Western Standard - Cop-Blocked： Police fail to remove illegal blockades - The Pipeline, Episode 8

00:00:00.000 You're listening to The Pipeline, the Western Standards National Affairs Program, recording

00:00:15.800 this Wednesday, February 12th, 2020.

00:00:19.380 Each week we break down the issues, discuss them in depth, and examine some of the broader

00:00:23.700 implications for Western Canada and beyond.

00:00:27.680 Featuring this week from Calgary, the Western Standards publisher, Derek Fildebrandt.

00:00:32.300 Derek, how are you in Calgary today?

00:00:34.560 I'm excellent.

00:00:35.560 Awesome.

00:00:36.560 And featuring also Dave Naylor, normally from Calgary, but today from Drury Abbotsford, British

00:00:44.320 Columbia.

00:00:45.320 How are things there, Dave?

00:00:47.320 Well, I'm hoping the sun shines at some point this month, but it's not looking hopeful right

00:00:52.460 now, Paul.

00:00:53.460 All right.

00:00:54.460 And Dave, of course-

00:00:55.460 We open every episode of The Pipeline with a Weather Report.

00:00:58.080 Yes, we are.

00:00:59.080 This is our news and weather wrap.

00:01:02.080 Dave, of course, is our news editor, and your host today is myself, digital editor Paul Holmes,

00:01:09.460 from lovely and also a little wet and dreary Victoria, British Columbia.

00:01:15.300 So today, before we get started, just a reminder, if you're not already a member of Western Standard,

00:01:19.960 please go to WesternStandardOnline.com, click on the membership button, and sign up today.

00:01:25.260 This is how we continue to bring you incredible breaking news, commentary, and weather reporting

00:01:32.580 here at the Western Standard.

00:01:34.580 We'll give you our opinion on the weather.

00:01:37.200 Absolutely.

00:01:38.200 Absolutely.

00:01:39.200 So today, you can see right behind me is a copy of U2's war record.

00:01:46.660 One of my favorites, a classic.

00:01:48.780 And we're talking about kind of war-y things happening in Canada.

00:01:52.820 There's blockades going on, there's the tech situation, and lots of people understandably

00:02:03.320 frustrated and angry about that.

00:02:05.580 So we're just going to focus on those two topics today.

00:02:08.580 And just to kick us off, I'm going to move over to Dave.

00:02:12.100 And Dave, why don't you give us an update on the latest with these blockades happening

00:02:17.860 all over the country.

00:02:19.880 What's driving this?

00:02:20.880 Paul, it's hard to know where to begin, but let me take a deep breath and recap what we've

00:02:26.560 got so far.

00:02:28.120 On Thursday, the RCMP moved into a native blockade up near Smithers in Northern BC.

00:02:34.880 That was against the building of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

00:02:40.400 Since then, we've had rail blockades, we've had building blockades, we've had road blockades,

00:02:49.260 and every day it seems to be spreading more and more.

00:02:53.380 We've seen video of people being arrested.

00:02:56.320 Not protesters, mind you.

00:02:57.620 These are average citizens who just need to get to work, and they've been arrested for

00:03:02.380 trying to take down the barriers to get themselves to work.

00:03:08.060 As the RCMP stand by and watch.

00:03:11.980 In Calgary, they shut down the aptly mentioned or aptly named Reconciliation Bridge, as the

00:03:18.620 police watched.

00:03:20.240 As you know, in Victoria, there was a mob scene on Tuesday, when hundreds of protesters

00:03:25.920 wouldn't let anybody into the building.

00:03:29.600 Some female staffers were spit on. 1.00

00:03:31.800 I know one received a bloody nose by these protesters, many of whom seem to be wearing masks to protect

00:03:41.480 their identity.

00:03:42.480 But don't worry, it looks like our federal government is on it.

00:03:47.160 In what is his third straight month in Africa, Justin Trudeau today held a press conference,

00:03:52.920 said he was very concerned.

00:03:55.920 Transportation Minister Mark Garneau said he's also concerned, which is probably good news 1.00

00:04:01.280 for companies like CN, who have said they may have to cut large swaths of their tracks down.

