Juno News - January 08, 2025


Designated TERRORIST group to host Islamic supremacy conference in Ontario


Episode Stats

Length

16 minutes

Words per Minute

166.02031

Word Count

2,697

Sentence Count

153

Misogynist Sentences

1

Hate Speech Sentences

4


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 an organization that's been dubbed a terrorist entity by a number of countries,
00:00:03.940 as well as the United Nations, is holding a conference in Ontario.
00:00:09.720 The theme of Hizbut Tahir's conference is eliminating the obstacles
00:00:13.460 that are delaying the return of the Islamic Caliphate, only in Canada.
00:00:18.800 Joining me today to discuss is the reporter who broke the story,
00:00:22.220 and later we'll hear from the food professor,
00:00:24.480 who will tell us the impact of Justin Trudeau corroding Parliament on Canadian farmers.
00:00:30.000 You might be surprised at what he has to say.
00:00:32.640 I'm Rachel Parker. Welcome back to The Rachel Parker Show.
00:00:52.640 I'm joined by Jared Jagger, the Western Standard reporter who broke this story.
00:00:57.640 Jared, why don't you just start by breaking down what exactly is going on here?
00:01:04.240 So essentially what's happening is there's this extremist group.
00:01:08.840 It's called Hizbut Tahir, and it's banned pretty much everywhere else in the world,
00:01:12.740 but for some reason not in Canada.
00:01:14.960 And so they've decided to hold their annual Khilafah conference,
00:01:18.740 which translates to a caliphate conference, in Ontario on January 18th.
00:01:23.960 And it was originally going to be held in Mississauga,
00:01:27.060 but following backlash, the mayor made sure that wouldn't happen.
00:01:30.980 Then they moved it to Hamilton, where they received a similar response.
00:01:34.740 And as of now, tickets are still available,
00:01:37.360 but nobody's really sure where exactly this event is going to take place.
00:01:41.540 So this conference, which is essentially a conference about their caliphate,
00:01:47.600 you said there was a lot of backlash.
00:01:49.380 Was that backlash in response to the story that you broke that ended up going viral,
00:01:54.300 or were people already aware that this was happening?
00:01:58.060 There were some small pockets of information on Twitter,
00:02:02.080 but yeah, it wasn't until the Western Standard broke the story
00:02:05.480 that it really went super viral,
00:02:08.040 all the way to the point where even Elon Musk was talking about it.
00:02:11.540 Have you spoken to the authorities at all?
00:02:13.980 Do you know if this is something that the authorities in Hamilton,
00:02:16.520 are they going to allow this conference to proceed?
00:02:20.260 I haven't, no.
00:02:21.440 But there's a lot of people on the ground in Ontario
00:02:24.180 who have reached out to law enforcement and elected officials.
00:02:27.800 And I just have to say thank you to them for doing the groundwork over there.
00:02:33.220 It's a lot easier than me doing it here in British Columbia.
00:02:38.000 Yeah, absolutely.
00:02:39.700 You definitely need local people to get involved.
00:02:41.440 You mentioned that they're receiving a similar response in Hamilton.
00:02:45.600 Have you spoken with the mayor there and said,
00:02:47.960 you know, is this a conference that you're going to allow to proceed, essentially?
00:02:52.060 So she released a public statement.
00:02:56.200 Basically, you know, it had the usual wording.
00:02:59.240 We stand firmly against all forms of hate and tolerance
00:03:01.860 and we're committed to fostering a safe and respectful, inclusive environment.
00:03:06.220 So yeah, it sounds like she's going to do anything she can
