The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - Trudeau goes to war with Smith over parental rights

00:00:00.000 Hey everyone, welcome back to the Alberta Roundup. I'm your host, Rachel Emanuel.

00:00:03.820 We had another huge news week in Alberta this week. Probably one of the biggest stories of the

00:00:09.480 year dropped this week. Taking a look at today's topics, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced

00:00:14.620 a huge policy designed to protect children. An Alberta minister has been tasked with investigating

00:00:19.640 whether municipal single-use item bylaws are legal. And a follow-up on a story we talked about

00:00:25.180 a few weeks ago, the Alberta government is already taking action ahead of the expected

00:00:30.340 drought this spring. All that and more happening now on the Alberta Roundup.

00:00:44.360 Taking a look at our first story here, this week Wednesday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced

00:00:49.460 a comprehensive set of policies designed to protect children and parental rights. The Premier said that

00:00:55.040 being a teenager is a complicated time and that parents, leaders, and community teachers must

00:01:00.580 preserve the right for children to grow into impactful adults who can make the best decision

00:01:05.020 for their lives. It is my view that list of adult choices includes deciding whether or not to alter

00:01:10.540 one's biological sex. Making permanent and irreversible decisions regarding one's biological

00:01:16.480 sex while still a youth can severely limit that child's choices in the future. Prematurely encouraging

00:01:22.580 or enabling children to alter their very biology or natural growth, no matter how well-intentioned

00:01:28.460 and sincere, poses a risk to that child's future that I, as Premier, am not comfortable with permitting

00:01:33.920 in our province. Similarly, the risks and unfair advantages that young women and girls are experiencing

00:01:39.160 when competing with biologically stronger transgender females in sporting competitions 0.93

00:01:43.840 have also grown too high. As such, the Premier announced that she would ban top and bottom

00:01:48.860 gender reassignment surgeries for those age 17 and under. Puberty blockers and hormone therapies 0.91

00:01:54.900 for gender reassignment or affirmation will be strictly prohibited for minors age 15 and under,

00:02:01.380 except for those already undergoing treatment. For minors age 16 and 17, the Premier outlined a

00:02:08.280 nuanced approach. Those minors will be allowed to commence hormone therapy for gender reassignment, 0.61

00:02:13.320 provided there is explicit approval from parents, physicians and psychologists. The caveat is that

00:02:19.780 the minor must be deemed mature enough to make such a decision. The approach differs for transgender

00:02:24.740 adults. For transgender adults, our government is currently working to attract one or more medical

00:02:30.280 professionals to practice in Alberta who specialize in transgender surgery to ensure those individuals

00:02:36.020 transitioning have access to an expert in Alberta to assist them with their extremely unique and

00:02:42.280 complex medical needs, rather than going to Quebec, which is now the practice. We will also be

00:02:47.260 building a private registry of medical professionals who specialize in this field to better support the

00:02:52.180 lifelong healthcare needs of transgender Albertans, including access to needed hormones and surgery

00:02:57.300 after care. The policies also cover parental rights. Classroom instruction on the topics mentioned already

00:03:03.540 will require parental notification and an opt-in. Third-party resource materials or presentations

00:03:09.840 related to these subjects in K-12 schools must undergo pre-approval by the Ministry of Education

00:03:16.480 for age appropriateness. Parental notification and consent are deemed necessary to alter the name or

00:03:22.760 pronoun of a child age 15 and under. Notification but not consent are required to be given for children

00:03:28.800 age 16 and 17. The announcement also made strides to protect female athletes, with the Premier saying there's

00:03:35.440 obvious biological realities that give biological men competing in women's sports a massive competitive advantage.

00:03:44.080 She said the government is working with sporting organizations to offer women and girls the choice to compete

00:03:49.520 in women-owning divisions. For biological men who want to compete in women's sports, the government is working 0.96

00:03:56.160 to expand co-ed options. I understand how controversial and divisive discussions on topics of sexuality and

00:04:03.200 gender can be, especially when those conversations involve children. I would therefore ask that as we work

00:04:09.600 through implementing these policies, that we as adults in this province do all we can to depoliticize the

00:04:15.600 discussion and focus on the well-being of the children involved, whether they are young people identifying

00:04:20.800 as transgender or who find themselves attracted to those of the same sex or simply trying to understand

00:04:26.960 the complex and often changing emotions and feelings of being teenagers. They all need our

00:04:31.920 unconditional love and support. Calgary-based Skipping Stone Foundation and EGAL Canada said they

00:04:37.360 condemned Smith's policy and called it a quote, direct and unprecedented attack on 2SLGBTQI plus Canadians.

00:04:46.720 The executive director for parents choice in education, John Hilton O'Brien said while Smith

00:04:52.720 didn't go as far as he would have liked, her approach was reasonable and it went further than he expected.

