Western Standard - July 10, 2024


CMS： Nenshi desperately needs a seat


Episode Stats

Length

47 minutes

Words per Minute

180.75092

Word Count

8,627

Sentence Count

598

Misogynist Sentences

3

Hate Speech Sentences

9


Summary

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi is without a seat in the Alberta legislature, and he's not happy about it. Will he be able to find a way to get back into the chamber, or will he continue to wait for someone else to take his seat?


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Thank you.
00:00:30.000 Thank you.
00:01:00.000 Thank you.
00:01:30.000 Hey, I live rural. I raise bees. It's kind of a livestock, isn't it? I'll use that as my excuse. Anyways, good to see you guys checking in on the live anythings. A whole bunch of J's.
00:03:00.000 I expect a honeymoon with the electors and maybe even a bump in support, but this hasn't happened with the head Nenshi.
00:03:34.360 I think a gray will serve as the leader of the opposition while Nenshi remains on the outside looking in.
00:03:38.980 Many Albertans don't know who Nenshi really is. If a person isn't an avid CBC viewer or didn't live in Calgary during his reign as mayor, they really aren't too familiar with the guy, actually.
00:03:48.500 And it's going to take more than flipping some pancakes at rodeos to get people to know him.
00:03:52.020 The legislature is the natural place to establish himself as an opposition leader and potential future premier.
00:03:57.260 It's where Nenshi can hold the premier's feet to the fire on policies and where he can promote NDP motions.
00:04:02.020 It would keep him in the news scroll and establish him in the minds of Albertans as a possible premier in waiting.
00:04:07.380 But alas, for now, the best Nenshi can do is hang around the legislature atrium after sessions and hope that a reporter wants to speak with him.
00:04:15.120 With media outlets getting smaller, few, aside from the Western Standard, of course, have the resources to keep a reporter on site in the legislature full time.
00:04:22.460 Those other outlets garner their information from debates on bills and get video clips from the legislative session.
00:04:27.100 They don't sit in groups to scrum party leaders in the lobbies they used to.
00:04:29.980 Nenshi's a canny political player. He knows he's at a terrible disadvantage as a leader without a seat.
00:04:34.900 But for now, there's not a bloody thing he can do about it. It's beautiful.
00:04:37.920 Normally, somebody within a party would be willing to step aside from a safe seat for a new leader.
00:04:43.160 Clearly, right now, nobody within the NDP caucus is willing to do that for Nenshi.
00:04:46.860 Part of the problem is that Nenshi can't offer great incentives for an MLA to fall on their sword and give them their seat.
00:04:53.180 A party in power can offer all sorts of appointments to ensure an MLA taking one for the team has a soft landing.
00:04:57.780 A party in opposition is kind of limited when it comes to such political horse trading.
00:05:02.200 The safest seats for the NDP are in Edmonton.
00:05:04.680 There may be an MLA or two up there willing to step aside and make room for Nenshi, but it wouldn't be ideal for him.
00:05:09.380 If the NDP can't make gains in Calgary, they don't have a chance of winning the next election.
00:05:13.400 They want to keep Nenshi in Calgary where they hope to build a more solid base of support.
00:05:17.420 In Calgary, there are a few seats that would be considered safe, but the MLA sitting at them aren't going to move over for Nenshi.
00:05:22.700 This indicates Nenshi isn't as popular within the party ranks as some people might think.
00:05:26.500 I mean, sure, he won the leadership with an astounding level of support, but to get a seat, he needs some love coming from the old NDP stalwarts, and it doesn't appear to be there.
00:05:34.260 While Lethbridge West is open and will be holding a by-election soon, it's far from a safe seat for Nenshi.
00:05:38.700 He could possibly run and lose down there, but that would cause some pretty deep embarrassment.
00:05:43.360 He's better off to bide his time than take such a risk.
00:05:45.900 It's still going to be more than three years until the next general election, and Nenshi's surely going to find his way into the legislature before then.
00:05:50.820 But he isn't riding the wave of popularity that the legacy media implies, though, and he needs every advantage he can get.
00:05:57.220 With every month, he sits forlornly outside the legislature begging for attention, while another MLA serves as opposition leader.
00:06:04.520 Nenshi's just going to look weaker and weaker.
00:06:06.200 Being seatless right now is an inconvenience for Nenshi, but the quest for his seat is going to turn into one into desperation pretty soon if he doesn't get a chance to pursue it soon.
00:06:13.180 So, sit back and watch. Let's see if he can buy the love of another NDP member soon.
00:06:18.540 All right, that's enough out of me.
00:06:20.020 Oh, by the way, just a hat tip to the folks at the barbecue I was at last night for the Banff-Canon-Ascos constituency.
00:06:27.020 That's where I live, and it was amazing.
00:06:28.680 There had to be at least a dozen MLAs and a couple of MPs there.
00:06:32.560 Unfortunately, we're a rural seat, but we do have an NDP member, and as we can see, though, the party is trying very hard to change that around.
00:06:39.700 Banff and Canmore are the hardest parts to do it.
00:06:41.340 Met some great folks from Banff and a few others there, so we'll see what happens.
00:06:45.120 All right, let's turn to see what else is going on in the news.
00:06:46.900 We've got Jen Hodgson in the studio today, as Dave couldn't make it, but that's fine.
00:06:51.220 And, yes, you've been hard at it.
00:06:52.840 What are the top stories dominating the Western Standard site these days, Jen?
00:06:56.920 Hey, Corey.
00:06:57.700 So, hard at it, but not too hard at it since it's the opening days of the Stampede, so...
00:07:02.200 Where's your cowboy hat?
00:07:03.200 I left it in the newsroom.
00:07:04.860 I should have dashed out at the last minute.
00:07:06.760 This is Calgary blasphemy.
00:07:07.620 I'll be putting it on later when I head out and go down to the grounds.
00:07:10.580 So, today we have Trudeau.
00:07:12.920 He's visiting with NATO.
00:07:14.540 He was speaking at an event at the Canadian Embassy during the NATO Summit this week,
00:07:20.580 and he was talking about climate change and how that is actually Canada's most, quote, existential threat,
00:07:28.060 not just because of the environment, but also the security issues that are around that.
00:07:32.460 But, speaking of security issues and NATO, Trudeau simultaneously is raked through the coals at NATO by U.S. Senators, UK media,
00:07:42.480 for failing to meet the 2% pledge that, as a NATO member country, Canada is expected to meet this requirement of having 2% of the GDP.
00:07:52.880 So, there's a lot of scrutiny internationally, unfortunately, faced at Canada because we have failed to meet up to that,
00:08:00.440 and Trudeau is still trumpeting how well our defense spending is going,
00:08:05.680 while Minister, Defense Minister Bill Blair, he actually inflated the numbers for the defense spending.
00:08:13.860 Yeah, they can promise all they like.
00:08:15.700 They've actually got to cut a check at some point.
00:08:18.060 Yeah.
00:08:18.420 And he's not willing to do that.
00:08:19.660 I mean, he's not afraid to spend money on things he likes.
00:08:22.500 When he's dragging his heels on this, his little pointy heels,
00:08:26.180 he honestly just doesn't want to invest in defense.
00:08:28.160 Well, you would think as defense minister, that would be something he likes.
00:08:31.160 Yeah.
00:08:32.220 Well, his boss is stuck on walk issues.
00:08:35.260 That's right.
00:08:36.460 Well, and so, speaking of problematic Liberal MPs,
00:08:39.680 we have another Liberal MP who is being investigated for conflict of interest.
00:08:44.760 We have the Ethics Committee calling a special meeting next week,
00:08:48.540 even though Parliament is on summer session,
00:08:51.580 to investigate Liberal MP Randy Boissoneau.
00:08:57.280 Boissoneau is a major shareholder in a medical supply,
00:09:01.380 a medical supplier that was contracted by the federal government
00:09:04.920 during the pandemic era.
00:09:06.980 And some partners, the business partners,
00:09:09.700 were discussing Randy in text messages,
00:09:13.000 although Boissoneau denies that it was actually him
00:09:16.300 and says, well, it must be some other Randy.
00:09:18.460 Well, there's so many Randys.
00:09:19.560 So many Randys, yeah.
00:09:21.440 I'm sure his company has at least 20 Randys with him.
00:09:23.420 Oh, that's right.
00:09:24.100 Especially a company of maybe about 20 people in itself,
00:09:27.220 all named Randy.
00:09:28.300 And so, going on as well to the spy scandal,
00:09:34.320 so that we saw recently on Parliament Hill last month
00:09:37.300 that conveniently when summer session went on break,
00:09:42.580 the subject wasn't as animatedly discussed.
