Western Standard - CORY MORGAN SHOW： Premier Smith must respond to the teachers strike by expanding school choice

00:00:00.000 Good day and welcome to the Corey Morgan Show.

00:00:29.720 As we're halfway through October in this really crazy year, well maybe every year is kind of crazy, but it just feels like it gets nuttier and nuttier all the time.

00:00:38.860 Stuff going on all around the world, stuff going on domestically and stuff going on here in Alberta.

00:00:43.820 So I'll be covering a whole bunch of that stuff today as well as talking to a very interesting guest in about 15 minutes.

00:00:49.340 It's McGat-Wade of prosperity, not poverty.

00:00:52.340 She took part in a documentary that John Robson put together.

00:00:55.960 If you're familiar with him, you should look him up.

00:00:57.640 He has a lot of great work in Canada on political stuff.

00:01:00.860 And the documentary is called In the Dark, Senegal as a Case Study in Energy Poverty. 0.96

00:01:06.400 It talks about, you know, how the Western world and its idiotic environmentalism is really, really hurting developing countries a lot. 0.86

00:01:12.920 And getting a first-hand account from that should be quite interesting. 0.96

00:01:16.520 So that'll be on in a little bit.

00:01:18.760 Normally I would have Dave giving a news check-in, but he's tied up with a meeting.

00:01:22.780 I suspect he'd rather be in here than sitting at that meeting.

00:01:25.000 But all the same, it means you just get more of me going through those news things and seeing what's happening this week.

00:01:30.920 Use that comment scroll.

00:01:31.880 I see a couple of you there, Free Speech Media, Rhonda.

00:01:36.540 It is an interactive show to a degree.

00:01:39.040 I see every comment there.

00:01:40.020 I don't necessarily call them all out, but we can have those chats and just keep things civil with each other.

00:01:46.620 So let's see.

00:01:47.660 And yes, we will talk about, I see people are talking already about education.

00:01:51.120 And that's what I want to start with here with this teacher's strike in Alberta.

00:01:54.860 I mean, eventually that strike's going to be settled and there's going to be concessions made.

00:01:58.280 But one concession that must not be on the table is the reduction or elimination of school choice.

00:02:05.140 In fact, the UCP government should be working on expanding education options to reduce the Alberta Teacher Union's ability to hold students hostages as they are right now.

00:02:15.120 Alberta's teachers turned down an offer which would have made them among the highest compensated teachers in Canada,

00:02:20.400 along with a commitment to hire 3,000 more teachers and 1,500 educational assistants.

00:02:25.260 Since then, though, since then, though, we see the true target of the teachers' union has emerged.

00:02:29.500 School choice.

00:02:31.140 While union representatives have been uttering the stock lines about class sizes and complexity,

00:02:36.380 their prime target's been complaining about private and charter schools.

00:02:39.940 And this is where the true nature of the strike emerges.

00:02:42.400 It's a power grab by a union that wants a monopoly on education provision.

00:02:47.000 The union couldn't care less about the needs of the children, and it shows.

00:02:50.400 They pretend to care about class sizes, yet to forget to acknowledge that alternative education options currently take about 75,000 Alberta students out of public school classrooms when you take homeschooling into consideration.

00:03:04.020 So if those options are taken away, as the union would like, how do we accommodate with that sudden influx of students?

00:03:10.100 Aren't the classes already overcrowded?

00:03:11.400 Not only that, how are we going to pay for it?

00:03:14.300 Despite the claims of the teachers' union, kids in private schools, and who are homeschooled, save the taxpayers a load of money.

00:03:21.480 Children in private schools only receive 70% of the funding per student that a public school student gets.

00:03:27.720 And homeschooled children get about 10% of that funding.

00:03:30.720 Students in charter schools cost about the same.

00:03:33.080 So, if these options are taken away from parents and students, the public system will have to make up that shortfall, which is going to be a lower per student ratio of funding overall.

00:03:43.400 The union constantly brings up the challenges of what they like calling classroom complexity.

00:03:48.940 There's truth to this claim, but the proposed solution is wrong.

00:03:52.600 So, we've had a decade of mass immigration policies.

00:03:55.160 The number of students speaking English as a second language has increased dramatically.

00:03:58.720 That's really causing a lot of difficulty in the classrooms for teachers.

00:04:01.860 Fair enough.

00:04:03.960 As well, educational trends have increasingly put children with special needs or different needs into regular classrooms.

00:04:09.320 It does make for a more challenging learning environment for everybody, from fellow students to the teachers.

00:04:15.060 But charter and separate schools provide specialized environments where students can receive the instruction then tailored to those needs.

00:04:22.160 It actually takes the complexity out of the classroom and addresses those.

00:04:26.240 We've got charter schools for English as a second language.

00:04:28.960 We've got charter schools for gifted children or children who need extra help in other areas.

00:04:35.340 Yet, the union wants to keep the children crammed into standardized classrooms.

00:04:39.180 They're talking out of both sides of their mouths.

00:04:41.460 Teachers recognize the unique needs of children in learning environments and how not all of them respond well to conventional learning methods.

00:04:48.260 That's why the teachers' unions always claim they oppose standardized testing because the kids learn differently.

00:04:53.560 The reality is they just don't want to see which teachers are good and which are bad.

00:04:56.720 They've got to keep that merit-pay idea out of the formula.

00:05:00.880 Again, they don't care about the students.

00:05:02.120 It's a union.

00:05:02.800 Remember that.

00:05:03.660 They're not only calling themselves a union.

00:05:05.140 They call themselves an association.

00:05:06.340 But they're a union.

00:05:07.160 Don't let them talk around it.

00:05:08.280 When efforts are made to provide specialized charter or private schools, the unions fight the efforts tooth and nail. 0.73

00:05:15.180 The hypocrisy is galling.

00:05:17.320 Increased school choice offers more educational spaces that can accommodate the diverse educational needs, and it saves the entire system money.

00:05:25.380 Those spaces don't create union positions, however.

00:05:28.180 And that's where the unions have a problem with it. 0.94

00:05:30.420 Not only should the Smith government stand firm against the teachers' strike on these demands, but it should make it clear it's time to develop even more choice in education.

00:05:40.560 We've got underutilized inner-city schools that should be identified and converted into charter schools.

