Juno News - Carney called out for misleading Canadians about call with Trump

00:00:00.000 Liberal leader Mark Carney was caught misleading Canadians about his call with

00:00:08.960 U.S. President Donald Trump. Conservative leader Pierre Polyev vowed to give police

00:00:13.760 and judges the power to dismantle tent cities and charge offenders while offering treatment

00:00:19.560 and housing to those battling addiction. A majority of Canadians opposed the Liberals'

00:00:24.280 plan to ban gas and diesel cars by 2035, calling it unrealistic and costly amid backlash from

00:00:30.640 taxpayers and the auto industry. Hello, Canada. It's Friday, April 25th, and this is the True

00:00:36.000 North Daily Brief. I'm Isaac Lamoureux. And I'm Clayton Demain. We've got you covered with all

00:00:41.540 the news you need to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives

00:00:46.320 you won't hear anywhere else.

00:00:48.000 Liberal leader Mark Carney was called out for misrepresenting his discussion with U.S.

00:00:57.180 President Donald Trump after sources say their phone call involved further talk of Canada

00:01:01.840 becoming the 51st state. Initially, Carney denied the topic was ever brought up during the call.

00:01:07.880 During the now famous phone call between the two leaders last month, Trump allegedly continued

00:01:12.360 pressing Carney on making Canada the 51st state, contrary to Carney repeatedly telling Canadian

00:01:17.980 that he respected the country's sovereignty. Sources with knowledge of their conversation told Radio

00:01:23.620 Canada that Canada's independence was raised in the first part of the conversation, a subject which

00:01:29.040 Carney allegedly concluded the two would have to, quote, agree to disagree on. Trump initiated the

00:01:34.660 talks of Canada becoming the 51st state on the March 28th call and continued to make the case for

00:01:39.700 its economic advantages, while Carney ultimately disagreed with, sources said. However, this remains in direct

00:01:46.700 conflict with what Carney told the public in a press conference following the call that same day,

00:01:52.240 where he told the media that Trump had shelved his annexation rhetoric. Both the Prime Minister's

00:01:56.860 office and Carney's campaign declined True North's request for comment. News that Carney misled Canadians

00:02:03.080 comes only days before Canadians will head to the polls and after millions have already cast their

00:02:07.760 ballot with advanced voting. A major message of Carney's campaign has been that Canada needs a tough

00:02:12.660 leader who can stand up to Trump and US influence, championing himself as the only person with experience

00:02:18.380 and credentials to do so. That message has also been echoed by Chinese state-backed social media

00:02:23.960 platforms such as WeChat, something that the government's task force dedicated to securing Canada's election

00:02:29.900 from foreign interference has been investigating. So, Clayton, how has Carney responded to the allegations

00:02:37.000 that he hid certain details regarding his conversation with Trump? Right. So, Carney was confronted about

00:02:43.800 this discrepancy between what he said was a constructive phone call in which Trump respected

00:02:49.800 Canada's sovereignty and the continued comments from Trump which show he has a different view on

00:02:55.300 Canada's sovereignty. At first, during a press conference in BC on Thursday, when Carney was confronted

00:03:01.940 about Trump threatening heavier tariffs and that Canada wouldn't be sovereign if it weren't for the US,

00:03:07.780 despite Carney's glowing review of the phone call. Carney avoided the question instead leaning on how

00:03:13.540 Trump has been saying this and it's not really news. He flip-flopped within minutes on the issue and only

00:03:19.700 folded when several journalists from multiple outlets asked him the same question. He eventually admitted

00:03:25.940 that Trump had brought up Canada as the 51st state on the call and claimed that he had already mentioned

00:03:31.780 this. He said Trump hadn't called him the governor like he did Trudeau and that the meeting they

00:03:37.460 arranged for after the election would be done as sovereign countries. He also said Trump's tariffs

00:03:42.900 wouldn't have as big of an impact on Canada once there is free trade between the provinces, though that

00:03:49.220 goal might be difficult to achieve when Quebec is so adamant on blocking cross-country pipelines and

00:03:55.380 maintaining supply management. Carney tried to play two narratives at once and it seems to have

00:04:01.300 backfired. His whole campaign hinged on the fact that Trump wants to make Canada the 51st state,

00:04:08.340 while simultaneously he was presenting that because he was prime minister,

00:04:12.500 Trump now respects Canada's sovereignty from that phone call. And if we recall back to that phone call,

00:04:18.420 Trump acted as though Carney would win the election and he said he looked forward to working with him

00:04:24.740 and in another interview, he said he would prefer that Canada have a liberal leader. So Carney also

00:04:30.260 said a benefit to him being the leader is that he and Trump have met several times because they float

00:04:35.860 around the same elite circles. So it's interesting to watch Carney attempt to balance the two, on one hand

00:04:41.940 saying he'd work well with Trump while also saying Trump has to be stopped. Conservative leader Pierre

00:04:50.180 Polyev said he would permit police and judges to have more authority to dismantle tent cities if elected.