00:09:46.160 However, the Quebec RCMP is very interested to find out more
00:09:50.480 about the Chinese foreign interference.
00:09:53.520 And they put out a release yesterday
00:09:55.640 saying that they're looking for the public's help
00:09:58.840 to really narrow down
00:10:01.000 where is this Chinese interference coming from.
00:10:03.740 So anyone who's being harassed
00:10:05.760 or threatened by Chinese agents,
00:10:08.840 they're asked to report it to the police.
00:10:11.520 And also law enforcement in Montreal and Long Gai
00:10:15.580 are hosting open forum meetings next week.
00:10:21.180 Or actually, it might even be this week coming up already
00:10:24.300 to inform the public more
00:10:27.180 about the threat of China on Canada.
00:10:29.100 So at least the Quebec RCMP is at least talking about it.
00:10:32.320 We haven't seen as much from our politicians.
00:10:34.140 That's what it's down to.
00:10:35.060 The Quebec RCMP, well, at least somebody's paying attention.
00:10:38.220 Yeah, that's right.
00:10:39.380 At least someone.
00:10:39.900 I was thinking the same thing.
00:10:41.060 And a couple other things.
00:10:42.840 So there's been a global privacy sweep
00:10:45.100 of various apps and websites.
00:10:47.920 Alberta Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
00:10:50.960 was in on that sweep.
00:10:52.300 And it actually found many deceptive patterns
00:10:55.280 in the way that websites and apps
00:10:58.340 try to get people to put in their personal information.
00:11:02.700 So they'll complicate the process
00:11:05.260 for accessing privacy policies.
00:11:08.120 They'll delete accounts, logging out,
00:11:09.820 and you'll have to add more personal information
00:11:11.840 to restore your account.
00:11:13.460 So some problems with that.
00:11:15.080 And finally, Corey, our Alberta power supply.
00:11:17.960 We're looking at another threat this week.
00:11:20.200 It's been a hot week here in Calgary for the stampede.
00:11:23.400 And so now there's some warnings out from the government
00:11:25.680 to lower your use of energy.
00:11:28.540 And this comes right on the heels, of course,
00:11:30.740 as we all know of the water crisis
00:11:33.280 that we faced in recent weeks
00:11:34.860 and the warning of rolling blackouts this past January.
00:11:38.100 It says a lot, you know, we're the richest province
00:11:40.480 in the country in many, many ways,
00:11:42.140 but yet we're suffering these shortcomings.
00:11:43.620 That's right.
00:11:44.180 And Stephen Gabor was trumpeting,
00:11:46.120 look at that, Alberta has stopped coal use early.
00:11:48.980 Yeah, and now we have blackouts, you pinhead.
00:11:51.540 Yeah, that's a great example, doesn't it?
00:11:53.620 What not to do.
00:11:54.620 Yeah, I mean, hey, we want to ease off things,
00:11:56.900 but it's just never enough for the climate obsessed.
00:11:59.600 Oh, well, interesting times.
00:12:01.400 People in Calgary are getting pretty grouchy.
00:12:02.860 You can't have your air conditioning,
00:12:03.940 can't have your water,
00:12:04.920 can't flush your toilet more than once.
00:12:06.700 Well, I think they've improved that now.
00:12:08.220 Yeah, now finally, yeah.
00:12:09.620 You can set the brown down, that's nice.
00:12:11.600 But boy, what a summer.
00:12:13.420 Yeah, what a summer.
00:12:14.300 Thanks for the updates.
00:12:15.300 I'll let you go find your cowboy hat
00:12:16.700 and carry on with the coverage.
00:12:18.800 Thank you, Corey.
00:12:19.400 All right.
00:12:20.940 So that was Jen Hodgson.
00:12:22.300 Yes, you look, see those very prolific stories
00:12:24.320 from Jen all over the site there.
00:12:26.720 Jonathan Bradley and others, of course,
00:12:28.220 are always putting lots out there.
00:12:29.720 And Sean, we'll be checking in with him
00:12:31.080 in a little while.
00:12:32.000 The reason we can do that, guys,
00:12:33.360 the reason we can afford to
00:12:34.500 is because you've been subscribing.
00:12:36.300 We're subscriber-based, not subsidy-based.
00:12:38.660 So we don't ask for tax dollars.
00:12:40.360 And you know, the government's not really
00:12:41.480 in a rush to offer them to us.
00:12:42.700 But all the same, that makes us accountable to you.
00:12:45.420 So if you haven't subscribed yet,
00:12:47.340 come on, guys.
00:12:48.100 Get on there.
00:12:48.780 Westernstandard.news slash subscription.
00:12:50.660 Take one out, $9.99 a month,
00:12:52.080 $100 a year,
00:12:53.040 just like when you used to get the newspaper
00:12:54.180 to your door.
00:12:54.980 Then you can get past that pesky paywall
00:12:56.940 and get to all those stories
00:12:58.460 and coverages going on out there.
00:12:59.740 So if you subscribed already,
00:13:00.880 thank you very much.
00:13:01.580 We really do appreciate it.
00:13:03.660 It keeps us independent
00:13:04.440 and it keeps us rolling on these things.
00:13:06.840 And again, if you haven't subscribed yet,
00:13:08.280 I'm going to keep nagging you
00:13:09.040 because that's how we pay those bills.
00:13:12.720 All right.
00:13:13.180 Yeah, we got...
00:13:14.160 I don't know.
00:13:15.380 It's just dark comedy
00:13:17.220 watching Justin Trudeau
00:13:20.100 with his behavior in NATO.
00:13:23.840 He knows.
00:13:24.640 I mean, he has to know.
00:13:26.060 They've been upset with him for years.
00:13:27.880 And I said in a recent piece I wrote,
00:13:30.240 I mean, this was prior to Justin Trudeau even.
00:13:33.540 Canada's been neglecting to pay its fair share
00:13:35.640 into defense spending for years
00:13:37.800 for multiple governments.
00:13:39.180 And we're not talking about
00:13:40.360 sending more money overseas to other nations.
00:13:42.960 We're just talking about spending that much
00:13:45.100 on our domestic defense
00:13:46.320 so as to be a properly contributing member of NATO.
00:13:50.320 And I know some people get upset with things
00:13:51.920 and everything.
00:13:52.220 I'm not going to go into that whole debate.
00:13:53.840 But I tell you what,
00:13:54.720 NATO is important.
00:13:55.620 Russia is on an expansionist trip right now.
00:13:59.300 And the best defense is to have
00:14:01.420 a strong number of allies
00:14:03.880 properly invested
00:14:04.960 with decent defensive capabilities
00:14:08.440 to at least stand as a deterrent.
00:14:14.040 But right now, Canada is at like 1.3% of GDP.
00:14:17.320 And what does Trudeau do?
00:14:18.520 He gets up there and gives them a lecture
00:14:20.120 on climate change.
00:14:22.060 They don't care.
00:14:23.280 I don't think anybody in Ukraine really cares
00:14:26.320 about what the temperature is tomorrow.
00:14:28.060 They're worried about getting blown into obliteration.
00:14:31.400 But no, Trudeau lectures him.
00:14:33.040 And that tone,
00:14:33.920 oh, if you really want to torture yourself,
00:14:35.540 listen to his presentation.
00:14:36.840 That wasn't what they wanted to hear.
00:14:38.740 And he's getting pilloried by the UK,
00:14:41.240 by the Americans.
00:14:42.180 Even Cocaine Mitch put a tweet out
00:14:44.220 saying Justin Trudeau and Canada,
00:14:46.540 you know, their northern neighbors,
00:14:47.700 need to step up and spend
00:14:49.780 what they're obligated to
00:14:51.620 if they want to take part in NATO.
00:14:53.260 Jordan is saying NATO's done for.
00:14:55.120 Whatever.
00:14:55.940 You know, the bottom line is,
00:14:57.340 I know there's a lot of debate on that.
00:14:58.480 There's some people who cuckily think
00:14:59.660 that Putin's not a lunatic.
00:15:02.000 But all the same,
00:15:03.400 even if we want out of NATO, fine.
00:15:05.940 But we still should be keeping
00:15:07.640 our defensive forces properly funded
00:15:09.700 and modern and so forth.
00:15:11.740 All right, well, let's get on to our guest
00:15:12.760 and on to something different
00:15:13.460 where we've really been making
00:15:14.420 a nice mess nationally, too.
00:15:15.740 And that's with Safer Supply.
00:15:17.500 I've got Adam Zivo back.
00:15:18.620 I've been looking forward to it.
00:15:19.500 Thank you very much for joining us again today, Adam.
00:15:21.640 I'm certain we'll be able to hear
00:15:22.800 each other this time, right?
00:15:24.100 Yeah, I can hear you just well.
00:15:25.300 Thanks for having me back on the show.
00:15:27.360 So, I mean, I've been watching
00:15:29.280 with interest on social media.
00:15:30.360 Boy, you cover a lot of things
00:15:31.720 and it's fantastic out there.
00:15:33.480 But the one I do want to discuss
00:15:35.060 has been the safer supply,
00:15:38.740 almost, I say it is a cult-like advocacy.
00:15:41.540 I mean, the people who are pushing for this,
00:15:43.640 just the advocates are getting so extreme,
00:15:48.280 I mean, to the point of looking
00:15:49.340 to sabotage conferences,
00:15:51.120 coming after you,
00:15:52.960 and just a refusal to look at
00:15:54.680 the consequences of these policies.
00:15:57.000 What's going on out there, Adam?
00:15:58.700 Well, I mean, it's a long story,
00:16:00.540 but what I have to say is that
00:16:01.640 addiction policymaking in Canada
00:16:03.460 is dominated by a clique of activists
00:16:05.860 and activist-minded researchers
