Western Standard - November 01, 2023


CMS： Trudeau has shattered Canada


Episode Stats

Length

48 minutes

Words per Minute

198.6904

Word Count

9,538

Sentence Count

796

Misogynist Sentences

10

Hate Speech Sentences

7


Summary

This week on the Western Standards Weekly Show, Corey rants about what's got him wound up, and takes a look at the recent carbon tax decision by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the fallout from it, as well as some news from the past week.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Thank you
00:00:30.000 Good day, welcome to the Corey Morgan show. This is the Western Standards weekly show where I get to get on and rant and complain about what's got me wound up. Once in a while I point out some solutions to things. I'm more of a problem sort of guy though. And of course our governments at all levels always provide me lots of fodder to go on about. My name is Corey Morgan, of course, as per the name of the show and looking forward to turning your ear for this next 45 minutes to an hour or so.
00:01:00.000 For those watching live, I like to remind everybody, make use of the comment scroll, even Freedom Honey. I could allow that sort of thing going on in there. He's actually a representative of one of the guests I got coming on. We just got to make sure to keep it civil, but I like seeing the discourse, the discussion. And if you're watching the recorded version, I still quite appreciate it, of course, but the comments won't apply to you.
00:01:21.660 So yes, I've got a lot to cover. I've got a guest coming on. He's a veteran. He runs Freedom Honey. I didn't think to ask how to pronounce his last name. So I know him as Mike from Freedom Honey. And I believe his last name is Millier Miller. Oh God, I don't know. I'm terrible with names. He can let me know once he gets in here, I'm sure.
00:01:38.560 So we're going to chat with him for a little while about some veterans issues and things like that. When he gets in, it is that time Remembrance Day is approaching.
00:01:46.920 I see some of the folks otherwise checking in. Mr. Stanley is present as are others. So thanks for joining.
00:01:52.580 So I'm going to start off with what's got me wound up this week.
00:01:57.380 And that's Jordan pronouncing, or correcting me on the pronunciation, Mayor. Okay, thank you.
00:02:04.460 So you see, that's the nice things of a live show. I'll get some people fixing some things up. Of course, I wouldn't screw up in the first place if I could cover it up with a retake.
00:02:11.000 All right, let's talk about this week's news and then talk about a little history to start it off with.
00:02:14.680 So in Canada's 1980 federal election, there's a liberal strategist named Keith Davey, and he coined the phrase,
00:02:21.320 Screw the West, we'll take the rest. It was a blunt way of stating what is the most effective federal political strategy in Canada.
00:02:29.120 You drain resources from Western Canada while pandering to the East for votes.
00:02:32.980 And the Canada tactic worked like a charm. Pierre Trudeau won a majority government over the hapless Joe Clark.
00:02:39.140 Now, Justin Trudeau, he's taken Davey's advice, at least the first part of it, to heart.
00:02:43.940 He never hesitates to screw the West at every possible opportunity.
00:02:47.320 He's having a hard time, though, with the other part, which is taking the rest as his polling numbers continue their free fall into record low territory for the Liberal Party of Canada.
00:02:57.500 So while the strategy of regional division in federal politics is a pretty sound one, usually it still requires a party leader with a marginal degree of competence.
00:03:07.200 Trudeau's latest move has been his most crass.
00:03:10.380 He suspended the carbon tax applied to people's heating their homes with heating oil.
00:03:14.300 Now, this was almost clever on his part, or whoever his idea was, as it isn't overtly a regional political play.
00:03:21.160 But in practice, it's very regional.
00:03:22.820 There's only one part of Canada where heating oil is in common use, and that's in the Atlantic provinces.
00:03:27.860 Media, politicians, and the public caught on to that tactic pretty much immediately.
00:03:31.980 The gross unfairness of the policy was just too much to swallow for provincial leaders.
00:03:36.000 And that's where the fracturing of this country is coming in.
00:03:38.180 Saskatchewan's Premier Scott Moe is saying he's going to outright break the law and have Sask Power, the Crown Corporation that provides natural gas, that refused to collect Justin's carbon taxes any longer.
00:03:49.520 Alberta Premier Smith, of course, is threatening further use of the Sovereignty Act unless we get a break on the carbon tax to heat our homes out here in the prairies.
00:03:56.860 It gets pretty cold out here.
00:03:57.880 Even in BC, where it doesn't get as cold, and it's an NDP Premier EB, he's calling for breaks for his province as well.
00:04:04.000 And Ontario's Premier Doug Ford is actually calling for scrapping the carbon tax altogether, which is what Trudeau should do.
00:04:10.920 Quebec, of course, they already had special status, so they're sitting quietly on the sidelines watching the cracks in national unity widening into fissures under Trudeau's leadership.
00:04:19.980 I mean, they love seeing the unity going down the toilet.
00:04:22.400 But anyways, I mean, after years of claiming the carbon tax doesn't impact the cost of living for Canadians, Trudeau just admitted the tax is causing hardship on people trying to heat their homes, at least in Atlantic Canada.
00:04:34.300 I think we've got to heat them out here, too.
00:04:36.140 People heating with natural gas.
00:04:37.560 Yes, we will continue to suffer under the carbon tax, because that's predominantly Western Canada.
00:04:42.720 Rural Economic Development Minister, federal one, Goody Hutchings, she deserves her name mispronounced,
00:04:48.040 told CTV, I can tell you that the Liberal Atlantic Caucus was vocal with what they've heard from their constituents,
00:04:54.920 and perhaps they need to elect more liberals in the prairies so we can have that conversation as well.
00:05:00.200 Yeah, and basically putting the guns to our head, it's their way of saying, vote liberal or we're going to continue to screw you with taxes.
00:05:06.240 Trudeau's always claimed that the climate issue is so important, the carbon tax must remain in order to save the world.
00:05:11.840 If it really has that much benefit upon the environment, though, how could he possibly reverse even a portion of such an important tax?
00:05:17.840 I mean, won't some fuzzy bunnies die somewhere because the temperature went up now?
00:05:21.700 Unchecked inflation.
00:05:23.020 That's dogged the Liberal government since the pandemic.
00:05:27.100 And now the head of the Bank of Canada has admitted the carbon tax alone is responsible for 16% of the inflation.
00:05:32.640 Now, whatever little credibility Trudeau might have had on the carbon tax, it's in tatters.
00:05:37.460 The tax survived court challenges due to its apparent world-saving nature.
00:05:41.540 But now how can you go to court and say, well, it's there to save the world, but we'll selectively apply it here, there, and everywhere.
00:05:46.220 Now, something interesting is seeing the sharks within the Liberal Party.
00:05:49.360 They're starting to circle.
00:05:50.960 Air apparent Mark Carney, he came out to speak on how he kind of respects Trudeau's work on the climate, but he would do things differently on the carbon tax.
00:05:59.200 It's a subtle way of doing it, but his words are starting to take on the tone of a leadership contender.
00:06:03.960 Others are going to come out of the woodwork as an unofficial leadership campaign begins to develop.
00:06:08.440 But will Trudeau get it?
00:06:09.680 Can he get it?
