Western Standard - Brian Jean and Rebecca Schulz to Make a Shocking Revelation

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00:08:00.000 We are here because Albertans deserve to know the truth about what an NDP government would mean for them.

00:08:13.280 In 2015 the NDP talked about a carbon tax but they didn't campaign on it and what was the first

00:08:19.680 thing they did after the election? Well Albertans received a carbon tax. They said they had always

00:08:26.000 been clear that they wanted a carbon tax, but they absolutely did not campaign on it.

00:08:31.440 Now we know the NDP isn't being honest about their plans for electricity and what

00:08:36.080 that means for Albertans. Well, it means skyrocketing prices. Albertans shouldn't be

00:08:41.760 surprised that Rachel Notley and the NDP are trying to pull another bait and switch in this

00:08:46.240 election. But this time, we know her strategy. And we're sharing with Albertans the NDP policy

00:08:53.680 that the NDP don't want to talk about this election. Like the carbon tax, it is a policy

00:08:59.680 where Rachel Notley and Justin Trudeau agree. And like the carbon tax, it is a policy that

00:09:06.400 particularly hurts Albertan families. Albertans across this province should be very concerned

00:09:12.960 about Rachel Notley's commitment to Trudeau's net zero electricity grid by 2035. Why? Well,

00:09:21.200 It is the most expensive political promise ever made in Alberta history.

00:09:26.880 It is not only unrealistic but it is also very dangerous to the long-term viability of our economy.

00:09:33.200 Everyone from moms and dads, business owners, farmers, right across Alberta would bear the brunt of this anti-Alberta policy that comes straight from the desk of Justin Trudeau.

00:09:44.240 Justin Trudeau knows that the majority of Canada's fossil fuel generated electricity is produced here in Alberta.

00:09:51.200 Now, Alberta used to make electricity from coal, but we got off coal.

00:09:56.220 Rachel Notley phased out coal on such an aggressive timeline that it cost Albertan families billions of dollars and continues to do so.

00:10:04.600 You're seeing that right now on your bills.

00:10:07.960 It's important to reduce emissions.

00:10:10.140 We have a plan to do that by 2050.

00:10:12.700 And let's remember, in the last decade, Alberta replaced almost all its coal power generation with new natural gas-fired electricity, and it cost Albertans several billion dollars.

00:10:24.960 Now, Trudeau has declared war on these new natural gas power plants that Alberta installed.

00:10:30.320 And Rachel Notley, surprise, surprise, has made that her policy.

00:10:35.460 Notley doesn't want you to know how much this will cost.

00:10:37.760 not like probably doesn't care how much it will cost because the ndp it always seems to

00:10:44.420 never remember that it's your money it's albertans money and they work hard for it

00:10:49.360 it's not the ndp's money independent analysis says that even if this can be done

00:10:55.160 it will cost albertans and the alberta economy at least 87 billion dollars and yes folks that's

00:11:02.540 $1 billion with a B.

00:11:04.580 ASO,

00:11:06.580 Alberta's independent electricity

00:11:08.580 systems operator, published a report

00:11:10.580 last year that meeting the pure power

00:11:12.580 generation part of this Notley

00:11:14.580 Trudeau promise will cost $52 billion.

00:11:17.560 But we wanted to know what the cost

00:11:20.560 would be to the broader Alberta economy

00:11:22.560 as well.

00:11:24.560 So we had Navius Research, one of Canada's

00:11:26.560 most respected environmental

00:11:28.560 ecometrics firms, do the costing.

00:11:30.540 They found that the opportunity cost to Alberta's economy will be a further $35 billion between now and 2035.

00:11:41.860 If we are retrofitting power plants, we aren't building other things in our economy.

00:11:46.900 And Alberta will lose $35 billion in GDP because of that.

00:11:52.040 $52 billion in building costs, $35 billion in opportunity costs.

00:11:58.400 And my friends, that's not all.

00:12:00.540 Neither ASO nor Navius were able to actually estimate the cost of converting Alberta co-generation

00:12:08.320 electricity sector to net zero by 2035, but it will undoubtedly be dozens of billions more.

00:12:17.040 Further, since the timeline set by Trudeau and Motley for meeting this net zero grid component

00:12:21.880 is less than 12 years away, it will be impossible for Alberta to build new hydrodams

00:12:28.280 or SMR power plants or other alternatives in time.