00:16:07.580 who for 20 years
00:16:09.300 have been championing
00:16:10.440 this radical harm reduction ideology
00:16:12.900 that has helped,
00:16:15.920 well, I mean, facilitated countless deaths
00:16:18.500 because we're really not solving
00:16:19.740 this addiction crisis.
00:16:20.960 They claim to be evidence-based.
00:16:22.800 They're often not.
00:16:23.680 Their definition of evidence
00:16:24.720 is quite questionable.
00:16:26.360 For example, many of the studies
00:16:27.880 that they have,
00:16:28.480 which support safer supply,
00:16:30.120 amount to just interviews
00:16:31.360 with drug users
00:16:32.520 who are on this program.
00:16:34.560 And then the answers
00:16:36.620 given to those interviews
00:16:37.360 are framed as objective proof
00:16:39.500 that it's working.
00:16:40.620 So imagine, for example,
00:16:41.400 you go up to a drug user
00:16:42.420 who is receiving free opioids
00:16:44.060 and we say,
00:16:44.700 oh, you know,
00:16:45.220 do you like this program?
00:16:46.140 Is it benefiting you?
00:16:47.440 Are you selling the drugs?
00:16:48.600 And the guy says,
00:16:49.240 oh, yeah, it's great.
00:16:50.080 It's wonderful.
00:16:50.800 Of course, I would never sell the drugs.
00:16:52.200 And if I do,
00:16:52.620 it's only out of compassion.
00:16:53.420 There's no downsides.
00:16:54.480 And the researchers say,
00:16:55.600 oh, yeah, you know what?
00:16:56.580 We're going to believe him
00:16:57.400 and we need to expand safer supply
00:16:59.760 because this is evidence
00:17:00.920 that this is true
00:17:01.800 and this is evidence-based policymaking.
00:17:04.260 And it's just absurd.
00:17:05.260 I mean, if it worked,
00:17:05.940 if we could see results,
00:17:06.840 if we could see people's lives
00:17:08.380 really being saved,
00:17:09.360 if we could see a decline in overdoses,
00:17:11.540 a reduction in addiction,
00:17:13.280 I'd support it too.
00:17:14.720 But we're just not seeing it.
00:17:16.400 We're really not.
00:17:17.140 And here's the thing
00:17:18.040 is that the largest study
00:17:19.980 ever conducted on safer supply
00:17:21.600 was published in January
00:17:24.460 and it was published
00:17:25.340 in the British Medical Journal
00:17:26.340 and it claimed
00:17:27.340 that safer supply led
00:17:29.180 to a 55 to 91% reduction
00:17:31.460 in overdose deaths.
00:17:32.600 But I reviewed the evidence
00:17:34.260 and the underlying data
00:17:35.380 with a team of six physicians,
00:17:36.820 all who have a background
00:17:37.960 in addiction medicine,
00:17:39.220 all of who are distinguished.
00:17:41.020 And we realized
00:17:42.020 that the researchers
00:17:43.000 actually fudged
00:17:44.700 their interpretation
00:17:45.600 of this data
00:17:46.460 and that when you actually did,
00:17:48.580 when you actually fully filtered out
00:17:49.940 confounding effects
00:17:50.860 and measured long-term outcomes,
00:17:53.240 safer supply
00:17:53.860 had no statistically significant
00:17:55.940 impact on death.
00:17:57.920 So essentially,
00:17:59.300 these researchers
00:18:00.000 found this robust data
00:18:02.300 that showed that
00:18:02.960 safer supply didn't work
00:18:04.240 and then they misrepresented
00:18:06.460 the data to imply
00:18:07.320 that it did.
00:18:07.980 And I think that
00:18:08.420 that's deeply unethical.
00:18:10.320 Absolutely.
00:18:11.160 But what I don't understand,
00:18:12.880 as I said,
00:18:13.240 is the almost religious
00:18:14.620 like hang-up advocates
00:18:16.080 have with it
00:18:17.220 to the point of,
00:18:18.400 again,
00:18:19.020 I was just shocked
00:18:19.660 when you wrote that piece
00:18:20.840 about they were looking
00:18:21.380 to even dye the water
00:18:23.240 in a fountain red
00:18:24.660 or do things like,
00:18:26.060 where are these people
00:18:27.240 coming from?
00:18:27.840 Why are they so fixated on this?
00:18:30.320 I mean,
00:18:30.640 I understand compassion
00:18:31.900 and concern,
00:18:32.640 then why aren't they
00:18:33.480 looking at evidence-based
00:18:34.640 instead of this strange
00:18:36.680 obsession with this?
00:18:38.040 Well, I mean,
00:18:38.380 there's different groups here,
00:18:39.300 right?
00:18:39.660 So I feel the most compassion
00:18:41.580 for the grassroots organizers
00:18:42.940 who are dealing with addiction
00:18:45.020 every single day
00:18:45.900 and who are watching
00:18:46.800 their friends
00:18:48.300 and associates die.
00:18:49.980 That's really traumatizing.
00:18:51.260 We've seen such a rise in death
00:18:53.840 over the past 10 years
00:18:55.080 that it's understandable
00:18:56.940 that these activists
00:18:58.180 are desperate in a way
00:18:59.460 and they are searching
00:19:00.740 for anything
00:19:01.560 which could potentially
00:19:02.480 save their friends' lives.
00:19:04.680 But when you're
00:19:05.680 in that kind of mind space,
00:19:07.480 sometimes you're willing
00:19:08.440 to make compromises
00:19:09.580 and you are willing
00:19:12.580 to believe,
00:19:13.580 to really delude yourself
00:19:16.200 into thinking
00:19:16.700 that something like
00:19:17.420 Safer Supply
00:19:18.120 is an effective intervention
00:19:20.580 when in reality it's not.
00:19:22.560 I think also
00:19:23.460 there's a lack
00:19:25.120 of understanding
00:19:25.900 of the weakness
00:19:27.360 of the evidence-based
00:19:28.320 and Safer Supply
00:19:29.080 many Safer Supply
00:19:30.480 advocates think
00:19:32.260 that these studies
00:19:33.320 are legitimate
00:19:33.860 but once again
00:19:35.160 when you break them down
00:19:36.080 you find that oftentimes
00:19:37.120 they have really
00:19:38.000 weak methodologies
00:19:38.980 or really strange
00:19:40.740 interpretations of data.
00:19:42.740 Yeah, and some of the stuff
00:19:44.780 we can see is anecdotal
00:19:45.760 but people getting out
00:19:46.620 and being on the streets
00:19:48.360 paradoxically,
00:19:48.960 one of the commenters saying
00:19:49.740 and yeah,
00:19:50.020 and Calgary's Beltline.
00:19:51.020 I mean, it's just horrific.
00:19:52.020 It's dystopian.
00:19:53.340 And we know that Vancouver
00:19:54.360 of course has really been
00:19:55.500 the epicenter of it
00:19:56.420 but the failure
00:19:58.300 unfortunately
00:19:59.000 of current policies
00:20:00.100 and I don't think
00:20:00.620 anybody's really found
00:20:01.200 a solution yet
00:20:02.180 but we just know
00:20:02.860 there's a tragic
00:20:03.760 horrific problem
00:20:04.620 of addiction
00:20:05.060 going on out there
00:20:05.980 but some of it's been exposed.
00:20:08.260 I mean, there was a recent piece
00:20:09.220 I'm forgetting
00:20:10.060 which one it was now
00:20:10.820 it was I think from the UK
00:20:12.080 but I mean,
00:20:12.700 it was some photojournalism
00:20:13.880 and some fantastic work
00:20:14.940 just to bring it home
00:20:16.040 for people who perhaps
00:20:16.900 don't get out of the suburbs
00:20:17.840 or don't get out of rural areas
00:20:18.980 just to see
00:20:19.760 how awful
00:20:20.920 and terrible
00:20:22.140 this addiction epidemic is.
00:20:23.620 I mean,
00:20:23.800 how it's eating people
00:20:24.720 alive out there.
00:20:25.560 Well, I mean,
00:20:26.220 that's the thing
00:20:26.700 is that we have to all
00:20:27.580 recognize the fact
00:20:28.400 that this is a real crisis
00:20:29.620 that is taking thousands
00:20:31.040 of lives every single year.
00:20:33.820 Overdose is now
00:20:34.740 drug-related death
00:20:35.800 like the leading cause
00:20:37.120 of death
00:20:37.600 for youth in BC
00:20:39.940 and our governments
00:20:42.240 are saying
00:20:43.020 that they're taking this seriously
00:20:44.440 but they're not.
00:20:46.520 We don't have significant investment
00:20:48.320 into treatment capacity
00:20:49.300 in BC, for example.
00:20:50.760 It takes a very long time
00:20:51.960 to get into detox.
00:20:53.160 It takes a very long time
00:20:53.780 to get into a rehab center.
00:20:55.980 Same thing in Ontario.
00:20:57.420 In Alberta,
00:20:58.120 it's much better
00:20:58.660 because the,
00:21:00.120 well, Daniel Smith
00:21:00.700 has been investing heavily
00:21:02.080 into treatment services
00:21:03.620 but it's still not
00:21:04.260 where it needs to be.
00:21:05.960 So we constantly talk about,
00:21:07.600 you know,
00:21:07.880 this illicit drug crisis
00:21:09.440 and all of these overdoses
00:21:10.500 but it's really rhetoric.
00:21:12.120 There's no real action here.
00:21:14.220 And even these big interventions
00:21:16.400 like, you know,
00:21:16.920 safe supply.
00:21:17.760 People say
00:21:18.200 it's the compassionate thing.
00:21:19.980 Unfortunately,
00:21:20.420 it is actually
00:21:21.860 just the lazy solution.
00:21:23.320 It is the cheap solution
00:21:24.340 because getting people better,
00:21:27.200 giving them
00:21:27.680 the comprehensive supports,
00:21:29.820 the housing supports,
00:21:30.800 the employment supports,
00:21:32.200 the counseling
00:21:32.860 needed for them
00:21:33.920 to reclaim their lives
00:21:35.160 is expensive
00:21:36.460 and complicated.
00:21:37.700 It's much easier
