Western Standard - CORY MORGAN SHOW： Alberta isn’t asking permission anymore

00:00:00.000 LINDSEY WILSON

00:00:29.980 with LINX Strategies.

00:00:31.320 And today I'm subbing in for Corey Morgan.

00:00:34.680 So buckle up buttercups. 1.00

00:00:37.080 Oh, John, we just got, oh, oh, hang on.

00:00:39.660 We've got a teleprompter issue here.

00:00:41.640 Buckle up buttercups and get ready to sound off

00:00:43.800 in the comment section with all your questions

00:00:45.600 and we will do our best to answer them.

00:00:47.720 So let's start right here at home as in Alberta,

00:00:50.500 because once again, this province is making national news,

00:00:53.260 whether Ottawa likes it or not.

00:00:55.620 Oh, Alberta, what would Canada ever do without you?

00:00:59.660 And will they ever have to seriously

00:01:01.220 ask themselves that question?

00:01:03.320 Whether or not you like it,

00:01:05.020 we've got a provincial government

00:01:06.320 that is very clearly not interested

00:01:08.340 in asking permission before they choose to govern.

00:01:12.140 And they want this province to have more say

00:01:14.220 over how their tax dollars are spent.

00:01:16.600 Alberta remains open for business,

00:01:18.280 stubbornly optimistic,

00:01:19.560 and occasionally allergic to consensus

00:01:21.400 for consensus's sake.

00:01:23.400 So that brings us to the topic, lighting up coffee shops,

00:01:26.100 community halls, group chats, and Facebook

00:01:28.440 and Instagram feeds across the province this month.

00:01:31.660 Alberta separation.

00:01:34.480 I'm talking about the Stay Free Alberta Petition,

00:01:38.560 which is now officially underway.

00:01:40.360 And the referendum question is quite blunt.

00:01:43.160 Do you agree that the province of Alberta

00:01:45.200 should cease to be a part of Canada

00:01:47.160 to become an independent state?

00:01:49.480 No legalese, no hedging,

00:01:51.140 just a straight up choose your own adventure moment

00:01:53.320 for Albertans.

00:01:54.640 Here's the mechanics.

00:01:55.720 Registered canvassers have 120 days until May 2nd

00:01:59.020 to collect some 177,000 signatures,

00:02:02.340 which represents about 10%

00:02:03.900 of the eligible voting population.

00:02:06.080 If they succeed,

00:02:06.960 it triggers a presumed fall referendum

00:02:09.060 where Albertans can actually cast a ballot.

00:02:11.500 Now this timeline is subject to change,

00:02:13.380 but for the sake of conversation, let's keep it there.

00:02:16.240 By contrast, the Forever Canadian petition

00:02:18.640 garnered over 400,000 verified signatures

00:02:21.460 to support asking the question,

00:02:23.320 do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada

00:02:25.980 in a potential future referendum?

00:02:27.860 It's an impressive turnout for sure.

00:02:29.900 This was headed up by Thomas LaCuzac,

00:02:31.900 the former long-term PCMLA

00:02:34.040 who finds themselves at odds

00:02:35.360 with the current UCP government.

00:02:37.300 This movement takes the stance

00:02:38.700 that Alberta should stay in a united Canada.

00:02:41.740 But a lot of Albertans don't feel

00:02:43.180 like the rest of this country has their backs.

00:02:45.620 And this is where it's worth slowing down

00:02:47.780 because a lot of people are already skipping this step.

00:02:50.900 Signing the petition is not the same

00:02:53.000 as voting for separation.

00:02:54.640 Signing the petition is about triggering the question

00:02:57.500 and not answering it.

00:02:59.020 Signing the petition means you want to see democracy

00:03:01.760 in action and you want Albertans to have the opportunity

00:03:04.300 to cast their official vote

00:03:06.020 on whether or not Alberta should separate.

00:03:08.840 Now, early reports from both social and traditional media

00:03:11.600 show long lineups, well-organized canvassing teams,

00:03:14.860 and a coordinated effort by a broad mix of grassroots groups

00:03:18.340 and recognizable personalities,

00:03:20.340 including the regular host of this show, Corey Morgan.

00:03:23.440 Whether you're cheering or cringing,

00:03:25.000 it's hard to ignore this movement is organized.

00:03:27.860 Now, if I were a betting woman, and I assure you I am,

00:03:31.060 I would say that they'll surpass the minimum signature requirement

00:03:34.280 by a mile.

00:03:35.740 Now, will the various groups and the big personalities behind this movement

00:03:39.220 be able to unify?

00:03:40.220 That's another question entirely.

00:03:42.700 The historical problem of Conservatives not playing nicely in the sandbox

00:03:45.700 rarely takes a day off, so time will tell.

00:03:48.800 But if there's one thing that is already clear in these early days,

00:03:51.360 it's this.

00:03:52.360 A lot of Albertans are fed up.

00:03:54.700 They want a better deal economically,

00:03:56.700 excuse me,

00:03:57.700 politically,

00:03:58.700 structurally,

00:03:59.700 and they're tired of bureaucrats in Ottawa who always seem to be on the take

00:04:02.740 with very little in return.

00:04:04.500 Senate reform, electoral reform, possibly pension reform.

00:04:08.180 According to many, all these are long overdue,

00:04:10.980 all talked about endlessly and all somehow perpetually parked in the

00:04:14.340 we'll get to it later pile.

00:04:16.020 So even for Albertans who have no appetite for separation whatsoever,

00:04:19.620 this petition raises a legitimate question.

00:04:22.100 Could this finally deliver a message to Ottawa

00:04:24.420 where every other attempt has truly failed?

00:04:26.880 Or on the flip side,

00:04:27.760 is it too divisive of an issue for the Smith government

00:04:29.960 when it comes to election time?

00:04:31.720 These are early days and no one knows how this ends.

00:04:34.260 But here's my one takeaway,

00:04:35.800 and it's an important one.

00:04:37.100 Be mindful of labels.

00:04:38.840 It's a common tactic for media, politicians,

00:04:41.600 and keyboard warriors to pit people against one another.

00:04:44.600 Our increasingly vitriolic culture is very quick to flatten complex

00:04:48.880 motivations into very convenient insults.

00:04:51.680 And it wasn't that long ago,

00:04:53.280 during the pandemic that neighbors were being pitted against neighbors

00:04:57.120 in ways that permanently changed relationships, families, and communities.

00:05:00.480 So be nice to each other out there.

00:05:02.620 If you have a friend or a coworker or a family member who signed

00:05:06.360 either the Forever Canadian petition or the Stay Free Alberta petition,

00:05:10.840 understand that their decisions likely come from a whole host of factors.

00:05:14.200 It's probably not fair or accurate to assume their signature

00:05:17.280 neatly maps onto a political party, ideology, or worldview.

00:05:20.840 I will tell you this.

00:05:22.300 I've been personally very surprised by some of the people I know

00:05:25.300 who have signed these petitions.

00:05:27.000 Life is complicated and politics is messy.

00:05:30.140 People don't fit neatly into boxes that we built for them.

00:05:33.840 So now, moving on.

00:05:35.480 Today's show takes a sharp turn from big constitutional questions

00:05:39.120 to something far more personal and far more volatile.

00:05:42.680 Well, I think.

00:05:44.460 A Facebook marketplace post turned into political weaponry.

