Rebel News Podcast - October 03, 2020


Justice for Jeremia after charges dropped, Trudeau is hiring in-house columnists


Episode Stats

Length

32 minutes

Words per Minute

157.2027

Word Count

5,129

Sentence Count

312

Misogynist Sentences

3

Hate Speech Sentences

6


Summary

Jeremiah Lusink, a young farm boy in rural Alberta, was pulled out of his tractor by his neck, pushed onto the pavement, and given scars that he has to this day. Well, I am pleased to report that we now have justice for Jeremiah in that all the charges against him were rightfully dropped. And all you media party types that are craving greener pastures, have you heard? Justin Trudeau wants to hire you. Oh, I know you're already getting taxpayer money from the Liberals, but now the government wants to take some journalists in-house to even better control the narrative. Sheila Gunn-Reed shall explain all. And finally, your letters. We get your letters every minute of every day. And I'll share some of your responses regarding my recent visit to Albion Orchards in Caledon, Ontario to report on that farmer who was being hassled by the Ontario Provincial Police for selling apples on his 50 acre farm.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hello Rebels, you're listening to a free audio-only recording of my show, Rebel Roundup.
00:00:06.160 Welcome to Rebel Roundup, ladies and gentlemen, and the rest of you,
00:00:09.360 in which we look back at some of the very best commentaries of the week by your favourite Rebels.
00:00:14.440 I'm your host, David Menzies.
00:00:16.740 Remember that hard-working farm lad in rural Alberta who was grotesquely assaulted by sheriffs a while back?
00:00:24.280 Well, I am pleased to report that we now have justice for Jeremiah in that all the charges against him were rightfully dropped.
00:00:33.420 Kian Bextie has all the details.
00:00:36.700 And all you media party types that are craving greener pastures, have you heard?
00:00:43.160 Justin Trudeau wants to hire you.
00:00:45.260 Oh, I know you're already getting taxpayer money from the Liberals,
00:00:49.500 but now the government wants to take some journalists in-house.
00:00:53.320 You know, to even better control the narrative, Sheila Gunn-Reed shall explain all.
00:00:59.700 And finally, letters, we get your letters.
00:01:01.600 We get your letters every minute of every day.
00:01:04.140 And I'll share some of your responses regarding my most recent visit to Albion Orchards in Caledon, Ontario,
00:01:11.140 to report on that farmer who was being hassled by the Ontario Provincial Police for selling apples on his 50-acre farm.
00:01:21.340 Oh yeah, apparently this acreage is a Wuhan virus hotspot.
00:01:27.400 Well, victory, folks.
00:01:28.820 The publicity from our original story resulted in the OPP backing down.
00:01:34.360 And now droves of customers, new customers, are visiting Albion Orchards.
00:01:40.200 Farmer Scott Luna is actually busier than ever.
00:01:44.100 I think that's called the Barbara Streisand effect.
00:01:47.860 Those are your Rebels.
00:01:48.760 Now let's round them up.
00:01:55.100 You may recall the story of Jeremiah Lusink.
00:01:57.580 He's a young farm boy in rural Alberta who was pulled out of his tractor by his neck,
00:02:02.160 pushed onto the pavement, and given scars that he has to this day.
00:02:05.360 He was also punched in the face by Alberta sheriffs in an act of police brutality that is rarely seen in Alberta.
00:02:12.400 The problem is, regular social justice warriors, folks who are opposed to police brutality,
00:02:17.820 they weren't really interested in this case because Jeremiah was a white farm boy from rural Alberta.
00:02:22.240 He was a Catholic.
00:02:23.160 He doesn't fit the bill that Black Lives Matter really is interested in today.
00:02:27.260 But police brutality of any kind is a problem.
00:02:29.800 And this, what happened to Jeremiah, was particularly egregious.
00:02:33.700 The news today, well, the government of Alberta, their prosecutors, have dropped all charges against Jeremiah
00:02:39.620 and the charges that were ascribed to his brother.
00:02:42.980 I spoke with them today at their farm.
00:02:45.100 They took a few minutes out of their harvest to speak with me about what went on
00:02:49.100 and why they think the charges were dropped.
00:02:51.340 Well, I'm sure they saw the situation I was in and everything that happened to me.
00:02:57.660 And they, you know, all the support I'm getting, like from Rebel and everyone else.
00:03:02.500 And that's mostly one of the reasons why they probably thought about dropping it.
00:03:07.060 Because they don't need all this trouble, especially when the court date comes.
00:03:11.120 These are really great folks out here.
00:03:13.260 They're doing great work feeding the country.
00:03:15.700 And they're not at all the type of people that Alberta sheriffs or law enforcement should be prosecuting
00:03:21.140 and giving criminal charges to.
00:03:23.020 And it's really confusing why Minister Doug Schweitzer,
00:03:26.160 who was then the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General for Alberta,
00:03:29.640 didn't immediately throw out these charges.
00:03:31.700 It took Minister Casey Madhu, the individual who replaced Minister Doug Schweitzer
00:03:35.760 as Minister of Justice and Attorney General,
00:03:37.840 to have these charges completely thrown out.
00:03:41.160 Finally, justice for Jeremiah.
