The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - Alberta puts out policing call to foreigners

00:00:00.000 Rent in Calgary is reaching heights never before seen.

00:00:02.900 The Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation is warning that rates could soon be comparable to Toronto,

00:00:07.560 as prices increase faster here than anywhere else in the country.

00:00:11.300 The situation is dire across the province.

00:00:14.280 Rents are being driven up in Red Deer,

00:00:16.080 and Edmonton is experiencing the lowest vacancy rate seen in decades.

00:00:20.600 The Alberta advantage of a low cost of living is disappearing before our very eyes.

00:00:25.480 So, you'll understand my confusion,

00:00:27.960 that the province continues to call on people from outside the province,

00:00:31.400 and outside the country, to move here.

00:00:33.940 Alberta announced this week that it is offering a new pathway to permanent residency

00:00:37.500 for foreigners who want to police in Alberta.

00:00:40.080 That's a far cry from a Made in Alberta provincial police program

00:00:43.220 that Alberta Premier Daniel Smith said she supported just two years ago

00:00:47.060 during the United Conservative Party leadership race.

00:00:49.620 And at the same time, where are these people going to live?

00:00:52.080 And at what cost to them, and all of us?

00:00:54.820 When it comes to immigration, my criticism of the Provincial Conservatives

00:00:58.080 is increasingly the same as it is of the Trudeau Liberals.

00:01:01.320 In a place as wealthy as Canada, and certainly energy-rich Alberta,

00:01:05.160 there's no reason why citizens shouldn't have as good a quality of life,

00:01:09.120 if not better, than what they grew up with.

00:01:11.560 Government policy is making that impossible.

00:01:14.180 So let's hit the brakes on immigration, 1.00

00:01:16.000 and take care of our people first.

00:01:18.240 I'm Rachel Parker, and this is the Alberta Roundup.

00:01:20.540 Okay, everyone, and this is probably the last time I'm going to say it

00:01:32.300 just for anybody who missed it in previous episodes.

00:01:34.540 Yes, I have changed my name.

00:01:36.600 My name will now be appearing as Rachel Parker.

00:01:39.020 If you want to know my explanation for that,

00:01:40.820 you're going to have to go back to my last episode and get the full breakdown.

00:01:44.140 But for now, taking a look at this first story here from my colleague at True North,

00:01:49.840 foreigners interested in becoming police officers

00:01:51.900 will soon be able to immigrate to Alberta and become permanent residents.

00:01:55.960 Alberta's Provincial Nominee Program has introduced a new pathway

00:01:58.720 to permanent residency for foreign nationals

00:02:00.720 aspiring to work as police officers in the province.

00:02:04.000 This initiative aims to bolster Alberta's law enforcement capabilities

00:02:07.160 and address recruitment challenges.

00:02:09.020 An update on the program's website reads, quote,

00:02:11.860 We are creating a new Alberta Advantage Immigration Program pathway for law enforcement

00:02:15.880 to help Alberta's police services address crime

00:02:18.540 and meet their recruitment objectives for public protection.

00:02:21.340 The eligible occupations for this pathway include

00:02:23.860 commissioned and non-commissioned police officers,

00:02:27.120 police investigators, and other specialized law enforcement occupations.

00:02:31.200 The express entry system ranks immigration applications from skilled workers by score.

00:02:36.000 Alberta then nominates the most qualified candidates

00:02:37.900 to apply for permanent residents with the federal government.

00:02:40.600 The update from the province reads, quote,

00:02:42.400 Keeping Albertans safe is a top priority of this government

00:02:44.840 and we are committed to protecting the safety and security of Albertans

00:02:48.160 by supporting Alberta Police Service's international police officer recruitment.

00:02:52.340 So I find it baffling that there is allegedly such a shortage of Albertans

00:02:55.980 who are willing to apply that they are now needing to ask foreigners 0.99

00:03:00.420 to come over and to police Alberta residents.

00:03:03.600 I think that, first of all, I find it hard to believe.

