Western Standard - August 09, 2021


Calgary mayoral candidates Davison & Gondek attend federal Liberal rally


Episode Stats

Length

14 minutes

Words per Minute

147.61226

Word Count

2,071

Sentence Count

175

Misogynist Sentences

1

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary

Learn English with Mayor Jason Perzi. In this episode, Mayor Jason Kenney speaks at a political rally in support of his good friend, Councillor George Chahal, who is running for re-election in Calgary s Ward 5.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 It's great to see so many folks here. I cannot believe that I'm standing in the back of a pickup truck.
00:00:13.000 I feel very Jason Penny right now. Don't hear me say that often.
00:00:20.000 But we are all here to support our good friend George Shaw.
00:00:27.000 It's so great to see so many people here representing the diversity of Northeast Calgary, the final of Calgary's skyview.
00:00:35.000 And of course, as we always do when we gather together, we remind ourselves that we gather on land where people have been gathering for many thousands of years.
00:00:44.000 And today we honour the people who have started on this land.
00:00:49.000 For thousands of years, people have been coming here to hunt and fish and gather, to dream, to dance, to live, to love, to fight sometimes, but ultimately to engage in that real act of building community.
00:01:06.000 And today I hope that we're taking another important step in building our community.
00:01:12.000 Now, as you all know, it's very uncommon for me to appear in a partisan political rally.
00:01:19.000 I wear purple every day for a reason. It's red and blue.
00:01:25.000 But I also believe that we are incredibly well served when we have extraordinary people willing to make the sacrifice to enter into public office.
00:01:35.000 And that's why I'm thrilled to support great people who run for office.
00:01:40.000 And I'd like to point out as well, speaking of great people running for office, that we're joined here by a number of my City Council colleagues.
00:01:46.000 So we have Councillor Drew Farrell, Councillor Giancarlo Garra, Councillor Ward Sutherland, Councillor Jeff Davison, I think I saw Councillor Jackie Dondack out there.
00:01:58.000 And ultimately, the great thing about City Council is that we don't always agree on everything.
00:02:05.000 But what is really amazing to have all of my colleagues here today is the fact that all of us agree on one thing.
00:02:13.000 And we agree on the fact that George Chahol has been an extraordinary City Council.
00:02:18.000 He's been a colleague, he's been a joy to work with.
00:02:24.000 And for those of us who live here in Northeast Calgary, we've seen the incredible changes that George has made as he's ably represented Ward 5.
00:02:34.000 The other thing that I want to say is I spent a lot of my time working with other governments.
00:02:40.000 Working with the government of Alberta, working with the government of Canada.
00:02:44.000 And I need to tell you all that Calgary is not well served by the way we vote federally.
00:02:51.000 One party takes us for granted, and the other party thinks there's no upside here.
00:02:57.000 And Prime Minister Trudeau has said to me many, many times that the difference for him in having Kent Hare and Amarjeet Sohi around the table,
00:03:08.000 and not having them around the table, has been extraordinary for the federal government's understanding of Alberta.
00:03:14.000 It's very important that we as Calgarians ensure that we have representation in all federal governments, regardless of what colour they may be.
00:03:23.000 Luckily, for us now, the choice is very easy.
00:03:28.000 Because we do have an extraordinary candidate who's decided to put on the red t-shirt.
00:03:35.000 Yeah!
00:03:36.000 You know George, I gotta tell you, this is sort of exciting speaking at a political rally.
00:03:41.000 I feel like maybe...
00:03:46.000 I've made a bad mistake.
00:03:49.000 I know.
00:03:50.000 No more speaking at a political rally.
00:03:52.000 Sorry, Jeff.
00:03:53.000 I've got a hundred people here, right?
00:03:55.000 I think it's signatures.
00:03:56.000 I've got 500.
00:03:59.000 I'll spot one.
00:04:00.000 Anyway, I'm kidding.
00:04:01.000 But I do want to say one thing, since George asked me to step up on the back of this pickup truck here.
00:04:06.000 I'll be a little bit self-indulgent.
00:04:08.000 My political career is coming to an end in just a couple of months.
00:04:13.000 And it has been an extraordinary 11 years.
00:04:18.000 An extraordinary 11 years of community building.
00:04:21.000 And I just want to say thank you to all of you.
