Juno News - NDP PAYS UP after failed attempt to CANCEL Conservative

00:00:00.000 By now, most of us are used to the left's attempts to cancel anyone on the right.

00:00:04.980 But now, the media and the NDP are being held to account for their bad faith tactics

00:00:10.780 when the court awarded legal cause to one woman who was viciously smeared back in 2019.

00:00:18.000 Kaelin Ford is taking her fight for justice all the way to the top. 1.00

00:00:22.740 She'll be joining us today to discuss.

00:00:24.860 I'm Rachel Parker and you're watching The Rachel Parker Show.

00:00:30.000 Hey everyone, I'm Rachel Parker. Welcome back to The Rachel Parker Show.

00:00:48.400 We are joined today by Kaelin Ford.

00:00:51.460 Kaelin Ford was a candidate for the United Conservative Party back in 2019.

00:00:56.280 But she decided to step down saying that her candidacy became a distraction from the party

00:01:02.080 after private messages with someone she considered a friend at the time were leaked.

00:01:07.900 The messages were very brief and taken out of context.

00:01:12.040 And the Alberta NDP, as well as many in the mainstream media,

00:01:16.040 began to viciously shame Kaelin Ford as a racist. 0.88

00:01:21.000 Kaelin Ford is certainly not a racist and she has been pushing for justice in the years since. 0.99

00:01:28.660 I'm so impressed with how long she's continued this fight as legal battles are very costly and stressful. 0.68

00:01:35.660 Now, the court, as I mentioned, has awarded her $22,000 in legal costs saying that the Alberta NDP

00:01:40.980 and the federal NDP will have to pay Kaelin Ford in her fight for justice.

00:01:45.980 Kaelin, thank you so much for being here today.

00:01:48.160 Why don't you just start by explaining this $22,000 in legal costs that you were awarded?

00:01:53.600 What was the court's rationale for providing you this allotment?

00:01:58.260 Thanks, Rachel.

00:01:58.900 And to be clear, this is just costs on an interlocutory decision.

00:02:03.080 So the real deal is going to be probably a month and a half long trial,

00:02:08.560 most likely in early 2026.

00:02:11.280 We'll get a trial date actually later this month.

00:02:13.040 So this was just on a decision that came about in the process of moving to trial.

00:02:19.060 And the issue here was that the Alberta NDP had participated in defamation against me in 2019.

00:02:26.880 I was running against their then Minister of Justice in a very competitive seat in a month before the election.

00:02:34.480 We can rehash all that if you want.

00:02:36.080 I think probably a lot of your viewers are familiar with the sort of broad liniments of the story.

00:02:41.180 But basically they sort of claimed that I was racist, hateful, and by implication morally unfit to stand for office and had to be removed from the ballot.

00:02:52.080 And so I wanted to name them in my defamation claim.

00:02:56.440 They're one of 14 or 15 parties that I named.

00:02:59.360 But I encountered a problem, which is that the Alberta NDP doesn't actually exist.

00:03:04.060 So even when it was the governing party of Alberta, it had no legal personality.

00:03:08.560 It could not sue or be sued.

00:03:11.000 It was not incorporated as a society or as a not-for-profit company or anything else.

00:03:17.180 And so we did some research, my lawyer and I, and we tried to figure out, well, under what auspices were they even registered as a political party?

00:03:26.960 How do they open bank accounts?

00:03:28.280 How do they enter into contracts?

00:03:30.220 And we found, with the help of Elections Alberta, that they registered in 1977 pursuant to a trust deed, where the trustee was the Alberta New Democratic Party Foundation.

00:03:41.240 So we thought, aha, we can sue the trustee, but we couldn't, because the Alberta New Democratic Party Foundation also is non-existent, doesn't exist.

00:03:50.280 So we had no one to sue.

00:03:52.180 But then we looked at the Alberta NDP's constitution, in which it says that it is established as a section of the federal NDP.

00:04:00.460 And the federal NDP does have an incorporated association that can be sued.

00:04:05.080 And the federal party's constitution, likewise, acknowledges this kind of reciprocal relationship, where it is deprimed, ultimately, over the provincial parties.

00:04:17.700 So we sued the federal party.

00:04:19.840 And the federal party didn't like that.

00:04:22.180 They said, we have nothing to do with the provincial sections.

00:04:24.860 They operate autonomously.

00:04:26.540 It's not our problem.

00:04:28.100 And so they filed for a summary dismissal.

00:04:31.340 And this became a very protracted, extremely convoluted matter, right before we went before a judge to hear this application for summary dismissal.

00:04:45.340 And on our side, we had asked if the court would be willing to provide us some direction as to who is the party, the liable party that we can name.

00:04:52.740 Hours before we go before the judge, the Alberta NDP, or their sort of, yeah, I suppose their lawyer, even though they're a non-party, they said, look, we can come to a solution.

00:05:05.940 We will name and indemnify an individual to stand on our behalf.

00:05:11.640 So we would go before the judge and we're like, you know what, if we can do that, that would be fine with us.

00:05:16.420 We don't care who we sue as long as we have someone to sue and they're properly indemnified.

00:05:19.940 And so on that basis, the judge said, all right, that sounds good.

00:05:25.860 In that case, you're discontinuing against the federal party and I owe them costs.