00:03:05.960 And second of all, if that is actually a problem,

00:03:08.720 maybe there just needs to be a situation where there's more education

00:03:11.320 on what types of jobs are available within police work

00:03:14.620 and actually how coveted these jobs are because of all the valuable aspects of them,

00:03:18.940 like a great salary.

00:03:20.300 I think a lot of us conservatives in Alberta thought we were going to see the province

00:03:23.500 move into a direction of an Alberta provincial police program

00:03:26.760 because the premier said she supported a program

00:03:29.940 when she was running for the United Conservative Party leadership race,

00:03:32.700 which she obviously won a few years ago, and we've seen no funding committed to that.

00:03:37.440 And I think that most of us thought, you know, we are going to be having an Alberta-based

00:03:41.180 policing program.

00:03:42.120 We're tired of the federal government coming in and being charged of our policing.

00:03:45.160 And I think we're really seeing the opposite of that here

00:03:46.940 where we're not looking at an Alberta-based solution.

00:03:49.180 So this program really doesn't sit right with me,

00:03:50.980 especially in our inflationary crisis when these highly paid and sought-after jobs

00:03:55.420 are very coveted.

00:03:56.620 As I said, if there is a situation where they're simply not receiving enough applicants,

00:03:59.680 I think that's something that we should really be starting earlier on in the school system

00:04:03.080 and at colleges where we're educating students, you know, in high school

00:04:06.260 and saying, this is a great job opportunity for you.

00:04:08.640 Moving into our next story here, supporters flocked to see federal conservative leader

00:04:11.880 Pierre Polyev at the Calgary Stampede last weekend,

00:04:14.520 where he gave a speech portraying a very optimistic vision for Canada's future.

00:04:19.280 For those of you who don't know, Polyev actually grew up in Shaughnessy.

00:04:21.760 That's a neighborhood in South Calgary.

00:04:23.440 And he said that some of his best memories are from the city.

00:04:26.500 During the speech, he talked about how Canada is broken.

00:04:28.620 He said, Canadians feel that they are a long way from home.

00:04:31.640 And he pointed to the high cost of housing,

00:04:33.740 food prices, and the rising number of Canadians accessing food banks.

00:04:37.180 He also committed to, and I thought this one was particularly interesting

00:04:39.900 because we know the crisis of this unfolding in Toronto.

00:04:42.920 I don't think it's nearly as prevalent in Alberta,

00:04:46.040 but let me know if you guys think I'm wrong on this.

00:04:48.180 But he was talking about increasing inspections of shipping containers,

00:04:51.400 which we know are being used to ship stolen cars

00:04:54.680 to outside of the country and to the Middle East.

00:04:57.140 He also promised to implement a tax reform commission

00:05:00.160 with a three-point mandate to find tax cut for Canadian-made products,

00:05:04.340 cut administrative and compliance burdens,

00:05:06.300 and lower taxes for the working class.

00:05:08.660 Polyev also told supporters that a conservative government

00:05:10.920 would stop overspending and money printing,

00:05:13.740 ax the carbon tax,

00:05:15.140 and champion Canadian energy.

00:05:17.040 Here's what else he had to say.

00:05:17.940 Take a listen.

00:05:18.360 The reality is that the foundation of any free market economy,

00:05:24.060 of all prosperity,

00:05:25.900 of all real economic justice,

00:05:28.800 is sound money.

00:05:30.300 That's why common-sense conservatives

00:05:32.140 will end the money printing.

00:05:34.140 We will get our central bank back to the core mission

00:05:36.600 of low inflation.

00:05:38.120 So you can hear the applause there.

00:05:48.780 That wasn't even at the end of his speech.

00:05:50.060 That was midway through it.

00:05:51.400 It paints quite the contrasting picture

00:05:53.680 to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,

00:05:55.000 who, as you know,

00:05:55.940 did not attend the Calgary Stampede this year.

00:05:58.580 We covered that on last week's show extensively.

00:06:00.340 If you haven't seen that,

00:06:01.200 you're going to want to go back and take a listen.

00:06:03.140 Still, Trudeau was a topic of conversation

00:06:05.900 at the Stampede this year.

