Janis Irwin: Alberta, This Isn’t a Drill

The Jann Arden Podcast

Jann Arden hosts NDP MLA Janis Irwin to discuss the rising political tensions and separatist movements in Alberta. The conversation explores

Key takeaways

• Former political rivals Jason Kenney and Rachel Notley are reportedly working together to oppose Alberta separatism.
• Misinformation regarding the financial benefits of secession is specifically targeting vulnerable seniors in low-income housing.

Main topics

• Alberta separatism movement
• Political misinformation and disinformation

Notable quotes

Success is not a ladder, it's a horizon.

Conclusion

The episode emphasizes that active voter participation and community c

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) So maybe you've heard I got hitched this summer. Thortis and I are so excited for our honeymoon. In fact, we're scoping out amazing places right now on Airbnb. We're doing Edinburgh. We are planning to wander the cobblestone streets of Old Town, walk the Royal Mile up to Edinburgh Castle, and hike up Arthur's Seat for that incredible view over the city. Staying in a home booked on Airbnb means that I'll get to experience the local gems of the neighborhood. And we also love staying somewhere that actually feels like home. A place to come back to at the end of the day, kick off our shoes, make a cup of tea, and figure out what adventure we're going to go on next. Knowing we'll be on the road yet again, it's another opportunity to list our home on Airbnb and give someone else a chance to fall in love with a completely different corner of the world. It's a chance to feed the deer in Springbank, Alberta, and dip your feet in the Bow River while we get a little extra income to put towards Edinburgh. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.ca slash host. You know what I love? A really great story. And even better, sharing it with people who love stories as much as I do. That's why we started the Jan Arden book bag over on Patreon with our only Jans. Right now we're diving into Carly Fortune. She has been the soundtrack to our summer. And Audible has become a big part of that experience. Audible gives you more out of... every story, whether it's an A-list narrator, a full cast production, or immersive sound design. You can revisit classics like the Audible original production of 1984, or finally check out the titles everyone keeps talking about, like the Let Them Theory. Hear stories that speak to you. New members can start listening with a 30-day free trial at Audible. Find over 400 episodes of the Jan Arden Podcast, along with an incredible library of audiobooks and ad-free podcasts. And get on this Carly Fortune train with us. That's audible.ca. Speaker 2 (2:22) Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jan Arden Podcast. I am Jan Arden. I am, as always, here with two wonderful young women, Caitlin Green, Sarah Burke. We also have an extraordinarily special guest today. She's a friend of mine. She was at my wedding. Speaker 1 (2:39) That's how we got her to come Speaker 2 (2:40) on the pod. Yeah, she was the plus one of our fearless NDP leader, the head Nenshi. Let me tell you a little bit about Janice Irwin. She is a beloved, beloved member of the NDP Legislative Assembly, an MLA, as they say. Passionate advocate for social justice, which is important in these days. Equity, community building, all the things you see Janice Irwin doing constantly on social media. It is so fun. I love showing up in her comment section and just swearing. She's the NDP MLA for Edmonton Highlands Norwood, and the people there love her, but she's also beloved all over the province. She's been so vocal, such a vocal champion for public health care, education, workers' rights. We're just coming out of Labor Day, so maybe we can speak to that. She has a background in activism, and she's really committed to progressive values. And so I can be your ride or die, Janice. You know that. She's such a fresh voice in politics and this. Speaker 2 (3:48) Let's call it a political landscape, shall we? Because there's a lot going on right now. We have the opportunity to talk to Janice directly. I'm not going to say that I'm nonpartisan because I'm not. I'm definitely, my leg is swung over the NDP side of the fence. And that's my prerogative. It's my podcast. I'm not. a conservative at all. My parents were for many, many years, but I think as everybody knows, it's not the conservative party of Peter Lougheed. Things have changed. They have swung in a direction that is disconcerting to say the least. Please welcome our guest today, the fantastic Janice Irwin. Speaker 4 (4:29) Wow. That was way better than the bio I sent you. That's amazing. I'm going to write that one down. I did not have beloved in my bio multiple times. So thank you, Jan. No, of course. Well, listen, let's Speaker 2 (4:42) just start with there's a big issue. in Alberta that is on the table right now. In fact, I just sent away from my mail-in ballot. We can talk about that, but I travel a lot with my job and I'm going to be out of the country when the vote on the referendum for separatism in Alberta to continue the conversation about separatism in Alberta and nine other things that are on the block, as it were. So I'm going to have a mail-in ballot sent to me. Tell me what... is happening in Alberta? What got us to this point? I know it's a huge question, but there's so much confusion, so much misinformation about any kind of separatist referendum stuff. We saw it happen in Quebec for decades. Still a lingering issue there economically. All these years later, they're still suffering from trying to secede the sovereign nation of Canada. There's still problems there. Anyway, Janice. Give us, enlighten us, if you would. Speaker 4 (5:45) Yeah, I mean, I don't know if I can tell you everything that got us here because I think we'd be here for a very long time. But, you know, in a nutshell, I mean, we've had, I've been in MLA since 2019. And 2019 was when the UCP were first elected here in Alberta. Of course, at that time under Jason Kenney was the premier at the time. God, he looks good to me now. Right. I want to kiss him. I was just about to say it, Jan. Like, how did we get to this place where, like, I'm, like, sharing Jason Kenney's posts? Like, it's make it make sense, right? But truly, like, he's, you probably saw, he's paired up with our pal Rachel Notley. And they are working together to push back against separatism. And so had you told me, had you told me even just... three years ago that Rachel Notley and Jason Kenney, who sparred in the legislature for years, would be teaming up, I wouldn't have believed you. And that just shows you where we are at with conservatism in this province under Danielle Smith, because you nailed it, Janet. This is not the conservatism of Peter Lougheed. It's not the conservatism of even Ralph Klein. And of course, not even of Jason Kenney at this point. And that's alarming, right? We've gone so far to the right. The speed at which it has gone. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 2 (7:02) No. And I think— Well, Speaker 1 (7:06) maybe Speaker 2 (7:07) the question is why are some people in Alberta so unhappy? We would be remiss not to sit back and be empathic and say there's some really unhappy people that feel let down by the federal government. They feel disenfranchised. They feel marginalized. They feel not heard. I think it's— We can yell and scream all we want, but there's hundreds of thousands of people that feel so strongly about this that they're willing to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars on this referendum, money that could be spent in a much better way. But the unhappiness Speaker 4 (7:47) is real. It is. And I think you're right. And maybe it's the former teacher in me, but I do really try to respond to folks with empathy. And I mean, you probably know I spend a lot of time knocking on doors all over this province, right? I spend a lot of time. I was just in far South Calgary on the weekend knocking on doors in my constituency. here in central Edmonton, Red Deer, all over the place. And I'll tell you, you meet, when you go to people's doors, you're meeting them where they're at, right? You don't know what's going to be behind that door. And it makes for some really interesting conversations. And I can tell you, you know, there are people who legitimately are fearful and are concerned. As you noted earlier, Jan, there is so much misinformation and disinformation out there that you can imagine why people, when they hear that, hey, look, under a separate Alberta, you're going to be better off financially, you can imagine why that would be appealing to some people. And so I try to talk through it with people. And I'll give you a quick example, just one anecdote of many. I was meeting with some seniors in my constituency. They're in a low-income building. And most of them were very, like, you know, anti-UCP, anti-Daniel Smith. But a few of them were very much interested in separatism. And one of the ladies brought it up and she said, you know, my son showed me a meme, or she didn't say meme, a picture on Facebook that showed that each Albertan would have, you know, X amount more dollars if Alberta separated. Right. These are these are people who've told me that they're struggling to pay for groceries, to pay for rent, to make ends meet. Of course, that's going to be appealing to them. So what did I do? I didn't I didn't laugh at them. I didn't dismiss them. I started to ask questions. So, you know, what would happen to your CPP? Right. You're somebody who's paid into the Canada pension plan for your whole working life. What would happen to that under a separate Alberta? You know, and just really trying to like. you know, ask questions and really trying to dig into it a little bit. And I can tell you, I'll tell the short version of the story. I can tell you by the end of that conversation, you could see the wheels were turning a little bit, right? And I know I can't have conversations with every Albertan, but I think there is power in that, right? The power in conversation. Well, and it Speaker 2 (10:02) is, and it's, we certainly know that nothing is achieved by yelling at each other, but just yelling back and forth. And, but we also realize that Separatists are extraordinarily organized. They have a superb and probably a superior way of gathering their forces, of connecting with each other. And I think it's because on this side, people that do want to remain in Canada are still somewhat apathetic and they really don't believe that it can happen. Yes. We know that anything can happen at this point. You talk about Jason Kenney and Rachel Notley joining up. joining forces to be pro-Canadian. But it's the misinformation and it is older people that, I'll tell you right now, that is not the truth. There is not extra money to be had. The infrastructure that's going to have to take place, it's billions and billions of dollars and it's going to rest on your shoulders. And the people... They really seem to think, well, no, but the federal government. Well, no, it's not your federal government. There is no federal government. Do you think this province is going to cough up money for you? They don't care about you. The government that is doing things right now, they really don't care about you. It's a really selfish undertaking. It's an economic... Speaker 2 (11:26) disaster waiting to happen here. They're already experiencing many businesses, many corporations that want to come and invest in Alberta that are tentative about it. They're worried about it. And then there's a lot of small business that have already talked about leaving here. There's box stores. I think separatists seem to think they're going to wake up after this happens and everyone's still going to be there. Well, that's not the case because there's millions and millions of people that don't want to leave this province. But it's, you know, you think about you're not going to be using a Canadian passport, folks. You're not going to have a pension plan that you've paid into for, you know, decades. That is all moot. And they fail to tell you that. The Conservatives fail to tell you what the other side of this looks like. It's not like there's nowhere to go. And you are still going to be surrounded with the same faces and the same people that are your neighbors. We are better together. Canada is extraordinarily strong. This is one of my most proud possessions is my Canadian passport. But we can't be apathetic about it, Janice. And you make a good point. It's you're talking to people, you're listening. But I wonder how much listening is going on on the other side of the fence. Speaker 4 (12:42) Yeah, and I think the apathy piece is a huge one. And I'll tell you, on the other side of it, you know, again, talking to people, meeting them at their doorsteps, one of the most common responses I get, you know, we'll ask folks, like, you're planning to vote in the upcoming referendum. I will often get, and no matter whether I'm in, you know, South Calgary or in, you know, a poor area in my constituency, people will say things like, ah, it's never going to happen, right? And that is honestly my biggest fear, Jan, is that a lot of folks are dismissing this. Right. And we know we know what happened with Brexit. People dismissed it. People said it would never happen. We know what happened with Trump getting elected