The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - December 17, 2022


Alberta opposes Ottawa’s firearm protocol

Topics
Alberta firearm protocol
Hosted by
Isaac Lamoureux
Mentioned
Justin Trudeau Rachel Notley Jagmeet Singh Common Sense Calgary Bill C-63 Chair Christina Michaud Nicholas Milliken Benjamin Aldritt Rebecca Schultz Rachel Emanuel Panina McBrien Christine Keeler Tyler Shandro Raquel Dancho Dale McPhee UCP MLA Alberta Sohi
Alberta stands up to feds, passes Sovereignty Act The Top Stories in Alberta of 2022

Episode Stats


Length

13 minutes

Words per minute

181.98

Word count

2,367

Sentence count

132

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Alberta says the Crown shouldn t prosecute firearms owners who purchased their guns legally before May 1, 2020. The province launches a public task force to respond to addiction, homelessness, and public safety in Edmonton. Canadian hunters are safe for at least six more weeks. And finally, the United Conservative Party say a vote for NDP leader Rachel Notley is a Vote for Justin Trudeau. All that and more happening now on the Alberta Roundup.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.960 It's the family and friends event at Shoppers Drug Mart.
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00:00:26.640 Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to the Alberta Roundup.
00:00:29.520 I'm your host Rachel Emanuel.
00:00:31.280 We have so much news to cover today so let's take a look at what we're going to be talking
00:00:34.640 about on today's episode.
00:00:36.000 Alberta says the Crown shouldn't prosecute firearms owners who purchased their guns
00:00:40.160 legally.
00:00:40.880 We're going to dive into the details on that one.
00:00:43.360 The province launched a public task force to respond to addiction, homelessness,
00:00:47.440 and public safety in Edmonton.
00:00:49.440 Canadian hunters are safe for at least six more weeks.
00:00:52.720 And finally, the United Conservative Party say a vote for NDP leader Rachel Notley
00:00:57.280 is a vote for Justin Trudeau.
00:00:58.720 All that and more happening now on the Alberta Roundup.
00:01:01.680 This first story is arguably the biggest in Alberta politics this week.
00:01:05.440 The Alberta government is recommending that Crown Prosecutor don't press charges
00:01:09.680 against firearms owners who purchased their guns legally before
00:01:13.040 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's order in council in May 2020.
00:01:16.720 A news release from the province on Thursday said Alberta is taking back constitutional jurisdiction
00:01:21.760 for handling charges under the Firearms Act.
00:01:24.480 And Alberta's Crown Prosecutors will now determine whether or not to pursue charges.
00:01:29.040 The release reads, quote, while respecting operational independence on individual cases,
00:01:34.320 the new protocol issued by the Attorney General provides prosecutors with guidance
00:01:38.960 on how to evaluate the public interest when determining whether or not to pursue charges.
00:01:44.000 The province's new protocol says it's not in the public interest to proceed with prosecuting a
00:01:48.160 charge of possession of a banned firearm when the accused lawfully obtained the firearm or prohibited
00:01:53.840 device prior to May 1, 2020.
00:01:56.720 Two, the firearm or prohibited device was reclassified as prohibited on May 1, 2020.
00:02:02.800 And three, when the accused has not been charged with any other offense
00:02:06.800 related to the possession or use of that firearm.
00:02:10.080 You guys are likely familiar with some of these details by now.
00:02:12.800 In May, Trudeau announced that he was banning more than 1500 models of firearms,
00:02:17.440 including guns explicitly used by sport shooters, hunters and farmers.
00:02:21.280 The government put an amnesty in place until October 2023.
00:02:24.720 But when that amnesty expires, Albertans who still possess their legally acquired property
00:02:28.880 could face jail time under the criminal code.
00:02:31.040 Alberta Justice Minister and Attorney General Tyler Shandro says Albertans should not
00:02:35.120 automatically be considered criminals because of a weapon they purchased legally.
00:02:39.760 Quote, this new protocol for prosecutors will help prevent the