00:12:32.800 Alberta will not be allowed to build reliable, none-emitting power plants

00:12:37.140 because of this reckless, notly Trudeau policy.

00:12:41.320 The UCP knows we need to have a healthy mix of solar, wind, and base load.

00:12:47.240 But the NDCP plan could destabilize Alberta's electricity grid

00:12:52.940 and put Alberta's electricity grid and Albertans at risk of brownouts

00:12:58.240 I'd like to invite my friend, Rebecca Schultz.

00:13:00.240 Rebecca Schultz, President of the United States

00:13:02.240 of America.

00:13:04.240 Thank you very much.

00:13:06.240 I've said it before and I'll say it again.

00:13:08.240 There's campaign Rachel Notley and there's

00:13:10.240 Premier Rachel Notley.

00:13:12.240 Albertans deserve to know just what Rachel

00:13:14.240 Notley has in store for them.

00:13:16.240 Rachel Notley and Justin Trudeau's

00:13:18.240 accelerated plan for net-zero electricity by

00:13:20.240 2035 will cripple Alberta's economy and

00:13:22.240 hurt Albertans.

00:13:24.240 will cripple Alberta's economy and hurt Albertans.

00:13:28.340 I hear from Albertans every single day that affordability and the cost of living

00:13:33.000 are top-of-mind issues for them, and power bills are high enough.

00:13:37.780 I know that Alberta's businesses feel the same way.

00:13:41.300 This NDP promise will impact all Albertans over the next 12 years.

00:13:45.720 I'm sure it won't be one of their major campaign announcements,

00:13:48.420 but it is something that the NDP is planning to do. 0.76

00:13:52.560 Rachel Notley wants to sneak the most expensive promise ever made in Alberta politics past Albertans.

00:13:59.520 We won't let her because we are putting Albertans first.

00:14:02.960 For the last few weeks, the NDP have called press conferences to announce all sorts of minor provinces.

00:14:09.620 But this particular commitment will cost to the Alberta economy at least $87 billion by 2035, and they don't want Albertans to notice.

00:14:19.400 So how do we know that this is on their agenda?

00:14:21.820 Because it's something they've been talking about.

00:14:25.080 In 2021, in a members-only speech at the NDP AGM,

00:14:29.700 Notley first committed that an NDP government will force Alberta

00:14:32.640 into a net-zero electricity grid by 2035.

00:14:36.080 In the last couple of weeks, she said the same thing once again in a tweet.

00:14:40.760 No press conference, no campaign briefing, no details, just a tweet.

00:14:46.200 Notley doesn't want Albertans to know how much her commitment

00:14:49.000 to Trudeau's net-zero grid by 2035 will cost.

00:14:52.940 Just like she did with the carbon tax,

00:14:54.720 Rachel Notley has put signing on to Justin Trudeau's

00:14:57.200 anti-Alberta policies ahead of looking after

00:15:00.200 Alberta families and businesses.

00:15:03.360 ASO estimates that this plan to rush the net-zero grid

00:15:06.520 over the next 12 years will raise electricity costs

00:15:08.920 for families and businesses by at least 40% more

00:15:12.460 than they might otherwise.

00:15:13.740 Seniors on fixed income and small business owners 0.50

00:15:16.360 don't deserve that. 1.00

00:15:18.020 Rachel Notley is a threat to Alberta's prosperity and just like she did the last time, she will make life more expensive for every Albertan if given the chance.

00:15:29.080 Unlike the NDP, our government has committed to reasonable measures and aspiring to a net zero energy sector by 2050.

00:15:35.820 Our major industries are already reducing emissions and over the next almost 30 years, industry will continue to innovate and invest in the long term to make a real difference.

00:15:46.820 Rachel Notley has instead chosen to risk Alberta's prosperity, our future, our economy, and our affordability advantage with the most expensive promise ever made in an Alberta election. 0.79

00:15:59.160 She doesn't care about the cost to Albertans and to our economy.

00:16:02.460 Albertans deserve to know what the NDP has in store because Albertans can't afford Rachel Notley and the NDP.

00:16:09.240 We're happy to answer any questions that you might have.

