Western Standard - November 23, 2022


Alberta Premier Danielle Smith -Address to the province-2022

Topics
inflation crisis health care reforms sovereignty within Canada
Mentioned
Jason Copping John Kelly Ralph Klein
Guilbeault says Canada reiterated commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies by 2023 CORY MORGAN： Trudeau’s gun grab expands

Episode Stats


Length

10 minutes

Words per minute

154.38

Word count

1,688

Sentence count

89

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged


Summary

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

Learn English with Alberta s Premier Rachel Notley. In this speech, Rachel talks about Alberta's inflation and affordability crisis and how her government will work together with Albertans to find ways to ease the burden on families, seniors, and the vulnerable.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Good evening, my fellow Albertans. I am truly humbled to speak with you as your premier tonight,
00:00:17.760 and I want you to know how seriously I take the responsibility to serve you in this office.
00:00:23.140 We're facing a very difficult time as a country and as a province. We've been through a lot
00:00:29.020 together these past three years, but still have many challenges ahead of us.
00:00:33.920 Tonight, I want to address how our government is going to work together with you and your
00:00:37.740 family to overcome these challenges. First off, I wish to address the inflation and affordability
00:00:43.400 crisis. The severity of this crisis has been primarily caused by years of record spending
00:00:49.400 and debt by the federal government in Ottawa, combined with a continual string of anti-energy
00:00:54.760 policies that are driving up the price of fuel, electricity, heating, food, and everything else
00:01:00.580 we need to live and raise our families. Too many moms and dads are having to choose between 0.99
00:01:05.720 nutritious food for their children and making their rising mortgage payments. Many seniors
00:01:11.300 are choosing between filling their needed prescriptions and fuel for their vehicles.
00:01:15.920 As a province, we can't solve this inflation crisis on our own. But due to our strong fiscal
00:01:21.140 position and balanced budget, we can offer substantial relief so Albertans and their
00:01:26.340 families are better able to manage through this storm. That is why our government will be
00:01:31.460 implementing a series of affordability measures to benefit all Albertans with additional targeted
00:01:37.160 relief for seniors, the vulnerable, and families. Although details of this Inflation Relief Act are
00:01:43.280 still being finalized, measures will include the following. For seniors and families with
00:01:48.840 dependent children under 18 years of age, we will provide $600 over 6 months for each
00:01:55.160 child as well as each senior. This will be targeted to middle-income families with household
00:02:00.680 incomes below $180,000. That same amount will be provided to vulnerable Albertans collecting
00:02:07.720 AISH and PDD and income support. We will suspend the entire provincial fuel tax for at least
00:02:14.920 the next six months and make the current fuel relief program permanent thereafter.
00:02:20.600 We will index all provincial tax brackets retroactively to 2022, resulting in larger
00:02:27.180 rebates when you file your taxes this spring. We will also index for inflation, AISH, PDD,
00:02:34.780 income support, the seniors benefit, and the Alberta Child and Family benefit beginning
00:02:39.820 this January. We will provide an increased rebate on consumer electricity bills through
00:02:45.940 the winter months totaling an additional $200 per household. We will limit spikes in winter
00:02:52.780 electricity rates while continuing with the current natural gas rebate program.
00:02:58.480 And finally, we will invest in food banks and expand low-income transit passes to ensure
00:03:03.440 every Albertan has access to food and mobility for their families. These are just first steps
00:03:09.320 there's much more to do, but I will ensure every decision our government makes from now until this
00:03:14.600 crisis is over balances affordability for Albertans with the need for continued balance budgets and
00:03:20.360 fiscal responsibility. Because when our province's financial house is in order, we have the ability
00:03:26.520 to assist Albertans through times of crisis, just like this one. Our province's other big challenge
00:03:33.400 is health care. We have amazing frontline staff. Our nurses, doctors, paramedics and other health
00:03:40.200 professionals are truly world-class in every respect. But we have far too many managers and
00:03:46.280 consultants and not enough health professionals on the front lines caring for patients. Albertans
00:03:52.520 are waiting too long for emergency room treatment or to have an ambulance arrive when they need it.
00:03:58.360 Surgery times are far too lengthy, leaving many in pain or at unacceptable health risk.
00:04:04.880 The answer is not the opposition's plan to throw billions more into the system.
00:04:08.700 They already tried that once. It failed and almost bankrupted the province.
00:04:13.640 But maintaining the status quo cannot continue either.
00:04:18.040 Albertans want our government to get to work on fixing these problems without delay.
00:04:21.700 That is why last week, Minister Jason Copping and AHS Official Administrator Dr. John Cowell initiated a health reform action plan to specifically target our most urgent health care challenges without disrupting frontline services.
00:04:37.220 What does that mean for you and your family?
00:04:39.460 It means more health professionals in emergency rooms to make sure those who need beds get them faster.
00:04:45.120 And those who need a simple prescription or alternate care can get that care without having to be in hospital.
00:04:50.720 It also means ensuring we don't have ambulances waiting with patients at the