00:03:43.920 But some questions remain.
00:03:46.560 Like, why did it take so long to correct this law enforcement abomination in the first place?
00:03:52.380 And why in blue hell did those sheriffs decide to physically assault
00:03:57.740 this young, hard-working farm lad in the first place?
00:04:02.380 And joining me now to shed some light on this baffling case is Kian Bexty.
00:04:07.780 Welcome to Rebel Roundup, my friend.
00:04:10.160 Hey, Darren.
00:04:10.540 So, Kian, I think you nailed it in your intro, actually.
00:04:14.840 This sort of brutality should have been front-page material for the mainstream media,
00:04:19.620 but the narrative kind of isn't correct for 2020,
00:04:23.560 in that the victim of this egregious takedown was white, not black.
00:04:26.860 But I think the real issue here, vis-a-vis law enforcement,
00:04:30.780 is that these city slicker sheriffs don't seem to know the rules
00:04:35.600 when it comes to enforcing the law in rural Alberta.
00:04:40.160 Would that be correct?
00:04:41.100 Oh, yeah, no, they don't know anything about rural Alberta.
00:04:45.720 They are city slickers by definition.
00:04:48.420 Their jobs are to protect the premier, to protect VIPs,
00:04:53.440 even the opposition leader in some cases,
00:04:55.660 to protect the governor general,
00:04:58.940 to protect, you know, prisoners during transfer.
00:05:04.280 Whole lineup of really important jobs.
00:05:08.000 But what happens to be on that list as well is rural traffic enforcement,
00:05:13.080 which makes absolutely no sense,
00:05:15.380 because they're two totally different worlds of law
00:05:20.180 and two totally different types of people,
00:05:23.200 and the training clearly has not been done properly
00:05:26.840 to allow them to know basic things,
00:05:30.980 like, you know, tractors are not motor vehicles.
00:05:35.340 They are not subject to the same laws.
00:05:38.060 And that incompetence led to the violent arrest of Jeremiah,
00:05:42.240 and it's a serious issue that needs to be solved.
00:05:45.380 You know, and the other baffling thing about this, Kian,
00:05:48.720 I mean, you look at Jeremiah.
00:05:50.620 He is so soft-spoken.
00:05:52.380 He's so well-spoken.
00:05:54.140 He's really the definition of a gentleman, as far as I can see.
00:05:58.060 And yet, what was it in the heads of those sheriffs?
00:06:02.400 Yeah, granted, they don't know the laws.
00:06:04.000 It pertains to rural Alberta, certainly.
00:06:05.980 But what was it in the heads of those sheriffs
00:06:08.500 that they would gang up and brutally beat them the way they did?
00:06:12.680 Clearly, this was not a guy, as the saying goes,
00:06:15.480 wearing trouble on his shirt.
00:06:17.500 I just can't believe the footage we saw there, Kian.
00:06:21.520 No, it seems like it went from zero to 60 real quick,
00:06:26.360 way faster than a tractor could go zero to 60.
00:06:28.620 And they made a good point, actually, when I was there.
00:06:31.620 What was the freak out for?
00:06:33.520 What was he going to do?
00:06:35.040 Speed away high speed on a tractor?
00:06:37.080 No, no, he wasn't.
00:06:40.140 He was no risk at all.
00:06:42.720 He obviously wasn't being violent.
00:06:45.700 He had no weapons on him.
00:06:47.880 But the police reacted in the way that they did.
00:06:51.580 He had a string of safety precautions that he was taking, Jeremiah,
00:06:56.060 to make sure that the tractor was safe,
00:06:58.240 to make sure that the people around the tractor were safe,
00:07:01.000 all while he was being punched in the face by Alberta sheriffs.
00:07:05.440 There's certain things you need to do while you're on a tractor,
00:07:08.040 while you're driving a tractor,
00:07:08.960 to make sure that it's operating correctly,
00:07:11.740 that it's shutting down correctly,
00:07:13.360 and that it's parked properly.
00:07:14.920 That includes a parking brake.
00:07:16.100 That includes allowing it to cool down
00:07:18.280 after you've been driving it really hard for a long time,
00:07:23.260 when the engine's really hot.
00:07:25.220 All that stuff was going through his mind
00:07:27.000 as the police were punching him, yanking him out of the tractor.
00:07:31.660 So he's a really smart guy.
00:07:33.900 He only had good intentions.
00:07:36.220 But the police officers looked like they just had a bone to pick
00:07:42.380 with some rural Albertan kid.
00:07:43.660 It doesn't make any sense.
00:07:45.600 No, it doesn't make sense.
00:07:46.500 I mean, the only thing I can think of
00:07:48.660 is that if Jeremiah had been impaired, you know,
00:07:52.400 with alcohol or drugs key, and clearly that wasn't the case,
00:07:55.160 I mean, then the sheriffs could say, well, we had to, you know,
00:07:58.960 do what we did in the name of public safety.
00:08:00.920 He's driving this enormous harvester around.
00:08:03.540 But that wasn't the case either.
00:08:05.820 I'm glad the charges are dropped,
00:08:07.640 but I'm sure I speak for the majority of our viewers
00:08:11.380 when you look upon that egregious takedown, Kian,
00:08:14.620 and say, sorry, that's not enough.
00:08:16.640 Is there anything in the works, Kian, about a civil lawsuit,
00:08:20.680 especially given the damages that he incurred physically
00:08:25.160 and the farm machinery incurred?
00:08:28.740 Yeah, you know, I was telling them,
00:08:31.120 I know what I would do if I was in their position.
