The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - Calgary’s rezoning bylaw harms the middle class

00:00:00.000 Calgary City Council has passed a motion for citywide rezoning, meaning that if you've spent

00:00:05.240 your lifetime paying off your mortgage and investing in a neighborhood you love, all of that

00:00:09.440 could be undone when the modest bungalow beside you is torn down and a fourplex is built in its

00:00:14.460 dead. It also means that if you're looking for somewhere to rent or own in Calgary, the chances

00:00:19.240 of finding a detached home with room for your growing family are increasingly slim. What's

00:00:24.380 more likely is that you'll have neighbors pressed up on both sides, so close you can hear what movie

00:00:29.440 they're watching and smell what they made for dinner. You'll probably have an Airbnb beneath

00:00:33.880 you, hopefully those weekend parties aren't too loud, and another unit out back in what

00:00:38.440 was once a backyard for children to play in and mothers to garden in. Alberta Premier Danielle

00:00:44.420 Smith has said she's concerned that Calgary City Council rammed through this motion despite

00:00:49.060 outrage from Calgarians so it could get their hands on federal money. But one thing is increasingly

00:00:55.040 clear. It's getting harder and harder for the middle class. And while Prime Minister Justin

00:01:00.280 Trudeau often pegs his government as working to help those trying hard to join it, he's

00:01:04.980 doing a dang good job of wiping it out and replacing it with a ruling class and the rest of us tax 1.00

00:01:10.560 slaves forced to support it. I'm Rachel Emanuel. And this is the Alberta Roundup. Rachel Emanuel brings

00:01:18.420 the news each day on Alberta Roundup. She has her say. Okay, everyone taking a look at our first story

00:01:28.160 here, a motion to allow for blanket rezoning in Calgary and create higher density housing was passed

00:01:35.000 on Tuesday night in a nine to six vote along with numerous amendments. The vote comes after the city

00:01:40.020 council's longest ever public hearing, which began on April 22. And it was focused on the efforts to

00:01:45.380 rezone all of Calgary's residential areas that currently only allow for single family homes.

00:01:49.960 Over three weeks, it included multiple 12 hour days, 736 speakers and 238 panels.

00:01:57.100 These are the councillors that voted against the motion. Councilors Dan McLean, Sean Chu,

00:02:01.900 Peter DeMong, Terry Wong, Sonia Sharp and Andresha Bowe. Those in support of the bylaw spoke of its

00:02:07.780 ability to eliminate bureaucratic processes, allowing Calgary to adapt to a growing population

00:02:12.500 and help those in precarious housing situations, as well as reinforce other aspects of the housing

00:02:17.860 strategy. More than 20 amendments were made to the motion during the meeting, including measures to

00:02:22.500 increase residents' ability to implement privacy measures on their property and giving communities

00:02:27.140 further say in what type of developments are being built in their neighborhoods. Here's Calgary

00:02:31.260 Mayor Jody Gonnek responding to the motion once it was passed.

00:02:33.780 By passing this rezoning, we are not forcing anyone to build anything specifically. We are simply

00:02:40.300 opening the door for people who would like to build this type of product to do so. And we have

00:02:45.620 strengthened what happens at development permit by allowing neighbors and community members to have

00:02:50.560 a say. Alberta Premier Daniel Smith was asked what she thinks about the changes being pushed through

00:02:54.500 despite so much opposition from Calgarians. Here's what she had to say.

00:02:58.420 Well, you know, I've been watching this because it was a process that was started under the prior

00:03:03.100 mayor and became pretty controversial. And I believe it was called the community guide or something at the

00:03:09.780 time and became something that I believe the residents of Calgary weighed in on in the last election.

00:03:17.580 What had me concerned is that it seemed like the resurgence of this was tied to a bilateral deal that the city of Calgary signed with the federal government.

00:03:29.560 Of course, it's emerged. It's a little bit murky. It's first the seems like the federal government said, yes, they need to make these changes.

00:03:36.000 And then it sounded like the municipality said, no, no, no, we've got the authority to and there's no tied to the money.

00:03:40.160 I don't know what the what the what the real answer is there. But it does concern me if municipalities feel that they have pressure from the federal government to change their policies in order to get a couple hundred million dollars.

00:03:52.480 That's part of the reason why we brought in Bill 18. The premier also said that policies like this are why her government put forward Bill 18, which would prevent municipalities from signing deals directly with the federal government without the provincial sign off.

