Corey's live from the Sonalta Community Hub in Calgary's Beltline, where he's holding a Stampede-themed Western Standard BBQ. He's talking about Alberta's new pipeline project, the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.
00:00:00.000Good day, welcome to the Corey Morgan Show.
00:00:29.680I'm coming live today from the Sonalta Community Hub down in Calgary's Beltline, just south of downtown.
00:00:36.980As you can tell by my awkwardly worn cosplay costume, it is Stampede Week, and we're holding our Western Standard barbecue down here.
00:00:45.920There's going to be burgers and weenies and water balloons, and you can hit a weenie with water balloons, and all sorts of things are going to be happening.
00:00:53.600That all begins at 1 o'clock, not too long from now, and it will be a good time.
00:00:57.680If you can make it down, get down there, look up the Sonalta Community Center in Calgary and take part.
00:01:32.980So, I mean, in 2018, let's get a little history here.
00:01:36.200When the Trudeau government painted itself into a corner
00:01:38.460leading to the purchase of the Trans Mountain Pipeline by taxpayers,
00:01:42.100Daniel Smith's commentary on the issue was critical and uncompromising.
00:01:46.200In an article she wrote for Global News, she said,
00:01:48.580I hope I'm wrong, but we may be witnessing the biggest boondoggle in Canadian history.
00:01:53.760And at that time, the estimate for the expansion of that pipeline was that it would cost $7.4 billion on top of the $4.5 billion spent to purchase the existing pipeline.
00:02:04.180Smith estimated that the government delays and general ineptitude would lead to the pipeline costing it maybe as much as $20 billion.
00:02:12.060Well, the future premier might have thought she was being cruel in her pessimism, but it turns out her prognostication was incorrect.
00:02:19.580the final tally for the pipeline was $34 billion to tax dollars. It came in years late. Smith was
00:02:25.940right. It was a boondoggle. Now, some things have changed in years since Daniel Smith wrote that
00:02:30.600article. She's now Alberta's premier rather than a radio host, and she has different obligations
00:02:35.520and has learned more about how the gears of government turn from the inside. It's understandable
00:02:41.140how reviews might have been tempered a bit more by pragmatism, but to embrace an even larger
00:02:46.820internationalization of a pipeline today, though, isn't a pragmatic shift in ideals. It's a full
00:02:52.140betrayal of conservatism and fiscal responsibility. Smith's role may have changed, but the logistics
00:02:57.700of getting a pipeline built in Canada haven't. The mountains are in the same places. The streams
00:03:02.700haven't shifted. The residents living near the proposed new pipeline are still there with the
00:03:07.100same concerns. The only additional cost to building a pipeline should be due to inflation.
00:03:12.300If anything, with modern technology, it's easier to safely and efficiently build pipelines than
00:03:16.440ever before. To handicap the pipeline, the handicap the pipeline construction was and has
00:03:23.460remains governments at all levels. Municipal governments attach layer after layer of redundant
00:03:29.920and pointless licensing requirements to all aspects of construction. In BC, the provincial
00:03:34.120government has made itself a hindrance in every way possible for political reasons. On the federal
00:03:38.760level, callow leadership has led to policies of permissiveness and indulgence with anti-pipel
00:03:46.420activists rather than working to use constitutional authority to get the job
00:03:49.720done. Even if it means offering a reality check to indigenous activists and
00:03:54.160reminding them they don't have veto authority. The true experts in the field
00:03:59.140are in the energy sector and they never made any bones about why they refused to
00:04:03.100invest in new pipelines. It has nothing to do with the world market or demand
00:04:06.520for oil and gas. They know the world wants Canada's oil. It has nothing to do
00:04:10.880with the mountains or risks of leaks or accidents in constructing a pipeline.
00:04:13.900And they built a major line through the Rocky Mountains over 70 years ago,
00:04:17.260and it's been operating safely ever since.
00:08:14.300The government of British Columbia has released their reports on MAID in 2024, saying there were thousands of errors out of, I think there was like 5,000 some MAID cases and thousands of errors they found.
00:13:28.040So tomorrow night, doors open at 5.30 at the Glenmore Inn and Conference Centre in, well, southeast Calgary, I think, just off of Deerfoot there.
00:21:20.280like the fundraising numbers out of uh i think let you get uh what's your group again pathway
00:21:26.240to independence and then uh let alberta decide with keith wilson i think jason levine's got one
00:21:31.500too like their fundraising numbers have you know widely outstripped the fundraising numbers of
00:21:37.460the the uh the the federalist side and i think the federalist side i think that they're dealing
00:21:44.520with a lack of complacency and and yeah the announcement after announcement after announcement
00:21:49.100Like, I mean, I think they have another major investment in Alberta coming and you're going to see that.
