Juno News - March 16, 2021


Recall and WEcall


Episode Stats

Length

37 minutes

Words per Minute

184.7286

Word Count

7,003

Sentence Count

287

Misogynist Sentences

2

Hate Speech Sentences

4


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Welcome to Canada's most irreverent talk show, this is the Andrew Lawton Show, brought to you by True North.
00:00:13.000 Coming up, the Alberta government is letting voters fire politicians, We Charity reminds us why it's a good idea, and do pro-lifers have a place in the Conservative Party of Canada?
00:00:25.000 The Andrew Lawton Show starts right now.
00:00:30.000 Welcome everyone to Canada's most irreverent talk show, this is the Andrew Lawton Show on True North, my great pleasure to have you aboard, and if you don't like the show and you are listening from the province of Alberta, well you can actually get me turfed as the show host before the show is up.
00:00:46.620 I think that is the practical implication on podcast of the new Recall Act, tabled this week by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and his Justice Minister, more specifically Casey Maddu, the bill would do what we've talked about in the past.
00:01:00.720 It would allow voters in Alberta to fire their MLAs, city councillors and mayors and reeves, and even school board officials between elections if they feel that they are not up to the job at hand, if they feel they are underperforming in their public duties.
00:01:16.340 This has been a big grassroots democratic initiative that a lot of people have pushed for going back years in Alberta, I think as far back as the 30s, it was a big push by the Reform Party, but has never really materialized in the modern political era.
00:01:31.340 In fact, in Canada, it's just in British Columbia, after whose recall policy Alberta has modelled this one, which was a UCP and Jason Kenney campaign promise in the 2019 election.
00:01:43.760 Here's a bit of an announcement from Premier Jason Kenney.
00:01:46.440 Alberta's government has kept its word introducing a recall law in Alberta's legislature.
00:01:51.460 That's a commitment we gave to Albertans in the last election, to be able to hold their elected representatives in this legislature to account.
00:01:59.480 And that means, through recall, that if enough constituents sign a recall petition, they can force a by-election if their representative has completely lost their confidence.
00:02:11.860 We are fortunate to live in this great democracy, but we can always make it better, and we can always improve accountability.
00:02:20.400 Recall does just that.
00:02:22.320 Alberta last had a recall law in the 1930s, and a lot of different parties and politicians have talked about it since then, but no one's actually done it.
00:02:31.860 I'm proud that Alberta's government has introduced the recall law into the legislature after having consulted with Albertans about the right details in that law.
00:02:40.880 It'll be debated, and we hope passed later this month, certainly in this spring, and giving Albertans more power to hold their elected representatives to account.
00:02:51.600 Another promise made, and another promise kept.
00:02:56.840 What Kenny says there, basically, is that the taxpayers and the voters are the driving force in democracy, and all elected officials need to be accountable to them.
00:03:06.860 Now, in the past, I'm going to be perfectly candid. I've had mixed feelings on recall.
00:03:12.240 I've always had the view that elections themselves are the recalls.
00:03:17.060 But at the same time, I also think that there is an argument in favor of a mechanism that allows people to deal with politicians directly,
00:03:25.360 not because they have a better alternative, but because they think that individual MLA or counselor is not fulfilling their duties.
00:03:32.100 So how it's going to work if this bill passes, as is planned, for MLAs is different than how it will work for counselors.
00:03:38.680 I'm going to focus more on the MLA portion of it here.
00:03:42.660 Essentially, if you want to, as any ordinary Alberta citizen who is a constituent of, say, Jason Kenney or of Rachel Notley,
00:03:50.480 you have to be in their riding, you can apply to the chief electoral officer for a petition.
00:03:56.100 You have to give a reason for why you want to get rid of them, but the reason doesn't matter.
00:03:59.820 You could be like, I don't like the color of his hair. I don't like the tie. I don't like that thing Rachel Notley wore.
00:04:04.940 You can do whatever you want. It doesn't matter.
00:04:07.020 And then if you get 40% of the eligible voters in that riding to sign your petition, there is a recall vote.
00:04:15.600 And if you have that recall vote and a simple majority votes to recall them, they're gone.
00:04:20.760 You now have a vacancy.
00:04:22.420 Now, it sounds simple, but in actuality, it's a very difficult process.
00:04:26.160 40% of the eligible voters.
00:04:29.320 Getting 40% of the people out to vote for someone in an election is going to be hard enough.
00:04:35.320 Getting them to sign a petition between elections when a lot of people aren't paying attention to politics will be very difficult.
00:04:41.540 So this is, I guess, where it becomes complicated because a lot of people want the bar to be a lot lower,
00:04:46.880 whereas at the same time, you don't want it to become weaponized and become this thing that's used by sore losers
00:04:52.320 where anytime someone you don't like wins, you just want to go right to recall.
00:04:56.800 And actually, for that reason, there's a fairly compressed time frame here.
00:05:00.660 There's just a two-year window in a four-year term in which you could recall someone,
00:05:05.160 starting 18 months after one election and ending six months before the next election.
00:05:10.340 Again, they don't want to make it so that just right after the election, you say,
00:05:14.040 okay, I'm going right to recall.
00:05:15.300 I don't like this.
00:05:16.600 But I should know that these really come down to the questions of how and not if.
00:05:20.760 And the committee process can look at that.
00:05:23.200 They're trying to use BC as an example.
00:05:25.260 I talked about this a few weeks back with Franco Terrazzano from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation,
00:05:30.140 a big proponent of recall.
00:05:32.160 And he said that the high threshold actually lends legitimacy to it.
00:05:35.880 This is a little excerpt from my conversation earlier in the year with Franco.
00:05:39.740 You have elections.
00:05:41.280 The point of politicians being elected for terms is that voters can go and turf them
00:05:46.120 if they don't like the job they're doing.
00:05:48.100 Why do you need a stopgap?
00:05:49.800 Why do you need something between elections?
00:05:52.220 Well, I mean, of course, elections are an important accountability tool.
00:05:55.520 But the problem is that they're only once every four years.
00:05:58.320 Now, imagine if a boss was only able to hold their employees accountable every four years.
00:06:03.320 I mean, certainly you would see employees have misbehaved,
00:06:07.180 maybe not show up for work or do things of that nature, right?
00:06:10.600 And so the same thing applies here.
00:06:11.960 Because let's remember, it's the people who are the boss of politicians,
