The Critical Compass Podcast - November 14, 2024


UCP 2024 AGM - Youth Debate w⧸ Eva Chipiuk


Episode Stats

Length

1 hour and 3 minutes

Words per Minute

151.88942

Word Count

9,707

Sentence Count

528

Misogynist Sentences

10

Hate Speech Sentences

18


Summary

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

Calgary United Democratic Party Youth Debate (UCPAGMG) Youth Debate is a debate between two teams of 10 youth representing different political parties on a controversial policy. This is the first Youth Debate hosted by the Calgary United Democratic Government (CDG) and the Calgary Seniors Coalition (CSU).

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 By instituting this policy, it'll have the effect of removing all formal, informal, and incidental forms of SOGI-123 from our children's classrooms almost immediately.
00:00:11.780 I gotta say, we already have a consent form. There is an ability for you to opt out of sexual education.
00:00:19.500 And a young boy who thinks he's Superman is harmless, but if he puts on a cape and goes onto the roof to see if he can fly, it's not the parent's or the teacher's job to infirm his abilities and give him a push.
00:00:30.500 You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of reality.
00:00:33.500 We support the spirit of this policy. We support the intent of this policy. But that's not what this debate is about.
00:00:39.500 It's about the actual policy, its implementation, and its approach, and how it's going to affect parents' rights in Alberta.
00:00:49.500 Okay, hello everybody. Welcome to the UCPAGM first ever, as I understand it, youth debate, and we really hope we can make this an annual thing.
00:01:03.500 We have ten wonderful youths here with us. Yes, give them a round of applause.
00:01:10.500 What I think is super exciting is that these two teams have picked two of the policies straight out of the policy book, so they're gonna have an opportunity to debate these in a little bit more fashion than what we're seeing out on the main stage.
00:01:29.500 Just so I explain to the audience here, and the judges as well, what we're doing with the teams is that each team has chosen a policy that they want to argue for,
00:01:39.500 which means that the other team has to argue against it, whether or not they believe in it.
00:01:46.500 So it's a great way to develop their critical thinking skills, advocacy, public speaking, and I think we can all say we're really excited to see what they've got.
00:01:55.500 So without any further ado, I'm gonna get the teams to introduce themselves, and I put them on the spot this morning to get a team name.
00:02:03.500 So we're gonna start with the team name. Maybe we'll start on this side here. And your name, your age, and what riding you come from, please.
00:02:12.500 So we decided that our team name was gonna be the SEC for the South Calgary kids or the future Supreme Court. We'll leave that up to you to decide.
00:02:27.500 My name's Lauren Glasser. I'm 25, and I am from the Calgary Pagan region.
00:02:36.500 Hello. My name is Cyril Pavlica, and I'm 16. I'm from the Calgary Shaw region.
00:02:43.500 Hi. My name's Macy Holmes. I'm 20, and I'm from the Calgary Fish Creek region.
00:02:50.500 My name is Kyle Baldwin. I'm 25, from Calgary Fish Creek.
00:02:55.500 No bias, also from Fish Creek. Madison Holmes, 21.
00:03:00.500 And good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here with you today. Our team name is the Conservative Crusaders.
00:03:09.500 And to start with introductions, my name is Sebastian Vorman, and I'm proud to be from the Calgary Buffalo riding.
00:03:20.500 My name is Fletcher, and while I was in, while I'm in right now, my riding is Calgary Glenmore.
00:03:26.500 However, shout out to Calgary West folks who are in this room, because I just moved from there.
00:03:32.500 Hi there. I'm Avery Nadek. I'm 16 years old, and I'm from the Highwood constituency.
00:03:37.500 Hello. My name is Katerina Hill. I'm 21, and I'm from Calgary Edgemont.
00:03:49.500 Hello, guys. My name is Afrasia, and I'm from right here in Red Deer County.
00:03:54.500 And with that, let's introduce the esteemed panel of judges. First, we have MLA Eric Bouchard.
00:04:04.500 Next to him, we have MLA Jackie Lovely.
00:04:11.500 After that, Mike Bowerman.
00:04:16.500 Chris Miller.
00:04:19.500 Janice Lowe.
00:04:22.500 Irma Roberts, and that's Calgary director here.
00:04:28.500 Roy Bayer, and Jonathan Baines.
00:04:38.500 Our judges have four top categories to evaluate on. These are clarity and persuasion, evidence and examples, personality and delivery, and originality and creativity.
00:04:51.500 So we've really left it up to the youth to do as they feel.
00:04:56.500 And let's just get to the prizes as well so that they understand.
00:05:00.500 And you know what wonderful prizes they have in store.
00:05:03.500 Every participant is getting an awesome gift bag. Here we go.
00:05:06.500 Our Vanna White right here.
00:05:09.500 And our top two winners get an all-expense-paid trip to Edmonton to go to the legislature and meet with their MLAs and have lunch.
00:05:20.500 They don't know it yet, but we're gonna make it happen.
00:05:22.500 And if that wasn't enough, there's still a top prize and you get a one-on-one with Minister Schultz and a private interview with her.
00:05:30.500 So that is gonna be Team SCC.
00:05:39.500 And Team SCC picked policy resolution number eight.
00:05:43.500 That's the Airdrie East, Calgary Edgemont, Calgary Lougheed.
00:05:48.500 The resolution is the United Conservative Party believes that the government of Alberta should
00:05:55.500 support parental rights in education by implementing the following.
00:05:59.500 Require teachers and school boards to obtain often informed written consent from the parents of a student to any instance
00:06:06.500 when a teacher provides formal, informal, or incidental instructions or extracurricular activities on subject matter involving sexuality,
00:06:16.500 sexual orientation, and gender identity at the parent's written request.
00:06:21.500 The teacher of the student shall permit the student to leave the classroom without academic penalty or other censure.
00:06:28.500 Require that all third-party resource materials or presentations related to gender ideology, sexual orientation, or human sexuality
00:06:36.500 available in Alberta classrooms be pre-approved by the Ministry of Education.
00:06:42.500 It's a nice and short one, that one.
00:06:44.500 So here we go.
00:06:45.500 We're gonna get started.
00:06:46.500 And it's always the team that is advocating for that starts.
00:06:51.500 Hello, my name is Cyril.
00:06:54.500 And I'm the first speaker for our team.
00:06:57.500 Oh, shit.
00:07:00.500 Sorry.
00:07:01.500 What don't we like about this policy?
00:07:04.500 SOGI shouldn't be taught in schools, period.
00:07:06.500 Unfortunately, it is.
00:07:07.500 It is being taught.
00:07:09.500 And children across a diverse range of grades are coming home with sexual orientation and gender identity,
00:07:15.500 aka SOGI slogans, in their brain, before parents have a chance to blink.
00:07:20.500 This is shown by a recent global Million Mile March protest and numerous anecdotes which constitute overall data sets.
00:07:27.500 I personally attended the march and got invited to speak at it.
00:07:30.500 Why?
00:07:31.500 I am currently a high school student and have faced many negative impacts to my learning and wellbeing
00:07:37.500 due to my difference of opinion from students, but mostly teachers.
00:07:41.500 I have gotten lower marks on assignments and have been excluded from classroom activities.
00:07:46.500 Based on my experiences, I believe we need a solution.
00:07:49.500 This policy is a solution.
00:07:52.500 The Alberta Teachers Association publicly states their desire to not require parental opt-in consent regarding SOGI on their website.
00:08:00.500 So there is no flimsical whimsical ideas of this not being a problem.
00:08:05.500 Now, what about sex ed curriculum?
00:08:08.500 How can teachers inform youth about safe sex and reproduction without SOGI contributions?
00:08:14.500 Reality, they could, but never will.
00:08:16.500 There is no utopia today where teachers can include the education of female and male sexuality
