(0:00 - 0:20) Hi everybody, I am Madison Holmes. And I am Maycee Holmes. And you're watching Holmes Squared.   Yes ma'am. Yeah, you are watching Holmes Squared. We were dealing with technical difficulties so if our setup looks different then apologies.   (0:21 - 1:59) Because it is different. Because it is different. Today we have a very very special guest.   And this is actually a very exciting episode for me and Maycee because in our realm of political activity, which our last episode actually was on, is why we're involved and giving you all of the recordings we've been doing with our municipal candidates, we have another individual here who is way more politically involved than we are. But every time we go to a youth event, because we are apparently the youth are in charge with saving the youth, surprise surprise, every time we go to a youth event Blaine is right there on the scene. So we are going to get an in-depth version that anybody can get in 30 minutes on why Blaine is involved, how she started this journey and kind of get a feel for their perspective in the Alberta realm because they are in Alberta with us and trying to get youth involved.   I know for me it's been a pain in the cahootie so we are going to get another person's perspective on what it's like to try and recruit people into politics, especially young people. So I'm excited for this and I will have Maycee give the the first question of the honors. Yeah so Blaine, the first question is basically like let people know like who are you, what's your story and why did you get involved in the political realm at all? And we'll start from there.   (2:00 - 5:26) So I'm Blaine Badiuk. I'm like an Albertan, I grew up in northern Alberta, now I live in southern Alberta. So Alberta is my home and blessed to live on this beautiful land.   I have kind of been politically engaged for quite a while. I was involved, I'm a little bit older so even though I'm youth, I'm sometimes aged out of the youth category at some things. But the first political interaction was really the 2011 federal election.   I watched it very closely, I was in middle school at the time and so being an elementary minister and be interested in politics is very abnormal, which I would love to change that because that's exactly when we should be getting involved at any age. And you learn so much, especially going through those formative years, those teenage years. You learn a lot about who you are and what you value and those values may change.   I've not been a conservative. When I started, I was originally on the left, as lots of young people are in general. Totally.   And over time, I saw what I thought were the values of, you know, supporting people, giving people a fair shot at life and a fair shot at, you know, a fair shot in this society. Really values that were abandoned by the left over time. And between 2015 and 2019, I saw a federal government that was openly hostile to my province and our people.   And I just really became quite upset and angry with what I thought was, you know, the left side movement. And I opened my eyes towards the conservatives more so and the right side of politics. And then what really got me involved was seeing during COVID, we saw the federal government take away people's fundamental freedoms, fundamental rights.   And as somebody who needs medical autonomy in order to live my life, as I'm a transsexual, I believe that should be the right of every Canadian. And so that's really what pushed me to more of the freedom movement. I was never involved with like the freedom convoy or anything.   In fact, I and I openly tweeted against it at times. But the overreaches we've seen by the government, I just, I couldn't sit quietly by anymore. And so in the summer of 2022, I think we will have in, or maybe it was 23, I don't remember, but it was 2022.   Yeah, we had two leadership races going on both provincially in the conservative party. And I joined both parties at that time to vote in the leadership races. And my candidates didn't win.   But provincially, I kind of stayed involved. And after the 2023 provincial election, seeing Danielle win a majority government and then her continued compassionate leadership has really driven me to stay involved and to fight for this movement and to try and grow this movement as best we can. So that's a little bit about my story.   (5:26 - 6:48) Yeah, that's interesting, because I was gonna ask you, what were your priorities? Because me and Maycee have met a lot of young people in politics. And one, they, I feel like there's no in between, you either get kids that are completely disinterested, or you get the people that think politics is a respectable career, and they want to run and they want to do campaigns for the rest of their life. And that's their real passion.   And I'm not exactly there. But I feel like that's the two sides majority that I've seen. And so trying to figure out whenever I meet a new young person, young adult in politics is, are they the hardcore political diehard? Or are they completely apathetic? And some people, a lot of the times, if they're passionate about politics, it's honestly been on the federal, like trying to find people that are passionate about municipal or provincial is, frankly, difficult.   So I was one of my questions was, what's your priority? Do you all of the above? Do you prioritize? Do you prefer the local over the federal? Why or why not? Yeah, great question. Because it's true. I think it's, it's ironic, where the most voter engagement we have generally based on voter turnout is at the federal level, because it's kind of the easiest.   (6:49 - 6:51) Right. Once every four years. Yeah.   (6:53 - 9:45) And, you know, especially in Alberta, like, let's be honest, we have 30, 34 Ryans or something like that. 30 of them are like extremely safe conservative seats. Like, it's not hard to vote in Alberta at federal level.   But as you get more locally, more provincially, and then locally, it becomes way more important, what happens, especially as your one vote has a lot more power at the local level than it does, you know, in a riding of a hundred and, you know, 110, 120,000 people versus, you know, you vote in, you know, maybe one in, you know, in some, if you have a small city, one in 30,000 or smaller, right? So you have a lot of sway, and a proportion of how people vote. So I mentioned, so my first inflation was federally. But then my issues, I wasn't like very interested in local politics.   I grew up in northern Alberta, but I grew up in a city that had transit. And I rode the bus as a kid, my family didn't know what to call. So like, transit was really important to me, one of these really small things.   And that's, so that's the local, it's very much local. And I was involved, I emailed, you know, city council candidates, I mean, like, what's your plan to fix transit in the city? And, you know, that's kind of was this one linchpin. Where I see my issues now is in education.   