00:16:11.280 All right. For reporters in person, just on the left line up, we're going to take one question, one follow-up, and we will start in person.

00:16:22.180 If anybody has any questions, please step up to the mic and ask your questions.

00:16:29.180 Perfect. See you guys later.

00:16:34.640 Good morning, Jason Marks from CBC News.

00:16:37.180 First off, as a parent of young kids, I appreciate the shocking revelations pun, but I wanted to ask you, can you guys hear me okay?

00:16:44.960 Yes.

00:16:45.220 Okay.

00:16:46.140 I want to ask you, yesterday, Artur Palowski was convicted.

00:16:49.700 Now, I know that your leader, Danielle Smith, does not want to comment on this because of her ethics commissioner investigation.

00:16:57.200 Now, I don't think that would apply to you, any of you, unless you happen to be investigated and don't want to self-implicate.

00:17:03.140 But how do you explain to voters that when you meet on the doors and they ask you, why did she talk to Artur Pulaski about his charges?

00:17:12.960 You know, on any given day when you're an elected representative or like some of us who are on the leadership campaign trail, we talk to Albertans every single day.

00:17:22.320 We hear their concerns, we hear their issues, and we commit to get back on certain processes that need to be followed.

00:17:28.980 In this case, the Premier did exactly that.

00:17:30.840 she got advice on the process to follow she took that advice and now when it

00:17:34.620 comes to this specific case the courts have made their decision was it in your

00:17:38.840 view a perfect phone call that she she handled I would say again as elected

00:17:42.900 officials or those aspiring to be elected officials we do take a number of

00:17:46.320 questions from a variety of Albertans on a variety of different issues I

00:17:50.040 personally often commit to looking into details and getting back to people what

00:17:55.140 our leader did here was get advice from the Ministry of Justice she followed that

00:17:59.360 advice and now the courts have made their decision thank you jason next question and to be clear uh

00:18:04.800 i have not heard that on the door i've been knocking on a lot of doors and what albertans

00:18:08.640 are worried about is affordability they're worried about being able to afford their electricity bills

00:18:13.120 of being able to afford their natural gas bills uh and that's what they're worried about

00:18:19.360 alex dolly will rebel news my first question is um in a cbc interview uh in october premier

00:18:26.480 Daniel Smith opened the possibility of the province re-latigating the constitutionality of

00:18:32.080 the federal carbon tax with the Supreme Court of Canada. Now, have there been any further

00:18:36.000 conversations as to whether that will be pursued in the near future?

00:18:39.760 Well, listen, this government, the UCP, is always going to stand up for Albertans. And the

00:18:45.680 carbon tax is something that puts a tax on everything and makes life more expensive for

00:18:49.920 Albertans. And especially for Albertans when you take into consideration how everybody else is

00:18:56.080 dealing with the carbon tax and especially when you take into consideration this particular issue

00:18:59.920 of electricity and the electricity grid this is going to hurt albertans harder than it's going to

00:19:03.840 hurt anybody else in canada except for maybe saskatchewan and we need to make sure that

00:19:07.680 albertans realize this before election day how significant this promise is by rachel not alex

00:19:12.960 follow-up uh yes i do uh so in uh recent weeks we've seen the official opposition um pick winners

00:19:19.600 and losers in terms of uh which members of the press they will take questions from recently we

00:19:24.400 We saw Rachel Notley kick out Keane Bextie and myself from a press briefing in downtown Calgary.

00:19:31.580 Now, can we get a commitment from the UCP that they will allow all members of the press,

00:19:36.080 regardless of where they land on the spectrum, that their questions will be answered

00:19:41.760 and they will have that opportunity to ask those questions?

00:19:43.820 Our team and our leader have been committed to taking questions from all media outlets.

00:19:49.100 We saw that earlier this week at our very exciting campaign announcement

00:19:53.020 to reduce personal income taxes for Albertans.

00:19:55.660 Premier continues to take questions from media on a daily basis as do we

00:19:59.980 and as you see here today we're happy to take questions from all media outlets.

00:20:03.820 Thank you. Next question in person. Sean Polzer Western Standard.

