EZRA LEVANT ｜ Jurors move towards verdict in Coutts Four trial
Episode Stats
Summary
We catch up with our reporter Robert Kraychuk outside the Lethbridge Courthouse to get the latest on The Coutts 3 and the Coutts 4. They are facing sentences for their part in the border blockade in February of 2022.
Transcript
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Hello, my friend. It's about time that we have a catch-up with Robert Kraychuk.
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He is our court reporter who's been in Lethbridge, Alberta, for the trial of the Coutts 3 and the Coutts 4.
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Well, they are charged with various crimes emanating from the border blockade during the trucker convoy of 2022.
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He'll have the latest for us, but first let me invite you to become a subscriber to Rebel News Plus.
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And not only do you get the videos, you get the satisfaction of helping Rebel News.
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As you know, we were one of the only people standing up for the truckers.
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We actually crowdfunded a lot of their legal defenses, including for the Coutts 3.
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All right, without any further ado, let me invite you to subscribe to the video version of Rebel News Plus.
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Tonight, what's up with the Coutts 3 and the Coutts 4?
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We'll check in with our reporter, Robert Kraychuk, outside the Lethbridge Courthouse to get the latest.
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It's August 2nd, and this is the Ezra LeVant Show.
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Well, I mean, very focused on what's going on, not far from my own home, but across the country,
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three men called the Coutts 3 are facing, well, a sentence.
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They were convicted of mischief for their role in the Coutts border blockade.
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As you know, the main protest was in Ottawa, the massive convoy, but they were echo convoys around the country.
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The one of the Coutts border blockade was particularly effective because it was a choke point,
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and it was very far away from large population centers, so there was no large local police force on the scene.
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Not only were there a lot of truckers who were blocking road in Coutts, but farmers got into the action, too.
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It turned into quite a showdown, but Trudeau used a judo move.
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He tried to claim that what was happening in Coutts was such a crisis that it required the country to put under a form of martial law,
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They were charged with much more serious offenses than just mischief.
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They were charged with conspiracy to commit murder of a police officer.
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Now, two of those four, as you know, took very minor plea deals, but two more of them are still on trial.
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The man who has been covering all of these matters for us is our friend Robert Krejcik,
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and he joins us now to talk to us about what's happening in Lethbridge, the city whose courthouse he stands in front of now.
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You have been out there for weeks now, I dare say even months, because there's two loosely connected trials.
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One of them has already been found that the three men have been convicted by a jury,
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which I think packs more punch than if it was a judge alone.
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That's in the minor, more minor cases of mischief.
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But the other case, the much more serious case, those two men have been in prison,
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They've been in police custody since February 14th of 2022 when they were arrested.
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Well, give me an update on both of these cases, because similar background facts,
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but of course the charges couldn't be more different.
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Why don't you start off by telling us the latest in the Cooch 3,
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those were the more minor mischief charges, the jury convicted,
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and now it's up to the judge to give the sentence.
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So let's start there, and then we'll move to the more serious case.
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What's up with the Cooch 3, Marco Van Hugo Boss, George Jansen, and Alex Van Herk?
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So there's a sentencing hearing scheduled for late August,
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and then a final one expected to be in late September, I think 25th, 26th, 27th.
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But more importantly, Marco Van Hugo Boss himself did not participate in this interview
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with the probation officer to complete what's called a pre-sentencing report, this PSR.
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Now, I've come to understand that these PSRs are created post-conviction
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in order to create a document that judges can use as guides or as just information
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And I spoke with Marco Van Hugo Boss about this and asked him why he did not comply
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or why he did not participate in this interview.
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He told me that he had previously spoken with Alex Van Herk about Van Herk's interview
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And the nature of the questions, according to Marco Van Hugo Boss,
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Questions about religious perspective, questions about political and philosophical orientations,
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And this is the state's business to not engaging in it.
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He further told me that he has expectations that he will face more severe consequences.
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That's his word from the judge, given that his lack of compliance may be interpreted as
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But we'll see how that plays out in terms of his anticipation of suffering worse consequences
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by angering the judge by refusing to do the interview to create this PSR.
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Yeah, I mean, listen, Rebel News, I think, has been more closely affiliated with all these
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We were embedded in that blockade two and a half years ago.
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We crowdfunded for the men, not just for the Cooch 3, but I think we had 55 other people
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who had some sort of ticket or minor charge emanating from it.
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We chose not to defend the Cooch 4 because of the accusations of serious violence, conspiracy
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to commit murder, although we later set up a special crowdfund for one of the men.
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I guess what I'm saying is that Rebel News and our friends at the Democracy Fund have spent
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an enormous amount of time defending these men, promoting these men, and crowdfunding the
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So we're obviously very sympathetic advocates for them.