In general, I originally went to school to become a teacher, I didn't end up finishing that. But education is really core to who I am and what I believe in. And I'm wanting every kid to have an equal access, because school for me was transformation.   It got me to where I am today. And when I was in school, I noticed so many kids who just, who fell behind, who fell through cracks. I had family members who were, and I don't want that for anyone.   And so that's, I want a system where every kid has a chance to succeed and to compete in this new world that we're moving into, because we don't know where the jobs are. So yeah, really, it's kind of always come back to provincial, because education has kind of really been always important to me. But yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say I'm on the Airstream, like, I want to run every single campaign involved, I just end up happening to help a lot.   But to me, I mean, I want any level, like, even if you just commit to vote, I am like, so happy about that. Even probably 30% of Canadians at least don't vote, you know, and it's been as low as 40-50. In a local election, then 30% voter turnout, you'll be lucky.   (9:46 - 9:58) Yes, absolutely. That was the one of the annoying things. What was it, Maycee? What was it? 11% for the year that Floyd entered Calgary's water? Like, it was like 12%? It was a really small voter turnout.   (9:58 - 10:15) Yeah, that dictated- You had like, basically, it said it was like, oh, 67% support, but it's like this voter turnout ended up to being about like, 11% of people basically decided that you were going to get fluoride in your frickin water. And it's like- Yeah, in that mayoral candidate year. Yeah.   (10:15 - 10:57) Yeah. And yeah. So I'm like, okay, well, 11% of our population basically just decided to mass medicate everybody.   So yeah, no, it's true. Like, honestly, I appreciate people that decide that they want to go out and vote. But I understand the mentality of kind of going like, it's basically like, the lesser of two evils.   And so I do understand how like, a lot of people, they do feel that way. And I feel bad for that. Because I'm like, yeah, like, honestly, like, when it comes to the UCP and the NDP and liberals, like sometimes even I'm like, yeah, I guess like, conservative would be the lesser of two evils.   (10:58 - 12:09) Especially in Alberta, Alberta has had a complicated relationship with the conservatives. Because even there was, so I didn't know you were in a long time, Albertan and you talking about Alberta so highly, I'm like, well, okay. Because I feel like Alberta's got a bit of slack on the public scene as of lately.   But one thing that's been interesting, like there's this whole Alberta Next panel that Danielle is doing right now to try and give us things like an Alberta police force, the Alberta pension plan, they're doing like all these information sessions on it. And looking back, even previous, there was the Alberta agenda that supposedly was going to give Alberta similar rights in the past. And it can be it was a conservative government that promised it.   And then, as soon as they were like, they got in and got everything they wanted, they completely ignored Alberta. So even, I think, Albertans, which is why you're saying like, it's been more complicated on the local levels. And because we've seen that sway that no matter the party, we have been, Alberta specifically, regardless of the candidate, kind of messed up.   (12:11 - 15:45) Well, definitely, like federally, like Alberta has never been treated fairly by the federal government. I mean, going back to how we were founded in 1905 as a province, they purposefully split Alberta and Saskatchewan up in the way they did to ensure that we would never be able to outpower Ontario. And that is how a lot of, you know, the Laurentian elites, as they're called, and I do classify them as that, trying to treat Alberta.   And so even, and the political power is not in Alberta, right? We have 34 seats out of 300, or something like that. I'm probably saying this wrong. And it just changed.   So, you know, that's my caveat. But roughly that out of 300, some seats, right? Like it's, we do not have that political capital in comparison. Well, we are 14% of the population.   We are the economic engine for this country. And we just feel often taken advantage of, regardless of who's in Ottawa. And so, you know, I think definitely the past four or so years, leading up to this last federal election has been a lot about what we just needed a pure poly of intergovernment and things we'll work it in.   No, the Conservative Party alone is not the answer. It is part of the answer, because, you know, I believe all of Canada will benefit from a Conservative government. But we need really strong MPs, and a really strong provincial government that will fight no matter who is in power in Ottawa to ensure that all burdens are taken care of.   Yeah. Like putting the proper pressure on, like, Danielle seems like a better priority than paying attention necessarily, like on the federal scale, because if you don't have someone who's going to be willing to advocate for you, right, then you're not really on a good standing ground, regardless of who's in. I mean, like, granted on federally, if it's like, Oh, well, at least she'll have a better chance negotiating with like Polyvievre, right? It's like, yeah, but you have to understand the freaking pressures that are on the necks of like people in federal government.   It's like, Alberta is on the bottom of the list, which is so funny, because we're literally basically their welfare, like they survive because of us, right? But it's but we don't want that. And because it's not because it necessarily just benefits, I mean, doesn't benefit us, but because people like Quebec, they have to now appear like they're lesser than, like, they literally will not include that their hydro is a part of what is economically sustaining them so that they can receive more payments. And it's like, guys, like, do you do you get like, I don't know, do you feel good every time that you basically just come across that you're basically crippled and can't take care of yourself? I'm like, that's not you're supposed to be raising people and consequently, provinces that actually want to stand on their own two feet instead of just relying on your neighbors in a very bad codependent way that is just not healthy, like any, even in a family relationship.   It's like it's like a hideous, like toxic codependency. And it's like, you know that your kids supposed to go to the park alone, right? Like, right. Well, I guess that's kind of what Blaine, you were saying even about the education system, like that, that micro thing about Alberta to the or Quebec to the federal government, even kids have to do to their their local systems, whether they're in school, they're in politics, they got to be able to stand on their own two feet.   (15:45 - 18:12) And sometimes that's very difficult when you have these external forces going at you. But like, that's a crucial point is when is to realize that you're even in that position of vulnerability. And you're right in school, you are absolutely vulnerable, whether it's public, Catholic, honestly, we've been talking to a lot of candidates for school board trustees.   And the problems that they're facing are no different than the problems that even me and Maycee, we've been in a couple different charter and Catholic schools, they're the same problems. And that's, I think why you education, I'm with you on how important that is, because if people don't realize that there is a problem in the first place, whether it's in the schools in the homes in the province in the city, then you can't tackle it, you can't help you can't do anything. And it's so frustrating, like, I definitely want to get your thoughts on this.   But it's like, the part that frustrates me is no government is going to teach you how to overthrow them. That is just not going to be a thing. So even in education, you're never going to get, like, the provincial government is not going to be like, here's all the ways that we're corrupt, and all the ways that we screw up and don't know what the fuck we're doing and how our system is actually not very good at all.   And it's just, they're not gonna lay that out for you. They're just gonna be like, Okay, well, here's a few things to memorize and not actually do with it with your existence, because it's like, I don't know, I never needed like majority of what I learned in school. It's like, I'm you're not even learning.   It's funny, the cliche was just like, Oh, I wish they teach me how to do taxes. Right. And it's like, I wish they taught me what the fuck my taxes are being used for.   Why do I need them? Where's it going? How do I hold people accountable to make sure that it's doing this? It's like, what would be better? Do we even need them? It's like all these things. And I was just like, that's like when you talk education, I'm thinking culture. And I'm like, Oh, my God, like, I just wish that honestly, we could be asking better questions.   But of course, that's downstream of like, I guess, parenting, right? Because it's like, if you know that the system is not going to do that, then it's like, Okay, well, what can they do? And it's like, All right, you need to learn how to read. Okay, that's, that's good. That's a good start.   You should be literate. That's good. And then it's like, you can you can go from there.   And then your parents should be the ones where it's like, Okay, your school's never gonna give you this book. Here, you have this book on how the banking systems corrupt, because they won't teach you that in school. And then you can learn that.   (18:12 - 20:53) And then that's how we can try and hold our our politicians more accountable. Because it's like, it was like what Benjamin Franklin said, where it's like, it's a republic, if you can keep it in the sense where it's just like, you need an educated populace in order to actually participate in what democracy is supposed to be. Otherwise, it is just vote every four years, hope that this guy's gonna do it.   It's false promises. And then they just continue with whatever agenda they want to continue with. Yeah.   What's your opinion on that Blaine? Because that's kind of like, that's one of weird blends. Like even you saying that no politician is going to save you. That is something a lot of people I don't think they think they think they think that Poilievre is the answer.   There's nothing else you have to do. It's just Poilievre and it'll fix everything. Even the battle that I think was it Crowfoot or whatever that was going on for Poilievre.   It's like, people are like, yeah, no, it's now we're good. I'm like, no, no, like, what's wrong with you? Yeah. No, it's, I think a lot of people have come to rely on the government as the government's solution to everything.   And it's either, you know, the government's the answer in terms of providing everything, which is the left's, you know, perspective, or it's, you know, there's no new right perspective where, you know, the government's gonna come in and they're gonna, you know, jail all the criminals and, and bail and they are bail and the government's going to, you know, defend you and all borders and, you know, create the jobs. It's like, no, it, it involves citizens, dead dates and holding these politicians to account on their actions each and every time. And, you know, we don't necessarily have that.   We have, we are a lot closer in Alberta on that. Insofar as there's, there's like open nominations every four years for every single seat, every MLA in the UCP, they have, they face a nomination battle. Anyone can contest it.   I mean, rules, but anyone tested, that's not the case federally. So we have MPs who have been in parliament, you know, decades, and they hold the seats safely, and they're never challenged. And, you know, so then if you're a type of MP, why would you want the system to change? You're sitting on a, you know, close, if not over, it's about $200,000 a year now.   And, you know, and I'll, and I'll a bunch of expenses paid. Now, I'm not denying the work of an MP, who's dedicated to the community is difficult. It's a lot of travel back and forth.   (20:53 - 23:00) It's a lot of being in the community. It is a 24 seven, 365 job. But you have to remember why you went into it in the first place.   And if you went in it for a paycheck, you have failed. And I think too many politicians of all strikes have done that. And that's why it's so important that young people get involved and get engaged.   And I, you know, for me to be involved, I have to believe in something. So either there has to be a policy issue that drives me, or I really believe in the party as a, as itself, or I believe in the leader primarily, or I believe in the local candidate. And of course, locally, then there is no party, there's no leader.   So you all believe in that candidate primarily. And so what, you know, so locally, I can usually find it and it was like, you know, I believe in you, like 100% not necessarily because you share my values, but because you are transparent on your values and you're transparent, but that's how you vote. And that's what I want to see from politicians is, this is what I call zero, is this is how we'll do it.   And I will listen along the way, but you will know how I'm going to vote on every single issue because I've laid it out ahead of time. Right. I like that.   I mean, so I'm a bit different in the sense where it's like, I believe in the people behind said thing, then I'm on board. So it's like for the UCP, I don't actually give a shit about the UCP party entity. Like that's, to me, I'm like, I see it as like, the structure is already built.   And if the people that I'm surrounded with decide that they want to take it upon themselves and feel like it's the best gateway for us to try and talk to the person who's in charge or try and like, when we create new parties, I feel like we're kind of shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit. So I'm like, okay, the biggest entity is, okay, UCP, NDP, liberal. Those are the big ones.   