00:08:22.500 without being accused of discrimination for not including the minorities of SOGI alleged circumstances.
00:08:30.500 That's why this policy is so necessary, because it acknowledges that even through SOGI 123
00:08:36.500 is not curriculum based, but cross subject material.
00:08:39.500 Even the education provided by teachers in the curriculum cannot be disparaged.
00:08:44.500 Which is why this policy includes formal as well as informal addresses.
00:08:49.500 Indeed, this puts responsibility back into homes where parents are charged with the task of sexual education
00:08:55.500 for the benefit of their children.
00:08:57.500 Thank you.
00:09:02.500 And good morning again, everyone.
00:09:03.500 It's very good to be here with you all today as our team argues against this proposed policy.
00:09:08.500 Personally, we'd like to establish right from the start that we're not against the spirit of this policy,
00:09:13.500 we're not against the intent of this policy, but what we are against is its approach and implementation.
00:09:20.500 Where we disagree is, to put it simply, we believe that this policy, as it's currently written,
00:09:26.500 may in fact put in jeopardy its very worthy cause of having parents at the forefront of their children's education.
00:09:32.500 Personally, we would like to establish for you all how the unworkability of this policy,
00:09:39.500 the fact that it's going to require an opt-in for all parents, will be so logistically impossible
00:09:44.500 that it will provide a distraction for parents who want to be informed of their children
00:09:49.500 when they're being educated on these very sensitive matters.
00:09:52.500 But this whole opt-in will be so unworkable that it will simply cause so much distraction
00:09:57.500 and result in parents being against this whole opt-in and not even focused on the very important matter
00:10:02.500 of what their children are learning.
00:10:04.500 Secondly, while we'd like to believe that the UCP is going to govern Alberta forever,
00:10:09.500 that simply might not be the case.
00:10:11.500 And the second part of this policy, which requires ministerial approval for content of this nature taught in schools,
00:10:17.500 could be abused by a future NDP cabinet minister, education minister,
00:10:22.500 in order to prevent religiously-oriented content around sexuality and gender identity
00:10:28.500 from being taught in, say, Catholic schools and charter schools.
00:10:31.500 Now, again, we'd all love to believe that our party's going to govern this province forever,
00:10:35.500 but should there one day be an NDP education minister who uses this policy to advance their ideological goals,
00:10:42.500 it will have come as a direct result of the policy that's being proposed today.
00:10:46.500 And finally, we believe that this policy requiring an opt-in has a big potential to leave vulnerable kids behind.
00:10:54.500 The sad reality is that not all parents choose to stay that informed of what their children are learning about.
00:11:00.500 If any time content of this nature is being taught in schools and an opt-in from all parents is required,
00:11:06.500 it's hard to say whether all parents will be that informed as to opt-in as required,
00:11:12.500 resulting in many kids not getting the education on these very important topics.
00:11:16.500 This is going to result in inconsistencies that are going to be seen later on in life
00:11:20.500 where you have a whole host of children, now adults, who are not properly educated on these matters.
00:11:26.500 So in conclusion, again, we support the spirit of this policy, we support the intent of this policy,
00:11:31.500 but that's not what this debate is about.
00:11:33.500 It's about the actual policy, its implementation, and its approach,
00:11:37.500 and how it's going to affect parents' rights in Alberta.
00:11:39.500 The question we have to ask ourselves is will this policy be a net benefit
00:11:43.500 or a net negative for its goal of making sure parents are involved in their kids' education?
00:11:48.500 And we believe, on balance, it will be a net negative, and we look forward to convincing you of why.
00:11:53.500 Thank you very much, everyone.
00:12:00.500 My name's Lauren.
00:12:04.500 Thank you.
00:12:07.500 Sebastian addressed a few points.
00:12:10.500 Madison is going to address most of them in her speech,
00:12:13.500 but there is one thing I did want to address,
00:12:15.500 and that was the administrative burden that they feel that we are going to have.
00:12:20.500 The reality is that parents are already signing consents every year for field trips,
00:12:25.500 for photography, for anything that the school board wants to have.
00:12:29.500 Adding one more signature isn't going to add an administrative burden,
00:12:34.500 so that argument is a null point.
00:12:37.500 Now, moving into my speech today,
00:12:40.500 SOGI 123 is not mandated in the Alberta curriculum,
00:12:44.500 so many argue that there is no need for this policy,
00:12:48.500 but the reality is it's still creeping into our school in many insidious incidental forms.
00:12:55.500 This policy provides for punishment for teachers who believe that they have the right
00:13:00.500 to educate our children on SOGI 123 without parental consent.
00:13:06.500 By instituting this policy, it'll have the effect of removing all formal, informal,
00:13:11.500 and incidental forms of SOGI 123 from our children's classrooms almost immediately.
00:13:18.500 This is important because our children should not have time taken away from their mandated curriculum
00:13:23.500 to learn about unmandated SOGI 123 principles,
00:13:29.500 as this is an area that parents should take the time to inform their children on
00:13:34.500 in the way that they best see fit outside of school.
00:13:40.500 But what makes parents the most fit to make this decision on behalf of their children?
00:13:47.500 Well, for starters, until the age of 18, it is their legal duty.
00:13:52.500 Now, some may argue that many parents are absent in their children's education
00:13:57.500 or they don't have an opinion on this matter,
00:13:59.500 but nevertheless, this does not relinquish their duty.
00:14:03.500 And to those who say that just because your parents gave birth to you
00:14:10.500 does not mean that they have a right to influence your child's education,
00:14:14.500 I'd like to turn your attention to section 32 of the Alberta Education Act, which states,
00:14:21.500 a parent has the prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be provided to the parent's child
00:14:27.500 and as a partner in education has the responsibility to act as the primary guide
00:14:32.500 and decision maker with respect to the child's education.
00:14:36.500 At the end of this day, this comes down to one very simple thing, choice.
00:14:41.500 Parents not only have the right but the duty to choose how to educate their children.
00:14:47.500 If a parent is going to shelter their child too much
00:14:49.500 and make a decision based off of their religious or personal beliefs,
00:14:53.500 it is their right to do so.
00:14:56.500 On the other hand, if a parent chooses to educate their children on SOGI 123 principles,
00:15:00.500 it's also their right to choose that as well.
00:15:03.500 We're here to protect our children, our families, our future,
00:15:06.500 but most importantly, this policy, it protects our freedom.
00:15:10.500 Thank you.
00:15:17.500 For the judges, my name is Fletcher.
00:15:20.500 All right.
00:15:22.500 So I really appreciate the talk about, you know, consent forms for field trip.
00:15:28.500 Although the only thing is, is I've had the great liberty of going through the Alberta education curriculum.
00:15:35.500 And I got to say, we already have a consent form.
00:15:39.500 There is a ability for you to opt out of sexual education when it is taught within the curriculum.
00:15:47.500 I have had the opportunity to speak with many, many teachers and students who are becoming teachers,
00:15:53.500 and they have taught the parts of sex ed.
00:15:58.500 And at the beginning, they all have to provide a form for parents to opt out.
00:16:06.500 That is a very important thing because what we are talking about here is an opt-in program.