00:04:08.320 And they're saying Canada's international image is being tarnished because we're no longer

00:04:13.920 reliable suppliers via rail.

00:04:17.920 Tens of thousands of trips have now been cancelled in their high passenger corridors down in central

00:04:23.720 Canada.

00:04:24.720 So it seems like the protests are spreading and nobody's really doing anything about it

00:04:29.280 at the moment.

00:04:30.280 Well, and unlike some protests where the objective is to get ordinary people on the side and raise

00:04:37.600 awareness, that doesn't seem to be the objectives here whatsoever.

00:04:41.160 The objectives seem to be to create a bit of chaos.

00:04:44.160 And on that measure, I suppose you could say that they've been successful.

00:04:50.160 Derek, what's your take?

00:04:52.160 I think you're right, Paul.

00:04:54.160 They failed to get majority sympathy on side, even in British Columbia, which is, you know,

00:05:00.160 got a reputation as a bit of a load of Lotus land and being very environmentally conscious.

00:05:04.960 They still haven't got people on board to oppose the coastal gas link pipeline.

00:05:09.960 They haven't gotten a majority on side to oppose Trans Mountain or any of these things.

00:05:14.960 And so they've lost the battle of public opinion some time ago.

00:05:18.960 Then they tried tying things up litigiously in the courts.

00:05:21.960 They've lost every single one of those major battles.

00:05:24.960 And now they've just gone to outright illegality and are betting on the goodwill and restraint

00:05:31.960 of the authorities to not do anything about it.

00:05:34.960 And we've gotten to this point now where, you know, blockades can go up around Victoria

00:05:40.960 and the people putting them up are ignored by police and protected by police.

00:05:46.960 And regular people just trying to get to work who remove illegal barricades, they are arrested.

00:05:52.960 Or the man who defied the authority of these thugs and drove his truck around the barricade.

00:05:59.960 The police are looking for that man, maybe to give him some kind of traffic act ticket.

00:06:05.960 I'm not sure what it is that he has done wrong other than driving through the median of a highway

00:06:11.960 to get around an illegal blockade.

00:06:13.960 And so our authorities have got the priorities of law enforcement ass backwards here.

00:06:21.960 They're arresting the people who are either removing blockades or going around blockades

00:06:27.960 as if these blockades have any kind of legitimacy and leaving this alone.

00:06:30.960 And it's making a mockery of the rule of law in this country.

00:06:33.960 And it is showing that I think that pipeline approval, federal, the RCMP are federal, tech approval, federal.

00:06:44.960 All of these things are federal issues.

00:06:47.960 Everything under the sun that Justin Trudeau wants to control, he claims is federal.

00:06:50.960 But now Mark Garneau and Justin Trudeau say that this is a provincial matter.

00:06:54.960 It is not a provincial matter.

00:06:56.960 This is under the RCMP, a federal police force, and they have an obligation to take action here.

00:07:01.960 And they're not doing it.

00:07:03.960 I think this adds one of the many reasons why provinces like Alberta and British Columbia should get out of the RCMP

00:07:12.960 and have their own police forces to do it themselves.

00:07:15.960 That being said, I'm not convinced the British Columbia government would do anything about it.

00:07:18.960 They're reaping the whirlwind of seeds that they've helped to sow.

00:07:22.960 So when you had blockades now of the Alberta, sorry, of the British Columbia legislature in Victoria,

00:07:29.960 you know, there is a video that went out, I think it was the NDP's, BC NDP's agriculture minister being blocked

00:07:35.960 very forcefully from entering the BC legislature.

00:07:39.960 Now, blocking elected officials from entering legislatures is something old kings of England would do 0.99

00:07:45.960 or despots and tin pot dictatorships in Africa.

00:07:49.960 Not something you would typically see, but we now see in Canada.

00:07:52.960 And what do our police and our politicians do?

00:07:55.960 They shrug and they walk the other way and let this play out until they get tired.