And the other guys, like, they're probably not going to make it very far. I'm like, okay, that's unfortunate. They will in Alberta.   (23:00 - 26:14) Yeah. Right. Yeah.   Right. But it's like, and I agree where it's like, okay, which one kind of like aligns with my values? I'm like, okay, I would say I would go closer towards conservative because I'm like, I'm seeing other Albertans and they're like, and I'm down in the fields with them. I'm like, okay, they're saying that it's like family and faith and all these things.   And I'm like, it doesn't mean that I don't think a liberal necessarily doesn't care about family. Right. It's just how we choose to go about figuring out how to care for each other.   It's like, you say community, but you only mean yours. Right. And sometimes conservatives do that too.   Sometimes literally I've seen it where it's just like, they say community and you just mean yours. So it's like, we have to figure out, okay, how can we like try and figure out what's best for ourselves moving forward? And then I think that so far, what I've been seeing is grassroots people lean more towards, and a lot of rural individuals lean more towards conservative and just people that are like hard workers. And like, I'm a bit biased because obviously like my dad worked the rigs for 17 years.   So I'm like, okay, so like that right there is someone who worked really hard. Right. And like, they know what it means to actually labor for their family.   Right. And then they're trying to figure out, well, how do I understand systems so that way I can better update them. And so I'm like, okay, conservative wise, I thought it was the best vehicle for us to try and go into to try and figure out how we can hold people accountable.   I felt like if we went down the liberal NDP path, we weren't going to get very far. But at least that's kind of what Blaine said earlier too, like starting on the left. And like you said, young people do that frequently.   And that's because the guys of, and not always the guys, sometimes it is genuine, like caring for one another, like that empathy, they definitely say that that's high on their list. Or progressive, right? They say, oh, we like change. Yes.   And young people, like that's aspirations. They got a lot of zeal. So they're ready to go get things and challenge the orthodox.   You know, every single youth is reticent at like the height of their rebellion. And so I'm on board for that generally, because I like change. I like pushing the boundaries, seeing how many discoveries you can make.   And I'm all about community. So if you tote that in supporting one another, and I'm on board totally. But what you were saying, Blaine, is like the actual tools and how it was manifesting was not matching the idea that people thought, the idea that they sold was not matching the actual actions that they were doing.   And so you were like, okay, how do I get the action part of that? And so I feel like the conservatives don't always sell this great message. So I do feel, I feel like conservatives today are a bit more left than they were a couple years ago. Like, I don't think it's the same bar anymore.   No, I think the political spectrum shifts constantly. Like, without a doubt, whether they're more left or more right, it's, I mean, I think it's in relative context. Like when you have, I mean, historically, I mean, let's say historically, the Jean Tristan liberals in the 90s, they were, they were, they were conservative.   (26:14 - 27:26) Totally. Right. So, you know, so then like the Reform Party was even further right.   While under Justin Trudeau, the liberals went quite left, they went even further left than the NDP at times. Right. So anything right of that is seen conservative.   And so when you have, you know, somebody, you know, when you have the new conservatives under Pierre Poilievre, you have the, you know, a right-wing, maybe a little central right, but generally right-wing party, the left sees it as like far right, but it's because what they went so far over. And that happens throughout history. There's times, I think it's all relative, but it's, it's staying true to values and to what matters most.   Right. So economic family, that's a really big cornerstone of conservative politics. You know, law and order, respect for tradition.   But I think conservatives, while the name conservative is historically tied to conservative as the name suggests. Right. Well, the left is more like the progress.   (27:26 - 27:32) Yeah. I don't think conservatives should be avoidant of progress. It's how progress looks.   (27:33 - 27:53) Yes. Because no matter what, the world is moving in our direction. And the difference is we, we believe we can get through the progress, but through limited government, through personal freedom, through, you know, strong community, strong family as a building block.   (27:53 - 28:52) And I think that's really the difference. And I think that's where we have to move to. Where I'd love to see more people move towards is having these discussions, because when you cut to people on the other sides of the spectrum, you realize you both really want the same thing at the end of the day.   Right. And it's, you know, a better quality of life for everyone, a fair shot in this economy, or the opportunity to buy a home, to have a job, to raise your family, to be safe, to don't walk down the street and feel safe. I think most people will generally agree with these things.   It's how we get to that is very different. Right. And that's, that's the real debate between the left and the right.   I think it's how we get to these end goals. And that's, that's a big issue we're dealing with right now. You're speaking my language.   (28:52 - 30:29) And I wouldn't even say, I would agree with Matt in the sense where she said that the conservatives today are a bit more, I don't necessarily want to say liberal. I'll just say they're showing signs of the progressive push of where the world seems to be going, at least in Northern America, because that's not necessarily the rest of the world. But for like, even the idea of like, the climate change narrative, or even what was going on with schooling in terms of what's going on with kids and the, and the LGBT and what's going on there.   It's like, when Danielle was like, okay, we're going to try and we're going to see if we can get some technology to work on like, reducing carbon emissions. Right. It's like that you could look at that and be like, that's not actually a very conservative push, because then you're kind of accepting the narrative that, oh, CO2 is bad for us, right? Instead of the idea of, well, what if it wasn't? Hence the whole, you challenge the what, what in the past it hasn't been.   