00:20:11.100 What would be a UCB plan to lower some of these electricity costs while presumably reducing

00:20:18.540 emissions are you prepared to roll back uh the coal ban or would you increase natural gas or

00:20:25.820 wind and solar or what well we've seen significant cost to albertans over the last decade because of

00:20:30.700 some of the steps that rachel notley took as premier she made these decisions uh very quickly

00:20:37.020 and without a lot of forethought and planning and we've seen that in the the documents since

00:20:41.260 and we're not going to do that we're going to follow of course our commitments uh but we're

00:20:44.940 we're going to fight every step of the way in our jurisdictional right to do so as Alberta and we're

00:20:49.660 going to make sure that the federal government stays in their lane by the way their lane is not

00:20:54.060 electricity and they should not be trying to enforce something that is outside of their

00:20:57.980 jurisdiction like electricity so we're going to make sure we keep the electricity bills like all

00:21:03.100 bills as low as we possibly can for Albertans that's you know some of the great steps we've

00:21:07.020 done so far in our affordability packages it sees inflation in Alberta the lowest in the country

00:21:11.980 lowest gas prices in the country these are things we can actually do and we're going to

00:21:15.660 you know there's no silver bullet we need to do anything we possibly can to keep prices and

00:21:19.900 affordability in a reasonable place for albertans and we're going to do that and a follow-up well

00:21:25.260 may i just add first as well i'm what you see with the ndp is again ideology and allowing

00:21:31.020 justin trudeau to determine what happens here in alberta where you have a united conservative

00:21:35.740 party that is committed to absolutely having reliability to reducing emissions by 2050 but

00:21:41.660 making sure that electricity remains affordable for Albertans because that's

00:21:45.160 what Albertans want to see. I read that ASO report and one of the things that

00:21:51.500 were in it is that electricity prices have doubled nearly tripled in the past

00:21:57.440 few years and one of the reasons was the retirement to the coal plants because

00:22:01.520 coal has about 98% uptime reliability compared to about 50% for wind. So I

00:22:08.180 I guess my question is, would you repeal some of these rollbacks on the coal ban?

00:22:14.180 Well, first of all, you know, going backwards in time isn't a great thing

00:22:18.340 very often and in fact in this particular case I don't think it is. What we need to do is make

00:22:22.020 sure we comply with our international commitments because that's what the federal government has the

00:22:25.700 right to impose upon us to some degree as long as it's within their jurisdiction and we need to make

00:22:30.020 sure that we're looking at the future. Some of the things in the future are SMRs and different 0.98

00:22:34.900 opportunities to look at cogen and expanded cogen opportunities those are things that make a lot

00:22:39.220 of sense because they lower power bills for albertans but we you know can we point to any

00:22:42.980 particular thing that we're going to roll back in time no but is if there's new uh new technology

00:22:48.020 that comes forward that shows that we can have very clean coal and do so in an environmentally

00:22:53.460 uh consistent way with what the expectation of the world is then we're going to do that

00:22:58.580 and i think what your question points out is is really how bad the decisions and the governance

00:23:04.340 of four years of NDP government was for Albertans and you know when Albertans do ask about

00:23:09.380 affordability and their bills when I am on the doorsteps this is something that I hear fairly

00:23:13.860 regularly and of course Albertans are paying today for short-sighted decisions made by the NDP

00:23:20.260 government that focused on ideology as opposed to focusing on affordability and reliability of our

00:23:26.260 systems thank you and can we get the next question in person please morning simon jones ctv um a

00:23:35.620 couple questions just about the tone of the election so far uh the ndp is currently running

00:23:40.180 attack ads and digging up old controversial statements from ucp candidates are you worried

00:23:46.180 at all or concerned about that tactic you know what i think that it's fair for us to point out

00:23:52.500 the NDP's record, I think Albertans have a right to essentially have that reminder of what the four

00:23:59.700 years under the NDP government was like. It was devastating for Calgary, for Alberta, we lost 183,000

00:24:07.700 jobs, investment in people were losing or leaving our province, sorry, at record rates. And you know,

00:24:13.380 I think what Albertans want to see is a plan, a plan that addresses the top of mind issues for

00:24:18.900 everyday people that means having a strong economy and opportunities for family it also means

00:24:24.420 affordability like our announcement here today also transforming our healthcare system by focusing

00:24:30.580 on feedback from the front line and making sure that we have a system that works for patients