00:05:32.100 The federal party claimed that they had spent over $90,000 to that point to attend, you know, a one hour hearing and a 12 minute questioning and to put together one 12 page brief.

00:05:43.780 So they, which is a massive, I think, massive inflation of their legal costs.

00:05:50.420 And they stuck that with me with that.

00:05:52.860 And I think they were, my suspicion, not proven just based on the circumstantial evidence is they were trying to prejudice me against continuing the litigation because obviously I couldn't afford that.

00:06:02.500 Um, you know, you know, the defamation had rendered me like jobless and I was already struggling financially.

00:06:09.380 So, uh, and then the Alberta party never named that representative and they didn't respond to us when we tried to look for that person's name for many months.

00:06:19.300 And so finally we went before a judge again and appealed this and said, look, we still don't have a party to name.

00:06:26.460 They reneged on their agreement that they made before the applications judge.

00:06:30.860 And also this cost award against me is not reasonable, right?

00:06:35.380 That's, that's not justifiable based on the case law that we have.

00:06:39.280 So that judge overturned everything and said, actually, um, the, you know, the federal party's application for summary dismissal is refused.

00:06:48.140 There is reason to believe that they may have some, at least vicarious liability here.

00:06:52.680 They reversed the cost award, gave me back my money, um, and told the, the Alberta NDP, get your house in order.

00:06:59.740 You have 30 days name and properly indemnify someone.

00:07:03.020 So they finally did that.

00:07:05.060 And this cost award is just on that.

00:07:06.980 So it's, this is solely on the question of who to name and, um, it, it, it was kind of enhanced costs because the justice bound that the parties, the federal and provincial NDP, but especially the provincial NDP had engaged in lit, litigation misconduct that needlessly delayed these proceedings.

00:07:26.020 So we're now more than four years into these proceedings and we've basically just figured out who to name on behalf of the Alberta NDP.

00:07:32.040 Wow, that is shocking behavior on the part of both the federal NDP branch and the provincial branch here in Alberta.

00:07:42.280 I don't think my viewers will be too shocked to hear that.

00:07:44.840 When you were told that you were going to have to pay $90,000 in costs to the federal NDP, I know you said that you think that they were hoping to do this so that you would simply be too discouraged to continue going.

00:07:56.280 But at that point, you know, did it register with you, you know, maybe this is something that I can't continue with.

00:08:01.400 I can't keep funding this legal case.

00:08:03.220 I can't fund these costs.

00:08:04.440 Or at that point where you like, this is now so high that I have no choice but to continue.

00:08:10.840 Yeah.

00:08:11.420 And, and so to clarify, I was ordered to pay 45% of their full indemnity.

00:08:16.480 So it ended up being about $45,000 in the end that I had to put up.

00:08:21.280 Um, but again, you know, the, the context here, I am the primary breadwinner for my two small children.

00:08:28.960 Um, I was rendered unemployable by this defamation.

00:08:32.300 Like no employer would consider looking at me.

00:08:34.680 I was a reputational liability to anyone who associated with me.

00:08:38.480 And I was now fighting, I was fighting for a restraining order against one of the people involved who had continued sort of stalking and harassing me thereafter.

00:08:47.800 Um, I was now ordered to, you know, so I'm like, just, you know, the amount of stress was, um, very significant, I think is an understatement.

00:08:57.120 Um, and then I felt essentially like I was tricked, you know, like the, um, very much seemed to me like the provincial party lied before an applications judge in order to frustrate these proceedings.

00:09:09.520 Um, and then I was being punished for having been tricked.

00:09:13.080 And, um, that's the point at which I think the last shred of my belief in a just world evaporated.

00:09:23.080 And I thought, you know, like, look, serious depression will do weird things to your perceptions, right?

00:09:30.100 You, you end up with a very attenuated view of the future and you think things will never change.

00:09:35.860 So that's the point at which I was like, there's no justice in this world.

00:09:39.020 The best I can hope for is justice in the next.

00:09:40.900 And like nearly walked in front of a bus that night.

00:09:44.140 Like I was just like, I'm done.

00:09:45.680 There's, there's nothing for me in this world.

00:09:48.220 Um, so yeah, the impact was pretty devastating.

00:09:50.660 And, um, that's, but, you know, this is what you go through, I think, as an individual litigant,

00:09:56.560 uh, going after, you know, much more deep pocketed defendants who don't want to see this matter go to trial.

00:10:05.120 You said after that ruling came down, your last hope in a just world evaporated.

00:10:09.700 Do you still feel that way today?

00:10:13.300 Um, for me, I think my understanding of hope is that it's not something to look for in this world in general.

00:10:20.080 So, um, I think the hope for us human beings lies, it's something that we can look to after this life in this world is just a kind of pilgrimage.

00:10:33.080 Um, and so, you know, like my philosophical disposition is we can certainly hope for justice in this world, but, you know, it's probably going to be frustrated in one way or another.

00:10:46.520 So we should probably try to fix our eyes on eternity.

00:10:51.000 So you said that the Alberta NDP, this has been going on for four years now, they finally named the individual that you are able to go after for this defamation case.

00:11:00.460 So what are the next steps?

00:11:02.100 What, what is currently ongoing in this process?

