The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - March 23, 2024


Leftists wreck “Recall Gondek” signs


Episode Stats


Length

11 minutes

Words per minute

184.18073

Word count

2,060

Sentence count

127

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

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

Calgary police are investigating after a Recall Mayor Jody Gondek campaign sign was defaced. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government will double oil and gas production and be carbon neutral by 2050. She also says Alberta is the answer to climate change.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 The mainstream media put forward their best investigative journalists this week
00:00:03.920 to uncover that conservative organizations are joining forces to unseat Calgary Mayor Jody
00:00:09.420 Gondek. Now, I don't know that we needed the media to tell us that conservatives don't like
00:00:14.740 Gondek, one of the most unpopular, if not the most unpopular Calgary mayor of all time. But if
00:00:21.160 they're not in the business of lying, then they're in the business of stating the obvious. Never
00:00:26.020 mind that the recall effort will not be successful. Petitioner Landon Johnston said himself on this
00:00:31.220 very show that it's statistically impossible for him to achieve the threshold of over half a million
00:00:36.620 signatures. That isn't stopping the lamestream media from running cover for Gondek. And nor did it stop
00:00:43.460 two grandmas from defacing a recall Gondek campaign sign earlier this week. Now, the Calgary police
00:00:50.620 have said they're investigating, but let's not kid ourselves. We know they will not be pressing charges.
00:00:56.020 When it comes to the media and the police alike, they're only interested in targeting one type of
00:01:00.880 person. And if you're watching the show, there's a good chance you're one of them. I'm Rachel
00:01:05.100 Emanuel, and this is the Alberta Roundup. Okay, everyone, taking a look at our first story here,
00:01:19.920 Calgary police say they are investigating after a recall Mayor Jody Gondek campaign sign was defaced
00:01:25.620 this week. A video circulating online shows two elderly women spray painting over a recall Gondek
00:01:31.480 sign and rewriting respect Gondek over it. Police say officers were called to Parkdale Boulevard
00:01:37.320 Northwest and 30th Street Northwest around 1020 AM on Tuesday, March 19th for reports of property damage
00:01:43.800 to a billboard on a grassy median. Take a look at this video.
00:01:46.940 What are you ladies? What's your names? 1.00
00:01:51.940 You're despicable. You're absolutely despicable.
00:01:57.380 Thank you. Both of you. Thank you.
00:02:00.060 You should be thrown in jail for this. Really? Yes.
00:02:04.160 City police say they're continuing to investigate after two women, Karen Motka and Carolyn Pogue,
00:02:09.580 painted over the message on the sign to read Respect Gondek. Pogue, who posted selfies with
00:02:14.980 a paintbrush next to the face signs on Facebook, also wrote, Respect is such a beautiful word.
00:02:20.820 Hope we can try some for our elected mayor. Later in the week, it was revealed that the
00:02:24.640 roadside sign didn't have a required permit, and I bet we can expect the city to drop their
00:02:30.080 investigation. On Friday, Calgary Mayor Jody Gondek met with petitioner Landon Johnson to discuss
00:02:35.780 his efforts to recall her, and what he perceives to be wrong with Calgary City Council.
00:02:41.040 Here's what Johnston had to say about it.
00:02:42.840 I'm okay with the conversation, the way it went, and I'm just not happy with the resolution, right?
00:02:49.180 She's still the mayor.
00:02:50.360 Johnston also said him and the mayor discussed affordability, public safety,
00:02:54.480 and the mayor's declaration of a climate emergency. Here's how Gondek responded following the meeting.
00:02:58.800 He genuinely started a petition to raise awareness of the issues that he thought
00:03:04.340 council had not addressed. I had a very good opportunity to explain to him the investments
00:03:10.420 that we are making and the types of things we are doing.
00:03:12.700 Moving into our next story here, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told an energy conference in Houston
00:03:16.780 that her government will double oil and gas production and be carbon neutral by 2050.
00:03:21.900 Afterwards, Smith wrote on X, quote, we can and we will. And that's the message I just delivered to
00:03:27.380 our American friends and investors at Sierra and Houston just moments ago. Alberta is the answer.
