Learn English with Jason Kenney. Alberta s premier, Rachel Notley, took the stage at the Great Eagle and Casino in Calgary on Friday night to speak on the importance of a free enterprise economy, limited government, and a spirit of self-determined optimism.
00:07:10.300So, it is amazing to see everybody here.
00:07:13.300I am especially honoured, of course, to get
00:07:16.280get the opportunity to emcee tonight, along with some of tomorrow's festivities as well with the
00:07:22.460Honourable Sonja Savage. Well, thank you, Nick, and it's a pleasure to be here, and good evening to
00:07:27.800all of you. Thank you so much, everyone, for that warm welcome to all of us here. It's been wonderful
00:07:34.840to see many familiar faces, some I've known for more than three decades through politics I've seen
00:07:40.440tonight and it's great to see you again in person it's been far too long way way way too long it has
00:07:47.000definitely been too long sonia i can't even tell you how amazing it feels to be back in person
00:07:53.240with the hardest working most passionate conservatives in the country before we begin
00:07:58.040we want to thank you of course the ucp is nothing and i mean absolutely nothing without our members
00:08:05.400yeah that's right nick and i wouldn't be here without the support of party members like you
00:08:10.440Thank you. Thank you all for taking the time away from your families and traveling across the province to be here tonight.
00:08:17.580Please give yourselves a huge round of applause because you're why we're here.
00:08:25.400And friends, as I alluded to, you are the backbone of this party.
00:08:30.640You're the ones who go out, you knock on doors, you hit the phones, you put up the signs.
00:08:34.800You're the ones who ensure that our constituency associations run smoothly and the battle is then therefore ready so that we can take the whole UCP message to Albertans in the next election.
00:08:47.500I think we all know also that it is going to be coming very, very quickly as well.
00:08:52.720Yes, and you do this work gladly and diligently despite everything else you already have on your plates, whether that's work, family, community commitments.
00:09:03.000I can't tell you how grateful I am for our whole UCP team and for your dedication.
00:09:09.980And a shout out to my board members and constituents who are here tonight.
00:09:14.920And a shout out to Nick and all of us.
00:09:17.460Yeah, we definitely appreciate, especially that this work has been so much more difficult during the pandemic.
00:09:25.480COVID, of course, has forced us to sort of reimagine the way that we do a lot of the things,
00:09:30.020whether it was virtually in the last one.
00:09:31.760And, of course, it caused so many challenges that we wouldn't have had to have faced otherwise.
00:27:56.280left try to observe that now after we've heard from three speakers we will give
00:28:07.700the proponent an opportunity to provide a 30-second real-time so you're the
00:28:13.800proposer resolution wish to take that opportunity ready and make your way to
00:28:20.720at the front of the room in a timely fashion or Mike stage yes please know
00:28:31.220technicians are going to cut the microphone off after a lot of time so
00:28:36.680bear that in mind as you formulate your remarks in past years our rules and
00:28:44.180procedures have provided our elected MLA is the opportunity to speak proposals
00:28:49.100in preference to party members without counting towards the limit of three
00:28:53.280speakers or three speakers against. That rule is no more so MLA's will not be
00:28:59.720given and must line up at the microphones on a first-come and first-served
00:29:04.640face so that's the debate process we're going to repeat brief resolution tonight
00:29:12.880and finally we must caution sternly that any member who makes an unparliamentary comment
00:29:22.720or otherwise disrupts the proceedings may receive a warning subsequent or sufficiently
00:29:29.120unparliamentary behavior a result in a member being asked to leave the session you may say to
00:29:35.040yourself well what is unparliamentary behavior i looked it up
00:29:44.080the characteristic unparliamentary expression is to say that the speaker who
00:29:51.680proceeding with the mic is a liar. You may not say that. You may be evicted from default for saying that. But you might say that the previous speaker succumbed to terminological inexactitude. That will not be unparliamentary behavior.