00:05:45.100 The creation of more private schools should be encouraged, and parents should be reminded their children won't lose educational time due to strikes in those institutions.

00:05:52.800 The government has to hold its ground against organized labor because they're trying to take full control of the educational system, and it's time to start fighting back.

00:06:00.420 The choice for both teachers and students being on the table, everybody wins.

00:06:04.620 Oh, except for the self-serving unions.

00:06:07.480 Let's see, you know, some of the comments go in here, guys.

00:06:11.800 Yeah, good afternoon to Debbie, and here's one.

00:06:16.240 Paul saying public funds should not go into private schools.

00:06:18.820 Ah, the politics of envy.

00:06:21.260 Listen, we all pay taxes.

00:06:24.160 Those taxes go per student, and it gets spent somewhere.

00:06:27.700 Only 70% of it goes to the student who goes to a private school.

00:06:33.160 So what?

00:06:33.960 Get over it. 0.99

00:06:34.860 Suck up your envy. 0.99

00:06:36.620 It's, you're actually saving money by the students going there. 0.99

00:06:39.940 Where do we stop it? 0.97

00:06:40.740 It sounds like the fools who say that we shouldn't allow any private provision of health care too, right? 0.97

00:06:44.860 Everybody should just have a miserable low level of care under a socialized system. 0.99

00:06:49.080 We're great in Cuba, doesn't it? 1.00

00:06:51.720 Idiotic union lines. 1.00

00:06:53.700 Idiotic union lines. 1.00

00:06:54.640 That's all it is. 1.00

00:06:55.200 Guys, we pay taxes, we have children, we should have the right to choose where our children and go to school.

00:07:00.380 And yes, some of it's going to go private.

00:07:02.060 And you know what?

00:07:02.420 Because it makes it better.

00:07:04.140 Get over it.

00:07:05.900 Ah, but yes, let's see, the union tips its hand.

00:07:10.380 Let's see, I stand with workers who never allow union reps to choose strike action from Glenn Erickson.

00:07:16.160 Okay, but you know, the bottom line is, in the end, the workers are responsible for the actions of their union.

00:07:22.320 They kind of bat that back and forth.

00:07:23.640 Well, the workers are all right, but it's the union that's bad.

00:07:25.540 Well, they vote for their union reps.

00:07:27.680 They vote for those deals.

00:07:28.800 And the teachers have to be held accountable.

00:07:31.020 I mean, some of which shows what's going on here.

00:07:33.740 And as we're seeing, and Legacy Media, of course, is giving it a lot of ink.

00:07:39.960 An application's been put forward for a petition now to hold a referendum to basically ban all funding of alternative education.

00:07:48.620 And lo and behold, the person behind this petition and such is Alicia Taylor, who is a union representative, also a teacher.

00:08:01.380 Why?

00:08:01.900 Why does that bother them so much?

00:08:04.060 It's all about monopolies.

00:08:05.640 It's all about stuffing everybody together into a room.

00:08:08.860 They're feeling the pressure.

00:08:09.840 They're feeling the threat because charter schools are expanding.

00:08:12.320 We're not talking about the private schools, even charter schools, non-profit schools, but it's giving options, non-union options.

00:08:17.640 I want to stand up for the students.

00:08:21.260 So we've got to have that discussion.

00:08:22.980 And as we're seeing that pressure on, because parents are getting pretty upset.

00:08:27.060 They're having difficulties.

00:08:27.900 The students, of course, are sweating, particularly ones when you're looking at a grade 12 year, because they want to make sure they can graduate, apply for post-secondary, things such as that.

00:08:37.780 And here's one from Scott Anderson, a good one to put out.

00:08:40.080 Pardon my voice.

00:08:40.900 I am shaking off a bit of a flu here, guys.

00:08:42.560 If federal issues like immigration and inflation are hammering Alberta's classrooms, why isn't the ATA demanding federal solutions to its counterpart, the Canadian Teachers Federation?

00:08:50.480 Excellent question. 0.80

00:08:52.220 You know, this is what it comes down to, too, when we see the strike actions and the threats and the usual crap. 0.78

00:08:56.780 Mass immigration is causing us problems everywhere, not immigration in itself. 1.00

00:09:04.460 And that's where a line has to be distinguished.

00:09:07.160 I mean, immigration is an integral part of our country.

00:09:10.660 And it's good for us when done correctly, when controlled.

00:09:14.320 But we're paying the price, the consequences of over a decade of mass immigration under Trudeau.

00:09:19.820 And it's hitting everywhere.

00:09:20.820 That's where health care is running into shortages.

00:09:22.860 That's where housing was running into shortages.

00:09:25.300 And, of course, when you bring in uncontrolled amounts of people into the classroom, it causes pressures and shortages.

00:09:34.800 So let's address that.

00:09:36.780 Let's talk about it.

00:09:38.000 We can't just keep spending our way out of it.

00:09:39.700 We don't have the money anymore.

00:09:41.740 Alberta's going into a deficit. 0.90

00:09:43.160 Again, I think Smith should be cutting some spending in a lot of areas.

00:09:46.300 But that also means not increasing in others.

00:09:48.140 It means not giving the teachers the last I'd heard on their return offer after they'd turned down a massive raise offer.

00:09:55.200 They want $2 billion on top of that.

00:09:56.760 They almost want double what was offered in the last offer.

00:09:59.220 In other words, the teachers' union is completely beyond reason.

00:10:02.560 So something's got to give somewhere.

00:10:05.000 And I say competition.

00:10:08.060 You know, let's get it out there.

00:10:09.480 Let's let parents choose.

00:10:10.920 Let's let the funding follow the student.

00:10:12.700 And this much per student goes wherever the children get put.

00:10:17.260 Nice, true, equality. 1.00

00:10:20.280 Let's look at some of this other idiocy. 1.00

00:10:21.980 Cocaine trafficking sentence. 1.00

00:10:23.500 Cut in half for a Jamaican facing deportation from Canada. 0.99

00:10:27.120 Yeah, this is another one.

00:10:29.220 Much like the other gentleman you might have heard of a little while ago who had his sentence reviews.

00:10:35.560 He wanted to molest a 14-year-old girl.

00:10:38.040 Well, and again, the judge in both cases said, well, if we give you the full sentence, then we'd have to deport you.

00:10:43.420 We want to keep your citizenship status or your application towards it, so we'll reduce the sentence.

