the government out of my way and I'll show you how it's done.

00:20:56.200 Yeah.

00:20:56.940 Yeah.

00:20:57.160 And I think that's why they found it real difficult to control us during COVID is because the people who come here know that

00:21:06.560 they can rely on each other, on their friends and neighbours to get through life.

00:21:10.440 We don't turn to the government for help.

00:21:12.980 And so when the government was telling us, turn away from your friends and neighbours, we were absolutely having none of it.

00:21:18.940 Yeah.

00:21:19.100 And you touched on the key word there, control.

00:21:21.220 So the government in the East right now, especially the federal government, everything it does, every policy, it's about control.

00:21:29.000 It's about you should comply and be an obedient servant to the government.

00:21:34.340 And that is not the role of government.

00:21:36.940 That has never been the intention.

00:21:38.880 Now, that is the way it is.

00:21:40.520 But that has reversed over decades.

00:21:43.420 The role of the government is to protect your God-given rights.

00:21:49.120 And that, to me, is number one.

00:21:51.600 The government should never be allowed to use force on its own people, with the exception of enforcing the laws.

00:21:59.360 And the laws need to be just, right?

00:22:03.040 And they shouldn't be interfering in the daily lives of its citizens.

00:22:09.900 Like, government should be the most boring thing on the planet.

00:22:12.700 Nobody should have a reason to talk about it, right?

00:22:15.300 Because it should just be there doing the small few little things that it was designed to do.

00:22:21.120 And it has basically infiltrated every aspect of our lives that needs, and that's what really, truly needs to change.

00:22:28.420 We need to put government back in its box.

00:22:30.860 And then we need to literally wrap chains around it and, you know, cement it closed to make sure that it only does a handful of things that it's supposed to do and nothing more.

00:22:41.220 Get out of people, get out of people's lives, let people live their lives. 1.00

00:22:45.160 And for me, I challenge taxation in my book, you know, because where did the government get the right to tax you?

00:22:52.580 You know, taxation in this country started as a temporary measure to pay for the war.

00:22:58.860 And the government never does anything temporary.

00:23:01.320 And when they get a little bit of control and a little taste of what's possible, they keep going.

00:23:08.460 And so we went from paying 3%, 4% to pay for a war to now you give up more than 50% of your paycheck in provincial and federal taxes.

00:23:16.940 Plus you're paying fuel taxes, excise taxes, custom taxes, all those other taxes.

00:23:22.800 So I would say arguably like the average maybe upper middle class individual is paying close to maybe 70% of every dollar they earn in some form of tax.

00:23:34.660 It's crazy.

00:23:36.000 I was in Dubai two years ago because we went to Israel and then we were, it wasn't a pleasure cruise.

00:23:43.820 We were there talking about the Abraham Accords and, you know, how Trump was in power and peace broke out in the Middle East at the time.

00:23:51.180 And I just looked around Dubai and they just build things just for the sake of building it.

00:23:55.480 Like a building that has a cruise ship on the top of it.

00:24:00.600 And that's what, I just walked around in awe thinking this is what, like, say for the, like, the gimmicky stuff.

00:24:08.280 But it's just a bustling, rich, like, rich, orderly society.

00:24:14.700 And I thought, this is kind of what Alberta could be if government just got out of the way.

00:24:19.820 If we had low taxes, that we attracted all those businesses that fled to West Texas and fled to other jurisdictions.

00:24:27.300 If we just were serious about inviting business back, just the enormous wealth that we could generate being the world's largest, third largest oil reserves.

00:24:42.440 Like, we're just leaving so much on the table and we're leaving it there in no small part thanks to the federal government.

00:24:49.660 But a lot of it has to do with provincial regulations too.

00:24:52.240 Absolutely. You know, government has to realize that money goes where it's easy, right?

00:24:59.000 Government, like, money, because, I mean, that's my business for the last two and a bit, 20 plus years.

00:25:04.800 Capital likes predictable. They like stable. And it needs to be easy.

00:25:10.340 You know, and people will reinvest that capital over and over and over again.

00:25:14.780 And that's what creates jobs and opportunities.

00:25:17.100 And, you know what, there is absolutely no reason why Alberta should be paying, like its citizens, any taxes, just like Dubai.

00:25:24.680 We have the natural resources, not only oil and gas, but we have minerals.

00:25:29.820 We have coal. We have, I mean, the timber.

00:25:33.360 I mean, the list goes on and on and on.

00:25:34.920 And I'll tell you this, that the biggest, you know, profit center and the greatest resource that Alberta has is your people.

00:25:45.140 You know, we are resilient. We're entrepreneurial. We're spirited, better or worse, which is why the East does not like us, right?

00:25:52.820 They're spirited, have an opinion kind of people.

00:25:55.420 And that is a problem for them because we are the ones that, you know what, if you can't have the conversation, the debate, and here's the other thing I want to say.