00:07:59.960 It's interesting too, you talked about the NDP being blocked from the legislature as well

00:08:06.960 because of course they're in power here in the province of British Columbia.

00:08:09.960 But this happened to the green MLAs as well.

00:08:13.960 One of whom, Adam Olson, somebody I know, who is the First Nations leader himself.

00:08:22.960 And so there's a definite disconnect.

00:08:25.960 These are, the mob that has formed is, I think, more of an anti-establishment mob.

00:08:31.960 It's just looking for a cause.

00:08:34.960 Notably, when I was watching a video of the coverage in Victoria, a family member who I won't name,

00:08:44.960 came up behind me and said, is that Portland?

00:08:47.960 So it's...

00:08:49.960 In the BC case, it just occurred to me that there's a really interesting opportunity here.

00:08:54.960 Because so these, I won't even call them native protesters or Wet'suwet'en because these are a minority who, 1.00

00:09:01.960 you know, the vast, almost all of the elected bound councils along the affected routes are in support of all these pipelines and projects.

00:09:09.960 These are hereditary chiefs who we should pay no attention to.

00:09:12.960 They have no democratic legitimacy.

00:09:14.960 They speak for themselves and themselves only.

00:09:16.960 But the media like to amplify their voices if they stand for something else.

00:09:19.960 Well, it's an interesting story.

00:09:22.960 I mean, you know, you amplify an interesting story.

00:09:25.960 Yeah.

00:09:26.960 But they are, they're blockading both the NDP, you know, if the NDP, BC NDP is not radical enough for you,

00:09:31.960 you got the Greens and they're blockading everyone from getting in the BC legislature.

00:09:34.960 I think this is a unique opportunity for the BC Liberal opposition to break that blockade,

00:09:41.960 get in there and call a quick non-confidence vote before any Greens or NDP MLAs can get in there.

00:09:46.960 Get an election in BC.

00:09:47.960 Please do it right now and have a quick non-confidence vote before they can get in there.

00:09:51.960 If only, if only we could remember the name of the BC Liberal leader so we'd know, remember who we vote for.

00:09:56.960 I have no idea who it is.

00:09:58.960 You're in BC and you don't even know.

00:09:59.960 Andrew Wilkinson is his name.

00:10:01.960 But, you know, I often forget.

00:10:03.960 Guys, what we need to remember is that this is not all fun and games.

00:10:08.960 Sure, you know, it might be a good laugh.

00:10:10.960 Hey, let's take the afternoon off school and let's go down and blockade somebody. 0.99

00:10:13.960 But it has turned a bit sinister.

00:10:16.960 The Prince George citizen reporting today that a bridge in the area near where the main Indigenous camp is was sabotaged.

00:10:25.960 Somebody went in and cut through the supports of the bridge.

00:10:30.960 But if any truck had gone over it or an RCMP vehicle, the bridge would have collapsed.

00:10:35.960 And, you know, who knows what would have happened.

00:10:38.960 But, you know, it only takes somebody to lose control behind a wheel that, you know, of a truck that's going through the barrier.

00:10:45.960 And then you've got, you know, you've got injured people.

00:10:47.960 So...

00:10:48.960 Well, that action is crossing the line from thuggery to potential outright eco-terrorism.

00:10:55.960 And I've been cautious against using the term eco-terrorist yet.

00:10:58.960 I think that is a different threshold that we have not yet seen.

00:11:02.960 These blockades are thugs.

00:11:04.960 They're...

00:11:05.960 It's political violence of a sort, using force to get your way, not the rule of law.

00:11:10.960 But this bridge incident is, I think, crossing that line, getting dangerously close to eco-terrorism.

00:11:17.960 But, you know, the police and the politicians have been utterly unwilling to intervene.

00:11:22.960 We've seen this before.

00:11:23.960 We saw it in Caledonia where the police refused to intervene when one native band started occupying people's private homes claiming that they belonged to them.

00:11:32.960 I think we should perform an experiment.

00:11:36.960 We can do it right here in Calgary.

