Member of the United Conservative Party of Alberta, Erica Berrutis joins the show to talk about her journey to becoming a Senator, the importance of a Bachelor of Applied Politics and Public Affairs at Macamie College, and what she wishes she knew when she first got into politics.
00:00:00.000Good evening, Western Standard viewers, and welcome to Hannaford, a weekly politics show.
00:00:27.080I, of course, am not Nigel Hannaford. I am Jen Hodson, filling in for Nigel while he's
00:00:33.100away for the next couple of weeks. It's Thursday, January 30th, 2025, and my guest today is Alberta
00:00:40.420Senator-elect Erica Berrutis. But first, a word from our sponsors. This episode of The Hannaford
00:00:48.440Show is sponsored by New World Precious Metals, based right here in Alberta. Years of inflationary
00:00:54.640money printing and rising debt have decimated the average Canadian savings. Gold and silver
00:01:00.260are the only currencies that have held their value for thousands of years, and last year
00:01:05.480saw 30% gains. And WPM offers unique platforms to help protect and grow your hard-earned wealth
00:01:13.160with gold and silver. Check out newworldpm.com. Erica Baroudis is the department head of the
00:01:22.260Applied Politics and Public Affairs Specialist Program at Macamie College. She formally served
00:01:28.600as the Principal Secretary to Premier Danielle Smith and the Alberta Government Director of
00:01:34.200Issues Management and Campaign Operations. Erica is also the founding president of the United
00:01:40.920Conservative Party of Alberta, and she co-hosts the Discourse podcast. Erica, welcome to the show.
00:01:48.200Hi, great to have you or to be here. I was gonna say to have you hosting instead of Nigel while
00:01:54.020he's away. It's a fresh face. It's a different face. I'm a far cry from Nigel Hannaford
00:01:59.100in many different ways. So first, tell us about the Applied Politics program at Macamie College.
00:02:06.880Yeah, so as you mentioned, I have a long history in politics and Macamie actually approached me
00:02:13.320while I was still in Premier's office. I'd always said that I was there for the Premier to win the
00:02:18.060election and which is why I left to help with the campaign. I'm sitting in my office right now. I
00:02:23.320don't know if it's in reverse of the screen, but these are all the classes we offer and that we're
00:02:28.580currently developing. So the concept came because an individual from ACME had an idea that they
00:02:35.300were like, how do you teach what you know? And I'm like, good question. And then they said, well,
00:02:40.560what training do you have? And I went to the University of Calgary, took political science,
00:02:45.540but nothing that I really learned there applies to the real world of politics. I didn't learn how
00:02:52.320to do older relations, how to write briefing notes, how to talk to a minister, create key
00:02:57.700messages. And so I was like, you know, this is the program I wish I had taken because I got into
00:03:04.540politics when I was 18 years old. And that there was a kind of a guide. Secondly to that, I've
00:03:10.300worked in many roles in government, political offices, campaigns, and elections. And it was
00:03:16.720like, well, what other tools? How to write lit pieces, how to write campaign materials, how to
00:03:22.960doorknock. And so I took all the collective 20 years experience that I have, along with bringing
00:03:29.340some other experts in this field in to create these programs with me on what I wish I knew
00:03:36.600when I went into what I wish I got out of my political science degree and what I wish I knew
00:03:41.360getting into politics. Wow. So what they're teaching in political science, different various
00:03:49.160programs at university, it's not really the hands-on approach that you're describing at
00:03:53.680Macamie College, as I understand. Yeah, it's a lot of the theory. I learned a lot about Plato and
00:03:58.720Aristotle, besides maybe an air table conversation, don't really use that in today's, you know,
00:04:05.020political arena. So it is that applied, you know, the applied is underlined, applied politics and
00:04:10.100public affairs. What do you do when you work for a firm, you know, in a public relations or public
00:04:17.680affairs or government relations type area? If you're working for not-for-profit, how do you
00:04:22.480do advocacy and stakeholder relations, fundraising, campaigns and elections? So whether you're
00:04:28.340thinking about running, you have a little bit of experience in politics, but you really want to
00:04:33.820formalize it you want to work for government political parties or again that not-for-profit
00:04:39.700or private sector this will give you those tools to make you kind of a superstar in my opinion
00:04:45.080sounds like it and as far as i understand this is the only program of its kind in canada
00:04:51.240it is yes so we kind of modeled um some of the the products that the manning center had once upon a
00:04:58.940time created on those campaigns, elections, fundraising, the how-tos, as well as Carleton
00:05:05.200University. Now, Carleton University in the post-secondary is probably the closest, but it is
00:05:10.420a master's program. So it differs from our program because it is a diploma and the credentials are
00:05:18.440high school or high school equivalent. So you could do this right out of there. And we've been
00:05:24.700working closely actually with homeschoolers as well to create the policies for them to get involved.