00:06:10.460 Does he really think if he just pounds on the West hard enough, his political fortunes will change?
00:06:15.580 I mean, ignoring the spirit of the Supreme Court ruling that found most of his No More Pipelines bill to be unconstitutional didn't win him any support in the East anyways, and it just infuriated the West further, and made him look all the more inept with his policy development.
00:06:28.840 If and when, Trudeau reads the writing on the wall, what is he going to do on the way out the door, though?
00:06:32.440 He desperately wants to have a legacy as a climate crusader, and he's always seen Western Canadian industries as his biggest enemy on that front.
00:06:39.920 He wants to finish what his dad-dad did and shut down the West.
00:06:42.880 Will he make one more guy, you know, effort to crush the West, whether out of spite or misguided idealism?
00:06:47.980 I wouldn't put it beyond him.
00:06:49.740 Trudeau's already proven his pet climate project is more important than national unity.
00:06:54.740 The fractures he's creating within the country could lead to a full shattering of the nation.
00:06:59.380 I don't know. Even changing leaders, it probably won't change things, but people better start paying attention, people in the East, because you're the ones who put them there.
00:07:07.360 And if you want unity in this country, you are not going to get it as long as that ass clown is our prime minister.
00:07:13.160 All right, that's what's got me wound up today to start things off and kick them off.
00:07:17.380 Let's see what else is happening out there. I know it's crazy busy news stuff going on out there.
00:07:21.320 We'll check in with our news editor, Dave Naylor, in the newsroom.
00:07:25.720 Hey, Dave, how's it going?
00:07:26.620 Hey, good, Corey.
00:07:27.980 Corey, what did you go out dressed as last night?
00:07:31.080 I hid within my home with the lights turn out, you know, one of those grumpy folks who just hides from the children.
00:07:38.380 It's better for the world that I stay inside.
00:07:40.560 Yeah, you know, especially with all those bears and cougars around your compound.
00:07:44.800 You know, it would be a happy hunting season for the bears if you did.
00:07:49.440 True enough, well, they aren't that afraid of me when I'm dressed as a human.
00:07:51.720 So maybe if I went with an animal outfit, it would fix things up.
00:07:54.740 I'll try that next year, perhaps.
00:07:55.800 Yeah, well, I'm the same as you, Corey.
00:07:57.840 I hid out at the local pub till about 8.30 and then went home, made sure all the lights were turned out.
00:08:03.940 So, yeah, well, we're just a bunch of curmudgeons, eh?
00:08:06.720 Eh, gets that way.
00:08:08.140 Gets that way.
00:08:09.060 So, yeah, as you said, another busy, busy news morning.
00:08:12.300 Our site right now is leading off with a column from some character called Corey Morgan, talking about Trudeau's eco-obsession that is shattering Canada.
00:08:22.300 So that's very popular at our site.
00:08:24.800 You'll be pleased to know the Alberta government also this morning updated their insurance reform plan.
00:08:31.820 Basically, if you're a good driver, they're going to limit the amount that your insurance can go up by tapping it at 3.7%.
00:08:42.960 We've got to follow on our Linda Slobodian's excellent work on getting Remembrance Day prayers back allowed.
00:08:50.260 The government had banned prayers at Remembrance Day last month, believe it or not.
00:08:55.280 And through Linda's work, they seem to have reversed the ban.
00:09:00.580 So that's good news.
00:09:01.700 So I encourage you to check out the story and read her column there.
00:09:06.540 Speaking of Halloween, Corey, and this is where you and I, I think, differ, we've got a piece up there on Justin Trudeau's kid who went out as a decapitated person last night,
00:09:17.860 just two weeks after the Hamas terrorist attack that saw them decapitate babies and soldiers and women.
00:09:26.100 But you sort of took the other stream.
00:09:28.120 You said, hey, it's just Halloween.
00:09:29.320 Give him a break.
00:09:30.360 I thought it was actually a pretty good costume.
00:09:31.920 The timing, I'm sure.
00:09:34.080 I mean, Justin's not a deep thinker.
00:09:36.260 That's fair enough.
00:09:37.580 It just never occurred to him that somebody might see it otherwise.
00:09:40.380 And, of course, the kid's just being a kid.
00:09:42.220 I don't think there was intent to cause offense at a time like this.
00:09:45.340 Maybe somebody helping him with his Twitter account should have warned him on it.
00:09:49.020 But I think we've got bigger things to roast Mr. Trudeau over than how his kid was dressed up.
00:09:53.100 But, I mean, I admit, aside from the timing, that was a pretty cool costume.
00:09:56.940 Yeah, maybe.
00:09:57.460 But timing is everything, as they say in this business, Corey.
00:10:00.560 And Trudeau is getting people angry enough at, as you say, the carbon tax.
00:10:04.960 We've got a story on Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe talking about his disappointment.
00:10:10.220 And the Saskatchewan Energy Minister says he's willing to go to climate jail to fight Trudeau and the carbon tax.
00:10:19.620 And we've got a good story on a former taxman, a Canada Revenue Agency employee who conducted a very massive fraud scheme.
00:10:29.440 And was claiming benefits for 61 different children, believe it or not, getting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of taxpayers' money.
00:10:40.200 So, he's been sentenced to 18 months in jail.
00:10:43.080 So, he can try adding up tax returns from the sin bin, Corey.
00:10:48.000 Oh, it's good to see somebody finally caught in that sort of thing anyways.
00:10:52.140 I mean, we work enough to pay these guys.
00:10:53.680 We don't need other ones dipping into the pool above and beyond our politicians.
00:10:57.780 Exactly.
00:10:59.480 Okay.
00:11:00.100 Well, right on, Dave.
00:11:01.560 And I guess we've got the UCPAGM coming up before next week.
00:11:05.620 The Standard will be covering that pretty closely, I imagine.
00:11:08.740 Yeah, it'll be wall-to-wall coverage with our team down there.
00:11:11.660 Jonathan Bradley, Sean Polzer, and Jen Hodgson.
00:11:15.500 So, yeah, tune in during the weekend.
00:11:17.360 We'll have live updates.
00:11:19.920 Right on.
00:11:20.600 All right, Dave.
00:11:21.280 Well, I'll leave you back to all those stories.
00:11:23.440 And after the show, I'll come out and argue with you some more about Halloween costumes.
00:11:27.100 Well, I'll look forward to it, Corey.
00:11:28.540 Right on.
00:11:28.960 Thanks, Dave.
00:11:30.160 That is our news editor, Dave Naylor.
00:11:31.980 And, yeah, lots of stories.
00:11:33.280 Yeah, differences of opinion on things.
00:11:34.900 Fair enough.
00:11:35.860 And just all sorts of stuff to cover.
00:11:38.440 I mean, the news moves fast.
00:11:39.840 We've got a newsroom full of people, as he was mentioning.
00:11:43.100 The reason we have those folks, guys working hard like Jonathan and Mike and all the rest out there,
00:11:50.780 is because you guys subscribe.
00:11:52.000 And we really appreciate it.
00:11:53.220 It's $9.99 a month, $100 for a year.
00:11:56.080 This is how we stay independent, guys.
00:11:57.520 This is how we pay the bills.
00:11:58.920 This is how we beat the censors and don't have to answer to the federal government.
00:12:03.420 So, if you've subscribed already, thank you very much.
00:12:07.060 And if you haven't subscribed yet, get on there, westernstandard.news slash membership.
00:12:11.840 Take out a subscription.
00:12:12.700 It keeps this stuff rolling.
00:12:15.180 It allows us to expand and keep covering these events and doing a better job.
00:12:19.820 And I think we're doing a pretty good job so far.
00:12:22.120 But there's always room to improve.
00:12:23.700 I mean, look how terrible the mainstream media is.