00:06:07.540 Just maybe not in the way that he would have liked.

00:06:09.700 Take a look at this next clip.

00:06:23.160 I'm sure you guys can use your imagination

00:06:24.860 to figure out what was being said there.

00:06:26.560 We obviously had to bleep a fair number of the words

00:06:28.720 as this is a kid-friendly show.

00:06:30.920 Okay, moving into our next story here.

00:06:32.240 A new Edmonton bylaw bans businesses

00:06:34.520 from selling bear spray to minors

00:06:36.600 after a report from the city's police force

00:06:38.500 called it one of the most common improvised weapons

00:06:41.000 used on the street.

00:06:42.320 The bylaw passed with unanimous support

00:06:44.000 from City Council on Wednesday.

00:06:46.040 It will include a new licensing regime

00:06:48.240 and requirements to track transaction records

00:06:50.640 to ensure the new regulations.

00:06:53.100 Adults will also be responsible 0.89

00:06:54.160 from keeping purchase canisters

00:06:55.700 out of reach from minors.

00:06:57.220 Businesses caught selling bear spray to minors

00:06:59.380 will receive a $2,000 fine for a first offense.

00:07:02.280 And businesses that fail to record transactions

00:07:04.580 or provide adequate product security

00:07:06.380 and a city-approved purchaser guide

00:07:07.980 will receive a $1,000 fine for a first offense.

00:07:11.020 All fines will double on second offenses.

00:07:13.100 This is some next-level socialism that we're seeing

00:07:15.280 that businesses are being required

00:07:16.900 to implement a new licensing regime

00:07:18.700 and to track transaction records

00:07:20.760 to ensure that they know

00:07:22.300 where their bear spray is going.

00:07:23.820 This is going to come at a massive cost to businesses

00:07:25.960 and I'm sure we'll see a situation

00:07:27.180 where businesses are just going to say,

00:07:28.600 you know, too difficult for us to sell bear spray.

00:07:31.040 We're just not going to carry it in stores anymore.

00:07:32.900 That's typically what we see

00:07:34.000 when governments begin to overstep

00:07:35.560 and businesses are forced to jump through hoops

00:07:38.480 to sell a product.

00:07:39.240 They just say, you know what?

00:07:39.940 It's easier for me just not to sell this.

00:07:42.100 So if you live in Edmonton,

00:07:43.220 make sure to grab some bear spray

00:07:44.940 the next time you're in Calgary

00:07:46.260 because it might become either more expensive

00:07:49.100 because businesses are going to have to pass the costs

00:07:51.580 of all these new regulations onto you, the consumer,

00:07:54.060 so they can make sure that they have time

00:07:55.880 and that they can pay employees

00:07:57.120 to be tracking all these things.

00:07:59.060 Or you're just simply not going to be able to buy it

00:08:01.460 in Edmonton for very much longer.

00:08:03.400 So make sure you grab a can of that

00:08:04.560 next time you're in Calgary.

00:08:06.040 This is such a short-sighted solution

00:08:07.400 because we know that kids

00:08:08.320 are just going to turn to something else.

00:08:09.880 Maybe knives, you know.

00:08:10.820 Soon we're going to have a knife registry in Edmonton.

00:08:12.580 If you own a knife,

00:08:13.400 you're going to have to register that knife,

00:08:14.680 the make, the model, the size, the cost.

00:08:16.440 If you want to buy a knife in Edmonton,

00:08:18.380 you know, the business is going to have to track

00:08:19.640 who they sold it to.

00:08:20.340 Soon there's going to be no knives in Edmonton.

00:08:21.700 I don't know.

00:08:22.280 They're going to continue to regulate things

00:08:23.940 that cause issues.

00:08:24.860 You're going to have to regulate everything.

00:08:26.000 Let's not try to police our way out of every minor problem

00:08:29.220 that we see in society.

00:08:30.200 And let's actually take a look at addressing root causes.

00:08:32.500 Let's take a look at what the Edmonton mayor

00:08:34.080 had to say about it.