00:08:33.640 I would be suing the Alberta sheriffs for destruction of property,
00:08:37.820 unlawful arrest, a whole host of things.
00:08:40.960 But they said, you know, that's not what they were put on earth to do.
00:08:47.320 They were put on earth to sow fields and harvest them
00:08:50.540 and feed the world.
00:08:52.520 That's what they're doing.
00:08:53.320 That's their job and that's their passion.
00:08:55.240 Their passion isn't being in a courtroom.
00:08:56.680 That's the last place they want to be.
00:08:59.140 They've set up a GoFundMe to help them cover the costs
00:09:02.920 of the destroyed tractor because the transmission was destroyed.
00:09:06.220 The rental tractor that they needed lost wages,
00:09:10.280 not wages, but income from contracts
00:09:13.960 that they were trying to fill that evening.
00:09:18.000 And that GoFundMe is hopefully going to cover it all.
00:09:21.500 If it doesn't, I'm not sure what they'll do.
00:09:24.460 But they did say if it overcovers their costs,
00:09:27.460 because they're still just estimating them right now
00:09:29.620 while their tractor is still in the shop,
00:09:32.940 they say that they're going to donate the proceeds to charity.
00:09:35.700 So really, these people, they're not out looking for
00:09:39.000 any sort of justice than what they do.
00:09:43.700 You know, I mean, from what you just told me,
00:09:45.720 these people almost sound too good to be true, Kian,
00:09:49.080 because they have every right to go after damages.
00:09:53.560 You know, and I got to say, Kian, I had a story a week ago
00:09:57.940 about an apple farmer being harassed
00:10:00.620 by the Ontario Provincial Police.
00:10:02.200 Evidently, the idea of people congregating
00:10:05.200 in a 50-acre outdoor farm for you-pick-apple orchard sales.
00:10:11.580 That was an egregious, you know, breach of protocol
00:10:15.840 for the Wuhan virus.
00:10:17.640 Never mind that five clicks away,
00:10:19.660 there was a Walmart of a smaller footprint
00:10:23.180 indoors with far more people.
00:10:25.960 You know, I guess what I'm getting at,
00:10:27.560 farming, we depend on farmers, like you said.
00:10:31.200 Farming is such a tough business.
00:10:33.480 I mean, you're at the mercy of weather patterns,
00:10:36.020 you're at the mercy of world commodity prices
00:10:39.020 for your crops.
00:10:41.260 I mean, can't law enforcement give these guys a break
00:10:44.560 and let these guys just do what they want to do,
00:10:46.860 and that is farm?
00:10:48.120 That's a great point,
00:10:51.040 and it's a problem that rural Albertans have.
00:10:53.600 Whether they're farmers or ranchers,
00:10:55.560 or if they just work in rural Alberta,
00:10:57.900 there's this huge problem right now, David,
00:11:00.800 and maybe this problem exists in Ontario as well,
00:11:04.000 but rural crime is a huge issue.
00:11:07.120 The criminals are not the rural folks.
00:11:10.180 The criminals are folks from cities
00:11:12.100 who come to take advantage of people
00:11:14.260 who don't lock their doors at night,
00:11:15.720 leave their keys in the tractor,
00:11:18.160 in the combine, in their trucks.
00:11:20.620 The crime is city folks coming out to rural areas,
00:11:25.180 so the people that need to be policed
00:11:27.260 are not the good Catholic families like Jeremiah here.
00:11:31.620 It's the people coming out to rural Alberta
00:11:33.220 to cause trouble,
00:11:34.220 but the problem is law enforcement in rural Alberta
00:11:36.900 is so detached that they can't get to anywhere
00:11:40.080 where there's a scene of a crime within half an hour,
00:11:43.080 within an hour sometimes,
00:11:44.440 depending on where they are.
00:11:45.720 Really, the way to solve this problem
00:11:47.460 is to quit policing rural Alberta
00:11:49.980 and to give good people like Jeremiah
00:11:52.740 open carry permits,
00:11:55.840 Second Amendment rights,
00:11:57.600 and they could do the job themselves.
00:11:59.560 Unfortunately, that's not how it works in Canada.
00:12:01.440 That will never happen,
00:12:02.880 but really it would solve the problem 100%
00:12:05.740 if they could.
00:12:07.300 I'm afraid you're dreaming in Technicolor, friend,
00:12:10.140 even though I do agree with your proposal for this problem.
00:12:14.000 But, Kean, I want to thank you for an excellent piece.
00:12:16.580 I want to thank you for shedding light on this story.
00:12:18.480 Certainly, the likes of CBC, CTV, Global,
00:12:21.480 they're not interested, as you said in your piece.
00:12:24.100 It doesn't quite fit the 2020 narrative
00:12:26.360 of policing and victims.
00:12:30.340 So they took a pass on this egregious story,
00:12:33.240 but I think it was your coverage
00:12:34.640 that perhaps led to the authorities
00:12:36.800 dropping the charges in the first place.
00:12:39.100 It was such an enormous PR black eye for them.
00:12:42.180 So thank you again, my friend, on a job well done.
00:12:45.560 No problem, David. Thanks so much.
00:12:46.820 And that was Kean Bextie in Calgary.
00:12:50.200 Keep it here, folks.
00:12:51.300 More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.
00:12:58.640 Natural Resources Canada is looking to hire two journalists.
00:13:02.060 I think the Liberals are looking to set the record straight
00:13:04.720 on the foreign-funded attacks on Canada's oil and gas
00:13:09.020 by publishing just the straight facts of the oil patch.