00:21:38.660 and much cheaper
00:21:39.760 just to give people
00:21:41.080 a bottle of pills every day
00:21:42.400 so they can go
00:21:43.020 kill themselves slowly.
00:21:44.740 Yeah.
00:21:45.340 And then
00:21:45.720 not only is it not effective
00:21:47.300 in getting people,
00:21:48.520 you know,
00:21:48.880 off of their addictions
00:21:49.940 that are slowly killing them.
00:21:51.860 When we get diversion of these,
00:21:53.840 the risk now
00:21:54.580 and there's evidence
00:21:55.340 starting to show
00:21:56.220 that it's actually causing harm.
00:21:58.540 It's creating new addicts
00:22:00.100 which is even more devastating.
00:22:01.840 I mean,
00:22:01.960 it's bad enough
00:22:02.340 to have a policy
00:22:02.880 that's ineffective
00:22:03.500 but this policy
00:22:04.720 could very well
00:22:05.700 be making things worse.
00:22:07.040 Oh yeah,
00:22:07.320 no though,
00:22:07.640 the safer supply policy
00:22:08.860 is obviously exacerbating
00:22:10.500 the addiction crisis
00:22:11.320 in Canada.
00:22:12.620 And so for viewers
00:22:13.760 who haven't been following
00:22:14.600 the safer supplies
00:22:15.380 this idea
00:22:15.860 that we give out
00:22:16.780 pharmaceutical alternatives
00:22:17.840 to elicit street drugs
00:22:18.900 let's say Corey gets addicted
00:22:20.900 to fentanyl
00:22:21.900 because he's really stressed,
00:22:23.060 you know,
00:22:23.320 running this show.
00:22:24.480 He needs something
00:22:25.180 to take the edge off.
00:22:26.560 So Corey,
00:22:27.420 you're addicted to fentanyl.
00:22:28.420 You buy your fentanyl
00:22:29.160 off the street.
00:22:29.900 It could be contaminated
00:22:30.800 with xylazine,
00:22:32.420 with other forms of fentanyl
00:22:34.260 like car fentanyl
00:22:35.100 which is much stronger.
00:22:36.400 The dosage is unpredictable.
00:22:38.160 So there's easily,
00:22:39.720 you could easily die
00:22:40.580 from buying drugs
00:22:41.320 off the street.
00:22:42.300 So the idea here
00:22:43.360 is that we give you
00:22:44.460 drugs of a known potency
00:22:46.380 and of a known purity.
00:22:48.020 So pharmaceutical drugs
00:22:49.380 to keep you alive
00:22:50.400 until you're ready
00:22:50.980 to seek treatment.
00:22:52.120 Sure.
00:22:52.800 That sounds great in theory.
00:22:55.040 In practice though,
00:22:56.540 the drug we give,
00:22:57.660 hydromorphone,
00:22:58.420 it's as potent as heroin.
00:23:00.900 But fentanyl
00:23:02.240 is 50 times stronger.
00:23:04.140 So Corey,
00:23:04.760 if you get a bottle
00:23:05.720 of hydromorphone
00:23:06.400 and you take it,
00:23:07.120 it's not going to do
00:23:07.700 anything for you.
00:23:08.420 It's too weak.
00:23:09.760 And so you do
00:23:10.720 the rational thing
00:23:11.820 that any person
00:23:12.500 would do in the situation.
00:23:13.940 You sell your hydromorphone,
00:23:15.360 at rock bottom prices
00:23:16.900 because you got it for free
00:23:18.060 and you use that money
00:23:19.380 to buy your drug of choice,
00:23:20.620 which is fentanyl.
00:23:21.860 So not only
00:23:23.200 is this program
00:23:24.100 not mitigating
00:23:25.380 the illicit fentanyl market,
00:23:27.000 it's subsidizing it.
00:23:28.520 And it would actually
00:23:29.320 make more sense
00:23:30.440 for us just to give you cash,
00:23:32.620 right?
00:23:33.740 But to buy your fentanyl.
00:23:35.560 But at this point,
00:23:36.740 because you're selling this,
00:23:38.300 you are flooding communities
00:23:39.640 with hydromorphone.
00:23:40.640 So essentially,
00:23:41.560 government heroin.
00:23:42.320 And then because
00:23:44.260 experienced drug users
00:23:45.260 don't want it,
00:23:46.000 it goes to people
00:23:46.600 who are opioid naive.
00:23:47.860 It goes to kids.
00:23:49.100 It goes to people
00:23:49.740 in recovery.
00:23:50.980 The kids will take it
00:23:51.980 because they don't know
00:23:52.620 what it is.
00:23:53.620 You know,
00:23:53.840 it's a pill at a party.
00:23:55.040 They're told it's a
00:23:55.760 prescription pain medication.
00:23:57.420 It's safe.
00:23:58.140 It's from the government.
00:23:58.980 Then they get hooked.
00:23:59.840 Then they graduate
00:24:00.520 onto fentanyl
00:24:01.160 and it kills them.
00:24:02.160 This is an absolute disaster.
00:24:04.600 And something else,
00:24:05.440 Jordan,
00:24:05.780 one of my commenters
00:24:06.480 pointed out,
00:24:07.060 which is another thing,
00:24:07.840 you know,
00:24:07.940 we're getting hints of
00:24:08.800 there might be some people
00:24:10.300 with a vested interest
00:24:11.200 in business interests
00:24:12.860 in being part
00:24:13.940 of the dispersal
00:24:15.320 of the safer supply.
00:24:16.580 I mean,
00:24:16.700 that's kind of a different
00:24:17.340 rabbit hole to go down.
00:24:18.480 But unfortunately,
00:24:19.060 some people are finding
00:24:19.740 themselves with a financial
00:24:21.160 interest in the status quo,
00:24:22.520 which is morbid,
00:24:23.800 but another thing
00:24:24.780 to look into.
00:24:25.940 Well,
00:24:26.080 I mean,
00:24:26.240 the problem here
00:24:27.040 is that like clinics
00:24:28.700 can make a lot of money
00:24:29.560 by prescribing safer supply.
00:24:31.000 You have people coming in.
00:24:31.960 You have your patients
00:24:32.800 coming in all the time
00:24:33.940 to get their safer supply
00:24:34.740 prescriptions
00:24:35.320 versus if you put them
00:24:37.280 on sublocate,
00:24:38.000 for example,
00:24:38.480 which is a once a month shot.
00:24:39.720 The pharmacies are making
00:24:41.180 an absolute killing
00:24:42.420 because they dispense
00:24:43.540 the safer supply
00:24:44.480 every single day.
00:24:45.340 So you're paying,
00:24:45.860 you're charging a dispensing fee
00:24:47.000 every single day
00:24:48.100 for every single patient.
00:24:49.820 One doctor I spoke with
00:24:51.080 estimated that a single pharmacy
00:24:52.780 can make $1 million a year
00:24:55.040 off of 100 patients.
00:24:57.840 So yeah,
00:24:58.480 Shoppers Drug Mart,
00:24:59.240 for example,
00:24:59.840 gave about $2 million
00:25:00.800 to the BC Center
00:25:02.020 for Substance Use
00:25:03.080 to encourage them
00:25:05.280 to create like training programs
00:25:06.860 for safer supply.
00:25:07.580 And I think that's a huge
00:25:08.200 conflict of interest.
00:25:09.720 Purdue Pharma,
00:25:11.260 which was the,
00:25:12.700 you know,
00:25:13.040 really awful company
00:25:14.160 that was behind
00:25:15.320 the OxyContin crisis
00:25:16.420 and started this whole
00:25:17.680 opioid addiction
00:25:18.200 in the first place,
00:25:19.100 this crisis.
00:25:21.000 They produce Dilaudid,
00:25:22.960 which is the brand version
00:25:24.200 of hydromorphone.
00:25:25.240 So they are making
00:25:26.120 a lot of money
00:25:26.680 off of this as well.
00:25:27.760 And I'm aware of the fact
00:25:29.080 that they are currently
00:25:29.860 lobbying some governments
00:25:31.560 about safer supply.
00:25:33.180 I still need to fully
00:25:34.040 investigate that.
00:25:35.640 So yeah,
00:25:36.360 there's a lot of pharma
00:25:37.280 money involved here,
00:25:38.120 which I think
00:25:38.500 is really concerning.
00:25:40.300 And I guess something
00:25:40.940 that has to be,
00:25:41.720 you know,
00:25:41.860 you put it out as well.
00:25:42.780 I mean,
00:25:43.080 full treatment,
00:25:44.060 the counseling,
00:25:44.840 the housing,
00:25:45.660 the time,
00:25:46.320 it's very expensive.
00:25:47.700 You need facilities,
00:25:49.160 you need trained staff,
00:25:50.280 you need resources.
00:25:51.780 Alberta's working
00:25:52.440 along that course,
00:25:53.500 but I actually have
00:25:54.960 a family member
00:25:55.680 who's been in and out
00:25:56.500 of rehab once now
00:25:57.640 and it didn't work.
00:26:00.400 It could take multiple visits
00:26:01.960 and they say,
00:26:03.540 yes,
00:26:03.780 you certainly are addicted,
00:26:05.240 you would qualify,
00:26:06.340 come back in 30 days
00:26:07.420 and we'll probably
00:26:07.900 have a bed for you.
00:26:08.760 But unfortunately,
00:26:09.460 living on the streets
00:26:10.340 for 30 days,
00:26:11.980 you know,
00:26:12.780 your chances aren't
00:26:13.520 looking very good at all.
00:26:15.820 But I guess people
00:26:16.320 have to realize
00:26:16.880 that the investment
00:26:17.540 in these facilities too,
00:26:18.580 as expensive as they sound,
00:26:19.700 we're still paying
00:26:20.580 because the person
00:26:21.140 I'm speaking of
00:26:21.760 was in and out
00:26:22.540 of conventional hospitals,
00:26:23.800 chronically,
00:26:24.400 in and out of shelters.
00:26:26.100 Often people are
00:26:26.880 in and out of jail.
00:26:27.900 We're paying anyway.
00:26:29.420 So we can spend
00:26:30.420 those dollars better
00:26:31.240 if we're trying at least,
00:26:32.480 even if there's
00:26:33.100 a limited success rate
00:26:34.380 in rehab.
00:26:36.000 But hopefully,
00:26:37.040 we're starting to realize that.
00:26:38.380 I mean, in BC,
00:26:38.940 they've gotten rid of the,
00:26:40.260 you know,
00:26:40.460 reality seems to be
00:26:41.720 sinking into that government.
00:26:43.140 Yeah.