00:30:15.680voting when the debate for each resolution is finished we will call for a vote members must
00:30:24.780be present in the plenary session in order to vote and unlike some elections in the Maritimes
00:30:33.200a number of years ago you may only vote once voting will be done in the old-fashioned way
00:30:39.020It was a call to come back to this and I'm glad we did.
00:30:43.340So voting will be done by raising your card.
00:30:46.060There is a, say for or against or yes or no.
00:34:17.360Don't see anybody from the party board that wants to speak does anybody a member at large want to speak in favor of motion one
00:34:30.980Okay, and we'll go to speakers opposed to motion one
00:34:37.120You're waiting for the next motion, okay, well seeing that nobody wants to debate motion one. Why don't we call the question?
00:34:47.360is anybody opposed to the motion I'm not sure I see a single car oh I see one red
00:34:57.560card but I think that's more than 50% so I declare motion one carry
00:35:03.880Governance resolution number one submitted by Calgary Glenmore, we have a video.
00:35:19.880I'm Robert, with Calgary Glenmore, speaking of resolution number one,
00:35:26.880Amending Article 6 of the Rules of Governing Constituency Association by Press 4.1. The resolution eliminates the current requirement that candidates for the CA board director must sign the party's non-disclosure agreement and code of conduct acknowledgment.
00:35:47.2602. Candidates, however, must affirm that they will sign the acknowledgement should they
00:53:53.760Hi, I'm Steve McLeod on behalf of Calgary-Curry and former UCB founding AGM Policy Committee
00:53:59.780member and recent Alberta Rep for the Federal Conservative National Policy Committee.
00:54:04.060Our policy declaration has increased in scope and complexity since the founding AGM and
00:54:09.140with it also in both redundancy and expired items the government has already enacted.
00:54:13.840We typically only hear 30 items at an AGM, so it is natural that members use that time to focus on new policy ideas, leaving no time for basic housekeeping measures.
00:54:25.640As a result, our policy book becomes bloated and unmanageable, confusing to the public, too inconsistent for MLAs to use for legislation, and impossible for our members to administer and amend themselves using the normal process.
00:54:39.500This proposal mirrors successful recent mechanisms enacted by the Federal Conservatives and empowers our PBGC to put forward housekeeping proposals to vote upon in ways that do not detract from the time to consider new proposals, such as the use of balloting outside the plenary, all while keeping our declaration in the hands of the grassroots.
01:18:57.060see no one to the no yes sir great thank you uh good evening everyone
01:19:04.740first i just want to thank everyone for your incredible participation this evening
01:19:08.660uh i think i can summarize my comments by what like said by just saying you know
01:19:13.140i think this group here is the group that needs to decide our candidates
01:19:18.820the teachers to ensure open transparent and democratic process thank you
01:19:28.020mr jackson you have the right of the ball
01:19:32.500thank you dave jackson edmonton city center at the drop of a hat the justice minister can bring
01:19:38.180and build up the legislature and change the electoral laws the chief electric officer can
01:19:42.420reinterpret the laws the courts can interpret the laws the rules of the game change and if you go
01:19:51.860and make the rules of candidate selection constitutional that means we have to come
01:19:58.260back to this room and vote changes on a constitutional level potentially even moments
01:20:06.900before an election campaign that's why you need the board to be empowered to set up the rules
01:20:13.700thank you mr jackson uh again a reminder 75 required to pass all those in favor please raise
01:20:22.980your yes card. Opposed, if any. Motion is defeated.
01:20:39.700We'll move on to Governor's jurisdiction number six now.
