Handshake from hell
Episode Stats
Words per minute
179.07281
Harmful content
Misogyny
4
sentences flagged
Summary
This week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was caught on camera having a rather awkward handshake with the Prime Minister. The topic of amnesty for those charged for breaching COVID-19 came up again this week, and we have some new polling numbers as the United Conservative Party prepares to face the Alberta NDP in a spring general election. All that and more happening now on the Alberta Roundup.
Transcript
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When you let aero truffle bubbles melt, everything takes on a creamy, delicious, chocolatey glow.
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Like that pile of laundry. You didn't forget to fold it.
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Feel the aero bubbles melt. It's mind-bubbling.
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Hey everyone, welcome back to the Alberta Roundup. I'm your host, Rachel Emanuel.
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I hope that you guys are having a great week so far.
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Let's take a look at what happened this week in Alberta politics.
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Unless you're living under a rock, you probably know that Alberta Premier Daniel Smith was in Ottawa this week.
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And she had some new announcements to make about healthcare funding.
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The topic of amnesty for those charged for breaching COVID-19 restrictions came up again this week.
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And we have some new polling numbers as the United Conservative Party prepares to face the Alberta NDP in a spring general election.
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All that and more happening now on the Alberta Roundup.
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Okay guys, let's start with the story that everybody is talking about this week.
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This week, while she was in Ottawa, Alberta Premier Daniel Smith was captured on video having a rather awkward handshake with the Prime Minister.
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If you're like me, you're probably wondering what on earth happened that was a very uncomfortable looking exchange.
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Well, the Premier clarified afterwards that she wasn't expecting the Prime Minister to go in for a handshake because they had just grasped hands backstage.
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I had already shaken his hand, so we already said our hellos.
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I was taken a bit by surprise that he wanted me to shake hands again, so we kind of missed the landing.
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It was a little bit awkward, but we ended up having a really good discussion after that.
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Smith also started her Thursday afternoon press conference in Calgary by going around the room and shaking everyone's hands,
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It's the Family and Friends event at Shoppers Drug Mart.
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Get 20% off almost all regular-priced merchandise.
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Tuesday, February 24th, and Wednesday, February 25th.
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She also met with federal Conservative leader Pierre Polyev and, of course, with the Prime Minister.
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She spoke at length about their discussion, which she said was overall positive.
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Smith also said she told Trudeau his government must end work on its proposed just transition legislation,
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which the Premier has been a staunch opponent of, as well as its emissions reduction cap
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The Prime Minister has not yet shown himself to be a friend of Alberta.
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There are a litany of federal policies that he has imposed that have been exceptionally harmful to our economy
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and to our investment climate, and that have cost Albertans tens of thousands of jobs
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and tens of billions of investment and projects.
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But this issue is far bigger than me or this Prime Minister.
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I know that, and I hope that he knows that, too.
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There are trillions of dollars in revenues, hundreds of billions of dollars in investment,
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and millions of jobs riding on Alberta and Ottawa working together instead of in conflict
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and creating an attractive and certain investment climate that millions around the world want to invest in and move to.
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The Prime Minister is being criticized across the country and from within his own party
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as being unnecessarily divisive and unable to improve national unity or economic growth.
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Come to the table and work collaboratively with Alberta
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on probably the most important economic issue facing this country in a generation.
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I'm opening the door, but I also have to be pretty clear.
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If the Prime Minister chooses to slam this door in our face and moves unilaterally forward
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with just transition or other impossible and arbitrary emissions targets or policies
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without Alberta's involvement and agreement, Alberta will be relentless in our opposition,
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and we will use every tool at our disposal to protect Albertans, their jobs, and their future.
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The ball is now in the Prime Minister's court, and I hope his response to my offer is the right one.
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The Premier also said she expects to ink a 10-year funding health care agreement with Ottawa
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The province is estimating its shares will be about $518 million new dollars.
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The Alberta government plans to use the new cash, which Smith called significant,
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to double down on its initiatives to improve the health care sector.
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She also pointed to Alberta's ongoing efforts to reduce emergency room wait times,
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ambulance wait times, and the surgical backlog.
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The Premier also said she's pleased that most of the funding will come with no strings attached.
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Moving into our next story here, Alberta Premier Daniel Smith also said she's spoken to people
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who have been charged for breaching COVID-19 restrictions.
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That includes Arthur Pawlowski, but Smith said she explained to the street preacher
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Pawlowski faces two charges of criminal mischief,
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and a charge under Alberta's Critical Infrastructure Defence Act
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related to the Coutts border blockade, which took place one year ago.
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His trial took place last week, and the judge's decision has not yet been set.
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You know, I've talked to everyone who has concerns about some of the enforcement orders
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that are against them, and I have told them the same thing that I have told all of you,
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that I'm awaiting to see the result of a couple of different cases.
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I'm taking the advice of my Attorney General, and that we'll have to wait for the process to play out.
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Just specifically, have you spoken to him directly?
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And could you let me know, in the course of that conversation,
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did you tell him or indicate to him that you would have people looking in
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to see what could be done with his specific charges?
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I have always said that I campaigned on it for seven months,
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that I would look into what the options were for amnesty,
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and that I would look into what the options were on that.
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And my Justice Minister came back and said that amnesty is not possible for a Premier.
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The only role of amnesty is the Governor General in our country, the way our system works.
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And his advice to me was having lost one case, the CM versus Alberta case,
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that we were going to wait on the Ingram case to see if there's some clarity in law.
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So that was the advice of my Justice Minister, and that's what I'm waiting for.
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The reporter who was asking those questions was a CBC reporter.
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So whatever you think is going to happen in the future,
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the CBC reported that Premier Smith has been inappropriately pressuring
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In my opinion, the Premier looks less than impressed with the exchange.
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And finally, what we're watching in the weeks to come,
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a new poll from Abacus Data suggests that the United Conservative Party is ramping up steam
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as it prepares for a spring election against the Alberta NDP.
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The poll shows that it will once again be a two-horse race between the NDP and the UCP,
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with the Alberta Party sitting in a distant third.
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David Coletto, Abacus Data chairman and CEO, said,
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There is still a sizable group of people who did vote for the UCP back in 2019 who remain undecided.
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They still are not entirely comfortable with Danielle Smith.
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They're still, I think, disappointed with some of the decisions that the Jason Kenney administration made.
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The other side of that, though, is that they aren't completely comfortable with the New Democrats
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The survey also found that Calgary will be a key battleground in the election,
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which you likely know if you're living in Alberta.
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In Calgary, the NDP currently hold a slight edge over the UCP.
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Voters in Edmonton seem more likely to vote for the NDP,
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while outside of Alberta's two major cities, the UCP is leading.
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Okay, guys, and now it's time for my daily comment roundup.
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I wanted to go over some of your comments from last week
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when I asked you what you thought about Dina Hinshaw being hired in BC.
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You guys had some pretty funny responses, so I'm going to read some of them now.
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As a resident of BC, I am ashamed and appalled about this decision.
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I cannot believe Hinshaw made so much money because of 2020.
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While the rest of us suffered enormous mental and social conditions,
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while high government officials get bonuses from our hard work.
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I applauded that Hinshaw and her overpriced accomplices got fired in Alberta.
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Bonnie Henry, an unelected official, and her tyranny needed to be fired a long time ago.
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to set this province back when others are moving forward.
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BC needs a better political party besides the NDP.
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I wish I could fail up as much as these bureaucrats.
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It seems like there's really no repercussions for them,
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Okay, everyone, that's all I have for you today.
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Thank you so much for tuning in to the Alberta Roundup.
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I hope that you guys have a great rest of your weekend,