00:10:49.240 This is insane.

00:10:50.000 How many times are we going to hear this story?

00:10:52.300 Again, we're dealing with mass immigration. 0.92

00:10:53.860 We're dealing with having too many people here.

00:10:56.360 Can we at least not just start with the criminals and get rid of them?

00:10:59.580 Is it really that hard? 0.55

00:11:00.500 We don't need the drug dealers and the child molesters.

00:11:03.020 Yet here we are.

00:11:03.720 And, yeah, he says he experienced systemic and personal discrimination, of course, and that played a role in his criminalities.

00:11:10.980 The judge said, I don't care.

00:11:12.440 I could not care less.

00:11:14.540 That's still his problem.

00:11:15.960 A lot of people endure those sorts of things.

00:11:17.640 It doesn't mean that they turn to crime.

00:11:23.160 And we can't keep making excuses for that.

00:11:25.400 Let's study those things.

00:11:26.440 We want to prevent.

00:11:27.340 We want to make things better.

00:11:29.000 But once it's done, it's done.

00:11:33.800 Here's a strange case coming out of Alberta.

00:11:36.240 And these are stories, as I said, normally Dave will come in for the news check-in.

00:11:39.600 I'm unavailable today.

00:11:40.680 But this one's an odd one.

00:11:42.740 And these are all in the Western Standard online, just so you know.

00:11:46.140 Westernstandard.news.

00:11:47.140 So there's a fellow up in northern Alberta who actually won a lottery and a million dollars and a scratch-and-win ticket.

00:11:52.700 And I haven't seen follow-up on this, so about four or five days ago, he was 25 years old, Joshua Francis Salto.

00:11:59.820 Maybe check out the Westernstandard.news and look at the picture of this guy, because he's gone missing.

00:12:05.120 He won a million bucks.

00:12:06.260 He bought an RV, parked outside of a relative's home, and disappeared.

00:12:13.020 They found blood, apparently, in the RV, and no sign of him, just an empty vehicle.

00:12:18.760 It's really, really unusual and quite concerning.

00:12:22.780 Of course, I hope he's all right.

00:12:23.840 But, you know, somebody suddenly got a million dollars in their pocket, and they disappeared.

00:12:27.520 It might not necessarily be a good thing.

00:12:31.980 Another odd story.

00:12:33.660 The Kelowna airport system got hacked to play Hamas messages over the screens and chants in Arabic over its audio system.

00:12:42.500 This is an odd one.

00:12:43.740 You know, again, I don't even know where to start with the pro-Hamas movement and some of their things, and what they consider victories or not victories.

00:12:52.940 I guess it would be pretty terrifying to be in an airport and see if somebody could actually get into that system.

00:12:57.260 I imagine it's not a critical system for other more important parts of your flight and travel.

00:13:02.820 But, yeah, I guess I could certainly unnerve a whole heck of a lot of people.

00:13:07.360 Either way, guys, all of that stuff is in much more detail at westernstandard.news.

00:13:11.880 Be sure to check it out if you haven't subscribed yet.

00:13:15.160 It's $9.99 a month, $100 a year, and you get full access past that paywall to all of those stories.

00:13:21.760 If you've subscribed already, thank you very much.

00:13:24.180 We really appreciate it.

00:13:25.540 And if you haven't, come on, get on there.

00:13:27.040 That's what keeps us independent.

00:13:28.480 That's how we keep those reporters out there putting those stories up on there. 0.95

00:13:32.160 All right, let's get on to my guest.

00:13:33.620 I've been looking forward to this.

00:13:34.620 He says, Magat Wade of prosperity, not poverty.

00:13:38.980 And it's a discussion that really needs to be had.

00:13:41.200 And it was part of a documentary by John Robson, as I said earlier at the start of the show, In the Dark, Senegal as a Case Study in Energy Poverty.

00:13:49.640 We really, there's a real western hypocrisy when it comes to environmental controls and looking actually at the damages it's causing in other areas.

00:13:58.320 So, I'm looking forward to having the discussion on some of this and what's come up in that documentary.

00:14:03.060 So, thank you very much for joining us today and welcome to the Western Standard Studio.

00:14:08.200 Thank you so much, Corey.

00:14:09.040 Thanks for having me.

00:14:10.000 Pleasure being here.

00:14:10.700 Yeah, so maybe you can kind of start with Prosperity, Not Poverty.

00:14:14.340 What's your organization about?

00:14:16.260 Yeah, so Prosperity, Not Poverty is, its biggest mission is tackle the energy poverty issue.

00:14:23.780 And the relationship between energy and prosperity is, I don't know if most people have seen the graph, but there is a very compelling graph that basically shows you that there is no such thing as a poor energy, as an energy poor nation that happens to be rich.

00:14:43.260 There is none.

00:14:44.660 So, energy, access to affordable, reliable, abundant energy is a prerequisite for prosperity building.

00:14:51.580 Absolutely, and I mean, in areas with climate extremes, in a sense.

00:14:55.780 I mean, in Canada, we have to stay warm.

00:14:57.740 We can't get anything done.

00:14:58.660 I noticed you talking on the documentary about, in a hot country, if you don't have air conditioning and those sorts of things, how do you get a good learning environment?

00:15:05.820 How do you get a business environment?

00:15:07.120 How do you do all of those things?

00:15:09.060 But cheap, affordable energy isn't always necessarily the greenest energy.

00:15:14.100 I think that's where the issue comes.

00:15:15.520 But it's exactly where the issue comes.

00:15:16.960 So, a few years ago, we had some people, I call them the anti-fossil fuel zealots, the climate alarmists.

00:15:23.260 So, a subgroup of people have come up with this concept and idea that Earth was in danger of basically imploding within the next few decades.

00:15:36.420 That was back in the times of Al Gore.

00:15:38.620 However, you know, up until recently, some people think we only have 12 years left.

00:15:43.220 I think AOC of the U.S. thinks we have 10 years left.

00:15:46.320 So, even without going into, is Earth going to implode or not, which I don't believe it will, but without even going into that argument, at the end of the day, those individuals have come up with the idea to that threat, to that perceived threat, is to come to a net zero.

00:16:06.640 And the best way to do net zero is, obviously, it would mean we would have to cut fossil fuels dry right now across the board.