00:02:42.800 otherwise law-abiding individuals from facing criminal charges and potential time in jail.
00:02:47.920 At the same time, law enforcement and prosecution resources
00:02:51.440 can be prioritized for actual violent and repeat offenders,
00:02:55.280 while not further clogging our already busy courts.
00:02:58.240 Moving into our next story here, the United Conservative Party say
00:03:00.960 NDP leader Rachel Notley's comments calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
00:03:05.200 to quell the Alberta Sovereignty Act were no slip of the tongue.
00:03:08.400 Earlier this month, the UCP demanded an apology from Notley
00:03:11.920 after she said Trudeau should squash the Sovereignty Act legislation.
00:03:15.600 Notley said, quote,
00:03:16.880 I think if they revoke the act, that would be the right thing to do.
00:03:20.000 She said in response to a question about whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
00:03:23.360 should revoke the bill.
00:03:24.480 NDP spokesperson Benjamin Aldrich immediately walked back those comments.
00:03:28.720 He said Notley was referring to the provincial government.
00:03:31.120 Aldrich told the CBC, quote,
00:03:32.720 To be clear, the Alberta NDP is calling for the provincial government to revoke Bill 1,
00:03:37.040 but we are not calling for the federal government to disallow it.
00:03:40.480 But Alberta's chief government whip Brad Rutherford said Notley's comments were no slip of the tongue.
00:03:45.200 Quote, Rachel Notley clearly called on Justin Trudeau to revoke an Alberta law and override the will of
00:03:50.240 Alberta's democratically elected legislature.
00:03:52.640 Ms. Notley didn't even bother proposing any amendments to the bill she wants Justin Trudeau to revoke.
00:03:57.920 Albertans deserve better than this from the opposition NDP,
00:04:01.120 who have a duty to contribute to the legislative process.
00:04:04.480 Ultimately, all MLAs in the Alberta legislature are there to serve Albertans,
00:04:08.880 not Justin Trudeau.
00:04:10.480 The NDP might want to remind themselves of that.
00:04:13.280 Moving into our next story here, you guys probably remember some of these details from a couple of weeks ago.
00:04:18.240 The city of Edmonton won't say by which form racist comments were made against Edmonton Mayor
00:04:23.280 Amarit Sohi.
00:04:24.320 Sohi said he received racist attacks in response to the city's joint decision with
00:04:28.240 the Edmonton Downtown Business Association not to install a Christmas tree this year
00:04:32.480 at the association's annual holiday light up event.
00:04:35.200 In response to a query from True North, a city spokesperson said, quote,
00:04:38.720 I'm unable to confirm whether the mayor received messages by phone, email, mail, or social media.
00:04:43.360 Now, the Edmonton Downtown Business Association also said it was the subject of racist remarks.
00:04:48.640 The association's executive director, Panina McBrien, told me that she received a combination of racist,
00:04:54.480 xenophobic, and some just outright nasty foul and aggressive language.
00:04:59.600 She said such comments were left on the organization's social media accounts,
00:05:03.520 voicemails, email, and comments under media articles explaining the decision not to have a Christmas tree
00:05:09.040 this year.
00:05:09.760 She also pointed to one letter to the editor published in the Edmonton Sun, which appears to have been deleted.
00:05:14.160 The letter says the Edmonton Downtown Business Association should have adopted Canada, quote,
00:05:18.320 as is.
00:05:19.360 Not with the dream of making it what you chose to leave, or perhaps you shouldn't have left your home country.
00:05:23.920 Another letter published in the Edmonton Sun, shame the mayor for cancelling the tree.
00:05:28.400 Quote,
00:05:29.120 As I've previously told you guys, the Edmonton Downtown Business Association decided not to have a Christmas
00:05:41.840 tree at its annual holiday event this year for the first time since 1999.
00:05:46.560 And the city of Edmonton said it wouldn't step in to provide a tree,
00:05:49.680 setting the environmental impact of cutting down and transporting a mature natural tree.
00:05:54.640 Moving into our next story here, I have a feeling some of you are going to be a little bit excited about this.
00:05:59.280 Canadian hunters are safe for at least six more weeks.