00:08:34.780 Anne-Marie, so he said that the bylaw is another tool

00:08:37.220 to help officers confiscate bear spray.

00:08:40.140 Ward Mady councillor Ashley Salvador

00:08:41.760 supported the bylaw.

00:08:42.840 Here's what she had to say about it.

00:08:44.060 To see some additional steps being taken,

00:08:45.780 some stronger measures

00:08:46.640 through our business licensing bylaw,

00:08:48.520 I think it's a good move.

00:08:49.840 And I think community will be pleased to see

00:08:51.340 that the city is taking it seriously.

00:08:52.680 And according to the Edmonton Police Service,

00:08:54.060 the city saw over 22,000 bear spray incidents

00:08:57.140 between 2015 and 2023 with 40% deemed violent.

00:09:01.740 And for those of you who haven't experienced

00:09:03.180 or aren't aware of the impacts of bear spray,

00:09:05.460 it causes severe burning and irritation

00:09:07.540 to the skin, eyes, nose, and throat.

00:09:09.540 And it contains the same active ingredient

00:09:11.700 as found in chili peppers.

00:09:13.440 Okay, and finally,

00:09:14.180 moving into our controversy of the week,

00:09:15.660 the Alberta government will permit

00:09:16.940 selective grizzly bear hunts

00:09:18.800 should they meet a certain criteria.

00:09:21.300 Raising concerns from environmentalists

00:09:22.840 who worry about the impacts on a threatened species.

00:09:25.380 Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Lowen

00:09:27.060 made the change as part of a ministerial order.

00:09:29.780 Under the order,

00:09:30.420 the minister may issue what the province refers to

00:09:32.440 as a grizzly bear management authorization

00:09:34.960 for the purpose of hunting a grizzly.

00:09:37.900 Lowen told CBC News, quote,

00:09:39.620 this is an overall management strategy

00:09:41.320 for problem wildlife in particular

00:09:43.400 to make sure that we can respond to rural Albertans,

00:09:46.200 both their concerns of safety,

00:09:47.600 but also loss of crop and loss of livestock.

00:09:50.680 Lowen said it's a wildlife management tool

00:09:52.320 that will create a pool of Alberta residents

00:09:54.420 to act as public wildlife management responders.

00:09:57.520 Here's what else he had to say.

00:09:58.500 It definitely takes time for officers to deal with this.

00:10:01.200 And we use Albertans to manage other populations of animals

00:10:05.000 and grizzlies should be no different.

00:10:06.380 The provincial government also said

00:10:07.480 that there's been a rise in reports

00:10:09.160 of problematic and dangerous grizzly-human 0.92

00:10:11.980 and grizzly-animal interactions.

00:10:14.160 Some recent conflicts, the province suggests,

00:10:16.280 have been predatory in nature.

00:10:17.760 In 2020, there were three attacks.

00:10:19.640 Well, 2021 recorded nine attacks

00:10:22.000 by black and grizzly bears.

00:10:23.500 The province said there were 104 attacks

00:10:25.500 from 2000 to 2021.

00:10:27.600 The ministerial order states that authorizations

00:10:29.680 can be issued if a grizzly has been involved

00:10:32.020 in a human-bear conflict situation,

00:10:34.240 or if the bear is located in an area of concern,

00:10:38.180 the bear must not be accompanied by a cub.

00:10:40.400 That brings me to my question of the week for you all.

00:10:42.420 Do you support this new program?

00:10:44.120 Do you think that Albertans should be allowed

00:10:46.160 to hunt problematic grizzlies,

00:10:48.420 or do you think that we are going to run

00:10:50.260 into an issue of a slippery slope

00:10:52.180 where people are shooting grizzlies

00:10:54.520 that are not problematic

00:10:55.500 and further endangering an already endangered species?

00:10:59.360 Post your thoughts in the comment section below,

00:11:01.340 and I'll get to some of those next week.

00:11:03.560 Okay, now finally, moving into what we're watching

00:11:05.420 in the weeks to come, we are back to Calgary,

00:11:07.200 and we are not finished talking

00:11:08.340 about the water crisis just yet,

00:11:10.700 because many businesses have and continue

00:11:12.760 to be impacted by the restrictions.

