Juno News - March 23, 2020


The Andrew Lawton Show： Business as Unusual


Episode Stats

Length

44 minutes

Words per Minute

180.63863

Word Count

8,033

Sentence Count

397

Misogynist Sentences

7

Hate Speech Sentences

6


Summary

In this episode of The Andrew Lawton Show, the host talks about the impact of coronavirus 19 on public health and safety, the police response to the crisis, and the Conservative leadership race. Also, a woman with the virus was arrested in Quebec City after she decided to break her quarantine.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Welcome to another edition of The Andrew Lawton Show here on True North.
00:00:13.260 Hope you are doing well and keeping healthy in these pretty scary times for many people.
00:00:19.760 I do hope you are managing your way through it.
00:00:22.320 Thank you very much for tuning in.
00:00:24.420 And I'm going to preface this right out of the gate by saying that the show today is going to be mostly COVID-19 related.
00:00:32.500 And I think that's going to be true of most of the shows we have moving forward.
00:00:36.720 And a couple of reasons for that.
00:00:38.360 I mean, the first is that the world is effectively at a standstill.
00:00:42.400 Everything except for this virus has been shelved because of the virus, with one exception.
00:00:48.760 And we'll also talk about that later on.
00:00:50.760 And that is the conservative leadership race.
00:00:52.880 The other part of that, though, is that this is something that is really cutting at the core of pretty much every facet of society.
00:00:59.960 Whether it's, you know, the social cohesion, whether it's public health, obviously, economics, all of this right now is impacted by it.
00:01:08.300 And I don't want to make it a depressing show.
00:01:11.800 I'm not going to lie.
00:01:12.500 I'm probably going to be cracking jokes throughout it because that's how I cope with many of the things that I think have a negative edge in society.
00:01:20.580 Laughter is the best medicine, as they say.
00:01:23.360 But also, I want to tell you that I'm going to be trying to highlight some of the different stories that come through this and also showcasing a narrative in this that I think is absent from a lot of the other coverage.
00:01:36.440 So that's at least the plan right now.
00:01:38.460 I don't know if it's going to change moving forward.
00:01:40.220 Last week, we had a bit of a different approach to the show.
00:01:44.640 And I want to talk about that right out of the gate, too, because last week, the shows were interviews with leadership candidates in the conservative leadership race.
00:01:53.140 And I wrote a column about this at TNC.news, almost lamenting the fact that we had to publish those interviews because I wanted to talk about COVID.
00:02:05.100 But we had made commitments to these candidates that we would interview them and publish those interviews before March 25th, because that is the cutoff, at which point candidates must submit their $300,000 and $3,000 signatures to the conservative party.
00:02:20.580 And we had said that we wanted to get those interviews out before March 25th.
00:02:25.760 And doing that meant that we had to prioritize putting those out amid a crisis that we didn't know existed when we started scheduling and setting up those interviews.
00:02:36.280 So I'm going to be talking about the conservative leadership later on.
00:02:39.460 But I wanted to tell you that was why last week we had those interviews out in lieu of other content that we might have done had things shaken up differently.
00:02:48.640 And as I will also say later on, this was not something I wanted to do.
00:02:52.820 I would have loved it if the conservative leadership race was just a far off in the future thing that we don't even need to worry about right now.
00:03:00.900 But let's talk about what's happening with coronavirus, because a case that jumped out at me on the weekend is that a woman with COVID-19 was arrested in Quebec City after she decided to break her quarantine.
00:03:14.100 Now, this is a case in the Montreal Gazette, where the police arrested a woman on Friday, acknowledged this to the media.
00:03:23.880 They said intervention was carried out with the goal of reissuing.
00:03:28.400 So I think that means they were basically just trying to get her back into her home.
00:03:32.320 And this was something that was done under the Public Health Act, which apparently puts into power all of the appropriate measures where the non-respect of instructions can jeopardize the health and safety of the public.
00:03:46.760 Our ultimate priority is the health and safety of all.
00:03:49.700 And we will use all the necessary and required measures at our disposition to make sure instructions are respected.
00:03:55.900 So this is a woman who tested positive.
00:03:58.820 It wasn't just a precautionary isolation like a lot of people who have returned from travel abroad have done.
00:04:04.340 It sounds like she actually had the virus.
00:04:06.360 But the part that I found interesting was the aspect that police acknowledge they are using surveillance, which I did not know.
00:04:17.140 So the center noted that when a person receives an isolation order, police are asked to do surveillance to make sure it's respected.
00:04:24.880 And in the case of this woman, they found her out for a walk and then she was taken to the hospital and then presumably brought back home.
00:04:34.000 I would hope that part isn't in the story.
00:04:36.560 So you have police doing active surveillance of people for the purposes of mandating these quarantines.
00:04:44.280 Now, this is just Quebec at this point.
00:04:46.240 I haven't heard of this happening elsewhere.
00:04:47.820 Although Saskatchewan is allowing huge fines to be put on people who violate the precautionary order.
00:04:55.400 So if you have a concert, if you have a big party, you could be fined thousands of dollars in Saskatchewan right now.
00:05:01.940 And I think what's fascinating here is that all of these measures and mechanisms that government uses to keep people safe,
00:05:10.580 that's the stated goal of this, they only work when people buy into them.
00:05:15.020 They only work when people believe them, when people agree with them,
00:05:19.680 and when the expectation does not come at a higher level than the purported inconvenience of following that expectation.
00:05:30.100 So right now, for example, my wife and I are working from home,
00:05:34.060 which I can tell you is as absolutely delightful as it sounds.
00:05:37.600 And when we are going out to do grocery shopping, it's very infrequently,
00:05:42.300 and we're doing all the things that we have to do.
00:05:44.400 And this is just what we are doing in that effort of social distancing.
00:05:48.560 But one of the problems right now is that you've got all of these terms that are being thrown out
00:05:52.860 that no one has ever heard before two weeks ago.
00:05:56.300 Flatten the curve, social distance, self-isolation.
00:06:00.460 These are not concepts that people know.
00:06:02.920 So don't get me wrong, if you are testing positive for COVID-19,
00:06:07.900 and you're told you're in quarantine, and you go out for a walk,
00:06:11.660 I think you deserve to be publicly shamed, and you deserve to be sent back home.
00:06:16.640 And I would be interested, though, in knowing what went into this.
00:06:20.220 Because I'm entirely convinced that there are a lot of people that don't understand what's expected of them.
00:06:26.920 And that's true with isolation and quarantine.
00:06:29.400 So for example, is it that you weren't allowed to see anyone?
00:06:32.440 Is it that you're supposed to, if you see someone, sit six feet away from them?