00:11:04.420 Yeah, so they named their executive director, uh, Garrett Spellesey, and, uh, we've started discovery with him.

00:11:13.100 So we've have a pretty tight timeline to try to conclude the discovery because this is the last piece of the puzzle.

00:11:18.540 Um, we have mediation with all of the parties, all of the, all of the defendants have requested mediation.

00:11:24.160 So we have mediation scheduled for the spring.

00:11:26.300 And like I said, we'll get a trial date later this month in December.

00:11:29.400 So that will most likely be something like a five, six week trial in the first quarter of 2026 is what we're hoping for.

00:11:36.760 So all told this process, by the time it we've gone through trial, it will have been nearly, well, goodness, it, yeah, it'll be like seven years that this will have been ongoing.

00:11:51.180 That's assuming no appeals, right?

00:11:54.160 With this case specifically with the Alberta NDP, it's my understanding that you sued a number also of media outlets for defamation.

00:12:01.960 I know that in some cases there's, there's been settlements.

00:12:04.720 So I think initially you said there was about 14 or 15 people who were named.

00:12:08.160 What, what are the status of those other people that you were, that you named for defamation?

00:12:13.500 Yep.

00:12:13.720 So, uh, the kind of lead defendant was Karim Gibraj who initiated the defamation.

00:12:20.560 Um, and, um, the media were.

00:12:24.160 I think due to some confirmation bias, perhaps all too eager to do away with their normal due diligence.

00:12:31.720 And listen to him, uh, and sort of collaborate with him.

00:12:36.320 So he was noted in default years ago.

00:12:38.620 Uh, he was found in contempt, uh, twice in this case and once in a collateral restraining order action.

00:12:44.820 Uh, so he was found in contempt of court, recited in contempt three times, all told, and eventually his defense was struck.

00:12:51.880 So he's in default.

00:12:52.720 So basically he's effectively like in lay terms, guilty, um, and a cost apportionment will follow following the trial.

00:13:00.940 And then, uh, Duncan Kinney and Progress Alberta, not to be confused with Press Progress, which remains in the lawsuit.

00:13:08.920 They settled out.

00:13:09.940 So Duncan Kinney is the executive director of Progress Alberta, which was a registered third party advertiser during the 2019 election.

00:13:15.820 So basically advertising on behalf of the NDP or against the UCP, uh, they were also engaged.

00:13:22.720 They kind of got involved publicly in defaming me about 10 days after the fact, um, they went after Danielle Smith for having me on her radio show.

00:13:32.140 So they launched a petition against her, you know, threatened to target her advertisers for giving me a platform.

00:13:38.260 Um, and they've just settled out for a quarter million, uh, what was it maybe like two months ago now?

00:13:46.180 So all of the other defendants, a few of them have made offers to settle, but those are still being negotiated.

00:13:51.400 Um, but I think we'll be going to trial against the major defendants, which would be the Alberta NDP, the CBC, Toronto Star, and the Broadband Institute, which runs Press Progress.

00:14:02.680 You, as I mentioned in my opening statement, were like so viciously canceled.

00:14:07.280 You've even just talked about some of the ways, um, you know, organizations were going after podcasters simply for having you on their show, for giving you a platform, trying to get their advertisers canceled.

00:14:17.360 It's such a textbook case of a vicious, vicious canceling.

00:14:20.640 I feel like since 2019, the world has changed so much and I don't know that what happened to you could happen in today's culture when we're so tired of the restrictions on our speech and people being canceled over really nothing.

00:14:36.780 Do you think that what happened to you back in 2019 could happen today?

00:14:42.960 Um, I'm sure that there are some people out there who have experienced something analogous more recently, but I think we've definitely, the wave has probably crested, right?

00:14:54.260 I think we're, I think we're over the peak of the cancel culture, sort of mass psychosis thing that was happening from, you know, 2018 to 2020, maybe, uh, which is good.

00:15:06.140 Um, but I, I think it's valuable to recognize that these phenomena, they, they did destroy lives.

00:15:12.320 Um, you know, you have a number of instances of people who did actually end their lives, um, or who've been sort of permanently damaged in some way, uh, by what they went through, whether it's through post traumatic stress or severe depression or the breakdown of relationships.

00:15:30.140 Um, and, you know, and I think that there was also, there was a real cost socially, right?

00:15:35.140 So it doesn't just affect those individuals.

00:15:37.140 Um, in my case, it affected all of my would be constituents, uh, who were deprived of the opportunity to vote for the person whom they nominated to represent them in that election.

00:15:46.140 Um, but you know, what, what happened to me was basically, you know, a selective leak of excerpts of a private conversation that were deceptively edited and presented and so on.

00:15:56.140 So it kind of, it, it erodes the boundary between the public and private spheres.

00:16:02.140 It undermines social trust when the media will just sort of go along with it.

00:16:07.140 When, you know, someone says I'm an informant, someone's committed a thought crime, you know, ruin their lives for me.

00:16:11.140 Um, it, it, it, it erodes social trust when you feel like you're always looking over your shoulder, wondering who's listening, who's going to inform on you to the state broadcaster or whatever, um, where that's a credible fear.

00:16:24.140 I don't think that's a healthy society.

00:16:26.140 So it destroys trust and openness, which is the basis for social cooperation and social peace.

00:16:32.140 Um, you know, it chills free inquiry again, when you feel like you can't ask questions in good faith on matters of legitimate public interest for fear of being misrepresented somehow.

00:16:42.140 Uh, it, you know, it suffocates your ability to seek truth and the whole cancel culture phenomenon really incentivized, um, you know, a rush to judgment, a rush to outrage, you know, the least charitable interpretations of strangers' motivations.

00:16:57.140 Um, it encourages people to see each other as enemies.

00:17:01.140 So like, these are incredibly socially corrosive things that cancel culture was playing on and that its proponents were playing on.

00:17:09.140 And I think that there should be consequences for people who do that.

00:17:12.140 Right.

00:17:13.140 Like the, the, the proponents, again, of these tactics always say, there's no such thing as cancel culture.

00:17:18.140 It's just consequence culture, like, okay, so let's hold you account accountable for what you've done.

00:17:24.140 And, you know, yes, it's going to be a very long process.

00:17:27.140 And, but at least, you know, you are going to have the benefit of, um, of a fair sort of trial that I never got.

00:17:35.140 Um, but I think ultimately there, there, there does have to be accountability.

00:17:39.140 And I like to think that by pursuing this case and seeing it through to the end, that it will disincentivize this kind of behavior in the future.

00:17:48.140 That these actors will not be quite so cavalier before they ruin someone's life over, you know, an anonymous accusation.

00:17:57.140 Well, very well said, Kaylin.

00:17:59.140 Sounds like there's someone at their door.

00:18:00.140 I know you have another meeting.

00:18:01.140 I think in part, the culture has changed due to people like you who are pushing back.

00:18:06.140 So I thank you for that.

00:18:07.140 And I know that we'll be following your case with interest.

00:18:10.140 Thanks so much, Rachel.

00:18:12.140 Okay.

00:18:13.140 That was Kaylin Ford updating us on her defamation suit.

00:18:16.140 You guys are probably pretty familiar with her.

00:18:18.140 I've had her on my old show, the Alberta Round before to talk about the work that she is doing opening charter schools here in Alberta.

00:18:25.140 So certainly a very interesting person.

00:18:28.140 Um, you know, very academic.

00:18:30.140 I really enjoy speaking with Kaylin.

00:18:31.140 Next, we are moving to our very own local solution.

00:18:35.140 Our own local celebrity, Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayer Federation.

00:18:39.140 Chris Sims is joining us today to discuss her legendary testimony at the Canadian Heritage Committee.

00:18:46.140 I suspect some of you caught a few of those clips yesterday.

00:18:50.140 Chris, thank you so much for being here today.

00:18:52.140 I know you've been a regular on the show, but I feel like I'm in such awe of you today after that amazing performance at committee.

00:18:59.140 I imagined sometimes that you would have said really similar things as a longtime journalist who is opposed to government interference in journalism.

00:19:08.140 So I was kind of channeling that whole thing while I was giving my presentation to the committee.

00:19:13.140 And the Heritage Committee, of course, is examining whether or not we should defund the CBC or if we need a state broadcaster.

00:19:20.140 They don't put it in quite those terms.

00:19:22.140 But that's why at the Taxpayers Federation, I flew out and delivered that statement and then took questions.

00:19:27.140 We actually went through three rounds of questions.

00:19:29.140 Usually it's just two rounds.

00:19:31.140 And by the time they went to round three, I was like, oh, do they have some explosive story?

00:19:34.140 No, they didn't.

00:19:35.140 They just said a lot of silly things like, well, I like listening to CBC radio one in the morning.

00:19:40.140 What do you mean we can't spend one point four billion dollars on it?

00:19:43.140 So I think it was generally well received and it was good to be able to point out what a waste of money the CBC is, how few viewers they actually do have in reality, and also why it's wrong for journalists to be paid by the government.

00:19:57.140 Well, you certainly held your own and did a very good job.

00:20:00.140 Very good job. Did you feel like I know you said you went through three rounds of questions.

00:20:03.140 I feel like that would have been a little bit anxiety inducing.

00:20:06.140 Did you feel like the questions were all reasonable and fair or did you feel like it was a hostile environment?

00:20:12.140 I know a few I guess it was actually probably just last week or the week before.

00:20:15.140 Lauren Southern was at a committee, a different committee, of course, when they were discussing foreign interference. 0.73

00:20:21.140 And that was like so hostile to watch.

00:20:24.140 Lauren Southern obviously, you know, very intelligent, was able to hold her own similar to you yesterday. 0.95

00:20:28.140 But it definitely felt like the Liberal MPs, you know, they're really there.

00:20:32.140 They've had their staff working on this for weeks trying to come up with those gotcha questions.

00:20:36.140 Typically, they felt fine.

00:20:37.140 Did you feel like that yesterday?

00:20:38.140 Did you feel like they were trying to trying to get you?

00:20:40.140 Or did you feel like they were actually just trying to get information?

00:20:43.140 Definitely a hostile environment for sure.

00:20:45.140 They don't like watching the Canadian Taxpayers Federation walk through those committee doors on a good day.