00:05:47.720 My first guest today is a well-known Calgary political commentator

00:05:51.020 and the woman behind the Madam Premier brand, Sarah Elder.

00:05:54.220 Many of you will recognize Sarah from her podcasts, her writing,

00:05:57.100 and most recently, her run for mayor in Calgary's 2025 civic election.

00:06:01.460 For years through Madam Premier, Sarah has advocated through a

00:06:04.180 multi-partisan lens for getting more women into political spaces. 1.00

00:06:07.980 As she turns a page, Sarah is now in the final days of closing her physical storefront

00:06:12.180 at 1012 9th Avenue SE and transitioning Madam Premier to an online-only model. 0.94

00:06:18.120 Like many of us would, she posted some of her store furniture for sale

00:06:21.360 on Facebook marketplace.

00:06:23.060 And what started as a garage sale gone wrong quickly escalated into a highly

00:06:27.260 charged confrontational incident that took place inside her store.

00:06:32.360 One that has since exploded across social media.

00:06:35.240 A woman has alleged that Sarah kicked her out of her store 1.00

00:06:37.700 because she was wearing a hijab, the traditional headscarf worn by Muslim women.

00:06:42.640 Following this interaction, the woman posted a video filmed outside of Sarah's store.

00:06:46.800 And since then, Sarah has faced a torrent of online attacks,

00:06:50.120 accusing her of being racist, Islamophobic, a Zionist, and unworthy of public office.

00:06:55.820 Now, I got to know Sarah a little bit on the civic campaign trail.

00:06:59.120 So I'll be honest, I was very surprised.

00:07:01.520 My experiences with Sarah Elder have consistently reflected

00:07:05.020 somebody who is socially progressive and fiscally conservative,

00:07:08.460 or what many would simply just call a centrist.

00:07:11.320 I have seen no evidence ever of racism tied to Sarah or the Madam Premier brand.

00:07:16.040 And in fact, I've seen quite the opposite.

00:07:18.760 So after speaking with Sarah directly and reviewing her public explanations

00:07:23.740 that she's posted on social media, it became clear to me that this story

00:07:26.800 deserved context, nuance, and quite frankly, her voice.

00:07:30.640 So today, Sarah joins us to share her side of what happened,

00:07:33.740 how quickly situations can spiral in the age of social media,

00:07:37.740 and what it's like to find yourself at the center of an online firestorm.

00:07:42.080 Sarah, thank you for being here.

00:07:43.980 Thanks, Lindsay.

00:07:45.100 Oh my goodness.

00:07:45.900 So give us in a nutshell what happened.

00:07:48.980 Okay.

00:07:49.560 Yeah.

00:07:49.840 So, I mean, as you summarized,

00:07:51.680 I'm in the process of closing down my physical storefront in Inglewood

00:07:56.160 and had listed some store furniture for sale on Facebook Marketplace as myself, as an individual,

00:08:03.940 and have received a lot of responses.

00:08:07.980 Anyone who's ever posted something for sale will receive,

00:08:10.680 you can, depending on the price and what it is,

00:08:12.560 you can receive maybe one response or dozens.

00:08:14.980 And I have received hundreds of responses.

00:08:17.940 And so I created what, like a standard response.

00:08:20.520 So I just said, you can come at this day and time during these hours,

00:08:24.240 and you can see what I have.

00:08:26.440 Take it or, like, that's the approach.

00:08:28.620 First come, first serve.

00:08:29.380 First come, first serve.

00:08:30.380 I'm a busy mom.

00:08:31.220 I don't live perpetually online.

00:08:32.820 And so there was someone who had reached out.

00:08:37.200 I had provided this.

00:08:39.520 And so we had this wildly uncomfortable and difficult encounter where in the midst of,

00:08:49.920 after entering the store, she spent a few minutes there.

00:08:54.880 And then while she was in the store in front of me, she confirmed my identity.

00:09:00.460 So asked me, are you Sarah Elder?

00:09:02.140 And are you running for mayor?

00:09:04.900 Either running or ran, whatever grammatical context you want to pass to present or future.

00:09:09.980 And I said, yes.

00:09:11.480 But my spidey senses were immediately going off because I don't think that's a normal kind of interaction.

00:09:18.240 So to confirm my identity and so went on, the item that she had been interested in

00:09:24.880 wasn't actually what she thought.

00:09:26.680 It wasn't a desk or a counter.

00:09:27.960 It was like a small, low table, more like a coffee table.

00:09:31.340 Anyways, she was frustrated from the moment she entered the store.

00:09:35.440 On top of the fact that, you know, she was asking me these questions.

00:09:38.740 And I had already started texting my husband saying, I think there's something happening here.

00:09:44.880 This doesn't seem right.

00:09:48.080 And like.

00:09:48.880 Because she was very anxious, right?

00:09:50.060 Like, it was very aggressive.

00:09:52.200 And she said after she had confirmed my identity, she had said, you're very rude.

00:09:58.320 This must be why your store is closing.

00:10:02.160 And you will never win in an election.

00:10:06.780 Okay.

00:10:08.780 Yeah.

00:10:10.080 I didn't say anything in this interaction because like, if someone says that to you, you can tell

00:10:17.600 when someone is kind of looking for something, right?

00:10:20.540 They're looking for a response.

00:10:22.040 Fast forward, again, she looks at the thing.

00:10:26.720 It's not what it is she thought it was.

00:10:28.900 She turns to me and she says, again, you're very rude.

00:10:33.120 And, you know, you'll, again, why this is why your business is closing.

00:10:37.620 And I'm not going to be buying anything.

00:10:40.480 As she starts to leave, she's going out through the door.

00:10:43.560 And I just said, have a nice day.

00:10:46.060 Right.

00:10:46.420 Was it a little bit, you know, was it sarcastic, right?

00:10:50.740 Yes.

00:10:51.180 I absolutely admit to that.

00:10:53.980 I don't know who would be friendly at that point.

00:10:55.600 Well, right.

00:10:56.560 Like, it's hard to be.

00:10:57.320 I think sarcasm is okay at that point.

00:10:58.160 It's hard to, right.

00:10:59.640 But I honestly just wanted this random encounter to be over.

00:11:04.060 It was far from over, Lindsay.

00:11:06.780 Far from over.

00:11:07.640 Um, so, uh, she circles back and starts, like, you know, engaging, confronting me.

00:11:16.720 Um, and at this point I realized, I had already realized, I think, that something was going on.

00:11:21.920 Um, so I had actually decided to film her at this point.

00:11:26.960 So she's out on the sidewalk.

00:11:27.920 I'm at the door.

00:11:29.140 Um, and then it was then, um, that she alleges that, um, I was being racist against her.

00:11:35.780 Islamophobic, actually, because she is a woman of color wearing a hijab. 0.51

00:11:40.480 And my response immediately was, this is absolutely insane. 0.57

00:11:44.520 Um, because little do you know, and this is the thing, you just don't know, right?

00:11:49.020 Um, the spoiler is that I'm actually a dual citizen of Iran.

00:11:52.920 I am both Canadian and Iranian through my marriage to my husband, who was born in Iran.

00:11:57.380 Um, and I myself have been a woman who has worn a hijab, um, in Iran.

00:12:05.780 Which, I mean, especially in the current political climate of, in context of what's happening in Iran, um, takes on a whole other meaning.

