00:00:50.180but I just want to talk about my interview
00:00:53.060on Friday's show with Candice Malcolm,
00:00:55.020the founder and editor-in-chief of True North.
00:00:57.640You were all, barring a couple of meanies, but we always get a few of you on our comment section,
00:01:02.200you were all so delighted to see her, and she was very moved and very pleased that you were all so excited about that.
00:01:09.040And as she said in the interview, she'll be coming back before you know it, but it was nice to see Candice.
00:01:15.260The downside of working in a remote, well, the upside, I should say, of working in a remote environment,
00:01:21.220which True North is, is that we don't actually get to see our colleagues all that much in person,
00:01:25.740which is I guess sometimes good for my colleagues because they don't have to see me but the downside
00:01:31.880is that we don't actually get the camaraderie that all happens when we're in the same city so
00:01:36.600I was glad we had as it was discussed last week a bit of an opportunity to gather together and I
00:01:41.340don't know if I'm allowed to tell you what happened at the True North retreat I mean I wasn't even
00:01:46.320going to say there was a True North retreat but Candice spilled the beans on that one we had this
00:01:50.780one team building activity that was a an amazing race style scavenger hunt of sorts which was kind
00:01:57.520of fun and we were all put on teams and I but someone is telling me to not say anything about
00:02:03.400this uh but I think he only doesn't want me to say it because he lost and my team won uh so uh
00:02:10.160you know what sucks to be you Phil and sucks to be you Sean because team Andrew Lawton won the
00:02:15.880grand prize. And that's why you don't want me to reveal it. So I'm being accused by my own
00:02:22.760colleague of cheating now. They don't believe that it was a well-earned victory and a hard
00:02:28.040won victory, but it was. We do not stoop to cheating on the Andrew Lawton show. And Rachel
00:02:33.120Emanuel, who we'll talk to on this show, a True North Alberta correspondent, she was also on the
00:02:38.280winning team. So we'll have a bit of a victory lap, I guess, on this show. Please don't pull the
00:02:44.020feed of this show, People Who Lost, because you have the power to do that right now.
00:02:48.540In any way, in any case, we will talk this program in just a few moments time about the
00:02:53.780Alberta election. We are now in the midst of the campaign and Rachel Notley is always, always,
00:03:00.100always going to her bag of tricks of just accusing everyone else of being extremists. So no surprise
00:03:05.640there, but it's amazing how brazen they are about it. The big story I was going to talk about today
00:03:11.040was the federal government's renewed call for firearms bans,
00:03:16.880the ban on what they call assault-style firearms.
00:03:20.780They have tried to do this once again,
00:03:23.540and we are going to talk about that in a bit of depth tomorrow
00:03:26.300because today I wanted to speak to Harold Jonker,
00:03:29.080who is a man that may be very familiar to many of you.
00:03:31.920He was a mainstay, I think, in the Freedom Convoy protest last year in Ottawa.
00:03:37.020He's also had his run-ins in his town of, I think, West Lincoln, when a lot of people didn't like that he took a stand for freedom.
00:03:45.060And now, 14 and a half months after the Freedom Convoy packed up and left Ottawa, he is facing four criminal charges for his role in this protest.
00:03:57.560Here's a clip of Harold Jonker after he checked in with the police in his area of Niagara region and learned what he was being charged with.
00:04:07.020Harold Jonker here and I just came out of the Niagara Police Station. I've been officially charged with four counts of criminal charges. One count of mischief, obstruct property. One count of intimidation by blocking or obstructing highway.
00:04:29.980and then two counts of counsel, counsel and uncommittable, no, sorry, counsel and uncommitted
00:04:38.420indictable offense, whatever that means. We'll find out when we go to Ottawa, I imagine.
