Western Standard - November 02, 2024


UCP AGM： Alberta Bill Of Rights - Special Debate


Episode Stats


Length

27 minutes

Words per minute

145.85059

Word count

4,051

Sentence count

202

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Toxicity

3

sentences flagged

Hate speech

5

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

The United Conservative Party of Alberta presents Bill C-293 to the House of Commons. Bill 293 is a bill of rights to protect and defend our rights and freedoms from the federal government and all levels of government.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 your point of order is not accepted I've identified it's still not accepted I have
00:00:14.400 identified to you the reason why we are allowed to do this it is within our rules you do not have a
00:00:21.300 basis for your point of order. You do not have, pardon? You do not have a basis for your point
00:00:31.880 of order. I have read to you the rules. Please stop. Go ahead. I think the media are here and
00:00:43.540 it's basically a public gathering. Mitch and Scott, please.
00:00:51.300 thank you president smith uh good afternoon grassroots i'm just going to talk to you about
00:00:58.340 why we're here how we got here and what we're actually doing today so what we are uh doing to
00:01:05.060 simplify it is the 22 rights and freedoms that are listed in your program are on the carts
00:01:10.820 we're asking you to show the will of the the grassroots the members to the government that
00:01:17.140 you want a comprehensive bill of rights so how we got here 11 years ago the federal police force
00:01:26.420 hired to be the provincial police force rode in army boats and knocked down doors in high river
00:01:34.020 they took people's properties did a lot of damage it was a major breach of trust
00:01:40.340 it was followed during the pandemic with forced lockdowns and vaccine passports and mandates
00:01:47.140 There was a parking problem in Ottawa during a peaceful protest, and the federal government had to freeze bank accounts of supporters.
00:02:00.160 The federal government continues with Bill C-21, red flag laws, Bill C-63, Online Harms Act, and then Bill 293, which I believe is at the Senate right now.
00:02:12.280 It's basically their plan to take advantage of the next pandemic.
00:02:15.480 it's not going to stop so how did we really get here well a couple years ago a lady came out of 0.93
00:02:25.380 the woods and she said sovereignty and I don't think she was just talking about provincial rights
00:02:31.740 I think she was talking about sovereignty of our own bodies sovereignty over our own families
00:02:36.860 so myself and seven other members of the United Conservative Party got together and we drafted
00:02:45.060 policy 15 which the premier referenced in the accountability session and the grassroots passed
00:02:50.580 it last year this is your policy getting into action and we've seen this government
00:03:00.260 has brought forward bill 24 to start enacting that policy
00:03:06.340 all glory to god and all credit to premier smith
00:03:15.060 and to her government for following policy nobody in the free world no leaders in the free world are
00:03:22.520 doing this nobody's taking our god-given rights and affirming them in our legislation so all power
00:03:28.380 to them the government uh they built a table bill 24 uh the other day uh they're here because they
00:03:35.700 want to hear from you i've seen the mlas and ministers walking around they're getting lots
00:03:40.660 of feedback you can give even more feedback by saying we want a comprehensive bill of rights
00:03:45.780 to protect ourselves against the current federal liberal government and all levels of government
00:03:52.600 that may do things that happen during the pandemic or may write unconstitutional bylaws as in Calgary
00:03:59.200 or other cities this is your opportunity to tell everybody especially the government what your will
00:04:06.660 what you want you want a comprehensive bill of rights to protect ourselves so these things i've
00:04:11.300 mentioned happened in the last 11 years and more recently that we don't face the same things again
00:04:17.220 or even worse as i believe the federal liberal government ndp coalition government has planned
00:04:23.140 for us i'd like to pass over to mitch sylvester now thank you hey thank you thank you very much
00:04:36.660 Hey, what's happening? I think we have a problem when we have members in this room