00:11:37.960 I think we should erect an equalization blockade along the Trans-Canada and see how long it takes the authorities to remove us. 0.93

00:11:45.960 I...

00:11:47.960 Reading an interesting piece today, guys, in the National Post column by Chris Stelly.

00:11:53.960 He brings up the example of what would happen in England if protesters blockaded the rail line between London and Manchester.

00:12:01.960 The police would be there within seconds.

00:12:03.960 And they would be removed because it's in the national interest.

00:12:07.960 And surely via train service in, you know, the central Canada territory between, you know, Ontario, Quebec, Ottawa.

00:12:17.960 People rely on that service and they're not getting it at the moment because there's, you know, a small blockade near Brockville.

00:12:25.960 So you take stock of where we are now.

00:12:28.960 You know, you've got Horgan has reaped, as Derek pointed out, has reaped what he's sowed with other pipelines.

00:12:38.960 We've got this radical radicalized group.

00:12:41.960 They're not going to take yes for an answer.

00:12:44.960 It doesn't matter how many times Horgan invites them back to the table.

00:12:48.960 They're looking to stop this.

00:12:51.960 That group is not going to compromise on any of this.

00:12:55.960 And they're creating a bunch of chaos.

00:12:57.960 It's...

00:12:58.960 I think it's terrible for reconciliation efforts, too, because ordinary people are getting angry.

00:13:04.960 And they're taking out their anger on First Nations in some cases.

00:13:11.960 And, you know, we...

00:13:13.960 I don't think that this group is representative of all First Nations.

00:13:16.960 And so that's a problem, I think, in the context of Canadian unity as well.

00:13:23.960 So, you know, where do we go from here?

00:13:26.960 What's like...

00:13:27.960 Is this just going to continue to escalate until we see, you know, this kind of violent police crackdown?

00:13:35.960 Or is there some way out?

00:13:38.960 I can't see it.

00:13:40.960 What I would like to see, and I don't think it would ever happen, is all the other First Nations that signed on to the coastal gasoline pipeline.

00:13:48.960 Everybody did.

00:13:49.960 Everybody did.

00:13:51.960 Have those bands, those leaders of those councils, go and talk to these hereditary chiefs.

00:13:59.960 And say, what you are doing is hurting our future.

00:14:04.960 You know, we're getting money out of this that is going to go to our people.

00:14:08.960 And what you're doing is preventing that.

00:14:11.960 I would like to see that happen.

00:14:13.960 Not sure it will.

00:14:14.960 Yeah.

00:14:15.960 I think it's an outstanding idea.

00:14:16.960 Because, you know, then you've got First Nations talking to First Nations.

00:14:22.960 And, you know, they're not, nobody, there's no feeling that something is being imposed by outside.

00:14:30.960 I'm not even sure First Nations talking to First Nations works here, though.

00:14:33.960 I mean, the elected bound councils here have signed very, very lucrative agreements in some cases.

00:14:40.960 Sure.

00:14:41.960 And so, you know, I mean, the, you know, the, the radical eco left likes to use First Nations as a mascot.

00:14:50.960 It's almost a mascot to them that they, they'll put a couple of token First Nations out there.

00:14:54.960 And what does the media report?

00:14:55.960 Well, First Nations are opposed to this.

00:14:56.960 Well, no, a few people are.

00:14:57.960 That's like, if you, you know, you could find half a dozen Calgarians who love Justin Trudeau.

00:15:02.960 Well, that doesn't mean we support Justin Trudeau.

00:15:04.960 And we, that doesn't mean we support Justin Trudeau.

00:15:06.960 We, that doesn't mean we support Justin Trudeau.

00:15:09.960 And, uh, can you find a half a dozen people?

00:15:12.960 I can find half a dozen people.

00:15:13.960 Uh, they don't live anywhere near me, but these voices are being amplified artificially, uh, being called indigenous.

00:15:26.960 Really?

00:15:27.960 We're not sure what to call them.

00:15:28.960 I don't even think we can call them Wet'suwet'en, uh, protesters, because most of the Wet'suwet'en band council supports these projects.