00:16:11.500 This will create a logistical nightmare for teachers having to sort through forms, having to sort through all these different paper works.
00:16:18.500 And guys, let's just be real here.
00:16:20.500 We were all kids at one point.
00:16:21.500 Do you think there's going to be a lot of kids wanting to hand their parents specific forms?
00:16:26.500 On top of that too, we're having an issue with, we'll have an issue with students purposefully abusing the system,
00:16:33.500 not giving their parents an opt out form, and then them leaving school and not being able to,
00:16:39.500 and then doing other stuff in the free time that is not academic based.
00:16:44.500 It is incredibly important for our opposition to remember that there is a consent form that has the information provided to it
00:16:55.500 that talks specifically about what they're going to learn, how they are going to learn it,
00:17:00.500 and if there is an issue or if there is results of abuse or something that is not being taught within the curriculum,
00:17:07.500 then that parent has the right to report it to the education curriculum
00:17:12.500 and have that teacher investigated and have consequential actions being brought to them.
00:17:17.500 Thank you.
00:17:26.500 Okay, hi, my name is Macy Holmes.
00:17:28.500 I look forward to Maddie's speech, which will address the first two points that have been brought forward.
00:17:34.500 But mine address is, you guys could argue, what if parents aren't aware of the struggles teens go through
00:17:39.500 regarding sexual orientation and gender identity?
00:17:42.500 Parents were once teenagers.
00:17:44.500 They absolutely understand the struggles that adolescents go through today.
00:17:48.500 Kenneth Zucker, who was the chief psychologist of Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
00:17:52.500 and head of its gender identity service, conducted an academic study finding that adolescents with gender dysphoria
00:17:59.500 who suffered very similar mental illnesses as those who did not suffer gender dysphoria.
00:18:05.500 Surprise, surprise, depression, body dysmorphia, all the mental issues once experienced by your parents
00:18:11.500 is experienced by adolescents today, of which their frontal lobe responsible for regulation and decision-making
00:18:17.500 isn't even properly developed until age 25, making them more inclined to take risks and partake in social contagions.
00:18:25.500 Randy Kaufman, a gender-affirming therapist, is even quoted as describing identity formation as a, quote, journey.
00:18:33.500 Reality is, 80% of those who show signs of gender dysphoria will grow out of it throughout puberty,
00:18:39.500 according to the US, New Zealand, and Australia.
00:18:42.500 That is only 80%, however, until these youth take their first step into gender-affirming care,
00:18:48.500 at which point the odds of them outgrowing their mental ailment recedes to less than 10%.
00:18:53.500 That isn't just because of the physical difficulty in detransitioning, considering the potentially irreversible biological alterations
00:19:01.500 after the various, quote, unquote, treatments, but because of the mental guilt and shame their own community puts upon them
00:19:07.500 for changing their mind, as expressed by famous detransitioners like Coley Cole, who had to spend $60,000 in her detransition
00:19:14.500 and lost literal organs.
00:19:17.500 Abigail Shire, who wrote the book Irreversible Damage in 2020, shares her own personal anecdote
00:19:22.500 of how she wanted breast reduction surgery.
00:19:25.500 Her father said no and that she looked like every young woman should and that she just didn't see it
00:19:30.500 and that one day she may want to breastfeed one day.
00:19:33.500 Fast forward in the future and she ended up breastfeeding three children.
00:19:37.500 Parents need to be able to have conversations to explain why they're not teaching Soji to their child
00:19:43.500 and why they're not offering the surgery.
00:19:45.500 Soji's goals are to create policies and procedures, for example, a school's code of conduct,
00:19:50.500 inclusive environments, safe spaces, and welcoming language.
00:19:55.500 If that's not gender-affirming care, I don't know what is.
00:19:58.500 They're facilitating that 80% of adolescents expressing potentially temporary gender dysphoric symptoms
00:20:03.500 or symptoms of usual teenage angst, as Chloe Cole has stated that she thought her gender dysphoria
00:20:08.500 was really body-shaming, they want them to fall into the potentially permanent 10% bracket.
00:20:16.500 Thank you.
00:20:26.500 Okay.
00:20:27.500 Hi there for the judges, I'm Avery.
00:20:29.500 I'm gonna start off by reiterating what my teammates have said before me.
00:20:32.500 I agree with the spirit of this bill, however, it's not quite right.
00:20:35.500 This bill leaves space for future potential left-wing governments to take over
00:20:38.500 and flip all of our hard work on its head.
00:20:40.500 This includes allowing material that does not pertain to school curriculum in classrooms.
00:20:45.500 Allowing the Ministry of Education to determine what is and is not allowed in classrooms is dissatisfactory.
00:20:51.500 If a Minister of Education is elected who doesn't agree with our conservative values,
00:20:56.500 they could allow the placement of pamphlets telling elementary-level students
00:21:01.500 why using a litter box and meowing are both more effective ways of communication than standing,
00:21:06.500 speaking, and using the restroom like any other normal person.
00:21:09.500 In theory, this bill is good, but it is not sustainable.
00:21:12.500 Imagine if your child came home with a pamphlet telling them why you, your parent, is wrong,
00:21:16.500 and their teachers are right.
00:21:18.500 This is not okay and can be prevented by voting this bill down later today.
00:21:23.500 Furthermore, this bill is a good idea, but it's not going to work
00:21:28.500 because the Ministry of Education will not always remain conservative.
00:21:32.500 We've seen it before when Rachel Notley got in.
00:21:35.500 The government went NDP and that wasn't fun.
00:21:38.500 I would also like to point out that the bill that has been presented is not about SOGI
00:21:43.500 and it is not about minors transitioning.
00:21:46.500 Minors transitioning has already been addressed by Danielle Smith,
00:21:50.500 and the general consensus has been agreement that transgenderism for minors is not right.
00:21:58.500 We have addressed this issue.
00:21:59.500 I don't see why we're addressing it now with a policy regarding what teachers are allowed to talk about in classrooms.
00:22:05.500 I think that that is a bit redundant.
00:22:08.500 And again, the policy does not represent SOGI, so I think that it's a bit redundant to say that we're arguing SOGI here
00:22:19.500 because I don't think we are.
00:22:21.500 Thank you.
00:22:27.500 We're good? Okay. Madison for all the judges.
00:22:30.500 I appreciate the sentiment regarding the ministry because even me when reading the policy,
00:22:34.500 I was like, who is this ministry? Do I vote them in?
00:22:37.500 Technically appointed.
00:22:38.500 However, this is why this policy gives you opt-in option.
00:22:43.500 So opt-in versus opt-out, as the previous teammates talked about, what's the difference?
00:22:47.500 Well, opt-out, as we currently have, begins with the default assumption of consent until proven otherwise.
00:22:54.500 Opt-in begins with the default assumption of no consent requiring before action to take place before damage is done.
00:23:04.500 Opt-in consent minimizes incidental exposure of SOGI entering the minds of our students,
00:23:11.500 which minimizes the possibilities of kids even asking the question, do I belong under the SOGI spectrum?
00:23:18.500 Now, how do I know that for certain?
00:23:20.500 According to the US, the percentage of individuals self-identifying as transgender has tripled since 2011.
00:23:29.500 Whereas before this period, there was no scientific literature on females having gender dysphoria at all,
00:23:36.500 which constitute the majority of today, according to the UK, which my previous Macy alluded to,
00:23:41.500 the fact that that is a social contagion.