00:16:15.500 And so, it is interesting that these ideas come from the West.

00:16:20.340 They came with these ideas, but first of all, they're not applying it to themselves.

00:16:24.380 And thank God, because, you know, people are fighting with these ideas here, but they're still using fossil fuels.

00:16:30.060 But the only people who have to respect these mandates are not the Chinese, not the Indians, because China and India have enough economic, you know, independence to say, no, no, we're not going to go for this.

00:16:46.580 You do it if you want, but we're going to continue using fossil fuels to continue, you know, fueling our growth.

00:16:52.560 The Indians pretty much are saying the same thing.

00:16:54.220 But who is out there and does have no choice but to supposedly listen to this, it's the Africans. 1.00

00:17:00.800 This is the continent that has the youngest population in the world, average age is 19.

00:17:06.220 By 2050, one quarter of the world's population will be African.

00:17:09.180 By 2100, it's going to be half of the world's population will be African.

00:17:13.740 And you are asking people right now in Africa to basically give up on the use of fossil fuels, which is the only way for them to build prosperity.

00:17:21.320 And so that's the hypocrisy you were talking about.

00:17:25.000 And because we are poor, we depend on the West primarily to finance many, almost pretty much anything we need to get built, like infrastructure especially.

00:17:37.580 And then the West has come to the point of saying, no, we're not going to finance any infrastructure that basically is based on fossil fuels.

00:17:44.900 And what I find funny there, Corey, is I'll give you an example.

00:17:47.520 My country, Senegal, we have recently found oil and gas.

00:17:50.040 So while Germany says, you know, it's the Green Party of Germany that has made sure that Germany today, you know, is suffering energy wise.

00:18:00.320 But when the reality hits and you have these cold winters and you really need gas and energy, then they have no choice but to put back, to fire back the coal plants, you know.

00:18:14.520 And the Green Party has even agreed with that.

00:18:17.440 And the Chancellor of Germany back in the day with Scholz came down to my country a few years ago to basically buy gas.

00:18:24.580 The gas that they're telling us not to use, that they're commanding us not to use.

00:18:28.660 So the hypocrisy knows no end.

00:18:30.780 And then there's more to the environment, of course, than just emissions.

00:18:33.440 So, I mean, some people, if they haven't traveled to developing countries, might not realize.

00:18:37.460 But having a spotless, clean country, you know, and keeping the rivers clean and things like that, that's a luxury.

00:18:43.520 Yeah.

00:18:43.660 That is great to have, but I mean, you have to address your more immediate concerns, such as energy and so on, to bring yourself to that prosperous level to take care of the environment.

00:18:52.060 They're sort of trying to leapfrog and say, oh, well, you can jump ahead to solar panels and wind energy and then not worry about the other development that needs to come along with it.

00:19:01.200 So an extension could cause more environmental damage than would it seem.

00:19:06.280 And that's the other point that we're making.

00:19:07.700 That's the other point that we're making.

00:19:08.620 And also, if you want to stay at the environmental level, we say that your stubbornness in terms of not wanting to do fossil fuels, it's just being out of touch with reality.

00:19:22.900 I'll give you an example.

00:19:24.160 In many African nations, most of them energy poor, what it means directly is women having to cook with various forms of biomass. 0.98

00:19:31.640 So we're talking charcoal, we're talking wood, we're talking cow dung, things like that.

00:19:36.120 Terrible, terrible, terrible pollutants, right?

00:19:39.420 But that's what they cook with because they don't have access to gas, which is much cleaner and safer for everybody, for themselves, their health, and also for the environment, because it's less polluting than those other biomasses we talked about.

00:19:54.140 But because the West and the anti-fossil fuel zealots are insisting on, if it cannot be fossil fuels, well, it's not because you say it cannot be fossil fuels, but these women are just going to wait there and wait for your solar stoves that don't work. 1.00

00:20:10.120 They're still going to go for something.

00:20:11.480 So if you keep telling them your choice is between, your choice is only solar stoves, then your solar stove is going to end up in their, like in the courtyard, maybe growing basil or growing mint, while they go to what really works for them, which is coal, charcoal, and things like, charcoal and biomass of sorts.

00:20:32.340 So this is a reality of what's happening.

00:20:36.100 So what you're forcing them, what you're forcing onto them is only causing more pollution to happen and nobody wins in this thing.

00:20:45.180 Humans are not winning and the environment is not winning.

00:20:47.520 Yeah, so is there, I guess it's difficult for governments, I mean, when they're kind of dependent and hoping for aid from other countries, you don't want to sound ungrateful and say, well, we don't want this coming in.

00:21:00.800 We really need the help.

00:21:01.920 But at the same time, you know, can the leaders put in some pragmatic requests?

00:21:06.760 Are there voices being heard at all?

00:21:09.180 Voices are being heard.

00:21:10.980 I mean, right now, what is good is we're hearing some African leaders pushing back on this rhetoric and saying, we're going to use our fossil fuels no matter what.

00:21:20.740 Up till now, it's been an uphill battle because they can say whatever they want.

00:21:24.480 But at the end of the day, if you don't have a means to finance your own infrastructure needs, you're at the mercy of those who provide those resources and financing.

00:21:33.300 And traditionally, it's been the West and the West has decided, especially for ESG, that they do not want to finance fossil fuel related infrastructure.

00:21:40.920 So what is going on today, though, is some of our luck right now is when you have on the other side of this, on the other side from the African nations, and I speak of Africa right now, is right now in the US, we have somebody like Chris Wright, who is our secretary of energy in the US.

00:21:57.080 And he's 100% on board with, we should not dictate to developing nations, to any nation, what their energy mix should be.

00:22:04.440 And nothing wrong with fossil fuels.

00:22:06.320 People should make their decisions and we need to support them in what they decide to do.

00:22:10.380 Otherwise, we're talking about a new form of colonialism, which is climate colonialism.

00:22:15.360 That's really what we're going through right now.

00:22:17.380 So, so things are starting to happen and to turn around, but then I'm worried about what happens if, if and when, because at some point, you know, Chris is going to have to move on, you know, nobody is there forever.

00:22:28.280 And then if it's somebody who doesn't, who is not in line with this, then we go back to square one in terms of, so in the meantime, that's why these conversations are so important.

00:22:38.160 That's why I do what I do here.

