The News Rundown

Kenney vows to change law to stop municipalities from imposing their own public health restrictions

As of recording, Edmonton is the only municipality in Alberta still remaining with a mask mandate.
All other mask mandates were repealed by the municipalities or ended on Tuesday when the Government of Alberta lowered COVID restrictions.
As a result the UCP government has decided to amend the municipal government act to prevent cities from making their own health policy as early as next week.
Before we begin, we’re not going to tell you that this is the right thing or wrong thing to do as there are arguments on both sides.
In the US many of their mask mandates and health policies were set at the county or city level.
In Canada though, health policy is the exclusive jurisdiction of the provincial government.
Section 91 of the Constitution of Canada states that, “in relation to all Matters not coming within the Classes of Subjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of the Provinces.”
Section 91 does not list health, education, or natural resources (which themselves are alluded to in section 92A but that’s a topic for another day)
Furthermore in section 92 in between a clause mentioning hospitals, asylums, and charities and another representing shops, saloons, auction houses comes municipalities.
In Canada, if one is following the Constitution, health should be managed wholly by the province in question.
The Municipal Government Act in section 7 clause A under part 2 Bylaws states that a council may pass bylaws surrounding, “the safety, health and welfare of people and the protection of people and property.”
Depending on your interpretation of this, this city either has the power to pass mask mandates or the province wants to rollback parts of this power relating to masking and COVID to create a single unified health policy for the province.
In the past a municipality based approach was encouraged by the provincial government where municipalities could do what they felt was best for themselves but that has changed for one key reason which we’ll get to in just a moment.
Some at the municipal level including Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi see this as a power grab away from them.
But in responding to this, we can see Sohi’s real concerns, “It is about time that provinces recognize us as an equal order of government and do not meddle into the affairs where we can make our own decisions.”
An equal order of government.
The Constitution of Canada builds the legal backbone of this country. The Constitution says that the province should handle health.
We are at a point now where most jurisdictions have relaxed restrictions and mandates.
President Joe Biden in his State of the Union called for a re-opening of the US and for the masks to come off.
Provincially in Alberta we have reached a point where it’s time to heal divisions and return to normal and this has been echoed by the government.
In responding to those who want to keep mask mandates, Premier Jason Kenney said, “It is time for us to move forward… We cannot live forever in fear, and we are social beings. We are made to encounter one another, to see each other’s faces, to smile, to embrace our family and friends, to regain the social lives that have been so deeply impaired for the last two years.”
Despite the fact an amendment to the municipal government act will be required to make this change, the province is entirely within their right to do this as municipalities are the sole jurisdiction of the province just like health is the jurisdiction of the province. Both of which are set out by the Constitution of Canada.
Municipalities are concerned about what knock-on effects this may have going forward, that if the province wants a municipality to have control of something - or not, it is entirely within their right to make it so.
It also underscores the importance that our municipal leaders understand that despite being elected, they effectively have another boss in the provincial government, and there are some who are elected who aren’t aware of the division of powers and some who choose to seek out more power.
It’s our hope that this lesson from the Constitution of Canada will clear up any discussion that’s been happening this week.
Supplementals:

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has most everyone glued to the situation in Europe, while what should be the topic of discussion in the media is how ill prepared Canada would be should such an invasion happen to Canada if we weren't a part of NATO or literally attached to the United States.
The issue is that there will be a battle for control of resources, and indeed, battles for resources have already begun, with a likely reason for Russia's latest incursion into Ukrainian land likely due to the latter's control over major pipelines, along with the very fertile Ukrainian fields that supply Europe with food.
What does Canada have that compares? We have a huge expansive northern region with untapped natural resource potential. We hold a very large percentage of the world's fresh water. We have large oil reserves, and our prairies have untold growing potential. And we also currently preside over Arctic shipping routes that as climate change continues to melt the northern ice, will become viable alternate routes to the Panama and Suez canals. To protect these valuable resources as we move further through the 21st century, we need to have a military capable of defending it. And as we share a northern border over the north pole with Russia, it's something that needs to happen soon.
It's been known for years, even decades, that Canada's soldiers are among the highest class in the world, with superb training and a battle record that shows they get the job done. However, this is in spite of the outdated and often limited equipment, weapons, technology, and even manpower that they have to deal with due to the Canadian government's severe lack of funding for our military.
For years, people in the defence community have been warning that the next big war would be a "come as you are" event — with each nation showing up and fighting with what it has. The difference between victory and defeat would depend on how quickly and effectively a country could mobilize and manoeuvre its forces. That sort of mentality permeated the Cold War. It divided Europe into two heavily armed camps for decades and cast a long shadow of nuclear terror across three generations. It also exposed some of the major shortfalls facing the Canadian military in both personnel and equipment.
The Canadian Army, for example, has no dedicated air defence to keep soldiers on the ground safe from attack helicopters and fighter-bombers. As former army commander and now chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre said two years ago, Canada relies on its allies for that kind of protection.
The Royal Canadian Navy, with its newly modernized frigates, is hamstrung when it comes to forming task forces because its dedicated replenishment ship has little in the way of defensive systems needed for a war zone. It would have to be outfitted to defend itself and senior defence officials have long argued that makes the MV Asterix unsuitable and highlights the need to construct dedicated joint support ships.
As for the Royal Canadian Air Force, we've talked about the major delays that Trudeau has placed on Canada's requisitioning of newer combat jets like the F-35 that would put us in line with our NATO allies. As it stands, Canada's four-decade old CF-18s would be vulnerable to Russia's modern S-400 Triumf air defence system.
In 2019-20, before the pandemic hit, the Department of National Defence (DND) estimated that 80.3 per cent of the military could meet its operational obligations when called upon, according to federal budget documents tabled last spring. A target of 100 per cent readiness was to be achieved by 2025. Likely that target won't be achieveable now.
However, the pandemic has affected the training regimens that are meant to keep our fighting forces in peak condition. Exactly how the pandemic has affected military operational readiness is not clear because the department says no up-to-date figures are available. Personnel may be generally ready to go, but there are concerns about the state of Canada's military equipment.
As Russia intensifies its assault on Ukraine, the MLA for one of the Northwest Territories' northernmost ridings wants to know what's being done to safeguard Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.
Yellowknife is home to Joint Task Force North, a Canadian Armed Forces branch that holds partial responsibility for the enforcement of Canada’s Arctic sovereignty. Annual exercises, such as Operation Nanook, are held to demonstrate and refine Canadian military prowess in the far north of the country, though they often focus on search-and-rescue capabilities.
Inuvik Twin Lakes MLA Lesa Semmler said: "We all know we share Arctic waters with Russia. They are our circumpolar neighbours. I recognise that the [Government of the Northwest Territories] does not manage Canada's Arctic border security or the national defence, but the GNWT does have a responsibility to liaise with the federal government and convey information to the public."
It's been known for a long time that Russia has long expressed interest in Arctic waters. Semmler pointed to a story from 2007 about a Russian submarine that dropped a flag to the ocean floor near the North Pole.
"There's always that fight. How far is our jurisdiction into those Arctic waters, and how far is Russia's? Russia has always pushed that limit. Are we in imminent danger right now? No. But what do we have in place? If we're putting all this pressure and sanctions on [Russia], we don't know what they're going to do."
Canada’s three northern territories have jointly requested a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss Arctic security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Currently Trudeau has said that NATO needs to avoid all-out war with Russia.
His government does not want to see an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war that would pull NATO forces into "direct conflict" with Russia in eastern Europe, and are not going to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
A NATO-enforced no-fly zone would mean Western forces would be responsible for keeping Russian warplanes out of the skies over Ukraine. That could result in direct combat between NATO forces and the Russian military — a dramatic escalation of the war.
So far, Western countries like Canada have been imposing sanctions and sending lethal aid to help the Ukrainians carry out their own fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his troops.
Defence Minister Anita Anand has sent rocket launchers, hand grenades, sniper rifles, carbines, pistols, body armour and 1.5 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine's military — and she's promised to send more materiel from the Canada supply chest, if necessary.
Regardless, we're seeing a situation now where our military expertise isn't just needed in Ukraine, it's also needed up north, where our Arctic sovereignty will be tested in the future. We cannot abdicate responsibility for our country's defenses to our allies.
Supplementals:

Brian Jean’s ‘Great Reset,’ ‘globalist’ tweet an appeal to the far right: expert

In just over a week there will be a by-election in the riding of Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche where Brian Jean will be running to fill the seat vacated by Laila Goodridge last fall.
Brian Jean as the leader of the former Wildrose party is aiming to organize and vote out Jason Kenney as UCP leader at the party’s convention next month.
In order to build support and rally people behind him, Brian Jean is appealing to the right flank of the party.
We need to be very clear that barring some major vote split with another right leaning party, there is a very high chance that Brian Jean will win this by-election.
It is worth noting that the NDP candidate ran both in 2015 and 2019 and the Wildrose Independence Party (a party set on Alberta independence from Canada) is running its leader, Paul Hinnman.
Brian Jean is positioning himself in such a way that any Wildrose Independence Supporters will feel comfortable in supporting himself.
To do this Brian Jean has tailored his messaging in such a way to go against the messaging of the “Great Reset” and questioned “why are so many Canadian politicians enamoured with weird anti-people World Economic Forum ideas?”
We’ve talked about the Great Reset before here on Western Context, the idea is that politicians are using the COVID pandemic as a way to enact great societal change.
Some go even further and suggest that the pandemic was engineered itself for this purpose.
It goes without saying that politicians like Justin Trudeau have been using the pandemic to push their own progressive political agendas but the environment of the day, no matter the side, right or left does this.
Where the opinion differs on whether or not this comes from a central organization bent on control of governments.
In our own minds and in many great movies and books the main plot is orchestrated by people we only learn about near the end of the movie or story. From that it logically makes sense that people see the world in a similar way, our minds work on what is familiar, comfortable, entertaining to us when making connections.
It goes without saying that Justin Trudeau has used the pandemic to push political change and his government's goals when they’re sitting in Parliament.
The reason these campaigns feel so effective and feel like they’re orchestrated is that globally, language like Build Back Better and Forward Together is very common.
Right leaning politicians and the Conservative Party of Canada have been horrible branding themselves in the last 6 years here in Canada, as a result the verbal lexicon used has been heavily influenced by the left.
In response to Brian Jean’s tweets, Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel Garner published a post on Substack detailing her visit to Davos Switzerland and a World Economic Forum conference.
Rempel Garner is seen as one of the more stronger Conservative MPs and in her own words, the World Economic Forum is not controlling Canada.
The Great Reset idea came about in 2020 when Justin Trudeau was seen on a Global News video suggesting the pandemic provided an opportunity for a rest.
We covered this at the time and while the World Economic Forum does call for a Great Reset, we covered this from the angle of politicizing the pandemic with the assumption it was not to be taken literally.
We were wrong as many did take it literally.
According to Michelle Rempel Garner’s post the influence of World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab comes from a presumption that because some attendees of the conference (who happen to be in cabinet) receive an award they are under the influence of the World Economic Forum.
But the very award being talked about that was awarded to politicians like Rempel Garner and Justin Trudeau, was also awarded to then Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.
This has led to many believing that the Conservative Party of Canada is under the control of the World Economic Forum and Klaus Schwab.
As we just saw weeks ago, the party is being controlled by its MPs who ousted the most centrist leader the party had seen in years.
Which if independent thought and right leaning ideals were to be trampled in a Great Reset would make zero sense since it’d be easier to do with a non-Conservative.
Going back to Alberta, this is the path that Brian Jean is on to secure a by-election win in just over a week's time.
This should be worrying for a couple of reasons.
First, mainstream media doesn’t have the time nor desire to deep dive into this story as we just have.
Secondly, if Brian Jean wins and is later successful in having Jason Kenney removed as UCP leader, he becomes the front runner in a leadership race and this will be his brand.
In our first-past-the-post system parties must appeal to broad swathes of the population to win.
A campaign focused on flashy headlines to garner right leaning clicks and votes will not work province wide next year and by extension Brian Jean only brings the NDP closer to power.
The media also has egg on their face here for further allowing the Great Reset to fester.
They need to realize we will only move past this by providing stories with the full information and context of what is going on.
Supplementals:

https://theline.substack.com/p/michelle-rempel-garner-i-went-to

Firing Line

Pierre Poilievre promises to scrap 'anti-energy laws' during CPC leadership campaign stop in Sask.