00:24:34.660 and so when I think of what Albertans are going to want to see they want to know that a party who

00:24:39.860 wants to govern has a plan to balance absolutely our economy our growing economy that is more

00:24:46.100 diverse than ever before affordability and i think our record speaks for itself on that front

00:24:53.140 and i think it's very fair to point out issues during the campaign that are not correct for

00:24:58.580 instance suggesting that the ucp raised taxes 100 plus times is ridiculous and it is untruthful we

00:25:04.740 need to stand up and point that out so that albertans recognize who they're voting for when

00:25:09.460 if they decide to vote for the ndp and recognize they're going to increase their costs their home

00:25:14.580 electricity costs their heating costs exponentially higher than it's ever been before they're trying to

00:25:18.820 make the most expensive political promise of all time and people need to know that so pointing out

00:25:23.300 the truth absolutely we will not lie uh and we need to make sure that that uh the the press and

00:25:29.540 and we hold the other parties to account when they do follow up uh yes please um just on that note

00:25:36.420 both of you uh ran campaigns for the leadership race which were fairly critical of uh premier

00:25:42.180 smith now premier smith why do you think that tactic is going to work during the provincial

00:25:46.740 election against the ndp you know i would say in danielle smith we have a leader that loves good

00:25:52.740 policy debate and has taken the feedback from those of us in leadership from our colleagues

00:25:57.460 she expects us to bring the views of our constituents to the table and has made changes

00:26:02.260 to policy or to legislation to reflect those perspectives and so i actually think that that's

00:26:08.500 an excellent leadership quality. Now while we're out here every single day making announcements

00:26:13.460 that will benefit everyday Albertans, committing to not increasing the business tax, lowering

00:26:19.060 personal income tax, and certainly there's more to come, I think that that shows that we're a

00:26:23.940 party that's focused on the everyday issues for the vast majority of Albertans. Now I do think

00:26:30.020 that Albertans, they know that what's being shared by the NDP and Rachel Notley is not always

00:26:36.260 truthful and so more to come on that i think we're happy to point out the ndp lies on it

00:26:41.140 on any given day i think we have a responsibility to do that because voters need to know what they

00:26:45.540 can expect uh from their future governments simon do we have any more questions in person

00:26:53.860 if not uh operator can you please put through our first caller

00:27:07.540 operator can you please put through our first caller

00:27:15.780 you can kind of hear it there i think we just need the

00:27:17.460 we just have some uh technical difficulties josh can you hear us okay i can now yes uh

00:27:29.540 my first question's on uh daniel smith isn't expected to make a real uh media availability

00:27:37.720 until tomorrow so this will be really the fourth day of the uh of the election it'll be three days

00:27:45.500 after the Pawlowski decision.

00:27:49.140 Would you like to see Smith address that decision prior to that?

00:27:53.880 Because at this point, it's MLA that they're having to field these questions.

00:27:56.980 It's allowing the NDP to run with it.

00:28:00.120 Would you like to see Danielle Smith really address this?

00:28:02.920 To this point, she's saying she's not commenting on it.

00:28:05.680 I'll say this.

00:28:06.520 Our leader is very busy campaigning across the province and in Calgary.

00:28:10.400 We had a very exciting announcement with the media availability this week

00:28:14.360 when we made our commitment to add an additional personal income tax bracket

00:28:19.480 and lower personal income taxes for Albertans.

00:28:22.120 I know she was on the radio live this morning taking questions from media,

00:28:26.200 and I do believe we have another exciting announcement coming up tomorrow.

00:28:29.740 And so we'll continue to answer questions from the media

00:28:31.900 and make sure that we are getting our messages out there.

00:28:34.920 And there are a lot of exciting things for us to talk about

00:28:37.620 in our United Conservative platform, so stay tuned for more.

00:28:42.260 Josh, do you have a follow-up?

00:28:43.380 Are you concerned about how the Pawlowski situation will impact the election going forward,

00:28:52.700 especially when he makes the statements he made yesterday about there's more that's going to come out?

00:28:58.060 How much does this distract from the issues of the policy that you guys want to talk about,

00:29:05.140 especially in what's going to be a really close race in Calgary?

00:29:10.000 I'll say that we have already commented on this,

00:29:12.720 and the courts have made their decision.