00:26:43.460 Well, that's the thing.
00:26:44.360 As you said,
00:26:45.380 our capacity here
00:26:47.540 is quite limited, right?
00:26:48.480 So if someone has to wait
00:26:49.400 30 days to get into rehab,
00:26:50.980 then that's going to be,
00:26:52.120 that's going to make it
00:26:52.580 very hard for them
00:26:53.280 to get better
00:26:53.780 because you make that decision,
00:26:55.080 you want to get better,
00:26:56.000 but then you have to,
00:26:56.660 you have to wait 30 days
00:26:57.740 while you're going to start
00:26:58.340 using during that period.
00:26:59.640 And then in 30 days,
00:27:00.600 you may not want to go to rehab.
00:27:01.740 Um, it costs a lot
00:27:03.860 to do all of this.
00:27:05.040 Uh, as you said,
00:27:06.700 we're already paying a lot.
00:27:08.600 You know,
00:27:08.860 our healthcare system
00:27:10.440 is strained to the max.
00:27:12.620 And part of it
00:27:13.640 is because we have
00:27:14.320 a small number
00:27:14.920 of severely addicted people
00:27:16.360 who are visiting hospitals
00:27:18.480 again and again
00:27:19.520 and again and again.
00:27:20.660 So it would be
00:27:22.520 fiscally responsible
00:27:23.800 for us to put them
00:27:25.900 in a treatment center instead
00:27:26.880 and could also
00:27:28.380 improve healthcare access
00:27:30.420 for everyone else.
00:27:31.080 It just makes sense.
00:27:33.300 Yeah, well,
00:27:34.200 it's, it's a large
00:27:35.000 and complicated problem.
00:27:36.380 I mean, part of it too
00:27:37.140 is at least letting people know
00:27:38.420 so they can let their
00:27:39.500 representatives know,
00:27:40.760 I mean, how acute it is
00:27:41.940 and, and, and encourage them.
00:27:44.420 I mean, I, I think
00:27:45.140 most compassionate people
00:27:46.120 when they realize
00:27:46.720 just how bad it's getting
00:27:47.820 would support the investment
00:27:49.180 in, in rehab
00:27:49.940 and, and a results-based policy.
00:27:52.620 But I mean, it takes exposure.
00:27:54.100 It takes letting people know,
00:27:55.020 as I said,
00:27:55.380 if they live in the suburbs
00:27:56.200 and don't get downtown,
00:27:57.360 they might not realize
00:27:58.060 how bad it is
00:27:58.900 until it costs them directly.
00:28:01.120 So, I mean, just kind of,
00:28:02.280 you know, to wrap things up,
00:28:03.320 you've been fantastic
00:28:04.140 in, in covering this
00:28:05.320 and exposing it.
00:28:06.100 Where, where can people
00:28:06.680 find your work
00:28:08.140 and, and keep track
00:28:08.980 of what you've been writing on?
00:28:10.460 Well, I mean,
00:28:10.840 I'm a columnist
00:28:11.320 of National Post,
00:28:12.000 so I think you should
00:28:12.620 subscribe to the paper.
00:28:13.520 It's great.
00:28:14.280 There are also many
00:28:15.300 other great writers there.
00:28:16.240 And then on top of that,
00:28:18.120 I run a nonprofit
00:28:19.120 called the Center
00:28:19.900 for Responsible Drug Policy.
00:28:21.440 And we have a little
00:28:22.440 sub stack
00:28:23.160 called Breaking Needles.
00:28:25.280 So you can go find us
00:28:26.400 at www.breakingneedles.com
00:28:28.480 or responsibledrugpolicies.com.
00:28:30.680 Either will give you access
00:28:31.880 to all sorts of
00:28:32.720 great material on addiction
00:28:33.900 that challenges
00:28:35.340 some of these,
00:28:36.240 you know, narratives
00:28:37.260 of radical harm reduction
00:28:38.580 that have ruined our country.
00:28:40.900 Well, that's it.
00:28:41.720 I mean, you know,
00:28:42.220 just applying some comments,
00:28:44.280 answer, looking for results.
00:28:45.300 I had a doctor,
00:28:46.380 Monty Goshon.
00:28:47.880 He specializes
00:28:48.520 in addiction treatment.
00:28:49.720 And you talked about,
00:28:50.820 you know,
00:28:51.080 we don't have time
00:28:51.720 to go into the whole thing
00:28:52.460 of consumption centers.
00:28:53.740 There was this horrific case
00:28:54.900 of a Vancouver one.
00:28:55.700 I saw it look like
00:28:56.380 an opium den of old
00:28:57.940 with what it turned into.
00:28:59.680 But the effectiveness
00:29:01.100 of safe consumption
00:29:01.980 is typically only good
00:29:03.140 for about 500 yards,
00:29:04.980 he said,
00:29:05.400 from where the attic is.
00:29:06.840 Otherwise,
00:29:07.080 they're not going
00:29:07.440 to travel that far.
00:29:08.740 And we just don't have
00:29:09.740 the resources to set one up
00:29:10.800 every 500 yards
00:29:11.540 in every major city.
00:29:12.480 So we've got to think
00:29:13.260 a little harder on it.
00:29:14.540 Yeah.
00:29:15.300 If we're going to spend
00:29:15.820 the money,
00:29:16.200 like rather than spend
00:29:16.880 the money on putting
00:29:17.460 a safe consumption site
00:29:18.380 everywhere,
00:29:18.680 we should be spending
00:29:19.400 money on building
00:29:20.420 up treatment capacity.
00:29:23.160 You know,
00:29:23.680 it's a better investment
00:29:25.100 to get people better
00:29:26.020 than to enable
00:29:26.800 their addictions
00:29:27.420 and let them
00:29:27.920 slowly kill themselves.
00:29:29.520 Absolutely.
00:29:30.040 Well,
00:29:30.200 thank you very much
00:29:30.880 for joining us today,
00:29:31.800 Adam,
00:29:31.980 and for the work
00:29:32.560 you've been doing
00:29:33.040 and exposing this.
00:29:34.780 I really appreciate it.
00:29:36.080 And I hope we can
00:29:36.800 have you on again
00:29:37.380 sometime soon
00:29:38.040 to talk again.
00:29:38.940 Likewise.
00:29:39.440 Thanks for having me
00:29:39.880 on the show.
00:29:40.680 Right on.
00:29:41.300 Thanks.
00:29:41.600 So that was Adam's Evo.
00:29:42.800 As he said,
00:29:43.360 with the National Post,
00:29:46.020 you can see the columns there
00:29:47.340 and he's prolific
00:29:48.340 on a number of other sites
00:29:49.540 and on X,
00:29:50.200 if you're on there,
00:29:51.400 all the links
00:29:52.140 are available
00:29:52.720 to find the groups
00:29:53.900 and things
00:29:54.280 that Adam's been involved with.
00:29:55.480 It's just such an important
00:29:57.360 and complicated issue.
00:29:58.980 There's no easy answers.
00:29:59.980 That's part of the problem.
00:30:01.560 You know,
00:30:01.780 there's no magic bullet.
00:30:03.920 You know,
00:30:04.620 rehab alone,
00:30:05.920 as I said,
00:30:06.840 it's a difficult thing.
00:30:08.860 You know,
00:30:09.100 people can go in
00:30:09.940 and out of it.
00:30:11.480 It doesn't always work,
00:30:13.880 but it's the best hope we got.
00:30:15.980 And just continuing
00:30:17.080 to maintain,
00:30:17.920 continuing to pretend
00:30:18.940 and act as if
00:30:19.900 these addictions
00:30:20.360 are sustainable.
00:30:22.060 It's not a rational way
00:30:24.200 to approach it.
00:30:26.260 Excuse me.
00:30:27.580 We'll get back to that,
00:30:28.360 though.
00:30:28.460 I see out there,
00:30:29.580 I was going to get a check-in
00:30:30.540 from Sean Polzer,
00:30:31.500 one of our,
00:30:32.100 he writes on our business
00:30:33.040 and a number of other things,
00:30:34.080 speaking of prolific writers.
00:30:35.360 He's out on the Stampede grounds
00:30:36.860 and I know it is roasting hot
00:30:39.380 out there.
00:30:39.880 You can see him drinking the water,
00:30:41.220 getting ready there.
00:30:41.940 So maybe we'll get to Sean there
00:30:43.700 and get an update
00:30:44.300 from the grounds
00:30:45.060 and let him get back
00:30:46.580 into somewhere cooler soon.
00:30:47.760 Hey, Sean,
00:30:48.240 thanks for joining us there.
00:30:49.540 How's it going out there?
00:30:50.480 I'm doing all right.
00:30:51.640 I'm staying hydrated, Corey.
00:30:53.520 There's a scorcher down here.
00:30:55.380 Oh, my God.
00:30:56.620 Oh, and that hot asphalt
00:30:57.960 and the radiating smell
00:31:00.240 from the carnies.
00:31:01.040 I mean,
00:31:01.280 it's a difficult thing
00:31:02.600 to be on the midway
00:31:04.620 on a hot day.
00:31:05.380 So the corn dogs,
00:31:08.340 the smell of the corn dogs
00:31:09.220 is over the top,
00:31:12.040 my friend.
00:31:12.800 There's always that.
00:31:13.860 So you just came
00:31:14.600 from a presser there?
00:31:16.560 Yeah,
00:31:16.960 there's a press conference
00:31:18.240 a little later this afternoon
00:31:19.500 with Agriculture Minister
00:31:21.180 RJ Sigurdsson.
00:31:22.980 Apparently,
00:31:23.360 they're going to announce
00:31:23.900 some funding for cattle
00:31:25.060 producers in Alberta.
00:31:28.740 I'm here at the Nutrient Center,
00:31:30.960 which is all things agriculture.
00:31:32.340 It's been taken over
00:31:33.200 by the Alberta Ag.
00:31:34.580 And you'd be pleased
00:31:35.700 to know that there's
00:31:36.380 a display on bees
00:31:38.440 and honey, Corey.
00:31:39.960 You're handing out
00:31:40.880 samples of honey.
00:31:42.800 Well, I've got enough
00:31:43.540 of that for myself,
00:31:44.420 but for others,
00:31:45.040 absolutely.
00:31:45.720 Beekeeping's a fun hobby.
00:31:47.340 Which is to say
00:31:48.560 that we're here
00:31:51.200 ostensibly
00:31:51.740 to talk about business,
00:31:52.760 right?
00:31:53.580 The $250 million
00:31:54.480 that the Stampede
00:31:55.780 brings into the city.
00:31:57.240 But a lot of people
