Western Standard - November 05, 2024


HANNAFORD： First Trudeau, then Nenshi


Episode Stats

Length

16 minutes

Words per Minute

169.36633

Word Count

2,851

Sentence Count

101

Misogynist Sentences

2


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Join me as I am joined by long-time conservative activist and Alberta senator-elect Erica Baroutes to discuss the UCP convention, which saw Premier Danielle Smith win one of the strongest endorsements I ve ever seen in a leadership race.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
00:00:00.000 good evening western standard viewers and welcome to hannaford i'm joined here today by long-time
00:00:21.200 conservative activist and alberta senator-elect erica baroutes erica welcome to the show oh it's
00:00:28.560 happy to be here. I think we're both still wiping the sleep from our eyes after the UCP convention
00:00:34.760 on Saturday that saw Premier Smith win one of the strongest endorsements I've ever seen. I know that
00:00:42.940 I believe they do well in the NDP as well. The communists usually manage to rally the troops.
00:00:49.560 Well, this is a bunch of free-thinking, free-spirited conservatives who've got together
00:00:54.560 and said nine out of ten of them said Smith is the leader for us.
00:00:59.340 So what happened to all the ones that we were reading about for weeks and months
00:01:03.360 who were apparently, bring her down.
00:01:06.980 Yeah, well, I shot off a few texts to some people I knew were behind it
00:01:10.920 and I haven't heard back from them.
00:01:12.460 So I think that they're kind of in hiding right now.
00:01:16.060 But I will say I think they were louder than they were organizing.
00:01:20.760 And perhaps that was to ensure that folks came out. I'm not sure why, but I think that their efforts to say that they are organizing in numbers to take down Premier Smith actually worked against them.
00:01:33.180 And I saw a lot of folks that I assume were still party members, but maybe wouldn't traditionally attend AGM. Lots of folks coming out from even, you know, the initial days when I was UCP president under Jason Kenney, coming out with clear I'm with Danielle Smith buttons.
00:01:49.820 so I don't know if their efforts uh well clearly didn't turn into reality but I I assume that they
00:01:56.260 won't be as loud this week as maybe they have been in the last couple weeks you know I sort
00:02:00.880 of wondered how it was going to go for them because you've got to really feel strongly about
00:02:06.420 somebody to pay the convention fees and then go there and probably buy the hotel room to do what
00:02:16.640 to say no i don't like what you're doing i mean there may be some people who would do that and i
00:02:21.520 guess there were some but uh my word that would be a huge uh that would be a very expensive way of
00:02:28.160 condemning uh your your leader i didn't think it was going to work do you think the the mere cost
00:02:34.920 of going to the convention had anything to do with that no i don't i think because you saw 6 000
00:02:42.280 people. Pay the fees, travel to Red Deer, pay for accommodations. I don't think it was discouraging
00:02:49.180 one way or another. I think there's a large group that's obviously very happy with what the leader
00:02:54.500 of the UCP is doing, Danielle Smith, with government. I think there's a lot of folks that
00:02:58.980 also recognize that our party, you know, needs sustainability and continuity. And I think that
00:03:06.180 there's people that also might be coming out to support her for the other reason, which is I
00:03:11.560 believe she is the best person to be able to, you know, cater to some of the things that the base
00:03:18.340 feels while also being electable and being able to go head to head with Nahed Nenshi. So I think
00:03:24.700 that there was probably multiple reasons why folks were coming out to support her. But I'm still
00:03:30.080 surprised by the 91.5%. I think at the best of times, people were looking in the 80s, which would
00:03:36.240 be far higher than a lot of the previous leadership races. Frankly, I just wish we didn't have to have
00:03:41.320 them all the time well yes that that's a different discussion and i think i know why you would say
00:03:47.200 that and i tend to agree with you it really isn't helpful to be putting the leader on the spot every