00:06:15.540 not the other way around.
00:06:16.980 Politicians aren't our boss.
00:06:18.340 We're their boss.
00:06:19.580 And as such, we deserve the right to hold them accountable,
00:06:22.140 not once every four years, not just during an election,
00:06:24.980 but all year round and every year during that mandate.
00:06:27.720 One concern that I have, I mean, we know full well the polarity and polarization of politics,
00:06:33.760 not just in the U.S., as we've seen with the events of this week,
00:06:37.240 but even in Canada, we know that there's a lot of right versus left divide all the time.
00:06:41.700 Is there a risk that recall could be a bit weaponized in a way where, you know what,
00:06:47.440 let's say you're an NDP voter, you vote NDP, you don't like that a conservative wins,
00:06:52.020 regardless of how well they do, you want to just go right to that recall process
00:06:55.700 because you don't like that they won in the first place?
00:06:58.340 Well, you know what, you bring up a really good point,
00:07:00.180 but I actually see recall legislation as doing the opposite.
00:07:03.460 I see it as a very productive way to channel frustrations into the democratic process, right?
00:07:08.880 Because right now, if we're frustrated, we have to wait four years to hold apologies accountable.
00:07:14.720 I mean, what choice do we really have?
00:07:17.120 But with recall legislation, we can take our frustrations, we can take our anger,
00:07:21.180 and we can put it into the democratic process.
00:07:23.120 And that's why I see another reason why recall legislation is so important.
00:07:27.780 And the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, of course, has called this a big win.
00:07:31.100 Franco said to True North, it's a big win for government accountability.
00:07:34.840 We always deserve the ability to hold our politicians, including councillors and mayors, accountable.
00:07:40.320 And Kenny's recall bill gives us that ability.
00:07:43.420 But in true infomercial fashion, but wait, there's more.
00:07:46.920 The day after, the Alberta government also introduced the Citizens Initiative Act,
00:07:53.260 which is similar to voter recall, except instead of focusing on politicians, it focuses on policy.
00:07:59.620 As an Alberta citizen, you could advance policy to the political process.
00:08:03.720 And that also means recall and rescinding of policy.
00:08:07.460 So if Alberta were to, in a parallel universe, put forward some carbon tax,
00:08:11.160 you could actually use recall in the form of Citizen Initiative to get rid of that,
00:08:16.100 which, by the way, is what British Columbia citizens did with HST.
00:08:20.300 And this was actually a fantastic moment in Canadian political history.
00:08:24.860 The B.C. government imposed a harmonized sales tax.
00:08:28.500 A direct referendum was held, led by Citizens Initiative,
00:08:31.800 and the result of it was the repeal of the HST, reverting back to the provincial sales tax
00:08:37.880 in conjunction with the regular federal GST.
00:08:41.560 And this is key.
00:08:42.440 It was narrow, 54.73%, but an example that it is possible.
00:08:47.140 And I guess that's why B.C. has had a bit of a roadmap effect for the Alberta government.
00:08:52.600 So the question comes down to,
00:08:54.440 should there be a mechanism to fire politicians between elections?
00:08:57.880 And if so, then you can haggle over the details about what percentage of voters and which,
00:09:02.820 and so on and so forth.
00:09:04.420 For councillors, it's significantly different.
00:09:06.880 You don't actually need a recall vote.
00:09:08.740 You just need 40% of the population of the riding,
00:09:12.560 which includes non-eligible voters,
00:09:14.500 40% of the population of the riding to sign the petition.
00:09:17.680 And if they do, the person's gone.
00:09:19.500 So if you don't like Mayor Nahedenshi,
00:09:21.800 you don't like this councillor,
00:09:23.200 you don't like that school board official,
00:09:25.060 again, it's a little bit different for school board,
00:09:26.660 but you have the ability to get rid of them
00:09:29.180 if you can rally enough support for it.
00:09:32.160 So the question comes down to,
00:09:34.260 is it punitive or is it corrective?
00:09:36.440 Does this make politicians behave more accountably
00:09:39.220 to know that this is possible?
00:09:41.180 And that to me is the game changer.
00:09:43.040 And I don't know the answer to that.
00:09:44.600 I don't know if it's made B.C. politics more accountable,
00:09:47.300 but it is a tool.
00:09:48.700 It's a tool in the democratic toolkit.
00:09:51.000 And this was something that was brought up
00:09:52.440 by the Alberta government officials yesterday,
00:09:54.920 which I think there's a lot of truth to,
00:09:56.940 that it gives voters some power over their politicians
00:10:00.140 when it is so easy for the electorate
00:10:02.500 to by and large feel somewhat helpless.
00:10:05.140 When I shared this story yesterday,
00:10:07.720 someone had said,
00:10:08.700 well, you know, this just seems like populism,
00:10:10.840 to which I say, well, can you blame them?
00:10:13.260 Can you blame them?
00:10:14.260 The reason that populism is happening,
00:10:16.360 and I don't use that in the sense
00:10:18.220 that the mainstream media likes to talk
00:10:19.640 about evil, scary populism,
00:10:21.000 but I mean populism in its pure and most genuine sense.
00:10:24.940 The reason it's coming about
00:10:26.320 is because people are finding
00:10:28.080 that there is a greater and greater divide
00:10:30.700 between the representatives of the people
00:10:33.320 and the people who are supposed to be represented.
00:10:36.760 And when there seems to be a larger and larger chasm
00:10:40.160 between the elites and the everyman,
00:10:43.000 people are going to want to reclaim that process.
00:10:46.200 So anything that does that,
00:10:48.240 I shouldn't say anything,
00:10:49.800 but things that do that are worth consideration.
00:10:52.620 And I think that the ability to recall politicians,
00:10:55.660 well, again, I have questions about it,
00:10:57.480 is coming from a very pure place,
00:10:59.380 which is demanding accountability.
00:11:01.580 And doing this would put a lot of issues,
00:11:04.440 a lot of public policy issues directly to the people.
00:11:08.160 And again, if politicians aren't representing you,
00:11:10.800 it is the voter,
00:11:11.720 it is the citizen who gets to decide
00:11:13.680 whether someone is not fulfilling their end of the bargain
00:11:17.040 as a public representative.
00:11:18.640 And because that was the concern is that,
00:11:20.340 well, if the chief electoral officer
00:11:21.640 has to issue these petitions,
00:11:23.040 do they have to decide
00:11:24.260 whether a person has good reasons?
00:11:25.820 No, all they have to do is basically say,
00:11:27.800 did you fill out the form correctly?
00:11:29.460 Are you a resident?
00:11:30.500 Great, problem solved.
00:11:32.900 Do I want this to be weaponized
00:11:34.440 by special interest groups,
00:11:36.100 by third party groups?
00:11:37.660 No.
00:11:38.300 And that's why you need to have a high threshold.
00:11:41.280 But at the same time,
00:11:42.320 if you have this as a tool,
00:11:44.040 I see it as being a big win for democracy.