00:06:36.220 Is it that you're not supposed to go grocery shopping?
00:06:38.480 Is it that if you go, you're supposed to just run around through the aisles so you don't run into someone?
00:06:44.060 Which, let me tell you, is hard to do at the small grocery store that I shop at,
00:06:48.460 where basically you're getting boxed in because someone's coming down one aisle and then the other aisle,
00:06:53.820 and at some point you just have to, you know, ram your cart into one of them and run by if you don't want to be in that six-foot radius.
00:07:01.340 I don't advise that, by the way.
00:07:03.280 But in all honesty, so what does social distancing mean?
00:07:07.140 Does it mean don't go out?
00:07:08.700 Does it mean go out infrequently?
00:07:10.100 Because I've seen a bunch of graphics circulating about this that say going for a walk can be fine.
00:07:16.880 So it could be this woman thought she was entirely within her rights to go for a walk because she was alone.
00:07:22.680 Maybe she was wearing a mask, wasn't keeping a close distance to people.
00:07:28.580 That's not to say she's wrong.
00:07:30.080 But it is interesting when you get to this point where all of these things that people are being asked to do become a lot murkier.
00:07:39.620 And once you put state surveillance and arrests there, people are going to be a lot less willing to comply.
00:07:47.580 People are going to be a lot less willing to go along with this,
00:07:51.760 hey, it's just about being a good neighbor when all of a sudden the police are cracking skulls.
00:07:56.100 And that's not what happened here.
00:07:57.680 But I'm warning that this could be the direction we're headed down,
00:08:01.840 especially if this new reality in which we're living goes longer than a couple of weeks.
00:08:07.220 I know other people have said this, but it's true.
00:08:09.900 And I think bears repeating here that for a couple of days, it's a novelty.
00:08:15.380 A couple of weeks, maybe it's a vacation.
00:08:17.900 It goes longer than that.
00:08:19.700 And this is a world that we are not set up for.
00:08:22.640 This is a world that companies are not set up for.
00:08:25.200 This is a way of living that individuals are not set up for.
00:08:28.740 I mean, you look at the fact that you've got this mass toilet paper shortage,
00:08:32.940 despite the fact that I don't even think explosive diarrhea is one of the symptoms of COVID-19.
00:08:38.980 But for some reason, you can't find toilet paper anywhere in North America.
00:08:43.940 And if you have socks and a washing machine, you can make do.
00:08:47.020 But the reality is we're looking at a world right now that, yes, everyone's trying to do it.
00:08:52.460 Everyone's trying to go along with it.
00:08:54.680 But I don't think people are prepared for what happens if this goes on for longer than a couple of weeks.
00:09:01.160 And look, I mean, I'm seeing conflicting information here, which is why I almost don't even read some of the forecasts.
00:09:07.460 Because in some cases, I'm seeing people say, oh, everything's doing really well in Canada.
00:09:12.000 Canada is doing a good job.
00:09:13.320 And, you know, we don't have a huge growth.
00:09:15.440 And then other people are saying, oh, this is going to get worse before it gets better.
00:09:18.700 So you either have it's going to get better or it's going to get worse.
00:09:23.200 You know, I would obviously like it to be the former.
00:09:27.180 But if it's the latter, people have to be prepared.
00:09:29.540 And as much as everyone now knows these terms social isolation and social distance, these don't mean that much if you don't know what's expected of you and if you don't necessarily want to go along with it.
00:09:44.020 And if people are feeling isolated and they're becoming, you know, stir crazy, as the old saying goes.
00:09:50.140 And once you start talking about state enforcement of these sorts of orders, you're going to breed a lot more resentment and you're going to breed resistance to these orders and to these directives.
00:10:05.600 And look, I've been watching every day for the past week, which feels like the past year, press conferences that Justin Trudeau is doing every day, that Ontario Premier Doug Ford is doing.
00:10:15.700 I'm watching some of the Alberta ones as well.
00:10:17.940 Well, Chrystia Freeland, Bill Blair, the COVID-19 committee and the Canadian government, I'm watching their daily briefing as well.
00:10:26.300 And, you know, the one thing that I find interesting, especially in Ontario, and I don't know if it's just because of the reporters that are working the Ontario legislative beat right now.
00:10:35.660 But they keep trying to get Doug Ford to say, you know, when are you going to crack skulls on people?
00:10:40.880 And all of the questions, not all, many of the questions that I'm seeing there are really coming from that premise that, oh, you know, what are you going to do if this happens?
00:10:50.480 What are you going to do if this happens?
00:10:51.640 And Doug Ford, who I know somewhat, has really taken, I think, a very good position on this, which is, listen, you know, we don't need to look at government as being the answer for this.
00:11:04.600 We want everyone to just do the right thing.
00:11:06.880 And like I said earlier, be a good neighbor and respect this and all of that.
00:11:10.680 And I think that's all well and good.
00:11:12.340 I hope it's true and I hope it works.
00:11:14.760 But what happens if it doesn't?
00:11:17.500 What happens if it gets to the point where people are not wanting to play ball?
00:11:21.200 People are not wanting to go along with it.
00:11:23.420 And I don't have an answer to that question.
00:11:26.640 But that story from Quebec City really rubbed me the wrong way because it gave a glimpse of what might become the new reality moving forward.
00:11:34.580 And look, I don't think you have enough police resources in Canada to babysit people that are not respecting or complying with what they should be.
00:11:45.760 And look, I mean, right now, I'm sure you've all seen that video that's gone around, just in case you haven't, I'll play a clip of it here in a moment, of these people that went to spring break and decided that everything was fine and they didn't need to change their plans on account of COVID-19.
00:12:00.680 Take a look.
00:12:01.280 If I get corona, I get corona.
00:12:03.460 At the end of the day, I'm not going to let it stop me from partying.
00:12:05.800 I've been waiting.
00:12:06.780 We've been waiting for Miami spring break for a while.
00:12:09.460 About two months we've had the strip plan.
00:12:11.140 Two, three months.
00:12:12.000 We're just not even having a good time.
00:12:13.780 Whatever happens, happens.
00:12:14.920 It's really messing up with my spring break.
00:12:18.020 What is there to do here other than go to the bars or the beach and they're closing all of it?
00:12:22.440 It's really messing up.
00:12:23.160 I think they're blowing it way out of precaution.
00:12:25.080 I think it's doing way too much.
00:12:26.620 It's doing us bad.
00:12:27.200 We need a refund.
00:12:28.580 This virus ain't that serious.
00:12:29.820 It's more serious things out there like hunger and poverty.
00:12:33.020 We need to address that.
00:12:34.540 Yeah, I mean, we planned this a long time ago and it was kind of up in the air if we still go.
00:12:38.560 But we're here.
00:12:39.580 I just turned 21 this year, so I'm here to party.
00:12:42.080 So it's kind of disappointing.
00:12:43.620 But we're just making the most of it.
00:12:45.460 We met these other people in our little Airbnb spot.
00:12:48.640 So we're just hanging out with them and trying to get drunk before everything closes.