00:23:43.500 It was chiefly boys, and boys ages 2 to 4, not the tumultuous teenage years as 11 to 21 as we see today.
00:23:51.500 Still, even those boys, 70% of them grew out of their reported dysmorphia, and that was only 0.1% of the population.
00:23:59.500 So to expose all students to SOGI materials as a general awareness campaign is to subject them to, or rather create, a problem that exists for less than 1% of Canadians across Canada.
00:24:10.500 Of which 80% of them would likely have recovered from their dysphoria in the first place if we didn't glitter SOGI materials all over their education.
00:24:20.500 Again, if you want SOGI materials under the belt of your child, SOGI isn't curriculum specific, so you can dig into myriads of online resources and teach your child.
00:24:29.500 This policy leaves opt-in option for you. This policy provides not just choice, but choice with informed consent.
00:24:36.500 Without the proper information, you can't truly come to a decision.
00:24:40.500 And with opt-in, you have to know what you're opting into, whereas opt-out could only incentivize garnering further information when the damage has been done.
00:24:48.500 So this policy is necessary. Danielle's parental rights current policy only regards treatments and surgeries.
00:24:54.500 This one targets the educational portion that are currently policies don't touch on.
00:25:01.500 So there needs to be regulation regarding these, not just physical implications, of which Danielle luckily did,
00:25:07.500 but also the mental and emotional implications, which my teammate will go all over. Thank you.
00:25:13.500 Okay, my name is Katerina. So while an opt-in policy may be suitable for ideologically motivated sexual education,
00:25:30.500 making all sexual education opt-in goes too far, creating both logistical and social concerns.
00:25:38.500 Yesterday, the Premier tweeted that parents will have to be notified when content regarding this nature is taught.
00:25:44.500 So I would pose the question, why does it have to be opt-in rather than opt-out?
00:25:50.500 As we've already mentioned, in Alberta schools, an opt-out policy currently exists,
00:25:56.500 allowing parents to choose to take their kids out of school-taught sexual education.
00:26:01.500 While we do not deny the importance of ensuring that sexual education serves the purpose of remaining biologically accurate
00:26:08.500 and steering away from ideologically motivated concepts,
00:26:13.500 we also must acknowledge that sexual education serves an important purpose in ensuring that all kids are taught correct and accurate information.
00:26:22.500 The current opt-out system in schools gives concerned parents the ability to ensure that they can choose what sexual education their children receive.
00:26:32.500 While also ensuring that children who have parents that are unconcerned with what they learn still receive accurate sexual education
00:26:40.500 and are not left in a position where they turn to inaccurate sources.
00:26:45.500 The reality is that not everyone has parents that are concerned with their well-being or what is best for them.
00:26:52.500 In these scenarios, an opt-in policy creates unnecessary complications and may leave some kids, those who are most vulnerable,
00:27:00.500 without any accurate form of sexual education.
00:27:04.500 This is concerning.
00:27:06.500 This carries the consequences of the potential for increased rates of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
00:27:14.500 And let's not forget, these consequences also carry the risk of placing increased demand on the healthcare system
00:27:21.500 and the social welfare system in Alberta.
00:27:24.500 While we do agree that parental choice is crucial, the premise of an opt-in policy,
00:27:31.500 while valuable for ideologically motivated sexual education policies,
00:27:36.500 can go too far in terms of basic sexual education.
00:27:41.500 We must ensure that children receive sexual education that aims to ensure they understand how to have safe sex
00:27:50.500 and that will allow us to ensure that unwanted pregnancies are prevented as well as sexually transmitted infections.
00:27:58.500 While we agree with this policy, in spirit, we cannot support it.
00:28:02.500 Thank you.
00:28:11.500 For the record, my name is Kyle.
00:28:16.500 This is Kyle?
00:28:17.500 Yep.
00:28:18.500 This is Kyle.
00:28:19.500 Alright.
00:28:20.500 I know we're all experiencing some pretty unacceptable views up here right now regarding post-transitioners.
00:28:26.500 It's funny that you mention going too far, but I think we ought to know the mental health outcomes of the people that go down the path of these gender identity policies.
00:28:35.500 So let's start with suicidality.
00:28:37.500 An argument that a lot of us have probably heard is that the reason for the suicide rate of the transgenders we see today is from mistreatment in society.
00:28:45.500 But interestingly, concentration camp survivors from the Holocaust who went through some of the worst mistreatment of people in society only experienced suicide rates of approximately 5%.
00:28:56.500 The suicide rate for transitioners in the US, however, around 40 to 50%, and that's before and after surgical transition.
00:29:04.500 And I think we can all agree that they aren't treated worse than the Holocaust victims.
00:29:08.500 Moving on.
00:29:09.500 And even if it's true that only 12% of females transitioning actually go through with the full phalloplasty mandatogenital surgery,
00:29:18.500 these people now have less than a 10% chance of detransition after those life-training alterations.
00:29:23.500 And regardless of if they do detransition, they still experience terrible mental health outcomes.
00:29:29.500 Such as depression levels of 45 to 60%, anxiety at 30 to 50%, PTSD of 30 to 40%, and rates of substance abuse at 20 to 30%.
00:29:40.500 Now, if you're not convinced by the permanent damages such treatments can cause, consider this.
00:29:44.500 Lupron, a popularly used puberty blocker for gender hormone therapy, is known to cause infertility and inhibit brain development,
00:29:52.500 which is why they historically used it to chemically castrate sex offenders.
00:29:56.500 And now they're using it on children.
00:29:58.500 Now tell me you don't believe in a depopulation agenda.
00:30:01.500 The reality is, parents shouldn't always affirm their child's beliefs, and neither should teachers.
00:30:06.500 If your daughter was anorexic and she believed she was fat, you wouldn't affirm her and help her lose weight.
00:30:11.500 And a young boy who thinks he's Superman is harmless, but if he puts on a cape and goes onto the roof to see if he can fly,
00:30:16.500 it's not the parent's or the teacher's job to affirm his abilities and give him a push.
00:30:21.500 You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of reality.
00:30:25.500 I would much rather logistical complications in schools from teachers who are ideologically committed
00:30:31.500 to indoctrinating children into these categories of outcomes than not go forward with a policy like this.
00:30:38.500 I'd like a stronger policy, but this is what we've got to work with, and you don't know the number of kids
00:30:42.500 that will be permanently damaged for the rest of their lives if you don't make some sort of act now.
00:30:48.500 Thank you.
00:30:49.500 Hi guys.
00:31:01.500 My name is Zafras Yab.
00:31:06.500 To conclude here on my team, I'd like to start off by saying the best way for people to not get pregnant is to not have sex.
00:31:16.500 And the second best way is to teach them how to have safe sex.
00:31:20.500 Why would we be against educating our next generation?
00:31:26.500 The existing opt-out system already empowers parents without limiting all the student access.
00:31:33.500 The proposed policy may be reasonable for grade school children, grades one to six,
00:31:40.500 but there is no reference to age to which this motion shall apply, meaning it would apply to all children in public schools,
00:31:48.500 presumably even 18 years old who are in grade 12.
00:31:52.500 The second part of this policy gives the education ministry the power to reject content.
00:31:58.500 So if it's content from a right-wing perspective and NDP government rejects it,