00:04:56.580 According to Polyev, a conservative government would amend the criminal code to allow police to lay

00:05:01.860 charges against people who violate the right to safety in public spaces known as the Safe Streets and

00:05:08.820 Communities Act. Polyev said, quote, no more excuses by politicians claiming they don't have the powers.

00:05:15.300 The powers will be right there in the criminal code. No more paralysis from politically correct liberal

00:05:20.660 politicians who are too afraid to take action. Public spaces must be safe for everyone. We will take back our

00:05:27.700 streets and restore order in our communities and we will give people that are currently trapped in these awful

00:05:34.900 circumstances a pathway to a better life, a life with a home, with nutritious food, physical exercise,

00:05:42.900 connections to family, a new chance to start over.

00:05:47.060 It's going to be a future of hope and the people who come out of these encampments into, from out of the shadows,

00:05:53.300 they will come into the light and enjoy the Canadian dream, the Canadian promise. And they will have a

00:05:59.780 superpower when they come from these backgrounds. They will have a superpower that they have lived through the worst

00:06:04.820 valleys and now they can appreciate the summit on which they will enjoy their lives. So our plan is clear.

00:06:11.940 First, we will amend the criminal code to give police legal powers so that they can remove individuals

00:06:17.540 who are a danger to public safety and clear public spaces where access is currently blocked by tents

00:06:23.460 and temporary shelters. No more excuses by politicians claiming they don't have the powers. The powers will

00:06:30.820 be right there in the criminal code. No more paralysis from politically correct liberal politicians 0.71

00:06:37.140 who are too afraid to take action. This would allow for authorities to dismantle illegal encampments

00:06:42.260 while also providing those inhabiting them with necessary housing and mental health treatment. Tent

00:06:47.780 encampments have exploded across Canada in recent years, which rapidly devolve into hot beds for drug

00:06:54.260 abuse and violent crime. Polyev said under his leadership, the federal government would adopt a housing-first

00:07:00.260 approach to help people get off the streets who are often battling with opioid addiction and into

00:07:07.620 housing. Polyev had previously promised to shut down so-called safe supply sites across Canada, endorsing

00:07:14.660 mandatory drug treatment for those struggling with addiction. He also vowed to sue opioid companies,

00:07:21.300 which he believes bear much of the responsibility for Canada's drug crisis in the first place. Polyev's 0.91

00:07:27.780 platform would quote, where appropriate, allow the occupants of these encampments to face criminal

00:07:33.940 charges while empowering judges to offer them simple possession charges as long as they opt to enter

00:07:40.820 an addiction treatment program. So Isaac, we hear a lot about these encampments around Canada. Where are the

00:07:47.460 major tent cities in Canada at the moment and how successful have police been in dismantling them with the

00:07:53.620 current laws available? Yeah, Clayton. So as many of our listeners likely know, most of Canada's major

00:07:58.980 cities have tent cities somewhere in them. You only need to drive through downtown and you'll likely

00:08:04.100 cross paths with one. Some provinces and cities have it worse than others though. For example, in 2023,

00:08:10.420 the Association of Municipalities of Ontario reported more than 1400 homeless encampments with over 100 in

00:08:17.380 London alone. And in 2023, the Conservatives said there were 82 encampments in Toronto, which the party has said has now

00:08:23.780 grown to over 200. And of course, it's only gotten worse since then as the cost of living in Canada has worsened,

00:08:30.580 driving more Canadians towards homelessness. Over the last few years, we've also seen many stories emerge from tent cities of

00:08:37.940 firearms, drugs, rape, gang violence, deaths, and the list goes on. Some cities have taken the issue more seriously than others,

00:08:45.140 though. For example, the city of Ottawa looked to erect tent-like structures to house homeless migrants.

00:08:52.260 We also saw the many battles between residents, universities, cities, provinces, and protesters about

00:08:58.420 illegal encampments set up to protest on campuses. This law could provide authorities more power in

00:09:04.500 dismantling those encampments as well. We've also seen some on the left try to advocate for safe supply,

00:09:10.020 drugs that were being found and abused in these tent encampments. Poelievro's pledge also emphasizes

00:09:16.340 recovery over this safe supply failure. He said the Conservatives will fund 50,000 addiction treatment

00:09:22.660 spaces, which will be a better place for addicts to recover than tent cities where drugs and crime run

00:09:28.740 rampant. We saw different police responses from different jurisdictions in response to encampments,

00:09:33.860 both among the homeless and the protesters. For example, a court issued injunction previously stopped

00:09:39.300 the Edmonton police from clearing homeless encampments. This was despite the Edmonton police

00:09:44.340 receiving over 14,000 complaints about encampments in 2023. In response to these complaints,

00:09:50.180 they ended up investigating and addressing over 4,500 camps. Poelievro also pledged to crack down on crime

00:09:56.340 in many other ways, such as mandatory life sentences for those convicted of five or more counts of human

00:10:02.180 trafficking, importing or exporting 10 or more illegal firearms or trafficking fentanyl. He will also end

00:10:09.220 the Liberals' catch-and-release policy, along with many more changes to what he said will, quote,

00:10:14.500 end the chaos and restore order and safety across Canada.