00:12:53.400 I mean, it sucks, but we're going to make the best of it.
00:12:58.060 We're enjoying our time now.
00:12:58.460 We're enjoying ourselves.
00:12:59.940 It sucks.
00:13:01.000 And I'm from New Orleans, so this really sucks.
00:13:03.600 However, we're going to enjoy ourselves.
00:13:05.500 We're having day parties all day.
00:13:07.420 It's my birthday, St. Patrick's Day.
00:13:09.280 Turn up.
00:13:09.820 We're just trying to roll with the point.
00:13:11.540 We're just living for the moment.
00:13:13.480 We're just going for it.
00:13:14.520 We're just going to do what happens, when it happens.
00:13:17.240 When stuff closes, we're going to do it when it closes.
00:13:19.480 But besides that, we're just trying to have the best chip we can.
00:13:23.320 So COVID-19, wherein 19 also equals the number of combined IQ points of everyone in that video.
00:13:30.480 If I get corona, I get corona.
00:13:32.640 That's probably the anthem for a generation right now.
00:13:36.200 So, but again, you know, the Darwin Awards are, I'm sure you've heard, is this internet phenomenon
00:13:41.940 where you talk about people that had, like, the most spectacularly predictable death.
00:13:47.360 And it's basically the thinning the herd, the natural selection of Darwin.
00:13:51.620 And the thing about it is that, and not that I wish death on anyone, obviously,
00:13:56.600 except Harvey Weinstein.
00:13:57.520 He's got COVID-19, and I wouldn't care if he went, but anyone else, I don't.
00:14:01.580 And the thing is, like, you've got people that are saying, if I get it, I get it.
00:14:08.340 I don't think anyone cares about what happens to them.
00:14:12.000 If they get sick, it's like, well, tough luck.
00:14:14.140 The problem with a virus is that you're dealing with one infection,
00:14:18.080 potentially translating into dozens and dozens.
00:14:21.280 You look at that famous patient 31 in South Korea,
00:14:25.080 where pretty much one person, the 31st individual to contract COVID-19,
00:14:30.620 was responsible for most of the bulk of the country's infections,
00:14:35.120 just because of that exponential growth of the virus.
00:14:39.400 So the thing is, like, we're still dealing, and I don't know the numbers,
00:14:43.120 but there are still people from Canada, presumably,
00:14:45.920 that decided to go away for spring break,
00:14:48.460 or have gone on vacation and come back.
00:14:51.000 And these people, I think, we should be worried about,
00:14:53.140 because they are being told when they enter Canada again,
00:14:56.480 don't forget, you've got to isolate for 14 days.
00:14:59.280 But they were also told by the same people, don't go away, and they did.
00:15:04.620 So if they didn't listen to the don't go away command,
00:15:08.340 how likely are they to listen to the stay isolated for 14 days,
00:15:13.080 don't interact with others demand that they're getting?
00:15:16.800 And that, I think, is the X factor.
00:15:18.900 That's the big variable here that I'm not sure we can necessarily predict,
00:15:23.860 which is why, I mean, you have to make a point of protecting yourself,
00:15:27.240 and hence the precautionary isolation that I've been doing,
00:15:30.600 and that a lot of people I know have been doing.
00:15:33.000 And it's not pleasant.
00:15:34.780 Like I said, I mean, the novelty wears off after a couple of days.
00:15:38.260 Now, for me, I mean, I'm in the same studio that I'm always in.
00:15:40.860 I work from home.
00:15:41.880 But there's a difference between working from home because you want to,
00:15:46.100 and working from home because you are not allowed to leave home
00:15:49.620 or you're not supposed to leave home.
00:15:51.440 So there is a mental difference in, you know, the reason you're doing something.
00:15:56.660 Whereas, look, there's nothing I'd love more a lot of times
00:16:00.060 than just not leaving home on the weekend.
00:16:01.800 It's different when you can't.
00:16:03.560 Like when this is expected of you,
00:16:05.540 and you'll be flogged in the streets if you dare to leave your home.
00:16:09.380 So that is going to be the variable, the spring breakers,
00:16:13.240 when they come back and are they going to listen to what they're being told to do?
00:16:17.720 Because this is changing a lot of things.
00:16:20.560 And, you know, I still think that the length of time,
00:16:24.620 even if things go well,
00:16:26.860 the length of time here is going to be a big problem.
00:16:30.780 Like you look at the 2020 Tokyo Games,
00:16:34.080 which at this point are scheduled in July.
00:16:36.320 And April, May, June, July.
00:16:38.820 So that's four months away,
00:16:40.220 which when you say that sounds like forever.
00:16:42.520 It sounds like it's just miles away.
00:16:45.100 You don't even need to worry about it.
00:16:46.380 You don't even need to think about it.
00:16:48.280 Canada has become the first country to say it is not sending athletes there.
00:16:52.960 So Canada at this point is not competing in the Tokyo Games.
00:16:56.780 Australia, I believe, has joined,
00:16:58.560 or at the very least said at this point,
00:17:00.500 they're pushing for a postponement.
00:17:02.900 So the International Olympic Committee
00:17:04.840 is saying that they are starting on July 24th.
00:17:09.300 Now, that will change if key countries decide
00:17:12.740 they're not going to participate in the Games.
00:17:16.120 And it was interesting.
00:17:18.160 Last week, one of the daily press conferences,
00:17:21.740 the media asked the ministers who were on this dais
00:17:25.360 whether they would support athletes going to Tokyo
00:17:29.140 with everything that's happening.
00:17:30.740 And they didn't really give a straight answer.
00:17:32.580 Chrystia Freeland was like, well, you know,
00:17:35.060 we ask that people avoid non-essential international travel.
00:17:39.020 And it's like, well, wait, is this essential or non-essential?
00:17:41.780 Because there are a lot of people who think the Olympics are essential.
00:17:44.520 I'm not one of them, but people think that.
00:17:46.920 People say that.
00:17:48.120 So in that particular case,
00:17:51.040 it sounds like the Olympics will have to
00:17:53.880 have a bit more of an introspection
00:17:56.780 than they do right now about saying it's business as usual
00:18:00.900 and everything can go on and everything can go forward.
00:18:04.120 So this is, I mean, I don't want to scare people.
00:18:07.200 I don't.
00:18:07.940 But this is the, if I did,
00:18:09.780 I would just talk about like Justin Trudeau being stuck in office
00:18:12.580 because we can't have another election because of COVID-19,
00:18:15.680 which is actually more terrifying than this,
00:18:18.100 which is, so that was a good way to lead into it.
00:18:19.760 But this comes from the National Post.
00:18:23.700 Stopping COVID-19 could require eight months
00:18:26.720 of aggressive social distancing outbreak modeling shows.
00:18:31.280 Now she's basing this, Sharon Kerkey, the writer,
00:18:34.020 on an email that has now become just ubiquitous
00:18:38.100 across the country among doctors.
00:18:39.980 It's from Dr. Brent Wolfram,
00:18:42.140 who's a former medical officer with the Canadian Armed Forces.
00:18:46.020 And he says that, you know,
00:18:48.100 basically it's going to be an eight month long fight,
00:18:51.260 stress, uncertainty, social isolation,
00:18:54.000 periods of crisis, periods of calm.
00:18:56.620 And that's how it's going to be.
00:18:58.640 So he's published something here
00:19:00.820 in the top medical journal in Canada.
00:19:04.600 And ultimately, I think it's quite terrifying
00:19:07.880 to think of whether the world could sustain this