00:13:12.840 Because, as you know, the facts speak for themselves
00:13:15.180 about job creation, wealth creation to the entire country,
00:13:18.920 high environmental standards, and Indigenous prosperity.
00:13:23.300 Just kidding.
00:13:24.440 You see, the Liberals are in power still,
00:13:26.760 so there will be no fact-filled defense
00:13:29.060 of oil and gas here in Canada.
00:13:31.300 On the flip side, the Ministry is looking for two,
00:13:34.880 obviously recently laid off mainstream media hacks
00:13:37.720 to talk up the wonders of low-flow toilets,
00:13:40.740 turning down the thermostat, and LED light bulbs.
00:13:43.940 Because we don't get lectured about that sort of stuff enough already.
00:13:49.400 Just look at this from the Government Tenders and Contract website,
00:13:53.080 buyandsell.gc.ca.
00:13:56.080 Natural Resources Canada is seeking proposals from bidders
00:13:59.300 for the services of two columnists.
00:14:02.920 The services of the columnists will be to supply stories
00:14:07.200 on the energy efficiency achievements of the industrial buildings,
00:14:12.160 utilities, and government sectors on an ongoing basis.
00:14:16.000 Energy and cost savings must be included in the stories
00:14:19.000 to show how the energy efficiency actions
00:14:22.000 take and help companies to be competitive
00:14:24.480 and achieve sustainability goals.
00:14:26.880 It's a six-month contract with the possibility
00:14:30.040 of a two-year extension if you write
00:14:32.520 really good pro-government fluff.
00:14:36.760 I think this is probably the literal definition of propaganda.
00:14:41.800 Dissemination of information, facts, arguments, rumors,
00:14:44.920 half-truths, or lies to influence public opinion.
00:14:48.780 That's what the government wants here,
00:14:51.120 and they aren't even pretending that it's not what they want.
00:14:53.980 They want uncritical, unbalanced stories
00:14:56.660 on the, quote, achievements of government sectors
00:14:59.580 to show how the energy efficiency actions taken
00:15:02.880 help companies achieve sustainability goals.
00:15:06.480 Now, I think we taxpayers have paid for these two columnists
00:15:09.680 hundreds of times over already.
00:15:12.420 It's called the Media Party,
00:15:13.620 and they already got a half a billion bucks
00:15:16.360 to write pro-government content
00:15:18.060 that no one reads in the form of a bailout.
00:15:21.200 And then there's the CBC.
00:15:22.640 They get over a billion dollars per year
00:15:25.320 for no one to tune in to watch Rosie Barton
00:15:28.500 go on romantic strolls
00:15:29.820 with her platonic boyfriend, Justin Trudeau,
00:15:31.920 to ask him the tough stuff,
00:15:33.720 the things you really want to know,
00:15:35.040 like, are you smart enough to run
00:15:36.980 and listen to a podcast at the same time?
00:15:38.940 And what do you want to be when you grow up?
00:15:41.880 Remember this?
00:15:42.660 If you could do any other job
00:15:44.780 and you have to answer, what would it be?
00:15:46.540 I'd be a schoolteacher.
00:15:47.520 I knew you were going to say that.
00:15:48.380 No, no.
00:15:48.640 No, no, like, aspirational.
00:15:49.580 But it's what I am.
00:15:51.000 Aspirational.
00:15:52.260 Something you haven't done.
00:15:53.960 What kind of music are you listening to right now?
00:15:56.900 If you have time.
00:15:57.680 Or podcasts.
00:15:58.820 Podcasts?
00:15:59.100 No, I don't.
00:15:59.940 I've tried.
00:16:00.660 I run regularly,
00:16:02.040 and I've tried to do the podcast thing,
00:16:05.180 but it doesn't really say.
00:16:06.960 I don't like people talking in my ears
00:16:08.540 when I'm trying to run.
00:16:09.420 I like to sort of vibe out.
00:16:11.540 I suppose this is probably the most honest thing
00:16:14.520 the Liberals have done
00:16:15.740 with their meddling in the media.
00:16:17.940 And I guess we should probably applaud them
00:16:20.180 for finally cutting out the middleman.
00:16:22.940 Wow.
00:16:23.380 There you have it, folks.
00:16:24.740 Instead of the Trudeau Liberals
00:16:26.140 simply paying off the mainstream media
00:16:28.700 via the various newspaper and magazine bailouts
00:16:32.060 and, of course, the endless billions of dollars
00:16:35.140 known as CBC Welfare,
00:16:37.380 or I mean funding,
00:16:38.660 why not simply hire some journalists in-house
00:16:41.620 to absolutely 100% ensure
00:16:44.780 that the narrative is completely controlled?
00:16:48.760 You can call it cutting out the middleman
00:16:51.160 or, if you want to get fancy,
00:16:53.220 vertical integration.
00:16:54.940 But the fact remains,
00:16:56.040 if there are ink-stained wretches out there
00:17:00.100 that have no qualms
00:17:01.800 when it comes to selling their souls,
00:17:03.600 well then, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
00:17:06.940 he has a job for you.
00:17:09.600 Joining me now with more on this story
00:17:11.440 is Sheila Gunn-Reed.
00:17:13.180 Welcome to Rebel Roundup, my friend.
00:17:15.500 Hey, David.
00:17:16.040 Thanks for having me on the show.
00:17:17.240 Always a pleasure.
00:17:18.260 So, Sheila, just for laughs,
00:17:20.220 why don't you send in your resume,
00:17:23.280 although I fear you're perhaps overqualified
00:17:26.340 to turn out this sort of government-sponsored pablum?
00:17:30.140 Well, and that's the thing.
00:17:33.240 Where's the need for this?
00:17:35.260 Like, I could understand if there was a need for,
