Western Standard - The Pipeline： Alberta Kool-Aid Man’s COP28

00:00:00.000 Good day. Today is December 6, 2023. I'm Derek Fildebrandt, publisher of the Western Standard, and you're watching The Pipeline.

00:00:21.940 Thank you so much for being with us today.

00:00:24.000 I'm joined, I would say as usual, but actually I haven't been here very usually late,

00:00:29.560 but joined normally, as usual, by Western-centered opinion editor Nigel Hannaford.

00:00:35.400 Good to see you, Nigel.

00:00:36.820 Normally I'm here.

00:00:37.940 You don't know what happened when you weren't, did you?

00:00:40.180 I really have no idea.

00:00:42.260 I can't even say the show's gone to hell.

00:00:44.680 I don't know.

00:00:45.940 You never watched it?

00:00:47.040 No.

00:00:47.220 Come on, you did.

00:00:47.900 I know you did.

00:00:48.280 Sometimes.

00:00:49.040 Okay, good to be here.

00:00:49.840 Also got our usual as well, Western Standard, Alberta columnist, Corey Morgan.

00:00:57.500 Good evening.

00:00:58.580 We've got some interesting topics today.

00:01:00.740 Alberta Kool-Aid mans its way into COP28, very much unwelcome by the Canadian federal government,

00:01:08.420 and I would say very likely most of the organizers and other delegates at the COP28 confab going on in Dubai.

00:01:17.100 Alberta has just smashed through the wall there to pretty much rain on their parade and say, well, there are responsible oil and gas producers in the world.

00:01:28.400 Alberta is one. You guys should shove it where the oil comes from and let us do our thing.

00:01:38.280 Rachel Notley, Alberta, former Alberta Premier, current NDP leader and opposition leader.

00:01:47.320 It's not official yet, but I think everyone is getting the feeling.

00:01:52.940 She's probably headed towards the exit pretty soon here.

00:01:56.780 We're going to talk about her likely imminent retirement and the potential battle to replace her.

00:02:03.140 And speaking of retirement, the latest liberal speaker to take over in the big chair in the House of Commons.

00:02:11.140 Well, he's on death watch, I think, at this point.

00:02:15.140 The last speaker had to step down for inviting a Waffen SS soldier from the Second World War to be honored in the House of Commons.

00:02:26.140 This speaker, engaging in partisan activity and things that is very much not allowed and is frowned upon for someone in the so-called non-partisan role, faces the very real prospect of being essentially impeached in their position and replaced.

00:02:46.140 So we're going to talk about that.

00:02:47.660 Before we get into it, though, I just got to thank my favorite sponsor, the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.

00:02:53.740 I've supported the CSSA for over a decade because they're Canada's leading firearms rights group.

00:02:59.700 The CSSA brings together shooters of all different types in Canada to defend their rights on Parliament Hill,

00:03:10.200 educating the public and working with the politicians to make our laws and regulations at least as least insane as it possibly can be.

00:03:19.500 Without the CSSA, I shudder to think where our right to own firearms in Canada would be today.

00:03:26.080 So if you're not yet a member of the CSSA, go to CSSA-CILA.org, or just Google them as I do, and become a member today.

00:03:33.840 It's money very well spent.

00:03:39.260 There was exclusive footage of Alberta Premier Daniel Smith entering the COP28 confab in Dubai.

00:03:49.500 I'm going to start, I'm going to start with, I'm starting with you today.

00:03:54.440 I don't want to do it with Nigel first and then go back.

00:03:56.040 I'm starting with you.

00:03:57.840 Not very welcome by, I think, most of the COP28 delegates, activists, and particularly the Canadian federal government, right?

00:04:06.360 No, I mean, these are anti-oil and gas love-ins.

00:04:10.560 We know that even though it's being hosted in Dubai, even though they're being unapologetic about their production,

00:04:16.140 And having other areas that produce oil and gas dare to come in and try to say we're not as bad as everybody else is making us out to be not a welcome presence in that crowd.

00:04:28.980 I mean, that's the Greta Thunberg highlight of the year.

00:04:31.540 That's the Stephen Gill Bowl gathering.

00:04:33.360 It's there.

00:04:34.140 You know, Joe Vipond was in there rambling.

00:04:37.680 He's getting stranger.

00:04:39.360 I didn't think it was possible.

00:04:40.480 Yeah.

00:04:41.240 So for Premier Smith to show up, I mean, I'm mixed on it.

00:04:45.160 I still don't like us spending that much money sending people over to these things.

00:04:49.040 It sounds like she's got a pretty large delegation with her.

00:04:51.380 I mean, I appreciate her messaging, but I don't know if necessarily we needed to send 100 Albertans over there to speak up for us.

00:04:57.660 I mean, you're speaking to a room of people that hate you anyway.

00:05:00.020 I think that that number was a bit misreported.

00:05:03.960 Was it?

00:05:04.180 There is 100 people going on the Alberta delegation, but roughly 75%, maybe even slightly more, are, you know, like they're guys running oil and gas companies or something, and they're going on their own dime.

00:05:18.200 So they're not going on the government dime.

00:05:19.620 It's just part of the delegation.

00:05:20.740 Yeah.

00:05:21.280 So there's Premier Smith and her husband, although I think he's supposed to be paying his own way.

00:05:28.840 But he's listed on the delegation, so he'll have access and whatnot, but he's paying his own way.

00:05:32.720 There's some government staffers are going who are obviously paid for by government taxpayers, but I think something like 75% of that list, they're delegates, but they're not being paid for by taxpayers.

00:05:43.080 It's good to confirm all the same, yeah, so that's good to know.

00:05:45.520 But, I mean, 70,000 of them at this thing, it's just insane.

00:05:49.280 I mean, are they going to break the six figures next year?

00:05:51.260 I wouldn't be surprised.

00:05:54.960 Yeah, so, Nigel, the left has been, for lack of a better term, the left.

00:06:01.660 But there's, you know, there's been a lot of people actually upset in Alberta that, ah, this delegation is too big.

00:06:07.580 Although some of that may have just become, maybe because the number got a bit confused.

00:06:13.020 The government list is 100 people, and there's 100 delegates from Alberta, but the vast majority are not going.