00:32:05.500 the opt-in doesn't matter because it won't get to that point.
00:32:13.500 As my friend highlighted here, stopping kids from learning about sex in school simply means that they will learn about it
00:32:20.500 on unreliable sources, potentially harming their sense of self and setting unrealistic expectations.
00:32:28.500 Studies have shown that comprehensive sex education programs can lead to positive health outcomes for young people.
00:32:35.500 Opt-out systems can lead to delays in young people accessing information.
00:32:40.500 At the very least, these kind of programs at junior and senior high should be made available as has been historically the case for decades.
00:32:52.500 And opt-out basis with the assumption that teens need to have a health education that includes these more difficult areas.
00:33:01.500 Thank you.
00:33:03.500 So that was the full policy for the first one.
00:33:17.500 So we're just going to go straight into the second one, which is policy resolution number 15.
00:33:22.500 And that was submitted by Calgary Buffalo and Red Deer South.
00:33:26.500 And this resolution, the United Conservative Party believes that the government of Alberta should negotiate with the federal government, right?
00:33:35.500 Yeah.
00:33:36.500 To create an accord with Alberta that grants our province greater control over immigration,
00:33:41.500 including total numbers of temporary and permanent residents and active participation in the selection and rejection of those being granted temporary or permanent settlement rights in Alberta
00:33:53.500 through the immigration process.
00:33:56.500 And we're going to start with team four.
00:33:59.500 And this is the conservative Crusaders starting.
00:34:03.500 So let's see what they have.
00:34:05.500 Hello.
00:34:06.500 My name is Fletcher.
00:34:08.500 I'm first going to start off with a story in order to captivate the audience.
00:34:12.500 My great grandparents fled Ukraine during the Holodomor.
00:34:17.500 Before they left, they burnt everything to the ground to make sure that none of the Soviet government could do anything with it.
00:34:24.500 They fled for Canada and for a while lived in an abandoned railway station.
00:34:29.500 My grandfather's crib was nothing but an old drawer to use to store tools.
00:34:37.500 Over the time, my great grandparents learned the language, started a business and worked to prosperity.
00:34:43.500 I know many in this room have similar stories of their parents, great grandparents or themselves fleeing very unfortunate circumstances and fleeing for their life to come to Canada.
00:34:55.500 Despite what the opposition might say about Resolution 15, it is a policy that supports immigrants within our province.
00:35:03.500 By giving the province control how many immigrants it can take in, it helps prevent immigrants living in severe poverty.
00:35:11.500 According to the government of Canada, 66% of individuals who live in poverty are immigrants.
00:35:18.500 These numbers are unacceptable.
00:35:20.500 Policy 15 will once again help individuals and help the province regulate and maintain a status quo of immigration levels in order for our province to have the ability to regulate and make sure the system does not overflow with immigrants.
00:35:40.500 Who end up into poverty or homelessness.
00:35:45.500 From 2023 to 2024 Canada had a population increase of over 1 million people.
00:35:52.500 Currently, we are facing a housing crisis, inflation, and a large number of that is to do with the Liberal government constantly adding more immigrants into Canada.
00:36:05.500 Immigrants themselves are not bad people.
00:36:08.500 They are individuals who fled the country and who are looking for a better way of life.
00:36:13.500 However, from what we are seeing through Europe, through the United States, and through Canada, we are seeing an increase of immigration levels that are actually causing the suicide and death of many economies within the West, as well as culture.
00:36:30.500 So, radically increasing the immigration will further cause issues with infrastructure as well as, I forgot the word, as well as increasing the level of social services.
00:36:48.500 Thank you.
00:36:49.500 I'm still Lauren, in case you needed a reminder.
00:37:02.500 So, just one thing, being a refugee and immigration into the country is not necessarily the same thing.
00:37:11.500 Refugees don't always stay. Sometimes they do have to go back to their country.
00:37:15.500 But, nevertheless, I'm going to stick to the rationale behind this policy, which is that this policy is based off the Quebec Immigration Accord.
00:37:25.500 There are many ways that you can control your immigration and we're going to address that today, but I am going to specifically focus on what this is based off of, which is the Quebec Immigration Accord.
00:37:34.500 So, for the next three minutes, I'm going to provide a brief summary of the political climate in Canada in 1991 when the Canada-Quebec Immigration Accord was signed,
00:37:44.500 and then I'm going to provide two reasons why this policy is untenable.
00:37:48.500 It's important to understand the historical context of the risks to Canadian unity that led to the signing of this accord.
00:37:55.500 In 1969, French was officially recognized as an official language in Canada, and from that point on, protecting the French language and culture became essential.
00:38:06.500 Now, heading into the 1990s, Quebec was gearing up for their referendum, and Brian Mulroney was preparing for what would become the failed Charlottetown Accords,
00:38:17.500 where he would attempt to have all ten provinces sign a constitutional amendment which included a clause that recognized Quebec as a distinct culture in Canada that needed to be protected.
00:38:29.500 Keeping this context in mind, I move into problem one, the chief basis for the Quebec-Canada Accord, which was, as I just mentioned,
00:38:37.500 that Quebec was a distinct Francophone culture that needed to be protected, and thus, selective immigration to protect their culture was crucial.
00:38:46.500 For Alberta to achieve a similar goal, we'd have to prove that we have a unique and distinct culture, similar to being a Francophone, and that Canada needs to protect that.
00:38:57.500 And although this policy recognizes the need to establish this, it fails to provide any concrete definition for what the distinct culture of an Albertan currently is.
00:39:09.500 Quebec's distinct culture creates a high burden, and it's yet to be replicated in any other province or territory, making it unlikely that Alberta will be able to meet this standard either.
00:39:20.500 This transitions to my second point. The reason this standard is so high is because the federal government does not want to relinquish control of immigration under Section 95 to the provinces.
00:39:31.500 If the federal government were to lower this standard and enter into a similar accord with the province of Alberta, it would open the floodgates for all other provinces and territories to negotiate their own similar accords with the government,
00:39:44.500 leaving the federal government with no control over their own immigration into the country, which they are going to be unwilling to do, making this policy unrealistic.
00:39:56.500 Thank you.
00:40:03.500 Hello again. I am still Sebastian.
00:40:06.500 And good morning again, folks. It's a pleasure to be speaking with you in favor of this policy.
00:40:10.500 And before I dive into my points, I'd just like to reply to something my esteemed colleague on the opposite side brought up.
00:40:16.500 And I moved from Ontario two years ago to Alberta.
00:40:20.500 For me to hear that Alberta does not have a distinct culture or a distinct identity, that is simply not true.
00:40:26.500 This province is built on hard work, on conservative values and conservative principles, and we stand very distinctly within Canada, believe me.
00:40:35.500 Now, I believe this debate comes down to, again, a very simple question.
00:40:39.500 Is Alberta equal to other provinces in this confederation? Opposition to this proposed policy, in my mind, implies otherwise.
00:40:48.500 Now, let's talk a bit about that Quebec-Canada Accord from 1991.