00:31:57.780 don't realize
00:31:58.180 that it's also
00:31:58.900 a major agricultural fair
00:32:00.460 and a celebration
00:32:02.300 of agriculture
00:32:02.880 in Alberta,
00:32:04.160 which is also
00:32:05.040 a huge business,
00:32:06.460 as you know.
00:32:07.680 And cattle especially.
00:32:08.820 80% of the cattle industry
00:32:09.860 is in Alberta.
00:32:11.140 We're talking,
00:32:11.920 I don't know
00:32:12.320 how many billion dollars
00:32:13.100 at last count,
00:32:14.360 but it's in the tens
00:32:15.340 for sure.
00:32:16.920 Absolutely.
00:32:17.600 So what else
00:32:18.120 have you got to update us
00:32:19.000 on in the business world,
00:32:20.080 John?
00:32:20.200 Well, we had
00:32:22.960 the interesting story
00:32:24.360 about KFC
00:32:25.440 switching over
00:32:26.320 all its products
00:32:26.900 to halal,
00:32:28.960 which seemed to kind
00:32:30.060 of get an interesting
00:32:31.120 response.
00:32:32.300 It's being ruled out
00:32:33.100 in Ontario,
00:32:33.680 but they have plans
00:32:34.640 to spread it out
00:32:35.680 to the rest of the country
00:32:36.440 here by the end
00:32:36.900 of the year.
00:32:39.380 And keeping
00:32:40.520 with the agricultural
00:32:41.200 theme,
00:32:41.680 that entails
00:32:42.280 a whole reworking
00:32:43.460 of the supply chain
00:32:44.360 for chicken
00:32:45.800 and those various
00:32:48.360 meat products
00:32:48.880 that they use.
00:32:51.020 Yeah.
00:32:52.180 It's bizarre,
00:32:53.760 I guess,
00:32:54.420 well,
00:32:54.840 I don't know,
00:32:55.280 it's a business
00:32:55.900 decision on their part,
00:32:57.060 but I don't know
00:32:57.320 if it's really been
00:32:57.840 well received
00:32:58.440 by everybody
00:32:58.940 in general
00:32:59.360 when they hear about it.
00:33:01.060 Well,
00:33:01.500 apparently it is
00:33:02.260 quite common
00:33:02.900 and I didn't know
00:33:03.860 this,
00:33:04.120 but some other chains
00:33:04.900 like,
00:33:05.380 for instance,
00:33:06.200 Popeyes is supposed
00:33:07.000 to be halal already.
00:33:08.200 I don't know
00:33:08.840 if it's certified.
00:33:09.640 Normally,
00:33:09.940 they put their
00:33:10.480 little certified mark.
00:33:12.280 If you go to the UK,
00:33:14.620 UK is one of the few
00:33:16.480 countries in Europe
00:33:17.120 where people do eat
00:33:17.980 a lot of fried chicken,
00:33:18.920 but they do tend
00:33:19.580 to be Muslim.
00:33:21.260 So,
00:33:21.900 that sounds like
00:33:22.980 it's coming over here.
00:33:24.420 Another interesting story,
00:33:25.920 we've got
00:33:26.540 this anti-woke activist,
00:33:31.400 Starbuck,
00:33:32.440 Robbie Starbuck,
00:33:33.680 down in the States.
00:33:34.400 He's already taken down
00:33:35.580 Tracker Supply
00:33:37.120 and now he's going
00:33:37.600 and now he's going
00:33:37.620 after John Deere
00:33:38.360 for their DEI policies
00:33:41.040 and what is it?
00:33:42.820 The HRS scores
00:33:47.380 or whatever it is
00:33:48.300 that they do.
00:33:49.860 So,
00:33:50.460 in case you missed
00:33:50.980 the story last week,
00:33:53.920 Tracker Supply
00:33:55.500 was forced to back down
00:33:56.540 on green energy,
00:33:58.860 diversity,
00:33:59.700 inclusion,
00:34:00.400 hiring,
00:34:00.800 all those various
00:34:02.300 initiatives.
00:34:05.040 They get
00:34:05.800 a CEI score,
00:34:08.760 which is
00:34:09.400 inclusion for
00:34:10.960 LGBTQ people.
00:34:15.820 John Deere scored
00:34:16.540 95 out of 100.
00:34:18.120 If you didn't know,
00:34:19.540 John Deere is one
00:34:20.040 of the oldest
00:34:20.540 publicly-trained corporations
00:34:22.080 in the United States.
00:34:23.080 It was founded
00:34:23.540 in about 1837,
00:34:24.880 so the company itself
00:34:25.820 is actually older
00:34:26.400 than Canada
00:34:26.960 and it is
00:34:28.420 among the largest
00:34:29.600 manufacturers
00:34:30.460 of agricultural equipment
00:34:31.680 around the world.
00:34:32.460 They're in South America,
00:34:33.200 they're in India,
00:34:33.760 they're all over.
00:34:35.460 Yeah,
00:34:35.960 well,
00:34:36.080 I found it interesting
00:34:36.700 because I think
00:34:37.060 the only thing dumber
00:34:37.960 than going woke
00:34:38.840 for Budweiser
00:34:39.580 is going woke
00:34:40.340 for people
00:34:40.840 who use tractors
00:34:41.840 because if you want
00:34:42.320 the least support
00:34:42.940 for DEI
00:34:43.720 and woke garbage
00:34:44.500 and gender pronouns
00:34:45.720 and emails,
00:34:46.680 it's probably
00:34:47.340 agricultural producers
00:34:48.380 who are buying
00:34:49.060 those tractors.
00:34:50.740 Well,
00:34:51.120 all I have to do
00:34:51.640 is look around here,
00:34:52.740 Corey.
00:34:53.620 Well,
00:34:56.780 crazy times,
00:34:57.540 but it's good
00:34:57.860 to see a pushback
00:34:58.660 at least.
00:34:59.120 I mean,
00:34:59.500 I think for most consumers
00:35:00.520 it just,
00:35:01.180 just give me my product.
00:35:02.520 I don't care
00:35:03.200 about all the other stuff.
00:35:04.680 Just,
00:35:04.940 just,
00:35:05.160 just,
00:35:05.480 just sell me
00:35:06.480 a decent product.
00:35:07.780 Sure.
00:35:08.400 Another interesting story
00:35:09.460 that I followed
00:35:09.940 earlier this week
00:35:10.780 was Alberta government's
00:35:12.680 announcement
00:35:13.040 with Shell and ACCO
00:35:14.460 to license
00:35:15.560 the forest base
00:35:16.580 for carbon sequestration.
00:35:19.120 So,
00:35:19.520 for those who are
00:35:22.300 familiar with the oil patch,
00:35:23.620 oil companies lease,
00:35:25.840 you know,
00:35:26.320 the subsurface rights
00:35:27.180 to pull the minerals
00:35:28.580 out of the ground.
00:35:29.860 And in this case,
00:35:30.460 what they're doing
00:35:30.840 is they're leasing
00:35:31.360 the subsurface
00:35:32.040 to take the captured gases
00:35:35.280 from the Scottford refinery
00:35:37.020 and put them underground.
00:35:39.760 So,
00:35:40.080 it's kind of a major shift
00:35:43.560 and whether or not
00:35:44.760 you agree with carbon capture
00:35:46.180 or not,
00:35:46.660 the jury is still out
00:35:47.740 on how expensive it is
00:35:49.740 or what the business case is.
00:35:51.360 But,
00:35:51.780 you know,
00:35:53.120 if Shell
00:35:53.540 seems committed
00:35:54.560 to spend $15 billion
00:35:55.800 on it
00:35:56.540 and Alberta government
00:35:57.700 is talking about
00:35:58.520 a $45 billion industry
00:35:59.920 by 2030,
00:36:01.740 there's supposed to be
00:36:02.340 about two dozen more
00:36:03.600 of these projects
00:36:04.220 lined up in the queue.
00:36:05.940 We're talking
00:36:06.920 some pretty substantial
00:36:08.460 investments
00:36:08.920 in some pretty good scale,
00:36:10.380 something like
00:36:10.800 50,000 jobs.
00:36:12.680 So,
00:36:13.000 I don't know.
00:36:14.260 Those sound like
00:36:14.680 pretty good numbers to me.
00:36:16.040 Yeah,
00:36:16.300 well,
00:36:16.560 time will tell
00:36:17.080 if it's effective.
00:36:17.920 I mean,
00:36:18.140 we're a producer
00:36:18.640 but we've got to keep flexing
00:36:19.700 because we're just embattled
00:36:21.500 on every direction
00:36:22.180 for what we produce.
00:36:23.480 Well,
00:36:23.860 and the comment was made
00:36:25.320 is that customers
00:36:26.660 are demanding this.
00:36:27.700 So,
00:36:28.260 it'd be like
00:36:28.580 if you're going
00:36:29.160 to McDonald's
00:36:29.860 and,
00:36:30.400 you know,
00:36:30.660 people are getting tired
00:36:31.320 of your watered-down Coke
00:36:32.280 and your greasy hamburgers,
00:36:33.580 maybe you've got to come up
00:36:34.360 with something new
00:36:34.920 to try and keep
00:36:36.240 that business,
00:36:36.920 right?
00:36:38.240 Could be.
00:36:39.480 All right.
00:36:40.540 Well,
00:36:40.980 is that all you got
00:36:42.200 for us today there,
00:36:43.080 Sean?
00:36:45.220 Off the top of my head,
00:36:46.720 unless you just want
00:36:47.480 to talk some numbers
00:36:48.240 here down at the Stampede,
00:36:49.280 I'm not sure
00:36:49.700 how many people are here
00:36:50.320 but they're breaking
00:36:51.140 attendance records
00:36:51.900 like crazy.
00:36:52.560 I think there was
00:36:52.980 150,000 the other day.
00:36:55.280 Today's Kids Day
00:36:56.100 so the midway
00:36:57.040 is absolutely packed.
00:36:57.940 This is one of the few
00:36:58.640 quiet places
00:36:59.280 that I could find
00:36:59.980 and also one of the few
00:37:01.220 shady places
00:37:01.860 that I could find
00:37:02.500 to actually come to.
00:37:04.480 All right.
00:37:05.220 Well,
00:37:05.400 I appreciate the check-in
00:37:06.620 and I'll let you get back
00:37:07.800 to the ag world
00:37:08.880 and get that corndog
00:37:09.720 into you
00:37:10.140 so that smell
00:37:10.640 doesn't tempt you
00:37:11.200 much longer.
00:37:11.940 So thanks,
00:37:12.920 Sean,
00:37:13.220 and we'll see you
00:37:14.160 in a while.
00:37:15.220 Thanks a lot.
00:37:17.020 That was an update
00:37:17.860 from Sean Polzer
00:37:19.100 and yes,
00:37:19.520 he writes in a lot
00:37:20.000 of our business
00:37:20.480 and energy issues
00:37:21.460 which are very important
00:37:22.840 in the West
