UCP sets sights on Nenshi
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Summary
The Alberta government announced this week that it would opt out of the federal dental care program. Meanwhile, federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says he s united with Alberta New Democrats, even as that party s new leader seeks to distance himself from Singh.
Transcript
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The Alberta government announced this week that it would opt out of the federal dental care program.
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It's the right choice, of course, in the days since long-time business owners and dentists
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have been reporting that the program is creating chaos at their places of work.
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It's also being reported that the plan will create confusion,
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which happens basically any time the Liberal government puts forward new legislation.
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Justin Trudeau's Liberals are trailing the Conservatives by 20 points,
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and this week faced a devastating loss in the once-liberal stronghold of Toronto St. Paul's.
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But until an election is called, we're all just buckling down
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and praying that the damage done to our country can and will be undone by a strong Conservative government.
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The reason an election hasn't been called, of course, is the cowardice of Jagmeet Singh's NDP,
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who make a big show about supporting the working class,
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even when it's clear the working class no longer supports the government the NDP upholds.
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Singh is simultaneously one of the most useless politicians,
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who's also wreaking the most havoc on our country,
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if you can wrap your head around that seeming paradox.
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In fact, it's his party that's been pushing for a national dental care program
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But instead, the Liberals offered him this watered-down plan that Alberta doesn't want,
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So it should come as no surprise that the new Alberta NDP leader wants to distance himself from Singh.
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And if the effort to divorce the Alberta NDP from Singh's unpopular federal branch is successful,
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it could spell a headache for Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party.
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I'm Rachel Emanuel, and this is the Alberta Roundup.
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Okay, everyone, taking a look at our first story here,
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Alberta is opting out of the federal dental care program
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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told the federal government this week.
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In a letter, she said the plan infringes on provincial jurisdiction.
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If a new health program was to be developed by the federal government,
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it should be done in full collaboration with provinces and territories,
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and discussions should have occurred before these intentions are announced.
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The Premier also said that Alberta is still expecting its monetary portion of the federal program,
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which they would then use to help low-income Albertans afford dental care.
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We anticipate our respective officials can negotiate mutually agreeable terms within a two-year time frame
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Last December, Ottawa promised to spend $13 billion over five years on the plan.
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Canadians who filed a tax return earning less than $90,000 per year
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and have no access to dental care insurance are eligible.
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The program already covers kids under 12 and seniors over the age of 65,
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and it's now been expanded to cover those under the age of 18,
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as well as those with a valid disability tax credit certificate.
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The Alberta Dental Association president-elect said the program creates a lot more paperwork.
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On top of that, though, there is just such an unknown.
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Dr. Hans Herschen is one of the 60 to 70 percent of Alberta dentists not yet signed up for the program.
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He's concerned over misinformation and said patients come in expecting free dental care
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Meanwhile, president of the Canadian Dental Association said he's hearing reports of dental offices
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where administrators are now spending up to an hour a day explaining the program to patients.
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Dr. Joel Antle also said the program will limit patient choice, saying, quote,
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You are also going to have people left in a very sad situation of having to go to dental office, to dental office,
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Taking a look at our next story here, federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says he's united with Alberta New Democrats,
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even as that party's new leader seeks to distance himself from Jagmeet Singh's NDP.
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On Saturday, former Calgary mayor Nahed Nanshi was crowned leader of the Alberta NDP in a decisive leadership contest.
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And he quickly told reporters that he would be putting the question to his membership
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of whether they should divorce from the federal party, something he first pitched during his campaign.
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But Singh says the two parties remain united in their goal of defeating conservatives federally and provincially.
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Right now, at the provincial level in Alberta, provincially in a lot of places, conservatives are a threat to the people.
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Conservatives are directly attacking healthcare, education.
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So in Alberta, New Democrats are united with a very clear goal of defeating Daniel Smith, who is a real threat to Canadians, who is a real threat to Albertans.
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Pierre Polyev also wants to do the same things as Daniel Smith.
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He wants to cut and gut the things that you need.
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Members of provincial NDP branches automatically become members of the federal NDP.
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That feature is unique to the NDP of Canada's major political parties.
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And it's also something the United Conservative Party government has used to successfully attack the Alberta NDP,
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considering Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's extreme unpopularity across Canada, but of course in Alberta as well,
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and the fact that the federal NDP continue propping him up.
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They are the reason we are not already in an election.
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Differences in party policy has created problems for the provincial party in energy-rich Alberta.
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For example, Nenshi and former Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley both supported the Trans Mountain Pipeline project,
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Still, Notley told the Calgary Herald last week that plans to divorce from the federal party are, quote,
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It's been one week since former Calgary Mayor Nahed Nenshi was crowned leader of the Alberta NDP,
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and already the United Conservative Party has released two attack ads about the new leader.
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Those ads have criticized his record on taxes as the mayor of Calgary,
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and his relationship to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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New NDP leader Nahed Nenshi is Justin Trudeau's choice for Alberta.
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That's Nenshi helping Justin Trudeau defeat Stephen Harper in the 2015 federal election.