00:19:11.240 for eight months and what this looks like.
00:19:14.460 Because this is the problem.
00:19:15.740 If you can contain it to a couple of countries,
00:19:18.100 and say Canada is not one of them,
00:19:20.080 does Canada need to continue
00:19:22.160 with this aggressive social distancing, as it's called?
00:19:26.480 Or is it just enough to keep travel restrictions in place?
00:19:30.240 Which is why travel restrictions
00:19:32.040 should have been among the first things that were done here.
00:19:36.000 Now, I want to just share with you
00:19:38.020 how ridiculous this has gotten.
00:19:40.780 We went from, we would never close the border.
00:19:43.880 Closing borders don't work.
00:19:45.140 Viruses don't know borders.
00:19:47.020 Patty Hajdu was the one beating this drum,
00:19:49.540 the Canadian health minister.
00:19:51.380 And then a couple of weeks later,
00:19:53.200 she has gotten to where she is as of this past weekend,
00:19:57.440 which is, we might even consider allowing
00:20:00.540 provincial borders to close.
00:20:02.860 So she went from, we can't shut down Canada's border.
00:20:06.520 It's never going to do anything to,
00:20:07.900 oh my goodness, you shouldn't even be able to go from PEI
00:20:10.800 to Nova Scotia at this point.
00:20:13.640 And I find it, you know, again,
00:20:15.260 I don't take delight in where we are as a country.
00:20:19.420 But I do think there is a benefit in the told you so thing,
00:20:23.300 because these people were so arrogantly saying
00:20:25.660 that their open border ideology
00:20:28.880 was trumping science and disease containment
00:20:32.580 and that their open border virtue signaling
00:20:34.580 was apparently more powerful
00:20:37.140 than COVID-19 and the coronavirus.
00:20:41.180 That this whole hashtag welcome to Canada song and dance
00:20:44.620 was better than what all of the viral experts
00:20:47.820 in the world were saying and doing.
00:20:49.760 And now they've all come around
00:20:51.560 to what most sensible Canadians were pushing for
00:20:55.020 right out of the gate.
00:20:56.980 They've all come around on this
00:20:58.560 because they realized that, hey,
00:21:00.220 just saying a virus knows no borders isn't actually true.
00:21:04.240 And you may not be able to eradicate a virus
00:21:06.840 through shutting down borders,
00:21:08.360 but you can certainly delay and dampen its effect
00:21:12.560 in your own country,
00:21:13.720 especially if that country is Canada,
00:21:16.000 which is geographically removed
00:21:18.080 from the epicenter of this virus.
00:21:22.100 So it is interesting.
00:21:23.660 And just to walk you through what happened here.
00:21:25.540 So at first, it's a virus knows no borders.
00:21:27.500 That's the line.
00:21:28.580 And then Justin Trudeau saying,
00:21:29.920 oh, you know, we can't shut down borders.
00:21:31.740 And by the way, this last week that I was talking about,
00:21:34.920 this felt like a year.
00:21:36.640 Even within that week,
00:21:38.420 the government's position changed.
00:21:40.500 And then the government drops a bombshell,
00:21:42.820 I think it was on Tuesday,
00:21:44.440 that we are going to be suspending
00:21:46.120 all non-essential travel.
00:21:48.160 That basically the government was saying,
00:21:50.040 if you're not a Canadian citizen,
00:21:51.560 if you don't meet these criteria,
00:21:54.520 you can't come into the country.
00:21:56.980 And then that was still exempt for US citizens.
00:22:00.900 And then a day later, it's okay,
00:22:02.840 we are now suspending non-essential travel
00:22:05.020 between Canada and the US.
00:22:07.140 Now, there are a lot of variables there,
00:22:10.180 like trade and the definition of essential.
00:22:13.820 The government hasn't quite defined.
00:22:16.520 And this is now in effect, however.
00:22:18.100 You cannot just,
00:22:18.840 if you're in London, Ontario, like I am,
00:22:21.340 and you want to take a weekend in Chicago,
00:22:22.660 you can't do it.
00:22:23.800 If you are in Chicago,
00:22:24.780 and you, for some reason that I don't understand,
00:22:27.480 want to take a weekend in London, Ontario,
00:22:29.420 you can't do that.
00:22:30.860 So what you can do is go across the border for trade.
00:22:35.380 It sounds like if you have family on the other side,
00:22:38.680 you might be able to,
00:22:40.340 but again, it's unclear how you prove it.
00:22:42.940 And I fear that the manifestation of this
00:22:45.880 might be in some respects like the honor system.
00:22:49.640 But what we do know is that there is still a restriction
00:22:54.480 and the government has determined the need for a restriction.
00:22:57.500 And all of the international flights
00:22:59.480 that are still coming into Canada,
00:23:01.000 it sounds like are probably empty
00:23:03.780 because most people are ineligible to be here.
00:23:07.120 So this is something that should have been done
00:23:10.260 right from the outset of this
00:23:12.460 when this was just a disease
00:23:14.880 that China was exporting directly to other countries.
00:23:18.460 Because remember, at the very beginning,
00:23:20.160 the only cases,
00:23:21.220 the only cases anywhere in the world
00:23:22.820 were people from China
00:23:23.880 going from one country to another.
00:23:26.420 And then they get there
00:23:27.660 and then someone catches it there.
00:23:29.700 But they could all be traced to China.
00:23:32.460 And then it got to a point
00:23:33.720 where it was more difficult
00:23:34.760 because you had various epicenters,
00:23:37.280 the big three being China, Iran, and Italy.
00:23:40.740 And in Canada, I think we got more,
00:23:42.880 I may be wrong about this,
00:23:44.220 but I think we got more from Iran than from China
00:23:47.560 just because there was that surge a couple of weeks ago
00:23:51.060 where it seemed like all of the new cases
00:23:54.520 were people that had been to Iran and just got back.
00:23:58.260 So let's talk about this sensibly here.
00:24:01.600 If you have a virus,
00:24:02.940 and I know it's supposedly racist
00:24:04.700 when Donald Trump says it's a Chinese virus
00:24:06.820 or a foreign virus,
00:24:07.980 but that is a matter of fact.
00:24:09.600 It is those things.
00:24:11.700 And it's not to say you should take out your anger
00:24:14.140 on Chinese people.
00:24:15.520 They are not the problem.
00:24:17.200 But it's a virus that has a national point of origin.
00:24:21.620 And if it has a national point of origin,
00:24:23.580 it's not unreasonable or racist or xenophobic to say,
00:24:26.820 hey, we don't think people
00:24:28.420 that might be carrying that virus
00:24:30.420 by virtue of the geography of the virus,
00:24:33.100 not the nationality of the people.
00:24:35.720 It's about geography, not nationality.
00:24:38.480 We would be right to restrict that.
00:24:40.380 Now, look, this is too little, too late now.
00:24:42.540 And I know that.
00:24:43.720 But when every expert is saying
00:24:45.560 we need to prepare ourselves for the next wave,
00:24:48.160 this is how you do it,
00:24:49.400 by understanding what went wrong the first time around.
00:24:53.480 And let's face it,
00:24:54.560 we've got a government right now
00:24:55.820 that's saying all of these things
00:24:57.580 that were terrible yesterday
00:24:59.020 are the right idea today.
00:25:01.500 Stopping illegal border crossers
00:25:03.120 from entering Canada.
00:25:04.320 For three years,
00:25:05.460 the government's been saying
00:25:06.360 there's no way to do it.
00:25:07.380 You can't do it.
00:25:08.300 You can't send them back.
00:25:09.300 You can't block them.
00:25:10.500 You can't close Roxham Road.
