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Alberta politicians distance themselves from far-right German politician event – CBC.ca

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Elected MPs and MLAs in Alberta are distancing themselves from a German member of the European Parliament who attended an event in Calgary this month at one of the city’s most prominent downtown venues.

Christine Anderson, a member of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, went on a cross-Canada tour that ended last Friday in Montreal. She made a stop in Calgary and made an appearance at a dinner event held at the Calgary Petroleum Club on Feb. 18. 

Anderson gained a profile, especially among anti-vaccine Canadians, after she accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of civil rights violations during the trucker convoy protests when he attended the European Parliament in Brussels.

At the event at the Petroleum Club, Anderson was presented with a white cowboy hat by Artur Pawlowski, a Calgary-based preacher whose clashes with authorities over pandemic health rules have made news in recent years. 

Anderson’s cross-Canada tour has made waves, especially within the federal Conservative caucus.

When photos emerged last week of Anderson posing with three Conservative MPs — Niagara West MP Dean Allison, Oshawa MP Colin Carrie and Haldimand–Norfolk MP Leslyn Lewis — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s office issued a statement calling Anderson’s politics vile, racist and hateful

The statement added “it would be better if Anderson never visited Canada in the first place.”

In Calgary, Mayor Jyoti Gondek also raised questions about the visit. 

“Please allow me [to clarify] that neither [Tourism Calgary] nor [Calgary Stampede] gave a white hat to Christine Anderson. And I think it’s pretty clear that I don’t endorse her views in any manner,” Gondek wrote.

“It’ll be interesting to see what [the Calgary Petroleum Club] has to say about hosting the event.”

The Calgary Petroleum Club did not respond to requests from CBC News for comment.

The Calgary Petroleum Club is a downtown private social club that often plays host to events and meetings which number in the hundreds. The club initially offered membership primarily to members of the area’s local oil and gas industry, though it has since broadened its membership base.

A spokesperson with the governing United Conservative Party says its caucus members didn’t attend the event, and that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has never spoken with Anderson. A spokesperson with the Alberta NDP said its members had also not attended the event and Alberta Party Leader Barry Morishita confirmed to CBC News that no candidates from his party were there. 

CBC News also requested comment from all nine sitting Calgary-area MPs (one seat is currently vacant).

Four Conservative Party MPs — Jasraj Hallan, John Barlow, Ron Liepert and Len Webber — responded to confirm they, too, had not attended the event, though others did not respond to a request for comment.

Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said it was important for Alberta politicians to distance themselves from Anderson for much the same reasons that federal politicians did.

“I just find it appalling that any Canadian politician would be unaware of who the AfD is, and would support something like this,” Bratt said.

Street preacher Artur Pawlowski presented a ‘white hat’ to Christine Anderson, candidate of Germany’s anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany, though city officials emphasized that was not handed down in an official capacity. (Facebook)

Alternative for Germany has long been controversial

Anderson is a member of the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD). 

The group has been accused of downplaying the crimes of the Holocaust and, sometimes, employing rhetoric “tinged with Nazi overtones.” 

In widely publicized comments from 2018, AfD founder Alexander Gauland said Hitler and the Nazis were only “a speck of bird poop in more than 1,000 years of successful German history.” The group has also been placed under surveillance by Germany’s intelligence agency as a suspected extremist group.

German politician Christine Anderson, second from left, poses with organizers of last winter’s convoy protests in Calgary including Tamara Lich, second from right. (Christine Anderson/Facebook)

Anderson was pictured during her time in Canada posing with members of the far-right Diagolon organization, which has been described by the Ontario Provincial Police as an extremist group.

“I had a blast doing it. I was told, they are comedians and literally made a mockery of this whole government agenda,” she told the right-wing media group Rebel News last week. 

James Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University, said the Calgary Petroleum Club, as a private organization, has every right to invite a speaker like Anderson in a democratic society, though that will mean bearing criticism.

“The Calgary Petroleum Club is welcomed in our democratic society to host whomever it wants. I think it’s a terrible idea for them to do it,” Turk said in an interview.

“That’s the other part of freedom of expression. You can do things, but then you have to deal with the consequences of your choice.”

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RFK Jr. says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water. ‘It’s possible,’ Trump says

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PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.

Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”

The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”

Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”

The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.

In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.

Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.

In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.

A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.

In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.

But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.

“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.

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Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

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Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

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America’s Election: What it Means to Canadians

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Americans and Canadians are cousins that is true. Allies today but long ago people were at loggerheads mostly because of the British Empire and American ambitions.

Canadians appreciate our cousins down south enough to visit them many millions of times over the year. America is Canada’s largest and most important trading partner. As a manufacturer, I can attest to this personally. My American clients have allowed our firm to grow and prosper over the past few decades. There is a problem we have been seeing, a problem where nationalism, both political and economic has been creating a roadblock to our trade relationship.

Both Democrats and Republicans have shown a willingness to play the “buy only American Made product” card, a sounding board for all things isolationist, nationalistic and small-mindedness. We all live on this small planet, and purchase items made from all over the world. Preferences as to what to buy and where it is made are personal choices, never should they become a platform of national pride and thuggery. This has brought fear into the hearts of many Canadians who manufacture for and service the American Economy in some way. This fear will be apparent when the election is over next week.

Canadians are not enemies of America, but allies and friends with a long tradition of supporting our cousins back when bad sh*t happens. We have had enough of the American claim that they want free trade, only to realize that they do so long as it is to their benefit. Tariffs, and undue regulations applied to exporters into America are applied, yet American industry complains when other nations do the very same to them. Seriously! Democrats have said they would place a preference upon doing business with American firms before foreign ones, and Republicans wish to tariff many foreign nations into oblivion. Rhetoric perhaps, but we need to take these threats seriously. As to you the repercussions that will come should America close its doors to us.

Tit for tat neighbors. Tariff for tariff, true selfish competition with no fear of the American Giant. Do you want to build homes in America? Over 33% of all wood comes from Canada. Tit for tat. Canada’s mineral wealth can be sold to others and place preference upon the highest bidder always. You know who will win there don’t you America, the deep-pocketed Chinese.

Reshaping our alliances with others. If America responds as has been threatened, Canadians will find ways to entertain themselves elsewhere. Imagine no Canadian dollars flowing into the Northern States, Florida or California? The Big Apple without its friendly Maple Syrup dip. Canadians will realize just how significant their spending is to America and use it to our benefit, not theirs.

Clearly we will know if you prefer Canadian friendship to Donald Trumps Bravado.

China, Saudi Arabia & Russia are not your friends in America. Canada, Japan, Taiwan the EU and many other nations most definitely are. Stop playing politics, and carry out business in an unethical fashion. Treat allies as they should be treated.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

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