00:15:35.960 It's, it's some hereditary chiefs.

00:15:37.960 And, uh, can you imagine if Queen Elizabeth came out tomorrow with some political opinion on, on an issue of the day?

00:15:43.960 She's smart enough not to, cause she knows the role, uh, the role of a hereditary leader. 0.98

00:15:48.960 It's to be symbolic and to cut some ribbons and to be a force of stability behind the scenes.

00:15:52.960 It's not to get involved in the politics of the day, but these chiefs see themselves very differently.

00:15:57.960 They see themselves, these hereditary chiefs as, uh, being the rightful spokesman, uh, for their, uh, for their communities.

00:16:04.960 And the media are taking them up on it.

00:16:06.960 And I, and I would push back a little bit on that Derek and say, um, within the context of the monarchy and the queen comparison is a good one.

00:16:14.960 Um, you know, the queen is ultimately the defender, uh, for Canada, right?

00:16:19.960 If all else fails, that's the defense.

00:16:22.960 And I think some of these hereditary chiefs see themselves as being the defenders where everything else has failed.

00:16:28.960 I would actually take Queen Elizabeth running our affairs over Justin Trudeau, but it would not be appropriate, uh, regardless of how I feel the merits of her running things over Trudeau would be.

00:16:38.960 Which is an excellent segue.

00:16:40.960 Oh, sorry.

00:16:41.960 Go ahead.

00:16:42.960 Before we segue though, I do have a question for Dave, uh, with zoomed in on you.

00:16:46.960 I've noticed a little bobble head in the cabinet behind you.

00:16:49.960 I can't see cause it's inside the cabinet, but it almost looks like a bobble head of Ezra Levant.

00:16:55.960 Could, could you tell our audience what your bobble head is?

00:16:59.960 Cause I, even, I don't know.

00:17:00.960 Well, you know what?

00:17:01.960 I'm currently at my mom's place in beautiful dreary Abbotsford and she is a big Ezra Levant.

00:17:07.960 I'm an Ezra Levant fan.

00:17:08.960 That is an Ezra Levant bobble head?

00:17:09.960 That is an Ezra Levant bobble head.

00:17:10.960 That is an Ezra Levant bobble head.

00:17:11.960 I had no idea that was an Ezra Levant.

00:17:12.960 That's amazing.

00:17:13.960 All right.

00:17:14.960 Show us.

00:17:15.960 Show us.

00:17:16.960 This is, uh, this is why you have to watch us on YouTube or Facebook if you're listening

00:17:26.960 on the podcast stream.

00:17:27.960 Oh, Dave Naylor now presenting Ezra Levant.

00:17:30.960 Our special guest today.

00:17:32.960 Special guest.

00:17:33.960 So when Ezra used to be on, uh, when Ezra used to be on.

00:17:36.960 Hold it more to the center.

00:17:38.960 On news network.

00:17:39.960 He was sort of based in Calgary and he was out of our building and he was going around

00:17:43.960 with these one day.

00:17:44.960 And I said, you know what?

00:17:45.960 I'm going to get that for my mother for Christmas.

00:17:47.960 And, uh, it's been, uh, been on the dinner table every Christmas, uh, since then.

00:17:52.960 So, so Ezra eats dinner with you at Christmas.

00:17:55.960 This, this is a side of you.

00:17:56.960 I did not know Dave.

00:17:57.960 Well, my mother, my mother, not me, my mother.

00:18:01.960 Okay.

00:18:02.960 Apples and trees and something like that.

00:18:06.960 All right.

00:18:07.960 Back on point though.

00:18:08.960 All these other indigenous groups that support the pipeline, they have hereditary chiefs too.

00:18:14.960 Right.

00:18:15.960 Well, you're not hearing any opposition from them.

00:18:17.960 Just this one small group that, uh, you know, 28% of the pipeline is going through.

00:18:21.960 And you've got half a dozen hereditary chiefs there who were against it.

00:18:25.960 And their allies, speaking of allies, uh, the federal government, a big ally to the province

00:18:43.960 of Alberta.