01:20:45.780varsity and that we have a table and a roll from the proponents
01:20:52.500governance resolution 723 hello my name is dean fall over vp policies for
01:20:58.260county varsity this policy is put forth by rca and supported by our board
01:21:02.740it is ranked importantly as an important topic for the ecd to consider at this 8am
01:21:07.780mla is currently ex-official to the ca board ex-official means because of their office
01:21:13.140they are on board since my definition they are members they should be able to have a fellow or
01:21:19.380to vote as a member so if it shows not that somebody does not have the rights to please
01:21:24.660as an elected or appointed member this policy proposal recognizes and places members like the
01:21:30.580rest of us they should not be penalized because their job like the rest of us this policy affords
01:21:36.740all members to be recognized as having equal rights to have their say this policy is fair
01:21:42.340and reflect the grassroots nature of ucp to allow all members to have a voice
01:21:48.020join me in voting yes to this policy thank you
01:21:56.020gortol guinnessville sylvan lake this is a very important issue actually this is about
01:22:00.820the separation of church and state the mlas are essentially appointed to their boards0.97
01:22:07.780the reason why they don't have voting authority is that it immunizes them from misconduct by
01:22:12.260that board if they're not voting then they aren't to blame they're able to attend they're able to
01:22:18.100clearly exert influence we can all attest to that in front of ca there's no need for having them put
01:22:24.100into a a conflict with the board because they have the power to vote please do not support this thank
01:22:30.580you i don't see anybody at the yes mike so we will take another speaker in opposition
01:22:42.260In addition to what Mr. Tolk just spoke about, there are additional concerns regarding our board insurance, which also at times has covered a maximum of 30 voting members on the board.
01:22:55.420And so allowing 30 grassroots members to be on the board while allowing the MLA to be an influential but ex-officio person on the board allows you to have a full contingent of 30 people within your constituency and not limit the powers of the MLA as the insurance is concerned.
01:23:17.680Seeing nobody at the yes mic, we will have one more speaker against the moment.
01:23:23.060I'm fine if this resolution was to allow MLAs to be a voting member, but I don't believe
01:23:32.500that nominating candidates should be a next official for the entire term of four years.
01:23:38.620If it's one year, if the resolution was to be reverted, it's just the MLA only, I would
01:23:44.900probably likely support it, but if not, I urge everyone to vote this one down.
01:31:59.680Again, a motion requiring 50% in favor to pass.
01:32:03.980All those in favor, please raise your cards.
01:32:09.060and those against the motion is defeated I quickly checked yes calling someone a
01:32:22.660lawyer is unparalleled entry acceptable phrases are scoundrel rascal and my
01:32:31.560personal favorites, Caliway. We move to governance resolution number nine, Calgary Hayes, no video.
01:32:44.360Do we have someone? Yes, ma'am. Vanessa Sayers, Calgary Hayes. The rationale for this resolution
01:32:54.120is that provincial board members should have an understanding as to the management of the UCP
01:32:59.800and with that understanding they are then in a position to be of help with ca and provincial
01:33:05.240development this creates for proper succession planning for both on a ca board and the provincial
01:33:11.560board this also eliminates board members from becoming passive members with zero input
01:33:17.800thus picking up their share of the workload thank you
01:33:29.800I'm long overdue since Quirt's been hogging the mic. I served on the provincial board
01:33:53.760of one of the legacy parties and I got asked to do that. I'd been previously a CA board
01:33:58.800member but had not been for the year prior and i ended up serving in a specialty capacity as
01:34:05.280treasurer of one of those legacy parties and i think if this passed it might have been debatable
01:34:09.520whether i could have fulfilled that role and uh i i don't think we should we should bring that in
01:34:15.920we should allow the uh the members to vote democratically on the board members who seek
01:34:22.480office I very much understand the concerns of the previous speak but this is about commitment this
01:34:42.400is about are you really part of this are you gonna be part of your constituency are you gonna earn