00:03:12.800 to make sure that this conference doesn't take place in her city.
00:03:16.320 It's interesting that you report on this story
00:03:18.700 just sort of on the heels of the terrorist attack in New Orleans
00:03:23.200 with 14 people being killed on New Year's Day.
00:03:26.000 We now know that the suspect in that case
00:03:29.460 actually visited Ontario in July 2023.
00:03:34.420 Are you concerned that Canada is becoming a hotbed
00:03:38.540 for Islamic extremism?
00:03:42.280 Definitely, definitely.
00:03:44.300 And evidence of that, last year,
00:03:47.300 because this group, they hold a conference in Ontario every year,
00:03:50.160 or at least they try to.
00:03:51.760 But last year, a day after the UK designated them
00:03:55.900 a terrorist organization,
00:03:57.920 they decided not to host the conference.
00:03:59.720 I guess they were afraid that maybe the Canadian authorities
00:04:02.680 would catch on and follow suit.
00:04:06.180 Obviously, they didn't.
00:04:08.100 And so now a year later,
00:04:09.940 they're, I guess, feeling pretty emboldened
00:04:13.620 and confident enough that no one will do anything
00:04:17.180 to try and host it again.
00:04:19.320 So thankfully, there's been backlash,
00:04:21.700 but we need to see more from elected officials.
00:04:25.900 You mentioned that this group
00:04:27.780 is a designated terrorist entity
00:04:29.640 in a number of nations,
00:04:30.920 including by the United Nations itself.
00:04:33.300 Is it considered a designated terrorist entity in Canada?
00:04:36.920 And do you think that it should be if it's not?
00:04:39.700 It's not, no.
00:04:40.700 But it definitely should be.
00:04:42.060 Because, yeah, the list of countries
00:04:43.520 where it is banned is pretty long.
00:04:47.500 And what are the reasons that those countries list
00:04:49.660 for designating it a terrorist entity?
00:04:51.220 Well, for some of them,
00:04:54.240 it's the threat of Islamic extremism.
00:04:58.080 And for others, it's because the group,
00:05:00.400 their main goal is to reestablish an Islamic caliphate,
00:05:04.260 basically doing away with nation states.
00:05:07.180 And so a lot of these nations,
00:05:08.400 even the nations that are Muslim-majority,
00:05:11.660 you know, the leaders,
00:05:12.660 they feel threatened by this group.
00:05:14.920 And so it kind of makes sense
00:05:17.760 that they'd want to ensure
00:05:19.600 they can't act in their countries.
00:05:23.240 Jared, where can my audience,
00:05:25.340 if they want to continue following you
00:05:26.700 and following the story,
00:05:27.600 where can they find you and your work?
00:05:31.060 So you can find all my work
00:05:32.320 at Western Standard,
00:05:33.820 at WS Online News on Twitter,
00:05:36.140 and you can follow me at Jared Yeager.
00:05:38.740 Thanks so much.
00:05:40.440 Yeah, thank you.
00:05:41.660 All right, guys, again,
00:05:42.500 that was Jared Yeager,
00:05:43.860 the Western Standard reporter
00:05:45.540 who broke the story.
00:05:46.820 You'll definitely want to go find his X account
00:05:49.260 to follow the details.
00:05:51.000 At this point,
00:05:51.740 it is not even clear
00:05:53.020 whether they will be able to proceed
00:05:55.040 with this conference
00:05:56.020 that everyone is calling to be canceled.
00:05:58.120 Okay, guys,
00:05:58.560 we are now joined by Sylvain Charlebois.
00:06:01.000 He is from the Agri-Food Analytics Lab
00:06:03.560 at Dalhousie University,
00:06:04.780 and he's better known
00:06:06.440 as the food professor on X.
00:06:08.600 I'm sure you guys have seen his content before.
00:06:11.640 He's all over the place.
00:06:12.840 Sylvain, thank you so much
00:06:13.800 for being here today.