00:12:13.140 But I would never actively, or even passively, I would never participate in, um, the discrimination against, um, someone that would actually end up, I would be discriminating, perpetuating the discrimination against my own husband and family.

00:12:31.240 Yeah, you, um, you and your husband have two children.

00:12:34.600 Yeah, I don't wish this upon anyone.

00:12:37.720 Um, so, but it was, she, clearly, there was intent.

00:12:43.700 It was very odd.

00:12:45.280 Um, and so she started recording herself.

00:12:48.320 Um, and the recording was very aggressive.

00:12:50.620 And I will tell, uh, I will tell the Western Standard listeners, you know, I, I went and I watched the video that's really gone wild online that this woman posted.

00:12:59.560 Uh, and it was very aggressive saying that you said a very profane word, which, you know, Sarah, I don't even know if I've heard you swear in all my conversations with you, which I thought.

00:13:09.200 I mean, I do like a good, I do like a good F word, to be honest.

00:13:12.180 Well, that's fine.

00:13:12.800 This was more extensive than that, that you said that.

00:13:15.500 And it's, it just lacked a lot of context.

00:13:17.700 It was a really bizarre video.

00:13:19.120 And then, of course, you know, the social media warriors are going nuts in the comments.

00:13:23.100 So I think let's, so that happened.

00:13:26.220 But, I mean, I know for you it's personal.

00:13:28.900 Because not only are you, um, a dual citizen with Iran.

00:13:32.420 Well, yeah.

00:13:32.940 But it's, it's completely counter to everything you've done through Madam Premier.

00:13:36.300 Yeah, I mean, I, as someone who actively, um, you know, advocates for the participation of all women from a multi-partisan standpoint.

00:13:44.820 And, um, you know, what's actually been really inconvenient throughout, you know, my time of having the store and always has been actually that, um, it's been people more on the center, center left who have always wanted me to advocate specifically for what you would call progressive women in politics.

00:14:01.820 And my response has always been, I'm multi-partisan.

00:14:04.600 And I believe that every woman, no matter if I agree with them or not, has a place to be in politics.

00:14:09.720 That's for people to decide at the ballot box.

00:14:12.680 Um, it is not about left or right or center, you know, polka dot or whatever it is.

00:14:20.000 Um, that's for voters to decide.

00:14:23.080 I just want more women to step forward and put themselves into the political realm. 1.00

00:14:27.420 Um, this is honestly a very cautionary tale, I think, in a lot of different ways.

00:14:32.480 First of all, that an allegation can, you can have, you know, the most innocuous interaction with someone.

00:14:38.580 And let's just say, like, there were, like, you know, you're disappointed, this whole, the, you know, exacerbated by the fact that you're actually actively Googling me, right?

00:14:51.060 And weaponizing my identity in different ways, both being political, um, and having a store, right?

00:14:57.400 Um, it's just so this could happen to anyone.

00:15:01.840 And I think that where we've gotten to in a, as a society is that, um, it's actually, you know, the rife of, you know, cancel culture.

00:15:11.520 Um, it's actually easier for this to be perpetuated by people who, who see this as like a transactional, right?

00:15:19.440 Whatever it is, social media clout, um, whatever narrative it is that they want to put out there.

00:15:24.620 Um, and that gets, that explodes.

00:15:28.780 On the other side, very understandably, people don't want to weigh in and say, like, this is unacceptable because they themselves become a target.

00:15:37.040 Um, so, like, I've cautioned friends, for example, or I, you know, uh, honestly, I just wanted this to go away.

00:15:43.540 Like, the police have been involved in this.

00:15:45.360 Like, I honestly felt like my personal safety was at risk, um, because of the intensity of the situation and the way it escalated.

00:15:53.580 Um, and you faced a lot of comments.

00:15:55.740 Yeah.

00:15:56.000 And your, your business as well.

00:15:57.560 Yeah.

00:15:57.700 You're getting probably bizarre Google reviews.

00:15:59.940 I mean, as of Sunday night, they sent me a notification saying that I'd gotten 85 one-star reviews.

00:16:05.980 And people were actually commenting on Facebook.

00:16:08.360 Um, they were monitoring.

00:16:10.020 They wanted to see that decrease.

00:16:11.720 They, so, the, the piling on the, the, the, like, the community that was created in the attacks and attempted takedown and allegations of racism and Islamophobia against me became, you know, just absolutely insane.

00:16:29.520 Everything from comments on my physical appearance, um, to, um, you know, weaponizing, like, my positions, um, uh, on the attack, uh, the massacre that happened against, um, uh, Jewish Australians, um, labeling me a Zionist.

00:16:49.520 Which I actually am.

00:16:51.380 I am a proud Zionist.

00:16:53.640 Um, and I am a, you know, a defiant, um, supporter of Israel.

00:16:57.920 But, like, do you know, that's what this, but you can support Israel and not be Islamophobic.

00:17:04.120 Right?

00:17:04.180 I think those two things can actually exist.

00:17:06.420 Well, as someone who really tries to, you know, challenge people, um, to be able to hold multiple truths, whether, you know, and very complicated ones, um, it's, it, this is really frustrating and disappointing.

00:17:19.460 And it's been very difficult personally, um, both on me, my friends, and my family, um, but also in thinking about, um, you know, there, there have been people in the comments of, um, this individual.

00:17:30.980 And I just wanted to say, I was going to start by saying, I don't want anyone to go and find this individual online and target them in any way.

00:17:37.960 I do not want, um, what has happened to me to happen to anyone else, including her.

00:17:44.800 Even though I've been incredibly challenged and hurt by the situation, I, that is not, I don't want anyone to do that.

00:17:52.460 I wish this upon no one, including her.

00:17:56.700 Um, and so, um.

00:18:00.980 Um, you know, it's just, where are we as a society, as a culture, when it's easier because the, the, the advice, you know, that many have told me is like, just wait for this to blow over.

00:18:12.340 So we're going to accept cancel culture. 0.93

00:18:15.020 We're going to accept that you can just label someone racist or Islamophobic.

00:18:18.720 Um, like I do plan on continuing, uh, hopefully my political career.

00:18:23.740 Um, how can I let this stand, Lindsay?

00:18:26.260 You can't.

00:18:26.940 And that's, that's the thing is, is a lot of people would just ignore this.

00:18:29.780 And we've gotten into that as a society, but I like to think we're on what I call the back end of the cancel culture era.

00:18:35.720 I think it, it peaked, I don't know, probably roughly about three or four years ago. 0.76

00:18:40.380 And it got so ridiculous.

00:18:41.820 People are getting canceled for things they never did for very loose.

00:18:45.980 Um, well, everything is a microaggression.

00:18:47.740 Absolutely.

00:18:48.160 Right.

00:18:48.460 And I mean, I had, I mean, consider this a coming out party politically.

00:18:52.000 Um, because I had really hoped for the store to like wind down before, you know, I was going to, um, you know, take a different track in terms of, um, speaking out on different issues where I was going to be asking people to, you know, to really hold themselves open to the possibility of holding more uncomfortable, um, truths, you know, those dueling two or multiple truths.

00:19:14.860 Um, this is forced my hand in a way that I did not anticipate and did not want.