00:21:55.640But when you have this, the proponents for remaining in the country constantly attacking the provincial government on having the referendum in the first place on the guise of economic disaster, if you even put this on the table, every single one of these announcements takes a little bit of wind out of their sails.
00:22:13.500Because now, I mean, everybody knows that if you're an economic prognosticator and you're constantly wrong, like the Calgary Chamber of Commerce is, you know, people just start kind of ignoring what you have to say.
00:22:24.640So I think the lack of passion on the stay in Canada side is going to, like the momentum appears to be at the backs of, you know, Pathway to Independence and Let Alberta Decide and these other organizations.
00:22:39.860And it does, in my opinion, draw a lot of parallels to Brexit, where a lot of people, like, as you get closer to the vote, oh, hey, you know, like, we're voting on this, and economic activity in Alberta is at an all-time high.
00:22:53.740Meanwhile, the rest of the country is mired in a recession.
00:22:56.920I think that it's going to be difficult for them.
00:23:00.540And I've gone, you know, about six months ago, I didn't think this was a winnable referendum for the Leave side.
00:23:09.120I think it's very winnable. I think this feels like Brexit all over again, where you have politicians, the political elites that don't have answers for the structural issues like equalization, even a lack of representation in parliament where they're just kind of dodging questions.
00:23:28.700And that goes for Pierre, that goes for the Premier, that goes for Jason Kenney even and these organizations.
00:23:36.620You have structural issues people are frustrated about.
00:23:40.720And I think that the pathway is there to win this one.
00:23:47.300And I do think the question, the way it's worded, where it's a vote to have a vote kind of removes a lot of pressure.
00:23:52.340from so like for example if if you're maybe not 100 convinced on independence but you're mad about
00:23:59.120the status quo you might just go vote to send a message right you might go vote to say hey let's
00:24:04.620start the process and see because i think in terms of getting a fair deal for even the fair
00:24:08.940deal supporters you need as much leverage as you can get so um i think it's one of those things
00:24:14.160where yeah there is a pathway here the storm like the thunderclouds seem to be over the stay in
00:24:22.540canada side and this mou is is absolute dog's breakfast every time the premier talks about
00:24:27.800every time brian gene talks about it i want to throw well you know it doesn't make water but i
00:24:33.060want to throw water balloons at them uh which their security would never allow and they're
00:24:37.200honestly uh i don't think the premier would let us throw water balloons at her jeremy farkas might
00:24:42.380But I don't think the premier will. So I think there's just it's it's it's all these vanity projects that I think are going to be detrimental to running the government from Edmonton moving forward.
00:24:55.220and a lot of political science professors and federal leaders and former politicians. Part of
00:25:04.200what's going on is, as you said, it's like Brexit. The old establishment is all talking about
00:25:08.840don't do, don't do this, but they really are overlooking the people on the ground. I mean,
00:25:12.960we see the legacy media too. They make the accusations, oh, the independent side's
00:25:15.860foreign funded. Well, no, we disclose all our numbers. It's been interesting actually because
00:25:20.900yeah my group has raised over a hundred thousand dollars now people are saying well well the site
00:25:26.720online only shows 80 000 yeah that's because anything under 50 we still report it as a whole
00:25:31.100to elections alberta but it doesn't go up these are hundreds and hundreds of small donors who
00:25:35.260are funding this these are people on the ground i look at the few federalist groups who are even
00:25:39.240reporting when fabio's isn't for some reason but that's a separate issue uh those are often 5 000
00:25:44.780from this union 5 000 from that group 5 000 you know they're maxed out a few but they're not
00:25:48.560getting grass roots i think that early indication is that they might be underestimating a groundswell
00:25:54.000getting going here 100 absolutely the groundswell i we can feel it i mean every time like you talk
00:26:04.140about the mou or a politician talks about the mou you go into the comments and and you can see
00:26:09.580there's this like if this is how canada works where we in order to get a single pipeline we
00:26:16.000have to jump through 50 000 hoops to get there i i just i don't think that's a sales pitch that
00:26:21.180people are going to buy and another point that i want to make is uh the alberta government's 400
00:26:25.800billion dollar price tag on independence they're counting and the biggest portion of that 400
00:26:31.500billion is the 150 billion they're saying that's our share of the federal debt like if you're
00:26:36.360making that argument as a reason to stay i would probably point at the federal government's most
00:26:42.860recent budget where they're running another massive if not record-breaking deficit so yeah
00:26:48.460it's it's 150 billion today if we wait 10 years it could be 600 billion 700 billion just for the
00:26:54.880debt share so i mean it almost makes sense to cut your losses and and go so yeah no i but it does
00:27:01.840feel like a groundswell and i think the establishment is also dealing with the fact that
00:27:06.060you have most of the most rat like i don't want to call them radical elements but we'll we'll just
00:27:11.260For the strongest, most patriotic Canadians, most of them are liberals.