00:12:25.180 Come on, you can't even stomach that stuff anymore.
00:12:27.260 At least I can't.
00:12:28.840 Though I still dip in there because I've got to see what they're doing.
00:12:30.940 I watch them so you don't have to.
00:12:33.760 And I'll filter through that crap and feed you my filtered interpretation of that crap so you get a better showing of it.
00:12:41.240 Good to see some of the other folks checking in.
00:12:43.940 Tiggy is saying good morning from BC.
00:12:46.460 Mr. Stanley, I'll leave your comment out of it.
00:12:49.400 But I appreciate the humor all the same.
00:12:52.060 So, yeah, what else we got going on?
00:12:53.720 Like I said, the AGM, it's a big one.
00:12:56.040 It's a big one.
00:12:57.020 I think we're expecting 3,600 people to come out to that AGM here in Calgary for the United Conservative Party.
00:13:03.160 It will be, I believe, the largest political convention held in Canadian history.
00:13:07.760 Like we've not had that many people come out to one before.
00:13:12.140 The venue is going to be huge.
00:13:13.640 It's going to be interesting.
00:13:14.340 It's going to be interesting to see how they can be productive, how they can get things accomplished with such a large crowd.
00:13:21.120 And the cost to attend it was pretty significant.
00:13:25.520 I think it was like $300 if you didn't get the early bird rate, $150 or $200 if you got the early bird.
00:13:31.360 I'm not sure, but that's a lot of people spending a lot of money and traveling all to Converge in Calgary.
00:13:37.980 And this is between elections.
00:13:39.780 This is post-election.
00:13:40.660 This is usually when you're going into the doldrums of politics.
00:13:45.300 But people are clearly very interested with what's going on there.
00:13:48.260 There's very hotly contested roles for the board of the party.
00:13:50.980 And I know some people are upset because, what, Take Back Alberta has been openly organizing and saying we want folks to get out and vote for certain folks.
00:13:59.260 But all they're saying is use the system, play it, do what is in front of you if you like.
00:14:04.440 If you don't agree with who is being put forward, you know, again, head on down there and vote otherwise.
00:14:08.620 Campaign otherwise, run for it.
00:14:10.100 This is democracy in action.
00:14:11.720 You won't always like the outcome of it.
00:14:14.020 I rarely like the outcome of democratic actions, it seems sometimes.
00:14:17.220 But all the same, participation is the key.
00:14:19.860 So no matter who is behind bringing out such a turnout and with the motivation, it's a good sign.
00:14:25.480 The more people are there, the better the chance.
00:14:27.920 Some common sense decisions, policies, selections of people in positions within the party are going to come out of that exercise this weekend.
00:14:35.780 I'll be going there as well.
00:14:37.040 I'll be observing.
00:14:37.700 I'll be writing columns on it.
00:14:38.760 I'll be doing stuff.
00:14:40.000 No, I didn't pay that amount.
00:14:41.280 We don't pay that well in independent media.
00:14:42.920 Luckily, I got in on the media access.
00:14:46.220 Plus, I'm not a party member anyway.
00:14:47.540 I'm just there to critique and watch and look forward to seeing some of you guys there.
00:14:52.960 Okay.
00:14:53.080 Let's get on to my guest.
00:14:54.220 I'm going to slaughter his name one more time since he's here to be able to correct it for me.
00:14:57.580 Mike Wheeler?
00:14:59.460 Mayor.
00:14:59.920 Mayor.
00:15:00.480 This is straightforward.
00:15:02.420 From Freedom Honey.
00:15:03.400 Yes, some of you who are on Twitter, X and so on, would know Mike already and Freedom Honey and your podcast on there, at least the voice.
00:15:11.580 You tend to keep your face out of it whilst you're cursing and going on.
00:15:14.840 I think I have a face for radio.
00:15:16.020 I think that's the trick.
00:15:16.980 Oh, I don't know.
00:15:17.680 You look pretty enough to me.
00:15:18.580 I'm sure the fan mail will be coming in soon enough.
00:15:22.300 All right.
00:15:23.000 All right.
00:15:23.320 Yeah.
00:15:23.540 Thanks for having me on the show.
00:15:25.220 Yeah.
00:15:25.560 I guess a little background.
00:15:27.480 It being coming up on Remembrance Day, Veterans Issues are coming to the fore.
00:15:31.260 They're always there, but this is the time of year when people are paying attention to it.
00:15:35.580 And you are a veteran and you work on some veteran initiatives.
00:15:39.080 So I'll kind of let you go from there and expand a bit on that.
00:15:41.080 Yeah.
00:15:41.260 Awesome.
00:15:41.560 So basically, did 12 years service, got out of the military, bought a farm out in the middle of nowhere, and we started this honey operation.
00:15:50.800 This was basically just going to be a pet project, you know, kind of a hobby.
00:15:54.060 And then we had a lot of support from some of our vet buddies and everything like that.
00:15:58.860 So myself and Pedro decided to kind of give back.
00:16:01.760 So originally, whatever we make from the honey, we just donated back to the Veterans Food Bank.
00:16:06.780 But now we've been helping with PTSD.
00:16:08.840 We've been advocating for other causes.
00:16:11.840 We were pretty vocal when it came to the veterans getting kicked, soldiers getting kicked out for noncompliance with a vaccine mandate.
00:16:20.740 So we kind of fought back with that.
00:16:22.180 But we help promote other veteran businesses.
00:16:25.440 And I store a lot of shit on X.
00:16:29.900 Like yourself.
00:16:31.020 Yes, yes, that I do.
00:16:32.480 That's my favorite playground.
00:16:34.120 Well, I appreciate it.
00:16:34.940 And creative ways to get out there.
00:16:36.320 I mean, everybody's kind of tapped.
00:16:38.180 There are dozens, hundreds of good causes.
00:16:40.780 There really are.
00:16:41.300 Everything from animal welfare to Down syndrome society.
00:16:45.200 You name it.
00:16:46.520 And we all want to help with as many ways as we can.
00:16:48.540 But I think something that helps is something where you get a bit of a product or you get something going.
00:16:51.920 You've got some honey on the go.
00:16:53.400 You've got the exercise of beekeeping in itself provides some therapeutic benefit.
00:16:58.140 Yeah, so it turns out that the tone that the bees will vibrate at when they're buzzing is actually it triggers some neurons in the brain to actually help with PTSD relief.
00:17:11.440 So what we'll do is we'll get my friends and we'll get guys.
00:17:13.520 We'll get them over to the farm.
00:17:14.460 We'll get them in the suit.
00:17:15.700 And we'll just hang out, do some bee stuff and drink cheap beer.
00:17:19.780 Generally, I mean, it works.
00:17:21.500 Speaking of that, I brought you some stuff.
00:17:23.200 I know you're not on the sauce anymore, but I figured for the rest of the riffraff around here.
00:17:28.360 Guys, this is Ironhive Meadery, local Edmonton.
00:17:32.080 They also distribute in Calgary and a few other places.
00:17:35.180 This guy was infantry, started this meadery, reached out to us, asked if we could supply them.
00:17:41.660 Sadly, I mean, the amount they want is just ridiculous for now.
00:17:45.020 We're kind of in the boutique niche right now, so we're not into massive production.
00:17:49.780 Really good stuff.
00:17:50.760 Check them out, Ironhive Meadery, 21 locations available in Edmonton, 7 in Calgary, and a few other places.
00:17:58.480 So really good stuff.
00:17:59.660 I'm sure you, I mean, I'm sure the rest of the riffraff here will enjoy this, probably between now and the pipeline.
00:18:04.920 It'll be consumed pretty quickly afterwards.
00:18:06.900 And just for folks who aren't familiar with the mead, I mean, it's like the oldest form of alcohol.
00:18:10.740 It's a honey-based type of drink.
00:18:13.540 It's honey, it's honey wine.