00:05:28.940oh cool so you're seeing a lot of homeschools and more like ambitious young individuals that
00:05:35.540are just wanting to get going in their political career well we're two classes in um of our pilot
00:05:41.200program we officially launched yeah thank you oh my gosh it's been it's been great we have an
00:05:46.700individual that wants to run for city council in edmonton um and so she's sharing her journey we
00:05:51.940have individuals that are newcomers that are very um want to be patriotic for canada and understand
00:05:57.660the government system we have individuals that just want to learn more or want to work in political
00:06:01.420parties so i still think we're trying to figure out who our student demographic is but we didn't
00:06:06.300want to limit it by saying you have to go have a degree to get this this program or these skills
00:06:11.660because frankly if i was still working in government or politics um this program a two-year
00:06:18.060program would be far more appealing from the tangible skills for to hire someone than someone
00:06:24.300that spent four years uh you know getting all those general studies you know having to do some
00:06:29.420anthropology and geology courses not applying any of it to how the world of politics really works
00:06:36.300sure this seems like a very acute focus program contrasted with first year university or even
00:06:43.260throughout a four-year degree the different survey cases that excuse me survey classes
00:06:48.140that students have to take so this it looks like it prepares them to just jump on the ground running
00:06:53.820whenever they finish their diploma is there an opportunity for internship or co-op yes that's
00:06:59.020a great so we actually um similar to a co-op and an internship we actually have three practicums
00:07:05.340and the purpose of that is when i took co-op at the university of calgary i think i learned more
00:07:10.140of like what i didn't want to do than what i wanted to do and so i had certain like yeah i
00:07:15.020did some research at the ufc and i was like this is not for me no no thank you um but what i did
00:07:20.460learn through that is like you just need a little bit of a taste of it so we have two um one in our
00:07:25.260first year pretty close to the end of your first year and you'll take a practicum for the individuals
00:07:30.300in january this will fall um around kind of right before stampede late june or early july and
00:07:36.700they'll be able to um get involved kind of shadow individuals or within different uh areas within
00:07:43.820this industry and then yeah and so then in their second year they get a little bit more because
00:07:48.700they'll have more skills and we found some really great practicum partners but call out if anyone is
00:07:55.180interested we're looking for a good breadth of experience that our students could have
00:08:00.780and then the last piece is a 360 hour the first two are only 80 so about two weeks 360 which would
00:08:08.220be truly an internship and they will have gone through the whole program where they'll end
00:08:13.900building an advocacy campaign from start to finish we also will teach them how to build
00:08:19.660a local campaign from start to finish and everything in between so they could come out
00:08:25.020and help you organize your stampede event or they can help you organize a fundraising event or they
00:08:31.180can help you with client relations on you know doing an analysis of what a government announcement
00:08:36.460or policy introduction was and what it means for their client that sounds awesome it's great to
00:08:42.380hear that there's opportunities for young people to get so involved right away and get that first
00:08:49.020hand experience doing these different campaigns and political advocacy. So I have to ask, there
00:08:56.220has been some apparent controversy over whether Macamie College is a private or publicly funded
00:09:01.340institution. Can you clear that up for us? I absolutely can because this has been my life.