So why now? Right? It's like, but we've been alive for how long? And why? It was the United Nations. And we've, cars back then had way more pollution than they do today. Why now? Right? It's like, if anything, you'd feel like they'd be questioning, but it's a bit like, they do transition a bit more towards taking it in at face value, even though it's like, hold on now, like research would suggest it's not necessarily the case.   Right. And then even with the LGBT, it's like, what me and Maddie, we did the, we were doing a debate, I think, like the HBM, the youth debate. And I think it was like the idea of like, parental opt in versus opt out for teaching.   (30:29 - 33:44) Sex ed, I think. Yeah. For sex ed education.   But I think it might've been like gender identity in sex ed or whatever. Right. And then when we were talking about that, it was, we were saying, well, parents should have the right to opt in.   So that way they're already out immediately. So that way it's like, there's no trickery of the school systems basically saying, oh, sorry, you didn't know. Now we've taught your kid this thing that you might've not actually wanted because it's like, hold on now.   Like, that's not, that's not fair to the parent. Granted, you should be paying attention if you're a parent. But, so I'm like, but like, but even then the idea for Danielle to kind of go like, okay, like you don't get to do this thing until you're of this age.   Right. And I'm like, okay, that's even then her kind of saying that it's like, I'm not going to like as conservatively, you could go like, well, hold on now. Like that's, that shouldn't even be a thing.   Like, why is this a problem we should be solving? This shouldn't even be a thing. But then it's like, no, no, no. You have to accept that.   It's like, but we do have the problem. And there is an idea where it's like, some kids are obviously facing this. And then some of it is like, is it because of peer pressure or is it because they genuinely have a problem or is it because their brain's not developing and they should probably wait until they're older and then decide if you want to go do this thing.   Right. All of the above. Right.   And so then it was like, well then how do we solve the problem? So it's like, it can't be like one of those things where you stranglehold and you're like, it shouldn't exist. It's like, how do we solve what does exist? And then it was like, okay, Danielle decided we'll, this is what we can try and do. And of course it got a lot of people's heads turning, but it was like, whoa, I'm just being irrational here.   It's not like I'm saying they're completely banned. It's just banned till a certain age, please. Um, even though I'm like the type where I'm like, I don't know, irreversible damage, please just do not until you're a page.   That's kind of where I'm at with that. But. And I mean, on that, I think that's, that more than anything is why, you know, stepped so far in and pushed more, um, um, into the UCP because of how Danielle handled the, the suite of transgender policies that she brought forward.   It was with so much compassion. It was very thoughtful and, um, you know, is it exactly how, how I would have done it? No. But is it very much be even between when she announced them in January and when it came into legislation, those really small changes that were made that made a real positive difference in the lives of these youth primarily, and that, and made these policies really strong.   And I think the constitutional, I don't know why any, we have to deal with this, but we'll deal with it. It's fine. We'll fight it in court.   And I think we'll win, um, at the end of the day. And if not, we have the novel standards laws for a reason because kids have kids have constitutional rights to be protected. Um, and, and on the educational side, it's involved parents.   And that is fundamental. The problem is parents abdicated their responsibility of educating their children and gave it up completely to the schools. And teachers are not parents.   Teachers are amazing people. They do, they do God's work, but they are not parents. They're not social workers.   (33:44 - 34:44) They're not psychologists. They're teachers. Let teachers teach, let kids be kids and parents, parent your children.   It's not rocket science. It's basic. So that is a big part of the policy of where, you know, what I was trying to enforce is getting parents involved.   And yeah, I mean, I think when we see, you know, on the medical side, we don't, we don't know there's no scientific basis right now, um, is what's been decided. And under some law, 16 is generally considered where you're confident enough to make a decision, but there's a lot of protections in that at the age 16 and 17 too, um, that make me really happy. So as much as I would, you know, like to see some parts be older and some parts be younger and stuff, but we need to see the science on it, um, do the research though isn't, you know, and yeah, now in science, even if you are transferring view, it's no longer even considered, but that's, that's a whole different discussion.   (34:44 - 42:05) That's totally true. Trust the science. It's like, okay, who's science? Yeah.   And for what incentive? Cause it's like the, the doctors that actually get basically paid to give you the treatments. It's like, well then they don't care about your health. It's like, sometimes the, even the one thing that always bugged me when someone was like, you should like, have you ever thought about seeing a therapist? I'm like, therapists need customers too.   So if it's, if it's either, are they looking at me? Like they actually give a share or that I'm just another fucking customer. Cause if that's the case and they don't care about me as much as you would think that they do, although I appreciate you saying I should, because you think it's the best way to take care of me. And that's what you're trying to do.   It's like, fair enough. I wouldn't do it. Cause it just, it depends.   Like to me, I'm like, we still, there's still people that got to put food on the table for their families and what sometimes they're willing to do for that. It's like the stuff we can do to each other is awful. Well, and what Blaine said about education, I think one of the, and I don't think this is the school's job.   I don't know yet. I haven't decided, but me and Maycee, like that self-knowledge that you were saying school gave you, like that discovery of who you are and your identity, me and Maycee love doing psychology work and looking at the brain and the biology. That way we can understand ourselves better.   It's like, okay, as a natural woman, I have really high neuroticism. So I can get really irrationally angry. That's really important for me to know.   So I don't bite people's heads off, you know, stuff like that. I like to keep in mind. And the school system never taught you any of that.   And some parents don't even know it. Parents don't even know, okay, where's your child's brain at the age of two versus at the age of 17 versus at 24. They don't even know that.   