00:04:41.500 that don't want us to bring anything to the floor, to the members for debate,
00:04:46.520 regardless of what the reason is.
00:04:51.480 So what's happening here? We have many people in this room. Why so many people?
00:04:57.140 I think people, we're here to give government direction.
00:05:00.200 We're here to participate in our democracy.
00:05:03.500 Please come back next year and bring another person.
00:05:06.660 Last night, the Irish culture minister brought up Bill C-293.
00:05:12.660 He said that the federal liberals don't understand the consequences of what they're doing.
00:05:17.660 I totally disagree with them. They totally understand.
00:05:21.660 They totally understand Bill C-293.
00:05:25.660 If you are not afraid before, you should be terrified now.
00:05:30.660 They have been relentless in attacking Alberta. Alberta industry, our jobs, our
00:05:36.420 people, our rights, our freedoms, our families for years. C-293 is going to
00:05:43.080 finish the job. We are one emergency away. The Minister said we will not allow them
00:05:50.660 to do this. We will invoke the Sovereignty Act. He understands this too.
00:05:54.780 He understands this as well. So I've been to 70 or more town halls since the
00:06:00.140 spring. I hear frequently, what can I do? I have no voice. Today's your day. They
00:06:08.900 are watching. Everyone is watching. Your vote will count today. This vote is a
00:06:22.880 message. It's a message to caucus. It's a message to the Liberal government and to
00:06:27.080 Canada. This vote is about your rights and freedoms. This vote will give
00:06:33.320 government direction and the strong support they need to move forward. This
00:06:38.180 vote is for a strong Alberta Bill of Rights, one that leaves no doubt in
00:06:42.800 anyone's mind that we now have a robust document that will clearly define and
00:06:47.420 allow us to protect our rights and freedoms now and in the future. Please
00:06:51.740 vote yes. Okay, perfect. Now folks, I did just want to point out the reason why I did
00:07:17.840 not agree with the point of order and that's because rules and procedures
00:07:27.200 sections 511 the chair has the discretion to reject motions that he
00:07:31.940 determines are unable to be addressed in light of the AGM format or seem likely
00:07:36.020 to unduly delay the efficient progress of the AGM also having identified
00:07:41.780 already that we have the right to bring this forward there is nothing that is
00:07:47.020 violated within any of our foundational documents which is something we've said
00:07:50.500 all the way along and and that we have done this all the way along with the
00:07:57.880 input from our party's legal counsel so some of you may not like the fact that
00:08:04.540 it didn't go through the PPGC process you're entitled to feel that way but I
00:08:10.400 I would like to encourage the people at the Know Mike to focus on the substantive elements
00:08:19.240 of this Bill of Rights because you are going to have the opportunity to vote on it, ladies
00:08:23.120 and gentlemen.
00:08:24.120 We're not going to stop that vote down.
00:08:27.320 So just wanted to say before we get to the 20 minutes that if you look at this document,
00:08:37.480 The reason why we felt so strongly about bringing it to the membership is because if you look
00:08:42.340 at the website, at our statement of principles, that starts off with a robust civil society
00:08:47.780 made up of free individuals, strong families, and voluntary associations, and ends about
00:08:53.100 20, what is there, nine, with protect and defend the ownership rights of Alberta to
00:08:58.420 utilize its natural resources for the benefit of Albertans, we thought the work of these
00:09:02.740 three constituency associations, perhaps referred to as the Black Hats group, was completely
00:09:08.600 consistent with the statement of principles of this party and its membership.
00:09:19.480 So I'll follow along with the great work of our facilitators through the policy plenary
00:09:24.140 and we'll go to 30 seconds now, alternating between the yes and the no, and we will start
00:09:29.480 with the no, as I think our good gentlemen do.
00:09:32.480 So please, sir.
00:09:35.360 Raymond Chen, Calgary-Achmar.
00:09:37.600 Bill of Rights should be sacred and flawless.
00:09:39.740 Yet there are flaws in number 2, 3, and 18.
00:09:43.080 They are a task on democracy and freedoms.
