The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - March 23, 2025


Alberta BANS Feds from Oil and Gas Sites


Episode Stats

Length

18 minutes

Words per Minute

154.68974

Word Count

2,807

Sentence Count

140


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has taken her ongoing war against federal intrusion to provincial
00:00:16.440 jurisdiction to a new level, this time banning federal enforcement officers from conducting
00:00:21.620 emissions cap inspections or collecting data in the province. The announcement followed
00:00:26.540 Canadian energy leaders calling on federal leaders to declare a quote Canadian energy crisis. The
00:00:32.620 province also took aim at the UBC Okanagan Student Union saying it will not follow in its footsteps of
00:00:38.740 suppressing free speech on post-secondary campuses. The Alberta government also filed its statement of
00:00:44.420 defense against former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mensalopoulos saying she was fired for
00:00:50.900 being bad at her job, not for retaliation for investigating AHS procurement processes.
00:00:57.260 The province also greenlit 14 new school projects in Edmonton and its surrounding areas to deal with
00:01:03.080 a continuously surging population. Lastly, we'll discuss how Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi's poor
00:01:09.240 approval ratings have not stopped him from stepping in to the ring for the next federal election.
00:01:14.980 All of that and more on this episode of the Alberta Roundup. I'm your host Isaac Lamoureux,
00:01:19.900 let's get the show on the road. So starting off with the big news out of Alberta, the province is
00:01:25.200 proposing amendments to the Critical Infrastructure Defense Act to stop unconstitutional federal
00:01:31.320 overreach. The amendments will feature updates to the definition of essential infrastructure to
00:01:37.580 encompass oil and gas production facilities where emission data and records are held. Here's some of
00:01:43.180 what Alberta Premier Daniel Smith had to say about the incoming amendments and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
00:01:48.520 Let's take a listen.
00:01:50.020 This amendment to the Critical Infrastructure Defense Act provides an extra tool to safeguard
00:01:54.100 essential infrastructure from interference, and that includes interference from Ottawa.
00:01:59.000 I would certainly hope that the new Prime Minister has taken the time to read our constitution,
00:02:03.700 and I would direct him to pay specific attention to Section 92A, which gives the province,
00:02:08.500 not the federal government, the exclusive jurisdiction over non-renewable natural resource development.
00:02:13.580 Alberta will continue in its pursuit of doubling our oil and gas production to meet the growing
00:02:18.880 global demand for energy, and we will not let Ottawa stand in our way. We will not tolerate the
00:02:24.120 continuous unconstitutional overreaches made by the federal Liberal government. Measures like the
00:02:29.280 emissions cap, the net zero electricity regs, the net zero electric vehicle mandate, and the energy
00:02:34.260 industry advertising ban must be stopped now. And make no mistake, Alberta will do whatever it takes to
00:02:40.900 shield our economy from the Liberals' growth-killing lunacy. These amendments we're introducing today
00:02:46.400 would include denying federal workers access to our facilities and the information they contain.
00:02:52.300 I will continue to fiercely and unapologetically stand up for Albertans and defend the best interest
00:02:57.560 of our province, our economy, and our industry.
00:03:00.380 Wow. Some strong language from Smith there. The amendments align with the Alberta Sovereignty
00:03:05.700 Within a United Canada Act, which was passed in December 2024, that says all emissions data are
00:03:11.700 exclusively owned by the province, and that if the federal government's proposed emissions cap is found
00:03:17.120 to be unconstitutional, as it previously has been, federal enforcement officers would have no reason
00:03:22.660 to conduct emissions cap inspections or collect data. The amendments specifically state that the act is
00:03:28.640 applied to the federal government and creates offenses for trespassing, interfering with operations,
00:03:34.100 or causing damage. The province said the amendments also billed on the two-kilometer border
00:03:40.020 red zone, determined to be essential infrastructure in the previous border regulations.
00:03:45.340 As I mentioned at the top, this announcement from Alberta came very shortly after top energy
00:03:50.440 executives from 14 companies called on the federal leaders of the top four federal parties to declare a
00:03:56.680 quote, Canadian energy crisis. Some of the companies in the letter include Synovus,
00:04:02.780 Suncor, Enbridge, and TC Energy. All of these energy companies are obviously headed in Alberta,
00:04:09.080 given our oil and gas reserves. The open letter contained five key demands from the federal political
00:04:15.020 leaders. Among the demands were reviewing the Impact Assessment Act and West Coast Tanker Ban that are
