Western Standard - August 15, 2026


NATION OF PEOPLEļ¼š Episode 3 goes live at 3_00 PM


Episode Stats


Length

2 minutes

Words per minute

142.03

Word count

343

Sentence count

29

Harmful content

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 Protecting and promoting democracy requires vigilance and understanding.
00:00:04.440 This is a nation of people. I'm Natalie St. Hilaire and with me is Randy Royer.
00:00:09.820 This is a Postscript for Episode 1. Episode 1 is an exploration of how the judicial process
00:00:16.020 impacts our democracy. It investigates how the 1982 Constitution changed that relationship.
00:00:23.020 Here are the takeaways. Number one, the Constitution created judicial supremacy,
00:00:28.460 replacing parliamentary supremacy without our consent.
00:00:32.620 Australia's constitution, for example,
00:00:34.820 specifically precludes judicial supremacy.
00:00:38.120 Number two, the courts were given the right
00:00:40.480 to interpret and change the constitution.
00:00:43.680 Judicial advocacy, as we call it,
00:00:46.180 or the living tree, as the court describes it,
00:00:50.040 permits it to create brand new charter rights.
00:00:53.760 It presumes to reflect the public opinion,
00:00:56.520 But that assumption is never tested.
00:00:59.560 Bike lanes and injecting drugs in public places are examples of new rights advanced by the courts.
00:01:07.320 Number three is originalism also plays a role. 0.55
00:01:11.020 Here are the words and intentions of the originators to find decisions.
00:01:15.900 We propose Trudeau's authorship.
00:01:18.260 Because the premiers had to sue to get to the seat at the table,
00:01:21.620 and any Trudeau compromises were immediately contested and continuously.
00:01:28.480 Examples of that are the NEP immediately contesting provincial resource ownership
00:01:33.580 and the continuous discreditation of the notwithstanding clause.
00:01:38.540 The Constitution defines the form and function of the nation.
00:01:42.200 The people should be in charge.
00:01:44.220 Parliament and judiciary should be in service to the people, not the other way around.
00:01:48.760 The two are constructs of the people and should check the excesses of the other.
00:01:53.540 But the will of the people must be this final say.
00:01:56.860 If you're a separatist, we need to create a new nation and not make the same mistakes over again.
00:02:02.260 If you're a loyalist, this is a substantial issue that has diminished the relationship between the people and our national institutions.
00:02:10.520 For those who wish to fix Canada, the 1982 constitution diminished the ability of the people
00:02:16.180 to democratically control the nation.
00:02:19.860 We need a people's constitution.
00:02:22.220 Change only at the will of the people.