00:20:50.140 As you've probably seen, my friend and colleague Franco Terrazzano, he's put the boots to them over and over again about things like their ridiculous spending,

00:20:57.140 why they need to get that under control, why they need to balance the budget, all those sort of important topics.

00:21:01.140 And also another colleague of mine, Devin Drover, at the same time on the same day was just down the hall from me arguing that we need to scrap the carbon tax.

00:21:10.140 And so anytime, especially sitting politicians see the Taxpayers Federation walk through the door, they aren't happy.

00:21:17.140 But I don't care because they work for us, not the other way around.

00:21:21.140 A backbench member of parliament, regardless of party, pulls in $200,000 a year with pretty much all of their expenses covered,

00:21:29.140 including things like travel, paying their electricity bill, a lot of their food here in the national capital.

00:21:34.140 So they're living pretty high on the hog.

00:21:36.140 So I don't really care about their feelings.

00:21:38.140 As far as the hostile questions go, the one that your audience might find funny is that they tried doing kind of a gotcha-ish question of,

00:21:46.140 well, you do interviews on True North.

00:21:49.140 And it's like, yeah, we know they're posted on the Internet.

00:21:52.140 Like, this isn't a secret.

00:21:54.140 And he's like, well, how can you do that if you want responsible journalism?

00:21:58.140 And I hope you guys do eventually have the clip.

00:22:00.140 I think I said, you know, we have responsible journalists everywhere, including True North, Western Standard, Rebel.

00:22:06.140 And there are some responsible journalists still left over in our old stomping ground, Rachel, in the mainstream media.

00:22:12.140 The point is they shouldn't take money from the government.

00:22:15.140 And you should be able to trust what they say.

00:22:17.140 We also brought up the fact that isn't raised very often is that trust in media has plummeted here in Canada.

00:22:24.140 Around 62% of Canadians now believe that journalists are actively trying to mislead them with statements they know to be false.

00:22:32.140 It's brutal.

00:22:33.140 And we think one of the big reasons for that is because, of course, we have the CBC, which is state journalism.

00:22:38.140 That is government funded journalism.

00:22:40.140 And we also have so many on the mainstream media now that are also on government payroll.

00:22:45.140 That has got to affect people's trust in journalism.

00:22:47.140 I can't believe that you do interviews with those horrible racists over here at True North, Chris.

00:22:54.140 What do you think, Nane?

00:22:55.140 It was so funny.

00:22:56.140 It's just like, you know, we know our faces out there on the Internet, right?

00:22:59.140 So, yeah, it was really weird.

00:23:01.140 It was definitely kind of a cancel-y thing.

00:23:03.140 But the question was so poorly worded that it didn't really matter.

00:23:06.140 It was actually funny.

00:23:07.140 I just had Caelan Ford on the show ahead of you.

00:23:10.140 And obviously she is fighting back on her infamous canceling of 2019 very effectively, I think.

00:23:17.140 And Caelan and I were just talking about it.

00:23:19.140 I don't really think that, you know, the world is accepting Canada.

00:23:22.140 Culture is accepting of these sort of cancellations anymore.

00:23:25.140 I think that we've really kind of passed that and people just don't have the time or energy for it.

00:23:29.140 Everyone seems to kind of understand that except for, I would assume, Liberal MPs.

00:23:33.140 We do have a couple clips of your committee testimony.

00:23:36.140 Here is one of you going scorched earth on the CBC.

00:23:40.140 Take a look at this.

00:23:41.140 We are here to speak for thousands of hardworking taxpayers who want to defund the CBC.

00:23:47.140 This needs to happen for three important reasons.

00:23:50.140 The cost of the CBC.

00:23:52.140 Nearly nobody is watching the CBC.

00:23:54.140 And journalists should not be paid by the government.

00:23:58.140 First, the cost.

00:24:00.140 The CBC is getting $1.4 billion from taxpayers this year.

00:24:05.140 That money could instead pay the salaries of around 7,000 paramedics and 7,000 police officers.

00:24:12.140 That money could instead pay for groceries for about 85,000 Canadian families for a year.

00:24:19.140 Instead, taxpayers are paying $1.4 billion so the CBC can hand out huge bonuses, get microscopic ratings, and overpay its out-of-touch executives.

00:24:31.140 CBC CEO Catherine Tate refused to tell this committee if she will take a severance when she leaves the state broadcaster.

00:24:38.140 Tate considers that to be a personal matter, end quote.

00:24:42.140 It's not personal if it's taxpayers' money.

00:24:45.140 Wow.

00:24:46.140 Amazing.

00:24:47.140 Amazing.

00:24:48.140 So well said.

00:24:49.140 I have to ask, you really laid into the fact a few times during your committee testimony that, like, no one's watching the CBC.

00:24:55.140 You just described it in that clip as a microscopic audience.

00:24:59.140 How did the committee handle receiving that news?

00:25:02.140 I think a lot of them, so I'm not trying to be ageist, but a lot of them are a bit older than us.

00:25:08.140 So they're still kind of stuck in this mentality of, oh, well, let's see, we have four channels on our bunny-eared television and that's what you tune into for the news.

00:25:16.140 That has changed so much that when we got, so here at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, we filed an FOI and we obtained documents showing the supper hour news ratings.

00:25:27.140 And legitimately, I had to recheck and recheck them and talk about it with our team.