00:18:15.380 It's honey wine, and it's really sweet, obviously, but I think it's better than wine.
00:18:21.420 Well, and it's a veteran initiative just as Freedom Honey, and that's why, you know, I mean, normally we don't let people come in with product plugs, but this is different.
00:18:28.120 This is a veteran business sort of thing that's going on because we're asking for supports or people are looking at veterans come back.
00:18:34.780 They're leaving the service.
00:18:35.820 They have a hard time getting their feet under them sometimes, moving into the rest of the world, and business initiatives are another way to do so.
00:18:43.020 So this meadery, you know, and type of brewing is one of those ways to do it in a small business way.
00:18:49.600 And I'm sure they appreciate the plug.
00:18:51.320 But right now, services for vets is, it's like pulling teeth.
00:18:55.340 It is a shame.
00:18:56.340 I mean, we're getting close to Remembrance Day.
00:18:58.100 Christmas time is the worst.
00:18:59.580 The culture has really changed in the military that it's becoming a lot more accepted when it comes to mental health and all this stuff.
00:19:10.260 The issue is, is once you're out of the Army trying to access that care, it's a nightmare.
00:19:16.700 And a lot of guys fall through the cracks, and we end up with homeless veterans.
00:19:20.020 We end up with people with high suicide rates, and that part is sad.
00:19:24.900 But, I mean, to bring awareness to the struggles that they're facing, and that's kind of what we help, too.
00:19:31.060 I mean, I've had those 3 a.m. phone calls of dealing with guys and previous guys that have been under my command, and I just, my heart goes out to them.
00:19:38.300 So if anything I can say, if anybody's out there suffering, call.
00:19:42.900 I know it's the heart, most difficult phone call you can ever make, but to someone, you mean something, and the world will miss you.
00:19:50.100 Well, that's it.
00:19:51.520 And, I mean, Remembrance Day is the one time where we're kind of paying attention and recognizing that shortly afterwards comes the Christmas season.
00:19:57.140 And if somebody's been disconnected from family or friends or is not in a good place, it can actually become a more dangerous and lonely time for some people when it really should be one of a celebration.
00:20:07.360 So we shouldn't be forgetting our veterans and their needs at that sort of time.
00:20:12.040 A good way to give back, too, is to always Edmonton, Calgary, they've got phenomenal veterans' food banks.
00:20:18.100 They're always looking for volunteers to help with Christmas pampers and stuff like that.
00:20:23.500 So if you guys are looking a way to give back, give them a shout because I'm sure they'll be more than willing to accept the help.
00:20:31.040 Well, we just as a nation have really fallen badly on for a long time.
00:20:35.940 I won't even fully just blame this government.
00:20:37.380 This has been going on for a long time.
00:20:38.860 We ask a lot of our service members going overseas, working domestically.
00:20:44.600 It's not a high-paying, easy job by any means.
00:20:48.380 But then when it's finished, when we get back, it's kind of, well, thanks for your service and out the door.
00:20:52.280 As Trudeau said, you know what, we have no more to give along those lines.
00:20:56.940 But he's offering MAID now.
00:20:59.000 Yeah.
00:20:59.220 The MAID thing, that was something we took hard.
00:21:03.480 It originally had come out that it was one case worker.
00:21:07.640 I think they called him the merchant of death or something like that.
00:21:11.120 But no, now it's coming out that there's over 20 that have been offered this solution.
00:21:17.100 And I should expand.
00:21:18.180 Not everybody necessarily knows the acronym.
00:21:19.980 It's medical assistance and dying.
00:21:21.660 So it's saying, hey, you call in for help and they offer you an injection.
00:21:25.300 Yeah.
00:21:25.580 The issue is with the, I mean, the worst part is calling for help, calling for VA, calling any kind of help, realizing that there's something wrong and you're calling for help.
00:21:33.700 You're at your limit.
00:21:35.220 You're in a dark place.
00:21:36.860 You're probably depressed.
00:21:38.400 The world is closing in.
00:21:39.880 And it is very easy for someone to push you over that edge.
00:21:43.980 And that's where we have such a big problem with this.
00:21:46.400 And there's myself and a bunch of other vets and other groups.
00:21:49.900 Mark Minkey from the radio, from the Operation Tango Romeo podcast, shout out to him.
00:21:55.060 He's been fighting this case.
00:21:56.720 And he was in Ottawa testifying on behalf of these people to bring some light to this because it's an absolute tragedy.
00:22:03.860 We don't take well enough care for our vets.
00:22:08.340 The services, they say they're out there, but accessing them is just far too difficult.
00:22:12.960 And we need to do better as a country.
00:22:15.820 We need to do better as a nation.
00:22:18.040 Well, and it's unique, I guess.
00:22:20.320 I mean, it's part of the issue is people have never served.
00:22:21.980 I can't pretend to understand it.
00:22:23.300 But if you've come out of that different sort of career and that circumstance, I mean, the transition into the working world, aside from, you know, potentially traumatic situations and stress that came from past service, it's just it's a whole new world of settling in, kind of reinventing yourself.
00:22:40.020 And it needs supports.
00:22:41.880 I mean, if only for our own selfish benefit, if our veterans are settling in well, we're doing better with neighbors and fewer people dependent on social services and things like that.
00:22:49.500 So it's an investment to make sure that they can transition into it.
00:22:53.420 Yeah, there's a couple of good organizations.
00:22:55.680 Helmets to Hardhats is a good example of out there to help with transition right now with so many people leaving the military.
00:23:03.740 It's it's it's busy.
00:23:05.440 And, you know, there's always vets looking for work.
00:23:07.600 I mean, on myself, I get calls all the time asking, hey, you know, who's hiring and stuff like that.
00:23:11.360 And and I'm talking about these are these are good guys.
00:23:14.200 These are the good men and women.
00:23:15.740 These are the people that generally you want to hire.
00:23:18.240 They'll show up to time.
00:23:19.580 They'll they'll they'll they'll be clean.
00:23:22.680 They'll be sober.
00:23:24.200 They'll do a good job.
00:23:25.380 And they have that discipline.
00:23:27.100 I myself and our company, not including my day job, we we hire predominantly vets.
00:23:32.380 And then my my employees have no issues with that.
00:23:35.460 And they generally worked out.
00:23:37.180 So, I mean, you're still in touch, I imagine, with a lot of people who are currently serving.
00:23:41.360 As well, I mean, that's that's been in the news a lot as well.
00:23:43.920 I mean, it's bad enough.
00:23:44.620 We're not taking care of our vets when they're out of the service.
00:23:46.460 But it sounds like we're not taking very good care of them in the service right now, either.
00:23:49.720 There's vets right now sleeping in their cars.
00:23:51.900 The cost of living has gotten so high and they pay hasn't been able to keep up that in some of the big cities, Vancouver, Toronto.
00:24:00.460 I mean, we've got guys literally sleeping in their cars while still serving while still serving, getting up, putting their uniform on, going to work, going back to the car.
00:24:08.260 And it's a it's terrible.
00:24:09.740 So we don't the culture itself has changed drastically, going to be more inclusive and diverse.
00:24:17.140 And they just I want to say it's making a toxic work environment.
00:24:21.400 It's just it's changing their priorities.