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But I have to tell you, nonetheless, the idea of not filling out a pre-sentence report
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If the idea is to dispute the conviction, then the thing to do is to appeal it.
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If the jury got it wrong, if the judge got it wrong, then appeal it.
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If the judge gets the sentence wrong, then appeal it.
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But to accept the jury's conviction, which these men have done, and then to not participate
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in a pre-sentence report, which I've got to think could only help the men, I find that
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And if there was a particular question that someone didn't want to answer, don't answer it.
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I'm nervous when you tell me that, because I think, although I don't know the judge in
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question, I know a little bit about them, I've got to think that this looks like intransigence
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We know if someone is remorseful or repentant, things go easier on them, in a sense.
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So you can understand why, if someone is defiant until the end, well, the place for defiance
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is when you're fighting the trial, not afterwards.
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And I hate to say it, but I think it could wind up any Marco Van Heuken boss, a jail sentence.
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And if a jail sentence was already in the wings, a larger one.
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And I can't imagine that his lawyer, funded by the Democracy Fund, would have advised that.
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Listen, I hope he's not punished harshly, but I think this is poking the judge in the eye
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I had a very similar conversation with him, and I echoed a lot of what you just said.
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And I sort of asked about the strategic implications of this decision to not comply in the interview
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And I also offered him the idea of not answering certain questions that you find invasive,
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but perhaps complying or answering others that you find innocuous or acceptable.
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And if I can just speak for him or relay what he communicated with me as accurately as I can
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recall, it's just that he thinks the entire process itself is invasive and wants to bring
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Moreover, you said it a moment ago, and I said something similar to him, that this PSR ostensibly
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could help him if he's able to describe himself in a way and just present a picture, an accurate
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one, of course, in which you can obtain leniency from the judge, given his discretion, understanding
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of your scenario, your circumstances, perhaps your mindset.
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And Marco van Hubenbos' genuine perception is that this PSR will only be used to hurt him,
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given that if he answers these questions honestly, in terms of his political perceptions, he does
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not change his point of view that the protest itself was a justifiable exercise of civil disobedience
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to oppose this entire so-called public health apparatus that they were in opposition to.
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So his point of view is that the PSR would only be used to undermine him.
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And he's basing that on what he understands that's already been asked of his fellow co-accused
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convicts, in this case, George Jensen and Alex Van Herupen.
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I'm not going to pile on the guy because I think he's facing prison time.
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If you look at the conviction of Arthur Pavlovsky for inciting mischief, now his case, that's
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a Christian pastor who came down, gave an 18-minute sermon to the men to encourage them.
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He was convicted of, under the criminal code of inciting mischief, and his sentence, I
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believe, was for time served, which I think was something like 52 days, if I'm not mistaken.
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So Arthur Pavlovsky left the court immediately and went home because, like I say, he had already
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served his time, and so the punishment meted out to him, didn't require him to serve more.
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But that's a precedent, a very close precedent.
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It was about the Coutts blockade, about mischief, very, very similar to what these three men are
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facing, at least in the name of the charge, in the gravity of the charge.
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And, I mean, I suppose 60 days or 50 days in prison is not the end of the world, but I
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mean, I certainly wouldn't want to do it unless I absolutely had to.
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My, and listen, I hope it works out, but I don't know if being defiant when you've already
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accepted the conviction is, it seems like out of order.
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If you don't think you did anything wrong, then appeal.
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If you, if you accept the conviction, then do your best to, you know, make it easy on
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Listen, I'm not the guy in, in the, in the, who's waiting in the wings here.
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So I'm just a armchair quarterback here, but I find it confusing, especially since the lawyers
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that we've mustered, uh, for these three men are excellent.
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And, um, I've just never heard of this being done ever.
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When, when, when I, when I know people who are on occasion convicted of crimes, they want
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They want people in their church to say, this is a God fearing man who does good deeds every
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Uh, yeah, you want, you want to be able to marshal your friends and family and everyone you've
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ever done something good to, to put in a word with the judge, but what can you do?
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Marco van Hugo boss is the captain of his own ship.
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He's conducted himself for two and a half years as a very public advocate.
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And I, I suppose there's some poetry of him finishing things up as a defiant advocate.
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I just certainly hope it doesn't yield a longer conviction.
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Um, I mean, these are three severely normal guys who've never done a criminal thing in
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their life and in their hearts, they don't believe they did anything criminal.
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I, I don't believe they did anything criminal either.
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That's why we were such passionate advocates for them and crowdfunded the lawyers.
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Um, he's listen, that's Alberta for you, especially Southern Alberta, stuff style guys,
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mavericks, freedom loving guys, guys who are defiant and skeptical of authority.
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I just hope it doesn't put them in jail too long.
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While I don't know that that's a part of the PSR process, that's something that of course
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So Marko Van Hugenbos can get letters of recommendation from people who have esteem in his community or
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people who have esteem in other ways to speak to his character.