00:06:01.840 At least, that's what one Conservative MP told me when the House of Commons rose for Christmas
00:06:05.600 break this week, pausing the Public Safety Committee study on Bill C-21.
00:06:10.880 Now, we have talked about this a couple of times.
00:06:12.560 I'm sure you guys are somewhat familiar with the details by now.
00:06:15.200 During clause by clause consideration of Bill C-21, a couple of weeks ago,
00:06:19.120 the Liberals introduced an amendment to ban hundreds more models of semi-automatic
00:06:23.040 shotguns and rifles, including those primarily used by hunters, farmers and sport shooters.
00:06:28.000 Considering the outcry over the legislation, a Bloc Quebecois MP on the committee put forward a motion
00:06:32.880 on Tuesday, suggesting that the committee hear from more witnesses about the specific amendment.
00:06:37.920 The Bloc Quebecois MP, Christina Michaud, suggested two more meetings to hear from witnesses.
00:06:42.560 But it's safe to say that Conservative public safety critic,
00:06:45.120 Raquel Dancho, was less than impressed by this suggestion. Take a listen to her remarks now. 0.94
00:06:49.920 What's really frustrating for us as Conservatives is this work should have been done by the Liberal
00:06:53.840 government and their vast resources. But now the committee, as you know, Mr. Chair,
00:06:57.840 this is now our fourth week talking about this. We're going to have to go back, sort of flip-flop
00:07:02.640 through this backwards in this committee process, because they didn't do their homework. And now
00:07:06.960 they're sort of turning it around and saying, well, okay, we'll do it in two meetings. So we have
00:07:11.760 two meetings. We barely scratched the surface of the people that are impacted by this ban. Again,
00:07:15.680 the largest hunting rifle ban in Canadian history here. We barely scratched the surface. For people
00:07:20.800 who don't know, two meetings, as you know, Mr. Chair, about 12 witnesses. 12 witnesses. 12 witnesses.
00:07:27.520 I don't think that that's nearly enough. So we just feel that any suggestion that two meetings is
00:07:33.760 adequate is, I'm going to say it, I do feel that it's offensive to the people that are going to be
00:07:39.200 impacted by this. It does not give them the dignity of having a seat at the table. Because the House is now
00:07:43.840 risen for Christmas break, the committee won't get back to this amendment for another six weeks.
00:07:48.000 So you guys are safe with your guns for a little while longer, at least. Okay, guys, moving into
00:07:52.720 the controversy of the week. Common Sense Calgary is calling a City of Calgary proposal
00:07:57.840 to limit election signs ridiculous and self-serving. Ahead of a provincial general election this spring,
00:08:04.320 Calgary City Council wants to limit election signs. According to a motion before the city's
00:08:09.520 executive committee, signs are placed temporarily for the purpose of elections and sign proliferation
00:08:15.280 creates visual clutter and unsafe distractions along highways. The motion says the majority of
00:08:21.680 temporary election signs are made from single use corrugated plastic. Quote, corrugated plastic signs are
00:08:27.680 not accepted for recycling through City of Calgary facilities, thereby generating high volume landfill waste.
00:08:33.600 Council has declared a climate emergency and has adopted a single use item reduction strategy.
00:08:40.400 But Christy Kohler, executive director of the citizens advocacy group Common Sense Calgary,
00:08:45.280 says candidates in municipal elections rely on name recognition in the absence of political parties.
00:08:50.080 Quote,
00:08:51.280 Incumbents as sitting councillors have huge amounts of taxpayers funding to help elevate their profile
00:08:55.680 and name recognition. For many challengers, their privately funded signage is their only chance to compete.
00:09:01.920 This is an entirely self-serving proposition that will favour incumbent councillors during the next
00:09:06.400 election and should be dropped. Okay guys, what we're watching in the weeks to come.
00:09:10.720 The Alberta government has launched a public task force to respond to issues of public safety,
00:09:14.960 homelessness and addiction in the city of Edmonton. The government says the Edmonton Public Safety
