Western Context

The Liberal spending plan will add $94b to the debt, BC not enacting permanent DST is being blamed on Donald Trump while a BC cabinet minister is under RCMP investigation, and the Alberta NDP wants to fund endless post-secondary bureaucracy. Also, Trudeau uses double the campaign planes.

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Duration: 49:59
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Liberals to boost spending and extend deficits while taxing luxury goods and Internet giants
• Blame the United States’: B.C. to stick with seasonal time changes until 2020
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• Alberta NDP call on UCP government to reverse any potential funding cuts to post-secondary
• Conservatives call Trudeau a ‘hypocrite’ for boasting of environmental creds while flying 2 campaign planes
• Word of the Week: Offset

Elections Canada hires social media influencers to sway voters, the Alberta NDP want Pride to exclude not include, and BC NDP taxes are killing the forestry industry. Also, Trudeau bases his plastics ban on data from an American grade school project.

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Duration: 46:35
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Is Elections Canada biased toward the Liberals?
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• NDP’s intolerant approach a blow to free speech, Pride celebration
• Closures, cuts at B.C. pulp and sawmills add to forestry job losses
• Ottawa announces plans to ban single-use plastics starting in 2021 at the earliest
• Word of the Week: Muzzling

Jason Kenney wins a historic majority UCP government in Alberta, and his promise to turn off the taps to BC gains steam. Also, the Trudeau government finally reverses course on refugees while Trudeau is being investigated again over ethics violations.

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Duration: 58:31
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Jason Kenney wins majority government
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• Kenney’s threat to ‘turn off the taps’ to B.C. ‘doesn’t make any business sense:’ experts
• Trudeau takes ‘sharp turn’ away from ‘refugees welcome’
• Court orders lobbying watchdog to reopen probe into Aga Khan over Bahamas vacation controversy
• Word of the Week: Repudiation

Trudeau wants a free media except with China, low turnout in BC’s referendum causes hypocrisy, and two unidentified Alberta NDP MLAs are accused of sexual misconduct. Also, a taxpayer funded government flight turns into Mardi Gras, but the media deflects.

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Duration: 45:18
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Attacks on the media are a threat to democracy, Trudeau says
• Elections B.C. says 18 per cent of electoral reform ballots returned, but changes how it counts them
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• Two NDP MLAs accused of sexual misconduct kept confidential to protect complainants: Premier
• Sajjan, Deputy Minister dig a deeper hole for themselves on $337,000 “party flight”
• Word of the Week: Misconduct

Chrystia Freeland takes a break from lying on the floor to negotiate metal tariffs, the NDP hypocritically believe Kenney is dropping his mask, and allegations surface of vote buying in Vancouver. Also, Jihadi Jack wants to return to Canada.

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Duration: 53:07
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• She’s way out of her league’: Steel exec slams Freeland’s handling of tariff fight
• UCP leader finally dropping the mask on his true beliefs, NDP minister says
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• Officials investigating alleged vote buying in Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby
• Jihadi Jack wants to live in Canada. Here’s what officials are doing for ISIS fighters in Syria
• Word of the Week: Jihadi

A 21 hour Parliament session protests the Atwal cover-up by the PMO, Alberta’s budget draws criticism for its rising debt, protests at Trans Mountain result in MPs’ arrests and work delays, and an important look at data-mining on social media.

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Duration: 49:39
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• I think we made our point’: Conservatives end their nearly 21-hour-long House of Commons voting marathon
• Alberta Budget 2018 met with mixed reaction
• B.C. MPs Elizabeth May, Kennedy Stewart arrested at Kinder Morgan facility
• Chris Wylie says he’ll testify in U.S., U.K. about Cambridge Analytica
• Word of the Week: filibuster

The Alberta NDP sets aside 1.4B of taxpayer money for industry to reduce emissions, we cover Dianne Watts and the BC Liberal leadership race, free trade and Trudeau’s failed trip to China, as well as callous remarks from the Minister of Disabilities.

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Duration: 46:08
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Alberta sets aside $1.4 billion for industry to reduce carbon emissions
• Liberal leadership candidate Dianne Watts could have an uphill battle ahead
• Trudeau’s failed free trade trip to China
• Everyone … has a sob story’: Thalidomide survivors say they were belittled by disabilities minister>
• Word of the Week: Free trade

Terrorism comes to Edmonton. Also, electoral reform in BC, an AB NDP MLA leaves caucus, Jagmeet Singh wins the federal NDP race, Energy East is now dead, Ottawa spends too much on legal fees, and the BBC notes our Holocaust memorial’s Jewish omission.

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Duration: 1:04:28
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Edmonton Police Officers and Pedestrians Struck in Edmonton Terrorist Attack
• NDP announces B.C. referendum on proportional representation
• Karen McPherson Leaves NDP Caucus
• Jagmeet Singh wins NDP leadership race
• TransCanada terminates plan for Energy East pipeline
• Ottawa spent $110K in legal fees fighting First Nations girl over $6K dental procedure
• Canada forgets to mention Jewish people at Holocaust memorial
• Word of the Week: terrorism

A First Nations band in BC refused to evacuate, the Alberta Finance Minister isn’t concerned with an interest rate hike, a survey finds 71% of Canadians disagree with the Khadr settlement, and the media ignores NDP candidates extreme views on capitalism.

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Duration: 36:34
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• ‘We’re not leaving’: Tempers flare between First Nation, RCMP amid wildfire evacuation order
• Interest rate hike not good for Alberta right now: Ceci
• Khadr’s Compensation: 71% of Canadians say government made wrong call by settling out of court
• NDP leadership candidates’ extremism ignored by Media Party
• Word of the Week: reconciliation

Plunging approval ratings for Premier Notley, and a surprising shift to the left in the BC Liberal’s throne speech. Meanwhile, there are questions of accountability in the Senate, and bad journalism leads to misplaced anger over the Syrian Refugee plan.

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Duration: 42:20
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Premier Rachel Notley tied for second as Canada’s least popular premier: Poll
• B.C. legislature hears Throne Speech / Clark’s left turn worries her party’s conservatives, could endanger Liberals free-enterprise coalition
• Tie vote defeats Senate motion to split infrastructure bank from budget bill
• Kellie Leitch criticized over tweet attacking Syrian refugee program
• Word of the Week: Accountable