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Perhaps that can still be submitted because that is not in violation of what he's describing
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as his principled opposition to invasive questions that he views as none of the state's business
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to volunteer information about positive feedback or descriptions of this character from people
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So maybe he can still complete that and submit that sort of thing in an attempt to ameliorate
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Well, listen, I'm not going to play homemade lawyer.
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Democracy Fund is going to crowdfund the lawyers, although it sounds like his lawyers being sidelined
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And Rebel News is going to support your continued journalism.
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Those are the three guys we've just been talking about who I think if I had to make a prediction
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and I hate to do it, I think they're going to get 30 days in jail, perhaps more, based
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And I hate to say it in the case of Marko Van Hugenbos, because the judges will see what
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But two men who have been in prison for two and a half years are Chris Carbert and Tony
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Olenek, who were two of the four so-called Coots four.
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These were the guys who I think Justin Trudeau trumped up as the reason to bring in the Emergencies
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These are the guys who they said, oh, my God, they've got guns.
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These are the folks they sent the undercover cops to listen to.
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These are the folks that got search warrants for.
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And they certainly presented this as the shocking reason why they needed martial law.
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In fact, after the police had their big ta-da, look at these arrests moment, the rest of
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They said, this isn't what we're signed up for.
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So actually, the Coots four arrests and the shock and awe press conference that the RCMP
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had, it actually ended the peaceful protest in Coots because no one wanted to be associated
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But it turns out, it doesn't sound like the government has the case they claimed they did
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Like I said, they cut a sweetheart, and I'm not going to say sweetheart, they cut a very
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Now, that was after they were in prison for a while, so it was still atrocious.
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But, you know, mishandling a firearm or like just something that is so minor that if it weren't
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associated with this matter, there would be no custodial sentence at all.
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It would be a slap on the wrist and, oh, you can't use firearms for two years or something.
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I think that was a clear sign that the Crown had no case.
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I actually think they're in jeopardy for 10 years in prison, if my recall of this criminal
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Tell me how this case is going, because it's wrapping up too, isn't it?
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The jury is about, or has the jury been instructed on this matter already?
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Yeah, the jury received its charge, its instructions from the judge on Wednesday.
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It ran until about 6 o'clock in the evening, our time, here at Mountain Time.
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The jury had supper and then deliberated for about an hour and a half.
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So the verdicts for these charges against the two defendants can be issued at any time.
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So I'm sort of on journalistic call right now, let's say, awaiting these decisions to be
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And as far as how it's going, well, I mean, I'm trying to think of how to go about this.
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From what I've observed, and I've been there every single day of the trial, I missed some
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of the pretrial because I wasn't able to get here on time with some work scheduling conflicts.
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Essentially, all of the evidence presented by the Crown in this trial is of a circumstantial
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The Crown is inviting jurors to make inferences of guilt based on ownership of firearms, based
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on political statements and predictions of the future of the state of Canada.
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And of, let's say, in an associated way, colorful language, to put it charitably, coming from
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primarily Anthony Olenek that was captured both in digital intercepts of phone calls and
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also text messages and also statements that Olenek made while being interviewed by the
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Because if convictions are secured, if the defendants are found guilty, either of them
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or both of them, of this conspiracy to commit murder charge, it's laying the sort of informal
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or de facto precedent that ownership of firearms constitutes evidence of some sort of intent
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It further sets a precedent, informal, de facto, or otherwise, that being concerned about a collapsing
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Canada economically, socially, being concerned about the ushering in of a totalitarian
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state in this country, is somehow indicative of criminal conspiratorial intent.
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And given that a lot of people in the Rebel News audience, myself included, I share some
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I spent a lot of time when I was younger reading about the Soviet Union, where my family came
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from, studying Nazi Germany, given that I went to private Jewish school for nine years.
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And when I draw parallels, as I see them, between contemporary events or social and political
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developments in the contemporary West and what we've seen historically, I don't want
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to be viewed as some nutcase who has some sort of criminal intent towards law enforcement
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And that's why I think this trial is very, very important to Canadians broadly, particularly
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the Rebel News audience, who I think are more sensitive or astute towards these sorts of
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You know, I have visited Chris Carbert, one of the two remaining accused in prison, and
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And like you say, it's not in a gentle holding cell.
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He told me that he just wanted to see some grass, green grass.
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You know, he'd been in a terrible facility for two and a half years.
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And I compare that to so many cases, including some actual terrorism cases where the accused
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It's just an astonishing political double standard, at least it appears to be that way.
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That said, I reviewed some of the material that was in police information to obtain, that
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is a legal application to a judge to get a search warrant.
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And some of the comments that Tony Olenek boasted about in some sort of political braggadocio,
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tough talk, to pretty girls who were undercover officers for the cops.
