Western Context

Ethics issues in Alberta don’t get covered fairly, BC’s safe supply is getting sold on the streets, and coal plants will become illegal to run after 2030. Also, Trudeau’s new clean fuel standards will increase inflation and hit the poor the hardest.

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“If where we’ve come to, in this country, is when individuals in this province, or any other province, flick their lights on or the furnace fan kicks in that that’s deemed illegal and causes for someone to go to jail, come and get me.” – Premier Scott Moe on the federal government’s 2030 green electricity requirements.

Duration: 55:27
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Alberta ethics probe says Smith didn’t contact prosecutors but did try to influence justice system
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• Safe supply: Are prescribed opioids being sold on B.C.’s streets, and if so, is it a problem?
• Saskatchewan running coal power later than 2030 would be illegal
• New fuel regulations will increase price of fuel and decrease GDP
• Word of the Week: Regulation

The Prairie provinces join against Trudeau’s gun ban, we compare the opioid crisis approach of BC and Alberta, and people are moving from Ontario to the West. Also, Canada might be in a recession soon.

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“It’s like a bicycle that’s going really, really slowly. It’s fast enough that it’s still staying upright, but it’s kind of wobbling. If it hits a pebble, it could be knocked over. … And there’s a tonne of pebbles around.” – Stuart Bergman, chief economist at Export Development Canada, describing the Canadian economy at present.

Duration: 56:11
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• Alberta government calls on RCMP to ignore federal firearms ban within province
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• A tale of two provinces: Assessing the opioid crises in BC and Alberta – Geoff Russ for Inside Policy
• Go west, young man: Alberta sees largest wave of interprovincial migration since 2014
• Canada headed for ‘severe’ and ‘inevitable’ recession in 2023: economist
• Word of the Week: Execute

Singh and O’Toole battle for BC’s votes, Alberta will vote on equalization and DST in the fall, and the Green Party goes through a civil war. Also, we detail the untold stories of the pandemic: overdoses, comorbidities and more.

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Duration: 55:13
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

“Any time we talk about big infrastructure, there has to be a commitment that the infrastructure is made with Canadian products, Canadian steel, Canadian aluminum. The Liberals have talked about a high-speed train. They’ve never mentioned once that they’re going to use Canadian products in a high-speed train,” -NDP leader Jagmeet Singh on his not quite “Buy Canadian” strategy

• Singh promises public infrastructure to be made with ‘Canadian products’ in jobs plan
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• Albertans to vote on daylight saving time, equalization in the fall; pension and police to be further studied
• Green party executive launches membership review of its own leader, Annamie Paul
• Overdoses, alcohol-related deaths increased in Canadians under 65 during pandemic: StatCan
• Word of the Week: Advantage

New Conservative leader Erin O’Toole is a surprise to the media, Alberta’s first black justice minister is overshadowed by economic woes, and the opioid crisis is spiralling out of control in BC. Also, we look at China’s hostile takeover of Nortel.

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Duration: 59:22
Hosts: Shane and Patrick

• How Erin O’Toole won
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• Alberta’s deficit could balloon to $24.2 billion
• B.C. marks 3rd straight month with more than 170 overdose deaths
• Inside the Chinese military attack on Nortel
• Word of the Week: Reckoning