00:19:19.740 Um, but there are some uncomfortable conversations that I think we need to have as a society, um, especially in the, in the face of, you know, of a decade long Trudeau government that really kind of embraced this.

00:19:35.320 And I'll say I did too in different ways.

00:19:39.420 How naive was I?

00:19:40.880 I thought that, um, we were going to end up in a better place than where we started and we're not.

00:19:45.660 Um, so I think that this is about.

00:19:49.740 Um, respect for people you live alongside, whether you agree with them or not, you can have a bad interaction with someone.

00:19:55.920 We can have a falling out at some point, but that wouldn't, you know, that doesn't need to result in, you know, the canceling of anyone or the labeling of them as anything.

00:20:05.680 Um, but values, respect, um, you know, how do you, how do you live beside people?

00:20:14.200 How do you, like, how are you showing up in the world?

00:20:17.220 What, what are you saying when the first thing that you go to is racism and Islamophobia?

00:20:22.040 Yeah.

00:20:23.220 Absolutely.

00:20:23.880 You know, you're brave, Sarah.

00:20:25.820 Not everybody is going to come on a show like this and talk about this.

00:20:28.980 And I think, um, I, I, I think that you are very brave for doing this and I think you, you have to set the tone, right?

00:20:36.480 This is obviously going to chart things in a new course for you politically, right?

00:20:39.720 Because this is, I mean, would you say that this is the most crushing situation that you've been?

00:20:45.660 Like you ran for mayor.

00:20:46.820 No, actually you've done a lot of things.

00:20:49.720 Surprisingly not.

00:20:50.880 You would be shocked because I think in, in the context of being a public person in social media, whether political or as a small business, you don't want to talk about bad things.

00:21:01.260 Like you, um, even since yesterday, I actually, um, I made a post that says like the inconvenient truth of labeling me as Islamophobic is actually, so I put together a, like a little compilation of me wearing actually a headscarf, right?

00:21:16.640 Um, just to say like, this is not, this is not accurate in any way.

00:21:21.840 Um, I've already lost hundreds of followers.

00:21:25.380 Wow.

00:21:26.080 Since yesterday when I made that post.

00:21:27.900 So, and it's because I, you know, I'm, um, you know, I'm saying I'm, you know, not, you know, I call out anti, like all of it.

00:21:35.360 It's just all of it.

00:21:36.520 So the approach from business and politics is like, you don't talk about any of this.

00:21:40.660 You don't say anything because you're always risking a lot.

00:21:43.700 If it's not money, it's reputation or brand, all of these different things.

00:21:48.560 Um, how do we, like, it's just, it's enough.

00:21:53.700 It's enough.

00:21:54.360 Um, we have to, we, we've like gotten into the world upside down times in terms of the world.

00:22:02.820 Um, and, and it really, it ruins people's lives.

00:22:05.800 It ruins people's livelihoods.

00:22:07.140 I think that's a really important thing.

00:22:08.380 Like people have to remember that you are a mother.

00:22:10.800 Yeah.

00:22:11.000 You are a wife.

00:22:11.820 You're a business owner.

00:22:13.080 You're a human being.

00:22:14.360 Yeah.

00:22:14.520 Um, and, um, sensationalizing something for personal gain.

00:22:18.820 I presume, I don't know what this woman's motivations would be. 1.00

00:22:21.540 I don't know if somebody else put her up to it.

00:22:23.160 I mean, the whole thing is so bizarre.

00:22:24.360 I mean, it's so constructed and contrived.

00:22:27.000 It's become, it's, it's now, it's been championed by people who, who within, um, within her community who, um, have views that, you know, that I absolutely fundamentally disagree with.

00:22:39.120 Um, but it's become like, uh, it's a, it's a culture of, um, either you agree with me or, you know, like I'll cancel you too.

00:22:49.380 I mean, I'll share this.

00:22:50.740 And there's actually, there's, there's, there's public record of this because I was actually targeted by a neo-Nazi several years ago, um, who left white supremacist literature on the door of my store.

00:23:02.580 Um, and, you know, so like, am I too woke?

00:23:08.520 Am I too not?

00:23:10.660 Like, what am I, like, you know, it's, I guess I'm, if I'm making everyone unhappy, is that the sweet spot?

00:23:17.380 I don't know.

00:23:18.180 Right.

00:23:18.460 In the same way that, you know, we're in such a quick world of wanting to label someone like liberal or conservative or whatever it is.

00:23:26.580 We're, we've become so obsessed with labels in our society.

00:23:32.960 And, you know, in the opening monologue, when I was talking about Alberta independence, I'm very surprised by some of the people who I know who've signed either petition.

00:23:40.540 Truly.

00:23:41.260 And we, we assume that people who maybe signed the forever Canadian petition are very left wing.

00:23:46.020 I know some serious conservatives who signed that petition.

00:23:48.560 Yeah.

00:23:48.780 And on the flip side, I know people that are really surprised that are getting on board with the separation movement.

00:23:53.700 People who are fed up, who I would never have thought were separatists or conversations with them a year ago on the political, at a political level, they weren't interested at all in separation.

00:24:03.020 But it's a quickly evolving issue.

00:24:04.860 So people, people can be, can be different things at the same time.

00:24:08.800 A hundred percent.

00:24:09.520 Again, you're having space for holding those multiple truths.

00:24:12.840 And that also there's so much behind how every, how anyone appears, right?

00:24:18.080 That we are all very complex people, multifaceted, multicultural, you know, if that, you know, that's like a whole other thing, but we're just nothing.

00:24:30.140 If we operate from a place of, um, from grace, honestly, in giving people that, um, but then also, you know, not jumping to labeling one another, not jumping to, um, well, I'm going to cancel you because I'm pissed off about whatever.

00:24:45.640 Um, like we, it's a race to the bottom.

00:24:50.340 Is that where, how fast do we want to get there?

00:24:52.420 Mm-hmm, absolutely.

00:24:54.340 Well, sir, any parting words for the folks listening today?

00:24:57.180 I just, I mean, I, I, again, I'm really grateful that you were able to come on the show and to, and to share this because it's, you deserve to tell your story.

00:25:03.840 And in all the time I have known you and getting to know you on the campaign trail and, and learning, you know, your very grassroots motivation for running to be Calgary's mayor.

00:25:12.820 And you were brave when you did that.

00:25:14.480 And I think you won over a lot of hearts and minds.

00:25:16.780 And, uh, I think a lot of people would, would just never believe this story about you.

00:25:22.820 And I think, you know, to be mindful that the people who are sounding off on, um, say this woman's posts or other posts that come out of it online, they don't know you.

00:25:30.820 They don't understand that this is so far-fetched for, for you to, to be a racist or anything like that.

00:25:38.480 But like, there are consequences to our actions, people.

00:25:41.420 You know, we teach our children this and we need to live by this as adults.

00:25:44.460 It's when you're cruel and malicious to people online, there's consequences to that.

00:25:48.340 And sometimes people are brave, like Sarah Elder, and they're going to go on to public platforms and they're going to share the truth of what happened.

00:25:55.180 And I choose to believe Sarah.

00:25:56.600 And I think most of us knowing you would believe your side of the story.

00:25:59.720 Well, and I've gotten multi-partisan support from people, you know, because they, how can you build a business based on the multi-partisan participation of all women in political spaces, right?

00:26:13.440 Like going, very intentionally creating and holding space for diversity, for, um, divergent views.