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You know, I tell you, there's a saying, loose lips sink ships.
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And I think there is something about you have 50 or 100 guys, and by guys, I mean men, hold
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up in a saloon in their trucks for a couple of weeks.
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They're the center of a political storm and a journalistic storm.
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They're feeling like heroes, and in a way, they are.
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And I'm not saying they entrapped them, but they sort of encouraged some of these guys
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to embellish and to, you know how young men are.
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They tell a story, and maybe they embroider it a little bit.
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They're, I'm a little bit tougher than I really am.
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I think we have maybe a drop of that in us as well.
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To be a journalist, you have to love to tell a good story.
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Trouble is, when you're telling stories about how tough you are and how brave you are and what
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will happen if the cops come in, well, if you're telling that to a cop, and if Justin Trudeau has
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said to the cops, I want evidence of an insurrection, I want to replicate that U.S.
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I want these evil Albertans with guns to be the right-wing bad guys.
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I want to, and so if you're telling these cops, if the order comes down from on high,
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And then you've got some regular Joe who's feeling, maybe he's got a few beers in him.
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Maybe he thinks, well, I might get with these girls.
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I haven't seen girls in a while, but I'm hanging out with all these fellas.
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But I have seen some of the statements he allegedly made.
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And I'm not saying they're a crime, but boy, there were stupid things to say.
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I'm less worried about Chris Carbert, who so obviously was in the wrong place at the
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Now, I have not been there day after day in court.
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What I've just said to you is based solely on watching some of your reports and when I
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read this information to obtain police document a few months ago, you've been there in court.
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Would you say that Tony Olenek has come across as just a young man who's puffing out his
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chest and because he's talking to some girls or does he come, has he come across to the
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He's been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
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I don't think you can overstate the sexual dynamic aspect of the female RCMP undercover
00:24:09.560
They use the acronym UCO that were deployed to engage in the sustainable investigation
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of criminality at the Coutts protest in Blockade.
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I won't even get into reading the minds of the RCMP architects of this investigation.
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I have my suspicions over what they were or were not aware of with respect to what happens
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as you just described it with respect to braggadocious young men.
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But let's just pretend that the RCMP managers are oblivious to that.
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They're totally conditioned into men and women are exactly the same and all that.
00:24:51.540
But the dynamic is still real and still exists there.
00:24:55.420
So insofar as jurors are aware that men and women are different and that men and women
00:25:00.360
interact between themselves differently than they do just between same-sex interactions,
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So Marilyn Burns, counsel for Anthony Olenek, had made statements about this.
00:25:14.760
She stated in her closing arguments that there was an aspect of Tony Olenek seeking to impress
00:25:23.280
girls that he did not know were RCMP officers that he wanted to impress, that he had a crush on.
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There was some other evidence that we had seen with respect to text messages that were indicative
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that Chris Carver himself had this awareness or at least suspicion that Tony Olenek was fancying
00:25:40.300
or attracted to one of the girls that was a female RCMP UCO sent to investigate the demonstration.
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There was evidence towards that where even though circumstantial, Chris Carver had mentioned
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that Tony Olenek had a flask with him and presumably had hard liquor in there.
00:25:59.700
So combine all that together, the things that you mentioned, the absence of females, the
00:26:04.980
scarcity of them, I should say, the hyper-masculine nature, if I can use that term, given that
00:26:09.540
the vast majority of protesters were men, the isolation aspect of it, the intensity of it,
00:26:14.860
given that this is a protest with a large police force, this tension aspect.
00:26:19.260
Now, one more thing that's super important is that the RCMP undercover operators did not have
00:26:26.400
any digital recording devices included in their investigations.
00:26:31.320
That's so weird to me that it's all just, I remember this, and I remember, like, I've just never heard
00:26:40.840
You don't even have, these days, the idea of, is he wired?
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That makes me extremely skeptical that nothing was recorded.
00:26:58.340
And we also know that it is weird, or at least not necessarily the standard operating procedure
00:27:05.020
of undercover investigations by the testimony that we heard from the UCOs.
00:27:09.660
So when the UCOs were being questioned by Stephen Johnston, the lead prosecutor, when they
00:27:15.240
were invited to testify, he asked them, I'm sure Stephen Johnston was anticipating people
00:27:19.840
like yourself being, why didn't they record this with some mic or some camera?
00:27:24.720
He said, do you folks use surreptitious recording devices as part and parcel of your
00:27:34.860
So it's not alien for them to use these things.
00:27:37.400
One more secondary aspect of this is that they also conceded that they did not use any recording
00:27:43.080
devices, either video and or audio, at the location of interest.
00:27:48.020
They didn't place a sort of secret camera inside the smuggler saloon where most of this
00:27:57.500
And of course, that's deliberate, because since we know that they use these sorts of
00:28:01.200
recording devices, at least in some of their investigations, a decision was made not to
00:28:09.900
What's objectively true when you don't record these sorts of interactions is that the jurors
00:28:19.280
I think jurors may come to this point where they expect these things to be standard.