00:04:59.280 Hilton O'Brien said he believes Smith took a middle ground to diffuse tension between schools and parents,

00:05:05.760 adding quote, what you're looking at is a powder keg. If the premier doesn't do something to diffuse it,

00:05:12.320 there will be much bigger trouble than a potential group of cases in court. She'll be looking at mass

00:05:17.760 protests. Federal Justice Minister Arif Varani said Smith's measures amount to quote, targeting and

00:05:24.160 demonizing trans children. He told the media quote, I have significant concerns about that. I think

00:05:30.880 targeting that small minority for some political reasons, as it seems the premier is doing, is not

00:05:36.640 becoming of her office. And just as you expected, the left lost their minds over this very nuanced

00:05:42.560 policy announcement. Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley, who as you likely know, has announced she

00:05:47.760 will resign once a new leader is elected later this year, called the policy horrifying.

00:05:52.160 I am, I'm so deeply, deeply concerned for what this means, uh, for transgendered and other

00:05:59.760 marginalized youth within the queer community. We know that, um, that, that, that houseless, uh, 1.00

00:06:07.200 children disproportionately come from those communities, uh, because the relationships, uh,

00:06:13.520 with their families have broken down. She also said she thinks the premier will have to enforce

00:06:18.000 the notwithstanding clause to enforce these policies because she believes it will be rejected by the 0.95

00:06:23.520 court. Asked about the policy, Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau called it the quote,

00:06:28.800 most anti LGBTQ policy of anywhere in the country. Take a listen. Canadian parents love their kids

00:06:39.200 and we want the very best for them. And we want them to be kept safe. LGBT youth across this country,

00:06:48.560 are among the most vulnerable to homelessness, to suicide, to a range of things that can harm them.

00:07:00.800 We need to be there to defend them. We need to be there to protect them. And I know Canadians across

00:07:07.360 the country are doing just that. It is telling that the week after welcoming, uh, far-right

00:07:17.600 American conservative Tucker Carlson to her province to sit with him on stage,

00:07:23.120 Danielle Smith has now moved forward with the most anti LGBT policies of anywhere in the country.

00:07:32.480 Canadians need to know that the federal government, uh, and, uh, all Canadians, uh, will be there to

00:07:40.160 protect youth. Meanwhile, an extra magazine journalist, quote unquote, said the policy amounts to genocide.

00:07:46.240 Take a listen.

00:07:58.880 As you guys likely know, whenever a conservative politician 0.68

00:08:14.160 The point of everything the province is doing is to destroy trans people as a meaningful population.

00:08:20.160 And what is that? That's genocide. 0.88

00:08:22.560 As you guys likely know, whenever a conservative politician takes action on a controversial subject matter,

00:08:28.800 the media tries to get them with a lot of gotcha questions. And at least one of those fell very flat this week. Take a listen.

00:08:35.440 My understanding is that your legal first name is Marlena. Why did you choose?

00:08:41.440 I'm wondering why did you choose to go by a different name and why you would take steps to restrict the same freedom, uh, for others to do the same?

00:08:52.080 Well, my mother's going to get a great kick out of that, uh, question because I've been, I've been,

00:08:58.080 ever since 9-11, I've been telling her how difficult it is that she decided to have me go by my middle name and not my first name.

00:09:05.760 It was my parents choice to call me Danielle. And it was my parents choice to put on my birth certificate that Marlena, Danielle Smith,

00:09:13.520 they just liked the ring of it better. That's actually what it comes down to.

00:09:16.240 They didn't do the same thing for my older brother. He goes by his first name, not his middle name.

00:09:19.920 My middle sister, she goes by her first name, not her middle name. Um, my two, um, other brothers also go by their first name,

00:09:27.040 not their middle name. They just decided to make a difference with me. They liked the name Danielle,

00:09:31.600 but they didn't like the ring of Danielle Marlena Smith. That's what it comes down to.

00:09:34.880 I'd like to hear from all of you guys. Do you think the policies went far enough?

00:09:38.720 Do you think they didn't go too far or do you think the premier struck a nuanced and balanced approach?

00:09:43.840 Let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to get to some of your comments next week.

00:09:48.000 Moving into our next story here. The Alberta government is making moves to mitigate the risk of severe drought in the province this year.

00:09:54.640 Alberta's drought command team has been given the go ahead to begin negotiations with water license holder to secure water sharing agreements.

00:10:02.880 Alberta relies on melting snow and rain for its water. This year, the winter snowpack is below average,

00:10:09.760 and rivers are at record low levels, and multiple reservoirs will remain below capacity,

00:10:15.680 the province said in a news release this week. Due to all these factors,

00:10:19.280 the Alberta government has given its drought command team authorization to begin negotiations

00:10:24.240 with major water license holders to begin water sharing agreements in the Red Deer River, Bow River,

00:10:30.640 and Old Man River basins. The goal is to quote, secure significant and timely reductions in water use.