01:34:46.300the right to be a board member instead of being parachuted into a meeting and people couldn't
01:34:51.200you out of a lineup because you're somebody's relative let's require at least a year's worth
01:34:56.000of dedication to be eligible to get onto the board thank you hello calgary elbow um uh i
01:35:11.840personally can't see many certain areas where that that fit mr talc scenario where somebody's going
01:35:18.080to be picked at to serve on the board of the provincial party because they're somebody's
01:35:21.920relative i think we have a more robust membership than that that being said a person can contribute
01:35:27.520huge amounts of time to this part without necessarily fulfilling the specific prescriptive
01:35:32.480position of serving on a constituency association board they may be unable to do that for professional
01:35:36.880or other reasons i don't uh abide by this kind of gatekeeping and i don't think it's a good
01:35:42.000motion for grabs party hello Christopher Moe and Calgary Northwest I just I'm just here to say we
01:35:52.000finally got Gord talk to say yes to something I've been waiting for her to say that and I've
01:35:57.440been waiting for three years and and more to the point here I started this about four years ago I
01:36:02.420spent two years on constituency boards and now I'm provincial level you learned the ropes you
01:36:08.180have to learn the ropes in order to present and make decisions for the whole province
01:36:14.580so i encourage you to vote yes to this and uh thank you yes sir
01:36:23.140cameron wilson edmonton southwest i just want to point out that there have been a lot of very very
01:36:28.660good board of directors members of our board of directors who would not have qualified under this
01:36:34.740policy it doesn't make sense to reduce the possible pool of good board members in this way
01:36:40.820when we don't know what may inspire somebody who's qualified to be on the board so i encourage you to
01:36:46.900vote this down hey mr wilson uh work for you miss here if you wish no all right we'll call the vote
01:37:00.580all those in favor please sir you're holding up a couple of people are
01:37:09.040holding it up red I have to count it as green if you're holding it up now all
01:37:16.640right those opposed please it required 75% is not close
01:37:30.580On to governance resolution number 10, which is an amendment proposed by Calgary Northwest to the standing committee list that will require a 50% threshold to pass. And we have a video from Calgary Northwest.
01:37:46.080Hello, I'm Anna Burke and the Vice President of Policy for Calgary Northwest.
01:37:55.840The Standing Committee list provides for the Party Policy and Governance Committee's broad
01:38:02.880mandate which impacts the entire membership, yet only the Vice President of Policy and
01:38:10.400secretary are elected our 2020 motion established that at least two committee members must reside
01:38:19.680in each of the five regions our new motion would replace appointed by the board with elected at an
01:38:28.480agm by the members who reside in the corresponding regions it is in our best interest that the ppgc
01:38:38.160demonstrates more openness transparency and accountability to all of our members across alberta
01:38:52.960we're talking sylvan lake first off um i can't express my gratitude to ann she's an absolute
01:38:58.560stalwart on the pbgc which i also serve um but with all due respect uh it's hard enough to get
01:39:07.040people to sit on the ppgc now to have us go through electoral process to do that i think we might fail
01:39:12.960and have a ppg said it literally is non-functional because it can't meet the requirements outlined
01:39:18.240in addition the council is elected i'm looking at one right now they are elected they are
01:39:24.560accountable for the people they put on the ppgc if it fails hold them accountable thank you
01:39:37.040thank you unlike other committees the PPGC is unique it's the engine that drives every
01:39:55.400annual general meeting as well as the planner it is not open or transparent to the membership
01:40:04.520In the Conservative Party of Canada, the regional reps of the Constitutional and Policy Committees are elected with a fair and impartial process.
01:40:18.360Now our party can ensure that the general members who are most directly accepted will finally have a say. Thank you.
01:40:27.280the right of rebuttal, however. Mr. Mullen. Hi there. Chris Mullen, Calgary Foothills.
01:40:34.160Great respect to Anne. You know, I owe you so many beers for disagreements that I lost at PPGC.
01:40:41.520But election PPGC does the work of the board. All of our product goes to the work of the board.