So trying to guide your children into a good decision, let alone teachers who also don't know that information. That is one thing that has been super complicated over the years. Even therapists sometimes don't know the information about the latest psychology.   They have to follow guidelines, just like a school curriculum does. They have a set of rules that according to the regulations, they're supposed to follow. And because there's these strict regulations, they have to follow the rules.   And then we don't get to do what the real progressives and what real science is, is like experimenting to each individual because each individual has their own context. People are very complicated. You can't just broad stroke brush people.   Like I get we have demographics, but even that you have to treat each individual to their own case. I mean, you're a classic example, Blaine, because I mean on face, okay, you're transsexual. Well, then immediately everybody starts labeling all these things.   And yet you've been talking common sense this whole conversation. And especially even a pro-Albertan person, like that's in the transsexual community. That's why labels are so, they're so dumb, because they don't do a person justice.   People are so beautifully complicated. And one label just does not capture it. So well said.   So well said. I'm, you know, I'm about the individual. I don't care what label you are.   I don't care how you identify. I care about you as an individual, because every person, you know, has their God given worth. And that's what I think as a society, we really need to come back to and start playing this identity politics, because it, it got us nowhere.   In fact, I can address you, it got quite regressive, quite fast. I wanted to ask you, since we've been kind of playing on this theme the whole time, but it's like, what's going on with Alberta? It's gotten a lot of popularity with the idea of separation and independence. And I wanted to know your take on that, because it's like you being involved in paying attention.   It's like, we know that there is an elephant in the room, and Alberta is definitely like suffering for sure, in terms of like, I even, we even saw a commercial the other day. It was so stupid. And it was saying, it was a parent that was saying like, oh, at Capital One, I'm going to help my two daughters.   One's going to rent a home and one's going to lease one. I'm like, what about buying one? Like, they're changing the commercials now to suit where we are, as if it was always normal that someone can't buy a house at like 20. I'm like, get out of here, get out of here.   So I'm like, okay, so we're not like peachy and glory, right? But at the same time, Daniel Smith is doing the Next panel, in the sense of like, okay, yeah, like, if we decided to get ourselves some like guns, and like how, what would it look like if we actually got to keep them instead of just having all these restrictions? And then what would it look like we had our own police force and all these things that she's even been talking and some people are like, oh, I wish we were more like Quebec. So that way, we could just access more of our constitution, right? So there's some people that are like, be more like Quebec. Some are like, Danielle, which I agree with you where you said, I at least know where I stand with Danielle, because she's the type where she's like, guys, it's my job to keep us in Canada.   So she, you know, that's what she wants. She wants to keep us in Canada. But she's like, how do I do that? And make you guys happy at the same time.   And then there's another group of people that are like, no, I want out of here altogether because of what like Mark Carney is and the devil that's there. And it's like, and we're just going to keep on regressing and he's going to suck basically us like a vampire all of our frickin glorious blood that is oil and it's just no. And so what what do you think? What like, what do you think? What is your opinion? Do you have a perspective on it? Kind of like I don't I haven't made a finite decision yet.   You know, just all these things. Well, I believe in a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada. And that's exactly what Danielle says.   But that's exactly what I believe, too. Now, you know, should I be swayed to support an independent Alberta? Maybe. But, you know, that's not my go to.   My go to is, can Alberta be treated can Alberta get the same constitutional rights as Quebec does where Quebec, you know, for example, does control to a very large degree its own immigration? Would have a huge, huge impact on us. Where, you know, can the protection of Alberta, you know, Quebec, I think, does things like the pension plan, like the, you know, police force, same as Ontario. I think these are all things we have to explore.   And that's why I really like the Alberta Nets panel, because it's some, you know, it's seven proposals of things to consider. Whether any of them go forward to referendum is unknown at this time. And would any of them win? I don't know.   It depends on where we're at. I what I want is I want an economically viable Alberta where anyone in the province can achieve a very high quality of life. And that involves being able to produce our own economy.   (42:06 - 43:28) It's not, you know, hands drawn by the rest of Canada. It means being given, you know, the protection on immigration on our own money and not have it. Flowing to, you know, to Quebec, which is the second largest province, they should not be receiving equalization.   Like that was not the original intent of it. It was support the very small maritime provinces, for example. You know, and I think Albertans are very generous people.   We will, we're happy to give that, but we have to be allowed to produce the wealth so we can give back. It hasn't been allowed to each time. And do I think like a lot of people, it goes back to the same thing about Piotr Poliak being the savior.   And a lot of people are like, well, independence is the saving grace. It alone is not the solution. It's not doing this often, because now we're going to be an independent country and you want us to negotiate a trade deal with Canada and negotiate a trade deal, which would be a foreign country, that a trade deal that access to international waters for energy exports.   Not to mention produce our own currency, have an own military, have an own border. Like it's a lot. Is it possible? Of course.   (43:28 - 48:38) And if the people of Alberta vote to separate, I will be first in line for my Alberta passport. But I'm hoping we can get a fair deal from Ottawa so we can be treated fairly. I said fair a lot in that, but that's basically all we want.   Do I believe Alberta is exceptional? Yes. We are blessed to live on this land at this time with the resources we have and with the ingenuity of what it means to be Albertan. There's no other culture on earth, I think, that has the grit and tenacity and the entrepreneurship that Albertans have, where it doesn't matter.   It doesn't matter where you come from. It doesn't matter to whom you pray. It doesn't matter what your family looks like.   