00:26:21.460 Why would I do that with, uh, one week to go?

00:26:24.980 Why would I, right?

00:26:26.460 Yeah, it just doesn't make sense.

00:26:27.740 Nothing, nothing about her video made sense.

00:26:29.560 Nothing about it.

00:26:29.880 Well, and also, can we just not like Google someone in front of them and then confirm their identity?

00:26:34.040 Like that to me. 0.99

00:26:35.600 Even her phrasing was that, shit, this woman's running for mayor. 1.00

00:26:38.160 Yes, and if you knew anything politically, you would know that this election was done. 0.99

00:26:43.140 Although, wouldn't you love a redo? 0.99

00:26:45.200 In many ways, I would.

00:26:48.660 Or would I?

00:26:49.820 Yeah, maybe, maybe not.

00:26:50.760 Depends on the day and the provincials next year.

00:26:52.880 Right, so like, you know, um, but there, I think this warrants a larger conversation in terms of what we, where we have gotten, how we have allowed this to happen.

00:27:06.740 And I think we're at a really critical time in terms of, like, our province and our country in terms of, um, you know, having some tougher conversations around who we are as Canadians and Albertans.

00:27:19.620 And, um, I'm going to be frank.

00:27:22.040 I don't want Alberta or Canada to be a place where you can just throw around accusations like you're racist, you're Islamophobic.

00:27:29.320 Um, that is absolutely unacceptable.

00:27:32.500 Whatever the label is, no, this is not something that we want to contribute to.

00:27:38.380 This is not a part of our identity.

00:27:39.760 This is not a part of how we manage our community.

00:27:41.760 This is not how we live with one another.

00:27:43.880 And it is unacceptable.

00:27:45.000 But I just want to say one last thing.

00:27:46.640 Again, I don't want anyone to reach out to this woman. 1.00

00:27:48.740 I don't want, I don't want to, I don't want this to happen to her in the same way that this has happened to me.

00:27:56.100 Um, so, you know, go, go take a look, but please don't engage with the content.

00:28:02.340 Um, that also helps the algorithm and the social media companies because it spreads it wider.

00:28:07.560 Um, but do not, please don't, don't comment or target her in any way.

00:28:11.900 Okay.

00:28:12.120 Well, thank you, Sarah.

00:28:13.220 Sarah Elder.

00:28:14.100 So, uh, and Madam Premier lives on. 1.00

00:28:16.360 This is a great brand.

00:28:17.260 If you've never checked out Madam Premier or Premier, it's madamepremier.ca.

00:28:21.840 Or com.

00:28:22.680 Yeah, or dot com, whatever, whatever, whatever you're feeling like that day.

00:28:27.180 Uh, anyhow, and then you, your store's open until January 24th.

00:28:30.740 Is that right?

00:28:31.320 Well, yeah.

00:28:31.760 So Saturday or Sunday is supposed to be the last day.

00:28:34.180 Okay.

00:28:34.800 Um, 10, 12, 9th Avenue South East.

00:28:37.520 Yes.

00:28:37.840 Right.

00:28:38.080 I don't like that.

00:28:38.640 She's got some great deals to clear out stuff. 1.00

00:28:40.040 You don't, let's help Sarah not schlep boxes. 1.00

00:28:42.060 Okay.

00:28:42.480 She's got a lot of things to do. 1.00

00:28:44.000 Let's let her get rid of her inventory and get rid of her stock. 1.00

00:28:46.700 And then you're online.

00:28:47.480 So people to continue.

00:28:48.720 Yes.

00:28:49.100 And, and, and continue to hold space for, you know.

00:28:53.220 Hard things.

00:28:54.120 Yeah, absolutely.

00:28:54.920 Yeah.

00:28:55.280 Thank you, Sarah.

00:28:55.880 I appreciate you.

00:28:56.800 Yeah.

00:28:57.080 Thanks so much.

00:28:58.260 All right.

00:28:58.620 Well, we're going to get into our next segment.

00:29:01.620 Uh, we're shifting to an issue that's happening right here in Calgary.

00:29:05.100 Uh, not somewhere else.

00:29:06.480 You know, it's not behind closed doors.

00:29:08.760 Uh, it's, uh, it's in our own communities.

00:29:10.800 It's human trafficking and prostitution. 0.89

00:29:13.720 Uh, joining me today are two incredible women. 1.00

00:29:16.200 Uh, they're working on the front lines to change lives.

00:29:19.060 The organization is called Her Victory.

00:29:21.980 So, so please go to hervictory.ca.

00:29:26.380 Check them out right now.

00:29:27.420 It's a really cool website and it lays out everything that they do.

00:29:30.760 Her Victory operates out of Forest Lawn.

00:29:32.920 It's one of Calgary's last known prostitution strolls.

00:29:35.460 Uh, comprehensive, hands-on approach to women impacted by sexual exploitation, addiction,

00:29:42.860 and trafficking.

00:29:44.260 Their work spans prison outreach, pregnancy care, housing, food hampers, street strolls,

00:29:50.120 strip club outreach, massage parlor outreach, you name it.

00:29:53.480 And the reality is staggering.

00:29:55.420 There are more than 3,000 individuals currently working in the sex industry in Calgary.

00:30:00.840 According to Her Victory, the stats here, 96% of trafficking victims in Canada are female,

00:30:08.100 71% under the age of 25, 91% know their trafficker, and 93% are Canadian citizens.

00:30:15.680 Now, this isn't smuggling.

00:30:17.360 This isn't something happening somewhere else.

00:30:19.600 This isn't a Hollywood movie.

00:30:20.860 It's right here.

00:30:21.620 It's right down the road from you.

00:30:23.540 Uh, just last week, one of Canada's top women's charity golf tournaments, the Peanut 0.95

00:30:28.920 Butter Classic, announced her victory is its top charitable recipient for their June 8th

00:30:34.920 annual tournament.

00:30:36.380 Now, um, Heather will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is their 23rd or 24th year.

00:30:41.000 It's been held right here in Calgary.

00:30:43.140 Um, and each year registration fills up just in minutes and a number of charitable endeavors

00:30:47.360 benefit from the hardworking women that are behind the Peanut Butter Classic. 1.00

00:30:51.460 Uh, last year, these ladies raised $326,000 in a day. 1.00

00:30:56.480 That is remarkable, multiple charitable, charitable endeavors, uh, benefited, but each year the

00:31:03.140 gals select one of the benefiting charities to be the star of the show in this year, it

00:31:07.080 is Her Victory.

00:31:08.240 So joining me are Jackie Meyer, founder and executive director of Her Victory, and the

00:31:13.920 Honorable Heather Forsyth, founder of the Peanut Butter Classic and former long time Calgary

00:31:19.320 MLA.

00:31:20.280 Ladies, thank you so much for joining me. 0.95

00:31:22.480 I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy days.

00:31:25.700 Goodness knows you're both very busy women who've done a lot of things, so I appreciate

00:31:29.560 this.

00:31:30.120 So, uh, let's, let's start out here.

00:31:33.300 Um, uh, we'll go over to you, Heather.

00:31:35.700 Why did you, why was it Her Victory?

00:31:38.300 Why did it come down to Her Victory of all the charities that Peanut Butter Classic supports 0.99

00:31:41.740 every year?

00:31:42.600 Why Her Victory?