00:11:46.700 So we will talk about this more
00:11:48.880 as we see the details unfold.
00:11:50.480 And again,
00:11:51.100 if you want to weigh in on this,
00:11:52.600 let me know my email,
00:11:53.560 Andrew at AndrewLawton.ca.
00:11:55.420 We've got to take a quick break
00:11:56.940 when we return more of the Andrew Lawton Show
00:11:59.020 here on True North.
00:11:59.880 You're tuned in to the Andrew Lawton Show.
00:12:09.360 Welcome back to the Andrew Lawton Show
00:12:11.480 here on True North.
00:12:12.580 We're starting a new segment.
00:12:13.580 It may not be a regular segment.
00:12:14.980 Depends how long this thing goes on.
00:12:17.840 But it is the
00:12:18.480 Won't Somebody Please Think of the Children segment.
00:12:20.860 Roll that intro.
00:12:21.580 Oh, won't somebody please think of the children?
00:12:25.840 You know what?
00:12:26.320 I don't even think I need to play this next clip.
00:12:28.640 I believe that The Simpsons has encapsulated
00:12:31.720 what Mr. Kielberger said very clearly
00:12:34.100 in front of the committee.
00:12:35.600 It was quite masterful.
00:12:37.260 In a minute and 11 seconds,
00:12:39.520 he throws a grenade
00:12:40.920 at the Liberal Party of Canada,
00:12:42.880 throws another one
00:12:43.720 at the Conservative Party of Canada,
00:12:46.000 and then he also implores everyone
00:12:48.460 to please think of the children.
00:12:50.640 The stated mandate of this committee
00:12:53.100 is to investigate pandemic spending.
00:12:56.340 Here's a simple fact.
00:12:58.900 Given a chance to do good
00:12:59.880 for 100,000 students
00:13:01.300 and other charities
00:13:02.060 during the pandemic,
00:13:03.840 we charity agreed to help.
00:13:06.620 That's what charities do.
00:13:07.680 They help where that is needed.
00:13:10.140 We didn't advise the Prime Minister
00:13:11.880 and Mr. Bono
00:13:12.640 not to recuse themselves.
00:13:14.940 We never prorogued Parliament.
00:13:16.880 We're not involved in the decision
00:13:18.760 to filibuster the committee this fall.
00:13:20.440 This is a political scandal
00:13:22.780 for the government,
00:13:24.380 not we charity.
00:13:25.740 The government hid
00:13:27.120 to find a children's charity
00:13:28.760 by letting it take the fall
00:13:30.920 for their political decisions.
00:13:33.820 And the opposition allowed them.
00:13:36.220 Not a single member of Parliament
00:13:37.860 has spoken up
00:13:38.760 for the millions of Canadian children
00:13:40.040 around the world
00:13:40.840 who benefited from this organization.
00:13:44.380 And as MPs,
00:13:45.340 of course,
00:13:46.560 you have the power
00:13:47.120 to summon
00:13:50.220 who you please.
00:13:52.020 So let me ask you
00:13:53.000 after a year of closing games,
00:13:55.060 what's been the result?
00:13:56.100 What have you accomplished?
00:13:57.240 Now, the context of this
00:13:58.740 was testimony
00:13:59.640 from Craig and Mark Kielberger
00:14:01.780 before the House of Commons
00:14:02.920 Ethics Committee.
00:14:04.020 Testimony that,
00:14:04.800 by the way,
00:14:05.200 it was like pulling teeth to get,
00:14:06.700 to actually get them to show up
00:14:07.960 with their lawyer
00:14:09.020 looking increasingly uncomfortable
00:14:10.960 beside them all.
00:14:12.380 And I guess we charity thought
00:14:13.920 that its previous course of action
00:14:15.400 to just plead ignorance
00:14:16.760 and say,
00:14:17.340 oh, there's nothing wrong
00:14:17.980 with what we were doing
00:14:18.640 wasn't working.
00:14:19.540 They needed to provide a suspect.
00:14:21.420 They didn't want it to be them.
00:14:22.460 So they offered up
00:14:23.420 Justin Trudeau and the Liberals,
00:14:24.900 as you heard there.
00:14:25.820 And quite masterfully,
00:14:26.800 even if I think that
00:14:27.740 both the Liberals and we
00:14:29.020 are suspects and culprits in this,
00:14:31.820 I think that
00:14:32.640 if they are just throwing grenades
00:14:34.060 at each other,
00:14:34.820 it ends up working out
00:14:36.140 very well for Canadians
00:14:37.180 who never should have had
00:14:38.160 to deal with this malignant alliance
00:14:39.900 between the Trudeau apparatus
00:14:41.900 and we charity,
00:14:43.460 which despite their claims
00:14:45.060 is more in the business
00:14:46.300 of helping itself
00:14:47.260 than helping children.
00:14:49.060 So at the same time,
00:14:50.140 you look at this unfold
00:14:51.600 and there's some truth to it.
00:14:53.440 Justin Trudeau did scapegoat we.
00:14:55.220 He was called
00:14:56.100 and instead he decided
00:14:57.300 to just put we out front and center
00:14:58.920 and claim that the Liberals
00:15:00.520 had nothing to do with it.
00:15:02.000 We itself has done that.
00:15:03.160 Oh, we didn't have any correspondence
00:15:04.680 with the Prime Minister's office.
00:15:06.420 We didn't talk to them.
00:15:07.920 We didn't, you know,
00:15:08.940 whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
00:15:10.240 Yeah, they were even claiming
00:15:11.420 that in the meeting yesterday.
00:15:13.380 But oh, Pierre Polyev had the receipts.
00:15:16.260 What was the role exactly
00:15:17.480 of Mr. Chen, senior advisor
00:15:19.440 to the Prime Minister
00:15:21.800 in setting up this program?
00:15:26.120 I don't think he had any role.
00:15:28.980 Mr. Is that the answer
00:15:31.120 for both of you?
00:15:32.660 Yes, that's correct.
00:15:33.800 Who are you referring to, sir?
00:15:35.240 Can you remember Ben Chin?
00:15:36.520 Ben Chin.
00:15:37.320 There was no role.
00:15:38.640 Craig, no role?
00:15:39.460 No.
00:15:40.240 Not that I'm aware of.
00:15:41.740 Then why did you send him
00:15:42.940 a message on LinkedIn
00:15:44.200 on June 27th saying,
00:15:45.980 hello, Ben.
00:15:47.060 Thank you for your kindness
00:15:48.100 in helping shape our latest program
00:15:50.100 with the government.
00:15:51.320 Warmly, Craig.
00:15:52.700 Sure.
00:15:53.620 So I sent 100 messages
00:15:55.260 because I only had seven people,
00:15:57.220 eight people on LinkedIn before that.
00:15:58.560 And so that day,
00:15:59.120 100 messages went out.
00:16:00.340 My EA sent them to people
00:16:01.700 to join on LinkedIn
00:16:02.500 and he was one of them.
00:16:03.920 Yes.
00:16:04.100 I actually didn't,
00:16:05.000 but my EA did.
00:16:06.520 Craig, this is your message.
00:16:08.660 It's signed by you.
00:16:09.840 And if I could be clear,
00:16:11.040 it doesn't just say,
00:16:12.060 I wish you well.
00:16:14.120 It says, Ben,
00:16:14.800 if you choose me,
00:16:16.120 thank you for your kindness
00:16:17.720 in helping shape
00:16:19.120 our latest program
00:16:20.380 with the government.
00:16:21.660 Warmly, Craig.
00:16:23.300 You sent that.
00:16:25.180 Did you not?
00:16:26.400 Yeah, I don't dispute that
00:16:27.280 that that was sent.
00:16:29.500 Sorry, sorry.
00:16:30.480 You've got yourself
00:16:31.260 in a lot of trouble here.
00:16:32.040 You've just said a moment ago,
00:16:33.120 you thought that
00:16:34.260 the prime minister's
00:16:35.040 senior advisor,
00:16:35.820 Mr. Chen,
00:16:36.800 had no role
00:16:37.900 in the establishment
00:16:39.620 of the program.
00:16:40.320 But I have correspondence
00:16:41.460 where you thanked him
00:16:42.420 for helping shape
00:16:44.840 that very program.