00:06:19.200 But they tend to be people who never had a problem with the federal government's massive delegation, or if Rachel Notley went to something like this.

00:06:28.260 But it's definitely been fuel on the fire of relations between Alberta and the federal government.

00:06:39.260 Do you think that, I don't know, has this perhaps worsened relations between the two?

00:06:46.260 Because Ottawa sees this as their turf, this is international, Alberta is supposed to stay at home and be quiet.

00:06:50.260 Oh, I don't think you could ever make it any worse than what it was a couple of weeks ago before the conference even started.

00:06:56.260 I mean, clearly there is no meaningful communication there are, you know, people take the stage

00:07:02.660 and they say the right thing, but they're clearly on a collision course, and that's,

00:07:07.060 and they've known they were going to be on a collision course for a very long time.

00:07:10.840 That's why the Sovereignty Act was the first thing that the Premier did when she was,

00:07:16.980 you know, when they opened the session.

00:07:18.240 And if there was any appetite for negotiation and compromise, there have been plenty of meetings and occasions, even phone calls, where this could have been initiated and things put on a different track. 0.95

00:07:34.780 Premier Smith has all kinds of political reasons for taking the stance that she's taking, which is not to say that that's the only reason she's doing it.

00:07:42.440 She is a true believer, and I think that she speaks for many in Alberta, when she says

00:07:48.720 we have to keep control of our own energy policy, it's ours anyway.

00:07:54.300 So, but at the same time, there's lots of reasons why it works well for the federal

00:07:59.120 government to have a fight with a scrappy province when there's an election in 22 months

00:08:03.740 time, if they can even hang on that long.

00:08:06.340 So I don't find the rhetoric at all surprising.

00:08:09.100 Well, what I would say, when you were saying, you know, maybe we, do we even need to be

00:08:15.100 there?

00:08:16.100 Yes, I think we do.

00:08:17.100 And we, you know, we the province of Alberta, we have a point of view.

00:08:21.100 At least the government of Alberta has a point of view, which is widely supported.

00:08:25.100 Alberta's view is obviously not represented by the federal government.

00:08:28.100 Exactly.

00:08:29.100 And so if you don't take the podium and defend what it is that you're doing, you're

00:08:35.100 And there's the mercy of these, you know, people who mock you, like the, what is it, the Climate Action Network, presenting them with the dinosaur of the day, fossil of the day.

00:08:46.740 I mean, this must take you back to your own days at the CTF, when you drew attention to something by pulling a stunt.

00:08:57.120 In earlier this year, they had...

00:08:58.160 We used to give golden pig all the things, the golden pigs to wasteful politicians.

00:09:02.580 They weren't even fossilized, were they?

00:09:03.940 And, you know, the Climate Action Network earlier this year did something on Parliament Hill where they all wore oil barrels, you know.

00:09:11.540 Okay, it's all good, clean fun.

00:09:13.440 Well, if Alberta got the Fossil of the Day Award, I mean, that's internationally prestigious.

00:09:18.460 Well, I said on my show, she should have done like Tom Green with the Raspberry Awards and actually been the first one to show up and claim it.

00:09:25.360 You know, Premier Smith said, thank you very much.

00:09:27.600 We do value our fossil fuels and the value they bring to citizens and people.

00:09:31.480 Absolutely.

00:09:32.220 Alberta should be very proud getting that.

00:09:33.980 You know, like for a province to get it.

00:09:36.880 I mean, they give these things to like the Koch brothers or, you know, America.

00:09:42.620 Very big players get the Fossil of the Day award for Alberta to win it.

00:09:47.820 I mean, this is like Alberta won an Olympic gold medal.

00:09:50.720 This is very proud.

00:09:52.200 That's what I mean.

00:09:52.800 This is just posturing these whole affairs in general.

00:09:55.960 But I guess, yes, if you leave it uncountered, they'll just carry on.

00:09:59.400 The thing is, the Climate Action Network and people like them don't actually have a solution to the very practical problem that Smith is trying to address by defending the province's right to deal with its own energy policy.

00:10:11.640 Well, so let's then turn to some developments that took place there.

00:10:15.780 So, the Alberta legislature, Smith's request has already invoked the Sovereignty Act against Ottawa's intrusion into Alberta's right to run its own electrical grid.

00:10:26.920 um and alberta it was announced i think just before cop 28 started alberta announced we met

00:10:34.740 our methane reduction targets three years early that's right i think i'm getting three years

00:10:40.380 early a big announcement and i thought well you know this would be an opportunity for gilbo to

00:10:46.840 you know you can't be bad cop all day every day everybody has to play good cop once in a once in

00:10:53.760 Just to show that you're capable of positivity.

00:10:56.700 I mean, even if it's just a show to put on, it's good diplomacy.

00:11:00.120 It's good politics, right?

00:11:03.980 Curiously, remember our energy reporter, Sean Polzer, noted this in the news.

00:11:08.820 I was like, oh, that is odd.

00:11:10.120 There wasn't so much as a tweet or news release from Mr. Gilbo, the federal environment minister.

00:11:17.160 Like, well, he must be happy about this.

00:11:19.460 This is a good thing, and it's something Alberta did and agreed to.

00:11:23.760 Three years early, like, I thought he'd be, like, a good cop for a day, and then he'd go back to being himself.

00:11:30.660 Nothing.

00:11:31.340 Well, now we know why.

00:11:32.900 He took the opportunity when he was in Dubai to announce Canada was going to slash methane emissions even more.

00:11:40.720 And he did it unilaterally without consulting, I don't know about any province, but certainly not the provinces that produce methane,

00:11:47.800 Alberta, Saskatchewan, the major oil and gas producing jurisdictions,

00:11:52.420 which obviously got Smith up against the wall,

00:11:56.520 and she's talking about invoking the software to act again right now. 1.00

00:11:58.980 Well, it shows the futility of trying to appease these nuts.

00:12:01.880 You might as well start calling them what they are.

00:12:03.600 I mean, Elizabeth May is saying carbon capture is evil now.

00:12:05.980 She's campaigning against it.

00:12:07.820 So carbon capture is not allowed.