00:06:14.700 I want to start by asking you,
00:06:16.000 just kind of,
00:06:16.900 you know,
00:06:17.140 we're in the first few days of 2025.
00:06:20.280 What were some of the food price trends
00:06:23.560 that you noticed throughout 2024?
00:06:27.860 Well, when it comes to pricing,
00:06:29.720 it was really a bizarre year.
00:06:33.940 Food prices didn't go up
00:06:35.320 as much as we were expecting.
00:06:37.060 At the beginning of the year,
00:06:39.520 prices were going higher.
00:06:42.400 In the middle of the year,
00:06:43.980 things calmed down,
00:06:44.900 but now things are picking up again.
00:06:46.920 If you're noticing the data,
00:06:49.200 right now,
00:06:49.760 food inflation is above general inflation,
00:06:52.520 and that tends to preoccupy a lot of people.
00:06:55.980 A lot of people are concerned about that,
00:06:57.460 and we are certainly concerned about that,
00:06:58.940 which is why
00:06:59.620 when we published Canada's food price report
00:07:02.940 about a month ago,
00:07:04.540 we did claim that we are expecting 2025
00:07:08.600 to be a challenging year.
00:07:11.380 We're expecting food prices to go up
00:07:12.960 by as much as 5% for a family of four,
00:07:16.280 driven mainly by meat prices
00:07:18.480 and vegetable prices
00:07:20.580 due to a weaker Canadian currency,
00:07:24.020 unfortunately.
00:07:24.840 When you're trying to import food
00:07:27.120 from the United States or anywhere else,
00:07:28.940 you want a stronger dollar.
00:07:31.060 That's not going to be the case in 2025.
00:07:33.800 So it sounds like more bad news
00:07:36.200 for Canadians
00:07:36.840 who are already wincing
00:07:38.220 every time they go to the grocery stores
00:07:39.720 in 2025
00:07:40.300 than any positive silver linings for them?
00:07:43.540 Well, Rachel,
00:07:44.820 are you a fan of olive oil?
00:07:46.920 Because olive oil
00:07:48.500 is actually going to be cheaper in 2025.
00:07:51.420 It's the one item
00:07:52.540 that actually has gone up in price
00:07:54.300 the last couple of years.
00:07:55.460 We're not expecting prices to increase.
00:07:57.720 In fact, we're expecting
00:07:58.800 olive oil prices to drop in 2025.
00:08:03.200 Dairy also is not going to be an issue at all.
00:08:06.600 We are expecting Farmgate prices to drop
00:08:08.720 and that's going to put less pressure
00:08:10.400 on retail prices.
00:08:11.700 That's good.
00:08:12.140 And bakery.
00:08:13.280 Bakery is probably the other category
00:08:14.900 where we're not going to be seeing
00:08:16.240 a whole lot of movement
00:08:17.140 when it comes to pricing as well in 2025.
00:08:20.480 I'm wondering,
00:08:21.560 I mean, for myself, my family,
00:08:23.060 we've started to purchase meat in bulk.
00:08:25.120 So we'll actually buy
00:08:26.320 like a quarter cow at a time.
00:08:28.860 We live in Alberta,
00:08:29.840 so we obviously have a lot of access
00:08:31.160 to good quality Alberta beef.
00:08:33.400 And we find it saves us a lot of monies
00:08:34.820 at the grocery store
00:08:35.640 because we buy a quarter cow.
00:08:37.400 Lasts us for like half a year.
00:08:39.580 Obviously, you have to be able
00:08:40.940 to afford that bulk purchase up front,
00:08:43.400 which I know that not every family can do.
00:08:46.060 But do you have any advice
00:08:47.420 for those Canadians
00:08:48.140 who are really finding it difficult
00:08:49.660 to feed their families right now?
00:08:51.180 And as you mentioned,
00:08:52.140 meat prices going up this year.
00:08:54.340 Yeah, well,
00:08:55.040 I used to live in the prairies myself
00:08:56.680 and I did buy,
00:08:57.760 when I was there in Saskatchewan,
00:08:59.420 I actually did buy a quarter of a cow
00:09:01.740 just because in those days,