00:16:47.380 So why did you thank him
00:16:48.900 for shaping the program
00:16:50.080 when now you claim
00:16:51.320 you didn't know
00:16:52.460 he played any role
00:16:53.240 in the program?
00:16:55.300 My EA wanted to personalize
00:16:57.100 and very kindly
00:16:57.740 as a great EA,
00:16:59.100 wrote a few lines
00:16:59.940 to 100 different
00:17:00.860 LinkedIn requests
00:17:01.480 that went that same day
00:17:02.340 to different people
00:17:03.000 to join my LinkedIn page.
00:17:04.360 No, but this was not
00:17:05.440 this was not a mess.
00:17:06.540 Excuse me, Craig.
00:17:07.500 Craig, you're in a lot
00:17:08.700 of trouble here, my friend.
00:17:09.760 You're under oath.
00:17:11.140 Perjury is a crime.
00:17:12.940 You excuse me.
00:17:14.400 Excuse me.
00:17:15.100 You said a moment ago
00:17:16.940 that you thought
00:17:17.600 the prime minister's
00:17:18.420 chief advisor
00:17:19.000 had no role
00:17:19.900 in establishing this program.
00:17:22.440 Your message to him
00:17:23.560 did not say
00:17:24.360 thank you for joining me
00:17:25.720 on LinkedIn.
00:17:26.900 It said,
00:17:28.020 thank you for your kindness
00:17:29.040 in helping shape
00:17:30.080 our latest program
00:17:31.140 with the government
00:17:31.980 warmly, Craig.
00:17:34.420 So, which is it?
00:17:35.480 I want to ask you
00:17:36.040 clearly.
00:17:37.860 Did you know
00:17:38.600 that Mr. Chin
00:17:39.560 was playing a role
00:17:40.320 in establishing
00:17:40.900 this program?
00:17:42.640 Yes or no?
00:17:45.380 No.
00:17:46.080 Now that exchange
00:17:46.880 you can see on
00:17:47.760 Pierre Polyev's
00:17:48.920 Twitter account
00:17:49.840 in full.
00:17:50.420 It's about five minutes long
00:17:51.420 so I didn't want to play
00:17:52.160 the entirety of it.
00:17:53.420 But again,
00:17:53.880 it shows that on one hand
00:17:55.260 they're all about schmoozing,
00:17:56.420 building these relationships,
00:17:57.700 thanking people in the PMO
00:17:59.300 for shaping the program
00:18:00.380 and then on the other hand
00:18:01.540 they're saying,
00:18:02.220 oh no,
00:18:02.460 that was just,
00:18:02.960 my assistant just sent
00:18:03.980 like a, you know,
00:18:04.660 a nice little LinkedIn invitation.
00:18:06.240 So, now I actually
00:18:07.220 have to go through
00:18:07.640 my LinkedIn invitations
00:18:08.860 and see if I've been,
00:18:10.060 you know,
00:18:10.320 thanking anyone
00:18:10.900 for helping shape
00:18:12.600 a billion dollar program.
00:18:14.520 I don't think I have,
00:18:15.680 but, you know,
00:18:16.320 one never knows.
00:18:17.520 What the conservatives
00:18:18.300 are trying to do here
00:18:19.780 by bringing the Kielbergers back
00:18:21.340 is revive the scandal
00:18:22.840 and the problem with this
00:18:24.460 from a strategic perspective
00:18:25.720 is that by and large
00:18:27.240 Canadians have moved on
00:18:28.440 and even the mainstream media
00:18:29.840 coverage of this
00:18:30.840 has been very minimal.
00:18:32.220 It's mostly been
00:18:32.860 from conservative columnists,
00:18:34.440 a couple of stories,
00:18:35.540 but it's lost the momentum
00:18:37.180 and like so many other scandals
00:18:38.920 like SNC-Lavalin,
00:18:40.280 like Trudeau and Blackface,
00:18:41.760 like We Charity,
00:18:42.660 Canadians tend to move on.
00:18:44.020 The liberals have this
00:18:44.960 Teflon-like quality about them
00:18:47.220 that tends to let them
00:18:48.760 shirk responsibility
00:18:49.720 for their actions.
00:18:51.680 So, what's going to happen
00:18:52.620 from here?
00:18:53.140 I don't know.
00:18:54.400 It's, I mean,
00:18:54.880 at a certain point
00:18:55.680 it just becomes theatrical
00:18:57.180 to keep bringing them back
00:18:58.520 and asking these questions
00:18:59.560 when we know what happened.
00:19:02.140 We absolutely know what happened.
00:19:04.200 We know that we was
00:19:05.180 influence peddling with MPs.
00:19:06.920 We know that the liberals
00:19:07.800 were cozying up
00:19:08.720 to their friends.
00:19:09.280 We know it's plain as day
00:19:11.140 in front of us.
00:19:11.880 The issue is,
00:19:12.660 do Canadians care?
00:19:14.980 And this is,
00:19:16.060 to go back to the first segment,
00:19:17.660 one of the benefits,
00:19:18.520 I think, of recall
00:19:19.520 is that if there is something
00:19:21.260 that genuinely makes people mad
00:19:23.680 and distrustful
00:19:24.840 of their politicians,
00:19:25.980 it gives them
00:19:26.880 a somewhat immediate remedy
00:19:28.680 so that you can't do
00:19:30.240 what politicians do now,
00:19:31.880 which is just hope
00:19:32.800 that people will forget about it
00:19:34.100 and move on
00:19:34.720 by the time the election rolls around.
00:19:36.280 It lets people respond
00:19:37.320 right away and say,
00:19:38.320 well, hang on,
00:19:38.960 this is not acceptable.
00:19:40.660 So, there's a lot of truth to that.
00:19:42.500 You know,
00:19:42.720 the more I talk about it,
00:19:43.660 the more firmly I become
00:19:45.000 in support of recall.
00:19:46.900 We've got to take a break.
00:19:47.900 When we come back,
00:19:48.520 more of the Andrew Lawton Show.
00:19:49.820 And by the way,
00:19:50.580 when I say we come back,
00:19:51.740 I mean you and me,
00:19:52.480 not capital W, capital E.
00:19:54.160 Hopefully,
00:19:54.760 they'll never come back.
00:19:55.920 More of the Andrew Lawton Show
00:19:56.940 up next.
00:19:57.480 Stay with me.
00:20:00.600 You're tuned in
00:20:01.760 to the Andrew Lawton Show.
00:20:10.640 Welcome back
00:20:11.480 to the Andrew Lawton Show.
00:20:13.000 Well, politics goes on
00:20:14.260 even in the course
00:20:15.140 of a pandemic.
00:20:16.420 And this weekend,
00:20:17.600 the Conservative Party of Canada
00:20:19.200 is having a virtual convention.
00:20:21.600 Normally,
00:20:22.020 these are very big to-dos,
00:20:23.880 policy conventions
00:20:24.720 that bring in people
00:20:25.540 from around the country.
00:20:26.620 They vote on various resolutions,
00:20:29.180 amendments to party policy,
00:20:30.500 and they can become battlegrounds
00:20:32.500 in a lot of cases
00:20:33.400 for what the grassroots
00:20:35.280 of the party thinks
00:20:36.620 and what they want
00:20:37.620 on certain key issues.
00:20:39.420 And one area
00:20:40.220 where we always see this unfold
00:20:42.120 is the battle
00:20:42.920 between social conservatives
00:20:44.400 and pro-life members
00:20:45.580 of the party
00:20:46.120 and oftentimes those
00:20:47.560 who don't want
00:20:48.260 those people
00:20:48.840 to have a say
00:20:49.760 in party policy.
00:20:51.700 If you look
00:20:52.080 at the convention
00:20:52.880 this weekend,
00:20:54.420 34 of 196 ideas
00:20:56.700 submitted
00:20:57.140 by the party's
00:20:58.340 riding associations
00:20:59.320 will make it
00:21:00.340 to the floor
00:21:00.820 for debate.
00:21:01.760 And none of those
00:21:02.820 are on abortion
00:21:04.220 despite a very significant effort
00:21:06.040 from pro-life groups
00:21:07.060 and individuals.
00:21:08.280 I want to talk about this
00:21:09.460 with Scott Hayward
00:21:10.580 who is the co-founder
00:21:11.480 of Right Now
00:21:12.940 and joins me on the line.
00:21:14.260 Scott,
00:21:14.500 good to talk to you again.
00:21:15.180 Thanks for coming back
00:21:16.000 on the show.