00:25:12.260 And then overnight,
00:25:14.040 it was literally overnight,
00:25:15.600 one day the government says,
00:25:17.020 oh, no, illegal border crossers,
00:25:18.660 we're still letting in
00:25:19.500 and we're going to put them in quarantine.
00:25:21.260 And then the next day it was,
00:25:23.200 yeah, we've reached an agreement
00:25:24.300 with the United States.
00:25:25.180 We are sending them back.
00:25:28.120 Okay, I mean,
00:25:29.240 I applaud it.
00:25:31.140 I welcome it.
00:25:31.920 I've been calling for that for three years.
00:25:33.840 But again,
00:25:34.540 why is it only now
00:25:36.100 that the government has said
00:25:37.640 it can do that
00:25:38.800 when for the past three years
00:25:40.040 it was how dare you say that
00:25:41.560 you're just a racist old stock Canadian?
00:25:45.220 It's amazing what can happen
00:25:47.060 in a time of crisis.
00:25:48.620 Now, this is unsubstantiated,
00:25:50.900 but I'm fairly confident
00:25:52.260 that this was pushed for
00:25:54.480 by the Americans,
00:25:55.740 that Trudeau went along with it
00:25:56.960 because Trump wanted it
00:25:58.140 and not because Trudeau wanted it.
00:26:01.180 And I mean,
00:26:01.640 what he got in return,
00:26:02.620 I don't know,
00:26:03.540 but it does very much look as though
00:26:06.080 this is a situation
00:26:07.120 where the U.S. stands to benefit more
00:26:09.100 because now it can say,
00:26:10.500 listen, we're worried about immigration
00:26:12.140 on northern and southern borders.
00:26:14.100 And it gives Donald Trump
00:26:15.600 the political cover
00:26:16.800 to take the southern border
00:26:19.100 a lot more seriously,
00:26:20.360 which is where the big problems are.
00:26:22.080 Let's face it.
00:26:23.040 I mean, I love Canada
00:26:23.940 and I love America.
00:26:25.600 Not many people are going
00:26:27.460 from Canada to the U.S. illegally
00:26:29.580 by sneaking across
00:26:30.900 the Vermont-Quebec border
00:26:33.420 or the New York-Quebec border.
00:26:35.740 So I think that's where
00:26:36.880 we look at a bit of 3D chess
00:26:39.120 that might be going on here.
00:26:40.560 But regardless of the motivation,
00:26:43.000 it's a fact to say
00:26:44.740 that this was something
00:26:46.140 that Trudeau said was impossible
00:26:47.460 and shouldn't have been done one day.
00:26:49.200 And then by the time
00:26:49.840 the next day rolls around,
00:26:50.980 it's we are going to return.
00:26:52.560 Now, so far,
00:26:53.680 the government is not committing
00:26:54.880 to extending this
00:26:56.280 beyond the border restriction period here.
00:26:59.840 They aren't admitting
00:27:00.800 that maybe they can keep this going long term.
00:27:04.700 I would love it if they did.
00:27:06.740 And more importantly,
00:27:07.720 I know a lot of people
00:27:08.740 are approaching this
00:27:09.920 with a fair bit of skepticism,
00:27:11.760 saying, we'll all believe it
00:27:13.200 when I see it.
00:27:14.080 I will as well.
00:27:15.320 But at this point,
00:27:16.200 it was a very clear
00:27:17.420 and clearly delineated position
00:27:19.200 that if you enter Canada
00:27:20.900 illegally to claim asylum,
00:27:22.680 you will be returned immediately.
00:27:24.940 You won't even enter the system.
00:27:26.820 You won't enter the pipeline.
00:27:28.160 You won't even become a part
00:27:29.620 of the Immigration and Refugee Board process.
00:27:32.580 You will just be sent right back
00:27:34.400 to where you came from.
00:27:35.920 And this is long overdue.
00:27:37.640 If you don't respect
00:27:38.520 a country's borders,
00:27:39.620 you aren't respecting
00:27:40.480 the country's laws,
00:27:41.620 and therefore,
00:27:42.520 you aren't respecting the country.
00:27:44.580 And I would say
00:27:45.640 we could also fairly say
00:27:47.860 that a virus may not respect borders,
00:27:51.300 but a virus's living host has to.
00:27:54.220 Because the virus is not just like
00:27:55.840 swimming around in the air
00:27:57.220 and deciding that,
00:27:58.440 oh, you know,
00:27:58.880 I'm going to go and check out Toronto.
00:28:00.760 And oh, no, I don't like it there.
00:28:01.820 I'm going to go to check out New York.
00:28:03.420 And oh, like the virus is not just
00:28:05.320 like the little,
00:28:06.320 what is it,
00:28:06.740 the feather in Forrest Gump
00:28:08.020 just going all over the place.
00:28:09.640 No, the virus is in a person.
00:28:11.380 The virus is in a person.
00:28:12.860 And I'm sorry,
00:28:13.720 but, you know,
00:28:14.360 unless a border guard
00:28:15.280 is hosting a virus exorcism
00:28:17.200 and the virus gets into the country
00:28:18.620 and the person doesn't,
00:28:20.040 if a person is denied entry to Canada,
00:28:23.100 they are not going to be
00:28:24.720 bringing the virus into Canada.
00:28:26.560 So that's one fewer case.
00:28:28.920 And if you look at
00:28:29.640 the exponential growth of viruses
00:28:31.480 like patient 31 in South Korea,
00:28:33.980 you know that one person
00:28:35.780 can actually be tens of people,
00:28:38.080 thousands of people.
00:28:39.820 This is what happens.
00:28:41.120 And this is known
00:28:43.000 by the government of Canada.
00:28:45.500 Now, I'm not one of these people,
00:28:47.420 believe it or not,
00:28:48.300 that hates everything Trudeau does
00:28:49.960 because of a dislike for Trudeau.
00:28:52.060 I think he's actually been
00:28:53.360 a very capable communicator
00:28:55.740 through this crisis.
00:28:56.680 And I think that goes
00:28:57.760 for Chrystia Freeland as well.
00:28:59.400 I don't agree with all the policies
00:29:00.800 they've taken,
00:29:01.660 but they have been available every day
00:29:04.700 and they have been making
00:29:06.440 their point known
00:29:07.900 and communicating
00:29:08.800 what the government is doing
00:29:10.100 clearly every single day.
00:29:12.080 And I think that is
00:29:12.860 very much commendable.
00:29:14.380 I think Doug Ford
00:29:15.140 has done a great job as well.
00:29:16.900 Jason Kenney has done a great job.
00:29:18.860 I haven't been following
00:29:19.800 as much the other provinces.
00:29:21.500 I know BC's government
00:29:22.920 has done a fair bit.
00:29:24.260 I don't know about
00:29:25.120 the Premier John Horgan,
00:29:26.820 but the public health officer there
00:29:29.620 I know has done a fair bit.
00:29:31.280 So there is a good communications strategy
00:29:34.880 that's at play here,
00:29:36.060 but you need to be having
00:29:37.740 a message worth communicating.
00:29:39.860 And that's where
00:29:40.600 just the sheer incoherence
00:29:42.580 of the border discussion
00:29:44.180 up until just a few days ago
00:29:46.980 really could have made this crisis
00:29:49.960 a heck of a lot worse
00:29:51.440 than it needed to be.
00:29:53.900 And that's the big problem
00:29:55.580 that I think needs to be understood now
00:29:58.240 is that if you ever want to
00:29:59.340 deal with this in the future,
00:30:01.280 and prevent it,
00:30:02.680 you have to make those moves
00:30:04.460 a lot more quickly.
00:30:06.760 We've got to take a quick break.
00:30:08.420 When we come back,
00:30:09.060 more of The Andrew Lawton Show
00:30:10.540 here on True North.
00:30:13.120 You're tuned in
00:30:14.320 to The Andrew Lawton Show.
00:30:17.020 We are back here
00:30:18.340 on The Andrew Lawton Show.
00:30:20.220 And listen,
00:30:20.920 I said at the beginning
00:30:21.880 of this program
00:30:22.600 that I want to make it clear
00:30:24.120 that the world is on hold
00:30:26.220 in many cases,
00:30:27.560 and COVID-19 is the priority.
00:30:29.440 It's what people are
00:30:31.000 living and breathing.
00:30:31.840 That was a cruel joke.
