Western Context

Danielle Smith’s leadership campaign could change the UCP and Alberta, BC Ferries fires its CEO after many cancelled sailings, and Trudeau pushes for a reduction in fertilizer usage. Also, glitches in the ArriveCAN app cause more delays for travellers.

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“The app is something that is not efficient. It doesn’t make us any more safe. In fact, it could lead us to being less safe as we move to more automation as people are coming into our country. It’s worthless in terms of public safety. [The app is] also branding us as an unwelcoming destination. Our branding right now as a country of a destination is being destroyed.” NDP MP for Niagara West Brian Masse, on the failures of ArriveCAN.

Duration: 56:50
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Is Danielle Smith’s striking campaign a paper tiger?
• Support us on Patreon
• B.C. Ferries fires president and CEO after 173 cancelled sailings in 28 days
• Trudeau pushes ahead on fertilizer reduction as provinces and farmers cry foul
• ArriveCan ‘glitch’ ordering vaccinated Canadians into quarantine without reason
• Word of the Week: Glitch

A Rogers outage shows the need for telecom stability, Jean Charest promises a fair deal for Alberta, and the Premier’s summit provides no fix for healthcare. Also, Trudeau’s internet censorship Bill C-11 gets opposed by the US.

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“Alberta went through a tough time from 2014 onward, and there was no acknowledgement or recognition of that. It’s the federal government’s job to keep the country together and make sure every province is part of what we are planning and developing. And that’s not happening with the Trudeau government.” – Federal Conservative Leadership Candidate Jean Charest on Justin Trudeau’s division.

Duration: 50:38
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Rogers outage shows need for Plan B when wireless, internet services fail, analysts say
• Support us on Patreon
• Federal Conservative candidate Charest promises Alberta a new deal in Canada
• Premiers close 2-day summit, call on feds to stop negotiating health funding through the media
• Heritage Minister advisors say “misleading political communications” should also be censored
• Word of the Week: Outage

We celebrate Canada Day when the media doesn’t, BC Premier John Horgan is retiring, and Alberta posts a $3.9B surplus. Also, a new online tax in BC could make businesses uncompetitive.

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“Thank you to the ever-capable Premier John Horgan for everything you have done for British Columbia and Canada. We may have our differences, but I’ve always enjoyed and appreciated working with you to help make a difference in our provinces. I am proud to call you a friend.” – Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe on Horgan’s impending retirement.

Duration: 46:49
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• A different Canada Day, under an ambiguous flag
• Support us on Patreon
• B.C. Premier Horgan announces he will step down
• Booming oil and gas revenues lands Alberta with $3.9-billion surplus
• New B.C. sales tax rules go into effect July 1 for online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay
• Word of the Week: Siloed

Government plans have stalled Lytton’s rebuild, the Trudeau Liberals refuse to lift the gas tax, and the Chinese state maybe interfered in the 2021 election. Also, the RCMP commissioner tried to compromise the 2020 Nova Scotia shooting investigation.

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“To rebuild to all these standards, it just didn’t fit with our community. We keep hearing that Lytton is going to be rebuilt as a model community. We don’t want to hear that anymore. We just want to go home.” – Lytton resident Denise O’Connor on the lack of progress 1 year after the Lytton wildfire.

Duration: 1:01:10
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Long road home: Frustration in Lytton one year after devastating fire
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• Gas tax break ‘would be irresponsible’ now, federal minister says, as Liberals focus on other priorities
• China may have tried to discourage Canadians from voting Conservative
• RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki tried to ‘jeopardize’ mass murder investigation to advance Trudeau’s gun control efforts
• Word of the Week: Frustration

Health Canada plans to label ground beef, the Alberta UCP leadership race begins, and no link is found between BC money laundering and political corruption. Also, we determine whether or not the Trudeau government lied about the Emergencies Act.

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“The whole purpose of this (Health Canada proposal) largely came from a concern about highly processed foods, and foods with a lot of ingredients. The idea of taking a single-ingredient food product and imposing these types of labels is not being done anywhere else in the world, and it is going to unfairly affect Canada’s farmers and ranchers.” – Dennis Laycraft, executive vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association or Health Canada’s proposal to label ground beef as being high in saturated fat.

Duration: 53:38
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Ranchers’ group opposes Health Canada’s ‘vilification’ of ground beef
• Support us on Patreon
• Some will lose Alberta’s pricey UCP leadership race before the voting starts
• Money laundering public inquiry finds ‘no evidence’ of political corruption in B.C.
• Police did not ask for Emergencies Act: Emergency Preparedness Minister
• Word of the Week: Saturated

Bill C-11 allows the CRTC to regulate user content, Alberta NDP volunteers are demeaned, and panic buying ensues after Trudeau’s gun freeze. Also, Trudeau trolls Canadians by creating policy in response to the US.