00:04:23.000 I see so many familiar faces in this crowd who have personally supported me.
00:04:28.000 I see so many representatives of communities that have supported the work that we're doing throughout this campaign.
00:04:34.000 11 years ago, I stood in a crowd a little bigger than this indoors in a very sweaty, sweaty basement.
00:04:44.000 And I said, today Calgary is different than it was yesterday.
00:04:48.000 It's better than it was yesterday.
00:04:51.000 And it's not because of me.
00:04:54.000 It's because of you.
00:04:56.000 It's because Calgarians have determined that you can take a risk on a better future.
00:05:01.000 That you can dream of a better place.
00:05:05.000 And ultimately, that's what we stand for as Calgarians today.
00:05:10.000 And I've been talking all this time about that simple, simple promise of our community.
00:05:18.000 The promise that it doesn't matter what you look like or where you come from.
00:05:23.000 Regardless of how you worship or whom you love, you belong here.
00:05:31.000 You'll be safe here.
00:05:33.000 You're welcome here.
00:05:34.000 You and your children and your children's children will have the opportunity to build their dreams here.
00:05:41.000 Right here, right now, every one of us has the chance to live a great Canadian life.
00:05:48.000 So with that, to all of you who have served, to Councillor Farrell and Councillor Sutherland who are stepping down,
00:05:56.000 thank you for your service.
00:05:58.000 To all of you who are running for office now, and oh my gosh, there's a lot of you.
00:06:03.000 Councillor Davison.
00:06:04.000 Councillor Davison.
00:06:05.000 Councillor Davison.
00:06:06.000 Councillor Davison.
00:06:07.000 I just devoted you.
00:06:08.000 Jack Davison.
00:06:09.000 I see Tony Ginn here.
00:06:10.000 And I'm sure there are many others.
00:06:11.000 I saw Abed Harb in the room.
00:06:12.000 Thank you.
00:06:13.000 It's hard to run for office.
00:06:16.000 It's hard.
00:06:17.000 You make a lot of sacrifices for your family, for your profession, for your career.
00:06:22.000 And it means a lot that people of this quality are willing to put their names for it.
00:06:25.000 So thank you to all of you.
00:06:29.000 My parents came to this city in 19...
00:06:32.000 Well, actually, my parents came to Canada 50 years ago this week.
00:06:37.000 My mother was pregnant with me, so you can figure out how old I am.
00:06:42.000 And when they came to Calgary, there were very few South Asian families here.
00:06:47.000 And one of the first South Asian families my family came into contact with was the Chau Ho family.
00:06:54.000 And this is a family that embodies that word that is so important to all of us, Seba.
00:07:01.000 The idea of selfless service.
00:07:04.000 And I know today your dad and your mom are so proud of you.
00:07:08.000 I'm happy to see your brothers here and your whole family here.
00:07:11.000 But I gotta tell you, nobody embodies that Seba.
00:07:14.000 That selfless service.
00:07:16.000 That ability to make change for others better than this man right here.
00:07:21.000 So it is my pleasure to introduce all of you to an extraordinary city councillor.
00:07:26.000 And your next member, Carlton Calderon, said I'd be a pleasure to have you.
00:07:30.000 I'm not in order.
00:07:32.000 Watch him because you don't want to watch me fall off.
00:07:34.000 I'll see you on the floor.
00:07:36.000 I'll see you on the floor.
00:07:38.000 I'll see you on the floor.
00:07:40.000 I'll see you on the floor.
00:07:41.000 I'll see you on the floor.
00:07:42.000 Thanks for your hand.
00:07:43.000 Thank you.
00:07:44.000 Thank you.
00:07:45.000 I'm good.
00:07:46.000 Liberals.
00:07:47.000 It's great to see thousands, hundreds, maybe a thousand liberals here in Calgary Skyview
00:08:01.000 to support the kickoff of this campaign.
00:08:04.760 Thank you so much for joining me.
00:08:10.680 For taking with me to make me the next member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview.
00:08:15.160 It's been an honor and privilege for me to be born and raised in the city of Calgary,
00:08:21.000 born in Pembroke, raised in Saddle Ridge.
00:08:23.960 And I want to start by thanking Mayor Nenshi.
00:08:28.680 Mayor Nenshi, he's been an inspiration for so many Calgarians.
00:08:35.240 The hopes and dreams of a child thinking,
00:08:37.320 could I be Mayor or could I be Prime Minister?
00:08:39.880 You've seen it with Mayor Nenshi.
00:08:43.400 He's been dedicated for the last 10 years providing Calgarians with selfless service.
00:08:51.800 And I'm so grateful to have been a part of a council with your leadership.