00:18:44.960 Dave, why don't you, uh, break down the very latest in, uh, the tech saga.

00:18:51.960 a giant proposed multi-billion dollar oil sands mined in northern Alberta, 100 kilometers

00:18:59.820 north of Fort McMurray, being approved and is just waiting for federal cabinet approval,

00:19:06.400 which they vowed to come before the end of February. Take that for what it's worth. But

00:19:11.560 now it just seems to have evolved into a bit of a stare down. Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta,

00:19:17.840 sent a letter to Trudeau saying it will be a disaster if it's not approved. Trudeau cabinet

00:19:26.580 minister is coming out and saying, well, you better start tolling the climate change line

00:19:30.840 if you want us to approve it. And then another log in the problem this week was a ban that

00:19:40.340 has already signed on, a ban that has already approved it, has now stepped forward and say,

00:19:44.860 whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. There might be some things that we might want to take another look at. So,

00:19:50.140 you know, it's going around in circles like every other pipeline seems to be at the moment.

00:19:57.380 Derek, are we just in a state in Canada where we just can't build any more pipelines?

00:20:03.340 No, I genuinely believe TMX is going to be the very last pipeline that gets built

00:20:07.760 in the foreseeable future unless something radical changes. It's not just Bill C-69 and C-48. And it's

00:20:18.260 not just that these projects can get it tied up endlessly in the courts. It's now that the federal

00:20:26.520 government's proven that it'll only use very, very tepid force in enforcing the law around these things.

00:20:33.620 So, you know, every little group around has a right to infinite appeals in the courts. And even if they

00:20:41.780 lose that, the government's proven that it's only going to take a very tepid response in enforcing

00:20:47.540 these court orders. So I really don't think we're going to see a major interprovincial or international

00:20:52.820 pipeline built in Canada anytime soon beyond this. Tech obviously didn't get the memo. They didn't get the

00:21:00.180 memo that you're not supposed to do big infrastructure energy projects in Canada anymore. This project's

00:21:05.780 been ongoing for a very long time. They've met every regulatory and legislative hurdle that they

00:21:10.340 had to meet. It's been approved by the non-political regulators. It's now purely in political hands,

00:21:14.900 and it's being used as a political football. A business like this should not be used for political

00:21:20.180 ends between two levels of government kind of measuring each other up. We've got the federal

00:21:26.900 government's said pretty very implied extremely strongly that Alberta needs to drop its opposition

00:21:33.780 to the carbon tax in the courts if it wants this going forward. That's that's funny for a few reasons.

00:21:38.100 Alberta still has a carbon tax, much as people might not like to admit it, especially the UCP.

00:21:43.220 We still have two thirds of the NDP's carbon tax in place. We still have most of the anti-carbon

00:21:49.460 regulation and legislation that the NDP put in place under the so-called tier program.

00:21:54.020 It's not a radical departure from what the NDP had in place. But even if it was a radical departure,

00:22:02.180 I'm not sure why Ottawa believes it's business to approve an industrial project within Alberta's

00:22:10.020 borders that doesn't have any cross-border implications whatsoever. And it's almost cliche to say that this

00:22:18.980 would never happen if it was in Quebec, but that's important to remember. And this needs to really be a

00:22:23.700 line in the sand for Alberta. I mean, we constantly allow Ottawa to get away with things and we yell at

00:22:29.220 them. And we really have to make clear that yelling is not going to be the consequence this time.

00:22:34.260 The province and I think the Premier very genuinely want this project to go forward. I'm not going to join

00:22:40.820 those who think that they've joined the eco-radicals in this. I don't think that's a fair criticism. But I think

00:22:46.260 the province, as much as it wants this to go forward, is afraid that this will escalate. That

00:22:51.940 if Ottawa kills this project or unofficially kills it by regulatory delay, that this is going to really,

00:22:59.460 really get out of hand. And that's why Ottawa has been preparing this bailout economic aid package.