00:29:14.840 We are campaigning hard and we're making commitments

00:29:17.520 that are going to resonate with everyday Albertans

00:29:19.660 right across our province.

00:29:21.400 And so I do hope that media chooses

00:29:23.040 to share those platform commitments with Albertans

00:29:25.820 so that they can make good decisions

00:29:27.180 in the upcoming election and choose a party

00:29:29.740 that cares about economic growth,

00:29:32.060 hope, opportunity, affordability

00:29:34.240 for families and seniors on fixed income,

00:29:36.660 as well as a party that will make the necessary changes

00:29:39.700 to ensure that our healthcare system

00:29:41.320 is focused on patient needs and wants to keep Alberta moving forward thanks Josh operator could

00:29:47.400 you please put through our next caller hi thanks for taking my question the announcement today

00:29:56.280 looked at the cost of net zero by 2035 your plan is net zero by 2050 how much will that cost

00:30:04.200 Well, it's going to cost any time you take traditional power sources off the grid, it's going to cost Albertans.

00:30:12.620 We don't know what it's going to cost by 2050, but we do know that we would be complying with the international commitments,

00:30:17.900 and we believe that plan is reasonable and is affordable.

00:30:21.200 It certainly is a lot more affordable than trying to accelerate it over the next 11 and a half years,

00:30:25.480 something that, frankly, nobody else in the entire world is doing.

00:30:28.360 Listen, we have a very small amount of our power on coal right now and have relatively,

00:30:33.240 very small amounts of coal over Alberta's existence because of the nature of our population.

00:30:38.760 If you look at China and India and the amount of their base that's on coal, it's staggering the

00:30:43.980 difference. What we're doing is actually looking at technologies that we can showcase to the world

00:30:48.440 and bring more and better opportunities to the world on electricity generation and in other forms

00:30:54.600 of energy generation. And what we're going to do is not throw the baby out with the bath water and

00:30:59.360 and uh do radical changes that are frankly politically driven and not done for the best

00:31:04.320 interests of albertans we're going to make sure we do this in the best interests of albertans

00:31:08.720 and carrie do you have a follow-up um yeah i do thank you so um you're asking albertans to look

00:31:16.160 at this and say not least plan is bad because it's going to cost uh it's the most expensive

00:31:21.840 campaign promise of all time but you're also saying we also have a promise but we don't know

00:31:27.520 how much it's going to cost why should albertans select the ones where you're promoting is better

00:31:34.480 but you don't have a price tag so i would say that was where a couple of weeks ago our colleagues

00:31:41.040 and our leader did announce our plan to both reduce emissions while you know maintaining

00:31:46.480 affordability and not jeopardizing our economic growth and prosperity obviously some of that still

00:31:53.760 requires work with industry but with what you see with United Conservatives is a very practical

00:31:59.360 common sense approach to reduce emissions while making sure our economy remains strong

00:32:04.400 and life remains affordable for Albertans what you see with the NDP is ideology at all costs in

00:32:11.120 this case that's a cost of 87 billion dollars and completely disregarding affordability and

00:32:18.080 reliability of our systems for Albertans and I just don't think that that's what Albertans want

00:32:23.120 to see moving forward and carry let's be clear that there's no plan on co-generation and alberta's

00:32:29.040 base load is about just over 40 percent uh based on co-generation which you know there's no federal

00:32:34.240 rules on it no certainty at least and we don't know how they're going to treat this so there is

00:32:38.400 you know there is a staggering cost and on albertans to implement this especially if they

00:32:42.480 don't consider co-generation or do consider co-generation as far as being a uh pollutant

00:32:48.160 uh that needs to be shut down so you know there's a lot of uncertainty here but we do know this our

00:32:52.320 plan is going to cost significantly less than the NDP's proposal which is frankly more aggressive

00:32:58.480 than anybody else's plan in Canada or in the planet that I can see. And let me just point

00:33:04.880 out when we're talking about costs 87 billion dollars is a huge number. What this means for an

00:33:10.800 everyday Albertan is an increase in costs by 40 percent more than they would otherwise be. I think

00:33:17.440 that's the question for albertans do they want to see their electricity costs going up by 40

00:33:23.920 of what they would otherwise be i just don't think so carrie thank you carrie operator next caller