00:12:08.980 Nuclear is not allowed.

00:12:10.000 Damning Rivers isn't allowed.

00:12:11.640 We're running out of options, and whenever we do actually comply,

00:12:14.980 comply, as I said, with the emissions reductions, they just move the goalposts. Like, at some point,

00:12:19.520 we've got to draw a line. So that's our line. We've had it with you guys.

00:12:23.120 A point which she actually made in her response to that.

00:12:26.920 Yeah. I don't know what's Alberta to do with this. Like, we meet these methane reduction targets three years early. 1.00

00:12:36.460 That's pretty aggressive. And I was genuinely wondering, well, why nothing from Guilbeau?

00:12:42.520 Well, we know now, he was planning a surprise attack.

00:12:48.020 I don't know what you do.

00:12:49.580 I mean, something like the Sovereignty Act would seem to be the only thing one can do other than submit.

00:12:55.360 Well, there's one other option.

00:12:57.600 What?

00:12:58.980 This one I've been proposing for 20-some years now.

00:13:03.140 Okay, well, we're going to start charging Corey for plugging his book on the show.

00:13:07.100 I was going to plug the book.

00:13:08.720 I was talking about the option.

00:13:10.100 But but I mean, if you do want to poke, you know, if you keep cornering people, then they do start to look to solutions that may seem more radical than than otherwise before.

00:13:20.160 He's he's fomenting more independence attitudes than I've ever been able to in 20 years of effort.

00:13:24.880 And it's not just what they're doing. It's the way they're doing it, because like methane, unlike carbon dioxide, is a bad thing.

00:13:32.720 Carbon dioxide is plant food.

00:13:37.860 You know, it's a perfectly natural substance of the world.

00:13:41.800 I'm sure if the proportion in the atmosphere gets off, it could upset balance like anything, but it's a natural thing.

00:13:48.280 It's normal.

00:13:49.360 Methane is a very extreme greenhouse gas, and it's toxic.

00:13:55.160 Unless it's used in very intentional, controlled circumstances as a chemical, it's not good.

00:14:01.920 So, okay, we want to reduce methane. You know, I'm no tree hog and hippie, but I'm okay with that. You know, as long as it's reasonable and achievable, I'm okay with that. But then Gilbo comes along and says, no, no, no, we're moving the goalposts. And at this point, you know, it's just, it's fanaticism.

00:14:20.720 It is pure. You can just see it in this man's eyes. It is a dangerous fanaticism that cares not for human life, but for these utopian ideological goals that is just dangerous.

00:14:34.500 It's a fanaticism that is informed by the very real prospect that he does not have as long as another two years to do everything that he thinks he has been mandated and ordained by a higher power to do.

00:14:50.500 They could be out of office quite soon, at the max, though, two years.

00:14:54.940 So they are going for broke.

00:14:56.820 And you asked just now, what does Alberta do? 1.00

00:15:00.320 A, wait them out. 0.50

00:15:01.780 B, because I don't think they're going to still be there in two years' time, and B,

00:15:06.700 in the meantime, you respectfully and politely but very firmly apply the law, and you resist

00:15:13.600 legally in any way you can against the intrusions of a federal government that clearly doesn't

00:15:19.680 like you, doesn't want to see you do your job and keep the lights on and the power on

00:15:25.700 when it's cold or hot.

00:15:27.700 Indeed.

00:15:28.700 They are doing that and good for them.

00:15:32.780 All right.

00:15:33.200 Well, Rachel Notley, former Alberta Premier and current NDP opposition leader.

00:15:43.160 You never know, but maybe she'll give it a fourth kick in the can, 0.85

00:15:47.360 but appears likely to announce a retirement fairly soon.

00:15:52.120 she has now she's run for premier in 2015 which he won 2019 which lost and now

00:15:59.880 2023 which she lost so she's had three elections which is a lot even if you win

00:16:06.820 them all but when you've lost two out of the back three there I mean it's pretty

00:16:12.460 it's very rare for a politician ever at least as a head of government to run

00:16:17.440 again for a second try after they've lost especially once they've already been in

00:16:23.620 government been the premier been the Prime Minister it's very rare in

00:16:25.900 Canadian history it is almost unheard of in modern Canadian political history

00:16:30.820 this kind of thing happened I think the last time it happened federally up a

00:16:34.120 Pierre Trudeau did it and before him Mackenzie King and then for him Sir

00:16:41.300 John MacDonald so three prime ministers Canadian history and going back pretty

00:16:46.180 far. The most recent was here, Trudeau in 1980. So it's pretty rare. So I think it's highly unlikely

00:16:54.420 that not Lee would make a fourth kick in the can after losing two already and go for a third

00:17:00.300 potential loss. Her reputation, though, despite losing two elections in a row, is still very

00:17:07.420 strong with her party. She's beloved. But I think, you know, talking with new Democrats when I'm in

00:17:12.960 Edmonton. The belief is it's time to go. They love her, so they're not going to push her out

00:17:19.200 violently. It's not going to be a Tom Mulcair kind of coup or a Jason Kenney coup, but it's time to

00:17:27.300 go. Nigel, do you think it's likely Notley's going to retire and that we're going to see it soon?

00:17:35.500 Yes, I do, for all the reasons that you just gave.

00:17:40.120 The problem for the party is that she is still really about the best they've got.

00:17:46.140 I was just looking through the list of sitting MLAs,

00:17:51.000 which is the first place you would look for a new leader.

00:17:54.460 I see a couple.

00:17:55.780 I mean, there's David Egan.

00:17:58.020 He actually ran for the leadership before lost to her.

00:18:01.220 he's actually the sort of man you could sit down and have a drink with and not come away feeling

00:18:07.920 like you'd been in a place you shouldn't. Joe Cece, we know him very well down here in Calgary.

00:18:15.180 You know, David Agin actually tried to help me not get beaten up by a union mob once.