01:40:49.200The board yays and nays it. If the board doesn't like it, then you have to adjust to the board's
01:40:55.280work and we cannot have a situation where you have elected members of ppgc and elected members
01:41:01.600of the board and they're fighting against one another so please vote no one more
01:41:11.520the proponent and i did my rebuttals so debate ends
01:41:25.280I can personally attest that the role of the PPGC plays provincially is very different than
01:41:42.060what the role of the elected members of the national policy and constitution committees
01:41:46.560play federally. And I'm greatly concerned that at the provincial level the way things
01:41:51.280are defined if we allow this to go through we are going to create a slippery slope where we have
01:41:55.920people who are trying to advocate for policy rather than to be facilitators that we desperately need
01:42:01.840on that committee they are very very different i love you and i respect you
01:42:07.440miss burke you do have a right of rebuttal now if you would like to use it thank you the standing
01:42:15.760policy committee provides for the party's policy and governance broad mandate which impacts the
01:42:25.680entire membership however at least 15 members of the committee are generally unknown to the group
01:42:35.440and i as a member experienced that firsthand i think we need reform and we need reform now
01:42:44.480so i hope you will support our resolution thank you we will now call the question
01:42:52.400all those in favor of governance resolution number 10 please raise your cards
01:43:00.640and those opposed the motion is defeated
01:43:13.920Governance resolution number 11 is sponsored by Athabasca Barhead Westlock, where you will find the beautiful town of Smoky Lake, recognized as the pumpkin capital of Alberta and home to the legendary annual Great White North Pumpkin Fair.
01:43:37.920Watch closely in the video and see if you see the pumpkins.
01:43:43.920Good evening, I'm Ted Forge, Vice President of Policy for the Athabasca Board, Westlock
01:53:57.920Brian Bates in Calgary Mountain View. So there's a couple practical things here. There are a lot of things that are necessary in the candidate selection process that maybe CAs don't have the ability to do themselves.
01:54:09.260that require resources, things like candidate vetting and the sort, and that's obviously
01:54:17.340very important. And furthermore, elections are very in-the-minute, in-the-moment kind
01:54:24.160of things, and things happen, and so if we have a set of rules that doesn't address something
01:54:29.080that happens, then that creates a great problem for the party going into an election. I'll
01:54:33.740also just say this isn't really grassroots because it deletes but not limited to which
01:54:41.340means that the members don't get the choice they have to and i don't think that's very fair
01:54:47.500we're talking it's real sylvan lake there are not a lot of resolutions that only have
01:54:52.460two words and that have such great import than than this one does this essentially does give
01:54:58.300of the grassroots through the AGM process,
01:55:00.780the ability to set and then to redefine
01:55:03.760and change how candidates are selected
01:55:06.440and nobody else gets to fix those rules
01:55:33.220Candidate selection rules need the flexibility to be able to deal with changes in law from the justice minister,
01:55:42.940reinterpretations by the chief electoral officer, and interpretations from the court.
01:55:47.700You can't be calling a special general meeting every time the laws change in order to change your constitution.
01:55:55.960and on top of that on the next resolution there's a poison pill
01:56:01.440michael bears of calgary glenmore you've all had one of these put on your table
01:56:14.780this is the first step in order to get a candidate selection rules on books that we as members can
01:56:24.160alter and amend as we go forward in time right now we don't have one it's very important that
01:56:31.200we get the 75 pass of this particular special resolution so that we can then
01:56:39.200get a candidate selection rules document available to us for voting thank you
01:56:45.280Mr. Jackson, it appears there's no one else at the mic, so you could finish if you'd like.
01:57:01.400There is a poison pill coming up in the next resolution that I will get to.
01:57:15.280With the greatest respect for Mr. Jackson, I understand what you're saying, but in this case, the ideal of having our members actively participate in the selection of our candidate selection rules over, in my mind, is more important than having the amount of time to go back.
01:57:45.280time law changes which doesn't change very often I think that it's more of a
01:57:50.460moot point thank you please support this this is a special resolution 75%
01:57:59.260required to pass all those in favor please