00:31:43.260 Well, I think for us was, uh, we support Not In My City, which is run by Paul Brandt,

00:31:52.220 and, uh, I have spent probably the majority of my life in this issue, which I call the

00:31:59.460 dark side on child prostitution, sexual exploitation, human trafficking.

00:32:04.580 So, we reached out to Jackie, and Jackie presented before my board about what her organization does,

00:32:12.800 and my board, as I said to Jackie, was quite taken, and as Jackie went on, on some of the

00:32:18.620 things they were doing, their eyes just got bigger and bigger and bigger, uh, on all the

00:32:23.560 things that she is doing to try and deal with trafficking. 1.00

00:32:26.980 So, we had a board decision, and, uh, unanimous, unanimously decided to support Jackie at Her

00:32:33.400 Victory.

00:32:34.320 Uh, we gave her $50,000 already, and, uh, have helped her with other things, and we're

00:32:42.440 very excited having her, uh, with us this year.

00:32:45.880 Oh, that's tremendous.

00:32:47.040 And Jackie, thank you.

00:32:48.580 Welcome to the show.

00:32:49.580 Why don't you tell me a little bit about Her Victory, and where it all started from?

00:32:52.680 Because you're, you're the girl behind, uh, this, like, this charity.

00:32:57.300 Yeah, thank you, Lindsay, for having me.

00:32:59.040 Um, yeah, Her Victory, so, um, we empower and reach those that are caught in the sex

00:33:05.220 trade, exploited, at risk of, or currently being trafficked.

00:33:08.680 Um, we started, as you mentioned, right here in the city of Calgary.

00:33:11.920 Uh, we do have an outreach center that's located right on one of Calgary's last very active

00:33:17.080 prostitution strolls.

00:33:19.080 And, um, you know, our heart was just to serve, uh, and advocate and provide practical

00:33:24.720 needs for these women, and it's just expanded, uh, as the problem, if you know, is human 1.00

00:33:29.340 trafficking.

00:33:29.780 It's one of the, it's a multi, multi-billion dollar, uh, industry worldwide, and it's one

00:33:35.380 of the fastest growing crimes in the world.

00:33:37.620 And, uh, Calgary is no exception to that.

00:33:40.960 And, you know, when I say, uh, caught in the sex trade, it's absolutely not, uh, what I

00:33:46.680 would call a trade that's inaccurate as it can be.

00:33:49.720 Uh, there is no fair trade that occurs, uh, with these individuals.

00:33:53.080 Their spirits are shattered, their hearts are torn, their bodies are abused, and it takes

00:33:58.000 everything from these girls and gives nothing back.

00:34:00.940 And so we just saw a need in the city and, uh, jumped right in.

00:34:04.900 And so we are in the local women's prisons, uh, meeting with women that are incarcerated

00:34:09.760 that have faced trafficking or some form of exploitation.

00:34:13.220 Uh, we do have a safe home, um, here in the city of Calgary for women that are fleeing

00:34:18.640 trafficking, and that's all across our province, our nation, cross-border.

00:34:23.160 Um, and we do have teams that go in, the illegal massage parlors, uh, like I mentioned, the 0.98

00:34:28.240 local prisons.

00:34:29.040 Um, we are working this year to get in the strip clubs, um, and as well, just, you know,

00:34:34.540 reaching these women at our outreach location where they're at, but not leaving them there.

00:34:39.760 I see.

00:34:40.440 Now, how important is the wraparound care?

00:34:42.320 I think what really struck me about your organization is a lot of organizations I find

00:34:46.800 in charitable sector, they're very hyper-focused on one thing, and that may very well be a

00:34:50.740 good thing.

00:34:51.060 But what I loved about this is I went to hervictory.ca and you do it all.

00:34:55.960 You really do it all.

00:34:56.820 You're really like this hub for all the help and support.

00:35:00.280 You know, it's, it's like the whole, uh, you know, it's, it's like addiction treatment.

00:35:03.980 You don't just take somebody off the streets, get them sober and then say, Hey, have a nice

00:35:08.400 day.

00:35:08.720 Right.

00:35:08.980 That's you have to, you have to re-educate them.

00:35:11.620 You, they need, they need therapy.

00:35:13.200 They need, uh, housing supports.

00:35:15.020 They need job training.

00:35:16.160 They need the whole, the whole thing.

00:35:17.780 So when women kind of, when you make that initial contact from women, when they say,

00:35:21.820 you know, I need, I need help.

00:35:22.860 I want out of this life or however that interaction is with, with your team, you know, you talk

00:35:28.220 a lot on the website and maybe you can just add a little bit to that.

00:35:30.860 How, how, how many of these are these really long-term relationship where you are actually

00:35:35.520 in these women's lives from, from not just months, but potentially years.

00:35:39.860 Yeah, that's correct.

00:35:42.320 Um, you know, women, women exiting situations or caught in these, um, situations, they have

00:35:48.860 the most barriers to success of any population.

00:35:52.240 And psychologists will tell you that it's their level of trauma is like a soldier returning

00:35:57.760 from war.

00:35:58.820 And, um, so we really embrace, we're all about the trusting relationship.

00:36:03.460 And for most women, this is years and years and years. 0.96

00:36:06.760 Um, we've had women come in our doors that are ready today, even just to choose sobriety, 1.00

00:36:11.940 which is success.

00:36:13.400 And then we've had women where we've had to do backdoor escapes and they're ready to get 1.00

00:36:17.100 into our safe house.

00:36:18.640 And we do provide wraparound support.

00:36:20.680 So that includes right from your practical needs.

00:36:22.800 The first thing I did was raise money for a shower because, um, as much as the shelters

00:36:27.460 are doing everything that they can, they're not sometimes the most safe place.

00:36:31.260 And so we wanted a safe space for women where they could shower, they could get clothing, 1.00

00:36:34.780 they could get, you know, winter coats, boots, hygiene packs.

00:36:38.660 Um, you know, the necessities when they're leaving prison, usually it's with the shirt

00:36:42.300 on their back.

00:36:42.920 And then we have social workers, caseworkers, and a plethora of volunteers to meet them where

00:36:47.440 they are at when they walk through our doors.

00:36:50.220 And, you know, we know their journeys.

00:36:52.060 We know these women's stories, um, from beginning to end. 1.00

00:36:54.860 And even as they leave our housing program, we continue to provide them with, uh, community

00:37:00.600 supports, um, and with everything.

00:37:04.800 Sorry, that's not on my end, uh, that they need, um, just in what stage they're at.

00:37:11.380 Now our staff, um, are completely, we provide fully trauma-informed support.

00:37:16.200 We do have a crisis trauma counselor that is specific to exploitation that walk with these

00:37:20.820 women on a weekly basis.

00:37:21.940 And we just, like I said, we meet, every story is different.

00:37:24.880 Every circumstance is different.

00:37:26.680 Um, I explain it as, uh, we almost feel like we work in the ER.

00:37:30.400 We never know what's going to walk in our doors.

00:37:32.500 We can see up to 40 to 50 women, uh, like I said, that are either currently in the sex 1.00

00:37:37.900 trade exploited, or some don't even realize that they're being trafficked.

00:37:41.280 And we're able to support them moving forward where they're at and where they're ready.

00:37:45.540 We're all about choices here.