00:40:52.500 It was signed, yes, by a conservative prime minister in Brian Mulroney, but a liberal Quebec premier in Robert Barassa.
00:40:59.500 Now, it's not a stretch to say that in the next few years, we may very well have a conservative government federally, a very friendly conservative government federally.
00:41:08.500 I fail to see why, if a conservative government in 1991 can come to an agreement with a liberally run province, why the same thing could not be done with a conservatively run province.
00:41:19.500 It's been nearly 35 years since Quebec signed that agreement.
00:41:23.500 They've been able to choose the immigrants that come to their province, making sure they can integrate culturally, socially, and economically.
00:41:30.500 Meanwhile, the rest of Canada has languished under this one-size-fits-all policy that burdens our social services, burdens our labour market, and is completely unfair compared to Quebec.
00:41:43.500 Now, ladies and gentlemen, what I'd like you to ask yourselves as you hear the points made by the other side, is why should those points apply to Alberta, but not to Quebec, or to any other province?
00:41:56.500 If we truly want to stand tall as a party, as a government, and as a sovereign people within a true confederation, not a top-down unitary state, then I fail to see why Alberta, as with any other province, should have the right to negotiate with the federal government.
00:42:14.500 This policy does not say we're going to unilaterally pull out, we're going to unilaterally choose our immigrants, or reject what the federal government's priorities might be.
00:42:23.500 It's simply giving our government a license to begin these negotiations.
00:42:27.500 What those negotiations end up coming to is an open question.
00:42:31.500 But on this policy, should Alberta have the right to negotiate over its own immigration?
00:42:36.500 We strongly support that.
00:42:38.500 It's our way to assert ourselves in confederation, and come to an agreement that benefits our own province.
00:42:44.500 And finally, again, I would just reiterate, this is not an anti-immigrant policy.
00:42:48.500 In fact, this morning, when I was taking my Uber to the convention all year, when I told my driver, who was an immigrant from India only five years ago, that this was a political convention,
00:42:58.500 he looked behind to me and said, man, we need less immigrants in this country.
00:43:03.500 Immigration benefits everybody when done properly.
00:43:07.500 Thank you.
00:43:09.500 We got my name, we're good?
00:43:15.500 Madison.
00:43:16.500 Madison.
00:43:17.500 For starters, I absolutely agree that Alberta has a distinct culture, 100%.
00:43:23.500 That's my vote.
00:43:24.500 Now let's convince the federal government of that.
00:43:27.500 And my teammate here will go over the history about why Alberta specifically will get discriminated against, regardless of which conservative or NDP liberal federal government is in.
00:43:39.500 In the meantime, to go over the federal government, it's already at odds with us, let alone our immigration needs.
00:43:46.500 There's no guarantee the federal government comes to an accord with us in our favor.
00:43:50.500 Our current federal government is already bringing in two million people, as Danielle talked about yesterday, and their version of a cut is 105,000 people out of two million.
00:44:00.500 So the whimsical notion that this policy is based around is that our federal government, as Sebastian said, has the desire to negotiate.
00:44:08.500 You may say that the next federal government may offer a more sanguine outcome.
00:44:13.500 That's a year from now.
00:44:14.500 This policy is banking on factors that are unpredictable.
00:44:18.500 For all we know, the election a year from now gets postponed, maybe from the Emergency Act.
00:44:24.500 We do have two ongoing and escalating wars.
00:44:27.500 The US is about to hold its election, and the outlooks of how either candidate handles either conflict is not exactly looking like glittery outcomes.
00:44:38.500 Now, if that isn't enough uncertainty for you, I can go over the actual process about, again, what this policy is based around, the Quebec-Canada Accord,
00:44:47.500 because we wanted to come into the same agreement.
00:44:49.500 Before that accord come into fruition, it's also known as the Gagnon-Tremblay-McDougall Accord,
00:44:55.500 they had to establish their own immigration department.
00:44:58.500 And as far as my research shows, we don't have one yet.
00:45:00.500 That was in 1968.
00:45:02.500 Following that, Quebec needed to supply representatives to the Canadian embassies for broad counselling under the Langer-Quartier Agreement, 1971.
00:45:10.500 After that, Quebec needed a legitimate part in the selection process by doing interviews and recommendations to visa officers.
00:45:18.500 So they needed another agreement, Andres Bienvenue Agreement, 1975.
00:45:23.500 Now with the minor administrative opportunities to make recommendations and selective suggestions, Quebec wanted to officially format their own selection criteria for broad temporary incomers.
00:45:32.500 So they pushed for the Cullen-Cortier Agreement in 1978.
00:45:36.500 That's three agreements if you're not counting with me.
00:45:38.500 So finally, in 1991, the Canada-Quebec Accord was struck and they had selected powers over temporary and permanent immigration.
00:45:45.500 That's 20 years later.
00:45:47.500 Now anyone aware of the odds of each new federal government coming into power over the next couple decades sharing the same sentiment to support Alberta and our immigration needs?
00:45:58.500 My next teammate will go over the odds about Alberta's achieving that.
00:46:02.500 Thank you.
00:46:10.500 Before I start off, I would like to comment on one of my fellow speakers on the other side.
00:46:16.500 Just because it will be hard to negotiate doesn't mean we shouldn't try.
00:46:21.500 And Alberta has a distinct, conservative, hard-working culture.
00:46:26.500 Alberta's resources are finite, and we need to manage growth responsibly to ensure that our infrastructure can handle the increased population.
00:46:35.500 Alberta could tailor its immigration policies to track skilled workers who meet specific labour market needs, boosting the provincial economy.
00:46:45.500 Statistics Canada data shows that immigrants make a significant contribution to Alberta's economy, particularly in high-skilled occupations.
00:46:53.500 And as Sebastian mentioned, Quebec has asserted its right to define and protect its cultural heritage and has a role in determining the total numbers of immigrants allowed into the province.
00:47:05.500 Alberta is equally entitled to define and protect our own unique heritage.
00:47:12.500 It is important to strike a balance between protecting local interests and fostering a welcome, inclusive society.
00:47:18.500 And greater control over immigration could help Alberta preserve its unique cultural identity and values.
00:47:25.500 However, it is important to note that immigration can also enrich a society, bringing new perspectives and skills.
00:47:32.500 Now, we saw how increased population growth from bribing people to move to Alberta worked out for us.
00:47:39.500 Our government had to spend the largest amount of time on new schools to keep up with the population unless we get immigration under control.
00:47:50.500 That is going to be a regular occurrence.
00:47:54.500 We're not saying that Alberta should be its own country, but controlling our immigration economy and resources would be a good start.
00:48:03.500 And that's why I will be voting to send a message to Smith.
00:48:09.500 Thank you.
00:48:10.500 You know, while I'd love for Alberta to be responsible for its allocation of its own resources,
00:48:25.500 the historical relationship of the federal government to its ugly cousin in Canada is unreciprocated at the best and the worst of times.
00:48:33.500 Albeit, it's a pretty picture to imagine the federal government would grant us an accord as it did with Quebec, Canada Accord.
00:48:40.500 There's just one important difference that I think we all need to recognize, and that's we're not Quebec.
00:48:45.500 What incentivizes the federal government to give aid and growth and the prosperity of our province?