00:23:04.260 And it would be absolute capitulation for Alberta to accept a penny of it. For us to allow Ottawa to

00:23:14.420 stab Alberta's industry in the heart, then hand us a Band-Aid in exchange for us saying thank you.

00:23:21.060 So this is putting the Premier in a very tough spot. He wants this done, but I think he understands that

00:23:26.100 if it's not done, he doesn't want anger at Ottawa to boil out of control from just anger at Trudeau,

00:23:31.140 but to anger at Ottawa's institutions themselves. And adding into the mix was Drew Barnes, UCP MLA.

00:23:40.180 He's really the last old school Wild Roser left in the Alberta legislature. He was elected first in

00:23:45.940 2012. He's one of the very few who didn't cross the floor to the PCs. And then in the purge of much of

00:23:51.540 the Wild Rose elements after the merger of the PCs, he was one of the only old school Wild Rosers left 0.89

00:23:57.380 standing. And he came out and said that he called on and he sits on the province's fair deal panel.

00:24:04.100 And he and he called on the Premier very publicly in a statement in an interview with the Western

00:24:08.900 Standard saying that the Premier should reject up every penny from Ottawa. We should not accept

00:24:14.660 anything from this so-called bailout package to to pacify us. And he further said implying very strongly

00:24:22.020 that he might agree with this that if Ottawa kills the tech mine that Albertans are there's gonna be

00:24:29.700 a huge surge in support for independence and the implication being there that that that Ottawa better

00:24:38.020 get this done or there might be and I say might be at least some people in Alberta willing to finally

00:24:44.740 draw a line in the sand and make this more than positioning for bailout economic aid packages or

00:24:51.460 simply yelling at Ottawa because it feels good. How many more uh how many more tech projects are in the

00:24:58.420 sorry bad pun pipeline waiting waiting to happen um or is this the last big one? Well there's actually a

00:25:07.220 provincial one that's being held up uh so there's another project that doesn't require federal approval

00:25:11.780 but requires provincial approval I can't name it off the top of my head but they were coming out

00:25:15.540 attacking the federal uh the provincial government just a few days ago accusing them of hypocrisy

00:25:20.260 because they've uh they've been on regulatory hold for a very long time uh they say themselves I

00:25:25.300 I haven't we haven't independently verified but they say themselves that they've met all the regulatory

00:25:30.100 hurdles they're waiting on on the political yes uh from the province and they haven't got it uh I'm not

00:25:35.940 sure what I'm not aware of any other major kind of mega projects that are in the pipeline so to

00:25:41.700 speak right now and frankly I'm surprised there was even tech in the pipeline because the the memo

00:25:46.340 went out a few years ago that you're not supposed to even try anymore well and isn't

00:25:49.540 that kind of the point right I mean you know these large mega projects are so passe in an international

00:25:58.340 you know world of 2020 um you almost think for the federal government they should just say you know

00:26:03.620 what let's just do this because next one's not going to be funded by investors anyway so this will be the last one right

00:26:10.180 you know I don't know what do you think Dave well keep in mind tech has been in the pipeline so to speak

00:26:16.180 for 10 years and they've spent billions of dollars just to get to this stage so I think Derek's 100

00:26:23.060 right this will probably be the last one we see but you know we're now getting arguments for people

00:26:28.980 saying don't approve it they're saying well it's not going to be economically feasible well I'm sorry but

00:26:34.420 it's not a it's none of your business but be the tech people obviously think that it will be or else

00:26:39.060 they wouldn't have spent billions and billions of dollars to get it to this stage so yeah I think

00:26:44.420 this will be the this will be the last one we see certainly in a long long time so so for the

00:26:49.620 independence movement uh in Alberta Derek if this if this does get approved uh you think that'll you

00:26:56.420 think that'll quell a lot of the anger that's fueling that to use another because if it gets

00:27:02.580 approved it'll be seen as approved uh because Ottawa had no choice to not because they have the best

00:27:08.100 interests of Alberta at heart uh but if it's not approved I think it will add a a very healthy dose

00:27:16.740 of or hefty dose of fuel to the independence fire I think if you're if you're sitting around plotting uh