00:04:05.080 The premier also said we'll see whether there's widespread support for this motion when the municipal elections come around in a year and a half.

00:04:11.920 Moving into our next story here, Alberta is once again voicing its opposition to the federal government's proposed capital gains tax increase and is urging the liberal government to reconsider this policy,

00:04:21.300 along with a host of other provinces. Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner sent a letter to his federal counterpart, Christia Freeland,

00:04:27.960 warning her that the budget proposal would harm Canadians future standards of living. In the letter, Horner said, quote,

00:04:33.580 your proposed tax increase is also damaging and unfair to the many small business owners who plan for retirement

00:04:39.240 and are relying on the assets they built up and held in their small businesses.

00:04:43.700 Horner urged Freeland to reconsider the fairness of such a tax increase on family savings as they do not have a taxpayer supported pension plan

00:04:50.340 like the liberal minister and her colleagues. Canada's largest business groups, along with Canadian CEOs and tech leaders,

00:04:57.420 have pleaded with the federal government to scrap their, quote, ill-advised inclusion rate increases

00:05:01.720 that would cause, quote, harm to the Canadian innovation economy.

00:05:05.400 Finance Minister Christia Freeland announced plans alongside the 2024 federal budget

00:05:09.400 to tax Canadian companies and individuals on two-thirds of their capital gains, increasing from 15%.

00:05:15.480 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has defended the tax increase, saying it would generate $20 million in revenue for social programs.

00:05:21.820 Moving into our next story here, the Alberta government is paving the way for a complete overhaul of the province's health care system,

00:05:27.660 and its plans include new ministerial positions for specific health care branches.

00:05:32.220 The Health Statues Amendment Act, or Bill 22, intends to assure that Albertans can have access to a primary health care provider,

00:05:38.600 receive urgent care without long waits, have access to continuing care options, and obtain mental health and addictions treatment.

00:05:45.740 If passed, the proposed Bill 22 would transition Alberta Health Services to four sector-based provincial health agencies,

00:05:52.360 including primary care, acute care, continuing care, and mental health and addiction.

00:05:57.200 The changes aim to improve patient care and better support frontline health care workers

00:06:00.860 who will work in organizations focused on their specific areas of expertise.

00:06:04.760 Here's what Health Minister Adriana LaGrange had to say about it in a press conference earlier this week.

00:06:09.320 By updating legislation to enable better governance and oversight of health care,

00:06:14.500 we are laying the foundation for a stronger, unified, provincial health care delivery system.

00:06:20.040 The Health Statutes Amendment Act will foster a culture of collaboration and integration within our health care system

00:06:26.340 by providing the structure that supports its success.

00:06:29.620 Moving into our Controversy of the Week, we are once again taking a look at the situation in Chestermere

00:06:33.440 with a report from Deloitte now coming out,

00:06:36.140 and it appears at first glance to be damning for the ousted mayor and councillors.

00:06:40.400 Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Rick McIver released the details of an independent report

00:06:44.380 into the investigation of the City of Chestermere's finances this week.

00:06:47.800 The investigation was ordered by the province after complaints of financial irregularities

00:06:51.660 and council dysfunction prompted the minister to fire Mayor Jeff Colvin

00:06:55.920 and councillors Melfo, Stephen Hanley, and Blaine Funk in December of last year.

00:06:59.660 Then in January, McIver appointed Deloitte Canada to investigate the City's finances.

00:07:04.740 That report was released this week, and McIver said it found significant gaps in the City's financial management

00:07:10.520 and found Chestermere's finances to have been managed in an irregular, improper,

00:07:14.660 and improvident manner between October 18th and December 2023,

00:07:18.600 with Colvin and the other councillors being dismissed in December.

00:07:21.280 During a press conference, McIver highlighted some examples of the report.

00:07:24.660 Let's take a look.

00:07:25.240 The inspector tested 565 council expenses undertaken by the mayor and councillors

00:07:33.320 and found that one of them was submitted with full documented, reviewed, and approved.

00:07:40.180 Now, as some of you know, I have been covering the Chestermere situation closely over the past couple of weeks.

00:07:45.260 I had Mayor Colvin and former councillor Stephen Hanley on my show.

00:07:49.180 I also spoke to some Chestermere residents to see how they feel about the situation.