00:03:52.680 two years but coming back to you mentioned mr nenshi just now now mr nenshi got pretty strong
00:03:59.660 endorsement from from his uh voters but he's not she and he are not going to have to face each other
00:04:06.920 until what 2027 correct but in the year to come she is going to have to deal with a rapidly failing
00:04:19.160 federal government under justin trudeau but just because they're failing doesn't mean to see that
00:04:25.400 they can't still do things to damage alberta's interest so would you just lay out for us now
00:04:31.560 the leader has this very strong support what is she going to do with it well i think we've seen
00:04:37.800 i mean even under the ucp before danielle smith uh going after the federal government on c48 c69
00:04:44.360 that didn't maybe end the way we wanted we've seen her stand up to ottawa um on electricity file on
00:04:51.240 the carbon tax um but we've also seen you know her go head to head on as i personally feel some you
00:04:59.320 you know, unjustifiable appointments to the Senate, she continues to stand up and fight 1.00
00:05:04.320 Ottawa. But you're right. I mean, there is and we've seen the federal government still push back
00:05:09.600 on Ottawa, even with, you know, why why the Bill of Rights is coming out in Alberta. So I think
00:05:16.560 there's a lot of policies that they can still do a lot of damage in this time. I think that there
00:05:22.380 is a fine line that this government needs to play, though, because you can't throw all this stuff
00:05:26.880 and then assume that Pierre Polyev, when he takes government, is going to scale all that back
00:05:32.160 immediately. And I think that that's something that's going to, they're going to have to be top
00:05:35.820 of mind of, is how do they use the Sovereignty Act with a friendly if they have to? How do they
00:05:41.040 use, you know, do they withdraw these court cases or court filings that they've recently have
00:05:46.900 against the federal government because it changes? So, you know, it is a chess, not a checkers game
00:05:52.720 that we're going to see this government
00:05:54.480 and the federal government play in the next year.
00:05:57.560 You mentioned Mr. Polyev and scaling back.
00:06:02.660 From your observations, how difficult do you think it would be
00:06:06.420 and how much of a priority,
00:06:08.680 given that a future conservative prime minister
00:06:11.160 would have to have the interests of the entire country
00:06:14.320 atop of mind,
00:06:17.960 how much priority is he going to be able to give?
00:06:22.260 What's a reasonable expectation for repealing some of these obnoxious bills?
00:06:27.180 Right. And I think that the first and easiest one, although I'm not sure how Atlantic Canada will respond,
00:06:33.720 is, you know, scaling back how he had given exemption to Atlantic Canada or how he makes it fair, quote unquote,
00:06:40.840 fair for the rest of the country on the exemptions of carbon tax.
00:06:44.620 I mean, he said he's going to remove it all.
00:06:46.600 If he did that, I think that that would be a very good peacekeeping move with both signaling to Alberta.
00:06:52.620 But, I mean, we're not alone on that fight.
00:06:55.020 I think that's the one piece that he'd probably have to do to get quite a long runway to show good face with especially Western Canada.
00:07:04.700 There's a lot more mess that this Liberal government has put in in 10 years that I think where he ought to focus,
00:07:11.440 as much as it might hurt us a little bit longer, is on the affordability side.
00:07:15.580 So I think that he'll try and give a little bit of a nugget to the rest of Canada on some of the stuff that has recently happened, including the home heating oil and focus on, again, that affordability, because he's got to not just look out for the people that have been tried from this government, but he also has to look at winning and appeasing all of Canada.
00:07:39.760 So it's going to be a little bit of a dance, but I think that's probably, in my opinion, the lowest hanging fruit.
00:07:45.100 And if he could take some of those Senate appointments back, I'd be real happy, but I don't think that that's constitutional.
00:07:50.880 I believe that. I believe once they're there, they're there.
00:07:54.420 I thought you were going to sort of perhaps mention the No Pipelines Act and the No Tankers Act,
00:08:00.400 both of which were used to seriously damage Alberta's energy industry.