Conservative Leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre stressed his commitment to repealing three pieces of legislation that the Liberal government enacted with the goal of combating climate change during a visit to Saskatchewan Friday.
At a news conference at Brandt Tractor in Regina, Poilievre said: "Right now, we have anti-energy laws in this country that are preventing people from harvesting our resources and bringing them responsibly to market."
Along with a commitment to repealing Bill C-69, the nation's current environmental assessment law, and Bill C-48, a bill prohibiting oil tankers of a certain size docking along B.C.'s north coast, Poilievre said he'd move to scrap the federal carbon pricing scheme. These pieces of legislation have been cornerstones in the Liberal government's plan to deal with climate change, but have been widely criticized by the energy industry. They've also been opposed by Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.
Poilievre said a government under him would "put in place clear targets for carbon emission reduction" and give "provinces the freedom to decide how they meet those targets." That would include plans to incentivize carbon-capture and storage technology as well as small modular nuclear reactors. He said: "There are countless other ways that we can combat climate change without a tax."
“Scrapping the carbon tax will reduce the cost of living and will mean small businesses will have more money to hire workers and provide affordable goods for their people,” Poilievre said Thursday.
Poilievre’s leadership campaign is currently focusing on affordability for Canadians, with plans to attempt to lower the cost of living and curb inflation. Inflation in Canada rose to 5.1 per cent in January, surpassing five per cent for the first time in more than 30 years, according to Statistics Canada.
Poilievre said Friday: “Under my leadership, taxes will only ever go down. I believe $1 in the hands of the person who earned it will always be better than $1 in the hands of the politician who taxed it."
The Conservative leadership race is set to conclude on September 10th. The 6 month long wait until a new leader will give a new lease on life for Trudeau, who likely won't face a real challenge to his government until at least the winter.
Poilievre's strategy with energy doesn't just hinge on the carbon tax however, it also hinges on Canada having the readiness available to send "clean Canadian energy exports" to Europe to displace Russian oil and gas. He says: “One way to do [hurt Russia's war efforts] is by exporting clean, responsible Canadian energy to Europe so that the continent is no longer reliant on the dictator in Moscow to heat their homes and power their industries.”
Currently, Canada is not in a position to do that. Steven Guilbeault, Trudeau's activist Minister of Environment, “Let’s be reasonable, we can’t help Europe with oil. Our export capacity is pretty much maxed out. We’re building a pipeline. It’s just going in the wrong direction and the idea that we somehow could start to build a bunch of new infrastructure in Canada and it would magically happen -- either for gas or for oil -- is not very serious.”
Canada, home of the Alberta oil sands, is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer behind the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Russia, but nearly all its crude exports go to the US. Some Canadian crude is exported abroad off the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the country has just one oil pipeline that connects to tidewater, the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Vancouver area.
An expanded Trans Mountain line is under construction. Plans to build other pipelines to Canadian ports, including the Energy East pipeline to Eastern Canada and the Northern Gateway pipeline, were canceled after environmental opposition and Trudeau's lack of support.
Canada is also the sixth-largest natural gas producer, but doesn’t operate any liquefied natural gas export plants that would allow the country to ship the fuel to European customers. Currently, one LNG plant is being built by Coastal Gaslink in Northern BC; but it won’t be completed before the middle of the decade, and has faced numerous setbacks from First Nations activists.
European countries, heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas for decades, are looking for alternatives after the invasion prompted the European Union, the U.S. and other countries to impose widespread economic sanctions on Russia. The supply squeeze has caused prices to surge: West Texas Intermediate rose as high as $116 on Thursday and Brent crude topped $119.
All this has also pushed up the price of gas in Canada to never before seen levels. Stations in the Lower Mainland of BC are already up to $2 per litre, after jumping almost 50c since the summer.
Canada's policies towards energy under Trudeau have just furthered the current inflation crisis, have left us being forced to close doors to economic opportunities to our allies, and have left us out from being able to have the readiness to help our allies. It's clear that something needs to change.
Supplementals:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-03/canada-s-oil-can-t-solve-russian-supply-squeeze-minister-says

Word of the Week

Readiness - the state of being fully prepared for something.

Quote of the Week

“Under my leadership, taxes will only ever go down. I believe $1 in the hands of the person who earned it will always be better than $1 in the hands of the politician who taxed it," - Conservative MP and leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre on his tax strategy

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Show Data

Episode Title: A Lack of Readiness

Teaser: The Alberta UCP stops municipalities from overstepping their boundaries, Canada’s military is not equipped to defend our Arctic sovereignty, and we debunk the idea of the Great Reset. Also, Canada’s energy infrastructure can’t export what we need it to.

Recorded Date: March 4, 2022

Release Date: March 6, 2022

Duration: 1:08:00

Edit Notes: Constitution sections

Podcast Summary Notes

Duration: XX:XX