Western Standard - July 21, 2022


Arthur Green on the UCP leadership race and Alberta issues

Topics
UCP leadership race inflation relief and NDP policies addiction treatment programs
Mentioned
Corey Danielle Smith Brian Jean Rachel Notley John Horseman Ross Sherman Travis Tays Justin Trudeau Jagmeet Singh Eddie Maurice LeBron James Reid Small Joe Biden Bonneville Donnie Arthur
WS Reid Small on the BC NDP leadership race All talk, no action plan of establishment candidates for the UCP leadership

Episode Stats


Length

15 minutes

Words per minute

175.88

Word count

2,747

Sentence count

163

Harmful content

Misogyny

4

sentences flagged


Summary

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

The United Conservative Party leadership race is now officially in the hands of the candidates, and the race is heating up! On today's show, Jason Kenney joins the show to discuss all the latest in the race, including the withdrawal of John Horsman, Danielle Smith, and Travis Tays, as well as what to look out for in the coming days.

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 Corey, yesterday marked the last day for people to register with Elections Canada to run for the Alberta's United Conservative Party leadership.
00:00:10.820 And, you know, we have some candidates confirmed, Brian Jean, Danielle Smith and Travis Tays, of course, were confirmed ahead of Wednesday's deadline.
00:00:21.560 John Horsman did tweet that he was on track to meet the deadline with signatures, but quickly withdrew on Wednesday afternoon and said, you know, it was a crowded leadership race.
00:00:37.600 So that's one of the reasons that he withdrew.
00:00:41.060 And, of course, there are results still pending, and we'll bring you up to speed with those as soon as they come in.
00:00:48.140 Yeah, so it sounds like seven of them at least have made the bar, or they're saying they are.
00:00:54.080 That next bar, I guess, is being fully approved.
00:00:56.440 It's got to go before the UCP's leadership committee for them to sign off on it.
00:01:00.940 But, I mean, if they've gotten the money and the signatures, I mean, those are some very major bars to accomplish first, right?
00:01:07.420 That's right.
00:01:08.100 Again, like it has to, they have to be approved.
00:01:11.140 Like you said, now, the race is heating up.
00:01:15.360 I've reported this week that it started to turn into a little bit of a slugfest between Danielle Smith and Travis Tays. 0.94
00:01:24.900 And there's a story on our website about how Tays actually texted the UCP party blast text, whatever they use,
00:01:35.300 and said that she was for PST when she says she's clearly not.
00:01:40.300 So, again, we'll see what happens in the future.
00:01:43.980 I know Danielle Smith does have a rally planned for Bonneville this weekend, 0.91
00:01:48.980 and I was in touch with Brian Jean's press secretary on a daily basis,
00:01:54.640 and he's going to be coming out with some of his policy decisions in the near future.
00:01:59.480 Yeah, I had both Ross Sherman and John Horsman on the show just a couple of days ago,
00:02:06.700 so they were getting right up on the deadline, I guess, trying to get their signatures.
00:02:10.560 But I know, you know, Horsman's saying he had enough, but he, you know, stuff to get in,
00:02:15.520 but he just didn't feel the race was a bit too crowded.
00:02:19.300 I don't know.
00:02:19.860 Everybody makes their route.
00:02:20.880 You know, they always leave politics to spend more time with their family and everything else, too.
00:02:24.060 I suspect he entered a little bit too late and just couldn't quite get it that fast
00:02:27.900 because he came in pretty late in the game there and just kind of needed an out.
00:02:32.220 Yeah, he actually stated on Twitter that he looks forward to future opportunities with the UCP party,
00:02:39.900 so we'll see what the future holds for him.
00:02:43.260 Yeah, yeah, he's not stomping out the door, you know, embittered or anything like that.
00:02:46.960 He's just saying he's moving on.
00:02:50.040 Have you heard anything from Ross Sherman since?
00:02:52.180 I haven't, but, again, I will be reaching out to all of the candidates via email
00:02:59.320 and waiting for their response.
00:03:01.180 I know they're quite busy to talk to the media, you know, on a constant basis,
00:03:06.280 but in between we've caught them in between meetings and stuff
00:03:10.580 and been able to get some responses.
00:03:12.880 So I'm looking forward to actually covering the race once it begins
00:03:16.620 and we'll see who the new premier of Alberta is going to be.
00:03:20.080 Yeah, I mean, it's quite a race.
00:03:22.880 I mean, we do have the winner of this is going to become our premier.