00:21:17.240 Thanks, Andrew.
00:21:17.740 It's always great
00:21:18.300 to be on your show
00:21:18.940 and thanks for the invitation.
00:21:20.500 Now, people that aren't
00:21:21.260 members of the Conservative Party
00:21:23.220 or a political party
00:21:24.300 or people who have never
00:21:25.420 participated in this process
00:21:27.240 might not know
00:21:28.300 but the party policy,
00:21:30.000 what is that?
00:21:31.360 So the party policy document
00:21:33.180 is a document
00:21:34.780 that is utilized
00:21:35.560 by most political parties
00:21:36.860 in this country
00:21:37.700 and it's more or less
00:21:38.860 the official stance
00:21:39.880 of that political party
00:21:41.180 on a variety of issues
00:21:42.360 whether it be the environment
00:21:43.600 or foreign affairs
00:21:44.660 or economy, crime,
00:21:46.280 things of this nature.
00:21:47.260 So the Conservative Party
00:21:48.140 of Canada,
00:21:48.880 like you mentioned,
00:21:49.760 is having their biannual,
00:21:51.220 so every two years,
00:21:52.540 their policy convention
00:21:53.580 coming up later this week.
00:21:55.800 And how does it differ
00:21:57.180 from the platform?
00:21:59.380 So the platform
00:22:00.460 is put together
00:22:01.520 by the leader,
00:22:02.360 by the caucus,
00:22:03.720 by party staff
00:22:05.440 as the platform
00:22:07.040 going into an election campaign
00:22:08.560 on specifically
00:22:09.820 what a political party
00:22:11.300 intends to do
00:22:12.200 should they form government
00:22:13.340 after the election.
00:22:14.480 Most political parties
00:22:15.780 will establish
00:22:16.980 their platform
00:22:17.920 based off of
00:22:19.280 the official party policy document
00:22:21.060 we just discussed
00:22:22.200 which is voted on
00:22:23.720 and proposed
00:22:24.200 by members of the party
00:22:25.400 about once every two years
00:22:26.740 by most political parties.
00:22:28.120 So what's happening
00:22:29.200 this weekend
00:22:29.820 for the Conservative Party
00:22:31.220 of Canada
00:22:31.720 and next weekend
00:22:32.540 for the Liberal Party
00:22:33.380 of Canada
00:22:33.880 is going to be informative
00:22:35.300 for both political parties
00:22:36.940 as we likely are going
00:22:38.380 into an election
00:22:39.080 sometime later this spring.
00:22:40.520 So you've answered
00:22:41.860 the next question I had
00:22:43.020 which was why this matters
00:22:44.260 so I'll skip ahead
00:22:45.300 to the question after that
00:22:46.820 which is that
00:22:47.400 why are these
00:22:48.740 such battlegrounds
00:22:50.520 and how have we seen
00:22:51.640 that battle manifest
00:22:52.560 for social conservatives
00:22:54.040 and pro-lifers
00:22:54.760 specifically
00:22:55.300 leading up to this convention?
00:22:57.820 So it's important
00:22:59.320 that various
00:23:00.520 constituents
00:23:02.180 within political parties
00:23:03.820 are able to express
00:23:04.960 their views
00:23:05.620 their values
00:23:06.280 and want to see that
00:23:07.580 reflected within
00:23:08.500 both the party platform
00:23:10.460 but also the party policy document
00:23:12.580 which of course
00:23:13.000 informs the platform.
00:23:14.280 So within the Conservative Party
00:23:15.760 of Canada
00:23:16.200 you have a variety
00:23:17.080 of different types
00:23:17.700 of conservatives.
00:23:18.520 You have
00:23:18.840 Western Canadian conservatives
00:23:21.380 who are very focused
00:23:22.360 on national resource development.
00:23:24.720 You have
00:23:25.220 democratic conservatives
00:23:26.340 who are focused
00:23:28.160 on making sure
00:23:28.920 that grassroots
00:23:29.660 are heard
00:23:30.320 regardless of variety
00:23:31.460 of views.
00:23:31.940 You have libertarians,
00:23:33.400 you have red Tories
00:23:34.360 and then you have
00:23:35.060 pro-lifers
00:23:35.720 and social conservatives
00:23:36.880 in general.
00:23:37.660 So everyone
00:23:38.640 gets to get involved
00:23:39.840 in this process
00:23:40.600 within the Conservative Party
00:23:41.660 of Canada
00:23:42.120 bringing up
00:23:43.240 different policy ideas
00:23:44.420 that are voted on
00:23:45.340 by EDA
00:23:46.440 those are
00:23:46.880 Electoral District Association
00:23:48.160 Board of Directors
00:23:49.020 there's one in each
00:23:49.960 of the 338 ridings
00:23:51.400 and then they're submitted
00:23:52.680 for the Conservative Party
00:23:53.980 of Canada
00:23:54.420 at least on a thing
00:23:55.560 called Ideas Lab
00:23:56.560 where each EDA
00:23:57.960 is allowed
00:23:58.800 25 votes
00:24:00.060 to vote amongst
00:24:00.800 the various
00:24:01.220 policy proposals.
00:24:03.520 So this time around
00:24:04.180 like you mentioned
00:24:04.800 there were 196 policy proposals
00:24:06.940 the EDA's got to vote
00:24:08.480 and then the 34
00:24:09.580 that are being voted on
00:24:11.580 and debated
00:24:12.080 later this week
00:24:13.120 were the 34 most popular
00:24:14.840 across the country.
00:24:16.280 I should say by the way
00:24:17.600 that Schoolhouse Rock
00:24:18.500 has absolutely nothing on you
00:24:20.060 and how well you can describe
00:24:21.540 and clearly articulate
00:24:22.980 these complex matters
00:24:24.780 which people may find
00:24:26.180 uninteresting
00:24:26.780 but are actually
00:24:27.380 very significant
00:24:28.180 to people
00:24:29.220 in the Conservative movement
00:24:30.260 in Canada
00:24:30.860 and I'd say
00:24:31.600 in the country
00:24:32.240 more broadly.
00:24:32.880 So let me ask you
00:24:34.520 about this
00:24:34.900 because I've seen
00:24:35.720 a lot of people
00:24:36.220 circulating stories
00:24:37.380 about the fact
00:24:38.440 that none of the
00:24:39.100 pro-life amendments
00:24:40.080 or resolutions
00:24:40.820 made it on there.
00:24:41.920 This is just because
00:24:43.160 they lost in a vote.
00:24:44.420 It's not because
00:24:44.900 there was someone
00:24:45.460 that handpicked
00:24:46.240 these resolutions
00:24:47.340 and said
00:24:47.840 we don't want that one
00:24:48.740 on the convention floor.
00:24:50.100 Correct?
00:24:51.160 That's a great question,
00:24:52.500 Andrew.
00:24:52.700 And it's something
00:24:53.080 that I've heard
00:24:53.740 and seen a lot
00:24:54.700 within the past week
00:24:55.800 or so.
00:24:57.440 You know,
00:24:57.680 that used to be
00:24:58.380 the policy process
00:25:00.120 within the Conservative
00:25:00.860 Party of Canada.
00:25:01.860 EDAs would come up
00:25:02.740 with party policies
00:25:03.800 and they would go
00:25:04.480 to a secretive
00:25:06.020 convention committee
00:25:06.840 and that committee
00:25:07.740 which was more
00:25:08.480 or less appointed
00:25:09.180 got to decide
00:25:10.620 which policies
00:25:12.160 would make it
00:25:12.660 to the convention
00:25:13.620 breakout rooms
00:25:14.380 and then of course
00:25:14.940 to the convention floor.
00:25:16.540 Over the past
00:25:17.080 number of years
00:25:17.940 within the Conservative
00:25:19.160 Party of Canada
00:25:19.940 we've seen
00:25:20.560 a devolution
00:25:21.380 toward the grassroots
00:25:24.600 within the party.
00:25:25.440 So now the process
00:25:26.700 is that EDAs
00:25:28.320 put it on
00:25:29.280 an internal website
00:25:30.680 called the Ideas Lab
00:25:31.760 and cast the vote.