00:22:39.580 I'm fighting this on both sides of the aisles, you know, in the Western world, reminding them of what poverty energy is all about, and that it is a great moral imperative to work on it and make sure that, at least in this case, Africans have access to fossil fuels at all costs. 1.00

00:22:55.520 And also, when going back home, making the case to our people there about the need for these things.

00:23:01.760 And there, the issue, what we have to fight is all of these NGOs, all of this aid money, also financing all of these climate action organizations.

00:23:12.540 So, basically, putting a lot of money into the hands of young Africans who start a little non-profit and this little, you know, awareness building campaigns, and that's the biggest pushback we have on that side. 0.66

00:23:31.700 So, the climate action money financing organizations along those lines, who are then in Africa saying, fossil fuels is bad for us, it's bad for our country, it's bad for our communities, we need to embrace renewables, we need to embrace wind, but not really understanding how detrimental that type of rhetoric is.

00:23:55.600 So, here, we're trying to bring awareness on both sides, but on the ground, the biggest problem we have is not only you don't have enough voices speaking of the need for fossil fuels, but you also have a barrage of various types of organizations, non-profits, well-funded by climate action supporters of the West.

00:24:20.460 So, you're like squeezed.

00:24:21.740 Unfortunately, climate action is a sub-industry unto itself, it's deeply, very well off.

00:24:27.240 Exactly.

00:24:27.740 You see some who maybe they even believe what they're saying, you know, they like to fly out and hold their banner, look at the solar panels we made, but they don't show the camera on the village over there where they have no electricity.

00:24:37.740 Exactly, exactly. Or people at night, like the movie shows, you know, like we were in this one little village where literally as soon as the sun goes down, everybody knows that now they have to be inside the rooms and locked there with their doors locked.

00:24:54.040 And they even have what we call pot chambers, you know, English only my fourth language, but can you imagine 2025, you have pot chambers, and why?

00:25:02.500 Because once it gets dark, no one dares to go out because there are scorpions, snakes, all types of things roaming in the dark, because those things love the dark.

00:25:12.500 So, just imagine that.

00:25:13.700 And I would argue that I really believe that this is why we did this movie, because this other side of this issue needs to be shown to people.

00:25:25.660 I think very few people think about it, and even if they were left to their own devices to imagine, they could not even begin to imagine what we're talking about.

00:25:33.300 And we can't blame them, because when you're living in Canada, surrounded by what we're surrounded here or the U.S., even the concept of power outage that lasts more than a few hours, it's foreign to most people, let alone that happening every single day.

00:25:49.660 You know, water that has no pressure, that is for those of us who have running water.

00:25:54.200 You know, you mean you're in a village where you live with the sun, you know, at night you have to bunker yourself inside a room.

00:26:01.540 You know, we cannot possibly begin to imagine all of these things, let alone think about it.

00:26:07.180 So, that's why this type of movie is very important, because I think it just wakes many more people up to what else is going on out there.

00:26:16.120 And as we put this type of information out, it also helps with these climate action funded NGOs on the ground who are speaking against what we're speaking about.

00:26:29.500 So, at some point, the best disinfectant is sunlight.

00:26:34.040 A movie like that is designed to just put it out there for people to see.

00:26:38.720 It's a great documentary.

00:26:40.040 I mean, if people would realize, too, it's a progression.

00:26:42.180 It may start with combustion vehicles and a coal-generating plant.

00:26:46.340 I mean, that's where we started out here, too.

00:26:48.340 And as the economy develops, you can move along and you can expand into more reduced emissions items.

00:26:54.400 But right now, I mean, the goal is just to make sure you have efficient farming, have heat in the houses, light on the streets.

00:27:00.500 That's right.

00:27:01.000 That's right.

00:27:01.780 So, how has the reception been to the documentary so far?

00:27:04.340 I mean, so far, I think it's been really great.

00:27:08.540 We've also heard news of young people who are in the audience who looked at it and were just like, this, I think, is going to resonate with my generation.

00:27:16.640 So, that's very encouraging to hear.

00:27:19.960 And at the end of the day, the reason why I have hope in this documentary is because we did what I think is the best thing to do when there is a big argument that people are confused.

00:27:29.580 At some point, let us remove the intellectual arguments and let us go back to human stories and see what we're talking about really means for everyday people halfway across the world from you.

00:27:41.540 So, let us see if we can take you on a journey with us so you can walk a mile in our shoes and in the shoes of people there and show, don't tell.

00:27:50.520 And then people will walk away making up their own mind.

00:27:54.720 So, we had people saying they did not know and it was very helpful for them to see.

00:28:02.240 Oh, it's just good.

00:28:02.980 I mean, we have it easy out here.

00:28:05.220 And it's a competitive streaming world, too, to get the eyes and ears of people, you know, when you've got a million other things coming up, do you want to see?

00:28:12.960 But, I mean, as you said, this is a huge part of the earth that really we don't talk about nearly enough, a large part of our population.

00:28:20.520 No, but, you know, it's, Corey, that's what I was saying.

00:28:24.240 I was doing a podcast this morning with another party and I told him, I said, the problem with energy is that it is not visible to most of us.

00:28:35.620 In this room, if I say, where's energy here?

00:28:39.100 Most people will think about, you know, this heater that we're hearing right now, you know, heating us and make sure we're not as cold because it's freezing cold outside right now.

00:28:46.740 But when you talk, if you ask people here, where's energy, they will point to you, oh, that heater that's working.

00:28:53.460 That's it.

00:28:54.620 Nobody's going to think about this microphone, how energy was involved in bringing this about.

00:29:00.420 No one is going to think about this tablecloth.

00:29:02.700 No one is going to think about our clothes.

00:29:04.340 No one is going to think about the food that we're eating because fertilizer and all of that stuff.

00:29:09.280 No one is thinking about, you know, these cameras, how they came about, the screen of the camera.

00:29:14.660 All of that, for any of the things that surround us, including the things we ate and the glasses you have on your nose, energy had to be part of it.

00:29:23.200 Otherwise, none of it.

00:29:24.440 We're back in caves.

00:29:26.400 And I think this is the crux of a problem.

00:29:28.420 People just don't see it.

00:29:30.780 But it's everywhere.

00:29:32.520 And that's the problem.

00:29:33.940 And the affordability of it.