00:03:26.360 It's not like any other party race.
00:03:28.040 I was talking to, you know, Reid Small out there in BC.
00:03:30.960 They've got one going on in BC and that'll be the same thing.
00:03:35.040 Whoever wins that's going to become the premier with the NDP,
00:03:37.540 but they've only got one contestant so far and it sounds like they might only have one.
00:03:41.080 I mean, quite different than what's going on out here.
00:03:42.760 Yeah, I mean, there's some big talk, you know, with the Smith campaign
00:03:48.380 and the Alberta Saventry Act and, you know, she called out Justin Trudeau yesterday
00:03:53.180 with his admission targets for 2030 saying that, you know,
00:03:57.220 it's going to cut Alberta oil production, not just Alberta oil production,
00:04:00.440 but all oil production in Canada by 2030 upwards of 46%.
00:04:05.740 And, you know, the oil industry employs a lot of people across Canada,
00:04:11.860 especially here in Alberta and Calgary.
00:04:13.680 So, you know, she really is looking forward to pushing that act if she becomes premier. 0.97
00:04:20.580 And then, you know, we have Brian Jean who has been actively voicing actively his opinion
00:04:27.860 on gas prices here in Alberta and saying, you know, Albertans are getting ripped off.
00:04:33.620 So we'll see what he brings to the table and, you know, what's going to happen in the next few weeks.
00:04:40.400 How about Rajan Sani?
00:04:42.240 I had her on the show a while back and I just don't hear anything going on with her campaign.
00:04:47.260 I don't hear of events.
00:04:48.300 I mean, something must be happening out there.
00:04:50.640 I haven't heard much from her campaign at all, actually.
00:04:54.760 Like I said, I will be reaching out again today now that the deadline has passed
00:04:59.100 to put a push on, you know, getting the latest information for our readers
00:05:04.980 because, you know, that's why they follow us, Corey, is really, you know,
00:05:09.680 the latest and the most truthful information.
00:05:11.780 So, like I said, now that the deadline has passed, I can really put the pedal down, as we say,
00:05:17.780 and try to get some comments and some different decisions.
00:05:22.360 And things are saying, you know, Twitter is always a good place to hang out
00:05:27.460 because you never know what's going to be tweeted during the day by a politician.
00:05:33.260 Well, that's it.
00:05:34.140 I mean, you can catch the stuff as it breaks on Twitter.
00:05:36.380 It's just not necessarily the best spot for the exchanges of ideas.
00:05:40.960 Well, moving on from that, then we'll look at some of the other stories you've been writing on.
00:05:45.280 The recent one, I mean, that's kind of a rough one,
00:05:47.640 but the parole board has released that gentleman who would, you know,
00:05:53.700 with a child who died that he left outside of a church.
00:05:58.460 Yeah, that's correct.
00:06:00.060 You know, they made a decision on Wednesday to release him from the Edmonton Remand Center, basically.
00:06:07.880 He was granted parole and he only served two-thirds of his sentence.
00:06:12.460 The parole board, you know, said that he had a difficult upbringing in a First Nations community.
00:06:19.140 He is Indigenous, Corey, and that, you know, he was getting treated pretty badly in prison.
00:06:26.520 And, you know, there are reports that inmates took it in their own hands to give him a warm welcome
00:06:32.460 while in prison for committing a crime against a child.
00:06:36.540 And, you know, they said that the conditions, you know, that he was experiencing,
00:06:41.720 he spent most of the time in the hole, but, you know, they kind of gave him a little bit of leeway
00:06:45.540 and granted his parole.
00:06:48.180 Now, he's going to be supervised.
00:06:51.160 I guess he'll be residing at a halfway house, as we call it, in Edmonton,
00:06:57.180 somewhere where he will be supervised.
00:07:00.420 And, you know, it just amazes me sometimes, Corey, when we see different headlines.
00:07:07.880 You know, it was a serious crime.
00:07:10.500 You know, the child was essentially beat to death with a blow to the head
00:07:16.020 and then left outside of a church in Edmonton.
00:07:18.960 Pretty sad.
00:07:19.720 And, you know, he only served two-thirds of his sentence.
00:07:22.120 And a lot of people, I've been reading some comments on the story today,
00:07:25.820 and a lot of people, you know, said, you know, this isn't justice.
00:07:29.340 And then others are saying, well, the only justice he got was from the beatings
00:07:33.740 he received from other inmates while in the center.
00:07:37.040 So, like I said, he's been released, and we'll see if he reoffends.
00:07:42.400 Yeah, I mean, that's the biggest fear.