00:24:24.100 And a lot of guys feel that way and they reach out and they talk.
00:24:27.620 They're like, man, is this is it is it a big change?
00:24:31.240 Yeah.
00:24:31.400 Well, in morale, I imagine.
00:24:32.540 I mean, well, with any job, it's important.
00:24:34.200 But critical in the case of a service member, if you're going to put them into a dangerous situation overseas or the world's getting crazy enough, we might be having dangerous situations here in Canada pretty soon.
00:24:44.460 And you want your service members to be feeling good about what they're doing and dedicated to the job before putting going into such a circumstance.
00:24:53.700 Because, I mean, they're not going to necessarily be able to do their job very well if they're sour on the entire affair at the time.
00:24:58.800 Now, with that, I think it's just a matter of the culture has gone swung away so much that I think we need to come back to the grassroots, kind of what what the army, what our main core values are, what our main mission and objectives are.
00:25:14.160 That's helping domestic, helping overseas and kind of reinforcing that set of values.
00:25:20.020 Because we it's gone so I mean, it's gone so far to the left that we I mean, you just hear the stories and people are frustrated and people are upset.
00:25:30.960 And that's why you see so because of the because of that culture shift.
00:25:34.480 That's why you see so many people leaving right now.
00:25:36.640 That's why our troop numbers have been decimated.
00:25:39.820 So that I don't even think we're a effective force anymore.
00:25:43.060 Well, it doesn't look appealing for new people considering a career and moving into it.
00:25:46.980 I mean, when you hear about how it's going, it's tragic.
00:25:50.020 Because we need it.
00:25:50.860 We have to have this.
00:25:52.440 It was the best decision I ever made in my life.
00:25:54.880 I got out at a really good time.
00:25:56.880 And since then, just being able to help the guys transition and bring them into the civilian world and helping and helping them out and stuff like that.
00:26:04.020 I mean, it means a lot to me.
00:26:05.340 It means a lot to my business partner, Pedro.
00:26:07.940 But at least we can we can be there to help guide people.
00:26:10.980 Going further, I'll go a little more into the beekeeping.
00:26:13.220 So again, I keep my bees.
00:26:14.660 I enjoy them and so on.
00:26:16.040 I mean, just as a hobby for veterans or anybody like that, that's what I find as well.
00:26:21.700 It's relaxing.
00:26:22.940 It's a nice hobby getting in there.
00:26:25.120 I mean, you've shown some of your videos.
00:26:26.460 You know, when you're not being wise about it, you can do some cursing and get a sting here and there.
00:26:30.920 But they're not hornets.
00:26:32.720 They're actually quite gentle bugs if you treat them right.
00:26:37.120 They are soothing.
00:26:38.020 There's actually a lot of therapeutic benefit to it.
00:26:40.320 And I recommend it to anybody.
00:26:41.540 Everybody that wants to set up a little hive.
00:26:43.540 I mean, it's not too much money to get into.
00:26:45.740 Go outside.
00:26:46.660 It really grounds you.
00:26:47.680 You got to stay calm when you're working with them.
00:26:49.980 And it's very, very, very therapeutic.
00:26:53.580 I, myself, am allergic.
00:26:55.520 So I always got that added level of danger.
00:26:57.460 Your hand swelled up quite a bit.
00:26:58.580 Yeah, that was an interesting five days of injections last time I got stung pretty good.
00:27:03.100 But normally, Pedro gets stung.
00:27:04.600 So we're fine.
00:27:05.900 Leave it to him to take it off.
00:27:07.840 Yeah, I get stung the odd time.
00:27:08.980 Luckily, it doesn't impact me except if I run around like a little girl because I'm still a wimp when it comes to stinging insects.
00:27:13.660 So when you get them in the suit, you run.
00:27:15.700 Yeah, well, I saw a great meme with that.
00:27:17.080 It showed something like, you know, the alien when the mouth is coming out of the other mouth.
00:27:20.880 And it just says that moment when you realize that the bee on your veil isn't on the outside.
00:27:24.500 It's on the inside.
00:27:26.480 Oh, shit.
00:27:27.820 Yeah, exactly.
00:27:28.900 All rules are gone out the window when that happens.
00:27:31.400 I'm flailing around.
00:27:33.300 Yeah.
00:27:33.780 Well, you see some of those people.
00:27:35.100 There's that gal down in Texas, you know, who barehandedly scoops them out.
00:27:38.880 She's a hero.
00:27:39.720 I'm not doing that.
00:27:40.440 No, either way.
00:27:41.280 But there's all sorts of levels in between.
00:27:43.300 Just letting people know if they're considering it, too.
00:27:44.860 I mean, you get suited up.
00:27:46.280 You stay calm.
00:27:47.060 Even a wimp like me can pull it off.
00:27:48.960 Like, it's not a high-risk hobby.
00:27:51.440 $200, you're helping the environment because everybody needs to remember, if they go, we're going with them.
00:27:56.380 Yeah, well, and those things produce.
00:27:58.500 Holy cow.
00:27:59.280 You run a hive well.
00:28:00.540 I mean, one hive can make 80 to 100 pounds of honey in a year that you can take if it's a developed hive.
00:28:05.600 And assuming you're leaving enough for the girls for the winter.
00:28:09.720 It's definitely more that I can consume.
00:28:11.960 So, I mean, people are getting pretty good Christmas presents this year.
00:28:14.860 Well, that's it.
00:28:15.360 If you're doing it as a hobbyist, you know, for your friends and family, there you go.
00:28:17.880 Jars of honey.
00:28:18.840 And, I mean, that's one of the beauty of it, too.
00:28:20.100 It's not like a big processing thing when it's done or anything.
00:28:22.500 You're just taking it out, spinning it, straining it, and it's ready to roll.
00:28:25.400 I don't know.
00:28:25.780 Your extractor looked like it came out of an antique mall.
00:28:29.160 It was an antique, but it worked.
00:28:30.980 I never said it didn't, but it looked like it came out of an antique mall.
00:28:33.820 That's right.
00:28:35.180 Us, we got a couple hundred bucks from work for exercise equipment, so we just took an
00:28:40.940 old tractor, hooked it up to a V-belt, and we'd run it off.
00:28:43.380 That's our old treadmill, and we'd run it off that.
00:28:45.740 Yeah, I saw that.
00:28:47.100 Yeah, you can get creative.
00:28:48.260 As my wife would attest, I'm mechanically special.
00:28:52.360 I just stick mine to hill climb, and we're fine.
00:28:54.440 I need something where I can just turn a handle and open the bottom, and that's what it did.
00:28:57.980 But, again, there's all those different levels.
00:28:59.400 It depends on how involved you want to get in the hobby.
00:29:01.500 I think everybody should start a hobby.
00:29:03.880 Yes, and this is a good one.
00:29:06.140 It's wonderful, and I'm happy I do it, and I'm happy we can give back, and we can help
00:29:10.400 out and stuff like that, and it's just one other adventure.
00:29:14.820 I mean, if you guys want to check us out, you guys can check us out on X at Live Free
00:29:18.680 Honey.
00:29:19.040 Freedom Honey 2.0 is what we go by.
00:29:21.180 Twitter didn't like our last page, but that's a different story.
00:29:24.680 Facebook, Freedom Honey, and keep following us, supporting us on our amateur beekeeping
00:29:30.020 adventure, because it gets pretty spicy sometimes.
00:29:33.300 Yeah, no, you're less restrained on X and on Facebook, as am I, and other things.
00:29:37.720 I mean, you can have fun while you're at it, too.
00:29:39.220 That's part of the whole thing.
00:29:40.740 I just think it's great.
00:29:41.620 You know, initiatives, creative initiatives, something different to help with a good cause
00:29:44.920 and just spread that word.
00:29:46.680 So hopefully more people get involved and get supportive with it.
00:29:49.940 So, yeah, I will leave it at that.