00:25:33.140 They're so small, Rachel.

00:25:35.140 So let's start in the East, just to be fair.

00:25:38.140 In Toronto, their audience, like how many people on average are watching the six o'clock supper hour local news?

00:25:45.140 It was around 48,000 people.

00:25:48.140 That may seem like a lot of people, but for the population of Toronto, that is 0.7%.

00:25:56.140 Like it is an astonishingly low number.

00:25:59.140 And that's for Toronto.

00:26:01.140 Okay.

00:26:02.140 Calgary, you have to get like a telescope to look at this.

00:26:06.140 It is 0.2% of the population of Calgary are tuning into their CBC six, six o'clock supper hour news.

00:26:15.140 So, you know, if the CBC spends one, it takes in $1.4 billion from taxpayers in the year and nearly nobody is watching it.

00:26:24.140 Is it still a waste of money?

00:26:26.140 Yeah.

00:26:27.140 It sure as heck is.

00:26:28.140 Why are we doing this?

00:26:29.140 Yeah.

00:26:30.140 Those numbers are shockingly low.

00:26:32.140 True North pulls similar numbers on our video podcasts at times.

00:26:36.140 And I can tell you that we certainly do not have access to the same resources as CBC news.

00:26:43.140 No.

00:26:44.140 Just to put a pin on like, like it's such amount of money.

00:26:46.140 Like Catherine Tate is paid so much money. 0.99

00:26:49.140 So roughly $500,000, give or take Canadian because anybody who's following her, she is CEO level seven.

00:26:56.140 Okay.

00:26:57.140 If you know what that means, as far as the grid goes for federal bureaucrat payment for Crown Corporation, you're trying to track her down.

00:27:02.140 She's level seven folks. 1.00

00:27:04.140 We have that from the CBC itself.

00:27:06.140 $500,000.

00:27:08.140 That is more than the president of the United States is paid.

00:27:11.140 Like that's crazy pants. 1.00

00:27:13.140 There is no way that some bureaucrat of a state broadcaster should be paid that kind of money.

00:27:19.140 Well, I'm certainly glad that we have you guys to dig into this.

00:27:22.140 I have to ask, I know you often kind of, you know, you don't want to weigh too much into your personal opinion, but with Catherine Tate and her not telling the committee whether she'll take a severance when she leaves.

00:27:31.140 Like, is this someone who is just in it for the money?

00:27:34.140 Because that's certainly how it strikes me.

00:27:36.140 So what I would say is all of her performances at this committee have definitely bolstered the case to defund the CBC.

00:27:45.140 And it's not just because of the numbers, although the numbers are appalling.

00:27:49.140 It's the attitude.

00:27:50.140 It is just rolling off of her of being entitled to entitlements.

00:27:54.140 Like, for example, she was saying things, again, I'm paraphrasing in one of her more recent committee appearances.

00:28:00.140 Things like, oh, well, the people of Canada would be upset if the president of the CBC was not at the opening ceremonies for the Olympic games.

00:28:10.140 It's like, what?

00:28:11.140 Really?

00:28:12.140 She even said something like, if not for the CBC, the language Inuktitut would not exist in Canada.

00:28:19.140 That is so weird, because quite often the CBC will try to hide behind this idea that, oh, well, what about Indigenous programming?

00:28:29.140 You need us for Indigenous programming, don't you?

00:28:31.140 Well, actually, if you look at the numbers that were dug up by Blacklock's Reporter, which is an outstanding journalism organization that does not take money from the government.

00:28:39.140 They're spending more money, Rachel, like more than twice as much on their executive bonuses than they do on Indigenous programming.

00:28:49.140 APTN, which is run out of Winnipeg, which takes a tiny fraction of taxpayers' money for like a one event per year.

00:28:56.140 All the rest is privately funded.

00:28:58.140 They do way better for Indigenous programming.

00:29:01.140 And last I checked, I think they broadcast in like 12 separate Indigenous languages.

00:29:06.140 So they do not need the CBC from Toronto to come in and save Indigenous culture.

00:29:12.140 That just gets my hair standing on end.

00:29:14.140 One of the things that you did at the committee testimony that I really appreciated is you kept reminding the committee and the MPs that it was taxpayers' money.

00:29:23.140 They would be like, well, you know, federal subsidies, and you're like, no, no, this is money paid by the Canadian taxpayer, by people.

00:29:30.140 Like you and me and all of you watching at home, you are going to work every day.

00:29:34.140 You're waking up at 6 a.m., driving to work in the dark on the snowy icy roads so that Catherine Tate can go to the Olympics opening ceremony.

00:29:44.140 And she thinks that you'll be upset if she's not there.

00:29:49.140 I can tell you for a fact, no one cares, Catherine Tate.

00:29:52.140 You are so out of touch.

00:29:54.140 You are just as out of touch as Chrystia Freeland, who said this week that Canadian mothers are grateful that we can now afford rotisserie chickens at the grocery store because those prepared meals really make all that much of a difference.

00:30:08.140 Let me tell you, the nights that you're eating a rotisserie chicken at home, you're not celebrating like how you're like, oh, sorry.

00:30:13.140 Sorry, guys.