00:04:44.840And as indicated there, a herald has to go to Ottawa on May 10th, I believe it is. So in just
00:04:52.260over a week's time, but we are now 14 and a half months after the Freedom Convoy ended and the
00:04:58.700ottawa police are still hunting people down and charging them here is a clip of former interim
00:05:05.360police chief steve bell warning about this exact thing and it's a shame we didn't take him seriously
00:05:11.740erica ibrahim the canadian press um i'm wondering uh what your message is to protesters and
00:05:17.720canadians more broadly who might be upset and angry with uh images uh being published of police
00:05:23.080hitting protesters with batons and other types of force um there are images of some people um
00:05:29.080there are some police striking crowd members with batons who were retreating and not being aggressive
00:05:34.280toward them there were media in the crowds that that have witnessed and reported on this i'm
00:05:38.440wondering what you would say to um to those who may be concerned by that as i indicated earlier
00:05:44.120we will have the opportunity to review all of those files there are complaint mechanisms for
00:05:48.040people to enter into if they feel that there is excessive use of force by members of our police
00:05:54.600service what i will also say is we have been here for three weeks i have been at this podium for the
00:06:02.360last five days imploring people to leave asking them to get out of our streets this occupation
00:06:09.240is over we have advised them that if they peacefully leave they may go home that still
00:06:14.840exists we also indicated that we would escalate and forcibly remove people from the streets if
00:06:21.640they did not comply some of that is what you're seeing so i will stand here today again and say
00:06:27.320this demonstration is over go home if you don't go home we will remove you from the streets
00:06:36.760so that uh i apologize for that was not the the right clip that was uh my bad there the
00:06:42.360The one that we were looking for, he talks about how people who go home may still be hunted down and tracked down by Ottawa police and have financial sanctions put on them and be charged after the fact.
00:06:56.540So the Ottawa police back in February of 2022 were already promising to continue this little hunt.
00:07:03.540And it's very similar to what you've seen in the U.S. where the process is the punishment when it comes to people who had even peripheral roles in the January 6th incident, which I don't even like talking about in the same breath as the Freedom Convoy because they were very different things.
00:07:17.920But now we have Harold Jonker, formerly of the Freedom Convoy, as a supporter, as a member, now facing criminal charges 14 and a half months later.
00:07:27.040We have Harold joining us now, I believe, from his truck, which is quite fitting given what we're discussing here.
00:07:33.300Harold, it's good to talk to you. Thanks for coming on today.
00:13:30.020So there's some concern there, but at the same time, no, I'm not concerned.
00:13:35.760You know, the truth, like I said earlier, the truth will prevail.
00:13:39.140And I don't, you never know where it goes, right?
00:13:42.780But hopefully we can show to the judge and the courts there that we're not guilty and continue on in our life of traveling this continent into the U.S. as much as I do and crossing Canada as much as I do.
00:13:57.720So, yeah, if I do get charged, we'll have to adjust life somewhat, but not to worry.
00:14:05.820Right now, you're coming across, as I'd say, quite nonchalant about it.
00:14:10.000But I know in that video, the full version that I played the clip from earlier, you were cracking jokes about being a mischievous person.
00:14:17.560So how do you take this and not be angry?
00:14:20.560How do you take this and not be upset about this?
00:14:23.080I mean, how do you just let this roll off your back as well as you seem to be doing?
00:14:31.320My Christian background, I'm comforted in the fact that we are called to speak the truth.
00:14:38.100and after that it's not up to us so we're that that does give me the greatest comfort that that
00:14:45.360anybody can receive you know we were called to to do the best we can and after that we we need to
00:14:51.560leave it in in the good lord's hand and that's where it is with me i i'm confident that the lord
00:14:57.120has a plan what it exactly is we'll find out and yeah it's uh it might be interesting where it goes
00:15:06.280But life is supposed to be interesting.
00:15:09.160So looking forward to whatever the Lord decides to do with me.
00:15:13.640Now, you mentioned that the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is taking up your case.
00:15:19.140And I should just disclose to my audience, as I do whenever I bring up the JCCF,
00:15:23.380that I am on the board of that organization, but that has no bearing on me doing this interview.
00:15:28.540But I will say that the one thing we've seen in a lot of the cases that came up in the convoy,
00:15:34.640a lot of the criminal cases that they've been quietly dropped we've seen over the the last 14
00:15:39.700months uh in in several instances of the crown just withdraw charges or decide not to proceed
00:15:44.920with them and i do find it just baffling that they're still adding new charges when they've
00:15:50.700already decided that many of the previous people they've charged were not worth prosecuting
00:15:55.080yeah that's where when i talk to a few of the people that i trust in my life that i've met
00:16:04.020since um well in the last year and a half that's the same thing they're they're they're they're
00:16:08.900all struck struck scratching their heads going why now and and why you and yeah it is um something
00:16:17.700that uh is interesting but definitely thankful for the uh the work that a bunch of uh lawyers
00:16:24.660are doing and are willing to do and what the jccf is doing has been um it's been great it's it's um
00:16:30.660And that gives you that comfort, right?