00:18:19.820 Well, I rest my case. But I didn't take his advice. I went in and deliberately incited them

00:18:24.300 and they did attack me. But he warned me not to do it. So I would have to say then, Derek,

00:18:29.120 you owe him a drink and what a good job he's the sort of guy you should be able to sit down and

00:18:33.680 have a drink the mob did attack me but i did precisely the opposite of what he told me to do

00:18:37.440 largely because he told me not to incite them so look that having having named those two

00:18:43.280 individuals you very quickly run out of patience with the rest for a whole variety of reasons

00:18:49.040 and i'm i'm sort of thinking to myself the ndp there is a move to rebrand the party because it's

00:18:55.360 certainly the common perception that they're joined at the hip with the federal party and nobody

00:19:00.720 likes the federal party that's keeping the liberals in power so i'm sure that hurt them badly

00:19:07.200 in the last election so if they're going to but i you know it's not a new name that the ndp

00:19:14.720 needs it's uh it's it's just a new leader and i would say if i heaven forbid that i would ever

00:19:24.720 tell the NDP anything that might be helpful in winning the next election. But I would have to

00:19:32.100 say that what they need is somebody who can be equally at home dealing with... Calgary is a

00:19:44.720 business community, right? So you need somebody who, by their dress and appearance and rhetoric

00:19:51.380 and the language they use doesn't just make people listen politely

00:19:55.400 and then wish them well as they leave.

00:19:58.220 Somebody you can actually engage with.

00:20:00.540 And they've still got to be able to deal with the union mob up in Edmonton.

00:20:04.340 So you need that, and you need somebody who can be outward-looking, unpleasant, 0.64

00:20:11.620 and actually grow the party.

00:20:14.980 And I'm not sure that that person is presently serving in the legislature.

00:20:19.780 So they're going to have to look outside, I would say.

00:20:23.780 So we'll turn to successor.

00:20:26.780 You're really anticipating me.

00:20:27.780 You know I was going to get there.

00:20:28.780 You're anticipating the questions too much.

00:20:31.780 Before we get there, maybe we'll actually back up to a question I should have asked.

00:20:36.780 Before I asked you your question, Nigel, is should she retire?

00:20:40.780 Because I think a lot of what you said, Nigel, raises the question.

00:20:44.780 Do I think not Rachel Notley can win and be premier again? Highly doubtful. I mean, the UCP could melt and she wins by default. It damn near happened with Jason Kenney. I think if he had not stepped down as leader and successfully ousted, I think it's almost certain she would have been premier here today.

00:21:04.160 The right would have split again. And she's likable. She's a likable person. I know some people like to be like, I hate her, and they're going to call her all sorts of nasty words.

00:21:16.260 Well, yeah, sure, as a political leader, but as a person, she's warm, and she's personable. She's the happy face on socialism.

00:21:24.240 And she connects with people, and she's a good leader for what she's trying to achieve.

00:21:32.020 She keeps her party united, marching in the same direction.

00:21:36.720 But, yeah, barring a meltdown on the UCP, I don't think she can win.

00:21:39.620 But I guess that raises the question, can any NDP leader win?

00:21:43.280 I mean, Alberta is a two-party province now, but it is still Alberta.

00:21:47.880 And it's difficult to see how, you know, without a perfect storm like happened in 2015,

00:21:53.660 divide a conservative vote, all sorts of stuff, should she leave?

00:21:57.100 Is she the best they can do?

00:21:58.980 And should the NDP settle for being a very strong and robust opposition?

00:22:03.020 Well, I think she's the best we can see for now and the best they can see for now.

00:22:07.140 There might be something in the wings we haven't thought of or a rising star somewhere.

00:22:10.300 But I guess the question is, how tired is she?

00:22:12.700 You know, it's a tough job.

00:22:14.240 She's been there a long time.

00:22:15.480 She, you know, it's wear and tear. And I think part of what they were perhaps hoping for a lot

00:22:22.000 of the campaign was, of course, trying to create fear of Premier Smith. Daniel Smith's going to

00:22:26.100 rend Albert into shreds. She's, you know, crazy. She's going to come in and tear all our institutions 1.00

00:22:31.940 apart. And while she's certainly stirring up the establishment, Premier Smith hasn't gone beyond

00:22:36.740 the pale. She hasn't torn things to their roots or anything like that. So I think the bureaucrats

00:22:42.540 that AHS might disagree. They don't claim that, but the electorate in general, I don't think

00:22:46.180 they're seeing, you know, the fearsome lunatic that they tried to portray Smith as in the last

00:22:50.800 election. So if Premier Smith even just holds the course for three years, it's very, very unlikely

00:22:57.380 that the NDP would disrupt her in a further election. As you said, it's a two-party system,

00:23:03.400 but it is Alberta still. And I think that she would probably still even do better the next time 1.00

00:23:07.880 So what Snotley has to be asking herself is, do I want another four years as the leader of the opposition? Perhaps she does, but that's a tough and tiring job.

00:23:16.920 It's not a four-year commitment. It's a minimum eight years.

00:23:19.440 Another four years, yeah, on top of it.

00:23:21.560 If she wants to go, that's an eight-year commitment. And I don't know how old she is, and I don't know how old she is, but she's not a spring chicken anymore.

00:23:29.420 I believe she's about 60-61. So not ancient by political measure, but she's been in office for a long time, putting in a lot of service.

00:23:36.700 Yeah, and, you know, eventually you've got to be starting to think,

00:23:39.880 maybe I just don't quite need this anymore.

00:23:41.660 No, I think she's been there since 2001.

00:23:43.980 Was it 2001?

00:23:45.000 She was there when the NDP was a two-member caucus, her and Brian Mason.

00:23:49.180 Oh, yeah, no, no, 2004.

00:23:50.680 Okay, that's still 19 years.

00:23:52.600 That's a pretty long stretch of time in the legislature.

00:23:58.740 So, yeah, I could just, it's up to her, you know,

00:24:02.320 that really is where it's sitting right now.

00:24:03.720 As you said, the NDP aren't at a point of wanting terror out or anything.

00:24:06.700 Some might be saying perhaps it's time, but it's fully up to Rachel Notley to decide if she's had enough yet or not.

00:24:14.100 Well, let's talk about her potential successor here.

00:24:19.180 So, you know, I think one of the problems, every time you have an internal leadership struggle,

00:24:25.780 you're trying to overthrow a leader, those defending the incumbent leader always say,

00:24:31.360 Ah, who could possibly take over?