00:33:30.320 please radio canada hi just right now um ndp leader rachel notley is announcing a new tax credit she

00:33:41.040 is elected to firm government and alberta's future tax credits which in their words they say it would

00:33:46.160 I think the last time the NDP were in power in Alberta we saw 183,000 people leave Alberta to find other jurisdictions in the last six months of last year over 90,000 people came back to Alberta and call it their home now I think that's success and it speaks for themselves I think what the NDP does is

00:34:16.160 promised things on ideology thinking that they're going to win the hearts and minds of people and

00:34:21.200 especially Albertans and the reality is is when people see how much it costs when they actually

00:34:25.760 get the bill they realize the NDP is the wrong answer for them they want a government that cares

00:34:31.360 and that is smart about it and that's exactly what the UCP government is a caring and smart government

00:34:37.760 and let's just be clear the NDP is also planning to raise corporate tax rates uh I don't think that

00:34:44.640 that that worked out well in the four years of their government when we then saw reduced corporate

00:34:49.600 tax revenue coming into the province and we saw head offices and jobs leaving calgary and

00:34:53.840 leaving alberta so i think their record does speak for itself all right thank you uh follow

00:34:59.600 up from audrey can i have uh yes thank you very much um another topic actually um this monday

00:35:07.600 the UCP announced a new tax bracket of 8% for people earning up to $60,000.

00:35:15.120 Every expert we talked to said that this would increase the reliance on oil and gas revenues,

00:35:20.880 which are today lower than what the province needs to balance the budget.

00:35:25.280 So do you think that you are tying the Alberta government's hands by doing so and promising this?

00:35:31.920 Thanks, Audrey. Well, first of all, let's recognize that the oil and gas in Alberta belongs

00:35:35.120 to the people of Alberta and it's there for them and for the government to make sure that their

00:35:39.360 lifestyle is affordable and that's what we're going to make sure we do and those people that

00:35:43.120 are less fortunate sometimes and obviously are in those lower tax brackets and right now is a time

00:35:48.000 of tremendous affordability needs and the Alberta government is going to be there to pick up the

00:35:53.120 slack for them and to make sure that they can afford what they need to afford and make sure

00:35:57.600 we can do all that we can to reduce their taxes so they can take more home to their family and make

00:36:02.800 their decisions in the best interest of them all right we got time for two more questions operator

00:36:08.160 please put through our next caller barco calgary herald

00:36:16.560 hi yes can you tell me when would the ucp government propose to see a net zero power

00:36:21.200 grade in alberta by 2050 along with our international commitments

00:36:25.760 Yeah, just to follow up, the federal government has made a commitment to a net zero power

00:36:33.820 grid by 2035.

00:36:34.820 It's a national commitment.

00:36:36.700 I'm wondering, would the UCP government ignore it, litigate it?

00:36:39.900 What exactly would be your plan for dealing with the federal target?

00:36:42.720 Well, I don't want to get too complicated into the constitutional rights of the federal

00:36:46.900 government versus the provincial government, but if they go beyond their jurisdiction,

00:36:50.260 which in my mind, if they go to a much more aggressive electricity grid than is required

00:36:55.400 by international treaties then they're stepping outside of their jurisdiction and we're going to

00:36:59.480 hold them to account and say no federal government get back into your sandbox and play in your own

00:37:04.420 area of jurisdiction because you're not going to play in the Alberta government's jurisdiction and

00:37:09.220 we're going to make sure that we stand up for Albertans every step of the way and this is one

00:37:12.760 of those ways we can. And you know I would just point out that it's not just Alberta that has

00:37:17.860 those concerns I mean we're seeing these concerns being raised by other provinces across the country

00:37:22.120 Saskatchewan even Ontario and so you know I think what we're what we're saying

00:37:27.100 here is we are absolutely committed to working with industry to reduce

00:37:30.180 emissions but we have to do it in a way that doesn't hurt our economy and the

00:37:35.440 opportunities that Albertans want to see created here every single day and that

00:37:39.640 it doesn't impact affordability and reliability of our system all right

00:37:43.820 operator last caller please

00:37:46.980 David Staples Edmonton Journal

00:37:52.120 Thanks for taking my call. I'm curious, Brian, you said that Notley and the NDP are lying about this. But isn't it true that Notley did just, and you mentioned this as well, that she's actually made the commitment to the public.