00:37:23.580 and in Alberta in general.
00:37:24.900 So yeah,
00:37:25.440 the Stampede
00:37:25.860 is a big,
00:37:26.920 people forget that.
00:37:28.160 If you go to the ag corner
00:37:29.640 of it,
00:37:29.920 sometimes people skip
00:37:30.760 that section
00:37:34.160 and they just go
00:37:34.780 to the midway
00:37:35.360 or they go to the rodeo
00:37:36.980 or the grandstand show
00:37:37.860 but no,
00:37:38.220 it's still an old school fair.
00:37:39.640 There's still cows
00:37:40.700 and sheep
00:37:41.280 and livestock up
00:37:43.380 for competition
00:37:44.300 and things like that.
00:37:46.320 There's a lot more to it
00:37:47.480 if you get down there
00:37:48.100 and have a look around.
00:37:49.480 So yeah,
00:37:50.200 it's pretty hot weather
00:37:50.860 but there's still time
00:37:51.520 if you're in Calgary
00:37:52.120 to get down there
00:37:53.080 and have a look.
00:37:54.360 Oh,
00:37:54.520 you know,
00:37:54.660 I want to get back a bit
00:37:55.460 to some of that talk
00:37:56.720 now about addiction
00:37:57.540 because I just,
00:37:59.060 as I said,
00:37:59.800 I got a personal connection
00:38:01.880 going on right now
00:38:02.640 with this
00:38:02.940 and it's problematic
00:38:03.700 and difficult
00:38:04.240 and it's so rooted
00:38:06.980 and there's so many problems,
00:38:08.260 there's so many facets.
00:38:09.220 As I was saying,
00:38:09.800 there's no magic bullet,
00:38:10.620 there's no one solution.
00:38:12.040 One of the things
00:38:12.500 that really started it
00:38:13.440 and I got to see it firsthand
00:38:14.580 though,
00:38:14.900 it really took it off.
00:38:16.220 You know,
00:38:16.360 they called it hillbilly heroin.
00:38:17.780 It was the Oxycontin
00:38:19.980 that was going around.
00:38:21.640 Years ago,
00:38:22.320 I used to survey a lot
00:38:23.460 in the States
00:38:23.860 on oil and gas exploration projects.
00:38:26.060 I was working down,
00:38:27.220 maybe about 10 years ago maybe,
00:38:29.020 in West Virginia.
00:38:30.160 Yeah,
00:38:30.360 it is a special part of the world
00:38:31.820 and it's earned its reputation
00:38:33.340 but I'd actually,
00:38:34.600 I'd messed up with a chainsaw
00:38:35.820 and got a big thorn
00:38:36.660 driven into my forearm.
00:38:38.180 Very uncomfortable
00:38:38.880 and it went in deep
00:38:39.580 and I couldn't get it out
00:38:40.300 and you could feel it under there.
00:38:41.420 It was a pretty big thing.
00:38:42.720 So I went to a clinic
00:38:43.720 in West Virginia.
00:38:45.620 What was the name of that town?
00:38:47.360 Weirton?
00:38:48.180 I'm not sure now.
00:38:48.920 It was just a little one
00:38:49.620 on the Ohio River
00:38:50.380 across from Steubenville
00:38:51.340 and I see this doctor
00:38:52.540 and I'm waiting
00:38:53.420 and I get in
00:38:54.940 and the first thing,
00:38:55.920 this doctor finally comes
00:38:56.680 into the room
00:38:57.420 and looks at it and says,
00:38:58.020 what's your pain level
00:38:58.580 on one to 10?
00:38:59.200 I said,
00:38:59.680 it's not bad.
00:39:00.800 You know,
00:39:00.980 I don't know,
00:39:01.540 three or four.
00:39:02.060 I just want this thing
00:39:02.640 out of here
00:39:03.000 and he looks at it
00:39:03.640 and it's just,
00:39:04.360 I can't do anything with that.
00:39:05.660 You got to go to see
00:39:06.520 an orthopedic surgeon.
00:39:07.840 I don't have time for it
00:39:08.720 and then before he leaves the room
00:39:10.140 he says,
00:39:10.360 what's your pain level
00:39:10.960 on one to 10?
00:39:11.480 I said,
00:39:11.700 it's like two or three.
00:39:12.700 I'm fine.
00:39:13.100 So he just hustled out of the room,
00:39:14.640 said he couldn't do anything about it
00:39:15.600 and I left.
00:39:16.400 As I was filling out
00:39:17.240 the insurance forms
00:39:17.920 because I was in the States
00:39:18.760 in the front,
00:39:20.200 I kind of finally realized
00:39:21.420 what this clinic was about
00:39:22.300 because while I was
00:39:22.740 in the waiting room,
00:39:23.760 people were coming
00:39:24.520 and going constantly
00:39:26.240 just in and out,
00:39:27.040 in and out,
00:39:27.620 quick visits.
00:39:28.740 The guy was a pill pusher.
00:39:30.540 He was,
00:39:30.880 sure he had his,
00:39:32.240 you know,
00:39:32.520 he was a medical practitioner.
00:39:34.320 He had no interest
00:39:35.200 in actually practicing medicine.
00:39:36.500 He was making his money.
00:39:37.760 These people were all coming in
00:39:39.000 and getting their
00:39:40.140 Oxy prescription slips
00:39:41.420 and he could quickly charge for that
00:39:43.440 and because the people
00:39:45.240 coming and going,
00:39:45.820 you can see they weren't sick,
00:39:46.580 they weren't injured
00:39:47.000 though they were,
00:39:47.820 you know,
00:39:48.020 again,
00:39:48.260 looking like your usual
00:39:49.300 troubled addicts
00:39:51.400 and this was the crap
00:39:52.380 that was going on in the States.
00:39:53.320 This was where they were pushing
00:39:54.260 this opioid-based pills
00:39:57.620 and I mean,
00:39:58.700 that's all he kept asking me.
00:39:59.820 If I had said my pain level was eight,
00:40:01.160 I'm sure he would have given me
00:40:02.140 a prescription for Oxy
00:40:03.540 or something of the sort
00:40:04.360 quickly enough Vicodin,
00:40:05.340 God knows what,
00:40:06.380 and help create more addicts.
00:40:08.320 That started to give the base
00:40:09.640 of this North American
00:40:10.620 addiction epidemic really
00:40:11.900 and as Adam was talking about,
00:40:14.280 when you're an addict,
00:40:15.200 it's always increasing.
00:40:16.600 You don't get enough of your buzz
00:40:17.700 and it gets more expensive
00:40:18.580 and now part of the problem
00:40:20.600 is people realize that,
00:40:21.660 you know,
00:40:21.880 and Pfizer and some companies
00:40:22.820 got sued.
00:40:23.840 They got hit hard
00:40:24.940 because of how they were pushing
00:40:26.580 this as a non-addictive substance
00:40:27.880 for the problem
00:40:28.340 but the addicts didn't go away
00:40:29.940 and now they couldn't,
00:40:31.200 you know,
00:40:31.360 the doctor pill pushers
00:40:32.300 are still out there
00:40:32.940 but they're not as quick,
00:40:33.920 as many as there used to be.
00:40:35.380 So what do they do?
00:40:36.100 They turn to the streets,
00:40:37.060 of course,
00:40:37.620 and what do you got?
00:40:38.200 You got fentanyl.
00:40:39.240 Now fentanyl,
00:40:40.000 as Adam said,
00:40:40.580 I mean,
00:40:40.740 this is a freight train
00:40:41.540 way more powerful than heroin,
00:40:43.600 cheap,
00:40:44.660 plentiful,
00:40:45.660 easy to find
00:40:46.220 and of course,
00:40:47.340 terrifically dangerous,
00:40:48.960 very addictive
00:40:50.880 and it just keeps spreading.
00:40:53.360 It just keeps spreading
00:40:54.200 and it's funny,
00:40:55.020 we joked about,
00:40:55.780 you know,
00:40:56.280 I might take fentanyl
00:40:57.440 to ease the stresses of this
00:40:59.640 but I did,
00:41:00.700 they gave me a fentanyl
00:41:01.700 and something else mixed
00:41:02.600 when I had a,
00:41:03.960 well,
00:41:04.220 I'll say it,
00:41:04.680 I call an oscopy a while back
00:41:05.960 and I tell you what,
00:41:06.760 I mean,
00:41:06.920 under medical supervision,
00:41:07.800 it's a very,
00:41:08.840 very effective drug
00:41:10.080 and,
00:41:10.380 you know,
00:41:10.520 in proper application.
00:41:12.460 I mean,
00:41:12.660 boy,
00:41:12.880 that zonked me out.
00:41:13.640 I mean,
00:41:13.780 considering what they had
00:41:14.480 to go up there
00:41:15.020 and do and take care of
00:41:15.880 and me not remembering
00:41:16.940 a bit of it,
00:41:17.900 that's really effective
00:41:18.880 but,
00:41:19.800 I mean,
00:41:20.080 if you start self-applying
00:41:21.200 something that potent
00:41:22.420 and that powerful,
00:41:24.100 you're into a catastrophic problem
00:41:26.620 and,
00:41:27.560 yeah,
00:41:28.720 you know,
00:41:28.900 Paradox is saying,
00:41:29.580 yeah,
00:41:29.680 BC is suing Pfizer
00:41:31.200 for pill mills
00:41:32.280 and,
00:41:32.540 and you see,
00:41:32.940 these are things,
00:41:33.740 yeah,
00:41:33.940 and at the same time,
00:41:34.680 buy safe supply from Pfizer.
00:41:36.340 We've got this closed loop
00:41:37.760 of selling these drugs.
00:41:39.960 It's not going to come easily,
00:41:42.620 the solution to this,
00:41:43.460 this nightmare,
00:41:44.100 this problem
00:41:44.840 but,
00:41:45.820 for people unfamiliar
00:41:46.700 with addiction,
00:41:47.920 addiction is bloody tough.
00:41:49.660 You've got to remember,
00:41:50.740 I mean,
00:41:51.080 you see people saying,
00:41:51.840 oh,
00:41:51.980 just buck up and stop.
00:41:53.180 Look,
00:41:53.360 guys,
00:41:53.640 it's not like that.
00:41:55.660 It's not.
00:41:56.220 You have to reprogram your brain.
00:41:58.700 You have to change things.
00:42:00.440 Addiction is,
00:42:01.660 by its very nature,
00:42:02.860 irrational.
00:42:04.180 It controls the person.
00:42:06.340 It took me many,
00:42:08.700 many false starts
00:42:09.420 to stop drinking
00:42:10.120 and I still will crave
00:42:12.800 a drink now and then.