00:29:35.260 I mean, it's created.

00:29:36.360 Yes.

00:29:37.000 Certainly, you could reduce the energy generation and still create something.

00:29:40.660 But then the price of everything was out of reach.

00:29:42.840 If it was too expensive, we would not have any of this stuff here.

00:29:46.000 Maybe you know that you can have a pair of glasses, but maybe not the shoes you have.

00:29:51.660 When things are super expensive and not abundant, then, you know, the production follows.

00:29:57.360 It's not going to be abundant and, you know, not affordable for everybody.

00:30:02.140 So, and that's, I think, the issue we have with energy.

00:30:06.320 And I wish, and one day I will do it, somebody who is so anti-fossil fuels, I'll have standing in front of me and say, give me your glasses.

00:30:15.120 Give me your jacket.

00:30:16.740 Give me your shirt.

00:30:18.180 Give me your pants. 1.00

00:30:19.520 Give me your underwear. 0.89

00:30:20.560 Give me your shoes. 0.98

00:30:21.160 Give me your socks. 1.00

00:30:22.360 You'll be naked.

00:30:22.840 And then I'll say, oh, and by the way, go stand over there, outside.

00:30:27.200 And let's see how long you last.

00:30:29.060 Oh, they take a lot for granted.

00:30:30.480 Absolutely.

00:30:31.420 So, you're, before I let you go, you're touring and promoting this.

00:30:35.060 Have you got more events coming up?

00:30:36.520 Yes.

00:30:36.840 Tonight, we're speaking at the University of Calgary.

00:30:38.840 And, you know, multiple talks, a few talks, I think we're going to do there.

00:30:44.460 And then we're going to be going to some other universities in the U.S. as well as back in Canada at some point.

00:30:52.140 British Columbia, I think we're doing one there.

00:30:54.720 Yeah.

00:30:55.020 So, for me, it's about seeing if we can share a different side of a story with people who I know truly care.

00:31:02.900 I know, I do know that young people do care.

00:31:04.580 Many people like to be upset with young people because, oh, they're so misguided.

00:31:09.960 At the end of the day, they care.

00:31:11.680 And that's the energy that we need.

00:31:13.820 And then from there, let us just share a story with them.

00:31:15.500 It shouldn't be about trying to convince them of anything.

00:31:17.760 But it should just be about putting a different side of the story in front of them.

00:31:21.320 They can compare it with other stories we may have heard and also see how it lands with them.

00:31:26.420 And then let them do the work themselves.

00:31:27.940 They're grown-ups.

00:31:28.700 They don't know what to do.

00:31:30.020 So, that's what we're going to do.

00:31:31.860 Excellent.

00:31:32.340 Well, I really appreciate it.

00:31:33.600 Before I let you go, then, where can people find the documentary and information about your work in general?

00:31:39.020 Yeah.

00:31:39.700 ProsperityNotPoverty.org.

00:31:44.260 Yeah.

00:31:44.980 ProsperityNotPoverty.org.

00:31:47.020 There, people can see basically the principles behind the work that we're doing.

00:31:52.440 I'd like to personally lead with just sharing with people the human toll of all of this, real-life example.

00:32:00.260 My own example is an example of what poverty energy means.

00:32:05.120 And so, but behind that, we definitely do have all types of data, all types of reports, all types of, you know, articles, writings for people who are like, wow, this is different.

00:32:17.320 I want to dig into this.

00:32:18.720 Where is the evidence and all of that?

00:32:20.080 So, we have that as well in there.

00:32:21.860 So, yeah.

00:32:23.100 So, people can watch it there and just have a download on the information about us.

00:32:29.020 PovertyNotProsperity.org.

00:32:30.200 Great.

00:32:30.540 Well, excellent.

00:32:31.000 Well, thank you for coming in to talk to us today about it and for the work you're doing.

00:32:34.040 I really hope it has every success.

00:32:35.780 And you can help people just kind of wake up.

00:32:39.200 I don't think they mean bad.

00:32:40.100 They just sometimes take things for granted.

00:32:41.860 Yes.

00:32:42.160 Yes.

00:32:42.380 Thank you for having me.

00:32:43.180 And exactly that.

00:32:44.380 I think we have to remember that all of us are busy.

00:32:47.140 Each one of us, there's something we focus on.

00:32:49.460 And energy, again, is not an easy one to grasp because it is so hidden in there.

00:32:53.880 It's so part of everything, but it's hidden.

00:32:56.140 So, I think we have to be, we have to be, we have to have compassion and patience for people.

00:33:01.880 Absolutely.

00:33:02.400 Yes.

00:33:02.800 Great.

00:33:03.020 Thank you again.

00:33:03.380 You're welcome.

00:33:04.980 All right, everybody.

00:33:06.560 So, yes.

00:33:07.260 Again, check that out.

00:33:08.180 So, prosperity, not poverty.

00:33:10.440 If you Google that up, I'm certain you'll find it.

00:33:12.500 And just such an important discussion on something we all forget about.

00:33:17.360 I mean, you know, you want to know when you remember energy is when you don't have it.

00:33:20.600 That's when you realize how important it is.

00:33:23.740 As McGat pointed out, you know, if the power fails for just an hour or two, you suddenly get a heck of a wake up call going on.

00:33:30.200 And it's so, it does become a bit enraging, you know, when you look at developing countries where they have a much tougher time.

00:33:37.740 They're just trying to get things rolling up to the level of development we got to enjoy decades ago.

00:33:43.600 And you get these NGOs and these green hypocrites coming out saying, well, you can't dam that river or you can't have that coal-fired plant.

00:33:51.500 But here, here, have some solar panels. 0.88

00:33:53.700 Have a windmill.

00:33:55.340 You know, they've got more immediate needs.

00:33:57.740 And we have to understand with more energy, you can have so much more other things that help with the environment.

00:34:06.560 One of the issues in developing countries, you know, people talk about issues, talk about how fast the population is growing in Africa and in developing nations in general.

00:34:16.740 One of the luxuries that wealthy countries can only afford is having small families if they choose to.

00:34:22.300 That's a separate discussion, but that's the truth of it.

00:34:25.820 When you're in a developing country, when there's unfortunately a high child mortality, when there's no such thing as a pension plan or things to assure yourself of some sort of retirement, typically what happens is you have large, large families so that you have children to be able to take care of you when you're older and children who survive into adulthood.