00:09:06.380In addition to this, I do all of our external relations. So I've been working through this
00:09:10.860process they were a private career college um in march 30th of 2023 so right before the general
00:09:18.860election there was an order in council signed designated them as an independent academic
00:09:23.900institute that falls within the post-secondary or the psla act um as a collective so when i
00:09:31.100explain it traditionally the independent academic institutes for your faith-based schools it's not
00:09:35.900really the case jason kenny kind of changed some of that purview but it's concordia king's
00:09:40.940university saint mary's ambrose uh burman university and so we've been added to that
00:09:47.500where we went through a process we started it goodness gracious it's a it's a whole nother
00:09:52.620conversation of 18 months of work to be able to move from the private vocational training act
00:09:57.820to the post-secondary learning act we've worked with the government seamlessly through that
00:10:02.460with a few hiccups, but we've collectively worked through to get us to a place where in addition to
00:10:08.240that, we actually also transitioned to being a not-for-profit. So most private career colleges
00:10:15.760are for profit, makes sense, but that was a big hurdle and our final hurdle that we've finally
00:10:20.600done. You might see that as an announcement soon, but it is part of our process. We've been
00:10:26.480trying to you know explain that to as many folks as possible um and so what the iais uh receive
00:10:33.900from government supports and we'll see in budget uh the next budget we haven't received any
00:10:39.340government funding yet um especially because we weren't a we were still for profit and i can
00:10:44.740completely understand why the government that could be concerns but we did you know we meet now
00:10:49.040all of the credentials and so but the difference within the independent academic institute is they
00:10:53.780don't qualify for capital grants. Maintenance slash operational is what they qualify for. So
00:11:00.500anything towards students, teachers, instruction, but not building or, you know, having too much
00:11:05.600money and putting a statue on your property to spend taxpayer dollars. But that's also another
00:11:10.540conversation of use of capital grants. So it's been a journey. Trust me. It's like, it's so happy
00:11:18.360that we're finally across that finish line yes i can imagine that it would be so any revenue that
00:11:24.060comes into the college from student tuition that would then go back into the college itself and
00:11:30.080typically that's how they've ran a very lean operation as a private career college um one of
00:11:35.220the reasons i chose macamie as a place was i got a tour and uh we offer free tutoring we offer
00:11:42.320free academic supports like we help them navigate the the lens and the scope of that we have
00:11:48.960tutoring and counseling for also family members because our student demographic sometimes has
00:11:54.340more needs than maybe your more traditional post-secondary institution we felt that the
00:11:59.360wraparound services and helping them navigate food security housing etc was a big barrier for
00:12:06.900many of them and so from when it was created 21 years ago as a college that's been very much the
00:12:13.220foundation of of who we are and what we do right so now we can just do more that must be a good
00:12:21.160feeling and it's good to see this kind of more innovative thoughtful approach to how young
00:12:26.480people can move forward in a career without going through all of these survey courses as we mentioned
00:12:32.200about going through getting the four-year diploma degree and then deciding what to do and oftentimes
00:12:37.880that will more tell us what we don't want to do yeah and the interesting thing i think at
00:12:43.000McAbee College and you'll see that at other colleges across Alberta as well is that you get
00:12:47.640a more mature learner as well so we get people that want to change careers we get people and
00:12:53.560i suspect these are kind of the student demographics people are like i love politics i'm involved with
00:12:58.360the debate club i am part of a like myself part of a campus club or um as a youth rep on a board
00:13:06.360at a very young age or my parents took me to conventions or things like that that if you know
00:13:10.680that's where you want to end up why go through all of the bells and whistles and hoops to get there
00:13:15.880when you have this program that can teach you exactly what you need to know to find that career
00:13:20.280of your dreams or if you're unhappy in your your role um or you want to add to your skill set
00:13:27.640these courses are built for people that also work full-time and so they'll have the abilities our
00:13:34.120next pilot so it's a reduced tuition fee of a 50 but we're still you know working out some of the
00:13:41.240kinks we'll launch that in may and we're actually launching it online and so it'll be two evenings
00:13:46.840a week for about three to a half hours maximum on each of those nights and you'll be able to
00:13:53.720do breakout work collaborative work in the same way you would in the classroom but we'll open it
00:13:58.280up so that it's not a barrier for people that don't live in edmonton and calgary where we have
00:14:02.680our campuses so we're hoping that this will be a more broader appeal to all albertans that maybe
00:14:08.280are doing some grassroot politics right now or or some grassroot advocacy and just want to learn
00:14:13.880those skills and tools that that we're teaching through our program absolutely that sounds really
00:14:19.560good. So let's turn now to the leadership of Premier Daniel Smith. So we'll start off by
00:14:26.360speaking about this upcoming tariff war that, you know, is potentially coming between Canada and the
00:14:33.560U.S. So Premier Smith went against the grain from the beginning of her Canadian counterparts. So0.93
00:14:40.440including premiers, including the federal government, and she went and pursued relationships
00:14:46.040with her American counterparts herself, even visiting Mar-a-Lago to meet with President Trump.