00:30:14.140 Didn't really have time for dinner today. 0.96

00:30:16.140 Sorry that this meal is so lame and crap. 0.96

00:30:18.140 Like it's so out of touch. 0.99

00:30:19.140 So ridiculous. 0.98

00:30:20.140 These people have no idea what they're talking about. 0.99

00:30:22.140 And so I just go ahead.

00:30:24.140 The idea of the GST off of it, which is fine.

00:30:26.140 I'll take a tax cut any day.

00:30:27.140 That's fine, even if they screw it up.

00:30:29.140 And frankly, only the Trudeau government could screw up a tax cut in this spectacular a fashion.

00:30:34.140 Like that was kind of amazing.

00:30:35.140 Because they don't know how to give them.

00:30:37.140 They don't know how to give tax cuts.

00:30:38.140 It's amazing.

00:30:39.140 They kind of own the podium on that, eh?

00:30:41.140 But that was so insulting for her to say that, Chrystia Freeland to say that, because one, she can't balance the budget. 1.00

00:30:48.140 Like she has no idea.

00:30:49.140 She even said we're in a, what is it?

00:30:51.140 We're a vibe session.

00:30:53.140 Yeah, Canadians aren't, Canadians are not actually, your pocketbooks aren't hurting.

00:30:59.140 It's just for some reason you don't get that the economy is good, you guys.

00:31:02.140 This is the best economy ever.

00:31:04.140 I don't know why you guys at home aren't understanding that.

00:31:06.140 Canadians just don't seem to be getting it.

00:31:08.140 So she said it's a vibe session because Canadians, you know, we have the greatest economy of all time.

00:31:12.140 But Canadians, they're just feeling down about it for some reason.

00:31:15.140 Which is super embarrassing because she's a finance minister of a G7 country.

00:31:20.140 She's not a friend of yours that you're gossiping with over coffee at the mall. 0.62

00:31:23.140 And she said, we're in a vibe session. 0.98

00:31:25.140 So silly. 0.80

00:31:26.140 But to the point on the roast chicken, when she actually said this is a gift to mothers around Christmas. 0.98

00:31:31.140 Okay. Number one, the GST on a roast chicken with seasoning roughly will cost you around 45 cents, 50 cents, depending on what you're getting it for.

00:31:40.140 And for her to say that while she's a cabinet minister, pulling in $300,000 per year with most of her expenses covered. 0.99

00:31:49.140 Like they're just not getting it.

00:31:52.140 Saying to mothers that receiving the ability to pay for rotisserie chicken is like a Christmas gift would be like your husband or your family buying you like cooking ware for Christmas.

00:32:03.140 It's like, do you know that like I have value as like more than someone who prepares food for you?

00:32:09.140 Like it's just, it's so like, it's like the worst thing that you could receive.

00:32:12.140 Okay. Some of you at home are like, Oh, I like getting cooked.

00:32:14.140 Most women do not want cookware for Christmas. 1.00

00:32:16.140 We make a lot of food for our family.

00:32:18.140 We want something that we're going to enjoy, like nice jewelry or like a massage.

00:32:22.140 Do not get your wives and mothers for cookware unless they've specifically asked for it. 1.00

00:32:26.140 That's what that type of gift feels like to me.

00:32:28.140 Yes. It should be a treat for sure.

00:32:30.140 Yes.

00:32:31.140 So moving back to the committee testimony, I wanted to play my favorite moment when you were asked about CBC being the keeper of Canadian culture.

00:32:41.140 Take a look.

00:32:42.140 So for those that would say, well, it's required for Canadian culture, for the preservation of Canadian culture, how would you respond to that?

00:32:50.140 I find that odd because there is a lot of private media companies and there is a lot of other forms of entertainment and news that Canadians are choosing to watch and to listen to and to share.

00:33:04.140 And the idea that a government funded broadcaster is going to be the keeper of Canadian culture is kind of insulting to people's intelligence and their own choice.

00:33:15.140 If I don't watch the CBC, does that mean that I'm not Canadian? That's absurd.

00:33:19.140 That's absurd.

00:33:20.140 So no, Canadians are choosing to not watch the CBC.

00:33:23.140 So ergo, we don't need it and we should defund it.

00:33:27.140 So good.

00:33:28.140 So legendary.

00:33:30.140 If I don't watch the CBC, does that mean I'm not Canadian?

00:33:35.140 No, that's absurd.

00:33:37.140 That should be like a quote written on everyone's walls.

00:33:40.140 What was the reaction in the room when you said this?

00:33:42.140 The Conservatives liked it.

00:33:44.140 The NDP got uncomfortable because they actually, you know, I may disagree with a lot of their policies, but they do kind of have firm principles on stuff.

00:33:51.140 Whereas the Liberals were just like, oh, why did she say that?

00:33:55.140 And this again leads back to my opening point off the top of the interview is that I think a lot of times there's this kind of holdover of like, you know, welcome everybody to hockey night in Canada.

00:34:05.140 You've only got three channels to pick from and we're it. You have to tune into the CBC for the weather report or the hockey news or to find out what's going on.

00:34:13.140 And I think it's this strange holdover of like, well, without the CBC, who would have delivered you Mr. Dress Up?

00:34:20.140 Or, you know, where would have Peter Zosky worked right?