00:08:06.660 I think that those will come. I think a review of the energy sector. But again, when you're
00:08:16.560 looking at how do you be a prime minister for everyone, he's got to focus on that affordability
00:08:21.720 issue and getting our fiscal house back on track. I do think that the results in the United States
00:08:30.800 will also impact his, um, his desire to pursue that as quickly as possible. I think that that
00:08:37.800 opens up depending on who's successful and will probably be in recounts and, um, appeals for some
00:08:45.240 time in the, in, in the U S. But I think the important thing is like, he has to find some
00:08:50.780 low hanging fruit. And I think that, um, trying to make the carbon tax either go away, like Jason
00:08:56.300 can he did bill one um be an issue because i think that also does dovetail into the affordability
00:09:02.600 piece that he's been talking about so it would be a very complimentary first move um c48 c69 i mean
00:09:09.100 have they have a lot of revisions they have a lot of things that you have to get on side especially
00:09:13.200 with the senate that is now um very left-leaning so he's got to pick and choose how he's going to
00:09:19.460 use federalism to his advantage yes so what what would you hope that the premier's first
00:09:29.260 overture to a new conservative government would be a premier or prime minister well i'm thinking
00:09:37.460 that i i'm sort of hoping that all of what we're talking about comes true and that
00:09:42.800 Mr. Poilierre is the next Prime Minister.
00:09:45.580 So there is the Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Poilierre.
00:09:50.100 There is Danielle Smith as Premier of Alberta.
00:09:52.900 They've known each other for decades.
00:09:55.720 They're good friends, even though they probably don't have much time to communicate.
00:10:00.480 They're certainly in sympathy with each other.
00:10:02.340 But, you know, here is the problem that they now face,
00:10:08.760 is that they each represent a different constituency with its own interests.
00:10:14.200 So, for example, if the Alberta pension plan were to go ahead,
00:10:19.520 well, Alberta wants some money out of the Canada pension plan,
00:10:23.360 and we can vote for that in Alberta.
00:10:26.640 It's not really a vote-getter in the rest of the country.
00:10:29.360 So, you know, how do you stick-handle that kind of thing?
00:10:34.120 Yeah, well, I think if I were them and they were listening,
00:10:37.060 I would say the first thing that they need to do is establish the rules of the game.
00:10:41.580 So what we've seen right now with Trudeau is he's in our business too much.
00:10:45.600 The jurisdictional divide of federal and provincial has got so blurred that I think that that would be for Pierre Polyev and Daniel Smith as prime minister and premier of Alberta to sit down and say, this is your lane and this is my lane and let's do that.
00:11:00.600 And I think that would naturally actually sort out some of the challenges that we're seeing.
00:11:04.900 I mean, you're seeing it even in education, like in post-secondary and primary, you're seeing it in how our daycare, our early learner child care is being impacted because of federal funding, health care, all of those things that I think that there's a way to figure out what's the prime minister's role in that and what the premiers respectfully are.
00:11:24.340 And that'll do a lot of the housekeeping. And then I'd really love to revisit equalization payments. But again, that's going to be a challenge. We didn't see Harper, you know, when he even is from Alberta, like visit a bunch of these things, pension plan, what we do with the RCMP and provincial police.
00:11:44.440 I think those ones are a little bit farther down the road, and that might upset Albertans.
00:11:49.200 But we also have to put into context that he is pro-Alberta, but he also has to be Canadian first.
00:11:55.380 So it's going to be not as happy-go-lucky immediately, I think, regardless when Pierre takes office.
00:12:03.600 I think you're probably right, but let's face it, it is going to be a more civil and a more cordial relationship.
00:12:10.560 Can't get worse. You can't get worse.
00:12:12.200 No, I was just seeing that the prime minister announced there would be funds available to groups wanting to challenge the premier's legislation surrounding trans.