00:08:56.360 And I want, if everybody could give him a round of applause.
00:09:04.920 I want to thank my municipal council colleagues, Jeff and Ward, who I see, and Drew.
00:09:09.960 I told John Cardo that, sorry Drew's here, she's my favourite councillor.
00:09:13.960 And he was, it's great to see all of you here to support me on this big step for me.
00:09:23.480 You know, over the last four years I've had a lot of great memories of working with all of you,
00:09:31.080 all of you in our community who want a better city, who want a safe city, who want more investment in Northeast Calgary.
00:09:39.960 So we wanted, I wanted to make sure that your voice was heard at City Council.
00:09:45.320 And with all of your help and support, we are able to make big changes to Northeast Calgary.
00:09:51.640 But we have a lot of work to do.
00:09:53.080 We need representation in Ottawa.
00:09:57.000 For too long, Conservatives have thought they could win a nomination and go campaign somewhere else.
00:10:08.600 Not to represent Calgarians.
00:10:11.800 We're here whenever an election gets called.
00:10:14.120 We've started early.
00:10:15.000 I've rolled up my sleeves.
00:10:16.760 I'm ready to work.
00:10:18.440 I'm ready to work today like we have for the last four years to make Northeast Calgary
00:10:23.080 and the City of Calgary a great place for everybody.
00:10:26.040 And until elections called, and I commit to you that the work they're starting today
00:10:31.000 does not stop after you elect me.
00:10:34.280 The work continues.
00:10:36.280 A lot of hard work we all have to do to make sure that we send a member from Calgary Skyview,
00:10:43.000 but we send other Liberals to represent all of us from Calgary and Alberta to send strong voices
00:10:49.240 to make sure we get strong representation in Ottawa.
00:10:54.200 I want to thank, and I'm not going to give a long speech because the Mayor spoke so eloquently.
00:11:00.200 I do want to thank my mom and my dad.
00:11:04.840 My mom's here somewhere.
00:11:06.200 Mom, where are you?
00:11:09.080 Mom's in the back.
00:11:09.880 Mom and Dad came here from the UK to provide me, my two brothers, and I wasn't there yet,
00:11:20.360 an opportunity.
00:11:21.240 And this, I'm blessed every day to be born and raised here in Calgary.
00:11:26.200 Campaigns, you can see everybody with the red shirt here, all these young people,
00:11:30.280 all our community members who have already thought, done towards,
00:11:34.520 have already given their time and energy in supporting me.
00:11:38.360 We need all of you to join us, and it's going to be a team effort to get us there.
00:11:44.200 And I need all of your help.
00:11:45.640 I need your support to come volunteer to Doorknock and also make sure that I'm focused
00:11:51.960 and prepared to do your work in Ottawa.
00:11:55.160 My wife is right here.
00:11:56.280 And kids, everybody from Rilesburg political office is supported by so many amazing people.
00:12:06.680 And my wife's been the pillar of support.
00:12:09.720 She's gotten her master's degree and she'll be coming soon a registered psychologist.
00:12:14.840 But she put her career on hold to support me and support me to serve the community of the city councilor
00:12:22.280 and to support my dream to be able to be your representative, your representative in Ottawa.
00:12:29.720 So I want to thank you, Amin, and my three girls.
00:12:32.440 Um, where are they?
00:12:37.240 Starting trouble somewhere.
00:12:38.280 Amita, who is 17.
00:12:42.440 Uh, come on.
00:12:43.320 Don't be shy.
00:12:44.280 Don't be shy.
00:12:45.000 Don't be shy.
00:12:45.560 Don't be shy.
00:12:46.600 Don't be shy.
00:12:47.160 Don't be shy.
00:12:47.720 Don't be shy.
00:12:48.600 Don't be shy.
00:12:51.160 I want to have three amazing daughters who are always there to support.
00:12:56.520 In my first campaign in 2007, she was three years old and she made a big prediction.
00:13:01.880 She said three.
00:13:03.240 Yes, I lost my 33 votes in 2007.
00:13:06.440 But we continued, um, state-focused and with their love and their support, I was successful in 2017.
00:13:17.880 And with their love and support, and with the love and support of all of you, um, we will make this seat red.
00:13:25.800 We will have a representative from Calgary Skyview for the Liberal Party in the Government of Canada.
00:13:32.040 And, uh, thank you so much for joining me.
00:13:39.000 This feels very great.
00:13:40.120 Uh, please say hello if you haven't had the chance to do so.
00:13:44.920 And I look forward to speaking and working with you in the days ahead.
00:13:49.160 Thank you so much.
00:13:49.880 I'm going to get in the trunk.
00:14:00.760 Thank you so much.