00:17:38.620 as I pointed out in my video,
00:17:40.560 debunking the myths that go around
00:17:42.900 about the oil and gas sector,
00:17:44.840 or not even just debunking the myths,
00:17:46.980 just telling the truth,
00:17:48.340 talking about reducing emissions,
00:17:49.980 the salaries, Indigenous employment,
00:17:53.540 Indigenous opportunity,
00:17:55.140 all those things that are great
00:17:56.700 about our oil and gas sector,
00:17:59.180 because, you know,
00:18:00.280 Natural Resources Canada,
00:18:01.840 that's kind of their job.
00:18:03.300 They act as the stewards of natural resources.
00:18:07.320 If they said that,
00:18:09.180 I would be open to the idea.
00:18:10.740 I'm not really open to government spending
00:18:12.320 in general,
00:18:13.560 but it would at least be mirroring
00:18:15.440 what's happening here in Alberta
00:18:17.220 with the energy war room.
00:18:18.600 They do have some former journalists
00:18:21.260 that are just writing articles,
00:18:24.640 straight facts about the industry,
00:18:26.900 because it's the government's job,
00:18:29.200 at least here in Alberta,
00:18:30.100 to, you know,
00:18:31.840 market oil and gas
00:18:34.100 on behalf of the citizens who own it.
00:18:36.540 But that's not what's happening here
00:18:38.320 with the federal government.
00:18:40.700 They want,
00:18:43.000 obviously,
00:18:44.020 formerly,
00:18:44.700 like recently laid off journalists,
00:18:46.400 and, boy,
00:18:47.220 you know,
00:18:47.520 there's a bunch of those,
00:18:49.000 to write articles about
00:18:51.400 the wonders of energy efficiency,
00:18:54.860 like there aren't enough
00:18:56.000 of those out there already.
00:18:57.380 They won't shut up
00:18:58.700 about light bulbs.
00:18:59.760 They won't shut up
00:19:00.700 about low-flow toilets
00:19:01.980 and the shower heads
00:19:03.020 that don't get the soap
00:19:03.920 out of your hair.
00:19:05.300 They don't shut up about those.
00:19:06.700 There's plenty of those articles
00:19:08.100 out there.
00:19:08.840 Why not just license
00:19:10.020 a couple of those
00:19:11.000 from the mainstream media,
00:19:12.940 since we already paid
00:19:14.040 for the mainstream media,
00:19:15.160 license a couple of those articles
00:19:16.780 and republish them,
00:19:18.360 if that's what you want to do.
00:19:19.840 But instead,
00:19:20.580 they're actually hiring
00:19:21.820 two journalists full-time
00:19:23.160 to do this.
00:19:24.020 And, you know, Sheila,
00:19:24.860 what gets me is that,
00:19:26.360 you know,
00:19:26.620 when you go to Ottawa,
00:19:27.820 there are towers
00:19:29.460 packed full of bureaucrats
00:19:32.200 for all the various ministries.
00:19:34.920 And I'm assuming
00:19:36.240 there are hundreds,
00:19:37.180 if not thousands,
00:19:37.800 of people,
00:19:39.040 you know,
00:19:39.360 bureaucrats
00:19:39.940 that are working there.
00:19:42.020 And the thing is,
00:19:42.960 why can't they do it?
00:19:45.520 They're supposedly qualified.
00:19:47.400 They can put a sentence together.
00:19:48.880 It's just like in Toronto,
00:19:50.100 since Mayor Tory became mayor,
00:19:52.600 the amount of money
00:19:54.900 spent on consultants,
00:19:56.900 it has risen exponentially.
00:20:00.260 And the thing is, Sheila,
00:20:01.720 the bureaucrats
00:20:02.660 that are in these towers
00:20:03.740 at City Hall,
00:20:05.460 well,
00:20:06.120 aren't they the consultants?
00:20:08.080 Aren't they knowledgeable,
00:20:09.740 whether it comes to sanitation
00:20:11.500 or housing,
00:20:12.460 what have you?
00:20:13.240 Why hire all this extra help?
00:20:15.820 It just drives me crazy
00:20:17.680 when I see this kind of gravy train
00:20:20.180 to enrich others
00:20:22.560 when you already have
00:20:24.300 an entire battalion,
00:20:26.920 full-time workers
00:20:27.980 that can do this anyways.
00:20:30.140 Not just full-time workers
00:20:31.760 that can do this,
00:20:33.520 but whose job it is to do this.
00:20:35.640 They're called communications people,
00:20:37.820 and every ministry has them.
00:20:39.720 So beyond the communications people,
00:20:43.160 the people who deal directly
00:20:44.360 with the media as well,
00:20:46.060 their media liaisons,
00:20:48.180 they're hiring two journalists.
00:20:49.640 And frankly,
00:20:51.020 I know I'm slightly annoyed
00:20:53.540 by all of this,
00:20:54.440 but I at least appreciate
00:20:56.060 the honesty,
00:20:57.480 because it appears
00:20:58.240 the federal government
00:20:59.880 has finally cut out
00:21:01.260 the middleman.
00:21:02.300 They've been dumping money
00:21:03.740 into the media sector
00:21:05.740 for the last year and a half,
00:21:08.000 since forever,
00:21:09.440 if we're counting the CBC.
00:21:12.480 And a lot of that money
00:21:14.000 ends up in the hands
00:21:15.340 of upper management
00:21:16.360 who pay themselves bonuses
00:21:17.800 for continuing to have
00:21:19.480 their businesses fail.
00:21:21.220 Whatever.
00:21:22.420 But at least this time,
00:21:23.940 they're cutting out the middleman
00:21:25.020 and just hiring
00:21:25.620 the journalists directly.
00:21:26.760 So I suppose we should be glad
00:21:28.780 for the efficiency of it all.
00:21:31.400 You know, Sheila,
00:21:31.960 I got to tell you,
00:21:32.920 back in the day,
00:21:33.940 once upon a time,
00:21:34.940 this would have been seen
00:21:37.120 as heresy.