00:04:21.240 impeding development, immediately scrapping the oil and gas emissions cap, and getting rid of the carbon tax.
00:04:27.380 The letter was addressed to Mark Carney, Yves-François Blanchet, Pierre Polyevre, and Jagmeet Singh.
00:04:34.180 While Carney claimed to cancel the consumer portion of the carbon tax, a federal carbon pricing law remains
00:04:39.920 on the books. And of course, the industrial levy still stands. The energy leaders said that Canada is at a
00:04:46.620 turning point in its history and national interest. As public support grows for the energy sector and its
00:04:52.740 infrastructure, the group said Canada can defend its sovereignty and become a key player in determining
00:04:58.340 the world's future. While the business leaders said that a stronger energy sector would improve
00:05:03.520 Canadians' living standards, they added it could address the world's energy poverty emergency.
00:05:09.200 The letter cited that over 4 billion people, more than half the world's population, currently live
00:05:15.160 below modern standards of living and require reliable energy for basic needs. Additionally, 8.3 million
00:05:21.600 people die annually due to inadequate access to heating and cooling and indoor air pollution from
00:05:27.280 burning dirty energy like animal dung. The letter reads, quote, Canada has the resources to responsibly
00:05:33.560 meet this demand as one of the top five global oil producers and one of only two democratic oil
00:05:39.280 producers in the top 10. Canada could also help reduce global carbon emissions, according to the
00:05:44.560 letter's authors. This could be done by supplying more clean Canadian energy to replace emissions-intensive,
00:05:50.300 coal-fired plants supplying oil and gas throughout Asia. Deputy leader of the Conservative Party of
00:05:56.380 Canada, Melissa Lantzman, told True North that the Liberals have done everything in their power to
00:06:01.440 attack Canada's world-class energy sector. She told True North that the Conservatives have opposed the
00:06:07.060 Liberals' quote, radical agenda since it was introduced. Lantzman said the Conservatives will repeal
00:06:13.260 Bill 69, aka the No More Pipelines Act, and replace it with a law to approve projects within a year of
00:06:19.600 application. She also said the party would repeal the energy cap and axe the carbon tax, including
00:06:25.420 the industrial component. Lantzman said, quote, only common-sense Conservatives will support our
00:06:30.940 energy sector, pipelines, LNG plants, mines, mills, and lowering the cost of work and making things in
00:06:37.380 Canada to unleash the power of our economy. Bring home powerful paychecks and put Canada first. You might
00:06:43.760 remember the recent report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, which showed that the emissions cap would
00:06:48.920 result in losing 54,400 jobs and a $20.5 billion decrease in Canada's GDP in 2032. The province backed
00:06:58.800 the call. Alberta's Environment Minister Rebecca Schultz said that Alberta backs the call, quote,
00:07:03.820 100%. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her Energy Minister also joined the effort. So moving on to our
00:07:10.840 next story here with an exclusive from True North, you may have seen us cover at True North that the UBC
00:07:15.860 Okanagan Student Union recently banned a Conservative Club from forming on campus before reversing the
00:07:21.360 decision after facing severe backlash. This ban came despite the Student Union allowing a Liberal
00:07:26.900 Campus Club to operate freely for years. The Student Union initially justified the ban by claiming that
00:07:32.640 the Conservative Party's views would make Black and LGBTQ students feel, quote, unwelcome. Alberta's Minister of
00:07:39.440 Advanced Education, Rajon Sawney, told True North that this is not the culture her ministry supports.
00:07:45.920 She said, quote,
00:07:47.380 We recognize that these actions represent an attack on freedom of speech and to fostering a healthy
00:07:52.540 academic environment. We need to ensure that we have free speech on campus where people are allowed to
00:07:57.380 explore their ideas and be able to debate them freely. Separately, the province established an expert
00:08:02.940 panel to review post-secondary school funding and competitiveness. While the panel's report,
00:08:08.020 due in late 2025, aims to make recommendations addressing the impacts of federal immigration
00:08:13.060 policies, the cost of administrative and regulatory burdens on post-secondary institutions, and more,
00:08:19.120 it does not include a pledge to look into student union reform. Alberta's United Conservative Party
00:08:24.220 required all 26 publicly funded post-secondary institutions to endorse the Chicago Principles in
00:08:30.200 2019, a set of guidelines on free expression and academic freedom. Starting last fall, institutions have
00:08:36.440 been required to report their free speech policies, cancelled events, and free speech-related complaints