00:28:22.680
The standards of evidence change as technology changes across time.
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And all that you get, again, objectively true, is testimony from a female UCO telling you what
00:28:35.880
One more interesting thing on this, in terms of the incompletion of information provided
00:28:41.340
to jurors, given the lack of use of these reporting devices, when being cross-examined
00:28:46.120
by Catherine Bayag, one of these female UCOs acknowledged that the vast majority of the
00:28:51.200
notes that she composes contemporaneously shortly after these interactions where she documents
00:28:55.280
what she thinks was noteworthy, what she thinks she needs to recall for a potential future
00:28:58.920
trial, is that it's almost entirely of the target.
00:29:03.660
What was it that Tony Olenek did or said, or that I think he said or did?
00:29:10.340
So to hear comments earlier about what was it that the female UCOs may have been doing
00:29:15.720
or not doing or saying or not saying, to elicit these sorts of comments, we don't know,
00:29:20.880
because not only do we not have any audio or video of it, but the female UCOs acknowledge
00:29:25.600
themselves that they do very little note-taking in terms of what they were called themselves
00:29:30.260
doing in terms of their ostensible investigation.
00:29:35.020
I was there in the courthouse when the jury was selected for the Coutts Three, and I saw
00:29:40.820
these men and women, one at a time, be screened by the lawyers and the judge.
00:29:46.960
And I came away thinking, they've got a pretty fair panel.
00:29:50.360
It looked pretty representative of Southern Alberta.
00:29:52.680
In fact, I looked at those jurors and I thought, boy, that's a pretty good jury if I'm for
00:30:00.320
And I think that the three defendants felt that way, too, which is why I think they were
00:30:07.200
But also, at least for a couple of them, they accepted the judgment of their peers because
00:30:11.420
they looked at these people and said, yeah, that's my community.
00:30:14.860
What's the jury like for the Coutts Four, the remaining two in the Coutts Four?
00:30:20.880
Does it feel like a cross-section of the community?
00:30:27.540
I mean, it's tough to just look at people and know, but you can tell a little bit by
00:30:31.940
how people dress, how they style themselves, if they have green hair maybe or something.
00:30:42.140
I guess I'm just so hesitant to make these sorts of analyses.
00:30:44.640
I don't want to come across in a weird way at all.
00:30:50.500
It does look like the type of person that I've come to see in Lethbridge during my time
00:30:57.380
There is a lady there that seems a bit unusual.
00:31:11.140
And let's say this jury, in my very limited understanding or perception, I don't consider
00:31:25.160
It's great to catch up with you on this important subject.
00:31:27.280
You say the jury was instructed, or directed, rather, by the judge.
00:31:34.260
You know, it's a process where the judge sort of sums up the case and reminds the jury what
00:31:43.680
And it's a very sensitive thing because the jurors are looking for guidance because they've
00:31:52.940
So anyway, you say that was on Wednesday, if I understand.
00:32:01.200
It's in the early afternoon out there in Lethbridge.
00:32:09.460
You know, a very quick jury is if they all just sort of had come to their conclusion a
00:32:23.080
I mean, for all I know, as soon as we hang up our interview, they're going to have the
00:32:29.280
Is that a good sign or a bad sign that the jury is in their second full day of deliberation?
00:32:36.820
Well, forgive me to punting towards you, given I think that you have a much deeper experience
00:32:41.620
But, you know, my humble opinion is that it is a good sign, given that there was no immediate
00:32:46.760
determination, which is typically, from what I understand, people that I've spoken to who
00:32:51.460
spend a lot of time around trials, indicative of certainty of guilt.
00:32:55.180
Now, there's more to this that I can give you that, again, it's sort of circumstantial
00:32:59.180
evidence of perhaps a jury that's unconvinced of the theory of the case as provided by the
00:33:06.820
Anthony Olenek, unlike Chris Carper, is being accused of unlawful possession of an explosive
00:33:13.560
And one of the questions that the jury asked the judge after they had already been retired
00:33:18.660
for deliberations is whether or not it is relevant to determination of the charge or issuing
00:33:23.720
of a verdict on that charge if the defendant forgot his possession of this explosive device.
00:33:31.740
In this case, long story short, Anthony Olenek, years ago, used to work in this sandstone
00:33:35.880
business, and his former business partner testified in this trial that Anthony Olenek used these
00:33:43.160
sorts of tools, these so-called pipe bombs, to dislodge stone.
00:33:47.960
So Anthony Olenek has on the record testimony that indicates that professionally he had a
00:33:53.760
And if the jury is asking that question, it suggests that they believe that testimony of
00:33:59.500
a witness that was invited by Anthony Olenek's lawyer and that perhaps it sort of slipped his
00:34:04.880
mind, that's not the kind of question you would expect to hear from a jury that was convinced
00:34:13.640
This is anecdotal because obviously I'm thinking about these things all the time.
00:34:17.700
I've come to know some of the sheriffs that work here.
00:34:21.360
They don't just do two-year stints and go somewhere else.
00:34:27.060
I'm speaking to one guy who's been here for a while.
00:34:30.920
I asked him today, what's the longest you've ever seen in terms of deliberations for a
00:34:35.740
He said he's never seen anything go beyond a few days.
00:34:44.000
They continue deliberating if they don't decide by this evening.
00:34:47.120
And they have discretion to determine for themselves.
00:34:56.920
If they don't decide by today, they will work into Saturday.
00:35:02.920
He's also said to me that they are motivated to conclude their jobs and they want to get
00:35:10.920
Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if they want to make the decision before the weekend.
00:35:15.380
Well, we don't know and we don't know what's in their mind.
00:35:18.140
And we're so close to the case that we don't have the perspective of 12 peers from the community.
00:35:25.040
Robert, I want to thank you for being stationed out there for so long.
00:35:30.460
I mean, I know your home is in Ottawa and you've gone out there to southern Alberta on
00:35:41.500
We've made a lot of friends and you've covered some important journalism.
00:35:50.820
Folks, if you want to support us positioning Robert out in Lethbridge for these trials,
00:36:14.340
But let me leave you with an interesting, funny and sad video by my friend David Menzies.
00:36:19.700
He was at a beach in Western Ontario and they have a problem that I don't know.
00:36:25.680
I don't really want to talk about on TV, but David does.
00:36:29.680
Just check out this crazy video of life in Canada in 2024.
00:36:34.820
And I told my kids, if we're going to go on the beach, watch out so you don't step in
00:36:41.380
I've heard people are using tents and they're just like doing it in the sand so no one can
00:36:46.520
They're digging holes and they're pooping and putting tents up because they don't want
00:36:50.740
And I'm here to fact check that because that's not a lie.
00:36:53.700
It makes me not want to swim and not want to be on the beach.
00:36:57.080
To be a responsible parent, you should be showing your kids that you can actually throw
00:37:00.800
out their diaper in the washroom, not bury it at a beach.
00:37:06.640
They dig a hole and they use it for their bathroom.
00:37:15.440
It's here in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, the world's longest freshwater beach.
00:37:22.100
But you know something, folks, there is something a little more putrid on the beach these days.
00:37:28.440
Indeed, a local resident by the name of Natty, she recently took to social media in which she
00:37:36.080
accused newcomers, mostly from India, of defecating on the beach and then burying their excrement
00:37:45.740
There are Indian families that dig holes and put tents and poop.
00:37:49.280
They do it on the beach now and they do it, they did it off my backyard.
00:37:53.020
There was like three different families of maybe 25, 30 people that came for barbecues.
00:37:57.300
They were set up right on the fence of my backyard.
00:38:00.060
I seen them digging the hole and I seen them put the tent.
00:38:05.400
I've had to yell at people for shitting on the borderline property line of my backyard.
00:38:15.020
You can check my town's page where they say there are Indian people pooping on our beach
00:38:19.740
They're digging holes and they're pooping and putting tents up because they don't want
00:38:24.020
And I'm here to fact check that because that's not a lie.
00:38:29.700
Most of the comments are, as what you would imagine, people expressing their disgust with
00:38:38.960
Naturally, because it's 2024, some have accused Natty of being racist.
00:38:45.400
But the thing is, we have reached out to sources and they confirm that Natty is 100% correct
00:38:55.980
For example, we communicated with an ex-Wasaga Beach bylaw officer and he says not only are
00:39:03.860
people defecating in the sand and then burying the evidence, but they are also burying used
00:39:12.400
What's more, he says, when you see some of these tents, what you might think of a structure
00:39:22.460
Well, in some cases, those tents are nothing more than temporary outhouses.
00:39:29.340
This is where certain people are going to do their business.
00:39:35.580
Also, as we understand from this ex-Wasaga Beach bylaw officer, when he would ticket people
00:39:42.280
who he caught defecating on the beach, he was accused of being a racist.
00:39:48.560
And sometimes he and his colleagues would be swarmed with groups of up to 20 people.
00:39:56.280
But imagine being in that situation where you're outnumbered 20 to 1 and people are calling you
00:40:02.800
every nasty name under the book simply for doing your job, simply for telling people do not defecate
00:40:23.200
But he says, yes, indeed, this is a fact of life on Wasaga Beach, as well as some other
00:40:30.520
And he attributes it to a cultural mindset, namely people who are well off in his community,
00:40:40.880
who come to the beach, have the idea that they will defecate, they will leave their used diapers
00:40:46.700
behind, they will leave their litter behind from a barbecue, because somebody lower down
00:40:53.500
on the cast totem pole, if you will, employed by the town, will come and clean up.