00:27:19.900And so it kind of begs the question of, in terms of internal party dynamics for the Alberta MPs and the Federal Conservative Party, as well as the provincial UCP, how are they going to combat the groundswell?
00:27:36.440Are they going to be recruiting liberals?
00:27:39.200Which I think is really their only option.
00:27:41.260Like if you're outnumbered in your own membership base, you know, whether it be 55, 45 or 75, 25, the only way you can combat that is to literally sell memberships to liberals.
00:27:52.720So I think the entire exercise is going to end up effectively coding Canada as a left wing country, which I think if you're in the premier's office and you're making the, the full throated defense of national unity is a huge barrier for you moving forward.
00:28:10.100And I've said it before, I think they need to rip up the MOU and start, you know, standing up to the federal government.
00:28:26.380Like, I'd like to see what the premier's communication office does with that.
00:28:30.300But it is incredibly frustrating to watch.
00:28:33.860Then again, as a former staffer, this all, you know, makes sense to me, if that makes sense.
00:28:40.100Well, it's funny when you talk about, you know, the liberals and so on, like I dating myself, you know, you'll be too young for that to remember it. But the last time the federal conservatives tried to out liberal the liberals, the Reform Party got created. The last time the provincial conservatives tried to out liberal the liberals, the Wildrose split the vote. We ended up with, unfortunately, Premier Notley.
00:29:02.220But the bottom line is conservatives have got to stay true to themselves or they're going to get blown out of the water.
00:29:06.900We've seen that over and over again, but they're trying to get in bed with liberals and man, they've lost a sight of recent history, I think.
00:29:15.100Well, and the one person that should know better than anybody about that is Danielle Smith.
00:29:19.700You know, I mean, we saw this 11 years ago in December, 2014, she packed up, I think it was nine Wildrose MLAs and crossed the floor to the progressive conservatives.
00:29:31.280So we've seen her, you know, sacrifice her philosophical positions in order to seek more power. And I think the issue that they have, yeah, is the fact that they are cavorting with liberals.
00:29:49.420And for the federal MPs, you know, as well, the ones from Alberta, like what happens if, let's say hypothetically, Pierre Polyev is no longer the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, who is now represents Battle River Crowfoot, one of the strongest conservative ridings in the province, in the country, even if he's out, who replaces him?
00:30:13.760And I think that really becomes the conversation of, do you end up with an Eastern Canadian leader that doesn't understand the nature of Alberta?
00:30:26.500And I think a lot of the federal staff don't either.
00:30:29.620I think that's a part of the problem in Ottawa, whether it be conservative or liberal, is they're trying to find ways to win nationally.
00:30:35.940If you're doing that and you're coming at it from a, you know, we'll call it a Laurentian viewpoint
00:30:43.560I think it creates incredible challenges for the Conservative Party MPs
00:30:48.900And it could lead to a revolt party, like an Alberta party federally
00:30:56.040Would still vote with the Conservatives on 90% of the issues
00:30:59.260But I, I think that just all of these ingredients in, in the, uh, in the cauldron of Confederation are all potential explosives that could like Pierre, if Pierre doesn't make it till October, I can imagine a groundswell, um, of support for independence from there.
00:36:16.040of government investments into business.
00:36:17.900Premier Smith lives just south of Calgary like I do and sees that big, ugly red building sitting there slowly falling apart as a reminder of how foolish it is for governments to try and pick and choose winners going into business.0.68
00:36:53.560Well, no oil companies are expanding the oil sands right now.
00:36:56.040Why? Because the same stinking regulations are there.
00:36:58.240Are they going to pursue the same solution and say, well, we'll just nationalize that too?
00:37:02.880Worked out brilliant for Venezuela, didn't it?
00:37:05.780Guys, this is wrong, and that's where I'm still so floored, of all people.
00:37:10.960Premier Smith, what are you doing? I understand as a Premier, you want to try. You've got to try and negotiate. You've got to try and get the deal. You don't sit down with the Prime Minister and give him the finger immediately. You try to find a proper, balanced, middle ground, something profitable out of it. But to roll over on this is just brutal.
00:37:30.880But it looks like I've got a guest popping in out of the blue unexpectedly.
00:37:34.420And it is our publisher, the maniac I saw pacing outside, Derek Fildebrand.
00:37:38.780So I'll give him the mic and see what the hell he wants to say as he interrupts my show so rudely.