00:24:34.400 They said that about Jason Kenney.

00:24:36.500 They said that about Allison Redford.

00:24:39.380 They said that about Ed Stelbeck.

00:24:41.300 They said that about Jean Cretchen.

00:24:42.780 They did say about Jean Cretchen because it was clear that that was a leader-driven coup.

00:24:46.680 So you have Paul Martin.

00:24:47.680 But any time there's been a leadership struggle, they said about Patrick Brown in Ontario.

00:24:54.240 They said it about Andrew Scheer.

00:24:55.620 They said it about Aaron O'Toole.

00:24:57.320 They said it about Stephen Harper.

00:24:58.880 Somebody will surface.

00:24:59.760 You can open up.

00:25:00.840 These are good jobs. They pay decent money, they come with prestige, they're paying the ass, but they're fun, you get to make a difference, theoretically.

00:25:12.840 There's always no shortage of ambitious politicians to take the job, in most cases. 0.58

00:25:18.340 We did have a problem finding a Wild Rose leader after the giant floor crossing in 2014. 0.93

00:25:23.280 That's because it was a shitty job to take.

00:25:24.600 Well, yeah, you're taking a sort of like post Mulroney to a poison chalice, I think was the term with the book, you know.

00:25:31.160 Yeah, so, but the vast majority of cases, especially, so taking over as leader of the opposition of a very large party, you know, that's been in government, they're going to have no problem.

00:25:40.460 So I don't like that argument because it's said by people in every time you're getting a new leader.

00:25:46.400 So no good.

00:25:47.660 So I guess we'll talk about the main options on offer.

00:25:52.760 So Sarah Hoffman, still a key player in the NDP.

00:25:56.800 She was the health minister under Notley and the deputy premier.

00:26:01.680 YDB standards, fairly competent.

00:26:05.280 She might play a new Democrat on TV, but actually a very lovely person in person.

00:26:11.180 You know, I don't think a lot of people talk about her this way on the right side,

00:26:16.220 but Shannon Phillips, I think, actually would be a good choice for the NDP to consider.

00:26:22.200 Pretty well spoken. When she can keep, she gets a little yelly sometimes because she's very passionate, but passion's good. 0.64

00:26:31.320 She's smart, and she comes from kind of the green left part of that party, and, you know, the NDP is very tribal.

00:26:39.120 You know, conservatives, if there's a conservative leadership, Danielle Smith can come in.

00:26:43.560 She wasn't a party activist there. She was just radio, and she can Kool-Aid man her way in. 1.00

00:26:48.440 Or, you know, Trump.

00:26:51.380 Frank, he was a Democrat for a long time, but he just bullied his way.

00:26:56.160 And conservatives were more open to the outsider.

00:26:58.580 But New Democrats in particular, they like someone who's been an active party member,

00:27:03.080 who's been knocking on doors and putting in signs and paid their dues, so to speak.

00:27:07.860 The liberals are that way, too, in many ways.

00:27:10.980 So I think they're going to be very resistant to an outside leader.

00:27:15.640 Shannon Phillips, I think, has got the cred of the left.

00:27:18.440 And, you know, has done a bit to a position herself as a bit more of a mainstream alternative.

00:27:24.340 But maybe I'll start with you, Nigel, on who do you think would be kind of the top candidates to replace Notley,

00:27:31.340 both in terms of who would be a competitive candidate to win it,

00:27:34.900 but also who the new Democrats might want to look to as someone who could potentially win an election.

00:27:39.520 Well, all of what you said about their preference for somebody who's come through the approved

00:27:49.120 methods of becoming a leader, going to all the committee meetings, knocking on the doors,

00:27:53.600 all that. When it comes right down to it, it is true of the NDP, as it is true of any party,

00:28:01.120 that in the end they will take the person who will help them win. And as I said earlier,

00:28:06.800 that may not be somebody who is presently in in the legislature. We had some fun I think in the

00:28:16.000 newsroom there speculating on how it would go if the unions were allowed to choose the next leader

00:28:22.800 and perhaps Gil McGowan would be prepared to take a look at the job. He's actually rumored to be at

00:28:31.040 at the very least, very interested in the job.

00:28:32.940 I, for one, love it.

00:28:35.980 I love it.

00:28:37.200 It is so good.

00:28:38.220 You see, we do have good sources, Derek.

00:28:40.860 We both heard the same malicious rumor.

00:28:44.060 You know, I come back to the person of David Egan

00:28:47.320 only because he is a temperate individual

00:28:51.220 who can make that trip back and forwards

00:28:55.680 between Calgary and Edmonton,

00:28:57.340 talking to the different audiences.

00:28:59.020 I am not saying that I have any strong points of agreement with him.

00:29:05.680 Certainly in his time as education minister,

00:29:09.380 I was arguing strongly against some of the things that he was doing.

00:29:13.440 But I'm just wondering that you asked the kind of person who could put them over the line.

00:29:18.020 He perhaps could, if Premier Smith really screwed up.

00:29:23.280 Perhaps.

00:29:24.060 That being said, I get the impression from him that his heart's not in it.

00:29:27.660 By the way, I wasn't serious about Gil McGowan.

00:29:30.360 No.

00:29:31.520 But David Agan, I don't know.

00:29:33.980 He's actually a very nice guy.

00:29:35.420 But I don't think he's got the fire in the belly for it anymore.

00:29:41.100 I mean, he's been there a long time.

00:29:42.900 He was one of the four members of the NDP caucus before they won in 2014.

00:29:47.860 Sorry, 2015.

00:29:49.140 He's been there quite a while now.

00:29:51.200 Not least kind of got him on the back benches.

00:29:54.160 I don't think he's got the fire in the belly for it.

00:29:56.660 But who would be your top candidates to replace?

00:29:59.780 I think probably, as you said, maybe Shannon Phillips.

00:30:03.460 Rumor is she is not as well.

00:30:06.320 Again, these are just.

00:30:07.560 I mean, I'm throwing it.

00:30:08.460 You know, we could have Max Fawcett or Janice Irwin jumping into the mix there as well.