00:34:41.040 When the countries become developed, become wealthy and so on, then people can think of things such as family planning.

00:34:47.020 I'm not getting into the discussion about, you know, the morality of birth control and such.

00:34:51.060 But that's sort of the way things work, because overpopulation is something in areas that causes environmental pressures.

00:34:59.500 If you can afford, through energy, affordable energy, to slow the population growth, you do the environment more good as well, and people in general.

00:35:08.300 So, I mean, check that out.

00:35:09.480 It was good to get that voice on there to talk about these things and getting, you know, realistically about it.

00:35:16.540 Let's just see some of these comments.

00:35:21.060 Those four big banks are funding the Century Initiative of Pro-Immigration Advocacy Group from James K.

00:35:31.700 Immigration will strengthen your country, but not their own countries. 1.00

00:35:34.500 Yeah, it's a difficult thing to discuss.

00:35:37.880 Peter Fontaine saying, we got maybe talk about health care, access to clean water, education, irrigation systems, all available affordably with fossil fuels plus economic revenue generation.

00:35:46.520 And yeah, I believe that's sort of what she was getting at, right?

00:35:48.980 All of those things, which are so important.

00:35:51.760 And if you don't have affordable energy, you can't really have any of those things.

00:35:56.180 How can you have good hospitals, health care, access to them without it?

00:36:01.180 You know, they're still plowing their fields with oxen in those areas, yet basically being told you can't have a tractor to do that because that would spit out emissions, which would be bad.

00:36:15.060 But it's a hypocrisy that's just no good.

00:36:21.500 We forget about Africa. 0.93

00:36:22.540 We really do.

00:36:23.560 It's a big chunk of the nation.

00:36:25.540 All right, let's see what else is going on in the news out there.

00:36:29.020 Well, economically, Canada is really doing poorly, to say the least.

00:36:33.980 Let's see, Stellantis.

00:36:35.100 You know, that's an interesting automotive company we're hearing a lot about lately because a lot of our tax dollars keep getting put towards it.

00:36:42.680 Because speaking of hypocrisy, environmentalism, net zero, all those dollars going to our Stellantis and all these different levels and all these plants that never opened.

00:36:50.240 And they closed one plant, I guess, in 2024, early 2024, out east, to retool it, to make electric vehicles.

00:36:57.400 But now that things have changed, they said, you know what, we're just moving our operation to Illinois.

00:37:04.640 So 3,000 workers in Brampton are going to be put out of work there, and it's going south of the border.

00:37:11.760 You know, we really got to start seeing Mark Carney's economic brilliance come into play at some point, aren't we?

00:37:18.000 Wasn't he supposed to be the genius who was going to get us the trade deals?

00:37:21.200 He's failing.

00:37:22.820 He's failing brutally.

00:37:23.880 He's failing on every front.

00:37:25.940 Trump is pushing Canada around like the 98-pound weakling in the back of the comic books, and Carney's just sitting there taking the slaps.

00:37:33.700 We saw that in Egypt when he was kind of sitting in the back row, when they had to scramble over there. 0.97

00:37:37.480 They had to charter a jet because Canada's so incompetent.

00:37:40.460 We don't have the ability to fly a prime minister on short notice.

00:37:44.120 So they had to get private airline to do it for them so he could go to Egypt and pretend he had even a glimmer of a part to do with the peace talks that are happening in the Middle East right now and the agreements being put in.

00:37:57.280 He's, you know, speaking of just failures in so many levels.

00:38:02.000 Yet at the same time, see, what's being driven home is Trump doesn't care what he thinks.

00:38:06.320 And some people say, well, Paul Yevman wouldn't do any better.

00:38:08.640 I don't know.

00:38:09.380 We don't know.

00:38:09.900 He didn't get in.

00:38:10.420 Maybe he wouldn't.

00:38:12.600 But if he didn't do better with Trump, because Trump's just going to do whatever he pleases, I can live with that theory on it, then you've got to diversify the economy.

00:38:25.740 You've got to find other customers.

00:38:27.740 I mean, we're getting a beating on softwood lumber now too, right?

00:38:31.600 So what's Carney doing?

00:38:33.060 He's holding up the pipelines.

00:38:34.340 He's still got the carbon cap going on, the emissions cap.

00:38:39.420 He's still got the tanker ban.

00:38:42.320 So we're up the creek.

00:38:44.900 And it seems everybody seems to know it except liberal voters.

00:38:47.100 Here's another news story.

00:38:48.600 A crown corporation's forecast in the Canadian economy is going to officially fall into a recession this year.

00:38:53.980 And they're blaming part of it on Trump's tariff policies.

00:38:56.960 Export Development Canada is saying the growth rate for Canada this year is below that of the U.S. by 1.67%.

00:39:03.960 And it's below the average for developed economies in general.

00:39:10.540 Oh, but we're ahead of Germany and France right now.

00:39:13.680 It's not looking good, guys.

00:39:15.040 And we're sitting on all of these resources, and we won't develop them.

00:39:19.640 It's absurd.

00:39:20.920 We're shooting ourselves in the feet.

00:39:22.160 And it ties back into that environmentalist extremism, that lunacy, that let's make everybody poor for the sake of this emissions dream.

00:39:32.980 You know, that's what we was talking about as a guest.

00:39:35.680 I mean, it's causing much more damage in Africa and other areas like that. 0.96

00:39:43.000 But it's hurting us here, too, because these guys are insane.

00:39:46.900 And we're shutting down our economy on this dream of trying to make the temperatures change.

00:39:52.200 Let's see.

00:39:53.840 A little note thing.

00:39:54.940 Alberta, why is a license plate with an attitude?

00:39:57.400 Yes.

00:39:58.620 Alberta's license plate.

00:40:00.400 It's funny where slogans get pushed around for political reasons and things like that.

00:40:05.680 Pardon me.

00:40:07.880 I'm going to survive to the end of the show, I promise.

00:40:11.800 So, Alberta's license plates for something you might remember used to be called Wild Rose Country.

00:40:17.160 It used to say that on them.

00:40:18.480 It is our official flower.

00:40:20.000 We're the Wild Rose province.

00:40:22.100 Then the Wild Rose Party under Daniel Smith years ago was really making inroads, really coming up.

