Big tent party
West of Centre

Big tent party

B1IntermediateJune 26, 202639 min
  • Politics
  • About Canada

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and several prominent federal Conservatives, including leader Pierre Poilievre, had a showdown with Calgary's mayor over a local noise bylaw. It was a master class in political communication by Jeromy Farkas, according to one panellist, in a battle with the Conservative political machine over how long and how loudly people are allowed to party in the Stampede city. Sounding off with host Kathleen Petty this week: Alex Boyd, Calgary-based writer for the Toronto Star.Rob Breakenridge, a columnist and podcast host at The Line.Jason Markusoff, producer and writer...

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No really, you cannot make this stuff up.

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  • 81% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 199 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
  • 225 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

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0:37

A local Calgary noise bylaw has wrestled up a national debate over fun and freedom. No really, you cannot make this stuff up. New noise rules for downtown music tents sparked a political showdown on social media and Jeremy Farkas, Calgary's mayor, has drawn his proverbial pistols.

0:58

It's time to cut through the bullshit about the Cowboys tent. Okay, so a little background about the cow poop, the mayor is referring to. The city's marquee event, the Calgary Stampede, is a week away. Massive, base-booming party tents draw thousands every night, and in the past, the noise

1:16

has extended significantly into the wee hours, prompting complaints from nearby residents. And this year, the city's saying, uh-uh, no more, it's cracking down. level must be cut by 5 decibels and concerts must end by midnight on weekdays. Well, the Premier of this province did not like the sound of that.

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