00:10:21.300 A majority of Canadians are opposed to the Liberal government's plan to ban the sale of new gas and

00:10:26.500 diesel passenger vehicles. A new poll from Leger, commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation,

00:10:31.860 found that 60% of decided Canadians are opposed to a national ban on the sale of all gas and diesel

00:10:38.100 powered vehicle sales by 2035. Opposition to the gas and diesel vehicle ban is stronger amongst Albertans,

00:10:44.740 with 68% opposed to the ban, while Quebecers are more partial to the policy, only 55% disapproving.

00:10:51.940 The poll also found that women are more likely to oppose the gas and diesel vehicle ban than men,

00:10:56.500 with a five-point gap between the two groups. In late 2023, the Liberal government, under former

00:11:02.020 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, had announced that Canada would be following in the footsteps of other

00:11:06.500 jurisdictions like the European Union and the United Kingdom in banning these passenger vehicles,

00:11:12.020 in an effort to achieve net-zero emissions. The poll parallels a previous finding that 66% of

00:11:18.500 Canadians believe that the Liberal government's timeline in phasing out the sale of gas and diesel

00:11:23.060 passenger vehicles is, quote, unrealistic. BC Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation,

00:11:28.340 Carson Binda, said that the poll clearly indicates that taxpayers do not want to foot the bill for

00:11:33.780 an expensive nationwide transition to electric vehicles. Binda is calling on all parties running

00:11:39.300 in the federal election to make their stance on a conventional vehicle ban clear for taxpayers.

00:11:44.340 At the time the Trudeau government announced the policy on gas and diesel vehicles,

00:11:48.340 leaders of the auto industry came together to slam the policy as a reckless move.

00:11:52.740 Tim Roos of the Canadian Automotive Dealers Association wrote, quote,

00:11:57.220 Instead of attempting to dictate what individuals have to purchase,

00:12:00.900 we suggest government focus on creating the right set of circumstances to stimulate demand.

00:12:05.860 So, Clayton, how has Polyevre responded to the Liberal government's EV sales target,

00:12:10.260 and what are some of the main criticisms?

00:12:12.500 So, Polyevre announced on Thursday that he would cut the Liberal government's planned

00:12:17.300 tax hike, which would impose a $20,000 tax on each vehicle sold that exceeds the government-allowed limit

00:12:25.540 for gas-powered vehicles. Polyevre's criticisms echoed some of those industry leaders,

00:12:32.580 saying that Carney's Liberals just wants to control the market and tell Canadians what vehicles

00:12:39.380 they are allowed to drive, and blasted the practicality of Canada switching to EVs by 2035.

00:12:47.300 Canada, as our listeners know, gets very cold in the wintertime. In that press conference,

00:12:52.180 Polyevre noted a recent Canadian Automobile Association test which found that in just negative

00:12:58.900 7 to negative 15 degrees Celsius temperatures, EVs can lose up to 39 percent of its battery life in the

00:13:06.020 cold. And obviously, Canadian winters often see temperatures well below that. He also cited an

00:13:11.460 independent economist who said Carney's plan to phase out gas-powered vehicles by 2035, as evidenced in

00:13:19.140 Liberal policies and his own book, Values, would cost Canadians $138 billion and kill 38,000 jobs.

00:13:26.900 But Polyevre made it clear he wasn't against Canadians who wanted to buy EVs. He would still honor every

00:13:32.980 government contract to build EVs in Canada, protecting those jobs. But that he was against the

00:13:38.180 was against the government trying to control what vehicles Canadians can drive. He said his GST

00:13:43.060 break on Canadian made vehicles would still apply to Canadians looking to purchase a made in Canada

00:13:49.380 EV. And he noted that the Liberals' tax hike on gas vehicles next year will only drive business

00:13:55.940 outside of Canada and would drive consumers right into the pockets of foreign EV manufacturers such as

00:14:02.420 Tesla. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes

00:14:10.180 every weekday by subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it,

00:14:15.380 make sure to hit us with a 5-star rating.

Juno News - April 25, 2025

Carney called out for misleading Canadians about call with Trump

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