00:40:27.540 And the Progressive Conservatives are getting pretty upset about it.

00:40:30.360 They actually took Wild Rose Country off of our license plates.

00:40:34.520 Because they didn't want it to look as if anybody was thinking positively about the Wild Rose Party.

00:40:40.040 That's how petty politics can get.

00:40:44.080 And how insecure the old Progressive Conservatives under Alison Redford and the others were back in those days.

00:40:49.260 Either way, it sounds like Premier Smith's bringing it about.

00:40:51.660 So the license plates now are going to have the words strong and free on them.

00:40:56.560 But, yeah, that's Alberta's motto, Forres y Libre.

00:41:01.660 It only makes sense to have that on there.

00:41:04.500 But it also is a great logo.

00:41:07.240 I mean, you know, Quebec, their license plate slogan and their provincial slogan is, you know, I remember strong and free Alberta works well for me.

00:41:18.080 But we've got to, I think, break a little farther from the Federation to become fully free.

00:41:22.920 But that's a nice move.

00:41:24.200 It's funny.

00:41:24.620 It's the little symbolic things sometimes that make a difference. 0.55

00:41:27.520 And it'll be funny watching the lunatic left coming out in opposition to that.

00:41:34.120 But they will. 0.92

00:41:35.400 They'll say it's a separative slogan.

00:41:36.760 Oh, well, get over it.

00:41:37.640 Speaking of Progressive Conservatives, let's see, in Newfoundland, Labrador, they won a majority government last night.

00:41:44.060 There's some national news.

00:41:46.360 That's 10 years the Liberals were in there.

00:41:49.120 So we've got a new Premier.

00:41:50.600 It's Tony Wakeham.

00:41:51.840 I won't pretend to know a heck of a lot about him, but it is change for Newfoundland.

00:41:55.780 I guess it was a real back and forth race, though, very tight.

00:42:00.580 And, well, let's see if Newfoundland's in for some positive changes out of that.

00:42:04.340 I guess time will tell.

00:42:05.400 So, as well, let's see, Campbell River.

00:42:08.860 If you know Vancouver Island, nice little town up there, fantastic salmon fishing, things like that.

00:42:14.300 Also Nanaimo-Campbell River.

00:42:15.980 Well, pretty much everywhere in North America.

00:42:18.920 The addiction epidemic is overwhelming, just about everything.

00:42:23.140 And we're seeing it there now with, yeah, a 30-year-old woman got stabbed to death by another woman out on the streets.

00:42:30.460 You know, they normally wouldn't report those sort of news things.

00:42:32.520 The small towns aren't even safe anymore, guys.

00:42:36.840 It's addicts on addicts, but the addicts don't just attack other addicts.

00:42:40.900 They attack other people.

00:42:42.040 I mean, hopefully that woman who was, you know, I think I saw something that they caught her in Vancouver.

00:42:47.720 She was randomly stabbing people, stabbed over seven people. 0.98

00:42:49.900 Again, another addict.

00:42:52.300 So, let's quit pretending they're harmless.

00:42:54.900 They're very dangerous.

00:42:57.020 Let's see.

00:42:57.680 Peter LaFontaine saying, let's not forget we needed, we knew we needed to diversify and grow our fossil fuel, agricultural, minerals, and forestry products for years.

00:43:05.700 Don't forget, Canadian senators approve those bad laws.

00:43:08.340 Yeah, we really have a lot of resources to work with, and we just got to battle against the ideologues.

00:43:16.300 And again, the senators, others, you know, who sit in a comfy area and don't realize what's really happening out there.

00:43:23.520 Okay, let's see.

00:43:25.460 Next week, I am not going to be in, guys.

00:43:27.380 I am popping out to Israel for a little while.

00:43:31.560 I'll be back the week after.

00:43:33.160 Watch my channels, though.

00:43:34.220 I'm going to be posting stuff up.

00:43:35.460 I'll be writing stories.

00:43:36.340 They'll be coming up on the Western Standard.

00:43:39.140 And as well on my X, I'll post those live at Corey B. Morgan.

00:43:44.560 And I'm really looking forward to getting a look on the ground.

00:43:48.240 You know, talk about an area where we're getting a lot of mixed news reports, a lot of torqued stuff.

00:43:55.260 It's difficult to tell what's true, what's not true.

00:43:57.780 Well, I'm going to have an opportunity to spend a week out there and look around and tour some very interesting spots

00:44:07.020 and hopefully be able to, well, broaden my own perspective on what's going on out there

00:44:12.800 and be able to share that with you guys.

00:44:14.980 So please keep track of that and go easy on whoever the guest host is going to be here on the Corey Morgan Show next week.

00:44:23.060 I'm sure we'll have somebody fill it in for that.

00:44:26.080 So let's see what else we've got.

00:44:29.940 That's pretty much it.

00:44:31.140 Just one more thing, I guess.

00:44:32.340 The RCMP, when we were talking about exporting meth to New Zealand.

00:44:38.080 Yeah, Canada's becoming a cottage industry for drug exports and so on.

00:44:42.140 Nobody got charged from Canada and there was a bizarre exchange between the chief superintendent

00:44:47.680 and basically saying, well, we don't know who's responsible for that,

00:44:52.260 so we're just not going to lay any charges in it.

00:44:54.500 Yeah, there was meth being smuggled in Canadian beer cans

00:44:58.340 and some poor young man accidentally drank it and got killed in New Zealand.

00:45:02.840 Apparently, Canada's incapable of sorting that problem out. 0.90

00:45:07.340 It turns out there was problems with that meth being exported from Canada earlier in the past as well.

00:45:12.640 All right, guys.

00:45:13.620 I'm going to give my voice a break and let you guys go.

00:45:16.200 Thank you for tuning in today.

00:45:17.840 Watch for the pipeline tonight.

00:45:18.940 We'll break down some more stuff there.

00:45:20.580 And keep on the westernstandard.news to keep seeing those news updates coming as they break.

00:45:28.160 We will see you all again when I get back up to the North of Great Wake North here in Alberta.

00:45:32.700 Thanks.

00:45:32.900 We'll see you all again when I get back up to the North of Great Wake North.

Western Standard - October 20, 2025

CORY MORGAN SHOW： Premier Smith must respond to the teachers strike by expanding school choice

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