00:09:45.420 Number 2, support drug addicts in their right
00:09:47.780 to preserve happiness, get free drugs from the government.
00:09:50.880 Number 3, infringes private property rights.
00:09:53.540 Drug king can perform exercising their freedom
00:09:56.220 of expression at private church, at private school,
00:09:58.680 in your private yard, and should no longer be censored.
00:10:01.300 Number 18, if a business wants to start a fast food near Chinatown,
00:10:05.300 hiring Chinese staff, being more diversity,
00:10:07.280 hiring handicapped kids, the flip burger, being more inclusive, not okay. 1.00
00:10:11.240 No matter how bad this is, this should be their business decision and their choices.
00:10:15.180 This is their business and none of our business.
00:10:18.020 Thank you, sir.
00:10:19.520 Going now to the yes side.
00:10:23.720 Good afternoon, everyone.
00:10:25.060 My name is Shauna Sundell, and I'm the executive director of the Irreplaceable Parent Project.
00:10:29.240 It was an honour to be asked by the Black Hats to contribute to number four, which addresses parental rights.
00:10:36.580 June 8th, 2023, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, declared that parental rights are now a far-right political issue.
00:10:46.060 I could not disagree more strongly.
00:10:48.460 I'm sorry, Shauna, I have to stop you. It's 30 seconds each.
00:10:52.800 I still have time.
00:10:56.520 Did I count wrong?
00:10:57.980 Okay, I'm sorry. Perhaps I'm nervous. Shauna, please carry on.
00:11:02.980 Thank you. Parental rights are a basic and fundamental truth that should be embedded in the Alberta Bill of Rights because they are a principle that we should work from addressing issues from that basis instead of withholding parental rights as a principle.
00:11:18.980 Okay, thank you. To the no side, please.
00:11:22.980 Good afternoon. My name is Don Lewis. I'm with Edmonton Rutherford. And what I have to say I feel is very important. I'm 100% in support of an Alberta Bill of Rights. But the purpose of a Bill of Rights is to protect our unalienable rights. And those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
00:11:44.160 And anything that's contained in our rights that may circumvent that is unacceptable.
00:11:53.400 If we look at Section 1 of the Charter of Rights, they used that as a weapon.
00:11:59.820 It was a booby trap within that charter that the federal government used.
00:12:05.000 They lied, and they used to harm people.
00:12:09.220 I'm sorry, your 30 seconds is lapsed.
00:12:11.640 In fact, I gave you 40.
00:12:14.160 Yes side.
00:12:18.280 Marty Mayer, Cypress Medicine Hat.
00:12:20.960 In the late 1700s, British Prime Minister William Pitt said,
00:12:24.340 the poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the crown.
00:12:28.380 It may be feral, its roof may shake, the wind may blow through it.
00:12:31.540 The rain may enter, but the King of England cannot enter.
00:12:35.840 All his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined cottage.
00:12:39.540 Those are the kind of property rights we need.
00:12:42.000 Vote yes.
00:12:44.160 Thank you, sir. Over to the no side, please.
00:12:48.580 Do not be misled. This will not stop a police officer from coming into your home and taking away your firearms.
00:12:55.540 That's up to the federal government.
00:12:57.440 This will not stop someone from using the notwithstanding clause or section one.
00:13:03.400 That's up to the federal government.
00:13:05.740 This government has proven its ability to use legislation and use other means within its power to protect our rights.
00:13:12.540 This is not that document. This makes us stand out. It is not within our jurisdiction, and it sets us apart rather than us being a leader.
00:13:24.060 Thank you, sir. Yes.
00:13:27.620 Hi, Art Matsui, Calgary Buffalo. I'm a third generation Japanese Canadian who's had their rights taken away by three levels of governments over the last 80 years.
00:13:41.420 So I'm in favor of anything that protects or offers a comprehensive bill of rights.
00:13:50.200 Now, they have to remember over there that these are suggestions.
00:13:54.580 This is policy. This is not legislation.
00:13:57.020 They're talking about legislation, and we're talking about policy and suggestions for more rights for ourselves.
00:14:08.700 The no side, please. 0.94