00:09:04.160 beef prices were going way up
00:09:06.080 and we're beef lovers at home.
00:09:08.820 So obviously,
00:09:09.620 that's certainly one strategy,
00:09:10.780 but not everyone actually lives
00:09:12.280 in the prairies, unfortunately.
00:09:14.400 I would say really,
00:09:15.520 when you go to their grocery store,
00:09:17.360 be strategic about it.
00:09:18.700 But you may not want to eat beef
00:09:21.640 that day or that week
00:09:23.220 or over the next couple of days,
00:09:24.840 but buy some if they're on sale
00:09:27.020 and get yourself a freezer.
00:09:29.180 I think that's the best thing
00:09:30.520 you can do right now.
00:09:32.640 If you want to move away
00:09:34.100 from meat products,
00:09:35.180 well, I would say tuna,
00:09:37.700 canned tuna, canned salmon.
00:09:39.420 It's not the same thing, of course,
00:09:41.080 but these products
00:09:42.200 are actually cheaper
00:09:43.080 than five years ago.
00:09:45.000 They're being used
00:09:45.640 as loss leaders right now.
00:09:47.280 So if you don't mind
00:09:49.300 eating tuna and salmon,
00:09:50.720 well, that could be
00:09:51.800 a solution for you.
00:09:54.060 Obviously, you know,
00:09:55.140 this interview comes
00:09:55.960 on the heels of
00:09:56.980 Justin Trudeau's announcement
00:09:58.100 on Monday morning
00:09:58.880 that he is going to be resigning
00:10:00.920 once a new Liberal leader
00:10:02.480 is selected.
00:10:03.600 We're still not sure
00:10:04.580 if we're going to get
00:10:05.640 an early federal election,
00:10:06.920 but we know that we're going
00:10:07.660 to see one at least come October
00:10:09.240 if Conservative leader
00:10:11.100 Pierre Polyev
00:10:11.740 is the next Prime Minister,
00:10:13.520 which certainly seems like
00:10:14.380 he will be at this point,
00:10:15.480 although anything can happen
00:10:16.460 in politics
00:10:17.200 and he finally cancels
00:10:18.680 that carbon tax.
00:10:20.000 What will the impact be?
00:10:21.200 Will Canadians finally
00:10:22.060 have some relief
00:10:22.820 at the grocery stores?
00:10:25.100 Well, so first of all,
00:10:27.280 this week is a good week
00:10:29.340 for farmers and consumers,
00:10:31.000 I think,
00:10:31.440 because I think, yes,
00:10:33.580 the Prime Minister will resign,
00:10:35.360 but he hasn't resigned yet.
00:10:36.560 So we're still dealing
00:10:38.160 with the same government.
00:10:39.860 It's just prorogued.
00:10:40.940 The good part
00:10:41.900 is that it's being prorogued.
00:10:43.480 It was prorogued.
00:10:44.480 And that means
00:10:45.460 that many bills
00:10:47.200 will be killed eventually
00:10:49.520 because there are likely
00:10:52.080 going to be an election
00:10:52.800 after March 24th.
00:10:55.460 And I'm thinking
00:10:56.120 of three things,
00:10:58.400 three bills.
00:10:59.120 One, the bills
00:11:00.600 on the capital gains tax,
00:11:03.820 which is likely
00:11:05.140 not going to see
00:11:05.980 any royal ascent,
00:11:08.500 which is really good news
00:11:09.800 for a lot of businesses.
00:11:11.880 Of course,
00:11:12.460 there's Bill C-282,
00:11:14.900 protecting supply management.
00:11:17.020 That was an awful bill.
00:11:19.300 Protecting 2% of the economy
00:11:21.040 and potentially sacrificing
00:11:23.740 98% of it
00:11:25.500 never made sense.
00:11:27.460 And so that's likely
00:11:28.740 going to be killed
00:11:29.580 with the next election
00:11:31.040 coming up.
00:11:31.900 And finally,
00:11:33.220 Bill C-293,
00:11:35.520 which I call
00:11:36.340 Canada's Vegan Act.
00:11:38.520 Basically,
00:11:39.180 it's the pandemic
00:11:40.000 preparedness bill.
00:11:42.340 But in that bill,
00:11:43.960 there were so many things,