00:08:41.420 to the provincial government. While Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she hadn't seen student unions
00:08:47.160 as a problem, she told journalist Kian Bexty that she'd raise the concern with her Advanced Education
00:08:53.160 Minister. The Advanced Education Minister told True North that among the funding allocations, administrative and
00:08:59.140 regulatory burdens, and overall competitiveness of Alberta's post-secondary system, the panel may now examine
00:09:06.040 mandatory student union fees. Following the controversy at UBC Okanagan, the Conservative Party of BC leader
00:09:13.440 John Rustad said this was a result of out-of-control radical leftism in BC's academia. Rustad said,
00:09:20.380 quote, no woke activist student council should be allowed to determine which political parties
00:09:25.680 students can join or associate with, urging that students be able to opt out of student union dues.
00:09:32.300 Sani said an increasing number of Albertans have raised concerns about diversity, equity,
00:09:37.560 and inclusion policies prioritizing ideology over merit. She told True North, quote,
00:09:43.360 that is why, through the Mints panel, we are taking action to ensure that post-secondary funding is being
00:09:48.480 used in the most effective way to support student excellence, including an examination of funding that
00:09:54.500 is used by post-secondary institutions towards DEI initiatives. Now hopping into our latest development
00:10:00.720 in the AHS saga with its former CEO, the Alberta government has denied any wrongdoing in what it calls
00:10:07.060 a wrongful dismissal lawsuit based on false or misleading allegations from former Alberta Health Services CEO
00:10:13.860 Athana Mensalopoulos. Alberta's Minister of Justice, Mickey Amory, shared the statement of defense to X
00:10:20.120 last Thursday. The province asserted in its statement that Mensalopoulos' termination was due
00:10:26.400 to performance failures, not retaliation for investigating AHS procurement practices.
00:10:32.620 Amory said he wouldn't be commenting much further on the development as the documents would answer
00:10:37.340 any further questions. The provincial government said that Mensalopoulos hired an independent
00:10:42.780 investigator of her own to investigate procurement processes of AHS, an entity which she herself was
00:10:50.000 hired to lead. But the investigator failed to find any wrongdoing. The statement of defense reads,
00:10:56.820 quote, presumably to try and leverage her position to extract a large payday, the plaintiff has filed
00:11:01.900 her claim with various allegations of impropriety interspersed with claims of political intrigue aimed at
00:11:07.840 numerous individuals within and outside government, without any regard for the effect of her attacks
00:11:13.200 on them. The province also claimed that Mensalopoulos had nothing to report on following the intense
00:11:18.480 investigations, but that she had allegedly become so, quote, obsessed and infatuated with her suspicions
00:11:24.100 that she failed to do the very task she was hired for, Alberta's healthcare refocus. The statement reads,
00:11:30.200 quote, in the end, the plaintiff was fired because she couldn't do her job despite having been given
00:11:35.380 many opportunities to do so. Mensalopoulos was fired just days before she was scheduled to meet
00:11:40.680 with Auditor General Doug Wiley. However, the province's statement of defense claims that these
00:11:45.260 events were not connected as Mensalopoulos had not even disclosed the meeting to anyone in the
00:11:50.640 province. The statement reads, quote, to ensure that the allegations are reviewed properly and
00:11:55.620 independently. The province has appointed an eminent and retired judge to lead a third-party
00:12:00.840 investigation into the procurement processes used by the province and AHS. For complete
00:12:06.580 transparency, the final report will be made possible. It's the Family and Friends event at Shoppers Drug Mart.
00:12:12.940 Get 20% off almost all regular-priced merchandise. Two days only. Tuesday, February 24th, and Wednesday,
00:12:19.740 February 25th. Open your PC Optimum app to get your coupon.
00:12:25.620 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith previously denied any wrongdoing. She said, quote,
00:12:31.640 As Premier, I was not involved in any wrongdoing. Any insinuation, to the contrary, is false,
00:12:37.080 baseless, and defamatory. The province's statement of defense also claims that Mensalopoulos was not
00:12:42.740 employed by the province, but by AHS. Therefore, the province cannot have breached a contract that did
00:12:47.980 not exist. The statement of defense claims that Mensalopoulos was provided with adequate notice,
00:12:53.320 or pay in lieu of notice, of the termination of her employment by AHS. The statement reads, quote,
00:12:59.620 The plaintiff is not entitled to any further compensation, benefits, or other payments arising
00:13:04.780 from the conclusion of her employment. Filing her statement of claim with allegations of political