00:14:10.700 Thank you. I support this almost entirely. My point of contention is saying that the government is recognizing our rights up until the point where the government decides to rescind them. I don't want a bill that requires us to vote for the right people. I want legislation that means that the people in charge are going to do the right thing regardless of what they want.
00:14:38.560 Thank you very much, sir.
00:14:40.700 over to the yes side please lavar payne former member of parliament cyprus medicine hat the whole
00:14:47.260 question around this is do you want more rights or do you not want more rights this proposed policy
00:14:55.500 is something that we have provided to the government as a suggestion as a review of all
00:15:01.980 of the policies over the last couple of years so it's imperative that if you want more rights
00:15:07.900 vote yes for this vote yes for our protected rights thank you thank you very much sir
00:15:15.740 on to the no side kimberly good she strathcona sherwood park in my hand i hold an agm booklet
00:15:23.260 where the first 42 pages were sent to party membership ranking prior to september 17th
00:15:29.420 deadline been vetted by committee and legal team and presented properly to attendees
00:15:35.580 with clearly indicated changes made to current policies the proposed bor 3.0 in this book
00:15:42.540 is printed in six point font without changes or anything that's been added identified without
00:15:51.740 the opportunity for the entire membership to review it and it's also being perceived
00:15:57.180 that the ca boards are behind it while i support the grassroots i'm sorry i've given you 40 seconds
00:16:02.940 It's time for a yes, please.
00:16:05.940 Ian Parkinson, Cypress Medicine Hat.
00:16:09.940 If all you want is to enjoy what you paid for, vote no.
00:16:15.940 If you want to keep and own what you paid for, vote yes.
00:16:20.940 The Alberta Bill 24 is nothing but a limp-wristed whitewash panacea to make us go away. 1.00
00:16:28.940 Tough shit. We're here. 1.00
00:16:32.940 Please, folks, I would ask that you use decent language when you're standing at the mics.
00:16:42.420 Over to the no side, please.
00:16:45.280 Hi, my name's Laurel. I'm from the Drayton Valley area.
00:16:49.460 First of all, it wasn't right that this got changed to a time right now
00:16:53.560 when we have it on the back of this as the time was supposed to be at 1.30.
00:16:57.560 We have a whole bunch of people that will not be involved with listening to what is going on right now.
00:17:02.940 I want to reiterate unalienable rights that is not written in this Bill of Rights,
00:17:09.560 and that means that it is God-given rights that is impossible to take away.
00:17:16.020 Our human rights can be taken away at any point, as we've known in the last four years,
00:17:21.340 of what this government, Kenny government, and Trudeau government has done to the people.
00:17:26.600 We need it written in here as unalienable rights,
00:17:28.860 and we have no right to vote yes to something that needs to be changed now.
00:17:34.880 Thank you very much.
00:17:36.960 Over to the yes side, please.
00:17:39.900 This is a complex issue.
00:17:41.660 What is clear is that lawyers have different views on the implications.
00:17:45.460 There are concerns about federal jurisdiction
00:17:47.320 and whether the entire bill could be struck down
00:17:49.900 if we delve outside of our jurisdiction.
00:17:52.180 We could move the federal jurisdiction rights into a separate bill.
00:17:54.900 This can be fixed after the vote,
00:17:56.620 But the fact remains we need stronger wording for the tabled bill.
00:18:00.100 We need the notwithstanding clause or else the courts can overrule the entire bill with their own exclusions.
00:18:05.680 By defining the exclusions, we limit their power.
00:18:08.740 The federal charter applies to the courts, but this Bill of Rights is different.
00:18:12.440 It applies only to politicians accountable to the people, and they must debate in an open and democratic process, not the courts.
00:18:19.140 However, the wording is too vague and would still allow corrupt politicians to abuse our rights.
00:18:24.040 I'm sorry, ma'am. I have to cut you off. 1.00
00:18:25.660 I gave you 42 seconds. I apologize.
00:18:31.420 No side, please.
00:18:33.140 Gortolk, Red Deer South.
00:18:35.440 The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are foundational documents in our democracy.
00:18:40.800 It needs to be a strong, long-term, deliberative process with a high threshold of approval.