00:10:37.040 Alberta Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schultz said in a news release. She added quote,

00:10:42.720 this effort will be the largest water sharing negotiation to ever have occurred in Alberta's history.

00:10:47.840 There are 25,000 organizations and businesses in Alberta that hold licenses for 9.5 billion cubic meters

00:10:55.120 of water. That's enough to fill 8.3 million Olympic sized swimming pools. Moving into what we're watching

00:11:01.120 in the weeks to come, you guys are going to love this one. Alberta's Minister of Municipal Affairs,

00:11:06.000 Rick McIver, will investigate whether municipal single-use item bylaws in Edmonton and Calgary

00:11:12.080 violates the Municipal Government Act. The Premier was speaking at a conference last week when she was

00:11:16.560 asked about the bylaws in light of the federal court ruling which found that federal single-use

00:11:21.680 plastics ban was unreasonable and unconstitutional. The Premier said quote,

00:11:27.600 I heard there was near-mutiny on wing night in some restaurants because you have to ask

00:11:31.840 whether or not people want napkins. I mean some things are just so obvious that you need napkins

00:11:37.520 when it's wing night. The Premier also said that she does not support the single-use plastics ban

00:11:42.240 adding quote, I'm not supportive of the decision in both Calgary and Edmonton, but I've put it to my

00:11:47.040 Minister of Municipal Affairs to see if they've gone outside the realm of the Municipal Government Act.

00:11:52.400 I think there's a little bit of ideology getting ahead of common sense here. Edmonton Mayor

00:11:56.640 Anne-Marie Tsoe said he is confident that the city's bylaw is in accordance with its authority

00:12:01.520 under the act. In a statement to Global News he said quote, the MGA authorizes the city to pass

00:12:07.440 bylaws for environmental purposes and to regulate businesses. Some of you probably remember when we

00:12:12.720 covered this in the early days of the show, Edmonton's single-use item bylaw has been in

00:12:16.560 place since last year, but councillors moved to increase the fees for paper and reusable bags

00:12:21.840 just last month and that's set to come into effect by July 1st. Edmonton's bylaw has banned plastic bags

00:12:28.080 from stores, but paper bags can be sold for 15 cents and reusable bags cost $1. Calgary passed

00:12:35.040 a single-use items bylaw in mid-January requiring businesses to provide cutlery, condiments, and

00:12:40.880 shopping bags only by request. While McIvor has been tasked with investigating the municipalities,

00:12:46.640 Smith recommended that in the meantime people contact their councillors and mayors to let them know

00:12:52.320 what they think about the bylaws. And finally moving into my weekly comment roundup, the comment

00:12:57.360 of the week goes to a response from at Phil Rack who responded to a video of Justin Trudeau clapping

00:13:03.760 erratically at a women's hockey game writing, what's going on with Trudeau? Maybe he's dipping into his

00:13:09.840 safer supply a little too liberally. I'm not going to read this entire next comment here, but I do want

00:13:15.440 to just touch on the beginning of it. User iamthejuggernaut said, Smith's response to the reporter was okay,

00:13:21.120 but I'd like to see her take the Polyev approach of asking the reporter to provide their evidence

00:13:26.240 when making blanket statements like, quote, this is somebody who has been accused of defending white

00:13:30.720 supremacy, end quote. While it is fine to draw the distinction of not needing to agree with everything

00:13:35.520 a person believes in order to take an interview with them, I would have preferred her to respond

00:13:40.080 with a question like, who has linked him to white supremacy? I've seen a lot of comments like this,

00:13:45.440 I think that Polyev's approach to deal with the media has probably been the strongest of any

00:13:49.520 Canadian politician that I've ever seen, at least in my lifetime. Let me know if you think of someone

00:13:54.480 better, but it is very distinct and unique to him. That being said, I think that we're really seeing

00:13:59.040 the Primer Smith kind of come into her own when it comes to handling the media. I said this on the

00:14:03.520 Andrew Lawton show a few weeks ago, I think she's becoming a really polished public speaker and really

00:14:09.840 just hitting all the right notes to avoid unnecessary controversy. As well with the clip I played earlier

00:14:15.440 for you guys today when she was answering that question about why she goes by Danielle when her

00:14:19.920 actual first name is Marlena. I think she handled that splendidly and we're seeing more responses

00:14:24.960 like that from the Premier. So I think we're going to be seeing her taking a stronger approach to the

00:14:29.360 media. I think as she just gets more comfortable with the role and more comfortable with dealing 0.68

00:14:33.040 with media. Okay everyone, that's all we have time for today. Thank you so much for tuning in.

00:14:37.120 As always, if you're able to support our work, you can do that over at donate.tnc.news.

00:14:42.080 Have a great weekend. I'll see you guys next week and God bless.

The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux - February 03, 2024

Trudeau goes to war with Smith over parental rights

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript