Rebel News Podcast - July 08, 2023


EZRA LEVANT ｜ Canada's leading pollster asks Canadians what they think about Rebel News — and the answers are very encouraging!


Episode Stats

Length

36 minutes

Words per Minute

176.10928

Word Count

6,480

Sentence Count

562

Hate Speech Sentences

8


Summary

A new poll by Leger asks Canadians what they think about Rebel News, and the results are encouraging. And then we talk to our friend Lincoln Jay, a Rebel News reporter who was charged and ticketed for reporting on the Quebec Curfew two years ago.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hello, my friends. What a big show we have today. Oh, my gosh. First of all, an amazing new public
00:00:06.900 opinion poll by Leger about Rebel News and what people think of Rebel News. I am so excited by
00:00:13.320 it. I'll take you through the poll question by question and answer by answer. And then we'll
00:00:18.340 talk to our friend Lincoln Jay, a Rebel News reporter who was charged and ticketed for reporting
00:00:24.020 on the Quebec curfew two years ago. He had his day in court. We'll tell you about that. That's
00:00:28.300 all ahead. But first, let me invite you to become a subscriber to Rebel News Plus. That's
00:00:32.620 the video version of this show. You really want the video version today. Go to rebelnewsplus.com.
00:00:38.700 Click subscribe. Eight bucks a month. There might not be a lot of dough to you, but that's
00:00:42.260 a lot to us because it really adds up. Go to rebelnewsplus.com. All right. Here's today's
00:00:46.840 show.
00:00:58.300 Tonight, Canada's leading pollster asks Canadians what they think about Rebel News, and the answers
00:01:08.580 are very encouraging. It's July 7th, and this is the Ezra Levant Show.
00:01:12.640 I'm very excited. I want to show you a new poll. It was conducted by Leger, which is Canada's
00:01:32.960 largest pollster. It's a special poll that we asked them to do. We asked them to measure Rebel
00:01:38.580 News' reputation in Canada. We told them what we were interested in learning, and they wrote
00:01:43.600 the questions to make sure the poll was neutral and scientifically accurate, not a fake push
00:01:48.880 poll that gets a predetermined result. I want to read to you Leger's terms for doing polls
00:01:53.420 like this one, and then I'm going to dive right into it. Quality control. Stringent quality assurance
00:01:59.740 measures allow Leger to achieve the high-quality standards set by the company. As a result, its
00:02:04.580 methods of data collection and storage outperformed the norms set by the World Association for Public
00:02:10.060 Opinion Research. These measures are applied at every stage of the project, from data collection
00:02:14.960 to processing through to analysis. We aim to answer our clients' needs with honesty, total
00:02:20.480 confidentiality, and integrity. Thanks for letting me read that to you. I want to show you. I want you
00:02:26.100 to know that we had no control over the process or even the exact wording of the questions. We left
00:02:31.300 that to the pros, and here are the results, and I am so excited and proud of them, and I want to tell
00:02:36.880 you about them because I think it's proof of our concept of citizen journalism, and it's proof of our
00:02:41.820 strategy of never taking government money or money from a big corporation, never taking money from anyone
00:02:47.700 really who could control what we say, because our total editorial independence. Because of that, we've won
00:02:53.900 the trust of millions of Canadians. Let me show you the results that I think are so encouraging. The first
00:02:59.640 question was pretty basic. Have you heard of Rebel News? That's a good one. By the way, and you should
00:03:07.160 remember this, only about half of Canadians care about the news at all. A recent poll by Meru shows
00:03:13.360 that only 16% of Canadians check the news all the time. I would be one of those people. Another 35%
00:03:20.540 check the news, I'd say, frequently. So that's a total of 51%, but the other half of Canadians follow the
00:03:27.740 news only rarely or even, like, never. So the Leger poll found that 25% of Canadians have heard
00:03:35.480 of Rebel News. We're eight years old. We have a marketing budget of pretty much zero. It's all
00:03:40.980 word of mouth. It's all friends sharing with friends, and yet 25% of Canadians have heard of
00:03:45.900 Rebel News, which is about half of the news-watching population. I think that's amazing, but that's just
00:03:52.480 the average. Of course, it's higher and lower in different parts of the country. We only hired our
00:03:58.280 Quebec team a couple of years ago, led by the amazing Alexa Lavoie, and yet already 13% of Quebecers
00:04:05.960 have heard of Rebel News, and that's the lowest province for us. I think that's pretty great,
00:04:11.240 given how new we are there and that we don't do a lot of French content. I think it was our pandemic
00:04:16.860 and lockdown coverage that really helped us break through there. So that's the lowest, but it goes
00:04:22.360 up from there, 15% in the Atlantic. I wish we could cover the Atlantic more. 25% of people in BC know us,
00:04:30.120 27% in Ontario, very strong, 29% in the Prairies, and an unbelievable 49% in Alberta. We are bigger
00:04:39.180 in Alberta than the so-called mainstream media, and it shows. Our coverage had a major role in determining,
00:04:46.260 sorry, in demonstrating the problems with Jason Kenney's lockdowns, which led to his ouster as
00:04:52.080 premier. And we championed the liberty agenda of Danielle Smith, the new premier. I think we're
00:04:58.400 big in Alberta. I know we are. The poll says we are. Now, we skew male. So 32% of men in Canada have
00:05:05.820 heard of us, more than women have. And would you look at that? Our viewers, they're young. Now,
00:05:12.060 often conservative organizations have older members or viewers. But look at us. Rebel News
00:05:18.100 is stronger with younger people. Now, I love people of all ages, but we're really connecting
00:05:22.700 with young people, which I think is great because it's hard to get young people to care about the
00:05:27.640 news. They care about Rebel News. By the way, I've uploaded the entire poll on a special website,
00:05:34.540 rebelpoll.com. So go there and check it out for yourself. I would love it if you read through it.
00:05:39.920 But look, just because someone has heard of Rebel News doesn't mean they like Rebel News.
00:05:44.840 I mean, I like to say the other guys are bland. They're vanilla. Like, who would pick up the
00:05:50.260 Toronto Star? They're bland. We're Tabasco sauce. I mean, we're not for everyone. Tabasco sauce is
00:05:56.220 not for everyone. But for those who like it, they like it a lot. And the opposite is true also. If
00:06:00.320 you're a lockdown extremist, if you're a mask-wearing scold, if you have pronouns, if you love the carbon
00:06:07.180 tax and Trudeau, I think Trudeau's dreamy, you're going to hate Rebel News, which is the right thing.
00:06:13.240 So whereas some media try to appeal to everyone by standing for really nothing, we do the opposite.
00:06:18.560 We take a clear point of view. But it works because we really are one of the few contrarian voices in
00:06:24.600 the country, which is needed, especially in the past three years. So look at the results. The question
00:06:30.360 was, do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of Rebel News? It's very neutral
00:06:35.940 wording, isn't it? And here's the answer. Canadians who have heard of Rebel News are split as to their
00:06:41.140 opinion on the organization. 42% express a favorable impression, and the same number believe the
00:06:47.040 opposite. Isn't that interesting? I think that's a fair deal. I'll take 42% support. I would be
00:06:52.560 surprised if 42% of Canadians support the CBC or the Globe and Mail, I'll tell you that. And again,
00:06:58.200 it varies by demographic. Men support us more than women do. Young people support us more than older
00:07:03.440 people do. The absolute strongest support for us in the prairies, 52%. So if you're a young man in
00:07:09.540 Saskatchewan or Manitoba, I haven't seen the crosstabs, but you probably, you know, it's 65% support for
00:07:15.960 Rebel News if you're a young male person in the prairies. You're in Rebel country. Hey, just a quick
00:07:21.960 note on who really, really hates us, though. Can you see that pink bar near the bottom right of the
00:07:28.840 chart? Those are people who say they have a very unfavorable opinion of us, people who hate us.
00:07:35.520 So white people are 33% likely to say they hate us. But that number falls to just 21% for visible
00:07:44.860 minorities, which is how Leger breaks it down. Isn't that interesting? I sort of knew that was true
00:07:50.860 instinctively. Everywhere I go, new immigrants, visible minorities come up to me very supportive,
00:07:56.320 especially Sikh Canadians, especially people from the Caribbean. I'm just telling you my life
00:08:00.560 experience, but that's always been anecdotal. Now I have statistical proof. Why is that?
00:08:07.120 I think it's because woke leftists in Canada are often rich white liberals who love being offended
00:08:13.360 about things, whether it's our conservative views or our irreverent style.
00:08:17.380 Well, visible minorities, new immigrants, I'm just guessing here, I think they like our take on
00:08:22.020 the issues. For example, our opposition to transgender extremism or reducing taxes. And I
00:08:28.540 think they're not quite as dainty and easily offended and politically correct as white liberals. I don't
00:08:33.600 know, but I love it. If you are a young, visible minority male from the prairies, it's pretty much
00:08:40.620 guaranteed that you are a rebel. Am I right? That's what this Leger poll says. Feel free to really
00:08:47.080 study the results at rebelpoll.com. I put the whole thing there. I thought it was a really
00:08:52.340 interesting poll. Okay, next question. Let me hurry up. When is the last time you saw a Rebel News
00:08:57.140 video, e.g. on YouTube, or read a Rebel News article or social media post? I think that's a good
00:09:02.440 question. Let me read the summary. Again, you can go through the details yourself at rebelpoll.com if you
00:09:07.800 want to. Of those aware of Rebel News, six in ten have seen a Rebel News video or read a Rebel News
00:09:13.960 article or social media post. One in four have seen or heard something within the past week.
00:09:19.520 Although Quebecers are less likely to have heard of Rebel News, just 13%, 77% of those who are aware
00:09:27.840 have ever seen or read something from Rebel News versus 59% in the rest of Canada. Isn't that
00:09:33.940 interesting? So Quebecers, not a lot of them know about us, but those who do, they come to us
00:09:39.240 frequently. Canadians who identify as BIPOC, that means black, indigenous, or people of color,
00:09:45.700 are significantly more likely to have ever seen a Rebel News article, video, or post. 77% versus 58%
00:09:53.540 of those who identify as white. Isn't that amazing to you? I just, I don't know exactly how or why.
00:10:00.820 I want people of every race and every age and both sexes to love Rebel News. It really defies
00:10:06.840 liberal stereotypes, doesn't it? That the people who visit our website the most frequently are
00:10:12.460 visible minorities. I think that's pretty cool. And really, for everyone, 24% of people go to Rebel
00:10:20.060 News in video form or some other story once a week. And 11% of people are coming to our site every day.
00:10:26.960 No wonder Justin Trudeau hates us so much. Seriously. Did you know we were so big? I always
00:10:33.180 had sort of a secret hope or sort of a hunch, but I didn't know, I couldn't prove it until Leger did a
00:10:39.440 statistically valid national survey. Okay, let me speed up a bit here. But the next three questions,
00:10:44.360 which were asked together, are just amazing. And really, I've saved the best for last. So here's
00:10:51.060 the question. Here's how it was read to people. Thinking about Rebel News, do you agree or disagree
00:10:55.360 with the statements provided below? And the first one is, Rebel News covers the stories the mainstream
00:11:01.620 media outlets don't want to cover. Well, even our critics would have to agree that we do that,
00:11:07.840 right? So 57% of people say, yes, that is what Rebel News does. And don't you think that's valuable
00:11:15.020 in a democracy? I mean, seriously. In an age where all the mainstream media just repeat the same talking
00:11:20.480 points? Seriously. They all run the same Canadian press wire stories, same as the other guys. There's
00:11:26.200 so few actual journalists out there. Isn't it nice to have some news outlet writing news that
00:11:31.620 is otherwise ignored? Okay, how about this? This is the next one that was tested. Agree or disagree?
00:11:37.340 Media organizations like Rebel News do a better job than the mainstream media at holding government
00:11:42.760 and politicians to account. And would you look at that? 46% of people say, yes, we do a better job.
00:11:50.400 In fact, 27% of people are adamant about it. That is so encouraging and actually not surprising. Over
00:11:56.860 the past five years, Trudeau has colonized the regime media with his bailout money and his subsidies.
00:12:03.900 And it really shows it is not a good look for the mainstream media. Most journalists are just
00:12:08.480 Trudeau's mouthpieces now on every issue. They just sort of echo the Liberal Party. And people
00:12:13.720 notice that. And they don't like it. 46% of people believe that we hold politicians to account
00:12:21.220 better than the regime media does, which is why we're always kicked out of press conferences
00:12:25.640 by Trudeau and roughed up by his police, while the media party journalists are allowed in for their
00:12:31.360 softball questions. I mean, if I ever had Justin Trudeau trapped in a small airplane with me,
00:12:37.100 like this reporter, and if I could ask him any question, and he was stuck with me,
00:12:42.020 and the only way he could escape me was to parachute out, I guarantee you I wouldn't waste
00:12:47.060 any questions asking about his shampoo.
00:12:50.300 So I guess the first thing I should ask you is, are you feeling lucky?
00:12:53.280 I mean, the entire country wants to know, what shampoo do you use?
00:12:59.900 What a disappointing answer this is going to be. Whatever happens to be hanging around at the time.
00:13:05.760 Yeah, that was global news. That was Tom Clark. But he knew what he was doing. He's smarter than
00:13:10.040 me. He was later appointed by Trudeau to an amazing patronage gig. He's the consul general in New York
00:13:16.340 City. What a great gig. But you don't think people notice that? Hey, what's your favorite shampoo? Oh,
00:13:22.420 hey, thanks for appointing me to the government. The day I ask a politician what shampoo they use
00:13:27.880 is the day you should fire me. But this next question is my favorite. We really have saved
00:13:34.280 the best for last. Ready? Here's how the question was was put to people. Agree or disagree?
00:13:41.120 I trust the reporting of rebel news more than the mainstream media. Wow. Okay, well, let's get to it.
00:13:48.460 Now, 41% say yes, including 22% who strongly agree. Now, many don't, in fact, agree. 36% strongly
00:14:00.060 disagree. Fair enough. And it would really be weird if a liberal supporter or NDP supporter or
00:14:06.380 Greenpeace supporter trusted rebel news more than they trust, say, Trudeau's CBC state broadcaster.
00:14:11.800 That would be that would be weird. It's just like the poll question about whether or not people like
00:14:16.580 us. Some people love us, some people hate us, not a lot in between. It's the same for this question
00:14:21.980 about trust. But still, think about this. 41% of Canadians are so repulsed by how journalists
00:14:30.320 conduct themselves, especially taking all that Trudeau cash, that they would trust our little band of
00:14:37.520 citizen journalists in our little rickety company started in my living room eight years ago. No government
00:14:44.540 money, no marketing budget. 41% of Canadians trust us more than they trust the oligopoly, the CBC, CTV,
00:14:54.020 Global, the Toronto Star, even Post Media. In just eight years, we've earned the trust of 41% of people so
00:15:01.580 deeply that they no longer believe the old guard. I mean, they grew up watching CBC, CTV, Global News,
00:15:09.160 reading the old papers. They no longer trust them. That is incredible. And we're just getting started.
00:15:13.980 But of course, it's not just our good work. It's the atrocious misconduct of the media party,
00:15:20.240 who have gladly, eagerly sold out to Trudeau. And people see that. I found this poll very encouraging.
00:15:28.540 And if you did too, go to rebelpoll.com. Read it carefully for yourself. There's so many little
00:15:34.820 nuggets in there. I read some of them to you, but not all. And if you feel as excited and encouraged and
00:15:40.660 vindicated by it, as I do, maybe consider chipping in a little bit right there on that page,
00:15:46.140 rebelpoll.com. This poll isn't just a validation of our editorial quality.
00:15:51.020 It's a validation of our fundraising approach, crowdfunding. Never take a dime from the people
00:15:57.500 we cover. Never take money from governments. Always rely on our viewers. That is why people trust us,
00:16:03.620 because they know we're not bought off by Trudeau, or for that matter, any conservative politician.
00:16:09.340 If you're as happy as I am with the results, go to rebelpoll.com. Help us keep up the good work.
00:16:15.420 Thanks.
00:16:15.780 Hey, welcome back. It's great to be back in the studio. I've been traveling around a little bit.
00:16:31.680 I hope you enjoyed my visit to Marseille, France. I thought it was a real eye-opener,
00:16:36.380 and I apologize again for my terrible French. Something happened when I was away. One of our
00:16:43.280 reporters in our Toronto office had a trial, a full-day trial, in the beautiful city of Montreal,
00:16:50.580 and he had a victory. Joining me now to talk about it is our friend Lincoln Jade. Lincoln,
00:16:56.440 great to see you, and first of all, congratulations. You had a full-day trial. I wish I could have been
00:17:02.220 there. I was actually coming home from Marseille. Tell me, what were the events in question
00:17:08.060 that got you the tickets and the charges? I think it was just a ticket in this case. Tell our viewers
00:17:14.940 when it was, where it was, and what it was that got you in trouble that caused you to have a trial
00:17:20.640 last week. Yeah, well, thanks, Ezra, for having me. It was just this week, I guess, a couple days ago.
00:17:24.140 Yeah, just a couple days ago. So just for those who are not aware, in March of 2021, there was a curfew in
00:17:30.000 place in Montreal. So rebels being rebels, four of us headed out to Montreal to see what was going on,
00:17:37.740 you know, just to do what we do to document. So one of those nights, we head out on the streets,
00:17:43.360 and Yankee was kind of the lead reporter that was covering the curfew. So three of us went down from
00:17:49.080 Toronto to Montreal to assist Yankee. Because he knows he's from there, so he sort of knew the
00:17:54.040 neighborhood. Yeah, so we were driving around and Yankee got a call that a minor was put in the back
00:18:00.540 of a police car. So we went to investigate it. And right away, we get out of the car, cameras out,
00:18:06.600 rolling, and the attention quickly shifted right to us. And long story short, we were ticketed $1,500
00:18:14.560 each for doing our job, for reporting.
00:18:19.780 Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
00:18:21.000 Huh?
00:18:22.440 You ready? I'm going to stop.
00:18:25.360 You guys jump up.
00:18:28.340 I'm not sure why. Okay, he's giving a tip.
00:18:31.340 Oh, my goodness.
00:18:32.320 Go, go, go, go, go, go.
00:18:40.500 Salute?
00:18:41.360 What?
00:18:41.720 You speak English?
00:18:48.720 Do you have any papers to allow you?
00:18:50.720 Yeah, we have papers.
00:18:51.720 Okay, I'm going to check them.
00:18:52.720 Yeah, you can check them.
00:18:53.720 What we're doing?
00:18:54.720 Yeah?
00:18:55.720 We're filming you guys.
00:18:56.720 Why?
00:18:57.720 Because that's our job.
00:18:58.720 We're media.
00:18:59.720 We're filming.
00:19:00.720 Okay, I'm going to take the papers.
00:19:01.720 Yeah, yeah, sure.
00:19:02.720 You can take all the papers.
00:19:03.720 So we're all together.
00:19:05.720 We caught these officers putting this young Hasidic Jew
00:19:08.720 in the back of their police cruiser,
00:19:10.720 allegedly for breaking the curfew.
00:19:12.720 Yeah, yeah.
00:19:13.720 So here's my paper.
00:19:18.720 In Quebec, police officers don't have body cams.
00:19:27.720 Yes, that's me.
00:19:29.720 So these are your documents.
00:19:31.720 Thank you.
00:19:32.720 Plus the COVID ticket that comes with it.
00:19:34.720 So can you explain why you're giving tickets to members of the media?
00:19:38.720 What's the...
00:19:39.720 What am I...
00:19:40.720 Is this you?
00:19:41.720 Is there...
00:19:42.720 Can you explain why you're giving tickets...
00:19:43.720 What's the ticket for your documents?
00:19:44.720 Can you explain why you're giving a ticket to a member of the media?
00:19:46.720 I don't even know...
00:19:47.720 Because you're outside.
00:19:48.720 Yeah, but I'm a member of the media.
00:19:49.720 You know me.
00:19:50.720 Yeah, I don't know you.
00:19:51.720 Or maybe your colleague said he knows me.
00:19:54.720 You can contest it if you want.
00:19:56.720 Yeah, but why...
00:19:57.720 I have a curfew note.
00:19:58.720 I have a letter of the SPVM allowed to be out.
00:20:00.720 Why are you giving me tickets to my coworkers?
00:20:02.720 Not from the SPVM.
00:20:03.720 What?
00:20:04.720 The email is not from the SPVM?
00:20:06.720 No, but the ticket is from us.
00:20:08.720 So that was over two years ago.
00:20:10.720 And I remember it was one of the harshest lockdowns in the world.
00:20:13.720 I mean, Melbourne was terrible.
00:20:14.720 Toronto was terrible.
00:20:15.720 But a curfew.
00:20:17.720 That's what you give to a child.
00:20:19.720 A curfew...
00:20:20.720 I mean, a lockdown is what you do in prison, too.
00:20:22.720 Imagine giving a curfew to healthy people, even to vaccinated people.
00:20:26.720 Everyone was forced to stay home, like everyone was a prisoner or a child or something.
00:20:31.720 But tell our viewers, because I remember thinking, how are we going to cover this curfew?
00:20:37.720 Because naturally, to cover it, you would break it.
00:20:39.720 But there was a special legal exemption for reporters.
00:20:42.720 By the way, I don't think anyone should have been under the curfew.
00:20:45.720 I think anyone can be a reporter.
00:20:47.720 But there was a special journalistic exemption, wasn't there?
00:20:50.720 Yes, correct.
00:20:51.720 So with that being said, we were given a letter, right?
00:20:55.720 Written from yours truly, to permit us to be outside so that if the cops did hassle us,
00:21:01.720 did pull us over, whatever the case may be, we could simply show this document that essentially
00:21:07.720 should be permitting us to be outside.
00:21:10.720 Now, anybody who lived in Montreal who experienced that curfew, they can tell you, I'm sure they'll agree with me when they say,
00:21:16.720 it was very creepy, it was very eerie, and it was dead silent on the streets of Montreal.
00:21:21.720 The busiest streets.
00:21:23.720 The busiest streets.
00:21:24.720 You could stand there and look all the way down both sides and not see a car.
00:21:27.720 Let me just give a few more facts about that letter.
00:21:30.720 So when we looked to do reporting on the curfew, we immediately checked the law.
00:21:36.720 We wrote to the police saying that we would be going.
00:21:39.720 And I downloaded that form from the government of Quebec.
00:21:44.720 They had an official form.
00:21:45.720 They called it an attestation, if I recall, where the president of a journalistic organization,
00:21:51.720 in this case me, had to give a letter of attesting that, hey, this guy really is a journalist.
00:21:58.720 He really is doing reporting.
00:22:00.720 Here's my phone number if you have any questions.
00:22:02.720 It was like I had the right to deputize you to give you a permit, really.
00:22:07.720 And I didn't make this form up myself.
00:22:09.720 I literally downloaded it from the provincial government's website.
00:22:12.720 And so we really followed the law.
00:22:14.720 In fact, we started emailing in advance the police to say, hey, we're coming.
00:22:20.720 We're sending our people.
00:22:21.720 Everything's kosher.
00:22:22.720 We had name tags.
00:22:23.720 We had all these things.
00:22:25.720 You showed that to the cops, but they didn't respect that.
00:22:30.720 No, they did not respect that.
00:22:32.720 And right away, we showed them the documents.
00:22:36.720 And I'm not sure if they were calling their boss, essentially, what they were doing.
00:22:40.720 But it's freezing cold outside.
00:22:42.720 Kept us outside on the sidewalk, on the street for almost up to 30 minutes.
00:22:47.720 And just to ultimately let us go, but with a $1,500 ticket each, $6,000 for all of us.
00:22:55.720 So you fought that.
00:22:56.720 And the other journalists involved, I think the trials are yet to come.
00:22:59.720 And this is the crazy part.
00:23:01.720 Because they were giving out tickets willy-nilly.
00:23:03.720 And they were in the heat of the battle.
00:23:05.720 The curfew was new.
00:23:06.720 The cops didn't maybe know the rules and the law.
00:23:08.720 And everything was sort of fly by the seat of the pants.
00:23:10.720 But that was two years ago.
00:23:12.720 Here we are in 2023, summertime.
00:23:15.720 The police had a chance to reconsider.
00:23:17.720 The prosecutors.
00:23:19.720 This actually went to a full court hearing with a judge, with a prosecutor, with a translator,
00:23:25.720 with a clerk, with you, with your lawyers.
00:23:29.720 It's astonishing to me that the government of Quebec felt that this was a priority for their justice system.
00:23:37.720 There are real crimes in Montreal.
00:23:39.720 Even violent crimes.
00:23:41.720 People are in jail.
00:23:42.720 But they took...
00:23:43.720 Well, I want you to describe for our viewers how much time, how much resources for this stupid ticket.
00:23:51.720 Yep.
00:23:52.720 So we started court that day, 9.30 a.m. sharp.
00:23:56.720 Court wrapped up.
00:23:58.720 So I was free to leave, essentially, at around 3 p.m. that day.
00:24:02.720 So I believe there was two prosecutors who were trying to find me guilty.
00:24:07.720 There was one police officer from the SPVM, just one police officer.
00:24:11.720 That's the SPVM.
00:24:12.720 That's what they called the Montreal police.
00:24:14.720 Yeah, correct.
00:24:15.720 So one Montreal police officer showed up.
00:24:17.720 This police officer originally was on scene for the arrest of the minor.
00:24:22.720 But in his statement that he gave to the judge, he clearly says that he left before we were even ticketed.
00:24:29.720 So he was long gone.
00:24:30.720 So he didn't even have facts he could testify to.
00:24:32.720 Nope.
00:24:33.720 And that's the only police officer that showed up that day.
00:24:36.720 But they forced you to attend.
00:24:37.720 I remember talking with you about can you appear by Zoom.
00:24:40.720 They forced you to travel all the way to Montreal, but the cop who arrested you didn't even bother to show up.
00:24:45.720 Did the judge, was the judge irked by that?
00:24:48.720 Yeah, the judge, the judge was a little frustrated, I think, at the whole situation because our lawyer was potentially going to try and postpone this trial again to have someone that was actually there, a police officer that was actually there for the ticketing.
00:25:05.720 To be present in the courtroom.
00:25:08.720 But the judge really did not want this to be prolonged any longer.
00:25:13.720 She stated herself that we're to postpone this trial.
00:25:17.720 We won't be back here until October, November.
00:25:20.720 She also stated something that's very noteworthy after she said that, which was, we know Rebel News.
00:25:26.720 We know they're a news organization.
00:25:28.720 It is clear that he's a journalist.
00:25:30.720 Maybe you guys can step outside of the court and try to talk it out.
00:25:36.720 And at that point, we maybe thought that they were going to just drop it.
00:25:40.720 The prosecutors would do a plea bargain with you because the judge really was signaling, guys, stop wasting my time.
00:25:45.720 We don't. I mean, imagine when you said nine thirty to three o'clock, that is pretty much a full day of court because the judges come into the office first, go to their office, get their papers, review the paperwork.
00:25:57.720 So when when when you said nine thirty sharp, the judge has probably been there already for maybe an hour.
00:26:03.720 And when it ends at three, the judge doesn't go home right away.
00:26:06.720 So a full day's court, two prosecutors.
00:26:09.720 And I got to think this judge is thinking, what am I doing?
00:26:13.720 Can can these guys get their act together?
00:26:16.720 So the judge says, hey, guys, go cut a deal.
00:26:19.720 But the prosecutors obviously didn't want a deal.
00:26:21.720 No, no deal.
00:26:22.720 They wanted to continue with the trial.
00:26:25.720 Do you recall anything they said?
00:26:26.720 Were they particularly aggressive or or vindictive in any way?
00:26:30.720 Were they political in any way?
00:26:32.720 Because two prosecutors, I mean, no disrespect to you, Lincoln, but you don't merit two prosecutors for a ticket like that.
00:26:40.720 Two prosecutors.
00:26:41.720 That's for a major crime.
00:26:43.720 This is basically an expensive ticket.
00:26:46.720 It shouldn't have gone to court at all.
00:26:47.720 But two prosecutors.
00:26:48.720 That sounds crazy to me.
00:26:50.720 Yeah.
00:26:51.720 So there wasn't much in the police.
00:26:53.720 And so the actual police report from the night there was not much is about one or two sentences.
00:26:57.720 So it was very, very brief.
00:26:59.720 But what the prosecutors were going on was the fact that they were trying to say that we were there with the intention of having this police interaction of potentially getting ticketed, arrested.
00:27:10.720 They were trying to make it seem like we wanted the attention from the police.
00:27:14.720 That was our intent of going there.
00:27:16.720 Essentially saying that it's empty streets.
00:27:18.720 There's nothing going on in Montreal.
00:27:20.720 Why would you guys need to be out there?
00:27:22.720 The curfew has already been in place for four months.
00:27:25.720 Exactly what they said.
00:27:26.720 Why would you guys have to be out here reporting?
00:27:29.720 You know, basically.
00:27:30.720 So they were playing editor in chief.
00:27:32.720 Yeah.
00:27:33.720 Basically trying to persuade the judge, I guess, into thinking that there was no real purpose for us to be out there.
00:27:38.720 But ultimately.
00:27:39.720 Well, we can be out there for any reason or no reason because we're journalists.
00:27:42.720 And frankly, it's my view that every citizen should have the same right as a journalist.
00:27:45.720 What is a journalist?
00:27:46.720 What is a journalist other than a citizen who's telling a story?
00:27:49.720 So they so things proceeded.
00:27:52.720 Now, you played the video.
00:27:54.720 And that's the great thing about our business is that we video everything.
00:27:58.720 And we always talk about behaving ourselves.
00:28:01.720 And and by the way, what we do behind the scenes can perhaps be shown.
00:28:05.720 So be on your best behavior.
00:28:06.720 Tell me how that went down, because it sounds like the prosecutors thought, ha ha, we'll play their footage and we'll make them look really bad.
00:28:14.720 But that sort of backfired on the prosecutor, didn't it?
00:28:16.720 Yeah, this is very interesting.
00:28:17.720 So we had the intent, which we did initially, was we had specific time codes from the video to play in court because it's about a 13 minute video.
00:28:26.720 So we wanted to just get right to the point and show the the the time codes that we thought were necessary.
00:28:33.720 So we played those time codes and the prosecutors responded with we would like to see the whole video, I guess some views, some opinions are expressed in the video.
00:28:43.720 And they thought that that was going to I'm assuming that they thought that that was going to work in their favor.
00:28:48.720 But what ended up happening is by playing the whole video, it essentially backed up every single claim or statement that I made.
00:28:57.720 So it ended up working perfectly.
00:28:59.720 And to add to your point, the video doesn't lie.
00:29:02.720 So it was the best piece of evidence.
00:29:04.720 Yeah. And I would imagine in most cases, a judge doesn't have that kind of video of a crime.
00:29:10.720 A judge normally is a he shed.
00:29:12.720 She said maybe there's some grainy closed circuit TV nearby.
00:29:15.720 But this literally the camera was pointed to you guys.
00:29:18.720 So after a full day in court, two prosecutors, one judge, one clerk, one interpreter, I could only imagine how much money was on this.
00:29:25.720 Tell us the verdict.
00:29:26.720 Yeah. So so, you know, the evidence that we had, we had as we discussed earlier, we had the statement permitting us to be outside.
00:29:33.720 We had our ID badges, you know, so the police clearly knew who we were.
00:29:39.720 And long story short, the judge read the verdict at the end and essentially called us essential media, said it is essential for us to be out there.
00:29:50.720 And ultimately, I was found not guilty and no more fine of fifteen hundred dollars.
00:29:58.720 That's right. I tell you, for fifteen hundred dollars, though, the legals, all these different like I would estimate that fifty thousand was spent, not necessarily just that day, but all along the way, all the paperwork, the police, the bureaucrats, the organ.
00:30:14.720 Like this has been going on within the system for two and a half years, which is insane in itself.
00:30:20.720 Now, we have requested the official transcript of the court because I understand it's in French and we'll get it translated because I think it's very valuable, not only that you were acquitted, which I'm very glad, but for a judge to say Rebel News is media.
00:30:36.720 We all know that. And they're an essential service. I would love to get a judge saying that because there are haters out there, including the prime minister who says you guys are not media.
00:30:46.720 Well, a Quebec judge just said we were a buster. So, listen, congratulations.
00:30:50.720 Congratulations. I'm sorry that you had to spend it's a drive out to Montreal.
00:30:54.720 You have to spend a full day there, drive back.
00:30:57.720 You know, the economically rational thing to do would have just been pay the ticket.
00:31:02.720 But we stood on principle here. And I've been through trials before.
00:31:07.720 They can be stressful. They're they're interesting.
00:31:09.720 In a way, it's fascinating. All these important people talking about you and what you did.
00:31:13.720 But it's terrifying also because everything you said and did is being examined slowly.
00:31:19.720 And and you were just saying things in the spur of the moment and now it's been really examined.
00:31:23.720 It's a stressful thing. But to be vindicated in the end.
00:31:26.720 Tell me how that feels. Yeah, it's it felt amazing.
00:31:30.720 We were really happy with the result.
00:31:32.720 You know, it's a long process, as you mentioned.
00:31:35.720 So you're kind of unsure at certain times how it's going to go.
00:31:38.720 But by the end of it, we felt really confident because we knew we had the right to be out there.
00:31:44.720 We showed all of our evidence. The prosecutors really did not have much at all on us.
00:31:50.720 Well, the chief cop didn't even show up.
00:31:52.720 And so no police officer there to testify against us. Nothing.
00:31:56.720 Nothing. So we really thought at the end of it that unless this judge has some sort of bias against Rebel News, there's no way that we can be found guilty in this case.
00:32:08.720 And it worked out in our favor.
00:32:10.720 Well, justice was done. It took a long time, but justice was done.
00:32:13.720 That's a good feeling. And frankly, it increases your confidence in the justice system just a tiny bit, just a tiny bit, because sometimes you can lose faith in it.
00:32:23.720 Well, listen, congratulations on your win. We do have plenty more tickets.
00:32:27.720 I think you mentioned Yankee. I think he has four more tickets.
00:32:30.720 And there were other people there that day.
00:32:32.720 Well, listen, congrats. And I just wanted to give that news to our viewers because I thought that was so important.
00:32:37.720 So great to have you back. Great to have the win.
00:32:39.720 And when we get that transcript, we will share it with our viewers.
00:32:42.720 Stay with us. More ahead.
00:32:44.720 Hey, welcome back. Your Letters to Me.
00:32:57.720 Chris, Minister of Smart Arsery, I'm guessing that's not your real name, says,
00:33:03.720 I came to Alberta 15 years ago from Ontario, and I earned my way and contributed.
00:33:07.720 I am Albertan by choice, and I understand the value of this wonderful place.
00:33:11.720 That's in response to my interview with Danielle Smith, the Premier of the province.
00:33:15.720 We talked about who's coming to Alberta.
00:33:17.720 I think, I mean, it reminds me of what happened in Florida.
00:33:21.720 Ron DeSantis made Florida such a great state. Low taxes, no COVID lockdowns, stand with the police, crack down on crime, ban transgender craziness.
00:33:31.720 And so all the freedom-oriented people from the rest of the United States came there, but a million people moved there.
00:33:36.720 Yeah, they moved from New York and California and stuff like that, but they were actually the freedom-oriented people.
00:33:42.720 That's why Ron DeSantis had a double-digit win, and I think that's actually why places like New York and Pennsylvania went Democrat more than they should have.
00:33:52.720 So, yeah, I think the people moving to Alberta are people who love freedom.
00:33:57.720 Sir I. Johnson says,
00:33:59.720 The most important plank in the Alberta Sovereignty Act, or is the Alberta Sovereignty Act, absolutely imperative to distance Alberta from Ottawa overreach.
00:34:07.720 The thought of a third Trudeau regime makes my blood run cold.
00:34:10.720 Well, I think that we're going to need those premiers, Danielle Smith, Scott Moe from Saskatchewan.
00:34:17.720 I see Blaine Higgs from New Brunswick standing up on the trans issue.
00:34:20.720 I think we need the premiers to help turn the tide.
00:34:23.720 I mean, Pierre Polyev is the federal politician whose job it is as official opposition, but I think, I think the premiers of the provinces can do a lot too.
00:34:31.720 Travis Polson says, I wonder why government doesn't have to pre-post their legislation online to registered citizens for citizen oversight.
00:34:39.720 Reason being, it would give us the ability to see what the people think, what the government is doing, because often the two do not match up.
00:34:46.720 Well, actually, the governments do post it online.
00:34:50.720 Federally, the Canadian Parliament actually has a pretty good website.
00:34:54.720 I think the URL is ourcommons.ca, forgive me for going from memory, but you can find every bill and the different versions and the different amendments and you can follow the debates.
00:35:06.720 You can read what's going on in committee.
00:35:08.720 Sometimes they actually have video right there.
00:35:11.720 So if you are interested in following legislation, actually, the parliamentary website is excellent.
00:35:18.720 And I'm not as familiar with the different provincial websites, but they do publish legislation when it's being introduced.
00:35:29.720 And our parliamentary system is, it goes through what they call three readings.
00:35:33.720 So they introduce the bill, then they have a debate and they have consultations and hearings and then they have final reading.
00:35:39.720 And so there's a bunch of, so there is some time they can truncate that time, sort of rush things through, but typically it's months.
00:35:46.720 So actually, if you are interested in that stuff, you've got a lot of reading ahead of you.
00:35:52.720 Listen, that's our show for today.
00:35:53.720 It's great to be back in Toronto.
00:35:55.720 I hope you enjoyed my coverage from Marseille.
00:35:58.720 I thought it was a very interesting and apologies again for my terrible French.
00:36:01.720 I enjoyed reconnecting with the premier of Alberta.
00:36:05.720 I apologize not in that case for my French, but rather for talking too much.
00:36:09.720 I tend to do that in interviews where I get excited.
00:36:11.720 And, wow, the poll today, eh?
00:36:13.720 I mean, maybe I'm just too excited by it, but I had this hunch in my heart, but that's not proof of anything.
00:36:20.720 To get Leger, which, I mean, everyone's heard of Leger.
00:36:24.720 They are such a prestigious blue-chip pollster.
00:36:28.720 I really feel we can take those results to the bank.
00:36:32.720 That's really credible.
00:36:33.720 That's our show for today.
00:36:35.720 Until next time, on behalf of all of us here at Rebel World Headquarters, to you at home, good night, and keep fighting for freedom.
00:36:42.720 Thank you.
00:36:43.720 Thank you.
00:36:44.720 Thank you.
00:36:45.720 Thank you.
00:36:46.720 Thank you.