00:13:09.180 intrigue and half-truths does not change that. The province is requesting that the court dismiss the
00:13:14.940 lawsuit and order Mensalopoulos to pay for the government legal costs due to her, quote,
00:13:19.600 incendiary allegations. The Auditor General's review into AHS procurement remains ongoing,
00:13:27.260 with findings expected to be tabled in the Alberta legislature.
00:13:31.240 Now hopping into our second last story today, Alberta has greenlit 14 new Edmonton and surrounding
00:13:36.280 area school projects to address ongoing population growth. Alberta Education Minister Demetrios
00:13:41.640 Nicolaides said there are now 132 school building projects underway in Alberta, which he said were
00:13:47.940 needed yesterday. He added that the new schools will reduce long commutes for students and will
00:13:52.680 help ease overcrowding by creating smaller class sizes, allowing for more one-on-one interaction
00:13:57.760 between students and teachers. Any projects not yet under construction can advance through Alberta's
00:14:02.900 school accelerator program, allowing funding to proceed outside the regular budget cycle. The program
00:14:08.680 will invest $8.6 billion to build up 90 new schools and modernize or replace 24 existing schools
00:14:16.300 across Alberta. Some of the school funding announced by the Alberta government will include additions to
00:14:21.960 existing schools for more student spaces. While Edmonton will see most of the school projects,
00:14:27.040 Beaumont, St. Albert, and Morinville will also receive new schooling capacity. The newly announced
00:14:32.940 projects include K-6, K-9, and high schools. The 14 new school projects will add around 16,400 new and
00:14:40.620 updated school spaces. Alberta's new Minister of Infrastructure, Martin Long, said three of the 36
00:14:47.120 Edmonton-area school projects underway are expected to complete construction by the end of 2025.
00:14:52.780 The three completed projects will provide an additional 2,640 student spaces in Edmonton and
00:14:58.540 Shorewood Park. Of the 36 ongoing projects, 19 are approved for construction, 7 for design, and 10 for
00:15:04.840 planning. Edmonton Public Schools Board Chair Julie Kusiek said her division sees an average of 5,000
00:15:11.800 additional new students annually. She anticipates welcoming 125,000 students in her division's
00:15:18.160 schools next year through the accelerator program. Public high school spaces are expected to surpass
00:15:23.940 capacity by the 2026-27 school year. Similarly, the Edmonton Catholic School Division projected over
00:15:31.320 capacity by 2029. Board Chair of the Edmonton Catholic School Division, Sandra Palazzo, said that
00:15:37.960 her division has seen an increase of 7,000 students over the last three years, or a 15.5% increase.
00:15:45.460 Even with 33 modular classrooms added this year, Palazzo said Edmonton Catholic Schools remain 1,000
00:15:51.340 spaces short. Palazzo said, quote, the way to get through the space crunch isn't going to be through
00:15:56.640 portables. It needs to be through new construction. The province's budget bill still needs to be
00:16:01.300 tabled and passed in the legislature, which could be debated as early as next week. Now with a quick
00:16:06.040 hit for our last story, Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi is set to join Mark Carney's Liberals. Him
00:16:11.780 departing municipal politics would trigger a by-election for the mayor's office, which could
00:16:15.920 end up being the most expensive in the city's history, thanks to the new provincial rules. This
00:16:20.520 election is said to cost an additional $4.8 million. These new rules consist of votes being tallied by hand
00:16:26.980 and municipalities keeping a permanent electors list. Tracking finances of candidates, municipal
00:16:31.620 political parties, and new requirements for special ballots are also expected to increase costs. Since
00:16:37.180 being elected mayor in 2021, Sohi has been surrounded by controversial decisions from tax hikes, high
00:16:43.100 spending, and even rumored ties with foreign sectarian issues in India. In 2025, Edmonton homeowners will see
00:16:49.860 a 6.1% property tax increase with another 6.8% tax hike expected in 2026. Sohi's administration also
00:16:58.000 faced backlash over a $100 million bike lane project, with taxpayer groups accusing him of wasting funds on
00:17:04.400 infrastructure meant to benefit only a small portion of the population. On top of the many
00:17:08.780 controversies surrounding Sohi, his approval rating has not fared well in Edmonton. A previous poll
00:17:14.140 showed that 26% of residents thought Sohi would deserve a re-election, and 47% said he was doing
00:17:19.520 a good job. Just a quick note, I've recorded this episode ahead of Sunday, which is when many expect
00:17:24.420 the federal election to be called, so this story may have evolved slightly in that time frame. But
00:17:29.060 anyways, that wraps up this week's show. My name's Isaac Lamrew, your host of the Alberta Roundup. Have a
00:17:34.220 great weekend, thank you, and God bless.
00:17:38.780 Thank you, and God bless you.