00:11:45.780 troubling things.
00:11:46.400 One of them
00:11:46.720 was actually
00:11:47.160 to encourage people
00:11:47.920 to eat alternative protein.
00:11:49.740 So that's likely
00:11:51.140 going to be get killed
00:11:52.020 as well.
00:11:52.600 Good news.
00:11:53.180 As far as the carbon tax goes,
00:11:54.840 I mean,
00:11:56.460 I've always been
00:11:58.040 quite vocal
00:11:59.300 about my concerns
00:12:00.960 of the policy itself
00:12:02.420 because we've never
00:12:03.520 actually seen any effort
00:12:04.900 coming from Ottawa
00:12:05.700 to assess
00:12:06.800 whether or not
00:12:07.960 the policy
00:12:08.540 will compromise
00:12:09.480 Canada's food security
00:12:10.900 and food affordability.
00:12:12.980 But based on our research
00:12:14.060 that we've done
00:12:14.600 the last year or so,
00:12:16.300 it is impacting
00:12:17.580 our agri-food sector's
00:12:19.160 competitiveness.
00:12:21.240 And now,
00:12:21.960 we're about two weeks away
00:12:23.060 from seeing a new tenant
00:12:24.140 in the White House,
00:12:26.240 Donald Trump,
00:12:27.400 who's actually going to focus
00:12:28.700 on competitiveness
00:12:29.520 a lot in the U.S.
00:12:31.280 So what are we doing here
00:12:33.160 on our side of the border
00:12:34.440 is a big question.
00:12:35.880 And we do believe
00:12:36.800 that the carbon tax policy
00:12:38.100 is not helping at all.
00:12:40.940 So I'm hoping,
00:12:42.040 and this is something
00:12:42.660 I've recommended
00:12:43.280 to Parliament many times,
00:12:45.260 I hope that at least,
00:12:46.840 the very least,
00:12:47.620 the next army
00:12:48.020 will pause
00:12:48.860 on the carbon tax
00:12:49.720 affecting the entire
00:12:50.900 food supply chain
00:12:51.780 so we can better assess
00:12:53.180 exactly what's at stake
00:12:54.940 here when it comes
00:12:56.280 to global trades
00:12:57.240 and competitiveness.
00:12:59.240 You know,
00:12:59.740 I appreciate your perspective
00:13:00.700 on the positive aspects
00:13:02.280 of the prorogation
00:13:03.680 of Parliament
00:13:04.200 just because I know
00:13:04.960 a lot of Canadians
00:13:05.620 are concerned about
00:13:06.360 or are upset about.
00:13:07.100 So it's good to get
00:13:07.800 that angle in it as well,
00:13:09.240 that there are
00:13:09.780 some positives.
00:13:10.480 I'm just trying
00:13:11.160 to be positive here.
00:13:13.840 No, but it's true.
00:13:14.760 I know that people
00:13:15.360 are upset
00:13:15.980 because nothing
00:13:17.640 really happened yesterday,
00:13:19.120 really,
00:13:19.740 when you think about it.
00:13:21.700 But I do think
00:13:22.880 that right now we're,
00:13:24.760 and I've actually dealt
00:13:25.860 with Senate
00:13:26.340 in the last couple of months,
00:13:27.420 I've dealt with MPs
00:13:29.540 and that place was a mess.
00:13:32.000 I mean,
00:13:32.220 that place was an utter mess.
00:13:34.180 It needed a reset
00:13:35.120 as the Prime Minister
00:13:36.020 said yesterday.
00:13:36.760 But I do believe
00:13:38.260 that we have a regime
00:13:39.920 right now
00:13:40.400 that not only
00:13:41.620 doesn't understand business,
00:13:43.000 but actually undermines
00:13:44.300 farming and agri-food
00:13:45.920 in general.
00:13:47.440 And that's a dangerous
00:13:48.160 place to go.
00:13:50.260 Just quickly,
00:13:51.200 we touched on him
00:13:51.860 a little bit,
00:13:52.400 Conservative leader
00:13:53.040 Pierre Polyev.
00:13:54.060 One of the things
00:13:54.900 that is near and dear
00:13:55.960 to his heart
00:13:56.580 is fiscal policy.
00:13:58.380 I personally think
00:13:59.060 that's one of the areas
00:13:59.860 that he's strongest in.
00:14:00.860 He takes complicated