00:25:32.740 So it's much more
00:25:33.900 grassroots this time around
00:25:35.040 than it was
00:25:35.580 let's say 10 years ago.
00:25:36.980 This time around
00:25:37.840 we proposed
00:25:38.580 two pro-life policies.
00:25:40.120 One was to eliminate
00:25:41.320 the only pro-abortion policy
00:25:42.880 in the Conservative Party
00:25:43.780 of Canada policy declaration
00:25:45.260 that's currently
00:25:46.320 Article 70
00:25:47.180 that says
00:25:47.740 a Conservative government
00:25:48.740 will not support
00:25:49.460 legislation
00:25:50.100 to regulate abortion.
00:25:52.700 And then we had
00:25:53.180 a second policy proposed
00:25:54.520 from the rotting
00:25:55.700 of Burlington
00:25:56.180 within the GTA
00:25:57.100 that asked
00:25:58.700 that a future
00:25:59.180 Conservative government
00:26:00.040 would seek
00:26:01.660 to introduce
00:26:02.860 and vote for
00:26:03.560 and support legislation
00:26:04.680 that would legally
00:26:05.960 restrict
00:26:06.560 sex-selective
00:26:07.940 and late-term abortions.
00:26:09.020 You know in Canada
00:26:09.720 according to recent polls
00:26:11.620 within the past
00:26:12.360 12 months or so
00:26:13.240 something like
00:26:13.960 84% of Canadians
00:26:15.220 support legal restrictions
00:26:16.860 on sex-selective abortions
00:26:18.300 and up to 70%
00:26:19.560 including 60%
00:26:20.880 in Ontario
00:26:21.460 and 67% in Quebec
00:26:22.600 support late-term
00:26:24.420 abortion restrictions
00:26:25.760 in Canada
00:26:26.440 as most of your viewers
00:26:27.580 would probably know
00:26:28.240 is one of only
00:26:29.120 two countries in the world
00:26:30.040 where there's absolutely
00:26:30.760 no law whatsoever
00:26:32.280 on abortion.
00:26:33.040 So these were the two
00:26:33.680 policies that we put forward.
00:26:35.380 They were voted on
00:26:36.040 by the EDAs.
00:26:37.280 Our initial
00:26:37.820 and these new rules
00:26:39.540 were known
00:26:40.020 months ago
00:26:40.980 by the way Andrew
00:26:41.680 like they were established
00:26:42.420 months ago
00:26:43.140 by the Convention Committee
00:26:44.460 by the National Policy Committee
00:26:46.000 and National Constitution
00:26:46.980 Committee
00:26:47.540 and National Councils.
00:26:49.360 Those three organs
00:26:50.340 all being voted on
00:26:51.340 by members of the party.
00:26:52.260 And so we knew the rules
00:26:54.020 going into Christmas.
00:26:55.360 So we knew it was going
00:26:56.020 to be tough
00:26:56.540 but we had an opportunity
00:26:58.320 and we knew
00:26:59.100 kind of what the pathway was.
00:27:00.280 So our goal was
00:27:01.220 to get 45 EDA votes
00:27:03.320 for both of those
00:27:03.960 pro-life policies
00:27:04.640 and we blew past them.
00:27:06.200 I was actually shocked
00:27:07.000 at how many votes we got.
00:27:08.040 We got 63 for delete 70
00:27:09.720 and we got around 55
00:27:11.420 for the late-term abortion one.
00:27:13.800 As a comparison,
00:27:14.820 last time in Halifax
00:27:16.060 for that convention in 2018,
00:27:17.400 we only got about
00:27:19.020 maybe 25,
00:27:20.720 I don't even think
00:27:21.220 we got up to 30
00:27:22.020 for the delete 71
00:27:23.440 and that one didn't make it
00:27:24.440 to the convention floor.
00:27:25.560 So this time
00:27:26.040 the bar was a little higher
00:27:27.080 and there was no
00:27:28.860 dirty tricks
00:27:29.900 or nasty tricks
00:27:30.860 as some other organizations say
00:27:32.540 by the political party
00:27:33.860 it was simply
00:27:34.440 that pro-lifers
00:27:35.720 have not yet
00:27:36.760 taken their rightful place
00:27:38.100 on those EDA
00:27:39.040 board of directors.
00:27:40.060 Something that we're looking
00:27:40.940 to fix
00:27:42.260 within the coming
00:27:43.540 weeks and months.
00:27:44.920 One last thing
00:27:45.360 I will say
00:27:45.780 is that there was an extreme
00:27:47.260 I would describe it
00:27:48.300 as extreme
00:27:48.700 pro-abortion policy
00:27:49.900 proposed by one of the EDAs
00:27:51.740 that made the current
00:27:52.920 pro-abortion policy
00:27:54.380 even worse
00:27:55.000 from our perspective.
00:27:56.300 That one didn't do so
00:27:57.080 hot on Ideas Lab
00:27:58.040 and only got about
00:27:58.680 10 EDA votes or so
00:28:00.180 but there were a couple
00:28:01.340 EDA boards of directors
00:28:02.780 who voted for that policy
00:28:04.620 yet their slate
00:28:06.180 of delegates
00:28:06.760 to the convention
00:28:07.520 is 100% pro-life.
00:28:09.540 So there's a big
00:28:10.180 disconnect between
00:28:11.020 those who sit
00:28:11.620 on the EDA boards
00:28:12.560 and the actual members
00:28:13.840 of the party
00:28:14.800 within that rotting
00:28:16.660 and so we're looking
00:28:17.360 for the next AGMs
00:28:19.280 within the next
00:28:19.800 12 to 8 months
00:28:20.760 or pardon me
00:28:21.500 8 to 12 months
00:28:22.220 to correct that disconnect
00:28:24.600 if you will.
00:28:25.840 You mentioned something
00:28:26.580 in there
00:28:27.040 that I found interesting
00:28:28.560 you said
00:28:28.860 they're not dirty tricks
00:28:29.900 the pro-lifers
00:28:30.700 were effectively
00:28:31.680 outmaneuvered
00:28:32.940 and I don't mean that
00:28:33.740 in a cynical way
00:28:34.620 but just they didn't
00:28:35.440 have the votes on this.
00:28:36.840 Do you feel
00:28:37.540 that there is an issue
00:28:38.760 with pro-lifers
00:28:39.800 not wanting to engage
00:28:41.300 either they don't think
00:28:42.660 it's worth it
00:28:43.260 or they're fed up
00:28:43.900 with either
00:28:44.640 the political process
00:28:45.620 or more specifically
00:28:47.000 the Conservative Party
00:28:48.000 or do you think
00:28:48.880 it is just that
00:28:49.500 they are a smaller share
00:28:50.920 of the party
00:28:51.680 than they used to be?
00:28:53.360 I don't think
00:28:54.020 we're a smaller share
00:28:54.820 of the party
00:28:55.620 I think if anything
00:28:56.440 we're actually
00:28:56.860 a growing share
00:28:57.480 of the party
00:28:57.940 if you look
00:28:58.300 at the number
00:28:58.780 of candidates
00:28:59.820 who had won
00:29:01.300 the nominations
00:29:01.980 for the 2019 election
00:29:03.700 the number
00:29:04.460 of pro-lifers
00:29:06.140 who were elected
00:29:06.780 for the Conservative Party
00:29:07.900 of Canada
00:29:08.360 amongst the new
00:29:09.540 members of Parliament
00:29:10.620 who were elected
00:29:11.200 to the House of Commons
00:29:12.180 in the last election
00:29:13.160 the last two
00:29:14.400 leadership races
00:29:15.380 Just on that point
00:29:17.220 I mean the leadership
00:29:17.840 factor is significant
00:29:19.040 both Aaron O'Toole
00:29:19.960 and Andrew Scheer
00:29:21.080 demonstrably
00:29:22.720 you can see
00:29:23.180 in the numbers
00:29:23.640 were pushed to victory
00:29:24.540 by pro-lifers
00:29:26.180 and by social conservatives
00:29:27.560 so I guess
00:29:28.040 why is that not
00:29:28.760 translating
00:29:29.340 to the policy process?
00:29:31.920 It's a good question
00:29:32.740 so as time goes on
00:29:34.500 you know
00:29:34.780 more or less
00:29:35.500 the actual
00:29:37.220 necessary work
00:29:39.300 within the political sphere
00:29:40.360 in Canada
00:29:40.820 for the pro-life movement
00:29:41.820 has more or less
00:29:43.900 been neglected