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Trudeau called Nenshi a strong mayor and said we should welcome his candidacy.
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Trudeau even tried to get Nenshi to run for his federal liberal party.
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The Calgary mayor has responded in kind. Here's what he had to say.
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You know what? They are nothing, if not predictable.
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I've said for a long time that Danielle Smith and the UCP government only know how to do two things.
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They know how to pick fights and they know how to waste money.
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And now here they are, picking a fight with me and wasting big bucks on ads doing so.
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They're trying to define me for you, but they can't do it.
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And Lord knows no one has ever accused me of being quiet.
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Moving into our next story here, a new survey from the Angus Reid Institute found that Alberta Premier Daniel Smith is the fourth most popular premier in Canada.
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She received the green light from 45% of Albertans, trailing Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furry,
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and in first place, Manitoba Premier Wob Canoe, Ontario's Doug Ford and New Brunswick's Blaine Higgs tied for dead last.
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Moving into our controversy of the week, while speaking at the Black Canadian Women in Action Conference in Calgary on Thursday,
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Alberta Premier Daniel Smith said that the province has to address systemic barriers to entrepreneurs of colour to grow international and domestic trade.
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We recognise that local businesses and entrepreneurs face challenges relating to this community,
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and support for the Black community must extend beyond strictly business supports.
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And we're happy to address anti-racism and systemic barriers faced by offering feedback that some face difficulty addressing capital.
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Meanwhile, Calgary Mayor Jodi Gonick tried to draw commonalities between the water crisis in Calgary and women in sub-Saharan Africa dragging water to their homes.
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I am, of course, not surprised to see Calgary Mayor Jodi Gonick resort to race posturing,
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although I do think it is quite ironic that she's comparing women who have to carry water to their homes to the crisis ongoing in Calgary,
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which, of course, was caused by her government.
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So please don't try to seem relatable on that front.
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Maybe if your government was less focused on banning plastic bags and Canada Day celebrations,
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you would have had a little more time to check out what's going on with our basic water infrastructure.
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However, I was disappointed to see Alberta Premier Daniel Smith resort to this race posturing.
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I think people are getting a little tired of it.
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Do you think these comments are appropriate or are you, too, tired of the race pandering?
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Speaking of Calgary Mayor Jodi Gonick, that brings us to what we're watching in the weeks to come.
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There's only one politician in Canada who's less popular than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
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According to new data from Think HQ, Calgary Mayor Jodi Gonick has an approval rating of just 26%.
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That's two point less than Justin Trudeau, who sits at 28%.
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Think HQ has been collecting data since 2014 when Hed Nenshi was the mayor.
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And for context, he had an approval rating of 74% at the start of his term,
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and that dropped to 57% by the time he left the role in 2021.
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Finally, moving into our weekly comment roundup, and make sure you stick around till the end
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as I have a very exciting announcement, as I promised you all, this week on Wednesday.
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But first, taking a look at some of these comments, user Kevin Buswallo says,
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If you have the best lawyers and an endless budget, then why jump to Trudeau's Bozo laws?
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That was, of course, in response to my question last week as to whether or not companies should
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fight the Trudeau government when they infringe on our charter rights.
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That was in response to news that Pathways Alliance had scrubbed their website
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because of new legislation proposed by the Trudeau government,
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which would force companies to prove their environmental record
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This is unclear, and we could be held liable for this.
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So companies like Pathway Alliance scrubbed their website.
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And I said, you know, maybe some people with the big bucks should stick around
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I think this is a big problem that we have in Canada.
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Nobody wants to put their money where their mouth is.
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They also don't want to put their time where their mouth is.
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So they roll over and they comply too quickly with bogus policies and laws
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And that's the reason why our country looks the way it does today.
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You obviously don't understand the Western culture.
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The Stampede is a celebration of agriculture, ranching, and yes,
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Indigenous contribution to the Western way of life.
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If you think that the Midway is what it's about, you missed the boat,
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or should I say the chuck wagon, when you moved here.
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Calgary brings in the best Canadian and international country and Western musicians,
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So put on a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and learn to square dance.
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He was responding to my controversial statement last week that I don't really enjoy the Calgary
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I would prefer to spend my free time in a bit of a quieter and more relaxing environment.
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Listen, this may come as a surprise to you, but not everyone moves to Alberta or even to
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And some of us don't enjoy loud crowds and lots of drinking.
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I would argue that if you want to get a true Stampede feel,
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you're probably better off doing that in Pinocchio.
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I definitely enjoyed seeing all the races like the chuck wagon races there a few years
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ago, and I think I would prefer to drive up and check out their Stampede than be stuck
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in busy and loud Calgary, but to each their own.
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And as promised, my big announcement for you all beginning next week,
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I will be starting a new podcast on Wednesdays called Rachel and the Republic in which you
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guessed it, I will be covering American politics, beginning with a close look at the US election.
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I hope that you all caught Thursday's debate, but if you didn't, I'll be sure to have a
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So make sure that you are subscribed to True North so you don't miss that show.
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As always, I hope that you guys have a great weekend and I will see you on Wednesday.