The Heard Podcast

This week David chats with MLA Christina Gray about the changes proposed by the UCP that directly effect your pension.  He also delves into a new child care report and we hear the speech of Jesse Drwiega, winner of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Award, who's acceptance speech was censored by the UCP.

This week David sits down with Dr. Lorian Hardcastle to discuss in detail the UCP’s move to profit-centred, American-style healthcare. Dr. Hardcastle specializes in health law and is based in the Faculty of Law and Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. 

This week David Shepherd breaks down what defunding the police actually means,  UCP Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer dismissal of concerns about a disgraced appointee nomination and we’ve got a couple experts this week talking about the Fair Deal Panel. Why isn't it actually fair? What can we do about it?

Parks are important. Parks are our solace. They are our getaway and they hold a special place in so many Albertans hearts. This episode David Shepherd is joined with our environment critic Marlin Schmidt to discuss the suspension of environmental monitoring by the UCP government as well as a conversation with John Lawson on open coal mining in our parks.

On this week's episode of David chats  with s Nicole Goehring, NDP MLA  and critic for the culture and Shannon McNally, the Artistic Director of the Lilac Street Festival in Calgary.  They break down repercussions of the UCP budget cuts to the arts, the struggles local artists have been facing, and the mounting obstacles that continue in light of recent developments. This week's hot topics include: the lack of leadership in health care as well as the delay in helping seniors.

This week we talk about Alberta's roller coaster of a reopening. Rachel Notley then joins David for an urgent conversation with an Alberta doctor about the UCP's attack on their profession as part of a Facebook Live last week. Viewers who tuned in were able to ask questions in real time, and we received valuable feedback from Dr. Armstrong who is a celebrated Edmonton family physician.

On this week's episode of The Heard we discuss testing the government's new TraceTogether app with a few questionable details, as well as delving into Alberta “reopening” and how scary that can be for those of us who think we are unprepared. David then interviews a local restaurant owner Katy Ingraham, who runs Cartago Yeg.  We tackle her concerns as well talk about how she’s preparing for this looming relaunch. 

For more information on the NDP's Smart Relaunch Strategy check out: 

On this week's episode we’re talking rental support and banning evictions.  Our guests this week include MLA Lorne Dach from Critic for Agriculture and Forestry speaking up about the latest at the Cargill meat processing plant and MLA Lori Sigursdon Critic for Seniors on COVID-19's impact on  long-term care facilities. We also dip our toes into the rural physicians mass exit of Alberta and Bill 10.  Stay safe everyone!

This week, David talks about the challenges facing post-secondary students, the government’s failure to protect workers from the COVID-19 outbreak at the Cargill meat processing plan, and the latest on issues of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Our guest this week is Joshua Bergman, a registered nurse. He offers a firsthand account of what it’s like working on the front lines during this pandemic.

On this week's episode, David delves into what’s going on in healthcare and what that means for folks as we get through this pandemic all from the comfort of his own self-isolation. Then he talks with Nancy King, a parent living in Fort McMurray whose daughter is seeing the impacts of the laying off of Educational Assistants, especially as she is about to graduate high school. This is one not to miss.

On this week's episode David is joined by co-host MLA Heather Sweet as they discuss budget, cuts and corona. Later, they have a conversation with an ER Dr. Darren Markland covering all the need to know information on this pandemic. Finally, we speak with a Marsha Levy, a Calgarian who tested positive for Covid-19 and is in the middle of recovery.  This is not one to miss. 

This week, David Shepard is joined with fellow MLA Rakhi Pancholi. We’re talking big government moves this week, touching on drop in oil price, coronavirus, and the trickle down effect that the UCP budget cuts have had on families.

This week we focus on women’s health and are joined by Women's Issues Critic Janis Irwin and 2 other women who tell their stories on how Jason Kenney’s cuts to Alberta health care have affected them. This episode also features Labour Critic Christina Gray to talk about her new campaign to fight for the pensions of hard-working Albertans.

Jason Kenney and the UCP ran on a simple message - Jobs. Economy. Pipeline. But 9 months into their first term, Alberta is losing jobs and facing slower economic growth than previously expected. In this week's episode, David sits down with Treasury Board & Finance Critic Shannon Phillips and Energy Critic Irfan Sabir to talk about the challenges we're facing and why UCP policies don't seem to be delivering on their core promise. Plus Irfan talks about his journey from new Canadian to MLA for the diverse community of Calgary-McCall.

We're back! This week David speaks with MLA Marlin Schmidt, NDP Opposition Environment and Parks Critic, and Dr. Audrey Reid, Climate Scientist and University of Alberta instructor as they break down everything you need to know about climate change and what you can do to be a part of the solution. 

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