00:41:00.520
In fact, Ted says, in India, there really is no such thing as civic duty.
00:41:09.200
Now, please, folks, don't shoot the messenger here.
00:41:11.500
I'm just quoting somebody who is originally from India and has a real good handle on what's
00:41:20.360
Now, we have reached out to the town of Wasaga Beach.
00:41:29.760
But just earlier today, the mayor issued the following statement.
00:41:35.080
Quote, the town of Wasaga Beach takes all resident and visitor feedback seriously.
00:41:41.180
However, we reject the premise of complaints that lack evidence and promote misinformation.
00:41:48.220
While the town cannot speak for the Ministry of Environment or Ontario Parks, who operates,
00:41:56.020
patrols, and manages all the beach areas within Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, we can speak
00:42:05.860
And some of those facts, the mayor goes on to point out, folks, is the fact that there
00:42:09.960
are several public washrooms available for people to use at Wasaga Beach, which is undeniably
00:42:18.560
But it is also true that this is not so-called misinformation.
00:42:24.360
We have spoken to two people who say they have witnessed this firsthand.
00:42:29.160
We have seen the social media of Natty, who has called out this situation.
00:42:37.820
I mean, I think the mayor is just terrified about going to the third rail of race.
00:42:45.920
As we've been told, it is mainly people from the Indian community that are doing this.
00:43:00.620
But we are living in a province, in a country, in the first world.
00:43:10.280
So for the mayor to say that this is hearsay and isn't supported by the facts, it's not true.
00:43:15.660
In fact, he reminds me of the movie Jaws when the mayor was dismissing the shark attacks
00:43:22.220
because, you know, that would have an adverse effect on tourism.
00:43:29.300
I pulled a tooth the size of a shot glass out of the rectal of a boat out there, and it was the tooth of a great white.
00:43:40.260
In any event, folks, my cameraman, Lincoln Jay, and I, we're going to walk around the beach.
00:43:45.020
We're going to see if any of the beachgoers have anything to say about this very disturbing situation.
00:43:52.320
And hopefully, we'll even bump into a member of Bylaw On Patrol and see what they have to say about the excrement issue.
00:44:10.640
I mean, sir, we're right next to a washroom here.
00:44:13.540
It's not as though people are being denied facilities.
00:44:16.460
I just feel like some people, you know, they don't know life yet, so they just shitting the beach and bury it like an animal, you know?
00:44:33.220
I know for a fact, and it's not just Beach One here.
00:44:35.700
I used to have property on Beach, Allenwood Beach, and we had that problem there.
00:44:40.160
And, of course, we could find it because kids would be playing in the sand, making a sandcastle or whatever,
00:44:48.280
And it's a thing, it's, without sounding like a racist or anything like that, it has nothing to do with being racist.
00:44:54.700
It's just, in different countries, people have different traditions and different things.
00:44:58.040
Yeah, it's very bad because some people feel very sad about it, you know?
00:45:07.300
It's not very cool because it's a beach, a public place.
00:45:12.020
And, yeah, I think we should respect that and the fact that there's other people around and things like that.
00:45:19.140
Pure disrespect of our beaches, of Canada, of just everything.
00:45:32.220
There's washrooms right there and there's everywhere, so I don't know why they do that.
00:45:38.820
People coming to Wasaga Beach, and if you can imagine, defecating on the beach and burying it, burying dirty diapers.
00:45:48.560
I hadn't heard anything about that, but I'd prefer it not to happen.
00:45:54.800
I can see in walking distance, there's plenty of public washrooms.
00:46:05.440
We've heard about it before we came here, and we were doubting whether we should come here or not.
00:46:18.400
But we were doubting ourselves before we came here, and we thought we would take a chance and see how it is.
00:46:24.700
I mean, the idea of going to the beach is to relax, to enjoy this beautiful water, this beautiful sand,
00:46:30.320
and the idea that, you know, there might be a horrible surprise package lurking beneath the sand,
00:46:42.480
It's beaches from all over, from the Muskokas, all over Lake Huron, everywhere.
00:46:49.260
They're defecating everywhere, and it's totally disgusting.
00:46:57.960
Um, it's kind of gross and disgusting, if you ask me.
00:47:00.820
And folks, I think it's important to point out that it's not as though beachgoers are being denied an opportunity to use a bathroom.
00:47:10.780
Right here on the main drag, there are washroom facilities.
00:47:14.820
It's literally just meters away from the main beach.
00:47:18.180
So, in addition to this whole idea of defecating on the beach being disgusting, is this not an example of outrageous laziness that people don't want to simply walk over to where the washrooms are?