00:29:46.260 I would say
00:29:46.840 for the last
00:29:47.280 40 so years
00:29:48.140 so since we started
00:29:49.780 in 2016
00:29:51.380 just over five years ago
00:29:52.680 it's been our job
00:29:54.260 over the last five years
00:29:55.180 to get pro-lifers
00:29:56.100 more involved
00:29:56.720 in the process
00:29:57.260 because we have
00:29:57.900 the numbers
00:29:58.420 it's simply
00:29:59.200 that they're not
00:29:59.780 involved
00:30:00.360 within the process
00:30:01.340 they're not informed
00:30:02.580 and they don't know
00:30:04.080 quite know what to do
00:30:05.320 in order to make sure
00:30:06.260 that their voices
00:30:06.960 are heard
00:30:07.480 within the right structures
00:30:08.800 of for example
00:30:10.000 the Conservative Party
00:30:10.840 of Canada
00:30:11.300 and eventually
00:30:11.960 as we grow
00:30:12.520 within other
00:30:13.060 political parties
00:30:13.780 as well
00:30:14.220 so you know
00:30:15.860 like I said
00:30:16.360 last time around
00:30:17.120 we only had about
00:30:17.940 25 or 30 EDA votes
00:30:19.740 for our pro-life policies
00:30:20.760 this time
00:30:21.500 we more than doubled it
00:30:22.420 in some cases tripled
00:30:23.400 still quite isn't enough
00:30:24.960 we know which EDAs
00:30:26.440 where we need to
00:30:27.480 get pro-lifers
00:30:28.540 to make sure
00:30:29.100 that they are
00:30:29.600 properly represented
00:30:30.780 on those board of directors
00:30:31.900 and we're finding that
00:30:33.060 through this process
00:30:33.840 because
00:30:34.400 for our organization
00:30:36.720 and I might as well
00:30:37.340 just tell you now
00:30:38.060 because it's already
00:30:39.040 baked in
00:30:39.580 there's about
00:30:40.600 4,000 delegates
00:30:41.560 that are attending
00:30:42.040 this convention
00:30:42.680 and from our analysis
00:30:44.680 within our database
00:30:45.580 about one out of
00:30:46.720 every four of those delegates
00:30:48.020 comes from our
00:30:49.180 right now database
00:30:50.420 that's a huge
00:30:51.600 huge number
00:30:52.300 right off the bat
00:30:53.300 we have 25%
00:30:54.480 of the delegates
00:30:55.060 being from right now
00:30:56.860 and there are other
00:30:57.360 pro-life organizations
00:30:58.320 that are getting delegates
00:30:59.260 there
00:30:59.500 there are people
00:31:00.380 within the party
00:31:01.040 who are attending
00:31:01.640 the convention
00:31:02.180 who might not be
00:31:02.880 in any of the databases
00:31:03.820 or just naturally pro-life
00:31:05.160 so I would say
00:31:06.080 like in terms of
00:31:07.100 the delegates
00:31:07.560 at this convention
00:31:08.280 probably well over half
00:31:09.880 right across the country
00:31:10.820 are somewhere
00:31:12.240 on the pro-life spectrum
00:31:13.360 so it's just a matter
00:31:14.500 of we keep going forward
00:31:15.700 we keep informing
00:31:16.680 pro-lifers
00:31:17.200 of what they need to do
00:31:18.000 and to be frank
00:31:18.700 they're starting to step up
00:31:20.160 a lot of pro-lifers
00:31:21.100 have told me
00:31:21.720 delegates saying
00:31:22.740 you know
00:31:23.340 who's
00:31:24.200 what's this EDA
00:31:25.040 you know
00:31:25.380 what's this policy committee
00:31:26.400 and how can I be a part of it
00:31:27.960 and how can my friends
00:31:28.740 be a part of it
00:31:29.460 and that's really great
00:31:30.460 so the next 8 to 12 months
00:31:31.640 are going to be really exciting
00:31:32.660 for us
00:31:33.120 in the pro-life movement
00:31:33.840 as we take
00:31:34.520 that next step
00:31:35.560 as we mature
00:31:36.240 within the Conservative Party
00:31:37.800 of Canada
00:31:38.260 and take our rightful place
00:31:39.940 now I know
00:31:40.580 every virtual event
00:31:41.580 is a bit wacky
00:31:42.780 in how it's formatted
00:31:43.920 but is there going to be
00:31:44.580 an opportunity
00:31:45.100 for emotions
00:31:46.580 from the floor
00:31:47.460 at this convention
00:31:48.400 as there have been
00:31:49.200 at in-person conventions
00:31:50.220 in the past
00:31:50.840 well since the formation
00:31:52.940 of the Conservative Party
00:31:53.900 of Canada
00:31:54.420 which was an amalgamation
00:31:55.840 between of course
00:31:56.560 the Canadian Alliance
00:31:57.440 and the Progressive Conservative Party
00:31:58.740 of Canada
00:31:59.240 within the Constitution
00:32:00.440 there is no opportunity
00:32:01.620 for emotions
00:32:02.160 from the floor
00:32:02.820 that used to be something
00:32:04.480 that used to be
00:32:04.980 within the Reform Party
00:32:06.100 I can't remember
00:32:06.760 if it was in the Canadian Alliance
00:32:07.980 or not
00:32:08.280 yeah and it's big in the Ontario PC Party too
00:32:10.620 I know
00:32:10.980 yeah yeah
00:32:12.480 so within the Federal Party
00:32:13.680 that has never been
00:32:14.700 something that's been allowed
00:32:15.840 to be frank
00:32:17.300 I think it's reasonable
00:32:18.260 because
00:32:18.860 the process
00:32:20.200 to get to convention
00:32:21.360 whether it be
00:32:21.780 constitutional amendments
00:32:22.880 or National Council candidates
00:32:24.260 or even
00:32:25.240 policy proposals
00:32:27.020 is relatively grassroots
00:32:28.840 within the Conservative Party
00:32:30.020 of Canada
00:32:30.460 so I think it's reasonable
00:32:31.380 that once you get to convention
00:32:32.800 you focus on the things
00:32:34.340 that actually made it
00:32:35.260 to convention
00:32:35.780 because otherwise
00:32:37.800 you know
00:32:38.240 you can have all kinds
00:32:39.380 of motions or whatever
00:32:40.180 and it's going to take
00:32:40.980 a really long time
00:32:41.640 to get through everything
00:32:42.400 they have hours
00:32:43.080 and hours
00:32:43.380 and hours
00:32:43.700 of policy debate
00:32:44.500 so you know
00:32:45.820 there isn't an opportunity
00:32:47.400 within the Constitution
00:32:48.440 of the party
00:32:48.940 as it is now
00:32:49.760 for any motions
00:32:51.140 from the floor
00:32:51.760 so to speak
00:32:52.440 you know
00:32:53.120 I hear a lot
00:32:54.140 of frustration
00:32:55.120 from social conservatives
00:32:57.240 in the Conservative Party
00:32:58.400 or in Canada
00:32:59.180 more broadly
00:33:00.440 about where things are
00:33:01.840 they feel
00:33:02.240 they don't have a voice
00:33:03.140 Aaron O'Toole
00:33:03.760 a big part of his leadership
00:33:05.380 was that he personally
00:33:06.700 isn't a social conservative
00:33:07.840 he's personally pro-choice
00:33:09.100 but he wants to listen
00:33:10.480 to pro-life voices
00:33:12.500 do you think there is reason
00:33:13.680 for social conservatives
00:33:15.140 in the conservative movement
00:33:16.560 to be optimistic right now?
00:33:18.720 well it's an interesting question
00:33:20.240 and I know
00:33:20.640 a lot of people
00:33:21.340 a lot of pro-lifers
00:33:22.640 were upset
00:33:23.060 over the Derek Sloan expulsion
00:33:24.700 and I think that
00:33:25.500 there's legitimate questions
00:33:27.200 about you know
00:33:27.940 $131 being donated
00:33:30.120 to his leadership campaign
00:33:31.180 when he was raising
00:33:32.160 hundreds of thousands
00:33:32.900 not millions
00:33:33.560 from a racist
00:33:34.580 under a different name
00:33:35.460 I think that's a very
00:33:36.140 spurious charge