00:12:24.780 I mean, there's funds already. It's called the court challenge system.
00:12:29.060 So this was clearly a public relations shot to encourage his supporters and people who think.
00:12:35.020 Hey, I guess desperate times call for desperate measures by that man, I guess.
00:12:39.120 well okay let's let's conclude with this how desperate do you think the times are are we
00:12:45.800 going to have an election before christmas or in the spring do you think they'll go the whole year
00:12:50.660 i think desperation and complete ignorance and narcissism need to be looked at uh you know
00:12:59.460 at the same time i i don't think that we're going to see one in 2024 i think because of some of the
00:13:07.100 pieces like pensions for MPs and how Jagmeet Singh has positioned himself, that we're going to see
00:13:15.540 one before the snow is gone. That would just be my guess. I think that they are desperate. I mean,
00:13:22.820 if you watch the clip of him coming out after basically a caucus revolt with this like smug
00:13:27.720 narcissistic look on his face being like, we're all unified. There's clearly some deal being
00:13:32.660 struck there's clearly like people that will scream and shout but won't say it to his face
00:13:37.560 I think he is very you know his his strong hold on caucus is clearly evident but I don't think
00:13:45.620 that that's going to help him with everyday Canadians so he might be able to keep his
00:13:49.360 caucus at bay we continue to see one saying they're not seeking re-election which again
00:13:54.000 is I think trickles down more than what happens in a caucus meeting to the general public
00:13:58.280 And I think his numbers are going to hold the same because even people that plugged their nose and voted for Trudeau last time because he was promising $10 a day daycare just can't stand the man now.
00:14:09.500 And those are lots of my friends in Edmonton.
00:14:11.760 So I think we'll see that he'll continue to be desperate.
00:14:15.680 He'll continue to do, as you said, these public relation things.
00:14:19.340 We saw with affordability announcements across the country.
00:14:23.220 I'm sure that the budget is going to be horrific and lacking the idea that money doesn't grow on trees.
00:14:30.160 But that'll be his legacy that he's going to have to live with.
00:14:32.940 And he's going to go down in history as the worst prime minister, second to his dad.
00:14:37.840 Yes. So, OK, so you think maybe a budget vote vote against the budget?
00:14:43.360 That would be a test of character for the for the bloc and for the NDP.
00:14:48.420 But I mean, they're all. Yeah, we could.
00:14:51.440 it could be all about what they've negotiated right we've heard the block go back and forth
00:14:55.680 we've heard you know if that the dental care pharma care plans a bunch of things that the 0.92
00:15:01.120 ndp have pushed for if that doesn't come through i actually don't think that the ndp have a better
00:15:07.040 time um to try and campaign against the liberals although i think they've kind of tied hitched
00:15:12.560 themselves to that wagon and tried to escape but not so you know maybe spring but i i just see him
00:15:20.320 being so ignorant that he thinks he can still win it you know erica it's a good thing and a bad thing
00:15:27.200 that government is effectively come to a stop they can't do anything the bad thing is that's
00:15:33.040 not that's not a good thing for a country like canada a good thing for any country but the
00:15:39.040 good thing about it is that they've got another horrible suite of legislation that i don't think
00:15:43.680 either of us want to see come to the fore which has to do with the control of what people can do
00:15:49.040 on the Internet and the whole business of freedom of speech.
00:15:52.760 So if those bills die on the order paper, it would be no loss, would it?
00:15:59.020 No, I am not a big supporter of communism and dictatorship,
00:16:02.740 so I would very much appreciate if that didn't make it through.
00:16:07.180 Erica, it's always great to talk to you.
00:16:10.700 I can see you're in a good mood.
00:16:12.400 I can understand why, and I hope that Premier Smith
00:16:18.000 had a wonderful celebration on saturday night she certainly worked hard for it and deserved it
00:16:25.200 so thanks again we'll see you i'm sure soon for the western standard i'm nigel hannaford
00:16:48.000 You