00:29:52.980 I thank you very much for coming in.
00:29:54.720 I know you've got to run out to BC and do some work here right away.
00:29:57.500 Yeah, day job's a calling.
00:29:58.700 Anyway, thanks for having me on.
00:29:59.920 It was nice to meet everybody.
00:30:01.440 I really appreciate it.
00:30:02.720 I appreciate the work you do, and I appreciate your service.
00:30:05.440 Thank you.
00:30:07.340 Yeah, not enough people show the appreciation.
00:30:09.140 I'm not going to throw any money or anything, but I will send the thanks for standing up for
00:30:13.420 us out there.
00:30:13.680 I'll send you a Christmas card.
00:30:14.700 How's that?
00:30:15.220 Excellent, Mark.
00:30:15.860 That's great.
00:30:16.800 All right.
00:30:17.960 So we will talk again soon, I'm sure.
00:30:20.220 That was Mike from Freedom Honey.
00:30:21.500 Just look them up, guys.
00:30:22.600 Get on X.
00:30:23.100 Get on Facebook.
00:30:24.620 Maybe they'll get themselves a website going eventually.
00:30:26.660 Who knows?
00:30:27.140 He doesn't look enthusiastic about it, but all the same, it's just fantastic.
00:30:31.460 I like seeing creative things.
00:30:32.420 Like I said, it's important to give things out to causes, but it's also better when you
00:30:35.680 see it integrated with a product or, in this case, an activity as well.
00:30:39.980 Get soothing.
00:30:40.540 Get out there and spend some time with those bees.
00:30:45.740 It's this Wild Nature Farm saying, better go finish the extra feed for my bees if you're
00:30:49.360 warm enough to manage to squeeze it in.
00:30:50.520 I've been too worried.
00:30:51.100 I stopped feeding a couple weeks ago down in the valley.
00:30:54.480 I mean, I guess, too cold at night.
00:30:55.660 And yes, folks, you do feed the bees at certain times and things like that to keep going.
00:31:00.020 There's a lot to the hobby.
00:31:01.000 It's not terribly complicated.
00:31:02.140 It's not that hard, but there is something to it.
00:31:05.160 The thing I like about it is, well, if you get into it, it's not like other forms of
00:31:08.880 livestock or even keeping dogs and cats.
00:31:11.940 If it's mid-summer and you want to take off for a week or two, you can leave them for
00:31:15.440 a week or two.
00:31:16.020 They should be fine.
00:31:16.720 In wintertime, if you winterized your hive right, done your work and everything, you don't
00:31:21.000 have to do anything with them for months.
00:31:23.020 Leave them alone.
00:31:24.040 They will take care of themselves.
00:31:25.220 So it's not quite the commitment that some of the other things out there in agriculture,
00:31:31.060 I guess you could say, are, you know, demand of you.
00:31:33.360 And a lot of people are getting into it in the city.
00:31:35.600 The only thing I would counsel, again, like check your local rules, check with your neighbors.
00:31:38.980 If you've got a neighbor who's got a couple of children who were very, you know, seriously
00:31:43.560 allergic to bee stings or things like that, it might not be appropriate.
00:31:46.020 But most often, if you've got good neighbors and you communicate, you can do it right in
00:31:49.560 the city.
00:31:50.820 There's a friend of mine, Lotfi, he's right out down in South Calgary and he's raising bees
00:31:55.360 right in his backyard and it's going great.
00:31:57.360 All right.
00:31:57.840 So yes, check them out, guys.
00:31:59.720 Freedom, honey.
00:32:00.140 That was a good talk.
00:32:01.720 All right.
00:32:02.360 Let's talk about some other things.
00:32:04.580 This popped up.
00:32:05.380 You know, Arthur Green used to be with us.
00:32:06.840 He got scooped up by a competing employer.
00:32:11.440 I'll put it as that.
00:32:12.080 It made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
00:32:14.440 So he's no longer been writing for us, but he's still active out there and things.
00:32:17.720 And those who remember Arthur Green, you know, he's our great Goofy Noofy.
00:32:21.320 He would get out there on the Edmonton Transit and take pictures of just how bad it's gotten,
00:32:27.420 how far it's fallen, the amount of addiction, the amount of crime, the amount of
00:32:30.720 mess.
00:32:31.680 And he very much embarrassed a lot of the Edmonton Council on that.
00:32:35.380 You know, in Calgary, they'd get upset with me for doing the same thing.
00:32:37.940 I didn't do it as thoroughly as Arthur.
00:32:39.200 But keep putting those pictures up there because people who don't ride the train, people
00:32:42.000 that don't go downtown, don't necessarily see how bad the addiction problem is, how badly
00:32:47.520 the enablement cult has failed, you know, by saying, oh, we'll just let them ride the
00:32:51.760 trains and let them use them as rolling safe consumption sites.
00:32:54.740 It's not safe for the consumer of these drugs, nor for the poor people who are trying to
00:32:59.120 commute to and from work or school or the grocery store or whatever they're doing on
00:33:02.840 public transit.
00:33:03.460 So either way, Edmonton has this press release they put out.
00:33:08.840 And it was put out on X, though, a part on the top, which was basically saying media shall
00:33:15.000 not go on to any transit property, ETS, Edmonton Transit Services property, without checking
00:33:22.260 in with them first, letting them know, giving them at least 24 hours notice.
00:33:25.720 And of course, they're only open nine to five or something like that.
00:33:27.920 And they are not to go on any property, including trains or buses or stations, and do any reporting,
00:33:38.600 taking pictures, taking video.
00:33:40.900 Really?
00:33:42.220 How about this?
00:33:43.080 Kiss my butt.
00:33:44.620 That is so far and beyond the pale on offending free press.
00:33:50.700 You guys, who do you think you are?
00:33:53.540 And we know that's a response to Arthur.
00:33:55.340 He embarrassed them too much.
00:33:56.900 He exposed what they didn't want to talk about.
00:33:58.820 Well, too damn bad.
00:34:00.760 Fix your problems before trying to threaten media and tell them where they can or cannot
00:34:06.280 report.
00:34:07.940 And as Angry Canadian, one of the commenters said, good luck enforcing that.
00:34:11.260 Yeah, I know.
00:34:11.900 I think it's a bluff on their part.
00:34:13.680 I mean, really?
00:34:14.460 What are you going to?
00:34:15.620 Because if I get to Edmonton, I think I'll just have to go out there and take some pictures.
00:34:18.360 Don't worry, guys.
00:34:18.960 I'll throw it out on X and let you know I'm going to do it.
00:34:21.680 And I'll get on the train and I'll take some shots and take some video.
00:34:24.060 So I'd love to, I had a recommendation for somebody to do a live show from the train.
00:34:28.320 That might be a little hard, you know, when you're getting attacked by the roaming addicts.
00:34:31.580 But all the same, who are you to tell me?
00:34:34.200 And what would you charge me with?
00:34:35.300 If I bought my ticket to ride the train, who are you to stop me?
00:34:39.740 And what are you going to charge me with?
00:34:41.360 Reporting in a public place?
00:34:42.520 Good luck with that.
00:34:43.320 I would love to see that in front of a judge.
00:34:45.880 Even the most goofy of Trudeau-esque judges would not convict somebody for reporting in a public place.
00:34:53.800 But it shows the arrogance of bureaucrats.
00:34:57.100 Because I don't think this came from the, you know, the ranks of elected officials in Edmonton.
00:35:05.140 Though they got some pretty goofy city councillors and certainly a mayor who's out to lunch.
00:35:08.960 Calgary's got similar.
00:35:10.520 No, this came from the bureaucracy and the transit service.
00:35:12.960 This came from the pointy-headed bureaucrats.
00:35:14.840 The ones you never hear about.
00:35:15.880 But they're still making six-figure incomes to come up with stupid crap and mismanage a large system.