00:26:03.260 Like, in my book, I am definitely an advocate for independence.

00:26:07.460 But in my book, this really was written more for the people who are not necessarily convinced independence is the way to go.

00:26:14.860 Or for the teacher who's in the union and has been told that you have to resist this altogether.

00:26:20.200 This book is about challenging some of those ideas and laying it out for you really easy.

00:26:25.340 Healthcare. We cling on to this miserable, monopolistic, public healthcare system that is just absolutely dismal.

00:26:35.600 Bad results, long wait times. People are dying trying to get treatment.

00:26:40.440 And yet you have something like Japan, and I do give some of these little examples.

00:26:44.780 Japan, universal healthcare, better results, lower cost.

00:26:51.520 You know, so what is, why do we keep clinging to these bad ideas when there are, the world has already shown us there are better ways to do it?

00:27:02.120 You know, I'm so glad you brought up healthcare because the Fraser Institute just released a report this morning that says the average Canadian family pays $19,000 for their universal healthcare.

00:27:13.200 That is, you'd be lucky if you used it once a year.

00:27:16.760 No, no, no, Sheila. Our healthcare system is free.

00:27:19.560 Right.

00:27:19.980 Right.

00:27:20.380 It's free and it's great.

00:27:21.900 It's free. And it works perfectly. I'm so happy with it.

00:27:25.640 And this is the problem. Everybody believes that if the government's providing something, it's a free service.

00:27:30.480 It is not a free service.

00:27:31.840 And when it comes to healthcare, you're paying, you're paying double because you're paying in high, high taxes.

00:27:37.160 Like you said, I'm glad they just published that $19,000 a year.

00:27:41.560 Wow.

00:27:41.980 That's two adults, two kids. That's a family of four.

00:27:45.160 Wow. And then you're paying for really, really poor service and you're paying for really no choice.

00:27:52.380 Right.

00:27:52.600 Because what choice do you have?

00:27:53.880 Right. I mean, they say we have a universal healthcare system, but we also have a private system on the side.

00:28:02.160 If you can afford to go to the United States, it's there for you.

00:28:06.300 Yeah. We have a monopolistic.

00:28:07.840 This is what big government does.

00:28:09.280 It creates these big monster institutions that then have a monopoly over the industry.

00:28:16.900 And then, of course, that creates conformity.

00:28:19.340 It creates compliance.

00:28:20.960 Because licensing and registration is something else I challenge in my book.

00:28:25.100 You know, licensing and registration is nothing more than a means of controlling people.

00:28:29.660 That's all it is.

00:28:30.960 Right. And you have to understand legally what it means to register, to license something.

00:28:35.400 You know, when I talk about taxation, property taxes, people think they own their home.

00:28:39.340 Don't pay your property tax for three years and find out who owns your home.

00:28:42.980 Right.

00:28:43.700 Right. It's like we are living in a renter society.

00:28:46.300 We're living in a society where we are the ones having to ask for permission from our government.

00:28:50.780 And that was never the intention.

00:28:54.920 I could talk to you all day that I am going to be late for the live stream coming up right away.

00:29:00.280 Nadine, how can people get a copy of your book and see some of the other advocacy that you do?

00:29:05.620 Because, you know, what you do is not just now the book.

00:29:09.220 You're out there everywhere fighting the good fight of freedom.

00:29:11.520 Yeah, I try.

00:29:13.100 So I do go to a number of local events.

00:29:15.520 I'm hopefully going to be at the We Unify conference with some books.

00:29:19.160 God willing, they will actually arrive on time so that I can help sell and promote those there.

00:29:25.820 I think there's a number of different activities that are going on throughout the province.

00:29:29.920 Other people will also be able to kind of promote and sell my book.

00:29:32.720 The book is available on Amazon.ca, Alberta Rising.

00:29:36.980 If you just type those two words in, it'll show up with me right there.

00:29:40.820 And it's available on Kindle, hard copy, soft copy, of course.

00:29:44.220 And I'm the easiest person in the world to find.

00:29:46.540 If you type in my name, Nadine Wellwood PPC or Nadine Wellwood UCP, good and bad usually shows up everywhere.

00:29:54.160 Nadine Wellwood, Nadine at NadineWellwood.ca.

00:29:57.180 If you ever want to get in touch with me, I always encourage people to share your thoughts.

00:30:02.380 Send me your comments.

00:30:03.820 If you have a question, by all means, please do.

00:30:06.580 Nadine at NadineWellwood.ca.

00:30:08.520 I have a website.

00:30:09.780 I'm on YouTube as well.

00:30:11.800 And I'm often doing different interviews.

00:30:13.640 I just did one with Preston Manning, Dr. Jack Mintz.

00:30:16.640 Lots of people really enjoy hearing the different perspectives.

00:30:20.220 And yeah, and thank you so much, Sheila.

00:30:22.060 I am a big fan of yours.

00:30:23.560 I think you know that.