00:48:50.500 And what would justify them giving up regulatory control over our immigration jurisdiction?
00:48:55.500 Quebec has its own immigration accord, sure.
00:48:58.500 They also have their own pension plan and tax system tailored to their needs.
00:49:01.500 Alberta has tried to implement its own tax system similar to Quebec, as well as our own pension plan,
00:49:06.500 but the hardcore fact of the matter is that Quebec doesn't supply the rest of the country.
00:49:10.500 Alberta single-handedly contributed $600 billion more into Confederation than it's received in the last 50 years.
00:49:17.500 Equalization payments include the entire revenue of the West, and yet Quebec's famous hydro-elective revenue is exempt,
00:49:23.500 because if it were included, they wouldn't qualify for the transfers.
00:49:27.500 This is the same reason they crippled Quebec's oil and gas development, so as to keep their royalties down,
00:49:32.500 to keep it from getting deducted off of their equalization payments, when instead they could invest in their industry and services to thrive.
00:49:38.500 In 2022, Quebec lost some population, so it should have lost some seats in the House of Commons, and Alberta should have gained.
00:49:45.500 But Quebec posed a motion to never lose seats again, and it passed.
00:49:49.500 Quebec has one-third of the Supreme Court judges, despite only having less than one-quarter of Canada's population,
00:49:55.500 whereas Western Canada has one-third of the population, but only gets two-ninths of the Supreme Court bench.
00:50:01.500 I reiterate, if anyone here thinks that Alberta, the provincial wallet of Canada, will get the sovereignty regarding immigration,
00:50:08.500 then we've been robbed of sovereignty at every other level, then you haven't learned your history.
00:50:12.500 Thank you.
00:50:19.500 Okay, I'm also still Avery.
00:50:21.500 Canada is extremely large, with a landmass of nearly 10 million square kilometres, a significant portion of North America.
00:50:28.500 With such a vast country, the regional norms, customs, and specific needs are significantly varied.
00:50:34.500 With such variety, it would be problematic to welcome immigrants without determining if they'll be able to succeed in a specific region.
00:50:43.500 Given these peculiarities, it makes good sense for each province to determine their region-specific desired traits and needs for any immigrants that are admitted into their province.
00:50:52.500 I am not saying that immigrants are expected to precisely fit the mould of a given region, but having someone whose values, principles, and abilities to contribute align,
00:51:01.500 first with Canadian values, and then with those of a given region or province, like Alberta, versus someone whose values don't align,
00:51:09.500 is much less likely to succeed or add value to our society.
00:51:13.500 Immigration can be good, but we need to exercise diligence and prudence.
00:51:16.500 As an example of failed immigration policy from the federal government, in August of this year, two men were arrested when it was discovered that they were planning a terrorist attack in Toronto.
00:51:26.500 One of these two men had already gained Canadian citizenship.
00:51:29.500 Additionally, both of these men swore allegiance to ISIS, with the aim of bringing harm to Canadians.
00:51:36.500 They were also charged with attempted terrorist assaults in 2015, external to Canada, demonstrating that this was not a one-off event,
00:51:44.500 and something that we should have seen coming before they were admitted into Canada and given the gift of citizenship.
00:51:50.500 This is not becoming of Canada or Alberta.
00:51:53.500 In Alberta, we value the safety of our people, and we have shown this by electing a leader who listens to us and does everything in her power to protect.
00:52:01.500 The people of Alberta are open to immigrants who come for the right reasons, but do not want terrorists in our province.
00:52:07.500 We are open to welcoming new people that make our province better by adding new perspectives to our policy-making and legislature that moves us closer to an ideal Alberta.
00:52:16.500 This policy will aid in the preservation of Alberta's prosperous advantage.
00:52:20.500 Under a provincial immigration policy, Alberta gets to decide what its future looks like, and places the decision-making power back in Alberta where those decisions are felt.
00:52:29.500 Also, just because creating an Alberta immigration policy is difficult, doesn't mean we can't do it.
00:52:35.500 It was difficult for people to discover Alberta, but that didn't mean that they shouldn't do it.
00:52:41.500 Why not make an immigration department? Quebec has one. Why not?
00:52:45.500 You heard it in the CFO address this morning yourself.
00:52:49.500 The Conservative Party, and therefore the current government, is in a really fantastic financial position and has the ability to hire an immigration department at the moment.
00:52:59.500 So why not take advantage of the cash that we have and use it to protect our province?
00:53:04.500 Also, if we are okay with Alberta pension plan, why are we not okay with Alberta immigration?
00:53:10.500 The people that we have in our province is much more important than the money we have in our pockets.
00:53:14.500 People in the province determine how the province runs. The money in our pocket determines who runs the province.
00:53:20.500 Well, not really, but you get the idea.
00:53:30.500 My name is also Cyril since we're doing this.
00:53:34.500 Now, in spite of this unrealistic policy, is there absolutely no way for us to regulate immigration?
00:53:39.500 Actually, there is, and we're already doing it.
00:53:42.500 We're, sorry, we're already a part of the PNP agreement, provincial nominee program, which allows us to expedite the entry of people we prioritize.
00:53:50.500 Currently, AHS is re, sorry, re-evaluating the rural healthcare system because the rural Alberta is facing a mass medical practitioner shortage.
00:54:00.500 Immigrants from places such as the UK or South Africa are more likely to fill those positions because they are the portion of the population willing to uproot themselves and plant their new roots in a small town compared to the young, ambitious demographic.
00:54:13.500 The already existing Labor Mobility Act, which applies to immigration as well as migration, streamlines labor shortages, which is one of the biggest thorns in the foot of our Alberta government.
00:54:23.500 Section 95 of the Constitution Act states immigration is shared jurisdiction by both provincial and federal government.
00:54:30.500 So the labor sorry.
00:54:32.500 So with the Labor Mobility Act and Section 95, our Alberta government launched Alberta is calling in 2022.
00:54:38.500 The Alberta government put out ads for this program throughout the country to encourage migration.
00:54:45.500 Through this initiative, Daniel Smith actively seeks more tradespeople to enter our province for the increase in Alberta production.
00:54:52.500 It calls for pipe fitters, plumbers, mechanics, electricians, truck drivers, welders, etc.
00:54:58.500 This initiative incentivizes those who have skills to invest in Alberta.
00:55:03.500 Alberta also invests in the in its newcomers as spend 18.9 million for the Alberta settlement and integration program to help newcomers access settlement, language training and other supports.
00:55:14.500 I personally received English language learning, aka ELL support during my grade five to seven education as I was a new immigrant.
00:55:21.500 I also know other immigrants who had their education at the Bow Valley College paid for by the government of Alberta.
00:55:27.500 Their English education paid for by the sorry at who had their.
00:55:32.500 Yeah, whatever.
00:55:33.500 Solution isn't less people.
00:55:35.500 Consider the fact that Alberta, as previously expressed by my teammate, is robbed of seats in the House of Commons.
00:55:40.500 And if our population increases, so does our seats to challenge the overreach of Ottawa and Quebec.
00:55:46.500 We're already facing a global excess mortality since 2021.
00:55:50.500 We had an access of four billion disabled people, which is not a coincidental sorry coincidental timeframe.