00:07:52.160 Mayor Colvin and the councillors have actually been travelling the province speaking to rooms of people

00:07:56.060 explaining the situation, so it doesn't appear that they're trying to hide anything.

00:07:59.200 I reached out to Mayor Colvin this week to get his response to the report, and he, of course, disputed it.

00:08:03.560 He said that the report appears to make it seem like his financial activities were improper,

00:08:08.320 when in actuality, the city had numerous credit cards when he and the other councillors were elected,

00:08:13.140 and they cancelled all those credit cards and just used one credit card that he was in charge of

00:08:17.200 that had all councils spending on it.

00:08:19.660 He said every two weeks, his executive assistant would come and collect those receipts

00:08:24.100 and staple them to a financial statement, which would then be given to the finance department.

00:08:29.160 Now, he said when Deloitte was going to do their report, they could not find any of the receipts,

00:08:34.340 and they claimed that the financial statements had not been filed.

00:08:37.180 Colvin said that isn't the case, and I actually also spoke with his executive assistant,

00:08:40.760 who backed up that claim and said she absolutely collected those receipts every two weeks 0.95

00:08:44.660 and sent them to the finance department. So, it certainly seems there is more going on to the story here.

00:08:49.720 My question of the week for you all is, what do you think is going on in Chestermere?

00:08:53.000 Do you think that Municipal Affairs Minister Rick McIver was right to fire the mayor and these councillors,

00:08:58.140 or do you think that there is something untoward happening here?

00:09:01.320 Moving into what we're watching in the weeks to come, I know that you will be very interested in this story,

00:09:04.720 and I suspect many of you to attend this event.

00:09:07.020 The United Conservative Party Riding Association of Calgary Law Heed is planning a town hall

00:09:11.500 to discuss the harms and even deaths attributed to the COVID-19 vaccine.

00:09:16.120 The event, titled An Injection of Truth Town Hall,

00:09:18.620 will host vaccine researchers and critics in Calgary Law Heed next month,

00:09:22.720 according to a listing on the UCP's official website.

00:09:25.900 Attendees who purchase tickets will also receive access to the after-party titled Politics and Popcorn,

00:09:31.700 where they will have the opportunity to mingle with both speakers and MLAs,

00:09:36.340 including the rookie MLA for the riding, Eric Bouchard.

00:09:38.600 The event page reads,

00:09:40.940 Was your child killed or injured by a COVID shot?

00:09:44.060 Do you have a story to tell?

00:09:45.500 You should be heard.

00:09:47.020 Are you one of the remarkable doctors, scientists, or researchers who knows the answer?

00:09:51.480 Now is the time to say the quiet part out loud.

00:09:54.300 Let's target the elephant in the room.

00:09:56.300 The page cites recent statistics that shows excessive deaths for children are up 350% since 2021.

00:10:03.500 Why are an excessive number of Alberta's children dying? 0.97

00:10:05.800 The page reads, What's scientifically different today than 2020?

00:10:10.160 United Conservative Party President Rob Smith told me that the party has a responsibility

00:10:14.140 to support constituency associations events, so long as they are not irresponsible or immoral.

00:10:20.420 He's also putting pressure on Alberta Premier Daniel Smith to amend COVID-19 vaccine policy,

00:10:25.620 and I'll have an episode about that next week.

00:10:27.740 So you guys are definitely going to want to stay tuned for that.

00:10:29.760 Okay, everyone, and just ending on a lighter note this week, I often get emails from different

00:10:34.960 groups trying to get their work published.

00:10:36.280 Usually it's not super relevant to this audience, but I did get this one study this week that

00:10:39.640 I thought was pretty funny about the different ways to pronounce Edmonton.

00:10:42.620 Apparently there isn't a lot of consensus about how Alberta's capital should be pronounced.

00:10:47.160 78 people said it should be pronounced as Edmonton.

00:10:49.540 That's the crowd favorite.

00:10:51.120 57 said it should be pronounced as Edmonton, and some strongly felt that you need to pronounce

00:10:56.500 the D. And then some people actually said it should be pronounced Edwardmonton.

00:11:01.660 That's 12 people.

00:11:02.660 That's bizarre.

00:11:03.740 I've never heard that before.

00:11:05.200 I think we can all agree, but that last one was probably wrong.

00:11:07.500 But how do you guys think is the proper way to say Edmonton?