00:30:32.940 I didn't mean that as a joke.
00:30:33.960 It just ended up coming out as one.
00:30:36.160 And also that if you don't accept
00:30:39.220 that things aren't business as usual,
00:30:41.000 you are grossly missing the mark.
00:30:43.700 And this is where
00:30:44.820 the Conservative Party of Canada,
00:30:46.480 a party that I voted for,
00:30:48.280 has very much been,
00:30:50.420 I think,
00:30:51.640 in the wrong on this.
00:30:53.820 And I'm not a party loyalist,
00:30:55.540 so when I criticize a party,
00:30:57.920 it's about giving credit
00:30:58.780 where it's due
00:30:59.320 and giving criticism
00:31:00.360 where it's due.
00:31:01.500 But the Conservative Party of Canada
00:31:03.500 has refused to budge
00:31:05.960 on its leadership race,
00:31:07.460 which right now
00:31:08.440 is scheduled to go on
00:31:09.700 as though nothing happened
00:31:10.840 in the world in June.
00:31:12.200 But the problem is
00:31:13.280 that there are also things
00:31:14.600 between now and then
00:31:16.440 that they are not changing.
00:31:18.100 The most imminent
00:31:18.860 is a cutoff March 25th,
00:31:21.160 so that is on Wednesday
00:31:22.420 of this week,
00:31:24.640 by which point candidates
00:31:25.940 must submit $300,000 cash
00:31:28.540 and 3,000 signatures
00:31:29.800 to remain in the race.
00:31:31.980 So the way it works
00:31:33.040 is to get in,
00:31:33.700 you have to pony up
00:31:34.580 $25,000 and $1,000 signatures,
00:31:36.940 and then you have to,
00:31:38.460 to get access
00:31:39.280 to the membership list
00:31:40.320 of the party,
00:31:41.280 give $150,000
00:31:42.720 and $2,000 signatures,
00:31:44.540 and to be on the ballot
00:31:46.000 by March 25th,
00:31:47.320 you have to give
00:31:47.920 that final batch
00:31:49.380 of money and signatures.
00:31:50.760 And as it stands now,
00:31:52.500 if you look at the CPC membership
00:31:54.580 or the CPC leadership page,
00:31:57.840 the candidates
00:31:58.520 as of recording time
00:31:59.980 Monday morning,
00:32:00.960 four of them
00:32:01.680 have done the max,
00:32:02.940 Leslyn Lewis,
00:32:03.780 Peter McKay,
00:32:04.540 Aaron O'Toole,
00:32:05.300 and Derek Sloan,
00:32:06.560 and two of them
00:32:07.400 have not achieved
00:32:08.520 that threshold yet,
00:32:09.720 Marilyn Gladue
00:32:10.520 and Rudy Husney.
00:32:12.160 Now, last week,
00:32:13.460 I actually interviewed
00:32:14.540 four of these candidates,
00:32:17.500 and of those,
00:32:18.820 we have two of them,
00:32:20.700 or three of them
00:32:21.240 that are out,
00:32:21.940 Marilyn Gladue,
00:32:22.720 Rudy Husney,
00:32:23.380 and Derek Sloan.
00:32:24.540 I may interview
00:32:25.140 with Leslyn Lewis,
00:32:25.920 will probably be out
00:32:26.740 sometime next week.
00:32:28.700 But the thing is,
00:32:30.140 the idea there
00:32:31.820 about these two candidates
00:32:33.840 is that they've said,
00:32:35.560 listen,
00:32:35.860 we can't campaign
00:32:36.800 because of the pandemic.
00:32:38.340 So all of these
00:32:39.360 fundraising events
00:32:40.420 that we were supposed to do,
00:32:41.900 we can't do.
00:32:42.760 All of these member drives
00:32:44.280 to get people to sign up,
00:32:45.560 we can't go to.
00:32:46.440 So they've asked the party
00:32:48.000 to postpone
00:32:49.020 that March 25th cutoff,
00:32:51.220 and the party has said no.
00:32:54.200 Now, Rick Peterson,
00:32:55.440 who was also running
00:32:56.920 up until,
00:32:57.700 I think,
00:32:58.120 Saturday,
00:32:58.720 was saying the same thing.
00:33:00.060 Now, Rick Peterson,
00:33:01.000 who ran for the leadership
00:33:01.980 last time,
00:33:02.840 he didn't get
00:33:03.580 a huge chunk of the vote,
00:33:04.880 but still,
00:33:05.460 he raised money,
00:33:06.260 he made it on the ballot.
00:33:07.880 He said,
00:33:08.900 listen,
00:33:09.300 I mean,
00:33:09.800 I am not going to be able
00:33:11.120 to do what you want me
00:33:12.360 to do by March 25th
00:33:13.640 with the COVID-19 pandemic,
00:33:15.920 ergo,
00:33:16.740 I'm just bowing out
00:33:17.920 of the race.
00:33:19.380 So Rick Peterson
00:33:20.320 took the step of saying,
00:33:21.940 listen,
00:33:22.200 I'm just done.
00:33:23.080 I'm not going to be able
00:33:24.040 to be on the ballot
00:33:24.980 with these circumstances,
00:33:26.580 and the party
00:33:27.200 has still said nothing.
00:33:28.440 Now,
00:33:29.000 the other person
00:33:29.900 who was supposed to be on
00:33:31.220 but is not
00:33:32.240 is Jim Carajalios.
00:33:33.960 Jim Carajalios
00:33:35.040 was kicked off
00:33:36.920 the ballot
00:33:37.800 by a decision
00:33:39.380 supposedly made
00:33:40.620 by the Conservative Party
00:33:41.820 of Canada's
00:33:42.460 Leadership Committee,
00:33:43.600 but at this point,
00:33:44.380 it's not actually clear
00:33:45.420 who made that decision.
00:33:47.180 I'm looking at
00:33:48.100 the statement
00:33:49.420 that was provided to me
00:33:50.880 by the Conservative Party
00:33:52.120 of Canada,
00:33:53.660 and everyone else
00:33:55.100 has now, like,
00:33:55.680 republished this screenshot
00:33:56.920 that I put out
00:33:58.120 of this statement
00:33:58.880 because it was sent to me,
00:34:00.260 and the thing about it
00:34:01.580 is that it says
00:34:02.860 the DRAC,
00:34:04.640 DRAC,
00:34:05.580 was the body
00:34:06.600 that disqualified him.
00:34:08.280 So that's the
00:34:08.740 Dispute Resolution
00:34:09.760 Appeals Committee,
00:34:10.520 and they are tasked
00:34:12.340 with appeals
00:34:13.780 at the Chief
00:34:15.060 Returning Officer
00:34:15.820 decisions
00:34:16.300 with the Leadership
00:34:17.020 Election Organizing
00:34:17.900 Committee,
00:34:18.320 and, I mean,
00:34:18.940 you could look
00:34:19.300 in the statement,
00:34:19.860 there are a whole
00:34:20.140 bunch of acronyms,
00:34:20.980 but they say
00:34:21.580 that DRAC issued
00:34:23.160 a ruling
00:34:23.660 that Carajalios
00:34:25.000 would be disqualified,
00:34:26.460 and that ruling
00:34:27.300 was issued
00:34:27.860 on May 18th
00:34:29.920 after an appeal
00:34:31.180 of a prior decision
00:34:32.520 by the Chief
00:34:33.600 Returning Officer.
00:34:34.440 So I don't want
00:34:35.640 to get too
00:34:35.980 in the weeds
00:34:36.440 on this,
00:34:37.020 but again,
00:34:38.420 right now,
00:34:39.280 it seems like
00:34:40.060 there are probably
00:34:40.800 more important things
00:34:41.880 to be focused on
00:34:42.860 than internal
00:34:44.000 party politics
00:34:45.480 and internal
00:34:46.080 political and
00:34:46.820 partisan strife,
00:34:47.980 yet still,
00:34:48.880 you've got
00:34:49.240 the Conservative Party
00:34:50.080 disqualifying a
00:34:51.180 candidate this week
00:34:52.160 for, in its words,
00:34:54.600 past comments
00:34:55.740 made through
00:34:56.920 email, mail,
00:34:58.280 and social media
00:34:59.320 earlier in the month,
00:35:01.600 and then you've got
00:35:02.380 now leadership
00:35:03.620 candidates that are
00:35:04.420 saying we can't
00:35:05.160 actually run
00:35:06.080 our campaigns
00:35:07.360 because of
00:35:08.520 this pandemic.
00:35:10.260 So all of the,
00:35:11.780 up until last weekend
00:35:13.380 or just a few days ago,
00:35:15.000 the only people
00:35:16.240 that were calling
00:35:17.040 on the party
00:35:17.840 to postpone
00:35:18.740 were people that
00:35:19.460 weren't yet on
00:35:20.060 the ballot themselves.
00:35:21.200 Now I'm very grateful
00:35:22.480 that Derek Sloan,
00:35:24.060 who is on the ballot,
00:35:25.220 has nothing to gain
00:35:26.120 from letting other
00:35:27.200 people get on,
00:35:28.220 and Aaron O'Toole,
00:35:29.280 who's one of the
00:35:29.920 perceived frontrunners
00:35:31.200 of the race,