00:21:38.920 There used to be
00:21:39.700 a real separation
00:21:41.340 of church and state
00:21:42.460 when it came to journalism,
00:21:44.120 i.e. you didn't get
00:21:45.760 handouts from anyone
00:21:47.520 to alter the narrative.
00:21:50.260 Journalists wouldn't even
00:21:51.340 be talking to
00:21:52.860 the ad sales reps
00:21:55.080 because you didn't want
00:21:56.420 any kind of cross-contamination
00:21:58.280 that you were,
00:21:59.580 you know,
00:22:00.580 unnecessarily being biased
00:22:02.440 in the name of an advertiser.
00:22:04.640 But now,
00:22:05.540 it seems that
00:22:06.400 so many of these journalists,
00:22:07.700 they've just sold their soul.
00:22:09.120 They've got their hands out
00:22:10.340 like Oliver Twist
00:22:11.500 in Oliver,
00:22:12.840 saying,
00:22:13.220 please, sir,
00:22:13.720 I want more.
00:22:14.800 And we have this problem
00:22:16.680 where, Sheila,
00:22:17.840 in terms of the media,
00:22:19.380 it's not censorship,
00:22:21.160 it's self-censorship.
00:22:23.140 They don't want to rattle
00:22:24.320 their sugar daddies
00:22:25.420 in Ottawa.
00:22:26.820 Well, every story
00:22:28.080 acts as a cover letter
00:22:29.420 for a job application
00:22:30.720 going forward,
00:22:31.680 whether it's
00:22:32.420 in communications
00:22:33.500 for the government
00:22:34.480 or maybe it's
00:22:37.260 a grant application
00:22:38.480 for some of that
00:22:39.340 $650 million
00:22:41.580 in Trudeau bailout bucks.
00:22:43.780 It seems as though
00:22:44.780 the media has gone
00:22:46.220 from espousing
00:22:48.760 the concept
00:22:49.300 of the free press
00:22:50.300 to thinking
00:22:50.860 the free press
00:22:51.720 means give me free money.
00:22:53.820 And, you know,
00:22:55.180 it really shows
00:22:56.720 in the quality
00:22:57.620 of their work.
00:22:58.520 And yet, still,
00:22:59.380 the media continues
00:23:00.800 to fail
00:23:01.640 year after year.
00:23:03.600 Layoffs
00:23:04.160 and budget cuts.
00:23:05.560 Layoffs
00:23:06.160 and budget cuts.
00:23:07.500 But they keep doing
00:23:08.180 more of the same.
00:23:09.640 They keep producing
00:23:10.520 a product
00:23:11.160 that nobody
00:23:12.060 wants to watch,
00:23:13.200 that nobody
00:23:13.680 wants to pay for,
00:23:14.880 that nobody
00:23:15.380 wants to read.
00:23:16.800 They go through
00:23:17.460 a cycle of layoffs,
00:23:18.760 but they never change
00:23:20.180 what they're doing.
00:23:21.680 And they won't now
00:23:23.020 because Justin Trudeau
00:23:24.520 has intervened
00:23:25.380 to prevent
00:23:25.800 that market correction.
00:23:26.820 It's amazing.
00:23:28.160 And one last point
00:23:28.920 too, Sheila,
00:23:29.520 as you referred
00:23:30.080 to these other
00:23:31.120 positions that are
00:23:32.160 being created
00:23:32.780 that journalists
00:23:33.460 are going to fill,
00:23:34.620 you called them
00:23:35.400 communications people,
00:23:36.600 which is what
00:23:37.140 they'll be,
00:23:37.620 of course.
00:23:38.240 But isn't it
00:23:39.240 perversely ironic?
00:23:40.520 There's all these
00:23:41.220 communications people,
00:23:43.160 all these media
00:23:43.860 relations people,
00:23:45.500 all these spokesmen
00:23:46.600 and spokeswomen,
00:23:47.520 and yet,
00:23:48.280 when you,
00:23:48.900 I,
00:23:49.240 Kian,
00:23:49.440 when we reach out
00:23:50.480 for information,
00:23:51.540 we're told to take
00:23:53.320 a long walk
00:23:54.040 off a short pier,
00:23:55.620 file a freedom
00:23:56.620 of information request.
00:23:58.380 Sometimes those
00:23:59.200 freedom of information
00:24:00.040 requests are denied,
00:24:01.480 so we have to appeal
00:24:03.260 that freedom
00:24:03.740 of information request.
00:24:05.280 This all,
00:24:06.140 this costs us
00:24:06.920 a lot of money,
00:24:08.120 and what gets me,
00:24:09.780 Sheila,
00:24:10.080 is that these
00:24:10.700 communications people
00:24:11.860 who are being paid
00:24:12.820 to communicate
00:24:13.520 are doing anything
00:24:15.020 but that.
00:24:16.900 Well,
00:24:17.540 yeah,
00:24:17.960 I mean,
00:24:18.300 I would,
00:24:18.680 I would love it
00:24:19.560 if they would
00:24:20.420 even return an email
00:24:22.260 and tell me
00:24:22.880 to take a long walk
00:24:24.280 off a short pier,
00:24:25.060 but I never even
00:24:25.740 get that far.
00:24:27.280 You know,
00:24:27.800 much of the work
00:24:29.360 that I do,
00:24:30.220 including this story
00:24:31.220 that I'm currently
00:24:32.020 working on,
00:24:32.740 is in access
00:24:33.400 to information,
00:24:34.240 and it doesn't
00:24:35.620 really have to be.
00:24:37.560 I am forced
00:24:39.000 to file so many
00:24:40.160 access to information
00:24:41.060 requests,
00:24:41.800 and they are
00:24:42.300 very expensive,
00:24:43.200 they're very
00:24:43.780 time-consuming,
00:24:44.800 because they
00:24:46.920 won't hand over
00:24:47.860 the information
00:24:48.640 through their
00:24:49.220 media relations people.
00:24:50.520 They just won't.
00:24:51.660 They'll leak
00:24:52.440 friendly things
00:24:53.920 to friendly media,
00:24:55.320 which is basically
00:24:56.080 everyone but us
00:24:57.160 except for a handful
00:24:58.200 of media outlets,
00:25:01.180 including True North,
00:25:02.840 but we're forced
00:25:04.540 to file access
00:25:05.180 to information
00:25:05.820 through necessity
00:25:07.080 because the government
00:25:08.620 is so tight