00:35:20.540 And Edmonton's LRT system is a gong show.
00:35:24.180 But Mr. Stanley says, yuck to kissing my butt.
00:35:27.280 Well, you don't have to kiss it.
00:35:28.820 But, you know, it's a recommendation for those who want to tell me where and when people in any form of media,
00:35:35.740 whether you like that form of media or not, may or may not report.
00:35:39.380 Free press is essential.
00:35:41.540 It's integral to any democracy.
00:35:44.060 So, you know, instead of trying to threaten to crack down on reporters who dare go on public transit,
00:35:52.000 just fix your mess, you clowns.
00:35:53.740 Because that shows the other aspect of bureaucrats and government and people like that.
00:35:58.840 They don't want to go to the trouble of fixing their problem.
00:36:01.640 They don't even like admitting they have problems.
00:36:03.960 They'd rather cover it up.
00:36:05.580 They'd rather hide it.
00:36:06.640 They'd rather try to stop us from reporting on it.
00:36:09.780 Well, I'll make it pretty clear to you guys.
00:36:11.500 No, it's not going to work.
00:36:13.000 We're going to keep reporting on it.
00:36:14.480 So just fix it.
00:36:15.700 It'll make it easier for all of us.
00:36:17.700 One more comment or saying, is the Western Standard looking for a Calgary reporter?
00:36:20.420 Has a friend who might be interested?
00:36:21.900 For anybody, you know, email.
00:36:24.000 I think info at westernstandard.news might be the best one for it.
00:36:27.520 Or look on the site.
00:36:28.440 I know jobs have been posted in the past when they're up.
00:36:30.480 I don't know if there's openings or not.
00:36:31.640 I'm the opinion blowhard, so I don't necessarily know about those parts of the operation.
00:36:35.700 But by all means, you know, the more the better wherever you are in Canada.
00:36:38.260 If you think you might be a fit for the organization or have something to offer,
00:36:42.040 there's nothing to lose in sending in an application.
00:36:44.960 Aside from that, I don't know which openings may or may not be going at any given time.
00:36:50.180 George Nelson saying you'd be charged with mischief,
00:36:52.680 which is the catch-all charge for anyone telling the truth.
00:36:56.580 Yeah, possibly.
00:36:57.920 Possibly.
00:36:59.040 Again, in that case, I find it very difficult to see them managing to get a conviction for it.
00:37:05.160 But, you know, I don't put anything beyond them trying.
00:37:08.180 You know, I really don't.
00:37:10.260 Speaking of trains, and I wrote something on this,
00:37:12.240 and I'm going to go on about it a little now,
00:37:15.980 and there'll be a column sometime later on this.
00:37:18.240 But out of the throne speech in Alberta, the UCP, Daniel Smith,
00:37:21.900 who I think, again, is probably one of the best things to happen in Alberta in a long time.
00:37:26.040 We'll see.
00:37:26.460 I'm certainly supportive of most of what Premier Smith is doing and the direction she's gone.
00:37:32.000 I certainly respect her as a libertarian, conservative-leaning person.
00:37:35.260 But then when they inserted into the throne speech a plan to look into having a high-speed train
00:37:42.140 between Calgary and Edmonton,
00:37:44.760 well, where on earth did that come from?
00:37:47.780 I mean, it's nothing new.
00:37:49.060 People talk about it every few years.
00:37:51.100 Or whatever.
00:37:51.420 Or people talk about all sorts of things every few years.
00:37:53.480 It doesn't mean we put it in the throne speech.
00:37:56.240 High-speed trains fail.
00:37:59.460 They're right up there with universal basic income.
00:38:02.680 They're up there with rent control.
00:38:04.820 They don't work.
00:38:05.740 They don't work in North America.
00:38:07.840 Why are we even considering this?
00:38:10.040 We have so many things going on, so much on our plate, so much to do,
00:38:15.320 and you want to piss around with a high-speed rail boondoggle?
00:38:18.800 It's insane.
00:38:20.260 It's insane.
00:38:21.180 And I will cover it in the column, too, so I suggest you go online and read it when it comes out,
00:38:25.160 you know, where I give full details.
00:38:26.280 But I'll give some of the basics.
00:38:27.100 Like, look to California.
00:38:28.520 We've got a good recent example of it.
00:38:31.240 California, because I guess Premier Smith was on saying,
00:38:33.360 well, we expect Alberta to get up to, you know, nearly 10 million people by 2050.
00:38:37.340 She didn't source how, but okay, fine.
00:38:39.260 Even if we do, if that happens, if our population doubles in that period of time,
00:38:44.220 we've got bigger issues to deal with than trains.
00:38:47.500 We're going to need hospitals.
00:38:48.580 We're going to need schools.
00:38:49.480 We're going to need to expand our roadways.
00:38:51.100 And most of all, we're going to need houses, millions of houses.
00:38:54.700 And we don't need to be messing around building a high-speed train that nobody asked for,
00:39:01.100 aside from small lobby groups, and nobody can afford.
00:39:04.460 So look to California.
00:39:06.160 They've got almost 40 million people, you know.
00:39:10.520 So four times, this is currently four times what Premier Smith thinks Alberta will have
00:39:16.860 if and when we get this train going.
00:39:19.500 Now, they started their high-speed rail project back in 2008.
00:39:23.820 It's been 15 years.
00:39:25.400 They've barely broken ground on it.
00:39:27.460 Their project was supposed to be finished at a cost of,
00:39:31.420 and again, I'd have to look to my own column to see the exact numbers.
00:39:33.360 I believe it was in the realm of $30 billion,
00:39:36.560 and it was supposed to be done by 2020.
00:39:39.280 They got none of it done yet.
00:39:40.860 They got a 170-mile stretch.
00:39:43.220 They've decided to focus on, which they think might be done by 2030 now,
00:39:47.900 and it's going to come in around $130 billion.
00:39:50.040 Whoa, for what?
00:39:53.900 And this is higher density area.
00:39:56.500 This is a bigger population, and it's not feasible there.
00:40:01.400 There's no bloody way it would be feasible here.
00:40:04.320 Can you imagine the fun of trying to buy the property required for the right-of-ways
00:40:09.320 along the highway to get such a train going?
00:40:12.920 Can you imagine the ticket prices?
00:40:15.140 I mean, let's say you're going out with a family of four.
00:40:17.700 You're going to see Auntie Margaret up in Edmonton for Thanksgiving.
00:40:20.720 Great.
00:40:21.420 Okay.
00:40:22.320 Well, this train is going to cost $200 a head for tickets, say,
00:40:25.720 unless we want to really soak the taxpayers heavily.
00:40:28.360 Let's assume it's built.
00:40:30.280 So you're going to go to Calgary, I imagine.
00:40:34.840 You're going to park your vehicle somewhere, and let's get real.
00:40:37.060 You're going to pay to park.
00:40:38.460 You and the family are all going to hustle onto this plane,
00:40:40.640 and like a flight and everything,
00:40:41.580 you'll probably want to be there at least half an hour, 45 minutes early.
00:40:44.120 Get on this train, zip you up quickly.
00:40:47.320 You know, so for, let's say it's cheap at $400 each way.
00:40:52.560 Zips up to Red Deer, stops there.
00:40:55.200 Zips up to Edmonton, stops there.
00:40:57.520 Then you rent your car or get your Uber,
00:41:00.060 or maybe put on your stab-proof vest and get on Edmonton Transit Service,
00:41:03.320 where I'll be taking pictures.
00:41:04.880 And then make your way over to Auntie Margaret's for dinner,
00:41:08.020 and then repeat the whole thing on the way back.
00:41:10.340 Or, or, bear with me, you just get in the car and drive there.
00:41:15.520 What do you think is going to happen?
00:41:17.140 What are people going to do?
00:41:18.240 Sure, there's a handful of commuters are going to use a train like that,