00:27:23.860 uh independence right now you want Ottawa to say no to this and uh and send some uh insulting uh

00:27:32.820 aid package in its place but uh I think approving it doesn't kill it but uh not approving it will

00:27:39.140 will add huge fire to it and and I would uh well in uh Drew Barnes uh Drew Barnes's own words

00:27:46.420 it would show there is no such thing as a fair deal with Ottawa there is no fair deal to be had

00:27:51.700 and then the and then you really need to have an honest conversation with ourselves about are we

00:27:56.660 willing to just accept the status quo that our lot in Canada is this and this is how we're going to be

00:28:02.420 treated and that's just that or uh do we have to do something else well and if there is an energy

00:28:09.060 industry future in Alberta it's not within Canada right I mean that's ultimately that's what that's

00:28:14.980 what we're looking at that would I think that's already pretty clear but I think this would make

00:28:19.540 it all the more clear I mean it would be undeniably an undeniable fact that Alberta's energy industry is

00:28:26.580 set to die on this and and and to that um you know Jason Kenney had a huge change of tone uh in a conference

00:28:35.940 he did um in Washington DC and in an interview with uh Don Braid Calgary Herald columnist uh where he is very

00:28:44.340 different language uh not as strident on phasing out the oil sands and say Justin Trudeau or god

00:28:49.700 forbid Jake meet singh but uh using language that this is temporary it's gonna go away uh much more

00:28:57.620 moderate saying that that last barrel of oil that we produce in the world should be done in a place

00:29:01.700 like Alberta but pretty much saying that uh yeah we're going to transition away from this towards the

00:29:07.540 so-called renewable green economy uh very different language than we've seen before I I think he's under a

00:29:13.860 lot of pressure to walk that back because it angers that angers a lot of people here uh but he is

00:29:19.860 trying very hard uh to change his tone if not his substance in dealing with Ottawa and environmental

00:29:25.780 groups almost uh to earn some kind of social license if not from the radicals which I think he's smart

00:29:32.100 enough to know is not possible at least from the senior politicians in Ottawa which which hold the power

00:29:37.620 in the last few minutes here um news this morning that uh Christy Blatchford a an absolute giant in 1.00

00:29:46.660 journalism in Canada uh has passed away age 68 uh you knew her or you you met her uh your thoughts

00:29:54.260 yeah uh she's worked for all the the big papers in Canada uh Paul and I dealt with her at arm's length

00:30:01.220 for a lot of it but uh got to meet her up close and personal at the 1988 Calgary Olympics and the last

00:30:08.020 night of the Olympics all the media got together and we blew off some steam uh because we'd all worked

00:30:13.940 two months straight and uh she was the last man so to speak standing uh she outlasted us all and when we

00:30:20.900 were all falling asleep on bus benches the next morning to catch a ride to Juan Antonio's uh press

00:30:26.500 conference she was still holding court and uh yeah uh sad day and you said an absolute giant of uh

00:30:32.980 Canadian journalism well our regards go out to uh her family and um we will wrap uh the episode on that

00:30:42.820 note thanks for joining us today uh don't forget to like subscribe uh comment you can find us on the

00:30:52.340 website westernstandardonline.com you can find us on the facebook page you can find us on youtube and

00:30:58.740 you can find us on your favorite podcast app from Calgary our publisher Derek Fildebrandt goodbye and

00:31:07.060 from Abbotsford today Dave Naylor our news editor you've heard of uh you've heard of elf on the shelf

00:31:15.780 i've now got Ezra on the shelf uh you know we'll be hoping for some uh less dreary weather next week

00:31:24.100 paul good to be with you i thought my prop you know was gonna was gonna be the the big talking point

00:31:29.700 today but you uh you absolutely um crushed me on that one uh paul holmes from victoria british

00:31:35.860 columbia the digital editor thanks for tuning in and we'll see everybody next week

Western Standard - February 12, 2020

Cop-Blocked： Police fail to remove illegal blockades - The Pipeline, Episode 8

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