00:07:44.160 I mean, you know, I don't like to think of prisons just being a place
00:07:46.940 where we can offload and have people beaten by other prisoners.
00:07:50.140 It's not really a civilized way of dealing with things.
00:07:52.360 But if they present a danger, the goal is to keep those people out of society
00:07:57.200 so they don't reoffend.
00:07:58.360 I mean, this guy killed a 19-month-old child.
00:08:01.860 That sounds very dangerous to me, and he only did three years for it.
00:08:05.120 Let's just hope, I guess, that he doesn't reoffend those excuses.
00:08:08.800 I mean, this guy had a hard upbringing.
00:08:10.580 He had a tough time.
00:08:12.060 Probably very true, but it doesn't mean he's not dangerous.
00:08:16.440 Exactly, Corey.
00:08:17.300 And like I said, there's lots of people in Canada who have had tough upbringings
00:08:23.020 and rough childhoods, and, you know, they don't kill people.
00:08:27.040 No, and, yeah, our justice system is unfortunately anything but. 0.57
00:08:32.660 I'm just kind of moving down through your scroll, though.
00:08:34.720 I see Rachel Notley calling for inflation relief.
00:08:38.420 That's interesting.
00:08:39.260 I always like that when I see NDP talking economics.
00:08:43.120 What's she proposing that's going to help us all?
00:08:45.120 Well, she never really proposed a whole lot, Corey.
00:08:49.060 I think it was more or less just her speaking her mind to get media's attention.
00:08:55.840 I noticed that, you know, when a big story comes out, such as the one with inflation
00:09:02.080 and, you know, 8.9%, I do believe, or 8.1% was the figure, 8.4% here in Alberta.
00:09:08.580 And, you know, she's immediately calling for inflation relief, even though, you know,
00:09:15.640 our readers are pretty smart here at the Western Standard, and, you know,
00:09:19.920 they don't forget politics and what happened in the past.
00:09:23.020 So, you know, there were a lot of comments on the story saying, you know,
00:09:26.400 the NDP were the start or that created, you know, some of these problems when they were in power years ago.
00:09:32.400 But, you know, she is calling for inflation relief.
00:09:35.140 She thinks that, you know, Albertans are having a tough time putting food on the table.
00:09:40.220 And, you know, with the price of everything, Corey, from used cars to cars, dealerships,
00:09:45.680 you know, we've seen the real pinch happen in the last couple of months, you know,
00:09:50.820 especially since COVID happened in Canada.
00:09:53.820 And it'll be interesting to find out, you know, what she says in the future.
00:10:00.400 I find that she very, or she always speaks her opinion, of course,
00:10:08.140 against being in the opposition against the UCP when something big happens.
00:10:13.360 And, you know, we'll see what she proposes to reduce inflation impact in Alberta, Corey.
00:10:21.720 Well, that's it. That's the other half.
00:10:23.980 I mean, okay, it's fine.
00:10:24.780 You pointed out that Albertans are suffering under the high cost of living.
00:10:27.780 I think we all kind of know that.
00:10:29.540 But what are you going to do about it?
00:10:31.120 We need to hear that second half of the conversation, Madam Notley.
00:10:34.800 Well, maybe we'll see more as time goes.
00:10:36.900 I was kind of ranting about that earlier, that her boss, Jagmeet Singh,
00:10:41.580 and I know it chafes them when I say that,
00:10:43.960 but those parties are literally tied constitutionally.
00:10:46.260 So he is her boss.
00:10:47.200 He proposed giving $1,000 to everybody in Canada to battle inflation,
00:10:51.720 and he got roundly ripped to shreds on Twitter because of it, of course,
00:10:56.000 because it's not really a good economic plan.
00:10:58.840 But I guess at least he proposed something.
00:11:01.420 Like I said, at least the proof is in the pudding, as we say in Newfoundland, Corey.
00:11:08.040 So, you know, $1,000 seems nice to say that and seems nice on paper.
00:11:13.700 But really, when you think about it, how far does $1,000 go?
00:11:18.560 If you're driving a Dodge pickup, probably four tanks of gas right now in Canada.
00:11:23.120 Yeah, literally, actually.
00:11:24.620 Oh, that's scary.
00:11:26.220 Okay, well, let's tell you some of the other policies yesterday.
00:11:28.080 The UCP, speaking of things they put out then,
00:11:30.460 they're talking about enhancing support for victims of crime,
00:11:33.160 if we're on the justice end of things.
00:11:35.180 I mean, that's an area that gets forgotten a lot.
00:11:36.780 You know, we always focus on the perpetrator.
00:11:38.820 Forget that there's always a victim behind there somewhere, too.
00:11:41.920 Yeah, that's right.