00:14:52.860So the federal government and other premiers, meanwhile, have taken a more aggressive approach,
00:14:59.420threatening tit-for-tat tariffs on the Americans. And Trump himself has indicated that if it weren't
00:15:06.040actually for Smith's influence, the tariffs might already be in place. And so now we're expecting
00:15:11.820them to go into effect February 1st, this coming Saturday. How do you think the premier has done
00:15:17.000in her approach to Trump's administration? And what do you see happening on Saturday?
00:15:22.140Well, I think the fact that the premier, or the prime minister, goodness gracious,
00:15:26.460I'm getting my titles wrong. I don't do that in class, I promise. But the president of the
00:15:30.360United States is commending her efforts and saying that there was national benefit, I think says it
00:15:36.400all but one of the things and when i worked for premier smith um when she just came into office
00:15:42.240is the things i love about her is she'll go against the grain for what she believes to
00:15:46.000be the right thing and i think albertans were very proud regardless of what side of the aisle you
00:15:51.440you um you know identify with was that she was championing championing alberta and alberta first
00:15:59.200as well as canada she was the only one pounding pavement having those conversations you know
00:16:04.880taking the risk to go down first mar-a-lago and then um to the inauguration i think strategically
00:16:12.000one of the best uh parts of that mission was actually that she went a few days before the
00:16:16.880inauguration and that is because there was a lot of social settings there's a lot of you know galas
00:16:22.000and and informal settings where she was able to have to build those relationships rub elbows with
00:16:27.840a lot of the influential people in a non you know boardroom way and really be able to have
00:16:33.360fulsome conversations, off the record conversations about the critical importance of our energy
00:16:41.000sector being exported and really share the story. Because I think that if you listen to President
00:16:46.760Trump talk about the tariff deficit, he's quite inaccurate on the level of it. We're more of
00:16:53.640partners than we are takers of their resources. And so then when it comes to, I mean, we have a
00:17:01.080lame duck uh prime minister he was ragging a puck doing nothing so at very least i think everyone
00:17:07.420could be like well someone stepped up for our national interest and and ultimately oil and gas
00:17:12.300is a national interest because i mean again we could get into equalization payments we could
00:17:17.080talk about how the supports of the energy sector help all of canada um and so you know as he's
00:17:23.940sitting there thinking about his last two weeks as you know an irrelevant prime minister that's
00:17:29.260gonna go down in history is possibly the worst um and he's on his way out watching his leadership
00:17:34.420um race take place he he doesn't have street cred he doesn't have a mandate to go down there
00:17:43.160and so at least he had enough um common sense to remove himself uh but kind of let some other we
00:17:51.140saw premier doug ford step up as well in a more aggressive way didn't get the same positive
00:17:56.580reception that premier smith did and then instead of so i think canada was saying there's a lack of
00:18:02.420a united canada approach and to premier smith's credit she did focus on both canada but alberta's
00:18:08.340interest in the skin in the game so yeah they're all going to complain because they sat on their
00:18:14.420hands doing nothing and then when they do come up with what they called a team canada approach
00:18:20.340it was like oh well you're the only collateral we're putting up so i'm very proud that the
00:18:26.500premier did not sign the communique um saying that we're going to put everything on the table
00:18:32.100because if it truly was a united front we would have put up on the manufacturing industry we
00:18:38.100would have put it up the automotive industry um and we didn't see that happen from all the other
00:18:44.660premiers so all in all i think she's doing a great job i think she is pivoting now to say
00:18:50.980you know we're playing nice but um and so we'll see what happens come saturday versus after the
00:18:58.740fact i believe that the tariffs are still coming in um we heard recently her call for the border
00:19:04.580czar don't love that name but a border czar and i think if you ever look at what uh the president
00:19:12.340trump does is he like argues for things it's not really what he wants i think he really wanted
00:19:17.220canada to smarten up and get strong border control and saying the tariffs are are the