00:38:07.660 Her tweet says from April 19th, Alberta's NDP will work with the industry to achieve a net zero electricity grid by 2035 and a net zero economy by 2050.

00:38:18.480 So, and, you know, in her campaign speech, she said, you know, you can trust me to do what I say.

00:38:23.600 So she seems quite clear and quite committed and they are going to do this.

00:38:27.660 So where is she lying?

00:38:29.280 Well, David, let's see it. Let's see it in the proposed plan here, the campaign plan.

00:38:34.460 And if it's there, let's actually see it.

00:38:36.720 Let's talk about it.

00:38:37.640 Let's talk about how much this is going to cost Albertans.

00:38:39.760 Let's talk about the fact it's not costing in the co-gen power that we receive right now.

00:38:44.580 Let's talk about the reality is that it's probably going to cost Albertans over $100 billion.

00:38:49.220 That's the promise that she needs to come clean with Albertans with.

00:38:52.300 And she didn't do it with the carbon tax.

00:38:53.760 You know, when she brought the carbon tax, we saw years before that she pontificated about it.

00:39:00.160 She mentioned it a few times, but she didn't put it in her campaign platform.

00:39:03.500 We're saying right now, listen, you pontificated about this the same way you did with the carbon tax.

00:39:08.320 Albertans need, they deserve to know how much this is going to cost them.

00:39:12.540 And it's going to cost them a lot of money.

00:39:14.360 When Albertans open up their electricity bills this month, they should think about that electricity bill,

00:39:19.780 not just doubling, but going up significantly more than that,

00:39:23.000 which it will do based on Rachel Notley's promise to Albertans to bring in this piece of legislation.

00:39:29.440 David, do you have a follow-up?

00:39:33.500 Yeah, so the numbers you're throwing around are huge astronomical numbers, you know, $100 billion.

00:39:41.920 So I just want to try to, if you can explain to me and other Albertans, we have an electrical grid right now.

00:39:50.340 What changes, if we're to meet 2035, what changes in generation, what kind of plants are they going to be changing or retrofitting?

00:39:58.960 What's going to be changed?

00:40:01.800 And in terms of your plan that you say is going to cost a lot less by 2050,

00:40:06.040 why will it cost a lot less?

00:40:07.700 What kind of generation would you guys bring in?

00:40:10.560 What kind of plants and retrofits would you bring in over time that would be less expensive?

00:40:14.520 Why does it pay to wait in this case?

00:40:17.720 Because that's the argument that you're making.

00:40:19.660 Well, David, I've seen the NDP come forward and implement policies before.

00:40:23.220 They shoot first and ask questions later.

00:40:25.080 That's not the way to do good politics and good policy decisions.

00:40:28.160 We need to take time, make sure we get it right, have a proper plan in place, and implement it slowly so that Albertans don't feel too much pain like we have over coal-fired plants when those are shut down.

00:40:38.320 What we're going to need to do is we're going to have to retrofit all our power plants.

00:40:41.480 We're going to have to take electricity as being not a good source of power anymore, but a bad source of power, which I don't see.

00:40:48.780 It depends on how it's created.

00:40:50.140 But truly, David, it's going to be a staggering cost.

00:40:52.980 Why is it going to be less?

00:40:54.080 Because you're going to have better management skills than the UCP.

00:40:56.500 We're going to talk to Albertans.

00:40:59.080 We're going to attract other competitors into our marketplace so they drive prices down.

00:41:03.780 We're going to make sure that we don't do things that cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure investments and other bad decision-making that can happen if you don't do this right.

00:41:13.940 This is a very important decision and series of decisions, and it's not done overnight.

00:41:18.800 We need to make sure we do it right and rely on experts and empirical data to get it right every time.

00:41:25.300 And that's all the time we have for today.

00:41:27.160 Thank you.

00:41:28.400 Thank you very much, folks.

00:41:29.520 Great to be here in Calgary.

00:41:31.660 Happy campaigning.

00:41:54.340 Thank you.

00:42:24.340 You

Western Standard - May 04, 2023

Brian Jean and Rebecca Schulz to Make a Shocking Revelation

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