00:18:45.940 This attempt, this jam down, makes Meech Lake look like a deliberative process.
00:18:51.300 Bill 24 should not happen either.
00:18:53.040 this should be a long multi-term consultative process where we create the best bill of rights
00:18:58.160 in the world not just a bill of rights the way we're doing it now we're setting a precedent
00:19:02.460 so when the NDP does get in power at some point they just pass their own bill of rights and wipe
00:19:07.440 all this off the floor we need to do this in a much more responsible manner for our kids
00:19:12.880 our grandkids and our great great great grandkids do not vote for this process thank you
00:19:18.160 we go to the yes side please uh nathan stankey central peace notley uh i don't believe this is
00:19:26.800 a perfect document but it is a very good document and make no mistake the government has also
00:19:31.440 introduced an imperfect version of the bill of rights but this version boldly asserts that we
00:19:36.400 as citizens have certain inalienable rights that belong to us not to government to be doled out
00:19:42.160 with quote reasonable limits given the choice i will always err on the side of maximal liberty
00:19:47.920 and the protection of our rights i am voting yes to demonstrate to the government that we need more
00:19:52.640 of what the black cats suggest not less thank you thank you very much uh going over then now to the
00:20:03.600 no side please uh john nyberg edmonton mcclung the alberta rights with freedoms and responsibilities
00:20:10.320 that's the word responsibilities that catches my attention uh every right and freedom we have
00:20:16.960 enjoy is based on responsibilities we have no rights without responsibilities and whether
00:20:24.320 responsibilities are ready for when we are responsible our rights and freedoms are enhanced
00:20:31.200 and protected if you're responsible and you've done right nobody can take it away somebody might
00:20:37.120 stop it but it covers all levels of government and every entity so think about i would ask for
00:20:44.480 is enhancing the fact that we have responsibilities added to the bill of rights thank you thank you
00:20:52.240 very much go over to the uh yes side please thank you daryl prue from peace river uh i just want to
00:21:02.160 say uh our board did vote in support of this draft alberta bill of rights already so i'm just here to
00:21:08.320 reaffirm the will of my board that we support this in its entirety and the other thing i want to say
00:21:13.760 is like it's already policy that we discussed in 2022 uh policy 15 so we've already said we want
00:21:21.680 this here it is laid out let's do it thank you thank you sir
00:21:29.840 the no side please adam begonic in this phil silvan lake uh folks it comes down to this one
00:21:35.920 simple principle um there is simply nothing less conservative than changing bills of rights that
00:21:43.520 that has held our province and our country together
00:21:45.800 for decades.
00:21:46.980 And the idea that you're somehow going to fix
00:21:49.840 any violations that have happened over the last few years 0.84
00:21:53.100 by adding a few poorly written lines to them is ridiculous.
00:21:56.820 Please vote no to this motion.
00:21:58.840 Thank you.
00:22:00.160 Thank you, sir.
00:22:02.000 Yes, Saig, please. 0.97
00:22:04.220 So this Bill of Rights is not perfect,
00:22:06.640 but it's a great start.
00:22:08.280 We do not need government to tell us what our rights are
00:22:11.460 because they limit our rights.
00:22:13.520 This is a true demonstration of human rights
00:22:16.700 where it comes from the people.
00:22:18.280 It's not perfect.
00:22:19.720 I do want stronger language,
00:22:21.740 but we need to start somewhere and we can build on this.
00:22:24.520 And I just want to point, I know I'm running out of time,
00:22:26.740 but I want to point to section 15
00:22:30.660 on freedom of informed consent.
00:22:32.480 I would even go stronger than that
00:22:34.280 and say freedom from discrimination
00:22:36.300 for saying no to mandated medical treatments.
00:22:38.980 There's also a section here demanding public inquiry.
00:22:42.040 We need to do that, and this Bill of Rights is going to make that happen.
00:22:45.420 Thank you.
00:22:46.160 Thank you.
00:22:51.740 On the no mic, please.
00:22:53.560 Thank you, Mr. Chair.
00:22:54.660 Al Sebring-Lacombe-Pinocca.