00:19:23.780the the punishment if you don't and so he can always walk it back he can always make exceptions
00:19:30.420um but i think we're actually heading as a nation and as a province in the right direction on how to
00:19:35.780navigate when you have a challenger that is president trump and tariffs are on the table
00:19:41.940but we'll we'll see how the rest of the the premiers and and our lame duck prime minister
00:19:47.700step up um but i think if we're going to put everything on the table we've got to put
00:19:51.460everything on the table and not just uh sell sell alberta short yes and not just these talking
00:19:58.260points too that we see of attempting to strong arm president trump's administration so as you
00:20:04.900mentioned he has been really clear about the weak borders and that this is a real issue and he's
00:20:11.220taking it very seriously uh just yesterday in the u.s senate uh we heard testimony that americans
00:20:18.740were dying because of this canadian uh drug plant that they've discovered here and so we we see this
00:20:26.900going on and on and the americans are really taking it seriously and the federal government
00:20:31.860as you say we have a lame duck prime minister he announced his intent to resign at the beginning
00:20:37.780of january several weeks ago now yet he's still acting as though he is the prime the man in
00:20:45.300charge let's say he just went to ukraine and signed that deal with the ukrainian president
00:20:51.220so oh excuse me poland he just went to poland and and signed that agreement so we really see
00:20:57.700him attempting to act as prime minister though as you mentioned to quote you he's lost his street
00:21:03.420cred he doesn't have he doesn't have the mandate and he doesn't have the support and we really see
00:21:08.240the federal government wandering our safety minister this morning is in washington uh trying
00:21:15.000to strike up an 11th hour bid to get these tariffs quashed but we keep going and pleading like i say
00:21:22.460we what I mean is the feds Ottawa keep going and pleading just like Trump or Trudeau did when he
00:21:28.820went down to Mar-a-Lago back in November when this even first became a possibility and we see
00:21:36.340Melanie Jolie trying to take this team Canada approach too and we don't really have anyone that
00:21:41.960seems to be capable in our federal government they're scrambling with this leadership race
00:21:47.460and refusing to recall parliament, which might actually make a difference.
00:21:52.740So to see Premier Smith rising above all of this
00:21:56.540and just foregoing protocol as dictated by Ottawa,
00:22:03.480she's really going and making a stand, as you say, for Team Alberta and Team Canada.
00:22:08.660Trump put this off, put these tariffs off and has said as much
00:22:13.280because of her efforts to build those relationships.0.98
00:22:16.580And you're absolutely right. It's not just about sitting down at committee and making agreements. It's about that connection. There are people too. So going and telling stories and having a laugh, breaking bread, all of these things are going to lead to much more constructive discussions between our two nations. And we just don't see that from Ottawa.
00:22:40.100So I'm also really thankful that we have a premier here in Alberta that is willing to take that stand and make those strides for a better Canada.
00:22:51.740Yeah, and I just want to jump in there, Jen.
00:22:53.500I think something that you said was important is like there has been effort by the federal government to go down.
00:22:59.560But you have to remember that Trump is first an entrepreneur.
00:23:03.140and if you show up being like, please don't do this, sir, without a business plan or a case or
00:23:09.360proof and facts that of what you are willing to do or what you have done, I think that's the
00:23:15.580difference because Premier Smith has said like, this is the importance of export. This is what
00:23:19.780we get it from. This is what you get. This is the, you know, the business case for why you should
00:23:24.620because come, you know, Monday of like February 3rd or whatever it'll be, prices of gas are going
00:23:31.540to go up for you guys. This is going to change and people, it's not going to have the impact
00:23:35.620immediately that I think you're going to have. It's going to hurt your administration. And so
00:23:39.900building that business case for him, I think will resonate more than if you're just like
00:23:44.080asking for handouts. Like if anyone, the safe, you know, if they came down with a true border plan
00:23:50.740and said, this is what we're going to put in place. And here's the KPIs. Here's the metrics.
00:23:55.720Here's the timelines. Here's the investment. Like you would in any business meeting.