It doesn't matter whom you love. It matters that you work hard, you play by the rules. And when the going gets tough, you get tougher and you keep going.   That's the Alberta spirit. And it's within all of us. And that just needs to be allowed to flourish.   That was very well, very well said. Okay. I know it was well said, but Aloki, you want to add to that? I'm definitely the type where I'm kind of, I'm on the pro-independence thing.   But what I agree with you in the sense is like, I do not want it to be, there was this movie and it's a really good movie. And if anybody hasn't seen it, it's Michael Collins. And it sounds funny because it was actually about the Irish Republic.   And what was happening is they were trying to separate from being a British colony. And then how it transpired was eventually they had Irishmen fighting other Irishmen and it became a civil war. And what happened was in the empire and they're fighting their brethren.   And it basically looped in, spoiler on that spoiler, on the group that basically the group that was fighting originally that first, they became that which they swore to destroy in the sense where they were like, okay, now we're fighting other Irishmen and we're having the British back us. But the whole point was to leave the British empire. And now look what happened through all of these mechanisms.   We started fighting each other and who does that benefit? Well, not us. And so it's like, when I think of the idea of either Alberta independence or stay in Canada or become more self-sufficient and have a fairer deal within Canada, I'm like, I just don't want to fight my fellow brethren basically, like my fellow Albertans. And so I'm like, I don't want civil war in the sense where it's just like, we're getting at each other's throats for the wrong, wrong ideas.   It's like what I see with the Next Alberta Next panel is I'm like, if we get what it is that we're looking for, and that actually happens where we get our own police force or we do have better, I guess, access to our own immigration policies. I'm like, if that's just starts incrementally inching its way forward, I'm happy. I'm happy.   I'm like, hey, that's good. Like we're at least getting a step closer. Right.   But if it's like, because you're not wrong. Like, I'm not like, oh, it's going to save us because I still am, I believe what you're saying, which is education and downstream of culture. It's like, regardless, if we got independent, right.   And if we don't know what we're negotiating for, if we don't know how to properly make trades, if we don't know what kind of system we want to set up, how we want to manage our currency, if we don't know any of these, then we're fucked. And like, it doesn't matter. And we could end up right at square one again.   So I'm like, no, like, it doesn't like, that's not gonna help at all. So it's just like, if we can figure out how to put that pressure on Danielle to be able to put it on the federal government to have the negotiations, great, then we need to keep learning that. So that's why I would advocate for people to learn what Alberta independence would do economically.   Because even if we don't become independent, you now have that knowledge under your belt of what would us succeeding look like. And then you tell Danielle, you can look at her and go like, Danielle, like, if we had our own police force, if we did these things, we would have this X amount of money, we could afford homes, we could afford to buy homes. It's like, what are you doing? Right.   And then you continue to try and show support and be like, please, like, do something about this, because you educated yourself. And so I'd be the type where it's just like, if we just keep inching our way, I'd be happy. I mean, like me and Maddie are a bit more, I guess, aware on the larger scale of geopolitics, which means you try and pay attention to not just like Canada or the US, but like, what's going on in the Middle East? What's going on in China? What's going on in Russia? And we're trying to understand that.   So it's like, in terms of those scales, if Alberta became independent, would I feel like we'd have those type of economic ties where it's like, okay, we would get investment? Hell, yeah, because we're awesome. Like, we were awesome in Canada, we'll be awesome out of Canada. Because like you said, at the end of the day, it's us guys, like, we're the cool ones.   (48:38 - 48:58) Like, we're the cool kids on the block. So it's just like, to me, I'm like, I'm not too dichotomous. I'm also like, I do have my leaning because I really am obsessed with Mark Carney, like, me and Maddie will be doing more information gathering and like poking at that.   (48:59 - 50:09) But, but I agree where it's just like, at the end of the day, guys, so you do need to be able to have the knowledge under your belt to figure out what how it is that you're going to move forward. And if it's within Canada, okay, that will take a lot of hard work in this area. And if it's independent, it's going to take a lot of hard work in this area.   And so it's not the same amount of it's the it's important to get the homework in you, but then how it's going to be applied. Well, that's up to what decision what what problems do we want to solve? And in what way? Because regardless, we're going to have problems. Yeah, on that note, Blayda, speaking of the hard work, solving the problems, getting your hands in the mud, so to speak, how would you recommend people do that? What is stuff that you what are you up to that you believe has been a good way for you to start? How do you tell people? Okay, this is something you can do.   These are events you can attend to just get your feet dirty. Like, what would be your recommendation? So we can start wrapping up like this is how people start to do what you're doing. Yeah, well, I mean, the first first thing I mean, when you're watching this podcast, like, hey, that is a first GG.   (50:10 - 51:38) Oh, like, follow, I mean, get on, I mean, social media census, but like, follow your local MPs, local MLAs. And, you know, the party leaders federally, provincially, really trying to do that. And try and attend events in your community where you can.   I mean, we're coming up to a election, local elections in October. So there will be forms or any debates for the candidates. Go and attend them if you've never been it is fascinating is not.   I mean, if you've watched like a presidential debate, that's like a whole different level of like, austicity. Well, I have very local election is a lot more civil. Yeah.   And it's like actual issues like snow removal, like potholes, like these are like little issues. Those are the issues city government is to deal with. It's kind of how that so those are the kind of like, things if you've never been involved with if you want to like, learn more.   And if you're a young person between the ages of 16 to 25, there's actually a next gen leadership conference that's being hosted. And later this later in September, it's being it's the inaugural summit National Leadership Summit on Saturday, September 27. It is being co-led by Erika Barootes and Chantelle de Jonge.   (51:39 - 52:31) Erika Barootes is a longstanding political activist in the conservative movement and is co-host of the discourse pod, which is another podcast everyone should listen to. And Chantelle de Jonge is MLA for Chestermere-Strathmore and parliamentary secretary for energy. And she's actually just now say she's chairing a nuclear energy panel, which is really exciting.   So especially at the end of the month, it's only $50 includes lunch, you don't learn about leadership, you know, on your leadership style, hear from other people in the political spectrum. And Danielle Smith is making an appearance, apparently. So get it across here a nice little speech mode, but also the opportunity to ask her questions, which is always great.   So I really for young people, this is a dream. It's in Red Deer, centrally located. It's on a Saturday.   (52:32 - 54:00) If you're available, really encourage it. And then another really great conference must coming up is, like, it's in Calgary.   It's on a Friday. It is February 12^th*. It is called the Doing It Right Conference. (*the event is actually on September 12^th)   And two of my friends are putting it on. It's going to be a full day of hearing from incredible women. And yes, it's your children, but it is open to everyone.   They specified men can come too. It's at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino. It's [unintelligible].   I think that it's only like $50 as well. It gets you a free lunch that you bought and that's you everything you need to hear from amazing speakers. Erika Barootes and then, keynote speaker Candace Bergen.   She was interim leader of the conservative party. So a really strong woman who was all true to her values over time, because we made a ton of lessons from that. Marg McCuaig-Boyd is another one.   Energy, she was energy minister under the NDP government. So people from across the political spectrum, it's not just a conservative conference. It is about encouraging women.   And of course, I would love to see young women get involved into politics and authentically be themselves. If you go to UCP event, you often see me wearing pink because that's my political color. If you don't, my Twitter page is also pink.   (54:02 - 56:30) So yeah, so just a couple events that I highly encourage people to get involved with. Oh, there's my lovely Twitter page, would love to be followed @BlaineBadiuk. I tweet quite a bit politics.   I've been there since April 2011. And yeah, and I guess one of the top pinned posts is an interview I did with Adam Soos from Canadians for Truth. And there we did into a little bit more about the, as we call it, the alphabet mafia.   So they do not represent me. But as a transsexual who's a conservative and really just trying to change the narrative on some of these things, because we hear the worst stories come through the news and not the lived experiences. Yeah, that's one thing that I actually appreciated about this interview is, you know, with, I know when people hear, it's a big elephant in the room, you know, when you when you see a man wearing a dress, which we've seen actually a couple of them at the at the AGMs, or you see even a woman wearing man's clothes, the short haircut, everybody gets all these things in their head.   And then the the labels and the identity politics, all of that stuff comes in. But this whole conversation has just been about like, all the important stuff, which surpasses the identity politics, and then the whatever who jigawitzits you call yourself, like it don't matter. It really don't matter.   And that's, that's what I appreciate about this is that we're all we're literally on the same page, regardless of some of the mental issues that we all live with on a regular because, oh, anxiety, depression, not knowing who you are, every person on the planet, every single person, and then different ways to handle it. Maycee alluded to the therapy earlier, which some methods are not as good as others. But that's also for each individual to kind of play around with, talk with their family, get educated, the education is a big one to figure out, okay, where are the money incentives, but this whole conversation, I've really appreciated because just, it's bypassing the fluff on the outside, and really getting to... Oh, yeah, I'm not here for fluff.   Like, we don't have time for fluff. We have a province and a country to save. We have young people who, like, I don't have time to fluff anymore.   (56:31 - 56:40) Shut that fluff up. Okay. Yes! Okay, I can see the subtitle for this episode is shut the fluff up.   (56:41 - 56:47) Oh my god, I hope so. The AI picks it up. Literally, if we just say it enough times, it's gonna be the title.   (56:49 - 59:06) Well, Blaine, thank you so much for joining us on this episode of... what was this? Holmes Squared? This has been fantastic. You have been a very nice, just, common sense mouthpiece for this whole episode, and you gave fantastic advice, too. Not fluffy advice, practical advice.   I didn't even think to tell people, you know, we're involved in municipal politics, but hey, go watch a local municipal debate. Like, that's actually a fantastic idea to get just, because even our dad, the first way he got involved, he was on, he went to a CA meeting. He just went to one of the boards, and not all boards are equal.   Some are actually trying to actively avoid the public, but if you can find your board, you can go attend a meeting, just watch, and they ended up on the LCNC, which is, like, how you nominate one of your MLAs, just from being a pleb and listening in. So people would be amazed what you can learn just showing up. Yeah, and I would just, like, my last remark for people is, like, for those who are like, oh, I don't really want to go to a conference about political people talking about politics, and I'm like, I feel you, but at the same time, it's like, you might be the best person to be there then, because sometimes they do get caught in echo chambers.   Sometimes they will miss things. Sometimes they get caught in the weeds, semantics, whatever bullshit, and it's like, well, then you, you coming in and going like, guys, I feel like you're missing something, then talk to them about that. Say, nah, you're, you're not, you're missing this, you're off about that, and then you're involved, and you're getting, like, you might be the very person that they need, actually, at those conferences.   So, yeah. 100%. Get involved in any way, you know, show up, show up, and, you know, you'll learn, you'll learn a thing or two, without a doubt, and, yeah, it's the only way, you know, if you're tired of any of that, you know, the only way to change it is to, is to change the people making those decisions.   Amen. Well, thank you so much for joining us, everybody. Oh, yeah.   This has been Holmes Squared. We have to do that every time. Okay, now we...