00:30:12.940 Max needs a job. 1.00

00:30:15.000 Janice Irwin. 1.00

00:30:17.840 That's top shelf crazy.

00:30:19.320 But most of what we see with people coming in are I'm seeing more leaders of the opposition. 0.78

00:30:23.400 I'm not seeing somebody who at least did this and things change when a race comes in.

00:30:26.940 Sometimes a person is in the wings.

00:30:28.680 You never realized they had that fire going.

00:30:31.220 But I'm just seeing more people who will serve perhaps diligently as a leader of a socialist leaning party, but won't take them over that line of becoming premier.

00:30:41.640 I think they will have to either learn to reach outside of their own circles as they're disinclined to do, or there's really got to be a rising star hiding in there that I just can't see right now.

00:30:52.500 See, the thing is, I'm going to make the assumption that Rainier Smith aces this and in four years' time is looking very strong.

00:31:00.840 You really don't want anybody coming off the back benches who is going to scare people.

00:31:06.360 So who could they run that wouldn't just make people instinctively back away from the TV screen or the computer screen?

00:31:13.560 you know for me if I'm the NDP my ideal candidate is someone from Calgary

00:31:19.760 someone who's got some business cred and you know can't be painted with a brush

00:31:28.800 of far-left activism and something like that you know you know the NDP got real

00:31:34.560 close with Todd Hirsch from he was chief economist for Alberta Treasury branch I

00:31:41.040 I mean, I don't share his politics, but unlike most new Democrats, he at least has a theoretical understanding of economics, understands that there's supply and demand and some very basic things.

00:31:52.480 He's not crazy.

00:31:53.540 He shares views that are left of center, but he's not crazy.

00:31:57.060 Someone like that, comfortable in a Calgary crowd, someone who doesn't make anyone who runs a business or manage people instinctively start packing their bags as soon as they see a new Democrat come by, that would be good.

00:32:10.760 But I'm not sure New Democrats would go for it. From what I said before, does this person have long term credit in the party?

00:32:19.160 The NDP do not like, they see those people as parachute candidates.

00:32:23.100 They want someone who started as a private before they become a general.

00:32:26.780 It's similar to Nenshi. You know, he could probably pull it off as a progressive, but could be pragmatic enough.

00:32:33.400 But the old union base would not like him because he hasn't paid his dues.

00:32:37.720 They would see him as an opportunist coming in.

00:32:39.800 So that's what the NDP kind of has to ask itself. Do we want to remain in opposition or do we start looking for somebody a little more pragmatic to take us over the line? And I suspect they're going to stick true. They're very union, very tied to their base right now. Notley was an exception, but she also was holding the reins during a particular lining of the stars of a split conservative vote, a very volatile and sour Alberta electorate.

00:33:03.440 As I said, yes, perhaps Premier Smith would pull off something catastrophic in the next three and a half years, but you can't count on that.

00:33:10.760 Well, do remember that no Premier since the last, no Conservative Premier in Alberta has even finished a term since Klein in 2004.

00:33:25.360 So it is now 19 years. It'll be more than 20 years by the time the next election comes.

00:33:31.380 At this moment, looking at Smith and the government, I say, oh, yeah, she's going to finish four years and have a great chance at re-election.

00:33:39.220 But remember, at this point, we all said the same thing about Ed Stalmak.

00:33:43.420 We all said the same thing about Alison Redford.

00:33:45.280 We all said the same thing about Jason Kenney.

00:33:49.240 Okay.

00:33:50.060 One year in, you knew they were done?

00:33:52.180 You knew they were done after a year into their term?

00:33:53.880 I had my doubts about them before they were even nominated.

00:33:57.040 Oh, me too, but I thought they'd finished the term.

00:34:00.660 I thought they were both bad, Redford in particular, Kenny in particular, but I thought they'd finish a term.

00:34:07.820 Never dawned on me one year in, but halfway through, I'd be like, I don't know, I don't think so.

00:34:14.500 But, you know, it's rare to be on the rocks the first year into your first term.

00:34:19.800 So, you know, Smith is halfway through a first year, so she's clear for now.

00:34:25.860 What I'm saying is there's clear historical precedence that the conservatives will blow themselves up.

00:34:32.240 It's not impossible, that's for sure. 0.88

00:34:33.960 She's still leading a hornet's nest. 1.00

00:34:37.020 Alberta conservatives are the hardest people to rule on the planet. 0.98

00:34:41.460 Worse than Somalia.

00:34:43.780 Okay. 1.00

00:34:45.160 All right.

00:34:46.260 Well, you know, discussing this in the newsroom today,

00:34:50.460 we considered setting up a cabbage with a 24-hour live camera

00:34:54.700 asking, can this cabbage last longer than the latest liberal speaker?

00:35:00.580 So I don't even know this guy's name.

00:35:02.660 He's the new speaker.

00:35:03.760 Greg Fergus.

00:35:04.600 Greg Fergus, yeah.

00:35:06.920 He's the new speaker in the House of Commons, liberal speaker,

00:35:11.240 because the last guy lost his job when he invited a soldier from the Vafan SS

00:35:17.380 who fought in the Ukrainian Legion to stand and be honored and recognized in the House of Commons.

00:35:24.700 uh I mean he paid a significant price I imagine the price was a lot less than if

00:35:30.040 he had been a conservative they probably would said well the conservative was

00:35:33.520 practically fighting for the SS themselves but nonetheless he took an

00:35:38.800 inevitable fall for what happened there also was a necessity of protecting

00:35:43.900 Trudeau someone had to take the fall so this guy comes in he's been here just a

00:35:48.280 couple of months and now in really really hot water now most MPs but every

00:35:56.340 MP in the House of Commons except for one is allowed to and is expected to

00:36:02.140 engage in partisan activity party conventions partisan speeches partisan

00:36:07.800 fundraising all of these things but there is one man or woman in the House

00:36:12.580 of Commons who is not supposed to be doing this thing by convention that is the speaker because

00:36:20.260 their role is no matter how they're elected is to be the impartial nonpartisan enforcer of the

00:36:26.740 rules to make sure that Parliament functions fairly and evenly regardless of party theoretically at

00:36:34.960 least. But this Fergus guy gave a speech for a Liberal Party convention or whatnot. It was very

00:36:45.200 partisan. Now that... Well, it was a video tribute honoring the outgoing interim Ontario Liberal.