00:25:09.920 with their information
00:25:11.220 and all information
00:25:13.320 when I ask for it,
00:25:14.240 even if I'm just
00:25:14.940 asking for a clarification,
00:25:16.280 they will not give it.
00:25:18.440 And one of the best
00:25:19.560 ways to support us
00:25:20.820 in our access
00:25:22.460 to information requests,
00:25:23.820 because like I said,
00:25:24.540 they're very expensive,
00:25:25.640 very time-consuming,
00:25:26.880 it's hours and weeks,
00:25:28.480 sometimes months
00:25:29.300 and years of work
00:25:30.940 on a story
00:25:31.400 before you even see
00:25:32.480 the five-minute
00:25:33.160 or ten-minute story,
00:25:34.540 they can do that
00:25:35.180 at rebelinvestigates.com.
00:25:37.740 Thank you so much,
00:25:40.420 Sheila,
00:25:40.800 and when it comes
00:25:42.040 to analyzing
00:25:43.020 the information
00:25:45.060 that you get
00:25:45.940 when we get it
00:25:46.740 from these freedom
00:25:47.560 of information requests,
00:25:49.220 to quote Carly Simon,
00:25:51.120 nobody does it better
00:25:52.680 than you,
00:25:53.500 Sheila Guthrie.
00:25:54.700 So you keep at them
00:25:56.300 because if you aren't
00:25:57.240 doing this
00:25:57.720 and if we aren't
00:25:58.380 doing this,
00:25:59.000 I don't think
00:25:59.780 hardly anybody
00:26:00.880 is going to be doing it.
00:26:02.260 So I think in that sense,
00:26:06.260 Rebel News is
00:26:07.000 an essential service
00:26:08.480 if you care
00:26:09.520 about the truth.
00:26:10.400 Thank you so much
00:26:11.140 for that piece, Sheila.
00:26:12.660 Thanks, David.
00:26:13.420 Have a great weekend.
00:26:14.240 You too.
00:26:14.900 And that was
00:26:15.620 Sheila Gunn-Reed
00:26:16.560 somewhere in the
00:26:17.700 northern hinterland
00:26:18.820 of Alberta.
00:26:20.120 Keep it here, folks.
00:26:20.980 More of Rebel Roundup
00:26:21.780 to come right after this.
00:26:28.360 We're at Albion Orchards.
00:26:30.500 I'm with Scott Luna
00:26:31.720 and as you may recall,
00:26:33.340 last weekend,
00:26:34.860 the OPP,
00:26:36.240 whether it was
00:26:36.640 on their own volition
00:26:37.720 or a wild Karen
00:26:39.600 blew the whistle,
00:26:41.640 they paid a visit
00:26:43.280 to Scott here
00:26:44.600 and when they got here,
00:26:46.220 Scott,
00:26:46.600 they kind of read
00:26:47.580 you the riot act.
00:26:48.580 Even though you've got
00:26:49.420 50 acres
00:26:50.860 of the great outdoors here,
00:26:53.080 they were worried
00:26:53.940 that somehow
00:26:54.640 you might be
00:26:55.460 violating the social
00:26:56.840 gathering limit
00:26:57.660 of 25.
00:26:59.180 Regardless,
00:26:59.880 there's more than that
00:27:00.720 going into a Walmart
00:27:01.660 and a Costco.
00:27:02.440 I thought businesses
00:27:03.040 were exempt.
00:27:03.660 And then, of course,
00:27:04.820 your tractor
00:27:05.800 was not being sanitized.
00:27:08.020 It just made for
00:27:09.260 more COVID madness
00:27:11.060 in 2020.
00:27:12.980 What has been the result
00:27:15.300 of you trying to find out
00:27:18.400 whether or not
00:27:18.920 you're breaking the law?
00:27:19.740 Because we visited
00:27:20.560 the OPP detachment
00:27:22.100 in Calden
00:27:22.700 and they basically told us
00:27:24.660 they didn't know
00:27:25.540 go to the public health unit.
00:27:26.960 I think you said
00:27:27.660 off camera
00:27:28.160 you spent something
00:27:29.200 like three or four hours
00:27:30.500 phoning the various authorities
00:27:31.840 and you never got
00:27:32.740 a clear answer.
00:27:34.200 Not a clear answer.
00:27:35.980 Anyways,
00:27:36.520 goodness gracious,
00:27:37.860 David,
00:27:38.260 things have kind of
00:27:39.780 cooled a bit.
00:27:40.620 The police have not been back.
00:27:42.140 So I think,
00:27:43.020 you know,
00:27:44.020 they're doing a great job.
00:27:45.540 It's got to be stressful
00:27:46.440 for them.
00:27:47.300 And, you know,
00:27:48.800 with rules changing,
00:27:49.880 they were uncertain
00:27:50.840 as well.
00:27:52.320 So we haven't been fined.
00:27:54.760 We're still open
00:27:55.460 for business.
00:27:56.240 People are still coming
00:27:57.220 and it's all good.
00:27:59.100 Scott,
00:27:59.440 personally,
00:27:59.920 I think,
00:28:00.480 given our report
00:28:01.680 on the matter,
00:28:03.960 it got a lot of views.
00:28:06.120 I've read the comments.
00:28:07.680 It is,
00:28:08.460 people are baffled.
00:28:10.200 They're gobsmacked
00:28:11.080 that they even paid
00:28:11.960 you a visit.
00:28:12.780 I really think
00:28:13.740 those OPP officers
00:28:15.240 that came here
00:28:15.900 are suffering
00:28:16.400 buyer's remorse,
00:28:17.700 especially when we just
00:28:19.160 had a 24-hour period
00:28:20.380 in the greater Toronto area
00:28:21.520 where we had
00:28:22.080 eight separate shootings.
00:28:23.940 I mean,
00:28:24.340 my goodness,
00:28:25.440 I would think
00:28:26.360 there's more important things
00:28:28.700 for the police
00:28:29.640 to be concerned with
00:28:30.760 than going after
00:28:31.720 an apple farmer.
00:28:33.180 Certainly, David.
00:28:34.020 As a taxpayer myself,
00:28:35.440 I would rather
00:28:36.060 that the police
00:28:36.720 spend their time
00:28:37.680 hunting down criminals
00:28:39.180 and preventing crime.
00:28:41.400 But again,
00:28:42.340 thankfully,
00:28:43.120 they have not returned.
00:28:44.460 I've not received a fine.
00:28:46.140 I'm very grateful for that.