00:09:20.320 and Community Response Task Force will be funded by an $187 million commitment as a response to a
00:09:27.040 city that's been hit especially hard. Here's Mental Health and Addictions Minister Nicholas Millican
00:09:31.600 explaining what the task force will do. Today we are establishing the Edmonton Public Safety and
00:09:36.960 Community Response Task Force to improve public safety and tackle social issues. Meanwhile,
00:09:43.360 Edmonton's police chief Dale McPhee has been very supportive of the government's move. Take listen to his
00:09:48.480 remarks. I think this task force certainly as somebody that's been on the Mental Health and Addictions
00:09:53.440 Task Force, the Human Trafficking Task Force and the Minimum of Standards and Homeless. This needs
00:09:58.000 leadership and leadership needs political will. The fact that we have open-air drug use everywhere
00:10:04.720 in front of the mall, that's not acceptable. But what's also not acceptable is somebody with an
00:10:10.320 addiction isn't going to go straight to the justice system because that's not the answer for some of
00:10:13.840 these folks. But there's also a disproportionate number of the criminal element that are influencing and
00:10:18.960 preying on these people. So what you see here now is leadership, real leadership to say this is enough.
00:10:24.960 To me that's encouraging because not only does it take the enforcement arm in relation to it but it
00:10:29.840 also needs the resources of where to take people and you need to give people options and you need to
00:10:34.160 have some accountability to those options and that accountability doesn't have to be the justice system.
00:10:38.640 So that's what we're hoping will happen quickly and I think at the end of the day we also have to
00:10:44.080 work towards zero tolerance for open-air drug use but not by using the justice system as the hammer but
00:10:49.840 using as a multi-discipline approach. I've been around a long time. This is the first time that
00:10:54.800 I've seen the right ministers take the right approach in my opinion to actually drive change and we need
00:11:00.320 that public will to say you know we got to try something different because every time I turn around
00:11:05.520 there's another approach that's not an evidence-based approach and unfortunately there's a lot of good
00:11:09.840 people working in this space. What I see here is bringing coordination to something new that we
00:11:14.800 don't have and using all those resources as you see many of them here right now to say we're going
00:11:20.160 to tackle this differently. And finally ending our show on a lighter note as always. The United
00:11:25.120 Conservative Party say a vote for NDP leader Rachel Notley is a vote for Trudeau. UCP MLA Rebecca
00:11:30.400 Schultz has the breakdown. A vote for Rachel Notley is a vote for Justin Trudeau and let me explain
00:11:36.560 why. Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is Rachel Notley's boss. Now the NDP is a unique political
00:11:44.320 party for conservatives and liberals provincial and federal parties are separate. That is not the
00:11:49.840 case for the NDP. In the NDP it's all one big happy family so if you're a member of the federal NDP
00:11:56.640 you become a member of the provincial NDP and vice versa. So if the NDP was a company Jagmeet Singh would be
00:12:04.800 the president and CEO which makes Rachel Notley kind of like a regional manager. I'm pretty good
00:12:10.160 on politics. Schultz goes on to remind voters that federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh opposes oil and gas
00:12:15.680 mining and modern agriculture while Trudeau wants to phase out the oil sands. Now I'd love to tell you
00:12:22.080 what the Alberta NDP think about this video but unfortunately they don't respond to media requests
00:12:26.240 from True North. Okay guys that's all I have for you today thank you so much for tuning in. If you
00:12:30.800 support independent media you can visit us over at donate.tnc.news. I'd also like to let you guys
00:12:35.920 know that there won't be an episode next week Saturday as it is December 24th Christmas Eve.
00:12:40.560 So I hope you guys all have a very merry Christmas and I will see you in two weeks time. Thanks so much,
00:12:44.640 have a great week and God bless.