00:11:42.380 They're partnered with the Red Deer Police to offer opiate assistance to people who are arrested,
00:11:49.280 you know, when they're first incarcerated.
00:11:52.240 And, you know, I applaud the UCP government for taking a stand
00:11:56.400 and investing in a program like this, Corey,
00:11:58.600 because, you know, I have many off-the-record conversations as an investigative reporter.
00:12:04.480 You know, I spoke to the RCMP before, different members,
00:12:08.260 not saying they're from Bonneville, but different locations within Alberta.
00:12:11.840 And, you know, they see the same people in the system over and over, catch and release.
00:12:16.980 And, you know, addiction is, don't quote me on percentage,
00:12:21.480 but 90% of the time it's, you know, it's someone who's addicted to drugs
00:12:26.260 and struggling with mental health.
00:12:28.360 And, you know, the justice system is a revolving door sometimes for these people.
00:12:34.180 And, you know, they're just trying to survive.
00:12:36.380 And, you know, you don't judge the person, Corey, who's down and out,
00:12:40.660 because when you're up, you never think you're going to be down again.
00:12:43.420 And when you're down, you never think you're going to be up again, of course.
00:12:46.080 And, you know, don't judge the person who's doing drugs on the side of the street
00:12:50.380 because you haven't been in their shoes.
00:12:52.720 So you don't know what they've been through.
00:12:54.260 And I think it's a great program that, you know,
00:12:56.580 people who are struggling with drug addiction and mental abuse
00:13:00.600 will now have a chance to go virtual with an organization here in Alberta
00:13:05.120 when incarcerated to see, you know, what is the root of the problem?
00:13:09.620 You know, it's just not petty crime.
00:13:11.520 And they like to steal.
00:13:12.780 There's a reason behind the crime, and that's drugs, Corey.
00:13:18.880 Yeah, no, absolutely.
00:13:20.380 And we saw that in the South, and we saw that with the people
00:13:22.500 who had been repeatedly robbing my pub when I owned it
00:13:25.660 and were the fellow that Eddie Maurice shot
00:13:28.860 while defending his family in southern Alberta years ago.
00:13:32.260 That guy's a chronic reoffender, and he's almost,
00:13:35.060 every time he gets picked up, he's also in possession of meth.
00:13:38.060 So, I mean, it's difficult, you know, because, I mean,
00:13:42.000 they're criminals, or they can act as criminals,
00:13:44.340 and they can put people at risk.
00:13:45.340 But at the same time, just throwing them in jail isn't solution enough either.
00:13:48.420 You've got to get them off the drugs because they're just going to keep reoffending.
00:13:52.640 So, I mean, we've got to look at more treatment.
00:13:54.020 So it's always good to see more treatment options coming anyways
00:13:56.340 because that's the only way that's really going to break that cycle.
00:13:59.480 Yeah, and again, the federal government stepped up yesterday
00:14:02.780 and announced that they'll be spending $40 million on Canadians
00:14:07.700 who are addicted to substances.
00:14:09.940 So, before I let you go, I pulled you in a little early,
00:14:14.540 so I'll let you escape a little early too.
00:14:16.600 But what else are you working on this week, you know,
00:14:18.880 as we head towards the weekend?
00:14:21.860 I've got a couple things up my sleeve.
00:14:25.580 I was just poking around on Twitter,
00:14:27.500 and it appears that Joe Biden has announced that he's suffering from cancer.
00:14:32.200 So I'm going to dig into some international stories here this evening.
00:14:36.460 I noticed a trans swimmer was just nominated for a Woman of the Year Award.
00:14:44.280 So that's another story that I'm sure our readers will have lots to say about.
00:14:50.220 And, you know, again, I'll be talking with the press secretary from Brian James' campaign.
00:14:55.620 You know, I've reached out to Daniel Smith, and I'll do the same for Travis Tays.
00:15:00.220 Maybe we can get some reactions now that it's official
00:15:03.600 that they're in the leadership race for Premier of Alberta.
00:15:08.040 Great. Well, you'll have interesting political times,
00:15:10.840 especially as it gets closer to the end of the race.
00:15:12.820 And, you know, some of the candidates get desperate,
00:15:15.200 and the gloves really start coming off.
00:15:17.920 Well, we'll see if it turns into an old Donnie broke, as Dan shared used to say.
00:15:24.660 Yeah, you bet.
00:15:25.500 All right. Well, thank you for bringing us up to date and checking in, Arthur.
00:15:29.000 And I'll enjoy things up there in the warm weather in Bonneville,
00:15:32.760 and we'll talk to you again later.
00:15:34.760 I'll be in Edmonton soon. Thanks, Corey.