00:04:55.280 emergency rooms so our paramedics can get to more calls faster. And it means
00:05:00.680 getting more surgeries done and waitlist decreased by using specialized surgical
00:05:05.000 centers and underutilized rural hospitals and operating rooms that are
00:05:09.440 just sitting there empty. We will also be looking at ways to gradually restore
00:05:13.880 healthcare decision-making to local communities and health professionals on
00:05:17.660 the ground and to encourage a stronger culture of innovation and patient care.
00:05:22.460 This will take time and patience, of course, but I am confident that it will result in better
00:05:27.660 health care for Albertans when and where you need it most. Finally, I'd also like to speak
00:05:33.500 about our province's relationship with Ottawa. As Albertans, we love our nation deeply. Canada is
00:05:39.820 our home and Canadians our family. However, the federal government's treatment of all provinces,
00:05:45.980 most especially Alberta, is unacceptable.
00:05:49.620 The government in Ottawa is intentionally and systematically attempting to control and regulate
00:05:54.620 all aspects of our province's economy, resources, and social programs.
00:05:59.340 Through equalization and transfers, they funnel billions of your tax dollars away from you
00:06:04.880 and into a black hole of federal bureaucracy and vote-buying arrangements in other parts of the country.
00:06:10.920 These continual federal attacks on our economy and provincial rights cannot be allowed to continue.
00:06:17.920 The Canadian Constitution is clear.
00:06:20.920 The federal and provincial governments are equals.
00:06:23.920 We both have sovereign areas of exclusive federal and provincial jurisdiction.
00:06:28.920 Albertans, not Ottawa, are in charge of developing and exporting our resources,
00:06:34.920 growing our economy, and delivering health care, education, child care, and other programs
00:06:40.680 in the manner that we, as Albertans, choose.
00:06:44.660 In about a week's time, our government will introduce the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act.
00:06:50.360 This legislation is designed to be a constitutional shield to protect Albertans
00:06:54.800 so that when Ottawa implements a policy or law attacking our economy or provincial rights,
00:07:00.440 our government will not enforce these unconstitutional measures in Alberta.
00:07:04.920 we will put the rights of Albertans first, always.
00:07:09.540 Now, some are attempting to scare folks into thinking that this legislation has something to do with leaving Canada.
00:07:15.220 Nothing could be further from the truth.
00:07:17.280 In fact, this new law will have the opposite effect.
00:07:20.020 By restoring and respecting the constitutional rights of our creative and diverse provinces, including Alberta,
00:07:26.520 Canada will become stronger, more prosperous, and more unified than ever.
00:07:31.540 As Albertans, we must no longer ask permission from Ottawa to be prosperous and free.
00:07:36.620 We must be free to chart our own course as a senior partner in a strong and united Canada.
00:07:42.800 In closing, my fellow Albertans, I wish to speak about something personal.
00:07:47.520 Serving as your Premier is by far the most challenging thing I've ever done.
00:07:51.780 I know that I'm far from perfect, and I make mistakes.
00:07:55.440 And having spent decades in media and hosting talk shows, I discussed hundreds of different topics,
00:08:00.220 and sometimes took controversial positions,
00:08:03.320 many of which have evolved or changed
00:08:04.900 as I've grown and learned from listening to you.
00:08:07.680 But I know I'm not a talk show host
00:08:09.480 or a media commentator any longer.
00:08:11.860 That's not my job today.
00:08:13.820 My job today is to serve each and every Albertan
00:08:16.240 with everything I have and to the best of my ability,
00:08:19.600 however imperfect that may be at times.
00:08:22.600 I must be humble, listen, and continue to learn from you.
00:08:26.800 I must also be strong, focused,
00:08:29.320 and determined to do what I believe to be in the best interests of Albertans, no matter how hard that is.
00:08:35.160 But when I'm wrong or make a mistake, I will look to follow the example of our dear departed friend,
00:08:40.340 Premier Ralph Klein, admit to it, learn from it, and get back to work.
00:08:45.400 Because that is the Alberta way.
00:08:48.020 I love this province and everything it stands for.
00:08:51.620 We are a land of pioneers and farmers, entrepreneurs and innovators, communities and families.
00:08:58.080 A place where the best and brightest come from every corner of this world to join with us in building one of the greatest places on earth to live, work, and raise our families.
00:09:08.800 Together we can and will overcome every challenge we face to ensure that our province's best days are still to come, and that Alberta forever remains strong and free.
00:09:19.800 Thank you, and good night.
00:09:21.000 The current Lethbridge feed grain prices are as follows, cash barley is holding at $4.55,
00:09:31.300 feed wheat is lower $5 at $4.75 and corn is down at $4.65 per ton. In the milling wheat markets,
00:09:38.880 December Minneapolis futures slipped 2.75 cents at $9.45 with local hard red spring bid for January
00:09:45.660 movement at $12.20 per bushel. Over the oilseeds, nearby canola futures dropped $4.80 at $840 per
00:09:53.100 tonne, with delivered values for December movement at $18.82 per bushel. In the pulse markets,
00:09:59.620 nearby red lentils are down a half a cent at $0.33 a pound, and yellow peas decreased $0.30
00:10:05.560 at $12.70 per bushel. And in the cattle markets, December live cattle moved up $0.25 at $1.5357
00:10:13.060 per hundredweight. For more information on pricing and picked up on-farm options give me a call at
00:10:18.580 403-394-1711. I'm Vera Buziak at Marketplace Commodities, accurate real-time marketing
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