00:16:35.820There's people out here that are willing to help.
00:16:38.360And I've been humbled by the amount of support I've been receiving from people across Canada,
00:16:44.820people praying for me, people frustrated and angry,
00:16:50.800and all kinds of emotions that you're, and you're feeling them yourselves as well, right?
00:16:55.360And that's what's been so, so beautiful about being where I am today is, is this country has a lot of great people and they're, they're, they're willing to help where they can. And that's, that's part of my comfort as well. I'm not going to be facing this alone.
00:17:12.240I've been blessed with a wife for 25 years, and she crackingly said a joke that, yeah, if you end up in jail, then, yeah, you're, whatever.
00:23:44.700We got the win, so it all works out well.
00:23:46.960Let's talk about Alberta politics here.
00:23:49.380And, you know, the big theme that's been coming out of this race is that it's going to be decided in Calgary.
00:23:55.240I think it tends to be the case that people view Edmonton as going to the NDP, rural Alberta is going to the UCP,
00:24:01.560and Calgary being the battleground that will really decide it.
00:24:04.600Is that, in your view, a pretty accurate assessment or is it an oversimplification here?
00:24:10.940That's a very accurate assessment, especially for this election.
00:24:14.160I would say I think one of the things that we can observe is that both Danielle Smith and Rachel Notley decided to kick off their campaigns in Calgary as it has viewed as the battleground.
00:24:24.520As well, I've spoken to the UCP about their plan for the campaign and all my sources are telling me you're going to want to be in Calgary.
00:24:31.720Most of the events are going to be here.
00:24:33.160There's going to be a couple in Lethbridge, and they said a couple in Edmonton as well, but not very many.
00:24:38.000So the UCP is certainly focusing their efforts in Calgary, and the NDP will be as well, because that's going to be where the election is decided.
00:24:48.820I mean, I don't know if there's one simple roadmap, but a lot of people outside of Alberta think of Alberta as being the conservative place.
00:25:00.100There are some more rural aspects here.
00:25:02.100Is there like a quintessential Calgary voter that they can go after?
00:25:07.580Yeah, and I guess one of the other things that you have to think about when we're looking at Calgary is the demographics are now changing.
00:25:12.800We have thousands of voters who are flooding in from outside of the province into provincial immigration in the province has never been so high.
00:25:19.540And most of those people are going to Calgary.
00:25:21.700So the parties might be looking at their tactics a little bit differently than they have in the past.
00:25:25.500I think when we look at what the parties need to do to appeal to voters here they're really looking
00:25:30.720at the big bread and butter issues of the election campaign so to speak so one of the ones on
00:25:35.440everyone's mind is health care the COVID-19 pandemic proved that our health care system
00:25:40.280is a disaster maybe public health care isn't as great as we think it is that's a conversation for
00:25:45.380another time but what we do know is that provinces are realizing they have a big crisis on their
00:25:49.560hands and they need to work on it here in Alberta like another province but especially here we have
00:25:53.920a big problem with not having enough family doctors. So Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has
0.53
00:25:58.720made some work in her first couple months as premier to re-attract more doctors to the province
00:26:03.660and to reinvest in the health care system and Rachel Notley is going to be making claims about
00:26:08.940her promises to bolster health care in the province as well. She's also been saying things like
00:26:13.580Danielle Smith wants to privatize health care. The left loves to make this claim about conservative.