00:24:00.200um i think it could go a long way but they're just amateurs and they just don't understand
00:24:05.580how to navigate such a powerful opponent yeah please don't do it sir isn't really going to
00:24:12.180you're right now we just have a minute or two left but i before i let you go erica i'm interested
00:24:18.820to hear your response to um the alberta government releasing the covid19 response task force review
00:24:25.520report last Friday. So yeah, we can jump right on in. So I did cover this in my, uh, in the,
00:24:33.620the podcast that I'm a co-host of the discourse. So I obviously represent the right side of things
00:24:39.400and everything. Um, and my opponent used to work for Rachel Notley. So I think we can all agree
00:24:43.440that society, um, has a lot of, you know, head, head butting on a lot of issues. I think COVID
00:24:48.880is a prime example and our episode does get a little heated. Um, but we, what we try to do is
00:24:53.400to have the discourse, to have the conversation about why the government does this, what the
00:24:57.560challenges are, what the other side would say in a constructive manner. Now, this one was a little
00:25:02.240spicier than normal about the COVID report, as well as on coal. But I think my biggest takeaway
00:25:09.840is what the intent was. And I'm happy that I was in the Premier's office when she was developing
00:25:17.180this task force. And it was important because she traveled the province and she heard of the
00:25:22.080hardships and the challenges and the alienation that many people faced during COVID-19 and alter
00:25:28.960like you know let's look at everything let's put everything on the table alternative medicines
00:25:32.960the whole point of science is to challenge science and I think that that was the intent
00:25:38.640of this report now I know many people on the report and I have a lot of respect for them
00:25:43.280I do think though that the report didn't really hit the mark of what a you know a government
00:25:50.320commissioned report typically looks like and what i mean by that is there's 45 recommendations
00:25:56.240but a lot of them are vague and hard to implement and a lot of them transparency yes oh i was gonna
00:26:02.800say i said that in the podcast i'm like if i have to hear transfer someone give them a synonym for
00:26:06.560this um but it and i do think transparency was a big piece um that was a that caused difficultness
00:26:13.760I think secrecy, I think, you know, what's in the best interest of all. Again, like, I think lessons learned was a huge piece. Like, yeah, we shouldn't have taken kids out of the classroom. Look at the long term effect it had on their learning, their social skills there, especially those in grade one, two, and three during that time. And I have a stepdaughter in that we noticed a significant challenge and how much the teachers did or didn't do. We had one fabulous teacher with one stepdaughter and not so much.
00:26:40.880So it really, I think, impacted the next generation. Same with what we've seen with sports. And that's not maybe as important to me as the academic side. Also about like some of the mandates and the rules and regulations really alienating populations and punishing business owners.
00:26:59.120I think those are some of the key things that came out in the report that we should make sure that the next time you have that perspective and lens.
00:27:06.080I just feel like the report itself wasn't written in a critical compare and contrast way.
00:27:13.820It felt like it was very wordy in a biased sense.
00:27:17.700And I think that's why we saw the government not come out as typically you see on a lot of reports being like, out of the 45 recommendations, we are looking at implementing X, Y, and Z, which is very typical standard process.
00:27:31.480Now, on our podcast, we talk about, well, why was it put out if it was anti-science or whatever it is?
00:27:38.440Reports through the government, if they are commissioned, I think we can all agree, you have an accountability to taxpayers, whether you think it's a bang up job of a report or not.
00:27:46.240you have to release it and also show respect for the people that put hours and time into it
00:27:51.120um they they do mention that they didn't get to cover their full scope or that there's more work
00:27:55.300to be done in certain areas but all in all i think it was unfortunate maybe how some of it
00:27:59.820was written because i think that you can get the sentiment but the tactics and recommendations are
00:28:05.060very hard to well woven in woven yeah you know as though it was just all you know part of the
00:28:12.800narrative that was presented in this report it didn't seem like there were concrete firm
00:28:18.080recommendations but once the chief recommendation that stood out for me was about okay so if there's
00:28:24.480a potential pandemic coming again we're going to return to the pre-2020 pandemic guidance when
00:28:31.040normal society functioned as normal there was no disruption in the community there weren't these
00:28:37.280lockdowns and masking requirements, like the mandated masking. But most importantly,
00:28:44.880the report states to avoid coerced vaccination of any population. And so I'd like to know
00:28:54.000what you think, how or how you think the Alberta government, Premier Smith's administration
00:28:59.120might actually approach this moving forward if we do encounter something like this again?