00:03:32.500 While speaking, Smith also said she was disappointed that Environment and Climate Change Minister
00:03:36.920 Stephen Guibo announced in July he wanted to impose a net zero electricity grid by 2035,
00:03:42.740 and we know that Danielle Smith has been trying to convince her federal counterparts to push that
00:03:47.380 deadline to 2050. And when she was back from the U.S., Danielle Smith was asked how her fuel tax
00:03:52.660 is different from the federal carbon tax, as both are slated to go up on April 1st.
00:03:57.380 Here's how the Premier responded.
00:03:58.760 Well, one thing I would say is that we have a fuel tax that adjusts with the price at the pump,
00:04:04.740 and I wish the federal government would do the same thing. Theirs just keeps going up.
00:04:08.420 Ours, on the other hand, when WTI hits $90 a barrel again, ours will be coming completely off.
00:04:15.040 Taking a quick look at the scene in Edmonton's River Valley, Deputy Chief Warren Dricol is warning
00:04:20.240 that parts of Edmonton's once pristine River Valley are becoming unusable because of homeless
00:04:25.760 encampments. Take a look at this video.
00:04:27.680 I think Edmonton likes to pride itself. We've got the, you know, world's largest or North America's
00:04:32.500 largest uninterrupted park system, and there's parts of it that are becoming unusable for people.
00:04:37.660 This is all along Dawson Park here. This has been a really big entrenched encampment for us for a long
00:04:43.220 time. Litter that's strewn about here. Really hard to clean up, right? Because, you know, you try to get
00:04:48.020 what you can, but if you're going to miss things like the needles and stuff, so just be careful when you're
00:04:51.880 walking around. This is the encampment where, if people remember, where we took the cache of weapons
00:04:56.100 out of, came out of this set of encampments through here. There's a whole series of trails
00:05:00.960 and smaller encampments that are littered about, but you can see that even just there, like, these are
00:05:07.280 almost becoming impossible to clean up. This is a spot that we've been working on for weeks, literally
00:05:12.340 trying to clean up, and you can still see there's extensive amount of garbage in here.
00:05:17.180 Later in the video, the chief shows that there are houses just above the encampment, and he went on to
00:05:22.320 say that due to provincial government policies, the police are able to get people out of these
00:05:26.780 encampments and into the help they need. Taking a look at our next story here, homeowners in Calgary
00:05:31.260 are bracing for an even higher than expected property tax increase this year, and Calgary Mayor
00:05:36.560 Jody Gondik is blaming the hike on the province. Take a listen.
00:05:40.640 If they had wanted to bring down that amount, they could have. They could have changed their rate,
00:05:44.660 but they didn't. So they are benefiting from higher property values and taking their full share,
00:05:50.200 and that means an increase on your provincial share of property taxes that we didn't necessarily
00:05:55.560 anticipate. The municipal portion of the tax bill has dropped to 7.2% from 7.8%, while the province is
00:06:02.140 taking 11.5%. Alberta's Minister of Municipal Affairs, Rick McIver, said Calgary's increase in property
00:06:08.620 taxes has nothing to do with the provincial government. In a statement, he said, quote,
00:06:12.680 The education property tax is an important revenue source that helps support the growing population
00:06:17.620 of students and the need to build new schools, hire new teachers, and education assistants.
00:06:23.320 Moving into our controversy of the week, members of Edmonton City Council are getting an automatic
00:06:27.760 pay raise for the second year in a row, and now Amarit Sohi is among the highest paid mayors in the
00:06:33.720 country. He also makes more than Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Salaries are going up 2.41% in 2024,
00:06:40.060 the same rate as last year. Raises were revealed in a January 17 memo to council made public on the
00:06:46.100 city's open data website last week. Increases are automatic as they were set using a regulatory
00:06:51.000 mechanism in a council policy last reviewed in 2020. Mayor Amarit Sohi's base salary for 2024
00:06:57.440 is $216,585. That's up from just over $211,000 in 2023. Edmonton City Council's base salary is $122,363.
00:07:12.260 That's up from just over $119,000 in 2023. The Edmonton salaries are comparable too, but slightly higher
00:07:19.480 than their Calgary counterparts. Calgary Mayor Jody Gonnick's base salary is $213,737. And