00:55:57.500 But I digress.
00:55:58.500 Mortality in the working age population was a 40 percent in 2022.
00:56:02.500 And even now there is still an access of mortality of 10 percent in our working age millennials.
00:56:08.500 Labor shortages is not unique to Alberta.
00:56:11.500 The world faces a medical crisis.
00:56:13.500 Sorry, the world faced a medical crisis within the last four years.
00:56:16.500 It's not saying no to people, but fruitfully selecting those that will help solve the short term problem of immigration by implementing long term solutions of productivity per capita.
00:56:28.500 Thank you.
00:56:29.500 So my name is Katerina again.
00:56:38.500 So before I begin, I just want to say that we do agree that we should be fruitfully selecting who we are allowing into the province and allowing immigration to help meet our needs in terms of health care and other areas.
00:56:53.500 I would also say that just because something is difficult to negotiate doesn't mean we should shy away from it.
00:56:59.500 Albertans are hardworking and determined.
00:57:01.500 And I can personally say that I am proud to be Albertan.
00:57:04.500 We are in favor of this policy because it fairly gives Alberta autonomy over immigration within the province.
00:57:11.500 It allows Alberta to make decisions with respect to immigration so it can meet its own unique economic needs.
00:57:18.500 And so that Alberta can ensure that immigrants within the province are not at a disadvantage.
00:57:25.500 Under Section 95 of the Constitution Act, jurisdiction over immigration is split between the federal and provincial governments.
00:57:32.500 Given this and given the power Quebec has over immigration, Alberta can and should assert control over immigration, especially given the recent failures of the federal government.
00:57:45.500 The cost of poor immigration policy far outweighs the cost of Alberta gaining autonomy over immigration within the province.
00:57:54.500 Moreover, if Alberta has power over immigration, specifically how many immigrants are allowed in the province and who these immigrants are, the province will be better positioned to meet its own economic needs.
00:58:06.500 Given the current situation and having the housing crisis and where immigrants are arriving in Alberta at record levels.
00:58:15.500 With Alberta's population growing by 4.4% compared to 3.2% in Canada, ensuring immigrants that come here are actually better off, have the opportunity and the ability to fulfill jobs we need,
00:58:33.500 and are not put in a position to strain Alberta's social welfare system, something which is detrimental both to the immigrants who have come here and to the people of Alberta.
00:58:46.500 Now, we are not saying that we are anti-immigration by any means.
00:58:49.500 Rather, we want to give the Alberta government autonomy over its own immigration policy, as to ensure that immigrants meet our economic needs, do not strain our social systems, and are actually better off than they were before coming to Canada.
00:59:04.500 Thank you.
00:59:05.500 Thank you.
00:59:12.500 I think we have the chronological order of this all wrong.
00:59:15.500 The argument that immigration is clogging up our economy and besmirching our real estate market is unavailing.
00:59:20.500 To make that claim, you'd have to ignore every other facet of our economy.
00:59:24.500 How about the fact that oil and gas is ridiculous right now, interest rates on our energy and utilities?
00:59:30.500 Property taxes certainly aren't incentivizing investment into our province right now.
00:59:34.500 Making an immigration policy to stop people from coming in isn't the solution.
00:59:38.500 It's investing into the infrastructure and energy production to provide more than just houses, but a stable and able energy grid to supply those houses.
00:59:47.500 We need a policy incentivizing the conservative pillar of fiscal responsibility, advocating internal Alberta investment like nuclear plants, not a policy putting a band-aid on an artery wound.
00:59:58.500 The immigration issue won't be an issue with Alberta prosperity.
01:00:02.500 People are supposed to be seen as a resource, not a burden.
01:00:05.500 And if that is the case, it is because the government and the society of which it is beholden to have not produced enough per capita to supply the population.
01:00:13.500 When productivity per capita increases, a direct result is increased goods and services along the wages and profits for said goods and services.
01:00:21.500 This is why the BRICS nations are soaring.
01:00:24.500 Between 2015 and 2020 alone, the inter-trading between those few BRIC nations has surpassed all of the trade between that of the rest of the West.
01:00:32.500 Russia has invested into its oil reserves and moved to gold-backed currency.
01:00:37.500 They have become the sixth largest DDP in the world and thus enabled them to streamline their immigration policy.
01:00:42.500 They made it significantly smoother to move there for Canadian refugees like us wanting to free our feudal federal government,
01:00:50.500 but only because they, one, knew what they were looking for, and two, they produced the currency and energy abundance to support us.
01:00:58.500 Alberta is importing electronics, automobiles, machinery, refined petroleum products such as gasoline.
01:01:04.500 Meanwhile, we're exporting raw materials.
01:01:06.500 Why aren't we making these things?
01:01:08.500 Why aren't we exporting them?
01:01:10.500 Like a friend coming to move in with you before they get themselves on their feet.
01:01:14.500 If you wanted to stay in my home, eat my food, use my utility,
01:01:18.500 it doesn't matter how much I care about you if I'm not in a position to accommodate.
01:01:23.500 Most cases of these immigrants wouldn't have to rely on Trudeau's welfare to win him votes if people felt they had a chance to thrive here.
01:01:33.500 They would vote conservative.
01:01:35.500 It's basic economics.
01:01:36.500 If you're in a desperate state, you're less likely to think about your community on a larger scale,
01:01:42.500 such as charity and investment, since you're busy surviving.
01:01:45.500 If you're in a place of abundance where our interest rates aren't through the roof,
01:01:49.500 our purchasing power isn't declining, and more money stays in our province,
01:01:54.500 we could use it like Lincoln's greenbacks.
01:01:56.500 Put your gold-backed investments into the economy for real projects that benefit the whole community,
01:02:01.500 bringing this back to the policy at hand.
01:02:03.500 And what this issue, this policy was created to address in the first place
01:02:08.500 is that the Alberta government is not investing in putting Alberta first.
01:02:12.500 So maybe one more big round of applause for all of the debaters that we had here today.
01:02:28.500 I think we heard more common sense here in the last hour than I've heard in a long time,
01:02:32.500 so that was really great.
01:02:33.500 It takes a lot of courage to get up there, and especially when you're advocating for something you don't believe in,
01:02:40.500 but I think that's a way of really honing in your critical thinking skills,
01:02:44.500 so I thought that was great.
01:02:46.500 So thank you all for making this a wonderful and memorable event.
01:02:50.500 We did get our winners now, and so like in the pageantry,
01:02:54.500 we start with the second runner-up, or the runner-up, and drumroll.
01:03:01.500 Second runner-up goes to Mr. Sebastian.
01:03:07.500 And then top prize for today, our top debater for the UCP AGM Youth Debate is Mr. Kyle.
01:03:15.500 So as we said, they get a round-trip, expense-paid trip to the legislature.
01:03:24.500 You're going to have lunch with MLAs that were here, and maybe they'll get some more,
01:03:29.500 and so that should be great.
01:03:30.500 So thank you all again.
01:03:31.500 This couldn't have happened without the CAs that got involved,
01:03:34.500 and the Miss President of Calgary Acadia really made this happen.
01:03:39.500 So thank you to her, our videographers at the Critical Compass.
01:03:45.500 They were great, and I'll get the new and improved Vanna White to hand out the prizes.
01:03:52.500 Thank you. We'll see you next year.