00:14:02.360 economic ideas
00:14:03.260 and explains it
00:14:04.160 to a,
00:14:05.240 you know,
00:14:05.500 in layman terms
00:14:06.620 that everybody
00:14:07.000 can understand
00:14:07.700 and easily digest.
00:14:08.980 If he is the next
00:14:10.320 Prime Minister,
00:14:11.320 what would the impact
00:14:12.260 of a Conservative government
00:14:13.380 be for Canadians
00:14:14.460 specifically at the grocery store?
00:14:17.400 Well,
00:14:17.940 first of all,
00:14:18.640 it would be,
00:14:19.840 we would see
00:14:20.380 more economic growth.
00:14:22.400 That's the bottom line.
00:14:23.460 So I'm thinking
00:14:23.940 about economic capacity
00:14:25.660 for people to pay bills.
00:14:28.220 If you don't,
00:14:29.380 if you shrink your economy
00:14:30.820 right now,
00:14:31.800 that's exactly
00:14:32.700 what we're seeing.
00:14:34.080 The GDP per capita
00:14:35.820 shrinkage
00:14:36.720 is basically
00:14:37.620 making us poor.
00:14:39.940 We have less money
00:14:41.540 to spend.
00:14:42.840 And when you have
00:14:43.380 less money to spend,
00:14:44.380 everything gets more expensive.
00:14:46.040 So I think
00:14:46.740 that a
00:14:47.220 Pierre Polyev government
00:14:49.440 will focus more
00:14:51.120 on economic growth,
00:14:52.600 which will actually
00:14:53.960 bring more wealth
00:14:55.060 to the system,
00:14:56.360 allowing consumers
00:14:57.460 to have better jobs,
00:14:59.200 more money
00:14:59.760 in their pockets
00:15:00.560 when they show up
00:15:01.680 at the grocery store.
00:15:02.660 So you can do it
00:15:03.480 two ways,
00:15:04.360 either to increase revenues
00:15:05.680 for households
00:15:06.480 or decrease
00:15:07.840 any fiscal responsibilities
00:15:10.120 or the weight,
00:15:11.460 the pressure,
00:15:12.220 the fiscal pressures
00:15:13.060 that a lot of people
00:15:13.860 are under right now.
00:15:14.940 And that would be
00:15:16.160 my expectation
00:15:16.940 to see a
00:15:18.560 Pierre Polyevre government
00:15:20.560 focusing on those
00:15:21.960 fiscal pressures
00:15:23.240 that a lot of people
00:15:23.960 are under right now.
00:15:25.760 Sylvan, thank you so much.
00:15:27.500 My pleasure.
00:15:28.620 All right, everyone.
00:15:29.240 That's all we have time
00:15:30.080 for today.
00:15:30.620 Thank you so much
00:15:31.280 for being here.
00:15:32.660 I hope that you enjoyed.
00:15:33.800 Remember, this was
00:15:34.400 the first week
00:15:35.160 that we had
00:15:35.680 two Rachel Parker Show episodes
00:15:37.780 that really focused
00:15:38.580 on Canadian content.
00:15:40.300 Like I said,
00:15:40.740 we are still going to be
00:15:41.320 bringing some American content
00:15:42.460 into it
00:15:43.020 when it is particularly
00:15:44.320 interesting
00:15:44.840 or does have an obvious
00:15:45.960 Canadian connection.
00:15:47.320 But let me know
00:15:48.100 how you're enjoying
00:15:48.960 the new format
00:15:49.900 in the comment section below.
00:15:51.780 And also,
00:15:52.300 I'm especially curious
00:15:53.240 to hear what you all
00:15:54.020 think about
00:15:54.520 what Sylvan Charlebois,
00:15:56.120 the food professor,
00:15:57.040 had to say
00:15:57.600 about the positive things
00:15:59.260 about Parliament
00:16:00.360 being prorogued
00:16:01.200 with all those bills
00:16:02.520 dying on the House floor,
00:16:04.340 bills that really
00:16:04.900 would have had
00:16:05.360 a negative impact
00:16:06.220 on Canadian farmers.
00:16:07.460 So definitely
00:16:07.940 drop your comments
00:16:09.360 in the comment section below
00:16:10.460 and I'll be sure
00:16:11.200 to get to some of them.
00:16:12.380 Hope that you guys
00:16:12.800 have a great rest of your week.
00:16:14.240 God bless.