00:22:56.140 Thank you to the Black Hat Committee for all the work on this.
00:22:58.920 There's some good stuff here, but there's some stuff we really need to work on some more.
00:23:03.400 I just draw your attention, for example, to Clause 17, freedom from excessive taxation.
00:23:09.120 for different people in this room that means different things i know we have libertarians
00:23:14.600 who say all taxation is theft others see others have a more nuanced perspective if we can put it
00:23:23.320 that way so please i'm i'm not saying vote no but i'm saying this needs more work thank you
00:23:29.980 thank you very much to the yes mike please
00:23:35.000 quite frankly i don't know which mic i should be at this is a little bit confusing the format
00:23:42.460 i i certainly stand behind the bill of rights that the black hats have put together
00:23:48.360 i have a few problems with what the ucp has put forward one of my problems is the term
00:23:54.240 demonstrably justified i know what i think of that i know what the honorable brian peckford
00:24:00.360 thinks of that but i also know what our beloved justin trudeau thinks of that and the federal
00:24:05.400 courts have already ignored that term so we need to bring some sort of definition or oaks test
00:24:11.880 into into this bill of rights if the ucp is going forward with it
00:24:20.120 thank you very much uh we'll have one more comment from each the no and the yes side
00:24:24.360 our final no comment please yeah chris battle luck edmonton west 10 day i'm a lawyer i believe
00:24:30.840 we should all be seeking to protect our legal rights but there's a reason in our policy
00:24:35.960 submissions we submit things like the government should rather than attempting to rewrite actual
00:24:43.640 legislation like what's been done here because the bill of rights is a law and the way this is
00:24:50.520 written is bad simply put as much as danielle smith and mickey amory might want to they can't
00:24:57.160 give you criminal rights constitutionally that's federal and when you look at what this has to say
00:25:03.320 about health care that would immediately be used to attack all the transgender legislation that we 0.94
00:25:10.120 clapped for danielle passing this morning i mean this isn't well thought out i've given
00:25:15.560 you 35 seconds sir i'm sorry uh thank you to all of our nose our final yes comment please
00:25:22.680 good afternoon my name is daryl comic i'm from calgary law heed
00:25:30.280 i just want to say that which of us conservatives wants to give away more rights should we not want
00:25:37.700 to collect rights like hockey cards because you never really know the value of the hockey card
00:25:43.560 until that moment in time which you needed.
00:25:46.820 I'd encourage everyone who's a Conservative
00:25:48.980 to accumulate as many rights as possible by voting yes.
00:25:54.940 All righty.
00:25:56.580 Thank you very much to all of our yes votes.
00:26:00.740 So at this point, if you guys would get your voting cards ready, please,
00:26:04.740 like you used yesterday and you'll be using again
00:26:07.020 in just a 50 minutes time or so,
00:26:10.460 I will reread the motion to you one more time.
00:26:13.560 Motion by our two speakers prior, Scott Payne Brooks Medicine Hat and Medicine Hat Cypress, and seconded by Mitch Sylvester Bonneville Cold Lake St. Paul.
00:26:23.620 Be it resolved that the United Conservative Party of Alberta endorses, approves and supports in principle the Alberta Bill of Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities as distributed to our membership titled BOR 3.0 as part of our annual general meeting information and printed in the UCP AGM 2024 agenda.
00:26:43.560 This proposal represents the work of UCP members known as the Black Hats Group
00:26:48.760 and is supported by the Provincial UCP Board of Directors and multiple Alberta constituency associations.
00:26:55.180 The UCP believes that the Government of Alberta should adopt these suggested amendments, additions and ideas into the Bill of Rights.
00:27:03.600 Would all of those who support the Bill of Rights please raise your yes vote or your green card?
00:27:08.840 thank you what what would all of you in opposition to the motion please raise your
00:27:19.260 no votes. Ladies and gentlemen, the motion passes.
00:27:33.260 Okay folks, it's time to eat and not each other. For those of you who have pre-purchased
00:27:43.580 lunch, indicated by a red line on your badge.