00:34:23.140 Going back to some of, you know, the older programming that was on the CBC.

00:34:26.140 And that's all fine and good.

00:34:28.140 We're not saying that you need to take all of the archives of the CBC and throw them into an incinerator, put them at the National Archives so people can access them.

00:34:36.140 Further, the CBC independent of taxpayers money generates around 400 to 500 million ish dollars per year.

00:34:46.140 That's nothing to sneeze at.

00:34:48.140 They could still do their little radio thing.

00:34:50.140 They could still have a big digital archive if they manage their money well and they don't blow it on bonuses and overpaying their executives.

00:34:58.140 And so for them to say, oh, well, what would happen to Canadian culture?

00:35:01.140 That is such a self-centered attitude.

00:35:04.140 Again, we have lots of people in Canada, obviously the majority of them, who are not watching the CBC anymore.

00:35:11.140 Are we going to revoke their citizenship?

00:35:13.140 That was super weird.

00:35:15.140 Yeah, very well put.

00:35:17.140 And I especially liked your point that Canadians, we will pay for the content that we want to watch.

00:35:22.140 Most of us have Netflix subscriptions.

00:35:24.140 Some of you might even be able to afford Disney Plus now, you know, that we have this amazing tax break from the Liberal government.

00:35:30.140 I think you can start that again.

00:35:32.140 Prime video.

00:35:33.140 A lot of people pay for the content that they like, and I think that will continue.

00:35:36.140 So, Chris, thank you for being here today.

00:35:38.140 I just feel so honored to be in the presence of such a celebrity as yourself.

00:35:43.140 I know you honestly would have said very similar things.

00:35:46.140 I was kind of channeling you and Sheila and a lot of different independent journalists there and trying to speak up for us.

00:35:51.140 Well, I feel like I was very well represented that committee yesterday.

00:35:54.140 So thank you very much.

00:35:55.140 I know my audience will appreciate it as well.

00:35:57.140 Thank you.

00:35:58.140 Okay, guys.

00:35:59.140 And now I have to turn to the comment section because I have been embroiled in a very significant controversy.

00:36:08.140 And, you know, I've taken a few weeks to think about it and I think that it's finally time that I address it.

00:36:15.140 So this is something that I have been seeing, I believe, from the same person under a number of my videos, a comment that has been left under a number of my videos on YouTube.

00:36:25.140 And I received a lengthy email about it the other day.

00:36:28.140 So I'm going to address this controversy right now for the very first time on the Rachel Parker Show.

00:36:35.140 Mrs. Parker, please, please, please explain to me why you do not use the word woman and consistently replace the word woman with the word woman when you talk.

00:36:49.140 Both Megan Murphy and Linda blade used both the word woman and the word woman throughout your interview with them using as I and most people do woman for singular and woman for plural.

00:37:06.140 Meanwhile, as you always do, you used only the woman even when you were referring to multiple woman or two women in general.

00:37:17.140 You use only the word woman for both singular and plural.

00:37:23.140 You presumably have a reason for this.

00:37:26.140 Please, please, please explain to me why you refuse to use the word woman. 1.00

00:37:32.140 I have asked you this question several times over the last year or so.

00:37:38.140 Please answer me.

00:37:39.140 I really would like to know what your reason is, please.

00:37:43.140 Thank you.

00:37:44.140 Thank you.

00:37:45.140 Now it's true.

00:37:46.140 I have seen this comment left under my videos before.

00:37:50.140 And after giving it significant thought, I have to admit, I think the reason is simply that I do not enunciate my words enough.

00:37:59.140 This is not something that I was doing intentionally.

00:38:02.140 I apologize that it has caused at least one of you such distress.

00:38:07.140 So in the future, I will do my best to enunciate the word woman and woman so you can clearly hear the distinctions between the two words.

00:38:17.140 I have a tendency to speak rather quickly.

00:38:20.140 And perhaps that is why my enunciation is not exactly as specific as some of you would like it to be.

00:38:26.140 But alas, there are always improvements that we can all make.

00:38:30.140 So I hope that I have finally addressed this controversy once and for all.

00:38:36.140 Okay, everyone.

00:38:37.140 That's all we have time for on today's show.

00:38:39.140 I should also mention I ran into one of you guys when I was out shopping in Central Alberta this week.

00:38:45.140 And you said you always tell us to leave comments.

00:38:48.140 I don't know where to leave the comments.

00:38:49.140 I know that some of you guys watch the video on the True North website.

00:38:53.140 Actually, I have to click on the video where the part where it takes you to YouTube.

00:38:57.140 And if you want to leave a comment, please do so on YouTube, because that is typically where I look through the comment section as well.

00:39:03.140 I sometimes check the comments on X, but most of you leave the comments on YouTube.

00:39:07.140 That is where I look for them.

00:39:09.140 So if you've been wondering where to leave those comments, do it on YouTube.

00:39:12.140 Okay, everyone, that's all we have time for today.

00:39:15.140 I will see you guys all next week or tomorrow on Rachel in the Republic.

00:39:19.140 If you want to tune in for that, I hope that you guys have a great rest of your week.

00:39:23.140 God bless.

Juno News - December 03, 2024

NDP PAYS UP after failed attempt to CANCEL Conservative

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