00:47:34.100
It's not as though people are being denied the opportunity to go to the bathroom.
00:47:38.960
So, can you explain why people would be not only so disgusting, but so lazy?
00:47:55.420
But I think he's just trying to appeal and appease.
00:47:59.620
He probably hasn't witnessed it himself, personally.
00:48:06.200
And then to desecrate it with excrement and dirty diapers, this strikes me as being beyond gross.
00:48:14.220
I mean, I guess some people aren't raised, right?
00:48:18.940
I mean, I haven't seen no s*** yet, but if I see s***, I'm definitely going to fight someone.
00:48:24.160
But why would somebody go to the bathroom on the beach when you can cross the street?
00:48:28.540
Yes, guys, you know, like, I will not recommend anybody go in the sea, so he will do washroom.
00:48:36.820
If you ever had to go to the bathroom, you're not going to do it on the beach, are you?
00:48:40.580
Personally, I wouldn't use the bathroom on the beach because that's just really disgusting.
00:48:45.320
And I don't think anyone, I wouldn't want anyone seeing me use the washroom on the beach.
00:48:50.740
If you have to go to the bathroom, you're not going to do it on the beach, are you?
00:48:56.760
Because what's being reported, and we've talked to ex-bylaw officers, it's mainly people from India that are doing this.
00:49:14.160
But also, it's like, if you come into Canada, you're kind of trying to embrace the Canadian culture.
00:49:18.380
Why would you bring your culture with you, you know?
00:49:26.140
But if we were to go to India and bring our culture over there, I think we'd kind of get frowned upon for doing that.
00:49:30.300
So if they come here and do the same thing, you know, it's kind of a thing of mutual respect, right?
00:49:34.740
Is it time to ban fully enclosed tents on the beach?
00:49:42.020
But in practice, it's hard because a lot of people use enclosed tents just to get cover from the sun.
00:49:50.060
You see this canopy, you can get out of the sun that way, right?
00:49:55.940
You might have some tents that are kind of enclosed, kind of not enclosed.
00:50:00.760
We're here with, you know, family, friends, our kids, our grandkids, and you've got to watch where you walk.
00:50:08.760
Well, folks, as luck would have it, I was able to flag down a vehicle with Parks Ontario and spoke to a park ranger.
00:50:17.080
And contrary to what the mayor is saying here, she is aware of this issue.
00:50:23.260
And she was able to tell me what the fine threshold is if they catch somebody going to the bathroom on the beach.
00:50:35.580
We're doing a story about people who are defecating on the beach and, you know, burying it, burying dirty diapers.
00:50:43.600
It's based on a local who made a social media posting that went viral.
00:50:48.480
Do you have any information that you could share about what's happening on the beach?
00:51:02.500
Unless we see it happening, we can't really do anything personally.
00:51:07.580
Um, but, yeah, other than that, that's all we can do.
00:51:11.140
Is there a, do you know what the fine is if you catch somebody doing this?
00:51:28.540
Would you support the idea of banning tents on the beach?
00:51:36.600
Yeah, if you can still see what's going on within the tent, then I think that's okay.
00:51:39.740
But, uh, once you start closing it off, it's questionable.
00:51:47.960
Even if they had, you can only have a clear, if it's clear for everybody to see in there.
00:51:54.420
That would be like a greenhouse in the sun, though.
00:51:57.960
But if that's the only way it's going to stop or ban them completely, have a sun umbrella
00:52:04.240
Well, folks, my cameraman, Lincoln Jay, and I have spent several hours here with Saga Beach.
00:52:09.500
Everyone we spoke to, well, they were unanimous.
00:52:12.560
That what is happening on this beach is disgusting and gross.
00:52:18.520
And, well, quite frankly, it is the height of laziness.
00:52:23.480
As you can see behind me, here are some public washrooms.
00:52:27.580
We're maybe, I don't know, 30 meters away from the beach.
00:52:30.620
Are you telling me people can't walk this distance and take care of business properly?
00:52:36.600
And please, let's park allegations of racism and cultural insensitivity.
00:52:45.140
Defecating on a beach, burying used diapers on a beach, calling that out is not being racist.
00:52:56.100
It is taking a stance for public safety, hygiene, and sanitation.
00:53:05.420
Maybe the mayor of Wasaga Beach is quite literally burying his head in the sand in terms of addressing this grotesque issue.
00:53:16.460
We have to do everything we can to prevent the world's longest freshwater beach from being desecrated in such a grotesque way.
00:53:32.040
Well, folks, I know you appreciate it when Rebel News brings you the other side of the story.
00:53:37.240
And let's face it, most of the mainstream media, they would never cover a story like this.
00:53:47.880
We don't receive a nickel from the Justin Trudeau Liberals.
00:53:53.660
If you can, please go to rebelfieldreports.com.