00:11:14.540 Rebel News pulled together this report this week.

00:11:16.880 It was very well done by my good friend, Sid.

00:11:18.760 If you're not familiar with his work,

00:11:20.260 go give him a follow on X.

00:11:22.340 This week, he uncovered that thousands of Albertans

00:11:24.760 have and continue to be put out of work,

00:11:26.720 and that an entire industry could collapse

00:11:28.540 because of Calgary Mayor Jody Gondick's

00:11:30.720 ongoing water restrictions.

00:11:32.320 Rebel News interviewed Kyle Brost,

00:11:34.180 president of the Canadian Prairie Chapter

00:11:35.840 of the Irrigation Association.

00:11:37.700 They represent hundreds of businesses,

00:11:39.500 as well as over 1,000 employees,

00:11:41.020 and they've been put out of work for over a month

00:11:43.880 due to Gondick's restrictions.

00:11:45.740 Brost said it's been over 35 days,

00:11:47.840 and many irrigation companies have been shut down

00:11:49.760 completely for that entire time.

00:11:51.600 He said that 80% of the industry

00:11:53.340 has been totally shuttered,

00:11:55.320 totaling $40 million in lost revenues.

00:11:58.860 He also said that many of the impacted workers

00:12:00.540 are seasonal and really can't afford

00:12:02.220 to be out of work right now.

00:12:03.620 Take a listen to what else he had to say.

00:12:04.840 For us as business owners, it's not the revenue,

00:12:08.300 it's the employees.

00:12:09.620 Ultimately, 35 days without a paycheck is not realistic.

00:12:12.860 There's no support for those guys and ladies, 0.92

00:12:16.120 and frankly, you know, a lot of times

00:12:18.900 they're the single-wager in our household.

00:12:20.900 I would say roughly there's over 1,000 people affected by it

00:12:23.420 because that's in our industry,

00:12:25.000 but this now bleeds into any organization that uses water.

00:12:29.740 So, for example, even window washers

00:12:32.320 who use water-fed poles to clean windows,

00:12:34.320 they can't do their work.

00:12:37.200 Landscapers, that's a big industry that's affected.

00:12:39.940 Okay, everyone, and finally,

00:12:41.160 moving into our weekly comment roundup

00:12:42.860 when I covered that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

00:12:44.760 would not be coming to the Calgary Stampede this year,

00:12:47.500 you guys delivered with his comment section,

00:12:50.160 starting first with user Gary Wagner.

00:12:52.060 He said, quote,

00:12:52.760 Good, Alberta takes pride in being rat-free. 1.00

00:12:55.540 User at Dunn said, quote,

00:12:57.540 No one in Alberta wants to see his face,

00:12:59.320 as well as in BC, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan,

00:13:02.320 New Brunswick, PEI, Manitoba, Nova Scotia,

00:13:05.460 Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories,

00:13:07.560 Nunavut and Yukon.

00:13:08.920 He's a slow learner.

00:13:10.700 True that.

00:13:11.300 And finally, user at Kim Shen Brenner said,

00:13:14.400 quote,

00:13:14.860 It's a stampede, not a gay pride parade.

00:13:17.400 Why would he show up?

00:13:18.700 Absolutely true.

00:13:19.500 I only wish I had said it myself.

00:13:21.020 Okay, everyone, that's all we have time for today.

00:13:22.720 If you support our work,

00:13:23.900 you can do that over at donate.tnc.news.

00:13:26.200 Don't forget to give this video a like

00:13:27.740 and subscribe to True North

00:13:28.580 so you don't miss any of our content.

00:13:29.760 Friendly reminder to tune into my new Wednesday show,

00:13:32.800 Rachel and the Republic,

00:13:33.580 where I dive deep to all the issues

00:13:35.360 in the American election.

00:13:36.840 Hope that you guys have a great weekend.

00:13:38.480 I'll see you next week and God bless.

The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - July 13, 2024

Alberta puts out policing call to foreigners

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