SMITH Is Canada Broken？
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
180.29533
Summary
Learn English with Honourable Rachel Notley. Rachel is the Prime Minister of Alberta, Canada's largest and most important province. She is also the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Stephen Gibault. In this speech, Rachel talks about the federal government's out-of-control policies and the need for Albertans to fight back.
Transcript
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Is Canada broken? There seems to be a little bit of that talk online. And when you look at the
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out-of-control policies coming out of Ottawa right now, it's not hard to see why some might feel that
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way. As you know, Alberta is a province of innovators and entrepreneurs. It's something
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we're known for. And we see that innovation and entrepreneurship all throughout our province and
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economy, from agriculture to energy to manufacturing and technology. We are problem solvers. But it's
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one thing to solve problems as they come up organically. It's another thing when our
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federal government is creating problems and refusing to focus on solutions. Let's talk
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about some of these. Electricity regulations that will erode Canada's power grids and put many
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Canadians in the dark with utility bills they simply cannot afford. Carbon tax exemptions for
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one part of the country while the rest of the country keeps on paying. Unachievable emissions
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reductions targets that will, simply put, chase tens of thousands of good jobs and billions in
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investment out of the country and out of Alberta. What's even more bizarre, Ottawa wants to ban
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gasoline vehicles in Canada in favour of electric vehicles, even though the current infrastructure
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cannot support this change. And I'm not done yet. Just days ago, the federal liberals launched
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their latest so-called great idea, a national plastics registry program, so we can register plastic
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products. A plan that seems to continue their attack against this industry. Quite simply, this
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is nonsensical. We rely on plastics and the products we use every day from clothing to sporting equipment
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to vehicle parts, cell phones and medical equipment. Why does Ottawa think these products are bad? All of these
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policies and more are designed to hurt everyday Canadians and make life more expensive and more
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difficult. We have always been a country and a province that offers opportunity and a good quality of life for those
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people who are willing to put in the effort. That dream is now gravely in jeopardy because of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
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and his Environment Minister Stephen Gibault. At a time when Albertans and Canadians are still struggling with an
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affordability crisis, they are pursuing policies that will increase costs and put paychecks at risk. At the beginning of 2024,
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when we should be looking forward with optimism, we're talking about imploding our economy, banning cars,
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registering plastics and paying into the carbon tax instead. Well, not all of us. Alberta is fighting back.
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And we need to fight back. All because of the dangerous ideas of Minister Stephen Gibault. It doesn't matter that he's been
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told twice by the Supreme Court and the federal court that his ideas are unconstitutional. The rule of law doesn't seem to
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slow things down. But all of this could stop right now. We could move away from dangerous ideological
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policies and instead focus on rational solutions for the future. This includes solutions that will help
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us achieve a realistic goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. And Alberta is committed to that
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goal. We have billions of dollars of private investment in new technologies that are geared toward eliminating
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emissions and creating a better future that includes large investment in Alberta over a decade.
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Dow's Path to Zero project, the world's first net zero plastics manufacturing facility,
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and another Alberta first, a new net zero hydrogen plant by Air Products. We have and will continue to
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invest billions into carbon capture projects and programs. The truth is Ottawa likes to tell all of
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us what to do when it comes to emissions reduction. And Minister Gibault has even gone to China to do the same.
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But it's hypocritical. The truth is Alberta has met emissions reduction targets while the federal
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government has yet to meet a single one of theirs. The truth is we don't need to destroy our economy to
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achieve a better future. Alberta continues to prove that. And we don't need to work against each other.
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But as long as Ottawa brings in policies and legislation that hurts Alberta and hurts Canadians,
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our government will continue to stand up and will continue to fight back. Alberta and Ottawa can have a
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positive and collaborative relationship, but not with this environment, Minister, and not with these
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dangerous policies. Albertans can rest assured we will keep on defending the rule of law, the constitution,
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the needs of our province, and what's best for you whenever necessary. And we will keep on pressing forward