00:42:13.920 You've always got to be on guard
00:42:15.040 and that's just liquor.
00:42:16.220 I didn't deal with something
00:42:16.940 like fentanyl
00:42:17.680 or meth
00:42:18.620 or some of the other stuff
00:42:19.500 going on out there.
00:42:20.480 It takes a long period of time.
00:42:22.580 It takes a lot of therapy,
00:42:23.780 a lot of work,
00:42:24.800 a lot of help
00:42:25.760 and stability.
00:42:27.540 There's one of the areas where,
00:42:29.260 I mean,
00:42:29.600 again,
00:42:29.880 you see the activists
00:42:30.560 kind of get it
00:42:31.180 and they kind of don't
00:42:31.940 where they talk about
00:42:32.420 the housing first strategy.
00:42:33.540 We've got to get the addicts housed
00:42:34.940 before we can treat them.
00:42:36.460 So we need more houses,
00:42:37.440 more houses,
00:42:37.880 more houses.
00:42:38.320 Well,
00:42:38.500 not exactly.
00:42:39.740 You're half right.
00:42:41.500 I mean,
00:42:41.860 you can't treat an addict
00:42:42.940 if they're living behind
00:42:43.920 a dumpster
00:42:44.980 or if they're in a tent
00:42:45.900 in a city park.
00:42:46.880 It's very difficult,
00:42:48.140 you know,
00:42:48.380 while they wait
00:42:49.020 to get into a treatment center.
00:42:51.340 Their chances
00:42:52.140 of defeating the addiction
00:42:53.580 when they're living
00:42:54.280 in those circumstances
00:42:55.120 are very slim.
00:42:56.700 But when you're talking
00:42:57.620 about long-term housing,
00:42:58.720 because that's what
00:42:59.080 these activists talk about,
00:43:00.820 no,
00:43:01.100 they aren't ready
00:43:01.580 for that either.
00:43:02.860 I mean,
00:43:03.140 if you stick
00:43:03.720 a fentanyl addict
00:43:05.100 in an apartment,
00:43:06.040 they're going to rip
00:43:07.180 the copper wires
00:43:08.700 out of the walls
00:43:09.280 and sell them
00:43:09.860 to get their next fix.
00:43:10.820 They aren't in position
00:43:11.840 for that yet either.
00:43:13.540 We need treatment centers
00:43:14.940 and we need access
00:43:15.920 and we need it fast.
00:43:17.720 That's the thing.
00:43:18.420 When an addict
00:43:19.420 has hit that point,
00:43:20.520 when they've hit that
00:43:21.120 part in their life
00:43:22.360 where they say,
00:43:22.740 God,
00:43:22.980 I've got to change this.
00:43:24.100 I've got to get out of this.
00:43:25.320 Somebody help me.
00:43:26.180 Please help me.
00:43:28.000 And then they say,
00:43:28.720 yeah,
00:43:28.960 just hang on 30 days.
00:43:31.400 It's not going to work.
00:43:32.560 Very few of them
00:43:33.280 will make it that long.
00:43:34.420 But if the facility
00:43:35.440 is there,
00:43:36.920 if you can get them in,
00:43:38.840 you've got a chance.
00:43:40.460 You've got a chance
00:43:41.320 and a much bigger chance.
00:43:43.480 After treatment,
00:43:44.200 I believe it depends
00:43:45.220 on which ones.
00:43:45.800 You're looking at some
00:43:46.460 after, say,
00:43:47.200 a 90-day program.
00:43:48.120 Yeah,
00:43:48.220 that's how long it takes
00:43:49.060 to really do it.
00:43:50.560 And you're looking
00:43:51.060 at like 45%
00:43:52.260 stay off it for good.
00:43:54.380 And people say,
00:43:54.920 well,
00:43:55.080 you've got 55%
00:43:57.400 aren't.
00:43:58.400 True.
00:43:59.060 But if they're on the streets,
00:44:01.080 their chances of getting off
00:44:02.040 it are darn near zero.
00:44:03.860 And they're probably
00:44:05.280 going to die.
00:44:06.720 And as well,
00:44:08.640 it's not without cost.
00:44:10.200 Like some people say,
00:44:10.820 well,
00:44:11.060 I mean,
00:44:11.380 I've seen some pretty
00:44:12.280 cold statements.
00:44:13.040 Well,
00:44:13.240 that's the way it goes.
00:44:14.100 You know,
00:44:14.260 Darwinism.
00:44:14.700 Well,
00:44:14.920 no,
00:44:15.400 actually,
00:44:16.060 they're all sons,
00:44:17.220 daughters,
00:44:17.660 cousins,
00:44:18.140 fathers,
00:44:18.920 sisters.
00:44:19.760 They have loved ones.
00:44:21.100 They were people who,
00:44:22.260 you know,
00:44:22.820 came out
00:44:23.380 and got into
00:44:24.240 the wrong rut.
00:44:25.440 And we want to,
00:44:26.220 compassionate conservatism
00:44:27.740 means saving them.
00:44:29.260 And if you want to be
00:44:29.720 a fiscal conservative,
00:44:30.880 it still means treating them.
00:44:32.420 As we said,
00:44:34.440 you got,
00:44:34.940 you know,
00:44:35.680 they're costing anyways.
00:44:37.040 It's very expensive
00:44:37.880 to have an addict in jail.
00:44:39.420 It's very expensive
00:44:40.180 to have an addict
00:44:41.400 in a regular hospital,
00:44:44.100 as well as the shelter system
00:44:46.080 and many other areas.
00:44:47.240 They're still costing.
00:44:48.760 So if we're going to spend
00:44:49.540 all the money,
00:44:50.560 let's try to get them
00:44:51.360 into the places
00:44:51.920 where we can treat them
00:44:53.100 and get them
00:44:54.060 off of that,
00:44:55.500 even if it's only
00:44:56.280 half of them succeed,
00:44:57.440 it's a heck of a lot better
00:44:58.800 than the success rate
00:45:00.580 if they aren't.
00:45:01.320 And it's huge
00:45:02.060 and it's growing.
00:45:03.520 Ian Leslie saying,
00:45:04.260 I'm surprised you haven't
00:45:04.840 looked into the roots
00:45:05.420 of fentanyl sources.
00:45:06.220 I have,
00:45:06.580 but that's a whole
00:45:07.000 separate show.
00:45:08.120 We can only cover so much.
00:45:09.520 That's what I mean.
00:45:10.080 It's complicated.
00:45:11.360 I mean,
00:45:11.620 reducing the supply
00:45:12.640 and where it's coming from
00:45:13.620 and who's benefiting from it
00:45:14.780 and who's profiting from it,
00:45:15.820 that's another facet
00:45:16.960 of the whole thing as well.
00:45:18.380 Absolutely.
00:45:18.740 But the more immediate
00:45:22.100 and pressing thing
00:45:22.840 are the current addicts,
00:45:24.180 the people you see,
00:45:25.420 the ones on the streets.
00:45:26.780 And there's a lot
00:45:27.360 that you don't see.
00:45:28.480 They haven't hit
00:45:29.220 the streets yet.
00:45:30.160 They're still at home.
00:45:31.060 They're still somewhat
00:45:31.840 functioning with their jobs.
00:45:33.560 But an addiction
00:45:34.440 is a progressive disorder.
00:45:36.080 It's going to get worse
00:45:36.840 and worse and worse.
00:45:37.720 And they're going to end up
00:45:38.480 either dead
00:45:39.040 or on the streets
00:45:40.220 if they don't get treated.
00:45:42.560 So we need rational discussions.
00:45:45.440 We need outcome-based discussions.
00:45:46.880 We need to quit talking about,
00:45:49.740 as Adam said,
00:45:50.380 you know,
00:45:50.520 just feeding it along
00:45:51.580 and pretending
00:45:52.380 we can maintain
00:45:53.440 the addiction for the people
00:45:55.540 and people can maintain a life
00:45:56.860 while still taking that stuff
00:45:58.420 as long as they get good drugs.
00:46:00.220 There's no good meth.
00:46:01.660 There's no good fentanyl
00:46:02.560 outside of a clinical environment
00:46:03.920 under the supervision
00:46:04.920 of an actual medical professional
00:46:06.620 for a procedure,
00:46:08.060 not for maintaining an addiction.
00:46:10.000 Let's have those discussions.
00:46:11.600 We're paying that price.
00:46:13.180 We're losing people.
00:46:14.540 And it's time
00:46:17.140 that we stop listening
00:46:18.020 to the loony activists
00:46:18.920 and they are nuts
00:46:19.660 and start looking
00:46:20.920 at what might actually work.
00:46:22.040 And these guys need help.
00:46:22.980 These gals need help.
00:46:24.280 But we need to help
00:46:24.880 in the right way,
00:46:25.360 not just give them
00:46:25.840 more bloody drugs.
00:46:27.280 Stupid.
00:46:28.260 God.
00:46:29.120 If they gave out shooters
00:46:30.060 in my AA meetings,
00:46:31.060 I never would have made it.
00:46:32.820 All right.
00:46:33.240 That's it for today, guys.
00:46:34.400 Let's check it out again.
00:46:35.100 Western Standard.News
00:46:36.440 slash subscription.
00:46:37.340 Take out a subscription.
00:46:38.220 Share the links, guys.
00:46:39.500 Get it out there.
00:46:40.760 Let's beat legacy media
00:46:42.720 and have good media sources out there.
00:46:44.500 I appreciate you all
00:46:45.140 tuning in today.
00:46:46.320 Tune in a little later.
00:46:47.120 We're going to have the pipeline.
00:46:48.700 We'll break down
00:46:49.180 a lot more issues.
00:46:50.140 I had a good discussion
00:46:50.860 with Minister Todd Lohan
00:46:51.980 a little while ago.
00:46:52.620 There's going to be a video
00:46:53.240 going out about that
00:46:54.060 with the ability
00:46:55.940 to hunt problem grizzly bears
00:46:57.600 in Alberta.
00:46:58.060 It's a bit of an interesting issue
00:46:59.160 going on out here.
00:46:59.940 So thank you all for tuning in.
00:47:01.760 Come back again next week.
00:47:02.880 I promise I won't insult your eyes
00:47:04.160 with more Western wear.
00:47:05.120 We'll be back to normal
00:47:05.960 and we'll cover a whole bunch
00:47:07.180 more new issues then.
00:47:08.080 So thanks again.
00:47:08.700 We'll see you then.
00:47:09.160 We'll see you then.
00:47:12.720 We'll see you then.
00:47:42.720 Bye.