00:35:31.980 have both said
00:35:33.160 we've got to
00:35:34.860 postpone this,
00:35:36.220 the country needs
00:35:37.420 to focus on
00:35:38.660 unity and health
00:35:39.820 first,
00:35:40.660 Conservative leadership
00:35:41.580 can wait,
00:35:42.280 and Aaron O'Toole
00:35:42.820 actually put out
00:35:43.560 a lengthy video
00:35:44.580 to this effect
00:35:45.340 on the weekend.
00:35:46.420 Here's a clip
00:35:46.840 of that video.
00:35:47.340 As a Member of Parliament
00:35:48.600 seeking to lead
00:35:49.440 the same great party
00:35:50.680 that Sir Robert Borden
00:35:51.800 once did,
00:35:52.940 his personal example
00:35:54.120 has been weighing
00:35:54.880 heavily on me.
00:35:56.760 It was Borden
00:35:57.460 who forged a union
00:35:58.560 government
00:35:59.020 with his political
00:35:59.800 opponents to ensure
00:36:00.920 that the young nation
00:36:01.980 of Canada
00:36:02.660 remained united
00:36:03.940 amid a time
00:36:04.960 of crisis.
00:36:06.520 Therefore,
00:36:07.480 with the example
00:36:08.240 of Robert Borden
00:36:09.100 in my heart
00:36:09.980 and in my mind,
00:36:11.580 today I am proposing
00:36:12.860 three measures.
00:36:14.600 First,
00:36:15.180 I'm asking
00:36:16.200 the Leadership Committee
00:36:17.160 of the Conservative Party
00:36:18.260 of Canada
00:36:18.800 to delay
00:36:19.840 the Conservative
00:36:20.580 Leadership Contest
00:36:21.760 to ensure
00:36:22.880 that all time
00:36:23.720 and resources
00:36:24.260 of our Conservative
00:36:25.100 Caucus
00:36:25.680 and our grassroots
00:36:26.860 members
00:36:27.400 can be focused
00:36:28.180 on helping
00:36:28.780 our constituents
00:36:29.500 and the needs
00:36:30.760 of our communities
00:36:31.500 in the fight
00:36:32.280 against COVID-19.
00:36:34.480 Second,
00:36:35.520 I'm asking
00:36:36.240 my leadership team
00:36:37.340 and our thousands
00:36:38.280 of Conservative supporters
00:36:39.580 across the country
00:36:40.540 to devote
00:36:41.440 any support
00:36:42.340 or resources
00:36:42.880 they may have
00:36:43.680 to the needs
00:36:44.580 of their community.
00:36:46.260 Today,
00:36:47.120 Rebecca and I
00:36:47.920 will be making
00:36:48.560 a donation
00:36:49.120 on behalf
00:36:49.680 of our family
00:36:50.420 to the St. Vincent
00:36:51.820 de Paul Food Bank
00:36:52.980 in Bowmanville
00:36:53.580 to help those efforts
00:36:55.280 towards those in need
00:36:56.520 in Durham.
00:36:58.020 Third,
00:36:58.880 I am proposing
00:36:59.680 to the Government
00:37:00.340 of Canada
00:37:00.900 to create
00:37:01.700 a special
00:37:02.460 COVID crisis committee
00:37:03.900 to leverage
00:37:04.900 the best minds
00:37:05.820 we have in
00:37:06.320 Canada's Parliament
00:37:07.100 towards an all-party
00:37:08.680 response to this crisis.
00:37:11.180 As a veteran,
00:37:12.380 business leader,
00:37:13.020 and former
00:37:13.660 Cabinet Minister,
00:37:14.880 I am offering
00:37:15.580 to be a part
00:37:16.360 of this all-party effort.
00:37:18.760 Let us work together
00:37:19.780 to keep our
00:37:20.400 parliamentary democracy
00:37:21.540 strong
00:37:22.180 and to transform
00:37:23.340 accountability
00:37:24.060 into collaborative
00:37:25.600 strength
00:37:26.360 at a time of crisis.
00:37:28.580 I want to thank
00:37:29.620 the thousands
00:37:30.180 of Canadians
00:37:30.800 who have already
00:37:31.440 donated or volunteered
00:37:32.580 on my campaign
00:37:33.540 to be the next leader
00:37:34.700 of the Conservative Party
00:37:36.040 of Canada.
00:37:37.420 I'm not leaving
00:37:38.480 the race.
00:37:39.580 In fact,
00:37:40.160 I believe
00:37:40.720 we will win it.
00:37:41.520 But today,
00:37:42.980 I'm proposing
00:37:43.560 that we put
00:37:44.220 the needs
00:37:44.800 of our fellow
00:37:45.420 citizens first.
00:37:47.260 Like Sir John A.
00:37:48.520 MacDonald
00:37:48.920 or Sir Robert
00:37:49.800 Borden before us,
00:37:51.260 we are all engaged
00:37:52.660 in political life
00:37:53.540 to serve
00:37:54.100 and build
00:37:54.640 this great country.
00:37:55.900 And that can be
00:37:56.880 best accomplished
00:37:57.860 by delaying
00:37:58.960 this contest
00:37:59.500 and putting
00:38:00.580 Canada first.
00:38:02.200 Thank you
00:38:03.020 and God bless
00:38:04.200 Canada amid
00:38:05.080 this challenging crisis.
00:38:06.200 So again,
00:38:07.400 I think what
00:38:07.740 Aaron O'Toole said
00:38:08.580 is entirely valid
00:38:09.920 there,
00:38:10.300 that there are
00:38:10.760 bigger things
00:38:11.500 right now.
00:38:12.260 So when I wrote
00:38:12.880 my column
00:38:13.480 about this,
00:38:14.000 I led off
00:38:15.020 with a very
00:38:15.880 accurate sentiment,
00:38:17.820 I think,
00:38:18.180 which is that
00:38:18.600 I'm baffled
00:38:19.380 and disappointed
00:38:20.160 that I even
00:38:20.760 needed to write
00:38:21.480 this,
00:38:21.860 that the Conservative
00:38:22.960 Party of Canada
00:38:23.860 couldn't just
00:38:24.500 see itself,
00:38:26.260 hmm,
00:38:26.760 I think that
00:38:27.800 we can probably
00:38:28.800 say that things
00:38:29.820 are not business
00:38:30.780 as usual right now
00:38:32.080 and that's the term
00:38:32.800 I keep going back to.
00:38:34.460 So of this race,
00:38:36.820 of the people
00:38:37.360 in this race,
00:38:38.640 you know,
00:38:38.980 the ones that are
00:38:39.520 at the top,
00:38:40.100 it's easy for them
00:38:40.760 to go dark.
00:38:41.440 It's easy for Peter
00:38:42.180 McKay to carry on.
00:38:43.220 He's doing his
00:38:43.860 town halls
00:38:44.500 and he's sending
00:38:45.460 out emails every day
00:38:46.740 and doing phone stuff
00:38:47.980 but he's on the ballot
00:38:50.040 so there's no real
00:38:51.560 benefit to him
00:38:52.760 doing the in-person
00:38:54.700 stuff right now,
00:38:55.740 that retail politics
00:38:56.840 that the lesser
00:38:57.620 known candidates
00:38:58.600 are trying to do.
00:39:00.400 So when I look
00:39:01.240 at some of the
00:39:02.020 other MPs
00:39:02.880 like,
00:39:03.340 Marilyn Gladue,
00:39:05.080 here's a woman
00:39:05.760 who's very capable,
00:39:07.020 very competent.
00:39:08.180 My interview with her
00:39:09.140 was very well received
00:39:10.620 but here's a woman
00:39:11.900 who again
00:39:12.320 needs to get out there
00:39:14.120 and she even said
00:39:14.920 that in the interview
00:39:15.580 that people like her
00:39:16.420 when they know her,
00:39:17.620 they just don't all
00:39:18.460 know her.
00:39:19.840 So she needs to get out
00:39:20.980 at these events,
00:39:21.740 these fora,
00:39:22.760 these all candidates
00:39:23.560 meetings,
00:39:24.540 these EDA events
00:39:25.640 that are being hosted
00:39:26.380 across the country,
00:39:27.320 none of them exist anymore
00:39:28.760 so how is it possible?
00:39:30.740 So listen,
00:39:31.500 the rules are the rules
00:39:32.420 and I get that
00:39:33.260 and the rules
00:39:34.420 shouldn't be changed
00:39:35.520 because candidates
00:39:36.600 are falling short.
00:39:37.940 They should be changed
00:39:39.020 because the world
00:39:40.000 has changed
00:39:40.620 since those rules
00:39:41.580 were cemented.
00:39:42.760 The world has changed
00:39:43.660 since this race started
00:39:44.740 and it looks just
00:39:46.240 tone deaf
00:39:46.920 which by the way
00:39:47.860 is par for the course
00:39:48.820 right now
00:39:49.340 with this Conservative Party
00:39:51.140 of Canada
00:39:51.680 which also sent out
00:39:53.520 a fundraising email
00:39:54.780 in the midst
00:39:55.480 of the COVID-19
00:39:56.740 scare last week.
00:39:58.200 so the very heart
00:40:00.740 of the crisis
00:40:01.680 in Canada
00:40:02.200 when things were ramping up