00:11:10.100 I think I say the D, Edmonton.

00:11:12.580 Am I saying it differently now?

00:11:14.360 It's kind of when you start to think about something too much, then you forget how to

00:11:17.440 pronounce it.

00:11:18.520 Okay, and finally, moving into our weekly comment roundup, last said, I thought that Bill

00:11:21.860 20 goes too far.

00:11:23.360 Some of you agreed, but some of you didn't.

00:11:24.800 Let's take a look.

00:11:25.820 Izzard P said, quote, the Calgary mayor is basically forcing Smith's government to do

00:11:29.500 this.

00:11:30.220 Out of control, municipal dictators are a serious problem.

00:11:33.560 There was a fair number of comments who said that they support Bill 20, and we need to get

00:11:36.660 some of these radical left loony mayors in check.

00:11:41.240 That being said, maybe it was because COVID-19 was such a defining moment.

00:11:44.820 I was in my early 20s, just as 9-11, I'm sure, was a defining moment for some of you.

00:11:49.680 You know, we all kind of have that traumatic thing that happened maybe early on in our lives

00:11:52.940 that really shaped a lot of the way that we see the world.

00:11:55.280 COVID-19 was definitely that for me.

00:11:57.500 My political views radically changed during COVID-19, and I became so much more skeptical

00:12:02.560 of government.

00:12:03.660 And even since covering government so closely, as I obviously have been doing, I just am very

00:12:08.740 wary of them.

00:12:09.700 Even when we seem to have a good government, and I do think the Smith government is by and

00:12:13.080 large doing a good job.

00:12:14.280 I'm still not eager to hand them over tons of power.

00:12:17.320 However, I don't like this policy.

00:12:19.220 I explained that very clearly last year.

00:12:20.520 You guys can go back and hear my monologue last week.

00:12:22.920 I just think it gives the government too much power.

00:12:24.560 And even if you like the Smith government, Daniel Smith is not always going to be premier.

00:12:28.540 I hate to break it to you guys.

00:12:29.640 There's even a chance that we could have an NDP government again.

00:12:32.120 So I'm just wary of giving any government too much power.

00:12:35.240 We can't forget, scariest words in the English language are, I'm from the government and I'm

00:12:39.720 here to help.

00:12:40.440 User Disdriver said, it goes too far.

00:12:42.380 Our province should not be able to unilaterally recall councillors or mayors.

00:12:47.060 For everyone supportive of the changes, what if you have a good city council and terrible

00:12:50.860 provincial government?

00:12:52.000 Then the province will force their agenda on you, like the feds are doing to Alberta now.

00:12:56.420 Yes, that is essentially what I said last week.

00:12:58.320 And I absolutely agree with this statement.

00:12:59.780 I think if we really don't like a city councillor or council, it's incumbent on us to get it

00:13:04.300 and organize and remove those politicians. 0.95

00:13:06.640 And finally, user Scott Camano said, end Alberta's calling.

00:13:09.800 Absolutely agree with this.

00:13:10.640 Our provincial immigration numbers are way too high. 1.00

00:13:12.560 I think I've been one of the loudest critics of this.

00:13:14.640 Maybe not on this show particularly, but definitely on Off the Record, one of our other shows

00:13:18.320 and things like that.

00:13:19.340 There's too many people coming here.

00:13:20.600 We can't support them.

00:13:21.400 It's time to pause the Alberta's calling campaign and also just pause immigration federally

00:13:26.220 for probably like three to five years.

00:13:28.380 Will we get these numbers under control?

00:13:29.740 Will we get our infrastructure built up to support all these new people?

00:13:33.300 And then we can re-examine if mass immigration is something that we want to continue to proceed

00:13:37.540 with.

00:13:38.120 Okay, everyone, that's all we have time for today.

00:13:39.680 Thank you so much for tuning in.

00:13:41.040 I will be back next week with some more episodes.

00:13:42.860 I hope you guys enjoy your long weekend.

00:13:44.440 God bless.

00:13:44.940 God bless.

00:13:45.500 God bless.

00:13:45.760 God bless.

00:13:45.940 God bless.

00:13:46.700 God bless.

00:13:47.600 God bless.

00:13:49.220 God bless.

00:13:50.060 He is.

00:13:51.680 God bless.

The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - May 18, 2024

Calgary’s rezoning bylaw harms the middle class

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