00:07:27.320 councillors will be paid $120,755 in 2024. Those figures don't include other benefits and spending
00:07:35.900 accounts. But Amarit Sohi's pay stands out as among the highest in major Canadian cities for mayors,
00:07:42.000 with the pay for the city of Markham mayor being the highest at over $260,000. For contrast,
00:07:48.320 Alberta Premier Daniel Smith's salary in 2023 was $186,180. And finally, moving into our watching
00:07:56.520 in the weeks to come, as the city ushers in the spring season under persistent drought conditions,
00:08:01.600 Calgary officials are hinting at the imminent need for water conservation orders for the second
00:08:05.760 consecutive year. The potential of outdoor water restrictions as early as May comes in response
00:08:11.080 to a forecast predicting warmer than usual temperatures, raising alarms over the city's
00:08:15.940 water supply sustainability. Calgary Mayor Jody Gonnick said Calgarians have reduced water
00:08:20.780 consumption over the last 20 years. She said the city is taking less water from the river than it
00:08:25.860 did in 2003, with a population that has increased by half a million. This April, Calgary will begin a
00:08:31.020 campaign called Together We Can Make Every Drop Count, which aims to provide Calgarians with ways to
00:08:35.700 conserve and consume water. Here's what Calgary Mayor Jody Gonnick had to say about it.
00:08:39.760 Holding off on doing laundry until you've got a full load. Same thing goes with the dishwasher. 0.72
00:08:44.760 Wait until you've got a full load. Taking shorter showers. We can certainly set timers and get into
00:08:50.460 better habits about shower length and turning off the tap while you're shaving or brushing your teeth.
00:08:55.640 The city will also contribute to saving water, saying in a news release that its vehicles will be
00:08:59.700 less sparkling clean, that park spaces will be less green, and that fountain displays will operate
00:09:05.080 less frequently. When outdoor water use is required, Calgary will be more prudent about how it is used.
00:09:10.480 The city plans to reuse storm water to water golf courses, park spaces, and flower baskets, and use an
00:09:15.880 efficient irrigation system, which uses 30% less water to keep sporting turfs in good condition.
00:09:21.260 Okay everyone, and finally moving into our weekly comment roundup, you might remember that last week
00:09:24.760 I was removed from Prime Minister Justin Dredo's press conference. Actually, I wasn't even allowed in the room.
00:09:29.900 I wasn't even allowed to stand next to one of the Prime Minister's vehicles while I waited for
00:09:35.060 him to exit the building and head out, for fear that one of my questions might offend the Prime
00:09:41.300 Minister's beloved ears. Let's see what you guys had to say about it. User Donna Fleming said,
00:09:46.100 how did we end up with such a horrible leader? How is it that there is no way to remove a Prime
00:09:50.940 Minister that works against Canadians? I think that would be a good question to ask NDP leader Jagmeet
00:09:55.920 Singh, and maybe we should finally have that talk about mass immigration. Moving into our next comment
00:10:01.320 here, user John C said, Red Deer School Board speaks for us. We are your base. We are also
00:10:07.520 conservatives. Do not cast doubt on Red Deer policy. No pronouns, no rainbow flags. Danielle, hear us.
00:10:13.740 I am right on side with you. Danielle Smith said last week that she was concerned about a policy from
00:10:18.900 the Red Deer Catholic School Board, which would ban pronouns in emails from staff and in court's
00:10:23.560 outlines. It would also ban pride flags. I think the Red Deer Catholic School Board is making the right 0.99
00:10:29.140 move. And finally, user Luanne Cortlett said in response to a comment giving me a compliment,
00:10:34.680 she said, our Burmese python is more beautiful. I think she was saying that a Burmese python is more
00:10:40.120 beautiful than me, and hey, I'm not going to argue with that. There's nothing I love more than being
00:10:43.960 out in nature and looking at all the amazing creatures that God designed and how creative and
00:10:48.480 unique he was with each and every one of them. I personally would not want a snake for a pet,
00:10:53.140 but I think we can all agree that it is incredibly amazing and beautiful to look at.
00:10:56.800 Okay, everyone, that is all that I have time for today. Thank you so much for tuning in.
00:11:00.800 As always, please like this video and subscribe to True North. You can support our work over at
00:11:05.720 donate.tnc.news. I hope that you guys have a great weekend. I'll see you next week. God bless.