00:33:37.300 and a very spurious reason
00:33:38.400 to eject a member
00:33:39.840 of caucus from caucus
00:33:41.500 but that being said
00:33:42.920 you know
00:33:44.120 Aaron O'Toole
00:33:44.780 when he spoke to
00:33:45.760 our organization
00:33:46.640 during the leadership race
00:33:47.740 he was very clear
00:33:48.820 like he said
00:33:49.300 on his personal stances
00:33:50.640 but he also did
00:33:51.860 you know
00:33:52.980 offer pro-lifers
00:33:54.700 a couple different things
00:33:55.980 number one
00:33:56.500 he said
00:33:56.960 free votes
00:33:57.660 within the House of Commons
00:33:58.600 on our issues
00:33:59.260 something that has been
00:34:00.540 a long-standing tradition
00:34:01.640 within the Conservative Party
00:34:02.780 of Canada
00:34:03.220 and something by the way
00:34:04.260 that the Peter McKay campaign
00:34:05.840 leadership campaign
00:34:06.840 was not promising
00:34:07.640 and then
00:34:08.080 changed their minds on
00:34:09.620 number two
00:34:10.800 it was that he would
00:34:11.820 fight tooth and nail
00:34:12.760 against the expansion
00:34:14.220 of assisted suicide
00:34:15.100 and I think we've seen that
00:34:16.220 Aaron personally
00:34:17.260 has spoken about it
00:34:18.420 numerous times
00:34:20.020 specifically from
00:34:21.040 a personal perspective
00:34:22.420 regarding his own mother
00:34:24.200 going through something
00:34:25.060 similar when she was
00:34:26.220 sadly dying of cancer
00:34:28.080 when he was a young boy
00:34:29.460 he spoke about
00:34:30.620 in the House of Commons
00:34:31.280 recently this past autumn
00:34:32.500 against the expansion
00:34:33.440 of assisted suicide
00:34:34.620 and when the finalized
00:34:36.180 version of the bill
00:34:36.840 came forward to the House
00:34:37.780 last week
00:34:38.300 we saw that
00:34:39.400 every single member
00:34:40.300 of the Conservative caucus
00:34:41.300 who was present
00:34:42.040 voted against
00:34:43.400 that legislation
00:34:44.800 so you know
00:34:46.080 under Aaron's leadership
00:34:47.720 we have seen pro-lifers
00:34:48.880 be able to maneuver
00:34:49.840 on a couple of things
00:34:50.500 Kathy Wackenthal
00:34:51.360 she has her
00:34:52.400 sex-selective abortion bill
00:34:53.940 private members bill
00:34:54.780 coming forward to the House
00:34:55.960 in about a month's time
00:34:57.300 hopefully sooner rather than later
00:34:59.060 it'll have a second reading
00:35:00.140 vote in the House of Commons
00:35:01.320 and then the third thing
00:35:02.320 he promised
00:35:03.000 or at least indicated
00:35:04.840 that he would do
00:35:05.420 within our interview
00:35:06.240 during the leadership race
00:35:07.200 which is available
00:35:07.760 on our website
00:35:08.380 is that
00:35:09.460 he would campaign
00:35:11.100 against
00:35:11.900 funding of abortion
00:35:14.020 overseas
00:35:14.540 now that has yet
00:35:15.540 to come to pass
00:35:16.200 because there hasn't
00:35:16.660 been an election yet
00:35:17.440 so I think we have
00:35:18.700 to give Aaron Toole
00:35:19.480 some time
00:35:20.680 to see what he will do
00:35:22.640 and not do
00:35:23.320 but on the things
00:35:24.480 that he did say
00:35:25.220 that he would do
00:35:25.840 so far
00:35:26.260 he has been able to do it
00:35:27.380 and of course
00:35:28.260 Aaron O'Toole
00:35:28.800 is one of 338
00:35:30.240 members of Parliament
00:35:30.920 we have 337
00:35:32.200 ratings we have to focus on
00:35:33.600 we have a number
00:35:34.900 of pro-life members
00:35:35.640 of Parliament
00:35:36.040 who will be running
00:35:36.580 for re-election
00:35:37.220 and we have to focus
00:35:38.540 to make sure
00:35:39.160 that we get them re-elected
00:35:40.380 so if pro-lifers
00:35:41.200 out there
00:35:41.580 are kind of disappointed
00:35:42.480 or disillusioned
00:35:43.540 with Aaron O'Toole
00:35:44.480 you know
00:35:45.160 only the people
00:35:46.180 who live in the
00:35:46.780 rotting of Durham
00:35:47.320 can vote for
00:35:48.180 against Aaron O'Toole
00:35:49.160 we have other
00:35:50.700 pro-lifers
00:35:51.400 that we have to make sure
00:35:52.460 that they get elected
00:35:53.460 to the House of Commons
00:35:54.480 in this upcoming election
00:35:56.180 and that's what our goal
00:35:57.160 is going to be
00:35:57.560 going forward
00:35:58.220 co-founder of
00:35:59.440 Right Now
00:36:00.340 Scott Hayward
00:36:01.140 Scott always a pleasure
00:36:01.960 thanks for coming on today
00:36:02.980 thanks Andrew
00:36:04.180 much appreciated
00:36:04.940 it's actually
00:36:06.400 somewhat funny
00:36:07.260 I gotta point out
00:36:07.940 just before we
00:36:08.660 wrap things up
00:36:09.640 this story
00:36:10.140 Global News
00:36:10.920 had this like
00:36:11.540 bombshell exclusive
00:36:12.760 that Ontario MPP
00:36:15.000 Sam Oosterhoff
00:36:15.920 is pro-life
00:36:17.120 I know
00:36:18.180 this is like
00:36:19.120 a Pulitzer winning report
00:36:20.600 from Global News
00:36:22.180 so the story was
00:36:23.700 that Sam Oosterhoff
00:36:24.720 is apparently
00:36:25.240 affiliating himself
00:36:26.280 with a group
00:36:26.780 that compares abortion
00:36:27.800 to Holocaust
00:36:28.900 and what they mean
00:36:29.960 is that he's speaking
00:36:31.000 at a pro-life
00:36:32.240 campus event
00:36:33.060 and one of the groups
00:36:34.580 involved in putting
00:36:35.280 together the event
00:36:36.020 had at one point
00:36:36.740 tweeted a comparison
00:36:37.620 between abortion
00:36:39.080 which has claimed
00:36:39.980 millions of lives
00:36:40.840 and the Holocaust
00:36:41.800 now I mean
00:36:42.660 whether you like
00:36:43.760 or appreciate
00:36:44.260 or respect
00:36:44.780 those comparisons
00:36:45.540 or not
00:36:46.360 he is speaking
00:36:47.840 at a pro-life event
00:36:49.020 hosted by a pro-life group
00:36:50.640 and Global News
00:36:51.880 takes 800 words
00:36:52.940 to basically say
00:36:53.860 pro-lifers bad
00:36:55.240 Sam Oosterhoff
00:36:56.420 pro-life
00:36:57.100 and I was reading this
00:36:58.740 and I'm like
00:36:59.100 I'm failing to see
00:37:00.520 the story here
00:37:01.380 but this is the media culture
00:37:02.920 and this is why
00:37:04.100 to Scott Hayward's point
00:37:05.340 changing the culture
00:37:07.040 focusing on local candidates
00:37:08.740 focusing on individual MPs
00:37:10.420 has been I think
00:37:11.940 an important task
00:37:12.800 of the pro-life movement
00:37:13.820 and one in which
00:37:14.900 they have a lot more victories
00:37:15.960 than just trying to
00:37:16.880 get the media on side
00:37:18.700 which clearly isn't
00:37:19.760 going to happen
00:37:20.220 in any case
00:37:21.120 my thanks again
00:37:21.700 to Scott Hayward
00:37:22.480 from Right Now
00:37:23.360 and all of you
00:37:24.040 for tuning in
00:37:24.720 we'll be back
00:37:25.500 in just a couple of days time
00:37:27.040 with more of Canada's
00:37:28.040 most irreverent talk show
00:37:29.380 here on True North
00:37:30.380 thank you
00:37:30.860 God bless
00:37:31.380 and good day to you all
00:37:32.380 thanks for listening
00:37:33.280 to the Andrew Lawton Show
00:37:34.460 support the program
00:37:35.520 by donating to True North
00:37:36.760 at www.tnc.news
00:37:39.920 near future
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