00:36:53.680 Ah, yes. Yes, that was it. Okay. So there he was in his robes. And he was wearing the regalia of the

00:36:58.960 Yes, it would have been very taboo if he had done it, period.

00:37:04.260 But then he did it in his speaker's robes and regalia.

00:37:09.620 And I don't know.

00:37:10.880 It's like the difference between King Charles giving a political speech on global warming

00:37:16.220 and then King Charles giving, so bad enough,

00:37:20.060 and then King Charles giving a political speech on global warming,

00:37:23.420 wearing his crown and holding the scepter, sitting on the throne of England,

00:37:26.760 and wearing that weird tiger thingy on him.

00:37:31.120 I think it just accentuates how inappropriate it is

00:37:34.080 for someone who's in a strictly nonpartisan office

00:37:37.580 to be doing this.

00:37:38.420 So I didn't mean to be bashing the king here, but.

00:37:41.520 He did go and make the speech. 1.00

00:37:43.800 He made a total ass. 1.00

00:37:47.640 Sitting there looking at the screen. 1.00

00:37:49.360 I gave your king one toast, never again.

00:37:53.440 I gave him his one chance, he screwed it up.

00:37:55.860 Anyway, back to speaker here.

00:37:58.720 This speaker totally bundled it.

00:38:00.840 It would have been very inappropriate for him to do it, period.

00:38:03.460 But he did it in his speaker's robes and regalia, totally out of line, created a big kerfuffle with the opposition.

00:38:14.140 The opposition, because he's voted as a liberal, they now say, well, you've broken even the appearance of your nonpartisanship.

00:38:21.260 You got to go.

00:38:21.820 The NDP are quietly trying to decide what to do. They've made some public statements about kicking it out to a committee and stuff. But the NDP are, the Bloc and the Conservatives are already ready to vote non-confidence in them and replace them. The NDP are kind of waiting.

00:38:39.160 And remember, it's a minority government, so the opposition parties could remove him.

00:38:43.700 And word I'm getting from Ottawa is the Liberals are backing their guy, but not to the wall.

00:38:49.660 They're not going to die on this hill.

00:38:51.300 The Liberals know he screwed up badly.

00:38:54.580 And the Liberals aren't on very solid grounds, but there are speakers right now.

00:38:57.120 The last guy resigned for something to do with World War II.

00:39:00.720 So, Nigel, the guy screwed up. 0.70

00:39:07.100 I think he knows he screwed up.

00:39:08.240 He apologized, and he's a new speaker, to be fair.

00:39:13.540 Does this guy deserve another chance, or?

00:39:15.540 Oh, and then he took off to Washington

00:39:17.000 as the whole thing blew up on a junket.

00:39:18.400 I was actually trying to mention that.

00:39:19.860 That compounded it pretty badly.

00:39:21.200 Well, it's not even that it compounded.

00:39:23.520 I think that when he knowingly went to go and do that,

00:39:28.020 that he thought, well, I'm going to be done anyway.

00:39:30.420 I want to do this for whatever reason.

00:39:32.000 I want to do it as an old friend,

00:39:33.500 so I'm going to go down there and talk about my days

00:39:36.420 as a young liberal, and when I get back,

00:39:38.140 I may have a job and I may not, we'll see, but, you know, it's, I think he'd already given up.

00:39:45.120 So my strong expectation is that we will see Mr. Fergus resign or get booted out here quite shortly.

00:39:52.880 You know, ideally, the Speaker would not say or do anything to call attention to themselves.

00:40:01.260 It's just not their job.

00:40:03.800 It's not their office.

00:40:04.940 and they bring Parliament to disrepute when they do these kinds of things.

00:40:11.820 So any speaker, the next speaker, needs to know when to leave the ceremonial robes in the closet

00:40:20.000 and maybe decline, maybe just say no to some of the attractive offers that will undoubtedly come his way.

00:40:31.660 And if for no other reason than this, if parliamentary procedure and tradition is not enough,

00:40:38.800 the speaker in Canada has a most excellent official residence to live in.

00:40:45.820 And you know what the best part of that place is.

00:40:47.800 And a wine cellar to go with it.

00:40:50.020 No, that's not it. It's the Scotch Library.

00:40:52.660 They have a Scotch Library.

00:40:55.460 There's only one reason I want to be speaker.

00:40:57.560 That must have been a very awkward conversation when the last speaker departed, having to explain to the family, well, we're going to have to move out of this and back into the two-bedroom apartment, you know, whatever they have.

00:41:10.940 Look, it's a shame.

00:41:13.040 People do silly things, and so they have to pay the consequences.

00:41:16.100 I don't think he meant any harm, but you don't do that sort of thing.

00:41:18.840 You know, if I was the speaker, and I think I'm going to get the axe, I go to that Scotch library and log myself in there until they send a sergeant of arms to peel me out. 0.50

00:41:31.340 I mean, get your money's worth. 0.90

00:41:35.020 It's a good gig, you know, it's 270 a year, I believe, and you get your accommodations, a lot of prestige. 0.97

00:41:40.420 I mean, you also have to wrangle those fools in Parliament at times, it's going to be frustrating. 0.96

00:41:44.340 But he should know better. I mean, that's the cardinal rule of that job. And we know they still might hold partisan things. They were all elected initially. But you just stuff that away and you try. I mean, just to give a plug for somebody local, Nathan Cooper. I mean, talk about an exception. He loves that job. He sticks to the rules. 0.98

00:42:00.800 It is creepy how much he loves that job.

00:42:02.660 And he promotes the office of the speaker fantastically.

00:42:05.600 Puts out great videos.

00:42:06.580 He explains what the office is and what the legislature is.

00:42:09.700 He's a rare gem to find to take that role on.

00:42:13.960 But, I mean, there's Christmas for this to cool down.

00:42:15.760 They might let it cool down, and we'll see.

00:42:17.400 The public loses interest in things.