00:29:04.640Yes. And so, I mean, first of all, returning to 2020 after we've all lived it is near impossible.
00:29:12.860You can try your best, but that's kind of rainbows and sunshine perspective, I think,
00:29:16.960to be able to revert back to that because we know what we know. When it comes to, you know,
00:29:22.060not forced mandate vaccinations and no mandates, the premier actually did campaign on that. She's0.99
00:29:27.400talked about it. We, as we do with our education, with our religion, all of that, we believe in
00:29:33.040freedom of choice in this province. And so those that love freedom and, you know, their individual
00:29:39.000and human rights, she did address a lot of those things through the Human Rights Act that they0.57
00:29:44.140reviewed. She has said that it's not mandated to get vaccines, but they're also not, which I think
00:29:49.840is fair, limiting it and removing it for those who want it. It's just as important for those that
00:29:55.020want it than those that maybe don't want it. And it's not freedom to have you have the ability to
00:30:00.220tell someone what they can and cannot do. So I think what they've actually put in place is really
00:30:05.440hitting, like you said, Jen, that high overarching umbrella item of this report, which is individual
00:30:12.580choice. Should we revisit it? I think some of those more tactical, like at what threshold would
00:30:18.140we close things down and really realize who are those vulnerable populations and what can we put
00:30:23.460place to protect them while allowing other people to um socialize that are not going to be you know
00:30:30.820big spreaders or something like that because i think that there is a better balance than what
00:30:34.980we all witnessed um but i think that uh it's always going to be difficult it's always going
00:30:41.140to upset people but i i believe and the reason i love that i'm a conservative is it's that freedom
00:30:46.820piece where don't tell me what to do get out of my house in this case they did come into your houses
00:30:51.700And so I think it's just the government has already done a lot of the high level things and the commitment that she made to the people when she was campaigning.
00:31:00.840So I think the report is just, again, to close that chapter, hopefully provide recommendations.
00:31:06.160But again, that 45 probably could have been taken to 10 and been more concise on that deliverable or the execution of those recommendations.
00:31:15.420Yeah, I would definitely agree with that.
00:31:17.100And also, just in addition to that, before we wrap up, is the full disclosure of their potential risk. So that was also explicitly stated in the report. And I thought that was really important, too, so that Albertans can really make their own informed decision, not just going along with these biases that are put out from AHS and the other, you know, acronym organizations.
00:31:39.840Yeah, I have a lot of apprehension towards things that are issued by those organizations, including the Alberta Medical Association.
00:31:51.260The reason I say that is that we know sometimes organizations don't speak for all their members.
00:31:55.680It's also a case where if one of those physicians doesn't agree, they can be fired, right?
00:32:02.820So there's a huge risk for people to stand up or stand against what their association is saying.
00:32:08.860And I know a lot of physicians, including some on the panels that, you know, were at threat of
00:32:13.640loosening their license or were fired or removed. And I think that that's a big thing to challenge
00:32:19.200is that there's not these experts. The only people that are true experts are like me on what is in my
00:32:25.680best interest and experts that specialize in pandemics. It's like me asking my family physician
00:32:32.800to do surgery on you know my appendix they like that doesn't happen right there's or read that
00:32:38.940like there's radiologists and specialists for a reason so I think that sometimes those
00:32:43.620associations come out with a lot of vibrato where they actually don't have the credibility to do so
00:32:49.320wow yeah and so we'll wrap it up there thank you so much for giving insight into all these
00:32:55.020matters and talking to us about the program at Macamie College this is Erica Barutis the
00:33:00.320department head of applied politics and public affairs specialist program at
00:33:04.320Macamie College. Thank you Erica. Thanks so much and I'm gonna tell Nigel you
00:33:09.760know to be on shows more. I love it. Yeah this has been really fun. Okay, take care.
00:33:15.260Okay, bye-bye. Thank you Western Standard viewers and good evening.