Dwi'n clywed datblygu y cwestiwn cyflwydo. Oes i wrth fynd i ddim yn ddïddu'r cyfleoedd yn ddydig sy'n cyfleoedd. Felly wrth hyn, wrth fynd i ddim yn cwestiwn cyfleoedd, ar fy gwaith ei cwestiwn cyflwyno? Felly y cwestiwn cyfleoedd wedi gweld yn ddiddordeb y cwestiwn cyflwyno? Na fyddwn yn cyfleoedd ei gweld yn gofal ddiddordeb y cyflwyno ddydig. I wish everyone across Scotland the very happy de valley. Scotland has the highest drug death rate in Europe. Every solution should be considered to tackle this crisis, and it should be considered urgently. Why did it take 10 overdoses this weekend in a single prison for the Government to accept Scottish Conservative proposals to cut down on the supply of drugs in our prisons? First Minister, let me also take the opportunity to wish those celebrating across the country very happy and peaceful de valley. I have been very open about this. We have a significant challenge when it comes to drugs deaths, and we are determined to make sure that we are open to ideas, to suggestions and that we are genuinely doing everything reasonable that we can to turn that around. Within that overall challenge, there is a particular challenge in our prisons, and I think that all of us understand the different factors that are at play there. I would hope that across this chamber we could come together to welcome the ways in which we are seeking to change past practice, to recognise where perhaps we should have done things differently in the past and do them differently in the future. I hope that there is an appetite to build consensus on that, and to that end, as I have said to the leader of the Conservative Party before, I am open to suggestions, including, of course, as I have said many times in the chamber before, considering the wider proposals that have been put forward in the proposal for draft legislation that the Conservatives have brought. So I continue to be open-minded and we will continue to seek to do the right things backed by investment to turn this situation around. The First Minister said that she has been very open about this issue, and she has. She has accepted that she took her eye off the ball with Scotland's drug deaths, but the eye is still off the ball, because for months we have highlighted the issue of drugs reaching prisoners through mail, and we offered a solution. Russell Finlay raised this with the Government five times over two months. When it was raised in this chamber with the drugs minister, Angela Constance, she said, and this is a direct quote, and I am reminded that the First Minister just said that we need to work together and be consensual. Her own drugs minister said to Russell Finlay when he raised this issue, Mr Finlay is a big boy now. He does not need his mummy to hold his hand. I am sure he will be able to address any outstanding matters that he has with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice. This is about drug overdoses and people dying. Was that response really worthy of a Government minister? On a serious issue like this, I think that people across the chamber would accept it. I hope that they would accept it. I am absolutely sure that they will not agree with everything Angela Constance says or I say on this issue, but I do hope that people would agree that Angela Constance in particular has not just been open to different approaches but has actually taken forward already in her tenure as drugs minister many different approaches to try to tackle the challenge on the specific one about the situation in prisons and in particular the issue of photocopying of prisoner mail. It is the case that the prison service has taken time to consider and rightly taken time to consider the range of very serious operational and legal considerations. That includes taking into account prisoners rights, which are often determined through court judgments around the handling of their correspondence. That is a fundamental consideration. They have taken that time and the Justice Secretary, as he outlined to Parliament on Tuesday, after detailed operational consideration, the prison service now will be implementing this change. I recognise that on particularly issues as important as this, everybody wants to see Government operate and move with speed. I share that view, but when we are dealing with serious issues like this, it is important that we take the time to consider all of the implications, particularly when those implications are of legal considerations. That is what has happened here. I hope now that people across the chamber who have been calling for this would welcome the progress that we are able to make. Douglas Ross is not just Angela Constance. Another Government minister, Lorna Slater, said recently that drugs are not inherently dangerous. This week, the Justice Secretary, Keith Brown, dismissed another serious concern that we have raised. Here is the standard operating procedure that prison officers have to work to. It says that prisoners have the option to have items that are contaminated with drugs, safely stored and returned to them on their release. Prison officers are telling us that they are having to hand drugs back to the prisoners as they leave. Her cabinet secretary refused to give a serious response to this issue, so will the First Minister commit to ending this practice immediately? In the spirit of openness, I will certainly look at that. It is the case that prisoners often have rights that are upheld in courts of law, and we have to consider those things carefully in making sure that we address those things properly. There is a deeper issue here that I would ask again in that spirit of openness and sincerity in trying to find the solutions to this, Douglas Ross, to consider. I accept his sincerity on this issue without doubt or equivocation, but it is too easy for all of us across the chamber to oversimplify some of those issues. In quoting ministers forgetting to understand the nuances around that, the factors behind the drugs crisis are complex. I think that we all understand that, so let's not oversimplify, let's not take quotes out of context, let's focus on the substance of solutions. As I believe, Douglas Ross has been doing on this issue and tried to find maximum consensus. The particular issue that he has raised there, I will go away and look at that in detail, and if we consider that there is a change that is necessary and appropriate and possible to make there, I undertake that we will give that due and serious consideration. I am not taking quotes out of context. I have issued and reminded the First Minister of the response that we have had from three of her Government members. This Government has to finally start treating this crisis with the urgency that it deserves. The Prison Officers Association has told us that they have been overwhelmed with unprecedented levels of drug abuse in our prisons.  They gave prisoners £2.7 million worth of unhackable phones that were then hacked and used to deal drugs. Scottish Prison Service documents show that there have been over 2,200 incidents of prisoners misusing those devices. Given the obvious abuse of those phones for criminal activity, will she now commit to removing the phones that have been hacked from Scotland's prisons? We are treating this issue seriously and with urgency. Sometimes there are complex situations and issues that have to be properly considered and thought through, and that is what we will do, because frankly we do not progress anything if we fail to do that. On the issue of mobile phones, I think that it is firstly important to remember the context for this. The provision of mobile phones in the absence during particularly the early stages of the pandemic of in-person contact with loved ones over a sustained period of time has been vital in addressing the negative impact of Covid in our prisons, not just for prisoners but also for staff and families, children in particular, impacted by the imprisonment of parents. The vast majority of the over 10,000 phones that were issued were used entirely as intended. The breaches of the rules are taken very seriously by the Prison Service. The robust monitoring that detected where there were breaches detected a small minority around 7 per cent of handsets that had been tampered with. That is not acceptable, but it is the robust monitoring that detected that and allowed steps to be taken to prevent that in the future. Those are serious issues. They are often complex issues, and I hope that all of us will treat them in that way as we face up to and address the issue of drugs deaths in society generally but in our prisons in particular. I join others in wishing all those who are celebrating Diwali a very happy Diwali, coming through these really dark times. It is quite poignant that families will be celebrating the festival of light. This week, we have seen emergency doctors tell us that there have been 231 excess deaths due to delays at A&E. That is 231 people who could have survived if our hospitals were properly resourced. The Royal College of Nursing tells us that their members are overworked. We have even heard stories of nurses going home crying and many leaving the profession early. That is because our NHS is 3,500 nurses short.  The First Minister's response is not to fix the problem but to tell people that they are the problem and not to go to A&E. That Government has been repeatedly warned, been in denial and lives are being lost. When will the First Minister take personal responsibility and act? I take personal responsibility for everything that this Government is responsible for every single day. There were three related issues raised in Anna Sarwar's question, and I want to address them in turn. First, our NHS is working under extreme pressure right now. Everybody, and I certainly recognise that, and I want to again pay tribute to and express my gratitude to nurses, doctors and everybody working in our national health service. Nursing and midwifery staffing in Scotland is currently at a record high. Since this Government has been in office, there has been an 11.7 per cent increase in qualified nurses and midwives. The number of qualified nursing and midwifery staff working in our NHS has increased now for nine consecutive years. We have got a higher per head staffing ratio than other parts of the UK. In Scotland, 8.4 qualified nurses and midwives per 1,000 population compared to just 5.9 in England. That is the record of this Government, but we need to do more because of that pressure. That is why we are investing in greater recruitment and supporting health boards across the country to recruit more nurses and other professionals into our national health service. On the issues around the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, there was research published by the Royal College this week, which we will be engaging with them to better understand. The analysis appears to use research findings from England four years ago to make extrapolations from Scottish-only data now, so we want to understand that in more detail. That said, everybody recognises the relationships between long waits in the A&E that are not clinically justified and increased risk of harm to patients. Nobody can or should deny that, which is why we are investing in trying to cut A&E waiting times and improve the flow through our hospitals. That brings me to the issue of the new guidance that has been issued for A&E. That is where Anna Sarwar cannot quote the Royal College of Emergency Medicine when it suits him and ignore the views of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine when it doesn't suit him, because we are not turning anyone away from accident and emergency. This is about ensuring that people get the right care in the right place. This is what the vice president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has said. They support this guidance in order to ensure that all patients receive the right care at the right time in the right place. It will, on occasion, be appropriate to signpost some people who have presented to an emergency department, but do not require, after an appropriate assessment, to be seen there to another part of the healthcare system. That is appropriate. That is a change in guidance that I think was made in England some time ago. It is about making sure that patients get the best care in the right place, and I think that that is somebody that everybody should support. Before I call Anna Sarwar back in, I would be grateful for more succinct questions and responses. I appreciate that these are complex issues. I will come back to the quotes in a moment, but we have heard the same excuses week after week. The situation is getting worse across our NHS. Why does Nicola Sturgeon think that she knows better than the professionals on the front line? You have heard the quote today from the First Minister. In his words, despite the Scottish Government's talk about record levels of staffing, those figures show that the shortfall on registered nurses needed to run NHS services has never been higher. They say that there is a shortfall of almost 3,500 nurses. She talks about selectively quoting the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. I will quote the words of Dr John Thomson directly. What we are seeing is ambulance handover delays, dangerous clouring, long stays, put patient safety at risk and can lead to harm or avoidable deaths. Nicola Sturgeon wants to pretend that this is a recent problem, but this is a crisis years in the making. Why does Nicola Sturgeon think that she is right, but the professionals on the front line delivering our call to healthcare and the people we applauded as our heroes are wrong? If Anna Sarwar had listened to what I said, he would have heard me say that we were listening to the front line professionals. The numbers that I have quoted on nurse numbers are facts. They are the facts, and 11 per cent increase in nurses in midwights since we took office. However, I went on to say that that is not enough, because the pressure on our health service has increased. We are listening to those on the front line, and we are supporting health boards with additional investment to recruit more staff into our health service to help to deal with that pressure. Similarly, Anna Sarwar stood up and said that we were somehow not listening to those on the front line by, in his words, turning people away from accident and emergency. That is not the case. We are recognising the pressure on accident and emergency, recognising the need to ensure that people get the right care in the right place, and trying to find the solutions. The part of the solution that is encapsulated in the new guidance is supported by those on the front line, by the very person that Anna Sarwar has quoted, John Thomson, the VP of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, who says that this is the right thing to do to ensure that patients get the right care at the right time in the right place. We recognise the challenge, and we absolutely recognise the challenge, but we are listening to those on the front line in coming up with the best and the right solutions. Liz, Nicola Sturgeon's rhetoric cannot hide from the reality. The SNP has been in government for 14 years. Nicola Sturgeon was health secretary for four years. She has been First Minister for seven years. There must come a point when it cannot be somebody else's fault. Let us look at Nicola Sturgeon's record. Nicola Sturgeon cut nurse training places as health secretary. We now have three and a half thousand nurse shortages in our NHS. Nicola Sturgeon cut hospital beds by almost one and a half thousand in the last decade. We are now chronically short of NHS beds, and Nicola Sturgeon has been warned for months about the challenges facing A&E, and we now have people dying because of record A&E waiting times. Earlier this week, the First Minister described Scotland as a nation in waiting. She is right, waiting on record-long NHS treatment lists, waiting for an ambulance, waiting at A&E and waiting for her to take responsibility. When will Nicola Sturgeon get a grip on the NHS crisis? First Minister, I take responsibility every day and with respect to Anna Sarwar. I have only held the positions that I have held for as long as I have, because on several occasions I put the record of me and the ministerial posts that I have held and the record of the Government before the people of Scotland and being re-elected with the trust of the people of Scotland to face up to those challenges. Under the years that we have spent in Government, the 11 per cent increase in the nurses and midwives working in our national health service, we have increased the training of nurses overall intake for pre-registration, nursing and midwifery, increased by 5.8 per cent this year. That is what we are doing. We are recognising the acute challenges in our national health service, shared by health services across the world, largely because of the Covid pandemic. We are bringing forward the solutions to support those who are working on the front line and to support patients across the country, and that is what the people of Scotland have entrusted us to continue to do. I am sure that the First Minister will share my disappointment and deep concern at the announcement by Rachelle Heathcare that their guardian facility in Garven and my constituency will close in 2022 with the loss of 75 jobs over the next four months. As a long-established business and employer that provides the NHS with surgical drapes, gowns and tray wraps, as well as PPE during the pandemic, I would be grateful to the First Minister for her advice on what the Scottish Government can do to support the very skilled workforce and our very fragile rural economy, which will be hugely impacted by this closure decision. I thank Elin O'Witlam for raising what is a very important constituency issue for her. I was certainly concerned to learn that guardian surgical had announced the closure of its factory in Garven and Warehouse in-ear, and I know that this will be a difficult time for the company's staff, their families and the local areas affected, especially at this time of uncertainty caused by the pandemic. I can advise Parliament that the business minister has spoken with the company to explore available options for the sites and its workers. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with the company to discuss alternatives to closure. Obviously, the individuals affected are our immediate priority, and we have already provided information on support available for affected employees through the PACE initiative. I will ask the business minister to keep Elin O'Witlam updated and indeed to keep the chamber more widely updated on this matter. Brian Whittle Thank you, Presiding Officer. Earlier this week, I was contacted by a constituent whose adopted daughter was referred to CAMHS in early 2017. Since then, she has been passed from caseworker to caseworker each time of her parents' feeling that they were starting from scratch. After five years of this, without receiving a confirmed diagnosis, they were told that their daughter will likely require medical intervention and so must be seen by a child psychologist, the waiting time for which is apparently at least three years, for which time this young girl will have spent almost eight years in the CAMHS system without a proper diagnosis or access to appropriate treatment. Does the First Minister believe that it is acceptable for any child to be referred to CAMHS in primary one and potentially not receive treatment until they are in S2? What can she do to assist this family and any other who have been forced to wait such an obscenely long time for help? No, I do not think that that is remotely acceptable. Obviously, I am not able to comment on the individual case, although, if Brian Whittle wants to write to me or to the health secretary, we will look into that and leave with the health board in relation to the particular case. I absolutely understand the distress and the added anxiety that will have been caused by that length of time waiting for appropriate intervention. More generally, of course, we are investing heavily in CAMHS and also to redesign how mental health support is provided to children and adolescents. We are investing more in early intervention support, so councils and schools, for example, the wellbeing service that is being rolled out, in order to make sure that young people get help earlier, but also to ensure then that specialist services are there for those who most need specialist services. That is an area of significant priority so that we can get to the position where every young person who needs the support of mental health services gets the right support and gets that to me, but I would be very happy to look into the individual case. In response to Anna Sarwar, the First Minister engaged on the RCN report that was published today, showing that this year we have seen the highest-ever shortfall on nursing with over 3,400 nursing vacancies. With vague promises of only 1,000 health and care workers in the NHS winter plan, that scarcely begins to address the challenge. Nurses are saying that the shortfalls add to significant pressure, and that is why they are considering industrial action. Can the First Minister tell me when she will engage with the RCN's demands to pay her nurses fairly, and when will she tell our cabinet secretary to fix his inadequate recovery plan? The Government engages with the RCN and other unions and professional bodies regularly. The health secretary has told me that he met the RCN as part of a staff-side engagement just yesterday, so that engagement is on-going. I absolutely recognise the significant pressures that nurses and others in our health service are working under. There are significant recruitment challenges, not just across our NHS and social care, but across our whole economy—exacerbated, of course, by other developments around Brexit. However, we are focused on supporting health boards to recruit more people, not just nurses but other professionals, into our health service, and we will continue to engage with unions and others as we do so. The First Minister will be aware of the outbreak of bird flu in Angus and the cull of a flock of birds that is taking place as we speak. Can she provide an update on the issue and let us know what guidance is being issued to local communities? That is an important issue and one that I know will be causing concern. A small premises near our broth has tested positive for avian influenza. Public health advice remains that the risk to human health is very low. Food standards bodies advise that avian influenza has posed a very low food safety risk for consumers and does not affect the consumption of poultry products, including eggs, in order to limit any further spread of disease among birds. Appropriate restrictions have been imposed on the affected premises. Public health staff are liaising with others in Health Protection Scotland to ensure that the correct protocols are followed. There were some surviving birds on the premises and those were euthanised on welfare grounds, with on-going support being provided to the owner. The rural affairs secretary, of course, will be happy to engage with any member who wishes further information on the steps that are being taken. Jackie Dunbar To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is working to ensure that during COP26 it provides a platform for unheard voices, including citizens, young people and those from the global south. The Scottish Government has been working... First Minister, can I just interrupt there? I think that there has been a misunderstanding. I am taking supplementary questions at the moment, Ms Dunbar, and that was your question, that we will reach in due course. Can I call Jamie Greene, please? Thank you, Presiding Officer. I have been contacted this week by many worry constituents. One is Ron Cooper from Ardrossan. He works in Care Home. He had his second Covid vaccine in March, but he has been waiting over a month for his booster due to problems both online with the telephone system. Another 89-year-old lady who should be on the homebound booster vaccination list has been struggling to get an appointment. We believe that there may be hundreds of similar people in North Ayrshire in the same boat. Many of those are elderly, vulnerable and rightly concerned people looking ahead into winter needing these much-needed jabs. In light of those examples, can I ask the First Minister what reassurance you can offer the wider public that this year's winter flu and Covid booster programme has been adequately planned and has been executed successfully? Obviously, those are important issues. I would say to any member if they are hearing reports in their constituencies or regions about people finding it difficult to access either the Covid booster, jags or the flu vaccination to raises with the health secretary so that any issues can be looked into. Generally, both of those vaccination programmes are being delivered on an integrated basis and are going extremely well. Right now, more than 850,000 people aged over 12 have received a third dose or booster vaccination. Last week, in terms of combined flu and Covid doses, more than 500,000 doses were delivered. We are ahead of some other parts of the UK in terms of delivery of that. Overall, the programme is going extremely well, thanks to the dedication of those working on it across the country. However, as I have said openly before, there will be instances where individuals experience difficulties and it is important that they are raised so that they can be addressed as quickly as possible. To ask the First Minister what public advice the Scottish Government has issued regarding the discharge of fireworks, given that new regulations came into force on 30 June 2021? We have taken several steps to highlight the nuisances and risks associated with fireworks and the new limitations on when they can be used outwith organised displays. That is only between 6 pm and midnight on Bonfire Night itself and between 6 pm and 11 pm on most other nights of the year. We funded three targeted publicity campaigns, as well as promoting key messages on social media. We have also funded extra engagement by trading standards officers with retailers. Others are also playing a very important role—the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, obviously. We have pleased Scotland, community safety partnerships and a range of charities from crime stalkers to the SSPCA. We are putting huge effort into advisory activity to minimise distress and harm for people and for animals across Scotland. I thank the First Minister for her reply and declare an interest as convener of the cross-party group on animal welfare and, indeed, as the owner of Mr Smoky, a rescue cat. Those regulations on the limitation of sale in the discharge of fireworks are much welcomed by animal welfare organisations pet owners and need many less experienced pet owners because of Covid. Previously, as we were aware, with the increasing days of fireworks, it was impossible to keep animals safely indoors, but it also affects livestock because all animals have more acute senses than us, causing suffering, stress and anxiety, too many come to harm and even death, so that is welcomed by the farming community, too. Therefore, can I ask the First Minister will she advise how the impact of these regulations will be monitored and what the maximum penalties are for breaching these regulations? First, I very much agree with Christine Grahame that the harm that misuse of fireworks can do to animals in livestock is well known and a very serious issue, but misuse of fireworks also does real harm and causes real distress and anxiety to humans and communities across the country. Part of my constituency has, in many recent years, been affected by this, and I have seen the distress caused directly. I hope that those changes will help to alleviate the situation in terms of how we will assess the impact. Of the new restrictions, we are working with trading standards officers to assess the position. We will also be engaging with Police Scotland and other partners in relation to the restrictions and monitoring the impact of them. In terms of animal welfare, we will also take input from organisations such as the SSPCA and the British Veterinary Association, which played a very constructive role as members of the firework review group. In terms of penalties for breaching the new regulations, they are potentially imprisonment for up to six months and or a fine of up to £5,000 of course for serious misuse. Other offences with higher penalties might also be relevant. Pauline McNeill Every year in the run-up to bonfire night, the fire brigade responds to hundreds of calls due to uncontrolled bonfires, as well as the misuse of fireworks, which terrorises communities at this time of the year. We thank the fire and rescue service for protecting our communities. However, as part of my case in Glasgow, I have been sent videos of fireworks being launched horizontally down streets causing damage to property and even trapping residents in their home until either the police arrive or the people responsible move on. First Minister, I wholeheartedly welcome the new regulations and the work that the minister, Ash Ragan, has done on this. However, if this year we see the same patterns in our communities being terrorised by the misuse of fireworks, may I ask how tough is the First Minister prepared to be to protect our communities from the misuse of fireworks? First Minister, I have developed largely because of the experience in my constituency, a bit of a zero tolerance to this over the years. I have seen instances like those that Pauline McNeill has outlined in particularly the Pollock Shields area of my constituency. I have worked on a local basis with the fire and rescue service, with the police and others to try to alleviate some of that impact. I think that the new restrictions that are in place will make a difference. If they do not make a sufficient difference, we will be willing to look at going further and being tougher. I say this simply as a statement of fact. There is a devolved reserved split of responsibilities, which means that the Scottish Government cannot necessarily go as far as we might like to go, and there has been liaison. My constituency MP colleague Alison Thewlis has raised this in the House of Commons to try to get more collaboration between the Scottish and the UK Government in tackling this. We will be willing to look at this if this year's changes do not have the desired impact. Obviously, people want to responsibly enjoy bonfire nights, which is tomorrow, but to say to people across the country to do so responsibly and remember the impact that the misuse of fireworks can have. At best, that is inconvenience, anxiety and distress. At worst, that can be serious injury and even death, and therefore responsibility is absolutely paramount on the part of everyone. Siobhan Brown Thank you, Presiding Officer. A few weeks ago, there was a tragic explosion in my constituency in Concassan in Eir, where a family of four still remain in hospital. Within days, some members of the public let off fireworks, which of course caused a lot of fear and concern to the community. What discussions has the Scottish Government had with Police Scotland in relation to enforcing new firework regulation? As I have already outlined, the Scottish Government has had extensive engagement consultation with the police and with other partners and stakeholders over a long period of time now in coming to the new and tighter restrictions that are in place. We will also continue that in terms of the enforcement and assessment of those restrictions. I certainly appreciate the particular local issue that has been raised. Any of us seeing the pictures of the explosion in the member's constituency that evening, just seeing the pictures on social media, understand the shock and therefore there will be particular sensitivity in that area around fireworks this bonfire night. So I will ask the relevant minister to particularly engage with the police locally and nationally on that particular issue and engage with the member as well. Jackie Baillie To ask the First Minister what immediate steps the Scottish Government is taking to address the reported continuing inequalities in cancer. Yes, I'm still taking supplementary questions at the moment, but we will get to you in due course. I will therefore move on to question number four, Stephen Kerr. To ask the First Minister whether Scotland is on track to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2045. Yes, I think we are, but I don't think it will be easy and I don't think we can take success for granted. We will have to work hard to achieve it. The scale of the challenge to bridge the global emissions gap is immense. In Scotland right now, we are over halfway to net zero and we have decarbonised faster than any G20 country, but we have much more to do. Through our updated climate change plan and associated commitments we've set out a comprehensive credible package of policies for reducing emissions over the next decade, putting us on track. I believe that for a just transition to net zero by 2045 and our priority obviously is to deliver on those policies. Of course, the recent UK Government decision not to support the Scottish carbon capture and storage cluster does not make that easier and is a serious mistake. I'm therefore today writing to the Prime Minister calling upon him to reverse this decision and accelerate the Scottish cluster to full track one status without delay. Stephen Kerr The First Minister's climate change strategy stated that local authorities were on the front line of Scotland's response to the climate emergency, but an extensive piece of published research by my own office reveals that the Scottish Government, well, you may laugh at this research, but I think that you should take it seriously. Research by my own office reveals that the Scottish Government has given little or no support to councils in preparing their plans, agreed no targets and hasn't even bothered to read them. So why does the First Minister have any confidence that local authority plans will deliver cuts to emissions when she and her Government have shown so little interest in them? I just don't think that that is true. I mean, I'd obviously be fascinated to read the research prepared by Stephen Kerr's office. I mean that genuinely. I'm sure he'll send me a copy and I will give a commitment today to read it in full and then come back to him with any comments that I feel are appropriate. Local government does have a big part to play in this, and I have confidence in the priority that local councils across the country are giving to this. I have had discussions with local council members in the context of COP this week and more generally. I've also had the privilege of meeting local government representatives from other parts of the UK, the mayor of London yesterday, the mayor of Parish yesterday, and all local government are grappling with those challenges. There's a real intent on sharing good practice and sharing best practice, but our responsibility is to make sure that we meet our targets. We're halfway there, but the next half of the journey will be more difficult. That is why we cannot afford to be undermined on any of the key strands of our work. I would say to Stephen Kerr in return for my commitment to read the research prepared by his office. I wonder if he would join me today in writing to the Prime Minister, asking for the short-sighted decision on the ACORN project and the Scottish cluster to be overturned so that we can get back on track with carbon capture and not allow his Tory colleagues to take the feat from us on that, so perhaps that's something he will give consideration to. Liam McArthur. Obviously, the meeting our net zero target with 2045 requires us to hit the interim target in 2030. It was designed to be ambitious but achievable, but it depends on government action. Given the chief executive of the climate change committee believes that the target now looks quote overcooked and the Scottish government has already missed the last three emissions target, what does the First Minister plan to do differently to get us back on track to meet the interim target? First Minister, I think that it is right that we are ambitious and I would rather this Parliament, because remember the 75% reduction target of 2030 was a decision of Parliament and I would rather this Parliament was being said to be over ambitious rather than under ambitious because actually that is the charge that can be levelled at too many governments around the negotiating table at COP. The Committee on Climate Change, I think if memory serves me correctly, expressed its reservations about the 75% target when Parliament was considering this and Parliament took a decision to be that ambitious and I think that Parliament was right to do so. It's now incumbent on the government to lead by example and all of us to make sure that we do everything necessary to meet that target. On the missed targets again to be open we've got stretching targets and we've fallen short in the last three years of quite meeting those. We should have cut emissions by 55% if we'd hit our targets. We haven't done that but we have cut emissions by 51.5%. That is the halfway to net zero and we have decarbonised faster than any G20 country. I think that Scotland is leading by example but we must do more. What are we doing differently? We've set out the details of that in our climate change update plan, the catch-up plan that was published last week. The most recent target of course was 2019 so much of what we are doing to catch up in that, which we are legally bound to do, has already been set out in this Parliament. The plans are ambitious, the targets are ambitious but frankly all of us are responsible to step up and make sure that we are meeting this challenge head on. To ask the First Minister what immediate steps the Scottish Government is taking to address the reported continuing inequalities in cancer mortality rates across Scotland. We continue to focus on ensuring equitable access to cancer services throughout the pandemic. For example, we have seen mutual aid across health boards so that every patient is seen according to their priority. We continue to provide support through the screening inequalities fund to increase screening rates across all groups in our society. We have also recently completed a second funding round of our more than £100 million national cancer plan where the impact on equalities was a key criteria in the funding awarded. Finally, to reduce mortality from cancer, we know that the most effective means is by early detection, which is why we continue to invest in our detect cancer early programme. I thank the First Minister for that response. Public Health Scotland published cancer figures for 2019, which showed that 28 per cent of people living in deprived areas are more likely to get cancer and a staggering 66 per cent are more likely to die from cancer. That is before the pandemic. There is a substantial backlog in screening, early detection rates are falling, health boards are cancelling operations due to the pressure and more people are likely to die because they are simply being diagnosed too late. Will the First Minister ensure that, at the very least, cancer surgery and treatment is not cancelled or delayed this winter? Will she take urgent action to improve cancer outcomes for everyone, including those who are the most disadvantaged in our society because those figures, frankly, are a national scandal? To be very clear, cancer treatment and surgery is always prioritised by health boards and I would hope that Jackie Baillie would recognise that. Indeed, any operation for cancer that is cancelled would only be done in the most extreme circumstances. That is a priority that health boards give and have given right throughout the pandemic. Jackie Baillie is right to point out the Public Health Scotland cancer mortality statistics that were published this week. I will not repeat the statistics that she has quoted because they are absolutely correct, but it is important to give the context that they also show that the overall risk of dying from cancer in 2019 fell by nearly 10 per cent. That is positive, but there are significant inequalities in terms of the outcomes from cancer. That is why there is a range of work under way that we need to make sure gets the priority at merits, raising awareness, providing equitable access to screening, yes, catching up on the backlogs that have been caused by Covid early detection, making sure that early detection is being focused on not just in where there are the more common symptoms of cancer but some of the less common symptoms as well. That is why the early diagnostic cancer centres are being set up to make sure that that happens. Jackie Baillie is right to raise the importance of that and the Government is right to have the focus that we do on making sure that we are putting forward the solutions and ensuring the priority for cancer care. Question 6, Jackie Dunbar. To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is working to ensure that during COP26 it provides a platform for unheard voices, including citizens, young people and those from the global south. The Scottish Government is committed to amplifying the voices of young people and those experiencing the worst impacts of climate change in the global south. We have provided almost £950,000 of funding to support young people of all backgrounds to participate meaningfully at COP26 and beyond, including £300,000 for the conference of youth, which will present its global statement to COP26 tomorrow. We are also ensuring that representatives from the global south are heard through the global climate assembly, the Glasgow climate dialogues and events, including a youth-focused event with Malawi climate leaders that will take place on Monday. Jackie Dunbar. I thank the First Minister for that answer. Women and girls are likely to suffer disproportionately as a result of the climate crisis, which is why the Scottish Glasgow women's leadership statement jointly sponsored by the Scottish Government and UN Women is so important, as it recognises that women must be part of the response. Does the First Minister hope that, where small nations lead, this will galvanise other organisations and world leaders to follow and make similar ambitious statements and commitments during COP26? Yes. I absolutely agree with Jackie Dunbar about the importance of this issue. We know that women and girls across the world are disproportionately impacted by climate change, but we also know that they must be more involved in the solutions to climate change. I have been really delighted to work over recent times with UN Women to put forward the Glasgow women's leadership statement that we launched at COP26 earlier this week. We did that alongside women leaders from both large and small nations. I have been very encouraged by the response since, with more and more signatories from Governments and civil society coming forward to join this initiative. I am also looking forward to taking part in gender day at COP, which is next Tuesday, when I hope that we will see many more countries coming forward with very strong commitments on gender-responsive climate action. Question 7, Paul Sweeney. To ask the First Minister what the Government's response is to Glasgow City Council cleansing workers taking strike action from 1 November and throughout the COP26 conference due to low pay. I recognise and appreciate the extraordinary efforts of council workers at all times, but particularly over the past 18 months. That is why, although the Scottish Government has no formal role in the local government pay negotiations, we supported efforts to find a solution with a one-off offer of additional funding of £30 million. I was pleased to see that that intervention, along with a contribution from councils, enabled COSLA to submit a significantly improved pay offer to trade unions last Friday. The unions subsequently confirmed that they would suspend strike action while members voted on the revised offer, and I welcome that. It is therefore disappointing that the GMB in Glasgow has chosen to pursue strike action at this stage, although, of course, I respect the right to do so, but I urge all parties in Glasgow to quickly find a resolution. Paul Sweeney. As a member of the GMB trade union, I think that Glasgow City Council threatening to union bust by using anti-trade union laws and busing in black-leg private contractors to try to break the strike is disgraceful and a paltry short-term fix to this long-running dispute. So if the First Minister agrees with this position, will she please intervene and provide the leadership that has been sorely lacking so far, and if necessary, commit additional financial resources so that COSLA and Glasgow City Council can settle this dispute and pay those key workers fairly and treat them with respect? Of course, the things that Paul Sweeney talked about would be disgraceful if they were happening, but they are not, and let's be very clear about that. As I understand it, although I'm not party to this, it was made clear by the council last Friday that they were not going to take legal action, but also on this suggestion of breaking the strike. I know a statement was issued last night. The council do have a concern about bonfire night posing an additional fire risk if rubbish is not collected, so what they are considering is cover to mitigate these risks. What they are not considering is using contractors to fulfil the regular duties of striking staff. Labour should know all about that because they did do that during the cleansing strike under the previous Labour administration in 2009, so perhaps a bit of reflection on the Labour benches would be welcome. This situation in Glasgow has arisen out of a national pay dispute. The Government did last week make additional resources available to allow COSLA to make a renewed offer. COSLA has made a renewed offer. The unions rightly suspended strike action to allow members to vote on that renewed offer, and I think that that is a process that should be allowed to take its course. I have the utmost respect for cleansing workers in Glasgow, those who do that job in my constituency and across the city. That's why I do hope that the Glasgow City Council and the union can get round the table and find a resolution that puts an end to that and allows industrial relations to move forward positively. That concludes First Minister's questions. We will now move on to members' business. It was mentioned by the First Minister that a strike-breaking activity took place in 2009. As a matter of record, no such strike-breaking action took place, and the statement issued by Glasgow City Council to this effect today is, in fact, inaccurate. I'd be happy if the chair would confirm it if that is the case. The member will be aware that the content of members' contributions is not a matter for the chair. There does, however, exist a mechanism by which members can correct any inaccurate information.


I'm extremely happy to report that the European Union has managed to force Microsoft to stop many of its abusive behaviors towards its users. As a result, Microsoft will start offering a different version of Windows to the EEA, the European Economic Era, which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. I've decided to call this version Windows EU, because come on, let's immediately see what changes compared to normal Windows 11, which we all know and love. So firstly, all applications in Windows can now be uninstalled by the user. And by the way, that doesn't apply to just Windows, but all operating systems. Starting from March 2024, it will be a requirement from the EU to allow the user to uninstall any kind of application. In this case, this includes the camera application, Cortana, finally, and Photos. I would kindly decide that we'll be able to all remove these three applications anywhere in the world, starting next year. If you live in the EEA, you will also be able to turn off web search from Microsoft Bing, aka you can finally remove Bing from the Start menu search. You can also remove Edge, the default Windows Internet browser, yet again, only in the EEA. If you liked the idea of searching in the Start menu and just didn't like Bing, fear not. Finally, for the dear European users, Microsoft offers the ability to define custom search providers, meaning that you'll be able to select any application to grab what you're typing in the search bar and offer you contextual information, not just Bing, also Google. Secondly, Windows has a widget support, which is a sidebar containing various widgets information, such as Meteo and News. This is pretty cool, however, when only Windows can decide what gets in there, no app developers can submit their own widget. But that's about to change. The EU decided that this goes against fair competition, and they made Microsoft create a new API from scratch called Defeat Providers, which will allow developers to add their own widgets, as long as you live in the EEA, that is. And if you do have the privilege of living there, then you will also get this amazing feature. Directly quoting the Windows blog post in the EEA, Windows will always use the customer configured application default settings for the link and file types, which means that if you live elsewhere, then Windows might decide to ignore the default settings for link and file types that you decided. Like you're going to settings, change the browser to Chrome, update and wow, it's back to edge. They are saying that they won't do that, but only if you live in the EEA. Even better, Windows will respect what application asked to open a contact with. This means that if an application says, open this link in Chrome, then that link will actually open in Chrome. This means that if you don't have Windows EU, your operating system will sometimes override what the application asked to be opened with. So wow. So amazingly enough, another feature that might not follow EU rules is Copilot, the text AI thingy that allows you to interact with the system through messages. They are rolling it out in North America, United Kingdom, parts of Asia and South America. And one day they say we would like to also have it in the EEA. But you know, the European Union wants us to respect customers, so that's gonna take a while. Okay, I'm getting a bit excited here, but it's amazing to see the European Union recognize what Microsoft has done for years is actually not fair competition and has to be legislated if you want to improve society. And it's amazing that Windows prefers to maintain two different window versions, one for the EEA and another for everywhere else, rather than just give up those unethical behaviors. You might wonder whether you can get Windows EU even if you don't live in the EEA, something that I would recommend. So everything depends on the position that is set when you first set up the device. If you want to change that, then you will have to wipe out all the data from the device and start a new install entirely. So yeah, the trick of going to settings and changing the language won't work, sorry. Now that I've outlined all the changes of this new Microsoft operating system, I feel like I also ought to explain briefly what this legislation is all because. So that would be the DMA or the Digital Markets Act, which was enacted in 2022, but will only start being effective from March 2024, so four months from now. The DMA recognized that there are some digital products that have such a high market share that it's practically impossible for new competitors to offer an alternative. These products are called gatekeepers, and there are various guidelines to identify them.  The current gatekeepers are various Google products, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, and so on. The Amazon Marketplace and its advertisements, some Apple products, the App Store, iOS and Safari, TikTok, weirdly enough, some Metaproducts, some Marketplace, Instagram and WhatsApp, and finally Microsoft, thanks to LinkedIn and Windows. All of these products will have to allow third parties to interoperate with the gatekeeper services, allow businesses' users to access the data they generate, and provide advertisement users tools to carry out an independent verification of their advertisement. So that sounds pretty interesting. They won't be able to treat their own products favorably in ranking compared to similar competing products, such as in Google Search, they won't be able to push up Google results, they won't be able to prevent users to link other business outside their platforms, and they will have to allow uninstalling default applications in their phone. Finally, they won't be able to track the user outside their own services for the purpose of targeted advertisement. This as an example forbids Google Chrome to track the user outside-core Google websites for advertisement purposes. But of course, these technological giants aren't happy about all of this, in fact, many have opposed this gatekeeper status. Firstly, Meta has decided to fight the EU over Messenger and Marketplace. Again, Messenger being a gatekeeper means that it will have to be interoperable with other services, which I would love to see, by the way. However, according to the company, Messenger is actually not a messaging application, in fact, it's just part of Facebook, it's not like they're two distinct products. This is an extremely weird argument, considering that Facebook has forced you to download the Messenger application to be able to chat for over a decade. The argument for Marketplace, instead, is that it's not actually a store, it's just a way for users to meet each other and exchange products for money, which Facebook never actually sees or knows anything about. As an avid Marketplace user, I can attest that it's kind of true, so whether that's enough for it to not be a gatekeeper service, well, that's up to the European Union. The court is expected to rule within months ahead of the March deadline to make sure that all services will actually abide by the rules by their date. Another company that has issued a complaint about its gatekeeper status is Apple. They probably claimed, and I didn't double check the exact documents, so just quoting Bloomberg, which had only talked about draft, but they probably claimed that both of their upstore and iMessage services shouldn't be considered gatekeepers. This is because the former will have to allow site loading of applications under the new AU rules, and the latter will have to be interoperable with other chat platforms. Obviously, Apple is known for trying to avoid doing both of those things, so they won't trap a legal fight over it. If they do file a complaint but the court doesn't reply to it by March 6, then Apple will still have to comply with the rules by that date. All of this means that the 6th of March 2024 is officially my new favorite date of next year. I just can't wait. Also, according to the latest EU regulation, if you watch a video and that video isn't sponsored by anybody and yet it took a lot of time to actually record, write, edit and research, you should like donate something, because otherwise I just cannot keep doing all of this. So I've got links which you should see there. I have a general goal of 1000 euros every month to be able to pay the editor and the, you know, equipment. Fun fact, I'm recording with this Microsoft microphone and also this microphone, so I'm just testing different things. So if you could donate something to me, that would be awesome. If you can't, don't worry. It's not actually mandatory, but still, if you could like subscribe. You know that stuff. So yeah.


Well, let's go. Morning, everybody. Good Saturday morning. It's gonna be a beautiful day out here. Beautiful day to get stuff done. Geez yo. Anything to say to the good people this morning? Anything? Chevy, how about you? I don't need anything to say? I do the whole, I got in trouble. It's a good day so far. So last night our washing machine broke. For our laundry. So today we have to go get a new one. And the wife wants a set. Washer and dryer that matches. I agree, I would like a set too. But that means we gotta buy two appliances.  So we'll see what happens. We're gonna take a quick stop to Frayn here in town. And see what they've got. We don't want anything fancy. I want something cheap but large capacity so we can wash all these guys' blankets all the time. It's part of living. Things break, you gotta fix them. Or in this case, replace them. It's still gonna be a good day though. It's still gonna be a good day.  Aren't you hungry?  You hungry? Come on. Come on. Okay, we're all gonna eat without you. Yeah, that's what I thought. Breakfast time, man. Let's go eat. You guys hungry? You hungry? All right, off we go. All because of you. It's my angry voice. Wasting my Saturday spending money. I didn't know what I was gonna have to spend. All the things I didn't know were gonna break. All right, DeFrayn. This money wasn't meant for you. But yet again, without bad luck, we'd have no luck at all. Yeah, so at least we got that. So we're gonna go in there, take a look at some washing machines. We have no idea what we're gonna get. She wants a set, I told them before already. I'd like it to match. It doesn't have to be a fancy set, just a reliable set. I'm on your page with that though. I would love it to match. It's just, then we have to buy two. But I like to go big or go home. So if we're gonna get two, we should just, just send in. It's me anxiety though, every time we spend big portions of money. Well, we'll see what happens. Wish us luck. Oh well, I'm still a firm believer in what you pay for. Yeah. And if they're really, really nice, we'll just take them to our new house when we build. And just like we're gonna do with the AC and then replace them with other ones. That are just as good, but not our favorites here. I don't know.  