00:28:47.760 I know they're doing
00:28:48.420 a busy job
00:28:49.280 and I don't think
00:28:51.200 they're going to be back.
00:28:52.380 What's happened is
00:28:53.260 I've gotten answers
00:28:54.320 from other people
00:28:55.200 in my industry.
00:28:56.740 So other farm marketers
00:28:58.260 in other jurisdictions,
00:29:00.720 municipalities,
00:29:02.000 they've reached out to me
00:29:03.580 by phone,
00:29:04.840 by email,
00:29:06.000 and let me know,
00:29:06.960 here's what's happening
00:29:07.740 in our area.
00:29:09.920 This is,
00:29:11.340 you know,
00:29:11.680 our councillors told this.
00:29:14.040 Our MP has told us that.
00:29:16.560 The police have told us this.
00:29:18.400 There have been
00:29:20.300 other fines passed out,
00:29:22.300 but they've actually...
00:29:23.340 To farmers?
00:29:24.180 Yeah.
00:29:25.380 There's Lucas,
00:29:27.800 I'm sorry,
00:29:28.520 I forget the name
00:29:29.180 of the farm
00:29:29.660 off the top of my head,
00:29:30.820 but him and his father
00:29:32.600 were each given
00:29:33.240 an $880 fine
00:29:35.120 under the COVID rules,
00:29:37.020 but that has since
00:29:38.540 been rescinded.
00:29:39.920 Who knew it was so tough
00:29:41.040 being a farmer
00:29:41.760 in Canada these days?
00:29:43.300 And no,
00:29:43.840 I'm not talking about
00:29:45.140 extreme weather patterns,
00:29:46.460 folks,
00:29:46.860 but rather overzealous
00:29:48.620 law enforcement
00:29:49.540 that doesn't quite
00:29:51.360 fully comprehend
00:29:52.440 the laws
00:29:53.420 that they themselves
00:29:54.740 are trying to enforce.
00:29:56.440 Amazing.
00:29:57.600 In any event,
00:29:58.360 here's what you had to say
00:29:59.700 about the saga
00:30:00.500 of Caledon, Ontario
00:30:01.700 farmer Scott Luna,
00:30:03.520 a hard-working man
00:30:05.300 who just wants
00:30:06.600 to sell his apples.
00:30:08.460 Ms. Clementine writes,
00:30:10.120 Five customers at a time?
00:30:12.600 Is he serious?
00:30:13.860 I've stood in line
00:30:14.760 with over 30 people
00:30:16.300 at Walmart.
00:30:17.500 What?
00:30:18.720 Indeed,
00:30:19.440 but then again,
00:30:20.520 one thing we have learned
00:30:21.800 about this pandemic
00:30:22.860 is that when it comes
00:30:24.180 to the retail sector,
00:30:26.040 there are different rules
00:30:27.280 for the big guys
00:30:28.260 and for the little guys.
00:30:30.120 I guess the Wuhan virus
00:30:32.180 is somehow biased.
00:30:33.800 For whatever reason,
00:30:35.040 this virus doesn't like
00:30:36.520 small entrepreneurs
00:30:37.680 trying to make a living,
00:30:38.680 but it has the utmost respect
00:30:41.000 for, say,
00:30:41.680 a multi-billion dollar corporation
00:30:43.700 based in Arkansas.
00:30:45.720 Amazing, eh?
00:30:47.400 Joe Pace writes,
00:30:49.160 This is amazing news.
00:30:51.440 Thank you once again, Rebel,
00:30:53.140 for reporting this story.
00:30:54.680 Well, thank you
00:30:55.340 for your kind words, Joe.
00:30:56.800 And I do believe
00:30:58.180 shedding a spotlight
00:30:59.320 on this story
00:31:00.280 led to a happy ending
00:31:01.980 for Albion Orchards.
00:31:03.980 Ain't it great
00:31:04.800 how publicizing an injustice
00:31:07.560 can sometimes act
00:31:09.440 as sanitizer?
00:31:11.660 Sharpshooter writes,
00:31:13.220 Well, how do you like
00:31:14.400 them apples?
00:31:15.440 Oh, I like them very much,
00:31:17.420 Sharpshooter.
00:31:18.100 And I'll tell you this,
00:31:19.440 the day it becomes illegal
00:31:21.040 to go to a you-pick
00:31:22.680 apple orchard
00:31:23.640 is the day
00:31:24.880 I'll become an outlaw.
00:31:27.320 Karma S. writes,
00:31:28.440 In Laval, Quebec,
00:31:29.780 there's an apple orchard
00:31:31.000 that ordered no eating
00:31:32.440 of apples in the orchards
00:31:34.000 due to COVID-19.
00:31:36.200 25% of orchards
00:31:37.980 were closed.
00:31:39.120 You know,
00:31:39.280 I'm really sorry
00:31:39.820 to hear that,
00:31:40.520 Karma S.,
00:31:41.080 but can someone
00:31:42.360 kindly explain
00:31:43.480 how picking apples
00:31:44.680 in the great outdoors
00:31:45.800 is a Wuhan virus
00:31:47.200 health hazard,
00:31:48.000 but it's okay
00:31:49.220 to cram inside
00:31:50.220 a big box store
00:31:51.240 to shop?
00:31:52.320 What utter madness.
00:31:54.520 And Brian Woods writes,
00:31:56.340 His shirt is awesome.
00:31:58.060 I love apple pie.
00:31:59.800 LOL.
00:32:00.600 That is indeed
00:32:01.900 a great shirt,
00:32:02.560 isn't it?
00:32:02.960 But then again,
00:32:03.960 maybe that is the source
00:32:05.160 of Scott's problems.
00:32:06.220 After all,
00:32:06.660 we all know that
00:32:07.460 Premier Doug Ford
00:32:08.740 wants everyone
00:32:09.480 to stay inside
00:32:10.500 baking cherry cheesecakes.
00:32:12.780 Maybe Premier Ford
00:32:14.040 looks upon apple pies
00:32:15.460 as competition
00:32:16.320 to his favourite foodstuff.
00:32:18.920 Sorry, Doug,
00:32:19.760 but I'll take
00:32:20.820 a freshly baked pie
00:32:22.660 stuffed with
00:32:23.380 Ontario-grown apples
00:32:24.840 over cheesecake
00:32:26.280 any day.
00:32:28.020 Well,
00:32:28.480 that wraps up
00:32:29.100 another edition
00:32:29.720 of Rebel Roundup.
00:32:30.640 Thanks so much
00:32:31.180 for joining us.
00:32:31.900 See you next week.
00:32:32.680 And hey, folks,
00:32:33.540 never forget,
00:32:34.980 without risk,
00:32:35.800 there can be no glory.
00:32:37.160 Good night.