00:30:25.180 Every time I bring it to you, I'm like running up to you thinking, how's it going?

00:30:30.300 Oh, I appreciate that.

00:30:31.680 The feeling is mutual.

00:30:32.700 And I'll make sure that I put a link in the show notes so that people can just click right through to the Amazon page.

00:30:38.340 Nadine, thank you so much for fighting so hard for Albertans and Alberta families just like mine.

00:30:45.420 Well, I have a daughter too.

00:30:46.720 So that's what the fight's all about, right?

00:30:55.180 As always, the last portion of the show belongs to you.

00:30:58.760 I turn the show over to you.

00:30:59.860 Actually, you become the guest because without you, there's no Rebel News.

00:31:03.700 So I guess I should put an ear to the ground to find out what you think about the work that we do here.

00:31:09.240 It's why I give my email out to you.

00:31:11.880 It's Sheila at RebelNews.com.

00:31:13.620 If you have questions, concerns, comments about my interview with Nadine Wellwood, send them there.

00:31:20.040 You might just see them read on the show.

00:31:21.800 Now, today's viewer feedback comes by way of my interview with Jennifer Laywetz.

00:31:30.640 You may know her as Jennifer L. on X.

00:31:33.940 She is an Indigenous woman from Saskatchewan who is currently fighting with the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan for transparency and accountability.

00:31:45.740 And I thought it was such an important conversation that we published the entire interview in full on YouTube.

00:31:55.340 And so that's where I go for the viewer feedback today.

00:31:59.440 Ananda12783 writes,

00:32:03.320 This is a real woman with real knowledge.

00:32:05.060 Keep up the good fight.

00:32:06.180 She really is.

00:32:07.300 You know, her mother is a member of the Métis Nation.

00:32:09.920 Her children, I believe, are members also.

00:32:12.440 And she can't even attend a meeting now.

00:32:16.840 They're saying it's harassment to ask questions about where all the money is going, which is absolutely insane.

00:32:23.480 It's just plain old accountability.

00:32:26.560 And the putt that I hate the most is we would not stand for this if it were just a regular small town in Canada doing this.

00:32:36.960 But because it's the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan, there's sort of a standoffishness to really press down on the issues.

00:32:44.980 And Métis people are entitled to know what the government is doing, just like the rest of us.

00:32:52.640 Blaine8094 says,

00:32:54.160 Another community who defines free speech as toxic when they are asked for transparency.

00:33:19.340 We see it every day, whether it is special interest groups, protesters, or even government on all levels.

00:33:25.940 Either join the fray or be chastised and excommunicated.

00:33:29.780 It really is true.

00:33:31.120 Jennifer, for those of you who don't know, she is one of a number of Indigenous activists for accountability who were hit with these deeply flawed cease and desist letters,

00:33:42.420 basically telling them cease and desist asking questions.

00:33:45.260 Well, then give them answers and they'll stop asking questions.

00:33:50.540 It's just crazy.

00:33:55.720 Dimitriosotis8632 says,

00:33:57.920 Great discussion.

00:33:58.660 Lewitz is clearly a smart, articulate woman and represents her position very well.

00:34:07.360 CBH781 says,

00:34:08.220 Great guest gun.

00:34:09.220 Jen is a true Saskatchewan gem with what I'd bet is a bright future. 0.77

00:34:12.900 Oh, I know she's got a bright future.

00:34:14.600 And so does everybody around her.

00:34:19.600 And I hope she wins this fight.

00:34:28.720 RF7869 says,

00:34:29.440 Jennifer is just asking the same questions that most Canadians are asking their politicians and getting the same answers and threats. 1.00

00:34:35.840 Good luck.

00:34:36.480 It is true.

00:34:37.020 However, I know exactly what my municipality spends.

00:34:42.520 I know what the mayor makes.

00:34:44.360 I know his expenses.

00:34:47.800 She doesn't have that.

00:34:49.640 And that is deeply unjust.

00:34:50.960 J-Y-4-U. 1.00

00:34:55.960 Every native community and their councils need to be audited.

00:34:59.060 I think they need to be treated like every other community in this country.

00:35:01.720 Then held accountable to all taxpayers who keep paying for their vacation trips to Vegas.

00:35:09.180 Now, again, that the same could be said of every single politician in this country.

00:35:17.840 The more transparency that the taxpayers have and the people who are governed by these people have, the better.

00:35:27.020 And I just don't understand why they wouldn't turn this information over unless they have something to hide.

00:35:35.440 Well, everybody, that's the show for tonight.

00:35:38.640 Thank you so much for tuning in.

00:35:39.840 I'll see everybody back here in the same time, in the same place next week.

00:35:42.500 And as always, don't let the government tell you that you've had too much to think.

00:36:05.440 Thank you.

Rebel News Podcast - September 11, 2025

SHEILA GUNN REID ｜ Nadine R. Wellwood’s #1 bestseller sparks debate on Alberta’s future

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