0.99
00:26:18.960They think it's going to be a sticking point for the election. Another big thing that we're going
00:26:22.680be looking at is simply just the cost of living crisis. Everything costs so much right now with
00:26:27.700the runaway inflation that we're experiencing and people are having a really hard time getting by
00:26:32.500so we can expect to see the parties making pitches as to how they're going to help
00:26:36.240put more money back in Albertans' pockets. It doesn't look like any of the parties are
00:26:41.260promising to cut government spending right now. That doesn't seem like a very popular trend at
00:26:45.800the moment. So we're seeing ways they can directly put money back into taxpayers' pockets. One of
00:26:51.220the things we're seeing is taxpayer spending cuts. Danielle Smith had a big announcement to that
00:26:55.580effect yesterday. It was one of her big campaign pitches. And then of course, another one that we
0.99
00:27:01.440can expect to see is education. People want to see more investing in education. And finally,
00:27:06.220public safety. We are in a public safety crisis and Calgary is absolutely feeling the effects of
00:27:11.560that. Anecdotally, it seems like you're hearing about someone getting stabbed in the city almost
00:27:15.740every day, but the data matches those numbers with a significant spike in crime since just last
00:27:21.160year and especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know now that Rachel Notley has also
00:27:26.820committed to hiring more police officers if she's elected premier on May 29th. Meanwhile, Danielle
00:27:32.440Smith has already worked on hiring more police officers in her tenure as premier and she's
00:27:37.040looking at tackling the root issue which one of is bail reform. We know that the Alberta government
00:27:42.340kind of has its hands tied behind the back as that is mostly a federal issue and certainly they've
00:27:46.520been applying pressure on the federal government to get that bail reform in as it's often repeated
00:27:51.140offenders that are committing these violent crimes on the streets and then of course the
00:27:54.680addictions crisis is another thing that daniel smith's government has been looking at more so
00:27:58.800than i think any other province they're really targeting treatment and they say we're going to
00:28:02.660target treatment but we're not going to put people at risk in the meanwhile we're also going to hire
00:28:06.480more police officers especially along those transit centers where a lot of those really
00:28:10.200violent crimes are happening and something that somebody in the premier's office said to me this
00:28:13.940week is it's such a hot issue right now because everyday people who have used transit every
00:28:18.920single day of their lives to get to work, to get to school, are now rethinking it. And when they
00:28:23.480do go out and use the transit, there's someone there who is homeless, who is kind of acting in
00:28:29.220an aggressive manner towards them. Maybe they've witnessed a criminal activity happen. And so this
00:28:33.340is something for those people living in Calgary that they are really thinking about and they're
00:28:36.760concerned about. So that's going to be a huge issue for the election. Let's talk about the
00:28:41.820healthcare issue specifically, because I know that accusing conservatives of wanting to
00:28:46.440privatized health care is like something that happens in any election, regardless of whether
00:28:50.600the conservative has ever said that. Now, in Danielle Smith's case, she has talked about a
00:28:54.780lot of bolder ideas for health care. I know the one that came up during the leadership race was
00:28:59.240this health care spending account. So basically putting dollars in the hands of Alberta residents
00:29:03.960and letting them be a lot more selective about which care they access. Has any of that translated
00:29:09.100into UCP policy or the UCP platform yet? Like, has there been anything bold she's come out with
00:29:14.160on health care or is it just this public health guarantee that she has on her website which
00:29:18.460basically says no we're not privatizing things i think that currently what we're seeing from
00:29:24.180the ucp is a bit of damage control on some of the attacks that rachel notley has made against
00:29:29.160danielle smith's previous comments when she wasn't premier on health care you know as you mentioned
00:29:34.540she's been a radio host so she's said a lot of things she's made a lot of comments discussed a
00:29:38.940lot of ideas the ndp are now dragging those out and i'm sure we're going to be able to see that
00:29:42.920throughout the whole election they're going to be dragging out a laundry list of ideas and policies
00:29:47.020she's discussed in the past to use that to attack her so right now we're seeing the ucp just be very
00:29:53.060straightforward and say that they are committed and they're not going to privatize health care
00:29:56.260and you're not going to have to pay to see your family doctor that's a big attack right now but
00:30:00.660daniel smith was actually asked about her specific policy of a health spending account yesterday
00:30:04.560the ucp war room are doing these little videos with the premier every night where albertans can
00:30:09.940send in their questions and she was asked about a health spending account and she says it is still
00:30:13.920something that she's interested in and if her government is re-elected she would look at
00:30:17.880implementing it. I don't know if we can expect to see a formal policy being trot out during the
00:30:22.980campaign just because it has led to some negative publicity and maybe just even a mischaracterization
00:30:28.600of what that policy really is so I would be surprised if we see her sort of bring that
00:30:33.220forward as an official UCP policy but she still seems to be committed to the idea and you know
00:30:37.520Certainly for anyone who's ever had a health spending account, it's a really great policy and it's something that you can use very successfully.
00:30:43.840However, if you're not really familiar with what it is, I can see how it could be mischaracterized.
00:30:47.700I just want to play a clip from Rachel Notley and get your take on it here.
00:30:52.640This is Rachel Notley outlining what I think is probably going to be the major narrative of the campaign.