00:37:47.160 It's, it's where they want to go and we'll support them through that walk.

00:37:50.160 Oh, that's so powerful.

00:37:51.780 You know, I think I, I'm really hanging onto these stats that there's over 3000 people at

00:37:55.740 any time, mostly women, of course, working in right here, just in Calgary, let alone 1.00

00:37:59.640 Alberta, let alone the rest of the country in the sex trade. 0.90

00:38:02.620 And that there's our young girls, these are young girls.

00:38:05.700 These are girls who are under 25.

00:38:07.160 Most of them, I think my oldest daughter is 16.

00:38:09.500 And I just think that's crazy to think of somebody her age caught up.

00:38:12.940 I miss life and, and this addiction, Heather, I want to go over to you.

00:38:16.140 Because Heather, I mean, so, you know, Heather Forsythe, you were in MLA for many, many years,

00:38:21.380 and you were in the Ministry of Children and Family Services.

00:38:24.880 And you are on a provincial committee around this.

00:38:28.140 You work with Paul Brandt and his organization, now her victory.

00:38:32.280 Like you have a powerful wheelhouse of information and experience on this.

00:38:37.840 And, and so Jackie says this, this problem is rising.

00:38:42.240 It's increasing.

00:38:43.040 Should we be surprised by that, Heather?

00:38:44.700 Or did you see this coming for the last 20 years?

00:38:47.920 Oh, it's been coming.

00:38:48.680 I just want to make one comment on what Jackie said.

00:38:51.500 I think it's important that one in five women that are trafficked are under the age of 17.

00:38:56.580 And we saw a good example of that in the charges recently that were laid in Lethbridge.

00:39:02.500 Our kids are very, very vulnerable.

00:39:04.480 And they're very vulnerable in many aspects on social media, et cetera.

00:39:08.360 The traffickers know if they're vulnerable.

00:39:10.860 They know where to meet them on shopping malls, you know, around the schools.

00:39:15.740 So I think parents have to start waking up to what social media their children are on.

00:39:21.320 But yes, it's $150 billion annually globally.

00:39:26.780 And each victim is around $280,000 a year.

00:39:33.080 Our traffickers, our organized crime, are actually making more money on those that they are trafficking than they are on drugs.

00:39:40.600 And they can move the girls and guys very quickly across the country, as Jackie well knows.

00:39:47.340 So I think, I guess in the, I've been doing this since the early 90s and was on the streets with street teams before I got elected.

00:39:58.540 I think people are finally starting to understand what's happening.

00:40:02.020 And in my estimation, Jackie, maybe you can add, they're starting to care a lot more now.

00:40:09.720 Jackie, over to you. 0.95

00:40:10.700 Yeah, I mean, I'm happy to say, I would say, you know, Paul Brandt is such a great advocate, especially at the political level and raising awareness.

00:40:19.700 But I think it's important to note that he is highly connected with us, those of us that are on the ground at the community level that are seeing actually what's happening.

00:40:27.900 And I'm glad you brought up that new case out of Brooks and, sorry, out of Lethbridge.

00:40:33.460 We're supporting four women with the Richard Mantha case.

00:40:36.240 And also to speak to Lindsay, your stat, the average age of an individual being trafficked is between age 12 and 14 years old.

00:40:45.020 And I, too, am a mother of two teenage daughters.

00:40:48.200 And this is an incredibly scary stat.

00:40:51.680 They not only are traffickers, you know, obviously grooming and recruiting the vulnerability of individuals, so unhoused addictions, no support of family or community.

00:41:00.720 But they're going online and I don't want to give them a lot of credit, but they're really, really good at what they're doing.

00:41:06.920 And they have these grooming tactics.

00:41:09.060 I will throw up recently here in the city of Calgary at one of the malls, they were using an older woman pushing a baby in a stroll to recruit girls that were in the mall setting because they know a female generally will trust a mother female figure.

00:41:25.020 And so, is this issue growing?

00:41:29.500 Yes, it's a dark underbelly of our city.

00:41:32.020 We are really great partners with Calgary City Police, their, you know, their frontline teams, their alert department and the sexual exploitation unit.

00:41:42.640 Just being, you know, we're here to support and advocate for these women, but it's also a very dangerous sector to be in.

00:41:50.560 And really, I think, you know, it's cultural, right?

00:41:54.740 We have to come around to it.

00:41:55.640 You know, I was sifting around through your website and as well as not my city's website, not my city's collecting signatures right now.

00:42:01.580 And Heather, I'm going to go to you to comment on this for joining the fight for stronger protections against child sexual exploitation.

00:42:09.680 So there was that recent fall decision by the Supreme Court, it was a narrow five to four decision to strike down the mandatory minimum one year jail sentences for possessing and accessing child sexual abuse material.

00:42:23.100 I mean, explain it to me like I'm five, why this is a thing.

00:42:26.220 I really struggle to understand why we wouldn't want to have mandatory minimums for that.

00:42:30.140 I mean, the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior.

00:42:34.480 So, Heather, do you have anything to say on that Supreme Court decision and not having these mandatory minimums?

00:42:41.380 I think it's crazy.

00:42:43.200 It's crazy to me.

00:42:44.920 I can't second guess what the liberals are thinking federally.

00:42:48.860 I mean, I think we have to call what it is. 0.92

00:42:52.320 It's pornography. 0.96

00:42:54.020 And we have those who are watching pornography think it's cool to watch a baby getting raped or getting off on a young child. 0.95

00:43:02.200 And how you would think it's okay for one year.

00:43:06.460 We have victims and people need to remember that about the victims here and the lasting impressions that is left from the abuse that these kids and younger children are going through.

00:43:25.020 So, it seems to be in the federal government's mind, it's okay.

00:43:31.460 And I would suggest that if it was their child or some other child that's close to them, whether it's a niece or a nephew, if they would still think it's okay.

00:43:40.900 Yeah, it's remarkable.

00:43:43.660 You know, I have three children, one son and two daughters.

00:43:46.160 And I have big conversations with my 16-year-old because I think you have to in this day and age.

00:43:51.060 And I always tell her, you know, it takes five minutes alone in a room with the wrong guy or girl, but typically man, to change the course of your life for the rest of your life.

00:44:01.180 And I have had friends close to me who underwent sexual abuse and it changed them forever.

00:44:09.300 They're never the same.

00:44:10.320 They never, you don't get over it.

00:44:12.160 You get around it, you work your way through it, hopefully.

00:44:14.700 But it's unbelievable.

00:44:16.460 It's devastating.

00:44:17.260 It rips families apart.

00:44:18.380 It destroys lives.

00:44:19.280 So there's a comment here, I think, Jackie, who are the traffickers?

00:44:25.060 This is just in our super chat.

00:44:27.120 So our super chats are open.

00:44:28.280 So sound off on here as we have, I think, just a few more minutes left on the show.

00:44:32.320 But Jordan here asks, who are the traffickers?

00:44:35.300 Who are the women? 1.00

00:44:36.420 Who are the clients?

00:44:38.160 Jackie, do you want to address that a little bit?

00:44:41.560 Sure.

00:44:43.020 So the traffickers, this can range, it's very highly organized crime.

00:44:48.100 And so you've got some very, you know, we'll call them high-end gangs, prolific gangs.

00:44:57.780 But you also have organizations within corporations, believe it or not.