I figured out. See, this is where you gotta be careful of the main street when you open your door because traffic comes flying past right here. And when the door hangs right into the lane, so many people just whip their door open and don't even look. Just so it takes their door off. That's why in the truck, I always drive in the left lane going through here. Oh, I guess I should take my wallet, eh? I guess I need our wallet. So we made our decision. We're all back here. Those are the ones we're not gonna get today. We're probably gonna put those in our house that we build. The other ones we're looking at are just back here. We're looking at these. That's a very small camera. Yeah, little GoPro. Oh, okay, that's what it is. Yeah. They work good. Yeah. And these are the ones we went with. That's what you bought. We're gonna go and pick them up right now. We did it. We sure did. We held ourselves back. What do you mean, we? I dialed you in. I wanted the nice ones.  But we decided, like I was telling you in the back, they're those big ones, those nice ones we're gonna get for the new house. We kept it moderate. I think it was one of the cheapest ones. Like not the cheapest, cheapest, but... Yeah. Right up. This one brand called Amana. That's a lot cheaper, but I've never even known anybody that owned an Amana, so I don't trust that. Whirlpool is tried and true. They've been around forever, so I stuck with Whirlpool. And another reason we didn't get the big ones is because they weren't in stock until the middle of the month, like May 12th. And we need them now. So the ones we did buy, we paid for them and everything. They're waiting in Winnipeg for us. She's gotta go to work today. I'm going to Winnipeg to go pick them up. And then I'll be spending the day taking the old ones out, installing the new ones and figuring out where to leave our old ones because the dryer still works. So we either gotta sell it or store it for something. Another thing for the carport. Yeah. These shoes back on, I love these sketchers. Actually, steel toes too. I just gotta clean them because I've used them for work a couple of times and they're supposed to be my nice shoes. Right, Weasel? So, Brett just left for work. I've gotta go pick up these new machines that are gonna go right here. I'll be spending the day doing that. So I don't think I'm gonna make it to our land today, unfortunately to do any more clearing because life happened. So when we get back, I gotta move these out of here, put them in storage for now. This one we'll see if we can get fixed and then we will sell them both or maybe we can at least just sell the dryer because the dryer still works. But who knows? Maybe someone we know needs them more than we do. So if you know us, let us know. Diesel's gonna come with and give me a hand, right Diesel? Because how am I gonna lift those things all by myself? When we get to the warehouse, I gotta go to Winnipeg to pick them up at their distribution center. The same place we picked up our mattress at actually, it's the Defraind Warehouse over on Panit. They'll load it up for me but Diesel's gonna come with and keep me company because it's been a while since he's just come on a ride with me anywhere, right? You wanna go in the truck? As soon as I told him, I told him like about 10 minutes ago he's gonna come with me and I didn't try to get him excited or anything.  He hasn't moved since he came right here right away and hasn't moved. He knows he's coming with. Chevy insisted on coming as well. I could hear him crying in the house as I was getting Diesel in the truck and getting all his stuff ready. I went inside and he said, you wanna come too? Never seen him so excited. So Chevy gets to come along too. It's an adventure. We'll pick up a new washing machine and a new dryer. So I haven't had any time to wash the truck this week. It's been embarrassing.  So before we go pick up our washer and dryer we stopped here at our favorite super splash car wash. Just waiting in line here.  They call it fire and ice. They go through the whole thing under carriage. First of all, they spray it down. I've explained this to you before. It's a really good car wash and they put a nice coat of wax on it at the end too which I don't have any wax at home for my pressure washer yet. But I could pick that up. Anyways, this is just, I figured I'd treat myself to a little amount of car wash and then we'll pick up our washer and dryer, right boys?  I've been showing up to work all week with a dirty truck. I've been trying to sneak in and out but people have seen me. So embarrassing. All right, we have made it. There it is, that yellowish building off to the left over there. That's their warehouse where they keep all the goods. Hopefully they'll, they should help me get it in the truck. And then when I get home, I've got my dolly and ramps. I can roll them right down. Kind of excited. Buying stuff is fun. The money wasn't supposed to go to this but what can you do, right? What can you do? You gotta get in line here with all the other good people who have also bought stuff today. Oh, we've got a park beside Mr. Dodge there. Okay, okay. I don't mind parking beside him, making him look better. Do him a little favor here. There you go, bud. That'll make you look a little better parked beside a Chevy. You're welcome. We've been told to back up to door number one because we're number one. I added that last part but it's true, right? Right, Chevy? It's all because of you because we have a Chevy inside a Chevy. That's like double whammy. Of course they're gonna give us door number one, right? Right? Or is it because we have a weasel, the Lord of all weasels? Maybe both of them combined. They couldn't help. They couldn't help it. They saw us pull in. You know, it's a clean Chevy. We've got a Chevy and the Lord of all weasels. Betcha the CEO came down and said, you know what, you give that guy door number one. I'm pretty sure that's how it happened. Just waiting for them to bring it out and throw it on the back. We'll tie it down and skedaddle. Don't look at me like that. People use that word. It's a thing. Thirsty? Thirsty? Easily thirsty? It's tiring being number one. All right, boys. Maybe not? Diesel, I know you're thirsty. Come here. Come here. Come on. There you go. It's a hard job being the Lord of all weasels. You need your water. Oh, such a good boy. It's a warm one out today. My truck said it was 25 degrees Celsius when we made our way into the city. All gone? You want more? You want more? I brought more. Yeah, we are prepared, my man. We are prepared. There you go. Hey, you can reach it. Good boy. Back home here, the boys are already in. I'd say it's the first official hot day. The AC is definitely kicked on today. And thank God, because we get into the house and it's just a nice, cool 20 degrees. I just turned it down to 19. We like to have it a little bit colder than most people. How's it going, boys? Lisa, did you have a fun ride? You have a fun ride? We picked up a washer and a dryer. You look so happy. I know we're gonna be able to wash all your dog blankets, all of them. Commander, was Wiener a good boy? No? No comment? Still not talking to me?  Destroyed his whole world. Doesn't even look at me. That's what it is. Who's back here? We're Chevy. I'm Chevy's all the way. Hey, Chevy. Where you at, boy? Chevy. Chevy, what you doing? Just marking. Did you have a fun time? Thanks for all your help, bud. Thanks. So the first step now is getting the old ones out of there and stored away properly so that we can get the new ones off the truck and installed. And we gotta test them out, make sure they work. If they don't work, we've got 48 hours to let them know. And I'll give us a new one. Oh, air conditioning. What an amazing invention. Has anyone given that guy who invented that an award yet? Wasn't he from Miami, Florida? Thank you. I think there's a statue of him there, isn't there? The guy who invented air conditioning? I'm serious. I think there's a statue of him. He deserves that and more. He's probably long gone already, but man, thankful for that, dude. Can you imagine? All right, so we gotta get these guys out of here. We bought the extended warranty on our new machine so we have five years full coverage. Let's hope we don't have to use it, but if we do have to use it, at least we were covered. So I'm gonna get the wheeler and get these out of here. I guess I should disconnect them first, eh? I'll figure it out, figure it out. Details, minor details. Very tight fit. It's narrower this way than it is that way, so I'm taking it through the door this way. So I guess we just take this opportunity to clean underneath here. There's a vent for the furnace underneath, underneath where the dryer sits. That's not very well placed. And this is the power cable that goes to this. Why would it come out of the floor in the middle of the floor? Why wouldn't they make it come out of like the wall or something? Why does it come out there under the washing machine? I'm gonna have to put some extra protection over that. That's some powerful energy going in right there for the dryer. That's messed up. That's messed up. It was the same thing when we installed the air conditioning. They had to run all these pipes under the floor and the power for everything. And Brown's plumbing and heating did a great