00:42:19.060 You know, Cooper is such a fanatical speaker that, so we were MLAs, the Wild Rose together.

00:42:25.120 And, you know, we'd be all navel-gazing.

00:42:26.740 You know, when we defeat the NDP, the different jobs we want, you know, I was finance critics.

00:42:33.020 I was like, finance.

00:42:34.960 Nixon was like, well, he was house leader.

00:42:37.660 He was like, I want to be house leader in the government.

00:42:39.660 And, you know, come to, I think we're sitting around beers and go to Cooper.

00:42:43.500 He was not drinking a beer because he's Cooper.

00:42:45.860 And he's just like, oh, I want to be the speaker.

00:42:48.740 And we're like, what do you mean you want me to be the speaker?

00:42:51.600 Like, you be speaker if you don't get ministered.

00:42:54.440 Like, then it's the next best job, right?

00:42:56.080 you want ministry. If you don't get a ministry, you want to be speaker. He's like, the hell with

00:42:59.780 being a minister. I want to wear the hell out of those robes and do Robert's Rules of Order every

00:43:04.720 day. It is absolutely nuts. And so you get a guy like that who's so very serious about the job and

00:43:13.500 understands its role to the point where it's very rare. It's rare. We could use another one of him

00:43:18.940 in Ottawa. It would do everybody a favor, but where do you find another? This Fergus guy, I don't know

00:43:22.840 how long he's been an MP or weeks. Oh, as an MP. Yeah, he's been a quiet back. But you know,

00:43:28.060 I remember, you know, like, after the 2015 election, almost the entire legislature turned

00:43:33.340 over the PCs wiped out. The Wild Rose had wiped itself out before crossing. So the Wild Rose came

00:43:38.560 in one a bunch of seats, but we were almost all new. Because we replaced floor crossers for the 1.00

00:43:43.720 most part. And there was a small rump of PCs. But the the MVP had to have a speaker, they had only 1.00

00:43:49.900 had four MLAs before that, and they all won the cabinet. So they had to pick a brand new MLA,

00:43:56.340 Bob Warner, and the guy knew nothing. And it was, I was tough on him, because I knew more about it

00:44:05.240 from watching the question period on TV once in a while. It's if you don't know the job,

00:44:10.720 you get into a lot of trouble real quick, because it's, you know, it's like, you're the traffic cop,

00:44:16.760 Right. But if you've never driven a car before, you don't know, like, you better know the traffic act.

00:44:21.440 Yeah, it's going to go bad. And so I don't know how experienced this guy is.

00:44:25.840 If I was the opposition, I'd be I'd be going for blood.

00:44:30.220 Part of me thinks. Give him a chance, give him one more chance, but put him on like pass a vote of censure or something like spank him, spank him hard. 0.98

00:44:40.480 But maybe give the guy another chance. I mean, people screw up and I don't see any malice in it.

00:44:46.640 It was just, it was bad.

00:44:48.320 Well, I think that's, I think you're being excessively generous.

00:44:52.300 Look, Andrew Scheer, who was the speaker.

00:44:53.800 I'm always accused of that.

00:44:54.660 Yeah, I know.

00:44:55.740 It's the talk of the office.

00:44:58.180 Andrew Scheer was the speaker himself.

00:45:00.480 He put it, he put it this way.

00:45:02.160 It got reported quite widely.

00:45:03.880 That it's like the, he compared the situation to the NHL.

00:45:09.220 And if you had a referee appearing in the locker room, one of the teams that was about to take the ice,

00:45:15.500 giving them a pet tool, and then going out and refereeing the game,

00:45:19.580 the guy wouldn't last long.

00:45:21.040 Everybody would understand that's just not what you do.

00:45:23.780 I'm not sure that's a fair equivalent, though, because they're MPs elected with a party.

00:45:28.540 They came from one of the locker rooms first, and then they changed their jerseys.

00:45:33.000 So, you know, it's appearance.

00:45:34.680 It's not like, I'm not sure if they still do this in Britain, but for a long time in Britain,

00:45:37.300 I'm not sure if it's done anymore.

00:45:39.240 Once someone was elected as Speaker, they sat as an independent, technically,

00:45:43.340 And the major parties, at least the conservatives, the liberals and labor, they would agree not even to run candidates against that person.

00:45:49.700 They would just be the speaker. And so they would have no real partisan attachment.

00:45:54.620 And that, I think, had a lot more power. But these guys are elected with parties.

00:45:59.800 They're elected by their parties in split partisan votes 99 percent of the time.

00:46:04.480 So he already came from the locker room and he's new.

00:46:08.380 But he is out of the locker room.

00:46:10.520 This is a degree of knowing your role.

00:46:12.280 Yeah, it's a mess. Guy deserves some punishment. I'm just not sure it's a gallows offense yet,

00:46:20.180 but we'll see. Oh, my God. I think we have a Christmas tree that just popped in the newsroom.

00:46:25.140 I donated my own artificial tree to this office last year. I don't know how we got a real tree

00:46:31.960 now. That wasn't in the budget. Probably cut it out from one of the buildings.

00:46:35.060 That's because your intern reporter, Jen Hodson, went out into the countryside of

00:46:39.500 north of alberta and broke back that tree well it wasn't in the budget and

00:46:44.660 she's not putting in a chip so you're fine there we go all right well

00:46:49.540 gentlemen thank you very much what fun and thank you all for joining us today

00:46:54.620 on the pipeline if you're not yet a member of the western standard make sure

00:46:58.100 you join now go to westernstandard.news you'll get full access to all western

00:47:02.500 standard content for ten dollars a month or a hundred dollars a year and you'll

00:47:06.140 be supporting proudly bailout free independent media thank you very much for joining us today

00:47:10.980 and god bless canadian shooting sports association without the cssa our gun rights would have been

00:47:16.880 taken long long ago these guys are on the front lines helping to draft smart and intelligent

00:47:23.340 firearms regulations and legislation in canada and more importantly educating the public about

00:47:29.400 how we keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people who become a member it's absolutely worth

00:47:34.280 every penny you can become a western center member for just ten dollars a month or 99

Western Standard - December 07, 2023

The Pipeline： Alberta Kool-Aid Man’s COP28

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