00:45:02.760 We have seen people that are, you know, in political spheres.

00:45:10.500 We have seen lawyers.

00:45:13.400 We have seen doctors.

00:45:14.460 We have seen, you know, we deal with, we let the police deal with it at that level.

00:45:20.600 But we're also dealing with a lot of pimps and johns.

00:45:23.420 And, you know, it used to be it would be the guy with the gold teeth.

00:45:26.280 He's got, you know, the pit bull in the back of his truck.

00:45:28.700 But this is anyone, it can be any walk of life.

00:45:34.260 So we have had pimps that obviously, you know, float in the low-income circles.

00:45:41.300 But we've also got people that, men from middle class.

00:45:44.920 We've got professionals.

00:45:46.640 It's really not as cookie cutter as you might think.

00:45:51.020 But as far as trafficking goes, you've definitely got, I would say it's people involved in the gang life.

00:45:58.040 And, but again, there can be high-end professionals that are involved as well.

00:46:05.300 I think there's a little bit of this assumption that maybe most of these women are, have been illegally brought into this country.

00:46:11.160 But then your stats show quite the other side of that, that it's 90, 93% are actually Canadian citizens.

00:46:17.180 Is that right?

00:46:17.520 90, yes, 93% of people that are trafficked in Canada are Canadian citizens.

00:46:22.520 And that is one of the biggest, I know, you, we used to hear from police.

00:46:27.180 Even Paul Brandt will tell you 10 years ago, he was going to police and they were like, trafficking isn't happening here.

00:46:32.860 It's, it is happening in our country.

00:46:36.000 Calgary is actually one of, because with the international airport, we are a hub as well.

00:46:41.160 It's active and well.

00:46:42.180 There is a circuit, they called a circuit throughout the province where they are moving women very, very quickly. 0.88

00:46:47.520 So it's, it is, it's highly organized, it's highly funded.

00:46:50.880 And like Heather mentioned, on average, I think, you know, a trafficker can make $280,000 a year on one individual, their commodities.

00:46:59.620 It's not like a drug that's sold and that's, that's done.

00:47:02.140 They can sell them over and over again.

00:47:03.840 And I just want to mention, Lindsay, I think it's important that with exploitation and trough, exploitation and this kind of trauma, it often puts lies about their worth.

00:47:13.260 It blames, it goes right to their identity.

00:47:15.640 You know, it's my fault.

00:47:17.300 My body's not mine.

00:47:18.420 Value is only what I give them.

00:47:20.040 I'm damaged goods.

00:47:21.140 So when you talk about the lifetime of, you know, healing through, through this, what these people are doing to these, these poor victims, it's, you know, we're dealing with that right on a frontline level.

00:47:31.740 So it is an issue in Calgary.

00:47:34.540 And to just go back, circle back to your question, you know, there is obviously, I would say majority is within the gang life, but it's very organized crime.

00:47:44.020 Well, just to comment, if I, if I may, Lindsay.

00:47:47.500 One of the things I've always found fascinating to all the years that I've done this is people always seem to think it's not their kid and it can be their kid.

00:47:59.540 And it is somebody's kid and no child or adults, for that matter, are safe, quite frankly.

00:48:11.100 And the younger the kid, the more we're feeding the pedophiles.

00:48:14.400 So I think people really need to start being very conscientious about what's going on in this province and this country, quite frankly.

00:48:22.180 Yeah, there's, there's, you've got to take the blinders off, right?

00:48:25.460 I mean, it's, it's just because it's not necessarily happening to your family doesn't mean that it can't, right?

00:48:29.520 And again, five minutes interaction your child has with a stranger could, to change the whole trajectory of their life.

00:48:36.260 Or not a stranger.

00:48:37.140 I shouldn't even say a stranger.

00:48:38.400 It's oftentimes people that you know, right?

00:48:40.920 It often is, you know, people that they know.

00:48:43.740 And we work with a lot of, and it's middle-class families, that their daughter, they call it boyfriending.

00:48:49.860 We're just, you know, someone gave them a lot of attention, buying them a lot of gifts.

00:48:53.620 It's the whole grooming process.

00:48:55.420 A, you know, an A student going to high school and all of a sudden they're gone like that.

00:49:02.440 Remarkable.

00:49:03.720 Heather, tell me just a little bit more, do some, do some plug for the, for the Peanut Butter Classic. 0.99

00:49:08.640 Is registration open?

00:49:10.120 When does registration open?

00:49:11.060 Because I think people have like five seconds to sign up for this incredible golf tournament.

00:49:15.880 No, registration isn't open.

00:49:17.880 We're meeting tonight.

00:49:19.380 And we're very excited to have you join us, Lindsay.

00:49:23.680 I'm very excited.

00:49:25.960 We will build filling survivor bags.

00:49:29.020 Jackie.

00:49:30.520 Jackie can talk about the survivor bags that are given to the women on the street.

00:49:34.540 We're going to have socks and there's some underwear, some, you know, toothpaste and different things like that.

00:49:42.660 We will, the tournament's June 8th and probably around the month of May, open the tournament.

00:49:48.780 Right now we're after our donors and sponsors.

00:49:51.560 So if anybody's interested, www.peanutbutterclassic.com.

00:49:57.160 And you're changing a lot of people's lives by donating not only to Her Victory.

00:50:03.500 We do Dogs with Wings, Not in My City, the veterans and our firefighters.

00:50:08.480 So we'd love to have your support.

00:50:10.020 Oh, that's incredible.

00:50:12.580 Well, thank you again, Jackie Meyer with Her Victory and the Honorable Heather Forsythe with the Peanut Butter Classic.

00:50:19.940 Thank you so much.

00:50:21.500 I'm excited to be involved with Peanut Butter this year.

00:50:24.480 And here's hoping for a rain-free and wildly successful tournament this June 8th.

00:50:30.440 Again, you can learn how to volunteer.

00:50:32.560 You can get or donate and get involved at the peanutbutterclassic.com.

00:50:37.480 Learn more about supporting women exiting exploitation at hervictory.ca.

00:50:42.760 And with that, we are going to bring our show to a close.

00:50:46.460 So a huge thank you to our sponsors, to the incredible Corey Morgan for trusting me with his microphone,

00:50:53.100 and to all of you for tuning in.

00:50:55.880 So if you haven't already, please head over to westernstandard.news and grab yourself a subscription.

00:51:02.400 It keeps us accountable and it gives you full access to all of our reporting,

00:51:06.340 investigations and commentary.

00:51:08.660 Subscriptions are just $10 a month or $100 for the full year.

00:51:12.920 And that support goes directly into producing the kind of journalism that you are here to see.

00:51:18.740 And for those of you watching, know that there's always the super chats open on the comments.

00:51:23.880 And to feel free to try and interact with us as we're doing these shows and we've got a lot of moving parts.

00:51:29.060 But again, thank you so much.

00:51:31.460 Be skeptical, be decent, and try not to torch your neighbors in the comments section.

00:51:36.840 As always, I'm Lindsay Wilson with Link Strategy.

00:51:39.340 It's my honor to host today on behalf of Corey Morgan.

00:51:42.660 You will see him next time.

00:51:44.380 Thanks so much.

00:51:44.980 We'll see you next time.

Western Standard - January 24, 2026

CORY MORGAN SHOW： Alberta isn’t asking permission anymore

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