job, but underneath this thing here for the hot water tank, they did the same thing as that sort. They ran the wire underneath here, like people who built this area. Underneath there, no markings, no nothing. Nobody knows where the power line is. And as they were drilling through, they accidentally bumped it, right? Cause why is there a wire there? No one would expect that. So they fixed it all up real quick for us. Free of charge obviously. Wasn't their fault, wasn't my fault, but they're only wired in here properly now. Just some people, when you buy a house from people, be careful. Cause a lot of times people will just put a band-aid on things so that the house will sell. It's hard to be able to catch these things like this. Like that I didn't see obviously until now. Cause why would I move the washing machine when I'm coming to look at a house I wanna buy, right? I guess my best advice you guys would be to don't be this person. Don't be the person cutting corners and trying to hide things from people you're trying to sell to. Just don't do that, have integrity, okay? That's the best advice I can give you, is just don't be like that. Do it right and be honest. Good work, Diesel. Good work. You still got it, man. Look at those rippling muscles. Making everyone jealous. Me included. Thank God I got the muscle here. Got these off the truck. And I guess we'll take the cardboard off. I'm pretty sure they work better if you take the cardboard off first. I checked this out. For my American viewers, I'm gonna give you a little bit of something here. You ready? Look at this. America, an American company for over 100 years. Assembled in the USA. Made and assembled in the United States with Chinese parts. I don't know that. It could be completely 100% American. I'm just making a joke. But now let's, let's open up this little piece of America here. Am I supposed to be flying the American flag right now or like having the anthem playing in the background or something? I'm not sure how these things work. Maybe reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as I open this. Pledge of Allegiance through the flag of the United States of America. One nation. No, wait. How does it go again? Pledge, allegiance. Oh no. I gotta get this right or this thing's not gonna work. Pledge, allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. One nation, indivisible. No. Yeah, isn't it? I'm gonna get it yet. One nation.  The thing, you know.   What's the dogs? You're not scared of my gun? Come on, man. Look at this thing. This thing's huge. Oh, oh. Yeah, you see, when you look at it from that angle. Right? How about you? They're not afraid of my gun. Okay, but I've got a lot of American viewers so I'm gonna get this pledge right, okay? Look up me some slides here. I'm a Canadian, okay? I don't have to know these things, okay? It's a bonus that I do. Okay, let's see. U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. That's the thing, you know. You know the thing, that's the thing. I used to know that off the top of my head. It just escaped me, but there you go. Now I can open up my American appliances. It is mandatory that you recite that pledge before you open any American appliance. Pretty sure it was in the fine print. I got this gift from my dad a couple of years ago and it's come in very handy multiple times. I usually always have it with me. He got it in Rochelle, Illinois. Got a little truck on it, my name on it. That's me, that's me. So I cut open the box here and I'm gonna wiggle it out. Take it inside. I wonder if this comes with the hoses or if I'll have to use the hoses for my old one. The drainage, wouldn't it come with it? Oh, there it is. Well, there's the drain. Oh, let's get it inside, we'll figure it out. Look at this, apparently according to this energy guide, I'll be using approximately $25 a year in electricity. I think the average person does a lot less laundry than we do. For only two people, we do a lot of laundry. We always have to keep our dog blankets clean, so this thing's going almost every day, which is probably why that washing machine conked out on us, and which is why we have the five year extended warranty on this, baby. I got very specific instructions from the wife. They're short and simple. Don't damage it. I like it, she keeps it simple. One instruction, inspect this thing for any dings or dents. There's another reminder right there. America, let's see. I read this wrong before. This is the estimated yearly energy cost with similar products. With this one, I believe, oh no. Okay, natural gas, $14 a year natural gas, 25 with electricity. We have an electric water heater, so it'll be about 25 bucks. 180 kilowatt hours per year. And here in Manitoba, we have really good energy rates. Our energy rates here are eight cents per kilowatt hour. So you take 180 times eight cents and you'll get the approximate energy costs for the year, which is pretty low on this. You look at that, it's way down there. This model's way down there, could be all the way up there. Could be there, I mean, they could extend the graph if they wanted to all the way out here and make it look even better. I get what they're doing here, it's sales technique, but this one I grabbed in the back so that I don't scratch the sides. You remember my one instruction. Dammit. Okay, so we got the new washing machine in. A whole bunch of stuff in here. Blah, blah, blah, blah, instructions and stuff. This is a really narrow drain hose. This is much narrower than the last one. Cool, little cool. What's this? Ha, ha, ha. Oh great, they gave us a snack too. I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. I'm not, I'm not like that. Quick start laundry guide for the people who don't know how to do their own laundry. Good thing all of you know how to do your own laundry, right?  I do my own laundry. I don't wanna be in control of something around here. I do my own laundry, all right? You should learn how to do yours too.  At least she shouldn't.  All right, there we go. Oh, it's pretty big. Wow, that looks bigger than the last one, I think. Yeah, this is a five cubic liter, no. Five something, five CU. I am not a professional, okay? But I guess there's just the drain hose, yeah. There's no, okay, so I'll have to take the hoses off the last washing machine. Okay, is that how it usually goes? Do you usually take them from your old one and buy them separately? We've really got the greatest neighbors on both sides. On the one side, we have our neighbor who waves at me every morning and I look forward to it every morning on my way to work. On the other side, they saw me working hard getting these things in here today and then I was here by myself and they brought me over a home-cooked meal for me to eat. It was delicious, absolutely delicious. We have such great neighbors. I'm very happy with where we're at here. Both sides of us. So yeah, I got them installed. What took the longest was leveling the dryer. It's not exactly level on there, but it's level here. So I'm not sure what's going on but that's the best I could get it so that it wouldn't wobble. And now I'm just taking this protective film off of here. Britt's gonna be home right away. I think that was her messaging me just there.  I want her to have this all done and looking pretty by the time she got home. There we go. There we go. There. Okay, just gonna wipe you down a little bit. Got a little bit of dirt on here for my hands. There we go. They're not the most expensive washer and dryer. They're the basic, but what do you think, hey? Now to test them out. Better make sure there's nothing in them first, I guess. No big that is. It's huge. Oh, there's some stuff in here. Okay, there we go. So I'm just gonna run them through a cycle with nothing in there. I'll need both of them just to make sure it works good. And that'll be that. Right on. I don't know why that light is blinking on the camera. But off camera, it's not blinking at all. That's weird. It's not blinking, but on the camera it blinks. Okay, so yeah, we're going through the first load right now testing it out. So far, so good. The wife got home. She's very impressed. What he does. Dryer is in its, what is it, third or fourth cycle already. Wash machine is working great. It's so quiet. You can barely hear it working when you're standing right beside it. It's crazy, because they look like cheaper models, right? But they have a lot of the new cool technologies in there. Chevy approves, weasel approves, how about the boss? I mean, I've barely gotten to use it. I've been hogging it. I know, I'm excited. I got a new toy. I hogs it every weekend, so. That's okay though. I can't be upset you're washing our bed sheets, so. What do you think of it though? It's quiet, eh? Yeah, it's a nice big drum. It's really good so far. I like it. I'm glad that we held ourselves back on spending too much. It's good for this house. It's fully functional. More than functional, it's pretty cool. Is that heavy? I'm sure he was scared of the noises that he was making yesterday. Yeah, he was freaking out. He doesn't like anything new. He was freaking out of the bubble wrap yesterday.  It feels bad. It feels bad. I'm so ashamed. I'm so sorry, I lost control. Diesel. You were no better. Anyways, yeah. So it was a successful day. So Monday we're back to work. We'll see you then. Maybe I should take her to work with me, won't I? Okay, you wanna drive the truck? I'd rather sell clothes. You drive the truck, I'll sleep. It'll be good. It'll be fine with it. It's fine.  I couldn't even use your license. I just gave you my driver's license. Five foot ten. No beard. Oh well. Okay, well, we'll see you guys later.