00:41:21.200 going back and forth.
00:41:21.820 But you know what?
00:41:22.180 Those are the same people that are already doing it with planes,
00:41:24.960 because it's going to be about the same price
00:41:26.400 and probably about the same amount of time commitment
00:41:28.440 just to fly there and get yourself a vehicle on the other.
00:41:30.320 And it's just a ridiculous, non-starting, expensive boondoggle of a policy
00:41:36.640 that's going to come.
00:41:38.220 And this needs to be nipped in the butt.
00:41:39.960 I do not know where it came from.
00:41:41.540 It wasn't anywhere in the campaign platforms.
00:41:43.980 I didn't remember anybody screaming for it at the rallies,
00:41:46.880 or, you know, I dare them to try and say,
00:41:49.800 oh, people at the doorsteps were saying,
00:41:51.200 no, I'm not worried about the cost of living.
00:41:52.800 I'm not worried about Ottawa's incursions into Alberta.
00:41:55.320 I'm not worried about my pension plan.
00:41:56.480 What I really want you to do is spend tens of billions of dollars
00:41:59.820 on a high-speed train to Edmonton.
00:42:02.700 Where did you guys get this from?
00:42:04.500 Don't.
00:42:05.160 Get rid of it.
00:42:06.500 Stop it.
00:42:07.360 You've got a lot to focus on, Premier Smith.
00:42:09.800 And again, I'm looking forward to you focusing on those things.
00:42:12.420 And I'm certain you're going to do a magnificent job on those things.
00:42:16.260 But not the bloody train.
00:42:17.680 Cut it out.
00:42:18.880 Focus.
00:42:19.880 Focus.
00:42:20.420 And here's some things to show why it would be a problem as well.
00:42:23.040 Here's some stuff coming out of Ottawa, as always.
00:42:25.640 And the Commons Government Operations Committee said they ordered disclosures
00:42:29.060 of 12 years' worth of federal contracts involving selected suppliers.
00:42:34.480 And this is following testimony from a Quebec subcontractor
00:42:36.900 who said he could prove sweetheart dealing involving bad apples, in his words,
00:42:40.860 in senior ranks of federal public service and favored suppliers.
00:42:44.660 And that's it.
00:42:45.760 I'm not saying the Smith government's corrupt.
00:42:49.520 But what I'm saying, when you get these mega projects,
00:42:51.900 you get these multi-billion dollar contracts, projects,
00:42:54.900 and you start getting hundreds or thousands of bureaucrats involved,
00:42:58.460 and you start getting dozens and dozens of contractors,
00:43:00.720 you're going to get problems.
00:43:02.740 And you're probably going to get some corruption going on.
00:43:05.540 It's just a recipe for disaster.
00:43:08.600 Yet here we are looking to dip into it.
00:43:11.240 So this has been going on in Ottawa because, again,
00:43:13.980 they're spending large, large dollars.
00:43:16.000 I mean, look at this one.
00:43:16.680 This is the next story.
00:43:17.840 Eight billion dollars.
00:43:19.420 You know, this was, we talked about this before,
00:43:20.680 about a solar-powered warehouse at Rideau Hall.
00:43:25.020 Why?
00:43:25.640 Why did we spend eight million dollars for a warehouse?
00:43:30.420 And nobody can explain that.
00:43:32.980 And then we also find out that this was buried in the Crown Corporation's budget.
00:43:38.520 Yeah, they buried it.
00:43:39.260 They hid it.
00:43:39.700 They tried not to even have it found.
00:43:41.500 So they knew they were doing wrong.
00:43:44.220 Somebody did really well out of that.
00:43:46.940 Come on.
00:43:47.600 Building a barn for eight million that nobody needed?
00:43:49.820 So, again, let's talk about a train for tens of billions of dollars.
00:43:52.500 Do you not think the parasites will come out of the woodworks, the crooks?
00:43:55.940 Of course they will.
00:43:56.920 You'll do everything you can to try and stop them.
00:43:58.760 You'll do what you can to try and control them.
00:44:00.360 But they will come.
00:44:01.400 They are like flies to poop.
00:44:03.200 When they smell big contracts, big government notions and ideas,
00:44:08.880 where there's an opportunity to have some nice little side contracts,
00:44:13.540 they will come.
00:44:15.460 And I'm just floored.
00:44:16.660 I really am.
00:44:18.120 I mean, Premier Smith is so typically grounded,
00:44:22.000 so typically libertarian, so typically small government.
00:44:25.620 And I know she's got a love for trains.
00:44:27.180 The people who are into trains are really, really into trains.
00:44:29.460 Everybody knows a few of them, sure.
00:44:32.200 And Premier Smith and her husband most certainly are.
00:44:34.560 I mean, they owned that Whistle Stop Cafe,
00:44:37.180 not to be mistaken for the one owned by Chris Scott up in Mirror,
00:44:41.360 but they had one down in High River.
00:44:42.860 And it was in an actual train car that had been converted into a restaurant.
00:44:47.500 Jane and I went there and had breakfast one time.
00:44:49.680 Fantastic food.
00:44:50.400 Had a good time.
00:44:50.880 But I mean, for somebody to buy into that sort of business means you're a heavy,
00:44:54.700 heavy-duty railway aficionado.
00:44:56.840 You're into that thing.
00:44:57.960 Good for you.
00:44:58.720 That's right on.
00:45:00.540 Don't transfer that love or obsession or whatever you might want to call it, though,
00:45:05.640 with trains into public policy.
00:45:07.660 We can't afford it.
00:45:09.820 Ontario's flirted with high-speed rail as well.
00:45:11.940 You can look it up.
00:45:13.380 All sorts of provinces have looked at it.
00:45:15.320 Every time they study it, they say,
00:45:16.860 no, it sounds cool, but it's just not economically feasible.
00:45:22.080 And now, like I said, we're having it entrenched in the throne speech.
00:45:26.980 That means it's a serious priority.
00:45:29.080 It means it's one of the top things she wants to get done in this session.
00:45:32.880 Something that was invisible in the throne speech was the pension plan that she floated out there
00:45:37.760 that everybody's been talking about.
00:45:39.560 Why aren't we keeping that in the spotlight?
00:45:41.720 Why isn't that front and center?
00:45:43.700 I think right now that's one of the bigger public relations issues you have to deal with
00:45:47.920 rather than trying to sell us on a train.
00:45:49.880 And, I mean, it's no mistake that that classic Simpsons episode with the monorail
00:45:54.240 showed as a con artist coming in trying to build a monorail that nobody needed going nowhere
00:45:58.460 because these are the sorts of projects that towns, cities, provinces, states, countries
00:46:02.760 have been screwed over with for decades and centuries, probably.
00:46:06.660 So it's got to come to an end.
00:46:08.320 Either way, I'll come to a close on that.
00:46:10.420 Maybe I'll ask some of the people at the UCPAGM this weekend about what their thoughts are on that.
00:46:15.000 And, hey, if you've got thoughts on them, send them my way.
00:46:17.420 So thank you guys all for tuning in today.
00:46:20.660 Western Standard.News to get all the stories and stuff unfiltered.
00:46:24.540 Watch all those channels to see the pipeline coming on.
00:46:27.580 We're going to talk a bit more about a few more issues and things going on.
00:46:31.740 And, yes, tune in next week at this time, guys.
00:46:34.280 We'll do it all again with a whole new set of issues.
00:46:36.560 Canadian Shooting Sports Association.
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00:46:44.500 These guys are on the front lines helping to draft smart and intelligent firearms regulations
00:46:50.220 and legislation in Canada.
00:46:52.180 And more importantly, educating the public about how we keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people.
00:46:57.480 We've become a member.
00:46:58.400 It's absolutely worth every penny.
00:47:00.280 We'll be right back.
00:47:30.280 We'll be right back.