00:40:03.300 and the party
00:40:04.100 sends out an email
00:40:04.960 trying to shake people
00:40:06.040 down for money
00:40:06.820 which is why
00:40:08.060 I've got a lot of respect
00:40:08.960 for candidates
00:40:09.740 like Rudy Husney
00:40:10.840 and Marilyn Gladue
00:40:11.820 even if they weren't
00:40:12.940 going to win
00:40:13.640 for saying
00:40:14.460 listen,
00:40:14.900 I mean,
00:40:15.100 we refuse to campaign
00:40:16.840 during some period
00:40:19.180 that is so difficult
00:40:20.520 we aren't going
00:40:21.940 to ask people
00:40:22.600 for money
00:40:23.300 when they are
00:40:24.100 trying to focus
00:40:24.880 on keeping their jobs,
00:40:26.780 getting food
00:40:27.260 on the table
00:40:27.800 and doing all
00:40:28.360 of these things
00:40:28.840 like how ignorant
00:40:30.040 would we be
00:40:30.700 to do that
00:40:31.320 and the Conservative Party
00:40:32.340 says not ignorant enough
00:40:33.720 apparently
00:40:34.380 that's the CPC's line
00:40:35.760 on this
00:40:36.180 so to focus so much
00:40:38.120 on this petty partisanship
00:40:39.820 when there is a
00:40:41.240 serious
00:40:42.360 bona fide crisis
00:40:44.240 afoot
00:40:44.920 is so baffling
00:40:47.520 to me
00:40:47.920 but this is what
00:40:49.080 we expect
00:40:49.980 in this political process
00:40:52.080 and listen
00:40:53.500 I mean,
00:40:54.060 I don't know
00:40:54.580 how long
00:40:55.080 it's going to last
00:40:56.000 and there is
00:40:56.680 an argument
00:40:57.260 and I get
00:40:57.980 this argument
00:40:58.560 by the way
00:40:59.100 that the Conservatives
00:41:00.600 need to have
00:41:01.260 a leader
00:41:01.900 that is there
00:41:03.700 and ready
00:41:04.320 in the event
00:41:05.000 that something happens
00:41:05.980 this is the rationale
00:41:06.980 now I think
00:41:08.680 it's possible
00:41:09.320 to delay
00:41:10.660 the cutoff
00:41:11.580 without delaying
00:41:12.560 the race
00:41:12.940 that's one option
00:41:13.700 I think you can
00:41:14.160 delay the race
00:41:14.880 altogether
00:41:15.420 remember
00:41:16.340 the Conservatives
00:41:17.060 have a policy convention
00:41:18.640 scheduled for November
00:41:19.760 they could turn
00:41:21.060 that into
00:41:21.760 a leadership convention
00:41:23.060 that's entirely
00:41:24.120 within their rights
00:41:25.020 and let's face it
00:41:26.160 most events
00:41:27.140 right now
00:41:27.640 are being cancelled
00:41:28.680 in some cases
00:41:29.980 by state mandate
00:41:31.520 I mean
00:41:32.040 it would be
00:41:32.780 I think it's illegal
00:41:33.680 to have
00:41:34.380 the Conservative convention
00:41:35.980 because it's supposed
00:41:36.760 to be in Toronto
00:41:37.480 right now
00:41:38.280 it would be illegal
00:41:39.020 to have the Conservative convention
00:41:40.520 where you can't have
00:41:42.920 more than 50 people
00:41:43.940 in a room
00:41:44.400 without the state
00:41:45.360 shaking you down
00:41:46.000 so given that
00:41:47.440 it would be illegal
00:41:48.180 I think the Conservatives
00:41:49.140 would have a right
00:41:49.700 to say
00:41:49.980 hmm
00:41:50.200 we know it's still
00:41:51.160 in a couple of months
00:41:51.900 but out of an abundance
00:41:52.720 of caution
00:41:53.340 we're delaying
00:41:54.220 the convention
00:41:54.820 now voting
00:41:55.940 is done by mail
00:41:56.880 so they're saying
00:41:57.540 that that's not an issue
00:41:58.960 but counting the ballots
00:42:00.440 that all has to be done
00:42:01.460 by people in a room
00:42:02.460 people from campaigns
00:42:03.940 need to travel
00:42:04.740 to the counting site
00:42:05.940 send their scrutineers
00:42:07.320 so there are things
00:42:08.380 you don't think of
00:42:09.440 that at this point
00:42:10.260 would not be permissible
00:42:12.020 and again
00:42:14.000 this is not a discussion
00:42:15.540 that we should be having
00:42:16.760 I didn't want to publish
00:42:18.320 my interviews
00:42:18.940 with leadership candidates
00:42:20.140 last week
00:42:20.800 I wanted to talk
00:42:22.080 about COVID-19
00:42:23.040 but I also didn't want
00:42:24.540 to bring dishonor
00:42:26.460 to a pledge
00:42:27.420 that I had made
00:42:28.120 which is that
00:42:28.580 I'll help you
00:42:29.160 get your messages out
00:42:30.460 before that member cutoff
00:42:32.580 and the reason
00:42:33.800 just before anyone
00:42:34.840 criticizes
00:42:35.460 the reason
00:42:36.020 I'm holding back
00:42:37.140 the Leslyn Lewis interview
00:42:38.740 which was the other
00:42:39.580 one of the four
00:42:40.480 that I did
00:42:40.920 that isn't out yet
00:42:41.740 is because she's already
00:42:43.200 a verified candidate
00:42:44.260 so she doesn't need
00:42:45.720 the exposure
00:42:46.460 prior to March 25th
00:42:48.160 there's a bit of time there
00:42:49.120 but again
00:42:49.600 this is inside baseball
00:42:51.080 I just know that
00:42:52.120 you know
00:42:52.800 blind partisanship
00:42:54.080 means I'm going to get
00:42:54.960 criticized for
00:42:55.780 really stupid things
00:42:57.320 so I'm trying to preempt
00:42:58.320 as much of it as I can
00:42:59.780 but this is where
00:43:02.020 things are headed
00:43:02.740 right now
00:43:03.300 so I hope
00:43:04.440 I mean look
00:43:05.040 I record in the morning
00:43:06.520 and the show comes out
00:43:07.440 in the afternoon
00:43:08.020 I would love
00:43:09.200 nothing more this week
00:43:10.580 than for all of this
00:43:11.760 to be moot
00:43:12.320 by the time the show
00:43:13.140 comes out
00:43:13.680 because the political party
00:43:15.320 in question has said
00:43:16.360 you know what
00:43:17.160 we think all of these
00:43:18.300 people are right
00:43:18.860 we're moving it
00:43:19.480 I'm not optimistic
00:43:20.520 though
00:43:20.940 I am not optimistic
00:43:22.200 but let me just say
00:43:23.220 a message from the past
00:43:24.760 if it has changed
00:43:25.800 I am so happy
00:43:27.360 to be proven wrong
00:43:28.320 if the conservative party
00:43:29.860 grows a sense of common sense
00:43:31.820 in the interceding hours
00:43:34.240 between when this was recorded
00:43:35.900 and when it was published
00:43:36.860 so we'll have more for you
00:43:38.360 in a couple of days
00:43:39.120 I would also just
00:43:39.880 as a plug here
00:43:40.820 encourage you
00:43:41.500 to tune in to
00:43:42.860 Candace Malcolm's
00:43:43.840 and my new show
00:43:44.840 True North Update
00:43:46.060 this is something
00:43:46.820 that is here
00:43:47.740 as long as the crisis
00:43:48.840 is afoot
00:43:49.820 daily updates
00:43:50.980 on what's happening
00:43:51.700 just the headline
00:43:52.540 no analysis
00:43:53.320 the well minimal analysis
00:43:55.460 and the whole thing's
00:43:57.280 done within 20 minutes
00:43:58.780 it's just about
00:43:59.420 what you missed
00:44:00.120 because we realize
00:44:01.360 people are still
00:44:02.020 trying to go about
00:44:02.720 their days
00:44:03.180 and trying to go
00:44:03.900 about their lives
00:44:04.540 so our goal
00:44:05.540 is to let you know
00:44:06.860 what's happening
00:44:07.420 and only what's happening
00:44:08.600 and if you want
00:44:09.520 the full experience
00:44:10.600 you can still tune in
00:44:11.800 to the Andrew Lawton show
00:44:12.780 so I truly hope
00:44:14.220 you are all staying healthy
00:44:15.420 keeping well
00:44:16.060 we'll talk to you
00:44:16.980 in a couple of days
00:44:17.760 here on True North
00:44:18.540 thank you
00:44:19.000 God bless
00:44:19.580 and good day Canada
00:44:20.540 thanks for listening
00:44:21.540 to the Andrew Lawton show
00:44:22.760 support the program
00:44:23.800 by donating to True North
00:44:25.040 at www.tnc.news