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“Bill C-11 implies vague changes to these platforms to prioritize Canadian content to Canadians, but it would in turn deprioritize Canadian content to an international audience. The social media platforms cannot allow Canadian content to enjoy heightened exposure to Canadians without detracting exposure internationally, as it creates an uneven playing field on the platform. Less Canadian content will be shown globally as a result.” – Canadian Youtuber Justin Tomchuk, on Trudeau’s Bill C-11.

Duration: 57:52
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• User content subject to ‘some authority’ by CRTC under Bill C-11, regulator says
• Support us on Patreon
• Alberta NDP volunteers were ignored and demeaned, former workers say
• Panic buying sets in after Trudeau’s handgun ban
• Justin Trudeau, the troll farm prime minister
• Word of the Week: Troll

The Supreme Court of Canada rules that life without parole is ‘cruel’, small possession of drugs is decriminalized in BC, and the Tim Hortons app invades Canadians’ privacy. Also, the Trudeau government has created 72 secret orders in council.

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“[Leading an open, transparent government] is the big promise that the prime minister made to Canadians in 2015. Seven years later, that promise has melted like snow in the sun. The prime minister leads the most closed, most opaque, the most censored government that we have ever seen. We have just learned of the existence of 72 secret orders-in-council. Why are the Liberals so afraid to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” – Conservative MP Luc Berthold, during question period.

Duration: 49:35
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Canada supreme court rules life without chance of parole is ‘cruel’ and illegal
• Support us on Patreon
• Small-scale possession of illicit drugs will be decriminalized in B.C. starting next year: federal government
• Tim Hortons’ app committed ‘mass invasion’ of Canadians’ privacy, watchdog finds
• Trudeau government has adopted dozens of secret cabinet orders since coming to power
• Word of the Week: Cruel

A family from China is tracked for money laundering, Edmonton needs to come up with a transit safety plan, and Poilievre fights off the little coalition of Charest and Brown. Also, the media and government imports the US gun control issue once more.

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“We need that full system of justice to come together to affect the required change to keep our communities safe. I think we have the laws on the books but we need the system (to act more strongly)” – Calgary Deputy Police Chief Paul Cook on the current gun laws in Canada.

Duration: 51:12
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Luxury mansions. Millions in suspicious bank transfers. And concern that a Chinese businessman accused of bribery helped froth Canada’s housing market
• Support us on Patreon
• Alberta justice minister demands Edmonton mayor create safety plan for downtown and transit
• Little coalition’ of Charest and Brown spar with Poilievre during French-language leadership debate
• Trudeau signals new gun-control changes coming; here’s what the Liberals have promised
• Word of the Week: Kamikaze

Canada bans Huawei and ZTE from 5G networks, BC will spend $800m to replace the Royal BC Museum, and Jason Kenney will resign after a new UCP leader is chosen. Also, the media and Pierre Poilievre go to war.

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“There’s a small yet spirited minority of grassroot conservatives who’ve come to define their politics in solely oppositional terms. It derives from a position of perceived weakness in modern society. They see mainstream institutions (including corporations, universities, and the media) succumbing to an assertive form of progressivism and feel increasingly embattled in a culture that at times can be quite hostile to their ideas and values.” – The Hub, Editor-at-Large Sean Speer.

Duration: 1:08:01
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Canada banning Chinese telecom giant Huawei, ZTE from 5G networks
• Support us on Patreon
• B.C. to spend $789 million to replace Royal BC Museum
• A lament for conservatism
• The danger Pierre Poilievre’s corrosive campaign poses to Canada
• Word of the Week: Dog-Whistle

The Competition Bureau wants to block the Rogers-Shaw merger, the BC NDP creates a committee to study crime, and the Edmonton Blatchford community lags behind. Also, the PHAC has been tracking Canadians’ cell phones without consent.

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“[T]his should be done within a legal framework that recognizes privacy as a human right, and as an essential element for the exercise of other fundamental rights. [W]hile the government informed my office of its intention to use mobility data, it ultimately declined our offer to review how the data was de-identified and how privacy principles were implemented. The regulator should be able to insist on a proactive audit, where required, to ensure public trust.” – Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien on the federal government tracking Canadians through cell phone data.

Duration: 1:02:25
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Competition Bureau seeks to block Rogers-Shaw deal, citing affordability and choice
• Support us on Patreon
• B.C.’s expert panel on prolific offenders under fire before it starts work
• Blatchford development needs new approach as it lags behind goals, councillor says
• Health agency tracked Canadians’ trips to liquor store via phones during pandemic
• Word of the Week: Point of Interest